USA > Vermont > Rutland County > Rutland > Historical Rutland; an illustrated history of Rutland, Vermont, from the granting of the charter in 1761 to 1911 > Part 4
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FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
Corner South Main and Washington Streets. Built in 1827. Torn down in 1871-72. Residence J. C. Temple on same site.
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BAPTIST CHURCH.
1827, the present Baptist Society came into legal existence for the purpose of building a meeting house and supporting a minister. Two days later a compact was entered into by which the first Church edifice of this society was erected on the northeast corner of Washington and Main Streets.
Rev. Hadley Proctor was the first settled pastor commencing his labors in 1827. He re- mained with the church until 1834. From 1852 to 1860 the pulpit was occupied by the Rev. Leland Howard, a very able and lovable man. He died here in 1870.
The corner-stone of the present meeting house on Center Street was laid July 18, 1871, the work being completed at a cost of $42,000. George A. Tuttle was chairman of the building committee. The building was dedicated September 30, 1873. In 1873, a Mission School was established at West Rutland, the outgrowth of which has been an organized Church and a neat edifice. The present pastor, Rev. F. W. Irvin, has but recently assumed the duties of his office. He is an energetic and conscientious worker. This
Church has the largest membership of any Baptist Church in Vermont.
Sarred Heart of Mary Parish
Three priests were sent here at the organi- zation of the parish in 1869: Father L. G. Gagnier, Rector; and Father J. A. Boissonnault and Father J. A. Pelletier, Assistants. They also attended to West Rutland, Fair Haven, Orwell, Shoreham, Proctorsville and Danby. But it was soon found that this plan was too expensive; so the missions were divided, and Father L. G. Gagnier remained alone in Rutland, with West Rutland as an out-mission. Mass was at first cele- brated in a hall at the corner of Center Street and Merchants Row; but early in the fall, a lot was secured on Lincoln Avenue and a frame building erected. This served as a church from January, 1870, until December 24, 1893. The house and lot near it was bought and used as a parochial residence.
The frame building of 1869 has been re- placed by a magnificent marble church, the out-
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SACRED HEART OF MARY CHURCH (FRENCH).
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L.
As the Church Will Appear When Completed.
HOLY INNOCENTS' CHURCH.
members with a property includ- ing parsonage, Church on Kill- ington Avenue and the Parochial School, valued at $43,000.
Methodist Episcopal Church
In 1853 the village of Rut- land was one of the preaching places on the Center Rutland Circuit of the Troy Conference. Rev. John Parker was the pas- tor. He lived at Center Rut- land and held weekly services at the railroad station during the year. In 1854, Rev. A. Camp- bell and Rev. J. A. Canoll were appointed to the circuit. The membership at Rutland was only 63, and yet a church edifice was built during the year on the pres- ent site. It was a plain. wooden structure seating about 300, and
1 side dimensions of which are 145 x 64 feet and the spire 198 feet above the level of the street. The pews, railings and wainscoting are finished in hard wood, and the walls frescoed in artistic raised designs, and a number of paintings from the masters in the art have been copied on canvas. The dedication of this edifice took place on July 4, 1894. Rev. Father Proulx is the present French Catholic priest, carrying on the work successfully.
Viuly Junorenta' Parish
On account of the increase in the parish of St. Peter's, rendering it impossible to accommo- date the Sunday congregations, it was deemed best to divide the parish, and the division was consum- mated January 2, 1907, with the creation of a new Church to be called Holy Innocents. Rev. Father W. N. Lonergan, who had been an assist- ant to Rev. Father Gaffney in St. Peter's twenty- five years ago, was appointed pastor and has served to the present time. The first services in the new church were held in Eagle Hall, January 2, 1907, and subsequently until December, 1909, in the Rutland Opera House.
Land was purchased for the erection of the church at the corner of South Main Street and Killington Avenue and the basement was finished so that the first service was held there December 25, 1909.
The Church at present numbers some 1,400
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METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 1898.
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UNIVERSALIST CHURCH, 1890.
Convention and did able work after Mr. Perry's labors had impaired his health.
Easter Sunday, 1900, Lorenzo G. Wood- house, of New York, gave $4,100 to pay the last vestige of the church debt, as a memorial of his father and mother, Dr. and Mrs. Charles H. Woodhouse. Twelve exquisite stained windows have been given as individual presents. Rev. G. F. Fortier has only recently assumed the pastorate.
First Church of Christ Scientist
On November 26, 1901, in a hall in the Buxton Block, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, of Rutland, was organized with a charter member- ship of twenty persons. July 30, 1903, removal was made to the Dunn Block, where a suite of rooms was occupied until July 1, 1906, when the church took possession of its rooms in the Gryphon Block on West Street, continuing here until September, 1909, when it moved to the ground floor of the Ripley House, corner of Cot- tage and West Streets. The society is at present building a church edifice just north of this site,
was a comfortable place for worship for many years. In 1875, or about that date, the edifice was extensively remodeled and somewhat enlarged by the addition of a new front, including tower, making the seating capacity about 400. This was done under the supervision of the pastor, Rev. H. F. Austin. In 1898, and during the pastorate of the Rev. D. W. Gates, D.D., the present edifice was commenced. The seating capacity of the auditorium is 550 when reduced to its minimum size and about 950 when expanded to its maximum limit.
Rev. Dr. E. P. Stevens is serving this charge to the eminent satisfaction of the parishioners.
Universalist Church
In 1884, Rev. J. J. Lewis, of Boston, organ- ized a small Universalist society, which met in the old G. A. R. Hall. Rev. G. W. Perry came as pastor, and from a scattered few there grew a prosperous parish, which erected a $30,000 marble Church in 1890, on West Street. Rev. Q. H. Shinn was sent by the Universalist General
LORETTO HOME, 1911.
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1767967
which is expected to be ready for occupancy in September of the present year.
Advent Christian Church
In 1857, Elder Miles Grant, of Boston, began religious services in this city, delivering lec- tures to audiences in the Town Hall and elsewhere. These meetings resulted in an extensive revival, from which the Advent Christian Church was or- ganized that year. The first settled pastor was the Rev. Matthew Batchelder. During his pas- torate the Church erected a plain wooden Church edifice on West Street near the old State House, at a cost of some $2,500, and with a seating capa- city of about four hundred persons.
In 1884, the Church property on West Street was sold, and a new edifice with seating capacity of about two hundred was erected on Williams Street, between Church and Elm Streets.
About this time conditions arose which re- sulted eventually in the loss of the Church prop- erty, the scattering of its membership, and the complete cessation of all religious services. Dur- ing the summer of 1896, the Hoosic Valley A. C. Conference, through their Evangelist, H. W. Hewitt, re-opened religious services in Rutland.
On March 11, 1897, an Advent Christian Church was organized with membership of twenty- seven persons. The society at present worships in a substantial brick church on West Street, built dur-
ADVENT CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
ing the pastorate of Rev. H. W. Hewitt. The pastor, Rev. G. A. Osman, has been in Rutland but a few months but is highly spoken of by his parishioners.
Seventh Day Adventists
The mission work of the Sev- enth Day Adventists in Rutland began in 1885. May 22, 1888, a church was organized by Elder T. H. Purdon, eight per- sons signing the Church Coven- ant. For years regular weekly meetings were sustained for prayer and Bible study, although without the aid of ministerial help, except during brief and irregular intervals and nearly all this time in private houses, until in 1897, a site was secured on North Main Street and a build-
SEVENTH DAY ADVENT CHURCH.
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OLD LADIES' HOME.
ing erected. This was subsequently sold and the old bank building on Center Street, opposite the High School building, was purchased, remodeled and dedicated for religious worship. This society has no settled pastor.
Rutland Missionary Association and Old Ladies' Come
In 1862 a few women interested in the wel- fare of the poor banded themselves together as the Rutland Missionary Association, applied to the Legislature, and received a Charter. The first meeting was held July 7, 1862. The first officers were: Mrs. A. M. Seaver, president; Mrs. J. B. Porter, vice-president ; Miss Susan Pierpoint, treas- urer; Miss Ellen Barrett, secretary; Managers : Mrs. Silas Hodges, Mrs. J. B. Page, Mrs. Luther Daniels, Mrs. H. H. Baxter, Mrs. Southard, Mrs. Hooker.
The object of this society was to carry the gospel to the hearts of the inhabitants of this village, by tract distribution, by bringing children into the
sunday schools, by mission school instruction, or by all such other means as the openings of Provi- dence and the exercise of sound discretion may suggest. A sewing school has been carried on, meetings held for the benefit of the mothers whose children were taught in the mission school, and a city missionary employed for many years. At present, in addition to financial aid to the poor, this Society supports a District Nurse.
The Old Ladies' Home was opened by the Society in 1890, and has cared for twenty-five inmates. Miss Emma L. Perkins is at present the Matron of the Home.
Officers of the Rutland Missionary Associa- tion for 1911: president, Mrs. George P. Russell; vice-president, Mrs. A. D. Slack; secre- tary, Mrs. J. B. Needham; corresponding secre- tary, Miss Rena Thomson; treasurer, Miss Louisa M. Page; Officers of the Old Ladies' Home: Di- rectors, Mrs. E. H. Wood, Mrs. C. O. Perkins, Mrs. W. F. Burditt, Mrs. Egbert C. Tuttle; secre- tary, Mrs. Louis W. Fuller; treasurer, Mrs. A. B. Engrem; assistant treasurer, Mrs. Geo. C. Thrall; auditor, Mr. Henry F. Field.
Rutland Physicians
The first medical society ever organized in the State held its first meeting at the Munn Hotel, afterwards the Franklin House, in Rutland, in August, 1795, with Dr. Ezekiel Porter as chair-
EAST SIDE MERCHANTS ROW FROM WEST STREET, 1868.
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man. Dr. John Sargent, of Pawlet, was the first president. The Rutland County Medical and Surgical Society was organized in February, 1877, at Castleton, with Dr. J. D. Hanrahan, of Rutland as the first president.
The first Rutland physician of whom there is authentic record was Dr. Jacob Ruback, born in Prussia between 1740 and 1750. He was a surgeon in the Prussian army, came to this country before the Revolution, for a short period was a surgeon in the British army, afterwards went to Connecticut, mar- ried and removed to the New Hampshire Grants. He took part in the Battle of Bennington, came to Rut- land after the defeat of Burgoyne and remained here until 1782, living on the road leading to Clarendon. He died at Grand Isle April, 1809.
Dr. James Porter has left an enviable record for medical practice and surgery. Left an orphan at four years, he lived with his uncle Ezekiel in Rutland until seventeen years of age. After a sea voyage in which he was captured by a French privateer, released by a British vessel and subsequently returned io New York, he came back to Rutland, studied and practiced medicine with his uncle and during the epidemic of 1812-13, stood alone against its ravages in this place. He died in Rutland at seventy-four, after a long life of great usefulness.
Dr. Lorenzo Sheldon was born on a West Rutland farm, May 8, 1801. From 1820 to 1880, when he died at the age of eighty years, he was a conscientious, active and skilled physician, though from the year 1835, when he entered into partnership with William Barnes in the marble business, he sought relief from the regular practice of his profession.
Other men who have acquired popularity and renown in the healing art. are the Porters, Ezekiel, James B., Cyrus and Hannibal, sons of Dr. James, Jonathan Shaw, James Ross, Joel Green, Horace, a brother, and J. Dunham, a son of Joel Green and Thomas Page. These were among the names conspic- uous for the healing art when the country was new and it is enough to say that the medical profession in Rutland has always been conspicuous for ability and character.
PLEASANT STREET FROM WASHINGTON STREET.
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RUTLAND CITY HOSPITAL.
One of the first suggestions for a hospital in Rutland was contained in the will of Miss Susan Pierpont, who bequeathed a legacy from which the hospital realized the sum of $7,036.86. The will provided that this fund, together with the income and interest thereon, should constitute "the nucleus of a fund which is to be applied and used for the benefit of the town in establishing and maintaining a hospital for the sick and lame.'
The hospital was chartered by the legislature of Vermont, November 21, 1892, and its first board of directors was elected in March, 1893. Its original property was acquired in 1896, and was paid for with funds raised by churches and societies and individual friends, the major part of the cost incurred being provided for by donations received from the following persons: John W. Cramton, the estate of Charles Clement, Marcellus E. Wheeler, Charles P. Harris, John A. Mead, Rev. Thomas J. Gaffney, George T. Chaffee, Newman K. Chaffee, William Y. W. Ripley, J. B. Hollister, Rev. N. Proulx, Robt. C. and Mrs. E. S. Gilmore, John N. Woodfin, Walter C. Landon, Thomas J. Lyon, Henry O. Carpenter, George E. Royce, Edmund R. Morse, William R. Page, Burditt Brothers, Charles S. Caverly, Charles A. Gale, Edson P. Gilson, Thomas W. Moloney, Egbert C. Tuttle, E. C. Lewis, Wayne Bai- ley, Charles W. Strobell, James M. Hamilton, S. L. Griffith, Amelia E. Brown, Henry F. Field.
The hospital has practically no endowment for the care of patients, its dependence for support being upon the income derived from paying patients, an annual appropriation from the city ($3.500 in 1910) conditioned upon setting aside five free beds for the use of such beneficiaries as may be designated by a committee from the board of aldermen, and the occasional gifts of generous friends. A training school for nurses is also maintained, with regular courses of instruction and graduation.
During the year 1909 a timely addition to the hospital was completed, comprising general and spec- ial wards, 19 private rooms, solariums, diet-kitchens, elevators and medicine closets, the whole finished and furnished in the most complete and modern manner. The new annex was formally opened Septem-
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er 23, 1909. A further addition is in process of completion at an expense of $10,000, the larger part f which was donated by N. P. Kingsley.
A new, commodious and conveniently located isolation hospital was built in 1910 on the city prop- Ity off Woodstock Avenue.
house of Correction
This is a state institution, built in pursuance of an act passed by the General Assembly in 1876. Rutland was selected as its site, by the county's contributing $20,000 toward its erection and thereby gaining its use as a county jail. The building, located on the bank of East Creek, was erected in 1877- 8 at a cost of about $60,000, and has had many additions from time to time.
The successful warden at present is D. L. Morgan, whose management of the institution has shown im to be an ideal official. J. W. Cramton, Egbert C. Tuttle, J. N. Woodfin, Newman K. Chaffee ave served the State as directors of this penal institution.
The Fire Department
The beginning of the history of Rutland's Fire Department was the incorporation of the "Rutland Fire Society" by the Legislature in the year 1829. The incorporators of this company, which not only adopted measures for fire protection but governed the village in other directions to a large extent, were epresentative men, whose names stand for character and influence in that early community. The incor- orators were James D. Butler, Robert Temple, William Fay, Moses Strong, Thomas Hooker, William Hall, John Ruggles, William Page, James Porter and Jonathan Dyke, Jr.
The first action taken towards supplying the village with water pipes from the aqueduct controlled y a private association was at a meeting of the inhabitants of the village, August 4, 1845. A com-
MAIN STREET LOOKING SOUTH FROM WEST STREET, 1911.
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HELMORE
WEST STREET FROM COTTAGE STREET, 1911.
mittee was appointed at that meeting to raise "an engine company by the enlistment of not more than 50 members," and another committee to report on "cisterns or reservoirs for water." The report of the latter directed the erection of a reservoir "back of the North church, to be connected with the aqueduct, with logs leading from it south through the length of the street (Main Street), with a branch running therefrom a sufficient distance down the west street, the bore of which to be three inches." Previous to this time a few small cisterns and buckets had been used with the engine, a mere tub that could do little more than sprinkle a section of the street. This insignificant hand engine, with a few ladders, etc., was located in a small wooden building on what was formerly called "the Common." January 6, 1846, the second meeting of the society was held and $100 was raised for repairs and the purchase of new materials. At this meeting the committee on reservoirs reported that they could "obtain land two rods square back of the meeting house for $15.00," and estimates were submitted on the cost of logs through the streets, the house over the reservoir ($60), and brick reservoir of 30,000 gallons ($174). But nothing came of it, and as in the following year steps were taken to incorporate the village, in 1848 the fire society relinquished its powers and rights to the village corporation.
January 7, 1852, at a corporation meeting, one of the subjects considered was to "see if nothing can be done to provide water" and "to insist upon some section (in the by-laws) to provide against fire." Again in August of that year a meeting was called to "authorize the trustees to make such contract by laying down iron pipes, or otherwise, to carry into effect the resolution of the Aqueduct Company to sup- ply the village with water in such manner as they shall deem best." Various efforts were made from time to time to obtain a greater supply of water and for better fire-fighting facilities, until in 1858, the water supply was taken in hand by the village authorities and some five miles of pipe laid. At this time the village owned two hand engines.
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The Washington and Nickwackett Engine Co. had them in charge as volunteer fire companies.
The acqueduct and reservoir were completed at a cost of over $14,000. In 1860, the present Nickwackett engine house was erected. In the year 1872, the town hall was finished, and one of the new steamers and hose company were quartered there where they still remain, with a paid fire depart- ment with several men constantly on duty.
The most destructive fire in the history of Rutland was that which broke out Sunday morning, Feb- ruary 18, 1906. This conflagration, which was discovered in a room in the Ripley block on Mer- chants Row about 4 o'clock Sunday morning, was not subdued until after noon of that day, when it had destroyed property to the amount of nearly $600,000, including the whole corner of Merchants Row and Center Street, from the Ripley block on Merchants Row to and including the Tuttle block on Center Street, rendering 20 families homeless and consuming fortunes in its sweep. The new blocks covering the same ground are modern and superior to those destroyed.
Water Works
The first supply of water to the village was provided by Gershom Cheney, proprietor of the Franklin house, who laid wooden pipes from a large spring in the edge of the town of Mendon to the village, and posts were set up at the houses of residents, who paid a certain tax for the water supply. This arrangement continued until several years after the village incorporation, under the control and ownership of the Aqueduct Company. One of the first acts of the village authorities was the extension of the old pipes for fire purposes. In 1857, a reservoir was erected on Woodstock Ave. on Dr. Porter's lot, from which water was piped in 6-inch pipes to Hodge's corner on Main Street, thence in 5-inch pipes to Washington Street, and in 2-inch pipes to other parts of the village. Bonds were issued for $16,000 to pay for the works, which were to be the property of the corporation. The water rates were fixed at $5 a year for a family of five
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COTTAGE STREET FROM WEST STREET, 1911.
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ORE ibrary CO. PER
ERY
BANK
CENTER STREET FROM MERCHANTS ROW, 1911.
persons, the Franklin house $45, stores, $5, etc. In 1868 new works were erected at a cost of about $20,000. This supply sufficed for ten years only, and in 1878, a still more extensive system was impera- tively needed. The East Creek was finally adopted as a source of supply and a 12-inch iron aqueduct was laid from a point on the Creek about three miles from the reservoir, and in 1879 the system of pipes and hydrants was extended generally through the village.
The Street Railway Company
The street railway company was incorporated November 13, 1882, the motive power being horses. The capital stock authorized was $25,000, and in the summer of 1885 an organization was effected, with E. Pierpont as president, A. H. Tuttle, treasurer, and John N. Woodfin, secretary. This road is now in successful operation by electric power having been extended to Fair Haven, and at this writing is in process of still further extension to Poultney.
The Post Office
A post office department was established by the State of Vermont in 1784, several years prior to her admission into the Union, for the purpose, as stated, "of promulgating the laws, conveying timely notice to the freemen of the state of all proprietary proceedings and other matters of importance to the public, which can in no other way be effected so extensively and attended with so small expense, as by the appoint- ment of regular posts for the conveying of the same to the parts of this state."
To carry out this design, five post offices were established, of which Rutland was one. These were placed under the same regulations as those of the general government. Post riders were allowed two pence
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per mile for their labor. Anthony Haswell then of Bennington, was appointed postmaster-general. This department existed until the admission of the state into the Union in 1791, at which time the office in Rut- land was in charge of Frederick Hill; it was reorganized by the United States authorities March 20, 1793, the same postmaster continuing until 1796, when Nathaniel Gove was appointed.
The Rutland Post Office has been located at various periods on Main Street, West Street and Washington Street.
The last mentioned was a brick building 100 ft. long, containing three stores, the Town Hall and Masonic Lodge Room and west of it was the George A. Tuttle & Company building where the Rutland Weekly Herald was published. Upon the erection of the present Federal building in 1854 the post office was removed to that location. The office became presidential in 1853, when John Cain was appointed Postmaster, February 21, 1853. Subsequently, a sub-station was opened on Merchants Row for the greater convenience of the public, and the office in 1911 was transferred to entirely new quarters on West Street, only one clerk being left at the Court Street building. At this writing the question of the erection of a new $250,000 building in the business part of the city is being agitated.
The post office in West Rutland was established March 30, 1826, and at Center Rutland May 1, 1850.
Newspapers
The first newspaper published in Rutland was established by Anthony Haswell, June 18,1792, and was called the Herald of Vermont or Rutland Courier. Only thirteen numbers were issued when the office was burned and the paper discontinued.
GHIO CENT STORE
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MERCHANTS ROW, LOOKING NORTH FROM CENTER STREET, 1911.
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MEAD BLOCK, CENTER STREET AND MERCHANTS ROW, 1911.
In 1793, a Mr. Lyon commenced the publication of the Farmers' Library or, Vermont Political and Historical Register which was continued for two years, when the concern was purchased by Judge Samuel Williams and Rev. Samuel Williams, LL.D., who issued the first number of the Rutland Herald or Ver- mont Mercury, December 8, 1794. On Monday, June 29, 1795, the name was changed to The Rut- land Herald, a Register of the Times. During the different changes of proprietors it has always been known as the Herald. Those early papers were little larger than a sheet of foolscap, printed in very large type. The Rutland Daily Herald was first published by Geo. A. Tuttle, April 29, 1861, growing out of the exigencies of the Civil War, and has continued to the present time, one of the fixed institutions of Rutland. Albert H. Cobb, still connected with The Tuttle Co., was the foreman in the composing room of the Daily Herald for two and a half years upon its establishment. At that time the printing establishment was near the head of Washington Street. Merchants Row and Center Streets were then unknown as the business streets of the town. The Herald has passed under the management of a long list of publishers, among whom the Tuttle family for many years were represented, and it was printed then at 11 and 13 Center Street, where The Tuttle Company are now located.
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