Amazing Tales from Off and On Connecticut‘s Beaten Path Mike Allen

You might look at stonewalls as so many people do – beautiful rows of rocks piled in lines along fields or through the woods. Yet, the history of stonewalls, and their New England charm, hide a more scientific purpose – namely, classifying them in ways similar to wetlands to allow consideration during future land use decisions. The topic of the 240,000 miles of stonewalls in New England is engagingly laid out in this interview with University of Connecticut Earth Sciences professor Robert Thorson, the foremost expert on stonewalls in New England.

It’s one of the largest, single-day losses of boats by the United States in a military campaign – and it held that record for 200 years, until Pearl Harbor. The British raid on Essex during the War of 1812 saw more than two dozen ships destroyed. Also ruined were the local economy and the fortunes of those who made their living both in ship building and high seas merchant trading. It was a daring raid, told in great fashion by the foremost expert on the raid, Jerry Roberts, who’s researched and written on this major event.

The Salem Witch Trials occurred in the 1690s. It was decades earlier that CT’s witchcraft frenzy occurred. Nearly a dozen women and men were hanged for witchcraft, until young CT Colony Governor John Winthrop used his political expertise to get the state to end executions entirely. This dark chapter in CT history is told by the State Historian Emeritus, Walt Woodward.

The successful development of western Connecticut, following the arrival of European settlers, can largely be attributed to a single dirt path, that was nearly lost to history. The 350-year-old Old Woodbury Path ran from the 1600s settlement of Woodbury to the bustling port of Derby, known at that time as the “new Boston” due to its importance as a trading hub. As development expanded around Woodbury and into Litchfield, farmers brought their crops to Woodbury for transport down the 21-mile cart path to Derby for export. A Seymour man has spent the past 10 years painstakingly poring over ancient maps and walking through the woods to piece together the route and backstory of this path. Pete Rzasa shares his findings in this episode.

From piano keys to combs, buttons, and other various other items, the smooth, glassy touch and feel of ivory was a highly regarded commodity in high demand. And 90% of the ivory products made throughout the world were made in two communities in the lower Connecticut River Valley for many decades. The Village of Ivoryton owes its name to the industry. Opposition to harvesting endangered elephant’s tusks coupled with unforeseen other challenges brought the industry eventually to an end. The fascinating story is told by Melissa Josefiak, Director of the Essex Historical Society.

During WW II, there was a top-secret project known as “Post Office Box 1142.” A Connecticut man played a major role in the operation, which focused on prisoners of war – both Americans held overseas as well as influential German and Italian prisoners who were kept at Fort Hunt in Virginia. A number of James Bond-like gadgets were made at Fort Hunt and shipped clandestinely to the Americans overseas, with corresponding coded messages advising them what was hidden inside. It’s a tale told Peter Bedini, son of the man who led the coded correspondence effort and which just became public knowledge recently.