NEWS + STORIES
Founders’ Series: Thomas Holcombe, Poquonock Pioneer and Woodworker
Probate inventory of Thomas Holcombe, showing he owned joinery and husbandry tools at the time of his death in 1657. | From Ancestry.com History loves a bad boy, mostly because folks who are [...]
Historic Fence Posts
In April of 2013, Lon Pelton and Steve Stosonis installed six distinctive fence posts at the Windsor Historical Society. These roughhewn brownstone posts date to the 18th or 19th century, and were originally located on farmland belonging to the Thrall family.
Conversations with the Past: Hayden Family Letters, 1821-1894
Written primarily between 1821 and 1894, the Sarah Hayden Fowler Papers collection documents a 19th-century woman's life from childhood through teenage and early adult years, marriage, and life as a mother, stepmother, grandmother, and widow. Fleeting references to events, trends, and celebrities illustrate U.S. territorial expansion, changing culture, and political and economic crises.
The Ballad of Mack Street
The following is a transcript (edited for space and clarity) from a June 2004 interview between Dr. Daniel Mack and WHS executive director Christine Ermenc. Dr. Mack discusses his family's brickyard on Mack Street in [...]
Navigating the History of the Connecticut River
In the decades following the Connecticut River's discovery by Europeans, the numerous shallows and oxbow bends of the river limited the river’s potential as a trading hub. However, throughout the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries, maritime trade along the Connecticut River slowly and steadily grew.
Founders’ Series: Jonathan Brewster, Adventurer and Alchemist
Windsor founder Jonathan Brewster’s time in our town was brief, but pivotal. He was Plymouth Colony’s resident agent here, and in 1635 he penned a letter to Governor William Bradford expressing his concern over the influx of newcomers into the fledgling settlement. He wrote, “Ye Massachusetts men are coming almost dayly...some have a great mind to ye place we are upon...I shall doe what I can to withstand them.”