A town of three mill villages on the Shetucket, made in 1861 around the Spragues' great cotton mill at Baltic, with the old parish of Hanover to the northeast and Versailles, once Eagleville, downriver.

New London County · Record checked October 12, 2026

2,967Population2020 census1
1861Became a townfrom parts of Lisbon and Franklin1
954 feetThe great milllong and five stories high, in 18662
1,800Looms runningin 1864, with 1,400 people at work2
3National Registerplaces, all still standing3

Sprague on the map

Click the map to look closer.

Map of Sprague, Connecticut in 2026, with Baltic, Hanover, Versailles, the Shetucket River and 25 numbered landmarks

2026

Sprague today

By KNOWOL

Shaded hills from Hanover in the north down to the Shetucket at Baltic and Versailles, every street by name, and a guide of 25 numbered landmarks with the National Register sites marked.4

See the 2026 printMore about this map

The story of Sprague

Twenty-seven deeds at Lord's Bridge

Before Baltic, the crossing here was called Lord's Bridge, and the Lord family had farmed beside it for more than a century. The hamlet was a grist mill, a saw mill, a farmhouse with a tavern sign and two or three small houses. Governor William Sprague of Rhode Island wanted the water power, so he hired Samuel Ladd of Franklin to buy the land from all twenty-seven owners at a set price, and Ladd came back with every deed. Work began in July 1856. Rock was blasted, hills were moved and new channels dug for the river. Sprague died that October, but his family kept building. Within five years more than a hundred buildings stood around a mill 954 feet long, turned by six water wheels more than thirty feet across.562

An eagle on the belfry

Sprague was always a town of villages. Hanover is the oldest. Its people won their own parish in 1761 over warnings that it would ruin the churches around it, gathered a church of fourteen members in 1766, and kept one minister, Rev. Andrew Lee, for sixty-two years. The Allen family made woolen goods at Hanover from 1813 and rebuilt their mill after fires in 1834 and 1862. Down the river at Lovett's bridge, a brick mill made seamless cotton bagging. Its village took the name Eagleville, the story goes, because an eagle landed on the mill's belfry just before it was finished, and the workmen called it a good omen. Another Eagleville already existed, so there was talk of Buckingham. In 1872 it became Versailles instead.78910114

Baltic starts over

Debt hurt the Spragues after 1873, and a fire later ended their business at Baltic. Frederick Sayles of Pawtucket bought the site, and in 1900 the Baltic Mills Company was organized, with Harold Lawton, an Englishman who'd gone to work in a cotton mill at eight, as its manager. By 1905 it employed about 800 people, and by 1922 about 1,500, in a village of some 3,500. The weavers formed their own union in 1902 and met Wednesday evenings in St. Jean de Baptiste hall. Raymond J. Jodoin, born in Quebec, put his savings into Baltic real estate while his friends predicted he'd lose it. He built the Roderick Block, a hotel called the Sprague House and a theatre, and the first sidewalk in the village was laid in front of his house in 1898.41213141516

Through the years

24 moments from 1761 to today.

  1. 1761Hanover wins its own parish, made from parts of Canterbury, Scotland Parish and Newent.7
  2. 1766The Hanover church gathers with fourteen members on May 13.8
  3. 1768Rev. Andrew Lee is ordained at Hanover and serves sixty-two years.8
  4. 1813Ebenezer Allen begins making cotton and woolen goods at Hanover with his father.9
  5. 1852John Batchelder buys the mill at Lovett's bridge and soon builds a brick mill for seamless cotton bagging.10
  6. 1854The railroad reaches Lord's Bridge on the Shetucket.4
  7. 1856Governor William Sprague buys 300 acres at Lord's Bridge in July and dies that October.5
  8. 1861Sprague is incorporated from parts of Lisbon and Franklin.1
  9. 1861The first town meeting, on June 10, is celebrated as the town's birthday.17
  10. 1862The Allen woolen mill at Hanover burns for the second time and is rebuilt.9
  11. 1864More than 1,800 looms are running at Baltic, and 1,400 people work for the company.2
  12. 1870The Baltic mill employs 804 men, 396 women and 210 children.4
  13. 1872Eagleville's post office takes the name Versailles on May 13.4
  14. 1880Sprague counts 3,207 people.18
  15. 1898The first sidewalk in Baltic is laid in front of Raymond J. Jodoin's new house.15
  16. 1899Angus Park founds the Angus Park Woolen Company at Hanover.19
  17. 1900The Baltic Mills Company is organized and its new plant goes up.12
  18. 1902Baltic's weavers organize the Baltic Weavers Protective Association on April 7.14
  19. 1913The William Park House is built in Hanover.19
  20. 1922Baltic has some 3,500 people, and the Baltic Mills employ about 1,500.13
  21. 1967The mill at Baltic closes.1
  22. 1987Nearly all of Baltic is listed on the National Register as the Baltic Historic District.20
  23. 1999Fire destroys the remains of the Baltic mill.20
  24. 2001The state buys Salt Rock, a mile of wooded riverfront, for a campground.4

Places to see

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

  • 1HanoverNortheast of Baltic. The oldest settlement in Sprague.
  • 2Ashlawn1 Potash Hill Road. Georgian farmhouse of the Perkins family.
  • 6William Park House330 Main Street, Hanover. Foursquare house built in 1913.
  • 11Hanover Congregational ChurchHanover. Church organized in 1766.
  • 13Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic ChurchBaltic, west side. Catholic parish church of Baltic.
  • 16Sprague Town HallBaltic. Built in the 1950s.
  • 20Baltic Historic DistrictBaltic. 210 historic buildings on 122 acres.
  • 22Academy of the Holy FamilyBaltic, west side. Catholic girls' school, still open.Visit their website
  • 23Salt Rock State CampgroundAlong the Shetucket. A mile of wooded riverfront.Visit their website
  • 24Versailles United Methodist ChurchVersailles. Italianate and Gothic church of 1876.

On the National Register

All 3 places in Sprague on the National Register of Historic Places that still stand today, oldest first, and why each one matters.3

  • Ashlawn

    Built late 1700s · Listed 1979 · 1 Potash Hill Road

    Also called the Joshua Perkins House, this Georgian farmhouse is named for the ash trees that once stood in front of it. Its register nomination calls it one of the finest of its type in the area and ties it to the Perkins family, especially important in settling Hanover.21

  • Baltic Historic District

    Village begun 1856 · Listed 1987 · Roughly bounded by Fifth Avenue, River, High, Main and West Main Streets and the Shetucket River

    Nearly the whole mill village of Baltic, 122 acres with 210 contributing buildings, grew up around the cotton mill begun on the Shetucket in 1856. The mill itself is gone, but the village it built still stands.20

  • William Park House

    Built 1913 · Listed 2007 · 330 Main Street

    Built by master builder Peck McWilliams for William Park of the Angus Park Woolen Company, it's a high quality American Foursquare with Prairie School touches, a form not often found in Connecticut.19

In their words

“Sprague is pre-eminently a collection of mill villages.”

History of New London County, Connecticut, 188222

“amid mountainous heaps of cotton-bags the rural scene disappeared, and Baltic village leaped into existence.”

History of Norwich, Connecticut, 1866, on the building of Baltic5

“the whole spreading like wings each side of the river, and linking together two distinct towns.”

History of Norwich, Connecticut, 1866, on Baltic village5

Nearby towns

Sources

  1. Sprague, Connecticut, Wikipedia
  2. History of Norwich, Connecticut, from its possession by the Indians, to the year 1866 (1866), on the great mill, Internet Archive
  3. National Register of Historic Places listings in New London County, Connecticut, Wikipedia
  4. Map of Sprague, Connecticut in 2026, KNOWOL (USGS elevation, Census Bureau roads)
  5. History of Norwich, Connecticut, from its possession by the Indians, to the year 1866 (1866), on the building of Baltic, Internet Archive
  6. Genealogical and biographical record of New London County, Connecticut (1905), on Samuel J. P. Ladd, Internet Archive
  7. History of Windham County, Connecticut (1874), on Hanover parish, Internet Archive
  8. History of Norwich, Connecticut, from its possession by the Indians, to the year 1866 (1866), on Hanover Society, Internet Archive
  9. History of New London County, Connecticut (1882), on the Allens of Hanover, Internet Archive
  10. History of Norwich, Connecticut, from its possession by the Indians, to the year 1866 (1866), on Lovett's bridge, Internet Archive
  11. History of Norwich, Connecticut, from its possession by the Indians, to the year 1866 (1866), on the name Eagleville, Internet Archive
  12. Genealogical and biographical record of New London County, Connecticut (1905), on Harold Lawton and the Baltic Mills Company, Internet Archive
  13. A modern history of New London County, Connecticut (1922), on the mill villages of Sprague, Internet Archive
  14. Annual report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the State of Connecticut, on the Baltic Weavers Protective Association, Internet Archive
  15. Genealogical and biographical record of New London County, Connecticut (1905), on Raymond J. Jodoin, Internet Archive
  16. A modern history of New London County, Connecticut (1922), on Jodoin's hotel and theatre, Internet Archive
  17. History of Norwich, Connecticut, from its possession by the Indians, to the year 1866 (1866), on Sprague's first town meeting, Internet Archive
  18. The historical, statistical and industrial review of the state of Connecticut (1884), on Sprague, Internet Archive
  19. William Park House, Wikipedia
  20. Baltic, Connecticut (Baltic Historic District), Wikipedia
  21. Ashlawn, Wikipedia
  22. History of New London County, Connecticut (1882), on the town of Sprague, Internet Archive