Brief History of Easton, Connecticut
Fairfield County
Geology/Topography:
Forty percent of this rural/residential town is devoted to reservoirs and watershed. The area was slow to develop because of the rough hills along the Aspetuck River.
The Bridgeport Hydraulic Company owns half of the town's property.
History:
1670 -- North Fairfield, a part of the town of Fairfield, purchased from the Aspetuck Indians.
1757 -- settled by men from Fairfield.
1762 -- the Connecticut General Assembly established the parish of North Fairfield: Christ Church (Episcopal) Parish.
c. 1764 -- Easton Congregational Church established.
1775-1783 -- American Revolutionary War.
1787 -- the Legislature combined the parishes of North Fairfield and Norfield into the town of Weston.
1787 -- Samuel Staples died, leaving his entire estate to establish the Staples Free Academy. A fund descended from this beginning still provides a scholarship for college students from Easton.
1787 -- the Jesse Lee church established. Jesse Lee was a circuit rider from Virginia who preached as far north as Maine. (The current church building is located at 25 Flat Rock Road.)
1791 -- the Staples Free Academy, the first free secondary school in Connecticut and one of the first in the country, established. Although the school was intended for the poor, its excellent reputation attracted the wealthy who paid $4 per year tuition to attend classes.
1816 – the colonial Bradley-Hubbell house built for Aljah and Elizabeth Bradley. (The house, at 535 Black Rock Turnpike, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.)
1845 -- the former parish of North Fairfield was divided from Weston and became Easton. It is still governed by the town meeting.
1847 -- Easton incorporated.
1861-1865 -- American Civil War.
19th century – this was a time when Easton's population fell as sons left to work in Bridgeport's factories or to head out west.
By 1867 -- there were thirteen school districts in town.
1884 -- Frank Henry Wade began peddling milk at the age of sixteen in Easton.
1893 -- Frank Henry Wade started his own dairy business. (Later he moved to Fairfield.)
1909 postcard -- shows the Easton center (taken from in front of the Congregational Church) with the intersection of Westport and Center Roads and the Staples Academy on the right.
Until 1910 -- Easton was primarily a farming community with many small businesses and industries.1912 – Bradley descendants sold the Bradley-Hubbell house property to the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company. Much of the farmland was flooded for a reservoir. The company leased the house to employee Franklin Hubbell, until his death in 1996.
1912 – Snow's Farm (550 Sport Hill Road) established. Philip Snow came from Europe and purchased the farm.
Early 1920's – Silverman’s Farm on Sport Hill founded by Ben Silverman. Ben pressed apple cider for over 60 years.
1928 – at age 30, Ben Silverman married Rose Hartz, who canned preserves and baked bread for their road-side stand.
1932-1954 – Patricia Hubbell, Franklin Hubbell's daughter, wrote about life in the Bradley-Hubbell house.
1937 -- the town hall built. It was a gift of Gustavus A. Pfeiffer and Judge John F. McLane.
1956 -- Notre Dame of Easton Roman Catholic Church (640 Morehouse Road) dedicated.
1970s and 80s – Silverman’s evolved into a Pick Your Own fruit farm featuring a widespread orchard, scenic tractor rides, and petting farm with many types of barnyard animals, and fowl.
1977 -- two historical signs erected by the Town of Easton, the Historical Society of Easton, and the Connecticut Historical Commission.
1982 -- Covenant Church of Easton removed to Easton from Bridgeport, where the Covenant church was established in 1896.
1994 -- Actress Jessica Tandy died in Easton at age 85.
Today -- town population of around 6,400.
Prominent residents: Edna Ferber, writer, and Ida M. Tarbell, muckraking writer.
Sources:
HISTORY OF EASTON, CONNECTICUT http://www.rootsweb.com/~ctfairfi/pages/easton/easthistory.html
Farm History: http://www.bestagentonline.com/ext_real-estate_info.asp?link=www.silvermansfarm.com/
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