Henry Burr Sherwood
Henry Burr Sherwood (2 February 1829 – 27 October 1906) was an inventor, miller, and farmer in Westport, Connecticut.
He played a notable role in the 19th-century economy of the Westport Connecticut (Fairfield County) area, including owning and operating the Compo Tide Mill (see Mill Cove Historic District in the National Historic Register [1]). He invented a farming implement important for the local onion-growing economy of the Westport/Fairfield area (see US Patent 237,057 [2]), and established in 1857 a 14-acre (57,000 m2) onion farm on the west side of Sherwood Mill Pond at 180 Hillspoint Rd, Westport CT. ([3]).
Henry Burr Sherwood was born in 1829 into the Sherwood family of Connecticut's Sherwood Island State Park fame [4]. He was an 8th generation Sherwood and a nephew of the Sherwood ship captain triplets, Francis, Franklin, and Frederick, famous for their roles running clipper ships in the China trade.
The Sherwood family originally settled in Fairfield County from Ipswich England in 1634. A descendant, Daniel (b. 1761), built a homestead on Sherwood Island, east of today's Sherwood Mill Pond, and married Catherine Burr. Their son, Daniel (b. 1794), was the father of Henry Burr Sherwood (b. 1829), and built the house currently standing at 160 Hillspoint Rd., Westport, CT.
Henry married Julie Guyer of Westport, the daughter of a neighboring farmer. They had two children, Etta M. (b. 1862) and Rollin G. (b. 1869).
Henry Burr Sherwood owned and operated the Compo Tide Mill. In 1991, the Mill Cove, the area immediately surrounding the location of the Compo Tide Mill, was declared a National Historic District.
The Sherwood Mill Pond [5] at Compo Cove is a large tidal pond hugely significant to the settlement and historical development pattern of the local Westport / Compo / Greens Farm area. The tidal flow from Long Island Sound was a significant source of power in the 18th century, leading to the construction of one of the earliest grist mills in the area (rights granted ca. 1705 by the town of Fairfield). The tidal pond also hosted fertile and productive oyster beds. The original grist mill was built by John Cable, but by 1790 had been acquired and rebuilt by Sherwood family members to service local farmers. Henry's father Daniel and uncle Ebenezer improved the mill by erecting a substantial breakwater, wharves, and sluice gates[6].
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