| MARCH 13, 2011 -- Historic Sites of Connecticut’s Farmington Valley announces Historic Barns/Working Farms: A Bus Tour. Visit four historic barns dotted throughout the scenic Farmington Valley, journeying back in time to the farming communities of the area. Hear a talk from each farmer and anecdotes on the way to each location. At noon, relax and enjoy a stroll in the gardens and an al fresco lunch on the grounds of the Simsbury Historical Society.
The adventure begins on Tuesday, April 26 at 7:00 pm at the Canton Community Center, 40 Dyer Avenue, Canton, with an engaging lecture on the area’s historic barns, including information on the tobacco industry and sheds, by Todd Levine of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. The lecture is open to the public; admission is $5 per person (without the bus tour).
With Mr. Levine’s fascinating facts in mind, participants will board the bus on Saturday, April 30, departing from the commuter lot at Iron Horse Boulevard (behind Fitzgerald’s Grocery Store), Simsbury, promptly at 9:30 am. The first stop will be Tulmeadow Farm in West Simsbury, farmed by the Tuller family since 1768. In addition to their famous ice cream, Tulmeadow Farm has perennials, grass-fed beef and a gift shop full of goodies that will delight tour participants. A short ride from Tulmeadow is Flamig Farm, also in West Simsbury, an educational resource serving the Farmington Valley area since 1907. Here tour-goers will learn about farming with renewable energy, biodiesel and solar alternatives, and experience Flamig’s animal petting area. Simsbury Historical Society is next on the itinerary, where participants can enjoy a picnic lunch and a stroll in the gardens before exploring the 19th-century Phelps Barn, built to keep the carriages and horses owned by the Phelps family. With stories of the Phelps family and other local history under their belts, tour-goers are on their way to the Holcomb Farm in West Granby, a vibrant, historic, educational New England farm, where they will have the option of walking up to a panoramic overlook or down to an enchanted forest, or staying put to check out the farm animals. Finally, en route back to Iron Horse Boulevard, the tour will swing by Simsbury’s Tobacco Barns, hearing about the rich history of tobacco growing in the region.
The tour is recommended for adults and children 13 and older. Admission is $35 per person and includes the April 26 lecture, bus tour and lunch. Reservations are required. Call the Farmington Valley Visitors Association at 860.676.8878 by April 18 to reserve your seat.
The proceeds benefit Historic Sites of Connecticut’s Farmington Valley, a non-profit corporation, whose mission is to open the eyes of residents and visitors to four centuries of the “American Experience,” as seen through local factories, farmers, financiers and felons. Historic Sites is part of the Farmington Valley Visitors Association, whose mission is to serve as a resource for residents, and to promote the Farmington Valley to individuals and businesses wishing to relocate to the area, and tourists wishing to experience all that the Farmington Valley has to offer. |
