Derby Historical Society newsletter features Blizzard of 1888, upcoming events

David Humphreys House, 37 Elm St., Ansonia.

ANSONIA - Derby Historical Society's latest newsletter previews events in March and April and features interesting articles about the Blizzard of 1888. 

Read all about it here.

The historical society is headquartered at 37 Elm St., Ansonia.

'Turnback Tuesday' highlights history of Thanksgiving

Turnback Tuesday celebrates Thanksgiving. The first celebration was in 1621 with the Plymouth colonists and the Native American Wampanoag people. 

Celebrated more as the first autumn harvest, the colonists and Native Americans feasted on the bounty of the harvest. Local fruits and vegetables were most likely consumed along with fish, venison, and fowl.

The day of Thanksgiving was originally celebrated by individual colonies and states on different days. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that a national Thanksgiving Day be held on the last Thursday of each November, a tradition that is still observed to this day.

Thanks goes to the Derby Public Library staff for sharing interesting history each week.

'Turnback Tuesday' features 1901 Pork Hollow monument in Ansonia

This week's "Turnback Tuesday" features a postcard highlighting the Revolutionary War. Much tension and fear was affecting all the families in the colonies. 
Uncertainty was widespread wondering if homes would be burned, livestock taken, and stores of food stolen. 
Such is the case with the story of Pork Hollow. British soldiers were roaming around looking for food while Captain John Tomlinson of Derby happened to be in New Haven and heard of the plan to take the stores of pork located in Derby. Getting on his horse and riding as fast as he could, Tomlinson rode to Derby to warn the residents to save the pork! The residents quickly responded by removing the pork and hiding it in a hollow area. 
The British arrived to discover there was no pork to be found and left Derby empty handed. 

The location is in what we now call Ansonia on Wakelee Avenue. 
A monument was erected by the Elizabeth Clarke Hull Chapter D.A.R. in 1901. This postcard shows the monument.


Thanks go out to the Derby Public Library for sharing this interesting local history each week!

Seymour Historical Society to host talk on native tribes, Puritans

SEYMOUR - Conflicts between early New England colonists and native tribes will be the focus of a Seymour Historical Society program at 2 p.m. Aug. 23.

Hamish Lutris, a professor at Housatonic Community College, will discuss the Mohegan, Pequot, Niantic, and Narragansett tribes, whose members lived in Connecticut in the early 1600s. 
He will also focus on the four-year war between the powerful Pequot tribe and the English Puritans that began in 1634. 

Seymour Historical Society
(Photo from Electronic Valley site)

The Puritans, helped by rival tribes, decimated the Pequots in a series of bloody battles, changing the balance of power in New England. 
Later in the century, many Connecticut residents fought in King Philip’s War against the Wampanoag tribe of Rhode Island. 

The Seymour Historical Society is located at 59 West St., near the Trinity Episcopal Church. 

The program is free to Seymour Historical Society members and $5 for non-members. Doors open at 1 p.m. 

For more information, call 203-881-2156, contact psussman@snet.net, or visit www.seymourhistoricalsociety.org. 

This is a press release from the Seymour Historical Society.