Group Announces Granbys Historic Barns/Working Farms Bus Tour

The following is a press release from the Hill-Stead Museum

Historic Sites of Connecticut’s Farmington Valley announces its third annual spring Historic Barns/Working Farms: A Bus Tour. Visit five historic barns dotted throughout Granby and East Granby, journeying back in time to the farming communities of the area. Enjoy a comfortable, air-conditioned bus ride with lovely spring views, then hear an in-depth talk at each location. At 12:30 p.m., relax and enjoy a delicious lunch at . There will also be time to browse their gift shop.

The adventure begins at 9:15 a.m. at , where participants will board the bus, departing promptly at 9:30 a.m. The first stop will be the Higgins Barn in East Granby, part of a parcel received by the Reverend Edward Thompson from the Town of Simsbury in 1688. The farm remained in the Thompson family for 258 years. A short ride from the Higgins Barn, along the rolling hills of what was once the L.H. Viets Farm, participants will see the stately Red Barn, the landmark and pride of the East Granby Historical Society. The barn, designed by the Historical Society, stores and displays 19^th-century artifacts of farming, and also showcases the grand, ca.1840 stagecoach acquired by the Society in 1996.

From East Granby, the tour makes its way to Lost Acres Orchard in Granby, where participants will enjoy a delicious lunch and a browse in the gift shop before exploring the ca. 1762 barn, orchard and cider mill, businesses which continue today. With a taste for cider mills, tour-goers are on their way to the Allenhurst Farm in North Granby, with a history going back to Revolutionary times. Here, Silas Cossitt began manufacturing cider and cider brandy in the late 1700s, beginning a tradition that would make North Granby one of the largest cider mill industries in the Hartford County around the time of the Civil War. With all these fascinating and diverse stories in mind, the group will head back to Salmon Brook Historical Society, where they will hear about the Colton-Hayes Tobacco Barn and the rich history of tobacco growing in the region.

The tour is recommended for adults and children 13 and older. Admission is $40 per person and includes the bus tour and lunch. Reservations are required. Call the Farmington Valley Visitors Association at 860.676.8878 by April 20 to reserve your seat.

The proceeds benefit Historic Sites of Connecticut’s Farmington Valley, whose mission is to open the eyes of residents and visitors to four centuries of the “American Experience,” as seen through local factories, farmers, financiers and felons. Historic Sites is part of the Farmington Valley Visitors Association, a non-profit corporation, whose mission is to serve as a resource for residents, and to promote the Farmington Valley to individuals and businesses wishing to relocate to the area, and tourists wishing to experience all that the Farmington Valley has to offer.