History

March 1958
Rev. Mother Mary Albeus, C.P., Provincial Superior of the Mother of Dolors Province for the United States of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Cross and Passion, announces the purchase of the formerly owned estate of Marie T. Bissell. The property is located on the highest elevation in the town of Farmington, Connecticut. Known as "Colton Hill", the estate contains a distinctive regency design residence in a setting of gracefully terraced grounds. A wide driveway winds from Colton Street to the mansion, a white frame building with black shutters.

Through the historical records of the Town of Farmington we can trace the names of the inhabitants of this spot back to at least 1658. Just a few years before that it was the land of the Tunxis Indians. We know that since the seventeenth century a succession of houses have been built here. Somewhere between 1854 and 1866, Joseph Colton, who gave his name to the street, seems to have spent more money than he could afford to put up a large house sometimes referred to as "Colton's Folly." Before long, "Colton's Folly" had passed to other hands and then others. A possibility has been mentioned that around 1888 a Professor Davidson used it to house his summer school of philosophy.