Formally known as Hanover or Hartford Mountains, Bolton was incorporated in 1720 after being settled by a group of “good Christian men” seeking more open farmland. In 1781, the French army of General Rochambeau camped near this site on its way to aid the army of General Washington at Yorktown, Virginia. On this green stood the first Bolton meeting house of the congregation organized in 1725 by Act of Legislature, with the Reverend Thomas White as its first minister. Early products of Bolton included cider, brandy, and quarried stone, and the Quarryville flag and grindstone were used to pave urban streets in Hartford and other large Eastern cities. Among the notable men native to Bolton were Benjamin Ruggles, who became United States Senator from Ohio from 1818 to 1833, and George G. Sumner, who after holding many Bolton offices later became Mayor of Hartford and Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut.