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| link1=[[United States Genealogy|United States]] | |||
| 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 === | ||
The '''Old Connecticut Path''' was created by Native Americans in antiquity.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Connecticut_Path Old Connecticut Path] in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia (accessed 28 October 2014).</ref> It originally went about 94 miles (151 kilometers) from '''[[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]]''' to '''[[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]]''' in [[Massachusetts]]<ref>Frederic J. Wood, ''The Turnpikes of New England and the Evolution of the Same Through England, Virginia, and Maryland'' (Boston: Marshall Jones, 1919), 25. [https://archive.org/details/turnpikesofnewen00woodrich Internet Archive version online].</ref>, 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).<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Connecticut_Path Old Connecticut Path].</ref> 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<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Post_Road Boston Post Road] in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia (accessed 28 October 2014).</ref>, 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.<ref>Wood, 25.</ref> | The '''Old Connecticut Path''' was created by Native Americans in antiquity.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Connecticut_Path Old Connecticut Path] in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia (accessed 28 October 2014).</ref> It originally went about 94 miles (151 kilometers) from '''[[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]]''' to '''[[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]]''' in [[Massachusetts Genealogy Guide|Massachusetts]]<ref>Frederic J. Wood, ''The Turnpikes of New England and the Evolution of the Same Through England, Virginia, and Maryland'' (Boston: Marshall Jones, 1919), 25. [https://archive.org/details/turnpikesofnewen00woodrich Internet Archive version online].</ref>, 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).<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Connecticut_Path Old Connecticut Path].</ref> 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<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Post_Road Boston Post Road] in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia (accessed 28 October 2014).</ref>, 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.<ref>Wood, 25.</ref> | ||
'''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.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Connecticut_Path Old Connecticut Path].</ref> The route continued to attract settlements in the interior of Massachusetts and Connecticut because it provided access to markets for settler goods and services. | '''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.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Connecticut_Path Old Connecticut Path].</ref> The route continued to attract settlements in the interior of Massachusetts and Connecticut because it provided access to markets for settler goods and services. | ||
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:*[[Hartford, Connecticut|'''Hartford''']]<br> | :*[[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:''''' | ||
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:*[[Connecticut River]] attracted settlers by way of the Atlantic Ocean. | :*[[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: | ||
:*'''Broadway''' | :*'''Broadway''' westbound in Cambridge, Massachusetts | ||
:*'''Western Ave / Arsenal''' | :*'''Western Ave / Arsenal''' westbound to Watertown | ||
:*'''Main Street''' | :*'''Main Street''' westbound to Waltham | ||
:*'''US-20 W / Weston / Boston Post Road''' | :*'''US-20 W / Weston / Boston Post Road''' westbound to Shrewsbury | ||
:*'''MA-9''' | :*'''MA-9''' westbound to West Brookfield | ||
:*'''MA-67 / Boston Post Road''' | :*'''MA-67 / Boston Post Road''' westbound winding toward Palmer | ||
:*where it merges with '''US-20 W / Boston Road / State Street''' | :*where it merges with '''US-20 W / Boston Road / State Street''' westbound into Springfield | ||
* from Agawam take '''MA-157 / Main Street / East Street N''' | At Springfield cross the Connecticut River on the south side of town | ||
:*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 === | ||
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{{Connecticut|Connecticut}}{{Massachusetts|Massachusetts}} | {{Connecticut|Connecticut}}{{Massachusetts|Massachusetts}} | ||
[[Category:Migration_Routes]] [[Category:US_Migration_Trails_and_Roads]] [[Category:Connecticut]] [[Category:Massachusetts]] | [[Category:Migration_Routes]] [[Category:US_Migration_Trails_and_Roads]] [[Category:Connecticut Migration Routes]] [[Category:Massachusetts Migration Routes]] [[Category:Suffolk County, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Middlesex County, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Worcester County, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Hampden County, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Hartford County, Connecticut]] | ||
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