Revolutionary figures RSVP to Washington’s Birthday Ball

North Canaan’s ball will feature beer made from Washington’s own recipe, as well as other drinks enjoyed by founding fathers, food from Martha Washington’s cookbook, dancing and appearances by some of the prominent persons from that era.

NORTH CANAAN — As part of the yearlong celebration marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, North Canaan will kick off its observance with a Washington’s Birthday Ball on Feb. 21.

The town is deeply rooted in Revolutionary-era history, and the spirit of several notable figures from that period will come alive at the event.

Kathryn Boughton, the town historian and director of the history center, introduced several of the characters who will attend the ball during a talk at Douglas Library Wednesday, Jan. 21.

North Canaan, as well as other Northwest Corner towns, played a pivotal role in the Revolutionary War, remnants that still can be found today.

Among the figures Boughton highlighted was ironmaster Samuel Forbes, who provided munitions for the war effort. He and his wife, Lucy Pierce, had a daughter Abigail, who married John Adam, a principal in the successful Forbes & Adam company.

Forbes “established a powerful iron-producing dynasty in East Canaan and the family operated rolling and slitting mills, naileries and were involved with ore mines, creating a significant industrial complex,” said Boughton.

In 1762, Forbes and his brother Elisha partnered with Ethan Allen to establish a blast furnace in Lakeville, until Elisha was killed in an accident and Allen left for Vermont. In 1775, Gov. Jonathan Trumbull commandeered the furnace after Richard Smith, who was operating it, was charged with being a loyalist and fled to England. Forbes was drafted to return as ironmaster at the furnace which was producing extraordinary amounts of cannons and huge cast iron kettles for soldiers’ meals, among other items.

Isaac Lawrence is reputed to be Canaan’s second settler, arriving in 1739 and purchasing land on the banks of the Blackberry River. He was a prosperous farmer and land speculator. By the time he died in 1793, he had amassed 192 acres, including much of what is now part of the downtown. The stately house, built in 1751, and located on Route 7, is still owned by his descendants. In 1756, he opened a tavern on the southern side of the house.

Boughton relates that he appeared to be sympathetic to the Patriot cause, as were most of those in northwest Connecticut. The late James Lyles, a Lawrence descendant, said the tavern was a valued stop on stage lines coming into town. While the gentry made a stop at the tavern, “drivers and lesser folk would pass over High Street to another inn located about where the Housatonic Railroad now has its yard,” said Boughton.

“Lyles said that a frequent guest at the tavern was the tempestuous Ethan Allen...a boisterous, obstreperous man, prone to brawling, who wore out his welcome in northwest Connecticut and moved to Vermont in the late 1760s,” said Boughton.

Much is known about Col. Charles Burrall because of an autobiography he wrote at age 80. He came to Sheffield as a poor boy, who lost his father when he was young and was housed by his aunt who had married John Forbes, father of Samuel Forbes. There are descriptions of his being destitute and without clothes and shoes in wintery weather.

He was later allowed to live on a parcel of land purchased in the first division of Canaan by his stepfather, John Prindle, and his mother and became one of the wealthiest of Canaan’s early land speculators. He buried two wives.

“During all these years,” said Boughton, “he was growing in eminence, rising in rank in the local militia, until he achieved the rank of captain, serving as a selectman, justice of the peace, and as a long-time representative to the General Assembly. He was one of the delegates in 1788, to ratify the Constitution of the United States. He became renowned as a patriot in the Revolutionary War, raising and commanding some 800 area men in the second wave of the 1775-76 Canadian expedition, commanding the 14th Regiment for the victorious Americans at the Battle of Saratoga and shepherding Hessian troops captured at Saratoga through Canaan on their long march south to Virginia.”

Boughton also spoke of other key figures, including Gershom Hewitt, who was part of the expedition to capture Fort Ticonderoga, and Nathaniel Stevens, a logistics officer for George Washington.

“These are only a smattering of the Canaan veterans of the Revolution, but their service is enough to illustrate the valor and independent spirit that helped to found this nation,” concluded Boughton.

The history center will host the Washington’s Birthday Ball planned for Feb. 21 at the Colonial Theatre. These balls became a fashion in the 1780s and continued until the late 20th century. Canaan’s ball will feature beer made from Washington’s own recipe, as well as other drinks enjoyed by founding fathers, food from Martha Washington’s cookbook, dancing and appearances by some of the prominent persons from that era.

Tickets are $50 per person and can be purchased at the Canaan History Center or Douglas Library.