Lock 12 Farmington Canal, Cheshire

Lock 12 Farmington Canal, Cheshire – John Nieman

The town of Cheshire is located in New Haven County in the Central Naugatuck Valley. Once part of Wallingford and known as North Farms, Cheshire separated from Wallingford in 1780 and incorporated as a town. Predominately a farming community, Cheshire saw a rise in industry and suburbanization in the post-World War II period but managed to retain many of its rural characteristics and agrarian roots. Today, Cheshire’s lively agricultural industry has led the town to be called the “Bedding Plant Capital of Connecticut.” It is also home to two state prison facilities, the Cheshire Correctional Institution which opened in 1910 and the Manson Youth Institute, opened in 1982.

More on Cheshire from the CT Digital Archive

Browse more interactive content on the CT Digital Archive website.

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Places

Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. “Farmington Canal State Park Trail,” 2012. Link.
“The Cheshire Historical Society,” 2012. Link.
Farmington Valley Trails Council. “The Farmington Canal Heritage Trail,” 2016. Link.

Documents

Connecticut State Library. “Cheshire - WPA Architectural Survey,” 2009. Link.
“Cheshire Collection.” Connecticut Digital Archive, n.d. Link.
“Map - North Part of New Haven Co., Connecticut from Town and City Atlas of the State of Connecticut.” Boston, MA: D.H. Hurd & Company, 1893. University of Connecticut Libraries, Map and Geographic Information Center - MAGIC. Link.
“Photograph - Man and Machine, Capewell Horse Nail Company, Cheshire,” ca 1880. Connecticut History Online, Connecticut Historical Society. Link.
“View of Cheshire, Connecticut 1882.” Bird’s-eye. Boston, MA: Bailey & Company, 1882. University of Connecticut Libraries, Map and Geographic Information Center - MAGIC. Link.

Books

Gagliardi, Ron. Cheshire. Charleston,  SC: Arcadia, 2001.
Beach, Joseph. History of Cheshire, Connecticut, from 1694-1840 Including Prospect, Which, as Columbia Parish, Was a Part of Cheshire Until 1829. Cheshire, CT: Lady Fenwick Chapter, D.A.R., 1912. Link.
Rockey, J. History of New Haven County, Connecticut. Vol. 1. New York: W. W. Preston, 1892. Link.
Davis, Charles. History of Wallingford, Conn. from Its Settlement in 1670 to the Present Time, Including Meriden, Which Was One of Its Parishes Until 1806, and Cheshire, Which Was Incorporated in 1780. Meriden, CT: C.H.S. Davis, 1870. Link.
Brown, Edwin. Old Historic Homes of Cheshire, Connecticut, with an Account of the Early Settlement of the Town, Description of Its Churches, Academy and Old Town Cemetery, Places of Interest--Roaring Brook, Scott’s Rock, Barytes and Copper Mines, Ancient Trees, Etc. New Haven,  CT: C.H. Ryder, 1895.
Cheshire Historical Society, and Raimon Beard. Reflections on the Canal in Cheshire: A Scrap-Book Account. Cheshire,  CT: Cheshire Historical Society, 1976.