Once photography became practical, it replaced artists’ renderings of the human form although artists continued their pursuits.
According to photographic historians, the first photo taken with any success was in 1826 by Joseph Niepce and had an exposure time of about eight hours.
Louis Daguerre took the earliest photograph of people in 1838. However, with the exposure time at 15 minutes, the subject’s head had to be held still from behind.
The first woman’s portrait in the U.S. was in 1839 and was of Dorothy Catherine Draper. Her eyes were open, and the exposure time was 65 seconds. She had her face powdered with flour to accentuate contrasts.
As a matter of fact, the word photography was not even used at that time. It was later coined by John Herschel.
Gradually, exposure time was reduced, but as late as 1855, any slight movement of subjects resulted in blurred features.
During the 1850s and 1860s, photos included a full-length figure or a seated one. By the mid-1860s, props such as a chair, a desk or stand were used.
Holding a smile was still difficult and it was rare to photograph buildings, events, scenes or animals. With all the photos taken by Matthew Brady and his many assistants during the Civil War, no action shots were taken because of the required exposure times.
But as improvements were made, portrait studios began popping up in small towns and cities. Mid-century photography studio characteristics included patterned oil cloth on floors, plain backdrops, a single drape and a paisley table covering rounding out the setting.
For a relatively small cost, people could now get portraits taken. For the first-time, working-class people could afford a family portrait once in a while.
In regard to taking photos of children, the term “watch the birdie” was developed to get and keep their attention.
By the 1870s, cameras had improved, photographers were able to move and the camera was closer to the subject resulting in clearer close-ups.
By 1880 group photos became popular as people posed in their best clothes, and as we examine those old photos, we try to understand what kind of lives those people lived.
An interesting exercise is to study other new innovations of the 19th century and how they affected people’s lives.
Among them are: The sewing machine, 1846; the candy bar, 1847; the vacuum cleaner, 1860; the typewriter, 1867; the telephone, 1876; peanut butter, 1884; and the phonograph, 1877.
All of these inventions influenced the lives of people who lived during the second half of the 19th century.
Intensive research lists only a few photographic studios in the eastern half of Connecticut during that period into the early 1900s. They include Giles Bishop in New London, F.P. Kenyon and Son, also in New London, and R.A. McIntosh in Deep River.
Lastly, what about the Napoleon stance where the general is painted by the artist with one hand placed in the front opening of his jacket? It was said the artist couldn’t paint hands well. But that stance was popular before Napoleon or the artist was born.
It just wasn’t polite to put hands in side pockets and it did give the impression of status, wealth and prominence.
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They stayed in taverns and in nearby fields in Andover and Bolton and were paid in silver coins by their pay wagon in East Hartford, hence the name, Silver Lane.
They were Rochambeau’s four units totaling originally more than 5,700 French and some German troops who helped us defeat the British in the Revolutionary War. By the time of the historic march, as a result of sickness, and sometimes death, Rochambeau’s numbers had decreased so that the force actually had 4,700 enlisted men plus officers. The total force had arrived in Narragansett Bay coming ashore to Newport in July 1780.
Rochambeau, earlier, had met with General Washington, for the first time, in Hartford in order to plan a collaborative effort against the British.
The first unit to move from Newport was led by The Duc de Lauzun. His force consisted of 250 cavalry and a light infantry of cannoneers and grenadiers.
Only a third of this unit was French. Among them, they spoke eight languages.
They traveled to Lebanon, Connecticut, where their horses would benefit from ample forage. They remained there for eight months where they trained and then followed the larger contingent with small detachments on the lookout for either British or loyalist groups coming from the south.
While in Lebanon, two corporals were executed by a firing squad in April 1781 for desertion.
Meanwhile, a grand review in Providence took place on June 16, 1781, before Rochambeau’s troops left in four divisions each one leaving a day behind the other.
Each division had its own field hospital, craftsmen such as tailors, harness makers, blacksmiths, axe-men needed to clear unwanted vegetation from roads, cooks, musicians, nurses and laundresses. In addition, each unit had an equal artillery force and an equal number of supply wagons, some driven by hired teenagers.
The first division entered Connecticut in Sterling following the old Plainfield Pike. The division stopped across from the Plainfield Cemetery.
Subsequent stops continued as the troops traveled through Canterbury, Scotland and into the town of Windham. They continued past Willimantic, through Columbia, at that time, Lebanon, then Andover, Bolton and into Manchester. Bolton was the fifth camp site and has been undergoing an archeological excavation. Artifacts recovered there have included regimental buttons, musket balls, coins from that era and a lead bar.
The French contingent had a group of officers trained in drawing maps, selecting camp sites, taverns and churches. This proved beneficial once the journey began.
It was tough going with heavy equipment on unpaved dirt roads. “Down time,” when troops could slow down and relax, was most appreciated.
One diary entry stated, “the band played outside the camp area and we danced on the green.” Another entry: “charming young ladies joined us and we invited them to dance to the music.” The stresses of the day, at least temporarily, melted away.
The array of troops traveled on what is now referred to as the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route.
After the surrender of the British at Yorktown, those same troops traveled back to Boston where they departed in 1782.
Those troops traveled in Connecticut alone, a total of 120 miles one way and then back, farther than any other state involved with the project.
This concludes our special salute to General Rochambeau and his brave army
from across the sea.
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During a visit to Washington, D.C., in the fall of 1861, poet Julia Ward Howe attended a public parade and review of Union troops.
On her return to the city’s Willard Hotel, her carriage was delayed by marching regiments. While waiting for the traffic to clear, she and her companions began singing some of the popular war songs of the day. Included was the song, “John Brown’s Body,” with the words, “John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the ground/His soul goes marching on.”
Howe and the others assumed the John Brown mentioned in the song was the famous abolitionist. But actually, the words belonged to a young Scotsman in the Second Infantry Battalion of Massachusetts Volunteer Militia whose name was also John Brown.
The young sergeant was well aware of the more well-known John Brown. Many of his exploits had been printed in most newspapers.
In the meantime, his comrades had made the Scotsman the target of many practical jokes. The soldiers sang out in a folk-song manner, the melody that Julia Ward Howe later heard. The teasing of the sergeant and the catchy verse traveled to other units.
Every time the sergeant was a little late or out of step, the teasing took place.
Howe retired that night at the hotel, but the melody of that song kept going through her head. When she arose the next morning, one of her friends suggested, “Why don’t you write some good words for that stirring tune?”
There are researchers who insist the friend who suggested that was President Abraham Lincoln.
Howe did write “better” words to that tune which has become a living folk music tradition.
The tune sung while the men marched came out of the folk hymn tradition of the camp meeting movement. Howe submitted her lyrics to the “Atlantic Monthly” as “The Battle Hymn of The Republic.” It was published in February 1862.
The Scotsman Brown never heard or read Howe’s version. He died early in the war at Front Royal, Va.
Confusion surrounds who actually wrote the music to that song. Many would-be and authentic composers take credit.
From our history books, we learned that the other John Brown, abolitionist and Torrington native, planned to free Virginia slaves. Earlier, a young man from Lisbon, Conn., Aaron Dwight Stevens, also had developed strong anti-slavery feelings, and met up with Brown in Nebraska in 1856. Brown saw something in Stevens, taking him under his wing and providing him with leadership opportunities. In time, Stevens became Brown’s military aide.
Brown and his men seized the arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Va., and converted it into a temporary fortress. Under the leadership of then Col. Robert E. Lee, the raiders were subdued by a detachment of Marines at a great loss to Brown. His two sons, Watson and Oliver, were killed in the action and Brown was severely wounded.
Brown was tried and sentenced to death and was hanged Dec. 2, 1859. Stevens was convicted of treason and was executed March 16, 1860, in Charlestown, Va. He was 29.
John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the ground… His soul goes marching on.
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Churchgoers all over the world have sung his hymns, but few, if any, know his name.
It is William Howard Doane.
He was born in Preston on Feb. 3, 1832, to Joseph and Frances Doane. Doane showed an interest in music as early as age 6 and sang before an audience at the slightest opportunity.
At 14, he was selected as leader of the Woodstock Academy Choir and two years later led the choir at the Baptist Church in Voluntown.
That same year, he composed his first piece of music as the conductor of the Norwich Harmonic Society. Later, he composed a book of music – “Silver Spray” – considered the most popular Sunday School compilation of its day.
A year later, he created another book of religious songs titled “Songs of Devotion.”
As a teenager, Doane became a clerk in his father’s firm, J.A. Fay and Co., a cotton manufacturing business. His father fully expected Doane to put aside his “foolish” hobby of writing music because it was not considered a respectable profession for a young man.
Doane satisfied his father’s wishes to enter the industrial field, but also continued to compose music.
Eventually, he became a managing partner in his father’s Norwich firm but relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio, the business headquarters. He was 29.
When Doane became president of the company, upon the death of his senior partner, the mercantile company was already connected to a number of similar firms around the globe. At this same time, Doane continued to write music, including his Christmas cantatas, such as one of his most popular titled “Santa Claus.” That sold worldwide with copies in the millions.
New York music publishers Biglow and Main published most of Doane’s music.
Fanny Crosby was the leading poet of the gospel hymn movement during the last half of the 19th century. Though blind from infancy, she collaborated with a number of musical composers, including Doane, on at least 1,500 gospel music pieces.
Doane’s composition style was a little unique in that wherever he was at the time of inspiration, he wrote down his melodies. Those locations included his parlor, on a stagecoach ride, at a convention, on a train and on a ship. Out came his little notebook and his melody was recorded.
Even though his music was his life’s love, his inventions as an industrialist, were also notable. He held 70 patents related to woodworking machinery.
He also owned one of the largest home libraries in the country. His home in the Cincinnati hill section was the center of an extensive collection of antique musical instruments from around the world, and also a receptacle of original manuscripts of nearly all the old musical masters. Denison University, where he received an honorary doctorate, the Cincinnati YMCA and other beneficiaries have enjoyed his generosity. The Doane Memorial Music Building in Chicago was named for him.
Doane owned a summer cottage at Watch Hill where he frequently entertained many distinguished guests.
The Preston native died in South Orange, N.J. on Dec. 23, 1915.
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William Torrey Harris was born in North Killingly on Sept. 10, 1835.
He attended Phillips Andover Academy, and studied three years at Yale University, becoming a teacher. He taught school from 1857-59 in St. Louis, Missouri, and became a principal that same year. In 1866, he helped to establish the St. Louis Philosophical Society.
Harris was then appointed superintendent of schools in St. Louis, serving in that position from 1868-80.
Along the way, Harris, with Susan Blow, established America’s first permanent public kindergarten in 1873. Blow had been acquainted with the work of Friedrich Froebel, a Swiss educator who believed in early education. Interestingly, Blow had no high school education.
By 1916, more than 400 cities had kindergartens in their schools.
Harris also was instrumental in influencing educational ideologies that led to public school curriculum expansions. Among them, he made the high school an essential institution, which would, in time, include art, music, science, manual arts and, perhaps more importantly, the addition of a library at all public schools.
Harris was appointed as the nation’s commissioner of education. Among his many innovations was instituting compulsory education for Native Americans.
He served as commissioner under four U.S. presidents, including Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.
His resume includes founding and editing the first philosophical periodical in America in 1867. He served as its editor until 1893.
He was the recipient of an LL.D., Doctor of Laws degree, from a number of American and foreign universities. In 1906, he was recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for The Advancement of Teaching.
That same year, Harris also helped edit a number of papers dealing with international education, and when Andrew Carnegie founded the “Simplified Spelling Board” in 1906, Harris was one of the directors.
In 1909, he was the editor-in-chief of Webster’s New International Dictionary, and it was the North Killingly native who originated the “divided page” in dictionaries.
Overall, Harris produced several hundred manuscripts on educational matters. Among them are “An Introduction To The Study of Philosophy,” “Psychologic Foundations of Education,” “Elementary Education In The United States” and “The Philosophy of Education.”
Harris was known as a practical school man, an effective administrator and an educational reformer. His whole career was dedicated to the professional study of education for teachers in training.
Between 1873 and 1880, he served as president of the National Association of School Superintendents. Author Kurt Leidecker wrote “Yankee Teacher: The Life of William Torrey Harris,” where more information can be found regarding this remarkable educator.
Incredibly, Danielson produced a second person who became a United States commissioner of education. Sidney P. Marland, Jr., a graduate of UConn, became a secondary teacher and a superintendent of schools in Darien, Winnetka, Ill., and Pittsburgh, Pa., before he accepted the national appointment.
Maybe there was “something in the water” for two men born a short distance apart and aspire to the lofty post of National Commissioner of Education.
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The ability to know the exact time to the hour and the minute is a relatively new phenomenon in human history.
Until the early 1800s, Americans told time strictly with the help of nature. People would get together at “candle light” and for more exact time they had sundials and hourglasses. They also consulted almanacs. Farmers’ chores were determined by daylight’s availability.
Then Eli Terry came along.
Terry was born prior to the American Revolution on April 13, 1772, in East Windsor. At 14, he became an apprentice to master clockmaker Daniel Burnap. Burnap’s specialty was engraving. Terry also spent time as an apprentice with another Connecticut master, and by 1793, when he was 21, he opened his own clock shop in Plymouth, Conn. Just prior to opening his own shop, he repaired clocks and watches. He also did engraving and repaired spectacles. His engraving skills originated when he worked with Daniel Burnap.
When Terry opened his own shop, all clocks were still made with “hand turned” wooden works. He applied the achievements of Eli Whitney (the use of power machinery and interchangeable parts) to his clock making. His machines were powered by water and he hired several men to cut standardized wheels, cogs and other parts from wood that were then assembled to make his finished clocks.
By 1800, Terry was producing about 20 clocks at a time in his factory.
In 1807, he received a request to build 4,000 clocks in four years.
He hired two craftsmen, Seth Thomas and Silas Hoadley, to help him and the trio finished the task with a year to spare.
In 1812, Terry developed his “shelf clock” with wooden movements when he bought land along the Naugatuck River along with a sawmill and a gristmill.
He also created a new clock design. He received the first clock patent issued by the U.S. Patent Office for that design.
Eventually, at his new location, and with his use of interchangeable parts, Terry produced as many as 12,000 clocks annually.
Almost instantly, other men saw the success Terry was enjoying and established clock factories of their own in the Bristol area.
In 1830, Terry began using brass clock mechanisms into his clocks. This made the clocks more durable.
Terry retired in 1833. By then he had received 10 patents related to clock-making.
After his death in 1852 at 80, his son, Silas, continued producing the clocks with brass movements. Silas and his three sons began the Terry Clock Co. in 1867 in Waterbury and were in business until 1888, capping more than 90 years of Terry clock making.
Eli Terry has been recognized by invention historians as “the real father of the industrial revolution in America.”
Terry was inspired by another master clockmaker, Thomas Harland, of Norwich. Harland has been honored by the city with a road named for him.
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In any written account of Connecticut legends, we find a gentleman by the name of Phineas G. Wright.
Wright was born in Fitzwilliam, N.H., on April 3, 1829. When he was still young his family moved to Putnam. As the years passed, Phineas not only became interested and involved in land holdings, he became the wealthiest man in town.
In Wright’s opinion, his business was nobody’s but his own, and he intended to keep it that way. Therefore, all of his banking was accomplished in Boston’s banks, which he saw as more “stable” than those in Putnam. He traveled to Boston often in spite of the fact that in those times, that trip was a whole day’s ride.
Local opinions of Wright were quite varied depending on who was offering one. Some claimed he was a “penny pincher,” while others claimed the man had a wonderful sense of humor. However, there remains a story in the history of Putnam that speaks of his kindness and generosity, in this case toward a couple named George and Sarah Pray. It involved a loan he arranged for them, the interest on which he canceled over its 22-year-period.
Our further research reveals Wright was among the first to break ground for the construction of the historic Air Line Railway which, in 1873, opened a direct train route between New York and Boston. It ran from 1891 to 1895 and is now a hiking trail.
In 1903, Wright initiated his personal plans for his own death which would not occur until May 2, 1918. He would be buried in the Grove Street Cemetery in Putnam. He decided a man of his stature should have a huge stone monument, and that’s exactly what he arranged — one weighing 10 tons. On it would be a chiseled a likeness of him — at least his top half, in high relief, beard and all, with his watch chain leading into his watch pocket. Below all this is his personal information and an interesting phrase which reads, “Going, but know not where.” He was truly a unique character.
Now, a quick turn to another Connecticut character, one who really needs no introduction. That man is Mark Twain, noted for his quick wit and iconic writings. Twain, real name of Samuel Clemens, resided in the state in two major locations over the years: Hartford and Redding.
Twain was famous for his quotes about life in general. One of his favorite quotes involves education: “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education!”
In a sort of tribute to the author, we end today’s column with a short story he loved to tell and did a number of times. He called it “These Haddams.” He related that “A man was traveling up the Connecticut River trying to sleep. However, frequently, the boat would stop, and a man would yell outside the traveler’s door, ‘Haddam!’ Then a few moments later the man would yell, ‘East Haddam!’ Then, ‘Haddam Neck!’ Then, last but not least, ‘North Haddam!’ By then, the traveler jumped out of bed and yelled, “I’m a Methodist preacher for 41 years, but blast these Haddams!”
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Ms. Ellen Douglas Larned was born on June 13, 1825, in Thompson. It is unanimously agreed that she is the most well-known historian in regard to the history of Windham County.
Her books, “The History of Windham County,” volumes one and two, were originally written for her family and her community. They are more about goings-on in a small-town community as opposed to what was going on in the world at large. One can fairly correlate world events with dates, but it is harder to locate the intricate facts which Larned uncovered so well.
In her above titles, she included 10 portraits of important people who lived in the county between 1760 and 1880, including Israel Putnam, Samuel Huntington and Gen. Nathaniel Lyon.
She wrote in great detail about the development of courts, churches, schools, roads, libraries and the early settlements and organizations. Also Larned wrote about county women of an earlier time, the Revolutionary War outcomes, profiles of interesting people, Indian names and historical events.
She actually lived in her home town her entire life and her sources for information included diaries, church documents, town records, old letters and conversations and interviews with residents of Thompson.
Her first publication in 1874 was published in Worcester, Mass. However, her reputation as a historian preceded that, and she was inducted into the Connecticut Historical Society in 1870. She remained the only female member of that illustrious group for a number of decades.
Interesting to her, and apparently to many others, were her own writings about the dozen or so Indian tribes that resided in Eastern Connecticut long before the white man came. Those tribes knew a variety of paths that they traveled and favored.
Larned’s information about the Old Connecticut Path was put together from Indian and early settler notes as well as other sources. Between Thompson and Tolland there is a path she described as “touching nature” in the way the early pioneers experienced. The path holds an important place in the histories of the towns it traveled through in addition to private, public, and conserved lands.
The path has been preserved in the form of a map she called “Map of Ancient Windham County” and is a treasure for any modern traveler who can find special places along the path.
In “The History of Windham County,” there were details regarding the “Frog Pond” story which was nearer in time than other versions of the story.
In 1899, Larned published “Historical Gleanings in Windham County, Connecticut.” Both publishers and authors believe her work to be culturally important.
In her later years Larned did quite a bit of lecturing about her publications. Not surprisingly, she also maintained interest and expertise in the field of genealogy. To further illustrate her authenticity, her books can be found in international libraries.
In 1902, Larned dedicated a small library building on Thompson Hill. The Thompson Historical Society established a museum there which opened on Sept. 6, 2003. It is now the Ellen Larned Memorial Building located on the Thompson Common, Route 193 in Thompson.
Larned died on Jan. 31, 1912, at age 87 and is buried in the West Thompson Cemetery.
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George H. Cushman was born in Windham on June 5, 1814 and, from the time he was a little boy, he had a dream of going to West Point. However, early on, family financial misfortunes impacted young George and kept him from that objective.
So, he turned his attention in another direction … he began sketching and painting everything he saw, particularly faces or “miniature portraits” of people. His studies led him to well-known artists of the time, including Washington Allston and Asaph Willard.
Allston was famous for pioneering landscape painting and one of his serious pupils was Samuel F.B. Morse, who went on to invent the telegraph.
Willard was a silver engraver and worked in Hartford for many years.
In the mid-1840s, Cushman moved to Philadelphia and it was there that he produced many miniature paintings and portraits over a 20-year period. It was in Philadelphia that he married Susan Wetherill.
Philadelphia, of course, was the nation’s first capital, and Cushman began engraving books for authors, including James Fenimore Cooper, Charles Dickens and Frances Osgood.
Prior to the National Banking Act, Cushman did engraving for state banks.
In 1862, he moved to New York City, creating miniatures and portraits. He was also involved with engraving. His critics viewed his work as being executed with taste and ability. However, his natural modesty prevented him from exhibiting his miniatures. Exceptions included displays only to his close friends.
His own self-portrait as a painter of miniatures was reproduced in 1898.
George Cushman died on Aug. 3, 1876. Therefore, he would have no way of knowing that in 1928, the New York Public Library displayed his engravings in a special viewing. Also, some of his miniatures were displayed at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.
In addition to the above recognitions, Cushman is noted today for two more unusual honors in the field of art.
Recently, one of George Cushman’s rare portrait miniatures sold for $2,200. Also recently, his display of engravings was included in the works of 100 notable American engravers.
Of course, more famous regarding miniatures, as evidenced in our history books, was John Trumbull of Lebanon.
Born much earlier than Cushman, in 1756, Trumbull was noted generally for his historical paintings. Due to a childhood accident, Trumbull lost the sight of one of his eyes. However, in spite of that handicap, or perhaps as a positive result, that added to his detailed style of painting. Some said he would never paint again.
As a soldier in the American Revolutionary War, John Trumbull sketched plans in Boston of the British works.
In 1780, he traveled to London to study under artist Benjamin West. At West’s advice, Trumbull began painting miniature portraits. As a result of his efforts, in Trumbull’s lifetime, he painted as many as 250 miniatures.
In 1785, Trumbull went to Paris and with introductions by Thomas Jefferson, serving at the time as United States minister, Trumbull started one of his most famous paintings, that of the “Declaration of Independence.”
That famous scene with so many miniatures of “the signers” can also be viewed on the reverse side of the United States’ two-dollar bill.
Trumbull died in New York City in 1843 at the age of 87.
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Up until the year 1892, anyone who wished to clean their teeth had one procedure: They would dip their toothbrushes into a porcelain jar of dental cream.
At least one local dentist, Dr. Washington Wentworth Sheffield, felt strongly that the practice was highly unhygienic. He not only had definite feelings about the practice, but he decided to do something about it if he could.
Sheffield was born on April 23, 1827 in North Stonington, the third of eight children to the Rev. John Sheffield and Eliza Sheffield. He grew up there and was educated in the town’s schools.
In 1850, he trained as an apprentice dentist with J. Comstock of New London. Later, he furthered his preparation by working with Dr. Charles Allen and Dr. H.D. Porter in New York City.
In April 1852, he moved to New London to begin his long and successful practice in dentistry.
He married Harriet P. Browne of Providence and they had one child, Lucius, who was born in 1854. Lucius one day would provide the motivation that would be a life-changer for his father.
In the interim, Washington Sheffield was fully aware there existed a strong desire for clean teeth. Doctors and dentists had created cleaning tools and materials including toothpicks, tooth brushes, and powders. Many of those early tools were often sold by doctors and early druggists. A good example of an early product was “Roger’s Tooth Powder,” which was advertised in the Norwich Packet as early as 1800.
In 1865, Sheffield graduated from the Ohio College of Dental Surgery, the first dental school in the country. And he had already formulated his own tooth powder and mouthwash that he used with his patients.
His son, Lucius, grew up in New London and attended Norwich Free Academy. He later attended Harvard Medical School, graduating from that institution’s American Academy of Dental Medicine in 1878. He then traveled to Paris to study dentistry and dental surgery.
While Lucius was away, Sheffield, in New London, had perfected a balm which could be used as a moist tooth cleaner should a proper dispenser ever be available.
It was in Paris that Lucius was witness to artists preparing their palettes with paint. He suddenly realized the collapsible tubes being utilized in painting could also be used to squeeze a moist tooth cleaning substance onto a toothbrush in a neat and sanitary manner.
When father and son began the Sheffield Dentifrice Company in 1880, the location of their company was at the corner of State and Green streets in New London. That’s where he improved his own mouthwash and advertised it as “Sheffield’s Elixer Balm” for the gums. Later, he opened a laboratory behind his residence where he produced his dentifrice. His dentifrice is the first toothpaste sold in America in collapsible tubes. The Sheffields’ products sold very well and were popular with the public.
The Sheffields’ tooth cleaner was first advertised on March 12, 1881 in the New London Telegram. It was called “Sheffield’s Crème Angelique Dentifrice.”
The Sheffield Dentifrice Company was also popular with other clients wishing to use the tubes for their own products.
Washington Wentworth Sheffield died on Nov. 4, 1897 at age 70. His son, Lucius, died Sept. 20, 1901 at age 47.
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Connecticut College was founded in 1911, but the planning for it has an interesting twist. Wesleyan University announced in 1909 that the college would no longer offer admissions to women. Correspondingly, there was at that time a strong desire by women to seek higher education. A committee was soon formed across the state to seek out prospective sites for a new college.
The committee came up with its top proposal for the hilltop location overlooking the Thames River in New London.
The land selected for the new institution had once been a dairy farm owned by Charles P. Alexander of Waterford. When both he and his wife passed away, their son, Frank, sold a substantial portion of the farmland to the trustees for the college.
A fund-raising campaign was started and the city was asked to raise $100,000 for a starting amount. The campaign only lasted 10 days and the goal was not only met, but actually exceeded by $35,000.
Virtually every business and organization in the New London area contributed to the campaign. A charter was petitioned to the state and was granted in April of 1911. A president was appointed as well as an architect. Morton Plant, chairman of the board of trustees, announced that he was giving one million dollars for the college’s endowment.
Mr. Plant’s generous contribution inspired others to make their own financial gifts.
The college finally opened its doors to students on Sept. 27, 1915. Ninety-nine young women became the first freshmen class and additionally, 52 special students also registered.
A faculty of 23 professors and a library containing 6,000 books were also available.
The student body, of course, increased over time, buildings were added, and countless women received their education from a well-respected institution of learning “up on the hilltop.”
In the 1960s a national movement had begun citing evidence that there was then a trend that women were beginning to be uninterested in attending “woman only” colleges.
In 1969, the Board of Trustees deemed that the college would soon change to a co-educational institution. This move, in itself, would alter the social and athletic fabric of the college.
Currently, the college accepts only about one third of its applications.
Until recently, the college ranked in the top 25 percent of all the colleges in the country. In 2015, however, the college was ranked 100th out of 247 colleges.
Among the most common choices for majors by students there, in the last five years, are international relations, English and economics.
The college enrolls just under 2,000 young men and women from more than 40 states and 70 countries.
Connecticut College today has many attractive activities on campus open to the students as well as to the local New London community. For example, “Onstage at Connecticut College” presents a variety of artists and performers throughout the year. The Olin Observatory is open to the public as well. Other attractions include the campus ice rink, the Charles E. Shain Library, the local Flock Theater, choral and instrumental college concerts, acapella group performances, lectures by faculty and visiting speakers, and various sporting events.
Currently, there are more than 1,800 undergraduates, enjoying roughly a nine to one student-faculty ratio.
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An actual ad in a well-known newspaper in the late 1700s published the following request: “Wanted: A sober, diligent schoolmaster (man) capable of teaching Reading, writing, Arithmetick (?) and the Latin tongue!”
From Colonial times and even into the 19th century, most teachers were men. Some male teachers held other positions as farmers, innkeepers and a variety of other occupations who “kept school” for a few months a year, then returned to their almost full-time job.
The more educated schoolmasters used the classroom as a stepping-stone toward their final careers at such positions as ministers or attorneys.
Some grammar school teachers were products of the very school they then would serve as teachers.
As more schools developed in urban villages there actually became a shortage of teachers what with the low pay and working conditions which existed at that time. Many bright, promising young men went on to more well-paying and prestigious positions. As industries developed, many qualified men went in that direction. This caused an acute shortage of instructors.
Education reformers began looking toward another source of labor. Teacher colleges, called “normal schools,” began looking at women to take over classrooms.
This all led to the “feminization” of the teaching profession. Women were becoming better educated than ever before. The neighboring state of Massachusetts led the way in the early to mid-1800s with its first normal schools. Those post-high school institutions were devoted entirely to teacher education.
The first state-sponsored normal school was established in Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1839. The demand for providing teachers with stimulating preparation to teach in those early one-room schools and small towns was solved.
Women began attending summer institutes, organized associations, and courses were taken to better prepare themselves to teach.
In the late 1800s into the early 20th century, immigrants poured into the United States. More than a million immigrants entered the country in 1907 alone. Immigrants, in general, saw the schools as a bridge of sorts, to a better life.
In the early 1900s, 75 percent of America’s teachers were women.
In 1889, 13 female students attended classes on the third floor of the Willimantic Savings Institute in that city. Those were the first students who would train for teaching at what was then called, Willimantic State Normal School.
A larger location of the school would later be built on the corner of Windham and Valley Streets. That larger facility was completed in 1895 and the first dormitory was built in 1921. In 1937, the Normal School became Willimantic State Teachers College. Other buildings and expanded curricula led the institution in 1967 to be renamed as Eastern Connecticut State College.
By 1983, the college once again with its expanded campus and programs was renamed Eastern Connecticut State University.
Eastern still trains prospective teachers as it successfully did for so many years, but the new expanded curricula now is much more varied so that the once-small teachers college has blossomed into a full-blown university.
In Connecticut’s original state teacher college system, there were four institutions strategically located around the state preparing teachers for our schools. They were in Willimantic, New Britain, New Haven and Danbury.
It’s interesting and wistful, too, to look back to those World War II days and beyond, when so many local and nearby high school graduates could attend a college like ECSU, and graduate with a career lasting through their working lives.
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William Williams was born on April 23, 1731, in Lebanon to Timothy S. Williams and Mary Porter. Williams’ father and grandfather were both ministers.
With that environment, William became a deacon in the Congregational Church while not yet a teenager. He had already made up his mind that he, too, would become a minister. His father would celebrate 50 years as the pastor of the Lebanon Congregational Church.
William did begin a study for the ministry, but that effort was interrupted when he joined the militia in order to engage in the French and Indian War.
Back home after the war, he opened a store in Lebanon he called The Williams Inc.
Williams married Mary Trumbull in 1771. Mary was the daughter of Connecticut Gov. Jonathan Trumbull. The couple would have three children.
Williams became a member of the Sons of Liberty and a little later he served on both Connecticut’s Committee of Correspondence and The Council of Safety.
Williams was naturally against the occupation of Boston by British soldiers.
In the meantime, he was elected as a Connecticut representative to the Continental Congress on July 11, 1776, which was the same date that Connecticut received official word regarding the vote of July 2, 1776 — the date of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Williams later signed the Declaration.
Williams did become pastor of the First Congregational Church in Lebanon. He also proved during that period that he was a successful merchant.
At the Revolutionary War’s beginnings, there was little provision to support an army. Private contributions became necessary for rifles, clothing and other supplies. Under his direct supervision, the town of Lebanon was able to forward more than 1,000 blankets to the army, which was an outstanding example of private solicitation. In addition to that, bullets were devised from the lead obtained from the weights utilized in clocks of that time. However successful those efforts were, dark days were ahead for the colonies.
During the war, Williams retained the title of the selectman for the town of Lebanon.
In 1781, word reached Lebanon regarding the traitor Benedict Arnold’s raid on New London. Williams immediately mounted his horse and traveled the 23 miles to the Whaling City in three hours, in order to offer his services as a volunteer.
In the winter of 1781, a French regiment known now as Lauzun’s Legion, was stationed and participated in military training on the well-known Lebanon Green. Williams decided to move out of his home and relinquished it to French officers, including Robert Dillon, second in command of the regiment.
Williams’ later years were constructively spent as a county judge. Also, for 44 years he served his community as town clerk. He also served as a selectman for 25 years. Obviously, he was a man who believed in serving.
Williams died on Aug. 2, 1811, and is buried in Lebanon’s old cemetery. Williams’ house was declared a National Historic Landmark and, not surprisingly, was listed on the National Register of Historic Homes in 1951.
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He exhibited conspicuous gallantry in the War with Tripoli. After the War of 1812, he secured the final treaty of peace with Barbary powers. In essence, he tactically won almost every military engagement in which he participated … except one. Oh, he was taken prisoner by the British on one occasion where he was woefully outnumbered.
However, Commodore Stephen Decatur received a gold medal for his distinguished service in the war from his government.
A frustrating exception took place in New London County in the spring of 1813. It began when Decatur needed a port in which to hide when his squadron of three ships was spotted by a small fleet of British ships near the eastern end of Long Island Sound. Since the port of New London was the nearest, he sailed to the harbor and traveled up the Thames River to Gales Ferry. There, he could plan his next move.
Meanwhile, frightened residents, who had remembered the burning of the city by Benedict Arnold some 30-odd years before, witnessed the British blockade surrounding their harbor, including one of the Brits’ firing exercises.
In the meantime, Decatur waited patiently for clearance. Then he waited some more … for months.
Finally, he furtively moved his ships toward the mouth of the Thames on a moonless night, a night with ideal conditions. Suddenly, blue lights appeared on both sides of the river. The commodore sensed that the Brits knew of his attempt and withdrew his ships.
He waited an appropriate amount of time and on another night with seemingly good conditions, he attempted once more. The blue lights were visible again, and Decatur retreated. One last undertaking ended with the same result, so he knew that a new plan was necessary.
The use of a torpedo to distract the Brits also failed.
His next effort involved moving his squadron way up river, where his crew dismantled two of his ships and then they traveled to New York by land. Later, the one ship that was left finally did slip past the blockade.
The mystery of the blue lights remained a mystery for some time. Did the Brits get word of his attempts? Were there spies involved?
The Connecticut Gazette, a New London paper, reported those lights as the work of traitors and this became a controversial uproar there and elsewhere. The paper was accused of lacking good judgment regarding American patriotism.
Almost a lifetime later, the Rev. Edward W. Bacon came up with a possible suspect and explanation.
A Newport man by the name of Capt. Center had been held by authorities for unknown charges at the time, but was released for lack of evidence. His freedom, the reverend surmised, led the Newport man to the British ships conducting the blockade.
In other words, we still don’t have a viable answer to the blue lights.
At war’s end, officials in New London had planned a “peace ball” at the Huntington Street Courthouse, where British and American officers would attend, including the famed commodore, Stephen Decatur.
The ball in New London was reminiscent of a similar celebration one war earlier, this time without the British. It was held at the end of the Revolutionary War at the home of Gen. Jedidiah Huntington on East Town Street in Norwichtown. Special guests included Gen. George Washington, Count Rochambeau and Gen. Lafayette. That house still stands today.
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There seems to be a lot of interest locally in a young man born in Lisbon on March 15, 1831. His name was Aaron Dwight Stevens and as a young boy he was put to work on his father’s farm where he grew to over 6 feet tall.
He ran away from home twice, lived on the Norwichtown Green for a while, and served in the Mexican War. He was involved in a mutiny and received a brief sentence. He then joined the Kansas Militia.
It was on Aug. 7, 1856, that he finally met one of his idols, abolitionist John Brown, in Nebraska.
Stevens killed a man in what was deemed self-defense. For that, he served an appropriate sentence and even lived with the Delaware Indians for a few months.
Brown was impressed with the large young man and, in 1859, decided to have him train his 17 men in military tactics and technically assume the role as Brown’s assistant. Brown felt that Stevens’ previous military experience would become an advantage in carrying out a raid he was planning.
During the famous raid on Harper’s Ferry in Virginia, both Stevens and Brown, along with Brown’s other raiders, were trapped in the town engine house by a military platoon. The leader of that platoon was Col. Robert E. Lee, who ordered the assault that led to Brown’s capture.
Seemingly, with no hope of escape, Brown finally sent Stevens and Brown’s son, Watson, out of the engine house to negotiate with a flag of truce. With no intention of negotiating with the gang, Stevens was quickly shot four times and then captured by militia members. Watson Brown was also wounded and died 20 hours after being shot. The entire “battle” was over in three minutes.
Once Stevens fell, his captors could feel no pulse, however, eyewitnesses swear that Stevens spoke fluently when asked, “Is there anyone dear to you?” Stevens replied, “All those who are good are dear to me!”
The raiders, of course, were captured, and both Stevens and Brown were placed in the same cell. Stevens suffered from his painful wounds in his head and neck.
During his prison stay, Stevens was quoted as telling a guard, “ I do not feel guilty and there was no evil intention in my heart.”
For his part in Brown’s raid, the Lisbon native was convicted of treason and on March 16, 1860, he was hanged in Charlestown, Virginia, one day after his 29th birthday. Brown had been hanged earlier, and Stevens’ last words to his captain were, “Captain Brown, I’ll see you in a better land.”
In retrospect, the rag-tag raiders had organized in a hopeless attempt to instigate a slave rebellion at Harper’s Ferry.
Aaron Stevens’ family was originally from Norwich, with Moses Stevens as the first name mentioned in the research of the family.
The town of Lisbon has renamed a portion of Route 138, which runs through the town. It is now known as the Aaron Dwight Stevens Memorial Highway. It is named for the 19th century abolitionist who, surprisingly, is little known even in Eastern Connecticut.
Victor Butsch and Tom Coletti wrote a book about Stevens in 2016 titled “A Journey to The Gallows.” It is a historical look at the life and times of Aaron Dwight Stevens.
Stevens is buried at the John Brown farm in New York.
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In 1790, President George Washington signed America’s first patent law. It was designed “to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.”
Suddenly, here and elsewhere, workbenches became beehives of activities and within a century, Connecticut residents had been awarded more than 20,000 patents.
Women became involved with patented inventions early on, including a lady in Windham County.
In 1866, Catharine Allsop Griswold in Willimantic received a patent for a skirt-supporting corset.
Between 1876 and 1890, the U.S. Patent Office saluted Connecticut’s residents as first in inventions per capita for all those years.
Each year, the Patent Office issues more than 150,000 patents to both individuals and companies worldwide.
Notice that the type of inventions listed reflect the era in which that particular invention was needed. Also, some of the research for this story revealed only the last names of most of the inventors.
A man named Frink from New London received a patent for a shipbuilding procedure. A Mr. Loomis from Ashford received a patent for a threshing machine. Another New London resident named Wilson received a patent for a gristmill and, in addition, a cast-iron door knocker.
Mr. Allen won a patent for a steam pump in Norwich. Also, another man named Sutton from Norwich invented a patent for a rotary pump.
A man named Knowles from Colchester invented wood screws and a unique carriage spring. A Montville man named Scholfield invented a pendulum regulator.
A man by the name of Watrous from Groton received a patent for his grinding machine.
A Killingly man by the name of Mason received patents for two new inventions. They were a spinning machine and a cotton-cleaning apparatus.
A Mr. Tyler of Brooklyn also invented a different type of threshing machine.
A man from New London named Clark received a patent for a special saw, while a versatile man from Norwich named Forbes invented both a paper-making machine and a wagon carriage.
Another Brooklyn man named Johnson received a patent for a leather shaving machine.
A different type of threshing machine was invented by a Plainfield man named Gallop.
Fireplace cooking implements were developed by a Hampton inventor by the name of Howard.
A different type of horse collar was invented by a man named Call. He was from the town of Sterling.
A Windham man by the name of Boynton received a patent for a card grinding machine.
A Mr. Sizer from New London was recognized for inventing two different items, a circular boiler and a hat steaming machine.
A Canterbury gentleman named Rood (a well-known Windham County name), was awarded a patent for a weaving machine.
Last but not least in this category, was another New London man named Spencer who received a patent for a ruling machine.
Breaking away from the last name-only category, we have Washington W. Sheffield, a native of North Stonington, who first put toothpaste into tubes. He was a dentist with an office in downtown New London. Edwin Land, who lived in Norwich for over a decade, invented the Polaroid camera, and, of course, Allen Latham Jr., who lived in Norwich for many years, was a Norwich Free Academy grad who invented blood transfer devices.
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Four giant greenish frog images are sitting on large cement spools of thread on the two-decade-old Thread City Crossing in Willimantic.
An Ivoryton sculptor, Leo Jensen, created the amphibians and they were cast in an ironworks in Bridgeport. The giant frogs were placed on the spools in November of 2000.
The spools in Willimantic are representatives of the city’s past when the Willimantic Thread Co. was a major industry there from the early 1800s on.
Other bridges in the town’s history at one time or another crossed the Willimantic River, but in 2000, a more permanent crossing was needed and built. Upon its official opening, in June of 2001, there were observers from all over New England taking photos, and reporters from out-of-town newspapers, including the New York Times, “getting their story.”
The bridge was 15 years in its planning, and the reason for the inclusion of frogs in its design is important.
In June of 1754, Connecticut residents were quite uneasy due to earlier attacks on small towns during the French and Indian War. In nearby Windham Center, residents had retired but were awakened by some screams or commotion, but they could not determine the source.
Daylight and exploration by some of the men there, finally revealed the origin of the uproar. East of the village, a recent drought had left very little water at a nearby small pond, and bull frogs, some from a reasonably long distance away, sought the remaining water with resounding clamor. That desperate struggle by throngs of bull frogs was the culprit. Dozens and dozens, some say hundreds, of corpses were scattered near the almost empty pond.
As part and parcel of the history of Windham, that event has been repeated many times via storytelling, poetry, role playing, music and drama.
The “Croakers” was the name of a now defunct male singing group, and students graduating from Windham High School at one time enjoyed the image of a frog and spool of thread on their class rings. Even the school’s newspaper was called The Croakings. The city’s official seal still reflects the image of a frog.
The new bridge replaced a former bridge (stone arch type) that was 43 years old located farther east. Parts of that bridge still serve the community as a garden walkway, part of the Windham Mills State Heritage Park.
The late David Phillips, former Eastern Connecticut State University professor and well-known storyteller, provided the true inspiration for the unusual motif. David, with a little history and a little whimsy, in his book, “Legendary Connecticut,” recounts the event mentioned above.
The “Frog Bridge” as it is affectionally referred to by residents, even won an award from the Federal Highway Administration, for “Excellence in Highway Design.”
A few years ago, the town named the giant frogs. Those names are “official” and not generally known to the average observer! Their names are “Willy,” “Manny,” “Windy” and “Swifty.” Now, the first two combined relate to the name of the city and the third to the county the city is in. However, the last one needs a little more explanation. “Swifty” connects to Willimantic easily, since the Algonquin meaning for the community’s name is from the phrase, “The land of the swift running water.”
We haven’t figured out which frog is which by its name, but the concept is certainly unique and a major state attraction.
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Here are some rather interesting facts about the city of Willimantic discovered in our searches for something new. Enjoy!
Bridge Street built over the river was completed in the year 1828.
In the years between 1820 and 1840, what is now Main Street was then referred to as “the highway.” For many years either before or after, it was called “The Turnpike Road.”
In 1825, the first “grog shop” was opened in town. Drinks were three and five cents each.
The Dr. Witter House was built on Main Street in 1831. “Doc” Witter came to Willimantic from Lisbon. He was the second doctor to locate in Willimantic. Dr. Mason was the first. However, a Dr. Perkins was the first doctor in the surrounding area, setting up his office in Windham Center. Most naturally, Jaron Safford started the first drugstore in Willimantic in 1833.
On Dec. 5, 1832, The Windham Gazette, the first newspaper in Willimantic, was printed as a weekly.
In the 1830s, George Hebard was postmaster in Willimantic.
Jackson Street, contrary to popular belief, was not built and named for the president. It was named for Lyman Jackson, a black man who, with his family, was most respected. The road was named for him in 1835 as the second road going north out of Willimantic.
Dunham Hall was built in 1867 as the Linen Company Store and library for workers. It is now the home of the Windham Textile & History Museum.
In 1849, the tracks of the New London, Willimantic and Palmer Railroad were completed. With that completion, a link with Willimantic to the coastal line to New Haven and points north became a reality. Not long after, an east-west route named The Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad also ran through Willimantic. As a result, Willimantic became the largest rail center in Eastern Connecticut. In time, as many as 40 trains a day made the Willimantic Train Station a very busy place.
A number of businesses began depending on the rail activity. Those included businesses involved with coal, lumber, feed, farm supplies, equipment, groceries and other businesses that relied on the town’s railroad facilities.
The train station, due to its importance and status, began attracting hotels and restaurants to that specific area. Even the side streets off of Main Street began to develop a number of businesses that could offer numerous services. Those services included a livery, feed and boarding stable, Baldwin’s Novelty Shop, Hillhouse and Taylor’s outlet for general building supplies, H. Howey, a dealer in Choice Beef, John Lennon, a dealer in marble and granite, and D.P. Dunn, headquarters for all daily and weekly papers.
Also, C.E. Little, “The Family Shoe Store,” The Old Reliable Brainard House, Eugene B. Walden, Brick Work and Plastering, The Union Shoe Store, L.N. Ayer, dealer in ICE, F.F. Simmons, Confectionery & Ice Cream, William C. Cummings, Undertaker (with Lady assistant), James J. Fay, Plumber, Model Printing Co., Carpenter and Jordan Hardware, Hugh Anderson, Painter, and lastly, J. Hickey & Co., Druggists.
Some of the above merchants built large Victorian homes in the “Hill Neighborhood.”
Willimantic had several banks in order to accommodate the above merchants as well as those in surrounding small towns. Six new banks in Willimantic opened between the years 1842 and 1878.
In 1903, streetcar service was offered by the Willimantic Traction Co. Service was extended from Willimantic to Taftville, Norwich and Coventry.
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Our story today is about an unusual man who lived during the 17th century and through his efforts, we have a much more intimate understanding of what it was like to live at that particular time.
Thomas Minor was born on April 23, 1608, in England. He came to America in 1630, temporarily lived in Hingham, Massachusetts, and married Grace Palmer in 1634.
After several years in Hingham, he and his family moved to the present-day town of Stonington.
It must be remembered that when a new town in those days was “founded,” citizens of the town gathered to conduct necessary business regarding functions and leadership opportunities. Officers for the various jobs would be elected and those individuals would be known as “town officials.” One of those positions was that of “lister.” The individual with that title would represent the new town in court situations.
Town and state taxes at that time would be collected by the town “collector.” (There were no federal taxes at that time.)
Another position was that of the town “packer,” who would measure products either purchased or bartered to ensure accuracy and fairness.
Minor and his son, Ephraim, helped to organize the “Road Church” in town.
Ephraim would be one of 10 children Thomas and Grace would eventually have.
Technically, Tom Minor was a farmer, but, in time, he also became town treasurer, selectman, leader of the militia and a “brander of horses.”
That last job was necessary in order to certify who owned which horse.
In 1653, Minor bought land near present-day Mystic and built a house for his family. It was at that time that he began his important diary. That document would span a 31-year period and has become a fruitful source of information of how people lived in those times.
In reference to his military experience, in 1665, he became a captain of the Stonington Militia.
In discussing his diary, information about the weather at that time also was communicated. In addition, life events in the community are revealed. We find that calendars were not usually found among inhabitants.
There is an entry that describes the community in an unusual way. He states living in it as being in “The wilds of this New England colony.”
Minor was chosen by his colleagues to make agreements with the local Indians. If some of the Indians would do work for him, they would be paid by a donation of clothes from Minor.
His diary refers to neighbors and friends during his time in Stonington. They are listed here in the interest of individuals who lived during that period of time.
They include Aron Starke, Goodman Shaw, Thomas Stanton, “Captain” Dennison, Goodman Calkins, Hugh Roberts, Samuel Chesbrough, James Averie, John Russell, John Minor, John Moore and Josiah Wilkins, as well as many others.
As an aside, Thomas Minor is also listed as one of the founders of New London. We also find that “Poquatucke” known today as Pawcatuck was first referred to as “Southern Town” by the courts at that time. Today that village is included as a borough of Stonington.
Thomas Minor is lauded by historians who feel that his diary, which was finally published in book form in 1899, is a major contribution to life in a small New England town during the Colonial period.
Thomas Minor died in Stonington on Oct. 23, 1690.
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Jonathan Trumbull Sr. was born in Lebanon on Oct. 12, 1710, to Joseph and Hannah Trumble. Jonathan changed the spelling of his surname in 1765.
Trumbull attended Harvard College, arriving there at the tender age of 13. He studied theology and later was licensed to preach in Colchester.
In 1731, Trumbull became a merchant and was also a delegate to the General Assembly from 1733 to 1740. He was speaker of the House in 1739 and 1740. He also held the following titles: clerk, justice of the peace, judge, chief justice of the Superior Court and governor. Another piece of choice history is the fact that he was the first governor of Connecticut born in the 18th century.
He became a lieutenant colonel in the Connecticut Militia in 1739 and was a full colonel in the 12th Connecticut Regiment in the French and Indian War.
He was deputy governor from 1766-69 and governor from 1769 until 1784. He was one of a few Americans who served as governor in both a pre-revolutionary colony as well as a post-revolution colony. He remains the only colonial governor at the start of the Revolution to take up the rebel cause.
Historians generally agree that Trumbull served as governor during a period of great difficulty and turbulence.
He made his loyalty to the patriots clear to British Gen. Thomas Gage.
On July 6, 1776, Trumbull commissioned Nathan Hale as a first lieutenant in the Seventh Regiment.
Trumbull became both a friend and adviser to General George Washington throughout the war. He openly dedicated the resources of the state to the fight for independence. Washington, at one point in the war declared that Trumbull was “the first of the patriots.”
For example, during the conflict when Washington was desperate for both men and food, he knew he could turn to “Brother Jonathan.” As a result, Trumbull supplied more than half of the manpower, food, clothing, shoes, and munitions needed for the Continental Army.
It’s also important to know that Trumbull served as the Continental Army’s paymaster general in the “Northern Department” in the spring of 1778.
He only resigned that post when his mother died and as part of his resignation, he requested that the remainder of his back pay be distributed to the soldiers of his department.
Once the war was over and independence declared, there were only two colonial governors in office. One was Rhode Island’s Nicholas Cooke, the other, our subject, Mr. Trumbull.
One of his children, Faith, was the wife of Jedidiah Huntington, who was, for a while, aide-de-camp to Gen. Washington.
Honors were steeped upon Trumbull, including being elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Also, he received an honorary doctor of laws from Yale in 1775 and one also from the University of Edinburg in 1787.
Other honors, locally, include the highway in Lebanon and Columbia named for him, the present Route 87. Also listed are the fort in New London, Trumbull College at Yale, the town of Trumbull and, in a lighter vein, the name of the UConn athletic mascot, “Jonathan.”
The governor died in Lebanon on Aug. 17, 1785, and is buried in the old cemetery in Lebanon.
The governor’s home in Lebanon was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965.
More on Jonathan Trumbull can be found in the book, “Connecticut Families of the Revolution” by Mark Allen Baker.
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William Coit was born in New London on Nov. 26, 1742, to Daniel and Mehitable Hooker Coit. Little is known of his very early life. His father became town clerk of New London from 1736 until his own death in 1773.
Coit graduated from Yale College in 1761 and was also admitted to the bar. He married Sarah Prentice on Dec. 18, 1763. In December of 1774 he was added to the membership of the local “Committee of Correspondence.”
We do know that William had participated in the Battle of Bunker Hill. The details of his involvement included traveling by horse with about 20 men, and the group camped the previous night on the Norwichtown Green. When they reached their destination at Cambridge, Mass., they learned that hostilities would be delayed, so many of the minutemen returned to New London in order to put their personal affairs in order.
When Coit and his men were ready to return from New London to Massachusetts, Coit contributed from his own resources toward any needed equipment.
Finally, Capt. Coit and a company of men marched from Cambridge to Bunker Hill and his group assisted other troops from Connecticut covering the British retreat.
On Oct. 5, 1775, Congress authorized Gen. George Washington to employ two armed vessels to intercept British store ships and within a few weeks to make provisions for our additional cruisers.
On Oct. 23, 1775, Capt. Coit was detailed to the ship, the Harrison, with special instructions from Gen. Washington. His instructions included the following: “Seize supply ships to and from Boston, search for papers including disclosures on the design of the enemy, treat prisoners kindly, and avoid involvement with any vessel larger than the Harrison.
In summary, his directive was to intercept any supplies of the enemy. The general also told Coit to be frugal with ammunition, if possible. Additional orders instructed Coit to send any ships he captured to the nearest and safest port, and any prisoners should keep their own money and apparel.
Coit’s ship was once described as “that wretched excuse for a sailing vessel.” The cannon on board were more dangerous to the men who would fire them than any damage to the enemy.
Unfortunately, Coit ran his ship aground more than once. His crew found him to have a sense of humor and he was determined to utilize the ship to America’s advantage.
In appearance, Coit was tall and soldierly in bearing, direct, and wore a red cloak. Therefore, from his various crews, he was known as “The Great Red Dragon!”
Coit later commanded the Oliver Cromwell, and with that ship, he intercepted two supply ships and brought them to Plymouth Harbor. They landed on Plymouth Rock. The Cromwell was a 360-ton warship to be constructed in Saybrook and Capt. Coit was to be in charge. On Aug. 18, 1776, the Cromwell sailed out of the Connecticut River and reached New London on Aug. 20. However, a number of complications caused delays in the plans for the ship. In one of his other assignments, Coit commanded the America and one or two other privateers.
Coit left New London in 1797 and lived in North Carolina, where he died in 1802.
Researchers and historians are indebted to Miss M.E.S. Coit, granddaughter of Captain Coit, for much of our information.
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More whaling ships sailed out of the port of New London than from any port in the country other than New Bedford and Nantucket in Massachusetts.
New London holds the record for the longest whaling voyage in world history when the Nile set sail from the harbor in 1858 and did not return until 1869.
Whales were sought for a number of reasons: for their meat, their blubber and in the case of the sperm whales, their spermaceti. That substance in their head cavities could be utilized for lighting lamps, for cosmetics, fabric dressings, ointments, candles, etc.
Extracted baleen from whales was used to make buggy whips, corsets, hairbrush bristles, collar stiffeners, etc.
Whale bones were utilized to make skirt hoops, umbrella ribs, furniture springs, etc.
The fat of the whale (blubber) would be stripped, boiled down into an oil and then further utilized in creating soaps and margarine.
Huntington Street in New London was an example between 1833 and 1845, of houses that were built in the Greek revival style, belonging to some of the state’s most prominent whalers. That area is still referred to as “Whale Oil Row.”
The sperm whale, in 1975, was declared the official Connecticut State Animal.
The most profitable byproduct was ambergris, which was used in perfume essences.
Whalers were considered heroes. Free time on board ships was prevalent and that fact contributed to the art of “scrimshaw.” Toothed whales were prized for their teeth, which would be cleaned, decorated and turned into crafts and jewelry.
Between 1718 and 1908, 257 ships embarked on more than 1,100 separate whaling voyages from New London alone.
Additionally, between 1803 and 1879, 2,500 voyages to foreign ports sailed from New London.
In the Whaling Disaster of 1871, many whaling ships were trapped in the Arctic ice. Lost locally was the J.D. Thompson with Capt. Charles E. Allen.
A number of Norwich residents were crew members on various whaling ships. They include Thomas Williams, Thomas Cowley, John Backus, Joseph Holly, Cyrus Fowler, George Tabor, Abel Edwards, Christopher Colver and John Cary, among many others.
From nearby Groton, Christopher Bill and Austin Perkins were also crew members at one time.
Here are some facts about whaling you might not have known:
It was regarded as one of the most dangerous occupations of its times.
Only a captain could bring his family on a whaling voyage.
Food on board included salt, cod, pork and hard bread.
Many sea chanties were composed and sung during idle time on board.
At first, caught whales were “processed” on land. Later, that occurred on many of the ships themselves.
The only survivor of the many wooden whaling ships of old is the Charles W. Morgan, which is docked in Mystic.
The so-called “era of abundance” regarding the availability of whales to hunt was from 1610 to 1820.
The birth of the conservation movement began in 1900.
There was a time when the abundance of whales was so vivid, that whales could be found in rivers.
Whales were hunted up close by a small boat attached to the side of the larger whaling ship.
Two readings are recommended for more information on the subject of whaling. The first, is Bernard Colby’s book, “For Oil and Buggy Whips.”
Owen Chase, who had been a crew member on the Essex, a whaler from Nantucket that in 1820 in the Pacific Ocean was attacked by a sperm whale and sunk, wrote an account titled, “The Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex.”
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One of the narrowest bridges in Connecticut was, at one time, the main entrance to Willimantic from Windham Road. That stone arch bridge spans the Willimantic River quite close to the former Willimantic Linen Co. (American Thread).
What’s unusual about that bridge is the fact that since its origin, it has had many names. For a while, it was called the South Main Street Bridge because at the time, Windham Road leading to the bridge from the east, was called South Main Street.
Over the years, some folks called it the Jillson Hill Bridge, while others referred to it as the Lower Bridge, as opposed to that bridge on Bridge Street called, appropriately, the Upper Bridge (but only temporarily). You see, that upper bridge was finally called the Bridge Street Bridge. Still with us on the subject?
Now, Willimantic’s Main Street was first laid out as a public highway in 1707 for the convenience of area farmers carrying hay from the meadows along the upper river.
There was a terrible flood in the Willimantic area in 1771 that destroyed the first wooden bridge. Once that bridge was gone, another bridge provided transportation at that spot; it was called the Iron Works Bridge, and not because it was made of iron. It was because of its closeness to a nearby iron forge.
As time went on, town leaders were aware that their roads in the late 1700s were in great need of repair and improvement. This included that little bridge in question.
Finally, in April of 1857, Willard Hayden, a local manufacturer, was instrumental in convincing the town fathers to build a “modern” bridge for the growing community to replace that old Iron Works Bridge.
The bridge was finally built by Lyman Jordan and his partner. Jordan had come to Willimantic in 1833. His outstanding work became known throughout the region. He and his partner built the new bridge in the summer of 1857. It was understood by all that this bridge would be more expensive than previous structures, and would be sturdier and longer lasting. Besides, the cost of this bridge would be shared by the town, the American Linen Co., and a number of wealthy, concerned citizens in the community. At $3,200, it was a bargain! It was to be called the Stone Arch Bridge, which had a special design. More recently, in 2024, no vehicular traffic entered the city via that bridge and that old arch bridge became the Windham Town Park utilizing a garden and benches.
In the meantime, Jordan eventually built another stone arch bridge on the upper road from downtown over the river, which we now call Bridge Street. Jordan’s name is on a plaque on that bridge.
Now the entrance to Willimantic from Windham Road is a four-way junction with a most unique bridge over the river. Locals call the river crossing, the Frog Bridge with its special design.
A quick description of the bridge includes giant bullfrogs resting on large spools. The frogs are reminiscent of a frog battle in Windham Center in 1754 during the French and Indian War. The loud clamor of the frogs frightened the residents of the small village who surely felt they were being invaded by an unseen enemy.
So much for the frogs, and the spools, of course, are a reminder of the above-mentioned American Thread Co.
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Prior to 1821, the town of Willimantic wasn’t known by one word. It was known as “Willimantic Falls.” The Willimantic River “drops” some 90 feet in just a little over a mile. The earliest mills in the area harnessed power from those rushing waters. Those mills included gristmills, a paper mill, iron works, sawmills and an early powder mill that supplied the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
Perez Richmond, a Rhode Island native, built a small wooden cotton mill in 1822 where the Natchaug River joins the Willimantic River. A small village began there called “Richmond Town.” Later it was called “Wellesville” and still later that mill was incorporated into the operations of the Willimantic Linen Co.
In that same year, Charles Lee erected a stone cotton mill slightly east of what is now Bridge Street in Willimantic.
Further west “up river” from Bridge Street, a large stone mill was erected to manufacture cotton cloth. That mill later became The Windham Cotton Manufacturing Co., which continued into the 20th century.
Near Willimantic’s bridge, affectionately called the “Frog Bridge” by residents, there was the Jillson Brothers Cotton Mill in 1824. One of the brothers, William, lived in the stone house still standing nearby. That house is maintained by the Windham Historical Society.
Thread production managers from the village of Willington assisted a mill in Willimantic originally intended to produce linen, but changed over to colored thread. The company’s timing was excellent due to the introduction of the “ready to wear” clothing industry and the invention of sewing machines.
Those first sewing machine companies included such names as Singer, Wheeler and Wilson, Howe, and others.
Those manufacturers endorsed Willimantic Thread, which expanded its facilities by building huge granite mills during the 1850s and 1860s.
The wooden spool production at Willimantic Thread also grew with the company in order to market its thread. In 1879, the company bought property in Howard, Maine, close to its source of timber for those spools.
The current Mill Museum building was built in 1867 as a company store and library for workers.
In 1880, the Willimantic Linen Co. built a new, immense cotton mill with interior electric lighting and new innovative safety features. The brick factory’s dimensions of 168 feet wide and 840 feet long made it, at that time, the largest cotton mill in the world. Visitors from other continents came to see it.
At the same time, the company built stylish single-family cottages nearby for future anticipated workers. As word spread, workers began pouring into Willimantic to sample this new innovation some called “worker appreciation.”
English was taught to immigrants, fresh water was pumped into the cottages, ball fields were erected, etc. Mill executive Charles Barrows believed in a break for workers whereby at a particular moment in the work day schedule, a coffee break was offered. It was a first in America.
In 1898, the Willimantic Linen Co. became part of the American Thread Co. “Mill ponds” were created behind the mills in order to draw water for the mills in times of low flow. Sources of that water came from the Hop River, Bolton Lake and Columbia Lake.
The silk mills in Willimantic also employed hundreds of workers, as well as Willimantic’s various machine shops, woodworking factories and commercial printing press facilities.
In 1833, Willimantic was chartered by the state as an incorporated borough and its population was then about 2,000 people.
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Doctors in the middle 1800s commanded the most prestige of any profession. Their work did not include surgeries nor did they set bones. Not yet.
Mostly, doctors administered drugs or physics.
Only a handful of hospitals existed during that time, and most doctors then learned from books only.
Believe it or not, surgeons were below physicians in the medical hierarchy.
Prior to 1745, surgeons were linked with barbers, and their training included obtaining bodies from graveyards in order to learn about the human body.
During war times, many surgeons were really barbers, carrying out basic surgical tasks.
In those Victorian days, physicians were addressed as “Dr.,” whereas surgeons were addressed as “Mr.” (there were no lady doctors yet).
The apothecary group was at the bottom of the medical hierarchy, and here’s a sober thought. During those times, middle class men were expected to live to about 45, and workmen could live to about half that age.
Children who reached the age of 5 were fortunate due to the lack of vaccinations.
During the Victorian era, the most common diseases were typhus, influenza and cholera. Across the sea for a moment, in England in 1848, the weekly death rate there from cholera alone was 2,000.
Scarlet fever and diphtheria were also horrible diseases during that time.
By 1850, in England, doctors began encouraging men to wear beards to ward off sickness. Now, that sounds rather silly, but if one takes into account the very poor air quality there at the time, added to the use of soft coal as a fuel, and those long winter fogs (four months), perhaps there was some validity to the suggestion.
Now, to the contrary, recent studies conclude that facial hair is more likely to cause infection than a clean-shaven face.
For a moment, picture the family doctor in those days, who was summoned, coming around to some of those Victorian families in Willimantic. He might have been called due to the fact that someone at the house was just plain worn out. The Victorian prescription for that patient and even other ailments was just plain rest.
Also, don’t rule out the power of prayer, which was also prescribed.
In the late 1870s, the availability of phones dramatically reduced the cost of doctors’ visits. It was just that much easier to locate and contact the physician.
Doctors, after the turn of the century, were among the first to purchase automobiles.
Victorians did see introductions to “modern” surgical advances such as anesthetics, the first one being ether.
The dark side of the use of that anesthetic was that ether was quite flammable and operating rooms were lit by candlelight then. One can imagine what could happen if someone were careless.
Beds in early hospitals were, at times, too close together, hence disease could spread more easily in those situations.
Little by little, the old perception of patients only being treated at home began to fade. However, early hospital “ward layouts” were not conducive for getting well, and the use of “private rooms” was increasingly being recognized.
The latest research regarding hospital care reveals that good hospital design can reduce a patient’s recovery time.
The 21 homes in Willimantic’s active Victorian Neighborhood Association were once owned by people whose medical attentions might have resembled those described above. Thank goodness for progress.
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This is a story of a now abandoned camp (since the 1970s) and a few of the interesting boys who attended it.
There are still remains of Camp Mooween in Lebanon near Fitchville, where, from 1921 to 1963, boys from New York, Springfield, Mass., New Haven, and a few from Norwich enjoyed an unusual camp experience.
The area was once called Red Cedar Lake State Park and only recently (2008) was it changed to Mooween State Park.
Should one examine those ancient remains one would see a chimney, and a few foundations.
The name, Mooween is Native American for “Brown Bear.”
The camp founder and director, Barney “Cap” Girden, was an inventor in his own right, owning 20 patents related to skin-diving.
To the boys attending the camp, Cap was looked up to due to his many interests, his enthusiasm, creativity, and helpfulness teaching the boys and involving them in various projects. Girden emphasized the values of leadership, integrity and responsibility.
His own interests included nature study and the sciences such as polarization, engineering, hypnosis and the human body.
Among the campers in 1921 was a young boy who lived on Crescent Street in Norwich by the name of Edwin Land. Land was intrigued with Cap’s knowledge and experiments, especially with polarization. Land attended the camp for several summers, his last in 1926 as a counselor. He had just graduated from Norwich Free Academy and would go on studying polarization at Otis Library in Norwich, at Harvard University, New York City Public Library and Columbia University.
One of Land’s counselors, Julius Silver, later became Land’s lawyer and business adviser when Land went on to develop the Polaroid Corp., which made the first instant cameras.
Silver was also one of Brandeis University’s founders.
In that first camp year, Cap Girden decided he would expand his activities so that campers would get experience on the stage. He felt strongly that acting and performing would increase the boys’ confidence and self-assurance. However, he needed help, as performing was not one of his own strengths.
So, Girden contacted some people he knew at City College in New York in search of an additional counselor who could create stage shows at the camp.
A young man by the name of Isadore “Yip” Harburg was attending the college and thought a summer in Connecticut (with pay) would be pretty good. He had been involved in theater work at the college and it turned out he was a good fit for Camp Mooween.
That summer of 1921, “Yip” produced a number of plays at the camp with original music and lyrics.
It is said that he visited both Norwich and Colchester during his camp days just to get back to “a little civilization.”
Harburg would go on to produce a number of Broadway shows, write what some music historians call the theme song to the Great Depression, “Brother Can You Spare A Dime?” all the lyrics for the film, “The Wizard of Oz,” and win a place on a stamp honoring him by the U.S. Postal Service in 2005.
His Oz song, “Over the Rainbow,” was named the greatest film song of all time by the American Film Institute.
Not bad for another “Mooween” boy!
More on “Yip” Harburg can be found in the book, “Who Put the Rainbow in the Wizard of Oz?” by Harold Meyerson and Ernie Harburg.
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David Hale was born in Coventry on Dec. 14, 1761, to Richard and Elizabeth Hale. He was the ninth son born to the couple.
Just like his older brother, Capt. Nathan Hale, David’s early education was taught to him first by his mother and then by a kind neighbor, the Rev. Joseph Huntington. The reverend also encouraged both boys and their brothers to continue their respective educations, which they did.
It’s important to this story for readers to realize that the current homestead of the family in Coventry was not yet built when David was born. That came later. Their own home was eventually razed and the farmhouse now on that property was built in 1832.
In 1914, the entire property was purchased by attorney George Dudley Seymour, after a number of families had lived in it. Dudley restored the house to its original state and furnished it as well. The present home contains Nathan’s hunting rifle, antique furniture and many Connecticut artifacts, including Nathan’s original trunk he used when spying for General George Washington. That trunk, with Nathan’s belongings in it, was saved by Nathan’s brothers upon learning of Nathan’s death.
Nathan Hale, as most everyone knows, is Connecticut’s official state hero.
In front of the homestead is a triangular grassy area containing maple trees that were planted by Nathan’s nephew, David Hale Jr. in 1812. That patch of grass is currently known as “The Holy Grove,” partly because neighbors and friends used to hold prayer meetings there.
David, brother of Nathan, attended Yale and graduated from that institution in 1785. He was installed on May 11, 1790, as the fourth pastor of the Lisbon Church, also known as the First Church of Lisbon.
On May 19 of that year, the Rev. David Hale married Lydia Austin of New Haven and together, they had one child, David Jr., referred to above.
The Rev. David Hale began his work at the church on June 2, 1790. Five years later he built and owned his house located at 4 Newent Road in Lisbon. That house still stands today.
Hale kept a boarding school and instructed there as well. His students came from all sections of the county.
While pastor in Newent, Reverend Hale officiated at marriages for 50 couples starting in January of 1791 and ending in March of 1800.
The Rev. David Hale was the great-grandson of the Rev. John Hale, who was an important figure in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Hale was also the grand-uncle of a man by the name of Edward Everett and if the name rings a bell, or sounds familiar, there’s a very good reason for the recognition on your part.
You may recall from your history books that Everett was a Unitarian minister, writer and activist. However, he is most noted as the “other” speaker at Gettysburg when Abraham Lincoln gave his famous address.
The Rev. Hale was fully aware that as his work in Lisbon progressed, he was becoming less and less able to function as he did earlier due to sickness.
His illnesses prompted him, in 1803, to inform the town fathers that his work at the Lisbon Church was limited, and on April 27 of that year he was released from his responsibilities.
However, David then became a representative for the town of Lisbon.
In 1806 he returned to Coventry with his family and remained there until his death on Feb. 10, 1822.
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Here’s to those creative Connecticut residents without whom we would be “up the creek” waiting for someone to invent what we need.
Elizabeth Buckley of Colchester invented a different kind of shovel and a small spade from cast steel and iron.
David Bushnell, an Old Saybrook native, invented the “Turtle,” technically the first submarine to perform in combat, during the Revolutionary War.
Elina M. Wright from Hartford invented decorative panels.
Mark Twain, yes, THAT Mark Twain, of Hartford, invented self-adhesive scrapbook pages in 1872.
Benny Capalbo invented the “sub sandwich,” first in Italy and then an improved version while living in New London.
Renaud Bolduc of Old Lyme received a patent for his lock bar spring and clip.
David Mullany, who had played baseball at UConn, invented the wiffle ball in 1953.
The Killingly Public Library brings out a display ever so often of materials connected to the first female patent awardee. Her name was Mary Dixon Kies and she invented a new, in 1809, technique of weaving straw with silk and thread to make women’s hats. However, she had a problem. In those days men controlled women’s legal destinies. So, to solve her problem, she utilized her husband’s name in procuring her patent. At the time she was a resident of Killingly.
Igor Sikorsky invented the first helicopter in 1939 at his plant in Stratford.
Dr. Washington Wentworth, born in North Stonington, at age 23, invented toothpaste. He had a small dental laboratory at 170 Broad St. in New London where he manufactured his product. His innovation first appeared in 1892 and the company is still in business on Broad Street. However, it is now known as Sheffield Pharmaceuticals, where creams, ointments and pastes for doctors and dentists are made. The Colgate brand is one of the firm’s clients.
Sam Smith, a sometimes resident of Columbia, invented a number of interesting items, including a paint selector and a useful lipstick tube. For a while he was a resident at the St. Joseph Living Center in Willimantic.
Martin Gilman was born in Bozrah in 1907 and is credited with his inventions of an improved football dummy in 1937 and a “tackling sled,” among other football practice equipment.
Lou Lucia, a former summer resident of Columbia, and frequent visitor to Norwich friends, had an impressive worldwide list of inventions, including an improved parking meter, the timer for the Silex pop-up toaster, an improved coffee maker and steam iron, a paper drinking cup machine, a Venetian blind tape cutter and more than 70 other household items.
Barney “Cap” Girden, camp director at Camp Moween in Lebanon from 1921 to 1963, held 20 patents related to skin diving. Over the years campers from New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut enjoyed that sport at Red Cedar Lake where the camp was located.
When inventor Edwin Land moved to Norwich at age 9, he kept visiting local businesses, asking questions of store owners in downtown Norwich. He is, of course, the inventor who is second only to Thomas Edison in numbers of inventions patented. He changed the world of photography with his instant camera and World War II innovations.
It was Cap Girden, mentioned above, who gave the 13-year-old camper his “direction in life,” according to Land himself.
Hurrah for those ingenious Connecticut inventors.
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He cleverly used water power to control a trip hammer in such a way as to more quickly produce metal farming and carpentry tools.
Isaac Glasko had purchased land in 1806 in the town of Griswold to establish a blacksmith shop. That specific location, a small hamlet, is where the center of Glasgo is now. In fact, it is named for the man of mixed Native American and African American heritage.
Isaac had married Lucy Brayton, and their house in Griswold still stands in the Glasgo village, however, with major alterations.
Isaac was born in 1776 and even in his youth, he showed early indications of mechanical aptitude.
Blacksmiths in the early 19th century were also called ironsmiths and while they did practice their given skills, some also engaged in other activities adding to their resumes such as locksmiths, gunsmiths, farriers, and many just utilized their given skills for general metal repairs.
Isaac and many of his colleagues in those days were busy repairing wagon wheels, carriages, buggies, surreys, hearses, sleighs and chaises.
Soon after the opening of his blacksmith shop, the whaling industry in New England came into its own. Whaling had been going on for some time, but the quest for whale oil to burn in lamps began to flourish. Also, it was discovered that baleen, a horny, elastic material found in the upper jaw of some whales was ideal for the making of buggy whips, fishing poles, corset stays and dress hoops, creating a need for that material.
As a blacksmith of some repute, and adaptability, Isaac Glasko began developing the whaling industry’s essential implements. These included harpoons, lances, spades and “boarding knives.” For the uninformed reader, the latter were the instruments used to “cut up” the whales once on board.
Isaac was so creative and innovative; he even held a number of patents related to the whaling industry.
His knives and other devices became quite familiar in New England’s whaling ports.
As time progressed, this quality work enhanced his reputation as a respected craftsman.
His daughter, Eliza, was one of the attendees of the ill-fated Prudence Crandall Academy in Canterbury.
With the increased orders for his quality tools, Isaac added to his staff in his relatively small shop until more than 30 men labored to meet demands.
The early to mid-19th century is considered the golden age of American whaling. For instance, in this country alone, the number of whaling ships almost doubled in the 13 years between 1833 and 1846. Sperm oil was used for lighting and regular whale oil was used as a lubricant for the machine parts of trains.
However, changes were on the horizon as a new fuel for lamps was sought.
A kerosene-burning lamp appeared on the market in 1857 that was easy to produce, inexpensive, smelled better than animal-based fuels and had a longer shelf life.
The lamp had an immediate effect on the whaling industry. If petroleum products had not been introduced when they were, many species of whales would have just disappeared.
Isaac’s wife, Lucy, died on Feb. 25, 1849, and Isaac died on Sept. 2, 1861, at age 85. The master blacksmith passed on a mere four years after the new fuel had been introduced. Both Lucy and Isaac are buried near the center of Glasgo.
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Due to the fact that no one is around who remembers it, the Spanish-American War has become faded in history and almost forgotten.
Following the explosion of the battleship USS Maine in Havana Harbor in February of 1898, Congress approved military intervention in Cuba.
President William McKinley had tried to avoid a war, but first Madrid declared war, and on April 23, that was followed by Washington’s declaration of war two days later.
As the struggle took shape, specific incidents included the blockade of Cuba, the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippines (only nine casualties there), the entire “land” campaign including the famous Battle of San Juan Hill near Santiago, Cuba, and other skirmishes.
Important locally, Niantic served as a meeting place for Connecticut troops departing for the combat area. Also, it should be known that at that time, the regular Army was very small, prompting the National Guard units to fill the ranks, serving in the Caribbean and in the Philippines.
Another local city played a vital role in the war. New London was an important base for shipping arms and men to Cuba and was regarded as a potential target by the Spanish Navy. Fort Trumbull’s defense was reinforced by an artillery unit, and additional forts were built on Fishers Island.
U.S. forces had included both white and black units fighting against a common foe. Historians regard this as an easing of the scars left over from the American Civil War.
In summarizing the outcome of the war itself, Spanish casualties numbered 10,665 dead compared to American deaths numbering 2,910, mostly from disease.
Continuing facts regarding the war, the last American who served in that war died in 1992.
Weapons used in the war included Springfield rifles, Colt revolvers, Colt-Browning machine guns, Gattling guns, light cavalry sabers, and two weapons that originated in Norwich, the Smith and Wesson Model 3 revolver, and the Winchester rifle.
Most troops who went away into battle served for less than a year. For instance, New London County troops were mustered in during July 1898 and mustered out in March 1899.
Massachusetts sent more men into the war than any other state.
On Dec. 10, 1898, the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the war.
We know the cause of the war, but as to the results and impacts of that war, there are various conclusions. Following is a quick summary of those impacts most agreed to by historians who have studied the Spanish-American War: 1)It marked American entry into world affairs; 2) the war provided a model for all future news reporting; 3) it showed America as a “defender of democracy”; 4)the war greatly reduced the Spanish Empire; 5) the U.S. annexed Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam; 6) Teddy Roosevelt was hailed as a hero at San Juan Hill, which boosted his political career; 7) it was the first U.S. war in which the motion picture camera played a role; 8) the war elevated the United States to a global power.
As to that motion picture factor, films about the war include “The Rough Riders,” filmed in 1927 as a silent film, “A Message to Garcia,” a 1936 sound film, “Rough Riders,” (1997), a TV miniseries, and a few others.
The Library of Congress archives contain many films and film clips of the war.
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He was born on a farm in Ashford, but did not want to be a farmer. He persuaded a neighbor doctor to teach him medicine, but fainted during a surgery. Although he was licensed to preach, that is not why he is remembered.
Eliphalet Nott’s birth on June 25, 1773, was the ninth and last for Stephen and Deborah Nott. The family was quite poor, but very religious, and young Eliphalet was home schooled by his mother. By age 4, he could read the entire Bible. At age 14, he began training with a Dr. Palmer, but found out medicine was not for him.
While living with his older brother in Franklin for a year or two, the 16-year-old taught in the village school. The following year, he became principal of Plainfield Academy.
Eliphalet somehow was awarded an MA Degree from what was then Rhode Island College. He did that without even having attended one class. He was tested and school authorities granted him the degree based on his knowledge. The college became Brown University in 1804.
In 1796, Nott became licensed to preach as a Presbyterian minister and became a pastor in Cherry Valley, New York. He later became the principal of an academy there.
It was at about that time that he became a trustee of Union College. It was he who raised funds for land that would become the school’s new and better campus on the outskirts of Schenectady. The design of the campus was largely his own, with buildings and open space surrounded by a round, domed building in the center. Once completed, Union College’s new campus rivaled those of Harvard, Yale and Princeton.
In 1804, Eliphalet Nott became the fourth president of Union College. He remained in that position for 62 years. His skills and talents as an administrator included modifying the college curriculum to emphasize math, natural history and physical science.
During his presidency at Union, Nott published a number of pamphlets on slavery, temperance and education.
While serving as president of Union, Nott also led Rensselaer Institute of Troy as president. That college later became Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Under Nott’s leadership, Rensselaer became the first academic institution to graduate civil engineers.
In a completely different field, Nott began experimenting with more efficient heating stoves. His designs were finally patented, 30 in all, relating to the heating industry.
One of his stoves, The Nott Stove, became the first anthracite coal-based burner stove.
Nott then established a firm called H. Nott and Company to manufacture his stove with appropriate contributions from profits going to Union College through the Nott Trust Fund.
Many years later, the centered round building mentioned earlier on the Union College campus became The Nott Memorial, designed by architect Edward Tuckerman Potter, the grandson of Eliphalet. Potter was a Union College grad.
So were over 4,000 other young men who received college degrees from Union College during his presidency.
Two streets leading to the college are named for Eliphalet.
It is worth noting that this versatile individual was considered a gifted pulpit orator while in his preaching years. We must assume from this observation that his gift was transferred to the classroom when he was engaged in that noble profession.
Our subject is considered, historically, as a major leader in American education.
He died on Jan. 29, 1866.
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As more and more colonists came to the early counties, forests were naturally cleared and wooden homes, as well as other structures, were built. In those homes, owners had wooden floors, wooden walls, wooden ceilings, and, of course, furniture made of wood.
Additionally, in time, houses and farms became closer to each other as the population increased.
Once structures were completed, chimney inspections were considered as a most serious duty. In time, wooden chimneys and thatched roofs became illegal due to the obvious hazards.
In the lives of early Colonists, fire, in some fashion, was used every day for many reasons, therefore the risks were high.
In the more populated cities, authorities appointed fire wardens.
A familiar name in the nation’s history books, Benjamin Franklin, in addition to his notable reputation, is less well known for his creation of the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia in 1736. He was also noted for his role in the nation’s fire service and was, at one time, a fireman.
As the need for firefighting increased, a very early anti-fire procedure was simply known as the “bucket brigade.” When the first fire engines were utilized, they were long and narrow for maximum mobility.
Firefighters were among the early heroes in the young towns and cities. As a matter of fact, here are some you may have heard of. They include George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Hancock, Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. That group is generally referred to as the “Honor Roll” of early firefighting.
Prior to the 1850s, firefighters were strictly volunteer departments. Within 55 years or so, motor fire engines began replacing horse drawn engines. Also, leather hoses started showing up as early as the late 1600s, and the modern fire extinguisher came into use by the 1820s.
The first fire escapes were constructed by the late 1700s.
In Willimantic by the year 1832, organized firefighters owned a new sprinkler system known as the “Deluge”! The department members eventually moved from horse-drawn equipment to motorized equipment. Willimantic’s members, as those in other communities, were considered highly professionally trained career firefighters and formed four separate strategically located fire companies.
Eventually, all four of those companies were combined at the Bank Street Firehouse.
In New London, the first fire engine went into service in 1767, and the first company was established there in 1786.
However, prior to the above date, in 1781 when New London was burned by Benedict Arnold and the British, the building that housed that early engine was in critical danger. So, a brave group of local patriots risked both life and limb in order to protect the fire engine, hiding it in nearby woods.
Still in New London, by 1849, four complete fire companies existed. By 1900, six companies had been formed.
As mill villages developed, threats of a nearby building’s fire which could easily jump to the next building existed.
Other threats regarding fire included the almost exclusive use of candle flame for light as well as oil lamps and, later, steam boilers. In time, more modern machinery and electric lights were to improve those dangerous conditions.
And out in the wilds of Windham Center in 1823, a group of brave men organized their own version of an early volunteer fire company.
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Windham Center is a small village located in Windham County, and the village green is centered at a four corners there. In the first 125 years of its existence, it was the most thickly settled area for miles around.
Today, passing through the small village, we can see the Congregational Church, the post office, a library, a former inn and a number of ancient houses. Also, we see the original Windham Bank building built in 1832.
In 1896, the bank was altered so that it became The Windham Free Library. The village today remains rural, and the present roads converge at their attractive four corners.
A native of the small town, Zephaniah Swift, wrote America’s first legal treatise.
We reap the benefits from the interesting writings of historian Ellen Larned, whose “History of Windham County,” includes anecdotes, brief biographies and little-known facts about the village. She mentions details regarding the bank and a library, made possible when the bank in the village moved to the nearby city of Willimantic.
The latter community was growing into a larger village with commercial opportunities and railroad influences.
Meanwhile, Windham Center’s residents enjoyed their bicentennial celebration in 1892 when the old bank provided antiques, clothing, books and more, in a marvelous display of local history.
On the green we find the historic medical office of Dr. Chester Hunt, built in 1790, and moved from its original location no less than three times, finally ending up on the green in 1986. With recent restoration, it now is a wonderful example of a museum building.
The community had homes belonging to two historic individuals, Eliphalet Dyer and Jedediah Elderkin.
Turning now to 1781, and the famous “Revolutionary March.” The town’s role regarding the “march,” was simply being at the right location at the right time.
The Count de Rochambeau of France, and his army, was helping General Washington and his Continental Army in a potential military showdown against the British in the American Revolution.
The French army had arrived in Rhode Island by ship, did their training there and began their historic and long trek to meet Washington’s army for a final encounter with the British army.
The Count had a large group of officers trained in illustrating road routes in preparation for “The March.” Interestingly, those mapmakers even included churches and taverns on the march. One of their requirements was to generally locate campsites to be utilized by the large military unit on its way to its target.
The Windham Center stop was its fourth site, located on the banks of the Shetucket River, barely a mile from the town’s green. In addition to the usual equipment on such a mission, there was a regimental band that entertained residents on the first night of their visit.
At that event, one of the general’s aides described in his journal that “Windham is a charming market town with many pretty women.”
Prior to reaching Windham Center, the group had “tented” near the famous “Frog Pond,” where some of the troops, tired of poultry and beef in their diet, hunted for bullfrogs at the pond.
Upon continuing toward Windham Center from the pond, the roads seemed smoother, and Windham Center was reached by the unit at approximately 10 a.m. with many positive reactions as the troops saw about 100 lovely homes and Windham Center’s beautiful green prior to their march into history.
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The impressive building known as the Baltic Mill is located along the Shetucket River in Sprague, and was, at one time, the nation’s largest textile mill.
Employees numbered more than 1,000, looms numbered more than 1,700, and some of the country’s finest cotton was produced at that mill on 70,000 spindles.
The mill property covered 16 acres.
In 1854, in the area known as “Lord’s Bridge,” there was an abundant supply of water power, access to the new railroad, and available land, which naturally led to the erection of that textile mill. Hundreds of unemployed railroad workers were thrilled regarding the possibilities of steady employment there.
Expansion to both sides of the Shetucket River, and the expectations of an actual town, practically built the village of Baltic.
Workers built a footbridge over the river connecting the village and the mill itself.
However, tensions and disagreements arose between those railroad workers and Baltic residents. Out of that situation, the town of Sprague was formed.
Irish and French Canadians swarmed to the area for employment in the new mill. By 1870, more than 1,000 new workers were employed there, including women and some children. Small businesses began appearing in town.
Unfortunately, the 1873 Depression and its effects, coupled with the later massive fire that decimated the mill’s interior in 1877, resulted in an abrupt slowdown to the town’s business. That unfortunate fire, it was determined, was caused by three local Baltic boys.
Around the year 1900, a man named Frederick Sayles from Rhode Island made efforts to revitalize what had been the local textile industry. Upgrades and repairs were part and parcel of his efforts, but a general decline in the New England textile industry forced the energetic Sayles to sell off much of his assets.
However, history records that the company survived long enough to produce uniforms, parachutes and life rafts for World War II soldiers.
By the mid- to late 1960s, the mill’s previous operations stopped. The facility, nevertheless, went on as a mail-order house and still later with fiberglass boat manufacturing activities.
Another massive fire in the year 1999 destroyed all the buildings with one exception: the surviving building was “Building Number Ten,” which had been constructed of granite block.
The whole surrounding area is presently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The last building of the former complex was constructed in the 1920s.
There is no question among historians who have visited the area that it is in keeping with the appearance of a downtown turn-of-the century mill village.
Regardless of any advance fiscal opportunities for the complex, the one building left, referred to above, remains preserved as a once industrial testament to its own remarkable history.
As far as the general area is concerned, the town of Sprague has three villages. They include Baltic, Hanover and Versailles.
The town of Baltic is the site of a monthly “Sprague River Run” on the Shetucket River, from April to October. Included on that agenda are “tubing” and other water activities for both children and adults.
The Windham Park House in Sprague, technically in Hanover, was built in 1913 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in New London County in 2007. The house was built for William Park, the son of Angus Park, the founder of the Angus Park Woolen Company. That business was founded in 1899, and survived until 1970.
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The young man tramped through the wilderness accompanied by an Indian chief.
He had begun his journey from the coastal settlement of Old Saybrook. Through swamps, forests and uneven ground, John Winthrop Jr. clutched his trusty musket and adjusted the pack on his back as he came to a clearing where he could survey the landscape before him. The most impressive feature to him was the exquisite harbor.
Generations later, captains of countless ships would reveal their complete respect for “the best ship harbor anywhere.”
Capt. Israel Stoughton and his complement of soldiers were in pursuit of the hostile tribe of Pequot Indians. They built a rude “house” on the west side of that harbor, which stood for two months as a headquarters for the 120 Massachusetts soldiers sent on assignment. The house was surrounded by palisades for a defense. The house goes down in history as the first structure erected in New London by the English.
Stoughton was helped in his mission by tribes more in sympathy with the English, which led to the eventual end of the Pequot tribe.
It is John Winthrop, then, who is noted as the founder of New London as a city.
The first English female to arrive at the rude encampment in the summer of 1645 was Margaret Lake. She was the sister-in-law of John Winthrop.
Thus, from a wilderness of rocks, swamps, hills, poor soil, uneven land and forests, the layout of a new plantation began.
Planters came to the area and started the process of laying out lots, erecting huts and clearing the land.
Historians who have studied the city’s beginning place its commencement on the May 6, 1646. That is the date the government issued its commission.
Mentioned to govern the new settlement was John Winthrop Jr. He built his home there and brought his family to the new plantation during the summer of 1647.
Margaret Lake came the same year to a home lot, but lived with the Winthrops until his selection as governor of the colony when he moved to Hartford. Miss Lake never was a home owner at the plantation and eventually returned to Ipswich, Mass.
The first names for the plantation were Nameeug and Pequot. But, in time, after many discussions, it was called Lon’ on town or New Lon’on. Eventually, the city became known as New London.
Regulations were imposed such as the marking of cattle, impounding animals, the laying out of highways, laws involving thefts, and perhaps most importantly, the numbering of lots.
A man named John Stubbines was chosen constable for the town to enforce those laws in February of 1649.
Since timber was so plentiful, houses were built near that natural supply of lumber and a decision was made early on to establish a mill to grind corn.
In time, many original lot owners forfeited their lots and settled elsewhere.
An early name of importance was Jonathan Brewster, who set up a “trading house” at a location that is now known as Trading Cove.
Mary Hempstead, daughter of Robert and Joanna Hempstead, is recorded as the first birth in the new settlement on March 26, 1647. Robert and Joanna were the first to be married there as well.
From that wilderness observed by young John Winthrop so long ago, rose a beautiful and historic city, which he probably never would have dreamed could happen.
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Some time ago your columnist covered a story in this space called “Men of the Road.” With a slightly adjusted theme we’d like to go back in time to discuss the role and doings of “the peddler” in Eastern Connecticut.
Retail markets have existed since ancient times. Bartering systems were once commonplace. Open markets were important centers of social life. The markets sold fresh produce, fruit, vegetables, baked goods, meat, fish, farm tools, furniture, rugs and sundry other household items.
The appearance of the peddler was probably once a month, while the open air “fair” returned only once or twice a year.
In earlier history, peddlers in England were also known as “hawkers,” “canvassers” and even “tinkers.”
Their history is almost colorful with their person-to-person, door-to-door services. They were vigorously navigating isolated and remote areas. Technically, peddlers were the pre-cursor to the modern traveling salesman.
Images of peddlers have been featured both in literature and art as early as the 13th century. They also were popular with painters and photographers in later times.
Most peddlers handled “cash-only” transactions with little or no accounting records. However, lucky for us, some did keep diaries that have become an important source of insight into a peddler’s life. Some entries have revealed quotes such as “With a bundle on my back, I peddled various articles and found the lifestyle onerous and solitary. The problem of shelter at night is constant, and the weather sometimes a threat.”
Local towns with attractions for peddlers included Norwich, Groton and New London.
Some peddlers used a bicycle, others hand-held carts, horse-drawn carts and later, motorized vehicles. A number of countries have since enacted laws to protect the rights of peddlers. In Mystic, peddlers were once victims of squirt guns to discourage any sales by them.
You may even be familiar with those individuals who were once peddlers. You’ve certainly heard of Thomas Edison who peddled, and so did Abe Lincoln’s father. Norwich’s Benedict Arnold was, for a while, a peddler.
When President John Adams visited Norwich, he discussed someone he knew who was a peddler.
The original meaning of the term, “peddler” was related to those men who spread the word of God for profit.
Research reveals that some peddlers doubled as performers, healers or fortune-tellers.
In the United States during the 18th century, there was an “upsurge” of peddlers.
In the 1800s, there was a local peddler of tinware whose name was John Meech. He was born in Preston, and after his marriage, he traveled through Eastern Connecticut and western Rhode Island as a peddler. He moved to Norwich and had acquired a job with the New Haven Co. as a peddler. He later worked independently and in his semi-retirement he became a farmer, both in Preston and North Stonington.
In addition, and perhaps surprisingly, another relatively plentiful number of peddlers were around who had returned from World War II as soldiers and sailors in the mid-1940s. Many were unable to secure suitable work, and for some, peddling yielded a moderately decent income.
In 1872, the Sears and Roebuck Co. developed a successful mail order business, and by the 1890s, the company, as well as other similar businesses, more or less spelled a massive decrease of those hearty individuals we refer to as peddlers.
In spite of that revelation, the peddler still holds a fascination and a place in history as a traveling retailer of goods.
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Lyman Trumbull was born in Colchester on Oct. 12, 1813 to Benjamin and Elizabeth Mather Trumbull. The newborn was the grandson of historian Benjamin Trumbull. The new child would have two brothers, namely Benjamin Jr. and George.
Lyman would attend school locally including his studies at Bacon Academy.
Upon employment age he sought assignments as a school teacher, but also began studying law. He moved to Belleville, Ill., in 1837 and began a career in the legal profession. His practice was established by 1840 and that year he was elected to the Illinois State Legislature. He replaced Stephen Douglas as Illinois secretary of state for two years from 1841 to 1843.
One of his successes later included his work as a co-writer of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States.
Lyman’s first marriage was to a Springfield girl by the name of Julia M. Jayne. Julia Jayne Trumbull was an early close friend of Mary Todd Lincoln, and was a bridesmaid at Mary’s wedding to Abraham Lincoln. In 1848 Trumbull became a judge for the Illinois Supreme Court, a role he held until 1855. That year he was elected as a U.S. senator for the state of Illinois. In winning that post, he had defeated some experienced candidates, including a rising figure by the name of Abraham Lincoln. After Trumbull defeated Lincoln for the U.S. Senate, Mary never spoke to Julia again. Trumbull himself came to realize that Lincoln had the persuasion that enabled him to emerge as a fountainhead of power.
In 1857, Trumbull changed parties and became a Republican.
During the Civil War era, Trumbull was associated with Lincoln and he campaigned for him. He supported Lincoln in the 1858 senatorial campaign.
In the now famous letter to Lyman Trumbull in April of 1860, Abraham Lincoln delivered a message most appropriate for this story. For example, “I have no more suspicion of you than I have of my best friend living and, on reflection, I conclude you will not suspect me. Your friend as ever, A. Lincoln.”
As to the differences between the two men, Trumbull was more reserved, and he never relished “yarn spinning.” Evenings around the pot-bellied stoves in taverns seemed dull to him. He missed his comfortable home and garden. However, Trumbull supported Mr. Lincoln’s re-election in 1864.
Following the Civil War, Trumbull was one of a number of senators who briefly sought the nomination for the presidency in 1872 at the Liberal Republican Convention, but the new party nominated Horace Greeley instead. The following year, Trumbull left the Senate, returning to Chicago to practice law.
Julia Trumbull died in 1868 and in 1877, Lyman married his cousin, Mary Jane Ingraham of Old Saybrook.
During John Wesley Powell’s explorations in the west, he named an area in northwestern Arizona after Senator Trumbull, and the Colchester native’s honors had just begun.
He had a street named after him in Chicago, the Lyman Trumbull Elementary School in Chicago is named for the senator, and Trumbull Park is also named for him.
Lyman Trumbull died on June 25, 1896, at the age of 82. He is buried in Cook County, Illinois.
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Gustavus Woodson Smith was not listed in our school’s history books nor was he discussed by teachers of history. However, his story needs to be told, and it is a most historic one.
Smith was born on Nov. 30, 1821, in Georgetown, Kentucky. Precious little is known of his early life, but we do know he attended West Point in 1842. When he graduated, he was ranked eighth out of 56 cadets.
As an engineer, Smith had a local assignment when he was a lead engineer in the construction of Fort Trumbull in New London.
It was there that he met and courted a New London woman by the name of Lucretia Bassett. Lucretia was born in 1822 and was the daughter of Abner and Harriet Bassett of New London. Gustavus and Lucretia were married on Oct. 3, 1844.
“G.W.,” as Smith was often called, received a letter from West Point inviting him to teach at his alma mater, which he did, but shortly thereafter he was called to serve and fight in the Mexican War in 1846. Historically, Smith was involved in the first United States armed conflict chiefly fought on foreign soil.
He was appointed a brevet first lieutenant due to his outstanding service at the Battle of Cerro Gordo. On Aug. 20, 1847, he made brevet captain for his service at the battle of Contreras. Smith received another promotion in 1853, but a year later he resigned his commission to become a civil engineer in New York City.
Eventually, he became a street commissioner there and his position included coordinating duties of employees, managing daily operations and planning the use of given materials.
In 1861 “G.W.” was appointed as a major general in the Confederate Army and his appointment took place at Richmond in the early part of the Civil War. As part of his duties, Smith served as interim Confederate secretary of war and also served in the Georgia state militia.
Additionally, Smith also saw action as a “wing” commander, and fought in the Battle of Seven Pines near Richmond. At that location was the largest battle in the Eastern Theater up to that time. When the army’s commander was wounded, Smith took charge. None other than Robert E. Lee replaced Smith. That particular appointment for Lee eventually led to his assignment as Confederate army commander.
Eventually, Smith resigned his commission and became a volunteer aide to Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard.
After the war, Smith did extensive writing and in December of 1894, he was one of 19 founders of the Military Order of Foreign Wars. The MOFW has now become one of the oldest veterans and hereditary associations in the nation. Later members included Adm. George Dewey, Theodore Roosevelt and John J. Pershing.
General Smith died on June 24, 1896, and is buried in his wife’s family plot in the Cedar Grove Cemetery in New London. His stone at the cemetery was put in place on Sept. 21, 1977, by a man named Robert Bishop of New London, who was a possible descendant of Gen. Smith on Smith’s mother’s side.
The last time the stone was viewed, it was accompanied by both Confederate and American flags. Prior to Bishop’s work, Smith’s grave had no marker.
His burial stone is the only known stone of a Confederate general in the state of Connecticut.
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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow may have said it best in his poem starting with “Under a spreading chestnut tree, the village smithy stands.” The skills of that blacksmith of American film, poetry and history are certainly well-documented but sometimes misunderstood.
The word “blacksmith” itself is defined in the most reliable dictionaries as “a person who makes and repairs things in iron by hand.”
Most of us traveled through school reading and listening to our teachers, thinking we knew the role of that craftsman.
However, in each small early village in Eastern Connecticut and elsewhere, the shop of the “smithy” was usually not much more than a small shed where not only was much work accomplished, but it was where meetings took place to discuss common problems.
There once was a time when horsepower provided businesses with what they needed. A “peek” into the past blacksmith’s shop reveals an interesting tableau. Horses needed their hooves shod, and horses were most necessary for pulling a variety of horse-drawn implements, many created and repaired by the local blacksmith.
Many of those craftsmen were also inventors of metal implements, and many of them became respected businessmen as well.
Examples of their “products” included metal gates, nails of all sizes and, of course, the horse shoeing aspect, so prominent in those early days.
Believe it or not, there were times when the local blacksmith would be called upon to act as dentist, doctor, undertaker, surgeon and, of course, horse dealer.
Eventually, mass production in the cities caused the “smithy” to diversify into “motor repairs” or “museum pieces in a historical setting.”
Many of those craftsmen kept an “oven” in their workplace that operated 12 months a year. The blacksmith actually was known by another professional title, that of the local “farrier.” Others specialized in making knives or axes, and they were known as “bladesmiths.” Still others specialized in locks, and folks called them “locksmiths.” Then there were those who were so talented they were referred to as just “the village smithy.” Those workers could also set door hinges, fix a broken wagon wheel or even a plow.
Isaac C. Glasko of Griswold was a blacksmith who advertised his skills in the “Canal of Intelligence” newspaper located in Norwich in the 1820s and 1830s.
Glasko’s son, Isaac Jr., also became a blacksmith.
New London County had many blacksmiths; They included James Babcock, who worked as a “smithy” until his death. James Dean, who came to the area from Massachusetts to live and work in Stonington, was also a blacksmith. Dean helped out in Plainfield whenever the need occurred.
Also, over in Preston, our research yielded one Morrison Robbins who, in the late 19th century, built his own blacksmith shop in that village.
Judah Lyon carried on the blacksmith’s trade in Woodstock, and over in Lebanon, we find William Channing Blanchard who practiced his trade for more than 35 years.
Another name we found in the research for this story impressed the writer due to the “versatility” factor. His name was Elijah Backus of Norwich. He, too, was a blacksmith, but that’s not all. He was also a justice of the peace. His ironworks shop supported the objectives of the Revolution, whereby he reached the rank of captain and took into his shop Native American boys as apprentices recommended by Eleazar Wheelock of Lebanon (now Columbia).
Wheelock was the founder of Dartmouth College.
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Connecticut is said to be one of the most paranormal states in the whole country! It’s generally known that this is where the nation’s first witch trials and hangings occurred … three decades prior to the more famous trials in Salem, Mass.
Connecticut native Courtney McInvale Reardon is a major source of information regarding paranormal activity and is contacted often in regard to the topic. The famous Warren family has investigated Reardon’s childhood home.
Some of us have heard stories about “The Old Leather Man.” Just before the Civil War, he would complete his walk of over dozens of miles in Connecticut and New York in a clockwise circuit every 30 days or so, completely dressed in old leather clothing.
A book by author Dan DeLuca, entitled “The Old Leather Man: Historical Accounts of a Connecticut and New York Legend” is a good read about the unusual traveler.
Gardner Lake, bounded by Salem, Montville and Bozrah, is the location of a continued legend involving the planned movement of an old house from one side of the lake to the other on the ice, in the late 1800s. After a warm rain, the house, with most contents (including a piano) still inside, broke through the ice, and settled at the bottom of the lake.
Fishermen, even today, insist that they still hear faint piano music coming from the lake bottom.
Is it true that Bluff Point in Mystic is the site of a “giggling ghost” who visits diners at supper time and leaves footprints on restaurant floors?
What about those folks who have visited and experienced the “Moonlight Ghost Stroll” in Mystic? They enjoyed it all right, but later at home, when looking at photos that had been taken on the tour, one viewer found phenomena that he just couldn’t explain.
At Seaside Sanitorium State Park in Waterford, built in 1934, one may get a little concerned about unexplained noises, including those inside abandoned buildings.
“Dark Manor” is a professional haunted house in Baltic. It has been voted as “Best Haunted House in Connecticut.” Those who visit, maintain that it’s the best they have seen. The owners change the scary themes every year in order to keep interest high for visitors.
“Benson’s Beware Haunted Woods” in Thompson is near the Massachusetts state line and participants claim they loved the “walk.”
While in the area, we must mention “Victoria,” a ghost who usually hangs out in or near the balcony of the Bradley Playhouse in Putnam. She usually doesn’t show herself if people are around. However, she has been observed on the stage, even backstage and also in the basement of the building.
Six and a half miles away from Putnam, we find “Bara-Hack” in Pomfret. It is an abandoned town, settled in the year 1780, where, today, voices are still heard, people singing, and other “unsettling” experiences.
The site is now on private property.
And, finally, in Griswold, we find “Old Man Simon,” watching over his farm and former bed and breakfast. The problem is Simon Brewster, or at least his spirit, once owned the old farm and he still enjoys tending to the garden and orchards. Witnesses say his wife helps him sometimes.
If you’re ever there and you hear footsteps on the stairs, it’s just the couple going up to bed. Don’t let the fact that they both died in the previous century bother you too much.
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It was 1807, and a four-story wooden building was being built by carpenters and masons at Cargill Falls in Putnam. It would be the first cotton manufacturing plant in the town, and the first of its kind in the county.
The name of the plant was the Pomfret Manufacturing Co., and when production began, workers spun cotton yarn to be woven on hand looms into coarse cloth and “bed ticking.”
Oddly enough, the variety of workers included a number of neighborhood children supervised by a man in each of the rooms.
As this trend continued, and the local population grew, we know more about the owner of this new project. His name was Smith Wilkinson, and as he saw the growth of his project and the number of youngsters involved, he decided to build a schoolhouse in the village, east of the Quinebaug River.
In time, a house was built across from the mill for Mr. Wilkinson as well as a number of other houses for newer residents who came to the area for the work.
An early positive gesture from the mill owner was circulating one of his cows so that all the nearby residents would have fresh milk.
Also, a nearby tavern, Malachi Green, was available as travel through the area increased.
On the Fourth of July, a celebration of sorts took place to note the raising of the factory’s frame and to also celebrate the holiday. Folks came from other towns to learn more about this new enterprise.
When a snowstorm fell one morning, and roads were blocked, even little female workers donned boots in order to work at the plant.
One of the diaries relived a telling quote, “Those machines at work are the prettiest things in the world.”
Soon, the small community’s women joined the workforce, where they could earn a little money.
There was, at that time, a brick building east of the Quinebaug River utilized as a church.
When the war with Britain began in 1812, the factory became a beehive of activity, accepting cotton from Philadelphia, introducing power looms a little later, and enjoying the small but important improvements as workers.
Woolen goods would be introduced to the growing community in 1823, and roads became somewhat improved.
Just south of the falls, the Monohansett Manufacturing Co. was established in 1872. Its product was sheetings, and the company employed about 175 workers.
The Putnam Factory Woolen Co. had been successful, but obtaining raw material from a wool house in New York caused a failure. However, a new company producing cassimere (an obsolete spelling of cashmere), 300 workers and a number of new machines replaced the former operation.
In time, several new industries were started, producing wool, silk, iron, steel, etc. Those silk products, which started in 1875 with new machines, had instructors assist the workers. Efforts were made to keep the workers happy, and the mill was organized, clean and neat.
By 1832, according to the United States Survey of Manufactures, the village of Putnam had grown to 300 inhabitants. Half of those residents were employed by the Wilkinson Co. in more than one capacity.
Wilkinson’s attitude and actions regarding employment policies included a strong wish to hire the poorest families, and those with the most children, a fine humanitarian gesture.
Research indicates that “Cupid” was busy among the looms and spindles, resulting in 15 marriages among the workers.
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As more and more colonists came to the early counties, forests were naturally cleared and wooden homes as well as other structures were built. In those homes, owners had wooden floors, wooden walls, wooden ceilings and, of course, furniture made of wood.
Additionally, in time, houses and farms became closer to each other as the population increased.
Once structures were completed, chimney inspections were considered as a most serious duty. In time, wooden chimneys and thatched roofs became illegal due to the obvious hazards.
In the lives of early colonists, fire, in some fashion, was used every day for many reasons, therefore the risks were high.
In the more populated cities, authorities appointed fire wardens.
A familiar name in the nation’s history books, Benjamin Franklin, in addition to his notable reputation, is less well known for his creation of the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia in 1736. He was also noted for his role in the nation’s fire service and was, at one time, a fireman.
As the need for firefighting increased, a very early anti-fire procedure was simply known as the “bucket brigade.” When the first fire engines were utilized, they were long and narrow for maximum mobility.
Firefighters were among the early heroes in the young towns and cities. As a matter of fact, here are some you may have heard of. They include George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Hancock, Samuel Adams and Paul Revere.
That group is generally referred to as the “Honor Roll” of early firefighting.
Prior to the 1850s, firefighters were part of strictly volunteer departments. Within 55 years or so, motor fire engines began replacing horse-drawn engines. Also, leather hoses started showing up as early as the late 1600s, and the modern fire extinguisher came into use by the 1820s.
The first fire escapes were constructed by the late 1700s. By the year 1832, Willimantic firefighters owned a new sprinkler system known as the “Deluge.” The department members eventually moved from horse-drawn equipment to motorized equipment. Willimantic’s members, as those in other communities, were considered highly professionally trained career fire fighters and formed four separate strategically located fire companies.
Eventually, all four of those companies were combined at the Bank Street Firehouse.
In New London, the first fire engine went into service in 1767, and the first company was established there in 1786.
However, prior to the above date, in 1781 when New London was burned by Benedict Arnold and the British, the building that housed that early engine was in critical danger. So, a brave group of local patriots risked both life and limb in order to protect the fire engine, hiding it in nearby woods.
Still in New London, by 1849, four complete fire companies existed. By 1900, six companies had been formed.
Out in the wilds of Windham Center in 1823, a group of brave men organized their own version of an early volunteer fire company.
As mill villages developed, threats of a building’s fire jumping to the next building were a concern.
Other threats regarding fire included the almost exclusive use of candle flame for light as well as oil lamps and, later, steam boilers. In time, more modern machinery and electric lights were to improve those dangerous conditions.
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It’s not generally known or discussed, but for almost a hundred years, the Bozrah mills operated by the Palmer Brothers brought comfort to thousands and thousands of people due to the factory’s production of quilts and various bedding items.
The two brothers, Elisha and Edward, in 1867, formed their partnership with the goal of producing bedding and accompanying accessories and selling them to consumers all over the country.
Their mission was sprinkled with high standards, energy and an upbeat attitude handed down to them from their hard-working parents.
Early on, the two men gave all of their competitors a run, as they sought success in their field.
It didn’t take long for the two men to establish a reputation that they sustained as the finest quilt and comforter producers in the entire country.
Their predecessors, who knew them previously, envisioned the new owners’ future as bright, happy and profitable. As the years went on, the brothers’ yearly receipts were more than compatible with the previous owners’ predictions.
In 1899, the two brothers officially incorporated their enterprise.
There was a time, historically, when pillows used by humans were actually stones. Thousands of years ago, one’s mattress consisted of layers of plant material gathered into mats. Those mats were periodically burned in order to eliminate pests. One’s cover would be in the form of leaves which served also in keeping away bugs.
Later in history, the raised bed was introduced. This, of course, kept away most rodents, insects and snakes. Still later, mattresses were stuffed with straw, and eventually, linen sheets added extra comfort to those who rested. Woolen blankets were eventually utilized.
Later in the early 19th century, metal bed springs supporting the mattress itself were introduced. They also were squeaky! The innerspring and memory foam mattresses were developed in the 20th century.
The whole story of sleep bedding did give us a particular long-lasting saying, which came from the above history. “Hitting the hay” referred to the dislodging of bugs from those early mattresses and other bedding.
Drapes and canopies came along for more privacy, and mattresses were then stuffed with feathers.
Back to the Palmer Brothers, for a while, in the late 1920s, the company even had mills operating in New London and Fitchville at the same time. The New London mill closed in March of 1935. Much of their business success in that period depended mostly on department store orders as well as mail-order houses.
The Great Depression brought immense challenges to the Palmer Brothers. Elsewhere in the country massive unemployment resulted and the nation suffered the worst economic depression in the country’s history.
In order to counteract the above conditions, governmental reforms and new federal programs were initiated. Those included the public works projects and adding safeguards to the banking industry.
A strike in 1937 halted operations in Bozrah for almost a month. However, the company was able to bring workers back to work with a small increase in pay.
At that time, the company was enjoying a lucrative contract with the U.S. Army to supply blankets. However, the Bozrah mill was impacted by changing fiscal situations.
Due to the end of the war the army contract was halted, even though the company was still employing close to 300 workers.
In spite of their previous successes, the Palmer Brothers finally ceased their operations in 1949.
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Question of the week: What was it about the little coastal town of Stonington that made it a target for British bombardment in August of 1814?
Author James Tertius de Kay asked himself the same question, and finally came up with some logical answers, leading to his book, “The Battle of Stonington.”
The battle wasn’t expected nor was it provoked.
The British commander, Capt. Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, claimed after the attack that he believed Stonington had been secretly manufacturing torpedoes.
He had no evidence for that claim, and, in fact, his claim was untrue.
Truth be told, bombardment by a British naval squadron at Stonington began on the evening of Aug. 9, 1814, with British firepower of 134 guns, plus three cannons on five British vessels manned by a total of over 1,200 men.
By contrast, the Americans had only mustered between 18 and 22 men manning the defense. But we’re just a little ahead of our story.
Prior to any attack, the British sent word by messenger that the town would “be destroyed.” That humanitarian gesture allowed the women and children to escape to safer ground away from the encounter.
At the same time, a small group of defenders raced to the “point” of defense. It should be explained here that the “point” was the result of an earlier decision by the town fathers in 1808, to extend a wharf out into the harbor for commercial reasons. When finished, it would be surrounded by water on three sides.
It was at that location that Capt. Jeremiah Holmes, an expert gunner, joined four residents, William Lord, Asa Lee, George Fellows and Amos Denison, as well as a number of volunteers from Mystic, who defended at “the point.”
In time, a launch filled with British attackers approached the shore near the “point,” but as they came closer, “grape shot” from the defenders riddled their transport and the intruders backed off, only to sail around to the opposite side of land on the following day, where, the defenders once more drove off the attackers.
Generally, that same pattern occurred the following day with the same results. The general barrage of the town continued until Aug. 12, when Hardy, aware that he had lost 21 men, 50 others wounded, with severe damage to his ships, made a decision on Aug. 13 to retreat from the battle.
On the American side, six men had been slightly wounded, and one man was killed. That man was Frederick Dennison, who became wounded and died later of his wounds.
Three of the defenders, Col. Randall, as commander, and two lieutenants, Lathrop and Hough, later received special commendations both for their bravery and leadership in a most difficult situation.
As to the damage inflicted upon the town, we have a most reliable picture, thanks to historian Frances M. Caulkins, who, after the fact, conducted a number of eye-witnessing inquiries. It seems that as many as 40 of the 100 houses in the town were somewhat damaged, and of those, two or three were destroyed. Additionally, there were one or two natural deaths, two horses and a goose were killed, but no other human casualties occurred.
As for Hardy, he became “First Naval Lord,” the leader of the British navy, in November of 1830. The Stonington battle is considered a defeat on his resume.
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Today’s story is about a miracle, as you shall see.
During the American Revolution, it took a year for an army of 6,000 French, Polish, German and Irish soldiers allied to the Americans to gather in Newport, R.I., to prepare for “a march.” They had come ashore in July of 1780 and in June of 1781, they began their trek.
Most troops traveled by foot a little over 600 miles. For 400 of those miles, the French and American armies marched together.
Another large group traveled to the town of Lebanon. It was there that they would engage in further training during an eight-month stay, and to later support the larger group on its mission.
Totally, there were 800 men and horses in the cavalry escorted by about 100 artillery soldiers.
Gen. George Washington first heard about Norwich’s Benedict Arnold’s betrayal while he was at the old Cogswell Tavern near New Preston, Conn., and reportedly showed uncharacteristic rage at the news.
An incident in Lebanon occurred when two corporals were executed by a firing squad in April of 1781 for deserting their posts.
Each division on the “march” had its own field hospital, craftsmen, ax-men (to clear roads), cooks, musicians, nurses and laundry workers. As the French contingent moved forward, talented officers created maps for easier access.
The town of Sterling was the initial Connecticut town that the first division entered from Rhode Island, followed by the town of Plainfield. Then they traveled through Canterbury, Scotland, Windham and Columbia (Lebanon at that time) and on across the state to join the American Army in New York State.
Since that event, artifacts have been recovered from that route and they included buttons, coins, and articles made of lead. Protections and publicity regarding the march sites as a national reminder have occurred quite slowly. For example, in a 1925 publication titled “France and England,” efforts were underway to mark 19 historic campsites related to “The route in Connecticut.” Also, in 1957, a bill was passed authorizing the erection of markers to designate the sites of camps occupied by French troops.
But with political delays, it took the Bicentennial Celebration of 1976 to finally further legislation regarding those sites.
One of the major problems along the way were the unpaved roads where heavy equipment had trouble moving forward! At times, many roads turned into swamps, and small rivers! In order to keep spirits up, a number of regimental bands took turns playing for the entertainment of spectators. In Windham Center, Connecticut, when the band played, couples danced on the green! Officers felt it was a good way for the men to relax.
It is recorded that the march just in Connecticut alone topped 240 miles.
As a sort of summary of this gigantic project, “The March” was supported by nine states plus the future District of Columbia in the following ways: The states provided lodgings for the officers, provisions of food and supplies, cider and rum were offered to the men, local farmers donated their oxen to help the horses pull the heavy cannons, and hundreds of residents cheered the men and officers on. The “journey” touched the lives of countless American people.
The “miracle” referred to at the opening of this story was the fact that the whole journey, which ended at Yorktown, Va., where the victory there effectively ended the Revolutionary War, was under the leadership of two generals, Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau. Washington spoke no French, and his comrade in arms spoke no English. … A miracle indeed!
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The town of Woodstock had its first serious alarm in August of 1696. That alarm was 10 years after the town’s settlement.
It was then that a band of Indian marauders suddenly attacked what is now Oxford, Mass.
Residents of Woodstock received the news and huddled, frightened, within the various garrisons available.
Bands of armed men were hastily organized and scoured the woods as well as guarding specific areas. Word was hastily sent by messenger to the Massachusetts and Connecticut authorities.
In time, Maj. Fitch arrived with a small group of English soldiers as well as a band of friendly Indians. Fitch was able to exercise authority over a Wabbaquassett group of 29 braves. He then armed them and readied them for any forthcoming attack. With those precautions, things gradually and thankfully quieted down.
In October of that year, due to the assembly’s “act,” Woodstock was considered as a “frontier.” It meant that residents could be assured of their safety by a company of “protectors” led by John Sabin and Peter Aspinwall.
Under Lt. Sabin’s leadership, Woodstock’s military position was greatly strengthened. Aspinwall is remembered as serving many months in command of a company of scouts or rangers patrolling the nearby woods of Massachusetts near the border of Connecticut.
In early 1700 in Woodstock, there were some authorities there who were suspicious of the conduct of the Wabbaquassett tribe members who had left the area. There was great negative anticipation that perhaps those Indians might be planning suspicious behavior resulting in attacks upon the settlers. Many members of the community were in a state of panic.
As a result of that unrest, Capt. Samuel Mason from New London was contacted and finally arrived with a group of English soldiers and almost 20 Mohegan Indians.
In the meantime, a large “cart” containing ammunition, highly guarded, was on its way to the Woodstock area from Boston.
When Woodstock residents learned of the “cart,” there spread another panic or fear that the cart might be intercepted by the enemy. A judgment was decided upon and as a result, 60 armed men traveled from the area to meet the cart and to bring it with great rejoicing and confidence into the community.
Leaders of the town decided to send three faithful Wabbaquassetts as messengers to the fugitive members of the tribe, asking those members to return to the area with a guarantee of safety and good will for all. In reference to that promise, the local council, after considerations, did just that.
Those messengers apparently were successful, as no further revolts or resurrections were evident.
In view of conditions at that time, Mason, while a welcome visitor to the area, decided he was no longer needed in Woodstock and returned to New London.
His absence was to be short-lived, because in the year 1704, another panic of sorts gripped Woodstock, which caused the women and children once more to gather in the garrison. The scare prompted Mason to return to the area with a small group of men.
Later that year, the town’s first schoolhouse was started with educator John Picker as the first schoolman. The move was the beginning of a safer period for the residents of the small town. Elections and an increase of “home lots” were good omens for the town of Woodstock, the town with a “shaky start.”
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There are many interesting legends that remain of the earlier Mohegan and Pequot tribes, which once roamed, hunted and fished in the southeastern parts of Connecticut.
One excellent source is an old book written by Arthur L. Peale of Norwich, who was an active scouter and merit badge counsellor for the local Boy Scout program in Norwich. It was Mr. Peale who introduced Samuel Chester Reid’s exploits to your writer.
One of the favorite legends of those folks who study the subject, is the Native American who challenged one of his elders by asking, “Can you squeeze water from a stone?” Without waiting for an answer, the challenger took a piece of curd with him, climbed a tree, and witnesses, thinking he held a stone in his hand, due to the similarities, proceeded to impress his onlookers. Near the top of the tree, he stretched out his hand and squeezed the object, and water dripped from his hand.
When he returned to the ground, he challenged the older man to do the same. The elder picked up a nearby stone, climbed the same tree, held out his hand, and squeezed, with much effort, but only blood dripped from his hand due to the sharp edges of the stone.
The younger brave had successfully tricked his rival, and as a result, gained a measure of respect that day.
On the shores of Gardner Lake in Montville, at a Boy Scout camp, a resident of Uncasville and a Native American by the name of Harold Tantaquidgeon held forth with authentic Indian lore for the campers. Harold had been a Mohegan tribal chief, World War II hero and the co-founder of the Tantaquidgeon Museum in Uncasville. Thousands upon thousands of school children as well as adults over the years have visited the museum. Harold passed away in 1989.
Speaking of lakes, many years ago, where Alexander’s Lake now stands in Killingly, the chiefs of the local Native American tribes decided to hold a giant pow-wow regarding their respective good fortunes that had been bestowed upon them. They chose a location on a sandy hill covered with tall pine trees.
The celebration lasted four days until the Great Spirit intervened.
During the height of the celebration, the earth suddenly gave way, and sank to a great depth. The water beneath engulfed the area with the exception of one small peak occupied by an old squaw.
That peak later became known as Loon’s Island.
Residents say that on a clear day when the water is smooth and the wind is quiet, the large trunks and branches of the original tall pine trees can be seen below the surface of the lake.
In Windham County, there is an important battle recorded between two tribes: the Narragansetts who lived near the ocean, and the Nipmucks who resided on the west side of the Quinebaug River.
The Narragansetts relished their sources of lobsters, crabs, clams and other seafood. Upon being invited by that tribe, the Nipmucks then invited the Narragansetts to a banquet of eels at their location.
At the feast, eels were cooked, but not cooked enough. The visiting tribe refused to eat, quarrels began, and finally, the hosts attacked the unarmed guests, and killed them. However, two guests did escape and swam across the Quinebaug River. A council of war was held by the Narragansetts and revenge was sought, resulting in a three-day battle.
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The beginning of the twentieth century yielded many new innovations, some never before imagined. Today’s story will mention some of those inventions. We’ll take a look at the people who developed them and events witnessed by those who lived in those early years.
Charles Seeberger invented the modern escalator in 1900.
Kodak introduced the “Brownie Camera” in 1901, which cost all of one dollar. On Dec. 12, that year, Guglielmo Marconi broadcast the first transatlantic wireless signals.
Also, in that year, Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated as the youngest United States president ever, following the assassination of President William McKinley. The new president’s second wife was Norwich-born Edith Kermit Carow.
The “Teddy Bear,” named after Teddy Roosevelt, made its first appearance in 1902.
The first powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903, would later change the world! Other “firsts” that year included the first message to go around the world, the first automobile license plates issued in the country and the first silent film, “The Great Train Robbery,” released later that year.
Also, in 1903, Edward Binney and Harold Smith, co-invented the iconic crayon.
Mary Anderson patented windshield wipers even before Henry Ford’s car was completed. She had witnessed the difficulty of a winter street car driver trying to keep his windshield free of snow from inside a vehicle in New York City.
That year the first movie theater in the country opened due to the introduction of silent films, and King Camp Gillette invented the double-edged safety razor.
It was Gillette who offered Teddy Roosevelt the presidency of a single corporation owned by the public at a salary of $1 million. Roosevelt declined the offer.
A national event that year foretold a future feature for our country giving women the right to vote in Finland, a full 14 years prior to that same achievement that finally took place in the United States.
It was in the following year, 1908, that the country saw the introduction of the Ford Model T.
Robert Edwin Peary Sr. was best known for reaching the geographic North Pole with his expedition on April 6, 1909. His diary has been utilized as a historic document and he became the recipient of at least fourteen international medals from prestigious societies.
In his rustic hut during his stay there, he enjoyed the relative comfort of a genuine “thermos,” prior to such a plant on Laurel Hill in Norwich a few year later.
In 1912, Clarence Crane created “Life Saver” candy, and a year later, Arthur Wynne invented the crossword puzzle. The editor of the New York World Newspaper asked him to invent a new game for the paper’s Sunday edition. Via an accidental typo, the name of his revision became the crossword puzzle we’re familiar with today.
We end our listing for this story with an inventor who needs no introduction to this column due to earlier accounts of his successes. Edwin Land, who lived on Crescent Street in Norwich from 1918 to 1926, became the second most prolific inventor of all time, runner-up to the genius of Thomas Edison.
His contributions to photo intelligence are legend and his 535 patents and dozens of citations and honors from around the world are virtually unmatched. The research library at Norwich Free Academy is named in his honor.
He died on March 1, 1991 at age 81.
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Here are some rather interesting facts about the city of Willimantic discovered in our searches for something new. Enjoy!
Bridge Street built over the river was completed in the year 1828.
In the years between 1820 and 1840, what is now Main Street was referred to then as “the highway.” For many years either before or after, it was called “The Turnpike Road.”
In 1825, the first “grog shop” was opened in town. Drinks were three and five cents each.
The Dr. Witter House was built on Main Street in 1831. “Doc” Witter came to Willimantic from Lisbon. He was the second doctor to locate in Willimantic. Dr. Mason was the first. However, a Dr. Perkins was the first doctor in the surrounding area, setting up his office in Windham Center. Most naturally, Jaron Safford started the first drugstore in Willimantic in 1833.
On Dec. 5, 1832, The Windham Gazette, the first newspaper in Willimantic, was printed as a weekly.
In the 1830s, George Hebard was postmaster in Willimantic.
Jackson Street, contrary to popular belief, was not built and named for the president. It was named for Lyman Jackson, a black man who, with his family, was most respected. The road was named for him in 1835 as the second road going north out of Willimantic.
Dunham Hall was built in 1867 as the Linen Co. store and library for workers. It is now the home of the Mill Museum.
In 1849, the tracks of the New London, Willimantic and Palmer Railroad were completed. With that completion, a link with Willimantic to the coastal line to New Haven and points north became a reality. Not long after, an east-west route named the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad also ran through Willimantic. As a result, Willimantic became the largest rail center in Eastern Connecticut. In time, as many as 40 trains a day made the Willimantic Train Station a very busy place.
A number of businesses began depending on the rail activity. Those included businesses involved with coal, lumber, feed, farm supplies and equipment, groceries and other businesses that then relied on the town’s railroad facilities.
The train station, due to its importance and status, began attracting hotels and restaurants to the specific area. Even the side streets off of Main Street began to develop a number of businesses that could offer numerous services.
Those services included a livery, feed and boarding stable, Baldwin’s Novelty Shop, Hillhouse and Taylor’s outlet for general building supplies, H. Howey, a dealer in Choice Beef, John Lennon, a dealer in marble and granite, and D.P. Dunn, headquarters for all daily and weekly papers.
Also, C.E. Little, “the family shoe store,” the Old Reliable Brainard House, Eugene B. Walden, brick work and plastering, the Union Shoe Store, L.N. Ayer, dealer in ice, F.F. Simmons, confectionery and ice cream, William C. Cummings, undertaker (with lady assistant), James J. Fay, plumber, Model Printing Co., Carpenter and Jordan Hardware, Hugh Anderson, painter, and lastly, J. Hickey & Co., druggists.
Some of the above merchants as well as others, built large Victorian homes in the “Hill Neighborhood.”
Willimantic had several banks in order to accommodate the above merchants as well as those in surrounding small towns. Six new banks in Willimantic opened between the years 1842 and 1878.
In 1903, streetcar service was offered by the Willimantic Traction Co.. Service was extended from Willimantic to Taftville, Norwich and Coventry.
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His name was William Torrey Harris and he was born in North Killingly on Sept. 10, 1835.
Harris attended Phillips Andover Academy, and studied three years at Yale University, becoming a teacher. He taught school from 1857 to 1859 in St. Louis, and became a principal that same year. In 1866, he helped to establish the St. Louis Philosophical Society.
Harris was then appointed superintendent of schools in St. Louis, serving in that position from 1868 to 1880.
Along the way, Harris, with Susan Blow, established America’s first permanent public kindergarten in 1873. Blow had been acquainted with the work of Friedrich Froebel, a Swiss educator who believed in early education. Interestingly enough, Blow had no high school education of her own. By 1916, more than 400 cities had kindergartens in their schools.
Harris also was instrumental in influencing educational ideologies so that they led to public school curriculum expansions. Among them, he made the high school an essential institution, which would, in time, include art, music, science, manual arts and perhaps more importantly, the addition of a library at all public schools.
Harris was appointed as the nation’s commissioner of education and among his many innovations, he instituted compulsory education for Native Americans.
He remained commissioner under the presidencies of four U.S. presidents: Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley. and Theodore Roosevelt.
His resume includes founding and editing the first philosophical periodical in America in 1867, editing it until 1893!
He was the recipient of an L.L.D., (a doctorate-level academic degree in law), from a number of both American and foreign universities.
In 1906, he was recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for The Advancement of Teaching.
That same year, Harris also helped edit a number of papers dealing with international education, and when Andrew Carnegie founded the “Simplified Spelling Board” in 1906, Harris was one of the directors.
In 1909, he was the editor-in-chief of Webster’s New International Dictionary, and it was the North Killingly native who originated the “divided page” in dictionaries.
Overall, it was Harris who produced several hundred manuscripts on educational matters. They included “An Introduction To The Study of Philosophy”, “Psychologic Foundations of Education”, “Elementary Education In The United States”, and “The Philosophy of Education.”
Harris was known as a practical school man, an effective administrator and an educational reformer. His whole career was dedicated to the professional study of education for teachers in training.
Between 1873 and 1880, he presided as president of the National Association of School Superintendents.
Author Kurt Leidecker wrote “Yankee Teacher: The Life of William Torrey Harris,” where more information can be found regarding this remarkable educator.
It seems incredible to this writer that from the small town of Danielson another educator to be was later born who would also become a U.S. commissioner of education. That individual, Dr. Sidney P. Marland, Jr., a graduate of UConn, became a secondary teacher and a superintendent of schools in Darien, Winnetka, Ill., and Pittsburgh, prior to his national appointment.
One wonders if there was something in the water for two men born a short distance apart and could possibly aspire to that lofty post of national commissioner of education.
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Man has always made efforts to overcome limits which slowed his progress. Among those limits was the problem of distances from one location to another. Originally, man had little influence on his various landscapes, whether they were the waterways, the valleys, the uplands or the harbors.
The locations of those land and waterscapes greatly affected, somewhat, where man would live, and how people adjusted to how they lived.
Humans have lived and survived for thousands of years in what is now Eastern Connecticut. Those early inhabitants hunted, fished and in various ways cultivated the land.
Early traveling from one location to another in those early days was accomplished by a network of trails, no wider, at first, than a footpath. Canoes and small rafts were constructed in order to cross rivers, streams and bays. Much later, crude bridges, ferries and private watercraft were utilized.
When English colonists arrived, they drastically changed the culture of the local area, in regard to land use, growing most of their own food, raising farm animals and cutting down timber. In time, native animals such as bear, deer, wolves and beavers began disappearing.
Early settlers built crude pathways of dirt in order to accommodate their desire to travel between settlements. Pathway purposes depended on who was traveling on them. Some were used by farmers, others for church attendance and still others began traveling from settlement to settlement for social as well as business purposes.
Overland travel was poor for some time until privately owned turnpikes became a reality. That factor helped in more than one way: First, it made personal travel easier and quicker, and also created a new industry: carriage making.
Locally, the first toll road in New England, and second in the country, was originally an old Indian trail first known as “The Mohegan Road,” which ran between Norwich and New London, a former mail route.
In those early days, Colonial law originally required that all adult males with few exceptions, had to work a certain number of days each year in order to improve the roads. In order to have proper tools for improving the roads, the local blacksmiths became very busy and very important, crafting the hoes, shovels and picks for those purposes.
By the mid-1840s, small communities needed ways for groups of people to get from one part of a town to another part. One attempt was the “omnibus.” That was a horse-drawn stagecoach-like vehicle taking a fixed route within a town.
Then, there was a period when horses actually pulled railroad cars on steel rails. By the year 1870, almost every city in Connecticut was served by one or more “horse railroads.”
This, of course, was followed by railway lines without horses, run with electric power. Eventually, this led to a transportation monopoly combining railroad, steamboat and street railway operations.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a new innovation took place. Overland travel was revolutionized by the internal combustion engine. Easier passenger as well as freight travel became a reality.
Better roads evolved through the efforts of an unlikely source, The League of American Wheelmen. The bicycle had become a positive influence for the improvement of roads.
For more information on the subject, Richard Deluca’s book, “Post Roads & Iron Horses” is a good source.
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His name was Carl S. Newbury of 78 10th St. in New London. He lost his life on Sept. 16, 1918, on a rescue mission during World War I. The Coast Guard cutter Seneca was capsized on its way to save the crew of the British steamer Wellington. Newbury and nine other members of the rescue crew were drowned.
Newbury had enlisted as a seaman in the U.S. Coast Guard at Fort Trumbull on April 6, 1917. As a boy, he was one of New London’s first Boy Scouts, joining the group in 1910.
He enlisted in the Coast Guard at age 18, the day that war was declared.
Pvt. Mark Murphy who was wounded in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, died two days later. Mark was also from New London.
Maj. John Coleman Prince from the Whaling City, had joined the Army in 1911 and served in the cavalry. On Nov. 1, 1918, he led a raiding party over German lines. He was wounded during the battle, captured and died hours later.
Following the exultation of the armistice, his parents received a telegram from the War Department indicating his demise.
Lt. Walter Buck, was an expert at “stunt flying.” When he was testing a new plane, during the war, both wings fell off his plane, and he plunged to his death, another New London casualty.
Schuyler Lee joined the Lafayette Flying Corps, helping France’s efforts. The Whaling City product was in a “dog fight” with German planes on Feb. 3, 1918, and he landed safely with 20 machine-gun holes in his plane. He was honored by France for his courage.
Two months later, on patrol, his plane’s motor failed and he obviously crashed where the wreckage of his plane was found.
Lt. John McGourty was aboard the Coast Guard’s Tampa on Sept. 26, 1918, when the ship was struck by a German U-Boat’s torpedo, sending it to the bottom with full crew aboard.
Richard Mansfield’s friend, pilot Jack Morris Wright, had sent young Mansfield exciting letters about his war experiences. Mansfield learned of his friend’s death in a crash, and was motivated to join and train as a pilot. It never happened, as Mansfield fell ill with spinal meningitis and died few days later.
However, Mansfield was honored by Louis Comfort Tiffany, the artist, with a stained-glass window at St. James Episcopal Church depicting both men standing with the quote, “They shall mount up with wings as eagles.”
New London also lost two women volunteers in the war. They included Yeomanette Cecelia Sweeney and Red Cross nurse Catherine McGuire, both victims of Spanish influenza.
Of course, there were many other New Londoners who lost their lives in that conflict, totally, 40 young men.
There were many soldiers who didn’t mind their specific service time in that war at all. Some claimed that conditions during the war were better than “at home.” For many, there was meat served every day, along with availability of cigarettes, tea and rum. Many enjoyed the pay, comradeship, etc.
Also, actually, nine out of 10 soldiers in the famous “trenches” survived their experience. Many days were filled with pleasant routines, and the rotation of soldiers in the trenches raised morale. There were immediate “reserve trenches” several hundred yards behind the main ones with supplies and “a little more comfort.”
World War I diaries help us to uncover details of soldiers’ lives in that war.
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It has snowed almost every winter for the past 50,000 years or so. During recorded history, three enormous blizzards stand out, especially in the Northeast. Those blizzards included the Blizzard of 1888, the one in 1978 and also in 2013.
Today’s story takes a look back at the destruction of the one in 1888 with recorded 20 to 50 inches of snow, and deaths from the storm estimated at over 400 people on the East Coast alone.
Results included no milk deliveries, grocers and butchers closed their shops, telephone lines were down, coal wagons couldn’t travel, and thousands of wild and farm animals froze to death.
Many people, fearing their loss of their jobs went to work.
At the time, trains, telegraph lines, water mains and gas lines were all located above ground and all of them with ice problems were inaccessible to repair crews during the storm.
Sustained winds produced unprecedented snow drifts, railroads were shut down, homeowners were confined to their homes for up to a week or more. Some wind gusts were at 80 mph.
Damage from that storm in today’s money exceeded $700 million. In addition, fire stations were immobilized, causing $25 million of losses to fires in today’s money.
As the storm began in Connecticut, many weather authorities believed that the storm would not last. But by mid-morning of the above date, temperatures plummeted to 15 degrees below zero, and winds increased drastically.
While the storm was vicious and caught people by surprise, Connecticut residents, especially in the eastern part of the state, somehow demonstrated good nature by responding in a number of ways, perhaps to “lighten the load.”
Some put signs up near their homes with the imperative, “Keep off the Grass!” Still other signs told folks passing by that their snowbanks were “For Rent!”
The two young Chapell brothers from Montville got lost crossing the pasture to their grandparent’s house. The young boys took cover by a stone wall and were discovered alive there a day later by a rescue team, having been somehow protected by snow cover which apparently “blanketed” or insulated them against the fierce cold and wind. They survived into manhood and delighted in telling their story to anyone who would listen.
Most newspaper printing presses stood still, downed telephone and telegraph lines were common and families were separated. It was, however, the New York Herald that called the storm the “Great White Hurricane.” Other sources say the phrase was also originated by sailors who saw their respective ships ruined in the storm.
In all locations, women’s bulky dresses at the time with their extended lengths, prevented any woman walking in the snow more than a few feet.
Snowdrifts as high as 50 feet were not unusual, and fire stations in New York and western Connecticut, were immobilized.
Two weeks after the storm abated, the disappearing snow revealed the discovery of numerous bodies of missing people.
For farmers in Salem and other local towns, their walks from their homes to the barns became treacherous.
One of the major impacts of the “White Hurricane” in New York was the establishment of its underground subway, as well as all electric wires, telegraph, telephone, fire alarms and illumination apparatus, ensuring electricity for the city.
The story of the storm is well-documented and well-written in Mary Cable’s book, “The Blizzard of ‘88.”
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Whenever one travels around the state, it’s always interesting to discover signage that indicates a famous historical figure once chose to spend the night at a particular location. Within the tourism industry itself, the whole idea of a famous individual “staying over” in one of the town’s inns is usually a feather in that community’s public relation’s hat. Such a claim in Windham County is the theme of today’s story in regards to our nation’s first president.
In 1789, President George Washington, during the first congressional recess, decided to go on an extensive tour of New England; he completed his Southern tour in 1791. Washington undertook these tours to “become better acquainted with the principal Characters & internal Circumstances [of the states], as well as to be accessible to number of well-informed persons, who might give him useful information and advices on political subjects.” The tours were based on political as well as public relation purposes and it would provide the president with a sense as to how Americans were responding to their new government.
When deciding on where to spend the night, the president wished to avoid staying at private homes, selecting instead taverns and inns; the decision would eliminate or at least minimize any political favoritism. On Saturday, Nov. 7, 1789, on his way to Hartford, the president stopped in Pomfret, possibly hoping to visit Gen. Israel Putnam, an old comrade in arms. Unfortunately, the meeting did not take place due to scheduling conflicts resulting from the long trip. As darkness approached, his journey continued for another half dozen miles or so to the town of Ashford, where it was decided he would spend that Saturday night at a local inn and attend church services in the town the following morning.
Along the way from Pomfret to Ashford, enthusiastic greetings both from residents and militia units were extended to the president. Finally, his party arrived at the Perkins Tavern in Ashford, where the travelers would spend the night. At that time, the “hospitality industry” in New England had not yet been developed to the level it eventually achieved in terms of comfort, as one traveled the roads from one community to another. It is evident that any travel during the president’s time on unpaved roads, along with ideal comfort consistency was still in the future of Connecticut’s history.
Ashford today remains among those select communities that are able to claim they hosted the country’s first president, especially during his presidency. Other close by localities where our first president did enjoy his overnight stays include Norwich, New London and a few other communities in nearby counties.
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Today’s story is all about the town of Montville. Of course, it wasn’t always called by that name. First of all, it was a part of New London and was settled in the year 1646 under its first name, “Pequot” after the Pequot Tribe.
Twelve years later that name was changed by New London and was then called “The North Parish of New London,” which remained its name until the year 1786, when the town was finally named “Montville.”
Among the first grants of land in 1658 was one to Richard Haughton and James Rogers. The land was on the banks of the Thames River. The first actual English settler in that area was Samuel Rogers in 1670.
The first industries were sawmills, and the first manufacturing was the creation of iron from “bog ore.” Eventually, Montville saw the addition of grist mills, a fueling mill, a woolen mill and a factory that produced cotton textiles. There were a number of smaller mills that opened and closed within a relatively short time.
The Oxoboxo River was the host to as many as 13 firms by the year 1870. Montville officially became a town prior to that time with almost 2,000 residents by 1786. Jumping to 1900, there was an increase to 2,400 residents. Many residents came from Ireland, Poland, Canada and Russia.
In regard to transportation, there were, of course, only foot paths as well as water travel by dugout canoes.
Of particular interest to this columnist during the research for our story was an earlier name for what is now Oxoboxo Lake. That earlier name was “The Little Pond.”
Also interesting is the fortified village that Uncas and the Mohegans established on the Thames River we now know as Fort Shantok, as well as the Old Stone Mill on the Oxoboxo River. For over a century, that mill produced paper for Carmichael Robertson and the company he founded. The mill was demolished in 2004.
For another interesting fact about Montville’s past, we must look at what is now the main parking lot at Montville High School. That space was originally the location of the town’s first almshouse until its demise in a 1910 fire.
A number of notable people associated with the town include: Sidney Frank, billionaire promoter of vodka products, Samson Occom, Mohegan minister and preacher, John Gideon Palmer, Medal of Honor recipient in the Civil War, and Mercy Sands Raymond, who was “enriched” by the infamous pirate William Kidd!
She really became quite wealthy when she was boarding Captain Kidd and his wife at her isolated Block Island home. Mrs. Raymond apparently supplied the famous pirate with important provisions when he most needed them, and in return, just before his final departure, in appreciation for her kindnesses, he instructed her to hold out her apron.
When she complied, he deposited handfuls of jewelry, and gold and silver pieces, until the apron was full! That generous act occurred prior to the pirate’s accusation of piracy and his eventual hanging in Boston.
After her husband passed, Mercy moved with her family to northern New London (later Montville), where she purchased much land and built a handsome home. Therefore, the family then was said to have been “enriched by the apron”!
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On Jan. 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his annual address to Congress, articulated his vision for a postwar world founded on four basic human freedoms: of speech, of religion, from want and from fear.
Interestingly, the congressional response was only lukewarm. Many newspapers the next day didn’t even mention the theme. One federal administrator called the issue “a flop.”
Fast forward to the spring of 1942, artist Norman Rockwell was engaged on a project commissioned by the Army Ordnance Department. It was an image of a machine gunner in need of ammunition. Posters, when finished, and titled, “Let’s Give Him Enough” and “On Time,” were distributed to ordnance plants all over the country in order to increase production.
Rockwell felt he wanted to do more for the war effort and he decided he would somehow illustrate those Four Freedoms from a year and a half earlier.
That night he awoke with an idea he had witnessed of a neighbor who voiced an unpopular view at a town meeting which he had attended. He arose and made some rough sketches, then traveled to Washington to propose his ideas.
However, his timing was wrong; the Ordnance Department had no resources for another commission at that juncture.
On his way back to Vermont, he stopped at the Curtis Publishing Co. and showed his idea to editor Ben Hibbs of the Saturday Evening Post. With the editor’s excited approval, Norman Rockwell finished off the full color images and Hibbs immediately put the completed “Four Freedoms” into subsequent issues of the magazine beginning on Feb. 20, 1943. The Post immediately received 25,000 requests for reprints.
Each of the images originally painted by Norman Rockwell was accompanied by an essay composed by well-known writers of the day.
In May of 1943, a campaign was organized by the Office of War Information, whereby reprints would be distributed to purchasers of a war bond on a national tour. The exhibition traveled to 16 major cities and was visited by over a million people who purchased $133 million worth of bonds and stamps along with their individual set of reprints.
In cities across the country, reprints of the “Freedoms” paintings were requested by business owners, post offices, YMCAs, schools, clubs, railroad and bus stations, and office buildings.
In Eastern Connecticut, the problem of volunteers regarding the distribution of those reprints, especially in each city’s downtown area, became paramount. Putnam’s Chamber of Commerce along with others in Killingly, Willimantic, Norwich and New London decided to contact Hartford for help. They were in need of volunteers to do the job but no money was attached to the distribution of the posters.
Officials in Hartford contacted the chief of the Boy Scouts in each of the communities mentioned for assistance in the project.
In Norwich, BSA Chief George P. Goodrich, whose office was in the Thayer Building on Main Street, picked up the gauntlet, personally calling local scoutmasters for help. Through a series of communications, what happened next was the assignment of two local troops in the community assuming the responsibility for the distribution of materials. Those troops included Troop 12 and Troop 3.
Nationally, 400,000 retailers received the Four Freedom reprints, including those businesses in downtown Norwich.
As a result of the above campaign, Roosevelt’s words and outline of the Four Freedoms, along with one patriotic artist, and friend of Scouting, continued to serve as unusual inspirations for all Americans.
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Israel Putnam was a man for his time, and he was constantly in his element. He was born to Joseph and Elizabeth on Jan. 7, 1718, the 10th of 11 children. His birth took place in Salem Village, Massachusetts. His father always kept horses ready to ride, and fully loaded pistols on hand for an emergency.
Putnam grew up on the family farm, where the family raised sheep, goats and oxen. He married Hannah Pope in 1739 and within a year they moved to Mortlake (now Brooklyn, Connecticut) with their small son, Daniel. Over the years, Putnam began buying up land no one else seemed to want, and even though his education was scant, he was known for his excellent character and bravery.
When news broke out regarding the French and Indian War, Putnam became involved as a volunteer. In 1758, he was captured by the enemy and was almost killed a number of times, but fortunately he survived the experience.
Putnam eventually was given the title of “chief of recruiting,” obviously a less dangerous job, and when he received word that British troops were fighting the local citizens in Boston, he left the plow where it sat in his field, now the Brooklyn Green, saddled up and rode to the Boston area. He arrived to fight in the Battle of Bunker Hill (Breed’s Hill), and as the enemy moved closer, he reportedly let loose with his battle cry of “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!”
Sometime later he became quite well-known locally due to circumstances surrounding the killing of farm animals by a now famous female wolf. Putnam and his fellow farmers had been unsuccessful in catching the wolf, but the three-toed creature had left footprints in a light snow and this time, bloodhounds tracked the she-wolf to a small crevice of rocks. Much effort was exerted in “snuffing” her out of the cave, but to no avail. Determined to end this saga, Putnam took his musket, lashed a rope around his legs and moved into the cave. It was close quarters and when he faced the snarling wolf, one shot ended his mission. On a prearranged signal, he yanked on the rope so he could be quickly pulled out with his dead prey.
Putnam’s military career ended after he suffered a stroke during a battle, which led to his retirement. He did work his farm and took part in town activities, but on May 29, 1790, he died after a two-day illness. Edith Kermit Carrow, a relative of the family, once ran a country inn in the former Putnam home, and became the second wife of President Theodore Roosevelt.
Please note that due to the ongoing global pandemic, the Norwich Historical Society will not host physical in person Second Saturday Walking Tours in July and August, but we will create virtual tours which will be accessible on our website and Facebook page. Please check out our website and Facebook page for more virtual content.
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For today’s article, we will take a closer look at the rural town of Lebanon due to its interesting history and some of its early leaders.
Red Cedar Lake in Lebanon was first known as “Cedar Swamp.” The present green was first generally known as “The Great Broad Street.” The original North Society of Lebanon eventually became what is known today as the town of Columbia. It was there that “Moor’s Indian Charity School” began, and its building still stands. The sign nearby tells us that this was the beginning of Dartmouth College.
What is now the Lebanon area was first settled by the Mohegan Tribe and was used almost exclusively for hunting. The tribe granted the land to Norwich settlers who wanted to start a new town there. Lebanon’s name itself originated with one of the Rev. James Fitch’s sons, who compared both the height of the land and the large existing cedar forest, resulting in the Biblical name: Lebanon.
Five governors of Connecticut were born and raised in the town of Lebanon. That impressive number exceeds any other town’s contribution in the entire state of Connecticut. Those governors include Jonathan Trumbull Sr., John Trumbull Jr., Clark Bissell, Joseph Trumbull and William A. Buckingham.
Lebanon’s impressive green is the town’s most distinctive feature. With a major portion of it still engaged in agricultural activity, it is unique in Connecticut. Historically, it remains as an example of early town settlements. In 1979, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The town was somewhat slow in residents coming to live in what has been described early on as “a few huts scattered among a vast number of trees.” However, by 1725, the town did have several active sawmills, gristmills, and a variety of agricultural enterprises. In addition, infrastructure improvements included better roads, bridges, dams and ponds.
Lebanon’s historic importance during the Revolutionary War certainly earned the town’s nickname, “The heartbeat of the Revolution.” A group of patriots called “the Council of Safety” held over a thousand secret meetings between 1775 and 1783, with more than half of them taking place in the War Office.
It was in the War Office that Governor Jonathan Trumbull Sr. conducted day-to-day operations of the war effort. At times, individuals at those meetings included Gen. Henry Knox, French Gen. duc de Lauzun, and Gen. George Washington. On the night of March 4 into March 5 of 1781, General Washington spent the night in Lebanon prior to his journey first to Norwich, then to Preston on his way to Newport, Rhode Island. Most historians familiar with Lebanon’s history agree that the general spent that night in the home of Jonathan Trumbull Jr., a house now open as a local museum. The War Office is still standing and is open to the public (please check for operating hours).
Regarding French Gen. Lauzun, it was his “Legion of Horse” that was encamped in Lebanon for six months from 1780-81 and was reviewed by Washington prior to his own journey as described above. Lauzun and his men were on their way to join other French troops in the effort to defeat the British forces ending the war. The military unit utilized the green for its military exercises.
Lebanon’s importance during the Revolutionary War as well as other conflicts can never be minimized, and we celebrate its contributions.
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Benedict Arnold lost the Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain in October 1776 … or did he? Actually, Arnold never expected to win that battle, his only hope was to delay the British navy there until proper defenses of Fort Ticonderoga could be prepared.
Even though he technically lost the battle itself, his delaying action succeeded in stopping the British progress. His hope was to keep the British Navy from sailing south on the lake until winter set in.
Arnold commanded several undersized ships in his fleet. By the end of September 1776, he was already anticipating the approach of a powerful British fleet.
First, he positioned his undermanned fleet behind Valcour Island. Since his fleet was smaller and sailors under his command were inexperienced, he decided that the narrow waters would limit the British advantage in firepower.
However, his officers resisted his idea and wanted to do battle in open water. As the British fleet passed the northern tip of Valcour Island, Arnold sent two ships from their vantage point, to draw attention from the British. After a brief exchange of fire, Arnold’s two ships made efforts to return to the American line, but they were sailing against the wind. One ship, Royal Savage, ran aground near the southern tip of the island, but the other ship made it back.
British gunboats moved in and the crew of the Royal Savage abandoned ship. Just then, other British gunboats rounded the bend and the battle began in earnest. One by one, the American ships took overpowering damage. One was towed to safety, another sunk from direct hits and only the setting sun, dusk and the gift of darkness prevented the British from complete victory. Arnold realized that his position was perilous and decided on an escape to the south — directly through the anchored British fleet.
This time, nature was on his side and he utilized the advantage of a dark and foggy night along with clever oar muffling. Arnold and his dismantled fleet continued south to Schuyler Island, but the British, angered by his escape, began a pursuit. He eventually was forced to burn his remaining ships in Buttonmold Bay.
A total tally showed that American forces had lost 80 men and 120 more captured.
Arnold had lost 11 of his 16 original vessels. On the British side, there were 40 killed and three gunboats gone. Arnold traveled overland to Crown Point where he ordered the post abandoned, falling back to Fort Ticonderoga.
In the meantime, the British occupied Crown Point. They stayed two weeks and then made the determination that it was too late in the season to continue their campaign and withdrew to their northern quarters. This would have to be classified as a tactical defeat for the Americans, but in reality, it was a critical strategic victory for the Norwich native and his subordinates, as it prevented any invasion from the north in 1776.
That delay caused by the race and battle gave the American cause an extra year to stabilize the north and prepare for the historic campaign ahead, culminating with the victory at the Battles of Saratoga.
Arnold’s strategy in the above account did not go unnoticed by Gen. George Washington who, at that time, regarded Benedict Arnold as one of his best and most trusted generals.
In 2014, the Norwich Historical Society in cooperation with the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, hosted the Key to Liberty Exhibit: Benedict Arnold, An American Hero on Lake Champlain. The exhibit was comprised of 23 panels and featured Benedict Arnold’s heroism during the Battle of Valcour Island and discussed how the battle directly contributed to the overall victory of the Revolutionary War. The permanent exhibit is on display at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vermont.