USA > Vermont > Bennington County > History of Bennington County, Vt. : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 39
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Temple Chapter No. 8, R. A. M., was organized January 3, 1810, being the year of Masonry 5810. The first or charter officers were : William S. Cardall, H. P .; Paul Hawes, king, and Charles Cushman, scribe. The regular convo- cation of Temple Chapter is held the first Monday after full moon. The offi- cers are C. D. Phillips, H. P .; J. T. Shurtleff, K .; C. L. Shaw, scribe ; G. B. Sib- ley, treasurer ; C. M. Lambert, secretary ; A. S. M. Chisholm, C. of H .; J. L. Finn, P. S .; H. S. Bingham, R. A. C .; F. H. Mattison, M. 3d V .; E. S. Chan- dler, M. 2d V .; George A. Bruce, M. Ist V .; Albert Parsons, marshal ; J. N. A. Williams, sentinel.
Bennington Council No. 3, R. and S. M., was organized by charter bearing date August 10, 1855, the first officers being Nathan Brown, T. I. G. M .; Francis Breakenridge, I. D. G. M .; Anthony J. Haswell, P. C. of C. Regular assemblies are held on the first Monday after full moon. Officers for 1889 : J. S. Miles, T. I. M .; J. L. Finn, D. I. M .; E. C. Houghton, P. C. of W .; G. B. Sibley, treasurer ; C. M. Lambert, secretary ; J. T. Shurtleff, C. of G .; A.
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
G. Patchin, C. of C .; H. S. Bingham, steward; C. L. Shaw, chaplain ; Thomas Wilson, marshal ; J. N. A. Williams, sentinel.
Taft Commandry No 8, K. T., chartered June 11, 1872. Instituted at North Bennington and removed to Bennington. Regular conclave first Friday of each month. Officers : J. N. A. Williams, E. C .; C. E. Graves, generalissimo; G. Byron Sibley, C. G .; C. D. Phillips, prelate ; E. C. Houghton, S. W .; J. H. Norton, J. W .; J. T. Shurtleff, treasurer ; C. M. Lambert, recorder ; H. S. Bingham, S. B .; D. T. Bates, sword bearer; F. H. Mattison, warder; A. G. Patchin, Ist G .; C. E. Wentworth, 2d G .; C. L. Shaw, 3d G .; J. E. Walbridge, sentinel.
Mt. Anthony Chapter No. 1, O. E. S., chartered June 2, 1875, being the re-issue of the charter of an older chapter that was organized in 1868. Off- cers : E. D. Bennett, W. P .; Mrs. J. H. Loring, W. M .; Mrs. W. E. Murphey, A. M .; Mrs. F. C. White, treasurer ; Mrs. Frank Bradford, secretary ; Mrs. J. N. A. Williams, con .; Mrs. William H. Cady, A. con .; Mrs. J. L. Finn, warder. Sisters of the Star : Ada, Mrs. H. L. Stillson ; Ruth, Mrs J. H. Norton ; Es- ther, Mrs. C. C. Kimball ; Martha, Miss Edna Clark ; Electa, Mrs. D. H. Smith.
Bennington Lodge of Perfection, A. A. S. R., chartered September 20, 1883. Its officers are as follows : G. B. Sibley, T. P. G. M .; J. R. P'illing, Il. of T. D. G. M .; C. E. Graves, V. S. G. W .; J. H. Norton, V. J. G. W .; E. L. Bates, G. orator ; W. H. Bradford, G. treasurer, G. S. K. of S .; A. C. Hubbell, G. M. of C .; E. C. Houghton, G. C. of G .; J. S. Miles, G. hospitaler; F. P. Gaines, G. tyler. Regular meetings are held the second Friday of each month.
Masonic Hall, in which the several organizations of Masons hold their meet- ings, occupies the entire upper floor of the Park building on South street, which floor for their special accommodation is divided into five compartments, each well arranged for its intended use. The meeting room, of course, is the best furnished, but none show evidence of neglect in their furnishings or appoint- ments. Next to the lodge room is the commandry drill room, and this and the lodge room too opens into a large reception room, while in rear of this is a kitchen supplied with every necessary utensil for such an apartment. The tyler's room completes the five, and connects with the reception room.
Of the Odd Fellows organization in Bennington there are four representa- tives, which, with the dates of their eharters, respectively, are as follows: Stark Lodge No. 9, chartered February 11, 1847; Mansur Encampment No. 9, char- tered April 9, 1886; Canton Bennington, Patriarchs Militant, chartered Au- gust 13, 1887 ; Miriam Daughters of Rebecca Lodge No. 8, chartered Decem- ber 13, 1882. And in this connection there may also be named other orders or societies than those above mentioned, among which are Post Custer No. 42, Grand Army of the Republic and the Ladies Relief Corps connected there- with, Walloomsac Lodge No. 2084, Knights of Honor, Bennington Lodge of Good Templars, Bennington Branch National Temperance; Young Ladies'
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VILLAGE OF BENNINGTON.
Shakspearian Club of Bennington ; The Ladies' Dickens Club of Bennington, Father Matthew's Total Abstinance and Benevolent Association, Walloomsac Tent No. 4, I. O of R., and others, all of which now have, or have had, an ex- istence within the village.
The latest organized society of the village, although its object is quite unlike that of any heretofore named, is the Bennington Village Improvement Society, which was incorporated at the last session of the Legislature. As the name suggests, the purpose of this society is the improvement of the village in the matter of cleanliness and adornment. The society has already done effective work in the laying out and beautifying of the small park on Main street, at the entrance of the cemetery grounds, but other improvements are contemplated that will greatly add to the natural beauties of the place.
In addition to all that has thus far been said descriptive of Bennington and various institutions that contribute to its municipal being, there exists its mer- cantile and regular interest that are themselves important factors in the com- position of any village ; and yet they are of such a character as to make no history that can be fairly recorded, except as the names of the merchants of the town might be mentioned. There are in Bennington, men engaged in mer- cantile pursuits who have been here for years, and there are others of more recent coming. This branch of business is established and conducted with less formality than manufacturing, trade requiring only storeroom, stock and en- ergy on the part of the proprietor, while manufacture demands a special build- ing, special stock and machinery, and the same and even greater energy on the part of its owners. By judicious advertising the average merchant calls customers to his place of business, but the manufacturer must send his repre- sentatives to the jobbers and dealers in order to dispose of his wares.
But the mercantile business in this village is great in the same proportion as its other business interests, neither overdone or lacking in representatives. When the former condition occurs the weak ones " go to the wall," but the latter condition never occurs, as there is no community in this region in which the number of stores is not sufficient for its population and needs.
The business blocks of Bennington are about on an average with the ma- jority of similarly situated villages; there are some that are pretentious and others that are not so. Necessity regulates building as much as any other business, and capital is unwarranted in investing in buildings that will produce no fair revenue by rentals, and it a plain and inexpensive frame structure will produce the same revenue as a more elaborate and costly one the prudent man will choose the former.
For the accommodation of the traveling public and that portion of the people who make their homes at public houses the village is reasonably well provided, there being no less than four hotels in operation at this time, the Put- nam House, the Stark House, the Elm Tree House, and the Centennial Hotel.
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
The village has two local improvement companies, both of recent form- ation ; the one the Bennington Water Company, and the other the Benning- ton Electric Light and Power Company.
The water company was incorporated in October, 1886, by Moses Joy, jr., Henry W. Putnam, Henry W. Putnam, jr., Elbert H. Putnam and Frank J. Dutcher. Its original capital was $60,000, but this was afterward increased to $75,000. The object of this company is to supply the village of Bennington with pure and wholesome water. The reservoir is located on the hill about two miles east of the village, and has a capacity for storing 13,000,000 gallons. It is one hundred feet square at the top, seventy-five feet square at the bot- tom and fifteen feet deep. From the reservoir a large iron pipe carries the water to the village; and throughout the village streets are laid iron mains, none being less than four inches in diameter. At convenient places, designated by the trustees of the village, are hydrants from which water is taken in case of fire, for which use of course the village has to pay.
The officers of the water company are as follows : President, Henry W. Putnam ; secretary, John T. Shurtleff ; treasurer, and superintendent, Elbert H. Putnam. The company has between two hundred and fifty and three hundred water takers in the village, and about three miles of water mains.
The managers of the Bennington Electric Light and Power Company prom- ised to light the village with electricity on the evening preceding the day on which the monument corner stone was laid, August 16, 1887. This was done, and by the act the people first enjoyed the benefits of this modern system of artificial lighting. But the company did not perform this service for the sole purpose of furnishing light on the single occasion named, but for the purpose of permanently lighting the streets and buildings of the village, which it has since continued to do, taking power from the stream near the old " Novelty Works," which building the company occupies.
CHAPTER XXI.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MANCHESTER.
W ITH the possible exception of the town of Bennington, there is no local- ity within the whole county that is more rich with historic events, or that has borne a more prominent part in the county's affairs than the township of Manchester. But before entering upon a narrative of the events of this
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Martin Roberts
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TOWN OF MANCHESTER.
town a brief description of its geographical situation and of its natural physi- cal characteristics will be proper.
The town of Manchester is in latitude 43º 10', and longitude 4º and I'. In Bennington county it occupies a central location in the northern part; and for this reason is the half shire town in the north part, or one of the two seats of justice for the county.
The town is bounded on the north by the town of Dorset, on the east by Winhall, south by Sunderland, and west by Sandgate. In both length and breadth it measures six miles, therefore it has an area of thirty-six square miles.
Physical Features .- On the east and west boundaries extend the ranges of mountains, the Green and Taconic mountains, as they are respectively known, although the latter is a parallel auxiliary chain, a part of the former range. That portion of the Taconic chain that separates the towns of Manchester and Sandgate is known as Mount Equinox, and towers hundreds of feet above its fellows in this part of the State. At the highest point Equinox attains an elevation of more than three thousand feet above the porch of the Colburn House, at Manchester Center, and more than thirty eight hundred feet above tide water.
From the summit of Mount Equinox the visitor obtains a view of the sur- rounding country as remarkable as it is attractive ; and from a given position there can be discerned no less than a score and a half of villages in the States of New York and Vermont. The famous " Rocking Stone" and the " Devil's Wagon Road " and " Table Rock" are among the striking natural character- istics of Equinox. The first named is a massive bowlder, seventeen feet long, eight feet wide, and five feet in thickness, and is so nicely poised upon its foun- dation as to rock or sway under the pressure of the hand. The estimated weight of this huge stone is about thirty-five tons.
The general range of the Green Mountains, although of less altitude, pre- sents to the eye a view no less attractive ; and while the woodman's ax has stripped the high hills of many of the taller and more valuable forest trees, still an abundance remains, and the wild, rural beauty is undisturbed.
On the north of the town and in Dorset there stands boldly in view the tall peak called " Mount /Eolus," but by the townsfolk usually designated as "Dorset Hill." From the southern slope of this hill, and it extends into Man- chester, is presented a most beautiful panorama of nature ; the whole valley of the Battenkill River in the town is unfolded to sight. And here, in this fer- tile valley, and between the high mountain ranges on the east and west sides, is situated the improved portion of the town of Manchester with its three vil- lages- Manchester, Manchester Centre, and Manchester Depot.
The Battenkill River, the largest waterway of the town, flows a generally southwest course along the base and on the west side of the Green Moun-
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
tains, across the town, passes into Sunderland on the south, crosses Ar- lington, thence into Washington county, New York State, and discharges its water into the Hudson in the county last named. The chief tributaries of the Battenkill in Manchester are Stony Brook, Bourne Brook, Lye Brook, Mill Brook, and the West Branch, with other and smaller streams.
The town of Manchester, the events of which it is the purpose of this chap- ter to narrate, was brought into existence by a charter granted by his excel- lency, Benning Wentworth, governor of the province of New Hampshire, in the year 1761 ; and inasmuch as this document has never appeared in any of the historical works heretofore published, it is thought advisable to present the same in these pages. And as that charter made provision for the govern- ment of the town its reproduction may be of value in explaining the perform- ance of subsequent acts on the part of the proprietors and their successors. The charter is as follows :
" PROVINCE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
"George the Third, By the Grace of God, Great Britain, France and Ire- land, King, Defender of the Faith.
"To all to whom these presents shall come : Greeting. Know ye that we, of our special grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, for the due encour- agement of settling a new plantation within our said province, by and with the advice of our trusty and well-beloved Benning Wentworth, esq., our governor and commander-in-chief of our said province of New Hampshire, in New Eng- land, and of our council of our said province: Have, upon the conditions and reservations hereinafter made, given and granted, and by these presents our heirs and successors do give and grant, in equal shares, unto our loving sub- jects, inhabitants of our said province of New Hampshire, and our other gov- ernments, and to their heirs and assigns forever, whose names are entered on this grant,1 to be divided to and amongst them into seventy equal shares: All that tract or parcel of land situate, lying and being within our said province of New Hampshire, containing by admeasurement twenty-three thousand and forty acres; which tract is to contain six miles square and no more; out of which an allowance is to be made for highways and unimprovable lands by rocks, ponds, mountains and rivers, one thousand and forty acres free, accord- ing to a plan and survey thereof made by our said governor's order, and re- turned into the secretary's office and hereunto (to the grant) annexed ; butted and bounded as follows, viz. : At the northeast corner of Arlington, from thence due north by Sandgate, six miles to the northeast corner thereof; from thence due east six miles ; from thence due south six miles to the northeast corner of Sunderland; from thence due west by Sunderland aforesaid ; being the bounds began at -; and that the same be, and hereby is, incorporated into a town-
'Inasmuch as the original grantees under this charter did not become residents of the township granted them, their names are omitted from this record.
:
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TOWN OF MANCHESTER.
hip by the name of Manchester. And the inhabitants that do and shall here- ser inhabit the said township, are hereby declared to be enfranchised with and entitled to all and every the privileges and immunities that other townships in our province by law exercise and enjoy.
" And further, that the said town, as soon is there shall be fifteen families resident and settled thereon, shall have the liberty of holding two fairs, one of which shall be held on the -, and the other on the -, annually ; which fairs are not to continue longer than the respective-, following the said -; and that as soon as the said town shall consist of fifty families a market may be opened, and kept one or more days in each week, as may be thought most advantageous to the inhabitants. Also, that the first meeting for the choice of town officers, agreeable to the laws of our said province, shall be held on the first Tuesday of October next; which said meeting shall be notified by Ephi- raim Cowen, who is hereby also appointed the moderator of the said first meet- ing, which he is to notify and govern agreeable to the laws and customs of our said province. And that the annual meeting forever hereafter for the choice of such officers for said town shall be on the second Tuesday of March, annu- ally.
"To have and to hold the said tract of land as above expressed, together with all privileges and appurtenances to them and to their respective heirs and assigns forever, upon the following conditions, viz .:
"I. That every grantee, his heirs and assigns, shall plant and cultivate five acres of land, within the term of five years, for every fifty acres contained in his or their share or proportion of land in said township, and continue to im- prove and settle the same by additional cultivation on penalty of the forfeiture of his grant or share in the said township, and of its reverting to us, our heirs and successors to be by us or them regranted to such of our subjects as shall effectually settle and cultivate the same.
"II. That all white and other pine trees within said township fit for making our royal navy be carefully preserved for that use, and that none be cut or felled without our special license for so doing first had and obtained, upon the penalty of the forfiture of the right of such grantee, his heirs and assigns, to us, our heirs and successors, as well as being subject to the penalty of any act or acts of Parliament that now are or shall hereafter be enacted.
"III. That before any division of the land be made to and among the gran- tees, a tract of land as near the center of the township as the land will admit of, shall be reserved and marked out for town lots, one of which shall be allot- ted to each grantee of the contents of one acre.
"IV. Yielding and paying to us, our heirs and successors, for the space of ten years, to be computed from the date hereof, the rent of one ear of Indian corn only, on the twenty fifth day of December, annually, if lawy demanded; the first payment to be made on the twenty-fifth day of December, 1762.
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
"V. Every proprietor, settler or inhabitant shall yield and pay unto us, our leirs and successors, yearly, and every year forever from and after the expira- tion of ten years from the above said twenty-fifth day of December, namely : On the twenty-fifth day of December, which will be in the year of our Lord 1772, one shilling, proclamation money for every hundred acres he so owns, settles or possesses, and so in proportion for a greater or less tract of the said land ; which money shall be paid by the respective persons above said, their heirs or assigns, in our council chamber, in Portsmouth, or to such officer or officers as shall be appointed to receive the same; and this shall be in lieu of all other rents and services whatsosever.
"In testimony whereof we have caused the seal of our said province to be hereunto affixed. Witness, Benning Wentworth, esq., our governor and con- mander in-chief of our said province, the 11th day of August, in the year of our Lord, 1761, and in the first year of our reign.
"By his excellency's command,
with advice of council,
B. WENTWORTH.
"THEODORE ATKINSON, Sec'y."
The grant of the township tract also contains the names of the grantees, some sixty-four in number; and is followed by certain reservations of land: " His Excellency, Benning Wentworth, esq., one tract of land to contain five hundred acres, as marked . B. W.' on the plan ; which to be accounted two of the within shares, one whole for the incorporated society for propagating the Gospel in foreign parts; one share for a glebe for the Church of England as by law established ; one share for the first settled minister of the Gospel ; one share for the benefit of a school in said town."
This, then, was the formidable document, with all conditions, penalties, res- ervations and restrictions, by which the town of Manchester was brought into existence. The grant assumes or infers that there might have been at that time residents or settlers already on the land; but if such had been the case no record or tradition exists as to who they were, and had there been, suppos- ing the grant to have been wholly lawful and authorized, such settlers held no valid title to the soil they occupied.
The tract set apart and reserved by his excellency, the governor, was loca- ted in the extreme northwest corner of the township, at the point where the latter touches Sandgate, Rupert and Dorset. This locality is unimproved to this day, and its selection by the worthy governor shows him to have been wholly fair in the matter of choice or altogether unacquainted with the topogra- phy of the region.
The grant of the town to the beneficiaries therein named was made, it is believed, as a reward for political fealty, but it is not thought the same was made with the expectation that the grantees would themselves become actual settlers and occupants. This lot fell to a party of sturdy inhabitants of Duchess county,
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TOWN OF MANCHESTER.
New York State, who, upon a pilgrimage in search for a future location, saw from the vicinity of Salem, in Washington county, the high mountains to the east, and slowly traveling from hill to hill at last reached the peaks of the ranges that run at either side of the beautiful valley of the Battenkill. They were satisfied with the locality, and ascertaining that the same had recently been granted by the governor of New Hampshire, and designated as Manchester, set about purchasing the proprietors' rights and acquiring title to themselves. Other persons also made purchases, so that within the brief space of less than four years more than three-fourths of the original proprietors' riglits were dis- posed of to other parties. But whether the conditions of the charter or grant of the townships were ever enforced as against these purchasers of the propri- etors' lands there stands no record. The fact, however, of subsequent conflict- ing claims of title to the soil between the governments of New York and New Hampshire, and the independent attitude maintained by the settlers, released them from obedience to or the satisfaction of the conditions imposed by the original grant.
Early Proprietors' Meeting .- The first meeting of the proprietors of which there exists a record, was held at the house of Michael Hopkins, in Amenia, Duchess county, on the 14th of February, 1764, at which time Samuel Rose was chosen moderator, and Jonathan Ormsby, clerk. It was then decided to have the township surveyed and laid out in lots of one hundred acres each. In May following, the survey being completed sufficiently for the purpose of the first allotment, the proprietors' committee visited the town and made the divis- ion in accordance with the survey, assigning, by lot, sixty-eight parcels of one hundred acres each. The land embraced by this division included the portion most easily to be improved between the mountains, and extending almost the entire distance between the north and south bounds of the township. The sec- ond division was agreed upon in 1766, the third in 1771, the fourth in 1773 but not finally carried out until 1784, the fifth in 1783, the sixth in 1786, and the seventh and final division in the year 1802.
At a meeting of the proprietors held in December, 1764, it was decided that a road should be laid out through the town, under the direction of Jeremiah French and Gideon Ormsby. This was a north and south thoroughfare, and afterward became known as the "main road." It was constructed in part, at least, during the year 1765.
Township Organization and Settlement .- The town of Manchester was or- ganized on the second Tuesday of March, 1766. Benjamin Johns was chosen moderator, Stephen Mead, clerk, Benjamin Purdy, treasurer, and Samuel So- per, constable. The records of the early officers of the town have become so much worn and mutilated as to be unreliable, and it is questionable whether the mention for the first few years prior to 1771 can be fully relied upon; never- theless, in order that the names of those who were pioneers in the town may be
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