The first grant of land in Sharon, later known as the Jackson Patent near Amenia Union, was surveyed in 1732, when the town's boundaries were established. The patent was granted in 1734 by the General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut. In 1738 the original homelots in the town were auctioned by order of the General Assembly to fifty purchasers, who in 1739 incorporated as The Proprietors of the Common and Undivided Land of the Township of Sharon. Sharon Green, still much as it was laid out in the wilderness in 1739, reflects the foresight and wisdom of those men and is now part of the Sharon Historic District established in 1975. Sharon once prospered in agriculture, iron founding, and manufacturing, producing goods that ranged from mousetraps to the Hotchkiss rifled cannon projectile, but except for farming, the old industries have now almost vanished.