The Wethersfield elm, pictured in 1917, was the largest in New England at 27 ft (8.2 m) in circumference.[16]
English: This elm tree in Wethersfield, Connecticut was the largest in New England, measuring 27 feet in circumference. Identifier: newenglandhumani00john Title: New England; a human interest geographical reader Year: 1917 (1910s) Authors: Johnson, Clifton, 1865-1940 Subjects: New England -- Description and travel New England -- History Publisher: New York, The Macmillan Company London, Macmillan and Co., limited Contributing Library: New York Public Library Digitizing Sponsor: MSN View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: tumn of 1633 Plymouth sent alittle vessel under the command of William Holmesto the river. In the hold of the vessel was the frameM 161 l62 New England of a small trading-house and boards to cover andfinish it. When the vessel had sailed up the stream asfar as Hartford the crew were surprised to find that theDutch had built a rude earthwork there and equippedit with two cannon. As they approached this portthe drumbeats resounded from it, and the cannoneersstood with lighted niatches beside the two guns under the banner of _^ the Nether- lands. The Dutchthreateninglydemanded thatHolmes shouldstop or thegunners wouldfire. But theydid not fire, inspite of his re-fusal to com-ply. He wenton up to Wind-sor and there erected the trading-house. A garri-son was left in it, and the vessel returned toPlymouth. By 1635 settlements had been started at bothWindsor and Wethersfield, and late that year oneparty of sixty men, women, and children from thevicinity of Boston marched overland by compass, Text Appearing After Image: The Wethersfield elm, twenty-seven feet incircumference, the biggest in New England Connecticut Beginnings 163 driving their cattle and swine before them. Theywere overtaken by winter while still on the way.When they arrived at the river they built rafts andcrossed to where Hartford now is, but were obliged toleave some of their cattle to subsist without hay onthe east side. Navigation on the stream was com-pletely blocked by ice before the middle of November,and the vessels which were to have brought the set-tlers household goods and provisions were abandonedor sailed back. About this time Lieutenant Lion Gardiner withthirty men took possession of the rivers mouth. Theytore down the Dutch arms which they found therefastened to a tree, and named the spot PointSaybrook. Then they built a wooden fort and somehouses, and set up a palisade twelve feet high acrossthe neck of the peninsula. Gardiners young wifecame from Boston to dwell in one of the houses amidthe drifting snow before the p Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work. Licensing This image was taken from Flickr's The Commons. The uploading organization may have various reasons for determining that no known copyright restrictions exist, such as: The copyright is in the public domain because it has expired; The copyright was injected into the public domain for other reasons, such as failure to adhere to required formalities or conditions; The institution owns the copyright but is not interested in exercising control; or The institution has legal rights sufficient to authorize others to use the work without restrictions. More information can be found at https://flickr.com/commons/usage/ Please add additional copyright tags to this image if more specific information about copyright status can be determined. See Commons:Licensing for more information.No known copyright restrictionsNo restrictionshttps://www.flickr.com/commons/usage/false This image was originally posted to Flickr by Internet Archive Book Images at https://flickr.com/photos/126377022@N07/14580821810. It was reviewed on 5 June 2017 by the FlickreviewR robot and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the No known copyright restrictions.