Page "North Stonington, Connecticut" Paragraph 29

The Assembly, which met the following month, approved the new town ‘ s independence, but did not endorse the town ‘ s proposed new name of Jefferson, and instead directed that the town would be named “ North Stonington ,” citing as justification that for almost a century the northern part of Stonington had been known by that name.

While the Assembly ’ s reasoning is superficially logical, its rejection of the name “ Jefferson ” almost certainly was motivated by the considerable antagonism held by dominant Federalist politicians in Hartford, who led New England in their opposition to President Jefferson and his policies.

We do not know the reason why the country ‘ s third president — then midway through his second term — was so popular among North Stonington residents, although perhaps Jefferson ‘ s public criticism of the Congregational Church ’ s domination of politics and religion in Connecticut earned him the loyalty of the local Baptist community, which perhaps regarded him as a champion of their rights in a state that still enshrined preferential rights to the Congregational Church.