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Bloomfield, Connecticut: Wintonbury Parish and a Helicopter Pioneer

Bloomfield, Connecticut

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Bloomfield Village Green Lake Louise, Penwood State Park Auerfarm State Park Scenic Reserve

The Town of Bloomfield traces its origins to 1640 as "Messenger Farms" within Windsor, on land originally home to the Poquonock people. In 1736 the area was formally organized as the Parish of Wintonbury, a name coined from its three parent towns — WINdsor, farmingTON and simsBURY — that survives today in Wintonbury Avenue and the Wintonbury Historical Society. The Connecticut General Assembly incorporated Bloomfield as a separate town on May 28, 1835, with more than 900 residents; the town gained rail service by the mid-1800s and electric service from the Hartford Electric Light Company in 1891. Bloomfield's economy stayed agricultural — dairy and shade-grown tobacco — until it developed as a postwar suburb of Hartford beginning in the 1950s. Charles Kaman founded his helicopter company in a West Hartford garage in 1945 with two friends' $2,000 and built it into the Kaman Corporation of Bloomfield, which produced the first gas turbine-powered helicopter.

  1. Nearly 800 traprock acres donated by inventor Curtis H. Veeder in 1944.

  2. Connecticut's 110th state park, an easy loop past historic orchards.

  3. A 120-acre educational farm with seasonal events.

  4. A Pete Dye-designed public course.

  5. A riverside town park on the Farmington River.

  6. The Wintonbury Historical Society's history center and schoolhouse.

  7. Bloomfield's craft brewery, with a full kitchen.

  8. The golf course's public clubhouse restaurant.

  9. Two-bedroom cottages on a working farm.

From tobacco fields to a modernist office campus

The Connecticut General Life Insurance Company Headquarters at 900 Cottage Grove Road, built 1954-1957 to a Gordon Bunshaft design with grounds by Isamu Noguchi and interiors by Florence Knoll, was the first complex of its kind designed as office space for a large corporate employer and became the model for a generation of suburban office parks; it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and today houses Cigna. The Captain Oliver Filley House on Mountain Avenue, an 1834 Greek Revival farmhouse of local rubblestone and traprock, is one of only four stone houses built in early 19th-century Bloomfield; town-owned since 1992, it is leased to the Wintonbury Historical Society, which restores and displays it to the public — the Society's Fannie R. Gabriel History Center at 153 School Street and the adjoining Old Farm School are open on a regular schedule.

Getting there

Bloomfield is reached via Interstates 91 and 84 (both via Hartford or Windsor) and then state Routes 218, 187 (Blue Hills Avenue) or 189 (Bloomfield/Tunxis Avenues). There is no rail station in Bloomfield itself; rail travelers use the CTrail Hartford Line's Hartford Union Station, also served by Amtrak, or the Windsor station, reached by car. The full Hartford Line runs Springfield Union Station, Windsor Locks, Windsor, Hartford Union Station, Berlin, Meriden, Wallingford, New Haven State Street and New Haven Union Station.

Trails, a scenic reserve and a farmstay

Industrialist Curtis H. Veeder donated the land for Penwood State Park to Connecticut in 1944, wishing it "be kept in a natural state so that those who love nature may enjoy" it — which is why camping, horseback riding and ground fires remain prohibited on its nearly 800 traprock acres. Auerfarm State Park Scenic Reserve, Connecticut's 110th state park when designated in 2015, honors the Auerbach family's 90 years of farming on the site with an easy woodland loop past historic apple orchards. The adjoining nonprofit Auerfarm runs seasonal events and rents two-bedroom farmstay cottages with full kitchens, run of the farm animals, hayrides and hiking trails.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get to Bloomfield?
By car via Interstates 91 and 84, then Routes 218, 187 or 189. There is no passenger rail station in Bloomfield; the nearest CTrail Hartford Line stops are Hartford Union Station and Windsor.
Is there a train to Bloomfield?
No. The nearest Hartford Line stations are Hartford Union Station (also served by Amtrak) and Windsor.
What is Penwood State Park?
Nearly 800 acres on the Talcott Mountain traprock ridge, donated to the state in 1944 by inventor Curtis H. Veeder. The blue-blazed Metacomet Trail runs through it, with views over the Farmington River Valley. Open daily 8 a.m. to sunset, free; camping, horseback riding and ground fires are prohibited.
Can I stay overnight in Bloomfield?
The Auerfarm Farmstay cottages, on the 120-acre Auerfarm property, are the town's verified lodging — two-bedroom cottages with full kitchens, booked through Airbnb. A full-service hotel is not confirmed inside Bloomfield; nearby Windsor and Hartford have chain options.
What is the Wintonbury Historical Society's history center?
The Fannie R. Gabriel History Center at 153 School Street, open Monday afternoons 1-3 p.m. by appointment for research; the adjoining Old Farm School is open Sundays 1-4 p.m., May 15 through October 15.

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