Woman in typical colonial New England dress

Circa 1720 to 1775 – The first settlers in Salisbury were five Dutch families that had come over from eastern New York state. They were probably following an Indian trail that went from the area of Wassaic to Salisbury in search of good farm land. These families developed farms, bought land from and lived peacefully with, the Native Americans in the area. Among the first Englishmen to come to Salisbury was Thomas Lamb. By 1732 iron ore had been discovered at Ore Hill and Lamb quickly bought property to profit from what would become the basis for the town’s wealth and prosperity for almost two centuries. He built and operated the town’s first forge in Lime Rock. Mr. Lamb was one of about two dozen men that bought “grants” of land in Salisbury and were known as “Proprietors”. Lots were set aside for the minister, and initially, five public school sites. Later there were as many as fourteen schools at various locations in the town.

The town became official in 1741 when it received a charter from the General Assembly. It was called Salisbury from the name of a large town in England. In 1743 Jonathan Lee came to be the first minister and remained until his death in 1788. He preached first from a blacksmith shop, then from his parsonage (that had portholes for defense against Indians), and finally from the first meeting house, built in 1751, that was located at the site of the present town hall. This site was chosen because it was near the exact center of the town and made it easier for people to get there on horseback. From this time until the revolutionary war the town grew with more English people coming to farm and work in the iron industry. In 1762 the first real blast furnace, located below Factory Pond, for making iron was built by a group of men including Ethan Allen. This furnace manufactured kettles, farm tools, and many other items needed by the colonial people.

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