The more I look around the Farmington Valley, the more semi-hidden and overlooked evidence I…read morestumble upon that shows how old this area is, and how it was chest deep in the Revolutionary War. Memorials are everywhere signifying events in colonial America. I've lived in Simsbury since 1987, and have visited the Simsbury Post Office at 932 Hopmeadow Street conservatively 200 times. I never noticed this plaque until today, and I only saw it because my car battery was dead and I was standing outside waiting for the AAA truck. At the front of the Post Office, in a strip of grass near the drive-up mail boxes, is a stone monument with an old weathered plaque. The inscription reads: Entrance to Pent Road 1668-1787 THIS ROAD LEADING TO THE RIVER CROSSING WAS A DIRECT ROUTE TO WINDSOR IT WAS USED BY THE MILITIA ON THEIR WAY TO BOSTON IN MAY 1775 PLACED BY ABIGAIL PHELPS CHAPTER D.A.R. 1935 So in other words, Colonial American soldiers walked here about 238 years ago. The shootings at Lexington and Concord happened in April 1775 a month earlier than the date on the plaque. Who knows what fate awaited these men. Did they fight the Redcoats in New York? Or New Jersey? Or Quebec? Did they end up living through the brutal winter at Valley Forge? Did they fight in North Carolina or South Carolina? Were they at the decisive Battle of Yorktown? If they did, their rendezvous with destiny and history may have had a stop in Simsbury........

Some of the early settlers of Norfolk worked in the mills. Some were farmers and blacksmiths…read more But in, April of 1775, they became American patriots and soldiers as they marched 136 miles to Boston to take up arms against the British. By the time of independence, over 150 of Norfolk's men had fought in the Revolutionary War. Located on a village green where Routes 272 and 44 intersect, this is a two-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It dates to 1975 and is in very good condition. The full inscription reads: Norfolk In the heart of the Green Woods on what was later the Hartford-Albany Turnpike, Norfolk was settled in 1744 by Cornelius Brown of Windsor. The town was incorporated in 1758 with forty-four voters at the first town meeting. A meeting house was built, and in 1761 the Reverend Ammi R. Robbins became the first minister, serving for fifty-two years. Twenty-four men from Norfolk marched to aid Boston in April, 1775, and over one hundred and fifty fought in the Revolutionary War. The early settlers were farmers, erecting sawmills, gristmills, and blacksmithies for their own needs. Using the waterpower of the Blackberry River, the town became industrial in the 1800's, manufacturing such diverse products as linseed oil, men's hats, woolens, cheese boxes, scythes and hoes. In the later 19th century industry declined, but the coming of the Connecticut Western Railroad in 1871, together with Norfolk's natural beauty contributed to the growth of a thriving summer colony. Largely through the efforts of the Battell and Eldridge families, Norfolk has been a center of culture since the establishment of the Norfolk Library in 1888 and the Litchfield County Choral Union in 1899. The Stoeckel Estate and its famous Music Shed, often visited by many of the world's greatest musical artists, is now the home of the Yale Summer School of Music and Art. Erected by the Town of Norfolk the Norfolk Historic District Commission and the Connecticut Historical Commission 1975

This landmark is a callback to a time where Goshen once had enough people to support a church NOT…read morelocated in the center of town. People actually gathered in what is now rather isolated for worship. The inscription on the rock reads: This Doorstep Erected In Memory Of The Original Subscribers Of North Goshen M.E. Church Which Stood Here 1840 --- 1923 It is a pretty drive to see this landmark, particularly in the fall. The grass can get pretty long so any other time of year be mindful of ticks!

The impressive memorial monument is located at the front entrance of the Main Fire Station in…read moreSimsbury. It has a small hexagonal top connected to a larger hexagonal base via six columns -it has the look of a cupola. Each of the upper panels is inscribed with the name of the six fire stations in Simsbury. There is a bronze fireman's hat on top and a silver fire bell below. The monument honors one firefighter in particular, and all deceased firemen from Simsbury. The monument's bronze plaque reads: "Frank R. Bradley Memorial In April of 1944, seventeen men stepped forward to form what would become the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company. Frank Bradley was one of those original seventeen. In June of that year the Simsbury Fire District was created, followed closely by the creation of the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company with the joint responsibility to provide fire protection for the residents of Simsbury. On July 6th, 1944, Frank Bradley, his wife Helen, and their two young daughters were attending the matinee performance of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus in Hartford, CT. Shortly after the show started, fire erupted across the big top. In a matter of seconds, mass panic erupted as the spectators stormed towards the exits in all directions. Tragically, Frank and Helen Bradley became separated from their two daughters. Neither of the parents would emerge from the big top alive. Frank Bradley, that day, became the first deceased member of the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company. It is in his name that Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company honors all of our deceased members who have served the community with dedications and pride." Many of the bricks surrounding the monument have been inscribed with the names of Simsbury's deceased firefighters. In front of the monument there is a plaque fastened into the bricks. The plaque's contains the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Sept crest and it's inscription reads: In The Line Of Duty Inscribed Here Are The Names Of Those Who Have Died In Serves To Their Community Lt. Richard F. Kelleher November 6, 1981

This is a very spiffy Town Marker unlike anything I have seen before. It has a white background…read morewith blue, black, and brown artwork in the form of an inscription and a drawing of a stagecoach. It's located near the center of town in a small campsite/park area roughly where Main Street (Route 20) crosses School Street. The sign is in very good shape and the lettering and artwork are easily visible. The sign reads: -- Riverton -- Northeastern Gateway to the Litchfield Hills Old Hartford - Albany Stage Route Home of Hitchcock Chairs One Mile to Peoples Forest 1 1/2 Miles to Site of Barkhamsted Lighthouse Home Of L.A. Cooke War Governor Col. Justin Hodge Mexican & Civil War Hero

Driving through the pretty countryside in Barkhamsted, I came across quite an unusual site - a…read morelarge metal bell sitting on top of two imposing stone pillars. The monument sits between two huge flagpoles, almost giving it the appearance of sitting inside a set of football goalposts. The bell is located on a green at the intersection of Pleasant Valley Road (Connecticut Route 318) and Beach Rock Road, adjacent to the Barkhamsted Center Cemetery. So here's the history of the bell. It's old - like 1834 old. It's from an old Barkhamsted Church named the Universalist Church. It was in the part of town known as Barkhamsted Hollow, so the Church was also known as the Hollow Church. Because the area was prone to floods, the immediate area was redesigned by the MDC in the late 1930's as many houses, farms, and that very Church were razed to build the Saville Dam in 1940. The Dam was meant to keep the nearby Farmington River in check and created the huge Barkhamsted Reservoir. The stone pillars contain two inscribed plaques that read: This bell hung in the Hollow Church which was relocated during construction of the Compensating Reservoir. It was cast in Hartford, CT in 1834. Dedicated 1997 These boulders were provided by the generosity of the Metropolitan District Commission. There were part of the Saville Dam spillway and washed out in the 1955 flood. It's quite the cool landmark, Reminds me of an old Chuck Berry song about some guy........"who never ever learned to read or write so well, but he could play the guitar like ringing a bell...."

So my dog and I decided to take a nice socially distanced walk in Cornwall, and see this lovely…read moresign while there. Right now, being between two blizzards, it's really hard to get to the back of the sign, but the front is readily accessible from the cleared sidewalk. Interestingly, the Town Hall still has Christmas decoration up in the windows. You can literally hear cows mooing in the distance, that's how peaceful and country this sign is.

This is the 140th historical marker I photographed and wrote about. But it's the very first time…read morethat what I read and what I'm writing includes the word "Obookiah". That's a "who?" and not a "what?", because the O Man was a Hawaiian student at Cornwall's Foreign Mission School two hundred years ago. That's one of the historical nuggets you'll read about on this marker. It's a two-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission with the familiar white lettering on a blue background. Its located on the front lawn at Town Hall on Pine Street. The sign dates to 1975, and its condition shows some signs of wear and tear -staining, fading, and peeling. Obookiah would be sad to see that. The full inscription reads: This area was once part of the Western Lands ordered surveyed by the Legislature in 1731. Yale Lands were surveyed and three hundred acres were set aside for income for Yale College in 1732. At an auction in Fairfield in 1738 the town was sold in fifty shares, named Cornwall, and incorporated in 1740. After the church "gathered" in 1740 schools began to open. In time there were seventeen school districts. The Foreign Mission School in 1817 numbered among the students an Hawaiian, Obookiah, who links Cornwall eternally to Hawaii. An agricultural school was started in 1849. More than ten private schools have educated youth through the years. Farming was the earliest industry. The Cornwall Iron Company, founded in 1833, increased prosperity and growth. Products found new markets with the advent of the Housatonic Railroad in 1842. Ira Allen, the Vermont statesman, was born here. A Civil War general, John Sedgwick, is remembered by a monument. Mark Van Doren, poet-teacher, enriched many lives from his Cornwall home. State Landmarks: Cornwall Bridge Railroad Station, West Cornwall Covered Bridge. Erected by the Town of Cornwall The American Revolution Bicentennial Committee of Cornwall and the Connecticut Historical Commission 1975

Anyone who grew up in Connecticut heard the story of Charter Oak - when those mean British tried to…read moretake the Connecticut charter, the colonists were about to hand it over when suddenly, the lights went out! In the ensuing melee, the sacred charter was spirited out the window and hidden in a Hartford oak tree. Then the teacher glosses over the fact this was symbolic at best, and Connecticut was as much a part of the American revolution as the other colonies, and yadda yadda yadda the oak tree went on to sire heirs. This tree is one of them. On the Cornwall green, across from town hall, is an unassuming tree and a plaque. May it have many happy additional years overseeing the modest amount of traffic in the area.