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Town Analyses > Prosper Valley > Cultural Landscape

Explore Prosper Valley's landscape:

Physical Landscape
Bedrock Geology
Surficial Geology
Soils
Hydrology

Cultural Landscape
Early Settlement

Ecological Landscape
Plant Communities
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Cultural Landscape

The deep connection between the people of the Prosper Valley and the landscape is evident in the stonewalls, the hiking trails, the working dairy farms, and town historical societies. This connection began thousands of years ago, as Native Americans likely traveled through the region seeking trade with other tribes and hunting food. In the late 1700’s, European settlers from Connecticut and Massachusetts followed in the footsteps of the Abenaki in following the rivers to plots of land they had been granted in the hills for farms. The four towns of Barnard, Bridgewater, Pomfret and Woodstock were chartered, and in the center of the Valley shared by the four towns, was the mill town of Prosper. Named by the residents after the prosperity of the mills owned by Joel English, it was here that the settlers came for community, supplies, schools for the children, and to process resources at the mills. The Prosper Community Club was founded to serve the needs of community members.

Historical Map of Pomfret by F.W. Beers