USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Fairfield > Fairfield, ancient and modern; a brief account, historic and descriptive, of a famous Connecticut town > Part 2
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The rude jail on the edge of the Green was repaired in 1675 and a new one built in 1679. The jail with other buildings was destroyed in 1768-set on fire by one of the prisoners. The next jail-reared on the site where St. Paul's Church now stands- suffered the fate of the town in 1779 and went up in flames.
When the county seat moved to Bridgeport in 1853, St. Paul's Church entered into possession of the property, re-constructed the edifice and transformed it into the Gothic structure which stands beautifully mantled with ivy to-day, contributing its rest- ful and suggestive beauty to the historic Green.
The Norman Church on the opposite side of the street is the suc- cessor of five other sacred edifices which have been reared at vari- ous periods on the same hallowed ground. The log Meeting House of 1640, re-built in 1668, gave way to a frame building in 1698. This was superseded by a dignified colonial structure worthy of a prosperous settlement. This third building was torn down to make way for an enlarged and comely Meeting House with lofty spire and ornate entrance. The British burned it although Tryon had promised to preserve both the parish Meet- ing House and Trinity Church. The poverty of a war scourged country crippled the people when they reared the next edifice, but it was finished after many years and finally gave place to the more modern and elegant sanctuary dedicated in 1840. This latter building was "caught up" by fire on the night of May
ST. PAUL'S CHURCH
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¿ 29th and the morn of May 30th, 1890. The sixth Sanctuary, described by Principal Fairbairn of Mansfield College, Oxford, as one of the most beautiful churches of America, was gratefully dedicated as a precious memorial of the Forefathers in Fairfield on May the 2nd, 1892.
THE FAIRFIELD ACADEMY.
The one hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Acade- my was celebrated by the Historical Society and the Alumni of the school on October 28th, 1904. Although the institution has suspended work for several years its history is treasured by many people and the roll of its constituency contains many prominent names.
The first trustees were Judge Jonathan Sturges, Rev. Andrew Eliot, Deacon David Judson, Nathan Beers, jr., and Samuel Rowland, Esq. The gentlemen who served on the Board in addition to the first named are David Allen, Dr. Heman Hum- phrey, Joshua Green, David Hull, Judge Roger M. Sherman, Ebenezer D. Dimon, General Gershom Burr, Walter Thorp, Jesup Wakeman, W. B. Nash, M. D., Dr. Nathaniel Hewit, Ed- ward Hooker, Andrew Eliot, jr., Rev. Leonard Bacon, Rev. John Hunter, W. B. Jones, Abram Gould Jennings, Charles Bennett, Judge Thomas Osborne, O. W. Jones, Dr. Lyman At- water, George A. Phelps, Hon. John Gould, Henry T. Curtiss, Captain David M. Bunker, Moses G. Betts, John G. Morehouse, Rev. E. E. Rankin, D. D., Rev. L. B. Stimson, John H. Glover, Rev. Frederick W. Hyde, Oliver B. Jennings, Samuel Glover, Samuel Morehouse, Rev. J. K. Lombard, President George S. Burroughs, D. D., S. M. Garlick, M. D., and Benjamin Betts.
Among the principals were Samuel Hitchcock, the eminent lawyer; President Humphrey of Amherst College, Governor Henry Dutton, Rev. Dr. Elihu Baldwin, first President of Marietta College; Dr. A. B. Pearce, first President of Western Reserve College; Dr. Daniel March, the author; Henry Day, one of the eminent lawyers of New York, and Morris W. Lyon
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who for many years conducted a famous and successful prepara- tory school for boys in the metropolis.
The Academy attracted generous patronage during the early years of its life. The multiplication of schools and the changes in methods of public instruction acted adversely upon the old academies of the land and the Fairfield institution suffered with schools of a kindred character.
The Hargrove School, recently established in Fairfield, is a high class preparatory school, aiming to do a special work for students who desire individual guidance and instruction. An opportunity is given to do two years' class-room tasks in one year. The tutors take the pupils singly, devoting one, two, three or four hours to them as may be deemed advisable. It is not that the young man is crowded, but simply that there is no waste. He receives the master's undivided attention during the time set apart for his lesson. This enables a student to com- press into brief period work that often lags through the years.
THE OLD BURYING GROUND.
Southeast of the Green lies the ancient God's Acre on the road to the beach. This sacred place has been reverently safe- guarded by substantial walls over which fond vines tenderly climb. A beautiful stone lich-gate gives entrance to the quiet field. Here the earlier burials occurred. Venerable stones --- the oldest date is 1687-still mark some resting-places of the dead, but many graves remain unmarked. The later monuments show good state of preservation. The names of numerous eminent citizens, soldiers and scholars appear upon the stones.
On May 30th, 1904, the Eunice Dennie Burr Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated a bronze tablet placed on the lich-gate in memory of the soldiers and patriots of the American Revolution whose mortal remains repose liere beneath the greensward.
The Burying Ground has become the Mecca of many a pious pilgrimage- a place suggestive of peace, honor, loyalty and courage.
LICH GATE AT THE ANCIENT BURYING GROUND
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One of the earlier settlers and adventurers in Fairfield-An- drew Ward, has been recently commemorated by a chaste, stal- wart block of granite reared near the centre of the Ground. His numerous living descendants thus honor a fearless, aggres- sive, conspicuous pioneer and citizen almost two hundred and fifty years after the close of his strenuous, enterprising career.
An interesting and remarkable inscription chiseled into the modest Silliman monument reads as follows : In memory of Gold Selleck Silliman Esq. Who died in Brooklyn, New York June 3, 1868 in the gist year of his age. And of Benjamin Silliman L.L.D. More than fifty years Professor of Natural Science in Vale College, Who died in New Haven, Connecticut Nove. 24, 1861 in the 86th year of his age. -
Their remains are interred in the places of their decease. Eminent in Honor, Generosity, Affection,
Patriotism, Intellectual Culture, and Christian
Principle. They were bound together through life by the strongest fraternal ties. They were sons of General Gold S. Silliman Who died A. D. 1790, and grandsons of Honorable Ebenezer Silliman deceased A. D. 1778; who was the son of Robert Silliman deceased A. D. 1718, and grandson of Daniel Silliman deceased A. D. 1600, All of Fairfield. Their children add this to the record of their ancestors A. D. 1877
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Mrs. Kate E. Perry, in her book entitled "The Old Burying Ground of Fairfield," performed a most onerous and noteworthy task, contributing valuable material to the literature which deals with life in the town. Patriotic ladies have reared the substan- tial walls which frame the grounds, and given very generously toward the adornment and preservation of the place. In the northeast corner of the yard the observer finds the massive brown- stone slabs, supported by heavy pillars, covering the graves of Mr. and Mrs. James Dennie, Eunice Dennie became the wife of Thaddeus Burr, the grandson of Chief Justice Burr. A member of the Town Committee on War, Deputy of the General Court, High Sheriff, one of the Governor's Council, a gentleman of large fortune and generous nature, Thaddeus Burr was a con- spicuous figure in the life of the colony and state. The friend of New England's leading statesmen and financiers, he practiced a princely hospitality.
His accomplished wife, in whose honor the Fairfield Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution is namned, was a lady of rare merits and attractions. Her courage and fidelity are illustrated by numerous incidents. When the town was burned she sought to save their mansion, which was filled with treasures and associated with many delightful memories. She tells the story. "When the rabble surged into the house they shouted 'You damned rebel, where is your husband ?' at the same time stripping me of my buckles, tearing down the curtains of my bed, breaking the frame of my dressing-glass, pulling out the drawers of my table and desk. In the midst of this confu- sion Gen. Tryon came into the house. He behaved with polite- ness ; he demanded the papers. I told him there was none but of very old dates which related to the estates. The general said those are what we want, for we intend to have the estates. . - Very soon after he had taken leave of me there came in a set more dreadful than the ruffians who had first attacked me. These being informed or suspicious that I was possessed of a watch, attempted to search me. I drew back to the yard, the only shelter that I had, and there committed myself to God. . They were, however, permitted to pursue me, throw mne on the
4
WARD MONUMENT
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ground and searchi me, pulling and tearing my clothes from me in a most barbarous manner. . After a spirited and well- sustained defence, Mrs. Burr was finally driven into her mead- ows, where the grief-stricken woman saw the mansion fired by ruthless hands and burned with its precious heirlooms to the ground.
Another grave, which has special interest-lying near to those of Mr. and Mrs. Burr, is that of Mrs. Hall, the grand-daughter of Judge Peter Burr. The inscription reads as follows :
"Here lies buried the Body of Mrs. Abigail Hall, wife of Lyman Hall, M. A., Daughter of Thaddeus Burr, Esq., Died July 8th, 1753, aged 24 years.
Modest, yet free, with innocence adorned;
To please and win by Art and Nature formed;
Benevolent and wise, in Virtue firm; Constant in Friendship, in Religion warm; A partner tender, unaffected, kind; A lovely Form, with a more lovely mind- The scene of Life, tho' short sh' improved so well,
No charms in human forms could more excel; Christ's Life her copy, His pure Law her Guide: Each part She acted, perfected, and dy'd."
Lyman Hall, the husband of this honored young woman, be- came a citizen of Georgia, was one of the Signers of the Decla- ration of Independence, and served as Governor of his adopted state.
THE EAST CEMETERY.
A new cemetery was needed early in the nineteenth century. The honored Town Clerk, Mr. Samuel Rowland, and a few of his contemporaries, purchased the land where the cemetery was established in the year 1827. An iron railing was placed around one of the lots, and curious people came long distances to see this interesting innovation.
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The new stone wall, the gate, the substantial fence, the mac- adam roads and the well-trimmed lawn are evidences of the faithful services rendered the public by two of our esteemed citizens.
OAKLAWN CEMETERY.
This beautiful resting-place lies between Fairfield village and Greenfield Hill. A venerable oak-one of the most ancient in the country-stands facing the entrance. A rolling landscape, a gurgling brook, wooded retreats and the quiet waters of the bor- dering Mill River, suggest sweet repose. The Association was organized December 29th, 1865.
THE BENSON TAVERN.
This old hostelry is now a private house. It was built imme- diately after the close of the war of the American Revolution and occupied by General Abel. Captain Benson converted it into a place of public entertainment and for many years it was a favorite resort of travellers, statesmen, scholars, actors and the people who passed back and forth between Boston and New York on horseback or in stagecoach. Col. Aaron Burr, Daniel Webster, General Jackson, the elder Booth, Macready and many famous men were guests of the house. Captain Benson's daugh- ter, the present occupant of the homestead, has in her possession various relics and heirlooms of value. One of the old chairs is known as Peter Parley's chair, his favorite when enjoying the hospitality of "mine host ".
THE POWDER HOUSE.
The little brick structure on the elevation above the railroad northwest of the station served the public as a place of deposit for their powder during the war of 1812. The building has been put in order by the Eunice Dennie Burr Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and appropriately marked.
THE POWDER HOUSE
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THE RAILROAD AND TROLLEY.
It made considerable change in the geography of the town when in 1853 the New Haven Railroad cut in twain various properties and divided the shore levels from the neighboring hills.
The change in certain town features was not less marked in 1894 when the trolley invaded the main street and con- tributed its unwelcome noise and careless disfigurement to this charming, famous, elm-arched, historic avenue.
BLACK ROCK HARBOR.
Two harbours have served the commercial interests of Fairfield -Black Rock on the southeastern edge of the town and South- port on the southwestern. Black Rock is now included within the corporation of Bridgeport. During a period of more than two hundred years, however, it was a part of Fairfield. Here trade flourished and war blazed defiance. The little fort on Grover's Hill afforded an uncertain sense of security on various occasions. The quiet waters behind Fayerweather's Island in- vited ships to safe anchorage. The collector of the Port of Fair- field here exercised authority. Captains of commerce made their homes in this neighborhood. Fishermen, warriors, mar- iners, pleasure-seekers, builders of maritime industry have shared the life of the Port.
During the American Revolution this harbour was the scene of noteworthy activity. Colonel Parsons sailed from Black Rock on the evening of August 14th, 1777, with a sloop and six sail- boats, one hundred and fifty men and a brass six-pounder in order to dislodge Colonel Hewlett who had fortified Bookhaven on Long Island.
Black Rock was a convenient place for the men engaged in whale boat warfare. Captain Caleb Brewster, one of the heroes who won enviable fame by his victories over British craft along these shores, made Black Rock his home. Many an expedition against the enemy did he organize among his sailor friends. In
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1781 he brought into the harbour a British armed boat and all her crew. It was on Dec. 7th, 1782, that his most desperate encour- ter with the enemy occurred. This was known as the "boat fight". On this particular morning several of the enemy's boats came down the Sound and Captain Brewster with his brave comrades intercepted theni. It was a savage fight-a hand to hand conflict-for in twenty minutes nearly all the men engaged were either killed or wounded. Two boats were captured. Cap- tain Brewster was among the injured. He was able, however, to continue his work a few months later. On March 9th, 1783, he captured the Fox, one of the enemy's vessels. The Fairfield Historical Society has among its treasures an elegant silver lov- ing cup presented to Captain Brewster by admiring friends as an expression of their esteem.
THE BEACH.
Fairfield beach is one of the safest and most attractive along the shores of the Sound. To the East lies Black Rock Harbour, a favorite rendezvous for the fleet of whale boats during the American Revolution-a pleasant haven for fleets of various yaclit clubs and diverse shipping to-day.
Grover's Hill projects itself boldly into the sea on the west of the harbour. Here the Continental troops built their fort and kept guard as best they could over this long line of exposed and imperiled coast. Fort Union, which frowned on the height dur- ing the war of 1812, gave a feeling of hope and courage to the citizens of the town.
This emerald hill is now a beautiful private park, containing several of the most elegant and expensive country residences in Connecticut. The views from Schoonhoven Park are superb, land and sea merging into a shifting panorama of beautiful and fascinating pictures.
Ash Creek lies on the west of the hill, pushing back into the country a mile or two. In the pioneer days there were tide mills here, the first one being erected a considerable distance up the inlet. It was through Ash Creek that the British soldiers ran
FAIRFIELD BEACH GROVER'S HILL IN THE DISTANCE
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their boat on the night when they captured General Silliman.
Leaving the swift flowing current of the out-going tide, the observer wanders down the beach until he comes to the bathing pavilions which have been erected by this generation of pleasure seekers. Here there are ample opportunities and facilities for the enjoyment of a swim in the sea.
Two settlements of cottages have been formed within the past ten years along this shore, where several hundred visitors spend delightful summers.
THE MARSHES.
One of the charming features of the landscape which frames the village of Fairfield is the sinuous stretch of marshes on the east and south, close under the sand rifts, that make a low barri- cade for resisting encroachments of the sea. Pine Creek and Ash Creek and other tortuous inlets cut their fitful way through these low-lying meadows. The wealth of varied grasses, the occasional masses of short shrubbery and myriads of beautiful wild flowers mingle with the frequent glint of ebbing or flowing tide. Birds nest in the quiet places or sing exquisite melodies which float carelessly over the strange expanse. The winds play with the graceful, swaying tufts and plumes. Wild fowl fly low here, and make a trysting place. A wonderful, prolific life flourishes in these marshes.
" How ample the marsh and the sea and the sky,"
"A league and a league of marsh grass, waist-high, broad in the blade,"
"Green, and all of a height, and unflecked with a light or a shade,"
"Stretch leisurely off, in a pleasant plain,"
"To the terminal blue of the main."
PENFIELD REEF.
This natural breakwater pushes into the Sound a distance of two miles or more from the bend of the beach midway between Grover's Hill and the Southport harbour. A considerable por-
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tion of the ancient meadow land has become submerged since the days when little Benjamin Silliman ran away from his teacher, and in company with other truants came near losing his life by reason of the rising tide, which cut them off from the shore. This narrow, rocky reef-a favorite resort of the clam-haunted by Indians and pioneers, each in their day-has been the scene of various wrecks, catastrophes, perils and deaths. The light- house near the extreme end now warns ships when they approach the treacherous ledges. In wild storms the Penfield Reef Light is sometimes almost submerged by the force of the waves, and the keeper has been a prisoner in the place through many anxious, distressful nights.
SOUTHPORT HARBOR.
Southport Harbour, on the southwestern edge of the town, Sasco Hill and Rose Hill watchful over its placid waters, has been for generations the favored centre of large and important local business interests. Its fleets have engaged in lively com- merce with Boston, New York and the various ports of this coun- try and other countries. Regular lines of communication be- tween Southport and several shore cities flourished for years. A lucrative commerce and many influential men of affairs gave great prominence to this part of the town. Our local banks are situated here. The large proportion of trade and business in the town gravitated naturally to Southport after the burning of Fairfield in 1779. Homes of wealth and culture have character- ized the place during these years. It is the most thickly settled portion of the town-much has been done to adorn and beautify the streets-inany handsome private residences impart an air of dignity and repose.
The sloop which brought Colonel Aaron Burr from Boston to New York on his return from Europe in 1812 lingered two days in Southport harbour. It was commanded by Captain Dimon, and there were other Fairfield men on board-distant relatives of the ex-Vice-President.
It was off the shore of Norwalk Light that the ill-fated Lex-
-
SOUTHPORT HARBOR A VIEW FROM THE LAWN OF MR. W. H. PERRY
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.
ington .was burned in January, 1840. The citizens of Southport rallied and attempted to save the perishing sufferers, but swift havoc of fire did not wait upon any merciful tender of help. The sloop Merchant, owned by Sherwood & Meeker, went to the rescue, but only three men were saved.
Numerous bands of Tories from Long Island committed vexa- tious or cruel depredations along these shores during the war of the American Revolution. Captain Amos Perry, one June evening, sailed from Southport harbor in his sloop "Racer," with the purpose of punishing one of these bands which had been specially active in the neighborhood. The following morning the "Racer" appeared among the enemy-apparently driven by force of the night's storm into their borders. A Tory sloop, observing the difficulties of the "Racer," saluted Captain Perry and pro- ceeded to board the Connecticut vessel. When the opportune moment came, Captain Perry stamped his foot, a goodly number of men concealed in the cabin suddenly swarmed upon deck, there was a brief hand-to-hand struggle, and the Tory sloop, with its crew and munitions, became the reward of the Americans' daring.
During the war of 1812 a volunteer military company was organized in Southport, and " Fort Defence" was built near the place now known as the lower wharf.
Four ship yards have flourished here at different periods. Mill River, the name given to the settlement on the harbour, was exchanged for Southport, and a charter granted to the Bor- ough in 1851.
THE BURNING OF FAIRFIELD IN 1779.
Fairfield was a special object of hatred to the British, for it was the home of Gen. Silliman and a goodly number of patriots, soldiers and statesmen. It had furnished men, supplies and in- spiration with unstinted generosity. It was a center of whale- boat warfare for the coast. It had treated Tories with a degree of severity. It was playing an important and conspicuous part in the struggle for Independence.
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Tryon and the fleet arrived off shore the morning of July 7th. A landing in two divisions was made in the afternoon-one divi- sion coming over Sasco Hill, the other up Beach Lane. The militia on the Green and the little garrison under Lieut. Jarvis in the fort on Grover's Hill fired on the invaders. There was a babel of /noises-march of troops, shrill cries of frightened chil- dren, wild shouts of men, the crack-crack of muskets, booming of cannon from the fort, hoarse notes of defiance, and finally a hand-to-hand fight for the possession of the Green. The British numbers and discipline pushed the small American troop back into the hill country, and night settled down upon the scene.
But the village had been condemned, and the torch was ap- plied in various places. Dr. Dwight writes a graphic account of the conflagration in the third volume of his travels. Rev. Andrew Eliot, an eye-witness, describes the event in a letter to his brother: "About an hour before sunset the conflagration began at the house of Mr. Isaac Jennings. At sunrise some considerable part of the town was standing, but in about two hours the flames became general. The burning parties car- ried on their business with horrible alacrity . . all the town from the bridge by Col. Gold's to Mill River, a few houses ex- cepted, was a heapof ruins."
" Oh, the horrors of that dreadful night," writes Mary Silli- man in her journal. "The sky," says Dr. Dwight, " was speed- ily hung with the deepest darkness wherever the clouds were not tinged by the melancholy lustre of the flames. At in- tervals the lightnings blazed with a livid and terrible splendor. The thunder rolled above. Beneath, the roaring of the fires filled up the intervals with a deep and hollow sound, which seemed to be the protracted murmur of the thunder, reverber- ated from one end of the heaven to another. Add to this con- vulsion of the elements, and these dreadful effects of vindictive and wanton devastation, the trembling of the earth, the sharp sound of musketry occasionally discharged, the groans here and there of the wounded and dying, and the shouts of triumph; then place before your eyes crowds of miserable sufferers,
BEACH LANE, UP WHICH THE BRITISH MARCHED IN 1779
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mingled with bodies of the militia. and you will form a just but imperfect picture of the burning of Fairfield."
"The distress of this poor people is inexpressible," said Mr. Eliot in giving his account of the calamity. "I feel myself in a state of uncertainty as to the many necessities of life."
"Could Tryon hope to quench the patriot flame,"
"Or make his deeds survive in glory's page?"
"Could Britons seek of savages the same,"
"Or deem it conquest, thus the war to wage?"
1770205
More than two hundred and eighteen buildings were destroyed by the flames.
WASHINGTON IN FAIRFIELD.
Washington passed through Fairfield when he was a British officer twenty-four years old. Irving has drawn a picture of him at this period. He was en route for Boston. Nineteen years later he was made Commander-in-Chief of the Continental forces and came this way a second time en route for Boston. He arrived at Fairfield June 28th, 1775. where dinner was served to his company. Dr. Ripley of Greens Farms accompanied him through the parish. Washington returned this way after the campaign in the neighborhood of Boston, arriving at Fairfield April 12th, 1776.
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