The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-07-05
CHESHIRE'S CELEBRATION.
THE a00fIf AySIVERsiRY OF THE TOWNS ssErrLEMEST OBsEkFED.

The Morning Baii Game, waiiinEford is.
 Cheshire o-E. R. Browns Historical Ad-
 dre.s-Oration by Hon. 1T. E. Benton-
 Poem by Professor Paddoek-The Alter
 noon Game. Cheshire 10, Meriden s-A
 Gala Day for Cheshire.
 Yesterday was a big day in the his tory of the town Of Cheshire in more ways than one. IL not only celebrated in most fitting manner the ever-slor- ious Fourth. but chief of all was an anniversary celebration of the two hundredth settlement of the town. The occasion. although q retrospection. was yet q joyful one. A ball game in the morning and one in the afternoon. with grand display of fireworks in the evening furnished amusement for all; an interesting historical and patriotic meeting at the town hall In the after noon made food for thought and better than all the rest the Village Improve ment society provided Punishment for the inner man both at dinner and sup per time.
 Truly, as was often remarked dur ing the day. Cheshire has much of which to be proud. A typical New England country village. nestling for two centuries among the hills it con tains that picturesque homliness, that subdued quiet. an atmosphere of peace and lovliness. all of which make Chesh- fra nd ala Ea nhntRa QnntS land.
 All the patriotic inhabitants of the village were astir early yesterday morning. The church bells were rung and anvils and cannon crackers awak- ened the echoes in the valley.
 At l0:30 o'clock came the first event of the days celebration, namely the ball game between Wallingford and Cheshire on the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut grounds.
 | The teams were made up as fol- lows:
 Wallingford-Sheehey p, Hayaden c, Downey ss, Callahan If, Stafford 3b. Morrissey If, Downs 2b, Barry of, and Hanlon 1b.
 Cheshire-E. Williams 1b, Bristol 3b, D. Coleman p, J. Martin 2b, M. Cole man c, Kelsey ss, E. Martin If, J.. Will Hams If, G. Eagan of. Martin was the umpire.
 Quite a large crowd assembled to see the play, but the Chesirites came away from the grounds somewhat crestfallen, as the game resulted in score of F to 9 in favor of the visiting team.
 Immediately after the game an ele- gant collation. was served under the auspices of the Village Improvement society in. the town hall, which was largely attended. .. ..,
 After dinner came the anniversary exercises The first number was music by Walton's orchestra, after which MT. ERR Brown read a most excellent and comprehensive history of the town from its earliest settlement, a part of which will be found below: - =,
 In accordance with my own investi-' gations the year 1894 is the 2O0th anni- versary of the first permanent white settlement made in what is now Chesh- ire, which gives added interest to this occasion. ''"''s> ''"'''' '~- ''. "I = '.s . A
 It is evident that as early as 1867 some of the inhabitants of New Haven had become acquainted with the coun- try in and about Wallingford, and no doubt settlements had been made with in the bounds of the town, but it was not until 1869 that the people of New Haven took a definite interest in this settlement. It appears that Abraham Doolittle and John Peck were on the ground in 1868 and John Moss and John Crockett in the autumn of 1869, which was evidently the cause of their being selected to manage the affairs of the new village, but 1t was not until the month of April, 1670 that the first per- manent settlement in Wallingford was made. This place was named after the old. English home of some of the plant CTS. Soon the fertile valleys, where springs abounded, and the green, self sustaining wales on the west side of the river, that gave promise of an abund- ance of pasturage and grass, invited 8 westward settlement. Roads were soon built and settlements made from Cook Hill and the fresh meadows westward to Mill river. The first settlers in what is now Cheshire evidently settled in the southeast part of the town west ward from Cook Hill. As far as am able to ascertain Deacon Joseph Ives and Captain John Hotchkiss were the two first settlers who built for them selves permanent homes in what is now Cheshire. To be sure, the Indians were occupants of this region and, had wig vans in the valley east and in the Tunxis valley to the northward, from whom the original settlers purchased land. Little did these Indians think when they exchanged these lands for few articles such as spoons, hatchets, hoes, knives, scissors and English cloth that in a few years this feeble band of settlers would increase to thousands, , that the, large and extensive forests which then abounded would so soon yield to the axe in the hands of this muscular yeomanry; that the bears, wolves, partners and wildcats which then were occasionally visible in the new settlement would so soon disappear and that the small remnant of these Quinnipiack Indians would finally leave these hunting grounds and. the graves of thef fathers and wander away to other lands. Could these Indians have had iai4prophetic eye and could have foreseen all this they probably would have prefefTed the destructive opera tions of the sPeqilpts and Mohawks with all their destructive tendencies as settlers, to the lnroads made by the white settlers who were seemingly so kind and peaceable. The red man has gone. No monumental tablets perpetu-