Salem: From the Beginning

Salem is a great place. It is a beautiful town and a friendly community. So what led up to this? How was it incorporated? Well, to answer this question, we have to go back to the 1600s, at the founding of Connecticut.

 

Algonquion tribes had settled the Connecticut area long before the Europeans came. In 1614, the Dutch became the first Europeans to settle there. They started regularly trading furs. Also, they fortified the site for protection from the Pequot Indians and the expanding English colonies. However, eventually, the English colonists got them to withdraw the territory. The Dutch were gone by 1654.

 

The first English colonists came from Massachusetts. In 1636, they settled in Hartford. Between the years of 1633 and 1637, they also settled Windsor, Wethersfield, the Saybrook Colony, and the New Haven Colony. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were adopted on January 14, 1669. They describe the government that was set up for them. On April 22, 1662, the Connecticut Colony gained a Royal Charter that confirmed the self-government that was created by the Fundamental Orders.

 

The Salem area was originally settled by Mohegans. In present-day Salem, the very first settlement of European origin was deeded in 1664. Then, however, Salem was a part of Montville. Many people started to settle in a nearby town called Colchester. Both of these settlements were far from churches, so the people petitioned the Connecticut General Court for a new parish in 1725. It was called New Salem Parish in honor of Colonel Samuel Browne, who lived in Salem, Massachusetts. He was the biggest landowner at the time. 

 

Salem became a town in 1819, bordering Montville, Lyme, and Colchester. It had a population of about 1,200. It was settled mostly by farmers. However, the population remained low due to the rocky land. Today, Salem has a population of about 4,000.

 

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Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_Orders_of_Connecticut

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem,_Connecticut

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Connecticut

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Edyta Wolk is 13 years old and in 8th grade at Sacred Heart School. Her hobbies are singing, acting, playing the bass guitar, crafts, and, of course, writing

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