Simsbury – Digital Farmington

“Newgate: Connecticut’s First State Prison”

February 5, 2018 Dr. Katherine Hermes Comments 0 Comment

Author: Jessica Dabkowski In 1773, Connecticut’s General Assembly chose the copper mines in Simsbury to be the state’s first prison, renaming it Newgate Prison. During the Revolutionary Era, Newgate Prison housed not only political prisoners criminals, such as loyalists. The goal was to create a prison where escape was impossible. However, the overseers soon found out that Newgate was far from inescapable. At the time, corporal punishments were common for those convicted of crimes. Punishments could include branding with a…

Opium Dependency in Early 19th-Century Simsbury

May 12, 2016 Dr. Katherine Hermes Comments 0 Comment

Author: Chelsea Farrell The history of opium evokes images of wars and imperialism across the globe. This large history often overshadows the prevalence of opium in America. Even before medical morphine was first extracted, opium and its derivatives were used medically and mixed in tonics. Opium, though, causes severe withdrawal, which makes it a highly addictive substance. Early nineteenth-century Simsbury, Connecticut, residents were fully aware of the dangers of opium, especially when the Congregational Church buried Mary Woodbridge, an unmarried woman who…

Keeping It In the Family: Land Control in the Case Family of Simsbury

May 10, 2016 Dr. Katherine Hermes Comments 3 comments

Author: Brianna Dunlap When conjuring the image of a quintessential New England town, the mind’s eye visualizes an ancient town center with colonial homes surrounded by rolling hills and fields peppered with herds of cattle. The town Simsbury, which was developed during the first two hundred years of its existence by the simple necessities of colonial settlers, is the quintessential New England town. The town selectmen required regions for homes to be built, a common center district for shared use,…