Category: 17th Century

These Old Houses of Connecticut

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"The charm of these old houses lies in their intimate association with the history and growth of the colony, for they show a logical reason for their existence in that they were in accord with the needs and conditions of the times and answered the twofold purpose of clearing the forests and using the lumber to meet the demands of the settlers. Many of the old houses are gone and others are fast falling into decay, for the wooden buildings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries lack the durability of modern construction."

An Ethnic History of New Haven: Pre-1938

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"The first people to live in New Haven were Native Americans. Native Americans lived in New Haven as long as 8,000 years ago! The earliest people we know about that lived in New Haven were members of the Quinnipiac Tribe. They lived in villages around the harbor and caught fish and raised maize (a kind of corn)."

New Haven Green and Grove Street Cemetery, by Ellen Strong Bartlett

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"View of the New Haven Green from southeast corner of Temple and Chapel Streets. Shows the three churches and State House with Yale Chapel in background. Figures and cows on Green in foreground. Title, 'NEW HAVEN, CONN./COMPRISING A VIEW OF THE EPISCOPAL AND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES, STATE HOUSE AND YALE COLLEGE/New York-Drawn, Engraved and Published by… Continue reading New Haven Green and Grove Street Cemetery, by Ellen Strong Bartlett

Richard Platt lot in 1641

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"The lot on which the [Old Sherman House] stood appears on the map of 1641, one of the earliest recorded maps in the history of the New Haven colony, and was known as the 'Richard Platt' lot. In 1761, one hundred and twenty years later, the property was sold to Roger Sherman."-Excerpt courtesy of, "The… Continue reading Richard Platt lot in 1641

Roger Sherman swapped land with a neighbor

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"Both the original Nine Squares plan and the subdivision were designed with a clear, fixed plan in mind. But it took over sixty years to fully recognize the plan they laid out in 1784. Visitors to the city near 1800 could still remark that only 'most' of the squares were divided by cross streets. High… Continue reading Roger Sherman swapped land with a neighbor

A House, Barn, Home Lot and Orchard

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"The land has been in residential use for most of its recorded history. As early as 1641, a 'house, barn, home lot and orchard' belonged to Richard Platt."