Taft Tunnel completed in 1837, Lisbon – Linda Orlomoski
Named after Portugal’s capital city, the New London County town of Lisbon sits between the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers in a National Heritage Corridor popularly known as The Last Green Valley. The town incorporated from Norwich in 1786 and, by the 1800s, its economic base included agriculture as well as wool and silk factories. In 1837, the Norwich-Worcester Railroad cut a tunnel through a hilly section of town along the Quinebaug River. Still in use today, the town claims it as the first railroad tunnel built in the US. Lisbon notables include Ebenezer Tracy, a Revolutionary War-era craftsman known for his Windsor chairs that are today prized by museums and collectors.
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Ebenezer Tracy Made Some of the Finest 18th-Century Furniture
Ebenezer Tracy was a carpenter from Lisbon, Connecticut, who specialized in making fine, hand-crafted furniture. …[more]
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Websites
“The Last Green Valley,” 2017. Link.
Places
“The Lisbon Historical Society,” 2012. Link.
Documents
“Aaron Cleveland V. William Ryan: Cleveland Accused Ryan of Kidnapping Shoram, a Male Negro Child, from the Family of Ezra Clark of Lisbon and Taking Him to South Carolina to Be Enslaved.” New London County Court, Connecticut, June 1790. Connecticut State Library, State Archives, RG 003. Link.
Connecticut State Library Digital Collections. “Lisbon - WPA Architectural Survey,” 2014. Link.
“Lisbon Collection.” Connecticut Digital Archive, n.d. Link.
Books
Marshall, Benjamin Tinkham, ed. A Modern History of New London County, Connecticut. Vol. 1. New York, NY: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1922. Link.
Bishop, Henry F. Historical Sketch of Lisbon, Conn., from 1786-1900. New York: H.F. Bishop, 1903. Link.
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