In 1838, Tolland was enjoying its Golden Age. It was a vibrant and prosperous county seat for Tolland County on the junction of several turnpikes that connected to the major cities in Southern New England and beyond. Tolland had a central commercial area along the Highway (now called the Green) and farms in the surrounding areas with few woodlands. Numerous lawyers at the Court House and travelers maintained a constant flow of people. Stagecoaches traveling between Hartford and Worcester-Boston or Springfield and Norwich transporting travelers and mail were a common sight on the roads.
The ‘Highway’
Merchants, taverns, churches and fine homes by the town’s professionals (physicians and about five attorneys), including the home of Senator Calvin Wiley (now called the Tobiassen House), surrounded the central ‘Highway’ (the Green today). During the period of 1820 to 1838, the central area of Tolland developed to provide the availability of most items that were needed to live in relative comfort.
Three general stores surrounded the ‘Highway’ including Richmond’s, Smith’s, and Piken’s. Danford Richmond opened a general store near the jail about 1829 (now the Tolland Red and White store). He advertised an amazing variety of “Dry Goods, Groceries, Crockery, Glass and Hard Ware.” The items listed include English silk, Cashmere and Persian shawls, lace, bonnets, gilt clasps for men and ladies, silk, flag and bandanna handkerchiefs, and numerous varieties of shoes and boots. Hard drinks included rum, cognac, brandy, gin, port and several wines. Snuff and tobacco and the ink powders made locally by John Bliss were also sold. He listed garden seeds of an astonishing variety and grass seed.
Ira Marvin offered carriage making and repairs (his place was near the present Preschool of the Arts).
Henry Noble, a plough and wagon maker, offered wagons “constantly at hand” plus repairs to carriages at his “old stand opposite the Courthouse.” J. Hewlett offered to make secretaries, sideboards, bureaus, desks, and bedsteads and made-to-order coffins. Luther Eaton was a tailor. There were also hatters, shoemakers, and a blacksmith. Two taverns providing lodging, food, and drinks were located on the ‘Highway’. Smith’s Tavern was next to the Court House and the County House was in the front of the jail. Steele’s Tavern was nearby on Old Post Rd.
A new Court House was built in 1822 in the Federal style and was the meeting place for the Superior Court and the Court of Common Pleas. Many of the prosperous lawyers came to the Court House with fancy carriages. Horse sheds were located to the rear of the building. The Tolland County Mutual Fire Insurance Company (located on the end of the current Cider Mill Road) was chartered in May 1828 and began issuing policies in January 1829. The Tolland County Bank was built in 1829 next to the Court House. The Baptist church was built in 1832 north of the Court House and Smith’s Tavern.
The newest building on the ‘Highway’ was the Congregational Church of Tolland with an interior balcony. The old church was removed from the Highway (near the flag pole on the Green today).
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Travelers
Tolland was on the junction of turnpikes to Hartford, Springfield, Stafford/Worcester/Boston, Ashford/Boston/Providence, and Windham/Norwich that were built in the early 1800s. While the turnpikes were crude by modern standards, they demonstrated many improvements over the earlier roads. Most turnpikes were two-way thoroughfares, about 24 feet wide. To avoid muddiness and road erosion, drainage was provided by giving the road a convex surface to shed the water by digging ditches on both sides and piling up the dirt to crown the center of the road, leaving a road without shoulders.
The turnpikes allowed increased pleasure travel and commercial travel for farmers and the textile industry to send their goods to the nearby population centers or to the coast for trading. Large number of heavy wagons drawn by four, six and eight horses or oxen passed along the turnpikes laden with produce for the market and returned with merchandise for the country stores. The improvements in roads allowed stagecoaches to maintain a regular schedule.
Tolland was the center of the transportation system in northeastern Connecticut. About ten stagecoaches arrived and departed six days a week with passengers, news, and mail between Hartford, Worcester, Boston, Springfield, and Norwich. The Hartford-Tolland-Worcester route had the heaviest travel with 30,000 passengers per year. The presence of several stagecoach routes through town provided prosperity to the taverns and to the nearby farmers.
Stagecoach taverns at endpoints of the stages (about 18 miles long) , which included Smith’s Tavern, were usually run by a man of some standing in the community where horses were changed, watered, fed and rested. Oil was rubbed on the harness and the wheels greased. If a meal were being served or the stagecoach stopping for the night, the tavern owner would be at the entrance with a smiling face greeting the passengers as they entered the tavern. Four new horses were attached to continue the journey to the next stage end point. Where meals were not taken, teams were changed as quickly as possible, and the vehicle hurried onward to its destination. Generally, only one stagecoach company would regularly stop at a tavern.
The travelers had ample time to enjoy the scenery while traveling many hours in the stagecoach. In the Puritanical era renowned for its propriety and formality, perfect strangers, men and women, might have to interlock knees in the crowded space or rest a weary head on another’s shoulder. Some passengers may drink too much alcohol and others may form impromptu songfests. The public seldom complained of the uncomfortable and weary condition of the stagecoach journey. Yet the happenings of a stagecoach journey were endured with fortitude.
Smith’s Tavern was renowned for its cuisine that was artfully prepared and generously dispensed. Most of the food was purchased from the local farmers including beef, veal, pork, turkey and chickens. Apples were generally purchased for pies. Bread and gingerbread were often purchased from nearby households. Potatoes, beans, root vegetables and salad greens might be from the owner’s garden or nearby farms. Apples, potatoes, and various vegetables often were stored in pits in the earth in the fall for winter use, protected from freezing by straw heaped above. When the contents were taken out, they were as fresh as when buried. By mixing shelled lima beans with corn cut from the cob, an Indian food called succotash was produced. All of the cooking was done over an open fire. Potatoes were baked in the ashes, meats were roasted by the blaze or boiled in a kettle, and bread was done to a burn over the fire or baked in a “Dutch” oven. Tea and coffee were generally served. Most taverns took great pains to keep the bar well supplied. Hard liquors included brandy, Holland gin, and New England rum. Milder alcoholic beverages included Lisbon wine, strong beer and locally pressed hard cider. And ‘cegars’ were available for the patrons. A frequent feature of the meal time was the speed in which the meal was consumed because of the haste of the stagecoach travel.
Bathtubs were unknown in early taverns. No one thought of taking a bath even from a pail or small vessel during the winter and most persons refrained through the greater portion of the year. In early taverns, the face and hands were washed in a small tin basin at a wooden sink.
Stagecoach drivers were larger-than-life figures generally with large physical stature and often had a quick wit. Going over the same roads, they grew deeply versed in the local lore and history and the traditions and tales of each locality. They had great influence in the community and their word was law. They kept the passengers in a jovial mood with their observations and friendliness. The drivers were responsible for the horses and their care and for countless errands entrusted to memory. The stage drivers were universally kind and careful of all children placed under their charge; even young children, boys and girls, were entrusted to their care.
Events in 1838
On “Court Days,” Tolland was busy with persons from the entire county in attendance such that the taverns, shops and the general stores hired extra help and Smith’s Tavern and the County House had a lavish dinner. (In the 1830s, the mid-day meal was called dinner and the evening meal was called supper.)
The most memorable event was when Reverend Abram Marsh first led his flock to the new Congregational Church of Tolland on the eventful dedication day, Thursday October 25, 1838. The congregation and friends wended their way from different quarters of the village, some driving with horses from outlying farms. The men wore their Sunday dress clothes. For women, it was the day of full skirts often ruffled to the tight waist-line, of hair looped up under the ears and gathered in a twist low at the back of the neck, sometimes in a net. The beautiful wide collars, hand embroidered, adorned some gowns, no doubt, and were fastened with brooches, cameos in twisted gold setting or perhaps made from the hair of some “dear departed one.”
The new church was 55 by 38 feet and was built using wood from the old church. A belfry replaced the steeple for the bell from the old church. The congregation sat in buttoned-up pews looking up to the preacher in the high pulpit with its red velvet cushioned top upon which lay the big Bible. Two tall brass oil lamps were located on each side of the pulpit. At both sides, there were woodburning stoves with long stove pipes far up on the high walls in the front supported by a wire arrangement. Music was provided by bass viol and melodeon and “the singing was beautiful.” The congregation listened for more than an hour to the Dedication sermon.
The major holidays were Independence Day and Thanksgiving. On July 4th, residents went to a church to hear a sermon by one of the ministers. Afterwards, they congregated on the center of the ‘Highway’ to hear the reading of the Declaration of Independence and speeches by prominent residents. Thanksgiving was celebrated in April.
Taverns served as meeting places where friends engaged in casual conversation or gathered for celebrations. Dancing became popular after the American Revolution. A tidbit published in a newspaper said, “Forty youths of each sex attended an elegant ball at Elijah Smith’s Tavern on March 12, 1801.” This was an early indication for the use of leisure time by the young residents and that earlier religious constraints were lessening. Numerous balls celebrated different events such as Independence Day, birthdays and exhibitions at close of a school term. Student balls occurred during the year with cotillion parties in private homes.
No organized sports were held at the time because the Puritan perspective was that sports were a waste of time. Organized sports also led to rough behaviors and gambling, which were frowned on. Many young men went hunting or fishing as they were viewed as productive uses of leisure time. Militia training days were a source of local amusement. The militia mustered on the ‘Highway’ in front of spectators with various displays of firing in the morning and a staged battle of the units in the afternoon. Wrestling matches and marksmanship were held afterwards and were accepted as beneficial on the field of battle.
Sleigh rides in the winter were a popular activity for the young people. In the summer, walking would be a favorite activity for the young people to socialize among themselves. Many typical locations exist nearby, such as a running brook or one of the ponds, that will be well remembered by the persons in their later years.
The above selections are based on Stagecoaches and Railroads in Tolland, Vernon and Rockville 1807-1863 by Marshall A. Atwater. 2018, 85 pp.