The Romance of Norwalk

974 ♦ 602 N83d 1359868 genealogy CUl-l-ECTION Courtesy of Manugian Historic Norwalk Green Across this strip of land the first settlers passed, it is believed ; through here the British soldiers marched to the Battle of the Rocks on France street; through here the stage coach dashed on its way to the Connecticut House ; from this point the little band of Norwalkers left to found Norwalk, Ohio ; churches and schools have come and gone : new homes have replaced the old ; the Green remains one of the prettiest spots in Norwalk, fraught with memories of the past. THE ROMANCE OF NORWALK By Elsie Nicholas Danenberg SECTIONAL HISTORY SERIES THE STATES HISTORY COMPANY 1 56 Fifth Avenue New York City Copyright 1929 By THE STATES HISTORY COMPANY Printed in the United States of A meric a 1359868 Dedicated to Alfred S. O’Brien My Inspiration Leigh Danenberg My Consolation Thanks Due Norwalk Public Library Miss Margaret Wilson South Norwalk Public Library Miss Ella Lindeberg This History has Appeared Serially in Part in the Evening Sentinel - TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Indian Influence . i II. Coming of the White Man ..... 7 III. Purchase of Norwalk . 20 IV. First Settlers . 35 V. Early Problems . 51 VI. Growth of Town . 63 VII. Boundary Disputes . 71 VIII. First Inn — First School . 80 IX. Offshoots of Norwalk . 92 X. Norwalk in 1750 . 101 XI. French and Indian War . 111 XII. Governor Fitch of Norwalk . 12 1 XIII. Revolutionary War Begins . 134 XIV. Tories in Norwalk . 146 XV. Burning of Norwalk . 152 XVI. Rebuilding the Town . 172 XVII. Stage Coach Days . 179 XVIII. Papers — Paupers . 193 XIX. War of 1812 . 200 XX. Prosperous Days . 208 XXI. Transportation . 213 XXII. Banks — Churches . 226 vi CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XXIII. Schools . 244 XXIV. Norwalk in 1850 . 262 XXV. Hatting . 270 XXVI. Civil War . 291 XXVII. Peace and Progress . 306 XXVIII. “Old Well,” South Norwalk . 320 XXIX. Libraries — Telephones . 326 XXX. Oyster Industry . 341 XXXI. Letters — Lights . 369 XXXII. “The Bridge,” Norwalk . 381 XXXIII. Consolidation . 387 XXXIV. World War . 396 XXXV. Islands — Clubs . 414 XXXVI. Modern Norwalk . 424 Appendices . 447 Bibliography . 482 Index . 485 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Historic Norwalk Green . Indian Map of Connecticut . Ludlow Castle, Ludlow, England .... Norwalk’s Original Homelots . Map of New York — Connecticut Boundary Dispute . Yankee Doodle House in Norwalk, Connecticut Yankee Doodle House in Rensselaer, New York Old Connecticut House . Fitch House on East Avenue . Railroad Disaster . Early Crofut and Knapp Factory . First Oyster Steamboat . Route of Norwalkers in Civil War . . . . Horse Car on West Avenue . Early South Norwalk Library . Oyster Grounds under State Jurisdiction . Oyster Grounds under City Jurisdiction . Norwalk Islands . Aerial Map of Norwalk . Modern Norwalk . . .Frontispiece Facing Page 4 “ “ 20 “ “ 46 “ “ 76 “ “ 116 “ “ 116 “ “ 162 “ “ 162 “ “ 222 “ “ 274 “ “ 274 “ 300 “ “ 328 “ “ 328 “ “ 364 “ “ 366 “ “ 416 “ “ 424 “ “ 444 . INDIAN INFLUENCE Chapter I Significance of Indian in Local History — Origin of Norwalk Red Man — Appearance — Habits and Customs — Charac¬ ter and Temperament — Aid to White Man — Illnesses Suffered — Causes of Decline. The vehement, implacable hatred of two Indian chieftains for each other, the slaughter house battle in the murky Pequot swamp just a few miles from here, and the apprizing eye of one Roger Ludlow, were determining factors in the long chain of circumstances which led up to the purchase of Norwalk, February 26, 1640. Years of romance and ad¬ venture, of blood-curdling battles, of destructive fires, of starvation struggles, of peace and prosperity, — the progres¬ sive city in which we live today has been through them all. Norwalk was an accident. It was not the realization of golden air castles of ad¬ venturer or explorer; nor the heavenly haven of persecuted religious sects; nor the culmination of the green pastured dreams of settler or homesteader. Rather it was the victim of circumstances. Had there been no Pequot Indian War, it is quite possible that there would have been no Norwalk; perhaps another town by another name, founded by another group of settlers, but not the city which we know today. The Indian background bore a tremendous significance on the early days of Norwalk. Its influence will never fade. Today we still have with us, Indian graves and burial grounds; Indian relics and souvenirs; clubs and organizations founded in memory of Indian heroes, and the names of In¬ dian chieftains on every road and highway. So important a role did the aboriginal play in the history of this city, that 1 2 ROMANCE OF NORWALK it is impossible to understand or to get into the spirit of the romantic story of the founding of Norwalk, unless acquaintance is first made with the events which preceded that founding and with the original bronze-skinned settlers who roamed the woods and fished the waters here, long be¬ fore the white man drove his first log cabin stake into the ground. Years may come and years may go but history goes on forever. Dip behind the current pages of Norwalk’s ro¬ mantic history for a moment. Travel back through the last few centuries to the time when men were men and women wore three woolen petticoats ! What tales, thrilling, dra¬ matic, comic and weird, are hidden in those dry and yellowed pages ! We wonder how many Norwalkers know: That Uncas the brave and the bold, Uncas the cruel and the crafty, Indian chieftain, whose name we have been taught to revere be¬ cause he befriended the English, was in reality a traitor and a scoundrel, who warred against his own flesh and blood to appease a selfish pride, and who used the white man to satisfy a grasping ambition? That this section of the country was once known as the Lord’s Waste? That Norwalk was founded by a lawyer, the first of his profession to come to the colonies? That Barnum, the father of all Barnums in America, lived here? That during the latter part of the seventeenth century, Norwalk was nearly lost to Connecticut in an altercation between this state and New York over a boundary line? That Norwalk did not approve of the Rev¬ olutionary War and did not turn patriotic until the signing of the Declaration of Independence? That the town was once a stage coach center? That South Norwalk, when it became a city, numbered only 2,000 persons and was the smallest in the United States? That for 25 years the west¬ ern end of the city boasted a post office labeled “Rowayton,” and a railroad station called “Five Mile River Landing,” because the inhabitants couldn’t agree on which name the village should bear? That Norwalk was the first in the INDIAN INFLUENCE 3 country to use steam in the oyster industry? That the first derby hat in the United States was made in this city? So many thrilling tales, so many interesting truths have been rediscovered by a search into Norwalk’s past life, that it is difficult to know just where to put them all. Not just cold historical facts; not just bare numbers and names; but in -addition, some of the color of the early times; the reds, whites and blues of patriotic years; the vivid crimsons and purples of spilled blood and of royalty; the pastel shades of tranquil rural community life; the comfortable browns and greys of later peaceful years, — these the writer has striven to weave into the patterned story of Norwalk. ORIGIN OF NORWALK INDIANS Tawny skinned, broadshouldered, dark eyed, were the first Norwalkers. But from where did they come? Histor¬ ies are at variance concerning the origin, number and names of tribes of the Indians who lived in this community. Consensus of opinion, however, is to the effect that the Norwalk Indians were Mohegans, probably independent tribes of that great family. Their relation to the Pequots and to the other Indian tribes and branches in Connecticut, necessitates a little reverse trip into the Indian history of the country. The Pequots and Mohegans here, were apparently of the same race as the Mohicans, the Mohegans and the Mohicanders, all of whom lived on the banks of the Hudson river. When housing conditions became too congested, in the early part of the seventeenth century, they came to Con¬ necticut. Various histories have estimated the number of redskins in Connecticut at the time the whites arrived to be between 6,000 and 20,000. A conservative estimate would be about 12,000. The Pequots occupied the southeastern part of the state from the coast back about twelve miles. Their most north¬ ern community included the Mohegan tribe of the same blood as themselves. The entire territory covered about 4 ROMANCE OF NORWALK 500 square miles, reaching from the Niantic or Nehantic river on the west to the Paucatuck river on the east in Rhode Island. The various Narragansett tribes and branches which were distributed in small bands throughout the central and west¬ ern parts of the state included : The Nipmunks and Nipnets, Western Nehantics, Podunks and Poquonnocs, Sicaoggs, Naiogs, Hockanums, Wangunks or Wangums, and south¬ west of the latter a tribe governed by Montowese; Ham- monassetts, Sepous or Tunxis; Quinnipiacs in territory which now supports towns from Madison to Milford; Wepawaugs and Paugussetts in what are now Huntington and Stratford; Unkowas in Fairfield. Knowledge of the Indian tribes from Fairfield down to the New York line seems very scarce. Several historians insist that there were few, if any, Indians living in this vicinity before 1643, at which time large numbers of redskins fled to Connecticut shores from their homes on Long Island and on the banks of the Hudson, to escape the hostility of the Dutch.