USA > Connecticut > Middlesex County > A statistical account of the county of Middlesex, in Connecticut > Part 2
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Considerable changes have taken place in the proportionate quantity of particular trees since the county was settled. Such as were of little value, have been designedly destroyed by the cultivator. Such as were peculiar to grounds suitable for mow- ing and cultivation, have been destroyed to prepare the way for grass and crops. Some trees from their brittleness or the slowness of their growth, have been destroyed by sheep and cat- tle ; while others, as the hemlock, beach, and hard-maple, rarely sprout from the roots, and if they do, are very liable to die. On these accounts some trees are less frequent in the county than formerly. The chesnut, smooth-walnut, and white-oak, sprout abundantly from the roots, as well as come up from seed, and grow on high and rough grounds, as well as on those which are suitable for tillage. Hence there is a happy increase of these valuable trees over others in the county.
Large and numerous tracts are reserved in Middlesex for for- ests. It is, however, an alarming fact, that wood and timber are decreasing. They are cut down not only to supply our own in- habitants with fuel and fencing, and with materials for building houses and vessels, but immense quantities of wood and lumber are exported to New-York and other parts of our country ; the call for which has been increasing since the revolutionary war. Much more economy however is used with respect to wood than formerly. The practice of burning over wood lands for the sake of pasture has ceased, the growth of young trees is more cau- tiously guarded, more care is taken to make houses tight, and to render a less quantity of fuel needful to warm them, fire-places
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Introductory and General Observations.
are improved and stoves in many cases introduced. Were build- ings erected of stone, as they might easily be in most parts of the county, there would be an additional saving. The use of brick would have the same effect ; but clay is not so common with us as building stone. The largest and most important bed known to me, is in the upper part of Haddam, and this is so near to the river, that the brick may be made upon the bank, and thence taken and carried away in vessels wherever they are needed.
To increase the quantity of wood, the seed of those trees which are wished to be raised may be sown upon cleared lands, or may be transplanted from the forests. A better mode however, is believed to be, as trees spring up naturally and abundantly on many of our lands, to fence entirely from cattle what is intended to be reserved for woodland, and in cutting, to cut clean on one part of it, avoiding the evil of falling trees one upon another, and suffering no creatures to run among them. Thus the buds are all preserved, the ground is enriched by the leaves and grass, and the growth of trees is advanced more rapidly than in any other known manner.
As moisture exposes timber to decay, it is believed that the best time to fell timber for durability is in the latter part of winter before the sap ascends. Timber, however, for posts and rails should be cut when the sap flows freely, that it may be peeled, otherwise the bark will become the occasion of rotting them.
That seasoned wood is the best, as well as the most conve- nient for fuel, is admitted by those who reflect upon the subject. It will evidently season the easiest if felled when it has the least sap in it ; and in the winter season farmers can most conveniently cut their wood and convey it to their own doors, and those of their neighbours, where it ought immediately to be cut and split for the fire and then seasoned under cover.
The price of timber in this county for houses is four cents per foot ; chesnut timber for ship-building is four dollars per ton, and oak five; short oak-plank for ship-building, is twenty-five dollars per thousand ; long plank, from thirty-five to forty. Hickory wood in Middlesex late years has varied from five to six dollars and a half per cord. Oak wood has varied from three to four dollars per cord : in Middletown city it has sold for more. As all our towns, except Durham, border on Connecticut river er the Sound, our wood is generally within a few miles of navigable water. This is the only article used for fuel among us.
For an account of mills of a common description, the reader is referred to note D.
For a long period, lands in this county were cheap. For twen- ty or thirty years they have greatly increased in price. The
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Statistical Account of Middlesex County ;
assessments made by order of the General Government in 1814, more than doubled those which were made in 1798. Good land near the river and Sound has sold for some years past, from fifty to one hundred dollars per acre, and in some instances for much more. On an average, it has not been sold much under a hun- dred dollars. Good land back varies in price according to its distance from market and other circumstances. Good lands, however, in Durham, and in the back parts of Middletown, are high. On an average, they may be put at eighty dollars per acre.
Wheat was a principal crop in this county until the ravages of the Hessian-fly about 1777, since which, there has been but lit- tle raised. This insect ha's recently been less troublesome, and in some instances where grounds have been thoroughly prepar- ed, this grain has succeeded well, and there is reason to hope that it will again become a common crop. Thirty-six bushels have lately been raised on an acre in Durham. Rye is now sown abundantly and is of an excellent quality. More than forty bushels of this grain have been raised on an acre in Say- brook, and nearly that quantity per acre on many acres together. From 24 acres lying in one field, Augustus Bushnel, Esq. of that town, in 1816, gathered 804 bushels. The land was naturally of a thin and sandy soil, but had been well dressed with manure, principally with fish. Corn has ever been an important crop in Middlesex. Seventy bushels have been raised on an acre. About 1798, a gentleman in Haddam planted a small piece, put- ting two kernels into a hill, a foot a part, from which he gathered corn at the rate of 100 bushels per acre. Flax and oats are raised in large quantities in some parts of the county ; potatoes abundantly more than they were thirty or forty years ago, though it is impossible to ascertain the number of acres planted with potatoes, as well as the number of acres sown with turnips. Very little grain and provisions are exported from Middlesex ; less, it is believed, than are imported.
A general opinion prevails among the farmers, that a rotation of crops is beneficial, or that the continuance of the same crop upon the same ground for a succession of years, is inexpedient. Hence grain, oats, and flax, are customarily sown after a crop of corn. These are frequently followed with grass, and then corn is again planted. Some instances, however, have occurred, in which rye and corn have succeeded well on the same lands year after year. Clover, timothy, and other grasses, which were scarcely known forty years ago, are now introduced abundantly, and the benefit is both an amelioration of the soil by the sward which they spread upon it, and the increase as well as improvement of hay. The principal manures used in the northern parts of Middlesex
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Introductory and General Observations.
are taken from the sty and yard. Ashes, so far as they can be obtained, are used ; and some trial has been made of plaster, more the last season than any preceding year, and on dry sandy land it has proved very beneficial. Near the Sound, this ma- nure has had scarcely any perceptible effect. But the inhabi- tants are favoured with other means of enriching their lands. In addition to the manures just mentioned, it has long been their practice to collect the sea-weed brought upon the beach and meadows, and throw it into their sties and yards ; by which the quantity and quality of the manures derived from those places are improved. Rockweed, which contains an oily and an en- riching substance is collected, and sometimes used in a similar manner, and sometimes carried directly upon the land and ploughed in. Marine shells are also collected occasionally for manure. But the most efficacious manure in the vicinity of the Sound, consists of the white-fish, which visit the shores in immense numbers in June and the first part of July. These be- gan to be used for manure in Middlesex in 1801 and 2. They are carried as soon as taken and spread upon the land and plow- ed in ; or are thrown into heaps, mixed and covered with earth or turf, and suffered to pulverize ; and are then spread upon the ground, as suits the convenience and objects of farmers. In either mode, the effect even on dry and poor land is wonderful ; and though it was at first apprehended by many that after two or three crops, they would leave the land poorer than they found it, experience has hitherto proved this apprehension to be ground- less. Under the influence of this manure, some of the finest fields of grain, corn, and grass, are annually presented on the margin of the Sound, which exist in our country. Where these fish have been tried at a distance from the sea, they have been found equally beneficial. Eight thousand are requisite to dress an acre. They have been sold lately for a dollar and an half per thousand.
No extensive efforts have been made with us for watering lands ; but wherever brooks have been spread over small tracts, the effect has been obviously and highly beneficial, both front the increase of moisture and the intermixture of soils.
As to the best seed-time and harvest time, they doubtless vary somewhat in different years. Our farmers are accustomed to sow rye from the latter part of August till severe frosts arrive in au- !umu, as their business and the situation of their land permit. Oats and flax are usually sown in the spring, so soon as the ground is in a condition to be plowed. Corn is generally plant- ed on high grounds the first and second weeks in May, and in the meadows on Connecticut river, by reason of the existence or danger of freshets, two or three weeks later. In cold seasons.
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Statistical Account of Middlesex County ;
early planting renders the sprouts feeble and slow of growth. Very late planting exposes corn to injury from frosts in the fall.
Some farmers are in the habit of harvesting their grain as soon as it is out of the milk-state, and though in that state, care is requisite lest it should heat and mould in the barn, the flour made from it is whiter and better flavored. Others let their grain stand until it is thoroughly ripened, which has been the case late years, the two last weeks in July.
Weeds are destroyed among us by the plow and hoe, and ge- nerally with a view to a crop which they would injure, and not for the sake of destroying them merely. To extirpate them, it is essential that they be plowed up, or in some other mode de- stroyed, before the seed is formed.
A frequent change of the seed of grain and corn is generally supposed to be useful. Seed brought from the north does better than that which is brought from the south. But as those farmers who cultivate their lands well, usually raise good crops whether they change the seed or not, there is reason to believe that the benefits ascribed to the change of seed, are owing to the fact, that the seed which is obtained from abroad, and for which a great price is paid, is cleaner and better than that which farmers are willing to take pains to secure at home, rather than to the change itself.
As the inhabitants of this county are favoured with near and ready markets, ox-teams are used almost wholly by them. From the list of 1817, it appears that there must be between eleven and twelve hundred teams in the county. Our farming utensils are the same which are used in the other counties of the State. Fences in the stony parts of the county are built some- times wholly of stone, and sometimes with stone and posts witlı two or three rails ; in other parts of the county they are built of posts and rails, or of rails only. The expense of fencing by the rod varies according to the facility or difficulty of getting the requisite materials ; as a general fact, it may be estimated at a dollar a rod. Hedges are scarcely known among us.
The quantity of cider annually made in Middlesex is conside- rable. More orcharding exists in the northern than in the southern parts of the county : but small pains have been taken to select good fruit. Pear trees are not very common with us. Plum trees generally died several years ago, and peach trees have died abundantly within a few years.
We have many good gardens; but the attention of people has been directed almost solely to the cultivation of those roots and plants which are useful. The state of gardening here is on a level with the state of gardening generally throughout Connec- ticut.
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Introductory and General Observations.
We have very few tenants, and land is rarely leased ; the far- mers being in most cases at once the owners and the cultivators of the soil.
Individuals and families for eighty years have been almost per- petually removing from this county. They at first removed to the county of Litchfield in this State, and Berkshire in Massachu- setts ; then to New-Hampshire and Vermont; in later years they have removed to New-York, and to the western States and Territories. The descendants of those who have emigrated from the county, doubtless exceed its population at the present time.
But three persons, inhabitants of this county, have been con- victed of capital offences. Two of these were born in the coun- ty, and one was a squaw of the Pequot tribe. They were all convicted of murder, committed on the persons of relatives.
The instances of suicide are eighteen. In some of these the subjects were considered to be under the influence of deli- rium, and in others, the causes were not certainly known.
A few pleasure-carriages were introduced into Middlesex about 1750. They have been gradually increasing since: in 1814, they amounted to 549. See note E.
The number of sheep and swine in Middlesex is unknown. Very little beef and pork are exported. Some years, none has been inspected. What is raised is almost entirely consumed in the county. The quantity of butter and cheese exported is not great.
The inhabitants have ever manufactured a large portion of their clothing in the family ; and the more necessary articles of furniture and husbandry have been made among ourselves. The cloths at first manufactured were coarse, especially woollen cloths, which were often worn without shearing or pressing. Late years cloths of considerable fineness have been wrought in the family.
The important factories of woollen and cotton cloths and of other articles in the county, will be mentioned in the history of the towns.
A brewery, which was erected in Middletown in 1796, was consumed by fire, Dec. 22, 1809 ; and we have no brewery now in the county.
Ship-building has been carried on for more than a century, and for half that period has been a leading branch of business. Vessels are built in many yards on the Connecticut, and near the mouths of the smaller rivers which empty into the Sound. Materials for them, with the exception of pine, are furnished principally from our own forests. Eight ships, 11 brigs, 13 schooners, and 17 sloops, amounting to 7,503 tons, were launched in 1815. See note F.
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Statistical Account of Middlesex County ;
Many more were launched yearly previous to the restrictive system.
Our roads, with few exceptions, were bad, till within a few years. They were laid out to accommodate neighbours in going from one house to another, rather than for extended travel, were over rough and uneven grounds, and the communications with most parts of the country by water, were so easy, that feeble ef- forts were made to improve them. But within a few years all the principal roads, excepting that which runs from east to west along the Sound, (which was a comfortable road before,) have been turnpiked. We have now thirteen turnpikes, partly or wholly within the county, some of which center in Middletown city, and some in other places, opening communications with all parts of the country. On most of these, and on some others, the mail is regularly carried, either by stages or post-riders. The capital stock of the turnpike roads is $ 143,632. See note G.
The width, the force, and especially the navigation of the Connecticut, are such, as to render it very improbable that bridges will ever be thrown over it, within the bounds of this county. The other rivers are so small, that we have few bridges of much consequence.
The bridge over Pameacha river, on the turnpike road from Middletown to Durham and New-Haven, is by far the most beautiful and excellent of any in the county. This was built in 1814, by Col. Ezra Brainerd, the celebrated architect of Car- thage Bridge, for $ 3,000; the Turnpike Company furnishing the iron, which cost about $ 500 more. It consists of one arch, the chord of which is 160 feet, supported by butments formed al- most wholly by the natural, rocky, and nearly perpendicular banks of the river. The floor is 27 feet wide, elevated 50 feet above the stream. The bridge is formed wholly of pine, and by its situation and style of workmanship, constitutes a princi- pal ornament of the southwestern part of Middletown city.
There are ten ferries in Middlesex, all on Connecticut river, connecting the towns and societies on its eastern and western banks. With the exception of two, these are owned by indivi- duals. See note H.
We have no wild animals but what are common in other parts of the State. A hear was killed in Haddam, weighing 12 score, in 1754 ; another was killed on Haddam Neck in 1767. Wolves were troublesome two or three years later; and one which had strayed down from the north, was killed in the south- western part of Saybrook, in Feb. 1815. A moose was killed in the same section of that town about 1770. Deer were com- mon in some parts of the county till the winter of 1763; that winter many were killed ; and the winter but one following. in
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Introductory and General Observations.
the time of a deep snow, through the crust of which they broke and became an easy prey for hunters, they were destroyed. Wild turkeys were plenty in 1780, and occasionally seen, as late as 1790.
Barberry bushes are scarcely found among us, and nothing is experienced of their ill effects.
There are in Middlesex, 35 houses for public worship, 18 of which belong to the Congregationalists, 1 to the Strict-Congre- gationalists, 6 to the Episcopalians, 6 to the Baptists, and 4 to the Methodists. The houses first erected for this purpose, were small indifferent buildings, corresponding with the number and circumstances of the inhabitants. As their numbers and means increased, larger and better buildings were erected. The pre- sent churches are generally convenient, but plain structures. See note I.
According to an enumeration made in 1815, (and the popula- tion has not greatly increased since,) there were in Middlesex 3,688 families. Of these, considering all to belong to some de- nomination, 2,330 families belonged to the Congregationalists, 88 to the Strict-Congregationalists, 421 to the Episcopalians, 489 to the Baptists, 291 to the Methodists, and 69 to the Univer- salists. The Strict-Congregationalists have increased some, it is supposed, since 1815, and there may have been some small changes among other denominations. See note J.
The inhabitants of Middlesex were universally congregation- alists for more than a century after the settlements commenced. They appear to have maintained public worship from the begin- ning, though circumstances prevented the organization of church- es, and the settlement of ministers for several years. See note K.
To worship God according to the dictates of their consciences unmolested, was the grand object for which the first settlers of New-England, left Europe. To compass this, they sacrificed almost every earthly enjoyment, and encountered hardships, of which their privileged descendants have no adequate concep- tions.
In the organization of churches in Middlesex, the principles of congregationalism were recognized, though some of the New- England churches were formed upon the presbyterian plan. In no case were two ministers set over the same church, one in the character of a pastor, and the other in the character of a teacher, though at the call of the first minister in Middletown, the peo- ple expressed a willingness to associate with him another minis- ter, provided they should be able to furnish the requisite sup- port, and he should request it : nor has there ever been in the Middlesex churches, a ruling elder.
In setting apart ministers to their office, the same custom
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Statistical Account of Middlesex County ;
prevailed, which exists at the present day, except in the ordina- tion of the two first ministers in Saybrook, where, according to tradition, the brethren imposed hands.
Deacons were ordained for a long period in the first church in Middletown, by the pastor, and a brother appointed for that service. In other cases deacons have been ordained in the county. For a list of ministers and deacons see notes L. & M.
From some confessions of faith which have been preserved, and from other circumstances, it appears, that the congregation- al churches have acknowledged the doctrines of grace from the be- ginning. But it must be confessed, that these doctrines have not been taught in all cases with the same clearness, nor received with the same good-will.
Learning and piety were regarded as essential qualifications for the ministry, and piety was regarded as an essential qualifi- cation for full communion in the church. But a council which met at Boston in 1657, advanced the sentiment, " that it is the duty of infants, who conferate in their parents, when grown up unto years of discretion, though not yet fit for the Lord's Supper, to own the covenant, they made with their parents, by entering thercunto, in their own persons;" that the church might call upon them thus to own the covenant, and upon their refusal, proceed to discipline them. This gave rise to what has been customarily called the half-way covenant, which was adopted sooner or later, by nearly all the congregational churches of Mid- dlesex. The great objection to this covenant was, that it re- quired baptized children to enter into solemn engagements to serve God, when they were acknowledged to be unfit for the sa- cramental supper. Among the Jews, circumcised children were as much required to attend upon the passover, as to enter into covenant with God ; and analogy authorizes the conclusion, that baptized children are bound as truly to know the God of their fathers, by celebrating the Lord's supper, as by any other reli- gious service.
The first settlers of Middlesex paid very great attention to the religious education of their children, instructing them care- fully into the principles of the oracles of God, and praying with them statedly, morning and evening. But the effect of the half- way covenant was unhappy. It brought multitudes into a par- tial connection with the church, and to a partial participation of its privileges, who were at the time confessedly unconverted, and who very generally afterwards made little effort to adorn the Christian profession. When the evils of this covenant were exposed by President Edwards, Dr. Bellamy, and others, and when ministers and churches came to examine it more thorough- ly, one and another were disposed to reject it, or to lay it aside
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Introductory and General Observations.
in practice, and it has now scarcely an advocate in Middlesex or in Connecticut.
It has been stated that the first churches of the county were congregational in their organization ; but they disclaimed inde- pendency. They maintained mutual fellowship and assisted one another in cases of difficulty. The Cambridge Platform regu- lated their intercourse many years. But as that platform did not define accurately whence councils should be called in cases of difficulty, nor what number of ministers and churches should be requisite to constitute a council, and as some difficulties had arisen from the want of a more explicit rule of procedure ; the Saybrook Platform, after much consultation among ministers and the serious part of the community, was formed in 1708, and immediately adopted by the churches then in existence, as it has been since by the churches more recently formed.
Agreeably to the provisions of this standard, the congrega- tional ministers and churches in the towns now constituting Mid- dlesex county, belonged to the associations and consociations in the counties from which the towns were taken, till Middlesex was formed in 1785 ; since which a new association and consociation have been organized, though the ministers and churches of Mid- dletown and of Chatham first society, for the sake of convenience, remain with the South Association and Consociation of Hartford county. In Oct. 1787, the ministers of Saybrook and Killing- worth formed themselves into this new association, called the Mid- dlesex Association ; who were joined the June following, by the ministers of Haddam and East-Haddam, of the parishes of Mid- dle-Haddam and East-Hampton ; and also by the ministers of West-Chester and North-Lyme parishes, in the county of New- London. The ministers of these places, with the minister of the first society in Lyme, now constitute the Middlesex Association, and with their churches, the Middlesex Consociation.
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