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A Road from Woodstock
John Chandler's map of Mohegan Country, was drawn to show the extent of the country that Major John Mason, trustee of Mohegan reserved lands, transferred to the Colonial government of Connecticut. The Mohegan and the heirs of Major John Mason sued Connecticut Colony so the Mohegan could retain the agreed to reserved rights to their land. John Mason's heirs were involved in order to retain family trusteeship rights. The case was heard by the Dudley Commission which sided with the Mohegan in 1705. The Dudley Commission ruling was appealed by Connecticut and the appeal eventually decided in favor of Connecticut by the Privy Council in 1772 and confirmed by the Crown in 1773.
There is an extensive body of work covering the Mason Case as it is sometimes referred to. The works cover both the legal and ethical issues and ramifications of the court and commission proceedings. The case set a precedence for the legal standing of Native American rights to land that was reserved for them under the English legal system.
One excellent overview of the proceedings is Mark Walters article, Mohegan Indians v. Connecticut. Some background on Colonial English relationships with the people they lived among can be found in John Strong’s works relating to the Montaukett and Unkechaug communities of Long Island.
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Captain John Chandler of Woodstock was the son of Deacon John Chandler, one of the first settlers of New Roxbury, settled in 1686, named Woodstock in 1690. Captain Chandler was Woodstock's first Town Clerk, recording the initial Proprietor's Meetings. He also served as a Selectman and Surveyer. While living in New London, he had a tavern licence and Chandler served as the surveyor for New London County. Captain Chandler said he had a fifty year relationship with the Mohegan. This in addition to his surveying work suggests that he was well acquainted with both Mohegan and Wabaquassett country.
"The depofition of John Chandler of Woodftock, aged feventy-three years.
Teftifieth, that he has been acquainted with the tribe of the Moheagan Indians for the fpace of about fifty years, and well knew Oweneco the chief Sachem, and his fon Mahomet, and the prefent John Uncas, whom this deponent ever underftood to be a defcendant from Uncas, father of faid Oweneco, and always treated him as being of the royal family of the faid Mobeagans tribe. And further the deponent teftifieth, that during the courfe of the feveral wars with the Indians fince the year 1688, he had a fuperintendency over the Moheagan, and Pequot, and Niantick Indians, when they went forth on hunting; and directed them, by order of the government of the
Maffachufets, where to hunt, and what fign to wear, that if they met with any of the Englith fcouts they might not be expofed, by which means he became the more acquainted with thofe nations ; and that the above-named John Uncas often went out on hunting, and the Moheagan Indians ufed to acknowledge him as a Sunchim, or a great man of that tribe ; and that Major Ben Uncas, father of the prefent Ben (who Led fometimes to hunt) faid the prefent John was his coufin, almojt his brother. And further this deponent teftifieth not. JOHN CHANDLER.
Upon interrogation the deponent faith, that the word Sunchim fignifies, as he underftood it, a great man, one of the royal family, inferior in dignity to a Sachem. JOHN CHANDLER.
Norwich, May 30, 1738." (Governor and Company of Connecticut and Moheagan Indians, By their Guardians, Certified Copy of Proceedings Before Commissioners of Review, 1743. Page 233)
One of the details on Chandler’s 1705 map is a line drawn indicating a “road from Woodstock to Hartford” running south-westerly presumably from Plaine Hill in Woodstock to the outlet of the cedar swamp near Bolton Notch, at or near the outlet of present day Bolton Lakes. The road crossed the Willimantic River above or upstream of the Mohegan north line. The Mohegan north bounds ran from Moshenupsuck (Mishe-nippe-set), the outlet of Moshenups pond, present day Shenipsit lake, to a place called Appaquag, at or near the headwaters of Little River near the south-east corner of present day Eastford, then to the Quinnebaug River, below Nemo's fort. From the crossing of the Willimantic River, the road continues south-westerly to a place called Wiashquagiransuk. J. Hammond Trumbull, from Indian Names of Places notes:
“Wiashquagwwnsuck (Moh.) : one of the w. bounds of the Mohegan territory, ‘s. about 10 w. from Moshenups [the so. end of Snipsic pond] ; where the Hartford road goes (through the notch in the mountain) to the Cedar swamp.’ Chandler's Survey, 1705, in Moh. Case, 49. At or near Bolton Notch.” (Trumbull, Indian Names of Places, Page 87)
Trumbull derived his description from John Chandler's account of running the Mohegan line as recorded in the 1743 Certified Copy of the Proceedings related to the Mohegan Case, (spelling and grammar retained):
"Tuefday, July 17th, we proceeded upon the perambulating of the Moheag Sachems boundaries, beginning at the Upper Falls, known by the name of Ac-qui-unk, near unto which is the remain of the old fort fore-mentioned.
Englifh prefent
Captain John Chandler, Mr. Elifha Pain, Serjeant Edward Culver.
Indians prefent
Youk-youm-pun a Shoutucket Indian, aged about 66 years.
Captain Pen-fhans, aged 30, a Shoutucket,
We enquired of faid Indians concerning faid fort, who agreed in their account thereof with the forementioned Indians: we meafured the circumference of the fort and the extremity thereof, including the baftions, exceeded not 11 perch 16 inches.
Youk-youm-pun declared that he was well acquainted with Nemo, had often been with him in the fort, and that it is about 36 years fince it was built: the height of the ground where the fort ftood, is but about four or five foot higher than the bank
of the river at faid Falls.
From Ac-qui-unk our courfe was W. N, W. to Ap-pa-quoag, dift, about feven miles, which is the N. E. corner of Windham bounds.
From Ap-pa-quoag to We-am-man-tuck, courfe W. 20. N. dift. nine miles, to a place called Ow-wee-on-hung-ga-nuck, about half a mile below the road from Hartford to Woodftock, at the place where the people ufually go to catch falmon, which courfe we continued, and at the diftance of fix miles we come to Mohenupsfack, at the fouth end of a pond, the length of which lies N. and S. about a mile and half long, which faid pond is called the Moheagan N. W. bounds or corner; we were very diligent to get to this pond on Wednefday night." (Governor and Company of Connecticut and Moheagan Indians, By their Guardians, Certified Copy of Proceedings Before Commissioners of Review 1743, Page 49)
Chandler’s road, in reverse of the Woodstock view, would run from Hartford's eastern boundary, the present day Manchester - Bolton town line, north north-easterly from Bolton Notch through Tolland thence east-north-easterly through present day Willington and easterly through Ashford to Plaine Hill in Woodstock.
In present day terms, according to Chandler's map, the course of the Hartford Road began near Bolton Notch, running past the outlet of present day Bolton lakes, continuing north-easterly into Tolland towards the Green and then to the Willimantic River. After crossing the Willimantic River, the route would continue north-easterly to Moose Meadow and then easterly tending to the north slightly, crossing the Still River, to the Woodstock line and through Woodstock to Plaine Hill. This route in Woodstock was called Connecticut Road in the 1690s. The route in Ashford and Willington was called Hartford Road. On Chandler's map, it is a line drawn point-to-point indicating the direction of the route with some landmarks noted. It is not the actual line of a marked right-of-way for a bridle path called a Common Way aka a Country Road.
English settlers assimilated Algonquian landmarks as one can find these descriptive compound words used as names on the land such as, Moose (moos) Meadow, Shenipsit Lake (mishi nippe set), Skungamaug River (skunk amaug), Shetucket River (nashaue tuck et), Quinnebaug River (wenne amaug or wenne paug), Willimantic River ("we-ani-man-tuck", wenne man tuck) and Natchaug River (nashue auke). Although much of the original pronunciation of these Algonquian compound words have often been lost to various phonetic spelling with missed accents, and to the poor transcriptions of the local variations of regional dialects, the landmark names today still connect back directly to their Algonquian origin. As well as the appropriated names on the land, the ancient paths to, by and through them were appropriated and put to use as bridle paths used for marked Common Ways and Town High Ways.
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The working premise which the following is based on is that most contemporary local Town Roads in southern New England began as foot paths that were assimilated by English planters, much like the assimilated names on the land that the paths connected. The foot paths that were appropriated were part of an extensive network of as-trod ways that connected first nation communities. Paths connected settlements, fishing and gathering places and served as trade routes.
The network of ways that the English appropriated were interconnected marked local routes that when taken in the proper sequence provided long distance connections. This was exemplified by the routes that connected the wampum manufacture on Long Island with the Great Lakes Beaver pelt trade. The pelt and wampum trade was tapped by early Dutch traders who initially set up trucking or trading stations on the major waterways for direct aces to Dutch ships, usually convenient places for boats, then trading houses, where path routes converged. The assimilation of these traditional paths throughout Southern New England is documented in both Colony and Town records, with town records providing the most detail.
The 1705 Woodstock to Hartford Road at the time would have been considered to be a riding-way or road, a Common Way between towns; a Country Road or King's High Way. It would have consisted of a collection of interconnected marked paths through the unincorporated lands of eastern Connecticut. In 1705, along the route of the Woodstock to Hartford Road there were no incorporated English towns nor English settlers present until Ashford and Coventry townships were created in 1706 by the Connecticut General Assembly.
The first documented settler in Ashford was Nathaniel Fuller whose son is recorded as being born in Ashford in 1706. Ashford township was awarded Town powers in 1714. The town's first recorded Highways were marked footpaths, the earliest recorded in 1716. Woodstock's Connecticut Road was called Hartford Road through Ashford according to town records. On the west side of Still River, in present day North Ashford, Connecticut Road branched with one leg going to the Freshwater Plantation, present day Enfield, and the other leg pointing to Hartford. On the west side of the Willimantic River, Hartford Road branched with one leg going to Windsor the other to Bolton Notch.
To trace the courses of these ancient foot-paths, one starts with the early town highways, the courses of which were recorded in the Town Book by the Town Clerk. Many of the colonial era riding ways have continued to be in use down to the present day. Some of the as-trod ways widened, graded and dressed with a thin layer of asphalt.
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Through the Hills of Eastern Connecticut
In this country between the Shetucket River on the south and the head of the Quinnebaug River on the north, ridge lines between watersheds run mostly north-south. East-west travel means crossing over or through the lines of hills. Much of this land is part of the Pequot (Thames) River watershed which includes the Willimantic, Natchaug and Quinnebaug rivers. One of the main routes from the Connecticut River floodplain through the eastern hills goes through Bolton Notch.
The outlet of the present day Bolton lakes, known as the Cedar Swamp, flows to the Hop River which joins up with the Willimantic River near where the Natchaug River joins. These types of north-south river and stream valley routes combined with the routes across the watersheds forming a network of paths that provided access to all parts of the country. Access from Long Island Sound north and inland to the coast as well as east-west, watershed to watershed.
From the evidence of early English riding ways, it would appear that the traditional as-trod routes throughout southern New England followed courses over both easy and difficult terrain. The emphasis seems to have been one of having multiple options for travel. And it would appear that English travelers on horseback took advantage of these options.
There are places where the traditional cross-watershed routes through the hills take relatively gradual grades that might have appealed to the English traveler, or the traders on horseback leading pack horses. Gentle grades would have been appealing to the later ox cart and wagon traffic as well. Aside from local traffic between farms and a town's Congregational Meeting House, these kinds of cross-country routes might have been first sought out and became preferable over time, especially given the continuity of use down to the present.
An example of this preference, on Chandler’s 1705 map, is the included “hock-kan-num” path, used as a reference. This was the main route from East Hartford (Hockanum) to Colchester and on to New London where Chandler lived briefly. Using this as a reference for other routes through the hills of eastern Connecticut, one can postulate that a road from Woodstock to Hartford would traverse the intervening terrain through the hills in a similar manner. Old Route 2, the old New London Turnpike based on the Hockanum Path takes the path of least resistance through the hills of Glastonbury and Marlborough to Colchester, trending south-easterly along streams and through cuts or notches in the hills.
The course of the Hockanum path, including present day Old Hartford Road in Colchester, as it cuts through the hills near where Fawn Brook joins the Blackledge River in Marlborough is a similar way through a hilly topography as, for example, the Woodstock to Hartford Road across Roaring Brook and on to Moose Meadow and Westford. And as with the Woodstock to Hartford road, the “hock-kan-num” path on John Chandler's 1705 map is drawn as a simple direct line. It is not a record of the marked trees along the path but is an annotation for direction and connection. Driving the old New London Turnpike, South Main Street in Marlborough and the old Hartford Road to Colchester, shows it to be anything but a simple straight line.
Working from the extant contemporary town roads, taking Chandler's line for the Hartford Road from Bolton Notch, one could plot a route through the Tolland hills to the Willimantic River via present day Tolland Road and Cedar Swamp Road in Coventry and then along Gehring Road, to Grant Hill Road and either Cider Mill Road to Tolland Green or Anderson Road to Anthony Road to Rhodes Road which joins South River Road at a branch.
There are other routes that might have been used to connect early Tolland with the Connecticut River valley towns such as a route along Valley Falls Road to Hatch Hill Road terminating at Cedar Swamp Road. This route has a relatively steep grade to negotiate however. Further north is a another route comprising Cider Mill Road, Grahaber Road, Browns Bridge Road and Peter Green Road to the old Burbank Road. These routes might have been used to travel to and from Windsor.
Of the possible routes to or through Tolland from Hartford, the Bolton Notch route to Tolland Green would seem to be preferable. That there might have been multiple paths in use, providing options for those traveling on horseback is a consideration however. Tolland town records do suggest a separate Windsor path contemporary with a Hartford path, the two joined together at a branch near the Willimantic River. Branching structures are one of the key signatures of the traditional path network, many of these can still be found in present day local roads.
One clue to deciphering the course of an early Colonial era route can be found in the names attached to town roads as found in early town records, some coming down to present day usage.
Town records can on occasion succinctly describe the course of a Town High Way, or a Common Way aka Country Road, to the point of naming the way such that a contemporary reader would be able to identify it, and travel it. The following town highway in Ashford had the right-of-way bounds renewed, these bounds being a series of marked trees on either side of the as-trod path. A new width of the right-of-way is stated in the record. The original phonetic spelling and typical word-order grammar retained, the proprietors are the owners of the township, those who could vote at a Town meeting:
"Jan 6, 1735 We the subscribers being a comtee appointed & chosen by the propriators of Ashford to lay out & state all nesasery highways in the town of Ashford have this 6th day of Janr - 1734/5 new markt and stated the road or high way called Hartford or the Country road begining at the bridge called Bigelow bridge & from there the road extends easterly to Capt Perrys house partly throh Mr Anthony Stoddards & partners land & partly throh land that belongs to the heirs of John Chapman decd & partly throh land of Thomas Perry then the road extends northerly in Capt Perrys lane till it comes to john Perry Jur house & then it extends north baring to the east partly throh sd Perrys inclouser east of his house at the corner of his land that joins to land of Peter Tufts to the road that leads from Abbots to the corn mill on the east side of a hallow by the corner of land of John Scarbrough partly throh Capt Parrys land & partly throh John Perry Jur land & a small part of Peter Tufts land west of his barn then the road extends east where it is now trod to Philip Eastmans house & from there east in sd Eastmans lane till it crosses a small brook which comes down from sd Eastmans orchard then it extends northeasterly to Sumners field mostly where the road is now trod then extends on the east sid of Sumners fence to his corner & from thence north east the most convenant way to Woodstock line where Woodstock select men have laid a road by Abraham Perrins which road is allowed to be 4 rods wide & is markt with sundry trees & stadles on the south & easterly side with the letter H & other monuments. Samll Snow John Perry Philip Eastman Joshua Bicknell comtee" (Ashford Records, Book D, Page 315)
Those familiar with the present day town Eastford, previously the East Society of the town of Ashford, might recognize Bigelow Brook and the names Perry, Eastman, Sumner and Perrin, and perhaps the mill on the Still River. Recognizable also is present day Old Colony Road and Perrin Road in Woodstock. This town highway called Hartford or the Country Road is not Captain John Chandler's 1705 Woodstock to Hartford Road. This 1735 road was first marked and recorded in 1716 and even though it was recorded in Ashford, the Connecticut General Assembly in 1724 voted to designate it as a Country Road, a bridle path, riding way or road connecting towns.
The level of detail in the above 1735 town highway record and it's continuity with present day town road nomenclature is not typical of old town records. When looking for specific details one is likely to find seemingly arbitrary descriptions and an inconsistent use of terminology, identification of landmarks, bounds, distances or names used. For instance, the above 1735 town highway is identified in one record as Coventry Road, another record simply as the Country Road. However, even given the seemingly arbitrary nature of the recordkeeping, ones like this 1735 survey can help bridge gaps between the historical and contemporary understanding of the origins of a town's highways and how they changed over time. When used as reference points, these more detailed records can sometimes help illuminate the less descriptive older records.
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The following 1727 Willington Proprietor's Meeting record, the meeting where the owners or assigns of the original patent met to draw for their share of the lands, describes three Common Ways or Country Roads across town to be defined or laid out (marked). Two of the ways, the northernmost and southernmost courses are somewhat ambiguous. The only clue being two other Common Ways that were defined as running north-south connecting the three east-west ways.
June 1727
“ ...that thear shall be three comon ways five rods wid layd throu the town from the west to the east sid...” (Willington Records, Book B, Page 41)
One of the three Common Ways, running across the middle of town, is indicated on the 1726 plot of Willington identifying the Proprietors eighteen draft lots. Note that there are inconsistencies in the stated width of the right-of-ways.
“...it was voted 1 that the road layd out by majr Wolcot & mr Conant begining at ye eas sid of willamantick river against Nys dwelling house being ten rods wide and called Majr Wolcots Road running to the east sid of the town shall ly and remain for a country road for ever...” (Ibid)
The notation that Wolcott's Road was "layd out," or in other words the right-of-way was marked by Wolcott and Conant, would suggest that the other ways mentioned were already marked. In other words, the northernmost and southernmost ways across town west to east would have been previously established. Wolcott's Road may have been considered the primary way through town connecting Tolland with Ashford, crossing the center of town where the Congregational Meeting House was to be located, hence special mention. Although the courses of the other Common Ways are not as explicitly stated as Wolcott's Road, by using later deeds and road surveys, it is possible to document somewhat the courses and right-of-ways of the other Country Roads. While researching the sequence of land transactions for a water-powered mill site I came across the following (line breaks and emphasis added):
March 9, 1761
“To all people to whom these presents shall come greeting know ye that I Luther Topliff of Wellington for the consideration of one hundred and forty pounds lawful money in hand Rec'd to my full satisfaction of Paul Simons of sd Wellington do give grant bargain sell aline convey and confirm unto him the sd Paul Simons his heirs and asigns for ever sixty seven acres and one quarter of land with a dwelling house and barn thereon lying and being in that mile of Ashford which was annexed to sd Wellington township and is buted and bounded as followeth viz
beginning at a stake and heap of stones which is the N: W: corner of Paul Simons land thence the line extends N: 3d: E: 190 ¾ rods to a stake and heap of stones and bounds W: on the Abbes Land & Elisha Fullers land
thence E: 10d: S: 55 ¾ rods to a stake and stones bounds N: on William Utleys land
thence S: 1d: W: to a heap of stones by the Country Road thence W: nine rods
thence south to Fentons River
thence E: by sd river to Pearls land
thence S: 1d: West to a stake & stones in sd Simons line
thence westerly sixty one 1/2 rods to the first mentioned bounds...” (Willington Records, Book D, Pages 23, 24)
This Country Road mentioned in the 1761 deed is John Chandler's Woodstock to Hartford Road, it sits about three plus miles north of Wolcott's Road. It is the northern-most of the three Common Ways identified in 1727. How the connection with Chandler's Hartford Road was arrived at is told through descriptions found in other deeds and town records.
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The March 1761 deed from Luther Topliff to Paul Simons describes a parcel of land running from the south side of present day Tinkerville Road northerly to the north side of present day Turnpike Road, near where Turnpike Road crosses the Fenton River. The parcel runs along the west side of the Fenton River from one water-powered mill site to another.
Adjacent to, on the north end and east side of Paul Simon's parcel, was a two-hundred acre farm purchased by Peter Walker of Rehobeth from Thomas Clap of Scituate in August 1747. The two-hundred acres was partly in Ashford and partly in Willington and the deed was recorded in both towns. The following is Peter Walker's Ashford land record (line breaks and emphasis added):
"To all Peopel to whom these preseants shall come Greetings &c know ye that I Thomas Clap of Scituate in the county of Plymouth in New England Esqr for and in consideration of one hundred pounds old tenor bills to me in hand paid by Peter Walker of Rehoboth in the county of Bristol yeoman have [&] do by these presents give grant bargain sell convey and confirm unto him the sd Peter Walker his heirs asigns for ever two hundred acres of land lying & being the greater part there of in the town of Ashford & the remaining parte there of in the town of Willington in that parte of Willington which was taken from Ashford and is in the county of Windham in the Colony of Connecticut & bounded as follows
begining at a black oak marked thence runing west one hundred rods partly upon John Follets land so called to a hornbine tree standing upon the east side of the east branch of Fentons River thence runing south three hundred and twenty rods to a white oake tree standing on the north side of Hartford Old Roade thence runing east one hundred rods to a black oak pole thence runing north to the first mentioned corner
To have and to hold the above granted and bargained premises with all the priveldges & appurtenances there to belonging unto him the sd Peter Walker his heirs & assigns for ever to his and there only proper use benefit and behoof for ever more with firm and ample warantee against the lawfull claims & demands of all persons what so ever in witness where of I have hereunt set my hand & seal August 13th Adon 1747 signed sealed and delivered Thomas Clap" (Ashford Records, Book H, Page 30)
The Country Road mentioned in Paul Simon's 1761 deed is referred to here in Peter Walker's 1747 deed as Hartford Old Road. There were some oral traditions apparently that retained, on one hand, the memory of the 1726 Common Way or Country Road and, on the other hand, the memory of the 1705 road name as well.
The main difference between the various oral traditions may be that some Ashford nomenclature was based on the old Hartford Road still being in use during the initial years of Ashford Township, and by 1720 with the issue of the Willington Patent, the old Hartford Road was simply remembered as a Country Road through town. For Ashford, the name of the old Hartford to Woodstock road was appropriated for the new route from Hartford to Woodstock. In 1718 the Country Roads through Ashford were Hartford Road and Hartford Old Road. Deeds for some land transactions east of and west of the Paul Simons and Peter Walker section of the old Hartford Road retain elements of these traditions.
John Chandler indicated the route of the old Hartford Road in 1705. The route went from Woodstock through Ashford, Willington, Tolland, Coventry and Bolton. The Connecticut General Assembly defined Ashford Township and opened it to settlement in 1706. The township of Coventry was defined in 1706 as well. Tolland settlement started circa 1715. A number of land grants awarded by the Connecticut General Assembly were laid out in 1716/17 along Hartford Old Road in what was later to become the town of Willington. The Willington Patent was issued in 1720 with the three Common Ways identified in 1727. Ashford started laying out highways, marking and recording the courses, with the new highway to Woodstock marked and recorded in 1716. By 1718 this new highway through Ashford was called Hartford Road "as it now layeth." The new Hartford Road is the one noted above in the January 6, 1735 Ashford survey.
The oral tradition relating to the old Woodstock to Hartford Road was inconsistently carried forward locally. Sometimes it appears as a landmark, waypoint, guidepost or bound. The names used to identify the old road in records is not used consistently either. It is called a Common Way, Country Road, road, highway and path. In all cases, it was simply a footpath with the occasional marked tree. Occasionally it seems to be mentioned as something of an afterthought. The following deed for a one-hundred acre lot laid out for one James Fuller of Ashford is an example (line breaks and emphasis added):
“March the 3. 1717. 18. Survayed for Jeams Fuller one hundred acers of land in Ashford beginning att a black oak tree marked which is the north east corner from thence runing south vering six degrees to the west one hundred and sixty rods to a heap of stons from thence runing west vering six degrees to the north one hundred rod to a wickepish tree marked from thence runing north to a heap of stons one hundred and sixty rod vering six degrees to the east thence runing one hundred rod to the first mentioned bounds
this hundred acers of land is on the south side of Hartford Old Road in the indin fields by the pine hill Nathanael Fuller } Surveyr William Ward Daniel Fuller } Comitee
Reseaved to be recorded March ye 5 1717/18 and it is recorded Test Philip Eastman Town Clark” (Ashford Records, Book B, Pages 42, 43)
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James Fuller's hundred acre lot abutted a hundred acre lot laid out for Joseph Orcutt in 1718. Given the James Fuller deed above, combined with Joseph Orcutt's deed, it is possible to place the Pine Hill mentioned in James Fuller's deed. The White Pine Hill or Pine Hill, later called Troop's Hill, is present day Westford Hill, the former site of the West Congregational Society Meeting House. There are several other deeds relating to this Pine Hill that help place the bridle path called Hartford Old Road.
The course of John Chandler's 1705 Woodstock to Hartford Road, named Hartford Old Road in Ashford town records, ran along, adjacent to or near, present day Turnpike Road, through Ashford and Willington. More or less. The course of Hartford Old Road can be discerned with the help of old deeds and surveys combined with contemporary Lidar data, running from the Still River west to the Willimantic River. With the course of the old road defined, the structure of the network of traditional footpaths is brought to light.
Postscript
In the old records, Chandler's road is a riding way or bridle path, called Connecticut Road in Woodstock since it points west to the Connecticut River valley towns. From the Woodstock perspective Connecticut Road pointed to Enfield, Windsor and Hartford. In Ashford it's called Hartford Old Road since it points to Hartford, the seat of the government of Connecticut Colony. In Willington circa 1727 it's called a Common Way or Country Road, as defined by the Connecticut General Assembly, connecting Tolland (1715) to Ashford (1706).
In Ashford the bridle path John Chandler noted as being the Road from Woodstock to Hartford is remembered as Hartford Old Road since by 1718 Ashford had marked a different bridle path as a new Hartford Road through the township. In Willington the name is lost except for the local oral tradition identifying it as a Common Way or Country Road across town and Hartford Old Road (in the mile of Ashford annexed to Willington). It is also called Ashford Old Road and the road across town to Ashford. One section of the road from the Willimantic River east through Willington was transcribed in the 1850s simply as the County Road, dropping the r in an apparently common transcription error. That the Common Way across Willington is identified or named in records is happenstance for the most part.
To understand what seem to be distinctions between the colonial era use of the terms highway, road, country road and common way one needs to go back to the legal definition of a way as used in an English Parish as part of a manorial system, and how the legal entity called a King's Highway was defined.
In colonial New England, the riding ways or bridle paths through and between towns, connecting towns, called Common Ways or Country Roads, were the King's Highways. This was a way where the King and his subjects had the right to pass and repass, not necessarily on an as-trod pathway but the right to cross property not owned by the monarchy.
In southern New England, a King's Highway through and between towns was simply the trees marked along an existing ancient footpath used as a riding way or bridle path, later as a cart path, graded and widened for a wagon road and in some cases later becoming a turnpike. In Connecticut, by the early 1900s, some of these old ways were paved over and designated as state trunk roads, such as Wolcott's Road which became the Tolland County Turnpike and then State Route 44 (now Rt. 74).
As to where records for these ways reside, in most cases the records for all town High Ways and Country Roads through towns were kept by towns. The Town Clerk in each town recorded the stated length and width of every way accepted by a vote of a Town Meeting. Some of these stated ways were designated as Country Roads. Town Meetings might vote to authorize the Select Men or an appointed committee to "lay out," or mark and record, all necessary highways in and through the town. Country Roads were marked and recorded as well as maintained by the towns they passed through as if they were Town Roads.
In Tolland, Coventry and Bolton the records so far are silent as to a 1705 named road. There's a Middle Road, a Windsor Road, a road from the river, but the old Hartford Road name seems to have faded away by the 1720s, at least with the records seen to date. However, given that it took me about fifteen years to find and absorb Paul Simon's 1761 deed mentioning the Country Road through Willington, I suspect other records will surface that can document other parts of the old riding way to Hartford.
Mark A. Palmer
Municipal Historian, Town of Willington
Shetucket, Wabaquassett and Nipmuc Country
Resources:
Town Records as noted
Bowen, Clarence Winthrop, The Boundary Disputes of Connecticut, Boston 1882.
Governor and Company of Connecticut and Moheagan Indians, By their Guardians, Certified Copy of Proceedings Before Commissioners of Review 1743, London 1767.
Walters, Mark D., Mohegan Indians v. Connecticut (1705-1773) and the Legal Status of Aboriginal Customary Laws and Government in British North America, Oxford, 1995.
Associated resources and other readings:
Barrows, Charles H., An Historical Address, Delivered before the citizens of Springfield in Massachusetts at the public celebration May 26 1911 of the Two Hundred and Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Settlement With Five Appendices, Springfield, 1916.
Connecticut General Assembly, The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, Various volumes.
Connecticut General Assembly, The Public Records of the State of Connecticut, Various volumes.
Coughlin, Michelle Marchetti. One Colonial Woman's World, The Life and Writings of Mehetable Chandler Coit. Boston, 2012.
De Forrest, John W., History Of The Indians Of Connecticut From The Earliest Known Period To 1850. Hartford, 1851.
Gookin, Daniel, Historical Collections of the Indians in New England, Cambridge, 1674, Sandwich 1792.
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Excepting all materials in the public domain or provided under a Creative Commons Public License; Original content © 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024 Mark A. Palmer, all rights reserved
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