Avon

AVON This area, formerly Northington or the North Parish of Farmington, was settled in 1645 on land that had belonged to the Tunxis Indians. It prospered as a farming community and, in 1830, after the construction and opening of the Farmington Canal, Avon was incorporated as a separate town with a population of 1,025. It was named after the Avon River in England. The Albany Turnpike (Route 44) was a heavily traveled thoroughfare, and its junction with the canal gave Avon considerable importance during the early to mid-nineteenth century as a transportation and commercial center. The brownstone buildings which house the Town Hall were constructed from local material by the Climax Fuse Company when it was formed in 1884. This firm was purchased by the Ensign Bickford Company in 1907 and the buildings continued to be used for the manufacture of safety fuses until 1968. Many homes now dot the hillsides of Avon which once rang to the call of the canalmen.