"The area known as Nook Farm dates from Constitutional times. It was part of an apportionment as "the Nook" to John Haynes, the first governor of Connecticut. The name comes from the nook caused by the winding curve of the Little River, also known as Hog River. Today, the river is called the Park River and flows between Farmington Avenue and Laurel Street. Katherine Day's father, John Calvin Day, was a descendant of Governor Haynes through his mother, Catherine Seymour. John Hooker and his brother-in-law Francis Gillette bought the 100 acres between Imlay Street and the river from W. H. Imlay in 1853. Hooker was a lineal descendant of the founder of Hartford, Thomas Hooker. Gillette became a U.S. senator from Connecticut and ran for governor on the Free Soil ticket three times."