USA > Vermont > Rutland County > Gazetteer and business directory of Rutland county, Vt., for 1881-82 > Part 25
USA > Vermont > Rutland County > Gazetteer and business directory of Rutland county, Vt., for 1881-82 > Part 25
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Evergreen Cemetery, located on Pine Hill, near Centre Rutland, is beautifully situated, covering an area of 45 acres, and a considerable portion of it improved and embellished. The whole is covered with a natural grove of pine and oak, and contains seven fountains, a number of beautiful monu- ments, and the grounds are kept in good condition. The association was organized in 1860, with the following list of officers: Frederick Chaffee, Wil- liam A. Burnett, Rockwood Barrett, John B. Proctor and J. G. Griggs. The officers at the present time are, J. J. R. Kandall, president ; Dr. Chas. Wood- house, treasurer; B. W. Marshall, secretary, and J. G. Griggs, superintendent.
The Vermont Marble Co. was chartered under the laws of New York, on the 30th day of September, 1880, with ex-Governor Redfield Proctor, prest. ; A. Smedbury, of New York city, Sec'y and Treas. ; Ner P. Simons, Supt. This company employs in all 700 men. At their mills in Sutherland Falls, they operate sixty-four gangs of saws, twenty-four gangs at West Rutland, twenty-eight at Centre Rutland, and eight gangs at their branch mills in Salem, N. Y., making in all 124 gangs. At their quarries in West Rutland, Sutherland Falls and Double Road Crossing, they have in all seven openings, making the largest marble business operated by any one firm in the world.
SUTHERLAND FALLS, a small post village, located in the extreme northern part of the township and lying partly in Pittsford, contains one store and about a hundred dwellings, nearly the whole population being in the em- ploy of the Vermont Marble Company's mills and quarries at this place. The village of Sutherland Falls is beautifully located on Otter Creek, and is also a station on the Central Vermont Railroad, taking its name from the falls on Otter Creek at this point. These falls form one of the best mill privileges in the State, with surroundings that are eminently picturesque and beautiful. From a rear door of the new marble mill, located but a few rods from the head of the falls, one may obtain a view that is well worthy a visit by one who justly appreciates beautiful scenery. A wide- spread and beautiful valley opens to the north and east, thickly studded with comfortable and oftentimes elegant farm-houses, with well-fenced and highly cultivated fields, beyond which, to the north, may be seen the cluster of buildings that form Pittsford village. To the east may be seen the wild towering peaks of Pico, Killington and Shrewsbury ; while to the right the old Otter falls roaring over an eminence 118 feet in height, then follows its serpentine way northward, till at last it is lost in a thread of silver, far away in the verdant valley.
The quarries are located about half a mile from the mills, which are operated by water-power, having a head of 118 feet. The drills and channeling-
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machines are operated by compressed air, the engines for its compression being located at the mills, from whence it is conducted to the quarries by means of large iron pipes. Three compressers are used, the same that were employed in the excavations of Hoosac Tunnel. The quarries being located a number of feet higher than the mills, the blocks of marble have only to be loaded upon cars built for the purpose, when by gravitation they are con- ducted down the gently inclined plane, directly into the mills. Thus the marble is quarried, sawed and polished, with absolutely no expense for mo- tive power, except the natural wear and tear on machinery. Marble was first quarried here in 1836, by Humphrey, Ormsbee & Co., who failed in 1837. In 1853 a new company was formed, called the North River Mining and Quarrying Co., which continued in operation three years, when the property fell into the hands of the Sutherland Falls Marble Co., under which name it was operated until 1880, when it was united with the old Rutland Marble Company, the two forming the Vermont Marble Company. When Gov. Proctor first became interested in these quarries, in 1869, then operated by the Sutherland Falls Marble Company, they used but sixteen gangs of saws, and since that time their works have increased to sixty-four gangs, and now employ 375 men. Mr. Proctor's residence is at Sutherland Falls, a pleasant cottage, located just at the head of the falls, surrounded by shade trees and evergreens. He has lately donated to the village a fine library, containing 3,000 rare volumes.
Flint Bros. marble quarries, located on road 43; at Double Road Crossing, were first established in 1866, as the Eureka Marble Co., and afterwards changed to Flint, Johnson & Co., and in 1878 to Flint Bros. The firm is now Flint Bros. & Co. The quality of the marble is of a clouded variety, which is well adapted for monumental purposes. The mills and quarries are operated by steam power; the former contains twelve gangs of saws, four turning and four finishing lathes. The firm employs fifty men and produces $50,000 worth of marble annually. In removing the marble from the quar- ries the workmen have come upon several remarkable specimens of pot-holes ; one of them nearly twenty feet deep and several feet in diameter. The sides are quite smooth, and they still contain the rocks, which by the constant action of water had been whirled round until they had worn these immense holes in the solid marble, hundreds and perhaps thousands of years ago.
H. N. Reynolds' quarry, located on road 3, produces a variegated quality, resembling Italian Bardiglio. The vein has been tested and found to be ninety feet wide and several hundred feet long. The quarry is not in opera- tion at present.
The Columbian Marble Co's quarry was opened in 1836 by Humphrey, Ormsbee & Co., who worked it about two years, when work was suspended and the property passed into the hands of Francis Slason, as receiver. The company then worked it for him about four years, and then it was abandoned until 1867, when it was again started by a firm under the name of the North
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Rutland Marble Co., and again changed in 1870 to the present firm name. They employ at the quarries twenty men and operate three machines. Their mill at Rutland employs 150 men.
Ripley Sons' marble works, located on road 41, were established in 1844, employing on the start about twenty men. They now saw 300,000 feet of marble per year, and employ fifty-five men.
On April, 1881, the Vermont Marble Co., Sheldons & Slason, Gilson & Woodfin, Ripley Sons and Sherman & Gleason Companies formed a co- partnership, with a central office at Rutland village, by which they agreed to open yards in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Boston, from which all their marble in these places was to be sold, and each company to have a share of the sales .according to the assessed value of their stock, the annoying and vexations delays in the filling of orders for marble being obviated by this method of doing business, as under the new plan orders will go to those who can most readily take care of them, and be filled in much less time than they could be were the selection confined to any one company's yard, and at the same time prices can be regulated more to the advantage of both con- sumer and producer. The association is known as the " Producers Marble Co."
The Town Farm is located on road 51, and contains 280 acres, under the management of William F. Kelley. There are at present thirty-five of the town poor supported here.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
During the old Colonial wars Rutland had no white man dwelling within its limits ; but yet was always, "in ye olden times," the focus of Indian travel. From Fort Dummer, in Massachusetts, a brisk trade was kept up with Can- ada, the line of travel being across what is now the State of Vermont, and as Otter Creek, north and south, Castleton River to the west and Cold River to the east, formed the most convenient route for the trading canoes, the present township of Rutland may have been the scene of many a conflict between the treacherous red man and the hardy trader. The first record we have of any white man's visiting the territory is that of James Coss, who passed along Otter Creek with twelve Caughnawaga Indians in May, 1730. In 1759 the old military road from Charleston, N. H., to Ticonderoga and Crown Point was put through, passing along Black River and Otter Creek, crossing Otter Creek at Centre Rutland. Twenty years after this, Fort Ran- ger, located on this road at Center Rutland, was the headquarters of the State forces. The first white man that ever settled in Rutland township was Captain James Mead, who came to Centre Rutland in the year 1769. Mead was born in Massachusetts in 1730, and, while yet a young man, removed to Nine Partners, N. Y., where he resided until 1764, and then emigrated with others to Manchester, Vermont. On the 30th day of September, 1769, he bought of Nathan Stone, of Windsor, 7,000 acres of land, about
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one-quarter of the whole township of Rutland, paying $333.33 for the same, in horses. On the same day he sold 3,500 acres of his land to Charles Button, of Clarendon. He built a log house about half a mile west of Centre Rutland, near the bank of West Creek, (Tinmouth River,) the first house built in the township. During the winter he returned for his family, consisting of a wife and ten children, returning with them in March of the following spring. They were three days coming from Manchester, and when they arrived at their log house they found it was built too near the creek, and the snow and ice had made it unavailable ; so for a time they took refuge in a wigwam belonging to the Indians, quite an encampment of whom he found at the falls. Of these Caughnawaga Indians numerous traditions are still extant, and they seem to have been very friendly, peace- able neighbors. It is said they furnished lead for bullets to the white men, in exchange for tobacco, &c., but would never reveal the place where they got it. Mead has said they would start from the falls and not be gone over an hour, and return with large pieces. For this reason it was long believed there were lead mines in the vicinity, but none have ever been found. In this wigwam the Mead family resided until the next fall, during which time they had completed a comfortable log house, in which they wintered.
During the spring of 1770, Simeon Powers, from Springfield, Vt., with his wife Lydia and one child, settled west of Otter Creek, on the present Kelley farm. Soon after, Asa Johnson and his wife, from Williamstown, Mass., settled near them. They were joined in the fall by William Dwinell and wife, relatives of the Powers', from Springfield, who took up their residence with them. These four families comprised the whole white population of Rutland in the fall of 1770.
During this year Thomas Rowley was in Rutland surveying lots, and on the 23d of September, the first white child was born ; a son of Simeon Powers, named William. On the following day, William, son of James Mead, was born. Nine days after, the 3d of October, Chloe, daughter of Asa Johnson, was born, making three children born in the town during the first year of its settlement. The first death recorded is that of an infant of Aaron and Ruth Miller, May 26th, 1770 .*
In 1771, on the 3rd of April, Gov. Dunmore, of New York, issued the pat- ent of Socialborough, in direct violation of the King's Order in Council of July, 1767, forbidding such grant. This prohibitory order, and the consequent want of authority in the Governor to make the grant, was well known to the parties for whose benefit it was made, and it was therefore illegal and void. The patent covered forty-eight thousand acres of land, bounded on the south by Clarendon, and was thirteen miles in length from north to south, by over six in width, and nearly identical with the present townships of Rutland and Pittsford. The nominal grantees in the patent were forty-eight persons, each entitled to one thousand acres, but most of them, a few days after the patent
* This death is noted in the town records. We have no information of the family being permanent settlers.
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was issued, conveyed their shares to a few New York city speculators, for whose benefit the grant had really been made, and who instigated and sus- tained all subsequent efforts to eject the New Hampshire claimants. Soon a Scotchman by the name of Cockburn was sent by the "land pirates" to survey their stolen land, and it was he who surveyed the present Main street of Rutland village. But the people of Socialborough did not purpose to tamely submit to this outrage, so the surveyor did not find his lot a happy one, as an extract from a letter written by him, addressed to Mr. Duane, the most prom- inent of the New York speculators, will testify. (See page 56.) He was the second time stopped by Mead and Johnson, and by other parties threatened with death, and their threats appear to have prevented him from making further attempts under the patent of Socialborough. The next summer, however, he was found, with a number of his assistants, at Bolton, on the Onion River, and was arrested by Remember Baker, Seth Warner and others, who, after breaking his compass and chain, took him and his party to Castle- ton, for trial before a court of the settlers ; but on learning that negotiations for arranging their difficulties were pending, allowed him to proceed on his way without further molestation.
In 1774 Rutland had a population of thirty-five families, among whom were Joseph Bowker and John Smith. Capt. John Smith emigrated from Salis- bury, Conn., to Rutland, in April of 1774, settling on the farm now owned by F. B. and J. Q. Smith. When the New York claimants under the patent of Socialborough came to take possession of his farm, he resisted them, for which offence he was sentenced to death, without trial, by the New York Riot Act of 1774. But like Paddy's fish, "he had to be caught before he could be cooked." Mr. Smith was the first town-clerk and the first Repre- sentative of Rutland in the General Assembly. His farm consisted of 1400 acres, there being but one house between him and Centre Rutland at the time he settled on it. He had five sons and one daughter, named respect- ively John, Daniel, Joel, Silas, Elijah and Sarah, all of whom settled on the tract of land owned by their father. Capt. Smith with two of his sons, John and Daniel, were engaged in the Battle of Bennington, he being Capt. of the guard placed over the prisoners lodged in the church after the engagement. At one time Daniel and thirteen others were sent north on a scouting expe- dition. In Shelburne they camped one night in a deserted log house. Before morning they were surprised and surrounded by a party of Indians and Tories numbering fifty-seven in all. An increased firing was kept up till morning, when all that were left of the besieging party were surrounded, taken prisoners and brought to Bennington with the loss of only one man. While on their way to Bennington it was proposed that they all discharge their guns for the purpose of cleaning them. When Daniel's was discharged, one of the Tories exclaimed :- " That is the weapon that spoke so often last night, and with such deadly effect !" The old musket is still in possession of his grandson, Daniel. Elijah W., son of Elijah, and his sister, Mrs. Sheldon,
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are still living, Elijah on the old homestead, and Mrs. Sheldon near the Congregational church, at West Rutland. J. Q., son of E. W., has many curious papers that were the property of his great great-grandfather, some of them bearing date as far back as 1733. Capt. John Smith died in 1807, honored and respected by all.
Capt. Joseph Bowker was one of the trusted men of the town and State in their early days, was president of the several conventions for the formation of the State, held in 1776, of those that declared the State independent and framed the State Constitution in 1777. He was afterwards a member of the Governor's Council, and held other honorable and responsible positions. He died at Rutland in 1784.
Ichabod Walker, from Massachusetts, emigrated to Rutland in . 1771, settling upon a farm about where the old court house used to stand, on Main street, in Rutland village. He was driven from his home at the com- mencement of the Revolution, and when he returned to the county, resided in Clarendon.
Gideon Walker, from Coventry, Mass., settled in Clarendon in 1768. About four years later he removed to Rutland, settling near Otter Creek, on the present Baxter farm. At the time of the retreat from Ticonderoga, his wife and four children fled to New Providence, now Cheshire, Mass., remain- ing there with Lewis Walker, a cousin of her husband, who afterwards re- moved to Clarendon.
Daniel Walker, brother to Gideon, came to the county about the time Gideon did, settling in Clarendon. Daniel married an English lady, Mary Young, through whose influence he espoused the cause of the British, for which his property was confiscated, and he removed to Canada. Gideon died at an advanced age, leaving numerous descendants, many of whom now reside at Whiting, Addison County.
Benjamin Capron settled in the township at an early date, was the father of ten children, and died in 1815, aged 63. Benj. Jr., was born in Rutland in 1786, and died August 4, 1859. The Caprons have numerous descend- ants residing in the county.
Phineas Kingsley, from Beckett, Mass., moved to Rutland in 1773, settling upon the place where the Osgood family now reside, on road 18, cor. 17. During the war of the Revolution, his relatives in Sudbury feeling unsafe there, brought their families to Rutland, and persuaded Mr. Kingsley to take the women and children to Massachusetts. While in Massachusetts he lost his wife and child, after which he returned to Rutland, where he died at an advanced age, honored and respected. Gershom C. Ruggles, now residing in Rutland village, at the age of 71, is a grandson of Mr. Kingsley.
Jonathan Reynolds, from Nine Partners, removed to Rutland at an early date, purchasing 275 acres of land from James Mead, for £300 (Colonial pounds.) The same farm, or a portion of it, is now in the possession of J. Grafton Griggs. During the Revolution Mr. Reynolds served as a lieutenant.
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He was a great trapper and hunter. While hunting one day in company with a neighbor, they shot an otter. In dividing the game, the neighbor remarked :- " I will give you that fifteen acres lying above your house for your share of that otter." Mr. R. accepted the offer. That fifteen acres is now valued at $2,000. Mr. Reynolds died in 1840, lacking sixteen days of being 100 years of age.
John Johnson, from Connecticut, came to Rutland in April, 1773, locating on what is now known as the Zina Johnson place, where he resided until his death, at an advanced age. In 1866 Cyrus L. Johnson took down an old barn on the place, built in 1790, using the beams in the construction of a new one. They were white oak, thirty feet long, and split so that one cut made two beams 10x14 inches.
Deacon Waite Chatterton, from Connecticut, immigrated to Rutland in 1771, settling upon the farm now owned by William H. Johnson. By his wife, Susannah Dickerman, he had seven children-Exi L., Sally, Susan, Mary, Samuel and Benning-all of whom resided in the township. The fifth gen- eration now resides on the old homestead, it never having been owned out of the family. Waite died in May, 1837. Waite, son of Exi, was born on the old place in 1806, living here until his death. He was a deacon of the Con- gregational Church at West Rutland and a very influential citizen.
Amos Hines came to Rutland, from Rhode Island, among the earliest set- tlers, locating upon the present Russell place, on road 26, where he died at an advanced age. Laura Hines, now living in Rutland, at the age of 81, is a granddaughter of Amos.
Benjamin Farmer, Jr., came to Rutland previous to the Revolution, and bought a tract of land on road 31, near the Mendon line. He afterwards built in Mendon upon the same farm, and was later the first Representative from that town. Benjamin, Sen., settled near his son, being at the time 80 years of age. He died there at the age of 90. Benjamin, Jun., died at the age of 98, and was buried in the family burying-ground, near where Eli Farmer now resides, on road 26. Eli, a grandson of Benjamin, is now a hale, hearty old gentleman of 83.
Daniel Greeno came to Rutland from Boston, Mass., previous to the war of the Revolution, locating in the north-eastern part of the township, where he resided 14 years on the farm now owned by Eugene Thomas. But the title proving poor, he located where Amasa Greeno now resides, on road 26. Up to the time of the Revolution matters were in a very unsettled condition, he being several times driven from his farm, when he would take refuge in Bennington. Both Mr. and Mrs. Greeno were in Bennington at the time of the battle, he shouldering his gun and fighting bravely in the cause of the Colonies. Mrs. Greeno remained in Bennington several weeks after the bat- tle, caring for the wounded. Mr. Greeno kept a tavern many years where Amasa now resides, the house he now occupies having been built in 1795, although it has undergone many repairs. He was the father of ten children,
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eight boys and two girls, all of whom attained the age of maturity, were all married and had families. Of his grandchildren four still reside in the town- ship. Amasa A .; Benjamin R., on road 26 ; Betsey L. Greeno, and Medora V. H. Pond, at Rutland village.
Joseph Kimball, one of Rutland's early settlers, located on road 24, where Ira Hawley now resides. His daughter, Betsey, married Abijah Hawley, also an early settler. Abijah was father to Andrew, who died in 1879, in his 67th year. The farm has never been owned out of the family since it was first located upon by them.
Timothy Boardman came from Middletown, Conn., to Rutland, in 1782, locating on Boardman Hill, where Samuel Boardman now resides. In 1790 he built the house now occupied by Patrick Kinney. It is still in a good state of preservation, the clapboards and window-sash being the same that were first used in its construction. In 1783 Mr. Boardman returned to Conn., and was married to Mary Ward, returning to Vermont with her immediately after the ceremony. During the Revolutionary war Mr. B. served in the navy, was captured in the West Indies, and held a prisoner for six months on the island of Eau Statia. He died at an advanced age, honored by all. His son, Elijah, was born in 1792, residing on the old homestead until his death, in 1783. Elijah was deacon of the Congregational Church at West Rutland for a period of over fifty years, and was perhaps more familiar with the his- tory of its growth and progress than any other person in the town.
Joseph Humphrey was born in Winchester, N. H., in 1768. In 1783 im- migrated to Rutland, and commenced work for Isaac Chatterton and others. The first work he did in the town was on the old county jail at Rutland village, now the residence of George E. Lawrence. About the year 1790 he purchased sixty acres of land of John Sutherland, where R. S. Humphrey now resides, for which he paid "£60 lawful money." Soon after, he mar- ried Hannah Parmalee, of Pittsford, and moved into an old log house on his farm, which had long been abandoned, a sumac, four inches in diameter, hav- ing grown in the old fire-place, extending up the chimney. In 1793 he built a barn, which is now standing in good repair. The following year he com- menced building a frame house, in which they resided until 1826, when the present brick house was built by his son, William, into which he soon after moved with him, and where he resided until his death, in 1851, at the age of 83. On this farm the Columbian Marble Co's quarry was opened by Mr. Humphrey in 1836, being one of the first quarries opened in the township.
Jabez Ward, from New Marlboro, Mass., came to Rutland in 1784, locating upon the farm now owned by William Gilmore, on road 1. Mr. Ward was engaged in the Battle of Hubbardton ; was a good citizen and an upright man. He died on the old homestead at an advanced age.
Edward Dyer came to Rutland from Greenwich, R. I., about the year 1789. He married for his first wife, Sally Bowman, daughter of Lieut. Bow- man, of Clarendon, by whom he had nine children, seven of whom arrived at
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maturity. For his second wife he married Hannah Hoxie, daughter of Gideon Hoxie, a noted Quaker of Chittenden County. Horace H. Dyer, son of Edward, now first selectman of Rutland, resides on road 38, at the age of 60.
John McConnell came to Rutland soon after the Revolutionary war, and located upon the farm now owned by John C. Doty, on road 34. James, his son, remained upon the old homestead until his death, which occurred December 1, 1877, at the advanced age of 84. Mrs. John Doty is the only descendant of Janies now residing in the township.
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