The northwest part of Hampton was for many years held mostly by non-residents. But few attempts were made at settlement in that section. The first permanent settler of whom we have any knowledge was Benjamin Chaplin, whose father, a deacon by the same name, lived in the southwest part of Pomfret.
On arriving at his majority, he went into the wilderness, and for a while lived a solitary life here, in a clearing which he had made on the banks of the Natchaug. Here he engaged in making baskets and wooden trays.
In 1747 he married Mary Ross, a widow, the daughter of Seth Paine, of Brooklyn.
