Lynda J Russell
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On October 6, 1846, Gad Norton invited the public to witness a scientific experiment to be conducted at his family-owned lake. The experiment failed, but the crowds of people inspired him to open a recreation area. In 1851, the firm of Pierce and Norton began land improvements. Not only were new attractions added, but corporate outings and outdoor concerts with big bands were also held, providing for a full day of fun and memories. As the oldest continuously...
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Bristol was incorporated in 1785 and quickly became recognized as a clock-manufacturing center and home of the E. Ingraham Company's "dollar watch." The town grew with the many immigrant workers who arrived to work for local knitting mills, spring companies, and brass manufacturers. By the 1890s, the strong growth of the town brought an influx of people with different skills who established the Bristol Press, banks, local neighborhood shops and markets,...
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Bristol, originally known as West Woods, formed later than other Colonial towns. Bristol's mother town of Farmington was settled in 1640 and became a town in 1645, but pioneers did not lay out the remote and unpopulated section of Farmington until 1721. The Jerome, Matthews, and Lewis families created the New Cambridge Parish in 1742, and it was this parish that separated from Farmington and finally formed the town of Bristol in 1785. In Bristol Historic...
4) Plainville
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Originally known as the Great Plain, Plainville was the last town to separate from Farmington. In 1830, a post office was established in the new community and the name was changed. The town officially incorporated in 1869. The early economy consisted of farmers, millers, tin workers, tanners, chair makers, and blacksmiths. In 1828, the Farmington Canal opened and Plainville's population blossomed. It soon became a commercial center and new industries...