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A
STATISTICAL ACCOUNT
OF THE
COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX,
IN
CONNECTICUT.
BY DAVID D. FIELD.
PUBLISHED BY THE CONNECTICUT ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES.
middletotun, Conn. PRINTED BY CLARK & LYMAN. April, 1819.
THE author deems it his duty and privilege, to return his thanks to all those gentlemen, who have assisted him in col- lecting facts for the ensuing work.
In arranging these, a general regard has been paid to the questions, proposed in the Circular of the Connecticut Academy.
A
STATISTICAL ACCOUNT
MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Introductory and General Observations.
MIDDLESEX was made a county by an act of the Legislature of Connecticut, passed at their session in May 1785, and then con- sisted of six towns, viz. Middletown, Chatham, Haddam, and East-Haddam, which were taken from the county of Hartford ; and Saybrook and Killingworth, taken from the county of New- London. Durham was annexed to Middlesex in May, 1799, from the county of New-Haven ; and the county now consists of seven towns, which include eighteen located congregational so- cieties, together with several societies of other denominations, and one hundred and twelve school-districts. It was invested at its formation, with the same privileges enjoyed by the other counties of the State, and Middletown, being the principal town in the county, was selected as a half-shire ; while Haddam, being the central town, was selected as the other half-shire : in which places, court-houses and gaols were subsequently erected. See note A.
This county, like the other counties of Connecticut is of very irregular form. It lies between 41 degrees and 15 minutes, and 41 degrees and 39 minutes of north latitude, and between 72 degrees and 20 minutes, and 72 degrees and 47 minutes of west longitude. Its greatest length is 27 miles, and its greatest breadth 22 1-2. Its average length is about 25 miles, its ave- rage breadth about 15 ; and its area, exclusive of Connecticut river, is about 237,370 acres. It is bounded by New-Haven county on the west, by Hartford county on the north, by Hart-
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Statistical Account of Middlesex County ;
ford and New-London counties on the east, by New-London county and the Sound on the south.
Within the limits of this county, English settlements com- menced, in Saybrook in 1635, in Middletown in 1650, and in Haddam in 1662; from which the settlements afterwards pro- ceeded in the towns opposite, on the east side of Connecticut river. The settlement commenced in Killingworth in 1663, and in Durham in 1698. The first settlers were almost exclusively of English extraction, and with their descendants individuals from other nations have rarely intermixed. They came, in a few instances, immediately from England, but more generally from older settlements in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
The number of inhabitants in the whole colony of Connecticut in 1713, according to Dr. Trumbull, was 17,000. Of these, there may have been 3,000 in the towns now belonging to Middlesex. In the same towns there were, in 1756, 13,071 souls, in 1774. 17,572, and in 1810, 20,723. See note B.
The several townships in Middlesex were purchased of the Indians, and in no case obtained by conquest. In selling their lands, they usually reserved certain portions for themselves, with the right of hunting and fishing where they pleased; on which they remained many years, and in several instances till within the memory of persons now living, raising upon them their corn, and obtaining other articles of food as they had previously done. No part of Connecticut was better adapted to their mode of life, Connecticut river and the Sound, with their tributary streams, furnishing them with an abundance of fish, and the forests back, with game. They were, therefore, very numerous in all parts of the county, excepting Durham, (which was used as an occasion- al retreat for hunting ;) much more numerous than the English, long after the English settlements commenced, and might in numberless instances have destroyed them, had they not been restrained by the merciful providence of God. The English realized their critical situation, and while they looked to God as their only all-sufficient protector, took various measures to se- cure themselves in case of a sudden attack. But no evidence is transmitted to us of their having sustained any serious injury from them, except about the time of the Pequot war, an account of which will be given in treating of Saybrook, as there will be in treating of the several towns, of the names which they gave to places, rivers, &c.
The general customs of the Indians are too well known to need a recital in this work.
To remove a cold and many other complaints, the diseased used to stand over a hot stone rolled into a hole dug in the earth, until they were brought into a profuse sweat, and then plunged
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Introductory and General Observations.
into water. A lot at Indian-Hill, in Chatham, is still called hot- house lot, because it had one of these holes in it. There was one of these at Pattaquounk, now Chester, and a swamp oppo- site Saybrook-Point, in Lyme, is called hot-house swamp, from the same circumstance. This was a more rational remedy than pawwawing, for which the Mackemoodus or East-Haddam In- dians were particularly famed, whose favourite spot for this ex- ercise was, on what is still called, Wigwam brook.
The Indians acknowledged one great Spirit as ruling over all, but are said to have worshipped many gods. They offered sa- crifices, and it is supposed sometimes human sacrifices, though of this there is no certain evidence. A large flat rock, a mile north of Saybrook street, east of Middlesex turnpike, bears the name of Obed's altar to this day, because an Indian of that name was scen offering upon it a deer to his god.
The places where the Indians buried their dead, have, in some cases, been uniformly known to the English, in others, have been discovered from time to time, and in others still, we no doubt pass over them, and are not aware of them.
Their manner of interment shows the imperfect and grovelling ideas, which they entertained of a future state. They placed the bodies frequently in a sitting posture, and for their accommo- dation on their way to eternity, or their convenience after their arrival, buried with them, food, utensils, arms, ornaments, and wampum. They have been found thus buried at Middletown Upper-Houses, at Chatham, and at Pautapoug. Three graves, one of a man and two of children, found at Indian-hill in Chat- ham in the spring of 1808, may be mentioned as specimens. The man was placed sitting, wrapped in a blanket, (which was not entirely consumed, but on exposure to the air, became as burnt straw ;) in his lap were two small brass kettles, probably fill- ed with soup or suckotash at the time of burial, one of which had sunk down into the other ; in which were a spoon, knife, phial, and pipe. His arm was extended round the kettles, and what is particularly remarkable, where the flesh came in contact with the brass, from the elbow to the wrist, the flesh was preserved. In the hand of one of the children was found a brass cup of the size of a tea-cup, with the fingers extended from the base to the brim, and here again the hand was preserved, where it came against the brass, and as the opposite side of the cup was wasted away, it would seem that the brass and the flesh mutually pre- served each other. Around the wrist was wampum strung on deer-skin, and near by were beads formed apparently from the hearts of oyster-shells, supposed to have been placed about the neck. In the grave of the other child, was a copper box, con- taining wampum, strung on deer's leather.
Statistical Account of Middlesex County ;
The Indians in Middletown had a fort near the Straits, erect- ed as a security against the Farmington Indians ; from which circumstance, the spot is now known by the name of Fort-Hill. Near the Indian settlement in Chester, is a place also called Fort-Hill, probably because the Indians had some kind of forti- fication upon it.
Whether the Indians in Middlesex were connected with tribes in other parts of the country is uncertain. The presumption is, that the Mattabesett or Middletown Indians, with the clans in Chatham, Glastenbury, Weathersfield, and for some distance westward, were a tribe by themselves. The Indians in the southern parts of the county not improbably belonged to the Nehanticks, whose principal settlement was in the eastern part of Lyme. These were in subjection to the Pequots some years before the Pequot war. But whatever was their origin or con- nection, the last remnant of the Indians left the county half a century ago, and no certain information is possessed of their present situation and character, nor even of their existence.
Taken as a whole, Middlesex must be regarded as a rough uneven tract of country. Some lands on the margin of the Sound and of Connecticut river, varying in width from half a mile to one and two miles, are comparatively level and feasible. The same is true of lands in some parts of Durham and Middletown, and in the northwestern section of Chatham, and of very small tracts in other parts of the county.
The county is passed obliquely from the west-southwest, to the north-northeast, by a wide range of hills, which may be pro- perly denominated the Strait-Hills, as they appear on both sides of the Connecticut at the Straits, whence they pass on far into the interior of New-England. South of these Straits, the land rises into hills, at small but unequal distances to the right and left of the river, to within four or five miles of its mouth ; some of which are steep and rough, but they are generally capable of cultiva- tion. On the western border of Durham and Middletown, are Wallingford Mountains, steep on the west side, but capable of being ascended on the east, and in some instances, they are cul- tivated to their summits. Some of these are called by distinct names, as Higby Mountain, from a man of that name who settled near it, and Lamentation Mountain, so called, according to tradi- tion, because one of the ancient Chesters from Weathersfield was lost upon it on a journey to New-Haven, and was sought for with much anxiety for several days. The spaces between dis- tinct mountains are crossed in several instances in Middletown, and in three in Durham.
The base and loose stones of the Strait-Hills are granite, and this is the prevalent kind of stone found southward through the
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Introductory and General Observations.
county. North of the Straits, free stone abound, while the base and loose stones of Wallingford Mountains, are the trap rock.
The best soil in the county is unquestionably that, which is made by the annual overflowings of Connecticut river. The soil next to this in excellence, is composed of loam, gravel, and a small intermixture of clay, and is found in the center of Durham, and Middletown, and in Chatham street. In the south part of Killingworth and Saybrook, and so on the west side of Connec- ticut river, immediately back from the alluvial lands, is a soil composed of loam, sand, and some gravel, which is rendered very productive by manure, particularly on the Sound. A soil kindred to this, is found on the plain in Middletown Upper- Houses. The rest of the county generally, is a hard gravelly soil.
The ranges of hills and mountains already mentioned, with many hills of less note, give rise to a multitude of springs and brooks, and to some streams highly valuable for mill-seats ; the mouths of most of which are navigable short distances for boats. These will be described in treating of the several towns in the county.
But the glory of Middlesex and of the State is the Connecticut. This, signifying in Indian, the long river according to some, or the river of Pines according to others, gives name to the State, and imparts to it much of its beauty and of its wealth.
This rises in those high lands in Canada, separating the wa- ters which run north into the St. Lawrence, and those which run south into New-England. It is ten rods wide upon its entrance into the United States. Forming a boundary for about two hun- dred miles between Vermont and New-Hampshire, and receiving many streams from the Green-Mountains and the White-Hills ; it passes centrally through the counties of Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden in Massachusetts, and Hartford county in Connec- ticut ; augmented by Deerfield, Agawam, and Farmington rivers from the west, and Millers, Chickabee, and Scantic rivers from the east : striking Middlesex, it divides it unequally, throwing the smaller division to the east, and empties itself into Long- Island Sound.
Its general course is south ; from Middletown city its course is southeast.
Its width at Upper-Houses ferry is 80 rods, against the mouth of Little river 97, against the city of Middletown 97 and 80, at the Straits 35, at Bush-Point 37, at Knowles's Landing 88, at Higganum 61, at the point of Haddam island 116, at East-Had- dam Landing about 120, Chapman's ferry 50, Warner's ferry 80, Brockways 96, and at Saybrook ferry 127. In some places it spreads to a greater extent than any here mentioned.
The depth of the channel at full sea varies through Middlesex
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Statistical Account of Middlesex County ;
from 10 1-2 to 30 feet; its average depth is 15 feet. The or- dinary tides at Saybrook-Point are 3 1-2 feet, at Middletown city 2 feet, and proportionally at the intermediate places.
A mile and a half from the mouth of the Connecticut is a saud bar, apparently formed by the conflux of the river and tide, on which there are, in common tides, 10 and 11 feet of water, about a foot more at the full and change of the moon. This is some obstruction to navigation, though vessels as large and heavy- laden can cross the bar as can go to Middletown. The river originally crossed this bar in three channels; but the eastern- most, the only one used sixty years ago, is filled up and becomc a flat, bare at low water. The middle and western channels, have deepened perhaps a foot in thirty years, and if we credit the testimony of Winthrop that there were only six or seven feet of water on the bar in 1633, the channels are much improved since the discovery of the country.
To aid vessels in passing this bar, as well as in traversing the the Sound, a light-house was erected on Lynde's Point in 1804, the deck of which is elevated 80 feet from the ground. Four years previous to this, a company was formed to clear the river of obstructions. By means of a pier at the Upper-Houses, they have thrown the channel the opposite side of the river, and deep- ened it from six to eleven feet. A mile or two below, where the river is divided by a small island, and where there were bars with only seven feet of water, called Chatham bar and Middle- town bar; they have made attempts to improve the channel. but with less success.
The river generally affords a tolerable harbour for vessels, and excellent harbours in its bends at Middletown city, Knowles's Landing, Higganum Landing, &c. At these places, and indeed at wharves small distances from one another through the whole extent of the county, vessels load and unload ; where the in- habitants of the surrounding regions export lumber, wood, stone, fish, and whatever articles they have to spare, and receive in re- turn importations from abroad.
In 1789, there belonged to the river, and probably two-fifths of these to Middlesex, 3 brigs of 180 tons each, about 60 sail from 60 to 150 tons, employed in the West India trade, a few fishermen, and 40 or 50 coasters. Commerce flourished after- wards, till the commencement of the restrictive system. By that system and the war following it, it was greatly injured, and it has not regained its former prosperity since the return of peace. In Dec. 1815, there belonged to the river, or rather to the two counties of Hartford and Middlesex, 31,956 tons of ship- ping ; to Middlesex county 9,376 tons, consisting of 7 ships, 18 brigs, 19 schooners, and 38 sloops. See note C.
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Introductory and General Observations.
The current of the Connecticut is smooth and gentle, unless raised and strengthened by freshets, except at the Straits, two and a half miles below Middletown city, where the whole river, being compressed to 35 rods, rushes forward with great force between the high and cragged fronts of the Strait-Hills.
A freshet is usually experienced about the first of March, when the ice and snow dissolve in the southern parts of New-England. A larger one is experienced a month later, when the ice and snow dissolve in the cold regions from which the Connecticut derives its sources ; raising the river above its banks and spread- ing it one and two miles, around buildings, trees, &c. At this time, the river presents a grand and beautiful appearance. As it falls and retires, it leaves a kind of slime upon the banks, by which they are continually raised and enriched.
The Straits just mentioned, serve to increase and continue the floods above them, and in some instances, when the river has broken up suddenly, or has been suddenly raised by great rains, by staying the waters or ice, have proved the occasion of much damage. Thus a flood was produced in May and June, 1642, which was very injurious. Thus the meadows were alarmingly flooded in Dec. 1703. In April, 1801, the waters became so high and violent, that they tore the bank in pieces in many places.
In the lapse of years, the current has nearly destroyed some islands, as Twelve-Mile island, on the remains of which, is now a fish-place called Statia ; and it has formed some others. Thus the small island above Middletown, already mentioned, is said to have been formed around a pier, erected for the purpose of fish- ing. Thus Goose island also, is said to have been formed.
In addition to these islands, the following exist in the river, and are particularly valuable for their fisheries, viz. Haddam island, Lord's, Nott's, and Calves' island, all uninhabited.
Haddam island, originally called Thirty-mile island, from the supposition of its being thirty miles from the mouth of the Con- necticut, contains 18 acres. A pier erected about 90 rods north in 1793, has caused the sand to accumulate between it and the head of the island, and bids fair to increase it.
Lord's island, originally called Twenty-mile island, contains 9 or 10 acres of sandy and rather thin land. This is within the bounds of the town of East-Haddam.
Nott's island, southeast of Pautapoug Point, originally called Eight-mile island, contains 60 acres, some of which is good land. This belongs to the town of Lyme, as does Calves' island, formerly called Six-mile island, still farther southeast, contain- ing 3 or 10 acres.
This river with its tributary streams, used to abound with fish.
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Statistical Account of Middlesex County ;
with salmon, shad, bass, alewives, pike, carp, perch, &c. which cast their spawn on logs, and objects along the shores, where they remained unmolested till nature had accomplished its work. But as there was a general prejudice against the use of the most common and important kinds of these fish, either because they were so generally used by the Indians, or from some other cause which I am unable to assign ; little effort was made to take them for more than a century after the county was settled. Within the memory of persons living, there was very little demand for salmon, and as for shad it was disreputable to eat them. But as this prejudice gradually died away, and as profitable markets for fish were opened, fishing became an important business thirty or forty years ago, and has continued so ever since. This has rendered fish-places objects of consequence. Hence Nott's island, which was purchased in 1742 for 600 pounds old tenor, about 300 dollars in specie, was assessed in 1814 at 22,000 dol- lars.
For several years the quantity of fish in the river has very con- siderably decreased. Salmon, which used to ascend into the bounds of New-Hampshire and Vermont, have rarely appeared in the river for fifteen or twenty years. Shad do not ascend be- yond the limits of Middlesex in sufficient quantities, to render fishing an important object. Other fish, with the exception of alewives, are not caught for exportation, though they are taken occasionally by the inhabitants, and sometimes in great numbers.
The decrease of fish is ascribed to different causes. The fol- lowing are believed to have had an influence ; the use of very long seines, particularly about the mouth of the river, by which the shoals are broken and prevented entering or ascending the river; the almost perpetual attempts to take them in the season of fishing, it being long observed that Monday is the most success- ful day in the week, the fish having had an opportunity to get into the river on the Sabbath ; the removal of logs, roots, and other objects from the shores on which spawn are cast, and the dis- turbance of these objects where they remain, by boating and na- vigation ; the erection of locks on the river, and dams on its tri- butary streams, by which their ascent to the regions beyond them, is partially or wholly prevented.
There are nearly eighty places in Middlesex where shad are now caught in the season of fishing, beginning about the middle of April and ending about the middle of June, viz. 26 in Say- brook, 17 in Haddam, 16 or 17 in Middletown, 13 in Chatham, and 5 in East-Haddam. At the fish-places in Saybrook, there were salted, in 1817, according to the report of the deputy inspector, 2,194 barrels of shad; at the fish-places in Haddam 146 barrels, and at the fish-places in East-Had-
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Introductory and General Observations.
dam 169; making a total of 2,509 barrels. Many shad caught in Haddam, are carried out of the county and inspected. From the fish-places in Middletown and Chatham, and from all parts of the county where fish are taken, many shad are put up by the inhabitants, and many are carried into the country, unin- spected. The quantity of shad uninspected, is doubtless greater than the quantity inspected. Supposing it to be only equal, the quantity of fish caught in Middlesex in 1817, must have exceed- ed 5,000 barrels. Estimating these at 12 dollars a barrel, the common price for that year, will make a gross amount of 60,000 dollars. That season was less favourable than seasons general- ly. But although the value of shad yearly caught in the county is great, the expense of carrying on this business is such, that the clear profits are less than would be at first supposed. The largest draught which has ever come to my knowledge, was made at the Pier in Haddam, in 1802, consisting of about 2,300. At the succeeding draught, at the same place, 18 or 1900 were taken. In 1811, 2,280 were taken at a single draught at Rutty's fish-place, and 1300 at two other draughts at the same place that year.
The best mode of curing slad is to dress them immediately after they are caught, to cleanse them thoroughly and salt them. By lying long in the sun they become soft, and are bruised and injured by being carried any considerable distance, unless they are barrelled.
In the year 1795, shad were uncommonly lean, and appeared to be sickly through the season, owing it was generally believed to the difficulty of ascending the river, against a current effected by an almost continual gale through the months of April and May ; but it is very doubtful whether the true cause has been ascertained.
It is so easy to obtain good water in this county by sinking wells, that aqueducts are rarely formed. Water is found at dif- ferent depths, both on high and low grounds, and does not ap- pear to be governed altogether by the nature of the ground, though it is lowest in the earth where quicksand prevails. There is so much of this sand in Haddam street and the water is so low, that few wells are sunk. A few wooden pipes are here used and in some other parts of the county in conveying water to families, the expense of which by the rod is generally one dollar.
The mineralogy of Middlesex is a very interesting subject ; and as the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, " have determined to commence a geological and mineralogical survey of the State, under the superintendence of Professor Silliman," the public may expect accurate and important information concerning it. What facts have been collected on this subject, and on the
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Statistical Account of Middlesex County ;
quarries in the county, will be communicated in the account which is to be given of the several towns.
Middlesex was originally well timbered, but the trees varied in kind as well as size according to variations of soil and situa- tion. On highi grounds were the several species of oak, walnut, and chesnut, and on the low grounds were birch, maple, beach, elin, ash, and hemlock ; thinly interspersed among which were buttonwood, butternut, poplar, dog or boxwood, whitewood, basswood, locust, pepperidge, sassafras, horn or hardbeam, wild-cherry, willow, and alder. Pitch-pine is said to have grown on the plain in Middletown Upper-Houses. It was thick on a hill in the west part of Haddam, where the early inhabitants used to go and get pine-knots as a substitute for candles, from which fact the neighbourhood about it is now called Candlewood-Hill. White pine used to grow in a swamp in Millington, and trees of this kind are occasionally found in other parts of the county. A swamp in Saybrook and another in Killingworth, are called Ce- dar-swamps, from the prevalence of cedar among their wood. The red shrub cedar is common all over the county.
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