October 9, 2020
This Week's Musings from Main

Join us on Saturday, October 10th for a Mini Marathon of sights and scenes for everyone to enjoy.  Visit thirteen highlights from our online exhibit From the Podunk Path to the Moon located up and down Main Street.  An interactive Google map is available on our website and signs will also mark the locations on the 10th, from 10am to 2pm.

The online exhibit, From the Podunk Path to the Moon explores different modes of transportation, their history and impact on the development of the South Windsor area.  It is the final exhibit of our 2020 series celebrating the 175th Anniversary of South Windsor.

In an attempt to create an even more interactive exhibit experience which can be safely enjoyed on a Saturday afternoon along Main Street, we present  an October Second Saturday Event: Main Street Mini-Marathon. We hope you enjoy it.

Scenes from
Main Street Mini-Marathon

An October 10th Second Saturday Event

Scene One-The World's First Steamboat

In the 1780s, South Windsor native John Fitch invented the world's first steamboat. The design featured mounted paddles, moved by a large chain, and was first successfully demonstrated on the Delaware River in 1787. Though several different models were created and briefly used between Trenton and Philadelphia, it was never a commercial success due to poor business management. After Fitch died in 1798, it was Robert Fulton who successfully created a steamboat and is credited with popularizing the use of steam propulsion.

Despite his commercial failures and abandonment of his pregnant wife and son in Connecticut, nearly 150 years after his death Route 5 in South Windsor and East Windsor would be named John Fitch Boulevard, recognizing his efforts as a colonial era inventor. A stone marker at 454 King Street marks John Fitch's birthplace.  Find out more ››

Scene 3- The Railroad
In 1876, railroad lines were built from Hartford to East Windsor and beyond to carry passengers and freight, with two stations in South Windsor by 1888. This one, approximately at Pleasant Valley Road and Route 5, is pictured here in winter 1938, taken by Bernard McLaughlin whose father was the station agent. John Fitch Boulevard (Route 5) was in the construction stage at the time. Learn more ››

Scene 7-Blacksmiths and Livery Stables
Many local craftsmen benefited from changing technologies in transportation.  Blacksmiths not only made iron plows and shoes for horses and oxen, but also metal parts for horse carts and wagons, and goods that could be shipped, such as hinges, latches and lamps. At approximately this location in 1890 was Joshua Risley's wagon shop where he employed some of his 13 children. Find out more ››

Scene 10-The Trolley-
In 1898, Main Street was widened to make room for trolley tracks, linking Hartford and Springfield, Massachusetts. The trolley system (called the Hartford Street Railway) ran from the early 1900s until 1932, and was a more convenient form of transportation for shopping and outings. In this image, a trolley car rambles past the John Watson House at 1876 Main Street, c. 1900. Learn more ››

Scene Thirteen-Route 5

The 1936 Connecticut River flood and 1938 hurricane caused so much widespread damage along Main Street that in the early 1940s, the construction of Route 5 was placed on higher ground further east, rather than along Main Street itself (which is what occurred in East Hartford and Glastonbury). Thus, a three-mile stretch of historic Main Street has been preserved and is still lined with historic houses, buildings and farms of every era. Route 5 is now an industrial-lined thoroughfare which adds to South Windsor's tax base.

The above image illustrates some of the 1936 Main Street flooding.  Find out more ››

Our Contact Information
*{{Organization Name}}*
*{{Organization Address}}*
*{{Organization Phone}}*
*{{Organization Website}}*

*{{Unsubscribe}}*