April 2025 Bus Tour: Way Back When ~ A Witness to History

A postcard of Main Street, Collinsville, CT in the early 1900s (courtesy of the Canton Historical Society).

Saturday, April 26, 2025

9:30 am to 3:30 pm

Meet at Collinsville Canoe & Kayak, 41 Bridge Street, Collinsville, at 9:15 am.

Visit sites in Barkhamsted, New Hartford, and Collinsville, each providing a fascinating peek, through interviews and diaries, into the lives of its residents in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Commentary on historic spots along the route will be offered in transit on the comfortable tour bus. A furnished box lunch (choices available) will be served in Barkhamsted between stops. Admission is $50 per person and includes the bus tour, a “goody bag” for the bus, lunch, and a pre-tour lecture (see below) on Thursday, April 24th at 7:00 pm. Reservations are required for the bus. Email mzlotnick@cox.net or call 860.841.8344 by April 10th to reserve your spot, choose a payment option, and submit your lunch choice (tuna, turkey, or veggie wrap).

 
Typical farmer in the 1880s

Pre-Tour Lecture:

“The Life of a Typical Farmer in the 1880s”

Thursday, April 24, 2025 / 7:00 PM / Canton Community Center, 40 Dyer Ave., Canton. Questions: Email mzlotnick@cox.net or call 860.841.8344.

Mike Day, author on 19th-century education and Curator of The Barkhamsted Historical Society’s One-Room Schoolhouse, presents The Life of a Typical Farmer in the 1880s. The presentation sets the stage for the first part of a 4-part bus tour series, “Way Back When: A Witness to History,” kicking off the following Saturday. The lecture is open to the public; admission is $5 per person for those not joining the April 26 bus tour, payable at the door. More information about the bus tour is included above.

 In The Life of a Typical Farmer in the 1880s, Day explores the life, work and relationships of a typical local farmer of that period, drawing from the highly descriptive diaries kept by George Weed, who owned a farm in Barkhamsted on the North Canton border at that time. READ MORE here.

Previous Tours & Lectures

The History of Myrtle Mills Factory Store

This popular program in November 2024 took attendees through the fascinating journey of Myrtle Mills Factory Store, from its early beginnings and wartime contributions to its post-war retail innovations and eventual closure in the mid-1970s. Through archival photos, advertisements, and anecdotes, the presentation brought to life the story of a knitting mill that helped shape Unionville’s history and left an indelible mark on the American retail landscape. Audience members also had the opportunity to share their memories. Stay tuned for the video of the session!

Why They Came: Stories of Immigration to the Farmington Valley

Sponsored by CT Humanities, the Farmington Valley CT Heritage Network's "Why They Came" program in November 2023 offered a personal perspective on the people who shaped our towns. The program took place in two parts. Enjoy the wonderful videos taken of both sessions!

Part One features stories from the Avon Historical Society ("Prince Thomas of Savoy"), the Farmington Historical Society (Asian immigrants), Stanley-Whitman House ("The Legacy of Mrs. Julia Roper"), and the Unionville Museum ("The Irish in Unionville").

Part Two of two features stories from the Barkhamsted Historical Society ("A German Immigrant Family Takes Over One of Barkhamsted’s Biggest Farms"), the Canton Historical Museum (“Farmington Valley Immigration 1830-1920”), the Salmon Brook Historical Society ("Granby to the White House"), and the Simsbury Historical Society ("Frank Zablocki, Polish Immigration, and the Industrialization of Simsbury").

Additional Past Programs

  • A Granby Haunting

    Lively Lore & Legends: Fact or Fiction?

    APRIL 2022: Part one of a three-part bus tour series exploring the legends of the Farmington Valley.

    Read More
  • Hill-Stead farm staff with some of the bones excavated, 1913. Allen B. Cook Collection, Archives, Hill-Stead Museum

    The Pope-Farmington Mastodon

    NOVEMBER 2022: Dr. Nicholas F. Bellatoni offers a dramatic look into Post-Glacial times and CT’s first inhabitants in this fascinating lecture.

    Read More
  • Unionville Depot and Train

    Lively Lore & Legends: Fact or Fiction?

    APRIL 2023: Part two of a three-part bus tour series exploring the legends of the Farmington Valley.

    Read More
  • Theodate Pope Riddle (Hill-Stead Museum Archives)

    Lively Lore & Legends: Fact or Fiction?

    APRIL 2024: Part three of a three-part bus tour series exploring the legends of the Farmington Valley.

    Read More