The earliest known write-up I have found on Barkhamsted Light House (As seen here, Lighthouse was separated). So, in my work, I have started referencing as such… The Barkhamsted Light House Village.
The Barkhamsted Light House Village was a historical community located in what is now Peoples State Forest in Barkhamsted, Connecticut¹. It was set on a terrace above the eastern bank of the West Branch Farmington River¹. In the 18th and 19th centuries, it was a small village of economically marginalized mixed Native American, African American, and white residents¹.
The area known as the Barkhamsted Light House Village had its beginnings in the mid-18th century with the purchase of land by James Chagum/Chaugham and later his children¹. The community was eventually abandoned in the 1860s, its residents apparently moving to seek better economic opportunities¹.
The site is accessible via a short hiking trail from East River Road in Peoples State Forest, and has been designated a state archaeological site¹. Excavations have uncovered foundational remains of ten buildings, four charcoal kilns, a well, and a small cemetery¹.
The village was given the name “Light House” because its lights acted as a beacon marking the north–south stage road that paralleled the river¹. The twinkling lights in the teepees & cabin of the Chaughams and their neighbors assured passengers in the night that they still followed the right path².
Sources:
(1) Barkhamsted Lighthouse – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barkhamsted_Lighthouse.
(2) Barkhamsted Lighthouse – Bringing Light to the Connecticut Hills – New …. https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/barkhamsted-lighthouse-bringing-light-connecticut-hills/.
(3) “Outcasts” Build Their Own Village in 18th-Century Barkhamsted. https://connecticuthistory.org/outcasts-build-their-own-village-in-18th-century-barkhamsted/.
(4) From the archives: The Barkhamsted Lighthouse was a ‘Sanctuary’ for …. https://www.ctinsider.com/connecticutmagazine/article/From-the-archives-The-Barkhamsted-Lighthouse-was-17046569.php.
(5) en.wikipedia.org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barkhamsted_Lighthouse.
Ever Widening Circle 