Falls Village's location at the Great Falls of the Housatonic River in northwest Connecticut spawned aspirations that the town could emulate the success of Lowell MA as an industrial center, but the community never became more than a small town. The power canal shown above was built without mortar and was unsuccessful due to a chronic leakage problem.
Mystic's name is derived from the Pequot word "missituck," which describes a large river with wind-driven waves. Mystic Seaport, opened in 1929, has been counted among the top maritime museums in the country, portraying life in a nineteenth-century seaport town and the commercial fishing industry.
Plainville's location on the Farmington Canal in the nineteenth century launched the town as a transportation center, continuing to this day as the junction of north-south and east-west railroads and as the location of the Robertson Airport, Connecticut's oldest private landing field.
Greg Myerson landed an 81-pound striped bass in Long Island Sound off Westbrook in 2011, establishing a record for striped bass.
Connecticut's oldest town, Windsor was settled in 1633
Over a 46-year period, Dale Baird trained thoroughbred horses that won 9445 races. Baird was the first to reach, in 2004, the 9000-victory plateau and was the first trainer to win 300 races three years in a row. He was the leading thoroughbred trainer 15 times and leading thoroughbred owner 17 times.
Vandalia was the original western terminus of the National Road, the first road project undertaken by the young nation and the route taken by many settlers moving into the Northwest Territory and beyond. Originally beginning in Cumberland MD, the road was later extended east to Baltimore and west to St. Louis. The road originally terminated in Vandalia because Congress refused to authorize further construction. Modern day US 40 generally follows the route of the National Road.
The slogan "Nation's Crossroads" has been applied to Vandalia for many years, due to the intersection of the Illinois Central and St. Louis, Vandalia and Terre Haute railroad tracks here. The latter road was later absorbed into the Pennsylvania Railroad system.
Maj. Gen. Donald L. Lamberson was a specialist in directed energy and oversaw development of laser technology for the Air Force.
Jaycie Phelps competed on the gold-medal winning American gymnastics team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Three bridges over the Ohio River bring north and westbound traffic from the Louisville area into Jeffersonville.
Wilbur Wright's birthplace is open to the public and houses a small museum.
The distinctive Coca-Cola bottle was created in Terre Haute in 1915 at the Root Glass Company.
Swiss immigrant John James Dufour's first wine-producing venture, in Kentucky, failed, but he established a second, more successful winery in Vevay (VEE-vee), on the Ohio River, establishing the town's claim as the home of the first commercial winery in the U.S. Dufour came from Vevey (sic), Switzerland, from which the town took its name.
All three Zeller brothers are playing or have played in the NBA. The late Steve Bouchie led Indiana University to three Big Ten titles.
