The Influence American Indian Pathways had on Connecticut Transportation Systems & Settlements.

The Influence American Indian Pathways had on

Connecticut Transportation Systems &

Settlements

How this all got started…

• “For many years before Connecticut was settled, there was a traveled way leading up from the shores of the sound east of the Norwalk River. Passing through Georgetown then heading due North to the land of Pah-quio-que (Danbury) the dwelling place of the southern tribe of the Schaticoke Indians…”

~Wilbur F. Thompson, April 1919 “The Old Indian Trail”

How this all got started…Looking deeper

• “The first Connecticut highway was, so far as we know, the Indian Trail…”

~Lewis E. Stanton, “History of Highways in Connecticut”

• “While the water courses may be aptly termed the primary Indian Highways in New England, there were also many economically important overland trails throughout the area.”

~Leaman F. Hallett, “Indian Trails and Their Importance to Early Colonists”

And these are only the main foot paths!!

Indian Foot Paths• Laid & developed through ages of Indian use

with an eye to the easiest & quickest topographical [route], many of these ancient Indian foot paths were [later] adopted and enlarged into the bridle paths [by] the early pioneers, and eventually [became] the modern highways of today. ~Leaman F. Hallett, “Indian Trails and Their Importance to Early Colonists

Indian Foot Paths• Seasonal rotations from planting grounds to

fishing & hunting grounds were made over these paths … with inter-tribal communication along the way. Ordinarily there were two main paths running perpendicular to each other: North-South, East-West, quartering each tract.

~Leaman F. Hallett, “Indian Trails and Their Importance to Early Colonists

East-West Path

Albany Turnpike

Routes 6, 317, 67

North-South PathRoutes 7, 202, 126

North-South PathRoute 5

East-West PathRoutes 112, 182, 183, 20, 219, 190

Access to our State…Englishmen of Boston

Asked to Travel to Connecticut via Indian

Pathways

Paths to Connecticut• On April 4, 1631, John Winthrop, Jr. recorded

in his Journal that “Wahginnacut, a Podunk Sachem on the River Quonehtacut…came to Boston with John Sagamore and Jack Straw (his interpreter) and said he was very desirous to have some Englishmen come plant (settle) in his country…which is not above 5 days journey from us by land.”

~Winthrop Journal, I: 223

Roger Ludlow Settles the CT River Valley

• In 1633 trader John Oldham & three companions traveled to CT and came home to MA with a positive report:

“The Sachem used them kindly…they traded for beaver, hemp and black lead (graphite)…they lodged in Indian towns the whole way.”

• This report followed by a treaty offer from the Pequots led Roger Ludlow overland to present day Greater Hartford Area in June of 1635 with his Dorchester Association members. Ludlow followed the Connecticut path of the Indians, now Routes 44, 197, 198.

Ludlow’s Route

Hartford

Springfield, MA

Routes 44, 197, 198

Route 44

I-84

Hartford

Springfield, MA

Route 5

Indian Paths become modern highways

Route 190

Route 140Route 198

Route 197

384

Route 6

Route 2

Pequot War Results in Coastal Settlements

Pequot War opens Coastal Settlements

• In 1636 trader John Oldham was killed on Block Island. To avenge his death the Bay Colony set out to attack the Narragansetts for the murder and the Pequots for their lands. The Pequots had nothing to do with the murder.

• By this time there were two settlement areas in CT, Hartford & Saybrook. In response to the Bay Colony’s attack, the Pequots attacked Saybrook & Wethersfield, killing settlers in Wethersfield. Thus began the Pequot War.

Saybrook

Wethersfield

Pequot retaliation starts a war

Pequot War opens Coastal Settlements

• Ludlow declared an “offensive war” on the Pequots & with the help of Uncas’ Mohegans and soldiers from Massachusetts Bay they chased the Pequots all over CT, until they finally cornered them in a swamp at modern day Southport where it all ended horribly for the Pequot tribe.

16391639

1639

1650

1641

1640

Coastal SettlementsQuickly follow the Pequot War1649

*Roger Ludlow purchased land in Saugatuck &Norwalk (1640) but it wasn’t settled until later.

Indians PushedInland as SettlersTake Over Their Coastal Villages

Land Sales… Oversight or Misunderstanding?

• European settlers continually ignored important text in the Indian‘s portion of the deeds:

• "Reserving in the whole of the same, liberty for myself and my heirs to hunt, fish, and fowl upon the land and in the waters, and further reserving for myself, my children, and grand children…the use of so much land by my present dwelling house or wigwam as the General Assembly of the Colony … shall judge necessary for my or their personal improvement...”

Different Viewpoints

• Indians did not understand land ownership the way the English and their future generations viewed it: in their culture, no tribe nor Indian had exclusive, permanent rights to specific parcels of land, "different groups of people could have different claims on the same tract of land depending on how they used it." By ignoring the Indian’s provisions within the land deeds, the settlers were exceeding the usage rights the Indians were granting them.

Different Viewpoints

• “What the Indians owned or had claim to- was not the land but the things that were on the land during various seasons of the year…In nothing is this more clear than in the names they attached to their landscape, the great bulk of which related to usage not possession.”

~William Cronon, Changes in the Land

Meanings of Indian Names• Pok-a-no-ket: “at or near the cleared lands.”• A-bess-ah: “clam bake place”• Mitt-in-eag: “abandoned fields”• Eack-honk: “the end of the fishing place”• Simpaug: “beaver pond”• Aspetuck: “at the high place.”• Ousatonic: “land beyond the mountains”• Waramaug: “good fishing place”• Pequonnock: “a small plantation”• Mash-an-tucket: “in the little place of much wood”

Oyster Shell Pile!

You can see why coastal tribes would not want to leave their lands!!

American Indian Pathways & Early Access to the Interior Lands

Early Interior Settlement

• Derby is settled in 1651. Indian Trails and a Ford where the Naugatuck meets the Housatonic.

• Woodbury is settled in 1672. Indian Trails lead these coastal settlers to the interior.

• Settlers make their way from Norwalk to Danbury in 1684 to establish a town. Indian Trails lead these coastal settlers to the interior.

From 1639 to 1651 there are no English settlementsin the Western interior of Connecticut…at least that I am aware of…That changes once Derby, Woodbury & Danbury are settled.

1672

1684

Indian trails used in all these migrations

1651

Why Indian Paths were important

Indian Guides Were Essential

• In finding their way inland, settlers needed Indian guides to find where the Indian paths were and where they went.

One writer noted: “they (the English) sadly search up and down for a known way, the Indian paths not being above a one foot road. So that a man may travel many days and never find one.”

The use of guides would continue into the 1800’s. i.e. Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Waterways = EarlyIndian North/SouthTrails.

Derby

Naugatuck R. meets Housatonic RFording place.

34

Ford

From these Pathways Begins the Progression of

our Transportation Systems

The simplest early roads were described as “paths cut out” i.e. brush was cut out along the Indian pathways and trees were marked with an ax…

Later these paths were made “passable for horses” by cutting tree limbs high enough to permit the

passage of a horse and rider. For many years this was the method of travel throughout our state. Pack

horses became common and goods were often transported by packhorse trains…

The next progression, which proves to be an important one, was the widening of bridle paths to

accommodate Ox Carts. Oxen were strong and capable of travel over terrain that would be

impassable for a horse-drawn cart…

Packhorse lobbyists protested heavily, claiming the construction of wider roads was a waste of

taxpayers’ money but they lost and as a direct result of these new Ox Cart paths, inland settlements in our

State increased quickly.

Ox Carts headed to a Ferry…no bridges back then!

This Assembly doth free the town of Danbury from paying country rates this present year (1702), They paying their deputies salary and all other Public charges amongst themselves, and they making a sufficient cart-way from their town and through their bounds and the country lands, for transportation of what they raise to the sea (i.e. the ports of Fairfield and Norwalk).

Ox Cart Paths Improve Travel & Access to the Interior Lands

Danbury Newtown

Ridgefield

Brookfield

New Milford

Redding

Woodbury

Southbury

Waterbury

Naugatuck

Seymour

Derby

Ansonia

Bethel

Pioneer Settlement

Settlements resulting from success of & improvements by pioneer towns

American Indian Pathways

as Post Roads

Colonial Postal Route

• Indian Paths played a major role in the establishment of the postal system in this country. The first colonial postal route was started by a single rider, in the winter of 1673, who rode between New York and Boston with a horse change in Hartford, his route traveled was over the old Indian trails between these points. Travel time? 3 weeks!

Colonial Postal Route

• The three major alignments of this “The Boston Post Road” were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. Route 1 along the shore and through Providence, Rhode Island), the Upper Post Road (now US 5 and US 20 from New Haven, Connecticut via Springfield, Massachusetts), and the Middle Post Road (now Route 44 which split from Hartford, Connecticut, and ran diagonally to Boston via Pomfret, Connecticut).

Lower Post Road Route 1

Route 44

Route 5

Upper Post Road

Middle Post Road

The Early Postal System

• In 1692 an attempt was made to establish postal service to Virginia which failed.

• By 1717 mail was being carried from Boston to Virginia. Travel time? One month in Summer; Two months in Winter.

• Philadelphia was added in 1720, receiving mail from New York once a week.

• 1754- Benjamin Franklin named Colonial Postmaster. Reduces trip from New York to Philly from 3 days to a day and a half.

The Early Postal System

• By 1765 the postal system of the colonies had grown from a single post rider to about 60 post offices, almost all of which were on the coasts or not more than 60 miles inland.

• Ben Franklin stated: "...The posts only go along the sea coasts; they do not, except in a few instances, go back into the country..."

Colonial Postal Route

• Franklin likely noted this because Inland roads in the colonial period were poor, as colonists did not have modern conveniences such as bulldozers and excavators to clear pathways for their travels. Trees and bushes were cut back with hand-tools and oxen teams were harnessed to remove stumps and boulders in order to widen the existing footpaths.

Colonial Postal Route

• Once mail reached a point on the "coastal" Post Road close to its destination, it would be sent inland via post rider, or it would wait for someone who was traveling in the direction of the addressee to pick it up and carry it the rest of the way inland.

Inland Post Roads

The Post Rider• The Post Rider was a man of importance in our

rural communities, delivering the weekly newspaper and some letters. He traveled on horseback, with his saddle bags filled and often accompanied by one or two pack horses. He acted as a middleman between local farmers and city dealers, taking the smaller products of the farms - butter, cheese, honey, beeswax, woolens, yarn, flax, etc., to the larger towns - selling them, and bringing back dyestuffs, calicos, needles, pins and other articles used in the rural homes of that day.

The Post Rider• Postmasters and post riders were exempt from

military duties so as not to interrupt service. These post-riders were allowed the exclusive privilege of carrying letters, papers and packages on their respective routes, and any person who infringed upon their rights was subject to a fine.

So in addition to their $100 a year salary, many Post Riders operated side-businesses along their “exclusive routes.”

Many of these Post Roads were used during the American Revolution

Albany Turnpike

To B

osto

n

Hartford

New Haven New London

To Providence

Post Road

After the Revolution Turnpikes ReplaceExisting Cart Paths

& Horse Paths

Apparently Our Roads Were in Need of Some Improvement…

In 1760, citizens of Hartford petitioned the Assembly to raise 6000 pounds to repair Main Street because it was the “worst road in the Colony”

Speaking of Hartford roads, Prof. Alexander Johnson noted: “…the roads of Hartford and its neighborhood had a certain evil preeminence.” A Good number of wagons had been sunk to the hub in the native clay of Pearl Street.

Apparently Our Roads Were in Need of Some Improvement…

Dr. Samuel Holton in June, 1778, went from Boston to Philadelphia. The only route he describes as “very good,” was the one from Springfield to Hartford. From Hartford to Litchfield the roads were “very bad,” while the roads from Litchfield to the New York Line were the “worst he had ever seen!”

Count Chastellux who went through Connecticut in 1780 remarked that in going from Canaan to Norfolk “you mount for 4 or 5 miles continually bounding from one large stone to another, which cross the road & give it a resemblance of stairs.”

Some Indian Paths just Some Indian Paths just weren’t made for Turnpikesweren’t made for Turnpikes

The Turnpikes

• Turnpikes came into Connecticut in the 18th and 19th centuries. During this period a large number of turnpike companies were being chartered by the General Assembly in towns and cities throughout Connecticut.

The turnpikes were very superior to the old cart paths, generally having straighter alignments, lesser grades, bridges instead of fords, and graveled surfaces.

The Turnpikes

• Most turnpikes were two-way thorough-fares, about twenty-four feet wide and relatively straight. In New England, in order to avoid muddiness and road erosion, drainage was provided by giving the road a convex surface to shed the water. Connecticut companies tended to spend less money for turnpikes than those in states such as Massachusetts, since many turnpike corporations simply improved existing public roads and therefore avoided heavy expenditures for rights of way.

Early Turnpikes of Connecticut

• One of the first highways to come into general use was known as the “high road to Albany”, this ran from Hartford to Farmington, Harwinton, Litchfield, Goshen, Cornwall, Canaan, Salisbury and on into New York.

Another East-West route ran from Waterbury, Woodbury, through New Milford and on into New York.

These highways pushed Connecticut products to the Hudson River and diminished trade within our State.

Derby Becomes Seaport • To keep trade local- a cart part was built in 1761 from

Canaan to Derby and a petition was issued to make the Housatonic navigable for two-ton loads.

As a result, Derby developed into an important seaport for most of Western Connecticut. In the trade expansion following the Revolution, it was common to see a string of wagons loaded with country produce, waiting hours for their turn at the docks to reach worldwide markets.

For Example: The Derby Fishing Co. was carrying on an extensive commerce with the north shore of the Mediterranean.

N.H. Turnpike Hurts Derby

• In 1798 a turnpike to New Haven was promoted by local business men to improve this trade route, however…instead of helping Derby it diverted many suppliers to New Haven’s harbor, which was larger.

A second Turnpike from Bridgeport to Newtown in 1801 cut off trade goods that had been coming down from the towns above Derby on the Housatonic River.

Early Turnpikes of Connecticut

• To touch on some other Turnpikes of interest…

Running North-South was the Hartford & New Haven Turnpike running down though Farmington, Southington, Cheshire. Hamden and on into New Haven. James Hillhouse directed the building of this road and later was the superintendent of the Farmington Canal project.

Early Turnpikes of Connecticut

• Other Turnpikes of interest…

Running North-South, The Waterbury River Turnpike was chartered in 1801-02. It ran from Naugatuck to Waterbury, then north through- Thomaston, Torrington, Winchester, West Windsor, Colebrook and then crossed the border to connect to the Massachusetts 15th Turnpike

Stage Coaches

• With the *improvement of roads, stage coaches appear in the early 1800s.

Advertisement by the New Post-Coach Line Dispatch:

“6 hours from Hartford to New Haven, leave Hartford at 11am and arrive in New Haven at 5pm.”

…and you thought your commute was bad!

Stage Coaches

• *Road Improvement wasn’t always a given…

“In some of these ancient roads the passenger was jolted and distressed going down hill as well as up. In one case an occupant of the Stage Coach called out to the driver- ‘Are you going down any further? For if you are…I must get out, for I do want to remain on this earth a little longer.’

No Fear here!

1

2

3Stacked three levels high

Taverns & Postmasters

•Taverns were often Post Offices. Why? Stagecoaches were used to carry mail because they stopped regularly at Taverns, which in the time period were the social center of most communities.

In 1845, Congress abandoned its preference for stagecoaches in an effort to reduce mail transportation costs, opting to use the railroad.

12 MS (Miles) to NW (Norwalk) 1786 On South Street in Danbury, there is a milestone bearing the

date of 1787, "67 miles to New York, 67 miles to Hartford"

Hartford Hartford to Poughkeepsieto Poughkeepsie

Stage Route MarkerStage Route Marker

Turnpikes & Milestones

• In the summer of 1763, Ben Franklin completed a five-month carriage tour to inspect post offices. On that tour, he utilized an odometer. The Institute News describing the action of his odometer noted: "When actuated from a carriage wheel having a circumference of thirteen and one-fifth feet, a mile was registered in each four hundred revolutions. If wired to the top of the front axle at the right hand side it was easily set in operation by a hub-type projection on a hub or spoke and the dials were readily visible to both driver and rider."

Many of these turnpikes doubled as freight roads too

Too Slow and Too Expensive

• Average freight costs in 1820 were about 15 cents a mile per ton, more than twice as much as water transportation. By 1825 more than half of the turnpike ventures in the country had been either partially or totally abandoned. A contributing factor to the failure of these internal overland routes was the emergence of the canal.

Canals…“a method of transportation superior to any previously

known.”~Charles R. Harte, Connecticut’s Canals

Efforts to Establish a Connecticut Canal System

Extending from Albany to Buffalo, the Erie Canal was completed on November 4, 1825 and soon became a great commercial success.

Before its completion the cost of shipping 1 ton of cargo between Buffalo & NYC ranged from $90 to $125. Within 10 years of the Erie Canal’s completion, the cost had dropped to $4 per ton.

Efforts to Establish a Connecticut Canal System

The wave of enthusiasm that followed the success of the Erie and other canals did not escape the entrepreneurs viewing the productivity & transportation needs of Connecticut. By the early 1820s a total of six (6) canals were proposed for Connecticut. Two (2) would be constructed and placed into service: The Farmington and Enfield Canals.

12

3

45

6

Connecticut’s Proposed Canal System

1. New York and Sharon Canal2. Ousatonic Canal3. Saugatuck & New Milford Canal4. Farmington Canal5. Enfield Canal6. Quinebaug Canal

The Farmington Canal

In the year 1822 the principal means of transportation between towns in New England was by highway, which was…dusty in the summer, covered in slick, wet leaves in the fall, buried under snow drifts in the winter, and come the spring thaw? It was mud to depths unknown!

Travel was slow and pricey too. After May 1st, leaving Hartford at 3 am you would arrive in Boston at 8pm. Fare? $6.50

The Farmington Canal

Planning for the Farmington Canal began in January of 1822 with a $1000 pledge from 17 interested towns to cover the expenses of a survey by Benjamin Wright, the Chief Engineer of the Erie Canal and leading American authority on canal construction.

Charters were issued to The Farmington Canal Company in 1822 and The Hampshire and Hampden Canal Company in 1823. The canal was to go from tidewater at New Haven through Farmington to the Massachusetts boundary at Southwick, with a side cut northwest via the Farmington R. through New Hartford and Colebrook.

The Farmington Canal

July 4th, 1825 a ground breaking ceremony took place in Granby, Connecticut. It is estimated that between two and three thousand people witnessed the removal of the first shovelful of dirt.

“Fellow Citizens and Friends: The noble enterprise of uniting the Valley of Connecticut with the city of New Haven by a navigable canal is this day to be commenced!”

~ from Gov. Wolcott’s address

‘Farmington Canal’ ‘For Southwick and Memphremagog’

The Farmington Canal

Two years later, the little hole started by Governor Wolcott had deepened into a ditch 36 wide from the Massachusetts line to the waters of the Sound. The heaviest machine that had been used was a horse scoop no bigger than the one any farmer kept in his barn. The tools were picks, shovels and wheelbarrows.

Anticipation ran high…Taverns were built along the banks and land was marketed for sale as being “close to the canal.” Industries grew beside the canal even before it held water.

The Farmington Canal

On November 24, 1827, water was let into the so-called Cheshire Summit level to great celebration. From what is now West Cheshire, three boats went up a short distance.

“I have recollection of incidents in Cheshire…I was there. It was about 1827 and I was 6 years old. It was the Fourth of July, at the Canal assembled a crowd of people estimated by myself at the time at one million. I think my estimate was too large…It was a time when almost every man drank a little and on that day several respectable men of Cheshire walked unsteadily…”~noted by Ms. Horace Hitchcock for Cheshire Historical Society

Delays, Delays, Delays

It wasn’t until July 29, 1835 the Canal opened the full length from New Haven to Northhampton. The first boats in use on the canal were designed for carrying freight and were of not more than 25 tons; but by 1838 passenger boats had made their way to the canal, among these were the Gold Hunter, the Paragon and the Sachem.

A trip over the full length of the canal took 24-hours and cost $3.75 (meals included). These boats were boldly painted and towed by teams of big gray horses.

Impressive Numbers!

Four million pounds of merchandise were shipped every month from New Haven, through Hamden, Cheshire, Southington, Bristol, Farmington, Simsbury, and Granby, bound for Northampton, Massachusetts, on the Farmington Canal. At three every afternoon, packet boats left the Elm City docks in New Haven, making the trip to Northampton in the unheard-of time of twenty-four hours.

The age of canals had arrived in Connecticut.

Water Issues, Debt and the Railroad

From 1835 to 1847 the canal suffered extraordinary damages from flooding. Repairs were constant and debt ran high. 1845 looked to be the year they turned the corner but it turned out to be their most disastrous as a drought interrupted service from mid-July to late September.

The Company turned its attention to the practicability of building a railroad.

After 1847, the Farmington Canal was never operated through its total length again.

Shelton Railroad and Canal

Railroads ReplaceTurnpikes/Stage Routes

and Canals

Housatonic RR completed 1841

Originally chartered as the "Ousatonic" Railroad in 1836, the charter allowed the company to build either north towards Massachusetts, or west towards New York City.

The Housatonic Railroad began construction in 1837, the task was to convert miles of rugged landscape along the Housatonic River into an iron trail that could not exceed a 1% grade…via human labor. There was not any specialized equipment, hardy souls and hand tools would be the only tools employed in the railroad's construction.

Housatonic RR completed 1841

By February 1840 rails stretched from Bridgeport, CT to New Milford, CT. In December of 1841, rails reached to Canaan, CT. Ten years later, the railroad had reached into Massachusetts and had forged links with the Western Railroad of Massachusetts.

Major freight commodities on the Housatonic in this period were lime & limestone, marble, iron railcar wheels, coal, tobacco and tools, as well as many agricultural products. And it carried another very important product -- milk…the Housatonic RR was the very first run a scheduled milk train.

Early Indian Trailslater usedas “Iron Trails” a.k.a Railroads

Housatonic RR

New Milford

Housatonic Railroad

Falls Village

Canaan

Kent

Cornwall

West Cornwall

Danbury to Norwalk RR completed 1852

The Danbury to Norwalk Railroad began construction in the autumn months of 1850, the task was to convert 23 miles of rugged landscape along the Norwalk River into an iron trail that could not exceed a 1% grade…via human labor. Again, there was not any specialized equipment (not even black powder!), hardy souls and hand tools would be the only tools employed in the railroad's construction.

Early Indian Trailslater usedas “Iron Trails” a.k.a Railroads

Railroadfollows Indian Trail

Danbury to NorwalkDanbury to NorwalkRailroadRailroad

1850s Map

Railroad Workers Pay- 1851

Name Days Wages Board Take-Home Pay

John McCauliff 21.75 $21.75 $0.00 $21.75

Thomas Corcey 19.75 $14.81 $8.70 $6.11

Timothy Sullivan 19.25 $14.44 $10.00 $4.44

Andrew Sullivan 22.00 $16.50 $10.00 $6.50

John Brody 9.75 $6.17 $7.50 -$1.58

Why many workers looked for other work afterRailroad was completed

1856 Map

Stage Coach looks for newoptions of which thereare few

Railroad

Post Office moves to RRTurnpike

Impact

Stage Coach line moves over to Branchville & Ridgefield

RR’s 1893

Competition

Wilson Point on Long Island Sound

A 1882 Addition to Danbury/Norwalk Railroad. This leads to profitable

agreements with other RR’s & is a great benefit to businesses on the Danbury/Norwalk line.

Ice, Eggs/ Milk, Wire, Granite, Feldspar, Quartz all products that can now reach NYC ports quickly

Shipped TrainsTo Long Island

Crosses Long Island Sound by Steamship avoiding rail traffic on the NY/NH line

Commodities came into Connecticut via the Railroad too

Pounds Commodity & Destination

1880 Groceries- Litchfield1881 Salt and Cod- Redding200 Tea- Derby1050 Soap and Starch- Ansonia4800 Tobacco- Danbury900 Rags- New Haven1800 Eggs- Bridgeport

In addition to products, immigrants found their wayto Connecticut via the railways.

Routes 112, 126, 63

Routes 41, 7, 202, 35

Route 25Route 1

Route 15

I-395

Route 2

I-84

384 Route 44 & 198

Route 6

Route 32

Route 5

Routes 67, 317, 6

Routes 7, 33, andRR Line

Route 5

Routes 119, 34, 25,and RR Line

What is amazing is that Indian Pathplayed a major role in all these transportation systems

Canal

The Progression…

From PathwaysFrom Pathways

To Bridle Paths

To Cart Paths

Turnpikes

Modern Highways

And Railways

The Influence American Indians had on

Connecticutis Extensive & Deserves

Recognition

It has been my pleasureto share this with you today. Thank you all

for coming.