Angry New England threatened secession fearing loss of trade and economic disaster. New England blamed Madison for financial losses caused by “Mr. Madison’s War.  The attempt of the Americans to annex Canada was a major failure.  Yet the tiny American Navy serving on Lake Erie engaged the superior British Navy.  An American ship, the Lawrence was under the command of Captain Oliver H. Perry.  When Captain Perry’s ship was demolished by the British cannons, Perry and his remaining sailors abandoned the Lawrence and took a rowboat to another ship.  Perry, from his rowboat, flagrantly displayed a banner to his remaining fleet, “Don’t Give Up The Ship.” The American Navy primarily privateers, manned by non-press gang crews proved formidable.  Perry, using ships made from local trees and iron scavenged from barn doors successfully defeated the British squadron.  Captain Perry sent General William Henry Harrison, who later became our ninth president, the much desired message, “We have met the enemy, and they are ours!” 
     August 1814, the British landed 6,000 troops in the Chesapeake Bay and headed toward Washington and “The Yankee Palace” as the British called the White House.  Dolly Madison, the wife of President James Madison, is credited with saving the portrait of George Washington and other national treasures as the White House was evacuated from the ensuing British.  The White House was decimated by British troops.  The British Fleet headed for Fort McHenry where a vicious battle took place.  Francis Scott Key, detained on a British ship, anxiously waited for dawn to see if the American flag on Fort McHenry still existed.  The smoke and the bombs prevented any view of the flag, symbol of the new nation, until daylight.  This battle inspired Mr. Key to write a poem entitled “The Star Spangled Banner” which was later set to music and became our national anthem.  Andrew Jackson, our seventh president, won fame for his infamous successes when the British attempted to gain control of New Orleans and the Mississippi waterway.  The war itself continued until February 1815 when the Treaty of Ghent was ratified by Congress. President Madison formally declared the war was over.
      Nationally, the legend of American ingenuity was born. Unanticipated consequences of the War of 1812 were the stimulus of American industry, economic success, patriotism, good feelings and national pride. Goods previously imported were no longer available; therefore Americans prevented economic disaster by innovation.  New industries were created. New establishments for the manufacture of cotton goods, woolen cloth, iron, glass, buttons, pottery and a multitude of new discoveries, and inventions grew from the prohibition of trade with the outside community.  America again triumphed over the British and America took her place a world power. 
     Locally, Plymouth proudly claims these soldiers: Jedediah Alcott, Uriah Allen, Jonathan Andrew, Lyman Baldwin, Levi Brown, Leavitt Darrow, Benjamin Fenn, Lyman Jerome, Richard Mansfield, James Mix, Angus Nickelson, Harry Painter, Benjamin Palmer, Miles Smith, David D. and Apollos Warner.

By Judith Giguere, Town Historian

Father and My Mother
Tell my fate to my dear brother
Flaming elements of fire
Hath robbed you of your great desire.

     Daniel Potter was a Connecticut soldier in the French and Indian War, instrumental in the settling of our new community and a signer of Plymouth’s incorporation papers. 

Beneath this stone
Lies deacon Daniel
Potter who in a
Comfortable hope
Of one day rising
To a glorius immor
Tality fell asleepe
October 29, 1773
In the 55th year
Of his life.

Martha Potter
Wife of Daniel Potter
Having walked with God
Triumph’d over Death 13th
July 1770 ae 54 years

Mortals behold your fate
And lend a listening ear
Think on your final fate
For Christ will soon appear

     Lake, the son of Daniel and Martha was born August 13, 1759 while Daniel was a soldier in the French and Indian War serving at Lake George.  The child was named “Lake” in honor of this service.  Lake George was named after King George III of England.  England was falling out of favor with the thirteen colonies, therefore the child was named “Lake.”  Daniel was an incorporator of the Town of Plymouth and representative to the state legislature several times. Lake Potter was a Plymouth soldier in the Revolutionary War.

     Lucy Todd’s grave is presently unmarked.  It is believed the original stone was made of gray schist and lost over the years, possibly discarded as an ordinary rock. Lucy was the daughter of Rev. Samuel & Mercy Todd.  Rev Todd was the first minister to the Northbury community.  Lucy was eleven months old when she died in 1752.

     Amos Bronson, also interred in the Old Burying Ground, is referred to as “Dr. Bronson” in some sources; Mr. Bronson was a soldier in the French and Indian War serving in Captain Downs Company.  Mr. Bronson died September 2, 1819 at age 88.  He was one of the incorporators of the Town of Plymouth and the great-grandfather of Louisa May Alcott, celebrated author. Amos Bronson was also the grandfather of little Emily Bronson.

Tyler, Jerusha,
Ozias Tyler was an incorporator of the Town of Plymouth.  This stone is near the entrance of the Old Burying Ground and has eroded considerably.

In Memory of
Mrs Jerusha
Consort to Mr.
Ozias Tyler
Who departed
April 8, 1790
Ae 41

On what a moment of time
Hang Everlasting things.

In memory of
Mrs Freelove
Wife of Mr.
Asa Darrow
Who died with her
Daughter still
Born December 14th
1773 in her 24th
year

     A small brown stone is in memory of three infant children of the Welton family.  It speaks of the tragedy of infant mortality of early America.

In
Memory of
3 children of Eli & Mrs
Anne Welton
Almon died
Nov 22d 1798
Ae 7 wks
Aaron Sanford died
Nov 29th 1808
Ae 1 year
Eunice died
April 21 1809
Ae 18 months

Eunice Warner
May 31, 1772 – Dec 15, 1839
Wife of
Eli Terry–
“Mother of all the Terrys”

     Eunice Warner Terry was born May 31, 1772 and died December 15, 1839.  Mrs. Terry was the first wife of noted clockmaker, Eli Terry. Eli and Eunice were married March 12, 1795.  Eli and Eunice had nine children. The Terry family contributed to clock making industries and initiated other industries in the Terryville section of Plymouth.   After the death of Eunice, Eli married the Widow Harriet Ann (Pond) Peck in 1840.

     The Old Plymouth Burying Ground Restoration Project began in the fall of 2011.  The project includes restoration of the grounds, signage, clean-up, and installation of period style fencing in the front of the cemetery with appropriate landscaping, grading and drainage.  Volunteers are working on detailed transcription and photographing of the gravestones for preservation and for future generations. Tax deductible donations can be made to Plymouth Land Trust c/o Jerry Milne, 204 Keegan Road, Plymouth, CT 06782; please clearly state funds are intended for the “Old Plymouth Burying Ground Restoration.” Donations of $50 or more qualify for an engraved brick to be installed at the entrance to the Burying Ground for a lasting tribute. Engraved bricks have a maximum of three lines, sixteen spaces per line. Please indicate what you would like engraved with your donation by April 1, 2012.

     Visitors are welcome to the site, to see the project and walk through the lives of our forefathers and Plymouth’s early history.

By Judith Giguere, Town Historian

    October, 2011 - Hoadleyville, the section of Plymouth once known as Ireland because of its largely Irish population, and later commonly referred to as Greystone is located near Hancock Dam.  It is a hidden treasure of Plymouth.  This section originated as part of Hancox meadows as the first arrivals passed through in search of the elusive lead mine.  In 1700 the brothers Amos and Abraham Hickox established a sawmill.  Later, circa 1750 Calvin Hoadley ran a Grist Mill and the Terry, Thomas and Hoadley Clock Factory found a home on Hancock Brook.
    Eli Terry hired Silas Hoadley and the young Seth Thomas to help him build clocks.  The three

    July, 2011 - In the early part of the last century, trains were one of the dominant modes of transportation and freight hauling.  In the Plymouth area, the hills and steep grades made hauling heavy freight difficult even for trains.  It was not uncommon to see two or three engines on a train pulling load and sometimes another engine at the end of the train to push.  The decision was made to build a tunnel and correct the grade. 
    To fulfill the construction of the tunnel, it was necessary to cut through the rock ledges with the

      July 2010 - The sixteen acre pond was originally one of the holdings of the Eagle Lock Company of Terryville, but in the 1920’s the pond became the property of Walter Zeiner.  It is located off Seymour Road on one side and Holt Street and Harwinton Avenue on the other.
     In the late 1930’s, traumatic events in Europe were casting a foreboding shadow. The United States and the world were moving ever closer to the coming crisis of World War II.  In the midst of the pending gloom, Zeiner’s Pond offered a safe place to leave the ominous news behind.
      Summer days revolved Zeiner’s Pond. A series of cabins were once located on both sides of the lake.

Summer night on Lake Winfield

Plymouth Green, Plymouth Center, Ply.

      Originally, when Plymouth was part of Northbury, land was set aside as a Parade and Burial ground.  It is presently owned and maintained by the Plymouth Congregational Church and is located on Main Street in the heart of Plymouth village center. 

      The Soldier’s Monument located on the Green is nearly 20 feet high on a granite pedestal and obelisk.  The actual date of origin is unknown but possibly as early as 1865 and refers to the Civil War as the “War of 1861” and mentions President Abraham Lincoln’s name on it.