Litchfield enquirer., 1863-01-22
W1NDHAx COUNTY. January, 1863.


 W1NDHAx COUNTY, January, 1863.
 It may not be uninteresting to you, MT. Ed tor, while so!well apprised of what issspassin in the uttermost parts of the land, to hear ot casionally from your neighbors across 9th State. In the good old days when our bes young men were drawn 10 Litchfeld 'La' School. there was much more direct. intercours between the two Counties but now the raj roads have so effectually checked all co nmuni cation. that we hear less of you than of Cali fornia or Colorado, and very probably you ma only think of Windham as the" North east COT ner of the map of Connecticut. Tou gravitat with your. railroads to New Haven and Nev York sre follow ours to Boston, Worceste and Providence. We do not meet in com mon business centre. But in spite of th non-intercourse, we still retain our fraterna sympathies, and doubt not that you reciprocate our interest, and would be glad to hear iron us more frequently.
 You may think perhaps that there is little to be told of Windham, & slow matter of fact down-east corner of the State, with no moun- tains, no cities, no liue Generals; with nothing in fact to boast of--but our newspaper and a few cotton factories
 It is true indeed that Windham ,s. somewhat dull and prosy. Her merits.are quiet, domes tie, unobtrusive. She can boast indeed nc mountains, 10 sharp, rugged hill-peaks, nc grand scenery. Her surface is rolling, we'll ing, undulating, compared with yours almost level. Her rivers are slow, placid. practical unaffected by thought or freshets, more inclin ed to run factories than to run away with bridg- es. The Quinebaug bisects the entire County followed down its banks by the Norwich and Worcester srailrcad. The French and As a. waneo run parallel for time at respectful dis tances, and unite with it in the Southern part of the County. These valleys are rich and fertile and swarm with factories. Putnam, Danielsonville, Wauregan, Wilimantic, and other manufacturing villages have sprung up within them within few years, and have grown with great rapidity. The first cotton factory in the State was built in Putnam, then !" Cargill's grist m IT. early in the present cen tury; the last, perhaps-a very large. and handsome structurs-is now building in Ma sonville.
 Between the rivers, the land rises in swell
 
 tops here, and not our villages upon them. Thompson, Killingly, Pomfret, Woodstock, four, and other ancient villages, have dosed for near a century upon their tranquil hill tops even by their rattliug neighbors l, the valleys below. Life gides very quietly in these old towns. They have long ceased to grow, and yet do not decay. They have no business, no variety, no gaiety, and yet several hundred people manage to exist in them very com fortably.
 The larger part of the population of the County is scattered about in farm.houses. Ma ny beautiful farm houses are found in the Quinebaug valley. Woodstock, Pomfret and Brooklyn, are famed fol their excellent dairies. Much attention is given to the culture of fruit and Me agricultural societies arouse the emu lation of the farmers. But though the valleys of Windham are productive and highly culti- vated, her outskirts are barren and sterile A large tract of land bordering on Rhode Island is wholly incapable of cultivation, and given over to stones and briars, though redeemed somewhat by its cool trout brooks and marshy pickerel pools.
 Perhaps Windam might boast little of her lakes, if she chose, although they are scarcely known beyond her own borders. Northward she is just grazed by broad expanse of water extending thence far inland in beautiful coves and inlets, with every variety of shore and isl- and. lofty pines, spreading hemlocks, immune rable vines and lilies; with accessible fishes, a good bowling alley, ard every conceivable re- quisite for celebrity except a name but as the Indian name, Choggagog-m choggagogg, is unfortunately npronounceable, it is called the |" Big Pond" which of course would kill any lake. Woodstock also boasts a pretty little civilized sheet of water, and Kilingly, several, the largest and most beautiful bearing the name of her dis tinguished artist, Alexander This lovely lake is exceedingly graceful and picturesque. and is greatly petted and patron ized, though in wild beauty and grandeur,it is far inferior to its northern rival with the bar barous name. There are other lakes in Wind ham, beautiful bat neglected, waiting for some poet or painter to give them name and fame. But you may choose to hear of spots already famous, and we can boast one celebrity which all the land delights to visit and honor. Wind. ham has no mountains, it is true but she has "a care-the famous Wolf's Den of General Israel Putnam. It is nothing in itself--a tun- nel in rocky crag-but it illustrates most strikingly the character of her brave old Hero. Windham has no living General now, but she has taco dead ones, who live now and forever in the hearts of her children. Lyon is wor- thy successor of Putnam, and will like him be ever loved and honored
 Perhaps now that we have settled the geo9A raphy of Windham, we may herefter have more to say of her sons and daughters.