USA > Vermont > Washington County > Gazetteer of Washington County, Vt., 1783-1889 > Part 59
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486
TOWN OF WARREN.
Nathan Thayre, son of Pliney and Susan (Wait) Thayre, was born in Fays- ton, March 4, 1839, and about 1861 married Susan Pierce. He enlisted in Co. H, 6th Vt. Vols., and served about one year, when he was discharged on account of a broken arm. He soon after setted on the farm where James Pierce now lives, and about five years after emigrated to La Cole, Canada. Seven years later he returned to Warren and settled on the farm where he now lives, and has since given his attention to breeding fine horses, and is now the owner of fine stock. Mrs. Thayre died March 24, 1877, and left three children. His only son resides with him on the farm. He married, second, Mrs. Susan (McAllister) Barnard, a lineal descendant of Ethan Al- len, and a granddaughter of the brother of Gen. Wait, a Revolutionary sol- dier who served seven years in the war for independence, and who was one of the first settlers of Waitsfield. Mr. Thayre is a generous, kind neigh- bor, and is always ready to reach forth his hand in aid of those in distress.
The following were soldiers in the War of 1812 : Thomas Jerrolds, Jesse Stewart, Justin Jacobs, Oliver Persons, Samuel Hard, and Gardner Campbell. Mr. Jerrolds and Mr. Stewart died in the service. George Dimick served in the Mexican war.
Warren sent to the seat of war as her quota to suppress the late Rebellion eighty-seven of her sons as soldiers. Eight joined the Second Regiment, four the Third, two the Fifth, twenty-seven the Sixth, three the Seventh, nine the Eighth, three the Ninth, three the Tenth, two the Eleventh, one the Sev- enteenth ; five served in the First Regiment of Sharpshooters, two in the Second Vt. Battery Light Artillery, and one in the Third Battery Light Artil- lery. Besides these there were seventeen volunteers for nine months, fourteen paid commutations, and two procured substitutes.
The Warren River Meeting- House society, composed of the different relig- ious denominations of the place, was organized January 19, 1838, for the purpose of building a union meeting.house. In 1839 they completed their present church edifice. The house is forty by fifty feet on the ground, well finished, and is kept in good condition. Rev. E. Scott (M. E.), from Mont- pelier, preached the dedication sermon, and Rev. Ira Beard (M. E.) was the first resident preacher. The different denominations of the place occupy the house alternately, and supply preaching every Sunday. The house will com- fortably seat 225 persons. The Union Sunday-school has about 100 mem- bers.
The Warren Meeting-House society was organized for the purpose of building a meeting-house at East Warren, by the union of the societies of the Univer- salists, Methodists, Congregationalists, and Baptists, under the act of the legislature passed October 26, 1798, for the purpose of encouraging the sup- port of the preaching of the gospel. The present church edifice was built by the society in 1833, and is known as the Union meeting-house.
487
TOWN OF WATERBURY.
W ATERBURY lies in the northwestern corner of Washington county,. in latitude 44° 23' and longitude 4° 17', and is bounded north by Stowe, east by Middlesex, south by the Winooski river which sepa- rates it from Duxbury and Moretown, and west by Bolton, in Chittenden county. The township was chartered by Gov. Benning Wentworth to Joseph. Abbott and sixty-three associates, June 7, 1763, and was then a tract six miles square. The area has since been increased by accessions to its terri- tory from Middlesex and Bolton.
This township contains more moderately uneven and level land then other towns in Central Vermont, although it is bordered by mountains and high hills on the east, west, and north. These elevations command charming views. of the well cultivated farms and the farmers' neat and comfortable homes, dotting the landscapes below, and embracing a large portion of the whole town.
The rocks underlying this township are entirely of the talcose schist forma- tion. There are also beds of serpentine, steatite, and copper and iron pyrites, in the central and northern parts, also a narrow belt of azoic limestone. Traces of gold in alluvium are found along Waterbury river and Thatcher's Branch.
Prof. Hitchcock states that " these outcrops of copper have not been fully developed by mining, but that they may become sources of wealth." The intervales on the Winooski river are proverbial for their fertility, and rank with the best in the state. In all other parts of the town the soil is good, and well repays the husbandman for his labor. The original forests on the lower lands were composed mainly of hard wood, the sugar maple predomi- nating. The mountain regions are covered with spruce.
The Winooski river flows from the east, along the southern border of the town, with a very moderate descent until it reaches Bolton falls, three and a half miles below the village. Here the water has forced a channel through the rocks, and formed a chasm 100 feet deep and about as wide. On the south side the rocks are nearly perpendicular. Many of the rocks are of huge dimensions, and have fallen into the chasm in such a way as to form an imperfect bridge, which may be crossed by footmen in very low water. On account of their great dimensions these rocks have also formed several curious caverns. The other streams of much magnitude are Waterbury river and Thatcher's Branch, which, with their numerous tributaries and abundant springs, furnish an inexhaustible supply of pure water. The Waterbury river enters the town from Stowe, flows south through the western part of the town, and empties into the Winooski about a mile west of Waterbury Street. Thatcher's Branch also enters Waterbury from Stowe, and flows south through the town a little east of the center, and falls into the Winooski at the west. end of the village.
Waterbury was chartered in 1763, and many of the proprietors resided in Waterbury, Conn., and New Jersey. Waterbury in Vermont received its
488
TOWN OF WATERBURY.
name from Waterbury, Conn., the home of many of the original proprietors. Their first meeting was held in New Milford, Conn., in 1770, and later meet- ings were held in Newark, N. J. After the Revolutionary war their meet- ings were held in Vermont.
James Marsh, a native of Canaan, Conn., who had been a soldier in the French war, made the first attempt to make a home in Waterbury. He came under adverse circumstances, and remained under the cloud the little remnant of his existence after he settled here. He had sold his land in Canaan and gone to Cornwall, where he was drafted soon after into the army in the early part of the Revolutionary war. He procured a substitute for his place in the army. He raised the money to make this payment of $100 by selling his place, and with the residue bought a claim of wild land in Bath, N. H., and another in Waterbury, Vt. He then settled on his claim in Bath, where he remained two years, when, finding his title bad, he resolved to settle on his right in Waterbury. Accordingly, in the spring of 1783, he came to Water- bury, selected his claim, which embraced a portion of the site of the village, cleared a small plot of land, planted it with corn, and returned to his family in Bath. In the fall he returned to Waterbury, harvested his corn and stored it in an improvised crib, and left it for his future subsistence. The next spring he came with his wife and eight children as far as the old fort in Corinth, where he was obliged to leave his wife and the youngest five of their children, and continued the journey with the oldest three, Elias, Irene, and James. From Corinth they came on snow shoes and drew their household goods on a hand sled. They found comfortable quarters in the surveyors' cabin. The corn on which Mr. Marsh had placed so much dependence had been nearly all consumed by the beasts of the forest, or hunters and Indians. In this dilemma Mr. Marsh's only alternative was to resort to fishing and hunting.
About the last of May, after having enlarged his clearing and nearly fin- ished planting, he left his children alone in the forest and returned to Corinth for the remainder of his family, to be absent an entire week, and leaving them an allowance of food barely sufficient for that length of time. These deserted children were Elias, a lad of fifteen years, whose remains are unmarked in the grave-yard at Waterbury ; Irene, then about twelve years old, who married a Mr. Colman, of Jericho, and died there in 1826; and James, a small boy eight or nine years old, who lived many years in the southern part of Jericho, where he died in February, 1865, aged about ninety years. The time passed, their scanty allowance was exhausted, but the father did not return ; and the stated one week lengthened to three weeks before he arrived at the cabin. In the meantime what of the children ! They had subsisted the second week on the leeks that grew in abundance on the rich intervale along the river. They found at the end of this week that their strictly vegetable diet was not especially palatable or conducive to health or strength, and resolved to catch fish, and in this attempt the sister fell into the river and barely escaped drown-
489
TOWN OF WATERBURY.
ing. With starvation thus staring them in the face if they remained longer, they made the wise resolution to go to their nearest neighbor, Jesse Mc- Fairlain, who resided in Richmond. This journey was not all the way a pleasure trip. A huge bear disputed their right to the path, but was finally driven up the mountain by their trusty dog that had been left with them. Suffice it to say the children reached Mr. McFairlain's in an exhausted con- dition, and so nearly starved that it was unsafe for them at first to satisfy their craving hunger. Mr. and Mrs. McFairlain kindly administered to their necessities.
Mr. Marsh, when he entered his cabin after the three weeks' absence, found it deserted. Surely if he was not an unnatural parent the agony of sorrow and remorse then overwhelmed him for his reprehensible conduct in thus abandoning these children without food and without protection. No business, however important, offers an extenuating excuse. After a survey of the premises, without a clue to where his children were, he dispatched a young man, who had accompanied him, to Mr. McFairlain's, who returned with the children, and before night the family were again united. The diet of the family for weeks the ensuing summer was leeks stewed in the milk of their only cow, and their food for nearly two years was the flesh of moose, deer, and bear.
In the spring of 1785 Ezra Butler, the second settler of Waterbury, came and remained till fall, and then returned. Mr. Marsh and his family spent the second winter alone. The third settler was Caleb Munson. March 29, 1788, Mr. Marsh went to Richmond to meet him and conduct him to Water- bury. Mr. Marsh, who in the afternoon had crossed the river to Mr. Brown- son's to cast some pewter spoons, delayed until after dark. The ice on the river was breaking up, and he was apprised by Mr. Brownson that it would be dangerous then to attempt to cross, and urged him to remain till morning. He thought he could return, and provided himself with a long pole and made the attempt. . The family soon heard his cry of distress and hastened to his relief, but he had lost his grasp on the pole and disappeared under the ice, and was carried down the river by the strong current. His body was recov- ered several days after.
The town was surveyed by Col. Partridge Thatcher, one of the proprietors, in 1782, who came on with surveyors, who built their camp near the inter- section of the railroad and brook, which bears his name, "Thatcher's Branch." Col. Thatcher died soon after returning to Connecticut, from dis- ease induced by his exposures in this expedition.
Waterbury was organized into a town by the election of town officers, March 31, 1790. The first town meeting was held at the house of Richard Holden. The first set of town officers were : Richard Holden, moderator ; Ezra Butler, town clerk; Richard Holden, Caleb Munson, and Ezra Butler, selectmen ; Caleb Munson, town treasurer ; Elias Marsh, constable ; Amos
490
TOWN OF WATERBURY.
Waters, highway surveyor and fence viewer. At this meeting, " Voted, swine shall not run at large."
The first representative of this town was Dr. Daniel Bliss, in 1792. The first lawyer who settled in Waterbury was Dan Carpenter. The first per- manent and successful merchant was Amasa Pride, in 1802. The first school-house was built at a very early day, and stood where the railroad crosses Stowe street,-and in this house nearly all the meetings of the village- were then held. Reuben Wells was the first tanner. His brother-in-law, Seth Chandler, was the first blacksmith. The first carpenter was a Mr. War- ren. The first grist and saw-mills were erected by John Carpenter, about 1792. Mr. Mason was the first miller. Polly Butler, eldest daughter of Gov. Butler, born October 23, 1788, was the first white child born in town .. The first male child was Tilman Wright, who died in 1842. The first death was that of James Marsh. The first school taught in town was a private one taught by the diminutive daughters of Reuben Wells, who were sometimes- mistaken for children by strangers. The first marriage was that of Philip- Bartlett and Mrs. Marsh, widow of James Marsh, the first settler of Water- bury. Daniel Bliss was the first physician. In 1800 the Baptist church was- organized, and Gov. Butler was ordained and chosen pastor. The same year the Methodist church was organized by Elder Stebbins, and Thomas Guptil was the first class-leader. The Congregational church was organized July IO,. 1801, by Rev. Jedediah Bushnell, a missionary from Connecticut. Dea. Asaph Allen was then chosen the first deacon of the church. The first meet- ing-house in Waterbury was erected by the society of the Congregational church, in 1824.
At the town meeting held March 11, 1794, " voted to hire a constable." "Voted to bid it [the office] off at vendue, and it was struck off to Ebn'r Reed at six shillings." For many succeeding years that office was disposed of in the same manner, with an increasing demand, until the ambitious aspir- ants frequently paid the town a premium, and as high as five dollars for the honor of the position and its emoluments. In the early settlement of the. town it was a custom of the farmers to mark their sheep by mutilating the ears, each having a style of his own. We insert the following found among many others on record in the town clerk's office :-
" Ezra Butler's mark, entered on record February 10th, 1795; and is a. square crop on the left ear.
" Richard Holden's mark, entered on record February 10, 1795 ; and is the. right ear cropt of square.
" Oliver C. Rood's mark on record Jan. 10, 1805; and is a swallow's tail in both ears.
"Isaac Woolson's mark, entered on record July 10th, 1805 ; and is a W cut out of the right ear.
" Caleb Winship's mark, entered on record January 13th, 1806 ; and is a. crop of the right ear and a hole through both ears.
" Dan Carpenter's sheep mark is a crop off the right ear and a hole through the left do. Recorded May 21st, 1812."
49E
TOWN OF WATERBURY.
In 1880 Waterbury had a population of 2,297, and in 1888 the town had sixteen common school districts and one graded school district, embrac- ing the village. There were schools maintained in all of them, which were taught by one male and twenty-four female teachers, at a weekly salary of $21.75 for the male and an average of $5.18 for female teachers. The whole number of scholars who attended school was 455, of whom fifty-four attended private schools. The entire income for all school purposes was $4,069.01. The whole amount expended for all school purposes was. $4,563.87. The graded school was taught by one male and three female teachers. There were thirty-six scholars in the High school, nine of whom studied French or German ; eight graduated. The school was taught thirty- six weeks, and has four grades. A. W. Armstrong is superintendent.
WATERBURY (p. o.) village, the largest one in the town, is located on Wi- nooski river and Central Vermont railroad, midway on the southern border of the town. The village has a pleasant location, and contains an intelligent population of about 1,200 souls. The principal streets are Main, about one mile in length, extending parallel with the railroad and river ; Stowe street, which is the business street; Union and Winooski streets. The village con- tains many fine residences, conspicuous among them being the fine brick mansion, with its well-kept lawns, fountains, and the greenhouse in the rear, the home of C. C. Warren, Esq., one of Waterbury's most energetic business men. Dr. Janes has also an elegant residence on fine grounds. Mr. At- kins has just completed a beautiful home, and there are others well worthy of mention. Among the leading merchants are Messrs. Atkins & Haines, wholesale and retail dealers in groceries, M. M. Knight, C. E. Richardson, J. E. Sheple, J. C. Griggs, M. O. Evans, C. Keene, A. G. Atherton, Mrs. J. M. Cameron, millinery, C. E. Wyman, F. B. Taylor, and W. H. Ashley. The lawyers are William P. Dillingham, C. F. Clough, George W. Morse, E. F. Palmer, and G. W. Kennedy. The physicians are Drs. Janes, Hooker, Washburne, and Lamb. The churches are the Congregational, Methodist, and Roman Catholic. For the instruction of its children the village has pro- vided a good graded school. Waterbury National bank, with a capital of $100,000, Hon. Paul Dillingham, president, ranks high with other similar in- stitutions. The Waterbury Hotel, four stories high, with fine, wide halls, high, spacious, and airy rooms, and an elegant and well supplied dining-room, is kept open the year round by the genial hosts, B. Barrett & Son. Other ex- tensive operators in business are C. C. Warren, tanner ; G. W. Randall and W. R. Elliott, lumbermen ; and G. E. Moody, live stock, lumber, etc. The Central Vermont railroad, furnished here with a fine passenger depot and con- venient freight house, ably managed by the agent, A. J. Brown, provides all that is necessary for traveling and conveying freight. The legislature of Vermont, at the session in the fall of 1888, appropriated $too,ooo for the purpose of erecting a state asylum for the insane, and appointed commissioners to secure . a suitable location for the buildings. After making a tour of observation
492
TOWN OF WATERBURY.
through the state they decided that Waterbury contained all the requisites for the institution, and accordingly selected that location. The work of con- struction will commence the ensuing spring.
WATERBURY CENTER is a post village located on an elevated plain of con- siderable extent. It occupies the center of a vast amphitheatre surrounded by the tallest peaks of the Green Mountains. Mansfield, Camel's Hump, and others stand out grim and grand, like giant sentinels jealous of the wel- fare of the little hamlet. The picturesque beauty and magnificence of the natural scenery here is not surpassed. This beautiful little village is the loca- tion of Green Mountain Seminary, a flourishing Freewill Baptist institution, with Miss Elizabeth Colley, principal. The village contains two churches (Methodist and Free Baptist), two stores, several mechanic shops, and sixty or seventy neat and tasty dwellings. The village has no hotel, but W. E. Marshall opens his door to the traveler.
MILL VILLAGE and COLBYVILLE are small hamlets on Thatcher's Branch, in the suburbs of Newbury village.
The Waterbury town-poor farm is located on Blush hill. The buildings have recently been repaired and made comfortable, and under the faithful and efficient care of Mr. and Mrs. Ira W. Humphrey the unfortunate poor of Waterbury have a comfortable home. Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey have man- aged this institution the past six years. The present number of inmates is seven, and they are comfortably clothed and abundantly fed.
George W. Randall's saw-mill is located in the western part of Waterbury, on Waterbury river, which here has a fall of twenty-five feet, affording one of the best water powers in the state. The machinery is of the new improved kind, and includes a large circular saw, planer, matcher, band-saw, etc. Mr. Randall manufactures dimension lumber as a specialty. He also manufact- ures shingles, boards, and hard wood lumber, and does dressing and match- ing. He turns out about 1,000,000 feet per year, and employs in the forest and mills a force of thirty men.
C. C. Warren's tannery is located at Mill Village, on Thatcher's Branch. This is one of the finest establishments of its kind in the state, and is so admirably constructed that his ten employees easily do the work usually re- quiring a force of fifteen men. He manufactures a superior quality of leather (mostly harness), which he readily sells. Mr. Warren is also the proprietor of a creamery, which manufactures the milk from his dairy of 100 cows. He uses the centrifugal process of separating the cream from the milk.
Edward T. Seabury's custom grist-mill is located in the pleasant little ham- let of Mill Village, within the corporation of Waterbury village, about half a mile from the postoffice, and on Thatcher's Branch, which affords the motive power. The mill is furnished with three runs of stones and other machinery to make a handy and convenient establishment. Mr. Seabury does custom grinding of all kinds, and also deals largely in corn, corn meal, feed, and flour. The mill has a fair capacity, and does a good business.
493
TOWN OF WATERBURY.
Roberts & Deavitt Bros'. saw-mill is located on Thatcher's Branch, in Colbyville. The company was organized February 1, 1886, and is engaged in manufacturing spruce, hemlock, and hard wood lumber, shingles, and clap- boards. They have also a dry-house for kiln-drying lumber, and also do plan- ing, matching, and dressing to order. The motive power is water, with an ample supply throughout the year from the natural current of the brook, and a reservoir of about sixteen acres. The mill is equipped with good machin- ery, and turns out annually about half a million feet, and gives employment. to from five to ten men.
The Cooley Manufacturing Co., incorporated in the fall of 1882, William Cooley, president and general manager, is located in the village of Water- bury. This company does general machine work, manufactures portable water tube boilers, iron and brass castings, bridge bolts, all kinds of light machinery, and cast-iron chimney caps. This industry gives employment to a force of from twelve to sixteen hands, and is run by steam-power.
Henry Dillingham, successor to A. H. Selleck, has a mill on Thatcher's. Branch, Mill Village, where he manufactures fork, rake, hoe, and broom handles, and ash dowelling used for reed and ratan furniture. He also does. custom wool-carding. This industry turns out work of superior quality, which. is in demand by the leading manufacturers in the United States.
O. L. Ayers, of Waterbury village, has completed a fine shop off Main street, where he manufactures carriages and sleighs, and does general repair- ing in that line. He has a fine carriage paint shop, and also does planing and sawing and dresses house finishing lumber. His shop is furnished with a steam engine of ten-horse power, and new and improved machinery.
The Colbyville Manufacturing Co., Edwin A. and George E. Dumas, pro- prietors, was organized in April, 1886. The manufactory is located in the hamlet of Colbyville, about a mile from the postoffice in Waterbury village. They manufacture French's improved octagon butter tubs, the celebrated Colby little washer, and do custom scroll sawing, splitting, and planing. This. manufactory is furnished with good and efficient machinery for turning out work of fine finish and quality. They also manufacture, quite extensively, an extension wash bench-a very convenient article for every housekeeper.
The National Bank of Waterbury .- The Bank of Waterbury was chartered December 5, 1853, under state laws, and commenced business April 18, 1854, with the following board of directors : Leander Hutchins, Paul Dillingham, William W. Wells, Orrin Perkins, and V. W. Waterman. Leander Hutchins was president, and Samuel H. Stowell, cashier. It had a paid up capital of $80,000. Benjamin H. Dewey succeeded Mr. Stowell as cashier, March 6, 1856, and served until May 1, 1865, when James K. Fullerton was appointed. September 1, 1865, this bank reorganized under the National Bank act, as the Waterbury National bank, with a paid up capital of $100,000, divided into 2,500 shares of $40 each, with Leander Hutchins, president, and James. K. Fullerton, cashier. Mr. Hutchins served as president until January 13,.
494
TOWN OF WATERBURY.
1874, when he declined further service, and Paul Dillingham was then elected. Mr. Fullerton was cashier until April 1, 1870, when Curtis Wells was ap- pointed. At the present time the capital of the bank is $100,000; surplus fund, $30,000. Paul Dillingham is president ; William P. Dillingham, vice- president ; and Charles Wells, cashier. The charter was extended in June, 1885, for twenty years.
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