My town marker. Just moved to Sprague and had to check out Main Street. Not the most beautiful…read moremarker I've seen but it appears to be maintained well enough by the town. You can access it from the sidewalk and sit behind the one sided marker on a nice shaded bench. It's a quiet town and that's just the way we like it.

FLOWAGE RIGHTS AND THE SACHEM…read more 1) This may be the only marker I've seen that talked about "flowage rights". 2) What is a sachem? I really didn't know so I just looked it up. It's a "great chief" of the Algonquin or other American Indian tribes of the Northeast. So the land on which this town stands can be traced to a sachem. This is a one-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission, with the familiar white lettering on a blue background. The marker dates to 1974 and is located on the front exterior wall of Town Hall. The blue paint and lettering are in excellent condition. The full marker reads: This area on the Shetucket River was part of the land deeded in 1659 by Uncas, the Mohegan Indian sachem, to form the town of Norwich. In 1786 it became parts of Franklin and Lisbon. Settlements were made at Hanover, established as an ecclesiastical society in 1761; at Elderskin's Bridge (Lords Bridge) and at Lovett's Bridge (Eagleville). In 1856 Governor William Sprague of Rhode Island purchased land and flowage rights on the river, laying the foundation of a large cotton mill which, completed after his death, become the center of a new town. In May, 1861 Hanover, Baltic, formerly Lord's Bridge and Eagleville, now Versailles, were incorporated to form the town Of Sprague Erected by the Town of Sprague and the Connecticut Historical Commission 1974

It can trace its history to a 1661 saloon…read more It's nickname was "Silver City of the World". Over 30 of it's sons rushed to Boston to fight the British during the infancy of the Revolution It's Meriden, CT- more or less half way between Hartford and New Haven where I-91 and I-691 and the Merritt Parkway all conveniently collide in the center of the state. This is a two-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It can be found on a grassy area between both halves of Broad Street in downtown Meriden. It has different inscriptions on each side. It dates to 1976 and is in pretty good shape. The front side lists a time line of important dates in Meriden history. The back side describes how Captain John Couch of the Meriden militia led a squadron of three dozen patriots to Boston when hostilities broke out with the British at Lexington in 1775. The full two-sided inscription reads: 1661 - Meriden area first settled when Jonathan Gilbert is granted land by Connecticut Colony and employs Edward Higbee to operate an inn. 1670 - Greater part of present-day Meriden lands placed under jurisdiction of Wallingford. 1728 - Separate church parish, named after Gilbert's farm Merridan, is established by the General Assembly. 1806 - Meriden separated from Wallingford and organized as a town. 1867 - Meriden incorporated as a city. 1922 - Town and City of Meriden consolidated. Since the 19th Century Meriden has demonstrated itself to be a versatile manufacturing community. Its silver industry has grown to such proportions that Meriden is nicknamed the "Silver City of the World." (Side two) Lexington Alarm *Captain John Couch, responding to hostilities with British at Lexington, left this area April 23, 1775, commanding the Meriden militia: John Allen Christopher Atwater Moses Baldwin *Divan Berry Samuel Briggs John Butler Samuel Collins Asael Deming Israel Hall, Jr. Joel Hall *Moses Hall Rufus Hall Samuel Hall *Benjamin Hart *Insign Hough John Hough Phineas Hough Aaron Hull David Ives Elnathan Ives Enos Ives Samuel Johnson Epaphras Knott Isaac Livingston *Phineas Lyman Daniel McMullen *Ephraim Merriam John Merriam John Pearce *Benjamin Rice *Ezekiel Rice Gideon Rice Samuel Rice Joseph Shaylor Seth Smith Bela Warner *Jonathan Yale *Nathaniel Yale *Buried in Broad Street Cemetery Erected 1976 by American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, City of Meriden, Connecticut Historical Commission

Connecticut is so old that it has eight towns incorporated before 1700. Colchester is one of them…read more Here's a cool Colchester nugget- the Chief Commissary (now is THAT a title, or is that a title?) of the Continental Army rushed beef from his own cattle to feed the starving troops at Valley Forge. I guess when George Washington made a personal plea, you obeyed. Also of interest is that Colchester was the site of Connecticut's first school for Blacks - established way back in 1805. This is a two-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It can be found on a town green at the intersection of South Main Street and Broadway. It has different inscriptions on each side. It dates to 1975 and is in very good shape. It's a pretty interesting marker touching on the town's history, civic leaders, educational legacy, and it's early shoemaking and footwear industrial heritage.

Very informative! Amazing history in this area. Beacon Falls has quite the past. I have lived here…read morefor just over a year and find its history enthralling

Things I learned from the Beacon Falls marker:…read more 1) A freed Indian Slave named Toby named a local mountain after himself. 2) They made sulphur matches here in 1835 3) The town was named after a 'small but beautiful waterfall' 4) Ever see the word ''Nyumps '' in your life? I did here. This is a two-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission with the familiar white lettering on a blue background. There are different inscriptions on each side. It's located on a strip of grass near the Beacon Falls Town Hall. The sign dates to 1971 and is in pretty good condition with some minor fading of the white lettering. Sadly, although the sign is in good shape, the support posts are not. The concrete cores are rotting and the metal wrap around them are in states of accelerated failure and splitting. What a disgrace, I'm sure that would make Toby sad. The full inscription reads: The lands of Beacon Falls first appear in history when Milford was settled in 1639. Northern boundary of Milford was Beacon Hill Brook, separating the hunting grounds of the Paugasuck and Tunxis Indians. In 1675 the land became part of Derby. First landowner, Captain Ebenezer Johnson, purchased three parcels in the vicinity of Pinesbridge in 1678. Ensign Riggs and Jeremiah Johnson bought land in 1680. Toby's Mountain (High Rock) was purchased in 1693 by an Indian named Toby, for twelve years a slave of Captain Johnson, freed by him in 1688.The main part of town (called Nyumps) was purchased in 1709. About 1835, some of the earliest American made sulphur matches were manufactured here by Thomas Sanford. Beacon Falls is first mentioned in the Acts of the General Assembly in 1864, when a joint school district was formed and a two room schoolhouse was built on this site. The Town of Beacon Falls was incorporated June 30, 1871, from portions of the Towns of Naugatuck, Bethany, Seymour and Oxford. The name derived from Beacon Hill, where a small but beautiful waterfall descended. Erected 1971 by Town of Beacon Falls, Connecticut Historical Commission.

The Old Stone Schoolhouse, at Red Oak Hill and Coppermine roads, was a schoolhouse from 1790 to…read more1872. From 1875 to 1956, it was used as a chapel. The building is now owned by the Farmington Historical Society. Exhibits feature the history of Farmington and the surrounding area. It is open for tours each summer on Sundays during July and August. It is also the site of the annual Scarecrow Contest held in October.

New London was a tough place to live - attracting "men of hardihood and valor". Thousands of them…read moreflocked here to join the whaling industry rocketing New London's growth as it became "one of the largest whaling ports in the country". Located on a strip of grass at Town Hall is this 2-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission, in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It has the same inscription on both sides. The marker is in fair condition with damage on both sides in the form of fading, spotting and peeling of the blue background. The full inscription reads: New London New London was founded in 1646 by John Winthrop, the younger, who chose this shore-ringed "plantation" for its excellent harbor. This land, with its great natural assets, attracted men of hardihood and valor and became one of the largest whaling ports in the country in the mid-19th century. As this industry waned, manufacturing flourished, bringing an influx of foreign labor which contributed immeasurably to the enrichment of community life. The history of New London may be said to be concentrated in its seal, adopted when the city was incorporated in 1784... a full-rigged ship with all sails set and the motto "Mare Liberum," meaning "Freedom of the Seas." Erected 1976 by The City of New London and the Connecticut Historical Commission. 161 CT towns done, 9 to go

"The Soft Parade has now begun Listen to the engines hum…read morePeople out to have some fun A cobra on my left Leopard on my right" (The Soft Parade by the Doors) Jim Morrison's bizarre lyrics really seem to fit this bizarre marker. I've seen a lot of the State of CT Historical Markers, but never before one that celebrates a parade. This is a two-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It has the same inscription on both sides, and is located in the heart of Wallingford's central business district near 23 South Main Street. It's in excellent condition with a bright blue background and crisp white lettering. The marker is dated 1992. The full inscription reads: The Parade Ground Few things better symbolize the history and evolution of a New England town than the town green. Set aside as the town "common" in the original 1670 plan of development, Wallingford's town green, or "Parade Ground," is as old as the community itself. In those early days the community centered round North and South Main Streets. By placing the town common and adjacent meetinghouse here, Puritan founders hoped to symbolize the shared values, goals, idea, and beliefs which had spurred their migration to the New World and which now guided this new community. During the nineteenth century, local industrialists built stately homes along Main Street and a commercial district along Center Street. The town green became a central park for the bustling urban center. Today those two purposes are united with the town green serving as both a park and a symbol of the community. Erected by Wallingford Visitors Council 1992

The marker tells us that Middlefield was settled "around" 1700 by two Samuels and a Benjamin. When…read morewas the town chartered? How about two-hundred and seventy years later, in 1971! It also tells us via a gigantic list what was manufactured here over the years. How about lumber, snuff, black powder, knives, pistols, cotton products, grist, buttons, nails, iron wire, paper, and clothes wringers. That's quite an eclectic list! Now be honest, did you know what grist is? I didn't so I looked it up. It's a processed grain that is ground into meal or flour. This is a one-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It is fastened to an exterior wall near the main entrance of Middlefield Town Hall at 393 Jackson Hill Road. The marker was dedicated in 1981 and is in excellent condition