Abbie Lathrop "The Mouse Lady"              Her former residence today.

Abbie Lathrop Residence

      One of the well known people in Granby was Miss Lathrop.  She was known as the Mouse Woman.  The Mouse Woman had the name because she took care of mice.  The Mouse Woman found cancer on some of her mice and sent them to a lab.  They brought a good price for experimental purposes.  The cancer research lab of St. Louis wanted more of these mice so she raised some mice for them.  Soon her business grew and hospitals and schools started asking for the mice; St. Luke in New York and the Mayo Hospital in Minnesota bought mice from her.  Her stock increased to 10,000 mice in 1908.  She also raised rabbits and guinea pigs.  In 1918 Abbie Lathrop developed a strain of mice that continues to be used today for lab research in cancer.  The mouse woman died in 1918.  When the Mouse Women died her business died with her.  Her house on East Street was once the home of Linus and Emma Morgan and the Smith family.  Then it was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Pease.  After the Mouse Women died someone else moved in and remolded the house for a summer home.  The Parkers lived in this house for several years having moved to Granby from Enfield Mass. at the time the land was being bought up to make the Quabbin Reservoir.  The Mouse Woman was an important person in the history of Granby.

Audio Narrative 

Former residence of Abbie Lathrop, 1975