Ancient Plumtrees 

An article that first appeared in March 1878 in a long-defunct newspaper known as The Bethel Press began in the following manner.

"There is but one Plumtrees in the wide world. In any quarter of the globe when you meet one who claims to come from Plumtrees you may know what portion of the earth he hails from. There is an individuality about it that belongs to no other place. Should one say, for instance, that he hails from Bethel, you may properly ask which Bethel, for there are twenty-six in this country. Or if a man says he hails from Washington you are in a mist for there are one hundred and seventy Washingtons in this country and some in England, at the last count, and the name is still spreading. Of Jackson's there are one hundred and thirty, and a new one every month. Plumtrees does not make itself so common. Changes are taking place here as to all places, but never let the name of Plumtrees be changed. Let it stand alone in the world, distinguished in name, as in characteristic features, from all other places on the globe."

Plumtrees, so lovingly described by native son, Dr. George Benedict in the flowery language of the late 19^th century, is centrally located within Bethel, bordering Stony Hill on the north, Newtown on the east, Wildcat and the Center districts on the south, and Danbury on the west. Its heart lies where Walnut Hill Road and Taylor Road meet on the south side of the bridge that crosses Limekiln Brook. The name "Plumtrees" dates back to before Bethel was made a separate Congregational parish of Danbury in 1759. It has always possessed its unconventional form, never being spelled "Plumb Trees."

It was one of six separate school districts, each with its own school that served an individual community possessing a unique personality and character.

After these separate entities were consolidated in 1888, and later, when the old district school buildings were closed and sold off, their respective names no longer resonated with later generations and newer residents. The passage of time began to dim the significance of Stony Hill, Wildcat (renamed Elmwood in 1870), Wolfpits, Grassy Plain, Center district, and Plumtrees. 

To revive awareness of the early events associated with this unique portion of Bethel, what follows is an article entitled "Ancient Plumtrees" that first appeared in The Bethel Press on April 9, 1878. It was reprinted in The Newtown Bee on February 28, 1913, and June 26, 1914. It relates the history of old houses and buildings of the Plumtrees school district that once existed on Plumtrees Road and Walnut Hill Road. The reminiscence, also written by Dr. George Benedict, provides fascinating information regarding the early homes and families of the area. Explanatory notes and a map have been provided to assist in identifying the locations described. The introduction was added to the 1913 Newtown Bee reprint. Numbers in parentheses indicate corresponding notes. The original format, spelling, grammar, and punctuation have been retained from the original article.

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(This introduction comes from the February 28, 1913, reprint.)

Editor Newtown Bee:

Your correspondent is indebted to Miss Emeline Griffin, (1) an old resident, for a copy of the Bethel Press, dated April 9, 1878, Albert A. Bensel, editor. I clip from the paper the following historical sketch of ancient Plumtrees by the late Dr. George Benedict, (2) who was an interesting writer, well known in this place 35 years ago.

 Henry C. Judd, (3) 

80 Maple Street, Bethel‍

PLUMTREES

I know of no record to refer to for dates concerning old places and incidents. It is impossible to fix a date for the building of the old places mentioned in these articles. When Dr. Schliemann (4) gets through with ancient Troy, we want him to dig in Plumtrees. The old places abandoned and torn down and passing out of memory number more than half as many as those now standing. There was an old Plumtrees as there was an ancient Troy and although its archaeology may not be as rich and inviting to the antiquarian, its old-time places deserve to be rescued from oblivion.

The old "Sam Barnum place" so-called from Samuel Barnum, (5) whose residence it was, is perhaps as nearly forgotten as any. It was situated at the base of Shelter Rock, just off from the road that leads out to Beaver Brook, about a quarter of a mile from East Swamp Bridge, and half a mile above the famed Ivy Island*, on the lot owned by the Seeleys of Bethel for several years, more recently by Capt. I.H. Seeley, (6) and passed by him into the hands of R.L. Couch (7). The worshipper of old ruins might imagine the stagnant pool and the solitary bittern, ** and the bat clinging to the mouldering wall only there is nothing to cling to. But he could hear the melancholy cry of the crow as he caws from the bills of "Crow's Nest" (8) undisturbed. There is not a vestige of it remaining. It was torn down the first part of the present century. The ploughshare has been driven through the foundations and the grounds have been cultivated fields or grazing ground for cattle for scores of years. There is not a human habitation now in that neighborhood.

(* Ivy Island is situated west of Meckauer Park. Part of it was once owned by P.T. Barnum, who used the worthless swamp as collateral in 1841 when purchasing Scudder's American Museum in New York City. ** A bittern is a large marsh bird of the heron family.)

There once stood just east of Samuel Bartow's (9) mill near the ledge of rocks, the "old meeting house" once occupied by the "Glassites" as a place of worship. They were a sect so-called from John Glass (10) of Scotland, who founded the sect in the last century. He died in 1773. There are none now in Plumtrees. The same sect are now called Sandemanians from Robert Sandeman, (11) also of Scotland, who joined them and by his superior ability greatly strengthened them. He came to this country and labored here several years. He died in Danbury in 1771 and was buried in the old graveyard in the rear of the jail. They were Calvinistic in theology. The old house was undoubtedly built considerably over a hundred years ago. It has been torn down many years. But few of the younger people know that there ever was such a building there. Mr. Bartow little thinks when he is pursuing his worldly avocations, (Sam makes cider and does other worldly things.) that the place where his mill stands was once consecrated ground where the "rude forefathers of the hamlet" laying aside their worldly cares offered up incense of praise and thanksgiving. There in their humble temple they met and worshipped. There they greeted each other with a holy kiss. They ate many a good dinner. They recognized the fact that man had natural as well as spiritual wants and they supplemented their worship with a hearty social meal and returned from service with not only their spiritual but physical strength renewed. Practical and sensible people were those old forefathers of Plumtrees. There they read and expounded the Scriptures and there they with their theological sieve sifted mankind exceedingly fine and panned out only a few for final salvation. There they "kanootened" their delinquent members. "Kanootened" is a word that belongs to the vernacular of ancient Plumtrees and is seldom found in English dictionaries. It means "to discipline," "to haul over the coals." Then as now a good brother occasionally had to be "churched." The writer has heard old people say that kanootening was of frequent occurrence.

The meeting house was changed into a dwelling house and it was occupied by Samuel Barnum, above mentioned and his family, for several years, and after his death by his widow universally known as "Aunt Nabby (12)." After her death it was occupied successively by many families.

Just east of Hollister's Mills, now Hurlburt's, near the railroad crossing, on the south side of the road, is the site of another old-time building, the residence of Capt. Ephraim Barnum, (13) father of the well-known Col. Noah S. Barnum, (14) and grandfather of the late Ephraim D. Barnum (15). There is nothing remaining to show the passerby that there ever was a dwelling there. It will be a new fact to many in Plumtrees. The house was contemporary with "Aunt Naomi's" (16) and "the old meeting house." It was taken down more than half a century ago.

Still further east near the new school-house, were two dwellings near together one of which was for many years the residence of Mr. James Beebe (17) well known and universally respected who died in Bethel a few years since at a very advanced age. One of the buildings was removed to grounds near Mrs. Starr's (18). It was subsequently transformed into a hat shop and Mr. Geo. Ferry (19) manufactured hats in it. It has gone to dust and ashes. The other, (Mr. Beebe's) was torn down about thirty years since. The new school-house stands on the land it occupied, a little east of the old foundation. The old house had the large stone chimney and huge fire-place of the period. Stones must have been plenty then and masons muscular. Their style seemed to be to build up a massive chimney of stone with yawning fire-places and a cavernous oven and then build a house around it as an accessory. The Thaddeus Starr (20) place situated in the northern part of Plumtrees was another residence belonging to the early period and now numbered with the fallen and almost forgotten. It was on the place now owned by Michael Ratchford (21) and stood a little north of the present house. It also had the immense stone chimney and liberal fire-place, and a long back roof that ran down almost to the ground – an exact pattern of the Asel Barnum (22) place, now Charles Grummon's (23). It was the birthplace of Mrs. Timothy Hollister, (24) the aged and respected lady who recently died at Preston Durand's, (25) her son-in-law. A quarter of a mile north of the last named place was the old Dibble homestead, the last house on the north border of Plumtrees, the residence of the eldest Samuel Dibble, (26) still well remembered by many Bethel people. It was an old-time structure, but always had an air of old-time comfort about it. The neighborhood is a pleasant one and a good place to raise large families. Children have been born there almost from time immemorial. But few places of its size are more extensively or better represented than that sunny little corner of Plumtrees.  Aitch (27)

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Explanatory Notes:

1. Miss Emeline C. Griffin (1833-1917), who preserved a copy of the original article, grew up in Plumtrees and later lived at what was once 16 Maple Avenue but is now 35 Hickok Avenue.

2. Dr. George Benedict (1824-1887), the author of this piece, was a Bethel physician and local historian who lived at 73 Plumtrees Road. He wrote a history of Bethel that appeared in the History of Fairfield County, Connecticut, published in 1881 by D. Hamilton Hurd. An 1849 graduate of Yale, he served as an assistant surgeon in the 23^rd Connecticut Infantry Regiment during the Civil War.

3. Henry Clay Judd (1833-1916) contributed the 1878 article to the Newtown Bee for republication in 1913. His former home still stands at 80 Maple Avenue.

4. Dr. Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890) was an amateur German archaeologist who excavated Hisarlik, Turkey, beginning in 1870 and concluding in 1890. Many believe Hisarlik to be the site of ancient Troy.

5. Samuel Barnum (1769-1818) lived in a house that may be the same one found on a circa 1778 map by Erskine and DeWitt. It was then shown as the home of Matthew Crofut. Matthew Crofut Sr. died on September 23, 1792. Barnum may have acquired the house after this time. No other dwelling is shown in this area on any early maps. The location was near 170 Shelter Rock Road in Danbury. Sadly, Barnum committed suicide by cutting his throat at age 49 on November 3, 1818.

6. Captain Isaac Hawley Seeley (1793-1880) was a prominent Bethel hat manufacturer who lived at 27 Main Street, Bethel. 

7. Rufus Levett Couch (1817-1898) was a comb maker and farmer who lived at 26 Walnut Hill Road and, later, at 32 Walnut Hill Road.

8. Crow's Nest occupies the summit of Shelter Rock Hill in Danbury. The location derives its name from the large flocks of crows that traditionally nested there.

9. Samuel Bartow (1841-1902) operated a sawmill and cider mill on the property immediately northwest of 18 Walnut Hill Road.

10. John Glas (1695-1773) was a Scottish clergyman who began the Glasite church movement. Its name is often misspelled "Glassite." Owing to the tireless efforts of his son-in-law, Robert Sandeman, to spread the faith, followers in the United States were known as Sandemanians. 

11. Robert Sandeman (1718-1771) was a Scottish nonconformist theologian born in Perth, Scotland, and died in Danbury, Connecticut. Within Connecticut, Sandeman established churches in Plumtrees, Danbury, Newtown, and New Haven. The Sandemanian Meeting House, which became the second home of Samuel Barnum, stood on land that is now part of 18 Walnut Hill Road. 

12. Abigail Ferry Barnum (1766-1847), nicknamed "Aunt Nabby," was the daughter of Benjamin Ferry and Sarah Dibble and the wife of Samuel Barnum. She sold the old Sandemanian Meeting House on March 7, 1845, to Horace H. Couch and his brother Charles W. Couch (Danbury Land Records – Vol. 34, Page 469).

13. Captain Ephraim Barnum (1733-1817) lived on Walnut Hill Road, close to where a house designated 88 Walnut Hill Road exists today. He was a veteran of the American Revolution and the paternal grandfather of P.T. Barnum.

14. Noah Starr Barnum (1776-1859) was a colonel in the local militia and lived at 71 Plumtrees Road.

15. Ephraim D. Barnum (1806-1877) was the son of Colonel Noah Starr Barnum and inherited the family home at 71 Plumtrees Road.

16. Naomi Barnum Beebe (1766-1841) was the daughter of Matthew and Jane Barnum and the wife of Ethel Beebe (1765-1812). (His first name was pronounced E.E. - thul.) Hoyt Road in Bethel was earlier known as "Aunt Naomi's Road," as Naomi and Ethel Beebe had a house there on the north side of the road. Naomi Barnum Beebe outlived her husband by twenty-nine years. The road was so named as her home was the only residence that existed there for an extended time. The house most likely stood on land now a part of 8 Hoyt Road.

17. James Beebe (1782-1875) occupied one of the two houses that once stood where the Plumtrees school house, built in 1867, is now. His father, Lemuel Beebe (1743-1813), and his mother, Hannah Dibble Beebe (1745-1825), lived across the street in the still-existent house at 85 Plumtrees Road. Evidence suggests that the second home on this property belonged to Benjamin Hoyt (1748-1828). Beebe and Hoyt were first cousins. Hoyt's son, Benjamin Hoyt Jr., recalled in a memoir that his family moved to this spot in 1793.

18. Mary M. Couch Hodge Starr (1811-1894) was the widow of George Plumb Starr (1808-1867). She lived at 40 Walnut Hill Road. She was the daughter of Jonathan Couch (1780-1853) and Lydia Hoyt (1782-1879) and previously the widow of Hull Hollister Hodge (1810 -1857). This house was first owned by Captain Joseph Starr (1726-1802).

19. George Ferry (1817-1891) lived at 39 Walnut Hill Road in the mid-19^th century.

20. Thaddeus Starr (1759-1841), a veteran of the American Revolution, lived in a house on the west side of Walnut Hill Road close to where Far Horizons Drive now exists. 

21. Michael Ratchford (1830-1913) was an Irish immigrant farmer who lived near today's 82 Walnut Hill Road.

22. Asel Barnum (1776-1870) was the grandfather of Charles Grumman's wife, Emma Augusta Barnum (1838-1892). He had previously owned the house at 21 Walnut Hill Road.

23. Charles Grumman (1839-1917) lived at 21 Walnut Hill Road in a saltbox-style house that was destroyed by fire on January 20, 1903. A new house was subsequently built on the old site, with work beginning in June and completed by October 1903. The article misspells Grumman as "Grummon."

24. Rebecca Starr Hollister (1798-1878) was the daughter of Thaddeus Starr. In 1821 she married miller, Timothy Hollister (1797-1870).

25. Preston Durant (1799-1875) was a hatter who lived at the eastern end of South Street.

26. Samuel Dibble Sr. (1742-1821) had a house on Walnut Hill Road directly across from the northern end of Rockwell. This property is now part of 102 Rockwell Road. A black square indicating its location is shown on both the 1856 and 1858 Clark maps of Bethel. Nothing was shown on the site when the Beers Atlas map was produced in 1867, indicating the house no longer existed.

27. Aitch was the nom de plume under which Dr. George Benedict often wrote. Its significance is not known.

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THE JOSEPH STARR JR. HOUSE - A separate Bethel Press article from March 12, 1878, described the Joseph Starr Jr. (1746-1823) House that once existed at 29 Walnut Hill Road. The saltbox-style home was torn down sometime around 1838 and replaced with the current house. The article states: "It stood a little distance east of the present house on the ground now embraced by the front yard."  The house shown above was built on the same property by Joseph Starr Jr.'s son, Asel Starr (1779-1855), and son-in-law, George Ferry (1808-1867), who married Mary Whitlock Starr (1819-1897). In the 1890s, the residence operated as a vacation resort for summer tourists known as Maple Hill House.

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LANDMARKS MENTIONED IN "ANCIENT PLUMTREES" 

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A - Samuel Barnum House

B – Sandemanian Meeting House

C – Captain Ephraim Barnum House

D – Naomi Barnum Beebe House

E – James Beebe House

F – Mary M. Couch Hodge Starr/Captain Joseph Starr House

G - Thaddeus Starr House

H - Samuel Dibble House

I - Asel Barnum House

J - Joseph Starr Jr. House

The locations provided are approximations based on available information. Except for the Starr House at 40 Walnut Hill Road, none of the original buildings remain at these sites.

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1791 NOTICE TO FARMERS – The Farmer's Journal of December of 1791 advertises a meeting at the home of Captain Joseph Starr, which still exists at 40 Walnut Hill Road.

1867 BEERS ATLAS MAP OF BETHEL - This map shows the center of the Plumtrees school district. The district's center was at the junction of Walnut Hill Road and Taylor Road. This spot is shown near where "M.W. Sherwood" appears on the left side of the map.

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The names on the 1867 map of the Plumtrees school district are more fully identified below.

Walnut Hill Road

A. Barnum – Asel Barnum (1776-1870)

I. Barnum – Isaac Barnum (1803-1892)

R.L. Couch - Rufus Levett Couch (1817-1898)

D. Picket – Daniel Pickett – (1804-1867)

S.A. Couch – Samuel Augustus Couch (1814-1893)

S. Mill – Sawmill

M.W. Sherwood – Marvin Walker Sherwood

G.W. Taylor – George W. Taylor (1841-1903)

F. Lawton – Frederick Lawton (1813-1872)

Mrs. A. Clark – Ann Clark, widow of Everitt Clark (Ann Barnum Clark - 1797–1882)

H.B. Hodge – Henry Bowen Hodge (1834-1899)

T. Hollister – Timothy Hollister (1797-1870)

C. Mill – Cider Mill

G.P. Starr – George Plumb Starr – (1808-1867)

M. Ratchford – Michael Ratchford (1830-1913)

E. Ratchford – Edward Ratchford (1791-1880)

Taylor Road

L. Benedict – Lewis Beebe Benedict (1842-1918)

A. Hoyt – Abram Hoyt (1807-1887)

School – Second Plumtrees school house in use from 1831 to 1867

Payne Road

M. Cunney – Michael Cunney (1837-Aft. 1887)

Old Hawleyville Road

J. Davis – Joshua Davis (1806-1883)

Rockwell Road

S.L. Dibble – Samuel Lorenzo Dibble (1812-1896)

C. Dibble – Cornelius Augustus Dibble (1815-1900)

C. Rockwell – Charles Rockwell (1813-1877)

A. F. Northrop – Adoniram Fairchild Northrop (1819-1884)

T. Mayhew – Theodore Mayhew (1822-1880)

Maple Avenue Extension

C. Stevens – Charles W. Stevens (1809-1906)

Wm. Hickok – William Furman Hickok (1836-1915)

Plumtrees Road

E.D. Barnum – Ephraim D. Barnum (1806-1877)

Mrs. J. Benedict – Mrs. John Benedict Jr. (Betsey Leavanworth Benedict - 1795-1881)

S. Booth – Sillick Booth (1812-1890)

W. Williams – Whipple Williams (1798-1879)

J. Webb – James Webb (1817-1893)

F. Lawton Woolen Fact. – Frederick Lawton's Woolen Factory

G. B. Crofut – George Birch Crofut (1814-1900)

Rock Grinding Mill

H. Ambler – Hiram Ambler (1798-1876)

J.E. Barnum – James Edson Barnum (1811-1875)

E. Wise – Ernest W. F. Weiss – (1827-1880)

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REPUBLICAN FARMER - LEGAL NOTICE - Samuel Barnum, who once lived on Shelter Rock Road, was the subject of this public notice in Danbury's Republican Farmer on March 14, 1804. He was called Junior because another Samuel Barnum, his elder, lived in the area. His bankruptcy may have been a contributing factor to his suicide in 1818. Daniel Barnum, mentioned in the notice, was Samuel's older brother. Ezra Hamilton was his brother-in-law.

SHELTER ROCK ROAD, 1778 - This 1778 Erskine-DeWitt map labels the home of Matthew Crofut (Crowfoot) near the base of Shelter Rock Hill on its eastern side. The 1878 article "Ancient Plumtrees" stated that Samuel Barnum (Jr.) lived near this spot. This location is now west of the Bethel town line, at 170 Shelter Rock Road, Danbury. The Still River is shown to the west (left) of Shelter Rock Hill, while Beaver Brook appears to the east (right).

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LIMEKILN BROOK - Limekiln Brook meanders its way through the heart of the old Plumtrees school district. This view shows the brook from the west side of the Walnut Hill Road Bridge. Two different limekilns, a sawmill, a grist mill, a fulling mill, a rock-grinding mill, and an ice-harvesting pond, relied upon water from this brook to supply their needs.