Editing South Windsor, Connecticut (section)

==History==
In 1659, [[Thomas Burnham]] (1617–1688) purchased the tract of land now covered by the towns of South Windsor and [[East Hartford, Connecticut|East Hartford]] from Tantinomo, chief [[sachem]] of the [[Podunk people|Podunk Indians]].<ref name="jogoodwin">{{cite book |last= Goodwin |first= Joseph Olcott |title= East Hartford: Its History and Traditions |url= https://archive.org/details/easthartford00good |publisher=Case, Lockwood, and Brainard Co. |location=Hartford, Connecticut |year= 1879 }}</ref>  Burnham lived on the land and later willed it to his nine children.<ref name="rhburnham">{{cite book |last=Burnham |first=Roderick Henry |title=The Burnham Family; Or Genealogical Records of the Descendants of the Four |publisher=Case, Lockwood, and Brainard Co. |location=Hartford, Connecticut |year= 1869 }}</ref>  Beginning in the middle of the 17th century, a few settlers from [[Windsor, Connecticut|Windsor]] began using land on the east bank of the [[Connecticut River]] for grazing and farming purposes. By 1700, a number of families had made their homes in the area. In 1768, the residents of the area were allowed to incorporate as the separate town of [[East Windsor, Connecticut|East Windsor]], though the area was informally referred to as East Windsor before this time. At the time, the town included all of what is now the present-day towns of East Windsor, South Windsor, and [[Ellington, Connecticut|Ellington]]. Known for its agriculture and ship building, the town of East Windsor, including South Windsor, supplied more than 200 volunteers during the [[American Revolution]]. In 1786, Ellington became an independent town, and South Windsor was incorporated as a separate town in 1845.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Connecticut Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qoEyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA335|year=1903|publisher=Connecticut Magazine Company|page=335}}</ref> [[Tobacco]] has been a major crop grown in South Windsor since its founding.

(Old) Main Street, located near the Connecticut River and running north to south from the border of East Windsor to that of East Hartford, is the center of the town's historic district. The Wood Memorial Library & Museum and Ellsworth School are located on the street. Minister Timothy Edwards, the namesake of the town's middle school, is buried in a cemetery located on this street. In 1698, Edwards became the first minister for the settlers on the east side of the river, and his church was built on Main Street (in present-day South Windsor). His son, theologian [[Jonathan Edwards (theologian)|Jonathan Edwards]], was born in South Windsor (at the time still part of Windsor). [[Ulysses S. Grant]] stayed at a home on the street.

The town has become less and less agricultural and rural since 1950. This former farming community has been transformed into a suburban town with industrial and commercial districts. The town's population more than tripled between 1950 and 2000. In the early 1990s, residents mobilized a successful campaign against a proposed [[nuclear waste]] dump located near the East Windsor town line.