It was 1676, and a young Native American boy, Tobe, was enslaved by a Colonel named Ebenezer Johnson, who lived in the area that is now the town Beacon Falls. Twelve years later, Johnson freed Tobe in 1688 and Tobe then purchased his own land called “Tobe’s Indian Purchase.” The land Tobe owned was most of the western area that would soon become Beacon Falls.
Author Michael Krenesky touches upon more stories like this one of Beacon Falls in his recently published book “History, Legends & Myths of Beacon Falls.” It includes background information of the most historical spots in the town like Matthies Park, High Rock Grove, and the Rimmon SchoolHouse. Krenisky also includes the legends of Beacon Falls, for example, a High Rock Serpent that crawls out of the High Rock cave twice a year and a tale of a “Che-Wa-Wale” that terrorizes the people near the Naugatuck River.
Published on Oct. 11, stories about the birth of Beacon Falls, businesses that sparked its growth, myths and mysteries all take up the pages of Michael Krenesky’s book.
“It’s trying to put together a book that people will read, hopefully enjoy, and hopefully learn something,” Krenesky said.
Krenesky has had an interest in the town of Beacon Falls since he was a young boy. Growing up, his father, also Michael Krenesky, was the first municipal historian of Beacon Falls which was then handed down to Krenesky after his father passed. Krenesky’s father also wrote a book, “My Beacon Falls,” which inspired Krenesky to write “History, Legends & Myths of Beacon Falls.”
After taking a break from being town historian for a couple of years and gaining the title again, Krenesky decided it was time to write his book. It took him multiple years to write and research for his book. Most of his information came from his father’s book, archived newspapers or newspaper websites, and even Google.
When choosing the contents of “History, Legends & Myths of Beacon Falls,” Krenesky wanted to write a book that was entertaining and would answer a lot of people’s questions about Beacon Falls.
“I picked the things I hear people talk about. The one comment that made me put more about [the Rubber Shoe Company] was that people said they don’t understand why the shoe company is so important.”
The publisher, Maddison Potter, feels lucky to have worked with Krenesky as his book went nicely with Arcadia Publishing’s ‘Legends and Lores’ Series. However, after the publishing of his book, Krenesky ran into a drawback. The first batch of books, some 350, had included a major misprint. About sixteen pages of Krenesky’s book and sixteen pages of the book “The Commonwealth Comes to Columbia” were switched. Therefore, both books unfortunately were misprinted.
“We suspended orders and immediately reprinted the two titles, fixing the errors,” Potter explained.
Michael Krenesky believes understanding your history helps to understand your own present and future; he says “History, Legends & Myths of Beacon Falls” is helpful for the Beacon Falls residents to reconnect with their town’s history.
Originally posted by Republican American
