Page 14 - North Haven Magazine Issue 17 Winter 2021

A Walk in History
A Walk in History

by Susan A. Iverson

few months ago, I had a conversation with a volunteer for the North Haven Land
A Trust. She told me about a walking trail the Trust had recently completed, with the
suggestion it might make a good story to publish in this magazine. I asked her where it
was located, and immediately perked up – it meanders through a parcel of land that tells
several stories about North Haven’s history. Perhaps you can find an hour in your busy
schedule to walk the trail and think about all that has transpired at this site in the past.

This small bit of open space at 430 Clinton- commuted from nearby towns to work in
ville Road is easily found – look to the right the Clintonville factories down the road,
traveling eastward for a small driveway and the goods they manufactured were
between Mike’s Automotive and the Water shipped out by rail here. All sorts of things
Authority’s pumping station. Just 4 acres in were manufactured in Clintonville; every-
size, the trail is level and an easy walk for thing from agricultural machines and tools
most. One can see that the volunteers of to greeting cards and ribbons! Mail orders sense. When the plant was eventually shut
the Land Trust have worked hard to make for these kinds of goods were popular in the down and demolished, the land was farmed
this parcel of land accessible and enjoyable; 1800s and the post office in nearby Clinton- for a time. Developers later built on a por-
the walkways are wide, graded, and covered ville provided the shipping. Although this tion of the land and donated the rest as
with recycled paving material. There are walking trail is peaceful and quiet now, it open space to the Town of North Haven. It
trees sprouting up everywhere, and lots of was bustling with activity 100+ years ago! has completed its circle, back to letting Na-
undergrowth that must keep birds and oth- ture take its course.
er small critters well fed and protected. On
a recent visit there, my husband and I heard According to the North Haven Land Trust’s
the train whistle blow, so we paused and website, “The Trust is not anti-growth but,
watched as a train rolled past – its tracks in a time of rapid commercial and residen-
border one side of the property. For a small tial development, it does believe that some
place, the site offers much to see, even in land must be set aside, in perpetuity, to
winter! enable the town to breathe.” As I walked
through the trails I, too, felt I could breathe
in the peace, quiet, and history of this vi-
brant little section of North Haven. I hope
you can take a walk here soon – it’s good
medicine!

Also on this property stood the Kickapoo
Indian Medicine Company. In the late
1800s “patent medicines” (what we would
call over the counter medications) were
marketed and used extensively, partly be-
cause people had a mistrust of medical doc-
tors, and partly because they had limited
or no access to medical treatment. Native
What really intrigues me about the proper- Americans were thought to have the best
ty, though, is how its use has changed over cures for many diseases, and so companies
the years. The location is first mentioned in that wanted to market their concoctions
the mid-1800s when the Air Line Railroad would use figures from indigenous peoples
was built through North Haven and became to give credence to their products. Kick-
the site for a railroad station called North- apoo Indian Medicine Company was one Thanks, as always, to the North Haven
ford Station. (No, it was not in Northford, of the largest and most successful of these. Historical Society Archives. For more
but in North Haven!) It was called the Air Shortly after the turn of the twentieth cen- information about the Kickapoo Indian
Line because it was built “straight as a line tury the company located its bottling plant Medicine Company, please see the Spring
in the air” across this region of the state. and shipping office to this site on Clinton- 2020 edition of North Haven Magazine.
People, goods, and mail were all transport- ville Road – its proximity to the Air Line
ed to this part of North Haven – the people and Northford Station made good business

North Haven Magazine - Winter Issue 2021
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