Wolcott History – New Learnings

As I read through the Wolcott chapter in the History of New Haven County, I have been particularly looking for things that I have not blogged on before. The biographical sketches and the list of Revolutionary War soldiers were two such items. Many of the other things like bodies of water, population trends, town clerks and selectmen I have already written about from other sources. But there were a few other new things that caught my eye.

Southington Mountain

The eastern end of town runs along the escarpment that drops off into the town of Southington and there are no roads in this area. But that did not used to be the case. I have noted earlier about the abandoned road that ran north-to-south in this area (http://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2015/08/wolcott-history-old-maps-and-abandoned.html). And I have also talked about the old South East Burying Ground near the Southington reservoir (http://ramblinrussells.blogspot.com/2015/07/wolcott-history-south-east-burying.html). But this history of New Haven county dates from 1892 and gives a different perspective.

After going through the chronology of the town’s population decline from a high of around 950 people in the early 1800s to a low of less than 500 in 1870 they state the following: “it is claimed that even in 1890, when the population had again increased to 522, there were more ruins of houses in the town than residences. On Southington mountain particularly, where were once many good farms, not a single one remains. All the land has been allowed to return to its primeval condition.” Since this was written 125 years ago, it is no wonder that one can no longer walk any roads or find any homes in this area.

Town Green

We tend to think of the town green in the state in which it currently exists, with the town hall, the congregational church, the old Center School, and a few stately old homes. But this was not always the case. In this history, the following is noted:

On the eastern part of it a whipping post was set some time about the beginning of the present century. It appears to have been last used in 1817, when Levi Parker, as the constable, inflicted punishment upon two men charged with stealing a cow. The
town had also provided some "stocks," for fastening the feet of evil-doers. They were kept in the meeting house shed, "but no one remembers to have heard of any use to which they were put, except to look at."

The center of town was also a place of business. Besides the above, there was a store, a post office, a public hall and several taverns. It was noted: “There were also several taverns. The first public house was that of Samuel Byington, on the west side of the green, where he also carried on his trade as a wheelwright. After 1800 Joseph Twitchell was the landlord. Colonel Moses Pond was a well-known tavern keeper at the Center, and the public were also entertained by Pittman Stowe and Daniel Alcox.” So, the next time you visit the town green, close your eyes and imagine the activity going on back then.

Post Office

When I was growing up, mail in the northern section of town was supplied through a rural delivery route from Bristol (RFD#2 Bristol), and the southern section of town was similarly supplied by mail from Waterbury. I remember the fanfare when Wolcott got its own post office and the building at the corner of Rt. 69 and Beach Road was opened.

But Wolcott had a post office of its own in the past as well, and it was located in the center of town. Mail was delivered once per week (supply from Waterbury). By the writing of this history of New Haven county in 1892, there were three mails per week. Here are a list of the various postmasters during that first 100 years:

·         Adney Whiting

·         Lucius Tuttle

·         Jason Hotchkiss

·         Isaac Hough (1840)

·         William Welton (1850)

·         Erastus W. Warner

·         Charles H. Carter (1886)

·         William H. French