Old Connecticut Path: Rediscovering Thompson's Place along the Old Connecticut Path

• published: 27 Mar 2014
• views: 187

Thompson has a special place in the history of the Old Connecticut Path thanks to historian Ellen Larned who compiled the History of Windham County published in 1874, founded the Thompson library and was the first women admitted to membership of the Connecticut Historical Society. Larned's historical research was accompanied by a real treasure map, her "Map of Ancient Windham County". Larned's record of the stories handed down by the pioneer settlers and the route of the Old Connecticut Path provides a key to rediscovering the places along the Path. The 73 minute video is much more than a story about places. The presentation tells the larger story of families and what they did for our nation. The video expands upon the content of previous presentations to include the findings of the Connecticut Historical Commission study of the Old Connecticut Path. The Path travels through places of great natural beauty and historic significance in their own right. A guide to places to visit and walk along the Path is shared open the way for others to directly experience the splendor of the land that endures almost four centuries after the first pioneers traveled down the Path to Connecticut. Thanks to the Thompson Historical Society for sponsoring the Old Connecticut Path presentation, and the Thompson Public Library founded by Ellen Larned. As early as 1633-36, the migration from Massachusetts Bay at Boston/Cambridge west to Connecticut began following the Old Connecticut Path. John Oldham followed the Path to the Connecticut valley in 1633 followed by the Watertown, MA congregation in 1635 to settle Wethersfield, CT. Reverend John Wareham and the Dorchester congregation followed the Path in 1635 to settle Windsor, CT. Reverend Thomas Hooker and his entire congregation walked along the Old Connecticut Path for two weeks across the wilderness in 1636 from Cambridge, MA to establish Hartford, CT. Join me for a walk and use your imagination to experience the landscape traveled by the pioneers of the 1600s. For more information, visit the Old Connecticut Path website at https://sites.google.com/site/oldconnecticutpath/ E-mail your comments to oldconnecticutpath@gmail.com Post your comments on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/oldconnecticutpath