Judge Samuel Hinckley 1757-1840 / John Brongers 1843-1932

Side A: As a member of the Connecticut Land Company, Judge Samuel Hinckley of North Hampton, Massachusetts purchased township 4N Range 13W of the Western Reserve in 1795 for a sum equivalent to 23 cents an acre. The township remained unsettled until Abraham Freeze was commissioned by Judge Hinckley in 1819 to survey the township into 100 plots of 160 acres each. In return for having the township, founded in 1825, named “Hinckley,” the judge gave land for two burying grounds and one-half acre for a public square. In 1919, upon the 101st anniversary of the “Great Hinckley Hunt,” where men from surrounding counties gathered on Christmas Eve to rid the township of wild animals, Judge Amos Webber spoke for the deceased Judge Hinckley: “When I last saw this country, it was a howling wilderness – by industry and frugality you and your ancestors have made these ever lasting hills and pleasant valleys blossom as the rose.” Side B: John Brongers came to Hinckley in 1867 with a peddler’s pack and sold his wares door-to-door until he decided to make Hinckley his permanent home in 1870. His motto was, “he profits most who serves best.” John Brongers and William Behr ran a general store together until Behr withdrew and left Brongers the sole owner, operating the store for over sixty years. In his will, Brongers left his home and property to the Hinckley Township Trustees, stating that “in doing so, I may adequately recognize the friendship and good will which the people of Hinckley Township have extended to me during the many years I have lived among them.” The township built a park in Bronger’s name, a town hall, fire station, and police station on the deeded property.