Bucks Hill

History of Bucks Hill
Books on Waterbury's history suggest the name was derived from a buck that leaped from a rock on the hill, or possibly after a Buck family among early settlers. Before settlers moved to Bucks Hill in 1701, the area was a hunting ground for Tunxis Indians, part of the Farmington River tribe.

The earliest grant of land in what is now Waterbury was made in 1699 to Ephraim Warner and John Welton. They built houses from trees cut right on the site. The frame was shaped and edged by ax, then fastened with wooden pins. In 1724, a road was laid out to Bucks Hill beginning at the clay pits near Grove and Bishop streets. Between 1721 and 1731, 45 families lived in the center of town while only 12 to 15 lived in the neighboring regions of Break Neck (now Middlebury), Judds Meadow (now Naugatuck), and Bucks Hill. A cemetery was authorized in December of 1789 on Cemetery Road. It is still in use with a few plots left.

Over the decades, more people moved toward Bucks Hill. Before the Industrial Revolution, many supported their families through vegatable and dairy farming. They also grew horseradish, and bottled and sold the condiment. Dairy cows grazed in the meadows where orchards of peaches, apples and plumbs grew in abundance. Pig farmers supplied about 450 pigs to the markets annually.

Platt's husband, Charles W. Platt Jr., was a farmer just like his father and his grandfather. "We had a medium-sized dairy farm and delivered milk all over Waterbury," Platt said. Up until five years ago [meaning 1990], the Platt family farm totaled 65 acres. Little by little, the family sold it off. Today, they have 15 acres, a barn and a horse named Ginger. "It's just enough for Ginger to romp around," said Platt of her horse, part palomino and part Morgan. Later on, as the population grew and Connecticut's economy chanegd, the meadows gave way to more houses and then subdivisions.

By Robyn Adams, Waterbury Republican-American — January 27, 1995

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