USA > Vermont > Windsor County > Gazetteer and business directory of Windsor County, Vt., for 1883-84 > Part 4
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White river was so called before any settlements were made in Vermont. It is the largest stream in the State east of the Green Mountains, being about fifty-five miles in length and watering 680 square miles of territory. It rises in Granville, and, flowing in a southeasterly course through the north- eastern corner of Hancock, the southwestern part of Rochester and the northeastern corner of Pittsfield, enters Stockbridge. It then turns to the northeast, and after running through the southeastern corner of Bethel, into Royalton, bears to the southeast through Sharon and Hartford and falls into the Connecticut about five miles above the mouth of Quechee river. From
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Gaysville this river runs slowly through a narrow tract of intervale till it ar- rives at the eastern part of Stockbridge, after which the current is very rapid until it reaches Bethel village. From Bethel to its mouth the channel of the river is sixteen to eighteen rods in width, the current generally rapid and the water shallow. On occount of its proximity to Quechee river it receives no large tributaries from the south. From the north it receives three large branches, called the First, the Second and Third branch. The First branch rises in Washington, and flowing through Chelsea and Tunbridge, unites with White river in the eastern part of Royalton. The Second branch rises in Washington, and running southerly through Brookfield and Randolph, enters White river a little west of the center of Royalton. The Third branch origin- ates in Roxbury, flows through the corner of Granville, through Braintree and a corner of Randolph, joining White River at Bethel village. Each of these streams are about twenty miles in length and afford many good mill- seats.
Black river is about thirty-five miles in length and waters 160 square miles of territory. It rises in Plymouth and flows south twelve miles into Ludlow ; thence east eleven miles, through the center of Cavendish, into Weathersfield, and thence south twelve miles further, joining the Connecticut in the lower part of Springfield. It is remarkable for the number of natural ponds it flows through, and affords a great many mill-sites.
Quechee river, also called Ottaquechee and Water Quechee, is also about thirty-five miles in length, and waters 212 square miles of territory. It rises in Sherburne, flows nearly east through the southern part of Bridgewater, thence east-northeast through Woodstock into the southern part of Hartford, and thence southeast through the northeastern corner of Hartland into Con- necticut river, about two miles above Quechee falls. In Bridgewater it receives two considerable branches, viz. : North branch, which rises in the northern part of this township, from the north, and South branch, which rises in Ply- mouth, from the south, both good mill-streams. In Woodstock it receives two other branches of considerable size ; one rising in the northeastern cor- ner of Bridgewater and southeastern corner of Barnard, falls into Quechee river from the north just below the north village in Woodstock; the other rising in the southern part of Woodstock, passed through both the villages in that town, and empties into it from the south, just above the mouth of the last mentioned stream. All of these are clear, lively streams, with gravelly or stony bottoms.
Williams river derives its name from the celebrated Rev. John Williams, who was taken by the Indians at Deerfield, Mass., in 1704, and who, at the mouth of this stream, preached a sermon to his fellow captives. It is formed in Chester, by the union of three considerable branches, which originate in small streams in the townships of Ludlow, Andover, Windham and Grafton. These three branches unite about a mile and a half to the southeast of Ches- ter village, and their united waters, after running fifteen miles in a southeast-
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erly direction, fall into Connecticut river in Rockingham, three miles above Bellows Falls.
GEOLOGICAL.
The science of geology is ever an interesting study, and as related to this county it is exceedingly so ; for here the record of the changes, or "footprints," that Time has left in the increasing ages since the earth was created, are numerous and well developed. Before mentioning the several rocks that enter into the formation of the territory, however, it may not be considered superfluous to briefly note the fundamental principles of the science.
Among men of science, it has become the common, if not the prevailing opinion, that in the beginning all the elements with which we meet were in an ethereal, or gaseous state-that they slowly condensed, existing for ages as a heated fluid, by degrees becoming more consistent-that thus the whole earth was once an immense ball of fiery matter-that, in the course of time, it was rendered very compact, and at last became crusted over, as the process of cooling gradually advanced, and that its interior is still in a molten condition. Thus, if the view suggested be correct, the entire planet, in its earlier phases, as well as the larger part now beneath and within its solid crust, was a mass of molten fire, and is known to geologists as elementary or molten. Following this came another age, in which the molten mass began to cool and a crust to form, called the igneous period. Contempora- neous with the beginning of the igneous period came another epoch. The crust thus formed would naturally become surrounded by an atmosphere heavily charged with minerals in a gaseous or vaporous condition. As the cooling advanced this etherialized matter would condense and seek a lower level, thus coating the earth with another rock. This is named the vaporous period. At last, however, another age was ushered in, one altogether differ- ent from those that had preceded it. The moist vapor which must of necessity have pervaded the atmosphere began to condense and settle, gathering into the hollows and crevices of the rocks, until nearly the whole surface of the earth was covered with water. This is called the aqueous period. As these waters began to recede and the " firmament to appear," the long winter that intervened, while the sun was obscured by the heavy clouds, would cover the earth with mighty ice-floes and glaciers, forming a drift or glacial period.
A great difference also exists in the consolidation and structure of the rocks thus formed. The very newest consist of unconsolidated gravel, sand and clay, forming alluvium. A little farther down we come to the tertiary strata, where are some hardened rocks and others more or less soft. Next below the tertiary is found thick deposits, mostly consolidated, but showing a mechanical structure along with the crystalline arrangements of the in- gredients. These are called secondary and transition. Lowest of all are found rocks having a decidedly crystalline structure, looking as if the different
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WINDSOR COUNTY.
minerals of which they are composed crowded hard upon one another. These rocks are called metamorphoric, hypozoic and azoic.
The principal portion of the rocks of this territory is azoic and known as talcose schist and calciferous mica schist, though both are cut by beds and veins of other formations. Talcose schist proper consists of quartz and talc, though it has associated with it, as integral parts of its formation, clay slate, gneiss, quartz rock, sandstones and conglomerates, limestones and dolo- mites. It underlies nearly the whole of the western part of the county, and also crops out again along the Connecticut river in the northern and southern parts of the same.
The calciferous mica schist, which underlies so great a portion of the eastern part of the county, is supposed to have' originally been a limestone forma- tion, charged with a good deal of silex, and perhaps with silicates and organic matters, and that in the process of metamorphism the carbonated or alkaline water with which the rock had been charged has dissolved and abstracted a good deal of the carbonate of lime and formed cilicated miner- als, such as mica and feldspar, which have more or less, and sometimes entirely, changed the rock into mica schist and gneiss. Thus will be found a large bed of gneiss rock extending through a large portion of the towns of Ches- ter, Springfield, Weathersfield, Cavendish, West Windsor, Reading, and Hartland, as far north as Hartford. From Cavendish, a long, narrow vein- of the rock branches off to the northwest, becoming lost in the northern part of Barnard, where it meets a narrow bed of clay slate extending through Bethel and a corner of Royalton, from Orange county. In the extreme western part of the county, extending through the towns of Bridgewater, Stockbridge, and Rochester, is another narrow vein of clay slate, while a larger bed extends down through the Connecticut river valley. Small beds of steatite, granite and azoic limestone are found scattered throughout the county, which are spoken of in connection with the towns wherein they are found.
Numerous evidences of the drift period are met with throughout the county, and indeed the same may be said of the whole State, for in every town are found loose, transplanted masses of granite, quartz, slate or green stone ; bowlders they are called. By studying the rocks in the mountains and ledges, we can almost always trace these bowlders back to their parent beds. Hundreds of bowlders lie strewn all over the State, which can be traced back to mountains or ledges in the north and northwest. And in almost every town, ledges of rock are found planed down, polished and scratched-the scratches or groves running generally southward. These scratches are found high up upon the mountains. On Mt. Tom, in Woodstock, are fine exam- ples, and they are even found above the "Chin " on Mansfield Mountain. Some tremendous force of water and ice has acted there, moving south- ward, crushing the rocks into gravel and sowing the hills and valleys with bowlders. The flood overtopped the Green Mountains. When the drift
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WINDSOR COUNTY.
period passed away the country was peopled by gigantic elephants. Then the face of New England, New York and the Provinces sank, at least five hundred feet, and part of Vermont became the bottom of an ocean tenanted by whales. So follows change after change, until one becomes lost in con- templating the infinitude of time it must have taken to perform all this.
Erosion also takes a prominent part in geological changes, doing a large amount of work since the powerful denudation mentioned above. The erod- ing action of water, through many years of gradual change, is well illustrated in the numerous terraces found throughout the county, and in the chasms of Cavendish and Ludlow, and Quechee chasm, in Hartford, described in con- nection with the sketches of those towns. But even these are trifling as illustrations.
Ascutney Mountain, at Windsor, towers a nearly isolated mass almost 3,000 feet above Connecticut river. For its formation we must look away back of the igneous period. The predominant rock of Ascutney is syenite, with very little hornblende, however, hence it often passes into a highly feldspathic gran- ite, and sometimes into porphyry, with a crystalline and not a compact base. Sometimes we find large and irregular veins of granite, penetrating the syenite in such a manner that large surfaces look like breccia. Indeed, we often see concretionary masses, only a few inches across, scattered through the granite. Such facts can only be explained by fusion. When granite occurs in inter- stratified rocks, we may generally regard it as simply a metamorphosis of those rocks. But when the metamorphosis is so complete as not only to obliterate every trace of stratification, but also to send the melted matter into fissures so as to form veins, we may be sure that the heat was great enough to produce entire fusion. This being the fact, then, it is proved that at least a part and nearly all of Ascutney was formed by the melting down of a coarse breccia, no longer found in the region, save a small portion that remains un- melted as a coating of the granite of Little Ascutney. From all these facts then, we cannot doubt that Ascutney has been in a melted state, so as to re- quire the stratified rocks to rise around and above it to prevent its flowing outward. And if they extended 2,000 or 3,000 feet above its present sum- mit, as they probably did, then the amount of erosion at Windsor has been as much as 6,000 feet, or a mile and one-eighth ! And by a parity of reason, probably it has been as great all along the Connecticut valley ; so that orig- inally the surface there was as high as Mt. Washington. The vastness of such a denudation causes one almost to shrink from its contemplation.
Evidences of the aqueous period are left here by ancient sea beaches, mo- raine terraces, ancient sea bottoms, etc., which were formed by the gradual drainage of the country as it rose out of the ocean by almost imperceptible increments, or as the waters retired while the continent stood still. At first only a few of the highest mountains would project, as islands above the waters. But the waves and currents would begin their action upon the shores and the bottom, and the materials worn off and comminuted would be arranged in form
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of beaches or sea bottoms. But not till a considerable part of the land had emerged, and chains of lakes were produced, and incipient rivers formed cur- rents through them, would regular terraces begin to be deposited.
The markings are found beautifully developed all through the valleys of White, Black and Williams rivers. In Plymouth is a large moraine terrace, connected with another in Shrewsbury by an old river bed. In Windsor, also, are found beautiful specimens of terraces, the whole village of Windsor being located upon the summit of one. In the northeastern part of Weathersfield is a large moraine terrace, and in the northern part of Norwich are fine speci- mens of a sea beach and moraine terrace.
Windsor county is also rich in minerals, there having been found gold, lead, tin and iron within its limits, But all these ore beds are mentioned in con- nection with the sketches of the several towns wherein they are found, to which we refer the reader for detailed mention thereof, and also for further geologi- cal notices of interest.
SOIL AND STAPLE PRODUCTIONS.
The soil differs materially in different parts of the county, though in general it is inferior to none in the State. The valley of the Connecticut is proverbial for its fertility. In Windsor county, the rocks of the valley are mostly schistose, and thus disintegrate rapidly, constantly adding new rich- ness to the soil. Then, too, the alluvial terraces found so plentifully in the valleys of the White, Quechee, Black and Williams rivers, afford large areas of land possessing a deep, arable soil. Upon the higher lands, where the country is not too broken, large areas of grazing land are afforded. Some idea of the resources of the territory may be obtained from the following statistics, shown by the census report of 1880, according to which the county has 4,455 farms, representing an area of 420,099 acres of improved land, valued at $11,331,946.00, while its total public debt, bonded and floating, is $516,136.00. These farms supported 8,269 horses, one mule, 3,897 working oxen, 18,178 milch cows, 20,482 other cattle, 108,393 sheep, and 8,170 swine. The stock products for the year were 615,835 pounds of wool, 264,008 gallons of milk, 1,905,225 pounds of butter, and 183,654 pounds of cheese. The products of these farms were 10,217 bushels of barley, 28,897 bushels of buckwheat. 357,658 bushels of Indian corn, 316,976 bushels of oats, 5,931 bushels of rye, 27,265 bushels of wheat, 119,049 tons of hay, 18,798 pounds of hops, 396,483 bushels of potatoes, 200 pounds of tobacco, and an orchard product valued at $91,178.00. Surely not a bad showing for a little tract of country having a population of only 35, 196 souls.
MANUFACTURES.
With the exception of the manufactures of lumber in its various branches and several large cloth manufacturing establishments, this is not what might
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WINDSOR COUNTY.
be termed a manufacturing county ; and as the manufactures are spoken of in detail in connection with the towns wherein they are located, we will dismiss the subject with the following statistics for the year 1880. There were then 380 manufacturing establishments in the county, representing an invested capital of $2,886,905.00, giving employment to 2,567 hands, to whom was paid $675,370.00 in wages. The total value of materials used was $2,601,047.00, and the total product $4,218,732.00.
COURTS AND COUNTY BUILDINGS.
The old county of Cumberland was erected by New York, July 3, 1766. To the inhabitants were granted all the powers and privileges enjoyed by the other counties and towns in the province, excepting only the choice of mem- bers to represent the county in the Provincial Assembly. In another portion of the act, provision was made for the erection of a court-house and jail. The freeholders and inhabitants of the county were authorized to elect super- visors, assessors, collectors, a treasurer and other county officers. At the meeting next after their appointment the supervisors were directed to levy and collect of those residing or sojourning in the county, a sum not exceed- ing £200, to be applied in constructing a court-house and jail. Chester being considered the most convenient among the townships, and nearest the center of the county, was selected as the location for these buildings, and the sheriff was ordered to compute mileage from the court-house. By another act, passed July 5th of the same year, the judges and justices were directed to hold yearly, in Chester, a court of common pleas, to hear, and according to the laws of New York, to try and determine all suits, controversies and differences which might arise. A court of general sessions of the peace was also established, and the first Tuesday in June and the first Tuesday in No- vember in each year, were selected as the days on which these judicatories were to commence their sessions. The length of each term session was limi- ted to four days, and the two courts were authorized to sit at the same time, 'in order that business might be facilitated. Competent men were selected as judges and assistant justices of the court of common pleas. Justices of the peace and other county officers were appointed and a foundation laid for administering the law in accordance with the most approved methods.
When in 1768 a new charter was granted to Cumberland county, permis- sion had been given to the inhabitants to erect at their own expense a court- house and jail. Chester was again decided upon as the location for these buildings. Although there were objections to this place as the county town, both on account of its distance from Connecticut river and its backwardness as compared with other settlements, yet these objections were for the time effectually silenced by Thomas Chandler, the first judge, by promising that he would " at his own expense build a good and sufficient court-house and jail at Chester." How well his promise was observed will appear by the annexed extract from an old chancery document. The time to which the
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description applies is the latter part of the year 1770. That which " then was called a jail," so runs the old document, " was a place made in the cor- ner of a dwelling or hut, the walls of which house were made of small hack- matac poles locked together at the corners by cutting notches into the poles, and laying them notch into notch, so as to bring the poles as near together as conveniently might be. The cracks or vacancies between pole and pole were filled with tow, moss, or clay. The chamber floor was laid with shingle boards, which were not nailed, but lay loose. Such was the house, a corner of which then had the name of a jail, which jail corner may be justly described as followeth, viz .: Small palisades or poles of the diameter of about six inches each were set up, one end of them on the lower floor, and the other end reaching one of the joists on which rested the upper floor. These poles resting against the joists, hindered them from falling inwards to the jail part, and another pole at some inches distant was pegged up with wooden pegs, which pole was fixed about parallel with the joist, and pre- vented the palisades from falling outward from the jail apartment ; and, as many of the palisades were not fastened at the top or bottom, nor the cham- ber floor nailed, it was always in the power of any man who might be put into the jail apartment to push away the loose upper floor boards, and move away the palisades and be at liberty." This jail stood where Coleman Saunders now resides.
During that summer, however, the inhabitants commenced the erection of another jail, which was never finished, and the old jail was somewhat strengthened. In addition to this commodious jail, Chandler also built, in 1771, a court-house, which, according to his description, was "thirty feet long, sixteen feet wide, and eleven feet posts," and was so planned as to be " convenient " when finished. It was provided with a "sufficient lobby or room fit for a jury, with a fire-place in it," and was covered with some kind of roofing. This building he leased to the county for a term of ten years, and as much longer as they might choose to use it. In it were to be held the terms of the inferior court of common pleas, and the court of general sessions, and in it was also to be transacted all the business relating to the general welfare of the county. But the people, who had been displeased at Chandler's efforts at jail building, were now doubly incensed at his failure at court-house construction. Before the commencement of this last failure they had endeavored to effect the removal of the shire town from Chester ; this, after much agitation, some rioting, etc., was accomplished, and at a meeting of the supervisors held at Chester, May 26, 1772, Westminster was chosen as the shire town of Cumberland county, where a good court-house and jail were built.
Upon the erection of Windsor county, Windsor was made the shire town by an act of the legislature approved October 19, 1781. This act, however, does not seem to have settled the case, for the old rivalry between the river and inland towns was maintained, so that the county had no court-
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house until 1784. In the spring of 1784, however, a meeting was finally called by the authority of the county, at the town-house in Windsor, for the purpose of deciding in what town a court-house and jail should be erected. In answer to this call a few were present at the meeting of the 17th of March, but nothing was accomplished, for the want of a quorum. Aware of the difficulties which would arise from a discussion of the eligibility of differ- ent localities, and convinced that Windsor, already a county town, afforded the greatest advantages for the erection of a county building, a number of the citizens of that place assembled and subscribed upward of froo towards defraying the expenses of erecting an edifice fifty feet in length and thirty- four in width, to be finished in a manner appropriate to the uses for which it was designed. A competent builder was immediately engaged, and the structure was commenced within three days after its erection had been resolved upon.
Even this decided measure, however, does not seem to have ended the vexed question, for in 1786 the legislature designated Woodstock as the shire town, and in 1787 it was enacted that the courts should be held at Windsor till the court-house should be built by the inhabitants of Woodstock to the acceptance of the judges of the county court. In 1790 it was enacted that the courts should sit alternately at Windsor and Woodstock, with this curious proviso : "Provided always, and this grant is upon this express condition, that the court-houses in said Woodstock and Windsor shall be finished by the respective towns, free of any expense to said county, and finished with good iron stoves, to the acceptance of the judges of the supreme court, before the next stated term of the court in said county." A somewhat singular con- tingency on which to leave the matter of having any courts at all in the county to depend. In 1791 it was enacted that the act making said two shires should remain in force for three years after the passing of the same, after which Woodstock should be and remain as the shire town of the county. This proved final, and Woodstock has since remained the shire town.
When Woodstock was designated as the shire town, in 1786, what now con- stitutes the main and most beautiful portion of the village was owned by Capt. Israel Richardson, and was called his farm. On the 29th of May, 1787, he conveyed to the county, by metes and bounds, what are now the public grounds and park in the village, and during the same year the building of the first court- house was commenced. It was a two-story building, having the court-room on the second floor, and was located on the south side of the park, on the corner opposite the Eagle Hotel. The first sessions of the courts were held therein in May, 1788. Before the house was entirely finished, however, it was destroyed by fire, in November, 1790. June 1, 1793, the second court-house was com- pleted. It stood on the north side of the square, and was furnished with a bell, purchased by Jesse Williams, at Hartford, Conn., the first bell brought into the county. In 1836 it was thoroughly repaired, making it a commodi-
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