The Unknown Right: A Study and Story About the 10th Lot in the North Purchase Section of New Milford, Connecticut

Why This Study and Story

When I started my 25-year journey, the furthest thing from my mind was to do a historical study of the northern Long Mountain area of New Milford. Having just purchased 40 acres of hillside woodlands on the west side of the pond abutting our house lot with my wife, I simply wanted to locate it on the ground. We had purchased the parcel to protect our view shed. Having been in the area for many years, I had assumed that the pond's other side was rather remote and not easily accessible. When I discovered that someone was contemplating logging it, I became concerned that someone had figured out how to access it easily and economically. While logging was not a concern, we were worried that the area could become susceptible for housing. Thus, armed with a questionable map generated by our predecessor in title, I started to look into the 40-acre tract on the pond's other side-which I dubbed Rock Cobble Pond-that my wife and I had just purchased.

But, it was not only my wish to locate on the ground the 40 acres we recently purchased that led to this study. If there had been no issues regarding this property, a simple survey would have been sufficient. But, that was not to be. Trying to reconcile conflicting marginal maps indicated that more in-depth look, an expanded research effort, was in order.

As I started my research, one thing stood out. The area was not unique. There were views, rock formations, woods, streams, etc., but so what. Why were there so many boundary disagreements in the region? I realized very early on that, to locate the 40-acre piece on the ground would require an understanding of the boundary issues that plagued the area. I also realized that such an understanding would require a study of the region surrounding the 40 acres. Concerns of neighboring owners suggested that something was amiss.

The direction of my research evolved. Comments by Elizabeth Gaffney (owner of the 60 acres to the west) claimed that individuals were attempting to steal her land. Irving Ruman (owner of land abutting to the east) complained about a land-locked parcel on top of Rock Cobble owned by someone in Florida. Frank Perlowsky (an area contractor) claimed that an individual named Serano (prior owner of the 40-acre parcel that my wife and I recently purchased) did not own any land in the valley. At this point in time, I had no idea as to who these mentioned individuals were, but my curiosity had been aroused. Everybody agreed that the nature of the area had changed. What we saw as woods had been open pasture as recently as the late 1940s. They also agreed that existing survey maps were of poor quality, confused and not totally accurate.

The changing nature of the area, disagreements about ownership, and the strong feelings associated with these disagreements convinced me that a study was in order. This realization was the start of my quest to understand what happened in the region in general and, by inference, the 40 acres recently purchased by my wife and me.