2.30 Treasure Hunting in Windham County

ANCIENT WINDHAM COUNTY - ELLEN LARNED

What was the best way to get across Windham County to Hartford before the advent of roads? The answer by the Native people most likely would have been "It depends." The Natives of the Nipmuck, Podunk, Mohegan, Narragansett, Agawam, Sicagog, Poquonock, Wangunk, Uncas, Pequot and other tribes knew the landscape intimately. It is likely that there were a number of "Old Connecticut Paths" that could be chosen depending upon conditions of the travelers and the environment through which they traveled. They new the multiplicity of paths that interconnected their villages and tribes. Unfortunately, the Natives left no maps that preserve their collective intelligence.

The history of travel from the Massachusetts Bay to Hartford in the Connecticut valley is rife with arguments about the "true" Old Connecticut Path as though there was one correct route. It is likely that the Native people would laugh at such foolish thinking. They would know alternate paths that would serve the traveler well. If the season was stormy, go this way. If the summer was dry, go that way. If the fall tropical storms had come, go around another way. If your party is strong men, go this way. And, if your party has women, children, grandparents and other precious possessions, go the safe way. There were "low ways" along the valleys and "high ways" across the hills. The earliest travelers migrating to Connecticut before King Philip's War from 1630-1675 left no maps to record their routes. It is likely that groups traveling through to the Connecticut valley utilized Native guides to help them select the best route across tribal lands adjusting for the the conditions of the moment.

The history of the Old Connecticut Path has included disputes about the true, correct "Old Connecticut Path". Rather than focus of identifying the one, true Path, it is more productive to agree that there were several Paths. Then search to discover whether one or fragments of one of the Old Connecticut Paths remains as it might have been seen by the early travelers.

To rediscover the Old Connecticut Path as it crosses Windham County, a treasure map is needed. Fortunately, Ellen Larned's map of "Ancient Windham County" that accompanied her History of Windham County provides the key to buried treasure. Larned was a lifetime resident of Thompson, Connecticut. As librarian, she collected print information and oral history to record the early history of Windham County, its towns and the people who settled their. HerHistory of Windham County published in 1874 records her gleanings during the period when family oral histories were passed down from grandparents who recalled the stories of their grandparents who were among the earliest settlers. Their recollections were woven into her history and provided a key to recording the route of the Old Connecticut Path. The map of "Ancient Windham County" opens a view of the land prior to settlement following the end of King Philip's War (1675-1676). While there are other routes that also lay claim to being the Old Connecticut Path, the landscape they travel through has been modernized to a point that the connection to those early pioneers is lost. Travelers today who seek to walk along these other routes such as routes 44 and 6, hear the roaring sounds of the modern world and see landscapes altered by construction of homes and malls.Ellen Larned's map provides the key to open the door for modern explorers seeking to rediscover the pioneer's world along the Old Connecticut Path. To discover the real treasure of her map, you need to walk along the Old Connecticut Path as she recorded it. There is another world to be found where the treasure is the space that remains between Thompson and Tolland. A world undisturbed can be found where the magic of nature and imagination can carry you back to the land as it may have been experienced by the pioneers.

The history of the Old Connecticut Path has an important place in the histories of the towns through which it travels along the route mapped by Larned. Public lands, conservation lands, and private lands owned by conservation minded residents preserves much of the landscape. There are places to walk in the footsteps of the pioneers. And there are places that have been lost from view with the passage of time. This Old Connecticut Path is a treasure for the people who come to rediscover it. This Old Connecticut Path is a treasure as part of our national heritage. The pioneers who traveled this way were among the first to begin the westward migration that settled the American continent.

The Old Connecticut Path from Sutton, MA to Tolland, CT travels across a green expanse of forests, farms and streams. If you take a video flight along the Path, you can see for yourself that Larned's route from the Massachusetts state line in Thompson to Tolland is largely wilderness passed by time. What remains is an extraordinary place known as the Last Green Valley. To fly over The Last Green Valley for an orientation to the route of the Old Connecticut Path as it crosses from Sutton, MA to Tolland, CT, click on the picture or link below:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x-gD5HYJbk

The Great Trail of New England

The Great Trail of New England by Harral Ayres was published in 1940. Ayres based much of his work upon the route laid by Ellene Larned in her History of Windham County and map of Ancient Windham County. Ayres traveled the route during the 1930s and met with people who lived along the Old Connecticut Path. He records in his book and correspondence with Lloyd Williams of Woodstock how these descendants of the early settlers showed him the places along the Old Connecticut Path that were passed down through their family history. Ayres summarized his findings in a 1944 article for the Massachusetts Archeological Society. A link is provided to Ayres' Historical Journeys of Pioneer Years, Southern New England Trails and Activities.

Ayres based his map of the Old Connecticut Path from Cambridge/Boston to Woodstock/Wabaquasset on early colonial records including history of the Praying Towns established by Reverend John Eliot. The route of the Old Connecticut Path across Windham County largely reflected Ayres' adoption of the Ellen Larned's route mapped in her "Ancient Windham County". Ayres also utilized the recollections of the David and Charles Chism to locate the Old Connecticut Path across Eastford and Ashford (see below). The map above displays the general orientation of the Old Connecticut Path (blue line) with the adjustment later made by Ayres to show the route going from Tolland to Hartford.

Ayres aligned his rendering of the route followed by the Old Connecticut Path to connect the towns settled along the way. His map of "The Pioneer Road by the Trail Course" displayed at right can be enlarged by clicking on he map. As with his map of the "Indian Praying Towns as of 1675" (above), the map provides the general orientation of the route. Getting to the ground level requires going beyond the orientation maps.Fortunately, there exist records of local history that include recollections of early residents and town histories that point to the location of the Old Connecticut Path at the ground level.CHISM BROTHERS - Eastford & Ashford, Connecticut

David and Charles Chism of Ashford shared their recollections of the route of the Old Connecticut Path as it passed across Eastford and Ashford. The Path crossed lands owned by their family and the history of travel by Thomas Hooker through the area was passed down as part the oral history passed down by their family and neighbors. Harral Ayres met with them and visited the sites they described. Ayres recorded Charles Chism's description of the Old Connecticut Path's route . Click on the link below to see an excerpt from Harral Ayres The Great Trail.

Read Charles Chism's description of the route of the Old Connecticut Path from Crystal Pond in Eastford to Westford Hill in Ashford.

David Chism drew the route of the Old Connecticut Path across Eastford and Ashford onto an 1850s Petersen Atlas map. Field walking the route indicated largely verifies the description given by his brother Charles.

Visit two sections of the website to explore parts of the Old Connecticut Path as described by the Chism brothers.

2.55 Walker Road to Bigelow Brook Crossing - Eastford, CT

2.60 Chism School to Crystal Pond - Eastford, CT

2.65 Walking to School in the 1860s-1870s – Ashford/Eastford, Connecticut

2.67 Natchaug Forest Crossing– Ashford, Connecticut

2.70 Crossing the Great Wall of Westford and Mt. Hope Valley – Ashford/Westford, CT

2.75 Finding the Way to Moose Meadow - Ashford & Willington, CT

Additional information Harral Ayres' interviews and field explorations with Charles Chism may be found in the Resources section of the website.

Resources

LLOYD WILLIAMS - Woodstock, Connecticut

Woodstock resident Lloyd Williams was an active member of the Woodstock Historical Society and committees to preserve the Old Connecticut Path. His records extended from the 1940s through the 1970s. In 1948, Lloyd detailed the route of the Old Connecticut Path in Woodstock. He included statements from local residents who showed Lloyd where the Path crossed their properties and artifacts from the Path. Their stories were linked to Lloyd's narrative description of the route. The map below reflects the route from Woodstock Center to Crystal Pond at the border with Eastford. The route branches and later rejoins the way mapped by Larned. According to Williams, the Path proceeded west over the highlands of Rocky Hill and Hopkins Hill.

The narrative written by Lloyd Williams may be viewed by the link bellow:

The Old Connecticut Path by Lloyd Williams, unpublished, 1948. Provides oral history record of the route of the Old Connecticut Path from Woodstock Center to Crystal Pond.

Williams maintained correspondence with Harral Ayres following the publication of Ayres' book up to the time of Ayres' death.

Additional information may be found in the Resources section of the website.

Resources

Williams was among the concerned Woodstock citizens who petitioned for National Historic Register recognition of a portion of the Old Connecticut Path from Woodstock Center to Rocky Hill Road. Their efforts gain recognition for this section of the Old Connecticut Path as a historically important part of our national heritage. The map below displays the route of the Old Connecticut Path that was included in the National Historic Register recognition. The Woodstock Historical Society sponsors an annual guided walk along the Old Connecticut Path. Information about their Old Connecticut Path walk can be obtained at the Society's website http://www.woodstockhistoricalsociety.org/.

The application for recognition by the National Historic Register provides additional information. A copy may be viewed at the link below.

Old Connecticut Path Woodstock National Historic Register application documenting the route of the Old Connecticut Path from Woodstock Center to Rocky Hill Road.

Visit three sections of the website to explore parts of the Old Connecticut Path as described by Lloyd Williams.

2.42 A Walk on America’s Oldest Highway – Woodstock, CT (1 video)

2.46 Learning from Past, Preserving for the Future - Woodstock, CT (1 video)

2.50 Hidden Byways from Hopkins Hill to Crystal Pond: Woodstock, CT (2 videos)

BYPASSING THE HIGH WAY

The Old Connecticut Path across the high lands of Windham County provided a safe route with easy stream crossings and rolling hills during the early years (1630-1676) prior to King Philips War. The land was Native tribal territory that was unsettled by the English. However, one of the disastrous consequences of King Philips War was the destruction of the Native villages and dispersal of the Native people. The lands of the Natives became "empty" and available for English settlement. Earliest among these was New Roxbury in 1686 which became Woodstock. Towns were established across Windham County during the late 17th century and early 18th century. The establishment of towns and the needs of the settlers began to reshape the routes preferred for travel.

While there were always many paths used by the Natives and adopted by the English for travel, some of these paths were better suited for wheeled travel. The route of the Old Connecticut Path was well suited for the time when it traversed the wilderness of the Native people. Bridges were not needed to cross shallow streams. Once English settlement began in earnest following the dispersal of the natives, one of the first tasks of the settlers was to construct roads where there had been paths. The English settlers had the technology of bridge building that was unknown to the Natives. Bridges allowed rivers to be crossed further downstream in the valleys where the water was deeper and current was stronger. The paths leading to fording places could be redirected to the bridges. And paths built upon roads that had gentler grades in the valleys became preferred for horse and ox drawn wagon travel.

The Middle Post Road was the shortest, fastest, and youngest portion of the route. From Hartford, it ran into the Eastern Upper Highlands, an area with large native Indian populations. During King Phillip's war of 1675, travel in these areas was often dangerous for settlers. It was not until the end of the war and establishment of the Colonial post system that the area began to become populated, and the middle post road was established as the fastest route. It split from the Upper Post Road in Hartford, and initially ran roughly along current U.S. Route 44 through Bolton Notch and towards Mansfield Four Corners. From Mansfield, it went through Ashford, Pomfret, and headed into Massachusetts via the town of Thompson, along Thompson Road. In Massachusetts, the Middle Post Road runs along sections of modern Route 16 to Mendon, then through Bellingham, and then via Route 109 from Medway to Dedham where it meets with the Lower Post Road (old U.S. Route 1) heading into Boston.

The Middle Post Road became the new Old Connecticut Path as the old Old Connecticut Path crossing the highlands between Thompson and Tolland was bypassed by roads better suited for wheeled travel. The maps (left-click to enlarge) display the Connecticut Bureau of Public Roads recasting of the Old Connecticut Path to follow the route of the Middle Post Road. More information on the Boston post Roads mat be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Post_RoadDuring the age of the turnpike between 1790-1850, many of the best routes to Hartford from Boston and Providence were reconstructed as turnpikes. The maps below adapted from The turnpikes of New England and evolution of the same through England, Virginia, and Maryland (1919) by Frederic James Woods display the Old Connecticut Path from Thompson to Tolland, Connecticut. The turnpikes and modern highways bypassed the highlands route of the Old Connecticut Path.

The population of the hilltop towns and farms further declined with development of industry in the valleys, the coming of the railroad, and the westward migration in the 18th and 19th centuries. Much of the land that had been cleared by the early settlers for their farms returned to forest as the population declined. Sections of the Old Connecticut Path were bypassed and fell into disuse. Other sections were reconnected to the major routes now located in the valleys.

TREASURES FOUND

The memory of the Old Connecticut Path faded with the passage of centuries. But the memory was not completely lost. It lived on in the oral histories of the families who settled along the route and is preserved by the people who live close to the Path today.

Looking at the "new" Connecticut Paths of modern highways with their noise and congestion, it is refreshing to find places that have been "bypassed". The Old Connecticut Path across the hills of Windham County that was bypassed in the 18th century may can be rediscovered as a blessing in the 21st century.

Ellen Larned's treasure map of "Ancient Windham County" points the way to rediscover the treasures to be found along the Old Connecticut Path today.