Similar in design and execution to other Civil War memorials in the north, this one is located in…read moreEast End Park. The park had been a military parade ground a century ago, making this an apt placement. Summarized from https://chs.org/finding_aides/ransom/132.htm... The memorial was dedicated on May 30, 1905. The original donor, Charles H. Pine (1845-1915) was present. At the age of 16, he served as a drummer in the 19th Connecticut Volunteers and served for three years. The memorial is 27 feet tall and features a soldier in greatcoat and cap, leaning on his upturned rifle. It could be said he is staring off into the distance at those who did not come home from the war. The inscriptions read... 1904 For The Dead A Tribute - For The Living A Memory - For Posterity An Emblem Of Loyalty To The Flag Of Their Country. On the north side... The Gift Of Charles B. Pine In honor of the patriotism and to perpetuate the memory of these 368 brave men who went forth from this town from 1861 to 1865 and periled their all that the nation might live this monument has been erected that all who come after them may be mindful of their deeds and fail not in the day of trial to emulate their example On the column, the battles where they fought... Petersburg * Antietam * Port Hudson * Cold Harbor There is parking along the street next to the park. [Review 1692 of 2024 - 96 in Connecticut - 22715 overall]

This simple and modest World War Two monument is located in the town green where Main Street (Route…read more44) intersects with Park Place (Route 8). The green is a busy place, with all sorts of other markers, monuments, and memorials everywhere. It's a 2-sided marker that on one side honors the 1,551 Winchester citizens that served in the Second World War. The other side honors the 39 from Winchester that were killed in the war The inscriptions read: Dedicated To Those Veterans of W W II Who Paid The Ultimate Price For Freedom In Memory Of The 1551 Men & Women From Winchester Who Served In W W II The statue was dedicated on May 29, 2000. The memorial is a lot smaller than some of the other WW II memorials I have seen. It's also a lot less flashy. It's probably exactly what most members of the Greatest Generation would have wanted.

This is a one-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a…read moreblue background, It's located in front of the First Church of Christ on Main Street (between Gold and Pearl) in downtown Hartford. The plaque looks at the early history of our capital city. It tells us about the Hartford's first colonial settlement (1633), the 1636 arrival of Reverend Thomas Hooker and his congregation, how the city was named after the English city of Hertford in 1637, and how the Fundamental Orders (1639) is considered to be America's first written constitution. One interesting piece of trivia I learned was that from 1701 through 1875, Connecticut had two capitals - Hartford and New Haven. This was a very interesting plaque that had a lot of great information on it. It was dedicated in 1971 and still looks great.

Neat and interesting marker. Talks about the 17th c. founding of Hartford. A Dutch outpost and…read moretrading hub, it sits with insurance agencies, artsy homes, clubs. Bright blue, these markers are all over CT! Rebel review: 4

I passed through Winchester a few years ago and missed this so on my next trip through Connecticut,…read morethis had to be a stop. This striking Civil War memorial blends Gothic architectural drama with deep civic pride. Its story spans decades of community effort, artistic vision, and historical reverence. The monument is a three-story Gothic-style tower built of locally quarried ashlar granite. Designed by Robert W. Hill of Waterbury, it features a square base with inward-sloping lower walls that straighten as they rise, crowned by crenellations. A circular tourelle projects from one corner of the third level, topped by a bronze figure of a Civil War soldier holding the colors - sculpted by George E. Bissell. The tower stands 44 feet tall and was originally intended to include an iron staircase, but a contractor dispute led to a temporary wooden one instead. Over time, additions included a square entrance arch, stone retaining walls, cannons, and a decorative fountain by Hartford sculptor Andrew Coppola in the 1970s. It is a challenge getting up the hill to the park but once here, you'll appreciate the tower and the view. [Review 1142 of 2025 - 130 in Connecticut - 24695 overall]

Magnificent and awe inspiring…read more Two days ago, I reviewed the incredible Sailors and Soldiers Memorial Arch in Hartford. It was spectacular!! Little did I imagine that 48 hours later, and just 26 miles away, I would see another mind blowing veteran's monument that defies belief. The Winchester Soldiers' Monument is set way up high on a hill in a small park on Crown Street in Winsted. The land it sits on was donated in 1888 by three local gents to establish some sort of Civil War memorial and park. And what a memorial it turned into! They built a three-story granite castle that's over 40 feet tall. And what sits atop the tower? Why an 8' tall bronze statue of a Civil War soldier wearing a jacket and a hat, with a sword on his belt, and holding a flag. The Monument was dedicated on September 11, 1890. Special trains ran out of Hartford to bring a crowd of 20,000 to be a part of what the Hartford Courant described as "Winsted's Glorious Day." The Memorial Park is used for town celebrations and Veterans and Memorial Day ceremonies. Picnics, concerts, plays, religious ceremonies, and weddings are held here. What's pretty cool is that the image of the monument is an essential component of the Winchester Town Seal and the badges of it's police force. When you stand up on the hill, with the statue behind you, you get the impression that the soldier is standing guard, on a never ending vigil to protect his town. This one will give you the chills............

I was in Union Station tonight, waiting for my brother-in-law's train to arrive from New York…read more Being the night before Thanksgiving, the train station was packed and there was nowhere to sit, so I took a leisurely stroll around the building when I saw a plaque mounted on a wall by the rear staircase. Turns out the plaque commemorates the very first commercial electrical service in the state --way back in 1883. The plaque was presented by the Connecticut chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The electrical service was provided by a new utility company named The Hartford Electric Light Company. They put on a lighting demonstration at Union Station using a coal-fired boiler to generate steam, which powered a generator to produce direct current. The electricity powered 21 lights that lit up the train station, 2 drug stores, a bar, a bakery, and a few shops. The Hartford Daily Courant proclaimed: "The push and enterprise of the new company promises well for the early use of electric lights on the principal streets of the city." The 20th Century was knocking on the door.

This rusty marker could use a sandblasting. It sits on a corner opposite a liquor store and a mini…read moremart near a bus station. It points out one of the early businesses in Windsor and is my first historical marker in Connecticut. The marker reads, "The Warham Mill was established by Mr. John Warham, first minister to the Windsor Church, in 1840. The Mill has been in continuous use as a grist mill to the present day. Tradition says it was the first grist mill in Connecticut." Online, there is more information. At the corner of Poquonock Avenue and East Street, this is where residents of Windsor and the surrounding area brought their grain, logs, and tools for grinding, sawing, and sharpening for over 300 years. The historic marker at this site credits Rev. John Warham with establishing what may have been the first grist mill in Connecticut. Due to his status as the fledgling town's first minister, by 1640 he had been accorded grants of prime land that included property on both sides of Mill Brook and the right to a toll or payment of one sixteenth of the grain and corn ground at the mill. The miller was also entitled to a toll. Various millers operated "Warham's Mill" including Robert Howard in the 1650s, Peter Brown in 1658, and a long succession of proprietors during the next century and a half. The Windsor Historical Society has put together an excellent and detailed history of the mill. Worth a read. https://windsorhistoricalsociety.org/warhams-mill/ [Review 15160 overall, 662 of 2021, number 16 in Connecticut.]

Connecticut is so old that it has eight towns incorporated before 1700. Colchester is one of them…read more Here's a cool Colchester nugget- the Chief Commissary (now is THAT a title, or is that a title?) of the Continental Army rushed beef from his own cattle to feed the starving troops at Valley Forge. I guess when George Washington made a personal plea, you obeyed. Also of interest is that Colchester was the site of Connecticut's first school for Blacks - established way back in 1805. This is a two-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It can be found on a town green at the intersection of South Main Street and Broadway. It has different inscriptions on each side. It dates to 1975 and is in very good shape. It's a pretty interesting marker touching on the town's history, civic leaders, educational legacy, and it's early shoemaking and footwear industrial heritage.

The Viets family of East Granby operated a farm and livestock business on this site for many years…read more After the business closed, the land came into the possession of the Town of East Granby, who converted it into an almost 500 acre public park with a recreation center and hiking trails. In a beautiful nod to it's prior owners, the Town not only decided to leave the Viets Farm concrete silo standing, but also commissioned the painting of a mural on it to serve as a huge welcome sign to the park. It stands in the main parking lot entrance to the complex on Route 187. The gorgeous color mural covers every square inch of the silo with a lovely farm motif of animals, scenery and a blue sky. The original lettering was left undisturbed: L. H. VIETS & SONS CATTLE & HORSES It really is a gorgeous and very unexpected sight to see!!

It can trace its history to a 1661 saloon…read more It's nickname was "Silver City of the World". Over 30 of it's sons rushed to Boston to fight the British during the infancy of the Revolution It's Meriden, CT- more or less half way between Hartford and New Haven where I-91 and I-691 and the Merritt Parkway all conveniently collide in the center of the state. This is a two-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It can be found on a grassy area between both halves of Broad Street in downtown Meriden. It has different inscriptions on each side. It dates to 1976 and is in pretty good shape. The front side lists a time line of important dates in Meriden history. The back side describes how Captain John Couch of the Meriden militia led a squadron of three dozen patriots to Boston when hostilities broke out with the British at Lexington in 1775. The full two-sided inscription reads: 1661 - Meriden area first settled when Jonathan Gilbert is granted land by Connecticut Colony and employs Edward Higbee to operate an inn. 1670 - Greater part of present-day Meriden lands placed under jurisdiction of Wallingford. 1728 - Separate church parish, named after Gilbert's farm Merridan, is established by the General Assembly. 1806 - Meriden separated from Wallingford and organized as a town. 1867 - Meriden incorporated as a city. 1922 - Town and City of Meriden consolidated. Since the 19th Century Meriden has demonstrated itself to be a versatile manufacturing community. Its silver industry has grown to such proportions that Meriden is nicknamed the "Silver City of the World." (Side two) Lexington Alarm *Captain John Couch, responding to hostilities with British at Lexington, left this area April 23, 1775, commanding the Meriden militia: John Allen Christopher Atwater Moses Baldwin *Divan Berry Samuel Briggs John Butler Samuel Collins Asael Deming Israel Hall, Jr. Joel Hall *Moses Hall Rufus Hall Samuel Hall *Benjamin Hart *Insign Hough John Hough Phineas Hough Aaron Hull David Ives Elnathan Ives Enos Ives Samuel Johnson Epaphras Knott Isaac Livingston *Phineas Lyman Daniel McMullen *Ephraim Merriam John Merriam John Pearce *Benjamin Rice *Ezekiel Rice Gideon Rice Samuel Rice Joseph Shaylor Seth Smith Bela Warner *Jonathan Yale *Nathaniel Yale *Buried in Broad Street Cemetery Erected 1976 by American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, City of Meriden, Connecticut Historical Commission