Local legend
has it that the first time a Christmas tree was put up and decorated in the
United States of America appears to have occurred in Windsor, Connecticut. A German POW in the Revolutionary War wanted
to mark Christmas with a symbol of home.
He was a
mercenary soldier, part of the Hessian troops employed by the British. His name was Hendrick Roddemore. He was taken captive during the Battle of
Bennington, Vermont in August 1777, where American commander General John Stark’s
colonial troops defeated the British.
Have a look here at our previous post on the Bennington Battle Monument.
Hundreds of
Hessian troops were taken prisoner, and many were transported to Boston, then transferred
in small groups around the region. Hendrick Roddemore was sent to the Pine
Meadows section of Windsor, Connecticut on the Connecticut River. Later the area became the separate town of
Windsor Locks.
He was put in
custody of Samuel Denslow, who owned a 100-acre farm. In a small cabin here, perhaps a day or two before Christmas, 1777, Roddemore took the
extraordinary action of cutting a small growing tree from outdoors and put it
inside the cabin. We can imagine simple
decorations, and may well imagine the curiosity of his captors. Not only were Christmas trees not used to
celebrate Christmas in the United States at that time, but Christmas itself
wasn’t usually celebrated in New England, where our Puritan founders still held
sway over our consciousness. Christmas
was not widely celebrated here until the following century. Even up until around World War II,
Thanksgiving was the larger holiday in New England.
Christmas was
something those New Yorkers did.
The small cabin
on West Street is no longer there, but the Noden-Reed Farm is now the home of
the Windsor Locks Historical Society, and there is a stone marker planted on what
is reckoned to be the site of the first indoor Christmas tree in the United
States.
4 comments:
This is so neat! I grew up in North Granby. Which was it, Windsor or Windsor Locks? My dad worked at what was then Bradley Field. (Am Rachel's ... 2nd cousin? In Calif.) Glad to find your blog!
Welcome to the blog, and thanks so much for commenting.
Is there any proof backing this story?
I have been researching and found nothing concrete.
Welcome to the blog. As you've evidently discovered, documentation for this legend is a bit sparse, which is why it's a legend. The Windsor Locks Historical Society clearly acknowledges the legend by putting up the marker on the site, and perhaps they may have more information. I'd love to know if it can be substantiated. Good luck in your research.
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