About New Milford:The town of New Milford is located in the southern end of Litchfield County, CT, on the Housatonic River. It was one of the earliest settlements in what is now Litchfield County. European settlement of New Milford began in 1707, when one John Noble and his 8-year old daughter Sarah arrived from Westfield, MA, to settle. Subsequently, many settlers made their way up the Housatonic River from Milford (and from other places as well) to settle in this new town. The town's most famous offspring (although he was an adopted son, having moved from Massachusetts) was Roger Sherman, one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence. New Milford's children over the years moved west. Many moved to Connecticut's Western Reserve (Northern present-day Ohio), and their names are found in every state today. More recently, due to its proximity to Danbury and Interstate 84, as well as the Fairfield County "Gold Coast", New Milford has acquired two distinctly different characters. The still rural areas around the urban/suburban central area of New Milford has attracted weekenders, many from New York City, who have build elaborate estates. Meanwhile the central area has grown in terms of population, including those who are employed here and those who commute elsewhere. In the course of our New Milford project -- as with most of the projects we undertake here at Between the Lakes Group -- we encounter interesting historical details. Here are a few about New Milford:
We chose two books -- one thick and the other thin, but both very scarce -- for our New Milford re-publication project, originally entitled
We published them a few years ago as part of a CD-ROM with that title. While that CD is no longer available, we have taken the contents and republished them as downloads exactly as they appeared on the CD.
Two Centuries of New Milford, Connecticut -- 1707-1907originally published in 1907 by the Grafton Press in New York City. Only 1000 copies of this volume were printed before the type was broken up. The paper on which the book was printed is not high quality, and we suspect that most copies are no longer in existence -- if they are, they will certainly not stand much handling at this point. Around 320 pages long, Two Centuries of New Milford
There are 42 pages of photographs, mostly of
people, many with multiple people pictured per page. The picture pages
are glossy, and they have scanned extremely well. While the book contains an
index, it is dramatically incomplete for today's uses. While it may
have had some value at the time of original publication as a subject index,
it omits the names of most of the people actually named in the book --
definitely making the original book of little use to people with a
genealogical interest in the area. Thus, we decided almost immediately
that republication should include
complete re-indexing of the entire
book, and are happy to provide our
index here to permit examination before
purchasing -- or for use with a copy of the book if you happen already to
have one.
Download Two Centuries of New Milford, including our own index, in PDF format, for $5. The New Milford High School yearbook for 1937This soft-covered volume consists of 40 un-numbered pages, including many photographs and several pages of advertisements. With 59 graduates of New Milford High that year, and with the Depression still very much in evidence, it is unlikely that more than 200 copies were originally printed. Due to its soft cover, we doubt that more than a fraction of these survive. The photographs, done by a local photographer, are of unusually high quality (particularly those of the graduates), and reproduced very well. Here are a few samples of the New Milford High School seniors that year...
It was striking to us while we were in the process of indexing this yearbook, compiled only thirty years after the Bi-Centennial, how much New Milford had changed in the 30 years that elapsed between the two books.
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INTERESTED IN TALKING ABOUT NEW MILFORD HISTORY?When we republish material about a locality we customarily provide a moderated e-mail group for those who might want to discuss the history of that place. Well, New Milford certainly deserves its own discussion group!! If you would like to join an e-mail discussion
group about New Milford history, with the freedom to leave at any time, and
to participate as much (or as little) as you wish -- all free(!) -- just
NewMilfordCT-subscribe@yahoogroups.com You'll be on the list immediately!
We're also pleased to recommend the New Milford Historical Society to
you. They've got a great web site with lots more New Milford
information you are sure to find useful.
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Are you interested in our other Litchfield County, CT offerings?
How about Lake Waramaug? From the Connecticut Quarterly, Volume III (1897). Litchfield County’s Lake Waramaug has long been recognized for its scenic beauty. Since there is only just so much one can write about a scenic lake, this short article also covers both New Preston and Marbledale, the two nearest communities. See our Litchfield County page.
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Between the Lakes Group is located at 372 Between the Lakes Road, in Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut. More specifically, we're in Taconic -- a hamlet in the Twin Lakes area of the Town of Salisbury. Questions about us or about our products? Go to our Frequently Asked Questions page. |