Marker Logo HMdb.org THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Stafford Springs in Union in Tolland County, Connecticut — The American Northeast (New England)
 

The Town Pound

 
 
The Town Pound Marker image. Click for full size.
September 11, 2018
1. The Town Pound Marker
Inscription. Hitching Post # 3
Animal control was a topic of government interest in Union early on. At a town meeting on December 25, 1738 Alexander McNall, (Union’s first settler) was chosen fence viewer and Amos Stickney and W. Robert Paul were continued as “branders” and pound keepers for the ensuing year. Records of June 26, 1769 show at motion at the Town meeting to build a pound on or near where the old pound stood. It is likely that the first pound was made of wood. But by 1769 many New England towns had little timber left and the use of stone became more common.

Union’s town brand was assigned by the Connecticut General Assembly when the town was incorporated on October 10, 1734: “this assembly grants and enacts that the said tract of land be made a township… and that it be called by the name Union, and that the brand for their horses shall be a figure .”

Another way of marking livestock was the earmark. A distinctive cut was made, for example, a hold was cut of the right ear of an animal. These earmarks were then registered with the town as a way of identifying the owner of an animal. In the late 1730’s there were 12 different earmarks registered with the Town of Union.

In England most livestock was watched over by individual herders, but in New England, labor was so scarce that
Paid Advertisement
Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.
Click or scan to see
this page online
only the most valuable animals, milk cows, sheep, some horses and oxen were guarded this way. The rest, swine, goats and dry cattle were left to their own devices and posed a constant threat to crops.*

Occasionally, the barnyard of a particular farmer was used as a town pound; other times pounds were built following a passage of a specific law. Many pounds were commissioned with the requirement that they be built “horse high, bull strong and hog tight”.*

Consequently, the town voted to build a pound for stray animals. It was to be thirty feet square, four feet think at the bottom, and eighteen inches at the top, six feet high and made of stone with a timber all around the top. This task was to be completed within three weeks from the date of this meeting.

Sparse remnants can be seen in the photograph below circa 1983. Demolition of the former Union Elementary School in 2010 resulted in the burial of some of the stones, others were removed by unknown persons. Few stones remain to mark this historic site.

* Sermons in Stone by Susan Allport)
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: AnimalsColonial EraSettlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1738.
 
Location. 41° 59.275′ N, 72° 9.674′ W. Marker is in Union, Connecticut
The Town Pound image. Click for full size.
September 11, 2018
2. The Town Pound
, in Tolland County. It is in Stafford Springs. Marker is on Kinney Hollow Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Stafford Springs CT 06076, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Site of the first Meetinghouse in Union (within shouting distance of this marker); Union Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Union Civil War Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Union Green Historic District (approx. 0.2 miles away); Union’s 250th Birthday Time Capsule (approx. 0.2 miles away); Union (approx. 0.2 miles away); Red-White School (approx. 4.1 miles away); Tantiusques (approx. 4.6 miles away in Massachusetts). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Union.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 10, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 27, 2018. This page has been viewed 179 times since then and 2 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on September 27, 2018. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

Share this page.  
Share on Tumblr
m=123871

CeraNet Cloud Computing sponsors the Historical Marker Database.
This website earns income from purchases you make after using our links to Amazon.com. We appreciate your support.
Paid Advertisements
Mar. 29, 2024