The Newtown bee., 1896-01-17
Fairfield County News.
BETHEL.
A REVOLUTIONARY WAR INCIDENT.

up huRted high and low for something that would indicate the location of the old military camp of Continental soldiers on the high ridge east of the lower part of the city of Danbury, better known as the Shelter Rock range. The old road | that leads over the hill the writer has been told was the old post road to Hart ford. It may be traced through Pium- | trees to Newtown, from thence by ford ing the Housatouic river to Woodbury, and go on to Hartford The early roads or paths lead to fording places on all streams, as but few bridges had been huilt. Mails were carried across the country on horseback. Delegates and representatives to the General Court mads long journeys on horseback. The
 best and most direct roads have been laid out within the la~' century. We can see favorable locality for a military camp. Troops could be seut eithrr t.. the east nI
 west for the protection of the inland towns. Your correspondent be!ieve% that it was generally underot;;od that tie old camp eae situated on land helodgirg to the late Stephen Bates. Years ago there were indications of wells alol the swale. Several acres of land laJing I south Of the roa was well adapted for a camp ground, sheltered as it would be on
 the north by higher ground, east, soath and west by heavy growth of timber, l necessity in camp life for fuel and she'
 ter. My interest in the old camp and a desire to hunt for same old relic was ere
 ated many years ago by hearing the fol l lowing story from great uncle. Capt
 Abram Stowe, an old inhabitant of Beth \ el, lived in the old Wild Cat school district, where his old homestead is still i standing. He says: My father, Robert Stowe, came to Bedding when a young man and settled in hometown distIic', where he bought small farm, (noW owned by a grandson, Sumner Stowe When the Revolutionary war came on he l was by hard work and industrious has- it's fairly well started in life, with fam- fly of small children. Very little hard ! mental bills had depreciated in value and
 were almost worthless as money. It was pretty tough times to support family
 and pay rates or taxes and contribute
 his share toward the support of soldiers
 in the field. Early one spring he broke
 up piece of ground which he planted
 with potatoes and in the fall dug severa
 cart loads of fine tubers. It was great
 mystery to his neighbors to know what
 Friend Stowe intended to dc with hi!
 crop. He could neither sell them or give
 them away. He must have been crazy
 to raise so many. h those days potatoes
 were not used in families as at the pres
 ent time. Probably the quality was no
 as gsod then as now. Every farmer rais
 ed on new land large crops of turnip
 which were sweet and good and general
 ly eaten by every family. Early on' ; morning in the late fall my father filled
 his cart body with potatoes and started with yoke of oxen for the military camp on Shelter Rock near Danbury, {
 good day's journey there and back. Hi
 expectation was to sell to the commis l xary department his load for what ht } could get. One York shilling or 12 l.: cents was considered fair price st tha l date. We will follow him over the rougl , roads, first up the burned ridge road, al
 old road ever the hill between Putnam
 Park and the main road to Bedding Cen : ter. Then down the hill to Chestnu Ridge, from thence up the old highwa, to Fenner's Rocks. This roundabout wa,
 was the only route to Bethel. Fron
 thence through Grassy Plain up the cleo tric road 90 near the residence of JOsepl
 Bates; from there the team plodded ul
 the zig gag road toward the camping , ground. The last pitch was reached ant the load was heavy. Several soldier standing near lect helping hand witt shoulders to the wheel. Up, up they
 went. The end was near at hand. 4
 rnischievous young soldier pulled the pil and dropped the tailboard. Away rolled
 the potatoes and busy hands gathered
 them up. Most of them were soon cook
 ing by the evening campfire, where nt
 doubt hearty meal of rsassed potatoes
 was enjoyed at the expense of an indus
 trious farmer, whose porfits were prob
 ably small for his first load. But he liv
 ed and prospered after the war. Hi
 posterity are numerous and many ol
 them live today within sight of the olG
 Revolutionary camping ground on Shel
 ter Rock Ridge. Next week we will give
 Capt Stowe's experience as 8 Danbury Justice 60 years ago. The City Hall jus
 tices of to-day are not iA it.