USA > Vermont > Rutland County > Gazetteer and business directory of Rutland county, Vt., for 1881-82 > Part 16
USA > Vermont > Rutland County > Gazetteer and business directory of Rutland county, Vt., for 1881-82 > Part 16
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TOWN OF FAIRHAVEN.
houses, situated three miles distant from the scene of the explosion, were quite severely shaken by the concussion.
About eleven o'clock on the night of November 8th, 1879, the village was visited by a disastrous fire, which consumed the large hotel and block owned by C. C. Knight. The fire originated in a boot and shoe store kept by B. Merriam, and in spite of all efforts to the contrary, the building was entirely destroyed, causing a loss of about $30,000, mostly covered by insurance. Since that time the village has had no hotel. On the site of the old one Mr. Knight has erected a fine block, three stories high, having a front of 100 feet. The first floor is occupied by stores, the second by offices, and the third a hall for dramatic entertainments.
The village has two fire companies, Fairhaven Hose Cos. No. I and No. 2. They use no engine, attaching the hose to the fire-hydrants, which throw a powerful stream, owing to the height of the reservoir, and affording one of the principal features of their excellent water-supply.
The First National Bank of Fairhaven was organized in 1864, with a capital of $76,000. At a meeting of the directors held on the 18th of Feb- ruary, Joseph Sheldon was chosen president, Merritt Clark, cashier, and Charles Clark, teller. The bank was opened in May, in a small building owned by Alonson Allen, on the south side of the park, where it was kept until February, 1870, when the new bank building, on the east side of the park being completed, the business of the bank was removed to its present place. The present building is substantially built of brick, iron and marble, two stories high, and has one of Lillie's best bank safes inside a heavy wrought iron vault, and is pronounced as secure as any bank vault in the State.
The Allen National Bank of Fairhaven was organized April 2, 1879, with a capital of $50,000, the first meeting towards its organization having been held on the 18th of March preceeding.
The first list of directors was as follows :- Ira C. Allen, Simeon Allen, Norman Peck, C. C. Knight, M. L. Lee, Owen Owens and Ellis Roberts. Ira C. Allen was chosen president, Simeon Allen, vice-president, and Charles R. Allen, cashier, they all still retaining their positions.
The Fairhaven Machine Shops, owned by J. Adams & Son, and under the superintendence of L. B. Clagston, is ranked among the most extensive manufactories of the town. In 1871 Mr. Clagston came to Fairhaven from Boston, to keep their marble saw-mill in repair, and to make repairs for other saw-mills in the vicinity. In 1873 he invented the Clagston patent gang-saw. The superior excellence of this saw was immediately recognized by the various marble companies of Rutland County, and orders for the same began to come in rapidly, which necessitated increased facilities for the manufacture of the same. In 1878 he invented the Clagston Pet Stone-Turning Lathe, the manufacture of which occasioned still further extension of the shops. This invention was followed by patents on slate-saws in 1879 and '80. Taken altogether, they form a business that keep the works in operation almost night and day, and employs fifteen men.
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TOWN OF FAIRHAVEN.
Nathan R. Reed's saw-mill, located on Main street, was built about 75 years ago, Mr. Reed having come into possession in 1866, and manufactures 200,000 feet of lumber per annum.
The Fairhaven Marble and Marbleized Slate Company was organized in 1869, though the business had been conducted during a period of ten years previous to this date by some members of the present firm. They now em- ploy from 100 to 125 men, manufacturing as high as $140,000.00 worth of marble and marbleized mantels, shelves, tile, etc., per annum.
R. C. Colburn commenced the manufacture of marbleized slate mantels in 1869, continuing until 1876, when the firm name was changed to The Stewart Marbleized Slate Mantel Company, with T. B. Stewart, president ; R. C. Col- burn, treasurer. They employ about twenty men.
Simeon Allen's slate-mill, located near the R. R. depot, was built by Mr. Allen in 1868. In 1875 it was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in less than 90 days. Mr. Allen manufactures all kinds of slate goods.
The slate quarrying business was begun in this town by Alonson Allen and Caleb B. Ranney, in the fall of 1839, the first opening being made about 2} miles north of the village, on road I, at a point called Scotch Hill. The present Scotch Hill Slate Quarry is owned and operated by Griffith, Owen & Co., who employ 30 men. Their mill, located at the quarries, saws and planes 200,000 feet of mantel stock, etc., per year.
The Vermont Union Slate Company was organized in 1871, operating one quarry in Castleton and one in Poultney, employing about 45 men.
The C. B. N. Slate Quarry, located in the north-west part of the town, on the farm of Rufus R. Hamilton, was opened in 1881, by John J. Williams, who commenced working the Scotch Hill quarry in 1851, which he continued to work until 1857, under the firm name of "The Fairhaven Slate Company," when the firm became insolvent, and a new firm started, Davey, Nichols & Co., who subsequently sold the property to a Boston firm, and they in turn selling to the present firm, Griffith, Owen & Co. Mr. Williams is the inven- tor of the patent Slate Tile Roofing for flat roofs. He expects to manufac- ture from the C. B. N. slate, mill and roofing stock, and more especially the tile roofing.
The Carver's Falls Slate Quarry, located in the north-west part of the town, was opened in 1880, by Benjamin Williams, who quarries roofing and mill-stock.
Edwin R. Bristol's wood-turning shop, located on road 11, was built in 1842. There was an old-fashioned saw-mill on the premises, built 70 years ago, and in 1878 Mr. Bristol put in a cireular-saw, and now manufactures there about 150,000 feet of lumber per year, and does quite an extensive business in wood-turning.
Fairmount Trotting Park, located a little south of the village, on Prospect street, was built in 1874, and is now owned by Howard Leonard, Julius Bos- worth and C. C. Knight. It has a half-mile track, pronounced by good judges to be one of the best in the State.
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TOWN OF FAIRHAVEN.
Settlement was commenced the same year the charter was granted, to some extent, the following, with their families, having come into the town: John and William Meacham, Oliver Cleveland, and Joseph Ballard.
Oliver Cleveland, the only one of the original settlers represented in the charter, located in the southern part of the township, having a farm consisting of 205 acres, lying between Poultney River and the east line of the township. He died in September 1803, and the property reverted to his sons, Josiah, Albert and James.
William Meacham owned a farm south of Cleveland, but had his residence on the opposite side of the river, in New York.
John Meacham settled north of Cleveland, coming from Williamstown, Mass., with his wife and three children. His fourth child, Esther Meacham, born April 23, 1780, was the first child born in the township. Mr. Meacham was one of the members of the first board of selectmen, chosen in August, 1783. He subsequently resided in Benson, where he died in 1808 or '09, aged 58 years.
Joseph Ballard settled on the farm next west of Mr. Meacham's, upon which he died about 1795. There was scarcely anything done towards the improvement of the town until 1783, when Col. Mathew Lyon, Silas Safford and others moved into town, and the former commenced erecting mills.
The first meeting of the proprietors to organize under the charter was held at the house of Nehemiah Hoit, at Castleton Corners, June 14, 1780, at which meeting Col. Ebenezer Allen was chosen moderator, and Capt. Isaac Clark, proprietors' clerk. Between this time and 1873 several meet- ings were held, but the township was not organized until the 28th of August of this year, at which meeting, held at the house of Philip Priest, in Fair- haven, Mr. Priest was chosen moderator, and Eleazer Dudley first town clerk. The first selectmen were Philip Priest, John Meacham and Henry Barlow.
Col. Matthew Lyon settled where the village now stands, in the year 1783, and commenced to erect mills, having in operation at this point, previous to 1796, one furnace, two forges, one slitting mill, and one grist mill, and he did printing on paper manufactured by himself from basswood bark. Lyon came from Ireland when a boy, and was sold as an indentured apprentice until twenty-one years of age, to pay for his passage, the buyer paying for him a pair of steers and giving "boot money."
He married a Miss Hosford, by whom he had four children, Anna, James, Pamelia and Laurin. She dying, he married, as a second wife, the widow Beulah Galusha, a daughter of Col. Thomas Chittenden, afterwards the first Governor of Vermont.
He first resided near the north end of the bridge which crossed the river just above the grist mill, subsequently building and residing on the site of the old tavern-stand on the hill, and at a later period, on the site now occupied by the Knight block.
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TOWN OF FAIRHAVEN.
In 1796 Lyon was elected to Congress, taking his seat in November, 1797, and was subsequently imprisoned in the jail at Vergennes, under the " Alien and Sedition Laws," and was released by the friends of Thomas Jefferson paying his fine of $1,000.00, for which restitution was made to his heirs by Congress in 1833. In 1820 Lyon removed to Arkansas, where he died on the Ist of August, 1822, near Little Rock.
The paper mill in Fairhaven was built by Col. Lyon about 1790 or 1791. His son, James, had charge of it at one time, and they manufactured the paper generally used in this vicinity, both for writing and printing pur- poses.
The first grist mill was built by Col. Lyon and Ager Hawley in 1783, and was located on the south side of the river, below the old paper mill. The first saw mill was built by Lyon about 1783, and stood on the north side of the Lower Falls.
The question of dividing the township into two towns seems to have been agitated by the early settlers a great deal, the point at issue being the sub- ject of the dividing line ; but was finally settled by the Legislature on the 20th of October, 1792, though a number of the citizens in both parts of the town continued to protest against the division. The town of Westhaven took about three-fifths of the area of the original township, leaving to Fair- haven the remaining two-fifths. The two towns were jointly to elect one representative to the General Assembly, which they continued to do until the annual election in 1823, when separate elections were held.
Previous to this time, the annual freemen's meetings were held, sometimes at the school house near Mr. Minot's, in Westhaven, and at other times at the school house near Mr. Stannard's, in Fairhaven, the people of both towns meeting together and having at times a good deal of sectional feeling in re- gard to their affairs.
Ethan Whipple came to Fairhaven from Rhode Island in 1786, settling about 3 of a mile north of the village, upon the farm now owned by John Al- lard, where he resided until the spring of 1831, when he sold the place and removed to the village, where he died December 18, 1836, aged 79 years.
Tilly Gilbert, from Brookfield, Mass., came to Fairhaven in the spring of 1788, where he remained until 1791, and then removed to Benson, and sub- quently to Orwell, returning to Fairhaven in 1799, where he became one of the most influential citizens of the township. In 1832 or '33 he removed to Westhaven, where he died Sept. 5, 1850, aged 79 years.
Benjamin F. Gilbert, a son of Tilly, is now a resident of Fairhaven.
Joseph Sheldon came from Dorset to Fairhaven in 1798, locating in the north part of the town, upon the farm now owned by his grandson, Leander H. His son Harmon was born in 1804, and continued his residence here until his death, Aug. 29, 1874. Harmon married Angeline Maynard, and had two sons, Leander H. and Joseph K., both of whom are now living. Capt. Joseph Sheldon, brother to Harmon, and for many years a noted breeder of
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TOWN OF FAIRHAVEN.
merino sheep, lived where Heman Stannard now resides, and died July 16, 1872.
Barnabas Ellis came to Fairhaven from Hampton, N. Y., in the spring of 1814. He was a leading and influential citizen, and died, much lamented, May 9, 1860.
Zenas C., son of Barnabas, was born July 25, 1820, and has always re- sided in the town, and now owns and occupies the old homestead, about one-half mile south of the village. He married Sarah B. Dyer, of Rutland, in 1847, and has four sons, George W., Edward D., Horace B. and Zenas H. George is an attorney in New York city, Edward is a physician, practicing in Poultney, Horace B. is at Castleton, proprietor of the Bomoseen House, and Zenas lives at home with his father.
Stephen Fish came to Fairhaven from Uxbridge, Mass., in 1810, and located about two and one-half miles north of the village. He married Chloe Narramore and had a family of seven children, two of whom are now living, one, Mrs. Rebecca P. Whipple, a resident of this town. He died in Westhaven on the 3d of December, 1849.
Charles Wood came to Fairhaven from Hartland, Vt., in 1815, residing here until his death, February 4, 1832. His son, Chauncey E., now occupies the old homestead.
Samuel Wood came about the same year, from Hartland, and now resides with his son, Nelson S., on road 16.
Hiram Hamilton, successor to Joel, one of the early settlers, came to Fairhaven in 1823, where he now resides, on road 6.
Hiram Briggs was born in Castleton, Vt., in 1806, and came to Fairhaven in 1828, locating on road 3, where he died in 1872, his widow, Susanna, still occupying the premises.
Joseph Adams settled in Fairhaven, from Whitehall, N. Y., and was for a long time one of the first merchants and manufacturers of the place. His son, Andrew N. Adams, was born January 6, 1830, and graduated at Cambridge Divinity School, in Harvard University, July 17, 1855, but only preached for a short time, coming to Fairhaven in the summer of 1860, where he has since been extensively engaged in marble and slate manufacture.
Alonson Allen came to Fairhaven, from Hartford, N. Y., in March, 1836, and was for many years prominent in mercantile and manufacturing circles, taking an active interest in the development of the marble and slate business of the town. His widow, Mrs. Mary Allen, now resides in South Park place. Ira C. Allen, president of the Allen National Bank, was born in Bristol Vt., in 1816, and came to Fairhaven in May, 1836, married Mary E. Richardson, a niece of Joseph Adams, and has four children. He is a prominent man of the town.
The First Congregational Church was organized January 2, 1806, having at its organization only fifteen members; Rufus Cushman, the first pastor, was installed on the 12th of February, 1807. The church building was
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TOWN OF HUBBARDTON.
erected in 1810, and is at present, including grounds, valued at $5,000, and will comfortably seat 250 persons. The present membership of the society numbers 102, with Rufus C. Flagg, pastor.
The Methodist Episcopal Church, located at Fairhaven village, was organ- ized by Rev. Albert Chapin, in 1825. The first church edifice was erected in 1843, which was followed by the present building, erected in 1877, at a cost of $15,000, which will comfortably seat 500 persons ; the church property is now valued at $16,000. The society at present numbers 200 meinbers, with Rev. Delmer R. Lowell, pastor.
St. Mary of the Seven Dolors, (Catholic,) located on Washington street, was organized by Rev. Z. Druon, in 1855, having at its organization 100 members. The church edifice was erected in 1873, at a cost of $40,000, and is capable of seating 1,000 persons ; the whole property being now valued at $50,000. The society has 700 members, is in a flourishing condition, with Rev. P. J. O'Carroll, pastor.
The Welsh Protestant Society of Fairhaven was organized in the summer of 1851, by Rev. Evan Griffiths, of Utica, and Rev. Thomas R. Jones, of Rome, N. Y. Rev. Griffith Jones was the first pastor. A good brick church, on the east side of Main street, was erected by the society in 1857; costing about $3,500. The society has at present no pastor.
The Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Society was formed by a portion of the members from the Protestant Society, who organized in 1859, and built a small edifice on the opposite side of the street. The society has no pastor at present.
The First Baptist Church of Fairhaven was organized by 29 Baptist brethren on December 14, 1867, their first pastor being Rev. P. Franklin Jones. The building was commenced in 1870, and completed in 1873, costing about $24,000, and will accommodate 475 persons with seating room. The society at present has 145 members, with Rev. A. C. Ferguson, pastor.
UBBARDTON lies in the north-western part of the county, in lat. 43 43' and long. 3ยบ 50' east from Washington, and is bounded north by Sudbury, east by Pittsford, south by Castleton, and west by Benson. It was chartered June 15, 1764, by Benning Wentworth, Governor of New Hampshire, to Thomas Hubbard and others. From Mr. Hubbard the town- ship takes its name. The towns in the southern part of the State being sur- veyed first, and most of them surveyed larger than the charter bounds, several towns in this vicinity were consequently contracted to less than their charter limits. Thus, Hubbardton, although it was chartered as a full township, and to contain 23,040 acres, with the usual reservations, by consequence of prior charters and surveys, some of the north part was held by Sudbury, and a gore on the east by Pittsford, so that it now contains but about 18,000 acres. This was also the case with several other towns in this vicinity, there having
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TOWN OF HUBBARDTON.
been one whole township chartered by the name of Dunbar, entirely run out, there being no place left to locate it. The surface is hilly and broken, and towards the east, mountainous ; but in the valleys and lowlands there are many excellent farms, and on the hills graze large flocks of cattle and sheep, which form the principal wealth of the people. The country is well watered by numerous streams, lakes and ponds, which lend a pleasing diversity to the landscape. The streams, however, are all quite small, though the water is clear and limpid. Lake Bomoseen extends from Castleton, north, to nearly the centre of the township. Of the ponds there are about twelve distributed over the surface of the town, Horton Pond, in the north-western part, lying partly in Sudbury, being the largest. Bebee Pond, in the northern part of the town, is about one mile in length. Of the minor ones there are, Half Moon in the south-west part of the township, Keeler Pond in the northern, and Marsh, Austin and Black, in the central part. The principal rocks are quartz and slate. Of the latter, large quantities, suitable for roofing, and some suitable for pencils, have been found. Black lead has been found in small quantities inlaid in the rocks. Lead has also been found in small quantities, which contained some silver. Whetstones of a very superior quality have also been considerably wrought.
The greatest curiosity in the geological department is a course of rocks which cross the town in an east and westerly direction, different from any other rock found in its vicinity. It is in detached blocks, resembling rock ore in shape and appearance, only it is not as heavy or dark colored. The earth in which it is embedded is reddish, and has the appearance of burnt earth. In many places it crosses ledges of other rock, overlying them and detached from them ; in others it seems to have cut its way in a straight path, six or eight feet wide, and not uniting with any other rock. It appears to have been broken up into different shapes and sizes, and some blocks are full of holes, while others show white spots where they are broken. It is easy to break, and breaks in very straight lines. The color on the inside is bluish. The numerous ponds abounding with fish must have made Hub- bardton one of the favorite haunts of the red man. A short distance from the north-west corner of the town, there are found relics of an old Indian camp-arrow heads, &c. Near Marsh Pond there is a large circular mound, some six rods in diameter, composed of gravel, and apparently of artificial formation. This possibly may have been constructed by tribes who had wandered east from the " Mound Builders " of the west.
There is also found near here a swamp in which are embedded large sound pine logs and stumps, directly under others of a larger growth, many feet deep in the earth.
The soil, once covered with a rich vegetable mould, produced the finest wheat ; but owing to the decrease of vegetable deposits annually, as the forests become thinner, it has become more sterile, and is now better adapted to pasturage than tillage, and, as before remarked, the inhabitants devote their
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TOWN OF HUBBARDTON.
principal attention to sheep husbandry, forming the principal source of their wealth. The timber is beech, birch and maple, interspersed with pine, hem- lock and cedar. The sturdy woodman, however, has gradually shorn the forests of their grandeur, so there now remains but a comparative remnant of the original wilderness.
Hubbardton steadily increased in population from the time of the first settlements to the year 1820, when it numbered 810; since which time it has steadily declined, while it has increased in wealth. In 1880, it had a population of 533, was divided into nine school districts and had eight common schools, employing four male and eight female teachers, at an aggregate salary of $793.00. There were 142 scholars attending common schools, and the entire cost of the schools for the year was $883.74. Zebulon Jones was superintendent.
HUBBARDTON (p. o.) is a small hamlet, located near the center of the town, at the head of Lake Bomoseen. It contains one saw mill, one black- smith shop, one basket factory and about twelve dwellings.
EAST HUBBARDTON (p. o.) is a small hamlet, located in a beautiful ravine in the south-eastern part of the township, near Mount Zion. It contains one church and eight dwellings. The Hubbardton Battle Monument is also located here, upon a rise of ground just above the place. It was erected by the inhabitants in commemoration of the battle of Hubbardton.
HORTONVILLE (p. o.) is another small hamlet, located in the north-west corner of the town. It contains one store, one grist inill, one saw mill, one butter-tub factory, cider mill, blacksmith shop, about fifteen dwellings and seventy inhabitants. It has several very beautiful residences, one of which is Cyrus Jennings', a very influential citizen of the town.
The Vermont Soapstone Pencil Company have opened a quarry on the farm of M. M. Dickinson, where they expect to manufacture 30,000 slate pencils per day. The slate is said to be of most excellent quality for this purpose.
Hubbard Saw Mill, located on road 15, upon the site of S. B. Walker's grist mill and clothing factory, was built in the year 1827. It has the capacity for sawing about 2,000 feet of lumber per day. It has also con- nected with it a cider mill.
The first settlement of Hubbardton was commenced in the spring of 1774, by Uriah Hickok and William Trowbridge, with their families from Norfolk, Conn. In 1775, Samuel Churchill, William Spaulding, Abdial Webster, Benjamin Hickok, Jesse Churchill, Benajah Boardman and John Seleck moved their families here. The dwellings, as was common with all the early settlers of the country, were built of logs ; some of the houses were hewed inside and some were not ; the floors were mostly made of split logs, hewed on one side. Their chimneys were made large; high in the chimney was a pole laid crosswise to hang the trammel on. Each chimney had one or two long iron trammels to hang the porridge-pot and dish-kettle on. The windows were of grained sheep-skin, or greased paper. After
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TOWN OF HUBBARDTON.
awhile their log-houses began to decay. Saw mills coming into use, they began to build frame houses, generally of one story, with a chimney in the middle ten or twelve feet square, with three fire-places and an oven. The kitchen fire-place was a large one, with a heavy iron crane, with hooks to hang the pots and kettles upon; this crane was quite a convenience, for it swung out into the room. The first frame building was built by Samuel Churchill, in the year 1785. The lumber was drawn 122 miles on an ox-sled, the nails being picked up at Ticonderoga Fort after it was burned.
The town was organized and the first town meeting held the first Tues- day in March, 1785. The first Tuesday of the following month, the first meeting to organize a militia company was held, at which I. Gregory was chosen Capt., David Hickok, Lieut., and Silas Churchill, Ensign.
Elizabeth, daughter of Uriah and -- Hickok, was born August 1, 1774, and died in September, 1776. This was the first birth and first death in the town.
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