Editing Tolland, Connecticut (section)

== History ==
[[File:CountyJailMuseumTollandCT gobeirne.JPG|thumb|left|Old County Jail Museum]]
Tolland was named in May 1715, and incorporated in May 1722 from [[Windsor, Connecticut|Windsor]]. The town was over 20 miles away from Tolland and was incorporated to grow the population out in the hill areas. According to some, the town derives its name from being a toll station on the old road between Boston and New York.  Alternatively, its name could have been taken after [[Tolland, Somerset|Tolland]] in [[Somerset]], England.<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> Today [[Interstate 84 (east)|Interstate 84]], the main highway connecting [[New York City]], [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]], [[Connecticut]] and [[Boston]], bisects Tolland, but the town retains a charming village feel. Tolland Green is the informal center of the community, and a national historic district. The Green's features include an old-fashioned [[penny candy]] and antiques store known to locals as the '[https://www.tollandredandwhite.com/ Red and White]'; the town's [https://artsoftolland.org/ original 19th-century town hall, now an arts center]; the [[Old Tolland County Jail and Museum]]; the [[Tolland County Courthouse]] and former public library; the '[https://www.tollandinn.com/ Tolland Inn]' bed and breakfast; and the [[Hicks-Stearns Family Museum]], a restored Victorian house. The architectural styles on display, including the white steeples of several churches, are reminiscent of a picture-postcard [[New England]] scene. The town is also home to the supposedly haunted [[Daniel Benton Homestead]], built in 1720 and the oldest house in Tolland.
{{stack|[[File:HicksStearnsMuseumTollandCT gobeirne.JPG|thumb|Hicks-Stearns Family Museum]]}}
Many of the town's adults work in [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]], located about 30 minutes away, often at one of the city's many insurance companies, or for the [[University of Connecticut]] in [[Storrs, Connecticut|Storrs]], to the south. A family-oriented town, the landscape of Tolland is primarily composed of houses on plots of land around two [[acres]]. Undeveloped, forested land covers the area between the town's many residential developments. Containing two state forests and several municipal parks, the town retains a relatively [[rural]] character.

The [[Tolland Public Library (Connecticut)|Tolland Public Library]] opened in 1899. Located in the old county courthouse until 1985, the library was moved to the former [[Hicks Memorial School]] in 1985.<ref>{{Cite web|title=About the Library {{!}} Town of Tolland CT|url=https://www.tolland.org/library/pages/about-library|website=www.tolland.org|access-date=June 1, 2020}}</ref> It was significantly expanded in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tolland Library Reopens After Expansion|url=https://www.courant.com/community/tolland/hc-rr-tolland-library-renovation-0413-20170412-story.html|last=Smith|first=Steve|date=April 12, 2017|website=Hartford Courant|access-date=June 1, 2020}}</ref>

In 2006, Tolland opened the new [[Tolland High School]] to support the growing number of students.<ref>{{Cite web|title=New state-of the art Tolland High School opens Tuesday|url=https://www.journalinquirer.com/archives/new-state-of-the-art-tolland-high-school-opens-tuesday/article_176f5841-d913-51af-bc5a-7d925c8b4272.html|last=Simpson|first=Mark D.|date=September 3, 2006|website=Journal Inquirer|language=en|access-date=June 1, 2020}}</ref> The town is also expanding with new commercial and residential developments.

Tolland has ranked among "Best Places to Live in America" by CNN magazine in the "Small Town" category several times:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Ranking
|-
| 2005 || 29th<ref name="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2005/snapshots/36588.html">{{cite web | url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2005/snapshots/36588.html | title=MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2005: Tolland, CT snapshot }}</ref>
|-
| 2009 || 27th<ref name="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2009/snapshots/CS0976290.html">{{Cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2009/snapshots/CS0976290.html|title = Best Places to Live 2009 - Top 100: City details: Tolland, CT - from MONEY Magazine}}</ref>
|-
| 2011 || 37th<ref name="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2011/snapshots/CS0976290.html">{{Cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2011/snapshots/CS0976290.html|title = Best Places to Live 2011 - Top 100: Town details: Tolland, CT - from MONEY Magazine}}</ref>
|-
| 2015 || 34th<ref name="http://time.com/money/3984469/tolland-connecticut-best-places-to-live-2015/">[https://web.archive.org/web/20150819231811/http://time.com/money/3984469/tolland-connecticut-best-places-to-live-2015/ Time (magazine)]</ref>
|}

In April 2008, [[Wes Craven]] began filming scenes for his 2009 movie ''[[My Soul to Take]]'' inside the former [[Tolland High School]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2008/04/05/Craven-filming-at-old-Conn-high-school/UPI-36431207411499/|title = Craven filming at old Conn. High school}}</ref>

In September 2019, it was announced that Birch Grove Elementary School would undergo renovation after the foundation started to crack due to the presence of [[pyrrhotite]] in the cement. Construction is expected to complete in August 2021.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/crumbling-foundation-delays-first-day-of-school-in-tolland/1939643/|title=Crumbling Foundation Delays First Day of School in Tolland|website=NBC Connecticut|date=September 3, 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=February 13, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.journalinquirer.com/towns/tolland/construction-of-new-birch-grove-primary-school-to-start-jan/article_1d1874a6-1770-11ea-b7f0-4fe395fe4b2b.html|title=Construction of new Birch Grove Primary School to start Jan. 9|last=Regen|first=Olivia|website=Journal Inquirer|language=en|access-date=February 13, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://patch.com/connecticut/tolland/construction-starts-crumbling-tolland-school|title=Construction Starts On Crumbling Tolland School|date=November 15, 2019|website=Tolland, CT Patch|language=en|access-date=February 13, 2020}}</ref>