Bus Tour: Lively Lore & Legends: Fact or Fiction?

Event Date : Apr 27 2024

“Bad Boys and Wicked Women of Farmington”

Event Date : Apr 25 2024

Join us for our Dinner Book Club: meet Paul Kix!

Event Date : Dec 20 2023

“You Have To Be Prepared To Die Before You Can Begin To Live”

Book Voyagers Club: Polar Express!!!

Event Date : Dec 17 2023

FHS will speak November 5th, 1:00pm! Join us!

Event Date : Nov 05 2023

Farmington Valley CT Heritage Network Awarded Grant to Explore Immigration Stories of the Farmington Valley

“Why They Came” offers a personal perspective on the people who shaped our towns, sponsored by Connecticut Humanities

Two Consecutive Sundays: November 5 & 12, 2023  /  1:00-2:30 pm

Farmington Valley CT Heritage Network Awarded Grant to Explore Immigration Stories of the Farmington Valley

“Why They Came” offers a personal perspective on the people who shaped our towns, sponsored by Connecticut Humanities

Two Consecutive Sundays: November 5 & 12, 2023  /  1:00-2:30 pm

FARMINGTON, Conn. – A $1,908 Sponsorship Grant awarded by Connecticut Humanities to the Farmington Valley CT Heritage Network (FVHN) will breathe life into stories of immigration to the Farmington Valley spanning the 17^th to 20^th centuries. “Why They Came: Immigration to the Farmington Valley” is a series of talks to be presented on two consecutive Sundays, November 5 and November 12, 1:00-2:30 p.m. In each session, four FVHN member sites will present brief stories about an individual, family, or organization – including immigrants from Poland, Germany, England, Ireland, Italy, and more – that had an impact on their town. The November 5 session will be held at Stanley-Whitman House, 37 High Street, Farmington, and will feature presentations by Avon Historical Society, Farmington Historical Society, Stanley-Whitman House, and Unionville Museum. The November 12 session will be held at Simsbury Historical Society’s Ellsworth Visitors Center, 800 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, and will feature presentations by Barkhamsted Historical Society, Canton Historical Museum, Salmon Brook Historical Society, and Simsbury Historical Society. Admission is $5 per Sunday per person, payable in advance or at the door. To reserve your spot, please contact Nancy Anstey at nancy@farmingtonvalleyctheritage.org or 860-680-5298.

The Farmington River Valley is the geographic thread that connects the member sites of The Farmington Valley CT Heritage Network (ten member sites in all: for more information, visit https://www.farmingtonvalleyctheritage.org/members), covering the central watershed area of the Farmington River. While this area is widely known for its cultural history – from the extensive Indigenous presence of centuries past to colonial settlements and beyond – FVHN is pleased to have this opportunity to offer more in-depth stories of individuals who, escaping the changing economic and social conditions of their home countries, arrived in and helped shape our communities. 

“We chose this topic for our annual fall presentation because immigration has been at the forefront of the news for some time, and we want to present the topic from a different, more personal perspective,” commented Nancy Anstey, the group’s Chairperson. “This is a topic that affects us all, whether we’re talking about the past or the present. By exploring personal stories from each town, we can bring a greater understanding to people about their communities.”

On Sunday, November 5, participants will hear from the Avon Historical Society about “Prince Thomas of Savoy – Past, Present, and Future,” discussing the founding members of the Society and their immigration from Italy in 1917. The Farmington Historical Society will feature a first-generation couple from Bangladesh discussing their journeys to the Farmington River Valley, perceptions of living here, and hopes for their children. Alyce Barlowski from Stanley-Whitman House in Farmington will appear in period costume as Civil War widow Julia Roper to talk about “Our History in Stories: The Legacy of Mrs. Julia Roper.” From the Unionville Museum, attendees will hear about “The Irish in Unionville, 1862,” including author James Joyce. 

The following Sunday, November 12, will feature a story from the Barkhamsted Historical Society about an immigrant German family taking over one of Barkhamsted’s biggest farms after the Civil War. Canton Historical Society will focus on the immigrants from many countries who came to work at The Collins Company as worldwide demand grew for the company’s axes, machetes, and other tools. Salmon Brook Historical Society in Granby will present “Granby to the White House,” a story involving a 1698 immigrant from England, an abduction, and the family’s connection to one of the Presidents of the United States. Finally, the Simsbury Historical Society brings the story of “Frank Zablocki, Polish Immigrant, and the Industrialization of Simsbury,” about the first Polish man hired by the Ensign Bickford Company in 1898.

Proceeds from the program benefit The Farmington Valley CT Heritage Network, whose mission is to enhance appreciation of the rich history of Connecticut’s Farmington Valley by promoting collaboration and communication among heritage groups and raising cultural awareness through programming and tours. 

To learn more about FVHN and this program, visit https://www.farmingtonvalleyctheritage.org/.   

About Connecticut Humanities

Connecticut Humanities (CTH) is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. CTH connects people to the humanities through grants, partnerships, and collaborative programs. CTH projects, administration, and program development are supported by state and federal matching funds, community foundations, and gifts from private sources. Learn more by visiting cthumanities.org.

Photo captions: 

1. John Ullmann raking hay.jpg: John Ullman with a horse-drawn hay rake at his farm in Barkhamsted, c. 1920. John and Augusta Ullmann and their family immigrated from Germany to Barkhamsted in 1885. Photo courtesy of Barkhamsted Historical Society.
2. Ensign Bickford Campus ca 1900.jpg: A photo of the Ensign Bickford Fuse Factory ca. 1900. When the Ensign Bickford Company in Simsbury began to expand in the late 19^th century, numbers of Polish and Lithuanian workers arrived to join the earlier Irish immigrants. Photo courtesy of Simsbury Historical Society.
3. Julia Roper.jpg: Julia Roper was a young Irish immigrant who worked at Miss Porter’s School. After she lost her husband Hugh Roper in the Civil War, she raised her daughter as a single parent, living for some time in “the old Whitman house” (Stanley-Whitman House) on High Street. Photo courtesy of Stanley-Whitman House.

Farmington’s Freedom Trail Tours

Event Date : Jun 07 2025

Our 2025 Freedom Trail Tours will resume in June! Order tickets here.

Join us on a tour which shows the actual places where the Amistad captives lived during their time in Farmington. Go back with us to 1841 and follow their footsteps!

The Farmington Historical Society offers an introductory lecture by Andre LePelle Keitt, followed by a guided walking tour to the various sites throughout the village which were part of the Mende stay in Farmington, as well as several sites which were part of Connecticut’s Freedom Trail.

From March through November 1841, Farmington, Connecticut was home to the African Mende captives who had rebelled and overtaken the slave-ship, La Amistad. The 53 captives, mostly Mende from what is now Sierra Leone, had been captured and shipped to Cuba. In 1839, they were sold to work plantations on the other side of Cuba. They were shipped aboard La Amistad . While at sea, they rebelled and the 44 survivors sailed the ship to Long Island, New York. They were taken into custody aboard the USS Washington under the command of Lt. Gedney. They were jailed in New Haven, Connecticut and taken to trials in Hartford, Connecticut and Washington, DC. The trials lasted 18 months. In February 1841 their case was argued by former President John Quincy Adams before the Supreme Court. On March 9, 1841 the decision came down, declaring the Africans to be free people with permission to return to their homeland. Nine days later, they arrived in Farmington, Connecticut, where abolitionists provided housing, schooling, and the fundraising necessary for the Mende passage back to their homeland. The Mende provided loyalty, gratitude and a willingness to learn about new cultures and assistance in earning their own way back home.

This story became a love story between two groups of people that were forced together by slavery. They grew to love respect and trust each other by the end of their adventure…together!

Tours are on most Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. beginning at the First Church of Christ, Congregational, 1652 located at  75 Main Street, Farmington. Please see below for specific dates.

Please note that the presentation will take place rain or shine. If the walking portion of the tour is not possible due to heavy rain, we will continue in the church with a special presentation.

For more info, please contact us at akeitt@fhs-ct.org or info@fhs-ct.org or (860)678-1645.

Church presentation and village tour tickets:

• Adults ages 19 and up – $20.00 per person
• Seniors – $15.00
• Under 18 – $10.00
• 5 years old and under – free

Groups of 10 or more: please contact us.

2025 Tour Dates:

June 7, 14, 21

July 12, 19, 26

August 2, 9, 16, 23

September 6, 13, 27

• Total length of tour is 1-1/2 hours to 2 hours.
• Special accommodations can be made for corporate groups with DEI agenda.
• The tour is ADA compliant.
• Accommodation for the hearing impaired can be made.
• Please note that the presentation will take place rain or shine. If the walking portion of the tour is not possible due to heavy rain, we will continue in the church with a special presentation.

RESERVE YOUR TICKETS HERE!

“Andre, I wanted to thank you for a wonderful field trip today. I really appreciate the effort you and your team put into making the Amistad & Underground Railroad Walking Tour informative and engaging for 5th graders. I have been on some version of this field trip about 20 times in my career, and I will say that the current version of the trip is the best one!” – Judy Muirhead, Grade 5 Teacher, West Woods Upper Elementary School

“Although I have lived and worked on Main Street since 2008, I was amazed at how much Farmington history I did not know. The FHS Farmington Freedom Trail tour was well organized, insightful and left me thinking more deeply about our town. The re-enactors brought authentic enthusiasm to the sharing and re-telling of Farmington history and made it feel real. I will highly recommend this tour going forward.” – Michael Bergin, CFO/COO, Miss Porter’s School

                           Portrait of Cinque by Nathaniel Jocelyn

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