Editing Moodus, Connecticut (section)

==History==
Prior to its purchase by English settlers in 1662, the area around Moodus was inhabited by [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquians]]. The names of three of the inhabiting tribes are known: the [[Quinnipiac#Long Water Land Renapi Sachemdom|Wangunks]], the [[Mohegan people|Mohegans]] and the [[Quinnipiac#Long Water Land Renapi Sachemdom|Nehantics]].<ref>[http://www.easthaddam.org/History-1756/ "About our Town: History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209073148/http://www.easthaddam.org/History-1756/ |date=February 9, 2011 }} East Haddam, Connecticut</ref> The name was derived from the Native American name for the area. The name was "Matchetmadosett" or "Matchitmoodus". It can be translated to ''the place of noises.''<ref>Skinner, Charles Montgomery (1969) "Moodus Noises" ''Myths & Legends of Our Own Land'' Singing Tree Press, Detroit, Michigan, [https://archive.org/details/mythslegendsofou03skin/page/266 page 266] {{OCLC|19933}}; reprinted from the fifth edition of 1896 of J.B. Lippincott Company.</ref> Its name possibly because of the frequent earthquakes in the area. Numerous earthquakes were recorded in the area between 1638 and 1899. Loud rumblings, possibly the "Moodus Noises", could be heard for miles surrounding the epicenter of the quakes near Mt. Tom. The land, which is now the towns of Haddam and East Haddam, was purchased by settlers from the Indians in 1662 for thirty coats. In today's money, it is worth about $100.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.easthaddam.org/History-1756/ |title=History - East Haddam |access-date=March 11, 2011 |archive-date=February 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209073148/http://www.easthaddam.org/History-1756/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During the nineteenth century, Moodus was advertised as the "Twine Capital of America", with twelve mills in operation. The most successful was Brownell & Company. Moodus was in an ideal location for textile production since it had access to ample water power and shipping (via the [[Connecticut River]] and the Connecticut Valley Railroad<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.essexsteamtrain.com/history.html |title=Essex Steam Train - History of the Valley Railroad |access-date=January 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919184302/http://essexsteamtrain.com/history.html |archive-date=September 19, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>), and it was close to an enormous trading center and market, [[New York City]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://historicbuildingsct.com/?cat=184|title = East Haddam| date=December 9, 2017 }}</ref> Moodus's mills primarily manufactured cotton yarn, [[cotton duck]], and twine, and that production lasted from 1819 to 1977. The mills also produced certain related products, particularly [[fishing nets]] and pearl buttons. A part of that [[textile mill]] history is preserved in the Johnsonville historical section of Moodus, named after one of the mill owners. Brownell was a pioneer with [[DuPont Corporation]] in the production of nylon products, and Brownell still manufacturers specialized textile-related products in Moodus such as archery bowstrings, helicopter cargo nets, and tennis nets.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.brownellarchery.com/BrownellCoverStory.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=January 12, 2012 |archive-date=September 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904162144/http://www.brownellarchery.com/BrownellCoverStory.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://connecticutwatertrails.com/CWTA%20-%20Resources%20-%20History%20Of%20Connecticut%27s%20Water%20Trails%20-%20History%20of%20Mills%20-%20East%20Haddam.htm|title=History of Mills In Connecticut|publisher=Connecticut Water Trails Association|access-date=February 26, 2012}}</ref>

Moodus had many local resorts that operated during the course of the early and mid-20th century. During the summer seasons of the 1940s and 1950s, people visiting the more than 30 Moodus-area resorts quadrupled East Haddam's population to about 20,000 people. Nearby Bailey Beach on [[Bashan Lake]] was popular with local residents and vacationers alike. The resorts, boarding houses and camps of Moodus attracted Christian and Jewish vacationers primarily from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and other parts of Connecticut.<ref>[http://www.simonpure.com/resorts.htm "The Resorts That Put the Mood in Moodus: When Moodus Became a Hot Spot for Vacationers"] SimonPure Productions, LLC</ref> One of the last resorts to remain in operation, Sunrise Resort, was purchased by the state of Connecticut in late 2008 to be incorporated into the adjacent [[Machimoodus State Park]] as a campground, and to protect "4,700 feet of additional frontage along the Salmon River".<ref>Church, Diane (January 3, 2009) [http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2009/01/03/news/doc49602af2ace69971749516.txt?viewmode=fullstory "Sunrise Resort bought by state, open to public"] ''The Herald Press'', archive [http://www.freezepage.com/1300109855BBRNNEXSTP?url=http://www.middletownpress.com/articles/2009/01/03/news/doc49602af2ace69971749516.txt?viewmode%3Dfullstory here] by Freezepage</ref>

The village center, dubbed "Downtown Moodus", located formerly at the intersection of routes [[Connecticut Route 151|CT 151]] and [[Connecticut Route 149|CT 149]], was a popular destination for resort guests. However most of the village was razed after the citizens of East Haddam controversially voted in 1967 to accept [[urban renewal]] funding to build a new commercial district for Moodus a quarter mile east, along CT 149. East Haddam was one of the smallest towns in the United States to participate in the urban renewal program.<ref>[http://simonpure.com/moodus_main.htm "Legacy of "Progress" Gone Sour"] SimonPure Productions, LLC</ref>