It’s obvious that
for at least 30 years people in the corner district
felt that they would be better off as part of Torrington
instead of Harwinton. Being located where they were,
the rest of Harwinton’s population undoubtedly
found it difficult to undertake the cost burden (through
additional taxes) associated with providing the various
city-like amenities afforded city dwellers such as
street lights, fire hydrants, sewage lines, garbage
disposal, fire and police protection and even snow
removal and general road maintenance, to those living
in the Northwest Corner. In 1920 the Northwest Corners
Fire District was formed as a means to form a localized
district that could impose thier own taxes in addition
to those levied by the town. It was voted that an
additional 2.5 mills would be applied to the assessments
to pay for access to Torrington’s water supply
and provide street lights, hydrants etc. It appears
that this was a short lived organization as only three
years later the second efforts for annexation really
accelerated. One could deduce that there was reluctance
from the district residents to pay additional taxes
when most worked at the factories in Torrington that
were paying taxes to the borough for benefits that
were not enjoyed by the residents of the district.
Some people argued that the corner was located closer
to the center of Torrington then other areas of the
borough that have all the modern amenities that they
should have.
In January of 1923 a petition
was received for the consideration of the General Assembly
at the office of the Secretary of State, on the eve
of the opening of the Legislature.” An article
in the January 3rd edition of the Hartford Courant stated:
“Residents of that portion of the town of Harwinton,
known as the Harwinton Fire District, filed the application
for changes in the charter, setting off that section
of the town and annexing it to Torrington.” One
interesting side note is that on the exact same day,
a petition was also received in Hartford from the borough
of Torrington to change its charter and become a city.
Both of these petitions where delivered by the same
person; Thomas J. Wall.
Over the course of the next
few months there were many letters to the editor in
local newspapers that pro and conned the idea of annexation.
Most Harwinton residents thought it a good idea while
there seemed to be more opposition in Torrington. One
Harwinton resident wrote “Annexation would be
wrong for Harwinton people as the Town of Harwinton
has increased its indebtedness on account of this corner
and those who remain in Harwinton inherit that burden.”
A letter written by a Torrington resident included “If
the outstanding debt goes to Torrington, the borough
tax payers inherit the burden.” Another Torrington
resident added “Annexation would add about $500k
to Torrington’s Grand List but at 30 mils the
increase in Torrington’s income would only be
about $15,000, hardly enough to install street lights,
improve streets, provide police and fire protection
and assume responsibility for maintaining the indigent
persons in the district.” Yet another Harwinton
resident stated “Harwinton has a voting Population
of 260. To deprive us of nearly one quarter of the same
and unite them to a town six times as large, would be
an act of supreme selfishness.”
