the title to the soil. Mr. Butler, who owned a tract upon which the river was encroaching, found after a while, some of his land appearing on the opposite side of the river, and accordingly laid claim to it. His claim was disputed, as he nev- er owned ldnd on that side of the river. It was.. a long time'before this case was decided. There ap- peared some difficulty in making the jury who sat on the case, to un- derstand the merite of the question. Mr. Ingersoll, a relative of the In- gersoll family in New Haven, was the counsel employed by Mr. But- ler. He illustrated the case by supposing that Mr. B. had built a castle on the land'in question. Al- though the ground on which it stood might be overflowed, yet stiil it was his castle, and also the ground on which it stood, and he had a right to his property wherever he could find it. The case was finally deci- ded in accordance with these views.
The State Prison of Connecticut was erected in this town in 1S26, and the prisoners from Newgate prison, in Granby, were removed here the next year. This building is situated on the south margin of the cove, which sets' backr'from Connecticut river, at"the north end of Wethersfield village. The build- ings of the prison form very near- ly a quadrangle, on the south side of which, stands the building which is more properly the Prison. The apartments of the warden are situ- ated in the east end of this build- ing ; the centre surrounds the block of cells 4 stories high, in which the male prisoners are loclo- ed up. This hall or centre is 154 feet long, 43 feet wide, and 30 feet high ; the number of cells or night rooms is 200. . The west end, is used as the female department, containing pells, rooms for labor, .kitchen, and apartments for the matron. The east, north, and west sides of this quadrangle, are form- ed by a wall 20 feet High. With- in this yard are situated two ran- ges of shops one on the east side, and one upon the west, in which the convidts perform their daily la- bor. The passage into the prison, is through the warden’s apartment, into the guard room, thence into the hall surrounding the cells, thence into the yard. This, ia the only passage, except through a large gate on the north side of the yard. |
Rocky Hill, the south parish of Wethersfield, lies on a collection of hills which are a continuation of the Middletown range: one of these eminences', Rocky hill, has given name to the parish. It has a pleasant little village on an eleva- ted situation, 7 miles from Hartford, with a landing at some distance, where considerable commerce and ship building were formerly car- ried on.
Newington, the 2d society in Wethersfield, was formerly called Cow plain. The village is pleas- antly situated in a fertile valley, west of Cedar mountain: the cen- tral part is G miles - from Hartford, ahiU^HTtmuVVethersfield village. “The inhabitants are chiefly engag- ed in agriculture, and are distin- guished for their general intelli- gence, and attachment to the in- stitutions of morality and religion.
Many years since, a gentleman of Newington, who was a very re- ligious and conscientious man, mar- ried for a wife, one of the most ill natured and troublesome women which could be found in the vicini- ty. This occasioned universal sur- prise wherever he was known, and one of his neighbors ventured to ask him the reasons which govern- ed his choice. The gentleman re- plied, that having had but little or no trouble in the woi*l, he was fearful of becoming too much at- tached to things of time and sense. And he thought by experiencing some afflictions, he should become more weaned from the world, and |