USA > Vermont > Chittenden County > Gazetteer and business directory of Chittenden County, Vermont, for 1882-83 > Part 4
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H. W. SMITH & SON, extensive roof slaters, located on Champlain street, Burlington, solicit our patrons custom. As they are also wholesale dealers in all qualities and colors of roofing slate, we doubt not their facilities for giving satisfaction are excellent. See their illustrated card on page 420.
WILLIAM SMITH & Co., of Burlington, show up a handsome carriage on page 466. They manufacture a handsome, durable article in this line, at prices low enough, too.
M. L. SNYDER, proprietor of the Essex Junction Monumental Works, pub- lished a card on page 286. Mr. Snyder's facilities for supplying his patrons with first-class work in all departments of his business, at very moderate prices, entitles him to the liberal trade he enjoys.
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PUBLISHER'S NOTES.
STRONG & PARKER, of Vergennes, Vt., manufacturers of the "Little Giant Road Machine," have accomplished great good in lessening the labor of road making. By the use of these machines,. communities will greatly improve their roads, and do it in less time than by the ordinary methods of the past. See the machine at work, on page 430.
GEORGE E. STYLES, of Burlington, offers all who wish to follow the style, retain their health, and develop their muscles, an excellent opportunity to do so by purchasing of him a Columbia or Harvard bicycle. He has some- thing to say to you in his card on page 420.
A. TAYLOR, florist and nurseryman, of Burlington, prints a card on page 514, to which he invites attention. Mr. Taylor has an excellent nursery stock, while his floral display of tropical and native plants is exquisite. His large stock enables him to supply parties, weddings, funerals, etc., with taste and celerity.
GEO. E. TERRILL of Underhill, has special arrangements with publishers whereby he is enabled to furnish papers and periodicals in most cases cheaper than can be had direct. Read card on page 392.
HENRY THORP, of Charlotte, a well-known breeder of pure Atwood Me- rino sheep, commenced his flock in 1862, by purchase of five Atwood Ewes, of Victor Wright, of Weybridge. Since then, from to time, he has added to the flock chiefly by purchase from the celebrated Hammond and Sanford flocks. Parties wishing pure bred animals should call on Mr. Thorp. See illustration of his Ram, "No. 1," on page 270.
R. THYNNE, proprietor of the Burlington Steam Dye Works, although a dyer, purposes to " live and let live," by doing an excellent quality of work at moderate prices. He publishes a card setting forth the merits of his trade, on page 380, to which he invites attention.
J. W. TRUAX, millwright and patentee, and an extensive manufacturer of mill machinery, invites attention to his discriptive card on page 380. Mr. Truax has testimonials of a high nature, from good authorities, pronouncing his inventions as eminently useful, not the least of which is his turbine water-wheel, pronounced to be one of the best for durability and power ever invented. Address him for a circular.
THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT .- This venerable and venerated institu- tion of learning, one of the best in New England. is now in a more prosper- ous condition than ever before. For particulars relative to its progress and present standing, we refer you to its card, printed on the inside of the back cover, and to the historical sketch on pages 118 to 122.
THE VERMONT EPISCOPAL INSTITUTE, whose announcement is printed on page 476, and whose history and engraving of building are given in the historical portion of the work, serves as an excellent illustration of what energy and judgment can do. From a small beginning, the school has been built up, un- til it is now one of the best in the country. The course of training followed is unsurpassed, while the site of the school is one of the most beautiful and healthful in the State. Situated on the lake shore, one and one-half miles from Burlington, its students have every advantage of healthful breezes, rural delights, and city comforts.
THE VERMONT LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, of Burlington, although a com- paratively new institution, has managed its business so successfully as to in-
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PUBLISHER'S NOTES.
crease its capital from $50,000.00 to $250,000.00, since it was organized, in 1868. The practice of insuring one's life for the benefit of the friends left behind when death overtakes us, is constantly becoming more popular, and no other company is more reliable than this. See their advertisement on the front fly-leaf, and address them for particulars.
THE VERMONT STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, at Castleton, Rut. Co., is one of the most beautifully located in the State. The grounds and buildings are admirably adapted for school purposes. Situated at the head of Seminary street in this charming village, upon a slight elevation, they are at once re- tired, yet easy of access, airy and healthful. The drainage of the grounds is perfect, the ventilation of the buildings complete, having accommodations for one hundred boarders and two hundred day pupils. (See cut on page 522.) The present main building was first opened for the reception of pupils in 1830, by the late Solomon Foote, since which time there has been a succession of able principals and associate teachers, while many hundred cultured young men and women have gone out from its halls upon a useful life. It became a State Normal School in 1867, meeting with varying success under different principals, until 1881, when it came under the permanent control of Capt. Abel E. Leavenworth, entering upon a new era of prosperity. Principal Leavenworth is well known in Chittenden County, as he was born in Charlotte, fitted for college at the Hinesburgh Academy, and graduated from the Univers- ity of Vermont. For five years before, and three years after the war of the Rebellion, he was principal of the Hinesburgh Academy, where, aside from fitting young men for college, he made a specialty of training teachers, many of whom have done efficient work in the schools of the county. For many years he was an officer of the County Teachers' Association, contributing largely towards its success during a period of twenty years. From Beeman Academy, New Haven, he sent out eighty-nine teachers and graduated forty- one in the several courses. While he was principal of the State Normal School at Randolph, over two hundred graduates were commissioned to teach, and over four hundred others received partial training. The first year at Castleton has been one of marked success, seven counties having been repre- sented in its membership. The railway and telegraph facilities of Castleton are excellent, there being four passenger trains daily to and from Rutland, eleven miles east, and two on each of the roads to Whitehall and Eagle Bridge, west and south. The principal is ably seconded in his efforts to make this a first-class school. by an efficient corps of teachers trained by himself in an- other school, and having large and successful experience in Normal school work and methods. Thus combining the advantages of healthful location, ample accommodations, facility of access, and competent instructors, this school cannot fail to command its legitimate share of patronage.
JAMES WAKEFIELD, of Burlington, sailmaker and manufacturer of tents, awnings, wagon-covers, flags, etc., and dealer in cordage and rope of all sizes, tackle blocks, etc., is prepared to supply all demands in his line promptly, and of the best materials. Country merchants, campers, and all wanting tents, awnings, sails, etc., will find it to their interest to correspond with Mr. Wakefield. Card on page 362.
WALKER, HATCH & Co., stair builders and manufacturers of fine church and office furniture, etc., employ a large force of artisans, and enjoy an ex- tensive trade. See their card on page 260.
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PUBLISHER'S NOTES.
O. J. WALKER & BROTHERS, wholesale grocers, and dealers in flour, salt, nails, etc., etc., have built up a trade extending over most of Vermont and Northern New York. Their facilities for affording good bargains are not sur- passed in the State. Card on page 300.
T. A. WHEELOCK, of Burlington, has reason to expect expressions of laud- ation and gratitude from many owners of comfortably heated dwellings, where he has inserted Pierce's low pressure steam heating apparatus, for which he is sole agent for this locality. Mr. Wheelock makes a specialty of fine plumb- ing and steam heating, doing his work on scientific principles, thus ensuring success. We refer the reader to the illustration accompanying his card, on page 440.
E. L. WHITNEY, dealer in books, stationery, jewelry, etc., at Milton, prints a card on page 366. He keeps the latest and most desirable goods in either branch of his business at reasonable prices.
WILLIAM E. WHITNEY, of 143 Cherry st., Burlington, is a gun and lock- smith of good repute. His guns, canes, fishing rods, etc., are among the best to be found. Card on page 400.
W. W. WOOD, of 60 and 62 Church st., Burlington, invites the good peo- ple of Chittenten County to come into his store and be fitted from his ex- tensive stock of boots, shoes, and rubbers. See his card on page 400.
MRS. G. E. WORDEN, the fashionable milliner at Richmond, offers at all times the latest novelties in her line, and Mr. G. E. WORDEN, of the same town, is a painter of acknowledged ability. See card on page 388.
E. O. WORMELL, proprietor of the Continental Photograph Gallery, at Burlington, has an experience that enables him to do an excellent grade of work at moderate prices. He is prepared to do out-door work at short notice. See his card on page 514.
S. A. WRIGHT, manufacturer and dealer in carriages, wagons, sleighs, etc., at Jericho, has gained a reputation for building honest work, durable and stylish, and as cheap as such work can be had in any neighboring locality. Give him a chance to quote prices. Card on page 340.
GAZETTEER
OF
CHITTENDEN COUNTY, VT.,
ERY aptly and truthfully has it been said that, "history is a bridge connecting the now with the past." It is indeed a bridge, over which we may pass to the hallowed days of which we all love to hear,-a passage whose every plank is the record of some noble life or deed, urging us to emulate their virtues, or, at other points, warning us from the errors and vices into which many have fallen. It is our purpose, then, to pass with the reader over this bridge, connecting the prosperous present with the toil-laden past of Chittenden County, involving also a cursory glance at the history of its parent, the State. A hasty journey it must necessarily be, however,-a mere superficial glance at the principal points of interest on the way, in which it shall be our endeavor to present the truth, and to preserve many, or at least some, facts which would otherwise soon become enshrouded in the oblivion that surrounds but too many of the heroic deeds and sacrifices attending the conception and birth of the old democratic State of Vermont, a territory that has no parallel in its peculiar beauties, revealed in the variety, the majesty and exquisite loveliness of its scenery, and whose history estab- lishes a just claim to its title of " The Classic Ground of America."
There are good reasons for believing that the first civilized people who visited New England, were a colony of Norwegians, or Northmen, who emigrated thither, according to the original Icelandic accounts of their voy- ages of discovery, as follows :-
" In the spring of A. D. 986, Eric the Red, so named from the fact of his having red hair, emigrated from Iceland to Greenland, and formed a settlement there. In 994, Biarne, the son of Heriulf Bardson, one of the settlers who accompanied Eric, returned to Norway, and gave an account of discoveries he had made to the south of Greenland. On his return to Greenland, Leif, the son of Eric, bought Biarne's ship, and, with a crew of thirty-five men, embarked on a voyage of discovery, A. D. 1000. After sailing some time to the southwest, they fell in with a country covered with a slaty rock, and des.
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CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
titute of good qualities, and which, therefore, they called Helluland (slate- land). They then continued southerly until they found a low flat coast, with white sand cliffs, and immediately back, covered with wood, whence they called the country Markland (wood-land). From here they sailed south and west, until they arrived at a promontory which stretched to the east and north, and sailing round it turned to the west, and sailing to the westward, passed between an island and the mainland, and entering a bay through which flowed a river, they concluded to winter there. Having landed, they built a house to winter in, and called the place Leifsbuthir (Leifs-booths). Soon after this, they discovered an abundance of vines, whence they named the country Vinland, or Wineland, which corresponds with the present country at the head of Narragansett Bay. in Rhode Island."
Subsequent to this came the discoveries of Columbus, in 1492 ; the Eng- lish discoveries, in 1497, followed, during the same year, by the Portugese ; the Spanish, in 1506, and finally came the French, in 1524, who sub- sequently discovered the Gulf and River St. Lawrence, and first began a colony upon it, whence they soon spread to the heart of the country, to which they had an easy means of access by way of the great lakes, whose waters head within a few miles of the tributaries of the Mississippi, which flows across half the continent to the Gulf of Mexico. In a few years they had explored this vast region, and established among the savages missions and trading posts, first in the forests of Canada, than in the West, and finally in New York and in the territory included within the pres- ent State of Vermont.
In the meantime England had been pushing her explorations and discov- ies ; but the French laid claim to nearly the whole country, confining the English to a narrow strip of land along the Atlantic coast, thus transplanting the jealousies and rivalries which had long made them enemies in the Old World, to the New Continent. The French sought the alliance of the In- dian tribes, and years of warfare followed, in which, however, the English at last succeeded in gaining possession of a large amount of the land. The first hostilities between them originated on William's accession to the throne of England, in 1689, which terminated in the peace of Ryswic, in 1697. Queen Anne's war. so-called, commenced in 1702, and continued to the peace of Utretcht. in 1713. The third controversy was declared by George II. in 1744, and continued until the preliminaries of peace were signed between France and England, at Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748. The last con- flict between these powers, anterior to the American revolution, was formally declared by Great Britain, in 1756, and was reciprocated the same year on the part of France, and finally terminated by the capture of Montreal, in September, 1760, when the whole Province of Canada was surrendered to Great Britain.
During this period of the French wars, the territory now included within the county was the chief point of rendezvous for the French and their Indian allies, in their hostile excursions against the English settlements in the valley of the Connecticut. It was through here they generally led their cap-
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CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
tives and carried their plunder, their usual route both in going and re- turning being along Missisquoi Bay and Winooski River, crossing the short carrying place between the river and Mallett's Bay. It was along here the suffering captives from Deerfield, in the dead of winter, in 1704. were led on their way to Canada; and here also was led the lad Enos Stevens, son of Capt. Phineas Stevens, in 1748; and on the east shore of Missisquoi Bay, the year previous, Mrs. Jemima Howe found her son Caleb perishing with hunger. Early skirmishes took place, too, within the territory,-one as early as 17c9. on the Winooski, in which Liet. John Wells and John Burt were killed, followed by another at the mouth of the river, where several of the French and Indians were killed in turn. Upon this river, also, Capt. John Barnet lost his life in a skirmish, in 1776. Indeed, the whole territory teems with tales and anec- dotes of those days of bloodshed.
These early wars, however, led to the first settlement of the State by civil- ized people. Samuel Champlain is supposed to have been the first to visit the territory, having sailed up the lake he discovered, and which has since borne his name, in 1609. In 1664, M. de Tracy, then Governor of New France (the French possessions in America), entered upon the work of erecting a line of fortifications from the mouth of the Riche- lieu (Sorel) River into Lake Champlain. The first year he constructed three forts upon the river, and the next spring, 1665, he ordered Capt. de La Motte to proceed up Lake Champlain and erect another fortress upon an island which he designated. It was completed that same year and named Fort St. Anne, and afterwards it was called Fort La Motte, from the name of its builder, and which in the end gave the name to the island on which it stood. The remains of the fort are now to be seen, and the island still bears the name. In 1690, a fort was built by Capt. de Narm,* at Chim- ney Point, in Addison County, about which a thriving settlement soon sprang up; but it was not until 1724, at Fort Dummer, that the first permanent set- tlement was commenced, and the garrison of this fort were for several years the only white inhabitants of the territory.
After the close of the last French war, in 1759-'60, the settlement of the country rapidly increased, as their old enemy, Canada, had been transformed from a hostile to a friendly neighbor. Township charters were rapidly granted by New Hampshire. under command of King George III., to whom the in- habitants were only nominally subject, however, but obeyed only the decrees of their own committees and conventions. At one of these conventions, January 15, 1777, the New Hampshire Grants were declared to be an inde- pendent State, "by the name, and forever hereafter to be called, known, and distinguished by the name of New Connecticut, alias Vermont, etc." The latter name, derived from the French verd mont, or Green Mountains, it still re- tains, and which has gathered about itself, through all the vicissitudes which
* In the Doc. Hist. of New York, this name is given as de Warm.
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its sons have passed. a halo of glory that shall pass away only with the demise of Time. Such, briefly, is the outline of Vermont's history.
On February 11, 1779, the State was divided into two counties, the Green Mountains forming the dividing line, the portion on the east being called Cumberland, and that on the west Bennington County. Each county was divided into two shires, that on the east into, Westminster and Newbury, and Bennington and Rutland on the west. This division of counties remained till the extra session of the legislature, in February, 1781, when the county of Rutland was incorporated from Bennington, and Windsor and Orange Coun- ties were incorporated from Cumberland, and the name of Cumberland altered to Windham. Rutland County in turn extended through to the northern line of the State for a period of four years, eight months and five days, during which time the courts were held at Tinmouth. The State, then, on October 18, 1785, dismembered the old county, incorporating from it a new county, - called Addison, which in turn extended to the north line of the State, and made the towns of Addison and Colchester half shires. But the connection of Chittenden with Addison County only continued for the term of two years, and Colchester had not the honor of holding the courts of that county but one term. Before the next stated term, at Colchester, the county of Chit- tenden, named in honor of Thomas Chittenden, the first governor of Vermont, was set off from Addison and incorporated into a distinct county, October 22, 1787 .* It then embraced all the territory between the north lines of Ferris- burgh, Monkton, Bristol, Lincoln, and Warren, and the Province line, and was bounded on the west by the west line of the State, which followed the deepest channel of the lake, passing east of the Four Brothers, and west of Grand Isle and Isle La Motte, and on the east by the west lines of Northfield, Montpelier, Calais, Woodbury, Hardwick, and Greensborough, to the northwest corner thereof, and then in the most direct course on town lines to the north line of the State. But the population and business of the county increased to such an extent that it soon became necessary that its turn should come to be reduced in territory ; and on November 5, 1792, a new county on the north was incorporated, by the name of Franklin. The line that separated Chit- tenden from Franklin County commenced "on the west line of Orange County [as then established]. at the northeast corner of Worcester; thence westerly on the north line of Worcester, Stowe, Mansfield, Underhill, West- ford, and Milton, to the waters of Lake Champlain; thence across to the north of South Hero by the deepest channel between that and North Hero; and thence on the west line of the State." Still further deductions, however,
. As an error has crept into a great many local works, relative to the date of this incorporation, we quote the following from Deming's Vermont juicers, which clears up the apparent mystery : "Zadock Thompson, in his history of Vermont, savs, that Chittenden County was incorporated October 22, 1782, and Addison County February 27. 1787. Ilns is a mistake as to both counties, as will be seen by the following extract of a letter from Mr. Thompson to a friend, who had addressed him on the subject : 'While in Montpelier a few days since, I was induced, by your suggestions, to examine the manuscript acts in the office of the Secretary of State, and I there found that Ad.1.son County was incorporated October 18, 1785, and that Chittenden County was incorpo- rated October :2, 1787.' "*
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have been made from the original limits: October 20, 1794, Starksboro was annexed to Addison County; November 9, 1802, the county of Grand Isle was formed, and South Hero and adjacent islands were set off to form a part of that county. In addition, the county of Jefferson (now Washington) was incorporated November 1, 1810, and to form a part of which, the towns of Mansfield, Stowe, Waterbury, Duxbury, Fayston, Waitsfield, Moretown, Middlesex, and Worcester, were taken from Chittenden. In 1839, the west- ern part of the town of Mansfield was annexed to the town of Underhill, and re-annexed to the county of Chittenden.
Thus the county is situated at the present time, lying between lat. 44° 7' and 44° 42', and between long. 3º 41' and 4° 14', bounded north by Frank- lin and Lamoille Counties, east by Washington and Lamoille, south by Addi- son, and west by the deepest channel of Lake Champlain, with an average length from north to south of about twenty-six miles, and from east to west, including the waters of the lake, of twenty-three miles, containing an area of about 520 square miles, divided into fifteen townships and one city, in addi- tion to Buel's Gore.
In surface, the county is diversified by lofty mountains, deep gorges and ravines, gentle acclivities, wide-spread verdant valleys, rivers, lakelets and brooks, affording a landscape that is not only unexcelled in Vermont, but which vies with many far more pretentious localities in foreign lands. Taken together with its environs, it forms a scene upon which Nature has lavished her 'treasures of beauty "with a full and unwithdrawing hand." On the east- ern part of its territory the Green Mountains rear their rocky crests with a sharply defined contour, Mansfield and Camel's Hump cleaving the clouds at an altitude of 4,329 and 4,083 feet respectively, the highest peaks in the range, while the western part of the territory lies upon the Red Sandrock chain, one of the four divisions of mountain systems in the State, having a gradual slope on the eastern side, and a bold, rugged escarpment on the western.
The principal streams are the rivers Winooski or Onion, Lamoille, La Plotte, Brown's and Huntington. The Winooski, one of the largest rivers in the State, enters near the center of the eastern line of the county, flows a westerly course and falls into the Champlain between Burlington and Colchester, thus completing its course of seventy miles, during which it waters 970 square miles of territory, and affords sites for unlimited mill-power. Nature, circum- stances, and historical lore have combined in rendering this stream one of peculiar interest,-sufficient at least for it to merit a more euphonious cognomen than the antiscorbutic "Onion," consequently we have dropped it in this work. A controversy has long existed relative to the derivation of its name, the popular theory being that Winooski is an Indian name, composed of two words in the Abinaqui, or Algonquin tongue, winoos, onions, or leeks, and ki, land, so that its literal signification is land of onions. But as there are at least six different styles of authography used by different writers, we cannot
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