USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > West Haven > History of West Haven, Connecticut > Part 2
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A footbridge was built over the West River in 1639 to facilitate passage to and from this district, known as West Farms. In 1640, the Colony made the first division of these "common lands" by lot, and the following year a cart- bridge was built over the West River.
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HISTORY OF WEST HAVEN
First allotments measuring 160 rods inland from the shore front varied in proportion to the wealth and size of each family. The first dwellings were the simple huts of oystermen, farmers, fishermen, and herders. It was recorded in 1646 that Nehemiah Smith promised to care for all of the town sheep in return for the use of certain west-side pasture lands as his own, "where the sheep may have the air of the sea in the summer time". Not until 1648 does history re- cord an actual permanent settlement within the boundaries of the present town- ship.
Although references are made by some historians of New Haven County to shipbuilding on Cove River in the early years of the settlement, neither names of ships nor builders are listed, until after the Revolution and only one is then recorded.
Specific records of the names of the first settlers are also lacking and probably were destroyed during the British raid of 1779, although ecclesiastical records since 1724 are preserved. It is known, however, that George Smith and seven or eight other men and their families built permanent homes in West Farms in 1650, although most of the landowners who had received allotments in 1640 continued to reside in New Haven while they developed their pasture lands here. Among the original settlers were George Lamberton (son of one of the original settlers in New Haven), Thomas Painter, Edward Thomas, Thomas (or Jesse) Stevens, the Gregson, Fowler, Benham, Ward, Clarke, Brown and Thompson families. Subsequently, principal farmers in the town also included James Reynolds, Newton Stephens, Eli Kimberly, Ezra Candee, Nehemiah Kimberly, Albert Candee, Isaac Hine, Joseph Prindle, Captain Icha- bod Smith, Captain Anson Clinton, Captain Albert Thomas, and four brothers, Henry, Thomas, Elliott and Jacob Ward.
The most satisfactory income from this area was from oysters and other products of the sea. Shells were burned for lime. White fish were seined for fertilizer and the production of fish oil. Codfish were dried and stored for food. Shipbuilding furnished a market for native lumber, and rocky hillsides supplied pasturage for sheep.
The dispute between New Haven and Milford regarding land boundaries was finally settled by the State Assembly in 1674, when the Oyster River was designated the town line. In 1680, the Third Allotment of New Haven lands included the territory from Malbon's Cove (Cove River) "so along ye sea to oister river and thence upward by Milford Line until they com at Least halfe a mile above ye round hills . . and thence to turn eastward and lay out unto ye Mill River". In this allotment, veterans of King Philip's War received special consideration and were granted acreage in proportion to their length of service. The lands in the Jones Hill section were held as commons for pastur- age and forage. Soon the number of families totaled about 100. Although the detailed historical accounts of that period were made, there is considerable evi- dence of planning for economical use of land. Road building was an important activity from 1690 to 1720. Pent Road, now First Avenue, was in use in 1687,
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HISTORY OF WEST HAVEN
Savin Avenue (also known as Pent Road) was traveled in 1698; and Cove River Road, now Platt Avenue, was a highway in 1699. The present-day Saw- mill Road, Meloy Road, Benham Hill Road, and King's Highway, or Jones Hill Road, follow closely routes of highways or farm roads laid out in the period from 1680-1720.
As the population of New Haven increased, despite a decrease in trade, a number of the village merchants took up lands in West Haven and became farm- ers. An impelling land hunger among the colonists was evident in the various devices employed by them to secure the more desirable acreage, such as lands near the shore, oyster grounds, and streamside locations best suited for mill sites.
The average West Haven farm was only about twenty acres, and, as the percentage of tillage was very low, no pioneer could possibly support a large fam- ily by agricultural activity alone. Beef, pork, mutton and lumber were the money crops, but an effort was made to secure a larger income from various exotic crops such as sorghum, hemp, tobacco, and flax. Today, on the Oyster River, where it crosses the Hubbard Farm, are the stones of an old mill dam used by a flax mill in the early days of the settlement.
Land values during the first hundred years of the occupation of the com- munity now West Haven were governed almost entirely by the location of acre- age in relation to the larger settlement of New Haven. Fit for subsistence agri- culture and grazing only, limited in actual tillage, and divided into small lots according to the original division of acreage, some of these lands lay fallow for many years, until the growth of population in the parent colony forced men to allot these plots to their sons.
An illustration of the increase in land values may be found in the records of the estate of John Alling, who died in 1691; probate proceedings were filed on March 26 of that year. Thirteen acres of land near West River on the Mil- ford Road were listed at nineteen pounds, ten shillings; three acres north of the road now Derby Avenue were valued at six pounds; forty acres of "third divi- sion land" above the present Campbell Avenue and Forest Road were worth but five pounds. In sharp contrast, two acres of "meadow" at Oyster Point were listed at fifteen pounds.
A large portion of this acreage went to Samuel Alling, and, when his es- tate was settled in 1709, the two acres at Oyster Point had increased to twenty- four pounds value. Thirty-four acres of the "third division lands" were rated at eight pounds, ten shillings ; the land on the Milford Road carried a valuation of nine pounds, ten shillings for ten acres; thirty-seven acres of hill lands in the sequestered area were probated at eight shillings an acre.
When Samuel Alling's widow's estate came to Probate Court in 1725, the hill lands were worth a pound, ten shillings an acre, ( fifty-three acres, quoted at seventy-five pounds). In 1806, a single acre on West River was valued at fifty dollars, and upland acreage close in was qouted at forty-three dollars.
These lands were in what is now the Allingtown area, far removed from the shore and the present center of West Haven. Land value increases were,
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HISTORY OF WEST HAVEN
therefore, normal increases and not influenced by commercial or unusual resi- dential development.
From Colonial days until 1822, West Haven remained a part of New Ha- ven, although strong religious, social, economic, and geographic factors steadily fostered the growth of a separate township. The West River made a natural bound on the east, Oyster River on the west, and Long Island Sound on the south. To the north, a sparsely populated countryside helped to set apart the little village.
As the first town government in New Haven was based on the church, in accordance with the colony's belief that government should closely follow the law of Moses, the "West Farmers" were directly under the jurisdiction of the town of New Haven, until they finally established a church of their own in 1719. Town affairs were settled in the church or "meeting-house" on the New Haven Green, where a word from the pastor was enough to end all discussion.
The Colonial records give a detailed account of the first New Haven town government. As early as 1640, laws were made to regulate commodity prices and the wages of workingmen. Commodities imported from England were "nott to be sold above 3 pence in the shilling for profit and adventure above what they cost with charges . " For work which required strength and skill, the wages were set at two shillings, six pence in summer, when "lesse than 10 hours diligently improved in worke cannot be accounted nor may be admitted for a full day's worke". In the winter the pay was two shillings for an eight- hour day.
The control of social conduct was rigid. While the General Court often took over the functions of the magistrates' court, this lack of defined powers in the courts did not prevent a vigorous legal administration. Any lack in the written and in the common law was quickly supplied by the strict religious code, which held that the acts of every individual definitely affected and concerned the whole community. Ordinary gossip was often severely punished. The of- fenders were publicly rebuked, and, if that was not sufficient deterrent, a fine followed.
On May 7, 1657, one West Haven resident, William Meaker, was accused of practicing black magic, but, when his case came to trial, his accuser, Thomas Mulliner, admitted that he had falsely accused his neighbor. Lieutenant Nash, who appeared in Mulliner's behalf, stated that "he owned that he had defamed William Meaker in laying suspicion of witchcraft upon him and George Smith, in saying that they upheld his servants in lying, which he had no cause to say and therefor is sorry for it and doth free and acquit them and hope it will be a warning to him hereafter".
In the same court, Mr. Mulliner was rebuked for another offense. This time it was for setting his fence "so near the edge of the bank by the sea that when the cattle are betwixt that and the sea, and the tide come in hastily upon them they are in hazard to be drowned as some swine have been, and therefore he has been told it must be removed as also any other set in like manner". Mr.
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HISTORY OF WEST HAVEN
Mulliner was constantly before the court on one charge or another and, at last, had to post a bond as a guarantee of his good behavior. His record, as far as West Haven is concerned, ended with a brief court notice of August 2, 1659, stating that he had sold his 170 acres to Thomas Johnson and James Heaton "with dwelling house and rights of commonage". Mr. Mulliner's homestead was near the present corner of Campbell Avenue and Thomas Street. (The right of commonage was a share in the undivided lands the proprietors of the town held in common.)
When the proprietors granted land, there was a definite understanding as to its proposed use, even to the last acre of swamp or boggy meadow. In the court of 1691, a Captain Mansfield, appearing in behalf of Eleazer Beecher, John Benham, and Joseph Prindle, asked for ten acres of swamp near Shingle Hill. After some debate, the town granted the land "to the said three persons provided they fence the said swamp sufficiently and that they improve it for husbandry use within the next three or four years ensuing, otherwise the said swamp return into town property".
When the lands were divided, they were roughly surveyed, and areas or "quarters" were marked. The several districts within the present town limits were known as: Club Field, an area west of Club Creek, now bounded by First Avenue, Campbell Avenue, and Elm Street; Old Field, reaching from Old Field Creek to the present Washington Avenue ; Lamberton's Quarter, bounded by the present Elin Street on the north, Brown Street on the south, Kelsey Avenue on the west, and the shore on the south; Suburbs Quarter, bounded on the west by the present First Avenue, on the east by meadowland adjacent to Club Creek, on the south by the present Kimberly Avenue, and on the north by the present Spring Street. Each of these districts had two haywards, whose duties were to supervise the use of the land and to mend defects in fences or to warn owners of "any great breach". Fence viewers marked out the boundary lines and re- ported these matters to the court. Until churches were built here, tithingmen from New Haven collected the minister's rates, which were the only district taxes for many years.
A rigid social code developed, with sharp lines drawn between the several classes of society. Under this code the various groups or classes had distinctly different rights and duties. Society was then composed of church members and freemen, admitted planters who had taken the oath of fidelity, householders, day laborers, indentured servants and apprentices, and a few Negro slaves .. The group of servants and apprentices caused much trouble in the New Haven Colony with "their coarse, quarrelsome and even beastly practices". It was against this group that much of the early penal law was directed. In general, the inhabitants of "West Farms" were middle class or householders, with few who were very rich or very poor. They had very few servants and, as the bulk of the trade was in New Haven, still fewer apprentices. Most of the "West Farmers" were thrifty, independent people, who became less and less interested in the increasingly complicated affairs of the growing mother town.
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HISTORY OF WEST HAVEN
As the call for New Haven town meetings was given by drum beat, those living on the outlying farms beyond the sound of the drum often had no knowl- edge of meetings and soon felt that they had little voice in the affairs of grow- ing New Haven. By 1712 the West Farms group considered itself large enough to start a parish of its own and, on April 29 of that year, petitioned New Haven for separate parish privileges. This petition stressed the increase in population and the distance from their dwellings to the center church. It was claimed that most of them lived "at least six miles from the meeting house". At the same time, great care was taken to profess love and affection for their "brethren" in New Haven ; the petitioners made it clear that they desired "to be separate onley as to a ministrey and as to that not for any dislike we have for our worthy pas- tor . . . . ' " Despite these courteous words, New Haven Colony was well aware that this petition was actually a request for separate village privileges, and the parish had no desire to lose so many members nor the revenue they brought the church. The request was therefore denied. In 1714, the petition was presented to the State Assembly. New Haven argued against it, stating that the West Haven soil was poor and fit for little else "than to bear men, women and chil- dren", and asked the Assembly to deny the petition lest the West Haven peo- ple "starve instead of promoting themselves and the gospel". In 1715, the Assembly created the parish of West Haven, with bounds which included the present West Haven as well as the Town of Orange. The simple parish gov- ernment was formally organized in 1719, when it was incorporated by the As- sembly. From that date the people of West Haven had control over local mat- ters, and the town government had its real beginning, though still under the watchful eye of New Haven.
The only list preserved of founders of the church and members during the first hundred years is the following list of men who are listed on the church records as contributors toward the support of the church in the period 1733-1739.
"Deacon Thomas Trowbridge 130s. Joseph Smith 67s.
Peter Roberts 63s. Joseph Prindle 58s.
Samuel Smith 68s. Andrew Smith 90s.
Nathaniel Beecher
102s. Josiah Platt 22s.
Samuel Stevens 53s. Stephen Bristoll 3s.
Daniel Malory 10s. John Stephens 5s.
Israel Bunnel 34s. Samuel Candee, Jr. 3s.
Sam'l Candee 35s. Roger Alling, Jr. 5s.
Ebenezer Smith 81s. George Clinton 5s.
Samuel Downs 83s. Japhet Benham 5s.
Joseph Thompson 66s. Deliverance Painter 5s.
Sam'l Humpheville 115s. Nathaniel Smith 2s.
Daniel Clark 45s. Shuball Painter 5s.
John Benham 80s. Sam't Sherman 11s.
Thomas Painter 83s. Thomas Painter, Jr. 11s.
Nathaniel Kimberly 67 s. Jonathan Smith
22s
Eliphalet Bristol 4ts."
In 1723, an Episcopal Church Society was organized, and an Episcopal Church was erected in 1739-40.
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HISTORY OF WEST HAVEN
For the next 50 years, the First Society managed local government without much change in procedure. The two main items of expense were the support of the churches and the schools. From meetings of these societies, the town meeting developed.
Apparently no record exists of the date of erection of the first schoolhouse in West Haven, but a school stood on the Green prior to March 2, 1729, when it was mentioned in the records of the Ecclesiastical Society of the First Con- gregational Church. Built of logs, with a bark roof and a dirt floor, the build- ing was heated by an open fireplace. Larded paper was used in place of glass windows; benches, or boards placed on pegs, were the pupils' seats. Books were few, and birchbark or slates were often used as substitutes for paper.
The young people of Colonial New Haven, of which West Haven was a part, had educational advantages over scholars in other New England communi- ties because of the thorough planning of the colony's founders, Davenport and Eaton. Some historians claim that the school system established there surpassed even the facilities offered by the lower schools of Old England. This system was founded on three fundamental principles; the absolute freedom of ele- mentary education, compulsory schooling for all children, and at least a partial support of educational facilities by the public.
According to Jurisdiction Records of 1661, a schoolmaster of the period was paid a total of 60 pounds per annum; the majority of these payments were made in produce, as follows : 30 bushels of wheat, 2 barrels of pork, 2 barrels of beef, 40 bushels of Indian corn, 30 bushels of pease, 2 firkins of butter, 100 pounds of flax, and 30 bushels of miscellaneous foods.
Towns were the original school units, but, as scattered communities grew up, outlying parishes, in 1712, were given authority to conduct schools of their own. In 1717, parishes were allowed to levy taxes and choose their own school officers, and, in 1766, townships were subdivided into school districts. In 1746, funds for the support of the school were raised by the sale of town lands, and the town voted that the amount of 328 pounds, 5 shillings, and 10 pence be ap- proved for the year "until the end of time, unless the government ordered to the contrary". In that year, a school tax of one load of wood or its equivalent was levied for each pupil.
In 1771, one of West Haven's most famous hostelries opened at Hill's Homestead, in the area now known as Savin Rock. This old inn became a ren dezvous for fishermen, travelers, seamen, and various characters of the Revolu- tionary War Period who frequented the West Haven shore. All cooking was done in a Dutch oven built in a cook-shed at the rear of the inn; this crude method of food preparation continued in use until 1918. Lobsters, chicken, clams, oysters, and the deep-dish apple and pumpkin pies so highly prized by the patrons of this seaside hotel were done to a turn in the glowing cavern of this old oven. The epicures and gourmands of the Connecticut shore drove many miles to secure a dinner at the Hill's Homestead. This inn is still in opera- tion.
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HISTORY OF WEST HAVEN
REVOLUTIONARY WAR AND THE BRITISHE RAIDS
When war with Great Britain was declared, the little settlement raised its quota of militiamen for the Continental Line. Thomas Painter (1760-1847) was one of West Haven's most adventurous sons. His birthplace at 255 Main Street still stands; the date of 1695 on the base of the stone chimney has been questioned by various antiquarians, who sometimes even identify the house as of 1685 construction. When he was but 15, Thomas Painter enlisted in the Revolutionary Army, which he soon left for the privateer service. Thrice cap- tured, a cannoneer in Captain Phineas Bradley's artillery company during the defense of West Haven on the morning of July 5, 1779, Painter wrote many thrilling tales of his adventures in his Autobiography. After his war service, he entered the West Indies trade. His account of the building of the ship Han- mah on the Cove River after the Revolution is the only record that names a specific ship built there.
On July 5, 1779, forty-eight vessels, including the Camilla and Scorpion, British men-of-war, with accompanying tenders and transports, under the com- mand of Commodore Sir George Collier, dropped anchor off the West Haven shore. The fleet carried about 3,000 infantrymen under Major General Tryon for an attack upon New Haven, and from this force a party of some 1,500 men under Brigadier General Garth landed at sunrise at "Old Field Shore" (now Savin Rock) to ravage the countryside, according to the rules and discipline of war. A tablet now marks the landing place of this British force.
The town was thoroughly alarmed. The aged and infirm were carried to places of safety, and the able-bodied men were mustered and armed. The West Bridge was taken up, and several field pieces put into position behind hastily constructed barricades on the left bank. As the invaders marched through West Haven, the advance guard of two companies of light infantry met some twenty- five armed civilians and drove those courageous citizens back toward Milford Hill. There, supported by the main body of defending citizenry, a counter at- tack forced the British skirmishers to retreat. They fell back upon the British main body, which advanced through the town with flankers thrown out and pro- tected by two light field pieces. Meanwhile the Colonial field guns in action at the bridge kept up an harassing fire. When British scouts reported the forma- tion of a line of resistance at the bridge, the raiders chose another entrance to New Haven, going nine miles around the barricades to enter the Elm City by way of the Derby Pike.
The party on Milford Hill, increased to about 150 by reinforcements from several companies of militia, engaged the British left flank throughout the morn- ing. Gradually, the townsfolk were driven back, and between 12 and 1 o'clock the British entered New Haven.
One of the dramatic incidents of that morning was the single-handed at- tempt of Professor Naphtali Daggett, former president of Yale, to block the
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HISTORY OF WEST HAVEN
advance of the British Army. As described by Elizur Goodrich, a Yale student who was present at the time, "I well remember the surprise we felt .... as we were marching over West Bridge toward the enemy, to see Dr. Daggett riding furiously by us on his old black mare, with his long fowling-piece in his hand ready for action. We knew the old gentleman had studied the matter thoroughly and satisfied his own mind as to the right and propriety of fighting it out; but we were not quite prepared to see him come forth in so gallant a style to carry his principles into practice. Giving him a hearty cheer as he passed, we turned down toward West Haven, at the foot of Milford hills, while he ascended a little to the west, and took his station in a copse of wood where he seemed to be re- connoitering the enemy, like one who was determined to 'bide his time'. ... We suddenly found ourselves involved with the main body, and in danger of being surrounded. It was now our time to run, and we did for our lives. Passing Dr. Daggett in his station on the hill, we retreated rapidly across West Bridge. . Dr. Daggett .... stood his ground manfully while the British column ad- vanced along the foot of the hill, determined to have the battle himself, as we had left him in the lurch-using his fowling piece now and then to excellent effect, as occasion offered, under cover of the bushes. But this could not last long. A detachment was sent up the hill-side to look into the matter; and the commanding officer, coming suddenly, to his great surprise, on a single individ- ual in a black coat, blazing away in this style, cried out, 'What are you doing there, you old fool, firing on His Majesty's troops?'
" 'Exercising the rights of war', says the old gentleman. The very audacity of the remark, and the mixture of drollery it contained, seemed to amuse the officer. 'If I let you go this time, you rascal', says he, 'will you ever fire again on the troops of His Majesty?' 'Nothing more likely', said the old gentleman in his dry way." Angered, the British dragged him to the head of their column and drove him ahead of them at bayonet's point all the way to the New Haven Green, where a Tory who had been a former student interceded for his life.
West Haven homes were plundered, and clothing, bedding, provisions, shoe buckles, plate, and watches were taken by the raiders. In some homes, house- hold furniture was destroyed. British casualties are not recorded, but 27 Ameri- cans were killed and 19 wounded.
An incident of the invasion is commemorated by a monument on Milford Hill to Adjutant Campbell, one of the British raiders killed during the action in the Allingtown district. Early in the day, the Adjutant saved the life of the Reverend Mr. Williston, who, in attempting to hide the church records, fell while climbing a fence and broke a leg. The Adjutant restrained his men from killing the aged preacher and ordered a British surgeon to set Williston's leg. Several hours later, Campbell received a mortal wound and was left to die near the West River. He was carried to a near-by house by. sympathetic residents, who bound up his wounds and later buried him beside the road. The grave was marked by a stone with the inscription, "Campbell, 1779", which was later re- placed by the monument.
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