Windham County

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

The township of Putnam, incorporated in 1855, was made up from parts of Thompson, Killingly and Pomfret. The Quinebaug river, with its great falls in the heart of the village, is its most distinctive physical feature, its main source of life and business prosperity. Manufacturing enterprise, aided by railroads, built up a flourishing village. This village demanded expansion and the liberty to manage its own affairs, and after a desperate struggle obtained town privileges, taking in as much surrounding territory as was needful to give it corporate standing, and by running its south boundary line obliquely, cutting off barren land … Read more

The first white settler, as far as is known, came to Killingly in 1693. He was Richard Evans from Rehoboth. He had purchased of the Reverend James Pierpont a two hundred acre grant, for twenty pounds. Little is known of him, and the bounds of his farm cannot now be identified. It was in what was subsequently called the South Neighborhood of Thompson, and is now included in Putnam. In those early days his establishment served as a landmark, by which many other purchases were located. In 1694 Reverend Noadiah Russel secured two hundred acres five miles southeast of Woodstock, … Read more

One of the first needs that Pomfret felt after the meeting house had been built, was for a way to get to it. Roads were not laid out at the start and the attention of the people was now turned toward this deficiency. Within the bounds of the purchase, which covered more than half the territory of the town, it belonged to the proprietors to provide them, but outside of those limits it belonged to the town. This arrangement was not satisfactory, as harmony of action was not always attainable. The proprietors, at a meeting in March, 1726, agreed to … Read more

After receiving confirmation of bounds in 1713, one of the first things Pomfret did was to settle religious worship. The town, October 28th, voted to give an orthodox minister one hundred and fifty pounds toward buying land and building himself a house, and fifty-five pounds annual salary, until the town should contain sixty families. A committee was appointed to look for a minister. Reverend Ebenezer Williams was secured for six months. He boarded at the house of Captain John Sabin. in the northeast corner of the town. Religious services were held in some convenient private house. February 16th, 1714, the … Read more