Talcottville Historic District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Talcottville Historic District
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The Talcott Brothers School (c. 1880)
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 Location in Connecticut
Location in the United States
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| Location | 13-44 Elm Hill Rd. and 11-132 Main St., Vernon, Connecticut |
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| Area | 92 acres (37 ha) |
| Architect | Kellogg, Nathaniel O.; Et al. |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Italianate, Lenticular truss bridge |
| NRHP reference No. | 88002959 |
| Added to NRHP | January 5, 1989 |
The Talcottville Historic District is a special area in Vernon, Connecticut, that shows what a mill village looked like in the 1800s. It's like stepping back in time! This district includes old factory buildings, homes where workers lived, and even a unique old bridge. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 because of its important history.
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Exploring Talcottville's History
The Talcottville Historic District is centered around Elm Hill Road and Main Street. It tells the story of a busy village from the 19th century. Here you can find old factory buildings and even traces of very early cotton-spinning machines. There's also an old stone dam and a large wooden mill built by the Talcott brothers.
How Talcottville Began
The village of Talcottville started in 1802. An English immigrant named John Warburton bought land along the Tankerhoosen River. This area was then part of Bolton, but it is now in Vernon. Warburton built a dam and a cotton mill. He also built a house that you can still see today. His mill was the first successful cotton mill in Connecticut. He also built another mill with Peter Dobson, but only its old foundations remain.
The Talcott Brothers and Their Village
In 1856, two brothers, Charles and Horace Talcott, bought the mill complex. They helped the village grow a lot. The large wooden mill building you see today was built in 1870. It replaced an earlier mill that was destroyed by fire. The Talcott brothers created a special village for their workers. They built houses for them, as well as a school and other buildings. This was a way to take care of their employees. The mills finally closed down in 1940.
What You Can See in Talcottville Today
The main part of the mill village is along Main Street. You can follow Main Street to where it crosses the Tankerhoosen River. Here you will find a unique bridge built in the late 1800s. It's called a lenticular truss bridge. The old mill buildings are located between Main Street and the river. Many of the houses built by the Talcotts for their workers are still standing on Main Street and Elm Hill Road.
The district has 32 buildings that are important to history. It also includes the old dams, mill sites, and ponds. These were all part of the Warburton, Dobson, and Talcott mills.
