Landmarks of Old Cheshire - Cheshire Bicentennial Committee (c) 1976
Considered the definitive story of the town from its first settlement before 1700 to 1976. The book includes charming wash drawings and detailed histories of almost all 18th century houses still standing ($35)

This is a "must have" book about Cheshire. It is the first book of its kind to be published in over 80 years (as the 1974 cover reads). In 1894 Brown and Paddock wrote Old Historic Houses of Cheshire, designed to promote an understanding of Cheshire's past and its architectural heritage. Presently (in 1976), nearly half of the landmarks noted by Deacon Brown have been lost; the book itself is virtually unobtainable.

The Cheshire Historical Society has uncovered additional inventory of this 1974 Landmarks book and we are very pleased to be able to offer this to you. This is a limited edition.

Dr. Howard T. Oedel, professor of American colonial history at Southern Connecticut State University served as Editor of Landmarks of Old Cheshire. Author of a number of publications on colonial history and the Civil War period, Dr. Oedel also taught extensively on historic preservation and restoration. Undoubtedly the most charming feature of Landmarks of Old Cheshire are some fifty original wash-drawings, executed with sill and patience by Kathleen Gagnon of East Hartford and a 1976 graduate of SCSU, Additionally there are another fifty illustrations, many of them photographs of long ago and never before published, obtained from the collections of the Cheshire Historical Society and from private donors.

The Barite Mines of Cheshire by Crawford E. Fritts
Definitive study of Cheshire's early mines ($10) Please see this web page for more detail

[beginning c. 1850's] In Cheshire in For twenty years barytes mining was conducted on a large scale. Shafts were sunk as deep as 500 feet, and tunnels almost a mile in length followed the three distinct north, south, and central veins. Over five hundred miners were employed at one time, and sixty to seventy tons of ore were excavated daily. It was estimated that over four and a half million dollars worth of barytes was taken from one mine in a single year, and the miners' pay-roll exceeded thirty thousand dollars a month. (Cited from Landmarks of Old Cheshire)

Reflections on the Canal in Cheshire, A Scrap-Book Account compiled by Raymond L. Beard
With special summary on canal finances by Arthur J. Frechette, Jr. Excellent information on the canal and Cheshire's Lock 12 ($5)

This little gem of a booklet provides a wonderful assortment of drawings, photos, letters, and descriptions of the canal that was in operation in 1828 (after 3 years of construction). Where we now rollerblade and run on our Cheshire Linear Park, nearly 200 years ago horse-drawn barges provided passenger excursions, but more importantly they brought building materials, food stuffs, and manufactured goods from distant sources. In return, oyster kegs and other products of local mills and farms were shipped out of Cheshire; barite from the Jinny Hill mines were loaded at Higgins Road and carried to New Haven Markets.

From this booklet (p. 21):
Deacon Hooker, a strict observer of the Puritan Sabbath, and one who took part in the celebration, writes, "On Saturday a boat on wheels drawn by four horses arrived in town from New Haven this afternoon containing old Mr. Hillhouse, the superintendent of the canal, and eight or ten other persons. It was covered with a white awning and curtains decorated with two flags. On its stern was painted 'Farmington Canal,' and on each side 'For Southwick & Memphremagog.'"