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INITIATORY PROCEEDINGS.

This committee was instructed to report to an adjourned town meeting, to be held on the first Monday of January, 1886.

After several meetings and conferences with leading men of the town, this Centennial Committee agreed upon a

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BOZRAH.

James Bishop, Charles A. Johnson, John F. Leffingwell, Gardner Avery.

FRANKLIN.

Samuel G. Hartshorn, Joseph P. Hyde, James L. Austin, Clifton Peck.

LISBON.

Henry Lyon, Cornelius Murphy, Russell W. Fitch, J. K. Adams. MONTVILLE.

Henry A. Baker, Martin V. B. Brainard, C. Tyler Landphere, Arthur Bothein.

SOUTHBURY

Jacob J. Hinman, Theodore F. Wheeler, Jacob Wentsch, David M. Mitchell, Curtis H. Smith.

OLD SAYBROOK.

Ozias Kirtland.

PRESTON.

Thomas S. Phillips, Frank W. Tracy, William Bennett, Henry Hopkins.

BROOKLYN.

Clarence E. Potter, John S. Searles, William H. Cutler, Elias H. Maine.

HAMPTON.

W. H. Burnham, George M. Holt, Addison. J. Greenslit, Horatio Martin.

WARREN.

John B. Derrickson, Noble B. Strong, Fred. P. Johnson, Wm. Forrestele, Jr.

ELLINGTON.

Oliver M. Hyde, John Thomson, Elbert F. Hyde, John Beasley.

FORMER RESIDENTS.

R. R. Palmiter, Jonathan P. Spencer, George A. Stevens, R. R. Wolcott, C. H. Rose, H. D. Smith, William Wilcox, Dr. Williams and family, M. Gavagan, W. Sweeney, Patrick Clyne.

FORMER TOWN OFFICIALS.

L. A. Dickerman, H. W. Munson, Edward Davis, E. W. Potter, Bela A. Mann, N. B. Mix, Andrew McKeon, A. J. Doolittle, Harry Prescott, Henry Turtle, Merrit Ford, Edwin B. Payne, Jesse Cooper, Philo Bradley, Lewis Warner, R. H. Cooper, J. J. Webb, J, H. Dickerman, Jared Dickerman, Griswold I. Gilbert, Eli B. Smith, Russel S. Jacobs, John G. Smith, Lucius Ives, Elihu Dickerman.

OTHER FORMER AND PRESENT RESIDENTS.

Mr. and Mrs. Orrin Tuttle, Mrs. Sarah Ailing, Mrs. Laura Gilbert, Miss J. A. Culver, Miss Hattie Hoadley, Mr. James Warner and family, Mr. George S. Thorpe, Mr. Robert H. Clarke, Mrs. Jane Bradley, Mr. and Mrs. Elias Ford, Hobart Kimberly, Mr. and Mrs. E. Ives Bradley, Mrs. Saritta Ives, Mrs. Pamelia Warner, Mrs. Emily Ailing, Mrs. Nancy Gorham, Mr. and Mrs. H. Roberts, Mr. Samuel Davis.

SOCIETIES, ETC.

Day Spring Lodge No. 30, F.and A.M; Eastern Star Division S. of T., No. 30; Ancient Order of Hibernians of Hamden.

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Three large tents were provided; one for the audience with seats for 1,500 persons, and two provided with tables and seats for the accommodation of the people and .guests at luncheon. A portion of the grounds was reserved for vehicles. The entrance from the main street was marked by a large triumphal arch decorated with flags.

The procession formed shortly after ten o'clock under the direction of the chief marshal, Mr. William E. Davis. It was headed by the Centerville Brass Band, which was in attendance, and rendered the instrumental music for the day. A line of carriages followed, bearing the Governor of the State and his Secretary, members of the reception and other committees, and prominent residents of the town. The Ancient Order of Hibernians from Mount Carmel joined in the procession, and delegations from some of the larger manufacturing establishments with their freight wagons. These wagons were gaily decorated and bore open cases of goods as usually packed for shipping, thus making an open air moving display of the chief manufactures of Hamden. Amongst these exhibitions the open cases of firearms from the Whitney Arms Company, surmounted by the original model of Whitney's cotton gin, attracted great attention. The display made by W. A.

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Ives & Co. of augers, bits, etc., and by B. B. Bradley & Co. of agricultural implements, and machines were especially interesting. The ice wagons and milk wagons were out in force and were brilliantly decorated.

The exercises in the tent commenced shortly after the arrival of the procession and proceeded according to the programme annexed. After singing the doxology, at the request of the chairman of the day, the Rev. Austin Put-nam, of the Hamden East Plain Society, made the opening prayer, the audience joining in repeating the Lord's prayer at the end.

The vocal music for the occasion was furnished by a chorus of about one hundred and fifty trained voices, accompanied by an orchestra of four pieces and directed by Mr. Elliot E. Ives, of Mt. Carmel, with Mr. C. P. Augur, of Whitneyville, as organist, and was a very interesting part of the celebration.

The loan exhibition was kept open during the day and was crowded with objects of interest and with visitors.

At luncheon about two hundred guests were seated at tables profusely decorated with flowers, and were gracefully served by about twenty young ladies, daughters of residents of the town.

After luncheon about 800 members of the several Sunday Schools of the town formed in procession, and, headed by the marshals, marched around the grounds singing Sunday School songs, after which they were seated in the tent and joined in the exercises of the afternoon.

Further details are given in the annexed extracts from the account of the celebration given in the New Haven Register.

" There was a great celebration out in the good old town of Hamden to-day. Its residents all the way from Whitney-ville to Cheshire, and from Hamden Plains to Mount Carmel, were out enrobed in their gayest garbs and loaded with patriotism. It was the occasion of the celebration of the centennial of the establishment of town government in

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Hamden, and great preparations had been made to adequately recognize the birthday of home rule in that vicinity. Hamden folks never do things by halves. Centennial day was made a holiday throughout the district, and about all of its inhabitants assembled on the big lot near the Centerville Hotel and celebrated the great occasion. A number of tents erected on the grounds 'made the town look as though it was visited by a circus. All the stores were closed up and many of the houses were prettily decorated with flags and bunting.

It was not much of a day for centennials. The weather did not seem to smile in unison with Hamden's joy. A drizzling rain at the outset did not dampen enthusiasm, but it took the crimps out of the young ladies' hair and discouraged the merrymakers.

The procession started off just before 11 o'clock. About one hundred and fifty men and three hundred American flags of all sizes, shape and make participated in it. The Centerville Band, fifteen pieces, headed the line, blowing a gay triumphal march. Then came the Ancient Order of Hibernians, fifty strong, with Patrick Maher at their head and wearing their gay regalia. Then came Governor Har-rison, Private Secretary Osborne and Hon. 1ST. D. Sperry, in an open barouche. The Selectmen of the town of New Haven were the next in line. They rode in a three-seated wagon and were all there. A score of milk and ice wagons all bedecked in flags and bunting, and laden with prettily-dressed young ladies with faces as pretty as their dresses, and smiles as plentiful as the flags on the wagons. The line moved gaily through some of the roadways, and the whole town of Hamden turned out to applaud it. It wended its way around in the mud for a while, and then wound up under the big tent, where the exercises of the day were at once commenced.

There were a number of notables on the platform. Besides the Governor and those already mentioned were Professor W. P. Blake, who was the chairman of the day, Eli

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Whitney, Sr., and Eli Whitney, Jr., Rev. Hugh Mallon, pastor of the Catholic Church in Wallingford, Hon. A. Heaton Robertson, Simeon E. Baldwin, Attorney J, J. Webb, the members of the committee on the celebration, and several others. Down in front of the platform were ranged on tiers of seats the young and pretty maidens of Hamden and adjacent towns, who were on hand to do the singing, well ranged. They all wore their Sunday garments and they all had cheeks as red as roses arid eyes as bright as the sunlight that was expected to paint the town in gold this morning and didn't. The singing of the Doxology "Praise God from whom all blessings flow," and then Rev. Austin Putnam, pastor of the Whitneyville Congregational Church for forty-five years, made the opening prayer, appropriately and briefly. The address of welcome by Prof. Blake was terse and interesting. The Centennial hymn, composed by Deacon J. M. Payne, was then voiced by the pretty girls.

Governor Harrison was then introduced. He was received with much applause, and said that lie was deeply and truly thankful that he was able to be present at the celebration. When he was invited, however, the committee did not stipulate that he was to make a formal speech, and he didn't propose to do it. He, however, made a very eloquent address, in which he dwelt on the great advantage of town government and said that any town in Connecticut was a little republic in itself with prerogatives that nothing could take from it. He complimented the Ham-den people on their beautiful town and referred to its splendid record.

When the Governor had finished, Prof. Blake said that by a curious coincidence yesterday was the anniversary of the adoption of the American flag, and he would introduce Hon. K D. Sperry to give a brief history of it. The Ham-den people were made all the happier when Mr. Sperry appeared on the platform. He made a long speech. He liberally interspersed history with poetry, and his whole

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address was filled with a patriotic fire that seemed to spread among the audience, and when Mr. Sperry got through they all felt prouder of their country than ever. Among other things, Mr. Sperry said that he could appreciate the truth of what Professor Blake had said about the educational facilities of Hamden. He knew it was true because he taught school in the town himself when he was seventeen years of age. Professor Simeon E. Baldwin made a very happy address. He said that the Hamden people were fortunate in having so many men from New Haven on the platform.

ALMIGHTY GOD, our God and the God of our Fathers, we come before Thee in thankful and joyful acknowledgment of Thy great goodness to us and to those who have gone before us in this place ; to all who have lived in this town from the beginning of its history until now. We give Thee most humble and hearty thanks for the good laws which Thou hast given us, and for this pleasant spot where our lot is cast. We thank Thee that the lines are fallen to us in such pleasant places, and that we have so good a heritage. We thank Thee that in Thy good providence we see this day, and we humbly and earnestly implore Thy gracious presence to be with us, and Thy blessing to be upon us, on this interesting and joyful occasion. Be with us in all the exercises and services before us. May all that we shall say and all that we shall do here at this time and on this occasion be agreeable to Thy holy will, for the glory of Thy name, and for our own temporal, spiritual and everlasting good. We beseech Thee to bless all who are or shall be here this day; also all others who are or have been residents of this town and who are still living on the earth. With Thy gracious help may we all follow Him who is the way, the truth, and the life; so may we fulfill our mission, finish the work which Thou hast given us to do in the world, and finally, by Thy mercy, attain everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We most heartily beseech Thee with thy favor to behold and bless thy servant the Governor of Connecticut, and all others in authority in this State, and all the people of this Commonwealth ; also thy servant, the President of the United States, and all others in authority in

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this land, and all classes and conditions of men in our beloved country. And we humbly ask for those who shall come after us in this town the same blessings that we have asked for ourselves. In their possession, and under their care and culture, may this bright spot grow brighter and brighter till time shall be no more. We ask and offer all in the name and for the sake of Him who loved us and gave himself for us, and who has taught us to pray, saying :

Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven; give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever and ever-Amen.

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I will now read to you from the first page of our first volume of Records the act of Incorporation.

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of Mount Carmel, in the Town of New Haven, and the inhabitants of said New Haven living within the limits of the 17th Military Company in the Second Regiment of Militia in this State, praying that they may be constituted a distinct and separate town by themselves as per Memorial.

Resolved by this Assembly: That the said inhabitants living within "the limits aforesaid be, and they are hereby constituted a town by the name of the town of Hamden, and the bounds of said town of Hamden shall be the same as the bounds of the said Parish of Mount Carmel and the bounds of said Military Company, the bounds of which Military Company are as follows :

Beginning at the foot of the long bridge, so called, from thence a straight line to a dwelling house owned by Mr. Hezekiah Sabin, now in possession of George Peckham, thence on the north side of said house a straight line to the south-east corner of the farm lately owned by Capt. John Hubbard, deceased, thence in the line of said farm to the top of the West Rock, thence on said Rock northerly to the South-east corner of Woodbridge, thence in the line of said Woodbridge to the South-west corner of Mount Carmel Society, thence in the South line of said Society to North Haven line, thence upon said line to the East River, thence along the middle of said River to the first mentioned corner.

And said town of Hamden shall be entitled [to] and have and enjoy all the rights, privileges and immunities that the other towns in this State have and enjoy. And shall have liberty to elect and appoint all officers necessary and proper for a town; to lay taxes and collect them as towns in this State are allowed to do, and transact all matters necessary and proper for a town; and the said town of Hamden shall be entitled to receive of the town of Hew Haven their part and proportion of all the town stock of said New Haven, and said town of Hamden shall pay their part and proportion of all the debts of said town of New Haven, already incurred, in proportion to their List in the List of the town of New Haven, and shall take upon them the charge and support of their part of the town poor of said town of New Haven in proportion as aforesaid, and the taxes of said town of New Haven already laid shall and may be collected for the payment of the debts and expenses of said

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town of New Haven already incurred, and the same being-paid and discharged said town of Hamden shall be entitled to their part and proportion of the overplus (if any be), to be ascertained as aforesaid.

And the said town of Hamden shall bear their part and proportion of supporting Bridges and Highways within the bounds of the towns of New Haven and Hamden in such part and proportion as shall be judged just and reasonable by General Andrew Ward, Colonel Edward Russell and Gideon Buckingham, Esq., who are appointed a committee for that purpose, all the circumstances of said town being duly considered; and said committee shall also apart and set off to said town of Hamden their part and proportion of the poor of said town of New Haven, and town stock and debts in proportion to their List as aforesaid.

And said town of Hamden shall hold their first meeting at the meeting house in said Hamden on the third Tuesday of June next, at one o' clock in the afternoon, when they may choose such town officers as by law are required, who shall remain in office until another meeting shall be held in and for said town in the month of December next, and said meeting shall have power and authority to transact all matters necessary for a town, and to adjourn to a future period if necessary, said inhabitants, legal voters, being warned five days before said meeting by a written notification thereof being signed and set up by Simeon Bristol, Esq., on the Sign Post and the house of Hiel Peck, within said town of Hamden, and the said Simeon Bristol shall preside at said meeting as Moderator.

Provided, nothing in this act shall be construed to hinder the inhabitants of the said town of Hamden from catching Fish, Oysters, Clams and Shells within the bounds of said New Haven under the same restrictions and regulations that the inhabitants of said New Haven shall be, or that shall hinder the inhabitants of said New Haven from getting stone from the East and West Rocks as usual. Also, provided, that the said Town of Hamden be restricted to the choice of one Representative to represent them in the General Assembly of this State.

A true copy of record, examined by George Wyllys, Secretary.

The above and foregoing is a true copy of the original.

Attest:
SIMEON BRISTOL,
Clerk.

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At the first meeting of the inhabitants of the town, on the third Monday of June, 1786, in accordance with the requirement of the Act, it was voted that Simeon Bristol, Esq., be town clerk for the remainder of the year, and that Messrs. John Hubbard, Asa Goodyear, Samuel Dickerman, Moses Gilbert, Simeon Bristol, Esq., be the selectmen. There is no complete list of the names of the residents of the town at that time, but in the lists of persons chosen as selectmen, as surveyors of highways, and other officers of the new town, we find many family names familiar to us as the family names of prominent residents of the town to day, most of these residents occupying the ancestral homes and tilling the same fields redeemed by their forefathers from the wilderness and the savage two centuries or more ago. These names are English names, identified with some of the great events of English history, and especially with the great struggle for the rights of the people in opposition to the encroachments of the crown ; such names as Ailing, Atwater, Bassett, Bristol, Bradley, Cooper, Ford, Good year, Gilbert, Hitchcock, Ives, Mansfield, Mix, Munson, Todd and Tuttle. We have no doubt that our town was named in honor of John Hampden, the English patriot and lover of liberty. By whom the name was proposed we have yet to learn. Nearly a century and a half had then passed since Hampden fell on the field, but his name was in close and dear remembrance by the people. Prevented, together with Cromwell and others, from coming to this country, he remained to fight for freedom. Hamden's efforts and sacrifices were more vividly realized here than ever before" when our forefathers had just passed through their great struggle for independence, and it is not strange that his name should have been chosen for the new town, then occupied chiefly by descendants of patriots of his time. The name of Hamden, which had already been given to one of the first of our naval vessels early in 1776, is an inspiring name which should continually incite us to emu-

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late the lofty virtues of the leader of the Long Parliament. Few names have been so honored in history. Macaulay writes that Hampden "is an almost solitary instance of a great man who neither sought nor shunned greatness, who found glory only because glory lay in the plain path of duty." Baxter, in his Saints' Rest, printed before the Restoration, declared that one of the pleasures which he hoped to enjoy in Heaven was the society of Hampden. Hume says: '' John Hampden acquired by his spirit and courage universal popularity throughout the nation, and has merited great renown with posterity for the bold stand which he made in defence of the laws and liberties of his country."

Our peculiar orthography of the name requires a passing notice. It has been generally written here without the silent p, while Hampden is the prevailing English orthography. Yet we find that Hume, in his history, writes the name Hambden. President Stiles, of Yale College, so late as the year 1791, referring in his diary to this town, writes the name Hampden.

But it is not my purpose to weary you with historical details. Provision has been made, as you know, for the preparation of a history of the town in recognition of its centenary, and as the enduring, substantial part of this celebration. The Committee appointed by the town to devise a plan for the appropriate celebration of the incorporation of Hamden, as a town, was highly gratified by the reception and adoption of the report recommending that the celebration should be essentially historic in its nature, and that a volume should be prepared and published as a monument of the century which has passed away. Our meeting to-day may, therefore, be regarded as a prelude to a more enduring and lasting tribute to the events of the century. The occasion invites and permits of some self commendation and congratulations. We have a right to be proud of our town and of the achievements of its people during the century, and it is our pleasant duty to refer to them. 3

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We have great cause for gratitude that our "lines have fallen in such a pleasant" and a "large place." There is not another town in the United States comparable with Hamden in the beauty and centrality of its location. We live in a lovely valley, from which the ancient Connecticut has been turned aside; a valley lying part way between. New York and Boston, two of the chief centers of thought in America, flanked on either side by ranges of forest-covered hills terminating in the picturesque bluffs of East Rock and West Rock, opening to the sea on the south, with the Blue Hills of Mt. Carmel on the north, and a, city of seventy thousand inhabitants at its feet, and the great city of New York but two and a half hours' distant. Telegraphic wires, the nerves of communities, hang thickly along our highways, and indicate the mental energy by which we are surrounded.

We have enjoyed great educational advantages and influences. The bell of one of the oldest leading universities of the country rings within hearing of our homes. From, our lovely hills we look with pride and pleasure upon the spires of New Haven churches, and the domes of its temples of art and science. We can also see the blue waters of Long Island Sound dotted with white sails, and destined to become the great marine avenue between the old world, and the new. As an industrial and manufacturing town., Hamden must ever occupy the foremost place in the history of the development of the industrial arts in America and in the world. It was within our limits, at the close of the last century, that Eli Whitney, resting from his labors in perfecting the cotton gin (the model of which is now in our Loan Exhibition), established the manufacture of fire arms by new and before unheard of machines and methods, which have revolutionized manufacturing industry the world over, and which hastened the era of accurate, rapid and cheap production of manufactured articles. The "Uniformity System" in manufacturing, was inaugurated here in Hamden, and has spread from hence through all

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nations enlightened by science. Hamden may also claim to be the birth-place of many important manufactures, notably that of small hardware, of carriage springs and fittings, and of harness trimmings.

Manufacturing enterprises were developed in the northern portion half a century ago by Elam Ives, who served in the war of independence, and in 1812 when communication with Boston by water was cut off by the blockade, established a freight line of ox teams and wagons between New York and Boston. This leads us to advert to the great contrast presented between the means of communication of a century ago, and those which we now enjoy. The century has witnessed in our town the transition from the saddle to the stage coach, from the stage coach to the canal boat, and from the canal boat to the railway.

We may also show a laudable pride in the record of our people in all their social and political relations. The people of Hamden have ever been true to the great principles of liberty for which our fathers struggled, and they have not abused the inheritance they have enjoyed. Hamden has always responded promptly and freely to the calls to arms for the defence of the country. Not only in the war of the Revolution, but in 1812, in the Mexican war and in the war of the Rebellion, the town sent forth its full quota of intelligent freemen for the support of the flag. The spirit of peaceful industry, rather than the spirit of war is, however, characteristic of the people of Hamden. It is a town of industrious and thrifty people, with pleasant and well ordered homes, and law respecting families. Our hills and valleys are dotted over with comfortable and elegant habitations and the spires of our churches, pointing heavenward, show that we have kept the faith of our fathers, and that the people are not unmindful of the fact that we have " no abiding city here.''

While thus looking back upon the record of the town let us be duly thankful for the blessings and privileges we enjoy, and show that we are duly sensible of the privations

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and efforts of the generations that have preceded us. We are also proud of the record of our neighbors of New Haven, and we congratulate them upon their achievements and prosperity. We are thankful that we have some of them, and other valued neighbors and friends, here with us today on this happy occasion, and to them all, in the name of the town, a most cordial and hearty welcome is extended.

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CCEPT my hearty thanks, fellow citizens of Ham-den, that your kindness has given me an opportunity of being present with you on this interesting occasion.

My thanks are particularly due to your committee for the special kindness in relieving me from any obligation to give a formal discourse. At their suggestion, however, I will say a word or two, although I am here as an observer and a listener; an interested observer and an enthusiastic listener, rather than as a speaker.

You celebrate to-day the one hundredth anniversary of the organization of your town. I wonder how many persons there are present here who appreciate the full significance of that fact-the organization of a Connecticut town. Are all of you aware, do all of you fully understand what a peculiar organization is the organization of a town in the State of Connecticut? Do you all fully understand that by the act of the General Assembly, which made you a town, you were made in your municipal capacity a little indestructible republic, having great powers of local government which can never be taken away from you; and that you are thus entered into the family of towns, that family of little republics, now 167 in number, who by their indestructible union constitute the State of Connecticut ?

The principle of town government is widely extended in this country, especially in New England, especially in Vermont, the child of Connecticut, especially in Massachusetts and in some other parts of the country, but after some little reading of the history, some little examination, I believe I am safe in saying that there is no state and no country in this world where the principle of Home Rule, or the principle of the government by the people, is so radically carried

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out and so thoroughly protected by the Constitutional defences as it is in this town of Hamden, and in every other town in the State of Connecticut.

You do not hold your rights, your most important ones, at the pleasure of the General Assembly, at the pleasure of the State Government, or of any other power on earth.

Your right to representation in the General Assembly cannot be taken away from you by any power. Your right to your town meeting cannot be taken from you. Your right to elect your own selectmen, your town clerk, your grand jurors, your officers, your constable, your justice of the peace ; these rights are yours so long as the Constitution of the State remains as it is. The existence of this town cannot be destroyed. The General Assembly cannot abolish the town of Hamden, or annex it to any other town.

I will not weary you any more with this line of thought, but it is a line of thought that will be well worthy of your future consideration when it occurs to you to take a little time to find out what sort of a thing a Connecticut town is.

The fact that you assemble here in such numbers, notwithstanding the early promise of the day, is, I think, a fact of great significance. It shows that you are not ashamed of this town of Hamden. It shows that you feel that you have good reason to be proud of it, and that you are in fact proud of it, and that is a good and useful feeling for the people to have in a town.

Self-respect is essential to a man; it is for him a great safeguard to prevent him from doing anything that would be unworthy of a man of honor and integrity. And so town pride, an effectionate respect for the history of your town, is, and will be as long as you retain it, a safeguard to prevent you doing anything or consenting to anything unworthy of a little republic, such as this town of yours is and ought to be, and you should always be jealous of its fair fame and honor.

This celebration is a good thing, not merely because it shows that you have the right feeling of town pride, but it

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will be a good thing in increasing, strengthening, intensifying that town pride ; and I believe, without the shadow of a doubt, that every good citizen here will be, at sunset, a better citizen of the town of Hamden than he was at sunrise this morning, and that he will remain so.

Now, I have only to add the expression of my hope that everything will go off pleasantly, and my congratulations for the late but evidently opening promise of a beautiful day for your celebration.

R. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : I notice in the historical address just read that among the early settlers of this town was Captain John Gilbert. I want to say a single word about him. When New Haven was invaded by the British during our Revolutionary war, Capt. John Gilbert commanded a body of men living within the limits of this town. Hearing of the invasion, Capt. Gilbert marched his men to New Haven to assist in repelling the invaders. He and his men did valiant service, and their heroic acts and deeds are treasured with gratitude by the people of New Haven to-day.

At last both he and his command were captured by the enemy. Capt. Gilbert asked that they be treated as prisoners of war; but the British officer refused their request, and would give them no quarter. Knowing that they were to be shot, Capt. Gilbert ordered his men to fire, and the British officer fell dead as the penalty for his refusal; and in turn Capt. Gilbert and his men were killed at once. Capt. John Gilbert's descendants are living to-day, not

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only in this town, but in New Haven, and the spirit of patriotism, love of liberty and devotion to country have always characterized their action.

I further noticed that your president mentioned that your town had excellent educational advantages. I do not fully know how it is to-day, but I have no doubt your historian is correct in his statement. Years ago I know this town had excellent educational advantages, for at the age of seventeen I taught school in this town myself. I trust you will not consider me facetious in this remark, but should you consider it otherwise it is not my fault.

But I must hasten to my theme, '' The History of the American Flag and Its Achievements."

It was on the 14th day of June, 1777, 109 years ago, that Congress passed resolutions which provided a national flag, and describing the same fully. Prior to this time we had many banners of various forms, colors and devices. The colors of our Connecticut standard, established July 1st, 1775, according to the American archives, were blue and orange, and inscribed upon them the motto :"Qui transtulit suslinet' in letters of gold, which we construe thus: " God who transplanted us hither will support us."

The flag unfurled by General Putnam July 18, 1775, is thus described in a letter dated at Cambridge July 21, 1775: "Last Tuesday morning," says the letter, "July 18, according to the orders of the day before .by Major General Putnam, all the Continental troops under his immediate command assembled at Prospect Hill, where the declaration of the Continental Congress was read, after which an animated and patriotic address to the army was made by the Rev. Mr. Leonard, chaplain of General Putnam's regiment, arid succeeded by a prayer. When General Putnain gave the signal the whole army shouted their loud amen by three cheers, immediately upon which a cannon was fired from the fort, and the standard lately sent to General Putnam was exhibited flourishing in the air, bearing this motto: ' An Appeal to Heaven,' and on the

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other side 'Qui transtulit sustinet:" The letter states that the whole affair was conducted with the utmost decency, good order and regularity, and met with the universal acceptance of all present. Of this flag, bearing the motto of Connecticut and the motto, "An Appeal to Heaven," says General Schuyler Hamilton, in his book (The History of the National Flag of the United States of America), " the latter motto was evidently taken from the closing paragraph of the address of the" Provincial Congress of Massachusetts written shortly after the battle of Lexington which ended thus, * appealing to heaven for the justice of our cause we determined to die or be free,' and which motto, under the form ' Appealed to Heaven,' combined with a pine tree, constituted the motto and device on the colors of the Massachusetts Colonial Army." " In this combination," says General Schuyler Hamilton, of the mottos of Connecticut and Massachusetts, one can scarcely fail to perceive the germ of the emblem of Union which. January 2, 1776, replaced the flag we have described above."

General Schuyler Hamilton says that the flag raised by General Putnam was a red flag. Red flags had been used in early times by other nations as emblems of defiance, and for this reason, red was used instead of other colors at the commencement of our Revolutionary struggle.

A letter written January, 1776, dated at Boston, can be found in volume IV of the American archives, which says in corroboration of the above, "I can see the rebel flag very plain whose color a little while ago was red, but on the receipt of the King's speech (which was burnt), they hoisted the Union flag, which is here supposed to intimate the union of the provinces."

In Holmes's Annuals, volume II, it is recorded "that the committee of safety in South Carolina adopted a large blue flag, with a crescent in one corner, blue being the uniform of the South Carolina troops, hence the color of their banner," Another flag was used as mentioned in 4

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the American archives, which had a white ground and a tree in the center, with the motto, "Appeal to Heaven." The same authority says, "the flag called the great Union flag, hoisted January 2, 1776, the day that gave being to the new army, was the basis of our national flag of the present day."

Again, the flag presented by a member of the Naval Committee of the Continental Congress to South Carolina, February, 1776, to be used by the Commander-in-chief of the American Navy, was a yellow flag, in the center of which was a lively representation of a rattlesnake in the attitude of striking, and underneath the words, "Don't tread on me." So you will see that we had abundant flags in early times, and that, in fact, flags have their uses in peace as well as war, and cannot be dispensed with. Their necessity caused a multiplicity of them, and thus prepared the way to the one adopted by Congress June 14, 1777, which was as follows: "That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen white stars on blue field, representing a new constellation.''

While this resolve passed Congress June 14, 1777, it was not made public until the third of September following its adoption; According to William Barton, A. M., the thirteen stripes on the flag represent the original States; the same number of stars upon the blue field placed in a circle represent a new constellation, which alludes to the new empire formed in the world by a union of states. Their position in form of a circle denotes the perpetuity of its continuance, the ring being the symbol of eternity; and the eagle placed upon the summit of the staff is emblematical of the sovereignty of the government of the United States.

The first change made in the flag of the United States, after its adoption by Congress, was made January 13, 1794, and was as follows: "That from and after the first day of May, 1795, the flag of'the United States be fifteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be fifteen stars.

Page 28

removing all the munitions to the shore, and when the last boat put off, a young man in it, John Hancock, jumped into the sea, swam to the vessel, ran tip the shrouds of the mast and securing the flag, brought it triumphantly to the shore, amid the hot fire from a British man-of-war."

The first American flag that was made after the Resign and approval of Congress, was the one made by Elizabeth Boss, of Philadelphia. But a short time ago three of her children were living, and they bore testimony to this fact. And a lady in Germantown, now ninety-six years of age, adds her testimony in confirmation. The same authority says, "that not only was the first flag made in Philadelphia, but it was first flung to the breeze there." The house in which the flag was first made is still standing, No. 239 Arch street. It is said that when the design was fixed by Congress that General Washington and Col. George Ross visited Mrs. Ross and asked her to make it after the approval and design fixed upon. She immediately informed General Washington that the design was wrong; that the were six-pointed instead of five, as they should be. Washington at once saw the mistake, and. told Mrs. Ross to make the correction. The flag was duly made, and Con-approved the same, and for several years all the American flags made for government use were made by Mrs, Boss.

I have thus given a brief and imperfect sketch of our na tional banner, the.banner we all love and rejoice in to-day. It is our country's banner, and why should we not love it ? Oar fathers sustained it and it gave them victory after long years of privation and danger. It. is beautiful to look-upon, and it grows more beautiful and bright with' years. If our despise it, we love it all-the better; if defeated un der it, it is all the dearer to us because of defeat; and we change it for no other ; for

29

But our fathers 109 years ago looked upon another picture; sad and cheerless as it was, they did not despond, nor did haughty Briton find in them men born to be slaves. Let us hope that the same spirit exists to-day. True there were some among us in early days that played the part of traitors, but the great body of the people were true to their flag, and it led them through the darkness that surrounded them, over frozen ground and snow, across the dark Delaware, onward and onward to Yorktown. Then its stripes became brighter and brighter, and its stars shone out in greater clearness. No gems however effulgent and beautiful ever looked half so brilliant as did our banner on the morning that General Washington gathered his triumphant army around it at Yorktown to receive the surrender of the sword from Lord Cornwallis, the commander of the British forces in America. Why should it not look bright ? The war was ended, it was a day of victory and rejoicing. Our veteran

30

soldiers shouted their loud amen. Cheer after cheer made the welkin ring. Their prayers arose for the success of the flag of the nation.

For a while it was the good fortune of our flag to float in peace, but by and by dark clouds of war again lowered over the heads of our people. Strife and blood were certain; but the day of encounter and battle had not fully come. Diplomacy was doing what it could to avert the storm. Justice and right were on our side and pleaded stoutly and firmly in our behalf. But the British lion grew more and more fierce, his roar more and more terrific. At last war came. It was with our old enemy, smarting under its former defeat. Again our flag was unfurled, and patriots gathered to sustain it and pledge anew their loyalty and devotion to it, and suffer, if need be, in its defense. The war is known to us as the war of 1812. The battles were mostly fought upon the waters, and we encountered what was then known as the strongest maritime nation of the world. But our banner, after a fierce struggle, again floated in triumph, and songs of rejoicing were again heard throughout our borders. Our nation, was at peace, and the glad tidings of great joy were proclaimed to the inhabitants thereof.

This war gave us a new national song. I refer to Key's " Star Spangled Banner." The bombardment of Fort Mc-Henry was the occasion of its production, and called forth his grand eulogy on our nation's banner at an hour of great

31

peril and danger which, it was then passing through. How deeply and how strongly he loved our flag. Let a few lines of his own words tell.

Time rolled on, and under the protection of our flag manufactures increased, earth produced abundantly, industry of all kinds received its just reward for labor ; science, art and literature advanced step by step to a higher state of perfection. Our country made rapid strides in almost everything important to us as a people. Our growth was such as to give great encouragement. Gigantic steps towards a higher civilization were plainly visible in all directions. Steamships and railways, canals and other modes of transportation multiplied ; and the telegraph, an invention of our own, added brilliancy and luster to the sciences already enjoyed by us. And nothing more seemed wanting to make us great, happy and prosperous. But our flag, so great and powerful in peace, so desirable to give prosperity to a nation, was soon called upon to take another step. And from the mouth of the Rio Grande it led our conquering army over the plains of Mexico. Victory after victory followed its advance. It floated in triumph over the battle fields of Monterey, Palo Alto, Cerro Gordo, Buena Vista and many others. It stormed and carried the heights of Chepultepec, and by the hands of our gallant Seymour our flag was vic-

32

toriously placed upon the ramparts of the fortress. And neither was its progress stayed until its final and complete victory, when it waved in glory over the " halls of the Mon-tezumas," and Mexico was brought to acknowledge its power, its prowess and its mercy. Our flag is now known and honored in every part of the civilized world ; and under its folds our seamen and citizens, wherever they may be, find a safe protector. It has streamed around the globe time and again; it has been planted upon our highest mountains and peaks. Everywhere it is respected because of its worth. It stands to-day symbolizing Freedom, Unity, Nationality, Courage, Fortitude, Strength; age, endurance and enterprise also add brightness to its colors. And why should it not be respected ?

Said a little girl to her mother during the late war: "I know why it is that our flag is respected, and will be victorious. ' "How so ?" says the mother. " Because," says the little girl, "the blue heavens are dotted all over with stars, and to-day, just after the shower, I saw the remaining part of our starry banner in the sky, and it spanned the heavens. It must be victorious, for it is God's banner ; and father will return shortly to us." It is the same banner that Ellsworth, at Alexandria, would hoist in the place of one that did not belong to our whole country, and he forfeited his life because of his love of it. It is the same banner concerning which General Dix gave his memorable order, to wit: "Whoever attempts to pull down the American flag shoot him on the spot." It is the same banner that patriots have chosen for a winding sheet. It is the same banner that led the little band upon an errand of mercy and science to the polar seas, under Dr. Kane, in pursuit of Sir John Franklin and his men, who sailed under a British flag. Here again it was destined to endure great suffering, hardship and privations. But it added glory to its renown already gained, because of its errand of mercy and humanity. And the same flag that accompanied him on another expedition-and it had already floated far-

33

ther north and farther south than any other one flag in the world - is known as the " (Grinnell flag of the Antarctic."

It had accompanied Commodore Wilkes in his far off southern discovery, and had been on two voyages to the Polar seas, and it has been its destiny to float over the highest northern land, not only in America, but on the globe. It floated at the mast of the vessel on which Doctor Kane wrote some of the finest poetical imagery ever recorded, when surrounded by the unbroken silence of an Arctic winter. He says in describing the scene around him : " The intense beauty of the Arctic firmament can hardly be imagined. It looks close above our heads, with its stars magnified in glory, and the very planets twinkling so much as to baffle the observation of the astronomer. I have trodden the decks when the life of the earth seemed suspended - its movements, its sounds, its coloring, its companionship - and as I looked on the radiant hemisphere circling above me, as if sending worship to the unseen center of light, I ejaculated: "Lord, what is man that Thou art mindful of him,' and then I turned my thoughts to the kindly world we had left behind, with its revolving sunlight and shadow, and the other stars that gladden it in their changes, and the hearts that warmed to us there, till I lost myself in the memories of those who are not, and they bore me back to the stars again."

As an American I am rejoiced to quote in your hearing this beautiful imagery of Dr. Kane, and I glory in the thought, that these lines so full of beauty, so delicate and rich, and yet so full of heart, and love, were written by an American, on board of an American vessel, bearing aloft the glorious ensign of our republic. How great the heart of Dr. Kane! And how noble was his mission ! Science and humanity alike cherish his memory, and our dear old flag becomes all the brighter because humanity and good will to man are among its attributes.

* The nation to whom this flag belongs, has reason to rejoice in its many victories, and we hope for the contin-5

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uance of the nation it symbolizes. This day we wonder not that great men, as well as good, loved our Union and spoke in strains of eloquence in its behalf ; that it might not become broken and dissevered, discordant, belligerent. Webster, in his great speech, tells us how much we are indebted to this Union which our flag represents, and prays that his "eyes' last feeble glance may see the gorgeous ensign of the republic, now known and honored throughout the earth, still high advanced; its arms and trophies streaming in the original luster, not a stripe erased or polluted, not a single star obscured, bearing for its motto no such miserable interrogatory as 'What is all this worthf or those other words of delusion and folly, ' Liberty first and Union afterward;' but everywhere, spread all over in characters of living light, blazing on all its ample folds, as they float over sea and over the land, and in every wind under the heaven, that other sentiment, dear to every American heart, t Liberty and Union ; now and forever, one and inseparable.' "

But, alas, how near our Union came to be broken, dissevered, and our flag robbed of half of its lustre and brightness ! Let the firing upon Fort Suinter tell. I will not weary you with a recital of the wrongs and abuses that were heaped upon it, for the scenes and memories of those days are still fresh to us all. But we may say that the thundering upon our flag at Sumter rallied the patriots of this land, and they flocked together around it to protect it or die. The struggle was long and vigorous ; we were of one blood. "Greek met Greek," and war in all its fury spread over our fair land. Years rolled by and the war continued. At last, thanks to the patriotic boys in blue, and the steady hand of our own immortal Lincoln, our Union was preserved and our flag triumphant. Yes, thanks I say to our boys in blue, some of whom sacrificed life, others the comforts of home, endured hardships and privations, many of them in prisons and prison pens, suffering beyond the power of man to describe. But at length conquerors they were, and the stars and stripes instead of an-

35

other flag waved over its rightful possessions. Then it was that we "rallied around the flag, boys, rallied once again, shouting the battle cry of freedom."

And to-day we would express our gratitude to the Great Ruler of nations for the triumph of our flag and its well earned victories over those who would destroy it and plant another in its place. But now the old flag waves all the brighter. Freedom means more to-day than before the struggle. For

Then on this anniversary, commemorative of the 109th year of our flag's existence, let us pledge anew our devotion to it and the nation it represents. May we love the old flag more and more, as time rolls on ; then glory and brightness will surround it, and its dazzling beauty and effulgence will more than equal the auroral light or the splendor of the morning sun. Then it will continue to be the flag of our children and our children's children, as in early times it was the flag of our fathers. It is the

36

We New Haveners have felt more at home here, since we heard from one of our party, Mr. Goodyear, that he and Ms family have owned this lot we meet on for two hundred years.

As we stand here on land that to-day belongs to Ham-den, and one hundred years ago was in the jurisdiction of New Haven, no one can congratulate you on your century of Independent existence more than the citizens of the mother town. The true source, as his Excellency, the Governor has hinted, the true source of all .the strength of American Institutions, lies in the number of its self-governing political communities. Whether, you call them

37

white in blue field." And under this flag we fought the battles of our country in the war of 1812.

In 1818 the flag of the United States was again changed, as it was anticipated that the flag would become too large and unwieldy if a stripe was added on the admission of every new State. The resolutions passed by Congress making this change were as follows: "That from and after the fourth of July next the flag of the United States be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be twenty stars, in blue field ; and that on the admission of a new State into the Union one star be added to the Union of the flag, and that such addition shall take effect on the fourth day of July next succeeding such admission.

The blue field originated in this way. Blue was the favorite color with the Colonies. It was the uniform of the South Carolina troops. Washington adopted blue as his badge. Blue had been identified with the league and covenant in Scotland; and in many other Ways blue became identified in our Colonial struggles. And on this account, says General Hamilton, blue became the color of our national uniform as well.

It is recorded that our banner was first used by Paul Jones, Commander-in-chief of the Navy. Other authorities say: " The first instance in which the Stars and Stripes were unfurled was when the brig Nancy was chartered by the Continental Congress to procure military stores in the West Indies, during the latter part of 1775. While at Porto Bico in July of the ensuing year, the information came that the Colonists had declared their independence, and with this information came the description of the flag that had been accepted as the national banner. A young man, Captain Thomas Manderville, set to work to make one, and successfully accomplished it. The flag was unfurled and saluted with thirteen guns. When the brig Nancy was upon her return voyage, she was hemmed in by British vessels off Cape May, her officers succeeded in

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We have a history to be proud of as Americans, and we here in Connecticut have a longer history of our own to be proud of. Although our State may be a small one, it has always been found ready to do its duty; in the wars of King Philip, in the siege of Louisburg, in the struggles of the revolution, in the shock of the .civil war, her regiments have always been at the front; her leaders true ; her people firm. And these institutions for which our fathers lived, and, if need be, died, we do well to commemorate on days like this. A hundred years of growing population and spreading industry, a hundred years of honest government, a hundred years during which no invading army has touched this soil; these things make up for Hamden a history that may not be a dramatic or brilliant one, but it is something better. It speaks of happy homes, of busy mill wheels, of self-supporting churches, of schools open to the poorest at the expense of all. This is the history of Hamden for a hundred years, and anniversaries like these teach us to recognize the blessings that we possess.

Let the day serve to remind us all that we have received from our fathers a great inheritance in institutions that are worth more than property-institutions on which all property depends-and this inheritance it is our business to transmit to our children.

One hundred years from to-day this anniversary will be celebrated on this spot before a new audience, by a generation yet unborn. Let it be ours to do what we can to leave to future times unimpaired the heritage of freedom, and self-government which is the ancient glory of the towns of Connecticut.

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REV. ME. D. MCMTJLLEN, PASTOR OF THE METHODIST SOCIETY, HAMDEN PLAINS.

CELEBRATED minister, now dead, being called upon to speak, said, "that speech is silvery and silence is golden." I prefer to give you the gold and sit down, for I am only a '' bird of passage'' and am not " to the manor born," and probably owe it to the fact that I am a minister amongst you that I am now called upon to speak. I am glad to have the pleasure and honor of taking part in this Centennial celebration, and to congratulate the town of Hamden for having attained the ripe old age of one hundred years to-day. We have heard that it is not in the power of the General Assembly to disfranchise you, and constitutions are not likely to be changed, and so a hundred years from to-day the town of Hamden will doubtless be a great deal more populous and a great deal stronger than it is to-day. I appreciate the sentiment tittered by the Governor of the State, that all the citizens of the town of Hamden will go home better citizens than when they came this morning. I am sure that I shall go home to-night feeling prouder and better than I did this morning. I was much interested in the discourse concerning the flag. The red, the white and the blue may be regarded as emblems ; the red of war, the white of purity, and the blue of loyalty. I was glad to hear of the origin of the name Hamden- John Hampden! A great name, and I pray that the town of Hamden may never disgrace the name it bears, as it never has disgraced it in the past.

40 And I am glad that we stand here to-day together around the firm platform of religious understanding.

We are all standing on the same platform, and we have in our churches the only kind of unity that we can have ; we have the unity of the spirit in a bond of peace. We agree to disagree on unessential things, and the time has come when the fences have been broken down between the different churches, that we can attend each other's places of worship, and yet we all prefer our own religious belief. I pray God that His blessing may rest upon all churches, and I thank Him that the time has come when Father Putnam and myself can exchange pulpits. And as revolutions never go backwards the time will never come again when the old time fences will be built up between the churches.

I am in a position that is rather awkward to me. I am not accustomed to address such a large body of people, but the occasion certainly is one that I could not well pass without being present, and scarcely could let pass without saying a word of encouragement and congratulation to the town of Hamden. I have been associated with you for the last nineteen years, and certainly my relations with you have been of the most congenial kind. I have always found you ready to assist me and my struggling people in anything that I undertook. The good will that you have always shown and felt, I feel and always will feel. And I am very glad that the occasion has come-the Centennial celebration of the town of Hamden.

And I have learned more from his Excellency, the Governor of Connecticut, regarding the power that is placed in the towns of the State of Connecticut than ever I knew before, and he has given me a new idea of what would make our home across the Atlantic happy-self government. Home Rule, as lie well says, a town in itself, is a little

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community of men who control their own affairs and promote their own prosperity, and thus make themselves happy.

This certainly is new information to me in regard to the laws that govern the towns and counties and the State in general. I have learned certainly to-day to think more of this town of Hamden ; especially its history has been to me a new one in many particulars.

I did not understand fully its beginning, its troubles, and its willingness to help in everything that required manhood. They went forth in the early days of the declaration of independence, and they upheld it with firmness and brought it home in glory.

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If we are rightly informed by history, our people have been noted for preparing for war in time of peace. Come to the Loan Exhibition, and you will there see exhibits showing that men from this place took a part in the Revolution. Again, when the British entered New Haven, the farmers of the town of Hamden left their plows in the field to seize the muskets and whatever arms they had, and rush in to the city of New Haven, to help repel the invaders. Still later on, in the war of 1812, when the call for troops was made, Hamden responded to the call and sent a large number of men who served in that war until peace was declared. A record of every one of them has been preserved by me.

Still later, in the war of the rebellion, the patriotic young men of Hamden responded to the call for men, they went to the front and were in many a hard fought battle, and there are many present here who mourn the loss of near and dear friends who fell while lighting manfully for the American Union.

It is with great pleasure that we see our State officially so well represented here to-day. "We hope and trust that all proposed laws of our State will be wisely considered before being made, and so properly administered that the rising generations may have reason to look with pride upon this good old Commonwealth of Connecticut.

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But I am conscientious, although I belong to a profession the members of which some people say have no conscience.

And so, having had my dinner, and received my pay, I cannot sit down without saying something. Indeed, I never realized until this clay what a grand old town Ham-den is. And I don't believe the people of this town half realize their privileges.

We have heard a great deal to-day, and a great many things that we ought to be very proud of. In. New York State the poor are cared for by counties, and the roads are cared for by counties, but here the town controls, and as you have heard to-day, from the act of incorporation, the town has the right to fish in New Haven, which is a very valuable right. I recall only yesterday, a man came into my office and complained that somebody had been digging clams in front of his barn, down at Short Beach. I dare say it was some Hamden farmer who had been to the town clerk's office arid read this act of incorporation.

I have never before realized the natural beauties of this valley so vividly and forcibly as now, with its magnificent mountain range on the north, and East and West Rocks on its sides. We have, indeed, a goodly heritage, and we ought to be proud of it.

And I feel proud of this town that it shows such a public sentiment, such a local town pride, as has made this occasion possible. And I feel it the more deeply because there are two difficulties which the' people of this town have to contend with; first, we are so near New Haven that every important movement tends to be swallowed up in tike great city lying only five miles away, and the second is that we have no common center, and that in itself is a very great disadvantage, and retards the building up of a town pride and local sentiment of our own.

And another thing is very important, we have no concentration of population in the town of Hamden; it is'diffused. This Centerville should be called Hamden; the

44

Government did perfectly right when it designated the post office of this village the post office of Hamden. It would help largely in developing the town pride if it were so called. Our people, as we all know, are scattered from Whitneyville in a series of small hamlets to the Cheshire line.

I can. only say, Mr. Chairman, in closing, that I hope with you all, that the century upon which we are now entering may be as illustrious and prosperous and as happy as were the citizens who made the town illustrious in the

Allusion lias been made to the slow method of carting freight from New York to Boston by ox-teams. This was within my recollection. It was my father who had two of those teams on the road, and three of my brothers were engaged in driving them.

I have placed in the Loan Exhibition a piece of one of the old wagons made by my father for this freighting. He made one that would carry as much as two of the ordinary carts. He took two cart wheels and two wagon wheels and put on a box body thirteen feet long, four feet wide and inches deep. It was made 'the year that I was born, and did good service. It was slow and tedious work walking from Hew York to Boston in those days, and but few of our young men would care to undertake such a journey to-day.

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that the poor in New Haven had to earn their dinner before they ate it. Now I feel highly complimented that you gave me the dinner before yon heard the speech, and I feel confident if yon had heard the speech before I got the dinner, I would have had to go without the dinner.

In these Centennial celebrations it brings to the mind of each one of us that we belong to these little towns who furnished the first constitutions the world ever saw. I think I can say without contradiction, that they are due to the little republics of the State of Connecticut.

Gentlemen, there is something further and beyond the past in these celebrations ; they bring together all classes of society, all differences in religion, and all differences between capital and labor are annihilated. And the people that form one of these celebrations not only benefit the town of Hamden, but the State of Connecticut, and the whole of the United States are made better than they were before. I cordially thank you for the entertainment I have received here to-day ; I had not intended to say a word, and I have made these few remarks as best 1 could at the request of the chairman.

. Page 2 plan and reported it to the town meeting as instructed. The committee proposed :-

1. That the celebration should be upon the third Tuesday in June, this being the anniversary of the first town meeting under the incorporation.

2. That there should be a procession formed by the various organizations, citizens and representatives of the manufacturing establishments in the town.

3. The assembling of the inhabitants of the town, with invited guests, to listen to historical addresses and to music. 4. A collation for the guests of the town.

5. A loan exhibition of relics and objects historically interesting.

6. The preparation of a history of the town to be published in connection with a report of the celebration.

7. That an executive committee of four persons should be appointed to act with the Selectmen in carrying out the plan adopted by the town, and with power to appoint subcommittees.

8. That an appropriation of one thousand dollars, or so much of it as might be necessary, should be made to cover the expenses.

This report was unanimously accepted and adopted by the town, the appropriation was made, and the executive committee was appointed as follows: William P. Blake, Henry Munson, Henry Tattle, Ells worth B. Cooper, with the Selectmen : Charles P. Augur, Walter W. Woodruff and Thomas Cannon.

The Executive Committee met frequently at the office of the Town Clerk and arranged the details of the celebration. Ellsworth B. Cooper was elected secretary of the committee. Numerous sub-committees were appointed to co-operate, and they rendered essential service. A list of these committees and the members will be found at the beginning of this volume.

Invitations to attend the celebration were issued to many of the leading men of New Haven and neighboring towns.

LIST OF OBJECTS AND EXHIBITORS.

Ancient Clock, exhibited by Mrs. John Andrews.

Pair of Silver Candlesticks, Mr. Hobart Kimberly.

Ancient China, Mr. Jared Dickerman.

Piece of the Pulpit of the first church at Mt. Carmel, Mr. Jared Dickerman.

Part of the wagon used in carting from New York to Boston, Mr. Lucius Ives.

Ancient Chair, Mrs. Heath.

Ancient Slippers, Mrs. Heath.

String of Gold Beads, Mrs. Eneas Warner.

Mason's apron, over 100 years old, Mrs. Geo Dudley.

Ancient Deeds, Mrs. Geo Dudley.

Account Book, over 100 years old, Mrs. Geo Dudley.

Continental money, Dr. Swift.

Chair, over 100 years old, Miss Julia Dickerman.

Pewter Platter, Miss Julia Dickerman.

Home-made linen sheets, Miss Julia Dickerman.

Gold sleeve buttons, 130 years old, L. A. Dickerman.

Gold Ring, over 100 years old, Miss Ella Leeke.

Ancient Linen, Mrs. C. A. Burleigh.

Ancient China, Howard Doolittle.

Old-fashioned Bonnet, Mrs. Samuel Baldwin.

Center table, Mrs. Samuel Baldwin.

Shell Back Comb, Mrs. Samuel Baldwin.

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Bible, over 200 years old, Mr. Samuel Baldwin.

Tuning fork, Mr. Samuel Baldwin.

Pair of pistols, Allen D. Osborn.

Hand-made Gun, Mr. J. J. Webb.

Cartridge-box, Mr. J. J. Webb.

Saddle-bag, Mr. J. J. Webb.

China soup turreen, Mrs. J. J. Webb.

Silver Watch, old, Mr. Edwin Potter.

Ancient Counterpane, Mrs. R. H. Cooper.

Writing Desk chair, Mrs. N. B. Mix.

Ancient shell comb, Mrs. N. B. Mix.

Calashes, nearly a century old, Mrs. N. B. Mix.

Tow, as used for spinning, Mrs. N. B. Mix.

Medals and Diplomas, chiefly for agricultural products, Mr. G. W. Bradley.

Flint-lock gun, Mr. H. W. Tuttle.

Brown Satin Vest, Mrs. Fannie Ives.

Infant's cap worn by the late C. W. Everest, Mrs. Everest.

Ancient Linen, Mrs. Charles Ailing.

Ancient China, Mrs. W. W. Woodruff.

Baptismal dress and cloak, Miss Eliza Bassett.

Spectacles, over 100 years old, Mrs. L. H. Bassett.

Ancient silk shawl and lace, Mrs. James Ives.

Collection of arrow heads and Indian relics, Herbert Dickerman.

Ancient oil-painting, Mrs. Olmstead.

Ancient chair, Mr. Jared Atwater.

Gun, of ancient date, Mr. Jared Atwater.

Silver tea-set, Mrs. Burton.

Spoons, Mrs. Burton.

Pair of slippers, Mrs. Burton.

Fan, Mrs. Burton.

Masonic apron, Miss Mamie Dickerman.

Pair of home-made trousers, coat and shoes, Mr. J. B. Jacobs.

Swords, of old-fashioned make, exhibitors unknown.

Baby Jumper, or walking stool, Mrs. Ezra Ailing.

Ancient China, Mrs. Ezra Ailing.

Ancient China, Mrs. Russell.

Cup and saucer that came over in the Mayflower, exhibitors unknown.

Ancient China, Mrs. A. O. Beach.

Silver Pepper-box and Spoon, over 200 years old, with Tower mark, brought from England to Casco Bay, Maine, in the seventeenth century, and by Captain Solomon Phipps to New Haven, before 1776, and since used in this town and vicinity, Danforth Phipps Blake.

Cartouche-box, patent of Captain Jonathan Mix, Wm. P. Blake.

Patent from the United States to Captain Jonathan Mix for the manufacture of elliptic carriage springs, with signatures of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, Wm. P. Blake.

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Table used at the Academy of Music, Philadelphia, when General Grant was nominated for the second term, Wm. P. Blake.

Embroidery made in 1796, Mrs. Eliza Sherman.

Tinder-box, with tinder, flint and steel, used to obtain fire in Hamden as late as the year 1835, Wm. P. Blake.

Blankets made by the Navajo Indians, Wm. P. Blake.

Cotton Gin. The original model of the cotton gin made by the inventor, Eli Whitney, Eli Whitney, Jr.

Welsh Bible. On the inside of one of the covers of this Bible an old manu­script receipt is pasted, of which the following is a copy:

middletown, 10 July, 1777.

Rec'd of Capt. Sam'1. Hearst by the hands of Sergt. Sam'1. Hubbard for our service in defence of this state from the 26th of April to ye sec­ond of May last the sums respectively affixed to our names.

£. s. p. * * ester bishop, 0 14 3&1/2

stephen parsons, 0 35

eprahim crofut, 0 15 12

samuel johnson, 0 15 11

solomon sage, 0 14 02

stephen willcox, 0 14 12

[Exhibited by J. Barnard.]

Old Pamphlet Sermon: The || necessity of || atonement || and the consistency between that and || free grace || in forgiveness. || Illustrated in three ser­mons || preached before his excellency the Governor || and a large num­ber of both Houses of the Legislature of the State of Connecticut || dur­ing their session at New Haven in October, A. D., mdcclxxxv. By Jonathan Edwards, D.D., Pastor of a Church in New Haven. New Haven: Printed by Meigs, Bowen and Dana, mdcclxxxv. [12mo., pp. 64].

Exhibited by James Ives.

Pamphlet Sermon: The examination of the late Rev'd President Edward's || Enquiry on Freedom of Will. || Continued || [etc., etc.] To which are subjoined strictures on the Rev'd. W. West's essay on Moral Agency, etc. By James Dana, D. D., pastor of the church in Wallingford. New Haven: Printed by Thomas and Samuel Green, 1773.

Exhibited by James Ives

Ancient Document, by members of the Tuttle family, Miss Emma L. Blake.

Page 49 TITLE, BOUNDARIES AND TOPOGRAPHY. PURCHASE OF THE LAND FEOM THE INDIANS. HEN the colony of New Haven was established in 1638 the region was inhabited by the Quinnipiac Indians, a tribe of the Mohegan nation. Dr. Dwight, writing in 1811, calls them the Mohe-haneews, or Muhheakunnuks, and says that " Charles," the last sachem of the tribe, died about eighty years before (about 1730).

A tract of land, belonging to these aboriginal occupants, eighteen miles long and thirteen miles wide, was purchased November 24th, 1638, by the Rev. John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton, in behalf of the first planters of New Haven, of Momauguin, Sachem of Quinnipiac, and partly of Montowese, Sachem, of Mattabeseck (Middletown). This, of course, included what is now the town of Hamden.

50 The farmers of Hamden, when ploughing or hoeing, occasionally find spear and arrow-heads of stone, and are thus reminded of the former occupation of their lands by savage tribes. The arrow-heads are generally made of white quartz, and they are rudely fashioned, but do not differ greatly from the arrow-heads found in other parts of the Atlantic states. Arrow points, or flakes of obsidian, or volcanic glass, so common in the volcanic regions of the Rocky Mountains and beyond, have not been found here.

The charter of Connecticut, obtained by the exertions of Winthrop, from Charles II, king of England, in 1662, conveyed to the '' Governor and Company of the English Col-lony of Connecticut, in New England, in America." "All that parte of * * * New England * * * bounded on the east by Norrogancett River, commonly called Nor-rogancett Bay, where the said river falleth into the sea, and on the north by the lyne of the Massachusetts plantation, and on the south by the sea; and in longitude as the lyne of the Massachusetts colony, runinge from east to west, that is to say, from the said Narrogancett Bay on the east to the South Sea on the west parte."

This grant thus included parts of Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey, and a strip of land seventy miles wide, extending westward across the continent from New Jersey westward, between north latitude 41° and latitude 42°. 2' to the Pacific Ocean. This remarkable grant included what is now the northern, part of Pennsylvania, the lake region of Ohio, the city of Chicago, Davenport Iowa, a large part of the territory of Nebraska and Wyoming traversed by the Union Pacific railway, a large part of Utah, taking in the northern part of the great Salt Lake and the city of Ogden; the northern part of Nevada, and the northern counties of California to the south line of Oregon.

51

The town of Hamden as set off from the town of New Haven by the General Assembly of Connecticut in 1786 consisted of (1) the Parish of Mt. Carmel and (2) of the region within the limits of the Seventeenth Military company in the Second regiment of militia. The bounds of this Seventeenth military company are given in the act of incorporation as follows:

"Beginning at the foot of the Long Bridge, so called, [Lewis's Bridge on the Middletown turnpike], from thence a strait line to a dwelling house owned by Mr. Hez'h. Sabin*, now in possession of George Peckham; thence on the north side of said house a strait line to the southeast corner of the farm lately owned by Col. John Hubbard dec' asd; thence in the line of said farm to the top of the West "Rock; thence on said Rock northerly to the southeast corner of Wood-bridge; thence in the line of said Woodbridge to the southwest corner of Mt. Carmel Society: thence in the south line of said Society to North Haven line; thence upon said line to the East river; thence along the middle of said river to the first mentioned corner.''

The bounds of the Parish of Mt. Carmel are not given in the act, but according to the records of the colony, reciting the action of the General Assembly in 1757, they were as follows:

"On the memorial of Daniel Bradly, Israel Sperry, Joel Munson and others, inhabitants of the First Society in New Haven, living in the north part thereof, praying that they may be formed into a distinct ecclesiastical society, as by their memorial on file: Resolved by this Assembly that the inhabitants and persons living within the limits and

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bounds following, viz: Beginning at the southeast corner, at the mouth of Shepard's Brook, so called, where said brook falls into the Mill Eiver, thence running westward a parallel line with the line on the south side of the Half Division, so called, unto the east line of the Parish of Amity, thence northward in said line to Wallingford bounds, and to extend northward from the first mentioned bounds by said river, being the west side line of North Haven parish bounds until it comes to the south side of James Ives' s farm; thence east in the south line of said farm unto the highway that runs north and south, and thence north by the said highway unto Ithamar Todd's farm, including said farm within the limits of said parish, and thence to the Blue Hills, so called, and thence easterly in the line of said North Haven bounds until it comes to said Wallingford bounds, and thence westerly in the north side line of said New Haven bounds unto said Amity line be, and hereby are, made a distinct ecclesiastical society, with all the powers, privileges and immunities that other distinct ecclesiastical societies in this Colony already established by law have, and that the same shall hereafter be called and known by the name of Mount Carmel."*

In May, 1758, the inhabitants of the Parish of Mount Carmel represented to the Assembly, by memorial, "that in the description of the bounds of the parish by the committee that lately laid out the same, there was a mistake or uncertainty with respect to a highway referred to lying eastward of James Ives's farm, also, that greater certainty was wanting in the bounds on the southward side of the Blue Hills; further representing, that it would be convenient and best to have the bounds on the east, near said Ives and Ithamar Todd's farm enlarged a small matter, and also on the south to have the bounds extended down as low as the south bounds of North Haven parish; praying to have said enlargements made, or a committee to view, etc., as by the

*Public Records of Connecticut, October, 1757, Vol. XI, p. 77.

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memorial on file may more fully appear : Resolved by this Assembly, that Roger Newton, Esq., Capt. Moses Hawkins and Mr. Enos Brooks be a committee, and they are hereby impowered and directed as the application, and at the cost of said inhabitants, to repair to said parish, and having notified the neighboring parishes, viz.: ISTew Haven First society and North Haven, to view the situation and circumstances of said parish and said neighbor parishes and make report in the premises to this Assembly in October next."

In October this committee reported, "that said parish ought not to be enlarged as prayed for, but that the bounds thereof ought to be ascertained in manner as set forth in said report; and said report hath been read, accepted and approved of by this 'Assembly' as by said memorial, appointment and report of said committee on file appears. It is therefore resolved by this Assembly that the bounds of said parish for the future shall be as follows, viz.: "Beginning at the southeast corner at the mouth of Shepherd's Brook, where said brook falls into the Mill River; thence running westward a parallel line with the line on the south side of the half division, so called, unto the east line of the Parish of Amity; thence northward in said line to Walling-ford bounds, and to extend northward from the first mentioned bounds by said river, being the west side line of Worth Haven parish bounds until it comes to the south side of James Ives's farm, and to run eastwardly a parallel line with the south line of said James lyes' s farm, until it comes to a highway four rods wide; thence north by said highway unto Ithamar Todd's farm, including said farm within the limits of said parish, and thence to the Blue Hills, so called, and to run eastwardly by a highway four rods wide, that is, by the southward side of the Blue Hill land, so called, until it comes to a highway six rods wide, that runs northwardly by the east side of Lt. Blacksley's house, to run by said highway until it comes north of the widow Todd's dwelling house, thence eastwardly on the

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southward side of said Blue Hill until it comes to Walling-ford bounds, at the east end of said hill, and thence west-wardly in the north side line of said New Haven bounds unto said Amity line." Pages 193, 194.

For a further account of the formation and history of the Mt. Carmel parish reference is made to the contribution to the ecclesiastical history of the town, by the Rev. L. H. Higgins, in this volume.

It would now be difficult to follow these boundary lines by the descriptions. The boundaries of farms have changed again and again, families have passed away, and houses have disappeared.

It has, however, been the custom for generations past to have the boundary lines of the town perambulated by the selectmen at intervals of a few years, and by this means a traditional knowledge of the town limits has been maintained.

The following, relative to the northern boundary of New Haven, afterwards a part of Hamden bounds, is interesting in this connection.

At the court of election, held at Hartford, in May, 1673, it was granted " that the bounds of New Haven shall runn according as it is agreed betwixt the sayd towne of New Haven, Brandford, Wallingford and Milford." The agreement was as follows:

"That New Haven shall runn two miles and a halfe northward from the foot of the Blew Hills, on the Mill River, upon that river, and the line from a stake there to the foote of the Blew Hills on the East River, and from the sayd two mile and halfe stake along our reare, west and by north, to the end of their bownds; which issue they, the committee for Wallingford, consented to and accepted, and this to be an issue in loue and peace. Memorandum: That the committee for New Haven doe consent that the meadow between the Mill River and the East River northward aboue the Blew Hills shall be Wallingford's as to the bulk of it, and liberty of drowneing it as they

55

shall see cause, although the line agreed to should cutt through it."

Subscribed by the s'd parties : John Morse, The marke of Wm. Joanes, John Brockett, John I C Cowper, Sen'r., James Bishop, Nath'l. Merriman, to the agreement, Matthew Gilbert, Abraham Doolittle, excepting the memoran- Sam'11. Whitehead, Sam'11 Andrews. dum added about ye John Winston, meadow, wherein he Abram Dickerman, dissents. Moses Mansfield. The aboue written is a true coppy of the original."* At the May court in 1674, the following agreement was reached and recorded:

" This writeing sheweth, to all whome it may concerne, that all differences respecting the line or lines for bownds between the townes of New Hauen and Wallingiord are forever ended, and agreements made and concluded by persons deputed for, and by each, towne whose names are underwritten, which agreements are as followeth, viz.: That Wallingf ord bownds on the east side of the East River shall be from Brandford lyne northerly to Wharton's Brooke, where it crosseth the sowth branch of the sayd brooke, and thence as the brooke runns into the East Elver; and from the mouth of the sayd Wharton' s Brooke, where it falleth into the sayd East Riuer, the sayd East River to be the bound or line upward vntill it come as high as the Blew Hills, and against a tree marked on the west side of the river with aheap of stones caste at the root of it; and from the sayd tree with stones at the root of it, a streight line westward to New Haven, Mill river, where there is a tree marked with a heap of stones at the root of it, being about two miles and a halfe aboue the Blew Hills; and from the sayd tree and heap of stones by the sayd Mill River, a straite line west and by north to the path which lyeth from Milford to Farmington, by which path is a tree marked and stones cast at the root of it. To declare this to be our firm and full agreement, wee
*Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, 1675 to 1678; p. 202.

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subscribe our hands this 12th day of May, in the year of Or Lord, one thowsand six hundred seuenty lower. From Wallingford: From New Haven : John Brockett, The marke of Samuel Andrews, John I C Cowper, Sen'r., Nathaniel Roise. Moses Mansfield, Abram Dickerman.

In the Atlas of New Haven county, published in 1868, by Beers, Ellis & Soule, a map of Hamden is given on a scale of two inches to the mile. By measurements made upon this map the length of the town from north to south is approximately 8 1/4 miles; its breadth at the widest, north part, 5 1/2 miles; and at the narrowest part, 3 miles. Taking the avera.ge breadth as a little under 4 miles, the total area is approximately 32 square miles.

Barber gives the average length of the town as 7 1/2 miles; average breadth about 3 1/2; making about 26 square miles in area.

The adjoining towns on the north are Cheshire and Wallingford; on the east, North Haven; on the south, New Haven; and on the west, Woodbridge and Bethany.
*Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut; p. 234.

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The region first received its approximate form and direction from its fundamental geological structure; and, secondly, from the ploughing and planing action of the great ice-sheet of the glacial era; succeeded by the comparatively modern eroding and depositing action of existing streams.

Mill River, the principal stream of the town, flows through its entire length in a general southwesterly direction. Its principal branch, Shepherd's Brook, flows into it from the north, a short distance above Augerville. Mill river is known as one of the chief sources of supply of the city of New Haven with water, and fills Whitney Lake, the storage reservoir of the New Haven Water company.

The Narrow gorge at Mt. Carmel, through which Mill River flows, was formerly known as the Steps.

Wilmot Brook, on the west side of the town, drains a long, deep valley, on the eastern side of the West Rock range, and flowing between West Rock and Pine Rock

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through the village of Westville, reaches West River. It has an important feeder from the west in the brook flowing from Wintergreen Lake, also one of the sources of the supply of water to New Haven.

The chief rocky elevations within the town limits are the East Rock and the West Rock ranges and the Blue Hills, now known as Mt. Carmel, or the Sleeping Giant. The bluff terminations of both East Rock and West Rock are, however, a short distance south of the town line. Whitney peak, rising from the northern slope of East Rock, reaches an altitude of about 300 feet. The bluff of East Rock is 360 feet above tide, and the top of West Rock is 887 to 405 feet. Mill Rock rises to the height of 225 feet, and Pine Rock to 271 feet.

The West Rock range increases in altitude northward from 380 feet at the south end of the town to 480 opposite the south end. of the Wintergreen Lake; to 575 feet west of Cherry Hill, 600 to 610 near the Merrit place, abreast of the Blue Hills. Mt. Carmel ranges from about 600 to 800 feet in height.

From the top of Mt. Carmel, East Rock appears as a slight and comparatively isolated elevation. Long Island sound can be seen over its summit, and Long Island over the top of the Soldiers' Monument.

The sandstone hills and ridges of the town are all lower than the chief trap rock ranges, and are smoothly rounded off, with flowing outlines. They extend generally in long and approximately parallel lines, and are highest and most extended under the lee or protection of the chief outbursts of the trap rock; this harder rock having broken the force of the denuding action of the ancient glacier. The sandstone formation is also found overlying the bedded trap rocks, and rises in places almost to the summit of the trap ridges. When hardened and changed by the trappean intrusions it resists decay almost as well as the trap, and forms enduring and picturesque bluffs.

From the Methodist church southwards there is a broad,

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Sandy and gravelly plain of alluvial origin extending to New Haven and the harbor. It extends eastward to Mill River, and westward nearly to the base of West Rock, around the north slope of Pine Rock. This broad stretch of comparatively level land is generally known as Hamden Plains. It is, however, not level, but has a gentle slope toward tide water.

According to measurements and calculations, made by Prof. J. D. Dana, the slope of the bed of Mill River is abont Afteen feet per mile, while the slope of the terrace plain raises from nine to thirteen feet per mile.

At the Mt. Garmel gap the river falls at the rate of twenty-four feet per mile, or twelve feet in half a mile, owing to the hard bottom of the trap rock. He gives the following as approximately the height of the terrace plain along Mill River, from Whitneyville northwards:

Above the Above Mean River. Tide Level. Whitneyville dam (by calculation)....................55 feet 55 feet 1.40 m. above, at the mouth of Pine Marsh Creek.......55 ' 72 2.25m. " at Augerville............................................50 86 4.00 m. " 1/2 m. south of Ives's station..............48 103 4.50 m. " Ives's station...........................41 108 5.25 m. South of Mt. Carmel 36" 115" From these iigures he makes the slope of the terrace plain np to the station, half a mile south of Ives's station, to be 12 feet per mile, or for the whole distance to Mt. Carmel an average of abont 11 feet per mile.*

We cannot fail to be impressed by the peculiar dnality of the chief topographical features at the sonth end of the town, originating, no doubt, from the two great trappean intrusions, East Rock on one side and West Rock on the other, of nearly equal altitude, and both presenting bluff faces to the south. Adjoining these bluffs we find subor-ordinate ones, or spurs. Mill Rock, stretching westward from East Rock into the Hamden Plain, and Pine Rock, stretching eastward into the same plain from West Rock.
*Memoir on Topographical features of the New Haven region; p. 95.

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Mill Rock is separated from East Rock by Mill River, and Pine Rock from West Rock by Wilmot Brook.

A broad river formerly flowed around the west end of Mill Rock. The ancient channel may be traced from Mill River through Pine swamp diagonally across to the Beaver pond valley and West River, by a line of depressions and terraced channels. The wearing action of the river drift, entirely different from that produced by a glacier, may be seen on the ledges at the west end of the Rock. The accumulation of gravelly and sandy alluvions along the broad and comparatively open valley no doubt caused the stream to forsake this outlet and confine itself to the narrower and more direct passage in the gap between Mill Rock and East Rock, where the greater velocity and average fall kept a channel clear. We have also to bear in mind in seeking an explanation that the volume of Mill River, as with others, is no longer as great as it formerly was.

The wonderfully fine views of land and water, of the busy city, and of the undulating hills and plains of Hamden which can be had from the slopes and top of East Rock, are now enjoyed daily by the public. The Farnam drive affords views which cannot be surpassed for variety and interest. Other elevations in the town are remarkable also

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for their attractiveness at all seasons, and the beauty of the landscape about them. With the inevitable increase of population and wealth in this town the day is not far distant when all these rock ridges will be prized for residences and pleasure resorts. Mt. Carmel and its adjoining ridges, known as the Blue Hills, are extremely inviting and picturesque, and before the end of another century, and perhaps long before, may become another great public park to give pleasure and health to thousands yet unborn.

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They touch him gently with those magic wands,
The genial sunlight and the summer rain;
And to their touches his huge form responds,
Yielding the rosy fruit and yellow grain.

How many days through all the long, bright summer,
I've sought his winding roads where daisies bloom;
Haunting his wooded sides a joyous comer,
And shouting wildly through his aisles of gloom.
Upon his southern sunny slopes are growing,
From trellised arbors, acres of the vine;
And in their tender stalks are juices flowing,
Ripening the berry for the fragrant wine.

He makes a home in many secret places
, For the shy partridge and the brooding quail;
Where steps of man have never left their traces,
Or keen-eyed pointers scented out their trail.

From many city streets, his distant outline,
Touches the vision with delicious thrill;
And longing fancies eagerly incline,
Your footsteps onward to his dreamy hill.

He lies there like a knight encased in armor,
And resting on the laurels he has won;
Or like some wandering and foot-weary palmer,
Sleeping serenly in the noonday sun.
As we approach him all his robe of azure,
Slowly dissolves and mingles with the air:
His drooping neck is but a wide embrasure,
In a deep wall of rocky ledges there.
Again we pass him silently and slowly,
Gazing with awe upon his massive head;
Which rises like some old cathedral holy,
And fills us with a feeling weird and dread.

In all his moods, and through the changing seasons
, In summer's rainfall, and in winter's snow;
I haunt his shades for many untold reasons,
Veiling the secret thoughts which come and go.

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The " red rock " of the Hamden hills, so familiar to most of the residents of the town as the underlying rock of their lands, is a portion of the new red sandstone formation of the Connecticut valley. This formation, known to geologists as the Trias, is later in origin than the coal formation, and older than the Cretaceous rocks. Its red color is due to the presence in its substance of a large amount of oxide of iron. This formation, consisting of stratified sandstones, shales and conglomerates, though originally laid down under water in horizonal layers has since been disturbed, uplifted and broken, while through the rifts and rents igneous, melted, trap rock flowed upwards and outwards. This rock filled the cavities, and formed thick bunches and masses between the layers of the sandstone formation, and comparatively thin and nearly vertical sheets, called dikes,' where the rents were transverse to the bedding of the sandstones. These trap intrusions form the well known range of hills on the west side of the town, terminating in West Rock; the comparatively isolated bluffs of East Rock, Mill Rock and Pine Rock at the south end of the town, and the Blue Hills, or Mt. Carmel range, at the north.

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Similar effects may be seen in the bluffs along the contact on top of the rock and at the west end, and also at Pine Rock, and at Mt. Carmel. The sandstone and red shales are changed in color from red to grey, and they have at the same time received a change of structure, becoming laminated in planes parallel with the walls of the trap dike, and at right angles to the planes of stratification.

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The farmers of HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE. Hamden are familiar with this bowlder formation, and would be grateful for fewer opportunities of studying its peculiarities. Every time a field on the hills is broken up by the plough a new crop of bowlders is brought to the surface and must be removed. They have been utilized, as far as possible, for stone walls and buildings, but are much more abundant than useful. They are the chips and fragments left by the great glacial plough, and, as might be expected, vary in their nature and abundance in different localities; on some of the ridges trap rock is the prevailing material, and on others there is an equal or greater amount of hard red sandstone, of even grain, suitable for building purposes. Such rock is abundant on the Cherry Hill ridge, while on Mill Rock it is rare, most of the bowlders consisting of trap rock.

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specimens, the many abraded sides better, generally, than the softer and more easily decomposed trap rock. Quartz, also, from its extreme brittleness, more frequently exhibits fracturing, due to movement along the floor under great pressure

This ground moraine accumulation differs greatly from the water-worn and transported drift of torrents and river beds. The bowlders are not rounded by rolling, they are shaped by rectilinear abrasion while firmly held in the plastic ice, as the glazier's diamond is held in its metallic bed.

The conditions of the rocky floor of this red sandstone valley were peculiarly favorable to the abundant supply of material for ground moraine. The comparatively soft shales and sandstones of the Trias offered little resistance to abrasion. Some of the included beds of conglomerate, holding ancient bowlders of a peculiarly tough and hard quartz, must have supplied a large amount of abrading material, while the trap dikes, at intervals, supplied great blocks of rock, as the softer sandstones were cut away from under and around them. The heavy bedded intrusions of trap, such as those of Mt. Carmel, the Meriden Hills and East and West Rocks, with their columnar structure perpendicular to the bedding, were in the most favorable positions for being broken down, piece by piece, as the massive glacier pressed forward over their summits.

The general rounded contour of the sky-lines of the Blue Hills and Mt. Carmel are due to the abrading, rounding action of ice and rocks in the glacial period. The summit of the mountain shows glaciation distinctly. Broad exposed surfaces of rock are seen to be smoothed down and abraded just as upon East Rock and other bosses of trap rock. Glaciation is also found upon any hard and durable beds of sandstone, not only at Mt. Carmel, but in other parts of the town, especially where by the intrusion of trap the rock has been indurated. Fine examples are found upon Mill Rock.

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Besides the ground moraine the glacier transported huge blocks of rock weighing, in some cases, 1,000 tons or more, and left them stranded on the hills many miles from their source. A mass of trap rock of this origin rests upon the sandstone on the farm of Mr. Davis, north, of East Rock, others are found on the Cherry Hill ridge, and in various parts of the town. The great blocks of trap forming the Judge's cave, had a similar origin probably, having been transported, according to Professor Dana, from the Hanging Hills of Meriden, sixteen miles distant, or from some point in the Mt. Tom range, farther north.* They were probably in one block. It must have been carried across the intermediate valleys, and stranded at the height of 365 feet. It is now broken, but must have weighed, when entire, at least 1,000 tons.

The level formation of Hamden plain is attributed, by Professor Dana, to the action of floods proceeding from the melting glaciers. The whole formation presents conclusive evidence of great floods of water. A line of depressions, many of them basin-shaped, indicating a river channel, extends from Mill River across to Beaver ponds and West River. Pot-holes on the borders of Mill River, excavated by flowing water, give evidence of great currents at high levels.

* American Journal of Science, in, xxvr, 347.

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There is a fine example of a pot-hole, or "giant's kettle," in the hardened sandstone just above the dam at Whitneyville, on the south side of the main road and near Day's store. It is about four feet in diameter and ten feet deep. Others were found in excavating for the roadway, and are now filled up.

Pipe-clay, of light color, and great tenacity, is found in the deep valley of Wilmot Brook, between the West Rock range and the southern end of Cherry Hill ridge. This clay was extensively dug, some forty years ago, and moulded into brick at several yards along the valley. The clay differs greatly from the red clay of the Quinnipiac meadows, on the eastern border of the town, being stiffer to work, more plastic and less sandy. The boggy meadows in other parts of the town are believed to be underlaid by deposits of clay.

The borders of the Quinnipiac river are formed of deep deposits of fine, sandy alluvions, excellent for making brick. These deposits are stratified in thin layers, and appear to have been derived from the disintegration of the finer red shales of the red sandstone formation. The deposits have been extensively utilized for the manufacture of brick.

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1. The gravelly loam of the hills, composed largely of the glacial drift, mixed in part with the materials from the decomposing sandstone beds, the clays and shales of the red sandstone formation. These are, in general, fertile, retentive of moisture and of fertilizers, without being stiff or cold.

2. The light, sandy and gravelly soils of the plains, comparatively free of clay; porous, dry, and requiring frequent enrichment.

3. The stiff, wet clay soils of the swampy meadows and lowlands; better for grass and for grazing than for crops.

4. The dark-colored soils of the trap rock ridges away from the drift deposits, consisting mostly of leaf mould, mostly humus, rich brown and nearly black in color, apparently derived from the slow decay of accumulations of leaves mixed with the fine earthy materials, proceeding from the weathering of the trap rock.

Native copper has been occasionally found in the drift gravel deposits of the hills of the town. A mass of copper, so found, is now preserved in the mineralogical cabinet of Yale University-Peabody Museum. A specimen from the vicinity of East Rock was presented to the Yale cabinet several years ago, by Mr. Eli Whitney Blake.

In Dr. Dwight's Statistical Account of New Haven, written in 1811, we find the statement, "copper is still known to exist in various places in the Hamden Hills, and attempts have been repeatedly made to sink shafts for the

70

purpose of obtaining the copper, but the business has never been prosecuted to effect." * * * *

Mrs. Doolittle relates that her father, Mr. Josiah. Todd, of North Haven, when gathering fruit on the Hamden Hills, discovered a mass of native copper, weighing about 90 pounds, which he obtained and preserved. It was lying on the surface of a fiat rock, at some places adhering to it, and even running into its crevices. He, with several other persons, afterwards sought for more, but as they, by their own confession, had superstitious fears respecting it, they probably did not make a very minute investigation, and no more was found. This mass passed through several hands, and was finally obtained by the son-in-law of the discoverer, a coppersmith, who considered it as very free from alloy, and used it in the course of his business. Unfortunately no part of this interesting natural production can now be obtained, nor is the precise place of its discovery known.

Recently Mr. J. H. Dickerman, who resides on the south of Mt. Carmel, in making a road up to the summit found a thin seam or vein of native copper in the trap rock. A few blasts threw out some small pieces of copper, from one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch thick, and two or three inches long. It is a tight seam, without vein-stone, and it is not sufficiently promising in its appearance to justify following it by mining. Such seams were probably the source of the masses found in the drift of the hills to the southward; the metal being broken out and transported by ice. Mr. Dickerman finds several excavations or pits at different places on the mountains, which were sunk, no doubt, in search of copper, and there are traditions that considerable copper has been taken from the mountain, and that it was coined into cents at the old New Haven mint. On Ridge Hill, just north of Mt. Carmel, there is a shaft and a tunnel, excavated in search of copper, by Mr. Charles Munson, of New Haven. According to Mr. A. W. Ailing, of the Sheffield laboratory, some of the specimens of native copper obtained by Mr. Dickerman contain native silver in grains visible to the eye.

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The Blue Hills (as Mt. Carmel was familiarly known until a recent date,) looming up, the highest land seen from the seacoast, must early have attracted the attention of seekers for treasure, and while little authentic history remains to tell by whom, or when, the first mines were opened, the excavations still show that work was done; where veins containing pure native copper, with a mixture of silver, were found. Yet tradition fails to tell who were the first workers.

The name of David Tallman is remembered by our ancestors about three generations earlier than the one present living, and it is known that he mined on what is called Ridge Hill, rising in the extreme north part of Hamden, east, and in close proximity to Mill River. It is also affirmed that he obtained considerable wealth from the Blue Hills, where excavations still show that much labor was expended. Wha