Gen. Lafayette came through Tolland 200 year ago on September 4, 1824. To commemorate this special event and to kick off the beginning of Tolland’s AMERICA 250 celebration events to follow, we will be entertaining the General as we recreate his historic journey through Tolland, Connecticut and America 200 years ago on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 6, 7 and 8.

A Tribute to a ‘French Founding Father’

200 years after the Marquis de Lafayette visited New York as part of a nationwide tour, a re-enactor will retrace his steps.

Two hundred years ago this weekend, when the Marquis de Lafayette visited New York — the first stop on a tour that would take him all over the still-young nation — his three-masted packet ship docked first on Staten Island. Lafayette then sailed on to Manhattan the next morning.

Today the organizers of the 200th-anniversary recreation of Lafayette’s trip plan to party like it’s 1824, with costumes and ceremonies commemorating his 6,000-mile tour across 24 states. Even though Lafayette was an old soldier by then — he was 66 when he arrived in New York — his fame had not faded away. He was still revered for fighting in his 20s with George Washington and for helping to force Lord Charles Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown.

You’re in luck! Tolland will be joining the likes of NYC, Old Sturbridge Village, the Old State House in Hartford, and other venues, as we celebrate the 200^th anniversary visit of this patriot who fought alongside General Washington to secure our freedom.

This tour will kick off Tolland’s America 250 Celebrations culminating in 2026. Join us.

The Tolland Historical Society wishes everyone a wonderful new year.
The museums are open by appointment. For a tour of the Old Tolland County Jail and Museum, call President Kathy Bach at 860-872-7716. For a tour of the Old Tolland County Court House Museum, call Director Celeste Senechal at 860-871-2575.
For a tour of the Daniel Benton Homestead, email Director Gail Usher at danielbentonmuseum@gmail.com.

Save the date for the 55th Annual Tolland Antiques Show: Sunday, March 17, 2024 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Tolland Middle School at 1 Falcon Way, Tolland.

Antique bottle collector Ben Trowbridge will give a lecture on historic flasks and appraise bottles the public brings in for a donation to the Tolland Historical Society on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 2 p.m. at the Old Tolland County Jail and Museum at 52 Tolland Green.

Trowbridge will have more than 30 historical flasks that each visitor can hold, including some dating to 1820 from Coventry. He will also be giving away a Westford beer bottle. He will also speak about a glass factory in northeastern Connecticut.

Before the talk, numbers will be handed out to the public who would like their own bottles appraised. The appraisals will be done on a first come, first served basis for a donation to the society. All donations will be used to support the society’s museums and programs.

The talk is free, but donations are always appreciated. It will be held in the Jail Museum shed.

The Tolland Historical Society is joining with the Tolland Historic District Commission in opposing a plan to install a cement sidewalk on the historic Town Green.
The society is encouraging residents to attend an Aug. 22 public hearing to speak out against the plan. The hearing is being held at 7 p.m. at the Hicks Municipal Center or on Zoom. Tolland residents who can’t attend the meeting can also email their comments to towncouncil@tollandct.gov.
The historically registered Tolland Green was made ADA-accessible during the Route 195 road project, with eight access points. The society supports the full historic experience for all citizens by utilizing these access points to our registered green. The society supports the Historic District Commission in its duly appointed role as stewards, charged to “preserve and protect the distinctive characteristics and appearance of the Tolland Green and the buildings which surround it white respecting the rights and wishes of those who own property within the district…and be administered with common sense.”
The society further supports the maintenance of the existing sidewalks around the perimeter of the Green by leveling and edging stones and repairing the buckled cement. It also supports the use of a temporary mesh sidewalk during events on the green, which the town has already purchased and used successfully for several events.
Facts sheets about the proposed project will be available this Sunday, Aug. 20 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Old Tolland County Jail and Museum at 52 Tolland Green and the Old Tolland County Court House Museum at 53 Tolland Green.

     For more information, contact society President Kathy Bach at 860-872-7716.

FACT SHEET:

PUBLIC HEARING:  TUESDAY, 8/22, 7 PM

HICKS MUNICIPAL CENTER

*PLEASE ATTEND*

 OR ZOOM INTO MEETING

 OR EMAIL your comments to:

towncouncil@tollandct.gov 

(*and ask that your comments be read in to the public record)

The Green was the center for early founders, militia exercises, sending our soldiers to war and bringing them home again however they returned. It was the hub for town services before the great sleep in the mid 1800s where the doctors, lawyers, clergyman, blacksmith, innkeepers and shopkeepers were in charge. It was the great turnpike crossroad from New York City to Boston and Springfield to the coast. Later it was a summer destination, then a residential neighborhood still a hub, but now for war rationing and the plane spotters and the air raid center. There were weddings, funerals, and annual homecomings on the Green. Today this quarter mile of registered historic land is our center and the envy of many CT communities and historical groups because Tolland knew and understood its value then and now. This quarter mile long slice of land has breathed with life for 300+ years of Tolland history (longer than any of the aforementioned sites). It is not a ‘thing’; it is the essence of our town. It mourns in our struggles and rejoices in our triumphs. It is our constant in a constantly changing world. It’s 300 years of our people’s story.

“It is the purpose of the Tolland Green Historic District to preserve and protect the distinctive characteristics and appearance of the Tolland Green and the buildings which surround it while respecting the rights and wishes of those who own property within the district. It is the intent of this chapter that the requirements set forth herein be construed with these purposes in mind and be administered with common sense.”

1. The Green is a registered historic site within a registered historic district; at the town, state and federal level, with a Historic District Commission (HDC) that was voted in place by townspeople and duly appointed by the town council. The HDC has statutory responsibilities to protect this historic landmark. 

2. According to state statutes and federal guidelines the town planned sidewalk is considered a “structure” and is clearly in the realm of responsibility of the HDC.

3. The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) has stated that a sidewalk would constitute a structure on the historic Green. As of 8/7/2023; the Town Attorney has rendered an opinion that a sidewalk is not a structure using a different statute to defend his decision. 

4. The issue of ADA accessibility and accommodation was addressed with the RT195 road project when 8 access points were added to the Green, exceeding the ADA requirements for access AND allowing all persons to enjoy the essence of the historic Green, to enjoy the historic experience unencumbered, also part of the ADA requirement. A moveable mesh walkway is laid during the season at minimal cost and removed each winter.

5. With a municipal sidewalk, the Green will no longer meet the historic definition of an 18-19th Century Green befitting the neighborhood or the historic registration that the town and the neighbors received. Three recent grant applications by the historical society have been negatively impacted financially by the news of this proposal because it shows a lack of respect for the integrity of the historic registration by the local government.

6. Yes, the TC can put a municipal sidewalk anywhere it wants according to one statute, but this is not just any public land, and their reasoning lacks basic common sense.  A fixed walk (rather than the current movable mesh) will interfere with current town-wide programs (Farmer’s Market, Holiday Tree Lighting, Harvest Fest, and Memorial Day Parade, Prom Night photos, Lion’s Club Pancake Breakfasts, TFD Torch Light Parade) which are located in various locations on the Green.

Tolland is fortunate to have a registered historic landmark where everyone can enjoy the same historic experience. Please join with other historic organizations & neighbors to protect this sliver of hallowed ground, the essence of Tolland. Thank you.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD

Sponsored and paid for by the Tolland Green Historic District Commission & Tolland Historical Society

     The Tolland Historical Society’s popular silhouette fundraiser returns on Saturday, Oct. 28, featuring artist Deborah O’Connor.
The sessions for hand-cut silhouettes are by appointment only from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Old Tolland County Court House Museum at 53 Tolland Green in Tolland. Appointments are available now and can be made by visiting signupgenius.com and searching for nkjtr@sbcglobal.net.
      Each individual child or pet model needs its own slot, so if you are looking to have three different silhouettes made, you will need to sign up for three slots.
      The prices are $30 for a single is silhouette, $15 for each duplicate silhouette, $40 for a 5 x 7 frame that holds one silhouette, $60 for an 8 x 10 frame that holds two to three silhouettes, $10 for a small mat and $20 for a large mat. The Tolland Historical Society will only be accepting cash or checks at the event.
     To see the frames being offered, visit www.thesilhouettelady.com.
There is free parking behind the museum and the event is being held on the second floor.
Anyone with questions can contact Ni-Ni Reinard from the society at nkjtr@sbcglobal.net.

The Tolland Historical Society is pleased to announce that it will receive a grant to allow children and one accompanying adult to attend its museums for free from July 1 to Sept. 4 as part of the CT Summer at the Museum program.

Children in Connecticut under age 18 and one adult, who must be a Connecticut resident, can visit the museums for free under the program, which is a partnership of the Connecticut Office of the Arts and Connecticut Humanities. For other visitors, there is a suggested $5 donation when the museums are holding programs.

The museums are the Old Tolland County Jail and Museum at 52 Tolland Green, the Old Tolland County Court House Museum at 53 Tolland Green, the Daniel Benton Homestead Museum at 154 Metcalf Road and the Tolland Military Museum, located behind the Jail Museum. The museums are open Sundays, except for July 2 and Sept. 3, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Appointments are required to visit the Benton Homestead and can be made by sending an email to danielbentonmuseum@gmail.com.

On Sunday, July 9 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., Historical Society Vice President Celeste Senechal and board member Cathy Wilcox will hold a fiber spinning demonstration at the jail museum. There is a suggested $5 donation for the event although children and an accompanying adult can attend for free under the CT Summer at the Museum program.

Calling all Tolland rising 7th through 12th graders: the Tolland Historical Society is holding a one-hour orientation session for its Student Intern Program on Monday, June 19 at 10:30 a.m. in the shed display area of the Old Tolland County Jail and Museum at 52 Tolland Green.

Through the program, you can learn all aspects of a working museum, how to accession historic artifacts, design displays and even give museum tours to the public.

Interns participate in Sunday events and conduct research on Tolland history. They earn community services hours and a reference letter.

Interns typically volunteer three to six hours a week, either Mondays from 9 a.m. to noon and/or Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

It’s fun!

Interested students and their parents can contact Museum Director Kathy Bach at 860-872-7716 or by email at kwbach@gmail.com.

Here’s another fascinating talk coming up on June 11 that’s sponsored by the Tolland Historical Society.

The Tolland Historical Society will host a talk about collecting antique bottles on Sunday, June 11 that will feature collector Ben Trowbridge of Tolland.

Each visitor will receive a circa 1900 bottle and a second bottle each if more than 50 people attend the talk, which is set for 2 p.m. in the shed area of the Old Tolland County Jail and Museum at 52 Tolland Green in Tolland.

Trowbridge will discuss local bottles of interest from Coventry, Willington and the Westford village in Ashford. He will also discuss the value of antique bottles and show audience members how to quickly determine the age of almost any bottle.

Trowbridge, who says that collecting antique bottles is a fun hobby, will also provide a free appraisal of one bottle per visitor.

The talk is free, but donations to support the Historical Society are always appreciated.

Thank you to Tolland resident Richard N. Symonds, Jr. for his informative talk on Sunday June 4 about the historic water-powered mills in town.

The public is invited to celebrate the seasonal opening of two of the Tolland Historical Society’s museums at its Museums on the Green Reception on Friday, June 2 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Come learn about our exhibits and the events we’re planning for this summer, and consider become a member of the Society.

The reception will be held simultaneously at the Old Tolland County Jail and Museum at 52 Tolland Green and the Old Tolland County Court House Museum at 53 Tolland Green. At the court house, there will be complimentary wine, cheese and seltzers while the jail will be serving fruit, sweets, lemonade and iced tea.

The reception is free, but donations to support the Society are always welcome.