Picture Tolland: The 1800s Smudge Pot

TOLLAND, CT — The latest installment of the Picture Tolland series takes us to the Tolland Historical Society Archives and an implement that left a big smudge on the Victorian Era.

It's a smudge pot.

According to the historical society, a smudge pot burned kerosene and was used for illumination on roadsides in the 1800s.

Webster's Dictionary noted that it was also used in agriculture to keep frost off fruit trees.

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Picture Tolland is a periodic series that examines images of the town, past and present.