Taft Tunnel, Lisbon

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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Writing-arm chair attributed to Ebenezer Tracy

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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