 Colchester was incorporated in 1698, and was at first a dispersed agricultural community.The village center formed around the town's first colonial meeting house and burying ground, with the area's economic importance later cemented by its location as a crossroads of several early 19th century turnpikes.Bacon Academy was founded in 1803 as the region's first secondary school, and the town was home to the first Masonic lodge in the region (founded 1782).