Herb Winer, History of the Great Mountain Forest

28oh&lraotor1zat ions ot ciliate based aol• ly on t.emperaturo and precipitat i ondata ouch ae have been presented above . By themsel~s, those d3ta aNdtlflcult t o int erpret because o.f t he di fficulty l)f eorrol ati.ng t hetemperature and moisture r egimes in a wa1 that i :i IDB4\"1'.naM t4' theT.dtl (,. IUJMtll, MDlMUM, AID MIAN SIAIC»W. SlQIPALL AJm ~ ar GBalDQ IUSOI AT 1cmu.i. catrnw.L, AND CAKAU, CCllmTICur.ll•••l .... lo•tolk Co•DV&ll Canaantall, Got•.._ ... 111:.1111 1111.. lllk.1111 Ilk ~...(t.elllu) 1J7 J2 8l ,,,lJP '6 101 22 '6~(d·qa·) ·-- 1'7 66 12, 190 120 us 158 114 1'8aource.s Norrolk, Cllllda (lCJS.3) , 191,..1952 (at prumt •t.ati<m aiDoe 19l2)Jca::•\"• Dl'k (1939), tabl• 21. 1\",. ud n<.a.-.. 21, 131, and 1'8, 1890-19'5 161, 1896-19'51 Canaan,(19'9), tabl•tag II ece) . (modall) ed 1921-191'ecologist and relevant to t he requirements o! pl ant coor;::uniti.os. At t hesam ti 1 direct fiel d moasuremonts of wind veloci t y, Uu!Jolation, trans-p~~ 1on, and s1.mil ar f actors are not generally availablo, co that i twould be desir abl e to use basic temperat-ure and proc1p1tat ion data that~ widely available in reasonab long time eeri1Js. Or tho wri ous at-tom;>ts that haw been •de to incorporate these data into indices havingecological sip,niticance, Tbornthwa1te ' s appears to be the 1:10at suecees i'ul . Thia approach ('l'bornthwaiw • 19h8) i nvolves ossontinl.l:y aCo:Jpi.'lrison of the mean :iont hl y procipitat i on at n st.at 'on Tdth its

29\"potentJ.al evaIX> ~nepirat.ton,\" a tunctton ot mean tllOtlthl)' and ~rimaltemperatures, adjusted fC1r latitude. The adjustment tor latitude takeeinto ae-count 'both day length and the e ffect of latitude on petonttali nsolation, The various equations involved are al.most wholly ompirical,and1 of course, t his technique suffer s fr om the l imitations t hat areal ways introcluced through a reliance on mean Yalues t or climatic condi-tiooa.. Wind movemnt is not directly considered. A f'1n3l drawback 1eor'l'horntbwaite ' a assumption that the soil i s a r eservoir unif orm water-hol ding capacit y (10 cm). Against the-so objecti ons it m y be argued t hatit would be di fficul t t o deviae a more satisfactory i ndex of moistureregime without addi tional data, uauall-7 not available. Too a.ss11?1ptionregarding soil water....,tora{{e means simply that the i nterpretation ofThomthwa1te ' s moisture indices ai.st be modified to tbG extent thatactual soil condit ions d1ff'8J\" from these aseu•d• With tbeae l imitati ons in m.1.ru:t, it ia 1nstruct1ve to e auparethe three et.at1ons in the Forest region Wit h each other and With twoother stations 1n comparabl e l.atitudea of easter n C01mBctiout. Unfortun-ate]3. no data were available f ar stati ons at el evati ons eompa.rable to!iorf'ollc and Cornwall. All ! ive s tations tal.l int.o the same clasaes set up by Thorn-thwni te with respect t o t hermal effic:rl.ency(here oquivalont to potentialava.po-it.ranspiration) • -seasoMJ. varlnt1cm of effective moistm-o (noneof our stations is abaraotorized by summer drought), and aUOierconcentration of thermal e fficiency (all oar stations show a very mildoceanity) . At all stati ons mean montb-~y precipitation plus arJsumeds oil water-storage ean supply the full potential e't'&pc- transuiration

30of a plant oommu.nt.t7 t hrcugbout the ,.ar. The d1.f t eN nees aaong ourtttati ona appear When we ccnpute mo1eture ratl oe tor the, YfXU\" or t arthe growt ng seaeon (table 6), llhich, f or climates of this type.; providea maeure of the degree to lrbich availabl e moisturG exeeeds t,,he minimalr oqu.trcment.s. On the baaie of tneae l:Jl01sture rat1os1 canaan and 'l'hompson fallin~ Thorntmraite' s elaa·e a1 (Humid )J Cornwall and JIJ.nat'iel d Ql'e in claasBi. (lhlml~ and N~follc 1• at the lCJl'er limit of cl~UJ13 A (Perhumid) ..Voisture rat1oa during the gr~-seaaen (U&;r-Atlgllst) ar e probablymore aenei tive tb4n annual rati·oa. and the lower Talues f ar Ma:mf iel d andThoq>fJon are in accord with the generally ntOl\"e Dl\"ie p).Qnt comlllUrl.tieathat characterise eastern Connecticut co.mparef! with the western pa.rt of thestate. These particular r-atioa are merel)\" auggest i w , of course, andI do not aean t o ~11.gn them any great valua. 'rh.e ntioe f GJ.' norrolk, CQrnwall, and Canaan, on the other hand, appear to diacrilld.nate qui te nice-ly among climates whose d:l t f'orences are r eal and or same i mpO!'ta.nce . Theclimat e of the Forest, as contrastod wit h that of the Canaan l mvl and, istbu generally cooler and moro motet.Stores Stol'm3 a nd storm d&mago may oorIVenient l y be consi<ler-e<l in tlrom jor categories, windstorms and i ce (or glaze) storms. Of the two,i ce stcrma have probnbly boo-n tbG ~ destructive to th-a ~crest nndwi.ll be discussed first . Olaae f orra.s on tret1s ia the Fores t about l2 days each -year(Cli:t.ldtJ; 1953}. Ordinarily the r osulti.nf! dam.ago is oor~gtble, but

11ben cold r ain !alls tor t::ia.r.zy' hours on f r ozen tw1y,s and brancho:., ·severedamge y tollOlf. The .. nrfolk record is quito inc l \" to TTi.th respectto ico storrruJ. Harrevor, Crissey {190'.l: 216) reported ono st.ar-.a., then Tmtl 6. MAI·A'OOQ9T ARD ANNUAL K>IB'l'URE RA.Tia;.• Ima MoS.ture Ratiolortalk statls ·-·~MaY-!wrwrtCCll'llWll 0.05 Cool•+. 1.20CanaanMln.n.14 Creaa UW. -0.01 .90Tba. .-.m hll• Village StO!ft -o.06 .76 larth~ -0.13 ...8,,, -0.18,f- -•Mot.tun ratio • 1 ~ p • Pl'901pltat!ca ID4 PB• patential. napotnup!atica.Souroea ot bade datat -.tolk, c....il, and Cuaan,Tahle• 1 8D4 3J Hanat1al.4 (atat!on el.nation 640 feet),xsn (19'9), table• J9 and 90, 1888-193S; !hi114.-(atation elentiCD 3'f tnt), Kirk (1939), tablea Qand ua. 1891-19J4..still .f.\"rc9h 1.n momory, that took olaee on -;>ebruary 2o-22, 18?6, a.ft.Qrwhich ntl'rl..~s an ei.,hth or an inch in diameter had an ovarcoat or icean inch and a quart.Gr thick [prneu:cably 2. 5 1nches in d;_amater ]. \"'i'h!s storm f l at tened orchards and split shade troeSJ it tJUSt also haveinjured r.iany t oreet stands. Undoubtedly, aany similar atoro:s oo!'or<Jand after 1898 have gone unrecorded. Such scars as ex1stine stands 11.ight 00.U- from too darogedill\"in3 the early t.wentieth eontur-.; were lar~ly oblttorotod b;r thesovoro s toro or December 1942, Whose c ; foots are otill visiblo ov;ar

at th• .FOl\"C.t. ConUore 1'llft •ldom broken, alth or9re otten bent anr, u ehQllU b7 tho oo:ncm ocounenceDOtab11 tbe Otlke, wa1 eeWN, upeet.all.7 in the smaller GUo ' ••(boles 8 lnchoa d. b.b. ). In the hardwood stand• or tho v~•a Uol\"tht.l\"e••lO pero nt ot the lost ono-ttfth or llaN et tbrl.r 0r01rn1.~' resultlne in an eatt•ted loae of 12 to 18 ~com o! thetotal b&rdWood cnabio-toot 'WOlum. 4Wtadatarm t o which the Forest rogton _,. bo au'bjoctcd araol t.Uw pri.Dotpal typeea local ttnmd9Patona1 Vopi 1 qol(~cuos) , and oxtr. .trop1.oal. oyclonee. (t~s of..\"'J)t bo oon&1der-tne,od u a tOUl\"tb but oueb st.or 1 ~not u~ lD Hem V. ..laP.d,ba'fO ...- been repcirt.ed tra.a nort.ttwe1tem OonnlcUwt.. • 1r occmTOncetQ • orMt, r egion 1• not Ulpoe•1b1-1 but it t a aztzoomly1D an uea ot w.cb nr:led t.opoerapby. )Thunderat.orma n:Ol'llfll.l,y occur on 20 to 40e ffect ot ttm cana&n ount.atn plat.Hu, tho7 tend to dnolG'J umeualttrtonalty onr the •atcrn pat\"t of the Fonet. OcoaatCMl>7 •---•WO atnok by llebtnift duM.nu t.M.M storm. Sineduring tbundoretorma doe• not --ed 6o ..p. h., 1'1.nd Gas:iar:o leuaunlly elJ.«ht, bo1na confined coetl.7 t o dead or q :rmed br\"Qtnt:JM»e4 \IDpubU.ried data ooUect.od in the apr1fta ot 1143 b7 ~-nl'lftfttbe tai. l\"onatry Sobool &r1na a cru1.. of the , unr::lm'tt or Prote•ffl\" , alto • ~.

33 Tropical eyolonaa ar hurricanes are potentially ouch oara i njur-ious to f orests than thunderstorms, because .of their r:iuch hichcr l'1ind vel•oaities. Even milder hurricanes tend to devolop orief gusts o£ m oh high-er speed than t he average values recorded b7 anemocieter-s. ft.e record o!eevore hurT!oane damage to flew England f'oreesta goes baek to 16151 andnotabl e des-truotion of f orests alao res-ulted f'rQJfl t~ hlll\"ri~ or 1786116151 16691 1938, and 191.&4 (Perley, l 891J D. M. 8mtth1 1946). Of these,onq tbe hurricane ot 1788 passed near the Forest. The center of thisstorm moved nortmra.rd th!'QUgh Torrington, about 11 mtles southeast ofthe Fcreat, but the zone of maximum damage lay t ypiC81.ly to the eastof the storm track• Perl.ey•s chronicle and the works of l ocal hist orians(RO'JFS., 18471 Criesey-1 1900) m nt ion no damge in the ~idl\"folk area fromthis or any other burr1eane. S The burriea_nes of 1938 and l9hl.t, vmichcaused Widespread and severe damage to central and eastorn Connecticut,99l\"9 not serious storms at t he Forest. Froa his historical and meteorol ogical a.nal.pis of hll4\"'Ticaneda,naee to New England tc:.nstiJJ1 Dt u. Smith {19h6t 77) amobldod that•the western tier of count i es in Connecticut and Massadmsetts a.re thepcrt1ons ot 1oothern ?Jew England least exposed to hvrtcanes by virtue0£ tbe1r position •est of atro.igbt-line continuation of the emst .ot~ Tllo hurricane of Septe~er 23, 1815, for example., f oun<i the poripatetic Timothy Dwight at Litchf i ol d, where he was detained by t he storm f or several days. Dwight noted t he \"unprecedented da.mazert that this storm 1'l'ought over a \"considerable pa.rt of the eastern and oou.tbern ooa.at or !iart Engl and. \" But , signi fi cantly, he ment ioned no da.\"!nge ·~o f arosts in recordi.ng hia trip from Litchfield, atarting on September 261 wb1oh took him through Goshon, northeastern Cormra.l.11 and Canaa;i en: route to Sbe!tield, Maeeachusetts, (twight, 1821-221 ln 176 . )

J4tho Herth and ddl e Atlant_lc States. \" Hurrlcanss that do pas!i throughthis area, suah at the storr:l of August 24, 189J, lose muc'l o£ th&ir int.en.. · t y our~ t l)e ir l ong perlo~ ov~r land. J:\" tra- trop1ca1 cyel~n3 are comon ta all parts of r.-a.':' En~land .Cr·dina.rily these storms cat.J.Sc lees damage to roreats than hur:ticanos w1tbn~tely equal ma.x!mwn 1\"ind velooitios, probably because of the mncbetronat'r unrecorded gusts that accompany hurricanes (U. 'f Smith, 1946) .Tho only recorded extra-tropical cyclone that damaged tl1e Forest was t heotorm of NoveJM>or 25, 1950, ~ here again the dul\ge was ttlnOl\", beingo.,nf1.nod largely to bl0Jfd~1:Xl and partial uprooting of a f01' l.arb8 over-mature hemlocks (eee fie. 8). neapito tho favorable geographic location of the :'orost andthe l ack of evidence of extensive blortdown in the Farest rc(!!O!lj wind-etot'\":llB have undoubtedly played some role in shaping the olim9.tlc environ-mnt. I n the pre-colonial f ore::lt Wind probably wae r esponsible f or the<.leath of m&n7 ovormature trees , just as in central tfow J?.~la'1d (Clineand Spurr, 1942• 24).6 In a few instancee, arlden09 tor l'Thich \"111 bepr9,0ented in chapter IV, blcwdomut probably preceded the ostablisbmntof occasional atand• o! pure wb.ite pine i.n northern Litohfiold County.On tho Whol e, horraver, wit.>i the possible exception or sewro ico etorms,the Yorost r egion hu su!f<ll'.ed far l ese fl-om storm cla.::l3e;o th£ln the moreo asterl.y aoct1ons of aoutbern Ihm Encland.6 r or an in.stance or 1sola'ted Windthrcr:r i n northern Uartolk about 17651 Crissey (19001 SOS) . Residual hard !'apl os, boxed tor ooo cn;-:ar, were c~ windtbrown (Morris, 18151 122 ) .

a;u.tic Change I It is nQW generally reOOgntzed t hat thtt post-glad.ul climateof North Atlllrica has taken an irregular ·and nuctua:ting courC(? ratherth_rn a eteady progression fl-om the oli.mate <>f Vl! eeonsin tiaa tD ourarm. Tbeee ellmatte changes have invol ved a general, trJ\"t not umnterrupwd,increase in temper ature, accompanied by more or l eas rogular altei-na-tions 1n the abundance or precipitation~ The deta.ils of post-glacialclimatic change in southern llmr Engl.and ve too complo% 41\Cl tooper1pheral to th.ta study to warrant more tban a bl'1ef S\U!mll\"Y•Raup (1937) was atle'mg the first to marshal the evidence in sup-port of a warmer and drier climate in southern New EJnclmld within tJlepast 3,000 164rs. Stnoe 1937 .Deevey (19391 19h.3) has published ~e r~aultecf pellen analyees from Oonnootieut and Massachusetts, 1nclud'lntt samples~om fy1or take 1n !ioahen and the Mohawk fJounta!n sprtJ.ce bog i n Cortt\'fall .sears (1948) r e'f'!eWed and corre1-ated 18~ North Al!ln\"toan PQllen profile~,and Spun' (19SO) pt\"esented a review of' eTiden~ tor central Nm! Y::ngland.Despit_, the apprettable Umltations still 1nh~n't in pollen ~1,vaia(t:leevey and Potsger1 19~)1 the basic eequence of post-g1Acda1 climateappears to be well eetabllehed. Foll(71f1ng f>oevey1 we may summarize t,he prtneipal post...glae1alperiods f or inland Connecticut as tollonaPeriod Doud,nant f4;lfI2t,atien Voieter., cooler (preaeilt) Hamlock1 chestnut; oak •an. ~ Wwaar1rD.1 motst ~ekary r, ~ oaic-bemlock ( C~l•r) nne 6ool Spruce m,'ltinlJm { Deglactation S p r u ce - f i r ?

A•stgning datea to tbeee p0r1oda baa oaturall.J' been und&r·t3ken. wtthcantl an. The 0-2 perlod, Wht.eh Raup U9J7) pl.aced wt.thio the last 31 000yea.rs• te now co.nsi.d.ered t o bD.119 ended about 800 B.c. Prem thi.s U. on,poll.en analpea bave euggested a e11ght inore&tte i n t ho proportion Gtptno1 bemlook1 .-pruce1 birch• and chestnut 1n the t ores.t s 0£ ttou.thernNew England, and a decrease 1n the proportion of oaki biclcory1 andbeech (:Deney and f otsgv1 1951). 1lodern ateorologic&l data, reviewed by Spun (1950), indicatea gradual lJBrming of the Natr England o11mate1 sta?\"tintf earq in tu nine-tleentb century. It le sti ll too early to aasese t he otte~ Qr such atroDd on the major forest apeeies and genera. It aeems clear that the preeent maj or tree (Jp.ecias Gf the Forestregion have been in the area f OP at least $, 000 ~s1 re~iding to cl imatic~ by fiuot.untions i n tbe:U relatiw abundance., Cllstic ch3!lgeduring the present period has pll'obably bad a relatively minor i'nfl.uenceon tbe ebaraoter of t he Forest. Suoii influence bas been in the direc-t ion of 111are •aic· and D<rtbern conditions. l'litbin the per1od afeett.laJDant1 oliat1o change can have bt.d only trivial effects ~with human 1nnuence on the Fc:ren. Discwmion .Tho ph,.aica.l. e~t of t he Ferest r egion, as deacrlbed inthe preceding pages, i s a transi tional one, i nter aediate i n sev.;:ral re-spects betw<..en the l0119r uplands and vall e;rs t o the m uth and tho 13ork-sbue hil ls to t..he north. The Ca naan Moontain pl ateau, on l>Jbich theF~ 1.tsel.!' i a si t uated, may proper].y be oonsider&d a soutb.orn outlier

37of tho Berkth1re-'Jnen Kounta1n chain. The topographio and olil:latieoharacterist1os of the Forest show a closer affinity nth tho uplandsof wost.em J&ansachusott s t han nith southorn Conneoticut, nn arr n1t y thatio pl.rtially reneoted in the vegetation o! the Forost. Typical s~r atbcr in the norther n Litcb!'iel d hills 1sap~ciably cooler and lo9s humid than in t he coastal etrca.a orCormecttcut. The Winter s are coanonly l ong and sewirGJ aeoou.nttt of un.usually heavy ancmf all and drifts that blocked t ho r«lt'~ far weeks maybe round in many of the town annals. KillinB frosts havr.- boon recordedo.t t~aFtolk during nery JIOtl'th, Gnd such rro~ts cceurred i n oach cionth or1816 (\"the year without a summer•)1 causing widespread crop f a ilures(Boyd, 1873). To local eloeists, hietorians, and twent10th-ocntury r ealestate salesmen, this bu been the climate that c:mly 0 aalubrioust1 coulddoscrlbeJ to tba early settler , the bard winters and tho shart i1nd un-oorttlin growing season of the hill oountey were tne harsheat reatu.resof his endronmnt . At the same time, the Y·oreot r ogton includes, £1re\"..4s o£ latrerelevo.tion, more moderate relief , and a oamewh4t waron' and drier ellmate,emi:i>lified by the broad l imestone valleys o! North Can:ian nnd T10sterncanaan. 'loshen' s elOT&tion and climate are comparable to thooo atNorf olk, but a t ar larger proportion of ite soils can pravide a moistureree1mt bc>tter suited to a.grtculture, All of these el\"Wironmontt\1 varia-tions have been ert ect.1ft not onlJ' i n shaping the na~ural vegotation ofthe Fareat region. but al.so in deterainin the nature and eztont ofasricultural erploitat1an.

38m . SETTL! NT ANO LAJID DIVISIOI tN rn·~ VCRf'..S'i' ar.-nyonThe Great Uounta1n Fore1t ia cent.rally loeatod 1.n thElt partof Oo:nnectieut known be!Ol\"e 1ts aettleaent aa the W.ru:tarn Landa a.'ldnow comprising DO?\"thern Litchfiel d County. For al.most a cantury after16:n.the ~ Connecticut colonists founded Windsor in tho ~esternLands r&•ioed Without settlers ar provisions f or poli.tioal orsnntza-t ionf Populat ion of the early river and coaatal tc.ma grtorr alal'Tlydurlne the seventeenth century, and although \"'1oodbu:r;v1 in southernLitch.tield County, wae sett1.ed between 16S9 and 16721 tho occupationor Litehtul d itsel f di d not be3in until 1719• A year later, sowralr.utch £amt.lies trom Livingston V..ancr, New York, bought land OD theIndians and etarted the aettlement of Weat~e, in the :lm'theastcorner of S.11obury1 DNr the T'fouaat':lllic Ri \"YOr, At this tlm9 tboreware possibly a tew other Wbite tam.li es el M11here i n the - cres tregion, f or whom•• have no evidence . F.asentially6 hosrc>'9'Ct'1 the ..,or-o:it J'(tgion was still a wlldernose, virtuall7 unkn :wn t o tho ubito manand con:pletely unattected by bio presence to the sout...'l and co.ot.• Onlythe Indians were 1n a position to have di 9turbed the balonco ~ntbo ~tural emiron::iont a?¥i the f orest.Indian PGJ\"114ticnAn accurate mowledge of the I ndian population and cultureof tho FC&'e8t r eg1on during tbe centurie1 preoeding Wld.te 9GttlemontWould be • •Hnttal to &n.7' PMais. neluation ot IndiAn 1Dfluoncos antho .fcrut.. Sttcb tm.ow1edge, untortunatel 7, ie wantina. avat~1een.ctence, reaentq NY1\"9d by Du- (1953), is extensivo but r~l.7

euseot>tibl• oi quantitative interpretation tor n parti cular a.Cl~ ot the roreat f or ae;ricult»re was, of course., ca n amongIncli3n tr1be5 of tho Northoaat, altboul!h the t otal 3.t\"Ot\ olo~oocould not have been very lar~. or grat.ter i mporta.11co tt~n t ho I ndianpr:ictice or burn:tnr. the •()O(:lfi, 11bich i n a fn 1.Mtanaoo, at l eaot, st :ave bad profound errect.s on foroet vegetati on. ' O nhnl.l ceider s pecific e vidence for sue~ aotirttioa i n th~ Yot'OOt rocion 1nchapter IV. At thie point 1t is deo1rabl e t o s~llie too tlWilJlbl oini.'ct\"aation on the Diae and distribution ot the Inetan population. The earJ.7 sottlor s or t.ho upper Houantonic Valloy f'oundInd14ns liTing at Great. Barrl.neton, oacbusetts, and 1n ~onmctioutat Saliebary, Canaan, Sharon, and Kent. (Church, 18h21 Uoli'm'Ctt, 16$.lJJones. 16SbJ Orcutt, 1662).. Tbene Inrliana wore them!iolwg c<>q>arat 1valyrecent eettlers. Soma o! them mn-e rofugees fl-om tho ConnocticutRiver area Who had been f orced westward by the expa.naion o~ Whito settle-ment. 'Ihe Stockbridge Indian9-and these included m et of tho 'tndinns~Kant to Stockbrid........eJ'IO tlahioano, mallbers ot tbo Je~er con-i'ediornoy Whose arigirlll1 council f ire wae near Albauy~ Nori York ( Rut tenber,l.872) 1 Rut.tenber dated tbe Slabioan influx 1nto the ROQS3ton1.c Val.197aa ear~ ej.ghteentb- er late Sa'f'ODteenth-century. In Sallsbuey' the I:idian settlements of the early o1{':htoenthcont~y nro repcrted t o i nelude about 10 Wipams• <x11 which a popula-tion ot 200-300 •7 be infGTred (DoFareat, 16Sl) . P4Dides tho villageat .oat.ague, thare were small gl'OU_pe near 'IVC1110N1copor!llc and other l.akueGlrt.hnrd u tar aa Tndia.n Lake in SbaroaJ a few Indians prdxl1.'1~ livedGt otbor places 1D Sallebur.7 and Canaan near th• banks or the HOU83tonic

(Church, 18l,2).Moat of the hills ot the ~orest region were apparcrrtq mwroccupied by the I ndilUUt {llorton,. 19h9J Church, 185-lJ DeF~, 18'1) •~ (19001 l6l, S27) mentioned t.ho f.tndt.ng or ~ arroi't'be4dene~ several lake.a in Norfolk an(f Nported a traditi on that the nameQt Dolphin Pond, located just east of tho Fm-est bO'~ (plate TII),c~~atea an Ind1.an who enee liftd on i ta shores. Thi.~ &~S.e compatible with the rMBonable ae9\11'0Pticm, shared by all t.nveat.i•~ton~ that th• hills bet7teen the Houutonto and ?~ Valle3'8wero canmon hunting arounds,. triaversed by I ndi&M !rO!fl the (l~ andmw\Yea, but never the a1.te of large or pol\"!l!9Mnt settlement . IJeo-lJl!ainical factai-s obvi~us]Q favored the vallBJ'9•As t o the tndian popul ation of the Forest r e&ton oot'are theend of the seventeenth century, the record is even l'J!lOl\"e Obaaure.r&Farest (18$1.a Sl) conaidered that t nero were no ! ntliatW at all inntrthern Litchfield County, except f er an oocasi.onal ~Y arhunter. The smallpox epidemic of l.63S, which virtually wiped out theIndians in some parte of Nett F~~land, may have involved northm-nLitehfield Coun'ty ('1fillougbby1 1935). In an,r oas$, h1ntori.e.'.l1 evidenceft!Jr the existence or an Indian popul ation in the !\"oreat region befcretho coming of the Mahieans is ~light. Churc.li (18lt2) dclsorlbo<S the~e of eever.al Indtan a.raves by tho JDB4Ddel\"Ug llousatontc Riverduring the late eighteenth cen:t.UJ\"T and suggested that tlieso growsttproba.bly bttl onged ~o an earlier race than the Indiana found here byour t~tbera. \"tlntart.unatelyi, tbore bes been no modern archllaological work

1n the Forest n gion (Rainey, . 19361 Irrlng Rouse. per90ml CODU!ica-t 1on). As Day (l ?SJ) and others have emphasized, in tho absence of~matio modern archaeoloeieal s~ud1es, the mer o l&ck of a historicaltraditien does not pr ove th~t no Indians or.cupi ed a giV0ll p.-:irt of UewEngl and at a g::t.ven pre-colonial date. E'Yid61'lce n~ available thue indicates that 3 forr hund~Tndinna had lived in the Housatenie Val l ey and QO~ SM:!) of thelOW&I' 1-kee in Saliebury and ('&naan f or several deca.deo pl'8¢Dding 1720.fbe bigher areae of the Fores-t r egion Tfere not settled durine tbi.speriod, although t bq were u_se-d as hunti.ng grounds . Regard~!n.g possibleIndian activities before the end ot the seventeenth et&Otllry1 hcmever,'ft can &a7 only that tho evldenee so far brought f orth i s ciniteinconclusive. Organisat ion !£. ~ l'festem Landal Tillber, rat.b-Jr than land, wo.s t he lodestone that tu•st drewwhi te men int.o the eastern part o! the Western Land~ Fram thebeginning of the ei ghteenth century, the upper Farmington River valley( i nolad 1ng much of modern New Har-tfcrd, Barkhamsted, and finrt1zind)furnished loge thnt were noated d\"\"119tream t o eetablishe·' sawmills.1:'heee logging oper atiOM-i n theory a sOl\"t or timber tl\"eapa&s-pz-ovided1 Th1e aection ia necenarilT brief and ia based on aec0l'¥la17 ma.terials, except f or the public r oeorde of the Colony (Connecticut Coloey, 1873- 6'1.) tmd tb• LS proprietors ' and tow-n r e cords or C.\"anaan and tlortolk. C'rQ!ut (1937) ~zed most of the printed 8@\U'CGS• and a good discussion UJ4'T be folllld 1D O&naii (l9Sls 67~77). 'l'be prlno1.pal bUi.o etudiee o-t the Connecticut land system are those of Mead (1906a,19o6b) ancl hkagi (192h). Deming (19JJ) deal t s-pecifi cally with the oettl~mnt of Litchfield Ooan't7• I n addition I bavo u•ed scae intormatian fi-am the l ocal bist orios, which are cited i n \be tut.

acme impatu.s to the opening up of 'the Western Landa, though U..ttle to theirsettleant1 but by the 1720•a population pressures and ap~ opp,0P-tul'd.ties rcn- land •peculation bad dev.ioped to the point \\"there action A·IJ3' order1y d1apos1tion of the Western Lands naturally dependedon the existence of cl.ear (1.e., generally recognized ) titl.0. Here theproblem was contused, and i ts solution delayed tor perbtlpa a decade, bya long-standing controversy over title be-tween the Colony of Co!J.?'8otieutand the towns or Hvt!ol\"d and 171.ndeor. I n 1726 the dispute \'fas r esol vedl:ly au equal divie1on of ttle Western Lands, with Hartf ord and Windsor r e-oei-rtng tho eastern halt and the Colony reeerving th!! we&torn half. Three19ars later the 1ener al Assnbly gav~ Hartford and Windsor:' a joint po.tent,and in 1732 the two towns agroe:d t o divide their lands. The ps-oprletorsoi ffartford thue gainod ~itle to Hartland, WinchesteP, flew' Hartford, andeaatc-~ Haninton. The Windeor proprietors acquired Colebrook,Bat'khauted, Torrington. and west.em Harwinton. These ~ c~eethe northeastern part of Litdltield County..2 and their developaent at-tected the Far.st regiOl'l only ellgbtl.y. It should be noted, h~r.that the urangerante t or 'the organtsatdon and sale o-t tho ffa.rt..far~Windsor towna pnera1J.7 reflected a greater i nterest tn speculatt veptof'1te and quick r esale tban in stable and soundl y basod set tlement.An abundance et nOIM'Nident proprietors e:baractarisoo most of th&seto:ans trem the et.art ( ao,d, 1873J Vanchester, 19)5J IJanan, 19;.L) . In organising the Col ony lande, the Genera1 Ae&emb~ fol.lowed2· 'fllx(!ept tor Hartland, whieh rel!lained part of P.a.rt£ord Co'..Ult7 when Lltchf1•ld Ooanty wu ineOZ\"pOrated in l?Sl.

a procedure that wae tar more eucceastul in ta•orine tho 88'tt lor andtr~ing t.he dewlopmnt of the tqnns created. A comnlttoe ot theAeaembly recollll&llded 1n 17)1 tho l&ying out o! tiVG tcmi.s Mst of theHrusaton1.c, and dUr1ng the f ollowing year tbe boundario.s of the futuretorms of Norfolk, Goshen., Cana&n. Camnll.1 and l ent ware dofinod•Yale Coll ege wae granted )00 acree of l and 1n each ot those five towna,lam t hat the College later loas.ed t o tenant !armers. Sal.i.sbury andSb:u\"ca, l ytne west o! tbs ffouaatontc, were doaignated na tho si.Xtb andeewnth Coloa;r towns.In Oct ober 1 737 the Aesellbly dtreoted that \"'rigM;o\" err pro-prietary share• in tbe Col ony towmt b • sold at public a uction. The nUllberof rights waa fixed at SJ, except in the case or Salisbury; where priorc;ranta and purobaaee from tbe Indiana made it a~aable to lim1t the~ to 2~. Three of t bo rigbts i n each of the otner t<1:in9 TfGJ'ercGa\"ftd• one t ar the t i.rat m1niater to • ttlo in each tom, one f ortbe support or the mlnistry, and one f or the eu}»POrt ot the ca:monechool•• The r e•i ning SO fiabts were to be offered at auctions eohedul.edt ar 1737 and 1738 at varioua eitiee 1n the ColODT• The Aseembly alaof'ixcd a mnt.ua bid per right i n each town, ftl7i.ng frcm i.30 in 5allaburyand Sharon to £60 1n canaan and Ooaben, whioh were eonsidered the townsofhr'.lng the ~st •¢cultural. pro•peot• . For t be reminlne f aor tO!nlS•.eso.the m1Jd..mwl btd waa Mt at (Conneoti cut Coloey:, 187.3-311 7, 1157•4$91 81 lJh-lJT. )The Aaanbl7'• intention to . 020te • ettlomcnt r 3tb::r thanmre land-boldtng was !urth...r shown by the conditions that tmre aadepart of each deed. The parcbaeer oould per fect his titlo only i f be

do, b7 hiaelt or hie agent. enter on the sa1d land m. thin tw~ ~are next after the pur chase of th, r i.gl1t, and do build and f i nish an house thereon not l eas tnnn eighteen reet square, seven feet stu~,. and dQ f enoe and olea.r six acres or land, and do contirnle tb~roon for the space of three successive year s cor.Dlncinz alter the two ,ear s ator&eaid, (unleaa provontcd b,y death or i neTitable providence) ... • An~ t he \"evoral eo=d.tteea in tbe reape~tin counties afara.said shall take bond obl1gat.ory in doubl e tbe slll:l f or Wh!.ch each right shall be reapect1nq eold, on each re- epeetivo purchaser ••• (Conneoticut Colony, 1673-81, 81 lJ7) .linen Norf olk waa tioall y sold,- in 1754, tho Assembly modit1od thooeconditions by prcwidi ng that the 6 acrea of land were t o be made'*tit f er mowing or ploring_. 0 reducing the t i me li?lli.t to 4 years, anddeleting the eavt ng olauae ( Connecticut Colony, 167.3-Bl, 10: 2\"'6). Req,uiremente of this ?'eneral sort had been c~ in NewEngland, and in Hvonteenth-centur y Coruw~ticut tbeywe?ro wrua.ll.ycomplied • 1th. 3 The entoreement of euch requtreMnta in theeighteenth century- was us ually lax, notabl y i n Yassaebusotte a...\"1dVen:iont, Which has l ed some writers (e. g., Akagi, 19241 219f ) todoubt that the usual conditions were ever full y met. Th.c Col<lniVtoims, however, appear to havo been a n excepti on. Occasionally thec<r.dltions wer e evadedJ usu~ tbe.r •er o fulfill ed, by tho proprietoror bis agent, s om t ime1 aft.er the AeaellDl.7 had granted petitions f oran oxtension ot the time l imit. Tho g...ner al l.y rapi d devolo1JJOOnt ofsettled \"proprietiee\" in the Colony ta.irna has been Werrod from ac omparison of their pop11lation growth wtth that of the Hartford-1'1.ndaor towns (Ganan, 1951) • Further evidence i s provh 1od by t.be) For an early instance, at YJ.lford, see L~baree (1933) .

t ..,i tbat Within 4 1Ml\"• art.er the auotiona, six of the owon Colonytome were granted the prlrtlege or i noorporatt on.4 Onl1' in IlcJ\"folkdi d crganization and settlement lag. This does not mean tbat land speculat ion and aboontee1emwere unknotm 1n the Colony toms. They were present tl'0t1 the £ir8tand during th• eecond hal.£ of the eighteenth century grmv 1ncre<>aingl.ycom::ion, involving large parts of the Qreat tfountain 'fl'orest (as will bosbClm i n chap~r V). nut speeula.tion was only an inot dentnl. factor i nthe earl y deyel opnent ot the Colony towns, and 1ts later r ole was eeldomc!eciai w in affecting land use. - - - --SettlelD9l'lt Qi cana&n and Norf olk All the proprietary rights t o C&naan nre sol d llt the auctionheld a~ New London 1n January 17}8, S and the first settlora ostabllshedthomelves during the sam year. The ordlnaey diff'iculties i n W.'.Y suchventure were CO\DPOUllde~ by tho unusually aevere 1f1.nter of 1740-41, buttho number or settlers grew slowly, and tlte proprie~s receiwrl theirpatent from the AeseA1bl y in May 174$, testifying to tho l r compliancewith the condi tions or their deeds ( Connecticut Col ony, t n73-8l., 9 t lUl) .By 1756 C&naan had 11 100 inhabitante, most ly eett l oo nc l\" the prea&ntvl llat?e of canaan and eastward in the Blackberry Riwr va1197 to theNorfolk t-\"\"11 line, Where the Colle~ tarme had been lllt d out. So::ieclearings· had been •de and bowJee erected at Soutb Canaan and ~anet. cane.an n si n1c7mh0-,poarnadte&d \1llnsb1u7r3y81 Goshen, Kent, and Sharon in 17391 in Cornnall in 17hl.5 All dates are giftn ill New St ) leJ e . g., Jamary 1738 • January 1737/ 8.

Village, but there were no aottlere tit this t ie on tho Gre4t Uomrt.ain,as Canaan 1lounta1n waa crig!Mlq called. The growt.\".1 of indu~ andt.he decline of agriculture during the nineteenth century 1nteneifiedthie o~ncen.tration or population in a ff!lff fovored areas or tho town.Tboup,b modified in detail, tbe basic patt\"!rn of settlet'!Jent-soundlydeveloped by 1756-has ramaincd essentially unehano~d ( Cro:tut, 1937JR~r- 1897). Norfolk developed ::icre elO'lflT• So glool2q' w~o its prospectthot not a singl e r ight 'tJOS sol d when the first aucti\".>:1 was hold1 inApl\"il 1738. A eeoond attempt, made 1n Se'Ptember 1738, appearod toh~ve been suoc.aeful, but on the day aft.er the sale all but one or theprospective puroh&1'era declined to give bonda6 and take up their deeds.Tho Assembly then postponed all sales 1.ndef1n1.tely (Cor>-ioot ieut ColOJJT,1873-8l, 81 219) . In l 7h3 a group froit Windeo.r and S!msbtl offeredto buy the whole town intact f cr .£'n2S (equiTalent t o a00ut £1.h.2 perr ight) . This offer the lase~ly rejected, ae 10 years earlier it hadrejected a stmilar proposal r egardi ng Canaan.7 Another auction, With the m1.ninrum bid set at .£2006 tn addit ion to pertormnce banfia, m11n7 purebaeers gavo bonds as the major part of tho consideration f or thoir rights, bo~ns unablo to pa7 cash. The obstael ee faced by the oarly settl er., are ronooted in the1.r frequent petitiono to tho Assed:>ly tor extenaiono of their bonds. (Oonn&eticut Col ony, 1873-81, 81 299, 472J ll1 lSOi', 50ht. } For Norfol k, aeo HPB: 121 19, 28, 32, 44 .( NPB • Norfol k Proprietors·• Book, MS vol Wllll containing mi.mltos or their meeti ngo, in the to:a'n vault of t ho Norfol k Savings Bank) .? Ccrmecticut Archives, Towma am 'Lands, aertea I , 7• doc. llJ 81 doc. 267 (Connecticut State Ltbru'y) . \tbat motintod ~se dcciM.ons ie not cl.earJ presumablJ'\" the AsseS>ly diet ruoted tho petitionorst 0:1rnest irot..slona or their intent t o settle.

47was cancelled by the Aaaemb~ 2 montb1 b&f are the acbodulod dllto1December 1750. Ftnall71 in l'lS4, the Aaeembly orderod tho oimaim bidreduood t o ;. 20 por right1 and t ho r emai ning 49 rights l70l\"O oolcl at~ ddletolrn for an av.rage about £1JJ eaeh. 8 ( Connecticut Colony,1873-61, 9: ~1 560tJ l Oa 26Sf $ Crissey, 1900: 50. ) The f irs t right 1n No1'tol.k1 s old in 1738, was la.to::- aoql.d.redby Corneliu• Brown, a ea~ t'»om Wlndeor, who built a lo.~ houso in17Lh and l ater erected the ftrst savr.d.11, within too pr Gnt v:Ul.ageot Norfolk on the ~laekbon\".f River (r.ri.esey, 1900s 1.38). 'Jratm a.nd hisfa.'ld.ly roma1nod t he only autborizod inhab1tanta of Horfolk until afterl75lu By 17$5, 23 additional f amill.oa bad sottl edJ ) yoa.ro l ater theAt;Sol!lbq aclm~odged the eottleamt of 4J f amilies anil cnntcd t iletorm' s petition f or inccrporation (Connecticut ColOIV'; 1673-.81, Us 201). Tho dietribution o£ these ear l y settlars ag:lin ronoeta a ohar-ora~latically sound appraisal geographic and edaphie t o.ct.ors . Thepreacnt location ot t h• villago wu fixed to talce .sctvantace of ttao&ntral s i tuat.1on and its posit-ion at t he head or tho 01acltberry Riw rvall.oy1 the only good natural avenue of c.Qllll!?W11cat1on wi.th <.'a.naan.SotlXl earl y clearings were made near t he Tillaee site and in tho ~lack-berry Valley. other s were scattered in tho northwest and aoutbeaetparts of tho tairo, at places considered to nave better-thD.n-<lvorageagricultural potential i ties (see pl ate V) .8 Tho ftlue o! tho currency bad fallen at l oo.st SO percent. bob:oen 17)8 :ind 17S4 (Broneon, 186$1 S6-81o llead, 1906bs ~lff)J honce, tho real price peid f07 right• wu a ctually s omewhat lower ttum tho or-igi.Ml a:1n19m ot £SO. By reducing the J1.in1mnm bid to .£20 1n 1 7$b1 tho AeSCQbq showed its atrong desire that tho t 01t11 bo sol d a:ld settl r.:d Tr:tbout :crth r dolay.

48 Settlomnt 2£, Cornwall ~ Goshsn In the other Colony towns aottloment prGgra sod in o~~Gntia.llyt ho same manner a.a in C'.ana.an, and 1t, ts unnecossary t o r aviC!\f tlle detailshere. Cornwall and Ooshon, ha;rover , deserve brief' r.:cnti;)n bocauso oft hoir proximity to t he Forest and the fact that s oa; f are&t land, in the-w~ southwest corner or Norfolk, was once owned and Nmd by1.nlnbi tante of theeo two towns. Settlement in Corr.G'fall and Goshon began soon a.ft.. r the rtehtaMd b n sol ti , Land-clearing was scattered oyer much of both torrna, butt t l'iaa concentratod most heavily 1n the central and s-0uthorn parts, Tnnoif1&n1 early settle•nt was strongly correlated with tho occi.u-ronce otdruml.1.ns , and the nartharn part ot the town, adjotninr: 11\".)?'fol..~, r smai nedrelat iT&ly unoccupied ( L.>Pllt 1949). tn Cornwall, on tho othf'l~ hand, afO\Y .famili os were attract.Gd oarl y in t he 1740 ' s to r,orrwall \"-iol loW, asz:all valley in the northeast eorner of the town. The Scc:'~cks beca!'.lBtbo aost procr!.nent of those famillos, and thair holdin:;s ~.; t o includelan,C!s 1n Nortolk (wtthin tJlo f crest) as well as in adjotnin · p:irts ofCanarul and 1osben. (Norton, 1949J Gold, 1877; llibbarcl, 1897J Starr,1926. ) ~ ~ Tillber- Trospase Tre.opaes on the e<:n'!1on lands occurred throu.¢'lout the> Forestregion during the earliest period, but it wae probab4' ~ i'requontin Nor!olk, where authorized ~tlernent bad been so lo~ lA~.~trespass waa a~ti~ incidental to aquatt.inc, M Qt :'or£olk,where a.bout a dosen persons ~pitched in this wild~neas bo.i\"c:rtJ :!.t 1fU

49sold [in 17$4] who aftorward$ became ?roprietortJ•\"' Bei'Ol!'C the tcswnsware inoorporated, trespass was an offense against the Col<:my as wellaa aeainst t he proprietors. Thus, i n 17~ the Aas()i:bly appointed aapecial committee, char ged !Ji.th guarding Norfolk against trespass( Connecticut Col ony, 1873• 81, 9• $79) . The ooanlttoo could not have beenwholly successful, tor when the propr ietor s hel d t heir f irst 100-0t 1ng, i nnecembor 17$4, protect ion of their timber and the ov:tction o..:.' squatters'\"\"re unt.ters of parat.llOlUlt eoncern (see plate IV). A month lAt.or, theAssembl y r esponded to a petit.lon from the propr1e~ by appcint1ng anagent from the previous committee, wi tb authority to eject ••• sundr;y pera<me that are not. proprietOl's ot any ot the lands [!.n Narfo.lk, who] have entered in and l1Pon eundr;y t r acts of l nnd i n said town, and i'enced i n sundry );ieoe1 and parcels thero'Of •.• • [and who] refuse t o gt':'a up their poasesions a s af oresaid to t he pre>pr'.letors of said town ••• • {conne.cti wt ColC>ey', 1873-81, i o-: 332. ) At a. meting of t h.o proprietors of Norfolk held L\"l !by 1756,Wi lliam Walter, a mmber of the committee on timber.troapass, reportedtha'tt he had ncall.ed aor.ne penom1 to an a ccou.nta and eolloctoo .t.30 lhs.1n damages, Which funds were then \"appropriated for the preaching of t hei;-ospoI in Norf olk. 0 (Nt>Ds l Sf. ) Timber- trespass as such, ae d1stingutsb.ed fr om t~treapassincidental t o land-clearing# was usually directed a.ea.i nst specieo ot9 ~ter. Ammi Ruhamab R®bins to Benjamin Trumbull, Janu.ary 15, 1 6011 in Yale University Lt brary. ( Unless ot d, I have Trumbull ms, hem:t se note ~Biaed s pelling, capit!llization, and punct uat ion 1?'1 all quot&t 1.ona. ) The Rev. fir. Robbins eam to liorfol.Jr in 1761 a s tl10 tom' s ! irat ae'ttl ecl mi~ster. Hie ac.count ie corroborated by a decision of t.bG proprietors at their sec ond meeting, held on ?lay 7, 1755, t o pm'i!tLt m oo of their number to retain l ets t hat they. bad ttimproved0 before the rotJUl,ar di9ioion of lande (NPB1 6) •