Morning journal and courier., 1889-04-24
NORTH HAVEN ANNALS.

NORTH HAVEN ANNALS. The ssNorth Villages,-The River and the Fords-TraditiOn-Su Storm -Tha ssPr0perty QualiAcation's-The
 ssFence Vtevers''-CommoR Lands.
 The "North Village' began to assume im- portance soon after 17O0. At this time fields had been cleared, farms fenced to considera- ble extent and roads made more passable. had been opened between the village center and what is now Mt. Car mel, but by what means the river was cross ed the writer as yet has been unable to de- termine. No act of the general court order ing 6 bridge built has been discovered, nor does it appear that any permission to private parties for the construction of the same had been granted as was customary at that time. The volume of water was much greater then than at present (estimated fully 20 per cent.) and though the stream was fordable at low tide in the summer months, still it is unlikely that the people were without other means of crossing On one point all are agreed: At first the stream was only forded for some years; next floating structure doing duty 8 portion of the year was constructed; this was followed by trestle bridge, which in turn gave way to the stone pier and abutments on which the old wooden affair in its day and the present iron bridge now stands.
 Tradition assigns an incident to the trestle bridge mentioned, which if true exhibits won- derful sagacity to say the least. It is said that on a certain time while this crossing was in process of repairing and being newly pIanked man from North Branford crossed it on horseback early in the morning bound west. During the day the old planking was removed from the bridge, but sudden storm
 &aI %l,~ from recovering the structure. Rude barri- CTS were hastily improvised to arrest travel across it and the people hurriedly sought their homes. During the evening the storm ragged with great violence, prostrating the frail protection and allowing free passage on to this terrible death trap. Sometime later in the night, the party crossing in the early hmoeward bound, again approached the bridge. His horse hesitated on reaching it and refused to cross, but under the pressure of whip and spur was forced by his master, ignorant in the storm and darkness, upon it, and it ;s asserted, though not a plank had of the animal that he carefully picked his way across on the bare sleepers and reached safely the other side, the man meanwhile all unconscious of the terrible danger through which he had passed.
 The property qualification" about this period began to play something of part in the colony. Heretofore while the settlers as they could comfortably till, indications now point to 8 general desire for large landed possessions. The soil was far from being all taken up it is true, and large tracts of Crown Commons" were frequent. Sundry deeds impress us with the belief that the sharp eyed planter pounc- ed upon the choice bits of territory wherever they lay, without regard to the consolidation of his acres in g compact farm. Scarcely 8 man of them but what owned little isolated patches of meadow, upland, and wood all over the "Divisions" of our present terri tory, from Muddy river to Wharton's brook. Some were bought, some were donated. Per sons were granted aIlotments. ''To bee layd out without prejudice to any former grant," and so settler might possess, and did in many cases, small tracts surrounded on all sides by "Commons." As an illustra- ton: Nathaniel Thorp sold to Thomas Munson in 1899 "The Vineyard" ," parcel of Comon" and on the north by said Aunson, who in turn when he bought originally (Munson) was bounded three sides by ''Com- on" and south by Thorp. Thus this bit of territory so euphoniously named, was once an oasis in the unclaimed area about it. This Vineyard" has retained its appellation to the present day and is located in the swamp
 
 from North Haven center to Clintonville. The real estate dealings of our forefathers were decidedly on liberal scale in those days; judging from the frequency of the transfers made, and on the assumption that grantor and grantee were alike mutually benefited, they ought to have become by this process alone very wealthy men. A notable instance of such dealing occurs in the case of MT. Thomas Mansfield, whose name appears on thirty nine deeds in the land records of the colony.
 The 'tTown Comon" and the 'tMaytenance of proper fence" between each others posses sions gave 8 world of concern, and was the source of much heart burning to our settlers in their early years; indeed, it is alleged even at the present day that some miserable Sit of an old division fence will often do more to retard the millennium than 8 poor church choir. As was natural, the early boundry lines between settlers were very defective At first simple ditch marked the division of property. To restrain cattle this needed to be deep and wide, and quarrels at once arose as to the disposal of the soil thrown from these trenches. Finally the General court took the matter in hand and ordered "Fower foote, should be allowed on each side of the line for either the ditch or the soil.
 The term "Fence Viewers dates from 1869 when it was Therefore ordered by this court, that in every town in this Colonie, there shalbe yearly chosen two meme who shalbe sworne to a due performance of ys worke of veiwinR fence, and whoever is chosen to ye office of fence viewing, and shal refuse or neglect to attend it, shal pay twen- ty shillings to ys Towne Treasure, unless it appeareth to some one magistrate that ye said party bee oppressed by ye choice and others uniustly exempted"
 The duties of these officials strange as 1t may seem with all the broad acres almost to be had for the asking, was no sinecure. They had an abundance of duty. The "fence lawes" were being continually tinkered by the general court and at the time of our set- clement, among others, the following was the rule. "For the preventing of differ ences that may arise in making or setting down of fences as well in medowe as up- lande, It is ordered that in the setting posts and vayles or hedges in the meadowes or homelotts, there shalbe a liberty for either party of twelve inches from the dividend Tyne for breakeing of the ground to sett the posts, or for the laying on the hedge, but the stalks and posts are to bee sett in the dividend Tyne; and in uplands there is al- lowed liberty of flower foote for ditch from the dividend Tyne"
 The care of the "comon landes" was an- other problem with which the settler fre- quently wrestled. At first "Sesven able and discreet meme are required to take the comon lands into serious and saddle consideration, and after thorough digesting of their owne
 
 what wave said lands may be improved"
 What a loss that no report remains at this day, made by those 'seaven saddle menne."
 Lest the reader may imagine these com mon lands were the prey of any or all the plantation, read this clause. "Whereas it doth appeare that much hurte, losse and damage doth accrue to this comonwealthe and to particular persons in the several plantations by those hogges that are kept or bearded in the woods, by their roofing up and wronging otherwise the comon feed of cattell, and by their hanging about and breakeing through such fences as are sufi- tient against other cattell, into mennes corns and spelling the same, It is ordered by this Courte that if any hogges or swyne shalbe fownde within three miles of any dwelling howse in this jurisdiction (excspt such as are kept in mennes yardes which are to bee ringed and yoaked when fownde in the streetel from the first of march to the mid