Jambs, The
NUGGET #41
Jambs, The: Peculiar name first occurs in 1775 in a deed for three acres “in the eastern part of Ridgebury Society at a place called ye Jambs.” Mentioned as late as 1850 “the Jams.” In 1978, Ridgebury historian Ed Liljegren wrote: “The definition of ‘jam(b)’ changes in various editions of Webster’s from ‘a thick bed of stone which hinders them (miners) when pursuing the veins of ore’ (1836) to ‘a mass of mineral or stone in a quarry or pit standing upright, more or less distinct from neighboring or adjoining parts.’ This latter definition is more in keeping with the root of the word, meaning a leg or support. In any case, I suspect that this is the definition the settlers had in mind. …The most probable location was straddling what is now called Ned’s Lane, which once went through to Old Stagecoach Road… If you travel down Ned’s Lane as far as it reasonably passable, you can see a spectacular rock formation, which could have well given rise to the name of the Jambs.”
From Jack Sanders, Ridgefield Names.
More Historical Nuggets
First Pride Day, 1998
FIRST ‘PRIDE’ DAY: “A Celebration of Community: Straight, Gay and Lesbian“ took place in 1998, on the Community Center lawn. Just a year later, a Rainbow Flag was flown for the first time in the nation over a state capitol, Hartford, on March 21, 1999.
Hezekiah Scott (1789-1879)
Hezekiah Scott was a weaver and operated a distillery on the brook near his home on Barlow Mountain Road — a stream now called Kiah’s Brook.
Paving
The first road paving, part of a state experiment, was done on the eastern end of Branchville Road around 1912. Catoonah Street was paved in 1922.
Lillian Barnard Gilkes and Louise “Lulu” Davidson
Gilkes, Lillian Barnard, (1903-1977), was a nationally recognized scholar, author and critic who lived at 93 Olmstead Lane with stepsister.
