The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-05-13
OLD STATE HOUSE.
Paper Read at Meeting Of Historical
Society,

|
Society.
The Connecticut Gore Land company
was the subject of a paper read by
Albert c. Bates, librarian of the Con-
necticut Historical society, at it's recent
meeting in Hartford. The paper was a
detailed account of the efforts of the
state to build convenient state house
and with special reference to the share
the Gore company had in it's compile
ton.
After the revolution the general court
appointed a committee of five citizens
to undertake the construction of a
Large and convenient state house" the
committee having been John Chester,
Noahdiah Hooker, John Caldwell, John
Trumbull and John Morgan. A popu-
lar subscription was opened, but did not
result in anything substantial toward
the project, and in 1898 the Legislature
authorized grand lottery in which &c.
667 tickets were to be sold at IS each.
This did not have the desired effect of
putting the money into the hands of the
committee to complete the state house
| (now the Hartford city halD, work up
on which had been stopped.
| In May, 1895, jeremiah Halsey of
| Preston and Andrew Ward of Guilford
agreed to complete the structure and
| entered into contract with the state
| by which they received tract of land
within the charter limits of Connecti-
cut on the north border of Pennsylva-
mia, south of the original charter line
of Massachusetts,. This tract was two
and one-third miles wide and 225 miles
| long. This contract was regarded as of
the value of $4,000 and the bond of the
state was for that amount, the land be-
ing considered it's equivalent. Halsey
and Ward did not themselves dispose
of the land nor build the state house,
but formed company known as the
Connecticut Gore Land company, which
was to accomplish both ends.
| The land rapidly increased in value
and at one time an offer of $500, 900 was
made to the company for the tract and
| it was bargained for and sold for $780,
600. At this point, however, legal diff
| ficulties arose which in the end had the
effect of declaring the bargain off. New
| York state objected and it's legislature
passed an act making it treason for any
one to hold land titles under a grant
| from Connecticut on the tract, and pro-
viding for fines and Imprisonment and
In case of the person thus holding IT,
| tie being a citizen of New York, forever
debarring him from holding office in
! the state. The Gore company brought
suit against the state of New York in
| the district court of the United States
| for Connecticut, and the decision that
the land was within the charter limits
of Connecticut was affirmed by the
United States supreme court. The ques-
ton of fact was settled, but the ques-
ton as to the merits of the titles was
not passed upon.
| In 1900 the United States accepted
| cession from Connecticut of the West
ern Reserve in Ohio and the bill was sc
worded that jurisdiction over the tract
in dispute was also taken by the Unit
| ed States. This effectually shut out the
Gore company from carrying out its
contracts to transfer titles on the tract
| and although the state house was COM
| pleted there was nothing to show for
| the payment of 1t by the state. The
company petitioned the legislature for
relief from 1901 until 1905, when $4,000
was granted, to be paid in four in
stallments, annually. This closed the
/ transaction, although in 1929 Thomas
Bull, one of the Gore company, unsuc-
cessfully asked for $4,000 as the
| amount of his loss after his share Of the
settlement had been paid