Newtown Historian Dan Cruson led Newtown Historical Society's annual Walking Tour of Main Street on Sunday, June 12.

It was a picturesque afternoon as an all-ages crowd of over 30 people gathered at The Matthew Curtiss House, located at 44 Main Street, to start the tour.

Mr Cruson has been leading tours of Newtown for over 30 years and has acquired a vast wealth of knowledge about the town's history during that time.

The speech he gives during the walk is unscripted. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions along the way, which allows Mr Cruson to cater the stories to their interests and make each tour unique.

The walk mainly focuses on the architecture and history of the buildings, as well as the residents who inhabited them.

Even with the occasional noise coming from traffic nearby, interrupting the tour from time to time, Mr Cruson would pick up where he left off with ease.

Walking along the sidewalks, he spoke in detail about infamous Main Street landmarks like the flagpole.

Newtown's flagpole, originally called the Liberty Pole, was placed in Newtown in 1876 for the United States' Centennial. Since its beginning, the flagpole has remained 100 feet tall, even though it had been replaced a few times due to materials weathering. Today's pole is sunk 17 feet in the ground with concrete for more permanence.

Despite some people wanting to move the location of the flagpole, which is in the center of Main Street's intersection, Mr Cruson explained that in 1983 a law passed for the pole to never be moved.

Many buildings, though, have been moved over Newtown's history.

The Meeting House was completed in 1716 and was the first church built on Main Street, said Mr Cruson. It was originally located 150 feet east of its current location (where the flagpole currently is) and stayed there until 1792.

It was moved to its present location to make room for the new Episcopal Church, which was built across from it. The Episcopal Church originally was built in the middle of Church Hill Road.

Major building moves like this were reported in newspapers all across the state because they were the biggest moves of their time.

Mr Cruson, in a conversation prior to the walk, explained the process of moving these buildings included jacking up the structure, putting it on large beams, then having several teams of ox move it very slowly to its new destination.

During the tour, Mr Cruson debunked numerous myths as well.

He described how the original road on Main Street was much larger than it is today, stretching 132 feet wide, which would have stretched the width from the Edmond Town Hall to the front porches of the homes across the street.

Folklore says it was made that way for defensive purposes from the Indians, but Mr Cruson said at that point the Indians had moved up north.

In reality, it was really designed that way for traffic purposes because during the mud season (early March to the end of May) the wetness would cause the travel path to be a sea of mud.

Mr Cruson explained, "The verges on either side would have had some vegetation and they could run their wagons, which allowed for passage during the wet season."

After walking both sides of Main Street, the tour returned to the Matthew Curtiss House, where refreshments were served.

Karen Caraybas, who attended the tour for the first time and has been a Newtown resident for 16 years, enjoyed the tour.

"It is so neat to hear about our town and the history of the buildings we pass every day," she said.

For those interested in learning more about the town's history, the Newtown Historical Society will be having its annual House and Garden Tour on Sunday, June 26. The society will also be hosting its annual History Camp, for ages 8 through 10, from Monday, July 11, through Friday, July 15. Morning and afternoon sessions are being offered.

For more information visit newtownhistory.org.