USA > Vermont > Rutland County > Gazetteer and business directory of Rutland county, Vt., for 1881-82 > Part 20
USA > Vermont > Rutland County > Gazetteer and business directory of Rutland county, Vt., for 1881-82 > Part 20
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Mt. Tabor has no church except upon the land that Danby has ap- propriated, as before stated, upon the Otter Creek border. The inhabitants attend worship in the towns adjoining.
AWLET is located in the south-west corner of the county, in lat. 43º 21'; and long. 3º 54' east from Washington, bounded north by Wells, east by Danby, south by Rupert, in Bennington County, and west by Hebron and Granville, in New York, and contains an area of 23,040 acres, or a tract six miles square, granted by Benning Wentworth, Governor of New Hampshire, to Jonathan Willard and sixty-seven others, the charter bearing date August 26, 1761, and receiving its name from the principal river, which was formerly spelled Paulette, or Paulet, probably of French derivation. Of the sixty-eight grantees but few ever settled in the town, Willard having made some improvement here in 1761 or 1762, but did not remain. The usual reservations and restrictions incident to all the grants issued by Wentworth were made, and, like the others, became nullified by the Revolutionary war, but did not deprive the grantees of their rights nor take from them their homes, as was attempted by New York and our mother country during the land title controversy.
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TOWN OF PAWLET.
The surface is quite uneven and mountainous in most parts, yet between the mountain ranges there remain considerable tracts of level fertile land. Through the middle of the town, from north to south, extends a high range of mountains, cutting the territory into a natural division of east and west town, Haystack Mountain, in the north part, and extending into Wells, being the principal elevation of the range, and much resorted to by pleasure parties. Indian Hill, also, lying in the north-western part, is a considerable elevation.
The principal stream is Pawlet River, which enters the south-east corner of the township from Bennington County, and flows in a serpentine course, a north-westerly direction, to Wood Creek, in New York, and thence to Lake Champlain ; it contains numerous tributaries, of which Flower Brook, enter- ing from Danby, is the largest, and nearly all of sufficient size to afford good mill-sites, many of which are occupied.
The rocks in the western part are of the Georgia slate deposit, while the eastern portion is composed of talcoid schist, cut by a considerable bed of limestone, and containing some available deposits of roofing-slate and mar- ble
The soil of the town is mostly susceptible of cultivation, even to the tops of the mountains, all but two or three of which can be tilled to their summits, while many fields that cannot be plowed make excellent pastures. On the banks of the larger streams are alluvial deposits of rare fertility, and con- stantly enriched by periodical overflows. A large proportion of the soil is gravelly loam intermingled with slate, and well adapted to the growth of all grain raised in this latitude.
The timber is that common to the surrounding towns ; the forests, however, becoming rapidly thinned, the inevitable result of the populous growth of a community. Lumbering is carried on to some extent, while the rich saccharine of the maple is largely utilized in the manufacture of sugar, which receives a ready market in localities less favored in this respect, finding, to- gether with the other exports of the town, a convenient avenue for transport- ation in the Rutland and Washington Railroad, which enters the town from Rupert, extending thence to West Pawlet, and thence nearly on the line of the State, to Granville, N. Y.
In 1880 Pawlet had a population of 1,698, was divided into eleven school districts and contained eleven common schools, employing four male and nineteen female teachers, at an aggregate salary of $1,742.02. There were 350 pupils attending common school, and the entire cost of the schools for the year ending Oct 31st, was $1,967.02, with Mr. Edward I. Vail, superin- tendent.
PAWLET, a post village located on Flower Brook, near the center of the town, contains two churches, (Meth. and Cong.,) one grist-mill, saw-mill, cheese-box manufactory, cheese factory, a fork handle and baby carriage stock factory, six stores, one hotel, two blacksmith shops, wagon shop, harness shop etc.
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TOWN OF PAWLET.
WEST PAWLET, a post village and R. R. station, located in the west part of the town, on the Rutland and Washington R. R., contains four stores, two hotels, one grist-mill, two churches, (Baptist and Christian,) one wagon shop, a harness shop, two blacksmith shops, and several large stone-quarries.
NORTH PAWLET is a small hamlet located in the north-west part of the town, near Indian Hill, containing about a dozen dwellings.
Andrew's saw mill and cheese box manufactory, located at Pawlet, is operated by steam power and manufactures 125,000 or more cheese boxes, and saws about 300,000 feet of lumber per annum.
J. Q. Adams' grist-mill, located on Flower Brook, upon the site of the first grist-mill ever erected in the town, was built by Mr. Adams in 1881, and has two runs of stones.
N. Robinson's carriage manufactory, located on road 22, was established by the present proprietor in 1850. He now employs five men in the manufac- ture of wagons, carriages and sleighs.
M. P. Damon & Co.'s fork handle and baby carriage-stock manufactory, located at Pawlet, was established by Mr. Damon in Oct. 1873, and employs six men, manufacturing about 60,000 hoe handles, and stock for 30,000 baby carriages per annum.
H. W. Edgerton's apiary, located near the central part of the town, on road 12, was established in 1875, since which time he has been increasing the business yearly, until he now keeps about 75 swarms of bees, raising some $200 worth of "seeds" and $800 worth of honey yearly.
Red Mill, located in the central part of the town, was built in 1876, by Geo. F. Hammond, who now does custom work there, operating two runs of stones.
Mont Verd Slate Quarry, situated in the north-west part of the town, was opened by Bardwell & Jones in 1870. In July, 1873, Evans & Williams were proprietors, and since August, 1877, the quarry has been operated by William J. Evans, who acquired his partner's interest, and who employs 15 to 20 men, and produces 20 to 30 squares of sea-green roofing slate per day.
Welch's slate quarry, situated in the western part of the town, was opened by Robert Stevens in 1871, and is now operated by M. Welch, of Granville, N. Y., producing about 200 squares of sea-green slate per month.
Hugh J. Williams' slate quarry, situated in the north-west part of the town, was opened in 1877, and now operated by Mr. Williams of Granville, N. Y., who produces 100 squares per month.
Wood's saw-mill, located in the west part of the town, on Pawlet River, was built by W. B. Wood, of Granville, N. Y., in 1881, and has the capacity for cutting 6,000 feet of lumber per day, and also manufactures chair stock, lath, etc.
Goodspeed's cider mill, located on road 14, was built by Peter Goodspeed, and has the capacity for manufacturing 10 barrels of cider per day.
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TOWN OF PAWLET.
Dillingham Slate Quarry, located at West Pawlet, was opened by Howell Dillingham in 1877-'78, and employs 10 men in the manufacture of sea- green roofing slate, producing 200 squares per month.
Rising & Nelson's slate quarries, located at West Pawlet, employ from 30 to 35 men and manufacture 200 squares of slate per week.
Brownell Slate and Flagging Co's quarry is situated in the west part of the town, where they manufacture about 800 squares of slate, and 3,000 feet of flagging per month, employing 40 men.
Indian Hill Slate Company was organized in 1876, consisting of Owen and Even Evens. The quarry is situated at West Pawlet, and yields about 7,000 squares of slate per year.
Pawlet Woolen Company, E. Colvin & Son, proprietors, was organized in 1846 by Asa S. Jones, the present company being formed in 1877. Their factory is located on road 32, two miles south of Pawlet, where they manu- facture into cloth, about 25,000 lbs. of wool each year, employing eight hands.
The Leach Cheese Factory, located in the south part of the town, on road 30, was established by a stock company in 1846, and is now owned by Wm- Leach, who uses the milk from 175 cows per year in the manufacture of cheese.
Pawlet Cheese Factory, located at Pawlet, was established in 1865 by R. C. Wickham, and is now owned and operated by M. E. Wheeler, and uses the milk from 500 cows, manufacturing 1,000 pounds of cheese per day.
Blakely's cheese factory, located in the north-east part of the town, on road 23, uses the milk from about 400 cows.
Settlement was begun in this town by Simeon Burton and Wm. Fairfield, the former receiving fifty, and the latter thirty acres of land, donated by the proprietors to them in 1768, as first and second settlers of the township. The earliest record extant of any town-meeting, bears date July 29th, 1768, at which meeting Reuben Harmon was moderator and Simeon Burton, clerk. The first grist-mill was erected by Remember Baker, about the year 1768, and was located on Wells Brook. This was soon after followed by one on Flower Brook, built by Wm. Bradford, and not long after this, one was erected on the present site of the Red Mill, built by Col. Samuel Willard, in 1783. The first hotel was kept by Capt. Jonathan Willard, on the site of the present homestead of Henry Allen. In 1814 a cotton-mill was erected on Flower Brook, by the Pawlet Manufacturing Co., which was successfully operated for thirty years, and the only cotton mill ever erected in the county. The building was 70 feet long by 39 feet wide and three stories high, and manufactured heavy cotton goods and warps. The machinery of the mill, power-looms and all, were made on the spot by Nathaniel Robinson, an ingenious mechanic.
Indian Hill, located in the western part of the town, is accredited with being the scene of a battle between the French and English, the latter force under the command of Gen. Putnam. It is said Putnam was ordered from Fort
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TOWN OF PAWLET.
Edward to the east, to dislodge a body of French and Indians who were lurk- ing in the vicinity of Lake St. Catherine. The battle or skirmish is supposed to have occurred in June, 1785, upon the farm now owned by Marshall Brown, the English losing two men, who were buried near a large rock upon the battle field. In 1880, Mr. Brown cleared a spot of ground upon the hill, upon which he built a log house or lodge, commanding an excellent view. On the ad of September a celebration was held, at which two or three thous- and people were present, and Mr. Henry Clark, of Rutland, delivered an ' oration.
The town hall of Pawlet was commenced in June, 1881, the foundation being 40x60 feet and three stories high. The first story and 40x44 feet of the second story belongs to M. Wheeler, while the other portion of the second story is used as a town clerk's office, and the third story for a town hall, each party building and owning the portion they occupy.
Simeon Burton, the first settler of the town, came here from Arlington, and continued his residence here until his death, at an advanced age, in the year 1810.
William Fairfield, the second settler, remained in the town until the break- ing out of the Revolution, when, upon his espousing the cause of England, his property was confiscated and he removed to Canada, where many of his descendants still reside.
Andrew Winchester came to this town from New Lebanon, Conn., in 1786, settling upon the farm now owned by his grandson, Norman, where he died in 1827, aged 66 years. Joel, his son, was born on the old homestead in 1790, where he resided until his death, in 1846. His son, Andrew, now occupies the place. The house built by Joel in 1821 was burned February 18, 1880, the present house being built upon the old foundation, in 1880.
Capt. Benoni Smith came to Pawlet from Glastonbury, Conn., in 1781, locating upon a farm on road 3, where he soon after built a grist and saw mill. He died upon the old place in 1799, aged 59 years. His sons, Josiah and Reuben, settled in this town, and Arthur removed to Scipio, N. Y., and Ira, to St. Lawrence County, of the same State. Robert H. remained upon the old homestead, and represented the town in the Legislature two years.
Joel Simonds came to this town from Massachusetts, about 1780, locating on road 5, upon the farm now owned by his grandson, Ossian H. Simonds. Joel died in 1821, aged 77 years, his widow surviving him until 1832, dying at the age of 86.
Ashbel Hollister came to this town from Glastonbury, Conn., in 1781, locating in the north-west part of the town. He served in the Revolutionary war under the immediate command of the Polish General, Kosciusko, " the friend of liberty," and a friend of Washington. Hiel Hollister, son of Ashbel, was born in 1806, and is still a resident of the town, one of its most prom- inent citizens. Most of his life has been spent in farming, though he taught school several terms, and was engaged in mercantile pursuits seven years,
1
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TOWN OF PAWLET.
represented the town in 1842, wrote a history of the township which was published in 1867, and was associate judge of the county in 1872.
Elijah Brown came to this town from Stamford, Conn., in 1783, and resided here until his death, in 1835, at the age of 77 years. His grandson, Marshall, now residing on road 3, was born in 1817.
Joseph Jones came to this town from Greenwich, Mass., in 1781, and located upon the farm now owned by M. C. Jones, where he died in 1816, aged 84 years.
David Blakely, from Woodbury, Connecticut, came to Pawlet in 1782, locating upon the farm now owned by Franklin Blakely, on road 23, where he died in 1821, aged 72 years. His widow, who was an aunt of Gov. Hiland Hall, died in 1831, aged 85 years. His son, Dan, was born in 1793, and married Hannah Edgerton, by whom he had nine children, all of whom, ex- cept one son, are now living.
Robert Wickham came to this town with his father, Isaac, in 1799, and has since been a resident of the town, now being the oldest man of the town- ship, at the age of 84 years.
Samuel Goodspeed, in 1800, came here from Barnstable, Massachusetts, and located on road 14, upon the farm now owned by his grandson, Lucius, where he resided until his death at an advanced age.
Oliver Williams came to this town from Granville, N. Y., in 1830, and has resided upon the same farm since ; he is now 80 years of age, and celebrated his golden wedding on the 11th of April, 1880.
The First Congregational Church, located at Pawlet, was organized on the 8th of August, 1781, by Rev. David Perry, consisting of six members, with Dr. Lewis Bebee as first pastor. The first house of worship was erected in 1785, followed by the present edifice in 1841, which is a pleasant, comfortable structure, capable of accommodating 450 persons, and cost $6,000.00. The property is now valued at only about $5,000.00 however. The society now numbers 110 members, with Rev. N. S. Moore, pastor.
The First Baptist Church, located at West Pawlet, was organized by its first pastor, Elder Brown, on the first Monday in May, 1790, consisting of eighteen members. The first church was built in 1800, and destroyed by fire on the 25th of May, 1880. In 1881 the present edifice was erected, at a cost of $2,000.00, and will seat 350 persons, the church property being now valued at about $2,500.00. The society has about 100 members, with no regular pastor at present.
The Methodist Episcopal Church, located at Pawlet, was organized in 1826, by Rev. Daniel Brayton, with 100 members, and Mr. Brayton first pastor. A church building was erected the same year, which was replaced by the present commodious structure in 1851, which will seat 300 persons and cost $5,000.00. The society now has 126 members, its property valued at $6,500.00, and is prospering under the pastorate of Edgar L. Walker, A. M.
I72
TOWN OF PITTSFIELD.
The Presbyterian Church Society was organized in March, 1877, by Rev. Hugh Davis, of Middle Granville, N. Y., consisting of fifteen members. The society now has about fifty members, holding their services in the basement of the Baptist church, with no regular pastor.
The Union Church, located in the west part of the town, was erected in 1853 or '54, costing about $700.00, and capable of seating 150 persons. It is used by all denominations.
A Congregational Church Society was organized at Pawlet in 1881, and are holding their services in the academy building.
ITTSFIELD is a triangular tract of land, located in the north-eastern corner of the county, in lat. 43° 48' and long. 4º 14' east from Washing- ton. It is bounded north by Rochester, east by Stockbridge, in Windsor County, and west by Chittenden ; chartered July 29, 1781, by Thomas Chit- tenden, Governor of Vermont, to Samuel Wilcox, Daniel Kinne, Josiah Wright, and their associates to the number of 130, and contained 34,000 acres, being represented as containing land equal to a township and a half. At the first proprietors' meeting, held at Danby, in December, 1781, a com- mittee was appointed to lay out and allot the township, which was accordingly done, allowing each proprietor 523 acres, and a like number of acres to each public reservation. In 1787 another allotment of 40 acres was made to each proprietor, whereon it was discovered by a survey, that by reason of the towns of Stockbridge and Chittenden overreaching their charter bounds, they had left lying between them, instead of the original large town of Pittsfield, only a gore of land not exceeding in size half a township. At a meeting held Sept. 25th of this same year, Asa Whitcomb and Charles Goodrich were appointed as their agents to obtain redress from the Legislature for the loss of their lands. But all the satisfaction they obtained was, that "the land was there, and they must look it up." This led to many lawsuits, and much litigation ensued for years ; but the settlers were finally defeated and lost their land, hence it is that Pittsfield now ranks, in point of size, as one of the smallest townships in the county.
The town was not organized until March 26, 1793, the meeting being then held at the house of Daniel Atkins, where George Martin was chosen mod- erator ; Thomas Hodgkins, town clerk; George Martin, Stephen Holt and Joseph Adams, selectmen ; Daniel Bow, treasurer ; Anthony Whitcomb, first constable ; Daniel Atkins, sealer of leather; Stephen Holt and William Da- vis, grand jurymen.
The surface is mountainous and broken, the most considerable elevation being Wilcox Peak, so named by Samuel Wilcox, one of the original pro- prietors, who once attempted to ascend its summit, but failed on account of weariness, and christened it after himself. The soil is irrigated by numerous springs and several streams, two of which, from the south and west, unite in
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TOWN OF PITTSFIELD.
the eastern part of the town, forming Tweed River, which flows an easterly course, and is discharged into White River, in Stockbridge. These streams afford several good mill privileges, and together with White River, which flows across the north-eastern corner of the town, are the largest in the town- ship, though there are several of minor importance. Along these streams and in the mountain valleys are found many excellent farms, the soil being mostly a sandy loam, somewhat stony. On the hills the farms were at one time quite productive, but are now rather sterile, owing, probably, to the fact that many farmers have of late years neglected their farms and given their attention to lumbering, which they consider more lucrative ; perhaps it may also be attributed to the decrease of the annual deposit of vegetable matter . as the forests become thinner. The timber is principally beech, birch and maple, interspersed with spruce, hemlock and ash. From the maple a large quantity of sugar is manufactured each year, which is exported to localities less fortunate in this respect, and forms quite an item in the commerce of the town ; this, with horses, cattle, swine and lumber, form the principal exports.
Iron ore in abundance, and of a rare quality, was discovered here by J. J. Saltery, in 1877. Mr. Saltery was at the time prospecting near Gaysville, and the presence of fine ore-sands in the soil, river-beds, and general alluvial deposits, induced him to extend his explorations along the White River to the intersection of the Tweed, thence up this branch to Pittsfield, where the pre- dominating debris and masses of rocks indicated the near presence of an actual deposit of ore. Following from Pittsfield the west branch of the Tweed, a distance of about two miles, near the Chittenden line, the ore was found in actual deposit, bearing a course north-west and south-east at an angle of 56°. In 1878 a further examination showed that the principal for- mation consisted of gneiss, serpentine, slate, lime, silica and mica, impregna- ted with the crystalization of iron, which formed stratified belts, bodies and veins, of various dimensions and percentages. The ore is of a sandy nature, and is therefore easily crushed and separated, and yields from twenty to sixty per cent. of magnetic ore.
In 1880 Pittsfield had a population of 555, was divided into four schooll districts and had five common schools, employing two male and eight female teachers, at an aggregate salary of $536.00. There were 133 pupils attending common schools, and the entire cost for schools for the year was $576.05, with S. C. Gibbs, superintendent.
PITTSFIELD, a post village located in the south-eastern part of the town, is the only settlement of any considerable size. It contains forty dwellings, two churches, (M. E. and Cong.) two stores, two hotels, a school-house and several carriage, blacksmith and carpenter shops, etc., and has a population of about 200.
Ray Durkee's button factory, located on road 8, is operated by steam power and employs fifteen hands. There are manufactured here 100 gross of ivory and horn buttons daily. Mr. Durkee has also machinery for iron and wood-turning and general machine work.
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TOWN OF PITTSFIELD.
A. N. Hayes' saw-mill, located on road 19, is operated by water-power, using one lumber-saw, one clap-board saw, two planers and several smaller saws. He employs twelve men, and manufactures 900,000 feet of lumber and 500,000 feet of clap-boards per annum.
G. H. Ramsey's saw-mill, located on road 10, is operated by water-power, employs twelve men, and manufactures 1,000,000 feet of lumber and 500,000 feet of clap-boards per year.
Brigham &, Atwood's saw-mill, located at Pittsfield, is operated by water- power, has one lumber and one band saw, one board and one clap-board planer, employs eight men, and manufactures 800,000 feet of lumber and 600,000 feet of clapboards yearly.
C. A. Brown's grist-mill, located at Pittsfield, was built by -- Spaulding, some fifty years ago. Mr. Brown does quite a business there, but mostly custom work.
In 1867 Brigham, Houghton & Co. built a large steam mill near the village, designing to cut, not only all kinds of lumber, but also chair-stock. They had scarcely got the building well filled with suitable machinery, how- ever, when it took fire and was entirely consumed, causing a loss to the proprietors of some $2,000 over and above the insurance.
A company was formed March 4th, 1880, duly incorporated at Hartford, Conn., for the purpose of manufacturing iron from the ore found in Pittsfield, with a capital stock of $2,500,000, divided into 25,000 shares at $100 each. Four directors were chosen, as follows :- J. J. Saltery, of Pittsfield, Vt., president ; Harvey K. Flagler, of Boston, secretary and treasurer ; Edward L. Chaffee and Charles W. Boutwell, directors. Operations for the develop- ment of the ore deposits were commenced March 29th, 1880. Buildings for crushing and concentrating the ores with necessary machinery were erected, roads made from the mines through the valley to the coal kilns and other sec- tions connected with the works. The property owned by the White River Iron Co. was purchased, consisting of about 1400 acres, all bearing the ore in its different stratifications, and covered with a fine growth of timber. The ore is mostly quarried, and brought to the reduction works for crushing and separating. It is then ready for use at the furnace, for which a foundation for eight fires has been made, which, when completed, will produce about ten tons of blooms or billets per day, allowing an average of two tons of con- centrated ore to one ton of metalic iron, at a cost of about $35 per ton, in- cluding freight to Bethel. The products of the above mentioned are char- coal blooms and billets, especially adapted to the manufacture of a fine grade of steel, by the open-hearth furnace, or by the use of the crucible, for fine tool-steel, &c. There are but few instances in which iron ore is found im- pregnated in gneiss formation, showing so large a per centage, and an oxide of so pure a nature as in this case. There is no question of its eventually taking rank with the best steel in this and other countries. This company, when its works are all completed, will form quite a valuable acquisition to the township.
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