USA > Vermont > Rutland County > History of Rutland County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 59
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497
TOWN OF BRANDON.
was dissolved in about eighteen months, Mr. Stafford carrying on the business alone until December 10, 1867. The present firm was then formed by the association of Mr. Stafford with C. R. Phelps. The business of making and selling harnesses was begun here in 1868 by G. V. Farr. D. R. Putnam bought him out in 1872; in June, 1875, sold out to A. R. Draper, and on January 1, 1885, re-purchased his interest. J. B. Kelley started the sale of books, stationery, musical instruments, etc., in Brandon about 1870 or 1871, in company with C. O. Dyer. He parted with Mr. Dyer in 1876. A. E Kingsley has had a grocery store here since about 1871, when he and Frank Savery bought out P. P. Gibbs. His present partner is Fred E. Kingsley. B. B. Howes and C. B. Walker, under the firm name of Howes & Walker, opened a boot and shoe store in the village in 1871. In 1875 Mr. Walker sold out to his partner, purchased his present stone building and stock and has re- mained alone since then. The grocery business of F. W. Savery & Son was established about the year 1872, by the senior member of the present firm. In April, 1883, his son, C. E. Savery, came into partnership with him. H. M. Gipson started his lumber business here in 1873, and added his butter and eggs department in 1880. E. D. Thayer began to deal in dry goods and car- pets in October, 1874. In March, 1883, having purchased the stock and good will of W. C. Simonds, who had been conducting a separate store, he consoli- dated the stocks and removed from the old stand in the post-office block, where Mr. Kingsley's store now is, to his present quarters. George W. Olmstead and Charles Farr bought out the jewelry store of C. M. Whitaker in 1875. In 1880 Mr. Olmstead succeeded to his partner's interest, and has since then been "sole proprietor of the business. T. J. Parish and I. R. Serviss, on the Ist day of September, 1881, formed a copartnership and bought out the furniture and undertaking business theretofore conducted by H. H. Hill. The firm style is Parish & Serviss. On the 19th of December, 1881, W. C. Fletcher purchased the grocery stock of A. S. Newton and opened a store near the bridge on the east side of the creek. He came to his present location on January 1, 1882. A. J. Ives, clothier, bought out John Ingalls in April, 1882, and started in the same building that he now occupies ; Mr. Ingalls had a store here for about six months previously. In September, 1885, Charles W. Spencer purchased the stock and good will of E. H. Griswold, dealer in furniture, wagons, har- nesses, robes, sleighs, etc. Mr. Griswold began dealing in wagons about 1882, and in furniture in March, 1885. The grocery store of J. E. Graves & Co. was first opened on January 1, 1883, by the present proprietors. F. L. Rogers bought the grocery store of Charles French in February, 1883. Mr. French had been here less than a year previously. The boot and shoe store of George June is successor to the one formerly kept by W. H. Blackmer, Mr. June buy- ing it from the W. H. Blackmer estate on January 1, 1885. H. E. Bardy's grocery store was started by Mr. Bardy in April, 1885. H. L. Brank began business here as baker and grocer on the 10th of June, 1885. 32
498
HISTORY OF RUTLAND COUNTY.
Manufacturing Interests. - Probably the oldest industry which at present thrives in Brandon is the quarrying and sawing of marble. According to Mr. Conant, the first marble sawn in the county was with a gang of saws at Bran- don. E. W. Judd, of Middlebury, commenced sawing Pittsford marble here about the year 1811. He brought the marble from Pittsford on the river. In 1828 Justus Hyatt built a marble mill on the lower falls, on the site now cov- ered by the east end of the post-office block. After a few years Cowan & Hyatt succeeded Mr. Hyatt, and later still, E. D. Selden built a mill about a mile up the river from Brandon village, where Mr. Goodell's mill now is. In 1845 S. L. Goodell ran the mill formerly operated by Cowan & Hyatt, and in about 1848 sold the property to John A. Conant. About 1840 Hill & Davis, of Boston, came here and bought what is known as the Houghton farm in the west part of the town, and in 1841 or 1842 Augustus Barrows and Philip Ed- gerton built a mill on the upper falls and sawed marble from Pittsford. Shortly after this Mr. Goodell purchased the entire business and conducted it alone until 1847, when Knowles Taylor, of New York, came in with him. In 1848 Taylor sold out to David Selden, who, after acquiring the entire interest, ran the mills in company with Mr. Goodell until 1865. At that time Mr. Goodell bought the quarries and all the mills, and formed a company called the Bran- don Statuary Marble Company, which erected a large mill on the upper falls at a cost of $48,000. The company was composed of the following members : S. L. Goodell, H. S. Wells and A. E. Tilton, of New York ; Bradley Ballou, of St. Albans ; John W. Rich and James Murray. No further change took place until September, 1884, when S. L. Goodell succeeded the company. Mr. Goodell is also superintendent of the Florence & Wakefield Marble Com- pany recently formed at Mallett's Bay near Burlington, which works all the quarries in which its members are interested. The works there cost about $400,000. The capital of the company is $500,000. They have one quarry at Pittsford and one just north of Mr. Goodell's residence at Brandon, which latter quarry furnishes about one-half of the marble for their mills.I
The property now operated by the Mutual Marble Company lies upon the belt extending through Rutland and Sutherland Falls, which is celebrated for the superior quality of its product. The property was purchased about the year 1867 by Edwin A. Billings, of Troy, N. Y., and sold by him to the Tro- jan Marble Company, by whom the first quarry was opened, under Mr. Bill- ings's direction ; a six-gang mill was also erected and the business continued for six or seven years. After Mr. Billings's death his son conducted the ope- rations, and after that Mr. Waldo was in charge two years. The works then lay dormant until October, 1883, when the property was leased by Upham & Jack- son, who organized the present company, under whose control, with J. P. Up- ham as president, the business is being vigorously pushed. A new quarry has
1 Mr. Goodell is authority for most of the above.
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TOWN OF BRANDON.
been opened, additional lands bought, a railroad from the main line constructed and several new buildings erected. The product of the new quarry gives sat- isfaction to the trade.
The Brandon Mining Company's works were established for the manufacture of mineral paint and kaolin, in 1855. The mineral was discovered by Fuller & Green, who commenced the manufacture of wrought iron here many years ago, and by washing the ore, the ocher, or paint pigment, was discovered. It is taken from the mine in its crude state, mixed with refuse matter, and after being broken up and thoroughly washed, it is with water carried down a sluice, the worthless material, in the form of pebbles, iron ore, sand, etc., settles to the bottom, and the substance valuable for paint is held in solution, and carried by spouts and deposited in large vats. Here it is suffered to remain and the paint settles to the botttom. The water is then drawn off and the process is repeat- ed until a sufficient deposit has accumulated in the vats to undertake the dry- ing process. This is accomplished by first allowing the sediment in the vats to become, by the action of the sun's rays, of the consistency of thick mud or clay, when it is cut or shoveled into pieces about the size of bricks, and laid upon shelves to dry in buildings prepared for the purpose. When perfectly dry it is run through a crushing-mill, and packed in barrels for the market. This paint is very similar to the celebrated French ocher, and has met with a very large demand from various sections of the country. By placing the lumps of yellow ocher in ovens and calcining them, red ocher is made, of a quality closely resembling Venetian red.
Kaolin, or paper clay, as it is sometimes called, in process of manufacture is similar to that of ocher, except that it does not undergo the grinding process, but is fit for market as soon as it is dry. The kaolin manufactured here is prin- cipally used in the manufacture of paper for "stuffing," giving a smooth sur- face and additional weight to paper ; it is mixed with the pulp, and but a small per cent. is lost by the subsequent process of manufacture. This company employs about thirty men, and manufactures about 1,000 tons of paint and 500 tons of kaolin per annum.
The Brandon Kaolin and Paint Company's Works, about two miles east of Brandon village and one mile south of Forestdale, were established in 1865. They manufactured about 1,000 tons per annum. The paint varied in color from very light yellow to dark yellow and dark red, and light and dark brown. David W. Prime is president of the company, but the works are not now ope- rated.
The stone building near the present grist-mill of J. L. Cahee was built in 1816 by John Conant for a grist-mill and used as such until 1839. In that year Mr. Conant erected the present mill building, and ran it until 1850, when he sold out to a Mr. Rich. Spooner & Cahee followed Rich, and the proprie- tors since then have been Freeman & Cahee, Cahee Brothers, J. L. Cahee &
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HISTORY OF RUTLAND COUNTY.
Co., and the present proprietor, J. L. Cahee. The site was first owned by Daniel Avery.
The harness and carriage factory of H. D. Briggs, was started by his father, Sumner Briggs, in November, 1854. The work was done for the first five years in the scale works building, and then brought to the present location. From 1866 to 1872 H. D. Briggs worked in company with his father and then with- drew. Sumner Briggs died in 1877, and H. D. Briggs has had sole charge since that date.
The Eagle Foundry was established by Payne, Christy & Hendry in the year 1867. In 1875 the present proprietor, John Christie, bought out his partners.
F. W. Flint began cabinet making here in the fall of 1879. H. O. Lowell came here in February, 1880, and bought the cabinet shop which William H. Flint had had for several years before.
Banking Interests. - The present banking business of Brandon is done by the Brandon National Bank and the First National Bank of Brandon. The former company was organized on the 26th of March, 1864. The first direc- tors and officers were John A. Conant, president; E. N. Briggs, James K. Hyde, of Sudbury, Ebenezer J. Bliss, Frank Farrington and John Howe, jr. The cashier was Lorenzo Bixby. The original capital was $100,000, which was increased on the 25th of June, 1864, to $150,000, and again on the 10th of January, 1865, to $200,000, the present capital. Cyrus Jennings succeeded Mr. Conant in the presidency on the 9th of July, 1878, and was himself fol- lowed January 18, 1881, by the present incumbent, Erastus D. Thayer. The cashiers have been as follows: Lorenzo Bixby was followed Jannary 9, 1866, by Julius H. White; November 7, 1867, Dudley C. Brown ; December 13, 1869, Frank E. Briggs; March 1, 1870, George R. Bottum ; August 27, 1870, Dorus C. Bascom ; January 26, 1878, Frank E. Briggs; January 9, 1883, Walter F. Scott, the present cashier. There are now eighty-nine stock-holders in the company, most of whom are residents of the town and county, and a few from other States. The present directors are : Erastus D. Thayer, president ; Cyrus Jennings, vice-president ; John J. Simonds, Robert Forbes, Ozro Meacham, Frank Farrington. Deposits on hand about $30,000
The First National Bank of Brandon, although organized in December, 1863, did not begin business until May 1, 1864. The original capital was $50,000, but before business was begun it had been doubled, and on the 11th day of January, 1865, it was increased to its present amount of $150,000. The first officers and directors were Nathan T. Sprague, president; Nathan T. Sprague, jr., vice-president ; Ephraim Ross, George W. Parmenter and Chaun- cey L. Case. In 1867 Nathan T. Sprague resigned the presidency and de- volved the duties upon his son, who, in January, 1868, was unanimously chosen to be his father's successor, and has remained ever since at the head of the company.
501
TOWN OF BRANDON.
On March 1, 1870, H. C. Copeland succeeded George R. Bottum, the first cashier, and on February 3, 1883, was in turn succeeded by the present cash- ier, F. E. Briggs. The company is now composed of sixty stock-holders, and has a surplus of $115,000.
Although these are the only banks in Brandon, several of her citizens are interested in banks doing business in the West. Dr. W. H. Wright is presi- dent of the Traders' Bank of Kirwin, Kansas, and T. B. Smith is its vice-pres- dent, while James Knapp, R. F. Kidder, Mrs. C. J. Wing and Rev. Walter Rice are stock-holders. Mr. Smith and Dr. Wright are also respectively pres- ident and vice-president of the Cloud County Bank, of Concordia, Kansas. These two associate banks have negotiated loans on a security of real estate mortgages to the amount of more than $200,000, without the loss of a dollar or the taking up of a farm.
Hotels .- The site of the Brandon House has been covered by a hotel or tavern " time whereof the memory of man runneth not the contrary." Jacob Simonds was the first one who kept a tavern here, and his arrival here is dated the year 1786. Whether he immediately began to keep tavern is a question, but certainly he was landlord here before the close of the eighteenth century. He left town in 1812, and was immediately succeeded by Matthew W. Birch- ard, who enlarged the old house and kept a store in connection with it ; he re- mained proprietor of this old inn longer than any other man in its history. Drancis June followed him. Mr. Conant remembers an interesting incident connected with June, which is worth relating. One of the governors of New Hampshire had succeeded in raising an extraordinary crop of oats, and pub- lished a statement that he had raised 125 bushels to the acre and defied the world to beat him. June had a splendid field in the north part of the town, where Mr. Sumner now lives, which in being threshed showed a yield of 134 bushels to the acre. June kept the hotel a few years and was followed by William M. Field, now of Rutland, who enlarged the building to its present proportions. He was also proprietor of the stage line from Rutland to Mid- dlebury. His successor was Janes Hastings who kept the house about ten years, through the war period, then J. F. Stinson became proprietor. Ile sold the property on the Ist of March, 1871, to a stock company composed of N. T. Sprague, G. W. Parmenter, C. D. Pitts, Dr. V. Ross. They, with the ex- eeption of C. D. Pitts, whose widow has succeeded to his share, are still the owners of the property. Immediately after they purchased the house, Riley Deming began to keep it. His successors have been W. H. Merritt and Delmore Vail, James, John, and Charles Gardner, Frederick Deming and L. Collins, whose term began in the spring of 1883. The present manager, John Higgins, came here April 13, 1885, from Arlington. He had had about fif- teen years experience in the business and keeps an excellent hotel. The house will accommodate about 100 guests.
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HISTORY OF RUTLAND COUNTY.
The Douglas House was erected in 1850 by E. J. Bliss, for a storehouse It was converted into a hotel in 1870, and opened in the fall of that year by Mr. Bliss who kept it six or eight months. Albert Matthews next kept it for a time, and was followed by L. R. Barker, in the spring of 1872. Barker soon sold it to Frank Briggs who leased it to John Rutledge. Ellroy Rogers was with Rutledge during a part of the term. The present proprietor, H. C. Will- ard, came here in December, 1883. This house has also a good reputation for order and neatness, Mr. Willard's experience enabling him at once to antici- pate and supply the wants of the traveling public.
The Press. - The Brandon Union, the only secular paper now published in Brandon, was first issued on the 30th of November, 1872, by A. N. Merchant. The office was then in Simonds block ; in 1873 H. M. Mott and T. M. Tobin took the place of Mr. Merchant. Norman A. Mott soon after purchased the interest of Mr. Tobin, and later still of his brother, Hiram M. Mott. The latter in his turn became successor to Norman A. Mott. The present publisher and editor, Stillman B. Ryder, bought out Hiram M. Mott on the 15th of Novem- ber, 1880. The paper was originally independent in politics, and warmly supported Horace Greeley in that memorable canvass, but it is now thoroughly Republican. It is a well-arranged, well-edited, four-page, thirty-two column weekly, which succeeds in its aim to record local news, furnish general intelli- gence and choice miscellany, and keeps its columns so untainted that it can be taken without hesitation into the home circle.
The Vermont Baptist. - The State paper for that denomination is printed here by Mr. Ryder and has been since May, 1885. The editor and proprietor is J. R. Richardson, formerly of Rutland, now of East Ballston. This paper is of the same size as the Union. (For past history of the press in this town see Chapter XV.)
Attorneys .- The attorney now of longest practice in town is Hon. Ebenezer J. Ormsbee. Mr. Ormsbee was born in Shoreham, Vt., on the 8th of June, 1834. He received his general education at the Brandon public schools, the Brandon Scientific and Literary Institute, and at the Green Mountain Liberal Institute at South Woodstock. He began his law studies in the office of Briggs & Nicholson, Brandon, and was admitted to practice in the Rutland County Court in March, 1861. He has resided in Brandon since 1848. Among other public offices of importance, he represented Brandon in the representative branch of the Legislature in 1872, and was one of the senators from Rutland county in 1878. In the fall of 1884 he was chosen lieutenant-governor of the State.
His associate, George Briggs, is the son of Hon. E. N. Briggs, so well known to Brandon in the past. George Briggs was born in Brandon on the 26th of April, 1844, was educated at the Vermont Episcopal Institute at Bur- lington and at Hobart College, Geneva, N. Y., receiving the degree of A. B.
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TOWN OF BRANDON.
from the latter institution in 1866, and of A. M. in 1869. He began his law studies with Senator Edmunds, of Burlington, and continued with Briggs & Ormsbee, of this place. He attended a course of lectures, also, at the Albany Law School, and was admitted to practice in the Rutland County Court in September, 1868. He immediately formed a partnership with Mr. Ormsbee, which has continued without interruption to the present. He has been town clerk, clerk of the village school district, and clerk of the fire district since 1868. He represented the town in 1880.
Walter P. Wheeler was born in Woodbury, Vt., on the 25th of September, 1854. He received his legal education in the law department of the Univer- sity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and in the offices of Hon. C. H. Heath and Hon. H. W. Heaton at Montpelier. He was admitted to practice in Washington county, Vt., in 1867, when he went to Arlington with J. K. Batchelder. He opened an office in Brandon in August, 1877. He has been chosen moderator of several town meetings, and has earned a good reputation for industry and legal ability.
Edward S. Marsh was born in Brandon October 13, 1857. He studied law with Ormsbee & Briggs, took a year in the Columbia Law School, New York city, and afterwards studied a year in the Boston University Law School, from which he was graduated in 1882. He was admitted to practice in the County Court of Rutland county in the spring of 1882, went to New York city for eighteen months, and was admitted to the bar of that State. In the fall of . 1884 he was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Vermont, and at once opened an office in Brandon.
Physicians .- Dr. Olin G. Dyer was born in Clarendon, Vt., on the 5th of December, 1822. He received an academical education, and was on the 19th of June, 1844, graduated from the Castleton Medical College. He also attended a course of lectures at the Berkshire Medical College at Pittsfield, Mass. He practiced the first eighteen months after graduation in Lexington, O., and after that in Salisbury, Vt., where he remained five years. In September, 1851, he came to Brandon, and practiced for two years in company with Dr. A. G. Dana. Since that time he has practiced alone. Since the war he has acted as exam- ining surgeon for the pension department, and has done a great amount of that kind of work.
Dr. C. W. Peck was born in Clarendon, Vt., on the 23d of February, 1841. He was educated at Fairfax, and at the Barre Academy, and received his medical education at the Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, N. Y. He was graduated in June, 1861, and has practiced in Brandon since that time.
Dr. A. T. Woodward was born in Castleton, Vt., on the 7th day of July, 1827. He was educated at the Castleton Seminary, and Castleton Medical College, from which later institution he was graduated in 1847. The first four years of his practice were passed at Whitehall, N. Y. Then, after a year in
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HISTORY OF RUTLAND COUNTY.
the city hospital of Albany, he returned to Castleton, and practiced there nine years. In 1861 he came to Brandon, where he has won an enviable reputation.
Dr. J. J. Tobias was born in Ferrisburgh, Vt., on the 8th day of June, 1847. He took an elective course in the University of Vermont at Burlington, and was graduated from the medical department thereof on June 16, 1868. For a year after graduation he practiced in Belchertown, Mass., although prevented by sickness most of the time from engaging in a very extensive practice. In the spring of 1870 he went to Vergennes, Vt., where he practiced five years. While there he received an appointment to the position of physician aud sur- geon of the Crown Point Iron Company at Hammondsville, N. Y. He re- mained there until May 31, 1879, when he came to Brandon. He has suc- ceeded, by dint of strict attention to business and the exercise of his unusual caution and skill, in establishing an excellent reputation in Brandon and vicinity.
Dr. J. H. Woodward, son of Dr. A. T. Woodward, was born in Castleton, Vt., May 31, 1858. He was educated in Brandon and is a graduate from Cor- nell University, N. Y. He was graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in New York city, in June, 1882, and in July of the same year re- ceived a diploma from the medical department of the University of Vermont, at Burlington. He practiced about two years in Bellevue Hospital, New York, and then removed to Brandon.
Dentists .- Dr. W. H. Wright was born in Addison county on the 25th of August, 1843. He received his dental education in Middlebury and Brandon, having been an associate with Dr. D. W. Prime from February 1, 1866, until 1 868, when he became the successor of his senior partner.
Dr. F. W. Hudson was born in East Burke, Vt., on the 29th of July, 1857. He was educated at Westfield and is a graduate from the Philadelphia Dental College. He began to practice in Lindenville, Vt., in 1879; removed thence to Rutland in 1881, and from Rutland to Brandon in February, 1884.
Brandon Water Works .- On the evening of the 28th of July, 1878, Fire District No. I of Brandon, adopted resolutions empowering and directing the the prudential committee of that district to construct a suitable aqueduct in the village of Brandon at an expense not exceeding forty thousand dollars. The prudential committee (consisting of N. T. Sprague, Dr. V. Ross, and H. Roberts), Henry Kinsman and F. B. Button, first and second engineers, were appointed a committee to locate the aqueduct and determine upon its size and character. The prudential committee was further authorized to issue, sell and negotiate the bonds of said district for the purpose of raising the funds re- quired in such an enterprise.
Surveys were made from Hitchcock's Pond to several points in the village with the following result: The fall at Dana's corner is 139106 53. feet ; at the Brandon House, 153100 feet ; at the Congregational Church, 157100 feet ;
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TOWN OF BRANDON.
at the west corner of the stone bridge, near the bank, 167106 feet ; and at the Baptist Church 165 feet lower than the surface water of Hitchcock's Pond. The pressure of water is 65 106 pounds to the square inch. Other surveys were made of Hinkham Pond and " Loblol," resulting, on comparison, in the choice of Hitchcock's Pond as the source of supply. Proposals for bids were sent out and the contract was subsequently awarded to R. D. Wood & Co., of Philadelphia, who agreed to reduce the amount of their bid from $39,668.94 to an even $39,000. The agreement was dated January 6, 1879. Bonds were issued to the First National Bank of Brandon for $40,000, work was at once begun and in a short time the aqueduct was complete.
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