Windsor Locks History


Book Description

This is the first of a series of four books on the history of Windsor Locks, Connecticut. It contains 38 chapters about important people, places and events in the history of Windsor Locks. Windsor Locks history goes from 1663, when the first settlers reached the Pine Meadow section of the town of Windsor, CT. In 1854, the Pine Meadow section of WIndsor was incorporated into the separate town of Windsor Locks. So the history of WIndsor Locks goes from 1663 to the current time (2022), which is about three and a half centuries. The first two books of this series present chapters on important people, places and events in that history. Windsor Locks History: Volume III presents a number of sets of photo of the town taken from about 1880 to 1960, and as well as more descriptive chapters. The fourth book in the series is "Understanding Windsor Locks History", which focusses on the overeall structure of that history, dividing the three and a half centuries into four distinct phases that the town's evolution that the tow has gone through. It presents "chronological historiies" of the town by three different people, and ties together the stories of the first three books to the chronological history of the town. Descriptive histories give detailed accounts of the people, places and events, while the chronological histories list the events in the order in which they occurred. You can read either approach first, but tying the two together results in a deeper understanding of the town's history.




Windsor Locks History : Volume IV


Book Description

This is the sixth book of my series on Windsor Locks history. They are, in chronological order: Windsor Locks History, Windsor Locks History: Volume II, Windsor Locks History: Volume III, Windsor Locks Musicians, Understanding Windsor Locks History, and this book. They are an encyclopedia. Each book, including this one, has about 40 chapters on important people, places and events in the hsitory of Windsor Locks from 1663 to the present time (2023). The chapters are not meant to be read in any order. There are meant to provide a comprehensive history of the town. Use of a computer allows you to scan the Table of Contents in each book to see the topics it contains.




Windsor Locks Canal


Book Description

In 1824, a group of prominent Hartford businessmen formed the Connecticut River Company to construct a canal that would bypass the treacherous rapids of Enfield Falls and extend navigation along the Connecticut River. Soon boats were a frequent sight in the village of Windsor Locks, named after the locks of the canal that ran alongside Main Street. Mills also sprang up in the area, utilizing the canals water to power their manufacturing operations. Today the canal has taken on a more historical, ecological, and recreational significance. Home to diverse plant and animal species, it is an excellent place to enjoy sweeping views of the Connecticut River and to see the factories that played a big part in the regions history.







Post Roads & Iron Horses


Book Description

The fascinating history of turnpikes, steamboats, canals, railroads, and trolleys in Connecticut Post Roads & Iron Horses is the first book to look in detail at the turnpikes, steamboats, canals, railroads, and trolleys (street railroads) that helped define Connecticut and shape New England. Advances in transportation technology during the nineteenth century transformed the Constitution State from a rough network of colonial towns to an industrial powerhouse of the Gilded Age. From the race to build the Farmington Canal to the shift from water to rail transport, historian and transportation engineer Richard DeLuca gives us engaging stories and traces the significant themes that emerge as American innovators and financiers, lawyers and legislators, struggle to control the movement of passengers and goods in southern New England. The book contains over fifty historical images and maps, and provides an excellent point of view from which to interpret the history of New England as a whole. This is an indispensable reference book for those interested in Connecticut history and a great gift for transportation buffs of all kinds.







Connecticut, a Bibliography of Its History


Book Description










Report of the Chief of Engineers U.S. Army


Book Description

Includes the Report of the Mississippi River Commission, 1881-19 .