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Redding Connecticut Vintage Retro Canvas Cotton Tote Bag

Redding Connecticut Vintage Retro Canvas Cotton Tote Bag

Regular price $30.00 USD
Regular price Sale price $30.00 USD
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The Redding canvas tote, for the town that was Connecticut's Valley Forge. Heavy 12 oz cotton canvas with the Redding vintage retro logo printed on both sides.

The tote is the Redding piece that gets used daily: groceries, books, a towel for the lake, the farmers' market on Saturday. It is flat to mail, so it is also the simplest Redding gift to send to someone out of state.

Durable cotton canvas tote bag made from heavy 12 oz (407 g/m²) canvas with a clean, minimalist look. One size 15" × 16" with 20" self-fabric handles for comfortable shoulder carry; sewn-in label. Retro logo printed both sides. A sturdy everyday carry for errands, books, or groceries, constructed from 100% cotton canvas.

In the winter of 1778 to 1779 General Israel Putnam quartered three brigades of the Continental Army in the Redding hills, close enough to watch the Sound and the Hudson Highlands at once. The men built log huts, went hungry, mutinied once and were talked out of it by Putnam himself; the encampment has been called Connecticut's Valley Forge, and the site is now Putnam Memorial State Park, the state's first.

Redding began as the Lonetown tract John Read bought in 1714 and was incorporated as a town in 1767. Mark Twain spent his last years at Stormfield here, and nearly forty percent of the town is now protected land: hills, stone walls, woods and farms. The old oak on the Redding mark stands for that.


QUICK FACTS — REDDING CT COTTON CANVAS TOTE

Town: Redding, Connecticut

Founded: Lonetown purchase 1714; incorporated 1767

Known for: Putnam's winter encampment, 1778–79, "Connecticut's Valley Forge"; Putnam Memorial State Park; Mark Twain's Stormfield

Art: Redding vintage retro logo (printed)

Blank: Cotton canvas tote, 15" × 16", 20" self-fabric handles

Fabric: Heavy 12 oz (407 g/m²) 100% cotton canvas

Print: Retro logo both sides

Made to order in the USA


Made to order. More Redding pieces, and the rest of Connecticut, are one button away.



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Wear Local. Feed Local. Stay Classic.

Product FAQs

How does your sizing work?

Every item is made to order, so please check the size chart on this page before you buy. Women's fitted tees run small; size up for a looser fit. Caps are one size with an adjustable strap.

How are items made and when will they arrive?

We make each item to order using premium blanks, embroidery and soft-hand prints. Production takes 2-5 business days (weekends and holidays excluded), then 4-10 days in transit via USPS, UPS or FedEx to U.S. addresses; most orders arrive within 6-15 business days. You'll get a tracking link the moment it ships. Any current shipping offer is shown in the bar at the top of every page and applies automatically at checkout, no code needed.

How do I send a gift?

Enter the recipient's address as the shipping address and your own as the billing address at checkout. Nothing ships with a price; the package includes a plain packing slip. Tracking goes to your email, not theirs. For birthdays and holidays, order two weeks ahead to be safe.

What's the return policy?

Made-to-order items can't be returned or exchanged for size or color, so please use the size chart and photos before ordering. If anything arrives defective, misprinted or damaged, send a photo and your order number within 30 days and we'll replace it or refund you.

How do I care for my item?

Apparel: wash cold, inside out, with like colors; no bleach; tumble dry low or hang dry. Embroidered pieces: iron inside out to protect the stitching. Caps: spot clean. Printed glasses and water bottles: hand wash only, no dishwasher, so the artwork lasts. Mugs and engraved glasses are dishwasher safe. Any item-specific care notes are in the description above.

Who makes this?

Merlin Classics is a small Connecticut brand making original retro designs for the towns people love. Every piece is printed, embroidered or engraved to order in the USA, and the business supports hunger relief in the communities our collections celebrate.

Why is Redding called Connecticut's Valley Forge? Because in the winter of 1778–79 Major General Israel Putnam quartered a division of the Continental Army here — about three thousand men in three camps of log huts — short of bread, blankets and shoes. Joseph Plumb Martin, a Connecticut private who wintered in Redding, remembered the season as one of starving and freezing. The main camp is now Putnam Memorial State Park.

Our Redding logo carries an old oak on a rise between two stands of pine, above “Connecticut — Est. 1636,” the founding year of the Connecticut colony and the date all our Connecticut towns share. It is drawn in worn black-and-white, like an old feed-sack stamp. The date belongs to the state; the oak is Redding's own, for the town that let its pastures go back to woods and then made sure they stayed that way.

Why People Visit Redding

People come to Redding for what is not here: no highway, no strip, no crowd. They come for a Revolutionary War camp you can walk alone on a winter morning, for sixty miles of trails, and for the hills that drew Mark Twain, Charles Ives and Edward Steichen out of New York.

Redding Connecticut Merlin Classics Retro Vintage Logo Featuring an Old Oak and Connecticut Est. 1636