The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-08-21
coy. BALDWIN TO HEAD NOTED MEN
 ON SPEAKERS LIST
s. Senator, Congrassmsn, and Many Mayors VIII Have Part in Pro-
 gram
fBy Emily E'11nnnet. )

Id
 (By Emily Emmet.)
 Midway between the two greatest cities of the State which it has com piacentIy watched sweep forward. strainirig for the lead lies quaint, his toric Milford. At this season of the beautiful Its extensive fields are golden with the national flower and it's quiet streets, we'll kept green lawns and splendid old colonial houses repose in the calm shade of it's beau- tifuI naples and elns-
 An unusual activity is noticeable In the town this week, people arc hurry ing and scurrying to and fro, auton1o- piles are racing about and the houses and public buildings are bunting deck i ed, for on Saturday Milford is to cele- brate it's 275th anniversary
 On August 22. 1889. the 64 planters from New Haven and Wethersdeld, who had decided to settle at Milford, organized their church at New Haven before removing to their new home. They chose the same method of or ganization as was adopted by their brethren who were to remain in New Haven.
 : Seven men were chosen for the foundation and these admitted others FIfty-four persons were .allowed to be free planters having for the pres eIt. liberty to act in the choice of public officers for carrying on of pulp lie affairs in this plantation.
 At the first general court of plant CTS, held in Milford on Nov. 20, 1889, it was voted and agreed that the power of electing officers and persons to divide the land into lots to take or der for the tinlher and to manage the common interests of the plantation should be in the church only and that the persons so chosen should be only from among themselves.
 At the same court other orders were passed as follows:
 That athey should guide themselves of God till such time as body of laws should be established.
 From this action it appears that the right Of suffrage was allowed only to church members and that A of the 54 were at first possessed of this quail hcation.
 Fowler Builds His Min
 At the second general court, held March 3. 1640, 'Tt was agreed be- tween William Fowler and the breth- ren (fhe five Judges) that he sho uld b9Iild a mill and have it going by the last of September, when the town was to take it off his hands if it saw prop et for one hundred and eighty pounds: or else the brethren were to appoint what toll he should take.''
 The mill was built and the high es- timation in which it was held is shown T after the mill had been injured by a spring freshet which tells that it was voted that all the town should help MT Fowler repair the mill and he was to call for them. each man a day. till he should have gone through the town whenever he needed help. eff he went not through the town in one year, the same liberty was granted till he had gone through
 This was the first grist mill in Con- .T1S. have been the first in New England.
 Until this time, the town had been known by it's Indian name, srWepo- waug.. which designates a place .'at usually the crossing place.
 According to authorities, the name probably applied to the spot now oc- cupied by the Milford stone bridge and may have referred to possible crossing place at the point where the river immediately below the chasm drops into the narrow chasm between the rocks. It is possible. indeed that it refers to the ci1asm itself.
 However. this name was changed to Milford, being the contraction of the words Mill and ford.
 Milford has been prominent in CO 1oniaI history. The Regicide Judges who figured so prominently in thes his tory of New Haven county, were con cealed here at the home of man named Tomkins for two years.
 A quaintly worded extraction from an old court record of New Haven of slightly later period throws some light on the colonial industries of that day and Is interesting:
 MT. A1lerton, Ensign Bryan and MT. Augur appeared and informed the court, that, by reason of bad biscuit and four they have had from James Rogers of Milford, they have suffered much damage and likewise the place lies under reproach at Virginia and Barbadoes so as when other men from other places can have Q ready mar ket for their goods, that from hence lies by and will not sell. or if it do it fs for little above half so much as others sell for, therefore they desire that some course may be taken tc remedy this grievance.
 ssThe court approved of their prop ositiou and thought it a thing vert just and necessary to be done and sem Tor the baker and miller from Milford who also appeared and after some de- bate. did confess there had been for merfy some uaiscarriages. The baker imputed it, or a great part of it, to the nflIer's grinding his corn so bad Iy, which the miller now acknowledge might be through want of skill, but he hopes now it is and will be better which the baker owned; and as MT A1lerton now informed, his bread is al