History

Through firsthand accounts, interviews with survivors and a gripping collection of vintage photographs, author Michael Skidgell attempts to make sense of one of Hartford's worst tragedies.

Almost 7,000 fans eagerly packed into the Ringling Brothers big top on July 6, 1944. With a single careless act, an afternoon at the Greatest Show on Earth quickly became one of terror and tragedy as the paraffin-coated circus tent caught fire. Panicked crowds rushed for the few exits, but in minutes, the tent collapsed on those still struggling to escape below. A total of 168 lives were lost, many of them children, with many more injured and forever scarred by the events. Hartford and the surrounding communities reeled in the aftermath as investigators searched for the source of the fire and the responsible parties.

U.S. Route 44 stretches across New England from Massachusetts to Connecticut before completing its circuit in New York State, 237 miles later. Along the way, travelers may encounter the infamous Bridgewater Triangle, take a haunted tour of Plymouth, or see the ghosts of Chepachet.

Follow in the footsteps of famous science fiction horror writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft from Providence to Glocester, Rhode Island. Follow the road through small towns and dark forests where sightings of UFOs and cryptids have surprised travelers for years.

Join authors Tom D’Agostino and Arlene Nicholson as they explore the dark corners of New England’s most haunted highway.

The Hartford Whalers began their existence in Boston as the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association (WHA).

The Whalers played in every season of the WHA's seven-year existence, even becoming the league's first champions. Although their games were well-attended in Boston, the upstart league was never serious competition for the powerhouse Bruins. In 1975, they moved to Hartford, and in 1979, along with Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Quebec, joined the National Hockey League. After a series of successes in the '80s, by the '90s a dissatisfied new owner, unhappy players, and diminishing returns all contributed to the team's move to North Carolina following the 1997 season and won the Stanley Cup as the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.The Hartford Whalersis a pictorial tribute to this beloved and much-missed Hartford institution.

Connecticut's witch hunt was the first and most ferocious in New England, occurring almost fifty years before the infamous Salem witch trials.

Between 1647 and 1697, at least thirty-four men and women from across the state were formally charged with witchcraft. Eleven were hanged. In New Haven, William Meeker was accused of cutting off and burning his pig's ears and tail as he cast a bewitching spell. After the hanging of Fairfield's Goody Knapp, magistrates cut down and searched her body for the marks of the devil. Through newspaper clippings, court records, letters and diaries, author Cynthia Wolfe Boynton uncovers the dark history of the Connecticut witch trials.

On April 30, 1962, voters in the port city of New London, Connecticut, approved by a large margin a bulldozer approach to urban renewal in an area along Main Street stretching from downtown State Street to Hodges Square by Interstate 95, roughly one mile to the north. The plan required the relocation of more than two thousand people and the demolition of nearly five hundred structures, some dating back to the 1750s. Among the losses were the Neptune Building, the Victory Theater along the Parade, sea captains’ homes on and off Main Street, settlement houses, family-run businesses, the colonial homes of slave traders and the newer homes of freed slaves. New London native and old house enthusiast Bill Morse shares the images and stories from these events that changed a community forever.

Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley have a rich and varied history, but some of its darker chapters have remained hidden. These include an abandoned road guarded by an invisible entity, factory ghosts, a monstrous serpent, unnerving cemetery lore, demonic houses and a haunted restaurant. Once declared dead due to decades of being inundated with industrial and chemical pollutants, the Naugatuck River has been brought back to life by environmental stewardship, which has been a welcome benefit to residents. However, the river’s cleanup has also awakened supernatural stories that carve a paranormal path from the stream’s source in northwest Connecticut to its confluence with the Housatonic. Local author and historian Michael Bielawa reveals the eerie dark side of the river and this fabled valley.

Norwich State Hospital (NSH), established in 1904, was more than just a series of mortar and brick buildings to house and treat persons suffering from mental illness.

For nearly 100 years, generations of people dedicated their careers and lives to developing NSH as a humanitarian community for mental illness rehabilitation. NSH gained international attention from some of the world's most renowned psychiatrists for being the first state hospital to boast a brand-new state-of-the-art building to house all occupational therapies under one roof. Although NSH closed in 1996, the structure has continued to be one of Connecticut's most notable historical landmarks, despite its ongoing demolition and redevelopment. Today, Norwich State Hospital is still alive in the timeless, emotional memories employees and family members share of what it was like to work and grow up in a place where employees were not just employees and patients were not just patients; they were family.

Since 1938, when the Merritt's first 7-mile section was opened to traffic, millions have shared a fascination for Connecticut's Merritt Parkway and its bridges.

A survey made in 1928 called for a two-lane macadam highway to run from Stratford to Greenwich; with $1 million of state money, construction started on the Merritt Highway in 1932. Opened for 38 miles on September 2, 1940, it became known throughout Fairfield County as the ""Queen of Parkways."" Discover the beginnings of this groundbreaking advance in American travel in Traveling the Merritt Parkway. This pictorial history preserves and pays tribute to the history of the Merritt, and explores the construction of the parkway, as well as the little-known parent highway for which the earliest bridges were constructed, including White Plains Road in the town of Trumbull.

Rocky Hill is a commercial center, and along with attractions like Dinosaur State Park and the nation's oldest ferry line, make it a popular New England tourist destination.

Any great civilization would say the secret to success is easy access to a river, and the town of Rocky Hill is no exception. East of the Connecticut River, the waterway made Rocky Hill an active maritime center during the age of sail. As steam replaced sail, Rocky Hill’s role as a river port diminished. Farms grew, and the town became a thriving agricultural center. In recent years, Rocky Hill has become a residential community. Modern highways and a central location have contributed to the town’s growth and made it a commercial center, along with attractions like Dinosaur State Park and the nation's oldest ferry line making it a popular New England tourist destination as well.

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.

In over 200 rare, historical images, the story of one outstanding naval submarine base comes to life.

The first U.S. naval submarine base traces its origin to 1868, when the state of Connecticut and the city of New London granted the navy one hundred twelve acres of land across the Thames River in Groton. Naval Submarine Base NewLondon shows how this land developed from a depot for dry-docked ships and a coaling stationfor navy warships to its present designation as a submarine base. Nearly two hundred images depict the sailors and civilian workers who together maintained, serviced, and staffed the submarines, shops, and offices in support of the growing submarine fleet.

The historic images in Candlewood Lake illustrate the history of the lake basin from its beginnings to the present day.

At the turn of the century, the Rocky River valley was a quiet, productive farming community nestled in the foothills of Connecticut's Berkshire Mountains. On July 15, 1926, the Connecticut Light and Power Company's board of directors approved a plan to create a lake for the purpose of producing electric power, a decision that changed the face of the valley forever. Plans moved quickly, and the company bought the valley land and built several dams to contain the water. On February 25, 1928, the fill-up began, and in a mere seven months, Candlewood Lake was born.

Connecticut radio stations and their charismatic disc jockeys played an integral role in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. They served as a vital connection between the music and their audience, providing listeners the one vehicle they most needed—a format for them to listen to their favorite songs. Learn about such memorable moments as the fierce rivalry between WDRC and WPOP, the zany antics of Joey Reynolds, and the on-air “death” of Lee “Baby” Simms. WPLR emerged as a “town hall meeting held in a frat house,” and colorful skits filled the airwaves. With in-depth interviews and timeless photos, author Tony Renzoni captures the spirit of the vibrant music scene and traces the important and influential role of past and present on-air personalities. 

While Mohawk Mountain is known as a small, family-friendly ski area, many are unaware of the large impact this mountain had on the sport. Its founder, Walt Schoenknecht, changed the face of modern skiing when he helped create the first snowmaking machine in 1950. That “artificial snow” machine, first tested at Mohawk, received the first U.S. patent for such a device. Today, Mohawk is one of the few surviving family-owned ski areas in the United States, and Schoenknecht's daughter, Carol Lugar, remains its president. Mohawk has had to survive a devastating tornado, challenging weather and economic headwinds to compete with larger corporate-owned ski resorts. Today, the small mountain in Cornwall, Connecticut remains a favorite, with new lifts, expanded snowmaking, more ski school lessons, snowtubing and night skiing. Local author James Shay reveals the unique contributions of Mohawk and Walt Schoenknecht to the sport of skiing.

Decorated with a breathtaking landscape and a treasured collection of diversely styled bridges, the Merritt Parkway runs thirty-seven and a half miles through Fairfield County.

From its complicated beginnings to the present, authors Laurie Heiss and Jill Smyth navigate the hard-fought yet picturesque path of this beloved road. Meet the bridge artist, the landscapers, the politicians and the activists whose involvement in the Merritt transformed Fairfield County from farms and country estates to one of the wealthiest counties in the nation. With the dedication of preservationists and conservationists, the Merritt Parkway today remains both functional and beautiful, holding a unique place in the heart of Connecticut's drivers.

In 1669, thirty-eight freemen of the New Haven Colony signed a covenant to form a new plantation amongst the rolling hills and valleys east of the Quinnipiac River.

With the official incorporation established the following year, Wallingford grew from a 17th-century colonial farming village into a thriving and diverse community. It was witness to the Revolutionary War and a pioneer in the Industrial Revolution, and it produced leaders in religion, arts, and politics.Robert Wallace and Samuel Simpson, who introduced silver manufacturing, and Moses Y. Beach, founder of the Associated Press, called Wallingford home. Their philanthropy helped expand schools, churches, and public services. Although the original footprint of the colonists has changed over the centuries, a stroll through the town reveals its richly preserved history. Impressive architectural styles line the streets, from 17th-century saltbox homes to Beaux-Arts mansions and Gothic Revival churches. Center Street Cemetery holds the final resting place of Wallingford’s early settlers, and many of their names have left an indelible legacy.

Beth Devlin, a 35-year resident of Wallingford, retired as head of community services from Wallingford Public Library. Dawn Gottschalk is a writer and contributor to the Wallingford Magazine. Tarn Granucci is a lifelong Wallingford resident and editor of the Wallingford Magazine. Thanks to the collaboration and efforts of local historians and preservationists, this book illustrates the architecture, institutions, and milestones of 350 years of Wallingford’s growth and its citizens.

The historic images in Candlewood Lake illustrate the history of the lake basin from its beginnings to the present day.

At the turn of the century, the Rocky River valley was a quiet, productive farming community nestled in the foothills of Connecticut's Berkshire Mountains. On July 15, 1926, the Connecticut Light and Power Company's board of directors approved a plan to create a lake for the purpose of producing electric power, a decision that changed the face of the valley forever. Plans moved quickly, and the company bought the valley land and built several dams to contain the water. On February 25, 1928, the fill-up began, and in a mere seven months, Candlewood Lake was born. Enjoy the rich history of Candlewood Lake in this collection of 15 historic black-and-white postcards.

On August 22, 1914, Milford, Connecticut, celebrated its 275th anniversary. An estimated crowd of 20,000 celebrated on the Milford Green alongside open-air horseless buggies.

The celebration started at sunrise with a cannon salute and the sounding of church bells and factory whistles. Milford just recently celebrated its 375th anniversary.

This wonderful visual history weaves together more than two hundred images with intriguing and informative text to create an immensely enjoyable journey through the history of the northern Litchfield Hills.

The Litchfield Hills Region, situated in the northwestern corner of Connecticut, is known for its picture-perfect rolling hills, its traditional farms, and its charming villages. There is a sense of peacefulness and pride here, and yet this idyllic appearance belies a long and fascinating history dating back to the very first years of settlement in America. The Litchfield Hills Region has been home to such legendary figures as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ethan Allen, and Oliver Wolcott, and in this book the contributions of these historic figures are celebrated alongside those of the ordinary folk of Torrington, Winsted, Litchfield, Kent, Sharon, Lakeville, Salisbury, Cornwall, Canaan, Canton, Collinsville, New Hartford, Riverton-Barkhamsted, Colebrook, and Morris.

Founded in 1641, Stamford is one of the oldest towns in New England. The images in this book date from the Civil War through the end of World War I.

Founded in 1641, Stamford is one of the oldest towns in New England. The resulting influx of immigrants and industrial expansion that followed transformed Stamford from a rural community into a bustling city. Although once a stopping place on the stagecoach route between New York and Boston, Stamford remained largely agrarian until the coming of the railroad in 1848. The images in this book date from the Civil War through the end of World War I, from the earliest available photographs to the established use of the automobile. It is a time that saw the gristmills become factories and old frame trading posts be replaced by imposing brick structures. During these years the people of Stamford supported the Union Cause and voted for Grover Cleveland; they built new homes, churches, schools, and parks; they established a hospital and a library; they joined the YMCA, went yachting, and always turned out for a parade.

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.

In 1650, Middletown earned its name due to its location, halfway between the mouth of the Connecticut River and the first Connecticut settlement of Windsor.

Growing from a key Native American village into a colonial one, then into a major seaport, Middletown eventually became the wealthiest town in Connecticut by the mid-1700s. In the early 1800s, although international disputes adversely affected Middletown's seafaring trade, manufacturing prospered. Factories turned out everything from ship hardware and textiles to sleigh bells and sidearms for Union army officers. Trolleys encouraged suburban expansion while railroads, and later highways, greatly influenced commercial development, while many immigrants from Europe made Middletown their home around the turn-of-the-century. Today, Middletown is perhaps best-known as the location of Wesleyan University, one of the "Little Three'? liberal arts colleges.

This volume spans 65 years of life in New London: from the 1850s, when the Whaling City earned its reputation, to the days before World War I, when the last whaler had departed and the first submarine was about to arrive

Home to whaling ships, privateers, and submarines, New London has been at the heart of some of America's most exciting seafaring history. Through these pages, you will walk the city's unpaved streets to forgotten places like Bacon's Hotel and the Old Yellow Building, ride the trolley up State Street, and see Ocean Beach as it was before the 1938 hurricane swept it away. New London also gives special attention to the fashionable Pequot Colony, the trains and steamboats that traveled to and from the city, and familiar landmarks such as Union Station, the Nathan Hale Schoolhouse, and the Olde Town Mill.

The town that began as “Swampfield” became Danbury, one of the best cities in Connecticut, the one-time capital of the hat industry, and the gateway of New England.

The founding families of Danbury, with names such as Thomas Barnum, Judah Gregory, and John Hoyt, left Norwalk in 1684 and traveled some 30 miles north. There, at the western edge of Connecticut, they settled in the surrounding wetlands, and in 1687, the town was decreed as Danbury. Over the years, the small community has grown from the first residents’ homes on Towne Street (today’s Main Street), and has become a city of over 80,000 people. From a pivotal role in the American Revolution, to the Great Danbury State Fair, and how Danbury became America’s “Hat City,” producing over 5 million hats a year and supplying the hat industry with 75% of its hat bodies.

In vivid historical images, step into Norwalk's past and discover a new part of Long Island history

Located on the shores of Long Island Sound, Norwalk's close proximity to New York City prompted the building of many summer residences and guest cottages along its coast. In the summer, steamships and trolleys arrived with passengers looking to enjoy the local amusement park, Roton Point. Norwalk's earliest industries included farming as well as mills powered by its rivers. The area has been famous for its pottery, oystering, and hat manufacturing. Over time, this community has endured disasters; it was burned during the American Revolution, and the flood of 1955 wiped out much of the Wall Street area as well as several bridges on the Norwalk River. Norwalk shares vintage images from the mid-1800s through the 1960s, highlighting memorable sites such as Old MacDonald's Farm and the Melton Automobile Museum. The revitalization of Norwalk's downtown areas proves it is possible to respect the past and those that came before through the renewal of historical architecture.

During his career as an actor, William Gillette portrayed world-renowned character Sherlock Holmes in more than 1,300 performances.

His career as a playwright and actor afforded him the opportunity to purchase a 184-acre estate, where he also built a twenty-four-room medieval-style castle. Overlooking the Connecticut River, Gillette's castle was complete with spy mirrors, sliding furniture, hidden rooms and a three-mile quarter-scale railroad. Since becoming a state park in 1943, it has evolved into one of Connecticut's most popular tourist attractions. Writer and award-winning journalist Erik Ofgang examines the history of an iconic structure and Gillette's life and role in the evolution of Sherlock Holmes.

Greenwich is a stately southeastern Connecticut town well-known for its affluent homes and natural beauty.

In the twentieth century, the town moved from a farming to a mercantile economy, and its population rose from twelve thousand to more than sixty thousand. The community consists of a number of distinct areas, just as it was one hundred years ago, and perhaps more than any other aspect, that neighborhood feeling has survived and even strengthened as new growth and new circumstances have continued to evolve. Greenwich is an eye-catching compilation of historical images, an overview of all that has made this outstanding community what it is: Greenwich Avenue, the excellent schools, the landmark churches, the dignified homes, the people and their elegant lifestyle, the many distinctive neighborhoods, the clubs, and the wonderful parks, beaches, and islands. It is also a visual record of how things have changed during the twentieth century. Greenwich provides a fascinating perspective on the past and the present, weaving a rich tapestry of images into a coherent portrait of a beautiful New England town.

New Britain is a treasure trove of information and memories that will be a source of reminiscence and recollection for older people and a voyage of discovery for the young.

New Britain was once known as the ""Hardware Capital of the World,"" and it is this that has made the city famous. But as well as its rich industrial history, New Britain has a diverse and dynamic cultural heritage. As its name suggests, the town was originally settled by people of British descent, but in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century it became a haven for immigrants fleeing oppression or economic hardship in Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Russia, Lithuania, Armenia, the Ukraine, Poland, and Greece. The photographs that make up this fascinating visual history bring life to the changes that took place in New Britain between 1920 and 1970. They show how much the city has developed and evolved as well as providing an intimate glimpse of the daily life of New Britain's many ethnic communities. Of particular interest are the images of women which together paint a vivid picture of their unique contribution to the city and its heritage.

Rare and vintage photographs document Wethersfield's historic transformation, from English hamlet to bustling suburbia.

Considered by many to be the state's oldest permanent English settlement, Wethersfield is referred to in the Connecticut Code of 1650 as ""ye most Auncient Towne."" The town was established on the Connecticut River in 1634 and boasts a well-documented Colonial history, as well as an enviable array of historic homes and public buildings that illustrate three centuries of community life. The vintage images in Wethersfield testify to the town's more recent transformation from a rural agricultural hamlet of 2,700 in 1900 to a densely settled suburb of over 26,000 inhabitants today. Growth stimulated by an early transit system, affordable suburban development, a thriving Hartford job market, and subsequent urban redevelopment pulled and pushed hundreds of new families into Wethersfield during a century of prosperity and progress.

Halfway between Boston and New York is a little town now called Clinton, located in Connecticut, whose history includes Dr. Seuss, Yale College and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

The small shoreline town 25 miles east of New Haven was founded in 1663 when a committee appointed by the General Court at Hartford laid out a settlement called the Homonoscitt Plantation. In 1838, following multiple name changes during the intervening years, it came to be known as Clinton. Clinton was the birthplace of Yale College in 1701; the hometown of choice for a family and their performing bears, who, for years, headlined with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey; and the place where Dr. Seuss spent his summers.

New Milford is located in western Connecticut, and an ideal example of small-town New England life.

The original inhabitants of the area were the Potatuck; at the beginning of the 18th century, the land that later became New Milford was purchased from the indigenous people, and the first settler, John Noble, arrived from Massachusetts to build his home in 1707. As the centuries progressed, so did the town, and New Milford became a business center with many mills, shops, taverns, and other services. In stunning images and with a clear narrative, New Milfordtraces the history not only of the town itself, but also of many of the families whose names are an integral part of the community, including the Bostwicks, the Heacocks, and the Kings. The book follows the development of the town--its industry, such as New Milford Pottery, its education facilities, such as Canterbury School, and its familiar landmarks, such as the Wayside Inn.

With more than two hundred stunning views, New Hartford brings the early settlement into perspective. Many of the images are from original tintypes, smoked glass, and cardboard-backed portraits. They show courageous pioneers, some Native American families who lived in town, tall churches, small one-room schoolhouses, and the original homelot houses. The last chapter focuses on the ingenuity of the Victorian era, showing ways that hardworking people accomplished life-sustaining chores before the dawn of technology.

In never-before-published photographs from the archives of the New Haven Colony Historical Society, New Haven: Reshaping the City, 1900-1980 portrays the twentieth-century changes that altered the face of a major Connecticut port.

New Haven, as its name implies, has always strived to be a place of betterment for its citizens. Its Puritan founders wanted to make it a religious utopia. Its Colonial leaders transformed its shallow harbor into a shipping port and worked to bring Yale University to town. Nineteenth-century entrepreneurs won industrial fame for the city with the manufacturing of arms, hardware, and carriages. By 1900, New Haven was home to thousands of new immigrants seeking a better life. It is no surprise, then, that as the century proceeded, local leaders tried to create a ""model city."" This time, however, the tools of progress were the bulldozer, the wrecking ball, and millions of dollars from the U.S. government. It was called urban redevelopment. In never-before-published photographs from the archives of the New Haven Colony Historical Society, New Haven: Reshaping the City, 1900-1980 portrays the twentieth-century changes that altered the face of a major Connecticut port. The book spotlights the bustling shops of downtown, the crowded flea markets on Oak Street, and the other neighborhoods that lost and gained most during this period of swift and remarkable change: State Street, Church and Chapel Streets, Wooster Square, Long Wharf, Dixwell and Newhallville, Fair Haven, the Hill, and Dwight Street, among others.

Throughout its history, Connecticut frequently led all states in the average number of   U. S. patents awarded per person.

Join local author Peter Hubbard as he reveals Connecticut’s role in the invention of the Hubble Space Telescope, vaccines, the Internet, and much more.

Read the history of Mystic, Connecticut, from quiet farming village to wartime shipbilding powerhouse, to the charming nautical- themed destination it is today.

Tucked away in a natural port, Mystic has long been home to seagoing adventure. In A History of Mystic, Connecticut, author and former Mystic Seaport librarian Leigh Fought relates the compelling story of this picturesque coastal community. Forged from the brutal Pequot War, for years Mystic was a quiet little farming village. Then came the War of 1812. Mystic's upstart venture capitalists seized on the war's dislocations to transform the settlement into a shipbuilding powerhouse. The shipyards launched vessels by the hundreds and an industry was born. The Civil War, steam-powered ships and the decline of commercial whaling halted Mystic's shipbuilding boom. Yet the town recovered, transforming itself into the charming nautical-themed tourist destination that has enchanted millions. Read Fought's comprehensive narrative to discover Mystic's role in New England's thrilling maritime saga.

When early photographers began recording scenes around Simsbury, the town was over 200 years old and changing with the times.

Photographs taken in 1885 during a mile-high balloon ride trace railroads, rather than the old canal, running through the town. Grand Victorian mansions, some of them summer residences, arose among cherished family homes on farms dating from colonial times. The mills in the Tariffville section and Toy, Bickford & Company near the center of town provided housing for workers who arrived from Europe. Townspeople sent their youngest children to one of 12 district schools. By 1917, the town could boast of a centrally located public high school as well as two private boarding schools. In Simsbury, images capture the mix of old and new until the advent of World War II.

Wallingford depicts the interesting history of this Connecticut community.

Wallingford lies nestled among the hills along the valley of the Quinnipiac River in Connecticut. Its first settlers were 38 planters and their families, who arrived in 1670. The land proved to be productive for farming and orchards. Many years after its founding, Wallingford flourished as a center for the making of silver holloware and flatware. With names such as Wallace, Simpson, Rogers, Elton, Hall, Miller, International Silver, the Community (a commune, which later joined the Oneida, New York community), and later Boardman, Wallingford became known throughout the country. Unique areas of Wallingford such as Yalesville, Tracy, Pond Hill, North Farms, and Cook Hill sprang up, taking on the names of the people who started businesses and farms there. Today, although most of the farms and the silver industry have disappeared, Wallingford still has a thriving industry and rural expanses. Revering its heritage, the community has worked hard to achieve this balance as it has gone forward to meet the challenges of the present and future.

The Connecticut Hurricanes Drum & Bugle Corps was founded in Derby, Connecticut, in 1932 as the John H. Collins Post Fife, Drum, and Bugle Corps.

Since its transformation to a competitive drum and bugle corps in 1955, the group has garnered notoriety throughout the region as well as national acclaim for its competitive success.Over the course of their 87-year history, the Hurricanes have become a highly regarded institution of the Lower Naugatuck Valley.They were first sponsored by the John H.Collins American Legion Post 24 and subsequently by the Sutter-Terlizzi American Legion Post 16 of Shelton, Connecticut.They are currently sponsored by the Emil Senger American Legion Post 10 of Seymour, Connecticut, and have continued to maintain strong community ties across the Naugatuck Valley region for nearly nine decades.

From 1837 to 1900 the tiny borough of Stonington, Connecticut was a major transportation hub on the route between New York and Boston. Steamboats leaving Manhattan followed Long Island Sound to Stonington Harbor where passengers boarded trains for the rest of the journey to Providence or Boston.

Stonington’s Steamboat Hotel, built in 1838 near the piers and railroad yard, was home to saloons, restaurants, a pool hall, a cigar shop, a tailor and a barber shop. Merchants, hotel keepers and saloon workers passed through the building, each with their own unique story.  Many of them were immigrants or first-generation Americans, and they are a window onto a late 19th-century class of merchants and service workers.

   Join local author Stuart Vyse as he reveals a lively portrait of remarkable harmony in a small village that was far more diverse than it is today.

A Town Like No Other

Once called the “wicked city of the Plain,” Plainville grew from underestimated beginnings to become a robust manufacturing center by the twentieth century. It is one of the United States’ earliest railroad junctions and was once a major port along the Farmington Canal. The town was home to unique characters and creations, including ornate carriages, a “Flying Governor” and the beginnings of ESPN. Discover the forgotten railroad feud that led to Plainville’s incorporation in 1869 and nearly united it as a single town with Forestville. Meet the people who have called this town home, including inventors, bootleggers and the Blue Devils. Remember lost town landmarks like Trask School, Appell Drug and Plainville Stadium.

Join local historian Todd Jones as he explores the rich history of this Connecticut town.

A portion of this book’s royalties will go to the Plainville Historical Society.

Barbara Austen and Barbara Bryan compiled this set of images to bring Fairfield's past into focus, helping us to envision more clearly the bright future of the area.

In the fall of 1639, Roger Ludlow, a founder of the colony of Connecticut, led a small group of men and a large herd of cattle to the shore of Long Island Sound, where they established a settlement that became known as Fairfield. With this exciting new photographic history, the members of the Fairfield Historical Society have created a unique look back in time. More than 200 rare photographs in this book document the dramatic changes that have occurred in Fairfield's landscape and population during the last 130 years of its 350-year history. Agriculture dominated Fairfield's economy from its founding to the mid-nineteenth century. With the rise of neighboring Bridgeport as an industrial center in the 1860s to 1920s, laborers and business owners moved to Fairfield, and the once-rural landscape was transformed into suburban home lots. Today the town's population is a vibrant mix of commuters, local business people, and young families.

Despite the name, there is nothing mystical about the successes of the town of Mystic.

Mystic was one of the most active shipbuilding ports along New England's southern coast during the mid-19th century, renowned for building more than 600 ships a year. By the end of the age of sail, Mystic made a successful transition to a new economy based on textile and machine manufacturing, maritime engineer, and small craft building. These industries carried the village into the 20th century, and today, Mystic is a world-class tourist destination, a community that is both divided and unified by the Mystic River. The history of Mystic mirrors the history of many coastal New England towns, but the images here are unique to this southeastern Connecticut region, recognizable to both residents and visitors alike.

This fascinating collection of picture postcards documents the history of Wilton in the Golden Age of Postcards.

For over the past one hundred years, postcards have served as an invaluable resource for people to commemorate a place and communicate its importance to friends and family at the other end of the mailbox. Wilton, Connecticut, like so many other cities and small towns across the country, has enjoyed being the subject for a variety of pictures, which serve as a wonderful treasure for remembering lost landscapes and historic buildings, homes, and other structures that have been sacrificed to progress and development. Wilton gives the reader an opportunity to observe another world, to look into the very eyes of today's ancestors and see their struggles, their successes, their pains, and their passions.

Join author Russell C. Shaddox as he tells the history of East Haddam in stunning images.

Perched along the Connecticut River, much of East Haddam sits on land originally purchased from Native Americans in 1662 for 30 coats (about $100). From that modest beginning sprang a town whose residents became famous patriots, scholars, and explorers. Driven by industries common to 1700s river towns - lumber, agriculture, and shipbuilding - East Haddam spent the 19th century transforming into one of the area's largest manufacturers of cotton twine, netting, and fabric. Prosperity brought an influx of immigrants. As the 1900s dawned, many of the mills shuttered due to faltering demand, and the town turned to its natural beauty to attract a growing leisure class. Resorts of all varieties popped up in town, changing East Haddam from the "Twine Capital of America" to the "Catskills of Connecticut." The town was home to many prominent residents, including a governor, business magnates, fine artists, scholars, and popular stage actor William Gillette, who helped shape the iconic image of Sherlock Holmes. With the resorts in turn seeing a decline in the late 20th century, the town faced another wave of change. Still, with a deep history and a varied beauty that includes stunning forest, hilltop, and river views, East Haddam continues to captivate.

This intriguing visual history contains over two hundred photographs, all from private collections, of Hartford.

Since the development of photography in the mid-nineteenth century, the camera has been used as a tool of both discovery and preservation. Photographs bring alive our image of the past and can open a floodgate of memories and nostalgia or inspire curiosity and a sense of history. This intriguing visual history contains over two hundred photographs, all from private collections, of Connecticut's capital. These rare and previously unpublished views tell of Hartford's rich history--the Bushnell Memorial, the state capitol without its dome, and the great post office that filled the east lawn of the Old State House. They also tell of favorite places, such as De Pasquale's and Pippi's on Front Street and the Parma and the movie theaters and stores that filled Main Street. The photographs reveal a great deal about change and the energy and vision that has made Hartford the diverse and dynamic community it is today.