A bicentennial address recounts two centuries of a town’s founding and growth, describing settlement patterns, the laying out of village streets, and the early priority placed on church and school. It highlights local reform movements such as early temperance efforts and ties to anti-slavery sentiment, celebrates the establishment and influence of a pioneering law school and other academies, surveys the variety of congregations and benefactors who shaped religious life, and reflects on relations with Indigenous neighbors. The narrative emphasizes civic pride and the community’s institutional contributions to broader social and legal change.