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The Old Connecticut Path was the Native American trail that led westward from the area of Massachusetts Bay to the
Connecticut River Valley The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Islan ...
, the first of the North American trails that led west from the settlements close to the Atlantic seacoast, towards the interior. The earliest colonists of
Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...
used it, and rendered it wider by driving cattle along it. The old route is still followed, for part of its length, by Massachusetts Route 9 and
Massachusetts Route 126 Route 126 is a north–south state highway in Massachusetts. Its southern terminus is a continuation of Rhode Island Route 126 by Woonsocket, Rhode Island and its northern terminus is at Route 2 and Route 2A in Concord. Along the way it i ...
.


History

In lean years of the early 1630s, when the
Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...
ran short of grain, Nipmuck farmers in the Connecticut River Valley loaded some of their abundant surplus maize into birch-bark backpacks and trod a familiar route to the settlements at the mouth of the
Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles bac ...
, where they traded food for European goods made of copper and iron and woollen cloth. Fur traders and the exploratory party of
John Oldham John Oldham may refer to: *John Oldham (colonist) (1592–1636), early Puritan settler in Massachusetts *John Oldham (poet) (1653–1684), English poet * John Oldham (psychiatrist), American psychiatrist *John Oldham (engineer) (1779–1840), Iris ...
(1633) penetrated this first of the trails west into the continent's interior. In 1635, some settlers from Watertown took this route when they removed to
Wethersfield, Connecticut Wethersfield is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut. It is located immediately south of Hartford along the Connecticut River. Its population was 27,298 at the time of the 2020 census. Many records from colonial times spell the nam ...
. In 1636, the outcast
Thomas Hooker Thomas Hooker (July 5, 1586 – July 7, 1647) was a prominent English colonial leader and Congregational church, Congregational minister, who founded the Connecticut Colony after dissenting with Puritan leaders in Massachusetts. He was known ...
and a hundred of his congregation, with 160 cattle, whose milk they drank en route, followed the Old Connecticut Path in a two-weeks' journey to the Connecticut River. There they settled in a place the native Lenape people called ''Suckiaug'', because of the blackness of its earth. They founded the English settlement of
Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since ...
. By 1643, documents in the village of Sudbury called this trail the "Old Connecticut Path." In 1672, with the establishment of a postal system, it became the first colonial
post road A post road is a road designated for the transportation of postal mail. In past centuries, only major towns had a post house and the roads used by post riders or mail coaches to carry mail among them were particularly important ones or, due ...
.


Route

Long native usage had emphasized the easiest route, skirting the water meadows of the river bottoms and crossing streams at the most dependable fords. During the trip to Connecticut the Path crosses the Blackstone River, that crossing was known as the North Bridge and the Quinebaug River crossing was known as the South Bridge, both Northbridge and Southbridge were named after those well-known landmark locations.


Massachusetts

The Path led west along the north bank of the
Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles bac ...
from New Town (
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...
) to newly settled Watertown and passed through what are now Waltham and Weston, curving southward where it entered the southeasterly section of the new town of
Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...
, now set apart as Wayland, where a section of the route still bears the name "Old Connecticut Path". At Wayland, the Bay Path, later the
Boston Post Road The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into one of the first major highways in the United States. The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. R ...
, diverged from the Connecticut Path, headed west through Marlborough, Worcester and
Brookfield Brookfield may refer to: Australia *Brookfield, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Brookfield, Victoria Canada * Brookfield, Manitoba, on Manitoba Highway 11 *Brookfield, Newfoundland and Labrador *Brookfield, Nova Scotia *Brookfield, Ontario ...
straight toward the Connecticut River. In Sudbury the Connecticut Path was known as "the road from Watertown to the Dunster Farm", for after passing along the north side of Cochituate Pond, it crossed the tract beyond that was granted to
Henry Dunster Henry Dunster (November 26, 1609 (baptized) – February 27, 1658/59) was an Anglo-American Puritan clergyman and the first president of Harvard College. Brackney says Dunster was "an important precursor" of the Baptist denomination in America ...
, president of
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...
, and the lands of Edmund Rice and Philemon Whale. The trail crossed the Sudbury River at "Danforth's Farm", since 1700 incorporated as
Framingham Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Bost ...
, where another section (Route 126) retains the name "Old Connecticut Path", threading past the northern shore of Lake Cochituate. The Connecticut Path headed west, threading between the Charles and Sudbury rivers on its way to the Connecticut River. "From Framingham the Old Connecticut Path runs southward through South Framingham, Ashland (Megunko), Hopkinton (Quansigamog), then through Westborough and over Fay Mountain, to the
praying town Praying towns were a settlements established by English colonial governments in New England from 1646 to 1675 in an effort to convert local Native Americans to Christianity. The Native people who moved into these towns were known as Praying I ...
of
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(Hassanamesit/Hassanamisco), through Sutton and then beyond to Connecticut.


Connecticut

The Old Connecticut path enters Connecticut at the
praying town Praying towns were a settlements established by English colonial governments in New England from 1646 to 1675 in an effort to convert local Native Americans to Christianity. The Native people who moved into these towns were known as Praying I ...
of Maanexit (
Thompson, Connecticut Thompson is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town was named after Sir Robert Thompson, an English landholder. The population was 9,189 at the 2020 census. Thompson is located in the northeastern corner of the state and i ...
) and then Woodstock, Conn.", Beyond Woodstock the path crosses
Eastford Eastford is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,649 at the 2020 census. History Eastford was formed in 1847 when it was broken off from Ashford, Connecticut. The name "Eastford" is locational, for the town ...
,
Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...
and Willington. Modern travelers can walk along portions of the path in both of those towns in places such as the Nipmuck Trail and the Ruby-Fenton Recreation area. Continuing westward the trail crosses Tolland, Vernon, a small corner of
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
before ending at the Connecticut River.


Notes

{{coord, 42, 21, 19, N, 71, 20, 42, W, region:US, display=title Native American trails in the United States Historic trails and roads in Massachusetts Historic trails and roads in Connecticut Native American history of Massachusetts Native American history of Connecticut