Laurie Tavino

Suffield's Old Bridge Neighborhood Laurie Tavino

Located along the shallow falls midway between Springfield and Windsor, Suffield was a convenient place to cross the Connecticut River. Ferries north of the falls were supplemented in 1808 by a wooden bridge downstream. But it was in 1893 that the iron bridge leading to the busy Thompsonville manufacturing village in Enfield opened and encouraged residential growth in this corner of rural Suffield. In an ideal setting for the early-20th-century influx of multicultural immigrants, East Suffield's established Yankee families became juxtaposed with later European arrivals working in Thompsonville's industries. The vibrant diversity and opportunity in the neighborhood continued until the mill and the bridge closed, leaving only memories.