Simsbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, incorporated as Connecticut's 21st town in May 1670. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 24,517 in the 2020 census.
History
Early history
At the beginning of the 17th century, the area that would become known as Simsbury as of 1670 was inhabited by indigenous peoples. The Wappinger were one of these groups, composed of eighteen bands that were organized not formally as a tribe, but more akin to an association, like the Delaware. These bands lived between the Hudson and Connecticut rivers. The Wappingers were one of the Algonquian peoples, a linguistic grouping which includes hundreds of tribes. One of the Wappinger bands, the Massaco, lived near, but mostly west of, what became known as the Farmington River, in the area that would become known as Simsbury and Canton,
In 1633, Windsor was the second town in Connecticut settled by Europeans and the first English settlement (the first European settlement being Huys de Goede Hoop, established by the Dutch in the Hartford area as a frontier settlement for the New Netherland Colony ten years earlier). For some time, the area of Massaco was considered "an appendix to the towne of Windsor." Settlers in Windsor forested and farmed in the area, but did not settle in Massaco permanently for a number of years. In 1642, the General Court of the colony of Connecticut ordered that:
<blockquote>
the Governor and Mr. Heynes shall have liberty to dispose of the ground uppon that parte of Tunxis River cauled Mossocowe, to such inhabitants of Wyndsor as they shall see cause.
</blockquote> Despite this order, there is no record that any settlements immediately ensued. Five years later the General Court issued another order:
<blockquote>
The Court thinks fitt that Massacoe be purchased by the Country, and that ther be a Committee chosen to dispose of yt to such inhabitants of Wyndsor as by the shalbe judged meet to make improuement therof...
</blockquote>
but there is no record of land grants arising from this order.
In 1643, John Griffin and Michael Humphrey started a tar and turpentine business in Windsor. A few years later, a Massaco Indian named Manahanoose started a fire which destroyed tar belonging to Griffin. The Court ordered the payment of "five hundred fathom of wampum" as compensation. As he was unable to pay this amount, Manahanoose was instead ordered by the Court to either serve Griffin or be exchanged for Black slaves. To avoid this, he instead delivered a deed to the land at Massacoe. The deed was agreed to by Manahanoose as well as other Indians, identified as "the proprietors of Massaco". In 1653, the General Court granted of meadowland to Lieutenant Aaron Cook, to John Bissell and to Thomas Ford, all in Massacoe.
Settlers did not build permanent settlements until the following decade. Aaron Cook built one of the early homes in the area established 1660 as Terry's Plain, and John Griffin also built a home, possibly in 1664—the date associated with a deed to land in Massacoe. The settlement of Massacoe continued in the late 1660s. The General Court awarded a land grant of two hundred acres to John Griffin in 1663. A deed description from 1664 indicates he had become a permanent inhabitant. In 1669, a survey found that there were thirteen permanent residents of Massacoe. One of those residents, John Case, was appointed to the position of constable. This is the first recorded civil office held by residents of the area.
Incorporation
In 1670, John Case, along with Joshua Holcomb & Thomas Barber, presented a petition to the General Court, requesting that Massacoe become a town of the colony of Connecticut. On May 12, 1670, the General Court granted the petition, and ordered that the plantation should be called "Simmsbury". The boundaries at that time were Farmington on the south and Windsor on the east, with the extent of Simsbury running north of Farmington and west of Windsor. The northern border, subject to dispute with Massachusetts, was left to be resolved later. This area includes the township Simsbury as well as Granby and Canton, which would later separate from Simsbury in 1786 and 1806,
Geography
thumb|100px|Talcott Mountain ridgeline
thumb|200px|The [[Farmington River in Simsbury]]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.09%, is water.
The town is often considered a bedroom community for the nearby city of Hartford, Connecticut, which is a 20 to 25 minute drive from Simsbury Center; however, many residents also commute to other towns and cities within the west-central Connecticut region.
Principal communities
After the complete destruction of the town in 1676 during King Philip's War, there were three late 17th to early 18th century nucleated resettlement communities: East Weatogue (also called East Simsbury), Simsbury Center, and Terry's Plain.
There are four census-designated places in Simsbury: Simsbury Center, Tariffville, Weatogue, and West Simsbury.