History of Northampton, Massachusetts, from its settlement in 1654;

30 HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTON. ri654-1657.
Size of Home Lots. To nearly all tlie first settlers home lots of
" Forlorn " Lots, at least four acres were granted, though to
Meadow Lots. , t t . t i.
some much more land was given, in most
cases the grant was all in one lot. On the east side of
King Street, from the former residence of Eliphalet Williams
to the homestead of the late J. P. Williston, the
home lots contained but two acres each. In order to sup-
j)ly these deficiencies, a section called "Forlorn" was either
set apart or used by common consent. This "Forlorn"
land was on the west side of King Street brook, above
Park, and from it two acres each were given to such of the
grantees on that street as were short of the requisite num-
ber.' Apparently it was of limited extent, and was all required
to equalize the home lots on King Street. There is
no record of "Forlorn" land being given to persons living
in other portions of the town. In this vicinity was the
place called "Miller's Lion's Den,"' so named in deeds. It
belonged to William Miller, who owned the lot bounded
south by Park Street. The first lot on King Street, that of
Samuel Wright Sr., contained four acres, but it was first
granted in two lots :—one to Samuel Wright Sr. and the
other to his son Samuel, who relinquished it to his father,
and was provided with a lot on Bridge Street, on a portion
of which now stands the new house of John" L. Draper.
To the owner of each home lot were granted other lands,
meadow, upland or plain land. The meadows were gener-
ally divided into small lots, no individual having all his
meadow land in one place. The number of acres awarded
to different persons varied. Some had but eight or ten
acres, while others obtained from thirty to fifty. Meadow
lots usually contained three, six, eight, ten or more acres,
and those having the largest quantity held a number of lots,
sometimes widely separated from each other.
1 The "Forlorn" lots laj^ between King Street and the base of Round Hill, and
extended from " Lyman's Lane " (Park Street) to " Hawley Lane " (Spring Street).
They consisted originally of seven lots of two acres each, and the land was all given
to the settlers on the east side of King Street, to make their home lots up to the
standard size. " Miller's Lion's Den " was situated north of Hawley Lane.
2 It was a question when New England was first settled whether there were not
lions among its wild beasts. Some of the early writers believed that they existed
here, and many incidents were related concerning them. The catamount or panther
was the lion of the Indians, and probably from a den once occupied by these animals
on Miller's land, the name originated. Very few of them were seen in this section
after the settlement commenced.