History of Rutland County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 61

Author: Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925. 1n; Rann, William S
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & co.
Number of Pages: 1170

USA > Vermont > Rutland County > History of Rutland County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 61

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The funds that were obtained by agents canvassing portions of the State were expended for more ground and for the purchase of a library and philo- sophical and chemical apparatus for the benefit of the school. And although the expectations of some of the early benefactors of the school were much disap- pointed in not having some provision made for the study of theology in con- nection with the school, still the founders and patrons of it have occasion for thankfulness in view of what has been accomplished. The substantial brick edifice, pleasantly located on elevated ground, in Brandon ; with a succession of teachers and pupils occupying it whose main daily employment for thirty years was the communicating and the receiving of useful knowledge and sound instruction, must be considered an incalculable power for good in a community. Thus it was in Brandon.

The board of trustees of the Vermont Literary and Scientific Institution held its annual meeting in Brandon October, 1833, with Hon. J. D. Farns- worth, the president, in the chair. At this meeting the Rev. Hadley Proctor, of Rutland, was unanimously elected principal of the institution. Soon after this the institution was opened for instruction, and during the first years of its history it was well patronized by the denomination that founded it, counting among its students representatives from all parts of the State, and well sus- tained by the community in which it was located. But in course of time, the institution not coming up to the high position which was anticipated, and good academic schools multiplying throughout the State, the appellation, or title, given to the institution fell into disuse and it was called and known by the 33

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name of the " Brandon Seminary," and patronized and sustained mainly dur- ing the last half of its continuance by the inhabitants of Brandon and adjacent towns. And as former members of the board of trustees resigned or died, the vacancies were filled from the community patronizing the seminary, so that it had during the last half of its history a board about all composed of citizens of Brandon, and mostly members of the different religious societies. Mr. Proc_ tor's stay as principal of the institution was short ; but there were those who followed, E. Parker, S. Keith, A. H. Bingham, C. B. Smith, and others, who remained long and did good service.

At last, about the year 1865, the subject of uniting the two village school districts into one, and turning over the seminary building for its use, and hav- ing a graded school, began to be agitated. On investigation it was found by the terms of the charter that the seminary property could not be sold. So, after much consultation of authorities, and several meetings of the trustees, it was resolved by them to lease the building and grounds, on certain conditions, to the united village district for a term of 999 years.

The contract being consummated between the trustees of the seminary and the consolidated school district of the village, the seminary building was en- larged, reconstructed and arranged so as to have six large and well-furnished school-rooms, and also recitation and reception-rooms and laboratory, all heat- ed by steam and with all modern improvements, at a cost of about $22,000.

The affairs of the Graded School, as to finances and teachers, and whatever may pertain to the welfare of the school, are committed to a prudential com- mittee consisting of three persons annually elected by the district for that purpose.

The school was opened in September, 1868, with an efficient band of teachers, Professor J. S. Cilley, a veteran schoolmaster, at the head and prin- cipal of the school, and this veteran retaining the position for twelve years, which brings the school along almost to the present time.

Forestdale .- The village of Forestdale, which lies in the eastern part of Brandon, is in origin of comparatively recent date. The very first evidence that can be discovered of a settlement there was made by John Smith in about 1823, when he started an iron establishment there. About 1830 Royal Blake bought out the concern, and came there from Woodstock, Vt. He built a blast-furnace and took ore from beds in the vicinity, and south of the beds worked by John Conant, and the Leicester beds. He built, and until his death on December 2, 1857, resided in the house now occupied by Alexander New- ton. The iron business in Forestdale proved ruinous to its owners. John A. Conant is authority for the statement that Mr. Blake, according to his own ac- knowledgment, lost the sum of $75,000 in a single year. The entire prop- erty was finally sold to B. T. Reed, of Boston, for $17,000. The ore has not been worked for years. Royal Blake and his excellent family really founded

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TOWN OF BRANDON.

the village of Forestdale. Mrs. O. A. Smalley, who has an accurate and in- telligent memory concerning Forestdale in early days,1 gives the following de- scription of the place in 1839.

Mr. Blake had then built quite a street under the hill near his house for his employees. Religious meetings were held in his house for some time and afterwards in the hall until he built the church. His wife and daughters, aided by his own efforts and encouragement, fitted up a room in their dwelling to be used as a school for young ladies. It was taught for a long time by a Miss Mason from Woodstock. There was also a general school at the furnace. In 1841 Mr. Smalley had a district set off and built a school-house on the present site of the Methodist Church. It was finished and first opened in the begin- ning of 1843. The direct road from Brandon to Forestdale was opened about 1831 or 1832. In about 1851 Samuel Blodgett, father-in-law to Royal Blake, built the grist-mill now owned by Dr. Sheldon, of West Rutland, and run by James Kimball. Mr. Blake had been running a store here since 1833. There were no distilleries or asheries here, unless the wintergreen distilleries of Na- than H. Churchill and Daniel Lincoln be worth mentioning. The only indus- tries, in fact, which were carried on were the furnace, and the saw-mills which stood on the site of the factory of the Newton & Thompson Manufacturing Company. These saw-mills were erected by Anthony Baker.

The post-office was established at Forestdale about the year 1850, and Dr. Charles Backus appointed to the office. In 1867 he was succeeded by Stephen S. Salls, the present postmaster.

The only industry of importance now carried on at Forestdale is the wood- turning establishment of the Newton & Thompson Manufacturing Company. The business of which this company is the exponent, was originated in Maine in 1849 by Edward C. Thompson, who made match-boxes. In 1856 Alex- ander S. Newton began the same business at Forestdale. The present com- pany was incorporated in August, 1885, and has the following officers : Alex- ander S. Newton, president ; Charles H. Bump, vice-president; Edward C. Thompson, secretary ; Lewis J. Fortier, treasurer. It is successor to the firm of Newton & Thompson, which bought out the original firm of Howard, New- ton & Co. a number of years ago. They now employ from seventy-five to one hundred hands.

On the Ist of April, 1876, the buildings were destroyed by fire, rebuilt and burned while in process of construction, in July, 1876, about a mile south of the original and present site. The works were then rebuilt on the present site, and on the 19th of April, 1881, destroyed by fire the third time, and again rebuilt.

The other business is represented by Jerome Tennie, blacksmith and car-

1 Mr. O. A. Smalley, still living, was born in Hartford, near Whitehall, N. V., in 1812. Mrs. Smalley was born in Goshen, Vt., in 1820. They came to Forestdale in 1839.

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HISTORY OF RUTLAND COUNTY.

riage-maker, who came in 1866; Adrian Hendry, blacksmith and livery and feed stable, came about 1867 ; Almond Baker, general store since about 1865 ; Joseph Moss, general store five or six years; and Mrs. E. J. Walton, general store since 1881, when she bought out Mrs. Emily Packard.

CHAPTER XXII.

HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF CASTLETON.

T HE town of Castleton is situated near the center of Rutland county, and is bordered on the north by Hubbardton, east by Ira, south by Poultney, and west by Fairhaven. It has been ascertained that the name was derived from an English locality called Castleton. The hills of the township are rocky, composed chiefly of argillaceous rocks, traversed and occasionally alternat- ing with quartz. In the east and north the rocks appear in elevated ridges, covered for the most part with fertile, arable soil. The southwest part is a fine plain, intersected with slate and ridges of gravel. On the west side of Lake Bomoseen is an extensive range of slate rock, which stretches south a consid- erable distance, and is quarried for roofing and marbleized slate. The large streams are bordered with rich alluvial intervales. The soil of the plains is sandy, and of the hills a slaty gravel, loam and vegetable mould, with an oc- casional subsoil of hardpan. It is quite evident that the plain which forms the site of the village is an alluvial deposit of remote ages, for it is composed of gravel to the average depth of twenty to twenty-five feet, the lower strata re- sembling the bed of the river. Lake Bomoseen, or Bombazine, lies principally in this town, its northern extremity extending a short distance into Hubbard- ton. It is eight miles in length and two and a half broad in its widest part. A more extended description of this body of water appears in Chapter II.

On the 22d of September, 1761, the charter was granted to Samuel Brown and sixty-nine others, most of whom being simply speculators in land, never effected a settlement here. The first records of proprietors' meetings have been destroyed, and the earliest account of such a meeting is dated some time in 1766, and was probably held at the house of Colonel Bird, in Salisbury, Conn. Another meeting in October of the same year was undoubtedly provisonal for the first visit here by Colonels Bird and Lee, made in 1767, as appears in the following vote, passed at that time : -

" Voted, that there shall be a rate or tax laid on the proprietors of the town- ship of Castleton of one hundred and ninety-two pounds, lawful money, to de-

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fray the expense that has already arisen, or that shall arise, in laying out the the township of Castleton, and in cutting a road through the woods, from Wood Creek to Castleton, and other incidental charges that may arise."

In the following spring Colonels Amos Bird and Noah Lee, accompanied by a colored man, set out on the first journey to this town, which they had never seen. From Salisbury they came through Bennington to Manchester. Thence all was wilderness, to be traversed by marked trees, till they came to Clarendon. At Danby there was a log hut inhabited by one solitary man, where they tarried for the night. From Clarendon they went to Rutland, where they struck the old military road leading from Charlestown, N. H. (known as No. 4), to Crown Point, N. Y. Following this road, they passed along the northern border of Castleton, wholly ignorant of the fact, to Crown Point, and thence to Ticonderoga. Here they replenished their stock of provis- ions, and proceeded by way of Skeenesboro (now Whitehall) to Castleton, ar- riving in June, 1767. They thus nearly compassed the township, touching its borders at one time ; and from Manchester, forty miles south of Castleton, they must have traveled at least one hundred and thirty miles to reach the place.

The summer of 1767 was passed in surveying the township, though no record of what was effected remains. It is said that on one occasion Colonel Bird lost his way and was obliged to pass the night on the summit of a precip- itous mountain, a circumstance which endowed it with its present name of Bird Mountain. A log cabin was built during the season on the bluff in the south- westerly part of the town, near the original East and West Road, as first sur- veyed, on what was afterwards known as the Clark farm. In the next year the same party of three made Castleton a second visit, with the evident pur- pose of making a permanent settlement. Further surveys were made, and a small opening cleared, but no seeds were planted. Before winter Colonel Bird returned to Connecticut, but Colonel Lee and the colored man remained in the cabin. It was an extremely cold and stormy winter, and these two men suffered fearfully.

In 1769 Colonel Bird, according to probable inference, returned to Castle- ton and built the house which he afterwards occupied, on the bank of Castleton River, near its junction with the old turnpike. The last proprietors' meeting held in Salisbury, on the 27th of February, 1770, was " adjourned to be held at the house of Colonel Amos Bird, in Castleton, the 27th day of May next, at two o'clock, p. m." Colonels Bird and Lee were both present at this meeting and assisted in making arrangements for the settlement of their town in the following spring. In pursuance of these arrangements, Ephraim Buel, Eben- ezer Bartholomew and Zadock Remington arrived with their families in May, 1770. These were the first settlers and the only families here during that year, as Bird and Lee did not bring their families until later. Other families

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HISTORY OF RUTLAND COUNTY.

followed, and the community increased by degrees until in 1775 there were in town about thirty families and eight or ten unmarried men. The first child was Israel, son of Ephraim Buel, born in 1771. Abigail, daughter of John Eaton, born the same year, was the first female child.

This little community soon assumed an organized form, and began improv- ing their environments, clearing forests, cultivating fields, building bridges, opening roads, etc. A road from the west line of Ira to the town of Fairhaven was surveyed in 1772, following the course of Castleton River, which passes southerly from its source in Pittsford, receives a tributary in West Rutland, and flowing westerly, divides Castleton into two nearly equal parts. The west- ern part of this road was afterward changed so as to run from Castleton Cor- ners to Hydeville. A north and south road from Hubbardton to East Poult- ney, passing through the village, was surveyed about this time, as was also a road to East Hubbardton. The old Troy and Burlington turnpike, con- structed at a later day, leads from Hubbardton to Poultney, crossing the East and West Road at Castleton Corners.

Colonel Bird took advantage of the opportunities afforded by the natural water-power at the outlet of the lake, and in 1772 erected a saw-mill there, which performed its first work in sawing boards for his coffin, he having con- tracted a fever which, after relapse, proved fatal. His death occurred on Sep- tember 16, 1772, when he was but thirty years of age. He was buried then on the banks of Castleton River, near where the old turnpike crossed it, and not far from his former residence. In 1842 his remains were removed to the public cemetery, and their new resting-place marked by a monument "erected by citizens of Castleton and friends, as a tribute of respect to a worthy man." He was born in Litchfield, Conn., in 1742.

In 1773 a grist-mill was erected near the saw-mill of Colonel Bird.

Down to the Revolutionary War times a considerable settlement had been established in Castleton. The family of Colonel Bird, which came in 1771, returned to Salisbury, Conn., upon his death, and did not again visit this town. His daughter afterwards married William Hallibird, of Canaan, Conn., and be- came the mother of Lieutenant-Governor W. S. Hallibird, of that State. Col- onel Bird's location was a little south of Castleton Corners, on the farm now owned by Leander Jones. Colonel Noah Lee brought his family to town in 1772, made his pitch in the east part of the township, on what was afterwards known as the Gridley farm, and built a log house, which they occupied until the breaking out of the Revolutionary War. His wife, Dorcas Bird, niece of Colonel Amos A. Bird, then returned to Salisbury, and remained there seven years, while he enacted the prominent part which he took in the war. Colonel Lee was born in Newark, Conn., October 15, 1745. He was a waiter in the Colonial army when he was but fifteen years of age, stationed at Crown Point. He was one of the active prop. ietors of Castleton, and was a vigilant opponent

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TOWN OF CASTLETON.

of the New York land claimants. He took a decided stand on the side of American independence against British tyranny, and was prime mover of the expedition against Skeenesboro (now Whitehall), which left Castleton at the same time with the expedition of Colonel Ethan Allen against Ticonderoga, and which resulted in the capture of Major Skeene, the British commander of Skeenesboro. From 1781 to the close of the war he served in Pennsylvania as captain in the Continental army. He was in the battle of Yorktown, and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis.

After the termination of the conflict he returned to Castleton with his fam- ily, where he passed the remainder of his long life in agricultural pursuits. Albert Smith, now residing at Castleton Corners, is a descendant of Colo- nel Lee.

Ephraim Buel probably located a little to the west of the depot, and is said to have sold his farm to Brewster Higley. He subsequently removed West. He was one of the three settlers who brought their families to Castleton in 1770. In the same year Zadock Remington settled half a mile west of the site of the village on the tract of land embracing the present farms of Dor E. At- wood and Mrs. Mary Burke. He was an extensive land owner, and was highly respected, though eccentric. He erected the first framed house in Castleton, and probably kept the first tavern. The men recruited for the attack on Ticon- deroga quartered there, and he had undoubtedly kept the house several years at that time. He was suspected of being favorable to the British cause, though there is no positive evidence of his disloyalty. He represented the town in the Council of Safety in 1778. He lived to the advanced age of ninety-four years. His estate, once large and thriving, had entirely left him in his old age, leaving him quite dependent.

Eleazer Bartholomew was a very early settler in the west part of the town. It is not known just where he lived, nor when nor whither he removed. Ma- jor Abel Moulton settled in 1771, on the brow of the hill in the west part of the village, opposite the site of the Advent Church. He died of small-pox in 1776, in the thirty-fifth year of his age. His monument still stands near the site of his residence.

Nehemiah Hoit came in 1771, and subsequently married the widow of Abel Moulton. He lived for a time where Mr. Moulton had formerly lived, and afterwards removed to the south part of the town, where he died in 1832, aged eighty years. He followed second behind Ethan Allen in the capture of Ti- conderoga, and was with Allen when he and his command were made pris- oners at Montreal, though Hoit himself escaped. Though a man, it has been said, of ardent temperament, he was too reasonable to keep his anger long, and after the termination of the war he led a useful and Christian life in Castleton. He was the first deacon of the Congregational Church here, and remained in the office to the time of his death. In 1771, too, Jesse Belknap settled about

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HISTORY OF RUTLAND COUNTY.

one and a half miles west of the village, on the farm now owned by Fred E. Prouty and occupied by his father, Luther S. Prouty. He was the first justice of the peace, and was a member from Castleton of the convention which adopted the State constitution.

Reuben Moulton came to Castleton in 1771 and established a residence two miles east of the village, on the Rutland road, on the estate of Carlos S. Beach. The tavern which he kept is still standing on the old site, and was occupied as a tavern after his death by his third son, Reuben. His brother, Samuel Moulton, came the same year and settled on the site of the residence of D. D. Cole. His son, Samuel, lived near the center of the village and kept tavern and post-office here many years. The same year also witnessed the settlement here of John and Gershom Moulton, whose descendants are scat- tered through the township now. Among the other arrivals of that year was Gershom Lake, of Woodbury, Conn., who settled about half a mile south of the village, on the farm now owned by John J. Jones. He built both the sec- ond log, and the second framed house in the town, the latter, which he erected before the war, being still habitable and in good repair. When the British troops passed through Castleton after the battle of Hubbardton, on their way to Whitehall, they impressed Lake with his oxen to transport baggage, after which they took his oxen for beef.

Captain Zachariah Hawkins, father of a numerous race, visited Castleton in 1770, and contracted for 800 acres of land, including the site of the village, but by reason of sickness in his family, failed to meet the first demand for pay- ment and lost the purchase. Two of his sons, Gaylard and Silas, pitched in the south part of the township in 1771. They did not remain long. In 1779 Moses and Joseph Hawkins, two other sons, settled here ; Moses was the father of eleven children, all of whom settled in town. Joseph had but one child, a daughter, who became the wife of Robert Temple. Richard Bently erected, in 1771, the framed house where the council of war was held the night before the capture of Ticonderoga. It stood on the green in front of the old Congre- gational parsonage. Israel Hallibird and his brother, Curtis, lived at this period a distance of a mile and a half east of the village. Joel Culver on the farm now owned by the heirs of Sheldon Bliss, in the southwest part of the township. He was early a member of the Congregational Church, and from 1805 to 1825 filled the office of deacon; a more particular mention of the fam- ily will be made in subsequent pages. James Kilbourn came in 1773, and es- tablished himself a little south of Zadock Remington. He was a tanner and currier by trade, and carried on the business while he lived in Castleton. His only son, James, removed with him in later days to Canada. He had three daughters, Molly, who married Pitt W. Hyde, of Sudbury ; Sally, who married Araunah W. Hyde, of Castleton, and Ruth, who married Oliver Moulton. Timothy Everts settled in 1773 on the East Hubbardton road, north of old

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TOWN OF CASTLETON.

Fort Warren. He afterwards went to Ohio. Eli Everts came here in 1783, and settled on the Southmayd lot, on the south side of the green, now owned by Charles E. Ransom. He went to Fairhaven. Nathaniel Northrup, in 1774, settled north of the village on the road to East Hubbardton. He lived to old age, and left a numerous race of descendants. Captain Joseph Woodward settled the same year west of the village, in the vicinity of Parsons Hill. He was chairman of the Council of Safety at Dorset, in 1781. He had a large fam- ily. Araunah Woodward settled in town about the same time. George Foot married Wealthy Woodward, and settled, in 1775, on the corner of the old fort site. Religious worship during the war was held at his house. Captain John Hall came to this town in 1775, and built his house about a mile and a half north of the village on the road to East Hubbardton. He represented the town at Westminster in 1777, when the State was declared independent. On the January following he was mortally wounded in the skirmish at Castle- ton. He had two sons, Elias and Alpheus, both of whom, young men, were captured and taken to Ticonderoga where they soon escaped. Elias resided on his father's homestead until his death in his ninety-fourth year. He took an active part in the war of American independence. At this time Alpheus was teaching school in Castleton.

Brewster Higley came here from Simsbury, Conn., about 1778, and pur- chased the farm of Ephraim Buel. He was descended from a family of Hig- leys who came from England. He was a prominent man here and held various town offices, such as moderator, town clerk and justice of the peace. He was also deacon of the Congregational Church.

Perhaps the most influential family in town in early days was the Hyde family, and the most influential member of the family, Araunah W. Hyde. He was born February 14, 1799, at Hyde Park, Lamoille county, Vermont. His father, Pitt W. Hyde, was one of the pioneer settlers of that portion of the State, whither he removed with his family from Norwich, Conn. He became a large landed proprietor, and by his exertions so promoted the public inter- ests that the right of naming the county seat was accorded to him. He gave it the name of Hyde Park, thereby perpetuating the family name in the Green Mountain State, and rendering due honor to the home of his ancestors in Eng- land. In 1802 A. W. Hyde was taken to Sudbury, where he passed his early days on his father's farm, and received the rudiments of his education at the . district school near by. His characteristics at this period are remembered by survivors as already remarkable. Thoughtful and earnest to an unusual de- gree, methodical by nature, a keen observer of men and their operations, he early formed the habits which he followed through life.

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History of Rutland County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 61

Author: Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925. 1n; Rann, William S Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & co. Number of Pages: 1170

Author: Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925. 1n; Rann, William S
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & co.
Number of Pages: 1170