Town #85: Southington

Bruce and I took part in the Apple Harvest Race in Southington this year. There was a 2-mile and a 5-mile race. We did the former one. The Apple Harvest Festival is a growing event that spans 10 days every Autumn and is host to a wide variety of events. The festival, happening every year since 1969, is one of the larger fairs we've discovered in the state.

New England Custom Blurb:
New England is so small it developed a bit differently than many parts of the country in some ways. For example, there is no such thing as the all-American state fair here. Instead, there is the Big-E in Massachusetts--a sort of mega-state fair. It's something that everyone should experience at least once. (But I'd recommend going on a weekday as the traffic and crowds on a weekend can be traumatizing.) Within the boundaries of Connecticut most towns have their own version of a fair. Some are bigger than others but most are very small events. A few town fairs, such as the one in Southington, have developed into something that truly is more of a festival than a fair.


At this year's festival I definitely did more walking that running. But I still finished at about the halfway mark in the pack with a 30 minute flat time. I'm proud of that. Bruce did even better (as the trophy pictured above illustrates.)

This wasn't really our first visit to Southington. This was our first planned visit, but I used to drive through Southington a lot, and once we had a company banquet held at the Aqua Turf Club, a popular event and wedding spot. Then last year, Bruce and I had planned to go to a ski resort--but ended up with less time--so we went to Mount Southington, and I skied for the first time ever!

Southington is a great spot. It has a small town feel even though it's not one of the smallest towns in the state. If you're in the area, check this one out.

Southington stats:
Population: 42,077
Size: 36.6 square feet
Villages/Other Communities: Marion, Milldale, Plantsville
Historic Places: Luman Andrews House, Atwater Manufacturing Company, Sela-Barnes House, Barnes-Frost House, Blakeslee Forging Company, Icadbod Bradley House, Clark Brothers Factory No. 1, Clark Brothers Factory No. 2, Avery Clark House, Captain Josiah Cowles House, Ebenezer Evans House, Farmington Canal-New Haven and Northampton Canal, Levi B. Frost House, Stephen Grannis House, Timothy Hart House, House at 1010 Shuttle Meadow Road, House at 590 West Street, Hurwood Company, Lake Compounce Carousel, Marion Historic District, Meriden Avenue-Oakland Road Historic District, Roswell Moore II House, Peck Stowe & Wilcox Factory, Plantsville Historic District, Dr. J. Porter House, Pultz & Walker Company, Jonathan Root House, Dr. Henry Skelton House, H. D. Smith Company Building, Southington Center Historic District, Southington Public Library, Horace Webster Farmhouse, West Street School, Rev. John Wightman House, Valentine Wightman House, Woodruff House, Captain Samuel Woodruff House, Ezekiel Woodruff House, Jotham Woodruff House, Urbana Woodruff House