New Britain herald., 1919-06-25

V now occupied by Pennington. Union vile, Avon, Southington, nearly all of New Britain and Berlin, Bristol, Burlington, Plainville and parts of Wolcott HarWinton and Bloomfield.
 II, 1 $50 a new agreem ent concern ing tho ownership of the land thus held was made with the Indians and in 1871 the bounds before mentioned were confirmed by the general court.
 Tn 1873 to further satisfy the h. dians, a third agreement was made with them whereby mutual rights In the land were protected for all time and in 1885. upon application to the general court, 8 patent was granted to the town, founded upon the Con- necticut charter and confirming the original grant of 1645.
 Indian Troubles.
 From the beginning, the settlers were at peace with the Indians and no serious outbreak ever took place. Notwithstandin the friendly rela- tions that prevailed, our early settlers were by no means free from fear of molestation by the natives.
 Tn 1857 two women were murdered, a child injured and one or more
  Mir Scott was murdered in the re- zion then as now known as Scott's Swamp. These acts of hostility were ascribed to the Indian Moshupano and his followers and by way of compensation therefore the Farming ton Indians paid each year an in- demnity for seven years, As the record reads, Eighty faddelne of wanpum well strung and merchant able"
 While this outbreak was very like ly perpetrated by Indians from dis tance nevertheless the TunXis tribe paid the penalty.
 This affair extended into our pres ent town limits where the Indians made an attempt to kill John Root at his house in the White Oak district. MT. Root was at family prayers at the time and the tradition is, that his loud voiced application to the Lord and the 1 barking of his dog saved him and his household.
 Indians Move West. About 1750, as game became less abundant, the Indians gradually left ] this vicinity, some going to Stock 1 bridge, later to Oneida county, New York, and finally to Green Bay, Wis 1 consin. Tn, last Indian living within ! our own borders was called Cronx the land north of the railroad depot 1 where his hut stood is still known by 1 his name.
 In 1872 the proprietorS of the 1 town, eighty four in number, took pos- l session of all lands within the town ! limits and ordered a division as fol
 
 1 Hill in the Pennington meadows , three miles north; two miles, sixty. four rods cast; five miles, thirty-twc 1 rods south and two miles west. The 1 land that fell within these limits wa: termed the reserved lands, large tra cts 1 of which had been taken up, the re- 1 nainder, was reserved for town com. mons, etc, and what fell without these l lines was divided among the eighty. l four proprietors. Actual surveys were ! begun in 1721, in which year, six tier. 1 of land were laid out, each three hun 1 dred and five rods wide from east tt : west and about eleven miles in lengtl ; north and south, with highways be ! tween. These six tiers of land wer, / subdivided from north to south anon. the proprietors. Divisions six to twt inclusive now constitute the towns o 1 Bristol and Burlington. Division one the extreme western portion of Farm ington and Plainville.
 In 1737 two tiers of lots were 1ait out on the Great Plain covering prac tically all of the present central DOT ton of Plainville.
 Of the territory surrounding Farm 1 ington center the farms on the slope
 of the east mountain wero settled first then the egion since known as Stan
 ley Quarter in New Britain, whil
 here and the re an adventurous fam
 fly was bold enough to penetrate int
 the forest towards Bristol As earl
 as 1898 Samuel Woodruff establishe
 himself in Southington. By 1727 Bris
 tol began to be settled and by 174t
 Burlington.
 With these few exceptions the set
 tiers ewelt we'll within the origina village. There were two or thre
 houses along our northrn border bu
 White Oak, the Red Stone hill sectio
 and the Great Plain itself remaine
 uninhabited practically. and unsub
 ducd for many years.
 First Roads Built.
 Tn 1895 the first rough highway
 were cut through, one to our cente1 ] another to White Oak, the first men
 toned becoming a part of the "hig
 road from Boston through Hartfor
 and Pennington to New Haven.
 Time will not permit us to trace tn ! alIotments of land made to our earl
 settlers and it is only possible to not in passing, that between 1857 and 173 . considerable acreage on the Gree
 Plain and at White Oak was grante to individuals by the town and nume1
 ous sales and exchanges are recorde , and much interest appears to hay r been taken in the region about Grea ! Pond so-cal1ed, now known as Han
 lin's Pond.