USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Vol. II > Part 39
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The Plain remained of little importance and with but insignificant business interests until the construction of the Farmington Canal. This remarkable though unfortunate work - an attempt in a small way to bring back the Connecticut River to its original path- was thrown open to business in 1826. Between here and tide-water at New Haven were about twenty locks to overcome the elevation (186 feet). This station received the name of Bristol Basin. The basin was located just south of Main Street, between the present railroad-track and the store now owned by H. D. Frost, which stood then upon the basin, so that boats could be loaded and unloaded at its door. Bristol had then already become a place of considerable mercantile and manufacturing importance, and so gave its name to the basin. At Main Street a bridge spanned the canal. Farmington, then one of the richest towns
VOL. II. - 22.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
in Connecticut, had invested heavily in the canal, and had great hopes from it. As many as twelve mercantile establishments were run- ning there shortly after the canal was opened, and there was talk of rivalling Hartford as a business centre.
E. H. Whiting came to Plainville and bought five acres near the present residence of R. C. Usher, where he built a basin, and a ware- house beside it, and established a store (now turned into a tenement). He also built a hotel, which stands on the street-corner. It was in this building that the first post-office was located, and by vote of the people in 1831 the name of Plainville was adopted. Dr. Jeremiah Hotchkiss was the first postmaster and the first appointed office-holder in the town. The position yielded honor rather than profit. The mail was displayed on a board, with a lattice of tape, under which the letters were slipped. Thus, as every one could see the entire mail, each could learn at a glance whether there was anything for him. This simple style of delivery continued here until 1860.
In 1829 Mr. Whiting sold his store to A. F. Williams and Henry Mygatt, of Farmington, and for less than twelve dollars an acre bought thirteen acres along the canal at Bristol Basin, now the most thickly settled part of the town. He built the store now owned by H. D. Frost, and the business was carried on there until the death of his brother, Adna Whiting, in 1865.
About 1835 H. M. Welch, now one of the leading and richest citi- zens of New Haven, built a large store on the west side of the basin. He carried on a large wholesale and retail business, employing a number of canal boats to bring the goods, and many heavy teams to distribute them through the surrounding country, while the farmers brought in their produce for sale and shipment. In those days Bristol Basin was a busy centre. Mr. Welch removed to New Haven in 1848; but the activities developed at the Bristol Basin were the beginnings of the town of Plainville.
The canal suffered from the porous nature of the soil and frequent washouts, and from the long period in each year during which it was closed by frost; and after about twenty years it was merged into the canal railroad, with a track along the tow-path. The first passenger train arrived in Plainville Jan. 8, 1848. It had been intended to keep the canal open until the railroad was built; but a disastrous washout near Simsbury left it empty, never to be refilled, and left many canal- boats high and dry for all time. About 1852 an east and west railroad - the Hartford, Providence, and Fishkill - was opened through Plain- ville, now incorporated into the New York and New England Railroad, of which it is the main track west from Hartford to the Hudson. Thus the town has ample railway facilities.
The manufactories of the town are estimated to make about three quarters of a million dollars worth of products yearly, and employ from four hundred to five hundred hands.
The largest is the Plainville Manufacturing Company, organized in 1850. It employs over two hundred hands in making a large variety of knit underwear. The stock of the company is principally owned in New Haven.
The hame and plating works of Edwin Hills, now employing about seventy-five men, are on the Pequabuck River, in the western part of the
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village. Hiram Hills, his father, began the business in a small way about 1836, and after various vicissitudes it has become very success- ful. Here also on the opposite side of the same stream is the large grain-and-feed mill of G. W. Eaton.
A leading Plainville industry is the manufacture of carriages. Be- fore the war the Plainville carriages had a large sale at the South. This was, of course, all broken off when the war began, and the manu- facturers suffered severely. L. S. Gladding & Co. survived the trying experience, and the business which they established is still carried on by Horace Johnson, a former partner. E. W. Webster, unable to recover from the losses of the war, sold out, and was succeeded by the Condell, Mastin, & Butler Co. The carriage-shops of this firm, as also the works of Horace Johnson, were burned in January, 1884. Mr. Johnson now owns the whole property, and has rebuilt the works. These two carriage-works are the largest, and there are several smaller.
An interesting industry, conducted by one of the oldest firms here, is the manufacture of clock-hands, rivets, and other delicate hardware, by Clark & Cowles. A. N. Clark manufactures watchmakers' goods. George Hills & Son make metallic clock-cases, and also sell some clocks. Burwell Carter has a brass-foundry. B. B. Warren & Son, successors to F. S. Johnson, employ a number of hands in sawing ivory, horn, and fancy woods for knife-handles. C. H. Jones has works for making steel slides to which the needles in knitting-machines are attached.
The first ecclesiastical society of Plainville was organized in 1839, and in 1840, on petition of eighteen signers, the church was set off from that of Farmington, to be known as the Second Congregational Church of Farmington. The first meeting-house was dedicated June 25, 1840. The first pastor was the Rev. Chauncey D. Cowles, of Farm- ington. The present church building was put up in 1850. From a membership of about seventy at the first year, the church has now between three hundred and four hundred, while five other denomina- tions have been organized in the town. The present pastor is the Rev. Joseph N. Backus.
The Baptist society was formed in 1851, and the church dedicated in December, that year. It has about one hundred members. The present pastor is the Rev. Erastus C. Miller.
The Church of Our Saviour (Episcopal) was organized in 1859, with fifty members, under the rectorship of the Rev. Francis T. Russell. The Rev. W. E. Johnson, rector of Trinity Church in Bristol, is the officiating rector of this church.
To accommodate the many Swedes living in Plainville, and also those of Bristol and Forestville, a Swedish Methodist church was built in 1881. The pastor is the Rev. M. A. Ahgren.
A Methodist church was built also in 1881. Its pastor is the Rev. Duane N. Griffin. The Methodist Camp-meeting Association has its camp-grounds in the western part of the town.
The Roman Catholic Church has had stated services in Plainville for more than twenty-five years, at one time as a part of the New Britain parish and at another time as a part of Bristol. In 1881 the Rev. P. MeAlenny was assigned to Plainville, and the present fine church was built.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
The first school-house in the Great Plain was built about 1790, and is still standing, at the south end of the covered bridge. It is now a brass-foundry. In 1842 Plainville was divided into two school dis- tricts, the east and the west. Soon after the town was incorporated they were consolidated, and the graded system was adopted. The present school building was erected in 1872. The graded system, though strongly opposed at first, has given general satisfaction. The separate school at first maintained in the White Oak District has been discontinued, as it was found cheaper to give the scholars that were attending it free transportation to the graded school.
Farming on a large scale has been given up in this town, and the land is cut up into small sections. The last of the farmers who culti- vated land here by the hundreds of acres was Samuel Camp, who died in 1876.
The work of " village improvement " has been generally undertaken in the town, and it bears many evidences of care and of good taste. It is a healthy place, and is steadily growing in population. It has a weekly newspaper, - the " Plainville Weekly News," - edited and pub- lished by C. H. Riggs, of Bristol, in connection with the " Bristol Press." The local editor is Simon Tomlinson.
4. Juliann
XXI.
SIMSBURY.
BY LUCIUS I. BARBER, M.D.
T THE beautiful valley through which the Farmington River winds in its course from Farmington bounds northward, was called by its original occupants Massaco (pronounced Mas-saw'co), and the river itself, the Tunxis. This valley lies between two parallel mountain ridges, stretching in a northeasterly and southwesterly direc- tion, called by the carly settlers respectively East Mountain and West Mountain. The East, now called Talcott Mountain, in honor of Major John Talcott, of Hartford, is a continuation of the Mount Holyoke and Mount Tom range, of Massachusetts, and terminates in East Rock at New Haven. The West Mountain is a continuation of the Green Mountain range, of Vermont, terminating in West Rock at New Haven. Previous to its settlement by the whites Massaco was an unbroken forest, save along the river, where natural meadows spread out on either side, skirted with tangled thickets and vines, interspersed with patches of Indian corn, tobacco, beans, etc. Moose, deer, and other wild animals were numerous, and its streams were supplied with fish in the greatest abundance. All these rendered it an inviting and favorite camping and hunting ground for the Indians. Its plains and uplands were covered with majestic pines, and its ridges and mountain-sides with hard wood of every variety adapted to the climate.
The first official or public notice of Massaco is in an order of the General Court, in these words : -
April, 1642. - " Its Ordered, that the Governor and Mr. Heynes shall have liberty to dispose of the ground uppon that parte of Tunxis Riuer cauled Masso- cowe, to such inhabitants of Wyndsor as they shall see cause."
About the year 1643 two young men, John Griffin and Michael Humphrey, came to Windsor and engaged in the manufacture of tar and turpentine, which soon became important articles of commerce. John Griffin was the pioneer in this business, as he was afterward the michelle Humphrey pioneer settler of Massaco. In 1647 the General Court ordered that Massaco be purchased by the country, and appointed another committee to dispose of it. But no purchase from the Indians, and no grants, were made by either of these committees. Meanwhile Griffin
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
and Humphrey were prosperously carrying on their business of manu- facturing pitch, tar, and turpentine, when a difficulty, involving im- portant results, occurred between Griffin and an Indian. One day Manahannoose, a Massaco Indian, " did wittingly kindle a fire," which consumed a large quantity of tar belonging to Griffin. For this the Indian was arrested and brought before the Court in Hartford, and in default of " the payment of five hundred fathom of Wampum," which was the judgment of the Court, was delivered over to Griffin, by order of the Court, " either to serve, or to be shipped out, and ex- changed for neagers, as the case will justly beare," - as provided by law. To escape this penalty, Manahannoose gave to Griffin a deed of Massaco : and the other "Indians, the proprietors of Massaco, came together and made tender of all the lands in Massaco, for the redemp- tion of the Indian out of his hands, being they were not able to make . good the payment of five hundred fathom of Wampum, for the satisfaction."
The permanent settlement of Massaco began about 1664. The General Court had made to several persons grants of land lying on both sides of the river, above the Falls. In 1663 a grant was made to John Griffin "of two hundred aeres [north of the falls] (where he can find them), between Massaco and Warranoake, in consideration that he was the first to perfect the art of making pitch and tarre in these parts." This grant, with another subsequently made by the town in 1672, of about a mile and a half square, given in part consid- eration of his resigning and relinquishing his Indian deeds to the proprietors of the town, constituted what was known as Griffin's Lordship. In a deed dated in 1664 he is described as belonging to Massaco ; showing that at that date he had become a settled and per- manent inhabitant. A committee had been appointed by the General Court " to lay out all the lands that are undivided at Massaco, to such inhabitants of Windsor as desire and need it." In 1666 they went up to Massaco and measured out allotments to themselves and to several other persons at Newbery's (now Westover's) plain ; and in 1667 they surveyed lots, granted at Nod meadow, at Wetaug, and Hopmeadow. This committee were Simon Wolcot, Captain Newbery, and Deacon Brinon Holof Moore. In October, 1668, about twen- ty-five men met at the house of John Moore, Jr., in Windsor, and agreed on the terms of settlement on their several allotments at Massaco. Nearly all of these settled on their lands within two years after their grants were made. The settlements were mostly along the river, on both sides of it. By a return made in 1669, by order of the General Court, of the names of the freemen belonging to each town and plantation, it appears there were thirteen who were " stated inhabitants of Massaco, and have been freemen for Windsor, - Thomas Barber, John Case, Samuel Filley, John Griffin, Michael Humfrey, Joshua Holcomb, Thomas Maskel, Luke Hill, Sam- nel Pinney, Joseph Phelps, John Pettibone, Joseph Skinner, Peter Buell." In the same year John Case was appointed by the General Court constable for Massaco, - the first civil office held by any of its inhabitants.
Massaco had hitherto been, in the language of the General Court,
1
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" an appendix of Windsor." It was an offshoot from that town. In 1670 the inhabitants of Massaco appointed two delegates, Joshua Hol- comb and John Case, to present to the General Court their petition for town privileges. This petition was Joshua Holcomb at once granted, and the delegates were received as members of the Assembly at the May session of that year. The record of incorporation is in these words : -
"This Court grants Massacoe's bounds shall runn from Farmington bounds to the northward tenn miles, and from Windsor bounds on the cast, to run westward tenn miles ; provided it doe not prejudice any former grant, and be in the power of this Court so to dispose. . . . The Court orders that the plan- tation at Massacoe be called SIMMSBURY."
The origin of the name is a matter of conjecture. Simon Wolcot was a prominent man in the colony, as were his father, Henry Wolcot, and his brother of the same name. He was one of the committee to " dispose of the lands at Massaco, and further the planting the same." He was one of the first and most prominent settlers of the town, and took an active interest in its affairs. He was familiarly called " Sim," according to the prevailing custom of abbreviations, and it is not improbable that the town was thus named in compliment to this man.
The records of the first ten years after the town was incorporated were unfortunately destroyed by accidental burning between June, 1680, and October, 1681; necessarily, therefore, the history .of its Join flate? registre organization and public acts during those years is meagre and obscure. John Slater was the first town clerk whose records are extant : though tradition says John Terry was the first to hold that office, as well as the first military officer.
At the October session of the General Court in 1670 the depu- ties for Simsbury were John Griffin and Michael Humphrey. In 1671, as a mark of confidence, and in recognition of the integrity and trustworthiness of Mr. Simon Wolcot, the General Court granted to him liberty " to retail wine and liquors (provided he keep good order in the dispose of it) until there be an ordinary set up in Simsbury."
During the first five years after the incorporation of the town the number of families perceptibly increased; but in 1675 a calamity impended which in the following year overwhelmed the town and dispersed its inhabitants. Philip's War had commenced. In Massa- chusetts and Plymouth colonies attacks were made upon some of their towns, many of their inhabitants killed, and houses pillaged and burned. Simsbury, being a frontier town, was peculiarly exposed to danger. By order of the General Court a garrison was established there, and kept up at the expense of the colony. A council of safety was established at Hartford, and was in daily session, for the protection of the colony. On the 6th of August the Council " Ordered the several towns to keep scouting parties of mounted men on the roads between town and town, for the prevention of danger to travellers." and " that Windsor,
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
each other day, shall send four men to clear the roads to Simsbury." Rumors of danger increasing, the General Court, at its session in October, 1675, passed an order " That the people of Simsbury shall have a week's time to secure themselves and their corn there ; and at the end of a week from this date the souldiers now in garrison at Sims- bury shall be released their attendance there," - thus leaving the inhabitants to provide for their own safety.
As before stated, the inhabitants of Simsbury were mostly emi- grants from Windsor. Upon hearing this order many returned thither, with such effects as they could carry with them ; but not all, as ap- pears from the issuing another order of the Court, March 3, 1676, as follows : -
"The insolencies of the heathen, and their rage encreasing against the Eng- lish, and the spoyle that they have made in sundry places, hath moved us to order that forthwith the people of Simsbury doe remove themselves, and what estate they can remove, to some of the neighboring plantations, for their safety and securety."
Then came the rush for dear life. There was no bridge or ferry across the river where teams could cross, or cart-path through the forest. All the goods they could carry must be packed upon their backs. The Rev. Daniel Barber, a descendant of one of these refugees, thus vividly describes the scene, and what followed : -
" The fearful apprehension of being suddenly murdered by savages put in motion and hastened along whole bands of women and children, with men in rear : with sheep and cattle and such utensils and conveniences as their short notice and hasty flight would permit. Their heavy articles, such as pots, kettles, and plough-irons, were secreted in the bottoms of swamps and wells. The father of the first Governor Wolcott and his family were among those who fled from Simsbury. He filled up a large brass kettle with his pewter cups, basins, plat- ters, etc., and then sunk the kettle, with its contents, in the deep mnd of the swamp, but was never able to find it afterward. After the inhabitants had spent a day or two in their retreat, the men under arms were sent back, for the purpose of looking about and making discoveries. They came to the highest eminence in the road east of Simsbury River, from which, at one view, they could take a survey of the principal part of their habitations, which, to their surprise and sorrow, were become a desolation, and every house burnt to ashes."
And he adds : -
" I have recorded the story as a matter of fact, having very often heard it related as such, in my infant years, and also from the children of those who were witnesses and personal sufferers."
The date of the disaster was the 26th of March, 1676. It was a Sabbath day. A band of Philip's warriors rushed through the deserted town and applied the torch to the thatched roofs, and forty dwelling- honses, with barns and other buildings, were consumed. Fences, farm- ing-utensils, furniture, farm-produce, and provisions were gathered into heaps and burned. The ruin was complete ; not a house or a building was left. Up to the time of the burning of Simsbury the Massaco Indians had welcomed their new neighbors and lived in peace with them. After this disaster many of them, through fear of the hostile Indians, fled in terror to the west, and established a new Wetaug
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SIMSBURY.
on the banks of the Housatonic. For more than a year Simsbury remained a solitude. But though its former inhabitants were driven from their homes, they still maintained their town organization and transacted town business. Only one week after the catastrophe they held " a towne metting of ye inhabitants of Simsbury, in Windsor (oc- casioned by the Warr)," and passed sundry town acts of which there is a record.
In the spring of 1677, the danger being supposed to have passed, the greater number of the settlers returned to their former grants, and began to build again their habitations. The rebuilding of the town was slow and discouraging. Some of the former inhabitants did not return, while others, having lost all their goods and utensils, were greatly straitened. As in other plantations, a system of " common fields" had early been established for the protection of the growing crops. One such field was established on each side of the river, extending from the house-lots to the river in breadth ; and in length, from Farmington bounds at the south to a point below the Falls at the north, - a distance of more than seven miles. These were under the care of the selectmen, or townsmen. In the management and care of them great and frequent difficulties occurred ; indeed, at this period of settling anew the town, matters of difference and unpleasant- ness were constantly arising. But in the midst of these it is pleasing to observe the spirit of moderation and conciliation which prevailed. By a formal vote of the town a memorable rule of action was adopted, which is worthy of being perpetuated and kept in force.
" Dec. 1, 1681. - We, the inhabitants of Simsbury, being met together the 1st of ye 10th moneth, being desirous henceforward to live in love and peace, mutually to the glory of God and our own peace and comfort, to prevent after Animosities and uncomfortable variances, do make this Act : That whensoever any difference may arise in any of our civill transactions, yt, after we have given our reasons mutually, one to another, and cannot, by the meanes, be brought together : that, to a Final Issue of our difference, we will committ the matter, with our reasons, pro and con, to the Worshipfull Major Tallcott and Captain Allen, to heare as presented in writing, and that we will sit downe to their award, or determination : this voted and concluded for a standing record for henceforward."
Major Talcott seems to have been the patron saint or special and trusted counsellor of the Simsbury settlers on all occasions of difficulty. In their troubles with the Indians, resulting from the non-payment of their dues for the purchase of their lands ; in their strifes in relation to the location of the meeting-house ; in the settlement of ministers and the distribution of lands, -he was appealed to, and aided them by his wise counsel and advice. In short, " ve Worshipful Major Talcott " was their " guide, philosopher, and friend."
Thirty-four years had passed since the Indians sold their lands to John Griffin. The title, however, was not valid, the purchase not being made in accordance with the laws of the colony. The old Indians had passed away. In 1680, by the aid and helpfulness of " the Worshipful Major John Talcott, of Hartford," the inhabitants of Simsbury bar- gained with the successors of those Indians, who, for the consideration of the deed to Griffin, and for " a valuable sum paid to them in hand,"
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
gave a deed in trust for the inhabitants to Major Talcott, and other trustees named, in full confirmation of the contracts of their predeces- sors, " of all that tract of land lying and being situate on Farmington bounds southward, and from thence to run ten large miles northerly, and from the bounds of Windsor town on the east, to run ten large miles westward; the tract or parcel of land being ten miles square large."
But the "valuable sum" not being paid, " the Indians make a griev- ous complaynt to sd Major, and being incessantly urging for their ducs agreed for, the Towne at a metting held May 5, 1682, for to still the acclaymations of the Indians, and to bring to issue the said case, and to ease the major of those vexations outeries, made by ve Indians for their money, to bring the matter to a period, the inhabitants of Sims- bury at this meeting have agreed to put to sail one hundred or one hundred and fifty acres of said land, within the precincts of Simsbury, on ye river, towards their west bounds."
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