Haddam, Middlesex County, Colony of Connecticut, British Colonial America (North America)

The Town of Haddam is today located in Middlesex County, in the south-central part of Connecticut in the lower Connecticut River Valley. Middletown and East Hampton border the town to the north, East Haddam to the east, Chester and Killingworth to the south, and Killingworth and Durham to the west. With approximately 7,200 residents (2000 census) the town covers 46.7 square miles Haddam has the distinction of being the only town in the state of Connecticut that is bisected by the Connecticut River, with residents on both sides; Haddam and Higganum are on the west side and Haddam Neck is on the east side In 1660 the Connecticut Colonial Legislature sent Matthew Allyn and Samuel Willys down the Connecticut River from Hartford to purchase land from the Wangunk Indian Tribe at the place the English called "Land of Thirty Mile Island"… there are two schools of thought on how the place got its name: 1) early historians write that the earliest settlers thought the island was thirty miles from the mouth of the "Grate River" at Long Island Sound (it is only 17 miles from the mouth of river) and 2) it is also plausible that the Island got its name because it is 30 miles down river from Hartford and the town was settled by men from the Hartford area In May 1662 the Englishmen finally purchased land comprising approximately 104 square miles and extending in six miles on each side of the river from the straits at "Pattyquonck" (now Chester) to the Mattabeseck-Mill River (now Middletown) across to the line of Chatham (now East Hampton). They paid 30 coats (worth approximately $100 at that time) for the land to four Native American chiefs, two queens and others. The Native Americans did set aside some property for their own use including 40 acres at Cove Meadow (Chester) and Haddam Island as well reserving the right to hunt and fish where they pleased See web tag