History articles published in town newsletters since February 1992:
The Settling of Bolton Special Edition of the Bolton Community News Celebrating Bolton’s 275th Anniversary – October 1995 Edited by Don Costello Introduction This brief article will attempt to describe what the Bolton area was like prior to and during its establishment as a Connecticut town in the year 1720. It will touch upon the … Read more
Open Space — the Great Cathedrals of Bolton
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, June 2005) When we think of great cathedrals we think of places that open new … Read more
Dr. Samuel Cooley of Bolton
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, April 2005) In “Ralph Earl, The Face of the Young Republic,” by Elizabeth M. Kornhauser, … Read more
Bolton’s World War II Vigilance
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, February 2005) On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and 2,403 Americans lost their … Read more
The Hans Christian Andersen Montessori School
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, December 2004) Maria Montessori, born in 1870 in Chiaravalle, Italy, became Italy’s first female doctor … Read more
Scenes From Heritage Day 2004
October 2, 2004 Photos by Eileen Stanley (Click on any photo to see a larger image.)
The First New England Camp Meeting & Lorenzo Dow
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, October 2004) The very first New England camp meeting, which planted the seeds of the … Read more
Bolton’s Mysterious Roving Islands
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, June 2004) On Monday, Feb. 28, 1955, on page 4 of The Bridgeport Telegram, there … Read more
1822 – The Second Awakening and a Bolton Tragedy
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, April 2004) Caregivers, doctors, nurses, and pastors are most exposed to illness today just as … Read more
Bolton’s Historic Moments During the American Revolution
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, February 2004; Revised September 2013) The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route (W3R©) National Historic Trail (NHT) is … Read more
Jonathan Edwards, Bolton’s First Pastor
Jonathan Edwards by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, December 2003) This year, 280 years after he became Bolton’s first pastor, Jonathan … Read more
Another Milestone for the Washington-Rochambeau Route (W3R)
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, October 2003) Our goal since 2000 has been the creation of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route … Read more
Ghosts of Bolton Past and Present
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, February & June, 2003) A few years ago I was telling a Hartford Courant writer … Read more
Bailey Road a Candidate for National Register of Historic Places
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, December 2002) I recently submitted a seven-page report to the State Historical Preservation Office (SHPO) … Read more
Early Bolton Heroes
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, August 2002) Jonathan Birge married Pricilla Hammond on March 24, 1763 and lived on Hebron … Read more
Ruth’s Story – Summer Days on Bolton Lake
edited by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, April 2002) The following is a page in the life of Ruth Johnson Converse, … Read more
The Wisdom of the Rose Farm Preservation
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, February 2002) Bolton’s effort to stem the tide of urban sprawl is perhaps the result … Read more
The Many Faces of Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau
(Published in the Bolton Community News, December 2001)
Bolton High School Is Making History
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, December 2001) Last year, in a meeting at our Bolton Senior Center, Congressman John Larson … Read more
Mystery of the Missing Portrait (George Colton)
Men of Great Learning in Bolton -or- The Mystery of the Missing Portrait by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, August 2001) … Read more
Bolton’s Federal Historic District
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, April 2001) There is a legend about 19th century European colonists who went to Africa … Read more
The Quarryville Boom Town
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, February 2001) Quarryville was once a bustling boomtown echoing with the hoarse shouts of men … Read more
A Brief History of Bentley Memorial Library
(excerpted from “Bolton’s Heritage,” edited by Bruce G. Ronson) Open House at the new Bentley Memorial Library – November 9, 1975 1881 Bolton Library Association created … Read more
Bolton and the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route (w3r)
A plan for a 625-mile long National Historic Trail by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, December 2000) December 16, 1999, marked … Read more
Some of Bolton’s Old Houses
(Published in the Bolton Community News, August 2000)
Bolton’s Best-Kept Secret, the Top 100
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, August 2000) On the Bolton Community News web site history page we can read about … Read more
A Historic Decision
The Rose Farm by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, April 2000) We now know that Bolton was a thriving town at … Read more
“Promiscuous Singing” in Bolton
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, February 2000) I recently came across an account of a major controversy that was raging … Read more
So Cold, the Rich Had to Beg
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, December 1999) We sometimes hear how the weather is the hottest it has been in … Read more
Dr. Colton of Bolton
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, October 1999) The Reverend Dr. George Colton was born in West Hartford, the son of … Read more
The Stampede of July 4, 1950
by Hans DePold, town historian (Published in the Bolton Community News, August 1999) There are times when a farmer can’t rightly spit lest he set off … Read more