Avon, Connecticut, has had a long history of people who challenged conventions and persevered through tragedy. There was the clock peddler’s encounter with Abraham Lincoln, a suffragist’s political showdown with her cousin Eleanor Roosevelt and a man who betrayed his brother-in-law, Thomas Edison. Before the Heublein Tower, art patron Daniel Wadsworth built the first of three viewing towers on Avon Mountain. Following the courage of local abolitionist David Bartlett, Black Civil War soldier Leverett Holden fought for emancipation. Shocking events included one of the first murder cases in America to test the insanity defense, homicides at a house doomed for bloodshed and the horrific factory fire that shattered the lives of immigrant families. Scott Lewis reveals the stories of the visionaries and victims who shaped the town of Avon’s future.

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Some surprises in this journey of discovery included a stunningly detailed aerial view of Avon Center in the 1920s when locals set their clocks to the Ensign Bickford whistle and a visit to Heublein Tower by President Ronald Reagan from way back when he was President of the Screen Actors Guild – thanks to the Friends of Heublein Tower for providing the image. Likely one of the most challenging “cognitive search and rescue operations” in the history of Avon involved locating the Aramini family that continues to run “Rose’s Kitchen” in Riverton, CT, once a well-known Avon institution.

Thanks to so many who were willing to share their images and stories, all of whom are gratefully acknowledged. Without their help, a work of this magnitude would not have been possible.

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