USA > Vermont > Franklin County > Gazetteer and business directory of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vt., for 1882-83 > Part 20
USA > Vermont > Grand Isle County > Gazetteer and business directory of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vt., for 1882-83 > Part 20
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61
-
TOWN OF ST. ALBANS.
167
can be taken in every direction, A fifteen minutes walk will take one to Akhis Hill, from whence a charming panoramic view surprises and delights the beholder. The best fishing grounds on Lake Champlain are but three miles distant, while Missisquoi, Sheldon, Highgate, and Alburgh springs, pos- sewing wonderful curative properties, are not far distant, all of which, united
WELDEN HOUSE
THE PARK.
&RAILROAD DEPOT.9.
(VIEWS IN ST. ALBANS.)
with a cool and most healthful climate, exquisite scenery and quiet repose renders the Welden a miniature paradise. On arrival at the house, the guest is met by the chief clerk, Mr. A. A. Merrifield, who has been connected with the hotel about six years, and the first sight of his genial countenance and affable manners will immediately cause the most diffident stranger to feel perfectly at home.
The other hotels are smaller, and chiefly sustained by local patronage.
V
168
TOWN OF ST. ALBANS.
FIRES.
Few disastrous fires have occurred in the village, and no conflagration that would tend to seriously retard the progress of the place has ever been visited upon it. A serious loss, in one sense, was sustained June 6, 1869, when the building in which the village records were kept was destroyed, so that the early proceedings cannot be gotten at with any degree of certainty. The most dis- astrous loss by fire the village ever sustained was on the morning of Sunday, September 17, 1871. At about three o'clock, fire was discovered in the rear of Johnson & Dinsmore's store, on the south side of Lake street. The flames spread rapidly along that side of the street, and though there was but little wind, they soon gained such headway that the fire department, supplied only with hand-engines and no hooks or ladders, could make little progress against them. Twenty-five buildings were destroyed before the fire was subdued. The total loss to all parties was estimated at about $100,000.00, the heaviest losers being George W. Barnes, John G. Driscoll, and the St. Albans Foun- dry Company. Previous to this date, the village had had no water-supply, except that of family wells and about twenty town cisterns, and the great loss attending this fire, with the possibility of a repetition of the same at any time, led to the serious entertainment of an often agitated subject,-an adequate
WATER SUPPLY.
Two days after the fire, September 19th, a special meeting of the voters of the village was warned to meet on the 29th inst., " to see what measures, if any, the corporation will take to secure a supply of water for the use of . said village." Pursuant to this warning the meeting was held, and upon 'motion of Edward A. Smith, it was
" Resolved, That it is expedient to draft measures to secure at an early day such a supply of water as the wants of the village require for domestic purposes and fire protection. And the trustees of the village are hereby authorized and instructed to take the matter into consideration, and report at a future meeting the best and most economical plan by which this object may be accomplished."
· Various meetings were held from this time forward, until finally, on the 22d of April, 1872, a contract was directed to be entered into with the St. Albans Aqueduct Co., which was accordingly effected the following day. This company had been chartered several years previous, but had never acted under their charter, as the village had as yet no power to acquire property outside of the corporation limits. Edward A. Smith organized the company under the charter, and contracted with the village for building the works, to be completed and delivered at a future time. At the session of the legislature during that fall, the necessary amendment to the village charter was enacted, whereby it might hold property outside of its limits, and a transfer of the works was effected March 12, 1874, by the Aqueduct Com- pany, represented by its directors, Lawrence Brainerd, Edward A. Smith, George G. Hunt, James M. Foss, and Reuben C. Benton, to the village of
169
TOWN OF ST. ALBANS.
St. Albans, represented by its trustees, Matthew G. Elliott, Guy C. Noble, F. Stewart Stranahan, Henry C. Adams, and Stebbins A. Smith. The total cost of the works was $150,000.00. The reservoir, situated on the Porter Danforth farm, at North Fairfax, covers an area of about twenty-three acres, has an average depth of about thirteen feet, and a head of 330 feet, the water being conducted to the village, a distance of four miles, by a twelve- inch main, whence it is distributed to the desired localities. Numerous fire hydrants have been erected throughout the village, so that with the force afforded by the height of the reservoir, comparative security is felt in regard to fires.
In the spring of 1880, the fire department was re-organized, so that instead of three small companies, the village now has one large company, the Washing- ton Hose No. 1, with fifty members, who are paid for actual services. A hose attached to a hydrant will throw a stream over any building in the vil- lage, and with an efficient company, three hose carts, one hook and ladder cart, 2,000 feet of hose, and a hand-engine for especial purposes, St. Albans may be said to have a very efficient department. The company has a neatly furnished house on Center street, in which they take commendable pride. The present officers are as follows: B. F. Kelley, chief engineer; H. C. Sperry, foreman ; William Lacour, first assistant; William Ryan, second assistant ; Chas. Bordo, secretary ; and George Lacour, treasurer.
GAS LIGHT.
The St. Albans Gas Light Co. was incorporated in November, 1859, with a capital of $50,000.00. Coal gas was manufactured until November. 1665. when the company put in Hanlen's patent retorts and benches, since which time gas has been made from crude petrolium, with which the village is well lighted.
THE TELEPHONE.
The St. Albans Telephone Exchange was established October 1, 1881. erected about forty miles of wire, and connected the village with St. Albans Bay, and the village of Swanton ; but in the month of November, 1882, the business and its appurtenances was sold to a Boston syndicate, who now con- trol the wires.
OLD HOUSES.
Old houses have a peculiar interest to most people, and there are few who once under the old roof-tree, do not allow the imagination to run riot-tc conjure up scenes in the old building that might have transpired far back ir the track of Father Time, or, to recall faces that still haunt many a familia and once favorite nook. Few villages there are that cannot boast thei "haunted house," or that have no quaint, old-fashioned dwellings which are pointed out to the stranger with no slight degree of commendable pride, a
£
----
170
TOWN OF ST. ALBANS.
the birth-place of "Hon. So-and-so," the house in which "Parson Blank preached his first sermon ;" or, " the building from which was borne all that was mortal of good old Uncle John, the first settler in the town." A few of these old land-marks are left in St. Albans, though they are fast giving place to modern structures, and one by one are crumbling into the dust that long ago received those who erected them.
The first frame house built in the town was that now occupied by Romeo H. Hoyt. It was built by Silas Hathaway, in 1794, and was occupied by him as a tavern. The courts of the newly organized county were held in its hall, and religious services also were occasionally held there. The two-story frame house occupied by George W. Kendall and Jeremiah Scofield, on North Main street, was built by Alfred Hathaway previous to the year 1800. The wood house occupied by the widow and family of the late Abel Houghton, on South Main street, was built about the year 1800, by John Corliss. The house and barn on South Main street, near the hill, built by Job Greene in 1801, is still standing. The small frame house located on the corner of Main and Congress streets, was built by Joseph Griswold previous to 1803, and has at different periods been occupied as a store, dwelling, a branch of the old State Bank, and now serves as a millinery store and shoe shop. Thaddeus Rice built a house on the west side of Main street previous to 1803, which is now occupied as a tenement. Sylvester Noble's house, on the west side of North Main street, was owned by Joseph Mussey in 1803, and was erected some years previous. Previous to the year 1803, Capt. John Gilman built a large house on the east side of Main street, which took several days to raise, and the settlers came from the adjoining towns to assist. This house is now endeared by associations to the third generation of the Blaisdell family, three heads of that family having breathed their last there, -Major Morrill, Capt. John Gilman, and J. M. Blaisdell, it now being occupied by W. H. and G. G. Blaisdell, with their families.
At this time, 1803, the whole of the village was located on Main street, except one or two houses on Congress street, and the court-house, academy, and Holloway Taylor's house on the east side of the park. The merchants 'were Daniel Ryan, Curtis & Foot, and Carter Hickok. Ryan occuped the yellow house on the east side of Main street, now the dwelling of Horace Weeks. Curtis & Foot had their store in the present dwelling of Dr. Duns- more, it having then stood on the site now occupied by the Farrar Block, and Carter Hickok was located in a building where Harvey's furniture store now is.
CEMETERIES.
A suitable place for the interment of the dead was early sought after by the inabitants of the town, and at a meeting held on the first Tuesday in June, 1802, a committee consisting of Joseph Carter, Amos Morrill, and Seth Pomeroy was appointed to inquire into the subject and report at an adjourned meeting. At the next regular meeting, during the same month,
-
TOWN OF ST. ALBANS.
171
the committee report was adopted, and the town purchased of William Nason one and one-quarter acres of land on Main street, paying $70.00 per acre. Three-quarters of an acre on the Lake road was also purchased, of Chester Fuller, at $33.33 per acre, which was added to at different times, being the same now in use in that locality. Here, on Main street, about half a mile from the center of the village, are the three St. Albans cemeteries, the "old," the "new," and the " Catholic," two in front and one in the back-ground. The old cemetery is upon the upper hand and the new upon the lower, the grounds being divided from each other and from the Catholic yard only by a fence. The spot might almost be styled the old St. Albans, for upon the marble shafts we find the names of Seth Wetmore, Silas Hathaway, Hon. Benjamin Swift, Judge Bates Turner, Hon. John Smith and others, who once constituted the village. In 1852, the St. Albans Cemetery Association was chartered by the legislature, the charter being made in favor of Hon. Asa Aldis, Hon. Lawrence Brainerd, and William H. Hoyt, and their associates and successors. Since that time the association has succeeded in creating a most beautiful spot, to which they are constantly adding improvements, having planted 250 trees during the past season, and expended during the past three years about $3,000.00 on embellishments. The association elects six trustees annually, who in turn elect their own officers. The present list is, H. G. Edson, president, and E. G. Greene, secretary and treasurer.
HOME FOR LITTLE WANDERERS.
The Warner Home for Little Wanderers is situated on High street, upon the side of Aldis Hill. In 1881, Mr. Chauncey Warner, of Cambridge, La- moille county, offered to give the ladies of St. Albans $25,000.00 towards establishing this home, providing the ladies would buy the present site for its location. This offer the ladies accepted, formed themselves into an associa- tion, and elected the following officers, in December of that year : Mrs. J. G. Smith, president ; Mrs. E. D. Fuller, vice-president ; Mrs. Henry Watson, secretary ; Mrs. F. S. Stranahan, treasurer ; and Mrs. M. A. Warren, matron. The grounds were purchased at a cost of $5,000.00, and the buildings now have a beautiful, healthful location, commanding a fine view of the lake. The object of the institution, as the name implies, is to care for and furnish a home for destitute children, and though the good work is but in its infancy, many little homeless waifs already have cause to bless the name of its gener- ous founder, and the noble ladies who have it in charge. The trustees of the institution are, D. D. Ranlet, H. M. Stevens, and F. S. Stranahan.
LIBRARIES.
The St. Albans Public Library is mainly indebted for its existence to the late Henry J. Hunt, of Boston, once a resident of this village. He bequeathed by his last will and testament, to the town of St. Albans, the sum of $1,000.00 for the
-
1
172
TOWN OF ST. ALBANS.
establishment of a public library, providing an equal amount should be raised, for the same purpose, by the people of the town. Mr. Hunt died October 4, 1861, and his executor, the conditions having been complied with, paid over the amount of the bequest to the selectmen. The library, located on Kingman street, now has 2,200 volumes, under the charge of Miss Carrie Jennison, librarian.
The Vermont Central Railroad Library Association was organized by the rail- road men, at Northfield, Vt., in 1855. In 1859, it was removed to St. Albans, where it is now located in a room on the main lower floor of the general offi- ces building. The association at present is in a flourishing financial condi- tion, and has over 2,000 volumes in its library, and additions are intended to be made yearly. The library is opened each Saturday afternoon and evening, when all railroad men who subscribe towards its support are entitled to draw books therefrom, and is also open to all others who pay for the privilege.
FRANKLIN COUNTY GRAMMAR SCHOOL.
The Franklin County Grammar School was established at St. Albans, by an act of the general assembly of Vermont, passed November 9, 1799. Board of trustees named in the charter: Silas Hathaway, Levi House, Joseph Jones, Nathan Greene, Seth Pomeroy, Jonathan Hoit, Elisha Sheldon and Joseph Robinson. The first building erected at St. Albans for the use of the school, was a spacious and tasteful wooden one, with a large hall in the second story, built under the direction of Joseph Jones, Levi House and Jonathan Hoit, a committee appointed by the trustees. It stood near the site of the present Union School house, and after several years was removed upon Taylor Park, where it remained several months, and then was removed to Main street, having been, in recent times, furnished with a brick front, and converted into stores, and occupied until burnt, in January, 1865. In place of the wooden building so removed, the trustees erected a two-story brick building, in the year 1828, which was used until 1860, when it was sold to Benjamin F. Rugg, who removed it to Lake street, and converted it into a building to be occupied as a store and a billiard saloon. In 1861, the premises having been leased by the Franklin County Grammar School, to Union School District No. 4, in St. Albans, a committee of said district, consisting of Bradley Barlow, John Gregory Smith and William W. White, erected the large building now standing thereon. By the terms of said lease, the Union School District is bound to provide, free of rent, on one of the floors - in said building, a capacious and convenient furnished room or rooms, to accommodate at least one hundred students for the exclusive use, occupancy and control, at all times, of the trustees of the Grammar School, and their suc- cessors in office, and subject to the further proviso, that said district shall not use or occupy any portion of said premises for other than school purposes. The school is now under the charge of C. H. Goldthwaite, principal, who lately succeeded Mr. S. W. Landon. Mr. Landon, who is now connected
丽丽章
٢
173
TOWN OF ST. ALBANS.
with the public schools of Burlington, was principal of the school here for a number of years, proving himself an efficient educator, and raising the stand- and of the institution much during his principalship.
The original town charters granted by the Vermont legislature, contained a clause, reserving one share of land in each town for the support of a county grammar school. Of the reservations thus made in this county, the respective towns wherein they are situated, pay an annual rent to Franklin County Grammar School, as follows: Berkshire, $20.50; Enosburgh, $25.42 ; Fletcher, $6.00 ; Franklin, $27.80 ; Montgomery, $25.20; Richford, $30.00, amounting in all to $135.02.
MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.
The St. Albans Village Medical Association was organized in April, 1871, by the physicians of this village, who convened at the office of Dr. O. F. Fas- sett, for that purpose. They adopted the constitution of the State Medical Society, and the code of ethics of the American Medical Association, and also agreed to meet on the first Monday evening of each month, at eight o'clock. Dr. John Branch was elected president, and Dr. S. S. Clark, sec- tetary. Dr. Branch delivered his inaugural address, upon the benefits of asso- ciation, which was well received by the members who voted to have it pub- lished. The society received all the physicians of the village at that time, who were in regular standing in the profession, and has also those who have since taken up a residence here. Three members are deceased,-R. C. M. Wood- ward, R. R. Sherman, and John Branch. Eighteen members are living, in- cluding the honary members, who reside in the adjoining towns and are fre- quently present and engage in the discussions. This society has been of much service to the local physicians, in keeping them informed upon all med- ical subjects, and in sustaining harmony among themselves. They each take such an interest in their meetings that they have seldom missed holding a session during the past eleven and a half years, The present officers are, H. P. Hall, president, and R. Sherwood, secretary.
The village supports six churches, all of handsome style of architecture, presided over by able pastors, and well attended. They will be spoken of in detail farther on.
ST. ALBANS BAY, a post village located on the bay of that name, about two and one-half miles from St. Albans village, contains a church (Methodist Epis- copal,) two stores, two blacksmith shops, a wagon shop, steamboat landing, and about fifty dwellings.
Fonda's lime kilns, located just over the line in Swanton, about three miles from St. Albans village, employ thirty-five men, and manufacture from 60,- 000 to 70,000 barrels of St. Albans bleaching lime per year. Mr. W. B. Fonda, the proprietor, has been engaged in this branch of manufacture since 1872, and also deals largely in lumber, coal and wood.
174
TOWN OF ST. ALBANS.
The St. Albans Point Creamery was established by a stock company in 1882, and commenced business on the 23d of May, with a capital of $4,000.00, J. S. Morrell, president ; J. H. Brooks, treasurer and superintendent ; and J. S. Morrell, of Swanton, J. H. Brooks, F. E. Bell, and Edward C. Smith, di- rectors. The factory manufactures both butter and cheese, with the capacity for handling the milk from 800 cows.
The Lake View House, a very handsome summer resort located on the shore of the lake, about five miles from the village, was built by Mr. H. S. Samson, the present proprietor, in 1870. During the following year he sold the place to Charles E. Wilson, who retained it until 1877, when it was re- purchased by Mr. Samson. He immediately instituted extensive repairs,
LAKE VIEW HOUSE
(LAKE VIEW HOUSE AND GROUNDS.)
beautified the grounds and built a pavilion 1,200 square feet in extent, until the hotel and surroundings now present an exceedingly handsome appearance. Not alone were the improvements made upon the outside, however, for upon the inside it is as finely appointed and conveniently arranged as any hotel of the kind in the State. The locality is very attractive as a summer resort, as an excellent view of the lake and surrounding well-known beautiful scenery is afforded, good boating privileges furnished, and one of the best fishing grounds on the lake near at hand.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The first settler in St. Albans was Jesse Welden, who came here previous to the Revolution, from Sunderland, Vt., and built a log cabin a few rods south of the meeting-house at the Bay. He was followed soon after by Dun-
175
TOWN OF ST. ALBANS.
can Dunn, a Mr. Dorsey, and Mr. Spafford, all of whom were driven off their possessions by the events of the war. Mr. Welden is said to have been taken prisoner by the British, and to have made his escape. Little, however, is known of the man, not even his birthplace having been ascertained, though he is said to have been of Indian extraction. After the close of the war, in 1785, he returned to the town and again located at the Bay, on what has since been known as the Brackett place, and from there removed to what is now the village, building a log cabin about ten rods southwest of the present res- idence of Mrs. Abel Houghton. Here he cleared seventy acres of land, planted an orchard, held in possession three lots on the south side of Main street, and shortly before his death erected a hewed log house near the pres- ent residence of Henry M. Stevens. He became one of the leading citizens of the town, and his name is yet held in venerated remembrance by the street and magnificent hotel named in his honor. He was accidentally drowned off Isle LaMotte, in October, 1795, while returning from St. Johns in a skiff laden with salt. His body was not found until the following spring, when it was brought to St. Albans for interment.
During the year of Welden's return to the town, in 1785, a number of men came to look over the territory with a view to settlement, and in 1786, Daniel B. Meigs, Amos Morrill, Andrew, Noel and Freeborn Potter, Job and Nathan Greene, Daniel Baker, Thomas Gibbs and several others came on with their families. In 1787, these were followed by others, among whom was Silas Hathaway, from Bennington, who was largely interested in lands in St. Albans, and did much to promote immigration. In 1794, he built the first frame house in the town, which is now occupied by Romeo H. Hoyt. Although Mr. Hathaway held so much land in his name as to be facetiously called "Baron Hathaway," many of his titles proved defective, and he died comparatively poor, in November, 1831, aged sixty-seven years. Several of his descendants, however, are now among the wealthiest families in the State. Among others who came at this time was Levi Allen, a brother to Ethan and Ira Allen, who laid claim to a large portion of the land in the whole township.
The population of the town gradually increased, until at the taking of the first census, in 1791, it had 256 inhabitants. The early settlers suffered the usual privations of pioneer life-scarcity of provisions, rude habitations, and excessive toil, the nearest flouring mill being at Plattsburgh, N. Y. But immigration soon became so rapid that these privations were limited to a very few years. The organization of Franklin county and the establishment of St. Albans as the shire town, in 1793, lent a great impetus to the advance- ment of the town, and extensive improvements were at once instituted. Much attention was given to the working of roads, and the fine broad highway known as Main street, and Taylor Park, now the chief beauties of the village, were laid out at that time. In 1800, the population had increased to 901, an increase of nearly 400 per cent in ten years.
176
TOWN OF ST. ALBANS.
The first town meeting was warned by John White, of Georgia, in 1788, the warning reading as follows : -
" WHEREAS, More than four of the principal inhabitants of the town of St. Albans, in the county of Chittenden, have made application to me to warn a town meeting for said town, for the privileges of incorporation and repre- sentation, also for regulating the internal town police, the doings of which meeting to be confirmed by the general assembly.
" Therefore, These are to warn the freemen and other inhabitants of St. Albans who by law are qualified to vote in town meeting, to meet at the dwelling of Jesse Weldon, in said town, on Monday, the 28th day of July, 1788, at ten o'clock A. M., then and there to choose a moderator to govern said meeting. Second, to choose a town clerk, and other town officers for the year ensuing.
"Dated at Georgia, July 12, 1788, and signed JOHN WHITE, Ass't Judge."
Pursuant to this warning, the meeting was called on the time specified, when the following officers were elected: Silas Hathaway, moderator ; Jonathan Hoit, town clerk ; Jesse Welden, David Odel, and Andrew Potter, selectmen ; and Daniel Meigs, constable. At the State election, held on the second of the following month, September, the freeman's oath was taken by Daniel Meigs, Hananiah Brooks, Ichabod Randal, Simeon Spencer, Jonathan Colvin, Job Greene, Solomon Hinds, David Welden, James Tracy, James Thorington, William Abby, and William Griffin. An official list of the polls and ratable estate of the town for that year was as follows :-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.