Durham in Lower Connecticut River Valley Region, Connecticut — The American Northeast (New England)
Durham
Photographed by Michael Herrick, May 18, 2016
1. Durham Marker
Inscription.
Durham. .
Durham. Coginchaug or “Long Swamp” was purchased from the Indians in 1673. A town plot was laid out in 1699, named Durham five years later, under a patent from King Charles II, and was confirmed by the General Assembly in 1708. It was bounded north by Middletown, east by Haddam, south by Guilford and Killingworth, and west by Wallingford. In 1710 a meeting house was built. One of the first lending libraries in the colonies was formed here in 1733 and the Durham Aqueduct Company, founded in 1798, is one of the oldest public water supplies still operating in the United States. Two oxen were driven from Durham to Valley Forge to help feed General Washingtons army. Native son Moses Austin was responsible for the first legal American settlements in Texas. Originally farming was the chief livelihood. Later mills, tanneries, quarries, metal toy and box factories developed. The annual Durham Agricultural Fair was founded in 1916 and still retains its agricultural character.
Erected by the Town of Durham the Durham History Committee and the Connecticut Historical Commission 1979.
Durham
Coginchaug or “Long Swamp” was purchased from the Indians in 1673. A town plot was laid out in 1699, named Durham five years later, under a patent from King Charles II, and was confirmed by the General Assembly in 1708. It was bounded north by Middletown, east by Haddam, south by Guilford and Killingworth, and west by Wallingford. In 1710 a meeting house was built. One of the first lending
libraries in the colonies was formed here in 1733 and the Durham Aqueduct Company, founded in 1798, is one of the oldest public water supplies still operating in the United States. Two oxen were driven from Durham to Valley Forge to help feed General Washingtons army. Native son Moses Austin was responsible for the first legal American settlements in Texas. Originally farming was the chief livelihood. Later mills, tanneries, quarries, metal toy and box factories developed. The annual Durham Agricultural Fair was founded in 1916 and still retains its agricultural character.
Erected by the Town of Durham
the Durham History Committee
and the Connecticut Historical Commission
1979
Erected 1979 by Town of Durham,
Click or scan to see this page online
Durham History Committee, Connecticut Historical Commission.
Location. 41° 28.268′ N, 72° 40.822′ W. Marker is in Durham in Lower Connecticut River Valley Region, Connecticut. It is at the intersection of Main Street (Connecticut Route 17) and Fowler Road, on the left when traveling north on Main Street. Located on the Durham Town Green. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Durham CT 06422, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Connecticut River Valley and on the Connecticut Shoreline. It is also in the American Northeast and in New England. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Middlesex County and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
1732-1932
Route
of
George
Washington
1775
&
1789
Wallingford
Durham
Credits. This page was last revised on May 19, 2026. It was originally submitted on May 18, 2016, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut. This page has been viewed 884 times since then and 46 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on May 18, 2016, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.
