Drive slowly along the upper reaches of Ponus Ridge and you can glimpse the last vestiges of a once-thriving New Canaan community, most of which now exists deep beneath the Laurel Reservoir.
Beyond the chain link fence surrounding the lake, myriad stone walls crisscross through the trees, some of which suddenly disappear into the water.
This is all that remains of Dantown.
For Bob Tilden of Montour Falls, N.Y., the search for Dantown began as a search for his ancestors. One of these ancestors, Francis Dan, arrived in what was then Stamford in the late 17th Century, eventually settling a community by the Rippowam River near the New York state border. Dan and other residents of the area established a mill on the river, but it was a different industry that set Dantown apart and helped it grow.
“Oak-spun baskets,” Tilden told NewCanaanite.com. “The clammers loved them.”
” credit=”Stamford Historical Society
So did the oyster farmers of the Long Island Sound, and by the mid-19th Century, Dantown’s basket-making had earned regional renown. Nearly 80 families in the Dantown area were involved in the trade at its peak. In fact, according to the Stamford Historical Society, the baskets themselves could be used as legal tender within 50 square miles of Dantown.
Dantown founded its own school and was also the site of the first Methodist Society church in New England, historians say, built in 1797. Although the church was razed in 1844, the Dantown Cemetery–once in the shadow of the church–is still (barely) visible on a hill overlooking Lower Trinity Pass Road, just over the state line. Several names familiar to New Canaanites are etched on faded gravestones: Dan, Hoyt, Selleck and Pennoyer.
Unfortunately for Dantown, the end of the boom was near. A typhoid outbreak in 1902 was linked to infected oysters and the demand for the Dantown baskets dwindled. In 1923, Stamford needed to ensure the city’s water supply, so a dam was built across the Rippowam, flooding the area for the creation of the Laurel Reservoir.
“All those old footsteps are buried—they’re gone,” Tilden said after visiting the site. “When we were there you could see the footing of some of the old buildings that used to be there along the shoreline, where the water would normally be. But the water was low.”
And although it was a 4.5–hour trip from Montour Falls, N.Y. to New Canaan, it was well worth it for Tilden.
“It’s just the fact of being there, being where our ancestors trod,” Tilden said. “You can’t beat the view from the ground. The stone walls that disappear into the lake, the roadways that you can see, but haven’t had wheels on them in a long time.”
Dantown is long gone, but it’s not forgotten. In 1948, what was then called Lockwood Road was renamed ‘Dan’s Highway’ for the founders of Dantown. And in the late-1960s, Lost District Drive was named in honor of Dantown, New Canaan’s version of the lost city of Atlantis.
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Hi Terry, I have seen your article on Dantown in the New Canaanite. It sparked considerable interest as I am also a descendent of Francis Dan and have explored the cemeteries and sites of the lost district of Dantown. I grew up on High Ridge Rd on what was left of an old dairy farm about a mile north of Bulls Head.
When I was studying my linage along with my family history related to Dantown, the Stamford Historical society set me up with a correspondent, a woman named Olson. This was many years ago and that info is now stored as we are now moving. She introduced me to Dantown and considerable data on family members and genealogy.
I was particularly interested in the oak basket part of your story. I had known that their winter employ of shoes and baskets was important to the Dantown economy but had not known the history of basket production. Also this offers me to add some new pictures to the review of Dantown that I’m compiling for my family. Let me know if proper references are required when including these pictures.
You mentioned a person, Tilden from Montour Falls NY, in the article. I had a career with Corning Glass Works, now Corning Inc. Montour Falls is but 20 miles away from the town of Corning. There were a great many Dann’s in that region of NY most of whom migrated north into NY state from PA or Canada. I would like to contact Tilden. Is it possible to get his full name and email from you?
My father was a stone mason and my brother and I worked with him going through school. He did many jobs in New Canaan, the most notable the massive double faced fieldstone walls and flagstone floors of the Elliot Noyes home. I was pleased to read recently that this rare home is now protected and that funds are available to keep it maintained. I took my family there to see the place a few years ago and was concerned with the lack of maintenance.
Thanks for taking the time to read all this. I hope to hear from you.
Sincerely, Herbert I Dann Jr
Hi Herbert, I read your reply to this story. I am also a descendent of Francis Dann. My family did move north to Oswego county. My great grandfather Burton Dann I understand was primarily a farmer. If you read this please let me know. I would love to chat. Many thanks, David Dann
Also a descendant of Francis Dan.
Thanks for the article.
John
I am also a descendent of Francis Dann. Thank you for the information.
Hi Herbert, I too am a descendent of Francis Dan. Fathers before me LaVerne, Wellington, Jerome, Wellington, Phillip of Danville, Jonathan, Francis, John and Francis. Francis’ father was John born in Cumberland in 1615 who married Mary Bennett in 1648 and raised their family in Barbados. After John passed Francis was 19 and when he turned 20 sailed to Stamford in 1684.
Hello,
I am just reading about Dan Town for the first time. I muse at the fact that the road name was changed from Lockwood to Dan. The Lockwoods are also part of my ancestry, as are the Bruces. I am descended from Squire Dan who married Rachel Lockwood in the late 1700s in Stamford. Their son, John, married an Elizabeth Closon. The latter had a daughter, Louisa, who married George W. Bruce. (One of their many offspring was my great grandfather Walter Wallace Bruce, who became a Methodist circuit rider and ultimately settled in Colorado Springs, CO. I have found much more information on the Lockwoods and the Dans (or Danns) but my search comes up short when looking for information on the Bruces. I know they were located in Connecticut and New York, largely in Fairfield County. Any information is welcome!