USA > Vermont > Rutland County > Pittsford > History of the town of Pittsford, Vt., with biographical sketches and family records > Part 39
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The second grist-mill in the town was built in 1775, by Roger Stevens, Jr., on the lot laid out by the Proprietors for this purpose, on the west side of Otter Creek. This mill stood on what has since been known as "Stevens Brook," at its mouth, close by the old ford - Pitts' Ford. Mr. Stevens employed a mill-wright by the name of Samuel Brackett* to build the mill, and it was completed in the summer of that year. The only vestige of this mill now to be seen is one of the mud-sills, apparently in its original position. In the early part of the Revolutionary war, as already stated, Mr. Stevens became a Tory, and, having constructed a raft upon which he placed his mill-stones and irons, he floated them down Otter
* Mr. Brackett resided in this town several years, and he has the reputation of having been a very eccentric man, and some anecdotes respecting him have come down to our time. It is said that he once attended church service at the old log meeting house, clad in a suit of birch bark.
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HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
Creek as far as Middlebury, and then joined the British army. His mill was abandoned.
The second saw-mill in the town was built about the year 1783, but it is not now known by whom it was built. It stood on Mill Brook, some one hundred rods below Mr. Crippen's grist-mill, and on land then owned by Ebenezer Hopkins, Sen., but now by Edwin C. Wheaton. Some have supposed this mill to have been built by Mr. Hopkins, perhaps assisted by one of the Cooleys, as it is known that Gideon Cooley at one time owned a share in it. This mill continued to be used till about the year 1800, when it was neglected and soon became a. ruin. A small portion of the dam is all that now marks the spot where it stood.
The third grist-mill in the town was built in the fall of 1783, by Elisha Rich .* It stood on what was then called East Branch, but now Furnace Brook, and just below the bridge at Furnace Village. Elder Rich sold this mill to Elisha Adams, in 1784. It was kept in operation some years by members of the Adams family, and when it had gone somewhat to decay, another grist-mill was built just above the bridge, and this, for some time, did a good business.
The fourth grist-mill was built in 1785, by Nehemiah Hop- kins. This mill was on East Branch, and stood about where John Stevens' mill now stands. A little later, Mr. Hopkins built a saw-mill on the opposite, or north side of the stream, and these mills were kept in operation by Mr. Hopkins or his sons till they were purchased by John Penfield in 1796.
The fifth grist-mill was built in 1786, by Gideon Sheldon and David Gitchell. This mill stood on the small stream some sixty rods south of Mr. Sheldon's residence, in Whipple Hollow.t
* Hendec's MS.
+This mill stood on the east slope of the hill, west of Whipple Hollow.
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MILLS.
Not far from this time, Elisha Adams and sons built a saw- mill just below the grist-mill, at what is now Furnace Village; and a few years later, or about the year 1795, Abraham Stan- ton built a saw-mill on the brook near his house. Mr. Stanton located, as early as 1782, about one hundred rods east of Amasa Ladd's, and a road was constructed soon after, from Mr. Ladd's, past Mr. Stanton's to John Miller's. The mill built by Mr. Stanton was never of much service, as it could be used only at certain seasons on account of the scarcity of water. Mr. Stanton died about the year 1813, and his real estate passed into the hands of Charles Derby.
The sixth grist-mill in the town was built by David Gitchell, in 1796. It stood near where Leonard Sargent's saw-mill now stands, in Whipple Hollow. This mill was built as a substi- tute for the one built earlier on the east side of the hill, that not having a sufficient supply of water. The stones and other fixtures of the former mill were used in this.
Amos Weller and Anthony Butler built a saw-mill in the year 1800, on the brook near Mr. Butler's house. A part of the dam is all that now marks the spot.
Stephen Jenner built a saw-mill about the year 1800, just below the bridge on the south road leading from the Village to Penfield's mills; and not far from this time Elisha Woodruff built a saw-mill where Samuel Nourse's mill now stands.
David Cross built a saw-mill, near the grist-mill built by Mr. Gitchell, in Whipple Hollow. This was used till 1840, when it was purchased by M. W. Nelson, who removed it and built a new one on its site. After changing owners several times it was purchased by Mr. Sargent in 1845.
Benjamin and Caleb Cooley also built a saw-mill, at quite an early day, on the south side of East Branch, nearly opposite the straw-board mill, now owned by Allen & Co. There is nothing upon the records to show when this mill was built, and, as it was beyond the recollection of living men, we have been 34
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HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
unable to fix the date. This mill was swept away by the freshet of 1811.
A saw-mill was built on East Creek in East Pittsford, about the year 1808, by Artemas Carpenter. A few years later, Mr. Carpenter built a grist-mill on the same stream, some rods below the saw-mill. The grist-mill was run some ten or twelve years only, but the saw-mill was kept in operation many years.
The first fulling-mill and works for dressing cloth in this town were constructed by Noal William Avery, in 1796. The fulling-mill was on Ripley Brook, some twenty or twenty-five rods above its entrance into East Branch (Furnace Brook). Mr. Avery sold this mill to Chester Powers, March 31, 1797, and the latter " sold the water privilege, together with the full- ing-mill, dye house, two strings of tenderbars, dwelling house and shop, one pair of clothier's shears, one iron screw and box, and one clothier's plait," to Jirah Barlow, in 1799. Soon after he had made this purchase, Mr. Barlow bought the water priv- ilege below Penfield's mills, and built one part of the mill now owned by Allen & Co. Here he enlarged his works and had a well-arranged woolen factory. He continued to manufacture cloth here till 1826, when he sold his mill and machinery and left the town.
About the year 1811, clothier's works were constructed by Capt. Caleb Cooley, on Ripley Brook, near Daniel Sherman's. Justin Darling, son-in-law of Capt. Cooley, had the manage- ment of these works for some years. After the death of Capt. Cooley, in 1813, this property was set off to Mrs. Darling and Mrs. Woodward,* as a part of their share of their father's estate. Daniel Sherman bought it, about the year 1823, and continued the business of dressing cloth till 1852. These works have since been abandoned.
The Pittsford Manufacturing Company was incorporated by
* Betsey Cooley, daughter of Capt. Caleb, married Jesse Woodward.
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MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
an act of the General Assembly, October 19, 1812. The cor- porate members were Stephen Avery, John Penfield, Sturges Penfield, Allen Penfield, Thomas Hammond and Caleb Hen- dee, Jr., and others, their associates and successors. The company was organized in conformity to the act of incorpo- ration, Thomas Hammond being chosen President, and John Penfield, Clerk and Treasurer. A code of By-Laws was adopted, and the necessary arrangements made for putting into operation a factory, which had been erected on East Branch, just below Penfield's grist-mill. The original members of the company prosecuted the work of manufacturing and dressing woolen cloth till April 3, 1820, when Caleb Hendee, Jr., John Penfield, Stephen Avery and Thomas Hammond released to their associates their shares or rights to the property of the company and right of membership. The company, now con- sisting of Sturges Penfield and Allen Penfield, together with Abel Penfield, who had purchased a portion of the stock, con- tinued to run the factory till 1825, when Abel sold his share in the property to his associates. June 15, 1827, Allen Pen- field sold his interest in the property to Sturges, who became sole proprietor. The latter continued to operate the mill till about the year 1860, when he retired from the business. May 14, 1866, John Stevens purchased the factory property of the heirs of Mr. Penfield, and converted it to other uses.
About the year 1822, clothier's works were constructed on East Creek, in the southeasterly part of the town, known as East Pittsford. We can trace the ownership to Luny Thayer, who, quite likely, built the works, but they were purchased by George W. and Luther Daniels, who sold them to Justin Dar- ling, Jirah Vaughn and Thomas Frink, Aug. 25, 1825. After having been used a few years the works were abandoned.
Before purchasing an interest in the works at East Pitts- ford, Justin Darling planned the construction of a fulling-mill on East Branch, near the mouth of Ripley Brook, He par-
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HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
tially built a dam across the stream some thirty rods north of the mouth of the brook, and, on the east bank of it, dug a canal through which he might convey the water from the pond to a point near the road where he intended to build his mill, but for some reason this was never done. This canal is still visible.
Two oil-mills have been built in the town, both of them by Jirah Barlow. The first stood on East Branch, about opposite the present residence of William Nicoll. This was built about the year 1810. The second, built about the year 1815, stood on the south side of the stream, nearly opposite Mr. Barlow's factory, and very nearly where the Cooleys' saw-mill had stood.
TANNERS AND CURRIERS' WORKS.
The first to carry on the tanning and currying business in this town was Nathaniel Kingsley. He learned his trade in Simsbury, Conn., came to Pittsford in 1785, bought twenty-five acres of land of John Fenn, and established himself in busi- ness near the school house in District No. 2. His vats were constructed a few rods south-east of his house, near the brook. He was a shoemaker, as well as tanner and currier, and all these branches of business were carried on under his super- vision. After the death of Mr. Kingsley, his son, Joshua, assumed the care of the works and continued their manage- ment till about the year 1835, when they came into the pos- session of Samuel Warner & Son, who, with Marshall Wood, continued the business till 1850. The works were then pur- chased by Abraham Butterfield, who soon, however, relin- quished the tanning business, and all the apparatus for its prosecution were quickly in ruins.
Isaac and Kendrick Bresee, sons of Christopher, commenced the tanning and currying business in 1804, on the place now owned by Benjamin Stevens, and a few rods northwest of the present residence of Mrs. Catharine Tennian. The two
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THE FURNACE.
brothers worked together till 1820, when Kendrick sold his share of the property to Isaac, and left the town. The latter continued to carry on the business of tanning and currying till 1852, when he sold his real estate in this town and removed to the West. These tan works have not since been in use.
About the year 1805, Frederick Freeman constructed works for tanning and currying, on land now owned by Miss Achsah Leach. He worked at his trade here a short time, when the tan works became the property of Joshua Osgood, of Rutland. Mr. Osgood sold them to Jonathan Kendall, in 1807. Mr. Kendall carried on the tanning and currying busi- ness here, in connection with shoemaking, till 1812, when he sold his tan works to Joseph Tottingham. Mr. Tottingham, having no use for the tan works, sold the most of the movable portions of them, and other parts were either used for other purposes, or were neglected and fell into decay.
THE FURNACE.
A furnace for smelting iron ore was built in this town in the fall of 1791, by Israel Keith, from Easton, Mass. It stood about where the present furnace now stands in Furnace Village. The ore was mostly brought from Chittenden, a distance of more than two miles. It made a good quality of iron which found a ready sale, and yielded the proprietor a liberal return. On the 4th of July, 1795, Mr. Keith sold the furnace property to Nathan Gibbs, Cornelius Gibbs, Edward Kingman and Luke Reed; and two years later, Nathan Gibbs purchased of his associates in business their interest in the property, and took upon himself the sole management of it. He enlarged and improved the works by which their value was much enhanced, and he continued in charge of them till about the time of his death, in 1824.
Soon after the death of Mr. Gibbs, the furnace passed
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HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
into the hands of Andrew Leach, of whom Simeon Granger & Sons purchased it November 30, 1826. The furnace was burnt in August following, but the proprietors rebuilt it soon afterwards. Simeon Granger's sons who had an interest in the furnace were Lyman and Chester, and the business of the firm was conducted in the name of "Simeon Granger & Sons," till the death of the father, in 1834, when the two sons took the charge of the works. In 1837, Lyman Granger sold his share of the furnace property to Edward L. Granger, another brother, and withdrew from the firm. "C. and E. L. Granger" then continued the manufacture of iron till the death of the junior member of the firm, in 1846. George W. Hodges was then admitted as a member of the firm, and the furnace busi- ness was conducted in the name of " Granger, Hodges & Co.," till 1852.
After a partial suspension of business a stock company was formed and incorporated by an act of the Generel Assembly as the "Pittsford Iron Co." This company put the furnace in operation, and for a time did a brisk business, but it could hardly compete with companies elsewhere, possessing superior facilities for the manufacture of iron, and as it was found that the income was but little in excess of the expense, the business was soon suspended.
In 1865, however, the company, consisting entirely of new members, repaired the furnace and again put it into operation, but it was not found to be a paying business, and was, conse- quently, again suspended. At the time the furnace was put into operation, in 1865, the name of the company was changed to the "Vermont Iron Co.," and by this name it has since been known. The property of the company is now owned by Jere- miah Pritchard, of Boston, and we are informed by his agent, Mr. Webber, that arrangements are now being made for put- ting the furnace again into operation.
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IRON FOUNDRIES.
For some years after this furnace was built, it was a source of considerable profit to the owners, while it also furnished work for a large number of individuals who were enabled, thereby, not only to pay their current expenses, but to lay aside a portion of their earnings, with which some of them afterwards purchased farms and made themselves comfortable homes. But in process of time the ore bed, from which the furnace was supplied, ceased to be productive, and the company had to resort for their supply to another deposit of ore, some six miles away. The extra cost of transportation, and the increased expense of other materials required in the manufac- ture of iron, have exceeded the rise in the price of the metal, so that latterly the furnace could not be operated remuner- atively.
IRON FOUNDRIES.
Two iron foundries have been built in this town. One was built in 1827, by Cyrus Gibbs and John Cooley. This stood near the mouth of Ripley Brook and was connected with the trip-hammer shop which, before the foundry was built, had been occupied by Amos Crippen .* This was a small establish- ment and was used only for small castings, and it was generally known as " Pocket Furnace."
The other foundry was built in 1829, by Simeon Granger & Sons, near the blast furnace. Here a large number of stoves have been manufactured, besides a great variety of other arti- cles. A few years since, it was rebuilt and removed a few rods towards the west, where it is still in a usable condition.
POTASH WORKS.
Three establishments for the manufacture of potash have been put in operation within the limits of the town. The first was built in 1798, by Stephen and Elijah Avery, and stood
*Mr. Crippen built the trip-hammer shop in 1808.
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HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
some twenty rods east of their store, on the north side of the road, and on land now owned by the heirs of the late George B. Armington, M. D. This was kept in operation many years, and the last to run it were John and Henry Simonds.
The second establishment of this kind was built in 1808, by Elisha Adams, Jr. It stood on the south side of the south road leading from the Village to Penfield's Mills, on land now owned by Jeffrey A. Randall. This also was kept in operation some years.
The third potash establishment was built in 1809, by Jere- miah Sheldon. This stood on the Mosher place, on land now owned by Richard and Charles Burditt, and near their south barn on the north side of the road. It was kept in operation but a short time and was never of much account.
DISTILLERIES.
Three distilleries have existed within the limits of the town. The first was built in 1811, by George Willson and William House. This was located on land now owned by the heirs of the late George H. Simonds, and some five or six rods south- west of the present barn. After changing owners several times it was purchased by John and Henry Simonds, and by them kept in operation several years. A large amount of grain went through the process of distillation here every year, and the whiskey turned out was sent to the various markets in New England and New York, though it is to be supposed that a part of it found a ready sale near home.
The second distillery was built by Allen Penfield in 1819. This stood on the east side of East Branch and about twenty rods south of the residence of Sturges Penfield, who after- wards bought one-half of it. The two brothers run it together several years. When they gave up the business, Sturges bought his brother's interest in the property, and the building was converted into a dwelling house, and rented as such a num
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MARBLE QUARRIES.
ber of years. Mr. Hammond, the present owner of the land upon which it stood, demolished it in 1867.
The third distillery was built by Robert Wright, in 1820. This was on the west side of the Creek, and on the side of the hill about twenty or twenty-five rods northwest of the Gorham bridge. Mr. Wright run this distillery several years, and it was then abandoned.
THE MARBLE INTERESTS OF PITTSFORD.
On the west side of Otter Creek are extensive beds of marble in which quarries have been opened. Some of these have been successfully worked.
The first marble quarry in this town was opened by Jere- miah Sheldon, in 1795. This was about one-fourth of a mile southeast of Mr. Sheldon's house, and on land now owned by Abraham Owen. Garret Lawrence, of Brandon, bought this quarry December 1, 1800, but sold it to Levi Foot of Rutland, August 4, 1801. The latter gentleman sold it to William Barnes in 1802, who sold it to Epaphras Jones of Middletown, July 16, 1804. This quarry changed owners quite often, but a great amount of marble was taken from it. The color of it was somewhat darker than that afterwards taken from other quarries, but it was of fine grain and easily worked. The most of the marble used in this vicinity for monuments and building purposes at that early day, was taken from this quarry. The majority of the better class of houses contained more or less of this marble, either in the jambs or backs of fire-places, in the hearths, or in the underpinning. It may be readily recognized by its color, and the most of it bears the marks of the chisel.
The second marble quarry was opened by Eli Hudson in 1799, a few rods north of the quarry now being worked by the Pittsford Company.
The third marble quarry was opened by Charles Lamb about
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HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
the year 1806. This was located about thirty rods south or southeast of his house, on land now owned by his daughter Mrs. Sally Walker. This opening was never carried suffi- ciently deep to discover sound blocks, and the effort was con- tinued only a few years.
Edward Clifford and his son, Nathan, were the first to open and work the quarry now being worked by the Pittsford Quarry Company. It eventually passed into the hands of E. D. Selden of Brandon, who quarried some blocks from it and transported them to his mill to be sawed. It was purchased in 1866, by the present proprietors who have built a spacious mill with all the modern improvements for sawing marble, and a large amount is now being quarried and sawed for the market.
Attempts have been made at different times to open other quarries, but either for the want of sufficient funds to prosecute the work, or for some other cause they have not proved suc- cesstul. Several companies, however, recently formed are now opening quarries, and are prosecuting the work with encourag- ing prospects. There are vast ledges of marble in the town and no doubt future explorations will bring to light far richer deposits than any that have yet been made available.
Mr. George E. Hall, Esq., an enterprising gentleman of Cleveland, Ohio, has recently leased or purchased a large tract of the marble territory of this town, and he has caused a scientific or geological survey to be made of this tract, by Prof. Charles H. Hitchcock, the able geologist and mineralo- gist of Dartmouth College. In his report, Prof. Hitchcock says : " A study of the locality shows that in Vermont there is commonly an improvement in the quality of the marble in proceeding northerly. The clouded and coarser varieties pre- vail south of Dorset, while the statuary predominates in Bran- don, and northwards. There are some exceptions to this general rule.
The character of the dislocations and seams in the marble
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GEOLOGICAL REPORT.
varies in different districts. All the efforts made to work the marble north of Brandon have failed. Some of the earlier attempts at quarrying were made in Middlebury, and large sums of money have been/expended in Middlebury, Shelburne and other towns for the same purpose, but unsuccessfully.
This is dependent partly upon the nature of the disturb- ances, and partly upon the great number of seams or joints present. The elevation of our mountains seems to have been produced by forces pushing latterly. Parallel ridges have been crowded towards each other, and consequently the rocks between were jammed, faulted and plicated so as to occupy less space horizontally. One great region of disturbance has been the marble valley west of the Green Mountains, and as the nearest rocks must first yield to pressure, the limestones have been thrown out of place more than the firmer quartzites and schists adjacent upon either side. To the south of Bran- don the pressure has been relieved by upthrows and downthrows of mountain masses, leaving the marble in each segment unin- jured.
To the north, where the country is low, the disturbances are of less magnitude, but very much more numerous; the results appear in the greater number of faults, foldings and seams to the north, and the presence of large tracts to the south comparatively free from them, and the consequent failure, thus far, to establish workable quarries north of Brandon.
The application of these generalizations to your quarries" (Mr. Hall's) "at Pittsford shows them to be favorably situated. They are near the summit of the limestone series. They are in the northern area where the quality of the marble is of the superior order, including more of the statuary, and they are not too far north to be seriously affected by the dis- locations in the low country, there being a mountain range contiguous on the west. There are disturbances near your
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HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
property, but the properties seem to have been selected with a view to avoid the faulted and plicated areas."
Mr. Hall has already opened one quarry on his territory and has taken therefrom more than one hundred blocks of marketable marble. Prof. H. says " the blocks raised show its excellent quality ; they appear perfectly sound, though brought from less than fifteen feet below the surface. It is not com- mon to find merchantable blocks so near the surface. The trenches to the north show, in the easterly portion of the belt, from six to eight feet of statuary marble. Nowhere are any seams or fractures visible that will seriously affect the quality or working of the marble. This belt extends north and south one thousand seven hundred and nineteen feet across the whole length of the tract.
About a quarter of a mile north of the quarry just noticed, is what is known as the Marble Valley property. This has upon it wider bands of marble, most of them for the distance of over four thousand two hundred feet. A wide valley extends along the tract underlaid by marble ; this may have been exca- vated partly by running water, and partly by the action of the ice in the Glacial Period.
Shortly after the drift action the valley became covered by the clays of the Champlain period, to the depth of fifteen or twenty feet, and thus the marble has been protected from the usual surface weathering. Consequently the marble is as sound at the very beginning as if fifteen feet thickness of cap-rock had been removed.
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