Tolland: An Old Post Road Town

The fascinating history of an old Connecticut town whose founding, prospering, early 19th century decline, and 20th century resurgence reflect the history of many, many New England villages.The story starts in 1713 when the nearby town of Windsor established a township in Tolland and granted land to Windsor citizens who so desired to settle the new township.These pioneer settlers had all the hearty, robust traits of character it required to face the hazards of an untouched wilderness. Taking first things first as they saw them they established institutions for public worship and a sound system for the maintenance of local government. As evidence of how well they did their job Tolland exists today enjoying its greatest growth and prosperity.But it was not that easy; for Tolland, like so many of her sister New England communities, suffered the economic rigors of the late 1700s and early 1800s. Indeed, starting about 1830 Tolland suffered a steady decline that lasted for 120 years as its agriculturally oriented families probed westward in search of better farm lands. Starting in 1950, as the influence of greater Hartford expanded, Tolland grew to 2950 in 1960 and to 8500 in 1970.Tolland: An Old Post Road Town tells the whole story of its institutions, its service to our country, and its people with absorbing biographical sketches and genealogical records of many of its prominent citizens.