The Suffield Historical Society recently led a bus tour of some of the town’s surviving Revolutionary-era homes. The following overview of Suffield during that historic period was given.
Most families in Suffield operated farms, growing common crops such as corn, wheat, tobacco, and flaxseed. Money, however, was scarce. Britain supplied little currency to the colonies and prohibited them from minting their own, so trade relied heavily on bartering and foreign coins. Spanish doubloons were especially valued. Counterfeiting was widespread. British restrictions on colonial imports, exports and manufacturing ensured the balance of trade favored Britain before the war.
Despite the limitations, Suffield was becoming increasingly prosperous before the war. The town supported a wide range of industries including mills, feltmakers, blacksmiths, distilleries, tanneries, brickmakers, ironworks, carpenters and saddlemakers. During the Revolutionary War when the British blockade caused severe gunpowder shortages, residents likely produced saltpeter, an essential ingredient in gunpowder, made by fermenting urine with manure and straw.
Religious life centered around three churches. The First Congregational Church, rebuilt in 1747 with a steeple, no longer resembled a plain meeting house. The Second Congregational Church in the western district was constructed in 1743, and the First Baptist Church was built on Hastings Hill in 1777. Although residents were still taxed to support the Congregational Church, Baptists were exempt.
Education also expanded. In 1733, Josiah Sheldon built a second schoolhouse for 40 pounds, paid partly in coin and likely partly in grain as well as the old schoolhouse as compensation. This building served the town until 1797, when it was moved from the Green to the corner of Mapleton Avenue and Thompsonville Road, where it still stands.
Several taverns operated in town, including the Austin Tavern, the Ferry Tavern and Riverman’s Hotel and the Gad Lane Tavern, Oliver Hanchett kept a tavern in his home on Mountain Road, and Daniel Norton and Elihu Kent, Jr. were also tavernkeepers.
With no bridges or canals crossing the Connecticut River, residents relied on skiffs or ferries to reach the opposite shore. The river was dangerous, especially near the Enfield Rapids. During the Revolutionary War, British and Hessian prisoners were transported through Suffield, and two drowned while being ferried across the river.
Social services were minimal. The Town Farm, which later supported the poor, was not established until 1887. Strangers were escorted out of town if they could not support themselves. Those suffering from deadly diseases such as smallpox were confined to pest houses.
Suffield’s population grew from 1,438 in 1756 to 2,017 in 1774. There was a growing sense that the town was becoming overcrowded with little room for expansion. Many residents moved to New Hampshire, New York, Ohio and Vermont. By 1777, Vermont was known as “New Connecticut”. Israel Smith, born in Suffield, later became Vermont’s fourth governor (1807-1808).
By the late 1760s, tensions with Britain were rising. In 1774, Alexander King, Gideon Granger and Joseph Pease were appointed at a Town Meeting to draft Suffield’s response to British encroachments. Their work, the Suffield Resolves, published nearly two years before the Declaration of Independence, protested British taxation, lack of representation and pledged support to Boston.
When Isaac Bissel, Suffield’s own postrider, brought news of the Battle of Lexington, 119 Minutemen marched from Suffield to aid Massachusetts within two days. According to Robert Alcorn’s Biography of a Town, Suffield contributed more men to the “Lexington Alarm” than any other Connecticut town. The names of 258 Suffield soldiers who served in the Revolutionary War are listed on the Veterans Memorial.
The war brought soaring prices and inflation. Before the revolution, town expenses totaled $500 – $700 annually. In 1775, taxes rose to $5,000 and by 1776 they reached $15,000. The United States began issuing its own banknotes in 1776, but without backing, the currency quickly depreciated and was almost worthless.
Economic hardship continued after the war. The federal government could not pay its debts, unrest spread and many soldiers went unpaid; some lost their farms, some were thrown in debtors’ prison. Shays’ Rebellion erupted in nearby Springfield where armed protesters attacked the armory seeking debt relief. In Suffield, Oliver Hanchett repeatedly petitioned the government for money owed to him, without success. Many residents continued to leave town in search of better opportunities.
Still, despite instability and change, Suffield survived.