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80-407: Old Wethersfield , also known as Old Wethersfield Historic District , and historically known as Watertown or Pyquag , is a section of the town of Wethersfield, Connecticut , roughly bounded by the borders of the adjacent city of Hartford and town of Rocky Hill , railroad tracks, and I-91 . The site of the first permanent European-American settlement in the state of Connecticut , it was added to

160-470: A proclamation in recognition of Indigenous Peoples' Day to Wangunk Elder Red Oak (Gary O'Neil). A press release from the Mayor's office read, "The Wangunk people are the native inhabitants and caretakers of the land in and around Middletown, and have lived in this area for thousands of years. The Wangunk people have persisted to this day through their resiliency and spirit.” A November 2023 press release from

240-773: A 1672 deed concerning land at Durham, and two deeds during 1673 concerning land at Wethersfield and Eastbury. Additionally, Turramuggus was kept as a hostage in a prison at Hartford during King Philip's War. Turramuggus likely died sometime before 1704. His son Peetoosh succeeded him as a sachem among the Wangunk, but little was recorded about Peetoosh in surviving colonial documents. Sowheage had another son, Seacutt, and three daughters: Wawarme (aka Wawaloam ), Towwehashque, and Sepunnamoe. Towwehashque (died c.  1693 ), sister of Turramuggus, reigned as Saunks Squaw over Haddam and its surrounding territory, including Thirty Mile Island. Towwehashque (also spelled Townhashque, Towkishk)

320-399: A bloody harvest here. There are many records of settlers being interested in this land and asking the courts to purchase small section of land at different points in time. In his analysis of land distribution, Timothy Ives noted that "Indians tended to hold upland communally while village plots and scattered meadowland were occupied and used by individual settler households." Ives describes

400-425: A communal relationship to land. No single person or group had definite claim to a particular piece of land, and land could therefore not be bought or sold. English colonial law did not recognize Native ways of owning land. Therefore, in order to keep claim to their lands amongst settler expropriation, Wangunk worked within the system of land proprietorship, at least for the purposes of legal documentation. After

480-462: A female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.89. The town population was distributed with 20.1% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 23.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

560-512: A few years, attacked Wethersfield with Pequot help. They killed six men and three women, a number of cattle and horses, and took two young girls captive. They were daughters of Abraham Swain or William Swaine (sources vary), and were later ransomed by Dutch traders. Four witch trials and three executions for witchcraft occurred in the town in the 17th century. Mary Johnson was convicted of witchcraft and executed in 1648, Joan and John Carrington in 1651. In 1669, landowner Katherine Harrison

640-649: A new tribe. The Farmington Indians were Christian Indians who later moved to Oneida, New York , where they were given space on the Oneida Reservation. Later, as European Americans encroached on this land, they removed to Brotherton, Wisconsin Territory, named for the people known as the Brotherton Indians . A large number of Wangunk moved to Farmington; many of them participated in the tribe's later movements to new settlement. Despite increased geographic distance,

720-628: A series of conflicts with the English. Harboring animosity for the English, Sowheage has been linked to the Pequot War: he incited the Pequot to attack the colonists and sheltered Pequot warriors. Sowheage died in approximately 1649; he was survived by many children who as adults occupied positions of power long past his death. Among these children were Montowese, a leader among the Quinnipiac and Wangunk. Another

800-498: A series of land transactions, culminating in a written reservation deed in 1673. Land transactions between the Wangunk and settlers took place within the European legal system of land ownership. This is based on concepts of individual property and land improvement – to be a proprietor is to own land individually and to work to "improve" it. Settlers often did not recognize Native communal ways of farming as "improvement". The Wangunk had

880-470: A series of laws during this period limiting Indian economic opportunities and access to weapons, and demanding hostages from tribes. During and after King Philip's War, some Wangunk sold land to colonists, often to pay debts. The English population of Middletown grew, and in the late 17th century colonists began building homes on Wangunk Meadows on the east bank of the river next to the reservation. In 1714 this group of settlers split from Middletown and formed

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960-472: Is a Pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade magnet school designed with a focus on STEM education. The Corpus Christi School is a Catholic school of approximately 400 students from Pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade. It was one of only fifty private schools named as a 2012 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Secretary of Education, in the category of "Exemplary High Performing." Ken Lesser, mayor. Greater Hartford 's major system of public transportation

1040-580: Is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut , United States. It is located immediately south of Hartford along the Connecticut River . The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region . The population was 27,298 at the time of the 2020 census . Many records from colonial times spell the name "Weathersfield" and "Wythersfield", while Native Americans called it Pyquag . "Watertown"

1120-435: Is a variant name. The neighborhood known as Old Wethersfield is the state's largest historic district, spanning 2 sq mi (5.2 km ) and containing 1,100 buildings, dating to the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The town is primarily served by Interstate 91 . Founded in 1634 by a Puritan settlement party of "10 Men", including John Oldham , Robert Seeley , Thomas Topping , and Nathaniel Foote , Wethersfield

1200-570: Is arguably the oldest town in Connecticut, depending on the interpretation of when a remote settlement qualifies as a "town". Along with Windsor and Hartford , Wethersfield is represented by one of the three grapevines on the Flag of Connecticut , signifying the state's three oldest English settlements. The town was named by colonists for Wethersfield , a village in the English county of Essex . The town

1280-479: Is currently Connecticut Transit (CT Transit), a Connecticut Department of Transportation-owned bus service operating routes throughout the New Haven , Stamford , Hartford and other metro areas. Wethersfield is served by route numbers 43, 47, 53, 55, 61, and 91. Major roads include: Hartford station is the nearest rail station. Wethersfield was once connected to Hartford by streetcar and by passenger service on

1360-467: Is noted in the colonial record for selling a piece of Wangunk meadowland to John Clark in 1691. Although she attempted to sell land at Thirty Mile Island to Samuel Wyllys in 1662, this transaction was nullified. Her daughter Pampenum became responsible for the land in 1697. As sovereign of the island, Pampenum (d. 1704) attempted to keep control over her land for future Wangunk generations through two separate wills, naming Cheehums (aka Wampeawask), wife of

1440-512: Is thought by some to be another son of Sowheage, but this is unlikely. He was married to the daughter of Chiamugg. In the 1660s, Robin appears in the court records to have lived in Wethersfield. In 1704 Robin, Mashoot, and Sarah Onepenny the Younger inherited small sums from Sarah Hopewell, a Native woman of Wethersfield. She was the daughter of Thomas Hopewell and Ocinne. Robin is listed as one of

1520-539: The Great Lakes area, settling in Wisconsin . Others went to Indian Territory , which later became part of the state of Oklahoma . Like other Algonquian groups, the Wangunk political leadership rested with an individual leader called a sachem , based on English settler documentation. Most Algonquian social structures were known to be based on a matrilineal kinship system, by which inheritance and property passed through

1600-566: The National Register of Historic Places in 1970. The land for this colonial settlement was acquired from the Massachusetts Bay Colony . Wethersfield served as a transportation hub on the Connecticut River in the early years. The Old Wethersfield Historic District was established under town statutes in 1962, "to preserve and protect the many architectural phases of a Connecticut River Community in continual growth from 1634 to

1680-544: The Valley Railroad . Its tracks still provide a route for sporadic freight trains between Hartford and Old Saybrook . The Wethersfield Police Department is headquartered at 250 Silas Deane Highway. In addition to normal police service, the department maintains a Marine Patrol Unit, a Special Response Dive Team, a Special Response Tactics Team, a DARE youth drug awareness program, and a Police Explorer program. The town has three volunteer fire stations. The year 2003 marked

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1760-701: The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum . In May 1781, at the Webb House on Main Street, General George Washington and French Lt. Gen. Rochambeau planned the Siege of Yorktown , which culminated in the surrender of Britain and independence of the colonies. The Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department was chartered by the Connecticut Legislature on May 12, 1803, making it the first formally chartered fire department in

1840-620: The "heirs and descendents of Sowheag" in the 1673 confirmatory deed reserving 300 acres of land for the Wangunk on the east side of the Connecticut River. Robin's son, "Old Robin," was a medicine man in the tribe and acquired the title of "Doctor" among the English for his and his family's ability to heal scrofula . Doctor "Old" Robin died in 1757 and is buried in the Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford. Many of his heirs appear over

1920-555: The 1756 "Memorial of Selectmen of Middletown," the Selectmen of Middletown explain to the Connecticut General Assembly that Cushoy did "not having any [relative] to help him, as his children, all being dead, his grandchildren young." They claim that Cushoy had "been unable to support himself and would have perished for hunger and want of clothing had he not been relieved by the selectmen of said town." Specifically, they tell

2000-460: The 1982 meteorite was taken up as part of a collection at the Yale Peabody Museum . As of the 2000 census , there were 26,268 people, 11,214 households, and 7,412 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,119.9 inhabitants per square mile (818.5/km ). There were 11,454 housing units at an average density of 924.3 per square mile (356.9/km ). The racial makeup of the town

2080-658: The Fire of Spring , as well as a mystery/horror novel The Other and a film of the same name . The short film Disneyland Dream features the Barstow family from Wethersfield, including footage of their neighborhood. In the biography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley, Malcolm X recounts a car accident in which he is rear ended at a stop light while traveling through Wethersfield. The novel Parrot and Olivier in America by two-time Booker Prize -winning Australian author Peter Carey

2160-594: The General Assembly for the purchase of 10 acres of Wangunk land from Cushoy, and was granted his appeal in 1758. After that point Ranney drops from any Wangunk records until 1775, when he enlisted in Capt. William Goodrich's Company of Indians. Onepenny family Onepenny's name first appeared on a deed in 1660 at Stratford Ferry, Connecticut; he is also listed on the deed for Coginchaug, signed in January, 1672/73. In 1678, he

2240-611: The General Assembly that they paid about 57 shillings for the care of Cushoy and his son Tom over a year-long period, and that this debt would happily be settled in exchange for the land in question. This petition to the assembly was denied, but the selectmen eventually acquired the land and settled the debt amongst themselves. Cushoy and his wife Asquasuttock (also called Tike or Mary Cushoy), and his sons, Ben and Tom, all died of various illnesses or ill health in 1763, 1771, 1746, and 1755, respectively. Shortly before his death in 1746, Ben Cushoy (alt. sp. Cushaw) bought up many Native rights in

2320-587: The Mayor's office added that "all of the Middletown area" "is Wangunk land," and highlighted the importance of "bring[ing] awareness and recognition to the Wangunk people, who are sometimes referred to as a “lost tribe.'” These statements from local government mark important steps in combating the popular erasure and extinction narrative of the Wangunk as a continued people. Wangunk people lived in and near present-day Middletown, Haddam , and Portland, Connecticut, at

2400-567: The Mohegan reservation. Some Wangunk served in the Revolutionary War. Connecticut historian John William De Forest (1826–1906), wrote that after the sale of the last Wangunk lands: "Mary Cushory was living on the town of Chatham as late as 1771. Three years later, the number of Indians residining in that township was two. In 1785, a committee was appointed by the Legislature to collect all of

2480-522: The Mohegan sachem Mahomet I, as her successor Saunks Squaw. In addition, she prohibited her descendants from selling the land to any non-Indians. Ultimately, this land was sold in the closing decades of the 18th century, along with other Wangunk reservation land, but Pampenum is noted for her resolve and determination in retaining these lands by using the colonial court system. Robin Robin (Robbins, Robins, sometimes confused with his son Doctor Robin or Puccaca)

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2560-640: The Palmer family line has survived into the present and many members continue to live in Middlesex County. When colonists first entered the Connecticut River Valley in the early 17th century, Sowheage (also spelled Sequin, or Sowheag) was the grand sachem presiding over all the Wangunk territory, including lands at Pyquag, Wangunk, and Mattabesett. While he was living at Pyquag during this time, Sowheage relocated his seat of power to Mattabessett following

2640-404: The Pequot in their attack on Wethersfield, where he resided at the time. Around the same time, Sowheage relocated to Mattabesett, later to be developed as Middletown. This movement and the confusion of the war may be reasons why Middletown was not founded until 1650, later than other towns in the region. During this period, Natives and settlers living at Middletown are documented as engaging in

2720-586: The Third Society of Middletown, which had its own meetinghouse and separate leadership. By 1713 the Wangunk had been forced to vacate the Mattabessett portion of the reservation, which was in central Middletown. Settler encroachment on Indian land accelerated in 1732 when the Third Society got a new pastor, who built his home on the reservation. Some Wangunk began converting to Christianity during this period, resulting in migration to Christian communities. In 1746

2800-405: The Third Society petitioned the Connecticut General Assembly for a new meeting house, and were granted land on the Wangunk reservation. The meeting house served to justify increased settler claims to reservation land, which they said the Wangunk were not putting to proper use. In 1757, after two petitions from settlers to the Connecticut General Assembly, Wangunk Richard Ranney, who lived away from

2880-487: The Wangunk by the English (corresponding with Middletown). Other villages include Pocowset (Portland), Cockaponet (Haddam), Coginchaug, Cononnacock, and Machamodus. The Wangunk are also sometimes referred to as "the River People" because of their positioning within the fertile Connecticut river valley. When the English settled and established Middletown on the west side of the river, the designated Wangunk reservation land

2960-416: The Wangunk continued to identify as Wangunk, sign land deeds, and return to Middletown for important occasions after moving away. Bette Nepash, or Old Betty, a Wangunk, held yearly tribal gatherings until the 1810s. These gatherings helped continue a longstanding Wangunk connection to the region. After Nepash's death, Jonathan Palmer was identified as the last Indian in Middletown when he died in 1813. But,

3040-456: The association of Indian Hill as having been central to Wangunk life. The gates to the cemetery include an image of a stereotypical "noble savage"; this is one of the only markers of the land's colonial history and present. The meaning of Indian Hill for the settlers' descendants developed in the context of the 19th-century rural cemetery movement. As Kavanagh states: "as American citizens realized that their experiment in republican government had

3120-454: The children's novel The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare , as well as the setting of the one-act play The Valiant by Holworthy Hall and Robert Middlemas . https://www.thebooktrail.com/book-trails/the-witch-of-blackbird-pond/ Actor-turned-author Thomas Tryon used his native Wethersfield as the setting for his action/romance novels The Wings of the Morning and In

3200-500: The early frame and brick houses were built by sea captains around the town green . There are three National Historic Landmarks in Old Wethersfield: Another prominent historic building in the district is: The district includes Wethersfield's green, which is "a slender diamond nearly a half-mile long". Wethersfield, Connecticut Wethersfield ( / ˈ w ɛ ð . ər s f i l d / WEH -thers-feeld )

3280-546: The east side of the Connecticut River. Reservation land was specified as belonging to Wangunk heirs forever. In Wangunk Meadow, next to the reservation land on the east side of Connecticut River, individual Wangunk households owned plots amounting to 9 acres. Wangunk land ownership remained largely communal into the reservation period. Those who signed deeds did not necessarily "own" the land, and therefore sales were often contested by other Wangunk. Most Wangunk in this period were unable to read English deeds. The establishment of

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3360-412: The establishment of Middletown in 1650 , Connecticut's government reserved approximately 350 acres of land on the east side of the Connecticut River for the descendants of Wangunk sachem Sowheage and the Wangunk tribe. The reservation remained undefined until 1673, when 13 of Sowheage's heirs signed a document which created two parcels, one of fifty acres at Indian Hill and another of 250 acres upland, on

3440-487: The final event of the HMF 10K Challenge Series. The Wethersfield public school system encompasses Wethersfield High School , Silas Deane Middle School , and five elementary schools: Highcrest School, Charles Wright School, Emerson-Williams School, Alfred W. Hanmer School, and Samuel B. Webb School. In addition to traditional public schools, Wethersfield also offers parochial and magnet school choices. The CREC Discovery Academy

3520-615: The formal 200th Anniversary of the Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department. Wethersfield has the oldest volunteer fire company in Connecticut, and in New England. The United States Postal Service operates the Wethersfield Post Office at 67 Beaver Rd. The Town zip code is 06109. The Wethersfield Post Office is a fully trained United States Passport acceptance facility. Wethersfield was the setting for

3600-424: The maternal line. Children were considered born to their mother's family and clan. The women shared responsibilities and power within the tribe. The Wangunk seem to be consistent with this type. They lived off the seasonal economies of the region. Contemporary scholars think they migrated between two villages: one for winter and spring, another for summer and fall. The first known Wangunk interaction with Europeans

3680-667: The money due on the Indian lands at Wangunk, and pay it over to the proprieters, who seem, at that time, to have entirely left the place. Thus ended the national existence of the Wangunks, or, as they were sometimes called, the Wangums." Other Wangunk joined the Farmington Indians in Connecticut, a group that formed when the Tunxi invited other Native Americans to move to their reservation and become

3760-494: The next Sunk Squaw should be. Cushoy's wife, Asquasuttock, called herself "a native sunksquaw" and "suck squaw of Woongum" in 1718 and 1722, respectively. She was the daughter of Massecuppe and granddaughter of the Narragansett grand sachem, Miantonomoh and his spouse, Wawarme. In the written record of the surveillance and construction of a highway in 1728, colonists attested that Cushoy spoke "in behalf of ye other Indians." In

3840-412: The next stages of its journey. Today the remains are lost. Lake Pocotopaug is a site that has been mentioned in many different accounts of the Wangunk people as an area that they frequented for fishing and hunting. It is located in what is now called East Hampton, and is approximately 9 miles in circumference. Many arrowheads have been found along the banks of the river. The Wangunk did not record what

3920-475: The potential for a "limitless future," they were faced with the daunting task of constructing for themselves an "immemorial past. For the 1850 founding of the cemetery this poem was read: On this high place, that swells so fair, O'er town and river, grove and lea, We stand, O God, with song and prayer. To give these grounds to Death and Thee. To Death, thy servant, who, of old, With tomahawk and arrowy spear, As by our fathers we are told, Hath reaped

4000-784: The present." Eight years later, in 1970, the Old Wethersfield Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The village includes 50 houses that were built before the American Revolutionary War , plus about 250 additional houses built before the 20th century, about 100 of which were built earlier than the American Civil War . The historic district listed on the National Register includes 1200 structures over 1,300 acres (5.3 km). Of these 100 date from colonial times. Many of

4080-547: The railroad tracks, I-91 and Rocky Hill, was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is the largest historic district in Connecticut, with two square miles containing 1,100 buildings, many dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. The historic First Church of Christ, Wethersfield , is the home of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival  [ Wikidata ] . The Wethersfield Historical Society sponsors free outdoor concerts throughout

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4160-404: The reservation about 1771, saying they had paid to support her family, and aided other Wangunk. They paid themselves back by the sale of the land. In the 18th century many Wangunk moved away from the reservation. Some of these individuals married members of other Native tribes, including Quinnipiac and Mohegan . Individual Wangunk are known to have lived into old age and to have had children on

4240-516: The reservation was economically harmful to the Wangunk, who needed a larger area of land to carry on their traditional agricultural and hunting practices. The lack of economic opportunities led to poverty and debt. During this period some Wangunk were enslaved by or became indentured to English colonists. King Philip's War broke out in 1675 as a united Indian resistance movement. The Wangunk, along with many other tribes, remained neutral. This neutrality may have been coerced, as English people passed

4320-457: The reservation, made a land claim and was granted 10 acres. Settlers petitioned twice more for the privilege to buy the reservation lands. In 1762 a group of male Wangunk submitted a memorial to the assembly requesting that the entire reservation be sold. A committee approved this request, citing the fact that only women and children were left on the reservation. The group of Wangunk left on the reservation were unable to support themselves, so part of

4400-666: The reserved lands. Sarah Onepenny the Younger was the daughter of Sarah Onepenny the Elder and Pewampskin. Deeds and a declaration by her son Mamooson to the Middletown town clerk in 1726 show she was married to a man named Kickemus (aka Kembosh and Keepamug). She signed a deed known as the "Eastbury deed" (Glastonbury), which ceded hundreds of acres east of the Connecticut River to the representatives of Wethersfield. She had three sons, Mamooson, Long Simon and Peter Sanchuse (d. 1729), as well as one nephew, Scipio. She willed her entire estate to her nephew Scipio Twoshoes in 1727. The land she deeded

4480-498: The sale of their land went to payment of debts. During this time, several Wangunk men are known to have served in the French and Indian War in order to gain employment. In 1767, the Third Society officially became the town of Chatham (later Portland). The last piece of Wangunk reservation land was sold somewhere between 1772 and 1784. The aged widow Mary Cushoy was living there with three children. The town selectmen persuaded her to sell

4560-589: The sea. Currently, no Wangunk political organization is a state-recognized tribe by Connecticut or federally recognized as a Native American tribe ; however there are contemporary Wangunk descendants living in Middletown who maintain kinship connections and cultural traditions. According to 2023 statements from Wangunk Elder Red Oak (Gary O'Neil), "hundreds of Wangunks" are living today, including in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. In October 2023, City of Middletown Mayor Benjamin Florsheim presented

4640-474: The site meant to their people. But English settlers told many "Indian stories" about the lake since the 1700s; these are uncorroborated. During the Reservation period, the territory of what became Indian Hill Cemetery was a part of the initial Wangunk reservation. In the mid-19th century, the mostly ethnic English residents, who dominated the population, created the cemetery for their own use, in part to change

4720-405: The state capital at Hartford, Wethersfield is the site of several State of Connecticut agencies: The Wethersfield Chamber of Commerce has over 150 member institutions and hosts community events throughout the year. Three buildings in Wethersfield are designated as historic landmarks by the National Register of Historic Places : In 1970, Old Wethersfield , the district bounded by Hartford,

4800-499: The state. It is one of the oldest chartered volunteer fire department in continuous existence in the United States. Wethersfield was "for a century at least, the centre of the onion trade in New England", during the late 1700s and early to middle 1800s. "Outsiders dubbed the Connecticut village 'Oniontown,' with a crosshatch of affection and derision, for this was home of the world-famous Wethersfield red onion ." In addition,

4880-615: The summer. The Old Wethersfield 5K & 10K is an annual road race that takes place in the Old Wethersfield section of town. Both races begin and end at Cove Park on Hartford Avenue. The event is put on by the Hartford Marathon Foundation and typically takes place at the end of August. The 2017 edition of the 10K is the state championship race for the USATF Connecticut Grand Prix Series as well as

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4960-401: The time the English arrived. Originally located around Hartford and Wethersfield, but displaced by settlers there, they relocated to the land around the oxbow bend in the Connecticut River . Before English settlement, there were at least half a dozen villages around the area on both sides of the river. Of these, Mattabassett (or Mattabesseck, Matabesset) was the name most associated with

5040-453: The town developed from this agricultural past. A meteorite fell on Wethersfield on November 8, 1982. It was the second meteorite to fall in the town in the span of 11 years, as the first crashed on April 8, 1971. It crashed through the roof of a house without injuring the occupants, as had been the case with the first meteorite as well. The 1971 meteorite was sold to the Smithsonian , and

5120-502: The town was $ 28,930. About 2.4% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line , including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over. Top employers in Wethersfield according to the town's 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report The Connecticut Department of Correction and the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles have their headquarters in Wethersfield. Due to its proximity to

5200-500: The town was home to William G. Comstock , a well-known 19th-century gardening expert and author of the era's most prominent gardening book, Order of Spring Work . In 1820, Comstock founded what would become Comstock, Ferre & Company , America's oldest continuously operating seed company. It pioneered the commercial sale of sealed packets of seeds, as he had learned from the Amish . Other nationally prominent seed companies in and around

5280-420: The years in the colonial record. For instance, his son Samuel Robin, who was living at Tunxis at the time, signed a 1762 petition to the General Assembly indicating that he, his wife Moll, and the other Indian signatories, wished to sell their tribal lands under pressure from the colonists. Richard Ranney Richard Ranney was born September 8, 1732, to a daughter of Doctor Robin. He died sometime after 1775. He

5360-409: Was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $ 53,289, and the median income for a family was $ 68,154. (These figures had risen to $ 66,044 and $ 86,432 respectively as of a 2007 estimate.) Males had a median income of $ 43,998 versus $ 37,443 for females. The per capita income for

5440-404: Was 93.19% White , 2.09% Black or African American , 0.08% Native American , 1.58% Asian , 0.02% Pacific Islander , 1.82% from other races , and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.19% of the population. There were 11,214 households, out of which 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 9.6% had

5520-439: Was Sequassen, sachem of Suckiog (Hartford,) who navigated a tense relationship with the colonists in Hartford and challenged the Mohegan leader Uncas for power in the region, removing to Massachusetts after his defeat. Sowheage's son Turramuggus (b. 1623) assumed leadership in the Wethersfield area and was involved in several large land transactions with the English colonists, signing a 1668 deed of 300 acres to Richard Beckley,

5600-511: Was a Wangunk man who lived in East Hampton. His descendants still reside there. In 1818, a local doctor, Dr. John Richmond, sough "a complete human skeleton with which to demonstrate to his students the fine points of anatomy." He reportedly thought, "What a fine skeleton Jonathan Indian would make!" Richmond offered Jonathan "a pint of rum every month" in exchange for "the possession of his body after death for medical purposes." By 1819, Jonathan

5680-631: Was called Wongog and was in or near Middletown. Members of the Onepenny Family are featured in a pamphlet by Joseph Barrett, "Indian Proprietors of Mattebeseck and Their Descendants (n.d., ca. 1850)," that has many errors. Barrett incorrectly understood Mamooson's genealogy, for example. He identified the man Pewampskin as the "sunksquaw," when the sunksquaw was a woman, Sarah Onepenny the Elder. Any reliance on Barrett, therefore, should be with caution. Jonathan Palmer Jonathan Palmer (?-1819), referred to improperly by Carl Price as "Jonathan Indian,"

5760-480: Was convicted, and although her conviction was reversed, she was banished and her property seized by her neighbors. From 1716 to 1718, the Collegiate School was briefly located in Wethersfield; it moved to New Haven and developed over the decades as Yale University . Silas Deane , envoy to France during the American Revolutionary War , lived in the town. His house is now preserved and operated as part of

5840-577: Was dead, likely as a result of alcoholism. As his family began to mourn the loss of their "lamented grandfather," Doctor Richmond arrived at their door with the "ratified contract" for his possession of their grandfather's body. Though Palmer's family protested, when Doctor Richmond threatened to "have the law on them," they relented, and Richmond took the body. Richmond "fondly [dissected] the Indian before his students . . . each organ or muscle or bone [coming] to light under his skillful knife. Palmer's skeleton traveled to different universities and museums in

5920-656: Was in 1614 with traders from the Dutch East India Company . The Wangunk's proximity to the Connecticut River made their homeland desirable for European fur traders, leading to conflicts with the Pequot tribe over the area. The Wangunk allied with Narragansett and reached out to English settlers as defensive strategies against the Pequot. Alliances may have shifted with the outbreak of the Pequot War in 1636. Colonial accounts suggest that Wangunk sachem Sequassen' assisted

6000-488: Was largely set in the town of Wethersfield. The novel touches on some hallmarks of its history including the predominance of onion farming and the old state prison. Wangunk Prior to European contact, the Wangunk spoke Quiripi , which is part of the large Algonquian language family and had strong connections with other of the many Algonquian nations , whose territory was along the Atlantic coast and rivers leading to

6080-713: Was mainly on the East side of the river bend, with a small parcel on the West side, an area near where Indian Hill Cemetery was developed in 1850. Wongunk is also used to describe a meadow in Portland that was part of the Wangunk reservation. As the Wangunk felt pressure from the settlers for the land, they sold off portions of this land and joined either neighboring tribes such as the Tunxis (Farmington, CT). The people formed new communities of Christian Indians, relocating to central New York, and then to

6160-504: Was previously called "Watertown", named after Watertown, Massachusetts , until February 21, 1637, when it was incorporated as a town along with Windsor and Hartford. The town established the Old Wethersfield Village Cemetery as its first burying ground on Hungry Hill in 1638. During the Pequot War , on April 23, 1637, Wangunk Chief Sequin, who had lived with the colonists in Wethersfield but had been forced out after

6240-518: Was raised in Newtown, probably by a settler named Richard Ranney, who raised him as a Christian, taught him to speak and write the English language, and trained him as a joiner. While it is unclear what circumstances led Ranney to be raised in a settler family, the Yale Indian Papers Project suggests that he likely served as a type of indentured servant to the family. In 1756, Ranney petitioned

6320-521: Was recorded as Noquittemaug on the list of persons who ceded their land at Shetucket. Sarah Onepenny the Elder (d. 1713), was the daughter of Onepenny and Sepunnamoe, the Saunks Squaw in Hartford and Middletown. Hannah Onepenny was her sister. Sarah married Pewampskin, a native man who lived in Wethersfield. They had a daughter, Sarah Onepenny the Younger (d. 1728), possibly another daughter Alice, and three sons: Cushoy, Nannamaroos, and Siana. Cushoy

6400-401: Was the son of Sarah Onepenny the Elder and Pewampskin, and great-grandson of Sowheage. Cushoy was understood by colonists to be the leader of the Wangunk tribe from as early as 1713, when he first signed a deed, until 1763 when he died. This caused controversy in the family, as there was a dispute over who should inherit Turramuggus's sachemship. Additionally, there was a family dispute over who

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