1. Through a grant made possible by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and another partner, The Suffield Garden Club provides a map on the internet which identifies:
a. Invasive species.
b. Trees on Main Street.
c. Decorative gardens in the area.
2. Mary Seymour Austin wrote to George Washington on August 28, 1789 regarding Seth, her husband, who was a popular tavern keeper in town. What was her concern in the letter?
a. George Washington did not stop at the tavern on his last visit through Suffield.
b. She was embarrassed at her husband’s drunken behavior when George Washington stopped by the tavern.
c. Her husband was accused of passing counterfeit bills.
3. Colonel Elihu Kent Jr. spent time in a sugar house prison. During what war did he serve and what is a sugar house prison?
a. He served in the War of 1812, was sent to Quebec and was imprisoned in a maple sugar warehouse.
b. He served in the French and Indian War. At that time, officers were granted relative freedom. Upon a promise that he would not desert, Elihu was lodged comfortably in a private residence, unlike common soldiers who didn’t merit “sugar” prisons.
c. He served in the American Revolutionary War and was confined to a warehouse on Long Island where molasses and sugar from Jamaica were stored.
4. Gideon Granger, who served under Thomas Jefferson as his Postmaster General, was a valuable person to Jefferson because… (select all that are correct)
a. In the 1800 election campaign, he defended Jeffersonian principals against popular New Englander John Adams, a Federalist, who was Jefferson’s opponent.
b. He informed Jefferson of the intrigues of Aaron Burr and Rufus King, whom Jefferson viewed with suspicion although they were part of his administration.
c. He provided large sums of money to Jefferson to maintain Monticello.
5. William Johnston never lived in Suffield and yet in Suffield is a pair of his works. Who was he and what are his works?
a. He was an itinerant painter. Portraits painted by him are at the Phelps-Hatheway House.
b. He was a weathervane artist and two of his weather vanes are in the Phelps-Hatheway weathervane collection.
c. He was a gravestone maker. One of his memorials is the tabletop memorial in the Old Center Cemetery for the two Bagg boys who died by lightning on May 20, 1766.
6. Captain John Pynchon bought several territories from the Indians and organized them into towns, including Suffield. It is said that he directed colonists to settle in particular towns. Whom did he direct to Suffield and Enfield?
a. The impoverished to Enfield and the rich to Suffield.
b. Families to Suffield and single men to Enfield.
c. The devout to Enfield and the commercially industrious to Suffield.
7. True or False. The Suffield Historic District Commission is part of the Suffield Historical Society.
8. What are the two State-designated historic districts in town?
a. South and North Main Street and the portion of Bridge Street to Thrall Avenue; the other, the Hastings Hill section of Hill Street
b. South and North Main Street and the portion of Mapleton Avenue to Thompsonville Road; the other, the Hastings Hill section of Hill Street
c. South and North Main Street and the portion of South Street to the old South Street School; the other, the Hastings Hill section of Hill Street
9. Early in the morning, on December 17, 1905, six yeggmen came to town. What were their intentions and what is a yeggman?
a. A yeggman is Yiddish for eggman. The group came to town to set up a latke stand for Hannukah.
b. A yeggman breaks into bank safes. The group came to rob a bank.
c. Yeggman is derived from the German word for hunter (jäger). The yeggmen were setting up the annual fox and hound hunt held on land behind South Main Street.
10. The newest property of the Suffield Land Conservancy will serve as an educational preserve to learn about nature and foster an appreciation of it. It will house two learning decks, a high observation platform, two Adirondack shelters, a tool shed and a composting toilet. Where is this property located?
a. On the corner of Phelps Road and Copper Hill Road
b. On Mapleton Avenue
c. On Sheldon Street
1. b. Trees on Main Street. The inventory is listed on the town’s website at https://www.suffieldct.gov/our-town/main-street
2. c. Her husband was accused of passing counterfeit bills.
3. c. He served in the American Revolutionary War and was confined to a warehouse on Long Island. The prisons were notorious for overcrowding, starvation and many prisoner deaths.
4. a. and b.
5. a. He was an itinerant painter and the first portrait painter to spend time in Connecticut. Residents previously had to travel to Boston, Newport, or New York City to be painted. The two portraits of his at the Phelps-Hatheway House are of Mr. and Mrs. Pomeroy of Hartford, possible friends of Shem Burbank, who built and lived in the house.
6. c. The devout to Enfield and the commercially industrious to Suffield.
7. False. The two organizations are separate entities. The Historic District Commission is an official board whose members are appointed according to the town charter. No building or structure shall be erected, altered, restored, moved or demolished within the two Suffield historic districts until after an application for a certificate of appropriateness as to exterior architectural features has been submitted and approved by the Commission. The mission of the Suffield Historical Society is to collect, preserve, stimulate and share an interest in the history of Suffield. Membership is open to individuals and families.
8. b. South and North Main Street and the portion of Mapleton Avenue to Thompsonville Road; the other, the Hastings Hill section of Hill Street
9. b. The yeggmen blew the safe at the Suffield Savings Bank and got away on a handcar with unnegotiable stocks and bonds worth about $50,000. The term yegg was a popular term in the first decade of the 20th century and may have been derived from John Yegg, an alias of a bank robber around that time.
10. c. On Sheldon Street, across from the high school.