NEWS + STORIES
“I am contented to be what I am, so long as I have my rights.” -Joseph Rainey
The above was quoted from the December 1995 issue of Life Magazine, to commemorate the 125th anniversary of his first day in office as a United States Representative. We know Mr. Rainey as a summer resident of Windsor who lived at 299 Palisado Avenue.
Changing Streetscapes in Windsor: Poquonock Center
The area in Poquonock just north of the bridge over the Farmington River was for decades a commercial center of the neighborhood. Starting in the mid-19th century, the businesses here served the growing immigrant populations [...]
The Backstory: Why Is This Here?
When you visit the reinterpreted rooms of the Strong-Howard House, you will feel as if you had stepped into the Howards’ home. Not only will you have the opportunity to touch everything, snooping is encouraged. Want to try out the bed? Feel free. Want to look under the tablecloth? Go right ahead. But you might wonder about an item – why is this here?
Amy Archer-Gilligan: Entrepreneurism Gone Wrong in Windsor
Amy Archer-Gilligan, a diminutive widow with a teenaged daughter, ran a home for elderly people in town and was a regular church-goer. To many, it seemed inconceivable that she could be guilty of the charge of which she was accused. To others, the murder charge was the tip of an iceberg of crimes waiting to be uncovered.
Putting the Pieces Together: The Rediscovery of the Katherine Barker Drake Photographic Collection
"Aha!" moments occur in research when a combination of luck and hard work causes fragments of information to fall into place, answering one or a series of questions. One such moment led to the identification of the photographer of several hundred historic photographs in the Society's collections.
Soldiers of the Soil
What would it be like to come to this town after a harrowing ocean voyage and adjust to a new climate, new foods, new working conditions, and racial prejudice, as well? Fay Clarke Johnson tells the story of Jamaicans who left their lovely, temperate island to find work in the Connecticut River Valley during WWII in her 1995 book Soldiers of the Soil.