USA > Vermont > Addison County > Bristol > History of Bristol, Vermont (1762-1980), Third Edition > Part 4
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Banking
66 . the Holleys and the Peakes were the first bankers here. ... this is how all this property went in and out of the Peake's and Holley's control. They owned ... at least twenty-five or thirty farms, and that money was put into investments, stocks, and bonds, and this and that in western lands." Quoted from a taped interview with Kate and Peveril Peake in February 1979.
The first bank in Bristol was opened in 1891 by S.M. Door's Sons of Rutland. It failed and closed its doors in 1893.
The First National Bank of Bristol was chartered in May 1902, with Chase Bush, E.B. Patterson, W.E. Hanks, Ralph Denio, and F.R. Dickerman as directors. In 1924, at the time of the big fire which destroyed so many buildings on the south side of Main Street, the bank building was burned and the following year the present brick structure was erected.
The bank was organized with a capital of twenty-five-thousand dollars. In 1932, its capital stock was increased to fifty-thousand dollars. Until the 1940's, the limited money supply of the bank kept it out of the residential and commercial loan market. By the late 1960's, the surplus fund had reached a quarter of a million dollars, which, with the capital stock, made loans up to thirty-thousand dollars available. During this period, the bank started making more personal and automobile installment loans. However, it became increasingly ap- parent that in order to meet the rising demand for residential and commercial loans, the directors must consider a
DRAKE
FARA
BLOCK.
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.
E. S & S.D. FARA. HARDWARE
LLUYOTIFISH STOPE
CLOTHIER ANT FURNISHER.
South side of Main Street - 1892 (compliments of Bristol Historical Society)
JONI'S
JONI
South side of Main Street - 1979
merger with a larger commercial bank capable of furnishing the necessary funds to make it possible to offer a full-service banking facility. Another difficulty was the need for much new and more modern equipment. Both problems were solved with the merger on September 9, 1969, with the Mer- chants National Bank of Burlington.
The Merchants Bank is continual- ly improving the quality of service pro- vided its customers through the use of a sophisticated communications system. In 1979, the bank installed IBM 3600 Series on-line teller ter- minals in all Merchants Bank offices.
At the time of the merger in 1969, the officers and directors of the First National Bank were as follows: Leland H. Landon, President; Harold D. Williamson, Vice President; Daniel L. Garland, Wesley C. Little, Gordon H. Brown, and Stanton H. Bryden, Direc- tors; Leonard J. Little, Cashier; Ronald J. Gordon, Assistant Cashier; and Eileen R. Smith, Bookkeeper. The Board of Directors and employees of the Bristol bank were all retained, with the directors serving as an advisory board of the Merchants Bank.
The present Advisory Board con- sists of the following: Harold D. Ben-
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way, Chairman; Dr. Harold E. Williamson, Stanton H. Bryden, Ar- thur Clifford, Martyn Hutchins, and Prudence Tomasi.
Some of the employees who served for many years were: Ralph Brown, Arland Farr, Leland Landon, Leonard Little, Norman McIntyre, and Dorothy Roscoe.
Present employees include Assis- tant Vice President of the Merchants Bank and Manager of the Bristol Of- fice, Harold D. Benway; Assistant Treasurer and Assistant Manager, Eileen R. Smith; Customer Service, Lois Burbank, Madeline Wendell, and Janet Russell; Head Teller, Mary Pierce; Tellers, Gwenyth Zeno, Anita Oberle, Betty Norris, Nancy Skidmore, Joyce Reynolds, and Sue Brown.
Information for this article was compiled from the Second Edition of the History of Bristol, Vermont and "A Short History of the Bristol Bank" by Leland H. Landon.
Post Office
We are indebted to The Honorable Harvey Munsill's informa- tion written in The Early History of Bristol, Vermont regarding the early post offices in Bristol. Mr. Munsill remembered that Thaddeus McLaughlin served as postmaster previous to 1804 and ran the postal business in a house built by his father in 1800, at Daniels Corner just west of Bristol Village at the intersection of Routes 17 and 116.
Mr. Munsill obtained statistics from the Post Office Department in Washington, D.C., on early postal in- formation dating from 1804. That department lists Jacob Caldwell, 1804, as Bristol's first postmaster. However, their records prior to that date were lost in an 1836 fire.
Jacob Caldwell maintained the post office in a log cabin kept as a public house by his brother and himself located four miles northeast of Bristol Village on Route 116 leading to Starksboro. In 1805, Jacob's brother, Isaac Caldwell, became postmaster. The post office remained at their public house for ten years.
In 1815, Joseph Otis was ap- pointed postmaster and the office was
moved to his home in Bristol Village. Since that time, the office has never been outside of the Village, although for many years it was kept at the home or place of business of the current postmaster.
The first separate location on record for the post office was on the north side of Main Street where Cub- ber's is now, in the Norton Block. After the fire of 1898 on Main Street, the office was moved to the Drake-Farr Block on the west corner of Main and South Streets, where it remained until fire destroyed that block in 1914. It was then moved for a short time to the Grange Hall on Garfield Street. After the Lathrop Block was built in 1916 on the site of the former Drake-Farr Block, the post office was moved there.
In 1967, the present post office building was erected on West Street on the site of the former William Browe residence. The colonial style building
Bristol, Lincoln, Monkton, New. Haven, and Starksboro.
Previous to the first post office be- ing opened in town, the mail for Bristol was carried through an arrangement made by a few of the early settlers tak- ing turns among themselves to go and get the mail from Middlebury. In this way, the mail was received in Bristol each week. By 1810, the mail was brought on horseback from the Mid- dlebury Post Office on a more regular weekly schedule. Sometime between 1810 and 1849, the service was changed to semi-weekly mail delivery.
In 1849, the Burlington-Rutland Railroad was opened for its entire run, thus there was daily delivery of mail to Bristol. It appears that sometime in the 1860's, the Bristol mail was delivered to the New Haven railroad depot in- stead of to Middlebury. The mail was then brought by stage from the New Haven depot twice a day. After the Bristol Railroad was established in
UNITED
STATES
OFFICE
BRISTOL, VERMONT
03443
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Post Office - located on West Street; dedicated in 1967
was opened for business July 31, 1967, and officially dedicated on November 12, 1967. The building was erected by M. H. Parsons and Sons Lumber Com- pany of York Village, Maine. It is owned by that company and leased to the Post Office Department. The building is double the size of the former post office, contains modern postal equipment, and has a large area for parking and for postal vehicles. It serves approximately eight thousand patrons in the five-town area of
1892 between Bristol and New Haven depot, the train started carrying the mail. This continued until 1930 when the Bristol Railroad stopped running. At that time, the mail was again delivered to Bristol by private carrier from New Haven.
In 1949, the first Highway Post Office in this area carried mail from Albany, New York, to Burlington, Vermont, in lieu of the mail by railroad. In 1955, all mail service by the Rutland Railroad was discon-
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tinued. Mail service is now furnished by a contract mail messenger from Burlington twice daily.
After 1900, there was marked progress in postal service in the town. Up to this time, all mail was picked up by residents at the Bristol Post Office. In 1901, Rural Free Delivery was started in the area. R.F.D. Route 1, with Loren Jacobs as the first carrier, ran through Bristol Flats, South Bristol, and parts of New Haven and Middlebury. Within a year, two other rural routes were started. R.F.D. Route 2, with George Dike as carrier, went north and covered part of Monkton. R.F.D. Route 3, with Fred Manum as carrier, covered parts of Lincoln and Starksboro. About 1905, R.F.D. Route was established through Bristol Notch and into Lincoln with M. U. Ross as carrier.
Due to the increase in business, in 1923 Bristol moved from being a third- class post office to being a second-class post office. It is still a second-class post office today.
On December 31, 1943, West Lin- coln Post Office, which had been served through Bristol, was closed and the patrons put on Bristol Route 3. On November 15, 1952, the post office at South Lincoln, which had also been served through Bristol, was closed the the patrons were put on a Star Route from Lincoln Post Office. The Lincoln Post Office closed November 1968, and patrons previously served by that post office were added to the R.D. 1 Bristol route. At this time also, the Lincoln to South Lincoln Star Route was discontinued and these patrons were also added to the R.D. 1 Bristol route.
There have been several changes over the years in the rural routes and the carriers that serve them. Presently, there are three rural free delivery routes and one Star Route served through the Bristol Post Office.
R.F.D. Route 1 serves all of the Town of Lincoln, as well as the South Starksboro area. The carrier since January 1980, is Brian M. Ladeau, who worked previously as a substitute carrier.
R.F.D. Route 2 serves Bristol Flats, some of the easterly part of New
Haven, the south and easterly part of Monkton, Starksboro between Route 116 and Cheese Factory Road, and the northern part of Bristol. The carrier since January 1980, is Lloyd K. Dike, who also worked previously as a substitute carrier.
Auxiliary Route 3, known locally as Route 3, was established February 24, 1979, because of the increase in rural growth. It includes parts of the former Routes 1 and 2. Route 3 serves Bristol Notch up to the Lincoln line, runs south from New Haven Mills to Nash Bridge, and includes Carlstrom Road. The carrier since January 1980 is John F. Gemignani, a former Starksboro substitute carrier.
For over seventy years, a Star Route has served patrons residing be- tween the Bristol Post Office and the Starksboro Post Office. The Bristol Star Route is presently served by the mail messenger from the Burlington Sectional Center. Mail for the Bristol Star Route is sorted and cased by the Bristol Post Office.
Due to the increase in the number of patrons served, city delivery was established November 2, 1968. Former city delivery carriers were John P. Pfeifer, Ralph O. Meader, and Melwood S. O'Bryan. Presently Craig Scribner, Sr., who started November 2, 1968, and Charles A. Hanson who transferred from clerk to carrier on November 24, 1973, are the two city delivery carriers. One city delivery route has been motorized since July 1974.
S.
On December 1, 1956, for the first time in the history of the Bristol Post Office, the appointment was made of an assistant to the Postmaster. George Leonard Burt, Senior Clerk, was given this appointment. After Burt's retire- ment on November 1, 1969, Senior Clerk Roy J. Clark assumed the posi- tion of Assistant to the Postmaster. He served in that capacity until his retire- ment on June 30, 1972. Since that time, there has been no Assistant to the Postmaster because of a revision in the practice of the U.S. Postal Service.
Following is a list of Postmasters serving the Bristol Post Office since the first recorded appointment: Jacob Caldwell appointed April 1804; Isaac
Caldwell appointed March 4, 1805; Joseph Otis appointed August 10, 1815; Henry Soper appointed May 15, 1829; Henry C. Soper appointed September 8, 1829; Datus R. Gaige ap- pointed October 1, 1834; William G. Munson appointed June 19, 1849; Titus B. Gaige appointed November 22, 1856; Winter H. Holley appointed April 13, 1861; Levi Hasseltine, Jr., appointed May 26, 1873; Frederick Landon appointed February 20, 1877; Jesse J. Ridley appointed October 1, 1885; Noble F. Dunshee appointed Oc- tober 3, 1889; William W. Needham appointed March 14, 1894; Fred G. Haskins appointed March 9, 1898; Clement A. Burnham appointed January 7, 1915; William A. Beebe ap- pointed August 5, 1923; Donald J. Wilson appointed December 20, 1928; Richard S. Smith appointed June 1, 1933; Laurence E. McShane appointed April 3, 1938; Carleton H. Bosworth appointed July 1, 1944; George F. Whitcomb appointed Acting Postmaster April 15, 1950, and Postmaster July 12, 1951; James A. Bouvier appointed Acting Postmaster September 15, 1967 and Postmaster December 17, 1967.
On December 28, 1979, three long-time postal employees retired. The recently retired employees include James A. Bouvier, former Postmaster, who was with the Bristol postal service since June 1947; Max T. Dumas, former Bristol rural carrier, who started with the Bristol postal service in March 1949; and William W. McKean, former Bristol rural carrier, who started in mail service in New York City in 1945 and came to the Bristol carrier position in 1968. Another long- serving postal worker was Milton W. Liberty who worked as contracted custodian from 1967 until his retire- ment in 1975. He worked previously as a part-time custodian starting in 1956.
Since the retirements listed above, several changes have taken place in the organization of the postal employees. The Bristol Post Office has been super- vised by an Officer in Charge pending the appointment of a new Postmaster by the U.S. Postal Service.
Personnel as of June 1980 were: Officer in Charge Clarence Ross
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(Postmaster of Dorset, Vermont); Senior Clerk William A. Kilbourn; Clerk Linda L. Lathrop; rural carriers Brian M. Ladeau on R.D. 1, Lloyd K. Dike on R.D. 2, and John F. Gemignani on R.D. 3; substitute rural carrier Cristopher J. Rockwood; city delivery carriers Charles A. Hanson and Craig S. Scribner, Sr .; substitute city delivery carrier Ronald L. Williamson; and Custodian Lynda A. Malzac.
These dedicated civil service workers in Vermont are truly tested by the post office policy first stated by Greek historian Herodotus, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of
night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."
House Numbering
In May 1967, the Outlook Club undertook a community improvement project to devise a house numbering system for the Village of Bristol. Mrs. Kay Johnson was the chairman of this project. Numbered street addresses in Bristol would greatly help the fire department, police, doctors, am- bulance, delivery truck drivers, public utilities, telephone directory listings, visitors, and residents themselves find locations much easier.
The house numbering committee met with town officials and the Bristol Postmaster, George F. Whitcomb. All were enthusiastic about the project. Postmaster Whitcomb advised the committee regarding U.S. Postal Ser- vice regulations for numbering.
A town survey was done, map prepared, residents' names listed, and house numbers assigned and distributed by February 1968. Many different individuals and groups in the community helped with the project.
When city mail delivery was started in November 1968, the value of this Outlook Club project was recognized once again.
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IV Other Businesses
In this section, we have obtained information on the businesses which are located within Bristol but are not on Main Street. Most of this informa- tion comes from the current owners of the various businesses.
Bristol Herald
The Bristol Herald was established in May of 1879 by Myron F. Wilson, assisted by his three sons, Myron W., James, and Ben, in rooms over Bush and Patterson's store on Main Street. A fourth son, Preston K. soon joined the endeavor.
The second Herald office was in the Drake-Farr Block on Main Street and the third on South Street. The paper was always printed under the firm name of Wilson Brothers but before it had reached its fiftieth an- niversary, Ben and Preston K. had died and James' son, Donald J. had entered the firm.
In the spring of 1929, the Herald was sold to Ralph Merritt, editor of the Middlebury Register, and the two papers were published in Middlebury by the Middlebury Register and Bristol Herald Company, Inc.
In 1934, the Brandon Union joined these two papers and the publishing company was then known as the Otter Valley Press. In 1947, the Bristol Herald was sold to Rockwood Publications of Vergennes.
Myron W. died in 1930, James in 1941, and Donald J. in 1963.
Information received from the Department of Libraries (Documents) in Montpelier indicates their files con- tain microfilm copies of the Herald published from 1880 through August 15, 1947, as well as January 1953, and February 1953, issues. Publication resumed in December of 1974 and
monthly issues were printed in January 1975, and February 1975.
From the front page of the December 5, 1974 issue:
"With this issue, the Bristol Herald, which has been dormant for well over a decade, resumes publication under new staffing and ownership. The Herald will contain regular reports by cor- respondents from surrounding towns: Monkton, Lincoln, Starksboro, New Haven as well as Bristol. Besides cover- ing local news from these towns the Herald will also run feature articles on area subjects, historic sites and town and village affairs in much the same manner as its predecessor and namesake, which was begun by Myron Wilson in 1879."
From the front page of the February 27, 1975 issue:
" ... the spirit of enthusiasm, high hopes and dedication of the staff were no match for the economic realities that simply overwhelmed the undertak- ing. The decision to suspend publica- tion was not ours to make. It was made by forces beyond our control."
The editor was David Robinson and published every Thursday by Enterprise and Vermonter Publishing Company in Vergennes. An editorial office was maintained at 7 Main Street in Bristol.
Since 1975, the Bristol Herald has not been published.
In 1890, three years before he died in 1893, Myron F., the founder of the Bristol Herald conceived the idea of utilizing the iron arch from the one- hundred-twenty-five year old Tuff hand press which he had used for many years, as a base for the marble headstone set on the Wilson family plot in Greenwood Cemetery. This did in fact take place and can be seen there today.
Information compiled from the History of Bristol, Vermont, First Edition and Second Edi- tion and from the Vermont Department of Libraries (Documents) in Montpelier.
The Bristol Press
After leaving the Bristol Herald, Donald J. Wilson started his own com- mercial printing business in 1935. This was known as the Bristol Press and was located in the rear of Way's Hardware Store on the south side of Main Street, the present location of Thomas Sport- ing Goods.
In 1938, he moved the business to his home on Maple Street.
Donald E. joined his father in 1945 and represented the fourth generation of this printing family. They modernized the printing plant, added automatic machinery and addi- tional buildings.
In 1953, a silk screen plant was added known as "Vermont Silk Screen Co."
Lyndon Fish came to work for the Wilsons in May 1955. At that time, the Wilsons were operating two separate businesses: The Bristol Press under Donald J. Wilson and Vermont Silk Screen Co. under Donald E. Wilson. The businesses were incorporated on January 5, 1959 under the name: "Bristol Press and Vt. Silk Screen, Inc."
Mr. Fish, having studied at the School of Practical Art in Boston, started out in the silk screen business under Donald E. (deceased July 1961) and Jack Wendel.
After the death of Donald J. in January 1963, the corporation was dissolved on August 5, 1963. Mr. Fish leased the business for two years until his purchase of the same in 1965 from Anna Wilson, widow of Donald J.
Since more letterpress and offset work was being done, in 1966, the silk screen business was discontinued due to limited space, expense and general economics. The name of the business reverted back to its original name, The Bristol Press, as it is known in 1980. The firm now specializes in letterpress and offset job printing at the same site at 58 Maple Street.
Patrick Little and Charles Hanson worked full time for Fish when he first
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purchased the business. Laura Rathbun worked eight years for Mr. Fish.
Since 1978 when Mr. Little retired, Lyndon Fish and his wife, Jac- queline, have operated the business with part-time help.
Information compiled from the History of Bristol, Vermont, Second Edition, and from an interview with Lyndon and Jacqueline Fish.
Bristol Market
The Bristol Market on North Street is owned and operated by John and Shirley Coffey. They purchased the business in 1969 from Mrs. Michael Moore. They have remodeled and enlarged the store, carrying a complete line of groceries, meat, frozen foods, and delicatessen items.
From 1966 to 1969, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Moore owned and operated the grocery and meat store.
Previous to the Moore's owner- ship, the store was owned and operated by Ceylon Brown from 1938 to 1966 and was known as Brown's Market.
The Bristol Motor Inn
The Bristol Motor Inn, formerly called the Scotsmon's Motor Lodge, is located at the intersection of Routes 17 and 116 in Bristol. It was built in three sections during 1964 and 1965 by Nor- man MacCauley. Mr. MacCauley was of Scottish heritage and it seems he found the view of Mt. Abraham to the east a reminder of his home country.
In 1969-70 Paul Lamson pur- chased the property. Several live-in managers, as well as Paul Lamson himself, operated the Scotsmon's.
In October 1973, Robert and Marilyn Stetson bought the motel and managed it as a family business. The motel proved to be a viable addition to the tourist services in Bristol.
In November 1975, Henry and Alice Reimers purchased the property and own it currently. The Reimers also run the motel as a family business and renamed it, "The Bristol Motor Inn." At present eighteen units are available for visitors to the Bristol area and breakfast is served to guests. The Bristol Motor Inn is the only lodging in the town of Bristol.
Brooks Discount Store off North Street
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Brown-McClay Funeral Homes, Inc., South Street
The Bristol Trading Post
The Bristol Trading Post located on Mountain Street is currently owned by Mr. and Mrs. Edward Tucker, Jr. They sell a complete line of new fur- niture, appliances, carpets, televisions, and baskets.
The Tuckers purchased the building and business from Mr. and Mrs. Howard Gladding in 1975 who also sold appliances, linoleum, new furniture, as well as used furniture.
The Gladdings purchased the building in 1960 from John F. and Paul T. Kennedy who operated a business under the name of Kennedy Brothers. Their main business was a large and varied line of woodenware and pottery, all of which was manufac- tured there.
The Kennedy Brothers were in business in Bristol from 1943 to 1960 when they moved to Vergennes.
Prior to 1943, a Ford Sales and Service Garage was owned and
operated by Ralph W. Shadrick at the Mountain Street location.
Brooks Discount Store
Brooks Discount Store now oc- cupies the sixty by one-hundred foot building, the former site of the Grand Union store, on part of the old Bristol Inn property.
After the Grand Union store moved to new and larger quarters in 1976 and after renovations had been made, the store was then leased by An- tonio Pomerleau (the present owner) to Lee's Niagara Drug Corporation of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, who have since operated there under the name Brooks Discount Store.
The store sells drugs, patent medicines, vitamins, beauty-aids, and general merchandise usually sold in drug stores as well as miscellaneous household items.
Jan Pierce is the present manager.
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Brown-McClay Funeral Homes, Inc.
The first funeral business in Bristol was established by Mervin P. Varney in 1878 in connection with a furniture store located in a building where the Ben Franklin Store on the south side of Main Street now stands in the Patterson Block.
About the same time, Smith W. Hatch also opened a funeral business along with his furniture store. It was located in the three-story building on the south side of Main Street, the most easterly part of which now houses a restaurant (Mr. Bumble's Pub) and apartments and is known as the Hatch Block.
After the death of Smith W. Hatch in 1897, the furniture and funeral businesses were sold to Ryland F. Hatch. In 1914, he sold his funeral business to the Varney Funeral Home and in turn purchased the Varney fur- niture business.
Upon the death of Mervin P. Varney in 1907, his son, Enoch Warner Varney, assumed control. This estab- lishment burned in the 1924 Main Street fire and the business was relocated on South Street in what had previously been a harness shop. Later that building became part of the pres- ent funeral home structure.
On October 24, 1945, E. W. Var- ney sold the funeral business to Gor- don and Wilma Brown. In 1961, they purchased the adjoining Colonial Theater building site and expanded the facilities to its present size.
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