Connecticut’s First Town

Windsor, Connecticut’s first town, has gone from a trading post in 1633 to a prolific agricultural and industrial powerhouse in the 1700s to the attractive suburban center that it is today.

Windsor Center is the quintessentially traditional New England town center, clean, attractive, and pedestrian- and family-friendly. It is pleasantly walkable with handsome historic buildings including the Windsor Train Station built in 1869, which now houses several artists’ studios. The Town Green is a gathering place as well as a thing of beauty with old-growth trees and a sense of quiet at some times and excitement at others. It is the site of many well-known annual festivals including the Shad Derby (season, parade, and festival), Summer Concerts, and other family-friendly events throughout the year.

Windsor residents have reveled in the town’s natural beauty and enjoyed its convenient location at the confluence of the Farmington and Connecticut Rivers from the beginning of recorded time. Windsor is a town with much to offer travelers including, first and foremost, both a sense of and hands-on experience of, history from the Windsor Historical Society’s changing exhibits and enviable genealogical library to the Luddy Tobacco and Agricultural Museum. For those who want to commune with nature, they can enjoy the natural beauty of Northwest Park with its hiking trails, snowshoe rentals, animal barn, butterfly garden, and wildlife exhibits.

Windsor is full of things to do. Here are some ideas:

• Take a shady walk through the River Trails off Palisado Avenue and Mechanic Street
• Go out for some live music and drinks at a local tavern
• Research your family tree at the Windsor Historical Society
• Play golf at Keney Park, designed by eminent course architect Devereux Emmet in 1927
• Kayak down the Farmington River
• Enjoy the latest art exhibit on display at the Windsor Art Center
• Step back in time and browse radio and communications museum

For the Tech-Inclined:

There’s an easy-to-use mobile website that anyone can use to walk around and see learn about interesting sites that even lifelong residents of Windsor may not be aware of. Just point your smartphone, tablet, or computer to www.TourWindsorCT.org to view the historic sites, points of interest, public art, restaurants, shops, and other interesting local businesses and attractions in Windsor.

Fun facts like these are also available on the site:

• The play and movie Arsenic and Old Lace are based on the life of Windsor’s Amy Archer-Gilligan.
• Windsor Center’s volunteer fire company began in 1830 with twenty men, each subscribing $5.
• The oldest surviving stone in any Connecticut cemetery is located in Windsor’s Palisado Cemetery and commemorates Reverend Ephraim Huit, who died in 1644.
• The Route 159 bridge over the Farmington River commemorates Windsor’s famous polka maestro Ray Henry, whose real name was Henry Mocarski.

Windsor has several unique specialty stores and fun coffee joints, especially around its pedestrian- and transit-oriented town center, and several ethnic restaurants throughout the town, from Italian to Puerto Rican to Thai, with something for everyone.