USA > Vermont > Grand Isle County > History of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vermont : With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers. > Part 52
USA > Vermont > Franklin County > History of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vermont : With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers. > Part 52
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CHAPTER XXIX.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MONTGOMERY.1
THE town of Montgomery is situated in the northeastern part of Franklin county, in latitude 44 degrees 52 minutes, and longitude 4 degrees 23 minutes. When first chartered it contained 23,040 acres, or thirty-six square miles ; but in 1858 some 7,000 acres were added on the south from the town of Lowell, in Orleans county, and Avery's Gore, in Franklin county, and it is now bounded north by Richford, east by Westfield and Lowell in Orleans county, south by Avery's Gore and Belvidere and Eden in Lamoille county, and west by Enosburgh and Avery's Gore. The act of the legislature in 1858, setting portions of the town of Lowell and Avery's Gore to the town of Montgomery, was ratified by the voters of the towns of Montgomery and Lowell, respectively, at their town meeting in March, 1859. The town was not chartered until October, 1789, though it was granted March 13, 1780, to Stephen R. Bradley, Rev. Ezra Stiles, Rev. John Graham, Rev. Daniel Farrand, Rev. Ammi R. Robbins, Rev. Judah Champion, Rev. Abel Newel, Peter Starr, Rev. Hezekiah Gould, Rev. Noble Ever- ett, Rev. Jonathan Edwards, Rev. Buckley Olcott, Rev. David Perry, Rev. Joseph Strong, His Excellency Thomas Chittenden, William Gould, Thomas Ives, Pierpont Edwards, Josiah Fowler, Moses Sey-
1 By Hon. O. N. Kelton.
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
mour, Oliver Wolcott, Alexander Wolcott, Andrew Adams, jr., Nathan Hart, William Burrell, Seth Smith, James Barlow, John A. Dibble, Eli- jah Burr, Aaron Barlow, Seth Sheldon, Giles Pettibone, Comfort Sage, Asa Smith, Jonas Fay, John Hurlburt, Nathaniel Gridley, Enos Mun- son, Seth Lee, Elijah Hurlburt, Reuben Atwater, Russell Atwater, Thaddeus Bradley, Ezra Stiles, jr., Isaac Stiles, Ebenezer Fisk, Solomon Fisk, John Foot, John A. Foot, William L. Foot, Matthew Griswold, John Tainter, Elisha Burton, Ebenezer Brewster, Sarah Fisk, Ruth Fisk, Joshua Smith, Hannah Clark, Ira Allen, John Fassett, jr., together with five equal shares to be disposed of for public uses in manner following : One equal share for the benefit and use of a college within this state ; one full share for the use and benefit of county grammar schools throughout this state ; one equal share for the first settled minister of the gospel in said town ; one full share for the support of the ministry in said town ; and one full share for the benefit and support of an Eng- lish school or schools in said town.
The conditions were that each proprietor of said town of Montgom- ery, his heirs or assigns, should plant and cultivate five acres of land and build a house at least eighteen feet square on the floor, or have one family settled on each respective right or share of land in said town, within the term of three years from the time the outlines of said town were surveyed, on penalty of the forfeiture of each respective right of land in said town, not so settled and improved as aforesaid, and the same to revert to the freemen of this state to be by their representatives regranted to such persons as should appear to cultivate the same. When surveyed the town was divided into three divisions, first, second, and third, and each original proprietor given a lot in each division. The first and second division lots were supposed to contain 160 acres each, while those of the third division contained only about thirty- seven acres each.
The town is quite mountainous and broken, but a narrow and fertile valley extends through the town from its northwest corner, running in a southeasterly course, to the center of the town, thence nearly in a di- rect southerly course to Avery's Gore. The terms North, East, and West Hills, and Notch road are respectively used to designate certain hilly and geographical portions of the town. The south branch of Trout River rises in Avery's Gore, flows northerly to near the center
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TOWN OF MONTGOMERY.
of the town, where it unites with the east branch, which rises in the town of Westfield, and flows thence in a northwesterly course and into Mis- sisquoi River in Berkshire, some seven miles distant. The main tribu- taries of Trout River are Mill Brook, flowing from North Hill and unit- ing with it near Montgomery village, and South Brook, flowing from West Hill and uniting with Trout River about a quarter of a mile below the village. These streams in earlier days were abundantly supplied with trout, though now very small and scarce.
The first permanent settler in the town of Montgomery was Captain Joshua Clapp, a Revolutionary officer of respectability, who with his family moved from Worcester county, Mass., in the spring of 1793. He took up and settled upon a large tract of land lying on both sides of Trout River, in the southwest portion of the town, and land now owned by Alfred Combs, J. B. Martin, A. G. Watkins, F. F. Rawson, W. S. Dingman, B. H. Fuller, Samuel Head, and P. J. Hayes. His first house was of logs, near the bank of the river, on the farm now owned by J. B. Martin, nearly southwest of his present dwelling. In this house the first white child was born in town, and the first town meeting held. The house now standing on this farm was the first frame house built in town, and was erected by Captain Clapp, and is now in a good state of preservation, being a two-story hip-roofed building of good size. In about the year 1795 Hon. Samuel Bannard (a brother of the mother of Captain Clapp), Reuben Clapp, and James Upham moved into town from Massachusetts, and were the immediate successors of Captain Clapp, with the exception of a man by the name of Collar, who came to town and located on the farm now owned by John L. Clapp, on a hilly por- tion east of J. L. Clapp's residence, and that locality is now designated Collar Hill. He, however, remained only a short time. Judge Barnard settled on the farm now owned by Charles P. Clapp ; Reuben Clapp on the one now owned by John L. Clapp; and Mr. Upham on the farm now owned by his grandson, James Upham; which last two farms have always remained in the families of their respective descendants. Soon after this date Stephen and Jonathan Gates, Seth, John, and Jockton Goodspeed, Jonah and Zebulon Thomas, Daniel Barrows, Samuel Lusk, Jonahdab Johnson, Robert Martin, and others, mainly from Massachusetts, moved into town. There also came with Judge Barnard, as a servant in his
70
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
family, a mulatto by the name of Shem Wood, a man of principle and respectability.
July 27, 1802, a petition was drawn and presented to Jonathan Janes, esq., a justice of the peace, calling on the inhabitants to meet and choose town officers at such time and place as said justice should think proper. This petition was signed by Joshua Clapp, James Upham, Samuel Bar- nard, jr., Phineas Swan, Adonijah Pratt, Eli Barber, Elijah Larned, Henry Marble, Levi Crook, Trajan Richmond, Shearjashub Goodspeed, Stephen Gates, Jockton Goodspeed, Parsons Cook, and Shem Wood. By direction of the said justice the freemen met at the dwelling house of Joshua Clapp, at one o'clock in the afternoon on August 12, 1802, for the purpose of choosing officers in pursuance of the petition. At said time and place Jonathan Janes, esq., presided, and the following officers were chosen : Samuel Barnard, town clerk; James Upham, Elijah Lar- ned, and Stephen Gates, selectmen; Joshua Clapp, town treasurer; Tra- jan Richmond, James Upham, Jockton Goodspeed, listers; Trajan Richmond, constable. Of these early settlers Samuel Barnard, jr., was a son of Samuel Barnard, and resided with him ; Phineas Swan settled on the farm now owned by his grandson, Phineas B. Swan; Eli Barber came here and remained only a short time; Elijah Larned settled on the farm now owned by Edward Pratt; Henry Marble settled on the farm now owned by George L. Clapp, and his first dwelling, a log house, was located just below a large willow tree now standing on the bank of Trout River, and where the river channel now flows. Levi Crook settled on what is known as the Parks farm. Stephen Gates settled on what is now called the William Peck farm, owned by F. L. Goodspeed. Mr. Gates was a carpenter and joiner, and built the large two-story man- sion at East Berkshire, now owned by Hon. Homer E. Royce. Trajan Richmond lived near the village, and gave the old burying-ground site to the town, and was the first person buried in it, having been drowned late in the year 1802.
The first freeman's meeting was held at the dwelling house of Reu- ben Clapp, September 7, 1802, and sixteen votes were cast for state offi- cers. At an adjourned meeting, held May 9, 1803, "The committee on business of procuring a burying ground report in favor of a spot on which Trajan Richmond was buried, to contain five rods, by four, which
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TOWN OF MONTGOMERY.
report was accepted. The town agreed to meet on the ground on the 2d Monday in June to clear the land," etc. The warning for the annual town meeting for March 13, 1809, among other things contained the fol- lowing article : "6th. To inquire for what purpose a military force is sta- tioned amongst us in time of peace, and to inquire by what authority armed men are allowed to parade our streets in the night time, to break open our houses, barns, etc., without the consent of the owners, and without having a legal warrant for that purpose."
At said meeting Henry Marble, Joshua Clapp, and James Upham were appointed a committee to prepare resolutions on said article, and this committee prepared and submitted the following resolutions :
" Resolved, That it is the privilege as well as the duty of freemen at all times candidly to examine the measures of government, that as our rulers are responsible to the people if the people neglect to call them to account, all responsibility ceases therefore, although we discard the idea of legislating in town meeting, yet, in the present alarming state of our national concerns, we consider it to be our duty publicly to express our sentiments on the late measures of our national government, and that in our opinion the late act to enforce the embargo, which was approved by the President on the 9th of January last, is in its nature odious and op- pressive, and its provisions are in direct violation of the Constitution of the United States, and subversive of the rights and liberties of the citi- zens of the Union ; that we can see no necessity for a standing army in time of peace, so numerous and expensive as the one raised by the late act of Congress. Large standing armies have been considered as the bane of republics ; therefore,
" Resolved, That we highly approve of the firm, spirited, and digni- fied sentiments which the senators and representatives of the minority in Congress expressed on the passage of the bill, of which we feel con- strained thus modestly to complain ; that while we are thus compelled to express a want of confidence in the wisdom and impartiality of our national government, we would discountenance every attempt to dis- turb the public peace, and highly recommend all classes of people to preserve tranquility, to support the Constitution, and cherish the union of these United States, and only in a constitutional manner to seek re- dress of their grievances, maintain and defend their liberty, and secure
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
the blessings of independence so dearly bought and sealed with blood. " HENRY MARBLE, For Committee."
Article second of the warning for a town meeting December 6, 1811, called at the dwelling house of James Upham, reads as follows: "To see if the town will vote to pay the one cent tax granted by the legislature for the use of schools, in grain or produce." At said meeting the fol- lowing action was taken on said article: " Voted, That the one cent tax may be paid in good, merchantable wheat or Indian corn, at the mar- ket price, which shall be regulated by the selectmen in case of dispute."
We find the following record relating to a highway through Hazen's Notch :
"This may certify that the committee appointed by the legislature of the state of Vermont at their October session at Montpelier in A. D. 1820, to lay out and establish a market road from the mouth of Wells River in Newbury, through the counties of Caledonia and Orleans to the north line of Berkshire, have examined the present traveled road through the town of Montgomery leading through Hazen's Notch by Lusk's tavern, and Fassett's, Samuel Barnard's, and Henry N. Janes's, and have established the same as a part of said market road, except a small alteration on the Thomas Hill, so-called, beginning at a large stump on east side of said hill, on the foot of the same the south side of the present traveled road, from thence run north sixty-six degrees west, twenty-two rods to a stake at top sd hill, north nineteen rods to said traveled road. Said alteration is laid out four rods wide, with the foregoing return in the center of the present traveled road against said alteration hereby set over to the owner of the land took for said alteration.
" Montgomery, June 23, 1821. "B. P. BALDWIN, } Con "JAMES MASON,
Before the advent of railroads in Northern Vermont this highway was much used by the people of Northeastern Vermont in the winter season, who transported their produce, butter, and cheese to Montreal, and brought back on their return mainly salt and fish, which they received in exchange for their produce at that market. It was over this road, also, that the first mail route was established, and the mail was for many years carried by an individual on horseback; and the North Star, a
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TOWN OF MONTGOMERY.
weekly newspaper then printed at Danville, was about the only news periodical taken by any of the citizens for some years, and even then only a very few could afford the expense of that amount of reading matter.
The first highway that led into Montgomery village then ran from the Samuel Head bridge, so called, easterly through the meadow and pas- ture of C. P. Clapp; thence past the present residence of J. L. Clapp to the village. The first highway leading to West Hill, so called, crossed the mill- pond in the village and led up the hill through the A. S. Sam- son sugar place, and came out to the present road near the residence of H. W. Watkins. Other roads have been changed materially from their first survey, as they then invariably ran on the ridges or higher portions of land to avoid wet and then impassable places.
Villages .- The town contains two small but very pretty villages of about 250 inhabitants each :
Montgomery, a post village, is located in the northwest part of the town, five miles from the railroad station at East Berkshire on the Mis- sisquoi Railroad ; it contains two churches (Episcopal and Methodist), two good country stores owned by C. S. Parker and J. M. Robb, a drug store, tin shop, two blacksmith shops, one grist and two saw-mills, and a bobbin factory. There was erected here the past season one of the finest district school buildings to be found in Northern Vermont. The main building is 32 x 64 feet, with a tower 12 x 20 projecting in front. The lower floor contains two large, well-lighted, commodious school rooms, with a hallway between for hanging the scholars' outside apparel. On the upper floor is a fine and commodious public hall. There is a cellar under the entire building, with a good furnace to warm the whole edifice. The whole was built at an expense of about $3,500, and is an ornament as well as a credit to the village and school district.
Montgomery Center, a post village near the center of the town, con- tains Congregational, Advent, Baptist, and Roman Catholic churches, the last two having parsonages connected with them ; also two stores, a good hotel, tin shop, grist-mill and saw-mill, and a good school build- ing. There are also small villages about the butter tub factories of William H. Stiles & Co., J. C. Hutchins, and Goodspeed & Daigle, with general stores to supply their employees.
There are no minerals or quarries of any material value in town, but the hilly portions were heavily wooded with spruce timber so that lum-
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
bering and the manufacture of butter tubs form the chief industries of the town at the present day. The manufacture of bobbins has recently begun here, and bids fair to become a leading industry.
Manufactures .- The butter tub industry began to attract attention in this town about the years 1842 to 1844, then being, figuratively speaking, in its infancy, not only in this town and state, but in other states as well ; and packages in which butter was transported to market were crude, without uniformity and in scant supply, and second-hand flour barrels and other loosely constructed receptacles were used for storing and packing butter, when the weather was cool enough to admit of it, and the 50 or 100-pound firkin or hand-made shaved tub could not be obtained from the cooper. The ash firkin and hand-made spruce tub manufactured by the coopers in those days were not inferior for practical use to the turned work that superceded it. Previous to 1844 sap buckets were manufactured in this town and elsewhere from sawed staves, and in this town were so made by Joseph Hutchins and Dudley Roberts in a building adjoining the old grist-mill at the village. The staves, being matched by hand, were then set up in a truss hoop thrust on a revolving drum, fitting the inside of the bucket, and smoothed outside with a concave plane, and to a limited extent smoothed on the inside with a convex hand plane. This, however, being a slow process, and not up to the demand of the times and trade, the idea of making buckets and butter tubs on the patent turned pail principle then in ex- tensive use in Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire was re- garded as feasible, and the first persons to engage in the business on that principle in this town, and probably in the state, were Asa Wheeler and Joseph Hutchins, Mr. Hutchins being then a hand cooper and, as he then expressed it, " tired of fishing with a pin hook." Mr. Wheeler furnished the capital for this new departure, and Mr. Hutchins the mus- cle and perseverance. The first skilled workman employed was Luther Hendrix, who had previously been an employee in the patent wooden pail business in Massachusetts. Their manufacturing plant was established on the site now owned by A. W. Dow and utilized as a furniture manu- factory. Their manufactory was scarcely completed when a disastrous flood swept away their dam and seriously damaged their building. About this time the senior member of this firm, Mr. Wheeler, died, and
DE Stices
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TOWN OF MONTGOMERY.
but little if anything was done to repair damages till near the fall of 1845, when Hutchins made an arrangement for the purchase of this property, and Hon. William H. Stiles became associated with him in the business, which they carried on for a few years, and established what was then con- sidered quite an extensive business in the manufacture of butter tubs, sap buckets, and cheese boxes. At that time the demand for these articles was confined mainly to Franklin county and two or three of the border towns in Canada. Messrs. Hutchins & Stiles were succeeded by Frederick Hull and Charles Woodward, who carried on business for a few years and were then succeeded by the Hendrix brothers, James Woodard, and Ishmael Comstock, respectively. In 1851, the demand for uniform and clean looking spruce butter tub packages being decidedly on the in- crease, other manufactories began to be established, not only in this town, but in other sections of the country. Among those in this town was one on the site of the factory now owned by J. C. Hutchins, which was commenced by Hon. William H. Stiles in the fall of 1851, but not com- pleted until the summer of 1852, when John D. Moore and Aaron Gates became associated with Mr. Stiles in the business. Afterwards Joseph Hutchins and J. B. Lumbra were partners with Mr. Stiles in the busi- ness at this place. J. C. Hutchins, the present owner, bought this property about the year 1866, and continued to run the business here until 1876, or thereabouts, when his factory was burned. He immedi- ately rebuilt, and has now one of the largest and best establishments of the kind to be found. The products from this factory have always sustained a reputation for first-class goods in the markets. This factory has a capacity of making from 1,000 to 1,500 tubs per day.
The mill and butter tub factory at Montgomery Center, now owned by the W. H. Stiles Co., was commenced in 1867 by N. W. Clapp and S. S. Wilber. Mr. Clapp soon after died, and J. B. Lumbra became a partner with Mr. Wilber in the business for a year or two, when Wilber sold his interest to John Campbell, and they continued in business a short time, when Lumbra sold his interest to Campbell and the latter took in his son, H. W. Campbell, as partner, and the firm name then became John Campbell & Son. Subsequently A. B. Nelson and A. G. Bradish became members of the firm and the name was changed to John Campbell & Co. In 1876 John Campbell sold his interest to
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
F. M. Sherman, and the firm name was changed to Sherman, Bradish & Co. In 1884 Sherman and Bradish sold their interests, and William H. Stiles bought in and became a partner with Mr. Nelson, and the name of the firm was changed to William H. Stiles & Co., and so remains, although Charles T. Hall is now a copartner in the concern. This factory has been and now is among the leading butter tub factories in the country, and for the past five years has kept three lathes in oper- ation, each turning from 300 to 600 tubs daily.
The factory now occupied by F. L. Goodspeed and Hector Daigle began the making of butter tubs about the year 1878, and was then owned by J. B. Lumbra, who sold out in 1882 to his son Harvey and son-in-law, A. A. Lepper. Mr. Lepper subsequently sold his interest to Harvey Lumbra, who continued to operate the mill until June, 1888, when a heavy freshet ruined the mill, and, in consequence, its owner was unable to rebuild and sold out. The mill was again rebuilt in 1890, refurnished with tub machinery, and is now doing a successful business.
Other parties have from time to time made butter tubs in town at different places. For several years H. E. Lewis did a flourishing busi- ness in this line at the mill in Montgomery village, but the three before named are all that now continue the business. It is said that no town in the state manufactures so large a number of tubs per year at the present time as does this.
In the summer of 1888 the first shop for the manufacture of rough bobbins, in the eastern part of this state, was established at Black Falls, so called, in this town, by the firm name of J. E. Smith & Co. They then put in seven turning and boring lathes, the capacity of which would give two car-loads of stock per week. August 26, 1889, the factory was burned, and without insurance. In the fall of the same year this factory was rebuilt on a much larger scale, and with machinery for finishing bobbins and spools added. In September, 1889, the concern again began making bobbins, and now has machinery and facilities for making bobbins of every description, such as fly frame, slubber bobbins and skewers, quills, quill filling, warper spools, twister spools, worsted filling, wool filling, etc. The main shop is 50x 90 feet, three stories high; south wing 35 x 40, three stories; west wing 30x 35, four stories; dry room 20x 50, three stories; and the north dry rooms 12 x 20, two stories high. The building is equipped
Otis N. Kelton
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TOWN OF MONTGOMERY.
with the Grinnell system of automatic sprinklers (260 in number) for protection against fire. This concern has almost an unlimited supply of timber, having some 2,500 acres of heavily timbered lands in the imme- diate vicinity of their mill, and will employ from 100 to 200 hands, and are filling orders for various large factories at Providence, Pawtucket, Fall River, and elsewhere. It will also manufacture spruce boards, and clapboards, and other lumber. Their land and plant are valued at about $100,000.
Jewett, Gilbert & Co., at Montgomery village, manufacture rough bobbins and do an extensive business in building and dimension lumber.
Jewett Brothers, on West Hill, do a good business in dimension and building lumber.
Hiram Moffatt manufactures largely clapboards and spruce lumber of all kinds.
Currier & Lumbra manufacture at their mill, in the south part of the town, spruce, hemlock, and hardwood lumber.
A. R. Gates, at Montgomery Center, does general custom sawing, and manufactures lumber for domestic and foreign markets.
G. R. Wade manufactures spruce and hemlock shingles at his mill in the east part of the town.
Some twenty men and teams are constantly required to haul the pro- duct of these different mills to the railroad station at East Berkshire.
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