Thank goodness for these history walks! I had no idea how much I had forgotten. Did you know there were other presidents before George Washington? Of course, they weren't actually presidents of the "United States," they were presidents of the Continental Congress. They were not elected by U.S. citizens, but by members of the Continental Congress, and their duties were much different than those of the presidents who came after passage of the United States Constitution, which formed our now well-known three branches of government - executive, legislative and judicial, as well as a system of checks and balances to ensure no single branch of government would have too much power.
Fourteen men served as president of the Continental Congress between September 1774 and November 1788. We can think of these men as being presidents of a transitional government. These are the years just before the Declaration of Independence was written, during the Revolutionary War, and before the writing of the U.S. Constitution. This group of presidents can be further divided, as there was first the Continental Congress, and then it was later renamed the Second Continental Congress, or the Congress of the Confederation.
What does this have to do with Norwich? Well, it turns out the seventh president of the Continental Congress was Samuel Huntington, who lived in Norwich, CT beginning in 1754! Some people consider him the real first president of the United States, because he was president of the Continental Congress when the Articles of Confederation were ratified on March 1, 1781. He is buried in the Old Norwichtown Cemetery.
I also learned the word "Chelsea" means "safe harbor." So when we locals refer to "Chelsea Harbor," we are being redundant, because "Chelsea Harbor" translates to "safe harbor harbor."
One more fun fact: Privateers were legalized pirates. Local Captain Timothy Parker was one such privateer.
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| Howard T. Brown Memorial Park, Norwich,CT |
Ship building and trade led to an increase in local merchants and housing. Ships carried out livestock, provisions, and lumber, then returned with tropical and European merchandise. By 1774, Norwich was the 12th largest town in the colonies. The Connecticut government ordered vessels for coastal defense. Norwich men including members of the Mohegan tribe, built the Spy, the Shark, and the frigate the Confederacy. Peace brought prosperity, but by 1840 shipping faded away as a railway was built that better suited the needs of textile and other manufacturers.
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| Beautiful blue sky with moon still in view near weather vane |
In 1816, the first steamboat, Connecticut, docked here. In 1817, the Eagle, a Norwich-built steamboat exploded with 50 passengers on board, in full view of President James Monroe, who was on the steamboat Fulton. Fortunately, injuries were minimal as passengers had rushed towards the bow of the steamboat to catch a glimpse of the President, while the explosion occurred at the stern.
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| "Cornelia Lanman" dressed in hooped dress and wool cape |
While men were off at sea, women stayed at home running farms and other businesses.
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| On we go to continue our walk downtown |
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| View across Thames River |
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| Shetucket River flows into the Thames River |
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| Across the street - a road that was formerly named "Dock St." because it led directly to, you guessed it - the dock! |
The land that currently makes up the local park and lower Washington St. was not there in the 1800's. The harbor was filled in to create that later. The hills behind the harbor had very little development. They were mostly farms and land for cattle grazing. In fact, the cattle were frequently brought down to drink fresh water from the Yantic River.
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| A large stone step once stood in front of this building to aid women in getting on and off horses |
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| The Wauregan Hotel - where candidate Abraham Lincoln once stayed |
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New regulations required the first floor of buildings to be fire proof. The solution was often to raise the entire building and build a new ground floor. Note the original front door of the blue house - now on the second floor.
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| One of the Lanman homes, originally owned by Joseph's grandfather |
The Lanman's owned much of the land on Main St. and Church St. near Washington Ave.
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