Windsor, Connecticut’s first town, was launched in 1633 when settlers sailed from Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts to establish themselves at the confluence of the Farmington and Connecticut rivers. The Native Americans referred to this area as Matianuck. The Reverend John Warham and 60 members of his congregation, a church organized in England in 1630, arrived two years later and renamed the settlement Dorchester. A final name change to Windsor was decreed in 1637 by the colony’s General Court.

Windsor is the home of Oliver Ellsworth, a drafter of the Constitution and third Chief Justice for the United States as well as US Senator. In addition, Windsor has been the home of one Governor, two Lieutenant Governors, two Secretaries of the State, and one State Treasurer. Its original land has been used to spin off no less than 20 other Connecticut towns, in whole or part, from Litchfield and Torrington to the west, to Tolland in the east.

Historically, Windsor’s economy has been dominated by two pursuits: tobacco farming and brickmaking (since 1775). In its heyday, there were more than 40 brickyards in Windsor. The last one disappeared in the 1960s. The first tobacco crop was planted in 1640 with seeds brought to Connecticut from the Virginia plantations. Several hundred acres are still being cultivated today.

Also for approximately 100 years (1830 – 1930) woolen mills and paper mills located on the Farmington River in the Poquonock and Rainbow sections of Windsor provided employment for up to 500 people.

Currently, Windsor’s industrial base encompasses a wide range of products and services, including insurance, software development, and manufacturing of nuclear reactors, engine components, and machinery.