By Dan Shine
Voice Columnist
The Hubbard Farm
Part I
Prequel
As tradition has it, the people called Quinnipiac arrived in the Long Island Sound region about 10,000 years ago, during the closing years of the last Ice Age. At that time, the glaciers were receding, and Connecticut as we know it was quite a different place: on its south shore was an enormous freshwater lake, bounded on the other side by what is today Long Island. At the eastern end of the lake was a giant, thundering waterfall, one hundred miles long and three hundred times greater than Niagara Falls. The lake was fed by the massive ice-melt along the Connecticut River, and it was along this river valley that the settlers initially chose to live.
By about 5000 years ago, the Quinnipiacs had learned to fell trees and fashion dugout canoes from them. The tree trunks were hollowed out by the use of fire, followed by the removal of charred wood, using the scraping action of seashells. These dugouts became the primary means of transportation for the Quinnipiacs; some of them were large enough that they could hold up to twenty men.
Now, they were no longer confined to the land. They took to the waters of the Quinnipiac River and Long Island Sound, and fished with the new implements that they had devised–nets, spears, hooks and traps. They crafted stone pots and bowls, which were set into their campfires as cookware.
Finally, the Quinnipiac Indians became farmers and cultivated the sunny hillsides, there to grow a variety of crops for their consumption. Their summer camps and plantations were set along the shore, and they wintered inland, away from the powerful winter winds that blew in from offshore.
Early maps of West Farms indicate that there were three settlements of Quinnipiacs in that area: one at present-day Ames Point, one near Bradley Point, and one at “Wigwam Neck” on Old Field Creek near present day Morse Park. It is easy to surmise that these were all fishing and farming camps. In very recent times, an archaeological excavation has revealed numerous artifacts along the Cove River. This particular site is believed to have been used as a Quinnipiac settlement site, and was very likely used for the preservation of meat for winter use, and the processing of hides for clothing and shelter.
When the first European settlers arrived at their “New Haven” in 1638, The Quinnipiacs befriended them and taught them their techniques for planting crops in the soil and climate of their new home. Early crops included corn, beans, pumpkins and squashes. As the years passed, the settlement of West Farms (the original name for West Haven) by the white settlers would grow and expand.
By the 1690s, West Farms was home to about one hundred families. Simple roads had been cut through the wooded hills of what we now call the West Shore. These roads were named Platt Avenue, Benham Hill Road, and King’s Highway (now called Jones Hill Road). Initially, the lands along Jones Hill Road were held as commons for pasturage and forage.
In Colonial New England, land grants were typically given to groups (towns) by colonial governments, with conditions outlined, like settling families and clearing land, and then distributed by town proprietors to individuals (freemen) who had met residency, community contributions, and sometimes financial obligations, ensuring settlement and development but often limiting new arrivals once towns were “closed.” Vast tracts of the land to be distributed, were first “purchased” from Indians residing on that land, using the barter system.
As time passed, and interest in farming increased, further land grants were sought. The Third Allotment of land grants divided the land lying between the Cove River and Oyster River, with special consideration and acreage granted to prospective owners in proportion to their participation and length of service in King Philips War (1675-1678). The average farm size at that time was 20 acres. Common sources of farming sustenance and income were beef, pork, mutton and lumber. Enhanced income was sought by the growth of sorghum, hemp, tobacco and flax.
And here begins our story-
To be continued.
Ed Note: Thanks to Steve and Debbie Johnstone for their efforts in making this story possible.
In Allingtown, there were Indian artifacts that we used to dig up on Marginal drive where the West River flowed. I always assumed the tribe was the Quinnipiac’s but a friend of mine mother’s side was Paugussett’s did research on his tribe’s history. He said it looks like the Paugussett’s camped on the West Haven side of the West River while the Quinnipiac’s camped on the New Haven side. It looks like both tribes traded & cooperated with each other before the Europeans arrived. Whether this really happened or not we will never know. The only thing we know is a tribe camped on the West River in Allingtown.