LOCATION
Tolland is conveniently located just north of I-84, 19 miles east of the state capital at Hartford and 21 miles south of the Massachusetts border. Set in northeastern Connecticut’s Tolland County, it is 80 miles south of Boston and 130 miles north of New York City. The University of Connecticut at Storrs is 10 minutes south and Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks is twenty-five minutes east. Nearby towns include Coventry, Ellington, Mansfield, Stafford and Vernon.
TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS
Situated just off the I-84, about half way between New York City and Boston, Tolland is conveniently set within a modern and well maintained web of highways that includes the I-395, I-95 and Route-91 making it easy to get where you’re going near or far.
Tolland is served by Bradley International Airport, located off Route 91 in Windsor Locks, about a twenty-five minute drive west. Also referred to as the Hartford-Springfield Airport, it is one of New England’s most hassle-free and easy to use with twenty airlines offering direct flights to primary pleasure and business destinations both domestic and international. Additional flights and travel flexibility are provided by Boston’s Logan Airport, less than a two-hour drive away.
Bonanza Bus Lines provides intra-city service between nearby Mansfield/Storrs and many East Coast cities and airports including Hartford, Providence, Boston and New York.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Originally a part of the Town of Windsor, Tolland began to be settled in 1713. Some citizens felt Windsor had become overcrowded and that their growing families were in need of new homesteads. People began moving east onto lands that they purchased from the Native Americans.
A committee was appointed to lay out a settlement on these lands and the General Assembly was petitioned to charter it as a town. The Charter was obtained in 1715 and the town named Tolland, either after an English village in Somerset or because it was a stop on a toll road (there’s some dispute), was incorporated as Connecticut’s 49th town in May of 1722.
In 1785, Tolland County was organized by action of the General Assembly with the Town of Tolland designated the county seat. Public buildings were erected befitting the town’s new status including a town hall, courthouse and jail. The existing stone jail was erected in 1856 and served the county until 1968 when the state decided to discontinue its use. In 1969, the jail and adjacent 1893 jailer’s home became town property and were leased to The Tolland Historical Society, which now uses them as a museum. The 1822 vintage courthouse, which still stands at the center of the town green, is recognized as one of five examples of early civic architecture still extant in Connecticut.
As the county seat, Tolland’s history is rich in political lore. The Tolland Green Historic District, which was placed on the National Register in June 1997, provides an overview of the history of the town through its architecture. While several of the important buildings within the District have been adapted to serve modern needs, they still retain the flavor of the past.
The Hicks Municipal Building was built as the Ratcliffe Hicks Memorial School in 1908 while the Hicks - Stearns Homestead is now a museum that interprets the town history. The Tolland Board of Education building started life in 1830 as Tolland County Bank. Directly across from the Municipal Building, the town’s original 1879 Town Hall has become the Tolland Arts Center. The Courthouse recently became a museum of the Tolland Historical Society with the first floor dedicated to the French Canadian Genealogy Library.
Always a desirable place to call home, Tolland’s tree-lined residential neighborhoods feature many Victorian residences that transport you to yesteryear. Tolland's oldest house, dating back to 1720, is now the Daniel Benton Homestead Museum which is currently in the process of being restored and will faithfully demonstrate what home life was like all the way back before the Revolutionary War.
Now approaching its 300th anniversary, Tolland’s quality of life has stood the test of time.