Asahel Hooker House
Built in 1774, this privately owned home is
the oldest in Plainville, originally the home and workshop of a tinsmith
and descendant of the Hooker family that founded Hartford. The house is
built around a massive boulder in the cellar that was too large to move
with the equipment of the day.
Connecticut Freedom Trail Commemorating sites of historical significance
in the struggle for freedom for African Americans, the self-guided driving
tour passes by three sites: the grave of Civil War era abolitionists John
and Harriet Norton, West Cemetery, North Washington Street; the former
site of the Norton homestead, a stop on the Underground Railroad, 109 East
Main Street; and Redeemer's AME Zion Church, 110 Whiting Street. Audio
cassettes providing tour narration are available for purchase.
Cooke's Tavern
Built in 1789 by John Cooke, an influential
Colonial settler, the tavern was once a stagecoach stop that included a
blacksmith shop in the basement and a tiny ballroom on the top floor. The
large stones in front of the building were used by passengers alighting
from the stages and turkeys at one time roosted in the buttonball trees.
The site is now occupied by J. Timothy's Taverne restaurant.
Old East Street Burying Grounds
Stones from 1766 to 1856 mark the graves of
early settlers, town fathers and soldiers. The grounds are open yearly
after the Memorial Day parade or special visits may be arranged by calling
the Plainville Historical Society at .
The Plainville Historic Center
Located in the former Town Hall built in 1890,
the museum illuminates life in the area from the 1820s, through the era
of the Farmington Canal , and up to the turn of the century.
Exhibits include a diorama of the canal as it wound its way through the
center of town, a Victorian parlor, barn and tool collection, antique toys
and dolls, Native American and nature room, and a gift shop.
Robertson Airport
Near the site of Nels Nelson's first flight
out of Plainville and once a grain field, Robertson Airport, now a full
service modern facility, is the oldest airport in Connecticut (1911).
Restored Farmington Canal Site
First site in Connecticut to show what the
waterway looked like as a functioning canal, the quarter mile long restored
section is seen in its original 1828-1848 dimensions. Horse drawn boats
carried freight and passengers over this wet highway from New Haven, Connecticut,
to Northampton, Massachusetts, until the arrival of the railroad era led
to its demise. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, an historic
marker offers information at the site.
“Sharpenhoe”
Built in 1922, this privately owned Georgian
home on the National Register of Historic Places was the home of Charles
H. Norton, a famed industrial inventor who donated the land for Norton
Park.
Stagecoach Milestones Red sandstone milestone markers set in place
between 1795 and 1820 marked the remaining distance to Hartford for travelers
and stagecoach drivers on the old Hartford and New Haven Turnpike. Milestone
XII located at the corner of Betsy Road and East Street, milestone XIII
located just south of the east corner of New Britain Avenue and Farmington
Avenue, milestone XIV located at the entrance to Woodmere Village on East
Street.
Stockinette Knitting Mill
Part of a massive mill complex established in 1850, this restored building from 1877 was the shipping area for the Plainville Manufacturing Company, a textile mill producing "union suit" underwear worn by soldiers in the Civil War and World War I. Named for its product, the building is currently occupied by Nutmeg T.V. studios and open to visitors. |