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GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 02710 8999
Gc 974.302 Sh43ha Harding, Marie. The history of Shelburne
Shelburne
Proclamation
hereas, the
Coum F Shelburne
Founded Two Hundred
yecms this uquat hereas, the Ginzens & the toum have seen to it that the Loum prose pered through these unoned
Itthereas, this oui has made signie Ficant contribution Hrough these two hundred years to the State of vermont thenation;
Be it resolved, that the Says
August 16, 17 -18 5- be set aside. to commemorate these be called up. years on lot all the Citizens
Onowe Feel duty bound to participate ... Whereunto we inscribe our signa this With day of Line, 1965
The Selectmen
Lettered by Lydia Loxon boiselle Bicentennial ~.
John The Clash TRO Bin
All Shepardson
Allen County Public Library 900 Webster Street PO Box 2270 Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270
GEN
5.95
Contents 11840 acres
A Plan of spots as Survey in SHELBURNE Drawnby a Scale of 2Inches to a Mile
Jeft FraAllen.
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Halkın Plan Made by Dra Allen Propridors Suvout For fot Jansky
A true copy from the original IRA ALLEN plan, made Jan, 192, by Franklin H.Dewart,Civ. Eng. Atlast: Jak ewent Burlington.Vr.
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The History of Shelburne
Printed in co-operation with The Shelburne Museum by The Excelsior Press 1963
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. THE CHARTER
2. THE EARLY SETTLERS
3. LIFE IN SHELBURNE, TO THE CIVIL WAR AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY TOWN AFFAIRS CHURCH HISTORIES EDUCATION
4. THE HALFWAY POINT THE CIVIL WAR AND THE YEARS FOLLOWING
5. THE WEBB ESTATE
6. THE TURN OF THE CENTURY TO 1950
7. THE PRESENT, AND THE FUTURE
8. APPENDICES AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
9.
DIRECTORY OF RESIDENTS
Prepared and published for the Bi-Centennial Celebration of the Town of Shelburne August 16, 17, and 18, 1963
Second printing, August 1989 Printed by Queen City Printers Inc.
Copyright 1963
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CHAPTER I
The Charter
The official history of the Town of Shelburne begins on August 18, 1763. On that day Governor Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire signed the Charter establishing the town.
The name "Shelburne," or "Shelburn," as it is often spelled in old records, was chosen to honor the Earl of Shelburne, a celebrated nobleman of the British Parliament. He was influential in upholding New Hampshire's claim to the land west of the Connecticut River as far as Lake Champlain.
The New Yorkers, under a charter from the Duke of York, governed much of what is now New York State and they also claimed jurisdiction over the land between the Connecticut River and Lake Champlain.
The settlers in this disputed territory had bought their land from the men to whom Governor Benning Wentworth had granted it. They knew that if the New York claim prevailed their lands could be taken from them. They also knew that in New York, farmers were tenants on land owned by a few large landholders, and the settlers were determined to retain their ownership of the land. So it was only natural that they supported the New Hampshire claim over that of the New Yorkers. These early settlers were occasionally visited by magistrates from Albany, the capital of New York, who were made to feel about as wel- come as the plague. They were apt to be taken prisoner and "brought to trial; convicted of course" in the words of Ethan Allen.
Their punishment was both painful and humiliating; they were flogged with a branch from a beech tree. This punishment became "the beech seal" -a reference to a prominent feature of the seal of New Hampshire which was on the charters issued by Governor Went- worth. The magistrates so punished fled to the safety of Albany, never to return.
Governor Wentworth issued so many charters in 1763 that he must have resorted to a sort of "form letter" to advise the world of his doings. Shelburne's charter is, except for the names of the men to whom the land was granted, nearly identical with the charters of many other towns. These are its chief provisions:
The Charter opens with a strong statement setting forth the right of Governor Wentworth to assign the land because of its location within the territory of New Hampshire. The Town is to be called Shelburn. Next its size and boundaries are defined: 23,500 acres, presumably a six mile square.
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It is to begin at a stake and stones, standing on the east shore of Lake Champlain, which is the northwest corner of Charlotte, which had been surveyed one year earlier. From this point the line is to run east seven miles, partly by Char- lotte and partly by Hinesburg, to a stake and stones on the north side line of Hinesburg, then turning off and running north six miles to a stake and stones marking the border of Burlington, then turning off again and running west about six miles to Lake Champlain and south along the lake to the start- ing point.
The next section of the Charter states that the residents of Shelburne will be governed by the laws of New Hamp- shire, with the extra privilege of holding two fairs, and a market on one or more days of each week as soon as the town has fifty resident families. It also states that "the first Town Meeting will be held on the third Tuesday of September, 1763, and that thereafter the Town Meeting will be held on the second Tuesday of every March."
Next, the Charter sets forth the following five conditions:
First, that each grantee shall plant and cultivate five out of each fifty acres granted within five years.
Second, that all pine trees fit for masts for the Royal Navy shall be preserved for that use.
Third, that an acre plot in the proposed center of the town shall be reserved for each of the grantees.
Fourth, that each grantee shall pay an annual rent for ten years on each Christmas, of an ear of Indian corn.
And, fifth, that beginning in 1773, each settler shall pay one shilling proclamation money for each hundred acres he owns.
After the list of conditions comes the date, August 18, 1763, the signature of Governor Benning Wentworth, and the seal of the Prov- ince of New Hampshire.
Another paragraph is added at the bottom of the Charter, setting aside a 500 acre tract to be marked B. W., and counted as two of the seventy shares. Thus did Governor Benning Went- worth provide for himself. Further, one share is to be set off for the incorporated Society For the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, one share for the glebe for the Church of
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England, as by law established, one share for the first settled minister of the gospel, and one share for the benefit of a school.
SURVEY TO ESTABLISH THE TOWN LINES
The Charter of Shelburne states very clearly how the boundaries of the town are to be established, and then further states that it shall consist of 23,500 acres. As it turned out, however, there was not a six- mile square left between the already established southern border of Burlington and the northern border of Charlotte. While there were six miles of lake frontage available, the unclaimed land narrowed as it ran back from the lake. This accounts for the triangular shape of Shel- burne, and the fact that it has only 14,272 acres, much smaller than the 23,500 acres the Charter stated. Thus the lots ran about 200-300 acres rather than the 360 acres figured for each town.
There were four parcels of tax-free land in town, these being es- tablished according to the terms of the Charter, and were as follows:
200 acres for the first settled minister 212 acres glebe
205 acres for the Society For the Propagation of the Faith in Foreign Lands
233 acres for the school.
This left a total of 12,747 taxable acres.
Even so, Shelburne fared better than Saint George, its neighbor to the east. Saint George was also to have been a six-mile square, but when surveyed, found itself boxed in by existing towns, and ended with only 2,200 acres, or only 30 acres per lot. But many of the men to whom the land was granted were unaware of this, and the few who had traveled to inspect the land were loath to mention that the rights in this town were much reduced from the customary size. So the rights to land in Saint George brought the same price as the rights in other towns!
The boundaries of Shelburne were in dispute for many years. Originally, the very end of what was then called "Pottier's Point," and is known today as Shelburne Point, belonged to Burlington. In 1794, the Vermont Legislature made many changes in boundaries within Chittenden County, and the entire point was declared part of Shelburne. It was not until 1848 that the boundary between Saint George and Shelburne was finally established.
Besides the disputes about the town borders, the boundaries of the lots of land within the town were contested for many years. The first settlers apparently bought lots as surveyed by Ira Allen whose
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survey was full of inaccuracies. A later survey was ordered by the selectmen to settle the problem of what land belonged to whom, but the two surveys were so different that the town was involved in many lawsuits before the affair was settled.
CHAPTER II Early Settlers
THOMAS LOGAN AND JOHN POTTER
It was not until 1768, five years after Governor Wentworth signed the Charter establishing Shelburne, that the first recorded settlers, Thomas Logan and John Potter (sometimes spelled Pottier) arrived. These two were the first white men to settle permanently on the lands later to be incorporated into Chittenden County, except for Remember Baker and Ira Allen who were already living at the falls of the Winooski River. Although their dwellings, undoubtedly small log cabins, have long since vanished, the names Logan Point and Pottiers Point per- sisted for many years.
Where these men came from is uncertain, but records kept by Ira Allen speak of two Germans living on what is now Shelburne Point, and living there under grants from New York. Ira Allen adds that they were allowed to remain unmolested only "so long as they behaved themselves."
Whatever their origin, Thomas Logan and John Potter deserve credit for opening the lumber trade with Canada. They cut the virgin timber for ship building and conveyed it by raft to St. Johns, Quebec. Naturally the commanding officer at Montreal was anxious to protect this source of lumber. So, when the men delivered a load in 1775, he assigned them an escort of a sergeant and two privates to see them safely through the Indian settlements just south of the Canadian bor- der. The money, or perhaps goods, carried by Logan and Potter, profits from their recent sale, proved too much of a temptation to the guard, and the two Germans were murdered on an island which has been known as "Bloody Island" ever since. Of the three men in the guard, two were a party to this crime and the third was sworn to secrecy. This third man several years later made known the details of the conspiracy and was severely punished by whipping for not having divulged his secret sooner. The two men actually guilty of the murder were tried, convicted, and executed.
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MOSES PIERSON AND THE SIEGE OF THE SHELBURNE BLOCKHOUSE
About ten families had settled in Shelburne prior to the Revolution. They lived in the west part of town along the lake. The only one of whom anything is known is Moses Pierson. He had a farm of 1,000 acres which he bought in 1769. This land was later in the Meech family, and is now owned by Mr. Dunbar Bostwick.
In the fall of 1776 Moses Pierson harvested a large crop of wheat, but then fled this part of the state at the news of the approach of the British and Indians up the lake. In March, 1777 he returned with his family - his wife, two sons, and an infant daughter-and a company of armed men under the command of Captain Sawyer, in order to thresh out the wheat.
Before the work was done, however, the group was attacked by a large party, apparently of Indians. The Piersons, along with the soldiers and two travelers (who had stopped by to spend the night) defended the loghouse during the two-hour siege. Once the house was set afire, and the flames extinguished. When fire was again set to the house, all the water had been used. Luckily, Mrs. Pierson had brewed a batch of beer that day and the barrel of beer was used to douse the flames. Finally, the attackers retreated and were observed to place the bodies of their dead in a large crack in the ice. (Indeed, some of the bodies being thus disposed of showed signs of life.)
This episode is commemorated by a plaque on the site of the siege.
There is good reason to believe that some of the attackers were not Indians, but Tories. The successful resistance offered by Moses Pier- son enraged the British, who forthwith announced a reward for his capture, dead or alive. Once the wheat was secured Pierson left with his family for the comparative safety of Orwell, Vermont.
Another incident occurring in Revolutionary days accounts for the name of Shelburne's principal river, the LaPlot. In 1775 Indian boats were observed in Shelburne Bay. The settlers watched covertly as the Indians made their way up the mouth of the river, where they left their boats. The settlers, watching the Indians continue on foot, pre- sumably to plunder the homes of the settlers, decided on a plan of action: three of them slit holes in the bark of the canoes, while the others, perhaps seven in number, attacked the Indians with a ferocity which belied their meager numbers. The Indians retreated hastily, flung themselves in their canoes, and made for the open waters of the bay. Within minutes, of course, the boats began to fill with water, leav- ing the Indians the choice of death by drowning or by bullets. The settlers managed to kill them all. This stratagem gave the river the name "LaPlot" by which it has been known ever since.
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THE DECADE FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTION
Apparently the few families living here prior to the Revolution all left for the better fortified town's in southern Vermont. But when the Revolution was over many families from southern New England made their way to Shelburne. They came on horseback or by ox-cart, carry- ing their meager possessions with them. Often they followed trails that were marked only by blazed trees along the way. Some of them made their way up the lake during the winter.
The first homes built by these settlers were log cabins, built of the trees they felled on their land. Naturally, these dwellings were small. The land had to be cleared to provide fields in which to grow food for the people and the stock. These fields were often fenced with the stumps pulled from them in clearing, and the cattle grazed in the woods beyond until pastures were cleared. A portion of the crops had to be saved for the following year's seed, and the job of cutting firewood was never finished.
Because most of these men came from Connecticut and western Massachusetts, they had four ideals in common. They believed that farmers should be allowed to own the land they farmed; they believed in the form of town government by town meeting-which they had grown up with; they believed in the importance of free education for all the children; and they believed in the importance of religious freedom. The first settlers brought along with their axes and kettles, the hope of establishing a community where a way of life, based on these ideals, could flourish.
In the spring of 1783 Moses Pierson and his family returned to Shelburne and re-occupied their farm. Mr. Pierson lived there until his death in 1805. He was active in town affairs, being chosen one of the three selectmen at the first Town Meeting on March 29, 1787.
Mr. Pierson's two sons, Ziba and Uzal, bought large farms nearby, and also remained in Shelburne until their deaths, in 1820 and 1836 respectively.
Richard Spear came to Shelburne on July 21, 1783 from Braintree, Massachusetts. He was the father of 11 children, the last of whom, Esther, was probably the first child born in Shelburne, the date of her birth being April 4, 1784. She died in childhood.
When Spear settled, on land partly in Shelburne and partly in Burlington, he took his grain by boat to mills at Whitehall, New York, and St. Johns in Quebec until the mill at Shelburne Falls was built.
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Richard Spear died here March 19, 1788 at the age of 52. His farm and much of the surrounding land stayed in the Spear family for many years afterward.
William Smith, known as "Quaker Smith," arrived with his wife and grown sons in 1783. He settled on the point of land which bears his name, now owned by Sam Webb. This land was in the Smith family for several generations, and several Smiths are buried in a small ceme- tery on this property. Their graves were originally unmarked, accord- ing to the Quaker custom, but later descendants placed tombstones to mark the graves.
Quaker Smith had a son named Caleb Smith who later moved to New York State, but this son is not to be confused with another man of the same name who also came to Shelburne in 1783. The latter Caleb Smith later moved to Williston about 1800 where he died in 1810. While he lived in Shelburne he was active in town affairs, serving as town clerk and Representative to the State Legislature.
Hubbell and Bush established a store on Shelburne Point in 1783. The following year they built a blockhouse, the first dwelling other than a log cabin in Shelburne.
Rufus Cole, Thomas Hall, and Gershom Lyon also settled in Shelburne in 1783.
Captain Daniel Comstock settled on a point of land which still bears his name. His son Levi came in 1784. Both farms remained in the Comstock family for several generations. Captain Comstock filled many offices in town until his death in 1816, and his son did likewise until he died in 1847. Thus, there were eight families in Shelburne by the end of 1783, but at that time, not a single family in Burlington.
In 1784 and 1785 Daniel Barber, Captain Samuel Clark, Timothy Holabird, Sturges Morehouse, Remington Bitgood, and Jirah Isham settled here. Also Captain Israel Burritt, who lived in Hinesburg be- fore he came to Shelburne, and whose son, Garrad, served at the Battle of Plattsburg during the War of 1812.
Aaron Rowley settled north of the center of town upon his arrival in 1784. His son, Aaron Rowley, was born here October 28, 1786, and was a resident until his death, October 4, 1866. Aaron Rowley was Shelburne's first constable.
Joshua Reed settled near the center of town and accumulated a great deal of real estate. One of his sons, Almon, became a noted lawyer in Pennsylvania, and served several terms in that state's Legislature, and then several terms in the U. S. House of Representatives.
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Of the settlers who came in 1784 and 1785, perhaps the one who left the most permanent mark on the town was Captain Benjamin Har- rington. He had long been a sea-faring man, and came here from Con- necticut with his father and brother, William C., who became a leading Burlington lawyer. The Harringtons first purchased the store of Hubbell and Bush on Shelburne Point, and then in 1788 Benjamin Harrington purchased a large farm in what is now Shelburne village. The following year he opened the main road from Burlington to Middlebury. He also built the second frame house in town that year, the first having been built by Lazel Hatch in 1784. Benjamin Harrington erected the public house which is now the Shelburne Hotel in 1796. In 1807 he built the first church in Shelburne, called the "White Church." He was very active in town affairs, and the town meetings were held in his home for a long while.
When Benjamin Harrington died January 17, 1810, he left his heirs a great deal of land, both in the village and to the north and east of the vil- lage. Mrs. Henry Harrington, the widow of a direct descendant, lives in a fine old house which has been in the Harrington family all these years.
It has been mentioned that Lazel Hatch erected the first frame house. This dwelling was about 12' x 16', and was used as a store, slaughter-house, a currying room, a cooper's shop, a joiner's (carpenter's) shop, a barn, a hog house, a lumber room, and a hen house, until in 1855, being rather worse for wear, it was torn down. This house was located near the sawmill, also built by Hatch in 1784. The mill was situated on the LaPlot directly east of the public house, but being built on light soil, was soon abandoned.
The first mill of any consequence in town was built by James Haw- ley at Shelburne Falls in 1785. Hawley was Ira Allen's millwright and had previously constructed mills on the Winooski River and at Swanton. Within a few years Shelburne Falls had a dam with a sawmill and forge south of the present Falls bridge, a dam with a grist-mill at the foot of the 51' falls, and a carding and fulling mill in between. There were two large millponds. The LaPlot was spanned by a rudely constructed log bridge, and until the bridge north of the village was constructed several years later, this log bridge was the best way to get across the LaPlot safely. Therefore, the main route from Shelburne to Burlington led through Shelburne Falls, along Spear Street to the present site of the Mary Fletcher Hospital and then west into Burlington. James Hawley became a resident of Shelburne, and died here in 1813.
Others who came in 1786-88 were Phineas Hall, Keeler Trowbridge, Samuel Mills, and Eli Thayer. Also, Dr. Frederick Maeck, Shelburne's first physician, who practised medicine here for nearly forty years. He died June 30, 1826 and has several direct descendants still living in Shelburne.
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During the years 1789-1791 there was a steady influx of settlers, so that at the taking of the first federal census in 1791, Shelburne's popu- lation stood at 389.
Bethuel Chittenden came here from Tinmouth, Vermont, and settled in the east part of town. With his coming the first regular church services in town were held. Since no church building had been erected, these services were held in private homes. Episcopalians from Burling- ton sometimes came to Shelburne to worship, there being no church there until 1830. Bethuel Chittenden died in 1809.
Several settlers chose land in the northeast part of town-Asa Slocum, Benjamin Sutton, Nathaniel Gage, Rosel Miner among them.
The Sutton family lived first in a log cabin (as did all of these early families), then built another log-cabin when the location of the road was changed, and then built the house that was expanded into the brick home on Dorset Street, in which descendants of the original Suttons live to this day.
Ebenezer Barstow was born in Canterbury, Connecticut, in 1756. He served during the Revolution, and came to Shelburne shortly there- after. His farm stayed in the family for several generations and his grandson, General J. L. Barstow, lived there at the time he was elected Governor.
Jonathon Lyon and Dan Fairchild were settlers of this period, as were Asahel Nash, Hezekiah Tracy, Asa Lyon, Robert Averill, Joseph Hamilton, and Dudley Hamilton. Another was John Tabor, who lived in Rutland for a time, and for whom Mount Tabor is named. He became a large land-owner, and died here in 1813 at 47 years of age.
Colonel Frederick Saxton lived in Burlington before coming to Shelburne. He had a farm there which he sold to Col. Pearl upon mov- ing. In Shelburne he lived on a farm near Comstock Point, and died by drowning April 28, 1796. He left three sons and four daughters, all of whom spent most of their lives in the vicinity. His second son, Horace, was especially active in town affairs, and served in the State Legislature.
The next years saw the coming of Francis Nash, the Blins, Lavater White, and the Honorable Ezra Meech, who bought Moses Pierson's farm, and served in both the Vermont and National House of Repre- sentatives. He engaged in a number of business activities, being a hunter and trapper, a store-keeper, a manufacturer of potash and a dealer in lumber. At the time of his death in 1856, he was about the largest landholder in the state, owning 3,500 acres.
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William Blin came from Connecticut, settled on a part of the Governor's right south of the Spear farm. When he died, two of his sons - Samuel and Simon-inherited his property, and each kept a public house. Because of this, the road north of the village was long called Blin Street, and the area, the Blin District.
Joshua Isham came to Shelburne in 1793 after nine year s' residence in St. George. He purchased the land east of the Falls, and the store of Thaddeus Tuttle, who moved to Burlington and became a prominent merchant there. Next, Isham purchased the gristmill and the sawmill, and operated them until his death on April 9, 1840 at the age of eighty- two.
These were some of the men who determined the sort of town Shelburne was to become. Most of them were farmers, and the ones who weren't, depended on the prosperity of the farmers for their livelihoods. They took a keen interest in town affairs and many of them held public offices. They paid for the church and they built the schools.
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