November 2013

Who were the Hampton Nipmucs of the 1600s? . The Nipmucs of Hampton ate succotash, corn, squash, pumpkins, watermelon, wild onion and herbs. They lived in round shaped houses called wetus. The boys played and made toy mishoons to learn how to make a real mishoons. The girls made toy dolls to learn how to care for a real baby. To survive they hunted, planted and fished. When the Nipmucs had free time they would play a game called hubbub as we still do today.

They would also wrestle, sing and dance. They used to cook bags and baskets for storage. If they wanted to take a trip to Willimantic it would take about seventy minutes running and if they walked it would take them four to five hours. For their health they had a building called a sweat lodge. For education they didn’t learn math they learned how to hunt, garden, build canoes .

Why did the Nipmucs of Hampton use wampum? by Caleb Wampum was used for wearing ornamental jewelry, trading and ceremonies. Wampum is made of white and purple clam shells. A special type of clam shell called quahog because of it was very hard to find and they had great beauty. Wampum was used for art materials.

Many years ago a women wanted to make something different. She made everything she needed to. She wanted to do more so the Great Spirit gave her permission. So she made little people out of corn husk and doll they were to roam the earth and bring peace to the Iroquois tribe. But she made one that was very beautiful. The beautiful corn husk doll saw her inside a pool. She became very vain and naughty because she saw her beautiful face. The people became very unhappy.

. The Great Spirit decided that wasn’t what she was to do. She didn’t care about the warning so the last time someone came to tell her that she would have a punishment was she would have no face, she would not talk to the birds or animals. She would roam the earth forever trying to find her face again. So that’s why faces are not on corn husk dolls.

Who was Peter Foster? by Caleb He was a man who lived in Hampton during the 1770s. He and his 12 sons fought in the revolutionary war. This is special because no other family of this size joined the military.

What famous portrait painter lived in Hampton?John Brewster, JR. was born and raised in Hampton. He was born deaf and so he could not hear or speak. This did not stop him from becoming an artist. His work was very serious to him and he used eye contact to paint his picture to show the feelings of the person.

What products were made in Hampton during 1700s?They made buttons, silver spoons, eye glasses and other things

When did Hampton become a town?It became a town in 1790.before that it was part of Windham, Pomfret , Canterbury, Brooklyn and Mansfield. At that time the population was 1,333.

Was there a governor of CT from Hampton?Yes, his name was Chauncey Fitch Cleveland he arranged to have a train stop in Hampton.

Who were john Goodwin and Edwin Teale?John Goodwin’s family and Edwin Teale were very rich so they bought land in Hampton.

John Goodwin made trails in Hampton and he enjoyed people going. He had a house built there by his brother. It is one of the largest state forests in CT.    

Edwin Teale bought land in Hampton too. He used it for taking pictures and drawings to make a photo essay. He did not harm the land. Edwin Teale wrote about wildlife and plants of Hampton. His book won the Pulitzer prize. He donated the land to be a sanctuary. It is off Kenyon road it is Trailwoods.

What interesting facts are there about Hampton’s fire department?The Hampton fire department was made in 1929. There are about 25 members right now. They go to house fires, forest fires, wire fires and they help people out by pumping people’s basements they also go to auto accidents. In 2011 they came up with a new program called junior fire fighting. To be a junior fire fighter you have to be 14 through 16. The junior fire fighters can only participate in OSHA calls they also learn the ins and outs of being a fire fighter. They are given a second grade pager. The Hampton fire department shares an ambulance with Chaplin. They call it the Hampton-Chaplin ambulance corp.  How many schools have there been in our town?There have been about 7 schools in Hampton maybe even more. The town hall used to be a school. There used to be hiking trails and sledding hills in fact they are still there today. In 1718 there was one room school houses and ins for travelers.

My wish for Hampton is for there to be a local skate park for everyone will be able to skate and ride their bikes around the town in a big park and have fun.

Sources we used:

Book

Magazine

Internet Site