Collinsville in the Town of Canton a Little Bit of Ireland on the Farmington
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Vol. XXIX— No. 2 — 2017 Collinsville in the town of Canton A little bit of Ireland on the Farmington River he establishment in 1826 of an axe white masons from Hartford, Gurley and next year, he reported, ”The effect of our T factory along the Farmington River Kelly.” The latter is primarily an Irish sur- running our grinding with green Irishmen turned the old Yankee farming town of name; the former primarily Scottish but now became visible by the increased wear Canton, Connecticut, into a bustling multi- also found in northern Ireland. and tear of machinery.” ethnic industrial center. Collins also wrote: “Two black men, Collins was dead wrong on one count. He Several generations of Irish native men brothers named Quincy quarried all the failed to understand that the Irish workers and women and their children and grand- stone and laid our foundation and heavy were not stupid but unskilled because the children found work there and contributed stone walls for two years. They employed a policies of England, the colonial power that to the rich immigrant heritage of our state stout gang of good steady black men.” ruled Ireland with an iron fist, denied them and our nation. even a basic education, much less The axe company was started by technical training. two brothers, Samuel and David Col- That Collins was not entirely biased lins, descendants of a Puritan family against the Irish is suggested by the from Middletown. In the early 1820s, fact that he continued to hire Irish David had an axe shop in Hartford. His workers in large numbers and that in workers fashioned axes by hand, with- 1851, he included in his memoran- out the aid of water power. dum: “Deeded land this year for a Recognizing the potential of water Catholic Church.” power to greatly increase production The Catholic population of Collins- of their popular tools, the Collins ville and area communities had brothers purchased “a saw-mill and grown rapidly during the 1840s. grist-mill and water privileges and a Mass was celebrated during the dec- few acres of land on the east side of ade by priests who came out from the Farmington River in the town of Several Irishmen helped build the original factory Hartford. The movement to establish Canton.” Their expectations were real- of the Collins Axe Company on the banks of the a parish was led by Father Luke Daly, ized for within 20 years, their Collins Farmington River in Canton in 1826. The business a native of County Cavan. Daly was & Co. grew from the one building, at boomed and the village that came to be known as among the first students to attend All right, to an entire village of factories Collinsville attracted many job-hungry Irish immi- Hallows Seminary founded in 1842 in along the riverfront. grant families, as well as those of other racial and Drumcondra, County Dublin. Irish immigrants were in on the in- ethnic groups, for the rest of the 19th century. The opening of All Hallows coincid- dustrialization of what became known ed with the huge emigration from as Collinsville from the start. Several of Ireland during and after the Great Hunger. them are mentioned in brief notes that In the 1840s, Collins was not pleased As Irish people departed by the thousands, Samuel kept year by year. with the work of Irish immigrant employ- All Hallows became a major source of mis- In 1827, when construction of the origi- ees. In 1845, he wrote, that production was sionary priests for the Irish diaspora in the nal two-story building began, Collins wrote: only 673 tools per day, and he explained, four corners of the world. It is estimated “An Irishman by the name of Lawler” was ”There had been so many deaths among the that 4,000 priests educated at All Hallows killed in an explosion at the quarry where grinders that no Yankee would grind and became missionaries in numerous coun- stone was extracted for the factory and the Irish were so awkward and stupid that tries ranging from nearby England and we did not get the quantity needed even by retaining walls. He also wrote, “The stone Please turn to page 4 building above foundations was laid by two having extra men working at night.” The 2 ‘Walk New Haven’ books highlight Thanks to members historic sites in city’s neighborhoods for extra donations Numerous members have generously hanks to the five historical societies includes the former sites of a synagogue and given our organization extra donations that comprise New Haven’s Ethnic T a police precinct where many Irish worked. with their renewals. Heritage Center, the city now has guide- Our thanks to Diane D. Arduini, Rose- books to the numerous important sites in Wooster Square book — $10 mary Barrett, James & Janice Bohan, three of its most historical neighborhoods. Stroll Wooster Square and see sites such as Susanne Bowery, Joan Boyle, Carole The project to highlight ethnic historical Sally's and Pepe's Pizza that tell the stories Brown, Linda Cabral, Lois M. Casey, sites throughout New Haven was begun in of some of the ethnic groups that settled Mary Colburn, Stephen J. Collins, Eileen 2014 with the objective of placing plaques there before 1970. You'll see mutual aid Condron, John J. Condron, Mary Cox, at sites of historical significance. societies that emerged to help Italian immi- Elizabeth Conway Cuomo, Mary P. & grants assimilate to their new homes, a for- When that became impossible, the five mer synagogue that dates back to 1855, the Martin Donohue, Robert G. Doyle, societies, including our Connecticut Irish- former Strouse-Adler factory where many Thomas Faherty, Thomas Flanagan, American Historical Society, opted for publi- immigrants worked sewing undergarments, Edward Jr. Flynn, Robert Friedlies, Phil- cation of the guidebooks which provide an area formerly known as Slineyville which lip Gallagher, Thomas Geirin, James more detailed and permanent records of provided homes for Irish immigrants in the Gibbons., Patricia Giordano. important landmarks in New Haven’s racial 1820s and much more. Also, Richard Hopkins, Rita G. and ethnic history. The guidebooks, which Hughes, Patricia Jankowski, Judith El- are designed to encourage walking tours, Downtown 2 tours book — $15 len Johnson, Patrick J. Jette, James D. cover the Lower Dixwell, Wooster Square Enjoy a unique look at New Haven's past! Keating, Jane T. and Mary Kelly, Paul and Downtown neighborhoods. Explore our Downtown at your own pace Keroack, Maura Kiely, Daniel B. Kirby, Lower Dixwell book — $10 and discover stories typical of the many con- Kathlyn & Steve Kraffmiller, Millicent tributions cultural groups have made (and Flynn & Michael Kubeck, Robert & Joan The sites include a school built in 1854 for will continue to make!) to New Haven's so- Larkin, Bernadette LeFrance, Jamie African American children before the New cial, cultural and economic life. Learn about Longley Harris, David M. Lynch, Val Haven schools were integrated in 1859, department store owners Edward Malley Ferro and Thomas Mack, Frank & Pen- some of the oldest churches which were part and Jacob Shartenberg; the sixth longest ny Maher. of the Underground Railroad, a system that running St. Patrick's Day parade in the Unit- Also, Joseph & Cecilia Martin, Michael helped escaped slaves journey to freedom in ed States; entertainment entrepreneurs S. Z. McHugh, Vincent and Mary McMahon, the North, and community institutions such Poli (movie theater owner) and Maurice Seamus & Eileen Metress, Anne Sulli- as the Dixwell Community House. The tour Bailey (Shubert Theater owner); Patrick van Mitchell, Bob O’Brien, Michael Goode and Aldo DeDominicis (radio and TV O'Connor, John & Kathleen O'Donovan, station owners); historic houses of worship Cormac K.H. O'Malley, Janet Pestey, of several faith communities including St. Great Give 2017 David A. Power, Anne Raver, Patricia Mary's Church, site of the founding of the Reardon, Michael & Kathleen Regan, For 36 hours, starting at 8 a.m. on Knights of Columbus; and the part New Ha- Daniel J. Ryan, Michael Ryan, H. Travers May 2 and continuing until 8 p.m. on ven played in the Amistad incident. and Suzanne Shay, Rosemary Sprague, May 3, the Connecticut Irish-American The Ethnic Heritage Center was founded in Mary S. Sweeney, William and Eileen Historical Society will participate in the 1988. Its members include: the Greater New Tinker, George Waldron, Rosemary 2017 version of The Great Give, an Haven African-American Historical Society, Waldron. online event to aid non-profit organiza- the Italian-American Historical Society of tions in the New Haven area. Donations Connecticut, the Jewish Historical Society of given during that period through Greater New Haven, the Ukrainian-American Volunteers needed giveGreater.org will make our organi- Historical Society and the Connecticut Irish- In our continuing research and zation eligible for thousands of dollars American Historical Society. preservation of the history of Irish peo- in Great Give grant prizes. Our histori- The office and archives of the Ethnic Herit- ple in Connecticut, we always can use cal society will send a direct link so age Center are on the campus of Southern the help of more volunteers and new members can make donations directly Connecticut State University. members. If you can lend your time to the Connecticut Irish-American His- For more information on the books and and talents, please contact us by mail at torical Society. For more information: purchasing them, contact the Connecticut P.O. Box 185833, Hamden, CT 06518; www.giveGreater.org. Irish-American Historical Society at (203) by telephone at (203) 392-6126 or by 392-6126 or by email at [email protected]. email at [email protected].