As time goes by I'll know I will wish I had better photos of the row that somehow remained pretty much intact since 1659. I could be totally wrong, but I think it was a row that was (at the least) a fire break for the western bank near the fish weir that is the origin of the word Nonnewaug, and the original path to my house, on the row's uphill side. I think my house originally belonged to John Minor who was the Indian Interpreter for the Pomeraug Plantation. I think it was built slowly, it's eastern front facing the Indian Fields, dating back perhaps to the time of the Nonnewaug Purchase. I think it was a strategy designed to have a house already built on those most desirable lands already cleared by the Native Americans for who really knows how long, so that when the Indians did move, it could readily be acquired.
Remnants of the zigzag rows remain in the area, but since 1991 when I first began to think that they might be pre-colonial constructions, many have dissappeared due to building and road widening as well as other human activities, while natural forces have destroyed others.
There's some consolation in knowing alot of this will be buried...
The old school house and the zigzag row...
The old school house and the zigzag row...
