The Press., 1909-11-10

The Oenter d1EtrlcG was the most
 popuIous district in the town and covered the most territory, extending from the Eleazer Root place on the south to the Elisha Jennings or Whit ford place on the north, and from the
 Timothy or Austin Pearl place on the east to the Lieutenant James Holt afterwards the Sparrow place, on the
 west
 Going north from the Root place
 was. first. the Royal Holt place, witt their large family, several of whom had already grown up and gone out from the home nest A little to the right. and on the road branching of from the pond leading to Mansfield, was the home of Joshua and Ralpl Holt. Joshua Holt was a cabinet maker and had shop and house above the road, while Uncle Ralph, as he was familiarly called, had his home below and across the road.
 He was in those early days a tan. |ner, currier and custom shoemaker, and did a small business in that line. He was a general good mechanic, a fair carpenter and used to work at times with his brother in law, Capt Sharp, who was a master builder, who in the early thirties built the Baptist church, the Baptist parsonage and the covered bridge across the Will Iimantic river near the Clark Moore place. A peculiarity of Uncle Ralph was that he was very bald hsaded and in summer seldom wore a hat.
 Going north, we next come to the old toll gate kept on the Mansfield road by Dea Vinton till it was abolish, d Following the Mansfield road there vas but one place; that had been the home of one Edmund Freeman, who had some years before Ct igrated to Carbondale, Pa The place is, believe, now known as the Meadow Brook Farm.
 Turning to the right above Dea. Vinton's, we next reached the old red 
 then taught At short distance from the schoolhouse the road brauched of to the eastward, and some quarter to one- half mile were the homes of Austin Pearl and the places owned a few years later by Royal O. Eldridge and Jonathan Walker.
 On the Hill, at the time of which I write, first, Dea. Asa Taylor; then at the corner the house and store of G. N Merrick, with the small house at that time occupied by pr. Alden Skinner. A short distance east, among the naples, was the Congre- gational parsonage, occupied at the time by the pastor, Rev. Wood, who followed the retirement of Hubbel Loomis. North of the Ashford road was the home of Dea. John Turner. To the northwest of the Hill was the Widow Soule and Amasa Holt farms, and on the road leading directly north was the Elisha Jennings home, where he carried on the manufacture of brogans for the southern trade
 On the north side of the common was the old Congregational church ; next was the Baptist parsonage, then the home of Jonathan Weston, with his old store, used at that time for the Baptist conference room, afterwards taken down and made into a dwelling by Amariah Dexter. opposite the Jones Ohilds place on Dug hill.
 On the south side of the common was the nice home of Hiram Rider, the Baptist church, then the home of Isaac Glazier; at the west of the com mon was the Wilmington Hotel, now known as Maple Corner, and just around the corner was the home oi Esq Daniel Glazfer think that the law required every town to have g public house for the accommodation of travellers.
 On the road leading toward Stafford I recall but one family as belonging to the Center. and that was Samuel
 Wilson, with his quite large family and they used to occupy the rear pew at the left of the left hand door as yoV