USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Westport > Westport in Connecticut's history, 1835-1935 > Part 4
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On February 4, 1886-only 49 years ago-the Westport Reading Room and Library Association was organized. The charter was granted by the State in 1893. Townspeople con- tributed books, magazines, newspapers and some money to the original reading room established on the second floor of the Hurlbutt block on State Street (opposite the present library structure). This was open every evening after supper except Sunday; books could be taken out only on Tuesdays and Fridays. There were not enough volumes to allow more liberal rules.
Mrs. Frances A. Gray was the first librarian, serving without pay. The initial business meeting reported 82 memberships at one dollar each. At the end of the first year 962 volumes had been loaned to meet the wants of 146 members.
Ten years later the circulation was only 1513, but the total number of books had increased to. 1748. More were needed. So the Westport Dramatic Club, the Musical Society, the
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Chess Club and others gave benefits for the library fund. Where in the first year the budget stopped at $150, by 1897 it was $1389.
Then things moved ahead. The library outgrew its second- floor quarters. A. S. Hurlbutt offered the ground floor space next the Saugatuck River for $10 a month with a rebate of $4 at the end of three months. A building fund was started which by 1907 amounted to $6000.
So much momentum having been gained, results were cumu- lative. In 1908 a member of a pioneer Westport family-Morris K. Jessup-presented the present brick and stone structure. The $6000, gathered over a period of years, was thus released from its original purpose and converted into a book-buying fund. A new body was formed-the Westport Library Asso- ciation. Its incorporators were: William H. Burr, president; W. L. Taylor, William E. Nash, J. G. Hyatt, D. B. Bradley, Ambrose Hurlbutt, W. H. Saxton, E. T. Bedford, Dr. Henry C. Eno, F. D. Ruland, F. M. Salmon and W. G. Staples. Recognition of the library became official. The town now offered to appropriate $1000 a year for operating expenses, three directors to be elected by the citizens to the executive committee.
Thus the library stands, a monument to far-sightedness in the past, but even more an example of what can be accom- plished by a loyal staff aggressively eager to meet demands far beyond the realm of ordinary requirements. With such limited funds as are available, reading matter is kept up to date. The children's department is most widely used, under competent and understanding direction. Indeed it is more like · a reading and discussion club than a formalized department. Source material for artists and writers of all the branches has been built up largely from contributions by the librarian and a few individuals. Scarcely a day now passes without a request by painter, sculptor, writer or other artist for data to render precise an uncertain impression. This branch of the library will grow increasingly important as those with filable source material give it, and those who seek it realize the reser- voir at their disposal.
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It is a long way from the second floor reading room of 1886 with its record of 962 volumes loaned during the year, to the report covering the period from September, 1933, to Sep- tember, 1934. During this later span there was a circulation of 59,544 books, 629 new subscribers were added to make a total of about 2000, and attendance in the reading room was 8220. The boys' and girls' department itself loaned 13,025 books and magazines. New stacks have been installed.
The library's vigorous efforts have resulted in an increasing dependence on it by the community. The need is for more space, more opportunity to serve. There should be a proper place for exhibitions by Westport's artists.
There should be a proper place for exhibitions by Westport's artists. Where should they first be held if not here? The chil- dren's department, extra-curriculum school of the youngsters, desperately calls for augmenting. Source material for creative work should be greatly reinforced and should have fitting quarters for its assimilation. Reading material of all kinds must be kept abreast of the moving stream. It is doubtful if any town in Connecticut makes upon its library such con- centrated demands as does Westport.
The present Board of Trustees: Edward C. Nash, Presi- dent; John B. Morris, Vice-President; Sylvester M. Foster, Secretary; Joseph Adams, Treasurer. Fred B. Hubbell, Chair- man, Executive Committee: W. G. Staples, F. M. Salmon, Austin Wakeman, Mrs. W. J. Wood, Sr., Mrs. Nevada Hitch- · cock, R. V. Coleman, George Wright. Morris L. Burr.
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A CONNECTICUT GARDEN OF LONG AGO
I knew a garden once where larkspurs blue, And fragrant mignonette and pansies gay, And stately hollyhocks and lillies grew, And tangled wild flowers in the early May- A garden where the sunbeams danced all day, Where breezes swayed the blossoms to and fro, And tossed the lilac branches high in play, And long, still shadows when the sun was low Stole slowly o'er the garden that I used to know.
That garden was my childhood's fairyland It is today my fondest memory.
No picture from a master-artist's hand Can ever seem so beautiful to me As that old-fashioned garden used to be- The purple pansies with the dew all wet, The bending branches of the lilac tree, The shadows creeping soft-I see them yet, And breathe again the fragrance of the mignonette.
CAROLINE S. BROWN.
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WILD FLOWERS
DO A NATURE lover, one of the sources of greatest pleasure is to walk along the country roads, through the woods or green pastures, and meet and recognize friends along the way. These friends may be birds, trees, butterflies or flowers. It is of Westport's wild flowers that I would speak.
A great many different varieties of wild flowers can be found in our town. Some are quite showy, gorgeous in coloring and quite large in size, while others are quieter in color, with delicate markings and are hidden away in the woods or on sunny hillsides. Each season brings to our eyes the gorgeous coloring of some of the showy flowers. In Spring, what can equal the brilliance of the columbine, waving merrily in the breezes of some rocky hillside, or the golden splendor of the marsh marigolds adorning the banks of some gurgling brook?
Summer brings the butterfly weed. It is not as common as many of the other flowers, but it is very striking when it is found. In the Autumn we have the goldenrod, the deep purple of the ironweed and the paler magenta of the Joe-pye weed. Along any of our brooks, in Autumn, you must surely find the vivid scarlet of the Cardinal flower.
Besides these, there are countless smaller flowers which are all very beautiful when examined closely. I am thinking of the delicate spring beauty, the frail anemone, the bloodroot that lasts such a short time, the dainty violets and the "demure Quaker Ladies."
Just recently, I was privileged to see a list of wild flowers that were seen in Westport in 1835. The list numbered 21. There must surely have been more flowers in evidence at that time, but probably the collector's attention was attracted by something else and he did not continue his collection.
One year the writer and some friends kept a list of all wild flowers found in Westport during that year. The list numbered 262. The study of wild flowers is fascinating.
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WESTPORT'S FEATHERED MINSTRELS
ATURE is one symphony of sound, but of all sounds, the songs of our birds are sweetest. In Westport, as in all other places, it is the early riser who hears the sweetest song and obtains the finest view of the feathered minstrels.
When winter lingers and faith is doubting, one may hear a robin call, or perchance a flock of bluebirds joyously greeting the early Spring sun, and hope springs anew. Soon the red- winged blackbird near the marshlands sings "O-gle-ee, o-gle- ee," while the meadowlark proclaims, "Spring-is-here, Spring- is-here." Then some fine warm day the quickly warbled "half- a-song" of Jenny Wren, busily engaged in Spring house-clean- ing, perhaps alternating with the sweetly plaintive song of a pheobe, will bring a smile to your lips.
When the apple trees bloom, all day the Baltimore oriole carols as it feeds on hairy caterpillars among the blossoms. He may be interrupted by the warning call of a bluejay if it is about to rain or blow. A brown thrasher may be exploring a bush or brush pile with intent to build a home; and you may catch a glimpse of cedar waxwings among cedar or fruit trees. High up in a tall tree a pair of mourning doves may be softly cooing while they build their nest.
Then Summer is with us, bringing the thrush who carols his various notes from the top of a tall tree, the friendly cat- bird, least flycatcher, vireo, titmouse, goldfinch, cardinal, cow- bird, chimney swifts, barn swallows, martins, and many kinds of sparrows and warblers.
With wings beating in quiet rhythm the white aigrette migrates from the southland to join the great blue heron, who may have been with us all Winter, stalking the marshlands, river and ponds, as do the black-crowned night heron and the bittern, searching for food. The night heron have a favorite roosting spot in some tall spruce trees near Westport's center. There they may be found in Winter and in Summer.
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THE MINUTE MAN OF WESTPORT
The moon, the stars and the Minute Man Are guarding Compo Beach;
For the British troops are abroad tonight, Preparing to land for tomorrow's fight With powder and ball for each.
Just off the point are the phantom ships- Each little boat with its load
Glides in and grounds on the gritty sand
With an eerie sound as the British land And march through Compo Road.
They march all night through the Westport hills, Nobody seems to hear; For the men who march in the coats of red Are men who for centuries have been dead, But their spirits are always near.
Nobody hears but the Minute Man- The flame in his heart is bright, For he knows that the men of the phantom fleet Are marching, marching on silent feet Through the still hours of the night.
They march all night through the Westport hills And just at the break of day The Redcoats return to the sandy shore To re-embark on the fleet once more, And silently melt away.
The stars fade out and the moon grows pale; The people who pass by Think the Minute Man is a lifeless form- But he lives and watches through calm and storm With a spirit that will not die.
ROBERT JORDAN
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THE WARS
Te ESTPORT is Westport. It matters not at all that only for a hundred years has it been a political entity of that name. Soon after Fairfield was settled a few people drifted over here-following some grazing cows, we be- lieve. The cows knew good land when they saw it and the people concurred. We presume the cows were independent. The first settlers certainly were. They bought the land from the Indians, they started their farms, and although technically still a part of Fairfield, there seems to have been apparent from the first a certain striving for liberty of development.
And when we come to describe "Westport in the Wars" we find that much of the color was in the early wars, when Westport wasn't Westport at all, but a part of Fairfield, Norwalk and Weston. The later conflicts were part of a regu- larized pattern. The government was established. There was no fear of invasion. Men went from here, fought gallantly and died for their country, but the danger to homes had re- treated a good many miles since the days when defense was an intimate, personal thing, a thing calculated to hours and minutes and never-ending watchfulness.
So we shall speak of Westport in early days as though it were already set apart by that name. Critical historians may demur. History, however, is not just a matter of dates and dry-as-dust statistics. It lives. It is our farmer, sweat-soaked from the skin, clearing his land of stumps or leaving it to chase Indians or to fight Redcoats. It is the same man leaving his fields to the care of the younger or weaker while he follows Arnold through the hell of forcing batteaux towards Canada to strike at the source of his Indian-harassed existence. History is the daughter of Tradition and Changing Conditions.
Any town born in Colonial days survived by the nerve of men and the ability to drive their bodies through the inferno of strife, and arose like the Phoenix from the ashes of burned homes and ruined hopes, from the souls of strong men who died by violence.
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There never was an Indian war in Westport's present area, but the fear was there and the necessity for being always on guard. The Pequots were finally beaten on our own side door- step in Fairfield at the Great Swamp Fight of 1637. This opened up the territory for colonization, but that was not the end of the matter. There was butchery up and down the Connecticut valley and as near as our western Connecticut towns. For months at a time picket lines were kept intact to warn of trouble.
Since the red menace was largely due to moral and more substantial aid from the French in Canada, there was naturally evolved a plan to hit at the root of trouble. In 1709 and in the two succeeding years expeditions were organized against Canada. They were not very successful. The fear of Indians was still ever present.
But Indians weren't the only hazard. In 1740 England called on her American colonies for help in reducing the West Indies. Of one thousand men from New England not a hun- dred returned.
In 1745 again Connecticut and this section were called on for men, this time for the seige of Louisburg, that sup- posedly impregnable French fortress in Canada. The job was completed, but only with the loss of many men and an expense so heavy that the currency was seriously depleted. Ten years later this practically continuous warfare demanded men from here for an expedition against Crown Point. We lost Thomas Sherwood, Phineas Squire, Jethro Morehouse, David Hen- dricks and Abel Fountain.
By 1757 Connecticut's force in the field, which had started with a thousand men, amounted to more than six thousand. Warfare was continued the next two years at Louisburg which had been recaptured by the French. And then Quebec fell and Montreal in 1760.
It now seemed that at last the persistent warfare would cease, but we find that in 1762 Connecticut men-and men from here- had to help in building forts to secure the frontier, and that others were called upon to fight with the English at Havana. Finally in 1763 peace was signed
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between England and France, an event which brought great joy to our section.
But not for long. England needed money. The Colonies were ordered to pay a series of oppressive taxes. They were angry and disappointed. There began to be significant events. A few days after the battles of Lexington and Concord, Con- necticut men were on their way there, and the drain of man power and supplies had begun. By 1776 the Revolution was well under way. More than fifteen thousand troops had marched out of the State to Ticonderoga, Crown Point, New York, Long Island and Rhode Island.
In the winter of 1776 the British high command laid its plans to split the Colonies. Burgoyne was to come down from Canada and make a rendezvous at Albany with an ex- pedition from New York which was to ascend the Hudson, destroying everything in its way. It failed to work. Burgoyne encountered more difficulty than he had anticipated; part of the British force in New York sailed to capture Philadelphia, and Clinton was afraid of his line of communication, especially from Connecticut on the east. It was decided to strike a blow which would be a lesson; and that was the origin of the famous Danbury raid on Stores gathered there for the Colonial troops.
A little before sunset on April 25, 1777, twenty-six British ships anchored off the mouth of the Saugatuck River and landed about two thousand men at Cedar (now Compo) Point. The cream of the British troops and their best leaders came from New York.The expedition was opposed from the time it landed, first by scattered groups of Colonials and then by larger bodies, this in spite of the fact, which was well known to the British, that the main bodies of Connecticut troops were engaged on other fronts. The British made Danbury the second day and they quartered their troops as though they intended to stay there. But they could not. The rapidly gathering opposition forced a hasty change of plan. They did destroy the stores which they had sought but their retreat, which began in an orderly manner, very nearly became a rout. They had to fight a pitched battle at Ridgefield. There they were held up by a barricade while the rest of the Colonials
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gathered on the west side of the Saugatuck River, where the present Kings Highway bridge stands in Westport. Fortunately for the British a spy told them of the upper ford across the Saugatuck, which is still clearly visible off the River Road, and they crossed there, scooted down behind the gathered Colonials, and reached Compo Hill, where reinforcements from their ships saved them from certain capture.
This battle was not one of the major engagements of the war, but it was important. For one thing, an unorganized force of about 1200 Colonials succeeded in breaking up a British expedition consisting of at least 2500 of the King's best troops. Secondly, although the English did destroy the military stores in Danbury, they could not maintain at that point a force to protect the later line of communication up the Hudson River. This, without any question, was a partial cause of Clinton's hesitation in moving up the Hudson to join General Burgoyne, an irresolution which resulted in Burgoyne's defeat and surrender to Colonial troops at Saratoga. It is significant that never again during the Revolutionary War did raiding British troops from Long Island Sound move beyond sight of their ships.
There were more British raids from the Sound, resulting in the burning of Fairfield, Green's Farms, Norwalk and other more distant places, but a nightly coast patrol was carried on by our people and they did not take these raids without re- taliation. Long Island was entirely British controlled. Soon . after the Danbury raid a Colonial force crossed the Sound to Sag Harbor, burned twelve British vessels, a large quantity of stores, and took ninety prisoners, without the loss of one man-pretty good planning, when one considers that the British lost three hundred on the way to Danbury and back. In April, 1779, the English pulled a fast one. A boat with not more than ten Redcoats aboard, crossed to Fairfield and captured General Silliman, but our people here shortly returned the compliment by rowing across to Long Island, extracting one Judge Jones from the middle of a dance, and returning with him to Fairfield, where he was held until the English consented to exchange him for .General Silliman.
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Twice in November, 1780, and once in December, there were British raids on our coast and also several during the winter and following spring. We hate to write all these dates! But they go to show that there was never any comfort among our people who lived within striking distance of Long Island Sound. Most of their men were away serving in one American force or another, and the women and children left behind were never safe from sudden attack.
Peace was signed in 1782. The United States was at last an accomplished fact.
But there was not to be a lasting peace. The country had gained independence not yet respect. Seamen were impressed from our ships, six thousand of them before 1812.
Meanwhile New England had prospered. There was no great enthusiasm for a new conflict, especially since naval warfare seemed to hold no hopes for success. War was never- theless declared. It was thought that Canada could be taken by land. Instead of operating, however, as Arnold had in the Revolutionary War from the east, it was decided to move through the Great Lakes, and this failed completely. That section fell entirely into British hands until Perry opened it up with a few ships and a great deal of courage. Hereabouts the English sailed up Long Island Sound in 1813, based on Block Island, and established a blockade which was in the main effective until the end of the war. This meant danger once more on the seacoast; patrols again and watch towers. Our people were always expecting attacks and always trying to be prepared. Trade was ruined. Nevertheless we again took our part in Connecticut's quota of almost twelve thousand men with the different American armies. The War of 1812 finally ended and since then no opposing force has blockaded our coast or even caused serious fear of invasion.
After thirty-six years of peace, there came the call for troops in 1848 for the war with Mexico. Connecticut furnished for that conflict some seven hundred officers and enlisted men, and our percentage of them was as usual high. The conse- quences of that brief affair did not, however, seriously affect this section beyond that point.
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When, after the Fort Sumter episode, President Lincoln called for volunteers, Connecticut's quota was one regiment, but three were quickly formed. And we find on the muster roll of Westport many of the very same names that had ap- peared in similar circumstances since the early Indian wars. There was here no threat of invasion; but families suffered. The men left home, fought, were killed or wounded or returned, as luck would have it. But the principal thing is that they went as they had always gone on the call of duty. There was drilling on the green, and by many firesides stories of men returned on leave, thrilling to the youngsters and perhaps a little sad to those old enough to remember the sorrows of earlier conflicts.
Birge, Westport's own historian, gives a bit of color in that delightful book of his, "The Making of a Yankee Town- ship." Mr. Birge was a youngster at the time and he describes through his own eyes one of those minor episodes which must forever thrill adventurous youth-the passing through West- port, over the bridge and up the hill, of a fully equipped regiment of artillery bound for the distant front. One can just see the young Birge standing beside the road, with his eyes popping, watching the guns, the uniformed troopers, and the horses straining up the grade after their clattering passage across the bridge. Incidentally, it was against these same guns that the "high tide of confederacy" broke on the ridge at Gettysburg, the second Connecticut light battery from Bridgeport.
There were in this State during the Civil War 80,000 voters; Connecticut sent 54,882 to the army, of whom more than 20,000 were casualties. Westport itself contributed two hundred and nineteen men to twenty-one regiments and our own casualty list numbered twenty-four. Westport was small then, too. Again it had not hesitated.
Nor did it in the World War. The storm center of this greatest of conflicts lay across other fields, but there was drama here and khaki in the streets. Boys left for the camps, came home on brief visits. The Home Guard patrolled the railroad lines. The Red Cross worked feverishly. Liberty Loan
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drives were pushed through and funds were raised for the service organizations.
It was a busy period and it was filled with worry and painful uncertainty for those whose folk were with the colors. Two hundred and thirty-one men and seven women went from here. Seven were killed in action, others wounded. A number were awarded medals for gallantry.
And so up to date! Blood-kin of the first settlers have every few years drilled, fought, died. Their names are on the muster rolls and on the monuments. They struggled first for the actual, physical safety of their homes and then later for that aggregation of homes which is the nation.
Too much conflict! Too much blood! Too many wars! May we now find it possible to maintain an honorable peace, and particularly may we never have to fight again except for the absolute defense of our territory!
But if evil days do come and the bugles call assembly, men will go. New individuals will march, but many will bear the same old names as the Bankside farmers. And many will parade to the roll of the ghost drums in the Army of the Dead.
COLONIAL ROADS AND TRAILS
UR earliest Colonial roads were rather hit or miss affairs, the pioneers being far too busy erecting houses and barns
and getting their lands cleared and planted to spend much time on road-building. Generally they used Indian trails for any necessary travel to distant places; so, many of our erratic roads, when they tend to lead in any definite direction, are undoubtedly old Indian paths, the irregularity being ac- counted for by the perfectly understandable tendency to take the course of least resistance.
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