Northeast Hills and Pomfret Roads

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Putnam

   Putnam is an old mill town that has reinvented itself as a place to hunt for antiques, and the combination works better than you would expect. The Quinebaug River drops through town over Cargill Falls, a decent waterfall right beside the downtown, and the red-brick mills that line the river once spun and wove cotton. The big buildings now hold shops, galleries and restaurants, and the main street is packed with dealers selling furniture, books, glass and every other kind of secondhand treasure.

   Read the complete Putnam write-up.

2. 2. Woodstock

   Woodstock, Connecticut, has a pink house, and the pink house tells you a lot. Roseland Cottage was built in 1846 for Henry Bowen, a New York merchant and publisher, in a fanciful Gothic Revival style and painted a vivid rose that has never gone out of fashion. Bowen used it as a summer base and held Fourth of July celebrations on the lawn that drew four sitting presidents over the years, among them Ulysses Grant and William McKinley. It is now a museum, and the gardens and bowling alley are as charming as the house.

   Read the complete Woodstock write-up.

3. 3. Brooklyn

4. 4. Back to Putnam

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Putnam write-up.