PART I
THE PAST AND PRESENT |
| PAGE |
| INTRODUCTION. By Minot S. Giddings | 3 |
| The first settlers of New Milford. Zachariah Ferriss sued for trespass. John Reed and his career. Organizing a township. Organizing a church and calling a minister. The sturdy character of the Fathers. Noted men. Roger Sherman. The splendid heritage of New Milford. |
| GLIMPSES OF OLD NEW MILFORD HISTORY. By Charlotte Baldwin Bennett | 8 |
| The site of New Milford two hundred years ago. The character and career of John Noble. The Boardman well. The first minister and the first meetinghouse. The union of town and church. “Seating and dignifying the meetinghouse.” People called to church by a drum. The tithing-man. The Sabbath-day house. Importance of the minister. The first Episcopal services. The Separatists. The Baptists. The Methodists. The Quakers. The different church edifices. Church music. The schools. The singing schools. The early wars. A romance of the Revolution. Illustrious visitors. Social life after the war. Anecdote of Parson Taylor. Transportation. Main street nearly a century ago. Beautifying “The Green.” The village doctor. Slavery. The “Underground Railroad.” The Civil War. The fire of 1902. |
| THE OWNERS OF NEW MILFORD. By Gen. Henry Stuart Turrill | 22 |
| Proprietors to the amount of £1, 4s. Proprietors to the amount of 12s. |
| TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO. (Poem). By Sarah Sanford Black | 24 |
| THE TWO ABIGAILS. By Gen. Henry Stuart Turrill | 26 |
| Caleb Terrill settles in New Milford. Major Turrill. Marriage of Caleb Terrill and Abigail Bassett in Stratford. Caleb and Abigail visit Caleb’s family at Milford. They mount the “Great River.” Halt at “the Cove.” The home on Second Hill. The wonderful life of Abigail. The career of Abigail Ufford. |
| NEW MILFORD IN THE WARS. By Gen. Henry Stuart Turrill | 31 |
| Military inactivity of the first fifty years. The first company in New Milford. Arduousness of the train-band service. The Second Company. Tenth Company of Col. David Wooster’s Third Regiment of Connecticut Levy. Other Companies. The Eleventh Company of the Fourth Regiment. The Tenth Company of the Second Regiment. Captain Joseph Canfield’s Company. The good understanding with the Indians. The most prominent names in military affairs. The first company mentioned in connection with the Revolution. Its history indefinite. Captain Isaac Bostwick’s Company. The Nineteenth Regiment of Connecticut Line. Part played in the movements about New York. At Spuyten Duyvil Creek. Tradition of a sergeant’s guard under the command of David Buell. The capture of Fort Washington. New Milford men made prisoners of war. Confined in a barn. The Old Sugar House Prison. Prison hardships. Roger Blaisdell’s pork barrel. The prison-ship Dutton. Arrival of the surviving prisoners in New Milford. Captain Bostwick’s company about Philadelphia. The Danbury alarm. Captain Daniel Pendleton’s company. The stay-at-homes. The leading families in the Revolution. Engagements in which New Milford men participated. New Milford soldiers refreshed by Deacon Gaylord. New Milford men at Stony Point. The old age of David Buell. Reunions of old soldiers at the home of John Turrill. The adventures of Stephen Turrill. |
| The Colonial Wars | 45 |
| New Milford men in the Colonial Wars as given in the Connecticut Historical Society rolls. |
| The Revolution | 49 |
| Muster roll of a company said to have been raised in New Milford and to have formed a part of Colonel Andrew Ward’s Regiment of Connecticut Militia. Roll of Captain Isaac Bostwick’s company, Seventh Company, Sixth Regiment, of Connecticut Line. Men who crossed the Delaware with Captain Isaac Bostwick and were in the battles of Trenton and Princeton. Officers and men from New Milford who served in the Sixth Company of the Fourth Regiment of Connecticut Line. New Milford men who served in Lieutenant-Colonel Josiah Starr’s Regiment, Connecticut Line. New Milford men who were in Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Canfield’s Regiment of Connecticut Militia at West Point in 1781. New Milford men who served in Connecticut Regiment of Pioneers. New Milford men who served in Col. Moses Hazen’s Regiment, Connecticut Militia. New Milford men who served in the Fifth Troop, Shelden’s Dragoons. New Milford men who served in Second Regiment, Connecticut Line. Company of forty volunteers. New Milford men in Captain Charles Smith’s company. General David Waterbury’s State Regiment. Lieutenant John Phelps’s Troop of Horse. New Milford men in Sixth Company, Fourth Regiment, Continental Line. New Milford Men in Captain Kimberley’s Company, Second Regiment, Continental Line. New Milford men who served under Lieutenant-Colonel Canfield in the Tryon invasion. New Milford members of the Society of the Cincinnati. |
| The War of 1812 | 53 |
| The Mexican War | 53 |
| The Civil War | 54 |
| List of men from New Milford who had service in the Civil War. Recapitulation. |
| The Spanish-American War | 66 |
| RECOLLECTIONS OF OLD NEW MILFORD HOMES. By Alice Merwin Bostwick | 67 |
| The pre-Revolutionary houses. The great chimney. The good cooking of the early days. The hard work. The quilting bee. The shoemaker. The schoolmaster. Homeless wanderers. Indians from the Reservation. The calls of the parson. Visiting. Sunday. Fast Day. Thanksgiving. The long winters. Comparison of the life then and now. |
| UNCHARTERED INSTITUTIONS. By Frederic Knapp | 75 |
| The general “sitting-down” place. Levi Knapp’s store. Its influence. Remarkable longevity of its habituÉs. |
| TRAINING DAYS IN THE ’FORTIES, AS TOLD BY AN OLD BOY. By Frederic Knapp | 78 |
| Emerson’s appreciation of boys. Training day the day of the year. Off for a good time. On the parade-ground. At the tavern. The evolutions of the train-band. The lessons taught. |
| REMARKABLE LONGEVITY OF NEW MILFORD CITIZENS. By Minot S. Giddings | 81 |
| ACTIVITIES OF NEW MILFORD IN LATER YEARS | 84 |
| Original extent of New Milford. Well watered and fertilized. Beauty of the landscape. Growth of the town. The production of milk and butter. Account of the tobacco industry, by Vincent B. Sterling. The hatting industry. The button industry. The furniture industry. The manufacture of machinery. Paper making. Grist mills and saw mills. The iron industry. Cloth making. Operations in wood and lumber. Quarrying and burning lime rock. The electric light plant. The New Milford Power Company. Pottery making. Account of the Bridgeport Wood Finishing Company by George B. Calhoun. Education in New Milford. The early schools. The Housatonic Institute. Adelphi Institute. The Center School. The first kindergarten. The Ingleside School. The New Milford churches. The Memorial Hall and Library. The New Milford newspapers. The New Milford Brass Band. Roger Sherman Hall. The banks. The Agricultural Society. The water supply. The fire department. The fires of New Milford. The fire of 1902. Recovering from the fire of 1902. Recent growth and improvements. |
| THE STORY OF NEW MILFORD TOLD IN CHRONOLOGICAL EPITOME. By Russell B. Noble and Minot S. Giddings | 98 |
| RECORD OF THE PUBLIC SERVICES OF ROGER SHERMAN. By Hon. Ebenezer J. Hill | 115 |
PART II
THE BI-CENTENNIAL EXERCISES |
| INCEPTION AND ORGANIZATION. | |
| Call for a meeting in the New Milford Gazette. The meeting. Preamble and resolution adopted. Further action of the meeting. Meeting of the General Committee of Arrangements on July 6, 1906. Action of this meeting. Officers. Sub-committees. Duties of sub-committees. Assessments. Other sub-committees. Names of the officers and members of the General Committee of Arrangements. The members of the special committees. The work accomplished by the various committees. The Finance Committee. The Executive Committee. The Committee on Exercises. The appointment of district committees. Names of the members of the district committees. The Committee on Refreshments. The Committee on Decorations. The Committee on Publicity. The Committee of Invitation, Reception and Entertainment. The Committee on Religious Observances. The Committee of Public Safety. The Historical Committee. The Loan Exhibit Committee. The Committee on Colonial Features. The Committee on Colonial Reception. The Committee on Vocal Music. Rest houses. Committee of Public Health and Comfort. Marshal’s aides. Faithfulness and efficiency of the committees. |
| THE OPENING EXERCISES | 136 |
| The weather. Beauty of the decorations on “The Green.” The Doxology rendered by the chimes of all Saints’. The Invocation. Address of welcome by Charles N. Hall. The flag-raising. |
| THE LOAN EXHIBITION | 140 |
| Richness of the collection. Source of joy to the aged and a means of instruction for the young. An exemplification of public spirit. Possibility of a permanent museum. A complete list of the exhibits. |
| THE OLD HOME GATHERING | 170 |
| Address of welcome by W. Frank Kinney. The exercises. Poem by Mary Murdoch Mason. Cablegram from Frank Hine. Letter from Henry S. Mygatt. |
| OUR FOREFATHERS. (Poem.) By Charles N. Hall | 175 |
| THE SUNDAY EXERCISES | 176 |
| Preaching appropriate to the occasion. Sermon of Rev. Frank A. Johnson in the First Congregational Church. Hymn by Charlotte Baldwin Bennett. Sermon by Rev. Samuel Hart, D. D., in St. John’s Episcopal Church. Sermon by Rev. S. D. Woods in the Baptist Church. Sermon by Rev. H. K. Smith in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Sermon by Rev. Orville Van Keuren in the Gaylordsville Methodist Episcopal Church. Sermon by Rev. E. Z. Ellis in the Advent Christian Church. Sermon by Father Ryan in the Catholic Church. The Union meeting. Address by Rev. Frederick A. Wright of New York. The evening services. The services at All Saints’ Memorial Church. Sermon by Rev. Charles J. Ryder, D. D., of New York in the First Congregational Church. Sermon by Rev. George S. Bennitt, D. D., in St. John’s Church. |
| THE AUTOMOBILE PARADE | 227 |
| A bold experiment. Unqualified success. The owners of the cars. The prize winners. The decorations of the various cars. |
| THE HISTORICAL MEETING | 228 |
| Greeting by Frederic M. Williams. Address by Dr. Samuel Hart. Introduction of Chief Justice Baldwin by Mr. Williams. Address on “Roger Sherman” by Chief Justice Baldwin. Introduction of Hon. Daniel Davenport. Mr. Davenport’s address. |
| THE COLONIAL RECEPTION | 275 |
| The arrival of Governor Woodruff. The dinner at Ingleside School. Arrival of the gubernatorial party at Roger Sherman Hall. List of persons who assisted in receiving. The ordering of the reception. Brilliancy of the spectacle. The dancing. Governor Woodruff entertained by various organizations. |
| GOVERNOR’S DAY | 277 |
| Temporary population of New Milford. The weather. The Civic and Military Parade. Formation of Parade. Its distinguishing and memorable features. The school floats. The Colonial floats. The industrial floats. The review. The last formal exercises on “The Green.” Introduction of Rev. Timothy J. Lee by Charles M. Beach. Remarks of Mr. Lee. Introduction of Governor Woodruff. Address of Governor Woodruff. Presentation of Rev. Watson L. Phillips, D. D. Eulogy of the Foot Guard by Dr. Phillips. Presentation of Hon. E. J. Hill. Address of Congressman Hill. Remarks by Rev. Marmaduke Hare. Concluding remarks by Mr. Beach. The fireworks. |
| THE AFTERMATH | 295 |
| Retrospect in the New Milford Gazette. Letter from Governor Woodruff to Charles M. Beach. Letter from J. Moss Ives to H. Le Roy Randall. |
