USA > Vermont > Addison County > Bristol > History of Bristol, Vermont, 1762-1959, 2nd ed. > Part 4
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this section since 1929. Besides its distribution lines, the utility operates a company merchandise store, a hydro generation station and two sub- statons here.
Twenty-two miles of power line extensions have been built since 1945 in order to furnish electricity to the Lincoln neighborhood, making a total of thirty-seven miles constituting this serivce. Line extensions have also been added in the Bristol area during this time.
In 1949 the Bristol village substation's capacity was stepped up from 400 KVA to 1,000 KVA and the ground surface was tarred making a more attractive appearance for the substation. The substation's in- creased capacity was made because of the addition in power load and to insure continuity of service to the area's customers. Another plant improvement was the voltage step-up to 4,200 volts from 2,300 volts on Bristol village's distribution lines. This took place within the past few years.
Thirteen new street lights in the business section of Bristol village were installed in 1954. These lights are modern mercury vapor and incandescent types especially designed for safe and attractive street lighting.
It is reported that domestic customers have increased their average kilowatt-hour use of electricity 50 per cent over the past ten years. In the same period farm customers have shown a growth of 80 per cent in average use.
The number of customers using power from CVPS lines has also followed the same growth trend. The number of residential customers has increased 10 per cent, and total customers have developed upward 17 per cent in the ten-year span. Electric sales measured in kilowatt-hours have gone up 79 per cent since 1948.
Telephone System - About 1895 the public telephone system was in- stalled in Bristol. According to the records there were two switchboards. One was in the home of Mr. Monroe on Church Street (house now oc- cupied by Mr. and Mrs. Jonas Fuller.) This was known as the Addison County Telephone Company with Mr. Allen Calhoun of Middlebury as it's president, Mrs. Vernon Pecor (nee Josephine Monroe) being the operator. This system handled only county calls - no long distance. The rental charge was $1.00 per month for subscribers and they had free service for nearby calls. In November, 1905, this switchboard was moved to Dr. Bisbee's Drug Store, located on the north side of Main Street. At the same time there was an exchange in the South Side Drug Store known as the New England Telephone Company and handled the long distance calls of the town. The switchboard was at Bisbee's Drug Store for about a year, after which that Company consolidated with the New England Telephone Company.
For many years the telephone office was at the South Side Drug Store but was later moved upstairs in the present Post Office block. Mr. F. H. Chessmore of Richmond was the manager and the name of the company was changed to Western Telephone & Telegraph Co., owned independently but connects with the New England Telephone & Tele- graph Company.
In 1950, Mr. M. J. Mack of Richmond became manager and on Aug- ust 13, 1952, the dial system was installed. A dial house was built on Mill Hill and the telephone office and operators were no longer needed. Outside calls are now handled by the New England Telephone & Tele- graph Company with central at Middlebury. On January 1, 1959, the
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Water System - The history of a water supply in Bristol village begins in 1811 when, in the fall, a company was incorporated to supply the residents of the village with water. In the principal aqueduct the water was brought first in hollow logs, then in lead pipes, which proved so unsatisfactory that the logs were used again. In 1841 pipes were made from water, cement, lime and river sand. These pipes proved successful and were probably used until the Munsill system was estab- lished. In the smaller aqueducts wood logs were used exclusively.
November 25, 1883, the following residents of Garfield Street met and formed the Garfield Aqueduct Company : C. E. Smith, J. J. Dumas, M. P. Varney, S. D. Farr, E. G. Prime, Clark Huntington, and Frank Greenough. At this meeting it was voted to assess each shareholder $20.00 to meet the expense of buying the pipe. A meeting was held April 26, 1884, at which the constitution and by-laws of the company were adopted and officers elected. The supply of water was confined to the residents of Garfield Street and to S. D. Farr of North Street and to T. S. Drake on East Street who owned the spring from which the water was taken. Mr. Drake leased this spring to the company January 3, 1885. The company was of short duration, the last recorded meeting being held April 10, 1889.
Bristol village was incorporated in 1903. One major value of in- corporation was that the people of the village could now vote for an adequate water system to replace or supplement the Rock Springs sys- tem which had been established during the decade 1880-90. This system, better known as the Munsill system because N. H. Munsill was the lead- ing stockholder, took its first supply of water from a spring on Hogsback mountain. Later the Rock Springs company laid a line from a spring back of Bristol Pond to the village and still later supplemented this by obtaining water from the spring in the Basin. At first this water was piped into tubs near the street, one tub serving two families, but after the Basin Spring was added to the supply, water was pumped into the houses. At the time of incorporation this system failed to supply the needs of the whole village and by 1905 plans were underway to bring water from springs at the base of Mt. Abraham in Lincoln to a reservoir on Hogsback and the present gravity system was thus established. Some time after this the Munsill system ceased to operate, but the spring in the basin came into use again in the winter of 1933-34 when parts of the water mains in the village froze and a pump was installed there to pump water into the mains which were not frozen and to prevent a water famine. At a village meeting in 1934 it was voted to buy the pump and equipment and install it permanently to be ready for emergencies.
Munsill Hose Company - The Hose Company was started in 1893. The Rock Spring Water Company gave the first equipment which consist- ed of a hose cart and 700 feet of hose. Mr. Munsill was the chief stock- holder in this company, thus the name N. H. Munsill Hose Co. Many of the by-laws drawn up by Mr. Munsill are still followed. The fire station was built in 1898.
The company has rendered faithful service to the village for 66 years. In 1934 it was voted to allow some of the equipment to go out- side of the village to aid in fire fighting.
New equipment was purchased in 1937. This gave adequate pro- tection until 1953 when a new fire truck was purchased. This included
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a 700 gallon tank and pumper, a portable pump with suction lines, two Scott-air pacs and other small equipment. This equipmet proved helpful when Bristol went to the assistance of Middlebury and Vergennes in 1954 and 1958.
In 1953 the company joined the Addison County Unit which includes eight other towns.
One of our first disastrous fires occured in 1898 when over half of the business section on the north side of Main Street was destroyed by fire. Again in 1914 nearly all of the Drake Farr block was left in ruins. In 1924 Bristol suffered one of the worse fires in its history - Kilbourn's grist mill and Stewarts barn were completely destroyed. Other build- ings on the south side of Main Street were so badly damaged that they had to be practically rebuilt. These included Quinlan and Wright's gro- cery, the Rexall Drug Store, the bank, E. W. Varney's funeral parlors and Palmer and Day's store. The records of the G. A. R., the Woman's Relief Corps. and Business Men's Association were destroyed. The trag- edy of this fire was that much of it might have been prevented. The fire alarm, which was a bell hung in the fire house, failed to awaken many of the fire-fighting squad. Shortly after this an electrically con- trolled siren was installed which can be heard for a distance of more than five miles. It is blown at noon each day to check its working order.
The O'Neil block, a very old landmark was destroyed by fire in 1929. It was first used as a hotel with Daniel Willard as the last landlord. Pat- rick O'Neil remodeled it into a business block about 1850. At the time it burned Dewey Kemp's restaurant and Dan Thomas store were located there. The site is now occupied by McKinnons filling Station.
In 1947 the Bristol Manufacturing Co. was destroyed by fire. The cause was not known as the buildings were not in use.
In 1953 fire ruined two warehouses of Chester Way's and did heavy damage to Shadricks Garage and Kilbournes storehouse.
The dial telephone system went into use in 1958. Fire phones were installed in private homes from which alarms can be sounded at the hose house. This system has been very successful.
A nine hundred gallon tank truck is soon to be added to the equip- ment.
Business Center
Bristol Post Office - We are indebted to Munsill's "Early History of Bristol" for the account of the early post offices in town. Mr. Munsill obtained his statistics from the Post Office Department in Washington, but their first three books were burned in 1836 so that the first postmas- ter listed by them is Jacob Caldwell, 1804. Mr. Munsill states that he re- members that Thaddeus Mclaughlin was postmaster previous to this time and that he kept the office in the house built by his father in 1800 at the four corners a mile and a quarter west of the village, the place now known as Daniels' Corners. This evidences that the first post office was established in Bristol sometime between 1801 and 1803. Jacob Caldwell was suceeded in 1805 by his brother Isaac, but the office remained in the same place, in a log cabin kept as a public house by the two brothers, four miles northeast of Bristol village on the road to Starksboro. The post office was kept here for ten years, until 1815 when Joseph Otis was appointed postmaster and moved the office to his home in Bristol village. Since that time the office has never been outside of the village, although
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for many years it was kept in the home or place of business of the cur- rent postmaster. In 1861 Winter Holley was postmaster and the office was kept in his store. The first separate residence of the postoffice of which we have a record was on the north side of Main Street where Abram's Department Store is now located. After the fire of 1898 the office was removed to the Drake-Farr block on the south of Main Street, where it remained until fire destroyed the block in 1914. After being located for a short period in the Grange Hall on Garfield Street it was moved to the Lathrop block, which was built in 1916 on the site which the Drake-Farr block had occupied. This is its present location.
In 1810 the mail was brought on horseback once a week from the Middlebury post office. Sometime between 1810 and 1849 the service was opened its entire distance in 1849, after which the mail delivery to was opened its entire distance in 1849, after which the delivery mail to Bristol was daily. The date of change of delivery for the Bristol mail from Middlebury to New Haven Depot is not definitely known, al- though it must have occured sometime in the 1860's. After this the mail was brought by stage from the New Haven Depot twice a day. The stage continued to carry the mail for a few months after the Bristol Railroad was established in 1892, but it was soon brought by train. Since the Bristol Railroad stopped running in 1930 the mail is again brought by private carrier from New Haven, but there are now five daily deliv- eries to the Bristol post office instead of two.
On January 29, 1949, the first Highway Post Office, in this section, carried mail from Albany, N. Y. to Burlington, Vt. in lieu of mail by railroad, and on April 18, 1955, all mail service by the Rutland Railroad was discontinued permanently, all mail service now furnished by High- way Post Office and Mail Trucks, to New Haven, yet being brought by carrier to Bristol.
After 1900 there was a marked progress in postal service in the town. In 1901 the first R. F. D. route was chartered from the Bristol post office through Bristol Flats, South Bristol and parts of New Haven and Middlebury. Loren Jacobs was the first carrier. Within a year two other routes were started, Number 2, with George Dike as carrier went north and covered part of Monkton while Route 3 covered parts of Lin- coln and Starksboro and had Fred Manum for its first carrier. About 1905 a fourth route was established through Bristol Notch and into Lincoln. M. U. Ross was carrier for this route. In 1923 Bristol became a second class office. In 1939 Routes 3 and 4 were consolidated, Russell Lowell now serving both routes, Walter Sheldon carrier for Route 1 and Roy Bicknell for Number 2.
On December 31, 1943, West Lincoln Post Office, which had been served through this office was closed and the patrons put on to the rural route from here.
November 15, 1952, the post office at South Lincoln was closed and the patrons were served by a Star Route from Lincoln. The South Lincoln mail had been routed through Bristol to that office.
June 16, 1954, Route 3 was discontinued and divided between routes 1 and 2. At present Route 1 carrier is Carleton Bosworth and Max Dumas serves Route 2.
A Star Route has been served through this office to the Post Office in Starksboro for over fifty years, the present carrier Arland Smith having served for forty-six years.
In the spring of 1955, the lease was renewed for quarters in the
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Lathrop Block on the south side of Main Street, where the office has been located since 1916.
A re-arrangement of the Lobby and Work Room was made at this time. The interior was redecorated, new lighting installed, a metal screen line replaced the wood structure, 500 lock boxes were installed, and other new equipment, consisting of cabinets, desks, electric adding machine. new typewriter and safe were added.
On December 1, 1956, George L. Burt, Senior Clerk, was given the first appointment to, "Assistant to the Postmaster," in the history of his office, serving his 22nd year as clerk.
George F. Whitcomb the present postmaster, became Acting Post- master on April 15, 1950, and was appointed postmaster on July 12, 1951.
Hostelries of Bristol - One of the first public houses in Bristol was a log house built by Henry Mclaughlin in 1788 at what is now known as Daniel's Corner. In 1800 he built a brick house near the log cabin and continued his work as host to the public. This was the house where the first post office was located. The log house of the Caldwell Brothers, four miles northeast of Bristol village, on the Starksboro road, was also a public house and it was here that the post office was located from 1804-15. Robert Holley opened a house in Bristol village in 1808 and, at a later date, a house on Bristol Flats built by Robert Dunshee and sold to V. Miller was kept as a tavern by Mr. Miller. It was the house north of the Welden Prime house which was torn down in the early 1900's. A cellar hole remains to mark the site of the tavern.
The public house of early times which is of most interest to us today was that of Abram Gaige which was burned in 1817 and rebuilt by Mr. Gaige in 1820. This was the beginning of the Bristol House or Bristol Inn as it is now known. Mr. Gaige was landlord until 1835 and from that time until 1871 the place changed hands several times. In 1871 the hotel was bought by Mr. J. J. Ridley who continued as land- lord until about 1896, except for a few months in 1893 between his sale of the house to Q. E. Grover and W. E. Frank and his repurchase of it. A rival hotel, the Commercial House, owned by Ryland Hatch, made its appearance in the 80's. Each hotel had its coach and two (not four) to convey passengers to and from New Haven Depot. Mr. Ridley advertised his house in the Bristol Herald in this way (taken from an issue in 1888) : "It is 51% miles from New Haven Depot. Stage connects with trains twice daily. Telegraph and livery connected with the house." Mr. Ridley was succeeded by Thomas Leonard, who in turn, was suceeded by Clement Burnham in 1906.
The Burnhams remodeled the house inside and out, redecorated the interior and planted shrubs, greatly increasing the attractiveness of the Inn. In 1930 they built the annex on the north side of the original structure. Mr. and Mrs. Burnham remained Host and Hostess at the Inn for nearly fifty years. Mr. Burnham sold the Inn in 1954 to Mr. Walter Palmer, who in turn sold it to the Dog Team Corp. in 1955. The Inn was purchased from the Dog Team Corp. in 1958 by its present owners, Mr. and Mrs. Earl Laviana, who came to Bristol from Castleton, Vermont. The Lavianas have made extensive repairs and improve- ments, preserving the New England atmosphere of the Inn. The im- provements include a modern kitchen, a bar room finished in knotty pine with furnishings from the local furniture manufacturer, The Drake, Smith Co., Inc. and three dining rooms with a seating capacity of 365. There are 24 guest rooms, many furnished with antiques. The Currier
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and Ives and glass collections at the Inn are outstanding and the gardens started by Mr. and Mrs. Burnham are maintained, enhanced this year by thousands of newly-planted bulbs.
The Inn today is a Duncan Hines eating place, well-known for fine service and excellent cooking. It is one of Bristol's best assets.
Buildings - One of the old established trade conveniences of the town of Bristol was the continuous and prosperous existence of the hard- ware store of S. D. Farr which was founded by Drake, Smith & Co. in 1869. In 1872 the Drake Farr block was built. About 1880 the interests of Mr. Drake were purchased by E. S. & S. D. Farr. Another change occurred in 1900 when S. D. Farr secured the interest of his partner. He not only carried a line of general hardware but sold Glenwood Stoves and ranges, tin, copper ware, cement and tiling and was prepared to do plumb- ing on the shortest notice possible.
This block was burned on February 10th, 1914 but was soon rebuilt. In 1916 N. Lathrop & Son bought the corner lot and built the present Post Office. After the death of S. D. Farr, his son Winfield carried on the hardware business for several years when it was sold to James Tomasi who continued in the hardware business a few years. He also added a large Freezer Plant. In 1948 the entire block was sold to the Van Raalte Company.
Ezra C. Dike started his Hardware Store in 1869 and continued for over fifty years. He built the so-called Dike block and had his business where the present A & P is located. His son Eddie continued in the business for several years.
Among the other successful business men were George Danforth and E. J. Bristol who built a large block on the North side of the Street. This partnership existed for sixteen years dealing in the jewelry, shoe and clothing business. They decided to dissolve about 1901 when Mr. Danforth bought the clothing business of Mr. Bristol and continued to handle the men's furnishing department as well as a line of trunks. suit cases, etc. Mr. Bristol stocked up with a fine line of foot wear and on the jewelry side could be found gold and silver watches, pins, solid and plated silverware, novelties, etc. He also employed a shoe maker who devoted his entire time to making shoes to order and repairing shoes.
Ramie Martin first started the paint and wall paper business on West Street in a store which had been conducted by J. R. Wills. After two years he moved into the store now operated by Mr. Chester Way. Mr. Martin kept a well stocked store carrying not only paint and paper but doors, windows, glass and all kinds of wood building material. After nearly forty years he sold to the present owners.
In 1902 Chas. Hathorn and Elmer Boynton formed a partnership to establish themselves in the hardware and plumbing business. They located in a store on West St. near Holley Hall. They carried a stock of paint, varnishes, stoves, ranges and heaters. The firm made a special- ty of installing plumbing, steam and hot water heating plants, roofing and sheet metal work. After 34 years in business the partnership was dissolved and the building sold to make way for the Texaco Oil Company which soon located there.
Between the years of 1950 and 1955 about fifteen new houses were built in Bristol. Most of these were built on upper end of North St.
Bristol Bands - Band concerts have been enjoyed in Bristol for many years. As early as the 70's concerts have been played on the
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park, where people gathered from miles around to visit with their friends and listen to the band play their weekly concerts. In 1884 the Cornet band was formed and, at the same time, there was a Cornet band in Lincoln. These two bands often played together. In 1886 a rival, called the Citizen's Band was formed to share the honors. Neither band was mentioned after the appearance of the Bristol Military Band, which was formed in the middle 90's. The only lights available to the early musicians were kerosene torches, which were held by the lads present. This difficulty was overcome, almost from the beginning of the Military Band, when electric lights were installed in the band stand.
A new modern band stand with cover was erected in the year 1937 at a cost of $576.50. With the covered stand, of course, concerts can continue even thru rain storms.
During the last decade, girls have been admitted to the band and several youths are also members. Leaders of the band have been, George Guinan, Howard Haseltine, John Selden, David Aubin, William Andrews and Franklin Comstock. Roy Clark is the present leader.
As many of the older members have passed away, guest players from Vergennes, Middlebury and Burlington have been a great help, enabling them to continue the concerts for a number of years.
Each year, the town appropriates a sum of money for the support of the band and the members, unlike earlier days, are supplied with their instruments.
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