28-574: The Bigelow-Hartford Carpet Mills Historic District encompasses a company-built factory and residential area in the Thompsonville area of Enfield, Connecticut , United States. In addition to the former factory buildings of the Bigelow-Hartford Carpet Mills , it includes more than 150 housing units built by the company between about 1830 and 1920. It is roughly bounded on the north by Lafayette Street and Alden Avenue,
56-679: A New England town. Named for the Kent family of Suffield, the Kent Memorial Library is an important research center for source materials, records, and documents from north-central Connecticut. A walk along Main Street reveals many examples of 18th and 19th century architecture. The Dr. Alexander King House, on the corner of Kent Avenue, and the Phelps-Hatheway House, a little farther north on Main Street, are museums open to
84-481: A row of simple single-story cottages documented in drawings, built by Orrin Thompson survives. Early buildings tended to house either two or four families on two floors. Later construction expanded on these models, resulting in three-story tenements and row houses with as many as twelve units. The 1845 Cottage Green area was an unusual deviation from the largely grid-based layout the company used for its housing, with
112-422: A series of single-family Gothic cottages around a common yard. This area may have been developed as a means to attract highly skilled craftsmen from England. The tenement-style housing found in the district was mainly built in the late 19th century; the housing of the early 20th century returned to the models of two and four families, and featured vernacular versions of popular architectural styles. In addition to
140-760: A slave belonging to early Suffield settler, Lieut. Joshua Leavitt, died November 5, 1732. Some of Leavitt's descendants became ardent abolitionists , including Joshua Leavitt and his cousin Roger Hooker Leavitt , who operated an Underground Railroad station in Charlemont, Massachusetts . One of the earliest graduates of the Yale Medical School was one of Suffield's earliest physicians. Dr. Asaph Leavitt Bissell, born in 1791 at Hanover, New Hampshire , to parents originally from Suffield, attended Dartmouth College , and later graduated in
168-777: Is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut , United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region , and located in the Connecticut River Valley . As of the 2020 census , the population was 15,752. The town center is a census-designated place listed as Suffield Depot . Bordering Massachusetts , Suffield is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts NECTA . It was once within the boundaries of Massachusetts . Originally known as Southfield—pronounced "Suffield," on May 20, 1674,
196-609: Is water. The town center ( Suffield Depot CDP ) has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.1 km ), all of it land. Suffield is on the west bank of the Connecticut River , 8 miles (13 km) south of the river's largest city, Springfield, Massachusetts , and 16 miles (26 km) north of Connecticut's capital, Hartford . Two bridges span the river to the town of Enfield : the Amtrak/Springfield Terminal Railroad Bridge and
224-713: The Dwight family of Northampton, Massachusetts , the Hooker family of Hartford, the Dudleys of Guilford, Connecticut , and the Leavitts of Suffield. Descendants of Robert Olds, who arrived from Sherborne , Dorset , in 1667, include automotive pioneer Ransom Eli Olds , Copperhead Ohio politician Edson Baldwin Olds , his great-grandson USAAF General Robert Olds , and his son, iconic USAF fighter pilot Robin Olds . Slavery
252-555: The Enfield–Suffield Veterans Bridge . The Metacomet Ridge , a mountainous trap rock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border, runs through the center of Suffield from south to north as West Suffield Mountain . The 51-mile (82 km) Metacomet Trail traverses the ridge. As of the census of 2000, there were 13,552 people, 4,660 households, and 3,350 families residing in
280-692: The Western Reserve lands in Ohio, most of which were controlled by Suffield financiers and speculators; and Thaddeus Leavitt , inventor of an early cotton gin , merchant and patentee of the Western Reserve lands. Thanks to the town's early prominence and wealth, it boasts an astonishing collection of early New England architecture. The Kent family, for whom the town's library is named, originated in Gloucester, Massachusetts , and boasted relations to many prominent early New England families, including
308-530: The southern United States . According to the United States Census Bureau , the CDP has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.1 km ), of which 2.0 square miles (5.3 km ) is land and 0.31 square miles (0.8 km ), or 12.99%, is water. Thompsonville is located on the east bank of the Connecticut River and is bounded by Interstate 91 to the east. U.S. Route 5 (Enfield Street) is
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#1732791621196336-470: The age of 18 living with them, 33.3% were married couples living together, 17.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.9% were non-families. 36.5% of households were one person and 11.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 3.02. The age distribution was 25.5% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 16.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% 65 or older. The median age
364-407: The average family size was 3.04. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 116.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 121.1 males. The median income for a household in the town
392-587: The committee for the settling of the town petitioned: ...that the name of the place may be Suffield, it being the southernmost town that either at present is, or like to be in that Countrey, and neere adjoining to the south border of our Patent in those parts. [ sic ] The petition was granted by the Massachusetts Bay court on June 8, 1674. Suffield was incorporated as a town in March 1682. Also, on early 17th and 18th century maps, Suffield
420-483: The construction of a sawmill, and used two of his slaves, Harry and Roco, for the construction. Suffield's third minister, Reverend Ebenezer Devotion, became minister in 1710, and "sixteen years later the town voted to give him £20 to purchase a slave. Reverend Ebenezer Gay, Devotion's successor, owned six slaves throughout his long term, 1742–1796. Reverend Ebenezer Gay Jr. manumitted his family's three remaining slaves in 1812. They were Titus, Ginny and Dinah. "Princess,"
448-530: The east by Hartford Avenue and Lincoln Street, the south by High Street, and the west by River Street. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. The Bigelow-Hartford Carpet Mills were the largest employer in Enfield for many years, and one of the largest textile firms in the state. Founded in 1828 by Orrin Thompson on the banks of Freshwater Brook, the company became one of
476-491: The main road through the village, leading north to Longmeadow, Massachusetts , and into Springfield , and south through East and South Windsor to East Hartford . Connecticut Route 190 crosses Route 5, leading west across the Connecticut River into Suffield and east to Hazardville . At the 2000 census there were 8,125 people, 3,442 households, and 1,896 families living in the CDP. The population density
504-413: The mass of company housing, the district also includes the surviving early 20th-century factory buildings, which have for the most part been converted to residential use. Thompsonville, Connecticut Thompsonville is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Enfield in Hartford County , Connecticut , United States. The population of the CDP was 8,577 at the 2010 census. Thompsonville
532-479: The nation's largest manufacturers of carpeting, employing more than 13,000 workers in Thompsonville at its height in the 1920s. The company's growth through the 19th century prompted an ongoing need for nearby affordable housing for its workers. The result is several generations of stylistically different housing, built densely in the blocks surrounding the main factory complex. None of the earliest housing,
560-410: The population. There were 4,660 households, out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.2% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. Of all households, 23.3% were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and
588-517: The second class of the Yale Medical School. Bissell moved to Suffield, where he rode horseback to make house calls on his patients. Bissell's saddlebags are today in the collection of the Yale Medical School's Historical Society. According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 42.9 square miles (111.2 km ), of which 42.3 square miles (109.5 km ) is land and 0.69 square miles (1.8 km ), or 1.58%,
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#1732791621196616-427: The town. The population density was 321.0 inhabitants per square mile (123.9/km ). There were 4,853 housing units at an average density of 115.0 per square mile (44.4/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 88.67% White , 6.95% African American , 0.24% Native American , 0.94% Asian , 0.04% Pacific Islander , 2.03% from other races , and 1.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.25% of
644-526: Was $ 66,698, and the median income for a family was $ 79,189. Males had a median income of $ 52,096 versus $ 35,188 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 28,171. About 1.8% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over. Main Street, a designated historic district with the Green, three churches, Suffield Academy and vintage colonial and Victorian homes, typifies
672-435: Was 3,797.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,466.4/km ). There were 3,728 housing units at an average density of 1,742.6 per square mile (672.8/km ). The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.01% White, 3.96% African American, 0.33% Native American, 1.61% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.50% from other races, and 2.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.70%. Of the 3,442 households 29.5% had children under
700-517: Was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males. The median household income was $ 39,154 and the median family income was $ 42,692. Males had a median income of $ 38,000 versus $ 29,550 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $ 19,851. About 7.3% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line , including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over. Suffield, Connecticut Suffield
728-670: Was alternatively spelled as Suthfield. Suffield and the surrounding area were part of the Equivalent Lands compromise with Massachusetts in 1715–1716. Suffield's native and adopted sons include The Rev. Ebenezer Gay, a renowned Congregational minister; U.S. Postmaster General Gideon Granger ; real estate speculator Oliver Phelps , once the largest landowner in America; composer Timothy Swan ; architect Henry A. Sykes ; sculptor Olin Levi Warner ; Seth Pease, surveyor of
756-668: Was common throughout the Connecticut River Valley during the 18th century, and the 1774 Census for the Colony of Connecticut listed 37 slaves in Suffield. Throughout the Connecticut Valley, wealthy merchants, tavern owners and town ministers owned slaves. When Major John Pynchon originally purchased from the Pequonnocks and Agawam tribes a six-mile tract of land, which he called Stoney Brooke Plantation, he first ordered
784-670: Was established in the 19th century as a carpet- manufacturing community. Orrin Thompson, from whom the community takes its name, built a dam across Freshwater Brook in 1828 and opened the first carpet mill in 1829. Thompson's first mill, named "White Mill", employed skilled weavers brought from Scotland . Initially its product was largely flat-woven ingrain carpeting, an inexpensive type of carpeting, but over time it added more expensive weaves, such as three-ply ingrain and loop brussels. The mill had 230 looms in operation as of 1846. Carpeting continued to be manufactured in Thompsonville until 1971, by which time most production had shifted to
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