Contemporary Tariffville had its origin as part of the Massacoe Plantation, which encompassed all of present day Simsbury and parts of modern Canton, Granby, East Granby and Bloomfield.

John Griffin of Windsor was not only the first settler of Simsbury, but also its first manufacturer. He set up a tar works for the manufacturer of pitch and turpentine which he sold to the English Navy. When Manahanoose, a Massacoe Indian, burned down Griffin's tar works, Griffin improsioned the Indian and set him free only after the Manahanoose and three other Massacoe Indians deeded the Massacoe Plantation to him in 1648.

In 1670, the Massacoe Plantation of Windsor became a town in its own right, called Simsbury. The town was ssettled in four areas: Weatogue, Hopbrook, Terry's Plain and The Falls. The name "Falls" refers to the rapids in the Farmington River. Modern Tariffville, along parts of present day Granby, East Granby and Bloomfield, was then known as The Falls.

It was through the gap in Talcott Mountain at The Falls that John Griffin and all the early settlers from Windsor had to pass to live in Simsbury. It can be observed on a map of ancient Simsbury, dated 1730, that a large part of the area now known as Tariffville was owned by a man named G. Arthur Griswold. By 1812, the area was officially called Griswold's Village. When refering to Tariffiville at this time, the names The Falls and Griswold's Village are used to describe the present location of Tariffville.

The village first received public recognition as Tariffville on April 14, 1825 when the Connecticut Courant published a new item about textile manufacturing in Tariffville. In May of 1825, the name Tariffville is used to describe the village in the deed in which the Tariff Manufacturing Company was incorporated.

There has been much discussion as to whether the village of Tariffville was named after the Tariff Manufacturing Company, who produced woolen carpets, but it is reasonable to assume that their names emerged at the same time. The names came as a result f the Tariff Law passed by Congressin 1924 in which the tax on imported raw wool from England remained at 15% while the duty on imported English carpets nearly doubled.

The buidling wich is now the Cracker Barrel Pub was built in about 1870. At the time it housed the post office and a reading room on the first floor, a cigar factory and meeting rooms for several lodges on the second floor. In the early 1900's the post office was replaced by a gas station and finally by a bar in the early 1930's. A family run grocery store was also started in the 30's on the side which is now our dining room. It remained a grocery store until March 1984, when the Taylor family, who purchased the building in the late 1970's, renovated the entire building and opend the Cracker Barrel Pub.

The building has always been a place of gathering for people from all over the valley. We hope to continue the tradition by offering fine food, drinks, and friendly service in an atmosphere that combines the past with the present.