USA > Connecticut > New London County > A modern history of New London County, Connecticut, Volume I > Part 25
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The two elms next south from these, though not as aged as they, may, we think, be regarded as models of exquisite symmetry and beauty. One might sit by the hour and look upon them as upon a picture.
No other tree is at all comparable to the elm. The ash is, when well grown, a fine tree, but clumpy ; the maple has the same character. The horse- chestnut, the linden, the mulberry, and poplars (save that tree-spire, the Lombardy poplar) are all of them plump, round, fat trees, not to be despised, surely, but representing single dendrological ideas. The oak is venerable by association, and occasionally a specimen is found possessing a kind of grim and ragged glory. But the elm alone, monarch of trees, combines in itself the elements of variety, size, strength, and grace, such as no other tree known to us can at all approach or remotely rival. It is the ideal of trees ; the true Absolute Tree! Its main trunk shoots up, not round and smooth, like an over-fatted, lymphatic tree, but channelled and corrugated, as if its athletic muscles showed their proportions through the bark, like Hercules' limbs through his tunic. Then suddenly the whole idea of growth is changed, and multitudes of long, lithe branches radiate from the crotch of the tree, having the effect of straightness and strength, yet really diverging and curving, until the outermost portions droop over and give to the whole top the most fault- less grace. If one should at first say that the elm suggested ideas of strength and uprightness, on looking again he would correct himself, and say that it was majestic, uplifting beauty that it chiefly represented. But if he first had said that it was graceful and magnificent beauty, on a second look he would correct himself, and say that it was vast and rugged strength that it set forth. But at length he would say neither ; he would say both ; he would say that it expressed a beauty of majestic strength and a grandeur of grace- ful beauty.
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Such domestic forest treasures are a legacy which but few places can boast. Wealth can build houses and smooth the soil; it can fill up marshes and create lakes or artificial rivers ; it can gather statues and paintings ; but no wealth can buy or build elm trees-the floral glory of New England. Time is the only architect of such structures, and blessed are they for whom Time was pleased to fore-think! No care or expense should be counted too much to maintain the venerable elms of New England in all their regal glory !
No other tree more enjoys a rich loam and moist food. In summer droughts, if copious waterings were given to the finer elms, especially with diluted guano water, their pomp would be noticeably enhanced. But, except in moist places, or in fields where the plow has kept the surface stirred, we noticed that elms were turning yellow and thinning out their leaves.
CHAPTER VII OTHER TOWNS OF NEW LONDON COUNTY
Colchester-East Lyme-Franklin-Griswold- Groton-Lebanon-Ledyard-Lisbon- Lyme and Old Lyme-Salem-Sprague-Stonington-Voluntown-Waterford.
Colchester .- There can be but little doubt but that Nathaniel Foote could have justly claimed to be the father of Colchester. He was the grandson of Nathaniel Foote, who early in the seventeenth century emigrated from Col- chester, England, to the Colony of Connecticut. His grandson, Nathaniel Foote (3rd), in the latter part of the seventeenth century was a resident of Wethersfield, and while there obtained a grant from one Owaneco, a sachem of the Mohegan Indians, of a large tract of land including a large part if not the whole of the present town of Colchester. By the terms of this grant, Foote undertook to distribute the land, except fifty acres retained for himself, among the settlers thereon. He undoubtedly intended to settle himself upon this fifty-acre tract, but, his health having failed him, he never personally took possession.
On October 13th, 1698, authority was granted by the General Court of the Colony to Captain Daniel Wetheral, Captain John Hamlin, Mr. William Pitkin, Captain John Chester, Mr. Robert Christophus and Captain Samuel Fosdick, to lay out a new town at the place called "Jeremiah's Farm," upon the road to New London, "beginning at the North bound of the Twenty Mile River and so to extend southward to a river called Deep River and to extend eastward from the bounds of Haddam seven miles." While these boundaries are very indefinite, they help to locate today what undoubtedly included the present town of Colchester and the Indian grant to Nathaniel Foote. On May IIth, 1699, the General Court of the Colony specified by a statute the bounds of the town more closely, providing that "the north boundary of the town shall be as formerly at Twenty Mile River, and the south bounds to join the north bounds of Lyme and the west bounds to join the east bounds of Middletown and the east bounds of Haddam and the east and northeast bounds to run to the bounds of Lebanon and Norwich." The town as originally laid out was included in the county of Hartford, but on October 13th, 1699, upon the application of Michael Taintor, Samuel Northam and Nathaniel Foote, it was transferred to the county of New London and received its name, Colchester. These men apparently were the representative men of the town at that time and, as Foote's ancestors came from Colchester, Eng- land, the strong presumption is that he is the one responsible for its name.
About this time the Indians had begun to cause trouble to the settlers, and Captain Samuel Mason was appointed by the General Court to make a settlement with them, which he effected. During this year the first settlement appears to have been made in the town, unless the designation of "Jeremiah's Farm" means that there has been a prior settlement upon this territory. But of this there is no certainty. Foote had laid out his fifty acres, and in 1702 built a home for himself and family, but his health broke down and he died
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in 1702, before he was able to occupy it. The building, however, was occupied almost immediately, in the same year, by his widow and a large family of children, from whom the Footes of today are direct descendants. The fifty acres thus laid out was located along the westerly side of what is now Broad- way, and the frame of the house built in 1702 still stands upon the premises now owned by Mr. Frederick G. Bock. In 1700 the first white child was born, a daughter (name not given) to John Skinner, and the next year, on Novem- ber 9th, 1701, was born Mary, a daughter of James Taylor.
Up to about the year 1703, the land in the town, except the fifty acres of Foote's tract and possibly the "Jeremiah's Farm," was held in common by the settlers; but about that time steps were taken for its division among them, and shortly a town measurer was appointed to measure and set off allotments of land to the persons entitled to it. The first grants upon the record ap- peared to have been made at a town meeting, January 11th, 1703, when a large number of grants were made by the town. The first to be recorded was the one allotted to Samuel Loomis and John Skinner, the latter the father of the first white child, but the description is so indefinite that it is impossible to locate it. Then followed the records of a large number of grants, but as the descriptions of none of them are more definite than this first one, it is impos- sible to locate them. It may be said, in passing, that one of the fields on the north side of Packwood lane was formerly known as the "Loomis lot." This may be the location of that first grant to Samuel Loomis. While these grants cannot be definitely located, it is certain that the first settlement in the town was made upon the property now owned by Mr. Hamilton Wallis.
The first church was erected at or near the corner of Broadway and Packwood lane and, in clearing along the east side of Broadway, a number of old foundations, wells, and graves, have been discovered. There was also discovered what apparently was an old roadway running diagonally from Broadway, which at that time was the ordinary narrow country road, in the direction of the present Packwoodville. Michael Taintor was the first town clerk, and held that office for some thirty years. The first selectmen were chosen in 1706, and were Deacon Loomis, Joseph Chamberlain and Michael Taintor.
During the early years of its history, the town and church were one, and therefore the history of the town during these years includes the history of the Congregational church. In 1702 a town meeting had authorized the employment of a minister for the church, and had fixed his salary at forty pounds per annum. In October, 1703, the General Court of the Colony had authorized the organization of a church in the town, and this organization had been effected December 20th of the same year. In 1725 the General Court established a new parish which included the southern part of Col- chester and the northern part of the town of Lyme, which they called Salem. This continued as a separate parish, but was not organized as a separate town until 1819. Again, in October, 1728, the General Court created another parish in the western part of the town, which was called Westchester, which still exists under that name and continues to be a part of the town of Colchester. Obviously, upon the creation of these new parishes, it was impossible to
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call upon the inhabitants of the entire town to support these several parishes or to exercise control over them, and so there was created what were known as "Ecclesiastical Societies" having jurisdiction over ecclesiastical affairs, within the limits of the parishes. How these were supported is unknown; whether by some system of taxation, as had been the case before, or by volun- tary contributions, cannot be definitely ascertained at this time.
As has been stated, the first church was erected in 1706, at the corner of Broadway and Packwood lane, and was forty feet square. The building was sold in 1709, but the congregation continued to occupy it until 1714, when they removed into a new building erected by authority of the town meeting. This building was thirty-six by forty feet. In the meantime the population of the town had moved from its original location to the site of the present village, possibly because the settlers had found the water supply of the first location inadequate. This second church was erected a little to the east of the present church building, in the middle of what is now the highway. The third church was erected near the last in 1771, and continued for seventy years, when it gave place to the present edifice.
During its early history social lines were sharply drawn in the church. For at a town meeting held January 14th, 1715, it was provided as follows: "The pew next to the pulpit to be the first, second is designated for the second pew and the pews equal to the second, the third is designated for the third pew, fourth for the fourth pew, next the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth," the remaining seats were distributed among the remaining members according to their rating on the Assessment list.
Methodism was introduced by circuit preachers in 1706, but the present building was not erected until 1843. The Baptist church was organized and the present building was erected in 1836. Calvary Church was organized in 1865, and the first church erected in 1867. The first Roman Catholic mass was said in 1851 at the residence of John Murphy, and services were held for some time by a visiting priest once a month. In 1854 St. Andrew's Church building was erected, and since then it has had several additions. Within the last ten years a Jewish Synagogue has been constructed on Lebanon avenue.
One of the first matters which engaged the attention of the settlers was the education of their children. Very early they required the selectmen to see to it that their children were "fitted for some lawful employment and not become crude and stubborn; and that children and servants should be cate- chised once a week in the details and principles of their religion." They were required to submit to examinations on these points by any selectman. It is hard to imagine any of these gentlemen, who have for years composed our board of selectmen, holding up a youngster on the street and examining him in the shorter catechism. Just when the schools were founded it is impos- sible to say, but more than one hundred years ago there was a school for colored children north of the old church, which resulted in the influx of a large colored population. The other schools were generally represented by the rural district school of today, but their surroundings and furnishings were very much rougher.
The celebrated educational institution of Colchester is the well known
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Bacon Academy. It was founded through the generosity of Pierpont Bacon, a farmer from New London, who settled in the latter part of the eighteenth century upon a farm about three miles south of the church. By his will he bequeathed his estate to the First Ecclesiastical Society of Colchester for the establishment of a school for instruction in "reading, writing, English, in arithmetic, mathematics, and all such branches of learning for said inhabitants and such instruction to be free to children of the town." The present building was erected and school opened in 1802. It soon had a large student body, which after many years slowly decreased but has now begun to rise again. During its one hundred and thirteen years it has faithfully and successfully educated many men and women who have been successful in all the walks of life. Among those of national reputation are Senator Lyman Trumbull, of Illinois, William H. Buckingham, Governor of Connecticut, and Morrison R. Waite, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Beginning with an endowment of thirty-five thousand dollars, it has now more than sixty thousand besides its building and equipment.
Another of the institutions of the town is the Cragin Memorial Library, which was erected by Dr. Edwin B. Cragin, a Colchester boy who has achieved a notable success as a physician in the great city of New York, the most diffi- cult of all places in which a young man can command a general recognition of his ability. It has on its shelves more than five thousand volumes.
Colchester has borne its full share in the defense of the nation. When the news of Lexington was heard over the land, seventy of its sons rushed to the relief of Boston. Their names have been preserved, and among them are those of Foote, Jones, Ransom, Bigelow, Holmes, Chapman, Storrs, Rathbone, Taylor, Day, Brown, Higgins, Fuller, Allen. This is the only roster of soldiers of the Revolution giving the residences of the privates. The official roster maintained at the capitol gives the residences of the officers only, so that it has been impossible to determine who of the residents of Colchester rendered services to the country in any of its wars unless they happened to hold an official position, and the roster is so enormous and the names so numerous that it is impractical to go over it and pick out the names of the officers who were from Colchester. This town itself has maintained no list of the men who went from here to the defense of the country.
Many years ago the town boasted of a bank, a savings bank, and was lighted by gas, but all these things have passed away. In early times the only means of transportation available to the inhabitants was the back of a horse. The inhabitants went to church on horseback, the farmer riding, and the wife on a pillion. The farmer carried his pork over the back of the horse and brought back from the market the groceries which the pork had purchased by the same conveyance. The first teaming was by oxen, of goods hauled from East Haddam landing on the Connecticut river, and the first public conveyance was a stage coach over this route. As railroads were constructed, a stage line was opened to Andover and a coach used there can still be seen back of Jonathan Clark's barn. At one time this route had become so impor- tant that it boasted of a three-seated coach drawn by six horses, and the coach itself hung on leather straps instead of springs. A coach line was run to
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Norwich, which had boat connection with New York. This coach was run by John Talcott, whose descendant ran the last coach out of Colchester. When the Air Line railroad was constructed, this route was discontinued, and the coach made its regular trips between the village and Turnerville. The Air Line railroad was completed in 1873, and the Colchester branch in 1877, when the Turnerville stage was withdrawn. The principal source of freight during the history of the town has been the Hayward Rubber Company. Its freight business was for many years transacted by mule teams hauling large covered wagons over the Norwich road, to and from Norwich. The con- struction of the railroad, of course, put the mule teams out of commission.
While the principal industry of Colchester has always been farming, its inhabitants, very early in its history, began to avail themeslves of the many water powers found within the town. In 1704 Nathaniel Kellogg and Samuel Gillett obtained the rights to erect and operate a sawmill on "Governors Brook," probably the present location of Elgart's mill. In 1706 J. Deming obtained the rights to establish a fulling mill. In 1708 J. Wright, Ebenezer Skinner and J. Deming were granted the right to operate "Iron Works" on "Jeremy's River," the present location of Norton's paper mill, and afterwards two tanneries were located upon the same stream. In 1720 rights were given to Nathan Kellogg and others for the establishment of a grist and saw mill on Kellogg's land. In 1725 Andrew Carrier and U. Skinner obtained the right to establish a grist mill at Comstock's bridge, and afterwards A. Comstock located a grist and saw mill near the same place. On "Stoney Brook" was also a factory for the manufacturing of nails, in those days hand made.
The most important of all the manufacturing enterprises in Colchester was the Hayward Rubber Company, which was established in Colchester in 1847 by Nathaniel Hayward, a joint inventor with Goodyear of vulcanized rubber. This enterprise, beginning in a small way, rapidly expanded until from a capital of $100,000 it grew, through capitalization of profits, to $500,000, and an output of $2,000,000 per annum. It was finally absorbed by the Rubber Trust and closed. The town had of late years supported a shoe factory and a creamery, both of which have been discontinued. Today the existing manu- factories are the feed, cider and vinegar mill of D. Elgart, and two paper mills, operated by H. C. Brown and C. H. Norton.
The population has been a fluctuating one both in numbers and compo- sition. In 1756 it had 2,312 inhabitants. It had increased by 1782 to 3,865, which has been the largest population in its history. From this point the population gradually decreased until 1830, when it numbered 2,073. Then the tide rose again, and in 1870 it had 3,383 people. Another decline followed, and in 1900 the population reached the lowest point in its history, 1,991. The tide began to rise again, and the census of 1910 showed a population of something over 2,100. Originally it was peopled by the old New England stock. A list is still extant of the voters of the town in 1725. This list con- tains many names of residents whose descendants are still with us or have been recently. Among them we find Bigelow (spelled in old times Bigeloo), Gillette (Gillett), Kellogg, Williams, Brown, Clark, Fuller, Swan, Chapman, Taintor, Baker, Foote, Taylor, Strong, Chamberlain, Pomeroy, Hall, Otis,
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Palmer, Morgan, Worthington, Ransom, Huntley, Day, Carrier, Adams, Brain- erd, and Staples. But the introduction of manufacturing brought in a large foreign element, from whom are descended some of our most respected in- habitants.
In 1821 John R. Watrous, Ralph Isham and David Deming conveyed to the trustees and proprietors of Bacon Academy one and one-half acres of land, said land being now the southerly end of the park. The borough of Colchester was incorporated in 1846. The town is bounded on the north by Hartford and Tolland counties and by Lebanon; on the east by Lebanon; on the south by Salem and Middlesex county ; and on the west by Middlesex county.
East Lyme .- East Lyme is bounded on the north by Salem, on the east by Montville and Waterford, on the south by Long Island Sound, and on the west by Lyme and Old Lyme. It was originally part of Waterford and of Old Lyme. It was incorporated as a town in 1839.
The well known story of the "Bride Brook Marriage" refers to a stream that empties into the Sound somewhat west of Niantic Bay. Miss Caulkins' poem is an interesting evidence of her ability in verse:
When this fair town was Nameaug,- A bleak, rough waste of hill and bog,- In huts of sea-weed, thatch, and log, Our fathers few, but strong and cheery, Sat down amid these deserts dreary.
'Twas all a wild, unchristian wood,
A fearful, boisterous solitude, A harbor for the wild-fowl's brood, Where countless flocks of every pinion Held o'er the shores a bold dominion.
The sea-hawk hung his cumbrous nest, Oak-propp'd on every highland crest : Cranes through the seedy marshes prest ; The curlew, by the river lying, Looked on God's image, him defying.
The eagle-king soared high and free, His shadow on the glassy sea A sudden ripple seemed to be; The sunlight in his pinions burning, Shrouded him from eyes upturning.
They came, the weary-footed band; The paths they cleared, the streams they spanned, The woodland genius grew more bland; In haste his tangled vines unweaving, Them and their hopes with joy receiving.
Then beasts of every frightful name, And wild men with their hearts of flame, By night around them howling came ; No arms had they but care and caution, And trust in God was all their portion.
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Firm as the rocky coast they stood, And earnest as the rushing flood, Disdaining fear, yet fearing God; Each man was both a lamb and lion, With heart of flesh, but nerves of iron.
They yoked the eagle to the dove, They tamed the wilderness with love, Clear light within, clear light above; By faith upheld, by foes undaunted, Home, freedom, country here they planted.
Great hearts were those that hither came, -- A Winthrop of undying fame, A Brewster of an honored name; Great hearts, the growth of three great nations, Laid deep for us these firm foundations.
The angels as they glided by Some gleams of brightness lent the sky ; And earth's own angels, too, were nigh,- The choicest of fair England's daughters Came with them o'er the billowy waters.
Now thanks to thee, O God of lands! Who settlest lonely men in bands, That brought these angels to our strands ; The Rose of Eden, heavenly woman ! To gardens changed these wilds inhuman.
See! like the rose-tree's sudden bloom, Bright visions break the wintry gloom, The evergreens breathe forth perfume, Love's purple light the scene is flushing, A romance into life is rushing.
A streamlet-Nameaug's western bound- A path by craggy hillsides found, Meandering to the distant Sound ; A slender stream, but clear and glowing, Down through umbrageous valleys flowing.
Forth from a lovely lake it came, Sweet stream with an ungentle name: But now, ice-bound, snow-wreathed, and tame, No longer sparkling, prattling, leaping, The Naiad of the brook was sleeping.
To this fair stream two sledgy trains, Grotesque and quaint as Lapland wains, Rushed swiftly o'er the dazzling plains : Vast earth before, behind all hoary, Embosomed in a shroud of glory.
How still is all surrounding snow! How dead but for this diamond glow! The sun's exuberant overflow, Filling the air with quivering gladness, Relieves earth's spectre of its sadness.
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No sounding bells waked nature's ear. Yet music, flowing sweet and clear, Rippled the sea of silence drear. Cheery they come,-men, maidens, singing, #
* *
They meet : here noble Winthrop stands. Come forth, ye gladsome bridal bands, Ye snow-capt hills, clap all your hands ! Ye spicy cedars, green and towering, Draw round them all your screens embowering.
The woven nets are lightly spread, The spruce boughs yield their fragrant aid,
The white smoke o'er them curls a shade, And fruits and viands, choice and dainty, Flow from the ample horn of plenty.
Her furry wrappings cast aside, As rosy skies when clouds divide,
Forth steps the conscious, blushing bride, A trembling, serious, fadeless beauty, Commingling sweetness, love, and duty.
She stood like Summer on the snow,- No morning dawn around could throw
Such rosy light, so warm a glow,- And hovering clouds, with seraphs laden, Showered heavenly blessings on the maiden.
She was a dame of fair degree; Her lover, fearless, bold and free, Had suffered scaith by land and sea; Their hearts long pledged by word and token, Now let their sacred rite be spoken.
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