The History of Washington County in the Vermont historical gazetteer : including a county chapter and the local histories of the towns of Montpelier., Part 50

Author: Hemenway, Abby Maria, 1828-1890
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Montpelier, Vt. : Vermont Watchman and State Journal Press
Number of Pages: 1064

USA > Vermont > Washington County > Montpelier > The History of Washington County in the Vermont historical gazetteer : including a county chapter and the local histories of the towns of Montpelier. > Part 50

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The files of Montpelier newspapers, for the year 1830, alone contain railroad mat- ter enough to fill at least two respectable volumes : and that was 4 years before the first locomotive had been brought into New England, and 5 years before the first New England road had been completed. The discussion of the Boston and Ogdens- burgh railroad question in the Watchman was begun earlier, but the first efficient ac- tion in Montpelier dates from Jan. 26, 1830; when, on hearing that the commit- tee of the Massachusetts legislature had re- ported in favor of a railroad to Lowell, cit- izens of Montpelier met immediately, and appointed a committee to report upon the subject at an adjourned meeting on the 2d of February. That committee reported at the time appointed, and their report fa- vored internal improvements generally,. and specially a railroad from Boston to Ogdensburgh. The report concluded with

* Men and Times of the Revolution, or Memoirs of 'lkanah Watson, page 512. In a report by the late en. Parley Davis, of Montpelier, made Feb. 17, 1830, le date of Mr. Sullivan's correspondence is assigned ) 1826.

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these resolutions, and the meeting acted accordingly :

Resolved, That the public good requires vigorous and persevering efforts on the part of all intelligent and public spirited individuals, until by the enterprise of in- dividuals, the co-operation of State Legis- latures, or the aid of the General Govern- ment, the survey and completion of a route is established for a National Railroad from the seaboard at Boston, through Lowell, Mass., Concord in New Hampshire, and thence by the most convenient route through the valley of Onion river to Lake Cham- plain, and thence to the waters of Lake On- tario at Ogdensburgh, New York .*

Resolved, That the chairman and secre- tary of this meeting be authorized to call an assembly of the inhabitants of the coun- ty of Washington, at such time and place as they may think proper, to consult on this important subject, and to adopt such measures as may be deemed expedient.

Which is respectfully submitted. LYMAN REED, E. P. WALTON, S. BALDWIN,

Committee.

At this meeting, General Parley Davis, Joshua Y. Vail, Araunah Waterman, and Sylvanus Baldwin, Esqrs., were appointed a committee " to prepare a topographical and statistical statement of facts on the subject of a route for a railroad from Bos- ton to Ogdensburgh ;" and Hon. Daniel Baldwin was appointed an agent to repre- sent the views of the meeting to the Massa- chusetts Railroad Association.

These were all Montpelier men, Lyman Reed being then a citizen. He had been a merchant in Boston previously, and has since been in Baltimore and Boston. He was zealous for the interests of Boston, and very well informed on the then new question of railroads. He prepared the first lectures on the subject for the Mont- pelier Lyceum ; and then elaborated these into seven articles, which were published in Mr. Walton's newspaper, the then named Vermont Watchman & State Gazette.

The President, Capt. Timothy Hubbard, and the Secretary of the meeting, O. H. Smith, Esq., immediately called a meeting of citizens of Washington county and vi-

cinity, which was holden at Montpelier, Feb. 17, 1830. Gen. E. P. Walton (se- nior) presided, and O. H. Smith, Esq., was Secretary. At this meeting the com- mittee on topographical and other facts, through Gen. Parley Davis, submitted an elaborate report, which filled four columns of the Watchman & State Gazette. With the aid of knowledge derived from John L. Sullivan of Massachusetts, and John Mc- Duffie of Bradford, as to routes in Massa- chusetts and New Hampshire; of other engineers as to both routes in New York ; and the canal surveys and the personal knowledge of Davis, Waterman, and Syl- vanus Baldwin, as to the routes in Ver- mont,-the entire line from Boston to Og- densburg was covered, and an array of fa- vorable facts presented, which gave a pow- erful impulse to public opinion in all the States interested, and gained for its au- thors and Montpelier the highest credit.

Feb. 22, 1830, The Vermont Railroad Association was formed at Montpelier, of which all the officers were Montpelier men. They were : Timothy Hubbard, President ; Joseph Howes, Vice President ; Araunah Waterman, Joshua Y. Vail, Silas C. French, Ira Owen, Timothy Merrill, Directors ; Daniel Baldwin, Treasurer ; Lyman Reed, Recording Secretary ; E. P. Walton, (Sr.,) Corresponding Secretary.

The first response to Montpelier was made on the 11th of March, 1830, by a meeting at Keeseville, N. Y., of which Elkanah Watson was chairman. The pro- ceedings of the Washington and Orange County meeting at Montpelier on the pre- ceding 17th of February, including the full report of Gen. Davis, were read. It was resolved " that we cordially concur in the sentiments disclosed in the proceedings o a meeting held at Montpelier, Vt., on the 17th ultimo ;" and a committee, of which Mr. Watson was chairman, was "author ized to commence a correspondence witl that appointed at the Montpelier meeting and with any other similar bodies," an " with our national and state authorities. A copy of the proceedings, both of th Keeseville and Montpelier meetings, wa sent to Hon. Isaac Finch, M. C., fror

*In the Railroad Jubilee, Sept. 1851, this resolution was placed on one of the banners, with the names of the Committee appended, and it was styled " An ex- tract from the First Report in relation to a railroad from Boston to Ogdensburglı, dated Feb. 9, [2.] 1830." -See Boston Railroad Jubilee, 1851, page 132.

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New York, who was requested to invite the co-operation of the New York delega- tion in securing U. S. engineers to make surveys.

March 23, 1830, Ogdensburgh respond- ed; Apr. 6, Concord, N. H., and on the 12th of May, Chittenden County entered spiritedly into the enterprise by a meeting at Burlington. That meeting

Resolved, That we consider the public much indebted for the patriotic exertions of numerous associations of individuals on the contemplated route, and particularly to the gentlemen of Washington and Orange Counties for their elaborate and ablereport, and offer them our zealous co-operation in the laudable endeavor to excite attention and diffuse information on the subject.

The meeting most important in its re- sult, however, was held at Malone, N. Y., on the 26th of May, 1830, of which a former citizen of Montpelier, George B. R. Gove, Esq., was an active member. The important feature in the proceedings was the suggestion of a General Railroad Con- vention, to consist of delegates from coun- ties on the proposed railway route in New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. The proceedings of this meeting were published in the Boston Patriot, whose editor ap- proved of the proposed General Conven- tion, to be held at Montpelier, and in which Massachusetts also was to be repre- sented, adding: "The Lowell road will be the beginning of the work, that before many years we hope to see extend to the Lakes." That work occupied 21 years.

July 4, 1830, Elkanah Watson submit- ed an elaborate and interesting report " to he gentlemen of the Boston and Ogdens- urgh Railroad Committee for the Coun- ies of Essex and Clinton, State of New 'ork." Three facts from a man of so high epute must be recorded here. He first lluded to the purpose of the Keeseville leeting as being " to consult on the pro- iety of co-operating with our eastern ethren, more especially the patriotic town Montpelier, in the State of Vermont, on e splendid project of a railroad from oston to Ogdensburgh ;" and then settled e question of priority, between himself d Mr. Sullivan, as to the first suggestion

of the grand scheme, in these words: " It will be my fortunate lot, in character of an old and successful projector, to play the second fiddle, in figurative language. Mr. Sullivan opened the ball by a correspond- ence with me in 1827." And again : " Let me therefore bear testimony at the tribunal of this generation and posterity, that the credit is exclusively due to John L. Sulli- van, Esq., a distinguished civil engineer, and son of the late Governor Sullivan, of Boston." The third fact is the statement that the circulars issued by the Malone Committee, for the General Convention at Montpelier, were prepared by Mr. Watson.

Oct. 6, 1830, the General Convention, consisting of delegates from Massachu- setts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York-48 in all-was held at Montpelier. The president was Luther Bradish, of Moira, N. Y., afterwards of New York city, and president of the State Senate. The secretaries were Albe Cady, of Con- cord, N. H., and John Johnson, of Bur- lington, Vt., Surveyor General of the State. It was a body of able and earnest men, and interesting addresses were de- livered by Elkanah Watson, of Port Kent, N. Y., and James Hayward, (engineer,) Henry Williams, (merchant,) and David Lee Child, (editor,) of Boston. An im- portant communication from John L. Sul- livan was read, and the Convention was closed by a speech by President Bradish. Two of Vermont's most famous railroad men 15 years afterward, appeared for the first time in that role in this Convention- Charles Paine, of Northfield, and Timothy Follett, of Burlington; one the first pres- ident of the Vermont Central Railroad Co., and the other of the Rutland and Burling- ton Co. The main business of the Con- vention consisted of six resolutions, rais- ing the same number of committees for furthering the great project. In forming these committees the Convention went outside of its own body and enlisted em- inent men in each State, such as Daniel Webster, Richard Fletcher, Amos Binney, and Robert G. Shaw, of Boston ; Matthew Harvey, Samuel Bell, Wm. A. Kent, Chas. G. Atherton and Joseph Bell, of New

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Hampshire; D. Azro A. Buck, Heman Allen, (of Milton and Burlington, ) Timothy Follett, Dudley Chase, and Samuel Pren- tiss, of Vermont; and Richard Keese, Luther Bradish, Geo. Parrish, and Elkanah Watson, of New York. The scheme was an admirable one to enlist men wielding a powerful influence in the communities where they dwelt; but it was inefficient for concentrated action, by reason of the impracticability of ever bringing the com- mittee-men together, and became illusory by depending upon the General Govern- ment to commence the work, at least by surveys, if not by aid in the construction of the road. The project was worthy of being treated as a national one; but suc- cess was not attained until all idea of even State aid was abandoned, and the heavy burden was cast upon individual enterprise through incorporated companies in the several States interested.

The first charter for the Vermont sec- tion of the road was passed Nov. 10, 1835, being an act to incorporate The Vermont Central Railroad Co. The commissioners for obtaining stock were John N. Pomeroy, Timothy Follett, John Peck and Luther Loomis, of Burlington ; John Spalding, Timothy Hubbard and Jonathan P. Miller, of Montpelier ; Amplius Blake, of Chelsea, Chester Baxter, of Sharon, and Lewis Lyman, of Hartford. The first meeting of the commissioners was held at Mont- pelier, Jan. 6, 1836, and the books for subscriptions to the stock were first opened at the same place on the next day. This attempt failed, as the originators of it ex- pected it would fail. The purpose and effect was to show to Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York that Vermont was ready to co-operate, and would be ready when the time should come for practical action on their part.

The second charter of the Vermont Central Railroad Company passed Oct. 31, 1843. The commissioners were Charles Paine, of Northfield, John Peck and Wyllys Lyman, of Burlington, Daniel Baldwin and Elisha P. Jewett, of Montpelier, An- drew Tracy, of Woodstock, and Levi B. Vilas, of Chelsea ; who were required to

open books of subscription within one year at Montpelier, Burlington, and such other places as they might deem proper. This requirement was observed, but not until the spring of 1845 was the work of procur- ing subscriptions vigorously pressed. Pre- liminary to this, a Railroad Convention, consisting of delegates from various parts of Vermont and New Hampshire, met at Montpelier, Jan. 8, 1844. Hon. Charles Paine, of Northfield, was president ; Hon. Elijah Blaisdell, of Lebanon, N. H .; Gen. Joel Bass, of Williamstown, Simeon Lyman, of Hartford, and Hon. Joseph Howes, of Montpelier, Vice Presidents ; and Hon. Oramel H. Smith, of Montpelier, and Halsey R. Stevens, Esq., of Lebanon, N. H., Secretaries. Hon. Charles Paine, of Northfield, and Hon. Daniel Baldwin and Col. Elisha P. Jewett, of Montpelier, were constituted a Central Corresponding and Financial Committee, with authority to raise funds and procure surveys from Connecticut river to Lake Champlain, and to examine routes on the west side of the mountains. James R. Langdon, Esq., of Montpelier, advanced ten thousand dol- lars for the purpose, and the surveys were executed that season, and a favorable re- port made Nov. 20, 1844.

The commissioners appointed by tile Central charter necessarily awaited the re sults of the surveys before pressing fo! subscriptions to the stock ; but a furthe delay was occasioned by the neglect of the directors of the Concord, (N. H.,) road chiefly, to secure the construction of wha is now the Northern (N. H.) railroad Assurances had been given by these di rectors, and a meeting of the active pro moters of the Central road with the di rectors of the Concord road had been ap pointed at Lebanon, N. H. Gov. Paine with several Montpelier gentlemen, al tended on the part of the Central, bu there was no appearance of the Concor directors. It happened that a meeting ( the friends of the then projected Sulliva (N. H.) road had been fixed for the ne? day at Claremont. In this emergency Gov. Paine requested Col. Elisha P. Jev ett and E. P. Walton, Jr., of Montpelie

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to attend the Claremont meeting, and to pledge the Central road to a connection with the Sullivan, Cheshire and Fitchburg roads, thus forming a railway line through to Boston. This was done, and it proved to be a masterly stroke, forcing the construc- tion of the Northern (N. H.) road, and securing ultimately the completion of the Cheshire, Sullivan, Vermont Central, Ver- mont & Canada, and Northern (N. Y.) roads to Ogdensburgh-a realization of 1. n, of the grand scheme suggested by Mr. Sul- livan in 1826-27, and vigorously urged all along the line by the action of Mont- pelier in 1830. The Claremont meeting was April 30, 1845. Within the next fortnight the New Hampshire Railroad ine, Commissioners reported in favor of per- mitting the construction of the Northern lier, ding ority from , and hi the (N. H.) railroad from Concord to West Lebanon, and the Governor approved the report. On the 4th of June the directors of the Fitchburgh road voted in favor of a connection with the Central, and a circu- ar to that effect was issued, signed by of- q .. a icers of the Fitchburgh, Vermont & Mas- d dol achusetts, and Cheshire roads ; and on he Ioth of June the books of subscription le mo Central stock were opened in Boston. "hus rapid were the movements of all the nes concerned, after Gov. Paine's " flank movement " at Claremont-as famous, by he way, among railroad men then, as was tannard's at Gettysburgh in army circles terward. S

The work of obtaining capital in Boston r the Central road was undertaken at a neapparently very unfavorable, by reason sharp competition between the Central d Rutland Companies in direct opposi- on to each other, as well as of the ap- als for stock for the Cheshire, Sullivan, orthern, and other roads. The writer is an active participant in the struggle, ad this is a fit occasion to express the inion he has long entertained, that with- (: a sharp contest and competition, the italists of Boston could not have been used and interested-especially those vo had already invested in the Massa- Cisetts roads that were to be connected wh those to be built in Vermont-and

the work would have been slow ; perhaps a work of years. As it was, all of the then competing roads quickly obtained the cap- ital requisite for organization, and all were speedily constructed --- too speedily for econ- omy.

The work of obtaining Central stock in Vermont was assigned to Hon. Daniel Baldwin, of Montpelier, who had able assistants, however, in the towns most in- terested, from Burlington to Windsor. Gov. Paine took the task of raising capital in Boston, and as his assistants engaged the services of James R. Langdon and E. P. Walton, Jr., of Montpelier,-Mr. Lang- don as an eminent business man, and Mr. Walton to write for the press. As already recorded, the books were opened in Bos- ton, June 10, 1845 ; on the 3d of July the first meeting of stockholders was called, and on the 23d of July the meeting was held and the Company legally and formally organized at Montpelier with a subscribed capital of two millions-the work of a month and a half. The amount obtained to that date in Boston was $1,500,000 ; and the amount obtained in Vermont was $500,000, of which $200,000 was subscribed in Montpelier. The whole amount of stock and bonds taken by Montpelier was near $400,000, and exceeded that sum in the opinion of Hon. Daniel Baldwin. Montpelier certainly was the leading town in the enterprise, and yet, unlike North- field, St. Albans, and Burlington, it has received only such advantages from the road as were necessarily incidental. It has had merely the power to get on to the road and use it, through the disadvantages of a branch.

It is due to Gov. Paine and his coadju- tors to say, that from the first, their ob- jects were far-reaching and vast. It has already been stated that the necessities of the Central road led Gov. Paine to the adroit movement which forced the com- pletion of the Fitchburg and the construc- tion of the Cheshire, Sullivan and North- ern (N. H.) railroads.to meet the Central on the west bank of Connecticut river. But this was only a part of the scheme of Gov. Paine and his colaborers. One of the

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the sing , fur Act of 1.) ro of railra these Ctive the been

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first things done, on opening the Central books for subscription in Boston, was the construction of a map, prepared and pub- lished by the writer of this paper, which gave all the great western lakes and the bordering territory in the United States and Canada, and a table of the tonnage of all the U. S. collection districts on the Lakes, copied from the official report of the U. S. Secretary of the Treasury. This was a revelation of the vast internal com- merce of our country, exceeding its for- eign commerce. It was at first received with surprise and doubt, and it became necessary to confirm the table by placing an official printed copy of the Secretary's . report in the Boston Exchange, for the in- spection of the doubters. This was fol- lowed for nearly three months by a series of articles in the Boston papers, prepared by myself, for the purpose of magnifying the Central road as a necessary way for Boston to reach not only the local trade of Central Vermont, but also the immense commerce of the North-western States and Canada. This large view always prevailed in the Central councils, and it has been executed with wonderful success. The Central by its lease pushed the Vermont and Canada road to Rouse's Point, and the Northern N. Y. road to Ogdensburgh followed ; then the Vermont and Canada was connected with Montreal and the Canadian system of railroads, of which it may be said that they owe much to the Vermont Central and managers of other New England roads. When the line from Boston to Ogdensburgh was assured, Gov. Paine and Central friends visited Sir Allan McNab, of Canada, and in 1857 a com- mittee of Boston gentlemen, among them Central men, visited Lord Elgin, and made a tour from Hamilton to Quebec- the purpose of both being to urge the con- struction of railroads in Canada, which have since been completed. At a later date the Central Vermont managers estab- lished a line of steamers from Ogdensburgh to the head of Lake Superior, and out of that has grown the Northern Pacific rail- road, which will speedily span the conti- nent. Truly the suggestion of Mr. Sulli-

van in 1826-27, and the report of the three citizens of Montpelier in 1830, have been marvellously productive in develop- ing the resources of this country and Can- ada, and supplying freight to the numerous steamers of Sir Hugh Allan and of the Cunard and other lines of ocean steam- ers. As the writer of this paper has lived to see these grand results, he cannot but regard his labor in Boston in 1845 as the greatest work of his life.

Only three of the fathers of the Vermont Central Railroad are now living, and these are all Montpelier men, to wit: Col. Eli- sha P. Jewett, commissioner under the second and actual charter, James R. Lang. don, and E. P. Walton, Jr., until his fath. er's death in 1855, and now E. P. Walton

Notwithstanding the disappointment to the expectations of the town, the zeal and liberality of its citizens for public improve ments have survived. Various railroad enterprises have been undertaken anı charters obtained, but only one has beer realized. The entire cash fund require for the construction of the Montpelier and Wells River railroad was $400,000, and o this $250,000 was subscribed, and mor than $200,000 has been paid by Mont pelier, more than half of the cash capita' The road, however, is not managed in th intere-t of Montpelier.

The last feature in railway constructio is the Narrow Guage Road; and in this as in the projected canals and the Bosto and Ogdensburgh railroad line, Montpelic has been the pioneer town in Vermon The matter was first discussed in Mon pelier newspapers, and the first result wa a meeting of citizens of Washington, Li moille, Caledonia and Orleans Countie. at Albany, in March, 1872. In cons quence of measures then set on foot, func were raised, and surveys have been mac from Montpelier to Canada line, embra ing several routes in various portions the intervening country. Notices for a plications to the General Assembly for tl charter of narrow guage railway compani from Canada line via Montpelier to Ru land, were the first published, and the have been followed by many other notic

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in various parts of the State. It is the dawning of a new era in internal improve- ment, promising, by cheaply-constructed roads economically operated, to develop the resources of sections otherwise in- accessible to railroads, and to contribute to the prosperity of the through standard gauge roads by a large increase of their business. Whatever may be the faults or shortcomings of Montpelier in other re- spects, it must be conceded that the enter- prise and bounty of its citizens have largely benefitted the State-far more largely the State than their own personal interests, or the interests of their town.

A few things have been accidentally omitted, and many purposely, which will be supplied by others. Of the things omitted is a notice of the State Arsenal buildings. During the war of the rebellion a necessity arose for hospitals specially adapted to cases of chronic diarrhoea. A medical commission was appointed by the U. S. Government, who made extensive explorations, and reported that a point in Minnesota, and what is now Seminary Hill in Montpelier, were the best in the ountry. The latter being most accessi- le, the State, under the advice of Gov. ohn G. Smith, erected commodious and dmirably arranged hospital buildings, hich were used until after the close of le war. Then, as compensation to the tate, the Secretary of War assigned to ermont arms, equipment and ammuni- on to the value of $600,000. This ne- ssitated the erection of arsenal build- gs, and these were located near the hos- tal. A large part of these military supplies ve been sold, and the proceeds put into e State treasury.

Another omission was Prospect Park, lated two miles east of the State-house, ad in an admirable position for its scen- e and accommodations for State and Canty Fairs. It is private property, Ched by J. W. Brock, L. Bart Cross, a . the estate of the late J. Warren Bailey, b it ought to become the property of the S'te Agricultural Society.

'his imperfect record of Montpelier has fa exceeded the design of the writer, and

yet his purpose has been to be brief in re- spect to most matters already made public, and more elaborate in things never gath- ered in any previous history of the town. In the last field, the writer acknowledges his indebtedness for material aid to the Hon. Daniel Baldwin, the oldest resident of Montpelier, who recently died in his 90th year. E. P. W.

October 10, 1881.

MONTPELIER POSTMASTERS. BY M. D. GILMAN.

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The History of Washington County in the Vermont historical gazetteer : including a county chapter and the local histories of the towns of Montpelier., Part 50

Author: Hemenway, Abby Maria, 1828-1890 Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Montpelier, Vt. : Vermont Watchman and State Journal Press Number of Pages: 1064

Author: Hemenway, Abby Maria, 1828-1890
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Montpelier, Vt. : Vermont Watchman and State Journal Press
Number of Pages: 1064