Wolcott
From the Connecticut Historical Collection
BY John Warner Barbour
Published 1836

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WOLCOTT iS a small elevated township, situated in the northern extremity of the county, bou ed N. by Plymouth and Bristol, E. by Southington, S. by Cheshire and Watherbury, and W. by Waterbury and Plymouth. It average bout six miles in length, and has an average breadth of about three miles. "The township is hilly and mountainous, and is situated in the vicinity of the commencement of the granitic district, which extends through the western section of the state, and comprises a considerable portion of Litchfield County. About 1 1/2 miles N. E. of the meeting house, there is a hill which is the most elevated land in this part of the state; Long Island Sound,. the mountain east of Somers, and some parts of the state of Massachusetts can be seen from this spot. The soil is a hard, coarse, gravelly loam, and rather sterile : the lands however afford tolerable grazing, but are rough and stony. There are two houses of worship, 1 for Congregationalists, and 1 for Episcopalians. The number of inhabitants in 1810, was 952, in 1830, it was reduced to 843. Wolcott was incotporated as a town in 1796. It was formed from a part of the original town of Farmington and a part of Waterbury. It was from this circumstance that the place was formerly called Farmingbury. The first clergyman was the Rev. Alexander Gillet: he was succeeded by the Rev. Israel B. Woodward. Mr. Woodward, though somewhat eccentric in some parts of his conduct, was a person of supe rior intelligence and esteemed by his parishioners. A thanksgiving sermon of his is recollected, in which he compared the state of Connecticut to the land of Canaan. In one respect, he mentioned, there was a striking similarity; the land of Canaan was rocky, this was very much the case ith Connecticut, at least with that part of it in which Wolcott was situated.

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