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.

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.

The Fist Witch Trial in the Colonies

Alse Young (sometimes cited as Achsah Young or Alice Young) (b. cal 1600) (died May 26, 1647) of Windsor, Connecticut, was the first person in the records executed for witchcraft in the thirteen American colonies.

Very little is recorded of Alse Young; her existence is only known through her reputation as a witch. She is believed to have been the wife of John Young, who bought a small parcel of land in Windsor in 1641, sold it in 1649, and then disappeared from the town records. She had a daughter, Alice Young Beamon, who would be accused of witchcraft in nearby Springfield, Massachusetts, some 30 years later. Like many similar cases of witchcraft, Alse Young was a woman without a son when the accusation was lodged, which implied that she would be eligible to receive through inheritance her husband's estate.

There is no further record of Young's trial or the specifics of the charge, only that Alse Young was a woman. Early historical record hints at the possibility that there may have been some sort of epidemic in the town of Windsor in early 1647. Alse Young was hanged at the Meeting House Square in Hartford, Connecticut, on what is now the site of the Old State House. A journal of then Massachusetts Bay Colony

Governor John Winthrop states that "One... of Windsor arraigned and executed at Hartford for a witch." [1] The second town clerk of Windsor, Matthew Grant also confirms the execution with the May 26, 1647 diary entry, "Alse Young was hanged."In 1642, witchcraft became punishable by death in the Connecticut Colony. This capital offense was backed by references to the King James version of the Bible: Exodus (22:18) says, Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. And Leviticus (20:27) says, A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood (shall be) upon them. In Connecticut, witchcraft was last listed as a capital crime in 1715. The crime of witchcraft disappeared from the list of capital crimes when the laws were next issued in 1750.

Visit Connecticut.

THE BLACK SEA

ROMANIAN BEACHES


Black Sea resorts


Mamaia Resort is the pearl of the Romanian beach and is situated at 5 km North from Constanta on a land strip between the Black sea and the Siutghiol lake. Marine climate with an average temperature during the summer of 23 degrees C. The beaches lay on a distance of 8.5 km and are 100-250 m wide with very fine sand.
Mamaia has 8 leisure complexes divided: 4 at the lake and 4 at the sea.
It is the only resort which has an Aqua Magic leisure complex.
Aqua Magic is situated in Mamaia (at the entrance from Constanta) near the Summer theatre.
It lays on 2,7 ha and it is endowed with waterslides, pools, waterfalls, the water surface being of 4000 sq. m. At the same time the complex includes: shops, terraces, restaurants, bars, sweet shops etc.
In addition to this one can dive, rise with the parachute, be drawn with the inflatable life buoy and bananas, can go on trips with sailing boats, motorboats and scooters.

Eforie Nord Resort is famous because of the mud treatments of the Techirghiol lake for rheumatic, gynecological, dermatological, neurological and respiratory affections. It is at 14 km South from Constanta.

Eforie Sud Resort is famous ever since 1912 when it was called Carmen Sylva. It is recommended for the treatment of the rheumatic, dermatological and bone affections. It is at 14 km South from Constanta.

Mangalia Resort is a permanent balneoclimateric resort with a Mediterranean climate, situated at 43 km South from Constanta. In the 6th century it was called Callatis and the denomination of Mangalia was given in the XII century. Saturn, Venus, Cap Aurora, Jupiter, Neptun, Olimp resort belong to Mangalia, too. The resort is recommended for treating the rheumatic, degenerative, orthopedic, dermatological, gynecological affections and diseases of the digestive, renal, respiratory apparatus.

Visit :
* Mangalia Hippodrome for trot as well as gallop where one can ride on the beach. (5 km from Mangalia)
* The „Esmahan Sultan" Mosque is the oldest Islamic mosque from the country built in the year 1525 by the daughter of the sultan Selim the Second.
*The beach from Mangalia has fine sand with an average width of 200m

Costinesti Resort or the youth resort is situated at 30 km South of Constanta. It has a marine climate with average temperatures in the summer of 22 degrees Celsius, and in the summer bright days prevail. The beach is 5.5 km lng and 200m wide..

Constanta is on the place of the Greek colony Tomis, founded towards the end of the 6th century before Christ and developed after the Roman conquest towards the 1st century before Christ. The city had a permanent existence and developed in the 19th century by the development of the harbor and the Cernavoda-Constanta railways and after the war from 1877-1878 when Dobrogea is included in Romania. Constanta is the second city as size from Romania with a population of over 300.000 inhabitants (minorities - Turks, Tartars and Macedo-Romanians) and a surface of 1.120.000 sq. km
Constanta harbor (3200 sq. km) may receive crafts of over 150.000 tdw and annually over 80 million tone of commodities are conveyed in transit.
The beach from Constanta is 6 km long.

Visit:
The museum includes:
*The Aquarium - is situated on Constanta cliff near the Cazino. It was founded in 1958 and it has sea fish and indigenous and exotic fresh water fish.
*The Delphinarium -situated in Mamaia Avenue no.255, was founded in 1972
Between Eforie South and Mangalia there can be found resorts Olimp, Neptun, Jupiter, Cap Aurora,Venus, Saturn. Here one can arrive by train -Neptun, minibus from half and hour to hour from Mangalia or by auto from highway Constanta-Mangalia