PHYSICAL HISTORY, GEOLOGY, MINERALOGY AND MINES.
The village is situated 41 deg. 33 min. north, and 73 deg. 14 min. west; is twelve miles from New Haven, and about twenty-three miles from Hartford, and is beautifully situated on a hill extending nearly a mile and a half from north to south, the whole length of which runs the principal or main street, which is adorned on either
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side with elms and maple trees. Parallel to this is the lower street, also adorned with large and lofty elms; in addition to these, the several cross streets render the walks and drives about the village extremely pleasant and attractive. Beautiful views may be had of the Blue, and also of the Hanging Hills, from the windows of almost every house in the town. The face of the country is somewhat rolling, and is generally well adapted to grazing, but when properly cultivated will produce abundant crops.
The ridge on which Wallingford is situated, consists of a series of more or less detached dikes, succeeding each other in the same order as the different elevations of the trap ridges, and forming on the whole, a well marked curvilinear range. At the commencement it forms a short, very strongly marked curve, consisting of a series of small dikes, composed partly of a very finegrained, small, fragmentary trap, and partly of a trap conglomerate, traversed by threads of a similar finegrained trap.1 These dikes are bordered by an indurated sandstone, partly colored light green, with fragments of red feldspar disseminated. In passing through the village of Wallingford, the range is concealed by diluvium, but has been exposed by excavation. It re-appears near the northeast part of the village, and further north in a sandstone ridge, east of the road from Wallingford to the pass at Black Pond, where it bends abruptly east, and crosses a stream (Wharton's Brook), in a remarkable dike, bordered by green indurated sandstone.
Large beds of sandstone are found in Wallingford and
1 Several unstratified rocks, whose principal ingredients are feldspar and hornblende or augite, are called trap rocks, from the Swedish word trappa a stair; because they are often arranged in the form of stairs or steps.
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Meriden. They form large elevations or high rounded ridges, opposite the south point of Lamentation moun-tain,1 and of the Hanging Hills, exhibiting an advance in that direction corresponding to that of the main trap ranges. Most of the sandstone is of a coarse, decomposable and variegated variety. Less decomposable varieties occasionally occur, usually in immediate connection with
1 The tradition is, that "a Mr, Chester, who was one of the first settlers of Wethersfield. having some business to perform in the south part of the town, which was then a wilderness, became lost in the woods. Being missed, his neighbors went in search of him, making noises in the woods, and uttering lamentations. After a lapse of several days, his neighbors had the good fortune to meet with him on the mountain, which has ever since been called Mount Lamentation." The monument of Mr. Chester,
jpeg which is one of the oldest in the State, is in the yard of the first Congregational church in Wethersfield. The device over the inscription on the monument has been the subject of much speculation. By some it has been believed to be a representation of some demon in the form of a fiery serpent, which, according to the legends of the times, appeared to Mr. Chester while in the wilderness.
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the trap ranges, some of which are well fitted for quarrying. The more common variety usually decomposes speedily when exposed to the atmosphere, forming a coarse gravel, and in some instances, as at the excavation of the Hartford and New Haven Railroad at Holt's Hill, caused during its decomposition an increased vegetation adjoining its fragments; probably from the lime it contains. In the coarse, decomposable sandstone, traversed by a ravine on the middle turnpike, west of Wallingford, long cylindrical nodules or concretions of a light ash-colored compact limestone, are to be observed, usually somewhat contorted, and breaking in fragments, by joints somewhat resembling those of basalt. A thin bed of a fine-grained red sandstone was observed in the excavations at Holt's Hill, apparently entirely composed of similar but smaller cylindric concretions, breaking in the same basaltiform fragments.
The trap rocks in the State are chiefly connected with the secondary rocks, which consist of two formations or basins of red sandstone and shale, closely resembling each other in character as well as arrangement, although entirely separated by a wide interposition of the western primary. The trap rocks present a series of dikes and ridges (the last a modification of the dike). There are four extensive trap dikes traversing the primary rocks, two in the western and two in the eastern primary; one of the latter entirely crossing the State, from the Sound into Massachusetts. The different ridges and dikes present in each secondary formation, a system of curvilinear ranges, in a general N. N. E. direction (corresponding to the direction of the stratification in the sandstone, as well as to the general direction of the primary), and with their convexity toward the west. The
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trap in the southern subordinate formation presents two distinct lines of elevation, an eastern and a western.
The first of these is the most extensive, and traverses more nearly the center of the formation. It presents a series of four main curves, gradually increasing in elevation and extent from south to north. The third main curve commences in advance of the second main curve, at the mountain rising between Pang Pond and the valley of the Middletown turnpike, north-east of Northford. It extends at first nearly north, in continuous order, forming the high mountain ridge east of Wallingford and Meriden, then advances abruptly to the ridge of Lamentation mountain, and again extends N. N. E. in a line east of Berlin, to the Mattabesick, where it bends rather abruptly east, in receding order, and continues in the same general direction, to near the west bank of the Connecticut, not far north of the south line of Wethers-field. The fourth, and most northern of these curves, is also the most elevated and most: extensive. It commences on the south at the Hanging Hills, in strong advancing order, in a line nearly west of the south point of Lamentation mountain, from which last ridge the main line of elevation is continued. It forms at its southern extremity, a short but very strongly marked curve, fronting the south, and bending quite abruptly north, extends at first nearly north in slightly advancing order, to Farmington (Rattlesnake) mountain, where it bears more N. N. Easterly, in continued order, to the Connecticut, at the north point of Mount Tom. It there recedes abruptly to the east in the same manner as the preceding curve at the passage of the Mattabesick, and is then continued nearly east, in the ridge of Mount Holyoke, to within a short distance of the western border of the
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eastern primary. This range presents at the S. W. and N. W. points, the two most elevated summits connected with the larger secondary formation; namely, the Hanging Hills and Mount Tom.
The high range east of Wallingford and Meriden presents a series of ridges with a curvature more strongly marked toward the south, and slightly so toward the north, separated from each other by transverse depressions or valleys, more deeply intersecting the range toward the south. The range near the middle point is crossed by a valley, cleft quite to its base, at the road from Wallingford to Middletown. The rock of the summit near the Wallingford and Middletown road, is very coarse-grained decomposable trap, in large square blocks, not a little resembling syenite. In front of the more northern ridge, a large column of trap stands quite detached, in advance of the mural front of the ridge, visible as such however, only from a point nearly in the line of the front of the mountain. The section near the Meri-den and Middletown turnpike, consists of a long ridge of nearly uniform elevation, and of greater length than any other section of the range, with a distinctly marked curvature, thus forming a basin occupied by Black Pond. It is bordered on the east by an uninterrupted valley, distinctly exhibiting its curvature. The section extending from the pass at Black Pond north, forms the highest point, next to Mount Tom and the Hanging Hills, in the trap system of the larger secondary formation.
The range commencing at a low point west of the south point of Lamentation mountain, and rising suddenly into the high abrupt range of the Hanging Hills, advances west a short distance, to the south-west and highest point of that range, and then bends abruptly
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north, in which direction it proceeds, in advancing order, to Cook's Gap, south of Farmington. It then bears more N. N. Easterly, in a long continuous range, of variable outline, to the Connecticut, at the north point of Mount Tom, when it bends rather abruptly east, in the range of Mount Holyoke, and continues in that direction to within a short distance of Belchertown, Mass.
The southern section of this range presents at its south-east point, a long, low range closely connected with the higher part of the main range, being separated from it only by the narrow pass (or ravine) of Cat-Hole, but extending N. N, E. to a point farther north than the north point of Lamentation mountain; not, however, in a direction exactly parallel to the latter range, but more inclined to the west. It is separated from the third main range, by the long valley, through which the line of the Hartford and New Haven railroad is extended, the summit of which is at a lower level than that of any similar pass through the eastern line of elevation.
This valley is occupied by the basin of Beaver Pond, extending south to a point W. N. W. of the south point of Lamentation mountain, and opening north into the basin of the Mattabesick in Berlin. On the east side of the basin, the sandstone of Meriden extends north along the base of the anterior range of Lamentation mountain, nearly to the old toll-gate south of Berlin. The present range consists of two lines of elevation, separated by a narrow, continuous valley; namely, a higher anterior line, extending along the east side of Cat-Hole, commencing further south, but terminating sooner toward the north; and a lower posterior line, commencing in a group of detached elevations of fragmentary trap and amygdaloid, south-west of Beaver Pond, and continued north in
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a long, nearly uniform ridge, to a point nearly west of the north point of Lamentation mountain, where it is succeeded, in advancing order, by a wide, short range, consisting of several parallel ridges of trap.
West of the pass at Cat-Hole, the higher part of the fourth main range commences, in a short, detached elevation, separated from the range further west by a deep cross valley (the Notch), opening nearly north, This ridge presents a high mural front to the south-east and south, and also to the west, toward the Notch, and on the north, sends off two lower spurs from its eastern and western extremities, indicating a strong, marked curvature. These spurs terminate in low points, about half a mile north of the main range. The trap of this southern section of the main range generally consists of the compact crystalline variety; amygdaloid rarely occurring, except in low points or hummocks, near the termination of the different ridges.
By the terms Diluvium and Alluvium, are considered all the unconsolidated materials accumulated on the surface. These are either accumulated loosely and irregularly, or arranged in distinct beds or strata. The former were apparently deposited by currents, sweeping over the general surface, or more confined in their operation; or have been derived from the decomposition of the rocks on which they immediately rest. The stratified materials were apparently deposited from water, in a state of comparative repose, as in lakes and estuaries, and are generally found in valleys or basins. The greater part of the diluvium was apparently deposited by a general current, traversing from N. N. W. to S. S. E. This is satisfactorily indicated, both by the bowlders, scattered over the surface, or imbedded in the diluvial earth, and
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by smaller fragments included in the latter, as well as by its general character.
Blocks are found scattered through Meriden and Wallingford, which originally came from the northern parts of the State and perhaps within the limits of Massachusetts, N. N. W. from the points where they are now met with. They consist chiefly of the coarse white granite, accompanying the mica slate, the granitic gneiss of the included basins, and a light bluish compact mica slate with transverse scales of mica, such as abound in the vicinity of Conway, Mass. Where the current has been rapid, and the country rocky or stony, the alluvions are gravelly or cobbly, and of little agricultural value. Where the current was slow, and the country of a different character from the preceding, the alluvions consist of a clayey or sandy loam, of greater or less fertility. In the north part of Meriden, there are extensive beds of peat, which may, perhaps, at some future period prove to be a resource of no little importance.1
The mineral that is found in the largest quantities in Meriden is the datholite. This is found in large quantities in the ancient volcanic rock, the trap. The very rare and costly salt, borax, has not yet been detected in the United States; nor has been discovered the elementary acid of this salt in an insulated state, with which as it exists in Europe, borax is so easily made. Yet in the datholite, boracic acid is present in the proportion of from twenty-one to thirty-five per cent. Its other ingredients are silica and lime. This is decomposed by means of sulphuric acid; and the borax
1 A vertebra of a mammoth was found, several years since, in excavating a peat swamp, at New Britain; the only instance of the kind that has yet occurred in the State.
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may be formed by adding carbonate of soda, and withdrawn from the silica and sulphate of lime, by crystallization.
Adjoining the Meriden and Waterbury turnpike, a large red porphyritic rock occurs, with dark sub-porphyritic, and dark micaceous hornblendic alternations. Farther north, at the termination of the formation, the prevalent rock is lighter grey, more granitic, sub-porphyritic, and more rarely small porphyritic, with large beds of a nearly white very feldspathic granitic gneiss. A similar white granitic gneiss, with ferruginous micaceous alternations occupies a narrow band between the red porphyritic rock just noticed, and the formation on the west. Native copper has frequently been met with in the secondary region of the State, both in diluvium and attached to greenstone trap. A mass was found in Wallingford, half a mile west of the Hartford turnpike, weighing six pounds.1
It has been said that all the minerals and metals known to man could be found in Connecticut in just sufficient quantities not to pay the cost of getting them. It is not perhaps a matter of wise regret that gold and silver do not find a place among the metallic productions of the State. Should these metals be detected within our territory, their pursuit would neither operate favorably upon our agricultural interests, nor tend to the more successful working of the more useful metals that are to be found in the State. That gold is not likely to
1 We are indebted for many important facts concerning the Geology of this part of the State, to Dr. J. G. Percival's valuable "Report on the Geology of the State of Connecticut," New Haven, 1842; and Dr. Charles U. Shepherd's "Report on the Geological Survey of Connecticut," New Haven, 1837.
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occur to any extent, may be inferred from the limited developments of the gold-formation.
In the Secretary of State's office there is a document dated May, 1712, saying that
"Whereas, the opening and the manufacturing of the Ore, will probably be of great Public benefit and advantage both to such towns wherein the mines are found, and to this Her Majesty's Colony in General. And whereas, Wm. Partridge of Newbury and Jonathan Belcher of Boston, Merchant, both of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, have entered into Articles of Agreemt with the Town of Wallingford for the opening of Mines in the Sd Town."
This document goes on to state that all the miners, artificers and laborers connected with the mines should be exempted from all civil and military duties and from all taxes. Messrs. Belcher and Partridge were to have the exclusive right of working all mines in Wallingford with the exception of iron mines, and they petitioned the Governor to have recorded the articles of agreement. They were,
"To hold, use and improve the mines for, by and during the space of eight years certain from the date of said Lease, and for such further and longer time and term of years from and after the expiration of the said eight years as the said Grantees their Executrs, adminrs, or assignes, shall think fit and be pleased to use and Improve the same, not exceeding Five hundred years in the whole, for and under the Considerations, Payments and Reservations therein mentioned and expressed."1
1 In October, 1722, Matthew Bellamy petitioned the General Assembly, "that as your petitioner is living within the township of Wallingford and living very near the place where the miners are at work where there is many of them and especyally will be many now and there being no other person within six or seven miles that can well find them entertainment ex-
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Very soon after the settlement of Wallingford, it was thought by many that in some of the hills, mineral wealth was abundant. They conceived that the mountains and hills abounded with precious metals and minerals; and however rich the soil might be, yet that the bowels of the earth would afford them much greater wealth. About the year 1712, two mines were found in Connecticut. One in the town of Simsbury, and the other in Wallingford. They were called copper mines, but it was thought that the copper contained a mixture of a more precious kind. The mine at Wallingford was supposed to be the richest, but the miners were prevented from digging there on account of the great quantity of water which, after they had proceeded some depth, constantly flowed in upon them.1
As early as 1712 the legislature enacted laws for the encouragement of the proprietors of the mines at Wallingford and Simsbury, and from the phraseology of the acts, it is quite evident that the mining business was then not a new thing, but had been carried on for sometime previous to that elate. On the petition of the original proprietors of the lands in Wallingford, in May, 1712, it was enacted that the heirs of the original pro-
cept your petitioner whereupon your petitioner with the next owners of the mines prayeth your petitioner may have a license by an act of this assembly to keep a hous of entertainment that so your petitioner may without danger provide for and entertain the miners and others as need shall require and your petitioner to be under the same penalty as other persons that are licensed by the assembly court."
1 The mine at Simsbury was dug until the veins of copper ceased. A prodigious cavity was made, which in after years became the famous prison, called Newgate. This has been of much greater advantage to the State than all the copper dug out of it.
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prietors should have an equal share in the mine already discovered, and in all other mines which should hereafter be discovered in said lands.
In October, 1718, John Hamblin, James Wallsworth, Esquire, and Captain John Hall, were appointed commissioners for the mining company at Wallingford for the term of two years; at the expiration of the two years, May 11, 1721, Matthew Allyn, Col. William Whiting, Aaron Cooke and Captain Samuel Mather were appointed commissioners, with power to close up the concern, if found necessary. The legislature and the public expected great benefit from the profits that would accrue from these mines, but it is believed that neither the undertakers, proprietors, nor the colony were ever very greatly benefited by them. Within a few years Mr. A. Bellamy, a descendant of the old Bellamy family, went to Cheshire and re-opened the old shaft near the residence of the late Mr. Elias Gaylord, expecting to find copper; but was unsuccessful, as had been all of his predecessors who had made attempts to work the mines.
In 1737, a company was formed for the purpose of working the abandoned mines; and of this attempt we have an authentic account, as some of the papers relative to it have been preserved by the descendants of Benjamin Royce, one of the partners of the company. These mines were on "Milking-yard hill," and the shafts may still be seen there. Although it is now generally supposed that these excavations were made solely for copper mines, yet these papers indicate an expectation of finding gold. Indeed it is probable that the hope of obtaining this more precious metal was the main inducement for re-opening the abandoned works. A very
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considerable quantity of the ore was once shipped to England, as the means of smelting it were not to be found in America; but the ship was lost at sea. Tradition asserts that the foreigners who worked in the mines, concealed, and appropriated to themselves, whatever gold they found. For these reasons or for other causes of failure, the works were once more abandoned, and have never been resumed.
A company was formed called the "Golden Parlour Mining Company," and the following articles of co-partnership were drawn up:
"Articles of Agreement made and Concluded upon this twenty-seventh day of April Anno Domini, 1737, Between Edward Higbee of Micldletown, and Walter Henderson of Hartford, both of ye County of Hartford, and Thomas Thomas of New York, Arthur Rexford, Sam'll Androus, Benj. Royse, all of Wallingford, in ye County of Hartford, afores'd and Josiah Griswold, Thomas Goodwin, Benjamin Stillman, John Pierce, all of Wethersfield in ye County aforesaid, Proprietors and Joint owners of a certain peice of land, or Mines in said Wallingford as lesed out to them by Timothy Royce, of s'd Wallingford, as will appear to said Lease, reference thereunto being had to carry on the work in said Mines, witnesseth that we the s'd partys do covenant and agree to, and with each other, and do hereby oblidge and bind our Selves to stand to, and perform the following articles, viz: 1. That the Name of S'd Mine, Shall be the Golden Parlour. 2. That the Work to be done in said Mines, shall be ordered by a vote of ye Majority of ye owners, and ye Costs and Charges arising on ye work of ye said Mines, shall be paid according to ye proportions in each owners part. 3. That each owner's vote shall be in proportion to what part he owns. 4. That if any owner or owners cannot attend ye meeting or meetings, appointed by ye Majority of ye owners in order to manage ye affairs of said mine, they shall have
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liberty to appoint any of ye owners to vote or act in his or their behalf and said owner so appointed shall vote or act there an shall be esteemed as good and valid as if the owner appointing was himself present. 5. That Mr. Benj. Royce be a Clerk to Enter and keep ye votes that may from time to time be passed by the owners or the majority of said owners until ye said owners shall chuse another in his room in which case ye said Royce is to deliver all ye votes he has Entered and kept in ye Hands of said owners. 6. That the last Wednesday of July, October, January and April, be days, Stated for ye Meeting of said owners at Meriden, to make up the acc'tts of said mine and also to pay what Charge or Cost may arise between each Meeting to ye Satisfaction of ye undertaker, and if ye majority of ye owners shall think fitt to order a meeting on any other time, or times besides those herein Stated, ye meetings so ordered and ye affairs managed therein shall be good and valid. 7. That these articles be committed into ye Hands of ye Clark for ye time being, and if any of ye owners desire a Copy hereof ye said Clark shall give it him attested under his Hand, he or they satisfying him therefor. In conformation of ye above mentioned articles, we the Subscribers, have hereunto Sett our Hands and Seals in Meriden, the Day and Date above mentioned.
"THOS. THOMAS, L. S. EDWARD HIGBEE, L. S. JOSIAH GRISWOLD, L. S. THOS. GOODWIN, L. S. ARTHUR REXFORD, L. S. BENJAMIN ROYS, L. S. SAMUEL ANDRUS, L. S. B. STILMAN, L. S. JOHN PIERCE, L. S.
In presence of Amos Hall, Moses Parse, Jr., Wm. Hough."
It appears, however, that previous to the formal organization of the company on paper, a partnership had actually existed, for a few months at least, as we find a paper dated the previous February. It is as follows:
"A record kept by Benjamin Roys, Clark of proprietors of
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the mines in the land of Timothy Roys in Wallingford, February ye 11, 1736-7. Then the owners of the mines in the land of Timothy Roys in Wallingford, being Regularly met together at the hous of John Way in Wallingford, did then make up their Acounts of the Charg expended in the mines, from 8 of November 1736, which charg did amount to the Sum of 86£, 4s, 2d. At a meeting of the proprietors of the mines in the land of Timothy Roys in Wallingford, February ye 11, 1736-7, The said owners did make A fair agreement with Arthur Rexford, one of the owners, to Dig ten foot in the north Shaft of said mines, keeping the Smoth wals east and west and about five foot wide finding himself Tools and materials for the Same, to be done in five months, for which work the said proprietor did unanimously agree to give Said Rexford the Sum of eighty-one pounds, 81£-0-0."
We have also the record of two other meetings of the company, as here annexed:
"At a meeting of the Proprietors of ye Mine in Meriden on ye 27th day of April, 1737, Voted, that Mr. Griswold Should be moderator for Said meeting. That Thomas Thomas be an undertaker to carry on the work in Said mine for ye Space of three months next ensuing. That ye s'd Thom. Thomas be allowed at the rate of fifteen pounds per month, for so much time as he spends in said service, the time of pay to begin when the Hands begin to work in said mine. That Arthur Rexford having desired to be released from a bargain he made to sink a Shaft of ten feet deep in s'd mine, that he be released. At a meeting of ye proprietors of ye mine in Meriden, on ye 27th day of July, 1737. Voted that Mr. Griswold be Moderator for s'd meeting. Also, Voted, by a full Vote of the majority of ye owners, that ye owners according to their proportionable parts, pay to Georg Bell the Sum of fourty pounds, upon his finishing a job of work he had undertaken to do in the Golden Parler, viz., to sink twelve feet in the deeper shaft nerest to docter houghs
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and to leave the bottom of the Shaft nere the wedth and length that it now is, to find himself with all materials, &c., necisary and Sutable to cary on and finish Said work. And at s'd meeting, July ye 27, 1737, the s'd owners made up their accounts which did amount to the Sum of 132£, 13s 1d."
These documents contain all the information we now have relative to the mines on "Milking-yard hill." They were probably again abandoned after the unprofitable labor of two or three years. Mining operations on a much smaller scale were commenced in another part of the town. The excavations are about fifty rods east of the turnpike road to Hartford, nearly two miles from the center of the town. Dr. Percival, in his "Geological Survey," speaks of them as excavations for copper; but tradition says that small quantities of gold were found there. But there is no other information whatever as to the mine, its proprietors, products, or the time when it was worked.
About 1750, Mr. Dan. Johnson bought of Mr. Yale, who was one of the first "planters" in Wallingford, a large tract of land lying south of the "Hanging Hills" and within the "Notch," so called, the picturesque pass or glen opening northerly from the old gate-house on the Southington road, toward Kensington. This land was purchased on account of its probable value for mining purposes, and has been retained in the family of Mr. Johnson ever since; though the necessary expense of searching for ores has hitherto prevented them from undertaking mining operations. Within the Notch is an elevation called "Mining Hill," which is said by those acquainted with Geology to abound in indications of valuable minerals.
About eighty years ago, one Mr. Parsons commenced
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an excavation a short distance west of the Hanging Hills, just over the line between Southington and Meriden, and found gold in small quantities. It was taken to Hartford, assayed, and found to be pure gold. The search was not continued, probably on account of the cost; for mining operations are usually so expensive that individual enterprise and wealth can rarely afford the cost and risk.1 Since the above was written, we met the following very interesting sketch of a visit to Meriden, by Professor James Dana, of Yale College:
PROF. JAMES D. DANA'S EXCURSION TO THE HANGING HILLS OF MERIDEN.
"The city of Meriden is situated eighteen miles to the north of New Haven on the railroad to Hartford, and is 45 to 52 minutes distant in time. The villages passed on the way are North Haven, 7 miles; Wallingford, 12; Yalesville, 15. The Hanging Hills are trap mountains 1 1-2 to 2 1-2 miles north and northwest of Meriden, remarkable for their steep declivities and high precipitous brows-so bold and lofty in fact as to give to the observer beneath them an impression of overhanging, and hence the name. Those who visit them will appreciate the propriety of the name.
"A mile and a half south of Meriden and three quarters of a mile west of the railroad, at South Meriden, the Quinnipiac river changes from its north and south to an east and west course, on its way from the more western and parallel Farmington valley in which it rises. Since the throwing up of these trap elevations, the old hydrographic basins of Connecticut have been greatly deranged. Instead of the simple north and south Connecticut estuary of Triassic times, terminating at New Haven, there is now a Connecticut river leaving the estuary valley in the latitude of these trap hills,
1 Perkins's Historical Sketches.
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and bending southeastward through a region of metamorphic rocks. Farmington river, which flowed into the estuary from the western heights of Massachusetts and northern Connecticut, still enters the Farmington region; but near Farmington turns abruptly north, flows in that direction sixteen miles at the foot of Talcott mountain and other trap hills of the range, then makes a cut through the range into the Connecticut river valley and joins that river. The Quinnipiac, which starts in the Farmington valley just below the northward bend of the Farmington river, on approaching the region of the trap hills of Cheshire, bends eastward out of the valley in front of the Hanging Hills, into the valley where the Connecticut river might have had its course but for the trap eruptions and disturbances; and finally, the Farmington valley being thus deserted by the Quinnipiac, Mill river at this point commences its flow, taking its rise in the adjoining hills, and becomes the principal stream for the rest of the valley southward to New Haven bay. The bend eastward in the Connecticut was probably a direct consequence of the trap eruptions and the elevations of the sandstone accompanying them, and originated when the old estuary first dwindled to the size of a river in consequence of the rise of the land. But there is less evidence that the other changes mentioned took place at the same time; and it may be that one or more date from the last elevation in the Post-tertiary era.
"The city of Meriden is situated on a small branch of the Quinnipiac, which is called Pilgrim's Harbor brook, in allusion to the fact that the Regicides stopped here for a while on its banks and named the spot Pilgrim's Harbor. Old Meriden, now the eastern part of the city, occupies the summit of a sandstone hill, a little to the eastward, and is often distinguished as East Meriden. The tall white spire of the Congregational church is seen against the sky in the northward view from the western slopes of the East Rock range. The three Meriden "Hills" stand together on a common line,
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facing with defiant front the south, and with the greatest altitude on the right or west. They are called West mountain, South mountain, and Cat-Hole Mountain; the latter, or the eastern, taking its name from the "Cat-Hole," a narrow valley adjoining it on the west. West mountain has three summits, an eastern, a middle, and a western, separated from one another by a cut down to the lower limit of the mural rocks. The western of the three peaks is the highest; the recent barometric measurements of Prof. Guyot make it 995 feet above the sea. It is therefore one of the most elevated points in Connecticut, and excepting Mount Tom and Mount Holyoke, the highest trap mountain in the Connecticut valley.
"This group of hills is the broad southern termination of several lines of trap dikes and ridges. The high western line continues through the State northward into Massachusetts, and has a total length of about 55 miles; it includes in its course, two ridges facing Southington: the second, called High Rock, nearly as high as West mountain; three on the eastern borders of Farmington: the middle one, Rattlesnake mountain; the long Talcott mountain between Hartford and Avon; Newgate mountain in Granby; Mount Tom, 1,211 feet high, in Massachusetts; and Mount Holyoke, 1,126 feet high.
"The knotty complexity of this trap region was first unravelled by Percival, who found that remarkable system and order prevailed among the numerous dikes. We refer to the map in his Geological Report for the facts concerning them. It will be found wonderfully impressive by any one who can appreciate its revelations with regard to the stupendous events of this Fire-period in New England history. It shows that the area of Meriden and Berlin was a great center in the eruptions of the era; that the deep fractures of the earth's crust from which the liquid rock gushed forth were here more numerous and extensive than, in any other part of the Connecticut valley, or of all New England; and that they were opened not only along the half-dozen lines headed by the
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Hanging Hills, but also farther to the eastward, Mount Lamentation and other heights between Meriden and the Connecticut river being parts of the system. The country now occupied by the townships of Berlin and Wethersfield was crossed by eight of the great rents, averaging one for every mile of breadth. Why these fissures stopped so abruptly in Meriden on a common transverse line, and with a long eastward bend in the principal one, besides also an east and west line of eruptions in front, as indicated on Percival's map, is a question not easy to answer. It is a case somewhat like that of West Rock and the transverse range of Pine and Mill Rocks in the New Haven region, but on a far grander scale.
"Of the several interesting excursions which may be made about Meriden, the most noted is that to the western peak of West mountain. To reach the mountain from Meriden, go westward along Main street, and its continuation, the Water-bury turnpike (passing Fenn's mill-pond, north of the road, two-thirds of a mile on, and, immediately afterward, crossing a road that leads northward to Cat-Hole gap and Kensington); at the forking, 1 1-4 miles out, keep to the right, taking what is called the Southington road, and continue on it about 1 1-2 miles farther (passing half way a road going north to the "Notch" between South mountain and West mountain); and when seemingly a little beyond the sought-for mountain and just after a descent begins in the road, a carriage-path will be seen on the right (north) entering the woods, showing by its stripes of green that it is not much used; after half a mile or more upon this path, gradually ascending most of the way, an open spot is reached where the carriage way ends and the climb begins.
"Along the road thus far, numerous fine views gladden the way. Here and there, glimpses are had of Meriden, and the eastern hills, of Mt. Carmel to the south, and finally of the Cheshire and Southington region and the heights to the west. A prettily wooded bank with a streamlet at its foot follows
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the south side of the Southington road for part of the way; and in other parts the road is bordered by the young growth of an old forest, which suggests the regret that some of the old trees were not left for shade. After passing two or three mill-ponds to the north of the road, another large enough to be called a lake, and none the less beautiful that it is artificial, is seen lying among the forests. Nearly all the way the Meriden mountains are in full sight, grand in all their varying aspects: first, the lofty South mountain, having its brow twice cleft near the middle, and rising on the west to a rounded top; then the still higher West mountain, presenting to view, in succession, its long eastern line, the castellated middle peak, and, at last, the more elevated and broken western summit: the whole in appearance, and in reality, a mighty ruin, and old beyond all human reckoning. In many places along the mural fronts great columnar masses stand out, clinging only by a single side, owing to the fall of the rocks underneath, and appearing as if just ready to go crashing down the mountain. But they hold on firmly, for the work of destruction in these trappean structures is slow. The long slope which rises at a large angle to hundreds of feet, and bears far aloft the grand lines of battlements, is, to a great depth, made of the stones that have fallen from the heights.
"The ascending path commences along the south side of the middle of the two peaks, gradually bends around into the gorge that separates them, finally crosses this gorge over some of the immense fallen blocks that are strewn along its course, and thence turns southward toward the high western summit. The first part of the summit which comes in view is made up, at its lower portion in front, of small columns, hardly longer or larger than a man's leg, that are gradually falling apart and adding thus to the debris. This small-columnar structure characterizes many parts of the Meriden Hills, and, as a consequence, the long slopes of fallen fragments often consist of such pieces of rock-some flat, but
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generally of various irregular, polygonal shapes. At the same time, there are nowhere about the Meriden heights any large regular columns. This seems very remarkable, considering the vast extent of the trap eruptions. But while large columns do not occur, much of the rock of the mountains is free from any distinct columnar structures, and breaks with broad vertical surfaces.
"Just above the point referred to, and further on along the gorge, the trap stands up in long perpendicular walls arising from vertical courses of fracture. The immense blocks of trap that roughly pave the bottom of the gorge remind one who is familiar with the New Haven region of the great trap boulders on its eastern hills. They have the same fine-grained texture, are often tabular in form, and laminated in structure. They look as if they had come from some horizontally stratified bed; but, as just explained, and as becomes apparent before reaching the top, the lamination of the trap is vertical instead of horizontal, and precisely similar to that so distinct in Pine Rock and at the eastern of the West Rock quarries. It is hardly possible for one geologically informed to pass along the gorge without querying whether some of those New Haven travelers did not take passage aboard the glacier from these Meriden heights. But the same structure and texture probably characterize the trap ridges throughout their extent northward, so that a positive answer as to the precise place of departure cannot be given. That it was somewhere along this western range between Meriden and Mount Tom is very probable. The evidence that they came from the more western of the ranges lies in the fact that they are associated in the western part of the New Haven region (and but sparingly in the eastern) with blocks of gneiss and quartz rock that must have come from the adjoining country on the west, and were derived from the northern part of the State, or from the region farther north in Massachusetts or Vermont.
"The view from the top of West mountain is remarkable rather for its wide panoramic range than for grandeur of
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detail. The same may be said generally of landscapes seen from the highest peak of any region, when this peak is much above the other summits in altitude: for the other mountains lose in elevation, and the lower hills are at times flattened out in seeming plains; moreover the loftiest point is out of view, because the observer is upon it. Thus it is here; but there is compensation as usual in the wider range of view, and the grander vistas over the plains and the receding hills.
"In the landscape before the eye, a wide undulated surface, seemingly almost a level plain, stretches from Berlin and Meriden, southward over Wallingford and North Haven, westward over Cheshire, and thence northward over Southing-ton into Bristol; and the villages of these townships lie among great patches of forests, meadows and variously cultivated fields. On the east stands a long range of bold trap mountains, from Mount Lamentation (which is seen over the more eastern Hanging Hills) through Middletown or Higby's mountain, (stated to be 899 feet high), Beseck or South Middletown mountain, the Durham range with its Tremont peak (that with the three pointed top) to the Totoket mountain of North Branford and Saltonstall ridge in East Haven. The eye, glancing still southward, finally rests on the Sound, a strip of ocean dotted with sails, bounded by the low sea-barrier, Long Island. Mount Carmel, the "sleeping giant," lies recumbent just across the borders of Wallingford and Cheshire, the head of the giant bearing S. 18 degrees W.; but it presents only its long back and slopes, looks heavy, and too heavily asleep to be aroused for the short move to the right that would open a view of New Haven. Over its flank, a part of the East Rock range may be seen, and more to the east and south a spire in Fair Haven, and the Light House on New Haven bay.
"To the southwestward, as a counterpart to the trap mountains on the east there is the long West Rock Range. But a line of hills extending toward it from Mt. Carmel shuts out of view its more southern extension. Northward, as
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may be observed, it stretches on between Cheshire and Prospect, then bends a little eastward, and soon after loses itself in the open country west of the Meriden Heights; for here the range terminates, about 17 miles from its commencement at Westville. Over and beyond these trap hills to the west and also to the northwest, lies the elevated Woodbridge plateau, a region of metamorphic rocks, attaining its greatest altitude in the towns of Prospect and Wolcott, and thence, declining toward Bristol. Still farther northwest, over Wolcott and Bristol, there are the heights beyond the Naugatuck, and the yet more remote and but faintly discerned Taconic mountains of the Green mountain range. Among the summits on the western horizon, one quite prominent, called Great Mountain, belongs to the country beyond the Housatonic in the vicinity of New Milford, not far from the State boundary.
"Turning now to the northward, other trap hills come into view in. a long range, terminating in Mt. Tom and Mt. Holy-oke. The nearer, with rampart western front, are the hills overlooking Southington and Farmington; farther on is Talcott mountain, on the western border of the town of Hartford. The ridges of Simsbury and Granby rise beyond, but they are not separately distinguishable, as they are seen only in profile. Mt. Tom shows itself, over what appears to be a low western extension of Talcott mountain, as a round-topped peak, steepest on its western side. To the right is Mt. Holyoke (on the other side of the Connecticut); and still farther east are other summits of the Holyoke ridge. It is of interest here to remember what has already been stated, that these trap hills make one grand curving range, nearly 60 miles long, from West Mountain in Meriden to Mount Tom, and thence, bending easterly, to Mount Holyoke. "Many villages give life to the landscape. North of Meriden there are Berlin bearing northeast, New Britain, north-northeast, Kensington, Percival's birth-place, south of New Britain, N, 30 deg. E.; south of Meriden, Hanover or South Meri-
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den, near a large pond at the bend in the Quinnipiac bearing S. 15 deg. E., Yalesville more distant in nearly the same direction, and beyond Yalesville, the much larger village of Wallingford; in the valley to the west, Bristol, bearing N. 52 deg. W., Southington, N. 30 deg. W.; Cheshire, S. 30 deg. W.; over the Woodbridge plateau, Wolcott, W. 32 deg. N., and Prospect, on the summit against the horizon, W. 30 deg. S. Lamentation mountain bears to the north of west; and the ridge just south is properly a part of it; Middletown or Higby's mountain lies a little to the south of east; Tremont peak, the central peak of the Durham range, S. 30 deg. E. ; and just below begins the Totoket mountain. Pistapaug mountain is behind the southern part of the Durham range. A low north-and-south sand ridge connects the Meriden Hills and Mt. Carmel and Whitney Peak.
"The rock of the summit is fine-grained trap, or crust rock, as we have called it, while that of the front of the mountain, as may be observed on the way up, is coarse like the East Rock stone. (The crust rock is not so named because separable from that below, but from its being the original exterior of the ejected trap, as proved by its fine texture.) The presence of the crust rock at the top shows that but little of the height of the ridge was worn away by the old glacier as it moved over these summits. In fact, nothing else could be expected; for along this meridian there was probably a few stones in the ice at a level high enough to over-ride or abrade the summit. There are no peaks in the valley to the north as high as this Meriden mountain, either in Connecticut or Massachusetts, except Mount Tom and Mount Holyoke; and stones taken from lower heights would not have risen in the glacier, against gravity, to a higher level except through a combination of circumstances in the slopes that should favor an up-hill push of the ice for a limited distance; and the circumstances about this West mountain do not appear to have been favorable for an upward movement of this kind. The Mount Tom boulders
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would have made a narrow line, and would have had but little chance of leaving their mark or much of their freight, on this high Meriden Station. Whatever stones there were must have come from the higher mountains of Vermont or New Hampshire. The movement of the glacier over the central parts of the Connecticut valley was to the south, or a little west of south. The course of the scratches is south, according to Prof. Hitchcock, on Monadnoc, N. H., on Holyoke, and Tom, and at Deerfield, and Greenfield, and other places in the valley in Massachusetts. According to Percival, it is S. S. W., just east of the Hanging Hills, and north of Meriden. It is south, in a gorge on Mount Carmel, and S. 10 deg. W., to S. 14 deg. W., over the ledges of the sandstone, east of New Haven.
"Over the bare trap surface of the summit, there are slightly raised lines dividing it into polygonal areas, which indicate that the rock beneath has a somewhat columnar structure. These line are prominent because of the greater hardness of the rock along them, the intervening surface yielding most easily to the elements. This hardness is clue to the filling of thin fissures with silica or some siliceous mineral; and the fissures were a result of the contraction of the rock at the time of its original cooling.
"The long lines of fracture or open seams which intersect the surface are the courses of the jointi, on which the laminated character of the rock (or its tendency to break into slabs and tabular masses) depends.
THE NOTCH.
"On the return to Meriden, an interesting excursion may be made by taking the road to "The Notch," between West mountain and South Mountain. For the purpose of supplying the city of Meriden with water, work is now going forward that will soon place a lake, a mile in length in this gorge. The reservoir will have an area of 77 1-2 acres, and derives its waters from the drainage of the various declivities. When the arrangements are completed, the quiet
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lake, lying amid forests in this mountain defile, overlooked by and reflecting the grand old walls that crown the heights, will make a scene of beauty unsurpassed in this Meriden region.
"Another excursion of great attractions may be taken over the Kensington road to the long, narrow Cat-Hole gap or pass, between South mountain and the Cat-Hole mountain. On the way toward the valley the high battlemented South mountain comes into view, almost in front, and makes a majestic sweep around toward the entrance; it thence continues as the western side of the valley with gradually decreased boldness and height. Soon after, there appears on the east a time-worn mural summit of Cat-Hole mountain, and just beyond, a second still bolder front, rising erect above the steep slopes; fancy finds a profile of Washington in the outline from one point of view. Farther on in the valley other vertical rocks are described, though mostly concealed by foliage. The mountain is cut obliquely by gorges, and hence its succession of summits. The slopes of fallen stones, that descend on either side from the heights far above through most of the valley, originally met at the bottom, where many of the large masses lay piled together; and the pass, somewhat difficult under nature's rough macadamizing, then merited its name. There is now an excellent road through it. Many crevices or breaks occur in the high walls of Cat Hole mountain, along some of which the heights may be scaled. The view from the more southern summit, over the Meriden region and the far-away plains and hills, the Sound, and Long Island, is exceedingly fine.
"The Kensington road, before reaching Cat-Hole gap, passes a gateway on the left, which is the entrance to the Poor House grounds, and through these to the "Cold Spring gorge," another place of great interest, situated just under the lofty front of South mountain. The path along the gorge continues northward, and finally enters Cat-Hole pass. The bottom of the gorge is still in the condition which charac-
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terized Cat-Hole gap before its civilizing improvements, but is probably beyond that in the grandeur of its mountain ruins. Enormous blocks of trap, like houses in magnitude, lie in confusion together, enclosing narrow passages, and numerous dark recesses which may well have been the dens of catamounts and panthers in aboriginal times. There are also shady ways and rock retreats, beautiful with their moss-covered walls, shelves of ferns or flowers, and overshadowing trees, which may give much enjoyment in the exploration.
"The grand pile of rocks at the bottom derived from the heights above, the long steep slope of fallen fragments down which they made their descent, and the mural heights almost overhead seemingly ready for other avalanches, produce an impression of power and sublimity that is seldom an effect of simply motionless rocks. But here every object in the scene suggests motion and violence, terrific in kind and degree. Yet the blocks, gray and green with the vegetation over them, look as if they had lain quietly in their places for ages. The work of destruction above is, however, going slowly forward, and though a long period may intervene, other descents are sure to occur. A long, one storied stone house stands just within the entrance of the gorge, which is made of sticks, or more property, small columnar pieces, three to four feet long, of trap, and so laid that the ends project very unequally. The queer porcupine-structure, now a dwelling-house, was erected for a ten-pin alley, as an appendage to the "Cold Spring House" (a Water Cure establishment that formerly occupied what is now the Poor House). If it does not, in the meantime, go to pieces by natural decay, it may yet feel, the weight of one of the descending 1000-ton masses. Should this happen, a strike would be made beyond any former experience of the ten-pin alley.
"Cold Spring gorge has long been famous for its cold waters, as its name implies. In one of the dark cavities among the fallen masses of trap, ice usually keeps the year around, the shade and shelter making the spot a natural ice-
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house. Professor Silliman gives one of the earliest published accounts of it in vol. IV, p. 17, of the American Journal of Science, after a visit on July 23, 1821. He carried with him to New Haven, a mass of the ice weighing several pounds."
The following is Prof. Silliman's article referred to above:
NATURAL ICE HOUSES.
BY BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, SR.
[From the "American Journal of Science," Oct., 1821.]
"That ice is perpetual in some climates is notorious. That it is so even in those of the torrid zone, upon mountains which rise to the height of three miles, is also well known. It is however a rare occurrence, even in cold climates, that ice is perennial on ground which possesses no more than the common elevation.
"An instance of this kind has however recently come to our knowledge, and appears worthy of a brief notice, it exists in the state of Connecticut, in the township of Meriden-mid-way between Hartford and New Haven. This natural Ice-House1 is situated in above 42 degrees of north latitude, nearly twenty miles from the sea and at the elevation of probably no more than two hundred feet above its level.
"The country is a part of the secondary trap region of Connecticut,2 and is marked by numerous distinct ridges of green stone, which present lofty mural precipices, and from
"A convenient point of departure to visit this natural Ice House is from the Inn of Dr. Isaac Hough in Meriden. This Inn is the usual dining place between New Haven and Hartford, and the very intelligent and respectable man by whom it is kept, will cheerfully direct the enquiring traveller, or furnish him with a guide. The distance is not over two miles from Meriden Meeting-house. There is also, near the same place a wild, romantic pass through the Gorge of the mountain which is well worth seeing; it is known in the vicinity by the ludicrous name of the Cat Hole."
"2 A sketch of which is given in the Tour between Hartford and Quebec, page 27."
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their number, contiguity, and parallelism, they often form narrow precipitous defiles, filled more or less with fragments of rocks of various sizes, from that of a hand-stone to that of a cottage. The fragments are the detritus or debris of these mountains, and every one in the least acquainted with such countries, knows how much they always abound with similar ruins.
"In such a defile the natural Ice House in question is situated. On the south-western side, there is a trap ridge of naked perpendicular rock, which, with the sloping ruins at the base, appears to be four hundred feet high; the parallel ridge which forms the other side of the defile, is probably not over forty feet high, but it rises abruptly on the eastern side, and is covered by other wood, which occupies the narrow valley also. This valley is moreover choked, in an astonishing degree, with the ruins of the contiguous mountain ridge, and exhibits many fragments of rock which would fill a large room. As the defile is very narrow, these fragments have, in their fall, been arrested here by the low parallel ridge, and are piled on one another in vast confusion, forming a series of cavities which are situated among and under the rocks. Many of them have reposed there for ages, as appears from the fact that small trees (the largest that the scanty soil, accumulated by revolving centuries can support), are now growing on some of the fragments of rock. Leaves also and other vegetable ruins have accumulated among the rocks and trees, and choked the mouths of many of the cavities among the ruins. This defile, thus narrow, and thus occupied by forest, and by rocky ruins, runs nearly N. and S., and is completely impervious to the sun's rays except when he is near the meridian. Then indeed for an hour, he looks into this secluded valley, but the trees and the rocks and the thick beds of leaves scarcely permit his beams to make the slightest impression.
"It is in the cavities beneath the masses of rocks already described, that the ice is formed. The ground descends a
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little to the south, and a small brook appears to have formed a channel among the rocks. The ice is thick and well consolidated, and its gradual melting, in the warm season, causes a stream of ice-cold water to issue from this defile. This fact has been known to the people of the vicinity for several generations, and the youth have, since the middle of the last century, been accustomed to resort to this place, in parties, for recreation, and to drink the waters of the cold-flowing brook.
"It was on the 23d of last July, in the afternoon of a very hot day, when the thermometer was probably as high as 85 deg, of Farh., that under the guidance of Dr. Hough, we entered this valley. After arriving among the trees, and in the immediate vicinity of the ice, there was an evident chilliness in the air, and very near the ice; it was (compared with the hot atmosphere which we had just left), rather uncomfortably cold. The ice was only partially visible, being covered by leaves, and screened from view, by the rocks; but a boy, descending with a hatchet, soon brought up large firm masses. One of these, weighing several pounds, we carried twenty miles to New Haven, where it was exhibited to various persons, and some of it remained unmelted during two succeeding nights; for it was in being on the morning of the third day.
"The local circmstances which have been detailed will probably account for this remarkable locality of ice, and scarcely need any illustration or comment.
"This is not the only instance of the kind existing among the trap rocks of Connecticut. There is a similar place seven miles from New Haven, near the Middletown road, in the parish of Northford, and township of Branford. The ice here also (as we are assured) endures the year round. This place we have not visited, but we are informed that it is at the bottom, or on the declivity of a trap ridge. Several years ago, we had the ice of this place brought to us, into New Haven, in the hotter weather of mid-summer. Like that of
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Meriden, it is very solid; but like that also it is soiled with leaves and dirt, and although it is unfit to be put into liquids which are to be swallowed, it is as any ice for mere cooling.
"These instances naturally induce the impression that other natural ice houses may exist in various parts of the trap region of Connecticut, and of Massachusetts, and very possibly in other districts, abounding with precipitous, rocky and woody defiles, although the geological formation may not be the same. We should be obliged by any information respecting similar facts existing elsewhere.
"It is perhaps worthy of being mentioned in this connection that an artificial ice house within the knowledge of the writer, is situated on the top of a ridge of trap in Connecticut. The excavation was made, simply by removing the loose pieces of trap rock which are here piled in enormous quantities, but composed of fragments of very small size. These loose pieces of stone with the air in the cavities are better nonconductors of heat than the ground which usually surrounds ice houses, for the ice keeps remarkably well in this elevated ice house. Perhaps this will aid us in explaining the phenomena of the natural ice houses that have been mentioned."