When was essex ct founded

As a result, another date applicable to our town's founding comes into the picture. This indicated that Potapoug Quarter now had enough residents to be considered separate from the First Ecclesiastical Society in Saybrook, and thereby support a church of its own. In effect, was the time that Essex also Chester and Deep River could be considered a town of its own.

This situation prevailed for almost years, when the State Legislature recognized Essex Borough as a separate entity in May The tremendous growth, both demographically and economically of this area due to shipbuilding was the reason for this recognition. It was a separate little town with its own officials. This borough status remained in vogue until , and it was during this year period that many of the streets in Essex Village were laid out and named.

In the spring of , the State Legislature made another change in the status of our town. Independence was in the air, and on January 31st, , the Colony of Connecticut authorized the building of its first warship for the Revolution, the Oliver Cromwell. Born of Independence, these are the beginnings of The Griswold Inn, a destination for seafarers and land travelers alike for more than years. Following the war, a vigorous economic climate and remarkable innovations forever changed the way Americans lived and traveled.

Regular steamboat service began on the Connecticut River in with Essex as an important stop, and a new ferry crossing and turnpike also opened nearby. Ivoryton developed a culture where the factory and the village were intertwined. The advent of radio as a new form of home entertainment, and the start of the Great Depression in , spelled trouble for the piano industry.

Unfortunately, this was a pattern being repeated throughout New England. There were other prominent factories located in Essex. Dickinson Co. Tiley, Pratt also produced a few automobiles in the first decade of the 20th century, aptly named the "Tiley. The Connecticut Valley Railroad put its line through Centerbrook in and set up passenger and freight terminals there.

This fostered the growth of a small industrial complex, which included the E. Within the past half-century all these local factories have closed their doors, but the railroad has been saved by becoming a tourist attraction. World War II essentially marked the end of the cultural movement to the Ivoryton section of Essex that had started around the time of the Civil War, but another change was commencing in Essex.

This next cultural movement concerned not only the closing of the large factories in Essex, but came about with the improvement of travel conditions in our country. The Interstate Highway System made it easier for people to move about. Combine this with the enormous growth and popularization of pleasure boating and Essex Village became once again a marine focal point.

The fact that so many fine older homes remained from the late 18th and early 19th centuries in the greater Essex Point area was testament to a lack of commercial demand for property here since These older structures have been renovated and Essex Village has become a combination of residential, retail, and tourist places. The selection of the town as "the Best Small Town in America" in a book, has also encouraged a change in the demographics of Essex.

Essex is really a "child of three rivers," the Connecticut, the Falls, and the Mud. These three waterways have played vital roles in the evolution of Essex, at different times, due to the demands of agriculture, pre-industrialization, or industrialization. These rivers have also been the source of chaos, due to flooding and other severe weather conditions.

The Connecticut River flood of was the greatest locally in recorded history for that body of water, and literally inundated the waterfront properties in Essex. The Falls River suffered a " year" flood in early June when up to 15" of rain fell in Essex in a short period of time. The mile long pond backed up by this structure roared into the Falls River basin, causing enormous damage.

All of the old water-power dams along this river were either weakened or destroyed. The September hurricane also caused havoc in Essex and the valley. It came after days of rain, resulting in many trees being uprooted due to the high winds and softened earth, and many pleasure craft in Essex Harbor were destroyed. A similar storm with even higher velocity winds occurred in September , but with a far smaller population and fewer structures, was not as disastrous.

It is often asked if any "famous" people resided in town. But by the middle of the 19th century, the sun was already setting on Essex Village as the center of business. The wooden sailing ships were being replaced by steam boats and iron-clad vessels. The town had prospered on the single industry that now was obsolete. Essex Village fell into a long period of financial decline as the business shifted, once again, to the village of Ivoryton or West Centre Brook as it was know at that time.

With the coming of the Railroad and the waning of the wooden ship era, the spotlight was moving to Ivoryton Village. Known originally as West Centerbrook, this area was sparsely settled well into the s, with only about a dozen homesteads and farms. Cheney, who was twenty years younger. After an early partnership to produce screwdrivers and ivory goods, Comstock set out on his own to manufacture ivory products.

Earlier in the century a machine invented by Deacon Phineas Pratt of Essex enabled the cutting of ivory for combs and other fine items. Comstock continued to refine the process and eventually concentrated on the manufacture of ivory piano keys and piano actions.

As the business grew, Comstock imported more workers and set up two dormitories to house them. From this early start, his plan for providing a community of buildings and services for his workers took shape. Joined in by George A.