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The Hebron Historical Society

Hebron, Connecticut

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Hebron History Timeline

1675   On February 29, Joshua (also known as Attawanhood), son of Uncas, signed his will granting land to the Saybrook Legatees.  This included land now known as Hebron, Connecticut.
     
1704   Husbands and wives of the Shipman and Phelps families were reunited at Prophet's Rock (Burrows Hill Road). Shipman and Phelps were busy establishing themselves as the first settlers of Hebron.  Legend has it that their wives, who were still in the original settlements, decided to find their husbands many miles away.  It became late in the day, they decided to find shelter/protection from wild animals on this large rock, shouted for their husbands and were found!
     
1707   On February 19th, proprietors who had purchased land from the Saybrook Legatees selected a committee to petition the Connecticut General Assembly to name their township “Hebron.”  It was confirmed at the May session.  It is the first time the name Hebron appeared in a legal document
     
1708   On May 26th, Hebron was formally incorporated as the 41st town in the State of Connecticut, by act of the General Assembly.  First Town Meeting, although the record of it is illegible, was probably held on September 20th.
     
1709   A diamond was voted at the December Town Meeting to be the “town brand” for cattle; the diamond is still reflected in the Town’s logo.
     
1716   By act of the Connecticut General Assembly, First Society of Hebron was organized.  John Bliss named first minister and ordained in 1717.
     
1734   Following dissatisfaction of parishioners, Reverend John Bliss was dismissed from First Society, and organized an Anglican parish.  Rev. Benjamin Pomeroy succeeded Mr. Bliss as next minister of the First Ecclesiastical Society
     
1735   Birth of the Rev. Benjamin Trumbull in Gilead.  Trumbull wrote the first complete history of Connecticut.

Birth of the Rev. Samuel Peters in Gilead.  Peters, an Anglican minister, and Tory wrote ”histories” of both Hebron and the State of Connecticut
     
1748   In May, the Connecticut General Assembly approved setting off  the Gilead area of Hebron as a separate parish.

The Gilead Ecclesiastical Society was formed on June 13th and held its first meeting, following the establishment of this new, distinct parish area.  Members agreed to a tax to fund the building of a church and school that same year.
     
1775   About 60 men from Hebron responded to the Lexington Alarm
     
1787   On September 26th, Cesar and Lowis Peters were seized by David Prior, a southern slave trader, and his gang of hired men.
Hebron residents rescued Cesar, Lowis and 7 of their 8 children in Norwich on September 27th, right before they were loaded onto a boat headed for the Carolinas.
     
1785   Hebron left Hartford County to become a member of the newly incorporated Tolland County.
     
1789   Cesar and Lowis Peters and their children were granted formal emancipation from slavery by the Connecticut General Assembly. Hebron residents and the Selectmen provided numerous affidavits in support of their freedom.
     
1793   On January 29th, Samuel Morey of Hebron exhibited his first patent for a “steam spit.”  This was one of the first 50 patents issued in America.  With this concept, Morey built a quasi-steamship, which Robert Fulton later enhanced for his own steamship patent.
     
1798   Missionary Society of Connecticut was organized at a meeting held in Hebron.
     
1831   John S. Peters, born in Hebron in 1772, was elected governor of Connecticut, a position he held until 1833.
     
1838   The second (and current) Gilead Congregational Church building was raised on July 23rd.  The Methodists built a church in the center of town in 1838, and abandoned it a few years later. Today that building is known as “Old Town Hall.”
     
1863   Phineas W. Turner established the first “Turnerville” Post Office on April 8th.
     
1882   On April 17, the Great Fire destroyed almost all of the north Green area, including the Hebron Congregational Church, and damaged buildings on south Green; the Center School on south Green was also destroyed, and rebuilt as a two-room schoolhouse.
     
1883   The Hebron Congregational Church was rebuilt and began holding services again on May 8th.
     
1888   From March 11-13, the “Great Blizzard” resulted in 3 feet of total snow accumulation, with snow drifts and banks being as high as 20 feet in the Amston area.
     
1891   On March 16th, the white Train made a complete trip from NYC to Boston over what is now referred to as the “Air Line Trail.”
     
1899   The original Hebron Library was built and formally dedicated on June 21st.
     
1908   Hebron celebrated its 200th anniversary of incorporation from August 23 through August 25th.  Read an account of the celebration and 200 years of Hebron’s history: http://www.archive.org/stream/hebronconnecticu1910biss/hebronconnecticu1910biss_djvu.txt
     
1912   Charles Ams purchased P.W. Turner’s land and lake on December 4th.  Within months, he changed the name of the village from “Turnerville” to “Amston.”
     
1917   The Ams Sterling Automobile Factory opened in Amston, and was bankrupt by 1919.  Only about 40 cars were sold.
     
1920   On September 18th, eighty-one Hebron women registered to vote following the ratification of the 19th Amendment; this increased the Hebron voter list by almost one-third.
     
1937   The Hebron Volunteer Fire Department was officially established, and the town’s first fire truck, a 1937 Ford Sanford, was purchased.

United Distillers began manufacturing alcoholic beverages in Amston on July 7th.
     
1938   The famous “Hurricane of ‘38” destroyed many buildings, farms, farming equipment, cars and barns on September 21st.  Hardly a building in Hebron was untouched, although no one was killed.
     
1942   Hebron sent its “great Cannon” from WWI on September 5 to be melted down for the WWII effort; it was a huge public event on the Green.
     
1946   The Amston Volunteer Fire Company was established on July 10th.
     
1949   The “Hebron Elementary Consolidated School” (now know as Hebron Elementary School) opened its doors on August 20th, ending the era of Hebron’s one-room schoolhouses
     
1957   Regional School District 8 opened, giving Hebron students their first high school.  Andover and Marlborough are partnering towns in the district.
     
1958   Hebron Celebrated its 250th birthday from July 18 through July 20th.
     
1960   The present Amston Post Office opened on June 27th.  The Postmaster was P. John Perham.
     
1983   Hebron Celebrated its 275th birthday from July 18th through July 20th.
     
1993   On July 20th, the deed was filed in Hebron making the residents of Amston Lake the owners of the lake.
     
2002   The new RHAM schools opened their doors in February.  The old RHAM school building subsequently demolished.
     
2003   Hebron residents approved building a new fire company #2 building on March 6th.
     
2004   On August 26th, Hebron residents approved the purchase of Lombardi Property at 150 East as open space.  The purchase includes the Historic Peters House.
     
2008   Hebron celebrated its 300th anniversary
     
2011   On October 29th, the “Halloween Nor’easter” dumped 10 inches of heavy, wet snow while leaves were still on many trees, causing massive tree and property damage and knocking out electrical power for many residents for several days.
     
2013   “Blizzard of 2013”, the worst blizzard since 1888, from February 9-11, dumped over 3’ of snow on Hebron.