My eye and my Yelping seem to be drawn to Civil War monuments as I travel my way through New…read moreEngland. This one in the Granby Town Green is interesting for its brownstone and the fact that it was installed in 1868 which was even before the park where it stands. I noticed that the figure at the top not only is wearing his cloak over his shoulder (it's usually been in front), he stands with one knee slightly bent and looking slightly down and perhaps, contemplative. It's very expressive. The statue's base is in two pieces with the lower listing the battle names and pointing out, "This monument is erected by voluntary contributions, in commemoration of the brave men from the Town of Granby, who laid down their lives for the Union in the War of the Great Rebellion. Erected July 4, 1868." Above, the upper piece lists the battles and names arranged by unit showing date of death. Along the lowest level, "They that sow in tears will reap in joy. Death is swallowed up in victory. Faithful unto death." [Review 18409 overall - 75 in Connecticut - 1931 of 2022.]

Quite the impressive monument!…read more It's located on the Granby Town Green at the intersection of Salmon Brook Street (U.S. 202) and East Granby Street (State Route 20). The monument consists of a full body statue of an old grizzled Civil War soldier standing atop a large four-sided stone base. There are inscriptions on the upper and lower halves of all four sides. Some of the things you will see are soldiers' names and their dates of death, the names of horrendous battles (Andersonville, Cold Harbor, Sharpsburg, Petersburg), and some awesome quotations - "Death is swallowed up in Victory", "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy", and "They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more". The statue has quite a history -it was dedicated on July 4, 1868 with the following inscription: "This monument is erected by voluntary contributions, in commemoration of the brave men from the Town of Granby, who laid down their lives for the Union in the War of the Great Rebellion". It was restored and rededicated in 2002. One of the restoration steps included rebuilding the soldier's musket, which had deteriorated and disintegrated away over the previous 136 years. I'm sure the old gent was grateful for that. It's a beautiful monument. Check out the expression on the guy's face. A very sad and weary look..............

A great time. This came up on my Facebook feed as a fun and interesting thing to do this summer…read more So I made the 2-hour trek before it got too hot and busy. And had a great time. It's an interesting place and fun to explore the mine. If you're 6 feet or taller, doing the mine is going to be difficult, one of the few times us shorties have an advantage. While it probably wasn't worth the 2-hour drive, it still was a fun time, and not something I regret doing.

"The warden threw a party in the county jail The prison band…read morewas there and they began to wail The band was jumpin' and the joint began to swing You should've heard those knocked out jailbirds sing" (Elvis Presley) What an awesome slice of Connecticut and U.S. history! At various times, the grounds housed the oldest copper mine in the U.S. and one of its oldest state prisons. The prisoners sentenced to the jail were mostly thieves, robbers and British sympathizers. One was a murderess (yes, this was a coed prison), and a few were imprisoned for "laziness"! The walk down into the mine put us on several staircases that were very wet (water is dripping everywhere), slippery and uneven. So if you're a little unsteady on your feet, you might want to think twice about the 75 foot descent into the lowest section of the mine. There will be plenty of handrails to guide you, and beware of a few stone "low bridges" you'll have to duck down to avoid. Otherwise you'll take a solid stone slab to the forehead. Another thing to mention is the temperature down there is pretty chilly. So even if you visit on a 95 degree day and you're wearing a tank top and shorts outside, you might want to pack a sweater or sweatshirt for your visit to the mine. It was very cool learning how the mine was built, and we saw remnants of some of the drilled holes where dynamite was lowered into the rock to blast away solid stone. We also saw traces of golden copper and green patina on the rocky walls. We learned that over the years there had been over 70 escape attempts, including one massive jailbreak where over 20 prisoners made it out. Just about all of them were eventually captured, but a few ran into the woods and were never found. After we came up from the mine floor, we explored the grounds and wandered among the remnants of the old jailhouse, guardhouse and prison yard. They were very creepy, and we saw some of the prisoner shackles and chains on display. Our tour guide was great, as was the friendly young lady at the ticket booth and gift shop. The surrounding grounds and view are quite beautiful, and we learned they are used for wedding and prom photos. So who knows, maybe this will be a wedding venue some day!

The Viets family of East Granby operated a farm and livestock business on this site for many years…read more After the business closed, the land came into the possession of the Town of East Granby, who converted it into an almost 500 acre public park with a recreation center and hiking trails. In a beautiful nod to it's prior owners, the Town not only decided to leave the Viets Farm concrete silo standing, but also commissioned the painting of a mural on it to serve as a huge welcome sign to the park. It stands in the main parking lot entrance to the complex on Route 187. The gorgeous color mural covers every square inch of the silo with a lovely farm motif of animals, scenery and a blue sky. The original lettering was left undisturbed: L. H. VIETS & SONS CATTLE & HORSES It really is a gorgeous and very unexpected sight to see!!

This historic one room schoolhouse was built in 1872. It's located next door to the North Canton…read moreMethodist Church. It used to be at the fork of the road but was moved to the current location in the 1920s. Since other schools were built, it has not been used as a school since 1942. I love the historic architecture and was able to go inside it recently, at the church tag sale and strawberry festival. It's definitely old and needs work; they are using it as storage. I think it would be awesome if they turned it into a library, shop, etc. Overall, a cute building and worth a visit if you're in the area.

The Town of East Granby was not always known as the Town of East Granby. Years ago it was known as…read morethe idyllic sounding Town of Turkey Hills. Well whatever it's name, when the town celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008 a big part of the celebration was the five foot tall fiberglass turkeys that popped up all over town. Sponsors had the opportunity to paint and decorate their turkeys any which way they sought fit. This very cool turkey can be found in front of Town Hall. It differs from the other turkeys because the creative students at East Granby High School though out of the box and added a big rectangle into the turkey so the entire work of art suggest a postcard to represent East Granby tourism. You can see a corner of the postcard on the front with the words "Greetings from East Granby" along with a map of the town. The back of the statue has the text of the fictional postcard extolling the virtues of this little town. The body of the turkey is decorated with all kinds of local images and the back is decorated with the seal of the East Granby Chamber of Commerce.

A very small memorial located in a pretty landscaped section of the side lawn where the Tariffville…read moreFire Station stands. The memorial consists of a stone rectangle with 2 small plaques. The first plaque reads: Arthur J; Hayes Green, Dedicated May 23, 1953 The second plaque reads: In memory of veterans of all wars I did some research and found that Arthur J. Hayes was the Church Historian for the St. Bernard's Catholic Church. The plaques are showing signs of rust and fading.

Today we had another great visit to NEAM for the second time. We took my mom for Mother's Day…read moreweekend they were having an event where you could go inside the B-29 which was really cool. (Pictured below) Another difference in this visit was Dr. Flush! A navy vet and engineer who was a pioneer in space toilet technology... he had great stories to tell!

What a fun time. Not normally something on my radar, but I did the copper mine in the morning and…read morewanted something else to do before I went home to make the trip even more worth it, and this came up. A variety of old and wartime aircraft and a wealth of information. Plenty of docents around to consult if you have any questions, it was a great way to spend an hour.

This two sided marker has quite a lot of information on it about the town of East Granby which is…read morein north Connecticut against the Massachusetts border. The town is named for John Manners, the Marquess of Granby (1721-1770). East Granby was initially settled by Europeans in 16644 and includes the first incorporated copper mine in America which later became the Old Newgate Prison. On the front, "This area, first settled in 1664, was one of four Congregational parishes in Simsbury. The Turkey Hills Ecclesiastical Society in 1786 became a section of Granby, and in 1858 was incorporated as the Town of East Granby. An unusual geographical feature, a basalt ridge dividing the Town lengthwise, has had considerable influence upon its character. The first incorporated copper mine in America was on the western side of this Talcott Range. The mine subsequently became New Gate Prison, a Revolutionary War jail and the first prison in the United States (1790). Farming has always been the mainstay of the Town. The early twentieth century saw local farmers specializing in dairy products and tobacco. The number of operating farms diminished as the population of the Town increased from 838 in 1858 to 4600 in 1979 but the rural character of East Granby remains." And on the reverse... These local citizens were but a few of the many who have left their mark upon the history of this Nation: John Griffin (1605-1681) - First settler and first military officer in this area. Samuel Higley (1687-1737) - Doctor and artist, who minted the first copper coins in America and pioneered in the manufacture of steel. Captain John Viets (1712 1777) - First keeper of New Gate Prison. Whitfield Cowles (1764-1840) - Entrepreneur, minister, and farmer, who founded one of the first companies to silverplate spoons (1843). Eunice Griswold Pinney (1770 1849) - Well-known artist who worked with water colors. Walter Forward (1783-1852) - Lawyer and Secretary of the Treasury for President Tyler. Lemuel Cicero Holcomb (1795 1876) - Conducted a boys' school specializing in Greek and Latin. Albert Carlos Bates (1865-1954) - Farmer, librarian, author, and historian. The marker was erected by the Town of East Granby, the East Granby Historical Society and the Connecticut Historical Commission in 1980. [Review 18411 overall - 77 in Connecticut - 1933 of 2022.]

It's the home of one of the country's oldest copper mines and oldest state prisons. The guy who…read moreminted America's very first copper coins is from here. Such are some of the claims to fame of this very old town -East Granby, CT. This is a two-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It has different inscriptions on both sides. It's located on a grassy area near the East Granby Town Hall. The sign was dedicated in 1980 and remains in good condition. It has a brief history of the town on the front side, and some biographical sketches of some of it's famous citizens on the other side. Side One This area, first settled in 1664, was one of four Congregational parishes in Simsbury. The Turkey Hills Ecclesiastical Society in 1786 became a section of Granby, and in 1858 was incorporated as the Town of East Granby. An unusual geographical feature, a basalt ridge dividing the Town lengthwise, has had considerable influence upon its character. The first incorporated copper mine in America was on the western side of this Talcott Range. The mine subsequently became New Gate Prison, a Revolutionary War jail and the first state prison in the United States (1790). Farming has always been the mainstay of the Town. The early twentieth century saw local farmers specializing in dairy products and tobacco. The number of operating farms diminished as the population of the Town increased from 838 in 1858 to 4600 in 1979 but the rural character of East Granby remains. Side Two These local citizens were but a few of the many who have left their mark upon the history on this Nation: JOHN GRIFFIN (1605 - 1681) - First settler and first military officer in this area. SAMUEL HIGLEY (1687 - 1737) - Doctor and artist, who minted the first copper coins in America and pioneered in the manufacture of steel. CAPTAIN JOHN VIETS (1712 - 1777) - First keeper of New Gate Prison WHITFIELD COWLES (1764 - 1840) - Entrepreneur, minister, and farmer, who founded one of the first companies to silver-plate spoons (1843). EUNICE GRISWOLD PINNEY (1770 - 1849) - Well known artist who worked with water colors. WALTER FORWARD (1783 - 1852) - Lawyer and Secretary of the Treasury for President Tyler. LEMUEL CICERO HOLCOMB (1795 - 1876) - Conducted a boys school specializing in Greek and Latin. ALBERT CARLOS BATES (1865 - 1954) - Farmer, librarian, author, and historian. Erected by the Town of East Granby the East Granby Historical Society and the Connecticut Historical Commission 1980