When was Connecticut settled?
Bara-Hack, Connecticut
Bara-Hack was settled in 1778 by Johnathan Randall Esq. and Obediah Higinbotham, two colonists of English ancestry. They and their families fled the Randall homestead and farm, situated on the coast of Cranston, Rhode Island, after the British advances of the Battle of Rhode Island of 1778 deemed it too dangerous for them to stay. They settled on land in Pomfret, Connecticut previously purchased by Randall in 1776, and there they built their homes, farms and livelihoods, including a water wheel powered mill, a business which produced spinning wheels for the production of textiles, and a small burial ground that would be shared by individual members of both families.
History of slavery in Connecticut
The exact date of the first African slaves in Connecticut is unknown, but the narrative of Venture Smith provides some information about the life of northern slavery in Connecticut. Another early confirmed account of slavery in the colony came in 1638 when several native prisoners were taken during the Pequot War were exchanged in the West Indies for African slaves. Such exchanges become common in subsequent conflicts.