Colchester, Connecticut

On March 31, 1661, the original settlement of Colchester, was founded by Jeremy Adams upon a 340-acre area of land known as "Jerimiah's Farme". The land was given to Jeremy, by Uncas, Sachem of the Mohegan tribe.[4]

Colchester's land stayed under the ownership of Jeremy Adams and was not incorporated into any new county in 1666 (when Connecticut's first counties were created)[5] this is likely because of the closeness between both Hartford County and New London County. Colchester was mainly a farming community with Jeremy Adams raising cattle within the town. The abundance of farms in early Colchester is the reason Colchester is "A Right To Farm Community" in the present day.[6] Colchester stayed as a farming community not within a county's borders until 1698.

On October 13, 1698, Michael Taintor II, Samuel Northam and Nathaniel Foote III applied to go forth and settle the Town.[7][8] Jerimiah's Farme was selected as the main point of reference for the town, with its north boundary as the Twenty Mile River. The southern side is bordered by Lyme. The west boundary meets the east bounds of Middletown and Haddam. The east and northeast boundary run to the bounds of Lebanon and Norwich. During the initial settlement, the area was also referred to as the Plantation of the Twenty-mile River.[9]

On May 11, 1699, the town's principal founders, Nathaniel Foote, Samuel Northam and Michael Taintor asked the general court of Hartford for assistance with persons hindering the advancement of the settlement[9] (Saybrook residents specifically[8]), to be transferred under the jurisdiction of the New London colony, and for the Town to be recognized as Colchester. On May 11, 1699[7] the town name was named and incorporated into the colony of New London. After Colchester Officially became a town the land was divided among the original settlers and their ancestors. The town is said to be named after Colchester,[10] a borough and port in Essex, England, where many colonists had emigrated from, most notably, where Nathaniel's grandfather Nathaniel Foote was born.

Nathaniel Foote and his family were some of the first to settle here and finished building their house in 1702.[11] The house began construction in 1699 by Nathaniel Foote III and was then finished by his son Nathaniel Foote IV.[11] In 1703, the General Court of the Colony of Connecticut ruled that the settlement could organize a church body here known as Colchester. On November 29, 1703[8], A saw and grist mill were voted to be built by Israel and Samual Wyatt if they promised to maintain the mill for the town's use.[12] The first schoolmaster began operations in 1705, and a schoolhouse was finished in 1711.[12] By 1706, the first street was created and was named Town Street.[13] This street was nearly 200 feet wide and is now the southern end of Old Hebron Road.[13] In 1707 or earlier, a cemetery was built behind where Bacon Academy would later be built.[14] The cemetery later held people like Reverend John Bulkeley, Dr. John Watrous, Pierpont Bacon, and his wife, Abigail Bacon. In 1708 Colchester re-joined Hartford county[5], and a second religious meeting house was built.[8] On December 31, 1712, at a legal town meeting held in Colchester, Capt Gilbert Wyatt and Mr. Darnell Clark were Chosen, Selectmen.[12] On December 28, 1713, Samuel Northam, Thomas Day, and Ebenezer Colman were chosen for a school committee ensuing year.[12]

By 1714, there were nearly 50 families in town.[13] At a town meeting on June 12, 1716, it was voted to finish the schoolhouse where the foundation of the said house was the only partly standing.[12] The selectmen Committee for the school has agreed with Nathaniel Loomis Jr. (He and his family are from Windsor[8]) to keep school for twelve months and give him twenty-five pounds and ten shillings. He began to keep building the school. On December 8, 1729, Ensign Foote, Ensign Wells, and Israel Newton were chosen as Selectmen. The constables were selected at the same meeting, being Joseph Chamberlain and Isaac Jones.[12] On June 3, 1774, Stephen Goodwin wrote to the Hartford Courant that he had a runaway slave. The slave was named Jefferey and rode away on horseback. A reward was said to be given out if said horse or Jefferey was found (6 dollars for Jeffery and 4 for the horse).

In 1756 Colchester's population was recorded as 2,300 inhabitants. In 1761 Michael Taintor built Taintors Farm, which stayed in the family until the early 20th century.[11] The Nathaniel Hayward house was built in 1775 for Dudley Wright[11]; The house was lived in by Dr. John Watrous and his wife (who was Dudley Wright's daughter). The house was later sold in 1848 and lived in by Nathaniel Hayward. The lawn of this house was the original town green. In 1777 Breed's Tavern was built, which is most known for being one of the two remaining sites associated with the Wooster Masonic Lodge.[11] One of the first textile mills in America began operation in 1780 in Westchester.[13] In 1782 Colchester had 3,300 inhabitants.[13] Several men went into the revolutionary war, many of them died. One of which was Ephraim Little Jr., son of the 2nd Reverend of Colchester. In 1783 Colchester rejoined New London County after being within Hartford County.[5] On Thursday, January 29, 1784, Congress suggested a tax, and the representatives of Colchester (Capt. Buckley and Col. Worthington) voted not to have it go into effect. In 1785 the Foote Family house was built by Nathaniel Foote and was lived in by his family. The Henry Champion House was built in 1790 by architect William Sprat. for Colonel Henry Champion who was active in the revolution and a military figure.[11]

of Colchester in 1730 — Michael Taintor, Michael Taintor Junior, James Newton, Samuel Northam, Thorn Day, Richard Carrier, Ebeneezer Skinner, Daniel Clark, Daniel Clark Junior, Israel Wyatt, Decon Loomis, Wm Roberts, Nathaniel Loomis, Josh Wright, Josiah Gillet, Josiah Gillet Junior, Ebeneezer Dibell, Capt Gilbert John Adams, John Adams Junior, Decon Skiner, Richard Skinner, Nathaniel Skinner, Benjamin Skinner, Josh Prat, Nathaniell Kellogg, Ephrem Foot, Jos Pumery, Thorn Brown, Noah Wells, Josh Chamberlin, Josiah Foote, James Mun, Ensign John Skinner, Ebeneezer Kellogg, James Brown, Andrew Carrier, Richard Church, Mr Bulkley John Day, Jonathan Gillet, Jonathan Kellogg, Nathaniel Foote, Ebeneezer Coleman, Charles Williams, Clement Cithophell, John Chapman, Senior Ephream Wells, Josiah Phelps, John Holms, William Roberts, Josiah Gates, Joseph Foote and John Johnson[12]

On 13 Oct 1803 the town of Marlborough, Hartford County was created from parts of the towns of Colchester, Glastonbury, Hartford County, and Hebron, Tolland County. In the 1807 election for governor of Connecticut, Colchester voted 105 for Trumbull and 12 for Hart, a majority for Trumbull. On May 27, 1807, heavy cattle losses were reported because of stray dogs biting them. The following year (1808), Colchester voted for Trumbull’s re-election (135 to 24). In 1810 Colchester voted for the governor, 82 for Treadwell, 61 for Griswold, and 16 for Spalding. Early industries were ironworks, clothier shops, potash works, and brick kilns. Industrial expansion in America was evident in Colchester by the 19th century. In Colchester were three tanneries and a woolen mill in 1819. On March 6th, 1821, John Turner sold the southern green to Bacon Academy Trustees for $100 ($2,800 in 2018). A hatter came in 1828. In 1836, a town description was written in "Connecticut Historical Collections" stating that excellent quality iron ore was found. Colchester was hilly and stony in some parts of town. Hebron’s furnaces later used the ore in 1899. In "Connecticut Historical Collections" the school for colored children is mentioned; considering this book was released in 1836, the school could not have been more than 43 years old. Unbeknownst to John Barber (the writer of this book), he got to see it only four years before its ending. On August 8, 1844, Special Park Committee meeting reported costs to acquire 3 ½ acres of land plus costs of posts and rails to line the perimeter for $398 (about $13,000).  

In March 1850, The borough petitioned for a special meeting for land donation by Nathaniel Hayward. His proposal was a donation of land if the borough laid a tax of $1,000 to defray expenses of fences and grading land (about $32,000). The proposal was approved. In 1851 Work was completed for the new Town Park. The borough passes ordinances to ban cows from the park. Borough records showed the town immediately designated the park as a source of income. This included land rental for circs, shows, and sales of grasses and hay. A wheel and carriage factory in 1858 and a paper mill in 1869. a creamery in 1886, and a canning company in 1893.

During this industrial heyday, the Hayward Rubber Company was established in 1847. It stayed under the leadership of Nathaniel Hayward until 1854, but he stayed president until he died in 1865. Nathaniel Hayward, along with Charles Goodyear, had discovered the process of vulcanized rubber. It is said that Hayward was the true inventor and that Goodyear provided the cash to fund his experiments. Hayward founded his new company in Colchester, and from here, rubber products, boots, and shoes were shipped all over the country. The company thrived until 1893 when it was closed and later burned.

Libraries are always crucial to any community's intellectual life and social cohesion, and Colchester is no exception. The first organized library in Colchester was the Colchester Library Association, founded in 1854. The association's first public reading room was on the second floor of the original Fire Station, still located on South Main Street. The association and its library grew over the following years, and by 1886 a much larger facility was needed to hold the collection, so that year, they moved into the Worthington Block on Merchants’ Row.

Unfortunately, the fire of 1890 destroyed all of Merchants’ Row along with the Colchester Library Association's facilities and collections. After the Worthington Block was rebuilt, the association moved back in and rebuilt its library from scratch. Another fire on Merchants’ Row in 1898 did not destroy the Worthington Block or the library in it. Still, in addition to destroying all of Merchants’ Row to the south, it also destroyed the house of Ardelia Cragin on Linwood Avenue.

Transportation during this period included the railroad. In 1875 the link between Willimantic and Middletown on the Boston to New York line was completed. The section ran through North Westchester and the Lyman Viaduct to the west. In 1876, the town appropriated $25,000 to lay track between Colchester and Amston. Both freight and passengers were carried over this track for nearly 80 years.

The first known mention of the bank, was on June 19, 1856, when the Senate agreed to pass a bill incorporating the bank. On October 11, 1856, the bank's stockholders met and decided on a board of directors. They are as follows, Albert B. Isham, Stephen Brainard Day (Isaac's Buell's brother), William G. Buell, and Samuel F. Jones Jr. (who would later be the main accomplice in the Colchester bank scandal). In the same meeting, Isaac Biglow Buell (the cousin of Harvey Post Buell, a successful druggist, and pharmacist in Colchester[15]) was chosen as president. The bank reportedly began the same day.

The Colchester bank reflected Colchester's importance to the local economy of Southeastern Connecticut. Its initial cashier was Samuel F. Jones. Per the May Session 1857 Bank Commissioner's report to the Connecticut General Assembly, the bank had $103,946 in resources. This was about $2.7 million in 2016 dollars. In the December 10th, 1857 edition of the Hartford Daily Courant, Mr. Jones was arrested for embezzling $75,000 from the bank. This was the equivalent of $2.0 million in 2016 dollars.

In the December 22, 1857 edition of the Hartford Daily Courant (quoting the Norwich Courier), Mr. Jones was also found to have illegally printed $101,000 in draft notes ($2.4 million in 2016 dollars) for his personal use in Hartford. He convinced the bank president, Isaac, to sign the draft notes without knowledge that the bank did not have the resources to cover the notes. It was this act that drove the final nail into the bank's coffin. Once the financial mess was discovered, state banking officials put the bank into receivership. Eventually, all holders of the bank draft notes were given from 25 to 50 cents on the dollar.

In the December 10, 1857 edition of the Hartford Daily Courant, "Mr. Jones was arrested in New York City and confined to a hotel until local banking officials arrived. In the interim, Mr. Jones’ lawyers succeeded in getting him released. Once local banking officials arrived, they found out that Mr. Jones was nowhere to be found."

In the February 16, 1859 edition of the Hartford Daily Courant, it was revealed that the New York City Police Commissioner was personally embarrassed that Mr. Jones escaped custody in 1857. In 1859, detectives got a break by locating and following Mr. Jones’ wife to his hiding place at the Metropolitan Hotel. It was rumored that Mr. Jones used his ill-gotten wealth to invest with the owner of the Metropolitan Hotel. A scuffle ensued to arrest Mr. Jones and bring him to justice in Connecticut.

However, the article went on to state that more intrigue was involved. While under armed escort back to Connecticut, Mr. Jones’ train was stopped in Harlem. It turned out that the wrong writ was issued, and the New York City officials refused to let Mr. Jones leave the city. Connecticut officials seemed to have been baffled by the legal wrangling. This eventually escalated to the governors of New York and Connecticut exchanging harsh words. It also caught the attention of national newspapers. The papers started to call it the financial scandal of the century.

In the February 21, 1859 edition of the Hartford Daily Courant, Mr. Jones was placed under an armed police escort back to Norwich on the morning of the 18th. On February 21, 1859, he was escorted to Colchester for examination. Unbeknownst to Connecticut police officers, Mr. Jones’ friends mounted a large group of armed Pinkerton detectives to rescue Mr. Jones. The article details the chase through Connecticut's back roads. Eventually, Mr. Jones arrived safely in Norwich and was brought to justice.

On May 5, 1859, the Litchfield enquirer published a passage stating that Mr. Jones was to be released without bail and explicitly stating that his bail was lowered from 1,500 dollars which dissolved into nothing. Jones died five years later, on January 9, 1864.

In 1903 Dr. Cragin announced that he was donating the site and foundation of the 18th century Taintor's Tavern and its sufficient funds to the Town of Colchester to build a new dedicated library building and stock it with materials. The new facility, named the Cragin Memorial Library after Dr. Cragin's late father, opened in 1905 and has been serving the town ever since. In the 1960s, an addition to the building was added, enlarging it to the library we know today.

By 1900 farming had diminished, and the rubber mill closed, but this was a time for another new beginning for Colchester. The Baron De Hirsch Foundation of New York had discovered that Colchester was an excellent place for the resettlement of European Jewish immigrants. By 1923, there were about 750 children recorded in the school census out of a total town population of 2,100. Since farming was no longer prosperous, many immigrants began to supplement their livelihoods by taking on boarders in the summer from nearby sweltering cities, particularly New York City.                                                                  

Within a few years, Colchester became the 20th century's "Catskills of Connecticut." At least seven significant hotels thrived, including the Broadway House, owned by Abraham and Rose Jaffe, Harris Cohen's Fairview House, Julius Sultan's Hilltop Lodge, Schwartz's Kessler's Horowitz's, and Barnett Dember's. The tourist industry boomed throughout the 1930s.

Postwar growth in neighboring towns led to a new era for Colchester. A new generation of suburban dwellers found Colchester an excellent "bedroom" community due to an improved highway system and its proximity to Hartford, Middletown, and the Norwich/New London areas. During the 1950s, the beach traffic brought many through the center of Colchester to frequent their favorite stops, including Harry's, the Colchester Bakery, and Levine and Levine Coat Factory. The Route 2 bypass of the town was completed in 1968. Still, for those who did not pass through, Colchester's dedication to the public school system, its diverse population, and its quality of life increased its population to 7,761 by 1980.

The Hurricane of 1938 is considered one of the most destructive in New England’s history. Known as the Great New England Hurricane of 1938, the storm is regarded as one of the most powerful storms in the 20th century in recorded New England history.                                                                                    

In 1938, forecasting was inaccurate, so with little warning, the hurricane slammed into Colchester on September 21 and into the 22nd. Connecticut was devastated with 5-10 inches of rain followed by sustained winds of 100-125 mph and gusts recorded at up to 160 mph. Preceded by a previous rainstorm, the landscape became saturated, leaving the Colchester Town Green resembling a small lake with cascading streams.

At that time, Colchester was abundant with thriving Dutch elm trees, having been planted around 1850. The ornamental shade trees graced the center of town with their mighty trunks and broad crowns. Just shy of 100 years old, the trees were tall and stately, giving Colchester an air of distinction. However, the root system of Dutch Elms is extensive but shallow. During the drenching rains throughout the week of September 21, 1938, the ground became saturated and spongy. When the hurricane-force winds hit, most of these elms simply toppled over with their shallow root system.

The falling trees fell upon homes, vehicles, real estate, and power lines causing catastrophic damage and blackouts. With axes and handsaws, all non-disabled citizens were called into service with few trucks and fewer town employees. The damage was widespread, and the cleanup took many weeks. Hitting an area from Long Island to Quebec, the storm became the most significant New England Hurricane.

In July 2005, Colchester was named by CNN's Money Magazine, the 57th best place in the U.S. to live in and is celebrated every year with a festival on the last Saturday of September called 57 Fest.

• Colchester center
• Golden Hill Paugussett Reservation
• North Westchester
• Westchester

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Colchester has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.[16]

Print made about 1848–1849 by Kelloggs & Comstock

Lyman Viaduct on the Air-Line Railroad

Formerly an incorporated borough, the town center of Colchester is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district, known as the Colchester Village Historic District. The walkable center includes a town green with a veterans' memorial. Retail stores and restaurants are located here.