Harris in Wonderland History
Harris in Wonderland has a
history that you probably are
unaware of even if you are already
familiar with the company. The story
of Harris in Wonderland begins in
the 1940’s, when the original
store was started by Seth Harris as
an offshoot of his favorite past
time of keeping and breeding fish.
Seth ran a little business out of
the house for a short time until he
was able to rent a small store on
New Britain Avenue in West Hartford,
CT. The store developed and expanded
and it was run with the help of
family members while Seth continued
his education in Biology at the
University of Connecticut.
The original store closed when
Seth entered the military and then
went on to a 31 year teaching career
at Granby Memorial High School.
Harris in Wonderland was
re-opened in October 1999 in a
cramped 400 square foot space
adjacent to a bar in Bloomfield, CT.
We outgrew that space within the
year and tiring of smelling smoke
from the bar (it was legal to smoke inside then), moved to an 1800
square foot free-standing building
right next door. We operated in Bloomfield for 6 years and decided a better location was a must for us to expand the areas of the store that we wanted to. A plan to move the store to Avon began to take shape. The store was moved to a location in Old Avon Village, a move that proved to be a stepping stone to another Avon space. After 7 years in the bottom level of a confusing cluster of eclectic shops, we made a move to a more prominent location right at street level in a little building 1/4 mile away. This was no less of an eclectic space, however, and we outgrew it as business really started to take off. We spent four years building business in this location before making a much needed upgrade.
The Current Harris in Wonderland
Today, the store has a physical
location at 364 Albany Turnpike (route 44) Canton, Connecticut. The advantages of the new space are numerous, we now have dedicated parking, handicapped access, road frontage, and a beautiful facility to work out of and provide the best source of reptiles, fish, and small mammals. Harris in
Wonderland is your best source for
freshwater and marine fish, corals and invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, and small
mammals (birds can be ordered, but we no longer carry them in the store). Returning to our strengths as a
fish and reptile specialty shop, the
store has expanded supplies for reptiles,
amphibians, fish, and ponds. We can
do pond installations and will build
a pond on site, stock it with fish
and plants, and help you with
questions and even maintenance as
well. Our recent expansion into on-line sales allows us to reach you across the country. So
enjoy the site and let us know how
we may help you.
Meet The Staff
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Seth Harris
The founder of the
original Harris in
Wonderland, Seth has a
background in biology that
includes a biology degree
from the University of
Connecticut, a 31 year
career teaching high school
biology, more that 50 years
of fish keeping experience,
and a life long interest in
animals, natural history,
and ecology.
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Adam Harris
Seth’s son, Adam, has
a biology degree from
Hartwick College and has
been keeping and breeding
reptiles for more than 20
years! Traveling to Costa
Rica, Thailand, Australia, South Africa,
the Bahamian Islands and
across the United States and Canada has
allowed Adam to study
ecosystems and environments
first hand. |
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Remembering Jim White
Jim worked with us at Harris in
Wonderland for several years and
brought with him years of fish
keeping and breeding experience. Jim
had successfully bred and maintained
many fish species and was
particularly successful with African
cichlids. He was an active member of
the Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society. Jim passed away unexpectedly and we will miss him and always remember his enthusiasm and contributions to the hobby, PVAS, the store, and all he helped and touched in his time with us.
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Ashlee Carlson
Ashlee has been at Harris in
Wonderland for many years now. She has been an invaluable resource for those seeking advice on proper husbandry for their reptiles, amphibians, and fish. She has worked tirelessly to provide support for many
independent breeding projects and
has helped to develop further
breeding and rearing efforts with
reptiles at Harris in Wonderland. |
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