EARLIEST INHABITANTS OF THIS AREA WERE INDIANS.

    The first inhabitants of this area were Indians, mainly of two tribes -- Paugatucks and Pootatucks. Unlike many areas of this country, the land which comprises Oxford was purchased from the Indians, and written deeds of transfer were made for five areas of the town.
    The principal deeds were for the lands of Wesquantuck, Rock-house Hill, Camp's Mortgage, the Quaker Farms Purchase and the North Purchase.
    The Quakers Farm purchase is believed to have been made prior to 1689, or thereabouts, as Sharpe, in his History of Oxford, Part First, (published in 1885), cites a document referring to the original settling of the land in 1689.
    Sharpe also cites an old deed dated March 19, 1700 for the Wesquantuck area, now known by the shortened term Squantuck.
    In December of that year a committee of Ebenezer Johnson, Wm. Tomlinson and Samuel Riggs were appointed to buy the mortgage of Nicholas Camp of Milford. This area was divided among the proprietors in 1702 and 1703.
    It is also a tradition that the Kettletown area of the town was purchased for a brass kettle from the Indians at a very early date, and sold a second time in 1679.
    Another Purchase, which includes land in the Towantic area of town, was purchased on January 31, 1710, by Samuel and Lieut. Joseph Hull of Derby, agents, for six pounds of current silver money.
    The Twelve Mile Hill area was recorded as sold on March 15, 1710, consisting of 100 acres bounded by Waterbury. The area is now marked by The Twelve Mile Stake on Andrews Mountain.
    The following article, loaned to us by Miss Bernice S. Hull, is a speech given by Marjorie Woodruff at the Derby Historical Society:

    At the spot where the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers come together, a trading post was established in 1642. This was called Paugatuck. In 1654, a group of people from New Haven came and settled here, and in 1655, they petitioned the General Court in New Haven to make this little settlement a town. In 1675 there were 12 families, with 11 more families intending to come and they had procured a minister and provided for his support; so the General Assembly on May 13, 1676 made them a town, which they called "Derby."
    The Town of Derby, as created by the 1675 charter, covered 14,000 acres, and the General Court, in 1671 said, "This Court do hereby grant that their bounds shall be; on the south on Milford bounds; on the west by the Pootatuck River, and from their south bounds unto the north 12 miles.
    Edward Wooster was leader of the first settlers, who found Derby an unbroken forest, with wolves and other wild animals killing much of their livestock.
    So Derby, on the south, went to the Milford town line, on the west to Pootatuck River and "unto the north 12 miles," which as measured by the early inhabitants, was on what is called Andrews' Mountain. No one really knows who put the twelve mile stake in place. There is a record of a vote granting to John Stanley, 12 acres of land on the hill, "at a stake set down by Derby men."