THE township of Sterling occupies the southeast corner of the county, being bounded on the north by Killingly, east by Rhode Island, south by Voluntown (formerly a town of Windham county, but recently transferred to New London county), and west by Plainfield. The town is nine miles long from north to south, and has an average width of three miles. It is centrally distant -from Hartford 49 miles and from New Haven 73 miles. It contains an area of twenty-seven square miles. Much of the land is hilly or swampy. The town is well drained by the Quanduck and Cedar … Read more

The factory village of Wauregan is partly within this township at its southeastern corner. Within this town is the Roman Catholic church called Sacred Heart. The building was erected in 1872, and opened for service in June of that year. A cemetery and ground connected with it contains twenty-four acres. This field was a mission of All Hallows church at Moosup until May, 1889, when it was made a distinct parish, and a local pastor, Reverend Arthur O’Keefe, placed in charge of it. A parochial residence is about to be built. The church building has a seating capacity of about … Read more

Woodstock’s first post office was opened in Bowen’s store in 1811, George Bowen, postmaster. Six offices are now needed, one for each separate village, viz., Woodstock, East, West, North, South Woodstock and Woodstock Valley. Convenient mail carriages convey the mail from Putnam depot to these several stations. These villages, dating back many years, enjoy varying degrees of prosperity. Some have lost by business changes and emigration; others gained by new interests. The summer element has brought new prosperity to Woodstock hill. The erection of ” Roseland Cottage,” by Mr. H. C. Bowen, was soon followed by the opening of Elmwood … Read more

The Willimantic Cemetery lies in the western suburbs of the borough. It is a pleasant location and contains many handsome monuments and well-kept plats. Its beginning dates back to the early part of the century. On the 15th of June, 1829, the First school society of Windham purchased of Henry and Joseph Brown two acres of land for a burying- plot.. This lot is now nearly in the center of the present cemetery. Four additions have since been made, two on the easterly and two on the westerly side. May 5th, 1858, the town of Windham bought about five and … Read more

The township of Scotland, lying in the southwestern part of the county, is about six miles long from north to south, and about three miles wide. It lies on the southern border of the county, being bounded on the north by Hampton and a small part of Chaplin, on the east by Canterbury, on the south by Lisbon and Franklin, in the county of New London, and on the west by Windham. It comprehends about eighteen square miles of territory, much of which is hilly and in a wild condition. This is particularly true of the northern part of the … Read more

Pomfret has been foremost in the interest manifested in literary acquirements and especially in the promotion of what culture a public library can bring to a people. In 1739 ” The United English Library for the Propagation of Christian and Useful Knowledge ” was established here, the citizens of Woodstock, Mortlake, Killingly and the west part of Thompson joining with those of Pomfret in laying its foundations. The society numbered thirty-four members, who subscribed various sums from ten to forty pounds. The sum expended for books at the start was about £418. The first books were obtained in 1840, and … Read more

S. N. Ashley, born March 18th, 1827, in Chaplin, Conn., is a son of Luther and Eliza (Humphrey) Ashley, and grandson of Jonathan and Lydia Humphrey. In 1860 he married Jane Bass. Their children are: Luther, born October 22d, 1865, and Eliza, born January 7th, 1868. Mr. Ashley served in the 26th Connecticut Infantry for about one year in the rebellion and saw much hard service. Egbert Bass, born January 29th, 1825, is a son of John and Elizabeth (Smith) Bass, and grandson of Ebenezer and Ruth (Waldo) Bass. He has been selectman, constable and collector, and has held other … Read more

During the early years of Ashford town life the question of maintaining schools received some backward blows. A party of ignorant and unenterprising men succeeded for a time in holding the control of the public voice so far as to prevent a school being kept up. In 1722 the town voted ” not to be at the expense of hiring a schoolmaster.” This state of affairs, however, did not continue for any great length of time. In October, 1723, a schoolmaster was hired by the town to keep school half a year. In 1726 the public interest was bending all … Read more

Rhodes G. Allen was born in Providence, R. I., June 5th, 1819, and is the fifth son of Rhodes G. and Rebecca C. (Bowen) Allen. He received a common school education, learned the machinist’s trade at Harrisville, town of Woodstock, in 1836, and remained there till 1846, when he went to Whitingville, Mass., but returned to Putnam in 1847. He engaged in the repairing business at the different mills, and was for twelve years employed by the Morse Mills Company. He then bought a farm, which he has conducted since. His first wife was Lucretia A. Aldrich. by whom he … Read more

The peace and comfort of the town was suddenly broken in 1849 by a movement to dissever the southern part of the territory, that it might be incorporated into a new valley town to be called Quinebaug. The village of Rhodesville now embraced a large manufacturing interest, adding much to the tax list and population of the town. This village, and that favorite section known as the South Neighborhood, were to be taken from Thompson and swallowed up in the new town. Thompson’s population then numbered nearly five thousand, and it stood very high on the grand list of the … Read more