Book excerpt: Canton and Collinsville lie fourteen miles west of the state capital, Hartford, along the Farmington River in the scenic Farmington Valley. Incorporated in 1806, the town has grown from a farming community to a factory town built around the Collins Company, worldrenowned manufacturer of axes and edge tools from 1826 to 1966. The closing of the Collins Company brought a new era of change and growth to a suburban community of unique character and charm. Collinsville is internationally recognized as one of the best preserved nineteenth-century mill villages and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Canton and Collinsville is a hundred-year panorama of Victorian life and its aftermath, with glimpses into local lives and events from 1866 through 1966. Special sections are devoted to never-before-published photographs of the Collins Company and the devastating flood of 1955. Also portrayed are the 1906 Canton centennial celebration, the building of the Nepaug Reservoir Dam, CantonA[a¬A's railroads, and historic homes and landmarks, including churches, schools, and local businesses of the Collinsville Historic District and Canton. Outstanding citizens, such as Congressional Medal of Honor winner William Edgar Simonds, are featured in Canton and Collinsville.