one fourth part of their farms, and that the part thus given up, with the common lands, should be laid out into lots for such persons as should offer themselves as inhabitants. Their proposal was accepted, and settlers came in from various places, who, in May, 1708, were invested with town privileges. The number of adult male inhabitants, at that time, was thirty four, most of whom were heads of families. As early as 1723, John and Nathaniel Sutliff, and probably some others from Durham, settled on Haddam quarter. These had the consent of the people of Haddam, that they might attend public worship in Durham, and in 1773, the quarter was annexed to Durham.

South view of the Churches in Durham.

"There is no evidence that the Indians ever dwelt in Durham in any considerable numbers, or for long periods; but they resorted to it occasionally for the purposes of hunting. They were, however, regarded as the rightful owners of the soil, and their title was purchased by Samuel Wyllys and others, on the 24th of January, 1672, at the same time that a purchase was made of the lands in Middletown."

Durham is bounded N. by Middletown, W. by Wallingford, E. by Haddam, and south by Guilford, Madison and Killingworth. It is about six miles in length from east to west, and nearly four in width. The central part of the town is 20 miles south from Hartford, and 18 northeast from New Haven. The prevailing surface of the town is a diversity of moderate hills and gentle declivities and dales. The eastern and western parts are somewhat broken and mountainous. The soil is generally fertile and productive, and the inhabitants are mostly employed in the cultivation of the earth.

The above is a view in the central part of Durham. The church seen on the left, is the new Congregational church, erected in 1835. The church seen standing in the street, is the old Congregational church. The above drawing was taken September, 1835, a few days

before the old church was taken down. These churches are a fair specimen of the ancient and modern method of building houses of worship. A new Methodist church is now erecting (1836) on the east side of the street, about opposite the old church seen in the engraving. The principal settlement is on the road running north and south, on ground moderately elevated, bounded on the east by a considerable range of hills, on the west with a large tract of low land, and then a tract of higher land extending to the Wallingford mountains. The tract of low land lying westward of the village, was called Coginchaug, or the long swamp, and from this the name was applied to the township. This is generally cleared and yields a large quantity of coarse grass. "This town has been distinguished many years for a very fine breed of cattle. Two oxen, presented by some of the inhabitants to General Washington, furnished a dinner for all the officers of the American army at Valley Forge, and all their servants. These oxen were driven almost five hundred miles through a country nearly exhausted of its forage, yet one of them, a steer five years old, weighed two thousand two hundred and seventy pounds."

The following inscriptions are from monuments in the yard north of the Congregational church.

In memory of Capt. Israel Camp, a man of unaffected piety; benevolent in his temper, and kind and just in his behavior; in private and public offices, useful through life; a great lover and promoter of Divine Psalmody. The praises of God and the Lamb sweetly employed his breath, till, through painful sickness his voice expired in death, the 6th day of May, 1778, in the 55th year of his age.

Sacred to the memory of Mr. Elias Camp, who died March 26th, 1796, in the 78th year of his age. He was a tender husband, and obliging neighbor, and a good citizen; and, tho' denied the enjoyment of parental felicity, was blessed with so much of this world, not only to perform many deeds of charity, but to make a present of an excellent bell to the town of Durham, which has greatly promoted its convenience and regularity, and ought to be recognized with gratitude on every sound thereof.

EAST HADDAM.

EAST HADDAM was originally a part of Haddam. It belonged to Haddam Society till 1700. It was then constituted a distinct society. In 1734 it was formed into a distinct town, containing two whole parishes, viz. East Haddam and Millington, and two thirds of the parish of Hadlyme. It does not distinctly appear at what time the first settlement was made. It has been commonly supposed it began at the place Creek Row, about 1685, by the removal of a number of families from Haddam, by the names of Gates, Bates, Brainerd and Cone. The tradition is that this was the first spot settled, and that these were the first settlers. "But from a document found in the Colony Records, it is certain that Robert Chapman had a dwelling house in East Haddam north of the Creek Row in 1674. If the settlement at the Creek Row was first, it must have begun about 1670. The first settler in Millington was Jonathan Beebe, from New London, who settled by the Long Pond about 1704."

East Haddam is bounded north by Chatham and Colchester, east by Salem, west principally by Connecticut river, and partly by Salmon river, dividing it from Haddam Neck, belonging to the town of Haddam, and south by Lyme. Its average length from east to west is nearly eight miles, and its breadth upwards of six. The face of the township is rocky and uneven, but the soil is generally strong and fertile, and well adapted to grazing. There is considerable timber in the town, which is of an excellent quality. There are 6 cotton factories, 2 of which manufacture cotton twine. This town took an active part in the Revolutionary War. About 100 men in the regular line of the continental army, and quite a number in the naval service, perished in the struggle. The first supplies for the starving army at Valley Forge, were sent from this town and its vicinity. Muskets were manufactured for the revolutionary army, at the Landing, by Mr. Green.

West view of East Haddam Landing.

East Haddam Landing, a village of about 30 dwelling houses and three or four mercantile stores, is situated a little below the mouth of Salmon river, on the banks of the Connecticut, about 16 miles north from Saybrook Point. A house was built at this place, and a market opened for produce, in 1743, since which most of the trade in the town has centered at this spot. Ship building was begun at the Landing before the Revolutionary war, and as early as that war, at Chapman's ferry, a little village about three fourths of a mile south of the Landing.

Immediately back of the houses at the Landing, the hills rise abruptly, and in some places precipitously, to the east and north. The annexed view was taken from the opposite bank of the river, and shows most of the buildings in the place. The building with four chimnies seen in the lower central part of the engraving, before which a ship yard is seen, is the residence of Timothy Green, Esq. the basement story of which is the East Haddam Bank, incorporated in 1831, with

a capital of 75,000 dollars. The building on the extreme left was the residence of the late Gen. Epaphroditus Champion, and now of his son, E. Champion, Esq. It is distinguished for its bold and lofty terraces, and is a striking object to travellers passing on the river. The Post Office at this time is kept in a building on the opposite side of the street. The Steam Boat Hotel is seen on the extreme right, before which is a wharf at which the steam boats land and receive passengers. The spire of the Episcopal Church is seen, standing on elevated ground a little distance south east from the village. The Congregational church is situated one and a half mile eastward of the Landing.

Lord's Mills, or as it is now called Leesville, upwards of four miles northward of the Landing, is a village containing 18 or 20 dwelling houses, and is situated at the head of boat navigation on Salmon river. There are in the village 3 mercantile stores, a post office, a saw mill, and a cotton factory containing 1,800 spindles and 40 looms. The tide at this place rises about two feet. Sloops of about 60 tons have been launched here in time of freshet. There was formerly an oil mill in this place, which was erected more than sixty years since, the first it is said erected in the state. The scenery about this village is striking and beautiful, especially the long vista which is seen on looking down Salmon river.

Mechanicsville is a thriving village, upwards of 3 miles N. E. of the Landing. It contains 2 cotton factories, one for manufacturing cotton twine, the first of the kind it is said established in the United States; it has been in operation about ten years. The village is situated on Moodus river, a branch of Salmon river. It consists of about 30 or 40 dwelling houses. A Methodist church has been recently erected in this place.

"From time immemorial, East Haddam has been the seat of uncommon subterranean noises, called Moodus noises. The Indian name of the town was Mackimoodus, which in English is the place of noises; a name given with the utmost propriety to the place. The accounts given of the noises and quakings there are very remarkable. Were it not that the people are accustomed to them, they would occasion great alarm. The Rev. Mr. Hosmer, in a letter to Mr. Prince, of Boston, written August 13th, 1729, gives this account of them:-" As to the earthquakes, I have something considerable and awful to tell you. Earthquakes have been here, (and no where but in this precinct, as can be discerned; that is, they seem to have their centre, rise and origin among us,) as has been observed for more than thirty years. I have been informed, that in this place, before the English settlements, there were great numbers of Indian inhabitants, and that it was a place of extraordinary Indian Pawaws, or in short, that it was a place where the Indians drove a prodigious trade at worshipping the devil. Also I was informed, that, many years past, an old Indian was asked, What was the reason of the noises in this place? To which he replied, that the Indian's God was very angry because Englishman's God was come here.

"Now whether there be any thing diabolical in these things, I know not; but this I know, that God Almighty is to be seen and trembled at, in what has been often heard among us. Whether it be fire or air distressed in the subterraneous caverns of the earth, cannot be known; for there is no eruption, no explosion perceptible, but by sounds and tremors, which sometimes are very fearful and dreadful. I have myself heard eight or ten sounds successively, and imitating small arms, in the space of five minutes. I have, I suppose, heard several hundreds of them within twenty years; some more, some less terrible. Sometimes we have heard them almost every day, and great numbers of them in the space of a year. Often times I have observed them to be coming down from the north, imitating slow thunder, until the sound came near or right under, and then there seemed to be a breaking like the noise of a cannon shot, or severe-thunder, which shakes the houses, and all that is in them. They have

in a manner ceased, since the great earthquake. As I remember, there have been but two heard since that time, and those but moderate."

A worthy gentleman, abou six years since, gave the following account of them. "The awful noises, of which Mr. Hosmer gave an account, in his historical minutes, and concerning which you desire further information, continue to the present time. The effects they produce, are various as the intermediate degrees between the roar of a cannon and the noise of a pistol. The concussions of the earth, made at the same time, are as much diversified as the sounds in the air. The shock they give to a dwelling house, is the same as the falling of logs on the floor. The smaller shocks produced no emotions of terror or fear in the minds of the inhabitants. They are spoken of as usual occurrences, and are called Moodus noises. But when they are so violent as to be felt in the adjacent towns, they are called earthquakes. During my residence here, which has been almost thirty-six years, I have invariably observed, after some of the most violent of these shocks, that an account has been published in the newspapers, of a small shock of an earthquake, at New London and Hartford. Nor do I believe, in all that period, there has been any account published of an earthquake in Connecticut, which was not far more violent here than in any other place. By recurring to the newspapers, you will find, that an earthquake was noticed on the 18th May, 1791, about 10 o'clock, P. M. It was perceived as far distant as Boston and New York. A few minutes after there was another shock, which was perceptible at the distance of seventy miles. Here, at that time, the concussion of the earth, and the roaring of the atmosphere, were most tremendous. Consternation and dread filled every house. Many chimnies were untopped and walls thrown down. It was a night much to be remembered; for besides the two shocks which were noticed at a distance, during the night there was here a succession of shocks, to the number of twenty, perhaps thirty; the effects of which, like all others, decreased in every direction, in proportion to the distances. The next day, stones of several tons weight, were found removed from their places; and apertures in the earth, and fissures in immoveable rocks, ascertained the places where the explosions were made. Since that time, the noises and shocks have been less frequent than before; though not a year passeth over us, but some of them are perceptible.”—Trumbull's Hist. Con.

Mount Tom is situated at the junction of Moodus with Salmon river. The above view was taken from the western side of Connecticut river. Mount Tom is the most elevated height seen in the distance, in the centre of the engraving, at the base of which is seen a flat bottomed boat ascending Salmon river. This mountain seems to be situated about the centre from which the Moodus noises proceed. The seve