Putnam patriot., 1930-10-16
Fir., Settler.

The first residents or settlers of the territory known as the North Parish of Killingly, later called Thompson Parish in what is now Put nam were the Cadys, Howes and Parks on the east.
 The first survey for the Norwich and Worcester Railroad made in 1 1s28-29. passed half mile from its present location, or east of Grove Street Cemetery and thence north by the William Hummer place By the l influence of Messrs Wilkinson and Rhodes two years later the road was changed to it's present line and grad ing commenced.
 Killingly from which almost all of Putnam was derived was largely known as Societies under the control of ecclesiastical bodies.
 Kiliinglv was the first township settled but the inhabitants were few and scattered while Pomfret, al- though later date, grew more quickly. As Woodstock was for some years m the Massachusetts Colony it isn't referred to here.
 Here we may picture the old house
 
 ago. situated in vast wilderness of oak. pine hemlock, chestnut, cedar and maple. As oak, pine and cedar may still be seen in the beams, joists. roof covering. floors and doors we know from these old seasoned woods that they must have been hewed on the land. If you were to enter by the further door tnot shown in the picture) you would encounter 8 chorus of voices of the truly Amer ican Thanksgiving birds Good siz- ed gobblers with feathers enflad as pompous as a turkey can be over his harum of more quiet turkey hens with their little ones ranging from tiny runabouts to the half grown state-then the pretty little speckled Guineas. whose ancestors caused a reprimand to the owners on Thomp- son Hill. Their wood saving sounds disturbed the pious fathers Sunday devotions. The long unsettled Turk ish government is also repre- sented in it's Capital multiplied by dozen Angoras. The attractive little can aries are not to be forgotten. No farmhouse would be without dog SO here is one--a good sized one of course. The safest place is always outside a menagerie but the outsid- CTS talk more than they do, however the dog mutt be a good watchman inside. From the ancient amulets Gods protection would appear to be inside. Still to be seen is the horse shoe over the door; the dangling acorns and the small H & l. hinges. The hinges all reminders of the superstitions customs so commonly adhered to long, long years ago. (The small vertical mark between the Gates of Hercules represents the hinge. One gate is on the door and the other on the easing may have an iron strap on the door These are less common than the larger II & L hinges as mang large mansion hous-- es have been preserved. Naturally this house has been somewhat re- novated and remodelled-some of the old door latches gave pL. se to more modern ones for a pecuniary com pensation. Cellars in former days were like dungeons with little light before our modern methods of light ing. Lamps. lanterns or candles in- side of tin lanterns or lanthorns gave less than frefy lights where grey walls made no reflection. Still the cellar was important for here was a we'll supplied cold storage with bouncing big barrels of cider where one could drink from the tap, and then there were brown bottles of cider brandy. currant. dandelion, grape, rhubarb and elderberry wine a plenty. besides apples, pears, po- tatoes. pumpkins. onions and vege- tables not to be numbered. Always