User:Rovenrat/AfC/The River Gods

The River Gods were a widely recognized group of aristocratic families who held great power and influence in the Connecticut River Valley for roughly 150 years prior to the American Revolutionary War. They are particularly well-known for their extravagant mansions, which were some of the first of their kind in pre-revolution America.

Members
Various sources identify different families as being members of the River Gods, as there was no explicit system for determining "membership" in the group. The family names of the most well-recognized families of this group are listed below, with notable individual members highlighted as well.


 * Allyn
 * Ashley
 * Chester
 * Dwight
 * Hamlin
 * Partridge
 * Pitkin
 * Porter
 * Pynchon
 * William Pynchon
 * Stoddard
 * Talcott
 * Welles
 * Williams
 * Wolcott

Examples

 * Buttolph–Williams House

Notes - After the Revolution

 * Yale president Timothy Dwight noted in 1806 that the inhabitants of the Connecticut River Valley were more alike in culture among themselves than they were with the coastal members of their respective states.
 * William Hosley Jr. wrote in 1985 that the local cultural distinctions in the area were starting to wane by the early 1800s.