USA > Vermont > Lamoille County > Morristown > History of Morristown, Vermont > Part 6
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"With these views, we the subscribers, inhabitants of Morristown, in the County of Orleans and State of Ver- mont do hereby voluntarily associate and agree to form a Society by the name of the First Universalist in Morris- town for the purpose of supporting the Gospel according to the first section of an act entitled An Act for the sup- port of the Gospel passed Oct. 26, 1797. In witness whereof we hereunto set our hands. Dated at Morris- town, Vt. the 29th of March, 1828."
John Walker heads the list of 110 men who signed this document and he was elected President of the society, with E. A. Burnett, Scribe, and Daniel Pierson, Treasurer. Among the signers are many well known in the early his- tory of the town, including David P. Noyes, Calvin Bur- nett, Milton and Alfred Boardman, the Spauldings, Burkes, Giles, Chaffees, Gates, and others. Thus the liberal faith was launched.
While the records give the officers of the society, they say comparatively little about the early pastors. There was doubtless preaching before the above organization was made. S. L. Gates says the first Universalist sermon was by Elder Palmer of Barre. The early business meetings were often held in the schoolhouse at Mill Village, or Cadys Falls, as it was later called. The first mention of hiring a preacher was in 1832 and in 1834 it was voted "that the superintending committee be authorized to hire Mr. Fuller one fourth part of the time for the year ensuing." That his services were acceptable may be inferred from the record made three years later: "Voted that a sum sufficient to pay Mr. Fuller for preaching one fourth part of the time the present year be raised by a tax on the Grand List of such members of the Society as the super- intending committee shall suppose willing to pay in that
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proportion and that the Society rely on their generosity for the payment of the same."
This society later shared with the Methodists in the use of the union church built in 1840, and, as previously related, gained control of it only to have it destroyed by fire on February 23, 1852. Various places of worship were then used, especially the Town Hall, until in 1865 the present structure was built and dedicated during the pas- torate of the Rev. George Bailey. Among the leaders who made the new building possible were S. M. Pennock, Orlo Cady, Hiram Kelsey, Harrison George, H. H. Powers, and others, and later, in 1883, Mr. Pennock conferred a rare distinction upon the church by presenting a town clock to be placed in its belfry. Various changes have been made in the interior, and in the season of 1924-1925 a large addi- tion was made to the vestry, furnishing adequate room for Sunday School and social purposes.
In September, 1919, this church entertained the annual convention of the Universalist Churches of Vermont and Quebec, the most interesting event, of which, for local people, was the sermon by the Rev. I. P. Booth of Stafford, Conn., minister in the local church for sixteen years and well known in other parts of the state, having held pas- torates in various other towns.
Several interesting ordinations have been held here. In 1893 was the joint ordination of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Wright. Again in 1906 there was a similar service for the Rev. Otto Raspe; in 1911 for Mr. John Porter; in 1913 for R. D. Cranmer; in 1917 for the Rev. F. A. Stockwell, and in 1926 for the Rev. Donald K. Evans. Mr. Stock- well's service was particularly impressive since he was about to take up war work, serving first as Y. M. C. A. Secretary at Camp Devens and coming here each week for Sunday services, and later he was accepted to serve as Chaplain overseas.
On June 24, 1928, a little more than one hundred years after its establishment, the church observed its centennial. Special exercises were held, which were participated in by the pastor, the Rev. Donald K. Evans, and the Rev. George F. Morton, pastor from 1923 to 1926, and the sermon was by the Rev. Otto Raspe of the First Universalist Church of Cambridge, Mass., pastor here from 1923 to 1926. In the evening a reception was held with exercises which included a history of the church by Mrs. H. J. Fisher, from which
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many of the facts in this sketch were obtained; greetings from former members and from the other churches in town. This centennial was enjoyed not only by the people of the town, but by several from other parts of the state, for the two days following, the annual state convention was in session here. making the last week in June, 1928, one of the red letter weeks in the calendar of this church.
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
The year 192S also marked the hundredth anniversary of the organization of another religious body, the Chris- tian, since Heminway's "Gazeteer" is authority for the statement that on November 13, 1828, Jabez Neuland, John Orcott and Royal Haskell met and established this denom- ination here. There was also quite a body of believers of this order in the southern part of the town, but they did not affiliate with the Morrisville group to form a strong church. It is believed that the Rev. J. P. Hendee, father of the Hon. G. W. Hendee, was the first pastor of the local church, but it had no settled place of worship until the Civil War when, largely through the efforts of A. G. West and B. B. Hawse, the structure occupied by the Advent Church was built.
Indirectly the Civil War made its contribution, for the bell placed in its belfry at the building of the church was one of the many captured by Gen. B. F. Butler at New Orleans. Early in the Civil War the need of the Con- federacy for some kinds of supplies was desperate, and in March, 1862, General Beauregard issued an appeal to the planters of the Mississippi Valley to contribute the bells in their possession to the common cause that they might be cast into cannon. These bells were used on the large plantations to call the slaves to and from their work. After the capture of New Orleans by General Butler, these bells were sent to Boston and sold at auction. Most of them were sold to junkmen and foundry men to be melted, but a few were bought by churches, and one of them found its way to this village, where it still performs its task of calling men, but it summons free men to Divine Worship instead of slaves to drudgery. The cast- ing bears the date 1850. and the bell itself is a work of art, being profusely embellished with many designs.
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The Rev. A. A. Williams was the first pastor installed, and it was under his leadership that the church was built. Two of the more important ministers of the earlier period were Elder Isaac R. Pettingill, who was here most of the time from 1836 to 1847, and died here the latter year, and is buried in the Cadys Falls Cemetery; and the Rev. John A. Capron, a well known preacher of this denomination, who preached here from 1854 to 1858, and died here in his eighty-seventh year. Pastors are credited to this church until 1879, but that it was not functioning regularly is proved by the fact that in 1872 it was sold to the Metho- dist Church, who two years later sold it back because they could not get a clear title to it. In 1901 A. G. West and his heirs deeded the building to trustees of the Advent Christian Church.
THE ADVENT CHRISTIAN CHURCH
This body was organized on July 19, 1892, with twenty-six charter members, and the month following a Sunday School, with thirty-two scholars, was formed under the leadership of the Rev. A. P. Drown. The early members were largely residents of Morristown and the meetings were held at the homes of the members bi-monthly. Then the church at the Corners was used for a time, but in April, 1893, its present church home was leased from Mr. West and later purchased. Exten- sive repairs were made on the building in 1907, while the Rev. L. L. Chase was minister, and a re-dedication service was held with a sermon by a former pastor, the Rev. Daniel Gregory. Further repairs were made in 1916, while the Rev. J. J. Bennett was serving the church, and these improvements were celebrated by a mortgage burn- ing service.
On July 19, 1932, the church observed its fortieth anniversary with appropriate exercises. Addresses were made by visiting clergymen, including former ministers, a history of the church was given by the Clerk of the church, L. Grace Prior, and recollections of early church events were offered by some of the older members. Such events as this indicate the loyalty which characterizes this body.
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HISTORY OF MORRISTOWN
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
There is no record of any Roman Catholics among the early settlers in town, and the first followers of this faith were obliged for years to attend religious services at Hyde Park. It was not until the fall of 1911 that the Rev. W. P. Crosby, who had recently come to Hyde Park, began to say mass in Morrisville. He is authority for the state- ment that at the first service there were thirty-five present. Meetings were held in the Grange Hall, the G. A. R. Hall, etc., and the interest and numbers steadily grew so that the project of building a church began to be agitated. Encouragement was received from the towns- people, even though they were not of that faith, and Judge H. H. Powers was especially friendly to the idea, and in 1913 the Church of the Holy Cross was built on Brooklyn Street. Begun in the summer of that year it was com- pleted so far as to permit holding the first service in it on November 23, 1913. On June 10 of the year following the formal dedication was held. The service was con- ducted by the Rt. Rev. J. J. Rice, D. D., of Burlington, assisted by the Rev. E. C. Droulin, P. P., of St. Johnsbury and the Rev. Napoleon La Chance of Fairfield. Solemn high mass was celebrated by the Rev. E. M. Salmon of Swanton, and the sermon was preached by the Rev. P. J. Barrett of Poultney. The service of dedication was fol- lowed by the confirmation of a class of seventeen.
During 1918 and 1919 the influx of French Canadians into this section of the state greatly increased the number who attended this church, and the need for a larger struc- ture began to be felt keenly. So in the summer of 1931 extensive alterations were made in the building, and the grounds were improved by grading and the setting out of shade trees, removal of the horse sheds in the rear of the church, etc. An addition which doubled the seating capacity of the auditorium was built, and the altar was enlarged to nearly twice its former size, and a new and larger heating plant was installed, the interior was taste- fully decorated and the exterior freshly painted. Thus there was provided an attractive place of worship for a large body of attendants. The priests thus far have been residents of the adjoining parish at Hyde Park.
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THE SPIRITUALIST SOCIETY
During the early days of Spiritualism, it was con- sidered more as a religious belief than as a matter of psychical interest, and its followers were grouped together into Associations which met at stated intervals to listen to lectures and exchange experiences.
The adherents of this faith in this and the adjacent towns were banded together in the Morristown and Hyde Park Spiritualist Association. As there are no records of this Association available, the date of its organization cannot be obtained, but it was doubtless in existence during the Civil War period, perhaps before. It was the custom to engage a speaker for a month at a time, and the meet- ings were held at different places, sometimes at the Town Hall, or in the hall which formerly was found on the second floor of the building now occupied by the Morrisville Fruit Co.
Prior to 1869, this Association secured the union church at Cadys Falls, where they held preaching services more or less regularly for about twenty years. In the autumn of 1870, Mr. Henry Houghton was hired and con- ducted services for two or three years. Then Mrs. Emma Paul, who had in the meantime moved to Morrisville and had previously filled some shorter engagements, carried on the work for about twenty years, dividing her time between this Association and those in other states.
At least five state conventions were held under the auspices of the Morristown and Hyde Park Association, one at Cadys Falls, two at Hyde Park, and two at Morris- ville, which brought distinguished speakers from other states as well as local talent. Among the pioneer workers in this organization were Mr. and Mrs. Edwin H. Shaw, Mr. and Mrs. George Brewster, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Burke, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Clark, Mr. and Mrs. William Thomas, and others who supported the movement loyally for many years.
With the decline in interest, the hall at Cadys Falls remained closed for several years until it was bought by the Cadys Falls Hall Society, in 1894, and has since been held and used by it for public purposes.
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THE EPISCOPAL MISSION
The Episcopal Church has never been strong in this part of the state and its adherents in Morristown have always been few in number if firm in their loyalty to that faith. As no local records have been kept, the following facts in regard to the mission have been obtained by the present priest-in-charge, the Rev. F. W. Burge.
The first services of the Episcopal Church in Morris- ville were probably held by the Rt. Rev. Arthur C. A. Hall early in his episcopate, beginning February 2, 1894, and have been continued by the different priests-in-charge at Hardwick, including the Rev. George R. Brush. The present minister, whose pastorate in Lyndonville dates from July 1, 1925, ministered here for the first time on the second Sunday in October, 1927. During these years meetings have been held in different halls, the Grange Hall having been used of late until the purchase of the property on Bridge Street, formerly known as "The Castle," the acquisition of which was due to the initiative of Mr. Burge. At the last service held in the Grange Hall the name of Chapel of the Resurrection was adopted by unanimous vote of the congregation present.
The $1,500 required for securing the property from Mr. George Prior was obtained as follows: $500 from a gift to the priest-in-charge by George T. Adee and Mor- timer N. Buckner of New York, classmates of Yale, '95; $500 from the Missionary Committee of the Diocese of Vermont; $250, the loan of a fund at the disposal of the priest-in-charge; $250 the gift of the American Church Building Fund Commission, New York.
After gaining possession, the barn and woodshed in the rear were torn down and other improvements in the appearance of the property were made. The two rooms constituting the temporary Chapel of the Resurrection were ready for use and the whole site dedicated on the evening of September 19, 1931, including the altar for the perma- nent basement chapel from the former Universalist Church of Lyndonville. The Holy Eucharist was celebrated for the first time in the new property the following day, September 20, 1931.
Services are held here regularly once a month.
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THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE SOCIETY
During a period of about ten years prior to 1917 a few persons became interested in Christian Science and began meeting in private homes, usually on Sunday afternoons, studying and reading the Christian Science lesson sermons. From this small beginning the interest grew, and the numbers increased until the winter of 1917 when regular meetings were held in the G. A. R. Hall and the present order of services was established.
This continued until April 1918, when the use of the rooms over the old Brick Store on Main Street was secured and they were appropriately furnished. On Jan- uary 2, 1919, a group of interested Christian Scientists met and decided to form a Christian Science Society. A set of by-laws was adopted and on January 21, 1919, at an adjourned meeting, formalities were completed, and the first officers were elected as follows: President, H. A. Slayton; Clerk, Mrs. H. A. Slayton; Treasurer, Mrs. M. C. Greene; Readers, Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Gates.
The Society consisted of nineteen charter members and became an authorized branch of the Mother Church during the year 1919.
CHAPTER VI DEVELOPMENT OF VARIOUS SECTIONS OF
THE TOWN
W T HEN Jacob Walker chose the geographical center of the town as the spot on which to build his log cabin, he doubtless thought he was fixing the business center also, and well. he might. The highway which linked his home with the outside world was surveyed in June, 1800, and ran from Waterbury through Stowe past his door and on to Hyde Park. Near him Elisha Board- man built and kept the first tavern and in a room finished off at the end of it was convened the first school in town taught by Eunice Pratt and attended by six children. This tavern also was the civic as well as the social and educational center, for here the town meetings were held until 1814, when it was voted to build a Town House and two cents on a dollar of the Grand List was appropriated for that purpose. The committee in charge, which con- sisted of Joseph Sears, Luther Bingham, and Crispus Shaw, may have proved poor financiers, for the year following one and one-half cents additional was voted to complete the simple one story structure which stood on the east side of the highway and served as both town house and church for eight years. In 1802, Dr. Ralph Tinker, the first physician in town, had settled a little farther south, and a blacksmith by the name of Samuel Huggins began to ply his trade nearby; and, on the road to Stowe, Comfort Olds and Cyril Goodale, two of the leading citizens, had built their homes, while the ministerial lot given to Daniel Rock- well, the first settled minister, was not far distant. Mr. Walker utilized the power furnished by the brook running north of his property by erecting a saw mill, and an oil mill in which flaxseed was ground. This making of lin- seed oil from flaxseed sounds like a strange proceeding today, but a study of the industrial life of scores of Ver- mont towns shows it to have been one of the earliest industries. The oil mill flourished along with the pearlash and the potash. The Center seemed to be the heart of the town.
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But about 1809 Dr. James Tinker, the second physician, came here and proved to be an important factor in the development of the town .. The record of his pro- fessional career is given elsewhere, but now it is noted that he settled on the level plain to the south of the Center. The fine old brick house opposite the store is a monument to his good taste and judgment. When the postoffice was established, he secured its location at the Corners and was the first postmaster, being appointed about 1812. About this time, the first general store in town was opened here by Robert Kimball, who also operated a "Potash."
The making of potash and pearlash was an important industry in those days. Before the era of barrels a huge hollow log was placed upon a platform and filled with hardwood ashes mixed with quicklime, and wet down. The resulting lye was drawn off and evaporated and the residue was the salt of lye or potash. To form pearlash these salts were again dissolved and filtered through straw into a barrel. The liquid was again evaporated, and the resulting substance, broken into small lumps of a pearl white color, contained a considerable percent of potassa. These factories were found in different parts of the town and the brook running through the village back of Cherry Avenue, and known as Potash Brook, received its name from this industry. The market value of the salts ranged from $3.00 to $5.50 per hundred pounds, and they were some of the few products that could be sold for cash when barter was the ordinary method of trade.
To the Corners came the first lawyer, Charles Meigs, who may have been the prosecuting officer in what is said to have been the first lawsuit in town. Samuel Town was complained of because he traveled on horseback on Sunday to Stowe. He was tried before Justice Elisha Boardman and was fined one dollar and costs. When the fine brick church was built in 1822, the people decided it should be located at the Corners. A tannery was built by the Cole brothers; Joseph Sears opened a tavern and also did cabinet work; Giles Rood, who built the first house at the Corners, opened a saw mill and also a grist mill. Thus a variety of interests and industries met here, and it was but natural that at the March Meeting, held in 1833, it was voted "that individuals may without expense to the town remove the town house to the Four Corners if they will provide a suitable spot to set it on, then the town will
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finish off said house in convenient manner." The spot chosen was one near the brick church, and perhaps the clay soil was responsible for its being abandoned in a com- paratively short time, for in 1850 there was an article in the warning to see if the town would build a Town House. It was dismissed, but in May, 1853, the old building was put up at auction and bid off by John West for $19.50.
In 1853 and 1854 the town meetings were held at the Methodist chapel at the Corners. If one follows still farther the fortunes of this center of our civic life, he finds that on March 7, 1854, the town voted to build a Town House at Morrisville, which village furnished the site which was acceptable to the selectmen and gave $300 towards the erection of the building. John West, Fabius George, and Benjamin Howard were elected a committee to superintend the construction. In passing, it is interest- ing to note that the Four Corners did not meekly submit to losing this symbol of its importance, for on March 23, 1854, an adjourned meeting was called to reconsider the vote taken two weeks before to place the new Town House in Morrisville and to vote to place it "on the land now owned by widow Marshall near where the old store used to stand." This article was passed over, the die was set, and in 1855 the annual meeting was called in the new structure, which, with alterations and additions, is our present building.
CADYS FALLS
In the northwestern part of the town another hamlet sprang up which was at one time the leading industrial center. The magnet was the excellent water power fur- nished by the Lamoille River, and the little village was known as Lower Falls, Little Falls, Gates' Falls, Mill Village, and finally, with the establishment of the postoffice in 1858, as Cadys Falls, after Elisha Cady, who then owned most of the mills there. Around this water power was centered a greater variety of industries than existed else- where in town. A saw mill, tannery, grist mill, shingle mill, carding mill, starch factory, wagon and sleigh shop, butter tub factory, woolen mill, and forge for the manufac- ture of iron were among the industries which depended upon the river for their maintenance. A short distance from the Lamoille on what is known as Ryder Brook there was a factory for the manufacture of shoe pegs,
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operated by the firm of Wilder and Patten. After the local manufacture of shoes was discontinued, it turned to making tubs and pails. This mill was carried off in the high water of October, 1869, and not rebuilt.
With Cadys Falls are connected a few names which have always been associated with the history of the town, and descendants of the Gates family, the Boardmans, the Terrills, the Watermans, and the Towns still play their part in the Morristown of today. Something of their story is told elsewhere and here is noted only their part in the development of the village. We are indebted to Mr. E. K. Seaver for most of the facts in regard to this hamlet.
The first settlement here was made in 1794 by the Boardmans, who located on lots sixty-three and sixty-four. In 1801 or 1802 Nathan Gates came and was evidently impressed with the possibilities for water power, as he purchased lot sixty-one, a 200-acre lot, which included all of the water power and most of the present village, together with a considerable area that was flooded when Lake Lamoille was formed. He constructed a dam across the river and built the first saw mill here and sold water rights to John Cook, who operated a woolen mill for several years. This building was later occupied by a planing mill
and job shop run by E. B. Reed. A tannery was soon established which supplied leather for the boots and shoes which were made in the first place by a Mr. Lewis and later by Frank Pettingill. In 1826 Mr. Gates sold to Joshua Sawyer of Hyde Park and others the privilege of taking water from the pond to run an iron forge. This plant was a little south of the present electric power house. The iron ore was obtained in Elmore on the east side of the mountain near the head of the pond, and also on the west side, and was of good quality so that edged tools could be made from it. At first the project suffered from the inexperience of the workers, and the material would not weld because of a lack of cinder in the ore, a deficiency which was later remedied. In August, 1828, a serious reverse came in the shape of high water, which swept away the forge and its equipment. There was no insur- ance on the property and as Mr. Sawyer had recently suffered heavily from a fire which destroyed his home and contents, the forge was never rebuilt. Some years later a starch factory was built on the site by V. W. Waterman and Orlo Cady, and that was burned.
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