Gates of the City

This shooting hit me as being very relevant so I looked into the town’s history. Not sure if the following is relevant, but since I am not one who readily subscribes to coincidence I felt it all seems too odd not to be . . . 298 years ago to date of the shooting the following agreement was signed by the founders of Newtown, Ct. I ran across this piece of history real quick last night and figured I would pass it on. The following is a contract to transfer a parcel of land to the ownership of “Samuel Sanford and his heirs and assigns forever.”

“To all Christian people to whom these presents shall come. We agents for ye town of Newtown in ye County of Fairfield and Colony of Connecticut in New England authorized by ye sd Town by vote on December 14, 1714, to sign, seal and deliver an instrument on ye sd Town’s behalf unto Samuel Sanford and his heirs and assigns forever, that is to say a certain parcell of land lying under a mountain known by ye name of Pisga, that is to say, all ye land lying under sd mountain to ye bend of ye brook commonly called Pohtertuck Brook, so called, with all ye land belonging to us southward of ye sd mountain to ye farms called Old Farms all sd land thus granted bounding eastwardly on ye eastward bank of ye aforesaid brook to him ye sd Sanfor, his heirs and assigns forever, provided ye sd Sanford throw up with sizer in quantity out of his forty acres of mill land ye sd Sanford hath Liberty to take up ye same for part of his 60 acres pitch, provided that ye sd Sanford erecteth and buildeth a good grist mill sufficient for ye supply of ye Town of Newtown at or before ye 20th of August next, upon Pohtotuck Brook, provided that ye sd Sanford maketh a good mill seasonably, allways allowing suitable time for repairing or rebuilding, we ye above sd agents, in ye Town’s behalf, engage yt no other grist mill shall be erected to ye damage of sd Sanford so long as he sd Sanford doth supply ye sd Town with good mills and for ye full performance of ye above sd premises we bind ourselves, our heirs, executors or administrators or assigns forever. In witness hereof we have set our hands and seals in Newtown, this 14th day of December, 1714, in ye first year of our sovereign Lord George. Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of us.”

I’ve been looking at this off and on as I have had opportunity. It seems the school where the shootings happened is very close to the land of the grist mill, but more interestingly to me is the fact of how later the Sanford family developed an greater affiliation with the Sandy Hook area –

(more…)