New England communities were originally settled by people who were willing to take risks and work hard to create a life in a new territory that was full of promise and freedom.
Chartered in 1761 by Governor Benning Wentworth, the town was named after the hometown of many early settlers, Canaan, Connecticut, which had been named for the biblical land of Canaan. It was settled in the winter of 1766-1767 by John Scofield, who arrived with all his belongings on a hand sled. With an unbroken surface, the town was suited for agriculture.
Initial settlement was along the Mascoma River reflecting movement up the Connecticut River. As the community grew, roads were laid out and built beginning with South Road in 1774. Grain mills, constructed along the rivers for power, became centers of activity for business. Lumber mills soon provided boards for larger and more substantial houses. Broad Street or Canaan Street near Canaan Street Lake was the focal point of the early thriving community.
Many roads built in the late 1770’s and 1780’s led directly to the Eames corn mill by the outlet of Harts Pond (also called Crystal Lake and now called Canaan Street Lake).
A meeting house was erected in 1796.
Villages sprang up in West Canaan and East Canaan (now Canaan Village).
