The Newtown bee., 1905-01-27

comprising the township, and incOr- pOrated it as town the same year by the name of Newtown. The principal seat of the Indians in this town ap- pears to have been at the mouth of the Pohtatuck, a mill stream which is rather irregular in it's form, being nearly triangle in it's shape. It's length from north west to southeast averages about eight miles, with an average breadth of more than six. It is bounded on the N. w. by Brookheld, on the N. E. and E. by the Housatonic river, which separates it from Southbury, on the w. by Danbury and Reading, on the $. w. by Monroe. The surface of the town is hilly, many of the eminences is principally gravelly loam with some sections of sandy lOam, generally fertile and productive. It is we'll adapted to the culture of grain, and is also favorable for fruit, there being many valuable orchards in the town. There are i've churches in the town, two Episcopal, one Congrega tional, one Baptist and one Methodist. The bor ough of Newtown is situated on the southern termination of ridge of elevated land. After ascending the bill, which descends to the south, there is broad and level street about eighty rods in extent. The borough is mostly built on this Street,in which are about 10 or 50 dwelling houses, three church. es, one Congregational one Episcopal and one. Methodist, and four mercan- tile stores. This place is 10 miles from Danbury, 25 from New Haven ind P from Fairfield. The fl )urishing village of Sandy Hook is situated abou. one and one-half miles northeast of the central part of Newtown, at the foot of rocky eminence or bluff, from the top of which is fine prospect of the surrounding country. A fine mill stream (the Pootatuck) runs in a nOrtherly course through the village at the base of the bluff, which on it's declivity rises almost perpendicularly to the height of 160 feet. Near MT Sanford'S cotton factory, at the north- ern extremity of the village, some traces of coal have been discovered. The village contained in 1S34 one cotton, two woollen, one hat and one machine shop, and one establishment for working brass. The village con tained about 50 families in l934; it is at the present time rapidly increasing. The following inscriptions are from monuments in the burying ground nearly mile south of the village of 1 Newtown:
 . "Hsre lyeth inferred { the earthly remains l from ye venerabl le society for the propagation of the gospe! in foreign parts who exchanged 1 this life for Immortality on the 18th of March, 7e2, in the S2d year of his age and 51St year of | his ministry.
 | The sweet remembrance of the just
 Shall flourish when he sleeps in dust. Reader. let his tablet Abide''
 PAGE 2S.
 Connecticut by her charter granted ins 1862, extended from NarraganSett river on the east to the South Sea on the west, excepting such lands as were then occupied by prior settlers. Near | ly 19 years afterwards William Penn obtained grant of lands on the west side of the Delaware river extending northward to the 43d degree of lati- tude; this covered part of the territory embraced in the Connecticut charter For nearly century after the charter was obtained, Connecticut neglected to claim the lands, which lay westward of the colony of New York. But after she had granted all her lands eastward of that colony, a company was formed with the design of planting the lands within her charter, on the Susquehan nah. The company was formed in 1 l753, and the next year purchase was made from the SachemS of the Six Nations of large tract, at Wyoming In 1774 the settlement was formed into town, called Westmoreland, which sent representatives to the As sembly of Connecticut. The treaty of the Connecticut men with the Indians and their purchase of the lands, ex- cited the jealousy of the prOprietarieS of Pennsylvania. They proceeded to take deed of the same lands from some of the chiefs, who declined sign ing the deed to the Connecticut pur- chaSerS. Grants of land were made by Pennsylvania and settlements begun
 which excited warm disputes, and an attempt was made to drive the Con- necticut settlers from the lands by force of arms. In ITO, the Legislature of Connecticut sent certain questions to England to propose to the most able lawyers there, respecting her title to the lands in question. The answers were favorable to her claims, and she determined to support them. But the
 Revolutionary War suspended the con-
 troversy until l7Sl, when both states agreed to appoint commissioners to
 settle the dispute. An act of Congress
 was passed constituting these con-
 missioners court to hear and deter | hIIIO CiiC SJhUlofCloy. LII NONCl1 I,
 l7o2, the commissioners met at Tren- ton, N. J. This court decided that
 Connecticut had no right to the lands
 in question, and that the territory , comprised in the charter limits o1 ,, Pennsylvania belonged of right to her
 Although Connecticut acquiesced ir
 the decision at Trenton, yet she main. !, tained her claim to all tue territory within the range of the north anC
 south boundaries of the state, as ex
 pressed in the charter lying west o1
 Pennsylvania, and extending to the
 Mississippi. With a view to obtain
 the implied sanction of their charter
 claims, Connecticut in 11S6, by thei
 delegates in Congress, ceded to the
 United States all the lands within tn,
 charter limits west of Pennsylvania
 excepting tract 12O miles in length :, ceSsiOn was accepted. A part of the ) reserved lands, amounting to half { ', million of acres, was granted by th state, to the inha biLantS of New Lon don, Fairfield and Norwalk, who's
 property had been destroyed by tl,
 enemy during the Revolutionary War
 The remainder was sold in 1795, ant
 the money arising from the safe con
 stitutes the School Fund for the sup
 port of schools throughout the state The title of Connecticut to the re
 served lands was confirmed by Con
 greSS in 1900. This territory, now form
 ing part of the state of Ohio. is stil
 called the Connecticut, or Wester Reserve