Recently, on a social media site, someone shared the photo of a document from 1826. It began with the words, “Assessment of damages in the Town of Windham upon the laying out of the Windham & Brooklyn turnpike road.” Then follows a listing of twenty-five names of the people who were to receive payment. The sums ranged from $5 to $140 and totaled $1,333. Most people today do not realize that Windham’s present day Brooklyn Turnpike  was once part of a major road system from Hartford to Providence or that there were two turnpikes running through Willimantic that connected it and Windham to other parts of the state and neighboring states. In the early 1800’s, a “turnpike” was no more than an old road, sometimes an Indian trail, that a State chartered turnpike company took over, improved and then set up tollgates upon it. The company paid for the road improvements but the towns through which they passed were required to pay the landowners for the land that was taken and were required to build any necessary bridges. The eastern end of the Windham and Brooklyn Turnpike began at the junction with the Providence Turnpike at the courthouse in Brooklyn. From there it ran easterly through Brooklyn, Howard Valley, Scotland and Windham where it met the Windham Turnpike at present day Back Road and Route 14. One of the tollgates was located in Scotland. Due to its connections with both the Windham and the Providence turnpikes, it was the most improved route between Hartford and Providence at that time. 
     The Windham Turnpike started in Plainfield at its junction with the New London and Windham County turnpike and ran easterly through Plainfield, Canterbury and Scotland before entering Windham. The section of the Windham Turnpike, from Windham Center to Plainfield is today’s CT Route 14. However, as early as 1706 had followed an old Indian trail and was rederred to as “The Great Road”. From Windham Center, the turnpike ran along present day Plains Road (also an old Indian Trail). 1781, General Rochambeau had led his troops along the Plains Road on their way to Yorktown. At the Shetucket River, there had been a bridge since at least 1771. The bridge was rebuilt and thereafter called was Bingham's Bridge after the Bingham Grist Mill on the corner of Plains Road and Lover's Lane. After joining present day Route 32, the turnpike crossed the Willimantic River into the city over the wooden Iron Works Bridge (now the “Bridge of Flowers). Main Street in Willimantic, even as early as “the turnpike to Hartford”. (The Eastern end of Main Street was originally constructed  circa 1710 so that hay harvested along the banks of the Willimantic River could be carried home by the first Windham settlers who lived at the Shetucket River horseshoe.) The turnpike  then followed what are present day Routes 32 and 31 into South Coventry, passed Lake Wamgumbaugh and went on into North Coventry where it joined the Boston Turnpike. The Windham Turnpike as such came to an end in 1852 with the dissolution of the Windham Turnpike Company. This week’s photos show two men at the site of the tollgate in Scotland (left) and the original payment document (right). For questions or comments about this  week’s photo or article, or if anyone would like a digitized copy of the “Assessment of Damages” document with a list of names, please e-mail us at “threadcity@outlook.com”.