USA > Vermont > Washington County > The history of Washington county, in the Vermont historical gazetteer: > Part 142
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FIRST SETTLEMENTS.
The first settlers of the town were John Ridlon and George Martin, who came from Kennebec, Me., in 1797, and commenced a settlement on the r-acre lot, laid out in the center of the town on " Hampshire hill." They erected a house of split bass- wood logs, and cleared some 10 or 12 acres. It is said they soon left, and the farm where they first commenced was not permanently settled until several years after. They must have come back again soon and settled on the Branch, where L. M. Hutchinson now lives, as both tra- dition and the land records indicate they lived there in 1803, and made the first . permanent settlement there.
Ridlon was elected to the Constitutional Convention in 1814, and perhaps died in this town. It is not certain what became of Martin. The oldest inhabitants have no knowledge of him. We find in 1805, John Ridlon conveyed a portion of this land to Ansel Bates, by whom it was after- ward conveyed to Cyrus Brigham, who lived on it many years. The records show Martin in connection with Ridlon, and Benjamin Saunders held an interest in the place, as a quit-claim deed from John Fay, of Burlington, to Samuel B. Stone, who lived here in 1805, dated Feb. 7, 1802, specifies, " Mr. Stone is to indemnify said
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Fay against all claim which said Ridley, Geo. Martin and Benjamin Saunders may have in the land by reason of a former deed of the same." Ridlon's name is on the record, as also Ridler and Ridley. It must be that the first land records were lost or burned with the town records, as these deeds referred to are not found on the record now in the town clerk's office. There must have been several families in town in 1800, as "Deming's Catalogue " gives 25 inhabitants that year.
Matthias Ridlon, son of John, owned a lot of land soon after this in the eastern part of the town, where Elias Bascom afterward settled. He probably did not live on it, but with his father; in 1812, they lived where Henry E. Hunt now lives. Matthias enlisted in the war of IS12, and died at home soon after he came from the army ; Guy, son of Carpus Clark, also enlisted in that war and died in the army.
The town was in 1797 an evergreen forest, interspersed with hard timber on the lower lands. But openings soon ap- peared, as other settlers followed close after Ridlon and Martin.
The town was organized Mar. 3, 1803. Duncan Young with his family, himself, wife, 2 daughters, 2 sons, Daniel and John, came from Calais in 1802, and settled on right No. 13, where S. M. Seaver now lives, but stayed only two or three years, and removed to Montpelier. His oldest son, David, was a resident of this town in after years, and was the father of J. M. and P. D. Young, who yet live here, and Mrs. Martin C. Brown. From 1802 to '12, we find from the land records, resi- dents : Henry Goodale. James Green from Waterbury, Carpus Clark, Elisha B. Green, (who built the first saw-mill on the present site of H. T. Clark's mill,) Daniel Colby, Uriah Stone, and Amasa Brown.
to 1803; from them and tradition we have gathered this period of our history.
The first deed on record is from Joseph and William Hutchins to John Shurtleff, all of Montpelier, in the County of Cale- donia, June 4, 1803, claiming the right of John Turner (original proprietor,) which embraced the 300-acre lot No. 14, on the branch, adjoining Middlesex line. A few years after the same was sold tor taxes, and Cyrus Brigham bought the part where L. M. Hutchinson now lives. At the date of the first deed, Worcester was in Chit- tenden Co .; at the time of the tax sale in Jefferson Co. ; the first deed on record to a resident, is from Ebenr. Rice of Montpel- ier, to John Young, July 8, 1803, convey- ing a part of the land now the farm of S. M. Seaver. In 1805, a large number of rights were sold for a tax by the Legislature to build roads and bridges, and 25 rights unredeemed, were conveyed by the collec- tor, Charles Bulkley, to the highest bidder, to be sold in the same way in 1809, and 1812. The land records the first 10 years are largely made up of these " tax sales." In 1813, public notice was given of a land tax by Carpus Clark, Ist constable ; in 1811, his name is on the record as justice of the peace, and of Carpus Clark, John Ridlon and Elisha Green, as commission- ers to lay out a road tax, and in 1812 Carpus Clark and Daniel Colby were select- men, appears from record of a lease of the minister land by them to Elisha B. Green for $5 annual rent till a minister should be settled. (See lists of town officers.) These with the town clerks are all the officers we can trace to 1821.
Most of the settlers, without much means, who came because land was cheap, till they could make a clearing and raise a crop, had to make " many a shift " for the bare necessaries of life. Some left, and but few came in to take their places. How- ever, those who remained paved somewhat the way for those who should come after, and kept up their courage with hopes of better times till 1812 to 16, when they had to encounter several cold summers, frosts cutting off their crops and discouraging
John Young, son of Duncan, was the first town clerk ; James Green, representa- tive in 1808 ; other town officers unknown, as the town records before 1816 (when it lost its organization,) were deposited for safe keeping at Burlington, where they were burned. The land records go back | the bravest hearts, till the summer of 1816
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came, so cold as some who were chil- dren then, say, " as to freeze their steer's horns off." There were frosts every month through that summer. That season, utterly discouraged, most of the inhabitants left the town. No town meeting was held, and Worcester lost its organization.
In 1818, there was but one family, that of Amasa Brown, Esq., left in town. It was a standing jest for some years, that Mr. Brown threw his family on the town at this time, for their support. Wild game was plenty, deer abundant, bears frequent- ly seen ; the latter have strayed this way in later years; they have been "wary bears," it is not known that more than two or three were ever killed here. Three moose were shot here in the early days ; one, where the Methodist meeting-house stands, by Micah Hatch of Middlesex, which was sent to Boston Museum, where its skin probably remains to this day. Another was killed on the old Templeton farm, and one on the Thomas Reed farm.
A once large, deserted beaver settlement was seen a few years ago, on the meadow now covered by the mill-pond of Moses P. Wheeler.
On the first road, from Middlesex Center over "Hampshire Hill" to Elmore, and known then as the smugglers' road, was the clearing on the one acre lots, and the first basswood log-house, used by the smugglers of those days as a rendezvous for their cat- tle and horses. In 1812, there was no other road through the town, and but a pathway had been marked and cut from Montpelier, penetrating the southern part of the town near the branch ; comfortable roads were reserved for later times, and milling done at Montpelier, or in some of the older settlements south of us. The town contained neither store or tavern during its first organization.
Mr. Brown having, perhaps, more means than his neighbors, remained in town, himself and wife and 4 sons and 7 daugh- ters. His sons were Milton, Amasa, Jr., Cyrus and Martin Chittenden, the last re- ceiving his name from having been born on the same day that Martin Chittenden was elected governor, Oct. 21, 1813. His
birth, also, is the first recorded in town, and he is still living here.
Milton Brown was the first constable under the second organization, a justice of the peace many years, town representative 7 years, a councillor in 1835, and superin- tendent of the Vermont State Prison 4 years.
In 1850, he removed to Montpelier ; was admitted to the Washington County Bar, and died July 3, 1852. Amasa, the second son, studied theology at Newton, Mass., Theo. Sem., and is a Baptist min- ister, residing at Newton, N. H. Cyrus, the other son, is a lawyer and resides in this town, being the only member of the bar ever residing here.
One of the daughters married Oliver Watson, May 29, 1817, the first recorded marriage in town. Judge Edwin C.Watson, of Hartford, and Dr. Oliver L. Watson, of West Topsham, are their sons, born in Worcester. Mr. Watson and wife cel- ebrated their golden wedding.
Between 1818 and 1820, Wm. Arbuckle, Thayer Townsend, Job Hill and Jesse Flint came into the town. Mr. Arbuckle lived in a small log house on Amasa Brown's land. Mr. Townsend settled on the hill on the " Closson " farm, where Wm. Bruce, Jr., now lives ; Job Hill, on the place where Leonard Hamblet lives. In the fall of 1820, Allen Vail prepared a place for his family ; also Thomas Reed, Jr., from Londonderry. Mr. Reed moved his family to Middlesex early in 1820, to Mr. Benjamin Baldwin's, Mrs. Reed's father, who lived near Christopher C. Putnam's present residence. Mr. B. had at this time built a saw-mill where Put- nam's mill now is, the second in . town. Reckoning from the time Mr. Reed com- menced work on his farm, his was the third or fourth family here.
One or two others must have come the same year, but 1 have not learned who they were. Mr. Vail had 2 sons and 6 daughters. He settled where H. A. Han- cock now lives, but soon on the next lot north, and built a saw-mill where Mr. Putnam's " Worcester " mill stands. Mr. Reed built on the farm on which himself
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and wife still live, it being nearly 58 years since. They must be by far the most per- manent residents of the town. During the next 3 years the population increased quite fast, and some commenced building frame-houses. The lumber for the first ones was sawed at the mill of Mr. Bald- win, in Middlesex, by which it seems the first mill built where Clark's mill now is must have fallen into disuse, but mills were soon put in operation here. At the close of 1821, there were three frame- houses-Thayer Townsend's, the first on the hill near Calais line, where he first set- tled, Dodge Hayward's, on the Dea. Poor place, where Cyrus Brown now lives, and Thomas Reed's, where he still resides.
Others who came to town from 1820 to '23 or '24, were David Poor, Capt. Artemas Richardson and wife, Franklin Johnson, Oramel L. Smith, Cyrus Crocker, J. P. B. Ladd, Jonas and Nathan Abbott, Eben- ezer S. Kellogg and wife, Joel H. Tem- pleton and family, Eleazer Hutchinson and family, from Norwich ; Dea. Matthias Folsom and wife and David Folsom and Amos Rice and wife, from Dover, Vt .; Leonard Hamblet, from Dracut, Mass., found mentioned in the town records, with others whose names we have not learned. All named were prominent citizens and have died in town, except Jonas Abbott, who is still living, and Mr. Kellogg, who died the present year (1871), in Hanover, N. H.
Arbuckle, Jesse Flint, fence viewers ; Amasa Brown, pound keeper.
Voted, that Mr. Brown's barn be con- sidered as the Pound ; made choice of Job Hill, sealer of weights and measures ; Hezekiah Mills, hay ward ; Oliver Watson, committee to settle with the treasurer ; Abraham V. Smith, school trustee.
We cannot forbear pausing to wonder if Mr. Watson found the duties of his office very burdensome? As there was no over- seer of the poor chosen at that meeting, Apr. 20, another meeting was held, at which it was
Voted, to raise 8 mills on the dollar on the list to defray the necessary expenses of the town ; and to form the town into one school district ; and raise one cent on the dollar of the list for the support of schools for the year ensuing ; and to have a highway tax assessed on the list, to be made the year ensuing, and that 9 hours be considered as a day's work.
Worcester was ahead of the ten-hour law. There are those still living in town who attended the first school, in the winter of 1821 and 22, Allen L. Vail, Cyrus and Martin C. Brown, Mrs. Olive Brown Johnson, and perhaps one or two others, who remember that school in the old log- house on the Hutchinson farm, near Mr. Phineas A. Kemp's present residence. Job Hill was the teacher, and the school was much larger in proportion to the num- ber of families than are the present schools. The next school was taught by Betsey Cutler, in a log dwelling-house near where S. M. Seaver now lives. The first school- house was built about this time, of logs, near the late Samuel Andrews' house.
We have now come to where we have the town records for a guide. March 14, 1821, a call for a meeting of the legal voters was made by Joseph Wing, justice From 1823, the increase of population was more rapid than it had been the two or three years preceding. The openings in the forest became more numerous ; the fields of grass, grain and potatoes more widely extended ; the cattle and sheep in- creased, and the first comers could begin to realize some of the hopes which had sus- tained them through years of privation. of the peace of Montpelier; held at the dwelling-house of Amasa Brown, March 28, 1821, Allen Vail moderator, and Amasa Brown town clerk ; who was sworn to the faithful discharge of the duties of said of- fice in the presence of the meeting by Joseph Wing, Esq. Allen Vail, Amasa Brown, Job Hill, were chosen selectmen ; Allen Vail, treasurer ; Milton Brown, first In 1823, a road was surveyed and worked up the Branch through the town, so as to be passable. Its survey was by Jesse Elmon and Danforth Stiles, a committee constable and collector of taxes ; Allen Vail, Amasa Brown, Jesse Flint, listers ; Job Hill, grand juror ; Jesse Flint, high- way surveyor ; Abraham V. Smith, Wm. lauthorized by the Legislature of 1822, the
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first road recorded in town. Others soon began to branch off. Up Minister brook, up the brook towards Calais, on to the hills where the settlers had built their dwellings, on Hampshire hill; and new dwellings were built, and from what can be learned of the older citizens, it would seem that the social nature of the early inhabi- tants was better cultivated and developed than it is at the present day. Neighborly visits were prized in proportion to the dif- ficulties in making them. People seemed more dependent on each other for those necessaries to make life pleasant. Meet- ings also were better attended, and gener- ally much more highly prized than now ; and much of the restraints of social inter- course, under which the people of this day labor, was then unknown. All were poor ; and all were ready and willing to help each other.
From the second organization of the town until 1835, town meetings were held at Amasa Brown's (afterwards at Milton Brown's) house, except two in 1823, which were held, by vote of the town, in Mr. Brown's shop. At a meeting called for the purpose, held Mar. 26, 1834, it was
Voted, that town meetings in future be held at the Plaistered School-house, nigh Milton Brown's in said Worcester.
The next and subsequent meetings were held at that place. (Dis. No. 2,) until 1841 ; a vote being taken in March, 1840, to hold them hereafter in the school-house in district No. I. That house was at the "corner," and stood on the spot where Ferris Leonard's house was lately burned. The old school-house now stands nearly opposite the present town clerk's office, and is used for a blacksmith shop. When the first meeting-house was built, a hall was built in the basement, which the town bought for a town hall ; and Jan. 26, 1846, it was
" Voted, That town meetings hereafter shall be held at the new town house in Worcester," which was built in 1845, and since that time town meetings have been held in the spacious town hall under the Congregational meeting-house.
SCHOOLS.
We have no records of before the second organization. After that, the people at once gave the subject their earnest atten- tion. It was
" Voted, in April, 1821, to have one school- district"; March, 1823, to divide the town into three school districts; and March, 1824, a committee of three was appointed to re-district the town, and the same day the town was divided into four school dis- tricts :
District No. 1 : Eleazer Hutchinson, Da- vid Poor, J. P. B. Ladd, Artemas Rich- ardson, - Hammet, (probably Leon- ard Hamblet) J. Hubbard, O. L. Smith, Oliver Watson, Hezekiah Mills, - Por- ter, Wm. Arbuckle, W. Foster, J. Hill, Jonas Abbott.
District No. 2: A. Rice, Amasa Brown, J. Robinson, Allen Vail, Eben. S. Kel- logg, Ophir Leonard, John Clark, Frank- lin Johnson, Ashley Collins, A. V. Smith. District No. 3: - Benson. A. A.
Brown, - - Hinkson, (probably Wm.,) Thomas Reed, Jr., Tristram Worthen.
District No. 4 .- Jesse Flint, Matthias Folsom, Samuel Upham, J. Griffin, E. Clough, Nathan Abbott, Wm. Bennett, A. Bennett, Flint Gove, Frizzle Perrin, David Folsom. The report was signed by Amasa Brown for committee.
The first record of number of families and scholars was made March, 1829, and returned by the district clerks were : Dis- trict No. 1, 13 families, 33 scholars ; dis- trict No. 2, 9 families, 22 scholars ; dis- trict 3, 6 families, 18 scholars ; district 4, 15 families, 41 scholars ; not in limits of any district, I family and 4 scholars ; total, 44 families and 118 scholars.
At the present time there are 9 districts and one fractional, belonging to a Mid- dlesex district. The last returns were Apr. 1, 1878 ; families, 191 ; scholars, 271.
There are 9 school-houses in town, in which are schools from 10 to 12 weeks, summer and winter.
POUNDS.
The town has owned two Pounds. The first, a log one, built according to a vote of the town, 1822, " That a pound be built
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by every man turning out the 15th of June next." It was located on the east side of the road, on the meadow south of Henry E. Hunt's barn. The story is told that this pound after awhile got out of repair and the gate fallen down, so there was free ingress and egress ; and the cattle of the neighborbood, taking advantage of the situation, found a warm yard in which they could lie. In course of time, the ground within the enclosure became en- riched, and Mr. C., who lived near by, thinking it would bear good corn, plough- ed up the enclosure, planted it and fenced up the gateway. The corn grew, and there was a prospect of a big yield ; but his hopes were destined to be blasted. When it was just right to roast, somebody (supposed to be the " hatters ") harvested it in the night, leaving Mr. C. nothing for his pains.
The second was built in 1836, the town appropriating $30. It was walled with stone, hewed timbers on the top ; a little south of the first, on the other side of the road, near the "town brook." It was used occasionally, as was the first, to get up quarrels and lawsuits among the neigh- bors until about 1850; the stone of which it was made was used to repair the high- way.
Since that time, various barnyards have been constituted pounds from year to year, by vote of the town, but no case of im- pounding an animal has occurred for many years.
March 2, 1847, the town was called on to vote license or no license, and in that year and three following years, the vote stood : 1847, license, 55, no license, 29 ; 1848, yea, 58, nay, 40 ; 1849, yea, 28, nay, 53 ; 1850, yea 51, nay, 38.
At a meeting of the selectmen of Wor- cester, Mar. 15, 1851,
Voted, to license Henry B. Brown to sell pure alcohol, brandy and wine, for the time of one year from this date, under the following restrictions, viz. : Ist, the said Brown shall at all times keep a just and accurate account of all purchases and sales. 2d, to sell only as a medicine. 3d, to sell none to be drank in or about the store. 4th, allowed to sell to none who are in the
habit of using it as a beverage, without a certificate from a physician. Edwin C. Watson, Abel Whitney, Horace Carpenter, selectmen.
At a meeting of the board of selectmen of Worcester, Mar. 19, 1852,
Voted, to grant Cyrus Brown license to keep a public inn and sell therein victuals, all kinds of fruits, small beer and cider for the term of one year from this date. Frank- lin Johnson, Samuel P. Alexander, Joseph Ford, selectmen.
Tithingmen were occasionally chosen at the early town meetings, David Poor in 1822, but they soon appear to have gone out of fashion.
The first, or old burying-ground was across the road from the present one. There is no record of the old ground. The second one was laid out under a vote of the town passed in March, 1831; I acre; surveyed by Milton Brown. The first bodies buried in it were those removed from the old ground.
In 1873, the town purchased about 3} acres of P. A. Kemp, Esq., for $300, en- closing the old ground on three sides, which was surveyed and laid in lots and driveways by James K. Tobey, Esq., of Calais. It contains in all 303 lots, and the whole together makes a commodious and beautiful cemetery, of which the town may justly be proud.
March, 1831, the town voted not to tax Abner Dugar for the time being, he being blind.
Before the farms were cleared, lumber- ing and shingle-making were much in vogue, but the land, as soon as cleared and planted, produced large crops of po- tatoes ; so it used to be said, with the Worcester people, lumber, shingles and potatoes were considered as " legal ten- der." Since the early saw-mills were built, there have been several in operation during the whole time. The old " up and down " saws have all given place to the improved " circular " mills, of which the town now has five, with several others just over the border.
Immense quantities of logs are cut in Worcester every year, which are sawed, planed and matched for market. At first
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there was an abundance of pine trees, which have disappeared, and spruce, hem- lock and several kinds of hard wood now furnish the material for lumber.
It is related of some of the earlier in- habitants, when the town was in large part owned by non-residents, they were in the habit of buying of the proprietors, for a trifle, the pine trees which had fallen down on their lands, and getting them man- ufactured into lumber, or making shingles for sale. To make the business more profitable, it is said that some felled such fine trees as they wished to buy, and suf- fering them to lie a year or two, included them in the windfalls, and sometimes did not even wait for the trees to grow old before hauling them to mill. At one period. a large portion of the lands were held by Alex. Ladd, who lived in New Hampshire, and titles being uncertain, other parties sought to acquire a right in the same lands by "squatting," which led to much litigation in regard to the pos- session. A large portion of the inhabi- tants were at one time engaged for one party or the other in their endeavors to hold the land. The controversy culminat- ed in what is known as the lumber war.
As the story is told by those conversant with the matter, some parties had bought the pine trees on a portion of the disputed territory in the north part of the town, and commenced to cut and draw. The agents for the other parties claiming the lands, set to work to prevent this. They felled trees across the roads, cut up the logs, and used all means, except personal vio- lence, in their power to hinder the work. One man is said to have ruined a nice ax in cutting out the iron pins of a sled during the darkness of the night, and as the ex- citement increased, the friends of either party came to their assistance, until quite a company was arrayed on either side. They held the ground night and day for several days, and there was much hard words and loud talk. But during the whole excitement, it is said, there was only one clinch, and in that struggle, the man who came uppermost in the fall was compelled to call lustily to his friends to " take that
man off from him," while himself was yet at the top. The first party succeeded in getting out a portion of their logs, and the dispute was eventually settled by the courts. The lumbering job was, however, done at a loss in a pecuniary view to those engaged in it.
Mr. Ladd, by his agent, Judge Loomis, of Montpelier, had put one Gilman Par- menter on to the lot of land in the S. E. corner of the town, where James M. Gould now lives, to hold possession against a Mr. Spear, who also claimed it. Mr. Parmenter built a log shanty, and moved in before he had put the roof on it. One day, when Mr. Parmenter was gone from home, leaving his wife to keep possession, some of Mr. Spear's agents attempted to get possession by climbing into the en- closure, but Mrs. Parmenter, comprehend- ing the responsibility resting on her, was equal to the emergency. Hastily placing a ladder against the wall, she seized the tea-kettle, which was full of boiling water, and with this weapon ascended the ladder, and made such good use of it, that the intruders were compelled to hastily re- treat, leaving the plucky woman in pos- session of the premises. The matter of title to this, as well as the aforementioned lands, was finally settled by the courts in Mr. Ladd's favor.
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