Hidden History of Ridgefield, Connecticut
Hidden History of Ridgefield, Connecticut

Author: Jack Sanders

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 1467118141

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Time nearly erased many astounding tales and unexpected anecdotes from Ridgefield's history. Its colorful characters include a widow who built a landmark Manhattan hotel, her neighbor who invented one of the first "helicopters" and a CIA operative who helped one thousand Americans flee Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. Lesser known are the stories of the Ridgefield artists who gave the world Superman and Lowly Worm and brought the Wild West to life. One local writer helped make Hawthorne famous, while another penned thousands of hymns still sung around the globe. Join retired newspaper editor Jack Sanders as he uncovers nearly forgotten people and moments of Ridgefield's past.

Wicked Ridgefield, Connecticut
Wicked Ridgefield, Connecticut

Author: Jack Sanders

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 1

ISBN-13: 1467136824

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Ridgefield is no stranger to life's shadier characters. The history of this idyllic community includes cunning crooks, suburban embezzlers, bungling burglars and wandering scallywags. In 1894, a group of bank robbers literally blew it in a heist at the Saving Bank--the explosion attracted witnesses to see the gang miss out on a grand haul of fifty dollars. Half a decade later, in 1940, a skeleton whose origins still befuddle experts was unearthed in a tree nursery. This look at the darker side of Ridgefield's past includes sad and tragic moments as well, such as newlyweds imprisoned in the Tombs, the Satanists of the '70s and a hermit murdered for love. Local editor Jack Sanders tells fascinating tales of two centuries of Ridgefield criminals, n'er-do-wells and even wayward do-gooders in this entertaining--and occasionally humorous--glimpse into some of the town's wickedest moments.

Connecticut's Indigenous Peoples
Connecticut's Indigenous Peoples

Author: Lucianne Lavin

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2013-06-25

Total Pages: 614

ISBN-13: 0300195192

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DIVDIVMore than 10,000 years ago, people settled on lands that now lie within the boundaries of the state of Connecticut. Leaving no written records and scarce archaeological remains, these peoples and their communities have remained unknown to all but a few archaeologists and other scholars. This pioneering book is the first to provide a full account of Connecticut’s indigenous peoples, from the long-ago days of their arrival to the present day./divDIV /divDIVLucianne Lavin draws on exciting new archaeological and ethnographic discoveries, interviews with Native Americans, rare documents including periodicals, archaeological reports, master’s theses and doctoral dissertations, conference papers, newspapers, and government records, as well as her own ongoing archaeological and documentary research. She creates a fascinating and remarkably detailed portrait of indigenous peoples in deep historic times before European contact and of their changing lives during the past 400 years of colonial and state history. She also includes a short study of Native Americans in Connecticut in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This book brings to light the richness and diversity of Connecticut’s indigenous histories, corrects misinformation about the vanishing Connecticut Indian, and reveals the significant roles and contributions of Native Americans to modern-day Connecticut./divDIVDIV/div/div/div

The Old Leather Man
The Old Leather Man

Author: Dan W. DeLuca

Publisher: Wesleyan University Press

Published: 2013-09-01

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 0819574457

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In 1883, wearing a sixty-pound suit sewn from leather boot-tops, a wanderer known only as the Leather Man began to walk a 365 mile loop between the Connecticut and Hudson Rivers that he would complete every 34 days, for almost six years. His circuit took him through at least 41 towns in southwestern Connecticut and southeastern New York, sleeping in caves, accepting food from townspeople, and speaking only in grunts and gestures along the way. What remains of the mysterious Leather Man today are the news clippings and photographs taken by the first-hand witnesses of this captivating individual. The Old Leather Man gathers the best of the early newspaper accounts of the Leather Man, and includes maps of his route, historic photographs of his shelters, the houses he was known to stop at along his way, and of the Leather Man himself. This history tracks the footsteps of the Leather Man and unravels the myths surrounding the man who made Connecticut’s caves his home. Ebook Edition Note: Six of the 111 illustrations have been redacted.

Historic Tales of Bethel, Connecticut
Historic Tales of Bethel, Connecticut

Author: Patrick Tierney Wild

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2011-01-11

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 162584137X

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Bethel, Connecticut, was settled as early as 1700 in the rolling hills of northern Fairfield County. Rooted in hat manufacturing, the town offered many residents employment in the factories of the Hickocks, Judds and Benedicts. Bethel is also the birthplace of celebrated showman P.T. Barnum, who became an international celebrity yet never forgot his hometown. Now most noted for its picturesque downtown, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Bethel retains its small-town appeal while still offering accessibility to both New York City and Hartford. Join town historian Patrick Tierney Wild as he recounts the trials and triumphs that have given this New England town its charm, from the tumultuous days of the American Revolution to the early decades of the fast-paced twentieth century.