Connecticut Historical Collections

Letter from the Rev. J. Davenport and Gov. l^laton, "To the much honored the Governor, Deputy and Assistants, &ic." of Massachusetts. "It may jilcn-e the woiiliy and iniu'li lionorcd Governor, Deputy & Assistants, & with them, the prest-iil Coiute, lo liilvc knuwludge thai ciur desire ol' slaying wilhiii this pHtent was Reall and strung', if llic eye of God's providenee (to whom we have committed oiu waies, especially in so iinpoilant an enterprise as this, wlueh, we con- fess is far above our Capacityes) had j^uided us lo a place convenient for onr fainilyes, & for our frii^nds. Wliieh as our W(jrds have often expi'essed,so, we hope, the tiuetli thereof is sullicienlly declared by onr almo^t nine moneths patient wayiiiig in expecin- c"on of some opportunity to be ollcrcd us, for lliat end, to oui^reat charge ik hin- drance, many waies. " In ail whic!) lime we have, in many pi'a\trs, commended the guidance of our ap- prehension'--, judgments, hi)!ni>, losdluc'ous iS: wayes, into the ,i'oud hand of tlie onely wise God, Vihose preru'^aiue ii i^ to deieiniine the bounds of onr habitac^ons accord- ing 10 the ends for whuh he hath brought Ui into these counlryes, and we have eon- sjdered, as we were able, by l.is heljie, whalM.ever place hath bene juupounded to us, being rendy lo have, with contenlnu lit aceciiied (il I'y our slay any ftublick ijood might lie piomoved) Miialler aeec/iiunodac ons, & ujion dearer termes (if ihey miglit be mod- cjotely coininudious) then, we believe, most men, in liie same case with us, in all res- pects, would have done. And whereas a jilace for an Inland planlac on, beyond Wa- tertowne, was propounded to us, &, ])ressed with much importunity l)y some, whose words have the jiower of a law with us, in any way of God, we did speedily, and seii- ously deliberate iheieopon, it being the subjcci of the greatest |iart o( a dayes discourse. The conclusion was, that, if llie upland should answer the meddowgiound in goodnes <t desirablenes (whereof yet theie is some ground of doubting) yet, considering that a Boate cannot pass from the 15ay thither, nearer than 8 or 10 miles distance, and that it is so reniote from the Bay, & IVuin any towne, we couhl not see how our dwelling there would be advaniagious to the.se planlation.s, or compatible with ourcoiulitions, or com- modious for our familv-es, or I'or our friends. " Nor can we satisfye ourselves thra it is expedient, for ourselves, or for our friends, that we cliuse such a condition, wherein we must be compelled to have our dwelling liouses so farr distant iiom our Fainies, as Boston, or CJiarle.stowne is Ifom that place, few of our friends being able to beare the charge thereof (whose cases nevertheless we are bound to consider) & some ol tjiem that are alilenot being persuaded that it is law- full for them to live continually I'rom the gieatest part of theyre fnmilyes, as, in this case, they would be necessitated to doe. The season of the yeare, &, other weighty considerations, compelled us to haslen to a full (fcfinall conclusion, which we are, at * Records of ihe Colony of New Haven, t Trumbiill'ii History of Conncclicut. 142 NEW HAVEN. last, come unto, by God's appointment and diiL-ction, m-q hope in mercy, nud have sent letters tu Connectacntt lur a speedy transaciinj,' the purchase of the jKirts about Uuii- lypieck from the Natives uliich may pretend title thereuulu. By w hich Act we are Absolutely, tV irrevocably in;;a^'ed tliat way, & we are persuaded that God will order it for good unto these planlaiions, wiiose love so abundantly, above our desarts, or ex- pectac''ons, expressed, in your desire of our abode in these parts, as we shall ever re- taine in ihanclvfull memory, so we shall account ourselves thereby obliged to be any way instrumeniall, & serviccuide foi- ilie common good of these plantac~ons as well as of those; which the Divine providence hath combined together in as strong a bund of Brotherly alleciiun, hy the sameness of thevre contlilion, as J(iab and Abishai were, whose severall armyes did miUuallv slrenglhcn them boalh against sevcial enimyes — 'J Sam. X. !t, 10, 11, or ralherllicv are joynetl together, as Hippocrates his Twinnes, to stand ,?;: fall, to growe &, decay, to llourish i witiier, to live and dye together. Inwil- nes ol the premises we subsciilie our names. John Davenporte. Theoph: Ealou. The lOlh dav of the first monelli, Anno IG3S" [= 12 March, KJJ'JJ* ^rcm^ The above is a fac siinile of the haiitl-writing of Mr. Davenport and Gov. Eaton, subscribed to tlie preceding letter. New Haven lies at the head of a harbor, which sets up four miles from Long Island Sound ; in north latitude 41° IS', and in west longi- tude 72° 56' ; seventy six miles from New York, thirty four from Hart- ford, and one hundred and thirty foiu- from Hostoti. It is the capital of a county of the same lumu;, ;mil the semi-capital of Connecticut. The site of iNew Haven is a plain, l}'iiig between two ranges of hills, ou the east and on the west ; and limited, partly, on the northern side, by two mountains, called the East and West Rocks ; a spur from the lat- ter, named Pine Rock, and another from the former, named Mill Rock, which descends in the form of a handsome hill to the northern skirt of the city. Between these mountains the plain opens into a valley, which extends northward seventy six miles, to Northampton ; and between the East Rock, and the eastern range of hills, into another valley, ter- minating at Wethersfield, thirty two miles. Both these valleys coincide at the places specified, with the valleys of Connecticut river. The mountains are bold blutls of greenstone rocks, with suimnits finely fig- ured, and form a delightful j)art of the New Haven landscape. The harbor of New Haven is created by the conduence of three riv- ers with the Sound ; Wallingford or Quinnipiac river on the east. Mill * Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 3d vol. 3d series. NEW HAVEN M3 river on the norib, and West river. The two last are merely mill streams. Mill river is a very fine one, being plentifully supplied with water during tlie year. Wallingford river, originally called Quinni- piac, rises in Farminglon, and alter running a winding course of thirty five miles, empties its waters into the Sound. ornaments of the landscape. These streams are also iSouth vicir of Sav ILivcn and Fort Jlalc. Fort Ilale, the most prominent ohject in the above view, is silnateil un an insulated rock, two Iniles from llie eud ul Long Wliarl". It is so named Irom Ca]ilaiii Nailian Hale, vvliu saerilieed his life fur iiis cuLiniry ill the Revolutionary war. Tlie ciiy of New Haven is seen in tlic distance, wilii the East and West llueks, as they appear in sailing up liie harhor. The harbor of New Haven, from the cntiance of W^ilhngford and Mill rivers, has in the channel fifteen feet of water to its mouih, exeej)t on Crane's bar, a small spit of sand, formed by the erection of a pier, about three fourths of a mile from tlie shore. Here the depth is only seven and a half feet ; but the obstruction might be removed with no great difiiculty. At the time when the fu'st settlers arrived in this town, there was in the northwestern region of this harbor, a stiflicient depth of water lor all the ordinary pur[)oses of commerce. Ships were built and launched where now there are iiieadows, and gardens and shops : sloops loaded and unloaded where the market now stands. So late as the year 1765, the long wharf extended only twenty rods from the shore. It extends now three thousand nine hundred and forty three feet. Yet there is less water a few rods from its foot now, tlian at its termination in the year 17G5. The substance which here accumulates so rapidly, is what in this country is called marsh mitd ; the material of which its salt marshes are composed. It has been suspected to be of a vegetable nature, and where the experiment has been tried, it has been found to be peat, and yields a tolerably good fa-e. The plain on which New Haven is built, is not improbably a conge- ries of particles, floated down to this place in early times from the inie- 144 N K W HAVEN, rior. Its surface is sand, mixed wiiii loam and gravel ; beneath this is usually found a stratum of yellow loam. Still lower, at the dej)th of fifteen or eightcea inches, a mass of coarse sand extends about six feet. Beneath this is anotlier, composed principally of pebbles, rounded and smoothed like stones washed by the ocean. Still further down, the materials, generally like those which have been mentioned, are more mingled and confused. Formerly the surface was covered with shrub oaks ; and wild turkeys and partiidges were foimd in great numbers.*