Morning journal and courier., 1889-08-24
NORTH HAVEN ANNALS.

NORTH HAVEN ANNALS. Old Fishery Franchises - Interests
 That Clashed-A Word About New.
 mans Point-Its Historic Interest-
 It Was . Noted Logging station In
 Days of Yore-The River once Fav-
 orise Resort Of the TOothsome Shad
 -Oshor Interesting Notes.
 "seth Heaton, Ebenezer Frost, Daniel Barnes and fishing in the river in New Haven called the East River, at q place called Andrews' Point, Point, do now record said place to themselves for hshlngm
 Proprietors Record, June go, 17s2.
 "Moses Crockett and James Granniss hath taken ssr ssalSst the soash psnd Of island Painters Island and hath set stakes thereon"
 oseph ssd 6ane Tuts having possession of fishing place in New Haven East stake on each side and their names each stake do now record the same:
 In l7so James Paine owned "Fishng Claim" about mile above Pine bridge (Mansfielos) which he sold to Enos Todd In l79i ..e.. cry" on the East river between the Quinnipiac dam Josiah Thomas took up "Fishery" at "The Elm Tree" on East river between "Duck Cove" and % Nathaniei Stacy, Edward Turner, Timothy Hea- ton and Samuel Tharp laid claim to Q, Fishing Dan Ives, Theophilus Bradley, Allen Ives and Q Mansfsld's bridge down about mile" in 1797. Such are some of the franchises granted by the local government (New Haven) to the yeomany of our parish. They were valuable possessions, were bought and sold, were transferable by deed. and regarded as good assets in any mans possession. There was considerable clashing of interests between the proprietors of these places concerning their exact boundaries. Trespasses were not uncommon, and family and neighborhood feuds, arbitrations and lawsuits were ocoa- sional concomitants of ownership thereon. These fishing places were known by such geographical terms as "Red Bank" ''Duck Cove" "Sackett's Point, ""Newmans Point," "Bridge," "Quinny," etc. Each of these uphoniously named localities had its gangs of fishermen with all their parapher- nalia of scenes, canoes, stakes and the inn plements of their profession, and thus was the river laid under contribution to furnish its quota of subsistence to the dwellers along it's banks.
 Of these stations, that of "Newman's Point" deserves more than a mere mention. This place derived it's name from the New man family, so effective in the foundations and maintenance off the New Haven colony, but whether from Robert, the church pillar, ! or Francis, the governor, is as yet uncertain. The first allusion signalizing it as ''Newman's Point" was made in 1888, when Richard Newman conveyed it to his sons. The point | itself was the long, narrow neck of meadow pointing east far across the marsh just south of the old fishing ground so familiar to many living. It's area is comprised within one of those long sinuous bends for which the lower part of the East river is so noted. This territory lay in the "3d division" Hereabouts so far as ownership goes, the lands are historic. Newman, Turner, Yale, Street, Chandler, and others perhaps equally noted, have in turn been posssssors of them. It does not appeal to one at the present day as being an extremely valuable tract, but yields spontaneously heavy crop of rank, coarse grass. But the chief interest lay neither then or any time since so much in the point itself as in the Handing" place which later became the fishing ground.
 Shortly after the settlement of the parish this landing was considered of sufficient i'm portance to call forth the following docu- ment:
 , NEW HAVEN, Conn.,, Dec. 10, A. D. 17so. ,,, rye the subscribers hereof being appointed by Highway from the Country Road to the East River at place called Newmans Point, did as follows. Beginning North of the Brook on the Hill (above Serene Todds) at the Road we measured off 3 rods and set down stake and a stone on each side and
 
 East River rods in width by the southern line of Sergeant Joseph Turner's farm, that was Newmans, 10 rods by the river in length and from the River rods iS n, width, bouuded by Stakes and Stones" J JONATHAN M. MANSFIELD, Townsmen. This act made o public place of it. The in dications are, however, that this highway was not new in fact, but that under the authority of the law 1t was ordained as a substitute for old nat yghfph had haap tn as early as 1899 or 1870, and which may have been more or less @ matter of dispute overhn easement thought to have been gained there. Why was highway needed at all to this landings There was no bridge, no ferry, no passenger terminus, no freight warehouse. It was, however, for that day, a noted logging station and sent its rafts of hard woods, pipe slaves. hoops, etc., in frequent invoices on ebb tides down the river to the city; for this it was needed and for this well pstronized. The nautical North Havener of that period, passing q night and a day cargo adown the low rush bordered banks of the river, till "Dragon" opened before him with It's wondrous vista, passing "Red Rock" and "Ferry Point" in safety, swung his unwieldly craft with strong arm around to "Longwharf" where he tied up rejoicing that the perilous "vige" was at last over.
 The river also at this time, was in excel-
 
 and others of Wallingford, had agreed with the General Assembly Q724) to clear 1t of all Instructions at their own expense to insure 0 safe passage, "for carrying down said river such vessels as they shall build upon said river, and praying that none may be allowed in any way to stop or obstruct said passage after they have 80 cleared the same." The assembly granted them the protection they asked. It is not thought that this clearing operation extended further north than Pine Bridge in North Haven. But to return to the fisheries Of the rec- ords of the various fishing organizations there is little to be found. One concerning the Sacketts Point company may prove interest ing and serve as a sample of the others, and also as reminder to the old veterans of those ancient days.
 At warned meeting of the propretors of Sack .Voted-Enoch Ray. moderator; Isaac c. Stiles, voted-Josiah Thomas, Titus Bradley, Willard Frost and Isaac c. Stiles, committee
 Voted-That we by It pounds twine for the year voted-That we by new ropes.
 Noted-That we by 12 pounds led for the season.
 VotedoThat we arme cure sean on the 9th day of
 Voted-That all those that is not on the fishing ground by o'clock in the morning the 9th day Of April next shall forfeit and pay pint of rum. Voted-That the committee furnish two stakes to Voted-That those rites that is not paid on the day of arming shall forfeit their rites till paid.
 When these claims were first taken and for hundred and more years thereafter in some cases, they were productive in the extreme, and poor enough was the settler who did not have one or more barrels of salt shad in his cellar for home consumption. In the spring of the year the East River literally swarmed with this toothsome fish, and it was then that life was worth living to the fishing gangs. In fact, this river seems always to have been favorite resort of this branch of the finny tribe, and was 50 until within re- cent years, when what, with the traps and pitfalls in the Sound and the filth and sew age of the villages on the north, the stream has become pretty much source of death to anything attempting to live in it's waters.
 It is generally now conceded that in point of business and investment, that locality, known as "The Bridge Ground, far exceed ed all the others. It was called poor sea- son that did not yield three thousand shad. Four thousand was the average catch, occca- sionally running up to five thousand and be- yond. "Rites" in this company sold for two hundred dollars each in the year 1900 and for twenty-five years thereafter.
 Two causes combined to make this ground the rival of all the others. Above was built @ series of "weirs" by various individuals which somewhat checked the run of the