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Cromwell
9781467102704
Regular price $24.99 Sale price $18.74 Save 25%
Once known worldwide as Rosetown, Cromwell has enjoyed multiple identities in its nearly 370-year existence. Initially called Upper Houses, the village was a tiny religious and agricultural outpost of the larger Middletown colonial settlement on the Connecticut River. Gradually, substantial maritime activities developed to define the community. However, by the mid-19th century, Cromwell had become an independent rural town with small farms and businesses, its river port no longer of consequence. Later, the famed greenhouses and floral industry provided international recognition. Small manufacturers and quarries also contributed to the economy. By the late 20th century, the village had become a suburban community, its cohesion impacted by the construction of major highways as well as significant commercial and residential development. At each incarnation, the town has pushed out toward its defining geographic boundaries, and the conflict between the old and the new has created changing patterns of social, economic, and political organization.
Hidden History of Middlesex County, Connecticut
9781467139274
Regular price $21.99 Sale price $16.49 Save 25%While Middlesex County is one of the most historic communities in the nation, some of its past is little known.
Researchers found dinosaur tracks in Middlefield that date back 200 million years. The author of Dr. Dolittle, Hugh Lofting, lived in Killingworth, and a young Dr. Seuss spent summers in Clinton. Constance Baker Motley, the first female African American federal judge, resided in Chester. A Portland lake has water levels that fluctuate for no apparent reason. An Essex blacksmith shop was America's oldest continuously run family business. Local authors Robert and Kathleen Hubbard reveal these and many other unforgettable stories.
PEZ
9781467136761
Regular price $24.99 Sale price $18.74 Save 25%The world’s one-and-only PEZ historian dispenses fun facts on the candy’s evolution from smoking substitute to childhood treat to pop culture collectible.
PEZ is an American classic and a staple of many childhood memories. Yet it originated in Austria, where PEZ began in 1927 as compressed peppermint tablets marketed as an alternative to smoking. Upon arrival in the United States in 1952, PEZ quickly took a new direction, adding fruit flavors and three-dimensional character heads to top the dispensers. Now produced in Orange, Connecticut, the iconic PEZ brand is available in over eighty countries, selling more than sixty-five million dispensers annually and inspiring collectors and fans worldwide.
Join the official PEZ historian, Shawn Peterson, on a journey of sweet proportions for an inside look at the world’s most cherished interactive candy.
Stafford
9781467103695
Regular price $24.99 Sale price $18.74 Save 25%
Stafford, nestled in the hills of Northeastern Connecticut, was settled in 1719. Originally an agrarian community, the town has a diverse history. The discovery of iron ore led to a thriving iron industry that produced various items, including cannons and shot for the Continental Army during the American Revolution. The mineral springs, long known to the Native Americans, became a destination location, attracting visitors such as John Adams, future president of the United States. Stafford hosted one of the earliest agricultural fairs in the state, which ran until 1969. The biggest influence on the town was the introduction of the textile industry in the early 19th century. As immigrants of many ethnicities came to town to work, Stafford experienced unprecedented growth and the population diversified. Stafford’s mills became major contributors to the country’s textile industry, particularly wool manufacturing.
Torrington
9781467127813
Regular price $24.99 Sale price $18.74 Save 25%When Torrington's first English settlers, Ebenezer Lyman Jr. and his wife, Sarah, arrived in the hills of northwest Connecticut in 1737, they found little more than a lonely wilderness.
Although the town grew steadily, it was only in 1813, when Frederick Wolcott built his woolen mill on the banks of the Naugatuck River, that Torrington was set on the path to becoming a significant manufacturing center. A railroad line completed in 1849 linked the town with larger population centers and further stimulated industrial growth. For the next 100 years, Torrington supplied the world with needles, woolen cloth, hardware, tools, sheet and rolled brass, bicycles, skates, golf shafts, ball bearings, and other manufactured products. Together, Torrington's farmers, laborers, builders, artists, and entrepreneurs created a dynamic and progressive community in the hills of Litchfield County.
