This land, granted to settlers in 1661 and 1668 by the General Court of Connecticut and also purchased from the local Mattabesett Indian tribe, became a community founded in part by Sergeant Richard Beckley, who came north from New Haven before 1660 and built a home in the northeast section, Jonathan Gilbert, who owned land along the Hartford-New Haven path, and Captain Richard Seymour, who led families from Farmington in 1686 to begin settlement at Christian Lane. In 1705 the area was named the Great Swamp Society when it received a distinct ecclesiastical unit, and in 1722 portions of Farmington, Wethersfield, and Middletown were reorganized under the name Kensington. Although the Worthington Society was later separated from Kensington, all parts were incorporated in 1785 as the Town of Berlin, including Worthington, Kensington, East Berlin, and New Britain. Known as the Town at the Crossroads, Berlin is the geographic center of Connecticut. In the birthplace of the Yankee Pedlar, the Pattison brothers began the tin industry in 1740 by manufacturing and selling tin pots and pans, and around 1800 Simeon North, official pistol maker for the United States Government, developed a system of standard interchangeable parts in his shop. Other citizens associated with Berlin include educator Emma Hart Willard, artist-poet Robert Brandegee, clock maker Elisha Cheney, poet-geologist James Gates Percival, and General Selah Hart, a regimental and brigade commander in the American Revolutionary War. From 1850 to 1900, the New Britain section grew from a farming village into a thriving industrial center after separating from Berlin in 1850, while some factories continued to operate in Berlin and the brick industry flourished well into the 20th century because of the excellent quality of local clay. The Berlin area has long been a major stop on the main routes of travel, from Indian paths to superhighways.