Infographics, Maps, Music and More: Glastonbury Connecticut History

Glastonbury Connecticut has had an interesting history. This post details a few historical highlights as told thru maps,

Indian Trails | Villages | Mills | Feldspar Quarries
Early Industries | The Peach King
Additional Credits/Sources

Click on any map for enlargement

Indian Trails

The Native Americans of the present-day Glastonbury/Portland area were members of Algonkian-speaking tribes. Known as the Wangonks, they were peaceful and farmed the land. In the summer, they lived along the river in longhouses. In winter, they moved to the hills and lived in south- or west-facing caves. Trading between other tribes was done not only by water but by a series of well-established trails

Further Info: Native Americans - Glastonbury CT Area >

Villages

The town of Glastenbury was first settled by white settlers in 1636 and town was officially founded in 1693 . Land was bought from the Native American chief Sowheag for 12 yards of trading cloth. In 1870, the name of the town was changed from Glastenbury to Glastonbury, with a spelling to match Glastonbury, England. Various villages sprung up in the area.

Bucks Corner
Eagleville >Addison
East Glastonbury
South Glastonbury
Curtisville > Naubuc
Buckingham
Wassuc

Addison

The area known as Addison once went by another name: Eagleville. It’s name came from the Eagle Manufacturing Company which produced woolen goods, including uniforms for the Union Army in the Civil War.

Curtisville > Naubuc

The Curtisville area was one of the first parts of Glastonbury to be settled by English colonists, who had been using its riverfront meadows since the 17th century. Salmon Brook was recognized as a source of water power in the colonial period, but its industrial development did not begin until the 1840s, when Oswin Welles began the manufacture of wooden wares and cigars. Brothers Frederick and Joseph Curtis established a major silver plating factory on the south bank of the brook around that time.

The Curtisville area was developed mainly in the 19th century, it illustrates the coexistence of agricultural and industrial pursuits in a single village area, mixing worker housing, former farm properties, and a small mill complex. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

Further Village Info

Mills

Water-powered mills were often the backbone of early New England communities

In 1791 there were:

three saw mills on Roaring Brook in Buckingham;
one saw mill on Hubbard Brook;
two saw mills on Hubbard Brook;
one saw mill on Roaring Brook in South Glastonbury;
two grist mills on Roaring Brook in Buckingham;
one grist mill on Roaring Brook in South Glastonbury;
a saw mill near Log Landing;
three saw mills Roaring Brook in South Glastonbury; and
other grist mills on both Salmon Brook and Hubbard Brook

Sourced from Book:

Glastonbury: From Settlement to Suburb: A History of the 300-Year-Old Town

Author: Marjorie G. McNulty

Publisher ‏: ‎ Historical Society of Glastonbury

1884 Historic Map

South Glastonbury

Glastonbury

East Glastonbury

Buckingham

Map source

Shipyards

Glastonbury was once the home of several shipyards, sail lofts, ironworks that forged anchors and other equipment and various shops that sold provisions. The first shipyard was located at the south end of Keeney Cove - it was known as the Naubuc Shipyard. Another shipyard was located at Logs Landing in South Glastonbury. The needs of these shipyards were filled by sawmills, charcoal kilns, and forges that created ship’s anchors.

Several hundred vessels were built in yards in Keeney Cove and along the river bank of South Glastonbury. Those yards have disappeared from view, and some sites are even under water.

The fleet of sailing vessels on the Connecticut peaked about 1865, when it was eclipsed by steamboats. By the end of the century, the steamers had given way to the railroads. The great river was no longer a commercial thoroughfare.

Trolley

Although much to the disappointment of early residents, a railroad never passed near Glastonbury but in 1893, a trolley was built into town. In 1892 the trolley line first reached from East Hartford to Hubbard Brook and in 1893 it was extended to South Glastonbury. Further details: Hartford Area Trolleys >

Feldspar Quarries

The quarrying in Connecticut of pegmatites for feldspar began around 1825. In the South Glastonbury/Portland Area there were numerous quarries in operation in the late 1800s. For centuries pegmatite was chiefly valued for its mineral feldspar. Industry demanded good-quality feldspar for making porcelain pottery, vitrified sanitary ware (sinks and toilets), enamelware, glass, poultry grit (which was fed to chickens to help them process food in their crop), abrasives, and fertilizer.

Feldspar mining peaked in Connecticut in the early 1900s; in 1908 Connecticut, with its four “spar” mills, was the leading producer of this mineral in the United States. Many quarries were operated during World War II for sheet mica and beryl. Further Info: Back to the Abandoned Quarries >

Early Industries

Gunpowder Mill/Factory

In the early 1770s, the Stocking family built a gunpowder mill on the north bank of Roaring Brook in the Cotton Hollow area. This factory/mill was one of four in New England and it supplied gunpowder for George Washington's Continental Army. The factory produced a highly explosive powder used in small amounts to ignite a heavier powder in flintlock firearms. Sadly it exploded in August 1777 but was rebuilt again and continued to supply gunpowder for the Army until the end of the war.
Further Info: Courant article >

Tannery

The tannery on Hubbard Brook beside the New London Turnpike was built in 1854 to process pig and cow hides. The firm ceased operation in the 1870s and was sold in 1886 to German immigrant Herman Roser who then limited his product to pig skins. After World War I, mechanization proceeded more rapidly, with the addition of larger vats, machines for shaving and splitting the hides and a steam engine to drive them. Among the new customers for Roser pigskin leather in the 1920s were the makers of the Pierce-Arrow automobile, which had the firm's leather covering its seats.

The tannery closed in 1968 and the plant was then occupied by a machine shop run by the Flanagan Brothers Inc. specializing in aerospace assemblies. The former mill complex was converted into luxury apartments and a restaurant in 2017,

Soap Factory

The J. B. Williams Co. Historic District encompasses a historic 19th-century factory complex and related family housing. The area includes a mid-19th century frame factory as well as later brick buildings, and houses belonging to its owners, members of the Williams family. The soap factory operated by the Williamses was one of town's largest economic forces until its mid-20th century decline. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Further Info: JB Williams - Soap Factory and Park

The Peach King

Growing peaches in New England was a bit of a challenge because of the plant’s affinity for warmer weather, but John Howard Hale of South Glastonbury discovered a few hardy trees on his grandfather’s farm and developed a new type of peach that more capably endured the harsh New England climate and produced large delicious fruit.

Hale also made use of the latest advances in technology to get his fruit to market. In the 1890s, he used the local trolley line to transport his peaches to Hartford, commissioning three special cars for the purpose. Peaches were notoriously difficult to keep fresh, but Hale discovered that through the use of refrigeration, he actually extended their shelf life. Workers pre-cooled the peaches and then loaded them on to special refrigerator railroad cars containing bunkers filled with ice to keep the fruit cool during transport. By the end of the 19th century, Hale shipped peaches all over the United States, and even to Europe. Further Info: John Howard Hale: Glastonbury’s Peach King