Town Hall in Newington CT - Newington was part of the Town of Wethersfield until 1871. Early names for the area were “Pipestave Swamp,” then “Cow Plain,” and later, “West Farms.” These reflected its use first as a source of staves for making “pipes” (large sized barrels) used in colonial trade, then a pasture for cattle, and eventually, the new farms taken up by descendants of early Wethersfield settlers who had been given grants on the western frontier of their riverside town. By 1721 there were enough new farmers on these grants to request that the General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut give them the name “Newington.”