New Britain Herald Newspaper, April 20, 1923, Page 3

OWN THE DAM AND CONTROL YOUR POND Peculiar History of North Pond, Near Hebron (From the case of Turner ve. the eslectmen of Hebron, decided In 18901). Uncas was the chief of the Mohe- gan tribe of Indians in Connecticut. He had two sons, Owaneco and Joshua, In 1692 Owaneco owned 25 square miles of land—part of this tract was covered by North Pond This pond lies between the towns of Hebron and Lebanon, Connecticut, Joshua, the other son of Uncas, also owned a large patch of this same pond. Probably Uneas, the chiet of the Mohegans gave it to his psons for hunting and fishing in much the same way the owner of land donates or conveys lands to his eons today. He probably wanted each to have a place to huht and fish not too ‘far from the house of their father. History does not record whether they considered it very valuable— anyway they sold and conveyed their parts of the land including the pond: Owaneco 'to Samuel Mason and others in 1692, the same year he got it from TUncas; Joshua to Captain John Ma- son in 1696, Captain John Mason deeded the part of the pond he owned to others who conveyed it to the “Proprietors of the Town of Hebron” in 1718, who later on con- wveyed to Phineas Turner a small por- tion of the pond, but in doing so in- cluded the outlet of the pond. They evidently did not consider that the outlet was any more important than the remainder of their rights in the pond. Subsequently events proved the outlet was a most important part from a legal standpoint. The tract conveyed by Owaneco to Samuel Mason was conveyed to the “Proprietors of the Town of Leba- non” in 1699. They conveyed to Caleb Chappel in 1730—after. several conveyances the title to that part of the pond came to Abigail Chappel Bosworth in 1773, The most diligent pearch failed to show that the title ever passed from her but' “became away FOX'S NEXT MON. “THE TOWN THAT FORGOT GOD” | STAE TOWN claimed yo period of 150 yeara will escheat to the state if the proper steps are taken by the state, Meanwhile we left the title to the Joshua tract in the “Proprietors of the Town of Hebron," except the southwest corner thereof which in 1866 was bought by Phineas Turner. The “Proprietors of the Town of Hebron" have all gope to thelr reward In fact they died over 100 years ago. They forgot to convey their title to that part of the pond they owned before they died. No one has claimed the title since and that portion will also escheat to the state when ap- propriate action is taken, The Building of the Dam. This sald Phineas Turner was wiser that Owaneco, Joshua, ‘the propri- etors of the Town of Hebron or of the Town of Lebanon,” he built a dam at the outlet :which he owned He built a mill there and ran it with the ‘3'" power produced by the dam. "He purchased in 1866 all the land surrounding the pond and then put up signs prohibiting fishing on the whole pond and since that time has successfully prevented any one from fishing on sald pond without his copsent. §b that in 1865 we find the Owaneco patch of the pond, con- sleting of a large part of it owned by no one; the same was true of the Joshua tract and a small portion of the pond wag ofned by Phineas Turner, who also owned the land around the pond., In other words, Turner owned t®e spicket and no one owred the barrel nor the bung. He had the right to raise or lower his dam as he saw fit. In fact he raised it and consequently the water in the pond seven and one-halt feet. The present area of the pond is 180 acres, of which.more than one-quarter is caused by the said dam. There happened to be on the shore of sald pond a large rock consider- ably higher than the surrounding country. It is called Shelter Rock. It affords a fine view of North Pond and the surrounding country. It is of course on the land of said Phineas Turner because he owns all the land around the pond. It was a favorite retreat for lovers and a splendid place for holding picnics. It was also a favorite resort for fishermen from time immemorial until said Turner became the owner of the land’sur- rounding the pond when all fishing ceased except with his consent. Shelter Rock is in close proximity to the town of Hebron. Turner was as much averse to lovers and picnics at Shelter Rock as he was to fishing on the pond. He said picnic parties brought liquors with them, many be- came intoxicated and desecrated the Sabbath. The morals of his one hun- dred and fifty employees would be- come corrupted and his business in- jured, consequently there were no lovers nor picnics on Shelter Rock, FOX’S—Next Mon.-Tues.-Wed. of North Pond since 1866, Tnhabitants Protest The Inhabitants of the town of He- bron had up to 1865 fished in sald pond from time immemorial, Declara- tions were recalled of aged grandfath- ers since deccased that they and their deceased fathers and grandfathers had fished in sald pond at all seasons of the year unmolested by any one, as had no doubt Owaneco and Joshua and possibly Uncas himself, The iIn- habitants in the vicinity protested against what they considered an vasion of the sacred rights enjoved from time immemorial. But while Turner owned only a small part of the #oll in the pond he did own the water all oyer the pond by reason of hiw dam therefore owned the fish in the water, Furthermore he had bought all the land surrounding the pond-- any one who tried even to get to Shelter Rock or any part of the shore was a trespasser and it is recordea that no one could cross except witn his consept. He claimed not only the | water in the pond but the fish in the water. In one respect he was modesr, He did not claim the soil below it ex- cept near the outlet nor the sky above it. He also claimed that having for over 20 years held the uninterruptea possession of the pond as against al comers he had the title by limitation by adverse possession as it were, On the other hand the |nhnh|0an!n' claimed as an unorganized boedy they! had prior to 1865 enjoyed the right tn' fish in the pond and hold picnics ntl Shelter Rock from time immemorial. Their ancestors had done so unmolest- ed as had also Joshua and Owanece, #0 that in length of time the inhabi- tants had the best of the argumentr. But Turner had possession which is said to be none points of the law. In this case it proved to be ten, He had prevented any one from encroaching on his preserves for over 20 years. Ah-Ha—A Highway The inhabitants were in a quandary as to how they could get their fish- ing and picnic rights back that they had enjoyed so long. It is a familiar maxim of the law that every man's house is his castle and may not be taken away from him withouty his consent. To this rule there are excep- tions. One is the power of eminent domain when public necessity requires it. For example the right to run a railroad through it. No railroad wanted North Pond. It inay have been that in the earlier days of Con- necticut a raMroad might have become interested. They were easily interest- ed in the earlier days—the stockhold- ers of some of them today will so testify. But the town of Hebron had a better plan. It would run a hign- way about one hundred rods in lengtn from an old highway leading from Hebron Green to North Pond to the line of low water on said pond and included Shelter Rock in such high- way. It would condemn the land ®f said Turner and pay him for the land they took according to the amount fixed by a jury drawn from said inhabi- tants. It was a happy thought. They would once more get back their rights that had been wrested from them. They would own Shelter Rock and in fact planned the road near the rock to be considerably wider than' or- dinary roads so that teams might be hitched there. Accordingly, in 1888 the selectman ot the town of Hebron, as provided by the statute, laid out a public high- | way over the land of said Turner. This was, of course, on paper only because Turner never permitted any one to get on sald land without his| consent. This layout was accepted by the town and things developed quite rapidly. It began to look as if Fam} inhabitants would soon cross over {ts own highway to Shelter Rock. Bu: said Turner was on the job. He took an appeal from the doings of the | selectman in laying out the highway, | alleging that said highway was not of | “common convenience and necessity"” as required by statute and the town was, therefore, powerless to lay out said highway. Court Findings The case went through the superior and supreme courts which latter court held: That the title to the soil under the pond other than that owned by Tur- That Wonderful Combination - | Which ndoned and would when proper legal steps wera taken. That the unor- ganized public as such was not able to get the right to sald pond by prescription, limitations or long usage because a deed to them in that name would be veld for uncertainty and there could he no right by'presecrip. tion, lapse of time or long usage where there could be no grant That the right to take water other than navigable rivers be- longs to the owner of the soil over it flows. But the ownership of the water may be separated from the soil and where this is done the right of fishing goes with the owner- ship of the water, for there cxists the element in which alone the fish exist, As Turner owned the water by reason of the dam he was the owner | of the right of fishing therein The court in summing up the case finally said, "Whether we regard Tur- ner as the owner of the water of North Pond and‘the sole owner of the right of fishing therein or as having acquired the exclusive right to fish therein by adverse use, we are clearly of the opinion that as against him no member of unorganized public has the right to fish in the pond.” It follows that the highway was not to be ‘of common conveniences and necessity” and the town of Hebron had, there. fore, no right under the statute to lay out and open fald highway. This decision left Turner owning the outlet of the pond, a small patch ot soil under the water. He owned the Special Price Come in today and equipyourfamilywith this scientifically con- structed brush while you can save 15 cents fish in any | ter in the pond. He also owne fish in the water and consequent! exclugive right to fish therein It also left him owning Rock. The state by this time prob ably owns the soil under the larger part of the pond but nothing more Thus, the majesty of the law is oner more asgserted, If the dam chould ever go out and is not rebullt, the water line will recede, and Turne will no longer own the water nor the! fish and the land thus exposed will, no doubt, belong to the etate, as it now probably owns the greater por. tion of the soil | If this happens the state will awn a tract of land between that of Tur-| ner and the pond, If he loges his| rights to the water hy reason of the dam he will lose his rights to tne fish and such rights will belong to the state If the attempt to open a highway 18 then renewed aqdifferent, gquestion will then be presented and publie will then probably have the right to open the highway over Shelter Roek, The state could also permit the inhaby tants to fish in the pond, all of whien depends upon the dam the Bhelter Rifie ammunition destroyed since the armistice amounts to 992 million rounds. you might as well 57 Main Street A A T ) D D New Spring Hats} Have Arrived FOR SATURDAY Straw Hats, Canton Crepe Hats, Hair Hats and Com- Make old floors new again Even when your floors are discolored with age you can make them fresh and new-looking by using Carmote Floor Varnish, This varnish comes mixed with colors to match any woodwork, With one brush-stroke you can both stain and varnish, You can aiso g CARMDTEf FLOOR VARNIS fi it clear—without coloring, &' Carmote Floor Varnish hardens thoroughly and never be- comes soft or sticky. 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