NEWS + STORIES
Hannah Hayden’s Work and Family Economy in Frontier New York
Hannah Hayden and her family moved from Windsor to Hartwick, New York in 1806. Her letters back home reveal a willful woman grappling with her new identity in the frontier. Her textile work and the burdens of caring for her brood of children and employees usually took center stage in her letters, while her focus on and longing for material goods and economic success remained subtle yet sharply detailed motifs.
Sarah Rowland Dudley’s Red Cloak
Do you ever wonder how objects end up in museum exhibitions? The cloak on view in our museum gallery arrived at the Society in a box. It had ripped seams, frayed trim, insect damage, and layers of dirt. But in its prime in the early 1800s, the bright red color was a fashion statement and a sign of the owner’s wealth.
Volunteer Profile: Elizabeth Parker
Last week, we lost one of our amazing volunteers, Libby Parker, who anchored our reception desk each Wednesday afternoon well into her nineties. She loved the Town of Windsor and its history with a passion and was truly an involved citizen. To honor her memory, we’re posting a volunteer profile originally published in our newsletter in 2012.
Founders’ Series: Frances Clark Dewey Phelps
Frances (unknown) (Clark) (Dewey) Phelps is one of the few women included on the Descendants of the Founders of Ancient Windsor’s founders list, which only includes heads of household. Women in Frances’s era rarely show up in official records, but their circumstances can be partially deduced from their husband’s and other contemporaneous records.
I-91 & I-291: Windsor’s Battle Over Highway Expansion
It took nearly thirty years from the 1960s to the 1990s for the state of Connecticut to complete an expansion of I-91 through Windsor. In the interim a heated debate raged between Windsor citizens and the state over highway construction and expansion within the town.
Remembering the Tornado of 1979
On October 3, 1979, a devastating tornado hit the village of Poquonock in Windsor at 3 PM. Three people were killed, 143 hospitalized and 350 others were treated in emergency rooms. Sue Banks was one of the Poquonock residents at home with her children that afternoon. These are her memories from that day.