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Suffield, Connecticut: A Massachusetts Township That Grew Cigar Tobacco

Suffield, Connecticut

Pictures from Suffield

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Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden Soldier monument, Suffield green King House Museum

Suffield was settled in 1670 as a township of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, originally called Southfield — pronounced "Suffield" — and formally chartered under Massachusetts on June 8, 1674. Resurveys eventually showed the town actually lay inside Connecticut's charter boundaries, and after the Massachusetts-Connecticut "Equivalent Lands" compromise of 1715-1716, Suffield was annexed to Connecticut in 1749. The town's early economy rested on fisheries and shipbuilding, but by the 1830s the Connecticut Valley Broadleaf tobacco variety had been developed and Suffield's factories were producing 14 million cigars a year. Notable people connected to Suffield include U.S. Postmaster General Gideon Granger, composer Timothy Swan, health reformer Sylvester Graham, namesake of the graham cracker, and the family of automotive pioneer Ransom Eli Olds, whose ancestor Robert Olds arrived from England in 1667. Suffield native Shem Burbank built the Phelps-Hatheway House in 1761, later expanded with imported Parisian wallpaper that survives under conservation today.

  1. A 1761 house with imported Parisian wallpaper.

  2. The Historical Society's home museum, free admission.

  3. A restored exhibit hall with local pharmacy and Native American collections.

  4. A 1914 dairy barn with trails and a working creamery.

  5. Swimming, kayaking and trails on a town pond.

  6. 70 acres of hiking and picnicking, donated in 1968.

  7. A lifeguarded town beach on the Massachusetts line.

  8. An eclectic American menu with a full bar.

  9. Hand-made pasta and a banquet room.

  10. Sushi, ramen and stir-fries.

  11. A brewery that got its start in a Broad Brook garage.

A wallpapered mansion and a rescued dairy barn

Merchant Oliver Phelps bought the Phelps-Hatheway House in 1788 and in 1794 added a wing finished with imported Parisian Reveillon wallpaper, still being conserved today; the property has been held by Connecticut Landmarks since 1956. Hilltop Farm was begun in 1913 by George Hendee, co-founder of Indian Motocycle, as a gentleman's retirement estate; his 20,000-square-foot white dairy barn, completed in 1914 and called one of the finest in the state, was rescued from sale by the nonprofit Friends of the Farm at Hilltop in 2002 and today anchors nature trails, community gardens and a working creamery.

Getting there

Suffield is a car-reached town in Connecticut's northern river valley: most visitors take I-91 to Route 190 in Enfield, crossing the Enfield-Suffield Veterans Bridge into town, or come north on Route 75 from Bradley International Airport in adjacent Windsor Locks. There is no rail station in Suffield itself; the only tracks in town carry freight and the Amtrak/Springfield Terminal railroad bridge to Enfield. The nearest passenger station is Windsor Locks on the CTrail Hartford Line and Amtrak's Valley Flyer, Northeast Regional and Vermonter.

Two lakefront parks and a Broad Brook brewery

Sunrise Park, bought by the townspeople from the estate of Edward M. White and dedicated July 2, 1966, offers swimming, dog swimming, canoeing and kayaking. Babb's Beach on Lake Congamond, which straddles the Suffield-Southwick, Massachusetts line, runs a full lifeguarded 2026 season starting June 6. Broad Brook Brewing, which got its start in a garage in Broad Brook village and debuted in East Windsor in 2013, has since relocated its taproom to South Street in Suffield, open Wednesday through Sunday.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get to Suffield?
By car — I-91 to Route 190 in Enfield, crossing the Enfield-Suffield Veterans Bridge, or Route 75 north from Bradley International Airport. There is no rail station in Suffield; the nearest is Windsor Locks.
Is there a train to Suffield?
No. Only freight tracks and an Amtrak railroad bridge cross Suffield. The nearest passenger station is Windsor Locks on the CTrail Hartford Line.
What is the Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden?
A 1761 house expanded in 1794 with imported Parisian wallpaper, held by Connecticut Landmarks since 1956. The 2026 season is the second Sunday of each month, June through October, 1-4 p.m. with hourly tours; admission $18 adults, $15 senior/student/teacher, $8 child.
Is there a hotel in Suffield?
No hotel, inn or B&B inside Suffield could be verified. Chain hotels cluster around Bradley International Airport in neighboring Windsor Locks; the Simsbury 1820 House is another verified option to the southwest.

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