Shade grown tobacco, East Windsor
The Connecticut River forms the western border of this town, which is located in northeastern Hartford County. Incorporated from Windsor in 1768, East Windsor attracted settlers with its fertile soil for growing corn, oats, hay, and other crops. Its strategic location on the state’s main river also made it a key transfer station for goods moving between north and south. Small industry, such as textile and grist mills, grew up on its waterways, and by the 1900s shade tobacco became a dominant crop. Now, newer forms of commerce make up East Windsor’s economic base, but still-active drying sheds and farms speak to agriculture’s ongoing importance in the town.
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Places
“Connecticut Trolley Museum,” 2016. Link.
Documents
O.H. Bailey & Company. “Broad Brook, Conn.” Bird’s-eye. Boston, MA: O.H. Bailey & Company, ca 1876. Connecticut History Online. Link.
Connecticut State Library Digital Collections. “East Windsor - WPA Architectural Survey,” 2016. Link.
“East Windsor Collection.” Connecticut Digital Archive, n.d. Link.
“Map - East Windsor, Hartford County, Conn. (Petersen Collection).” ca 1850. University of Connecticut Libraries - Map and Geographic Information Center - MAGIC. Link.
Books
Stiles, Henry. The History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut Including East Windsor, South Windsor, Bloomfield, Windsor Locks, and Ellington. 1635-1891. Genealogies and Biographies. Vol. 2. Hartford, CT: Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company, 1891. Link.
Stiles, Henry. The History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut Including East Windsor, South Windsor, Bloomfield, Windsor Locks, and Ellington. 1635-1891. History. Vol. 1. Hartford, CT: Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company, 1891. Link.
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