Old Connecticut Path: Difference between revisions
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| link2=[[United States Migration Internal|Migration]] | |||
| link3=[[US_Migration_Trails_and_Roads|Migration Trails and Roads]] | |||
| link4= | |||
| link5=[[Old_Connecticut_Path|Old Connecticut Path]] | |||
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Did an ancestor travel the '''Old Connecticut Path''' of Massachusetts and Connecticut? Learn about this settler migration route, its transportation history, and find related genealogy sources.<br>[[Image:{{OConnPathmap}}]]__TOC__ | |||
=== History === | === History === | ||
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*[[Suffolk County, Massachusetts]] | *[[Suffolk County, Massachusetts]] | ||
{{Block indent|*[[Boston, Massachusetts|'''Boston''']]}} | |||
*[[Middlesex County, Massachusetts]] | *[[Middlesex County, Massachusetts]] | ||
{{Block indent|*[[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Watertown, Massachusetts|Watertown]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Waltham, Massachusetts|Waltham]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Weston, Massachusetts|Weston]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Wayland, Massachusetts|Wayland]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Sudbury, Massachusetts|Sudbury]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Marlborough, Massachusetts|Marlborough]]}} | |||
*[[Worcester County, Massachusetts]] | *[[Worcester County, Massachusetts]] | ||
{{Block indent|*[[Northborough, Massachusetts|Northborough]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Shrewsbury, Massachusetts|Shrewsbury]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Worcester, Massachusetts|Worcester]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Leicester, Massachusetts|Leicester]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Spencer, Massachusetts|Spencer]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[East Brookfield, Massachusetts|East Brookfield]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Brookfield, Massachusetts|Brookfield]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[West Brookfield, Massachusetts|West Brookfield]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Warren, Massachusetts|Warren]] (Western)}} | |||
*[[Hampden County, Massachusetts]] | *[[Hampden County, Massachusetts]] | ||
{{Block indent|*[[Palmer, Massachusetts|Palmer]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Wilbraham, Massachusetts|Wilbraham]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Springfield, Massachusetts|'''Springfield''']] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Agawam, Massachusetts|Agawam]] (Lower Ferry)}} | |||
*[[Hartford County, Connecticut]] | *[[Hartford County, Connecticut]] | ||
{{Block indent|*[[Suffield, Connecticut|Suffield]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Windsor Locks, Connecticut|Windsor Locks]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Windsor, Connecticut|Windsor]] }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Hartford, Connecticut|'''Hartford''']]<br>}} | |||
'''Connecting Routes'''. The '''''Old Connecticut Path | '''Connecting Routes'''. The '''''Old Connecticut Path ''''' connected with many other settler migration routes: | ||
'''''Boston connections:''''' | '''''Boston connections:''''' | ||
{{Block indent|*[[Bay Road]] connects [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] (Massachusetts Bay) to [[New Bedford, Massachusetts|New Bedford]] (Buzzards Bay). }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Coast Path]] follows an ancient Indian path near the shoreline from [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] to [[Plymouth, Massachusetts|Plymouth]]. }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Kennebunk Road]] links [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] along the New England coast to [[Augusta, Maine]]. }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[King's Highway]] also known as the Boston Post Road goes from [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], Massachusetts to New York City, and south to [[Charleston County, South Carolina|Charleston, South Carolina]] with extensions on each end. In Massachusetts and Connecticut there were at least three competing routes for the Boston Post Road. Parts were laid out 1650 to 1735; its length remained in heavy use through 1783, and some parts are used to this day. }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Mohawk or Iroquois Trail]] This trail was established in 1722 from [[Albany, New York|Albany]] to [[Utica, New York|Utica]] to [[Rome, New York|Rome]] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Oswego Fort Oswego] on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Ontario Lake Ontario]. The [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] to Albany side of that route probably preceded the Albany to Oswego route by many years. }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Old Roebuck Road]] goes from [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] to [[Providence, Rhode Island]] (Narragansett Bay).}} | |||
'''''Springfield connections:''''' | '''''Springfield connections:''''' | ||
{{Block indent|*[[Catskill Road]] (or [[Catskill Turnpike]]; also known as the '''''Ancram Turnpike''''') from [[Springfield, Massachusetts]] to [[Ancram, New York]] to [[Catskill, New York]] to [[Unadilla, New York]] (formerly Wattle's Ferry) on the Susquehanna River. }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Connecticut River]] attracted settlers by way of the Atlantic Ocean.}} | |||
'''''Hartford connections''''' | '''''Hartford connections''''' | ||
{{Block indent|*[[Greenwood Road]] from [[Hartford, Connecticut]] to [[North Canaan, Connecticut]] to [[Pittsfield, Massachusetts]], to [[Albany, New York]]. }} | |||
{{Block indent|*Road to New Haven and on to New York City. }} | |||
{{Block indent|*[[Connecticut River]] attracted settlers by way of the Atlantic Ocean.}} | |||
'''Modern parallels'''. The modern roads that roughly match the '''''Old Connecticut Path | '''Modern parallels'''. The modern roads that roughly match the '''''Old Connecticut Path ''''' from Boston to Springfield to Hartford are: | ||
{{Block indent|*'''Broadway''' westbound in Cambridge, Massachusetts }} | |||
{{Block indent|*'''Western Ave / Arsenal''' westbound to Watertown }} | |||
{{Block indent|*'''Main Street''' westbound to Waltham }} | |||
{{Block indent|*'''US-20 W / Weston / Boston Post Road''' westbound to Shrewsbury }} | |||
{{Block indent|*'''MA-9''' westbound to West Brookfield }} | |||
{{Block indent|*'''MA-67 / Boston Post Road''' westbound winding toward Palmer }} | |||
{{Block indent|*where it merges with '''US-20 W / Boston Road / State Street''' westbound into Springfield}} | |||
At Springfield cross the Connecticut River on the south side of town | At Springfield cross the Connecticut River on the south side of town | ||
{{Block indent|*from Agawam take '''MA-157 / Main Street / East Street N''' southbound to Hartford, Connecticut}} | |||
=== Settler Records === | === Settler Records === | ||
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Boston was founded in 1630 by Puritan immigrants from England. Springfield and Hartford on the Connecticut River were founded in 1636 by 100 Puritans colonists. The Indian footpath between these places and Boston attracted settlers who would be able to more easily get access to the markets. Many of the earliest settlers along the Old Connecticut Path would have been from Boston, Massachusetts area, and prior to that from England. Look at the earliest deeds, tax records, and histories of towns along the Old Connecticut Path to learn the names of the first settlers. If you already know the name of a settler near the Old Connecticut Path, you have a good chance of finding his or her genealogy in sources like: | Boston was founded in 1630 by Puritan immigrants from England. Springfield and Hartford on the Connecticut River were founded in 1636 by 100 Puritans colonists. The Indian footpath between these places and Boston attracted settlers who would be able to more easily get access to the markets. Many of the earliest settlers along the Old Connecticut Path would have been from Boston, Massachusetts area, and prior to that from England. Look at the earliest deeds, tax records, and histories of towns along the Old Connecticut Path to learn the names of the first settlers. If you already know the name of a settler near the Old Connecticut Path, you have a good chance of finding his or her genealogy in sources like: | ||
*Robert Charles Anderson, ''The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633'', 3 vols. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, c1995). {{WorldCat|33083117|item|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}; {{ | *Robert Charles Anderson, ''The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633'', 3 vols. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, c1995). Online at: [https://www.americanancestors.org/search/databasesearch/393/great-migration-begins-immigrants-to-ne-1620-1633-vols-i-iii American Ancestors] by NEHGS ($). {{WorldCat|33083117|item|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}; {{FSC|22717|item|disp=FS Library Book 974 W2a}}. | ||
=== External links === | === External links === | ||
Latest revision as of 00:33, 20 August 2025
Did an ancestor travel the Old Connecticut Path of Massachusetts and Connecticut? Learn about this settler migration route, its transportation history, and find related genealogy sources.
History[edit | edit source]
The Old Connecticut Path was created by Native Americans in antiquity.[1] It originally went about 94 miles (151 kilometers) from Boston to Springfield in Massachusetts[2], and then another 26 miles (42 kilometers) south to Hartford, Connecticut. It was the first eastern North American trail that led west from settlements on the Atlantic seacoast into the interior of America (Connecticut River Valley).[3] The Connecticut River itself was also an important transportation route which attracted early settlers. Starting in the 1650s the Old Connecticut Path route was used as the upper fork of the Boston Post Road to New York City[4], also known as the King's Highway which eventually extended as far south as Charleston, South Carolina. In the 1760s stagecoaches began to traverse these roads carrying regular mail and passengers. Inns for stagecoach passengers usually were established near the time of American Revolution. Nevertheless, travel between colonial towns was more often by sea than it was over land until just before the American Revolution.[5]
Earliest settlers. The Old Connecticut Path was used by members of the Massachusetts Bay Colony as early as 1630. In those first years Indians also carried corn from the Connecticut River Valley over the path to help supply starving colonists in Boston.[6] The route continued to attract settlements in the interior of Massachusetts and Connecticut because it provided access to markets for settler goods and services.
Variations. Over time the route was shortened and straightened. A more direct road from Boston to Hartford (which skipped Springfield) also came to be called the Old Connecticut Path, and also become the middle fork of the Boston Post Road.[7] [8]
Toll roads. Massachusetts and Connecticut developed turnpike (toll) systems for wagon roads in the early 1800s including part of the route from Boston to Springfield (Palmer to Warren "Massachusetts 1st Turnpike").[9] Likewise, most of the more direct Boston to Hartford route became a turnpike (Hartford and Dedham,[10] Center,[11] and Hartford Tolland,[12] turnpikes). Most of these early pathways continue as roads today. Modern freeways usually parallel the older road systems.
Decline. However, the use of early roads and turnpikes for moving settlers waned with the introduction of railroads. Settlers could travel faster, less expensively, and safer on railroads than on wagon roads. So, as railroads entered an area, the wagon-road traffic in that area declined. The first railroads in Massachusetts and Connecticut were built in the late 1830s. A rail line from Providence, Rhode Island reached Hartford, Connecticut and New York City about 1847.[13]
Route[edit | edit source]
Settlers who traveled the Old Connecticut Path from Boston to Springfield to Hartford passed through these places:[14]
Connecting Routes. The Old Connecticut Path connected with many other settler migration routes:
Boston connections:
Springfield connections:
Hartford connections
Modern parallels. The modern roads that roughly match the Old Connecticut Path from Boston to Springfield to Hartford are:
At Springfield cross the Connecticut River on the south side of town
Settler Records[edit | edit source]
Boston was founded in 1630 by Puritan immigrants from England. Springfield and Hartford on the Connecticut River were founded in 1636 by 100 Puritans colonists. The Indian footpath between these places and Boston attracted settlers who would be able to more easily get access to the markets. Many of the earliest settlers along the Old Connecticut Path would have been from Boston, Massachusetts area, and prior to that from England. Look at the earliest deeds, tax records, and histories of towns along the Old Connecticut Path to learn the names of the first settlers. If you already know the name of a settler near the Old Connecticut Path, you have a good chance of finding his or her genealogy in sources like:
- Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, 3 vols. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, c1995). Online at: American Ancestors by NEHGS ($). At various libraries (WorldCat); FS Library Book 974 W2a.
External links[edit | edit source]
- Boston Post Road in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia (accessed 17 October 2014).
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Old Connecticut Path in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia (accessed 28 October 2014).
- ↑ Frederic J. Wood, The Turnpikes of New England and the Evolution of the Same Through England, Virginia, and Maryland (Boston: Marshall Jones, 1919), 25. Internet Archive version online.
- ↑ Old Connecticut Path.
- ↑ Boston Post Road in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia (accessed 28 October 2014).
- ↑ Wood, 25.
- ↑ Old Connecticut Path.
- ↑ Old Connecticut Path.
- ↑ Boston Post Road.
- ↑ Wood, map between 56 and 57, and 63-64.
- ↑ Wood, map between 56 and 57, and 138-40.
- ↑ Wood, map between 330 and 331, and 396.
- ↑ Wood, map between 330 and 331, and 366-67.
- ↑ New York and New England Railroad in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia (accessed 28 October 2014).
- ↑ File:Boston Post Road map.png at Wikimedia Commons (accessed 28 October 2014).
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