North Stonington

NORTH STONINGTON Settlement of this area had begun by the 1660s and was aided by land grants for public service. In 1720 the north religious society of Stonington was formed to erect a meetinghouse convenient for local worship. It was named North Stonington in 1724 and incorporated as a town by the General Assembly in 1807. During the 1700s agriculture was the principal business, together with fulling mills, grist mills, and sawmills. The increasing population in the early 1800s and habits of industry and economy brought tanneries, iron works, cabinet-making shops, dye houses, drygoods and grocery stores, and cottage weaving. The town became a prosperous and renowned mercantile center during this period. Changing times left dairy farming the principal industry by the turn of the century. Gradually thereafter the town took on the residential character seen today. North Stonington includes the settlements of Clarks Falls, Laurel Glen, Pendleton Hill, Ashwillet, and the village of North Stonington, formerly known by the descriptive name Milltown.