The First Settlers: Timothy Hall and the Pioneers

In July 1843, Timothy Hall of New York became the first white settler to purchase land in what is now Hartford. He found a squatter, Jehial Case, already living on the land. Soon after, German immigrants John Thiel and Nicolaus Simon selected the Rubicon River as a site for a hydropowered mill, establishing the village’s first industry. The settlement was initially incorporated as the Town of Wright in January 1846, then renamed Hartford in February 1847. These early pioneers laid the foundation for a community that would grow into a thriving city.