About Our Millpond Theme

Once upon a time a long, long time ago, settlers used rivers and ponds to store and release streams of water to turn the great stones of a gristmill. The stones would grind the grains of corn, wheat, or barley into meal and flour that fed the nearby settlements. It is in this sense that the heart and mind by faith and God’s grace come together to turn a kernel of thought into reality.

David Marchuck Barbour, owner of Millpond Ink LLC, dba Quiet Corner Productions, Ashford, Connecticut is a direct descendant of Lt. Thomas Barber, who was born in Windsor, Connecticut on July 14, 1644, and died in Simsbury, May 10, 1713. Lt. Thomas Barber was the son of Sergeant Thomas Barber, Sr who was a founder of Windsor, Connecticut and one of three renowned furniture makers. Lt. Thomas later resettled in Simsbury – originally called Massacoe – where he applied his trade as a carpenter. There, following his own dream by faith and God’s grace, he helped build the town’s first church, meeting house and gristmill on the Hop River.

PICTURES OF THE LOCATION ON THE HOP RIVER IN SIMSBURY, CONNECTICUT WHERE, IN 1680, LT. THOMAS BARBER AND TWO OTHER MEN BUILT THE HOP BROOK MILL.

ALTHOUGH DAVID DOESN’T KNOW FOR CERTAIN, HE BELIEVES THE GRANITE USED IN BUILDING THIS WALL WAS LIKELY QUARRIED IN NEARBY POQUONOCK, CONNECTICUT. AS A TEENAGER, DAVID REMEMBERS SWIMMING IN THE QUARRY WITH HIS COUSIN AND HIS COUSIN’S FRIENDS WAY BACK IN THE 1960’s.

TODAY ON THE HOP RIVER, THE MILLWRIGHT’S RESTAURANT AND TAVERN OCCUPIES THE FORMER HOP BROOK MILL AND OFFERS AN EXCEPTIONAL SELECTION OF FINE WINE AND FOOD MENU.

DAVID AND HIS WIFE, MARION, DINED THEIR SEPTEMBER 18, 2022, TO VISIT HIS ANCESTRAL HAUNT AND TO CELEBRATE THEIR 4th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY.