My (Burr Cook) ancestors, the Gates family, a large number of which are buried at Hopewell, were early settlers in the area, coming from Keene NH. Route 20, passing through the middle of the township, was at that time a log road and the first toll turnpike in the state long before the thruway was thought of.
State of Nature. State of nature refers to a condition in which there is no established political authority. It is essentially a state of complete freedom. Political theorists have used it to better understand human nature and, typically, to justify the rationality of a particular type of government.
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the natural, physical, or material world or universe. Nature can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large part of science. Although humans are part of nature, human activity is often understood as a separate category from other natural phenomena.