Past events
The Saga of New-Gate Prison
Thursday, April 28, 2022 / 7:00 PM / Ellsworth Center, Simsbury Historical Society
Join us for a lecture with Morgan Bengel, Site Manager for Old New-Gate Prison and Copper Mine, on The Saga of New-Gate Prison. Old New-Gate Prison & Copper Mine is recognized as National Historic Landmark for being the first chartered copper mine and first state prison. As the first state prison, Newgate was a trial-and-error experiment, one that included many prison escapes. Through the tourism years, the escape stories of Newgate Prison have taken on a life of their own and been romanticized through many legendary retellings. Diving deeper into the escape stories offers a new understanding of the infrastructure and ideological changes that took place at this early center of “reform.” Morgan Bengel will explore how these exhilarating escapes shaped New-Gate's history and contributed to the ever-evolving prison system. The lecture will set the stage for the Bus Tour that follows on April 30 (see below), Lively Lore and Legends: Fact or Fiction? The lecture is free to those also attending the bus tour; $5 for those not also attending the bus tour. The lecture is limited to 50 people.
Lively Lore & Legends: Fact or Fiction?
Saturday, April 30, 2022 / 9:30 am - 3:30 pm / Meet at Iron Horse Boulevard Commuter Parking Lot behind Drake Hill Mall, Simsbury. The bus will depart promptly at 9:30 AM for its first stop.
Join us for our first bus tour in three years! On this tour of Barkhamsted, Granby, and Simsbury, you will hear riveting lore and legends… but are they true? Hear the Barkhamsted Lighthouse story, which includes love, strife and race relations; hear about the building of the Saville Dam and the impact on the Barkhamsted Reservoir on the residents of the flooded area. In Granby, presentations will include a local ghost story, a first-hand account of the 1955 flood, and stories of crime in Granby, including a chicken thief compared to Jean Valjean from Les Miserables. In Simsbury, after lunch together, we’ll tour the reconstructed wigwam on the Historical Society property, learn about the First Nations people in Simsbury, and hear about a witch in the Meeting House!
Tickets are $45, and include the 6-hour tour, a goody bag for the bus, and lunch. TO SIGN UP, contact Nancy Anstey at nancyanstey@comcast.net or 860-680-5298.
We will be following current State of CT and CDC COVID-19 guidelines. Masks are required on the bus.