Suffield originated in 1670 through a grant to John Pynchon and, because of a surveying error, was first a township of Massachusetts under the name Southfield. Mindwell Old, the first child, was born in 1674, the year the town was incorporated, and since 1682 the town meeting has been its single form of government. By 1704 a church and a school stood on the common, and in 1749 Suffield became part of Connecticut. Simeon Waters started the American cigar industry there in 1810, and tobacco has continued as a major crop. Early emigrants went to Vermont and Ohio, where several were elected to high offices. The Connecticut Baptist Literary Institution, founded in 1833, is now Suffield Academy. The school and the town have produced leaders in religion, education, politics, insurance, agriculture, business, and the arts, including Phinehas Lyman, commander of colonial troops from 1754 to 1760; Ebenezer Gay, pastor of the Congregational Church from 1742 to 1793; Timothy Swan, composer of sacred music including "China"; Seth Pease, surveyor of the Connecticut Western Reserve; Gideon Granger, Jr., United States Postmaster General from 1801 to 1814; Asahel Morse, author of religious freedom in Connecticut; Sylvester Graham, inventor of graham crackers and bread; Henry Sykes, architect and builder; Willis Adams, painter of American landscapes; and Olin Warner, artist and sculptor. In 1976, the Bicentennial year, Suffield had 9700 residents and 43.1 square miles.