Milford and the Indians
What’s in a Name? O
riginally known as Wepowage or Wepawaug (histories vary),
meaning crossing place, the town that became Milford was named in November 1640. There is a widely accepted belief that New England towns tended to be named after places in England, not necessarily because their settlers had come from that place, but because the name was descriptive of their location on this side of the Atlantic. But if such is the case with Milford, Connecticut, the connection has yet to be proved. What is known is that in March 1640, William Fowler was commissioned to build a gristmill on the Wepawaug River and was given perpetual use of the stream. It would be logical, therefore to name the town Milford later that year, since there was a mill at the ford (a place where a body of water is shallow enough to be crossed), just above the gorge where the river plunges into the harbor.
O
n February 23, 1639 for
northwest, but Ansantawae and his
a price that included coats, blankets,
hatchets, hoes, and a dozen small mirrors (all treasures in
family lodged on at Indian Point (near Welches Point Road) outside the transferred land. The threat of Indian attack
a day when everything was
was seen as a great danger
handmade), the title to the area
although no Milford settler’s
known as Wepowage passed
death by Indian action was
from Paugusett sachem
ever recorded. Relatives and
Ansantawae to a party of
descendants of Milford’s
English settlers. Most of
original native settlers, like
the natives moved to the
Milford Connecticut 18 Three Hundred Seventy-Five
the Golden Hill Paugussets