THE HISTORY OF STRATFORD

Golden Hill Indians
The Housatonic
The Wepawaug
Cupheags and Pequannock
Weantinock
Goodyear's Island
Indian Slaves
Indian Remnants
Indian Troubles
New Indian Papers

THE HISTORY OF STRATFORD

Wm. Howard Wilcoxson

Stratford Indians

Trouble with the Indians

Establishing Title to the Land

Indian Deeds and Relics

White Hills Purchase

FORREST MORGAN

Lifestyles, Government, Religion and War

Indian Titles and Mohegan Land Troubles

Sowheag, Uncas, and Miantonomo

Owenoco, the Son of Uncas

THE HOUSATONIC

CHARD POWERS SMITH

The Promised Land
Heathen in the Land
The Lord's Scouts

The Land and The Lord

The Next Seven Tribes

ALEXANDER JOHNSTON

Connecticut Indian History

The Pequot War

THE HISTORY OF STRATFORD – WILLIAM WILCOXSON

INDIAN DEEDS AND RELICS

Here at this old Pootatuck Village stood as old Fort when the English first came, but about this time, or soon after, a new fort was built on Fort Hill on the west side of the river a short distance below Indian Well.

While still resident here on May 26, 1663 “an agreement of friendship and loving correspondence agreed upon between us and the town of Stratford” was made by the Indians who pledged “we will no more plant on the south side of the Great River Pugusetts (Pootatuck) to prevent a future variance between us in order to (avoid) any damage that might be done to corn.”

The first name on this agreement is “Okenonge” thus denoting his standing over the Indians on the west side of the river, but he may have signed it as Sagamore while they had another Sachem. It also reveals a benevolent feature in the character of these Indians. Much complaint by the Indians had been made that the white man’s hogs, which were pastured in the woods, destroyed the Indian’s corn and the matter being brought into Court an effort was put forth to lead the Indians to make fences around their corn, but this they could not or would not do; and hence in order to end the difficulty they resolved not to plant on Stratford side of the river, south of the Pootatuck in Newtown.

Some few marks or traces of the Red Men’s existence yet remain. In the ledge of a rock at the edge of the road now known as Linden Avenue, on the property of Mr. Evert L. Beardsley, is an ancient Indian corn mortar, sunk in bed rock, being nearly eighteen inches in diameter and about three feet deep. Here for many years the Indians must have daily ground their corn. When first uncovered, nearly fifty years ago, the mortar contained its original stone pestle, but this has long since disappeared. Numerous other elics and arrow heads found in the neighborhood indicate that the spot must have been a favorite haunt of the aboriginal Red Man.

In some historical notes by Major W. B. Hinks, published in 1871, the following note is found: “Several interesting relics of the Indians were discovered in Stratford a few years since by the Rev. R.L. Swan. They consisted of a fire place, and mortar for grinding corn, excavated in a ledge rock near the house recently occupied by Mr. William Strong, which was built on the site of an ancient inn, kept during and before the Revolutionary War by George Benjamin. The fire place was a semi-cylindrical upright hallow in the rock, several feet in height, from the top of which a pot could be suspended by a cross bar. Below it was the mortar with a rounded stone pestle, as large as a man’s head, still lying on it. Unfortunately these relics were destroyed before measures could be taken for their preservation.

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