USA > Vermont > Chittenden County > History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 39
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There were frequent complaints, however, from the traveling public, that notwithstanding the excellent accommodations of the company, the charge of five dollars for each passage through the lake was exorbitant. A number of persons in New York State consequently procured a charter from the Legisla- ture of New York, of a company under the name of the New York and Cham- plain Steamboat Company. They were immediately consolidated with the old company, which endeavored to cut off any further opposition by reducing the fare from five dollars to three, with meals and rooms charged extra. No sooner had this consolidation been effected than Peter Comstock began the construc- tion of another boat at Whitehall, which he named the Francis Saltus. He was disappointed, however, in his expectations that the transportation company would gratify him by purchasing this boat as they had the other. They de- cided to "run down " the opposition, and accordingly fitted up the Saranac and placed her under command of Captain P. T. Davis, and when the Saltus
319
LAKE COMMERCE AND THE LUMBER TRADE.
came out in 1845, under Captain H. G. Tisdale, she was forced to compete with the Saranac, which left the ends of the lake at the same time, and usually succeeded in keeping pace with the "enemy " the whole distance. The Bur- lington and Whitehall made the passage through the lake at night and charged the regular fare of three dollars. The company could therefore afford to run the Saranac for the pittance of fifty cents, while Comstock, with all his sagacity and energy, could do nothing but lose on a fare of even one dollar. She was therefore transferred to a company of Troy speculators, and " with her consort, the Montreal, which was then in frames, passed off quietly in March, 1848, into the possession of the Champlain Transportation Company, which had so kindly 'relieved' many of her predecessors." The principal cause of the failure of the Saltus was the arrival on the lake of a new steamer called United States, which was brought out by the Champlain Transportation Company in 1847. She was larger than any of her predecessors, and made nineteen miles an hour, four more than had ever been reached before. She was also the first boat on the lake fitted up with state-rooms on the upper deck. She came out in Au- gust, 1847, under command of Captain P. T. Davis.
Meantime steam tow-boats had become necessary for the purpose of insur- ing the regular passage through the lake of boats going to New York. In 1846 the Northern Transportation Line built the propellor James H. Hooker, more for carrying freight than for towing. On the 2d of November, 1847, a charter was granted by the Legislature of Vermont to John Bradley, Thomas H. Canfield, O. A. Burton, H. L. Nichols, N. A. Tucker, A. M. Clark, Horace Gray, J. C. Hammond, Charles F. Hammond and Allen Penfield, for a steam tow-boat company. The organization of this company was effected by the election of Penfield, Nichols, Clark, Hammond and Canfield as directors, the stock being taken by John Bradley & Co., of Burlington, Nichols, Burton & Co., of St. Albans, and Hammond, of Crown Point, who employed most of the long canal boats in the business. In 1847 they built a strong tow and freight boat at Shelburne Harbor, called the Ethan Allen. She was run two or three years between Rouse's Point and Whitehall as a tow-boat, and was afterward sold to the Vermont Central Railroad to run between Rouse's Point and Al- burgh. When the bridge was constructed she was sold, May 31, 1852, to the Champlain Transportation Company, and by it to the Northern Transportation Line.
In 1848 the Champlain Transportation Company established a daily line each way through the lake, running four boats, the night line being formed by the Burlington and Whitehall, and the day line by the United States and Saltus, or Saranac. In 1849 a large part of the stock of this company was sold to Drew, Robinson & Company, of New York, and to Oscar A. Burton. The former were proprietors of the North River steamers, and the latter was a resi- dent of St. Albans, Under the new administration a through line was formed
320
HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
to New York, connecting with the steamers on the Hudson and the railroad between Whitehall and Troy. Through tickets were issued to passengers from Montreal to New York. This line, embracing the transportation of both pas- sengers and freight, was called the North and South Through Line. On the 30th of August, 1852, the Rutland and Burlington Railroad Company, in com- petition with the Vermont and Canada Railroad, purchased all the property of the Champlain Transportation Company, the latter company retaining its franchise and corporate rights. The railroad company having failed to realize their expectations in the management of the steamers, sold back, in the fall of 1853, all the property which it had acquired from the Champlain Transporta- tion Company, except the steamers Boston and Saltus, which it retained, the former for a ferry between Burlington and Rouse's Point and the latter for use of the Plattsburgh and Montreal Railroad. In the winter of 1854 this company became the owner of the America, which was completed in 1851, and was the fastest boat on the lake, and the Canada, finished in 1853, which was the largest.
At the commencement of the season of 1854 the Champlain Transporta- tion Company owned all the steamers on the lake except the Boston and Fran- cis Saltus, which afterwards came into their hands. In 1856 Drew, Robinson & Kellcy sold their stock to persons interested in the Saratoga and Whitehall Railroad, which subsequently became merged in the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad, and retired from the direction; Colonel L. G. B. Cannon, of Burling- ton, L. W. Tupper, of Troy, and John M. Davison, of Saratoga, were elected to fill the vacancies. With the entrance of these men a new and more vigor- ous policy in the management was begun. The line had greatly deteriorated, and no dividends on the stock had been made for three years. Mr. O. A. Bur- ton resigned the presidency in January, 1861, and was succeeded by Mr. L. H. Tupper, of Troy, who held the office for three years. Colonel Cannon was then elected president. He at once restored the system inaugurated by Cap- tain R. W. Sherman, which had distinguished this line above all other steam- boat companies in the country. This was a system of exact order and disci- pline, the greatest neatness in the care of the boats, superior excellence of the table, and courteous behavior of officers and crew toward the passengers. This last regulation was fitly illustrated by the motto which Captain Sherman had placed over his office, viz. : "Keep your temper." All orders were given by signals, which were in strong contrast with the noisy and frequently blas- phemous cries which were heard from captains and crew elsewhere. Gambling on the boats, which was then so general, was prohibited, and strict subordina- tion of the entire crew was rigidly insisted upon. The captain was, in fact, what his title implied. In 1867, when the steamer Adirondack was finished and commenced her trips, President Cannon inaugurated the custom of uni- forming the officers and crews of the several steamers belonging to the com-
Le 413 /0mm
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321
LAKE COMMERCE AND THE LUMBER TRADE.
pany, instituting naval discipline and assigning the crews to quarters. This custom, thus first introduced on this line, has since been adopted by several other companies, and also by the United States government in its navigation laws and regulations. In 1868 this company purchased the stock of the Lake George Steamboat Company, and built the steamers Minnehaha and Ganouski. In 1872 a separate company, called the Lake George Steamboat Company' was organized to control the business on Lake George in connection with the Champlain Transportation Company, and built the steamers Horicon, in 1877, and Ticonderoga, in 1884, to run on that lake. At this time it became evident to Colonel Cannon that the future success of the Champlain Transportation Company depended largely upon an aggressive and vigorous policy toward the several railroad companies which centered at Burlington. The company had gradually yielded to their influence, and demands were now made on the Rut- land and Burlington Railroad for an equitable division of the business. By a reduction of fares, the result of the contest was an equal division of the busi- ness, a decrease of the steamboat fare fifty cents below that of the railroads, and other amicable arrangements to the advantage of the steamboat company were obtained. This continued until a proposition was made by Governor J. B. Page, then manager of the Rutland and Burlington Railroad, for his road, the Champlain Transportation Company, and the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad to purchase the Plattsburgh and Montreal Railroad, then in the hands of a receiver, each party to have an equal interest, then to establish a ferry be- tween Burlington and Plattsburgh, so that the Rutland and Burlington Rail- road should have an immediate connection with Montreal, independent of the Central Vermont Railroad line. While negotiations were pending, the man- agers of the Rutland and Burlington Railroad, without the knowledge of the steamboat company, purchased the Plattsburgh and Montreal road, and built the steamer Oakes Ames in 1868, to run on the ferry. This plan was directly hostile to the interests of the Champlain Transportation Company. As soon as his new arrangements were completed, Governor Page ascertained for the first time that a contract existed between the Grand Trunk Railroad of Can- ada and the Champlain Transportation Company, by which the route from the province line at Moore's Junction and Montreal should not be run as a through line unless the Champlain Transportation Company made its terminus north of Plattsburgh. As this had not been done, the Rutland and Burlington Railroad Company found itself with no railroad connection north of Moore's Junction, and an expensive steamboat on its hands. The railroad company was, there- fore, obliged to negotiate with the Champlain Transportation Company to ter- minate its line at Plattsburgh. The result was that Governor Page and his friends purchased Mr. Burton's one-third interest in the steamboat company with a guaranty to the steamboat company of the gross receipts which the company had previously received by the continuance of the line to Rouse's
322
HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
Point, which amounted to about $25,000 per annum. This arrangement was, after four years, terminated by the lease of the Rutland and Burlington and Plattsburgh and Montreal Railroads to the Central Vermont Railroad Com- pany, upon which the Champlain Transportation Company resumed its trips to Rouse's Point until 1876, when the Delaware and Hudson Railroad Company acquired the New York and Canada Railroad, located on the west shore of the lake, as well as the Champlain Transportation Company, which has since been run in connection with it.
In 1873 the Oakes Ames, which was a part of the Rutland Railroad pur- chase, was made over into the commodious passenger steamer Champlain, which was wrecked in July, 1875, near Westport, N. Y. In 1871 the com- pany built the large and elegant steamboat Vermont, which is now running on the through line under the command of Captain George Rushlow, a faithful and efficient officer who has been connected with the company for thirty-two years.
The uniform policy of the company has been to retain its employees as as long as they were able to perform any service, which has resulted in the se- curing of a force of most efficient, loyal men. The oldest steamboat company in the world, it has always maintained an enviable and unequaled reputation for its careful management. But a single life has been lost, and that in a col- lision near Port Kent in 1826, since its incorporation, out of the millions of passengers it has carried, and not one loss of life has occurred through any carelessness or neglect of the company.
The following is a list of officers of the Champlain Transportation Com- pany since its organization in 1826 :
Presidents .- Luther Loomis, Burlington, Vt., 1826 to 1827 ; Julius Hoyt, St. Albans, Vt., 1827 to 1828 ; William A. Griswold, Burlington, Vt., 1828 to 1846; Henry H. Ross, Essex, N. Y., 1846 to 1850; Oscar A. Burton, Bur- lington, Vt., 1850 to 1861 ; Lemuel H. Tupper, Troy, N. Y., 1861 to 1864 ; L. G. B. Cannon, Burlington, Vt., 1864.
Treasurers .- Philo Doolittle, Burlington, Vt., 1826 to 1827; Lawrence Brainerd, St. Albans, Vt., 1827 to 1828; Philo Doolittle, Burlington, Vt., 1828 to 1862 ; Thomas H. Canfield, Burlington, Vt., 1862 to April 5, 1865 ; Vernon P. Noyes, Burlington, Vt., April, 1865 to Sept. 5, 1885, the time of his death ; Cyrus M. Spaulding, Oct. 6, 1885.
Superintendents .- Philo Doolittle, Burlington, Vt., 1860 to 1862 ; Thomas H. Canfield, Burlington, Vt., 1862 to April, 1865 ; Hiram Tracy, Burlington, Vt., 1865 to Jan., 1868 ; Ossian C. Mitchell, Burlington, Vt., 1868 to March, 1870, the time of his death ; A. L. Inman, Burlington, Vt., 1870 to 1876; P. W. Barney, Burlington, Vt., 1876.
LAKE COMMERCE AND THE LUMBER TRADE.
CAPTAINS WHO HAVE COMMANDED LAKE CHAMPLAIN STEAMERS.
John Winans. Burlington. Vt., 1809 to 1815
H. G. Tisdale, Whitehall, N. Y., 1845 1846
J. Sherman, Vergennes, Vt.,
1814
to 1827
Silas Hinckley, Burlington, Vt., T. D. Chapman, Burlington, Vt.,
1847 to
1852
Daniel Davis, Burlington, Vt.,
1819 to 1847 1819 to 1820 N. B. Proctor, Burlingtou, Vt., 1819 L Chamberlin, Plattsburgh, N. Y., John O'Grady, Burlington, Vt.,
1849
to
1854
George Buruham, Burlington, Vt.,
1821
to 1823
1849
to 1850
Gideon Lathrop, Stockport, N. Y.,
1823
to 1850
1850 to 1860
I. R. Harringtou, Buffalo, N. Y.,
1824
to 1828
1852
to 1855
Dan Lyon, Burlington, Vt., (Now living in Burlington.) Ebenezer Hurlbut, Georgia, Vt., Edward Lyon, Detroit, Mich.,
1828
to 1829
A. D. Vaughn, Whitehall, N. Y.,
1856
to
1862
Jas. H. Snow, Whitehall, N. Y.,
1828
to
1829
1860
to 1862
Wm. Burton, Cleveland, O.,
1829
to
1831
1868
to 1884
Wm. H. Wilkins, Burlington, Vt.,
1831
t.o 1833
1869
to 1873
Wm. Anderson, Burlington, Vt., (Now living in Burlington.)
1831
to 1877
1870
to
1832
to 1834
E. B. Rockwell, Alburgh, Vt.,
1881
to 1885
1834
to 1884
F. J. Hawley, Swanton, Vt., (Now in service.)
1882
C. Boardman, Whitehall, N. Y., 1835
1836
to
1838
E. J. Baldwin, Burlington, Vt., (Now in service.)
1884
Wm. Phillips, Burlingtou, Vt.,
1838
to 1842
Bernard Sawyer, Whitehall, N. Y., (Now in service.)
1885
PILOTS OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN STEAMERS.
Hiram Ferris, Chazy, N. Y.,
1809
to 1859
Wm. Edwards, Essex, N. Y.,
1846 1846
to 1849
John Wilson, Vergennes, Vt.,
1811
to
1831
J. G. Rockwell, Alburgh, Vt., (Now on the " Maquam.") Wm. Rockwell, Alburgh, Vt., Harry Dow, Port Kent, N. Y., William Norton, Whitehall, N. Y.,
1848
to
1860
Jas. H. Snow, Whitehall, N. Y.,
1824
to 1828
1850
to
1860
Phineas Durfey, Westport, N. Y.,
1825
to 1840
John Eldridge, Burlington, Vt.,
1852
to 1875
Henry Barker, Essex, N. Y.,
1825
to 1855
E. B. Rockwell, Alburgh, Vt.,
1856 to
1880
Latham Jones, Burlington. Vt.,
1826
to 1834
Joseph Amblau, Champlain, N. Y.,
1856
to 1870
A. Mockeridge, Burlington, Vt.,
1828
to 1858
Edward Anson, Port Kent, N. Y., Alex Markee, Ticondoroga, N. Y., (Now on Lake George.)
1856
N. B. Proctor, Burlington, Vt.,
1832
to 1847
1857
to 1870
Benj. Jones, Whitehall, N. Y.,
1834
to 1853
1863
to 1870
John Wheeler, Alburgh, Vt.,
1835
to 1851
1863
B. B. Farnham, Port Henry, N. Y.,
1835
to 1836
Edwin B. Loomis. Whitehall, N. Y.,
1835
to
1837
1863
to 1869
Reuben Bosely, Mooers, N. Y.,
1840
to 1860
J. L. Brown, Whitehall, N. Y.,
1845
to
1872
Erastus Edwards, Essex, N. Y.,
1845
to 1847
W. W. Rockwell, Alburgh, Vt., (Now on Lake George.)
1883
Lewis Barton, Plattsburgh, N. Y.,
1845
to
1875
Nathan Hill, Burke, N. Y.,
1846
to 1874
to to
1860
George Brush, Montreal, P. Q.,
1816
to 1818
1847 to 1872
R. W. Sherman, Vergennes, Vt.,
1848 to 1860
Daniel Davis,
to 1820
A Brainard, Elizabethtown, N. Y., H. R. Suyder, Port Kent, N. Y., Seth R. Foster, New York city, Moses Baxter, Chicago, Ill.,
1852
to 1854
Wm. H. Flagg, Burlington, Vt.,
1852
to 1874
1828
to
1829
Ziba Manning, Whitehall, N. Y.,
1815
to 1819
Samuel Richardson, St. Johns, P. Q.,
1815
to 1829
1847
to
1855
Geo. Cannon, Cumberland Head, N. Y. 1819
to 1852
1856
to 1874
Wm. Bush, Burlington, Vt.,
1831
to 1835
Wm. Dixon, Essex, N. Y.,
1831
to 1847
George Rushlow, Highgate, Vt., George Wells, Port Kent, N. Y., Wm. Newton, Burlington, Vt., (Now on " Reindeer.") B. J. Holt, Plattsburgh, N. Y., E. R. Rockwell, Alburgh, Vt., (Now on the "Vermont. ")
1883
to 1839
R. N. Flack, Essex, N. Y.,
P. T. Davis, South Hero, Vt.,
1843 to 1858
Richard Chapin, Whitehall, N. Y., Z. R. Stetson, Champlain, N Y., B. J. Holt, Plattsburgh, N. Y., Warren Corbin, South Hero, Vt., George Rushlow, Highgate, Vt., (Now in service.)
1857
to 1862
W. W. Sherman, Vergennes, Vt., Henry Mayo, Burlington, Vt., (Now living in Burlington.)
1825
to 1844
323
1868
In 1881 the Grand Isle Steamboat Company was organized with the inten- tion of furnishing an additional and independent line between Burlington and Rouse's Point. The steamer Reindeer was built and has since been succesfully running between those ports. Herbert Brainerd, of St. Albans, is the presi- dent, and D. D. Ranlette the treasurer of the company.
TABULAR VIEW OF STEAMBOATS ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN.
NAMES.
Year Finished.
Where Built.
Length.
Breadth.
Depth.
Tonnage.
Horse Power.
Speed per
For Whom Built.
Master Carpenters.
Continuance in Service.
Vermont .... ..
1808 Burlington.
120 20
8
167
$ 20,000 20.
J. & J. Winans and J. Longh . 4
First Phoenix. . 1815 Vergennes
146 27
914
336
45,000
45
8 Lake Champlain Steamboat Co .. Lake Champlain Steamboat Co ...
Champlain ...
1816 Vergennes
90 20
8
128
18,000
20
5
Congress ..
1813 Vergennes
108 27
8
209
30,000
34
8 Lake Champlain Steamboat Co,.
Second Phinix 1820 Vergennes
160 26
91/2
343
45,000
8 Lake Champlain Steamboat Co .. Champlain Ferry Co.
Franklin ..
1827 St. Albans ..
1827 Essex, N. Y.
92 2015
20
134
14,000
30 8
1828 St. Albans.
89 2014
8
138
12,000
30| 8
Winooski ...
1832 Shelburne ..
136 2014 81.
226
15,000
60 10
Burlington.
1837 Shelburne.
190 25
9
405
75,000
200 15
17 years. Condemned, 1852.
Whitehall
1838 Whitehall ..
215 23
9
460
70,000
200|15
15 years. Condemued, 1852.
Saranac ...
1842 Shelburne.
166|22
9
376
25,000
100 14
Franci- Saltus. 1844 Whitehall
1:0 26
83/4
473
60,000|
160 15
Themas Collyer. .. George Collyer. Capes & White.
33 years. Converted into a Barge, 1879. 26 years. Condemned, 1873.
Boston .
1851 Shelburne.
135 26
9
284
25,000
70 14
L. S. White.
20 years. Condemned, 1872.
America ..
1851! Whitehall
250 31
10
745
80,000
270|19
Thomas Collyer.
16 years. Condemned, 1867.
Canada.
1853 | Whitehall .
260 33
101/2
881
100,000
340|18
Champlain Transportation Co. Henry T. Gaylord.
17 years. Condemned, 1870. [Williams in 1870. Dismantled and engine put in A.
Montreal .
1865 Whitehall
224 25
9
417
40,000
140 16
136 24
10
360
30,000
150|14
John Riley
Adirondaek .
1867 Shelburne.
258 34
11
1087
90,000
250 19
L. S. White.
Oakes Ames. -
1868 Marks Bay.
258 34
11
1145
100,000
270 19
0. 8. Spear.
L. J. N. Stark.
1869 Whitehall .
185 26
11
. . . 14
Grand Isle . . .
1869 Essex, N. Y.
o. S. Spear
A. Williamns ..
1870 Marks Bay.
130 22 9
240
50,000
160 12
A. B. Curtis.
Rebuilt 1880 and new running.
Vermont
1871 Shelburne.
271 3612
11
1124
100,000
260 19
Champlain Transportation Ce ... L. S. White.
Ma Quam
1880 Swanton .
145 24
9
370
14
- Cookson ....
Reindeer
1881 Alburgh & Burli'u
180|27
10
498
- -
St. Jofinsbury & L. Ch'n R. R. Co. Grand Isle Steamboat Co
Jeremiah Foulks ..
New running.
HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
6 years. Sunk nr. Isle Aux Neix, Oct.15, 1816. 4 years. Burnt 1 A. M. nr. Burlington, Sept. 5, 1 year. Burnt at Whitehall, Sept., 1817. [1819. 16 years. Condemned, 1835.
16 years. Condemned, 1837.
General Green: 1825 Shelburne ..
75 22 162 22
8
115
12,000
28 8
Champlain Transportation Co ... Ross & McNeil
10 years. Condemned, 1846.
13 years, Wrecked near Westport, 1841.
18 years. Condemned, 1849.
Water Witch .. 1832 Fert Cassin.
90 17
8
107
14,000
40 8 J. Sherman ..
3 years. Converted into a Scheener, 1836.
J. H. Hooker.
1845 Whitehall
136 23
7
258
18,000
50 9
248 28 - 10
648
75,000
250 1712
8,5
7
111
7,000
30 71.
Ross & MeNeil. .....
Wm. Cape & Son .. Orsen Spear.
23 years. Dismantled, 1878.
Ethan Allen.
1847 Shelburne
136 27
328
36,000
75 10
Champlain Transportation Co. Champlain Transportation Co ... Champlain Transportation Co ... Peter Comstock ..
L. S. White.
13 years. Condemned, 1856. 15 years. Condemned, 1859.
United States. 1847 Shelburne.
Boquet.
1848 Essex, N. Y.
80 17
6 years. Seld to go to Canada, 1854.
Wm. Birkbeck. 1853 Whitehall
L S. White.
Oliver Bascom
1856 Whitehall
Champlain Transportation Co .. Northern Transportation Line ... Champlain Transportation Co .. Burlington Steamboat Co. Northern Transportation Ce
24 years. Burned at Ma Qnam Bay, 1879. Dismantled, 1888. [1873, wrecked nr. 9 years. Dismantled, 1877. LWestport, 1876. 7 years. Made over into the Champlain in Burned at Point au Roche, 1870. New running.
Rebuilt 1881 and now running. Now running.
324
7 years. Converted into a Sloep, 1833.
16 years. Condemned, 1838.
9 350
50,000
75 10
Washington. MeDonough ...
St. Albans Steamboat Co Champlain Ferry Co.
L. S White ... Samnel Wood
Northern Transportation Ce. .. Champlain Transportation Co. Steam Tow-Beat Ce
Champlain Transportation Co. Collyer & Griswold ..
John Englisli.
.
Knowlton, Fortune & Tobias .. Warren Corbin ..
John Winans. . . ... Roberts .. .. John Winans .. - Garhamn ... Young & Gorham. Phillips & White. Collins. .... Charles Sampson. Elijah Phillips .. L. S White ... Samuel Wood.
Hour.
Cost.
325
LAKE COMMERCE AND THE LUMBER TRADE.
The Lumber Trade. 1- The first settlers of the county did not engage ex- tensively in manufactures of any kind. They discovered the value of the dense growths of oak and pine which covered the surface of this part of the earth. The first person to open the lumber trade with the Canadians, by getting out large pine trees for ship masts and floating them in rafts to St. John, were two Germans by the name of Pottier and Logan, who settled on two points of land in Shelburne, as early as 1766. The market for all these trees was in Europe. King George well understood the value of the country, for by his decree the charters of all the towns which derived their existence from the royal favor, were enjoined from destroying the forests of " white and other pine trees fit for masting the royal navy." The communication with European markets was easier than with any place in this country, large enough to create a demand for timber in any quantity. The first saw-mill built in this county or vicinity was- that erected by Ira Allen in 1786. In connection with his brother, Levi Allen, - who was in trade at St. Johns, he opened a trade with Quebec, the chief arti- cle exported being lumber from the mills on Onion River at Winooski Falls. Stephen Mallett, of Colchester, took the first raft of oak timber to Quebec in 1794. Two years later John Thorp, of Charlotte, took a raft of Norway pine from that town. This was the signal for the beginning of an extensive trade in oak and pines for masts and spars, square timber and deals. The facilities for cutting and transporting timber were exceedingly meager in those days. It required nearly twelve months to cut a raft and prepare it for market. The chief point of departure was at Winooski Falls. There the rafts were con- structed, and " the men with their tents, provisions and cooking utensils on board," started on their long and tedious journey to Quebec. The principal dealers at this time were : Ira Allen, Stephen Mallett, Benjamin Boardman, Henry Boardman, Amos Boardman, Ebenezer Allen, William B. Woods, Sam- uel Holgate, Judson Lamson, Joseph Clark, Thaddeus Tuttle, Mr. Catlin, Ezra Meech, of Shelburne; Daniel Hurlbut, Nathaniel Blood, of Essex; William Munson, William Hine, Hezekiah Hine, Jacob Rolfe, Allen Hacket, David Bean, Heman Allen, of Colchester ; James Miner, Samuel Holgate, jr., of Mil- ton ; Major Lyman King, of Burlington ; Roswell Butler.
On the opening of the Champlain Canal and the perfecting of a water com- munication with New York, the trade in lumber shifted its direction to the south, and they who had rafted lumber to Quebec, now took it in the same manner to New York and the other markets on the Hudson, all of which were better than that at Quebec. Among the more prominent men who carried on trade in this direction were, Henry Boardman, William Hine, Hezekiah Hine, Jacob Rolfe, Amos Boardman, Joseph Clarke, Roswell Butler and Nathaniel Blood. A younger generation were also just making their appearance " on
1 We have been greatly aided in this part of our work by the valuable article in the Vermont His- torical Gazetteer, contributed by Henry Rolfe, esq.
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