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Connecticut Foliage Driving Tour

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(page 4 of 4)

In Canterbury, at the intersection with Route 14, the outer appearance of a handsome beige Federal suggests little more than Yankee austerity. But a tour of this, the Prudence Crandall Museum, reveals a tumultuous past. When the parents of white students pulled their daughters out of Crandall's academy over the admission of one black student in 1832, Crandall retaliated by turning over the entire school to the education of black women. Rage and lawsuits ensued, and although Crandall eventually won in court on a technicality, she closed the school when a furious mob attacked the house. Today there are few original furnishings; curators aren't even sure which rooms were used for what purposes. But there's a palpable spirit in the house, perhaps that of Prudence herself.

The last leg follows Route 14, which veers hard to the left just outside of Canterbury center, through Moosup. The road also leads through charming little Sterling -- named for a doctor who reneged on his promise to build the hamlet a library if it took his name.

They don't call it the Quiet Corner for nothing. But lately they've been calling this region something else, too: Last Green Valley. If you fly from Washington, D.C., to Portland, Maine, Connecticut's northeast corner is one of the very few green spaces left that you can see from the air. Preservation of the farmland and open space has become paramount. Those who care want to keep this corner quiet, free from the rest of the Northeast's suburban sprawl.

Self-dubbed the "Quiet Corner," the region offers attractions that are subtle in nature: The most rewarding discoveries come after a little digging. And the digging continues with the Rhode Island tour as you drive eastward on Route 14.