<A HREF="http://www.salisburyassociation.org/scm/aboutTheMuseum.html">The Salisbury Association, Inc.</A>About the Museum The Salisbury Cannon Museum tells the story of the Revolutionary War cannon factory that operated just across the road from the Museum site. The Salisbury Furnace supplied hundreds of iron cannon for Washington's army, for seacoast defense, and for arming Connecticut privateers to operate against British shipping. Ethan Allen was born in Litchfield, Connecticut on January 21, 1738. His family moved to Cornwall when he was a boy. In 1762, at the age of 24, he moved to Salisbury where, together with Samuel Forbes and investor John Hazeltine, he helped construct Connecticut's very first charcoal blast furnace just down the hill from this spot. In 1765, Allen sold his interest in the furnace and struck out for the New Hampshire grants. Each winter he returned to Salisbury, living above the general store operated by his brother Heman Allen, just next door. The Museum describes the role played by seven persons from ordinary walks of life who contributed significantly to America's fight for freedom: Entrepreneur Ethan Allen Blacksmith Samuel Forbes Bookseller Henry Knox Schoolgirl Mariann Wolcott Doctor Joshua Porter Farmer Elisha Sheldon Nurse Elizabeth Freeman The stories told about each of these persons begins on the same day -- April 19, 1775 -- the day British Redcoats fired on volunteer militia lined up on the Village Green at Lexington, Massachusetts, killing 8 Americans and wounding 10 others -- an event that sparked the armed conflict with England which did not end until the British surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia on October 19, 1781. return to previous page