Changing the Town's Name from Chatham to East Hampton

The Town of Chatham, formerly a part of Middletown, had an original grant 3 miles in breadth east of the river and in 1673, a 2nd grant, extended another 3 miles east to what is now the Marlborough and Colchester town lines. Surveying and partitioning of this 2nd grant began in 1721 with the lots awarded primarily to Middletown Property owners.

Chatham was incorporated in 1767 at the October session of the General Assembly as a town of the same name in England, noted for it shipbuilding, and its boundaries embraced the whole of the ecclesiastical parishes of East Middletown (present day Portland) a part of Middle Haddam, the whole of East Hampton and a small portion of Pine Swamp (Westchester).

The first large group of settlers emigrated by sea in 1739 from Eastham, Mass., up the Connecticut River to Middle Haddam Parish. Led by Isaac Smith, some of those early settlers left Middle Haddam to push on to the seven hills near Lake Pocotopaug on which the town of East Hampton now stands. In 1746 the settlers named their growing community Easthampton parish in honor of their original home of Eastham, Mass.

On April 10, 1915, the Town changed its name and by virtue of long usage decreed the divided name of East Hampton, establishing the two word version over the original spelling Easthampton.

Old School House until 1915, then served at Town Hall until the mid 1970s. Currently serves as the Board of Education Administrative Building.

Unlike today where a full transcript of Legislative Hearings or Town Meeting actions occur, the official record in 1915 was quite sparse. The special town meeting held in the Old School House in the Village of East Hampton on April 3rd was adjourned until Saturday the 10th of April because of significant opposition and a late winter storm.

Regardless of one's views, our Town Meetings have a long and noble tradition of full and open debate that allows every citizen the opportunity to express his view. Because the storm impeded the opportunity for all citizens to participate, our Town's Selectmen choose to adjourn a week to enable everyone who desired to attend this important meeting.

The opposition came chiefly from the Middle Haddam area, “they thinking that the upstreet crowd were getting too much benefit by the change.”

The minutes for the adjourned special town meeting as recorded: “Resolved that it is the since of this meeting that the name of the Town of Chatham be changed to East Hampton. Vote stood – 126 in favor and 42 opposed.” On May 4th, the Connecticut General Assembly adopted HR 273 changing the name of the town to East Hampton.

The Summit Tread Building on Summit Street circa 1910.

Accounts in the Hartford Courant give the reason for the change as economic. After Portland separated from Chatham in 1841 the primary business and industrial area of the town was in the village of East Hampton. Confusion arose when Cobalt renamed its Post Office Chatham which interfered in the local commerce since much of the mail was routed to Cobalt and not the Village Post Office in East Hampton.

I believe knowing the history of East Hampton is an important component to provide the best service possible as a Realtor. I'm never to busy to take your call or assist you with real estate needs.

Premiere Wine Producing Region

Of all the superb wine producing regions of the world – Bordeaux, Napa Valley, Tuscany – I’d probably floor you putting East Hampton among them! No not the Easthampton at the tip of Long Island – the other East Hampton. Yes on water like that Easthampton, but more like a lake – Pocotopaug - than an ocean or sound.

Anyways, at least in 1962, we gained notoriety with a tremendous but limited production of wine. Throughout that hot summer, it was my job to weed the family garden. I grew up on Barton Hill in the house owned by the first sleigh bell maker in America, William Barton.

Our house on Barton Hill currently owned by Ms Kimberly Widmann

An over abundance of our Burpee Big Boy tomato crop had my parents perplexed on what to do with the surplus after the obligatory gifts to family, friends and neighbors. Even after my mother’s numerous culinary creations of tomato casserole, sliced tomatoes and cucumber salad, etc. etc. etc., Julia Child would have been taxed. In short, the harvest bounty became overwhelming in the days before farmers markets. What to do?

Burpee Big Boy Tomatoes introduced in 1949

Apparently our neighbor Graydon Rich had the perfect solution. He produced an old family recipe and the Markham’s became wine producers!

After commandeering an old 40 gallon ceramic crock, we cleaned and cut and crushed what seemed like a ton of tomatoes, putting the mix in our cellar covered with cheese cloth and the secret ingredients. There the concoction sat, bubbling away, fermenting. After several weeks, the vintage was ready for bottling. Filtered through new cheese cloth, the nectar was hand ladled into assembled RC Cola bottles. A hand crank capping machine sealed the light amber fluid and typed labels were affixed to the bottles. The results – tomato wine!

1962 Barton Hill Tomato Wine bottled in an RC Cola Bottle

I still possess several bottles of vintage 1962 Barton Hill Tomato Wine. One might think this has the consistency of Campbell’s Tomato Juice or V8, but oh contraire. The wine is actually quite nice. After 47 years, it is now mostly dark amber with a little sweetness that probably emulates a brandy or desert wine.

Oh I almost forgot to explain why we had so many tomatoes in the first place. Two reasons! The previous summer, my father replaced the aging and leaking asphalt roof shingles of our 1775 gambel roofed Dutch Colonial with cedar shakes. Desperate to dispose of them, and certainly not “green” or “environmentally conscious” as today, he burned them in the garden. The billows of black smoke covered our neighborhood skies for a couple weeks, much to our neighbor's chagrin. The ash residue, however, became a magnificent fertilizer. And as for the tomatoes – the previous fall when we cleaned up the garden, my brother and I had rotten tomato fights.

Burpee Big Boy Tomatoes first introduced in 1949

Today kids or not so grownup adults might go to a paint ball range, but in the early 60s you made your own entertainment with whatever you had available. The seeds from those Big Boys spread all over the garden. The next summer, combined with the unusual fertilizer, saw an overabundance of plants and what I believe a very edible use of the produce. As an old New England Yankee family, nothing ever went to waste!




Since those days of my youth, I feel like I've been in a Frank Sinatra song - a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king. In my case however, I've been a CPA, a State Representative, a Lobbyist, a Financial Consultant, a Business Manager with an Indian Tribe, but now am enjoying life as a Realtor in East Hampton and the Central Connecticut Area affiliated with Prudential Connecticut Realty.

Our recipe for Tomato Wine


6 lbs. - sugar
6 lbs. - tomatoes cut up small
1 lb. - seedless raisins
1 yeast cake (dissolve in warm water)
2 Oranges cut up
1 gal. Boiling water


Mix and let stand for 15 days. Then put in jars and in about 3 weeks siphon into bottles and cap.

Makes about 2 gallons which can be doubled, tripled, or 20 times the quantity ( like us! )depending on size of crock or pot mixed in.