The old Turkey Hills parish on the ridge above the Farmington River, where colonial miners dug for copper, the mine became Connecticut's first prison, and the farms along North and South Main Street have changed slowly for two hundred years.

Hartford County · Record checked October 8, 2026

5,214Population2020 census1
1858Became a townJune 2, from Granby and Windsor Locks2
1705Copper foundwork on the mine began in 17073
1736Turkey Hills parishformed with forty-six families4
5National Registerplaces, all still standing5

East Granby on the map

Click the map to look closer.

Map of East Granby, Connecticut in 2026, with the town center, Old New-Gate Prison, the ridge and 21 numbered landmarks

2026

East Granby today

By KNOWOL

Shaded hills from the ridge through the middle of town down to Spoonville and the Farmington River, every street from Newgate Road to Spoonville Road, and a guide of 21 numbered landmarks with the National Historic Landmark and the National Register sites marked.6

See the 2026 printMore about this map

The story of East Granby

Cider for the British

After General Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga in 1777, groups of British prisoners of war were marched through East Granby. Some camped at the tavern Captain Lemuel Bates kept in the north part of town, and others on Captain Roswell Phelps's land near the center. Bates loved to tell the story years later. The British had plenty of money, he said, to pay for the best he had, and his family was kept busy carrying pitchers and pails of cider among them. At night all the floors of his tavern were covered with them. The parish sent its own men too. About thirty served in the Revolution, among them Andrew Hillyer, who had already been at the siege of Havana and rose to captain of dragoons.78

The mine under Copper Hill

Copper was found on the west side of Talcott Mountain in 1705, and work on a mine began in 1707. Miners cut shafts down through the rock, but England allowed no smelting in America, so the ore crossed the ocean and the profits stayed small. A charge of ten shillings on each ton went to the town, and part of it helped support Yale. In 1773 the colony made the old mine a prison, with John Viets, whose family kept the tavern across the road, as its first keeper. After the prisoners left in 1827, people tried mining again. An analysis made in 1825 found bright green copper ore, and as late as 1876 some still hoped Copper Hill might share the fame of Lake Superior.391011

Spoonville and the corners

The south and west of town had their own small centers. At Spoonville, Henry Case learned the miller's trade at the Ellsworth mill in 1849, then came back in 1855 and bought the flour and feed mill with 115 acres. He added a sawmill, put in the first circular saw in that section around 1868, and was one of the first in Spoonville to grow tobacco in any quantity. About 1842 James Kenworthy, a silversmith from Leeds, England, began making German silver forks and spoons at Spoonville, and a family history says he was the first in the country to put figures on them. Patrick Carroll, an Irish railroad man, farmed at what became Carroll's Corners, and Floydville was named for Mr. Floyd, a pioneer of tobacco grown under cloth.12131415

Through the years

25 moments from 1664 to today.

  1. 1664John Griffin, who made tar from the pine woods, lives at the Falls, thought to be the first house in the old town of Granby.16
  2. 1705Copper is found on the west side of Talcott Mountain, then part of Simsbury.3
  3. 1707Work on the copper mine begins.3
  4. 1709Only two families, the Griffins and the Holcombs, live within today's East Granby, both at the Falls.17
  5. 1712Dr. John Viets is licensed to keep a house of public entertainment near the mine.10
  6. 1736The Society of Turkey Hills is formed with forty-six families.4
  7. 1738The parish builds its first meetinghouse.4
  8. 1739Turkey Hills chooses its first school committee.18
  9. 1744Joseph Phelps builds a house on Holcomb Street for his son Ezekiel.19
  10. 1746Joel Clark builds the house his descendant Elmore Clark, the town's first clerk, still lived in during the 1880s.20
  11. 1773The colony turns the old mine into a prison, with John Viets as its first keeper.3
  12. 1777British prisoners of war from Burgoyne's army are marched through town and camp at Captain Lemuel Bates's tavern.7
  13. 1790New-Gate becomes the first state prison in the United States.1
  14. 1793Turkey Hills makes its first try at becoming a separate town.21
  15. 1794Rev. Whitfield Cowles is ordained pastor at Turkey Hills, and the old meetinghouse is repaired and given a steeple.224
  16. 1802A twelve-foot stone wall with watch towers goes up around the prison yard.23
  17. 1803Young Walter Forward drives the family's ox team on foot to Ohio, on his way to becoming Secretary of the Treasury.24
  18. 1827The prisoners are moved to the new state prison at Wethersfield.9
  19. 1831A new stone meetinghouse replaces the old wooden one, on a new site.4
  20. 1842About this year James Kenworthy, a silversmith from Leeds, starts making German silver forks and spoons at Spoonville.13
  21. 1855Henry Case buys the flour and feed mill at Spoonville with 115 acres.12
  22. 1857Patrick Carroll comes to work for the railroad, settling at what becomes Carroll's Corners.14
  23. 1858East Granby is incorporated on June 2, with nearly the same bounds as the old Turkey Hills parish.2
  24. 1972Old New-Gate Prison is named a National Historic Landmark.3
  25. 2008The town marks its 150th birthday with a three day festival.1

Places to see

The numbers match the landmark guide printed on the 2026 map.

  • 1Cowles ParkSouth, near Spoonville. Town park in the south.
  • 4Ezekiel Phelps HouseHolcomb Street. Georgian house built in 1744.
  • 5East Granby High SchoolTown center. Smallest public high school in Connecticut.
  • 6Whitfield Cowles HouseSpoonville Road. Home of an early silver plater.
  • 9East Granby Historic DistrictTown center and north. Two square miles of old farmsteads.
  • 10Copper Hill United Methodist ChurchCopper Hill. Church in the north of town.
  • 12Viets' TavernNewgate Road. The prison keeper's tavern.
  • 19Newgate State Wildlife AreaNorthwest. Wildlife land in the northwest.
  • 20East Granby Congregational ChurchTown center. The stone church of Turkey Hills.
  • 21Old Newgate Prison and Copper MineNewgate Road. Colonial copper mine, then the prison.Visit their website

On the National Register

All 5 places in East Granby on the National Register of Historic Places that still stand today, oldest first, and why each one matters.5

  • Old Newgate Prison

    National Historic Landmark

    Mine begun 1707 · Listed 1970 · Newgate Road

    A colonial copper mine, dug from 1707, that the colony turned into a prison in 1773. It held prisoners of war during the Revolution and in 1790 became the first state prison in the United States. The state now runs it as the Old New-Gate Prison and Copper Mine Archaeological Preserve.3

    Visit their website

  • Viets' Tavern

    Listed 1972 · Newgate Road

    Dr. John Viets was licensed to keep a house of public entertainment here in 1712. His son John, the prison's first keeper, ran it too, and Luke Viets kept the tavern going until 1834. Inside are old fireplaces and signs of a second floor ballroom.10

  • East Granby Historic District

    Listed 1988 · Church and East Streets, Nicholson and Rainbow Roads, North Main, School and South Main Streets

    About two square miles of farmland reaching from the Suffield line to a mile below the center, with one of the state's highest concentrations of surviving 18th and early 19th century farmsteads. It takes in the stone Congregational Church and an old school that became a library.25

  • Ezekiel Phelps House

    Built 1744 · Listed 1982 · 38 Holcomb Street

    Joseph Phelps built this Georgian house for his son Ezekiel while the area was still part of Simsbury. It keeps its wide pine floors, strap hinges and Federal mantels. Ezekiel served as a lieutenant in the Simsbury militia.19

  • Whitfield Cowles House

    Built about 1785 · Listed 2014 · 118 Spoonville Road

    Rev. Whitfield Cowles bought the house with 75 acres in 1802. After leaving the pulpit he ran a textile business and a wire factory and experimented with silver plating, and with Hartford silversmiths his family made silver plated spoons and tableware.26

In their words

“Copper Hill may at no distant day, share some of the fame of the mines of Lake Superior.”

Newgate of Connecticut, by Richard H. Phelps of East Granby, 187611

“my folks were kept busy in distributing pitchers and pails of cider among them.”

Captain Lemuel Bates, on the British prisoners at his tavern, in Newgate of Connecticut, 18767

“the view from the observatory is among the finest in the state.”

An advertisement for Old Newgate Prison in the Connecticut motor vehicle register, 191523

Nearby towns

Sources

  1. East Granby, Connecticut, Wikipedia
  2. Records of the Congregational Church in Turkey Hills, now the town of East Granby, Connecticut, 1776-1858 (1907), Internet Archive
  3. Old New-Gate Prison, Wikipedia
  4. Newgate of Connecticut (1876), on the Society of Turkey Hills and its churches, Internet Archive
  5. National Register of Historic Places listings in Hartford County, Connecticut, Wikipedia
  6. Map of East Granby, Connecticut in 2026, KNOWOL (USGS elevation, Census Bureau roads)
  7. Newgate of Connecticut (1876), on Captain Lemuel Bates and the British prisoners, Internet Archive
  8. Newgate of Connecticut (1876), on East Granby's soldiers, Internet Archive
  9. History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1928 (1928), on Newgate prison, Internet Archive
  10. Viets' Tavern, Wikipedia
  11. Newgate of Connecticut (1876), on the later copper mining, Internet Archive
  12. Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography (1917), on Henry A. Case and the Spoonville mill, Internet Archive
  13. Commemorative biographical record of New Haven County, Connecticut (1902), on James Kenworthy, Internet Archive
  14. Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography (1923), on Patrick Carroll, Internet Archive
  15. Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography (1923), on shade grown tobacco and Floydville, Internet Archive
  16. The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884 (1886), vol. 2, on John Griffin at the Falls, Internet Archive
  17. A genealogy of the Viets family (1902), on the first families at the Falls, Internet Archive
  18. Records of the Second School Society in Granby, now the town of East Granby, Connecticut, 1796-1855 (1903), Internet Archive
  19. Ezekiel Phelps House, Wikipedia
  20. The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884 (1886), on the old families of East Granby, Internet Archive
  21. The Memorial History of Hartford County Connecticut 1633-1884 (1886), East Granby chapter, Internet Archive
  22. Ecclesiastical and other sketches of Southington, Conn. (1875), on Rev. Whitfield Cowles, Internet Archive
  23. Connecticut motor vehicle register (1915), Old Newgate Prison advertisement, Internet Archive
  24. Newgate of Connecticut (1876), on Walter Forward, Internet Archive
  25. East Granby Historic District, Wikipedia
  26. Whitfield Cowles House, Wikipedia