Putnam patriot. [volume] (Putnam, Conn.) 1872-1962, 1921-08-19
Hslory Stories of
Connecticut

.
serve
When King Charles the second gave
Connecticut her charter in 1852 he
said that the colony was to be bound
ed on the north BY Massachusetts. on
the east By Narragansett Bay, on the
south by the sea. and the west by the
Pacific Ocean, known then As the
South Sea. II Connecticut had settl-
cd and governed all the land included
within these boundaries she would
have been a state fifty miles in width
and almost three thousand miles in
+ length. But the kings who granted
charters to their colonies in America
were either very careless or very
ignorant about the boundary lines and
about the rights of Others for again
and again they granted 10 one colony
land that had already been granted
to another. OF course two colonies
could not own the same land. One
must give up some Of its claim 70 the
other for the sake of peace. In this
way Connecticut gave up most Of this
vast territory.
Rhode Island had already settled
and received title TO some Of this
land near Narragansett Ray and the
following year after King Charles
granted II to Connecticut the Rhode
Island people applied for a new char
/ ter which was granted them. The
boundary line between Connecticut
and Rhode Island was sure 70 cause
+ trouble and John Clarke. the agent
ernor Winthrop. the agent Of Connee-
tieus. that they should choose four
men in London to decide upon the
/ boundary line The judges decided
I that the line should be the Pawcatuck
River from its mouth TO its source and
aehusetts Accordingly King Charles
made the Rhode Island charter cover
all the land between Narragansett
/ Bay and this line II was long, long
time. however, before the Connecticut
and Rhode Island people ceased dis
q HAAtiAA UAEi AAttAA kAEAaAH ~ VIC ttAhA
east of the Pawcatuck River,
Rufus Choate. noted lawyer. said
the line between the states might as
well have been bounded on the north
by bramble bush. on the south by
bluejay. on the west by hive of
bees in swarming time. and on the
east by five hundred foxes with fire.
brands tied to their tails However.
Rhode Island and Connecticut finally
agreed 70 have the line surveyed
where they thought the London judi
ges intended it should be.
On the south and west there was
trouble with New York. Two years
after granting the Connecticut char
ter the king gave his brother James.
the Duke of York. Long Island and
all the land from the west side of the
Connecticut River to the east side Of
Delaware Bay. It took almost twenty
years for Connecticut and New York
to establish that boundary line nearly
where il is today and il was almost
two hundred years more before the
[ two states and their surveyors marked
the entire length Of this line 50 that
there should be no further dispute.
Ii took one hundred and forty years
To settle the line between Connecticut
and Massachusetts Massachusetts
first employed two surveyors named /
Woodward and Saffery TO run the
line according to her charter. They
did their work very poorly and where
the line crossed the Connecticut River
II was about eight miles too far south. I
Connecticut would not agree TO this.
Then Connecticut employed men to I
run the line farther north but Mass
achusetts refused to accept their
decision. SufIield, Enfield. and Wood
stock were claimed by both Connect
cut and Massachusetts, and both
colonies tried 10 collect taxes from +
them. As the people Of these three
towns preferred to be under the
government Of Connecticut they re-
fused to recognize the claims Of Mass
aehusetts. In 1904 the long dispute
came to an end and the boundary line
was marked very nearly where Conn
ectieut had long claimed it ought to
be-
II We examine this line upon a map
We notice one place where it seems
to Jog iu'1 Connecticut in way that
looks very strange indeed. This place
is lust west Of Southwick Pond. Some
Of the people who mad settled there
claimed that they belonged to Mass
aehusetts and Massachusetts, thought
she ought to have Southwick in return
for the land she had given up to
Connecticut. So Connecticut agreed
to give Massachusetts a tract about
two miles square which accounts for
the indentation in the boundary
49, .h.e f,wua.f tet,4 had II