USA > Vermont > Chittenden County > Shelburne > The history of Shelburne > Part 3
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The ravaging of croplands in the South created a great demand for the produce of Vermont farms. Wool, to be made into uniforms, and food brought high prices. However, this was a time of false prosperity, for taxes were also high. The annual tax for the town ran about 10c on the dollar on the Grand List during the years before the war; during the war the tax went as high as 150c on the dollar. The money thus raised was used to pay bounties to the soldiers from Shelburne, and altogether $16,110 was paid out for this purpose. Bounties ranged from $60.00 to $750.00, and were paid to a total of thirty-nine men.
When the war was finally over the false prosperity vanished. The demand for wool, which had been decreasing before the war, now fell off rapidly. The town was faced with a debt incurred to pay the soldiers' bounties. And many of the soldiers, having heard of the cheap and fer- tile land available in the west, left their homes in Shelburne to settle in the newly opened lands on the frontier.
In addition to these problems, which were common throughout the state, Shelburne faced the added burden of building a new Town Hall, for the White Church burned down in 1865. The townspeople voted funds to erect a new Town Hall, and the first meeting was held there in September of 1867. Probably the cost of this building was partly met by labor given in lieu of cash in payment of taxes, as it was not until 1869 that all taxes had to be paid in cash.
The period from the Civil War until the middle 1880's brought a renewed interest in religion and education. During this time a town high school was established. Classes were held in the upper story of the village grade school. Several of the outlying school districts were ap- parently consolidated, as the town had only eight districts in 1880. In
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that year there were 242 students in town, out of a total population of 1,096. They were taught by eleven teachers, only one of them a man. The amount paid in salaries was $1,373.50 and the total school cost was $1,614.64. A tax of 15c was voted for the support of the schools.
By this time the schools were under the supervision of a superin- tendent, Leslie Gregg. He was most likely a teacher as well as coordi- nating the curriculum in the various schools. In addition, his wife kept a boarding house.
In 1870 the Methodists recognized that they would either have to make extensive repairs to their building or build a new church. The de- cision to build was made, but whether to build of brick or stone re- mained an issue until 1873 when the advocates of a stone church pre- vailed, and the present Methodist Church was erected. It was dedi- cated, debt-free, on February 18, 1874.
The old brick church was sold to Lee Tracy who dismantled it and used the brick to build the house in which the Henry Tracy's now live. In 1883 the Methodists purchased the present parsonage, and sold the old parsonage which was later to become the Pierson Library.
A quite thorough description of Shelburne in 1880 was compiled for Child's Gazetteer, and this is particularly interesting in view of the extensive changes made in our town during the next decade.
In 1880 Shelburne had 27 orchards with a total of 17,749 fruit trees. Harrison's Cider Mill on the road out Shelburne Point produced 25 barrels of cider a day in season. Dairy cattle were also raised, and milk was sold to James White who operated a cheese factory on the road be- tween the village and the Falls. Farmers still grew wheat, as the Shel- burne Flouring Mill was still in operation at Shelburne Falls. Lumber- ing was being done, and the Bartlett Company, also at the Falls, oper- ated a saw mill. Sheep-breeding was carried on by eight farmers, four bred registered cattle, and four bred registered pigs.
The railroad provided employment for four men, and the Shel- burne Shipyard employed several more. There was even a factory in Shelburne, owned by Baldwin and White, which employed 15 to 20 men and had annual sales of $15,000. They made "the Baldwin Dry Air Refrigerator" and the "Champion Barrel Swing."
Other occupations listed in 1880 included a doctor, Alonzo Taggert; a minister, Reverend John Bennett; the Clerk of the Vermont House of Representatives, Henry Newell; and the Lieutenant Governor (later elected Governor) John L. Barstow. These last two are listed as farmers as well as government officials.
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Many men were engaged in trades: Five were carpenters, six were carpenters and joiners (cabinet-makers), three were blacksmiths, and three were painters. One man made carriages, and one man painted them. There were shopkeepers and butchers, and one each of the fol- lowing: Teamster, basket-maker, upholsterer, tin peddler, milk peddler, market gardener, and seed grower.
At this time there were about thirty houses in Shelburne village, and the same number at the Falls. The farmers were scattered through- out the town, many of them living on the land owned by their families for three and four generations. The northeast corner of town had its own postoffice, and there were a great many houses north of the village on Shelburne Road. There were more than a dozen farms west of the vil- lage and along the lake shore.
Shelburne's showplace in those days was the Stock Farm owned then by Colonel LeGrand Cannon, and now the property of John W. Clark. Cannon had a summer home in Burlington, Overlake, and was President of the Champlain Transportation Company for many years. His winter home was in New York City, and he was indeed a man of wealth. The Stock Farm was a hobby of his, and he often rode down from Burlington behind a magnificent team of horses, to check on affairs there. Our present librarian, Mrs. Ralph Marsett, remembers those days well, being brought up on the farm during the years her father, Leonard Ray, managed it. Particularly impressive were the fine thoroughbred racing horses that were bred there, and trained on a race- track nearly a mile in length.
So Shelburne in the early 1880's was very much a typical Vermont town. It had its rich, and also its poor; its famous and also its humble citizens. It was very nearly self-sufficient, lacking only those things more common to a city than a town, such as law offices, banks, and a newspaper, and these things were readily available in Burlington which was easily reached by train.
CHAPTER V The Webb Estate
It was their friendship with LeGrand Cannon that first brought the Webbs to Vermont. In 1884 Dr. W. Seward Webb and his wife, the former Lila Osgood Vanderbilt, moved into their summer house, Oakledge, on the southern end of Burlington. Although Dr. Webb had been trained in medicine, by this time he had given up his practice in order to devote his time to his business interests. He was particularly interested in railroads, and was elected President of the Wagner Palace Car Company in 1885. He held this office until the time the Company
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was merged with the Pullman Car Company. He also served as a Vice President of the New York Central Railroad, and at one time owned control of the Rutland Railroad.
An article appearing in The Burlington Free Press on December 30, 1887 described The Webbs' move to Shelburne:
Most of the readers of the Free Press know that Dr. W. Seward Webb made extensive purchases of land in the ad- joining town of Shelburn a few months ago, but few are aware of the important changes and improvements he has made and is now making in the premises.
His domain aggregates 1800 acres of the finest land most picturesquely situated on the shore of Lake Champlain. As soon as the purchase was completed, Dr. Webb, with his well known business energy, began to arrange for a system of improvements and modern conveniences for carrying on a great farm and this work has occupied the attention of him- self and a number of skilled artisans as well as an army of mechanics and laborers during the past summer and fall.
Dr. Webb has always taken an interest in and had an admiration for fine blooded stock, and it is to gratify his tastes in this and other directions that he has secured such a magnificent farm . .. The work of the past season on the farm includes the building of a large reservoir and pumping station, the laying of three and a half miles of pipe, making new roads, putting in a sewerage system, digging cellars for the large new house and barn, and erecting the following buildings: several large ice houses, a fine boat house, and quarters for the cap- tain and crew of the yacht, a hen house 100' long with boiler house, all elaborately fitted up, a greenhouse 200 x 25 feet, a Swiss cottage for the gardener, a large laundry, a gardener's house for Major Wetmore, and now in progress the large new residence and great barn 200 x 60 feet with two wings 120 feet each, 30 feet posts and 12 feet basement. The water works have all been completed since the first of September. The doing of this work required the employment for a large part of the season of some 250 men and an aggregate outlay of $2,000 a week.
One of the most important things done the past season was the putting in of a complete system of water works . . .
The work now being done is largely on Dr. Webb's elegant new residence and barn and other buildings. The new residence is located quite near the lake on what is known as the Edward Saxton farm, on the main road to Lovers Lane. It
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was begun in August and is now being rapidly pushed for- ward and will be ready for occupancy in April. It is a spacious two story wooden structure, "squatty" in appearance and quite picturesque. It is 128 feet long and about 80' wide in- cluding piazzas. Outside it is clapboard on the first story and shingled above. It is built in the most substantial way and will cost about $30,000 . . .
This great farm of Dr. Webb's will be remarkable not only for its fine buildings and its complete system of equip- ment but for its fine stock. There is already a splendid herd of 50 Jersey cows; 100 of the choicest Southdown sheep; several hundred of select breeds of fowl; 150 horses, 30 of which are fine brood mares, and three stallions; and Dr. Webb's representative has just arrived from Kentucky with his most recent purchase, a stallion of the Hambletonian strain known as "Happy Medium."
In another way Dr. Webb is going to have one of the most complete farms anywhere. He is making a great botanical collection and has already planted more than 40,000 trees, plants, and shrubs. The collection will include an arboretum containing a botanical collection of two of all kinds of trees, plants, and shrubs indigenous to Vermont.
This great farm will be conducted in the most business- like way. The farm is in general charge of Mr. Archibald Taylor (of Burlington ... He is) assisted by Mr. John K. Weed, a Shelburn man admirably adapted for the position of general foreman on the farm. The carpenter work is in charge of Mr. N. E. Clifford, the stone work is superintended by Oliver Sor- rell and the painting by F. L. Washburn.
Between then and 1901 the home, the Farm Barn, the Breeding Barn, and the Coach Barn were completed.
Eventually they also built the Ring Barn which was the largest in the world at the time, and is still the largest privately owned in the country. With its completion the hackney ponies could be exercised in any weather.
More land was added over the years. Dunbar Bostwick, who mar- ried Electra Webb, acquired the old Meech property south of the Webb Estate. The original farm is now operated by Dr. Webb's grandsons as two units, Shelburne Farms and Southern Acres. Several other mem- bers of the family have portions of the land which totals over 3,200 acres.
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Originally Dr. Webb intended to establish a game preserve on his Shelburne property. However, he bought a tract of 50,000 acres in the Adirondacks in upper New York State instead. He built the Saint Law- rence and Adirondack Railway in connection with this project. He fenced and stocked his preserve, but a forest fire made it necessary to cut the fence to let the animals - moose, elk, and so forth - escape. How- ever there was always an abundant supply of wildlife in the region, and Dr. Webb built a spacious lodge there to accommodate himself and his friends who often hunted there. The property, called Nehasane, an Indian word meaning - a beaver crossing on a log - is still in the family.
It was Dr. Webb's interest in horticulture that led to the develop- ment of the extensive gardens and greenhouses. In order to feed the livestock 1500 tons of hay and 1200 bushels of grain were harvested annually. The Estate also had to provide food, together with flowers and luxury fruits out of season, for the Webbs, and for the many em- ployees. There were fruit trees and grapevines surrounding a huge vegetable garden area, which was carefully laid out in a formal garden pattern with gravel walks which in turn were edged with turf as care- fully kept as any lawn. All this was surrounded with an evergreen hedge planting to break winds and trap the sun.
The immense farm building served many purposes. First of all it was the headquarters of the entire gardening operation. It was used for storage of both tools and such edibles as root crops, celery, and fruits. Mushrooms were grown in a part of the cellar, and coal, brought in by rail to stoke the furnaces which made the year-round operation possible, in another.
A special cellar was constructed to house the 'Bay' trees, in three- foot square tubs, during the winter. Pots of azaleas were also wintered here, and then moved to the formal garden for the summer.
There was a special conservatory for orchids, palms, and ferns. Grapes and melons were also grown under glass. A later addition was the violet house. During the years when a fresh bunch of violets was a necessity on almost any costume, thousands of blue or white blooms were picked from this house late in the day, bunched with leaves and cooled, to be sent by wagon to the station in the village. There they were put on the night train for delivery in New York the next morning.
Over the years many distinguished visitors came to Shelburne as guests of the Webbs. One of the better known was Admiral Dewey, on his triumphant return to his home state shortly after his great victory at the Battle of Manilla. Dr. Webb made his private train available to Dewey and his party, and on October 10, 1899, they arrived to spend the night in Shelburne. They were greeted at the Shelburne station with a 17 gun salute, and the music of the Military Band from Burlington. A crowd of three thousand was on hand to welcome the party, and in
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addition, two hundred school children, waving flags, lined the road leading to the Estate, in order to catch a glimpse of their nation's hero.
In the autumn of 1901 Vice President Theodore Roosevelt traveled on Dr. Webb's yacht, Elfreida, from Burlington to Lsle La Motte, where he was to be the guest of honor at the annual dinner of the Fish and Game League. During the speeches that afternoon Roosevelt received word, by telephone, of the shooting of President Mckinley. After an- nouncing this tragic news to the crowd, Roosevelt reboarded the yacht, and sped to Burlington, where Dr. Webb had arranged to have his pri- vate train waiting, and started out for Buffalo, New York. There, upon McKinley's death, he took the oath of office, and became President.
CHAPTER VI
Shelburne: The Turn of the Century to 1950
While the most dramatic change in Shelburne during the last 1800's and the 1890's was the establishment of the Webb Estate, changes were taking place in the rest of the town, too.
CHURCH HISTORIES
The Episcopalians, though few in number, decided to build a church. Land was given by Helen N. Harrington, and on it the stone building still in use was erected. It was consecrated in 1886. Soon afterwards it was enlarged through the generosity of the Webbs, and in 1891 Trinity Church resumed its standing as a Parish.
Dr. and Mrs. Webb brought many Roman Catholic employees with them when they came to Shelburne. A Chapel was erected on the Webb Estate, and a Priest brought from Burlington every Sunday to serve these people. Seven years later, in 1895, the present Catholic Church in the village was built, and the Chapel moved to the village to serve as a Parish Hall.
For the first eleven years, Saint Catherine's was a mission of the Vergennes Parish. Then in 1906 the stone rectory was built and the Church was served by a resident priest, Father Campeau. He was well- known and well-liked by the congregation, having served alternately with Father Beauchesne during the Church's earlier years. He served until his death in 1914, and was followed by the Reverend T. J. Henry who was in Shelburne until 1927.
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THE PIERSON LIBRARY
In the year 1888 the Hon. J. L. Barstow and several other citizens united to start a free library. With gifts of money and books, about 100 volumes were gathered, and placed in the care of Mary Gribben, then postmistress, who served as librarian for $15.00 a year.
The library made several moves before it was housed in the present building. For a time it was kept in Mr. Dubuc's upstairs hall, his daugh- ter Anna serving as librarian. Later it was moved to a room over the store.
In 1909 a Library Building Club was organized to raise money for a library building. Such enthusiasm was shown that by the next year funds were available to purchase the present building from C. P. Van Vliet for $1500.
Much work had to be done on the building to make it usable. A new front was added, with the piazza and its lovely pillars. An informal reception was held to mark the opening of the new building, on June first, 1911.
In 1922 the library became the Pierson Library as the result of a bequest of $38,000 left by James Pierson, whose early life was spent in Shelburne.
The two wings were added in 1927 to provide space for reading rooms. A modern card-index was installed. Mrs. Ralph Marsett accepted the position of librarian and has continued in this position to the present time. Under her devoted care the Library has flourished over the years until, in 1963, it again finds itself outgrowing its building. Only this year "The Friends of the Pierson Library" was formed to once more explore the possibility of expanding our town's already ex- cellent library facilities.
OTHER CHANGES
The Twentieth Century has brought innumerable changes to Shel- burne. In 1902 telephone lines were brought into town. In 1904 the grist-mill at Shelburne Falls was completely renovated. The installation of four wheels of forty horsepower each increased the mill's capacity fourfold, to 3000-5000 pounds per hour. At the same time the creamery was moved from the saw-mill to the building now occupied by the Hood Store in Shelburne Falls. Butter was made there.
The Creamery in the village was erected about 1917, and operated until quite recently when bulk milk tanks made village creameries ob- solete.
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THE CASE OF THE POX
Whether or not is should be classified as progress, Shelburne got rid of its pest-house in 1903. It came about this way:
In June of that year a man arrived by train who was soon found to be a small-pox patient from St. Albans. He wandered from the Depot to the crossroads, where he fell asleep under the bushes outside the Tracy and Maeck Store.
The first Selectman and the Health Officer were sent for, and, realiz- ing the necessity for prompt action, had the man taken to a vacant house south of the village where he could be kept in isolation.
The man, who spoke no English, did not agree with the need for isolation, so a guard had to be placed over him. One of the two doc- tors in town gave up the care of his regular patients to attend to the small-pox case. The possibility of an epidemic kept the whole town on edge for weeks.
Then, after thirty days of detention, the man was discharged as cured, and went on his way. No one else contracted the disease.
But the Health Officer declared the building used as a hospital contaminated, and so it was burned. The cost of housing, guards, food, doctor's bills, and medicine came to $858.46, and had to be borne by the Town. Fully half the Selectmen's orders for the year cover expenses connected with this affair.
Somewhere around 1911 a Village Improvement Association was formed for the purpose of improving facilities in the village. Though this group was short-lived, it was instrumental in having electricity brought to town, in 1914, and in having sidewalks laid a few years later.
EARLY DAYS OF THE EVER READY CIRCLE OF KINGS' DAUGHTERS AND SONS OF SHELBURNE
One Sunday morning following the church service at the Methodist Church in the summer of 1889 or 1890, Charles Lee Tracy of New York City told a group of young ladies about the organization recently started by Mrs. Margaret Bottome. The Order was called Daughters of the King or King's Daughters.
His account of it interested and impressed the ladies so much that soon they called a meeting in Miss Belle Haven's dress making rooms over the present I.G.A. store. There our circle was organized under the name of Ever Ready Circle of King's Daughters.
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The Shelburne Hotel in 1896
The Comstock House, 1850 (on the Webb Estate)
The Covered Bridge Across the LaPlotte on Route 7
The Wesleyan Church
The Mead and Tracy Store about 1875 (now the Shelburne IGA)
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The Maeck Homestead (built about 1800)
The Village School at the turn of the Century
ENTRAL MAAK SHELBURNE, VI.
COPYRIGHT 190%
The Village Green in 1908
The Spear House, 1800 (Mrs. Carl Lozon)
First Episcopal Rectory, 1833
Present members are:
James V. Moulton, Chief
Lloyd Abare
Donald Bean
George Lavalette Rufus Morrow
Oliver Bora, Lt. Stanley Bellam
Joseph Catella
S. C. Muzzy, Sec .- Treas. Donald Rocheleau Leo St. Hilaire, Lt.
Edward Coleman
Raymond Conner
Fred Taylor
George Deavitt
Harry Wooster, Jr.
William Deming
W. Roger Fisher, Capt. Donald Haggerty
In 1924 the Town Hall burned down. Meetings were held in the Woodmen's Hall, in Shelburne Falls, and also in the school auditorium for the next three years, while the voters weighed various plans for the erection of a new building.
Then the late Mrs. J. Watson Webb offered to build a new Town Hall as a memorial to her parents, and the present building was erected.
Also about this time, the late Charles Ordway of Burlington built a group of summer homes along the lake near the southern town boundary. These he sold to friends of his, and these families have been spending summers in Shelburne ever since.
The property also included an orchard of 30 acres, and the Albert Thompsons came to manage the orchard business. Not being kept busy enough by that, they purchased two foxes for breeding, and established the silver fox farm on Webster Road, in 1925. This was a unique combi- nation of interests, but made excellent sense as the busy season at the orchard was the summer and fall, and the busy season on the fox farm was winter.
By careful breeding they improved the quality of their stock, and at the peak of their operation were marketing 100-150 pelts a year.
The farm continued in business until just after the Second World War.
THE SHELBURNE PARENT TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION
In the early 1930's a Mother's Club was formed in Shelburne. This group's aims were much the same as those of the PTA which was be- ginning to be known nationally, and in 1945 the Mothers' Club was re- placed by a Parent Teacher's Association unit organized in the Shel- burne School. Its first slate of officers was: President, Mrs. Helen Lau-
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rence; Vice-president, Mrs. Rita Thomas; Secretary, Mrs. Martha Clark; Treasurer, Reverend J. Lynwood Smith. Its first job was to take over the school lunch preparation from the Home Demonstration group. From a kitchen boasting a three burner kerosene stove, no refriger- ation, cold running water and a 2 x 5 foot sink, lunch was served to 150 students a day. The P.T.A. formed a parent-teacher-student council which, under the chairmanship of Mrs. Lucy Stewart, discussed school problems and made recommendations. Through its interest, a music course, conducted by a university student, Miss Lorraine Farrell of Shelburne, was started.
Funds were raised in the beginning years by public dances, card parties and public dinners, but in 1953 the Korny Kapers was first pre- sented and since then has become an institution and a highlight of the winter season, as well as a main source of revenue. In 1962 the com- munity calendar was sponsored and has since become a support of an ever-growing budget.
Since its inception, the P.T.A. has served the school materially in providing visual aids, playground equipment, assisting with the athletic banquet, supporting delegates to Boys' and Girls' State, serv- ing in the health clinics and in many other fields. In a less tangible way it has served as an impetus and a support for better educational offer- ings for the town, culminating in 1963 in the town's approval of a bond issue for a new union high school.
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