The History of Washington County in the Vermont historical gazetteer : including a county chapter and the local histories of the towns of Montpelier., Part 1

Author: Hemenway, Abby Maria, 1828-1890
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Montpelier, Vt. : Vermont Watchman and State Journal Press
Number of Pages: 1064

USA > Vermont > Washington County > Montpelier > The History of Washington County in the Vermont historical gazetteer : including a county chapter and the local histories of the towns of Montpelier. > Part 1

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GENEALOGY COLLECTION

ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

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Paul Billingham

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Barley Devis Brigadier General, of 20 Brigade in 4th Division,

THE HISTORY

OF -

WASHINGTON COUNTY, 2

IN THE VERMONT HISTORICAL GAZETTEER :

INCLUDING

A COUNTY CHAPTER,

AND THE LOCAL HISTORIES OF THE TOWNS OF

MONTPELIER,- CAPITAL OF THE STATE, EAST MONTPELIER,

Barre, Berlin, Cabot, Calais, Fayston, Marshfield, Middlesex, Moretown, Northfield, Plainfield, Roxbury, Waitsfield, Warren, Waterbury, Woodbury and Worcester,

BY NATIVE AND RESIDENT HISTORIANS.

COLLATED AND PUBLISHED BY ABBY MARIA HEMENWAY.

MONTPELIER, VT .: VERMONT WATCHMAN AND STATE JOURNAL PRESS. 1 882.

VERMONT HISTORICAL GAZETTEER, ---- Vol. IV.

[COPYRIGHT SECURED TO MISS HEMENWAY FOR VOLS. IV AND V.]

SUBSCRIPTION PRICES.

Vol. I, II, III, IV, to one order, or to through subscribers, in paper, $5 per vol. ; in black cloth, $6; in half Russia, $7. Volume Iv, alone, in paper, $6; in black cloth, $7 ; in half Russia, $8. As the Publishers have back numbers for all these volumes over those to through subscribers, and to sell this volume alone, breaks a sett, it is not the advance that should be expected for a volume enriched by nearly a hundred more portraits and engravings than any previous volume, and cannot be promised at this price only till three hundred copies may be sold. Vols. I, II, III, $5 in paper ; cloth, $6 ; half Turkey, $7, any vol. or vols.

Washington County Volume, pages 932, $6 in cloth, $6.50 in half Am. morocco ; $6.75 in half Russia, $7 in all leather. Town Nos. 50 cents each.

Postage will be prepaid on all numbers and volumes in paper, and particular care given to the mailing where the subscription is sent to the Publisher, with the least possible delay. Mail orders must be paid in advance ; express orders, not prepaid, C. O. D . Publisher's post-office, Montpelier, Vt.

STATUS OF THE WORK.

Vols. I, II, III, IV, ready for delivery.

Vol. I .- The first six Nos. : Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, and a part of Chit- tenden County, including the County Chapter, Vermont History of Lake Champlain. Bolton and Burlington, is printed in Numbers ; Addison, I ; Bennington, 2 ; Caledonia, 3 and 4 ; and 5 and 6, Chittenden County-50 cents per Number. The balance of Chittenden and Essex Counties in a half volume, paper, price $2.50

Vol. II .- The towns of Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille and Orange Counties, 1200 pp. is only printed in whole Volume.

Vol. III .- The towns of Orleans and Rutland Counties, printed only in Volume.

Vol. Iv .- State Volume, 1,200 pages, only 1,000 copies printed, one-half of which are now subscribed for.

Back numbers can be supplied for yet a time, but Vol. I, Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are not stereotyped, and no complete volumes can be made up after Nos. not stereotyped are all exhausted, the work being too expensive to reset. Vols. II and III are stereo- typed and owned by another party, but it would not pay to reprint short of several hundred orders in advance, which no one would be likely to give for the sake of a copy, and who would not order while it can be secured by subscription-so large a work at so low a price for so small an edition, and there would be little encouragement to issue Vols. II and III when Vols. I, IV and v are not in market. There would not now be a copy of the first half of Vol. I printed in numbers left, had we not in those old days of cheap printing issued an edition six times as large as we are now print- ing. Vol. Iv is not stereotyped ; the type was taken down as fast as the forms were printed for the small edition issued, which had to be small, the cost of printing 1,000 copies being two-thirds over any State aid yet provided, and there are no reserve sheets, except a small number for the County Volume, none for the State Volume. At first there were sheets laid by, but have been called for and taken for town Nos. and the County Volume. For the towns who wished more copies of their own history than of the whole work a part of the edition of Vol. IV was put into numbers of 100 pages, of which not over 20 copies of Nos. I and II only are now unsold ; but of towns since pamphleted, alone or combined with other towns, there yet remain for sale, (June 7, 1882) 95 copies and no more of Cabot complete in one No. with Calais less } page of its grand list-the new CABOT AND CALAIS NO.

92, NORTHFIELD, complete in one pamphlet of 100 pages, with new lithograph por- trait, the three State Houses and fifteen other portraits and engravings printed in the letter-page, Gov. Paine, Rev. John Gregory, Gen. Alonzo Jackman, Hon. State Sec. Nichols, Judge Carpenter. etc.

90, PLAINFIELD, ROXBURY and FAYSTON, in one number.

48, WAITSFIELD, COUNTY CHAPTER, BARRE and BERLIN, in one number.

The balance of the edition left of Vol. I and Vols. IV and v are owned by Miss Hem- enway : Vols. II and InI by Samuel L. Farman of White River Junction. All papers for publication should be sent to Miss Hemenway only ; but both parties at present mutually sell the whole work, Miss Hemenway buying of Mr. Farman Vols. I and II for her subscribers, and Mr. Farman of Miss Hemenway, Vols. I, IV and v, such being the arrangement pro tem. Agents may apply to either party.

1204290

DEDICATION. 2 ...

TO THE HONORABLE PAUL DILLINGHAM,

PRE-EMINENTLY THE GOVERNOR OF WASHINGTON COUNTY,

Who gave his order for one hundred copies of the History of Waterbury ; his portrait to the work ; and is also a contributor to this volume :

TO HIS SON-HON. WM. P. DILLINGHAM,

SENATOR OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, 1878, 1880,

Who has variously assisted the work :

To SYLVANUS F. NYE, Esq., the Town Historian of Berlin, for an order for one hundred copies of his Town History :

TO JOHN M. FISHER, Esq., Historian of Cabot, for an order for two hundred and twenty-five Numbers of Cabot :

To L. A. KENT, Postmaster at Calais, for an order for one hundred copies of Calais :

To V. V. VAUGHN, Esq., the Associate Historian of Middlesex, for an order for one hundred and twelve copies of his Town History.

To JOSEPH K. EGERTON, Hon. P. D. Bradford, M. D., Rev. Frederick W. Bartlett, Hon. Heman Carpenter, for an order for one hundred copies of the His- tory of Northfield :

To DUDLEY B. SMITH, M. D., Historian of Plainfield, for an order for one hun- dred copies of the History of Plainfield :

To E. P. BURNHAM, merchant, A. N. TILDEN, clerk and treas., ORRIN P. ORCUTT, postmaster, ZED. S. STANTON, Esq., and WILSON J. SIMONDS, merchant, of Roxbury, for an order for one hundred copies of the History of Roxbury :

To the Honorable JUDGE HASTINGS, W. A. Jones and Dea. E. A. Fiske, for ob- taining from the town of Waitsfield, at their March meeting in 1881, an order for one hundred and fifty copies of their History :

Whose ready co-operation has been very valuable to us at the most needy time of a work, requiring so much outlay and cost while it is passing through press; to all these, and our other most worthy and indispensable helpers, our most earnest and generally faithful TOWN HISTORIANS and otherwise extensive Contributors :

THIS VOLUME, THE COUNTY OF THE CAPITAL, IS APPRECIATINGLY AND GRATEFULLY

DEDICATED,

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

To the Donors of portraits and engravings, who have amply enriched this volume : To Curtis Wells, Esq., at Waterbury, for the portrait of Hon. Wm. Wells : To the Donors of Montpelier Portraits, p. 59 , 592, 929 :

To the Donors of Northfield portraits, p. 930 ; especially to Hon. P. D. Bradford, M. I)., who having contributed one to the John Gregory History, contributed another specially engraved for this work :

To the citizens of Montpelier, for having taken already 300 copies of the Montpelier Book, from this work; and for the following names taken in advance for this volume by Chas. De F. Bancroft :

E. D. Putnam, Horace W. Smith, Homer W. Heaton, Marcus Boutwell,

James S. Peck, Mrs. C. W. Willard, D. W. Dudley,

Chas. D. F. Bancroft,

Chas. HI. Heath, Fred E. Smith,

Louis P. Gleason,

Dr. W. D. Reid,

W. H. Wakefield, A. D. Marble,

John B. Thurston, C. F. Fullerton,

Charles Dewey, Fred W. Bancroft,

Wm. H. Clark,

Lawrence Preston, Henry Canning,

Geo. W. Wing,

Fred R. Stevens,

Oliver Wheelock,

John P. Soules,

L. Bart Cross,

Charles E. Wood,

Charles O. Foster, Arthur D. Farwell, John R. Seaver,

D. A. Guptil. Moses Taylor.

TO THE ABOVE SUBSCRIBERS .- This subscription was opened on the basis that this volume would run 600 to 700 pages, with about 30 portraits. It was without the full consent of the Publisher that any price was fixed until the number of pages and plates should be ascertained. The cost of the work has been increased by almost one- half more pages than promised, by every day's delay in press, and the increase of plates, which has greatly increased the difficulty and cost of binding. But for con- sideration for our Agent, who has spent much time in the matter, we would not take less for any volume-we ought not to-than the price at which the work is put for general sale. See page II. Our present bound edition is not so large-but 100 copies- but that it will soon sell, all the towns in the County having an interest .in this volume. This County volume costs as much in proportion, without binding, as we sell the State volume for. Every binding added is so much loss to the Publisher on this edition. We will consent (though we ought not, we have so increased the interest and value of the work) to give the cloth binding as an extra to the subscribers, and for other bind- ings must have the difference between them and a cloth binding, and the list may be filled viz. : in cloth, $5 ; in half roan, $5.50 ; in half Russia, $5.75 ; in full leather, $6; and any subscriber not willing to accept these terms we will excuse from taking the volume. To all others, the price on page II. MISS HEMENWAY, Ed. and Pub.

A COUNTY VOLUME

Will be published for ADDISON COUNTY, including what is in Vol. I of this work and the supplementary history of the County, in the State edition ; and a volume also for BENNINGTON CO., CALEDONIA, CHITTENDEN and ESSEX-including the past and the supplementary history in the State Gazetteer, in one volume, for any of the above- named Counties, provided a subscription for 100 copies be filed with the Publish- er, not prepaid, only C. O. D. on delivery, for the same, by the 10th of March next. We find the people of Washington County manifesting a decided interest in their own County, and this offer is made to provide an easy way for the Counties, also, of our first volume, to have separate County volumes, with all that pertains to their own County history, in one County volume, which, we believe, would be very pleasing to the Counties ; therefore, as our back numbers are not many, while yet in time to be able to do so, we have made the proposed edition, and guarantee for, but 100 copies. the price of which we cannot determine till we know how large a supplement will be added to each County, but it shall only be in proportion to the price of the rest of the work.

The present Publisher of Vol. III, of this work, has brought it out shortly since in two vols., one for Orleans and one for Rutland County. It was a curious oversight of Mr. Farman in leaving off the name of the Historiographer and Editor of the work from the title page, but he has assured us, he never thought of it, and will put it on to the next edition, and we presume he may consent, should the Counties in Vol. II and It wish, when their supplements may be completed, they may be combined.

MISS HEMENWAY.

Edward Dewey.

Hiram Carleton,

Mrs. J. L. Leland,

J. A. Locklin,

P. P. Pitkin, T. J. Deavitt,

Dr. H. C. Brigham, Charles W. Porter,

VERMONT HISTORICAL MAGAZINE.

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -INTRO- DUCTORY CHAPTER.

BY G. N. BRIGHAM, M. D.

WASHINGTON COUNTY was incorporated Nov. 1, 1810, by act of the Legislature, and organized Dec. 1, 1811, with Montpelier as the shire town, taking from the county of Caledonia, Montpelier, Plainfield, Cal- ais, and Marshfield ; from Orange, Barre, Berlin, and Northfield ; from Chittenden, Stowe, Waterbury, Duxbury, Fayston, Waitsfield, Moretown, Middlesex, and Worcester, and was called Jefferson Coun- ty until 1814, when, the Federal party coming into power, it was changed to Washington. It is about 34 miles from north to south, and 31 from east to west, between lat. 44° I' and 44° 32', and long. 4º 10', east from Washington; bounded N. by Lamoille and Caledonia Counties ; E. by Caledonia and Orange Counties ; S. by Orange and Addison Counties, and W. by Addison and Chittenden Counties. There has been added to it, Roxbury from Orange County, in 1820, Elmore from Or- leans, in 1821, Warren from Addison, in 1829, Woodbury from Caledonia, in 1835, and Cabot from Caledonia, in 1855.

On the organization of Lamoille County, in 1836, Stowe and Elmore were set off to that County, leaving 17 towns ; by the di- vision of Montpelier into Montpelier and East Montpelier, and the addition of Cabot, the County again had its 19 towns. The County has also two gores, Goshen and Harris', east of Plainfield and Marsh- field. Some of the towns on the west side, upon the ridge of the Green Moun- tains, are hilly and almost inaccessible even

for timber, though but a small tract can be called waste land.

The surface of the County is somewhat broken, but still it may be classed one of the best agricultural counties in the State. The original inhabitants were Abenaqui Indians, a family of the Algonquin tribe. From their language comes the name of its principal river, which is said to mean the land of leeks, or onions, and was first written Winoosque, or, as some insist, [Mr. Trumbull,] Winoos-ki, two words signifying land and leek. There are occa- sional relics of this ancient people found within this County, and the valley of the Winooski was the great highway through which they made their incursions upon the inhabitants on the Connecticut rive: in its early settlements, and through which they went and returned in that raid in which Royalton was burned.

In the State Cabinet is a stone hatchet found in Waitsfield. About 2 miles below Montpelier village, on what was once known as " the Collins Farm," now own- ed by a Mr. Nelson, 40 rods north of the railroad-track, and some 12 rods east of the road leading by Erastus Camp's saw- mill and house, is found what is evidently the remains of an Indian mound. It is rectangular in form, and some 40 to 50 feet across. It has at present an elevation of some 6 feet. It has been lowered by the present owner of the land some 15 inches, and a Mr. John Agila says he help- ed plow and scrape it down many years ago at least 5 feet. Capt. H. Nelson Tap- lin, who is 70 years of age, saw it when a boy of ten, and thinks its sides had an an-

VERMONT HISTORICAL MAGAZINE.

gle of about 60 degrees. Mr. Nelson found an Indian tomahawk, a spear-head, and a relic, showing considerable mechan- ical skill, which we are unable to name, some few rods south of the mound, while plowing his meadow. The mound is situ- ated at the opening of a narrow, glen-like passage running back among the hills, and is flanked by two opposing bluffs, the one on the west being the most elevated. It seems to have been set in a natural niche, admirably chosen for its picturesqueness and beauty. In front is a level piece of land bordering the Winooski, nearly a half- mile wide, and 13 mile long. The soil is light and loamy, exceedingly well adapted to the growing of their maize. Traces of Indian pottery have also been found on the lands here described, and also on one of the lake-made plateaus above the village. An Indian arrow-head has been found on the high land in the rear of the mound ; and some 4 miles below, opposite to where Mad River empties into Winooski, on the Farrar meadow, was plowed up a stone- gouge, a spear-head, and a stone-axe, all evidently of aboriginal origin, which are deposited in the cabinet at the State House. The axe is of horn stone of the best qual- ity, with a fine edge. The spear-heads are made of chert, a species of flint, but not the gun-flint ;- one finely preserved. Fracturing stone for these Indian imple- ments is said to be an art, and usually done by old men who are disabled from hunting.

See page 196, 2d Vol. of Champlain's History : Upon the Champlain. He says " I saw on the east side very high moun- tains," &c. [See also Addison for the same, Vol. I. this work.] There is no doubt the mountains here spoken of were Mansfield and Camel's Hump, and the Winooski the waters by which they were able to go close to the mountains in their canoes.

East of Montpelier, 14 mile, there is a large block of limestone which was obvi- ously shaped by human hands, and so closely resembles the Indian monuments for graves, to be seen in the illustrations, by Schoolcraft, as to leave little doubt that

it was originally erected as a tombstone, or other memorial of some great aborig- inal event. The whole valley was proba- bly at one time here and there studded with wigwams, and by hunting, fishing, and growing of the maize, for many generations, the families of the red man subsisted here, making a part of that traditional glory be- longing to the once far-famed and powerful tribe known as the Algonquins. Some of the tribe of St. Francis Indians, a family of the Algonquins, have lived around the east- ern border, or within the limits of this County until their families were extinct. Among these were Capt. John and Joe. Capt. John was with a party of Indians at- tached to the American army when Bour- goyne was captured. [See Newbury, Vol. II.] Old Joe used to make frequent visits to Montpelier, stopping for a few days with a family living in an old log house, a little out of the village on the east side of Wor- cester Branch. There he used to run bul- lets from lead ore found by him on land a little west of what is now called Wright's Mills. A young man of this family once went in company with Capt. Joe and cut a block from the vein of very pure lead, which was afterwards purchased by Hon. Daniel Baldwin, and melted. Mr. Bald- win offered a considerable sum to be shown the spot. It was hunted for, but the lands in the mean time having been cleared, the place could not be identified. It was just out of Montpelier village, in this same vi- cinity, that a novel system of telegraphing was invented in the earliest settlement of the County. The mother of a family of five children, fearing they would get lost in going after the cows in the woods, used to send the oldest forward, enjoining him not to go beyond the call of the next, who would follow, and so of the rest, until all were in line, she herself sending forward word, and getting answers from the scour- . ing party, until the cows were brought in.

In 1760, Samuel Stevens was employed by a land-company to explore the middle and eastern portions of the New Hamp- shire grants, and, with a few others, began at the mouth of White River and proceed- ed up the Connecticut till they came to

WASHINGTON COUNTY.

Newbury. Then finding the head waters of the Winooski river, followed it down to its mouth at Lake Champlain. This was three years before the survey of any lands within the limits of the County. In 1763, a party interested in the Wentworth Grants came to Waterbury and began run- ning the boundaries of our western towns. In the time of the Revolutionary War what was called the Hazen road was cut through from Peacham towards Canada line, which ran across Cabot, now in Wash- ington Co. The line seems to have been run through in 1774, and several com- panies of Col. Bedel's regiment went on snow-shoes over the line to Canada, in 1776. Hazen made a road for 50 miles above Peacham, going through the towns of Cabot, Walden, Hardwick, Greensboro, and out to Lowell, which has been of great service to the inhabitants since in north- eastern and northern Vermont.

Under the charter King Charles gave to the Duke of York, the State of New York claimed to the Conn. River and north to New France. The old Dutch county of Albany, (sometimes called the unlimited county of Albany) included by this claim, all of the present territory of Vermont. A county by the State of New York was constituted in 1766 nearly identical to the present counties of Windham and Wind- sor, called Cumberland, and in March 1770, another county by the name of Gloucester, comprising all the territory north of Cum- berland Co., east of the Green Mountains, and Kingsland, now Washington in Or- ange County was made the county seat, and the first proper session of the court held at Newbury. By old maps it would appear this county included most, if not all of the present territory of Washington County. A part of the townships in this county had been previously run out in the interest of those purchasing patents of Gov. Benning Wentworth. Waterbury and Duxbury were chartered in 1763; Stowe, Berlin, Worcester, Middlesex and Moretown about the same time. The more eastern towns do not seem to have been chartered till some years later, and upon the maps then representing Glouces-

ter County is found a tract by the name of Kilby, which appears to have embraced the town of Montpelier and all, or portions of some of the eastern towns, which at one time was attempted to be run out in the interest of New York claimants. In the summer of 1773, we find that a Mr. S. Gale, with a number of men, was employed in surveying this County in the interests of the land jobbers of New York. Ira Allen with three men started from the block fort on Onion River in pursuit of them. He traversed the towns of Waterbury, Mid- dlesex, and on up to the fabulous shire- town of Kingsland in Gloucester County, and down on the east side of the moun- tains to Moretown (now Bradford.) Ob- taining information of the surveyor's des- tination and buying spirits and provisions, they went again in pursuit ; discovered his line and by that tracked them to the north-east corner of the old town of Mont- pelier. Probably from the description of the ground where they encamped when like to be overtaken, they were on the Town- meadow beyond Lightning Ridge. They seem to have made a precipitate retreat on the approach of Allen's party. Allen reached the block fort in 16 days from the time he set out. We do not learn of any later attempts on the part of the Yorkers to survey lands within our County limits. New York finding it inconvenient to es- tablish jurisdiction over so large a territory as Albany, where for a long time all writs of ejectment, executions, &c., issued from and were made returnable to, constituted, by act of assembly May 12, 1772, a new county on the west side of the mountain by the name of Charlotte, which included all the old territory of the County of Al- bany on the west side of the mountain north of the towns of Arlington and Sun- derland to Canada line. Thus did the State of New York look after us in the time of our earliest settlements. Whether any part of Washington County had it then been inhabited, for it was not till 9 years later, would have been returnable to Char- lotte County Court at Skeenesboro, now Whitehall, is a matter of dispute ; as it is not quite certain which range of the moun-

VERMONT HISTORICAL MAGAZINE.

tains was followed. By the line made when they divided the State into two coun- ties, one east and one west of the moun- tains, the west towns of Washington County would have been so returnable. But the jurisdiction of New York, with right to annul contracts for land obtained by charter from the king's governor, was not acceptable to the settlers, who soon began to cast about for some way to carry on municipal regulations more in harmony with their feelings.

Gloucester Co. disappeared at the first session of the Vermont Legislature, 1778. The State was divided into two counties by the range of the Green Mountains ; that on the east side being called Cumberland ; on the West side Bennington ; and Wash- ington Co. was divided very nearly in the center, north and south. This date is nearly three years before Thom- as Meade, the first settler of the County of Washington, made his pitch in the town of Middlesex. We were only two years included in Bennington Co., when by the formation of the new County of Rutland we entered therein, and so re- mained during the existence of the old Rutland Co .- 4 years and 8 months, in which time Middlesex and Waterbury began to be settled. When Addison Co. was formed, we entered into a new County ex- istence with old Addison Co., and so remained with Addison two years, until Chittenden Co. was formed, for which a part of our western towns were taken, and remained with this County many years. By the act at Westminster of the new Vermont, constituting Cumberland County to embrace all the territory east of the Green Mountains, the east part of the County was first included within its limits ; afterward, when Orange County was or- ganized it was therein included, and some towns were retained in its jurisdiction until the organization of Jefferson County in 1811. The settlers travelled by marked trees, carried their corn on their backs, or more frequently drove an ox, with a bag of grain balanced across his neck, (many miles distant, ) to find a mill to get it ground. Women and children often went

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The History of Washington County in the Vermont historical gazetteer : including a county chapter and the local histories of the towns of Montpelier., Part 1

Author: Hemenway, Abby Maria, 1828-1890 Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Montpelier, Vt. : Vermont Watchman and State Journal Press Number of Pages: 1064

Author: Hemenway, Abby Maria, 1828-1890
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Montpelier, Vt. : Vermont Watchman and State Journal Press
Number of Pages: 1064