Katherine J. Kalwat, N. Arthur Johnson, and Lawrence S. Johnson donated 30 acres on Spring Street. It is the remaining portion of the Johnson family farm, part of which was taken during the construction of I-84. The original 1784 farmhouse stood where the westbound entrance on Queen Street is today. The Quinnipiac River borders the eastern edge of the property and also contains remnants of the Farmington Canal.

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According to Niles and Linnea’s son Larry Johnson, the house was built in 1784 and originally owned by Ashbell Gridley and was located where the on ramp to I-84 West is now. The road in the foreground of the first picture below is Queen Street.