thedrifter
07-29-07, 07:58 AM
Stories behind the names of local places
BILL McDONALD bmcdonald@ctpost.com
Connecticut Post Online
Article Last Updated:07/29/2007 04:59:57 AM EDT
Residents of Milford and Valley towns like Shelton, Seymour, Derby and Ansonia may have been wondering where certain place names in those towns come from.
Who was the Parsons of the Parsons Government Center in Milford? Coming into Shelton along Route 8, that stretch of road is named the Gen. Samuel Jaskilka Highway. Who was he?
So, with the help of the Internet and more local historical resources like the Derby Historical Society, the Connecticut Post has conducted an informal survey to answer those and other such questions. In Milford, you need not wonder any longer about the name origins for: Fanny Beach Center, Foote Field, Jonathan Law High School, Robert Treat Parkway, Charles E. Wheeler Wildlife Refuge and the Charles Pond Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, as well as the Parsons Government Center.
Besides Jaskilka, similar research for Valley names has also been successful for Emmett O'Brien State Technical School in Ansonia, Commodore Hull Bridge spanning Shelton and Derby and the David Humphreys House in Ansonia.
Let's start with Milford.
Thomas Parsons owned Parsons Office Supply Co. and served as Milford Chamber of Commerce president in 1963. He was also a longtime Republican Registrar of Voters. When Milford High School closed in 1983 it was refurbished into city offices and emerged in 1986 as the Parsons Government Center.
Foote Field north of Eisenhower Park on North Street is named for Harold Foote, president of the Milford Umpires Association for four years in the 1970s. "Under his leadership more Milford umpires started officiating at championship games around the state," said Al Dello Russo, an old friend.
Robert Treat and Jonathan Law both served as colonial governors of Connecticut in the 17th and 18th centuries, respectively. Treat was born in England and settled in Milford in 1649 shortly after its founding. He served as governor of Connecticut Colony 1683-1698, re-elected annually for 15 years. Law was born in Milford in 1674, became a lawyer after graduating from Harvard and set up his office in Milford in 1698. He later became Connecticut Superior Court chief justice and then governor 1741-1750.
Fannie Beach graduated from Milford High School in 1883 and began teaching at Woodmont School, a one-room, six-grade building near the present East Shore Middle School, according to Woodmont historian Katie Murphy. A new Woodmont School was built in 1917 where Beach served as teacher and principal until retiring in 1934. She died in 1967, three years before that building was renamed the Fannie Beach Center where her portrait hangs today. Charles E. Wheeler of Stratford worked as manager of Connecticut Oyster Farms based at Milford Harbor from 1912 to 1946. An avid duck hunter in the 800-acre marsh network that today bears his name at the mouth of the Housatonic River, he whittled many duck decoys for his own use plus gifts to friends. He took the grand prize at the first decoy show ever in 1923. Wheeler decoys have commanded auction prices as high as $70,000 in recent years, though he never sold any.
Charles Pond was born in Milford in 1744 and joined a local regiment when the Revolution broke out in 1775. An expert seaman, he commanded a sloop that harassed British ships in an around Long Island Sound. It was his sloop that transported Nathan Hale, Connecticut's official state hero, across the Sound on a spy mission in which he was caught and executed. He was with Gen. George Washington crossing the Delaware River for the pivotal Battle of Trenton Christmas 1776.
Route 8 is the main road to the Naugatuck Valley. Between Shelton and Beacon Falls it is named for Samuel Jaskilka. Born in Ansonia in 1919, he joined the Marines in World War II and was part of several island landings in the South Pacific. He later served in Korea, winning the Silver and Bronze Star medals. He was a brigadier general in Vietnam, named First Marine Division assistant commander in 1969. Jaskilka became lieutenant general in 1974 and assistant Marine Corps commandant 1975. He is retired and living in Maryland. His uniformed portrait hangs in Ansonia City Hall.
A page from the 1975 Emmett O'Brien Regional Vocational Technical School yearbook says that the Ansonia native served as bureau chief for state vocational technical schools. "It was essentially through his efforts that the image of the old trade schools was replaced by the new image of today's modern vocational technical schools," the yearbook article said. The building opened September 1968.
Isaac Hull, born in Derby in 1773, was captain of the "USS Constitution" that defeated the English Navy vessel, "Guerriere," marking the first naval win for the United States in the War of 1812. Hull's ship suffered minor damage and was forever after named "Old Ironsides." The U.S. Navy Website says five ships have since been named in honor of Hull. The first was the "USS Commodore Hull" that served from 1862-1865 during the Civil War, the last the "U.S.S. Hull," a destroyer commissioned 1958-1988.David Humphreys was born in Derby in 1752, graduated from Yale in 1771 and entered the Revolution with the rank of captain attached to the staff of Gen. Israel Putnam and was Washington's aide-de-camp from 1780 until the end of the war at Yorktown in 1781. Humphreys and Washington remained friends for the rest of their lives. Humphreys was named first United States ambassador to Portugal in 1791. His portrait hangs in the David Humphreys House in Ansonia, which is the headquarters of the Derby Historical Society. A large landowner, much of Seymour used to be named Humphreysville before its name was changed in 1850 to honor then Gov. Thomas H. Seymour.
Ellie
BILL McDONALD bmcdonald@ctpost.com
Connecticut Post Online
Article Last Updated:07/29/2007 04:59:57 AM EDT
Residents of Milford and Valley towns like Shelton, Seymour, Derby and Ansonia may have been wondering where certain place names in those towns come from.
Who was the Parsons of the Parsons Government Center in Milford? Coming into Shelton along Route 8, that stretch of road is named the Gen. Samuel Jaskilka Highway. Who was he?
So, with the help of the Internet and more local historical resources like the Derby Historical Society, the Connecticut Post has conducted an informal survey to answer those and other such questions. In Milford, you need not wonder any longer about the name origins for: Fanny Beach Center, Foote Field, Jonathan Law High School, Robert Treat Parkway, Charles E. Wheeler Wildlife Refuge and the Charles Pond Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, as well as the Parsons Government Center.
Besides Jaskilka, similar research for Valley names has also been successful for Emmett O'Brien State Technical School in Ansonia, Commodore Hull Bridge spanning Shelton and Derby and the David Humphreys House in Ansonia.
Let's start with Milford.
Thomas Parsons owned Parsons Office Supply Co. and served as Milford Chamber of Commerce president in 1963. He was also a longtime Republican Registrar of Voters. When Milford High School closed in 1983 it was refurbished into city offices and emerged in 1986 as the Parsons Government Center.
Foote Field north of Eisenhower Park on North Street is named for Harold Foote, president of the Milford Umpires Association for four years in the 1970s. "Under his leadership more Milford umpires started officiating at championship games around the state," said Al Dello Russo, an old friend.
Robert Treat and Jonathan Law both served as colonial governors of Connecticut in the 17th and 18th centuries, respectively. Treat was born in England and settled in Milford in 1649 shortly after its founding. He served as governor of Connecticut Colony 1683-1698, re-elected annually for 15 years. Law was born in Milford in 1674, became a lawyer after graduating from Harvard and set up his office in Milford in 1698. He later became Connecticut Superior Court chief justice and then governor 1741-1750.
Fannie Beach graduated from Milford High School in 1883 and began teaching at Woodmont School, a one-room, six-grade building near the present East Shore Middle School, according to Woodmont historian Katie Murphy. A new Woodmont School was built in 1917 where Beach served as teacher and principal until retiring in 1934. She died in 1967, three years before that building was renamed the Fannie Beach Center where her portrait hangs today. Charles E. Wheeler of Stratford worked as manager of Connecticut Oyster Farms based at Milford Harbor from 1912 to 1946. An avid duck hunter in the 800-acre marsh network that today bears his name at the mouth of the Housatonic River, he whittled many duck decoys for his own use plus gifts to friends. He took the grand prize at the first decoy show ever in 1923. Wheeler decoys have commanded auction prices as high as $70,000 in recent years, though he never sold any.
Charles Pond was born in Milford in 1744 and joined a local regiment when the Revolution broke out in 1775. An expert seaman, he commanded a sloop that harassed British ships in an around Long Island Sound. It was his sloop that transported Nathan Hale, Connecticut's official state hero, across the Sound on a spy mission in which he was caught and executed. He was with Gen. George Washington crossing the Delaware River for the pivotal Battle of Trenton Christmas 1776.
Route 8 is the main road to the Naugatuck Valley. Between Shelton and Beacon Falls it is named for Samuel Jaskilka. Born in Ansonia in 1919, he joined the Marines in World War II and was part of several island landings in the South Pacific. He later served in Korea, winning the Silver and Bronze Star medals. He was a brigadier general in Vietnam, named First Marine Division assistant commander in 1969. Jaskilka became lieutenant general in 1974 and assistant Marine Corps commandant 1975. He is retired and living in Maryland. His uniformed portrait hangs in Ansonia City Hall.
A page from the 1975 Emmett O'Brien Regional Vocational Technical School yearbook says that the Ansonia native served as bureau chief for state vocational technical schools. "It was essentially through his efforts that the image of the old trade schools was replaced by the new image of today's modern vocational technical schools," the yearbook article said. The building opened September 1968.
Isaac Hull, born in Derby in 1773, was captain of the "USS Constitution" that defeated the English Navy vessel, "Guerriere," marking the first naval win for the United States in the War of 1812. Hull's ship suffered minor damage and was forever after named "Old Ironsides." The U.S. Navy Website says five ships have since been named in honor of Hull. The first was the "USS Commodore Hull" that served from 1862-1865 during the Civil War, the last the "U.S.S. Hull," a destroyer commissioned 1958-1988.David Humphreys was born in Derby in 1752, graduated from Yale in 1771 and entered the Revolution with the rank of captain attached to the staff of Gen. Israel Putnam and was Washington's aide-de-camp from 1780 until the end of the war at Yorktown in 1781. Humphreys and Washington remained friends for the rest of their lives. Humphreys was named first United States ambassador to Portugal in 1791. His portrait hangs in the David Humphreys House in Ansonia, which is the headquarters of the Derby Historical Society. A large landowner, much of Seymour used to be named Humphreysville before its name was changed in 1850 to honor then Gov. Thomas H. Seymour.
Ellie