Connecticut is so old that it has eight towns incorporated before 1700. Colchester is one of them. Here’s a cool Colchester nugget– the Chief Commissary(now is THAT a title, or is that a title?) of the Continental Army rushed beef from his own cattle to feed the starving troops at Valley Forge. I guess when George Washington made a personal plea, you obeyed. Also of interest is that Colchester was the site of Connecticut’s first school for Blacks — established way back in 1805. This is a two-sided marker from the CT Historical Commission in the familiar white lettering on a blue background. It can be found on a town green at the intersection of South Main Street and Broadway. It has different inscriptions on each side. It dates to 1975 and is in very good shape. It’s a pretty interesting marker touching on the town’s history, civic leaders, educational legacy, and it’s early shoemaking and footwear industrial heritage.
