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This project is for those that were born, lived, and died in Simsbury, Hartford County, Connecticut.
Wikipedia
Simsbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, incorporated as Connecticut's 21st town in May 1670. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 24,517 in the 2020 census.
History
In 1633, Windsor was the second town in Connecticut settled by Europeans and the first English settlement (the first European settlement being Huys de Goede Hoop, established by the Dutch in the Hartford area as a frontier settlement for the New Netherland Colony ten years earlier). For some time, the area of Massaco was considered "an appendix to the towne of Windsor." Settlers in Windsor forested and farmed in the area, but did not settle in Massaco permanently for a number of years. In 1642, the General Court of the colony of Connecticut ordered that:
the Governor and Mr. Heynes shall have liberty to dispose of the ground uppon that parte of Tunxis River cauled Mossocowe, to such inhabitants of Wyndsor as they shall see cause.
Despite this order, there is no record that any settlements immediately ensued. Five years later the General Court issued another order:
The Court thinks fitt that Massacoe be purchased by the Country, and that ther be a Committee chosen to dispose of yt to such inhabitants of Wyndsor as by the shalbe judged meet to make improuement therof...
but there is no record of land grants arising from this order.
In 1643, John Griffin and Michael Humphrey started a tar and turpentine business in Windsor. A few years later, a Massaco Indian named Manahanoose started a fire which destroyed tar belonging to Griffin. The Court ordered the payment of "five hundred fathom of wampum" as compensation. As he was unable to pay this amount, Manahanoose was instead ordered by the Court to either serve Griffin or be exchanged for Black slaves. To avoid this, he instead delivered a deed to the land at Massacoe. The deed was agreed to by Manahanoose as well as other Indians, identified as "the proprietors of Massaco". In 1653, the General Court granted 50 acres of meadowland to Lieutenant Aaron Cook, 60 acres to John Bissell and 50 acres to Thomas Ford, all in Massacoe.
Settlers did not build permanent settlements until the following decade. Aaron Cook built one of the early homes in the area established c.1660 as Terry's Plain, and John Griffin also built a home, possibly in 1664—the date associated with a deed to land in Massacoe. The settlement of Massacoe continued in the late 1660s. The General Court awarded a land grant of two hundred acres to John Griffin in 1663. A deed description from 1664 indicates he had become a permanent inhabitant. In 1669, a survey found that there were thirteen permanent residents of Massacoe. One of those residents, John Case, was appointed to the position of constable. This is the first recorded civil office held by residents of the area.
Incorporation
In 1670, John Case, along with Joshua Holcomb & Thomas Barber, presented a petition to the General Court, requesting that Massacoe become a town of the colony of Connecticut. On May 12, 1670, the General Court granted the petition, and ordered that the plantation should be called "Simmsbury". The boundaries at that time were Farmington on the south and Windsor on the east, with the extent of Simsbury running 10 miles north of Farmington and 10 miles west of Windsor. The northern border, subject to dispute with Massachusetts, was left to be resolved later. This area includes the township Simsbury as well as Granby and Canton, which would later separate from Simsbury in 1786 and 1806, respectively.
The precise origin of the name of the town is not known for certain. The town records covering the first ten years after incorporation were accidentally burned in 1680 and 1681. One possibility is that the name of Simsbury comes from the English town of Symondsbury. Holcomb, one of the petitioners, originally came from Symondsbury. Another possibility is that the name was derived from Simon Wolcott's name. He was known familiarly as "Sim", and he was considered one of the prominent men of the town.
Cemeteries
Notables of Simsbury
Athletes
- Sasha Cohen
- Shizuka Arakawa (荒川 静香) (born 1981), Japanese figure skater; won the gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics; has trained at the International Skating Center of Connecticut in Simsbury
- Oksana Baiul (born 1977), 1994 Olympic champion; lived and trained in Simsbury after winning her title
- Vince Cazzetta (1925–2005), head coach for the Pittsburgh Pipers
- Sasha Cohen (born 1984), 2006 U.S. National Champion figure skater and silver medalist at the 2006 Olympics; trained in Simsbury with Russian coach Tatiana Tarasova starting in summer 2002
- Tommy Cross (born 1989), pro ice hockey player drafted by the Boston Bruins in 2008; now with the St. Louis Blues
- Ekaterina Gordeeva (born 1971), winner of two Olympic gold medals (1988 and 1994); moved to Simsbury in the 1990s
- Sara Hendershot (born 1988), member of 2012 United States Olympic Rowing Team (W2-)
- Paul Holmgren (born 1955), former coach of the Hartford Whalers; current president of the Philadelphia Flyers
- Michelle Kwan (born 1980), Olympic figure skater; has trained at the International Skating Center of Connecticut
- Mike Liut (born 1956), former NHL goaltender for the Hartford Whalers
- Viktor Petrenko (born 1969), 1992 Olympic champion; trained in Simsbury beginning in 1994
- Ulf Samuelsson (born 1964), former NHL hockey player, lived in Simsbury when he played for the Hartford Whalers
- Alexei Yagudin (born 1980), 2002 Olympic champion and four time world champion; lived and trained in Simsbury from 1998 to 2005 with Tatiana Tarasova
Media
- Lake Bell (born 1979), actor, attended Westminster School in Simsbury, Connecticut
- Terry Deitz (born 1959), reality TV contestant, resides in Simsbury
- Rachel Sennott (born 1995), actor, graduate of Simsbury High School
- Sigourney Weaver (born 1949), actor, attended Ethel Walker School in Simsbury
Politicians
- Parmenio Adams (1776–1832), former US Congressman
- Levi Barber (1777–1833), U.S. Representative from Ohio
- Lucius Israel Barber (1806–1889), Wisconsin Territory politician
- George McLean (1857–1932), U.S. senator and Simsbury resident who founded the 4,200-acre McLean Game Refuge in town
- Alice Merritt (1876–1950), first woman to serve in the Connecticut State Senate (1925–1929); born in Simsbury
- Elisha Phelps (1779–1847), congressman from Connecticut
- Gifford Pinchot (1865–1946), first Chief of the United States Forest Service (1905–1910), Governor of Pennsylvania (1923–1927, 1931–1935), born in Simsbury
Others
- James Adams (1783–1843), lawyer and early convert to Mormonism
- Sherri Browning Erwin (1968–present), author and current resident
- Justin Foley (born June 16, 1976, in Simsbury), is an American musician, best known as the drummer of the metalcore band, Killswitch Engage
- Sarah Pratt McLean Greene (1856–1935), novelist, born in Simsbury
- Samuel Higley (1687–1737), reputed to have coined the first copper coins ("Higley coppers") in the colonial United States
- Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968), worked on a tobacco plantation in Simsbury during the summers of 1944 and 1947 to earn money for college
- Franz Von Holzhausen, car designer at Tesla, grew up in Simsbury
- Jennifer Weiner (born 1970), author
- Carl Nichols, (born 1970), United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, grew up in Simsbury
Source: https://www.behance.net/gallery/62963665/Illustrated-Map-Of-Simsbur...
Photo of Flowers, Flowers, Flowers on the Flower Bridge - Drake Hill Road
Source: https://www.simsbury-ct.gov/tourism/slideshows/simsburys-picture-ga...
Simsbury Street map
Source: https://mailamap.com/street_maps/120/simsbury-ct
This is an illustrated map of my home town of Simsbury, Connecticut. It showcases all the tourism highlights that my town has to offer- from different restaurants, parks, hikes, to historical landmarks.