| Hosted by | Seymour Public Library |
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| Details | The Seymour Library welcomes again the historian John Cilio. Mr. Cilio will present a talk whose subject will be on one of the reasons for the Town of Seymour (and most of the Valley) existence – water powered mills. Having access to a stream or river that did not dry up during the summer, dependable and narrow enough to be damable or controllable was highly prized and profitable to the early settlers. Water-powered mills brought civilization to Connecticut as early as 1650. In early days every small Connecticut village had to depend upon itself for almost every necessity. There was no electricity, steam power had not been invented and and water-powered mills were the answer. Communities often started around a saw mill or grist mill. More factories sprang up whose machines were powered by water making hats, buttons, clocks, cider, plaster with iron works would follow, Seymour’s factories made plush fabrics, fabric for clothing, brass stampings or cable. The Tingue Mills water intake for the factory’s power can still be seen by the gazebo downtown. Connecticut water powered mills and factories expanded to serve a world market in the mid-1800s. Access to appropriate river sites wasn’t taken lightly and was one of the reasons Mark Twain said “Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting.” This is an in person event and no registration is needed to attend the talk. For more information please call the library at 203 – 888-3903. |
| Admission | Free |
| Location | Seymour Library |
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| More Info | info link |