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he
central-most parcel of communal land in a town was usually reserved
for the main street and/or the Congregational meetinghouse, which
was the physical and psychological center of the Puritan community.
While outlying common lands were used for grazing, the meetinghouse
green usually functioned simultaneously as a militia parade ground,
marketplace, and burying ground.
The Nineteenth Regiment Connecticut Volunteer
Infantry, 859 men strong, received its distinctive unit flags, or
"colors," on the Litchfield Green on September 10, 1862. The
recruits embarked the next day by train to fight in the Civil
War.
The Colonial green was also the site of the
schoolhouse, taverns, blacksmiths' shops, the jail and stocks, and
the "Sabbaday houses" used as warming huts by
churchgoers.
As most towns were laid out with house lots
bordering this open space, it also served as a unifying residential
area. In this way the green became New England's enduring symbol of
community crossroads.
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