Norwich bulletin., 1914-06-04

 colonization 1t was faxorabiy re- ceised By tho Assembly and sanctioned by the following enacfmenf:-
 Hartford. May 20. {5s)4 Ihis Court haye-nz cons idered the petition pEs- doe declare yt they approve and con sent to what is dadred by ye petition CTS respecting hegin. provided yt within ye spzceSof three years they doe effect . plantation in ye place propounded.
 The sIackbirds Tradition.
 Tradition has it that a pest of black birds drove the Saybrook party to emmigrate. but it is more likely that the people generally were lured in- land by the prospect of more sheltered valleys, finer grazing land, and op- portunities for fishing and hunting. Ma Mason and Rev. MT Fitch may have been induced to lead the move ment because it was wise state policy to advance the frontier. Grain -deyour- ing birds. however, did harass the coionists. so that nearly every town had law for their extermination One of these reads:- 'Noated to ob- lige every person in the town of six teen years ano upwards to Kill one Duson of blackburds. or woodpeckers or gay burds, and bring their heads 10 the Select Men, and what are killed in the months of march. aprel or may six shall be counted as a duson; and if any person kills more than his Duson he stal be allowed one penne pr head-and he that doth not kill his duson shayy pay to the town Rate on shilling"
 Original Town Plot.
 The town-pIot. the oldest part of Norwich consisted of one long irreg- ular street which followed the course of the Yantic river and wound around the hills. About midway of the street is an elevated plain which eommands a view of miles of the surrounding country in all directions. Here MT. Fitch and his flock erected their sec ond church and used 1t not only for worship, but for a lookout station. The first church was on the plain be- low. third church was built on the high plain. In 1755. on the plain be- low, which had been laid out as green, a new church was Suilt against the rocks. at the very foot Of the prev fire. and the existing edihce. the fifth. was built in 1901.
 The Old Green.
 The Green itself was the place where trades. merchandise, public bus mess. military exercises, shows, sports, festivals and the general enterprise of the town found a centre On 1t stood the Court House until 1T9S, when 1t was removed to the site of Capt. John Mason's house, spot occupied at present by the Norwich Town school. Other public buildings interspersed with dwellings. taverns. schools and shops, were grouped around the Green. On the north side at the foot of the hill stood the County Jail. The post office was near the meeting house. On the west side were two printing offices.
 First Proprietors Farmers. House-iots comprised each block of several acres. They were usually river land favorable for moving, pas ture and tiliage. The first proprietors with hardly one exception, were far mers. Portions of these original grants each having upon it representative 1 house. the most recent of which is more than a century old, have de- scended without interruption and are still in the hands of descendants of William Hide Simon Huntington, , Thomas Leffingwell and John Rey- holds, writes Miss sCaullins in 1886. Furnished Lion-
 Of the Green this same lady quaintly | says
 have left the precincts: the taverns ! are closed, and the peace and quiet of 1 the Happy Valley seem 10 have ob- | tained undisturbed possession of this | charming plain.
 Yet the germs of mental and moral i power are quick with life beneath the ! calm of therse. quiet scenes. Char | acter draws strength and life from the | soil. From this nucleus issue forth bright spirits. one after another, to | take positions east or west and radi- ate light through other spheres. Lat | ent fire is at work in the heart of a l society which proceed such young men as Herr Diesbach. the lion tanner; Aaron Stephens, the unfortunate par | ticipator in the measures of John Brown: Edward Harland, 9 brigadier- general at the age of twenty-five; 1 merchants for other cities ministers 1 for many pulpits. and patriot soldiers ! to die for the nion.
 Of the lion tanner, whom by the way, | of all great men she mentions first | (though probably because chronolog- | ically he appears first), she gives this | information in a footnoe: Samuel | son of Consider Sterry, Is supposed to | be Identical with the heroe of the hip- | podrome,-Herr Diesbach being the | name assumed when he became a cir | GUS actor"
 Business and Gayety of Bean Hill.
 Among the first grants of land solu | were strips of meadow land at fan- tic or Yantuck, as it was then called | a region famed for its grass for cat | tie, and which lay about two miles | above the Green. Between these two lies Bean Hill. No house plots were | laid out beyond that part of the HI | where the river crosses the mair ! street. In the early days of the set | clement Bean Hill formed the north | western limits of the tOwn-plot- IT | time it became noted for its business and gaiety, most of both being carried l on under the shade of the elms on 1t:
 grassy plain.
 l Who the Founders Were. Comparatively little is known of the l founders, but for that little we may b.
 thankful. for it helps to bring then | closer to us, as an opera glass vizual'
 izes stage people. The most con- l spicuous man in the colony was Capt
 John Mason. His strong moral ant
 mental qualities made his presence felt and his leadership desired where | ever he might be. He had been one O the founders of Dorchester and Wind sor, and he had ''re-awakened thu
 breath of life in the dying settlemen
 of Saybrook" before he set out to es
 tablish Norwich. Of MT. Fitch it il
 said that the church at Saybrool languished after it had lost its goldel
 head" In Norwich he was widely re
 puted for his wise kindness to tn
 Indians.
 Lieut.. Thomas Tracy was one of tn
 most distinguished founders. He wa the first representative to the Genera
 Court and one of the witnesses to Un
 cas's deed. Christopher Huntington
 was the first townsman of the colony
 and one of the most useful of pioneers Lieut. Thomas Leffingwen represente' l %ha in fftv-six session fh