The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1891-08-21
Newtown's Sidewalks.

Newtown Streets present macadam
road and concrete walks give little idea
of the sink holes and mud that once made
travel here, especially in the Spring, a
matter of difficulty and even danger after
dark. There is tradition of the sink
hole that once appeared with the Spring
thaws, in front of E. F. Hawley's store
and it probably was not the only one in
the Street. The late d. B. Beers, Esq,
remembered when the Street was lined on
either side with post and rail fences. The
present concrete walks, ex-Town Clerk
G. H.Peck says, have been laid for about
l9 years and they took the place of stone
tagging, part of which is still doing duty
in the Street. Before the tagging, there
was probably nothing better than individ-
ual sections of gravel or board walks. Mr.
Peck's interesting cabinet furnishes the
documents that tells the story of the flag
ging. Henry Dutton, then living in John
III. Blackman's house and afterward a
resident of New Haven and governor of
the State, was prime mover in the mat
ter, as in much other village life. The
ShDSSr1pbIoh ~NElS 1OI
and paving a sidewalk on each side of
NeWtown Town Street and across said
street, in such way and manner as COM
mittee of three, to be appointed by a
meeting of the subscribers warned for
that purpose, should think best, the SUBJ
scriptions to become payable whenever
$3.50 had been subscribed. Judge of Pro-
bate Samuel C. .Blackman headed the sub
scription list. Both members of Baldwin
s. Beers, the merchants on the corner,
subscribed SO, as did Town Clerk Caleb
Baldwin, Josiah Glover, John johnson
hams, Trinity's rector, subscribed So, as
did Lawyer D. H. Belden, Ebenezer Tur-
ner, Boyle Fairchild, [. Nichols, William
Mitchell, DR. John Judson. Henry Dut-
ton subscribed Sc and Gar Keeler, who
formerly kept tavern at red house north
of the Misses Glover's, now gone. Moss
X. Botsford put down 81. The 81 sub
scribers were Charles Clark, James B.
Fairman, Eli Hard, Daniel Millin, Charles
Botsford, ElijahBotsford,J James T. Wheel
er, William G.. Smith, Charlotte Glover,
Those subscribing So: Landlord Thorn
as Seeley, I. Nichols, Fl. Warner, DR. C.
H.Booth, Wakeman Smith, Charles Blaks-
lee, Thomas D. Shepard. Ophelia Ban
croft subscribed 81 80. The 50 subscrib-
ers: William Blakslee, Alexander Hall,
Maria Glover, Sylvia Shelton; 81 80,
David B. Botsford, Blacksmith Ives Glov-
er. The total subscription was $167,
David V. Baldwin treasurer. The SUBJ
seribers chose Messrs Baldwin and Keller
committee, who made contract with
David Booth of New Milford 'to get out
and deliver on the banks and free from
the quarry, at place called Mine Hill in
said New Milford 1000 feet (running
measure) of tagging stones, Is inches in
width, squared and the edges cut to
than an inch and a half nor more than
two and quarter inches thick, having
natural faces and not exceeding 500 feet
was to be split to a thickness not exceed
ing two inches. The price paid for the
stone was 800. 1t cost SO to get the
tagging here and laid, as this was before
the age of steam and railways, Lewis
Brisco and Hawley Judd taking that con-
tract. The need of the walk spurred the
subscription on, as it was started Febru-
ary s,1S2S and the stone were contracted
for on the oath of the next April. The
tagging was laid in single strip is in
ches wide.