In March, 1732, a committee was appointed to lay out house-lots in the townships mentioned, who, in June, made a report of the house-lots in the Upper township. Of these, fifty-four were laid out on what is now the city plain, twenty-seven on each side of the Main street, and the other nine upon the plain on the Swanzey line. They were 160 rods long and eight rods wide, each containing eight acres. This committee, being also authorized to admit settlers, notified all persons who were desirous of taking lots to meet at Concord, Mass., June 26, 1734. A few days previous to the time for holding this meeting, the general court passed the following item:
” Voted, That after the sixty persons [grantees] for each township shall have drawn lots, given bonds, and paid their _15 each according to the order of the court, passed in July, 1732. they forthwith assemble at Concord, Mass., and then and there choose a moderator and proprietors clerk, agree upon rules and methods for the fulfillment of their respective grants, for making further divisions, and attend to any other matters or things necessary for the speedy settlement of said townships.”
Upon these several votes the proprietors of Upper Ashuelot entirely depended for titles to their land, as no charter was ever given by Massachusetts. The meeting was held at Concord, according to notice, 0n the 26th of June, when the following named sixty individuals paid .65 each to the committee, were formally admitted as proprietors of the township of Upper Ashuelot, and drew their house-lots. The numbers prefixed to each name denotes the number of his lot, No. e being the south lot on the east side of the street; No. 54 the south lot on the west side; Nos. 27 and 28 the most northern lots on the east and west sides:
- Capt. Samuel Sady
- Jeremiah Hall
- Samuel Heywood
- John Witt
- Joseph Wright
- Samuel Flood
- Solomon Kees
- Jonathan Morton
- Thomas Weeks
- Isaac Power
- William Heaton
- Eleazer Allen
- Ministers lot
- Daniel Haws
- John Hawks
- Philemon Chandler
- Robert Moor
- Isaac How
- William Witt
- Jonathan Whitney
- Joseph Hill
- William Puffer
- Bartholomew Jones
- Joseph Priest
- Jonas Kees
- William Smeed
- Joseph Hill
- School lot
- Ministry lot
- Edward Hall
- David Moss
- Isaac Heaton
- David Chandler
- Benjamin Whitney
- Joseph Allen
- Nicholas Sprake, Jr
- Abraham Master
- Nathan Fairbanks
- Nathaniel Rockwood
- John Corbit
- John Guild
- Joseph Ellis
- John Nims
- Jonathan Southwick
- Robert Gray
- Thomas Abbott
- Josiah Fisher
- Jabez Ward
- Isaac Tomberlin
- Jonas Wilson
- Ebenezer Witt
- Amos Foster
- David Harwood
- Edward Twist
- John Burge
- Ebenezer Mason
- Daniel Hoar
- Elisha Root
- Mark Ferry
- Josiah Fisher
- Elias Witt
- Samuel Witt
- Stephen Blake
The previous Nos. 55-63 inclusive, are those laid out on the Swanzey line.
The next day a full meeting of the proprietors was held, when Samuel Sady was chosen moderator and Samuel Heywood, clerk, and the meeting was adjourned to the 18th of September, then to be held within the limits of the township. In that month the following persons, proprietors, or sons of proprietors, set out for the township, viz.: Jeremiah Hall, Daniel Hoar, Seth Heaton, Elisha Root, Nathaniel Rockwood, Josiah Fisher and William Puffer. None of them had ever visited the township, and as it was then considered quite a formidable journey thereto, ” Deacon” Alexander, of Northfield, was secured to act as guide. They did not arrive at the line of the township until late in the evening of the 18th, the day appointed for the adjourned meeting to convene, so, as soon as their guide informed them that they had passed the town line, they immediately opened a meeting, only to adjourn it to the following day. Such was the first visit of the proprietors to what is now the city of Keene, late on a September evening, 15 years ago.