History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume II, Part 91

Author: Rockey, J. L. (John L.)
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York : W. W. Preston
Number of Pages: 1138

USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 91
USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 91

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.

Bands," 33 inhabitants in the north part and 30 in the south part pro- tested and in 1732 a new line, farther south, was selected. The old society paid the new one £300 and its affairs now became, so far as its ecclesiastical interests were concerned, separate and distinct. This original parish of Southbury was sub-divided in May, 1766, when the parish of South Britain was incorporated to embrace all that part of the Southbury parish lying west of the divide formed by the hills along the Pomperang, in the central part, or north of the great bend of that streamn. The inhabitants of the parishes of Southbury and South Britain were incorporated as a town, by the May, 1787, general assembly. The first meeting, was held in the Southbury society, June 30th, 1787, Edward Hinman moderating, when the following were chosen: Clerk, Increase Mosely; selectmen, Shadrach Osborn, Ed- ward Hinman, Amos Johnson, Nathan Curtiss, John Edmond; treas- urer, Aaron Hinman; collector, Silas Hicock; constables, Simeon Mit- chell, Nathan Down, Titus Pearce; listers, Sherman Hinman, John Bulford, Titus Pearce, Moses A. Johnson, Daniel Hinman, Nathan Down, Jonathan Mitchell, Samuel Cande, Ebenezer Strong; grand jurors, Daniel Curtiss, Elijah Bootlı, Simeon Mitchell, Jr .; tything men, Elijah Hine, Elnathan Strong, Elijah Fairchild; gauger, Shad- rach Osborn; sealer of weights and measures, Jonah Summers; key keepers, Abraham Lines, Moses Downs; surveyors of highways, Eph- raim Stiles, David Mitchell, Wait Garritt, Elnathan Strong, David Hin- man, Jr., Joseph Hicock, Jr., Benjamin Curtiss, Selah Strong, Justus Bristol, John Mallory, Samuel Curtiss, Nathan Down, Johnson Wheel- er, Eleazer Mitchell, John Edmond, Asa Hicock, Solomon Seward, Malock Ward, Eleazer Hinman, Adam Lum, Adam Hinman, Jr., Abra- ham Pearce, Stephen Squire, Samuel Cande, David Squire, Benjamin Hicock.

It was voted that a tax of one penny on [the pound be levied, pay- able February, 1788, in money, or rye at 3 shillings per bushel; Indian- corn at 2 shillings 3 pence; buckwheat at 1 shilling S pence per bushel, or flax at 5 pence per pound.

The movement to create a new county, to consist of the towns of Woodbury, Waterbury, Southbury, New Milford, Washington, etc., received the favorable consideration of the electors in 1791, and it was voted to favor such a new county, " provided that the seat be fixed in the first society of Woodbury; and further provided that the court- house and jail be erected without taxing the inhabitants of the new county." Benjamin Stiles, Jr., Esq., Amos Johnson and Aaron Hin- man were appointed agents to the convention in behalf of the new county; but no action leading to the formation of a county was taken, and Southbury became a part of New Haven county.

The town clerks of Woodbury have been: 1787-1804, Colonel In- crease Mosely; 1805-33, John Mosely; 1834-6. Charles C. Hinman; 1837-50, Walter Johnson; 1851-62, Titus Pierce; 1863-71, Henry W.

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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.

Scott; 1872-3, William T. Gilbert; 1874-7, Oliver Mitchell; 1878-81, . Granville T. Pierce; 1882-6, John J. Hinman; 1887, Samuel L. Tuttle; 1888, John J. Hinman.

In early times the means of communication were limited, but the construction of the highways received proper consideration. The smaller streams were usually forded and the larger ones crossed by means of ferries. On the Housatonic, at Cockshure's island, Peter Hubbell was granted the right to operate a ferry May 13th, 1730, and from that time the island was known by his name. Several miles be- low, the right was granted to Wait Hinman in 1752, and the same privilege was granted to his son, Samuel Hinman, in 1775. At this place General George Washington caused a bridge to be built while on his march, in 1778. It was damaged and repaired in 1779, and more thoroughly rebuilt in 1780 by moneys raised by a lottery.

The principal highway has ever been Southbury Main street. It closely followed the old Pomperaug trail and was laid out by the whites in 1675. When the Woodbury turnpike was located in 1795 this course was selected, when it became a still more popular thoroughfare. In many places it is from eight to fifteen rods wide and has several driveways, along which grow magnificent oaks, elms and maples, among which are studded many comfortable homes. Near the Wood- bury line are several fine places. One is known as the Mitchell Man- sion House and was built on the site of Reverend Mr. Graham's resi- dence by M. S. Mitchell, about 1835, for a superior place of public en- tertainment. At that time and for many years it had no equal in size and beauty of finish in this part of the state. It was sold to Sidney B. Whitlock, a retired sea captain, who converted it into a country resi- dence, in which way it was used in 1890 by Henry A. Matthews. Near by, on the hillside, is a substantial brick residence, which became noted as the place where the popular and genial author, Samuel G. Good- rich (Peter Parley), passed the last days of his life, and he now rests in the cemetery near by. The "Peter Parley House " was a pleasant country resort in 1890, kept by Egbert Warner.

On Southbury Main street have been kept the principal stores and public places of this part of the town. At White Oak Colonel Increase Mosely had a store before and during the revolution, and at that place some of Lafayette's troops were encamped while on their march from the east. On the site of the M. E. church Captain Truman Hinman was many years engaged in trade. On the east side of the street Colo- nel Jedediah Hall, and later Charles H. Hall, merchandised and also kept the post office. Jackson & Hunt were the last in trade at that place, when the building was burned. Farther south the Osborns, Nathan Mitchell and Nathan Stiles also traded. At the lower end of Main street George and Aaron Shelton had a place of business, which was burned in 1847. Farther west, on the site of the present " Oak Tree Inn," Jedediah Hall had a store and shops for the manufacture

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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.

of leather and shoes. Heth P. Jones was on the same site later. Higher up the street Henry W. Scott had a public house for many years, after 1840, which has been converted into a private residence. On this end of the street the Southbury post office is kept by Walter Hicock. Other recent postmasters have been Andrew Perry, S. L. Tuttle and Benjamin Hicock. A. A. Stone and others traded here in 1890. Stone also had small mills operated by the waters of Bullet brook, whose power is feeble. Captain Aaron Hicock and the Shel- tons were earlier owners. Higher up this brook improvements were made as early as 1712, by one of the Strongs. In 1740 the Knowles, Strong and Hicock families united and put up a saw mill. Later a grist mill was there put up, which was operated by members of the Hicock family, when it was destroyed by fire. The past 20 years the power has been utilized by Charles Wakelee's plow factory. Nearly west of the Southbury railway station, on the Pomperaug, Amos Platt had saw and grist mills, which passed to Joseph Olm- stead, and more recently to William W. Olmstead.

The New York & New England railroad enters the town of South- bury from the northeast, on crossing the Eight Mile brook, and leaves it to the west, on crossing the Housatonic river-a distance of about seven miles. The first survey was made by Engineer Broadhead, of Boston, in the fall of 1845. The application to take land was made in July, 1868, under the name of the Boston, Hartford & Erie Railroad Company, and work was commenced the following November and continued till February, 1870, about three quarters of the roadbed being completed. Suspension then became a necessity on account of the failure of the company to provide funds. Work was resumed under the new company in January, 1880; the track was laid in No- vember and December, and the road ballasted the following spring and opened for travel in July, 1881. There are two stations in the town; Pomperaug Valley, for the convenience of Southbury, South Britain and Woodbury, an important station for passengers, freight and mails; and Southford station, which also affords facilities for the western parts of Oxford and Quakers Farm and the southern portions of Middlebury.

At South Britain the Pomperaug affords a good power, which early caused a small village to spring up, at that place. The surroundings are picturesque, there being high ledges of rock along the stream, which made its improvement easy. Saw and grist mills were here operated, before the revolution, by the Hinmans, Knowles and others. At the close of the last century Nathaniel Cary Clark was the mill owner, and in 1798 he sold the privileges to Simeon Mitchell. The Litchfield county road had been laid out through the place the year before, and the surrounding country was being improved. At that time among the inhabitants here were Justus Johnson (who had a small store), Patience Sperry, Moses and Benjamin Downs. Mitchell

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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.

was an energetic man and quickened the business of the place. After his death, in 1814, his son-in-law, Burton Canfield, became the owner of the mill interests and greatly extended the business. He put up a large three-story mill for making carpet yarns, for weavers of New Haven, which was carried on until 1845. Canfield also had a tan- nery, shoe shops, comb shops, and put up many of the buildings in the village. He died in 1849 and inch of his property passed to Lemuel M. Canfield and others; but the carpet mill was not steadily used and was burned in 1870. The site has since been used for lumber and grist mills. On the opposite side of the stream, Anson and Ira Bradley had a satinet factory, which burned down at an earlier period, when a new woolen mill was erected farther down the stream, which has long been operated by Bradley, Hoyt & Co. on cloths and yarns, but was idle in 1890. Below this plant was the reservoir of the South Britain Water Power Company, which was constructed in 1853 at a cost of $17,000. It embraced forty acres, and there was a fall of 20 feet. The esti- mated power was 300 horse, and the water was supplied by the Pom- peraug and Transylvania brook. Unfortunately the reservoir was never utilized, and the waters have been withdrawn, leaving only the ruins of the enterprise.

Among the industries at South Britain were a number of hat shops and other mechanic pursuits, which have passed away, leaving only the ordinary avocations in the mechanic trades, there being several shops.

In mercantile pursuits Samuel and George Smith were active, occu- pying the store used in 1890 by Charles T. Downs. Deacon Elliott Beardsley had another store and was for many years the postmaster of the South Britain office. There are also in the village Congrega- tional and Methodist churches and about 25 residences. Pomperaug, three miles distant, is the railway station.

The Southford School District# comprises the third in Southbury and the ninth in Oxford, annexed, and lies to the east of Pomperaug Valley. The hill where the first school house was built is the highest elevation in New Haven county, on the road from New Haven to Litchfield. But this hill is encircled by an inner and onter circle of hills, some of which are of higher elevation. The principal ones are Osborn, Mitchel, Walnut tree, Buck and Horsehill, of the inner circle; of the outer, Bullet, Stiles, Pressen, Woodruff, Jack's, High and Hull's hill. The greater part of the territory lying within this outer circle comprises the Southford postal district, having a diameter on a line north and south of about five miles and on a line east and west of four miles.

The Woodbury and Derby road, which was laid out by order of the general court, 1675, ran through this place on a line running north- west and southeast, crossing the Eight Mile brook where is now a private bridge near the paper mill, running along the southern slope

*By Jervis Sommers. Esq.

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IIISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.

of the hill and through Quaker Farms. Quassepaug was the third purchase made of the Indians by the inhabitants of ancient Woodbury and was obtained October 30th, 1687. It embraced all the territory lying north of the Woodbury and Derby road, east of the Pomperaug purchase to Waterbury line, then east along the line between ancient Woodbury and Waterbury to Towantic, then southward to where the Woodbury and Derby road crossed the Eight Mile brook. A part of the southern portion of the town of Middlebury is within this limit. That part of Southford which lies south of the line of the old Wood- bury and Derby road was acquired under the Kettletown purchase.

"Out East" was the name given by the early settlers to this local- ity. At the present, its undulating surface, studded with groves of native chestnut, oak, ash, hickory, birch and maple, intermingled with grassy slopes and valleys, presents an appearance pleasing to the eye; and the old homesteads on and under the hills, breezy in the shade of the maple, are inviting. But the aspect was different 217 years ago, when the settlers from the parent settlement, Stratford, passed by this place for the richer lands in the Pomperaug valley. But near the close of the eighteenth century, this locality was selected as the homes for many thriving mechanics and almost every person living here followed some mechanic trade. In the plantation of Pomperaug, the mechanic was the lowest in rank and his allotments the least. Hence, when he had opportunity here to obtain ten acres for a home lot and a proportionate quantity of meadow and woodland, the mechanic at once said it was too good a thing not to be appreciated. Although the soil was shallow and rocky, they made meadows of the lowland, when cleared of its dense growth of underbrush and small wood; the tall oaks, chestnuts and whitewoods growing on the hills furnished lumber for their buildings, while the maple, ash, walnut and birch afforded ample fuel in the shape of back-logs and fore-sticks for their fire-places, seven feet long and four feet high. How long the rule of allotment was in force, or at what time the mechanic made "Out East" his abode from choice is difficult to determine at this late day.

A peculiar feature of the old time shoemaker was that he went to the house of his customer to do his work. This he called "whipping the cat;" and so it was with the tailor, the spinner and the weaver; the nail maker went where his nails were wanted; the carpenter's work included everything about the building, often selecting the timber in the woods and cutting it, hewing the frame, rending the shingles and the clapboards, planing his lumber and painting. The cabinetmaker was called a shop-joiner; the outdoor wood workman of rougher work, like the plane he used for coarse work, was a "jack;" and going, or slapping his jack from place to place, he was a "Slapjack," and the place of his abode was so designated in the phraseology of his time until the building of Union church. From that time to the establish- ment of the post office the place was called "Union Village." Then,

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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTV.

John Peck, with the assistance of Judge Phelps. of Woodbury, took the first syllable of Southbury and the last of Oxford to make South- ford.

The post office was established about 1840 on the line of the New Haven and Litchfield road. The mail was then carried in a four horse coach, making three trips a week, leaving Litchfield Monday morning. On the opening of the Naugatuck railroad the mail was de- livered by the Seymour and Hotchkissville line. Since February 24th, 1890, the mail is received from the Boston & Hopewell June- tion Railroad post office, delivered by the New York & New England Railroad Company. John Peck was the first postmaster, succeeded by Cyrus Hinman, Enos Foot, H. V. Porter, R. B. Curtis, Horace Oat- man, W. J. Oatman and Jervis Sommers. The last named received his commission in January, 1890, and February Sth moved the office from the old store where it had been kept from the first, with the ex- ception of two short intervals, to the store of C. P. Tappan, opposite the railroad station.

Among the prominent settlers of Southford was Adin Wheeler, son of Obadiah Wheeler. He taught school when a young man, but later engaged in milling. He built the house now occupied by his great-grandson, T. F. Wheeler. His sons were Joel Wheeler (whose son Theodore was a carpenter and joiner), Adin and Obadiah. A daughter married Joel F. Benedict, and their four sons became well- known lawyers and business men of New York; and many of the de- scendants of the Wheelers became distinguished in other localities.

The Candees were among the first settlers in New Haven. Caleb, a son, settled in Oxford, on Christian street. His son, Samuel, lived at Southford, and the mansion he erected is still standing. He was active in public affairs, and his descendants also became prominent. One of them, John D. Candee, graduated from Yale College in 1847, and became well known as an editor in Bridgeport. None remain at Southford.

The descendants of Lieutenant Samuel Wheeler, who settled in the Quassepaug section in 1740, became numerous and prominent and some of them lived in the Southford section, Moses Wheeler living half a mile north, on the Middlebury road, where his son, Elisha, after- ward lived, and died at the age of 61 years. A son, Alfred Newton, is an attorney at New Haven.

Samuel Bronson, who married Elizabeth Tanner in 1735, was the father of the Bronsons of this locality, one of whom, Harvey, had a rope walk. Noah Bronson was a cooper and also a rope maker. His son, Aaron, was a cordwainer and button maker. His son, Harvey, manufactured clock cord extensively for the clock makers of Bristol and Waterbury, and was the last Bronson thus here engaged. Abel W. Bronson, the second son of Aaron, became a well known black-

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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.

smith and gimlet inaker. A grandson of Aaron, C. W. Bradley, be- came a well known railroad man in New York.

The descendants of Jeremiah Johnson were also among the early settlers and mechanics of Southford, his son, Adin, being here well known. A daughter of Jeremiah married George Boult, one of the best builders of his time and most skillful as a joiner.

A mile northeast, at a place called Bristol-town, Gad Bristol was a cooper; and two of his sons became tailors. Nearer Southford lived George Chambers, a shoemaker.

Asahel Hurd lived in the southern part of the Southford commu- nity; and Aaron Hinman built a stone house on his land, at "Out East," to which he removed from his Main street home. Harry Stiles was here as a shoemaker. Lugrand Sharpe moved from this place to Seymour about 1840. Here also lived Austin Hine, William Hurd, Erastus Burr, the Munns, the Towners and the Curtiss's. De- scendants of the latter became school teachers and other professional and business men. A daughter of Israel Curtiss married Stephen Bateman, whose family became well known and married into the lead- ing families of the western part of the county.

Jonah Sommers, who lived on Main street, Southbury, descended from Henry Summers, of Milford, who died in 1717. A son, Jervis, having learned the cabinet maker's trade at White Oak, settled at Southford in 1816, and died there in 1833. His widow (Rachel Ward) survived until 1880. A son, Jervis, is the postmaster of Southford.

The village has had as merchants, from 1800 to 1890, Robert Fer- guson, Roswell Sherwood, John Peck, Hinman & Osborne, Daniel Ab- bott, Enos Foot, H. V. Porter, Horace Oatman, E. Pardee, H. S. Wheeler, W. J. Oatman, and C. P. Tappan.

In the period of time when the turnpike was the great thorough- fare between New Haven and Litchfield, Southford being 20 miles from the former place and 25 miles from the latter, hotels were here kept and were well patronized. The Bartholomew Hotel kept in the old long one story house, about 1800, stood a little to the east of where is now the turnpike bridge over the railroad. The Sherwood House was subsequently the private residence of Harry Hinman. The hotel known as the Oatman House for 35 years, was built by George Thomp- son in 1806, and first kept by him and then by his brother-in-law, Ben- jamin S. Hurd, followed by John Peck. Enos Foot was the landlord in 1845.

Manufacturing has been one of the principal occupations of the Southford people. Our forefathers raised their wool and their flax. Our mothers made the wool into rolls by the use of hand-cards, spun the rolls into yarn, walking backward and forward by the side of their wheel, and then wove the yarn into cloth for the winter garments and bed clothing of the household. Summer wear was made of linen, the spinning, weaving and bleaching done by the women. That was

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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.

the age when the girl was taught to lay hands to the spindle and foot to the treadle, and, on arriving at maturity, must be the owner of a wheel. In the course of time, carding was done by machinery.

The little stream, the outlet of Quassepaug pond, called the Eight Mile brook -- eight miles in length-has been utilized for manufactur- ing from the seventeenth century, first for lumber and flour. Moses Wheeler had a saw mill to the north of the village, and Adin Wheeler and Doctor Candee to the south, a few feet above Ephraim Skeel's grist mill. Samuel Candee's fulling mill was where now stands tlie paper mill. A quarter of a mile below was Adam Lumm's trip ham- mer shop. A little further on was the T. B. Wheeler paper mill, built in 1854, the water taken from the Eight Mile brook, in a canal, unit- ing with the water of the small stream from the west. There Albert Ambler had a saw mill and foundry in 1845. Ebenezer Booth's cab- inet shop and turning works stood on this stream about 1825, subse- quently occupied by William Cutts as a knife-shop.

Amos Platt became the successor of Wheeler and Candee in mill- ing; he sold to Daniel Abbott, of Middlebury, who took possession in 1837. Mr. Abbott erected a new flour and feed mill, on the site of the old one, and two large factories used for manufacturing of various kinds. About 1849 he turned his attention to paper making, com- mencing in the old fulling mill, on a small scale, drying his paper on the ground in the sun. Then he added a building to his mill and advanced to loft and steam drying. After some experimenting he came to the conclusion that loft dried paper was the best, so in 1859 he erected a large and commodious building for loft-drying, the best in the state at that time, and entered largely into the manufacture of straw board. Mr. Abbott died before the mill had run a year. His son, S. A. Abbott, bought the property for $12,000 and ran the inill for two years and then sold, in the fall of 1864, to R. B. Limburner for $15,000. That was the time of the civil war, and the clear profits on a ton of straw board were greater than has since been realized. R. B. Limburner ran the mill for five years, selling to White & Wells, of Waterbury, for $24,500.

Paper making was carried on for twelve years by the Southford Manufacturing Company, F. A. Keeny, foreman. In the fall of 1881 the mill was burned. A new company was formed by the name of the Southford Paper Company, and in the season of 1882 a mill was built of brick, with a slate roof, at a cost of $200,000, including ma- chinery of the latest and most approved patterns. The mill was run three years, when the company went into bankruptcy.

After the revolution, a soldier of that war, Captain Candee, manu- factured scythes where is the Bunnell carriage factory. A generation later Asel Towner was a manufacturer of axes. Noah Shepard made clocks and moved from this place to Waterbury. From 1830 to 1850 women's stock shoes were manufactured extensively; Charles and

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HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY.

Amasa Smith, George and Burton Hinman, Charles Booth and others, were in that line of work. Joseph Benham worked at hatting, where William Jolinson lives, for several years and was here in 1828. Lewis Downs moved into Southford in 1847. He was a manufacturer of but- tons. The village has now only the ordinary mechanic shops.

The first school house stood on the west side of the old Derby and Woodbury road, about ten rods to the east of the residence of J. Sommers. The second house was built in 1800, and Union church was set about 30 feet from it. The basement of this church was used for school purposes for about 20 years, the district at one time numbering 80 pupils, with a daily attendance of 60. The present school house was erected in 1848.

Buck Hill Seminary was a boarding school for boys, which was very successfully carried on by Deacon R. R. Curtiss for about fifteen years, between 1845 and 1860. The house had a very pleasant location on the east slope of the hill, a mile north of the village, and had ac- commodations for thirty boys. . It was usually filled, and the school had a good reputation.

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History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume II, Part 91

Author: Rockey, J. L. (John L.) Publication date: 1892 Publisher: New York : W. W. Preston Number of Pages: 1138

Author: Rockey, J. L. (John L.)
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York : W. W. Preston
Number of Pages: 1138