The Weekly Gazette

THE SHIPMAN HOUSE

The Shipman house at Station 57 is believed to have been built by George Welles, grandson of the Hon. Thomas Welles and was sold by him to Capt. Stephen Shipman in 1785. The title remained in that family for four generations. After the death of Mrs. Ele Shipman in 1923 it was sold to Dr. Ward of Hartford.

There has been a long dim tradition that the house was once a station on the "Underground Railroad," or to be more exact, a hiding place for runaway slaves; and that there was a secret passage from the cellar to the outside air. If so that passage has long been obliterated.

However it is a fact that a hiding place was discovered in the attic, a few years ago. It was an old custom for farmers to store a cask of cider in a place where it would not freeze, but would slowly turn to vinegar. In this house the storage place was in the attic close to the great chimney. The vinegar had long since evaporated and the staves of the cask were ready to fall apart. When removed it was found that the boards beneath it had never been fastened down with nails or screws. Underneath these boards where the chimney narrowed on its upward course, there was a cavity large enough to accommodate a man.

However this does not prove that a slave was ever hidden there. It is quite as probable that the place was arranged to conceal other things. Smuggling was not unknown in those days, and every family was supposed to have a supply of ardent spirits for use in case of sickness.

On one occasion Captain Stephen received a call from the parson, and, much to his chagrin found that the decanter in the corner cupboard contained nothing he could offer for the refreshment of his visitor, who was perhaps fatigued by his horse-back ride from the "North Pass."

A grandson was hastily dispatched to the Woodbridge store on the corner to procure a little good rum. He was told to keep the bottle under his coat and not let the minister see him—so ashamed was the good Captain to be caught unprovided with such an essential to hospitality.