On Oct. 28, 1897, five men from the Turkey Hills section of Granby started out for the Hubbard River (the old name for the East Branch of the Farmington River) in Hartland Hollow to hunt coons. Why they didn’t hunt the several good hunting areas in and around Granby nobody will ever know, but they nevertheless made the decision to hunt in Hartland. They hired a local Hartland Hollow resident, Lowell Humphrey, to accompany them with his dog. They then followed the Hubbard River several miles north, well into West Granville, Mass. It was during their return trip that Humphrey walked too close to the top of some ledges and fell to his death. This tragedy served to establish the first exact hunting date for the men who were to become the charter members of the club that was to be known as the Old Newgate Coon Club.It is doubtful that the original group continued annual hunts in Hartland Hollow for a few years following 1897; however, they continued to hunt closer to the Granby area.There are no written records until the purchase of the Barnes place in Hartland Hollow in 1910. The original group had been joined by several others who joined in on the annual week-long coon hunts. These were truly horse-and-buggy days. It was an annual sight to see these fellows start out with horses and wagons, blankets, horse feed, roast chicken, ham, potatoes, salt pork, gun and shells and any other supplies they could not readily buy “over in the Hollow.” (Incidentally, the local dialectal pronunciation was “Holla.”)After making camp in barns and houses for 10 years, the group organized and bought a vacant property at Hartland Hollow, which had been built in 1796 as the original Red Lion Inn on the old Hartford to Albany stage coach route, at the crossroads of the Granville-Winsted route. Time was when this area was quite a business district with a post office, school, inn, spoon mill, four corners and several farms all within a stone’s throw, but this was destined not to last for long.Before the Civil War, the inn had moved to Stockbridge, Mass., the spoon mill had been absorbed by a more thriving mill at Spoonville, down river, and the remaining families struggled to retain their school and post office.What a beautiful location that Hartland Hollow property was. The Hubbard River — tumbling along about 75 feet in front of the door, which in normal flow gave the music of gentle rain, hemmed in by the Hartland Mountains rising 600 feet high on each side of the valley — made for short days and long nights so much the better for coon hunters; and then, the mammoth elm tree at the corner of the house, 22 feet 6 inches in circumference, with a 172-foot limb spread in 1930. There was also the schoolhouse meadow with its acres of white and yellow daisies and fringes of red raspberries, and the swimming holes, one just above the bridge and “old black water” up at the gorge.Here it was that the pioneers of this club, and those who were to follow, inspired by the grandeur of nature and the power of nature’s God, laid the foundation of a fraternity of good fellows which, after more than a century, goes forward in the principles of brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of the Almighty.The certificate of incorporation was drawn up on Feb. 15, 1910. The name of the corporation is to be “The Old Newgate Coon Club, Inc.” The nature of the business to be transacted and the purposes to be promoted or carried out by said corporation are as follows: “For the promotion of social intercourse, recreation and mental improvement by such means as shall be expedient and proper for that purpose; and also to purchase, hold or lease any real or personal property to carry out the purposes of the corporation.”On June 13, 1910, a committee formed for the purpose reviewed three pieces of real estate as a potential home for the young organization, and the Barnes property in Hartland was eventually chosen. This consisted of the old inn, 100 acres of land and several tumbled-down out buildings. The purchase price was $800.The annual game suppers were started about 1908 and were mostly held at member’s homes until 1915, when for three successive years they were held at Old Newgate Prison. Starting in 1918 the game suppers climaxed the week-long annual hunt, a strictly stag affair, which has continued uninterrupted. In January 1937, the original property, with its homey improvements was sold to the Water Bureau of the Metropolitan District of Hartford for $24,500, and immediately factions arose among the members, with some leaning strongly toward an offer from the Water Bureau to build a clubhouse up Valley Brook, which they could use for 10 years and then vacate. This offer was in lieu of any payment for the Hartland real estate.Three potential sites were considered, two in Hartland, the other in Norfolk; it was this last property which was agreed upon. The purchase price was $11,500. After essential remodeling, a beautiful clubhouse was completed, but the corporation found itself $5,000 in debt, and instead of being almost 100 percent a hunter’s club, they were immediately forced to find sources of additional revenue to maintain a $30,000 piece of real estate, including 560 acres of land. Various avenues were considered, and in 1940 it was decided to have a licensed bar and a vigorous membership drive, which sought to add ladies to the membership. No longer could the club be maintained strictly as a man’s club. It was obvious that there must be regular, frequent meetings of the officers and directors, an active house committee, a similar bar committee and other special committees. The result of the membership drive was to increase membership from 64 to 135; the annual dues were increased to $40. Perhaps the high point of the club’s illustrious existence occurred in the aftermath of the 1955 flood. The facilities were made available to the American Red Cross, and for two months non-residents were sheltered and fed during the period of emergency.As The Old Newgate Coon Club embarks on its second century, its members can look to the future with pride and satisfaction, recognizing that there is still a close adherence to those principals set forth in their certificate of incorporation — for the promotion of social intercourse, recreation and mental improvement by such means as shell be expedient and proper for that purpose, and that the duration of this corporation is unlimited. Bob Grigg is the town historian in Colebrook.
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One systemic consequence of slavery is the loss and obscuring of the histories of those who were enslaved. Records were often not kept about where Africans had been stolen from or who they were related to. Families were torn apart, leaving nothing but the faintest traces of the past. The delineation point, where genealogists can no longer trace histories back, is refered to this as the “document wall.”
Today, 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence and more than 160 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, there is a growing effort to restore some of the history stripped from enslaved people and their descendants. Among the leaders of these efforts is Mills, president of the Alex Breanne Corporation, a nonprofit organization that works to identify previously anonymous Black Americans from history and connect them with their living relatives.
The work began with Mills’ sister, who started digging into their family’s past in the 1990’s and introduced him to this emerging world of genealogy. Through that process, the Mills family discovered their great-great-grandfather, Ned Mills, who had been enslaved in Texas. His last name came from his final enslaver and remains the family surname. Through their research, they found that the document wall directly affected their ancestor, who learned of his liberation on June 19, 1865, now commemorated as Juneteenth.
“For the first time,” Mills writes on his website, “American slavery wasn’t something that had happened to anonymous people in a history book. It had happened to my family.”
The discovery gave Mills a familial pride he had been missing for years. That pride fueled his desire to help others find their own history. In 2023, Mills received his certificate in genealogical research from Boston University. He has used his expertise to help descendants of enslaved people uncover histories they never dreamed of learning.
To do this, he uses a process called “reverse genealogy,” identifying a person from the past and working forward to discover their descendants. Along the way, Mills has found some remarkable people who fought for freedom on American soil, some of whom were never freed.
Pay Bill for Robin Starr’s service in the Continental Army.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
At the Cornwall Historical Society event, Mills will present the stories of four Connecticut families: Job Lathrop of Norwich, the son of Pirmus Armes, about whom Mills has published a book; Prince Mortimer of Middletown, also the subject of a book by Mills;, the three sons of London Wallace of Simsbury; and Robert “Robin” Starr of Danbury, who later lived in Cornwall and Sharon.
A few years ago, Cornwall Consolidated School social studies teacher Will Vincent reached out to Mills for research guidance on a local history project his students were undertaking. Together, they learned about Naomi Freeman of Cornwall. After purchasing an acre of land on Great Hollow Road in 1828, Naomi Freeman became the first Black female landowner in Cornwall.
The students petitioned the town to rename a road after the historic Cornwall resident In April 2025, Great Hollow Road was officially renamed Naomi Freeman Historic Road. U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes joined Mills and the Cornwall Consildated School students for a presentation of their research.
Since then, Mills has guided the students in their quest to learn more about Starr’s story. Starr was a Revolutionary War soldier who joined the Continental Army to earn enough money to buy his own freedom, receiving the Badge of Merit in the process. The stories of his descendents’ services are equally worthy of their own books.
In recognition of Mills and the students’ work, First Selectman Gordon Ridgway proclaimed Feb. 8 as Robin Starr Day.
Preregistration is required for the event at the Cornwall Historical Society. To learn more about Mills’ work, visit
alexbreanne.org.
John Mills speaking at Quinnipiac University.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
Stephanie Saetta runs Charlie Chicken Bones, a sanctuary in Salisbury.
Dogs have been at the center of Saetta’s life since childhood. She remembers going to the library to research different breeds and trying to convince her parents the family needed a dog. She had her heart set on an Irish Wolfhound, but she was more than happy when her mom brought home a West Highland terrier.
After college, she adopted Charlie as a puppy from a rescue on Long Island. He was a hound-shepherd-Rottweiler mix who suffered from intense seizures. Some veterinarians recommended euthanasia, but Saetta wasn’t ready to give up on him.
When Charlie would have an episode, she would sit with him, nose to nose, talking him through it. She learned to look for the moment he began to come around — when he could smell her again and his tail started to wag.
“You only get one or two of these soul connection dogs, so I do this in his honor,” Saetta said. “I like to think that all the dogs that come through are going to have that person that they connect with just the same.”
Through a network of women working to rescue animals in Texas, she learned about the desperate situations facing many dogs.
With limited space, some public pounds euthanize even healthy animals to make room. Limited access to veterinary care leaves sick dogs or unvaccinated puppies especially vulnerable.
Saetta saw that reality firsthand with a puppy named Gus, a Labrador mix she fostered who has since been adopted. Gus and his sisters had been dumped beside a road, where they were living under an abandoned car. People would leave food for them, but no one would take them to the pound.
“Even the people who rescue animals down there were like, ‘sadly, the best place for them to be is on the side of the road,’” she said. “That’s safer. Someone might actually help them that way.”
Saetta knows that there are far more dogs than any one person can save, but she also knows that helping one dog means one fewer on the street.
Stephanie Saetta,with her rescue dog George and Blue (left), a shepherd mix awaiting his forever home.Madi Long
Charlie Chicken Bone Sanctuary operates entirely through foster homes, a model that Saetta believes is best for the dogs and the humans hoping to adopt them.
Rather than moving directly from a difficult environment into a permanent home, the dogs have a chance to settle into a quieter setting. They can learn what it’s like to live with a family, sleep somewhere comfortable and receive affection without fighting for attention. Fostering also allows the rescue to really get to know each dog.
“As fosters, we’re honest,” said Saetta. We’ll tell you everything that’s been bad, everything that’s been good. What their temperament is and how they’ve responded to all the things they’ve experienced.”
A successful adoption is not just about finding a dog a home; it’s about finding the right home where the dog and family can thrive together.
Saetta is looking for more people willing to open their homes to foster dogs. She understands that the thought of growing attached and eventually saying goodbye can feel daunting. But she sees that goodbye a little differently.
Fostering means being part of a dog’s journey, even if only for a short time. It gives dogs a safe place to rest, the chance to trust again and the love they have gone without for much of their lives. And when the time comes for them to leave, it is not really a loss. It is the reward of knowing they are moving on to a forever home.
Blue, Saetta’s current foster, is hoping to find his perfect home.
Blue, a 7 year-old Shepard mix, is waiting for his forever home. Madi Long
Now around 7 years old, Blue spent most of his life wandering the streets of Texas. People sometimes left food out for him, but his mangy, dirty coat kept them from stopping to pet him. Today, he has a chance to experience something different.
Blue is still waiting for his forever home. Saetta believes he would do best as the only dog in a household or alongside another senior dog. He will need someone willing to continue working with him on his training and understand that a dog with his history needs patience.
But what he gives in return is a whole lot of love.
“He’s so enthusiastic, he’s so excited for life, he’s so friendly, and he’s got such a good heart, and he loves to cuddle,” Saetta said. “He’s a good, good, good dog.”
For more information on adopting Blue or how to foster, visit ccbsanctuary.org.
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