Town Of Glastonbury: Help Preserve The Cotton Hollow Mill!

Press release from the Town of Glastonbury:

07/16/2021 12:35 PM

The Town of Glastonbury has partnered with the Land Heritage Coalition of Glastonbury and Historical Society of Glastonbury to preserve the historic Cotton Hollow Mill Site. As part of this collaborative effort, these organizations are currently seeking community donations to support preservation and restoration efforts at the site. The Save Cotton Hollow Mill Coalition is spearheading a campaign to raise at least $125,000 for the preservation and reparation of the mill walls so that visitors can continue to enjoy the beauty and the important historical legacy of Glastonbury’s Cotton Hollow Mill. The funds will also be used to purchase historic, interpretive signs to inform visitors about this iconic Glastonbury landmark. 

To support these efforts, community donations of all sizes are welcome and appreciated. In addition to general donations, the Coalition is offering special sponsorship packages at the $1,000, $2,000 and $5,000 levels. Donors who participate at these levels will be acknowledged for their generosity on the hiking trail visitor signage. 

Individuals and local businesses interested in contributing to this effort may donate online or by mail as follows:

Donate online: Visit www.savecottonhollowmill.org to make an online contribution.

Donate by mail: Please note “Cotton Hollow Mill Fund” in the check memo line and mail checks to:

Land Heritage Coalition
C/O Dave Haught
136 Tall Timbers Road
Glastonbury, CT 06033

To further support the preservation efforts, the Coalition will also be exploring grant opportunities and will be coordinating several fundraising events. Events are tentatively slated to include a series of hikes led by local Roaring Brook expert Dr. Brian Chiffer, and all event details will be posted as available on the campaign website at www.savecottonhollowmill.org.

To donate online or learn more about this effort, please visit www.savecottonhollowmill.org or email the Save Cotton Hollow Mill Coalition at save.chm@gmail.com. 

History of the Mill

The Cotton Hollow mill walls, built of local granite and fieldstone in the early 1800s, tower over the forest and draw hikers and nature lovers alike to walk the paths on the southern side of Roaring Brook to enjoy the view and the history of this area. The mill stands as an enduring legacy of the industrial age in Glastonbury.     

Since the 1700s, Cotton Hollow has been the home to at least nineteen mills along the banks of the Roaring Brook, including a gunpowder mill (which famously exploded in 1777 at the height of the Revolutionary War), sawmills, gristmills, a foundry, an anchor forge, a paper mill, and the Hartford Manufacturing Company, which in the 1800s, processed cotton and gave Cotton Hollow its name. 

The area soon became a thriving industrial village that employed more than 300 people, many of whom lived in houses in Cotton Hollow and became known as “Hollowites.” The mill continued operations until the financial panic of 1893, which forced it to close. In 1900, John W. Purtill moved his paper mill into the former cotton mill and kept the building in use until a devastating fire twenty years later caused the mill to cease operations for the last time. The two dams that had powered the mill were blasted apart in the 1920s because residents downstream feared that if either of the dams collapsed in a storm, the rush of water would destroy their properties.

In the 1940s, a group of local residents and nature lovers banded together with the goal of preserving the area on the south side of Roaring Brook. In 1964, that group had become a local chapter of the Nature Conservancy and they protected more than 50 acres to the town so that residents and visitors alike could enjoy the natural beauty of Cotton Hollow.

The Town of Glastonbury has partnered with the Land Heritage Coalition of Glastonbury and Historical Society of Glastonbury to preserve the historic Cotton Hollow Mill Site. As part of this collaborative effort, these organizations are currently seeking community donations to support preservation and restoration efforts at the site. The Save Cotton Hollow Mill Coalition is spearheading a campaign to raise at least $125,000 for the preservation and reparation of the mill walls so that visitors can continue to enjoy the beauty and the important historical legacy of Glastonbury’s Cotton Hollow Mill. The funds will also be used to purchase historic, interpretive signs to inform visitors about this iconic Glastonbury landmark. 

To support these efforts, community donations of all sizes are welcome and appreciated. In addition to general donations, the Coalition is offering special sponsorship packages at the $1,000, $2,000 and $5,000 levels. Donors who participate at these levels will be acknowledged for their generosity on the hiking trail visitor signage. 

Individuals and local businesses interested in contributing to this effort may donate online or by mail as follows:

Donate online: Visit www.savecottonhollowmill.org to make an online contribution.

Donate by mail: Please note “Cotton Hollow Mill Fund” in the check memo line and mail checks to:

Land Heritage Coalition
C/O Dave Haught
136 Tall Timbers Road
Glastonbury, CT 06033

To further support the preservation efforts, the Coalition will also be exploring grant opportunities and will be coordinating several fundraising events. Events are tentatively slated to include a series of hikes led by local Roaring Brook expert Dr. Brian Chiffer, and all event details will be posted as available on the campaign website at www.savecottonhollowmill.org.

To donate online or learn more about this effort, please visit www.savecottonhollowmill.org or email the Save Cotton Hollow Mill Coalition at save.chm@gmail.com. 

History of the Mill

The Cotton Hollow mill walls, built of local granite and fieldstone in the early 1800s, tower over the forest and draw hikers and nature lovers alike to walk the paths on the southern side of Roaring Brook to enjoy the view and the history of this area. The mill stands as an enduring legacy of the industrial age in Glastonbury.     

Since the 1700s, Cotton Hollow has been the home to at least nineteen mills along the banks of the Roaring Brook, including a gunpowder mill (which famously exploded in 1777 at the height of the Revolutionary War), sawmills, gristmills, a foundry, an anchor forge, a paper mill, and the Hartford Manufacturing Company, which in the 1800s, processed cotton and gave Cotton Hollow its name. 

The area soon became a thriving industrial village that employed more than 300 people, many of whom lived in houses in Cotton Hollow and became known as “Hollowites.” The mill continued operations until the financial panic of 1893, which forced it to close. In 1900, John W. Purtill moved his paper mill into the former cotton mill and kept the building in use until a devastating fire twenty years later caused the mill to cease operations for the last time. The two dams that had powered the mill were blasted apart in the 1920s because residents downstream feared that if either of the dams collapsed in a storm, the rush of water would destroy their properties.

In the 1940s, a group of local residents and nature lovers banded together with the goal of preserving the area on the south side of Roaring Brook. In 1964, that group had become a local chapter of the Nature Conservancy and they protected more than 50 acres to the town so that residents and visitors alike could enjoy the natural beauty of Cotton Hollow.

This press release was produced by the Town of Glastonbury. The views expressed here are the author’s own.