Hidden Gems of North-Central Connecticut

VERNON, CT — This week's venture to a hidden gem in north-central Connecticut takes us along the path of the famous French contributor to the cause during the American Revolution — the Marquis de Lafayette. It's a small monument near the section of Vernon named after him close to the Tolland line.

According to the website Today In Connecticut History, the monument sits along the path of Lafayette's second tour of Connecticut — in 1824 and 1825.

According to the account, on Sept. 3, 1824 after stopping in Worcester, the Marquis spent the night at the Springs Hotel in Stafford. He also stopped at what is now the Tolland-Vernon line before making his way to Hartford, where another momument in his honor stands.

According to the Connecticut Historical Society, he also stopped at the King's Tavern near where the monument stands while visiting America in 1724.

____

The Hidden Gems series features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path. Do you have a favorite "hidden gem" in the area that you wish to see featured in this column? Email your ideas to tim.jensen@patch.com.
Other columns in this series:

• The Little Red Store
• River Bend Bookshop
• Gerry's Donuts
• Traveler Restaurant
• First Decorated Christmas Tree
• The Stanley-Whitman House
• Vernon's Santa House
• Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut
• Old Country Banquet Hall
• Brazilian Gula Grill
• Thomas' Smokey Pit Stop
• Congregational Church of Burlington labyrinth
• Noah Webster House
• The Bushnell's Green Room Wall
• Belding Wildlife Management Area
• The Aborn Castle
• Heublein Tower
• Birthplace of Jonathan Edwards
• Grave of Revolutionary War Soldier Heman Baker
• Jessica's Garden, Lobster and Ice Cream Shack
• Shade Swamp Sanctuary
• Ken's Corner Breakfast & Lunch
• Tolland Red and White
• The Packing House
• Cold Harbor Seafood
• Nye Holman State Forest/Heron Cove Park
• Hosmer Mountain Soda Shack
• Connecticut Trolley Museum
• Matterhorn Mini Golf
• Wood Memorial Library & Museum
• Hastings Farm
• Liquid Nirvana
• Iwo Jima Survivors Memorial Park
• Academy Hall
• Southington Drive-In
• Little Theatre of Manchester at Cheney Hall
• Somersvillage Gifts & Gourmet Baskets
• New England Civil War Museum
• The Pinchot Sycamore
• Stafford Palace Theater
• Mansfield Hollow State Park
• Old Tolland County Jail and Museum
• Hill-Stead Museum
• Mark's Restaurant