Windsor Locks
(front)
Windsor Locks
Incorporated May 30, 1854, the town was formerly Pine Meadow district of Windsor. A Dutch trader, Captain Adriaen Block, came up the Connecticut River in the spring of 1614 as far as Enfield Rapids.
The first three settlers were: Henry Denslow 1663, Nathaniel Gaylord-1678, and Abraham Dibble - 1708.
Seth Dexter founded the Dexter Company in 1767. The first one-horse-drawn wagon in this area was made by David Birge in 1815.
The Windsor Locks Canal was completed in 1829. Charles Dexter was appointed first postmaster in 1833.
The first town officials included Lucius Chapman, Talcott Mather, and Oliver Hayden-Selectmen, and Charles Spencer - Town Clerk. The first town meeting was held July 3, 1854.
(Continued on other side)
(reverse)
Windsor Locks
(Continued from other side)
Rail transportation was inaugurated in 1844. Trolley service began in 1904. Public buses first operated June 24, 1924. Bradley Field was opened as a military airbase in 1941. Commercial airlines using the facility have served this area since 1947. It is now Bradley International Airport.
Ella T. Grasso of Windsor Locks was elected first woman governor of Connecticut in November, 1974.
Old Country Road is described in George Washington's diary under date of October, 1789: “Between Windsor and Suffield you pass through level, barren and uncultivated plain for miles.” This refers to Windsor Locks.
Erected May 30, 1976
by the Windor Locks American Revolution
Bicentennial Commission
the Windsor Locks Historical Society
and the Connecticut Historical Commission
Marker is at the intersection of Main Street (Connecticut Route 159) and Oak Street, on the right when traveling south on Main Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
