U. S. 8 goes along the western edge of Harwinton, in the part of Litchfleld county acquired by Hartford and Windsor. In this case. shares were divided, and the new town, incorporated in 1737, was given the combination name Har-win-ton. The first settler arrived in 1730. The area filled up rapidly, as it was on the road from Hartford to Litchfield.
On the old road from East Litchfield (R. 116) the second crossroad to to the right, which must be traveled on foot, goes over Campville Hill, in 3/4 mile, with a fine view in all directions. A mile farther east, on the right, is an old Soapstone Quarry, used by the Indians for making utensils. R. 116 continues through Harwinton village to Burlington.
The best approach to the town is by R. 117 fnim Torrington. and south to Terryville, giving a good sample of the beautiful hill country. To our right, a crossroad just before reaching the town line leads over a hill with an elevation of over 1000 feet and a good long range view. A mile beyond the line, we pass the attractive Catlin's Pond, a short distance to our right.
In Harwinton Village, the Congregational Church was built in 1806. The design is simple but pleasing, with the heavily molded cornice of pediment and roof. The 3 front doorways have rounded fanlights and pedimented hoods. Above the central doorway is a Palladian window, repeated in the tower. On the north of the Church is the stone Memorial Chapel, beautiful but incongruous, given by Collis P. Huntington, the financier of the Southern Pacific R. R., in memory of his mother. Huntington was born in the town in1821, and worked on a farm here until the age of 14, when he went to New York to seek his fortune. The fine Dr. Dennett House on our right, across the Green, was built in 1795, and most of the other houses at the center date back to the 18th century. On the hilltop is the Hungerford Memorial Library, a bequest from another native son, Theodore A. Hungerford, a New York publisher, in 1903. From the children's library, boxes of books are sent every two months to the 10 schoolls in the town. About 1 mile south of the Church, on the left, is the dignified building if the old Harwinton Academy, erected about 1793, moved from its original location to a private estate.
East from the center, at the Four Corners, the Hayes House (Post Road Inn) on the northwest was built in 1745 and became a well known tavern. The Catlin House opposite, 1799, is exceptionally fine. The crossroad running north at this point passes over Fenn Hill, another 1000 foot elevation, with a line view to the south and west. Northwest of the center is the attractive wooded ravine of Leadmine Brook.