USA > Vermont > The Lake Champlain and Lake George valleys, Vol. I > Part 35
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According to another early writer, one of the Shrewsbury resi- dents discovered a unique way to escape taxation. He found it diffi-
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cult to pay a large whiskey tax on the liquor he manufactured. In desperation he called upon a neighbor, who was also an army officer, to persuade Judge Pierpoint, of Rutland, to remove the tax in ques- tion. When the soldier called on the judge, he "took his hand, but having once obtained a grip on those judicial fingers" refused to relieve the painful pressure until it was mutually agreed that the hate- ful tax was no longer in force.
The township of Sudbury is located in the northwestern section of Rutland County between Brandon on the east and Orwell, Addison County, on the west. Although mountainous and hilly, there is some excellent farming land in the numerous valleys. The township was granted by Wentworth in 1761. Thirty years later it had a popula- tion of 258, compared with 361 in this present day. At one time an Indian camp was located here and many relics have since been found in the vicinity of a famous spring near their settlement. There is a story connected with this spring. On one occasion a party of Indians was passing through the town with two white prisoners. One of these captives was suffering from a very sore foot upon which some of the red men practiced jumping for pure deviltry. Although the other pris- oner was a small fellow, he felt he could not stand watching such sav- age entertainment any longer and eventually knocked one of the Indians down after the latter had tried jumping on his feet. Because of his brave act he was not molested further. Later, the party arrived at the spring, and while many of the red men were busy drinking, the brave captive suddenly picked up a dog belonging to the Indians and hurled it down on their heads. Ordinarily such an act would have been suicidal, but on this occasion it only increased admiration felt for him by the savages. They made much of him and eventually set him free.
In the southern part of Rutland County is the town of Tinmouth, which was the county seat until 1784. Within its borders rise both the Poultney and the Clarendon rivers. It contains deposits of marble and iron. A furnace and a forge were built here before 1800, and the iron industry became important for awhile, but was abandoned in 1837. The town has long had a wide reputation for dairy products, particularly cheese. Tinmouth was originally chartered by Went- worth in 1761, at which time it was larger than at present, because sections were later taken away to help form Middletown and Wall- ingford. The first town meeting was held in 1774. Tinmouth at
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first began to develop very rapidly, reaching a population of 935 in 1790, which is almost three times its size today (340). Its great- est citizen was Nathaniel Chipman, who was Chief Justice of Ver- mont for five years and who also served a full term in the United States Senate. In the early days of Tinmouth there were two brothers, William and John Irish, who were suspected of being Tories. Three or four local patriots determined to investigate. It was decided that one of them, named Clough, should go to the Irish home unarmed, pretending that he also was a Tory. Evidently this artifice did not succeed for the brothers made him a prisoner. Many ver- sions have been related concerning the action that followed and the exact details are unknown, but in all probability when Clough's hidden companions saw John Irish raise his gun in the direction of his cap- tive, they decided it was time to act and shot the Tory in the hand. Irish then turned around to face his new enemy, but only to receive a shot through the heart. This was but one example of the neighbor- hood warfare existing in Vermont about the time of the Burgoyne invasion.
Directly east of Tinmouth are the picturesque township of Walling. ford and the attractive village of the same name. Its principal stream is the Otter, and there are iron ore and marble deposits under the soil. The township was chartered by Wentworth in 1761 and was named for Wallingford, Connecticut, where the first proprietors' meeting was held. Although squatters occupied land here prior to 1773, it was on that date that the first settlers arrived who possessed a legal title. The first town meeting was held in 1778. One of the most amusing resolutions found in the early minutes of the town was dated 1785, at which time it was "Voted, To Not have the small-pox set up By a nockelation." In 1835 the manufacturing of forks was begun in Wallingford, and eventually they found their way into many countries. Today the largest manufacturers of hand garden tools in the entire world have a plant here. Wallingford's population (now 1,564) has fluctuated considerably from time to time, but although the town is somewhat below its maximum, it has not deteriorated like many Vermont towns.
In the southwestern section of Rutland County, bordered on the south by Pawlet and on the west by New York, is the town of Wells, which supports a smaller population (515) than at the time of the first
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census in 1790. After it was chartered by Wentworth in 1761 its area was cut down by the cession of part of its territory to Middletown and Poultney. The first settlement took place in 1768, while the first town meeting was held in 1773. The citizens of Wells engaged in a variety of occupations. They had four distilleries in operation at one time, and also manufactured potash, lumber, cloth and cheese among other things. Beautiful Lake St. Catharine is partly within this town- ship. One of the most unusual stories dealing with Wells had to do with the extremely cold summer of 1816. Considerable has been written by early residents concerning the unusual weather of that year, but this is one of the most unbelievable accounts. According to this story a flock of sheep owned by a resident of Wells froze to death in June, soon after they had been sheared !
West Haven, in the extreme western section of the county south of Benson, was originally a part of the township of Fair Haven, but was set off by the Legislature in 1792 in the manner related in our dis- cussion of the parent town. The settlement of the two communities was contemporary. The early residents built mills and forges on the falls, but there was never any extensive manufacturing carried on here. The main occupations are dairying and lumbering. Due to the rough topography, West Haven was destined to have a sparse popula- tion. Today, with 280 inhabitants, it is not much over a third of its former size.
Last among our Rutland County townships, alphabetically, is the relatively young town of West Rutland. Like Proctor it was set off from Rutland Township in 1886, due to the influence of the great Colonel Redfield Proctor. It possesses America's most famous mar- ble deposit. Quarrying has been carried on here for almost a century, having begun about 1844. Today its population is 3,421. A further résumé of its history would be but a repetition of the story of Rut- land, the parent township.
C & G 24
CHAPTER III
Washington County
It is one of the peculiar fortunes of this county that its territory comprises one of the "Great Divides" of the American continent. Its southern streams feed the Hudson, while the northern waters are in the watershed of Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence. Between the two great drainage systems there is little elevation. In the age of military conquest, when waterways constituted the easiest means of penetrating the wilderness, the narrow portage between the Hudson and Wood Creek received close attention from diplomats and gen- erals. To early man, whether white or red, Fort Edward was the "Great Carrying Place." Later, when industry and commerce replaced the forces of destruction, the portage retained its value. One of the most interesting features of the county is the tributary of Lake Champlain now named Wood Creek, formerly called "River of Logs" by the French, and much deeper than at present. It was guarded by the Mohawks just as faithfully as by various white forces.
By a statute passed in 1683, the present territory of Washington County was included in the gigantic county of Albany. The size of this political unit was such that many inconveniences resulted and it was found necessary to subdivide it in 1772 into three smaller units, one retaining the name of Albany, the second the title of Tryon, while the third was known as Charlotte. Although not as large as its par- ent, the latter was immense in its own right, containing practically all the territory in the area covered by this research. It included all the area surrounding Lake George and Lake Champlain, most of the eastern section of Vermont, all of the present New York counties of Warren, Essex and Clinton, and much of Franklin and .Washington counties as well. The southern part of Washington County was retained in Albany. By 1784, the bulk of New Yorkers were ready to
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change some names that no longer had a pleasant sound in their ears. Tryon County, odious because it was the name of a tyrannical Gov- ernor, was changed to the more appropriate title of Montgomery, while Charlotte County, hateful because named for a member of the household of cruel George III, who had employed Indians to scalp his subjects, was changed to Washington in honor of the victorious com- mander-in-chief of the revolutionary armies. According to William L. Stone it is probably the oldest of approximately forty Washington counties scattered throughout the United States. Care should be taken to distinguish carefully between this large political unit that retained, so far as New York was concerned, the boundaries of Charlotte, from the later and present county of Washington, which was not entirely included in the older one, and which is only a fraction of the other in size. It should also be remembered that that section of the older Washington County now included in the State of Vermont, and in fact some not so included, was not recognized as New York territory by the settlers in that region. They persisted, as has previously been explained, in denying the right of the Empire State to rule them, and eventually became an independent republic, during the Revolution, in 1778. Although New York continued to claim the territory to be in Washington County, for all practical purposes the Green Moun- tain Boys were running their own government until 1791, when Ver- mont entered the Union on a plane of equality with its rival. In 1788, the original county of Washington was divided, the southern section preserving the name of its political parent, and the northern part taking the title of Clinton.
At this time, Washington County consisted of nine towns : Argyle, Granville, Hampton, Hebron, Kingsbury, Queensbury, Salem, West- field and Whitehall. In 1790 they possessed a total of 14,033 inhab- itants. In 1791 the two towns of Cambridge and Easton were added from Albany County. In 1800 there were sixteen towns and 35,574 inhabitants, while ten years later, in 1810, there were twenty-one townships with 44,289 inhabitants. Finally, in 1812, the boundary lines between Washington County and Vermont were settled, and in 1813, Warren County was set off. This reduced the limits of Wash- ington County to the area it occupies at the present time.
At an early date, the English realized the military importance of filling the land between the Hudson and the Champlain Valley with settlers who could resist the encroachments of the French and Indians.
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The inhabitants of the highlands of Scotland seemed admirably fitted for just such a plan. In addition to personal traits they were ideal on both religious and political grounds, being filled with hatred of the French for several reasons. As a result, a proclamation was circu- lated among the Protestant Highlanders inviting them to settle the territory and promising them liberal terms. Among those who responded and came to America in 1737 was Captain Laughton
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Campbell. When he examined the soil he was quite pleased. The temptation to form a settlement was increased when Lieutenant-Gov- ernor Clarke of New York promised him thirty thousand acres of land free of all cost except for quitrent and the expense of the survey. Campbell now returned to Scotland, sold his estate, and collected 83 Protestant families, comprising 423 adults and a large number of children. He defrayed the expenses of the trip across the Atlantic and arrived in New York in 1738 with part of his company, the remainder coming over in 1739. Now, at last, it seemed that English settlements were to spring up between the Hudson and the Champlain Valley.
This was not to be, however. The fair promises made to Camp- bell were never fulfilled. Although he had brought all these pros- pective settlers across the ocean in good faith and at great expense, the Governor and the Surveyor-General thought they saw an oppor-
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tunity to better their own fortunes. These politicians refused to pro- ceed with the grant unless they received the usual fees and were given a share for themselves. Campbell refused to take the land under these conditions, but even this did not defeat the selfish officials. They began to tamper with Campbell's followers, attempting to induce them to settle on the land, individually. The Scotchmen were quite desti- tute and had little money to spend on fees, a fact which led the Gov- ernor to ask the Assembly to give them relief. He dangled before the eyes of the legislators a rumor that the French intended to settle the Wood Creek region and advised them to make it possible for the Scotch to settle the territory without delay. The members of the Assembly, however, became suspicious that the proposed gift of seven pounds per family would eventually find its way into the Governor's pocket and refused to be a party to any such transaction. As a result the plan for the settlement of the Wood Creek area was defeated by political sabotage.
Campbell attempted to obtain redress from the Board of Trade in England, but delays were so great that his personal fortune became exhausted, and he was no longer able to feed his followers. With the remnants of his fortune, he settled down upon a farm. When a rebellion broke out in Scotland in 1745, he returned to the old country to fight. After the war he came back to America and soon died, almost destitute. His poor, friendless followers were in a forlorn situation. Facing starvation in a strange land, they were compelled to scatter in all directions. Many enlisted in an expedition against the West Indies, while the remainder ultimately became dispersed throughout the Dutch communities along the Hudson. The settlement of Wash- ington County, as a result, was delayed for many years. It is true that a scheme was formulated to settle the territory with friendly Indians, but there was evidently some doubt regarding their dependa- bility, as no steps were ever undertaken to carry out the project.
The first actual settlement of Washington County was probably made at Fort Edward by Colonel Lydius, son of the Rev. John Lydius, who had secured the Dellius Patent, discussed elsewhere. His primary motive was presumably to strengthen his weak claim to the territory between the Battenkill and Crown Point, but he also took part in the lucrative business of trading with Indians. According to some authorities, his daughter Catherine was the first white child born in the county. She died at Greenbush in 1820.
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Washington County is extremely interesting from a geologic point of view, containing greatly differing rock formations and varied sources of mineral wealth. Geographically, it is also a section con- taining great contrasts. The large mountain peaks along the eastern shore of Lake George provide a picture quite different from the hills and ridges of other sections of the county.
The Swedish botanist, Peter Kalm, has left an interesting account of his journey through Washington County in 1749. From his journal he tells us that he and his guide "passed another water fall [Fort Miller ] which is longer and more dangerous than the preceding one. We intended to have gone quite up to Fort Nicholson [Fort Edward] in the canoe, but we found it impossible to get over this upper fall, the canoe being heavy and scarce any water in the river, except in one place where it flowed over the rock, and where it was impossible to get up on account of the steepness and violence of the fall. We were, accordingly, obliged to leave our canoe here, and to carry our baggage through unfrequented woods to Fort Anne, on the river Wood Creek, during which we were quite spent on account of the heat. We passed the night in the midst of the forest, plagued with mosquetos, gnats and wood-lice, and in fear of all kinds of snakes." Burning from the bites of the insects, Kalm and his guide continued down Wood Creek the next day. Although they were in constant danger of having their canoe smashed on the sunken logs in the stream they managed to reach Crown Point safely.
There is no need here to repeat the part Washington County played in the Burgoyne campaign. The name of Jane McCrea is known wherever American history books are read. Many of the men serving under Stark at Bennington, in the engagement that constituted the first serious check to Burgoyne, were from the Washington County towns of Cambridge, White Creek, Jackson, and Salem.
A graphic account of the terror existing among the residents of Washington County when the British were advancing upon their farms has been supplied to us by Neilson. "On the approach of Burgoyne with so powerful, and as yet successful an army, with his horde of unrestrained savages, who were continually in advance and on his flanks, prowling about the country, plundering, murdering and scalp- ing all who refused loyalty to the British King, the inhabitants on both sides of the river, in the wildest consternation and alarm, fled in every direction. The horrors of war, however, mitigated by the laws
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and usages of civilization, are at all times sufficiently terrific, but when to these the fierce cruelties of a cloud of savages are superadded, those only who are familiar with an American border warfare, can form an adequate opinion of its atrocities. In one place a long cavalcade of ox-carts, occasionally intermixed with wagons, filled with all kinds of furniture hurriedly thrown in, and not often selected by the owners with reference to their use and value, on occasions of such alarm, were stretched for some distance along the road; while in another might be seen a number on horseback and, here and there, two mounted at once on a steed panting under the weight of a double load, closely followed by a crowd of pedestrians, and some, perhaps weeping, mothers with a child or two screaming in their arms or on their backs, trudging along with fearful and hurried step. These found great dif- ficulty in keeping up with the rapid flight of their mounted friends. Here and there would be seen some humane person assisting the more unfortunate by relieving them of their burdens with which they were encumbered, but generally a principle of selfishness prevented much interchange of friendly offices-every one for himself was the common cry." They had abandoned their farms before harvest, and when they returned after Burgoyne's surrender they were in a sad plight. As Johnson, a historian of Washington County, said: "Glory was a good thing, but as winter approached, many of the patriotic inhab- itants of Charlotte County were at a loss where to get food to last them through the season." The State Legislature came to their assist- ance, however, by selling to them on credit and at moderate terms two thousand bushels of grain taken from the Tories.
The residents of Washington County also suffered severely during Carleton's invasion. On this occasion, the settlers in Kingsbury came rushing down the hill north of Fort Edward with whatever household goods they could carry to seek the protection of the soldiers. The surrounding countryside was pillaged and plundered. From the fort, itself, could be heard Indian yells and war whoops as the redskins killed cattle, burned houses, and took prisoners. When Carleton's savages retreated toward Canada, however, the dreadful suffering of the inhabitants of Washington County was ended. No more were they to be exposed to Indian warfare and British invasion, a circumstance made possible by the negotiations between the Vermont leaders and the British General Haldimand.
A majority of the early settlers of Washington County were New Englanders, although there were many of Scotch-Irish and other for-
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eign birth. The present towns of Argyle, Greenwich, Kingsbury and Salem were particularly favored by the Scotch-Irish. Even in times of peace, the life of the early settlers was difficult in Washington County. There is the story of John McDonald, who because of his position as corporal of a Highland regiment, was awarded a patent of two hun- dred acres. He returned to Scotland, married, and then brought his bride across the Atlantic to her new home. When he reached the site of his grant, he was amazed to find that most of it had been cut off and claimed by New Hampshire grantees. There were two sides to such incidents, however. Many soldiers never settled their grants nor disposed of them. Consequently, New Englanders could not be blamed too harshly for settling on the vacant land which no one was cultivating. If they remained long enough on this soil without the original grantee appearing it belonged to them. The disputes over ownership were not all caused by the quarrel between New Hampshire and New York, however. There is the story of an early settler named Rogers who obtained a strip of land from Lydius and settled thereon. He succeeded in keeping New Hampshire claimants off his grant, but was not so successful with the Scotch. Two of them, Livingston and Read, erected buildings on land claimed by him, in spite of his threats and his insistence that Lydius was the real owner. One day, Rogers went to Livingston's house in the latter's absence and ejected his wife and all his furniture. It happened that Read was a constable and was called upon to serve a warrant for Rogers' arrest. Because of the tremendous boasting of the latter, Read felt it was wise to take along a neighbor named Joseph McCracken for assistance in perform- ing his dangerous duty. After a short scuffle inside Rogers' cabin, the occupant was overpowered. Read then proceeded to bind the pris- oner while McCracken engaged him in front, seeking to hold him and prevent him using his gun. Rogers was successfully and securely tied, in spite of the fact that a child persisted in biting McCracken.
The first court held in Washington County was at Fort Edward, in 1773, and the last court held under British rule was also at the same place in 1775. After the Revolution there was considerable friction in deciding the location of the county seat. When, in 1791, Cambridge and Easton were annexed to the county, this transfer of territory was probably engineered by residents of Salem in order to strengthen the south end and get the county seat permanently fixed at that place. Four years previous to this, an act had been passed to
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hold the county courts at Salem, but there had been nothing conclusive about the matter. To protect their advantage, residents of Salem petitioned the Legislature to fix the county seat at their town, and to authorize the building of a courthouse and jail there as well. Some of the other towns promptly fought these proposals and urged the selec- tion of Fort Edward instead. While this controversy was raging it became further complicated by a campaign in favor of Fort Miller. The State Legislature washed its hands of the entire dispute, how-
(Courtesy of Hudson Falls Chamber of Commerce)
TWO VIEWS-HUDSON RIVER AND FALLS, 1931
ever, and passed the quarrel on to the county board of supervisors for settlement. When the board met, it decided in favor of Salem. Fort Edward attempted to overthrow this decision the next year, but with- out success. Soon, however, a decision was reached to have two county seats, one at each place. It could reasonably be expected that this agreement would settle the location of governmental centers, but such was not to be in this case, for the western county seat was changed from Fort Edward to Hudson Falls in 1797. The reason for this substitution is rather interesting. In 1796, a term of court was held as usual at the hotel of Adiel Sherwood at Fort Edward. Sessions were held in the dining room. One day the proprietor, apparently
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