USA > Vermont > Rutland County > The history of Rutland county, Vermont; civil, ecclesiastical, biographical and military, pt 1 > Part 56
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It was burned while owned by them, Jan. 31, 1831, and in July they sold one-third inter- est therein to Alonzo Safford, and re-built the mill. In August, '35, Abel Kitttredge convers his third part to his son William C., and by him it was sold in December, to Sproat & Saf- ford.
Mr. Safford aasigned the mill and property to Abraham Graves in October, 1843, and it was run by him till '50-he seeming to succeed no better with the business than others who had preceded him, although he was well reputed for business ability, and had accumulated prop- erty in farming. Mr. Graves quitclaimed back to Mr. Safford in February, '50. In May, Mr. Safford sold the whole to Albert Fuller of Mas- sachusetts, and Charles A. Sweet of Granville, N. Y. Mr. Fuller carried it on for Fuller & Sweet until April, '54, when they sold to Nich- olas, Daniel and George W. Hurlburt. In Sep- tember, '55, George W. deeded to Nicholas G., who deeded to Daniel. January 9, '57, and by Daniel Hurlburt it was deeded the same day to Timothy Miller.
Mr. Miller sold one undivided half, Sept. 11, year, divided their stock of paper on hand, Her- 1'58, to' James P. Brown of Hartford, by whom
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it was mortgaged to David D. Cole, Nov. 1, '58. This mortgage was discharged Jan. 4, 1860, and Betsey and William Q. Brown, as administra- tors of the estate of James P. Brown, deeded the same undivided half, in March, to William Miller.
THE SCYTHE FACTORY.
A building with a triphammer and anvil, for the manufacture of scythes, and used afterward for the manufacture of axes and hoes, was erect- ed in the spring of 1808, by John Quinton and Thomas Christie, in company with Joshua Quin- ton, on or near the spot where now the Union Slate Works stand. It has since passed from and to various parties.
Associated with the Quintons, who had built the blacksmith-shop where Henry Green now carries on business, and where they then em- ployed several men, were John P. Colburn, Theodore Dowd, Thomas Blanchard and Spen- cer Harvey. Mr. Dowd made hoes and axes, and is said to have been a superior workman in cast-steel. Mr. Blanchard came from Sutton, Mass., and Mr. Harvey states that he worked with him in the scythe-factory about the time of the war of 1812-14. Mr. Blanchard was a noted mechanic, and invented a nail-machine for Jacob Davey.
There have been several owners and occu- pants since this company.
CLOTH-DRESSING WORKS.
January 25, 1808, Jacab Davey sells to Seth Persons of Sudbury, and Horatio Foster of Hubbardton, a piece of land for the purpose of a clothier's works solely, and two-thirds of a site, with water power and privilege, under certain restrictions, for a fulling-mill and dye- house, to be built by the three in copartnership. The business of fulling, coloring and dressing cloth and coloring wool appears to have been carried on by the firm of Davey, Persons & Fos- ter until February, 1812, when Persons sells out to Mr. Davey his third interest. The business is said to have been very remunerative for some years-the price for fulling and finish- ing cloth during the war of 1812 and '14 being 50 cents per yard.
RICHARD SUTLIFE'S PLACE,
While owned by Maj. Gilbert, had a shop built on it as early as 1810, or earlier, which report says was used at different times as a silver- smith shop, a harness-shop, a shoe-shop, a school-house and a carpenter's shop. It was sold by Mr. Gilbert in March, 1811, to Clement
Smith, whose wife was a daughter to Charles Rice, and a niece to Maj. Gilbert. They both died on this place in '13, and Lewis Dickinson is said to occupy it in January, 181 1.
THE OLD HAT SHOP,
Occupied by Timothy Ruggles in May, 1814, stood near the bank of the river where Lewis D. Maranville now lives, and was started not long before by a son of the Rev. Mr. Kent of Benson, on land leased of Jacob Davey for $6.00 yer year. The shop and dye-house were mortgaged to Allen Webster in August, 1815. It was sold by Joshua Quinton in September, 1818, to Isaac Cutler, and is said to have been removed at a later period by the sons of Dun- can Cook, to a spot just north of the Fish corn- er, where it was occupied as a residence by Mrs. Darling in '37, and was afterward burned down while occupied by Mrs. Bryant.
DISTILLERIES,
Distilling was extensively carried on in this town in former years. The difficulty and ex- pense of transportation so far as Troy-then the principal market for grains-rendered the grain products of the country of little value at home, and unless there could be a market for them the farmer had no means of purchasing the goods which the merchant might import. Accordingly "stills" were established, and their existence was an evidence of business enter- prise in a town.
Erwin Safford, an early and enterprising merchant, purchased in June, 1818, a piece of ground near Mr. Church's tannery. on the side of the hill just back ef the old parsonage, and there erected a distillery. He carried on the business to a moderate extent for a number of years.
The distillery-and the store in which he traded, on the east side of the common-he sold to James Y. Watson in '19, who sold the store and distillery, in '21, to Moses Colton and Hector HI. Crane; Mr. Colton and Mr. Crane running the distillery built by Mr. Parkill be- yond the burying.ground on the West street, one or two years, about this time, together with the Safford still which they owned. They sold their distillery and store in 1823, to Col- ton, Warren & Sproat-which firm did a large business in distilling whisky for several years; carrying on the store and the paper-mill at the same time. They carried on business until July, '27, when the company failed and made an assignment of the store, distillery and store house to John P. Colburn, Jacob
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Davey, Barnabas Ellis and Harris W. Bates. It is said they had 2,000 bushels of grain on hand at the time of the failure. The property was afterward assigned to Barnabas Ellis, and by him deeded back, in May, '28, to Warren & Sproat. The old Safford distillery, west of the common, was burned down while oeeupied by Colton, Warren & Sproat, about the winter of '24, but was immediately re-built-Hiram Shaw of Hampton doing the work. It was oceupied until the summer of '27-Alonzo Safford being the superintendent of the " still." The Lang- dons are said to have taken down and removed the building, probably in the winter of '27 and '28-after their purchase of Mr. Colton-to their land south of Mr. Ellis'.
The other distillery south of the village was run by the Langdons for a number of years .- Levi Smith and Sidney Safford are said to have been employed in it. A large number of hogs were annually fattened at this distillery .- Sometimes they were butehered in town ; some- times they were driven to Whitehall and ship- ped down the lake. The work was given up in '32. The old "still" was taken down and removed to East Poultney.
A distillery was erected by Elisha Parkill and Heetor H. Crane, about 1820, just west of the old burying-ground. The distillery stood in the side of the bill south of the road, and Moses Colton was associated with Mr. Crane in carrying it on in '21. They manufactured from 50 to 100 gallons of whisky per day, and consumed from 20 to 40 bushels of rye and corn, at the the same time keeping from 30 to 40 head of eattle on the premises ; since which the premises have changed owners several times.
A TOWN POOR-HOUSE.
The only record we find of any effort to ereet a town poor-house is in 1817, when the artiele in the warning was " to take into consideration the expediency of erecting a work-house, direet the mode and manner of building the same, and vote a tax to defray the expense thereof." A committee consisting of Elisha Parkill and Mo- ses Colton was accordingly chosen to "confer with a committee from Poultney and Castleton concerning the building of a work-house." -- Again, in March, '30, Tilly Gilbert, Heman Stannard and Jolin Jones, were appointed a committee " to confer with any committee which may be appointed in any of the ad- joining towns relative to building a poor- house." That anything further than this was ever done we do not learn.
The eustom seems to have continued i.r many years of providing for the poor at the town meeting, by bidding them off to the low. est bidder, for board and eare.
THE PARK.
The beginning of the present publie park was made by Col. Lyon, who was, in some sense and measure, the founder of the town. He first gave to the town " five pieces of land. the first being an acre for a burying-ground. TLe other pieces being four six rods square pieces on the four nearest corners of my land to the meeting-house."
In March, 1805. the town voted that the middle school distriet " have liberty to set a sehool-house on the public ground near the meeting-house, the spot to be established by a committee to consist of Joel Hamilton, Sam- uel Stannard and Silas Safford."
About 1853, a small park was built on the north side of the Lyon tavern-house, and a movement was set on foot to erect a park on the common-the ladies holding a fair the fol- lowing winter at the tavern-house occupied by Mr. Adams, and realizing some $160.00 for that purpose. A subscription was likewise made by the citizens, and a portion of the same made available toward the expense of laying out and building the fenee around the park.
A " Park Association" was organized in the spring of 1855, members thereof paying one dollar annually for the purpose of planting trees in the grounds. But few meetings of this as- sociation were held. Officers were last chosen in April, '60, and action was taken toward re- moving dead trees, and filling their places with living ones.
Under the charter granted by the Legislature in October '65, the village corporation has full authority and power over the park, side-walks, streets, &e.
VILLAGE ORGANIZATION. .
The village of Fair Haven was first laid out and established Dec. 21, 1820, under a general law of the State, by Isaac Cutler, John P. Ccl- burn aud Harvey Church, selectmen of the town at the time.
We do not learn that any other action in reference to a village than a formal survey was taken by the citizens of Fair Haven, until the fall of 1865, when the Legislature passed an . act of incorporation, erecting a tract of one square mile into a corporate village; and the inhabitants of the same, at a meeting held in the hall over Adams' store, Dee. 4, 1805, by
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a vote of 71 to 52, adopted the charter ; and | the village has sinee, annually, at the meeting on the first Monday. in December, elected its board of officers.
THE TOWN HALL.
A building for a town hall and school-house has been erected this present season. At the opening of the town meeting of March, 1861, an adjournment of 30 minutes was made, and the Inaugural Address of President Abraham Lineoln was read by H. G. Wood, Esq., as a dedication of the new hall.
BURIAL GROUNDS.
One acre of ground, for the first, as we have seen, was given by Col. Lyon. Jan. 29, 1819, Maj. Tilly Gilbert, for love and good will, deeds the town one acre and 60 rods of land, reserv- ing the right to pasture the same with sheep during his natural life-otherwise to be used exclusively for a burying-ground.
In the March meeting of 1818 it was voted to raise a tax of one eent on the dollar of the list of 1817, "for the purpose of surveying, cleaning and fencing the burying-ground ;" and "that each one shall have a right to pay his tax in such materials as may be wanted for the purpose, if pail by the first of June next, or in grain by the 15th of the same month."
At an adjourned meeting on the 13th of April this vote was reconsidered-and it was voted, " that the note of $40 against Joseph Brown, and the note of $10 against Tilly Gilbert, now in the treasury, be appropriated by the select- men to the purpose of fencing the burying- ground ;" and it was further voted that the selectmen proceed to fenee the burying-ground, and draw on the treasurer for any expense over and above the $50. At the March meeting of 1823 it was voted that the selectmen " be di- rected to lot out the burying-ground."
At an adjourned meeting in Mareh. 1827, Dr. William Bigelow was chosen a committee " to repair the burying-ground," and a sum not ex- cecding $10 was appropriated for the purpose. The selectmen were directed at the March meeting, in '42, " to take measures to prevent the burying-yard from washing away." Great efforts were made for several years to stay the constant sliding down of the earth and washing away of the graves in the back part of the yard, but all to no purpose : the waste was inevitable ; and while some graves were carried away into the river, others were carefully remov. ed to a safer locality. At length the town voted. iu March, '52, to purchase 2 acres of land oppo-
site the old ground, at the price of $80 per acre, for a new cemetery-the selectmen to sell off 1 acre in private individual lots, and the remaining acre to be used for a public burial- ground."
A committee of two was chosen Mareh 8, '53, to " fence, grade and pull stumps from the new grave-yard, and lay out the east half into lots.
Again, in 1854, a committee was chosen to appoint a day and give notice when they would dispose of the lots in the east part of the eem- etery, allowing the inhabitants to bid for choice. The committee appointed at the annual meeting in 1870, purchased 22 acres for a new cemetery. Mrs. Hannah H. Dyer had left a legaey of $1,000 to the town for the adornment of the cemeteries, which bequest the town voted to aeeept, at an adjourned meeting, the 10th of May following.
THE SLATE BUSINESS.
The business of quarrying slate in Western Vermont was begun in this town by Alonson Allen and Caleb B. Ranney, in the fall of 1833, on the ledge which is nearly in front of Mr. Ranney's dwelling-house, where the Boston company is now working.
The opening was begun with a view to find- ing ciphering or sehool-slates ; but the materi- al proving too hard for that purpose, the enter- prise was suspended, or temporarily abandoned.
Thomas Shaw, who had previously resided in Hoosick, N. Y., and been acquainted with the slate quarried there, examined the slate found on Scotch Hill, and adjudged them too hard to be worked for any purpose. A similar opinion was expressed by a Mr. Shrives, from Hoosiek, who visited the quarry in June, 1815.
In this latter year Ira Allen and Adams Dut- ton made a small opening on the land of Elijah Esty ; but finding nothing valuable soon quit it. Alonson Allen, however, having perfeeted machinery for the manufacture of ciphering slates, opened a quarry, this same year, on the land of Oliver Proctor, a little N. W. of Mr. P's honse, from which he was able, during the next 3 years, to produce a large amount of ci. phering school slates, besides several lots of roofing slate, which were made about '47; the first lot being taken to Whitehall and used on a house there.
The first roof covered with slate in the town was that of the horse-barn and shed of Jeffer- son Barnes. Slate were afterwards laid ou Mr. Davey's blacksmith shop and store, and in 1850, on the railroad depot.
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Mr. Allen had a slate-factory on the spot where the nail-factory now stands, in which were finished and shipped away to market, on the average, about 600 framed slates per day ; George G. Cobb, Royal R. Stetson, Marvin Car- penter, Edward S. Bascom, David Standish, Simeon Cobb and others, including the writer of this, being employed at various times as workmen in the factory.
The production of school-slates exceeding the market demand, and not proving sufficiently remunerative, it was given up by Mr. Allen in '48, and he turned his attention once more to the quarry on Mr. Ranney's land, and to the development of the roofing-slate interest.
It was proved by the opening of various oth- er quarries about this time, that the Taconic ledges of Western Vermont were susceptible of manufacture into roofing material. Adams Dutton and Royal Bullock, enterprising resi- dents of Fair Haven, worked an opening and made slate at Cedar Point, on the north shore of Lake Bomoseen; and Frank W. Whitlock, a resident of Castleton, found a quarry which he worked in Castleton, a little eastward of the Fair Haven town line, and in the vicinity of the present " Eagle Quarry."
Mr. Allen, leasing an acre of land of Mr. Ran- ney, in May. '48, then really commenced the manufacture of roofing-slate in the town. He produced about 500 squares in the year '49.
The Williamsons transferred their interest to Israel Davey and Benj. S. Nichols, in 57. Mr. Wilbur soon after sold to Wm. Hughes. J. Nelson Proctor and Benjamin Williams. Mr. These were the purple slate. In 1850 the bu- Proctor sold to Hughes and Williams after one siness received a very decided impetus by the arrival of a number of intelligent Welshmen in town, who had been accustomed to the working of the slate quarries in Wales and in Pennsyl- vania. The first Welshman of whom we hear in connection with the quarries, was John Hum- plirey, now of New Canton, Va., who is said to have worked on the Whitlock quarry in '49. He is said to have worked with Ira Allen at slating roofs.
In July, 1850, William Parry, who is now a citizen of the town, John M. Jones, who af- terwards resided in town, and Moses Jones, came from Northampton county in Pennsylva- nia and commenced to work for Mr. Allen on the Scotch Hill quarry, on the first day of August. Owen Owens and others went to work about this time on the Whitlock quarry in Castleton ; and from this date the slate business has con- tinned steadily to increase-large numbers of Welsh quarrymen, experienced in the produc- tion and manufacture of slate in the old coun- try, coming in and contributing of their indus- try and labor to the wealth of the place. Mr.
Allen purchased an additional acre of land of Mr. Ranney in '51, and continued working it until '58, when he sold it to William Hughes and Owen Owens.
In the early spring of 1851, Hugh W. ar. ! John J. Williams, cousins, together with Iva- vid S. Jones, William Price, John Tiomas at 1 Wm. Prichard, came to Fair Haven from G :... ford, Vt. and began quarrying on Mr. Rantes's farm. They first leased of Mr. Ranter 2 1-2 acres next south of and adjoining Mr. Allen's quarry-they to pay Mr. Ranney 25 cents for every square of slate, or $2,000 for the land, within 5 years. They obtained good slate in 2 months from the time they commenced un- covering.
In the fall of 1851 they purchased 2 acres of Mr. Ranney lying next north of Mr. Alles's quarry, on which a New York firm had worked for a short time. Having made various im- provements in derricks and dwellings, the Wil- liamses sold an undivided half interest in their property to David Tillson of Woburn, and F. L. Cushman of Boston, Mass., and the business was carried on by them till '57. when Tilison having bought out Cushman, sold his interest to Asa Wilbur of Boston.
year, and the quarry was then divided, Mr. Hughes selling his portion, after a short time, to Ellis Roberts, Henry Jones, Hugh Lewis, John H. Williams and Win. Perry. They worked their division until they sold the same to the present Boston company in 1863. M .. Benjamin Williams had made a previous pur- chase of Mr. Ranney of 7 1-2 rods wide, ex- tending eastward from Mr. Allen's quarry to the highway, in November. 1858, from which ho took out 1,200 squares of slate the first year, and over 2,000 squares each year tiereafter, until he sold to the Boston company in 1865.
Mr. Hughes having divided with Mr. Owens, the acre purchased by them of Mr. Allen, in 1835, Mr. Owens sold his part to Messrs. Davey and Nichols, and that belonging to Hughes was sold by him, in conjunction with what he had purchased of Mr. Wilbur, to Ellis Roberts and others, from whom it passed to its present owners, the Boston company. This cony any purchasing Messrs. Davey and Nichols' interest became the sole proprietors of this extensive quarry, and have produced from it a large
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quantity of slate-the average amount produc- ed since 1866 being 7,500 squares per year, and the quarry being now in order to produce 12, 000 squares per year. John C. Smith is the present efficient superintendent.
The next largest quarry in town is that open- ed by Alonson Allen, Esq., on the " Capen farm," purchased by him of Mr. Capen, in November, 1851, and now owned and worked by the " Fair Haven Marble and Marbleizing Slate Company" for the production of slabbing ma- terial for their mill. This quarry was started by Mr. Allen about 1851, and worked a num- ber of years for roofing slate, employing about 20 men, and producing nearly 4,000 squarcs per year for the first 6 years. The slate are purple color, variegated with green, and are deemed a superior quality. Mr. Allen sold an interest in the quarry, in 1869. to Ryland Han- gor, James Pottle, Ira C. Allen and M. D. Dyer, who, together with himself, compose the Fair Haven Marble and Marbleizing Slate Company, and run the quarry in connection with their extensive slate-mill in the village. Besides this main quarry near the N. W. corner of the Capen farm, Mr. Allen has two other valuable openings lying over the hill to the south, on this same farm; one made by John D. Wood, about the year 1855, and yielding about 300 squares, but was abandoned on account of the water, and another more recently opened which promises to be very profitable.
A quarry was opened by Royal Bullock on land owned by him on Scotch Hill, in the fall of 1850, and was worked through the summer of 1851, and was sold by him to Messrs. Myers & Utter, of Whitehall. in the fall of 1852. It has been worked at various times, but has final- ly been abandoned.
In February, 1853, Asa B. Foster of Weston, Vt., deeded the Keyes' farm, on Scotch Hill, then occupied by Mr. Keyes, and comprising 100 acres, to Asa Wilbur of Boston, and Row. land Owens, excepting one acre on the east side of the highway which he had deeded to Hugh an | John J. Williams, and on which they had erected dwelling-houses. A quarry was opened on this farm by Mr. Owens and Jolin Hughes, and worked for one or two seasons. Another opening was made in 1854, and dwell- ing houses were erected west of the present Scotch Hill School-Housc. This. also, was abandoned after one or two seasons of trial .- Richard Williams is said to have worked this quarry one season, about 1856.
The Sheldon quarry, which has proved to be
a valuable vein of slate, lying on Mr. Sheldon's farm at the base of Scotch Hill, and north of Mr. Ranney's land, was opened in 1853 by Ellis Roberts, Richard Hughes and Evan E. Lloyd, to whom it was lcased in August of this year, for a term of 15 years, " If they should elect to hold the same so long," on the terms and conditions that they should pay nothing for the first 200 squares, but that they should pay 50 cents per square ou every 200 squares pro- duced thereafter, and Mr. Sheldon should draw the same to the railroad depot in Fair Haven, for one shilling per square. Ellis Lloyd, Hugh Jones and Evan Joncs are said to have been associated with the management and working of this quarry for a time. Richard Hughes sold out to Richard Roberts in June. 1854. and they were all succeeded by Evan D. Jones, who obtained a new lease of the quarry from Mr. Sheldon in February, 1859, for 10 years from Sept. 1, '58. Mr. Jones took into copartnership Christopher M. Davey of Rutland, a son of Ja- cob Davey, Esq, and, by drifting into the hill southward, they produced a large amount of valuable slate during the last years of the lease.
The quarry known as the Lime Kiln quarry, near the town line toward West Castleton. was commenced at an early period on land of Ar- nold Briggs: Mr. Briggs leasing 1 acre and 1-4th for the purpose, in October, 1851. to Pat- rick MeNamara and Thomas Bulger, John Mur- fee and John Kelley. They were to have the property forever, so long as they should pay fifty dollars per year every three months in merchantable slate at $3.00 per square, or $12. 50 in money, as the party of the second part might elect. Patrick McNamara sold out to the others, and in May, '53, Mr. Bulger assign- ed the lease to Israel Divey and Rufus C. Col- burn. They assigned it to William Hughes in October, '55: Mr. Davey having purchased of Mr. Briggs an addition to the original lease. By Mr. Hughes it was sold to Benjmin F. and Robert Morris Copeland, in August, '5s, and Mr. Briggs deeds to them, in the same month, all the land connected with it which was deeded by John Billings to Elihu Wright, jr., in Nov., 1831. The quarry was worked by them a few years and abandoned.
Mr. Copeland has recently purchased the Harvey lot, so called. lying next north of this quarry, on which he has erected, in company with Benjamin Williams, a steam saw-mill, and is cutting off a large amount of valuable luin- ber, anticipating a valuable vein of slate os the land when the lumber is cleared away.
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