USA > Vermont > Rutland County > Gazetteer and business directory of Rutland county, Vt., for 1881-82 > Part 19
USA > Vermont > Rutland County > Gazetteer and business directory of Rutland county, Vt., for 1881-82 > Part 19
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The Continental Congress had ordered Vermont to cease to be, "To for- bear and abstain from all acts of authority, civil or military." Governor Chittenden had replied, July 25, 1780, protesting against the action, and notified the President of Congress that "Vermont has no alternative. She must either submit to the unwarrantable decree of Congress, or continue her appeal to Heaven and to arms." Accordingly, the General Assembly, at its October session in 1780, deliberately determined to raise money to put Ver- mont on a war footing. To do this, they resorted to three expedients, Ist, the confiscation and sale of the lands and effects of all British adherents ; which expedient alone, put into the treasury £430,000 ; 2d, the sale of all ungranted lands ; 3d, the issue of money. Under the 2d expedient, Jack- son Gore was granted or chartered to Abraham Jackson, Jr., and twenty-nine associated residents of Wallingford, among whom were Mathew Lyon, the Clarks-four brothers-the Ives, etc. The charter. is dated Feb. 23, 1781, and reads as follows :-
" Resolved, That a certain tract or gore of land, lying and being situate, on the east side of Wallingford, containing by estimation nine thousand seven hundred acres, be granted to Abraham Jackson, Esq., and his asso- ciates to the number of thirty. To be annexed to, and incorporated with, the town of Wallingford."
The granting fees were nine pounds per right, putting £270 into the treasury of Vermont.
In 1792 the present town of Mt. Holly was incorporated by the Legislature, at the October session of that year, held at Rutland. The town, as incorporated, was made up by adding to Jackson's Gore, on the east, all that portion of the town of Ludlow lying west of the highest ridge of what is called Ludlow Mountain, and on the west, one mile in width, or two tiers of lots from the east side of the town of Wallingford. This con- stitutes the present town of Mt. Holly, which, in point of territory or size, ranks among the larger towns of the State. It is bounded north by Shrews- bury and Plymouth, east by Ludlow, south by Weston, and west by Walling- ford and Mt. Tabor; it lies in a sort of shallow basin, or depression in the Green Mountains. The old stage route from Burlington, via Rutland, to Boston, passed through this town, and in the old days of stage coaches and loaded teams, afforded, probably, the best place for crossing the mountains, south of Montpelier.
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TOWN OF MT. HOLLY.
The land was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber, consisting of sugar-maple, beech, birch, spruce and hemlock, mainly, with a less amount of fir, basswood, black and white ash, wild cherry and poplar. Since the building of the railroad through the town, wood and lumber have been im- portant items of traffic. The rock is mostly Green Mountain gneiss, though in the extreme south part of the town limestone is found, from which very good lime is made ; but it is not manufactured to any great extent, not even as much so as formerly. There is also a deposit of asbestos, found about one mile north-west from Mechanicsville, on the farm owned by Nathan and Henry Smith. The soil is mostly a strong, somewhat heavy loam-in some parts of the town, especially along the valley of Mill River-considerably mixed with sand. Clay-beds are found in several localities suitable for making brick.
The country is well watered by small streams and numerous springs ; Mill River, being the largest, rises in the extreme south-west part of the town, and running in a northerly direction, crosses a corner of Wallingford, through Shrewsbury into Clarendon, where it empties into Otter Creek. All the smaller streams on the western slope of the town empty into Mill River ; while those on the eastern slope find their way to Black River, and are discharged into the Connecticut. There are several small lakes or ponds in the town, of which Patch's Pond, situated in the north-eastern part, is the largest, being about one mile in length by half-a-mile in width.
The soil being much better adapted to grass than grain, it is almost entirely a grazing town. The farmers devote their attention to the raising of stock and manufacture of butter and cheese, depending on the grain-growing States of the west for their corn and flour. Large quantities of oats are raised, which are used mostly in home consumption.
In 1880 the township had a population of 1,390, was divided into 12 school districts and had 12 common schools, employing three male and four- teen female teachers, at an aggregate salary of $1,234.00. There were 349 pupils attending common schools, and the entire cost of the schools for the year ending October 31, was $1,675.00, with Angil R. Crowley, superin- tendent.
There is no large village in the town, but there are several small settle- ments or hamlets, which are dignified by the title of " ville," as : Mechanics- ville, Bowlsville, Tarbellsville, Hortonville, Healdville, Goodelville, etc.
MECHANICSVILLE, a post village, situated two and one-half miles south of Mt. Holly station, on the C. V. R. R., contains twenty-four dwellings, one store, one chair-stock factory, one church (union), one blacksmith-shop and Chase's toy factory. This toy manufactory is quite an extensive business, employing thirty-five to forty men. It was commenced by Philip C. Chase in 1863, and under his management has been a success from the first. He employs both water and steam power, and manufactures 30 to 40 different styles of children's wagons, carts and wheelbarrows.
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TOWN OF MT. HOLLY.
HEALDVILLE, (p. o.) a small hamlet and railroad station, is situated in the castern part of the town.
MOUNT HOLLY, (p. o.) situated near the central part of the town, is also a small hamlet and R. R. station.
TARBELLVILLE is situated about one mile west of Mechanicsville, and was named after one of its residents, Marshall Tarbell. It contains one store, one cheese factory, the manufactories of Marshall Tarbell, two blacksmith-shops, and thirteen dwellings. Most of the hamlet is owned by Mr. Tarbell, who carries on the manufacture of lumber, rakes and chair stock. The different branches of business are at present conducted in one building, the factories having twice been destroyed by fire ; the first time on February 3d, 1858, and again January 5, 1878. The first fire Mr. Tarbell had no insurance to cover his loss. The second destroyed two shops, with sheds adjoining ; also one dwelling and one horse-barn. The buildings were at the time filled with goods, manufactured and in the process of manufacture, thus causing a loss of about eight thousand dollars, covered by an insurance of only $1,900. The present capacity of the saw mill is about 600,000 feet of lumber annu- ally. The rake factory is probably the largest in New England, turning out 3,000 to 4,000 dozen per year, the most of which are exported to England. The manufacture of chair stock consumes 250,000 to 300,000 feet of lumber per year.
Tarbellville Cheese Factory is also under the supervision of Mr. Tarbell. It uses the milk of 300 cows, and manufactures about 65,000 lbs. of cheese annually.
BOWLESVILLE is situated about two miles west of Mt. Holly Station, on the R. & B. R. R. It contains one church, (Advent,) a district school house, and about ten dwellings. It takes its name from being the location of a fac- tory for turning wooden bowls, and the manufacture of other wooden ware.
GOODELVILLE is a small settlement, situated in the western part of the town, on Mill Creek, and contains one grist-mill and five dwellings.
HORTONVILLE hamlet, situated one and three-quarter miles N. E. of Mt. Holly station, contains one blacksmith shop, one wheelwright shop, one saw and chair stock mill, one district school house, one cheese factory, and fifteen dwellings.
Daniel C. Allard's mills are located in the west part of the town, about two miles east of Mechanicsville, embracing a saw-mill and machinery for the manufacture of chair-stock. The saw-mill has a capacity of about 6,000 feet of lumber per day, employing about ten men.
Mt. Holly Cheese Factory, located one and one-half miles north-east of Mt. Holly station, is owned and superintended by William Lord. It uses the milk of four-hundred cows, and manufactures ninety thousand pounds of cheese annually.
Warren Horton's saw mill, located about a quarter of a mile north-east from this cheese factory, manufactures from three to four-hundred thousand feet of spruce lumber per year.
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TOWN OF MT. HOLLY.
A. W. Graves & Co.'s saw mill is situated about one and a half miles south-west of Mechanicsville, and has the capacity for sawing 300,000 feet of lumber per year, and manufactures 12,000 butter tubs annually. They also manufacture chair stock to a considerable extent.
Parmenter & Johnson's mill, located about one-half mile south-west of Mechanicsville, manufactures chair-stock, and about 400,000 feet of lumber per year.
Jedediah Hammond was probably about the first settler on the land com- prised in the present town of Mt. Holly, having settled on the Jackson Gore, in 1770, when he was but seventeen years of age; coming there from Old Bedford, Mass. He was the second representative from the town, which office he held for thirteen years, and was for several years justice of the peace and deputy sheriff, and was a counselor at law for over forty years.
The first settlement in that part formerly called Ludlow, was made by the families of Joseph Green, Nathaniel Pingrey, Abraham Crawley, David Bent and Silas Proctor, who emigrated thither about the year 1786. About 1789 and '90 settlement was made on the Gore, by the Clarks, Jacksons, Ives, Lyon, &c., from Wallingford. The well kept records of Wallingford show numerous actions that were had in town meeting that relate to the Gore, and several early settlers held town office in Wallingford.
Abraham Jackson, Jr., was the son of Abraham Jackson, Esq., who is erroneously credited with being the first settler of Wallingford. He came to Wallingford from Connecticut with his father in 1773. They built a house on a bend of Otter Creek, just east of the present residence of P. G. Clark, Esq. After a residence in Wallingford of eight years, where he was first town clerk, first inn-keeper and first representative, he settled near Mechanicsville, on the Mead place. The pond is situated on what was his farm, and is still called Jackson Pond. He was a prominent and influential man and became the first representative of Mt. Holly.
Mathew Lyon sold his right to Jethro Jackson, a brother of Abraham and a proprietor of the Gore. Jethro located at Bowlsville, building the first grist mill.
The Clarks, who were residents of Wallingford and proprietors in the Gore, came to Wallingford in 1774 and settled both sides of Otter Creek, about where the village now stands. Ichabod G., Stephen, John and Chauncey, joined Warren's regiment from Wallingford, and the four brothers stood shoulder to shoulder at Hubbardton and afterward at Bennington. Stephen settled in Wallingford, where Robert Marsh now lives. He moved to Jackson Gore in 1781, and settled where Hilon Holden now resides. John settled on what is called the Sprague place, and was afterwards first town clerk of Mt. Holly. Chauncey joined him soon after. This family figures largely in the first eras of the settlement of Mt. Holly.
The Ives family, Jonah, Ebenezer, Amos and Jotham, came to the Gore in 1781, after a residence of six to eight years in Wallingford. Tradition says
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TOWN OF MT. HOLLY.
that the Clarks, Ives, Jacksons and others sold their land upon Otter Creek for one shilling per acre, and came to Mt. Holly for the purpose of "getting rid of the cussed flies and mosquitoes," which they could not endure in Wal- lingford. Jonah Ives settled on the farm now owned by Leverett Ives, where he built a hut just opposite where the present house stands. Here he lived several years, " keeping bachelor's hall," and the place was known for a long time as Uncle Jonah's camp. It was in Uncle Jonah's hut that the first death in the town occurred, caused by the accidental discharge of a gun. The victim was a man by the name of Flanders, and at the time of the accident he was " setting" the gun for a bear, in a neighboring corn- field ; immediately after the accident, he was carried into Jonah's camp, where he expired the following night, and was buried on the farm now owned by Darius Perkins. The rude stone that marked his grave has long since been torn away by the plow, and now nothing remains to mark the spot. When Uncle Jonah first came to the town, bears, wolves and other wild animals were plenteous, and a constant source of annoyance to the settlers.
The first hotel was kept by Joseph Green, near Healdville, where Wm. B. and John P. Hoskins now reside. David Bent built the second, where Lewis Barrett now resides, and the third was built by Stephen Clark, where David Horton now resides. Lyman Clark and Martin Carviner built the first store, at North Mt. Holly. Here the post-office was kept, with Stephen Clark as first post-master, the mail being brought from Rutland on horseback.
Perry Green Dawley emigrated to Mt. Holly from Rhode Island with three other families, about the year 1783, settling on the farm now owned by Dor- win G. Dawley. The same year his son Perry G. was born, being the first male child born in the town. Perry G. Dawley died early in the year 1876, at the advanced age of 93 years.
Jonas Holden, one of the early settlers, came to Mt. Holley in 1792, from Ludlow. He was a revolutionary soldier, born at Gratton, Mass., August 8, 1752. At the battle of Bunker Hill, Jonas wore a red shirt, so he could scarcely be distinguished from the English red-coats. After the Continental army had retreated, Jonas still stood his ground and continued to fire as though there was nothing wrong. He was soon deteeted by the British, how- ever, and, while attempting to make his escape, was wounded in the hip; he fell, but was rescued by his comrades. For this act of gallantry he was pro- moted from the ranks to a first lieutenancy. Jonas built the second frame house in the town, in about the year 1794 or '95. The whole town was then covered with a dense forest, with the exception of here and there a small clearing. The nearest grist-mill was at Cavendish, and he had to carry, or drag his grain there, a distance of twelve miles, on a crotched stick, finding his way through the forest by means of marked trees. This mode of convey- ance was commonly used by the pioneers, and was called a "dray." Sarah Holden, wife of Jonas, lived to the advanced age of 99 years, 9 months and 18 days, retaining full possession of her mental faculties to the last. On
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TOWN OF MT. HOLLY.
one occasion she went to the " Green Stand" on horseback, where she was detained until after dark; on her way home she was attacked by a pack of wolves, which followed her so closely that she was obliged to ride under a tree and clamber up into its branches. The horse, eased of its burden, soon reached home. The family, seeing that something was wrong, immediately started in search of her, and found her some hours after, still perched in the tree, guarded by wolves.
Silas, Jr., son of Silas Proctor, one of the earliest settlers, was killed by the falling of a tree on Proctor hill, in the year 1832.
There are numerous ancedotes and traditions among the older inhabitants, of accidents that happened stage coaches when the old stage line passed through the town. About the year 1838 an accident occurred near the town line, just below Healdville, by which one woman was killed and two men seriously injured. It was caused by the stage tipping over an embank- ment.
The first minister resident in the town was the Rev. Silas L. Bingham, Congregationalist. The exact date of his settlement is not known, but was about the year 1800. Meetings were held in barns and private houses, until about 1802, when Mr. Bingham organized, and had built a small Congrega- tionalist church at Mt. Holly. This organization was kept up until 1856.
The Baptist Church of Mount Holly was organized September 6, 1804, by a council called for that purpose, and contained 29 members, with Rev. Daniel Packer as pastor. The present house of worship was erected in 1851, at a cost of about $2,000.00, and is now valued at about $2,500.00. The present membership is about 122, of which 90 are resident. The Rev. O. J. Taylor is at present pastor. The building will comfortably seat about 350 people.
The Union Church of Mechanicsville (Methodist Episcopal) was organized in 1815, by Elder Beaman, and consisted of about 20 members, with Elder Beaman, pastor. The first house of worship was erected in 1820, which was succeeded by the present edifice in 1850, built by the Methodist and Baptist societies, at a cost of about $1,750.00, the present value of the property being about $3,700.00, with Rev. James E. Knapp, pastor. There are about 104 members.
The Advent Church at Bowlsville was organized by the Rev. D. Bosworth, January 21, 1854, with a membership of nineteen. Mr. Bosworth is still pastor, with a membersip of 45. The church will seat 300 people and is valued at $800,00 to $1,000.00.
St. Mary's Church, (Roman Catholic,) located at North Mt. Holly, was organized in 1874 by P. Kelly and J. Darcy. It then consisted of 34 mem- bers, with Rev. Chas. Boylon as pastor. The edifice was erected in 1875 at a cost of $4,000.00, and is capable of seating 225 persons. Rev. J. C. Mclaughlin is the present pastor, with a membership of 80 families.
164
TOWN OF MT. TABOR.
MOUNT TABOR is located in the south-eastern corner of the county, in lat. 43" 21' and long. 4° 8' east from Washington, bounded north by Wallingford and a small part of Mt. Holly, east by a small part of Mt. Holly, and Weston in Windsor county, south by Peru in Benning- ton County, and west by Danby. It was chartered under the name of Har- wick, to Jonathan Willard and sixty others, by Benning Wentworth, of New Hampshire, on the 28th day of August, 1761, and contained 23,040 acres. The usual reservations of public lands were made in this charter, and with the usual restrictions. The township of Harwick was organized March 17, 1788, with Gideon Tabor, moderator; John Jenkins, town clerk ; John Stafford, John Jenkins and Gideon Baker, selectmen. The township re- tained the name of Harwick until the year 1803, when it was changed to that of Mt. Tabor, so called in honor of Gideon Tabor, the first moderator of the township. The change was made in consequence of there being a town by the name of Hardwick in the State, which sometimes caused miscarriage of mail matter. A part of the town of Peru, 200 rods wide, east and west, and six miles long, was an- nexed to Mt. Tabor in 1805, and remained with that township twenty years, when it was annexed to Dorset. Other than this, there has been no change made in the boundaries of the town.
The surface is very broken and mountainous, being situated almost entirely upon the Green Mountain range; it contains however some intervales of good farming land, whereon is grown wheat, rye, oats, barley, Indian corn, etc. ; but by far the greater part of the farmer's wealth consists in his herds and flocks. Many, however, have given up farming entirely, and turned their attention to lumbering, considering that far more lucrative, as a great portion of the country is still covered by a dense primeval forest, the prin- cipal timber of which is beech, birch, maple, cedar and spruce, interspersed with hemlock, black and white ash. There are numerous small streams distributed over the country, finding their way into Otter Creek, which flows through a portion of the western part, affording numerous mill-sites. The principal of the streams is called Roaring Branch, and rises in the south- eastern part of the township, flows a north-easterly course, emptying into Otter Creek. The Bennington and Rutland Railway also passes through a portion of the western part, and Danby station is within the limits of this town.
In 1880 Mt. Tabor had a population of 495, was divided into four school districts and had three common schools, employing four female teachers at an aggregate salary of $326.85. There were 93 pupils attending common schools, and the total expense of the schools for the year ending October 31st, was $359.96. Mr. M. Barrett was superintendent.
BROOKLYN, (Mt. Tabor p. o.) the only settlement of any considerable size, is a small village located in the western part of the township, on Roaring Branch. It contains one store, three saw-mills, and about seventy-five inhab- itants.
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TOWN OF MT. TABOR.
N. E. Nichol's mills, located on Roaring Branch, were built in 1862, and purchased by him in 1867. They include a saw and planing-mill, and a cheese-box and grain-measure factory. There are manufactured here 300,000 feet of luniber, 12,000 cheese-boxes and 5,000 grain-measures per annum.
C. H. Congdon's saw-mill, located on Roaring Branch, was built in 1850, and has the capacity for manufacturing about 5,000 feet of lumber per day. John B. Stearne's saw-mill, located on Roaring Branch, was built in 1860 by Marcellus Baker, and has the capacity for cutting 2,000 feet of lumber per day.
S. S. Griffith's saw-mill, known as the "Greeley Mill," located on Roaring Branch, was built in 1840. It has facilities for cutting 6,000 feet of lumber per day. Mr. Griffith is also the proprietor of a steam-mill, located on road 5, which was erected in 1880, with the capacity for cutting 20,000 feet of lum- ber per day. He is also quite extensively engaged in the manufacture of charcoal.
Griffith & McIntyre's steam-mill, located in the central part of the town- ship, on Big Branch Creek, was built in 1872, with the capacity for cutting 20,000 feet of lumber per day.
About 300 acres of the best part of the town, including the Governor's lot, in the valley of Otter Creek, was first settled, and titles obtained by pitches and vendue sales for taxes. It was ascertained in 1857, by running the town line between Danby and Mt. Tabor, that parties claiming under Danby had crowded into Mt. Tabor 10 rods at Danby borough, the centre of said line, which takes about 60 acres of land, 8 dwellings, the meeting-house and the old banking-house, all treated as being in Danby, and will virtually form Mt. Tabor, and remain so by acquiescence, unless an Act of the Leg- islature or a judgment of Court sets it right. We find no record of any in- habitants in Mt. Tabor at an earlier date than 1782; but there were prob- ably settlers here nearly as early as in any town in this vicinity.
John Sweet came into the town in 1782, settling on 60 acres of land lying at the foot of the Green Mountains, on Otter Creek, in the south-west part of the township. He was the first settler of whom we have any record. He re- sided here for many years, dying in 1818, leaving a numerous family.
Gideon Baker soon after settled a little to the north of Mr. Sweet, and was one of the first selectmen and represented the town in the Legislature. His kitchen was used as a place for holding church service for a number of years, he being a staunch Methodist. He died in 1824 and was buried in the Tabor burying ground, the first marble in that ground being erected at his grave.
Beloved Carpenter was also an early settler, having settled on the farm now owned by Miss Sophia Tabor. Gideon, the father of Miss Sophia, was born in 1762, and was in the war of the Revolution four years. He came to Mt. Tabor in 1784, where he married Hannah, daughter of Beloved Carpenter, on the 4th of November, 1787. Gideon was chosen moderator
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TOWN OF PAWLET.
at the organization of the town, served as town clerk 28 years, represented the town in the Legislature most of the time for about 30 years, and was justice of the peace over 30 years. He died in February, 1824, in the 62nd year of his age.
Caleb Buffum moved into Mt. Tabor in 1815, settling on a farm on the east road, about one mile from the creek road. He lived nearly forty years in the town, and raised a large family ; and then sold his farm and removed to Rutland, to reside with his son, Caleb Buffum, Jr. He and his wife both died in Rutland, but were brought back and buried in the Mt. Tabor burying ground. Esquire Buffum was an energetic useful man in town, and represented Mt. Tabor in the Legislature several years, and held all the town offices at different times.
Walter Tabor was a soldier of the Revolutionary army. He resided in the town from 1792 until his death, in 1806. James Hathaway was also a sergeant in the Revolutionary army, was long a resident of the town, and died in 1826. Joseph Moulton was in the French and Revolutionary wars. He died in 1815. Gideon Tabor was in the war of the Revolution four years. He went into the service at the age of sixteen.
In the war of '61 Mt. Tabor paid bounties to five soldiers, $300 each, and $7.00 per month while in the service; one of these five was a Danby man. The town had six in the army, over and above its quota, when these bounties were paid. Thus Mt. Tabor, in proportion to its population, furnished more men than any other township in the county.
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