David Atwater House 1646 East Farms/ Cedar Hill.
by Anthony Griego
Hamden Historical Society
.
I recently completed a report on the location of the first occupied house in what would later become the Town of Hamden. I titled it “David Atwater House Site, Hamden Connecticut. East Farms/Cedar Hill.” 2019.
David Atwater Sr. was one of the original settlers in New Haven in April 1638. He was given a house lot in New Haven but chose to later build two miles, as the crow flies, into the wilderness about 1646. He built a brick Dutch gambrel roof style house in an area later called East Farms/Cedar Hill.
English imported ballast bricks may have been used in the construction. There is also the possibility that John Benham, another early settler and brick maker, was making bricks in that area.
David raised his family there and the house remained in the family until April 1905 when it burned down due to a grass fire. The site will be confirmed only when the site becomes available for a future archaeology research dig. The home site is on private property and no permission has been given to examine the location.
When Hamden separated from New Haven in 1786 this site then became part of Hamden. The full report is available for reading at the Hamden Historical Society History Room, Miller Library 3 rd floor, Tuesdays 10am-2pm. Summer hours may apply. Anthony Griego 2020 MSS #49 Box3 A-L, Hamden Inhabitants.
