Bolton

BOLTON Formerly known as Hanover or Hartford Mountains, this town was incorporated in 1720, having been settled by a group of "good Christian men" desiring more open farmland. In 1781 the French army of General Rochambeau, on their way to aid the army of General Washington then at Yorktown, Virginia, camped near this site. On this green was the first Bolton meeting house of the congregation organized in 1725 by Act of Legislature, with the Reverend Thomas White as first minister. Early products of Bolton included cider brandy and quarried stone. The Quarryville flag and grindstone were used to pave urban streets in Hartford and other large Eastern cities. Among the great men and leaders native to Bolton were Benjamin Ruggles, who became United States Senator from Ohio (1818-1833) and George G. Sumner who, after holding many Bolton offices, later became Mayor of Hartford and Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut.