A monument will be placed in the North Green area to commemorate three centuries of life in town.
In one of its final major acts of the term on Tuesday, the Town Council approved a plan for the Tolland 300th Anniversary Committee to place a granite founders monument on a 5-acre parcel near Dunn Hill Road and Old Stafford Road.
The monument, stands 5 feet, 6 inches tall and will sit on a 10-inch base, committee members said. It will be placed 35 feet from the intersection.
Committee officials said that, while researching the town's history, the anniversary committee came across the names of the 59 original landowners, who on May 19, 1713, first petitioned to make the area a town unto itself.
After more requests, Connecticut leaders granted the town a charter on May 12, 1715.
The monument will be dedicated on that date in 2015. The committee has been working with Rockville Monuments on Route 30 to design the monument.
More than $10,000 has been raised in efforts spearheaded by committee members Mary-Pat Soucy, Perne “Bob” Maynard and Ken Hankinson.
Following meetings with Town Manager Steven Werbner and representatives of the Tolland Historical Society, committee leaders Kate Farrish and Celeste Senechal recommended to the anniversary committee that the founders monument be placed on the town-owned land near St. Matthew’s Church.
On Tuesday, committee members said the monument is a "positive way to let residents know that historically, the green extended that far while at the same time, not disturbing the existing green."
It was also the consensus after meeting with the Historical Society, they said.
The monument is being funded through private donations and volunteer work.
Donations of landscaping services are also being sought.
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