History of Columbia Told Through Vintage Images

March 5, 2013 - PRLog -- The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Columbia from local authors John Allen, De Ramm and Ingrid Wood for the Columbia Historical Society. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images and memories of days gone by.

Nestled in the crossroads of Connecticut's eastern highlands, Columbia was home to Eleazar Wheelock's Moor's Indian Charity School, founded in 1754. This Puritan parish was transformed by the early-19th-century Industrial Revolution and was later changed into an exurb of Hartford by the 20th-century automobile.

Beginning in 1720, Columbia residents harnessed waterpower for all manner of mills, including grist, cider, sorghum, carding, fulling, saw, shingle, and wood turning. Hop River Village was the site of the first large-scale industrial cotton mill in Connecticut in 1837.

Today, the mills are long gone. The Ten Mile River, Hop River, dramatic Columbia Lake Ravine, Utley Hill Preserve and pristine Columbia Lake hold clues to a once bustling commercial center. Post-World War II Columbia grew into a vital residential, recreational community with small industries and an agricultural heritage.

Highlights of Columbia:
•   Ye Crank in the 18th Century and Historic Columbia Green
•   Commerce and Industry
•   Summer Pleasures and Activities at the Lake
•   The Men and Women Who Won and Kept Our Freedom
•   Organized Sports and Social Activities
•   Fraternal and Civic Organizations

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or online.  

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.  Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places.  Have we done a book on your town?  Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com.