USA > Vermont > The history of Vermont; with descriptions, physical and topographical > Part 13
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24
201
HISTORY OF VERMONT.
inscription ; given as a specimen of such early epitaphs, and as showing the spirit of the times.
In Memory of WILLIAM FRENCH, Son to MR. NATHANIEL FRENCH, who was shot at Westminster, March ye 13th, 1775, by the hands of Cruel Ministerial tools of Georg ye 3d, in the Court-house, at a 11 a clock at night, in the 22d year of his age.
Here William French his Body lies For murder his blood for Vengeance cries
King Georg the third his Tory crew tha with a bawl his head Shot threw For Liberty & his Country's Good he Lost his Life his Dearest blood
At the meeting of the general convention of ministers in this place, 1813, Rev. Lemuel Haynes, the colored preacher of Vermont, a very worthy, able, and devoted servant of Christ, was present and treated with great kindness by Gen. Bradley, who entertained him at his house and attended his ministration of the word with pleasure, and respect.
Bellows Falls has had a rapid growth but healthful ; being now of the first class of Vermont villages. It will be visited by every traveler to these parts, and whose attention will be long riveted, and curiosity awakened by the operations of nature and the pictured,
202
HISTORY OF VERMONT.
sublime scenery contiguous. It is but four miles from Westminster; to which, in exterior, it is a perfect con- trast. If then the quiet, still pursuits ; and uniformity, and sameness of the latter, should cloy and make the spirits flag, and the eyes drowsy, a short ride north will kindle up the one, and raise the tone of the other. A ramble of an hour or two at the foot and around the borders of the cataract ; amid the dashings, and whirling and foaming, and roaring of the waters, sprinkled by the spray and mist, and regaled by the distant views of coun- try seats, of uplands and mountains, of forest and orna- mental trees ; and beginning to become somewhat excited by the harsh grating of machinery, and the discordant hum of a busy, crowded centre, you may cherish anew some such peaceful retreat as you had left. Among the curiosities witnessed at this spot are the circular cavities worn in the rocks by the incessant whirl given to pebbles by the agitation of the water. They are smooth and regular, as metal castings of pots and kettles; and of all dimensions from the smallest article of this sort on a rotary, up to cauldrons large enough* to cook in for all the Hessians taken at the battle of Bennington.
Crossing the mountain from this place, whether by Saxton village and Grafton, or Chester and Windham, your route beside rivers and rivulets ; by hill and dale ; through openings and shades will occupy your eyes and mind, and refresh your spirits. Passing through Man- chester and Shaftsbury, you will soon find yourself at
* See record of the Council of Safety, Chapter xiv.
203
HISTORY OF VERMONT.
the ancient head quarters of the state. The coincidence of several things render Bennington the most interesting spot of the green mountains. The date of its organiza- tion is the earliest. The celebrated battle and victory, which bears its name ; its frontier and exposed position in the early difficulties with New York ; and unflinching loyalty to the cause of the New Hampshire grants, amid the strong temptations whether of flattery or menace ; its bearing the date of many of the first acts of civil and military authority ; those of "the council of safety" particularly ; the superiority of its growth and population ; the venerable names of its founders, and which stand conspicuously in the annals of our state and country ; and the monumental ground fast by the house of God, comely to the eye; and impressive in its aspects and associations, and the adjacent prospects, all unite to give it a commanding and irresistible influence on our hearts. Feelings of patriotism are revived ; veneration and sympathy inspired for those long gone and yielding life at the calls of duty ; reflections on the far past, crowd thick in the mind; imagination goes back to 1749, and paints " the vast contiguity of shade ;" which overhung these hills and valleys; and the judg- ment tries to estimate the difference between the state of things then, and the present ; and to mark the changes and improvements of ninety-three years, and retrace the footsteps of Divine Providence.
Bennington centre, situated on and near a moderate eminence, extensive and circular ; ornamented with trees and public buildings, contains many elegant and costly
204
HISTORY OF VERMONT.
individual establishments, and commands interesting views in every direction. But East Bennington, having the advantage of abundant water power, is a place of far greater business. At the very foot of the green mountains at one of its highest elevations and boldest aspects, it is shielded from the easterly piercing winds of spring, has increased rapidly within a few years ; and the great objects of human pursuit are sought in nume- rous channels.
' Bennington furnace' is about a mile from this village, in a northeasterly direction; a very extensive iron establishment, employing several hundred hands, and affording much employment and income to the surround- ing inhabitants by transporting the pig and castings to Troy, and other places on the Hudson. The two buildings in which the perpetual fires are kept, are large, four story, and brick. The roaring, and white, livid color of the flames, and the sooty appearance of the attendants ; and the surrounding heaps of coal, and masses of iron and ore, and machinery, and utensils, remind one of the black Erebus of the ancients. Since the temperance reformation ; as none but temperance men are employed ; the fires burn much more regularly and safely. The overseeing of the establishment is now not half so laborious as when intoxicating drinks were used.
Hinsdale Ville, another village in this town, two miles west of the centre, is a flourishing manufacturing place. Numerous establishments of cotton and woolen fabrics were in active operation a few years since, with a cluster
205
HISTORY OF VERMONT.
of neat dwellings near them in a beautiful vale on the banks of a romantic stream. These, and the compact, rich, and well cultivated farms, with six or seven houses for public, divine worship, academies and other public buildings render it a delightful place of residence ; furnishing a boundless source of refined enjoyment to those fond of the beauties of nature, and works of art. The hunter found game in the woods and fields, and the angler trout in the streams. Of such sports and exercises, Gov. Tichener was fond even in extreme old age, after his retirement from public business, going in his carriage, often with his fishing utensils several miles to the sides of the mountains, and leaving it, when nearer approach to the stream was obstructed. In this way helping to beguile the infirmities and loneliness of age, and sharpen his relish for social intercouse, he fin- ished life's span calmly in the society of a younger generation.
Time, and other causes have happily very much softened, if not worn off the asperity, which was for- merly here felt towards their neighbors, the Yorkers. Frequent and constant intercourse between the Benning- tonians, and Albanians and Trojans, have produced mutual feelings of respect and confidence. Indeed they seem somewhat tinged in their manners and habits with those of the descendants of the Knickerbockers, a characteristic improvement rather than the contrary. This is seen also more or less along the western line and borders of the Lake. It is a spirit, so to speak, more
206
HISTORY OF VERMONT.
simple, and less formal in social, ordinary intercourse ; and not so ready on the look out for treachery and informers. It may include also a little more of the steam power, in business pursuits and recreations.
207
CHAPTER XIV.
Further account of villages .- Manchester .- Its situation and ap- pearance .- Burr seminary .- Marble quarries .- Factories .- Quality, and abundance .- Market for it .- Supposed murder .- Castleton .- Road to Rutland .- Clarendon springs .- Walling- ford .- East Rutland .-- Its common .- Judge Williams .- Wood- stock .- Its situation .- Judge Hutchinson .- Charles Marsh .- · Windsor .- Springfield .- Its appearance .- Self-taught mecha- nic .- A curiosity .- Derby .- Danville .- Montpelier .- Its situ- ation .- Population .- Associations of its name .- State house. -Particular description of it .- Middlebury .- Its exterior .- Vergennes .- Decline .- Its prosperity .- Villages of less ex- tent .- Their number .- The first class .- In order relative to Montpelier .- Viewed at once .- Retrospection .- Contrast .- Reflections.
SOME account has, in the first chapter, been given of Manchester. Situated in the cavity of the surrounding mountains, it has been called, " The Punch Bowl." The principal street is wide and extends nearly a mile ; lined with well built houses, and adorned with rows of shade trees. The view of it, in descending the moun- tain from Winhall, is clear and striking for several miles before reaching it. Burr seminary, situated in the rear of the main street on a gently rising eminence, appears to good advantage ; and has delightful prospects of the
208
HISTORY OF VERMONT.
majestic mountains in front ; and to the right and left. The academic building is large and commodious ; ad- joining which are several neat dwellings for the prin- cipal, and teachers, and assistants. It was founded and endowed by a citizen of this place, whose name it bears, and is a flourishing institution. East Manchester is a flourishing, manufacturing village, three miles distant at the foot of the mountain, on the stage road to the Con- necticut river.
Here the light colored dust and sharp pointed stones of the path, begin to remind you of the marble quarries in the vicinity ; and point your eyes to the factories, in which by hands and instruments and machinery and water power, the bars and fragments are wrought and polished for monumental records of the dead.
White marble, clear and fine grained, is found abun- dantly in the vicinity of Manchester, including several neighboring towns. The manufacturing of it into tomb stones, and other articles of use and ornament, is a busi- ness of considerable extent, and no small income. The quarries in Dorset have been regarded as the first in point of quality and abundance. But new beds of it are discovered from time to time; and the mountains and hills in this and other sections of the state, are thought to contain an exhaustless store of it, some of which may rival the most admired specimens of foreign countries. It is transported to the other side of the mountain and to neighboring states ; and, in the winter, sleighs are often seen loaded with the melancholy freight, for sale to bereaved mourners. But those who dig ; and
209
HISTORY OF VERMONT.
who polish, and who transport it, find the sudden need sometimes of their own wares where so ready a market is opened by the painful necessity of others. For those whose adamantine hearts can rob the widow and the fatherless, will not be moved to pity and forbearance by marble mementos of death, and white gateways into the grave .*
Another village of the first class in this vicinity is Castleton ; distinguished for its regularity, and the rich- ness of its soil; and its ample common and public walks. Nature seems to have opened through the moun- tains a romantic passage from it to Rutland ; the road running most of the way along a narrow defile on the banks of a stream.
Rutland has three villages, which may be denomi- nated East and West and Middle Rutland. At the
* Recently one of these subtle roamers entered into the house of a widow who was absent at a sick neighbor's ; but whose art- less children he beguiled by showing them money ; thus leading them to do the same, and disclosing the few dollars of their mother ; a sum small, but great in their view. As they left for school, he left, but marked the way of their placing the nail over the latch, stealthily returned and rifled the drawer so artlessly opened to his sight. He then wound himself into the confidence of a youth, and mounted his wagon by his side, carrying from this region a load of marble slabs to a neighboring state, and col- lecting debts of his father's former customers ; leading him un- suspectingly to disclose his business and his money. He was missing, murdered by this callous hearted wretch ; and his father was searching for his body to record the melancholy tale on one of these monuments, which in carrying them to others he found occasion for himself.
14
210
HISTORY OF VERMONT.
West village, you are within three miles of Clarendon springs ; waters of increasing celebrity for their efficacy in cutaneous disorders especially. In a winding recess among the hills you will find a large brick establishment for the accommodation of visitors, with several other minor boarding houses. Here if time permitted, you might be conducted to Wallingford, the next town south, lying along a valley the most magnificient ; and contain- ing rich and beautiful farms. The hills on either hand being so high that you would think in ascending, the top, and in descending, the bottom, would never come. If named after Wallingford in Connecticut, rich and pleasant as it is, it would not suffer in the comparison, dissimilar as it is in exterior. But duty calls us to East Rutland, famed in the early history of the state ; and since, as the occasional seat of government. The spa- cious common, enclosed by a neat railing, adds much to the beauty of the place ; which by its external situation overhung, as it were, by Killington peak ; by the rich- ness of its soil ; by the taste and elegance exhibited in many of its buildings, is surpassed by few villages in New England. Among the edifices of individuals, stands distinguished that of the late Robert Temple. Chief Justice Williams also, a native of this place, of whose father honorable mention is made by Dr. Dwight in his journal, has here an elegant seat. He unites in
divine worship with the Episcopal church, which to- gether with three other flourishing churches, congrega- tional, baptist and methodist, share between them chiefly this christain community.
211
HISTORY OF VERMONT.
A ride of twenty-eight miles across the mountain will bring you to Woodstock, the shire town of Windsor county. The streams running through and near it afford considerable interval, rich, handsome land. The village itself, if visited first, you would think could not in appearance be surpassed. Few villages in Vermont are more populous and compact or better planned and built ; or whose business advantages more judiciously occupied and improved. The churches, congregational, episcopal, baptist, methodist, and universalist, are neat, well-finished edifices. The public green in the south part of the place, in shape and surface, and intersecting walks and shrubbery, and fence, will catch the eye of the traveler, and strongly attract his attention. Titus Hutchinson, a former chief justice of the state resides in this place. Hon. Charles Marsh, once from the green mountain state a representative in congress, has his resi- dence near the village, on an eminence commanding an extensive view of it and beautiful and variegated land- scapes in the vicinity.
The roads running from this place pass through a fertile tract of land in every direction ; and to Windsor, you go in the neighborhood of Ascutney, a lofty, irregular fragment, cut off by some operation of nature from the main mountain range, and left on the bank of the Connecticut, as a way-mark, it would seem, for those who travel its borders. In Windsor you will see in the large elms, and other shade trees which adorn it ; in the garden and door-yard arrangements and orna- ments ; and in its general appearance, evidences of a
212
HISTORY OF VERMONT.
mature, long established village. In the pleasantness and compactness of its centre, and the rich alluvial land on the river, it suffers not in comparison with the admired and celebrated town in Connecticut, whose name it bears.
In our curiosity to look at the north-east part of the state, Springfield was in danger of being passed unno- ticed, so huddled together as it is, in a deep ravine, and overhung by steep hills. It may be called the Birming- ham of Vermont. A gulph runs through the centre of it, or rather it is built on the sides and ridges and cliffs of a gulph, at the bottom of which runs a strong perma- nent current of water, which with dams and falls and the art of man, furnishes abundant situations for factories, and machinery and machine shops of every description. For the variety and extent of these establishments, it stands first in the state. The bridge connecting the two sides of this gulph in the centre of business, is a spot of little less interest, and attraction than that of Bellows Falls. It is over a profound chasm, the sides of which are regular walls, in some places, like the work of masonry, and through which and over rocks and falls, dashes a foaming current of water. From this point as a centre, the village appears in the form of a beautiful amphitheatre. The ridges and rows of houses with here and there steps of ascent cut in the ground, mounting on either hand to the summit of the corresponding hills, . and buildings above and below crowded thickly to the very verge of this deep and narrow water passage, and seen at a distance, give it a circular appearance. It takes
HISTORY OF VERMONT. 213
the shape of some vast concave filled with seats, rising one above another, of spectators intent on some fascinating spectacle, or exhibition in the centre. One of the most ingenious, self-taught mechanics, Vermont- born resides in this place. His name is Porter, whose improvements on the machinery for cutting and setting card teeth, is matter of curiosity, affording samples of curious workmanship, and sought after from distant parts of our country.
Of the three towns, whose names follow, the follow- ing particulars are given in the language of another. " Derby is one of the most fertile townships of land in the state. There is not a single lot of land in the whole town, that is not occupied for farming purposes. The village at the centre of the town extends from Clyde river along a single street northerly more than a mile. It contains about fifty houses, and two hundred and fifty or three hundred inhabitants. In the village there are two meeting-houses, a congregational and baptist ; an extensive seminary for academical instruction of both sexes, which is under the control of the baptist associa- tion ; five stores, extensive mills and manufactories. The collector's office for this port of entry is kept at this place ; and the post office which bears the name of the town. There are two other post offices in the town, one at Derby Line, and one at West Derby. At Derby Line there is a flourishing village and an episcopal church under the rectorship of Rev. Norman W. Camp."
" Danville is a flourishing village ; has a court house
-
214
HISTORY OF VERMONT.
and jail ; an academy, a congregational, methodist and baptist meeting house. The population of the village, and the amount of business may be about the same as at Derby. It has a bank also. It is a good township of land, and more extensive than Derby ; and was settled somewhat earlier."
" The village of Montpelier, including a small portion of Berlin, which lies on the opposite side of the river, cannot number less than two thousand ; it is said, some- what more. Its population is rapidly increasing. The public buildings, except the state house, are not remarka- able. There are two congregational churches, and one methodist ; a court house, jail and an academy.
It was a happy suggestion, however it may have originated, that of selecting this spot as the capital of Vermont, and of giving it the name which it bears. Its central position, a level surface on the summit of the Green Mountains at a point where it is of comparative easy access ; the richness of the soil in the vicinity ; and the landscape and scenery ; and its business advan- tages render it not only a suitable place for the seat of government, but of great allurement to the traveler and spectator. The name is characteristic, and significant ; and venerable also for its associations with the eminence in France, of great antiquity and notoriety, and from which it is derived. In this way also, it may bear a complimentary allusion to that ancient ally in the revo- lutionary struggle. It will be perpetual, it is hoped, on the mountains which uphold it; and as unfading as the foliage, which adorns them. Here stands the Vermont
-
215
HISTORY OF VERMONT.
State House ; its foundation an excavation of a solid rock ; and its superstructure, of noble and comely pro- portions, corresponding with the place ; its purpose and uses, and the people over whom its lofty dome unfurls the banner of freedom and justice and equal laws.
The following description of this house was published in the American Magazine of Useful Knowledge, vol. 3d, March, 1837. It is somewhat minute and technical ; but does not admit of abridgment ; and to many this particularity may render it more interesting.
" The building is in the form of a cross, showing in front a centre seventy-two feet broad, and two wings, each extending thirty-nine feet, making the whole length 150 feet. The centre, (including the portico of eighteen feet) is 100 feet deep, and the wings (of which the front of each stands 20 feet back of that of the portico) are fifty feet deep. The centre is ornamented with a portico, extending its whole width, consisting of six granite columns, six feet in diameter at the base, four feet eight inches at the top, and thirty-six feet high, support- ing a massive entablature and a pediment of classic proportion. The tympanum of which is intended to be ornamented with the arms of the state in basso relievo having a cistern at the ridge and eaves. The whole is crowned with a dome of elegant proportions, rising thirty-six feet above the ridge, and making the whole height from ground to top of the dome 100 feet. The order of architecture used on the outside is the purest doric, made to conform to the arrangement necessary in the building. The wings are distinguished by antæ at
216
HISTORY OF VERMONT.
the corners, which are surmounted by an entablature and balustrade, of bold and simple parts, continued quite around without openings or breaks; the wings to the top of the balustrade are forty-six feet high, the exterior walls and portico are of a beautifully colored dark granite, quarried about nine miles from the state house, in the town of Barre, and wrought in a very superior manner. The roof and dome are covered with copper. The interior is entered in front from the portico, through a door eight feet wide, opening into an entrance hall thirty-two by thirty-eight feet, fourteen feet high, the ceiling of which is supported by six granite columns, eighteen inches in diameter at the base, of the Grecian Ionic order, and is paneled after the manner of the ceilings in the porticos of ancient temples .- There are three other entrances, one from each end of the house, through doors five feet wide, into passages ten feet wide, which communicate with the entrance hall by corridors eight feet wide, and are in the rear of the centre, six feet wide, opening into a passage twelve feet wide, leading to the entrance hall. In the lower story is a room twenty by sixteen feet, for the secretary of state, with a fire proof safe ten by sixteen feet, for records ; adjoining a room for state's treasurer, fourteen by twenty-two feet, with a fire proof vault, a room for the auditor of accounts of the same size, twelve rooms for legislative committees-six of them very large and spacious, and two rooms for furnaces to heat the principal halls and rooms in the second story. From the entrance hall there are two stair cases, leading to the second or
217
HISTORY OF VERMONT.
principal story-one being on the right hand and the other on the left as you enter from the portico. These land in the circular halls or landings, twenty feet in diameter, from which there are communications with the rooms adjoining-and a flight of stairs to the gallery of the representatives' hall and the senate chamber, and also to committee rooms in the third story. From these landings you pass into the vestibule of the representa- tives' hall, eighteen by thirty-six feet and eighteen feet high,-the ceiling paneled after the Grecian style, and the whole room finished in a very neat and elegant manner, having niches for statues and panels for paint- ings ; from this you enter the representatives' hall through a door five feet wide and ten feet high .- This hall is sixty-seven feet in length, by fifty-seven in width and thirty-one feet high. It is unequaled in simplicity and elegance of design, as well as for convenience in doing business. For the ease with which a person can speak and readily be heard, this room is not surpassed by any of its size.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.