Settlement of Litchfield County

TERCENTENARY COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT COMMITTEE ON HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS Settlement of Litchfield County PUBLISHED FOR THE TERCENTENARY COMMISSION BY THE YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS I ' lilf:: m --'v TERCENTENARY COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT COMMITTEE ON HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS Settlement of Litchfield County DOROTHY DEMING IN 1719 Lieutenant Marsh of Hartford and Deacon John Buell of Lebanon, with many others, fifty- seven in number, petitioned the assembly for permission to settle a town, under committees appointed by the towns of Hartford and Windsor, at a place called Bantam in the western part of the colony. The assembly granted the petition and the town of Litchfield was begun, with the same powers and privileges that other towns in the colony enjoyed. This grant opened the question of the ownership of the whole area now included within the bounds of Litchfield County, commonly known as the "western lands," and the assembly took the territory into its own hands, prohibiting further settlement within its bounds. Rumors that sec- tions were being located without permission led to the appointment of a committee to investigate and report any evidences of occupation, with the threat that all occu- piers would be considered squatters and would be prose- cuted in legal form by the king's attorney. The committee found plans for settlement under way, but in so obscure and secret a manner as to defy exact information. 1 This report thoroughly aroused the assembly and brought the plans of the promoters into the open. Seven agents from Hartford and Windsor begged for a patent, claiming title by grant and Indian purchase, and express- ing the hope that the assembly would not make them "a peculiar instance of ptsH displeasure" but would re- scind its decision to prevent settlement, which was causing uneasiness among the inhabitants and arousing bad feelings against the government. They believed that the gentlemen of the assembly were their "political fathers" and would surely not be found wanting in their care for their children. In answer the assembly appointed committees from each house to meet the agents and to come, if possible, to an amicable settlement of the western land question. In 1724 the committees reached a compromise. Finding that a patent issued in 1687, at the time of the Andros administration, was still valid and gave to the towns a legal claim to all the land west of the Housatonic River, they made a division of the territory. They decided that the colony should dispose of all lands west of Litchfield and west of a line running north to the Massachusetts boundary from the northwest corner of Litchfield township, and that Hartford and Windsor should dispose of all land east of that line. When it was found that this ar- rangement gave more than half the territory to the towns a new allotment was made. In 1726 the line running north was moved east to a point four miles west of the Naugatuck, where it is today. The bounds of Simsbury and New Milford were resurveyed and an exact chart made of the territory, which did not include either New Milford or Litchfield. From the petitions that were presented to the assembly before the division was made, and from the quick action 2 of Hartford and Windsor in arranging for the settlement, it would appear that there were many people in those towns who were eager to move into this western country. Therefore an immediate division was made of the eastern part between Hartford and Windsor. Joint committees and surveyors from these towns assigned each its share, giving to Hartford 70,662 acres and to Windsor 69,214 acres. Seven townships were planned; Hartford was to control New Hartford, Winchester, Hartland, and the eastern half of Harwinton; Windsor was to control Cole- brook, Barkhamsted, Torrington, and the western half of Harwinton. When this had been done and the plan was complete, the agents turned over the territory to the proprietors; that is, to all the inhabitants of Hartford and Windsor whose names appeared on the tax lists of 1720— 405 for Hartford, and 377 for Windsor. These proprietors were then given permission by the assembly to meet and to arrange whereby each taxpayer should become the owner of an undivided share in one of the new townships, in proportion to his rateable estate, approximately three acres to the pound. Harwinton was the first town to be started. There were three reasons for this: its proximity to Hartford and Windsor; the existence of a cleared road running through it from the river towns to Litchfield; and the fact that both towns had a share in its development. One early settler, David Messenger, was soon followed in 1734- 1736, by many others, most of whom were proprietors—fifty-four from Hartford and forty-one from Wind- sor. Later a few settlers came from Simsbury, Guilford, Wallingford, Branford, and Southold. In 1736 Harwinton —the name is a composite from parts of the names Hartford, Windsor, and Farmington—was incorporated with full town privileges. 3 New Hartford was settled contemporaneously with Harwinton. Settlers came in 1734 and the town was incorporated in 1738. At least thirty of those who founded the town were either proprietors or the younger sons of proprietors. The land labelled Torrington in the plans possessed several advantages, which brought settlers early into the territory. It had the protection of New Hartford, Litchfield, and Goshen on three sides, included the Naugatuck River which divided within its boundaries, and contained a valuable pine swamp which lay between the forks.The road from Hartford or Windsor to Litchfield could be used as far as the Naugatuck, where the valley led directly into the heart of the township. The original list of proprietors numbered 136, with a rateable estate of £6431, but not all took up their lands. Sixty deeds were recorded in Windsor before any settlers had arrived. Settlement was finally effected in 1735-1736; by 1739 twenty-eight families were in residence, and the following year town privileges were allowed. Supplies came in part from Windsor, but in larger part, particularly of small necessities, from Litchfield. The four remaining towns, Barkhamsted, Hartland, Winchester, and Colebrook, were much slower in getting under way, owing partly to their remoteness and partly to the fact that most of the restless inhabitants of the river towns had already had their land needs satisfied. A meeting of the Barkhamsted proprietors was held in 1732, but settlement was not begun until 1746. The region had been used for supplying timber, which was floated down the Farmington River, and so had been fairly stripped of its forest growth, its one form of wealth, before the settlers arrived. For this reason the population increased very slowly. 4 While thus Hartford and Windsor were disposing of the seven towns east and northeast of Litchfield, the colony was struggling with the problem of organizing the great tract of country extending westward to the New York line. Just as soon as the agreement was reached with Hartford and Windsor, petitions began to pour in from all over the colony asking for land in the new area. Practically all of these petitions came from groups of people in the various towns. Between 1723 and 1743 sixteen requests for the erection of new townships were recorded, representing the activities of 775 men, and as each township usually accommodated fifty families in its first division, it will be readily seen that the assembly was justified in starting new towns as soon as it could, for good land was growing scarce in the colony. The petitioners offered their aid in defense, pledged themselves to build up a Christian community, and to conform to reasonable conditions of settlement. Some of them promised to improve ten acres, to put up a tenantable house, to settle within two or four years, to reserve lots for the ministry and for a school, and to pay .£25-30 for a right. They offered to lay out a town in fifty shares and to carry out, if possible, an orderly settlement by Connecti- cut inhabitants. Such settlement, they believed, would extend trade and commerce, increase staple products, and protect the colony. Some of them expressed their inten- tion, should their petitions be rejected, of leaving the colony and going elsewhere, though greatly regretting the necessity of doing so, as such a course would be hard for those of long standing in the older communities. In a few cases the prices offered went as high as £40 a share, a striking testimony to the land situation in Connecticut toward the middle of the eighteenth century. So eager were the petitioners to obtain allotments that all, with- 5 out exception, promised to agree to whatever regulations the assembly might see fit to impose. The desire for new land was widespread. Many of the petitioners expressly state that the need of fresh land was their object in moving, and their petitions disclose the presence in the older communities of many young and energetic men who were ready to face the hardships of frontier life. These petitions represented nineteen towns, as well as a special delegation from Windham County, the towns including such widely scattered localities as Fairfield, New Haven, New London, Windham, and Windsor. The most popular territory sought was just north and west of Litchfield. Eleven petitions relate to that region, with one for Sharon, one for Kent, and three for Canaan. In addition to these requests from groups of people who wished to settle a whole town, there were others from individuals, who asked for grants west of the Housatonic River, to the number of at least twelve in the years from 1728 to 1738.

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