USA > Vermont > Addison County > Bristol > History of Bristol, Vermont, 1762-1959, 2nd ed. > Part 1
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Gc 974.302 B780
Gc 974.302 B780 1258931
M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
m 3 1833 01096 2766
E
HISTORY C.
of
BRISTOL, VERMONT
1762-1959
Compiled by
OUTLOOK CLUB OF BRISTOL, VERMONT
2nd Edition - 1959
Bertha H. Estes Frances P. Kneeland
Helen N. Trombley
1st Edition - 1940
Carrie Harvey Clara Kellogg
Printed U. S. A. Bristol Press & Vt. Silk Screen, Inc., Bristol, Vermont
Index
Page
Early History
Holley Hall
Indians
Bristol Herald
8 9
Plank Road
10 11 11
Pageant
Manufacturing
13
The Little Notch
18
Churches and Cemeteries
21
Education - Schools
25 28 30
Utilities - Electric Lights
Telephone
31 34 34
Munsill Hose Co.
Business Center
36 36
Post Office
Hotel
Buildings
38 39 39 41
Military
41
People of Note
44
Homes
52
Lodges and Societies
54
Interesting Spots
58
Recreation
62
Pictures
Hotel
4
Bristol Railroad and Holley Hall
7
Manufacturing Co.
12
Federated Church and Lawrence Memorial Library
20
Bristol Academy and Churches
24
N. H. Munsill Hose House and Masonic Temple
29
Map of Bristol 1871
32
150th Anniversary of Bristol
35
Aerial View of Village
40
The Maples - Home of the late Merritt Allen
43
Old Homesteads
48
Common and Champlain Bridge Celebration
53
Lord's Prayer Rock
57
Lake Winona (Bristol Pond)
61
5
6
8
Bristol Railroad
Floods
Library
Water System
Band
Bank
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BRISTOL ROCK
Sheltered by Vermont's Green Mountains, On a road to Bristol Town, Close beside the curving highway, Stands a rock of great renown. Travelers, who pass before it - (Those whose faith is not quite dead ) - Gaze with awe and admiration, Then, in reverence, bow their heads. On its broad face, tipped toward heaven, Keeping holy vigil there,- Carved in letters of rare beauty, Is inscribed our dear Lord's Prayer. Grateful are the hearts of Christians, To our dear friend, Dr. Greene, We pray that rock will never crumble 'Till all mortal eyes have seen. He inscribed it for God's children, To remind them, 'long the way, That their lives are in His keeping, And they should not cease to pray.
Georgia F. Healy
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Hotel and Main Street - before automobiles
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Bristol Inn
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THE BRISTOL INN
Early History
On June 26, 1762, a charter was granted, for a township lying largely upon the mountains and situated in the northwestern section of Addison County, by the Colonial Governor of New Hampshire, Benning Went- worth, under King George III by His Excellency's command and advise of Council to Samuel Averill and sixty-two associates, under the name of Pocock. This name was given in honor of a distinguished English admiral. The township did not retain this name but for only a few years and on October 27, 1789, the name was changed to Bristol, by an act of the Legislature. No reason can be found in town or state papers why it was given this name. The Charter deed contained the usual re- strictions incident to the Wentworth Grants - propagation of the Gospel, etc., and fixed the boundary lines of the new town which gave it more than the area of a full township or 23,600 acres. This area was curtailed by the Legislature, November 18, 1824, when a portion of land or 4,400 acres was set off to the town of Lincoln, leaving the area of Bristol, 19,200 acres.
Bristol is bounded on the north by Monkton and Starksboro, on the east by Starksboro and Lincoln, south by Middlebury, and west by New Haven. On the eastern side, running the entire length of the town is a spur of the Green Mountains, composed of three separate mountains, known locally as Hogsback, South and Elephant. The only stream of importance is the New Haven River, which enters Bristol on the north- east from Lincoln and follows a southwest course into New Haven. Two small streams, both tributaries of the New Haven river are O'Brien Brook in the south part of town and Baldwins Creek in the north. There is a small pond in the northern part of Bristol known as Bristol Pond or Lake Winona. Bristol is 571 feet above sea level.
The first settlement in Bristol was begun in 1786 by Samuel Stewart and Eden Johnson whose wives were sisters. The two families came together from Skenesboro (now Whitehall) New York. Mr. Johnson traveled by land to drive the cattle while the rest came as far as Vergen- nes by boat. They erected the first building in town, a log cabin, which they occupied jointly until Mr. Stewart could build another one for his family. Mr. Stewart's daughter, Polly, was the first white child born in Bristol.
Although the Stewart and Johnson families are considered the first permanent settlers, when a committee of proprietors surveyed the town in 1785 they met a man who gave his name as John Brodt and said he had lived in the place for twelve years since he fled from New York state, a fugitive. A pardon was secured for him and he returned to New York, leaving no mark of his stay in Bristol. He had erected only a crude shelter for himself and cleared no land other than a small patch where he raised a few vegetables.
The first male child born in Bristol was Horace Griswold, son of Benjamin Griswold. The first marriage was that of Samuel Brooks and Betsy Rorapaugh, an Indian woman. This took place on March 16, 1791.
According to the restrictions of the charter there was one that as soon as fifty families had settled in the town they would be allowed to hold a meeting and organize. Each grantee of land must in a reasonable length of time, cultivate five out of every fifty acres and must live on it and improve it. The first proprietors' meeting on record was held at the home of Benjamin Griswold in Pocock, March 3, 1788. Miles Bradley
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was chosen moderator and Henry Mclaughlin, proprietors' clerk. The original survey of the town made in 1785 was reported and accepted and a tax of $2.00 was laid on each proprietor's right, to pay the expenses of surveying and laying out roads and bridges. A committee consisting of Timothy Rogers, Miles Bradley, Justin Allen, Cyprian Eastman and Henry Mclaughlin was chosen to lay out and care for the highways and bridges. The meeting was adjourned until May 13 when the propri- etors were to meet at the home of Benjamin Paine in Addison. At this meeting, it was voted to lay out ninety acres to each right as the first division. The last meeting of the proprietors was held in 1816 but from 1795 to 1815 no proprietors' meetings are recorded.
It is evident that meetings were held prior to the one on March 3, 1788, for at that meeting the report of the surveyors, who were chosen in 1784 or '85 was given and these two statements are found in second- ary sources - "In the year 1785 John Willard, Jonathan Hoit, and Miles Bradley were appointed a committee by the proprietors to survey the township" and "It is believed that a proprietors' meeting was held in 1784 in Canaan, Conn."
The first Town Meeting was held in Bristol at the home of Justin Allen, March 2, 1789. Henry Mclaughlin was chosen moderator and town clerk; Amos Scott, treasurer; Justin Allen, constable; Cyprian Eastman, Samuel Stewart, and Robert Dunshee selectmen. The second annual meeting was held March 23, 1790 and a more complete list of town officers was chosen. They chose three listers, tax collector, leather sealer, grand juror, pound keeper, tything man, two haywards, three fence viewers, three highway surveyors and a sealer of weights and measures.
Holley Hall - It is apparent that the residents of Bristol found the town room in the school building unsatisfactory and at a special meet- ing May 24, 1882 they voted to sell the town room and all its appoint- ments to the school district for $480.00. March 6, 1883, at the annual meeting it was voted to appoint a committee of three to investigate the matter of building a town hall. Their report, which was to have been given in May, was not given until July. At the meeting at that time Mrs. Cornelia Holley Smith, daughter of Winter Holley and granddaugh- ter of Robert Holley who settled in Bristol in 1795, offered to give the town the land on which her father's store had stood, providing that they would build a town hall upon that site within the next three years. The offer was accepted, the building was completed in September, 1884 and was named Holley Hall after Mrs. Smith's father. It is a brick building with a clock in the belfry. The big room inside where town meetings are held has a seating capacity of 500. For many years it was rented to churches and various organizations whenever a large auditorium was needed. Until 1930 when the school auditorium and gymnasium was built it was rented to the school for all public gatherings and had served for eight years as a place of basketball practice and games. From about 1910 to 1917 Mr. Flagg of Brandon rented the hall one or two nights a week for moving pictures. In 1930 sound equipment was installed for talking pictures which were shown here for two years. Until 1933 rentals showed a favorable margin over running expenses but now there are comparatively few rentals. In 1929 two rooms were finished off in the basement for a town clerk's office and a vault was installed to hold the town records. A cement walk on the south and east sides of the hall was laid at this time.
When the old school building became inadequate to hold the en- larged number of pupils, a room was finished off in the basement to take
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Holley Hall
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Bristol Railroad - Train and Ticket Station
7
care of the overflow. In 1958 this room was no longer used as the ad- dition to the new school on Mountain Street was large enough for the children.
Early Indians and Their Artifacts Around the Town of Bristol - Writers of the early history of Bristol describe the Indians in the usual way, commenting on their straight black hair, fierce countenances, red- dish complexions, good form, and straight limbs. One writer added the interesting comment that Indians considered the cultivation of the land for squaws and hedgehogs and not for men who were made for war, hunting, and holding council. So the chief implements of the men were bows, arrows, and tomahawks. These have been found in abundance in Bristol.
When the first settlement was made in Bristol in 1786 there were discovered many small places which had the appearance of having been cleared and afterwards grown up and covered with a second growth of timber, grass, and weeds. In these places there was found a profusion of arrow points and spear heads. Gorges and pestles were also found. One unusual object discovered in one of these clearings was a stone resembling a rolling pin. Later settlers questioned an old Indian nearly a hundred years of age about the use of this particular instrument and he told them it had been used in dressing deer. Another unusual object which the settlers showed the Indian was also used in the dressing of deer. This former stone is now in the museum in Middlebury. A gorge found in Bristol is now in a museum in Hartford, Connecticut.
At one particular place there was evidence of the wholesale man- ufacture of arrow points as there were many perfect arrow heads, some only partly finished, and a large quantity of broken fragments. The Rev. C. F. Muzzy, a graduate of Middlebury College in 1833 examined some of these stones and stated that they were formed from quartz rock, slate, and feldspar, all indigenous to this section of the country. Phillip E. Tucker of Vergennes stated that he had in his possession some arrow heads which were black jasper. Mr. Tucker was of the impression that the spears found in this vicinity were used to spear fish and not human beings.
After the English arrived in this section of the country, the Indians secured iron tomahawks; they also got firearms from the French. Of course, they also obtained the powder horn and shot bag as part of their equipment when the white man came.
The old Indian questioned about the relics found about Bristol Pond and other places in this vicinity stated he had never used a stone arrow- or spear head, but had heard of others possessing them. He said he had heard discussions about how these stone implements were made, but he had never seen any of them used. He said he had always even in his youth used a steel arrow point made in the same shape as the stone arrow point. So it must be presumed that the very first settlers of Bristol were indeed aborigines in the true sense of the word since they were even before the Indians who used the steel arrow point.
Bristol Herald - Bristol was without a paper published in town until 1879. In the Spring of that year, Myron F. Wilson who had worked for the Burlington Free Press and who wanted a paper of his own, came to Bristol with his three sons, Myron W., James and Ben, at the direc- tion of Solon Burroughs of Vergennes. They were well pleased with the reception given them and set up their hand press in rooms over the Bush and Patterson store where the first Bristol Herald was printed in May
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1879. A fourth son, Preston K., who had been working in Minnesota soon joined the staff.
The second Herald office was in the Drake-Farr block and the third and last location was on South Street. The paper was always printed un- der the firm name of Wilson Bros., but before it had reached its fiftieth anniversary Ben and P. K. Wilson had died and James' son, Donald, had entered the firm. In the late Spring of 1929 the Herald was sold to Ralph Merritt, editor of the Middlebury Register and the Bristol Herald Co., Inc. In 1934 the Brandon Union was joined with these two and the Publishing Co. was then known as the Otter Valley Press. In 1947 the Bristol Herald was sold to Rockwood Publications of Vergennes, who publishes it today. Myron W. died in 1930, and James in 1941.
In 1935 Donald J. Wilson started the Bristol Press in the rear of what is now Way's Hardware store. In 1938 he moved his shop to the rear of his home on Maple Street, where it is today.
In 1945 his son, Donald E., on return from five and one half years of military duty with the Air Force and a year spent in a German prison camp, joined his father. They have gradually modernized the whole printing plant, added automatic machinery and additional buildings, and in 1953 added a Silk Screen Plant, "Vermont Silk Screen Co." In July 1956 "The New England Printer" magazine published an article on this plant, tracing its growth from hand press to its present status of being one of the few plants in New England and the only one in Vermont featuring letterpress, offset, and silk screen under one roof.
Donald E. Wilson is the fourth generation in this line of printers. In 1890, three years before his death, feeling that he did not have much longer to live, Myron F., the founder of the "Bristol Herald", conceived the idea of utilizing the iron arch from the 125 year old Tuff press which he had used for so many years, as a base for the marble headstone set on the Wilson lot in Greenwood Cemetery. This unique idea of Mr. Wilson received notice in the "Newspaper News," printed in Sydney, Australia. It has also appeared in Ripley's "Believe it or not" series.
Bristol Railroad - The Bristol Herald, soon after its establishment, began a vigorous campaign for a railroad to connect Bristol with the Rutland Railroad. Several meetings were held in the early eighties to discuss the subject, after which J. J. Ridley introduced a bill in the legis- lature incorporating the Bristol Railroad Company. In 1890 a survey was made of the route and on November 11, 1890, a special town meet- ing was held and six men were authorized to isuue $15,000 worth of bonds to aid in the construction of the road. Work was begun on the road bed in 1890, but much trouble was experienced with those in charge of the work and for a few months all activity ceased. Apparently the plan was doomed to failure, but it was taken up again by P. W. Clement of Rutland who took charge of the project and finished it in January, 1892. The first train ran from Bristol to New Haven Junction, January 5, 1892, in charge of R. S. Smith who was superintendent of the road.
One amusing incident is gleaned from the Bristol Herald's account of the first trip, which records the fact that it took only twenty-five minutes to make the trip to the Junction, but it required thirty minutes to return because the up-grade at Tucker's Crossing was too much for the engine, which was soon replaced by a new and more powerful one. The new engine, gilt trimmed, bore the inscription "Bristol Railroad, No. 1" in bold letters and was a two-way one with a cow catcher at
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1 1
1
t
1
1
each end.
In 1893 a depot was built at Bristol and like everything connected with the railroad, no expense was spared in its construction for the road was built for permanency. Two stops were made between Bristol and the Junction, at Tucker's Crossing and New Haven Village, where simple shelters were erected. A third shelter was erected at Hubbard's Cros- sing where stops were made.
For several years the Bristol Railroad was very successful, but its passenger service declined as the use of automobiles increased and in its last years the Railroad depended almost entirely on its freight service. When the manufacturing in Bristol began to decline, the road became a liability and was discontinued in 1930.
This affected the transportation of two vital necessities, coal and milk. The railroad was the medium through which P. W. Clement of Rutland had furnished coal to Bristol. After the road was discontinued in 1930, the coal business was purchased by C. E. Lathrop and G. E. Jackman and known as the Jackman Coal & Coke Company. The Whit- ing Milk Company continued to operate for a short time after the road closed, sending the milk to Rutland by truck, but it soon closed the Bristol plant.
The memory of the Bristol Railroad brings with it the memory of Levi Bates, one of Bristol's most loyal citizens. He was connected with the Railroad for twenty-eight of its thirty-eight years of service, first as conductor and later as station agent.
The names of two other men, who labored faithfully for the Bristol Railroad come to mind - Ralph Denio, who loyally served the Railroad for twenty-five years as superintendent and Fred LaParl, who was en- gineer for about fifteen years.
Vergennes-Bristol Plank Road - In 1850 a group of Vergennes and Bristol citizens formed a company for the purpose of building a plank road from Bristol to Vergennes. This company, known as the Vergennes and Bristol Plank Road Company was composed of Datus Gaige, Luman Munson, Solon Burroughs, Samuel Holley, Harvey Munsill, Elias Bot- tum, William White, Samuel Strong, William Parker, Samuel Morgan, William Pope, William Worth 2nd, John Roberts, Benjamin Ferris, Mosely Hall, Carlton Stevens, Henry Spaulding and Hiram Adams. The fran- chise was granted them November 9, 1850, and they began the construc- tion of the road at once. This road started west from North Street just above the place where the depot was later located and continued past what is now the Catholic cemetery and the Wright Ferguson corner north of New Haven Street, from which it followed an almost straight line to Vergennes, coming out on the road a little east of the city, a distance of approximately seven miles. The planks and sleepers in this road were made from virgin pine. Nine years later the company was released from all obligation to keep the road planked and was allowed to repair the road with earth and gravel in the usual manner of repair- ing turnpikes. It is evident that the planks had all worn out in that space of nine years and the toll did not pay for the upkeep of the dirt road so in 1861 the company was allowed to surrender the charter and the turnpike. Mr. Frederick Wood in "Turnpikes of New England" says the very few plank roads in New England were all located in Connecticut and Vermont, with the exception of one in Massachusetts. The Otter Creek Fish and Game Club have recently purchased some land bordering this road for the development of a recreation area. This is at the site
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of the Vergennes Reservoir.
In 1855 the Vermont Legislature granted a charter to a company planning to construct a toll road from Bristol to Huntington. In 1860 a company was incorporated to establish a turnpike from Bristol to Fayston. No further record of these two roads is available so it seems evident that for some reason the projects were abandoned. However in 1957 a road known as the Mccullough Highway was completed, con- necting Bristol and Fayston.
Bristol Floods - The flood of 1830 was the most disastrous which had occured in Vermont up to that time. No lives were lost in Bristol but the property loss to town and individuals was very heavy. The forge built in 1802 by Franklin, Munsill, Arnold and Beal, which was located on the spot where one of the Bristol Manufacturing Company's buildings later stood, was just completing its fourth cycle of seven years each, and was swept away. After this it was never rebuilt. Ten bridges were destroyed and the road just below the spot where Baldwin Creek joins New Haven River was completely removed together with trees and stones, weighing from 25 to 30 tons, and carried down stream some dis- tance by the force of the torrent.
In the flood of 1869 the Stewart gristmill and Howden and Bosworth sawmill were swept away and their big mill damaged. It has been said that the bridge there was also destroyed but this cannot be verified.
In 1897 a thunder shower raised the streams to flood proportions. The bridge by the Bristol Manufacturing Company, the Cold Spring covered bridge and one on the O'Brien Brook in South Bristol were all destroyed.
In the flood of 1927 the chief property loss was to the Frary Mill, the Drake and Smith Company and the Fred Hammond farm, where the A. Johnson Lumber Company is now located, on Bristol Flats.
In 1938 a hurricane swept over a large part of New England but in this section damage was done, not by the wind but by the water which again rose to flood proportions. The Bristol-Lincoln road was washed out for a long distance. From the point where this road leaves Route 116 as far as Lincoln Center there was nothing left but rocks and portions of the river bed except for occasional sections. This made it very incon- venient for traffic to and from Lincoln for some time as a long detour was necessary. The approximate cost of repair to the town of Bristol was $20,000. At this time the Cold Spring bridge was again ruined and the road from the bridge to the foot of Prime Hill was torn away. Sev- eral smaller bridges were also destroyed. The damage to the A. Johnson Lumber Company is described elsewhere. The high bank which lies along the south side of West Street above the New Haven river was undermined by the high water and sections of it fell into the river, tak- ing with them one garage and threatening the safety of several houses on that side of the street. Beginning by the Bristol Manufacturing Company a retaining wall of hemlock logs has been built along the river to hold back the bank for a distance of a quarter of a mile. Beyond this a wall of stones was laid by the state, for the highway was threatened.
Community Pageant 1921 - August 25, 1921, a community pageant portraying the history of Bristol was staged on the grounds of "The Ma- ples," the home of Mr. and Mrs. Thorpe Thomas. Approximately 150 people, many of them descendants of the early settlers of Pocock, as the town was first known, took part in the pageant which was sponsored by the Outlook Club. Among other historical scenes which were staged was
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Bristol Manufacturing Company
HOW WE CAN COMPETE. BRISTOL MFG, CO. BRISTOL,VT.
Annual supply of Logs for B. M. Co.
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one which showed an Algonquin encampment. These Indians were sup- posed to be the first visitors to the present town of Bristol. Following this a scene was enacted portraying the incidents of John Brodt's stay in Bristol. Brodt, who was an escaped convict from New York State, was the first white settler in the town and lived here for twelve years with only a dog for a companion. Brodt was discovered by Captain Bradley and some other surveyors who told him about a cabin only a short distance from his hideout which was occupied by two pioneers, Samuel Stewart and Eden Johnson. In the next scene Bradley was shown presenting Brodt with a pardon which he had secured from the State of New York after which Brodt left Pocock to return to his former home.
After these historical episodes there was an interlude of folk danc- ing, the music being furnished by an orchestra of eight pieces.
The next scene portrayed the legend of the "Money Diggings" beginning with the coming of the old Spaniard, DeGrau, to Bristol and his tale of accompanying some Spaniards when he was a very small boy to the spot at the foot of South Mountain where he claimed silver had been mined and hidden.
An old fashioned singing school was next conducted by Judge Erwin Hasseltine and the "pupils" who took part in it were dressed in old fashioned garments which had been laid away for years in the attics of the town.
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