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CTMQ > Firsts Onlies and Oldests

Old Derby Uptown Burying Ground

January 16, 2023 by Steve Leave a Comment

Derb Nap Old Derby Uptown Burying Ground, Derby December 2022 There's a lot of CTMQ-worthy stuff crammed into tiny little Derby. When I began compiling all of that stuff, I was rather surprised to learn that the "oldest public burying ground in the US" is located here, on a sweeping hillside above the Naugatuck … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, New Post, Religion, Cemeteries, Monuments, Statuary, Greens, & Outdoor Sculpture & Art, Superlatives Tagged With: Cemeteries, derby, Dubious Claims, Firsts Onlies and Oldests

The Yalesville Underpass

November 21, 2022 by Steve 2 Comments

Just Truss Me On This One The Yalesville Underpass, Wallingford Truss me, truss Wikipedia, truss Wallingford's town website... truss the circle of claimants who all claim the same unverifiable thing: Built in 1838 for the Hartford and New Haven Railroad by William MacKenzie, it is reported to be the first skew … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, New Post, Superlatives, Towers, Bridges, Forts, Tunnels, Roads, Canals, Dams, Fishways, Airports, & Ferries Tagged With: Cool Bridges, Dubious Claims, Firsts Onlies and Oldests, Wallingford

Southington Historical Center

September 28, 2022 by Steve 1 Comment

Typical Nuts and Bolts Town History Museum Southington, (Google Maps location) March 24, 2018 Southington is a nice town. Nothing wrong with it at all. It has a nice mix of development and forests and fields. It's famous for its apple orchards. Quick access to interstates. An excellent historical society. But for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Museums, New Post Tagged With: Damian, Firsts Onlies and Oldests, Free Museums, Southington, Town History

Hamilton Park

April 21, 2022 by Steve Leave a Comment

Hub of Waterbury Hamilton Park, Waterbury There is a lot of history at Hamilton Park in Waterbury. History I'm not going to get too deep into at all. It's just an old town park. It doesn't really rise to the level necessary to get the full CTMQ treatment. And you won't believe this, but it also doesn't even … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, Hikes, Bikes & Paddles, New Post, Superlatives, Town Land Hikes Tagged With: Firsts Onlies and Oldests, Waterbury

Ivoryton Playhouse

April 12, 2022 by Steve Leave a Comment

Please Tell Me They've Done "The Elephant Man" Here Essex (Google Maps location) June 2016 Connecticut is home to a slew of historic theaters. Many of them offer tours that present the buildings almost as museums - as they should. The idiom "if these walls could talk" applies to every one of these places as much … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, Houses, Communities, Libraries, & Businesses, Museums, New Post, Superlatives Tagged With: Damian, Essex, Firsts Onlies and Oldests, Not Really a Museum Museum, theaters

The Bleach House

December 10, 2021 by Steve 2 Comments

Bleachy Keen World's Only Piano Key Bleach House Deep River I touched on this thing when I wrote about our visit to the Deep River Historical Society Museum at the Stone House. But after reading more about the bleach house itself, which sits off by itself in the yard, away from the house, I realized it deserved … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, New Post, Superlatives Tagged With: Cool Architecture, Deep River, Firsts Onlies and Oldests, Industrial History

Sarah Pierce’s Litchfield Female Academy

December 6, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

Sarah Fierce Sarah Pierce’s Litchfield Female Academy Litchfield Every CTMQ reader knows about the historic importance of The American School for the Deaf in West Hartford and Prudence Crandall Museum in Canterbury - two Connecticut educational institutions that broke barriers. Many know that Litchfield is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, Houses, Communities, Libraries, & Businesses, New Post, Superlatives Tagged With: Dubious Claims, Firsts Onlies and Oldests, Litchfield, litchfield academy, schools

The Stone House (Deep River Historical Society)

November 9, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

Ivory and Lace, In Their Rightful Place Deep River (Google Maps location) November 2015 As we Americans progress through the 21st century, some quarters are becoming "awoken" to things in their lives that have never been just or fair. We hear about "cancel culture" and all sorts of fake outrages fomented at the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Museums, New Post Tagged With: Calvin, Creepy Dolls, Damian, Deep River, Firsts Onlies and Oldests, Hoang, Industrial History, Town History

The Kensington Soldiers’ Monument

September 21, 2021 by Steve 4 Comments

The Berlin Tall The Oldest US Civil War Monument, Berlin Here we are again, at another "oldest in the US" that isn't truly totally verifiable. Although in the case of the Kensington Soldiers' Monument in Berlin, the locals did convince the federal whomevers at the National Register of Historic Places that the claim … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, New Post, Religion, Cemeteries, Monuments, Statuary, Greens, & Outdoor Sculpture & Art, Superlatives Tagged With: Berlin, Dubious Claims, Firsts Onlies and Oldests, Monuments and Plaques

NHL: USS Nautilus

August 30, 2021 by Steve Leave a Comment

CT National Historic Landmark USS Nautilus Groton Naming ships Nautilus goes back to Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. I loved that story as a kid and loved reading it with my son again a few years ago. Even so, when I hear Nautilus, I now think of Connecticut's own special naval submarine, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Everything Else, National "Stuff", New Post, Superlatives Tagged With: Firsts Onlies and Oldests, Groton, National Historic Landmarks, Ships & Boats & Submarines

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