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The history of Newtown, Connecticut. ==18th century== Newtown Meeting House served as the town's Congregational Church for many years. The town of Newtown, originally known as Quanneapague, was purchased from the Pohtatuck Indians in 1705. In 1708, 36 Connecticut Englishmen petitioned the General Assembly to settle an area north of Stratford (at least seven men previously had been given permission to settle the area). The 36 became "petition proprietors" legally entitled to own its common land and share in the division when the town decided to parcel out tracts into private hands. The town was incorporated in 1711.〔() Cruson, Daniel, "A Brief History of Newtown" Web page at Newtown Historical Society Web site, accessed March 28, 2007〕 In 1709, a "Town Plat" (essentially a planned design for the town's roads and properties) was established. The plan called for a wide north-south road (now Main Street), intersected by a northern and southern Cross Highway (now West Street, Church Hill Road and Glover Avenue Route 302). home lots were distributed in 1710 to proprietors, which then totaled 48 men. A 49th parcel was reserved for the minister when one was chosen.〔 The town's first settlers had a lot in common. They were generally in their late 20s and early 30s, mostly from Stratford and Milford, and second- and third-generation immigrants and farmers to a man. A move to the interior meant they could have more land to farm. Most of the men settled with their families on the original plots in a relatively compact village near the main street.〔 Their houses were built in the saltbox or Cape Cod cottage style and were 1½ or 2 stories high. In the back were barns, privies and other small outbuildings, and typically an orchard farther back. Small gardens were started for vegetables and herbs.〔 Originally, each proprietor's property was scattered. In addition to the plots for homes, land was given out for planting and grazing land. The first division gave each proprietor a meadow lot to the south of the village, near Deep Brook. Then a division was made for for "pitch" — parcels for crop fields near the village. Then each received a parcel somewhere else in town. Almost all of the town's land was divided up within 20 years.〔 For convenience, proprietors began moving away from the central village and to some of their larger parcels, and several proprietors with land in the same area tended to move out together to reduce isolation. One of the first of these outlying settlements was Sandy Hook, settled within a year of the start of the village. The Potatuck River at Sandy Hook allowed for the setting up of saw and grist mills.〔 Other concentrations of settlers (as seen from the establishment of schools) were at the area around Taunton Lake (school founded in 1738); Zoar to the east and Land's End to the north (both in 1748); Palestine petitioned for a school in 1748; Hanover got its school in 1755. By 1760 the town had seven school districts, including two in the village. There were 20 by 1794. (The districts were abolished in the 1920s, but their names have survived and are still use in designating various neighborhoods or areas of town. Other names include Dodgingtown, Hattertown, Lake George, and Head O’Meadow.)〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of Newtown, Connecticut」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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