In 1675, when King Philip's War broke out, some of the town's Indians, (especially in the southern part of the town) sided with the Mohegans and the English while others sided with the Indians led by Philip, rallying to arms on what is now Curtis Island in present Holland, Massachusetts and Brimfield, Massachusetts.

During the war, the Praying town became deserted, and the English with their Indian allies marched through Woodstock to present day Thompson in the summer of 1676 burning any crops or stored corn they could find.

The town then became a summer destination for wealthy city dwellers from around the East coast of the United States.

Bowen was a Woodstock native who became wealthy through the dry-goods business and publishing in Brooklyn, New York.

Other lay leaders of Plymouth Church would summer with him, including Henry Ward Beecher, the church's pastor; Frederick Hinrichs, whose descendants still live in Woodstock; the Holt publishing family; the Tappans; and Albert Lythgoe, an Egyptologist renowned for pioneering the use of scientific methods in the unearthing of antiquities.

Bowen hosted July 4 celebrations in Woodstock at his Roseland Park during the latter part of the 19th century.

These festivities attracted as many as 10,000 people who heard speeches, saw fireworks, and drank pink lemonade.

Bowen, often called "Mr. Fourth of July," eventually gave Roseland Park, which included a man-made lake, to the community.

[4] Several U.S. Presidents visited Bowen's summer home on Woodstock Hill: Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Harrison, and Rutherford B. Hayes, as his guests and speakers for Fourth of July celebrations.

[4] Hayes arrived for the July 4 celebration of 1883, and gave a speech in support of national education aid.

[5] Benjamin Harrison arrived in the first year of his presidency, planting a liberty tree during the 4th of July celebration.

This is where Bowen hosted U.S. Presidents for his then-famous Independence Day celebrations at Roseland Park.

[4] The pink-colored house features "tall, angular gables, gingerbread trim, and 21 formal flower gardens outlined by dwarf boxwood hedges," according to a Hartford Courant article.

Roseland is an example of Victorian Gothic Revival style, which can be seen in its pointed gables, scrolled bargeboards, many tall chimneys, and leaded glass windows in diamond shapes.

The outside walls, of board and batten wood siding, have been painted 13 different colors over the past 150 years—all shades of pink.

[12] Today the school serves the towns of Woodstock, Eastford, Pomfret, Union, Canterbury, and Brooklyn with a student population of over 1100.