Every one of Connecticut's 169 towns has a story shaped by its geography and its people--the first inhabited the state more than 10,000 years ago, the Dutch traders, English settlers, and Africans--enslaved and free--who settled towns as one of the original 13 colonies, and successive waves of immigrants who moved its story forward. It's a small state with amazing variety that makes the 169 Club a fun and rewarding adventure. You'll experience historic town greens and new city centers, revitalized mills sprouting microbreweries and local farms offering local farm-to-table foods, and maritime villages and rural upland communities. Connecticut has it all! This guide, written by town historians and other local boosters, offers the backstory to your discovery of what makes Connecticut so special. - Elzabeth J. Normen, publisher, Connecticut Explored

The state of Connecticut boasts an extensive and active community of fife and drum groups. This musical tradition has its origins in the small military bands maintained by standing armies in Britain and Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries—the drum was especially important as it helped officers train soldiers how to march, and was also used to communicate with troops across battlefields. Today fifers and drummers gather at conventions called “musters,” which may include a parade and concerts featuring the various participating corps. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest muster ever was held in Deep River, Connecticut, in 1976. Musician and historian James Clark is the first to detail the colorful history of this unique music. This engaging book leads the reader through the history of the individual instruments and tells the story of this classic folk tradition through anecdotes, biographies, photographs, and musical examples.

After writing two best-selling travel books, Adirondack 102 Club and Connecticut 169 Club, CT author Martin Podskoch turned to his neighboring state and published RHODE ISLAND 39 CLUB Your Passport and Guide to Exploring Rhode Island. He again encourages readers to veer off the beaten path and discover Rhode Islands secret and lovely places that main roads do not reveal. With 39 invites to scenic vistas, picnic sites, fresh-water swimming holes, salt-water beaches, museums, amazing architecture, 400+ years of history, and local eateries of every description for fun in The Ocean States 39 towns and cities. The book is laid out in a crisp, inviting format. Locals in each town wrote a short history and interesting places to visit. Podskoch encourages readers to meet locals and businesses etc. and get their passport book signed or stamped. Visit all towns and earn Rhody Red patch award at annual dinner where all are invited to attend.

A guided tour of the historic town of Ipswich, showing how the areas you know and love have transformed over the centuries.

When the Reverend Peter Hobart disembarked in 1635 near what is now the intersection of North and Ship streets, he knew that he had found a gem. Roughly 20 miles south of Boston, Massachusetts, Hingham has a rich history of fishing, industry and recreation. Once the leading mackerel fishing port on the eastern seaboard, and later known as "Bucket Town" for the woodenware it produced, Hingham gradually became a bedroom community whose population works elsewhere for the most part. The Town has fortunately preserved much of it historic character, which, in addition to its waterfront amenities, recreational facilities and outstanding educational system continue to make us an attractive and sought after place to live. Never before published photographs, along with some old favorites from various collections, help to bring Hingham's evolutionary story to life in this series and provide a window into its heritage. Enjoy these glimpses of Hingham then and now to see for yourself that, although there are many new buildings and altered neighborhoods, many scenes from yesterday are still familiar. As former town resident Governor John D. Long once wrote--"Not all has changed."

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.