USA > Vermont > Caledonia County > St Johnsbury > 150th anniversary of the founding of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, 1937 > Part 7
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St. Johnsbury's Four Banks
In 1850 our town had barely 2000 people, but the industrial and com- mercial development of the growing community warranted the establishment of its first bank. This was the Passumpsic Bank which started with 435? stock- holders in six counties. Its seven directors came from Barton, Lyndon. New- bury and St. Johnsbury, and Joseph P. Fairbanks was its president. In 1852 a charter was granted the Passumpsic Savings Bank. For the next six years these two financial institutions occupied the same rooms on Main street and had the same cashier, Edward C. Redington. The Passumpic Bank ceased doing business in 1864, but the Passumpsic Savings Bank has since continued as a purely mutual savings institution.
The National Banking act of 1863 permitted the organization in 1864 of the First National Bank with Luke P. Poland as its first president.
The mercantile development of Railroad street contributed to the es- tablishment on that street in 1875 of the Merchants National Bank with Col. Frederick Fletcher as its president.
Chartered under the Vermont law the Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company started in rooms in the Avenue House block in 188; with Jacob G. Hovey as its president.
Today these four banks occupy the ground floor of four of the attractive and substantial brick buildings in our village, and their service through the years has been a notable contribution to the growth of St. Johnsbury. And added to this varied and courteous service is the sense of security their de- positors have as they realize the safety of their money kept in the burglar proof vaults. Through eras of prosperity and adversity - and there have been some of both - the St. Johnsbury banks have stood the test and today their total assets are
$13,065,000.00
These four St. Johnsbury banks wish all that sense of contentment and security that comes to those who do not put their trust in money, but put their money in trust.
First National Bank
Passumpsic Savings Bank
Merchants National Bank
Citizens Savings Bank & Trust Co.
Banking institutions in St. Johnsbury date back to 1849 when the Old Passumpsic Bank was chartered. It did not start business, however, until May 1, 1850. Every attempt to establish a bank in St. Johnsbury was fore- stalled by serious obstacles put up by bankers in other towns unfriendly toward the idea, and in the meantime general business in the town had to climb the hills to Danville for banking privileges.
The original Passumpsic Bank started business in a two-story and a half frame building built for the purpose on Main street where the Municipal Building now stands. Part of the building was arranged for living accommo- dations of the cashier's family. To give an idea of the great need of a bank- ing institution, there were 4357 subscribers who bought 6926 shares at $50 to get the institution into operation.
Thirteen years later, under the National Banking Act of February 25, 1863, it became necessary to re-organize, and the result was the establish- ment of the First National Bank. The affairs of the Old Passumpsic Bank were satisfactorily wound up and it went out of existence. The First Nation- al Bank bought the same building and carried on its business there until it moved to the location where it stands today.
In 1853 the Passumpsic Savings Bank was organized and did business in the same rooms of the Old Passumpsic Bank for six years. It then trans- ferred its location to the Union Block, still standing at Main and Central streets where it utilized a corner of a store. It moved across Main street briefly but later came back to the Union Block location. In 1879 its business had increased so substantially that it opened rooms over the Bingham Drug Store.
There was a continued steady growth in business and in 1885 the bank erected for its use the commodious Passumpsic Bank Block where the institu- tion continues to do business today.
The First National Bank continued to do business at its original loca- .tion until the big brick block at the corner of Main street and Eastern avenue went up. Then it moved across the street and has prospered in that location ever since.
President Homer E. Smith of the First National Bank is the dean of St. Johnsbury bankers. He was named president in 1893 and has been active- ly engaged in the work ever since.
The Merchants National Bank on Railroad street started business in 1875 when Railroad street "grew up." Business was begun in the block which the bank soon after purchased. It was wiped away by fire in 1892 but its new building was built up over the vault which withstood the blaze and saved, un- damaged, everything within it. The present bank was recently remodeled and has large well-furnished rooms for its increasing business.
The Citizens Savings Bank & Trust Co. started business in a small way in a little room in the old Avenue House on February 1, 1887. In 1893 it was so sound financially that it bought the Ward block site where it now stands, paying the highest price per foot ever paid for land in the town. It erected the Citizens Bank Block and the banking rooms were considered the best in the state. The block was swept by fire in 1909 but the subsequent rebuild- ing made the new better than the old. Again in recent years the bank under- went remodeling and it still stands as a high type of banking institution.
SIXTY-FIVE
Looking down Central street in the long, long ago, showing a corner of the famous old livery stable part way down the street on the left, and the Union Block, which still stands, on the right.
DR.I.D. KILBOR DENTIS
The Masonic bodies once occupied rooms in the Union Block (insert) but today they occupy their own Masonic Temple, a beau- tifully appointed structure on Eastern Ave- nue. The Temple (left) was dedicated on July 29, 1913. The cornerstone was laid in the fall of 1912.
For a sporty course and beautiful scenery, the St. Johnsbury Country Club is unsurpassed. In the restful quiet, just outside the village, it attracts its large membership and many visitors for hours of genuine relaxation. Here is a partial view of the 9-hole course in the vicinity of the club house.
The Club House, where many social activities are held.
St. Johnsbury has a very active lodge of B. P. O. Elks. They occupy this commodious home on Railroad Street. In it is a dining room, a spacious lounging room and many recreation rooms.
Railroads
M IGHTY locomotives which bring trains in and out of St. Johnsbury daily over all four points of the compass bear little semblance of the "iron horse" which labored into town on November 28. 1850 dragging behind it the first train of cars to come here.
The trip started in Boston and there were many stops to reload the wood box. Although St. Johnsbury was well back from the metropolitan centers in those days, the rail lines made an early reach for it and regular passenger train service was inaugurated here within 18 years after the first train was operated in New England.
Some time before the railroad was considered. serious talk was had of a canal that might connect the Connecticut River with Lake Memphremagog and run through St. Johnsbury. The plan had so far advanced that a general meeting was held in St. Johnsbury for all citizens in the Passumpsic River valley and the investment in stock of such an enterprise was regarded with high favor. The sentiment was strengthened a few months later by the arrival in Wells River of a steamboat, the John Ledyard, from Hartford, Conn.
The first train in New England was run in 1832 on the short trip from Boston to Lowell, Mass. There was talk of extending the line eventually to Albany. N. Y., and branching it off to run up into New Hampshire and Ver- mont. Of the proposition the Boston Courier, a newspaper of the day, said editorially in an attempt to discourage the plan: "The project of a railroad from Boston to Albany is impracticable, and everybody of common sense knows it would be as useless as a railroad from Boston to the moon."
Modern science has not yet devised a means to get to Mars or the Moon but the railroads came, and continued to come, and today St. Johnsbury enjoys the services of four separate lines ; the Canadian Pacific. the Boston & Maine. the Maine Central and the St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain. Its first road, inaugurated in 1850, was operated under the name of Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad. This now is the Boston & Maine. The St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain road, prior to July 1. 1880, was the Vermont Division of the Portland & Ogdensburg railroad. The old P. & O. turned out to be a poor investment and the Vermont section, or that part west of St. Johnsbury, was taken over by the St. J. & L. C.
Crowds like those in later years which gathered to see the first airplane gathered around to see the first train from Boston pull in on that November day in 1850. The train arrived at 4.30 P. M. There was no formal ceremony but the throng had a wonderful time inspecting the iron monster and the passenger cars which were still considered a novelty even in some of the larger cities.
In a short time there were four locomotives operating regularly over the line. They bore the names : Caledonia, Orange, Orleans and Green Moun- tain Boy. The coming of the railroad signalled a building boom down what is now Eastern avenue and the present business section of Railroad street. A passenger depot and freight shed went up. The village laid out Eastern avenue and Railroad streets with an eye to convenience and proximity to the railroad station. There was practically nothing east of Main street when the
SIXTY-SEVEN
FAMOUS ST. JOHNSBURY & MONTPELIER CRACKERS
Manufactured By
C.H. & Geo. H. Cross. Inc.
ESTABLISHED 1826
C.H.& GEO.H. CROSS.IRC FAMOUS MONTPELIER ST JOHNSBURY CRACKERS
MONTPELIER VT.
ST. JOHNSBURY, VT.
WHOLESALE BAKERS AND CONFECTIONERS
: Specialists in Fine Bakery Products Since 1828
Distributors For SCHRAFFT'S QUALITY CANDIES RICHARDSON'S FRUITS & SYRUPS 7-20-4 CIGARS NECCO PRODUCTS WRIGLEY'S GUM and HERSHEY'S PRODUCTS
WE HAVE SERVED NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND FOR OVER ONE HUNDRED YEARS
railroad came. In twenty years there were more than 200 buildings standing on the new streets.
Two years after the opening of the railroad Col. George A. Merrill became its superintendent and built the brick octagon house on Eastern Ave.
The Canadian Pacific in the meantime was working its lines south- ward and in due time they reached to St. Johnsbury and Woodsville and the first Air Line express came through in 1874. This crack flyer remains today. St. Johnsbury is one of its important stops, being about midway between Boston and Montreal.
While the rail lines connecting Boston and Montreal were being laid, the seacoast at Portland, Maine, was being linked with Ogdensburg. N. Y., with an east-west road. This, too, was to run through St. Johnsbury. It was at this juncture that St. Johnsbury became an important railroad center in northern New England.
The last rail on the P. & O. was laid at Fletcher, Vt., about thirty miles from Swanton, on July 17, 1877. A special train left St. Johnsbury on that day at 9.15 A. M. containing the officers of the road and some invited guests, to the number of about 100. The locomotive "Swanton" was engineered by Alanson Burt.
The train with its four cars loaded with passengers, traveled the 68 miles to the spot where the final rail awaited to be laid. Another train load of enthusiasts had come from the other end of the line in Swanton. After preliminary ceremonies, Erastus Fairbanks, Civil War governor of the state, drove the last spike and the congregation thereabouts joined in singing : "Praise God from whom all blessings flow."
With the completion of the road there was an immediate and gratifying reduction in freight rates to and from St. Johnsbury. The price of coal drop- ped and the towns along the line welcomed the easier contact with the busi- ness world. As an investment proposition, however, the new road failed to reap the harvest that was anticipated. The construction, up-keep and run- ning expenses were unexpectedly heavy. The indebtedness increased and the bonds and stocks depreciated. Litigation arose, a receivership was appointed and reorganization was effected under the name of the St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain Railroad, which assumed management July 1, 1880.
Three years later the brick railroad depot was constructed. Railroad property at that time included the passenger depot, freight shed, a car house, a wood house, semi-circular engine house with pits for five engines and three double dwelling houses. The repair shops there had burned in 1866 and re- built in Lyndonville.
The town was beginning to prosper well from the railroads. The open- ing of the first road in 1850 caused a demand for better hotel accommodations, and the St. Johnsbury House was erected on the Plain and the Passumpsic House, now the New Avenue House, was built in the downtown section.
St. Johnsbury became the Vermont terminus of the Maine Central in 1912 through the purchase by that road of the 23-mile link between the Con- necticut River and the town. The Maine Central took over all that section of the old P. & O. east of St. Johnsbury to Portland.
SIXTY-NINE
ST. JOHNSBURY HOUSE
1851
1937
· HOTEL MANGER ·
"A Tower of Hospitality" W. D. LAUNDRIE, Mgr. At the Gateway to Northern New England MODERN: CONVENIENT: INEXPENSIVE Delightful Room and Bath -- From $2.50 Single; $3.50 Double Attractive Weekly Rates
Radio - Servidor - French Phone - Circulating Ice Water Electric Clock in Every Room
Direct entrance to Boston & Maine Trains . NORTH STATION, BOSTON ;
HOTEL MOORE
HOTEL
HOTEL MOORE
W. B. FITCH, M. D., Prop.
ST. JOHNSBURY, VT.
Compliments of
New Avenue Hotel
St. Johnsbury, Vermont
The Northern Lumber Co.
HARD AND SOFT
WOOD LUMBER
St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Compliments of ED'S CAFE 119 Railroad St. St. Johnsbury, Vermont
St. Johnsbury has three commodious hotels open the year 'round and each is in a convenient part of the village. Downtown is the spacious brick New Avenue Hotel which dominates the business district and is regarded as one of the outstanding landmarks of the town. At the north end of the business district is the Hotel Moore, popular with all classes of visitors, and uptown, on the Plain where the earliest town history was made is the familiar and broad portalled St. Johnsbury House.
NEW AVENUE
Stately, dominating the business district, the New Avenue Hotel is on the site of the old Passumpsic House, built in 1850.
The broad portalled St. Johnsbury House retains much of its old New England quaint- ness. It was built in 1850.
A newer and smaller hotel is the Hotel Moore at the edge of the downtown business district.
Maple Grove Inn, the beau- tiful old home of Gov. Erastus Fairbanks, now is used as a summer hotel.
HOTEL MOORE
JOHNSBURY,) V
One Hundre andred Fifty Years of Proq 1937"
Everything that has been said about New England hospitality might well apply in double measure to these well-known Vermont hostelries. Ver- mont hospitality, unique in its friendliness, is everywhere in evidence. Accommodations are neat, clean and comfortable and visitors spread the best advertising available with their tales of welcome and warm treatment they receive when stopping at these hotels.
Maple Grove Inn, the beautiful old home of Gov. Erastus Fairbanks, has been converted into a summer hotel as a one season enterprise. This place has many of its visitors return year after year for the quiet seclusion and homey atmosphere.
Guests at some of the earliest St. Johnsbury hotels sometimes had a rather rough time. Both these incidents happened at the Inns at East Vil- lage: Transients going out after dark in those early days had to carry torches to scare away the wolves. Few ventured outside unless it was absolutely necessary. A pack of Indians called at one of the Inns late one afternoon. They asked permission to pitch tents nearby. The request was granted but they decided to wait until the next day. So they rolled them- selves up and went to bed-all over the hotel floor.
The first Inn in the town was on St. Johnsbury Plain, somewhere near where the Academy now stands. It was built in 1790 by Dr. Lord and became known as Lord's Inn. The steep grade down over the incline to the Barnet road became Lord's Hill. Dr. Lord's house was his own personal residence with quarters for travelers and strangers just arriving in the settlement. Occasionally Sunday meetings were held there.
The old two story white house removed in 1897 to make way for St. Aloysius Church, was originally built by Major Thomas Peck as an inn in 1799. Within ten years it was known as Willard Carleton's Tavern. The tavern later was sold and was converted into a business block which in suc- cession housed Luther Jewett's apothecary, the old Caledonian printing office, and last, the Cross Bakery, now doing business on Railroad street.
The Bend, that crook in Main street between Central street and Eastern avenue, had become the center of business activity in the town by 1800 and was the natural site for a hotel. A German by the name of Henry Hoffman put up a tavern near the site of the St. Johnsbury House about that time. About 1810, Capt. John Barney built a new tavern on the site of Hoffman's. This was successfully operated for many years and was moved back when the St. Johnsbury House was built in 1850 to form its rear annex. It was said of the time, that the St. Johnsbury House had everything on its bar from potato whiskey to French brandy. It was said of the host, "He mixed toddies with a mild satisfied air, and stabled horses in a deter- mined way; while the ample and jolly landlady beguiled the traveler with fried sausage and gossip."
The first tavern in Center Village went up in 1812. A few years later it was succeeded by a larger and better one, with bar room and dance hall. This old tavern, now a dwelling house still stands, the last house out of the village on the right going north, at the bend in the highway.
SEVENTY-TWO
East Village had two taverns operated by Capt. Silas Hibbard and Jo- siah Gage. Hibbard's place was made of brick and when Gage complained that he should be assessed more taxes because of that fact, Hibbard offered to swap taverns with him. This they did but Gage bought his old place back again in four years. It was at these taverns that the wolves and Indians made things a bit unpleasant for the more discriminating guests.
The house changed ownerships several times in its early years. Fin- ally it came into the hands of S. K. Remick of Hardwick. He made exten- sive additions and repairs and finished off stores. An old history of Remick's management relates: "He began with furnishing liquor which he considered a necessity in a good hotel. It did not prove profitable financially; after losing more than $1000 in payment of fines and facing iiability of a lodging in jail for the next offence, he closed out liquor dealing entirely, conducted a strictly temperance house and made $20,000. From that time on he stoutly challenged the popular saying that a hotel could not be made to pay without rum."
In 1867 he sold the Passumpsic House to Jonathen Farr of Waterford for $12,000. This was considered at the time a notably profitable deal in real estate. O. G. Hale, a later proprietor enlarged the building to four stories high. In 1875 it became known at The Avenue House. B. G. Howe became sole proprietor for the next 22 years.
In 1891 Howe built Howe's Opera House, connected with the hotel. Five years later The Avenue House was destroyed in a disastrous blaze in- volving a loss of $60,000. It was immediately rebuilt of brick as it now ap- pears. In 1901 it was sold to the late Matthew Caldbeck and sometime later the opera house was dismantled and converted into apartments for rental-
(Continued on page 101)
DR. J. A. THOMPSON 96 Portland St. St. Johnsbury, Vermont
DR. F. E. FARMER Office and Residence 20 Main Street, St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Compliments of DR. W. G. RICKER 33 Main Street St. Johnsbury, Vt.
Compliments of EMILY T. WILSON, M. D. 33 Main Street St. Johnsbury, Vt.
Compliments of PHILIP R. RANSOM, M. D. St. Johnsbury, Vermont
JOHN W. WESLEY, M. D. X-Ray, Physical Therapy, Obstetrics 19 Mt. Pleasant Street St. Johnsbury, Vermont
DR. ROBERT H. BURKE St. Johnsbury, Vermont
W. B. FITCH, M. D.
D. E. COBURN, M. D.
Office, 122 Railroad St.
St. Johnsbury, Vermont
A. G. FRANCESCHI, M. D. 105 Railroad Street Telephone 25-W St. Johnsbury, Vermont
DR. DORRANCE SHEFFIELD Main Street St. Johnsbury, Vermont
EDWARD A. CRAMTON, M. D. Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat 33 Main Street St. Johnsbury, Vt. Phone 239-M
DR. FRANK M. WALSH
140 Railroad Street St. Johnsbury, Vermont Specialty-Surgery and Consultation
DR. H. H. MILTIMORE 91 Main Street St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Mullaney's Garage, Inc. Upholstering, Plate Glass, Body and Fender Work Painting and Repairing of All Kinds Shell Gas and Oil
21 Railroad Street Telephone 535 St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Willey's Food & Coffee Shop
65 Main Street
St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Serving our customers with quality food has been our one objective for the past fifteen years. We solicit your patronage.
Willey's Colonial
A.A.A. Restaurant A.A.A.
One of Northern New England's Finest Restau- rants. Meeting place of Rotary and Kiwanis every Monday for the past three years. Plan to enjoy a meal here on your next tour of New England.
Churches
M UCH can be said relative to religion and church life in St. Johnsbury. Not so much because the typical New England town is liberally dotted with twelve church edifices, but moreover because they stand for a hard fought victory.
In the early days those of a religious nature had a difficult time trying to convert their townsmen to their way of thinking. Irreligion was prevalent everywhere. Although a combination church and town hall was raised at Center Village in 1804, it was many years later before there was any semblance of regular church services.
When the time came for the First Church Society to be formed, there were only 19 men and women in the town who professed Christianity to an extent to become members. Then for the next 23 years the church was with- out a pastor - except for a two-year period between 1815 and 1812. A good preacher by the name of the Rev. Pearson Thurston came here to tend the little flock but the hardy climate was too much for him to endure and he was forced to resign.
The church had no steeple, no heating apparatus, and no chimney. Old records of the early services tell of the bitter cold Sundays when the congre- gation sat wrapped in all the available clothing they could accumulate to keep from freezing to death. A Lieut. Pierce lived nearby. He was favorable to the church idea and he did his best to make the congregation comfortable. Sometimes he furnished heated foot stones. On other occasions the services would be held in his home.
This famous old church still exists as the First Congregational Church In the olden days it was situated high on the wind-swept hill west of the Passumpsic river in Center Village. In 1845 it was taken apart and moved to the center of the village where it was reassembled on the spot where it now stands. This year the old church is feeling the ravages of time and the towns- people, moved by sentimental connections, are planning to rejuvenate its old timbers and restore it to its former strength.
The first attempt to raise a church in St. Johnsbury was made in 1794. The attempt failed. It was customary in those days for towns to vote taxes for the raising of churches and the preaching of the gospel. The matter was brought up before Town Meeting but was quashed with a resounding "no" vote. As if to declare its independence of the old New England traditions, the town voted "no" on the proposition year after year.
For some reason which history does not record, the town actually voted money for religious purposes on the fourth or fifth attempt, but before the church people got around to start work on a building the time for another town meeting came and the proposition was voted down again. It appeared that all hopes for public support were lost. In another two years the Chris- tians got out a "yes" vote again, only to have it rescinded before those re- ligiously inclined could profit by it.
At the end of ten years there was a compromise. The town was badly in need of a public meeting place to be used as a town hall. So the good folks and those inclined otherwise, joined hands and voted a combination town hall and place for public worship. The church people lost no time after this vic-
SEVENTY-FIVE
St. Johnsbury frequently is referred to as the "town of many churches." From humble and difficult beginnings the churches have grown to embrace almost every denomination.
1. The North Congregational Church
3. The Advent Christian Church
2. Grace Methodist Episcopal Church
6. Notre Dame des Victoires Catholic Church
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