USA > Vermont > Windham County > Gazetteer and business directory of Windham county, Vt., 1724-1884 > Part 32
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In 1820, however, that part of the town lying north east of West river was annexed to Brookline, materially reducing the chartered area of the town- ship.
The year following that in which the charter was issued, attempts were made by the proprietors, most of whom were inhabitants of Shrewsbury, Mass., to comply with the terms of the charter, by clearing a certain amount of land and allotting it in severalty ; but the state of the times forbade a successful prosecution of the work, and the charter was forfeited. In 1761 the charter was returned to New Hampshire, and on the 3d of November, of that year, a new one was issued to " Luke Brown and his associates," containing the same conditions embraced in the original charter deed. But on the 10th of July, 1765, Ebenezer Morse, Ephraim'Doolittle and Job Cushing, a commit- tee of the proprietors, sent a memorial to Lieut-Gov. Colden, of New York. in which they referred to the second New Hampshire charter, as follows :-
" Your petitioners have, agreeable to the demands of said Charter, made all possible efforts in order effectually to settle said lands so granted, and have already expended Six Dollars upon Each right or share, in making Pub- lick Roads, and in other Publick Services, and cleared upon the several Lots in said Township more than fifteen hundred acres of Land (as we judge). and were vigorously prosecuting the settlement of said Township, When Your Honor Issued a Proclamation, Laying Claim to all the Land West of Connecticut River (then chartered out by the Governor of New Hampshire) as belonging to the Government of New York."
In addition to the above it was also stated in the memorial that the doubts. which had arisen in their minds in regard to the validity of the New Hamp- shire charter, had retarded the settlement of the township. So, in order to remove all obstacles, they asked for a confirmation grant ; and, that they might not be compelled to pay more than the usual fees, they prayed that the confirmation might be made before the stamp act should become obligitory. But, for a long time, no notice appears to have been taken of this petition, and when, finally, the attention of the Governor was directed to the subject. instead of confirming the New Hampshire charter, he, on the 11th of May, 1772, made a grant of the township by the name of Newfane, to "Walter Franklin and twenty other persons, principally residing in the city of New York," the charter being a literal copy of the original Wentworth deed, from New Hampshire. On the day following this transaction, Franklin and his associates conveyed their rights to Luke Knoulton and John Taylor, of
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TOWN OF NEWFANE.
Worcester county, Mass. Thus the titles to all the lands in Newfane are in consequence derived from the New York charter.
The surface of the town is broken into high hills and deep valleys, affording many magnificent views and many beautiful landscape pictures, though it has no elevation deserving to be termed a mountain, and there is little or no broken or waste land that is unsuitable for purposes of cultivation. The in- tervales afford excellent tillage lands, and the uplands are inferior to none in the State for grazing purposes. The original growth of forest trees is princi- pally rock-maple, beech, birch, spruce and hemlock ; but the recent growth on the eastern and southern hillsides is oak and hickory, and in the southern part of the town, on the intervales and hillsides near Williamsville, the chest- nut grows abundantly, this being the only town in the county, outside of the Connecticut river valley, where trees of the latter growth are found. The principal streams are the Wantasiquet, commonly called West river, which flows a southerly course through the eastern part of the town ; the South branch, so-called, which rises in Dover, and, after receiving a number of tribu- tary streams, passes through the southerly part of the town and empties into West river near the eastern boundary of Newfane; Baker's book, a tributary of the South branch, rises in Wardsboro, and empties into the South branch at Williamsville ; and Smith's brook, which rises in Wardsboro, and, running through the entire northerly part of the town, empties into West river, two miles below Fayetteville. These streams afford many eligible mill-sites and water privileges.
The rocks entering into the geological structure of the territory are princi- pally mica slate and hornblende, though few continuous ranges can be traced with certainty. Granite is by no means an uncommon rock here, bowlders and rolled masses of it being scattered in profusion over every part of the town, sometimes being found upon the summits of the highest hills, probably the result of the drift period. These bowlders, by skillful splitting, are wrought into fence posts and building stone. Hornblende is a very common rock, forming a range that extends through the entire town. It is the variety called hornblende slate, and is often curiously curved and twisted, and occasionally passes into primitive greenstone and greenstone porphyry. Mica slate is the most common rock, yet no connected range can be traced. It forms the summits and frequently the sides of the hills, and in the valleys it is common ; but hornblende is constantly thrusting itself from underneath the mica slate, and interrupting the continuity of its ranges. In the north part of the town are extensive strata of mica slate, which are occasionally quarried and wrought into flagging stones. Talcose slate better deserves the name of a range than any other in the town. Serpentine, associated with it, forms a range extending four or five miles on the western border of the town, presenting perpendicular precipices, in some places forty or fifty feet in height. Chloride slate also occurs in the town, in which is embedded splendid specimens of garnet. A nugget of native gold, weighing eight and one-half ounces, was found here in
17
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TOWN OF NEWFANE.
1827, about one hundred rods east of the village of Williamsville. It was of conical shape, and there were adhering to it a number of small crystals of quartz. It was found in alluvium consisting of thin strata of sand, clay and water-worn stones. At the time the gold was found it was supposed to have been accidently lost by a band of counterfeiters who formerly resided in the neighborhood, although their operations were confined exclusively to the manufacturing of silver coin. Gold at that time had not been discovered elsewhere in New England ; but since then its discovery at Somerset, Ply- mouth, Bridgewater, and other places in Vermont. seems to favor the theory that it existed originally in the bed of serpentine and talcose slate in the western part of the town, near the head waters of the South branch, and was swept out of place by some freshet and deposited in the alluvium some six miles below.
In 1880 Newfane had a population of 1,031, and in 1882 had eleven school districts and eleven common schools, employing three male and fourteen female teachers, to whom was paid an aggregate salary of $1,103.84. There were 241 pupils attending common schools, while the entire cost of the schools for the year, ending October 31st, was $1,359 41, with M. O. Howe, superin- tendent.
FAYETTEVILLE (Newfane p. o.), the county seat, is a pleasant little post vil- lage and station on the Brattleboro & Whitehall railroad, located in the north- eastern part of the town, on Smith's brook, near its junction with West river. It has one church (Congregational), a court-house and jail, two hotels, two stores, two saw-mills, two blacksmith shops, and about fifty dwellings. In the early settlement of the town a village grew up upon the summit of a hill, which rose like a cone in the center of the town, and when, in 1787, New- fane was constituted the shire town of the county, the courts were removed from Westminster to this village, or Newfane Hill, as it was called. From 1790 to 1820 this village consisted of a court-house, jail, meeting house, academy, three stores, two hotels, a variety of shops, and about twenty resi- dences. But in 1825 the site of the court buildings was changed to what is now Fayetteville, or what was then known as Park's Flats, and named Fay- etteville in honor of General La Fayette, who had paid his memorable visit to Vermont the preceding year. After this removal of the public buildings from the hill to the valley below, the owners of the real estate on the hill began removing their buildings to Fayetteville and Williamsville, and as late as 1860 not a building remained to mark the pleasant site of the old village of Newfane Hill.
WILLIAMSVILLE, another pleasant little post village, is located in the south- eastern part of the town, on the South branch, near the mouth of Baker's brook. It contains two churches (Methodist and Universalist), one hotel, two stores a grist-inill, two saw-mills, one tub factory, a cardboard mill, wagon shop, blacksmith shop, cider-mill and jelly manufactory, a shoe shop, and about thirty dwellings. The name of the village is derived from William H.
Gúnyle
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TOWN OF NEWFANE.
Williams, in early years the owner of a large portion of its business interests, and who was an enterprising citizen of Newfane for many years. He died in 1866, at an advanced age. The village doubtless owes its origin, and, in a large degree, its subsequent growth, to the natural advantages afforded by the stream upon which it is situated.
PONDVILLE (South Newfane p. o.), a small village located about a mile west of Williamsville, has one church (Baptist), a saw and shingle-mill, card- ing mill, a cider and jelly mill, and about twenty dwellings. The village de- rived its naine in honor of Caleb Pond, once a resident here, but later a wealthy merchant of Hartford, Conn.
BROOKSIDE is a hamlet located in the southwestern part of the town, con- taining three saw-mills, a blacksmith shop, harness shop, and about fifteen dwellings.
The Windham County Savings Bank, located at Fayetteville, was chartered in 1853, and organized in 1854. Its officers are Samuel D. Winslow, of Townshend, president ; Oscar L. Sherman, vice-president ; Milon Davidson, treasurer ; trustees, Charles H. Eagar, Joseph J. Green, A. T. Warren, William T. Bruce, O. L. Sherman, Jonas Livermore, P. H. Butler, I. K. Batchelder, Hugh H. Holbrook, Abner B. Bailey, and John Stebbins.
Alvin Gates's grist-mill and chair shop, located at Fayetteville, was built many years ago, where Mr. Gates now carries on a good business.
Ephraim C. Walker's saw-mill, located at Fayetteville, is furnished with a circular saw, and cuts about 100,000 feet of lumber per annum.
Davenport & Underwood's saw-mill and turning works, located on Smith's brook, at Fayetteville, is operated by a fifty-horse power steam engine, employs twenty men, and has a sawing capacity of 1,000,000 feet of lum- ber per annum, turning out about $2,000.00 worth of work per month.
Hoyf's cider-mill and jelly works are located at Williamsville. The jelly works have the capacity for turning out thirty tons of jelly per annum.
Wheeler & Morse's tub-factory, located at Williamsville, turns out about 5,000 to 7,000 butter tubs and sap buckets for annum.
D. B. Lamson's wool-carding mill, located at South Newfane, is operated by water-power and does about $400.00 worth of custom carding per annum.
William A. Brooks's saw-mill, located on road 42, is fitted with board and bench saws, shingle machine, lathes, etc., cutting about 300,000 feet of lum- ber yer year.
Howard Bros' card-board mill, Packer S. Simonds, superintendent, is located at Williamsville.
The first settlement of Newfane was begun by Jonathan Park, Nathaniel Stedman and Ebenezer Dyer, in 1766, as follows : In the spring of 1766, Jon- athan Park, then a young man about twenty-three years of age, and Nathaniel Stedman, aged twenty-one years, both single men, started forth from Worcester county, Mass., with axe, tinder box and kettle, slung on their shoulders, to seek a home in the forests of the New Hampshire grants. They made their
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TOWN OF NEWFANE.
halt in the township of Fane, selecting their lots on or near the top of the highest hill in the center of the town. Stedman took up and cleared the farm that is to-day known as Nathan Merrifield's old farm. Park cleared what is known as old Newfane hill common. During this summer they occu- pied a cabin together on Stedman's lot. During the season, Ebenezer Dyer, a lawyer from Wortester county, who was out prospecting for a home, came to their camp and enquired the route to John Hazeltine's clearing. He had settled in the vicinity of the Franklin homestead, about on the line between Townshend and Newfane, in 1764, supposing he was in Townshend, though it is said he was inreality in Newfane. Dyer, it seems, was a full-blooded rebel, or anti-king's man, and had come here as a refugee from Worcester county, where he had lain in jail seven years for refusing to pay a royal fine of nine shillings. When an opportunity offered itself the three men started out together to look for Hazeltine's cabin. They came out on the round top of the high hill just west of Fayetteville, and pointed out the course in a northeast line to the river. Stedman returned to the camp, and Park and Dyer descended into the valley and found the flats on which Fayetteville now stands. Once in the valley, surrounded by the dense forest, their only course was to make the best of their route to the river ; and this they reached on what is to-day known as the Windham county fair ground farm. Dyer was so well pleased with the land that he marked the trees and selected this for his lot ; and now, being satisfied that they must be below Hazeltine's, they fol- lowed up the river and found his clearing. It seems to be evident that these three men returned to Worcester county in the autumn and there spent the winter. In the spring of 1767 Park and Stedmin returned, driving with them a pair of steers and a heifer. With reference to the exact time that Dyer moved his family into town, it has only been learned that Mrs. Dyer was the first white woman that ever spent the winter in the town.
The " History of Newfane," from which these facts are taken, also gives an incident illustrating the hardships these men endured. In order to win- ter their steers and heifers they went out into the northern part of the town, some five miles from their camp, to a natural meadow, now known as the Knowlton meadow, and cut and stacked swamp hay and built a shelter for their stock ; and every day throughout that long, dreary winter, 1767-'68, one or the other of these men plodded his way through the lone, dreary forest to feed their stock, and back to camp at night ; and during the winter Park returned to Massachusetts, leaving Stedman alone in the forest with the stock to feed, for twenty-six days.
In the summer of 1768 Park commenced his clearing in Fayetteville, and built the first framed house in town, covering the frame with hemlock bark. Stedman left the hill, either then or soon after, and settled upon the farm lately occupied by his grandson, W. A. Stedman. He died October 16, 1812, aged sixty-seven years. Park lived to the age of eighty four years, dying July 18, 1827. The remains of both these men are buried in the village
.
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TOWN OF NEWFANE.
cemetery at Fayetteville, while Mr. Dyer's dust lies sleeping on the bank just outside the southeast corner of the fair ground, with no monument to mark the spot.
In 1771, three years later, settlers had come in so rapidly that the town had eight families, making a total of fifty-two persons, fourteen of whom were adult males. In 1791 this population had increased to 1,031.
The town was surveyed in 1772, and duly organized May 17, 1774, when Ebenezer Fletcher was chosen moderator ; Luke Knoulton, town clerk ; John Wheeler and Ebenezer Fletcher, overseers of the poor ; Jonathan Park, Moses Kenney, and Christopher Osgood, trustees; Edward Smith, Christopher Osgood, and John Wheeler, commissioners ; Christopher Osgood and Luke Knoulton, assessors ; Josiah Randall, collector ; Luke Knoulton, treasurer ; Phineas Farrar, John Morse, Edward Smith, and Lemuel Stevens, consta- bles; Josiah Randall, Ebenezer Myrick, Moses Kenney, and Lemuel Stevens, overseers of highways; and Jonathan Thurston, Joshua Morse, Christopher Osgood, and Nathan Pike, fence viewers. Ebenezer Myrick was the first repre- sentative in the legislature, in 1779. The first justice of the peace was William Ward, in 1786. The first child born was Lucy Park, August 15, 1769.
Thomas Betterly, born in Worcester, Mass., in 1751, came to Newfane in 1770 and located upon the farm now owned by his grandson, Chester H. One of his sons, familiarly known as Captain Betterly, and father of Chester H., was born on the old homestead in 1792, and died in the house in which he was born, in 1870.
Hon. Luke Knoulton was born in Shrewsbury, Mass., November 4, 1738, and served in the old French war. He married Sarah, daughter of Ephraim Holland, of Shrewsbury, Mass., January 5, 1760, and with his family moved to Newfane in February, 1773, the fourteenth family to settle in the town. He died here December 12, 1810, aged seventy-three years. His wife died September 1, 1797. Their family consisted of seven children-three sons and four daughters. Mr. Knoulton was chosen first town clerk, and con- tinued to hold the position fourteen years. He was a representative in 1784, '85, '88, '89, '92, 1803 and '06, and a member of the old council from 1790 to 1800 ; judge of supreme court in 1786, and judge of the county court from 1787 to 1793. In the division of the $30,000.00 which New York received from Vermont, on the accession of the latter State to the Union, he received $249-53, on account of the losses he had sustained by being obliged to give up lands which he held under a New York title.
James Lamb was one of the very early settler of the town. He was born at Spencer, Mass., in 1750, married, first, Charlotte Howard ; second, Lydia (Cushing) Stearns, and died here January 11, 1836.
Silas Gates was also one of the very early settlers. He cleared what is known as the Oliver Dexter farm. Died August 21, 1826.
Rev. Hezekiah Taylor, first pastor of the Congregational church in New- iane, was born in Grafton, Mass., in 1748, graduated from Harvard college
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in 1770, and was settled as pastor of this church June 30, 1774. He died here August 23, 1874.
Rev. Aaron Crosby was born in Shrewsbury, Mass., November 27, 1744, graduated from Harvard college in 1770, married Mary Taylor, sister of Rev. Hezekiah Taylor, August 22, 1774, came to Newfane the same year, and died here January 13, 1824.
Dea. Moses Kenney was born in Northboro, Mass., September 11, 1747, married Azubiah Parmenter in 1770, and came to Newfane in 1774. He reared twelve children, and died June 23, 1808, aged sixty-one years. Mrs. Kenney died January 3, 1837, aged eighty-six years.
Ethan Durren was born in 1747, and came to Newfane in 1774. He was married the same year to Millescent Parmenter, of Sudbury, Mass., and died July 7, 1823. Mrs. Durren died December 5, 1848, aged one hundred years.
Artemas Bruce came to Newfane from Westboro, Mass., in 1774, and located upon the farm now occupied by William T. Bruce. His son Ephraim married Polly Crowl and had five sons and three daughters. Of this family, Samuel married Arathuzia Bartlett, daughter of Capt. William Bartlett, and reared one son and one daughter, Mary H. (Mrs. F. O. Burdett), of Newfane, and William F. The latter was born in 1829, married Emma V. Franklin in 1865, and has had three children.
Daniel Fisher, born at Milford, Mass., in 1752, came to Newfane in 1774, and purchased about 1,000 acres of land in the eastern part of the town. He was called Corn Fisher, on account of the large quantities of Indian corn he raised on his large farm. He died in 1820, aged sixty-eight years. His son Daniel, Jr., born here in 1776, married Milliscent Durren in 1797, their children being Clark, Lydia (Mrs. Nathaniel Stimpson), Orrison, Caro- line (Mrs. Richard P. Pratt), Hannah (Mrs. Isaac Burnett), and Simon. George C. Fisher, son of Simon, born in 1800, married Lorinda Kerman, of Burlington, in 1820, and reared six sons and four daughters. Two of the daughters are now living, one of whom, Laura, is the wife of George B. John- son, and resides on a part of the old Fisher homestead.
Jonathan Robinson, Jr., was born at Milford, Mass., July 12, '1754, mar- ried Sarah Taylor, sister of Rev. Hezekiah Taylor, and came to Newfane in the early part of 1775. He bought of John Wheeler, November 13, 1775, a farm in the parish, so-called, which he occupied until September, 1796, when he exchanged farms with Lieut. James Lamb. The Lamb farm, which he received in exclrange, embraced an extensive meadow a hundred rods or more below Williamsville, where Sackett's men, who were killed in the fight with Hobbs, June 27, 1748, were buried. In 1796, when Jonathan Robinson took possession of the farin, a large number of graves were distinctly visible near a clump of chestnut trees standing on the lower meadow, and they were said to be the graves of those who were killed in the fight with Melvin at the mouth of the South branch, formerly called the lower fork of the Wantasti-
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TOWN OF NEWFANE.
quet. Mr. Robinson had a family of ten children, and died April 14, 1819. Sarah, his wife, died March 9, 1809.
Hon. Luke Knoulton, Jr., was born here March 24, 1775, was educated first at the elementary school at Westminster, then at Chesterfield academy, N. H., and finally as a private pupil and law student of his brother Calvin, a graduate of Dartmouth college, N. H., at Newfane, where he was admitted to the bar about 1796. He was a successful practitioner, although he had no special fondness for the profession, and became assistant judge of Wind- ham county, and also represented Newfane for several years in the general assembly. He removed to Canada, in 1821, where he died in 1855, aged eighty years.
Dr. Nathan Stone was born at Shrewsbury, Mass., in 1761, studied medi- cine at Dr. Flint's school of medicine, was a surgeon's mate in the Revolu- tion. He came to Newfane in 1782, and was surgeon of the 14th Vt. (militia) regiment, in 1787, of the zd regiment in 1790, and of the 3d regi- ment in 1794. He held the office of justice of the peace for many years, and was town clerk forty-two years. He married Alice, daughter of Judge Knoulton, in 1788, and reared five sons and four daughters, of whom Edson, died in New York ; Joseph died at Ellenburgh, N. Y .; Lucinda died in 1874 ; Benjamin died at the age of ten years; Alice R. died at the age of twenty- six years ; Sophia K., widow of Justus Holland, and Sarah S., widow of James Holland, reside in Newfane. Dr. Stone died in March, 1839. Mrs. Stone died in 1865, aged ninety six years.
Aaron Merrifield came to Newfane, from Milford, Mass., about 1785, and located upon what is now known as the Mirrifield homestead. He married Betsey E. Robinson, and reared seven sons and four daughters. The seventh son, Nathaniel, born in 1789, married Sophronia Chapin, for his first wife, their daughter becoming the wife of Joseph Wilder ; for his second wife he married Abigail Cushing, in 1828, by whom he had a family as follows : Abby L., Porter W., Hollis R., born in 1833, Ormando P., and Augusta C., born in 1842. Only the latter three are living, of whom Hollis R. resides on the old Bruce place, where he located in 1846, and with him resides his sister, Augusta C. The other surviving child, Ormando P., resides in Indiana.
Nahum Houghton was born in Newfane, March 17, 1785, married first. Mary Holden, January, 1812 ; second, Lydia Stratton. He was a justice of the peace many years, and transacted a great deal of public business. He died May 12, 1854.
Ebenezer Allen was born at Medway. Mass., in 1758, and came to New- fane in 1785. He represented the town in the general assembly for ten con- secutive years, from 1794 to 1804, was for a time judge of the county court, also a judge of probate for the Marlboro district, and was actively engaged in public business until his death, December 16, 1805.
Ebenezer Morse, born in 1756, came to Newfane in 1788, married Henri- etta Searly, and reared two sons and eight daughters, of whom Ann D. was
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married to Denzil Taylor. They reared three sons and one daughter, as follows : Horace B. and George W., of Boston; Henry R., residing in Maine ; and Mrs. Harriet A. E. Jones, widow of William Jones, of this town, The latter was married in 1851, and had one son, born in 1852, died in 1873, a student in Harvard college.
Capt. William Bartlett, born at Northboro, Mass., married Azubah Gleason of Westboro, about 1790, and came immediately to Newfane. He became quite prominent in town affairs, but removed to Winchester, N. H., in 1837.
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