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07/08/2020 08:00 AMThe July 2 edition of Harbor News has an article titled “The New England Town Green: An Appreciation” and I was surprised to see that though it listed a green that now belongs to Clinton’s Congregational Church and a small park at the end of Clinton’s Waterside Lane, it omitted any reference to Clinton’s original (and current) Town Green, known, today, as Liberty Green.
Back in 1663 when the original 30 land parcels were allotted to 30 families in what was then called the Homonoscitt Plantation and is known as Clinton, today, there was a town green laid out called “The Common.” Years later, it was renamed the “Lower Green.” Today it is known as Liberty Green and is an integral part of Clinton’s Liberty Green Historic District.
The green was a muster field during the American Revolution and, at the end of that war, a school house was erected there. That schoolhouse was replaced twice, last by the brick East District School, which closed soon after the original Morgan opened. The building then served the town for several years as a store and also a lockup, until it was torn down circa 1900. On Liberty Green today stands a small cannon that saw service during the war of 1812, which was placed on the Green by the Women’s Relief Corps on Sept. 10, 1925. On the west side of the cannon’s platform is a plaque dedicated “to the patriots of the town who defended our coast from British invasion.” Also on the green is a statue of a Civil War soldier, erected by the Woman’s Relief Corps, which is dedicated to “the citizens of Clinton in memory of the soldiers and sailors who fought to preserve the Union, 1861-1865.”
Peggy Adler
Clinton