The Newtown bee., 1898-08-12

ftG'fM A SENNON b lNtNN II|NiN1 D.
 SMITH DELIVERED AT THE CELEBRA-
 rIoN OF THE 15OTH ANNIVERSARY.
 In common lth all the old towns Of New England, the hrsf settlemenr of the town of Fairfield was about 237 years agn, l9 years after the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers on Plymouth Rock. In this early period the English colonists were greatly excited and distuv bed bv warliic and rowing tribe of Indians-thP r, qupt,-who roamed about to kill and destroy The cOlonists on the COnnecti- cut river suffered such loss of life and property that they were constrained, for the sake us protection, to war against them. On the l3 h of July, lG37, a de-
 ctaivc battle wHa fought, the EnRl sh coionsJs being victorious. A portion of he PtquOts, pursued by Captain John Mason and his soldiers, fled west of the Connecticut river hy a cirCuitous route to Sasco Swamp, near Southport, where they were sccrctpd by d small tribe of Indians called Unquowas. Here the small army under Captain Mason exter- minated or scattered these savages on that memorable day which delivered the cO'onista of Western Massachusetts and Connecticut from fear of evil. Hon Roger Ludlow, who accompanied Captain Mason with the troops in pursuit of the r, quots to Sasco Swamp, was SO much pleased with the beauty and fertility of the laud that he projected the scheme of a settlement. Accordingly, the follow ing year, 1858, he, with some eight or 10 other families, removed from Windsor, Conn.,, to Unquowa, now called Fairfield.
 MT Ludlow was Deputy Governor of Connecticut for several years, and the principal planter. Very soon his small colony was joined by other families from Concord and WAtertown, Mass, and soon became numerous enough to form themselves into distinct township. Then this whole section of country was, to great extent, wilderness, where dwelt wild beasts and rowing savages Much praise is due to MT Ludlow foI the part he took in the settlement o1 Connecticut and of the town of Fairfield, since he was the most distinguished lawyer of the colonies, and assisted 1T the construction of the first written con stitution originated in the new world one which was the type of all that came after, even of the Republic itself.
 He made the first purchase of the lanC from the Indians, included Tn the town 0. nwFUinalIrY hronod al the territory lying between Stratford ana Norwalk, and extended six miles bscl from Long Island Sound. At late period the town purchased of the Indian all the land six miles farther north, in cluding most of the territory now em braced in Fairfield, Easton, Weston part of Westport, and Bridgeport. Tn whole six miles, including all the north ern section of the old town of the Fair field, as far north as Bedding Center was purchased of the Indians for 3 pounds. Then the town voted to dis tribute nearly all the common unoccupie land to the individual citizens. This dis tribution of the land made the long lott as they were called, and they were deet cd to the settlers in width according each one's assessment in the list ( estates, in length, as far as they chof up into the wilderness. Some of the d vision lines of these long lots at lengt became roads on which the people traVe led, and extended up into the uninhabi ed country as far as Bedding Centr
 Some of these roads have been used { highways from the laying out of theI lots till now. These roads, correspon
 ing to the long lots, ran due north, wit
 out any regard to the hills or valley It ia also evident from the town recor' that these lots extending up into wilde ness were used as pasture lands by Il early settlers. tsAt a meeting of the pr prietors, held January 25, l726, 1t W
 voted by the ajor part of said propri tors that there should be flock of she
 kept in Greenaeld Parish for the summ ensuing, and Charles Hill, Mos Diamond, Jr., and Benjamin Banks we apooiuted sheep masters to take care
 the sheep. Voted also that the place
 let sheep should be at the house wht
 the said parish meet on the Sabba
 days, and the time to let the said she
 should be Monday and Friday night'
 such sheep masters to take care of docks were evidently necessary then