Cheshirepedia, Inc. is on the air again, to announce its latest project. The portion of the Farmington Trail extending from Cornwall Avenue to West Main Street is now the site of a massive construction project, which by itself is attracting an occasional audience. This certainly calls to mind the important role the Canal played in Cheshire history – from businesses shipping their products to distant destinations, farmers moving produce to market, and occasional paying passengers getting from here to there. The canal itself was a marvel of engineering in the early 1800’s – before the invention of the machines to move massive amounts of earth, and cranes to aid in the construction of the huge locks, for example. The ability to move large cargoes on the surface of water far exceeded the capability of horses or oxen to power wheeled structures carrying said cargo over land. Reminder: The Mississippi River – in the age of long freight trains and cargo- carrying Boeing 747 airplanes – still plays its important part in our commerce.
To make this important chapter in Cheshire history come alive, we are most fortunate to have Carl E. Walter to come to our town to talk with us about the Canal. Dr. Walter is an historian, who has studied the Farmington Canal for over 25 years. His collection of historic data including documents and photographs is without peer. The stories of the laborers who struggled under conditions which would be criminally illegal today are part of the human stories of the Canal. There are also light-hearted details: When muskrats were found to be destroying part of the Canal, our neighbors in Southington working on their part of the Canal had discovered a remedy. They shared it with the Cheshire workers, forcing the muskrats to go elsewhere. As we have said, this rich chapter in our history needs to be brought alive, and Carl Walter can do just that.
This is about US and about OUR town. Cheshirepedia, Inc is honored to be the sponsor of this talk by an acknowledged expert on the subject.
The PLACE: The Cheshire Public Library in the large first floor Mary Baldwin Room. DATE is July 17, 2018. TIME is 7 PM. Further information may be gotten from the Vice President of Cheshirepedia and the Cheshire Town Historian, Jeanne R. Chesanow at [email protected].
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