Questions were derived from Samuel Lathrop’s book “Suffield Notes, 1945”
1. Redbird, Jupiter and 64 made an appearance in Suffield in the late 1800s. What were they?
a. Racehorses at the Suffield Agricultural Fair
b. Train engines
c. Trolley cars
2. Did high wheel bicycles in the 1870s have the large wheel in front or in the back of the bicycle?
3. At the time, how much do you think the high wheel bicycles cost?
a. $25-$50
b. $50 -$90
c. $100 to $125
4. Traveling down High Street (Main Street) in the 1880s one could encounter all kinds of vehicles. Which of these would be common sights?
a. Gunpowder wagons
b. A Kibbe candy wagon
c. Log-carrying rigs
5. Until the 1850s, the Park (the Suffield Green) was a neglected plot of land with something on the Green across from the 2nd Baptist Church which would be undesirable today. What was it?
a. A pig sty
b. A junkyard
c. A gravel pit
6. The Park was cleaned up and trees were planted after 1858 when comments about the Park were heard at a ceremony commemorating Reverend Ruggles, the first minister of the 1st Congregational Church, 150 years after his death. What trees were planted?
a. Maple and Elm trees
b. Horse Chestnuts and Mountain Ash trees
c. Mulberry and Buttonball trees
7. During the Civil War, many Suffield men served in the First Connecticut Heavy Artillery in the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia (1864-1865), which isolated Richmond and cut off Confederate supply lines and railroads. A cannon called the Petersburg Express, manned by several Suffield men, was mounted on a railway car and moved from one firing position to another during the Siege. Where can you see this cannon?
a. CT State Capitol grounds
b. The Petersburg Battlefield
c. Washington D.C. near the Lincoln Monument
8. On a certain night, a special train with many coaches would bring Suffield people to Hartford. What was the occasion?
a. July 4th to see the fireworks
b. Election night to view the returns
c. The Saturday before Christmas to shop and visit Santa
9. The Blizzard of 1888 started on Sunday night on March 12 and ended on Wednesday night, with a small respite on Tuesday afternoon. What was the official depth of snow?
a. 48 inches
b. 60 inches
c. 72 inches
10. The Hurricane of 1938 supplanted the Blizzard of 1888 in its ferocity. Many homes lost roofs and scores of windows were broken. Two hundred barns and out-buildings were flattened. How many trees fell down in the center of town?
a. 124
b. 186
c. 212
Answers
1. b. They were train engines which were the first to come to Suffield in the early 1870s. All three had bright red wheels and shiny brass fittings. Jupiter was perhaps the most beautiful with a black walnut cab, a boiler covered with polished Russian iron and a huge headlight lit with an oil lamp.
2. Both. Although we think of high wheels having the large wheel in front, the other kind – with a small wheel in front was also manufactured.
3. c. $100 to $125. Today, that amount would be over $3,000.
4. All could be seen traveling through town. The gunpowder wagons would be traveling from the Hazardville gunpowder works to the fuse factory in Simsbury. The bright red Kibbe candy wagon led by white horses with brass-trimmed harnesses pranced through town from the Springfield factory to deliver candy to stores. The heavy wooden rigs carrying logs, some as long as 40 feet, traveled through town to the Clark sawmill on South Street.
5. c. A gravel pit
6. a. Maple and Elm trees and b. Horse Chestnuts and Mountain Ash trees are correct. Answer c. is not correct. Mulberry trees were planted in the early 1800s when the State sent free trees to every municipality in order to create a silk worm industry in Connecticut. Buttonball trees were also planted around that time.
7. a. On the grounds of the CT State Capitol
8. b. Election night to view the returns on huge bulletin boards with the results shown on stereopticon slides.
9. a. 48 inches of snow with snowdrifts 18 to 20 feet high. Boys at the Connecticut Literary Institute (now Suffield Academy) amused themselves by jumping out of a third story window into the snow.
10. b. 186