USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Meriden > An historic record and pictorial description of the town of Meriden, Connecticut and men who have made it > Part 30
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On Johnson avenue, which has already been described as a part of the old Wallingford north bounds, and perhaps half a mile west of the old Merriam house, stands a dwelling that is now unoccupied, and which was probably built about the year 1785 by Israel Johnson.
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
WILLIAM JOHNSON PLACE.
Jacob Johnson acquired a tract of 100 acres on this hill as early as 1732, and Israel was his grandson; he bought his brother Dan's interest and then began to buy large tracts adjoining until he had acquired a large part of the mountain land north of his home, from the Hoadleys, Harrisons and Hills.
It has always been supposed that Mr. Johnson bought the mountain land, expecting some day to develop the property into a valuable mining tract, for it was believed that prospecting had shown untold wealth of gold and copper ; but
-
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alas ! the metal never materialized and much of the good Johnson money was sunk in profitless prospecting and digging.
After the father's death, the son William and his sisters, Amanda and Huldah, continued to live in the old homestead: none of them ever married and there they passed their lives gazing off on the ancestral mountain land and dreaming that some day fortune would show them the spot where nature had buried her treas- ures. The family made some pretensions to polite and elegant living, and it was
Photo by R. S. Godfrey. LEVI ALLEN PLACE.
considered quite an honor to be invited to partake of the hospitality of Uncle Wil- liam.
They are all gone now and the ancestral peak has been divided among those who think it a fine spot for summer cottages.
On Allen hill, or avenue, stands an old house that was built many years ago, probably by Titus Merriman, and the first record we find is dated in 1784 when Titus deeds it to Giles Collins, with its thirty-nine acres of land, all in Hanging
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Hills Woods : and here Giles continued to live until 1793 when he deeded the house and farm to Archelaus Allen, who had previously lived on a farm in the north- eastern part of Wallingford.
The house is interesting, both in itself and on account of those who were born and lived there. In the year 1815 Archelaus gave the house to his son Levi and moved towards Meriden center, building the house known now as the Griswold place, opposite All Saints' church, No. 198 West Main street, where he died a few years later. The dwelling has been raised or the street cut down and under it is a Chinese laundry.
Levi continued to live in the old homestead and here were born his children, the late John Allen in 1815, a successful man of affairs in New York who died in Saybrook in 1901, the late William Allen, who died unmarried in New York in 1874 and who was a successful business man in that city, and the late Edward C. Allen, born in 1823, who passed his life in Meriden on the home farm, a success- ful and highly esteemed citizen, and died in 1887. He built the home east of the old farm house and the delightful hospitality there dispensed, hallows it in the memory of those who were fortunate enough to partake of it.
Levi Allen had bought largely of surrounding land and the farm was conse- quently an extensive one, and his son, Edward C., took great pride in its manage- ment and it had the reputation of being one of the best farms in the county. He was a man of influence in the community and will be remembered for the great interest he took in matters musical in Meriden, and his interest in the First Con- gregational church was always deep. For years he sang in the choir and was for a long time one of the deacons.
Levi Allen was the fifth in descent from Roger Alling, who came to Boston with Rev. John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton from England in 1638, and with them helped found and settle the colony of New Haven in the same year. He was the first treasurer of the colony.
Perhaps a quarter of a mile west of the Oliver Rice homestead is a house known as the Calvin Coe place, where the latter for many years lived and man- aged in a very successful manner the 200 acres that surround the house. Some twenty years or more ago it was abandoned as the home of the family and the large stone mansion southwest of the old place was built by Andrew J. Coe, and it has been christened as the Coe Castle. The only member of the family now left in Meriden is Winfield R. Coe, who lives in a house somewhat east of the Oliver Rice place.
The old Coe homestead had a history previous to its becoming the dwelling of Calvin S., for in 1795 it was sold by Samuel Rice to Asa Barnes, who came here from Southington. Samuel was cousin to Ezekiel Rice, who served in the Revolutionary war and for nearly 100 years this farm had probably been Rice
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property. Asa Barnes lived here for a number of years, his son Eli inheriting the farm and for a while running the Andrews mill.
Finally Eli sold the farm to Ebenezer Peck, a retired sea captain of New Ha- ven, who made this place his summer home. He had been one of the old-line of mariners who once made the port of New Haven famous. He died in 1819 and the administrator of his estate sold the farm to Calvin Coe in 1820.
On the Coe farm in the corner near Allen avenue is a quarry of sandstone of very good quality that was once quite extensively worked both by Mr. Coe and by his predecessors ; the stone in the railroad culvert in Yalesville came from this quarry, and doubtless also the foundation stones of many of the old houses in Meriden.
Photo by R. S. Godfrey. CALVIN COE PLACE.
Until 1798 if one living in the vicinity of the Rice or Andrews farms wished to go to Falls Plains or Hanover, there was only one public road to travel and that was over the present highway running south through this Coe farm on which the stone "Castle" is now situated.
To be sure, the southern extremity was farther east than at present, for there was then no dam at the falls or rapids, setting the waters back into a pond. In the year mentioned a road was opened running south, starting just west of the Andrews Mill, and going through to Rice's bridge, which was exactly 1,650 feet south of Falls Plains bridge, according to the records.1 This would make it pos- sible for a surveyor to show exactly where Rice's bridge was located, for Falls
1 Wallingford Land Records, Vol. XXIX, pp. 14-17.
2I
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Plains bridge was then precisely where it is to-day, viz. adjoining the land where the plant of the Meriden Cutlery Co is now located. Evidently Rice's bridge was either washed away or badly damaged during a flood in the spring of 1792, for at a town meeting held April 13 that year, the question for consideration was whether the town would replace or repair several bridges carried away during the last floods ; they voted not to rebuild or repair Rice's bridge, and perhaps Falls Plains bridge was built, after this decision, by private subscription. The present old house, now used as a saloon and facing the east end of the bridge, occupies the site of the original Justus Rice house, built perhaps as long ago as 1730. The present one was built after 1790 by Justus, Jr. Rice's bridge was for many years the sole approach to Falls Plains from the east and it was simply the continuation of the road running west from the Robert Rice place, now called Archer's.
ASA BRAY, OR BALDWIN HOUSE.
The total length of this road running north from Rice's bridge to Andrews' Mill was 381 rods, but it must have followed a private way or path already in ex- istence, for on it were standing the houses of Col. Asa Bray and Justus Rice. The year following the layout of this north and south road, viz: 1799, a highway was built running west from Falls Plains bridge-the present Main street of Hanover.1 For ninety-two rods west from the bridge the road ran through Rice property ; this was evidently to a point just west of the old Chester Rice place.
Just south of the entrance to Hanover Park stands the house built by Col. Asa
1 Wallingford Land Records, Vol. XXIX, pp. 36, 211, 212.
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EARLY HISTORY.
Bray, of Southington, in the year 1794: he had just bought the whole of the old Whittlesey farm consisting then of 230 acres which ran away over to Town Rock on the west, its south side skirting the river: at the mouth of Harbor Brook he built a sawmill.
The colonel saw much service in the Revolution and attained the brevet rank of major, receiving his colonel's commission after the war was over. He re- mained in Meriden only six years, selling his farm and house in 1800 to Charles Baldwin of Woodbridge, and his saw mill to Joel Cook. Mr. Baldwin appar- ently employed his time tilling his large farm and lived here until 1818 when he died.
JULIUS IVES HOUSE.
His will contained a bequest of $225 to aid in building a Methodist meeting house in Meriden center : his property was valued at $15,000-quite a large sum at that time. The house and considerable adjoining land continued in the Bald- win family for many years: it is now the property of the electric railroad.
The tract of land known as Falls Plains or Hanover, bounded on the north and east by the river, was at first divided into a multiplicity of small holdings in the year 1689, and a copy of the map of this land division has been printed on page 66. The level tract extending south nearly to Yalesville, was also included under this name, and as there were only two roads on the plain and very few houses, it is difficult to follow intelligently the accumulation into farms.
Robert Rice, whose home was in the old house now known as the Archer place, was a very large land owner and apparently acquired nearly all the northern
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part of Falls Plains as far south as Plumb brook and running west nearly to the foot of the hill.
His son, Captain Moses Rice, inherited or bought of the other heirs, most of this land; towards the close of his life he sold the homestead to John Nott and distributed most of his land to his sons, Abner, Joel and Amos. In 1783 he gave to Abner nine acres at the north end of the plain which probably included the site of the Chester Rice place, and on the death of Moses, Abner inherited a large tract adjoining, so that he must at one time have owned nearly the whole of the north end which had previously belonged to Robert and Moses, father and son. But he did not live on it, apparently, for he bought on August 12, 1795, a large
CHESTER RICE PLACE.
tract of land up the hill to the west, where he at once built a house that is still standing, and in a fine state of preservation ; it is a good example of a roomy, comfortable farmhouse of that day.
Abner lived there until 1800 when he sold the farm and house to Abel San- ford, of Woodbridge. In 1828 it was bought by Jesse Ives, the grandfather of Julius and the late Amos Ives ; it is now the farm of the former and it is one of the best in this part of New Haven county ; everything about the place denotes thrift and enterprise.
Abner Rice, after selling the farm on the hill, probably built the house now known as the Chester Rice place on the Main street in Hanover, and his son,
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Chester, later acquired this homestead and many acres of land. He was an en- terprising and successful man. The only persons in Meriden who are descend- ants of Deacon Robert Rice and his son, Captain Moses, of whom the writer is aware, are the Misses Lizzie S. and Emma L. Rice, who still have their home on a part of the ancestral acres : they are daughters of Asahel, the son of Chester.
Away down on the southern part of Curtis street, almost at the Wallingford line, stands a house known as the Lounsbury place.
It was built about 1778 or 1780 by Noah Yale for his son Thomas : but when erected there was no street running by the house: it was situated on a laneway
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
THOMAS YALE, OR LOUNSBURY PLACE.
that ran up to Yale avenue somewhere near the homestead of J. Hobart Yale ; the house does not face the street which was not opened until 1820.
Away back in the early part of the last century, on account of its remoteness from other dwellings, and because it was not on a highway, it was used for a while as an inoculation hospital. This fact was told by the late Edwin E. Curtis, who was born in the year 1800.
Many people know the house built by Ransom Baldwin in 1828, standing on Wall street, a little west of the place where the street turns to the north: the land around was once part of the farm owned by Captair John Couch of Revo-
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
lutionary fame. His house stood in the spot which is now the junction of Wall street and the road running east over Cherry hill to Gravel street, and the old well can still be seen which was just north of the house. Captain Couch came here in 1746, and bought most of his farm of Aaron Lyman, so that he could not have been a young man when the war broke out, which doubtless accounts for his short term of service.
WALLINGFORD AND MIDDLETOWN BOUNDARY DISPUTE.
Away down in the southwestern corner of Middlefield, on top of Beset moun- tain, once stood a poor old cedar tree that was the center of more interest in Wal- lingford and Middletown than perhaps any other point in the two townships. This tree marked the southwestern corner of the latter place, and during the nu- merous boundary disputes between these two towns everything began, centered and ended around this tree.
When the bounds of Middletown were stated at a meeting of the General Court March II, 1652-53, the description was as follows: "This court grants the bounds of Middletown to extend four miles to ye South from ye meeting house and five miles from ye said house westward."
In other words the court defined the southwest quarter of the town by two sides of a rectangle; the other two being understood, and the northwest quarter was defined in the same way.
The manner in which the southwestern corner was determined was by draw- ing a line from the meeting house due south four miles, the southern terminus be- ing marked by a tree. Thence a line was drawn due west five miles to the notorious tree on Beset Mountain
Had the court not divided the northern half of Meriden between the towns of Farmington, Wethersfield and Middletown in 1687, "to plant a village in," these boundary disputes would probably never have taken place: but the division was made and the bitterness of feeling engendered between Middletown and Wallingford was so great that each accused the other of chicanery and sharp practice, and the matter was brought to the attention of the General Court many times, and was not decisively settled until 1773.
The dispute was first brought before the assembly in May, 1722, when Wal- lingford stated that whereas Middletown's west boundary should extend north from the cedar tree in a line parallel to their center line, they had so managed it that they had encroached on Wallingford's territory to the extent of three miles and more, although the latter town's grant from the court had given territory five miles east of the Quinnipiac river ; and as a consequence there was only left to them a distance of one mile and a quarter east of the river.
As a result of this petition the General Assembly or court "Resolved that a north line by the needle of the surveying instrument drawn from the cedar tree
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viz. the reputed southwesterly corner boundary mark of Middletown shall for- ever be and remain the divident line between the said townships provided always that Middletown have liberty with the assistance of the county surveyor to meas- ure their said five miles from their meeting house west, at the end whereof a north and south line shall determine the bounds of Wallingford, providing Mid- dletown take the benefit of measuring said five miles before the first of May next, and give seasonable notice to Wallingford to be present at the measuring."
Accordingly, Wallingford procured the services of the New Haven county surveyor and ran a line north by the needle from the cedar tree and supposedly the matter was settled.
But, unfortunately, no. At the October session, 1726, Middletown appeared before the court and asserted that Wallingford by "false misrepresentations had obtained a disannulling of their west line to Middletown's great loss" and pray- ing for relief.
Accordingly, the sheriff was sent to Wallingford to summon the inhabitants before the assembly : Theophilus Yale acting for the town entered appearance and (presumably) presented a counter petition signed by four Wallingford men who had made purchases in the so-called Country or Purchase Lands, and the matter was apparently dropped for the time being.
At the October session, 1729, this perennial matter again came before the as- sembly in the form of a petition from Wallingford stating that after the resolve of the Assembly in 1722 they had procured the services of the New Haven county surveyor to run the north line from the cedar tree, which they had had subse- quently verified by the Fairfield county surveyor. But that Middletown, not sat- isfied with this line, had procured the services of the Hartford county surveyor who had so run the line that he had given to Middletown half a mile of Walling- ford territory ; the main object of the petition was to ask why this north line should not run parallel to Middletown's center line.
An examination of the map will show that all this disputed land was in what is now the territory of the town of Meriden. The cause of the difference in the lines as run by the several county surveyors, was a variation in the needles of the instruments. A difference of one or two degrees at the cedar tree would, of course, cause a great discrepancy when a point as far north as old Liberty street was reached by the north line. When the matter was brought to a vote, the up- per house declared that Wallingford's petition was a reasonable one : but the lower house voted in the negative.
In the meantime a dispute between Middletown and Farmington relating to boundary lines, had broken out and the services of two surveyors, David Good- rich and Thomas Seymour, had been employed in 1725 to affix the southeast cor- ner of Farmington which adjoined at that time the northwest corner of Middle-
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town. The latter town was not satisfied with the line as run, probably because the surveyors after locating the corner had drawn a line south to old Liberty street to mark the west boundary of Middletown adjoining Wallingford. An attempt on the part of Middletown to remeasure this line between her bounds and those of Farmington was frustrated by a man named Hezekiah Hart, who refused to allow the surveyors to cross his farm ; several times the attempt to remeasure was re- sumed, but each time Hezekiah said "No! you cannot cross my farm": and ap- parently acting within his rights, for no penalty or punishment resulted to the doughty farmer. ,
Then the dispute between Middletown and Wallingford began again, and dragged its weary length along and finally aid of the Assembly was invoked for Middletown had taken the matter in her own hands and rerun her western bound and then sued Wallingford's selectmen in the sum of £5 each for not perambu- lating the bounds with her. Wallingford, in concluding her appeal in 1734, said "your honors have found a remedy for other towns in like predicament so please allow the line of New Haven county surveyor to stand which is nearest the true line or else settle the line yourself." Accordingly, Middletown was summoned to answer the complaint or petition, but the upper and lower branches of the As- sembly were unable to agree on a decision and the matter was referred to the May session, 1735.
As usual, the lower house agreed with Middletown at the May session and the argument in her behalf was as follows: "the assembly in 1722 acted with the ut- most care and caution and enacted that the dividing line between Middletown and Wallingford shall be a line north by the needle from the cedar tree, with a proviso that Middletown may extend a west line from their meeting house five miles, and on ye extent of that, a north and south line to determine Wallingford bounds, with a further proviso yt Middletown should take the benefit thereof before the first of May next coming ; in relation to which we observe first ye act or judgt is ab- solute and ye proviso is only a liberty granted to Middletown and if only a liberty then not necessary for 'till liberty and necessity can be blended together and con- sidered as synonymous words or things, we cant understand that Middletown was obliged to measure their five miles to establish their north line by the needle. 2ªly if Middletown were laid under a necessity of carrying out their five mile line then they were obliged to defeat their grant to establish it which is a contradic- tion," etc., etc.
The upper house took an opposite view and said "since Middletown's extent gives them their width of five miles west from their center line through the meet- ing house, then the bounds between the two towns should be a line paralel to the center line, and when the assembly say upon a certain condition that a north line by the needle from the cedar tree shall be the dividing line, it is upon a supposition
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that the cedar tree stands at the south end of the sd paralell line and that the line from thence should be run north from that tree by the same needle that ran their center line."
Again, at the October session, 1735, Wallingford stated that "Middletown did in 1727 without any order or direction from this court procure another surveyor to run another line to the great detriment and disturbance of the town of Walling- ford, the needle of whose compass varies above three degrees westward from the needle by which their center and other lines were run. If sufficient authority was not given to either party by the act of 1722 to run and ascertain the line, then your honors should now appoint some suitable person or persons to perform it and that you should supply what is wanting in sd act by determining by what needle the sd line shall be run. If there be more compasses than one in the world, and they dif- fer from one another, and the act doth not determine by which of them the lines should be run its necessary then the act should be explained by declaring the par- ticular needle by which it should be performed, otherwise it must forever remain uncertain which of them was intended."
Wallingford was insistent to gain what she, considered her rights and again brought in a petition in 1736; such persistence could not be withstood and the General Assembly finally at the October session enacted the following: "It appears that this Assembly at their sessions October II, 1722, did order that a north line from the cedar tree to be run by the needle of the surveying instrument should divide said towns and thereupon Wallingford procured the surveyor of New Ha- ven county to run said line, and afterwards Middletown procured the surveyor of Hartford county to run said line, and also that neither of said lines passeth right between said towns: that by New Haven county surveyor taking from Middle- town and that run by Hartford county surveyor taking from Wallingford. It is now ordered by this Assembly that the line dividing said towns shall be a line run from the said southwest corner of Middletown, parallel to their center line as far northward until it intersects the south line [Liberty street] of those lands called the Purchase Lands, and that then the line already ordered by this assem- bly for the east line of said Purchase Lands shall divide said towns."
The line was accordingly run on November 25, 1736.
When it had been finally decided as above the towns of Farmington, Middle- town and Wethersfield called the attention of the Assembly to the fact that the Purchase Lands now definitely given to Wallingford had been allotted to them in 1687, and asked damages for their loss: but the Assembly absolutely refused to grant any remuneration.
One would be pardoned for believing that the matter was at last decided for- ever and that no further disputes could possibly arise ; but such was not the case.
At the May, 1742, session of the General Assembly ten Middletown men pre-
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sented a petition stating that by the new line established in 1736 their town had lost some fifteen hundred acres, which had been distributed to them and their ancestors as early as 1671. That the Assembly did in 1680 grant to Mr. Samuel Street of Wallingford a farm of 200 acres which was bounded on the east by the old Middletown line which was, therefore, recognized at that time. But now cer- tain Wallingford proprietors claim the land formerly granted to the petitioners lying between the old and new west lines of Middletown; therefore, they ask the Assembly to sell the rights to them or else give them the right to sue the Wal- lingford holders. This was essentially a private petition, but, nevertheless, it was just as serious for the Wallingford holder of the land in question as if it were the act of Middletown.
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