This is a two-sided historical marker on Route 10 North, on the property of the Salmon Brook…read moreHistorical Society. It was erected by the Town of Granby, the Salmon Brook Historical Society, and the Connecticut Historical Commission in 1980. The marker gives an overview of Granby's history in a very wide ranging narrative stretching from colonial times through the Viet Nam war. It has so much content on it, that it is engraved on both sides. It reads: "Side One Settled as the Salmon Brook section of Simsbury early in the 18th century, and established as a separate ecclesiastical society in 1736, Granby became a separate town in 1786. From the beginning, farming was the main endeavor of the populace: first subsistence farming, then raising fruits of the orchard, tobacco growing, and diary farming until agriculture waned in the 1950's. Industry, producing shoes, horse-drawn carriages, wool cards, and forest products, developed along streams where water tumbled over the rock ledges common to Granby terrain. On July 4, 1825, in Granby at the Connecticut-Massachusetts border, Connecticut's Governor Wolcott commenced construction of the Farmington Canal (1825-1849) by turning the first spadeful of earth. Settled by emigrants from Windsor, Granby, like Simsbury, was the 18th century frontier for the mother town against Indians and the French allies. Side Two One early citizen, Daniel Hayes, was kidnapped by local Indians and taken to Canada, whence he escaped to return home to live nearly a half century longer. Granby sons and daughters in the 20th century have gone on to become prominent attorneys, president of a major life insurance company, Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court and Librarian of the State of Connecticut. Ours sons have fought and some of them have died in each of the country's wars from the Indian conflicts of the 17th and 18th centuries to Vietnam. In the Civil War, volunteers from Granby included free blacks fighting for the freedom of their southern brothers. Many of Granby's young men were among those in the Connecticut 16th Militia Regiment who suffered and died in the infamous Confederate prison stockade at Andersonville, Georgia. Granby citizens participated in the westward movement of the 19th century, founding the town of Worthington, Ohio, now a suburb of Columbus. The plaque is in great condition, with crisp sharp white lettering on a blue background.

This State of CT historical marker is located in front of Town Hall on Broad Street. It was…read moreerected by the Town of Windsor, the Windsor Historic District Commission, and the Connecticut Historical Commission in 1971, It's a 2-sided marker that honors WIndsor as the first permanent English settlement in Connecticut in 1633. The plaque also honors three Windsor citizens for their contributions to its development. The trio were Roger Ludlow, Oliver Ellsworth, and John M Niles. The full text of the plaque reads: Windsor The first permanent English settlement in Connecticut On September 26, 1633, a company of men under Lieutenant William Holmes arrived by ship from the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, on invitiation of the local Indians, and established a trading post near the junction of the Farmington and Connecticut Rivers. In 1635 these first settlers were joined by a larger group which came overland from Dorchester in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Windsor, with Hartford and Wethersfield, formed the Colony of Connecticut in 1636. In the development of the constitutional government three Windsor men have played prominent roles: Roger Ludlow principal framer of the Fundamental Orders of the Connecticut 1638, first written constitution of a self-governing people. Oliver Ellsworth one of final Committee of five which framed Constitution of the United States 1787, appointed one of first two United States Senators from Connecticut, and became Chief Justice of United States Supreme Court John M Niles led reform movement which resulted in a new more democratic constitution for Connecticut 1818. Later represented Connecticut in United States Senate and became a leader in campaign against slavery. The plaque is in average condition, with side one being in superior shape to a somewhat faded and streaked side two.

As you head up Route 159 in Windsor, you see signs for it's "Historic District". Rightfully so,…read morebecause Windsor was the first English settlement in the state (1634) and is one of the oldest towns in America. I was walking around the Palisado Green today checking out the historical monuments, when I noticed that I was standing on two small engraved stones. One read "Time Capsule to be opened in the year 2076". The other one read "1999 Senior Time Capsule Open 9-26-33" I haven't been able to find out anything at all about these....

REALLY tiny! Ok, so it was free and seeing a Muppet or two was cool, but not worth a special trip.read more

One more reason to come to storrs, I can't begin to express my new found respect for puppets and…read morethe art.. before my visit to this museum today I looked at puppetry to be child's play.... least did I know one can get a bachelors degree in it. This is Storrs "hidden treasure" the Ballard institute offers workshops, museum tours, lectures, performances, and programs that promote the art of puppetry. A marvelous collection of worlds puppets are displayed in the front lobby... from a 100 yr old shadow puppet from India depicting the epics to Egyptian shadow puppets, Vietnamese water puppets, Japanese rod puppets, masks from Brazil , Italian/American/Russian marionette .... some so complex..esp the Banraku puppets as the guide was saying takes 30 years to master..wow! the two other rooms display banners, cranks and cantastoria (a theatrical form where a performer tells or sings a story while gesturing to a series of images painted, printed on fabric or any material)....The tour was totally worth it, I learnt so much today. I'm definitely returning to watch a show here. They have shows scheduled almost every weekend this summer... check out the schedule on their website.

For more than a year, the Drummer Boy statue has been AWOL from its old location on the Bloomfield…read moreVillage Green. But I'm happy to say that the statue has been spiffed up, revitalized, and relocated. It's still on the Village Green but moved to a prominent location at the major intersection of Park Avenue and Bloomfield Avenue. The statue was removed as part of "Phase Two" of a Village Green renovation project. The green was revitalized with new benches and walkways, a gorgeous green lawn, and major repairs to the statue which was in a state of disrepair. Some of the work included removing corrosion by blasting, a new metal coating, and replacement of the drum skin. The Drummer Boy's Drum is a significant piece of Bloomfield's history. Known as "the Brown Drum" they were manufactured on Bloomfield's Brown Street by the Brown family -first Benjamin Brown and then his nephew Eli Brown. The Drummer Boy symbolizes a "march toward liberty, justice and equality" by America's early Patriots.

Simsbury Historical Society was founded in 1911. They moved to the current 2-acre location which…read morehas a home, tavern, and barn on it; this property belonged to the Phelps family. A school house, another home, and probate building were brought to this location later on. They offer tours, special events, and workshops. They're open from Thursday to Saturday from 12-4. My family and I enjoyed walking through the property and seeing the old buildings and artifacts. There was a replica of a native American wig-wam which was really cool to walk inside of. I love history and old buildings so it was fun seeing the old school house and historic single homes. The tavern had a beautiful garden in the backyard. There were plenty of parking and we look forward to going back and taking a tour.

"Don't know much about history" (Sam Cooke)…read more Simsbury is an old town, I mean a really old town. It goes back to 1670. And it's very fitting that such an old town has a historical society to display and preserve its three and a half centuries of history. The Simsbury Historical Society is "a non-profit educational corporation" that was founded in 1911. The complex includes over a dozen structures, and the museum has regional artifacts, archives and collections on the state's earliest settlements. As expected, they do focus on the town's founding and early history. It's a very interesting place to visit and walk the grounds, check out the Native American structures and visit the museum store. That store was hosting a Holiday Market today.

As you approach the University of Hartford on Route 189 your eyes might spy something very unusual…read more- a brightly painted and very large ship's anchor sitting on the front lawn. The three-ton and thirteen-foot tall anchor was salvaged from the USS Hartford. It was commanded by Rear Admiral David Farragut, and played a role in the civil war, especially in the battles of New Orleans and Vicksburg. The USS Hartford was in service from 1859 until 1926. When the Hartford was decommissioned in 1926, it was stored in Charleston and Norfolk. It fell into disrepair, with a leaky hull and rotted decks. Attempts to restore the Hartford ran into congressional delays and budget trouble. Thirty years later, in 1956 Congress was still debating it's restoration when the Hartford sank from a pump failure. This was the end of the ship; on November 6, 1957 it was towed out to sea, demolished into pieces, soaked with incendiary liquids and set on fire. Several mementoes were saved and put on display in Portsmouth, VA. Later that year, the Hartford Historical Landmarks Committee requested possession of the ship's bell and bow anchor. The bell went to the City of Hartford, and the anchor went to the brand new University of Hartford in March, 1958. At a dedication ceremony Representative Ed May said "Many historians now claim that the USS Hartford was the salvation of the nation during the Civil War." It has become a custom among University of Hartford students to paint or decorate the anchor, today it sported a bright white coat of paint with red lettering all over. The Anchor has become the centerpiece of many University of Hartford traditions. It's on-line newspaper is called "The Anchor" and the prestigious "Anchor Award" is awarded to those alumni who have achieved high levels of professional excellence.

Had a blast this year! Incredibly fun event. Very impressive machines and so many things to see…read more Excellent food and vendors. Very organized this year. Got in with ease. Everyone did amazing. Can't wait for next year!

I've lived in Simsbury since Ronald Reagan was President and the only thing I knew about the…read moreSimsbury Airport was that I see a sign for it when I go to the town dump for a recycling run. I had never set foot on the premises until today when we visited the Simsbury Fly In & Car Show. The show happens to be the largest of its kind in this part of the country, and includes 750 airplanes and cars plus a ton of vendor booths with sponsors, exhibits, activities, and food booths. It's like a miniature Big E with hundreds of airplanes buzzing around. We saw dozens of planes land and take off. We walked around the grounds and looked at hundreds of small aircraft, including some mind blowing one-person home-made miniatures. We even saw the Life Star Helicopter land. There was a cool Irish band playing live music and we had a blast strolling the grounds checking out the planes and cars. We lined up along the runway ropes and watched as plane after plane appeared out of the sky and taxied down the runway. We saw tons of families and kids enjoying this terrific event. Parking was ten bucks, and admission was free with a donation suggested.