A New Documentary: “Goat Island, Where the Italians First Landed in Southington"
Once upon a time, Southington’s Goat Island was a real island. Located in the middle of the Quinnipiac River between Summer Street and Bristol Street, about halfway from downtown Southington to downtown Plantsville, it was the place where early Italian immigrants first settled after riding the railroad up from New Haven – hence its nickname, the ‘Ellis Island’ of Southington. In the early days there were three residences on the island and an orchard. There were also communal ovens where local Italian families baked their bread every Sunday.
These days, the Goat Island property looks very different. It is no longer an island, for one – the Quinnipiac only flows on one side of it now. The houses are all gone, replaced by forest and overgrown weeds. The Angelillo family, who were the last owners of the property, donated it to the town in 2007. The only structure visible there today is a garage where the town stores Christmas decorations.
Yet the legacy of Goat Island is not forgotten. Southington’s UNICO Italian-American heritage club is hoping to renew a lease on part of the property where the bread ovens used to be. The club's plan, if enough people pitch in to help, is to clear out the weeds, rebuild the ovens, and create a cultural center there.
Today the Goat Island legacy is half history, half dream. To help make that legacy seem more real, The Southington Outsider arranged with UNICO and the Sons of Italy to create a short documentary on the subject.
The main filming was done on August 10. William Della Vecchia and Michael Fasulo from UNICO took part, along with Robert Mierzejewski from Sons of Italy. Outsider Board Member Wayne Edwards oversaw the filming, assisted by Jay Sanders and Elisa Broche. Dawn Miceli read the voice-over.
The documentary is about 12 minutes long. The first half was filmed at Goat Island with Della Vecchia and Fasulo. The second half, with Della Vecchia and Mierzejewski, was filmed at the Sons of Italy building on Center Street.
Several other people helped in ways both big and small to make this documentary possible: Ann Marie Conaty, Nadia Dillon, Jill Kelly, Avery Martin, John McDonald, Christina Volpe. Grazie mille to all!
