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HISTORY of IRA, VERMONT
P.SIMON L. PECK FORTY YEARS TOWN CLERK
To WHICH IS ADDED THE AUTHOR'S EXPERIENCES IN THE GREAT WEST IN 1866-1SC7
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M. L
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01096 3186
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HISTORY of IRA, VERMONT
By S. L. PECK Town Clerk for Over Forty Years
TO WHICH IS ADDED
The Author's Early Experiences Upon the Plains and the Rockies of the Great West During the Years 1866-1867
FROM HIS DIARY OF THE PERIOD
1926 THE TUTTLE COMPANY RUTLAND, VT.
COPYRIGHT 1926 BY
THE TUTTLE COMPANY RUTLAND, VT.
1128754
THE COOPER CHILDREN, OF WELLS, VERMONT
Walter Bennett Cooper Marjorie Alice Cooper Born October 13, 1924 Born September 7, 1923
The History of Ira, Vermont
is lovingly dedicated to the Cooper children by their great-grand- father, S. L. Peck. Walter and Marjorie are great-great-great-grandchildren of Noah Peck, who settled in Ira in 1786.
S. L. PECK, Author of this book When Senator from Rutland County, November, 1890
PREFACE
I have often wondered when reading the history of other towns as they have been written and published, why someone had not written the history of our little town of Ira. When I looked into the matter I found that two or three brief historical sketches only had been published. They were too brief and in- complete, however, to satisfy my sense of justice to the people of Ira; hence for several years last past it has been my purpose and my ambition to write out and publish the salient features of events of greatest interest, as they have occurred during the past years since 1779, when the town was organized and com- menced to take up, as other towns were doing, the management of its own affairs. I crave the indulgent judgment of my fellow townsmen, and the sequel will show how well I may have suc- ceeded.
Ira, Vt., 1926.
S. L. PECK, The Author.
INTRODUCTION
In 1865 I removed from the town of Plymouth, in Windsor County, Vermont, and bought a farm which lay partly in what was then the town of Rutland and partly in the town of Ira, and there continued to reside until about thirty years ago, when I removed to the present town of West Rutland. S. L. Peck was constable and collector of taxes, during the first years of my residence in Rutland County, and later became town clerk. He was town clerk of Ira for forty years, and a magistrate for nearly as long, represented his town in the State Legislatures of 1872, 1874 and 1876, and was Senator from Rutland County in 1890. So far as my knowledge extends, I have never known his honesty, integrity or ability to be called in question.
O. D. YOUNG 96 years old
West Rutland, Vt., November 25, 1925
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author wishes to express to the publishers his deep ap- preciation of valuable assistance in arranging and editing the body of the book, also to Mr. Leonard F. Croft, civil engineer, of Clarendon, for greatly assisting in locating the town lines and drafting the two cuts showing the original and the present boundaries of the town.
HISTORY OF IRA, VERMONT
EARLY SETTLEMENT
The district, now town, of Ira is supposed to have been settled as early as 1761, when men from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut forced their way into what was then a wilderness. Clearing small plots of land, they built their prim- itive cabins and began the work of making homes for the families which several of them had left behind. They returned after a year or two and brought them to the shelter they had prepared for them. Much hardship was experienced by the families of these first settlers, as might well be supposed. Ford- ing the streams where no bridges had as yet been constructed, they pierced into the virgin forest, to the homes prepared for them. But adventure was enjoyed and hardship counted but sport by these venturesome sons and daughters of that early day.
SIZE OF TOWN
In general terms a township is supposed to be six miles square, and unless some local conditions, such as the course of rivers or of a range of mountains, interpose, this rule is usually adhered to. The town of Ira, however, was doubtless a piece or parcel of land left over after other township lines were located, in some cases called gores. At the beginning of its existence as a town, in 1779, Ira was in the form of a triangle or spearhead, being about four miles broad at its base on the south, resting on the town of Tinmouth, and running north bordering the towns of Poultney and Castleton on the west some twelve miles, the extreme northern point terminating between the towns of Hubbardton and Pittsford, while upon the east its lines lay against the towns of Rutland (now West Rutland) and Clarendon.
Part of Ira was incorporated with parts of Wells, Tin- mouth, and Poultney into Middletown, Oct. 31, 1784. A part was annexed to Poultney for school purposes (Laws of 1804, page 49), a part of Clarendon was annexed to Ira (Laws of 1854,
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HISTORY OF IRA, VERMONT
page 57), a part of Ira was annexed to Castleton (Laws of 1904, page 412, taking effect in March, 1905). See diagrams.
Hubbardton
Pittsford
Castleton
Rutland
Castleton
PISOS
West Rutland
Poultney
Poultney
Clarendon
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IRA BROOK
Clarendon
47400WUIL
Wells
ORIGINAL OUTLINE OF TOWN OF IRA
Middletown
4200WULL
PRESENT BOUNDS OF IRA
The town is now supposed to contain 11,166 acres, with a population, according to the census of 1920, of 295 souls.
The following figures show the population of the town for the years indicated : 1791, 312; 1800, 473; 1810, 519 ; 1820, 498;
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HISTORY OF IRA, VERMONT
1836, 442 ; 1840, 430 ; 1850, 400 ; 1860, 422 ; 1870, 413 ; 1880, 479 ; 1920, 295.
EARLY TOWN BUSINESS
The first notice of a call for a Town Meeting is recorded in Ira town records, Vol. 1, page 4, as follows :
District of Ira, May 20th, 1779.
To the inhabitants of this District, you are hereby desired and warned to meet at the house of George Sherman in said Ira at one of the O'clock in the afternoon of Monday the 31st day of this instant, 1ly to choose a Moderator, 2ly to choose a Clerk, 3ly a Constable, and 4ly transact any other business that shall be thought proper, &c., as it is the advice of the Governor & Council and at the request of 5 of the inhabitants of said town.
Viz. Isaac Clark Amos Herick Nathaniel Mallory Cyrus Clark & Levi Wood-signers A true copy : Attest,
Isaac Clark, Town Clerk.
A true copy of record : Attest, S. L. Peck, Town Clerk.
Ira, April 20, 1925.
In conformity with this warning we find that the following items of business were transacted :
Ira, May 31, 1779.
Being Mett according to the above warning which was read and the meeting opened according to law
lly_voted that Mr. George Sherman serve as Moderator for the present meeting.
2ly-voted that Isaac Clark be the town [the word Clerk was omitted in the record] for the ensuing year.
3ly-voted that Nathaniel Mallory shall be the Constable of this town for the ensuing year.
4ly-voted that Nathan Lee, Amos Herrick & Isaac Clark be the selectmen for this year.
5ly-voted that Solomon Wilder, Cephas Carpenter, and Richard Bently be our surveyors of highways for the present year.
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HISTORY OF IRA, VERMONT
6ly __ voted that Nathaniel Mallory, George Sherman, and Nathan Lee be a committee to lay out highways in this town for the present year.
7ly-voted that Cyrus Clark be the fence viewer for this year.
8ly-voted that Nathan Walton be a overseer for the year. gly -- voted that Daniel Adams be a howard [this word should be hayward] for the present year.
10ly -- voted that this meeting be dissolved.
An exact record of votes & proceedings of freemen of the District of Ira at a town meeting held at the house of Mr. George Sherman in said Ira on the 31st day of May, 1779 :
Test,
Isaac Clark, Town Clerk.
We also note 52 names of the freeman of Ira that took the freeman's oath on the same date, namely : Isaac Clark, George Sherman, Nathan Lee, Nathaniel Mallory, Cyrus Clark, Solomon Wilder, Amos Herrick, Nathan Walton, Benjamin Richardson, Daniel Adams, Benjamin Bayley, jun., Cephas Carpenter, John Collins, Thos. Collins, Benjamin Bayley, Lemuel Roberts, Joseph Wood, Ebenezer Wood, Ashel Joyner, Thomas McCluer, James McCluer, Philamon Wood, Gamaliel Waldo, Silas Rudd, Daniel Haskins, Isaac Runnils, Isiah Mason, David Wood, George Sher- man, jun., Ruben Baker, James Cole, John Baker, Abraham White, Joseph Wood, jun., James Martin, Thomas Martin, Heze- kiah Carr, Thomas O'Briant, John Walton, Henry Walton, Cornelius Robards, Purchase Robards, Samuel Newton, Joseph Baker, John Burlingame, John Baly, Isaac Baker, Nathaniel Mason, Jason Newton, Elijah Mann, Oliver Eddy, Nathan Collins.
The foregoing completes the organization of the town, with the names of the men who were most prominent and active in forming a local board for the management of its affairs.
Unlike most, if not all, of the other towns organized in the state at that period and later, according to the early papers and records found in the office of the Secretary of State at Mont- pelier, no charter was ever granted the town of Ira. We refer the reader to the following taken from the State papers of Ver- mont, Vol. 2, page 307, issued in 1922 :
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HISTORY OF IRA, VERMONT
Ira, A town in Rutland County. Oct. 12, 1780, the petition of Lemuel Roberts and thirty-nine associates was filed asking for a grant of the District of Ira (Mss. Vermont State Papers, 21: 187). A grant must have been made, for Nov. 9, 1780, the Governor and Council (11: 59) fixed the amount of the granting fees and the time for their payment at June 1, 1781.
The granting fees being unpaid Oct. 20th, 1783, a com- mittee of the General Assembly, to whom was referred the question of the right of the District of Ira to be represented, reported that inasmuch as the district was represented in the convention that formed the constitution, and had since been represented and taxed, the district continues to be allowed a representative. The report was accepted (Ms. Vermont State Papers 22: 56).
Two years later, however, Oct. 25, 1785, the following report was adopted :
The Hon. General Assembly, now convened: Your committee appointed to confer with his Excellency the Governor respecting the granting fees of the town of Ira find that the said Town was granted in Oct., 1780-that a charter was to issue on the granting fees being paid, and that the greatest part of said proprietors have as yet neglected to pay any part thereof, although five years have elapsed since said grant, therefore it is the opinion of your committee that a time be allowed sd proprietors to pay the fees, and upon their neglect a charter be made to any person that will appear to pay the same, all of which is humbly submitted by
Saml. Williams for Com.
(Ms. Vermont State Papers, 22: 107; Governor and Council, 111 : 28).
Oct. 31, 1792, the report of a committee on granting fees of Ira showed that only part had been paid (Ms. Vermont State Papers, 31 : 223; see also 38: 148). There is no record that the granting fees were ever paid and probably a charter was never issued.
A New York grant of 5,000 acres to Henry Van Vleck & Co. by Gov. Tryon, Nov. 6, 1772, covered lands now in Ira. (See Vermont Historical Society Collections, 1: 157.)
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HISTORY OF IRA, VERMONT
From the most reliable sources of information it would seem, then, that only a part of the fees required to get a charter from the state ever was paid. In that early day money was exceed- ingly scarce and hard to get, and most business transactions were by barter or exchange of produce grown on the farms. It appears, though, from the records and papers filed in the office of the Secretary of State and recorded in the office of the Town Clerk of Ira, that the citizens of the town were ever ready to respond when called upon to furnish scouts to defend the border from the British soldiers, and their more crafty savage allies that roamed the wilderness, so long as hostilities between this country and Great Britain continued, from 1775 until the signing of the treaty of peace, Sept. 3, 1783.
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HISTORY OF IRA, VERMONT
EARLY INDUSTRIES
In those pioneer days almost every household was a manu- facturing plant where the clothing for the entire family was made to order, with the possible exception of hats, boots and shoes, and for these articles no one need leave town to be fully equipped. John Brown was accustomed to go from house to house during the latter part of summer and early autumn and see that the feet of the family were duly protected for cold weather, while Caleb Lincoln, who lived in the house now occu- pied and owned by C. J. Mehuron and Hallie Lincoln, followed the same craft and reared and supported a large family, all of whom have long since passed away. Hiram Colvin owned and operated a carding-mill establishment in the building now owned by F. F. Lincoln near the Riverside cheese factory. Here the wool was made into rolls, so-called, from which the nimble fingers of our grandmothers spun the yarn. They then knit warm woolen stockings and wove other warm garments for all the members of the family to wear. We may be assured that no shoddy was woven into their wearing apparel.
James Porter also had a boot and shoe shop in a small building which stood across the road opposite the Baptist parsonage.
Captain Daniel Graves operated a tavern, as they were then called, in the house where Clark Potter now resides, one of the old-time landmarks of the town. It was established as a tavern by Daniel Graves in 1807, and being on the main thor- oughfare between Rutland and Troy, was very popular during the early part of the 19th century. The June trainings and Fourth of July gatherings added to the local popularity of the house. The town meetings of the town were warned to assemble at Graves' Tavern also for several years prior to 1854, when the old brick church was made over into a town hall and high school building.
In 1833 Daniel Graves sold out the property to his two sons, George and Harvey Graves, who continued the tavern stand. The Graves family also conducted a tannery, a hattery, a potash manufactory, and a boot and shoe shop, engaging
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HISTORY OF IRA, VERMONT
quite a force of employees and making of Ira valley a busy place, but the coming of the railroad to Rutland swept all these industries out of town. The Graves brothers sold out their interest in the hotel property, George Graves having established the business of tanning hides in the north part of Rutland. The various business enterprises of the Graves family were discon- tinued when they sold out. The house changed hands several times between 1833 and 1854, when it was bought by Julia A. Fish, who in 1867 sold it to Enos C. Fish, sheriff of Rutland
OLD GRAVES TAVERN Now occupied by Clark Potter
County. Sheriff Fish used it as a farm for a good many years, until his removal to West Rutland, then leased it until sold to F. Potter. The present occupants have been owners since 1908.
A tavern was also maintained in the building now owned and occupied by E. S. and Hiram Merithew.
A sawmill was operated by a man named Russell on the river near the dwelling house of C. J. Mehuron, a short distance above the bridge that crosses Ira brook. The Wilkinsons also had a sawmill on a small stream that crosses the farm now owned by John L. Smith. It stood about one-fourth of a mile west of the Smith dwelling house, at that time owned by George Wilkinson, who, with his sons George and Whipple, was an expert millwright. Two of George Wilkinson's grandsons fol-
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HISTORY OF IRA, VERMONT
lowed the same craft and supervised the erection of the Ripley marble mills at Center Rutland, when the elder Ripley first started that immense business now controlled by the Vermont Marble Company. These brothers were George W. and Don A. Wilkinson, who were unexcelled as millwrights in their time.
When the railroads came, or soon after, these rural enter- prises disappeared almost as if by magic. The spinning wheel and the family loom disappeared, and can now but seldom be found in the attic of some old country farm house. Flax, which
HOUSE USED AS A TAVERN ABOUT 1810 Now owned by E. S. and H. Merithew
was once grown on many farms to make the summer garments of our ancestors, has entirely disappeared. Great flocks of sheep once grazed upon our hillside farms and the voice of the shep- herd calling "ca-da-ca-da" might have been answered by the responsive bleat of a thousand sheep, but it has been hushed by the lapse of years that have intervened. Another kind of stock has taken the place of the flocks, and the dairy cow rules supreme upon our Ira farms.
Hezekiah Horton operated a blacksmith shop which stood on the opposite side of the road from the house of C. A. Cramton. In addition to shoeing horses he ironed sleighs and wagons, made by Andrew Moore in the cheese factory building now owned by the Cheese Factory Co., Inc. Here in later years Warren Curtiss followed the wagon-making trade. George Peck and Henry
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HISTORY OF IRA, VERMONT
Gorham at one time occupied the same building for the same line of work, but some thirty years ago George W. Curtiss began the making of cheese in the same shop, and continued the business successfully up to the time of his death.
Deacon Thomas Tower occupied the Horton blacksmith shop for several years and was succeeded by his son Lyman Tower, who owned it at the time of his death. The shop was afterwards rented to different individuals, until a few years ago it was torn down. Martin West built another shop farther up the
GEORGE W. CURTISS. Cheesemaker
--
DON A. WILKINSON Millwright
road, on the property now owned by Mrs. Julia Cramton, where for some time he shod horses and repaired carriages, but that too has disappeared. No regular blacksmith shop remains in town. Clark Collins does some repairing of wagons and occa- sionally a bit of custom blacksmith work upon his farm some two miles farther south on the main road, but the most of his blacksmithing is for his own convenience.
Some 75 years ago James C. Smith owned and operated a carriage shop in the old carding shop near the lower end of the village, originally owned by the Colvins. He sold the shop to Justus Collins, who transformed it into a sawmill, the power for which was generated by a turbine water wheel. When F. F.
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HISTORY OF IRA, VERMONT
Lincoln, of Middletown Springs, became the owner of the mill, he changed it over into a cider and grist mill, which he operated for some time, until he became interested in some mill property in Tinmouth. Since that time the mill has stood idle, and it is now fast going to decay.
About the year 1815 Joseph Perry was engaged in the building of wagons upon the premises now owned by Mrs. Julia Cramton. He had the reputation of making his joints so close and his wood was so well seasoned, that the spokes in the wheels of the wagons he made never would work loose though they might stand in the sunshine a hundred years.
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IRA STORE AND WAYSIDE AUTO STAND Home of Charles A Cramton, 1926
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HISTORY OF IRA, VERMONT
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF IRA AND SOME OF ITS EARLY SETTLERS
Ira is located in the central part of Rutland County. Along its western border the Taconic range of mountains looks down upon all the valleys lying to the east. Bird mountain, lying about eight miles west of Rutland city, has an elevation of some 2.500 feet. Herrick, lying a little to the southeast, is 2,661 feet above sea level. Both of these mountains were named for the men who visited this region in an early day, and Pitcher Moun- tain, lying to the east of Ira valley, with much less elevation, was named for Colonel Pitcher, who for a time made his home here near its western base. Tra brook rises in the south part of the town, flows in a northeasterly direction and joins Furnace brook in Clarendon a short distance below the Clarendon Gorge.
With the exception of the valley along the stream, the hill farms are stony, but the soil is good and some of the best farms in town are among the hills. Several small streams fed by springs help to furnish a reasonable amount of water for farm purposes. On Castleton river, which rises in West Rutland and flows westerly through the north part of the town, there are some excellent farms.
The timber consists mainly of maple, beech, birch, ash, basswood, spruce and hemlock. A large quantity of sugar was formerly made from the maple, but cane sugar has become so plentiful of late years, and the cost of suitable equipment for making maple sugar is so great, that the industry has largely declined.
A good quality of limestone, from which the very best of lime was once produced, can be found near the eastern base of Herrick Mountain. Bird Mountain is largely composed of a conglomerate quartz filled with pieces of granite about the size of kernels of corn. This formation is a puzzle to the geologists.
The first marriage recorded in town was that of Isaac Clark to Hannah, daughter of Governor Chittenden, the governor himself performing the marriage ceremony on the 5th of Sep- tember, 1779.
The pensioners of the Revolution were Peter Parker and David his brother, Jason Newton and Nathaniel Wilmarth.
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HISTORY OF IRA, VERMONT
David Parker was here in 1800, and Peter Parker came some years after. There were some peculiarities about these two old men. They were natural poets and great story tellers.
Jason Newton came to Ira in 1782 and might well be called the patriarch of the town. He had three wives and raised a family of 17 children, but large families were the rule, rather than the exception, in those days.
Isaiah Mason came to Ira in 1780.
Preserved Fish came in 1790. He was born at Dighton, Mass., November 5, 1770, the son of Robert and Abigail (Hath-
RESIDENCE OF S. L. PECK Built about 1800 by his grandfather, Noah Peck
away) Fish. In August, 1791, he was married to Abigail Car- penter, who was born in Rehoboth, Mass., and died in Ira, Vt., October 10, 1849. For a good many years the birthplace and date of birth of Preserved Fish were not known, but these facts, taken on the authority of one of his great-great-grandsons, C. A. Fish of Middletown Springs, Vt., ought to be conclusive. Pre- served Fish was a mason by trade and in the course of a long life accumulated a princely fortune for those times. He was a magistrate for more than forty years, represented the town thirteen years, and reared a family of eleven children, ten boys and one girl. Many of his name continue to be residents of Ira to this day.
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HISTORY OF FRA, VERMONT
Daniel Giddings, one of the earliest settlers, planted a half-acre of corn and in this small field killed thirteen bears.
Noah Peck, 1st, settled in West Clarendon (now Ira) from Barrington, Conn., in 1786, built a log house and afterwards the dwelling now occupied by his grandson, S. L. Peck, now eighty years old.
A TRAGEDY OF IRA BROOK For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever.
The following paper, written by S. L. Peck, was read July 4th, 1921, at a dedication and memorial service held upon the public green near the Ira Baptist church, on which occasion Attorney B. L. Stafford and Judge Leonard F. Wing delivered addresses appropriate to the occasion. A free public dinner was served by the ladies of Ira to all present.
From the time when it had the honor of bearing a name at all, up to the thirty-first day of May, 1779, Ira was called the District of Ira. On that day, at the residence of George Sher- man, wherever that may have been at the time, was held the first town meeting of Ira. At that meeting 52 citizens took the freeman's oath. George Sherman was chosen Moderator; Isaac Clark, Town Clerk; and Nathaniel Mallory, Constable. Nathan Lee, Amos Herick and Isaac Clark were chosen selectmen, and Solomon Wilder, Carpenter and Richard Bently, sur- veyors of highways.
So we can see that the good roads movement in this town started in early, but as no mention is made of any bridges the presumption is that they had their bridges already built. Whether that is so or not, it is evident that the cement bridge lately constructed does not stand where the bridge of an earlier day once stood, which was some ten or twelve rods lower down stream and near where the highway passes at the present time. The stream probably changed its channel at the time of the great freshet in 1811, when this valley was swept clean of bridges, trees and some houses that stood near its banks, also a blacksmith shop, and in fact everything within reach of the angry waters of the stream.
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HISTORY OF IRA, VERMONT
The writer can recall, when he was a lad, hearing his father say, that during that storm his father was standing on the brow of the hill above where Elmon Coombs now lives, and saw forest trees two feet in diameter, with their roots sticking up out of the water and their tops submerged, go reeling and tumbling down- stream in the wild rush of water. At that time there were no fatalities, at least none were ever recited in his hearing, but in 1847 this valley was visited with another flood and one life was lost.
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