Painting Patriotism, Healing Wounds:
The Art of Col. John Trumbull
Join us on Sunday, November 9, 2025, from 1:00-2:30 PM at the Ellsworth Visitors Center, Simsbury Historical Society (https://simsburyhistory.org/) for a richly illustrated presentation with CT State Historian emeritus Walter Woodward. Dr. Woodward will discuss the lifelong struggle of American artist John Trumbull (1756-1843) to earn respect for his art by creating a series of American history paintings, many of the Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. The presentation combines Trumbull’s personal struggles with the struggles of our burgeoning nation in the Revolutionary War era. Admission is $5, payable at the door.
For more information, contact Barbara Strong, archives@simsburyhistory.org or (860) 658-2500.
Previous Tours & Lectures
The History of Myrtle Mills Factory Store
This popular program in November 2024 took attendees through the fascinating journey of Myrtle Mills Factory Store, from its early beginnings and wartime contributions to its post-war retail innovations and eventual closure in the mid-1970s. Through archival photos, advertisements, and anecdotes, the presentation brought to life the story of a knitting mill that helped shape Unionville’s history and left an indelible mark on the American retail landscape. Audience members also had the opportunity to share their memories.
Watch a video of the session HERE!
Why They Came: Stories of Immigration to the Farmington Valley
Sponsored by CT Humanities, the Farmington Valley CT Heritage Network's "Why They Came" program in November 2023 offered a personal perspective on the people who shaped our towns. The program took place in two parts. Enjoy the wonderful videos taken of both sessions!
Part One features stories from the Avon Historical Society ("Prince Thomas of Savoy"), the Farmington Historical Society (Asian immigrants), Stanley-Whitman House ("The Legacy of Mrs. Julia Roper"), and the Unionville Museum ("The Irish in Unionville").
Part Two of two features stories from the Barkhamsted Historical Society ("A German Immigrant Family Takes Over One of Barkhamsted’s Biggest Farms"), the Canton Historical Museum (“Farmington Valley Immigration 1830-1920”), the Salmon Brook Historical Society ("Granby to the White House"), and the Simsbury Historical Society ("Frank Zablocki, Polish Immigration, and the Industrialization of Simsbury").
Additional Past Programs
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![A Granby Haunting]()
Lively Lore & Legends: Fact or Fiction?
APRIL 2022: Part one of a three-part bus tour series exploring the legends of the Farmington Valley.
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![Hill-Stead farm staff with some of the bones excavated, 1913. Allen B. Cook Collection, Archives, Hill-Stead Museum]()
The Pope-Farmington Mastodon
NOVEMBER 2022: Dr. Nicholas F. Bellatoni offers a dramatic look into Post-Glacial times and CT’s first inhabitants in this fascinating lecture.
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![Unionville Depot and Train]()
Lively Lore & Legends: Fact or Fiction?
APRIL 2023: Part two of a three-part bus tour series exploring the legends of the Farmington Valley.
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![Theodate Pope Riddle (Hill-Stead Museum Archives)]()
Lively Lore & Legends: Fact or Fiction?
APRIL 2024: Part three of a three-part bus tour series exploring the legends of the Farmington Valley.
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![A postcard of Main Street, Collinsville, CT in the early 1900s]()
Way Back When: A Witness to History
APRIL 2025: Part 1 of a 4-part bus tour series offering a fascinating peek, from diaries and interviews, into everyday life in the 1870s to 1920s.
