Avon Historical Society Hosting Fall Lecture Series

AVON, CT - From the Avon Historical Society: The Special Projects Committee of the Avon Historical Society is pleased to present another multi-part lecture series entitled “A Tapestry of Topics” beginning on September 11, all held at the Avon Senior and Community Center. This series of seven lectures sets the stage for understanding how early residents lived in various sections of the town relative to historical events that were transpiring.

The first is about a former milling community and will detail the residents and these early mills; the second examines the ‘face’ of slavery in early Avon through an extensive research project undertaken by a local history museum and University; the third will showcase the extensive genealogy and research by one presenter on estate wills left by Native Americans in Farmington (early Avon) and the interaction between one Native American family with a military man. The fourth presentation will discuss Connecticut’s historical involvement and explore how Avon specifically responded to the American Revolution. The fifth examines the ruins of an old cider mill distillery and what the temperance movement in Hartford County, including Avon, looked like. Next will be a look at how the Industrial Revolution brought the Town into the 20th century and finally, the last presentation will be on Avon historic church and school bells with a special hand bell choir performance from members of the Avon Congregational Church.

The first lecture entitled “The Extinct Milling Community of Sleepy Hollow” will be held on Monday, September 11th at 7:00 p.m. at the Avon Senior Community Center, 635 West Avon Road, Avon. Presented by Janet M. Conner, Head of Special Projects, of Avon Historical Society, who did extensive research piecing together the story of the mills and the residents of this now ghost of a community. There will be an introduction by Doug Ross, a descendant of an early resident family. Most people in Avon today have never heard of Sleepy Hollow. This milling community existed as a sub-community of West Avon and was located where Avon Old Farms School is today. There were originally about two dozen families living in this milling community and most residents were involved in some aspect of the milling
operations. There was a gristmill to grind grain, a sawmill for lumber, and mills for processing wool into cloth. The mills where owned by generations of residents of this community who started in the early 1800s and lasted until about 1900. Attendees will learn about this microcosm of a larger community that existed long ago in a “hollow, known as ‘Sleepy Hollow’, was planted with pines.” There will be a photographic display of the ‘Faces of Sleepy Hollow’ to see the visages of residents who lived there long ago.

The second lecture entitled “The Farmington Slavery Research Project: Focus Avon” will be held on Monday, September 25 at 7:00 p.m. at the Avon Senior Community Center. It will be presented by Lisa Johnson, Executive Director of Stanley Whitman House Museum, Farmington, CT. The slavery research project began in 2013 as a collaboration between researchers from Stanley Whitman House and graduate students and interns from Central Connecticut State University. The goal was to identify and find as much information as possible on these forgotten souls to give them recognition and dignity as former residents of Farmington (early Avon before 1830). The research is painstaking, and much has already been learned that gives us a better understanding of who these people were, how they lived, and that their lives had value. The information gleaned from this research is being compiled into a database on a website known as ‘Stanley Whitman House Slavery Research, The History of Captive People in and around
Farmington, Connecticut’ and can be viewed at: http://captivepeople.stanleywhitman.org/.

A time for refreshments and asking questions of the presenters will follow immediately after both events. The remaining lectures in the series are listed below with more details to follow on each:

• Saturday, October 7, 4:00pm, “Native American Wills with an Avon Connection” presented by Professor Kathy Hermes, Chair History Department, Central CT State University. A display of authentic Native American artifacts from the American Indian Archeological Institute, Washington, CT will be available for viewing courtesy of Nancy Najarian.
• Monday, October 16, 7:00 p.m, “Early Avon in the American Revolution” presented by Stephen P. McGrath, Adjunct Professor of History, Central Connecticut State University.
• Monday, November 13, 7:00 p.m, “An Early Distillery and Temperance in Avon” co-presented by Dr. Nicholas Bellantoni, retired State Archaeologist Emeritus, UCONN Storrs and Janet M. Conner, Avon Historical Society.
• Friday, December 1, 7:00 p.m, “Avon during the Industrial Revolution” presented by Eugene Macy, Social Studies Department, Avon Middle School.
• Monday, December 18, 7:00 p.m “Historic Church and School Bells in Avon” presented by Janet M. Conner, Avon Historical Society with Winter-themed music by the Avon Congregational Church hand bell choir.

In addition to the above, the Special Projects Committee will be presenting a unique event “Life on the
Homefront“ with funding from the William Yandow Trust. This will be a dramatic music and poetry program depicting the life of one Avon family whose father goes off to War set against the backdrop music and verse that reflects what was happening on the national stage. The program will be performed by experienced historical re-enactors, musicians, and vocalists. Introduction will be given by local Civil War author and blogger John Banks. This event will be moving and leave a lasting impression. It will be held on Saturday, October 28th at 1:00 p.m. at the Avon Senior and Community Center. Additional details will follow in the media in September.

Image via Avon Historical Society