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s the
centerpiece of civic affairs, the Tolland Green was the site of
large political gatherings, sports events, dances, and Fourth of
July celebrations. From 1852 to 1859 the Tolland County Fair was an
annual highlight. Lavish displays of locally grown produce and
trotting races also were held here.
Growth slowed when the town was bypassed by
the railroad, and the 1890 move of the county court to Vernon
marked the end of Tolland's prominence. One by one houses around
the green became summer retreats as "Tolland Village fell asleep."
Today these well-preserved buildings form an eclectic composition
of styles and types woven gradually into place as the years went
on. Among them are an impressive number of private houses from the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including several turreted
confections from the Victorian era.
The Congregational Church (1838) is the town's
third. The old Tolland County Courthouse (1822), the old Tolland
Town Hall (1879), and the new Tolland Town Hall (1909) all reflect
the civic pride embodied by such institutions, which were typically
added around town greens in the late 1800s.
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