New Milford, Connecticut

“ It is from their lives, indeed, that history gains its color and its inspiration.
“It was the good fortune of New Milford to be the home of such a man in the middle of her first century of existence.
“It was a hundred and sixty-four years ago, this very month that a tall and well-set young fellow of two and twenty ended in this town a toilsome journey, taken on foot from the neighborhood of Boston. He had come to make New Milford his home, bringing on his back the tools of his trade—that of a shoemaker—and with their aid he here gained for a year or two an honest livelihood. ”

“ Upon my return to Hartford I want to congratulate you and your fellow committeemen, and, in fact, the entire town, upon the magnificent celebration of New Milford’s Bi-Centennial. I wish also to thank you for your unfailing courtesy and your thoughtfulness for the comfort of myself and staff during our delightful stay there.
“I enjoyed it myself very much, and I am proud that Connecticut{298} holds New Milford as one of her communities. The enterprise of your citizens, and the scope of their celebration, is equal to what much larger places might have attempted, but few of New Milford’s size. ”

“ And they do well, the people of New Milford, proud of their town and its history, to recognize on such a splendid scale its two hundredth birthday. With all their ceremonies of civic and social celebration, the religious side of their town’s history has been given equal attention. Almighty God has not been forgotten—He who is the Creator and Supreme Ruler of the Universe, from whom comes all that we are and all that we have, who holds in the palm of His hand the destiny of the world and the fate of its people. ”

“ All glory, then, to these Pilgrims from New Milford! They, like one of old, ‘went out not knowing whither they went.’ They dared and suffered and died, but always achieved. Well may this village, a beautiful gem set in the midst of these rolling hills, rejoice in its own noble development and progress and prosperity. Your life here is almost ideal. The conditions are as fine as the world affords. But, as you rejoice in this Bi-Centennial of your own founding, forget not, O brave and true men and women of this generation ”

“ Do we, who know this lovely valley so well, wonder that he built his simple home here, and that his descendants have remained here ever since? His house was for some time the last house this side of Albany.
“After a short time, a company from Milford, on Long Island Sound, took up much of the land here, and naturally gave the name New Milford to the new settlement. These men were of a sturdy race, strong in body, courageous, believers in God and His righteousness. ”

“ Elijah Boardman many virtues, we all—the loyal sons and daughters of New Milford, those who went forth to make homes for themselves elsewhere and have now returned hither, and the strangers from foreign shores who have settled here—join together this beautiful month of June to celebrate the founding of the town, two hundred years ago. ”

“ Those early days of New Milford produced some noted men, whose lives and example did much to mould the characters of the inhabitants. The names of Boardman, Taylor, Noble, Gaylord, Bostwick, Canfield, Baldwin, Griswold, Sherman, Sanford, Mygatt, Marsh, Hine, Turrill, and others of the same stamp will be recalled as those of leaders in the affairs of the town and the church. ”

“ New Milford is proud of her history; proud of her position among the hills and towns of old Litchfield County, in this blessed commonwealth of Connecticut; proud of her business enterprise, of her schools and churches; and proud of her children, whom she welcomes home to-day.{139}
“You are here, not as chance visitors, or strangers, but as members of one great family. We ask you to be not only with us, but of us at this time; to become, for the time being, citizens of our town, and would be glad to have you become so in fact.
“New Milford and its Celebration are yours; be at home with us ”

“ The War Records of Connecticut do not give the places from which the Militia and Volunteers came, so it is impossible to tell exactly how many New Milford men participated in the war. The names of Baldwin, Barnes, Bartholomew, Bassett, Beech, Buck, Buell, Bostwick, Booth, Canfield, Comstock, Noble, Starr, Taylor, Turrill, and many other New Milford names are upon the rolls, but just how many are to be credited to the town it is impossible to say. ”

“ THE AFTERMATH The great event is over, and New Milford has excelled all records and exceeded all anticipations. This might sound egotistical, were it not a fact that it is only the plain truth, and corroborated by the speech of everyone who witnessed the Celebration. Our town stands higher to-day in public estimation than it ever stood before. As we look back, it is not possible to name an event which should have been omitted or a feature which should have been added. A four-days’ celebration has been held, covering every point which such a celebration should cover ”

“ The large city has certain great attractions, and, in some respects, life in it is far broader and greater than it can be elsewhere. That is the reason I went to New York. But the town, and the small city, have other advantages, and it is by those that my love of this place is kindled. And so, on this birthday of New Milford, I want to speak of those qualities which I prize so highly in this place. ”

“ Marmaduke Hare, who spoke as an Englishman who is an American in the making, Mr. Beach terminated the exercises with these words:
“One brief thought in closing. As the sun sinks behind the hills of our western horizon to-night, we close the second century of the history of New Milford; but let us not linger too long in contemplation of the setting sun. Rather, let us turn our faces eastward and greet the rising sun, which will usher in the third century. Yes, it will be our privilege to enter the portals of another century, but certain it is that not one present will reach its exit. ”

“ Whereas, New Milford was first settled in the year of our Lord, 1707, and has from a humble beginning gone steadily forward in growth and prosperity, through the industry and patriotism of its sons and daughters, and the blessings of a Divine Providence:
“And Whereas, It seems fitting that the two hundredth anniversary of this town, now near at hand, should be recognized and celebrated by all its citizens in such manner as to confer proper dignity upon the occasion; to call together for a day all its children; to honor the memories of those who contributed to its past and present welfare ”

“ It was the articulation of one life into another life, and of each life into the whole, that made the village of New Milford and every village in New England so strong and safe and efficient.
“But, little by little, these villagers in New Milford and other communities round about felt the need of the articulation of community interest into a larger whole. And so the community of associated responsibility and help took in Waterbury, Norwalk, Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven and other villages and towns scattered over this general region. ”

“ According to one of the legends current in Western Connecticut, a troop of New Milford and Roxbury men on their way to the Hampshire Grants to join Ethan Allen, assembled at New Milford. Their first morning’s march was up the Housatonic to a little spring which comes out near the present railroad a short distance below Merwinsville. There, they were met by Deacon Gaylord, who had crossed the river from his place in a canoe, with a lunch, which included a bottle of applejack, and a jug of hard cider. ”

“ It would be impossible to give all the actions in which New Milford men were concerned during the Revolution without giving a history of the entire war. Some of the marked battles in which they were engaged were those about Philadelphia, the Mud Forts, Germantown and Monmouth. They participated in the crossing of the Delaware from Princeton and, later, were at the surrender of Germantown. New Milford men were with Morgan at Saratoga and tradition says that they were at the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, with Ethan Allen. ”

“ The history of the world is full of them, and, on the other side, none more marked than is shown in our own land in the marvelous progress which the New South has made since the curse of human slavery was lifted from her in the desolation and horror of the Civil War.
“This town, this State, this nation is just exactly what you and I, as individuals, are making it to-day. The past is unchangeable, the future is in the hands of God. Only the present is ours. We have come in our own experience to times of great unrest and discontent with existing conditions. ”

“ Their experiences stimulated their intellectual life into full activity, and they bore their full share in the wonderful work which Connecticut has done in the world. In all critical times in both State and nation, the sons of New Milford, both native and adopted, have been very active and influential, and one of them, Roger Sherman, performed a work which will last as long as this nation shall continue to be free and independent, or as long as the Constitution of the United States shall endure.
“We know that the past two hundred years are but the beginning of a long history of this town. ”

“ The wisdom of those early settlers in organizing society upon a liberal plane seems to us almost marvelous. What they hoped for has been realized.
“The people who founded New Milford and the other Connecticut towns were unselfish. They planned not only for themselves and their time, but they planned for those that were to come after them. They saw through the years what might be{287}
HONORABLE ROLLIN S. WOODRUFF
Governor of Connecticut ours, if their plans prevailed. They saw the human race rising to its highest perfection in an atmosphere of liberty and of opportunity. ”

“ The first company in New Milford was organized in 1715, and was commanded for twenty years by Captain Stephen Noble. The service for the guarding of the frontier towns in the colony of Connecticut was an exceedingly arduous one. Every male citizen, except the aged, the infirm, and the ministers, was obliged to do military duty. These militia-men had to provide their arms and equipment at their own expense, and, if any business required their absence from the town, they were obliged to provide a substitute and to pay, themselves, for his services. ”

“ It was said that Roger Sherman was placed on every important committee while in Congress, and that no law, or part of a law, that he favored failed to be enacted. John Adams said that Chief Justice Ellsworth told him that he made Roger Sherman his model in youth.
The Fathers of New Milford wrought wisely and well in establishing the religious and civic institutions. They built well the town and wide the streets, and their descendants have enlarged and improved so much that this little village has the name far and wide of being one of the most beautiful spots in New England. ”

“ A majority of the society decided it should be built about a mile north of the Center, where the present church stands. A minority, living at the Center and in the southern part of the town, built a church at the Center, and called it a union church. Rev. Selleck was preacher in charge of New Milford circuit, which, at that time, included the following appointments: Pleasant Plains, Iron Works, Newtown, Merryall, Hawleyville, Northville, Kent Mountain, Gaylordsville, Bull’s Bridge, and Long Mountain. ”

“ My friends, I am very glad to join with you in celebrating the two hundredth birthday of the settlement of New Milford. This commemoration will become an interesting experience in your lives, and your children will never forget the history that is taught them by this event. They will learn of the early struggles of those who laid the solid foundation of Connecticut, in the establishment of her towns, in the making of her laws, and building of a great commonwealth out of the materials of industry, education, and patriotism. ”

“ A native and former resident of New Milford, who now resides in Hartford, Connecticut.
[8] Mr. Canfield viewed the various ceremonies of the Bi-Centennial Celebration from the veranda of his residence on the east side of “The Green.” He received scores of visitors there with little apparent fatigue.—Editor.
[9] The writer of this article has endeavored to be accurate in his statements. He has sought information from various sources; from the town records, from files of newspapers of the town, from personal recollections, and from the “History of New Milford,” by Rev. Samuel Orcutt, 1882. ”

“ Twenty-five years before, the Secretary of the Colony had reported to the Home Government, that ‘in this mountainous, rocky, and swampy province’ most of the arable land was taken up, and the remainder was hardly worth tillage.
“This need of more land, and the protection from invasion which the settlement of this section would afford the communities near the coast, and the innate love of adventure and desire to subdue the wilderness, which have characterized the American people from the beginning, were the impelling causes which led to the planting of New Milford. ”

“ In 1745 a call came to Connecticut from the sister colonies for large numbers of troops for service outside her borders, and, again, in 1755. In response to these calls, New Milford seems not to have sent any men. The defense of their own town and of its outlying districts was about all the colonists of New Milford undertook in a military way, this being sufficiently strenuous to engage their entire attention. ”

“ This region, settled by Connecticut people between 1790 and 1820, was still a little New England, its churches, schools, and local government closely modeled on those of Connecticut.’ Nor did this ‘fallow field’ among the Pilgrims from New Milford prove unproductive. Rustic lads, whom Dr. James Harris Fairchild, President of Oberlin College for many potential years, represented, bearing his testimony to these hard, early conditions, waded through the snow barefooted in order to attend school. Such lads could not be kept away from the privileges of higher training. ”