Birth of a Town almost 100 years after Birth of a House

The year was 1847 when Tyringham (or South Tyringham) became Monterey, named after General Zachary Taylor's battles in Mexico and Texas.  That year, preparations were just getting underway for a party that would mark the 100th year that the Capt John Brewer Homestead stood on Ledge Gardens.  1850 would bring the celebration of the first 100 years.  When the home was built in 1750, "Green Woods" was a name the local area was called.  100 years later, the area had a town name, and was recognized as it's own village.  An 1889 tourist guide mentions that Monterey was "charmingly attractive" and a place "to spend a summer month." 

The arrival of Capt John Brewer in 1739

The first permanent settlers in “Green Woods” as Monterey was called, were a group of proprietors from Watertown, Massachusetts.  They were Lieutenant Isaac Garfield, Tomas Slaton and Captain John Brewer, who arrived in the summer of 1739. 

Later that year Captain Brewer built the first saw mill on Konkapot Brook outfall, a tributary of what was then known as Twelve Mile Pond, now known as Lake Garfield.

Since the earliest settlers of 1739, Monterey had been part of Tyringham and was known as South Tyringham. The Captain John Brewer House also known as Ledge Gardens on Main Road and part of the original Land Grant, built around 1750, is on the National Register of Historic Places.