Morning journal and courier., 1886-06-16
IT'S. -CRNTENNTAL.


 Hamden's Grand Celebration Yestersa
 Presemt-A Very s1hterestIng Ocea.
 sfen-Addresses. Relies. a Rrocess
 sion, Public and Private DSeora- tiens, Etc.-A EiE Bay For the
 old Town. .
 Yesterday was celebrated the one hun
 dredth anniversary of the incorporation of
 Hamden. On Goodyear's lot, just north of the Congregational church, had been erected three large tents, one of which was used for
 the exercises end two as eating tents. Sev- ! eral smaller tents had also been erected | around the grounds for the accommo datioh of the different committees havin 2 charge l of the celebration. Long before the time for
 the exercises to begin people began to arriv e l from all parts of the town, which extends | from Whitneyville to the Che shire line, and l by 10 o'clock nearly 2,000 people we're on the l grounds, although tke clouds above looked
 as if every taofnent they might open and let the rain down on the assembled people. The | members of the committees were hurrying ! here and there arranging things in proper shape for the days celebration. The houses
 in the town had been gaily decked with
 
 ! shops were shut down to allow the citizens | to be present. In the town clerks office, . ! short distance from the grounds, was being | carried on an exhibition of ancient relics l which was a credit to the town The place I was crowded with sightseers { Among some of the articles on exhibition I were: The original model ot the cotton gin
 invented by MT. Eli Whitney B. Beardsiey, | of Cheshire, had large collection of tiques on exhibition, among which were an ! Indian mortar and pestle, slab of whale bone on which was engraved several whaling ' scene", an Indian idol dug up in potato | field in Pennington, pair of Indian mocea- ! sins worn once by some Ute Indian, and aero. | lite found in Westbruok, cannon ball shot | by the British into East Haven during the | war of the rebellion, rife ball shot by the ' rebels at the battle of Bull Run, South American ealabash, sword 472 years old, \ an Indian dipper and war club taken from | the Massauqua tribe of Canada, the jaw bone ! of a sea leopard brought from Desolate | Island, tooth of 6 nastodon from Kentucky, | an oyster found on the plains at the foot of Rocky Mountains, an old wooden bracs used \ over 125 years ago, pair of plyers made of ' two different kinds of wood and put together ! without & seam. MT. Wilfred Ford exhibited ! the base viol used in the Hamden Cong-ega! | tional church over eighty years ago, Mrs. R. ! B. Heath, chair frame 900 years old. James
 J. Webb, one of Hafndens leading ag1ioul- | turists, had a shot-pouch made in 1845 and | carried by him fifteen times across the plains ! in company with Black Foot and his tribe of | Indians. Among other exhibitions were: A piece of embroidery work made in 1796 by | Mrs. Eliza Sherman of Hamden; a brick of a house in Hatnden made by hand over one hundred years ago; two chairs over 15O years old; green silk wedding dress worn by Mrs. Asa Bradley, nee Cook, in the year 1879; a sword made in 1900; several other ancient swords carried in the war in 1776; an old gold silk skirt made in 1734; a mirror over i25 years old; ''csbash" worn by a Hamden lady over 15o years ago; deeds, among them being 8 Welch Bible of the translation of 1869, owned by J. Barnard; deeds drawn in I'll; copy of the statutes of Connecticut in 1752, owned | by 0. H. Chapman; Masonic apron over one hundred years old. In another case was | a display of ancient fancy goods, silver coins \ and watchs, among them 8 watch over 15O years old which is still in running order, a | piece of the pulpit of the first church of Mt. Carmel, writings of Benedict Arnold and \ Noah Webster, and desk used by the chairman of the Republican convention \ which nominated Grant for the presi. ency for the second time and which was used yes
 terday as the speakers desk.
 About quarter of eleven o'clock the clear notes of bugle sounded on the air and the ! people left the loan exhibition and hastened ! to the lot where the procession was being | formed. The procession marched through | several of the streets of Hamden and wound \ up it's doings at the tent where the exercises were held, starting at Il o'clock. The Cen terville band, fifteen pieces, headed
 the line of, blowing a gay triumph Order of Hibernians, fifty strong, with Pat rick Maher at their head and wearing their gay regalia. Then came Governor Harrison, Private Secretary Osborn& and Hon. N. D. Sperry in an open barouche. The Selectmen of the town of New Haven were the next in line They rode in 8 three-seated wagon and were all there. A score of ice and milk wag ons, all bedecked W tn flags and bunting and laden with prettily dressed young ladies with faces as pretty as their dresses and smiles as plentiful as the flags on the wagons. At the rear of the tent where the exercises were held platform had been erected, which had at the rear banner on which was paint ed "Hamden Centennial and directly in { front of the platform were the seats occu- pied by the young ladies who did the sing ing. Shortly after half-past eleven o'clock Governor Harrison, the Selectmen of both ! the towns of New Haven and Hamden, Pro lessor W. P. Blake, chairman of the day, Hon. N. D. Sperry, Hon. Thomas R. Trow- bridge, jr., Professor Simeon E. Baldwin, Hon. A. Heatvn Robertson, Rev. Hugh Nal
 lon of Wallingford, Attorney J. J.
 
 soil took seats on the plat form and the exercises were opened by the singing of the doxology by the young ladies and children of the Sunday schools, which was followed by prayer offered by the Rev. Austin Putnam, the venerable and highly esteemed pastor of the Whitneyville church. Prof. Blake then arose and deliver ed the welcome address, during which he said: eve have assembled today to perform I pleasing duty to the past, to signalize the completion of one hundred years of town government and development, to take note of what has been accomplished by those who have gone before us, and to draw from 8 cen tury of experience wisdom and inspiration for the future. Nearly two centuries and half have passed since the settlement of this region began. The history of New Haven colony for nearly 150 years after the purchase of Quinnipiac from the Indians is in part our history. New Haven colony then included large area of country, afterwards divided up into separate towns. At the end of the long struggle for the inde
 pendence of the country the segregation and organization of towns from New Haven
 proceeded with rapidity. In the month
 of December, 1781, at 6 town meeting
 of New Haven a committee was appoint
 ed to report plan for the division
 of the town into several distinct townships.
 Woodbridge, East Haven and North Haven
 were organized in succession. The charter of thesgity of New Haven was granted in 17S4 and our town of Hamden was set of and incorporated in 17s6.
 "At the first meeting of the town," con- tinued the professor ''it was voted that
 Simon Bristol, Esq, be town clerk for the
 remainder of the year and that Mesars.
 John Hubbard, Asa Goodyear, Samuel
 Dickerman, Moses Gilbert and Simeon
 Bristol, Esq, be. the selectmen. There is DO complete list of the names of the resi- dents of the town at that time, but in the list of persons chosen as selectnen, as sur veyors of highways and other officers of the
 new town we find many family names fa- miliar to us as the names of prominent 1nens
 bers of the town to-day, most of them resi-