The Vernon Tunnel, Tunnel Road, Vernon CT & The Rails to Trails project

The Vernon Tunnel is another rare engineering structure from Connecticut's first generation of railroad construction. Like other railroads of the period, the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad had to accommodate numerous pre-existing rural roads when putting through their line. While most roads simply crossed the tracks at grade, at least initially, tunnels such as this were needed when the railroad, in order to maintain a near-constant elevation for its line, constructed a high embankment. Massive ashlar masonry such as that of the Vernon Tunnel was typical of these early railroad structures. The tunnel has outlived the rail line, which was abandoned in the late 1970s.

Vernon Tunnel

This Single lane auto/car tunnel is still in use, whereas the

high embankment above has been fashioned into a beatiful hiking/bike/jogging/walking path.  They tore up the disused Rail Road tracks and liked the path with heavy sand. 

From the embankment you look down upon sprawling woodlands and neighbouhood farms.

This Multi-use 'greenway' consists of 5.05 miles of trail along an abandoned railway (Hartford, Providence, and Fishkill RR) from the Vernon/Manchester town line easterly, then southerly to the Vernon/Bolton town line. From Bolton, the railway has been re-graded 15 more miles to Willimantic and is identified as a Connecticut State Trail named the "Hop River Linear Park Trail". In Willimantic, it joins the Airline Linear Park Trail which is approximately 40 miles long. These trails are permitted on Connecticut DEP property.

The original railroad was completed in 1849 and ran for over 100 years. The Rails to Trails project was designed and engineered by the Town of Vernon Engineering Department. Phase 1 of the project funs from Tunnel Road to the Bolton Line and was dedicated in 1995(2.43 miles). This section in Vernon was re-graded by the Connecticut National Guard- Bravo Company of the 242nd Engineer Battalion and was then covered with stone dust by the Town of Vernon. The trail was named "Route Sapper" in honor of the Bravo Company in Vernon. The funding for this project was obtained by the Vernon Hockanum River Linear Park Committee from the State via ISTEA funding, grants and the Boulder Ridge Subdivision sidewalk fund. The trail provides to the public a route for biking, hiking, cross-country skiing, and horseback. Handicap usage is encouraged. The trail is maintained by the Vernon Parks and Recreation Department and by volunteers. Phase 2 of the project, which was dedicated in 1998, runs from Tunnel Road to the Manchester town line and from Phoenix Street to the Tankerhoosen Bridge(2.62 miles). This phase was funded by State and Federal STP enhancement programs and HRLP funds. Phase 3 of the project runs from the Tankerhoosen Bridge to West Road and was dedicated in 2000 (3.19 miles). This part of the trail was constructed by the Town of Vernon Department of Public Works with National Recreation Trails program grants and State LOCIP funding

There is even on the Tunnel Road Embankment section, a very rustc little shed/outbuilding that is a beautiful focal point along the hike.

Or as I like to think of it as "The house in the woods"

SPOOKY!

The historic Heublein Tower in Simsbury, Connecticut

One day, in the years after the turn of the 20th century but before the outbreak of World War I, German-born businessman Gilbert Heublein was hiking in the Connecticut woods with his fiancé. As they stood atop Talcott Mountain on the border between the towns of Avon and Simsbury, Gilbert promised Louise that he'd build her a castle on that very spot. Heublein had the means. He'd made a fortune in the hotel business, and importing food and beverages - notably A-1 Steak Sauce and Smirnoff vodka.

In 1914, Heublein made good on his promise, building a summer home complete with a six-story tower at the peak of the stone ridge overlooking Connecticut's Farmington Valley. The 165-foot tower, modeled after the architecture of Heublein's native Bavaria, was designed to withstand 100-mile-per-hour winds.

For decades, the Heublein family made the house at the peak of the 1000-foot high mountain its summer retreat. At the top of the tower is a grand ballroom, where the family held lavish parties. It was here, at a more subdued Heublein Tower party, where history was made in the 1950s, when notable Republicans, including Connecticut Senator Prescott Bush - father and grandfather to two US Presidents - convinced General Dwight D. Eisenhower to run for president as a member of the GOP.



Today, the Heublein Tower is owned and managed by the state of Connecticut's Department of Environment Protection. A quarter century ago, a group called Friends of the Heublein Tower was formed to assist in the restoration and upkeep of the home, which operates as a museum and educational center.

The tower sits at the center of a 350-acre site that is part of Talcott Mountain State Park. Visitors can climb the 110 steps to the former grand ballroom on the uppermost observation level. From here, the view is spectacular, taking in parts of six states - from New Hamshire's Mount Monadnock to the northeast, the rolling Berkshire Mountains to the west, and even New York's Long Island to the south.

The 165-foot Heublein Tower, in Talcott Mountain State Park in Simsbury, is a very notable Connecticut landmark which provides spectacular views of Hartford and the Farmington River Valley. It was built as a residence for Gilbert Heublein, a food and drink magnate and manufacturer of A1 Steak Sauce, and was modeled on castles in his native Bavaria. In 1875, a young Heublein was hiking on the mountain with his fiancee and said, ”Someday Louise, I’m going to build you a castle on this mountain.” The Tower, constructed to withstand 100 MPH winds, was designed by Smith and Bassette and built by T. R. Fox and Son in 1914. The rest of the residence was added around 1925. The tower later opened to the public as part of the state park and many visitors hike up to visit it each year. There have been a number of restorations of the building, most recently through the efforts of the Friends of Heublein Tower.

Boston Neck Rd, Suffield, CT Haunted Mansion

Boston Neck Rd, Suffield, CT Haunted Mansion in Ruins

Warning: This house is lived in. The place is huge, look at it from above on Google Earth, but.....the family is odd There are about 9 out building including the ruins of an old carriage house . They live like west Virginians lol, there are no fewer than 20 cars disabled and strune around the farm including old tractor trailors and yellow school buses. In its "hay day", it was a massive estate. I believe several families live in whats left of the buildings, Youve gotta look on Google Earth or Bing for an aireal view, its quite scary! Leave these people alone, or you might not come back. DO NOT go TRICK-OR-TREATING there! lol

The angle of the sun provented me from getting any side shots, this place is huge!

About Georgian Architecture:




Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United Kingdom, and George IV of the United Kingdom—who reigned in continuous succession from August 1714 to June 1830.

General characteristics



Identifying Features (1700 - c.1780):


A simple 1-2 story box, 2 rooms deep, using strict symmetry arrangements

Panel front door centered, topped with rectangular windows (in door or as a transom) and capped with an elaborate crown/entablature supported by decorative pilasters

Cornice embellished with decorative moldings, usually dentilwork


Multi-pane windows are never paired, and fenestrations are arranged symmetrically (whether vertical or horizontal), usually 5 across

Other features of Georgian style houses can include - roof to ground-level:


Roof: 40% are Side-gabled; 25% Gambrel; 25% Hipped

Chimneys on both sides of the home


A portico in the middle of the roof with a window in the middle is more common with post-Georgian styles, e.g. "Adam"

Small 6-paned sash windows and/or dormer windows in the upper floors, primarily used for servant's quarters. This was also a way of reducing window tax.

Larger windows with 9 or 12 panes on the main floors

Schwartz pond, shot from stone bridge ifront of the house.

Colonial Georgian architecture


Georgian Architecture was widely disseminated in the English colonies of the time. In the American colonies, colonial Georgian blended with the neo-Palladian style to become known more broadly as 'Federal style architecture'. Georgian buildings were also constructed of wood with clapboards; even columns were made of timber, framed up and turned on an over-sized lathe. The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, is an excellent example of Georgian architecture in the Americas.

Unlike the Baroque style that it replaced, which was generated almost solely in the context of palaces and churches, Georgian had wide currency in the upper and middle classes. Within the residential context, the best remaining example is the pristine Hammond-Harwood House (1774) in Annapolis, Maryland. This house was designed by colonial architect William Buckland and modeled on the Villa Pisani at Montagnana, Italy as depicted in Andrea Palladio's I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura (Four Books Of Architecture).

good example of a Suffield Georgian

The establishment of Georgian architecture, and the Georgian styles of design more generally, were to a large degree aided by the fact that, unlike earlier styles which were primarily disseminated among craftsmen through the direct experience of the apprenticeship system, Georgian was also spread through the new medium of inexpensive suites of engravings. From the mid-18th century, Georgian styles were assimilated into an architectural vernacular that became part and parcel of the training of every architect, designer, builder, carpenter, mason and plasterer, from Edinburgh to Maryland.

Very sad to see such a once proud property in decline.  There is a painting of this house back in its prime, at the library and ive seen it online.  I can't find it right now, but you wont believe the difference.

UPDATE!

You can see an aerial shot of this massive estate in run down condition at Bing maps, birds eye vie.  Here is the link:

http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTSN&cp=qzttd68ycrz4&style=b&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&scene=17054460&encType=1

While your there, drag the curser behind the house and follow the dirt farm road, endless busses and old farm equipment, its truly creepy!  HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

KENT PLACE MANSION II

KENT PLACE MANSION II

This is KENT PLACE MANSION! I compared the pic to known architecture. and the address matches.

In 1897 Sidney Albert Kent, a Suffield native who had returned from Chicago, offered the town a fine new building to be placed on his ancestral land across the green. The building, the first Kent Memorial Library, was dedicated in 1899. When plans for building a new library were made in the 1960's, some of the funds were raised by selling the old building to Suffield Academy to use as its library. The new Kent Memorial Library was rededicated in its new location, at the head of Mountain Road, in 1972. Warren Platner Associates, a world-renowned architectural firm, designed the library.


The library has an area of over 14,000 square feet. In addition to the book stacks, the library has a 70-seat auditorium, separate children's room, the Spencer Historical Room housing an outstanding collection of early Suffield and Connecticut books and manuscripts, and an outside courtyard. The building interior is a series of light and airy, yet warm and intimate book-walled spaces arranged around the garden court. The exterior of the building continues to evoke strong and varying opinions from residents and visitors alike as to its aesthetic qualities and whether it fits the character of the town.


Sidney Albert Kent came from a wealthy Connecticut family and was founder of the Chicago Union Stock Yard Company. His residence, one of the few remaining mansions on South Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Designed by famous Architects Burnham & Root. The generous window openings and the sculptured qualities of masonry materials are a precursor to the firm's later designs

OLD NEWGATE PRISON

I visited the Prison today but it was closed.  Supposedly very haunted.  Ive heard even the trails behind are filled with spirits.  I took these pictures but please visit  http://www.graveaddiction.com/newgate.html for interior shots that I was unable to get. 

NO JOKE: I took these shots on the supposed haunted hill on the rear facing side of the property. It is said that you can hear the sounds and see forms in the shadows, of former prisoners. When taking this shot I heard earie noises as if someone was walking close by. However, I was alone. I wasn't startled because it was broad day light. The odd part came when out of nowhere i was engulfed by ladybugs. They were covering my shirt, hands and trousers. Very creepy. They filled the air like a cloud of locust. It was hard not to inhale them.

This is the shot during which I heard foot steps. Odd. The sun was cut off by the trees. Im not sure what to make of it but its the only time I heard the noise and its the only shot that came out cloudy.

In this shot, you see not birds in the far off distance but ladybugs up very close to the lense.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

I urge you to visit before the prison closes for the season on November 14th. Keep in mind, the trails and parking lot close at 4:30pm each evening.

Jonathan Pasco's Restaurant, Ghosts or just good food?

Jonathan Pasco's


31 South Main Street, East Windsor, CT 06088

Captain Jonathan Pasco (A History)

When Jonathan Pasco was born on September 29, 1760 in East Windsor, George II sat on the the throne of England, and the thirteen original colonies--still under British control--were sixteen years from their independence. George Washington was 28 years old, and Abraham Lincoln would not be born for fifty years. America was a new and developing country and Jonathan Pasco would be a part of that development.



In 1776 Jonathan Pasco enlisted in Colonel John Patterson's Massachusetts regiment. He fought with that regiment in the battle of Trenton. The battle of Trenton, known as the Christmas campaign, was an important American victory because it renewed the spirit of the patriot forces and seriously disarranged the plans of the British. The battle was fought in the early morning of December 25, after the commander-in-chief of all the Continental forces, George Washington, crossed the Delaware River. They marched to the enemy's camp at Trenton and took the Hessians, by surprise. Nearly one thousand British prisoners were captured.

Legend contends that sometime during the Revolutionary War, Pasco and several other soldiers were captured by Indians. An unsuccessful escape attempt was made resulting in their recapture. As an example, one of the group was singled out, tortured and skinned alive. In order to establish his "parole not to escape," Pasco was given a pocketbook made of the torture victim's skin and was forced to take an Indian women for a wife. Pasco eventually did escape and returned to East Windsor. He named his second daughter Cleons, after his Indian wife. The pocketbook has been handed down through the generations.

After returning from the Revolutionary War, Captain Pasco constructed his home at 31 South Main Street in East Windsor. He married a local woman, Elizabeth Allen, and fathered eleven children while residing there.

At the age of eighty-four, Jonathan Pasco died. (August 21, 1844) He is buried in East Windsor in the Town Street Cemetery (historical name for South Main Street), only a mile south of the Pasco House. He also has a headstone in the Scantic Cemetery that commemorates his revolutionary War service.

Events and happenings occurred, history was made and changed, and Jonathan Pasco's house continues at 31 South Main Street moving through the centuries.





A Tribute

A collection of Pasco memorabilia is included in the decor of the restaurant, creating an interesting tribute to Jonathan Pasco. Pasco's decedents are scattered, but a few still remain in the East Windsor area. All have been helpful in creating the atmosphere of the restaurant and the accuracy of the history presented.

The House

The Jonathan Pasco House was built by its namesake in 1782 and completed for occupancy by his family in 1784. The original brick structure has been completely restored to serve as a restaurant dedicated to providing fine dining for dinner without altering the historical significance and traditional flavor of the Jonathan Pasco House.



East Windsor - Pasco's restaurant - movement of objects, closing doors, cold spots, etc.

I myself have eaten here twice and the food is good although I didn't see or hear anything odd.  The place is wall-to-wall Colonial decor, so its a cool place to eat.

Holloween hits CT and it starts all over again.

SOUTHINGTON, Conn. (AP) — A Hollywood horror film that depicts the alleged haunting of a former funeral parlor in central Connecticut is turning into a nightmare for the home's current owners and their neighbors.

The movie, "A Haunting in Connecticut," is long out of theaters but curious fans are already making a beeline for the Southington home that inspired the movie.

"It's just been really, really stressful," said Susan Trotta-Smith, who bought the home 10 years ago with her husband. "It's been a total change from a very quiet house in a very quiet neighborhood to looking out the window and seeing cars stopping all the time. It's been very, very stressful, and sometimes worrisome."



The family has never seen anything unusual inside their five-bedroom, two-family white wood-frame house and does not believe the property was haunted.



"It's got beautiful woodwork, and there is a nice warm feeling to the house," Trotta-Smith said. "Because it was a funeral home, the upstairs apartment is much more spacious. It's like two full houses, and it has a beautiful yard, too."



The movie, starring Virginia Madsen and Kyle Gallner and released by Lionsgate, is loosely based on stories that revolved around the house in the 1980s.

The residents at the time, the Snedeker family, claimed their son would hear strange noises in his basement bedroom, which once held casket displays and was near the old embalming room. He also claimed to see shadows on the wall of people who were not there. A niece visiting the home said she felt hands on her body as she tried to sleep, and her covers levitated.



The family brought in Ed and Lorraine Warren, self-described paranormal researchers, who became famous for documenting the alleged "Amityville Horror" haunting of a home on Long Island.



Lorraine Warren says she felt an evil presence in the Southington home and experienced the haunting herself when she spent a night there.

"In the master bedroom, there was a trap door where the coffins were brought up," she said. "And during the night, you would hear that chain hoist, as if a coffin were being brought up. But when Ed went to check, there was nobody down there."



Warren, whose husband died in 2006, has nothing to do with the movie. She said the house was "cleared" of the evil presence after a seance in 1988. A book and a television documentary followed.



The current owners, who rent out part of the home to another family, have removed the street number from the house and posted "no trespassing" signs. Trotta-Smith says they are concerned about the four children who live there.



"Most people are respectful. They stay on the road. They might take a picture," Trotta-Smith said. "But we have had a few problems with people kind of rudely coming up to the door and scaring our kids, telling them the house is haunted."



Police have added extra patrols to the neighborhood.

"There are creatures looming in the night but not inside the house," Southington police Sgt. Lowell DePalma said. "They happen to be people who are trespassing on the property, looking in windows and that kind of stuff. People are going to be disappointed. There are no ghosts."



Alison Taylor, 37, drove from her home in East Hartford with her camera after seeing a show about the haunting on the Discovery Channel and hearing about the new movie.



"I'm very intrigued," she said. "I figured since it was close, I could come. A lot of people are so skeptical, but I'm not. I'm sure some things are made up to make the movie look better, but I think it's great."



Katherine Altemus, who lives across the street, shoos curious onlookers away. She believes the ghost stories were a hoax.



"It's disgraceful," she said. "None of the haunting took place, and now it's ruining the lives of that wonderful young family that lives there."



Calls to the Snedeker family were returned by the film production company, who said they would attempt to arrange an interview.



Film producer Andrew Trapani said he believed the mother, Carmen Snedeker, was very credible, and believes the film does a good job depicting what her family went through. The movie was filmed in Teulon, Manitoba.



He said the names of the family and town in the film were fictionalized, in part to try and keep unwanted attention away from the real home. The Snedekers and Southington are identified on the film's Web site.



"We certainly didn't set out to upset anyone or have anyone show up at their home," he said. "I think in this case, this particular supernatural haunting had a much larger following than even I had anticipated."



Trotta-Smith said she's working with the police but has no plans to put up a fence. She said she just wants a normal life in the house, but she's not sure that will be possible if the movie becomes a big hit.



"I'm a little worried about this Halloween because I imagine that's when they will release the DVD and get everyone worked up again."

Old Burying Ground (Now Palisado Cemetery) Windsor CT

Today I spent a few hours in my favourite little quiet town in Connecticut. I spent the afternoon in the Old Burying Ground (Now Palisado Cemetery)

First Church in Windsor, Connecticut celebrated the 375th anniversary of its founding in 2005. It is the oldest Congregational Church in Connecticut and, we understand, the fourth oldest Congregational Church in the world.

First Church traces its beginnings back to 1630 in Plymouth, England where 140 men and women placed their trust in the Lord and their leadership and set sail on The Mary & John, the first of 17 ships--the so-called Winthrop Fleet-- bound for the colony of Massachusetts. They were a well educated and well-to-do group, many being dignified with the title of "Mister" which few in those days were. These Puritans had strong religious convictions and were willing to endure deprivation and danger for conscience sake. "To put on the full armor of God" were not simply words to these men and women.

A quick reading of the inscription on any early New England gravestone, and you know exactly how the deceased was regarded by his family and friends. Mr. Huit’s tabled tombstone, erected in 1644 in the Old Burying Ground of Windsor (Palisado Cemetery) and reputed to be the oldest original monument still standing in the State of Connecticut, reads:

Who when hee lived wee drew our vitall breath,

Who when hee dyed his dying was our death,

Who was ye stay of State, Ye Churches Staff,

Alas the times forbid an Epitaph

for more information please visit:







http://www.firstchurchinwindsor.org/history.aspx



or for directions:







http://www.town-usa.com/connecticut/hartford/windsor/windsor_history.html







Please visit Connecticut.