Tag: Farmington River Valley

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Canton Greening Over

Yankee Farmlands № 64 (Farm in Canton, Connecticut)
“Yankee Farmlands № 64”
Barns and pasture beside wooded hill during springtime, Canton, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Barns nestle into the bottom of a broad ridge in Northern Connecticut, the adjacent pastures already thick with grasses by early May. Woodlands on the hillside have taken to “greening over” as recent rains nourish buds and emerging leaves.

In modern times, Canton is a prosperous township of nearly 9,000 in the Farmington River Valley. Even as early as the mid-1800s, the renowned Collinsville ax factory brought growth and industrial might in the southern reaches of the town.

But the earliest settlers of Canton, said to have arrived there in the 1740s, didn’t fare quite so well. So toilsome were their efforts at building a life in this hilly, wooded frontier that they saw fit to name their founding village “Suffrage”. One can only imagine that, for these struggling pioneers, a time when their hamlet would enjoy comfort and convenience seemed impossibly distant.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Snows Fall over West Simsbury

Yankee Farmlands № 53 (Simsbury, Connecticut, USA)
“Yankee Farmlands № 53”
February snowstorm descends upon windswept farmlands
Simsbury, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

Winter snows descend upon the farmlands of Northern Connecticut, blanketing hay wagons and a time-worn pasture shelter. Bare shade trees dot the landscape beyond, eventually giving way to the hazy silhouette of distant woodlands.

At first glance, snow-laden farms may seem rather dormant: tractors sit parked, fields lay barren and barns slumber away the winter. But historically, tireless New Englanders found ways to keep busy on the farm even during the colder months of the year.

With no fields to tend, farmers set off into their woodlots to fell trees which would eventually be used in the springtime to build and repair barns, fences and sheds. Seems like a terrible time for such strenuous outdoor labor, right? Maybe so, but there was an important advantage to this approach: it was far easier to haul heavy timber back to the farm on a sled over the snow than it would be to overload the frame and wheels of a creaky, old wooden cart in the summertime.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Luminous Collinsville

Luminous Collinsville (Dams beside the old Collins Ax Factory, Collinsville, Canton, Connecticut)
“Luminous Collinsville”
Dams at the old Collins Axe Factory, Collinsville, Canton, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

In “Luminous Collinsville” (photo at top), just one the pieces I recently released featuring the historic Collins Ax Factory, mist rises from the Farmington River as it courses through old mill dams in the post-industrial factory town of Collinsville, Connecticut. Stricken by days of brutally cold winter weather, waters behind the spillway are glazed over with ice and snow-capped bedrock punctuates the river below.

Factory Town, Autumn Hush (Old Collins Axe Factory on the Farmington River, Collinsville, Canton, Connecticut)
“Factory Town, Autumn Hush”
Old Collins Axe Factory on the Farmington River, Collinsville, Canton, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

When the Collins Ax Factory opened as a modest mill on the banks of the Farmington River in the 1820s, nobody could’ve predicted the remarkable success that lay ahead. Over the next century, as its fame grew and business soared, the company expanded its facilities at the site, brought in rail lines, built bridges over the river, constructed extensive dams for waterwheels and hydroelectric plants and served as the hub for a community that is still called “Collinsville” to this day. My piece, “Factory Town, Autumn Hush” (above), portrays the main factory building beside a large mill pond.

Gates of Collinsville (Dam regulators at the old Collins Axe Factory on the Farmington River, Collinsville, Canton, Connecticut)
“Gates of Collinsville”
Dam gate hoists at the old Collins Axe Factory on the Farmington River, Collinsville, Canton, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

But even this industrial giant wasn’t immune to changing times. First came the advent of the chainsaw, which diminished the demand for axes. Market competition steadily increased right up until 1955 when a massive flood made matters worse by destroying the rail lines that serviced the sprawling complex. By the 1960s the factory was shuttered, ending a 140-year legacy of continuous operation that turned out millions of the finest axes and machetes that money could buy.

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Be sure to check out all of my work from the old Collins Ax Factory and Historic Collinsville.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Fields ‘neath Talcott

Fields 'neath Talcott (Talcott Mountain and Hublein Tower, Simsbury, CT)
“Fields ‘neath Talcott”
Talcott Mountain (& Hublein Tower) beyond corn field, Simsbury, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

In my latest release, “Fields ‘neath Talcott” (above), long shadows cast from surrounding woodlands reach across rows of corn as the sun sinks low in the sky, signaling the conclusion of a balmy, autumn day. On the horizon, Talcott Mountain rises nearly 1,000 feet from the surrounding countryside; the iconic Hublein Tower crowns the ridge crest, an unmistakable fleck against bold clouds, forest and traprock cliffs.

In 1823, Encyclopedia Britannica summed up Connecticut as “generally broken land made up of mountains, hills and valleys”. Among the rugged features of this landscape is the Metacomet Range, a distinctive chain of long, sheer ridges that weave through the Connecticut Valley.

Talcott Mountain is just one of many prominent summits of the Metacomet Range, which begins near the Connecticut coast and traces a rocky path north for 100 miles up into northern Massachusetts. Some of the more colorfully named mountains in Connecticut’s length of the chain include Sleeping Giant in Hamden and Wallingford, Meriden’s Hanging Hills and the Barndoor Hills in Granby.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Farmington River Monochrome

Angry Farmington (Farmington River at Tariffville Gorge, Simsbury, Connecticut)
“Angry Farmington”
Farmington River at Tariffville Gorge, Simsbury, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

The Farmington River thunders through a dark gorge in Northern Connecticut, its swift waters boiling angrily over submerged boulders. Stark skeletons of leaf-bare trees reach skywards from the riverbank amidst dense veils of drifting fog.

This foreboding interpretation of the Farmington Valley hearkens back to early, uncertain days in the history of Simsbury. A loose confederation of Native American tribes, angered over the relentless advance of colonial settlements upon their ancestral territory, began launching attacks on the colonies of Massachusetts and Connecticut in 1675. With news that entire towns were being destroyed, the people of Simsbury felt it was best to retreat from their remote frontier village until the emerging conflict subsided. They escaped eastward to Windsor and stayed for two years, a wise decision in retrospect. Upon returning after the war, it was discovered that Native forces had burnt the empty village of Simsbury to the ground.

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Click here to visit my landing page for “Angry Farmington” to buy a beautiful fine art print or inquire about licensing this image.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Autumn Cabbage in the Farmington Valley

Yankee Farmlands № 44 (Autumn Cabbage Field, Farmington, Connecticut)
“Yankee Farmlands № 44”
Cabbage in Muddy Field during November,Farmington, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

Bare forests line the margin of a muddy field in the Farmington River Valley as autumn deepens, bringing colder temperatures and even occasional frosts. Cabbage crops, still verdant and thriving under the setting sun, stand as an unlikely contradiction in the otherwise stark, sleepy landscape.

By early November, most crops in New England have been harvested and the fields laid bare. Farms that were bristling with corn, tomatoes, squash and other crops just months earlier become dormant expanses of open land.

Persistent “autumn cabbages” are among the rare exceptions, though. Resilient and cold-hardy, these white and red cabbage varieties continue to grow and yield under conditions that might seem incredible to those who are unfamiliar with the vegetable’s durability. In this piece, we find a row which has just recently been harvested amidst other plants that continue to mature.

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Click here to visit my landing page for “Yankee Farmlands № 44” to buy a beautiful fine art print or inquire about licensing this image.

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Be sure to check out more work from my Yankee Farmlands project, an on-going journey through the farmlands of Connecticut in celebration of New England’s agricultural heritage.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

The Advent of the Barn Cupola

Yankee Farmlands № 43 (Barn with ornate cupola, Avon, Connecticut)
“Yankee Farmlands № 43”
Barn with ornate cupola, Avon, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

Long shadows reach across the landscape as the sun sits low upon the horizon in Connecticut’s Farmington Valley. Nestled among the shadows and vivid foliage of shade trees, a barn hoists its tall weather vane into the air atop a stately cupola.

For the first two centuries after European settlement, farmers in New England sided their barns with a single layer of long boards. This kept out rain and snow, but the narrow gaps between each board meant that the barn interior was still rather drafty. Livestock housed within needed to eat plenty of food in order to stay warm in spite of the chills. So, in the spirit of efficiency, 19th-century farmers began trying to seal the sides of their barns with shingles or additional boards, letting in less cold air so that livestock would consume less feed in the wintertime.

It worked, but there was one glaring problem: those gaps had served as much-needed barn ventilation. Without any air circulation, manure fumes grew overwhelming and the excess humidity caused rampant mold growth. Simple cupolas solved the problem, venting stale, damp air through the roof. By the late 1800s, intricate cupola designs emerged which were just as beautiful as they were functional.

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Click here to visit my landing page for “Yankee Farmlands № 43” to buy a beautiful fine art print or inquire about licensing this image.

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Be sure to check out more work from my Yankee Farmlands project, an on-going journey through the farmlands of Connecticut in celebration of New England’s agricultural heritage.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Of Horses and Farmhouses

Yankee Farmlands № 41 (Horses pasturing beside old farmhouse, Hebron, Connecticut)
“Yankee Farmlands № 41”
Horses pasturing beside old farmhouse,Hebron, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

Autumn advances upon Connecticut’s Eastern Uplands where horses huddle beside one another amidst a pasture strewn with fallen leaves. A creaky, old farmhouse nearby sits in shadowy repose beneath a towering shade tree, whispering forgotten tales of times long past through fissures in its frail siding.

Connecticut’s scattered farming districts may not be as numerous as they once were, but those places where agriculture does persist have often been worked almost continuously for centuries. Consequently, it’s not uncommon on these farms to find a mingling of barns, outbuildings and silos of wildly different ages, each constructed at different times over the course of several generations.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Simbury’s Flower Bridge

Iron Bouquet (Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge, Simsbury, Connecticut, USA)
“Iron Bouquet”
Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge, Simsbury, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

Century-old iron girders frame the marvelously symmetrical trusses of the Old Drake Hill Bridge. The imposing metal structure stands in stark contrast to the airy clouds above and enjoys a palette of colorful blooms growing from planters and hanging flower pots.

Wooden covered bridges dominated the Connecticut landscape throughout most of the 1800s. But as the turn of the century grew closer, the reign of the wooden bridge was literally crumbling away as floods, fires and the rigors of the elements laid waste to Connecticut’s aging crossings. State-of-the-art iron bridges arose wherever old covered bridges required replacement, oftentimes sitting upon the very same abutments.

Such was the case with the iron Drake Hill Bridge in Simsbury, which was built over the Farmington River in 1892 as a direct replacement for an earlier covered bridge. Owing to its durable metal components, the Drake Hill Bridge remarkably carried traffic for 100 years, its term of service beginning with horse-drawn carriages and spanning all the way to Chevy pickups and Honda Civics. By 1992, it was finally decommissioned after a new concrete bridge was built nearby. In its retirement, the beloved Drake Hill Bridge now takes it easy, carrying only pedestrians and being adorned every year with a gorgeous array of flowers.

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All Things Connecticut New Print Releases The American Northeast

Talcott Cloudscape

Talcott Cloudscape (Hublein Tower & Talcott Mountain, Simsbury, Connecticut)
“Talcott Cloudscape”
Hublein Tower & Talcott Mountain, Simsbury, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

Towering cumulus clouds, their exquisite contours etched into a deep blue sky, soar over the crest of Talcott Mountain in Northern Connecticut. Broad shadows cast upon the ridge top engulf the distant, century-old Hublein Tower, a monolithic structure rising high above the forest canopy.

At roughly 700 feet tall, Talcott Mountain (seen in my newly-released piece above, “Talcott Cloudscape”) climbs prominently from the forests and farmlands of the Farmington River Valley. But perhaps it is Hublein Tower, at a height of 165 feet, which lends a better sense of scale to the vast, airy spectacle of clouds overhead.

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Events and Awards

2011 Granby Land Trust Juried Art Show

You can be among the first to see J. G. Coleman’s print, “Old Dish Mill Falls on Jim Brook“, a fine-art landscape photograph taken at Roaring Brook Nature Center in Canton, Connecticut. The work will be on display through the month of November at J. Vallee Brunelle Fine Art & Framing in Granby, Connecticut. “Old Dish Mill Falls on Jim Brook” is only one of many works that will be on display for Celebrating Art in Nature, the 2011 Granby Land Trust Annual Juried Art Show.

Celebrating Art in Nature is a small art show that features paintings, drawings, photography and 3D works inspired by nature and landscapes of the Farmington River Valley region. The opening reception for the showing is on Thursday, November 3, 2011 between 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM.

The showing will run from November 3, 2011 through December 1, 2011 and every piece on display is available for purchase. The Granby Land Trust will receive 40% of the proceeds for every work purchased at J. Vallee Brunelle, which will help them continue to preserve Granby’s natural heritage (a portion of those proceeds will also go towards supporting the event).

Feel free to learn more about this event by visiting the Granby Land Trust website or the J. Vallee Brunelle Fine Art & Framing website.