Book Review: Cheshire's Celebration of the Three Hundredth Anniversary of the Settlement of Connecticut, 1635–1935
- Richard {Reggie} Smith
- Jul 2
- 8 min read
By Richard "Reggie" Smith Research/Editor Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0
Every so often a historical publication comes along that is far more than simply a book. It becomes a window into another era. Cheshire's Celebration of the Three Hundredth Anniversary of the Settlement of Connecticut, 1635–1935 is one of those rare works.
Published following Cheshire's participation in Connecticut's statewide Tercentenary celebration in August 1935, this 113-page volume captures not only the events of that remarkable celebration but also preserves an extraordinary collection of historical essays, photographs, family names, and community memories that continue to serve historians nearly a century later.
For anyone researching Cheshire's past, this book deserves a permanent place on the bookshelf.
More Than a Souvenir
At first glance, the publication appears to be little more than an official program documenting the festivities held between August 15 and August 18, 1935.
Readers will find schedules for speeches, concerts, historical pageants, church services, exhibits, and community gatherings, along with the names of hundreds of local volunteers who organized what was one of the largest civic celebrations in Cheshire's history.
Yet beneath the event program lies something much more important.
The committee recognized they had a unique opportunity to record Cheshire's story while many descendants of the town's earliest families were still alive. Rather than producing a disposable souvenir booklet, they assembled what amounts to one of the finest historical compilations ever published about the community.
A Treasure Trove for Local Historians
One of the book's greatest strengths is its collection of historical papers covering nearly every aspect of Cheshire's early development.
Among the highlights are detailed essays on:
The founding of Wallingford and the eventual settlement of West Farms, later New Cheshire Parish.
The gradual evolution of Cheshire into an independent town in 1780.
Early roads, bridges, schools, churches, and town government.
The development of Cheshire's industries.
Agriculture and farming.
Revolutionary War service.
Education.
Historic homes and landmarks.
The lengthy essay tracing Cheshire's origins from the New Haven Colony through the establishment of New Cheshire Parish remains one of the most readable summaries of the town's colonial development. Drawing heavily upon early town records, it walks readers through decades of petitions, land grants, boundary disputes, settlement patterns, and church formation that ultimately led to Cheshire becoming its own town. Although modern scholarship has refined some interpretations over the past ninety years, the narrative remains remarkably accurate and remarkably engaging.
Revolutionary War Gold Mine
Perhaps the publication's greatest contribution is its extensive roster of Cheshire men who served during the American Revolution.
Far more than simply listing names, the editors included military units, ranks, enlistment dates, battles, deaths in service, pension information, and other valuable notes that continue to assist genealogists today.
Families researching the Atwaters, Halls, Brooks, Bristols, Hotchkisses, Doolittles, Mosses, Hitchcocks, Hulls, Iveses, and dozens of other Cheshire families will find this section invaluable.
While some entries have since been expanded or corrected through later archival research, the compilation remains one of the foundational references for Revolutionary-era Cheshire.
Historic Photographs Worth the Price Alone
The volume also preserves photographs that would otherwise have been lost to time.
Images of reconstructed colonial rooms, historical exhibits, antique furniture, clocks, kitchens, bedrooms, and artifacts provide a fascinating glimpse into how Cheshire residents in 1935 interpreted their own past.
Ironically, these photographs now possess historical significance of their own, documenting collections and heirlooms that may no longer exist today.
An Unexpected Census of Cheshire
One fascinating feature appears almost casually within the book.
The committee published lists of historic homes, identifying dozens of houses by owner and construction date. Likewise, historic sites—including Jinney Hill Mine, the Old Canal Lock, the Old Whipping Post, Captain Lucius Tuttle's Brick Kiln, and the last surviving district schoolhouse—were documented as part of the Tercentenary effort.
Today, these lists serve as snapshots of Cheshire in 1935, allowing researchers to compare how the town's historic landscape has changed over nearly a century.
A Community Effort
One of the book's most charming qualities is the overwhelming sense that this was truly a community project.
Teachers, clergy, librarians, business owners, civic organizations, historians, musicians, artists, and hundreds of volunteers all contributed.
Nearly every prominent Cheshire family name appears somewhere throughout its pages—Hall, Norton, Moss, Bradley, Hotchkiss, Buckingham, Baker, Durand, Bishop, Bristol, Smith, Voos, Hale, and many others.
The publication captures a generation that deeply valued local history and understood that preserving it required collective effort.
Reading It Today
Modern readers should remember that this book reflects the historical methods and writing styles of the 1930s.
Documentation standards were different than those expected today. Footnotes are sparse, citations are limited, and some family traditions were accepted with less scrutiny than modern historians might require.
That does not diminish its value.
Instead, it reminds us that this publication should be viewed as both a historical source and a historical artifact—a record of what Cheshire believed about its own past in 1935.
Many facts presented in the volume have since been verified through additional research. Others have been refined as historians gained access to broader archival collections.
Even so, few publications have contributed more to preserving Cheshire's early history.
Ten Hidden Gems Inside Cheshire's 1935 Tercentenary Book
When most people hear about Cheshire's Celebration of the Three Hundredth Anniversary of the Settlement of Connecticut, 1635–1935, they assume it's simply a souvenir program from an old town celebration.
It is—but it's also much more.
Buried within its pages are remarkable historical discoveries that continue to aid historians, genealogists, and anyone fascinated by Cheshire's past. Here are ten of the book's most overlooked treasures.
1. The Complete Story of How Cheshire Was Born
Many residents know Cheshire was once part of Wallingford, but few realize just how complicated the separation really was.
The book carefully traces decades of petitions, land surveys, boundary disputes, church organization, and political negotiations before New Cheshire Parish finally became the Town of Cheshire in 1780. Rather than presenting a simple timeline, it explains why independence took generations to achieve and how local leaders gradually earned greater self-government.
2. Revolutionary War Soldiers You Won't Find on Most Lists
One of the publication's greatest contributions is its extensive roster of Cheshire men who served during the American Revolution.
The editors didn't simply list names. They recorded military units, enlistment dates, promotions, battles, deaths in service, pension information, and even notes about those who served at Yorktown or died in camp.
For descendants of families such as Atwater, Bristol, Hall, Hitchcock, Hotchkiss, Ives, Moss, Brooks, Doolittle, Hull, and dozens of others, this section remains an invaluable research starting point.
3. A Snapshot of Cheshire Before Modern Development
The committee documented dozens of historic homes by owner and estimated construction date.
Reading the list today is like driving through Cheshire in 1935.
Many of the houses still stand. Others have disappeared beneath modern development, making this one of the best surviving inventories of Cheshire's historic architecture before suburban growth transformed the landscape.
4. Forgotten Historic Landmarks
Among the locations marked during the Tercentenary celebration were places that many residents have never heard of:
Jinney Hill Mine
The Old Canal Lock
The Old Whipping Post
Captain Lucius Tuttle's Brick Kiln
The last surviving district schoolhouse
Hough Mill
These markers reflected what local historians considered essential pieces of Cheshire's story in 1935. Some have vanished, while others survive only in photographs and memories.
5. Early Cheshire Industries That Built the Town
Today's Cheshire is primarily residential, but the book reminds readers that the community was once surprisingly industrial.
Its essays describe tanneries, grist mills, sawmills, blacksmith shops, fulling mills, clothing works, mining operations, and water-powered manufacturing that flourished long before modern factories arrived.
It also credits local inventors and craftsmen whose contributions reached far beyond Connecticut.
6. The Celebration That Nearly Didn't Happen
One fascinating detail hidden in the foreword explains that organizers had planned an elaborate Children's Pageant as one of the highlights of the Tercentenary celebration.
It was cancelled because of the threat of infantile paralysis (polio) spreading through neighboring communities.
Nearly ninety years later, readers who lived through the COVID-19 pandemic will recognize the difficult decision local leaders faced in balancing celebration with public health.
7. Cheshire Welcomed Visitors from Across America
Almost 1,500 visitors registered during the celebration.
Even more impressive, the registration records showed visitors arriving from sixteen states outside Connecticut.
Long before tourism campaigns and social media, Cheshire's history attracted people from across the country.
8. A Museum That Existed for Only Three Days
The organizers assembled an extraordinary historical exhibit featuring colonial bedrooms, kitchens, dining rooms, antique clocks, books, maps, farm equipment, china, glassware, and countless family heirlooms.
For three days, Town Hall became what was essentially Cheshire's largest historical museum.
Many of those artifacts have since disappeared into private collections, making the photographs in the book priceless historical records.
9. Hundreds of Cheshire Names Preserved Forever
The publication reads almost like a town census.
Committee members, speakers, volunteers, musicians, clergy, business leaders, and civic organizations fill page after page.
For genealogists, seeing ancestors listed as organizers of one of Cheshire's proudest civic events adds another layer to understanding family history.
The book preserves not only historical facts but also the people who believed preserving Cheshire's story mattered.
10. History Written While History Was Still Alive
Perhaps the greatest hidden treasure isn't a photograph or a list.
It is the timing.
The book was assembled in 1935 by people whose parents and grandparents had lived through the nineteenth century. Many contributors personally knew Civil War veterans, descendants of Revolutionary War families, former miners, button makers, farmers, educators, and church leaders.
They recorded stories while memories were still fresh and before countless family documents disappeared.
That makes this volume more than a history book.
It is one generation handing its memories directly to the next.
A Final Thought
Every generation has an opportunity to preserve its history—or lose it.
The citizens who organized Cheshire's 1935 Tercentenary understood that preserving the past required more than speeches and celebrations. They documented names, places, traditions, photographs, and stories that otherwise might have vanished forever.
Today, nearly a century later, historians continue to benefit from their dedication.
As Cheshire approaches future anniversaries, this remarkable volume reminds us that the history we preserve today will become the foundation for tomorrow's historians.
Sometimes the greatest treasure isn't hidden in the ground.
Sometimes it's waiting quietly on the shelf of a library, ready to be rediscovered.
Final Verdict
★★★★★ (5 out of 5)
For anyone interested in Cheshire history, genealogy, colonial Connecticut, or local preservation, Cheshire's Celebration of the Three Hundredth Anniversary of the Settlement of Connecticut, 1635–1935 remains indispensable.
It is part history book, part family album, part civic scrapbook, and part archival record.
Most importantly, it reminds us that local history survives because ordinary citizens choose to preserve it.
The volunteers who assembled this remarkable volume in 1935 likely never imagined that ninety years later historians would still rely upon their work.
Fortunately for all of us, they did.
Recommended for: Local historians, genealogists, educators, preservationists, Connecticut history enthusiasts, and anyone who has ever wondered how Cheshire remembered its own past during one of the proudest celebrations in its history.
Cheshire's Celebration of the Three Hundredth Anniversary of the Settlement of Connecticut, 1635–1935
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