1. Following a high tariff which Congress imposed on imported wool and woolen goods in 1824, Suffield-born Orrin Thompson, born in Suffield, seized an opportunity to find a carpet mill in Enfield, in 1829. It was the second carpet mill in Connecticut. Thompson employed skilled workers from what country?
a. Poland
b. Scotland
c. Italy
2. Many towns in Connecticut use the suffix “ville” for town place names. Why is that?
a. Places with that suffix were named following the American Revolution when Americans were enthusiastic about all things French.
b. The suffixes “borough” and “village” were considered too long for the post offices.
c. “Ville” derived from the word “villa” evoked an upper-class, rich community in which the “right” kind of people would want to settle.
3. British Admiral John Burgoyne’s Convention troops consisting of British and British ally soldiers marched through Connecticut on their way to Virginia after surrendering at the Battle of Saratoga. The German Division of Burgoyne’s troops encamped in or near Suffield because a diarist mentions something that took place in Suffield. What was it?
a. A ball where they danced until dawn.
b. Erecting a Christmas tree on the town green.
c. Four German soldiers attempted to desert but got lost on West Suffield Mountain.
4. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton believed that manufacturing was the way to the country’s prosperity. To that end, Hamilton conducted a survey of each town’s industry in 1791. Alexander King, chosen to be Suffield’s spokesman, reported that two types of goods were important industries of the town. What were they?
a. Hemp and beef
b. Wool and flax
c. Wooden ware (bowls) and saltpeter
5. The Hartland Turnpike Company created a toll road around 1810 which ran from Norfolk, Conn. through Colebrook, Barkhamsted, Granby and Suffield. Its purpose was to connect farms in the less populated northwestern part of the state to larger markets via the Connecticut River. One of the toll gates was in West Suffield, where was it approximately located?
a. Ebb’s Corner
b. West Suffield Center
c. The intersection of Phelps and Quarry Roads
6. Who can order the American flag to be flown at half-mast?
a. The President
b. The Governor
c. The First Selectman of a town
7. What does the organization America250 plan to celebrate in 2026?
a. The anniversary of the Constitution
b. The anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence
c. The anniversary of the end of the Revolutionary War
8. Captain Joseph Kellogg was twelve when his family was attacked in the Deerfield Massacre during which he was captured by the French and Mohawk Indians. He remained in Canada for ten years before returning to New England. Which of the following statements are true?
a. He moved to Suffield and married Rachel Devotion, the Reverend Ebenezer Devotion’s daughter.
b. He was one of the best interpreters of Native American languages in the country.
c. With his knowledge from scouting expeditions, the Royal Society of England corrected their maps of the northern portion of the Mississippi River.
9. In 1884, the roller-skating craze struck Suffield. Where did people roller-skate?
a. The 1st Congregational Church
b. The town hall
c. Babb’s Beach skating rink
10. During the Revolutionary War were there any Loyalists (people who supported the British cause) in Suffield?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Maybe
Answers:
- b. Scotland. After many mergers, Thompson’s company became the Bigelow-Sanford Carpet Company in 1929. It became the largest carpetmaker in the country.
- a. Places with that suffix were named following the American Revolution when Americans were enthusiastic about all things French.
- a. A ball where they danced until dawn.
- b. Wool and flax
- c. The intersection of Phelps and Quarry Roads.
- a. and b. are correct – the President and Governor can order the American flag to be flown at half-mast.
- b. The anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence
- All of the statements are true.
- b. The town hall. The skating rink at Babb’s Beach was not built until the 1930s.
- c. Maybe or Maybe Not. This is a trick question as there is no definitive answer although the Memorial History of Hartford County published in 1886 says there were no Loyalists in the town. The Reverend Samuel Peters, a Loyalist himself, named Alexander King, Shem Burbank, Isaac Pomeroy and Seth Austin as Loyalists but his accounts are deemed untrustworthy. We may never know the correct answer