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Gc 974.302 Sa34w 1248469
M. LY
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 01085 9806 U
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/historyofsalisbu00week_0
.
32 & 34 John St KY. .
Cameron & Walsh, Lith:
John M. Weeks.
HISTORY
OF
SALISBURY
VERMONT.
BY
JOHN M. WEEKS,
WITH A MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR.
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" Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born, who should arise and declare them to their children." Ps. LXXVIII. 3, 6.
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MIDDLEBURY, VT. PUBLISHED BY A. H. COPELAND 1860.
Hc 974. 302 Sa 34 w
324.5 SaÓw
Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by G. A. WEEKS,
In the Clerk's office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
7600
C. A. ALVORD, PRINTER, 15 VANDEWATER STREET, NEW YORK.
EDITOR'S PREFACE.
1248469
IN undertaking to revise the manuscript history of Salisbury prepared by the late John M. Weeks, and to continue it from the point at which he left it to the present time, a labor has been found much greater than was expected in the beginning. This fact is the only apology for the delay in the publication of the book.
Many of the assertions and explanations of the original manuscript were founded on facts as they existed in 1850, so that the work of accommodating the language of that time to the circumstances of the present has proved a task of no little moment. Many facts, some of which might seem trivial at a cursory glance, but on which the truth of a sentence, or the correctness of a conclusion entirely depends, have been obtained only after much trouble and some ex- pense, while others, though sought by repeated letters or personal visits, have not been obtained at all.
And after all this care the book may contain inac- curacies, though probably few, arising from this ten
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EDITOR'S PREFACE.
years' lapse of time ; for example, in speaking of pre- miums being offered for the best nurseries of fruit- trees, the manuscript says, that " Other towns have hitherto carried off the palm." That might have been the fact in 1850 but not at a period ten years later. And this change of language, in accommodation to the pre- sent time, has given rise, in some instances, to an appar- ent absurdity and impossibility ; for example, in one instance, reference is made to the late Joseph Smith, and in another to the late H. W. Everts, while in fact, the death of both of these men was subsequent to that of the author. Of course these inconsistences are re- conciled when it is known that the original manu- script has been revised.
On giving the manuscript a more complete examina- tion, though after it was too late to make any material alteration, it was discovered that some facts had been repeated ; for example, some of those relating to Judge Painter, Benjamin Smauley, and perhaps others, but in most instances they are so connected and interwoven with other matter that their reappearance is not deem- ed very unfortunate. Some chapters may seem in- consistent in the style of their different parts, while others have more the appearance of a synopsis of facts than anything else. This must have its apology in the fact, that the editor, while endeavoring to pre- serve the style of the author, has, nevertheless, at
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EDITOR'S PREFACE.
times, unwittingly been led to adopt a form of lan- guage and expression more naturally his own. In some instances, the author speaks of himself in the third person, and again uses the editorial form of the first person plural, and in one case adopts the egotist- ical style. In different parts he uses language, at one time too old and at another too new to bear a severe criticism. In speaking of trees, plants, fishes, and diseases, he adopts the common names, and sometimes uses language of only local use, or such as is more appropriate to journalism, or to the province of a par- ticular calling than to a refined literature. The on- slaughts which the early settlers in their revolutionary spirit, made upon the " King's English," as seen from extracts from the town records, speak for themselves, and, considering their age, need no apologist.
All these things detract from the literary merit of the book; but let every reader remember that the author undertook the gratuitous labor of collecting and writ- ing the facts of the following pages, not for the pur- pose of contributing to science or literature, but rather that those who should come after him might "have these things always in remembrance."
G. A. WEEKS.
NEW YORK, Jan., 1860.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
THIS History is respectfully dedicated to the His- torical Society of Middlebury, Vermont, it having been prepared at its request; and especially to the inhabitants of Salisbury, Vermont, and their descend- ants, with the wish that they may enjoy all that prosperity and happiness which results from a culti- vated mind, industrious habits, refined manners, pure morals, and religious principles.
I have endeavored, in the following pages, to give a historical account of the early settlement of the town of Salisbury, though a full and accurate ac- count cannot be expected at this late day. Very few of the early records, except records of deeds and of votes of the town, are now to be found ; and most of the reports of settlements by the selectmen and audi- tors, which have taken place from year to year, are mislaid and lost. No journals of the General Assem- bly, or Governor and Council, and but few of the acts of the Legislature of the state can be found in this town, from the time of its organization, in 1788,
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AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
to 1840. I have, however, by a diligent search in the State Library, and State Secretary's office, and among the several dockets of Rutland and Addison county courts, been able to pick up most of the legal history of the town.
Its ecclesiastical history is taken chiefly from the re- cords of the church, and is believed to be quite accu- rate; but the account of its sources of wealth, of its physical character, and its miscellaneous history, are written from observation, memory, and from what our fathers and mothers have been heard to say, and from the testimony of a few whose names will be men- tioned. The preparation of a history of the town has been delayed too long, and some slight mistakes and important omissions may be made, as all the earliest settlers are in their graves, or have left the country, thus taking away an important source of information. A few of the children of the settlers are yet living, at an advanced age, in town and its vicinity, who will please accept my grateful acknowledgements for facts which they have so kindly furnished. No person is known to be now living, in this town or elsewhere, who was among the first settlers, before the American Revolution, and only five are now living who were here when I came into town, in the year 1789.
I am indebted to Mrs. Prudence Walker, widow of Jesse Walker, and daughter of Colonel Thomas Saw-
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AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
yer, for much that is valuable miscellany, and to Mrs. Ebenezer Jenny, daughter of Jeremiah Parker ; also to deacon John Morton, Chauncey Graves, Millissent Noyes, Amos Goodrich, Elias Kelsey, and others whose names will appear as the reader advances.
I have endeavored to give a relation of facts, pre- cisely as I understand them, in plain and simple lan- guage, without prejudice or exaggeration, and have let no opportunity within my reach, escape me of res- cuing from oblivion those facts which make up the history of our town-facts which must grow in in- terest and importance as time passes away.
All of which is most humbly submitted by
JOHN M. WEEKS.
SALISBURY, VERMONT, 1850.
CONTENTS.
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PAGE
CHAPTER I .- Grant and organization of the town 9 CHAPTER II .- Survey and distribution of Lots-First occupation and settlement. 20
CHAPTER III .- Progress of the Settlement-Survey of the East line
-First Town Meeting-First Representative-First Grand List .. 27 CHAPTER IV .- Controversy with Leicester 33
CHAPTER V .- Further distribution and allotment of Lands 42
CHAPTER VI .-- List of Town Officers 48
CHAPTER VII .- Allotment of School Districts-Notices of Schools .. 55 CHAPTER VIII .-- Geographical description-Soil, Timber, Crops and Produce-Sheep-Agricultural Implements. 67
CHAPTER IX .- Fruit, spontaneous aud cultivated. 84
CHAPTER X .- Gardening -Honey Bees -Fishing-The Chase - Snake Hunting 100
CHAPTER XI .- Minerals-Water Courses-Water Powers 116
CHAPTER XII .- Mechanics-Mechanical Inventions-Patent Rights -Manufactories 126
CHAPTER XIII .- Scenery - Lake Dunmore - Curiosities - Indian traces 141
CHAPTER XIV .- Statistics of Taxation-Military Enlistment-Dis- eases and Deaths-Professional Men-Merchants-Hotel Keep- ers-Crime-Divorces 152
CHAPTER XV .- The Congregational Church and Society -The Methodist Church 173
CHAPTER XVI .- Holland Weeks-Henry R. Schoolcraft-Thomas Sawyer-Jonathan Gibson-Isaac More-Cyrus W. Hodges -- Ebenezer Weeks -- Samuel Moore 195
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CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER XVII .- Revolutionary times-Difficulties of the first set- tlers-Amos Story-Mrs. Story-Joshua Graves. 216
CHAPTER XVIII .- Progress after the Peace-Grist-Mill-First Birth -First Death -Burying Ground - Scarcity of Food - Early Roads-Military Salute-Painter-Everts 239
CHAPTER XIX .- The Layman's Church 253
CHAPTER XX .- Gamaliel Painter -E. Jones - Walter Sheldon- - John Dyer 272
CHAPTER XXI .- Political Parties-Geographical Divisions 282
CHAPTER XXII .- Means of Living-Furniture-Dress-Social Cus- toms-Personal Habits-The first Dance-David Sheltus .. .. 288 CHAPTER XXIII .- Wild Animals- Walk with the Wolves-En- counter with a Panther-Amos and the Bear-Fight with the Indians-Military Matters 301
CHAPTER XXIV .- Biographical and Genealogical 317
CONCLUSION 346
MEMOIR OF JOHN M. WEEKS. 352
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
CHAPTER I.
THE GRANT AND ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN.
THE inhabitants of New England have been char- acterized, from their earliest existence, as a separate people, for their inventive genius and industrious habits. They have been equally remarkable, perhaps, in availing themselves of every justifiable means by which they could promote their worldly interests. This they sometimes did by speculating in lands lying in new and wild parts of the country, and in culti- vating the same.
During the old French war, which closed in 1763, the soldiers, in passing and re-passing through this country in their Canadian excursions, discovered that the territory now called Vermont contained excellent land; and even before a treaty of peace was signed by the British and French governments, which took
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
place in 1763, numerous applications were made to procure charters of townships within the present limits of Vermont. Another thing which greatly accelerated the settlement of Vermont about this time, was the fact that, in consequence of the capture of Quebec by the English, in 1759, the Canadas were rescued from the French, and the frontiers ceased to be exposed to the depredations which had previously been so distressing to new settlements ; for as long as the French controlled the Canadas, they took great pains to urge the Indians on in their predatory ex- cursions among the new English settlers.
These circumstances indicated to the New England people that a favorable opportunity was presented for chartering new townships in these regions ; where- upon John Evarts, Esq., of Salisbury, Connecticut, was engaged by a number of persons living in that town and in its vicinity, to go to Portsmouth, New Hamp-
shire, and procure charters for two townships. It was intended at that time to locate these townships where Clarendon and Rutland now are ; but on arri- ving at Portsmouth, Mr. Evarts found that these two towns had been chartered a few days previous. He also learned that no towns in this state had been chartered north of Rutland; and being somewhat acquainted with the country as far north as the Lower Falls, on Otter Creek, (now Vergennes), he concluded
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
to petition the governor for three townships, instead of two. He did so, making such an arrangement of the names already in his possession, and inserting others, as to enable him to obtain the three charters.
He called one of these towns Salisbury, probably in remembrance of the name of the place in which he resided; another, New Haven, in commemora- tion of the town in which he had agreeably spent several years as a legislator; and the third, Middle- bury, on account of its falling in the middle or be- tween the two others.
Mr. Evarts, knowing the importance of having a starting point which might be known in all future time, commenced his survey at the Lower Falls (Ver- gennes), where, subsequently, a large hole was drilled in a rock, and an old cannon placed therein-this being the north-west corner. From this point the three towns were laid out southerly, the east bank of Otter Creek forming the west line of each. Having surveyed the west line of the three towns, and fixed corners to each on the east bank of the creek; plots were made and presented to governor Wentworth, and immediately thereafter the charter of Salisbury was granted in the following words, viz:
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
PROVINCE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
GEORGE the third.
By the grace of God, of Great Britain,
[L. s.] France, and Ireland, KING, Defender of the Faith, &c.
To all persons to whom these presents shall come, Greeting :- Know ye, that We, of Our special Grace, certain Knowledge, Mear Motion, for the due Encour- agement of setting a New Plantation within our said Province, by and with the advice of our trusty and well-beloved BENNING WENTWORTH, Esq., our Gover- nor and Commander-in-Chief of Our said Province of NEW HAMPSHIRE, in New England, and of our COUNCIL in the said Province, HAVE, upon the Con- ditions and Reservations, hereinafter made, given and granted, and by these presents for Us, Our Heirs and Successors, do give and grant in equal shares unto our loving Subjects, Inhabitants of Our said Province of New Hampshire, and Our other Governments, and to their Heirs and Assigns forever whose names are entered on this Grant, to be divided to and amongst them into sixty-eight equal shares, all that tract or parcel of Land situate, lying and being within our said Province of New Hampshire, containing by Admeasurement, Twenty-Five Thousand and Forty Acres, which Tract is to contain something more
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
than Six Miles square, and no more, Out of which an allowance is to be made for highways and unim- provable Lands, by Rocks, Ponds, Mountains and Rivers. One Thousand and Forty acres free, accord- ing to a plan and survey thereof, made by our said Governor's order, and returned into the Secretary's Office and hereunto annexed, butted and bounded as follows, viz :
· Beginning at the south-westerly corner of Middle- bury, at a Tree standing on the bank of the Easterly side of Otter Creek and turning from thence east by Middlebury to the south-east corner thereof. Thence turning off, and turning south ten degrees west, six miles and sixty-four Rods. From thence turning off and turning west to Otter Creek aforesaid. Thence down the said Creek, as that runs, to the bounds first above mentioned, and that the same be and hereby is Incorporated into a township by the name of Salisbury. And the Inhabitants that do or here- after shall Inhabit the said Township are hereby to be enfranchised with and entitled to all and every the privileges and Immunities that other towns within Our Province by Law Exercise and Enjoy : And further, that the said Town as soon as there shall be fifty families resident and settled thereon shall have the liberty of Holding Two Fairs, one of which shall be held on the and the other
1*
1
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
on the annually, which fairs are not to continue
longer than the respective following the said
and that as soon as the said Town shall con- sist of fifty families a Market may be opened and kept, one or more days in each Week, as may be thought most advantageous to the inhabitants. Also, that the first meeting for the choice of Town Officers agreeable to the laws of our said Province shall be held on the first Tuesday in January next which said Meeting shall be notified by Mr. John Evarts, who is hereby also appointed the Moderator of the said first Meeting which he is to notify and govern agreeable to the laws and Customs of our said Province and that the Annual Meeting forever hereafter, for the choice of such Officers for said Town, shall be on the second Tuesday in March Annually.
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the said Tract of Land as above expressed, together with all the Privileges and Appurtenances, to them and their respective Heirs and Assigns, forever, upon the following con- ditions, viz :
I. That every Grantee, his Heirs and Assigns, shall plant and cultivate five acres of Land within the term of five years, for every fifty acres contained in his or their share or proportion of Land in said Township, and continue to improve and settle the same by additional Cultivations on penalty of the Forfeiture of his Grant
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
or share in said Township, and of its reverting to Us Our Heirs and Successors, to be by Us Regranted to such of our subjects as shall effectually settle and Cultivate the same.
II. That all White and other Pine Trees within the said Township fit for Masting Our Royal Navy, be carefully preserved for that Use, and none to be cut or felled, without Our Special License for so doing, first had and obtained upon the penalty of the forfeit- ure of the Right of such Grantee, his Heirs and Assigns to Us, Our Heirs and Successors, as well as being subject to the penalty of any act or Acts of Parliament that now are or shall be hereafter enacted.
III. That before any Division of the land be made to and among the Grantees, a Tract of Land as near the Center of the said Township as the Land will admit of, shall be reserved and marked out for Town Lots, one of which shall be allotted to each Grantee, of the contents of one Acre.
IV. Yielding and paying therefor to Us Our Heirs and Successors for the space of ten years, to be com- puted from the date hereof, the rent of one Ear of Indian Corn only, on the Twenty-fifth day of Decem- ber annually, if Lawfully demanded, the first payment to be made on the Twenty-fifth day of December 1761.
V. Every proprietor Settler or Inhabitant shall yield and pay unto Us, Our Heirs or Successors,
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
yearly and every year forever, from and after the expiration of ten years from the abovesaid Twenty- fifth day of December, namely, on the Twenty-fifth day of December, which will be in the year of Our Lord 1771, One Shilling Proclamation Money, for every hundred Acres he owns settles or possesses, and so in proportion for a greater or less Tract of said Land, which Money shall be paid by the respective persons abovesaid, their Heirs or Assigns in our Coun- cil Chamber in Portsmouth, or to such Officer or Offi- cers as shall be appointed to receive the same, and this to be in Lieu of all other Rents and services whatsoever.
In testimony whereof we have caused the Seal.of our said Province to be hereunto affixed. Witness,
BENNING WENTWORTH, EsQ.,
Our Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Our said Province, This 3d day of November in the year of our Lord CHRIST, One Thousand Seven Hundred Sixty-one, And in the Second Year of Our Reign.
B. WENTWORTH.
By his EXCELLENCY'S Command with Advice of Council.
THEODORE ATKINSON, Sect'y Province of Newhampshire, November 3d, 1761,
Recorded in the Book of Charters, page 301 and 302. THEODORE ATKINSON, Sect'y.
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
The following are the names of the original grantees, as found recorded on the back of the charter :
John Evarts,
Josiah Heath,
Timo. Brownson,
Benj. Smally,
Benj. Benedict,
Seth Kent,
Stephen Hawley,
Capt. Wm. Eno,
Phineas Bradley,
Azariah Rood,
Elijah Owen,
Sam'l Keep,
Capt. Josiah Stodard,
Capt. Josiah Deane,
Lieut. Nath'l Buel,
Abiel Camp, Elias Reed,
Jacob Schermerhorn, Abra'm Turner, John Newbury, Solomon Ensign, Samuel Benton, David Benton,
Isaac Pratt,
Joshua Jewell,
Joseph Waterhouse,
James Mangin,
Jesse Bostwick,
Jonas March,
Asa Landon, Phillip Chatfield,
Nath'l Dyah,
Isaac Benton,
Jenna Meigs, jr.,
Joseph Newman, jr.,
Gilbert Evarts,
Daniel Warner,
Jacob Spafford, John Buck,
Samuel Abbit,
Abner Woodworth,
Elias Reed, jr.,
Joel Evarts,
Samuel Turner,
Alex. Gaston,
Sam'l Moore, jr., Nath'l Winslow,
Sylvanus Evarts, Isaac Sarls, Jonathan Kelsey, John Moore,
Daniel Morris,
Capt. Moses Lyman,
Zach's Hanchet,
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
Thos. Chipman, Thuel Chittenden,
Luther Evarts, Daniel Evarts,
William Fitch,
John Benton, jr., Theodore Brownson.
The charter has also this endorsement :
His Excellency, Benning Wentworth, Esq. A
Tract of Land to contain Five Hundred Acres, marked B. W. on the Plan, which is to be accounted two of the within shares.
One whole share for the incorporated Society, for the propagation of the Gospel in Foreign parts.
One share for a Glebe for the Church of England, as by law established. One share for the first settled Minister of the Gospel, and One share for the benefit of Schools in said Town.
Province of New Hampshire, Nov. 3d, 1761.
Recorded in the Book of Charters, page 303. THEODORE ATKINSON, Sec'y. Surveyor General's office, Sept. 4th, 1782.
Recorded in the first Book of New Hampshire Charters, pages 79, 80 and 81.
T. ALLEN, Surveyor Gen'l.
Agreeable to the provisions and requirements of the foregoing charter, the proprietors of the town held a meeting at Salisbury, in Connecticut, on the first Tuesday in January, 1762, and elected-
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
JOSIAH STODARD, Proprietor's Clerk. ELIAS REED,
ALEX'R GASTON, 1 Select men.
NATH'L BUEL,
JOHN EVARTS, Treasurer. S. MOORE, JR., Collector.
They also voted to raise a tax of nine shillings on each proprietor, to defray all expenses up to that time ; and adjourned to the second Tuesday of March following, at the dwelling house of John Evarts.
At a subsequent meeting holden on the 30th day of March, 1762, the proprietors voted that Nathaniel Buel be a committee for lotting out the town into first and second divisions, and that a tax of nine shil- lings be laid on each proprietor, to defray the expense of doing it.
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HISTORY OF SALI-BURY.
.
CHAPTER II.
SURVEY AND DISTRIBUTION OF LOTS .- FIRST OCCUPATION AND SETTLEMENT.
MR. BUEL entered immediately upon the duties of his office, and soon thereafter returned, to the pro- prietor's clerk, a plan and survey, determining the north and south lines, together with a survey of what was called the home lots.
It appears that Mr. Buel employed Samuel Moore to do this surveying, and his name alone appears on the plan which was placed on file in the town clerk's office.
Mr. Moore seems to have commenced his survey at the south-west corner of Middlebury, on the bank of Otter creek, and, from that point, to have run east to the foot of the mountain, and, probably, no further at that time, but commenced laying off lots southerly, and on a line running south ten degrees west, six miles and sixty-four rods. As the lots were headed on this line near the base of the mountain, they were laid fifty-two rods wide, running west three hundred and twenty rods. Every sixth lot was laid fifty-six
.
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
rods wide, allowance being made for roads. But as the surveyor approached Lake Dunmore in his work, he found that some of his lots were shortened by the water of that lake, and to make up this deficiency in these lots, he made them of greater width. Lots No. 13, 14, 15, and 16, are of this class. In this manner, thirty-seven lots were laid in the first tier, and all numbered. The lots of the second tier were headed on the foot of those of the first, as seen in the follow- ing plan.
It will be seen from this plan, that thirty-four of the home lots fell in the town of Leicester, on settlement of the controversy which arose between that town and Salisbury, concerning lands covered by the charters of both towns-some account of which will be given in a subsequent chapter.
EXPLANATORY.
A. William Arnold.
B School Lot.
D. Daniel Shays.
E. Minister's Lot.
F. Asahel Martin.
G. Dennis Smead.
H. Saw-Mill.
I. Solomon Thomas, jr.
jjjjjj. Village.
K K. E. Cloyes and Nathan A. Gibbs.
L. Isaac Shays and L. Bump.
M. J. Gipson and S. Thomas.
O. Horace Thomas.
P. Wm. Wainwright.
Q. John J. Kelsey.
R. Loyal Kelsey.
S. Elias Kelsey.
T. John W. Kelsey.
U. Foster Lot.
* Burial Places.
§ Town Plot.
t Sawyer's Mills.
This table of explanatory names was made in the year 1850.
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HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
Middlebury south line as established in 1786.
BW *
Old town line as surveyed in 1762.
centre.
line, as established in 1796, by compromise through the
Four miles and twenty-three rods from north to south
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