On Chapel Street, in New Haven, Connecticut, opposite the Old Campus: from the time of glaciation, cultivated by the Quinnipiac; in 1614, charted by a Dutch explorer; in 1638, colonized by the Puritans; throughout the American Revolution, home of the signer, Roger Sherman, his second wife Rebecca Prescott-Sherman, their fifteen children, and the family store; in 1860, industrialist Gaius Fenn Warner's Italianate villa, by Henry Austin; in 1880, Marshal Peter R. Carll's Opera House; in 1884, the Republican League; in 1887, the Hyperion; in 1903, the Union League addition, by Richard Williams; in 1926, the Roger Sherman Theater; beginning in 1976, a tradition of French fine dining, that continues today. While the Roger Sherman house is no longer standing, it holds up all right.
"The first ascent of Mount Washington by a European settler, was by Darby Field, an Irish immigrant, who accomplished this difficult feat in 1642 from a southerly approach. Partly guided by Indians and with only primitive equipment at his disposal, he is thus alleged to be the originator of all Mount Washington ascensions."
"As the city grows more dense and thronged around it, its use as a convenient spot for public buildings can no longer be thought of, but its priceless value as a breathing and resting and gathering place for the people becomes constantly more conspicuous. May it be guarded from enroachment in the future more jealously than in the past; and may our successors in its care of every race and lineage protect its soil, and cherish its traditions with that affectionate veneration which is the heritage and the test of every true son and daughter of New Haven!"
"East Rock is a bold and beautiful promontory of almost fearful height, near the fine city of New Haven, Connecticut. It commands an extensive and delightful view of the town, the adjacent country to some extent, the bay, and Long Island itself, which resembles a huge confused mass of deep summer clouds, as viewed in the edge of the southern horizon apparently floating over the sound."
"The Richard Platt lot was on the southwest side of what is now Chapel Street, New Haven, facing the present grounds of Yale College and extending in the rear to land allotted to Rev. Peter Prudden. Richard is said to have built a house on this plot before his move to Milford, Conn., and, though he gradually disposed of his New Haven holdings after he relocated, he continued to own land in New Haven for a number of years."
"The pithy sayings of Roger Sherman -- a New Haven, Connecticut man, and drafter of the Declaration of Independence, including, 'When you are in the minority, talk, when you are in the majority, vote.'"
"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."
"Upon the site of this building stood the home of Roger Sherman, and near here in 1793 he died, jurist - patriot - statesman, signer of the Bill of Rights, Articles of Confederation, Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, first Mayor of New Haven, Treasurer of Yale College, and for twenty years a member of Congress -- Washington claimed his friendship and counsel, and was here his guest in 1789 -- to record his great service in the founding and early government of our country, this tablet is placed by the Connecticut society, Sons of the American Revolution, 1904."
"Bicentennial Notes: Souvenirs are for graduates only. To avoid others taking them, there will be no souvenirs. The animals will be fed at the University Dining Hall three times daily. Come and see them. They eat raw meet. No one but graduates are allowed to climb on the decorations or statues."
"This archetype of the Connecticut Yankee had a reputation for taciturnity. One of his political mottoes was: 'When you are in a minority, talk, when you are in a majority, vote!' In his country drawl, daughter came out as 'dat-ter' and applesauce sounded like 'ap-plesass.' But Jefferson remarked that however awkward his manner Sherman 'never said a foolish thing in his life.' And he was by no means silent. During the Convention he spoke 138 times, each speech short but pithy, only three others were more vocal."
"It was a primitive-looking silver watch, made in France in 1760, that belonged to Roger Sherman -- was in his fob when he stood with Jefferson, &c., before Hancock, reporting 'The Declaration of Independence.'"