Editing Washington, Connecticut (section)

===Colonial era===
In 1734, Joseph Hurlbut settled the eastern section of what is now Washington, marking the beginning of the town's inhabitation by colonists. The area around the Hurlbut homestead came to be known as the Judea Parish, a name preserved in the still active [[Judea Cemetery]]. The area was initially part of [[Woodbury, Connecticut|Woodbury]].<ref name="auto1">{{cite web| url=https://www.washingtonct.org/about| title=About| publisher=Town of Washington Connecticut| access-date=October 16, 2019}}</ref>

In 1746, Edward Cogswell secured the right to mine iron ore, as part of the [[New Milford North Purchase]], and established an ironworks along the [[East Aspetuck River]] in [[New Preston, Connecticut|New Preston]]. 1746 also marked the purchase of land from the Wyantenock tribe by the Averill family for a homestead on Baldwin Hill, which is still occupied and farmed by direct descendants of the original inhabitants.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nynjctbotany.org/lgtofc/washingtonconnhist.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120918143856/http://www.nynjctbotany.org/lgtofc/washingtonconnhist.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 18, 2012 |title=A Brief History of Washington |website=www.nynjctbotany.org |access-date=August 13, 2019}}</ref>

Washington was incorporated in 1779, with lands carved from the towns of Woodbury, [[Litchfield, CT|Litchfield]], [[Kent, CT|Kent]] and [[New Milford, CT|New Milford]].<ref name="auto1"/> The town was named after [[George Washington]],<ref>{{cite book |title=The Connecticut Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qoEyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA335 |year=1903 |publisher=Connecticut Magazine Company |page=335}}</ref> who traveled through the area several times during the [[American Revolution]], and proverbially slept in [[New Preston, Connecticut|New Preston]] in 1781. Major William Cogswell, son of Edward Cogswell, was elected the town's first selectman.