USA > Vermont > A history of Vermont : with geological and geographical notes, bibliography, chronology, maps, and illustrations > Part 17
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Acres
Acres
Berlin Pond, Berlin, 650
Big Leach, or Wallace Pond,
Canaan, I200
Caspian Lake, Greensboro, 1200
Colchester Pond, Colchester, Soo
Crystal Lake, Barton, 1400
Echo Pond, Charleston, Soo
Fairfield Pond, Fairfield, 1 500
Fairlee Lake, Fairlee and Thetford, 1 500
Franklin Pond, Franklin, 1800
Great Averill Pond, Averill, 1200 Great Hosmer Pond, Albany, 1000
Groton Pond, Groton, 1 800
Hosmer Pond, Craftsbury, 650
Island Pond, Brighton, I 500
Joe's Pond, Cabot and Dan- ville, 1 000
Lake Bomoseen, Castleton, 15000 Lake Dunmore, Salisbury
and Leicester, 3000
Lake St. Catherine, Wells and Poultney, 2000
Little Averill Pond, Averill, 800
Maidstone Lake, Maidstone, 1000 May Pond, Barton, 1000
Memphremagog, Derby and
Newport, (in Vermont) 8000
Morey Lake, Fairlee, 1300
Salem Pond, Derby, 1000
Seymour Lake, Morgan, 5000 Shelburne Pond, Shelburne, 700
Willoughby Lake, Westmore, 5500
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APPENDIX
Counties
Previous to the declaration of independence by the state in 1777, the territory of the New Hampshire Grants lay within the limits of four counties : Cumberland, Gloucester, Charlotte, and Albany. The boundaries of these counties are shown on page 74.
Cumberland County lay east of the Green Mountains and extended from the southern boundary of the state as far north as the southern part of the present county of Orange. This county was established by the Colonial Legislature of New York in 1766. The act was annulled by royal decree in 1767, but was renewed in the following year, and the county was incorporated in March, 1768. The first shire town was Chester, but the county seat was removed to Westminster in 1772.
Gloucester County, which was formed in 1770, with Newbury as shire town, comprised all of the grants north of Cumberland County and east of the mountai .. s.
Charlotte County included a portion of New York and the part of the grants which lay west of the Green Mountains and north of the towns of Arlington and Sunderland. The county was formed in 1772, with its shire at Skenesboro, now Whitehall.
Albany County comprised the remainder of the state west of the Green Mountains and south of Charlotte County, as well as part of New York.
The present counties of the state were organized as follows :
Bennington, 1779
Chittenden, 1782
Orleans, 1792
Windham, 1779
Addison, 1787
Grand Isle, 1802
Rutland, 1781 Franklin, 1792 Washington, 1810
Windsor, 1781
Caledonia, 1792 Lamoille, 1835
Orange, 1781
Essex, 1792
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HISTORY OF VERMONT
GEOLOGICAL NOTES 1
Vermont has, in proportion to her population, greater wealth in quarries than any other state. As a mining state, however, she never has been important and never can be; for although she possesses a diversity of metals, they do not exist under such con- ditions that they can be profitably obtained in any appreciable quantities. For instance, gold has been found in many places in the state, but nowhere in paying quantities. It occurs in both the sands of streams and in gold-bearing rocks. But not every quartz vein is gold bearing, and if gold-bearing quartz is found it still remains to get the rock out of the ground and the gold out of the rock. The process of separating gold from quartz is complex and involves the use of expensive machinery, so that it costs more to get the metal than it is worth.
The only mining which has been extensively carried on to any profit is copper mining. In a few localities this has probably paid. Copper has been mined to some extent for over eighty years, although there have been intervals of inactivity. There is no native copper in the state, that is, copper in a pure form, such as exists in the great beds of the Lake Superior copper region ; but it occurs as chalcopyrite or copper pyrites, a sulphide of cop- per, which is usually largely mixed with iron sulphide. Within the last few years there has been an increased demand for copper owing to its use in electrical equipments; and owing to this and a corresponding increase in price some renewed interest has been shown in the copper mines of Vermont, and copper is again mined at the old Ely mine in Vershire, the Elizabeth mine in South Strafford, the Reynolds mine in Strafford, and the mine of the Vermont and Boston Mining Company in Berkshire.
Lead is found in many parts of the state, and although a few attempts have been made to work lead mines, the quantity has been insufficient to develop them. In 1880, according to the Census Report, this state produced two hundred and fifty tons of
1 Taken from the Report of the State Geologist, G. H. Perkins, for 1900, and from the Fourteenth Agricultural Report.
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metallic iron. Little has been produced since, and no beds are now worked, although many towns possess deposits of iron asso- ciated with ocher, kaolin, clays, etc. Bog manganese is found here and there over the state. Soapstone, freestone, asbestos, talc, and paint have been found in sufficient quantities to tempt experiments at working them. One bed of kaolin, worked at Monkton, has been used in the manufacture of china ware and fire clay. The Rutland Fire Clay Company digs clay to use in stove linings. The principal beds of ocher are at Brandon, Shaftsbury, and Bennington. There are quarries of quartzite which have been worked by the Pike Manufacturing Company of Brownington for scythestones.
The first quarries to be opened were naturally those in which building material was sought. But the construction of stone buildings involves the use of mortar, and as this is obtained from limestone it follows that the latter must have been quarried early. Nearly all the limestone in this state is found in the western part, not far from Lake Champlain. For more than a century stone has been taken out at the southern end of Isle La Motte, an almost black limestone with few fossils. At Grand Isle two quarries have been worked, mostly for railroad construction. Quarries at Highgate and Swanton have been worked since the early part of the nineteenth century, furnishing the stone for extensive kilns from which lime is made. It has also been obtained at Col- chester, Brandon, Leicester Junction, and elsewhere. East of this narrow strip of limestone the rocks are mostly schist, granite, gneiss, quartzite, and other metamorphic rocks.
The especially important quarries are those of slate, marble, and granite. The location of the first two industries is very interesting. They are both situated in a long, narrow area, one cast and the other west of the Taconic range. By far the larger part of both kinds of quarries is in Rutland County. The Taconic hills are a complete barrier between them. No marble is found west of the hills, no slate east. The marble belt reaches farther north than the slate belt, but the southern limit is about the same. The marble area is about twice as long from north to south as the slate area, and is somewhat wider from east to west.
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HISTORY OF VERMONT
The great slate belt begins on the north, near Glen Lake at West Castleton, and extends southward on each side of Lake Bomoseen, through Scotch Hill, New Haven, Blissville, Poultney, South Poultney, Wells, Pawlet, and West Pawlet, south of which no quarries are now worked, although they formerly extended as far as West Rupert. From north to south this slate region is about thirty miles in length ; it is from five to six miles wide for the most part, and nowhere more than eight or ten miles in width. A number of different varieties of slate are produced, - unfading green, sea green, purple, variegated, and dark gray. There have been about one hundred and fifty quarries either temporarily or permanently worked in this area.
Especial mention has been made of both the marble and the granite industries in the closing chapter of the history, so that little further need be said here, save to note that the distribution of the granite is not so confined as that of the slate and marble, it occurring widely on the eastern side of the Green Mountains.
PART II
FOR REFERENCE AND FURTHER STUDY
MAP EXERCISES
Draw an outline of the state. . Indicate the name of the adja- cent territory. Show on the map the latitude and longitude of Vermont. State in miles the length of Vermont and the approxi- mate width at the northern and southern boundaries. Indicate the area in square miles and the acreage, both land and water.
On an outline map such as the above show the course of the Green Mountain range and the situation of the Taconic, Granitic, and Red Sandrock mountains. Indicate the heights of the prin- cipal peaks.
On an outline map of the state insert the courses of the princi- pal water ways tributary to the Connecticut River, the Hudson
1
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APPENDIX
River, Lake Memphremagog, and Lake Champlain. In drawing these rivers be careful to locate their sources properly, to show the territory which they drain, and their exits into the larger bodies of water. Tell where these larger bodies empty into the sea. Draw on this map the lakes of Vermont.
Sketch the county divisions on an outline map of the state. Indicate the names of the counties, the dates of organization, and the population. Show where the earliest settlements were made, with dates. Locate the cities and large towns. Draw the railroad lines which lie within the state.
Compare Vermont with the other New England states in respect to size and population. Compare it also with any three of the Middle, Southern, and Western states. Compare it with England, France, Switzerland, Italy.
NOTE. - These are foundation exercises, and, if necessary, should be repeated until good work can be shown. The maps should be drawn in class, from mem- ory, should be carefully scrutinized by the teacher, and returned with whatever comment or criticism is needed. Oral questions should supplement the exercises. The following list of maps will be found useful for reference.
LIST OF MAPS
I. Vermont at the close of the French and Indian wars,1 facing p. 40.
II. Early Map of New Hampshire, soon after the erection of Fort Dum- mer, p. 69.
III. The First Political Division of Vermont, p. 74.
IV. Vermont at the close of the Revolution,2 facing p. 122.
V. Railroad Map of Vermont, facing p. 220.
VI. Geographical Map of Vermont, facing p. 273.
VII. Township Map of Vermont, in colors, facing p. 301.
1 This map shows French occupancy in the Champlain Valley ; two of the old Indian routes ; Governor Wentworth's early grants ; the beginning of English settlement ; the military outposts at Crown Point, Ticonderoga, Fort William Henry, Number Four, Fort Dummer, and Fort Hoosac; the first road across the state; and the extent to which the wilderness had been explored. The original of this map bears no date, but internal evidence would indicate that it was made between 1759 and 1764.
2 This map shows the extent to which townships had been granted before the close of the Revolution. A comparison with map I will indicate the very rapid develop- ment of the state following the close of the French and Indian wars. The town- ships marked Y were granted by governors of New York. The dotted lines indicate conflicting grant :..
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HISTORY OF VERMONT
TOPICS 1
CHAPTER I. Did Cartier see a part of Vermont? Distinguish between the possibility, the probability, and the certainty of it. The first contact of Indians and white men. Champlain's route to the lake. Champlain's impressions of the country : what would be his standard of comparison? The fauna of Vermont in 1609. Could the Indians be depended on for accurate accounts of the country ? Modern weapons and Indian warfare. What reason is there to think that Champlain mistook limestone rocks for snow on the mountains? Distinguish what we positively know about the aborigines of Vermont from what we can reasonably infer. Describe the old burial ground at Swanton, and give the evidence of its antiquity. Indian relics and their uses. Describe Indian life from data given in this chapter.
CHAPTER II. Compare the French and English methods of colonizing, and mention some of the results. The French and Indian wars as an incident of colonial policy. Condition of our state at the time of these wars. How much of its geography was known? Describe the red men's roads. Illustrate the methods of warfare by the Deerfield raid and Rogers's exploit. Describe the building of Fort Dummer and the life of the scouts. How the French entered the Champlain Valley. When did it become evi- dent that the French were losing ground? Find the reason for the failure of the French. The work and value of scouting parties.
CHAPTER III. Enumerate the indirect or secondary results of the French and Indian wars. Give the history of the old Indian road. The Hazen road. Local road building. Why is 1760 an important date in Vermont history ? Bennington. Illustrate the choice of locations for settlement and how the first settlers came into the wilderness. What parts of the state were settled first and why? The extent of settlement at the time of the Revo- lution. Colonial society in its social, industrial, and intellectual aspects. Domestic economy. Political issues.
1 The topics are not designed to supply the teachers with a complete list of ready made questions, but to indicate the lines along which they may most profitably direct their own questions.
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APPENDIX
CHAPTER IV. Why were the early townships called the New Hampshire Grants? The cause of the dispute between New Hampshire and New York. To whom did all parties turn for appeal? How the question affected the settlers of this state. How the New Hampshire Grants passed under the jurisdiction of New York. What change of jurisdiction meant. Why the Order in Council of 1764 did not settle the trouble. Trace the steps in the contest. The settlers' methods of defense : their first appeal ; their next resort ; their final alternative. Were their methods of operation legal? Did the governors of New York act legally ? What did the settlers' methods do for them in the way of building up a government? If the king had not issued the first Order in Council is it likely that Vermont would have been a separate state? Were there men in Vermont who had settled in good faith under New York patents? Could this dispute have been settled by compromise ? Describe the situation leading to the " Westmin- ster Massacre." Is it an incident of the Revolution or of the grant controversy, or both? Was it really a massacre? Were the settlers acting legally ?
CHAPTER V. The relation of the grant controversy to the Revolution. The strategic importance of the Champlain Valley. How the British came to be in possession of the military posts. Colonial projects for securing possession of the Champlain Valley. The relation of the capture of Ticonderoga to the Revolution. The importance of the event as a military operation. The Green Mountain Boys in the war. Naval operations of 1776. The British plan of campaign for 1777. Events leading to the battle of Bennington. What caused Burgoyne's defeat? In what did the value of John Stark's services lie? The respects in which Bennington was an important battle. In what ways was it simi- Jar to the engagements at Lexington and Bunker Hill and unlike the others of the Revolution? The general effect of the war on frontier settlements. Illustrate. What should make the British think that the New Hampshire Grants would be loyal to the crown ?
CHAPTER VI. What did the Revolution do for Vermont? How did it create an opportunity for more independent action than the
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HISTORY OF VERMONT
state could otherwise have taken? Why did Vermont become a state? What was the difference between Vermont and any one of the thirteen colonies? Ilow did the conventions described in this chapter arise, and of whom were they composed? In what respects did the second differ from the first, the third from the second, and so on? Why were the conventions held at different places? Distinguish the different kinds of questions which came before the conventions. Name some of the burdens which Ver- mont assumed on becoming a state. The relation between the American Declaration of Independence and Vermont's.
CHAPTER VII. The conditions in Vermont compared with those in other states during the Revolutionary period and immediately following. Name the ways in which war affects the finances and industries of states. Compare Vermont's participation in the Revolution with that of other states. What made her continued growth through the Revolutionary period possible? Explain the origin of "ministers' lots," " school lots," etc. The location, the causes, and the extent of popular disturbances after the war. Legislative measures to relieve poor debtors. Vermont's case before Congress. History of the East and West unions. The negotiations with the British. What saved Vermont from inva- sion ? Cite the opinions of leading men showing different points of view of the Vermont problem. Explain why Vermont was not admitted to the Union for fourteen years. Explain why she was admitted in 1791. In what ways can you indicate Governor Chittenden's skill and statesmanship ?
CHAPTER VIII. Transportation as a factor in industrial devel- opment. What things were raised on the farms and where were they marketed? The first artisans in newly settled places. What things were made at home which we now buy ? Give a descrip- tion of the occupation and life of the people at the end of the eighteenth century. The beginning of quarrying, the lumber trade, steam navigation. Educational work of the early Ver- monters. Banks, paper money, and coinage. Lotteries and how they were used. Differences between the northern and southern parts of the state. The claim of the Caughnawaga Indians and how it was disposed of.
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APPENDIX
CHAPTER IX. How did Vermont happen to take an active interest in the War of 1812? The effect of this war on the settle- ments. The principal naval events on Lake Champlain. Describe the war policy as revealed in the embargoes. How did it work ? Arguments for and against such a policy. Why did New Eng- land not sympathize with such a policy ? Trace the results in the general respect paid to law and in the course of trade. Did Vermont display loyalty to the government and good citizenship among her people ?
CHAPTER X. What were the differences between rural life in Vermont half a century ago and to-day? The neighborhood as a center of industry and social life. Discuss the application of labor, transportation, and markets as factors of change in the forms of industry. The growth of manufacturing before the Civil War, with illustrations of important developments. The work of the state on its educational system before the Civil War. In what respects was Vermont a pioneer in educational progress? How the growth of negro slavery became the dominant issue in national politics.
CHAPTER XI. Vermont's record on the slavery question. The situation of the North on the verge of war. The apprehensions of public men in Vermont on the impending crisis. The outbreak of the war. Activities throughout the state. Illustrate the pri- vate, public, and official feeling on the issue. The raising of troops in the state. A summary of the services of Vermont. Some of the important campaigns in which the First Vermont Brigade served. Opinions of officers on the quality of our sol- diers. The St. Albans Raid.
CHAPTER XII. Trace the effects of war on industry and agri- cultural conditions during the continuance of the contest. The reaction after the war was over. The westward movement of population. The main features of our industrial development since the Civil War. Illustrate the manner in which new indus- tries arise and diversify. The gains made in our educational system. An outline of the present system. Vermont's repre- sentatives in the Spanish War and the importance of the part they played.
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HISTORY OF VERMONT
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Bibliography and General Works
The most complete bibliography is that published in the Argus and Patriot, by M. D. Gilman, and later in one volume (Burling- ton, 1897). The most detailed and valuable histories of the state were published comparatively early. Among the best are :
SAMUEL WILLIAMS. Natural and Civil History of Vermont. Wal- pole, N.IL., 1794. 2d ed., enlarged and corrected. Burlington, Vt., I So9. 2 vols.
ZADOCK THOMPSON. History of Vermont, Natural, Civil, and Sta- tistical. In three parts. Burlington, IS48. Contains the Gazetteer.
BENJAMIN HOMER HALL. The History of Eastern Vermont to the Close of the Eighteenth Century. New York, 1858. Albany, 1865. An original work, involving much research and incorporating new material. Written from manuscripts in the offices of the secretaries of state of Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. Quite full on the history of the controversy over the grants, and containing much detailed local history.
IIILAND HALL. History of Vermont from its Discovery to its Admis- sion into the Union in 1791. Albany, 1868. Written from original documents and personal investigation.
In addition to the above there are a few works which deserve mention for special reasons. Such are :
IRA ALLEN. Natural and Political History of the State of Vermont. London, 1798. Reprinted in Vermont Historical Society Collections, I, Montpelier, Vt., 1870. This book has the disadvantage of being written by a partisan, from memory, without the possibility of verifying any doubtful statements. It is, therefore, somewhat prejudiced, uncrit- ical, and inaccurate. But it has the advantage of being the only account we possess of the Haldimand negotiations from an insider, and is there- fore a contribution which cannot be disregarded. It covers the period from 1764 to 1791.
A. M. HIRMENWAY (editor). The Vermont Ilistorical Gazetteer. Five vols. Burlington, 1867-1891. This is sometimes cited as the
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Vermont Historical Magazine. It is made up of the contributions of local writers, and is therefore not of uniform value. It contains masses of information not elsewhere available, and tells much about the life of the people as well as of the separate towns.
ROWLAND E. ROBINSON. Vermont. Boston, 1892. The best of the more recent single-volume histories of moderate compass. It combines faithful and painstaking effort for accuracy with good literary workman- ship. A good book for the general reader to own.
RECORDS OF THE COUNCIL OF SAFETY AND GOVERNOR AND COUN- CIL OF VERMONT. 8 vols. Montpelier, 1873-18So. This is the most important series, as well as the most comprehensive, on the history of the state. Invaluable for any original study.
WILLIAM SLADE. Vermont State Papers. Middlebury, 1823. A compilation of records and documents, with the Journal of the Council of Safety, the first constitution, and the early journals of the General Assembly. Very valuable for reference.
VERMONT HISTORICAL SOCIETY. Collections, 2 vols., 1870, 1871. Proceedings, I vol., 1898. Separate printed reports of proceedings, papers read, etc., of various dates. Chiefly occupied with the history of the state during the Revolution and immediately afterward, and with the history of the controversy with New York.
Archæology
GEORGE HI. PERKINS. Some Relics of the Indians of Vermont (American Naturalist, March, 1871). On Some Fragments of Pottery from Vermont (Proceedings of the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science, August, 1876). On an Ancient Burial Ground in Swanton, Vermont (Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1873). The Calumet in the Champlain Valley (Popular Science Monthly, Vol. XL.V, 1894). The Stone Axe in Vermont: I, Celts; II, Notched and Grooved Axes (American Naturalist, December, 1885; June, 1886). Archæological Researches in the Champlain Valley (Memoirs of the International Congress of Anthropology). Archaeology of Vermont (American Naturalist, June, 1881). Archæology of New England (Prehistoric Implements, Moore- head, Section IV, 1900).
DAVID S. KELLOGG. Early Mention of Events and Places in the Valley of Lake Champlain (published in Vermont Historical Society Proceedings, 1902).
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HISTORY OF VERMONT
Discoveries and Early History
SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN. Works. Translated in Slafter's Champlain. (Prince Society Publications. Portions are translated in O'Callaghan, Documentary History of New York, III.)
PIERRE E. RADISSON. Voyages. (Prince Society Publications, 1885.)
NEW HAMPSHIRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS, V, 207-211. Journal of Eleazer Melvin with eighteen men under his command, in the wilderness toward Crown Point, 174S.
O'CALLAGHAN. Documentary Ilistory of New York, IV, 257 ff. Journals of Sir William Johnson's scouts from Lake George to Crown Point, Ticonderoga, and other points, in 1755 and 1756. Also Docu- ments relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York. 15 vols. Albany, 1856-1887.
ROBERT ROGERS. Journals of Major Robert Rogers. London, 1765. These cover his scouting in the Champlain Valley as well as the history of his famous raid against the St. Francis Indians.
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