If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness.

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

– Henry David Thoreau

Beautiful bird’s eye view of Essex, Connecticut in 1881

This old map shows a bird’s eye view of Essex, Connecticut in the late 19th century.

Historic landowners map of South Windsor, CT from 1869

Vintage landowners map shows South Windsor, Connecticut as it used to be

9 historic images reveal the colorful history of Ansonia, CT

Ansonia is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut that was first settled by…

Beautifully restored map of Plainville, Connecticut in 1878

Historic bird’s eye view of Plainville, Connecticut in 1878

The fly fisherman’s ideal estate, a vintage map from 1931

This map by the satirical artist John Held shows the perfect “estate” for the fly fisherman.