Enfield - Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project

Advertisement “Gun Powder Manufactured by the Enfield Powder Company, Enfield, Conn. Sold Here.” Wells’ Steam Press, 1850–1854 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Illustrated

Enfield, in Hartford County, is located in north-central Connecticut and borders on Massachusetts, which named and incorporated the town in 1683. Following a boundary dispute settlement, Enfield became part of Connecticut in 1749. Notable industries of Enfield’s past include carpet making in its Thompsonville district and gunpowder manufacture in its Hazardville section. The Enfield Shakers, who produced goods for themselves and to trade, also contributed to the town’s economy; in the 19th century, their garden seeds sold throughout the US. An early enterprise that still remains in Enfield today is shade tobacco production.

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Enfield’s Shaker Legacy

Shaking Quakers settled in Enfield and created the packaged seed business.  …[more]

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Websites

The Enfield Historical Society. “Hazard Powder Company,” 2016. Link.

The Enfield Historical Society. “The Shaker Community,” 2016. Link.

The Enfield Historical Society. “Thompsonville Carpet Industry,” 2016. Link.

Places

Enfield Historical Society. “Martha A. Parsons House Museum,” 2017. Link.

Enfield Historical Society. “Old Town Hall Museum,” 2016. Link.

Connecticut Freedom Trail. “Paul Robeson House,” 2016. Link.

“The Enfield Historical Society,” 2016. Link.

Enfield Historical Socciety. “Wallup School Museum,” 2016. Link.

Documents

“Bird’s-Eye View of Thompsonville (Now Enfield), Connecticut.” Bird’s-eye. New York: Hughes & Bailey, 1908. University of Connecticut Libraries, Map and Geographic Information Center - MAGIC. Link.

Enfield Powder Company. “Broadside: Gun Powder Manufactured by the Enfield Powder Company, Enfield, Conn. Sold Here.” Wells’ Steam Press, ca. -1854 1850. Connecticut Historical Society, Connecticut History Illustrated. Link.

Connecticut State Library. “Digitized Historic Newspaper - Thompsonville Press,” 2016. Link.

Connecticut State Library Digital Collections. “Enfield - WPA Architectural Survey,” 2016. Link.

“Enfield Collection.” Connecticut Digital Archive, n.d. Link.

J.C. Dexter Photo Co. “Photograph: North Family Shakers, Enfield,” ca 1900. Connecticut History Online, Connecticut Historical Society. Link.

“The World War Veterans of Enfield: Being a Souvenir Program of the Reception and Celebration Held in Their Honor September 1, 1919.” Enfield, CT, September 1, 1919. Link.

Books

Malley, James. Enfield, 1950-1980. Charleston,  SC: Arcadia, 2003.

Miller, Michael. Enfield, Connecticut. Charleston,  SC: Arcadia, 1998.

Enfield Historical Society, and Ruth Bridge. The Challenge of Change: Three Centuries of Enfield, Connecticut, History. Canaan,  NH: Enfield Historical Society, 1977.

Allen, Francis, ed. The History of Enfield, Connecticut. Lancaster,  PA: Wickersham Printing Company, 1900.