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The Legends of Stamford: A Legacy of Independence and Honor: Origins of ‘The Stamford Style’ By your local realtor: Stephen Bornet What is the story of Stamford, its richness of culture, its suburban, yet sophisticated, style, and its rise from obscurity? Here’s an overview, including a few real estate activities that help explain some of the city’s many faces. Colorful legends, passed along since the 1600s, mark Stamford’s rise as one of Connecticut’s largest and most sophisticated cities. The first settlers, Puritans, sailed to the Connecticut colony shortly after the Pilgrims’ Mayflower landing at Plymouth Rock in 1620. It’s a matter of record that word “Connecticut” is derived from the Indian word "Quinnehtukqut" which means "beside the long tidal river" (or “I dare you to spell this correctly three times.”). These first Puritans had emigrated from the eastern shores of England, the region of Beowulf (“the bear”) - - comprised of agrarian Saxons, Jutes, Danes and Anglo-Saxons, who had slowly displaced the crusading Romans. Many settlers tried living as their Beowulf heroes, though real bears sometimes joined their campfires. The Puritans lived by heroic dreams and a singular belief: “Let us tend to our affairs and make a clean start in this new, untamed land.” (This thinking pattern continues to this day, as New Yorkers flee to the suburbs.) Early Religion The Puritans brought with them an instinct for survival. They exported from Connecticut a brand of religious freedom. This is not to be confused with “religious tolerance,” but a self-centered freedom from the British Monarch’s intervention in their religious affairs. These early residents prized self-reliance and a belief in limited government, a sort of “self-” or “non-” government, with a heavy dose of free thinking thrown in … their own escapist dreaming as they cleared the land of trees and rocks, then hand-planted a variety of crops. Marauding Indians almost proved their undoing, however, until a treaty of sorts was “signed.” Treaty or not, as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey symbolized ancient Greece, the heroic spirit of Beowulf stretched across the Atlantic into a loose world order in Stamford. Strength of character and physical prowess eventually triumphed, though these log-cabin dwellers could have used a few real estate agents to watch over their property rights. (Of course, the Indians’ descendents celebrate their own triumphs of sorts today at their two giant Connecticut casinos at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, on lands reclaimed from modern-day Puritans.) Fled Monarchy Meddling As school children are taught, the Puritans fled (some were chased) from England and its excessive government involvement of in religion. As quaint as that sounds now, the government’s meddling was a real issue of the day. More on this later. William F. Buckley Jr., one of the Stamford’s current and most illustrious citizens, wrote the first pages in a historical reference book and described Stamford as follows, “…if you don’t make it to the end of this introduction, I will forgive you, Stamford is not Athens.” Athens or not, Stamford remains a great place to live, and buy or sell property! There’s a Stamford Style lionized throughout the city. Buckley claims to have greatly enjoyed his “cloistered life” in his home office within the Wallack’s Point section of Cove. He also noted that Stamford is not “Lincoln Center,” when it comes to cultural activities, “but it is alive to the cultural world, and the tempo of activity increases.” Surprised Indians As custom dictated at the time, Stamford’s land was purchased, more or less and between attacks, from the local Indian chiefs, four of them – the Wascussue (representing Shippan), Mayano (Old Greenwich), Piamikin (Roaton), and Ponus (New Canaan). All the English transplants wanted from the Indians was to engage in agricultural pursuits during the week, then to attend church on Sundays, without exception. The four Indians warriors thought the settlers wanted to hunt and were quite surprised when permanent houses were immediately erected with ink barely dry on the area’s first warranty land deed. Of special note, the early settlers treated religion and land acquisition as sacred activities. Quite fittingly, these early families immediately built churches and managed to persuade two of the Indian chiefs into basically forfeiting their properties for paltry sums. Again, where were their licensed realtors? Hapless (unrepresented) Indians, hunters and fishermen, really, who roamed Stamford’ s pleasant hills and valleys, negotiated their “For Sale By Owner” Stamford land deal on July 1, 1640 (they knew the area as Rippowam). The Puritans were represented by a Captain Nathaniel Turner, an experienced developer from nearby Quenepiocke and, maybe, Stamford’s first honorary real estate broker. Captain Turner represented nearby New Haven Colony (founded two years before by Rev. John Davenport) and penned Stamford’s first land contract with two Sagamore Indian tribal chiefs, Ponus Sagamore of Toquams and Wascussue Sagamore of Shippan. The former led a tribe in northern Stamford and New Canaan; the latter oversaw Indians hunting in areas of Shippan, to the south, along the waterfront. Stamford’s first real-estate transaction proved wholly inadequate (the contract contained only 14 lines of text, one short paragraph, and both parties misunderstood what they were signing). The deed agreement proved imperfect and was punctuated by an occasional scalping. Satisfied at first, the Indians continued pursuing their hunting and fishing agenda, as though nothing had happened. The settlers immediately rolled in to take charge of their new real property. Naturally, battles ensured, including the murder of settler Cornelius Laddin and his family. Much to his dismay, he watched as his family was tomahawked and scalped. In his haste to flee, he and his horse galloped over a cliff in Greenwich, which now carries his name (no, not Cowardly Cornelius, but Laddin’s Rock). Purchase Misunderstanding Captain Turner is said to have inspected then assessed Stamford’s initial land value as worth a dozen coats, hatchets, glasses (mirrors) and knives, as well as four kettles and four fathoms (24 feet) of white wampum (stylish beaded necklaces made from the shells of mollusks). Wampum was prized at the time as a source for jewelry and was used as a medium of currency. The Indian chiefs, mysteriously, agreed to this land grab: Their pristine lands for a few items that might fit into an SUV. He agreed to deliver these items to the Indians within a month, which the tribal leaders said was alright with them. In lieu of signing their names, the Indians drew various stick figures: Ponus’ son Owenoke sketched a bolt of lightning, Wascussee, a bow and arrow, and another Indian representative appropriately sketched a war club. The land grab closed on time for approximately $150, certainly one of the most undervalued deals of the century, but not quite as good as the purchase of Manhattan for even less wampum! Naturally, the New Haven Colony quickly “flipped” the property for 100 bushels of corn to 28 men from Wethersfield. The colonial deed conveyed property for the future towns of today’s Stamford, Darien, portions of New Canaan and Greenwich, along with the southern portion of New York’s Pound Ridge. The Indians, no fools, kept for themselves the exclusive Wallack’s Point peninsula, along a portion of Stamford’s elegant waterfront at today’s Cove section. Quite naturally, the Indians later complained that they hadn’t understood that these English men and women, sons and daughters of Beowulf legend, would begin new construction so quickly, building their ranch-style houses and bringing free-range hogs, which quickly began devouring the Indian’s corn crops. (In geographic area, today’s Stamford spans nearly 40 square miles.) These tribes were members of the Siwanoy Chieftancy in the Wappingers Confederacy of the Delaware nation. They spoke the Algonkian language and were known as the Woodland Indians. Second Sale, With a Catch Meanwhile, as noted, over in New Haven’s Wethersfield area, two dozen disenchanted but equally motivated buyers decided to make another bid for a chunk of Stamford and put in an offer that matched Captain Turner’s Stamford initial investment (that same $150 equivalent of wampum and such). For some reason, he accepted this first bid and received his initial investment back, without interest or appreciation (where was his sales agent?). The only contingency: He said the investors needed to relocate and actually “settle” in Stamford, but must remain a part of the New Haven Colony. He sensed something grand was brewing in Stamford. The parties agreed and many of the names of the original agrarians survived through the years: Mitchell, Rainer, Denton, Ward, Coe, Gildersleve, Law, Reynolds, Whitmore, Bates, Ferris, Crabb, Sherman, Finch, Wood, Northend, Jagger, Wood, Clark, Bell, Morehouse, Weeks, Sherman, Fisher, Jessup, Smith and Simkins. Originally, as noted, Stamford was called “Rippowam,” an Indian word, named for the small river that flows quietly through the center of town. The western border ran along what was called Mianus, named for Chief Myanos, a local native. Noroton, which later broke away from Stamford in 1820, was named for the Indian word “Noro-tan,” or North Star. Ayrshire, Durobrevia or Stamford? As were many New England town names, Stamford is said to be named for one of three “Stamford’s” in the Motherland: Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire, Stamford of Worcestershire and Stamford of Lincolnshire. Legend has it that a cock fight actually “won” the Stamford name for posterity. Stamford won by a claw and it’s a good thing, because the losing cock was known by the tongue-twister “Ayrshire.” The word “Stamford” consists of two merged Anglo-Saxon words, “stan” for stone and “ford” for a river crossing shallow enough for a horse to maneuver. (No one has identified this river or rock. They must be long washed away.) Some early records misspelled Stamford as Stanford (the prestigious university in California). In Latin, the catchy word “Durobrevia” precisely defines the word Stamford, the stone river crossing. Both Ayrshire and Durobrevia retained fall-back status as back-up city names. Fortunately in a clear-headed maneuver, a New Haven court formally changed Rippowam’s name to Stamford, not Ayrshire or Durobrevia. Once established, early “Stamfordites,” “Stamfordians” or “Stamfordees” hewed the forests and built log farmhouses, today’s ranch-style, and constructed the first taxable industrial base, including a grist mill at the site of a small waterfall on the Mill River. They also built a blockhouse (at today’s Veterans Park) which proved useful as a fortress retreat, then the requisite church and school. The Indians watched in dismay. Democracy ensued, as these settlers resolved matters at contentious annual meetings and established the early roots of city life and style. Four fields for grazing were named Eastfield, Southfield, Northfield and Newfield. Cattle meandered into the salt marshes of Cove and Shippan, entering through a gate at today’s Elm St. and Tresser Boulvevard. Stone walls marked early property boundaries as the first zoning elements came into use. Church elders became “fence watchers” or guardians. Footpaths marked today’s streets and avenues, including Atlantic, Elm, Bedford, Summer, Main, Washington and Broad. By 1700, Stamford’s population had risen to 585 citizens. Pre-Revolutionary Stamford General George Washington was said to have breakfasted in 1781 at Webb’s Tavern in Stamford, a Post Road Stagecoach stop, though he apparently favored his stay in coastal Rye, N.Y. It was later, during the Revolutionary War, that he learned these Stamfordites were fierce fighters. They launched competent seaborne raids across Long Island Sound at Lloyd’s Neck, a stronghold of Tory loyalists to the Crown. These former Stamfordites had been chased across the Long Island, where they managed to conduct regular raids against the Colony. Their raiding days were numbered. Long Island Raid In response, these scrappy Stamford settlers formally battled both the British and the Tories in a night raid across the Sound on Sept. 5, 1779. Major Benjamin Tallmadge marshaled a force of 130 men from Shippan Point. He had served as General George Washington’s “chief of intelligence” and helped foil a plot by Benedict Arnold to seize West Point for the British. General David Waterbury’s insistence on the construction of Fort Stamford, off Westover Road in Stamford’s Roxbury area, prevented further raids on the new city. Alas, there was no famed “Battle of Stamford,” no President of the United States was born here, nor a general in the armies galloped off to battle. A national attorney general did come from Stamford, however, hence the name of Cummings Park in Shippan area. Stamford also boasts a strong record of support for the country’s major wars, starting with the leadership of Captain John Underhill, Captain Jonathan Sellick and Sergeant Daniel Wescott, who helped drive back the early Indian warriors. During the Revolutionary War, Usual Knapp of North Stamford served as General George Washington’s personal body guard. One-tenth of the entire population of Stamford fought in the Civil War, defending the Union. Early 18th Century Stamford Stamford’s population crept up to 4,465 by 1800. It supported six churches, four Congregational, one Episcopal and one Baptist. Shipping bound for New York City carried Stamford potatoes, apples, corn, wool and livestock. Cattlemen drove their herds down Long Ridge and High Ridge Roads to the intersection at Bull’s Head, where they stopped and made camp before the final push to the waterfront. Stamford has always prided itself on its maritime heritage, and the value of its waterfront properties, whose bays and inlets were fished and fished, starting with the Indians. The first steamboat to enter Stamford, The Oliver Wolcott, chugged into the harbor to great fanfare in 1825. In 1833, the town decided to build a canal from the Sound to the downtown area. The cost? $7,000, another one of the great real-estate deals in the region. Small merchant schooners could now navigate the trip from downtown Stamford all the way to New York City, past Westchester, City Island, and The Bronx. Their cargo consisted of agricultural products. The canal also enabled ships from the West Indies to sail right into the center of town. The Advocate The Stamford Advocate, Stamford’s local paper, dates to 1829, when it was founded and first called The Intelligencer, then the Sentinel, the Democratic Sentinel, the Farmer’s Advocate and, in 1848, The Stamford Advocate, by owners Edgar Hoyt and Andrew J. Smith. Stage coaches plied the Post Road, though the trip was precarious and expensive. The coming of the railroad in 1848 changed Stamford forever, as it stopped then clickety-clacked through the city on its way to New Haven. The rails brought job- searching immigrants, raised real estate values, and catered to the first commuters from New York. Until this time, Stamford had been a typical Yankee village, 100% Anglo- Saxon Protestant. Now Stamford’s population quickly doubled in about 10 years. With this expansion, Stamford’s Puritanism was replaced by a new energy, based on diversity, rather than uniformity. Stamford style was emerging out of Puritanism and brute force labor. Vacant land began to disappear. Before the Civil War, Connecticut’s Gov. William Buckingham had had the foresight to form a state militia, the so-called Stamford Light Brigade. More than 500 Stamford residents served with distinction in the War, but an astonishing 122 died in the South while fighting to “save the nation.” Stamford later operated a portion of the “Underground Railroad” for runaway slaves, with Benjamin Daskam overseeing the Stamford portion. Waterfront Haven On the yachting front, James D. Smith, one of the original directors of the Stamford Yacht Club (which was organized in 1891) fostered great interest in the waterfront of the time as a sailing haven and a place for his yachting buddies. In a way, Stamford’s seal, which dates to 1915, symbolizes some of the greatness of Stamford’s past, without hinting at its bright future involving Wall Street trading and supporting service companies. The crest consists of a tall sailing ship, and four quadrants of a coat of arms. The quadrants represent Lincolnshire, England, an Indian and settler, a grist mill and two crossed keys (one old, one new), the symbols of Stamford’s greatest manufacturing past, the Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co. south of I-95. Today, this parcel represents one of Stamford’s last great land developments. Speaking of which, Henry T. Towne and Linus Yale Jr. started their famous pin-tumbler lock company in Stamford in 1868. By the 1890’s, one in 16 residents of Stamford worked at the firm. A bit earlier, in 1848, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad were established. Stamford rapidly evolved from its rural beginnings into a manufacturing center. Similarly, the Blickensderfer factory in Stamford pioneered the manufacturer of the first portable typewriters. By 1890, the population had ballooned to 15,700. Other early products included the blue bottles from Charles H. Phillips Company, the Stamford Stove, the Schick Shaver, the Pitney Bowes postage meter, the ball bearings of Norma Hoffman, the cosmetics of Clairol and an America’s Cup defender (sailboat) by Luders Boat Yard. Then there is the Stamford-made Collender pool table, later a product of Brunswicke-Balke-Collender. Loan Subscriptions During World War I, the three National Guard units in Stamford all fought overseas in France. Battery F, Field Artillery, in 1918 became part of the 103rd Field Artillery of the 26th division. They helped win the second battle of the Marne. The Seventh Company, Connecticut Artillery corps, Connecticut National Guard, participated in battle with the Battery D. 56th artillery, Connecticut Artillery Corps. The Battery engaged the enemy in the Argonne offensive and shared in two major offensives in the Fismes and the Argonne-Meuse sections. The Ninth Company, Connecticut Artillery Corps, Connecticut National Guard, became part of Battery E. 56th Artillery which fought near Fismes. Stamford lost 38 citizens during the war. The town’s citizens subscribed to more than $13 million of five government loans, easily over-subscribing their quotas. Stamford was not poised for progress, with low taxes, small government and lots of land for the well-heeled to enjoy, buy and sell, three of America’s greatest past-times. Churches Stamford has no fewer than 80 churches, from African Methodist to Unified Methodist. In its earliest days, Stamford operated one church, the Congregational Church. It wasn’ t until the mid-1700s that Stamford gave permission to the Anglicans (Church of England) to build their own church. These Congregationalists could be described as religious radicals and radicals politically. The new “society” in Stamford was solely based upon religious membership. This SOCIETY required every freeholder to be a member in order to vote. Seating was by “dignity, aage and estate,” and not in that order. Today, Stamford boasts more than 80 churches and four synagogues. City agencies try to keep paved its more than 300 miles of streets, and keep lit more than 11,000 street lights. The city supports nearly 1,000 real estate agents, and William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services holds the largest market share of real estate transactions. Give me a call today for information about TODAY’s Stamford real estate market. Source: Stamford: Past & Present, 1641-1976, The Commemorative Publication of the Stamford Bicentennial Committee Stamford, From Puritan to Patriot, 1641-1774, Estelle S. Fienstein Other reference materials. Author: - Stephen Bornet, (203) 653-5628 Copyright 2008 Stephen F. 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