Cultural Landscape

Nationally and Regionally Significant Archaeological Record

• Nationally Significant Archaeological Sites associated with the river, including the Indian Hill site and the Lewis-Walpole site.
• Over 100 prehistoric archaeological sites discovered to date in lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook corridors.
• Continuously Occupied Human Settlement for up to 12,500 years.

Settlement Patterns/Industrial and Economic Development

• The archaeological resources and some of the structures along the lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook are Outstanding Resource Values because they are exceptional examples of Connecticut’s and the New England region’s ethnic, cultural and economic development.
• The Farmington Canal represented the height of engineering in its time, and upon completion it was the longest canal in New England.
• Historically river-dependent communities such as Windsor, the first English settlement in Connecticut and the National Register-listed Historic Districts of Unionville, Tariffville and Collinsville and the Avon Center Historic District have significant surviving Outstanding Resource Values reflecting the river’s agricultural, industrial and manufacturing heritage.

The Tobacco Valley

• Nationally-noted Prime Agricultural Soils have supported agriculture for over 11,000 years.
• Tobacco farming was historically and culturally significant due to the important role the crop played in the economic and demographic development of the state and for the international recognition it gained as an exceptional agricultural product.

Underground Railroad

There is a cluster of Underground Railroad Sites, with the Town of Farmington known as the “Grand Central Station” of the Underground Railroad.