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THE tract now comprising the towns of Kent and Warren was sold at auction at the
court house in Windham, in March, 1738. The settlernent commenced the same year. The town was laid out in fifty
three shares. The principal settlers were rom Coichester, Fairfield and Norwalk. Payne, Washburn, Wright, Ransom
and Platt, were from Calchester; the Comstocks were from Fairfield; and the Slausons, Canfields and Bassetts, were
from Norwalk. The town was incorporated, and vested with town privileges at the session of the Legislature in October,
1739. The first minister was the Rev. Cyrus Marsh, ordained in May, 1741. The settlement of the town was rapid.
In May, when Mr. Marsh was ordained, the church consisted of ten males only; but before the end of th.e year, there
was an addition of fifty three persons, male and female, principally by recommendations froth other churches.
Kent is characteristically mountainous; it is bounded N. by Sharon, E. by Warren, s. by New Milford, and w. by
the state of New York. It is nearly 8 miles in length, and 6 in breadth from east to west. The manufacture of iron
was formerly carried an to a considerable extent in this town; there are at present three furnaces in operation.
There are 3 houses of worship in the town; 1 Episcopal, 1 Congregational, and 1 Methodist.
The above is a representation of the Episcopal church in Kent, 50 miles from Hartford, and the same distance from
New Haven. The Housatonic river passes at the foot of the mountain seen in the back ground. About a mile and a
half below this building, on the opposite side of the river, the Moravian church or mission house was standing
30 or 40 years since, near the house of Mr. Raymond, which is just discernible.in the distance on the extreme left.
The Moravians left this place about half a century since. The Scatacook tribe, for whose benefit this mission was
established, occupied the interval on the west side of the river for about three miles. The scenery in this place
has a peculiar charm, being uncommonly beautiful and interesting. The river, calm and still, winds with grace and
beauty through this fertile spot, while the mountain rises abruptly, high, rugged and precipitous, forming a back
ground and finish to the picture. During the Revolutionary war this tribe furnished 100 warriors. It is said that
they were able to communicate intelligence from the sea coast 10 Stockbridge, Mass. the distance of 100 miles,
in two hours. This was effected by Indian yells, or whoops, from their men, who were stationed at proper places
along the borders of the Housatonic, from its mouth up to Stockbridge. Dr. Dwight, who passed through this place
in 1798, says that there were sixteen wigwams remaining.
Gideon Mauwehu, the king or sachem of the Scatacook tribe, was a Pequot Indian. The last place of his residence,
previous to his coming to Kent, was in the town of Dover, N. Y. on Ten mile river, a few miles west of Scatacook.
Mauwehu, in one of his hunting excursions, came to the summit of the mountain which rises almost precipitously
west of Scatacook, and beholding the beautiful valley and river below, determined to make it the place of his future
residence. It was indeed a lovely and desirable place; there were several hundred acres of excellent land, covered
with grass like a prairie, with some few scattering trees interspersed. The river was well supplied with fish,
and on the mountains, on both sides, was found an abundance of deer, and other wild game. At this place Mauwehu
collected the Indians, and became their sachem, and here the Moravians had a flourishing mission.
A granddaughter of the sachem, Eunice Mauwehu, and two or three families, are all that now (1836) remain of the
tribe at Scatacook. The place where Mauwehu resided was sold by the state for about 3,000 dollars, the interest
of which is annually appropriated for their benefit. This farm has been recently sold by Mr. Raymond for 18,000
dollars. The tribe still possesses about 300 acres of land, lying south of this farm; the greater part of which,
however, lies on the mountain west of the valley, and is valued from 1,500 to 2,000 dollars.
"There is in this town, (says Dr. Trumbull,) convincing evidence, that it was a grand seat of the native inhabitants
of this country, before Indians, who more lately inhabited it, had any residence in it. There are arrow heads,
stone pots, and a sort of knives, and various kinds of utensils, frequently found by the English, of such curious
workmanship, as exceeds all the skill of any Indians since the English came into this country, and became acquainted
with them. These were not only found when the town was first settled, but they are still found on the sides of
Housatonic river. The history of the Indians in the town when the settlement of it commenced, is well known. Mowehue,
a sachem, who a few years beforehad removed with his Indians from Newtown to New Milford, about the year 1728 built
him a hunting house at Scatacook, in the northwest part of Kent, on the west bank of the Housatonic river. He invited
the Indians at New Milford, from the Oblong, in the province of New York, and from various other places, to settle
with him at Scatacook; and it appears that he was a man of so much art and popularity among the Indians, that in
about ten or eleveh years, about the time when the town was settled, he could muster an hundred warriors. The whole
number, probably, was about live or six hundred. These, like the other Indians in this state, and in most other
states, have been greatly diminished.
WARREN
WARREN was formerly a part of Kent. it was incorporated as a town in 1786. It is
bounded N. by Cornwall, E. by Litch6eld, s. by Washington, and w. by Kent. Its average length from north to south
is five miles, and its average breadth about four miles and a half. The township is hilly and mountainous, and
its rocks and soil are of a granitic character. The agricultural productions are grass and some grain. Butter and
cheese are made, and beef and pork raised by the inhabitants. The town is watered by the Shepaug, a branch of the
Housatonic. Raumaug pond, a considerable body of water, is situated partly in this town, and partly in Washington.
The population of the town in 1810 was 1,096; in 1830 it was reduced to 986. The central part of the town is 8
miles west from Litchfield, 38 from Hartford, and 45 from New Haven.
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