Nichols, Connecticut

Peet Bunny fountain, a landmark in Nichols since 1895.

See also: Trumbull, Connecticut

Nichols, a historic village in southeastern Trumbull on the Gold Coast (Connecticut) of Fairfield County, was named after the family who maintained a large farm in its center for almost 300 years. ^[1][2] The Nichols Farms Historic District, which encompasses part of the village, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Nichols was originally entirely part of the coastal settlement of Stratford, settled in 1639, and used primarily for agriculture and animal husbandry. In the mid nineteenth century, manufacturing of carriages and saddle trees was established. By the early twentieth century, after the mass production of the automobile, Nichols became an affluent suburb for the nearby cities of Bridgeport, Stratford and Shelton. The construction of the Merritt Parkway through Nichols Center in 1939, and the closing of local factories, turned the village into a bedroom community for lower Fairfield County.

History

Main article: History of Trumbull, Connecticut

It is not known exactly when English settlers took up land in Nichols, due to the fact that the first volume of Stratford land records were destroyed in 1650. In 1661, the Stratford selectmen voted to allow all inhabitants the liberty of taking up a whole division of land anywhere they could find fit planting ground as long as it was not within two miles (3 km) of the town meeting house and they were prohibited from making it their dwelling place without consent. Elder Phillip Groves, Captain William Curtiss and Lt. Joseph Judson, early landowners in Nichols, were named to a committee to lay out the land as they saw fit.^[3]

Before 1661, people were free to take up planting grounds anywhere within the township. The common land in Nichols Farms was divided and granted to individuals beginning in 1670 as a part of the three-mile or woods division and continued up to 1800.^[4]

Nichol's Farms in 1867

Agriculture

Mischa Hill is located in the geographic center of Nichols. The area was first called Misha Hill or Lt. Joseph Judson's Farm in the land records. It was the first area within Trumbull to be farmed and settled due to its fertile soils, spring-fed ponds, natural meadows and its close proximity to the main village, just three miles away.

The first landowners were among the first settlers to arrive at Stratford or their son's, namely; William Beardsley, Richard Booth, Zachariah Bostick, John Brinsmaid, John Curtiss, Benjamin Curtiss, Joseph Curtiss, Captain William Curtiss, Ebenezer Curtiss, Zachariah Curtiss, Joseph Fairchild, Elder Philip Groves, Mr. Joseph Hawley (Captain), Samuel Hawley, Ephraim Hawley, John Hurd, Lt. Joseph Judson, Jeremiah Judson, Isaac Judson, Isaac Nichols, Caleb Nichols, Abraham Nichols, Samuel Uffoot and Reverend Zachariah Walker.^[5]

Lt. Joseph Judson, Sgt. Jeremiah Judson and Joseph Curtiss established their farms on Mischa Hill before 1658, the year in which they were all elected as freeman (Colonial) by the legislature of the Connecticut Colony. To be elected as a freeman at this time, an individual had to own real property in his own name.^[6][7]

Religious rift

In the 1660s, Lt. Joseph Judson began a disagreement with the majority of elders in town as he and others tried to introduce the half way covenant. In 1671, Judson obtained permission from then Governor John Winthrop, Jr. to remove with other families and settle a new town called Woodbury. Judson and the other Woodbury founders, either sold, gifted or abandoned their farms in Nichols.^[8]

In 1688, John Curtiss removed to Woodbury, gifting his entire farm on Mischa Hill to his son Benjamin who had married Joseph Judson's daughter.^[9] Shortly after Judson and the others had abandoned their farms in Nichols to remove to Woodbury in 1673, the area was commonly referred to as Old Farm, Old Farms and Judson's Farm's in the Stratford land records.

Development

Nichols is named for the family that maintained a large farm in its geographic center for almost three hundred years. In May of 1725, the northwest farmers of Stratford petitioned the Colony of Connecticut to form their own village. The farmer's wished to call their new Parish Nichol's Farm's. The legislature approved their new village in October of 1725, but named the new parish Unity. Unity became a part of North Stratford in 1744 when it merged with the parish of Long Hill, Trumbull, Connecticut which had been founded in 1740. The Nichols village became a school and taxing district as a part of the town of Trumbull, when it incorporated in 1797.^[10]

Abraham Nichols

It was previously thought that Abraham Nichols made the first permanent settlement within Trumbull around 1690 or 1700, depending on the source, and that others soon followed venturing into the wilderness to establish mills, churches, and schools. Abraham Nichols landholdings were said to total 1,000 acres (4.0 km²) with much of it remaining in the Nichols family for over two centuries. The last of the line was Florence Nichols who married George Woods in 1903. Soon after their deaths in 1973 and 1972 respectively, the property was deeded to the Nichols Methodist Church from whom the town of Trumbull purchased it in 1974. This tract was then known as the Woods Estate and is now the home of the Trumbull Historical Society. ^[11] Recent research has determined that Nichols holdings actually were around 285 acres (1.15 km²) of land of which 55 acres (0.22 km²) remains as open space today.

According to Walter Nicholls, who wrote the History of the Nichols family in 1909, Abraham did not accompany his father to Woodbury in 1673, but remained in Trumbull to oversee the plantation. However, since Abraham was only eleven at the time (born 1662), it is likely that he did remove to Woodbury with his family and returned to Trumbull between 1696 and 1700.^[12]

Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation

The Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation is a Connecticut state-recognized tribal descendents of the Paugussett (also Paugusset) Nation of Native Americans that occupied much of western Connecticut prior to the arrival of Europeans.^[13][14] While state-recognized, they have been denied federal recognition.^[15] The tribe lives in Colchester, Connecticut, where it has a 106-acre (0.43 km²) reservation,^[16] and also has a ¹⁄₄-acre (0.0010 km²)^[17] reservation in Nichols, which is considered to be the oldest continuing reservation in Connecticut and the smallest in the US.

Nichols Green

The green in Nichols, known as the Nichols Green or N.I.A. Green, is owned and maintained by a private trust called the Nichols Improvement Association, established in 1889 to beautify and improve Nichols.^[18]

• A memorial to those residents who fought in World Wars I and II is located on the south end of the green.

• An 80' tall pine flagpole brought through the Panama Canal from Washington was erected on the green in 1932. This pine pole replaced an earlier 115' chestnut flagpole erected on July 4, 1892 that carried a 25' by 15' flag and was believed by some to be the highest flag flown in the state at the time.

• Another well known landmark near the green is the Bunny Fountain. The fountain, was a gift from the Peet family to the citizens of Nichols in 1895. The fountain was moved from its original location at the intersection of Huntington Turnpike and Shelton Road to the intersection of Huntington Turnpike and Unity Road in 1931 after being damaged by a car. It was moved to its present location and restored in the spring of 1971 and underwent restoration again in 1992.

• An old grinding stone from the 1826 Fairchild (Paper) Mill is placed at the south end of the green. The mill was located at a place commonly called the Falls of the Pequonnock River beginning in 1674, at present it is the town boundary with Bridgeport called Fairchild Park.^[19]
• A piece of the original 1940 Merritt Parkway bridge that was built over Route 108 is on the green. The concrete ornament is a likeness of the town of Trumbull official seal. The bridge was demolished in 1979 when the interchange was updated.

Pinewood Lake

Main article: Pine Brook Country Club

Pinewood Lake is best known for serving as the summer rehearsal headquarters of the Group Theatre (New York) when it was called Pine Brook Country Club.^[20] The Group Theatre (New York) was formed in New York City in 1931 by Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford and Lee Strasberg and was made up of actors, directors, playwrights and producers. ^[21][22] The Group gathered every summer during the 1930s at the natural lake. During this time, they produced works by the most important American playwrights of the time on real life subject matter which changed stage and film forever.

Nichols Avenue

Main article: Connecticut Route 108

The road linking the village of Nichols to Stratford, three miles (5 km) to the south, was first called the Farm Highway, now called Nichols Avenue or (Route 108). The historic road was laid out or completed to the south side of Mischa Hill in Nichols on December 7 1696. The highway was laid out at that time to the south side of Mischa Hill and at Zachariah Curtiss, his land, and at Captain's Farm.

In October 1725, when the Connecticut Colony approved the Parish of Unity, they referred to the Farm Highway as Nickol's Farm's Road.^[23] The Nichols Avenue portion of Route 108 in Trumbull is the third-oldest documented highway in Connecticut, after the Mohegan Road, Connecticut Route 32 in Norwich (1670) and the King's Highway, or Boston Post Road Route 1 (1673).^[24]

Merritt Parkway

The Merritt Parkway was built directly through the original Nichols center in the late 1930s and displaced the old Nichols Store, which was razed, and the Trinity Church which was moved. The large 5' by 6' natural stepping stone was the only item saved from the Nichols Store and was relocated to the front of the Ephraim Hawley House. In the early 1980s, the original Huntington Turnpike bridge was demolished when the interchange was updated.

References

^[25]

1. ^ Census.gov website retrieved 2011-06-26 [1]
2. ^ The Connecticut Economy Fall 2008[2]
3. ^ A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Reverend Samuel Orcutt, 1886, Vol. 1 page 167 [3]
4. ^ A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Reverend Samuel Orcutt, Fairfield County Historical Society, 1886, Vol. II, page 1039 [4]
5. ^ Stratford Land Records Vol. 2 p. 82
6. ^ Orcutt, Vol. 2, p. 109
7. ^ Colonial Records of Connecticut, May 20, 1658, Vol. 1 p. 315
8. ^ History of Ancient Woodbury Connecticut From the First Indian Deed 1659 to 1872, William Cothren, 1872, Vol. 2 p. 916
9. ^ Stratford Land Records Vol. 2 p. 70
10. ^ The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut volume 6 page 568
11. ^ Trumbull Historical Society website retrieved 2011 03-19 [5]
12. ^ Orcutt Vol. 2 p. 1252
13. ^ Christopher Reinhart (2002-02-07). "Effect of State Recognition of an Indian Tribe". State of Connecticut. http://www.cga.ct.gov/2002/olrdata/jud/rpt/2002-R-0118.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-06. "Connecticut statutes recognize five tribes: (1) Golden Hill Paugussett, (2) Mashantucket Pequot, (3) Mohegan, (4) Paucatuck Eastern Pequot, and (5) Schaghticoke." 
14. ^ Brilvitch 2007, pp. 11--12.
15. ^ Bureau of Indian Affairs (2004-06-21). "Final Determination Against Federal Acknowledgement of the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe". Federal Register. United States. pp. 34388–34393. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/04-13871.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-06. 
16. ^ "Aurelius Piper, chief of Connecticut tribe". Associated Press (Boston Globe). 2008-08-06. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2008/08/06/aurelius_piper_chief_of_connecticut_tribe/. Retrieved 2010-08-07. 
17. ^ Eisner, Will (1975). "Politics". Odd Facts. Tempo Star. p. 94. ISBN 9780448135069. 
18. ^ Nichols Improvement Association website retrieved on 2009-05-17
19. ^ A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Reverend Samuel Orcutt, Fairfield County Historical Society, 1886, Vol II page 1060 [6]
20. ^ The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre, Don Wilmeth, p. 21
21. ^ The Fervent Years: The Story of the Group Theatre and the Thirties, 1975, p. 184
22. ^ A Gambler's Instinct: The Story of Broadway Producer Cheryl Crawford, p. 52
23. ^ Colonial Connecticut Records 1636–1776, Vol. 6 p. 568
24. ^ Kurumi Connecticut Roads retrieved on 2008-04-11
25. ^ David F. Ransom and John Herzan (December 27, 1986). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Nichols Farms Historic District". National Park Service. http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/87001392.pdf.  and Accompanying 19 photos from 1986

Bibliography

• Trumbull Historical Society, History of Trumbull, Dodrasquicentennial, 1797-1972, 1972
• Reverend Samuel Orcutt, History of the Old Town of Stratford, Connecticut, Fairfield Historical Society, 1886
• Dorothy M. Seely, Tales of Trumbull's Past, Trumbull Historical Society, 1984

External links

• Nichols Improvement Society
• National Register of Historic Places
• The USGenWeb Project, Fairfield County

Images

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  Ephraim Hawley House c. 1670–1690

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  Zachariah Curtiss Houses c. 1686 and c. 1721

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  Peet barn ca. 1700

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  Joseph Plumb House ca. 1780

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  Joel Curtis House ca. 1840

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  Igor Sikorsky home 1928–1934

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  Igor Sikorsky home 1945–1948

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  Igor Sikorsky home 1948–1951

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  Town Seal from 1940 Merritt Parkway Bridge at Huntington Turnpike now demolished

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  Circa 1932 Flag Pole NIA Green

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  Monument to World War Veterans

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  N.I.A. Starkweather House and Peet Fountain view from green

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  Fairchild Mill Grindstone Circa 1826