& y THL TOWN OF 5T JOHNSBURY VT A REVIEW OF ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE YEARS to the Anniversary Pageant 1912 BY EDWARD T. FAIRBANKS "I writ it also out of great good-will Unto my countrymen * * * and for the sake of those that may Not yet be born ; but in some after day May make good use of it" T. Mace ST. JOHNSBURY THE COWLES PRESS MCMXIV COPYRIGHT 1914 BY BDWARD T. FAIRBANKS n 0^ F 5<\ S!2F(4 PREFATORY The pages that follow are my response to many and urgent requests from citizens of the town. They are finally prepared under the auspices of the St. John de Crevecceur Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. I have set the work in paragraphs, a series of sketches not always closely related. Material is not at hand to satisfy our ideal of a very formal town history, at least for the first fifty years. The earlier decades are comparatively barren of interest- ing events like those which distinguish the history of many of our neighboring towns. For this reason we have to make the most of what we have. Herbert Spencer's rule of literary com- position requires that we secure economy of the reader's atten- tion and make the book serve two main ends — readability and reference. During its first half century St. Johnsbury had no con- spicuous rank among the towns of the County. It was relatively an unimportant town until the development of manufacturing and educational interests, the opening of the Passumpsic railroad and the transference of the County Seat combined to give it leader- ship in this part of the State. The only previous attempt at making a history of the town was in 1860, during the publication of the Vermont Historical Gazetteer. At that time the town of St. Johnsbury was put into my hands for historical treatment. I found nothing in print except a paragraph in the old First Church manual. The first thing done was to interview the octogenarians and nonagenarians of the town, during which interesting process sundry floating items were picked up. But the prolific source of information was found in the voluminous discourse and the manuscript collections of a man ninety miles away, who had never lived here, but who knew more of St. Johnsbury than all the rest of us put together, and whom I found to be JV&79863 A VERY ACCOMMODATING OLD BEAR" This was Henry Stevens, a native of Barnet ; an eccentric genius, an accomplished antiquary, founder and president of the Vermont Historical Society ; into whose capacious hopper old traditions, stories, facts, records, letters, documents seemed to flow like brooks into the Passumpsic. More than 20,000 original letters and manuscripts were said to be in his possession, includ- ing the secret correspondence of the Continental Congress, letters of Ira and Ethan Allen, of Dr. Arnold, of St. John de Crevecceur, and others. Many of these were secured by the State of Vermont, but the British Museum bid high and got more of them, to the great regret of all true Vermonters. Now I had been assured that Stevens was a cross old bear, suspicious of any body interested in old documents ; it would be impossible for me to get sight of his treasures, still less inside his den. But those papers of his were simply invaluable for the work in hand, and I ventured to write in a jocose vein, inquiring if it might be possible to consult them a little. I think it due to his memory that the first pages of these memoranda of St. Johns- bury should include his reply to that letter, which shows that in this case he was a very friendly and accommodating old bear. Burlington, Oct. 10, 1860. "Dear Sir : Your letter of Oct. 2 received. In answer to a portion of it as to making a visit here in order to copy MSS. I have to say — Mrs. Stevens and myself occupy a comfortable house. I have to say further that all who are disposed to make us a call are welcome. We will set the table in the front room 3 days. After that time we dine in the kitchen. Three days we call a visit. According to established usage, if our friends stay more than 3 days it is expected they will do chores night and morning. We find the frock or apron as required. Come when you please. Now as to historical matters," etc. I accepted the conditions, was very cordially received; ordered my frock and milking-stool at the date specified ; stayed more than three days ; made lasting friendship with the antiquary. He showed me all I asked for and ever so much more, allowed me to copy anything I wished, but on no condition would he part with the least bit of manuscript. To this man's hospitality and friendliness we are indebted for facts and incidents not obtainable elsewhere relating to the early times and settlers. And so ends as good a bear story as any that will hereinafter be related. The scope of this book includes more than a mere record of events. Some things are in it for the sake of variety. Some pages are descriptive only, some relatively unimportant items are set in as side lights on the times. It was Macaulay who said that "No anecdote or peculiarity of manner or familiar saying would be too insignificant to reproduce the character and .spirit of an age, and give to truth the attractions that have long been usurped by fiction." On this principle our town story may perhaps be made inter- esting to the boys and girls, and even to the stranger that is not within our gates. Particular attention has been given to beginnings and early developments of whatever has come under review. Fuller details can in most cases be obtained at the Athenaeum from the collec- tions of town memorabilia which I have deposited there, also from the files of the Caledonian to which the later pages herein have been much indebted. In respect of any errors or inadvertent omissions that may hereafter be discovered, there will be more regrets on the part of the writer than can be anywhere else. To the memory of the men and women who in former time adorned and dignified the town with high integrity, refinement and serious living, with business thrift and public spirited citizenship —and to all who today are adding to its fair fame and prosperity, this contribution to the annals of the town of St. Johnsbury is cordially inscribed. Edward Taylor Fairbanks THE SHEEPCOTE MDCCCCXIV "The researches of Herodotus of Harlicarnassus, which he puts forth in the hope of thereby preserving from oblivion the remembrance of what things men have done in the past." CONTENTS I EARLIEST TIMES II CONTRIVING A NAME III PIONEERING 1686—1790 IV MAKING A TOWN V A BUNCH OF STORIES VI THE PASSING OF THE ARNOLDS VII LOCALITIES AND EVENTS Vin AMONGST THE RECORD BOOKS IX THE OLD DISTRICT SCHOOL X RELATING TO RELIGION XI EARLY INDUSTRIES XII DIVERSIONS AND DOINGS XIII ON THE ROAD XIV A NEWSPAPER XV TAVERN STORE FARM XVI UP AT THE BRICK HOUSE XVII NOTES OF PROGRESS XVIII EIGHTEEN-HUNDRED-FORTY XIX DEBATES AND BOOKS XX EDUCATIONAL XXI EXPANSION XXII WAR XXIII FOR PROTECTION XXIV RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS 11 21 29 47 59 69 82 94 109 121 138 159 173 183 191 203 211 223 235 244 257 273 291 305 XXV PRO BONO PUBLICO XXVI MUSICAL XXVII DESCRIPTIVE AND REMINISCENT XXVIII BEYOND THE BORDER XXIX OCCASIONS AND OCCURRENCES XXX MISCELLANEOUS XXXI THE PLATFORM SCALE XXXII IN THE PUALIC SERVICE XXXIII UTILITIES XXXIV BUSINESS NOTES XXXV CLUBS AND ORDERS XXXVI VILLAGE OF ST. JOHNSBURY XXXVII PARKS AND TREES XXXVIII COSMIC EVENTS XXXIX A CHRONICLE XL FRAGMENTS XLI THE PAGEANT OF ST. JOHNSBURY APPENDIX TOWN OFFICERS TABLE OF BALLOTS VITAL RECORDS FLORA AND FAUNA 321 332 345 364 376 393 411 426 448 473 492 500 506 513 526 534 552 ERRATA Page 249 for one-third read two-thirds " 142 for vicious read viscous M 145 disk plate " 348 shrine shine M 444 Harvard Boston Univ " 306 1847 1827 11 440 1876 1856 - 69 IV ADDENDA VI Page 443 after session of 1908 insert Lieut. Gov. 1910 330 " number per day " in the hospital CORRIGENDA Typographical lapses are left subject to the reader's revision "Methinks it shows a kind of gratitude and good nature to review the memories and memorials of those long since dead and gone." Aubrey EARLIEST TIMES 1492-1786 "The curious and imaginative Greek, whenever he does not find a recorded past ready to his hand, is uneasy until he has created one." Grote, History of Greece LEGENDARY— MOOSE RIVER— ASISQWA WATER— ABORIGINES FEW — COLONIAL SCOUTS — NOTES OF NASH — BESSBOROUGH — DUN- MORE — A NEW PLANTATION — GRANTEES AND CONDITIONS WAWHSUK AND IMQUK A moose came down the east slope to drink at the mineral spring. Wawhsuk saw his rival Imquk aiming at the moose. Crouching behind a boulder he let fly an arrow that split Imquk's bow string. Having no other weapon Imquk ran. Wawhsuk overtook him on the high land west of the river Posoompsook and buried a stone hatchet in his skull. The next day Wawhsuk waited near the spring till sunset, when the moose came down to drink. That evening as the moon rose he took the antlers of the moose, decorated with Imquk's scalp, and a gourd full of medicine water, over to the wigwam of Poosuk. This was for Poosuk's daughter Asisqwa, who was sick and who had no liking for Imquk. So she got well and three moons after was living in Wawhsuk's wigwam close by the medicine spring ; and they always called the river monsuluk, Moose River, and the spring was called asisqwa water. Date, 1492, as nearly as can be determined. While this incident will account for the name of the Spring Asisqwa and Asisqwa Avenue at the upper end of Portland street it also indicates the paucity of Indian tradition within our borders : 12 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY being in fact all there is. Moreover its authenticity will un- doubtedly be subjected to suitable scrutiny by the critic in his sifting of prehistoric material. Meantime the tomahawk of Wawhsuk which came to the surface just below my garden August 26, 1860, is shelved in the Athenaeum, where it was deposited for safe keeping — being, as was then supposed, the only one ever found in the town. A few others have been reported ; indications of an Indian camp have been discovered on the Hooker bluff at mouth of Moose River, also on the Passumpsic meadows this side the Lyndon town line. But the scarcity of these finds shows how little trace there is in this region of the red men. With them, as with the white men who came later, this was contested ground ; border land between the powerful Iroquois of the west and the Algonquin or Abenaki who ranged the upper Connecticut valleys. A few arrow points and a stone axe or two are all that remain to indicate that any of them ever chased the moose or scalped each other within the bounds of this township. COLONIAL SCOUTS Amongst the records of Massachusetts Colony is found the statement that "on April 12, 1755, one Stephen Nash and one John Stark have been commissioned to go on an expedition via the Merrimack and Mooselauk Trails to Cowas, N. H. ; and thence up into the wilderness as far as they deem prudent, to search out the Indians if they are coming down upon us. If so the men are to return in all haste and warn the settlers on the borders and then make their reports." These scouts, carrying out their instructions, found them- selves on the 7th of May at the mouth of the Passumpsic River, from which point Stark proceded one day's march up the Connec- ticut, while Nash came the same distance up the Passumpsic. This brought him to the mouth of the Moose River, where, on what is now Hooker's Hill, "a high piece of land opposite of the East Branch mouth," he found traces of an Indian camp of the preceeding year. His journal, recorded on yellow parchment paper furnished by the Colonies, has been preserved in the Stark EARLIEST TIMES 13 family. In 1912, a copy of the entries that relate to this locality was obtained by Royal A. Moore, the great-grandson of Nash, and the same is here inserted, as the record of the first white man who set foot in what is now the township of St. Johnsbury. This incident, which antedated the charter of the town by 31 years, was made the basis of the first episode in the Pageant of 1912, entitled "The Indians and the Rangers." Stark was the man who two years later won distinction at the Battle of Bennington ; Nash was a hunter and scout to the British army during the French and Indian wars. JOURNAL OF STEPHEN NASH A. D. 1755 4th day of the week May 6th. Camped last night on an island at the mouth of Pasumsuk river This morning I am to start up Pasumsuk River one days march to the east and west Branch of River if I meet the enemy I am to cross over the highlands and head off Stark the signal to be fereing of gun once and the hunters yell Stark is to go up the Connecticut one days March to the head of great falls we are both to return to this place the next night after the sun sets God providing S. N. A. D. 1755 5th day of the week May 7th. Camped last night at the East and West Branch of Pasumsuk River saw no signes of the enimy on march up saw one Moose he ran north up River sign there was no enimy at next camping place whitch is on a high piece of land opposite of the East Branch mouth here I found birch Bark and splints and all signs of the enimy building canoes here but I have knowledge that the labor was done last season by the signes I find and by marks on the trees. I have knowledge that they were indians from the large lake near the canidies on their march to their cowas on the Connecticut I start this morning on my march to the island at the mouth of the Pasumsuk River whitch I am to reach after the sun sets god providing. S. N. A. D. 1755 6th day of the week May 8th. Camped last night on the island at mouth of Pasumsuk River found Stark suffering with hunters lameness used hot stones near his legs and hips in the night and he is able to march this morning the uplands of the Pasumsuk are stony and hard and not good for settlements but I saw small pieces of meadow land by the river and a goodly number of falls and rapids it is my knowledge that this wilderness march was made too early by several Sabbaths we search this day to the mouth of amnosuk River whitch we will reach befor the sun sits God Providing S. N. 24 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Stark may have had a turn of hunter's lameness three years before, when out after game one day; the Indians caught him and carried him off to Canada. Capt. Phineas Stevens, ancestor of antiquary Henry Stevens, on a mission from Massachusetts Bay to redeem captives, found him and paid the Indians a Shetland Pony for him. The return trip may have been by way of Pas- sumpsic valley. If so, Stark and Stevens were the original stalkers across the tract, afterward named Bessborough — Dun- more — St. Johnsbury. BESSBOROUGH "Ye Collonyof New Yorke is in several "stripes of wch a greate Parte of ye Settlemt is made by Adventures in ye Wilderness" "& ye kyng Cadwaladre had alle." Sixteen years before the township of St. Johnsbury was located, adventurers were spying out the land, and grants were issued to them under authority of the crown by Cadwallader Colden, Gov. General of the Province of New York. The first of these, dated March 29, 1770, was a grant of 39,000 acres to Lawrence Kortright and 35 others, to be known as the town of Bessborough. This included "all that tract of land on the west side of Connecticut River and on both sides of a brook called the Passumpsick, lately in the County of Albany but now in the County of Gloucester" — covered today by St. Johns- bury and a slice from the adjacent towns of Waterford, Kirby, Lyndon, Danville and Barnet. The south line ran just above Passumpsic Village, thence north eight miles through Danville, thence east including Lyndon Corner to East Lyndon, thence south through Kirby to a point below Stiles' Pond. This made a parallelogram, six by nine miles or more, holding a future St. Johnsbury in its lap, divided into 36 equal parts ; each grantee entitled to 1000 acres ; the cost of the grant estimated at $4000. Bessborough like St. Johnsbury has no duplicate among geo- graphical names ; maybe it was intended as complimentary to Elizabeth Van Shaack, one of the grantees. No trace remains of Kortright nor of any of his associates, and thus ends the history of Bessborough. EARLIEST TIMES 15 DUNMORE ""This is a fine country, capable of great cultivation, but the discon- tented settlers therein have no established tranquility." Dunmore {Gov^ GenH. N. V.) On the 8th of August, 1770, another grant under the seal of the Province of New York, was issued to John Woods, William Swan and 37 others, covering "a certain tract of land situate on the West Branch of the Connecticut River {i. e. Passumpsic) in the County of Gloucester ; of 39,000 acres, said lands not included in any grant heretofore made by the Governor of New Hampshire — forever hereafter by the name of Dunmore to be called and known." This grant however would seem to have encroached on Bessborough so far as to include nearly half of St. Johnsbury ; viz. all East of Passumpsic River. Possibly Bessborough had gone out before this time ? On a map of His Majesty's Province of New York, 1779, Dunmore is laid down as above indicated. All the mines of Gold and Silver in Dunmore, and all Pine Trees suitable for Masts for the Royal Navy were reserved for the Crown ; also "a yearly Rent of 2 shillings and six pence for each 100 Acres was payable on the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, commonly called Lady Day ; and within 3 years one family for every 1000 acres of land must be settled on the tract, and three acres for every 50 of the land must be under cultivation." Meantime stirring events were going on. The Green Moun- tain Boys had discovered themselves. They had no further use for New York or any other royal province. In 1776 they set up the independent sovereignty of Vermont. This nullified all for- eign grants like those of Bessborough and Dunmore. Under a Commission of adjustment, however, the grantees of these towns had the choice of retaining their land by the payment of ten cents an acre, or relinquishing their titles and taking new lands else- where, which last was the choice of most of them. One only survivor of Dunmore, Moses Little by name, comes to view in a petition to the General Assembly held at Newbury, October, 1787, Therein he stated that "the Proprietors of said 16 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Dunmore had Compleated lotting out the township at great ex- pense ; * * * that your petitioner not in the least doubting that the Said Grant was legally made by the said Governor of New York, had purchased of Sam'l Stevens Esquire at a very high price 10,000 acres of Land in the said Dunmore * * * that since the State of Vermont had Exercised jurisdiction the whole of said tract of land had been granted by the said State of Vt. to the Proprietors of Littleton (Waterford was then known as West Littleton) Concord and St. Johnsborough ; already your Peti- tioner hath suffered greatly by the loss of his property and hath no redress besides applying to your Honors." Exit Moses Little. As to the town, which was intended to perpetuate the name of the British Earl, no other records appear, and so ends the history of Dunmore. Mr. Little of Dunmore was better known in his day as "Cap- tain Moses Little, Merchant," of Newburyport, Mass., a wealthy proprietor of lands in this vicinity, from whom the town of Little- ton received its name. TOWNSHIP OF ST. JOHNSBURY "ffyrst shall be shewyd who was the fftmder cf owre Towne" "In order for settling a new Plantation" under seal of the State of Vermont, Gov. Thomas Chittenden, then in the tenth year of his administration, granted to Jonathan Arnold and associates a tract of land in old Orange County, to be called and known as the Township of St. Johnsbury. This grant was signed November 1, 1786 ; it comprised 71 equally divided rights, each including 310 acres, 1 rood, 22 poles, estimated altogether at 21,167 acres. Gov. Chittenden, according to usage held one 71st part, his right being located on the East bank of the Passumpsic above the Center Village. Ira Allen of Irasburg and Joseph Fay of Bennington, influential men, were non-resident proprietors to the extent of four 71st parts. Samuel Stevens had 18 rights, most of which he transferred later to Dr. Arnold. Arnold at the date of the charter held 3900 acres, 13 rights ; equal in amount to a tenth of the old township of Dunmore. He had a contract for supplying the State medical chest kept at Bennington which covered the expense of his charter fees. EARLIEST TIMES 17 The value of the charter fees is stated in a resolution passed in Council, Oct. 27, 1786: "that in the grant of lands made to Jonathan Arnold and associates each proprietor shall pay for each right nine pounds in hard money before the following June, to be appropriated to the exigencies of the State." Ten of the grantees however had attained rights of proprietorship by virtue of settlement on the land prior to the issue of the charter : these men held respectively one 210th part, equivalent to about 100 acres. GRANTEES AND RESERVATIONS Jonathan Arnold Esq. Sam'l Stevens Esq. John I. Clarke Jos. Nightingale Joseph Lord Esq. Ebenezer Scott David Howell Esq. Wra. Page Esq. Thos. Chittenden Esq. John Bridgeman Esq. John C. Arnold Joseph Fay Esq. Ira Allen Esq. Simeon Cole Benj. Doolittle Josiah Nichols James Adams Martin Adams Jona. Adams J. Callender Adams Thomas Todd William Trescott Jonathan Trescott To the above 23 grantees were distributed by the charter sixty-three 71st parts and nine 210th parts. Each proprietor was required to "plant and cul- tivate five acres of land and build an house at least eightesn feet square on the floor — or have one family settled on each respective right in said township within the time limited by the law of the State : & all Pine timber suitable for a Navy to be reserved to the use and benefit of the Freemen of this State, agreeable to an Act of the Legislature passed in Oct. 1781." Special reservations were made as follows : — "One 71st part for the use of a Seminary or Colledge : one 71st part for the use of County Grammar Schools within said State — which two seventy first parts for the use of a Sem- inary or Colledge and for the use of County Grammar Schools as aforesaid, and the Improvement of Rents, Profits and Interests arising therefrom, shall be under the control, order, direction and disposal of the General Assembly of said State forever. Also Lands to the amount of one 71st part for the purpose of the settlement of a minister and ministers of the Gospel in said Township : Lands to the amount of one 71st part for the support of the social worship of GOD in said Township : Land to the amount of one 71st part for the support of an English School and Schools in said Township : the improvements, rents, rights, profits, dues, and interests of these aforesaid three 71st parts to be unalienably appropriated as assigned, and under charge, direction and disposal of the Selectmen of said Township in trust, to and for the use of said Town forever." At the first proprietor's meeting it was determined that the College and Grammar School reservations should include two full 18 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Rights — 310 acres each in the extreme northeastern corner of the Township, later known as The Chesterfield neighborhood, District number 10. The rents of these lands amounting to about $100 a year, are still paid to the State Treasurer. The lands appro- priated for our town schools were located in three 100-acre lots at different points : there are 12 lessees : the annual rentals are not far from $50, divided according to statute law between July 4 and 6, dodging Sundays. The ministerial, glebe or church lands were also distributed in four 100-acre lots, the aggregate rents of which are $76.50. This money flows into the treasuries of 15 religious societies in 15 streams of $5.10 each. There are 15 lessees on these lands : they pay rents from $15 a year on 100 acres above the Stark District and East of Center Village, to 25 cents on a quarter-acre in Pad- dock Village. On the William Higgins farm are 67 acres of the glebe lands. The original appraisals remain unchanged on the town books. Reservations of nine acres on each 71st part were made to provide for the construction of roads and highways, and pro- prietors were empowered to sell any unappropriated lands to en- courage the erection of the first grist and saw mills. The original Charter, with Gov. Chittenden's signature, Nov. 1, 1786, hangs framed in the office of the town clerk ; also a map plan of the first surveys and lotting of the Township Rights, with the proprietor's names thereon. REPUBLIC OF VERMONT At the date of this Charter Vermont had been for nearly four years a wholly independent sovereignty, a little republic apart among the green hills : not till March 4, 1791 did it become one of the United States. As yet there was no capital nor state house but there were men, capable of self-government : the Gen- eral Assembly met somewhere each October and legislated on all matters of public concern. "They established a coinage, fixed weights and measures, set up a post office department, and pony express, organized a militia that included nearly every man in the state capable of bearing arms." EARLIEST TIMES 19 Nowhere in the country could be found more energetic, reliant and patriotic citizens than these Green Mountain Boys. The stern stuff that was in them had been toughened by their desperate three-cornered fight for independence, and when they finally set up a government of their own, they had won respect not only for courage but for expertness in handling public affairs. This consideration, and with it the cheapness of new lands which could not now be taxed for the heavy war debt, induced a large immigration of young and enterprising men into this northern wilderness. Up the river came Adams, Todd, Trescott, and other adventurers who were on the ground before the lots were sur- veyed or the Charter drawn : music to their ears was the ring of the axes amongst our giant pines and hemlocks ,for thro them they were hewing their way to independence and comfort in log cabin homes and stumpy clearings. DRAFTING FOR LAND RIGHTS The lots reserved for public uses were located and designated at some time within seven months from the issue of the Charter, when, where or how, is not known. Then a proprietor's meeting was called "for the purpose of choosing committees to complete the division of lands then undivided in the township — to hear re- port of committee appointed to settle with new residents in the township — to make provision for erecting mills in the course of the ensuing summer — to take measures for the furtherance of the settlement — and transact other business deemed necessary — " of which the following is the record. "At a meeting of the Proprietors of the Township of St. Johnsbury held in the House of Jonathan Arnold Esq. in the said Township, in the County of Orange, on the 18th day of June, A. D. 1787— Alex Harvey Esq. was chosen moderator, Dr. Joseph Lord, Proprietor's Clerk. Voted that the several Rights in said Township (Exclusive of Two Lots of One-third Right to each of the ten persons who had entered the town in 1786, and who were admitted as Proprietors by reason of actual settlement — also one Full right for building Mills in said Township, and Five Public Rights — all of which said Rights are located and designated on the said Plan) be now drafted for." "Thereupon Alex Harvey, Jos. Lord and Enos Stevens were authorized to prepare lots with numbers affixed, the same to be shuffled, and drawn out 20 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY against each Proprietor's name — David Cahoon Jr., and William Trescott in presence of and under superintendence of the Assembly, made draft of the lots, and in the said draft the lots came out to each Proprietor's name in the order required in the Proprietor's Book." Harvey, Stevens and Cahoon were from Barnet and Lyndon : perhaps they represented the non-resident proprietors who held a good many rights. The one full right of 300 acres reserved for building mills, was located to include the powerful water fall on Passumpsic river, around which Arnold's Mills, Ramsey's Mills and Paddock's Foundries successively grew up. II CONTRIVING A NAME of great renowne 'Was skillful Merlin, namer of that town. TRADITION OF THREE SONS — A NORMAN ADVENTURER — LURE OP THE NEW WORLD — PINE HILL PLANTATION — ROMANCE OF FANNY — THE FRENCH CONSUL — CONTRIVING THE NAME — RE- DISCOVERY OF THE TOWN GODFATHER — PORTRAIT IN THE ATHENAEUM — AN AMERICAN CLASSIC — IDYLL OF THE FARM- FEEDING QUAIL — BEES IN A KING BIRD — PERNICIOUS LETTERS — A VERSATILE CAREER — HONOR TO A NAME THE NEW TOWN NAME It is a singular circumstance that up to the year 1860 the facts in regard to the naming of this town were not generally known. Current tradition had it that Billymead, now Sutton, Lyndon and St. Johnsbury were named from Dr. Arnold's three sons, William, Josias Lyndon, and John ; the latter by his early death having acquired the saintly prefix. With respect to Lyndon it was pointed out by Pliny H. White that probably Dr. Arnold, moved by patriotism rather than by parental pride, named both his son and the town, from his excellency Josias Lyndon, Governor of Rhode Island in 1768. As regards this town, the origin of the name was conclusively determined by an autograph letter handed me October 1860, by the antiquary Henry Stevens, who remarked "that'll tell you where you got your name." Before quoting from 22 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY the letter we will get a glimpse of its author, who belonged to a family of the French nobility entitled DE CREVECOEUR "M. Michel Guillaume St. Jean de Crevecoeur, commonly called Mr. St. John, a native of Normandy in France," is the entry, Sept. 20, 1769, on his marriage certificate. Mr. St. John was his American name, assumed when he became a naturalized citizen : he also prefixed the name Hector on the title page of his books. On the deed of transfer of the Gray Court property in Ulster Co., N. Y., 1769, his signature appears as "Hector St. John, Gentleman. " He was son of the Marquise de Crevecoeur, born Jan. 31, 1735, in the city of Caen ; and received a liberal education in France and England. In 1754 he sailed for the new world ; was for ten years in the midst of stirring events ; an adventurer, soldier, surveyor, explorer — here and there with youthful dash and energy characteristic of his Norman blood. He was with Mont- calm in Canada, an expert in artillery and engineering ; he was at the capitulation of Fort William Henry in 1757 ; he won rank as lieutenant of battalion ; he traversed the great lakes region, explored the upper Susquehanna, was adopted into the Oneida tribe, lived in Nantucket and in South Carolina, sailed for Jamaica, wintered with Mohawk Indians among the Green Mountains. Early in 1764 he was naturalized and became intensely and enthusiastically American in spirit. He bought a large tract of land near the Hudson, made a spacious clearing, drained 300 acres of bog meadow, planted an orchard, built a substantial house, married in 1770, an American wife, Miss Mehitable Tippett of Yonkers. He gave his plantation the name of Pine Hill, and there were born his three children, to the first of whom he gave the name, America Frances ; all of whom lived to occupy important positions in the social and diplomatic- circles of France. After some ten years of idyllic home life and literary diver- sions at Pine Hill, he set out for a visit to his father in the old home. The first incident on the trip was his arrest by the British who at that time were quartered in New York, and his im- CONTRIVING A NAME 23 prisonment on suspicion of being a spy. Three months later he received honorable acquittal and in 1780 sailed for France. The next untoward event was shipwreck on the coast of Ireland ; from this he escaped uninjured and in October crossed from Dublin to England where he spent a considerable time and sold to a London publisher the manuscript of his Letters from an American Farmer, three folio volumes, for thirty guineas ; original copies of which now bring a high price. He finally arrived at Pierrepont the paternal county seat in Normandy, Aug. 20, 1781, after an absence of 27 years. Here he entertained five officers of the American navy, "genteel discreet men from Massachusetts," who had just made their escape from the British military prison, and eventually he secured their safe return to Newburyport. By pen and per- sonal interview he began arousing interest among the people of France in American ideas and in the great struggle for inde- pendence. THE FRENCH CONSUL Under the terms of the treaty signed at Paris, Sept. 3, 1783, the independence of the United States was formally established ; at that time seventeen applicants appeared for the post of French Consul in the city of New York. The position was given to de Crevecoeur in recognition of his abilities, character and wide acquaintance with American men and affairs. Meantime the mis- carriage of letters left him unaware of tragic events that had occurred. On landing in New York, Nov. 19, 1783, he found to his dismay that his home at Pine Hill was in ashes, burned by the British and Indians ; his wife was dead and his children were miss- ing. Seventeen days of anxiety passed before they were found in the city of Boston. "Here begins the romance of Fanny St. John." This was the theme of a story book published in Boston, perhaps sixty years after the events ; which included the flight of Fanny, America Frances, from the British at the ravage of Pine Hill, being then about twelve years of age ; her destitute condition in Westchester ; her rescue and safe arrival in Boston under the protection of Gus- tavus Fellowes, a well known Bostonian. Referring to this in a 24 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY letter to Gov. Bowdoin, her father speaks of "the wonderful series of hospitalities and kindness that my dearly beloved daughter Fanny has received from the Fellowes family." Moreover this friendly Fellowes appreciated the courtesies received by his cousin, who was one of the five naval officers entertained years be- fore at the Crevecoeur Villa in Normandy. Fanny was given a good education ; she with her brothers was by special Act made a citizen of the State of Vermont in 1787. She became the Countess d' Otto, having married the Secretary of the French Le- gation in New York, April 13, 1790 ; among the guests on that occasion were Thomas Jefferson, Col. Wadsworth and Jonathan Trumbull. Note — This Trumbull was the man referred to by Washington in a council of war as Brother Jonathan. By a curious twist of usage that name came to signify the United States; and in time the humor of American caricature evolved a more original figure than John Bull— the Brother Jonathan of pa- ternal aspect, trousered in the flag of the Union and topped with the big hat of continental times. St. John's Consulate at New York continued seven years with honorable record ; he received courtesies from Washington, was intimate with Franklin, a special friend of Ethan Allen and had familiar acquaintance with many of the distinguished men of the day. He returned to France in 1790; in many ways promoted friendship between that country and this, and was accorded high rank as a litterateur and philanthropist. He was a member of the French Academy, moral and political science, and of the Philo- sophical Society of Philadelphia. He died at Sarcelles near Paris, Nov. 12, 1813, of a malady originally contracted in the old Sugar House Prison at New York. ST. JOHN CONTRIVES THE TOWN NAME In the letter to Ethan Allen above referred to May 31, 1785, the Consul writes : "If the General don't think it too pre- sumptuous, in order to answer what he so kindly said about names, I would observe that the name St. John being already given to many places in this country, it might be contrived by the appellation of St. Johnsbury." CONTRIVING A NAM K 25 This extract, interesting: to us as citizens of the town, was copied from the original autograph letter. Allen laid the matter before the Governor and Council, and before the grant was made, the name, as contrived, had been adopted and remains to this day unduplicated on the maps of the world. At St. John's nomination our neighboring town was named from the Due d' Anville, and the first little city in the state from the Comte de Vergennes. He offers to get the seal of the state elegantly engraven on silver by the King's best engraver, also hopes he can procure from the King Louis XVI, some marks of his Bounty and useful presents for the State College. In 1787, by an Act of the General Assembly the Honorable St. John de Crevecoeur and his three children were adopted as citizens of this Commonwealth. Nearly 100 years later his biographer remarks that "on the district delimited to be called St. Johnsbury, has since arisen a flourishing and industrious village where temperance is observed in the strictest manner." REDISCOVERY OF THE TOWN GODFATHER As to the facts above noted additional interest was awakened in 1905 by what might be termed the re-discovery of the French Consul. It happened that at that time two young students at the Lycee in Paris were seated together. Presently one of them said, "are you an American?" "Yes." Then the questioner said, "my ancestor was in America a hundred years a£o or more and had the naming of a town." "Where was that?" "In the state of Vermont, and the town is St. Johnsbury." "That town," said the American, "was the home of my ancestor." This young man was Robert Turner, grandson of Gen. Stephen Hawkins, great- great grandson of Jeriah Hawkins, one of the earliest settlers of this town. The French student was Lionel de Crevecoeur, great great grandson of the man who had the naming of a town in Ver- mont. It then came out that his father Robert de Crevecoeur, not then living, had in 1883, published a voluminous and interest- ing biography of the Consul St. John. When this became known in St. Johnsbury, correspondence was taken up with Madame de Crevecoeur, resulting in the presentation by her to the Athenaeum of a portrait of St. John, a picture of Pine Hill plantation, and a 26 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY copy of the book, "Saint John de Crevecoeur, sa Vie et ses Ouvr cures." Copious material from this biography was given by Mr. S. O. Todd in the Caledonians of June 1905, on file in the Athenaeum. The portrait is an engraving produced from profile sketch in black chalk and pastel ; it was sent by the hand of his valet from Paris in 1786 to his son Alexander, then in Caen ; on the back of the frame was inscribed in English, "St. John de Crevecoeur, Your Father." AN AMERICAN CLASSIC An additional discovery interesting to the general public was made in 1904 thro the revival of interest in our Colonial litera- ture. This was the re-issue in New York of "An Early American Classic, entitled Letters from an American Farmer, by J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur." Apart from any interest it may have in the town that bears his name, this book found generous recognition for its literary merit. It was written at Pine Hill and the first edition appeared in London, 1782 ; it was brought out in four languages by nine different publishers, in London, Dublin, Bel- fast, Philadelphia, Leyden, Leipsic and Paris. "The book," says the Countess d'Houdetot of France, "has met the greatest and most flattering success ; every one loves the author and esteems his character." Charles Lamb wrote Hazlitt for a copy of de Crevecoeur's book on America ; and the lively, pictorial way in which the new world scenery and manners are therein depicted was pointed out by Hazlitt in the Edinburgh Review. Barrett Wendell thinks its portraiture of Colonial life is rather ideal ; but, says Moses Coit Tyler, it may have stirred the imagination of Byron, Southey and Coleridge. President Washington wrote that he found in it "a good deal of profitable and amusive information." Some of its pages anticipate the vein of the Ik Marvel rural papers ; the idyl of life at Pine Hill, for example— where the farmer drives his plow, the wife sits knitting under the apple tree, the little boy rides in a chair screwed to the plow beam. His sympathies are extended to creatures that need befriending ; "instead of trapping and murther- ing the quail in midwinter where they light in the angles of the CONTRIVING A NAME 27 fences, I carry them chaff and grain ; the one to feed them, the other to protect their tender feet from freezing fast to the earth as I have observed them to do." He was obliged however to check the depredations among his bee hives : "I took a king bird that was snapping up quantities of my bees and opened his craw, from which I took 171 bees ; I laid them out on a blanket in the sun — to my surprise 54 returned to life, licked themselves clean and joyfully went back to the hive, where they probably informed their companions of such an adventure and escape as I believe had never happened before to American bees," [With like genial spirit, Ik Marvel a century later, sees on his Farm at Edgewood, king-birds and bees. "I have not the heart to shoot at the king- birds, nor do I enter very actively into the battle of the bees. I give them fair play, good lodging, limitless flowers, willows bend- ing—as Virgil advises — in to the quiet water of a near pool."] It is of interest to us of later time to read in the appendix of Creve- coeur's book that in the city of New York "the streets are fre- quently cleaned and are lighted during the dark nights, also cer- tain of them have sidewalks paved with slabs of rocks and adorned with plane trees." In one of his Letters the American Farmer remarks that life in this country is independent and tranquil, under laws that are simple and just, and that he himself has caused upwards of 120 families to come thither. This statement alarmed the mind of a certain conservative Englishman, Rev. S. Ayscough by name, who promptly came out with a pamphlet alleging the "Pernicious Tendency" of Crevecoeur's Letters as encouraging emigration from Great Britain ! This was in 1783, a century before the Ellis Island era. In this connection we may remark that if the Ameri- can Farmer is over optimistic, his friend The American Printer is wholly discriminating. For while Franklin is pleased that "the favorable light in which you have placed our Country will have the good effect of inducing many worthy European characters to re- move and settle among us" — he elsewhere assures the world that America is not a French Pays de Cocagne, where the streets are said to be paved with half-baked loaves, the houses til'cT with Pancakes, and where the Fowls fly about ready roasted, crying, come, eat me!" 28 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Un Voyags dafrs la Haute Pennsylvanie et dans V Etat de New York" is the title of a work published in Paris by de Crevecoeur, 1801. It had contemporary value for its descriptions of scenery, settlements and Indians. A copy of this in three volumes, im- print of de Crepelet, Paris, 1801, is in the Athenaeum. The author's name on the title page carries the decoration — " Un Membre adoptif de la Nation Oneida." Perhaps his adoption as an Oneida Indian gave point to Brissot's remark that Madame d'Houde- tot in her salon at Paris-"proud of possessing an American Savage, wished to form him and launch him into society. But he had the good sense to refuse, and confine himself to the picked society of men of letters." This was characteristic of the man. To the end of his life St. John was keenly alive to every thing that might contribute to human progress and betterment. He made one of the first attempts in this country at what is now called scientific agriculture ; he wrote to Ethan Allen for seeds of any grass, bush or plant likely to be useful or curious ; in France he published a treatise on the culture of the potato then little known ; also helped the introduction of lightning rods into that country. He prepared for the French government voluminous data relating to economic conditions in New York state ; he established the first packet-line between New York and France ; he distributed samples of paper made from the bark of the linden tree, antici- pating the present day wood-pulp product; he became intensely interested in the initial experiments with steam as a motive power, respecting which he wrote the Ducd'Harcourt, fully con- vinced of its feasibility twenty years before Fulton drove his steamboat up the Hudson. Like his American friends Franklin and Rittenhouse and Jefferson, he was eager and alert in explor- ing the field of new ideas and practical applications of the arts and sciences. It is a pleasure now to record on these pages that the man so little known in the town that perpetuates his name, was widely recognized in his day as a gentleman of culture and versatility, honored for his partriotism and philanthropy, for sweetness and dignity of character, whose life was devoted to the good of man- kind. Ill PIONEERING 1787-1790 "The hardy and restless backwoodsmen were now hewing their way into the vast, sombre forests — frontiersmen of strong will and adventurous temper, accustomed to the hard, barren, and yet strangely fascinating life of pioneers in the wilderness." Roosevelt. A CLEARING IN THE WILDERNESS — NEWS FOR KING GEORGE—A PATRIOT IN CONGRESS — TOWN SURVEYS — FIELD BOOK OF SURVEYOR GENERAL — SLEEPY HOLLOW — PIONEERS OF 1786 — A LOG HOUSE — GETTING MEAL, POTATOES AND MOOSE MEAT — HUGGED BY A BEAR — NEW LANDS ON THE PASSUMPSIC — RIVER TERRACES — THE PLAIN — ALTITUDES "Felled the Forest And let in the sun. 1 St. Johnsbury Plain was an unbroken wilderness prior to 1787. On the 7th of May that year a man built his camp near the north end. The same month, with five other choppers, he felled and burned seven acres of forest. Early in June this was planted with corn "in the Indian manner," potatoes, squashes, beans, cucumbers and turnips. In July ten more acres were chopped and sowed with oats and wheat mixed with clover. "This work I did all by hand, not having one minute of ox-work about it. I have chopped besides the above on my homestead lot about 26 30 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY acres and girdled 30 acres more, so that I have an opening of 43 acres be- sides the girdled land to begin on next spring." "I labored under great disadvantages in making this beginning; the nearest mill was ten miles off, and most of my provisions I brought from 26-30 miles ; being under necessity of making a log canoe 30 feet long to freight in my stores by the river which was rapid and had several carrying places to pass." "When I had chopped as much as I judged prudent I employed my hands in making roads and bridges and in surveying townships. I have cut out 16 miles of roads, dug and bridged where necessary ; one bridge I built 12 feet high and covered 80 feet long. I was at one time ten nights suc- cessively in the woods without shelter on the business of roads ; not one man was sick, and I believe there is not anywhere a more healthy couotry. * * Your dutiful son, Jonathan." JONATHAN ARNOLD The man who took this bit of summer outing in 1787 was Jonathan Arnold Esquire, somewhile sergeant and surgeon in the revolutionary army, member of the Continental Congress, chief proprietor and founder of St. Johnsbury. His abilities were by no means limited to building log canoes and chopping forests. Something of the same impetuous force and initiative that felled the old hemlocks on this Plain went into a document drafted by him eleven years before, and still extant in his handwriting. This was "a solemn, deliberate, desperate Act of popular sovereignty" that legislated the Colony and Dominion of Rhode Island out of the hands of King George on the 4th of May, 1776, two months before the Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia. That same night couriers were dispatched to all the colonies with the thrilling news. We are minded to take off our hats to the St. Johnsbury woodchopper whose fearless sense of right confronted the British Crown and set up in little Rhode Island the first inde- dependent state in America not counting the Mecklenburg Declara- tion. The second to declare its free sovereignty was the Green Mountain Tract, to which with axe and town charter in hand he migrated in 1787, being at that time forty-five years of age. THE ACT OF REVOLT The revolt of Rhode Island is no part of the history of St. Johnsbury. But as the Act that declared it, was formulated and PIONEERING 31 pushed thro the legislative assembly by the founder of our town, it is too important a document to be omitted ; the substance of it is therefore here transcribed. "An Act repealing an Act," etc. "Whereas in all states existing by compact, protection and allegiance are reciprocal, the latter being only due in consequence of the former — and whereas George the Third King of Great Britain, forgetting his dignity, regardless of the compact most solemnly entered into ratified and consigned to the inhabitants of this Colony by his illustrious ancestors, and till of late fully recognized by him — and entirely de- parting from the duties and character of a good King — instead of protecting is endeavoring to destroy the good people of this Colony and of all the Colonies, by sending fleets and armies to America to confiscate our property, to spread fire, sword and desolation throughout our country, in order to compel us to submit to the most debasing and detestable tyranny ; whereby we are obliged by necessity, and it becomes our highest duty, to use every means which God and nature have furnished, in support of our invalu- able rights and privileges, to oppose that power which is exerted only for our destruction." "Be it therefore enacted by this General Assembly, and, by the authority thereof it is enacted, that an Act entitled, 'An Act for the more effectual securing to his majesty the allegiance of his subjects in this his Colony and Dominion of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations' — be, and the same is, hereby repealed." The Act further provides for the substitution of the word Governor in lieu of King, in all commissions, writs or other civil documents, "and that no instrument in writing, of any nature or kind, public or private, shall, in the date thereof mention the year of the said King's reign." The original draft of this memorable declaration, in Arnold's bold handwriting, is preserved in the archives of the State whose independence it daringly asserted. It entitles his name to rank among the leaders who in those critical days crystallized the spirit of patriotism and ultimately secured our civic liberties. IN CONTINENTAL CONGRESS While in Congress, Arnold in the face of powerful opposition stoutly defended the independence of Vermont as against the claims of New York and New Hampshire. To a personal friend in the latter state he wrote : 32 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Philadelphia, Nov. 15, 1782. "Dear Sir : Congress has been for several days on the affair of Vermont and upon the whole it appears that the present members will do nothing to its advantage. I have it from the friends of New York that a new state will probably be formed on Connecticut River having for its western line the Green Mountains, and its eastern they care not where. I thought these gentlemen might have imagined that New Hampshire had its public feelings as well as New York. I think it would not be amiss to suggest to the friends of New Hampshire that New York will probably set such a policy on foot, in order to secure the land west of the mountains and on the lake to themselves at Hampshire's expense — and that, as the only sure means of pre- venting such an event, it is the policy of N. H., to concede in the clearest and most decided manner to Vermont's independence. Propositions, I doubt not, have passed between some individuals of your state and New York to divide Vermont between them by the height of land ; but from what I can discover it will be dangerous for New Hampshire to depend on such a division ; and if New York agrees to it, I think it must be with a view to effect a future division of your state. I am the more confirmed in this opinion from senti- ments discoverable in the persons lately banished from Vermont, viz : Phelps and his companion, who are now in this city propogating every false and scandalous rumor that malice can invent to injure the people of that country, who have no agent or other person to contradict them. I must therefore again repeat that New Hampshire can only be safe in holding ju- risdiction to the river — leaving Vermont to its present limits Independent . Your friend and humble serv't, Jona. Arnold. Between the lines of this letter one may read that Arnold's solicitude was not so much for the people east of the Connecticut as for those on the Vermont side. He was tremendously interested in the stout fight the Green Mountain Boys had put up for inde- pendence ; it was exactly in the line of the Rhode Island Manifesto which he had drawn up in 1776. He engaged their enemies the Yorkers on the floor of debate, as they had engaged them on the contested field. To the rumor that his interest in Vermont had led him to communicate proceedings that had taken place in secret session, he made emphatic denial before his colleagues in Con- gress. After a time he determined to make Vermont his home. In view of public services he had rendered, the state made excep- tional contracts with him for lands now included in Lyndon and St. Johnsbury. His independent spirit, tinged with a bit of cyni- cism, is revealed in a letter addressed to one of his business friends. PIONEERING 33 "I must confess I feel myself happy in having risked so much on the Vermont bottom * * here we may retire ; a few acres will easily supply all real wants ; are we distant from circles of wealth and ambition? We are the same distance from heresy, confusion, chicane and disappointment. Are we remote from friends? We are equally so from flatterers and defrauders." This probably refers to the gross mismanagement that had recently wrecked his foundry enterprise at Winchester, N. H., the agents of which he terms "as finished a set of villains as ever graced a halter." TOWN SURVEYS On the 8th of March, 1787, Dr. Arnold, then in Bennington, wrote Esquire Whitelaw about completing the survey of the town lines and laying out the lots of 300 acres each. "I am to desire you to get Josiah Nichols and Martin Adams to assist you to make the same, which I wish to be done plain and distinct ; and if Mr. Adams, or Nichols cannot attend that service, the old gentleman or Mr. Simeon Cole may be applied to, though I hope and expect that Mr. Cole will be otherwise engaged for me at that time. You will please call on Mr. E. R. Chamberlin for pork and flour for this service, and get some rum from Col. Thos. Johnston. I hope to be with you early in May and fix the magazine for your supplies. I inclose a sketch of the manner which I think will lay the lots to best advantage in St. Johnsbury — if you can better it, you will. De- siring you to make my compliments agreeable to all friends in that quarter, I am, Sir, with esteem, your assured friend and humble servant. Jona. Arnold. Dr. Arnold, as we have already seen, was on the ground the first week in May, felling the forest and assisting in the surveys — Esquire Whitelaw was soon appointed Surveyor General ; the fol- lowing sample of his journal entries is taken from the FIELD BOOK SURVEYS TOWN LINES ST. JOHNSBURY "Began the W line of St. Johnsbury at N W being Birch tree marked Lyndon S W Corner Nov. 16 1736, and ran S 6<>, 20 E. At 18 ch. brook 10 links wide runs S W ; at 63 ch. little brook runs W 1 mile on W branch of brook 10 links wide running S Easterly by an Alder marked M. 1, 1787, and an alder meadow 2 miles, a stake 12 links S 40° W fr. a fir tree on land descending 34 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY East— the wood elm, fir, beech, ash and maple, excellent land for grass. At 8 ch. a stream 3 rods wide runs N E * * 7 miles a stake 8 links Westerly fr. a little birch on S side of hill ; 'this chiefly uneven, the wood beech and maple, good for grain and pasture ; at 51 ch Barnet Corner at hemlock tree marked Barnet Cor. Mch. 23, 1784, standing on flat land on edge of brook running S E, wood chiefly hemlock. A lot in St. Johnsbury is 310 acres, 1 rood, 22 poles. The items that follow are found in the account of Surveyor General James Whitelaw as presented to the state treasurer. To provisions, etc., furnished by Dr. Jona. Arnold £ S2 4 5£ To one quart of Rum To seven males' victuals at 10 d. To 2 days settling acc'ts with Jona. Arnold Esq. To a man and horse 1 Day To 2 camp Kettles To 1 Quart West India Rum To Entertainment (?) for Hands To 2 Bags worn out in the surveys To Dr. Arnold's Account To 7 lbs. Salt Pork (of Capt. Colt) and 2 gals. Rum To 35 days Surveying To 4 days making Plan * * to locate the Flying Grants 2 8 The entries that follow are copied from the Surveyor Gen- eral's account with Jonathan Arnold: 1787 May 22, To 4 days running the line between St. Johnsbury and Danville £ Oct. 30, To 3 Plans of St. Johnsbury on Vellum Oct. 15 To 3 Plans of St. Johnsbury on paper 1788 Nov. 1 To 1 day laying out some 100-acre lots in St. Johns- bury 1789 Jan. To 3 days ditto and surveying on the River To \ day for proprietors St. J. running the E. Line 1790 To pasturing a yoke of oxen and one cow from July 2 to Aug. 20 ; 7 weeks 1791 May 9 To arbitration 1792 May 29 To calculating a piece of land north of Dr. Lord's farm on the South end of Arnold's Plain and making a Plan of Billymead 7 6 To cash paid treasurer, part of St. Johnsbury Charter Fees, in 1789 50 10 1795 To 8 days at different times appraising estate (of Dr. Arnold) 2 8 1 5 10 1 4 6 8 2 10 12 118 5 o* 17 21 2 8 2 18 1 10 10 1 10 6 17 8 PIONEERING 35 For services rendered by town proprietors in the first land surveys as reported to the State by the Surveyor General, the sum of ^537 13s 7d, was discounted on the Charter Fees of St. Johnsbury and Danville. Surveyor General Whitelaw's duties in "surveying the towns of St. Johnsborough, Linden and others" were certified to by Isaac Tichenor Esq. afterward Governor of Vermont, as well and faithfully executed. STORY OF SLEEPY HOLLOW Belonging to the period of the town surveys is the tradition, pretty well authenticated, of what may properly be called our Sleepy Hollow. Arnold, Whitelaw, and their men were laying out lines along the West Branch where the Scale factory grew up in after years. This land and water privilege was in original Right No. 9, which belonged to Dr. Arnold. While he and the other men were penetrating the forest to complete the survey, the provisions and equipments including certain necessary stimulants, were left in charge of Thomas Todd, with instructions to guard the same with care. Todd, for some reason, concluded to remove this miscel- lany from the bushes down to the river bank ; where, on the re- turn of the party, he was found rolled up against a log, fast asleep. Thereupon Dr. Arnold woke the sleeper with a shout and made proclamation — "Let this West Branch be known forever after by the name of Sleeper's River!'' PIONEER SETTLERS "Q. Who was the first man?" " A . Adam . Catechism . ' ' The first man who settled in this town was Adams. In October, 1786, perhaps at an earlier date, he and his family, originally from Scotland, packed their belongings in boats at Springfield, Mass., and started to row their way up in to the forests of Vermont. There were seven in the family — James Adams, the father and Submit Marvin his wife ; a group of stal- wart sons, Jonathan Adams, James Calendar Adams, Martin 36 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Adams, Charles Adams, and a daughter Polly Adams. Their boats were rigged with rafters over which canvas and blankets were stretched for protection against storms and the cold of au- tumnal nights. Considerable furniture was stowed away in the boats, including a loom and spinning wheel, the great clock, chests of clothing, bedding and similar articles of luxury, besides a sup- ply of provisions. Rowing up stream against the current and getting the boats around the rapids, brought them to the river Pasumsuk, up which they worked their way to the mouth of the West Branch where they landed and made a pitch on the rising ground which is now at the foot of Pearl St. LIFE IN A LOG HOUSE The first habitation in the town was set up here, six months or more before the boundaries of the township had been fully surveyed. Logs with notched ends were properly fitted together with mud and twigs for calking, and heavy pine boughs laid up and down and crosswise for a roof. Planks were hewn out and jointed together with wooden pins for a door which was securely fastened on the inside by a hemlock slab thrown across for a bolt. A floor of plank was laid and rows of pegs for hanging up things adorned the walls. Over the small openings for windows were laid strips of oiled paper as a substitute for glass, when the shutters were not down. Layers of pine and spruce boughs made a fragrant founda- tion for beds. Tables and chairs and benches were made on the spot. The loom, the spinning wheel and the indispensable boot- jack were installed in their places. After the first fire had been started by sparks from a flint on dry shavings a perpetual fire was kept on the cobble stone hearth, for as yet there were no neigh- bors from whom to borrow a dish full of coals. Rugs and coats for the winter were made of bear skins, mittens and caps from coon or fox pelts. The table was bountifully supplied with fish from the rivers, with roast partridge or wild turkey, with lean bear steak and salt pork made from salted bear fat, supplemented with coffee made of dried peas and an infusion of "tea from sage leaves healthful and comforting." The first religious service held in St. Johnsbury was the even- ing worship of the Adams family, who by the fire-light of burning PIONEERING 37 logs read from their Bible, sang hymns and prayed to the God of their fathers whose Scotch devotion and reverence for religion was thus introduced into this dense wilderness. Before the first of November other immigrants had arrived ; Simeon Cole, whose pitch was on the bluff above the upper meadows where the Edson tavern went up eleven years later ; Josiah Nichols a surveyor ; Thomas Todd, Jonathan Trescott, and William Trescott, a breezy adventurer who soon won the affec- tions of Polly Adams and took her to wife. All the men who planted themselves here during or prior to the fall of 1786 secured land rights as actual settlers. Their principal assets were axes, muskets and muscle ; some not having money to purchase lands were entitled to a hundred acres each for having settled on the same prior to the issue of the town charter whereon their names appear as grantees. The Adams family scattered after a time — Jonathan went to Ohio where he reared thirteen sons. In a letter to his youngest brother Charlie he said, "I want the people of St. Johnsbury to know that I built the first brush heap ever put up in that town." This Charlie was the lad of thirteen who caught up fire brands to pelt the bear with on a trip with Trescott down Lord's Hill. Mrs. Submit Adams died Nov. 18, A. D. 1790, aged 67, as we read on her grave stone in the old burial plot near the Waterford town line ; the resting place of the first woman who ever kept house within the bounds of this township. Family tradition records that James Adams, the father, drew valuable land rights in Littleton, i. e. Waterford, by the exercise of his gifts as a singer. While camp- ing with a party of surveyors, a first choice of lands was put up for the man who could give the best rendering of a song. Adams won by singing the song "Brave Wolfe," written by his son Jona- than, a copy of which in the original handwriting, is now in pos- session of Mrs. Hannah Adams Hudson, from whose family papers the foregoing narrative has been compiled. Some additional facts with variants have been given by an- other descendant, Judge W. H. Taylor of Hardwick. His version reports that the family came from Massachusetts to Tinmouth about 1774 ; that James, Martin and Jonathan were in the Revo- lutionary Army ; that at the close of the war they obtained rights in 38 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY the township of Littleton, which then included Waterford, and came up the Passumpsic valley to take possession as early maybe as 1783. The first meeting of the proprietors of Littleton was held in Barnet, Nov. 18, 1783 and, as the record says "adjourned to the house of James Adams in said Littleton. " The rein was a curious misunderstanding. James Adams' house was not in Lit- tleton. It was where the foot of Pearl street now is in this town. Apparently he had come up the valley looking for a desirable location and pitched by mistake above the Littleton line which veers easterly from the river two miles lower down. When the St. Johnsbury township lines were run out in 1787, it was found that James and Martin Adams had a residence on Right Number 6, and the four Adams men were admitted on the town charter as original grantees. Martin Adams' log house adjoined his father's, and to it he brought his bride, Mercy Ryder of Barnet, in October, 1785. This place he sold in June, 1791, to Dr. Lord and made a new pitch on Right 48, three miles up the river ; he was made selectman at the first town meeting and his brother Jonathan was our first town treasurer ; in 1793 he bought lands on Lake Memphremagog and was the first settler in Duncansboro, now Newport. Four of his twelve children were born in this town. GETTING MEAL, RUM AND POTATOES Once up in this wilderness there was little contact with the outside world. The younger men took occasional tramps down the trail to Barnet to replenish the meal bag ; before returning, Martin Adams found it convenient to call at Mercy Ryder's door and enquire the time of day. Joel Roberts somewhat later qual- ified for arduous duty as first selectman by tramping up from Bar- net with a two bushel bag of meal on his back and a gallon of rum in his hand. It is related of another man of less confident footing that in bringing home a bag of potatoes on his back, a rent in the corner of the bag let out one potato. Lest he should lose his balance by stooping for it, and unwilling to part with so dainty a morsel, he propelled the tuber by the toe of his boot up Lord's Hill to his cabin door. Tradition assigns this particular PIONEERING 39 potato to Thomas Todd. The idea of a locomotive hauling sup- plies up the trail they laboriously traveled would have been as remote from their thought as a trip to the moon. The necessaries of life were few, hard money was scarce ; wild meat, grain and furs were legal tender. A letter has been found written by one Merritt, who lived near the Adams meadow. It seems that he had been dunned by Capt. Lovell for a debt. His reply states that he had "just hoed in 3 acres of wheat, a few potatoes and some barley which was all the property he had in the world except flint, powder and gun." He will start out on a hunt the very next day and if Providence favors with usual suc- cess he promises to pay the debt with furs. GETTING MEAT "meat! meat! Bo-bo! Bo-bo-bo \"— Congo Cannibals. "meat? we? What an atrocious idea!"— Stanley. Human nature is the same whether in the forests of the Congo or of the Passumpsic — its demand is for meat — man meat or moose meat. How Daniel Hall got moose meat will appear in the following notes taken verbatim from the lips of Stevens, the narrator, in 1860. "Hall had grant of land from Dr. Arnold — 100 acres— in St. Johnsbury — west bank of Passumpsic — above Plain — mistake about the deed — another 100 acres up in Lyndon — Hall satisfied — next morning up early — packs wife and goods on hand sled — tramps to Lyndon— good going on crust— unpacks wife and goods — builds fire — sets up wigwam — moves in wife and goods — all settled — next morning no victuals — takes gun and into forest — tracks a moose — big one — shoots moose — skins haunch — cuts out steak— carries back to wife —she delighted — heard gun go off — thought breakfast was coming— they roast meat on forked sticks— good breakfast but no salt or pepper— then call up neighbors — they go and skin moose — each has a piece — Hall gets out hand sled— loads on moose meat and pelt— back to St. Johnsbury— trades— gets 3 pecks potatoes, half bushel meal, peck salt — carries home to wife— wife de- lighted — sundown . ' ' This Daniel Hall had made his way up the Connecticut river some while before in a boat. He or his wife or both of them had read in their Bible the fourth commandment, and their oars rested 40 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY quietly in the boat on the Sabbath Day. At one time General Bayley sent him on a mission to Canada to work up trade with the St. Francis Indians. There was no commandment in his Bible forbidding brandy and he innocently took along ten gallons of it as a probable stimulant to trade. While paddling his canoe on Lake Memphremagog he came upon an Indian who was fishing. He captured him, bound his hands and made him show the way to the Indian camp. Here he made known his peaceful errand, negotiated terms of barter and incidentally secured some Indian scouts who did valuable service among the settlements. THE SEVENTH MAN Of other pioneers of eighty-six few traces are found. Todd as we have seen, took a nap and thereafter it was Sleeper's River. The two Trescotts lived and died in this vicinity. Jonathan at one time thought he would emigrate and sent out this "Friendly Salutation — Know all men by these lines that the undersigner is expecting to leave this country, and wishes all his friends or foes, if any, to call on him by the 20th of May instant, and he will endeavor to make them satisfaction. * * Adieu! wishing all God's blessing here on earth and eternal life hereafter when I hope to meet you all again. Jonathan Trescotl." He probably remained in town however and died here at the age of 88; it says on the gravestone that "He was one of the first settlers in town, being the seventh inhabitant." His brother Bill was the hero of the first bear story, as will be seen in the next paragraph. On being disinterred for re-burial in Mt. Pleasant in 1856, the body of Jonathan Trescott was found to be complete- ly solidified; it gave a ringing sound to the spade and was heavier than four men could lift. DOWN HILL WITH A BEAR "No bear can keep his footing on a steep hill-side ; whenever an Indian is in trouble with a bear he takes down hill, lets the bear overtake him, then knifes him." Joaquin Miller. Tradition is clear and details are explicit as to this perform- ance in 1790, on the edge of the gravel bank south of the Plain. PIONEERING 41 This tract of land belonged to Dr. Lord, and Bill Trescott was at work clearing and burning it over. On his way back from tuck- ing up the fires one evening after dusk, a bulky object rose before him. Trescott was powerful and resolute, not minded to dodge anything whatever that stood in his way. Striding forward he found himself grabbed by a bear. It was on the edge of a steep pitch, down which the two rolled in this close embrace, till cradled in the hollow of an uprooted stump. Hoping to scare off the bear, Charlie Adams hurled blazing fire brands at him from the top of the hill. Trescott was underneath the bear, but he held himself master of the situation. With his right hand, which was free, he brought a stout knife from his pocket, opened the blade with his teeth and applied it to the jugular vein of the bear. This released the man and quieted the frantic yelping of Jack, his dog. The next morning the bear killer was hailed in the settlement with all the honors of a conquering hero. The story of his en- counter is not so improbable if we allow that this was a young and inexperienced bear. Trescott in later years became the most famous Post Rider in the county, and as such was personated at the Pageant of 1912. He lived till 1831, and as late as 1871 per- sons who had known him well said they had often heard him tell his bear story with animation and honest pride. "Bill Trescott was an old revolutionary soldier, a very pro- nounced character with a genius for invention and an experience of perilous adventures and narrow escapes. It was his great de- light to be seated on his old horse, his saddle bags filled with papers, and a tin horn of huge dimensions with its small end in- serted in his boot leg. He was at home in everyone's house, welcome at everyone's table, had an inexhaustible fund of news, ancedotes and stories, was full and bubbling over with jocundity and keen repartee." NEW LANDS ON THE PASSUMPSICK These lands were advertised in the Providence Gazette of June 27, 1787, as being "on or near the pleasant and healthful River Passumpsick, County of Orange, State of Vermont — inferior to none in quality and climate, for those 42 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY who prefer a competency with health and safety to luxury with infirmity and danger. Titles to every lot will be had from the original grantees, payment to be made in cattle, country produce and labour. For further particulars apply to the subscriber in St. Johnsbury, who will show, not maps and charts, varigated with imaginary Plains, Vallies and Streams, but the soil itself. Jonathan Arnold . ' ' During the same year Dr. Arnold, in a letter to his parents says, "It would give me pleasure to accommodate some of your smart Smithfield young men with good land for farms. The present price is one dollar per acre ; twenty dollars on a hundred acres in hard money down ; fifty dollars in neat cattle in six months, and thirty dollars in neat stock or grain in eighteen months or as grain may be grown on the land. My corn has yielded twenty-five bushels to the acre, and my potatoes 564^ bushels measured out. Should any wish to come and see before they purchase, it will suit me best, as the land will bear exam- ining." IMMIGRATION This was an attractive proposition to young men of southern New England, where conditions were not very satisfactory. Mc- Master says that in the fall of 1786 "crops were good but pockets were empty. With difficulty could a few pistareens or coppers be scraped together. Farmers hunted to find a cobbler who would take wheat for shoes, or a trader who would give everlasting shoe material, in exchange for pumpkins." Enterprising young men began to make their way up into this wilderness where good land could be had for a dollar an acre. The next few years found David Goss, Jeriah Hawkins, Abel Shorey established on the upper waters of West Branch ; Reuben Spaulding was beginning a Spaulding Neighborhood ; John and Samuel Ayer made an Ayer District; Gardner Wheeler and his brother Martin' with Joel Roberts and Eleazer Sanger cut in at the Four Corners ; John Ide, John Armington, Nath'l Bishop, David Lawrence, John and Barnabas Barker, Caleb Wheaton and Asquire Aldrich, most of them from Rehoboth, took up a chain of rights running from the Crow Hill region to the south line of the township. Lieut. Thomas Pierce bought 300 acres which included part of what is PIONEERING 43 now the Center Village and the high field where the old Meeting House was planted ; near by were Daniel Pierce and Oliver Ste- vens ; farther up Ephraim Humphrey ; lower down Nathaniel Edson ; others at various points. Most of these men came to town on foot or with ox carts. Some may have had a horse or two. They lived in log houses and thrived and multiplied. Noth- ing checked the cheerful growth of population. Children among a few of these families, as reported, numbered — six, six, six, eight, eight, eight, nine, ten, ten, ten, ten, twelve, fourteen, fif- teen — many families not yet heard from. Quite a number of the fathers and mothers went on into the eighties and nineties; Jeriah Hawkins reached ninety-nine years ; Mrs. O. Stevens one hun- dred and one. There are no traditions of nervous prostration, dispeptic incapacity, anemic blood or appendicitic disturbances. AS TO THE SOILS Of the New Lands on the Passumpsic, a writer somewhat later remarked, "the soil of the early clearings was rich and in- viting to the adventurer. In some localities wooded with firs and hemlocks it was dry and sandy; in others dark, moist, rich, shaded with maple, elm and bass, underskirted with nettles and polypods. These maple and elm lots were uniformly the first choice of the settlers. The first few rounds of crops equalled their expectation, but in less than thirty years it was plainly shown that in point of value and productiveness the evergreen lands were much superior to the dark soils so deceptively luxu- riant in their primitive verdure." Riding up Passumpsic Valley today one sees regretfully long stretches of yellow sand resembling the wind-swept surface of a desert. This shows how thin was the crust of good soil origi- nally laid on these slopes. A patch of bare sand not more than two yards square on the Wing Hill region as remembered by a resident there, has now become forty acres of barrenness. A speedy re-foresting with pine seedlings is demanded to stay the progress of these on-creeping sand dunes. The early settlers facing trees were seized with a spirit of ravage. Their stout axes knew no respite, gave no quarter ; the 44 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY tree was a Canaanite marked for extermination. Not only were meadows and slopes transformed into pleasant fields, but precipi- tous pitches that needed interweaving roots to hold the soil, were shorn of their glory and left with an offer of scant feed and pre- carious footing to the meandering cow. As late as 1850, there were black stumps for boys to burn on the ragged edges and steep descents of the Plain, as this writer well remembers. Then went out the last remnant of the Canaanite in the land. RIVER TERRACES THE PLAIN 'Earth one time put on a frolic mood, "Heaved the hills, and changed the mighty motion "Of the strong dread currents of the ocean— 'O, the age-long centuries since that day!" The rock formation of this town is almost wholly limestone, technically calciferous mica schist. There are no beds of granite, or other valuable stone, no fine specimens of minerals. In the two large volumes of the Geology of Vermont there is only a brief reference once or twice to the town of St. Johnsbury. Therein this region so barren to the geologist is notably con- trasted with other towns of the state which are rich in interesting formations and in mineral products. The one interesting topographical feature of this town is that of the River Terraces. These were formed by running water which deposited layers of gravel, clay, sand, pebbles, cobble stones, pulverized limestone, constituting what is termed strati- fied drift. The successive or alternating strata of these deposits are laid open to view on the gravel bank of South Main street, on Hastings Hill road and around the foot of Boynton Hill. A prodigious tide of waters poured in from the north filling the wide basin between Caledonia Hill on the east and the maple crowned summits on the west. In to this outspreading lake the mighty river, fifty or a hundred feet in depth it may be, swept its gravel and sand and laid the broad level terrace that we now call St. Johnsbury Plain. Here and there on the edges we trace the PIONEERING 45 work of off shooting currents that built up bluffs and projections rounding off steeply — here a Pinehurst deer park, there a Prospect street promontory, farther down a South Park pitching abruptly toward the west. The most pronounced of these bluffs, at the ex- treme south, shoots out over the old bed of Sleeper's River, where the winding track of the Lake Road is laid. The high ter- race of the Plain, which was the earliest in formation, seems to have originally extended from the south end to the foot-hills of Saddleback, including the plain of Pleasant Street and the Catho- lic cemetery. The rush of mighty floods at the close of the ice period would be forceful enough to cut a passage through the ter- race, leaving, as at present, the gulf between Boynton Hill and upper Paddock Village. Lower terraces of later formation were laid by the gradually diminishing floods, which finally dwindled down into the little streams of PassumpsicRiver and its tributaries. Among these are the flat farms and meadows this side of Passumpsic Village; the Cale- donia Co. Fair Ground, and the distinctly marked terraces on the east bank of the river going north. Railroad street runs along one ancient terrace, the meadows below are another, the latest formed. Centuries of time lie between the surface of the Plain and the present level of the river. From the road descending southward from Main Street, a small but beautiful terrace is seen on the east bank of the Passumpsic, laid as smoothly as if made for the bed of a railroad. Here and there in different parts of the town boulders of gran- ite or large cobble stones appear on the surface of the ground. These were brought along and deposited by the great glacier that swept down over New England from northwestern Canada to the Atlantic coast. The under edge of a boulder bedded in the bot- tom of a glacier would often be worn smooth in the course of its long continental journeys ; this was doubted in 1883 by one of the Academy boys in Prof. Brackett's class room — but when as a practical farmer years afterward he, Erastus Hallett, was blasting eleven cords of stone out of a boulder in his own pasture east of the Center Village, he discovered convincing evidence of the truth of the statement. 46 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY HEIGHTS AND DISTANCES Our altitudes have apparently been over-estimated in former reckonings. On the government tables of altitude published 1911, St. Johnsbury Plain is set at 711 feet above sea level, and the rail- road tracks at 556 feet. This would make Caledonia Hill east of the station 941 feet, The Knob 1091 feet, Crow Hill 1246 feet, Saddleback 1356 feet approximately. Government triangulation has not yet reached this region. Mileage distances are New York 320 miles, Portland 128, Boston 189, Montreal 190 miles. This brings the half way point between Boston and Montreal half a mile above St. Johnsbury railroad station. The town lies in Latitude 44°-27', Longitude 72°-l' West. IV MAKING A TOWN "When necessity caused whole thorpes to bee enuironed about, these did thereby take the name of tunes, afterward pronounced townes" Verstegan, 1628 THE FIRST TOWN MEETING — HIGHWAYS AND BRIDGES — THE BRIDGE WAS PLANKED— ROAD MINUTES — OLD ROADS AT CENTER VILLAGE — WOODPECKER PETITION — MOOSE VALLEY ROAD — CENSUS OF 1790 — PARISHES ERECTED — DISTRICTED FOR SCHOOLS — ANNEXATION DESIRED. TOWN ORGANIZATION "The New England town, to be short, was a representative democracy of the purest type ; the town still remains the unit of constitutional govern- ment." Shaler St. Johnsbury was on the map three years before becoming a town. By that time there were fifty-four men in the settlement, enough to get down to business. They called a meeting and chose sixteen town officers. The record is here given: "At a meeting of the Inhabitants of the Township of St. Johnsbury, legally warned and holden at the Dwelling House of Jonathan Arnold Esquire, in the said Township, on Monday the 21st day of June, Anno Dom. 1790 — being the first Town meeting ever held in said Town— Jonathan Arnold Esq., was chosen Moderator; Jonathan Adams, Town Treasurer; Asa Daggett, Constable; Asa Daggett, Collector of Taxes; Jona. Arnold, Sealer of Weights and Measures ; Joel Roberts, Joseph Lord, Martin Adams, 48 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Selectmen ; the Selectmen, Listers and Assessors ; Barnabas Barker, Moses Hall, Eleazer Sanger, Thomas Todd, Martin Adams, Surveyors of Highways and Fence Viewers. Meeting Dissolved. Jona. Arnold, Town Clerk." Something: of the condition of things in the town at this time may be gathered from the following petition presented to the General Assembly a few months earlier : "To the Hon. Gen. Assembly of the State of Vermont, convened Oct. 1789. The subscriber humbly showeth— That he hath with great difficulty and expense begun a settlement in the northern part of this State. That he hath since the 25th April, 1787, introduced more than Fifty Industrious men as settlers (which number would have been much greater but for the scar- city of Provisions in that Country) and some of whom have families now there. That a principal difficulty we have had to encounter, hath originated from the want of passable roads to the Townships by which we are planted, and which we have had no means of procuring to be made. And this difficulty is still likely to continue unless by the interposition of your Honors we are relieved." Jona. Arnold ROADS AND BRIDGES "Nothing makes an inroad without making a Road. All creative ac- tion, whether in government, industry, thought, or religion, creates Roads." Bushnell One of the first acts of the Selectmen after the organization of the town was to send up to the General Assembly, 1790, the following petition, which "Humbly sheweth— that they suffer under great inconvenience from the want of Roads and Bridges in the Township of St. Johnsbury, and altho the Inhabitants have exerted themselves equal at least to those of any new Set- tlement, and have also had the Assistance of a small Proprietor's tax— the whole is absolutely inadequate to what is absolutely necessary for their con- venience, the Advantage of Land Owners, and the Interest of the State. For the circumstances of the Town is such as requires much more to be ex- pended for such purposes than falls to the Lot of such Townships in Gen- eral ; it being so situate as to be the Key to a very fertile Country northward and the only practicable and nearest communication between the towns on and about the Onion River to those on the Connecticut at the Upper Coos , which render necessary an extent of about 35 miles of Roads for general purposes, besides many others for more private and particular uses therein." MAKING A TOWN 49 "And the said Township having nearly through its center from North to South, the Passumpsick, a River about 12 rods wide, and on the East part the Moose River about 6 rods wide, and runs therein an extent of about 7 miles — requires a large number of Bridges ; two at least on the Passumpsick, one near the Mills (Arnold's) and the other near the North line of said Township, two on the Moose River, and three at least on Sleeper's River. Wherefore your Petitioners humbly pray your Honors for leave to bring in a Tax of 4 Pence per acre on the lands in St. Johnsbury for the purpose afore- said. And as in duty bound will ever respectfully pray," Signed Joel Roberts, Joseph Lord, Martin Adams, Selectmen. To the above petition were subsequently affixed the signa- tures of Jonathan Arnold, Joseph Fay of Bennington, Enos Ste- vens of Barnet and Gov. Chittenden, as proprietors to the extent of 32 rights. On June 30, 1791, the Committee appointed by leg- islature for laying out and making these roads and bridges in St. Johnsbury "allowed ,£30, for Bridge over the Passumpsick at the Mills, (Paddock Village), £20, ditto across the East Branch or Moose River near its mouth, and 6 Pence per Rod for completing a road 1 rod wide from one bridge to the other." Jonathan Arnold took the job, and in building the first named bridge ' 'tradition says that his inflexible will, moved by some un- reported cause, compelled the workmen to begin planking at the farther end of the bridge, carrying all the plank across over the stringers as best they could, instead of laying them down in ad- vance of their steps." The bridge builder was Capt. John Stiles. He cut three pine trees on the slope of Sand Hill and they gave all the timber needed. PLAIN ROADS Originally three principal roads ran out from the Plain : one from the north end down Sand Hill to Arnold's Mills on the Pas- sumpsic, thence later up the west side of the river to Sanger's Mills and Lyndon ; one on the line of western Avenue to Sleeper's River and on by Pumpkin Hill to Danville ; one toward Barnet from the south end of the Plain. This last was built down the steep descent of Lord's Hill, the track of which may be easily traced in the pasture east of Brantview and of the present road; it reached the meadow level some rods south of the end of Pearl 50 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY street. At this point the survey for alterations began as late as Oct. 1819, on what was then called the County Road from St. Johns- bury to Lyndon. "Beginning at a cherry tree at the foot of Lord's Hill so called, thence N. 80o W. 20 Rods, to and across the Plain to Phelps Potash ; then beginning at foot of the hill north of the red school house on 4 miles to Simeon Cobb's blacksmith shop, then to Sullivan Albee's barn, thence N. 68oE, 40 Rods to the old road south of John Sanderson's." "Approved by Gardner Wheeler, Roman Fyler, J. C. Willard, Committee appointed by the Legislature, Oct. 1818, to re-survey, lay out and make alterations in said County Road." Lyndon, Oct. 7, 1819. The Passumpsic Turnpike Company was organized under a charter given in 1804. Joseph Lord and Luther Jewett were among the corporators and Presbury West was one of the locators. The road however took a westerly direction and* did not enter this town. The huge wooden plow now in the Museum was used by James Beattie in the construction of that turnpike. Scrip in vari- ous denominations was issued by this Company specimens of which are preserved in the Athenaeum. ROAD MINUTES In volume one of the Town Records are found the earliest entries relating to public roads. These comprise a total of 148 Road Minutes, surveys, alterations and openings between the year 1808 and 1843. Some extracts follow. Page 103. Survey of the Riverside Pent Road running about one mile south from the Center Village on the East side of the river. "Minutes of a road beginning one Rod east of the bridge across Passumpsic River below the Center Village in St. Johnsbury. Then it runs S. 4i<> E. 60 Rods to a stake marked thus X ; then S. 6f° E, 36 Rods to a stake marked thus, X ; then S. 26« W. 16 Rods to a stake marked thus X; then S. 15<> W. 16 Rods to a hemlock stump marked; then S. 38° Rods to a stake 1 Rod East of Jeffer- son Butler's house. I certify that I made the above survey by order of and in presence of the Selectmen of St. Johnsbury. Isaiah Harvby, C.S. Nov. 21, 1828. "We the undersigned, Selectmen of the Town of St. Johnsbury, have laid out the above described Road according to the above survey bill ; «nd we have laid out said Road one Rod and a half wide as a Pent Road, MAKING A TOWN 51 with the restriction of two pairs of bars being kept in repair, viz: one pair to be kept up by Jefferson Butler, and the other pair by the owners or occu- piers of the Sanger farm." Samuel French, Abel Butler Jr., Selectmen, Nov. 28, 1828. This Pent Road was extended to the foot of the Plain hill 44 years later, in 1872. The upper end across the Jefferson Butler meadow was contracted to George Ranney, 170 rods at $3.00 a rod ; the lower end of 213 rods to Colegate Hill was built by W. M. Badger and Horace I. Woods at $5.00 a rod. It was opened August 1873, and since that date has been the main highway. Page 119. The new road here laid out was apparently what is now the main street of the Center Village : the earliest road went over the high ground west of the river to Lyndon. "Survey bill of a Road, Beginning in the County Road leading from St. Johnsbury Plain to Lyndon, at the west end of the Bridge South of the Center Village in St. Johnsbury; then it runs E. 50<> N, 18 Rods 8 links across said Bridge to a stake ; then N. 20f° E. 43 Rods 10 links to a stake in the road west of Lewis Pierce's shop ; then N. 25° E. 25 Rods to a stake west of Reuben Spaulding's barn ; then N. 31° E. 23 Rods to a stake ; then N. 2£° E. 57Rods to a stake about 4 Rods south of Samuel French's house ; then W. 25° N. 17 Rods 8 links across the Bridge on the River ; then N. 27° E. 40 Rods to a stake ; then N. 20° E. 18 Rods into said County Road. Whole distance being 232 Rods 11 Links, Sept. 8, 1830." The above survey, 3 rods wide, was made under direction and oversight of Elias Bemis, Ariel Aldrich, Nehemiah Bradley, Road Commissioners, and by their authority it was declared open as part of the County Road from St. Johnsbury to Lyndon ; the old part of said road on the west side of the river being discont- tinued. CENTER VILLAGE ROADS Interesting details of early roads and bridges in and near the Center Village have come to light in the handwriting of H. N. Roberts, from which the paragraphs that follow are taken. "At first the only road was on the west side of the river, going to Lyn- don. Samuel French was then living about 100 rods west of where the Upper Bridge now is. He wanted to move over to the east side, and the 52 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY town let him the job to build a bridge across. He had to build it in winter on account of deep water. The tresels that held the overlays up, they had to cut holes through the ice then raise the tresels ; the ice made a stagion for to work on. It was an open bridge and built in 1810." ' 'At that time there was no Road from the Bridge into the Villiage from that way, on account of a swamp that had to be crossed ; the Road was made on the same WinteT as the Bridge, by putting on large quantities of Brush to put the dirt on ; it was mostly built by volunteer service, the town was poor at that time and the road was much needed."' "The old road to Lyndon crossed the River some distance above the Brook that runs to the Depot ; a heavy rain storm washed that road so bad that they had to make a new one. This one was on the South side of the Brook, by so doing there was less rise to get to the west part of the town. Then when the new bridge was built at the end of this road it made a good way to get into the Villiage. This was built about 1815." "The road through the Center Villiage is part way the same as always, except the lower part which went verry near the Bank of the River back of Capt. Walter Wright's house and so on. Then it was moved to the other side of the Wright House On account of rise from the Brook each way, they made a higher Culvert and graded in and made a much improved road." "There was not but one Road on the East side of the River that came down into the Villiage. There was two roads that came as far as the Old Sanger House, then united there. One Road went in a north east direction over rises and through hollowsandcame out to a Brook near George Halette's Place and then on to Lyndon Afterwards it was altered and followed the Brook most to the River, then by the side of the River into the Villiage, as now. The other started from the Sanger House, went in an East direction but was a verry hard Road tJ travel, first was a steep sand hill and some hard rises beyond. After a few years they throwed that up finding a much better place for one, the rises being much less and coming into the Villiage where it now goes. This finishes all Roads coming into the Villiage." EAST VILLAGE VALLEY ROAD THE WOODPECKER PETITION Until 1827 the old road to the East Village ran from the foot of Sand Hill thro Paddock Village, over the hills of the town farm and the Aaron Farnham place ; there was also the road by the Higgins farm. Repeated efforts were made to get a road shorter and freer from hills, laid out thro the valley, where it now runs. This proposition was strenously opposed; year after year the town went against it. Finally a petition, nicknamed ''The Wood- pecker Petition," signed by 37 inhabitants of this town, and simulta- MAKING A TOWN 53 neously a like Petition by 13 men of Waterford, was presented to the County Court, May 1, 1827. This with a similar petition put up in April, resulted in the appointment by the Court on May 21, of a commission to examine and report whether the public good required alterations in the old road or the laying out of a new one. Jonathan Jenness of Topsham, Charles Johnstone of New- bury, Robert Whitelaw of Ryegate, the commissioners appointed, met at the end of the turnpike in St. Johnsbury and viewed the ground from the end of said turnpike to John Stiles' in Waterford, (Stiles' Pond). They decided that the public welfare called for a new road, and ordered a survey, the details of which are here given. "Beginning between John Hill's house and barn in St. Johnsbury, (half mile this side Stiles' Pond) at a stake marked X, then it runs W. 22° S. 136 rods to stake marked X ; then it runs W. 2i<> S. 21 rods to Stake marked X— then it runs W. 6<> S. 14 rods to stake marked X— then it runs W. Si<> N. 14 rods to a beech tree in the west line of Ephraim Paddock's and Hezekiah Martin's land in center of the old road. Also another piece of road in St. Johnsbury. Beginning on the West side of Moose River one half rod North from an old hemlock at the end of the bridge near Josiah Thurston's (the town farm) then it runs W. 15° N. six rods to a stake, then it runs 20° W. 12 rods into the old road." "I certify that I made the above survey in the presence of Jonathan Jenness, Charles Johnstone and Robert Whitelaw, a Commission appointed by the County Court held at Danville, within and for the County Caledonia. The above described line was surveyed for the middle of the road and said road was surveyed four rods wide, and I have caused stakes to be set at every angle." Isaiah Harvey, C. Surveyor. June 13, 1827. The report of the Commission was approved by the Court, September, 1827, and it was ordered that said road be laid out and established. The contract for building the new road was taken by Asa Lee whose farm was at the bend of Moose river; from the fall of 1827 this became the main road via Paddock Village to the East Village, Waterford and Portland. On the 15th March, 1853, the Court was petitioned for a new road running easterly from the Depot to cross Passumpsic River and strike the East Village road near Aaron Farnham's. Calvin Morrill filed a bond 54 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY in $3000, guaranteeing the construction of said road, which was completed two years later and is now the populous thoroughfare of Portland street. CENSUS OF 1790 For St. Johnsbury Town, County of Orange, the first Census of the United States records 34 families, 143 inhabitants ; of these 54 were men, 55 were women and girls ; 34 were boys under 16 years of age. Fifteen families had no boys. Dr. Arnold's family numbered 12, there were two families of 9 ; and three of 8 each ; most of the others numbered 2 to 4. Eight heads of families were among the original grantees, viz : Jona. Arnold, Jona. Adams, Martin Adams, Joseph Lord, Simeon Cole, Thomas Todd, Jona. Trescott, William Trescott. The other 26 were John Ayer, Sam- uel Ayer, Barnabas Barker, John Barker and John Barker, Jona. Clifford, Ezekel Colby, David Doolittle, Nath. Edson, Moses Hall, Ira Harvey, John Ladd, John McGaffy, Moses Noyes, David Park ard, Richard Parkard, Bradley Richards, Jona. Richards, William Ripley, Joel Roberts, Jona. Robinson, Eleazer Sanger, George Stiles, Samuel Stiles, James Thurber. The grand list was $590. At this date when St. Johnsbury had 34 families, Barnet had 45 ; Peacham 62 ; Danville 101 ; Walden 2 ; Newbury 144. Total population in these towns — St. Johnsbury 143 ; Barnet 477 ; Peach- am 365 ; Danville 574 ; Walden 11 ; Newbury 872. The increase of population by births and immigration for the first five years after settlement was not far from 50 a year, on the average. The act authorizing the first Census was signed by President Washington March 1, 1790. This was one year and three days before Vermont was admitted to the Union. Nine months were allowed for the enumeration, but the time had to be extended till October, 1791. This made it possible for Vermont to be included in the final result, and the figures where given must relate to the year 1791. This being the first Census, people were suspicious of it as being a scheme for increasing taxation, and were consequently cautious about revealing their affairs. Some opposed it also on MAKING A TOWN 55 religious grounds, contending that a count of the inhabitants might incur the divine displeasure ; as in 1 Chron. 21 : 1-7. It was also a question how far the new federal authority should be recognized in such a matter. The main object of the Census was apparently to ascertain the military and industrial state of the country. At that date there were twelve states in the Union and Philadelphia was the Capital ; from which point to the Federal City, afterward named Washington, was an eight or ten days' journey. The three largest cities were New York, 33,131 ; Phila- delphia 28,522 ; Boston 18,320 population. On the map accompanying the Census of 1790, we find the River Pooufoomuick ; Littleton for Waterford; Billymead for Sutton; Hopkins for Kirby; and Orange County including all north of Windham Co. on the west side of the Green Mountain range. The figures of this census for New England were printed in Morse's American Gazetteer, Boston, 1797. A special edition was issued by the government in 1907. PARISHES ERECTED At a meeting of the Selectmen of the Town of St. Johnsbury at the dwelling house of Jonathan Arnold Esquire on the 21st day of June, A. D. 1790— present Mr. Joel Roberts, Dr. Joseph Lord, Mr. Martin Adams, Selectmen ; Jonathan Arnold Town Clerk. "Voted and resolved that the Lines for dividing the several Parishes in the Township of St. Johnsbury be as follows : "Beginning on Danville East line at the corner between Rights 14 and 23 ; thence eastward as the line between said Rights runs to the west line of Right No. 33 ; thence northward in the west line of Right No. 33 to the north west corner thereof ; thence in the north line eastward to the west line of Lot C, part of Right No. 36 ; thence in said line to the northwest corner of said Lot C. ; thence in the north line of said lot last mentioned to the East line of the town. And all the land that lieth to the southward and eastward of said lines within said Township shall be and hereby is erected and set off as a separate Parish to be called and known as The South Parish of St. Johns- bury. "Voted, that all the land within said Township lying northward of said line and westward of Passumpsic River be and the same is hereby erected into a separate Parish to be called and known by the name of The West Parish in said Township. 56 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY "Voted. That all the lands in said Township lying northward of said line and eastward of the Passumpsic River, including the Islands in said River, be and they hereby are erected into a separate Parish to be known by the name of The East Parish in said Township. "And the division of the Town into Parishes as aforesaid, is designed to enable and empower the Inhabitants of each Parish separately to make such improvements on the Public Lands within their parish lines as they think fit ; which improvements so made, to be to their benefit respectively in which they are made." Copied from the minutes of Jona. Arnold Esquire, former Town Clerk ; Attest, J. L. Arnold, Town Clerk. Page 85, Vol. 1, Town Records. The Parish lines above noted as traced on the original map of the Township Rights show a skilful division into three nearly equal parts. The long straight line first described between lots 14 and 23 ran south-easterly from Danville line, somewhat south of Goss Hollow, south of Four Corners, south of Center Village, north of East Village, to the Kirby Line, near where Moose River enters the town. Below this main line was the South Parish, above it the East and West Parishes, divided by Passumpsic River. These parish divisions were rarely referred to except in land trans- fers during the earlier years ; as in the conveyance of land by Dr. Arnold for the old grave yard "situated in the South Parish," where the Court House now stands. DISTRICTED FOR SCHOOLS In March, 1795, it was voted that the town be districted for schools, and two years after the Committee appointed for the pur- pose reported a division into six districts, as follows : "The North West District, to begin at the N. W. corner of the Town, thence running southwardly the length of two Rights and one third, then easterly parallel with the lines across three Rights, then north on the line to Lyndon. "The Corner District, beginning at the S. E. corner of the North West District, then running southwardly two Rights and f rd, then westwardly to the Danville line. "The South Westerly District, beginning at the N. E. corner of No. 8, running southwardly to Samuel Barker's north line, then westward to John Ide's land, thence south across the Right then East to Jona. Trescott's barn, then south to the Littleton line. MAKING A TOWN 57 "The City District, to begin N. E. corner of No. 8, running easterly on said line to the River. " The Middle District y from the Scott lot, beginning at the north line of the City District, running north on the River to Benj. Doolittle's south line, then easterly on said line to the S. E. Corner of No. 28, then northerly 2 rights, then westerly on the line across one Right, then south one third of a Right, then westerly across 2 Rights, to the S. E. Corner of the School Right. "The North District, bounded on the Middle district on the south, on the North West District on the west, on the River on the east, on Lyndon on the north. St. Johnsbury, March 4, 1797. John Ladd Stephen Dexter Nath'l Edson ] Moses Tute Reuben Bradley Joseph Lord \ Com. John Ide Jeriah Hawkins Joel Hastings J The above lines are difficult to trace ; apparently part of the town was not sufficiently settled to be included in the division ; the Middle District was what is now called the Center ; the City District included the Plain, but its boundary lines do not appear in full on the record. In 1800, Rights 23, 34, 45, 56 were incor- porated into a new District, and three more were set out in 1804. From that date to the present, constant changes have obliterated all the original lines. In 1884 there were 16 districts and 30 schools. By act of Legislature in 1892 the old district system was abolished, the property belonging to the several districts was appraised and taken over by the town, and the entire public school system was committed to the management of the School Board of Directors. ANNEXATION PROPOSED On the 29th of October, 1791, a petition was put up to the General Assembly by the land owners and inhabitants of the west part of Littleton, now Waterford, to be set off from Littleton and united to St. Johnsbury. In this petition "it is humbly shown that the Inhabitants of St. Johnsbury being Organized, and amongst whom Law is known and Order is duly observed, and having begun to provide for the introduction of Regular Schools and the Preaching of the Gospel ; for these reasons in an especial manner, as well as others, we are desirous to be united with them, that we and our Children may as Citi- zens and Christians enjoy those valuable advantages as early as may be, and which without such Union we cannot expect to do, if ever, for many years." 58 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY This petition was referred to a special committee, who recom- mended that in view of insufficient information, action be de- ferred till next session. The matter did not come up again. Annexation of the small triangle of Waterford west of the river and this side of Passumpsic Village, including the valuable Parks farm, was prayed for 101 years later at the General Assem- bly of 1892. The result, as announced in the Montpelier Journal the day after, was, that "the northwest corner of Waterford is still to remain in Waterford and will not become one of the Parks of the Jerusalem of Vermont." A BUNCH OF STORIES "And, without anecdote, what is biography, or even history." James Russell Lowell A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY — ENOS AND JONATHAN — CYNTHIA AND SOPHY — THE WILLOW SWITCH FORECASTS EVENTS — BLACK RUTH AND THE CAT — BIRTHDAY PARTY AT FOUR CORNERS — THE NIGHTINGALE HEARS SOMETHING — GOING FOR THE SICKLE — ELATHAN AND ICHABOD — PROPERTY IN THE EAR — BEARS OF MOOSE RIVER. ROMANTIC DOINGS AT NUMBER FOUR "Important Sabine elements were largely intermixed with those of Latin origin in the founding of Rome." Early in 1790 the death of Mrs. Arnold left a lonely house in the new settlement, and a little daughter, Freelove, seriously needing a mother's care. In the fall of the same year, the Doc- tor, accompanied by Capt. Enos Stevens of Barnet made a trip to "No. 4," Charlestown, N. H., ostensibly to visit the Stevens homestead but with ulterior possibilities in view. While in the home' of Lieut. Samuel Stevens matters were talked over and presently invitations to tea were issued to Cynthia, daughter of Lemuel Hastings, and Sophy, daughter of Elijah Grout. In an- ticipation of a possible emergency, Mrs Squire West, an expert in 60 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY adjusting situations, was also invited. It turned out that each of the visitors from Vermont would be pleased to escort Cynthia to her home, but the skilful diplomacy of Matron West secured her to Jonathan and assigned Sophy to Seth. The ultimate and felicitous result of this was that both these daughters of No. 4, migrated with their husbands to Vermont. Sophy at first encountered some paternal reluctance, grounded on the fact that Stevens had been a loyalist during the revolu- tionary war ; but finally she was told that if she was determined to marry an old Tory she might, only all she could take from the Grout homestead would be herself and one cow. This it seems was satisfactory, and on March 4, 1791, she set out with her hus- band for Barnet. Here she lived till her death in 1815, and here were born her ten children, one of whom was Henry Stevens, the distinguished antiquary, referred to in the prefatory note of this book. Dr. Arnold had some difficulty in persuading Cynthia Has- tings to face the proposition of a home with him in the northern wilderness. He left her to think it over while he went on for some business matters to Rhode Island. Pending his return her favorable decision was arrived at, to which, it is said, she was in- fluenced in part by the Doctor's distinguished services both in the army and in Congress and by his character and standing as a man. They were "published" Nov. 21, 1790, but the date of marriage is missing, though it is recorded that there was plenty of visiting, dancing and frolicking on the occasion. It being too late in the season to carry any household effects through the forests, they mounted their horses with the few things that could be tucked in- to the saddle bags, and three days after were in St. Johnsbury, where three happy years were spent till the doctor's untimely death. In March 1791 they both attended a session of the General As- sembly, Arnold being one of the Twelve Councilors, prior to the formation of the Senate. This was a most important session, for it was then voted to accept the Federal Constitution, which after fourteen years' opposition on the part of Congress, made Vermont one of the United States. After adjournment the Arnolds went directly to the home in which they were married the December A BUNCH OF STORIES 61 previous ; where ' 'there was more visiting, frolicking and danc- ing," then the gathering together of household belongings and final departure for St. Johnsbury. AN INTERESTING SWITCH After mounting her horse for this journey, Dr. Oliver Hast- ings, her cousin, playfully handed Mrs. Arnold a willow switch, re- marking that when she had no further use for it on the horse she might plant it at the door step of her second husband ; she held the switch in hand till the end of the second day when they spent the night at the house of Samuel Ladd of Haverhill. As they mount- ed the next morning Mr. Ladd gave her a fresh stick and the same evening they arrived in St. Johnsbury. Meantime the willow had been set in the ground by Mr. Ladd, and four years later, she being a widow, was invited by him to come as his wife to the Haverhill house, which as time went on was shaded by a wide spreading willow tree, the upgrowth of her little riding switch. Of her six children born there, one, Mrs. Eliza Ladd Swan, spent her last years in St. Johnsbury, where she died, Feb. 14, 1893, at the age of 91 years. The above incidents have been compiled from verbal narra- tion to the writer by Henry Stevens, son of Enos ; from the diary of Capt. Enos Stevens ; from letter of Rev. Pliny H. White, and from Sanderson's History of Charlestown, No. 4. This place was the site of Fort No. 4, the last of a chain of forts extending up the valley of Connecticut ; whence the name then in current use. BLACK RUTH AND THE CAT "When the cat knocked the nappy off the shelf in the old Arnold home, old Black Ruth sent out for the children to come in and get the pieces." Tradition has quoted this as an illustration of the superstitions of her race with reference to the cat. A more probable interpretation would be that Aunt Ruth being fond of children wanted them to have the fragments of the nappy for their little play houses. This Ruth Farrow was a negress who had been given to the Arnold family as a slave in Rhode Island prior to 62 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY the abolition of slavery there. Dr. Arnold had given her free- dom, but she said she would rather be a servant of the family for all her life. She had her wish, living fifty-three years in this town and serving three generations of the Arnold family. She had all the good qualities of her race, was trusty and faithful in her place, and always friendly to the village children, as many of them in later years have told us. "Old Aunt Ruth," says one, reviewing events of seventy years before, "was the first black person we youngsters had ever seen, and I recall the curiosity not unmingled with fear, which the first sight of her in 1813 gave me." Another says "when I was a child I used often to see Ruth Farrow, the slave who belonged to the Arnold family. I came to be very fond of her ; she petted me and told me stories. When she died and was buried, if no one else shed a tear for old Black Ruth, I know at least one boy who did." She died Jan. 1, 1841, and her grave is with the Arnold's in their family lot, where a substantial stone bears her name and age. It is a remarkable circumstance that Ruth Farrow of those earliest years was the only negro who ever lived any very long time in this town during the period of a century and a quarter; also the only person who might in a sense be called a slave in the State of Vermont ; the first sovereignty in the history of the world to prohibit slavery by the terms of its Constitution. THE PIONEER AND THE SLAVE "Side by side in a narrow lot, In a quiet unfrequented spot, Are two most unassuming graves, The pioneer's — the faithful slave's. "One marble slab, white, cut with care, And one of slate, dark, low and bare Save but one name — stand o'er these graves, The pioneer's— the faithful slave's. "And yet how well they symbolize The master's and the servant's lives ; One, white, high-born, both free and brave, One, dark, in bondage born, a slave. A BUNCH OF STORIES 63 "Yet both did serve— both slaves were they, And both a master did obey; Each in their lives exemplified The true slave spirit till they died. "But in his varied tasks great deeds One saw ; he served his nation's needs ; And to great principles was nerved, And one knew only that she served. ; "Side by side in these quiet graves Long buried lie these faithful slaves ; Both servants to eternal plans Yet one served God's, the other man's." C. H. H. Mount Pleasant, March, 1903. WHAT HAPPENED AT THE BIRTHDAY PARTY "Oft times sundrie thinges doe falle out betweeneye cuppe and ye lippe." 1588. In 1790 Eleazar Sanger brought his bride Sabrina Whitney from Winchester to St. Johnsbury on an ox sled. He had built a log house at the Four Corners. The next year it was proposed to celebrate her birthday. Invitations were accordingly issued to Dr. Arnold and his wife Cynthia, to Gen. and Mrs. Joel Roberts, to Gardner and Martin Wheeler and their wives, all of whom came to grace the occasion. The turkey was roasted, the nice pewter service was set out, and the genial company of ten were having a merry time of it around the pine table, when "suddenly the floor, insufficiently supported by props, began to slide and cave and tunnel cellarward! dozun went the table, the pewter, the turkey, gravy, Doctor, General, host, ladies, floor and all! Great was the smash, the scare; and the laugh, after the party had all crept up safe from the hole— for cellars were but holes in those primitive huts, and men and women could laugh heartily over such little mishaps — the pewter plates were not broken, the floor could be repaired." Dinner parties and suppers were memorable occasions as fam- ilies multiplied in the settlement. Houses were far apart but all were neighbors and managed to get together. On a crisp winter 64 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY evening "the oxen were gee'd up to the kitchen door, hitched to the sled and the first family started ; calling then for the next fam- ily, and the next on the way, till the last family on the road had joined the party. Arriving at their destination this old fashioned surprise party stopped at the log mansion, shook off the 'buffalo of hay,' unloaded the sled on the great stone door step, where the welcomings and greetings were so hearty as to be almost deafening. The well fatted turkey was prepared for the spit, the pies and the puddings well flavored were placed for baking, and meanwhile a mug of hot flip came not amiss after the cold ride of eight or ten miles. A good supper and joviality and sincere good-will crowned the hour." THE NIGHTINGALE HAS WIND OF A BEAR St. Johnsbury at this time was in Old Orange County. There was a newspaper called "The Orange Nightingale and Newbury Morning Star." On a fragment of the issue of The Nightingale dated August 25, 1776, is this intelligence : "We hear from St. Johnsborough that a woman employed in carrying dinner to some men who were at work some distance from her house was attacked by a bear, and before her cries were heard or any assistance arrived, was mangled in such a condition that she expired." Local tradition has no remembrance of this event, tho it does recall that a woman living near the Danville line was afraid to go from her cabin to the brook for a pail of water, because of bears. Possibly The Nightingale having con- founded a borough with a bury, also got the bear story more tragic than it was. We hope it did. GOING FOR THE SICKLE One day in 1799, Oney and Stephen, boys in Hawkins' Corner, were sent over to Goss Hollow to borrow a sickle. This took them across the Branch, which at that point had a log thrown across it for a foot bridge. Arriving at the Goss clearing they found the sickle had been lent to Gardner Wheeler over at the Four Corners. They made their way over there, got the sickle A BUNCH OF STORIES 65 and brought it back as far as Goss Hollow. By that time it was nearly night fall, so a man accompanied them thro the woods and got them safely across the log bridge. From that point the mother of Stephen had stumps on fire to keep off the bears, and soon her voice was heard calling, "boys! boys!" They answered with a shout and waving the sickle plunged along the trail till they found her. It is to be noted that in all that part of the town there was only one sickle, which did duty from Four Corners to Goss Hollow and Hawkins Corner, now known as Cole Corner. The home to which the sickle came that day was a loose jointed log cabin in the edge of the woods, thro the cracks of which the snow drifted in on to the beds when the winds were high of a winter night. ELATHAN AND ICHABOD John Ide, revolutionary soldier, came from Rehoboth to St. Johnsbury in 1792. He bought 150 acres above Crow Hill on land which now includes the A. F. Lawrence farm. For this he was to pay ;£l35 sterling ; the first payment in hard money by the 27th of May next year. Early in the spring he started his family for St. Johnsbury, with ox carts, cows and horses. Progress thro the woods was laborious, and payment would be due on the 27th be- fore they could reach their destination. So a horse was detached from the team, on which the eldest daughter, Elathan, age 18, was mounted with the money. She pushed on thro the forest unat- tended, thirty miles, arrived at St. Johnsbury, paid down the money on the date due and secured the property. This farm was on the original right of Joseph Fay of Bennington. Near by were the farms of Asquire Aldrich, John Armington, Nathaniel Bishop, David Lawrence, Samuel Bowker and Caleb Wheaton, all of whom came about the same time from Rehoboth. John Ide was in Capt. Elisha May's company of volunteers in the war, from Attleboro. He was the father of thirteen children ; nearly all the Ides of this and neighboring towns are his descend- ants. Ichabod Ide when a young man found a stray cow which he put up in his barn. She had no tail. He went down to the tavern 66 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURV and found someone who got him a bovine tail. This he managed to attach in such a way as to complete the apparent outfit of the animal in his barn. Presently a man came along, inquiring if a stray cow had been seen. "Yes," said Ichabod : "one came along and I put her in my barn ; perhaps you'd better see if she is- the one you are after." The man went in, then came out and said, "She looks like my cow, but can't be the one, for mine hasn't got any tail"! PROPERTY IN THE EAR r, He shall also bring him to the door or unto the door post ; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl/' Cattle, sheep and swine had large liberty of self-support, by roaming about and foraging for themselves as in all early settle- ments. For identification, especially of sheep, it was arranged that each animal should carry its proprietor's mark on the ear. This boring of a hole with an awl through the ear to indicate pro- prietorship was not wholly a modern device, as we learn from the twenty first chapter of Exodus, though in this ancient case the op- eration seems to have been invited by the owner of the ear. Cattle marks were duly defined by entry on the town records ; the first four being the marks of Jonathan Arnold, Jonathan Adams, Jona- than Richards and Richard Packard, entered July 6, 1792. Three years later we find the following recorded. "The mark of Josias L. Arnold Esq., is a swallow's tail on the end of the right ear and a crop off the left ear, being formerly the mark of his father, Jona. Arnold, recorded on the first page. The mark of Barnabas Barker is a hole through the left ear. The mark of Nathaniel Edson is a hole through the right ear and a slit in the same. The mark of Joseph Lord is a cut of half an inch on the top of the right ear and about the middle thereof, and a half penny on the upper side of the left ear near the head. Recorded the 2nd day of May, 1795. Attest J. L. Arnold Town Clerk." The liability of losing sheep was such that the ear-mark continued in force as late as 1827, one of the last on record being that of Hon. Ephraim Paddock, viz: two slits on the under side of the left ear and a hole through the right ear. A BUNCH OF STORIES 67 BEARS OF MOOSE RIVER '"He soon found that the bear could beat him in dodging behind the tree, and in desperation he set out to run toward the river." Bears of Blue River. In 1795, Asa Lee had dealings with bears on what was after- ward the Hovey farm on the East Village road. In early spring the cattle just turned out, came up at night one cow missing. At this date the bears had not been long out from hibernation and they too were hungry. Asa started out at once to look up the missing cow. He found five bears enjoying their supper on her by the river side. Cutting a big club he drove them off and hung his blue frock on a pole as warning to them not to come back ; then started over the hillside to get Pres. West to come down and help skin the cow. On the way he ran upon the remnants of a steer he had lost some while before. There were unmistakable evidences of a struggle on the spot. The bushes were trodden and broken, bark was torn off the saplings by the hind claws of the bears whose fore paws were on the steer as he vainly tried to pull himself away from them. Pres. West came over and they skinned the cow but got no bears that time. Deborah Lee, daughter of Asa, when 14 days old was carried by her mother, March 13, 1802, thro the woods to Pres. West's. A bear came shambling along in the path ; the mother kept cool and quiet as she stood at one side holding her baby. Confronted with the sight thereof, this bear, like the one foretold by the prophet with a little child in the midst, did neither hurt nor destroy, and little Deborah and her mother were soon happily visiting with Mrs* West. For the return trip however thro the forest, Judge West thought an escort desirable ; taking up the baby he carried her in his arms and deposited her safely in the Lee home. Four or five years later the father of Deborah encountered a bear ; at first the bear ran, till being at disadvantage he turned on his pursuer, who dodged behind a big rock. The bear plunged around on the other side and charged with jaws wide open. Lee met the onset by a forceful blow on the jaw of the bear with his gun stock. The bear grabbed the gun with his teeth and devoted 68 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY his wrathful energies to that, till Hopkin Rowland came up with another gun and administered a final sedative. The battered gun- stock was kept as a memento of the occasion, mountings torn off and prints of bear teeth on it. As late as Oct. 17, 1833, Lee records that he "shot a beare." This was up near the Spaulding Neighborhood. The bear had been for some while rioting thro the nights in the cornfields. One day the men set out to get him. They found him in a deep thicket of the woods, and got some shot into him. As he plunged out, two men on either side attached their pitch forks to his neck and Fred Bugbee grabbed him stoutly by one hind leg. While this procession was advancing thro the underbrush Asa Lee took aim and headed off further visits of this particular bear to the corn- fields. His grandson, Henry Lee, has given to the writer the de- tails above recorded of these true bear stories. Spaulding Neighborhood bears retained a residence down to November 9, 1905, on which date two of them strolled out to see what was going on. Their pelts attracted considerable attention the next day on Railroad Street. IV THE PASSING OF THE ARNOLDS DEATH OF DR. ARNOLD— HIS PERSONALITY— ANNOUNCEMENT IN PROVIDENCE — LETTER TO THE DUKE OF MONTROSE — A SCHOLAR AND POET IN THE SETTLEMENT — ASPASIA SAILS — ODE TO THE PASSUMPSICK — BLASTED PLANS — REDISCOVERY OF THE TOWN FATHER — PORTRAIT IN THE ATHENAEUM — GOV. ARNOLD BORN IN VERMONT — STORY OF THE FIRST FRAMED HOUSE — A HOUSE AT THE FOUR CORNERS DEATH OF JONATHAN ARNOLD Six years after opening his homestead lot on the Plain Dr. Arnold was stricken with dropsy and died at the age of 52. He had risen rapidly in public esteem and was recognized as the lead- ing man in this part of the state. He was chief justice of Orange County, trustee of the University of Vermont, member of the Gov- ernor's Council and a probable candidate for the governor's seat had he lived. The strength of his personality was everywhere felt. He was robust in frame, of saguine temperament, independent mind and positive opinions. Long contact with public men and affairs of the world had given him rank as a leader ; while accessible and companionable he always maintained an undisputed ascendancy in this new settlement. His letters indicate familiar acquaintance with literature and a genuine religious spirit. Tho suffering from many reverses and bereavements, he says in writing to a friend : "Nevertheless, I accuse not the Sovereign Arbiter of my 70 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY fate, but adore in humble gratitude that goodness which has spared such invaluable blessings so long. On that goodness I rely for comfort and support thro the residue of my life ; " again, "on the Rock of Ages, on which foundation alone all is safe." Very interesting as revealing his serious thought and pater- nal solicitude, is a letter addressed to Hon. Daniel Cahoon of Win- chester, N. H., in whose family his son Josias Lyndon, had been placed, at the age of fifteen years. He says in part — "The favorable manner in which you express yourself respecting Lyndon gives me the highest satisfaction. I find by his letter, that he is, as you ex- press it, contented ; and more so, he is very happy in your family. As I have the vanity to think he does not want for natural abilities it affords me particular pleasure that he is under the direction of a person capable of im- proving them to advantage. Your attention to him particularly in forming his moral character and conduct, will bind me in gratitude beyond the power of expression. He is at an age when pernicious principles too easily sway the ductile mind. I must therefore entreat you my dear friend, by all the tender feelings of a parent, to watch over him, to check his irregular follies whether of conduct or sentiment, and in short, make him if possible what you would wish him if he were yours. Pardon, my dear sir, this importunity which I can assure you, proceeds not from distrust of you but merely from anxiety for him, and which as a father, you must at times most sensibly feel in yourself. I have to acknowledge the goodness of GOD in favoring me with a com- fortable measure of health, although the climate disagreees with my con- stitution. My love and respects wait on Mrs. Cahoon, and regards to the family. And that Heaven may preserve and bless them and you, is the sin- cere wish and prayer of— Your Friend and Humble servant." Jona. Arnold. This letter, written and franked in Philadelphia by Congress- man Arnold, was dated Feb. 9, 1783, just ten years before his death. It is noteworthy for the insight it gives to the heart of man. He had the satisfaction of seeing the fulfilment of his high hopes for the son, who however survived him only three years. Announcement of Dr. Arnold's death was made in Providence, March 9, 1793, as follows : THE HON. JONATHAN ARNOLD, ESQ. who departed this life at his home in St. Johnsbury in the State of Vermont, was a native of this town, born Dec. 3, 1741, and descended from one of the THE PASSING OF THE ARNOLDS 71 first settlers. He was Representative in the General Assembly and Assistant to the Governor and Council. He was educated a Physician, and was chosen by this State, in the late war, Director of Hospitals. He also during the war commanded the Independent Company of Grenadiers of this town, "Among: first traits of his character was a peculiar accuracy in penman- ship and excellence in composition ; this qualification, at an early period in his life recommended him to the office of Clerk of the Superior Court, a place which he filled, as he did every other office, with singular ability, integrity and applause. He had a rare taste for music and poetry, and was himself a proficient in both. His knowledge was practical, and the objects of it were the best interests of society. The improvements made by him in mechanics evince the force of an original genius. His capabilities were general and varie- gated as the acts of human life, all of which he seemed calculated to advance and improve. "He took an active and zealous part in establishing the independence of this country. He hailed men of all nations as his brethren, and gloried in the doctrine of their natural equality. His social virtues are not to be for- gotten. He was an entertaining companion and a faithful friend. He had power to strike the attention, engage the affections, and attach the heart in the bands of friendship ; to smooth the wrinkled front of care, and calm the mind in friendly relaxation. Let the reader figure the most extraordinary as- semblage of virtues and abilities— these were all seen in the real life of Dr. Arnold." We may be allowed to question whether the real life of the man could have ever rounded up to the extraordinary assemblage here suggested. But as citizens of St. Johnsbury we of a later century are not averse to any good words so spontaneously spoken of our Town Father. The correctness of one clause of the above paragraph, relating to penmanship, is certified on a letter that may be seen at the Athenaeum. It is dated St. Johnsbury, August 19, 1790, and on this coarse old sheet of paper the handwriting of Dr. Arnold stands out strong and bold, not unworthy to be ranked with the famous signature of his compatriot John Hancock. In this letter reference is made to the lonely circumstances which occasioned his trip down below and the romantic doings narrated in the preceeding chapter. The following paragraph from a letter addressed to His Grace the Duke of Montrose by Lieut. Col. John A. Graham LL. D. was published in London: "The first principal proprietor of St. Johnsbury, Vt. was the truly pa- triotic and learned Dr. Jonathan Arnold, who is now no more. The Doctor 72 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY emigrated from Providence in the State of Rhode Island. How sincerely fits death is lamented, those only who had the happiness of knowing him can tell. His son Josias Lyndon was bred to the law, to which profession he does honor. With the Greek and Roman authors he is familiar, and how- ever strange it may appear, perhaps Mr. Arnold is the only person in Ver- mont who is perfect master of the the French language and who speaks it in its utmost purity. St. Johnsbury lies on the Passumpsic River and to this town is attached some of the best land in the State." Josias Lyndon Arnold Esquire, referred to in the above quotation and foregoing paragraph, was born April 22, 1768, and came from Rhode Island to St. Johnsbury in 1793, succeeding to his father's position in the town. His life, though short was uncommonly brilliant in prospect. He was graduated at Dartmouth College with high honors in the class of 1788, admitted to the bar in Rhode Island, elected tutor in Brown University, received in 1791 the de- gree of A. M. from Brown and was admitted ad eundem at Dart- mouth and Yale. He married Miss Susan Perkins of Plainfield r Conn., removed to Vermont in 1793, where he died of hemoptysis July 7, 1796 at the age of 28 years. The year following his death a volume was published in Prov- idence, entitled : Poems by the Late Josias Lyndon Arnold Esq. of St. Johnsbury, Vt. From the preface, written by James Burrill Jr, the following paragraph is taken. A SCHOLAR AND POET "Of Mr. Arnold's merit as a man and a scholar, impartiality will say much and even envy something. While in Dartmouth College he had given splendid proofs of his poetical talents, and acquired the reputation of un- common attainments in all the ornamental and useful branches of literature. His acquaintance with the Greek and Latin classics, and the best English writers in history and the belles-lettres was intimate. His knowledge of the vernacular and learned languages was critical. With an imagination bold and fruitful he possessed an understanding cool and discriminating. Indulg- ing in the fanciful flights of the muse he was equal to the calm discussions of reason. His penetrating physiognomy denoted the strength of his under- standing and the keenessof his observation. No one of his age received more flattering proofs of public approbation. His political prospects were bright and promising and few have had stronger reasons for attachment to life ; but alas! the strength of his constitution was unequal to the energy of his mind." Mr. Arnold's verse has little permanent value except as illus- trating the literary tastes of that period in New England ; largely THE PASSING OF THE ARNOLDS 73 imitations of the Latin and Celtic poets, with odes and epigrams of a moralizing turn. The most graceful versification in the book is entitled LINES ON A YOUNG LADY'S TAKING A VOYAGE "Ye winds, be hush'd — forbear to roar Ye waves, nor proudly lash the shore; Be hush'd, ye storms, in silence sleep, Nor rage destructive o'er the deep. Aspasia sails — and at her side The Beauties on the ocean ride. "Rise, Neptune, from thy coral bed, And lift on high thy peaceful head ; Calm with thy rod the raging main Or bid the billows rage in vain. Aspasia sails— and at her side The Graces on the ocean ride. "Attendants of the watery god Ye Tritons, leave your green abode ; Ye Nereids, with your flowing hair Arise and make the nymph your care. Aspasia sails — and at her side The Muses on the ocean ride. "Thou sea-born Venus, from thine isle Propitious on the voyage smile ; Already anxious for the fair, Thy winged son prefers his prayer. Aspasia sails— and at her side The Loves upon the ocean ride. "Let all attend — and bid the breeze Blow softly— bid the swelling seas Swell gently — for such worth before The ocean's bosom never bore. Aspasia sails— and at her side The Virtues on the ocean ride." Arnold's fondness for Greek and Latin literature appears in numerous vesified translations from the poets — Catullus, Horace, Theocritus and others. Introductory to one of these he avows 74 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY himself an admirer of the quaint rugged style of Sternhold and Hopkins, and adopts it for a translation of the Horatian Ode EXEGI MONUMENTUM 1. "Of fame a mighty monument In time erect will I, Than brass more hard and durable, Or eke eternity. 4. "Nor yet of time, full fwift that flies, The tooth devour fhall never ; For ftand fhall this fame monument Like rocks and mountains ever." Published in Dartmouth Eagle, 1793 Howbeit, literature in its visible embodiment is not proof against the ravages of the book worm ; wherefore this SACRIFICE OF A MOTH TO THE MUSES "Approach, O Moth, thou puny creature ; Approach, thou prodigy of nature ; Who bearf't about a body fmall But yet a belly vast withal. Thou dost with facrilegious jaw The poet's facred labours gnaw ; Lo ! the examples thou hast left Of thy voracity and theft. Here's Lesbia the Muse's child, And fweet Catullus almost fpoil'd Virgil, renowned for Epic ftory — Step forth, thou villain ; Step forth, meet punishment to pay For all thy crimes!" The monster is summarily executed, his skin punctured with stabs is dedicated to the Nine Muses to be set up as a trophy on the heights of Parnessus. THE PASSING OF THE ARNOLDS 75 A touch of local interest contrasting aboriginal scenes with the ripening cornfields of the town in the month of September 1790, survives in the ODE WRITTEN ON THE BANKS OF PASSUMPSIC RIVER "Passumpsick hail! who glid'ft along Unknown to melody and fong, ***** Reflecting in thy watery glafs Wide fpreading elms and baffwoods high And pines that kifs the ambient fky. "Thy ftream which runs like fancy's child, Irregular and fweetly wild, Oft on its margin has beheld The Sachem and his tawny train Roll the red eye in vengeful ire And lead the captive to the fire. "Now fairer fcenes thy banks adorn ; Yellow wheat and waving corn Bend in gratitude profound As yielding homage to the ground. "Passumpsick, hail! who glid'ft along The theme of many a future fong ; Had'ft thou a wifh, that wifh would be Still on thy banks fuch fcenes to fee. Where innocence and peace are found While vice and tumult vex the earth around." J. L. Arnold at the date of his death was town clerk and rep- resentative to the General Assembly. Had he lived he would have ranked among the cultured and influential men of the state. His widow, Mrs. Susan P. Arnold, was remarried and removed to Woodstock, but St. Johnsbury retains thro her a quasi-claim of re- lationship to her distinguished son the Hon. George P. Marsh, the accomplished linguist and author, member of Congress from Ver- mont, 1842-1849; United States Minister to Turkey 1849-1853; and to the new Kingdom of Italy, 1861-1882. In a writing by one of the early town officers we find this al- lusion to the Arnolds : "The father had chosen for his family 76 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY seat a plain near the south part of the town. The son occupied the same. They looked to that spot as the seat of the future vil- lage ; the design being to parcel out the plain into small lots suffi- cient for garden and necessary buildings. Everything was favor- able. The leading roads almost unavoidably centered here. The situation was favorable for building. On its border were excel- lent seats for mills, and for all kinds of machinery requiring the aid of water. The short life of the father, and still shorter of the son, blasted all these prospects and destroyed the design of the Doctor, which was to build up a city around him." The Arnold's were buried in the old grave yard that had been deeded to the town by the Doctor in 1790. The family lot was near the north west corner. When this ground was appropriated for the Court House in 1856 they were reburied in the Mount Pleas- ant Cemetery. Near the height of land beside the main road is the plain marble stone that carries on its east face the inscription HON. JONATHAN ARNOLD Died Feb. 1, 1793. Aged 52 The Arnolds traced their family origin to Yuir, King of Guent- land and Yuir, second son of Cadwaladr King of the Britons. He built the Castle of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales. REDISCOVERY OF THE TOWN FATHER In the summer of 1898 a gentleman from New York City spending a few hours between trains in St. Johnsbury called at The Sheepcote on Park Street. He expressed great interest in the attractiveness of the village, which, as presently appeared, meant more to him than to the ordinary stranger. For here, in 1792, was born his grandfather, Gov. Lemuel Hastings Arnold, son of Jonathan and Cynthia Hastings Arnold ; he himself being the third of that name and his young son the fourth. An important result of that pleasant call was, some while later, a proposition to present to the town an oil portrait of its founder. The painting was according executed by Richard Criefield, a New York artist THE PASSING OF THE ARNOLDS 77 from a miniature supposed to have been made in Philadelphia in 1782, while Dr. Arnold was a member of Congress in that city. This portrait done on porcelain, was given by Gov. L. H. Arnold to his daughter Mrs. Aborn of Orange, N. J., and is the only original likeness known. On the 25th of Nov. 1898, Mr. Lemuel H. Arnold and his family came on from New York. They were met by a company of citizens who had assembled in the Art Gallery of the Athe- naeum where the picture had just been hung. After a few grace- ful words from the donor the veil was drawn, and, for the first time in our lives we looked on the face of our Town Father. What we saw was not the rugged features of a pioneer woodchopper, but a courtly figure in velvet and ruffles, with powdered hair, of refined and benignant countenance. This was the man who, early and late and against great odds, had defended in Congress the little sovereignty set up and pluck- ily maintained for fourteen years by the Green Mountain Boys — who had brought to the founding of this town high distinction as a legislator and able leader of men. The portrait hangs in the north alcove of the Art Gallery and bears the following inscrip- tion : JONATHAN ARNOLD founder of st. johnsbury presented to the town by his great grandson Lemuel Hastings Arnold 1898 Lemuel Hastings Arnold the first, son of Jonathan and Cynthia Hastings Arnold, was born Dec. 29, 1792, in the old house at the head of the Plain. He was educated at Providence and Dartmouth College, class of 1811 ; was Governor of Rhode Island 1841-1842 ; a member of Congress 1845-1847 ; died at Kingston, June 27, 1852. At the time when he was a candidate for the office of Governor, the political journals of the day disclose a curious bit of information cited against him. "During the canvass and in the heat of the electioneering campaign conducted upon the high pres- 78 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY sure principle, a zealous Jackson man lustily accused Mr. Arnold of having been born in VermontV Notwithstanding this untoward circumstance he was elected by a handsome majority and did honor to the state of his birth as well as the state of his adoption. "Gov. Arnold was a man of very high character, much respected for his many virtues public and private," "an accomplished scholar and ripe statesman." A DWELLING HOUSE "Now wyll I shewe hystorycallye ye forme and fashyon of that thynge." Bale THE FIRST HOUSE IN ST. JOHNSBURY In the spring of 1787 Dr. Arnold got an up and down lumber saw into position at The Falls near the present village water works. Here were turned out the boards and timbers which he presently jointed together into a small dwelling house just above the Park that now bears his name. Except the little clearing he had made at this point the entire Plain was a dense forest. This was the first and for a long time the only framed house in the township. It was evidently intended for temporary housing only, a lodge in the wilderness. It was low posted, 24 by 30 feet square, of rough boards, unclapboarded, roofed with split shingle. A cobble stone fireplace and chimney furnished necessary comfort and cooking facilities. Four years later the cobblestones were pulled out making way for brick, manufactured on the hillside by Asa Lee, a brickmaker recently arrived in the settlement. The interior of the house was described by someone who remembered it in its first estate as being pretty much all one room. There were six arm chairs that had been brought up from Rhode Island. One of them still survives in this vicinity. The house fronted the east, the large room was presumably the south gable end look- ing toward the street that was to be. This one room arrived at some measure of distinction in the little community, becoming the center of various happenings, social, business, official and other, which would naturally call the six arm chairs into requisition. In it was held the first Proprietor's THE PASSING OF THE ARNOLDS 79 Meeting of August 6, 1787, at which the undesignated Township Rights were drafted for, the lots having first been shuffled and then drawn by Daniel Cahoon, Jr., and William Trescott. Here the organization of the town was effected in 1790 at "the first town meeting ever held in said town." In this room on the 17th of January, 1793, a bright fire blazing on the hearth, Eneas Harvey and Rhoda Smith produced the requisite legal publication and were "joined in marriage by Jonathan Arnold, Esquire, in the presence of several witnesses" — the first wedding party in our town. In the third year a shadow fell upon the house, when its gentle mistress, Mrs. Alice C. Arnold, succumbed to the rigor of pioneer life, leaving a little daughter, Freelove, in its lonely rooms. Old Aunt Ruth, attended to the domestic affairs ; she was the negress who had been given as a slave to the Arnold family in Rhode Island ; she was set free, but chose to remain a servant for life, and lived in the service of the family in this town 53 years. She was kind and trusty and capable, a fine specimen of her race. To this house in the wilderness, so unlike the well-appointed home of her parents in Charlestown No. 4, Dr. Arnold brought his third wife, Cynthia Hastings, after the romantic events of Nov- ember, 1790, narrated on page 59. Her son, Lemuel Hastings Arnold, born under these low rafters the year following, lived to become distinguished among the Governors of Rhode Island and a member of Congress. The house, more or less improved was occupied by Dr. Arnold during the six years of his life here ; then by his gifted son, Josias L. Arnold, whose career of brilliant promise continued only three years, — his widow, Mrs. Susan P. Arnold, afterwards removed to Woodstock. William C. Arnold, 1st, another son, was then master of the house for some years, after which it was abandoned by the Arnold family altogether. Unfortunately it did not immediately arrive at its baptism of fire, but as time went on it fell into ill condition and for a long time it stood an empty and unsightly reminder of the primitive settlement. Children began to be shy of it especially toward nightfall. They heard wierd talk that 'twas a haunted house, 80 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY whatever that might mean. Longfellow had not then explained that 1 'All houses wherein men have lived and died Are haunted houses." So the children of 1840 looked askance at the old deserted house and went on wondering. It seemed inclined to hug more closely to mother earth as it grew aged and infirm. "The last time I was there," said George Aldrich, "the door sill was lower than the ground outside." Soon the earth would have it altogether; "nos habebit humus." On the morning of June 8, 1844, the spot where it stood was marked by a heap of smouldering ashes. What had happened is told by a contemporary writer : "The old Arnold House at the head of the Plain, the first framed house erected in this town, and whose darkened and ragged walls had sent forth dark shadows for some time past, last Saturday morning a little before one o'clock, as if to make amends for the past, lighted up and burning with in- tense brightness illumined the night the whole region around. In half an hour the old patriarchal heap expired in its own brightness. When morning was fully come, casting a glance toward the scene of its location, we beheld some of our citizens to whom by long residence in this place, this old house had become familiar, with slow pace and mournful sadness treading the spot, calling to mind the story of the lamentations of Marius amid the ruins of Carthage." Now inasmuch as the Presidential election that year did not come on till five months later, the picturesque and entertaining story that this old derelict was bon-fired by the Locofoco boys in their exuberant demonstrations for Polk, will have to be dropped amongst the chips of local folk lore. Undoubtedly the primitive structure, having quite outlived its usefulness did the best possible thing for itself by vanishing from the scene in a blaze of light. The town met with a most serious loss in the early death of Dr. Arnold ; had he lived he would doubtless have erected on that spot a building more worthy of his ideals and of his rank as a man, that might continue to front the noble street that he opened through the forest. As to this little box of a house that so inadequately represented the founder of our town, neither our curiosity nor our liking for old time relics would THE PASSING OF THE ARNOLDS 81 delight in such a dilapidated specimen sitting permanently on the scene. The little park with lawn and trees and ornamental foun- tain fringed with baby carriages of a summer's day much more pleasantly perpetuates the name and site of the first framed house in our town. A HOUSE AT THE FOUR CORNERS William Comstock Arnold, son of Jonathan, built a large square house on the height of land near the Four Corners, in 1798. The material used was mostly pine. Much of the inside finish was brought by ox team from Connecticut. The floors were of two- inch pine plank, tongued and grooved. The rafters were mortised into a ridge pole of pine seven by seven inches thick. "The broad stairs still give back a resonant ring, with never a creak ; and on the second floor may be seen one corner of what was orig- inally a ball room, with the floor marked in diamonds to aid in toeing the stately minuet." This building stood for about eighty years unpainted ; it is still firm and plumb on its original foundations ; the hand made clapboards are fastened to their place with old hand made nails. For one hundred years it was occupied by the Arnolds ; it is now owned by Guy C. Wright and is known as the Century House of the Four Corners. VII LOCALITIES AND EVENTS BDSON'S TAVERN — NEWSPAPERS — THE MISSING WHEEL — PUL- PITEERING — THE FOUR CORNERS — FARM HANDS ENCOURAGED — GOSS HOLLOW — A LITTLE ROMANCE— GENERAL OF MILITIA MILITARY DISPATCHES — NEW BOSTON— LITTLE YORK — SANGER'S MILLS — SUNDRY LOCALITIES— THE EAST VILLAGE — HARVESTING APPLES AT THE EDSON TAVERN In 1797 Nathaniel Edson built what was then the most no- table house in the town, on the plateau overlooking the Passumpsic River meadows a mile south of the present Center Village. It was more widely known after 1810 as the Butler place ; occupied by Major Abel Butler and his descendants, three generations. Today the house looks as if conscious of a pristine glory long since de- parted ; some hint of which may still be detected in its dignified outline, its antique doorway, its capacious old chimney. The ground in front, now a dumping place for old iron and miscellane- ous junk, was once the spacious Green, enlivened by the tramp of militia at June trainings or by the out spread tables of festive junketings. When the house was new it was considered a good place for town meetings. In 1798 a vote was passed that the town will agree to hold their meetings at Esquire Edson's house in the LOCALITIES AND EVENTS 83 future. It occured to some one that it might be well to "enquire of the said Edson for the liberty and use of his house?" A com- mittee was appointed to wait on said Edson. The committee re- ported that the said Nathaniel Edson gives consent that the town shall hold a meeting at his house on March next, but not there- after. It seems probable that considerable use was made of the house however, for $70 was voted to Nathaniel Edson at a later date "for the use and trouble of his house." SMITH GETS NEWSPAPER This place came to be known as Edson's Tavern, tho not generally advertised as such. Here the post riders on their circuit left mail matter, for there were no post offices then. Among the men who "rode post" was one Fuller. He distributed Spooner's Vermont Journal published weekly at Windsor. Edson subscribed for this paper at halves with a farmer living two miles out on a back road whose name we will call Smith. The papers were to to be left at Edson's Tavern. Some weeks passed and quite a number of them had accumulated. Meeting Smith on the road one day Edson notified him of this and suggested his calling to get them. "Never mind about that," said Smith, "you just keep the whole lot till the end of the year and then we'll divide 'em equally." Awhile later Smith seems to have undergone a radical change of mind. He concluded to take the papers as an individual sub- scriber. Presently the post rider called on him for the subscrip- tion money which was duly paid. It happened that the very next issue of the Journal carried at the head of its columns the words in capital letters "pay the printer." Smith considered that an af- front to himself personally and hastened down to the tavern to un- bottle his indignation. "What does this mean?" said he, "only last week I paid for my paper and here they are calling on me to pay again." Edson explained that that call was not meant for those who had paid, but for delinquents. "Not meant for me," exclaimed the mystified Smith, "then what d' they put 't into my paper for?" 84 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY ON THREE WHEELS Edson's Tavern had the distinction of housing the first clock brought into town. It was an eight day brass clock eight feet in height, surmounted with brass balls and displaying the circuit of the changing moon. This clock cost Edson $75.00 in Danville ; in 1809 he sold it to Amaziah D. Barber, he in turn sold it to John Clark in whose family it remained till after 1880, when it came to Charles S. Hastings, its present owner. Nathaniel Edson was town clerk ten years, 1799-1808 ; shortly after the latter date he decided to go out west, i. e. to Ohio. In making his exit from town the time schedule was not strictly ad- hered to. The emigrant wagon was loaded with household goods, the horses had an extra feed, and the time was set for an early start in the morning. During the night some fairy visitor slipped off a wheel from the wagon. The three wheeled vehicle took a two days' resting spell till the missing wheel turned up in a thicket of thistles half a mile yonder. By this time Edson's wheel was town talk, and when it finally made a start for Ohio throngs of people gathered on the Plain to cheer the rolling along of so distinguished a wagon wheel. STALLED IN THE PULPIT The above incident recalls the story of another migration to Ohio of later date. The Methodist meeting house of East Village as originally built in Waterford had a high and spacious old fashioned pulpit. The sexton one day exercised authority over Plin Page, a somewhat rougish boy, by ejecting him from the building. The Page family soon after migrated to Ohio. Plin took occasion on the night be- fore they started to lay hands on the sexton's horse and bring him to the meeting house. He managed to get him up into the pulpit where he left him tied securely. This balanced the account. The next morning it appeared that the sexton's horse had been stolen. There was great excitement. Not till Plin was well on his way to Ohio was the horse discovered stalled in the high pulpit. The ex- citement then subsided into amusement at the original method LOCALITIES AND EVENTS 85 adopted for settling outstanding accounts before leaving the town. An East Village man came forward and volunteered to meet all damage done to the meeting house, and the migration to Ohio went serenely on. THE FOUR CORNERS "Where the green hills look around so very pleasant in the sunshine, with houses nestling among them like dimples in a smiling face." Joel Roberts, Gardner Wheeler, Martin Wheeler. Eleazar Sanger in 1788 each purchased a hundred-acre lot some two miles northwest of the Plain. These lots formed a square of four hundred acres. They struck their axes in at the center of the square, this being the common corner of the four lots, from which their clearings radiated. Hence the settlement came to be known as the Four Corner Clearing, a name which has persisted and still designates the neighborhood known as School District Number Four. The first school in that district was kept in Gardner Wheeler's new house, built sometime before 1800. Near by may still be seen the depression which marks the cellar of the log hut he put up in 1788. On the height of land overlooking this place from the south is the interesting house of Colonial style erected in 1798 by William C. Arnold. The tract called Four Corners, held until within recent years by descendants of the original settlers, has always attracted attention for its beautiful outspread of well-cul- tivated farms and landscape views. Much interesting and varied scenery is included in the drive past Mount Pleasant to the Four Corners and Goss Hollow, returning down the Sleeper's River to the Fisheries Station and Fairbanks Village. FINISHING THE JOB Great crops of hay used to be raised on these pleasant fields. On one occasion after the mowers had cut their swaths and the hay was dry, there came a sudden halt in the work. This was under the old regime and one important item had been overlooked. Charlotte Lovell was just then busy at her spinning wheel in the farm house. She was quickly called, mounted on a horse and sent 86 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY with all speed down to Clark's store on the Plain for a quart of rum without which the waiting hay could not be gotten into the barns. A similar inability to finish the job occurred on Dr. Lord's place at the south end of the Plain in 1799. Nat Brown of the Four Corners with a hired man was ploughing where the lawn of Brantview now is. Dr. Lord thought they were not making very great progress. They intimated that a little rum would help mat- ters. He agreed to that and while the man was going up street to get it, Nat nailed some cleats on to the wooden plow share to make it turn the turf easier. After that, one man and a jug of rum put the plowing job thro in workmanlike fashion. GOSS HOLLOW "It is a quiet glen, as you may see, Shut in from all intrusion/' On the upper waters of Sleeper's River, David Goss began his clearings in 1791. In Oct. 1860, being then 90 years old, he gave these items to the writer, on the spot where he had pitched his camp nearly seventy years before. "I came up here from Winchester, N. H. When I got to St. Johnsbury, the Plain was cleared for a street from the Arnold House to the Bend, and then down to Dr. Lord's at the lower end. Tree trunks and charred stumps were on each side of the street, and woods beyond. There were these two houses on the Plain, also a hut at the Bend, and two huts on the Adams meadow ; one of them belonged to Jona. Adams and the other to Moses Hill. I had the deed of my land from Jonas Fay of Bennington ; he had one of the proprietor's rights. I cleared off a piece and built a log hut. Four of us put the logs together for my hut in one day. I closed up the sides the next day. I covered one corner with hem- lock bark and moved in. I lived there all summer without any roof or floor. My salt pork I kept in a barrel buried for safe keeping. The rabbits found where it was and used to dig down and lick the salt off from the barrel head. I took the Freeman's oath down at the Plain, Sept. 2, 1794. It was Zibe Tute who stood on his head on the ridge pole when the meeting house was LOCALITIES AND EVENTS 87 Taised. Bill Trescott who killed the bear used to sew leather heels on to the tough skin of his feet." A LITTLE ROMANCE OF GOSS HOLLOW Jeriah Hawkins, a minute man of the Revolution, brought his family to St. Johnsbury, from Winchester, N. H., in 1794. As the ox wagon was coming over hog back mountain seven miles south of here, his boy Stephen fell from the load and rolled down the steep hill side. The resoluteness with which he picked himself up and regained his place attracted notice ; the lad will make his way sure enough, they said. He rode into town on the top of the load, and soon after was busy with a boy's work on the Hawkins pitch which was made over in Goss Hollow. Two or three years later Abel Shorey came up from Rhode Island, prospecting. After some while he negotiated for a tract of land across the Branch from the Hawkins place. While the papers were being made out, he said to the boy who was on hand watch- ing the proceedings. "Stephen, if you'll run over and get Mrs. Brown to come and witness this trade, I'll give you my oldest girl." Stephen called it a bargain in earnest, and promptly execut- ed his part of it by bringing in the desired witness. Shorey returned to Rhode Island and in the spring brought his family up here into the wilderness. There were two daughters, Nabbie and Bethiah ; they were housed and cared for at Mrs. Brown's while the log house was being put together. Stephen, now ten years old, and of adventurous bent, had a mind to take a view of his promised possession, and lost no time in making his way over to the Brown's in Four Corners, to see what he might see. Stepping resolutely up to the house he caught sight thro the door or window, of the two girls at their work in the kitchen. One had gold ear-rings ; "I hope she is the one," he said to himself. It proved to be according to his wish and they soon became fast friends, growing up together, experts in all farm doings and in the sports of the day. Nabbie rode a spirited little Morgan mare ; other young men who were willing to win her favor essayed to keep up with her, but Stephen was the only one who could do it. Sometimes when they came to a fence, 88 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Nabbie would wheel about to face it, settle herself in the saddle, and that was the signal that he must vault it neck and neck with her. It used to frighten me, he said, in after years, to see her start off that way, but she would do it, and of course I couldn't be outdone by a girl on a horse. In his fifteenth year Stephen wrapped up his belongings in a handkerchief and trudged over to Peacham to attend the Academy. In the course of time he became a successful teacher in the district schools of this town and of Danville ; then came back to the old home farm, married Nabbie and became a prosperous man of affairs with a growing family of ten children. Among other valuables Nabbie came into possession of some fine old mahogany, also a silver mounted chaise and harness which quite fitted the quality of her Morgan colts. This chaise was hired by Thaddeus Fairbanks in the early days of his busi- ness for a trip to Portland. Tradition does not indicate whether his arrival in Portland a day earlier than others who started with him, was attributable to the superior style of the chaise, or to the Sabbath day rest that he gave it on the way. Stephen Hawkins was a man of note in his day. He had strong individuality and a forceful presence. As a youthful school master he demanded the respect of his pupils and he got it. At the Bristol Bill trial he was the one man of the twelve on the jury who from the first stood immovably for conviction. After the assault on Bliss N. Davis, the jurors who had stoutly opposed him, as strongly applauded him. He joined the militia as soon as his age permitted, rose rapidly to the rank of Colonel, and in due time was Major General of the Infantry of the State. His discipline was rigorous ; he was not a large man but determina- tion and command were instantly recognized in his pose, his stride, his firmly cut features. "At the June trainings his word of com- mand could be heard a mile away." When the third regiment in 1861 was under review on the Fair Ground before Gov. Erastus Fairbanks, the lack of soldierly decorum among the raw recruits distressed his military sensibility. "I am ashamed, Sir," he said, "that suitable deference has not been shown to you as Com- mander in Chief." LOCALITIES AND EVENTS 89 During the Revolutionary war, Jeriah Hawkins, the father of Stephen was at one time commissioned to carry important dis- patches to General Washington. He called for the fleetest horse that could be found, mounted her and dashed thro a rain of the enemies' bullets ; delivered the papers and returned in safety. His son-in-law, John Ripley, of St. Johnsbury, on a similar adventure in 1814, was not so successful. He was sent with dispatches to Plattsburg, fell into the hands of the British and was never heard from again. NEW BOSTON "Even a gentleman from London would almost think himself at home in Boston." About 1799, Ebenezer Aldrich came to town and settled on what is now known as the New Boston road. At that date this was said to be the most densely populated tract in the town, there being nine log houses within a distance of a mile and a half. Finding himself in the midst of such a populous community Eben- ezer bestowed on it the name of New Boston. While the citizens of New Boston were undoubtedly pleased to have arrived at such distinction, it may not have occurred to them that this would remain the permanent designation; so entered on town and county maps, and in the current vocabulary of the twentieth century. That local pride continued Bostonian as to some article of superiority whether culture, beans or highways, appears as recently as 1872, when "the best piece of road in this town, made so by the men who live there and took pains to have it the best, was on the New Boston road." Here lived the Abels : Abel Shorey, Abel Pierce, Abel Willey, on nearly contiguous farms. The New Boston road running north from the Center Village and its mate the Billowy Road running south to Paddock Village, are spoken of as back roads, being on the east side of the Passumpsic River. The pleasant turns and landscapes of the former, the curiously rounded slopes of the latter make them both favorite roads for pleasure driving. 90 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY LITTLE YORK " a very fine place, Situated under Rabbit Hill — With a tavern, a store and a clover mill." It may have been the metropolitan name imposed on the New Boston road that inspired the small community at Sanger's Mills to adopt the name of Little York ; a common designation of the Center Village as late as 1830. "Russell had been to Little York for job at Hiram's mill. Then to the Plain to get the mail and down the long Sand Hill." This name has not survived on the maps or in the local speech of today, and few people now living at the Center Village ever heard that their quiet street once carried so distinguished a name. SANGER'S MILLS About 1792 Eleazar Sanger came over from the Four Corners and purchased some two hundred acres, including most of what is now the Center Village. Here he built saw and grist mills ; San- ger's Mills, and erected on the east plateau overlooking the street, his large, square hopper-roofed house, still standing on its orig- inal foundations. This, tho not advertised as a tavern, became a favorite stopping place for teamsters, and for men who brought their wives in to the village on town meeting days, when great suppers were served. The house was large enough to be rented to five families after Mr. Sanger's death in 1823. His son Ezra, one of twelve children born in St. Johnsbury, kept the first store in this village. Reuben Spaulding from Cavendish bought the mill privilege and built new mills. THE SPAULDING NEIGHBORHOOD Settled by Reuben Spaulding, 1794, is on the high ground "equi-distant by road from the Center Village, East Village and Plain Village." His first house was of rough logs with mother LOCALITIES AND EVENTS 91 earth for a floor. His next house was also built of logs, but floored and cased with boards brought on the backs of men from Arnold's Mills, making their way by blazed trees thro the forest. In the course of years quite a population centered here. When Judge Edwards of Newport taught school in this district he had over forty pupils. In 1900 there was only one school child in the district and the town paid a dollar a day for transportation of this one to the Summerville School. CHESTERFIELD The northeast district of the town took its name from families who had migrated to this place from Chesterfield, N. H. James Harris was one of them ; he in later years owned Harris Hill and most of the land on which Summerville now stands. Nineveh was on the hill East from Chesterfield. COLEGATE HILL In 1788, Simeon Cole, one of the grantees of the town, had a conspicuous gate swinging on the south line of his tract by the highway. The place was at the foot of the steep ledge a little south of the railroad crossing and the bridge on the road from the Plain to the Center Village. From the first, this bluff was known as Colegate Hill, and it still stands so written on the road survey of 1873, and so called in local reference today. COLE CORNER The northwest corner of the town, originally Hawkins' Cor- ner, is now called Cole Corner. It lies beyond Rabbit Plain. Which Cole gave the name is not known. It may have been from this corner that "a hunter named Cole from St. Johnsbury" went over into the Walden woods and discovered Cole Pond. THE EAST VILLAGE "The never-failing brook, the busy mill, The decent church that topped the neighboring hill." About the year 1793, Royal Gage bought 300 acres of Capt. Bellows, of Bellows Falls, which land included the Works' farm 92 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY on the Waterford line and a good part of the ground now held in the East Village. Gage had two wives and 21 children. Capt. John Stiles of Keene, in 1797 bought at the outlet of Stiles Pond, where he put up a saw mill. Capt. Stiles was an ex- perienced builder. He had constructed the first dam that was thrown across the Connecticut river at Bellows Falls. Tradition has it that he built the first bridge across the Passumpsic at Arnold's Falls; this is doubtful, unless he came up here for that job six years prior to his real estate purchase. He was however contractor and builder of the Old Meeeting House on the Hill ; a copy of the contract will be found on another page. Cheney's mills were built on the Moose River privilege at the East Village. Fowler was the first miller ; he had a log hut near by, furnished with logs on the ground t for seats. , In later years successive millers at the grist mill were Chase, Gilchrist, Harvey, Nelson, Potter, Bedell, Gates. Gilchrist set up an oatmeal plant ; the ruins of his oat kiln could be seen as late as 1828. NOTICE "Agreeable to request of seven or more Freeholders, Inhabitants of the Village hereafter named— we, the undersigned, Selectmen of St. Johnsbury, have thought proper to lay out and establish a Village in said St. Johnsbury, by the name of St. Johnsbury East Village, in said town ; bounded and de- scribed as follows, to wit : including all of Right 71; parts of Right C. 36; part of Right B. 27; and Right A. Nichol's Pitch." Given under our hand this 24th day of Jan. A. D. 1837. Abel Butler, Jonas Flint, Selectmen. During the twenties and thirties the East Village was a brisk and thriving section of the town. Erastus Fairbanks was in busi- ness here in 1818 and 1819, and there was considerable talk of removing the Fairbanks iron works to this Moose River water power, which was much heavier than in recent years. Moses Kittredge made large profits in his East Village store, 1820-1829, before his removal to the Plain, at which time he was accounted the richest man in town. In 1830 there were at the East Village two taverns, three stores, two blacksmiths, two shoemakers, a harness shop, a tin shop, a grist mill, fulling mill, tannery, card- LOCALITIES AND EVENTS 93 ing mill, one or two doctors and a lawyer, all doing a brisk business ; more in amount than was done at that time on the Plain. APPLES A firm that we will call Jarvis and Jay were dealers in dry goods in this village. Jay was young and fond of adventure. One night he led a party in a raid upon a farmer's orchard. Hearing the owner coming they took to their heels. Suddenly Jay exclaimed, "Say boys, Mrs. Jarvis' name is on that pillow case." He darted back and cut off the name, leaving the case half full of apples. The next day who should come into the store but the farmer, who said, "Mr. Jay, I found a glove with your name on it." "You did?" said Jay. "Well now, I'll tell you a secret. I am considered the dressiest young fellow in town ; when a box of gloves comes, I pick out the poor ones and write my name in them ; they are quickly sold. I don't see that that glove being in your orchard signifies anything in particular." VIII AMONGST THE RECORD BOOKS 1800— CALEDONIA COUNTY — CAOILL-DAOIN— TOWN OFFICERS 1800 —TEN HOUSES— VITAL STATISTICS 1788-1800 — EXTRACTS FROM EARLY TOWN RECORDS— GRAIN ORDERS— THE OLD BURIAL GROUND — SIXTY YEARS AFTER — QUIT CLAIM TO VILLAGE TRUSTEES EIGHTEEN HUNDRED Arriving at the year 1800, St. Johnsbury had a population of 663, an increase of 520 only during the census decade. There were ten "frame houses." Allowing an average of six persons to each family occupying a frame house, there would be about 600 who were quartered in log houses or temporary shacks. These structures were not entered as assessed for taxation. The grand list was $8,628.25, figured from the table herewith given : Polls, 124 Assessment $2,480.00 Acres of improved land, 1059 " 1,853.25 Number of houses 10 M 61.00 Other property to value of " 5,754.00 $10,148.25 Deduct 76 Militia Polls, assessed at 1,520.00 " Horses of Cavalry, none Balance, or true list for State Taxes $8,628.25 AMONGST THE RECORD BOOKS 95 The comparative increase of property in the town may be traced on the following table of grand lists quoted from the date of organization to the census year of 1800. 1790 $ 408.10 1794 $1200.00 1798 $7286.50 1791 590.00 1795 1500.00 1799 7261.75 1792 863.15 1796 1415.10 1800 8628.25 1793 1033.15 1797 6295.25 In the year 1796 St. Johnsbury was set off from old Orange County, and with eighteen other towns was incorporated into the new County of Caledonia. The next year we note an increase of nearly $5000, over preceding years in the grand list. CALEDONIA COUNTY The first General Assembly of Vermont divided the State into two counties : Bennington on the West and Cumberland on the East of the Green Mountains. In 1781 the North East part of the State was set off as Orange County with Newbury as shire town. Nov. 5, 1792, all north of the present Orange County was incorporated as Caledonia, the old Roman name of Scotland, the birthplace of many of the settlers. Danville was made the shire from Nov. 8, 1796. In 1798 Orleans and Essex were taken off from Caledonia and in 1811 four towns, later two more, were annexed from Caledonia to Washington, leaving the seventeen towns that now constitute Caledonia County, of which St. Johns- bury became the shire in 1856. The inhabitants of Britain at the time of the Roman invasion called the Picts and Scots Caoill-daoin, people of the forest ; hence in the course of time the name now familiar and dear to our ears — Caledonia. SWEET CALEDON "Sweet Caledon, on thy high verdant hills Teeming with dark forests and tumbling rills, In thy cool meadows and thy neighboring dales, With dingles aDd dells and beautiful vales, Happiness and Peace their legends re-tell, And Virtue and Love together here dwell." 96 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY TOWN OFFICERS YEAR 1800 "And for apointing & nameing & styleing of all Officers both superior and inferior needful for ye Plantation, and their severall Duties, powers and Lymytts." Moderator \ S. B. Goodhue ; Clerk, Nath'l. Edson ; Treas., Joel Roberts; Selectmen, Samuel Barker, Simeon Cobb, Joel Hastings, also Listers ; Con- stable and Collector Presbury West for which he is paid $10.00 ; Highway Sur- veyors and Fence Viewers, Samuel Barker, Hopkin Rowland, Israel Prince, Ariel Aldrich, Asa Lee, David Goss, Ezekiel Colby, Peneas Gardner, Thomas Pierce, Eleazar Sangar, Jeriah Whipple, Moses Melvin ; Grand Juror, John Ladd ; Pound Keeper, Samuel Packard ; Scaler of Leather, John Ladd ; Of Weights and Measures, Thomas Pierce ; Tythingman, John Higgins; Hey- ward, Joseph Lord ; Hog Constables, Reuben Alexander, Thomas Peck, Israel Prince, Samuel Wheeler, Benj. Minot, James Ayer, John Gardner; Auditors, Joseph Lord, Israel Prince, Nathaniel Edson. PUBLIC HOGS By vote at the March Meeting of 1800, hogs were forbidden to run at large any more. But the important office of Hog Con- stable refused to be eliminated. Seven men were elevated to this responsibility this very year. Ostensibly their functions re- lated to curbing any irregularities that might arise among the animals. The chief significance of the appointment, however, lay in its being a distinction conferred on newly married men ; "all married during the past year" is the entry found on the earlier town records ; this establishes to us and to all future generations the fact of their eligibility, and affirms the orderly procedure of the old time town meetings. THE TEN HOUSES At the date of 1800, it seems there were ten houses in the town; these were assessed at 2% in the grand list, an average valuation of $305.00 each. They were all of one type, low posted, made of rough boards, roofed with long split shingles. Under the wooden latch on the outside door hangs a buckskin thong ; pull it and the latch will lift giving entrance to the reception room, which is also dining room, work room and kitchen combined. AMONGST THE RECORD BOOKS 97 The tints nature laid on the wood work are not disguised with any- artificial mixture of paints. The conspicuous feature is the deep- bellied fire-place with blazing logs, over which swings the crane with its pendant pots and kettles. Above hangs the fowling piece and powder horns, lower down the bellows and boot jacks; strings of dried pumpkin or apple dangling over head. In one corner is the spinning wheel, possibly a loom. Furniture is mostly hand- made on the spot, jointed with wooden pegs, for nails are scarce and costly. The fire-light gives evening cheer, the tallow dip is dripping its superfluous tallow over the iron candlestick on the large family table. Fire must be ever burning on the hearth, otherwise you must run to the nearest neighbor for a dish full of live coals, or strike a spark out of the flint in the tinder-box. You will have to live 33 years longer before such a thing as a match is heard of, and it will be 15 years before you see in this township a family wagon or a chaise ; even the traverse sled is 24 years dis- tant. There is hardly any money in these houses, still less in the shacks round about. It was only seven years ago that United States coin began to be minted ; perhaps none of it has reached here yet ; reckonings are in shillings and pence ; the standard of value is a bushel of wheat, varying from four to six shillings ac- cording to current supply, or "the increased cost of living." In September of this year the town voted $100 for bridge repairs payable wholly in wheat, rye or corn. "We didn't mind the cold of the winters. If you had a good ax for out doors and a roustin' good fire a-burnin' in the fire place, you'd keep warm and cheerful. We'd fell the trees in the near woods, trim off the branches, hitch on our oxen and draw 'em up to the door where we'd cut 'em up. We hadn't any matches; we'd get punk in a rotten maple tree, dry it and use it to strike our flint sparks into. Some of the old men carried flint and steel in their pockets to light their pipes. In sum. mer if there was a hollow elm handy we'd start a fire in that ; it would burn maybe for weeks and we'd bring coals from it to kindle our fires. "The cattle and hogs ran loose and the cows had bells on ; when it be- gan to get cold in the fall they'd come up every night of their own accord and we'd yard 'em. We had wheat straw, corn stocks and hay to winter 'em on. We stacked our wheat outside ; there was a trough dug out of a big log and into that we used to empty the skim milk and swill for the hogs." 98 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY VITAL RECORDS 1788-1800 The early vital statistics of the town are far from complete ; those in the first record book relate to marriages and births only ; no deaths are recorded. The entries appear to have been made in rambling fashion on any spare space that offered itself for the exercise of clerical penmanship. They are now brought out from their obscurity and set in print that we may know who were engaged in making family history in the settlement prior to the turn of the century. PUBLICATIONS Josias Lyndon Arnold and Susan Perkins were published Feb. 1795. Ephraim Mullen and Elizabeth Furggeson, ctf. dated Sept. 30, 1795. John Stevens and Ella Ide were publ. legally in this town, Oct. 5, 1795. Samuel Ladd of Haverhill and Cynthia Hastings, widow of Jona. Arnold published Dec. 1795. (See page 61— a switch.) Thos. Ayerand Sylvia Wright were publ. Oct. 22, 1796, legally in this town. Caleb Freeman and Ruth Stores of Lebanon legally published Nov. 1796. Wm. C. Arnold and Lucy Gardiner were publ. legally, 13, Nov'br 1796. Chiron Penniman and Olive Whipple published legally, Nov. 30, 1796. Daniel Hawesand Rhoda Sanger published for marriage, March 25, 1797. Alphene Goss and Polly Ayer legally publ. in this town, June 12, 1797. Asquire Aldrich and Abigail Ide legally publ. in this town June 12, 1797. Ariel Aldrich and Kezia Burke lawfully publ. in this town Feb. 3, 1798. Joseph Gilson and Nancy Healey lawfully publ. in this townMch. 14, 1798. John Brown and Sally Ide were March 15, 1798, legally published for marriage in this town. MARRIAGES "This was ye 1st marriage ; wh ace. to ye laudable custome was thot most requisite to be performed by ye Magestrate, as being a civill thing vpon wh questions aboute Inheritances doe depende." Gov. Bradford, 1621. Eneas Harvey and Rhoda Hamlet were married the 17th day of Jan. A D. 1793, by Jonathan Arnold Esq. in presence of several witnesses, they having produced ctf. of legal publication. Thomas Ayer and Sylvia Wright were married 23d Oct. A. D. 1796 by Joseph Lord Esq. in presence of several witnesses, they having been legally published. Wm. C. Arnold and Lucy Gardiner were married on 13, Nov. 1796, by Joseph Lord, Esq., in presence of several witnesses. SOURCE BOOKS OF HISTORY 99 Be it remembered that on 8th day April, A. D. 1797, at St. Johnsbury, County Caledonia, State of Vt. Daniel Hawes and Rhoda Sanger, both of St. Johnsbury, were duly joined in marriage by me. Nath. Edson, Justice of Peace. Be it remembered, that at St. Johnsbury, Co. aforesaid, this 19th day of March year of our Lord 1798, John Brown of Lyndon in said County and Sally Ide of St. Johnsbury aforesaid were duly joined in marriage by me. Nath. Edson, Justice of Peace. Ditto, Joseph Gilson and Nancy Healey of St. Johnsbury, Men, 9, 1798. Ditto, Thomas Peck and Sally Pierce of St. Johnsbury, March 17, 1799. Ditto, Timothy Edson and Betsy Wetherby, Septr. 5, 1799. Ditto, Joseph Felch and Abigail Manchester at Waterford 1799. BIRTHS Polly McGaffey, daughter John and — McGaffey was b. Aug. 28, 1788. Polly Doolittle, daughter of David Doolittle was born Dec. 14, 1789. Freelove C. Arnold, d. of Jona. and Alice C. Arnold, was b. Dec. 7, 1789. William McGaffey, son of John McGaffey was born Nov. 25, 1790. Lucy Doolittle, daughter of David Doolittle was born June 22, 1791. Barnabas Barker, son of Barnabas and Ruth Barker, b. Sept. 28, 1791. Sarah Brown Barker, daughter of same was born 13th February 1793. Lemuel Hastings Arnold, son Jona. and Cynthia Arnold b. Jan. 29, 1792. Anna Houghton, d. of Alpheus and Izabel Houghton b. Sept. 28, 1792. Philena Doolittle, daughter of David Doolittle was born Nov. 18, 1792. John McGaffey, son of John McGaffey was born March 13, 1793. Celia Goss, daughter of David Goss and Cynthia Goss, b. Mch. 27, 1793. Zebrina Trescott, son of Jerial and Lydia Trescott wasb. Mch. 28, 1793. Aurelia Trescott, daughter of same was born Aug. 11, 1795. Lydia Wheaton, dau. of Caleb and Patience Wheaton, b. Dec. 6, 1793. Hannah Rowland, d. Hopkin and Patience Rowland, b. April 10, 1794. Cynthia Brown Haistings, dau. of Joel Haistings, born Mch. 12, 1796. Samuel Haistings, b. Oct. 30, 1797, Elezebeth Haistings, b.Oct. 30, 1799. Aretas Pierce, son of Aretas and Rebekah Pierce, born March 27, 1799. Betsy Pierce, daughter of same, born July 1, 1796. Eliza, daughter of Gardner and Lettice Whelor, born 25th July, 1791. F. M. Whelor, b. Aug. 3, 1794. Gardner Whelor, Jr. b. Jan. 18, 1801. Wm. Lord b. Apr. 14, 1790. Peter C. Lord, b. June 4, 1793. Sophia Lord b. Apr. 2, 1795. The above children of Jos. and Lucy Lord were b. at St. Johnsbury. Walter Ayer, son of Sam'l and Nancy Ayer was born Jan. 28, 1795. Sally Ayer, daughter of same, was born on Jan. 9, 1796. Wm. Aug. Dean, son of Abiather and Freelove Dean was born in Win- chester, N. H. (and should have been recorded there) Mch. 25th, 1793. Wm. J. Sumner, son of Wm. and Patience Sumner was b. Mch. 13, 1797. 100 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Lettice Barker, dau. of John and Hannah Barker, b. Sept. 14, 1795. Ruth Barker, dau. of same, b. Sept. 28, 1797. Abiathar Dean, T. Clk. Ester Doolittle, dau. of David Doolittle was b. Oct. 5, 1794. Sam'l. Humphrey, son Ephraim and Marg. Humphrey b. Dec. 19, 1794. Phanuel Bishop, son of Nathaniel and Martha Bishop b. Jan. 24, 1795. Elizabeth Bishop, d. same was born July 8, 1796, recorded 11th May 1797 John Barker, son of Barnabas and Ruth Barker was born Jan. 30, 1795. Sussanah Thurber, d. of James and Rachel Thurber, born May 6, 1795. Ephraim Wheton, son of James and Dorothy Wheton, b. Oct. 20, 1795. Ariel Gilbert, son of Obed and Ann Gilbert was born Feb. 14, 1796. Susan Perkins Arnold, d. of J. L. Arnold Esq., and Susan P. Arnold, b 29th May 1796. Elenor Doolittle, daughter of David Doolittle was born April 17, 1796. Louisa Gardner, dau. of Perez and Polly Gardner was b. May 19, 1797. John Hawes, son of Daniel and Rhoda Sangar Hawes, b. Aug. 13, 1797. Jonathan Ayer, son of Sam'l and Nancy Ayer was born Aug. 20, 1797. James Gilbert, son of Obed and Ann Gilbert was born Feb. 28 1798. Zebnon Wheton, son of Caleb Wheton was born July 9, 1798. Lucy Gardner Arnold, d. of Wm. C. and Lucy G. Arnold b. Oct. 11, 1798. Frindey Dean, son of Abiathar and FreeloveDean was b. Aug. 22, 1798. Sally Wheton, dau. of James and Dorothy Wheton was b. Aug. 23, 1798. Hannah Hawes, dau. of Daniel and Rhoda Hawes was b. Sept. 5, 1799. Phebe Edson, dau. Nathaniel and Phebe Edson was born May 15, 1800. Nathaniel Edson Hawes, son of Dan'l and Rhoda Hawes, b. Nov. 10, 1800. EARLY TOWN RECORDS "Local self-government as presented in the New England Town Meeting seems not to have been patterned after any known model. Nothing like it existed in England or elsewhere." The Puritan Republic. The town was organized in 1790; proceedings of that first town meeting are given on page 47. Jonathan Arnold was town clerk till his death three years later. There was no record book however and so it happens, to our regret, that nothing is pre- served in his hand writing, except some early land transfers. The minutes which he had made as town clerk were recorded by his son and successor Josias L. Arnold, in volume 1 of the Town Records. A few extracts from these records are here given, not as notably important, not as in older towns because of their quaintness, but as illustrations of what was coming up for transaction during the first twenty years. SOURCE BOOKS OF HISTORY 101 1791, Mch. 21 Voted, that a tax of 3 pence on the pound be laid and assessed on the polls and ratable estates of the Inhabitants of this Town to defray the expense of procuring Record Books and Paper for the use of the Town ; and also a set of sealed Weights and Measures. 1791, Mch. 21. Voted, to secure by purchase or gift 2 Acres of land on Right No. 27, on the Hill, where it is chopped, for the purpose of erecting a suitable building for the use of the Town ; to pay not over $6 per acre for the same. 1791, Sept. 1. Voted, that the Inhabitants of the South District or Parish have liberty to build a Pound within the said Parish, also that a Sign Post and Stocks be erected near Mr. Cole's new house. 1793, Mch. 4. Voted, that the Selectmen and Assessors shall be paid for their services at the rate of 4 shillings per day, in wheat at five shillings per bushel; and that ^"5— 2s— 4d be raised to pay for said services last year. 1793, Mch. 4. Voted, that a Bounty of $10 be paid to any Inhabitant of this Township, who shall take track of a Wolf in the town and kill the same in any part of the State. 1794, March. On the question being put, will the Town raise money by a tax to pay for preaching the Gospel, determined in the negative. 1795, Mch. Voted, that a Committee be appointed to draught a paper and obtain subscriptions to pay for preaching of the Gospel. J. L. Arnold, Jos. Lord, Stephen Dexter, Jno. Ladd, Jona. Adams were chosen for that end. 1795, Mch. Voted, that a Committee be appointed to procure powder and lead, if necessary, and J. L. Arnold, Jos. Lord, Stephen Dexter were made such committee. 1795, Mch. Voted, that the Town be districted for Schools, and the vSelectmen were appointed Committee for that purpose. 1795, Mch. Voted that a tax of £3— 10s— Od be assessed in the usual manner payable in wheat at 5 shillings pr. bushel, to be delivered at Arnold's Mills for paying the selectmen and incidental charges. 1795. At the Freeman's Meeting held at Nathaniel Edson's house, Sept. 1795, Josias L. Arnold Esq. was chosen to represent the Town in the Gen- eral Assembly. Thomas Chittenden for Governor had 30 votes. Isaac Tichenor for Governor had 1 vote. 1796, March. Voted, that Surveighors of Highways shall see that Canada thistles are cut in the season directed or complain. 1796, Mch. Mr. Ralph Murray exhibited an account against the Town for the loss of 400 Salts by breaking the Bridge over the South Branch on the main road ; and Nath'l. Edson a similar account for loss by the same bridge, which accounts were not all owed. 1796, Sept. At a meeting of the inhabitants of St. Johnsbury legally held at Nathaniel Edson's barn, on the question being put, will the Town build a good and sufficient framed Bridge over the hollow near Ralph Murray's, (Music Hall) on Arnold's Plain, determined in the affirmative. 102 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY 1797, Mch. Voted, that the Selectmen shall take invoice of ye rateable properties by going to their several dwellings. 1797, Mch. Voted, that Henry Hoffman have the Improvement of the Burial Yard in the South Parish, (Plain,) provided he clear the same, and does not interfere with the use heretofore made thereof, until such time as said town shall put the land to some other use. 1793, March. Voted, that Mose Tute be released from his office as Tythingman at his own request, by a clear vote. 1798, June. Voted, to dispense with such part of the fine imposed on John K — for theft, as belongs to the town of St. Johnsbury. 1793. Motioned and seconded, will the Town agree to hold town meet- ings at Esquire Edson's in the future; determined in the affirmative. Voted, to appoint Daniel Pierce Jr. and Reuben Alexander a committee to enquire of said Edson for the liberty and use of his house for the purpose aforesaid. Said Committee reported that the said Nath'l. Edson gives his consent that the town shall hold a meeting at his house on March next, but not thereafter. 1799, Mch. Voted, that Nathaniel Edson receive from the town $70 in grain for the use and trouble of his house. 1800, March. On motion, voted that hogs shall not run at large the in- suing year. Also voted that rams shall not run at large from the 20th of August to the 20th of November next. 1800, Sept. 2. Meeting opened agreeable to warrant and proseded to bisness. On motion, voted to raise $100 to repair bridge near Sanger's Mills, and to remove flood wood that is lodged against the bridge near Arnold's Mills, payable in wheat or rye or Indian corn by the first day of February next. 1801, This is to notify and warn the inhabitants of the town of St. Johnsbury to meet at the dwelling house of Lieut. Thos. Pierce on the 25th day of May next, to act on the following articles, viz. — to see if the Town will associate together as the Law provides for the purpose of hiring preach- ing — to see if the town will raise money to defray the same — to see if the town will appoint a place or places of meeting — to see if the town will appoint a committee or officers necessary — to see if the town will associate together to build a meeting house for the use of said society — to see if the town will determine the form and size of said house and raise money or grain to defray the expense of said building. Note. At the date appointed it wasvoted to "associate for preaching;" to raise $100 payable in grain by Feb. next; and a committee was appointed to provide a preacher, but no further result was ever arrived at. 1802, Sept. Voted, to allow the account of the Committee for fencing the Burying Ground amounting to $27.63, and to pay the same out of the treas- ury. SOURCE BOOKS OF HISTORY 103 1804, April. On motion, will the Town open a Road from Arnold's Mills threw Squire Lord's meadow, (R. R. St.) which was negatived. Again, the motion being put, will the Town open said Road Provided it shall be made at private expense — carried in the fermative. 1804, August 20. Take notice. The freemen of the Town of St. Johns- bury are hereby warned to meet at the Meeting House in said Town on the first Tuesday of September next, at 11 o'clk in forenoon for the purpose of electing a person to represent this State in the Congress of the U. S. Pres. West, Constable. Meeting opened at time and place and votes being taken were as follows: William Chamberlin, 46 votes Paul Brigham, 1 vote James Fisk, 38 votes Joel Roberts, 1 vote 96 Meeting dissolved, Nathaniel Edson, Town Clerk. 1805, March. Voted, to accept Report of the Committee on leasing the Ministerial Lands, viz., 1. That said Lands ought to be leased on long leases soon as may be. 2. That provition ought to be made to secure from said Lands a Fund the interest of which, when added yearly to the yearly income from said Lands, will be sufficient to support a minister without resort to taxation. 4. That effective provition ought to be made to secure the town from any loss they might otherwise sustain from the Depreciation of the value of money. 1806, March. Voted, to raise $25 for the purpose of purchasing a set of weights and measures for the use of this town. 1807, February. Voted, to give the Selectmen Liberty to License one House in said Town for the Innoculation of Small Pox. 1807, March. Voted, that the price of a pare of Oxen per Day when at work on the highways shall be Eackwell to a man, and thatPlowes and Carts shall be 25 cents per day and all extra damage made good. GRANE ORDERS A few itemized orders given by the Selectmen, beginning 1819, are found from which the following are taken. Most of these are for payment in "grane," i. e. wheat, corn or other grains. Gave an order to Leonard Harrington for grane Oct. 30, 1819, $108.00 '* M «'• " " M " cash 83.10 The above were for repairing roads in 1819, with interest b 3.36 Gave order to R. W. Fenton for grane $75 for work on Sanger's Bridge. Gave an order to David Stowell for grane 29 Jan. 1820 towards boarding Polly Cheney the year past, $10.00 2 grane Orders to Stephen Hawkins for services as Selectman and things furnished the Burying ground, $18.84 Gave a grane order to Joseph Pierce Feb. 4, 1820 for digging graves, 3.00 104 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Gave a grane ord to David Goss, 4 Feb. 1820 for Bords to make Burying Ground fence in said district, $3.83 Gave 2 grane orders to Calvin Jewett, Feb. 1820 for account for medsin & services for Polly Cheney, $4.16 $2.90 Gave 2 grane orders to Joseph Fairbanks, 4 Feb. 1820 for Plank Pur- chased of him, $5.93 $2.66 Gave grane order to Ephraim Paddock, 4 Mch. 1820 for Discon- tinuing caus in Cort vs. Town, $4.00 Grane order to Calvin Jewett, 16 Mch. 1820, for oil to clean Town Guns, .60 Contra, March 20, 1820. Amount of grane in hands of Treasurer as appeared on settlement with him on 16 March 1820, $132.95 Amount of cash in hands of Treasurer, ditto, $010.55 Cash rec'd of Huxham Paddock for fine vs. Billings, $1.00 Note of Jonas Flint for fine vs. Geo. Page for firing on training day, $1.00 THE OLD BURYAL GROUND What is now known as Monument Square and the Caledonia Court House grounds, was for sixty years used for the burial of the dead in the south part of the town. It was gratuitously deeded by Jonathan Arnold, June 28, 1790, for this purpose, being part of original Right No. 10, in the township, described as "a point projecting eastward from the Plain." The deed states as follows: "In consideration of the benefits and conveniences which will result to the settlers and inhabitants, as well as others who shall hereafter settle and inhabit within the limits of the said South Parish, and for other good reasons me thereunto moving, I, by these presents do give, grant, convey and confirm to John Todd son of Thomas Todd, and to Wm. Purchase Trescott son of William Trescott, in trust to and for the sole benefit and be- hoof of the inhabitants of the said South Parish forever, this tract of land for the following purposes only, viz. for a bdryal ground, and the erection of a School House or any other Public Building which may hereafter be found convenient and necessary to the inhabitants of the said South Parish forever and if judged by them proper, for a Lawful Pound and for a Post and Stocks." No record appears of the erection of the said Whipping Post or other conveniences. It was stipulated in the conveyance "that the lot be within one year well cleared off and fenced with a good Log or other Fence, which should be forever after maintained ; SOURCE BOOKS OF HISTORY 105 also that within two years a framed house of not less than 36 by 30 feet be built, planked, boarded, shingled and otherwise com- pleted, so as to be fit for keeping a school therein both winter and summer, or for any other public use judged proper." Though the above stipulations were never entirely met ac- cording to the letter, their main intent was effectively carried out by the use of the premises, first as a burial ground, and ultimately as at present, for "other public uses" of superior importance, in- dicated in a following paragraph. A pathetic interest attaches to this transfer of land for the public benefit. The first burial therein was that of Alice Craw- ford, wife of the donor, who two months before had been laid in the homestead yard — her grandson was Judge Noah Davis of New York — three years later the Doctor himself, and six years later his gifted son, Josias, were brought here for burial ; later another son, William C. 1st ; and others, and last of all Ruth, the negress, who having served the family faithfully half a century, came to her rest with them in the same enclosure. GROUNDS FOR A COURT HOUSE Sixty years after the original grant of this "point of land projecting eastward from the Plain" a new and unexpected de- mand arose for grounds suitable for public uses which no other spot in the town could so well supply. The need of a town house on the Plain was imperative, and St. Johnsbury having become the shire of Caledonia County, a Court House must be provided. Meantime as a place for burial this enclosure had become wholly inadequate ; as a town charge it had suffered the neglect that commonly befell such enclosures ; its tangles of briar roses and other decorative miscellany running wild could not make it an ornamental feature on the main street. The opening of Mount Pleasant Cemetery in 1852 led many families to remove their dead to that attractive spot ; for three years this was being done j in 1856 an arrangement was perfected for the transfer of all who remained in the old ground and the appropriation of this tract of land to town and county uses. A quit-claim deed of the prem- 106 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY ises was made by William C. Arnold, representing the heirs of Jonathan Arnold, the full text of which is as follows : "Know all men by these presents, that I, William C. Arnold of St. Johns- bury, County Caledonia, for the consideration of one dollar received in full to my satisfaction, by the Trustees r of the Village of St. Johnsbury in said County, have remissed, released and forever quit-claimed unto the said Trustees of the Village of St. Johnsbury and their successors in office, all right and title which I, the said Arnold, or my heirs, have in and to the fol- lowing described land in the town of St. Johnsbury, aforesaid, viz : "The piece of ground in said village heretofore used for a burying ground, and from which the bodies interred there have been recently removed for the purpose of having erected thereon a Court House and the proper public offices therein for the County of Caledonia; and also for a suitable Town Hall there- on for the use of the town of St. Johnsbury; and the residue of said land to be used as ornamental public grounds; and said land is not conveyed for any other purpose or use whatever, except those above specified. "To have and to hold all my right and title in and to said remissed, re- leased and quit-claimed premises to the said Trustees and their successors in office for the objects and purposes above specified. And I, the said William C. Arnold, for myself and my heirs do covenant and agree to and with said Trustees and their successors in office, that I will warrant and defend the title to the above described premises; and that they shall quietly enjoy the same without any molestation by any of the heirs of Jonathan Arnold former- ly of said St. Johnsbury, now deceased, so long as the same shall be used for the above purposes and no other. "In witness whereof , I T have hereunto set my hand and seal this 24th January, A. D. 1856; in presence of Luke P. Poland and H. H. Deming. William C. Arnold, 5. 5. Acknowledged, Jan. 24, 1856 before Moses Kittredge, Justice of Peace. Received for record, Feb. 28, 1856 at 12 o'clock, M. and recorded. A. J. Willard, Town Clerk. Thus came about an unanticipated fulfillment of the spirit and intent of the original conveyance of 1790 as regards its proposi- tion for a "public building convenient and necessary." For its present uses the spot is an ideal one ; in view of the increasing business importance of the town as well as the inap- propriateness of a large grave yard in the heart of a populous village, the event arrived at may be considered as at the time the most felicitous in the history of the town in respect to public con- venience and permanent improvement. SOURCE BOOKS OF HISTORY 107 OTHER BURIAL GROUNDS The old church yard at the Center Village, flanked formerly by three church buildings, was part of the Eleazer Sanger prop- erty designated for a burial plot in 1800. The first burial here was that of a boy, son of Joseph Vincent, in 1801. On the stones in this enclosure we read many names that were well known in the early history of the town, not a few of whom passed the mark of eighty years of age : Lieut. Thomas Pierce and Major Israel Pierce, Stephen Putnam and Lieut. Andrew Putnam, Ariel Al- drich, Alpheus Goss, Capt. Samuel French, Hannah, wife of Eleazer Sanger. Among those originally buried here, afterward removed to the new cemetery north of the village, were three rev- olutionary veterans, Joel Roberts, Simeon Cobb, Jonas Flint. Since the opening of the new grounds in 1850, there have been no interments in the old church yard. There were never any lots or paths laid out in it ; "every one buried where he chose ," trees a foot in diameter have grown over some of the graves ; two are marked by flat stones from the field, without a name. The small burial garth a mile above Goss Hollow was given for the use of that neighborhood by Jeriah Hawkins and Samuel Ayer, on whose adjoining farms it lay. They and their families were buried here ; also the Goss family, the Houghtons and others of that first generation. This is the most retired burial place in the town, surrounded with groves, and covered with a matting of myrtle vines, moss pinks and sweet williams. In a similar secluded nook just across the town line near East Village, is the resting place of Mrs. James Adams, the first woman who came to St. Johnsbury, in 1786, nine years before her death. The inscription reads— "Mrs. Submit Adams departed this life, Nov. 18, A. D. 1797, aged 67 years." There was formerly a burial place in Chesterfield which, in March 1829, the town voted to fence with cedar posts and boards. The fencing and care of the early burial grounds was always under direction and expense of the town ; not usually done how- ever in a creditable manner. Experience here, as elsewhere, has conclusively shown that a Cemetery Association is the only proper and reliable custodian of the resting places of the dead. 108 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Sometimes however the sluggish sensibilities of a town are moved to do an appropriate thing ; as when it was voted at our town meeting in 1884, "that the remains of Samuel Jenkins, a revolutionary soldier, now in potter's field, be reinterred in a decent place in the East Village cemetery, and a suitable monu- ment erected, the expense not to exceed one hundred dollars." IX THE OLD DISTRICT SCHOOL "In New England schools are established in almost every township and sm all district. ' ' Morse 1800. "The years after the Revolution, till about 1840, form the most picturesque period in our educational history." Steuck, 1912. BIRTHPLACE OF THE DISTRICT SCHOOL — THE OLD SCHOOL HOUSE — PLUMMET AND QUILL — THE SPELLING CLASS — MIDDLE DIS- TRICT RECORDS — RITING TABLES — PUBLICK WORSHIP — MAS- TER BID OFF — ROBERTS' NARRATION — SLAB CHILDREN — A PRIMITIVE HEATER — THE PLAIN DISTRICT — A MIGRATORY SCHOOLHOUSB— DAY OF JUDGMENT — BRANCH BRIDGE SCHOOL — BRIGHT MEMORIES — SPAULDING NEIGHBORHOOD — FAIR- BANKS VILLAGE SCHOOL BOYS New England was the birthplace of the public school sup- ported by the town or district. Nothing just like it was found anywhere else in the world, not even at first in the other colonies. In 1640 Gov. Berkeley of Virginia writing to the Lords of the Plantation in England said, "I thank God there are no free schools nor printing presses here, and I hope we shall not have these hundred years." That same year Gov. Hopkins of Con- necticut reported "one-fourth of our annual revenue is laid out in maintaining public schools." In 1650 every town of Massachu- setts Bay having fifty families was required to have a free public school. The settlers of our state bred under that system, brought 110 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY it with them to their new homes and fixed it in every town charter. In 1795, about fifty families being established in this township, it was divided into six districts and small schools began to be held in private houses. The picturesque period above referred to, began in this town with the erection of district school houses somewhile after 1800. These buildings were small and low, unpainted, made of hewn timbers and rough boards, costing $250 or more. "Around three sides of the school room were rude benches made of slabs, with rounded side under, each slab equipped with four straddling wooden legs set into auger holes. From these seats the younger children's legs swayed in the air being too short to reach the floor. What an awe fell over us when we were all seated and silence reigned." Reading, spelling and cyphering were the branches of learning principally attended to. The slate and blackboard had not yet arrived. Paper was had in large, coarse brown sheets, unruled and unbleached, generally folded into four leaves and sometimes adorned with a gorgeous wall paper cover. On this the plummet did its figuring and writing. The plummet was an important instrument, made by running melted lead into a shallow groove, sometimes as we've been told, into a crack of the kitchen floor, then when cool whittled down to a point at one end. This was the original lead pencil ; it vanished from off the earth long ago, but transmitted its name to the present day pencil of graphite which hasn't a particle of lead in it. The pen of the period was a slit goose quill, shaped by the sharp penknife of the master as he stands at the window; a short lived pen, but not easily surpassed as a smooth running instrument. The Gillott steel pen did not appear till about 1830, and at twenty-five cents a pen was considered costly. The quill continued in school and common use till 1840, and when it finally took flight, transmitted its name, penna, to the entire family of metallic pens now in use. The old time district school itself, like its antiquated pen and pencil, has given way to the new time improvements. The inde- pendent sovereignty of the district is now merged with the town, which owns the buildings and by its directors administers the schools. If the schools of long ago seem crude in comparison, it should be remembered that their work in developing character and THE OLD DISTRICT SCHOOL 111 intelligence was invaluable. To those whose memory goes back far enough, pleasant pictures of that waning picturesque period rise to view ; for example, the crack on the floor which every pair of feet in the spelling class had to toe ; the bright girl who could outspell the others and walk up to the head of the line and wear the medal of honor. Whittier put it into verse forty years after : "Still sits the school-house by the road, A ragged beggar sleeping; Around it still the sumachs grow, And blackberry vines are creeping. "Within, the master's desk is seen, Deep scarred by raps official; The warping floor, the battered seats, The jack-knife's carved initial—" and lingering at the door-step the little miss in a blue-checked apron making her artless confession "I'm sorry that I spelt the word, I hate to go above you." Additional details respecting our first school houses will be found farther on in the Roberts narration. Two of the earliest district record books have escaped the mischances of time and have been deposited in the Athenaeum : from these the minutes that follow are taken. MIDDLE DISTRICT RECORDS No district records are found prior to 1805. The items here given are from District No. 5, in the center of the town. Dec. 14, 1805. At a Schoolmeeting of the Middle School District legally warned and holden at Lieut. Thos. Pierce's— Voted, and chose Lieut. Thos. Pierce Moderator. Voted, and chose Samuel A. Wheeler District Clerk. Voted, and chose Ebenezer Sanderson Collector of District Taxes. Voted, and chose Esquire Edson, Eleazer Sanger, Richard W. Fenton as Prudential Committee. Meeting dissolved. Jan. 5, 1807, Then met agreeable to warrant and made choice of Capt. Daniel Pierce as Moderator. Voted, to raise $30 for schooling this winter. Voted, to have the School House set up at vendue and built by the lowest bidder. Voted, to pay for the School House one-third part in Cash, the 112 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY other two-thirds in Wheat and Corn. Voted, to have the house finished by the first day of October next. Voted, that whoever shall engage to build said house shall complete the same by the first day of October, and in default thereof he shall lose all the labor done to said house and forfeit $500. The house was set up at vendue and bid off to Thos. Pierce, with half an acre of land, for $265. Voted, to have the house built with wood and painted. Oct. 30, 1812. Voted, to raise $70 payable in grain to"defray the ex- pense of four months schooling this winter. Voted, to fetch one-fourth of a cord of wood to a schollar, to be fetched by the tenth of January, and all thos that neglect are to pay one Dollar and fifty cents per cord. A gap of nine years occurs in the records from 1812 to 1821. Meantime a new school house had been contemplated on the east side of the river where the Center Village was then growing up. The old one was on Lieut. Pierce's land near the old meeting house. The district took action as to the missing records by voting "to pass over the old records and start from the time that we left the old school house and moved over the river to the Brick school house." On the 7th of March, 1821, it was voted to build of Brick- perhaps the proximity of Capt. French's brick yard determined this — and the contract was given to Isaac Wing for $230 to be completed by Oct. 1, 1822. The location was fixed April 15, 1822, to be "near Sanger's barn instid of the place by the gid-board." This would be not far from the site now occupied. That the new house was completed on time is to be inferred, for on the 29th of October it was voted, "not to have any meatings of publick wor- ship held in the new Brick School house." At a later date it was voted "that their bee riting tables in front of the back riting table." Nov. 21, 1825. At a school meating illeagally warned and holten at the school house on Monday Nov. 21, 1825. Voted, and chose Nahum Stiles as Moderator. Voted, to have a singing school in said house the winter insuing. Voted, and chose Walter Wright and Wm. P. Stoughton as Committee to superintend and take care of said house threw the ceaping of said singing school. Meeting disolved. April 15, 1826. Then met agreeable to warrant and made chois of Capt. Ira Armington as Moderator. Voted, to have five months schooling the sum- mer insuing. Voted, to rais $35 payable February 1827 to defray the ex- pence of said school. Board put up at vandew and bid off to Capt. Arming- ton for fifty cents per weak. THE OLD DISTRICT SCHOOL 113 March, 1829. , The town meeting chose Erastus Fairbanks, Lucius Kim- ball, Stephen Hawkins, Luther Jewett, Isaac Harrington a superintind com- mittee to visit Schools; to receive 50 cents a day when so employed. Dec. 7, 1830. Then met agreeable to the warrant and made chois of Philow Bradley as Moderator. Voted, to reconsider the vote not to have meetings of Publick worship held in the school house. This vote stands re- considered until the last of May next. Voted, to have meetings held in the school house until the last of May next on Sundays. Voted, to have the time divided ace. to the grand list between the several sosietes in said Destrict. Voted, that the Methodists hold their meeting next Sabbath in the school house. Notice. By request of a number of the inhabitants of School Destrict No. 5, in St. J. the Destrict is hereby notified and warned to meet at the schoolhouse in said Destrict on Saturday the 18th inst. at 4 'elk. Afternoon : viz. first to chuse a moderator to govern said meeting. 2nd to see if the Destrict will reconsider the vote taken Dec. 7, admitting meetings of Publick worship in the Schoolhouse on Sundays. Dec. 18, 1830. Then met agreeable to the Foregoing warent, and voted not to reconsider the vote admitting meetings of Publick worship. Note. "Their was a nother meeting called out of spite. But never met." Oct. 26, 1833. Voted, to have a woman school 3 months, to commence at the usual time, and a man school 2\ months, commencing two weeks later. Voted, to raise $75 for the support of the two schools. Voted, to bid off the board at auction. The Master was bid off at 91 cents a week, and the mistress at 86 cents a week by Joseph Hutchinson. ROBERTS' NARRATIVE The narrative of H. N. Roberts gives additional particulars about the early school houses of the Middle District. "The first one was built about 100 rods from the River on the west side ; it was not verry large, the outside was clapboarded and the inside was sheathed up with wide boards; two rows of seats around, and then a row of seats part way around, and were made of slabs with the flat side up for the little ones to sit on— they were called the Slab Children. "For heating the Schoolhouse, was a fire Place made of common stone, but it did not warm much, so they thought of another way. They made a large hearth of stone and then got a large kettle, (for they had large kettles in olden times to boil down lye they made from ashes of logs burnt for that purpose, to make what they called salts, they could sell the salts and get money, for money was verry scarce) so as there was not any stoves in those times they substitute a kettle for a stove; the kettle was turned over botom side up ; a hole was made on one side to put the wood in, and another on the 114 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY top to put on a sort of a pipe to carry off the smoke. This made a great im- provement in the warming of the House. The Kettle was an old-fashioned Potash Kettle ; they Paied the School Marm from 80 cents to a Dollar a week and Board for their services. "The next School House was built in the Villiage, where the Larnerd house afterward was; it was Built of Brick, was a good sized house, would acomodate a Hundred Scholars. In Winter the average attendance was about 75, some days when all in would number a Hundred. It was made with three rows of seats on the sides and two on the ends, and warmed by a Fire Place at first, but that would not warm enough, so they put in a stove; this made it more comfortable, but thos that sat on the back seats it was cold to their Backs — no studing but was plastered on to the brick walls which made it cold to Lean against. After some years this school house needed much repairing, it was too small, and a new one was built about a Hundred rods from the main road with modern Improvements, with Desks two to a Desk, with a good Black Board and warmed as the other was with Stoves. It was Burnt in 1876." So far as any record appears, the old school house that was heated by the potash kettle was the first building erected for school purposes in the town. It stood not far from the Old Meet- ing House on the hill. Schools prior to that time were held in rooms provided in some dwelling for such use in the district. The first school in the Four Corners, after the districting of the town in 1795, was held in Gardner Wheeler's house ; a sim- ilar provision was made for the pioneer school on the Plain. A SCHOOL GIRL SWOWS "I went to school in 1831, and used to hear the older girls say what I thought were swear words. Suky and Roancy used to say "I swow, I swan- ny." They wanted me to say them and I wouldn't. The shed built against the school house had sagged off, leaving a space where a child by squeezing could get through into the field behind the school house. One day I went thro that place squatted down on the grass and whispered "I swow!" then bit my lips and got up and squeezed my way between the shed and school house, and went in. I felt guilty, but never told anyone till I was grown up. I was five years old then. "Long years after I went to see that old school house which had then been cut up for family rooms. I slept in one of them that night, and in the morning on looking up at the plastering there were some of the old paper wads thrown by the boys, still sticking to the ceiling!" THE OLD DISTRICT SCHOOL 115 HOME FROM SCHOOL ** r Tis five o'clock, the school is done, The girls and boys are off for home, The children want their supper quick, Come Betty, get the pudding stick! "'The cows are coming from the vale, Molly, bring the milking pail And milk as quick as e'er you can And strain it in the largest pan ; "'Now take the bowls and dip it out And drop the pudding all about, Now children, you may come and eat, The pudding's new, the milk is sweet ; "And then undress and go upstairs And when you all have said your prayers Then you may lay you down to sleep And rest till morning light doth peep." E. H. St. Johnsbury, 1835. THE PLAIN DISTRICT The organization of this school district was made in 1807, under the following call — "school meeting ! The inhabitants of the school district in St. Johnsbury commonly known by the name of The Plain District are hereby notified to meet at the dwelling house of Joseph Lord Esq. on Wed. 18th of February in- stant, at 4 'elk. afternoon, for the purpose of organizing said Dis- trict as the Law Directs. Gardner Wheeler, Luther Jewett, Selectmen, St. Johnsbury, Feb. 5, 1807." "Feb. 18, 1807. Meeting opened agreeable to above warning. Luther Jewett was chosen Moderator, andB. Bissell -Clerk of said district. B. Barker, John Moore and John Clark, Committee to superintend the Prudential affairs of said district. Hubbard Lawrence chosen Collector for said District. Meeting Dissolved. Attest B. Bisskll, Clerk." The number of school children in the district'at this date was 54, between the age of four and eighteen years. 116 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY On March 30, 1807, the question of building a school house was taken up. It was "Voted, eight for and five against, to pur- chase apiece of land opposite the house which E. Humphrey lives in on the east side of the road. Voted, to raise $200 on the polls and ratable estate of the Inhabitants of said District for the pur- pose of building a school house in said District ; one half to be paid in money, the other half in grain, by the first day of January next, ten voting in favor and four against it." It was also voted to raise $50 on the polls and estate to provide for an instructor. The school house was put up that summer, but at a cost ex- ceeding the $200 appropriated. In January 1808 an additional $125 was authorized. It was also voted that Theophilus Grout pay full price for the instruction of his girl ; from this it would appear that Kirby, which had only just arrived at town organiza- tion, was looking to St. Johnsbury for educational facilities. The said piece of land opposite E. Humphrey's was probably half way up from the Bend, but the school house did not stay there very long. Within three years it was "moved to the north end of the Plain, as being most advantageous to accommodate all parts of said District;" three years later it was moved again in to the northwest corner of the burying ground, where we now turn down into Eastern Avenue, and in addition to these recorded transits, tradition names three more, making a total of six locali- ties covered by this migratory little structure. Miss Rhoda Smith is reported as the first teacher ; in 1810 while the building was so- journing at the north end, Miss Hannah Paddock was mistress. During the burial ground period in the winter of 1814, a man teacher was in charge ; no less a man than William Goodell, whose remarkable work as a missionary in Constantinople made him widely distinguished in after years. His vivacity, wit and energy brought life to this little school, and he still further en- livened the community by a series of singing lessons given during the winter evenings. The number of children from four to eighteen years of age in the Plain District was fifty-four in 1807, fifty-seven in 1810, seventy-eight in 1820, fifty-six in 1830. During the decade ending 1830 the average number was fifty-seven, an increase of only three in 23 years. THE OLD DISTRICT SCHOOL 117 Regular semi-annual meetings of the District were held to make provision for the summer and winter schools; aside from this, few other items of interest appear on the records. In 1813 it was voted not to have any needle work or knitting admitted in to the school. The District officers for 1823 were Ephraim Paddock, moderator ; R. H. Deming, district clerk duly sworn into office by Luther Clark, justice of the peace ; Ephraim Pad- dock, Samuel Crossman, John Clark, school committee, Levi Fuller, collector. "Nov. 10, 1828. Voted, to sell a small lot of wood which is dirty and cannot be used, at auction; and Hezekiah Martin bid off the same for twenty cents. On the question being put, who will get 5 cords Birch, Beech or Maple wood, cut and split fit for stove and put in to the shed by first of July next— when Capt. Martin bid off the same at $1.19 per cord." THE DAY OF JUDGMENT One of the septuagenarians of the village has this reminis- cence of the method of discipline practiced on her mother in the district school of former time. The master appeared very genial and lenient thro the entire term ; but it was noticed that whenever any irregularity came to the surface, he took a note book from his drawer and made an entry therein. This, he remarked, was for the Judgment Day. In the afternoon of the last day of the term, the boys and girls all being in their seats a little better dressed than usual, the doors of the little brown school house were locked and the great wooden window shutters closed and hasped. In the resulting darkness announcement was solemnly made that The Day of Judg- ment had come. The little girl who in afterlife narrated this was then punished for being tardy, by standing fifteen minutes on the top of the stove, the fire being out. Other girls for offences of giggling or whispering, had their ears twisted or were set to hold weights out at arm's length so many minutes. Boys were ordered to pull off their jackets preparatory to the birch rod application, or to present their hands for the master's ferule; this was in judg- ment for their doings with bent pins or paper wads. The exer- cises of The Judgment Day were conducted with serious exact- 118 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY ness and formality ; each boy or girl was called out by name, the offence was read from the book and sentence thereupon pro- nounced as it were from the supreme bench. MAKING MONEY "My first school was over in Waterford Hollow. The pay was $1.50 a week. The next summer I taught at South Kirby and had a dollar a week and boarded around. During two summers I taught in St. Johnsbury. The most I ever received for teaching was two dollars a week. I went down to Newbury Seminary for two terms, and suppose I learned something, but as I think of it now, it seems to have been a superficial school." EARNING MONEY ' ' A man in the neighborhood above Moose River came home one day and told his wife he had hired a girl to work for a dollar a week. She replied that a dollar a week was too much. No girl could earn that amount. The man thought this one could, and she came. Her name was Rebecca Richardson. It was soon admitted that she was well worth her wages. After working all day and doing up the supper dishes, she would spend the entire evening with her needle and make up three sheets before nine o'clock." This was before 1833; at that time the cotton mills were started in Lowell, and agents came up to St. Johnsbury offering large wages for operatives. The result was that farmers' daughters in great numbers went to those mills; three at one time from one family. THE BRANCH BRIDGE SCHOOL Moose River was first known as the East Branch. On the bluff just north of its confluence with the Passumpsic where one now turns in toward the town farm was a small school house where for the first forty years of the century nearly all the chil- dren east of the Plain and south of the Butler meadows got their schooling. One of them revisiting the spot with some of the school mates of fifty years before, records his remembrance of the woodlands by the river "where they learned to climb and to swim ; and of the little school house where they learned to read and spell and make their manners ; their stirring young life gave THE OLD DISTRICT SCHOOL 119 them bounding vitality ; fights were frequent, cowards were few, and do you remember "The bragging and betting and boasting Over our sleds in those bygone days ; And the marvelous speed of the coasting ; The lusty shouting of the boys, The half-scared daring of the girls, The grand, tumultuous, healthful joys, The flash and flutter of wanton curls When plumb into snow drifts like lightning we flew, With a thud and a whirl And for two glorious minutes we none of us knew Which was a boy and which was a girl ; " And do you remember the spelling-school bees, And Marshall's old speller, our pride, When phthisic and heifer and victuals and frieze Were the stunners so few could abide, And so we all went down on each side. And the penal inflictions we bore — One, refined, but most hard to endure Was, to seize us poor wights with a whirl And set us plumb down with a girl ! "At nooning our baskets had ample supply, Of goodies a plentiful store ; Doughnuts and sausage and pie, pumpkin pie, And when empty we all wanted more." This insatiable desire for more, was no new thing in the ju- venile history of the town. The boys and girls of the old Middle District years before used to carry potatoes and milk to school for their dinner, and when that had been devoured they were hungry for more of the same sort. A party of soldiers returning from the war of 1812, were quartered for a night in the old Branch Bridge school house ; it is related that they used the blocks of hemlock wood for pillows and the handkerchief of the mistress for bandages. SPAULDING NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL In 1817 Cromwell Leonard began teaching this school. Forty-seven years after he wrote, "I am now an old man, but 120 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY among the sweetest remembrances of former days are those when I taught school in the Spaulding district ; where too we used to sing together, and friendship seemed to run from heart to heart. Those three winters in that school, I reckon as the pleasantest in all my years of teaching. I am pleased to see that Fred Bug- bee has been a justice in St. Johnsbury and Nath. Lee in Water- ford. I should love to hear about John Lee and Capt. Stiles and Moses Hill and George Keach and Aaron Farnham, and others of the old friends." THE FAIRBANKS VILLAGE SCHOOL The small schoolhouse was set a short way up Mt. Vernon street, on what was then the only road to Danville, by Pumpkin Hill. Bill Ryan's big dog used to scare the children and not infrequent- ly some of the smaller ones had to have an escort on the way to school. The wrestling contests were not all done by the boys outside the school house ; Colburn's mental arithmetic was an antagonist that floored most of them inside. It was in the wood- shed near by that Charles Fairbanks found an axe one bitter cold morning in 1831. The axe was new and the coating of frost on it looked so nice he thought he would like to find out how it tasted. He gave it a smart lick with his tongue; this fully satis- fied his curiosity. A popular place of resort for the boys was an old horse shed down by the river side. One summer evening a lad who lived where the Fairbanks Office now stands, started up after supper to go out doors. ''You won't go out beyond the gate, Edward," said the father. "No sir." Presently however the call of the boys down in the shed seemed to eliminate from remembrance the paternal word, and he suddenly found himself joyously with them inspecting an old rusty straw cutter. "Stump you to put your finger in the cog-wheel," said one of them. The finger promptly went in J it promptly came out, shorter than it went in — the crank had been given a whirl. Of that event the writer of this paragraph retains a vivid remembrance and a stumped fore- finger. X RELATING TO RELIGION DETERMINED IN THE NEGATIVE — TEN YEARS* AGITATION — FINAL VOTE FOR TOWN AND MEETING HOUSE — BUILDER'S CONTRACT — A GREAT RAISING — VENDUE OF PEWS — A HISTORIC STRUCTURE — FIRST CHURCH ORGANIZED — USAGES AND DOINGS — CHRISTIAN NURTURE — RELIGION OF SERIOUS TYPE — INCI- DENTS — THE UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY — CONSTITUTION — PROM- INENT MEN — NEW HOUSE AT THE CENTER — FIRST CHRISTMAS OBSERVANCE. THE OLD MEETING HOUSE ON THE HILL "It was among the functions of a town in those days to raise the minister's salary, to build the meeting house, to vote money for bass-viols and singing schools, and other similiar necessities." New Eng. Mag. Fourteen years passed after the organization of the town be- fore the erection in 1804, of a building for public worship and for town meetings. The result was arrived at by a ten year process of recession and advance of the town meeting tide ; the votes run- ning, no, yes, no, yes, no, no, no, yes, no by default, yes. It would gratify us to be assured that this beating off the question merely signified disapproval of the principle of taxation for reli- gion ; it is rather to be feared however that a spirit of indifference was prevalent. At the March Meeting of 1794, "on the question being put — will the town raise money by a tax to pay for preaching of the gospel, it was determined in the negative." Three years later, 122 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY March, 1797, it was voted to raise money for this purpose, but be- fore adjournment the vote was rescinded. The next year, March 1798, it was voted to raise $60 to pay for a minister of the Gospel and Joel Roberts, Alex Gilchrist, Jeriah Hawkins, were appointed to hire the minister. This meeting also voted to build a house for public use, 56 x 46 feet dimensions, enclosed with rough boards and shingles. The meeting adjourned till June 18, to hear the report of the committee having the matter in hand. At this adjourned session it was voted not to build a meeting house. Another meeting was called and held on the 6th of July, at which a committee of seven was appointed to consider the business and report, which they did an hour later, as follows : "Your committee beg to report that it is their Opinion the Town ought to hire a Minister to preach the Gospel, and therefor to raise $230, payable in wheat, rye, corn, pork and beef, for his yearly salary." "On motion, voted to hire a minister." Two months later, Sept. 4, "on the question being put, will the town build a Meeting House or Town House, determined in the negative. It was put to vote to see if the town would raise money to pay for further preaching, and determined in the negative. Voted to raise $15 by tax as soon as may be, to pay the Expense of Preaching already in- curred." We would like to know who this first preacher was, and where he stood when giving his message. It may have been on the Green at the head of the Plain, or in one of the few houses then on the street. The next year, July 15, 1799, it was again put to vote to see if the town would raise money to hire a minister of the Gospel and as usual, determined in the negative. Here the matter rested nearly two years, when on May 25, 1801, it was voted to raise $100, payable in grain by the 1st of February next, to pay for preaching. The first of February came, but no record of grain or preacher. Meantime the report of the Committee of Seven of July 6, 1798, was still on the town records, viz : "that the Town ought to hire a minister, and to raise therefor $230;" but the increasing need of a building for town meetings seems to have had more weight in arriving at final action, than any recom- mendation of what ought to be. RELATING TO RELIGION 123 While reviewing the action of the town on this question, it should be added that repeated efforts were made to secure volun- tary subscriptions as well as a tax. In 1797 a committee of three was appointed for this purpose, and in 1795, J. L. Arnold, Joseph Lord, Stephen Dexter, John Ladd and Jona. Adams, were made a subscription paper committee. Of the result of their efforts no record is found. At last, on a warrant set up by "18 substanshal Freeholders," a town meeting:, held Sept. 29, 1802, took the following action which in due time was carried out. "On motion, Voted, to Raise $850 Payable in good wheat at the market prise, for the purpose of building a House for holding Town Meet- ings. * * On motion, Voted, to erect said House on a certain Peace of Land given by Lieut. Thos. Pierce for the Publict use near his house in said Town. On motion, Voted, to choose a Committee of three to superintend building said House, and that Joel Roberts, Asquire Aldrich, & Thomas Pierce be the committee, who accepted the appointment. On motion, Voted, that this Committee have Liberty to Dispose of the floors of said House to individuals in such a manner as they in their Wisdom shall Judge best, the Availes of which to be appropriated in order to finish said house Sutible and Convenent to attend Publict Worship in, and for a Town House. On motion, Voted, that the said Committee prosead as soon as may bein the Line of their appointment. On Motion, Voted, to dissolve said meeting." Said Committee proceeded, and on the 11th day of January 1803 closed a contract with Capt. John Stiles, which is here copied from the original : CONTRACT FOR BUILDING THE MEETING HOUSE "An agreement between Thomas Pierce and Joel Roberts on the one part, and John Stiles and Nahum Stiles on the other part. Agreement as follows— That John Stiles and Nahum Stiles do jointly agree to frame a Meeting House and attend in fixing and raising said House; said House to stand near Thomas Pierce's ; 62 feet long and 44 feet wide; to be framed ace. to the plan which is now presented, except some alterations in the roof. The whole of the work to be done in a good workmanlike man- ner by the first week in July next, for the sum of One Hundred and Eighty Dollars ($180) to be paid in wheat at cash price the first day of January next. All the timber to build said house to be on the spot by the 20th day May next, so as not to hinder said Stiles in framing. 124 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Said Stiles to be boarded at Mr. Thomas Pierce's and his men that work with him, exclusive of said sum. N. B. The alteration in the roof to be ace. to Mr. Elijah Houghton's plan. Said Stiles agrees to weight till the 15th day of the foresaid January, if not collected or convenient to pay said wheat before, and is to have it at the price it goes at Jan. 1, 1804. Ten gallons of Rum to be allowed said Stiles. Exclusive of the above price." Note. Ten gallons of rum for building a Meeting House in St. Johns- bury may be considered a modest allowance; for a similar job in Medford it required five barrels of rum, one barrel of good brown sugar, a case of lemons and two loaves white sugar. Medford, we infer, could afford to be liberal with her own peculiar product. On Sept. 6, 1803 an additional $80 was voted from the town treasury, for the said purpose of defraying the expense of RAISING THE MEETING HOUSE The Great Raising came off in the summer of 1804. The timbers had been hauled on to "the said Peace of Land for Pub- Hct use," the high plateau a short half mile west of the Center Village, a commanding and central location. To this high place everybody was flocking, for the event was of more general inter- est than any in the previous history of the town. All the men and boys of the town were there to put up the timbers, and women and girls to give cheer and mix the toddy. The crowning event of the day, as reported to me by an eye witness, then in his ninety-first year, was the balancing of Zibe Tute on his head at the end of the ridge pole, swallowing the contents of his flask, and descending head downwards to the ground. This was ac- cording to approved usage of that period ; probably in the mind of Mr. Z. Tute, the building was simply a Town House, not yet given over to the purposes of religion. Presently, however, the floor of the house 62 x 44 feet, was divided into 51 square pews, and the galleries into 25. These 76 pews became private property, bought at a vendue held the pre- ceeding year Dec. 29, 1803. The original draft of this sale, in- cluding plan of pews, names and prices paid, was given to the writer 40 years ago ; it is now preserved in the Athenaeum. The first choice, pew number 35, was struck off by General Joel Roberts, first town representative at $135 ; the second at RELATING TO RELIGION 125 $132, went to Lieut. Thomas Pierce ; these were the two front pews on the main aisle under the pulpit. Capt. Wm. C. Arnold and Capt. Samuel Barker bid off the next two, directly behind these, at $128 and $130 each. The sale was a success; all but three of the 76 pews were bought, the lowest price paid being $14 for number 5 on the North Gallery. The total amount realized was $836, which nearly doubled the sum appropriated by the town on the original vote of Sept. 1802. A HISTORIC OLD BUILDING The first assembly that met in this building was the Free- man's meeting of Sept. 1804, tho the work of construction was not then completed. Sunday services of worship were irregular; denominations had no exclusive control ; the majority of pew owners were Universalists, including most of the leading men of the town. There was no bell tower, no bell, no chimney; the idea of heating a meeting house was as yet unborn. Women however ' brought their foot stoves that were replenished with fresh coals from the burning logs in Lieut. Pierce's kitchen fire-place. The big door fronted the road on the west side of the building; the pulpit was ten feet high up on the east wall with winding stair- way. As time went on conditions called out the following action by the town : "Voted, that Capt. John Barney be employed to keep the Meeting House clean, and that he sweep it at least twice during the year. "Voted, that no person or persons shall be allowed to enter the Pulpit on town meeting Days, unless speshely Directed by the Town. "Voted, that Five persons be appointed to Expel Dogs from the Meeting House on Sundays, and that they be authorized to take such measures as they think proper, and that the Town will indemnify them for so doing." Gen. Joel Roberts, Capt. John Barney, Gen. R. W. Fenton, Simeon Cobb, Abel Shorey were appointed Dog Committee and accepted the delicate responsibilities of the office. From its high and bleak location, this building, for more than 20 years the only meeting house in the township, overlooked the valley of the Passumpsic, from Lyndon Falls past the mouth of Moose River and Arnold's Mills to the meadows at the mouth of 126 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY the Sleeper. On its doors were posted public notifications; warn- ings of town meetings, of vendues and sales; publications of marriage ; copies of new laws or other important announcements. Within its bare and spacious walls were heard debates on all mat- ters of town business and sermons by preachers of all denomina- tions. Forty-one years it remained on the original foundations, till in 1845 it was taken down and re-erected where it now stands in the Center Village ; the upper floor was occupied by the First Congregational Church, the lower floor used for town meetings till the Court House and Town Hall was erected in 1856. For some years preceeding its removal, religious services had been discontinued in it, as they were provided for in other places. Shocks of corn from surrounding fields at the harvesting stood in the old square pews, and huskers made themselves comfortable in the seats of former worshipers. The only relic of old times now remaining on the greensward of the original site is the pro- jecting end of a ledge which was known as "Whig Rock" when it served as a rostrum for political oratory. At the annual March Town Meeting, Lieut. Pierce usually managed to have a sugaring off, at which the hungry voters were served with new sugar and barley cakes at ninepence each. TOO POOR TO LIVE WITHOUT THE GOSPEL Seventeen years was a long time for a New England com- munity to survive without a place for public worship, and five years more without an organized church. The cold and colorless entries on the town records, with their repeated "determined in the negative," seem to indicate that religious institutions were not eagerly demanded. But between the lines we may read that some persons were continuously agitating the question; and once, viz. in the report of the Committee of Seven, July 6, 1798, a sen- timent, shared undoubtedly by many, came to utterance, in the words "that the town ought to hire a minister." Perhaps however the town was unconsciouslv waiting for some organized Christian body to lead off independently of town action; and this did not come till 1809. RELATING TO RELIGION 127 Then, one day, into the cold and spacious emptiness of the town building on its wind-swept site under the bleak November sky, came six men and thirteen women to be united in the cove- nant of a Christian church. Few in number and with no exhilara- ting prospect, but animated with firm, intelligent and serious pur- pose. Unquestionably true to the spirit of the occasion is the often quoted story that has come down to us, viz : that the Council finding what a feeble flock they were, questioned the wisdom of proceeding to organize. "But," said one of the six men, "this business must go on ; we are too poor to live without the or- dinances of the gospel." Many will say that this declaration deserves to be perpetuated as among the cherished traditions of our town. It reflects withal a state of things in the community which had no minister, no Sabbath, no visible sign of any sort of religion. Here is an illus- trative case. Across the street from where the South church now stands, adjoining "the little old Aunt Polly Ferguson house," lived the mother of a family. Anxious thoughts were upon her for the welfare of the children. One forenoon while at the house- hold work, her feelings swelled so strongly that she broke away from her task, saddled the family horse and rode out some dis- tance beyond Arnold's Mills to the home of Mary Bissell. The two passed that day reading the Bible, talking and praying to- gether. Some three years later when thirteen women were stand- ing together in the covenant of the church, these two were of the number, and their names stand recorded on the first page of the old church record book. It was the few women and fewer men of this sort who felt they could not longer live without the ordinances of the church, and who covenanted, Nov. 21, 1809, to do their part in maintaining them. Their names were : Hubbard Lawrence David Stowell Stephen Ayer Mary Lawrence Rebecca Stowell Nancy Ayer Mary Bissell Andrew Putnam Sarah Ayer John Barker Lucy Putnam Martha Aldrich Ruth Barker Rebecca Houghton Rebecca Brown Susanna Mansfield Aphia Wright Susanna Baldwin Samuel Eaton 128 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY On foot or on horseback, that day, they were coming up from their scattered farms, nineteen only out of some 700 population ; resolute in their determination to establish in the town an or- ganized religious body in covenant with God and with each other; but little forseeing that this was the first act in the history of four Congregational churches whose rolls united would number nigh a thousand some future day. EARLY CHURCH USAGES AND DOINGS For nearly sixteen years the old First Church was the only one organized in the township. No historical survey of the town would be complete without some notice of its usages and doings in the midst of those years. The leading men at the start were Hubbard Lawrence, moderator and David Stowell, clerk, both of whom were chosen deacons ; men of solid quality and honorable standing, tho not prominent in public affairs of the town. Stowell was tall and slender, a striking figure as he stood in the aisle, his iron-gray hair done up in the old fashioned queue; his farm was high up on Bible Hill, as it came to be called, and the name still survives. Lawrence was a man of business, a farmer by trade, whose hides were strictly marked G and B according to their quality, whether good or bad ; his vats were on the sandy slopes which in the next generation were transformed into the park- like grounds of Pinehurst. On these two men fell the charge of sustaining the public worship: for whether by reason of poverty, or remoteness, or other cause, it was six years before a minister could be had ; and, excepting the two years of Mr. Thurston's ministry, 1816-17, the church had no pastor for the first twenty- four years. It does not appear however that there was any thought of surrender ; if they were a feeble folk they persisted all the same in keeping alive, walking four and five miles over rough roads to have their service of worship in the great meeting house. Both the Sabbath and week-day meetings were regularly kept up, min- ister or no minister. Davies' Sermons or Hunter's scripture bi- ography or other appropriate selections were read from the pulpit by the deacons, and, said one, who used to listen, they bore the RELATING TO RELIGION 129 best of fruit. The quarterly communion service was reverently observed; Rev. Leonard Worcester coming down from Peacham, or Mr. Goddard from Concord or the stalwart Scotchman, Father Sutherland from Bath, to officiate. Instead of dwindling down, drawing nigh unto death, the little flock made increase; by the tenth year one hundred and thirteen had been added to the orig- inal nineteen, and more than a hundred children were memorizing Scripture verses ; the Sunday school had not yet arrived. CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH Particular attention was given to Christian nuture. The families of the church almost without exception brought their children for- mally under its covenant watch-care. On the twelfth day, Dec. 3, nine were brought forward for consecration to God in baptism, one of whom lived to ripe age and honored service in the Congre- gational ministry. This was the beginning of a quite remarkable record. In the third year twenty-seven, and in the fifth year fifty children were, as the record says, "given up to God in baptism ;" and during the first ten years one hundred and fifty-seven in all, sixteen of whom, older ones, had been received to church mem- bership. Five of one family were brought the first year, six of one family the second year, nine of one family the third year; dur- ing the first decade thirteen other families presented, each — four, five, six, seven, eight children in family groups. The following is a sample record from the church book : "Then — Arethusa Wing, Suky Wing, Betsey Wing, Barnabas Wing, Apollos Wing, Fanny Wing, David Wing, Lewis Wing, Luthera Wing, re- ceived the ordinance of baptism." Sixty years later, this Luthera Wing, Mrs. Abel Shorey, then in her eighty-fourth year, wrote "You will readily see why I am so much endeared to the dear old church where I was baptized. From my earliest recollection I used to meet with others weekly for recitation of Scripture and Catechism. When I review the religious training, instruc- tion and discipline, and the satisfactions I there received, my heart says, praise the Lord that the lines fell to me in pleasant and profitable places." This touch of grateful remembrance lets us in to* the prevail- ing sentiment of the time ; the warmth of parental solicitude, the fellowship of kindred minds made the cold, gloomy old meeting house a place of pleasant and hallowed associations. 130 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY HOUSEHOLD RELIGION In the fifth year and for several years thereafter the church "met as households, small and great, to entreat the God of Abra- ham to be their God, and to bless their children forever." In a letter from one of those same children, replying to my inquires in 1876, the writer says : "1 well remember those days and scenes, especially the household meet- ings. On Saturday afternoons we boys, your father was one of us, would be at our ball play on the street. Toward 5 o'clock our parents would be seen going toward someone's house for the evening meeting. We knew what was then to be done. The play was to stop and we were to go with them. But this was so in keeping with all other arrangements that it be- came to us a part of the course of things, easy because regular and reason- able. * * * "I have never seen a church that came so near the New Testament standard as the early members of that one did in covenant- watch, mutual helpfulness and simple consecration to Christ. My father died when I was eight, and I remember how much they were to my widowed mother after that event, helping and comforting her. I left St. Johnsbury at twelve years of age, and the night before going, the neighbors were invited in, and in the midst of this circle of praying friends I was committed to the care of the covenant keeping God." This widow was the wife of Dea. Hubbard Lawrence, and the boy of twelve years lived to become widely known as the Rev. Dr. Edward A. Lawrence, Professor of Theology in East Wind- sor, now Hartford Theological Seminary. Ancestral influence went yet farther down the line, to her grandson, Edward A. Law- rence, D. D., Jr., a man of distinguished usefulness, "a leader of men, magnanimous and chivalrous." The brilliant promise of his life went out suddenly in his early death in 1893, but not until he had left his mark as a preacher, an author and a citizen, whose name is lovingly perpetuated in the social settlement founded by him in the city of Baltimore — "The Lawrence Home." Some strain of spiritual quality embodied in that Baltimore institution may be traced back to the true hearts and warm fellowships that were keeping the little St. Johnsbury church alive during the early years. RELATING TO RELIGION 131 RIGID REQUIREMENTS An important feature in the history of the times relates to the prevalent standards of conduct and morals. This church found itself facing a dominant and popular irreligion which had gone on for many years without restraint. To oppose this the church must have an approved standard of its own and strictly maintain it ; one result of which was that personal conduct became, as every where in those days, not wholly a matter of individual liberty but of church control. This accounts for the large attention and mi- nute detail given to cases of discipline ; they were treated with forbearance and brotherly love, but also with a most serious pur- pose to correct whatever were held to be misdemeanors. An illustrative case occurred Sept. 19, when a young member was on trial "for Sabbath-breaking by traveling and visiting; for disre- spect and disobedience of his parents ; for conformity to the world in conduct, conversation and dancing ; for unreasonably correcting a lad who lived in his father's house ; and for challeng- ing Mr. Sargent to a fight." Other matters which the church took up for action and discipline were intoxication, betting, gambling, violation of the truth, unkindness, taking unlawful interest, ex- tortion in deal, attempt to pass counterfeit money. THE SABBATH Observance of the Lord's Day was made very urgent. In all the former history of the town there had been no Sabbath for anything but visiting, traveling, idling, or even worse, except as individuals in some quiet way kept the day worshipfully. Now the church set itself to have a Sabbath of the Lord their God, and went so far as to lay down rules after the old Hebrew type which condemned traveling, going-a-visiting and other things, "but if traveling without baggage and public worship may be attended by pursuing our journey a few miles, something like five or six, then, if our reckoning be settled on Saturday evening, it shall be justifiable for us to go on for the sake of joining a worshiping as- sembly." To such convictions and usages the church held itself rigorously, and in the course of time a new day began to dawn in St. Johnsbury. In 1818 it could be said that 132 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY "Sabbath breaking is less general than formerly, and those who have been inhabitants from the first settlement have seen many outbreaking sins, gambling, drinking and profanity, which once were otir disgrace now for- saken or driven into a corner. And such is the public sentiment now that our magistrates would refuse to recommend for license a house that was known to be a resort for tipplers/' For the changed conditions indicated in the above statement the town was indebted chiefly to the Christian sentiment and in- fluence of the old First Church in shaping public opinion. The process was slow and undemonstrative, but gradually the force of wholesome example and a right spirit won the respect and assent of the community. PUBLIC CONFESSIONS One can not read the early church records without being im- pressed by the spirit of sincerity and solicitude with brotherly kindness then prevailing, and these left their sure mark on that generation. To illustrate : A man somewhat prominent in the town made public confession before the church of regret for a thing he had done, not because he considered it improper, but solely because it had wounded the feelings of his fellow Chris- tians ; and this confession he wished made known to the world, also his intention to hereafter avoid anything that would give pain to the feelings of others. Again, at one time, July 13, 1823, after two months serious preparation, "the whole church went forward on the Sabbath Day to make their confession before the world." They publicly asked forgiveness of all whom they had offended ; with sorrow of heart they confessed their faults, and forgave others for their faults ; they solemnly promised never to allude to any past differences, and prayed that they might be kept from wound- ing the feelings of others. This remarkable confession was not only read aloud but attested by the signatures of seventy-two members of the church. It is easy to believe that the prevalence of such a spirit of candor and considerateness could not fail to impress the popular mind and secure more wide and cordial ac- ceptance of Christian principles in the life of the town ; the results of which have been manifest in all after years. The in- RELATING TO RELIGION 133 cident above given assumes greater significance considering the situation at the time. There was no pastor and had been none for five years, would be none for ten years more. It was the sim- ple, sturdy manhood and devout womanhood of the church in every day contact with life that gave it dignity and spiritual quality and growing influence in the town. INCIDENTS Susanna Mansfield mistook Sunday one time for Saturday and wove all day at her loom. She wondered what was going on as she saw people passing toward the center of the town. The next morning when Mrs. Higgins called, she was sitting quietly by the window, her work all put away. "O," she said, "what will people think of me ; they must have seen me at my loom yesterday, breaking the Sabbath Day !" On the contrary they would infer that she had missed a day in the reckoning, for her principles were well known. It was at her house that the few Christian women of the neighborhood used to meet for prayer meetings. Among them was a woman, mother of eleven children. She did her best to bring them up religiously. Her husband was, at that time, in a mood of opposition to this. He took occasion to hide her Bible. On coming home one night he saw a light in the chil- dren's room and hastily concluded that she had found it and was reading to the children. "He tore into the room, pulled the chil- dren out of bed and made a great fuss." But she meantime kept quietly on her way and by her gentleness and tact succeeded pres- ently in winning him to a changed mind and better life. Neighborhood meetings in one of the districts were held in a barn. A pulpit was built up with boxes on the barn floor. Mrs. Frinda Graves said that there when a child she learned to sing two hymns : "Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove" was one, the other was "Hark, from the tombs a doleful sound." What partic- ular cheer and inspiration this last was intended to awaken in the old barn, she did not say. But very interesting in her remem- brance was the riding up to the old church on the hill behind her mother on the saddle, her Sunday dress nicely tucked up so as not to get soiled or crumpled. Other girls who had to walk, 134 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY would go barefooted till near the church and then get into their shoes. On the road lived Bethiah Shorey, who had scripture verses neatly written out and pinned up on the walls of her house. When a young fellow who had fought in the Revolutionary Army was sick and dying, Bethiah Shorey was the one he sent for, to come and read and pray with him. WEEKLY OFFERING One man of the old First Church read I Corinthians 16 : 2, as for himself ; procured a tin box and put into it each first day of the week the Lord's money, according as God had prospered him. That was the personal application of Scripture that Hubbard Law- rence made for himself — more than fifty years before the alleged "discovery of the weekly offering system," now in common use. THREE SHEEP FOR PREACHING St. Johnsbury, 7 June, 1826. "For value received, I promise to pay Lewis Snell, Isaac Wing and Ezra Ide, Committee of the Congregational Society in the North part of St. Johnsbury, or their successors in office— three midling likely Ewe Sheep as to age, size and quality, on demand ; and I promise to keep the said Three Sheep five years free from expense to said Society; and I promise to pay the Wooll to the Committee in June, and the Lambs on or before the first day of November yearly, the first Payment to be made in June and November 1827 —all the Wooll and all the Lambs and all the proffits ariseing from said Sheep is to be laid out yearly for Congregational Preaching." Calvin Stone. A PIOUS OLD HORSE Old Whitey, the family horse of Hubbard Lawrence, went regularly every Sabbath day up to the Meeting House three miles away to carry that family and as many others as could be stowed into the great pung sleigh, together with the foot stoves carrying hot coals in cold weather. One day the deacon was sick and the family remained in the house. "But at the proper time the pious old horse seeing other horses going by on the way to church, leaped the fence and gravely trotted after them, taking his usual RELATING TO RELIGION 135 place in the shed till the services were over, when he gravely trotted back again, an edifying example to non-church goers." THE UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY A constitution for the Universalist Society of St. Johnsbury was drawn up under date of Sept. 3, 1813, to which the names of 210 men of the town stand appended on the Record book. It reads as follows: "We whose names are hereafter subscribed, being encouraged by the Holy Bible, prompted by Reason, Judgement and the love of Order, being fully satisfied that well established and well regulated Religious Societies are of the highest importance in Communities as well as to individuals, and have a natural tendancy to promote Piety, Morality, and Virtue, and to ex- cite a spirit of Brotherly Love ; we do therefore for the above named laud- able purposes hereby enter in to Social Compact and Covenant to and with each other to form ourselves in to a Society by the name of the Universalist Society of St. Johnsbury, and do mutually pledge ourselves to each other to conform to and be governed by the following articles. 1. There shall be a meeting of the Society on the first of October at which all necessary officers for year ensuing shall be chosen. 2. Persons of any religious denomination may be admitted as mem- bers, they complying with the regulations of the Society. 3. All persons may have the privilege of hearing preaching in the Society, but none unless persons of good moral character shall be admitted to full fellowship. 4. Any member of the Society who shall be guilty of base and immoral conduct, shall be liable to reprimand and expulsion; but no member shall be expelled unless by a vote of two-thirds of the Society present at the meeting called with the knowledge of the member so to be dealt with, if living in the vicinity. 5. The proceedings of the Society shall be recorded, each member hav- ing the privilege of perusing the records. Any member may withdraw him- self from the Society at the annual meeting. 6. The foregoing articles shall be subject to amendment, revision or alteration at any annual meeting by vote of a majority of those present. The names set to this Constitution do not appear in auto- graph, but as entered by the hand of the Secretary. They include a large number of the most prominent men of the town, as may be seen by these names taken from the list — Joel Roberts, Thomas Pierce, David Goss, Martin Wheeler, Ariel Aldrich, R. W. Fen- 136 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY ton, John Barney, John Armington, Reuben Spaulding, Gardner Wheeler, Abel Butler, Nahum Stiles, Elkanah Cobb, Walter Wright, Jubal Harrington, Stephen Hawkins, Charles Stark, Phineas Page, Jonas Flint, Lemuel Hastings, Nathaniel Stevens, Enoch Wing, and 187 more, a notably strong body of men, with large possibilities of influence in the town. From the fact that the first entry on the book of records, Oct. 12, 1825, is twelve years after the date of the Constitution, it may be inferred that there was an earlier book now lost. It does not appear that there was any church organized. Little in- formation is found on the records; they are mainly the brief minutes of the annual meetings, recording the choice of officers for the year. It is to be regretted that the material on record for historical mention is so scant. Now and then there is an item about the minister; Rev. Hollis Sampson is the first one named; Rev. Mr. Vose, another. In Oct. 1827, it was voted to pay Jonas Flint two and a half bushels of wheat for going to Haverhill after the Rev. Mr. Wright. Preaching services were held, alternately with the Congregationalists, at the old Meeting House on the Hill, in which house the members of this Society held the first choices and largest number of pews. The early records of the old First Church and of the Universalist Society are now preserved at the Athenaeum. UNIVERSALIST MEETING HOUSE At the annual meeting of October 1837 a proposition to build a Universalist Church at the Center Village was successfully car- ried. Subscriptions amounting to $1062 were made; the larger subscribers were Abel Butler and Ira Armington, $125 each, the smallest were $5 by several men. It was therefore "voted to build a meeting house to cost from ten to twelve hundred dollars, of wood and good materials, finished in good stile, and with a belfry sufficient to hang a bell of the heft of 1000 pounds; the avails of the pews to be given quarterly for preaching." A vendue of the pews was held October 6, 1838, at which time the first choice was bid off by Thomas Pierce for $10; the second, third, fourth, and fifth by John Armington, Jonas Flint, David Goss and Abel Butler RELATING TO RELIGION 137 at $8.50 each; total sales of pews $285.87. The building was erect- ed in 1843, standing at the north west corner of the Center Village burial ground, where it remained till destroyed by fire in July 1876. The first recorded meeting in this house was May 13, 1843. At this time Rev. B. M. Tillotson was minister; he afterward mar- ried the daughter of Abel Butler — in 1873 he secured the build- ing of the Universalist Church on Eastern Avenue and was min- ister there for thirteen years. The new belfry soon received its furnishment of a bell, more or less "of the heft of a thousand pounds." On the 27th January 1844, Jonas Flint and Thomas Pierce were made a committee to see to the ringing of the bell. This bell had a useful life of 33 years until it was fused in the fire of 1876 which destroyed the building and all appertaining to it. This Universalist Meeting House was in frequent use for pa- triotic and temperance meetings. It also had the distinction in 1846 of the first public observance of Christmas held in St. Johns- bury. This was long before such a thing as the Christmas Tree had been heard of in this part of the world. But for the purpose of decoration fir trees were planted in each corner of the house and in the top of one them was tethered a white dove which sat quietly perched on its green bough as if conscious of being the symbol of peace on earth and good will among men. Note. The first appearance of the "Christmas Tree" as such, in the town was in the auditorium of the South Church on Christmas Eve of 1863. Two fir trees fifteen feet in height were erected on the platform; these were suitably dec- orated and loaded with gifts for the Sunday School, under direction of Supt. Ephraim Jewett, who had made a trip to Boston to obtain the most approved equipments. There was something for everybody, including copies of Mother Goose Melodies for Principal Colby, Judge Jonathan Ross and other grown up boys. The fiftieth anniversary of this occasion was observed in the same place in a graceful and dignified manner; the illumination was from colored electric lights which flashed from the shapely spruce tree rising some twenty feet from the floor. XI EARLY INDUSTRIES "And by these Industryes they do most depely vnderstand in al affayres how sonest to exployte them." Tyndale. SPINNING WHEEL AND LOOM — 27,733 YARDS — HATS — BRICK IN 1812 — POTASH — SUNDRY SMALL INDUSTRIES — ARNOLD FALLS — RAMSEY'S MILLS — PADDOCK IRON WORKS — MOOSE RIVER POWERS — MILLS AT THE CENTER — THE FAIRBANKS MILLS — WARNED OUT FIREPLACE TO COOK STOVE — HEMP WORKS — THE OLD COUNTING ROOM. The very earliest industries were as a matter of course clear- ing the forest, log-house building, cooking the family mess. This last was done in a big iron kettle swinging on a crane over the open fire. A woman in her ninety-first year told me how she used to start early in the morning, get breakfast for the men folks, do up the morning work, go out with her axe and chop trees till about 11 o'clock, then in again to get dinner for the family. What diversions filled the rest of the day, I neglected to ask; hoeing potatoes perhaps or knitting footings, or slicking up the premises. Apparently her pioneer occupations promoted longevity and stored up pleasing recollections for future years. Spinning and Weaving. These were necessary accom- plishments in the department of woman's industry. As soon as wool and flax could be raised on the clearings the spinning wheel was started and later the loom, and all the clothing of the settle- EARLY INDUSTRIES 139 ment was of homespun made in the family kitchens. After 1800 nearly every well to do family would have either wheel or loom or both, the girls became skilled spinners and the mothers wrought firmly woven fabrics on their heavy looms. An average day's work would be to card and spin four skeins of seven knots each, forty threads to a knot, two yards in length. Flax spun on the little wheel would be two double skeins of four- teen knots each. When enough was spun for a web of twenty yards it was boiled out in ashes and water and well washed; then spooled and warped ready to weave into cloth, for various gar- ments. Table cloths and towels were woven in figures, dress goods from flax, colored and woven in checks. The volume to which this family industry attained is express- ed in the returns given for the year 1810. During that year the women of St. Johnsbury turned off from their looms 16,505 yards of linen cloth, 9,431 yards of woolen, 1,797 yards of cotton cloth. A total of 27,733 yards. During the decade 1800-1810, Vermont is reported to have exceeded every other state of the Union in the amount of hand made household products. Carding, Dyeing, Cloth-dressing. At first these processes were all carried on in the home with simple hand instruments and common dye stuffs. Twenty-nine different materials for dyeing are noted in 1831. By combining various sorts of barks and herbs such as butternut, sumach, smart-weed, etc., with chemicals, the house-wife managed to get any desired shade or color, and the dye pot with tight fitting cover sitting near the fire place was an important article of kitchen furniture, a handy little seat withal for the youngsters. Patterns were mostly in checks or stripes ; a standard product was the blue and white frocking, furnishing material for the long loose frock that hung in comfortable folds from the shoulders of the men. After some years mills began to be set up in different parts of the town. Percival dressed cloth in a mill below Fair- banks Village ; there was another mill at Goss Hollow; Kimball and Stoughton had clothier's mills at the Center Village in 1825 ; wool carding was done by Silas Hibbard at the East Village 1830, for $3 per cwt. or four cents per pound cash down, six cents in 140 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY grain the next winter. Many of the women however continued to manufacture their own cloth. One of the cloth dressers gave out a bit of advice to the women about their spinning : "You will do well to have the filling spun one skein coarser to the pound than the warp ; back-banded, slack twisted and wove in the grease. Then if brought to me, it shall not only be handsome when it goes from my hands, but it will wear as handsome as any English cloth." This was said in the Farmer's Herald of July 28, 1830. Two weeks later another clothier announced that "one skein coarser in pound is too much ; you will do well to spin it about one knot in twelve coarser. Also it should not be wove in the grease, unless you have a power loom with spring shuttle ; for with common looms it will be difficult to close the threads sufficiently not to become very narrow in the filling. I will say to the ladies that they will do well to follow their own good judgment guided by experience rather than the suggestion in the Herald of two weeks ago." With the two foregoing pieces of wisdom and advice should be quoted a third which appeared about the same time : "Ye Carders and Spinners and Weavers, attend ! And take the advice of Poor Richard your friend ; Stick close to your looms and your wheels and your card, And you'll need have no fear of the times being hard." Also "Ye Hatters, who oft with hands not very fair Fix hats on a block for a blockhead to wear!" St. Johnsbury had two hatters : Stiles the hatter who blocked out hats at South end of the Plain, and Groom the hatter on the west side of the street farther up. They made napthats of approved and fashionable style, using felts prepared from lamb's wool and other furs. Straw hats were braided by the women in their homes; the art of braiding was not difficult, but the process of shaping the crown so as to bring out a good looking hat required some skill and experience. BRICK MAKING IN 1812 "Samuel French was the first man 'to start a Brick Yard in the Center of the'town, which was very different from the way now. In the first place EARLY INDUSTRIES 141 a spot was made level and smooth, then two thicknesses of Boards so as to break joints and then boards or plank were set up edgeways and fastened there. The bin was about 14 to 16 feet long and 7 to 8 feet wide. Then clay and sand were put in what they wanted for a batch and water what was needed. Then the grinding Proces began which was quite different from now a days. They put in from one yoke to 2 yoke of oxen yoked up and a man to drive them around till all was jamed fine enough to work for the mould. The striker had a table for his mould and then he had another table for the morta; and then taken off enought for a Brick and put in to a mold and pressed with the hand in to the mold one at a time, and so on till the molds were filled, and with a straight edge scraped over the whole and then carried away on to the yard to dry, when dry, burnt as usual, a great con- trast then and now." H. N. R. Ashes and Potasheries From the earliest settlement the making of potash and pearlash was carried on and it came to be an important industry. The hard woods of the forest yielded val- uable ashes; these were leached and boiled down into potash, then still further refined into pearlash. At first, before barrels were plenty, a section from a hollow tree trunk was set up for a leach ; the lye obtained from this was boiled down in small kettles, and the resulting salts of lye would bring from three to four dollars per hundred weight. In process of time asheries or potasheries were built for carrying on the process more extensively. There were several in this town. "Phelps* Potash" was near the head of the Plain; another operated by John and Luther Clark was in the gulley where Church street now comes in to Main. This building was set against the bank so that ashes could be unloaded from the road into a window under the ridge pole. To this place ashes were brought from all the surrounding country ; as often as once a week a load was hauled in from Lunenburg. The ashes mixed with quick lime were put into large casks, covered with water, stirred thoroughly and left to settle. A day or two later the clear liquor was drawn off and evaporated ; the residue was salts of lye or potash. To form pearlash this was again dissolved in water and filtered thro straw in a barrel. After evaporation it was stirred so as to break up in to small lumpy bits of a pearl white color ; this contained about fifty per cent of pure potassa. For many years the products of these asheries were a principal article 142 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY for barter ; in fact ashes alone were always in demand. In 1830, Clarks and Bishop on the Plain kept out a standing call for 10,000 bushels of ashes ; much of the trade at their store was with ashes instead of money. At that time it was not doubted that "Ver- mont would supply wood for centuries to come, and the pearlash manufacture be here carried on with greatest perfection and profit" — as quoted by Theodore N. Vail. Starch. Extensive starch factories were set up at the East and Center Village water powers. Loads of potatoes brought in from the farms were dumped into capacious troughs where they were washed, after which they were run thro the grinding ma- chine, then strained and put in to vats to settle. After the water had been drawn off the pulpy starch was spread on the drying racks, and when sufficiently hard and dry was broken in to lumps suitable for use. Soap. In almost any back yard might be seen in early spring the old-time leach, originally a section cut from some hol- low tree trunk, later a stout barrel, filled with ashes, on a sloping seat. From this the lye was drained off and poured in to the great iron kettle together with the year's accumulations of grease. The process of boiling, stirring and skimming was a long one carefully attended to by the thrifty housewife ; the product ob- tained was a strong, vicious, grayish brown soft soap, vigorous and effective in the warfare for cleanliness. This constituted the annual family supply of soap for ordinary purposes ; it was stored in large barrels with a square hole in the head, of a size sufficient to admit the long handled dipper — also the family cat that one day pushed her investigations a bit too far, a sorry cat when fished out. Shave Horse Products. "What is that ?" is the question not infrequently asked, even by adults of the present generation, on seeing a survivor of the old shave horse troop. It used to be part of the necessary equipment ; many were the articles and im- plements made with the draw shave on this queer and handy little horse. Nearly all the wood work and some of the iron work of ordinary tools was hand made. Hoes and pitch forks were ham- EARLY INDUSTRIES 143 mered out on the anvil, and Tom and Bill shaved the handles and fitted them in to the circular necks. Axes, scythes and sickles were imported from down below, but the helves and snaths were either made or replaced on the shave horse, the snath of the pe- riod being nearly as straight as a rake stale. The common shovel was of wood with a T piece on the handle and the cutting edge shod with a piece of iron. Boys shaved out the different parts of their sleds or pungs, which like the great ox sleds, also home made, were jointed together with wooden pins. The constant handling of ashes, starch and potash, also soap and sugar making, required receptacles, and coopering became an important industry. Staves and hoops for hundreds of buckets, pails, tubs and barrels were shaved out in different parts of the town. Iron not being obtainable, both hoops and handles were made of elastic wood. A style of bucket not often seen nowadays was the piggin, on which one stave projected above the rim to serve as a handle. "I made a piggin," is the entry on a farm journal of the Moose River region, Aug. 22, 1832. The piggin had no relationship to a domestic animal other than as a recep- tacle for conveying nourishment to his trough ; its original is the Gaellic word pigean, a pot or jar. Leather. On the Plain, prior to 1810, the Hubbard Law- rence tannery diversified the grounds now known as Pinehurst. Here the scrupulously honest Deacon manufactured leathers, the differing grades of which he had a way of marking with the initial letters of good and bad. When a curious person one day interrogated him as to the meaning of the G he replied that that marked a piece of leather that was good. What then is the B for? was the next question. B we'll call better, said the tanner, with a twinkle that gave the questioner the reverse meaning. This tannery continued in operation till about 1830. Up to that time and later raw leather was an indispensable commodity in the community. There was no ready made foot gear. The traveling cobbler came along, as the umbrella tinker now does, with his kit, and established himself in the kitchen, where he made up the family stock of boots for the year. For men and boys he made the long legged boots, and for feminine 144 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY use whatever might be wanted. Sometimes he would find a shoe bench on the premises. Increasing population called for a shoemaker to set up shop and this with saddlery and harness making kept the tanners busy converting hides in to leather for r a good many years. The most important tannery in town was at the Center Vil- lage opposite the upper bridge : this was built by Isaac Harrington in 1810. Horace Hutchinson was the first tanner, afterward Gris- wold who at a later date set up a tannery in the East Village. In 1853 John Bacon 2d bought the Center tannery ; for 43 years it was successfully operated by himself and his son, Delos M. Bacon, who carried it on from 1876 to 1896. The great wheel of this tannery, mounted about 1830, survived until recent years as a picturesque relic on the hillside, very noticeable from the west end of the bridge. It was an undershot wheel 12 feet in diameter with a rim 18 inches wide on which were set pockets for catching the water as it came down from the brook. Pottery. An old-time land mark with low red buildings west of the river half a mile south of the Center Village, was the Pottery established in 1808 by Gen. R. W. Fenton, somewhile known as the St. Johnsbury Stone Ware Pottery. Its products were in constant demand until the introduction of tinware. The business was successfully carried on by Gen. Fenton and by his son Leander until the entire establishment went down in flames November, 1859. All sorts of domestic ware were turned out on those potters' wheels, from jugs, jars, bowls, bottles and milk pans, at a dollar a dozen, to fancy flower pots at sixty cents each, and St. Johnsbury pottery gained high repute ; occasionally sur- viving specimens of it may still be seen. The power was supplied by a merry little brook that came tumbling down the hillside. Clover Seed. During the twenties a brisk business in clover seed sprang up. In August of the second year, when the seed was ripe it was cut with a scythe, dried and bundled, spread out on the barn floor, where the seed was trodden out. It was shoveled thro an upright screen and then put into a barrel rigged with a sweep which was carried around by the horse. The seed EARLY INDUSTRIES 145 worked its way below the chaff and as it came out at the bottom was hulled and further cleared by fans. This was the process on the farms, but after a time clover mills with hullers and fans were built and run by water power. One of these was put up and oper- ated by E. & T. Fairbanks at the Sleeper River Falls south of the Plain. This mill was sold in 1828 to Maj. Abel Rice, proprietor of the hotel. Ten tons of clover seed were called for at one time by Clarks and Bishop ; it was used for barter by the farmers ; the price in 1837 was eleven cents a bushel. Eastern Vermont did a large business in this clover seed for many years ; in 1850 Cale- donia County produced 179 bushels, during which year Chittenden raised two bushels, Rutland one and Bennington none. Hair Combs. Porter Gibson carried on his comb making at the south end of the Plain in a little house, the original of No. 2 Main street. The farmers brought their cattle horns to Gibson ; he subjected them to steam heat, cut and pressed them in to thin flat sheets, sawed out a disk of proper size and shape, the edges of which he skilfully shoved up under his fine saw which cut out the spaces leaving a series of teeth, and — there was your comb. Opposite the comb works was the Bookbindery, where T. G. Rice rebound worn out Bibles and Testaments ; up near the post- office was the upstairs room where Parks and Paddock built organs ; near the meeting house was the work shop of Francis Bingham who turned out side-boards, secretaries, sofas, French bedsteads and Grecian card tables ; Hezekiah Martin near by, and Clark Brothers across the street, made saddles, harness, trunks and post bags. In Paddock Village was Lindorf Morris' sash, blind and door factory, Ramsey's spinning wheel works and Jo- seph Hancock's shop for nice work in pine, birch, maple and mahogany. Good cabinet work was done at the Center Village by Freeman Loring and Ira Armington, and Cotton G. Dickinson of the sturdy stock of famous Cotton Mather, did high class work on his anvil, from fitting shoes on oxen to making wrought iron implements for farm and household use. 146 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY ARNOLD FALLS RAMSEY'S MILLS "What, Man! more water glideth by the mill Than wots the miller of." The water power that runs our village water works in Pad- dock Village was originally known as Arnold Falls. This was the first water in the town that was utilized. Dr. Arnold, whose property it was, set up his saw mill there in 1787, and a grist mill the next year. Capt. Arnold the miller, brother of Jonathan, an old sea captain, ran the grist mill. David Bowen was the next miller. He built and lived in a rude hut which was the first habi- tation there. After the death of the Arnolds business declined at these mills ; different parties rented the property, which still went by the name of Arnold Mills as late as 1810. After a time, 1817, Capt. James Ramsey came along and took the grist mill. He added to it a small building into which he moved his family and there set up a carding machine ; the old Bowen hut was at this time uninhabitable. In 1820 Ramsey and Allen Kent put up a new saw mill at the Falls. Two or three years later Hiram Jones and Sargent Bagley bought this mill and built beside it a carpenter shop. These men built dwelling houses near by, and from this time the place began to be called Ramsey's Mills, tho as late as the year 1830 we find reference made to "the Celebrated Water Fall on Passumpsic River known by the name of the Arnold Privilege." A reminiscence of these men was given years after by one who knew them when he was a boy : — "Ramsey was a character, a large, bony Scotchman, with a fund of droll stories which he delighted to tell to the neighbors and over which he would shake with honest laughter. Jones was a little man, industrious, taciturn and obsequious, under a very rigorous conjugal regime. Bagley was a tall, stately man, solemn and monotonous, a consistent and rigid member of the church. His wife— a mild, tidy woman, with a lace cap and an immaculate linen kerchief over her shoulders — dear blessed woman, how we boys rever- enced and loved her." Capt. Ramsey as time went on built a new house. He be- came a stiff anti-slavery man and his house was one of the under- EARLY INDUSTRIES 147 ground railway stations, so called, where runaway slaves were taken in and helped on their way to Canada. This house is still standing, the low brick house painted gray- white a few rods south of the bridge. Ramsey also became a spinning wheel manufac- turer; his wheels for spinning domestic flax were considered a superior product ; with oil-stained red rims and cranks and spindles of best hard Swede stock. His sons, John, Charles and William, were well known here in later years. Lieut. John Ram- sey, a conspicuous figure in the Third Vt. Regiment, fell pierced by four musket balls at the battle of Savage Station, Va., in 1862. THE PADDOCK IRON WORKS In 1828 Huxham Paddock moved his foundry from Sleeper's River to the Arnold Falls and there set up a blast furnace and ex- tensive iron works. Hiram Jones and Capt. Ramsey took the contract for the main building which was raised and finished "without the use of liquid poison, and much was said of the in- genuity and excellent workmanship displayed." A large force of men was employed in these works ; as the business expanded many built homes for themselves and the community came to be known as Paddock Village. A high grade quality of native iron was made in the Paddock blast furnace. The fuel used was charcoal obtained from the neighboring woods. Ores were brought in on heavy teams from what was then a famous mine in Franconia ; also in smaller quan- tities from Piermont, N. H., from Waterford and Troy, Vt. After experiments were made it was found that by combining these different ores a particularly firm valuable iron could be obtained for the manufacture of stoves and hollow iron ware, for which products there was a steady demand, and the business continued brisk for some years. In one of the Paddock shops was installed a turning lathe which was considered superior to any other in the State. It was capable of turning a shaft of three feet diameter and fourteen feet long. Turning lathes of all kinds for iron or wood work were manufactured at these works, also various mill machinery, shafts, cranks, spindles, gudgeons, cylinders, pumps, hubs, nails and other miscellany. 148 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Huxham Paddock was a man of energy, skill and shrewdness, and of dignified character. His enterprise and public spirit con- tributed much to the interests of the town, which by his early death suffered serious loss. His mother Ann Huxham was niece of the celebrated physician of that name in England. Her brother John was master of a vessel which returning from Gauda- loupe laden with dye stuffs, was spoken just outside the harbor of Newport, R. I., by Capt. Crooke, who asked if they were not coming in? "No," said the Captain, "we're too heavily loaded, but will be in for breakfast." During the night a sudden tempest drove the ship on the rocks and all on board were lost. MOOSE RIVER WATER POWERS Sometime during the twenties the Fairbanks Brothers estab- lished a hoe and fork factory at the falls where the Ely works now are. Most of the implements of this sort used by the farmers of that period were made here. After the rise of the scale business their work at this factory was discontinued. In 1848, George W. Ely, re-established the hoe and fork manufacture, which has had a most prosperous development by the Ely family until the present time, being now incorporated in the American Hoe and Fork Company. • The neighboring water power at the head of Portland street was first utilized in 1854. At that time the dam and saw mill was built by Jonathan Lawrence and James Harris. MILLS AT THE CENTER About the year 1800, and before there was any village up that way, Samuel French cleared a place and built a log hut near the lower end of Trout Brook on the Lyndon road. He utilized a little fall in the Brook, for a small saw and grist mill, the first in that part of the town. Not long after, Eleazar Sanger who came over from the Four Corners, bought what is now the land included in the Center Vil- lage. He threw a dam across the Passumpsic, and soon an up and down saw was running and houses began to be built. Logs EARLY INDUSTRIES 149 at that time were drawn up to the roll-way thro the sand and grit ; this "kept the saw bright and the teeth dull." Logs were hauled in during the winter on sleds, each man's logs were stacked in a separate pile, and every log was marked with the owner's name. Sawing was begun in the spring. E. H. Stone was the first man to introduce a circular saw ; he had the logs fished from the river on to a slip and there was no more dragging thro the dirt. The first grist mill was run some years by Reuben Spaulding, afterward by Enoch Wing. As the farmers made wider clearings the increasing crops of grain began to tax the capacity of the mill. In the fall of the year Wing was obliged to keep his mill grinding night and day. At night after filling up his hoppers he would camp down beside the mill-stones for a nap ; when this first batch was ground out, the peculiar sound made by the stones when no grain was in them would wake him ; then he had a second filling, a second nap, and so on thro the night. There were two sets of millstones, one for provender and one for flour ; they were granite stone, no other being obtainable at that time. Once a year the miller had a salt-grinding day; every body was notified that salt must be brought in that day ; the salt was washed, then thoroughly dried and ground. Then each family got the yearly supply of fine salt, no other being had except by pounding in a mortar. This grist mill was sold by Wing some years later, 1819, to Ezra Ide ; then to Hiram H. Ide ; the original mill was re- placed by a more modern one of brick, which was destroyed in the fire of 1876. A carding mill was started a short distance below the grist mill by Capt. Walter Wright, who also set up a turning lathe, cir- cular saw and other machinery. In a few years he sold the card- ing works to Stoughton and Kimball ; they enlarged the plant, put in cloth dressing machinery and did a prosperous business for several years ; during that period the farmers raised their own wool and flax which after carding was woven into cloth on the hand looms, then dyed and finished off at the dressing mill. A starch factory was operated by Morse and Ide for four years, near the tannery on the west bank of the river. John Bacon bought out this business and moved it into the village near 150 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY the other mills. He paid from twelve to eighteen cents a bushel for potatoes ; the price kept rising two cents a year, as long as he continued starch making. After some years this mill was converted at considerable expense into a straw board factory, and it was here that the great fire originated that swept the village in 1876. The facts given in the foregoing section have been com- piled from the narrative of H. N. Roberts. MILLS AT GOSS HOLLOW In 1793 David Goss built a saw mill on the upper waters of Sleeper's River. This was the beginning of industries that made Goss Hollow famous in the early days. A year later there was a grist mill, then a blacksmith shop ; after this a starch factory which belonged to the Hawkins family ; then saddlery and har- ness making was set up, and finally a wool carding and cloth dressing mill run by Capt. Harris Knapp. Such an industrial center had this place become that at one time there was talk of setting up a store and a church. Since then the water power has dwindled to an inconsiderable stream and little remains to dis- tinguish the once busy hamlet of Goss Hollow. Sleeper's River however was not destined to remain forever undistinguished in the manufacturing world, for by and by new industries were start- ed, lower down the stream at THE FAIRBANKS MILLS In 1815 Major Joseph Fairbanks who had recently come up from Brimfield, began improving the water privilege where the scale works now stand. This property he purchased of Presbury West; originally it was included in the town rights belonging to Jonathan Arnold. For five acres including rights in the Falls he paid $300. The dam which Joseph Fairbanks put across the river that spring, except some slab work on the East bank, stood undisturb- ed thro the riot of floods and the wear of time nearly forty years, till in 1854 it was reinforced for the larger business that had grown up around it, with steam power then auxiliary. The first EARLY INDUSTRIES 151 saw mill was running in the fall of 1815, and the grist mill in the spring of 1816; but the season that followed gave scant material for a grist mill to work on, it being the notable cold summer of 1816. Three pints of barley heads that Nathaniel Bishop had culled from his field and hulled with his hand constituted the first grist brought to the mill that season. The upper floor of the grist mill was fitted with machinery for wagon making, and in the spring of 1817 several pleasure wagons, so called, were turned out, made by Thaddeus Fairbanks, then 21 years of age. These were the first wagons ever run on our roads, except the one made by him in Brimfield and brought here two years before, which wagon is now preserved in the Museum. The grist and carriage building was swept away by the great flood of 1828, and for a long time the grist mill screw stood up a conspicuous object stranded on the river bank below. That old screw at one time ground a bushel of corn for As- quire Aldrich, a veteran of the army who knew the value of corn, having starved three days when captured by the British ; in 1797 he came here, pitched in the neighboring wilderness, and as time went on added five wives and fifteen children to the family life of the town. One of the fifteen, after the lapse of eighty years told about that bushel of corn. "My father sent me with the corn to be ground at the mill. Greatly to my surprise I saw Mr. Fair- banks go to my bag and take out some corn before he began to grind it! My astonishment knew no bounds and I hurried home to tell my father what had happened. At which he began to laugh, and then he said 'Why, George, that was the toll!' Mr. Joseph Fairbanks laughed heartily over this, when I afterward told him, and for many years it was a standing joke with us." The only smut machine for cleaning grain and the only buzz saw in this part of the world were installed in the Fairbanks Mills. In 1818 Huxham Paddock had a trip hammer and iron foundry in operation near by ; his contract called for water power enough to carry one trip hammer, one grindstone, two pair of bellows ; here somewhat later the Fairbanks Iron Works were established for the manufacture of stoves, plows, and whatever else anybody wanted. Here also Dyer Percival had his fulling mill and cloth 152 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY dressing works, and William Hutchinson carried on a pottery for making domestic ware. Dense woods enclosed this busy com- munity and it was not difficult to make acquaintance with an oc- casional wolf or bear. Lower down the Sleeper's River near the Passumpsic turn- pike was a clover mill which Abel Rice bought of the Fairbanks owners in 1828. Here afterward was the shop of the Belknaps, whose workmanship in iron, steel and brass was of very superior quality ; knife blades tempered and polished at this factory were in universal demand. TO DEPART SAID TOWN "It was customary ye newe people shd be worn'd out of ye towne." " J State of Vermont \ County Caledonia To Josiah Thurston, First Constable of the town of St. Johnsbury in said County : Greeting. You are hereby requested to summon Joseph Fairbanks and Family, now residing in St. Johnsbury to depart said town. Hereof fail not, but of this precept with your doings herein legal service and due return make according to law. Given under our hands at St. Johnsbury, this 25th day of Nov. 1815. Ariel Aldrich ^ Philo Bradley > Selectmen Joel Hastings J Then served this precept by leaving a true and attested copy of the original precept at the last used place of abode of the within named Joseph Fairbanks in St. Johnsbury. Josiah Thurston, Constable, Received for record, Dec. 18, 1815 and recorded. Luther Clark, Town Clerk. Had Mr. Fairbanks decided to depart said town under this order, the woods of Walden might have had a scale factory, the brooks of Goshen Gore might have run the wheels of machine shops. He probably paid no attention whatever to the writ, but went on constructing his mill at Sleeper's River. It was one of the curious customs of that period in New England to warn out every new comer on the assumption that he might some time be- come a town charge. By serving this process upon him the town EARLY INDUSTRIES 153 was releasing itself from any after obligation to support him. This old time usage was deemed of sufficient interest as a freak or curiosity to call for a book published in 1912, entitled "The Warning Out," "a volume of utmost interest to every de- scendant of the New England settlers." One hundred and eighty-three persons were warned out of St. Johnsbury between Jan. 1, 1805 and Sept. 23, 1817. Among the number were many who became well known citizens and some who had a large share in the industrial development of the town. The list contains such familiar names as Major Abel Butler, 1811 ; vSargent Bagley, 1812 ; Huxham Paddock, 1813; John Armington and Joseph Fairbanks, 1815 ; Rev. Pearson Thurston first pastor of the old church, 1816 ; Leonard Harrington and Levi Fuller, 1816; Ezra Ide and Capt. James Ramsey, 1817. FROM FIREPLACE TO COOK-STOVE Cobble stone fire places kept the roaring fires and cooked the substantial victuals of early time. Potatoes got nicely roasted in the ashes, and a bear steak or a wild partridge would be done to a turn on the end of a rotating spit. A tin oven set front of the fire did the baking of bread and cakes ; on the swinging crane were suspended pots and kettles going to and fro. A mother who lived in one of the first log cabins said she used to bake her corn cakes on a board before the coals ; she had a way of suspending a goose by a strong cord some distance above the fire ; the goose would accommodatingly turn itself this way and that on the cord so as to get an even cooking on all sides, and never was goose more neatly done for the table. Out of doors hung the big iron kettle between forked sticks over, a rambling fire, ready for making soap or sugar or potash. It was a good many years before stoves of any sort were had in the town. For generating warmth in the old first school house of the Middle District in 1806, a large flat rock was planted on the floor, upon which was set a potash kettle bottom side up and tilted a bit at one side. Under this kettle a fire was kindled ; a hole drilled thro the bottom which was now the top of the inverted kettle received a small pipe that carried off the smoke. This was 1S4 v TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY St. Johnsbury's first achievement in stove making. It does not appear that the inventor suffered persecution on account of it ; tho thirteen years later at a Unitarian council in Boston, Rev. John Pierpont was charged with having invented a new style of stove. See page 113. After Dr. Lord had built his new house at the south end of the Plain, he imported from Montreal a large metallic structure reported to have been cast in Scotland ; this had the distinction of being the first real cook-stove in the town. It was so much of a curiosity that people used to visit the house for the purpose of seeing it, and it was the object of considerable comment ; one old codger after inspecting it said he would as lief try to warm him- self sitting beside a nigger as by that great black thing. Tradi- tion tells us "it was so monstrous that a kettle could be set inside the oven," but no indication is given as to the size of the kettle. The time presently came when it was no longer necessary to send off to foreign parts for such conveniences. In the Fairbanks foundries stoves of various sorts began to be cast, and finally in 1827 there was brought out and patented the famous Diving Flue Cook-Stove, which was in almost universal use throughout this region till well into the fifties. This was a large deep bellied box stove, the most effective cooking apparatus then obtainable. By means of a rising and diving flue and rolling damper the draft was brought under complete control and the oven readily tempered to any desired use. The sunken projecting hearth provided for broiling on coals, also for quick heating of the tea kettle over a handful of chips. This type of cook-stove was considered a valu- able invention and a prime necessity in every well-appointed kitchen; it brought large increase of business to the St. Johnsbury Iron Works. Thaddeus Fairbanks was the inventor. ST. JOHNSBURY HEMP WORKS In 1829, when hemp culture was flourishing among farmers of this and other towns an establishment for dressing hemp for the market was erected on Sleeper's River where the scale pack- ing shop now is. Here were installed three machines for dressing hemp. Each machine was thirty-two feet long by four broad, had EARLY INDUSTRIES 155 65 fluted rollers geared together so as to break the hemp straw properly when drawn through them. The gear wheels and other particular parts, also a machine invented for fluting the rollers, were made by Thaddeus Fairbanks, his hand work. He was ap- pointed manager of the St. Johnsbury Hemp Company, and he patented an improved hemp dresser. As a business venture the hemp enterprise proved unprofit- able ; but out of it came an unexpected asset that ultimately shaped the destiny of this town. Fifteen dollars a ton was paid for undressed hemp straw. The only way of getting at the weight was by hooking chains around the cart axle and lifting the load at the short arm of a huge wooden steelyard. Mr. Fairbanks contrived a platform with levers under it on to which the load could be drawn, and thus came in to being the invention of the Platform Scale, which in coming years was to make St. Johns- bury famous throughout the business world. THE OLD COUNTING ROOM OF 1832 The fire that destroyed the store in Fairbanks Village in Nov. 1889, also swept away the "Counting Room" in the small building adjoining, which had been for more than fifty years the executive seat of the industries there carried on. Someone whose memory went back far enough recalled the scenes of earlier time in that room, with pleasant reference to the first clerk employed there : — "Hiram Knapp was book-keeper, mail carrier, store keeper, chore man, the ever faithful and trusty Knapp. On a shelf at one end of the Counting Room he kept his store, stocked with blue drilling for men's aprons, buttons, soap, etc. When not busy with keeping books, tending store or carrying the mail, H. K. hauled castings from the Paddock Foundry with Old Sorrell, which horse besides doing all the trucking of the Scale Works, did duty also as a family horse, taking children to ride, or going over to the Bank in Dan- ville, where all banking business was done. What a tale of deep sagacity, earnest purpose, indomitable perseverance, rigid economy and high resolve the walls of that old Counting Room could tell of the three Brothers at 'the one desk where they worked, and builded better than they knew." It seems however there was a yet older Counting Room, which this same Hiram Knapp told about in some reminiscences given to his children long afterwards, as follows : — 156 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY "It was on the 22nd of May, 1832, that I came down on the stage from Lyndon, snow falling quite fast, to begin with the Fairbanks Company. The Counting Room, known for so many years since as the headquarters of the business, was then in the end of the plough shop : where also some goods for the workmen and their families, such as tea, sugar, molasses, woolen and cotton cloth, were kept for sale. I boarded six weeks with Dea. Erastus Fairbanks, who lived in the little house at the corner of the Dan- ville road, (site of the Office Building of today) ; from the first I was treated as one of the family, and a pleasanter home could not be found. This house was successively occupied by Huxham Paddock, Erastus Fairbanks, J. P. Fairbanks, Hiram Knapp, John H. Paddock. (It now stands first on the right, going to the Danville bridge.) The other houses in the Village were 'The Homestead' on the other side of the road, a two story house recently built by Joseph Fairbanks, father of Erastus, in the east end of which also his son Thaddeus lived. Near the bridge were three houses, oc- cupied by John Rowland, Austin Hubbard and Levi Fuller. "The business part of the Village consisted of a saw mill, in charge of Mark C. Webster, a grist mill with a pair of new burr mill stones, a blacksmith shop, with a dozen men, Elisha Peck, Loammi Flint and others ; also the dry house of the old hemp mill which was used for the plough shop, store, counting room and lodging place of the clerk. At this date the cast iron ploughs newly invented, and considered very serviceable, especially the sidehill ploughs, made the principal business. Hoes, forks, culti- vators and other agricultural implements were being manufactured, all of the finest quality in the market ; also heavy screws for the use of factories, powder mills, clothiers and presses, weighing up to 1500 lbs. ; the cutting and finishing of these screws was a nice piece of workmanship. "After a time the demand for scales obliged the proprietors to gradually discontinue the manufacture of other articles and devote themselves to scales of various descriptions. The agents for dis- tributing these were selected with the greatest care ; they were furnished with carefully written instructions, with drawings in water colors and plan and model of each scale, the importance of EARLY INDUSTRIES 157 which I had to know, as I drew them myself. Care, system and constant watchfulness were insisted on, the agents were invari- ably men of energy, reliability and industry ; they made full re- ports of their explorations, labors and trials, and uniformly they secured the confidence of individuals and the public. Among these men who were pioneers of this business in different parts of the country were Houghton, Evans, May, West, Thrasher, Norris, Sherman, Sanborn, Eastman, Oakes, Aldeu Young and others. "Young was sent to the Southern States in 1832. In one of his letters he gave a vivid account of the trial and whipping of a man named Dresser for having in his trunk papers from the North containing references to slavery. I made some extracts from Young's letter, omitting parts that might be thought offen- sive and they were published in the Vermont Chronicle. Mr. Young afterward wrote me that happening to look over the file of newspapers in the St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans, his eye fell on these extracts which had been copied and found their way down there ; he said if it were known that he was their author it might have cost him his life. Soon afterward he perished, with 100 others in the explosion of the boiler of the Ben Sherwood which was racing up the Mississippi River. Hon. Charles Durkee, Governor of Wisconsin and Senator in Congress, was one of our traveling agents. "I used to go out on trips for collections, driving Old Sorrell ; by starting at 4 o'clock in the morning, I could make fifty miles a day for a week at a time ; these trips were thro towns in Ver- mont and New Hampshire. A plough agency and manufactory was established in Waterville, Maine, under management of J. P. Fairbanks. Driving up one time from Waterville, I found myself overtaken by darkness ten miles below the old Crawford place which I wanted to reach that night. I urged the tired horse to put his best foot forward ; he seemed to understand, and over that ten miles up the Saco, with only one or two houses on the way and so dark that I could not see the horse, we made our way thro the forest with perfect safety, tho it was the season for bears and other wild animals. 158 TOWN OP ST. JOHNSBURY "One Monday in February, Horace Fairbanks started out ort a trip which took us away ten days, with the mercury below zero every day, one day 34 degrees below. Near Haverhill, in the in- tense cold, a Northwester struck thro our buffalo coats as if they were only thinnest clothing. Meantime a letter from Charles Fairbanks informed us that however cold it might appear to us , it was not so cold but that molasses would run in St. Johnsbury ; for he had tried it by setting a measure under the faucet, and while he sat snugly by the side of the stove, the molasses not only flowed the quantity wanted but went on flooding the floor in addition." This was in the Old Counting Room. XII DIVERSIONS AND DOINGS STREET SPORTS— LONG BALL— MERRYMAKINGS— SAPLING AND MUSKET— URSA STUMPIENSIS— BEAR HUNT — PATRIOTIC RALLY — JUNE TRAINING— THE 56 — FOURTH OF JULY. SPORTS ON THE GREEN The strenuous demands of pioneer life allowed little oppor- tunity for the diversions of later years. Whatever recreations there were usually fell on a Sunday. Until about 1810 this day was very largely given over to social pleasures, hunting and fish- ing, wrestling matches, street sports ; the restraining influence of religious leadership was lacking, there was no regular public wor- ship ; young and old amused themselves as they had a mind to. After the formation of the church in 1809, a change in public sen- timent began to be effected and the old-time Sunday sports were brought forward into Saturday afternoon. This was the period of horseback matches on the Plain ; the head of the street was the rendezvous and the galloping steeds swept the whole distance down to Dr. Lord's at the South end. There were then fifteen houses on the street and no general congestion of traffic. A notable feature, as reported by old inhabitants, was the superior equestrienneship of Sally Tute, sister of Zibe Tute, who leaping on a barebacked horse called for a glass of stimulant and challenged any man of the crowd to overtake her. ball clubs. After a time that particular sport was discon- tinued and skilled ball playing became very popular. Ball Clubs 160 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY were organized and contesting games were played on the Green at the head of the Plain. "There all the village train from labor free, Led up their sport beneath the spreading tree." On assembling, the roll of the Clubs would be called, and as part of the necessary discipline, an absentee would have to pay four-pence ha' penny fine, or a glass of something stronger than water for a drink. Ephraim Paddock, the tall young lawyer re- cently settled in the town, was Captain of one of the Clubs and tradition says that "Squire Paddock was a great hand at long ball." Long-ball and round-ball, before the advent of the present day base-ball were the games for men. Three-year-old-cat and four- year-old-cat were in vogue for boys as late as 1850, and there are probably quite a few veterans of four-year-old-cat who can still repeat the magic formula used in choosing sides : — "On-e-ry U-ge-ry Ick-er-y Ann, Phil-i-sy Phol-i-sy Nich-o-las John, Quee-vy Quaw-vy Irish Mary Stick-i-lum Stalk-i-lum By-low Buck— Out" No one dreamed that some day Arnold Bennett would be saying : "How mighty nevertheless is American base ball ; its fame floats thro Europe as something prodigious, incomprehen- sible, romantic and terrible." quoits. Somewhere near the tavern or store were seen the pegs at the shallow spots worn by the pitching of quoits. Skill in these contests was as real as in the times of Homer, when "some whirled the discus and some the javelin dart." Flat stones an- swered fairly well for a while, but this was an importantgame insomuch that after a time the Paddock foundry began turning out a reproduction, in small size, of the ancient discus of Ulysses. Quoits of an entirely modern type came in to common use when the flat iron weights of the new scale industry were taken up for play-things at the pegs ; then some whirled the discus and some the platform scale weights. DIVERSIONS AND DOINGS 161 thb wrestling match. We find that "wrastling" was for more than fifty years an indispensable feature of out-door town life. Belonging: as it did to the acrobatic rather than the pugilis- tic department of physical accomplishments it had good standing for holiday entertainment and furthermore created a demand for popular meets and competitive tests in the art. Certain sections of the town had their local matches and expert wrestlers ; then after the championship for the different villages had been deter- mined on their own streets, the final one for the town was wrestled for. A memorable one was that between Henry Jenkins for the Plain and Ira Bagley for Paddock Village, held by lantern light on Saturday night front of the tavern, at which the Plain won the honors. Tradition allows that the watch of the referee was set back suitably as the midnight hour approached. all together for a hoist. Raisings were hilarious oc- casions of town-wide importance. Lifting the heavy hewn timbers then in use called for the united muscular force of all the able bodied men. The entire framework of each side of a build- ing was jointed together lying on the ground ; this broadside was called a bent ; it had to be hoisted and swung into position by a posse of men with pike poles who guided each tenon to its cor- responding mortise in the sill. Until about 1830 it was not con- sidered possible that a raising could be properly carried thro with- out the reinforcing beverages that flowed freely at such times, under stimulus of which some crowning acrobatic feat would be executed on the ridge pole—the outstanding event of this kind in the history of the town was the raising of the Meeting House on the Hill, in 1804, narrated on page 124. the husking bee. "Come, Molly, my dear, spur up; get ready something good and cheering, and we'll have a Husking tonight." The place will be on the barn floor of the Gardner Wheeler farm up at the Four Corners. Corn shocks are packed solidly along the upper end of the floor; the cattle in their stanchions are having a comfortable evening chew on their cuds ; tallow candle lanterns of punched tin are hanging from pitchforks stuck into the hay mows. Squatting on boxes, milking-stools or 162 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY flat pumpkins is a merry group of young folks stripping out the corn, with now and then a test of marksmanship to see how near to somebody's ear an ear can be shied without hitting ; also a keen and eager scrutiny for the upturning of a red ear which en- titles the lucky holder thereof to the privilege of a kiss. Two hours of such close attention to business leads up to the next act which is in front of the blazing fire logs in the kitchen, where work is concentrated on pumpkin pie and cheese, doughnuts and cider, after which the sprighty hop. Formerly some variation in beverage was found conducive : "they could not handle the corn till the Rhum bottle had enlivened them, then they gave three cheers, the work was done in a trice, and they went to their pastimes at ten o'clock." To the English, maize was an unknown product and the Husking was a novel entertainment. In 1791, Rear-Admiral Bartholemew Jones saw "the Ceremony of Husking, a kind of Harvest Home with the additional amusement of kissing the girls whenever one met with a Red corn cob — also there was dancing, singing and moderate drinking." During his captivity among the Indians, Capt. John Smith was told that one of the ceremonies at a marriage was the presentation of a red ear of corn by the squaw to her man ; out of which custom may have been evolved among the white settlers the genial kissing privilege per- taining to the red ear. The old time Husking has not yet lost its good standing either in up-country barns or city ones. In 1909, the Vermont Association of Boston entertained a thousand people on the floor of Mechanics Hall, transformed into a barn floor of corn stalks and pumpkins where the standard stunts of the Husk- ing Bee were properly executed, with the proper cheer thereafter of pumpkin pie, doughnuts and drafts from the cider barrels. divers sorts of bees. Bees in earlier times were far more plentiful than now, adapted to all sorts and conditions of work and play — Husking Bees for everybody ; Chopping or Log-rolling Bees for men ; Quilting Bees for matrons ; Apple-paring Bees for young folks ; Spinning Bees for Priscillas ; Goose-plucking Bees for girls and boys, wherein the boys had to catch the geese and hold them properly while the girls adjusted stockings over their DIVERSIONS AND DOINGS 163 heads and leisurely plucked the feathers, reserving the quills for the school marm to make up into quill pens, the only ones in use. Bees of whatever sort called for victuals to match the large expenditures of vitality. It is not supposed however that every Bee made way with all the varieties of nutriment that rounded up Mrs. Stockwell's Apple Paring Bee ; which included "chicken pie, fresh baked beans, pork and pickles, corn bread or johnny- cake, hot biscuit, doughnuts and cheese, indian pudding, pumpkin pie, cranberry pie, pound cake, sponge cake, fruit cake, fried apple turnovers, currant jelly tarts, peach preserves, ginger cookies, seed cakes and coffee." A SAPLING AND A MUSKET Early in the century Simeon Cobb, coming up on horseback from a trip down below, caught up an elm sapling for a switch to encourage his horse withal. The root being on it, he set it in the ground near his house. To his surprise it not only survived the day's operations but took kindly to the Cobb soil, rooted itself to stay, and still throws its shadow over the old County road a mile or so this side the Lyndon line. Three generations of Cobbs— Simeon, Elkanah, Charles — lived and died there while it was coming to full growth, near where the old well sweep used to be, and where the little trout brook runs merrily along. The great clock that meanwhile ticked off the hours for nearly a century under the family roof, came by bequest to the Museum where it has the prospect of being carefully cher- ished for more centuries to come. Simeon Cobb handled other timber than young elm sticks. At the age of seventeen he joined the Lexington minute men. In the revolutionary war he enlisted under Stark and at the battle of Bennington he wrested a musket from the hands of a British red- coat which he retained as a trophy of that victorious day until his death. It went back again to the old battle field 100 years after in the hands of Charles Cobb who carried it at the Bennington Centennial of 1877. This musket is now in the Museum where it stands in honorable distinction, decorated with the name and the date that the old soldier cut deeply in to its stock with his pocket 164 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY knife. He was expert with tools ; in the same building may be seen silver shoe buckles, polished steel tongs for Sunday use, and other articles the work of his hand. After the Bennington battle Cobb enlisted on a privateer, was captured with sixty others and put to hard labor for two years on the British fleet in the West Indies. Only seven of these sixty survived the severities of their captivity, one of whom was Cobb, who after Cornwallis' surrender returned to America and in 1798 came to St. Johnsbury, cleared the Cobb farm where he lived re- spected by all as a good citizen, till his death in 1843. His experiences while a prisoner and his escape from the British frigate are narrated under some out-of-town events farther on. HE SMOTE THE BEAR "I've had queer dreams an' seen queer things an' alius tried to do The thing that luck apparently intended f'r me to do." Eugene Field. Returning from the Plain to his home up in the Four Corners one November night, George Aldrich came upon a bear sitting in the middle of the road. Being young and muscular and having a heavy staff in his hand, he determined to test that quadruped's right in the highway. Advancing boldly he smote the bear a tre- mendous blow across the nose. It was well aimed and sufficiently forceful to instantly accomplish its purpose. The bear was so startled and stunned by the unexpected stroke as to be rendered incapable of reply. Aldrich was elated at having so speedily and easily vanquished a bear. On closer inspection he discovered that his bear was a quite unique specimen. It belonged to the species known as Ursa Stumpiensis : a rotten stump that had rolled down into the road. This valorous performance of Aldrich gained him distinction at the Four Corners, as the great bear man of that part of the town. NINE BEAR PELTS Too many bears were disporting themselves amongst the farm crops in 1812. It was thought best to reduce the number. DIVERSIONS AND DOINGS 165 Dr. Calvin Jewett took the field as Captain and with him one or two hundred men on the war path for bears. During: the early morning they encompassed a wide range of forest, having as the point of convergence the deep gully that opens on the east side of Passumpsic River half way between the Plain and Center Village. In to this gulch ten bears were gotten during the day. One somehow broke out and escaped. But before sundown, as the narrator remarked in 1860 with a twinkle in his eye, "there were nine bear pelts spread out on the Green front of the old Edson tavern, all of which were sold for the necessaries of life — rum, bread and butter." Of the junketing on bear steak, rum and rye and indian, the particulars have not survived. It was during the despatching of the bears that Elhanan McMenus imagined himself to have been shot, and set up a howl- ing that came down thro all traditions of the day in after years. When remonstrated with he said he "wouldn't have hollered so loud if the ball hadn't struck so near his vitals." He was ob- sessed with the idea that what was intended for a bear had found its way in to him. For forty years after Elhanan was a sort of curiosity in the town ; always on the fringe of bear hunts, wrest- ling matches, town trainings ; now and then a church visitor stalking up the whole length of the aisle while the minister was in the midst of his sermon. WAR OF 1812 PATRIOTIC RALLY The declaration of war against Great Britain was made June 18, 1812. On Monday of the 6th of July following, pursuant to public call, a large assembly of citizens of St. Johnsbury and ad- jacent towns met on the Green front of Major Abel Butler's, the old Edson Tavern, a mile south of the Center Village, for the purpose of commemorating the 36th anniversary of the Declara- tion of Independence. Gen. William Cahoon was president of the day, Major R. W. Fenton was chief marshal. The procession formed and marched up to the Meeting House on the Hill, "escorted by Capt. Samuel Wheeler's well disciplined company of Light In- fantry ; here they were met by a Band of Instrumental Music and a company of about a hundred Ladies, elegantly dressed in robes of white and wreaths 166 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY of evergreen. Thus escorted the procession entered the Meeting House, where after being seated, the services of the sanctuary were performed in a solemn and impressive manner by Elders Palmer, Page and Peck. The Dec- laration of Independence, the Declaration of War and President Madison's Proclamation were then read by Major Wm. A. Griswold, after which an elegant, candid and patriotic Oration was delivered by Isaac Fletcher Esq. These exercises being closed the procession returned under escort and ac- companied by the Ladies, whose presence added great brilliancy to the occasion, to a bower erected on the Green, where about a hundred freemen partook of an excellent cold collation prepared by Major and Mrs. Butler." The exercises rounded up .with a string of toasts, eighteen in number which were drunk under the discharge of musketry. Among the eighteen toasts were A r o. 4, The United States of America : the only republic on earth ; George and Napoleon with all their efforts and leagued with all the despots on the globe were unable to destroy it. No. 6, The Tree of Liberty : its roots are moistened with the richest blood of heroes ; may its luxuriant branches spread till all nations shall regale themselves beneath them. No. 7, The American Navy : small in number, but great in valor and patriotism ; may it ere long set bounds to the present tyrant of the sea, the enemy of the rights of man. No. 9, The Declaration of Independence, 1776, The Declara- tion of War, 1812 : the same spirit which originated the one, dictated the other, and will again be supported by the blood and treasure of America." These sentiments so confidently uttered were amply realized in the events of the war ; No. 7, as we now read it was strikingly prophetic of the brilliant achievements of the little Navy that set bounds in the midst of the seas, and made illustrious the names of Decatur, Perry, Bainbridge, Lawrence, Hull, McDonough. Major Butler who entertained the assembly on his Green, enlisted with a Company recruited in this vicinity ; he just missed the Battle of Plattsburg, for when he arrived on the scene the British were precipitately retreating toward Canada. That day, Sept. 11, 1814, was thick and cloudy, the wind in the west ; and Henry Little on a hill two miles or more west of the Plain relates that he distinctly heard the boom, boom, of the cannon from the field of Plattsburg, the wind blowing strong from the west. major abel butler bought the Edson place including four hundred acres of meadow and hill land in 1810 ; here lived his son Abel Jr., and his grandson Beauman. Madame Butler his wife DIVERSIONS AND DOINGS 167 was a woman of remarkable vigor of mind and body. She received her friends in this old house on her centennial birthday, 1863, with a dignity and grace that impressed all her guests. At that time she was the mother of nine children, forty-one grandchildren, sixty great grandchildren, most of whom were then living. THE JUNE TRAINING "Attention ! By order of Capt. L. M. Wright, the members of THE INVINCIBLES and THE ST. JOHNSBURY LIGHT INFANTRY are hereby notified and warned to appear at Capt. Samuel French's Hotel at the Center Village, Tuesday, June 5, armed and equip* ped as the law directs, for military duty.*' Under such a call as this the militia were for more than fifty years in the habit of rallying to the June Training held on the first Tuesday of that month each year. This was for inspection of equipment and for drill. Each man "equipped as the law di- rects," was to have a flint-lock musket with ram rod and bayonet, one extra flint, a small brush to clean the pan, priming wire to keep the vent hole clear, cartridge box, bullets, knapsack and powder horn. After duly inspecting each man, the Captain was expected to treat ; a jug of rum was handed to the man at the head of the line and passed from man to man till each one had gotten his refreshment. This usage was done away with after the temperance reform. Training Day was a great occasion, as some still living will remember, for popular attractions were less in number and variety than now. "We boys awaited the day with eager anticipation ; for weeks our minds were full of the magnificent scenes coming — soldiers with muskets and bayo- nets ; officers with terrible voices, their plumes waving aloft in the air ; naked glittering swords, prancing horses, and the sound of drums and fifes. The officers wore red sashes, huge epaulets and stove-pipe hats, from the top of which their plumes went aloft as much as eight feet from the ground. They seemed very terrible, shouting orders with loud voice and flourishing their swords in the air ; but if you saw them next day they would be in the burnt piece, sleeves up to their shoulders, rolling logs, or sitting on the barn floor with an old sheep in their laps, struggling against the sheep shears." The training ground would be at the Center Village, or on the Butler Green, the old Edson Tavern stand, or at the head of 168 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY the Plain, or on one of the broad fields now traversed by Summer and Winter streets. The farmers flocked in with their families ; stands were set up for the requisite refreshments ; sometimes there would be the accompaniment of ball games and always the wrestling match to determine who was to stand as the champion wrestler for the year. Now and then an unexpected diversion would be executed, as when one time on a bet, a dashing young cavalry officer spurred his horse thro Major Abel Butler's front door and up to the top of the hall stairway, to the astonishment of the family! He found it was easier to prance his horse up a flight of stairs than to get him safely down again. It was on the Butler Green that a keg of cherry rum emptied of its fluid con- tents was left after training ; the cherries were thrown out on the grass ; boys and turkeys helped themselves to the cherries in such quantities that both alike lost their equilibrium. Stephen Hawkins of this town was Major General of the State Militia and a famous drill master. His soldierly bearing, his pre- emptory orders given with a mighty voice, his punctilious de- mand for military precision and decorum gave him high command, and under him the June Training was no play performance. At one time when Gen. Hawkins was in Portland, he bought red and white silk for a flag. His daughters made it up in their home, stitching the thirteen stars on the blue field in five-point form ; it was then presented to the troops on Training Day. This was the first flag of which there is record in the town, its predecessors, if any, left no account of themselves. A PIECE OF VILLAGE ARTILLERY "Bill Arnold, son of Jonathan, was great on Fourths of July. He was depended on and never failed to furnish the Liberty Pole and see that it was duly raised, which in those good times could not have been well and patriotically done without the aid and inspiration of a flask of new rum. "Bill had charge too, of that famous piece of village artillery known as the 56, a square block of iron with a two inch hole drilled into it three or four inches deep. Its name, I presume, marked its weight ; what, I wonder, has become of it ? "Bill's brawny arms wielded the sledge hammer whose ponderous blows drove home the loaded fuse of cedar wood, and the terrific explosions that followed the touching off announced by their number the year of our inde- DIVERSIONS AND DOINGS 169 pendence. I well remember the fifty-one sonorous clangs that told the story and kindled anew the pride and patriotism of us all in 1827. A few of the old revolutionary veterans were present : Major Abel Butler and perhaps Capt. Barker ; others too who had smelt English powder and heard the whistle of British lead in the more recent war of 1812. These men gave great dignity to the occasion." S. G. INDEPENDENCE DAY Up to the time of the Civil War the anniversary of Indepen- dence was a much more important day than in these recent years which are more liberally sprinkled with holidays. In the earlier time too it was made a more serious occasion. There were noisy demonstrations to be sure; "a cannon suitable for celebrating the Fourth" and an elegant national flag were for sale by Huxham Paddock as late as June, 1838 ; ten years earlier Bill Arnold's famous "56" shook the Plain with its mighty detonations. But in addition to horns and gunpowder there were frequent observ- ances of high dignity and character. These would include reading of the proclamation of Independence, an eloquent oration, a ban- quet with many addresses, and in some positions of honor the presence of veteran soldiers of the revolutionary army. The Cen- ter Village maintained a Liberty Pole eighty feet high, surmounted by a carved eagle whose wings spread seven feet ; this bird of freedom was the work of Freeman Loring, a skilled mechanic. The Patriotic Rally at the outbreak of the War of 1812 and the juvenile Cold Water Rally of 1843 have been described on other pages herein. In 1839 the Plain village was treated to a Picnic Party on Capt. Martin's grounds provided by the ladies, with music and various entertainments in the Hall of St. Johns- bury Female Academy. The next year, 1840, St. Johnsbury with her cornet band and speakers repaired to Lyndon where special honors were tendered to the revolutionary heroes. Each old soldier was introduced by name with an account of his personal adventures and thrilling in- cidents of the war. The octogenarian, Mr. Herrick, was present- ed as a man who after five years' service in the ranks was captured by the British and suffered everything but death on the 170 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Jersey Prison ship where 11,000 victims perished from cold and starvation. 1845. A Fourth of July was gotten up by the mechanics of Fairbanks Village, thro a Committee of fifteen, among whom were Noah Eastman, O. W. Baker, J. M. Warner and others. The people were first assembled in the maple grove west of Sleeper's River, where addresses were made ; then the Band led the way to the grounds of Erastus Fairbanks where 400 plates were provided. During the dinner there were discharges of artil- lery, and afterward toasts and speeches. Among the toasts were the following : "Our Mechanics*, may they ever imitate the example of Franklin and like him be foremost in sustaining the liberties of our country. Our Three Villages: neighbors in location, may neighborly feelings ever prevail, and unity of interests secure unity of sentiment and action. St. Johnsbury Academy : now in her third year ; while assisting our youth to ascend the hill of science may she lead them to the Fountain of all knowledge and virtue. Vermont : may Liberty here find an asylum more secure than where she crouches on the mountains of Switzerland, or where she treads the sequestered glens of Scotland. The Fair: they nourish our youth and comfort our age; they honor us abroad and delight us at home. The great disturber of the peace, Alcohol, did not appear this day. A more quiet and joyous season has rarely occurred in the annals of the Fourth in our town." 1847. The Green Mountain Rangers of Danville came over and acted as escort at a Union Temperance celebration at Geo. W. Ely's Hotel. There were the usual toasts and addresses and a dinner on the field now traversed by Summer street, where 600 people regaled themselves. A special feature of the close of the day was the music under direction of John H. Paddock. 'All who appreciate music as a medium of thought and feeling, were grateful for the rich strains that floated out on the evening air, and as the stillness of night drew on, the softer deeper tones of the flutes in most delicate and touching compositions continued far into the night. So peacefully ended the day." 1848. An out-of-the-village celebration was held at the Four Corners. Gen. Stephen Hawkins presided. Wm. C. Arnold was marshal and Aaron Farnham toastmaster. The address was by Rev. Mr. Healy ; the Declaration was read by James R. Stevens. DIVERSIONS AND DOINGS 171 1851. The seventy-fifth anniversary of the Declaration was greeted with special observances this year, the national salutes and music of the band were notable ; the display of flags was su- perior to any ever seen before ; one, raised in Fairbanks Village was made by the young ladies of that community. A tent was erected on the Green at the head of Main Street, capable of receiv- ing several thousand people, but the violent rains made it useless, and the oration by Prof. Sanborn of Dartmouth College, was given in the meeting house. The banquet, planned for the tent, was served at crowded tables by Landlord Jennings at the St. Johnsbury House. The usual series of toasts followed, to which was annexed a final one not on the program. One paragraph from the reply is of interest to us of later years as illustrating indus- trial conditions in the town at that time, The toast was as follows : — "Erastus Fairbanks, President of the Day and his two Brothers— men who have carefully weighed the perils of enterprise, have balanced the prob- abilities of success, have held the scales of justice even to their neighbors ; and have furnished by their long continued prosperity a new confirmation of the Scripture which affirms that a just weight and balance are the Lord's." In his reply the president said that their success in manu- facturing good scales was very largely due to the fidelity of the workmen. The firm had endeavored to draw around themselves men with whom they could associate ; not simply competent me- chanics, but men of moral worth who respected themselves and who won respect. Such men could be relied upon. In the manu- facture of scales they had a character to sustain, the interest and the reputation of the manufacturers were their own. There was mutual confidence, mutual esteem, an honest desire and effort be- tween the employers and their workmen to consult each other's welfare and to promote the best interests of the community in which they shared a common part. Notwithstanding postponement because of the weather, the fireworks due on that memorable Fourth blazed out on the even- ing of the 7th in the presence of 6000 people. There were 20 pieces in this display, making altogether the "largest and grand- est exhibition of fire works ever gotten up in the State of Ver- 172 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY mont." Among the designs were the Maid of the Mist, Pride of Aurora, Saxon Triplet, Diamond Cross Fires, Scroll and Lyre, Chinese Pyramid, Star of America. 1859 A Town School Parade was made special feature of the Fourth, this year. Schools from the north part of the town were brought down on the morning train, and escorted up Eastern Avenue by Active Fire Co. No 4, with the Cornet Band. At Col. Merrill's grounds, the Octagon, all were treated to lemonade. Thence to the Town Hall, where under Chief Marshal A. G . Chadwick, all schools of the town formed with their teachers, and with banners and mottoes paraded the streets, 600 strong. At Arnold Park lemonade was served by Judge C. S. Dana. Return- ing to the Court House grounds where tables were spread, a col- lation was attended to followed by short addresses and strains from the Band. In the evening the grounds were illuminated with fire works, some 3000 spectators present. XIII ON THE ROAD "Let me live in a house by the side of the road." "It is both good form and worth while to watch the road ; what happens along the road is our intimate concern ; it always has the social touch." HORSE BACK MAILS— POST ROUTES— NEWSPAPERS — FAMOUS POST RIDER — THE OLD STAGE COACH — STAGE DRIVERS — SWAPPING HORSES — A NOTED HORSE — FREIGHT TEAMS — FLOATING TEA CHESTS — A POST TOWNSHIP. MAILS AND POST RIDERS "Well do we remember, Betsy, when the Postman carried mails Ridin' horseback thro the forest, 'long the lonely Injun trails." Prior to 1810 all St. Johnsbury mail matter was carried to and from Danville in the saddle bags of post-riders, or by accomo- dating travelers who might be going up and down the valley. The nearest Post Office was at Newbury which handled all regular mails of towns farther north. A single post-rider brought on horse back once a week whatever mail was addressed to settle- ments north of Haverhill and west of the White Mountains. On July 3, 1803, the year of the opening of a Post Office in this town, the records show that only three southbound letters were received 174 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY at Newbury from the County of Caledonia, which then included Orleans and Essex. This diminutive budget however was not all due to sparseness of population. It was costly business. Letter postage to distant points was 25 or 50 cents ; to Boston it was a shilling, marked, as on a pile of old letters now before me, 17 & cents, and several days were required to get it there. It took eight or ten days when our first Post Office was established on the Plain to get a letter to New York, and the postage was 25 cents. A newspaper was something of a luxury when the postage on it was liable to exceed the yearly subscription price. Capt. David Smith of St. Johnsbury in 1800 had to pay 63 cents postage for four months' delivery of the Portsmouth Weekly Chronicle. To avoid expense a considerable proportion of the letters and news- papers of the day were carried by individuals as a matter of accommodation. Any one going from this town "down below" would take along a package of letters to be distributed on the way. Boston merchants consigning goods to Fred Phelps or Amaziah D. Barber, St. Johnsbury Plain, would enclose in their boxes a lot of letters to be delivered over the store counters here. Mr. F. P. Wells, who gives much information on this and kindred topics, states that frequently the people in these northern settle- ments would hire a man to go down to Newbury with their weekly mail and bring back whatever mail was addressed to their town ; this would cost less than the postage. "Stiles came out as agent for getting mail thro from Boston to Quebec. Beattie ran from Concord to Haverhill, Sinclair from Haverhill to Barnet, Stevens from Barnet to Barton. St. Johns- bury folks raised $68 by subscription and gave Stevens a horse in consideration for services. One winter he brought to St. Johns- bury 150 Boston newspapers and 5 junk bottles of rum. Coming up Lord's Hill he sounded a blast on his horn, and blew it tremen- dously all the length of the Plain. People gathered like to a town meeting and the papers were distributed. On the return trip he distributed Quebec papers, half English half French, contrary to U. S. law." On Sept. 1, 1799 a mail route was opened from Newbury to Danville. Samuel Fuller was carrier ; he was to wait ten min- ON THE ROAD 175 utes for the sorting of the mail, after which a man would mount his horse and gallop down here with the St. Johnsbury mail in his bags, which would be left at some store or at the tavern where people would call for it. A few weeks later the capabilities of the government mail service were impressively demonstrated. President Washington died at Mount Vernon on the 14th day of December. The extra fast-going mail delivered tidings of the event at Boston on the tenth day thereafter, December 24, 1799. Among post-riders the best known was Bill Trescott, the same who did business with the bear in 1790, as narrated on a pre- ceding page. When he cantered across the Plain waking the quiet community with the shrill blast of his long horn everybody knew that the weekly mail had arrived. In his whimsical way Trescott exercised gifts other than those of brawn and daring. He con- structed clocks and Farmers Almanacks and quite dintinguished himself in versification. His muse was particularly responsive to the touch of pecuniary necessity ; the following effusion is from the North Star of Jan. 23, 1813. THE POST RIDER AND THE FARMER "How little do the Farmers know What we poor Posts do undergo ; We're forced to stem the wind and tide And go a-foot — when we can't ride. We force our way thro' drifts of snow To let the Farmer weekly know What's going on in foreign clime, That he his business safe may time. When storms come on we can't forbear The whip or spur to good old mare ; Whip feet and hands and rub each ear To keep from freezing half the year. Meanwhile the Farmer by his fireside sits, Drinks his good cider and eats his cakes. And when he pleases takes his tea and toast And reads the news brought by his Post. But he that would his conscience free Will give his Post a dish of tea ; And now and then a glass of sling To make his horn more clearly ring ; 176 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY And pay him up well once a year, That he the sheriff may not fear When'er he meets him at his door— Here's a gentle hint once more! On another occasion the case was more serious as appears in the following lines :— TUB OLD POST RIDER WILLIAM TRESCOTT "Who for five years, with zeal most fervent, Has been the Public's Humble Servant, would with frankness and candor inform his friends and patrons that an Execution is issued against him of considerable amount, which accrued in consequence of his being bondsman, and that unless said Execution is cancelled during the life of it, nothing but the confines of a prison await him. Therefore, all those in- debted to him for Newspapers will please" etc. etc. * * "for punctuality is not only the life of business, but adds much to the harmony of Society. Those who wish to pay in produce may lodge it at the widow Sophia Stevens' in Barnet, at Clark's store or Jewett's in St. Johnsbury, at John Fry's in Concord, and Blake's in Waterford." William Trescott, Post Rider, Dec. 24, 1812. Trescott's route that year extended as far as Littleton and Lancaster. The history of that town records that he was then "a man of over sixty years, who rode a little short black horse, also quite old. He was a sieve maker, ^nd used to carry on his trips over the mail route a lot of the rims for his sieves, strung on the neck of his horse. He was a quaint figure in a broad rimmed hat and brown coat, mounted upon a pair of saddle bags full of mail, his overcoat rolled up and strapped on behind his saddle." THE OLD YELLOW STAGE COACH Aside from the menagerie wagons no more picturesque ob- ject has ever enlivened our highways than the old yellow stage coach and four in the era of its proud supremacy. Stage Coach ON THE ROAD 177 Days have been invested by Mrs. Alice Morse Earle with romance and historic glow, chiefly of colonial times preceding the birth of our town. Just when the first stage arrived in St. Johnsbury or what was the style of it, cannot be determined. Its advent, some while after 1810, may have aroused a popular interest comparable to that of the first train of cars in 1851, which finally displaced it altogether. Beginning January 1811, the Quebec and Boston stage left each city on Monday and met at Stanstead Plain. St. Johnsbury was at that date an unimportant town and may never have seen this long distance coach. All stages from whatever quarter cen- tered at Haverhill Corner, the most important distributing point in Northern New England. A paragraph quoted by Mr. F. P. Wells wakes the boyhood memories of Stage Coach Days in this town as late as 1849 : — "The driver witched the world by means of an immensely long tin horn which announced the coming of the stage as it were a band of music. I shall not forget the gamut of that amazing instrument, the tramp of the four steaming horses, the rattle and creak of the coach and the jingle of the chains and gear, as the man drove by us boys that had gone out on a sum- mer evening to meet it ; the cool and tranquil evening disposing us often to that pastime." St. Johnsbury boys of the forties who may chance to read this reminiscence of Arthur Livermore, will recall the scene most vividly as we had it here, and how the loud crack of the driver's long whip on reaching the Plain-level at the South end might be heard from the steps of the hotel. The coach at that time was of the standard style, painted yellow, carrying six or eight inside and an indeterminable number of privileged ones high up on the deck with the driver, the valises and mail bags. Dan Field, JohnHawes, Seth Ford, C. H. Smith, William Fuller were among the men who magnified their profession in presiding over a stage coach. Mr. Harvlin Paddock told this anecdote of one of them who PLAYED THE BUGLE "Dan Field was a driver of note. He also played the bugle. It was his custom while driving across the Plain to let his horses walk while he rattled 178 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY off a tune on his bugle. On one occasion he had what was then a new tune, "The Wrecker's Daughter," very popular. Passing the Huxham Paddock house, now Alex. Dunnett's, he thought to surprise a certain young man who had the reputation of being a fine player, by playing this piece. After distinguishing himself in this manner he drove on to Lyndon where the stage stopped over night. After nightfall, the young man quietly harnessed his horse, and taking his bugle, with a companion drove up to Lyndon. Steal- ing under the window of the room where he knew Field would be, he played "The Wrecker's Daughter" in a style that would admit of no criticism. The window flew open and Field called out: "John, I give up." That David Harum was conducting horse deals about this time appears from the following story told by Seth Ford. He was then owner and driver of a stage line to and from the White Mountains. At the same time John Hawes was driving up and down Passumpsic valley. They met one day near St. Johnsbury. Hawes said, "do you care to swap horses?" "I don't care to par- ticularly," said Ford ; "would perhaps for $25." Hawes con- sidered that too much, and started on. Presently he called back and said, "Seth! it's a trade." So the horses were unharnessed and exchanged. Some weeks after, when they met, Hawes re- marked "Seth, you didn't tell me that that horse would balk going up hill." "No," said Seth, "you didn't ask me !" It was Seth himself who related this incident when ninety years old, to the son-in-law of the man who got the balky horse. In 1825 a stage route owned and driven by Mr. Houghton of Lyndon ran from Haverhill thro this town to Stanstead. A route from Craftsbury thro Danville and St. Johnsbury to Littleton was driven by Mr. May of Hardwick. Cross country stages from Montpelier to Lancaster stopped over night at St. Johnsbury ; among the drivers were Stearns, Farnesworth, Greenleaf and Hidden. A STYLISH HORSE Col. Joseph Battell of Middlebury, author of the "Morgan Horse and Register," and of the "American Stallion Register," visited St. Johnsbury to verify the pedigree of the Morgan formerly owned by Gen. Stephen Hawkins. To his satisfaction he found here a "missing link which showed that such distinguished racers ON THE ROAD 179 as Old Pilot, J. I. C. and Maud S. were descendants of the Haw- kins Morgan." The rank and quality of this horse appear on the pages of the books above named, from which the following ex- cerpts are taken, contributed by different writers. This horse was foaled in 1806, the property of Moses Melvin of St. Johnsbury, Vt., got by the original Justin Morgan. When three years old he was bought by Oney Hawkins of Goss Hollow who was Captain of a troop and who used him as a parade horse. Five years later he sold the horse to his cousin Stephen, who be- came Major General of the militia. Sometime after 1820 the horse was taken to Stanstead and there sold to Canadian parties. "The Hawkins Horse was black, about 15 hands high ; shoulders, back and loins excellent. He carried his head high ; had a bold, resolute, vigor- ous style of action (in this like his master) , a smart trotter and a good run- ner. His eye was a little fierce in expression, he was inclined to be cross, not so tractable as the rest. He was one of the best acting and finest looking horses under the saddle ever in the state. "The Hawkins horse was led out before the Company at June Training in 1829 ; they called him 20 years old then. He was a beauty. I don't know as I have seen a handsomer horse since. He was a perfect horse in every spot and place. He wasn't much over 900, about 14 hands without shoes, had a perfect form and carried himself just as pretty as ever you saw a horse ; dark brown and a bright handsome coat. "My father had a mare got by the Hawkins horse from St. Johnsbury, Vt. She raised colts up to and when 27 years old that were better horses than I can raise now from Wilkes and Morgan combined. "I remember the Hawkins Horse well. He was not over medium size, fine looking, very dark brown, not black, as I think. I remember some very good colts of his. One of his colts was called Black Hawkins. I saw Black Hawkins run with three other horses and he came out a great distance ahead. It was at some public doings in our village. I have heard older people than myself speak of his splendid action." The Morgan Horse and Register, Vol. I. pp. 127-130, 156-159. "The Spirit of the Hub," Boston, 1895, remarked— "There are some extra fine horses up in St. Johnsbury, Vt. — among them a three year old by Quartermaster ; Cobden 2nd a bull dog of a race horse ; and another by Cobden Jr. of a Morgan mare which has all the speed and beauty of her 180 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY race. There are others in that town which a horseman can spend a whole day in looking over — good ones." TRANSPORTATION TEAMS Until 1850 all farm produce and manufactured products were hauled in ox teams or two or four or six horse teams to Portland or Boston, the two principal markets. The minimum time to Portland when the roads were good was five days, the round trip to Boston would be three or even four weeks. Teams bound for Portland used to put up at Hibbard's or Gage's tavern in the East Village. The teamsters carried along their own dinners of bread and doughnuts, meat, pork and beans cooked before leaving home ; supper, lodging and breakfast they got at the taverns, where the women had to be up two hours before daylight to have breakfast served and the teams off promptly at daybreak. The great wagons were canvas roofed ; sometimes there would be one or two going together ; then again a train of them half a mile long from different towns, loaded with pork, potatoes, poultry, butter, cheese, eggs, lard, maple sugar, grain, flax, pelts, potash, from the farms, or articles of domestic manufacture. Returning the teams would bring whatever the people wanted for household use, salt, codfish, mackerel, molasses, rum, etc., or after stores were running, whatever would sell well in the town. "When the teams arrived from the city there was great curiosity, men and boys were on hand to help unload, women and girls to get a first glimpse at the pretty calicos and dress goods, and happy was the one who could afford to buy something from these imported fabrics." Very heavy teams were required for transporting the products of the Paddock iron works and the Fairbanks stove, plow, and scale works. It was a tedious process. George Green used to start out at three o'clock in the morning and drive to Franconia ; in order to save time he would pile a quantity of snow on his sled and load on the pigs of iron hot from the furnace. Thou- sands of tons of iron ore or pig were hauled in to the town from the Franconia or other mines, then hauled out again after being wrought in to the finished product. This problem of double trans- ON THE ROAD 181 portation of so much iron by horse teams over bad roads and long distances, grew to be so acute that for many years the transport- ing of the scale works to some point nearer the cities was seriously considered. It was this more than anything else that finally demanded and secured the construction of the Passumpsic Railroad, and seventeen years later, of the Lake road as a com- peting line. THE TEA GOES OVERBOARD One day in 1837 an eight horse team from the North arrived at the upper bridge of the Center Village, being on the way from Montreal to Boston. That bridge was built in 1810, in the man- ner narrated on page 52. It was set on mud sills and trestle work with a string of logs along the outside edges "to protect the travel." When the eight horse team was part way across, something happened and the wagon load was dumped into the river. Part of the cargo consisted of chests of tea. At that time Morse and Ide were running a starch factory near the river bank. The drying racks of this establishment were quickly cleaned off, the chests were fished out from the water and the tea was spread upon the racks ; after which the fires were started and the tea went thro a new-method drying process. The chests were refilled and the eight horses made a delivery of St. Johnsbury-cured Young Hyson tea in Boston. This tea transportation was interesting, but not so stimulating to oratory as the project, years after, of a cross-country railroad ; over which we were told to see in imagi- nation trunk line trains loaded with tea for Queen Victoria, en route from Vancouver to London via St. Johnsbury, Vt. Near the place where the tea was steeped in 1837 the eggs were scrambled at a later date, when a car load of eggs on a de- railed train caught fire and the Center Village youngsters picked out eggs that were done to suit the most exacting taste. ST. JOHNSBURY GAZETTED 1824 How this town stood on the first Gazetteer of Vermont, pub- lished by Zadok Thompson at Montpelier in 1824, is seen in the following extracts : — 182 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY "St. Johnsbury, a post township in Caledonia County. It lies 31 miles northeast from Montpelier, and 26 north from Newbury. The surface of the township is uneven, but it contains no mountains. There is a decent meet- ing house near the center of the township, erected in 1803. The denomina- tions are principally Congregationalists, kestorationers and Christians. "St. Johnsbury Plain is situated about two and a half miles south of the Center. Here is a pleasant village containing several stores, a tavern, post- office and several handsome dwellings. The physicians are Abner Mills, Z. K. Pangborn, Morrill Stevens, Jerry Dickerman. Attorneys, Ephraim Pad- dock and James Stuart. "There are in the town 15 school districts, 12 school houses, one oil mill, one furnace, one fulling mill, four grist and seven saw mills, three carding machines, two tanneries, two potteries and three distilleries." XIV A NEWSPAPER DOCTOR JUPITER — WHIG JOURNALISM — HERALD GLEANINGS — MILLS AFLOAT — GENERAL JACKSON — AN ILL-SHAPED PATCH — POOSOOMSUCK — ENTERTAINMENT — THE ARNOLD PRIVILEGE — PASSUMPSIC CANAL — FOR YOUNG LADIES. DOCTOR JUPITER luther jewett, m. d., rev. and hon., as an octogenarian who had variously and faithfully served his generation, was en- titled to some suitable appellative, but what suggested the one above given is not now known. "It may have been his trenchant pen, not always dipped in honey." He was born in Canterbury, Conn., 1772, graduated with the Dartmouth College class of 1792, studied medicine and began practice in St. Johnsbury in 1800. In 1817 he represented the north-east district of Vermont in Con- gress, and took his seat by the side of Daniel Webster, then in his second term. Urged by the people of the old First Church to qualify as a preacher, he received ordination in 1818, and his Thanksgiving sermon of that year is the first historical document relating to this town ever printed. He was pastor in Newbury 1821-28; editor of the Farmer's Herald St. Johnsbury 3828-32 ; member of the Vermont Constitutional Convention 1836 ; died in 1860 aged 87 years. His sons Ephraim and Samuel were well known merchants in the town. One of his associates in Congress wrote — "To us the name of Luther Jewett will always recall some of the most pleasant memories of life. He was eminently good and scrupulously just 184 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY in all his ways. In a delightful village unsurpassed for its picturesque beauty by any in New England, his bright example has contributed largely for half a century to the development of its character for enterprise as well as for moral and intellectual elevation. On revisiting St. Johnsbury a few years since, we sought out the venerable old man at his retired house. His snowy locks and patriarchal mein lentimpressiveness to his words as he conversed of current events with the zest of one who was never content to be a mere spectator of the world's progress. It was our last meeting. We left him " * * * in a green old age, And looking like the oak, worn, but still steady Amidst the elements, while younger trees Fell fast around him." "Daniel Webster came to St. Johnsbury in 1830, and called to pay his respects to Dr. Jewett, his former companion in public life. Here for the first time we saw the great defender of the constitution, then in his prime. The greeting of the distinguished Statesman and the Doctor was marked by the cordiality of old friendships still cherished by each." C. L. K. in the Lowell Citizen the' farmer's herald "The most wonderful thing of the age— the introduction of Caliban to Cadmus ; Caliban the farm hand, the clod-hopper, the horny-handed la- borer, has met the keen old Cadmus inventor of letters and is beginning to read. Formerly the newspaper was not for him, now he is reading it and beginning to think for himself." Swinton On the ground now occupied by the Academy stood a small building in which was an old-fashioned hand printing press. Here was issued on the 8th day of July 1828, the first number of the farmer's herald, a weekly Whig journal, edited by Dr. Luther Jewett, and continued till the summer of 1832. A few words from the editor's announcement will indicate his thought and pur- pose. "The subscriber proposes publishing on St. Johnsbury Plain a news- paper to be called the farmer's herald .Our free republican institutions can be maintained no longer than intelligence and virtue generally prevail. * * It will be a prominent object of this paper to furnish such facts as to A NEWSPAPER 185 the character of men and measures that its readers can understanding^ judge for themselves. * * Besides current news, Religion, Morality, Poli- ticks, American Biography, Agriculture and Mechanical Arts will be consid- ered. Nothing of a religious kind will be admitted which favors one denomination at the expense of another. The editor will support no measure of any man in public life further than its own intrinsic merits will justify." Luther Jeiuett In a later issue he says : "lottery advertisements are rigidly excluded; as to this we have a squeamish conscience, much as we need the fee and would like to oblige our friends. Also we shall reject every expression savor- ing in the least of profaneness, or that is not in good English." Being an educated man, a former member of Congress, and always solicitous for the public welfare, Dr. Jewett was well fitted for the duties of a journalist. Under his able and vigorous management The Farmer's Herald became influential in shaping public opinion on current issues. Slavery, intemperance, anti- masonry were fearlessly but fairly discussed ; and to moderate the fiery zeal of the latter which just then was at fever heat, a weekly sheet entitled The Friend was issued during the -year 1829. Full files of these papers are in the Athenaeum. In July 1832, the Doctor, under pressure of exacting duties re- linquished the publication of the Herald to Samuel Eaton Jr., who changed the name to The Weekly Messenger and Connecticut and Passumpsic Valley Advertiser. Its former dignity and character also underwent a serious change ; it began to decline and in fifteen months expired. The press, which must have been a good one in its day, was sold to the Montpelier Journal for $75, "less than a tenth of its original cost." After this St. Johnsbury had no paper of its own till Mr. Chadwick established The Cale- donian in 1837. Newspapers of old time were singularly barren of local items, excepting advertisements. The village store was then the universal news-hopper ; from which, after suitable grinding of small talk the several events of the day would be promptly and properly distributed. We turn eagerly to the columns of an 1830 paper, but search in vain for local history. Out of four years of newspaper printed in this town, 1828-1832, about the only para- 186 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY graphs which throw any light on contemporary life are included in the following GLEANINGS FROM FARMER'S HERALD "Let historians give details of charters and foundations of our Townes. I content myself with skipping from bush to bush for less significant matters." A Farmer* s Letters, 1768 July 28, 1828. The Columbian Guards are notified to appear at Capt. Saml. French's Tavern in the Center Village, Aug. 2, at 1 o'clock precisely armed with Guns and Bayonets for military duty under command of Capt. Freeman Loring. July, 1828. Capt. Hezekiah Martin will supply Military Goods — Cadet Caps, white Plumes with red tops, Sockets, Tassels, Scales, Eagles and Braid, Gilt Spurs, Stirrup Irons, Bits, Buckles and Ornaments necessary to accommodate officers of every grade agreeably to the order of General Hawkins. Aug. 9, 1828. St. Johnsbury Female Academy. The next term com- mences 28th inst. and will close at the end of 15 weeks. Aug. 28, 1828. Bad and broken Banks posted : forty six in all. Sept. 9, 1828. On Friday, 5th inst. the heavy rains ceased and the work of desolation began. On Sleeper's River the west branch of the Passumpsic, five bridges, one saw mill, one grist mill, one carding machine were swept away. A building occupied by E. and T. Fairbanks was carried off and washed in pieces. Very heavy damage was done to various other works of this ingenious, enterprising and unfortunate company of mechanics, who last winter suffered heavy loss from two fires. Their loss from this flood will be $1000. Harvard College. Instruction, books, board and room, wood and other expenses at this College amount to $200 a year. 1828. National Ticket. For President— John Quincy Adams of Mass. State Ticket. For Governor— Saml. C. Crafts of Craftsbury. Oct. 7, 1828. In the north part of the town two buildings were erected last week without the use of ardent spirit. Both the employers and workmen were well pleased, and they deserve the thanks of all friends of temperance and humanity. Nov. 18, 1828. The subscribers intend to relinquish the making of wagons and they offer for sale their stock of seasoned timber, consisting of white oak spokes for Carts, Wagons and Gigs ; white ash plank ; Cart, A NEWSPAPER 187 Gig and Wagon hobs ; slit work, etc.; also, the shop and apparatus for Turning, Boring, Sawing, etc., and a separate Water Privilege. E. and T. Fairbanks, St. Johnsbury Iron Works Dec. 2, 1828. For sale at the Medical Store, St. Johnsbury Plain— New Testaments and a new series of Questions for S. S. Lessons ; also Hooper's Pills, Steer's Opodeldoc, Snow's Itch Ointment, Cephalic Snuff, etc. Dec. 2, 1828. Mr. Printer : — There is a subject that troubles me. I am no hand to write for the papers, and I don't suppose you will love to print what I write ; but I wish you would once and I guess that will be all I shall want. * * I think General Jackson is a bad man and a murderer. But in this church that I belong to, there are two or three brothers that will stick by General Jackson. They insist that he is the best man in America for Presi- dent. * * Now Mr. Printer, if you are willing, I want you should ask all the ministers to meet in some place and tell our church to turn out all mem- bers that won't say that they ought to hate General Jackson, and that they will never have anything more to do with him as long as they live. Yours to serve, A Friend to the Church Dec. 9, 1828. Mr. Printer :— I see that a friend to the church in the Her- ald of Dec. 2, wishes everyone turned out of the Church who will not say that he ought to hate General Jackson, etc. Now I am a Jacksonian and I have as good a right to vote for him as my friend has to vote for J. Q. Adams, and as good a right to my place in the church, though my friend may think otherwise. I think he is possessed of a little prejudice and a large portion of bigotry. Minimus Note. Having given both men opportunity to free their minds the Edi- tor closed the discussion with some sensible remarks. Feb. 7, 1829. One Cent Reward ! ran away ! From the subscriber on the 7th inst. Er C. Drake! This is to forbid all persons harboring or trusting him. Jonathan Baldwin, St. Johnsbury Plain. Feb. 12, 1829. Joseph Stiles will carry on the Hatting business on the most improved plan ; latest fashions and fair prices. Wanted, a journeyman Hatter. 2 doors south of the Printing Office. Spanish Pistareen Coins are in circulation ; Head Pistareens at 20 cents. Cross ones at 18 cents ; they are thick as Grasshoppers. Caution. Those persons who are in the habit of taking popular reme- dies such as Screw Auger Poke, Welmigzerrel, Hot Drops and Tom Cat should be informed that the Essence of Gridiron being a vegeto-mineral compound is incompatible with the above remedies. April 8, 1829. James Ramsey has now on sale a few genuine Flax Spin- ning Wheels, commonly called the Custom Wheels, with improved oil-stained 188 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY red Rims 22 inches ; Cranks and Spindles best hard Swede stock, price $4 cash or $4.50 barter. June 10, 1829. A few days ago, the frame of a heavily timbered dwelling house 28 by 38 feet with shed was raised in this village without ardent spirits, in less than three hours. Mr. Henry Little was the master workman. All went pleasantly and the frame bears ample testimony to the excellence of the work. May 6, 1829. st. johnsbury. As to our own town it is an ill-shaped patch of the world, neither exactly like a hatchet, nor a heater. If squared its sides would be a little short of six miles long. It lies in the Coos country about half way between the Connecticut and the highlands that send their waters into the Onion and LaMoille. We have a river of our own with beau- tiful intervales and excellent water privileges, and on its two branches there are fine falls. But we have filled more space than our little importance will justify. Another time we may resume our description. (Posterity regrets that it was not resumed.) June 3, 1829. A most gratifying announcement. Ardent spirit is to be wholly banished from the store of Messrs. Clarks and Bishop on St. Johns- bury Plain. Those who are acquainted with them need not be told that no store in the County is occupied by gentlemen of higher respectability. April 15, 1829. Died at Putney, aged 85, Capt. Daniel Jewett, father of the editor of this paper. It belongs to others to speak of his virtues — to his son to imitate them. August 19, 1829. Married, Mr. Cotton R. Simson to Miss Sarah R. Marble. An old calculation of gain and of loss Proves a stone that is rolling will gather no moss ; A happy expedient has lately been thot on, By which Marble may gather and cultivate Cotton. Subscriptions taken at our office for The Bower of Taste, The Souvenir, The Casket, The New York Mirror, the Ladies' Literary Gazette. Dec. 9, 1829. poousoomsuck. A great orthographical change has taken place in the name of the pleasant little river on which we have the happiness to be located. It formerly abounded in vowels according to the idiom of the red men's language. Those who first committed it to writing spelled it Poousoomsuck, from the Indian pronounciation. Such is the spelling in William's History of Vt. 1794. The first settlers here on the river wrote it Passumpsic ; thus sacrificing euphony for saving the pen labor of two letters — a poor compensation. Dec. 23, 1829. An infant school was commenced in this village a few days since under superintendence of Miss Dascomb. As yet it bids fair to equal the most sanguine expectations. A NEWSPAPER 189 Jan. 20, 1830. Passumpsic Hotel. Darius Harvey would inform his friends and the public that he has opened a housb of entertainment in the new buildings recently erected for the purpose. His stables shall be continually supplied with the first rate Hay and Provender; his table ever furnished in good style with Fat Living ; and his bar will be filled with the choicest cordials, wholesome and refreshing beverages, and in case of neces- sity a Drop of the Ardent. Feb. 2, 1830. Wrought nails are now made in Rhode Island by machin- ery moved by steam, and are said to be fully equal to those made by hand. March 20, 1830. The proprietors of the celebrated Waterfall of the Pas- sumpsic River in St. Johnsbury, known by the name of The Arnold Privilege, being desirous to encourage manufactures and mechanics of correct, regular and steady habits to establish themselves at said Falls, do hereby give notice that they will sell or lease privileges of water and house lots. James Ramsey, Huxham Paddock, Hiram Jones. June 30, 1830. Wooden Legs! exact imitations, manufactured by Stephen Badger in the Post Office, St. Johnsbury Plain — two fantastic legs displayed. July 1, 1830. Nine letters advertised in St. Johnsbury Plain Post Office ; one for Mr. Huxham Paddock, one for the widow Polly Ripley, one for Messrs. E. and T. Fairbanks. Fourth of July. In the flourishing East Village of this town a large as- sembly was addressed by Rev. J. Johnson; good things were plenty; best of all no liquid fire on the tables, and very few sipped from the tavern bar. Nov. 30, 1830. Married, at the house of Ephraim Paddock Esq. Miss Ann C. Giles, Principal of the St. Johnsbury Female Academy to Emory Washburn Esq. Counseller at Law, Worcester, Mass. — afterward Gov. Washburn of Massachusetts. Nov. 3, 1830. At a meeting of the Citizens of this and neighboring towns at A. M. Rice's Hotel, Oct. 29, it was resolved that the route from Connecticut River up the Passumpsic would offer greater facilities than any other for constructing a Canal to connect with Lake Memphremagog ; and the increasing prosperity of the country through which said Canal would pass, will at no distant time justify the investment of stock in such an enter- prise. Feb. 2, 1831. Look out Passumpsic! Our neighbors east on the Con- necticut are wide awake ! If those of us who live on the Passumpsic do not keep equal pace, the manufacturing and traveling now so rapidly increasing, will leave our pleasant valley, to our great mortification. Sept. 29, 1830. 19 days later news from Europe. The Revolution is ac- complished and the Duke of Orleans is declared King of France! 190 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY June 22, 1831. The Steamboat John Ledyard from Hartford has arrived at Wells River. Aug. 24, 1831. The Circus saw fit to come parading into our quiet little village on the last Sabbath. Legislative enactments are needed to guard the community against these baleful influences. Oct. 6, 1831. Orsamus Fyler having been by his misfortune and the caprice of his creditors driven from his business to the jail limits, announces that he is there engaged in the pursuit of wooden clock making. He can now furnish small mantle piece eight day clocks superior in all respects to any others made in New England. Feb. 22, 1832. Important. From sources on which implicit reliance may be placed it is learned that bonnets with narrow brims will next season be all the ton. May 12, 1832. Married. Mr. Hull Curtis and Miss Lucy Barney. This notice was accompanied by as delicious and bountiful a loaf as was ever ex- perimented upon by tooth and eye. St. Johnsbury Female Academy. This Institution will be open for the reception of Young Ladies on Monday 7th of May next, under the care and direction of Miss Almira Taylor. The subscribers are happy to have it in their power to assure the public that the reputation which the school has heretofore acquired will in no wise suffer in the hands of Miss Taylor. She has been employed by the Board of Trust at the Ipswich Seminary, Mass., assisting Miss Grant, associate of Miss Mary Lyon, for the last two years, and her recommendations are of the first character. Two terms, 13 weeks each, with vacation of 2 weeks. Tuition $4.25 a term. Music $6, music and instru- ments found. All necessary books and stationery may be purchased here at Boston prices. Ephraim Paddock, Luther Clark, Com. There is reason to believe that the expectations of the Trustees were fully realized. From contemporary letters it ap- pears that "Miss T. is very pleasing. She knows how to appre- ciate the privilege of teaching such girls as we are." It is sur- mised that the personality of the teacher had something to do with the fine secret of making them such girls as they were. Three years later Miss Almira Taylor resigned her position as Principal, and thereafter with her husband Joseph P. Fairbanks, created a home of parental warmth, of refinement, and hearty hospitality — the remembrance of which is cherished with filial gratitude by her son, the author of this book. XV TAVERN STORE FARM LORD'S INN — AT THE BEND — TODDY MIXER — A FAMOUS HOSTELRY — TURKEY SHOOTS — SWAPPING HOTELS— INDIANS IN BAR ROOM — EARLY STORES — TIGER LETS GO — SUNDAY EVENING — FIXING A FISH HOOK — RUM AND MOLASSES — ROW OF BARRELS — WHISKEY FOR HOGS — COUNTRY PRODUCE — FARM JOURNAL — CATTLE FAIR — GEE UP AND GEE HO. EARLY INNS AND TAVERNS "No Sir," said Dr. Johnson, "there is nothing which has yet been con- trived by man whereby so much happiness is produced as by a good Tavern." As early as 1790 Dr. Lord's house at the south end of the Plain was open for the housing of strangers in the settlement ; later it was enlarged and known as Lord's Inn. Sunday meetings were occasionally held in this house. In later years it was held for some time by Seth Ford as a tavern. Joseph Lord was one of the grantees ; the steep pitch up which the trail from Barnet ran to reach the Plain was known as Lord's Hill, the first house to be seen by one coming up was Lord's Inn. Scattered survivors of the original artichokes, lovage, horse radish and pig weeds were on the place when Joseph P. Fairbanks established his homestead there in 1841. The spot is now covered by the lawn of Brantview. The old two story white house removed in 1897 to make way for St. Aloysius church, which had successively housed Luther 192 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Jewett's apothecary stock, the Caledonian printing press and the Cross bakery, was originally built by Major Thomas Peck for a public house in 1799. In 1810 it was known as Willard Carleton's Tavern, and advertised for sale in the North Star. Just when a tavern was opened at the Bend is not known, but its central location made it the approved tavern site on the Plain. The first house there was built by Henry Hoffman, a native of Germany and soldier in the revolutionary army, who came to this town in 1790. Seven years later he cleared off the forest trees that remained on the old Burial Yard where the Court House now is. Some time after 1810, Capt. John Barney built a new tavern on the site of Hoffman's, which he successfully conducted for several years. This Barney building was moved back in 1851 and con- verted into the rear part of the St. Johnsbury House. During the twenties Abel Rice was the well known proprietor at this stand. Capt. Barney had sold the house to Presbury West ; Judge West sold it to Major Abel M. Rice, "who could not only beat him three games out of five at checkers, but also met all his payments on the hotel promptly, contrary to expectation !" Of this establishment Dr. Samuel Graves has given a vivid sketch : — "On a high standard in front of the house hung and swung on creaking hinges the sign— a rice hotel. Prominent on entering its hospitable doors was the indispensable bar, adorned with a wealth of decanters which invit- ingly contained a plentiful supply of good cheer, running thro' the gamut of beverages from potato whiskey to French brandy. The man who on due oc- casions did not step up and treat was voted a niggard or a churl by his neighbors. These were the brave old days when it was counted a good joke for an honest man to lose his way home of an evening, or to mistake his neighbor's home for his own. Abel mixed toddies with a mild satisfied air, and stabled horses in a determined way ; while the ample and jolly landlady beguiled the traveler with fried sausage and gossip." Abel Rice sold the tavern to Ezra Ide, 1836 ; Ide sold to A. H. Wilcox, 1838 ; Wilcox sold to Joseph Hutchinson, 1841 ; Hutchinson sold to Hull Curtis, 1847 ; Curtis sold to a syndicate who in 1851 built the St. Johnsbury House, with the old tavern in the rear. TAVERN STORE FARM 193 In 1838, William Boardman built his "House of Entertain- ment at the South End of St. Johnsbury Plain," which he conducted for some years on a strictly temperance basis. This building which is now the Academy Club House was moved to its present location in 1872 to make way for the erection of South Hall. CENTRE VILLAGE TAVERNS Capt. Samuel French the bridge builder put up the first tavern here about 1812, on the edge of the bog at the north end of the street. At that time the standing water was deep enough for the boys to fish in ; he turned the course of the brook from above so as to wash in soil enough to cover most of the bog, which is now good grass land. Business increased and some years later French put up a new two-story building ; on the first floor was the bar room with a well furnished bar, also parlor and dining room ; upstairs were sleeping rooms and a dance hall ; this hall was afterward made into small rooms and a new one of large floor space was built out over a shed extension toward the swamp. There was a commodious stable, for French had a six- horse team on the road all the time, a four-horse team part of the time, and others for jobbing work around town. To provide properly for the shoeing of so many horses he built a blacksmith shop on the west side of the street near the river. French's Tavern was for many years a famous hostelry ; it became noted as a good place for holiday functions, on Training day, Fourth of July and Thanksgiving ; prior to this last he always got up a "turkey-shoot" — the shooting was done with old style flint-lock muskets, the turkey being set up at a distance of about 25 rods. In those days a turkey-shoot was a popular ad- junct to the annual festival in which that bird held so prominent a place ; the more humane public sentiment of later years finally banished it from the field. In 1820 Capt. Walter Wright built the long low house near the lower bridge, in which he lived till his death at the age of 90 years. This house is still standing ; tho not large, it was arranged to accommodate travelers, and became one of the halting places 194 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY for stage drivers "to get their rum so that they could drive bet- ter." The large Ira Armington house, with inviting upper and lower piazzas, "an ornament to the village with fine Hall at- tached/' stood on the corner opposite the Universalist Church, and was for several years known as Armington's Hotel ; it was burned in 1876. INNS AT THE EAST VILLAGE There were quite early two taverns at the East Village, Gage's and Hibbard's. Capt. Silas Hibbard built his of brick in 1828 ; it was on the west side of the street, the fourth building from the old grave yard ; there was nothing on the east side of the street except the steep pitch descending to Moose River. The brick for Hibbard's house were made on the premises ; clay was hauled on to the garden, where Elijah Jackson with two horses trod it in to suitable condition for making up in to brick. The house was forty feet square with four large rooms and a bar room on the first floor, and plenty of rooms up stairs. At the bar anybody could get a drink except Johnny Beaton, a well known toper, whose request for more brought the answer, "No, Johnny, you've had enough, you can't have another drop." Josiah Gage's tavern was some distance up the river, a large building still standing, where the road turns up following Gage's brook to Lyndon. At that point a pitch had been made and a log hut built years before, when one going out after dark had to carry torches to scare off the wolves. Gage was in Jubal Harrington's store one day and remarked that he ought not to be taxed as high as Hibbard was who had a new brick house. "I'll swap with you," said Hibbard. "It's a bargain," said Gage. The swap was made and continued four years till Hibbard sold back to Gage. One day while Hibbard was in possession, a posse of thirty Indians came along and wanted to put up their wigwams near by. They got permission, but it was too late that afternoon to begin ; so the whole tribe was let in to sleep over night on the bar room floor. The next day they pitched near the river. Four school girls came up to see them. They wanted some baskets, TAVERN STORE FARM 195 but had no money. A squaw pointed to their mittens, enquir- ingly. Each girl pulled off her mittens, swapped the same for a basket and went back home with bare hands, swinging her Indian trophy. STORES AND MERCHANTS "I will buy with you, sell with you * * what news on the Rialto?" *' To the store he goes both for barter and for news." Amaziah D. Barber is reported as the first store keeper on the Plain. He built the old Lucas house about 1799, and continued in trade for ten or fifteen years. Fred Phelps was one of the earlier store keepers ; he left town in 1816. Tiger, a well known watch dog, belonged to Phelps. One day having left the store for some errand, on returning he found Tiger holding a man by the leg. "Why, Isaac Wing," said he, "what are you doing here?" "Trying to get out," said Isaac, "but Tiger won't let me." By order of Phelps, Tiger let go his hold and Wing shortly after went off to Canada. Chamberlin and Paddock followed Phelps, and next in order were the Clark brothers and Clarks and Bishop. Sometime after 1800 John and Luther Clark built the two small dwelling houses still standing on either side of the T. C. Fletcher property, and their store and horse sheds were spread along the street between. They were originally saddle makers and when buying certain equipments in Boston they added to their purchases miscellaneous goods that were put on sale. In a few years they built up a large business in dry goods, groceries and whatever else was in demand. John was a Baptist, Luther a Congregationalism With Luther the Lord's Day began at night-fall on Saturday, a practice not in vogue with the Baptists. This gave an opportunity for the story passed around among certain wags that, with an eye to profit, John kept open store on Saturday evenings and Luther gave out goods innocently on the evening of Sunday. As to which, says one who knew the two men well, "I will affirm that no light ever glimmered behind the shutters of that store of a Sunday even- ing." After some years the firm became Clarks and Bishop and the business was enlarged. Double columns on the pages of the 196 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Farmer's Herald set forth the large and varied assortments of goods, with explanatory pictures of napt hats, Leghorn bonnets, military equipments, tea chests and whatever else. In 1827 Ephraim Jewett, son of Dr. Luther, was taken in as a clerk, sixteen years of age. "He showed me a little kindness," says Dr. Samuel Graves, "which I have kept fresh in memory for sixty-five years. I had bought a fish hook at the store. He asked me if I knew how to put it on the line properly. I said no, so he took my hook and deftly with much pains fastened it on to the line; then said — 'now my boy, I guess you'll catch a fish.' That little act to me, a stranger boy, has lived in my remembrance as one of the small things that indicate the character of the man." Ephraim Jewett became one of the best known and most trusted merchants of the place continuing in business till his death in 1865. Clarks and Bishop sold out to Kittredge and Colby ; they sold in 1842 to Shedd and Jewett ; later Shedd retired and Jewett and Frank Brown became in 1846, proprietors. The store was just south of Passumpsic Bank, and is still known as the Brown Block. In 1849 Jewett and Brown built the largest store in town on the site now occupied by the brick block adjoining the St. Johns- bury House ; that building still stands in the rear unchanged in outline. Where the Union block now is Lovell Moore did a brisk business during the twenties in merchandise of all sorts in small quantities "from pins to codfish and from raisins to new rum." Painted in large black letters on the white shutters was the an- nouncement — "Lovell Moore, Dry Goods, West India Rum and Molasses." In 1820 Moses Kittredge set up a store at the East Village with a thousand dollars worth of goods brought from Portland. More business was done there at that time, it is said, than any- where else in the town. Nine years later Kittredge gathered up his profits and removed to the Plain, "worth so many dollars and the richest man in St. Johnsbury." In partnership with J. W. Colby he built the old yellow store that stood where the Frank Brown block now is ; where he presided as merchant, speculator, judge, postmaster and general man of affairs. He also built the Brown block in 1850. In this store Samuel Jewett and Samuel TAVERN STORE FARM 197 Higgins each for a time carried a department of dry goods. In 1860 Frank Brown bought the building and continued business in it for some forty years. He was the last representative of the old time merchants. He came to town from Montpelier in 1841 with a dollar and a half in his pocket ; this was his original capital ; the dollar piece was one of the old Spanish milled coins, and he carried it in his pocket as a keepsake or mascot until his death, at which time the coin was a hundred and five years old. Emerson Hall, beginning in 1846, was in business on the west side of Main street for thirty years. He built the store that stood where the Athenaeum now is, the same building which had notoriety in after years as the liquor agency, adjoining St. An- drew's Church ; first it was Hall and Higgins, after Ephraim Jewett's death it was Hall and Fletcher, in the Jewett block. STORES AT THE CENTER VILLAGE The following is taken from H. N. Roberts' reminiscences :— "The first store in this village was Ezra Sanger's built in about 1810. It stood on the corner of the road that went East ; it was quite a large two- story Building ; the store was in the Lower Part and was filled with goods and diferent kinds of Liquor. The Liquor was not in the back store ethier, but in Front, where they could wait on the customers quicker. There would be a row of Barrels the whole length of one side, all Liquor ; it was sold by the glass or the gallon, three cents a glass and twelve cents a gallon. "The rest of the goods was salt Codfish, Mackeral, West India Molasses ; a verry few shelf goods and a few Groceries. After a few years Sanger sold out to Horace Evans, he ran it a few years and then took in a partner Ephraim Paddock of St. Johnsbury. They thought it would be a good plan to put up a Whiskey Still for making Whiskey out of Wheat, Corn, some Rye and some Barley. After getting out the Whiskey, what to do with the remainder, the swill as they called it. They thought they would try feeding it to Hogs, but it proved a failure ; in a short time the Hogs be- gun to get sick and lame; they wanted something besides Whiskey swill. Then they tried Cattle and no better results, it wanted to be used with some- thing els mixed with it. They ran the still only a few years for Whiskey went down and their business went up, so they sold out the Buildings and Contents to various Persons ; the Granary seperate from the main Building they sold to the Methodist who moved it up and finished it in to a Meeting House ; the Still used to stand where John Danforth has a garden on the East road. This old Sanger Store was sold at last to Goodhue of St. Johns- 198 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY bury, and Goodhue sold to David Goodhall, and Goodhall to Ira Armington who moved it across the road to make a Lot for to Build a Hotel. He Built a fine House and it was an ornament to the Villiage, and a fine Hall attached. "Samuel Humphrey built a store, he did not live Jong, and it was sold to Jonas Flint ; Flint died and it was sold to Hiram Weeks and he owned it till the Fire. "John Bacon ran the Farmer's and Mechanic's Store for three years be- ginning in 1847, and then bought out and ran it for himself. John Bacon was a large dealer in Butter, Hops, Starch, and other kinds of Produce. In the first years of trade he would buy Cattle and Hogs ; people would trade in the summer, get into Debt not having much money ; then they would sell some of their Cattle or Hogs to pay the Debt. The Cattle he would buy in the fall and drive them to market. Hogs he would buy them when it came freezing up time and take them to Portland. The teams would Load back with salt mostly ; the Cattle he would sell for money, and then buy his Store goods." DOINGS ON THE FARM 1831 In 1791 a young man from Charlestown No. 4 followed the blazed trail that brought him to St. Johnsbury. The next year he bought 150 acres of land on Moose River for which he paid ^67-10s. Two years later he married, and lived here 57 years. His death in 1848, in his eightieth year, took away "the last sur- vivor of the band of pioneers who turned the once howling wilder- ness into fruitful fields." A journal which he kept in 1831-1834 has come to light, extracts from which are here given. They will illustrate the every day farm doings of that period, and inci- dentally the simplified spelling of a very intelligent and prosper- ous farmer — Asa Lee. May 17, 1831. Begain to Plant Corne. May 26. I woshed my sheep and boochered my Pig. June 7. Plainted potatos and went to Training. July 7. All hands to mowinge. July 8. Drawd in 3 Lods hay in to my new Barne. July 20. I gave my note for $3 to Kitrig and Moril. Aug. 2. 2 tin pedlars poot up at our house. Aug. 5. Begain to cut up Corne and moe Clover seed. Aug. 7. Sunday. Attended Meeting. Aug. 8. Drawd in our rye. Surkus on the Plain. Aug. 15. Begain to make Baskets. Aug. 31. Finished 2 Baskets. Aug. 18. Begain to reap oats and oiled our harnis. TAVERN STORE FARM 199 Aug. 19. Boroed Mr. Work's Scraper. Aug. 21. Sunday Meeting at our School house. Aug. 22. Mother traided with a pedler. Aug. 24. Borowid 11 lbs. of pourke of John. Aug. 27. I went to Center Village and got the old horse shod. Sept. 6. Freeman's Meeting. Sept. 7. A. and L, rode tantrom to Clarks store. Sept. 10. Caried tools to Senter Meeting house. Sept. 16. Lynda rode to Danvil in the Stag. Raised Corn house. Sept. 18. Mr. Wheeton dyed, Sept. 20. Drawd in two lods of Clover seed. Sept. 25. Mam and the girls to Meetinge. Oct. 7, 1831. Three days Meeting begain at the Center. Oct. 12. A snowstorm. 15th. Plesant and Sun Shines. Oct. 16. Sunday I heared Mr. Bugby Preach. Oct. 20. Begun to Boile Cyder. Oct. 24. Dug potatos in rain. 28th. Finished Diggin. Oct. 31. To hopeing 3 Barils, Fifty cents. Nov. 4. I went on to the Plain with the pedler. Nov. 10. I cut Pine Logg for a water trap. Nov. 12. Swopt horsis with Mr. West. Nov. 18. I gave my Note to Kitrig for a Bras Kitle. Nov. 22. Brought home Brass kitle. Dec. 1. Thanksgivinge Day— over to Brother Johns. Dec. 13. Hard Luck a Login. Brok one wipltree. Dec. 28. I broke my ax handles. I went to mill. Dec 22. A. rod over to Capt. Stilesis, Caried a Pigg. July 19, 1832. Went to the Plain and traided with Juet. Cow to Boot. July 20. I hopt our old cheese tub. July 22. Elder C. Preach his fur well Sermon to the Center. July 25. Clouday. I churnd Buter. July 27. Good hay Day. Put up 125 Cocks. Aug. 18. Finished hayinge. 20th. Begain to reap our rye. Aug. 22. I made a piggin. Caried 2 bush, wheat to mill. Aug. 27. All hands to reaping oats. Finished. May 7, 1833. Baugt 1 Dung forke. Sod My Onion seed. May 24. War declared betwixt John H. and my son. May 29. I shered my Sheep in 2 hours, piled up old Sleds. June 1. I went to Plain. Baugt 1 fish, of Kitrig. June 5. Bgan to worke on the Rhode, Myself and oxen and plow. June 14. Attended to Mr. Fog's Funeral on the Plain. June 15. I went to East Vilage and got pint of Brandy. June 25. Made grindstone frame. Dyantha comes to work. July 1. Finished my hogg Yeard. Scalt my Buckits. July 8. A Call to help move the printinge Ofice on the Plain. 200 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY July 9. Paid to Erastus Fairbanks 50 cents for New Sainge and for Mending my plow. He had begain to ho his corn 3rd time. July 13. The old fox took the old hen Bag and Bagige. July 18. I Mod thissels and lost my ho. July 21. Sunday. Met in our School house. Aug. 2. I can attst to the truth that Shaler Buel has shoen his Ignorence. Aug. 12. The old Mare in the oats, a grate Noise. Nov. 6. Let to my son 6 sheep for 1 year at 1 lb. of wool for each sheep. Dec. 19. Thrashed wheat. Baught a Dixshonary. Mch. 9, 1834. Sunday. All hands to Meetinge. Snow squals. Mch. 18. I went to town Meetinge. Mch. 20. 55 lbs of Shuger this Day. April 19. Fire broke out. We had a hard scrable. May 14. I lost my whip. 24th. I swengled Flax. June 15. Frost last night. 30th. Corn toseled out. July 6. Bees swarmed. We attended Meetinge to the Center. Mch. 19, 1811. This day Mr Mann left My old Log House. Apl. 20, 1811. This day Mr. Pouers moved into My House. Jan. 30, 1812. Mr. Peter Pouers moved out of M)' House. The items above given are a sample of some 1200 entries covering sixty pages of the journal. The book in which they are recorded was bought at Clark's store on the Plain, Jan. 1812. Across the first leaf is written in clear hand the word "Righteous- ness." It is deposited in the Athenaeum. CALEDONIA CATTLE FAIR OF 1838 This was the fourth annual meet of the Caledonia Cattle Fair, and the first but one that ever met in this town. A ringing an- nouncement was sent out, saying "Come, everybody ! Come to St. Johnsbury Plain ; bring the produce of your flocks and fields ; bring the old ox and the young ox ; the Yankee sheep, Merino sheep, Saxon sheep, Irish sheep ; bring your Durham and Devonshire cow, short horn or no horn, cow, calf or heifer ! Bring Byfield and Yankee pig ; Yankee, English, French and Morgan horse or pony ! We want to see your big pumpkin, your great squash, your melons worth a dol- lar, your beets and carrots, and dont forget your onions ! Mechanics bring your leather, your saddles and harness, your boots and shoes, your iron, steel and brass and wood work, and whatever else you've made. "O yes ; and there across the way from Wilcox's Inn, you'll see the La- ides' Fair; not only fair faces but fine things you've never dreamp't of TAVERN STORE FARM 201 silks, worsteds, woolens, linens, carpets, rugs, quilts, counterpanes ; here you may buy your collars, bosoms, stocks, caps, or any kind of jimcracks, with cakes, coffee, tea, crackers and raisins to your heart's content. This will be your chance to buy, to sell, to swap, to give away ; to do any clever, honest, good natured thing you please." When the day arrived, Sept. 27, the movement of population was toward St. Johnsbury Plain. Five hundred and eighty wheeled vehicles rolled in, troops of horsemen galloped along the roads and many trudged their way on foot ; upwards of 1500 in all. The plowing match was on a field where the Methodist church now is ; the trotting course was "the street," now called Main Street. Every wagon became a lunch counter for the family, and the Wilcox tavern had sumptuous fare — not a man got drunk. After dinner, Henry Stevens of Barnet gave the address of the day in the meeting house ; this was followed by music from the organ played by John H. Paddock, and a Farmer's Song of thirteen stanzas, sung by Mr. Wood ; four stanzas of this production are here quoted ; set to the tune Star Spangled Banner, "Ye brown bonnie rustics and Lords of the Soil, Come, let a short ditty amuse you awhile ; For Farmers who live by the sweat of the brow, Oft join in a song as they follow the plow. Chorus With Gallant and Golding and Dobbin we go, While our fields loud re-echo gee-up and gee-o ! Time was when the plow with its hoggle and jog, Just turned up the turf like the snout of a hog ; But modern improvement with stout sturdy team Goes the depth of the soil, tho it reach to the beam. John Bull calls us pumpkins — what argufies that? But to prove that our soil is both mellow and fat : He may rail if he please, but 1 guess 'tis agreed, That John has found pith in a small pumpkin seed. John Glover, he wedded the sweet Molly Bean, Who learned of her mother to knit and to spin ; To milk and to churn, to make cheeses and such, They managed with prudence and throve like the Dutch ; With Gallant and Golding and Dobbin we Go While our fields loud re-echo gee-up and gee-ho ! ' ' The concluding stanza exhorts us all to go and do as John and Molly did. 202 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY That year as so uniformly since, the Waterford oxen were at the front, Ezekiel Cutler's four-year-olds taking the premium. Jacob Ide of Barnet had the best cow ; John Ide of St. Johns- bury the best three year old heifer; Geo. Ayer the best yearling steers, Dennis May of Waterford the best bull. Hial Bradley of Wheelock brought the best potatoes ; Simon Stevens of Barnet the best sugar beets ; John Ide the best butter, Willard Hawkins, best cheese. Capt. Harris Knapp raised in St. Johnsbury eighty bushels of shelled corn on one acre ; Dr. Beniah Sanborn raised 1038 pump- kins on 84 square rods and 4040 ruta-bagas on 42 square rods. The weight of Alexander Blair's Barnet turnip is not recorded ; but William Hall of the Center Village produced a squash of 55 lbs., and another of 59 lbs. Amos Belknap's hand vise and plyers were of superior workmanship, and so was the splendid and beautiful mahogany work-table made by Col. Ira Armington. The award committee found many nice things, as was prom- ised, in the Ladies' Fair : "Colored sewing silk by Miss Electa Skinner and white silk by Miss Sophia Stevens of Barnet, not in- ferior to the best Italian for evenness and strength of thread and for brilliancy of color — demonstrating the importance of this do- mestic industry essential for our national wealth and for inde- pendence of foreign fabrics. Three pieces of Cassimere of fine fabric, one from the clip of Hon. Ephraim Paddock, a most beauti- ful article ; creditable alike to the producer and the manufacturer. Also a shawl of excellent fabric in imitation of Highland Plaid, made by Susannah Grout." Erastus Fairbanks, Chairman. XVI UP AT THE BRICK HOUSE EPHRAIM PADDOCK — STICK AND BUNDLE — LOST IN THE WOODS — A HOUSE OF CHARACTER — NEW MUSIC — HOSPITALITIES — ROMPING GIRLS — THE FEMALE ACADEMY — AN INFANT SCHOOL — THE BELL FAIR. AN UPRIGHT JUDGE One summer morning in 1846 a lad of ten years was sent on an errand up to Judge Paddock's. Arriving at the door of the square brick house he was kindly accosted by the man, standing, as always, straight as an arrow. "Straighten up ! Edward," said he ; "you're growing round shouldered ; I was crooked once, but I determined to be straight." That determination was characteristic of the man, and it pre- vailed. At the age of seventy a more upright figure was not seen on our streets ; a more upright judge did not sit on the bench. He was a man of marked personality ; tall, slender, somewhat reserved, of dignified step and bearing, mild voice and the fine old time courtesy. He combined a sensitive organism and refined taste with strength and originality of mind and ready activity for the public welfare ; withal he was an accomplished musician. Born in Holland, Mass., 1780, Ephraim Paddock came up to Vermont on foot and alone, with nothing but his stick and "a bundle whose contents included but three articles of dress most essential for a change." He made up for lack of early education by insistent application to study ; for some while he was a pupil 204 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY and instructor in Peacham Academy ; he entered a law office in Danville, was duly admitted to the bar and began the practice of his profession in St. Johnsbury, Dec. 1807. His character and abilities commanded public confidence and a good standing among the strong men of the Caledonia bar. He continued to perfect himself in legal studies and took rank among the leading lawyers of the state. In 1828 he arrived at the supreme bench ; from 1821 1826 inclusive he represented this town in the legislature ; he was member of the Constitutional convention in 1828, and one of the Council of Censors in 1841. For more than half a century Judge Paddock's dignified and guiding influence was felt in the affairs of this town ; shaping public sentiment, bettering civil and social conditions, fostering education and religion, music and good manners. He died July 27, 1859 in his 80th year. His portrait appropriately hangs on the wall of the Court Room, and, though painted from a small photograph after his death, it gives from the canvas an excellent likeness. BOY AND GIRL AND INDIANS The ancestry of the Paddock family by way of Zachariah Pad- dock, born 1636, runs back thro the families of Sayer, Knyvet, and Bourchier to Ann Plantagenet, granddaughter of King Edward III. Zachariah Paddock was among the earliest settlers in Scitu- ate, Mass. ; his children a boy of ten and a girl of twelve years, wandered into the forest one day gathering ground nuts. They finally lost their way and when overtaken by darkness curled themselves up under a log and slept there thro the night. In early morning they were awakened by the barking of hounds ; starting up they saw a deer badly wounded with arrows in his side coming near them. They caught up some big sticks, ran to the deer, and managed to knock him down. By the time the Indian hunters arrived they had pounded the life out of the deer. The Indians claimed the deer as their game ; the children insisted that he belonged to them because they had killed him, and so stoutly did they maintain their claim, that the Indians who were friendly finally skinned the deer, cut off one quarter for them and showed them the way home. They came up to the fort bearing UP AT THE BRICK HOUSE 205 their trophy between them. This boy of ten grew to vigorous manhood, and was great-grandfather of Ephraim Paddock. It was the same well defined family characteristic of resoluteness and tenacity that brought Ephraim on foot with stick and bundle up into Vermont and to a successful career ; that reappeared in the three sons of his sister Phebe, who in spite of reverses and difficulties built up the industry that has given fame to our town. A COLONIAL MANSION Sitting in quiet dignity apart from the street, the residence built by Ephraim Paddock in 1820, still retains unique interest as the one building of true colonial type in the town. When it first rose to view the spacious grounds included not only the adjacent lots on either side, but also real estate from Passumpsic River to Observatory Knob, including Boynton Hill, Mt. Pleasant Cemetery and the Penniman farm. The brick of which this house was con- structed were made on the premises by brickmakers from Con- necticut under superintendence of William Gage of Walpole, N. H. ; it is asserted that the quality of these brick has never been excelled in any brick yards of the town. The blinds and parts of the wood finish were hand-made by Thaddeus Fairbanks. People came from near and distant towns to see this first brick house which in its day was a notable structure ; they admir- ed the ornamental portico, the balustraded roof, the large windows with white caps, the high rooms, the stylish fender at the fire- place, the stationary kettles and kitchen conveniences, above all the wonderful landscape paper on the parlor walls depicting Mount Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples. The house, and all its appointments betokened the standing and embodied the ideas of its builder ; a man of individuality and dignity of character, of plain and cultivated tastes, whose home and personality gave dignity to the place. A further interest was awakened in this house somewhat later by a novelty that had arrived. Not content with his well strung violin the Judge introduced an instrument hitherto unknown in the town. Respecting this, a man at that time in his boyhood writes, "that house contained, what I was intensely interested to 206 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY see — A piano, the only one in town. I well remember how my curiosity was whetted, as, many a time when passing by, I lin- gered near the grounds to hear its tones. Charlotte, the daughter of the house, a comely and dignified maiden, was the musical en- chantress." Here was given the first strong impulse toward the cultivation of music for which our village soon became quite famous. There was a time when "the walls of this house resound- ed to the tones of five different piano fortes." There were ever open doors and abounding hospitality under the roof of this house — "up at the brick house," was a familiar phrase. The mistress of the mansion was "dear Aunt Abba" to everybody. She was buxom and lively, over-flowing with merri- ment and kindliness. "Her blessed heart was never troubled with the worriments of ordinary housekeepers," notwithstanding the large family, including a houseful of teachers and girls of the Female Academy. Lawyers, ministers, business men coming to town were entertained here ; the unexpected guest was cordially welcomed ; there was always one more pie waiting for somebody or a nice cake that must be attended to before getting old and dry. On one occasion when the party of invited guests were shaking with laughter at one of her stories between courses, she unconsciously shoved back her chair, whereat all rose and re- tired to the parlor ; till, in she rushed exclaiming that the pie had been forgotten ! all must come back and sit down again to pie. After dining her snuff box would be passed around as we now pass the bon-bon dish. SPORTS OF THE GIRLS Merry times those were when the girls of the village came to play with the gifted and loveable daughter of the house. From one of them, Mrs. Helen Martin Chadwick, we have this reminis- cence given in 1896. "Charlotte was full of life and fertile in plans for our amusement ; every nook and corner of the building resounded with our mirth and jollity. The old shed chamber was a favorite place where we could make the diagrams on the floor and play hop-scotch ; the greatest feat was to walk across the beam at the head of the kitchen stairs, this was a test of courage UP AT THE BRICK HOUSE 207 and steadiness, so was the delight of flying through the air in jumping from one scaffold to another in the big barn. Grace hoops, battledore and shuttlecock were then in vogue, and jump- ing the rope in all sorts of ways. There was the fun of going out on the piazza roof, of hiding in the dark chamber where were stored the apples, cheese and maple sugar, then down to the pan- try for some of Aunt Abba's cookies, then to gather front of the bright fire place with its pretty fender which was rare in those days, and most exquisite of all, to hear Charlotte play on the new Chickering piano, while we gazed at the scenery-paper on the parlor walls ; where, some years after, she was united in marriage to Rev. Mr. Thayer right under the shadow of Mount Vesuvius ; where, seven years later she quietly fell asleep during the night and in the morning the vapor floating up from the mountain top seemed pointing where the spirit had fled." ST. JOHNSBURY FEMALE ACADEMY The General Assembly passed an Act, Oct. 27, 1824, estab- lishing the St. Johnsbury Female Academy. The principal movers in this enterprise were Dea. Luther Clark and Judge Eph- raim Paddock, who to a large extent assumed the expenses that were liable to be incurred. Associated with them as original Trustees were Dr. Morrill Stevens and Judge Presbury West of this town, and seven others from neighboring towns. It was enact- ed that* 'all real and personal estate, to the amount of one thousand dollars, which shall at any time, be held by said corporation for the benefit of said institution, shall be free and exempt from all taxes." No funds however were ever held by the institution ; tuition was $6 a term and arrears were made up by the Trustees. The opening session was held in the south west chamber of the Brick House, Judge Paddock's, in 1825 ; the same year a suitable Hall was fitted up in Capt. Martin's new house on the site now occupied by D. D. Patterson; this was known as Study Hall. From the first the school took high rank and held the same for seventeen years ; this was chiefly due to the qualifications and character of the instructors. There was very little advertising, but the merits of the school became known, pupils were attracted 208 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY to it from towns in Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Can- ada, some came up from the state of Georgia. There were nine different principals : Miss Trowbridge of Worcester, Miss Giles of Walpole, Miss Newcomb of Keene, Miss Almira Taylor of Deny, Misses Susan and Catharine Clark of St. Johnsbury, Misses Bradlee and Worcester of Peacham, Miss Hobart of Berlin. The superior qualities and culture of these ladies was one occasion of the frequent changes ; their hand being sought by other admirers than School Boards. Cupid's darts, says a writer of that period, were unerring in those days. From the Farmer's Herald of 1829 :— "This institution has had a flourishing season. Examinations were held last Thursday; Study Hall was tastefully decorated with drawings and paintings done by the young ladies of the school. They were examined in Geography, History, Arithmetic, Rhetoric, Natural Philosophy, Astronomy, Logic, Mental Philosophy, Latin, French, Composition and Music. They shewed promptness and accuracy in all ; the compositions were particularly admired for the tact and judgment in selection of subjects and for delicacy and ability of treatment." A contemporary description written by one of the pupils is as follows : — "There is a very pleasant School at St. Johnsbury Plain. It is kept in a long Hall the outside of which is painted red. On both sides are seats for the young ladies. At the farther end of the Hall is a black board and a table for the teacher. The table is covered with green baize and behind it is the teacher's arm chair. In the middle of the room is rather a rusty stove but it answers its purpose very well. There are four windows on each side and blinds are on the west side to keep the sun from coming in. There is also a small room to study in for it is much easier to be alone when we are study- ing. The young ladies come to this school from many states as well as many from our own state, which makes it very pleasant ; how can it be otherwise with our present teacher." S. F. Under a different teacher we have this inside view, given in a school girl's letter : — "You want to know how things are progressing at Study Hall. We have a very accomplished teacher. She is more strict than any we ever had before. We are not allowed to convey ideas in any way whatever— either by writing, or by making letters with our fingers or by signs of any sort. Our lights must be extinguished by ten o'clock every night, we are not to read or UP AT THE BRICK HOUSE 209 study after that hour. I am studying Astronomy, Mental Philosophy, Arith- metic, Grammar, U. S. History and Political Class Book." Another girl of the period who lived in a more rural part of the town, did not have the privilege of absorbing such various knowledge under discipline so nicely adjusted. She left this reminiscence : — "At Captain Martin's there was a Ladies' School; it was a good thing to go to a Ladies' School, but I never went." The enlargement of educational interests in the town finally led up to the discontinuance of this school and the establishment of the St. Johnsbury Academy in 1842. SCHOOLS OTHER THAN DISTRICT SCHOOLS "An Infant School" was opened on the Plain, Dec. 1829, by Miss Dascomb. That it bid fair to equal the most sanguine ex- pectations was publicly announced, but who the infants were and what the methods used with them does not appear. It is inter- esting to know that ten years before Froebel inaugurated the kindergarten, Miss Dascomb was experimenting with infant edu- cation in our town. In 1830, John H. Slack set up a Private High School on the Plain. At $3 a quarter instruction was given in the branches of literature and science usually taught in Academies and High Schools. For $6 tuition instruction was offered in French, Span- ish and Hebrew. From a family letter it appears that Mr. Cushman had a pri- vate school on the Plain in 1834. That year there were twenty pupils, among whom was a future governor of the State. THE BELL FAIR OF 1833 There was no bell in the town. To aid in securing one for the Meeting House on the Plain a Fair was held in the hall of Abel Rice's hotel, interesting details of which are preserved in letters dated Sept. 20 and Nov. 16, 1833. The writer is address- ing her cousin, J. P. Fairbanks, who had recently gone to Water- ville, Maine. 210 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY "You ask me to tell you all about the Bell Fair. Well, it exceeded all ex- pectations and has been the general topic of conversation ever since. Money- enough was raised at the Fair with subscriptions afterward to purchase a bell and we sent for it the fifth day after. The doors of the Hall were opened at 2 o'clock and men, women and children came flocking in. At the farther end of the Hall was Charlotte Paddock's piano and the Judge's magnifying glass. Charlotte, Julia Ann and John played, and played well. Then came singing and playing again, and the Battle of Prague, Dr. Calvin Jewett read- ing the parts — the march, the bugle call for cavalry, the cannon, the battle, etc. There was a long table, covered with needle books, bags, pin cushions, caps, squawms, aprons, shoes black and red, ladies' neck things, indian boxes, etc., a sofa and a ship. Over the table was a line on which were hung men's things, collars, stocks, footings, etc. Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Thaddeus Fairbanks, Miss Betsey Jewett and Miss Lavinia Chamberlin, attended at this table. At the other end of the Hall was a table loaded with cakes of all kinds, a large loaf in the middle covered with frosting and sugar plums and a large sprig of artificial flowers at the top. Coffee was poured at another table and served by Mrs. Paddock, Mrs. Barney and Mrs. Curtis. Nothing was wanting to make all happy and pleasant. About $15 was taken at the door, $22 at the food table, $85 at the trinket table, $2 at the magnifying glass, altogether about $127. Next day made up by subscriptions to $200. Mr. Davis was up from Barnet and was very liberal with his money ; he drank six cups of coffee during the afternoon and for the last one he paid a dollar. A gentleman who was here from Boston told us that our Fair ex- celled the Boston ones, and I assure you we felt proud to hear that. Every- body was happy and tried to make others so." The bell arrived shortly after and was hung in the tower where it remained till the building was removed fourteen years later to its present location south of the Court House. The later history of this bell is included with the annals of the bells of the town on a subsequent page. XVII NOTES OF PROGRESS A CONVERTED DISTILLERY— NEW MEETING HOUSE — A LOOK INSIDE— WOOD AND OIL— SELLING THE TOLLING — BANNS OF MARRIAGE — FACING THE SITUATION— MISTAKEN SOULS — ANTI RUM — 61 AUTOGRAPHS — MORMANS ARRIVE — EXCITEMENT IN CHESTERFIELD — THE OLD BARN — THE CALEDONIAN. LITTLE HOUSE OF MEETING "And it came to pass that every one that sought Jehovah went out unto the Tent of Meeting. ' ' Exodus 33: 7. Before the erection of the Tabernacle on the Plain of Sinai there was this temporary Tent of Meeting. On the Plain of St. Johnsbury they had a House of Meeting before the real Meeting House was built. There was a small house at the head of the Plain which tradi- tion says had been used successively as a dwelling, a store, a distillery, a meat market. All this did not exhaust the variety of uses to which it was destined. In 1818 it was moved down to a spot near the head of what is now Maple street and made over by David Smith for a temporary house of worship. This was done chiefly at the expense of Luther Clark. There were rows of benches, a platform and a desk at the upper end, also a Canadian box stove, the first one that ever contributed warmth to a relig- ious service in the town. Hubbard Lawrence attended to the stove ; he brought bark and fire wood from his tannery, kindled 212 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY the fire, then set out with his long sleigh to pick up those who could not walk and bring them in. This became the place of wor- ship for people living on the Plain who had hitherto gone up to the Old Meeting House on the Hill. Seven years later nineteen members of the old First Church were set off as a colony, con- stituting the second, now the North Church, which for two years longer occupied this little building. Here two of the active men of the community, Hezekiah Martin and Lovell Moore, were mar- ried at the close of the evening meeting, April 14, 1819. Her temperance meetings and debating societies, clubs and miscel- laneous gatherings brought people together more easily and frequently than ever before. AN INSIDE GLIMPSE Mrs. Lydia Jones gave the writer these reminiscences. On one side of the platform was the pulpit and on the other the singers' seats, a low fence or partition between them. Near it Mr. Melvin used to stand ; he was ninety years old and so deaf that he stood holding his ear trumpet by the side of the minister the entire time that he was speaking. On the other side was a chair sometimes occupied by the minister's wife, sometimes by in- firm women like the blind man's wife ; she used to go up the whole length of the aisle bowed down nearly to the top of her staff ; she wore a short scarlet cloak trimmed with black, and with a hood ; when she had taken her seat she removed her bon- net and let the red hood fall back. In his prayer the minister, Mr. Johnson, said : "Raise up those that are bowed down, relieve the distressed, succor the tempted, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow, remember all who are sick and such as are old and grey-headed in sin, may they yet be brought in as shocks of corn fully ripe." The keen memory of the narrator also brought up over sixty intervening years, words that were spoken in the prayer meeting by Joseph Fairbanks, Senior. She added that the chances for sleeping during the sermon were not very good in those days, recalling how her aunt Mrs. Nat. Brown of the Four Corners rose from her seat one Sunday, reached over the heads of people front of her, and roused good Deacon Clark from his nap with the point of her umbrella. NOTES OF PROGRESS 213 After nine years' service for religious purposes the Little House of Meeting reverted to its former estate as a store ; then it became a school house, in which Jonathan Arnold's daughter Freelove was mistress ; then in 1837, it was equipped with a printing press from which issued the first volumes of The Cale- donian ; then it again returned to private use as a dwelling house, occupied by Russell Hallett ; in those days it was decorated with strings of straw hats braided by the expert hands of Mrs. Hallett ; then it was moved down the street and was the home of Mrs. Grinnell and of William Fuller the stage driver, till 1885, when its varied career was terminated by the men who tore it down to make way for the Passumpsic Savings Bank Block. MEETING HOUSE ON THE PLAIN In the summer of 1827 the building called by this name was erected on the spot where the North Church now stands. The lot, valued at $300, was given by Dea. Luther Clark. The east gable end of the building fronted the street ; there was no vesti- bule ; the bell rope hung down beside the pulpit ; the boys of the congregation got more entertainment out of the gyrations of the bell ringer than from some other parts of the service. The pulpit was between the two entrance doors; the singer's gallery was high up across the west end. On entering, one had to meet the gaze of the congregation which ordinarily filled the house. The pews were high backed with doors rising nearly three feet from the floor. The congregation stood during the long prayer, the length of which went on toward half an hour. During the singing, turning their backs to the pulpit they faced the twenty to thirty singers who filled the gallery behind the turkey-red screens. There were four services, all well attended. Nearly all the congregation remained for the Sunday School, merely changing their seats. Erastus Fairbanks was Superintendent, and later his younger brother Joseph. James Johnson was the first minister, and after him John H. Worcester, whose father, Rev. Leonard Worcester of Peacham, might be seen occasionally sitting on the platform, his long silvery locks crowning a dignified and striking figure. 214 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY This meeting house had the first bell in the town, also the first organ ; some incidents relating to these are given elsewhere. In 1847 the building was rolled down the street and planted on the edge of the old burial ground, where it now stands directly south of the Court House. In 1856 it became by gift the property of the Academy. GETTING WOOD AND OIL ' 'Voted, to sell the furnishing of two cords of dry and four cords of green hard wood cut fit for the stoves at the meeting house and to be put in to the shed at said house, at auction, and Ephraim Jewett bid it off at ten and six- pence ($1.75) per cord solid measure. "Voted, to sell the furnishing of oil for the meeting house at auction ; and Ephraim Jewett bid it off at one dollar and thirty-two cents per gallon, to be good oil — whale oil. "Voted, to sell the tolling of the bell for funerals at auction ; and Heze- kiah Martin bid it off at twenty five cents each time. "The bell ringingfor meetings, building of fires, sweeping paths in winter and trimming and filling of lamps in the meeting house for one year, was bid off at fourteen dollars." Records Jan. 21, 1839. PROCLAMATION OF THE BANNS Formerly the publishing of the bannsi of marriage was a state ordinance. The required announcement might be posted on the church doors or given out from the pulpit. In the early settle- ment there were no church doors nor pulpits from which to publish these intentions. The banns were probably given out by the town clerk, a legal certificate handed to the groom, and entry made on the town records. The record of the first marriage in the town in 1793, states that a certificate of legal publication hav- ing been produced, the parties were married by Dr. Arnold. We find that Josias L. Arnold and Susan Perkins were legally pub- lished in February 1795. In December of the same year Samuel Ladd of Haverhill and Cynthia Hastings, widow of Jonathan Arnold were legally published. William C. Arnold and Lucy Gardiner were published legally for marriage 15th of November NOTES OF PROGRESS 215 1796. It says they were married 13th of November 1796, by Dr. Joseph Lord, in the presence of witnesses. If we admit the cor- rectness of both these dates, here was a marriage ceremony two days before the publishing of the banns. Probably November 13, was intended for both entries. In 1822, there being no minister, Dea. Luther Clark, Town Clerk, had the conduct of the Sunday service. At the close he faced the situation resolutely, saying, "I wish to announce that Miss Pamelia Porter and myself intend marriage." Rev. John H. Worcester in 1843, intending to marry Martha Clark, daughter of the aforesaid Luther and Pamelia Clark, escaped the ordeal of publishing the banns by exchanging pulpits the Sunday preceed- ing the marriage. His supply, an elderly brother, said after the long prayer — "marriage is intended between Rev. John H. Wor- cester and Miss Martha P. Clark. We will sing hymn 140." "Mistaken souls that dream of heaven! " Watts and Select, Bk. 1. ANTI-RUM AGITATION For forty years the use of ardent spirits was common, not to say universal, in this and other towns of that period. Rum had been reckoned one of the necessaries of life; it was freely distrib- uted, sold at stores and taverns; and was regarded as an essen- tial enlivener of social occasions, musters, raisings, huskings, balls and even the more dignified meets of ecclesiastical bodies. From about the year 1810 serious thought began to be given the matter by those who had the public welfare of the town at heart. The church on the hill had recently been organized, and presently among occasions for discipline we find intoxication was included. In 1818 this was publicly referred to as one of the earlier prevailing evils that was less frequent than formerly : "Magistrates would now refuse to license a house that was known to be a resort for tipplers ;" individuals used strong drink but the drunkard on the streets was becoming rare. The improved conditions however did not progress as rapidly as was anticipated. Old usages were very strongly entrenched and only a minority in the community cared to combat them. But this minority, urgent 216 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY for sobriety and social order, solicitous for the future of the grow- ing boys, kept perseveringly at work endeavoring to establish a wholesome public sentiment. In 1829 one of them wrote as fol- lows : — "In this town we keep up a steady, moderate warfare against the old wizard Intemperance. Just now about forty men have signed the Constitution of a total abstinence society. No one has been urged ; nothing done or said to induce any one to sign further than to calmly name the subject, show the Constitution and let them act uninfluenced except by their own cool judg- ment." The little old book in which those forty autographs were written, with twenty-one more presently added, is now preserved at the Athenaeum, a very interesting relic of the men of that period. As this was a turning point in the history of the town on one of its most important public questions, those 61 names repre- senting the unbiased judgment of the signers are entered on this page, not including one which is indistinctly written : — I^uther Clark John Barney Alanson Crossman Sam'l Crossman Thomas Bishop Moses Kittredge Erastus Fairbanks Jos. P. Fairbanks Charles Hosmer l,uther Jewett Wm. C. Arnold Epbraim Jewett Thos. McKnight James Melvin fester Rice Jubal Harrington Ezekiel Vose Joseph Stiles Hull Curtis Titus Snell Chester Guy George Stone Augustus Monroe I^an son 1,. Rice James Ramsey I,uther Jewett, Jr. James C. Fuller Edmund Hallett Ira Davis Hezekiah Martin James Wheaton Geo. C. Barney Isaac Harrington Ebenezer Severance Jonathan I. Hastings Geo. W. Fielding Jacob Sanderson James Johnson Willard Cook Erastus Fielding Geo. C. Wheeler Wm. T. Porter Benjamin Eaton I^ewis Snell Valentine Clement Robert Swett Mark C. Webster James Harris David D. Hoyt Baruch Snell Nelson Wright Charles Johnson Jonathan Marsh Willard Kneelaud Samuel Eaton , Jr. J. S. Johnson Erastus Clifford Joseph Clark John Rowlun Elisha Peck We note here the names of a large proportion of the influen- tial men of the town ; some others equally interested were in this movement tho it happens that their signatures do not appear. The paper is drawn up in the handwriting of Luther Clark, mer- chant and town clerk. The moral influence of such a combination of total abstainers at that period was unquestionably great. Quarterly public meetings were held, and thus began the work of The St. Johnsbury Temperance Society. NOTES OF PROGRESS 217 It is interesting to know that three months later, announce- ment was made in the Farmer's Herald by Dea. Luther Clark that beginning with the month of June 1829, the sale of ardent spirits would be entirely discontinued at Clarks and Bishop's, the princi- pal store in the town. This circumstance was well calculated to make a sensation. Other events were influencing the public senti- ment. "In the north part of our town two buildings were erected last week without the use of ardent spirit, neither was any used in the framing. Both employers and workmen were better pleased than with their former custom, and they deserve the thanks of every friend of temperance and humanity." In 1830, two of the military companies of the town voted to dispense with the usual beverages at a public parade to be held in Lyndon. On the Fourth of July that year it was noted with great satisfaction that no spirits were served on the tables during the celebration at the East Village and that very few men were seen sipping at the hotel bar. Seven years later however, 19,000 gallons were reported as sold in this and eight neighboring towns ; which amount if divided equally would give 2111 gallons to each town. THE MORMON INVASION 1835 In 1900 two men called at No. 6 Park street to make inquiry about the early church records of the town. Their errand was to get information about their parents who they thought might have been baptised in the Old First Church. Presently they announced themselves as Mormon Elders from Utah, sons of William Snow who was born here in 1806, and of Erastus Fairbanks Snow born in 1818, both of whom early followed Joseph Smith and ulti- mately became Mormon apostles. St. Johnsbury had long lost sight of her distinguished sons of Mormondom ; but after this visit of the younger Snows some threads of Mormon history were gathered up from various sources and are here put on record. It will be remembered that Joseph Smith, a native of Sharon, Vt., launched his new religion in 1830, and pushed the propaganda with tremendous energy. In a narrative of reminiscences given out many years afterward, Smith himself is named as the man 218 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY who came here in 1835 with some of his zealots and created a sensation. As to the man who headed the invasion there may be some question, but none whatever as to the stir that was made. Headquarters were in the Chesterfield district, north of East Vil- lage ; the Snow farms were in that neighborhood and one of their barns was used for a meeting house. Among other things the leader claimed the power to heal by the laying on of hands, and many sick people came or were brought to him with great ex- pectations ; in the crowd was a woman who had been for years in her bed ; one who saw her that day says she got no good. The popular excitement however continued, many were converted and baptized in the stream that ran near the barn ; this performance drew large crowds ; at one time a boy who had climbed a tree to get a better view, slipped and fell plump in to the water, receiving what was called an involun- tary baptism. Benoni Chase, a blind man who had considerable property "was persuaded to cast in his lot with the Mormons and was never heard of afterwards." Quite a number of families of the town, including the Snows, sold their farms and went off with Smith to the Promised Land, which at that time was Kirtland, Ohio. They went in large canvas-covered wagons, men, women and children and all their household goods. Seventy years after- wards a woman who witnessed the scene said, "I remember seeing them start off, and one woman stopped as they passed the East Village grave-yard, and went in to visit her child's grave be- fore they left the place forever." Erastus Fairbanks Snow was ordained one of the twelve apostles of the Latter Day Saints in 1849, and for nearly forty years magnified his apostolic mission. He had good natural ability and was said to be superior to Brigham Young as a preacher. In the Southern States he made hundreds of converts ; it was chiefly thro his energetic management that the first Mor- mon Temple in Utah was built. William Snow was one of the two first Mormon pioneers to enter the Salt Lake Valley ; he too became an Apostle. A younger brother, also born in St. Johns- bury, Zerubbabel Snow, was appointed by President Fillmore one of the first chief justices of Utah. Congressman Landis of NOTES OF PROGRESS 219 Indiana in one of his speeches on the Roberts case called the Snows the leading advisers of Brigham Young, and remarked that "they were the most consistent Mormons in the whole bunch." THE MORMON BARN After the migration of the Snows there was not much left to make Chesterfield a popular resort. In after years the memory of the Mormon invasion was vividly ^recalled by some who were youngsters at the time. A man in his eighty-third year told about the Sunday meetings in the barn. "There was a big crowd that gathered at the Snow barn. The Mormon Elders sat along the high beams. They let the women folks in lower down like, and gave them seats in the bay. The other men and we boys were packed in helter-skelter all around the best we could. It was Sunday but a regular holiday for everybody. " That old barn is still standing, on the Abiel Hovey farm, and is familiarly spoken of as "the meeting house" — a meeting house lamentably out of repair, fit haunt for screech owls and bats. During the Mormon occupation it stood on the meadow by Gage's brook, not far from the highway ; now it is in the edge of the maple grove on the hillside, and is used for a sugar house. While going up to visit this ancient shrine the other day, the shrill note of a whip-poor-will, unusual hereabout, seemed to be vehemently lashing it, as if determined to wake whatever old time memories might be slumbering under its mouldering roof. THE CALEDONIAN "Here shall the Press the People's Rights maintain, Unawed by influence and unbribed by gain ; Here patriot Truth her glorious precepts draw, Pledged to Religion, Liberty and Law." These words from Joseph Story stood for eighteen years at the head of the editorial column of The Caledonian. They set forth with exactness the spirit and endeavor of its founder. At the solicitation of prominent citizens, Albert G. Chadwick came here from Concord, N. H., in 1837 and established The Caledo- nian, the first number of which was printed on his hand press in a 220 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY small building once used for a house of worship near the head of Maple street. It was a felicitous thought that selected for this paper a name so distinctive and so appropriate to its location ; there was dignity alike in the name and in the ideal as outlined in the saluta- tory, viz : — "We this week present to the public the first number of the Cale- donian. * * This paper will advocate and sustain the interests of the Whig party so far as they shall tend to promote the good of the people, the protection of American industry, strict accountability to the people of public servants, the cause of temperance and equal rights. * * Our press shall be free ; free to discuss all subjects that relate to our freedom as a nation from tyranny in every form. To be free as a people we must drink deep of the spirit of Christianity, be clothed in its strength ; its high and holy in- fluences must be the spring of all our motives and actions ; we must partic- ipate in its nature and receive its principles in to our hearts. To be free we must be intelligent ; must exercise the high prerogatives of free men, the personal right to inquire, examine, and exercise our own judgment on every subject which has relation to the present and future interests of humanity." These were more than pleasant words, they were profound convictions ; to carry out their spirit the editor gave himself with untiring energy and ability for eighteen years, and won for the Caledonian a place among the foremost journals of the state. Mr. Chadwick's public spirit and activity in every good cause made him a valued public servant ; he held many positions of trust and honor. He married Capt. Martin's daughter Helen, and built the white cottage now adjoining St. Aloysius on the north. In 1855 he sold the paper to Rand, Stone and Company and two years later C. M. Stone became sole proprietor of The Caledonian, which he edited with signal ability till his death in 1890. Like his predecessor, Mr. Stone was a man of convictions ; he did not hesitate to sound a clear note on all current questions, whether with or against the views of many of his readers. Under his edi- torial conduct for thirty-three years The Caledonian gained repute as an independent journal respected for its outspoken opinions, its clean and wholesome principles. Its high character was main- tained with filial fidelity for nineteen years by Arthur F. Stone, who in 1889 had obtained a half interest with his father in the paper. After being held for fifty-five years in one family the Caledonian was purchased in 1909 by W. J. Bigelow of Burling- NOTES OF PROGRESS 221 ton, whose experience on the staff of the Free Press and as Mayor of the City gave him special fitness for editorial management. The Caledonian goes in to the last quarter-century of its career with a dignified, forceful and fearless voice on all public issues. THE NEWSPAPER OF 1837 We are interested to see what our people found to read in the first issue of their new paper called The Caledonian. We look in vain for a column of local items. Aside from advertisements and announcement of Dea. John Clark's death by being thrown from his chaise while going down Sand Hill, there is little to indicate that St. Johnsbury was in the world of events seventy-five years ago. If Jones' hen had laid an egg t or Smith's girl was on a visit to her aunt, the public is not informed. State politics, Van Burenism, foreign advices, good family reading cover the field of intelligence. The excerpts that follow are samples. "The Peoples' Convention; Anti-Van Buren. The Green Mountain Boys are emphatically awake. A larger Convention was never holden in Vermont ; more than 700 were present at Montpelier, from all parts of the state. We can truly say we never saw a more dignified assembly of men. Coming as they did from various and distant sections, at a most hurrying season of the year, at a time when the best men could hardly get money enough to buy a dinner, to consult together for the public good, we may well conclude that Vermont is awake, emphatically awake. Death of the King \ The ship Harold from Liverpool 14th of June, ar- rived at Boston the 24th of July. Information that specie payments had been suspended by our banks had produced considerable consternation in England. Advices from London the 20th of June announce the death of King William that day. The Princess Victoria becomes by this event, Queen of England. Notice. The annual meeting of the St. Johnsbury Anti-Slavery Society will be held in the Congregational Meeting House at the Center Village, Wednesday, 6 Sept., 2 o'clock P. M. Nathan Stone, Sec. Joe Smith, who made the late emission of Mormon bank notes is a lead- ing Van Buren man. Emigrants from Great Britain not being able to get employment, are returning by the New York packets. They will go back well cured of Van Burenism which has made such havoc of the prosperity of the country. 222 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY To Clothiers. Shedd and Jewett have on hand the following Dye Stuffs, —Logwood, Madder, Alum, Nicaragua, Fustic, Cam Wood, Blue Vitriols, Copperas, Nut Galls. For The Caledonian. Freeman of Vermont : As Martin Van Buren has declared he will veto any law made by Congress for abolishing slavery in that place which ought to be the citadel of Freedom, so let your ballots veto what little influence he now has in this state, and re-assert that part of our Constitution which declares that all men are born equally free and independ- ent. FIRST |VIeETINgHoi]5E 1804 pRST ^lCAPEMY 1843. F1R.ST ^t.JohnsburyHouje J 1850 XVIII EIGHTEEN-HUNDRED-FORTY A TURNING POINT— THREE VILLAGES — INVENTORY — APPRAISALS — LIVE STOCK — DOCTORS — AILS AND REMEDIES — OLD TIPPE- CANOE— EXUBERANT WHIGS. MDCCCXL It is not probable that anyone living here in 1840 recalled the fact that that was the semi-centennial year of the organization of the town. The period for retrospect was yet a long way off ; local history was of no consequence whatever. Everybody was busy with the day's jobs or happenings in the leisurely fashion of a small country community. About 25 houses were strung along either side of the street on the Plain. Ephraim Jewett sold dry goods, J. C. Bingham distributed drugs, Capt. Martin built sad- dles, Hull Curtis cut coats and pantaloons, George Barney pegged shoes and shouted for Van Buren, William Fuller drove the stage, Moses Kittredge handed out the mail, and John Crossman reeled off creels of stories in the stores or wherever else men did con- gregate. Familiar names at the East Village were Harrington, Lee, Morrill, Severance, Goodall, Chapman, Blinn ; at the Cen- ter, Bacon, Hallett, Ide, Butler, Morse, Pierce, Cobb, Ranney, Wright, Ayer, Shorey, Stiles. A few of the early fathers of the town still lingered on the fields they had won from the forest in their stalwart young manhood — David Goss, Simeon Cobb, Oliver Stevens, Martin Wheeler, Asa Lee, Barnabas Barker, Nath'l Bishop, Sullivan Allen, Abel Shorey, Philo Bradley, and Joel Roberts, possibly others. 224 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY St. Johnsbury was still a quiet farming town with some manufacturing interests of considerable promise and an increasing number of intelligent artisans. No one suspected however that a point of turning had been reached and that the wheels of industry- were already beginning to shape a new destiny for the town. This view of the situation is expressed in a paragraph written forty years later by a former resident : — "It is a rare thing for a staid, sleepy old New England town to suddenly arouse itself from a fifty years' sleep, and by one bound pass from the confines of the grave to a living, active, bustling town of some thousand inhabitants — as the town of St. Johnsbury did about 1840, or after the manufacture of scales was fairly under way." The scale business at that time was in its ninth year ; Huxham Paddock's iron works were in full blast ; other small mills and factories were running briskly. The town as at this date was entered in Thompson's Vermont as follows : — ST. JOHNSBURY "A post town in the easterly part of Caledonia County. The business of the town centers in three villages. The Center Village, so called, lies upon the Passumpsic River, in the northerly part of the town. In it are three meeting houses, two stores, one tavern, a saw mill, grist mill, clothier's works, tannery and various mechanics. The East Village, situated upon Moose River is the natural centre for the business of parts of St. Johnsbury, Waterford, Concord, Kirby, Victory and Bradleyvale. It contains a meeting house, two stores, one tavern, a grist mill, saw mill, oil mill, tannery and several mechanics. "The pleasant village called The Plain, containing a meeting house, academy, public house, two stores, a printing office and other mechanics, is in the southerly part of the town ; it is central between Paddock's Furnace and Fairbanks Manufactory, the former on the Passumpsic and the latter on Sleeper's River. The establishment of Mr. Huxham Paddock consists of a blast furnace, and a machine shop for the finishing of every description of mill gear and ordinary machinery. Here also are a grist and saw mill, a carriage factory, a factory for making sash, doors, blinds, etc., on a respect- able scale. The establishment of E. and T. Fairbanks and Co., is devoted principally to the manufacture of cast iron plows and patent balances. The latter article is manufactured by them extensively, being adapted to all the various operations required to be transacted by weight. It has been patented in the United States and in England and is now in extensive use in both countries, possessing the entire confidence of the people." EIGHTEEN-HUNDRED-FORTY CENSUS OF 1840 225 Population Polls Houses Horses Oxen Cows Sheep 1916 346 266 585 202 952 8088 Neat Cattle Swine Wheat Barley Oats Rye Corn 2960 1383 24,786 bush. 286 28,382 212 6950 Buckwheat Potatoes Hops Wool Sugar Wax Hay 1U50 74,115 24 lbs. 14,599 50,520 56 lbs. 4953 tons The appraised value of houses and lots was $80,689 ; value of dairy products $16,610 ; value of household goods $5,405. The total of improved land was 9089 acres, valuation $66,558. Of the population there were 362 farmers, 142 manufacturers, 11 profes- sional men, 11 revolutionary pensioners, 2 were blind and one a town charge. There were 682 school children ; 20 persons over twenty years of age could neither read nor write. Some fragmentary sample appraisals from the listers' books are here appended : — Wm. C. Arnold 100 ac. land $1000 2 horses 60 7 cows 91 11 sheep 11 Ira Armington Tavern stand $1800 Saddler's shop 250 Cow $15, Horse $35 50 1 Chaise ► 25 4 Shoats 13.50 2 Watches 70 Capt. Sam'l French Thaddeus Fairbanks 20 ac. & Tavern 1300 9i ac. & house 3000 14 horses 550 1 carriage 100 7 heifers 25 Two watches 50 3 colts, yrl. 30 Furniture 200 E. and T. Fairbanks Ephraim Paddock Foundry $300 Land & bldgs. $2700 Work Shop 550 Live Stock, 76 349 Store House 300 Wool, 800 lbs. 240 Plow Shop 75 500 yds. Cloth 300 Scale Shop 200 Huxham Paddock Saw and Grist Mill 1000 Furnace, Foundry Counting house 350 machinery $4000 David Goss Jr. 183 acres $2250 1 saw mill 250 4 oxen 85 12 cows 150 20 70 14 sheep Luther Jewett i ac. & house $450 Stock medicines 300 Polly Ferguson i ac. & house $100 Abel Butler 365 acres $5450 Live Stock, 209 774 Chaise 45, Gig 5 Widow Polly Snell 2 oxen $70 1 bull $15 18 sheep 22, 1 hog 6 7 Cows 115 226 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Lambert Hastings - Mrs. Olive Hibbard Stephen Hawkins 177 Acres $3064 1 Carding mach. $400 Gristmill $100 Cattle, horses 801 1 Store 400 75 Sheep 85 Hay, grain 125 H. N. Roberts Joel Roberts 500 lbs. wool 125 1 Threshing Mach. $100 2 Cows $28 CATTLE Up to this date the so called native breeds of sheep and cat- tle were the only ones on our farms. The old red cow which has been standing now 134 years on the field of our state coat-of-arms (as if complacently chewing her cud amidst the mutations of our human affairs) is a representative of the good native stock first brought to our town. The original of the native red cow was un- doubtedly the English Devon, early imported by the fathers of New England. An introduction of new stock in to this town was made in 1846 by Joseph P. Fairbanks, whose imported Herefords attracted attention by their large bulk and white heads. He also enriched his fine flock of sheep by the addition of some valuable Cotswolds ; these yielded in lambs and wool a profit one spring of $4.75 each in a flock of forty-one. On the spot where they were folded is a residence now known as The Sheepcote. "The droves of cattle come along; a dust-haze down the road, the mooing of cows and the baaing of calves and the shouts of the drovers, the sound of many hoofs, and the cattle are here. The farmer saunters out to look them over, children come up to see the yearlings with bits of horns and the stocky two-year-olds soft-eyed or wild-eyed, sleek or touseled." All beef and mutton for home use was raised on the near-by farms, but a considerable business was growing up in supplying city markets. Lambert Hastings, whose brick house and spa- cious stock yards and barns were a landmark near the -foot of Hastings' Hill, was a well known dealer in cattle, who made pe- riodic trips with his droves to the Boston market. The only way of transportation at that time was by tramping the entire distance on foot. One day, this writer, then a boy, was standing near a store in Derry Lower Village, N. H. It happened that a large drove of cattle hove in sight coming down the turnpike from the north ; stalking along behind them was the sturdy, familiar figure EIGHTEEN-HUNDRED-FORTY 227 of Lambert Hastings. These cattle he had driven from St. Johns- bury ; the next day he would have them delivered at the shambles in Brighton. Some years later the Passumpsic Railroad offered new facilities and the old picturesque lines of cattle on the road disappeared from view. The Boston Courier of Sept. 10, 1855, reported the freight bill of Lambert Hastings of St. Johnsbury, Vt., for cattle brought to Cambridge in one week, at $718.15. MEDICAL MATTERS How the eleven professional men of 1840 are to be classified is not entirely clear. There were two settled ministers, John H. Worcester at the Plain, Josiah Morse at the Center ; one lawyer, Judge Paddock; four doctors, Calvin Jewett, Morrill Stevens, Geo. C. Wheeler of the East and Jerry Dickerman of the Center Village — all of whom were excellent physicians in their day. Luther Jewett had been doctor, minister, congressman, editor, and was of course one of the professional eleven ; the other three do not appear. Dr. Calvin Jewett, a spirited and patriotic citizen had been here nearly twenty years and had a large practice. He built the house which is now the Girls' Cottage of the Academy, also the original of the house just north of the South Church, in which he lived and died. Near by it was the small box of an office — popularly denominated pill-shop or snuff-box — painted pink on the outside and scented pungently on the inside with divers sorts of drugs and medicines. One survivor of his ancient uncouth medicine bottles of 1840, now in possession of the writer, still re- tains a fragment of the old label and some fifty doses of the original ipecac that failed of getting into the juvenile stomachs of that period. Dr. Morrill Stevens lived in a small house on the site of the present Post Office, near the village pump. When his brother Hon. Thaddeus Stevens came up from Pennsylvania, and riding across the Plain with his coach and span driven by a negro in livery, drew up at the Doctor's door, that small house assumed importance in the popular eye. The Doctor like his brother was a pronounced abolitionist and kept anti-slavery literature in his 228 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY house for distribution. He was a good physician and much re- spected as a man. Jonathan Arnold was grandfather of Mrs. Stevens. The two sons, Thaddeus and Alanson, left orphans in 1847, were taken to Pennsylvania by their uncle Thaddeus ; they became officers in the Union Army ; Alanson, while leading a dash to recover his guns at Chickamauga, was shot, and his body left on the field was never found. MEDICAL PRACTICE IN 1840 Dr. Morrill Stevens submitted the following statement, which illustrates methods then in use : — "Horace Goss suffered fracture of the leg from a falling tree. The frac- ture was readily reduced ; the patient was comfortable and in good spirits for twelve hours. Then stupor set in and twelve hours later coma. Dr. Wheeler was called in as counsel. Leg appeared well, but pulse was 90 and breath labored. Practice instituted was to bleed from arm with irritants at back of neck. No improvement. Dr. Alexander was called in. Disease was pronounced inflammation of the brain. Patient was bled from jugu" lar vein and snow was applied to head in bladders. Eight hours later no perceptible effect. Pulse 130. Narcotics and stimulants now substituted, but patient sank and on the fourth day expired. May not this be the effect of what is technically called the nervous shock? The life of this young man needs no eulogy. His excellent qualities will long be remembered" "Small pox. After escaping the ravages of this loathsome disease it be- hooves every one to be innoculated, and all who will call soon I will innocu- late gratis. Should another such case occur as did in Waterford lately, yourselves, your wives, your little ones, your cattle and your pigs might fall a prey to it." Dr. Stevens. A valuable register of maladies prevalent in 1840 is preserved in the following local announcement : — "Brandreth's Pills, of which 80,000 boxes have been sold in two years, have cured thousands of people of consumption, influenza, asthma, dis- pepsia, headache, sense of fulness, apoplexy, jaundice, fever and ague, gout, bilious, typhus, scarlet and yellow fever, rheumatism, liver complaint, pleurisy, depression, rupture, inflammation, sore eyes, fits, palsy, dropsy, small pox, measles, croup, whooping cough, quinsy, cholic, gravel, worms, dysentery, cholera morbus, deafness, ringing noises, scrofula, ery- sipelas, white swelling, ulcer, cancer, tumors, swelled feet, St. Anthony's Fire, salt rheum, frightful dreams, etc. etc." ? ? EIGHTEEN-HUNDRED-FORTY REMEDIES IN VOGUE 1840 229 Some few other resources our fathers had for repelling the incursions of the enemy as may be seen in the list of remedies put forth Aug. 8, 1837, and statedly thereafter from Dr. Jewett's Medicine Shop, St. J. Plain. Alcohol Antimony An's Cough Drops Alb. Cora Plaster Anise Seed Aethiops Min. Aqua Amnion. Arsenic Arrow Root Asafoetida Bismuth Oxide Balsam Peru Benzoic Acid Blistering Plaster Burgundy Pitch Barbadoes Tar British Antiseptic Calomel Camphor Castor Oil Chloride Lime Castile Soap Cream Tartar Carbonate Ammonia Cautharides Copaina Balsam Cowhage Cochineal Colocyuth Cubebs Oil of Clove Sassafras Origamum Peppermint Pennyroyal Hemlock Tansy Wormwood Rosemary Spike Juniper Gentian Turpentine Rhubarb Magnesia Soda Liquorice Glamber Salts Ipecac Uva Ursi Spirits Nitre Jallop Iodine Seneka Valerian Squills Tartar Emetic Sugar Lead Rotten Stone Quick Silver Essence of Life Indian Plaster Lunar Caustic Quinine Sulph. Carb. Ammonia Peruvian Bark White Vitriol vSal Ammonia Carb. of Iron Toothache Pills Asthmatic Pills Jewett's Pills Hooper's Pills Morrison's Pills Thayer's Pills Brandeth Pills Family Blue Pills Reeplu Bon Drops Headache Snuff Vegetable Pills Juniper Berry Prussic Acid Jebb's Liniment Newton's Panacea Hydrate Potash D. Itch Ointment Carget Root Gold Thread Mandrake Motherwort Caraway Skunk Cabbage Ipecac Pectoral Elixir Russell's Itch Remedy Remedy for Piles Cure for Gravel Diachylon Plaster Hydr. of Potash Corrosive Sublimate Nifflle Shells Nux Vomica Paregoric Pulmonary Balsam Sugar of Lead Unguentum Nitric Acid Sperma Ceti Henbane Creosote Sulphate Potash Sias' Ointment Lavender Spirits Brimstone Stramonium Cicuta Salts and Senna Black Mustard Elecampane Blood-root Sassafras Hemlock Golden Seal Prickly Ash Bark This makes a modest assortment of one hundred and twenty four specifics in circulation among our people at that time. Rye- gate may have been better supplied than St. Johnsbury, for Dr. White's account books record one hundred and forty remedies used, of which physick was most in demand having been admin- istered fifteen hundred times. PETTY ACCOUNTS "Read till your eyes go out, can you gather from what is called History any dimmest shadow as to how men lived, what wages they got, what they bought and sold ?" Carlyle 230 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY It is to answer the above inquiry in part that a few extracts are here introduced from some old account books, of periods ranging from 1821 to 1845. These small items do not cover all that the sage of Craigenputtock calls for, but they present for our enlightenment a few names, a few articles purchased, a few types of spelling, a few prices paid. Details of dates from day- books are not necessary : — ACCOUNT BOOK OF ASA LEE 1821 Elisher Griswold 3 lbs. Shugar .37 1 lb. talow .17 Huxum Padok To 7 lbs. butter 1.25 J. Harrington Jly 3, took 1 cow to keep . Oct. 3, cow ret'd Benj. Hadlock | bush, onians .45 lode wood .25 Elisha Griswal To leather for your wife's shoes .75 Amos Piper 1 pk ry meal .25 24 punkins .24 1 pig 6 wks oald $1 1 qurt wiskey .25 ACCOUNT BOOK DR. CALVIN JEWETT 1836 Jos. P. Fairbanks To med. vis. babe (E. T. F.) $1.00 Hezekiah Martin 3 doz Dewees tinct. op. .50 Eph. Chamberlin Call, consult, presc. wife 1.00 Ezek. Manchester 4 doz. pills box by stage 1.00 Hiram Knapp To vis med wife .50 John Houghton 3 doz. pills act. lead op. Mother .50 David Drown vis med 4 doz pills Nancy .50 Erastus Fairbanks vis med to bleed wife .50 ACCOUNT BOOK CHAUNCEY SPAULDING 1838 Fred Bugbee To fixing loom .25 2 lites glass .12 Making tung & rowl churn dash .25 J Ripley Fixing bunet .75 nessarys for Padoc $4.41 Pat McMenus Making a raddle .34 fix winders & puty .40 Blake Powers Military book .63 1 training fether .75 James Works To pig $1 Paint sch. house $1 D. Lee Making wood box .50 Cart Ex. .13 J. Spaulding 1 ton hay $5 Keeping 5 2 yr. olds 10 wks $10 Joel Owen Boarding school mistress 2.64 Keeping Joel's horse 5 shil, a week EIGHTEEN-HUNDRED-FORTY 231 ACCOUNT BOOK J. C. BINGHAM 1840 Erastus Fairbanks 2 oz paregoric .30 Ess. pept. .12 Solomon Andrews pr. George 1 pint gin bloodroot .25 Owen Donegan 1 box worm lozenges .25 Moses Kittredge Qt. Alcohol, nearly .29 A. G. Chadwick Town St. Johnsbury, pills .13 ink .13 Paddock's man 1 pint gin .11 Thaddeus Fairbanks 1 cork screw .30 ACCOUNT BOOK CALVIN STONE 1842 Ephraim Jewett To raisins and walnuts .04 Rev. Hollis Sampson 10 lbs. butter 1.25 Ira Armington £ pint rum .08 Titus Hutchinson 2 pipe tobacco .04 Leonard Wright Laying 23 rods pump logs 5.00 Dunbar Wheeler Fixing whippltree .06 Jonas Flint i qr. paper .13 quills .03 .16- School District 12 Chalk .06 2 shts paper .02 .08 DIARY OF THE 1840 BOY Jan. 2 Old cat sick this morning Evening cat better Jan. 7 Played games and got hooked on the jaw bone of an ass Jan. 10 Boiled down some maple syrup to sugar off, but it all boiled over and made a big smudge Jan. 17 After school went out to slide with a whole slew of boys. Got an old bucket fixed on for a seat but it tipped us all over going down Jan. 20 Bought 10 cents worth of pictures of foxes, dogs and rabbits Feb. 4 Skated ten miles. Got home and made some skooters Feb. 5 Stayed home sick. Got an old clock to tinker on but couldn't make it go Feb. 20 We boys borrowed Mr. Bingham's old pung and hitched the old mare to it and went off for a ride. The old thing broke down in the middle, but we got it back after a good while and didn't ride any more Mch. 14 An agent preached at the meeting house today and I've forgot his name Apr. 13 Went up to devil's den with the boys, got some ice but didn't sugar off Apr. 14 Fast day and the minister preached on ? May 10 Went over to Pumpkin Hill to help buy a cow May 20 Went and bought a lantern for 30 cents and lighted myself home 232 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY May 22 Boys came and we went and had big games of I spy in the hay mows June 2 Studied some and cut my hair and did some other things Sept. 5 Election day, everybody gone up to Center Village to vote Sept. il Climbed up the night-hawk tree and got a peck of butternuts Sept. 13 Caught a woodchuck and went to put a collar on to him, but he acted ugly Sept. 21 Saw about 50 ants carry off a caterpillar. They punched him down in to their hole with a stick in their paws, the way Ben punches dirt around a fence post to make it stay firm. I guess that cater- pillar felt firm THE WHIGS OF 1840 "I look with pride on what the Whigs have done for the cause of human progress and happiness ; to them is due the establishment of the House of Commons, the abolition of the slave trade, the extension of popular education and liberty." Macau lay. Political enthusiasm ran high during the William Henry Har- rison presidential campaign. St. Johnsbury was intensely Whig in sentiment. As early as Feb. 18, 1840, a list of two hundred and twelve names of Harrison men were announced in the local paper. The same paper called down the North Star for support- ing Van Buren's corrupt administration by the publication of twenty-two democratic lies in a recent issue. Whereupon the Star let it be known that the Whigs were a very naughty set. "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" was the Whig slogan. Tippecanoe meetings were held in the school houses of the town. Proces- sions marched thro the streets with log cabins; which the Whigs had taken up as party insignia ; (the Loco-focos having sneered at Harrison as better fitted to inhabit an Ohio log cabin with a barrel of hard cider, than the White House.) Women waving handkerchiefs cheered these street parades, boys shouted, every- body seemed of the opinion that "A change of the Administration Will be for the good of the nation, For it is now in a bad condition. So we'll put in Old Tippecanoe ! The best thing we can do Is to put in Old Tippecanoe ; EIGHTEEN-HUNDRED-FORTY 233 "And send the whole posse a packing, Van Buren and all of his backing, For we've tried 'em and found 'em all lacking. An' we'll put in Old Tippecanoe ; For 'tis time that this reign should be ended, We never shall see the times mended Till we put in old Tippecanoe." When November came around they put in old Tippecanoe ; the vote in this town was for Harrison 220, for Van Buren 113. "And little Van, Van, was a used up man." On the day of Harrison's inauguration, March 4, 1841, "the Dawn of a New Political Era was celebrated at Hutchinson's Hotel, St. Johnsbury Plain, by a very respectable collection of Ladies and Gentlemen from this and neighboring towns. The occasion was not one of bonfires and illumination; but of joyful festivity and heartfelt gratitude for the termination of past politi- cal usurpation and the prospect of the reign of true republican principles." Some strains of the political talk current among our towns- men of that date survive in the thirty-six toasts that followed the banquet, a few of which are here given. By Erastus Fairbanks. The Ballot Box— the true Palladium of the Rights of Freemen ; a sure corrective of the abuses of government, never to be neglected by any who deserve the name of American Citizens. By Ephraim Paddock. The Late Administration — it will be remem- bered as long as the Dark Day, and for the same reason. By Dr. Calvin Jewett. Martin Van Buren— -by showing contempt for the opinions of the people in opposing the Sub-Treasury scheme he planted the first upright of his own gallows ; endorsing the standing army project he erected a second ; his declaration that he would take care of the government and let the people take care of themselves formed the top beam ; the false- hoods and slanders retailed and endorsed by him against Wm. Henry Harrison, the Peoples' Friend, formed the cord and fixed the rope around his own neck ; this day public opinion expressed thro the ballot box has let fall the drop, and his political body is now hanged on his own gallows. By Charles S. Dana. Hatrison y s Election — the genuine Voice of the People above the clamor of a faction by which it has so long been counter- feited. 234 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY By Asa L. French. William Henry Harrison — weighed in the balance of Public Opinion and never found wanting. By A. G. Chadwick. Mrs. Harrison— in her domestic habits and in the spotless purity of her life a worthy example for imitation by the younger daughters of our Republic. By Dr. Morrill Stevens. The American Females— rightly educated they are the embellishment of our Republic. May Venus and Minerva walk side by side ; then shall the Goddess of Freedom ever spread her wings. By Moses Kittredge. Henry Clay— may the Whig Reformation go on, till Principles take the place of Policy, Virtue gain victory over Vice ; and Clay be President of these United States. Nov. 10, 1840. Who, half-a-century ago, would have ventured to predict that in the year eighteen-hundred-forty a passage would be made from Hali- fax to Liverpool in nine and a half days? Yet so it is, performed by the steam ship Britannia which left Boston Oct. 1, and on the evening of the 14th docked at Liverpool! XIX DEBATES AND BOOKS "I guess we all like to hear some one who presents those sides of a thought different from our own." Walt Whitman DEBATING CLUBS — FOP OR FOOL — ANTI-SLAVERY TALK — JEWETT MOBBED — LYCEUMS AND LECTURES — A BOOK STORE— GALIG- NANI BIDS — OLD TIME BOOKS — CIRCULATING LIBRARIES. LITERARY CLUBS AND LYCEUMS For more than forty years literary or debating clubs and lyceums were popular in the town and provided mental drill and entertainment of very substantial quality. Manuscripts read at these societies are still extant, belonging, as the coarse quality of the paper indicates, to the period of 1820 or thereafter. Brief mention is here made of some of those clubs and their doings, which included unreported speeches, essays, debates, oratorical and forensic achievements of the young men of the period. The St. Johnsbury Juvenile Literary Society was organized Jan. 31, 1821, under a constitution of 14 articles and 18 by-laws, with an oath of loyalty and secrecy. The members were under thirty years of age, meetings were held weekly, with debates, papers and essays. The Constitution, like the scribes on Moses' seat, laid heavy burdens, too grievous to be borne ; so many members had to be disciplined for failing to meet its rigid requirements, that the Society may be said to have expelled itself to death. It 236 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY had however, a vigorous spirit and did debating on questions like the following : Is it necessary that the mind be exerted for its existence, as it is that perspiration and action of the heart should go on for the existence of the body? Which was the greater dis- covery navigation or printing? Is the endowment of native genius greater in the male or the female? Who is best fitted to represent us in the Legislature, the farmer or the lawyer? Which is the greatest object of pity, the fop or the fool? Decided for the fop. The Bachelor's Club : 1824. "I remember, as a member of this society that we met one time at Abel Rice's Hotel. Dr. Morrill Stevens presided. We marched that evening in Indian file to the little building used for a meeting house ; each entered with his cloak thrown over his shoulder, took off his hat with the right hand and brushed back his hair with the left hand, then filed into our seats. George B. Mansur, then a student in Dartmouth College, gave the address, after which we marched back: to the hotel — for further entertainment?" H. K. The St. Johnsbury Anti-Slavery Society was formed in Sep- tember 1836. This was two years after the birth of the Whig party, and within a year of the first agitation against slavery in Congress ; some of the earliest petitions for its abolition in the Dis- trict of Columbia were sent in from Vermont. At the first anni- versary of this society held in the old Meeting House the follow- ing resolution introduced by Ephraim Jewett was passed — "Re- solved, that the existence of slavery in the District of Columbia is a reproach not only to the nation but to individuals ; therefore, President Van Buren's threat to the contrary notwithstanding, we will continue to petition Congress for its abolition, till the petition is granted, or all hope of success is lost." Considering the differ- ence in opinion as to the best method of dealing with the slavery question, this meeting deprecated as ungenerous and unchristian the "branding of those who do not agree with us with the epithet pro-slavery men." Dr. Hibbard Jewett, brother of Ephraim, may have been one of the originators of this Society. He removed to Dayton, Ohio, where he took strong ground against slavery. A member of DEBATES AND BOOKS 237 Congress came to Dayton Jan. 23, 1841, to speak on the subject. Being refused admittance to any public hall, a meeting was called in Dr. Jewett's house. The Mayor and other city officials were present. As soon as the meeting had dissolved and the police were away, the rabble swept down upon the house, smashed the windows and gave out that the importation of St. Johnsbury ad- vanced ideas was contrary to Dayton mob-law. The St. Johnsbury Lyceum was in operation in 1837 and for several years thereafter. Debates were had on the slavery ques- tion, on migration to the West, on the wrongs of the Indian, on the wearing of mourning apparel, on the doubtful question of a liberal education for young women. The Lyceum meetings were held in the school house on the Plain. The St. Johnsbury Acade?ny Union Club, 1844, included in its membership young men and women of the village as well as stu- dents. The Club met in the Academy ; there were declamations, dialogues, debates, essays and a literary paper entitled The Oracle. This Club accumulated a library of perhaps a hundred volumes, many of the books being contributed by citizens ; some of them are still preserved at the Athenaeum. The St. Johnsbury Literary Institute, 1850, was composed of citizens with a principal design of providing courses of lectures for public entertainment. In this the Institute was very success- ful, and for several years courses of a high order of merit were maintained. There were lectures on history, literature, travel, invention, applied science and kindred topics, that filled the meet- ing house with interested listeners. In 1851 the course was fourteen lectures ; in 1854 there was a course of eleven lectures ; total expense $312.36. Some years later the work of this Insti- tute was taken up by the Y. M. C. A. whose annual Lecture Course, maintained for forty years, became justly famous. The Youths' Institute of St. Johnsbury was organized March 9, 1852, under supervision of Erastus Fairbanks. It started with a membership of ninety lads of an average age of fifteen years. The object as indicated in the constitution was improvement in mind, in character, and in knowledge of common things, such as 238 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY nature, useful arts, invention, current history. Some topics dis- cussed were air, rain, sugar, coal mining, Benj. Franklin, Congress. This Institute did much for its members during the brief period of its existence. The record of roll call shows that nearly all the ninety members were generally present. The Firemen's Debating Club, Jan. 1857, used to meet weekly, at the engine rooms of Torrent No. 1. Public questions were warmly discussed, and with such debaters as Charles Ramsey, L. O. Stevens, Jonathan Lawrence and others, a lively interest was maintained. The St. Johnsbury Debating Club was holding its sessions during the year 1857, but no details of its doings are found. The Young Men 's Debating Club oi 'the Center Village was started in 1858. In February 1860 this Club decided that the subject of slavery had been too long mixed up with politics, therefore it is now the duty of citizens to discountenance any party based on the slavery question. The Excelsior Club. One of the brightest of literary Socie- ties was The Excelsior, which met in the parlors of the members during the fifties. It was devoted to careful studies in English literature, and drew out papers of exceptional merit and scope from its gifted writers ; among whom were Alex G. Hawes, Con- stans L. Goodell, George D. Rand, Misses Calista Downing, Lucy Mills, Sarah Fairbanks, Martha J. Crossman and others. . BOOKS AND LIBRARIES "And I thought — how natural it was in Charles Lamb to give a kiss to an old book, as I once saw him do to a copy of Chapman's Homer." Leigh Hunt The first general collection of books in the town that might be called a library was that of Judge Paddock. It included, be- sides the standard law books, works on literature and history. A voluminous f reader, with an intelligent passion for books was Joseph P. Fairbanks, who as a young man began acquiring the best that could be had, and at the time of his death in 1855 had BOOKS AND LIBRARIES 239 the most valuable library in the town. While postmaster, 1829- 1832, he opened the first bookstore on the Plain. To show what books were offered at that date the following titles are taken from his announcement. Robertson's History of America Captain Cook's Voyages Heren's Politics of Greece Journal around Hawaii Chalmers' Discourses Opie on Lying Charlotte's Daughter Waverly, Scott Rob Roy, Scott Red Gauntlet Symzonia Hemans Poems Junius' Letters Life of William Penn Beckwith's Sermons Mysteries of Udolpho Friend of Health Life in India Chastelleux's Travels Essays on Peace and War Tales of the Emerald Isle The American Chesterfield Thaddeus of Warsaw Subaltern's Log Book The Pioneers, Cooper The Prairie, Cooper Dryden's Virgil The Odyssey of Homer Montgomery's Poems Lalla Rookh Bunyan's Works Memoir Henry Martyn Paley's Philosophy Don Quixote Scottish Chiefs Traits of the Aborigines This list probably indicates in part a desire to put good read- ing before the public rather than a response to popular demand. There are no data indicating the appetite of the people for these books, but quaint little copies of Paley's Philosophy and Junius' Letters, now in the possession of the writer, look as if they might be unsold survivors of the book store of 1829. A letter from Galignani of Paris, Jan. 16, 1832, addressed to "J. P. Fairbanks Bookseller, St. Johnsbury Plain" indicates some range of correspondence by the local bookseller. The Paris pub- lishers say "we have no doubt that any trial you may make of our publications will be productive of great profit ; our books being of authors of the first merit, and gotten up in a style which we flatter ourselves even surpasses in beauty those of London. Our workmen are English and our correctors persons of learning and talent. We make you allowance of 25 and 33 per cent on list prices, bills payable in France or England." Coming forward seventeen years we find books of a different type on the shelves of the principal store in the Village, Ephraim 240 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Jewett's. Of twenty-eight books advertised one-half were of the mild sentimental sort indicated by such titles as The Remember Me Poetry of Love Young Wife's Book Floral Biography Token of Affection Simple Flower Domestic Life Autumn Flowers The Royal Sisters The Cypress Wreath Keepsake Stories Sentiment of Flowers For nearly twenty years annuals of compiled poetry or prose under titles similar to the above would be found in most families who wanted what was called good reading. Then they disappeared altogether. Some books of a hundred years ago that were in our town have come to the Athenaeum, where they are kept as old survivors that served their generation well and are now entitled to a com- fortable berth. Select Sermons, 1799 — ''presented to the First Church of St. Johnsbury in 1814, by the Missionary Society of Hampshire County, Mass." From this book sermons were read by laymen in the old Meeting House during the years when there was no minister. Isaac Watts, Psalms of David, 1799. This was the book that our forefathers sang from before the day of church singing books. With this is also a copy of the earlier version of Tate and Brady. Wilbur's Biblical Catechism, 1812. Some years before the arrival of Sunday Schools this little primer was a text book for Bible study ; this copy belonged to Phebe Jones, and she knew it from cover to cover Bible questions, 1828, bears the signature of Cora Bishop ; this was the first regular Sunday School lesson book. Bingham's American Preceptor, 1813, was a book of Reading Lessons ; with it, is Lindley Murray's English Reader, a celebrated book in its day ; the name of the owner has been cut from the fly leaf, but there is reason to think that John H. Paddock used to have to toe the mark with it. Another copy of this Reader belonged to a boy, Alvin Flint by name ; in the summer of 1832 he raised chickens to pay for it, then bought soft leather enough to cover it ; this he paid for with hogs' bristles combed out and tied in bunches to be used for shoemaker's wax ends. BOOKS AND LIBRARIES 241 History of New England for Children and Youth, by Lam- bert Lilly, Schoolmaster. This was the property of Horace Fairbanks while he was yet a lad under schoolmasters ; learning something about the value of books, in unconscious training for becoming the founder of a Public Library. Robertson's History of America, 1788. These old volumes, standard in their time, carry the autograph in bold hand of E. Sanger ; whether Eleazer Sanger of 1790, or his son Ezra Sanger, is not clear ; the next owner was Hezekiab Martin. Adam. Latin Grammar and Ainsworth's Lexicon, 1808 — J. P. Fairbanks— Bought of R. H. Deming, Postmaster 1823-1827, for $5.50. Noah Webster's Spelling Book, 1829, the famous elementary classic, which certifies that "a cat can eat a rat," and out of which more than 80,000,000 American boys and girls learned how to joint the alphabet in to words small and great — from p-i-g to met-a-phys-ics, from ba-ker to va-le-tu-de-na-ri-an-ism and then to in-com-pre-hen-si-bil-i-ty. The Vermont Repository, Rutland, 1795. Gazetteer of the State of Vermont, Montpelier, 1824 ; the property of John and Luther Clark. In this book we learn that St. Johnsbury has " a decent meetinghouse near the center of the township." CIRCULATING LIBRARIES The Ide Library. Hiram Hall Ide of the Center Village who died in 1839, had a private library which he put in to general cir- culation. The books were numbered and catalogued in an old account book, with names of the borrowers. At that time he was proprietor of the Center Village grist mill, saw mill and starch factory ; this brought him in constant contact with the farmers ; when these men came to the mills he would put books in their hands to carry back to their homes. Most of these books and the old catalogue were subsequently destroyed by fire. Mr. Ide distributed material as well as intellectual light in his day. It was his custom to put a light in his front window on dark evenings for the benefit of people returning from church 242 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY meetings. At that date there were strained relations between the churches, but the Ide light was set in place for the Universalists as regularly as for the established order. The Anti-Slavery Library. The abolitionist propaganda was active during the thirties, and an Anti-Slavery Circulating Library was established in the town. No definite information can be had about it ; the books perhaps were kept in the house of Dr. Morrill Stevens. Library of the St. Johnsbury Academy Union Club — 1844. This apparently was not restricted to the use of the school. There was quite a collection of miscellaneous books ; many of which are still preserved, some at the Academy, some at the Athenaeum. They are bound in leather, furnished with a printed book plate, on which is entered the number, the price if a purchased book, or the name of the donor. It is interesting to read on the fly leaves of these books the autographs of their former owners, in- cluding many well known citizens. The Mechanics Library. The proprietors of the scale works established this library July 7, 1855, with 800 volumes. These formed a superior collection of well chosen books in good bind- ings, and they were in constant circulation among the factory men for a good many years. The Passumpsic Railroad Library Association was formed in February 1856, with 631 volumes for the use of the railroad men and their families. The Firemans Library Association, February 1860, had an inter- esting library which was kept at first in Union Hall, afterward at the Engine room of Deluge Co. — 404 volumes. The St. Johnsbury Agricultural Library Association, organized February 4, 1864, had 300 volumes on Agriculture and kindred arts, E. A. Parks, Pres; E. Jewett, Treas. 7 he Farmers and Mechanics Library of about 500 volumes, 200 of which were on history and literature, was started in 1864 and held by stockholders. BOOKS AND LIBRARIES 243 In 1880 the Young Mens Catholic Library Association was formed with 30 members. There were 450 volumes and periodi- cals, which within two years had increased to about 800. 7 he Ladies Library Association, 1855-1872, had an interesting history. In 1853 The Ladies Reading Society was formed with 23 members, in the house of Judge Paddock. There was also The Society for Literary Inquiry. These two had in 1855 books valued at $13.73 and fifty-five cents in money. It was voted to combine with this capital ; and on May 31, 1855, The Ladies Li- brary Association was organized, its constitution fixing admission at half a dollar and an annual fee of the same amount. Begin- ning with 44 members the Association attained a maximum membership of 142, and for nearly seventeen years contributed much to the literary life of the village. At the semi-annual meet- ings valuable papers were presented and the Blue Bag opened up its store of anonymous contributions. Several lecture courses for the public were provided ; in one of these Dr. Chapin of New York gave his famous lecture entitled, The Roll of Honor ; most of the lecturers however were resident here. In January 1872, the Athenaeum having just been opened, this Association disbanded. There were then on its shelves about 400 volumes ; these were by vote donated, one half to Barnet and one half to Burke, as nucleus for similar libraries in those towns. XX EDUCATIONAL "Education consists in the fitting of the individual for life in society on the basis of morality and reason." Milton's Tractate. ARRIVAL OF THE STAGE COACH — WOODCHUCK AND A LETTER — A MAN WHO WAS REAL ESTATE — STARTING AN ACADEMY — A DORIC STRUCTURE— INSIDE VIEW— WIDENING HORIZONS — ACADEMIC BUILDINGS — FIFTY YEARS — QUELPH TO MAGO — GRADED SCHOOLS — CONSOLIDATION — A HIGH SCHOOL THE TOWN SYSTEM — VACATION SCHOOLS — SCHOOL NOTES. THE ST. JOHNSBURY ACADEMY "How dear is the name of the academy; adorned with Grecian art, beautiful with its atmosphere of repose and study; immortal for its teach- ings ; its impress felt on the intellectual life of all generations since Plato and Zenocrates." University Magazine. One evening in the summer of 1842, the four-horse stage from Concord was coming up the long hill at the foot of the street. It was enough at that time to say "the street," inasmuch as there was only one. Under the stage driver's box was the evening mail which had left Boston the day before — brought by the new railroad as far as Concord, and from that terminus staged across to Haverhill and all points north. As the stage began rolling across the Plain, a lad living at the south end was let loose to keep pace with it as far as the EDUCATIONAL 245 post office and get the evening mail. Dashing up the street he was presently at the steep pitch just above the grave yard, about where one would now turn down Eastern Avenue. It happened that at this point two boys were making their way up thro the tangle of plum trees and lilacs — one having a steel trap and the other a woodchuck which they had just brought up over the long pasture slope from the meadow. t The stump under which they had caught their game is probably mouldering somewhere under the concrete of Railroad Street. The field mice and marmots of that wild tract had, as I distinctly remember, the choice of several hundred charred stumps and logs to burrow under ; and when, somewhile later, pupils of the Academy were on the platform de- claiming of a place where "the rank thistle nodded in the wind and the wild fox dug his hole unscared," we could appropriately direct our gesture toward the spot now covered by the blocks of the Avenue House or Merchants Bank. It must not however be supposed that at that date St. Johns- bury Plain was a wilderness. Besides the twenty-nine houses more or less, in which people lived, there were some important institutions, such as a meeting house, printing office, drug shop, a district school house, hotel, and a post office quartered in Moses Kittredge's old yellow store. To this rendezvous that evening three boys came instead of one, and if the other two got no mail to brag about, they made such demonstrations of what they had in hand already, that the packet of mail carried down to the south end seemed an inconsid- erable trophy. But time holds in store its sweet revenges. What spoils of a trapper, tho brandished in the hand of a future judge of the supreme bench of the city of New York, George P. Andrews, would have survived in story all these years, except for a thing of consequence in that evening's bunch of mail? For, on its delivery to my father's hand, a letter post marked New Ipswich, was eagerly taken up — it was a square sheet folded ac- cording to the good form of that day, red-wafered, marked "paid, eighteen and three-fourths cents ; " for this was before the cheap postage era, prior to the use of envelopes, and five years before such a device as a postage stamp was brought out in 246 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY America. The letter being opened announcement was made with emphasis of satisfaction — "Mr. Colby has decided to come!" This was the man who had been invited to come and take charge of the new school that would soon be known as the St. Johnsbury Academy ; founded by the Fairbanks Brothers to be a school of good learning and of wholesome ideals. Just then the outlook was not altogether encouraging. A financial stringency was on. Doubts arose as to patronage. Some twelve or fifteen pupils only could be counted on. During the en- forced delay other teachers well recommended were ready for the principalship at a $500 salary. The projectors however, feeling the importance of a strong personality in their first Principal, had offered Mr. Colby $700 ; and he in turn, impressed with the moral earnestness of the men who were calling him, had mailed his ac- ceptance in the letter above referred to. Late in the fall of 1842, a large-framed, grave-faced farmer's son, mature in mind and in years, of whom a shrewd observer of the time remarked, "That man is real estate," got into the old farm wagon in Derry, N. H., and rode to meet the nearest stage that would take him to St. Johnsbury, a place that nobody knew much about except that it was somewhere up in Vermont. A few days later he went into a small house fixed over for the pur- pose, and there opened "a school for instruction in the higher branches," the first session of the St. Johnsbury Academy, over which for three and twenty years he was to preside ; upon which he impressed a dignity, rank and character that soon commanded respect and wide recognition. In the summer of 1843 the first Academy building was erected ; a graceful structure which introduced a new and classic type amongst the cottages around it. Its low roof of shapely slope, its front adorned with Doric pillars suggested to young eyes a little Greek temple crowning the swell of land with its quiet dignity. Access was had to the tightly fenced enclosure by twisting one's self thro the clump of rounded posts at the front ; on the south side was a space for the feminine recreations of promenading or playing tag ; on the north, the whole spacious EDUCATIONAL 247 tract where the South Church now is, was the boys' arena for heroic games of pull-away, snap-the-whip and three-year-old cat. Inside the building one is aware of a well defined atmosphere of order and attention. The master is in the high chair, behind which is seen on the east wall the lettering : "Order is Heaven's first Law." After devotions and a few quiet words about self- respect and truthfulness, the classes are called off. Mental Philos- ophy to the east room, Comstock's Chemistry to the basement, Virgil or Cicero to the high rear platform between the west ves- tibules. On this platform, over-looking all from behind, the master holds each one in his class to the point, and each pupil in the school to his eye ; the occasional tap, tap of his pencil re- minds a thoughtless pupil that that grey eye is upon him, and maybe there will be a silent tour some little way around and the characteristic mandate of a long fore-finger enforcing attention. It was not long before the Academy came to be cherished with pride and honor in the town ; its wholesome influence was impressed on the young life of the community ; it was never much advertised but its fame went abroad and pupils came to it from distant places. "It was there," said a Philadelphia banker, "that I acquired a fondness for study which was a solace and safeguard during my youth, and better still, those examples and refining influences which made my stay at St. Johnsbury the most memorable and significant period of my life." The like ex- perience was shared by hundreds of others. The enrolment for the first year was 61, for the second 164, for the fifth year 257 ; about 2000 pupils in all were under the administration of Principal Colby. On August 13, 1886, he died at the age of fifty-four, uni- versally honored and lamented. The tall granite shaft that marks his resting place at Mount Pleasant was erected by the Trustees and his former pupils at an expense of $550. Mr. Colby's immediate successor was Henry C. Ide, one of his own pupils, a recent graduate of Dartmouth College, United States Minister to Spain under President Taft. He took the position for two years only ; Elmer E. Phillips and Chas. H. Chandler each held it a brief period. With the coming of Rev. Homer T. Fuller in 1871, the new era was inaugurated. The 248 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY confidence which his superior character and accomplishments in- spired in the Trustees led up to the erection of the new brick buildings, the securing of a generous endowment, enlargement of the equipment and curriculum, and a steady growth in efficiency and patronage. During his administration of ten years the num- ber of pupils rose to 350 and more, representing many different states and exceptional grades of scholarship and character. In 1882 Mr. Fuller accepted a call to the Worcester Polytecnic and later to the presidency of Drury College. His first assistant, Charles E. Putney, took the helm and shaped the course of the school for the next fifteen years with skill and efficiency. From 1896 to 1906, David Y. Comstock was in command. His policy was broad and energetic ; during this period the charter deeds were forfeited and made more liberal, the Alumni Committee was established to co-operate with the Trustees, the "Business Col- lege" on Railroad street was annexed, the Girls Cottage was ac- quired by gift, the new endowment was secured ; a strong forward impetus resulted. The next Principal for two years was C. P. Howland, and after him Martin G. Benedict, the present incum- bent. The New Academy, which with its attendant building, South Hall, was two years in process of construction was dedicated Oct. 31, 1872. Twelve hundred people were in the hall. Statements were made by Principal Fuller and reminiscences of past years by Edward T. Fairbanks ; the rank and opportunity of the Academy in the educational system of the future was set forth in finished and forceful style by President Buckham of the University of Vermont. The semi-centennial of the Academy was observed in June 1892, at Music Hall. Wendell P. Stafford Esq., President of the Alumni Association, presided. There were historical papers by Edward T. Fairbanks and Mrs. Walter P. Smith ; the address of the day by Charles A. Prouty Esq., music, songs and odes, and a banquet at the old skating rink with abundant and varied post prandial felicities. Charles E. Putney was Principal at this time. Recollections of non-resident graduates voiced in many letters were all of one strain : — EDUCATIONAL 249 W. I hope St. Johnsbury, as well as we who live far away from that beautiful spot, appreciates what was done by the founders of the Academy, who, under God, builded better than they knew. H. My recollections of the Academy are most distinct and pleasant. Especially of that man so small in his own esteem, so great in the confidence of all, who gave to the Academy its character, fulfilling the hopes of its founders, whose name will always be conspicuous in its history. J. One aim always governed our instructors in that school, viz., to train up Christian men and women, symmetrical in character, having high purpose, pure thoughts and true culture of soul. And so, go where you will, you find that most who got their training at that Academy have been" true to the principles there taught and exemplified. P. My mind is busy with memories of the dear old Academy. How ma- jestic those columns above the front used to look to us ; how well I remember the faces of those who used to gather on that broad piazza. To me, and I am sure to you, the central figure round which all else revolved was that self-poised, princely man, and rarely gifted teacher, of whom I stood in awe at first, then loved and honored as I have few men ever— Principal Colby. During the first forty years, E. and T. Fairbanks and Co. as a private firm or as individuals met all expenses incurred for real estate, buildings, equipment and annual arrears. In 1867 these obligations were assumed by Mr. Thaddeus Fairbanks, who also erected the new brick buildings which cost $110,000. In 1881, a permanent endowment was established, mostly from the same original sources, of $100,000. It was not many years before depre- ciation of values, failure of returns and the increasing cost of main- taining such a school resulted in deficits which were annually made up by the Trustees and some friends ; until in 1904 the Alumni and others interested replenished the endowment with $666,666.66. In 1912 some citizens contributed $6000 for the establishment of an industrial department which went into operation the following year. The tuition rate of $46 a year covers less than one third the cost of education per pupil, which approximates $76 a year. THE NEW ACADEMY OF 1873 Letter ir.om Quelph to Mago — his seatmate in 1846: Dear mago : — I've been to visit the old Academy, and I find it all new ; nothing as it was in the days when you and I marched up to 250 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY school in our brass-buttoned jackets. The old white Academy of Doric pillars and big round chimney has disappeared. The clump of gate posts we used to wriggle in and out of is pulled up by the roots. The two tamaracks, down one of which you remember I had the pleasure of making a public descent one recess, when it was said unto me, "You may come down," are both down them- selves. In the midst of our old play-ground, where you and John were leaping frog that May morning when the ground was slip- pery, as you had occasion to remember, is a big church, from the tower of which the village clock gives out the time of day. The old tavern stand is converted into a Club House and moved back to make room for South Hall with its tenements and dormitories, and between that and the Church is the imposing front of the New Academy — brick, on high granite basement, and topped with a bevy of towers and pinnacles. As I went up the granite steps Principal Fuller took my hand with immense cordiality and en- thusiasm, ushered me into his office, one of the modern requisites, though I saw nothing of a ferule therein, and thence into No. 2, the Senior class room. This is a fine room, well lighted, decorat- ed with Kiepert's maps and diagrams, and going to have a min- eralogical cabinet sometime. But what do you think, Mago, of this notion of luxurious arm-chairs as a means of training boys to endure hardness? It seemed a little odd to me when I thought of the hard birch benches you and I grew up on. And this reminds me of a pleasant little surprise that seems to have been arranged for the pupils of long ago, who may come back to re-visit their old mother. For when you step into the large east room up stairs, there you are amongst those same ven- erable seats just as we had them in 1846, only turned around to face the other way, and I would not be surprised to see you peer- ing around the edge of one of them as if expecting to find trace of certain artistic wood-carving that you were aware of once. For the old Academy, as you must know, has been literally swallowed up some fifteen feet above its original level by the new brick edifice, and lies therein as serenely as Jonah in a whale. So in the going up, the red birch benches went to, and I had the pleasure of sitting down in my old place, only wishing you were here to occupy the other half. EDUCATIONAL 251 Another thing I enjoyed was down in the philosophical chamber. This apartment is nicely planned with seats on a grade, and across half the west side, glass doors, behind which is housed the apparatus, quite a good deal of it being the same that aston- ished our boyish eyes years ago. The great plate of the electrical machine still continues to go around giving off its fluid, though I am not sure that they call it "fluid" nowadays ; and I laughed out- right to see the old insulating stool, remembering how Jesse stood on it ready to burst with mingled laughter and electricity while we measured the distances of his white hairs, each particu- lar hair standing on end. Then, too, the sight of the air pump re- called to me the happy fate of the mouse I caught in the school- room, and which for a scientific study was put under the pneu- matic bell jar. I never shall forget the tender regard that Prof. Colby had for that poor mouse, on which he was experimenting a little for our entertainment ; he just pumped air enough out to show that the mouse was uncomfortable, then lifted the bell jar and let him bounce off. Adjoining the apparatus room is the laboratory. By simply throwing back the doors, the class has everything in view, run- ning water, gas, implements, chemicals, pneumatic trough, and all. I don't know why it should have come into my mind, but a private door from the desk into the laboratory, which I suppose is for the operator, together with the mysteries that may be suppos- ed to be performed behind the closed doors, suggested to me on the spot that part of the Aedes Isidis at Pompeii where a side door gave secret entrance for Calenus the priest into the Adytum. On the walls of the Adytum also, as here, were symbols of the mysteries wrought therein, and even the feature of running water was not wanting, for there you know went Fontana's aqueduct. If there was only a figure here corresponding to that of Harpo- crates with his finger on his lip enjoining silence, I think we could make a very tolerable Isaeon of this laboratory. You know going up to our rooms in college we used to sing : "Away from the world and its toils and its cares, I've a snug little kingdom up four pair of stairs." 252 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Well, up the long flights of the New Academy stairs I mounted, and instead of a snuggery, a spacious hall to seat the multitude ; windows all around, open timber work overhead, and broad stage across the west end, above which hangs a life size portrait of Sir Thaddeus Fairbanks, the donor of this building, painted by Mr. Matthew Wilson of New York. This is the exhi- bition hall, and I can tell you, Mago, it will take more voice to fill it than you expended one Saturday forenoon when you told us something about the condition of the snow "On Linden when the sun was low." While I was standing there on the stage surveying an imagi- nary audience of 1142 people, • the bell sounded from the tower, and, a sudden inspiration coming upon me, I proceeded to ''speak my piece," which went off in ringing verse and some sort of prose about as follows : — "Ring out wild bell to the wild sky, Ring, happy bell." If we boys in the forties could have heard your stroke instead of the big dinner bell that used to ring us into school, perhaps we might have saved some "tardy marks." The sound of that old hand-bell shaking its peremptory call once more out of the north-east window, and a sight again of the stalwart form behind it, would delight us, but undoubtedly the new style is better for today than the old, therefore "Ring, happy bell: Ring out the old, ring in the new" and keep on ringing for a thousand years. GRADED VILLAGE SCHOOLS Early in 1854 the discussion relating to improved methods resulted in a proposition for a high or intermediate school on the Plain to include advanced pupils from Paddock and Fairbanks Villages. A plan was approved for a brick building costing $5000 to be erected on the site of the old Clark Brothers' store, afterward the Col. Fletcher property. Another plan called for a EDUCATIONAL 253 building of wood, two stories, forty-eight by sixty feet, to be paid for by assessments on the Village Treasury of $500 a year till the debt should be liquidated. This proposition prevailed, and in 1856 the building was planted at the corner of Winter and Summer streets on the west end of the present boys' common. After serving its term as a school house this building was moved some distance up the street where it was converted into an armory, and later reconstructed into a two tenement building, number 57 Summer street. The new Union School was opened Nov. 22, 1856, Andrew E. Rankin, Principal for three years ; after him Charles D. Swazey, Edward T. Fairbanks, Henry C. Newell. There were three grades, primary, intermediate and high. The growing school came to need larger and better housing. A most favor- able site, the one still occupied, on the west side of Summer street, was donated by the Fairbanks Company, and the new brick Central School House, as it was then called, was built, having improved methods of furnace heating and ventilating and ample room to accommodate 400 pupils ; it was dedicated August 31, 1864, with an address by Supt. J. S. Adams of the State Board of Education. Maple Street School house was built the same season. At this time consolidation of the districts was effected. Hith- erto the Union School had merely brought together pupils from three districts each of which meantime retained its own directors. These three were now incorporated into district number one, and the title Village High School was adopted. George E. West was first Principal, C. Q. Terrill the second, Henry Galbraith the third, C. L. Clay the fourth. The new system was entered in to heartily and "without stint of reasonable expenditure." It worked satisfactorily until the expenditure began to appear unreasonable. In 1870 it was pointed out that, with an average attendance of twenty-seven at the High School, "the cost per pupil amounted to $70 a year ; that is $1000 a year more to educate them in this school than to send them to the Academy." Arrangements were accordingly made, and in 1874 the High School was discontinued as such, and advanced pupils were sent to the Academy for a 254 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY three-year course, the tuition at that time being $30. This left two grammar schools on the upper floor of the Central School House, one intermediate and two primary schools on the ground floor, two primary on Maple street, and one each at Fairbanks and at Paddock Villages; and the system of gradation was re- vised and perfected. Prior to 1870, the school age was from 4 to 18, after that date, from 5 to 20. By the destruction of the school records in the fire of Nov. 3, 1882, details of the doings of 26 years preceding were lost. The upper brick school house on Summer street was built in 1881. Under the town school system, established by Legislature in 1892, the districts as independent organizations were abolished ; the town was constituted the sole district, with control and owner- ship of all public school property. The inventory of the property thus taken over by the town in 1893, aggregated $43,146.17 — of which amount the valuation of the two Summer street buildings was $30,500, eighteen other school' houses $17,388; miscellaneous, $5,258. By the new Act provision was made for the appointment by the town of school directors and a superintendent of public schools ; for transportation of pupils and a daily register of at- tendance, the school age being from five to fifteen ; women en- titled to vote on all school matters. Under the required curric- ulum the first place was given to instruction in good behaviour. The new system went into operation in August 1893, Mrs. Belle F. Fletcher acting Superintendent, for seven months. There were then twelve schools outside the village. William P. Kelley, Superintendent three years 1894-1897, demonstrated the practical superiority of the town school system and carried it to a high point of efficiency. He published a valuable manual of nearly a hundred pages setting forth the courses of study and lists of sup- plementary reading. His successors were Herbert J. Jones, 1897- 1898; Clarence H. Dempsey, 1898-1908; Corwin F. Palmer, 1908. Prior to 1895 there were ten grades ; since that time pupils who have completed the ninth grade in good standing are given four years at the Academy, making a consecutive course of thirteen years provided by the town. The average expense, 1912, is about $42,000 a year; of which $19,000 may be reckoned for EDUCATIONAL 255 superintendence and instruction in the schools ; $8,700 for Acad- emy tuition ; $3,400 for transportation ; $7,300 for care of build- ings, fuel, light, supplies, etc.; $3,600, repairs and general. In 1895, and for some years thereafter, the Caledonia Nor- mal School for teachers was held under direction of Supt. Kelley ; the enrollment the first year was 135, larger than in any similar school in the state ; receipts were $546, and expenses $506. The Woman's Club appropriated $150 for a six weeks' vocational school in August 1904, in which 104 pupils were enrolled. In- struction was given in woodwork, sloyd, basketry, chair-seating, weaving, cookery, needle work. The results were such that at the next March meeting $300 was voted by the town for a similar school that year. In April 1912, there were distributed among the school children 4370 packages of seeds for vegetable and flower gardens, which gave them out-door schooling that season. The new brick school house in Summerville was opened in April 1900. In style and appointments it ranked any other in the town. The old wooden building was sold for $200, the new one cost $23,000. School bonds for $20,000 were issued by the town, maturing in four years, from 1911-1914. The entire issue was bought by the Brattleboro Savings Bank at a premium of $7.64 per thousand, regarded as a gratifying indication of the credit of St. Johnsbury town. Our public schools have been maintained at a standard of superior excellence, and with continuous adoption of improved new methods and appliances. This in part explains the priority of Caledonia County at the opening of the twentieth century ; for while in other Vermont counties the percentage of illiterate voters was one in 14, 15, 16, 20, 26, 29, 34, 35, 37, 53, 55, 60, 67— in Cale- donia the percentage was one in 70. That the process of lifting Caledonia to its front rank cost the boys and girls of this town some expenditure of brain appears in their efforts at word-construction. A word they were working on in 1891 appears to have reflected their mental attitude ; they were anxious to do well and out of their anxiety they succeeded in evolving the following collection : — 256 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY anxious ancios anchious anchons anskus anchios an gees anzores anxios anxches anchois anchionsh anches anxcus anish enchanix anxioux ancher antious anguish This last indicates a state of mind somewhat advanced from the anxious stage. While as a whole this was a performance quite creditable to our juvenile people, it falls far below the achievements of some of our ancestors. For in a recent work on The Romance of Words, an English scholar, Ernest Weekley, remarks that "about 400 variants of the word cushion have been traced in old English wills and inventories." With superior facilities for twentieth century education, our children may yet discover latent possibilities ag- gregating some 400 in the word anxious, which now stands on our town school records with only twenty variants. Parochial schools are noted in the paragraph relating to Notre Dame parish to which they belong. ^S. ~'*i* *** Kg* JUDGE PADDOCK JUDGE POLAND PRINCIPAL COLBY JUDGE ROSS XXI EXPANSION CANAL PROJECT — MODEL OF A RAILWAY — TOWN ACTION — C. AND P. R. R. — THE CARS ARRIVE — DEPOT GROUNDS — LOCAL AN- NOUNCEMENTS — NEW HOTELS — COUNTY BUILDINGS — TRANS- FER OF BURIAL GROUND — FIFTY MEN ON BOND — COURT HOUSE AND TOWN HALL — CATTLE FAIRS — CALEDONIA FAIR GROUNDS — NOTABLE FAIRS AND EXHIBITS. THE PASSUMPSIC RAILROAD "The fact is, people would as soon suffer themselves to be fired off like a Congreve Cannon Rocket, as trust themselves to the mercy of such a machine going eighteen miles an hour on rails." The British Quarterly, 1825. "The project of a railroad from Boston to Albany is impracticable, and everybody of common sense knows it would be as useless as a railroad from Boston to the Moon." Boston Courier, Jan. 27, 1827. Some while before railroads had been considered a possibili- ty up in this part of the world, serious talk was had of a canal that might connect Connecticut river with Lake Memphremagog via St. Johnsbury. In 1830 a meeting of citizens representing the Passumpsic Valley was held here in Rice's Hotel, the result of which was that investment in the stock of such an enterprise was regarded with approval. This sentiment was strengthened by the arrival the next year of a steamboat, the John Ledyard, from Hartford, Conn., at Wells River, and "They hailed the day when Captain Nutt Sailed up the fair Connecticut." 258 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY In 1829 a model of a railroad was put on exhibition over at the East Village in Hibbard's Hotel. His little girl was lifted into a car and told that some day she might ride to Boston in a train of cars drawn by steam. It required considerable imagina- tion and faith to accept such a prophecy, especially if one had happened to read the Boston Courier. But in 1832 a train of cars was really pulled by steam from Boston to Lowell, the first train in New England. A contemporary who saw it start recorded some remarks overheard while "the crowd was waiting at the deepot : " "Say ! that injine cant never start all them cars !" "She can too!" "I tell you, she cant ! She'll break down and kill everybody !" No such tragic event happened ; the trial trip was a triumph and thereafter the railroad proposition found favor, notwithstand- ing that "the horses would all have to be killed as being no longer of any use, and the farmers would be ruined having no market for hay and oats." The Boston and Lowell line was pushed on toward Albany. After a time it seemed not wholly improbable that a railroad might some day be seen creeping up the Connecti- cut valley. It was to consider such a possibility that a convention was called to meet at Windsor, January 20, 1836. A special town meeting was held here at which a delegation was appointed to represent St. Johnsbury at that railroad convention. The dele- gates were Erastus Fairbanks, Huxham Paddock, Abel Butler, Luther Jewett, Ephraim Paddock. The chairman of this delega- tion was an active promoter of the project, and was made the first President of the road that finally came through. At the March meeting that year the local interest took form in the fol- lowing action : — "Resolved, that the inhabitants of St. Johnsbury regard with lively in- terest the efforts now making to have a railroad constructed from the Tide Water at New Haven to the Canada line through the vallies of the Connecti- cut and Passumpsic rivers. Resolved, that this Town does hereby pledge itself to defray its just proportion, with other towns concerned, in the ex- pense of surveying the above railroad route." EXPANSION 259 Seven years later the General Assembly on Oct. 31, 1843, chartered a railroad that should start from the Massachusetts line running up the Connecticut and Passumpsic rivers to the Canada line at Newport or Derby. In 1845 the right was secured to divide the line at the mouth of the White River, north of which should be the Connecticut and passumpsic rivers railroad. The organization of this road was effected at Wells River Jan. 15, 1846, with Erastus Fairbanks, President. The section from White River to Wells River was opened for traffic Nov. 6, 1849. Trains were run as far as Mclndoes Oct. 7, 1850. On the 18th of November the same year the whistle of a locomotive was heard in this town and the small construction engine Plymouth, popu- larly denominated the Quill Wheel, rounded the point below the Fair Grounds. Ten days later the first train from Boston pulled in to this station, Nov. 28, 1850. The next issue of the Cale- donian contained this announcement : — THE CARS HAVE COME ! "Last Thursday, at about half past four o'clock the first reg- ular train of Passenger Cars came in to town. It was a cheering sight especially for those who have labored so long and diligently to extend the Passumpsic Railroad to this place. There was no formal opening of the Road, but many people were present and a little extemporaneous enthusiasm was exhibited. The arrival was greeted by the ringing of bells, firing of cannon, and the cheers of the people assembled upon the station grounds." The contracts for grading and masonry from Wells River to St. Johnsbury, 20}^ miles, were made Dec. 10, 1849. The work was begun Jan. 23, 1850 and completed Nov. 23, 1850. There were 45,000 cubic yards of rock blasted out, and a million cubic yards of earth excavation. The entire cost of construction was met by the proceeds of bonds negotiated at par. In 1850, a New York newspaper said — "in the darkest hour of the Boston money market, by the efforts of and confidence reposed in Mr. Addison Gilmore and Mr. Erastus Fairbanks, the bonds of the Passumpsic Railroad Company were negotiated at par to such an extent as to 260 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY allow the continuation of the road from Wells River to St. Johns- bury, thus accomplishing a great step in the progress toward Montreal." The stock of this road sold readily and uniformly paid six per cent dividends. The business done fully realized the expectation of its projectors. There were four locomotives in the regular service, bearing the names Caledonia, Orange, Orleans, Green Mountain Boy. DEPOT GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS The grounds comprised thirteen acres lying one hundred feet below the Plain level, and east of the village burial ground. Three new roads were built to the station. One from the Plain down directly north of the burial ground (Eastern Avenue); one from Dea. Luther Clark's house, (Maple street); one from the bridge at Paddock Village. The buildings erected by the Rail- road Company were, Passenger Station 75x30 ft.; Freight Build- ing, 50x250, fifty feet at south end being property of E. and T. Fairbanks and Co. for scales ; Car House 40x100 ft.; Repair Shop 40x100 ft.; Repair Shop 40x125 ; Wood House 40x100 ft.; Engine House, semi circular, 52x130 on rear, with pits for five engines ; three double dwelling houses. The Repair Shops after being burned in 1866 were rebuilt in Lyndonville. North of the Pas- senger Station the wholesale store of Chamberlin and Fletcher was erected in 1851, where the Swift building now is. On the site of the Avenue House, Russell Hallett built a spacious hotel. The first dwelling house on Railroad street was built March 1850, by Amos Morrill. At that date there had been neither road nor building east of Main street except the little farm house lower down where the first pitch had been made in Nov. 1786. In 1870 there were more than 200 buildings of from $1000 to $30,000 value each, standing on the nine new streets. LOCAL ANNOUNCEMENTS ON ARRIVAL OF THE TRAINS Nov. 1850. Ladies and gentlemen visiting the Depot at St. Johnsbury, are invited as they arrive at the new and splendid Depot Hotel and wishing to take a view of the scenery around in the promenade upon the piazza, to ascend the stairs at the northeast end of said piazza, where they shall find EXPANSION 261 their old friend Aaron Farnham who will show them in his spacious ware rooms the most splendid assortment of furniture ever exhibited in Cale- donia Connty. And should you want to make a bed, With pillows for your weary head — He's live goose feathers, good and light, As ever mortal graced at night And these he'll sell so very cheap That with him no one can compete. He will also conduct his friends to the pleasant upper Piazza — where they can have a fine view of the Depot and the cars as they arrive from the South and the scenery around. "Look out for the engine while the bell rings!" W. T. Burnham's Fur Store, St. Johnsbury. Accommodation Stage from St. Johnsbury to Stanstead. The People's Line ; Stage leaves after arrival of the cars. Hawes, Chamberlin & Co. Ephraim Jewett. The most commodious store in northern Vermont ; and every grade of goods needed to clothe the body from head to foot, and also to furnish the house from cellar to garret. Musical Instruments. Aeolians, Seraphines, Melodeons, etc. Jefferson Butler, Center Village. Box and cooking stoves at Paddock's Furnace. Fresh Fish and Oysters. C. Ramsey. Fashionable Taylor, J. Bowles. John Bacon has just purchased the Center Village Farmer's and Me- chanics Co. Store, and offers a large stock for sale. Look! Look! E. Hall and Co. Dress goods, Carpetings, West India Goods and groceries. S. W. Slade, Attorney and Counsellor at Law. Daguerreotype Car! skylighted, just come from Boston. Newton Brooks. Doctors Calvin and Fayette Jewett. First door north of the Academy. Dr. Kilbourne, Dentist. J. C. Bingham, Drugs, Medicines and Musical Instruments. New goods brought in on the Cars! S. Jewett, just north of the Passen- ger Depot, St. Johnsbury. Ramsey'' s Blinds ! painted and hung to order ; so that they who will not be blinded are blind to their own interests. C. F. Ramsey and Com- pany, Paddock Village. Two years after the Passumpsic road reached this place, Robert B. Hale the Superintendent, took a position on the Hudson 262 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY River railroad. His successor was Col. George A. Merrill, a man of superior and varied abilities, held in high esteem as a public spirited citizen ; he was town representative in 1857-58 ; Secretary of civil and military affairs under Governor Fairbanks at outbreak of the war ; he built the brick octagon on Eastern Avenue ; in 1866 he became Superintendent of the Rutland railroad. The Boston, Concord and Montreal road which had stoutly opposed the construction of the Passumpsic line, laid its rails to Woodsville and ultimately became tributary to it ; the air-line train, so called, between Boston and Montreal via Plymouth, was put on in 1874, and remains to this day the most important pas- senger train that pulls in to our station, which is the midway point between the two cities. In the spring of 1883, six years after the opening of the Lake road, a new union station was built of brick ; in 1900, exten- sive improvements in and around the station were made, includ- ing new tracks and covered ways, and gates at the Portland street crossing. The Passumpsic road was leased to the Boston and Lowell road, January 1, 1887 ; in October of that year the Boston and Maine took.,it over on a lease of ninety-nine years. St. Johnsbury became the Vermont terminus of the Maine Central in 1912, thro the purchase by that road of the 23-mile link this side the Connecticut river. THE NEW HOTELS OF 1850 "Trust me, Sir, you have excellent fine lodging here, very neat and private." Ben Jonson. The opening of the railroad caused a demand for better hotel accommodations, and in 1850 the St. Johnsbury House was erect- ed on the Plain, and the Passumpsic House near the Depot. The St. Johnsbury House, built by a syndicate, had 150 rooms, could provide for 200 guests, was neatly furnished and ranked at that time among the best in the State. A. C. Jennings conducted it to the entire satisfaction of all his patrons from 1851 to 1853. His successor, Col. Carter, remained only two years, but they were years of popular favor. A newspaper correspondent EXPANSION 263 wrote — "Pleasure seeking travelers to the White Mountains will of course take in St. Johnsbury on their way, if only for the purpose of enjoying the comfort of a few days under the Colonel's hospitable roof. The house is new, spacious, conveniently arranged, nicely furnished ; and, what is quite as much to the purpose, is conduct- ed by its experienced and accomplished host in a manner to se- cure the approbation of all." A. M. Watson bought the house in 1854 and conducted it equally well for eight years ; he made many friends amongst the traveling public who were always glad to come to St. Johnsbury, and his courtesy and personal character won the high regard of his townsmen. Following A. M. Watson after 1862, came a succession of owners and proprietors : Hiram Hill, E. A. Parks, Emery Thayer, Gilmore, Jerry Drew, Geo. B. Walker, E. E. Bedell, S. B. Krogman, Landlord Chase, B. G. Howe and others. Hiram Hill bought of Watson in 1862 for $6500, and sold in 1871 to Gil- more for $20,000. In 1875 Parks and Thayer paid $19,500, for it, minus furniture ; Bedell paid Jerry Drew $23,000, in the trade of 1884, backed by a syndicate of 20 men, seventeen of whom, in the hope of securing high class management, had signed a promis- sory note for $8000, deposited in the First National Bank, to complete the purchase price of $26,300. Bedell who had been recommended from Jefferson, N. H., proved to be a failure and a scamp; after a year's time he had paid nothing on the note, tho the contract called for $100 a month and interest. Then suddenly he was missing, leaving the property with a mortgage of $18,300 on it plus the $8,000 note. A. G. Tolman and William Little were engaged to run the hotel so as to win patronage, which they did ; setting a superior table at prices that did not cover costs. Extensive improvements were made with a view to effecting a sale. Then it was discov- ered that outside parties had been maligning the house amongst the traveling public along the whole line of the railroad. A sale was rendered impossible, tho Bedell had at one time had an offer from Hugh Moore of $31,000 for it. Meantime the expense in- curred and interest accrued brought the indebtedness up to $11,288, and on the 15th of Jan. 1887, the seventeen signers of 264 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY the note were obliged to pay cash down $660.47 each, and the property was left standing in the name of the Bank, which held the mortgage till about 1900. From this disaster the old St. Johnsbury House never recovered ; its former prestige was gone ; it passed from hand to hand with varying fortunes ; at times it was well conducted, but the building continued to deteriorate and finally the ownership of it passed out of the town. In 1913 a syndicate organized in the Commercial Club bought the property ; enlarged, remodeled and entirely rebuilt the house, converting it into a new hotel of modern style and equipment on the old tavern site at the Bend. The Passumpsic House was built by Russell Hallett at the corner of Railroad street and Eastern avenue, costing about $4000, and opened in 1850. Horace Evans of Danville bought it in 1854 after several years' successful conduct of a temperance hotel in that town. Clough and Downing took it in 1856, and from 1860 to 1862 Col. O. G. Harvey was proprietor. Then came S. K. Remick of Hardwick ; the house was not in good condition and he bought it for $3800. He made extensive additions and improvements, and finished off stores that rented for $860 a year. Remick began with furnishing liquor which he considered a nec- essary item in a good hotel. It did not prove profitable finan- cially ; after losing more than $1000 in payment of fines and facing liability of a lodging in jail for the next offence, he closed out liquor dealing entirely, conducted a strictly temperance house and made $20,000. From this time on he stoutly challenged the popular saying that a hotel could not be made to pay without rum. In 1867 he sold the Passumpsic House to Jonathan Farr of Water- ford for $12,000. This was considered at the time a notably profitable deal in real estate. Bela S. Hastings was installed pro- prietor, after him O. G. Hale, who paid $15,000 and remained from 1869 to 1875. He enlarged the building four stories high to 168 feet on Railroad street and 400 feet on the Avenue, putting in stores and offices that brought rentals of $1512 a year. Morri- son and Howe bought the property in 1875 for $24,000, and from this time it was called The Avenue House. B. G. Howe be- came sole proprietor, and held it for about 22 years. In 1891 he EXPANSION 265 built the fine structure known as Howe's Opera House, connected with the Hotel. In 1896 the Avenue House was burned, involv- ing a loss of $60,000. It was immediately rebuilt by Mr. Howe, making with the Opera House a substantial brick block at this conspicuous corner of Eastern avenue. The next year Manager Doyle took $31,642 cash from patrons, plus $400 book accounts. He paid for meat exclusive of fish and game, $3699 ; for heating $250 a month in the winter, for light $65 a month. The manage- ment went into the hands of a syndicate for some years ; mortgages on the property accumulated amounting to $68,672 ; in March 1901, it was sold to Matthew Caldbeck for $70,000. Somewhile later the Opera House was dismantled and converted into apart- ments for rental. the cottage hotel. One morning before breakfast in 1852, the lot on which this building stands was purchased of Dr. Bancroft by Richard B. Flint, in exchange for a horse valued at $200. At that time Mr. Flint put up a house twenty-two by twenty-eight feet, which in after years he enlarged to fifty by seventy feet with three stories, and opened as the Cottage Hotel. It was well named, being a strictly temperance house, with a quiet home like atmosphere and family cordiality that won exten- sive patronage and made it for more than thirty years a favor- ite traveler's home. Mr. Flint opened the first livery on Railroad street ; he had fine horses and was a reliable dealer ; during the Civil war he purchased and personally delivered in one bunch at Washington 253 horses for the government service, all but one of which were accepted as sound and in prime condition. He fur- nished a total of 1240 horses for cavalry service. Shortly after the outbreak of the war Governor Fairbanks was to go on a special engine via White River to St. Albans to dispatch a regiment. Mr. Flint said he could shorten the time by landing him on an engine at Montpelier. He took a pair of horses that had been on a dump cart part of that day, put them in trim for the trip, drove to Marshfield, there treated each horse to a quart of bran in water, brought the Governor to the Montpelier engine in three hours from St. Johnsbury, without a wet hair on 266 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY the horses, merely running over a Plainfield skunk that wasn't spry enough to get out of the way. THE SHIRE TOWN 1856 In 1796, on the organization of Caledonia County, Danville, a central and important town, was constituted the shire, and re- mained such for sixty years. After the opening of the Passumpsic Railroad, St. Johnsbury, by reason of its rapid growth and ac- cessibility began to be regarded as the business center of the County and the most desirable place for the County buildings. The question of a change of location was recurring from year to year, till 1855, when by an act of the Legislature a Committee of three disinterested persons was appointed to examine and select the best location between Barnet and Lyndon for the Court House and other County buildings. The men who served on this Com- mittee were Thomas Reed of Montpelier, Judge Hebard of Chelsea, John Pierpont of Vergennes. After due examination made, this Committee met at St. Johnsbury, Nov. 29, 1855, and made their report, as directed, to the County Judges. Hon. Thomas Bartlett appeared urging the claims of Lyndon, Joseph Potts Esq. argued for Barnet, Judge Poland for St. Johnsbury. The Committee rejected all consideration of pecuniary offers from the different towns, basing their decision solely on the ques- tion of best accomodating the people of the County. They made choice of St. Johnsbury for the shire town. The bill that authorized this change had passed the House by a vote of 170 to 19, and had the unanimous vote of the Senate. It authorized the County Judges to purchase suitable grounds, and secure contracts for the erection of the necessary buildings. They immediately purchased the old burial ground, from which all bodies had been removed in anticipation of this event. Question as to the validity of the title that could be given, having been in the air, a bond in the sum of $10,000, signed by citizens who were said at the time to be responsible for more than half a million, was given to the Judges. This instrument, with the fifty-two names upon it, is here entered as an interesting item in the history of that period. EXPANSION 267 BOND "Know all men by these presents that we who have hereunto signed our names and affixed our seals, are held and firmly bound unto the County of Caledonia in the penal sum of Ten Thousand Dollars, for the payment of which sum well and truly to be made to the said County of Caledonia, we bind ourselves and each of us, our heirs, executors and administrators firmly by these presents, in testimony whereof we have hereunto signed our names and set our seals at St. Johnsbury in said County, on this sixth day of Feb- ruary, A. D. 1856. "The condition of the above obligation is such that, if said Caledonia County shall erect a Court House upon a piece of ground in the Village of St. Johnsbury heretofore used and occupied for a burying ground ; but from which, persons buried there have been removed — for the use of Cale- donia County ; and the said County shall never more hereafter be disturbed or molested in the occupancy of said land for that purpose so long as they shall so occupy it, but shall quietly enjoy and possess the same— this obliga- tion shall be void and of no effect. But if said County shall ever be evicted from the occupation of said land for the purpose above named, then shall this obligation be in full force and effect, and the obligors covenant to indemnify and save harmless the said County against all loss and damage sustained by such eviction." Signed Ephraim Paddock Erastus Fairbanks H. H. Deming Joseph Boles Frank Deming Ephraim Jewett E. F. Brown B. Moulton E. C. Redington B. B. Clark Horace Paddock Samuel Jewett S. W. Slade Ephraim Chamberlin John Stevens A. J. Willard J. P. Bancroft Geo. A. Merrill Moses Kittredge Jona. I v awrence Hubbard Hastings Noah Eastman Horace Fairbanks Thomas Spooner Selim Frost J. M. Warner Francis Bingham T. Treseott A. H. Wilcox J. C. Bingham John Hawes S. G. Brackett T. M. Howard Thaddeus Fairbanks A. G. Chadwick James K. Colby Russell Hallett Nathan Ayer George Downing Emerson Hall Wm. S. Watson Franklin Fairbanks l,evi Fuller Asa Iy. French D. Boy n ton Isaac Woods William Sanborn J. S. Carr Beniah Sanborn I y ambert Hastings Calvin Morrill E. D. Blodgett The way was now clear to proceed with the work of construc- tion. The Court House as originally planned was to cost $13,000. To secure architectural features not possible under that specification, individuals in the town subscribed an additional amount of $1200. This secured the erection of a building of brick with brown stone trimmings in the Italian style, fronting 96 feet on Main street, enclosing a court room 52 by 57 feet and a town hall 52 by 65 feet dimensions, with requisite official rooms and offices. 268 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY The contract for building was awarded to E. and T. Fair- banks and Company. Work was begun in May, and in December it was pronounced "finished in a most substantial and workman- like manner, every item in the specifications having been execut- ed with the utmost fidelity." Of the entire expense of $14,200 rather more than two-fifths in cash was met by the town of St. Johnsbury, viz. — for the Town Hall $3000, share of County tax $1770, individual subscriptions $1200 ; a total of $5970 in bills paid, plus special consideration on the estimated valuation of the site, which would bring this town's investment up to half the ap- praisal of the completed work. Thirty-three years later import- ant improvements were made on the interior, and in an annex on the east side a commodious vault was installed for records and documents, finished November 1889, at an expense of $9995.75. The new building was completed in time to seat the Decem- ber term of Court 1856, Judge Poland presiding. At the close of the session Hon. C. S. Dana gave a reception to members of the bar and citizens at the St. Johnsbury House. Among those who participated in events of the evening were Stoddard B. Colby, S. B. Mattocks, Ephraim Paddock, James D. Bell, C. W. Willard, Bliss N. Davis, Thomas Bartlett, Geo. C. Cahoon, Pliny H. White, Erastus Fairbanks. The fraternal courtesies and fel- lowships that graced the occasion were declared to be character- istic of the Caledonia Bar. The new and well appointed home of the Court elicited congratulations and praise, and a hearty wel- come to it was given by citizens of the town. CATTLE FAIRS AND FAIR GROUNDS Old fashioned cattle fairs were held in different towns of the County irregularly till 1834, after which date they became an. an- nual event. An account of the Fair of 1838 is given on page 201. In this town the exhibitions were held on Main street and the ad- joining fields; there were at first no horse trots unless "the old French Morrill horse was warmed up" for the occasion. House- hold products, needle work, butter, cheese, preserves, etc. were displayed in the Meeting House or some other sheltered place. Big pumpkins would be piled up outside. On the level fields EXPANSION 269 where Summer street now runs, were held the plowing matches ; exciting times with the crowds of spectators, the shouts of Gee Buck and Haw Star to the oxen "when the old fashioned Fair- banks swallow-tailed plough would rip up the furrows." A more systematic management of the Fairs began with the formation of THE CALEDONIA COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY At the call of 63 men of the County, this Society was organ- ized in the Inn of Joseph Hutchinson, present site of the St. Johnsbury House, Jan. 23, 1844. Henry Stevens of Barnet, Pres- ident ; J. P. Fairbanks, Secretary. From the records of this first meeting of the Society is taken the following : "Whereas, it has been reported that Caledonia County surpasses any other County in the Union in the value of her agricultural products in propor- tion to her population ; therefore, Resolved that a Committee of three be appointed whose duty it shall be to ascertain the facts and report at our next meeting whether Old Caledonia up here in Vermont is really the Banner County of the United States." The said Committee was named, but no record of their findings is at hand. Under management of the Agricultural Society the annual Fairs were conducted with increasing popular interest during the next ten years ; meanwhile the need of suitable and permanent grounds was becoming more urgent and imperative. COUNTY FAIR OF 1847. ST. JOHNSBURY PLAIN. SOME PREMIUMS Best yoke oxen $4 Best heifer or bull calf $2 Three year old steers $3 Two year old colt 3 Stud $5 Milch Cow $3 Fine wool buck sheep $3 Best acre wheat $5 Corn $4 Oats $3 Potatoes $3 Six squashes 50c Square rod onions 50c Box honey 10 lbs. $1 30 lb. tub butter $3 Tub maple sugar $3 100 lbs. cheese $2 Best ten yards of domestic Woolen frocking $1 Fulled cloth $1 Flannel $1 Carpeting $1 Six straw hats 50c 6 Palm leaf hats 50c Linen table spread 50c the Caledonia fairground company was organized in 1855. This was a stock company of 50 shares at $20 each, in which, to secure wider distribution of the stock no person at the first could hold more than two shares. Enough however was 270 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY taken to secure the purchase of the grounds above Paddock Vil- lage now occupied by the Catholic cemetery. These were fenced and fitted up with a temporary track and cattle sheds and a build- ing 30 by 100 feet, at an expense of $1000. Members of the Ag- ricultural Society were entitled to free tickets. Others paid fifteen cents. The Fair of Sept. 15, 1855, the first one held, far surpassed any other ever had in the County. Entries were double the usual number ; this town had a string of 28 yoke of oxen ; ten thousand people were in attendance. Col. George A. Merrill was Chief Marshal; the parade of the Fire Companies was a great attraction, continued with 150 torch lights in the evening. "In the numbers present, in the variety and extent of articles and animals entered, in the orderly and well arranged conduct of everything, the County Fair of 1855 stands without a parallel in the history of the Agri- cultural Society, and seldom if ever has been surpassed by any County Fair held in the State." A man from Manchester, N. H. remarked "I've attended a good many State and County fairs, but never one where such admirable arrangements were observable throughout. You Caledonia folks have a knack of doing things that we haven't yet learned." At the Fair of 1856, the first balloon ascension in the town was made from these Paddock Village grounds, by John Wise of Boston in his "Young America." This balloon was inflated with 10,000 feet of gas. The day was a good one ; in fifteen minutes he was above the clouds sailing away to the northeast ; in an hour and a half he landed in Stratford, N. H., forty-five miles away. The next evening he returned and gave a story of his voyage to 800 people in the new Union Hall. On the 11th of October, 1857, the Caledonia Fair Ground Company was reorganized under legislative act of that year, and negotiations were begun for securing the new grounds on the Passumpsic road. The purchase was made, a half-mile track was laid out, the floral hall erected, being at that time the largest in the state. These new grounds were first opened for the Fair of Sept. 28, 29, 1859. EXPANSION 271 ON THE NEW FAIR GROUNDS The Fair of 1859 rivalled all preceding ones. The new grounds were admired as having peculiar and perfect adaptation to the purpose ; the interest awakened among farmers, mechanics, artisans, ladies and in fact everybody throughout the County amounted to enthusiasm. Waterford marched 111 yoke of oxen thro the gates, said to be the largest and finest string ever made up in one town in the state. St. Johnsbury's team of 75 yoke was escorted by the Cornet Band ; among principal owners were Charles Stark, Nahum Stiles, Royal Ayer, W. C. Arnold, Zelotes Spaulding, Leonard Shorey, Harris Knapp, Hollis Roberts. The large muscular Natives and Durhams were interspersed with beautiful dark red symmetrical Devons, and a sprinkling of Ayre- shires and Herefords. Sheep, swine, horses and colts were abundant and excellent; a span of yearling colts, Black Hawk Morgan, gentle and spirited tho not yet used to harness, were greatly admired — also the white stallion finely mounted by Col. Geo. A. Merrill, Chief Marshal. There were many superior trot- ters on the course notwithstanding this region had been drained of its best to supply the city markets. Amongst the dairy pro- ducts were 40 tubs of nice butter and J 3 large mellow cheeses ; more than 400 articles were displayed in Floral Hall, a large ex- hibit of homespun making one of the chief attractions of the day. At the Fair of 1860 there was an agricultural car built at the Center Village, an immense vehicle drawn by 55 yoke of oxen. In 1861 this car was utilized for transporting young cattle, sheep, pigs and fowls, and hanging on the outer walls were products of the field — squash, pumpkins, corn, wheat, oats, the whole moving like a huge triumphal car thro tne streets. The Fair of 1863 is remembered for the first appearance of a horseless carriage. "The great novelty known as Roper's Steam Carriage attracted universal attention and wonder. It was greeted with loud huzzahs as it came on to the track and many took the opportunity of riding in so novel a vehicle. It is lower than a common buggy ; it has created excitement on the roads around Boston." 272 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY The New Fair Grounds became the general rendezvous for athletic sports, military drills and camps, also the tenting field for traveling entertainments, caravans, circuses and miscellaneous attractions that came along. Atone time we saw the Cardiff Giant lying here in state, another time the old rickety Deadwood Coach was set upon and plundered by Buffalo Bill's Wild West riders, as 16,000 witnesses could testify. The announcements of the Fair Ground Company record a voluminous list of side shows, races, parades, balloonings, exhibits and events, terrestrial and aerial, thro fifty years, from the day when the 200 yoke of oxen first paced around the race track, to the bright afternoon in 1910, when Willard made his aeroplane flight, saluted by 10,000 ad- mirers. At the Fair of 1912 the receipts were $12,437.50, the ex- penses $12,227.24. XXII WAR "Deeming it their duty to fight for the cause of Liberty and the Greeks, even against Greeks." Plato. When Greeks joined Greeks then was the tug of war." SUNDAY QUIET — A TELEGRAM — PROCLAMATION FROM THIS TOWN — RALLY AT TOWN HALL — VOLUNTEERS — LADIES* AID — THIRD REGIMENT — FLAG PRESENTATION — THE TENTH AND ELEVENTH — FROST AND CHAMBERLIN — ARMY LIFE— NOTABLE ESCAPES— THE LAST GUN — SOLDIERS* MONUMENT— WAR AGAIN — COMPANY D. PREPARING FOR WAR While our people were in the quiet of Sunday morning wor- ship, April 14, 1861, the community was startled by a telegram announcing the fall of Fort Sumter. On the 15th of April President Lincoln called for 75,000 troops, of which the State of Vermont should furnish one regiment. It happened that at this time the Governor of the State was Erastus Fairbanks, thus it also happened that the first official docu- ment of the war in Vermont or in any other state, was penned and issued in the town of St. Johnsbury, the same day. It read as fol* lows : — 274 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY STATE OF VERMONT BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR. A PROCLAMATION Whereas an armed rebellion against the government of the United States exists, the object of which is to subvert and revo- lutionize the government : And, whereas, the President of the United States thro the Secretary of War, has made a requisition upon me for a regiment of men for immediate service, to which requisition I have responded by issuing the proper orders to the Adjutant and Inspector General : Now, therefore, I, Erastus Fairbanks, Governor of the State of Vermont, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Consti- tution, do hereby issue my Proclamation for convening the Gen- eral Assembly in an extra session ; and I do hereby summon the members of the Senate and House of Representatives to meet to- gether in their respective Chambers at Montpelier together with the officers of the two houses, on Tuesday the twenty-third day of April, instant, at ten o'clock, A. M., for the purpose of adopting measures for organizing, arming and equipping the Militia of the State, and for co-operating effectually with the General Govern- ment in suppressing insurrection and executing the laws. Given under my hand and the seal of the State at St. Johns- bury, this fifteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty Fifth. Erastus Fairbanks. By the Governor, Geo. A. Merrill Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs. That the spirit of the Governor was intensely moved appears in his Address to the General Assembly, every word of which also reflected the sentiment of the men of Vermont. "The enormity of this rebellion is heightened by the consid- eration that no valid excuse exists for it. The history of the civilized world does not furnish an instance where a revolution was attempted for such slight cause ; no act of oppression, no attempted or threatened invasion of the rights of the revolted WAR 275 states has existed, but the principle has been recognized and ob- served that the right of each and every state to regulate its domestic institutions should remain inviolate." * * "It is devoutly to be hoped that the mad ambition of seces- sion leaders may be restrained and the impending sanguinary conflict averted. * * The United States Government must be sustained and the rebellion suppressed at whatever cost of men and treasure. May that Divine Being who rules among the na- tions and directs the affairs of men interpose by his merciful Providence and restore to us again the blessings of peace under the aegis of our National Constitution." The Legislature responded promptly and liberally ; placed a million of dollars at the Governor's disposal, and before the regu- lar session of October had convened, six regiments had been raised and equipped, also two companies of sharp shooters and a squadron of cavalry. PATRIOTIC RALLY On Tuesday, 16th of April, the day after the President's Proclamation, St. Johnsbury Town Hall was filled to overflowing in a patriotic rally, presided over by Hon. A. G. Chadwick. The Proclamations of President Lincoln and Gov. Fairbanks were read, stirring addresses were made and resolutions unanimously adopt- ed pledging support to the government and devotion to the Flag of the Union. Friday evening, April 19, there was a patriotic Band Concert with spirited rendering of national airs and speeches to fit the occasion. Monday evening, April 22, another rally was held ; addresses were made by Hon. Chas. S. Dana, Chairman, by Judge Poland and the Governor, after which seventy men gave their names in writing as volunteers for military service. Indi- viduals pledged $1700 for equipments and supplies, also thirty revolvers, and the Fairbanks Company appropriated $2000 for the families of enlisted men. The Center Village raised a separate fund of several hundred dollars. Of the 70 men who volunteered that evening the following were in active service at the front : — 276 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Henry G. Ely Fianklin Belknap D. C. Haviland Oliver W. Heyer Hiram Hanscom E. P. Warner John S. Kilby Charles I,. Paddock A. E. Worthen Charles Hodgdon John P. Eddy William E. Parish A. O. Kidder Albert J. Ayer William Norris John W. Ramsay Curtis R. Crossman Thomas Bishop C. R. J. Kellum John Green A. F. Felch C. F, Spaulding A. C. Armington Henry C. Newell Samuel W. Hall Orren Chase Fred E- Carpenter John H. Hutchinson William I,. Jackson Carlton Felch On Saturday of the same week, April 27, a Ladies' Aid As- sociation was organized at the Town Hall with upwards of 150 members, for such aid and comfort as they might render to the soldiers and to the cause. Among the resolutions at that time adopted was the following : — "Whereas, our citizens and friends have offered themselves to endure the toils and hardships of war, therefore, we will consider all our time and energies consecrated to the work of fitting them for their service ; also, Re- solved, that in consideration of the need of strict economy to supply the necessities of our Country, we, the ladies of St. Johnsbury, will retrench our individual expenses and will purchase during the coming season only calico or low priced muslin for dresses unless for some special reason other material should be required. We will also observe the same economy in all our ap- parel, laying aside costly gloves and purchasing plain bonnets and no un- necessary articles whatever." THE THIRD REGIMENT Military activity began to appear on our streets ; Hon. C. S. Dana was appointed recruiting officer ; Col. Hyde of Hyde Park, a West Point man, drilled 100 men day time and evenings. St. Johnsbury was fixed on as rendezvous for the Third ' Vermont Regiment, which now began to muster on the Fair Grounds, in Camp Baxter, so named from the Adjutant and Inspector General Baxter. Instead of tents for shelter the main building on the grounds was enlarged to a length of 340 feet, furnished with three tiers of bunks for 1000 men. Dining tables ran thro the center of the building, and a reservoir was built for spring water from the neighboring hillside. There was also a building put up for the culinary department, another for hospital service, and the Camp Baxter Post Office was installed, From this office after the Regi- ment was made up, more than 300 letters besides newspapers were mailed in one day. Some one remarked that two-thirds of WAR 277 this mail matter was addressed to Nellie, Susie, Katie, Jennie, etc., indicating a good number of sweethearts left behind among the hills. Ladies of the town did much for the cheer and comfort of the Camp. ' 'Thanks to the Ladies for the profusion of beautiful bouquets. The fragrant captives from garden and bower are the more welcome from the fact that roses are seldom dropped in the pathway of the soldier." One of the Vergennes Company wrote "To find such a large and beautiful place nestled among the fertile hills of northern Vermont was a matter of surprise ; but the sub- stantial bounty provided for us by the Ladies of St. Johnsbury is what might be expected of true Green Mountain Girls." Flowers, fruit, jellies, needlework, books, periodicals and other miscellany were included in the substantial bounty referred to. THE REGIMENTAL FLAG Among other things the Ladies of St. Johnsbury raised among themselves $100 for the purchase of materials which they made up into a Regimental Flag. This was sixteen by eight feet in size and was formally presented thro the hand of the Governor on the Fourth of July. This being the first Independence Day after the outbreak of the war, an intense patriotic feeling was manifest and throngs of people filled the town. At sunrise a national salute of 34 guns was fired from the twelve-pounder on the high bluff south of the Plain overlooking Camp Baxter, ac- companied by a half hour ringing of all the bells of the village. This was repeated at noon and at sundown. There were 1500 people who came in on the morning trains, and every road into the town was thronged for miles with vehicles and men on foot, till more than ten thousand were assembled at the camp grounds. At two o'clock P. M., the men were drawn up in line of battle, fronted by the Governor with his staff and the Ladies who had the Regimental Flag. "The scene was imposing. The long line of soldiers in new uniforms, their arms glittering in the light of an unclouded sun ; the vast concourse of people on all sides filling the seats of the great amphitheatre and occupying the windows, cupola and roof 278 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY of the large building used for barracks, and the surrounding hills densely packed with spectators, conspired to add to the dignity and solemnity of the occasion." Col. Geo. A. Merrill representing the Ladies in a graceful speech, delivered the Flag to Governor Fairbanks, who with im- pressive and patriotic words entrusted it to the Regiment. Col. Hyde in accepting it, said — "This Banner comes to us, bright, unsullied, perfumed by the touch of the Ladies of Vermont. It shall, with God's blessing, be returned, tried in battle, its folds bearing record of deeds that you, Sir, and the citizens of Vermont shall be proud to say were done by the Green Mountain Boys." The Third Regiment of 882 men, and a Band of 24 instru- ments was mustered into the service July 16, and left for the front July 24, in a train of 22 cars. It was a stalwart body of young men. John Earle of Boston who took measurements for the uni- forms, remarked, "I've made uniforms for many officers and men in most of the New England states, but I never put the tape on to such a set of men as these," whereupon another dryly re- marked, "Yes, with a bayonet in hand one of 'em could toss a secessionist over a meeting house !" They were amply supplied with camp and. hospital equipments and had 65 large, well select- ed horses all procured in Caledonia and Orleans Counties. Their muskets were of superior long-rifled English manufacture ob- tained thro the Fairbanks Company of New York. The Rutland Herald stated that military men competent to judge regarded the Third Regiment better equipped and prepared for service than any that had yet left New England. Company G. of St. Johns- bury had sixty-six men; Lorenzo Allen, Captain ; John H. Hutch- inson, First Lieutenant. At the Fiftieth Anniversary, July 16, 1911, a memorial boulder was erected by citizens of the town on the spot where these men had been mustered in. At the cere- mony the word of presentation to the surviving veterans was by Edward T. Fairbanks, and the stone was unveiled by Robert L. Stone, great grandson of Governor Fairbanks under whose direc- tion the Regiment was formed and reviewed. Sixty-four of the Regiment were present, nine of whom were still living in St. Johnsbury. WAR 279 Between Sept. 1861 and April 1865 the Third Regiment was in twenty-eight engagements, among which were Antietam, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottslyvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg. TENTH AND ELEVENTH REGIMENTS Early in July 1862, Edwin B. Frost, a student of medicine in the office of his brother Dr. C. P. Frost, recruited a company of 100 men in this village, of which he was made Captain, and which on September 1, 1862, was mustered into service as Com- pany A, of the Tenth Regiment. This Company was in various engagements during the two years following, and in the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and Cold Harbor met severe losses. While leading his men on a forlorn hope at Cold Harbor, "Captain Frost, with perfect self-possession and an example of courage which every true Green Mountain boy was anxious to emulate," fell fatally wounded. In this as in all former engage- ments he was ever in the hottest of the fight; "his calm, clear commands could be heard above the din of battle, his tall figure in plain sight, too conspicuous a mark to escape the keen-eyed rebels. Captain Frost was the ideal of his Company, winning their love by his kindness, ever looking after their welfare, attending the sick with his own hands, cheering all with a constant flow of wit and kind sympathy ; he had declined promotion, preferring to remain with his Regiment to the last ; living he was beloved and dead he was lamented." His name was adopted by the E. B. Frost Sons of the Veterans, organized in 1881. Following President Lincoln's call for 300,000 men, George E. Chamberlin opened a recruiting office August 1, 1862, on the Plain where in ten days' time he raised a Company of 112 men. This Company, of which he was Captain, was mustered in Sep- tember 1, as Company A, of the Eleventh Regiment, to duty in Fort Lincoln near Washington. Some days later the ladies of St. Johnsbury presented swords to Captain Chamberlin and his Lieutenants. In accepting them he said — "these swords will soon be unsheathed ; with them we intend to strike our blow in crushing the monster Treason ; and do our part in establishing 280 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY the land of our fathers as an undivided and perpetual inheritance for the generations to come." Before the end of September, the Eleventh Regiment (after- wards the First Vermont Heavy Artillery) was on duty in the defences of Washington, where, in Forts Lincoln and Totten, Major Chamberlin was put in command. Here his characteristic energy and discipline, insistence on neatness and order, strict at- tention to details, not only transformed the conditions in the forts, but trained his men for achievements which General Sedg- wick afterward said could not be outdone by any in the Army of the Potomac. On the 12th of May, 1864, the Regiment was ordered to rein- force the depleted Army after the battles of the Wilderness. Six days later, with the coolness and valor of veterans in the field, they led a charge of the Vermont Brigade at Spottsylvania. Chamberlin was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel, June 28, and in command of the Third Battalion led his troops at the battles of Cold Harbor and Petersburg. On the 22nd of August, while lead- ing a skirmish line he was shot — a shining mark ; and fell from his horse mortally wounded near Charlestown, Va. The deep feeling and solemnity of the assembly that filled the North Church at the funeral service some days later, was one among many in- dications of the respect and honor in which he was held among his fellow townsmen. The Chamberlin Post of the Grand Army fittingly carries the name of the man whose resolute soldierly qualities and forceful command gave distinction to the town he represented. In the early death of Col. Chamberlin his generation lost a man of noble character and exceptional promise. He had won superior rank among his fellow students at Dartmouth College for scholarship, high-minded manliness and executive ability. A brilliant career was before him as a lawyer in the city of St. Louis. Against the urgent representations of many friends he sacrificed all other prospects under a matured and profound con- viction of his personal duty as a patriot ; the dedication, it was, unto death, of a chivalrous and gallant soul. Vale, frater, vale ave at que vale! WAR 281 Besides the men from this town in the Third, Tenth and Eleventh Regiments, there were others who served in the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, Twelfth, Fifteenth and Seventeenth Regiments Infantry ; also in the First Regiment Cavalry, 76 en- gagements, the First Battery Light Artillery, and the Second Regiment Sharpshooters, in 24 engagements ; also a good many of St. Johnsbury birth or residence among volunteers from other states. By vote of the town, March 7, 1865, A. G. Chadwick, Esq. was directed to prepare a St. Johnsbury Soldiers' Record. This he did in a book of 215 pages, published in 1883, which contained a personal record of 374 men of this town, 350 of whom were en- listed here and 24 elsewhere. Some items and incidents culled from this Record are here given as illustrating various experiences of army life. John W. Ramsey, Lieut. Co. A. Third Regiment was the first man in town to volunteer, also the first who was killed in battle. He fell pierced by four bullets, within four rods of the enemy's line, at Savage's Station, after being in five former en- gagements ; 269 men who fell in that disaster were buried in the Seven Pines National Cemetery in 1866. Ramsey was tall and powerful, intensely patriotic ; before Sumter was fired on he had raised a volunteer Company in this town, all of whom afterward enlisted, all but one of whom perished in the war. The youngest of the soldier boys from this town who carried a musket, was Patrick Howard, who enlisted in Co. A, Eleventh Regiment at the age of 14 years. He had been repeatedly reject- ed in his determination to enlist, solely on the ground of his age. He insisted that he was tough and strong, and that he could en- dure fatigue or fight as well as older men. His record in the ser- vice justified this claim. He fought in six battles and fell fatally wounded before Petersburg in June 1864. His older brother John perished in Andersonville. Willie Johnson, drummer boy of the Third Regiment, enlisted when he was twelve years old. He was a brave resolute little fellow ; went with his Regiment thro the seven days' campaign in the Peninsula, and was the only drummer in the 282 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Division who held on to his drum and brought it safely off in the retreat to Harrison's Landing. In recognition of this a medal for heroic conduct was awarded him by Secretary of War Stanton. NOTABLE ESCAPES The most remarkable escape from bullets was undoubtedly that of Major E. W. Harrington, a man of six feet four in height and some 200 lbs. weight, who for three years carried the colors of the Regiment, the Second Vermont. For a color bearer of such proportions holding so exposed and perilous a position to have come safely through 22 battles seems little short of the miraculous. Some other escapes are of interest. Lafayette Soper at the Weldon railroad disaster saved his life by running a gauntlet of musket balls that flew like hail stones on either side He went thro 14 battles uninjured till at Petersburg in April 1865 while capturing some of the enemy in advance of his own line, he was hit by a Union ball and lost his leg thereby. At Charlestown, Va., he fired 150 rounds of ball cartridges and at Fisher's Hill 200 rounds. Hiram I. Gorham, captured on the Weldon railroad, was sent on to Georgia, jumped the train with F. J. Hosmer, and ran thro the woods toward the Blue Ridge ; they were caught about midnight and with their arms bound together with hickory bark were marched to Boone Jail, N. C, thence with 40 others tied two together they were tramped toward Andersonville 40 miles ; after confinement in seven different prisons they were finally paroled. Sergeant Gorham was in 12 battles and twice wounded. Charles W. Wilcomb was wounded in the battle of the Wilder- ness by a confederate who leveled his piece behind a log and fired. The ball passed thro his thigh and lodged in his wallet, considerably flattened. He lay on the ground two days without food ; then a negro came along with a chicken which he sold for a dollar. After reaching the Union lines Wilcomb was insensible for three weeks from effects of the wound ; finally recovered and rejoined his regiment a year later. WAR 283 In the second Bull Run battle a musket ball struck L. C. Farnham in the right breast, passed thro the right lung and went out under the shoulder. He lay on the field five days, then crawled to a stream of running water, cleansed the wound, rallied and managed to reach Washington 35 miles distant on the third day. While lying on the field his rations were one hard tack. This was in 1862 ; in 1870 he was living on his farm in this town, able to do an average day's work notwithstanding. After seven engagements in the army, O. W. Heyer enlisted in the navy and was on the frigate Wabash in the attack under Dahlgren on Fort Sumter Aug. 8, 1863 ; was captured and im- prisoned on Sullivan Island. One night he with two others escap- ed, crawled on hands and knees to an inlet, found some boards, constructed a raft, and in the darkness floated out to sea on the ebb tide. They were picked up by a picket boat of the squadron ; after this Heyer on the U. S. Steamer Iroquois, made 49 different ports on a cruise around the world. Geo. W. Bonett was in 31 battles and twice wounded ; at Petersburg he with two orderlies captured an entire Company of the enemy; in response to his demand the Captain surrendered his sword and gun. At Spottsylvania the Third Regiment was ordered upon a breast work of logs. Shots from a sharp-shooter who could not be located picked off 25 men, each bullet hitting the victim in the center of the forehead. The twenty-fifth shot which killed Corporal Norris came apparently from a point where two logs jutted together. Major Bonett ordered eight men to aim at that spot and fire simultaneously. This they did and no more men were hit in the forehead. Edward F. Griswold after Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor and Petersburg battles was captured on the Weldon railroad and con- fined in Libby Prison. On transit from here to Georgia, while being marched thro a field in Virginia, he escaped in a clump of bushes and reached the bank of a river which he forded July 1, and traveling by night only reached Millboro in seventeen days. Here he was discovered and pursued, but outran the enemy and came to a farm house where were some friendly negroes. Pres- ently two men walked in, by whom he was recaptured and taken 284 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY back again to Richmond, where he remained a prisoner till his parole in Sept. 1864. Capt. Pearl D. Blodgett's left hand was shattered during a desperate charge at Cold Harbor. He was reported dead, and so considered, till Horace Fairbanks found him alive but in a critical condition. With his right hand which was uninjured he afterward served this town nineteen years as Town Clerk and twelve years as Treasurer. Horace K. Ide of the First Vermont Cavalry, was in three years' service on the field, twice wounded, twice a prisoner in Libby and on Belle Isle, six times promoted, becoming Brevet Major U. S. V. He was in 42 engagements. In April 1862 when captured by Mosby's gang, he escaped, walked two days till he got inside the Union lines. In Oct. 1863, a bullet ran thro him l-16th of an inch below the main artery of the arm ; the wound was burnt out with acid. His regiment was in eight weeks' con- tinuous fighting in the summer of 1864 ; at one time when the Colonel was wounded, two officers while trying to carry him off the field were shot ; no others volunteering Major Ide jumped forward and brought him safely in. He was in all the fights of Sheridan's army till the last, near Appomattox. In 1882 he re- ceived the appointment of Quarter Master General of the Vermont militia. Alexander G. Hawes was one of the pioneers who went to Kansas in 1856 to resist the introduction of slavery in to that ter- ritory. During the sack of Lawrence that year, the border ruffians destroyed the office of the Herald of Freedom which Hawes was editing. He participated in the Lawrence fights ; was one of John Brown's posse at Ossawatomie and Black Pack, and narrowly escaped while executing important enterprises in the anti-slavery conflicts. In 1861, within an hour of the call for volunteers, he raised a military company, the first in Southern Illinois, which he reported to Gov. Yeats. He served nearly four years in the Civil War, was in 40 battles, including Fort Henry, Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth and the Atlanta campaign under Sherman. He was three times wounded ; at Shiloh he barely escaped death ; while bullets were flying like hail around him a ball went thro his shoulder, but WAR 285 he rallied in time to go in to battle at Corinth. Col. Hawes had the longest military record of any man from our town, viz. from 1856 to 1865 ; he was repeatedly complimented on the field for courage and skill. THE LAST GUN The tension of four years' suspense and distress was lifted by the news of Lee's surrender at Appomattox, April 9, 1865. Enthusiasm long pent up broke loose with an outburst such as our town had never known before. Muskets and cannon, church bells and steam whistles, gongs, drums, horns, dinner bells and whatever else could make a noise were rioting together in wild demonstrations of joy. The cavalry company under Capt. Spalding came out mount- ed in force ; a procession formed at the Town Hall ; in the midst of it was seen the coffin of the Confederacy draped with the stars and bars, borne by four young men and followed by a company of young women waving the stars and stripes. At the corner of Main and Central streets the coffin was lowered into a pit, with triumphal singing of the Star Spangled Banner and Glory Halle- lujuah. Capt. Harrington of East Village led the militia, who per- formed evolutions and discharged 25 rounds of ammunition from their guns. In the evening 200 buildings were illuminated making "the grandest sight our little town ever witnessed." Union Block and the Court House displayed brilliant lights ; at Pinehurst a row of gas jets blazed the entire length of the ridge-pole ; red, white and blue lights flashed out from Underclyffe ; fire companies with band and torch lights paraded the streets ; four horses brought up the hose carriage finely decorated and illuminated. Huge bon- fires were kindled on Main street and Railroad street while from the hills on either side cannon were booming. At 8 o'clock the old democratic gun on Harris Hill, having seven pounds of pow- der rammed into it with a wad of damp straw, burst into frag- ments ; strange to say not a man was hurt. It was the end of the war, the last gun had been fired ; from this time on " — the war drum throbb'd no longer, and the battle flags were furl'd." 286 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY THE SOLDIERS' MONUMENT "These monuments of manhood strong and high, Do more than forts or battleships to keep Our dear-bought liberty." Van Dyke. At a special Town Meeting, June 23, 1866, a Committee ap- pointed at the previous March meeting, reported a plan for the erection of a monument to the memory of the men who lost their lives in defence of the country during the Civil War. It was thereupon voted to appropriate a sum not exceeding $10,000, for this purpose. The Committee at once communicated with Mr. Larkin G. Mead of Florence, Italy, who at the time was on a visit to his native state of Vermont. He came to St. Johnsbury and in due time a contract was made with him for a statue in Italian marble, executed in Florence, to be delivered at New York City for the sum of $5000. A contract was also made with Mr. Peter B. Laird, for a granite base and pedestal from a de- sign by Architect Grebble of Philadelphia. This was erected in the spring of 1868; in August the statue "America" arrived and was elevated to position on the pedestal, veiled with flags. On the 20th of August 1868, the inauguration took place with imposing ceremonies. A procession, led by Gilmore's Band of Boston, went through the principal streets; besides the various organizations in the line, there was a car drawn by six horses in which 36 girls dressed in white represented the several states of the Union ; another car canopied with evergreen, in which sat a woman personating Peace ; carriages carrying disabled soldiers and others. At Monument Square words of greeting were spoken by Hon. C. S. Dana, President of the day. The names inscribed on the four sides of the monument, 80 in number, were read by Major Edward D. Redington ; Mr. Horace Fairbanks, Chairman of the Monument Committee, announced the completion of the work, and unveiled the statue. The vigorous and prolonged ap- plause of the multitude attested their appreciation and enthusiasm. The 36 gins laid at the feet of "America" a floral offering as from each state of the now reunited Republic. Salutes were fired from WAR 287 guns that were manned under direction of Capt. Edward F. Gris- wold of the Vermont Artillery. Addresses were made by Gov. Dillingham and Hon. L. P. Poland. The expense of this memorial was $8892.46. It is planted on a commanding spot four rods north of the Court House and in- scribed : — IN HONOR OF THE ST. JOHNSBURY VOLUNTEERS WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES IN DEFENCE OF THE UNION Geo. E. Chamberlin Edwin B. Frost Edwin J. Morrill J. W. D. Carpenter John W. Ramsay Dustin S. Walbridge Lorenzo D. Farnham John S. Kilby Orange S. Lynn Darwin J. Wright Benjamin Waldron Erastus M. Dunbar Lanson E. Aldrich John N. Copeland Michael Foley Albert F. Felch Ephraim P. Howard Nathan P. Jay George T. Kasson William Norris Harrison W. Varney Henry C. Voodry Charles W. Hill Orange H. Ayer Joseph S. Archer Leonard N. Bishop Simeon S. Bean Joseph Baker Rozerne E. Bacon Stephen Currier Franklin Caswell Oscar H. Curamings Lewis A. Clark Felix Cunneuille Jacob Chapman Royal G. Mansfield Samuel W. Marden Hiram T. Page Elisha S. Palmer Charles A. Picard Solon W. Pierce Ira L- Powers Geo. N. Richardson Martin Rosebrook William J. Rogers Albert S. Stockwell Wm. H. Sherman Edwin W. Stewart Joseph St. Pierre Paschal P. Shores Andrew Sturgeon George Smithson Theron W. Scruton Davis Towle Whipple A. West Alfred Ward Henry C. Wright James Donnell Nathan L- Davis Julius Dupluse John Donovan Alvin Duff Denison Day Geo. L- Fairchild Samuel Forrest Silas Forrest Edward French John Green Chas. J. Goodnough Russell A. Hutchins William Hannet Obed S. Hatch Oscar F. Hayward Orville W. Hutchinson Abel W. Hawkins Patrick Howard John Howard Geo. F. rtarroun Thomas Kidder Daniel S. Lee The statue, facing the west, rises seven and a half feet above the pedestal, which is twelve feet from the ground. A more graceful and artistic figure in marble is seldom seen ; it fitly and adequately symbolizes the dignity of the Republic, looking out as into future years with calm poise and prophetic eye. Around it is paid the yearly tribute of remembrance of the dead on Memo- rial Day ; on either side, as a reminder of sanguinary fields whose names are graven on the granite, are planted the two Par- rot cannon obtained by Gen. W. W. Grout from the War Depart- ment in 1899. The town of St. Johnsbury paid $44,025 in boun- ties to her soldiers. 288 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY CHAMBERLIN POST G. A. R. This body was among the few pioneer Posts of the country, organized April 10, 1868, in the second year of the Grand Army of the Republic. At its fortieth anniversary in 1908, a historical address was given by Capt. E. L. Hovey, from which the con- densed material of this paragraph is made up. The Post, named in honor of Lieut.-Col. Geo. E. Chamberlin, had eleven charter members ; Capt. P. D. Blodgett, first Com- mander, was at a later period elected State Department Command- er. The highest membership was 208 in 1889. About one third of the comrades were living at the fortieth year, the average age being sixty-eight. The Post has done much to promote a spirit of patriotism and good citizenship, and has received many tokens of favor from the public. Its hall has been adorned with gifts of life-sized portraits, war pictures, maps, a valuable library and many miscellaneous articles, including a costly volume for personal life record of the members. In 1886, Mount Pleasant Cemetery As- sociation presented the Post with a large burial lot, on which it erected a substantial monument surmounted by a figure in mili- tary uniform. Having received the gift of two Parrot guns from the War Department, thro the efforts of General Grout, the Post raised about $100 from individuals and mounted them on Monu- ment Square in 1899. The Post celebrated the Fourth of July 1893, by addresses in Music Hall, two members being present who had passed their ninety-third birthday, viz. Maj. Allen Spaulding and Loren W. Young who enlisted at the age of 58. The Chicago Tribune was not able to find any other Post in the country that could match this record of longevity ; some had one but none had two such veterans. For 29 years the Post has ar- ranged suitable public observances of Memorial Day, toward the expense of which the town has uniformly devoted $150. Many eminent orators have contributed to the importance of these occa- sions. Three war dramas have been presented by the veterans to crowded houses in Music Hall for three and four evenings each. In 1885 there was prepared with the aid of the Woman's Relief Corps a Fair that continued for a week, with receipts of $2000. At the address of Gen. John A. Logan in Music Hall, 1300 tickets WAR 289 were sold; the General was unwilling to accept any compensa- tion, and remarked that if he should find himself possessed of any money not accounted for after arriving in New York, he should send it back to the Chamberlin Post Woman's Relief Corps. This Auxiliary was organized November 21, 1884 ; by its cordial and business like methods it greatly re-enforced the social and pa- triotic work of the Post, and for several years held a record as the banner Corps of the state in charitable work. The E. B. Frost Camp No. 18 of the Sons of the Veterans was organized in 1881. OFF FOR WAR WITH SPAIN The action of Congress on April 19, 1898, declaring Cuba in- dependent was the signal for war with Spain. Four days later a war meeting was called in the Town Hall at the instance of Capt. Ellis of Company D. A special session of the General Assembly met on the fifth of May and on the following day Company D started off for military duty. Promptly at 8 o'clock in the fore- noon the boys were in position, and under escort of Major Bow- man with his aides and various organizations, they marched thro the principal streets of the village. This parade, which was one of the finest for many years, was in the following order : Major Bowman Chief Marshal ; St. Johnsbury Police, J. H. Thompson, Chief; St. Johnsbury Band, 22 pieces ; Palestine Commandery, K. T. 39 men; Canton Crescent, I. O. O. F., 26 ; Vermont Divi- sion K. P., 20 ; Catholic Order of Foresters, 60 ; Harmony Band, 16 pieces ; Board of Trade, 16 ; Chamberlin Post, 42 ; Company D Vermont National Guards, 85 ; Drum Corps, 5 pieces ; St. Johnsbury Academy, 82 ; L. N. Smythe, E. O. Leonard, Chas. H. Horton, Assistant Marshals. From the platform erected at Depot Square brief addresses were made. Mrs. P. F. Hazen brought greetings and good speed from the D. A. R. and the women of St. Johnsbury, "who are proud and glad to give to the heroes of '98 the same help their grandmothers gave to the heroes of '76." Hon. W. P. Stafford gave salutations from the Board of Trade, by which this demon- stration was prepared. As the train pulled out, torpedoes went 290 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY off, bands played and cheers from 5000 spectators went up for the boys in blue now off for the scenes of war. The Captain of Company D was Henry W. Ellis and C. A. Celley was First Lieutenant. They were ordered to Chickamauga, but before they reached the front, the Spaniards were defeated and the war was over. On the 4th September, 1898, the Company return- ed ; 5000 people were at the station as the train pulled in, with torpe- does, cheers and welcomes. They were escorted by the Band, Chamberlin Post and the Boys' Brigade to the Armory on Central street where a dinner was served. On the 27th October a recep- tion was given the boys at the Museum, followed by a banquet with music and addresses at the Armory. Major Townshend came on and mustered them out of the service, leaving with them about $8000 cash. Tho the boys of Company D had no opportunity to test their mettle on the Spaniards, their day of battle came in February, 1908, when the Twenty Third Street Team of New York went down before them in basket ball, 21 to 34 ; also the A. A. Team of East Boston, 13 to 39. XXIII FOR PROTECTION TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES — EVANS BAR — EIGHTY SEATS WANTED — COLD WATER ARMY — JUVENILE MILITANTS — OTHER SOCIETIES — TOWN AGENCY — LOCAL OPTION — TEN YEAR VOTES ON LI- CENSE — FIRE ENGINES — PARADES AND TESTS — TORRENT ON A TOUR — PROSPECTING FOR WATER — A WELL AND A RAM — AQUEDUCT — VILLAGE WATER WORKS. COMBINING FOR TEMPERANCE Of the pioneer Temperance Society of 1828, mention has been made on page 216. The turning of the tide in popular senti- ment began to be manifest at this time, but the progress of reform was necessarily slow. In 1832 there was at least one dis- tillery doing business in the town, probably more than one. In 1837 it was computed that not less than 1000 gallons of liquor were consumed in this town annually. Five years later occurred a significant incident. Horace Evans, who during the twenties had owned and run a distillery at the Center Village, had now moved to Danville where be was keeping a hotel. On the 8th of February, 1842, he made the following announcement : — "The subscriber has this day shut up his Bar and banished from his house all that intoxicates. He intends henceforth to keep a good Temper- ance House. I do this not from motives of gain but because I am convinced that the traffic in ardent spirits is ruinous to the best interests and a disgrace to any civilized community. I invite former customers and all friends of Temperance to sustain me in this attempt ; they will find me ever ready to furnish everything that really contributes to the comfort of the traveler." 292 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Apparently Mr. Evans did succeed in his attempt ; nine years later he returned to St. Johnsbury, known then as the proprietor of the Danville Temperance Hotel ; he bought the Passumpsic House recently built on Railroad street and conducted the same till 1854. The St. Johnsbury North Temperance Society was formed at the Center Village in 1830, but no record is found of its doings. The Caledonia County Young Men's Temperance Association, organized in this town in 1836 had an iron-clad pledge and a mem- bership of vigorous working young men. At the annual meeting of 1839, held in the Meeting House on the Plain, the interest and attendance was such that something like eighty persons were un- able to secure seats. This Association had an active life of more than fifty years, its semi-centennial was observed here in 1886 ; after the State prohibitory law was in force, from 1853, it had by common consent the nomination of a candidate for County Commissioner ; this important responsibility it met with uniform sagacity and fairness. 7 he St. Johnsbury Town Temperance Society may have been a rejuvenation of the original Society of 1828. It was set going in May 1839, at the Universalist Church, Center Village, fifty men of the town having signed the call for it. The pledge adopted at that time is still in existence, in the handwriting of Hiram H. Ide the Secretary. John Armington was President. The Cold Water Army came on to the field May 24, 1842. This juvenile army had a more or less militant career for 47 years. It began with 134 enlisted boys and girls who used to parade with banners and music, singing along the streets the familiar refrain, H So here we pledge perpetual hate To all that can intoxicate." Besides the Plain Division there were others in the different villages. On the Fourth of July 1843, these all rendezvoused on the Green at the head of the Plain, where a spacious bower had been erected with seats for 1200 people, bright with decorations and flags. At noon the companies from the East and Center vil- FOR PROTECTION 293 lages arrived in carriages covered with evergreen, joined their comrades of the Plain, and all together 800 in number formed under their banners and marched, led by the Band to the Bower. Here were songs, addresses and dialogues, then the collation with plenty of cold water showered out from the sky ; and afterward more formal exercises held in the Meeting House. An incident not set down on the program of the day, was the arrival of a large, decorated cake from Passumpsic Village, bear- ing this inscription — "As the Daughters of Israel sang songs for the victories of the stripling David, so do we, the Ladies of Pas- sumpsic, stay up the hands and cheer the hearts of the young Cold Water Army of St. Johnsbury ; for which purpose we pre- sent you this token of our regard." The cake, after a suitable vote of thanks, was cut up and presented to the revolutionary veterans who were present. The number of people attending this celebra- tion was above fifteen hundred. One of the white silk badges worn in the East Village Division on the parade that day is now in the Athenaeum, presented by the owner nearly 70 years after. Public exhibitions of the Cold Water Army were held at in- tervals for many years. One at the South Church, May 14, 1877 drew an audience that packed the house ; 240 who were enrolled, from six to sixteen years of age, filled the front pews and gave songs and recitations. Two years later, in August 1879, there were 255 in the parade on Main street who followed the band into the Town Hall for the special exercises ; after which they sat down to an appetizing collation on the grounds outside. A similar oc- casion was observed in the North Church in 1886. In October 1889, the old Cold Water Army was reorganized at the South Church into the Loyal Temperance Legion, which for a term of years kept up the traditions of the boys and girls who preceding them, had pledged perpetual hate to all that can intoxicate. After a time this order melted into the Roll of Honor which was set up in the Sunday Schools of the town. The Sons of Temperance. Excelsior Division, No. 34, was instituted in 1849. They took measures to provide for public meetings and lectures to be held in the different villages. Wil- liam Sanborn, Beauman Butler, Benj. Morrill were a committee to 294 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY carry out the plan. The next year the St. Johnsbury Division led by the Cornet Band joined with two others in a union celebra- tion of the Fourth of July 1850 at Lyndon. "Twelve hundred people repaired to a grove fanned by breezes from their native hills and with nature's tapestry woven above and around them." The address was given by C. W. Willard Esq., on the origin and aims of the Order, as indicated by its motto — Love, Purity, Fidel- ity. Among the post-prandial sentiments, No. 15 was given by Rev. Wm. W. Thayer: 4< The Sons of Temperance ! altogether a manly family ; we have some acquaintance with the excellent Mother Temperance ; we hope her interests will be delicately handled by her Sons ; but where are the Daughters ? " The Good Templars. A lodge of this order called Harmony, No. 17, was instituted about 1864, in 1882 it was reorganized as Hector Lodge, with a membership of 144, and continued for a term of years, maintaining a hall and regular meetings conducted with practical results. Eagle Temple Temperance Society was instituted August, 1867, and used to meet weekly in the Engine House Hall. The Temperance Reform Club was organized in August, 1876. Henry C. Belden Esq. was President, George D. Stevens, Sec- retary. About 80 persons signed the pledge at that time. Catholic Societies. To the Rev. Father Boissonnault and his assistants the cause of temperance in the town was very greatly indebted during the long period of his ministry among us. His church of Notre Dame was practically a temperance society. Special organizations also were formed. In April, 1889, the R. C. Total Abstinence Society enrolled 89 men, who with badges on their coats might be seen in a body marching into the church. In 1890 was organized a Father Matthew Society with 100 mem- bers. In St. Aloysius' parish some 200 members were enrolled in the Young Men's Temperance Society in 1896. The Local Anti-Saloon League^ auxiliary to the State League, was formed in 1900 with a membership of 251. Woman's Christian Temperance Union. The local branch was organized here September 25, 1876, and was one of the earliest in FOR PROTECTION 295 the State. It has maintained a continuous and useful activity since that time ; the only temperance organization of long stand- ing that has come over from the last century. Its guest and lead- ing speaker at the State Convention in the North Church some years ago was Miss Frances E. Willard. THE TOWN AGENCY Under the State prohibitory system the town agency came to be a serious problem. The amount of liquor dispensed seemed disproportionate to the reasonable demand for medicine. Heated discussion arose, and at the March Meeting of 1880 a motion was put up to abolish the agency ; on this the vote stood yea 238, nay 284. Thereupon, the agency being retained, a vote was passed restricting sales to residents of St. Johnsbnry, and requiring the Selectmen to publish weekly a sworn statement of the liquor agent giving the name of each purchaser, the amount in bulk, the price paid, for what purpose to be used, and if obtained on an order, whose order. At the end of the first week the list of names published was 62, all but two of whom had it for medicine ; the next week there were 69 purchasers of whom all but seven re- quired medicine. It appeared that under this publicity method there had been in two weeks' time a falling off of forty per cent in the sales at the agency, also a large increase in the amount of liquor brought in to the town. At the next town meeting in 1881, the vote on abolishing the agency was again taken, resulting in 111 yeas, 153 nays. This gave a majority of 42 as against 46 of the year before, but the falling off of 260 on the entire vote indi- cated a subsidence of interest on this particular question. The agency was continued, doing a more or less unsatisfactory busi- ness until the repeal of the prohibitory law under which it had been constituted. LOCAL OPTION On the question of regulating the traffic in intoxicants the General Assembly of 1902 passed Act number 90, which substituted local option for state prohibition. This was made subject to a 296 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY referendum ; the result of which was a state- vote of 1300 majority in its favor, and local option was therefore established as the law of the State. The vote of Caledonia County was 1818 against the new measure; the town of St. Johnsbury gave 292 votes against it at the special town meeting of February 3, 1903. The new order made the licensed saloon a possibility in the town and prior to the annual March meeting public attention was called to it. The Woman's Club of 225 members sent out an appeal to the voters to protect the homes and shield the children by voting no-license. The signatures of 168 men representing religious, educational, banking, corporation, press and business interests, practically all, said — "we are unalterably opposed to the open saloon in our fair village, believing it to be a menace to our best interests, and shall not only vote against it at the coming March meeting, but shall do whatever we reasonably can to pre- serve the good name our town has hitherto sustained." The an- nual vote of the town for that and ensuing years is given in the following table : — Year Yes No Maj. Year Yes No Maj. 1903 532 672 140 1908 179 621 424 1904 409 780 371 1909 355 697 342 1905 134 423 289 1910 387 574 187 1906 154 580 426 1911 431 583 152 1907 308 620 312 1912 431 583 152 Quarantine prevented a legal vote in 1912 and the figures of the year preceeding held over. In 1914 the total vote was 1256, of which 456 for license, 810 against it, a majority of 354. FIRE ENGINE COMPANIES The Franklin Fire Company, the first of which there is record in the town, was organized in the Fairbanks Village Schoolhouse April 19, 1844. A code of by-laws was adopted to which twenty men signed their names. Foreman, Noah Eastman ; Assistant, Mark C. Webster ; Secretary and Treasurer, Charles Fairbanks. This Company continued till April 21, 1853, when it was reorgan- ized under the name of FOR PROTECTION 297 The Torrent Fire Company No. i, Foremen, A. P. Blunt 1853- 1854, Franklin Fairbanks 1854-1855. An engine house was built on Mechanics Square, with an upstairs hall for meetings and other conveniences. The engine was owned by E. and T. Fairbanks and Co. but under entire control of the village. The Deluge Company No. 2 was organized in the St. Johns- bury House April 21, 1853 ; J. W. Robinson, Foreman ; E. F. Brown, Assistant ; F. Deming, Clerk. Moses Hill was Foreman 1854-1855 ; and D. P. Thompson 1855. The Deluge engine was bought at a cost of $1117 and housed in a building that cost $500 more. There were forty men in the Company. Disbanded June 5, 1880. The Alert Company No. 3 organized in 1856, was composed of thirty-two boys who proved themselves men in action. B. O. Stephenson was Foreman. "In dexterity, aptitude and correct performance the boys of the Alert are excelled by few." In addition to these three leading Fire Companies there was during the later fifties, The Active No. 4, composed of young men, Charles F. Barney, Captain ; also The Veterans No. 5, a volunteer company of fifty men who wore unique uniforms and did astonish- ing stunts. The Excelsior Hook and Ladder Company organized February 7, 1860, with A. P. Blunt, Foreman ; Richard Eastman, Assistant ; E. C. Redington, Clerk and Treasurer. There were originally eighteen fire ladders. Four cisterns were built on the Plain capable of re- taining 150 hogsheads each, at a cost of $240. PARADES AND TESTS At the Cattle Fair of September 24, 1856, one of the distin- guishing attractions of the day was the Parade of the St. Johns- bury Fire Companies, escorted by the Brattleboro and St. Johnsbury Brass Bands. The lack of sufficient water supply on the grounds above Paddock Village, prevented the anticipated tests between the two principal engines. Accordingly on the 1st of October, the officers and men of Torrent No. 1 invited Deluge No. 2 to a trial match on the Plain. Deluge No. 2 accepted the 298 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY challenge, tho considering the disparity of conditions they were like young David going to meet Goliath. Meantime the Village Trustees and Fire Wardens, deprecating a spirit of rivalry and considering the two engines unfitted for competition, suggested in lieu of this a public exhibit of evolutions and performances by the three fire companies. This proposition was heartily accepted and on Saturday afternoon, October 25, everybody was on the way to the cistern opposite the South Church to witness the ex- hibit. Torrent lined up 55 men, Deluge 50, Alert 32, Veterans 50, total on parade 157, led by the Brass Band. St. Johnsbury took pride that day in her Fire Companies ; the occasion wound up with a rally front of the St. Johnsbury House, where the men were addressed by Judge Poland, Erastus Fairbanks, Pliny H. White and E. C. Redington ; and were assured that their feats of rapidity and skill, attaching suction and discharging hose, could not be surpassed by the best city fire companies. The next year a Fireman's Parade was put upon the streets in June. "It answered all the purposes of the old fashioned June training, with the very desirable difference that good order took the place of rioting and that where rum once abounded, water did now much more abound." A torch light procession enlivened the evening. In 1860 Torrent No. 1 was equipped with a new engine built to order in Pawtucket; the tub was 23 feet long, of mahogany and rosewood inlaid with pearl, and with silver lettering. The cylinder was 10 inches caliber, aud threw three streams at a time. The men came out in new frocks of red, trimmed with blue ; tri- colored rolling collars ; belts inscribed St. Johnsbury, white letter- ed on red ground ; fire caps New York style, marked Torrent No. 1. On July 4, that year, the Torrent with 30 men, Franklin Fair- banks, Foreman, executed the best work in a trial at Montpelier and took the prize of $125. They made an excursion to Burling- ton and Montreal. Burlington papers remarked : "Too much cannot be said in praise of the Torrent Company of St. Johns- bury. Their excellent drill, determined and resolute look, their great strength and devotion to duty, make them the pride not of FOR PROTECTION 299 their village only but also of the state." "The Torrent Company- is marked by fine appointments and discipline, vigorous personal appearance and a general air of sobriety and good breeding." VILLAGE WATER SUPPLIES For about seventy years each family had to provide its own independent supply of water ; partly by directing roof-water in to tubs or cisterns, partly by digging wells, partly by going with pitcher or pail to the nearest spring for drinking water. Here and there a few small springs were found by the early settlers. One, known as the Cold Spring, was in the edge of the woods below the first school house, which faced what is now the head of Summer street. This is reported to have been a great conven- ience to the school children with their tin cups ; years afterward when a little pond had been constructed it was equally interesting to boys and girls with their steel skates. On or near Judge Pad- dock's premises was a small spring ; another one bubbled up at the Lawrence tannery, now Pinehurst, which supplied many family pitchers of that neighborhood ; water was brought up in pails from a spring below Dr. Lord's at the south end of the street. Dr. Stevens' well, now covered by the concrete south of the brick block, was for many years a source of water supply to families near the Bend ; it was surmounted by a clumsy structure popularly known as the village pump. Introductory to a paper on Aqueducts, ancient and modern, written about 1859, is found a reference to local conditions from which the following is taken: — ERASTUS FAIRBANKS' REMINISCENCES "My early recollection of the village of St. Johnsbury which included at that time only the houses on the Plain, vividly brings to mind the great in- convenience occasioned by the want of water, especially for culinary pur- poses. To meet this need various projects were put forward. Captain James Ramsey and Willard Carleton at one time undertook to bring water in clay pipes from the hill northwest of the Plain. The pipes were in sections about two feet long, made by a patent machine and designed to be inserted into each other and cemented. These pipes were great absorbents of water and easily broken ; and being incapable of sustaining any considerable pressure the plan proved abortive and within two years was abandoned. Specimens 300 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY of those clay pipes may be found at the present day ; they were extensively used for landmarks, and in the town records of deeds reference is frequently made to corners of lots indicated by a clay pipe buried vertically in the ground." It occasionally happens in the miscellaneous excavations of more recent date that scattered remnants of those old red clay pipes are thrown up like poor Yorick's bones by the spade; the writer has a good one planted pointed-end up, in his garden — "an archaeological relic of man and his industries," long prior to the period of water-mains, hydrants and garden sprinklers ; others that were set to mark boundary lines are presumably still standing faithfully at the post of duty, defending land rights against unlaw- ful invasion. The manuscript from which the foregoing quotation has been taken, describes a novel process of trying to reach underground water near the south end. On the spot where the Academy Fountain now plays Dr. Luther Jewett who lived directly across the street sank a well about 1829, from which he afterward re- marked THE BOTTOM DROPPED OUT "He commenced with a brick curb at the surface which he settled into the earth by throwing out the sand within, so that the brick tube settled gradually down while additional bricks were laid upon the top. In this way he proceeded through the sandy formation to the depth of nearly forty feet, when he reached a small supply of water upon a substratum of clay. Deem- ing the quantity of water insufficient, he continued to dig in the clay until, as he used to say, the bottom of his well dropped out! For, after going through a thin layer of clay, he came into dry white sand of an unknown depth, and the effort to find water was abandoned. Several years ago, a boy, while running across the spot, broke through the soil over this well, but fortunately threw himself forward so as to escape falling in. The well had been filled mostly with wood, a cheaper article than at the present time, which in the process of years had decayed, leaving a dangerous cavern." A REFRACTORY RAM The water that was running to waste from the old Dr. Lord spring south of the Plain was of fairly good quality, and in 1851 J. P. Fairbanks installed a hydraulic ram which pumped a small FOR PROTECTION 301 stream of it up to the level of his buildings. This machine was a novelty in the village, and boys were attracted to it, particularly after nightfall when its wierd and measured thumping sounded more strangely than the hooting of the owls. The ram was apt to get out of gear and David Kinsman was the man always sent for to fix it. One time his patience with its refractory behaviour was so exhausted that he inflicted on it a smart rap with his tool, accompanied with expletives of the sort not desired on those premises. Turning suddenly, there to his surprise, stood the owner of the ram, who had overheard the vocal explosion. He said nothing, but to the surprise of both men the machine resumed operations and began to pump. The next time it stopped Mr. Fairbanks went into the shop and told David that he had better go up and say a few words to the old ram. THE ST. JOHNSBURY AQUEDUCT In 1854 the St. Johnsbury Aqueduct Company was incorpora- ted for the purpose of supplying the village with water ; the cor- porators organized in March 1857, with Dr. Bancroft, President ; Ephraim Jewett, Clerk. At a citizens' meeting held at the St. Johnsbury House they reported thro a committee, a plan to pump Passumpsic River to a reservoir on Bingham Hill, the present site of Brightlook, 190 feet above the river level. This reservoir was planned to take in 4000 gallons an hour, with capacity for 126,876 gallons. Subscriptions were started for 300 shares at $50 each ; nothing further was accomplished ; the suggestion of a reservoir however was carried out by the Aqueduct Company in 1866, and until the erection of Brightlook Hospital the low circular structure on Reservoir Hill was a familiar object west of Summer street. On the ninth of January 1860 the new St. Johnsbury Aqueduct Company was organized under the Act of Legislature of Novem- ber 21, 1859 ; with a capital of $100,000 which was doubled 37 years later ; the corporators were the E. and T. Fairbanks and Co. who purchased the property of the former Company, most of which was already owned by them. The necessity of a more adequate fire protection at the Scale Works, led to the construc- tion in 1861, of a six-inch pump-log line to the Hale Springs in 302 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Waterford, which ultimately tapped the Stiles Pond and finally developed into the extensive Aqueduct system now depended on for the entire domestic water supply of the village. In the summer of 1877 new iron cement-lined pipes were laid to Stiles Pond, which the Company had recently purchased. It was found that the Pond which then covered sixty acres was 176 feet higher than Main street and that by doubling its capacity by damming, a town of 40,000 population could be amply supplied for all needed purposes. A year later the Pond was giving seventy pounds pressure to the square inch on Main street and 110 on Railroad street. A new filter of 2101 feet surface and 30 inches depth of gravel and fine sand was built in 1882 ; since that date the four large filters now in use, with standpipe, have been erected and all the water brought to the village comes down thro 42 inches of approved filtration. In 1894, ten miles of new piping were laid, mostly ten-inch ; during that and the preceding year, nearly $75,000 was expended on construction, including $4250 for filter, and $600 for a venture meter. In addition to the ten-inch main laid in 1894, a fourteen-inch line, following a different route, was laid in 1912 from Stiles Pond to Summerville about three and a half miles length, making two separate mains of 24 inch total capacity. The amount of water used or drawn in the village is registered each ten minutes by the meters, showing on the aver- age a million gallons per day. The aqueduct is capable of sup- plying three and a half million gallons daily. Since 1906 all water for domestic uses has been taken from this system ; there are also 61 hydrants for use by the fire department, 34 of which were paid for by the village. The Pond is fed principally by sub- aqueous springs of copious volume ; to secure perpetual purity of inflowing waters, the Aqueduct Company has purchased the Stiles farm, and taken other measures to protect the water shed. THE VILLAGE WATER WORKS During the summer of 1876 the Village Water Works were established at the mill dam in Paddock Village, the original Ar- nold water privilege. The main purpose in view was to secure fire protection ; water for all other uses was however included in FOR PROTECTION 303 the plan. The small island was secured, on which was placed the pump house, a brick building about thirty feet square ; and six- fortieths of the water power was purchased, for $600. In May the Trustees contracted for a number-one Flanders Pump, capac- ity 500,000 gallons per twenty-four hours ; also for a number- three Pump, capacity 2,000,000 gallons, guaranteed to throw six one- inch fire streams 100 feet each ; also 1940 rods of iron pipe, two to twelve inch sizes ; also 66 two-way and 4 three-way hydrants — total piping reaching six miles and twenty rods. This contract called for $56,940.93 and did not include the work of trenching and laying the pipe lines. This was undertaken by Joseph Tru- dell at $2.74 per rod for the entire six miles. The water wheel at the pump house was Buzzell's giant wheel, made in Paddock Vil- lage. To meet the expense of this river system, Village Water bonds to the amount of $75,000 were issued, payable after five and within twenty years, at the rate of $5000 a year. The hydrants did good work in playing on burning buildings, but serious difficulty was encountered by reason of inadequate water power ; and the annual expense for repairs and up-keep of the machinery was heavy. During the month of January 1881 there was no power to move the pumps. In 1892 a new boiler and steam pump was put in at an expense of $3124 ; this was 185 horse power, intended to discharge 1500 gallons a minute on a fire and to deliver a million and a half gallons each 24 hours. In October that year the power was in requisition, pouring 1000 gallons a minute for four hours on the fire that swept the east side of Railroad street. Three years later at the burning of the Pythian Block a pressure of 110 pounds was readily sustained. In 1893 the village paid $4000 for four additional shares of water power ; of the forty shares of that water privilege the Village of St. Johnsbury now owns eight. In August 1910 the use of Passumpsic River water for drinking and household purposes was discontinued by order of the State Board of Health. It is now delivered for fire protection, sprinkling, water troughs and fountains, stables, garages and manufacturing purposes, only. 304 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY In seeking a right solution of the water supply problem, sur- veys at various times were made and reported to the Village Trustees. It was estimated that water connection with Joe's Pond would cost $188,378 ; with Goss Hollow Brook, $100,273 ; with Hall's Pond, Waterford, $140,624 ; with Willoughby Lake an undesirable sum ; an Artesian well would call for $40,000 ; an ade- quate Filter on Passumpsic River would cost $30,000. These various propositions were considered at Village meetings; the filtration scheme was put up urgently in 1905, on a $20,000 esti- mate ; this came within 31 votes of adoption ; a second special meeting was called, at which time it was rejected by a majority of 165 votes. XXIV RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. 1 'Vermont and Delaware declare that every sect ought to maintain some form of religious worship, and Vermont adds that it ought to observe the Lord's Day." Ambassador Brice THE OLD FIRST CHURCH 1809 The early story of this church which held a unique place in the history of the town has been given in chapter ten. With a pastor on the ground only two years of its first quarter-century, it nevertheless made vigorous growth in membership and in spiritual life of a serious type, confronted by prevailing irreligion and immorality. With later years came the increasing impor- tance of the Plain as the center of business and population, and the consequent weakening of the old Mother Church on the hill. Since 1825 its influence has been becoming more widely distribu- ted through its lineal descendants, the North, the East, and the South Congregational Churches. Its pastors by installation were Pearson Thurston, 1815-17; Josiah Morse M. D., 1833-43; J. P. Stone, 1846-50 ; H. Wellington, 1855-60 ; Geo. H. Clarke, 1862-65 ; H. M. Holliday, 1866-67 ; Edward T. Fairbanks, 1868-74. The house of worship is the old meeting house of 1804, taken down in 1845 and re-erected on its present site in the Center Village. THE UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY 1813 The beginnings of this organization falling within the period of the early history of the town have been narrated on page 135. There is no record of any organized church. The adherents in- 306 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY eluded a large proportion of the prominent men of the town ; 210 signatures were on the constitution. The first preachers appear to have been itinerants; a few names only are found — Hollis Sampson, Mr. Vose, Mr. Wright and later B. M. Tillotson and T. R. Spencer. A majority of the pews in the old meeting house on the hill were owned by men of this society, and all the early services were held there, alternating with the Congregationalists. In 1843 the Universalist meeting house was erected in the Center Village; this was destroyed by fire in 1876. Regular services therein had been suspended prior to that event ; since then the remnant of the original society living at the Center Village has been under the parishional care of the minister of the Church of the Messiah at the Plain. NORTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 1825 To accommodate families living on or near the Plain three miles or more from the Meeting House, a colony, called the Sec- ond Congregational, was set off from the old First Church, April 7, 1825. By a coincidence not designed, it began, as the mother church had eighteen years before, with six men and thirteen women. For two years this company met for worship in a small store reconstructed for the purpose ; see page 211. In 1847 the first Meeting House on the Plain was built, on the present North Church site. Twenty years later it was moved to where it now stands, south of the Court House and a new one was erected, which in turn was moved across the street and converted into Music Hall, to make way for the third and final structure of stone, dedicated February 24, 1881. Architecturally this building is not surpassed by any other in the state. The style is Mediaeval Goth- ic ; the material is Isle La Motte stone with ornamental pillars of red granite ; the interior woodwork is of native cherry, the win- dows and wall decorations are in the highest degree artistic. The organ, a gift from one of the sons of the church, is an instrument of great compass and range of expression, having 1789 pipes. The length of this building is 162 feet, the turret above the bell tower rises 140 feet from the ground ; the seating capacity is 800. In membership and wide reach of influence the North Church has for many years had a leading rank in this part of the State. RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS 307 The three founders of the scale industry were among its earlier members and gave strong impulse to its spiritual life and liberal benevolences. It inherits an honorable history and superior equipment, and has a large constituency. The membership in 1912 was 512. Pastors, James Johnson, 1827-38 ; John H. Worcester, 1839- 46; Wm. B. Bond, 1847-58 ; E. C. Cummings, 1860-70; C, M. Southgate, 1870-75 ; Henry W. Jones, 1875-85 ; C. M. Lamson, 1885-94 ; Albert H. Heath, 1894-99 ; Edward M. Chapman, 1900-05 ; Edward D. Eaton, 1905-07 ; Geo. W. C. Hill, 1907-1913 ; F. B. Richards, 1914. CENTER VILLAGE METHODIST CHURCH 1835 A small dwelling house fixed over for the purpose was used by this Church until the erection in 1841 of a house of worship, the third in that village ; which is still standing and regularly oc- cupied. During the earlier years the nucleus of this Church was on the Lyndon circuit and among the ministers whose names ap- pear, were James Templeton, 1827 ; J. A. Scarrit, 1829 ; John Nason, 1832 ; J. F. Adams, 1834. Among the sons of this Church was one whose name has given it distinction : Rev. Edwin W. Parker, a native of this town, which will ever hold in honor his eminent work as a missionary. He went to India in 1859, and after years of conspicuous service was made Bishop of the Metho- dist Church in that Country. His wife and efficient helper was Lois S. Lee of the First Congregational Church. EAST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 1840 This church, like its two predecessors, began with 19 mem- bers, one added, making 20, mostly by letter from the North and Center. It was organized November 25, 1840, on which day also the Meeting House newly built was dedicated. Twelve years later the building was raised and a select school was kept in the lower rooms by Pastor Gurney. In 1870 there were extensive repairs and refurnishings ; again in 1902 an entire remodeling and deco- rating for which about $2500 was expended. The gifts for this 308 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY purpose ranged from $170 to the one cent that was brought in by a small boy who hoped his contribution would help some. Names of the charter members are on the double windows facing south, and on the window over the pulpit are commemorated the services of the pastors ; named as follows : Rufus Case, 1842-49 ; John H. Gurney, 1850-55 ; John Bowen, 1858-63 ; Wm. Baldwin, 1864-66 ; J. P. Humphrey, 1868-78 ; F. B. Phelps, 1879-84 ; J. N. Walker, 1884-86; J. F. Whitman, 1886-88; B. S. Adams, 1890-91 ; Arthur Hertel, 1891-92; Geo. W. Patterson, 1894-1901; E. E. Grant 1901-14. Being the only church in the East part of the town this one holds an important place and has done a valuable work for the community, reaching across the town lines into Kirby and Waterford. At the re-dedication in 1902 there had been 370 names on the church, of whom 40 were received at one time by Pastor Humphrey, whose memory is cherished with peculiar love and veneration. EAST VILLAGE METHODIST 1844 Soon after 1840 a Methodist preaching station was establish- ed at the East Village. A. Hitchcock was the minister in charge in 1844 and somewhile thereafter. In 1850, Jonathan Whitney was the preacher ; the place of meeting was unsuitable and he urged the securing of a house of worship. It appeared that in 1818, John Stiles had put up a Free Baptist Chapel in Waterford Hollow. It was a plain structure with square pews, which were sold off from time to time till something like $1500 was realized. In those days denominational lines were rigid ; at one time a Universalist preacher found his way into the pulpit of that house ; when Mr. Stiles came in and recognized the situation, he found it his duty to go into the pulpit and get the man of false doctrine out of it. This is the story as now narrated. In process of time the demand for doctrine of any sort in that house seems to have declined and services were no longer held in it. Then in 1850 the Methodist Conference bought it, moved it into the East Village and planted it there, opposite the Congrega- tional Church. Isaac Harrington was a leader in this movement. Some while later he would pay a third of the debt to avoid a RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS 309 mortgage. When the church was opened for worship there were 58 members ; a third of the pews were for free sittings. Among the preachers were Lyman Farnham, Daniel Carr, Wilbur Fisk, Orange Scott, George Bickford, J. Ward. In 1896, the building became too dilapidated to be longer used, it was torn down and the society discontinued its services. SOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 1851 The increase of population after the opening of the railroad in 1850, and the difficulty in securing seats for all worshipers in the Meeting House, led up to the question of another church on the Plain. Inquiry was made as to other denominations. It did not appear that any other was intending to come in. The situa- tion was discussed long and anxiously. The conclusion finally forced upon the people was that the church now on the ground must be divided in to two. No one welcomed this proposition, least of all those who would have to go. But the religious wel- fare of the community plainly seeming to demand it, the inevita- ble was accepted. Sixty-five members were set off to constitute the colony. This was a little more than one-fourth the resident membership. On the 23rd of October, 1851, they were organized under the name of the South Congregational Church. The house of worship, adjoining the Academy, was built by the whole socie- ty, to be owned and occupied by the colony, and was dedicated January 14, 1852. For the first ten years the sanguine prediction of rapid growth was far from being realized. There were serious losses and dis- couragements and much talk of reunion. Brighter days dawned with the second decade, and during the high wave of religious awakening in the seventies the membership was doubled and large congregations filled the house. Particular attention has from the first been given to missionary, educational and philanthropic work, to inter-church fraternity and union in religious activities. The South Church house of worship is now the only one left on the Plain of the Wren type formerly so common in New England — somewhat modernized in the interior with harmonious 310 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY wall tinting, memorial windows and hard wood floor. The broad pew-backs finely grained and the wide spreading mahogany pulpit are cherished reminders of earlier times. The village clock rings from the bell tower of the South Church and a fountain plays on its lawn. Pastors, Sumner G. Clapp, 1852-55 ; George N. Webber, 1855-59; Lewis O. Brastow, 1861-73; Edward T. Fairbanks, 1874-1902 ; S. G. Barnes, 1902-11 ; Paul Dwight Moody, 1912. GRACE METHODIST CHURCH 1856 With a membership of 34, this Church was organized, De- cember 3, 1856, in the old Union Hall, where services were held for the next two years. In January 1859 the church building on Central Street was completed at an expense of $5000 and dedicated. Ad- joining this was built in 1880 the parsonage costing $2700. By this time the membership had increased to about 200 and the seat- ing capacity was insufficient ; it was therefore determined to en- large the building. For this purpose on a Sunday in 1883, $5250 was raised, afterward increased to $11,000, including generous gifts from outside the Society. The enlarged new building with modern appliances was dedicated January 31, 1884. In 1908, after serious injury by fire, it was remodeled and decorated, standing with the parsonage at a valuation of $35,000. The bell on this building was originally installed with fire alarm attachments ; its heavy tones continue to ring in good congregations. Pastors: Alonzo Webster, 1856; H. F. Foster, '57; D. Packer, '58 ; H. W. Worthen, '59 ; H. P. Cushing, '61 ; I. McAnn, '63 ; A. A. Titus, '66; E. C. Bass, '69 ; J. N. Walker, 70; H. C. Sheldon, '71 ; H. A. Spencer, 72 ; A. L. Cooper, 73 ; D. E. Miller, 74; H. F. Austin, 78; E. S. Locke, 79; E. W. Culver, '82 ; L. L. Beeman, '85 ; T. P. Frost, '87 ; G. M. Curl, '89 ; C. W. Bradley, '92; W. S. Smithers, '93; Thos. Tyrie, '99; G. W. Hunt, '02; J. M. Frost, '06; Peter Black, 1909. NOTRE DAME DES VICTOIRES 1858 The first resident Catholic priest in the town was Rev. S. Danielou who came here in 1858. During the 16 years of his RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS 311 pastorate he built the brick church on Cherry street with the first rectory, and began the school for boys. In 1874, Rev. J. A. Boissonnault began his long and efficient ministry. At that time there were 221 St. Johnsbury families in the parish, but his super- vision extended to thirteen other towns. He completed the parochial school for boys, now in charge of the Brothers of St. Gabriel, built the convent Mount St. Joseph for girls in 1882, which is in charge of the Sisters of Notre Dame, and the next year bought the Prospect street parochial residence, originally built by Dr. J. P. Bancroft about 1847. In 1886 foundations were laid for the new granite church edifice, built at an expense of $37,000 and dedicated January 6, 1889. This building is 140 by 60 feet on the ground with a tower and spire 198 feet high, seating capacity 1200. The interior, finished in ash, frescoed and lighted with figured windows is thronged with worshipers at all stated times. In 1894 was erected the St. Johnsbury Hospital, the first in the town. The group of substantial buildings secured for the Notre Dame parish during the pastorate of Father Boissonnault represents an expenditure of some $250,000 and they stand as a permanent visible monument of his work. More worthy of note than these was the personal influence of the man himself. For 35 years he lived among us, respected and honored by everyone, for his modest bearing, his friendly and genial spirit, his stalwart promotion of righteousness, sobriety and good citizenship. His worth and weight as an influential citizen were at all times recog- nized ; all classes and creeds united in paying respect to his memory at the last services ; places of business were closed as his body was borne to the burial. His successor, the Rev. E. C. Drouhin took the rectorship in August 1911. In the parochial schools of Notre Dame are some 400 pupils ; the young men of the parish have a large and flourishing Association, with head- quarters in St. Agnes Hall, which is equipped with library, reading room, gymnasium and other accessories for their culture and im- provement. CHURCH OF THE MESSIAH 1868 Soon after the close of the Civil War, services were held in Union Hall and later in the Town Hall, by pastors of the Univer- 312 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY salist Church at the Center Village. Organization was effected January 23, 1868, and in December 1871, Rev. B. M. Tillotson accepted a call to the pastorate in which he continued for 12 years. Under his leadership the house of worship on Eastern Avenue was erected, and dedicated January 23, 1873. Lambert Packard was the architect and John Stevens the builder ; the seating capacity is 500. A good number of business men were enlisted in the support of this organization; the women, from their first donation of $1000, have continued a strong reliance for practi- cal and financial aid ; at the anniversary of 1908, it appeared that they had contributed $15,750 in behalf of the church. Pastors : B. M. Tillotson, 1871 ; Geo. W. Jenkins, 1883 ; E. A. Hoyt, 1885 ; Costello Weston, 1892 ; Hervey H. Hoyt, 1894 ; H. L. Veasey, 1898 ; J. P. Quimby, 1899 ; A. F. Walsh, 1901 ; B. F. Butler, 1908; C. L. Eaton, 1913. FREE BAPTIST CHURCH 1869 Eight men with their eight wives and one other, seventeen in all were organized into this body in the house of Francis Switzer by a Council from the Wheelock Quarterly meeting, November 10, 1869. For four years services were held in the Hall in Bank Block ; the house of worship, corner of Main and Prospect Streets, was erected in 1875. On Sunday morning March 26, 1881, this house was burned to ashes ; with the resolute purpose to rebuild, came generous contributions from citizens of the town, and on December 3, 1882, public worship was held in the new building which was a replica of the one first occupied seven years before, with seating capacity of 300. In 1818 a Free Baptist congrega- tion was established at St. Johnsbury Center, of which no definite information appears. Pastors : W. L. Noyes, 1870 ; Isaac Hyatt, 1872 ; Ozro Roys, 1874; C. S. Frost, 1878; H. Lockhart, 1881; D. H. Adams, 1883 ; F. E. Davidson, 1886; C. B. Atwood, 1889 ; A. I. Davis, 1891 ; G. C. Waterman, 1895 ; R. L. Dustin, 1901 ; F. H. Knollin, 1906 ; E. Holman, 1907 ; E. E. Phillips, 1910. RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS 313 THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH 1874 Organized by William Bacon of New York City in 1874, with 13 members. The house of worship was erected on Railroad street the following year, "with seating capacity of 250 ; to the rear of this was attached in 1904 a convenient and commodious Chapel. This Church holds an important position, being the only one in the populous district that includes Railroad and Summer- ville villages. Pastors : J. H. Marsh, 1874 ; E. T. Sandford, 1875 ; G. O. Webster, 1891 ; F. R. Stratton, 1892 ; H. M. Douglass, 1894 ; A. C. Hussey, 1899 ; C. R. B. Dodge, 1902 ; Albert H. Gage, 1905 ; F. S. Tolman, 1908. st. Andrew's episcopal church 1876 Services of the Episcopal order were first held in 1856, in the old Union Hall and occasionally in other places prior to Novem- ber 1876, at which time the parish was formally organized with articles of association signed by twenty men. The next year was begun the erection of the house of worship, dedication of which was held August 3, 1881 ; the pipe organ was presented some years later by Capt. E. F. Griswold. The roll of communicants in 1912 was about 200. The men of St. Andrews have been among the substantial citizens of the town, and some of the rec- tors have been highly esteemed in the community. Rectors: N. F. Putnam, 1876; F. S. Fisher, 1882; George H. Bailey, 1888 ; F. D. Buckley, 1889; Frank Appleton, 1892; W. H. Mill, 1897; Charles Pickells, 1900; James A. Thompson, 1904 ; Alfred Poole Grint, 1910. THE ADVENT CHURCH 1875 About forty persons were organized in to this body in 1875, by Rev. M. A. Potter. The next year the building, seating 400, was erected on Pleasant street ; somewhile after, a bell was hung, the gift of Col. Frederick Fletcher. Pastors : M. A. Potter, 1875 ; George Wallace, L. C. Mc- Kinstry, A. S. Williams, Benjamin Finney, F. L. Piper, L. W. 314 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Smith, M. A. Potter again in 1891, and since that time a succes- sion of short pastorates, with regular services and Sunday School well sustained, at all times. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 1879 It was on the 29th July, 1879, that this Church, Reformed Presbyterian, was organized by a commission from the New York Presbytery. There were 31 members, and the next year Wm. R. Laird was ordained and installed as pastor. For three years services were held in the Avenue House Hall, till the completion in 1883, of the house of worship on Eastern Avenue. Mr. Laird remained for nine years, and was succeeded in 1889 by W. A. Pinkerton. In 1892 this Church was transferred to the Presby- terian General Assembly ; three years later services were discon- tinued. ST. ALOYSIUS CHRUCH 1896 The English speaking Catholics who had hitherto been con- nected with the Church of Notre Dame, were on the 24th of July, 1896, organized into a parish of their own, known at first as St. Rose, with Rev. M. J. Carmody as priest. In August that year the old Cross bakery lot was purchased as the site for a house of worship, which was dedicated Oct. 26, 1898. This was a brick building, with an auditorium forty by seventy feet, and a seating capacity of 500, with a fine organ. The name was changed ; it is now St. Aloysius. In October, 1898, Rev. John A. Lynch became the pastor ; he built the parish house adjoining the church. He was succeeded in December, 1904, by Rev. T. J. Leonard who after ten years' ministry was succeeded by Rev. J. W. Dwyer. The Knights of Columbus were organized in this parish in 1896 ; there are about 200 members, nearly all of whom belong to the Young Men's Temperance Society, and also to the Holy Name Society, pledged against profanity. THE SALVATION ARMY 1885 Operations by this body began on our streets in the summer of 1885, under direction of Capt. Stables of the Toronto Com- RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS 315 mand, and barracks were opened in the building now occupied by The Caledonian. In 1897, the vacated Presbyterian auditorium was secured for headquarters, and retained about sixteen years. Substantial service has been rendered by the Salvation Army among many people especially in need of a helping hand and gos- pel cheer. In 1913 this work was discontinued and the City Mission was established under the auspices of the village churches, G. W. Beckwith and wife in charge. CHRISTIAN SCIENCE Under charter of January 26, 1898, the First Church of Christ Scientist was organized and incorporated ; and established with By-Laws revised by the Mother Church in Boston, October 26, 1900 ; Charles E. Peck, President ; George P. Moore, Treasurer; Readers, Miss Kate D. Peck, Miss Katherine Puffer. The first regular place of meeting was Odd Fellows Hall, afterward Pythian Hall. On the removal of The Caledonian from Pythian Building the rooms thus vacated were fitted up for a place of worship, which is now occupied ; a public reading room is attached. Sunday Schools have been an important feature in all the churches. At the last canvass, made in 1905, the total enrollment was 3523 ; of which 142 were at the East Village, 175 at the Cen- ter. The distribution among churches on the Plain was as follows : Methodist, 887 ; North Congregational, 683 ; South Congregational, 438 ; Episcopal, 355 ; Universalist, 334 ; Baptist, 224 ; Free Baptist, 140 ; Advent, 94 ; Christian Science, 51. RELIGIOUS REVIVALS In all earlier years the "protracted meetings" of two, three or more days used to be held, at which the church members made public confession and rededication to Christian service. Family letters of that period reveal the deep and serious tone of feeling prevalent during these occasions, and old time revivals were the usual accompaniment. In 1816 there were added 40 to the small band of the Old First Church. Again in 1834 after a protracted meeting on the Plain, more than 100 came into church member- 316 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY ship, including many men and women who became influential in the community. Similar results followed the four days' meetings in 1850, when James Gallaher, formerly Chaplain in Congress, portrayed with dramatic power the careers of David and Absalom; one later incident of which was the expansion which made neces- sary the colonizing of the South Church. The religious interest of 1858, which extended over all New England, brought consider- able increase to the churches here. In 1875 came the notable wave of religious uplift which none who witnessed it will ever forget. THE GREAT AWAKENING OF 1875 Under auspices of the State Committee of the Y. M. C. A., meetings were held February 6, 1875, at the Town Hall Sunday afternoon, and in the evening at the South Church. H. M. Moore of Boston and R. K. Remington of Fall River, laymen, were prin- cipal speakers. It was at once apparent that deep interest was awakened, and this continued so manifestly that three weeks later, these brethren, at our request, returned, accompanied by F. O. Winslow of Boston and S. E. Bridgman of Northampton. Sunday meetings were held at the Avenue House Hall, and at the South Church, and at the latter place Monday afternoon and evening ; a thousand people were in attendance. On Tuesday forenoon the wheels of the scale factory were stopped, men crowded into the machine shop where the voice of prayer and song superseded the hum of machinery. In the evening there were 1200 people at the South Church and 140 rose to say that they had begun the Christian life. The interest continued, union meetings were held thrice a week in the different churches, usually conducted by lay- men, almost every one present taking some brief part. Half-hour noon meetings were begun, which continued several years. On the 27th of March, Moore, Remington, Winslow and Littlefield came again, on invitation ; large assemblies met at the Avenue House Hall, at North and South Churches ; also next day at the Universalist Church, which was filled, deep interest being mani- fest. In the evening of Monday, March 28, there were 1400 people crowding the Academy Hall and passage-ways and 300 RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS 317 more in room No. 10 ; more than 100 rose for prayers. During the next six weeks there was a steady, quiet continuance of the revival spirit, which received a fresh impulse by the return once more, when urgently invited, of the Massachusetts brethren. This was on Sunday, the 8th of May. Neither North nor South Churches could contain the crowds that flocked to the evening meeting, and Academy Hall was again the place of assembly. On Monday, another gospel meeting was held at the Scale factory, and in the evening some 1500 people were together again at the Academy, where, as so often before, large numbers gave ex- pression to their interest or their purpose to live a Christian life. These and similar scenes during the year following will be forever memorable in the history of our town. The whole atmos- phere of the place seemed charged with religious feeling ; no one questioned the immense reality of spiritual forces that were so distinctly transforming men's lives and lifting the standards of thought and conduct in the community. The religious life stood out as a manly thing to be manfully followed ; the dominant note was not so much the old time solemnity, as the joy of opportunity, the cheer of the good news to every man. Everybody was sing- ing the bright "Winnowed Hymns," and repeating cheer-inspiring verses from the Bible. Gospel meetings, so called, with a lay brother in the chair, were a popular attraction ; there was no dis- tinction of church or creed; all, as in apostolic times, were "con- tinuing daily with one accord in fellowship together and. in pray- ers, with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God and hav- ing favor with all the people." Like the friends from Massachu- setts who had left their business to bring messages to us, laymen of this town went out in bands of two to five, holding gospel meetings not only in the school districts but in near or distant towns ; the influence of the religious uplift here was extended for a hundred miles around, and left its permanent mark on this com- munity. YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION On the first day of October, 1855, the St. Johnsbury Associa- tion was formed, 21 men signing the by-laws, the first clause of 318 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY which is "We whose names are hereunto affixed agree to asso- ciate ourselves together for the purpose of doing ourselves and others good." This was among the first in New England, for as yet such Associations had only been known four years in America. Meetings were held in private houses to begin with, then in the Academy and the church vestries. Reorganiza- tion was made on a broader basis in 1858 with 41 new members ; and again in 1867, at which time a reading room was opened and a lecture course established which with passing years became famous. The first general secretary, Charles H. Sage, was en- gaged in 1882 ; he was succeeded in 1885 by Charles L. Page, and in 1888 by E. N. Folsom. In 1885, Prof. Henry Fairbanks erected the brick building on Eastern Avenue, the western section of which was donated to the Association with the condition that a general secretary should always be employed. A public hall, reading room, gymnasium, parlor and boys' room were thus pro- vided. With the additional facilities an impetus was given to the various activities of the Association. Twelve committees were annually appointed and work within and without the building was forwarded. At the end of the first year it appeared that 581 relig- ious meetings had been held, about 100 of them outside the building, the total attendance of which was 10,020. Some 1500 friendly calls were made, 32,700 leaflets and periodicals were dis- tributed. In 1890 the record of attendance on religious meetings was 4540, on concerts and socials 4910, on gymnasium classes 2609, on the lecture course 8000. There were 9710 invitations and circulars given out, outside meeting were maintained at the jail, almshouse and school districts, and many men were helped to find employment. Later years showed a gradual falling off in the number and variety of these activities, and the outlook at the opening of the new century was not auspicious. In July 1907, as the result of a fifteen days' whirlwind cam- paign a popular subscription of $27,653.60 was raised to put the Association on a more comfortable basis. The number of sub- scribers to this fund was 1245, and a notable feature was the fact that all classes, races, creeds, and ages, participated heartily in it. RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS 319 Of the money thus raised $6500 went to lift the mortgage on Music Hall, $9000 was appropriated for the purchase of the eastern section of the building ; and the remainder was laid out in recon- struction, putting in bowling alleys, finishing off 18 dormitories on the upper floor, and adding various improvements. This gave the Association a plant surpassed by none in the State for size and appointments. Shortly after, the Mystic Club transferred its property to this building, and the upper hall was fitted up as a billiard room. There is a small library and about forty current periodicals in the reading room. Evening classes have been provided in languages, commercial studies and other subjects, in addition to the regular Bible classes. Something like 200 men and boys frequent the building each day. The average member- ship of the Association has been from two to three hundred ; in 1912 it reached 500, but a good many failed to pay their dues, and the final list fell considerably below that figure. The Woman's Auxiliary, organized in September, 1882, numbered during the first year 224 members, with Music, Flower, Reception and Room Committees. Important services have been rendered by this Auxiliary in furnishing the rooms, providing en- tertainment and in various ways furthering the work of the Asso- ciation. a forty-years' lecture course The Lecture Course inaugurated by the Y. M. C. A. in 1858, and re-established in 1867, brought in an annual series of lectures and concerts of exceptional merit and distinction. It has been repeatedly remarked by non-residents that no other town of its size in New England has had so many distinguished speakers and musicians as this little village among the hills. Thro the gener- ous patronage of citizens it was possible to secure talent of the first order ; this was true during the years when churches and Town Hall were the only places of assembly ; after the ac- quisition by the Association of Music Hall in 1884, there was a rising tide in the popular interest, every seat in the Hall being taken. Preliminary sales of course tickets were held at which premiums were paid for the choice of seats ; in 1885 there were 320 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY 280 seats bid off at prices ranging from twenty-five cents to $1.75, the total of premiums being $201.44 ; this, with the cost of tickets, brought in over $1000, which amount in the open sale of tickets later was increased to $1500. The next year the total sales were $1800. In 1889 they were $2404, of which $1904 was realized at the premium sale. In 1900, the premiums paid for seats were $388 ranging from two dollars a seat to half a dollar, the latter price not reached till midnight. The value of seats purchased that night was $2800, increased by sales the next day to $3788. During these years the Association netted something like $500 on the course, in 1891 it was $800 ; this profit was held for the bene- fit of the course in later less profitable years. Among the men who have appeared on this course are Henry Ward Beecher Robert Collyer John B. Gough Edward Everett Hale Fr. McNamara E. H. Chapin Phillips Brooks Matthew Simpson Chaplain McCabe Lyman Abbott Dr. Gunsaulus O. P. Gifford Russell H. Con well Joseph Cook Booker Washington Henry M. Stanley George Kennan Robt. E. Peary Lieut. Danenhower Paul Du Chaillu Gen. Lew Wallace Dr. Hayes, Arctic Gen. Jos. Hawley Gen. Joshua Chamberlin Gen. Gordon of Ga. Col. H. B. Sprague John D. Long Geo. R. Wendling Marshall P. Wilder Leland T. Powers Horace Greeley Carl Schurz Col. Higginson Frederick Douglass Jacob Riis Justin McCarthy Frederick Villiers Max O'Rell George Macdonald Geo. W. Curtis Will Carleton Geo. W. Cable Robt. J. Burdette Bayard Taylor Thomas Nast The Y. M. C. A. course has brought to this town the highest class of musical entertainments by nearly all the leading concert companies and solo singers that have been in New England, in- cluding'the Germania, the Hungarian, the Beethoven, the Mendels- sohn, the Weber, the Leistmann, the Schubert and many more. Mme. Camilla Urso was here in 1875, and Remenyi in 1883. XXV PRO BONO PUBLICO PUBLIC LIBRARY— ART GALLERY — MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE — SUNSET HOME— HOSPITALS. THE ST. JOHNSBURY ATHEN^UM "To encourage studies in literature and art the Emperor Hadrian founded an institution which he named the Athenasum." On the 27th day of November, 1871, the Athenaeum build- ing: was opened to the public and formally presented to the town by Mr. Horace Fairbanks. A deep and wide spread popu- lar interest culminated in that event. And with good reason, for it was the inauguration of a new order of things. At that time there was not a town library in this part of the state, nor was there any where in Vermont a public library with provision made for its perpetual maintenance, or with a building so costly and well equipped. In a true sense the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum had the distinction of being a pioneer in its field ; it antedated the Carnegie era by something like a quarter of a century. The building was designed by Architect J. D. Hatch of New York ; Lambert Packard was the builder ; in style, finish and con- tents it was intended to embody the finest ideals possible at the time. About 8000 volumes were installed as a beginning, which number in process of time was considerably more than doubled. The selection of the books had been with the advice of W. F. Poole, the bibliographer, and a large proportion of them in superior bind- 322 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY ings were imported from London. At that date American book- binding had not reached its present standard. A correspondent of the Springfield Republican somewhile later remarked: "These books are as judiciously selected, as costly and as handsomely bound as can be found in any gentleman's private collection. With their bright colors and gilding they give a splendor to the book shelves which I venture to say cannot be seen in any public library in the country. The founder of this library believes that the handsomer and costlier the books, the less they will be in- jured by the borrower." Time has changed the aspect of the bookshelves ; the brightness is gone, books now are not so pleas- ing to the eye, but they are in freer circulation and every one has the privilege of entertaining himself at will amongst them, where- as at first no book could be taken from the shelf except by the attendant. The public opening of the Athenaeum was preceded by three addresses on successive evenings delivered in the Hall, which was filled to its utmost capacity. The first by Andrew E. Rankin Esq., was on the educational importance of the library as a school of learning and culture ; the second by Lewis O. Brastow, then pas- tor of the South Church, on the dignity and worth of refined liter- ature ; the third by Edward T. Fairbanks, was a colloquy, in which Bion, Mago and Quelph talking together while inspecting the alcoves and dipping into the pages of the books, gave an outline description of the treasures here stored for the use of the people. At this point the donor modestly spoke the few words of presentation. "It was early a much cherished purpose of mine to place at the disposal of the citizens of this town in my life time, a free public library. * * * My fullest expectations will be realized if now, and in coming years, the people make the rooms of the Athenaeum a favorite place of resort for patient research, read- ing and study." Judge Poland, speaking on behalf of the citizens, said in part: "This gift is one of singular munificence. By it the donor has opened a fountain of learning whose stream will flow on thro all time. * * * The people appreciate the gift ; the only reward we can offer is to use it well." Several hundred people spent the next hour passing thro the building exchanging congrat- PRO BONO PUBLICO 323 ulations. On the day following was held a reception for children of the town ; from that day to this they have been appreciative visitors. They quickly learn where to find what they want, and the output of juvenile books during recent years has been fully a third of the entire circulation. Care is used in securing a good variety of attractive and useful books for young readers. The Art Gallery was not completed till 1873. The installing of Bierstadt's Domes of the Yosemite as its central feature ranked this at once among foremost fine art collections. New York papers deprecated its consignment to the obscurity of a remote village in Vermont ; the people who live in this obscurity are nevertheless quite capable of appreciating the dignity it lends to their small village. About fifty other paintings by recognized artists, also statues and medallions were added, and the Gallery with these adornments, with its high glass dome and spacious polished floor made a place of unique attraction for people to re- sort to. On every New Year's eve while Governor Fairbanks lived, the building was opened for a general reception to which everybody was invited. The cheery throngs of citizens, the brightly lighted Gallery with its fresh works of art, the orchestral music, the profusion of conservatory bloom and greenery, crown- ed with the very hearty welcome of the host and his family, made these occasions memorable for their novelty, attractiveness and social privilege. The Athenaeum Hall was intended to be auxiliary to the edu- cative use of the library. Series of popular lectures of special interest were provided : Dr. John Lord gave ten which are now included in his Beacon Lights of History ; Prof. John Fiske gave a course on American History; Prof. W. D. Gunning a series on the Life History of our Planet. Lectures and concerts have been given under auspices of our home institutions. The Hall was de- signed to serve the public benefit only, and no , entertainment for personal profit has ever been admitted. The combination of library and reading room with art gallery and lecture hall rendered appropriate the adoption of the name athen^um, as indicating more than book and periodical collec- tions. The name was from the first welcomed as felicitous : it 324 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY was not then suspected what surprising variations it was capable of, more than a score of which have been delivered by the post- man, such as The St. Johnsbury Anthewalum Athenhatura Antheatoreum Atneam Antentum Athenasem Athemene Athalneum Anthebacum not to mention other ingenious combinations. Quite as inter- esting and curious variations have been evolved from the titles of books called for. when knighthood was in flower has become a nocturnal romance entitled When Midnight was in Bloom, the marble faun, published in England as the trans- formation, was still further transformed here into The Stone Deer. Henry Drummond's most popular book was happily en- titled THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD; the author WOUld surely have greeted with an appreciative smile the lad who one day came into the Athenaeum and said he wanted The Best Thing Out. In 1902 the library was re-classified and card-catalogued ac- cording to the decimal system ; about 20,000 volumes are now on the shelves ; the aim has been to get the best that could be had in every department, books of standard and permanent value, both for entertainment and for serious study ; for practical refer- ence work this library has exceptional advantages. The annual circulation is about 31,000, the average daily output is less than 100, but on Saturdays it may be 300. Registration for book cards began November 29, 1871, since that time 13,440 cards have been issued. The first card was made out to the Town Clerk, P. D. Blodgett ; the only survivor of those whose names stand regis- tered on the first page is Henry C. Ide, U. S. Minister to Spain. The first entry on the Athenaeum guest book is the autograph of a Russian merchant, Mr. Block of Moscow, who was here inspect- ing the Fairbanks Scale Works ; thro his agency scales in great numbers have been distributed throughout the Russian Empire. Receptions were given in the Art Gallery to Henry M. Stanley shortly after his memorable march thro the Dark Continent, to George Kennan with Siberian shackles in his hand, to Com- PRO BONO PUBLICO 325 mander Peary and his arctic dogs. From the east balcony and steps of the Athenaeum, President Harrison in 1891, and Pres- ident Taft in 1912, addressed the thousands of their fellow citizens who stood fronting the building. The life size portrait of Governor Fairbanks that hangs above the mantel was presented by citizens of the town in July, 1874 ; for this the artist Matthew Wilson of New York was paid $1000. The marble bust in the Art Gallery, also a gift, was by the sculp- tor J. Q. A. Ward of New York. Librarians— William W. Thayer, Charles W. Willard, Mrs. Abbie M. McNeil, Miss Louise L. Bartlett, Edward T. Fairbanks. For 26 years Mrs. Ella S. Truax has been first assistant. The building is open from nine to nine o'clock on each week day ex- cept Wednesday evenings, also on Sunday afternoons. About sixty periodicals are on file in the reading room. THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE An interesting event of the Fourth of July of 1890 was the laying of the corner stone of the Museum. Judge Ross presided; songs were sung by children of the public schools ; a felicitous address was given by Hon. Henry C. Ide; the formality of apply- ing square and level and announcing that the stone was properly laid was by Mrs. Franklin Fairbanks. A year and a half later, on the evening of December 15, 1891, the dedication of the institution took place in Music Hall, which was filled with a most appreciative audience. After the chanting of the nature-psalm 148, by the Ma- hogany Quartet, the presentation remarks were made by Col. Franklin Fairbanks, who expressed the hope that this institution might be the means of awakening a deeper interest in the com- mon things of the world around us, also that by affiliation with the public schools, stated instruction in nature study might be had, and thus result a "higher and larger knowledge of the things of God's creation which lie all about us, too often a sealed book." The address of acceptance was made by Rev. Dr. Lamson ; he spoke of the Library and the Museum as two brothers; "one giving to us the thoughts of men, the other the thoughts that fill the world of created things. This institution will increase the 326 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY value of life in the country village ; from it the common life and work will receive the touch of the scientific spirit." A dedication ode written by Dr. Lamson was rendered by the Quartette, after which the principal address of the evening was given by Presi- dent Buckham of Burlington. In closing he remarked, "As this is the best equipped Museum of Natural Science in the state, it will naturally attract visitors and students from all sections and become a center of scientific study. We who are interested in all good learning and all institutions that promote it, give congratu- lations on the establishment of this one, of which our state has reason to be proud, from which we may expect great and lasting benefits to the interests of education, science and religion among our people. " From Music Hall, the audience repaired to the Museum, where opportunity was given for congratulations and inspecting the collections. From that day to the present time this has been the place most desired and used for public receptions, for which it is especially adapted, by reason of the beauty of the building, the variety of interesting objects on every side, and the long reach of its floors, covering nearly 10,000 square feet. The collections are at once recognized as being of a quite su- perior order, not surpassed as to quality anywhere. They include New England flora, birds and insects nearly complete ; about 100 varieties of humming birds ; the beautiful birds of paradise and flamingo groups ; large numbers of quadrumana headed by the bison and the moose ; all specimens housed under glass. Miner- als, ores, gems, crystals number several thousand; shells, corals and birds eggs are particularly choice ; coin and stamp collections are valuable ; also the ethnological exhibit of implements of war or domestic life from all parts of the world. In the Colonial room are articles of considerable local interest ; china, glass, pewter, loom and spinning wheels, old time farm implements, and vehicles among which is the wagon made Mr. Thaddeus Fairbanks in 1815. During the season of bloom the flower tables are supplied each day with fresh wild flowers properly labeled; there have been seen here at one time 12 varieties of violets and 14 of PRO BONO PUBLICO 327 goldenrods. A similar bird calendar marks the arrival of the migratory birds in the spring. The educational work of the Museum is of high practical im- portance. There is a valuable library. The public school pupils with their teachers meet once a month by grades in the class room, where instruction is given in a wide range of nature topics, illustrated by specimens. For identification of birds and trees there are bird walks in the spring, and annual tests with prizes given. This institution is regularly represented in the anniver- saries of the National Museums Association, and other similar bodies, and intelligent visitors from all parts of the country have ranked it as in many ways a model of its kind. It was amply en- dowed by the founder. Directors— Miss Martha G. Tyler, Tracy E. Hazen, Miss Delia I. Griffin, Miss Alice W. Wilcox. SUNSET HOME 1893 Under legislative charter granted the week preceding, the "Home for Aged Women of St. Johnsbury" was organized De- cember 4, 1892, with a board of five Trustees of whom Rev. C. M. Lamson was made President. Measures were immediately taken for the acceptance of property which had been offered as a gift. This included the house and lot on Prospect street formerly the home of Judge Poland. On January 3, 1893, this was transferred to the Trustees aforesaid by his daughter, Mrs. Isabel Poland Cushman of Boston. Suitable repairs and alterations were made and the Home was opened for applicants in the spring of 1893. The admission fee was fixed at $100 and remained such for six- teen years ; finally it became necessary to increase it, and in 1909 the admission was made $200 for residents of St. Johnsbury and $500 for non-resident women. The average number cared for in the Home has been five or six ; the capacity is limited to seven. The management of the Home is committed to the board of Lady Visitors, usually twelve in number, representing different parishes ; who appoint the Matron and supervise all matters of detail. They have also originated many devices for replenishing the treasury ; the literary course in Athenaeum Hall, the Mer- chants' Carnival, the McLaughlin ball games, food sales and festi- 328 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY vals. By an act of Legislature in 1898, the alternate name and legal title of sunset home was granted to the institution ; this felicitous designation was suggested by Miss Welthea Glines, a woman of bright intelligence and culture whose last days were happily spent in the Home. ST. JOHNSBURY HOSPITAL 1895 Though the need of a hospital had long been agitated by physicians and others, our town was indebted to Rev. Father Boissonnault for the first actual accomplishment in this direction. With this in view he purchased the Dr. Perkins property, con- verted the buildings into a temporary housing for the sick ; then moved it off and laid the foundation for the St. Johnsbury Hos- pital, the corner stone of which was laid Sunday, May 5, 1895. Two thousand spectators were present, among them four hundred children with banners, flags and emblems. There were addresses in French and English, and gifts amounting to $400 were taken on the spot. The work of construction was pushed to completion during the summer and fall ; the building, a graceful structure of brick, stood forty by sixty feet on the ground, with capacity for fifteen patients, afterward increased to twenty-one. Its cost was $10,000. On Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1895, the Sisters of Providence, from Montreal, took possession, and the formal open- ing was held. There were at that time no suitable furnishments ; young women of the parish brought in articles from their homes and fitted up a number of rooms for the occasion to give some idea of what would be needed. Cake and coffee were served gratuitously, and generous contributions were made by visitors, increased by very considerable gifts made later. The efforts made to establish this institution were fully justified by the pat- ronage it has ever since received. As time went on valuable ad- ditions were secured to the equipment, especially to the operating room and its adjuncts. The Sisters in charge, 1912, were nine in number, and with them six regular nurses ; Sister John of Cal- vary being Supervisor. One of the well remembered incidents at the dedication of the new Brightlook Hospital in 1908, was the PRO BONO PUBLICO 329 graceful message of good wishes from the Sisters of St. Johns- bury Hospital, which was cordially reciprocated. BRIGHTLOOK HOSPITAL 1899 Twenty-three citizens, of whom fourteen were resident physi- cians, formed in January 1899, an Association to found, maintain and operate a Hospital in St. Johnsbury. The corporate name adopted was Brightlook. There was no money in sight, nor as yet any well defined plan, but a good deal of determination. In response to appeals setting forth the proposition, funds were raised by popular subscription, sufficient to make a beginning. The brick building that was formerly the executive mansion of Gov. Erastus Fairbanks was offered for temporary use on a favor- able lease ; the offer was accepted, necessary alterations made, and furnishments secured. On a pleasant evening in June a thousand people assembled on the lawn under electric lights and flags for the dedicatory exercises. At this time it appeared that about $1400 had been contributed for equipments, and $1000 was being raised for maintenance the first year. The beginnings were hopeful under the inspiring leadership of Rev. Dr. Heath ; time and experience however proved that the location was unfa- vorable, the building inadequate, and funds for continuing the enterprise there not obtainable. A crisis was arrived at in Jan- uary 1905, when a deficit of $700 blocked further continuance. A citizens' meeting was called at the Museum to determine the sentiment and desire of the people. The situation being ex- plained the deficit was immediately wiped out, and steps taken for a forward movement. Then came from a woman a gift of $5000 for a new build- ing, on condition that $10,000 additional be raised on or be- fore January 1908. Already a nest-egg of one dollar for a new Hospital-building-fund had been deposited by a woman in Pas- sumpsic Savings Bank, followed up by her personal trips around the County to secure funds and friends for the project. This original one dollar had increased to one hundred and fifty, and the $5000 promised, in due time had the required $10,000 added to it. The old Reservoir Hill was then purchased and the noble building 330 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY known as the New Brightlook, begun in 1907, was completed and dedicated March 14, 1908, throngs of interested spectators filling the corridors and stairways. Addresses were made by Frank H. Brooks, the President, by Dr. Gile of Hanover, Lieut. Gov. Prouty, Dr. E. H. Ross, Alexander Dunnett ; a statement from the Hos- pital Aid Association was made by the President, Mrs. Rebecca P. Fairbanks ; a reminiscence in verse by Mrs. Dr. Brooks. It ap- peared that $25,000 had been expended on this new plant, and two years later the total expenditure for construction and approved equipment had reached $35,051.90. At the shore dinner given by the Doctors on the Fair Ground October 1, 1909, an offer of $5000 from an adjoining town, started a vigorous canvass for the bal- ance needed to extinguish the existing debt of $8,500. This was quickly secured and the burden lifted. The Hospital Aid Association was organized with sixty-five women in July 1899 ; the membership in later years rose to near- ly 300. This was from the first an important factor in the growth and success of the Hospital, not only rendering aid in many mis- cellaneous ways, but during the first ten years providing in money and equipment $7200 ; on the tenth year $1010 was passed into the treasury. The rooms of Brightlook were all furnished by in- dividuals or by societies ; the tall clock on the stair landing commemorates the name of Dr. Selim Newell, widely known in his day as one of the most eminent physicians of this region. The Training School for Nurses gives a two year course for young women in anatomy, physiology, hygiene, massage, medi- cal and surgical dressing. The lecturers are our resident physi- cians and surgeons, whose services in this department are gratuitous ; a large number of nurses, well equipped and com- petent, have been graduated. During the year 1912 there were 447 patients treated; 324 of these were surgical cases ; an average number per day was twenty ; six nurses were graduated and four- teen remained in training. Foundations for a large building to be used for a nurse's home with a central heating and power plant in the basement, were laid in 1912, toward which special gifts and bequests of $9240 were appropriated. This building, completed at a cost of PRO BONO PUBLICO 331 $33,000 was dedicated March 14, 1914 ; by vote of the trustees it was that day named, from the principal donor — the Rebecca P. Fairbanks Home for Nurses. The total amount of gifts to the Brightlook buildings and equipments, is not far from $80,000. THE DISTRICT NURSE "And, with light in her looks, she entered the chambers of sickness." Impressed with the importance of providing relief for needy families in times of sickness, the Woman's Club in 1905 appropri- ated $86 for the employment of a District Nurse. Her duties were to visit and render professional assistance to those who were most in need, irrespective of religious or other affiliations. The results were so gratifying and so much appreciated that this ar- rangement has been regularly continued by the Woman's Club and at the March meeting of 1911, the voters of the town signified their approval by an appropriation of $300, which has been renewed each succeeding year. This money is paid to the treasurer of the Woman's Club and administered by the Social Science Committee of that body. Mrs. Emma P. Houston-Bald- win has served from the beginning in this capacity with evident good will and tactfulness, and incalculable relief has been ren- dered among people in sickness and distress. XXVI MUSICAL "As sweet and musical as bright Apollo's lute" STORY OF THE BELLS — THIRTEEN CHURCH BELLS—MUSIC AND MUSICIANS — ORGAN BUILDING — A COPPER ON THE VIOL — FAMOUS CHOIR — THE CHORAL UNION — MUSICAL FESTIVALS — PUBLIC HALLS. BELLS "How soft the music of those evening bells" "Bells have been sadly neglected by antiquarians." Haweis. "There seems to be something satisfying to the soul in the sound of a Bell ; it is a good ear-filling sound that is always dear to man." "There is no Musick play'd or sung Is like good Belles if well Rung." Forty-six years passed before the ear-filling sound of a bell was heard in this town. On the 14th of November, 1833, the pioneer bell was hung in the tower of the Meeting House on the Plain. Some letters of that period have been found which give entertaining particulars of the Bell Fair held at the tavern to raise funds for its purchase as recorded on page 210. About $127 were taken at this Fair, which amount was increased the next day to $200 and five days later an order for the bell was sent to Boston. MUSICAL 333 It required ten days or more for the slow-going teams to get it here, and when at last they pulled it up Lord's Hill at the south end of the Plain, it was Sunday ! This was held by some to be an untoward circumstance, condoned however it may be, by the fact that the bell hereafter might make up for past irregularities by faithfully sounding the call to public worship. It was carefully hoisted into the tower some days later, in the presence of an interested throng of young and old, for this was an event of considerable consequence. Its weight was 800 pounds. George Barney was appointed bell-ringer, and if at any time he didn't care to retain the honor, some of the Fair-women would put their hands to the rope. Disappointment was felt at Fair- banks Village that the stroke of the bell could not be heard in that low lying hamlet. After some further manipulation however the sound was gotten down there, but 'twas said that what they heard was not the direct report from the bell, but the echo reflect- ed back from Crow Hill. The bell was promptly set at work, and had busy times during the first years. There were four stated bell-ringings each day ; the first announced the arrival of 6 o'clock in the morning, the second 9 o'clock, the third 12 o'clock, the fourth 9 o'clock evening. The occurrence of a death in the community was made known by "the passing bell;" thrice three strokes for a man, twice three strokes for a woman, three strokes for a child. This usage with the tolling at the burial, continued till after the middle of the century ; revived once in 1886, when the patriarch of the village, Sir Thaddeus Fairbanks, was borne past the South Church. That first bell hung in its tower doing good service till 1847, when the meeting house under it was moved down the street to the old burial ground, to make way for a new building; the same that afterward was converted into Music Hall. At that time the bell was given to the Methodist Church in North Concord, where it continued ringing till its career as a bell was terminated in a striking manner while proclaiming the news of Lee's surrender at Appomattox. Its jubilant peals on that occasion proved too much for its metal, and thereafter it hung a disabled bell on its pivots 334 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY till July 1896, when it was purchased by C. H. Horton for the Fairbanks foundry, and there converted into scale beams. In its original bell estate it summoned men to the place where stand- ards of just dealing were rigidly insisted on ; now in its wider world parish it holds men to the same standards set to the poise of a St. Johnsbury scale beam. In 1842 a bell was mounted on the East Village meeting house, which had been built two years before. This bell, paid for by subscriptions amounting to $269.56, was selected by Calvin Morrill in Boston, brought up on horse teams, and hung by David Lee, who won repute thereby as a skillful bell-hanger. In length of activity this appears to be the dean of bells, no other in the town having rung so many years. "The dear old bell," said Mr. Morrill, among his last words, "keep it always ringing." The vote of the Universalist Society in 1837 to build a meet- ing house at the Center Village, included the specification of "a belfry sufficient to carry a bell of the heft of 1000 lbs." The house was erected the following year, and it seems probable that the belfry aforesaid received its bell in 1843, for in January, 1844, Jonas Flint and Thomas Pierce were appointed "a committee to see to the ringing of the bell." This bell continued ringing for 33 years, till the conflagration of 1876 put an end to its career. Fifty one years after the raising of the Old Meeting House on the hill, and nine years after its re-erection on its present founda- tion in the Center Village, the people of the Congregational Church procured the bell which has now been ringing 57 years from its tower. It was hung in the summer of 1855 and such was the interest in the occasion that the village school was allowed an intermission for the privilege of seeing the bell lifted to its place. It is now the only church bell in the Center Village. When the second North Church building was erected in 1847, a new bell was installed. Its weight was 2500 lbs., and the key was F. For some reason the ringing of this bell used to shake the steeple unreasonably ; moreover within five years a crack ap- peared on the rim which did not improve its resonance. In due MUSICAL 335 time it went the way of a certain old bell in Britain of which the story says 4 ' This Belle was broake and cast againe. ' ' For in 1852 the South Church being then in process of erec- tion, it was determined to divide the bell, now that the congrega- tion had been divided. Accordingly it was sent to the Meneeley foundry and enough more metal added to make two new bells. One of these twin bells, 1500 lbs. weight, Key of G, was mounted in the South Church belfry where it still rings the stated appoint- ments and also tolls the hours on the village clock, which was installed in 1853. The other twin bell, 1300 lbs., Key of A, re- mained on the North Church till its conversion into Music Hall twenty-nine years later. In September 1874, a bell was placed on the Methodist Church. Its weight was 1400 lbs., Key of E; the cost was met by a gen- eral subscription. This bell would have been satisfactory had it been the only one on the Plain. But it was constitutionally un- fitted to agree well with its neighbors. In April 1875, it was exchanged for a bell that would harmonize better with the tones of other bells which were ringing around it. "This exchange was effected by the efforts of a well known citizen who undoubt- edly shouldered the principal expense ; and the result now is an audible token of the harmony prevailing among the churches of the village." The cost of this bell was $900 of which one hun- dred dollars was paid by the Village Trustees for the right of attaching to it the fire alarm. This bell is on the Key of F and weighs 2100 lbs. In May 1876, Col. F. Fletcher presented a bell of 1000 lbs. weight to the Advent Church in Paddock Village. On Sunday, July 2, 1876, three new bells were consecrated for the Church of Notre Dame. The service pertaining to that ceremony was chanted by the choir, after the bells had been wash- ed with water, anointed with oil, and perfumed with incense. The pastor, Rev. J. A. Boissonnault, was master of ceremonies. Bell No. 1, inscribed Notre Dame des Victories, was presented by the congregation. No. 2, inscribed Johannes Antonius, was given 336 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY by Pastor Boissonnault. No. 3, inscribed GeorgiusW. (Washing- ton) was the gift of some "American friends," non-Catholic citi- zens. This was the first Catholic cluster of three bells in the State. When the new stone edifice of the North Church was com- pleted in 1880, a bell of 3004 lbs. weight, Key of E flat, was mounted October 14 in the high Gothic tower. This bell was the gift of two of the members of the church ; it is the heaviest church bell in northeastern Vermont ; it bears the incription "Unto you, O men, I call ; And my voice is To the sons of men" a voice of deep and mellow tones, "ear-filling, satisfying to the soul." At the present time there are seven bells in the village and nine in the town that regularly ring from the church belfries. The lines that follow are anonymous. ST. JOHNSBURY SABBATH BELLS How grandly the big bells open their throats, On the blessed Sunday morning, From Our Lady's tower the Angelus floats To welcome the early dawning. Then the North bell shouts "Praise," And the South replies "Peace," While the Wesleyan sings "Pardon." Oh ! Bells ! keep up your holy conversation, Some listening ear may gather inspiration. St. Johnsbury, July 11, 1909 The Academy bell was hung in the fall of 1872 ; a special salute was given it by David J. Foster, afterward Congressman, in his Latin Salutatory, June 23, 1876. This marked the final stage of progress from the old dinner bell that Principal Colby used to shake at the open window in the early years of the Academy. There are bells on the public schoolhouses of East, Center and Paddock villages, Goss Hollow and the Summer street building ; also on St. Gabriel's, the parochial school for boys. MUSICAL 337 In September, 1895, the Village Trustees, with concurrence of the County Judges, placed the heavy fire alarm bell in the tower of the Court House. The old bell that used to ring the men to their work in the Scale Factory, from six to six o'clock, long since gave way to the steam gong ; it is sitting restfully now in the Museum, which building stands on the spot where bell-ringer Armington lived in the days when he used to pull the rope on it. MUSIC AND MUSICIANS "And Jubal was the father of all such as handle the harp and the organ." Coming down from days before the flood to early times in our own town, it may be said that Ephraim Paddock was the father and promoter of music in this "community. He was profi- cient with stringed instruments, and only six years after Jonas Chickering had made the first piano in America one of his pianos was installed in the Paddock Mansion; this instrument has sur- vived and is now owned by A. L. Bailey ; a letter of instructions in Mr. Chickering's handwriting is also in the possession of Mrs. Emma Paddock Taylor. Charlotte Paddock, daughter of the Judge, and John H. Paddock his nephew, were highly accomplish- ed musicians ; the latter was the first and for many years the only organist in the town ; also "Full well the far-off echoes knew his bugle notes" indeed no instrument could have escaped the witchery of his touch, whether it were "cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery and dulcimer" or any other. In a small room over what is now the Bundy store, John Paddock and T. J. Park in 1841 constructed an organ which was set up and used in the old meeting house till the new house was built six years later, after which it went to Lyndon ; they also made an organ for the Old Brick Bethany Church in Montpelier. The mother of John H. Paddock was Orris Fuller, also of a musical family. Gratton and Joseph Fuller were the original in- ventors of the screw head for bass viols. "I set myself to think- 338 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY ing," said Gratton "how to improve the old peghead. I put a copper cent on the viol and imagined that to be a cog-wheel such as were in the old wooden clock reels. My brother Joseph made a pattern for the screw and turned it out down at the Paddock iron works, then we adjusted it to the viol, and found it a great im- provement." That viol was bought years afterward by Henry Lee and is preserved as a historic relic. There was a famous choir that filled the gallery of the old meeting house of 1827 ; it included Levi Fuller and the Paddocks, T. J. Park, Selim Frost, Francis Bingham, George and Horace Fairbanks, H. K. Flint, John Barney, Maria Barney, Mrs. Curtis, Helen Martin, Jane Martin, Julia Fairbanks, Eliza Bingham, Sarah Jewett, and many more whose family names were long familiar in the town. The instruments in use before the organ came, were bass viol, cornet or clarionet, and the spectacle of so large a chorus spread along the west gallery was impressive to one coming in at the east door ; old fashioned turkey red curtains were strung on wires across the front. At a later period Charles Martin, C. H. Clarke, S. A. Ellis, W. H. Herrick were music leaders ; the latter was both choir mas- ter and leader of the cornet band, and was in the regimental band of the Third Vermont. Mr. Clarke with John H. Paddock and John O. Worcester established the St. Johnsbury Academy of Music, where for some years opportunity was given for instruc- tion in music of the very highest order ; this continued till the outbreak of the Civil War when Mr. Clarke entered the cavalry service as bugler and lost his life in Virginia. Alexander Thomp- son organized the Mechanics Musical Association in 1854 ; the same year a popular musical convention was held by Lowell Mason in the South Church ; others were held in later years by B. F. Baker, C. W. Wyman and Geo. F. Root. Special attention was paid to the cultivation of congregational singing, and awak- ening interest in music among the young ; audiences of 1000 peo- ple were at these conventions. Boston and other cities have drawn away some of St. Johns- bury's sweetest singers : Mrs. Jennie Ide Turner, Mrs. Homer Sawyer, Mrs. S. A. Ellis, Mrs. Annie Glines Porter, Mrs. Lizzie MUSICAL 339 Curtis Chandler, more recently Mrs. Emma Shufelt Moore. Dr. George R. Clark of Boston, basso, was one of our well known singers ; others were A. O. Baker, David Morrison, N. P. Dodge, H. C. Kinney, N. P. Lovering, J. H. Humphrey, the Atwood brothers ; also Harry H. May, eighteen years musical director in the South Church and more than a quarter of a century conductor of singing schools. The Mahogany Quartette, formed in 1888, was justly famous in this and other towns for some fifteen years, W. C. Tyler, P. F. Hazen, E. A. Silsby, F. H. Brooks. A con- temporary that won much favor was the Cecilian Quartette — Misses Ellen Ely, Mabel Goodwin, Ida Penniman, Edith Hovey. In 1878 was organized The Choral Union with a main design of providing annual musical conventions of a high order. The first one, held in the spring of that year, was conducted by Dr. Carl Zerrahn of Boston, with Mrs. Martha Dana Shepard accom- panist. The Town Hall was packed to overflowing during the sessions and great interest awakened. This was the first of a series of Choral Festivals of two or three days each, held inter- mittently for more than twenty years, which filled the Town Hall and Music Hall with enthusiastic audiences. At times the chorus numbered more than 200, and oratorios like the Elijah and the Creation were rendered with distinction, For some years Mrs. Shepard presided at the piano, and later our home born pianists, B. Frank Harris and Miss Margaret Gorham ; solo parts were taken by singers of note from Boston or New York. On these occasions our community became familiar with the music of such masters as Mendelssohn, Hadyn, Handel, Mozart, Gounod, Sulli- van, Schubert, Rossini, Donizetti and others, under the leadership of accomplished directors like Zerrahn and Blaisdell. The capa- bilities of home talent, so called, were successfully demonstrated in the rendering of the Cantata Esther by 40 voices, W. H. Her- rick, director, 1883 ; also the Pirates of Penzance, 1886, and H. M. S. Pinafore in 1890. There has rarely been a time when this town has not had a good instrumental band. In 1830 it was the Brass Band f in 1838 it was the St. Johnsbury Band; in 1855 it was the Serenade Band ; in 1859 it was the Cornet Band ; in intermediate years it 340 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY has been variously named as well as manned ; and in 1912, by the union of the St. Johnsbury and the Harmony, it became the Con- solidated Band of St. Johnsbury and was paid $1000 a year by the village, for services on public occasions and the series of summer evening concerts given from the out-door band stands. PUBLIC HALLS The south room of Dr. Arnold's house was the first place used for gatherings of any sort in the town. For seventeen years all town meetings were held in dwelling houses, barns or taverns. The old Meeting and Town House on the hill, erected in 1804, provided a more suitable place for political and patriotic as well as religious assemblies for the next twenty-five years. In 1827 the Meeting House on the Plain was built and much use was made of it for lectures and public addresses. After 1844, the old Academy was available for similar purposes to some extent. Singing schools, which were an important feature of the winter evenings, were usually conducted in the schoolhouses ; fairs and festivals were gotten up in the tavern halls, the principal use of which was for dances. Union Hall, It was not till the town was in its sixty-eighth year that a public hall for rental as such was provided — Union Hall, so called, on the third floor of the new Union Block, corner of Main and Central streets. All the lumber of this block was bought in Canada at $8 a thousand ; the owners wanted their land cleared, and sold at that price. From the day of its opening, November, 1854, this hall was in continuous demand for enter- tainments and social functions of all sorts. It was also used for religious gatherings ; the first regular services of the Episcopal Church were in this hall. On the opposite side of Main street a cosy hall of limited capacity was opened over E. F. Brown's store. Small societies or gatherings met here ; for some while it was the Y. M. C. A. hall ; the half-hour noon meetings of 1876- 1878 were held in this place. The Town Hall, in the Court House building, opened in the winter of 1856, was a great acquisition for public functions. Polit- MUSICAL 341 ical rallies, caucuses, lectures, exhibitions, promenade concerts, musical, dramatic or social entertainments/fairs and levees made this new hall a center of varied attractions. It was regarded as all sufficient for the present and future uses of the public. But in a dozen years or more the question of another and more adequate village hall began to be talked about. It was pointed out one time that on Friday, March 2, the Town Hall was in use for organizing the St. Patrick Society ; on Saturday for the Morrison-Bean Concert ; on Tuesday for Town Meeting ; on Thursday and Friday for the State Board of Agri- culture ; and on four days of the next week for a musical festival. Some of those Choral Union Conventions, conducted by Carl Zer- rahn with full orchestra and Mrs. Shepard at the piano, filled this hall from day to day with enthusiastic audiences. For twenty- eight years, 1856 to 1884, this was the only hall for general public uses on the Plain. During the fifties there was an attractive little hall in Fair- banks Village, over the old store that was burned in 1889. Lec- tures and social events made this a pleasant resort ; in the early days of the South Church, Sunday evening services were regularly held here, with audiences that usually filled the hall. The AthencBum Hall, opened in 1871, was intended to be used for educative purposes only, and without expense to the public. Courses of lectures were provided on literary or scientific themes to which everybody was made welcome. In more recent years entertainments for the benefit of our home institutions have had use of this hall ; nothing for personal profit has been admitted. The New Academy Hall was dedicated October 31, 1873, at which time 1250 persons were counted in attendance. Tho de- signed for school purposes only, this hall was occasionally opened when large audiences were expected. On its platform Remenyi drew out the subtle strains of his violin and Gough gave his inimi- table recitals. For several years the concerts given by the grad- uating class filled the hall; here also commencement exercises were held, and the crowded gospel meetings of the seventies. 342 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Music Hall. The need of a large and well appointed hall was becoming more urgent. Several unsucessful attempts were made to secure funds for such a building. The problem was finally solved by an unanticipated event. In 1877, the building in which the North Church had wor- shiped for thirty years was moved across Church street to make way for the new stone building. That structure with the site on which it was planted had been purchased by Messrs. Horace and Franklin Fairbanks. In 1883, they made a proposition to the Y. M. C. A. to present to that institution a deed of the property pro- vided funds should be raised sufficient to finish and equip the building for a public hall. The offer was accepted, $14,000 was subscribed by about 200 citizens, and on November 20, 1884, Music Hall was opened. The spacious auditorium with balconies on the rear and two sides, well lighted and tastefully decorated, furnished with 1102 comfortable chairs was an immense improve- ment on anything that had as yet been seen and gave occasion for many congratulations. On the arch over the platform was printed a simple and pleasing bit of decorative work, the musical score of — "Should auld acquaintance be forgot." The design of the remodeled structure was drawn by Lambert Packard, the builder was W. J. Bray, the decorating was done by Lyndon Arnold. The inauguration concert was a musical entertainment of high quality, given by the Ladies' Club of eleven voices led by Mrs. P. F. Hazen, and a men's chorus of forty voices, accompa- nied by the full orchestra, William H. Herrick, leader. The next evening an auction sale of tickets for the winter Lecture Course yielded about $1000 which amount was doubled by purchasers dur- ing the next ten days. For many years this process was continued and the annual courses of lectures and musical entertainments pro- vided by the Y. M. C. A. and given in Music Hall gained distinc- tion throughout the state. A partial list of speakers is given on page 320. At the present time this Hall is leased under the name of The Colonial Theatre. Avenue House Hall. On the fourth floor of the old Avenue House was a large and pleasant Hall which, until the burning of MUSICAL 343 the building in 1896, met the many and various requirements of public assemblies in that part of the village. Many of the popu- lar gospel meetings of 1876 were held here, and some* while afterward it became the regular meeting place of the Presbyterian Church. Howe's Opera House. This fine building was erected by B. G. Howe in 1891, as an adjunct to the Avenue House of which he was then proprietor. Its cost was $30,000. The auditorium with galleries on three sides was fitted with seats of modern style for 1500 people. The orchestra floor sloped toward the stage, which was 63 feet long by 32 deep, furnished with all requisite stage ac- cessories ; two boxes at either end. The decorations and general aspect were pleasing. For some years this Opera House did a good business, principally as a theatre ; but the expenses of its maintenance were large ; it finally passed with the Avenue House into the hands of M. J. Caldbeck; then the roof was lowered into the auditorium and the building was devoted entirely to apart- ments for rental. Stanley Opera House. The old skating rink on Central street built in 1881 by Eels and Eddy of Brattleboro, was used for vari- ous purposes other than roller skating, which continued for some years at the height of popularity. In March 1893, it was bought by Charles A. Stanley who converted it into what was thereafter known as the Stanley Opera House, with requisite stage appoint- ments for dramatic purposes. The seats being removable it was also used for dances, spreads and miscellaneous assemblies. Among the many banquets given here was that of the semi-cen- tennial of the Academy, also of the welcome given to the Vermont Association of Boston. It was used by Company D for a drill room — equipment quarters being on the upper floor — from 1898 till the destruction of the building by fire in 1910, at which time it was owned by Elmer E. Darling, who at once began the erec- tion of the fine brick block which now dignifies the spot long while notable for its livery stables and attendant rookeries. Pythian Hall. Few assembly rooms in the village have been in such continuous use since 1894 for various purposes as the one which, with hall and refectory, covers the entire upper floor of the 344 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Pythian Building. Since the closing of the Board of Trade rooms in 1900 this has been the stated meeting place of the Woman's Club inhere also are held most of the public functions of the Com- mercial Club, banquets of societies and assemblies of various interests, social, literary, musical, educational, political. Bertrand's Hall. In 1909, J. E. Bertrand erected the substan- tial brick building on upper Railroad street which serves the double purpose of an armory and a public hall. The assembly room for the Guards on the basement floor fronting east is 20 by 20 feet, adjoining which are baths, culinary arrangements and lockers for military equipments. The street floor hall, 80 by 50 feet, clear of posts, with parlors on either side, is considered one of the finest in the state for its purposes. At the opening ball January 7, 1910, there were 450 people assembled, including Gov. Prouty with his staff, Adj. -Gen. Gilmore and other state officials. St. Agnes Hall. After the removal of the Notre Dame con- gregation to the new stone edifice, the building formerly occupied was appropriated to the use of the parochial and convent schools. When these schools had been established in their own buildings it was converted into a hall used by the Foresters, the St. Jean Baptiste and other organizations. In 1911, final alterations were made including equipment for baths, gymnastics and library; it received the name of St. Agnes Hall, and is principally used as the Club room of the French Catholic Association. XXVII DESCRIPTIVE AND REMINISCENT POOUSOOMPSUK— BIBLE HILL — 6000 FEET UP — SITS QUEEN — FROM A BELFRY— REMINISCENCES — THE STRANGER WITHIN THE GATES. THE RIVER POOUSOOMPSUK "From far Michisconi's wild valley, to where Poousoompsuk steals down from his wood-circled lair' ' Clear-Running-Water is the interpretation given to the Algon- quin word Poousoompsuk. No doubt the water ran clearer in the primeval time when the Indian shot his canoe down its full stream, than in these new days of dams, mill-refuse and promiscuous sewage. The fall of the river in its nine mile course thro the center of the township is sufficient to supply valuable water powers at five points, viz : Pierce's Mills, Center Village, Pad- dock Village, Railroad Village, and Electric Light Station. It is spanned by six substantial bridges, two of which are modern steel structures. On either side of the Plain it receives the dashing waters of Moose River from the east and from the northwest the sluggish Sleeper ; thence flows ten miles south to join the Con- necticut. Having neither ponds nor lakes nor mountains of its own, the town looks upon Passumpsic River as its principal physical fea- ture, not to speak of its value as a business asset, particularly at- tractive to the pioneer settlers. This is not one of the rivers 346 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY around which history or legend have woven their spells, tho Arnold in his verse of 1790 remarks that it "Oft on its margin has beheld The Sachem and his tawny train Roll the red eye in vengeful ire, And lead the captive to the fire." The filling out of details he kindly leaves to our imagination while his muse turns to fields of ' 'yellow wheat and waving corn" which, with luxurious hay crops, have to this day adorned its beautiful meadows. , A writer of later date intimates that trout fishing was once not unknown in these clear running waters : — "Passumpsic! river of my boyish pranks, How oft upon thy banks I've dropped the hook In many an eddying nook, Where the cool waters of some upland brook Brought the coy trout ; And with many a stout And lusty bout With brave halloo and shout I've hauled the dainty nibbler out." The progress of civilization has not proved attractive to the trout ; the stream in which he used to disport himself is now populated only by the placid sucker and the undistinguished diminutive dace. One may still find however on the banks of the river sundry objects that attracted young eyes as long ago as 1830 :— "Mosses and violets around us were spread, Maples and lindens waved overhead, Mulberry blossoms with dew-drops wet Yielding an odor remembered yet ; Grapes on the island and hazel-nuts near, Eels to bait and suckers to spear, Clams to capture and squirrels to seek, Practice in swimming most days of the week ; Rocks to dive from and stones to scoot, Slippery elm and calamus root ; DESCRIPTIVE AND REMINISCENT 347 Stems of grass with wild berries strung, Flower de Luce and adder's tongue, Reeds for frog-traps and cat-tail darts, Alders for whistles and bleeding hearts ; Indian pepper and checkerberry Horse mint, snake root, pigeon cherry, Bumble bee honey and red thorn apple If willing with stings and thorns to grapple. Pungent twigs of birch had a rare Delight for the tongue, but all were aware They lost their relish applied elsewhere!" To this interesting: list we may add in plain prose the ramb- ling bittersweet with bright red berries so much in request these days for Christmas decorations, and the butternut tree whose nuts correctly cracked have disciplined many an untrained thumb and finger. The first white man known to have discovered the Passump- sic River was Stephen Nash, hunter to the British army and scout to Major Robert Rogers. When John Stark the hero of Bennington battle was out on a hunt in 1752, the Indians caught him and brought him up this valley to their encampment at St. Francis, Canada. Seven years later Major Rogers exterminated that Indian village and led his spirited rangers down this same trail of the Passumpsic to Round Island at its mouth, where most , of the remnant perished of starvation. THE FIELDS OF BIBLE HILL Among the highest farms in our town are those on Bible Hill, two miles northeast of the Center Village, from which nine other towns and villages are visible. This hill got its name not from its superior proximity to heaven but from the number of Bible loving families who early in the century cultivated its slopes and met together for Bible study and neighborhood meetings. On Sunday mornings Deacon Stowell's team and a dozen others might be seen threading their way down the steep pitch through the woods on their way to the Old Meeting House. As late as 1868 the summit of Bible Hill at the end of the road was memor- able in the mind of one visitor for the presence of a woman of 348 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY the good old intelligent religious type, weaving at her loom and recounting her remembrance of the Bible Hill men and women of former days. More recent remembrances are those of boyhood days on the fields of Bible Hill, by Edwin Osgood Grover. "Oh ! the fields of Bible Hill! Are they still as fresh and fair, As when I used to wander in their orchard-perfumed air ? Does the sunshine rise as early as it used to do When I waded thro' the clover and the cobwebs and the dew ? Does the murmur and the music of the little pasture brook Sound as sweet today as when it was my singing book ? My Bible Hill lay ever in the shrine of summer's sun, And haying time was playing time for work and play were one. There pleasure lurked a vagabond, in every shady spot, From pasture gate down cowpath to the slippery-elm tree lot. I never see an orchard that is loaded down with bloom, I never catch the fragrant breath, the subtle, sweet perfume Of a field of clover blossoms, or the scent of new mown hay, But that I fall to thinking in a longing sort of way, Of orchard lands and clover fields my boyish feet once trod, Of pasture lanes and hillside paths, deep fringed with golden rod ; And, like a castle set in Spain, I seem to see it still — That old familiar farm house in the fields of Bible Hill, And the joy the summer brought me on the slopes of Bible Hill." As a business man in the city Mr. Grover has embodied his maturer memories of Bible Hill in the plain prose of the Country Boy's Creed, in the midst of which he says : "I believe that life out-of-doors and in touch with the earth is the natural life of man. I believe that work is work wherever we find it, but that work with Nature is more inspiring than work with the most intricate machinery. I believe that opportunity comes to a boy on the farm as often as to a boy in the city, that life is larger and freer and happier on the farm than in the town, and that my success de- pends not on my location but on myself." SIX THOUSAND FBET ABOVE ST. JOHNSBURY In the New York Tribune of October 10, 1859, John Wise, the famous air man of that period, records his observations of St. Johnsbury seen from overhead. "In the midst of the ballooning mania with its perils and romances, I made my 234th ascension DESCRIPTIVE AND REMINISCENT 349 as an embellishment to the Caledonia Agricultural Fair of 1859, at St. Johnsbury, Vt. It was an exceedingly pleasant and serene trip ; and I give this narrative from my notes taken in the air. At 3 o'clock, P. M., Governor Fairbanks admonished me that the time for the ascension was at hand. In another minute The Ganymede was in proper ballast, the cord cut, and up I went slowly, nearly perpendicularly. Having attained an altitude of nearly 6000 feet in twenty minutes, the balloon became perfectly still, and I took a general observation of St. Johnsbury and the surrounding country. "What a world of mountains, rivers, lakes, dells — mountains and hills by myriads encompass me ; in the southern horizon a gallery of cloud-knobs based on a horizontal stratum, overtopping the terrestrial gallery, like Pelion upon Ossa. Franconia Notch with its gorge looking like a grand causeway to some submarine territory is awfully grand. Mount Washington looms up in pa- triarchal grandeur, like a father at the head of his national family of mountains, hills and knolls. The confluence of the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers forms a scene as it were in a romance. "Now the train of cars is stopping at Passumpsic to take a look at the balloon. I hear the strains of the brass band on the St. Johnsbury Fair Ground. I hope The Ganymede will remain poised here all day. Time flies with memory's delight. There is Stratford Peak which I was near coming to from St. Johnsbury three years ago. Not more than 500 yards off it seems, yet must be over twenty miles. I now see forty-two villages ; lakes, rivers, ponds are glittering in the sunbeams like sparkling diamonds. The heavens between the mountains and the clouds are radiant with the rainbow. The horse track on the Fair Ground looks, in size and shape, like an old fashioned elliptical waiter. The enclosure with its people looks like a bee hive, and the Morgan horses coursing around the track, remind me of rab- bits running around in a warren. I am now up an hour by the watch, and nearly in statu quo over the point of starting. I do not want to drift from this point above the Fair Ground." John Wise. 350 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY ST. JOHNSBURY PLAIN FROM CALEDONIA HILL "Upon a village green The flowing hills atween, Which ancient trees with grateful shadows fill — A rare and rambling town Of wide renown And fairest fame— St. Johnsbury its name Sits queen ; Whose ample villas crown The graceful curvature of many a hill. "Here out of noble toil Has come the spoil Of open handed wealth Of robust health ; Here art has reared a shrine Science a fane. Here taste and skill combine, And holy ministries of flowers Make glad and glorious all the summer hours. Here generous cultures of the heart and brain In loving sisterhoods their greenest laurels twine. "There towers Burke Mountain, glory-crowned, And Willoughby's cleft face By distance softened into grace. Here sleeps the hamlet in the strong embrace Of sheltering hills that frame the lengthened vale ; And sound of school bells mellowing the air, And distant lift of church spires moving thoughts of prayer." Samuel Graves, 1883. SEEN FROM THE ACADEMY BELL TOWER "I am wishing, Mago, that you could be here and look with me on some familiar old places from this high outlook. The Plain is more embowered in shade than you ever saw it, for in re- cent years the trees have seemed to assert their ancient right to the soil. Except for the white church spires and the shapely out- line of the new Athenaeum, you might half wonder what pretty village this is whose pleasant homes are so neatly clustered about under these groves of maple and elm. DESCRIPTIVE AND REMINISCENT 351 But looking farther out you will see things much as they used to be. Down from the east opens the Moose River valley along which you remember how merrily the water ripples over the stones on its way to join the more leisurely Passumpsic. Here in the foreground is the long tapering shoulder of Caledonia Hill, dotted with some red cows too busy with grass to mind the shift- ing trains and traffic on the track below. A little way up the Passumpsic the grove of Moose Island looks as if it floated on the water from the foot of old Saddleback, whose bare hump heaves against the sky. Farther up, the church towers of the Center Village lift their square tops into view, backed by the bluffs of Willoughby and the blue pyramid of Westmore Moun- tain. The train from Montreal is winding gracefully around the curve of the river where the nine bears were gotten when Dr. Calvin was off bear-hunting, some years before he had us on his hands for castor-oiling. Marble shafts are glinting in the sunlight through the foliage of Mount Pleasant ; to the left the towering Old Pine stands out inviting attention ; and there's the rock where we carved our names when we were youngsters ; in the park at Pinehurst the deer are having a happy time. There go three king birds chasing a hawk from Crow Hill up over the green fields of the Danville farms. Above the smoke of the Scale Factory the round top of Sugar Hill is blazing with the bright colors of the autumn leaves, and below, the wheels of a buggy are flashing along the road to the Fair Grounds. Looking southward over the roof of the Sheepcote which folds a contented little flock, I see the pointed firs in the hollow where we trapped those fat gray squirrels in the fall of 1849, and on the left the glancing waters of Passumpsic River slipping down the valley under the opal sky that rims the south horizon. Now this writing, Mago, will remind you of the scenes of our boyhood, and of that bright September day when we went up Saddleback together to wave good bye to them just before going off to College nineteen years ago." Quelph 1874 352 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY REMINISCENCES CONTENTED AND HAPPY "At that time, 1810, neither stage nor mail coach had arrived at St. Johnsbury, nor had the shrill blast of Trescott's tin horn awakened the echoes of those green hills and valleys ; the mail was brought from Danville once a week by a small boy on horse- back. The way to Lyndon led down the steep hill to the bridge by Arnold's Falls where we had our wheat ground. On the west bank of the river was a potash. The only way to Danville was by the Pumpkin hills after crossing a bridge of logs across Sleeper's river where the scale works now are, and below which the farmers washed their sheep in swift running water. From that point there were thick woods all the way to within a few rods of the Plain. The school house was at the upper end of the street and some- times served as a sanctuary ; Sunday afternoons Miss Hannah Paddock taught a catechism school there. There were but twelve families living on the Plain and only six more came in during the next five years. The only painted houses in the town were Joseph Lord's at the south end and Wil- lard Carleton's hotel, (afterward the Cross bakery.) The two Dr. Jewetts administered calomel, Carleton mixed toddy, A. D. Bar- ber sold goods, Hubbard Lawrence tanned leather, John Clark made saddles and sold a few small notions, Samuel Crossman shod horses over against the grave yard along side of which William A. Palmer the young budding lawyer, afterward Gov- ernor, had planted the row of small maple trees. There was not one cooking stove nor carpet nor pleasure wagon on the Plain, yet the people were contented and happy." Condensed from letter of Henry Little, 1878. THE OLD GRIST MILL "On the 20th of January, 1815, my father, Joseph Fairbanks, with his family left Brimfield to come to St. Johnsbury. He had sold the Brimfield farm for $1800, this with the avails of stock, tools, etc. may have given us the sum of $2000 to be invested in DESCRIPTIVE AND REMINISCENT 353 the new enterprise we had undertaken in St. Johnsbury. A small water power and mill privilege on the west branch, Sleeper's river, was purchased of Judge Pres West for $300. On the ground was a rude unfinished house of three small rooms having rough board floors, and walls enclosed with rough hemlock boards, the cracks battened not very carefully. There was no cellar, but we made a small vault eight feet in the steep hill side a few yards front of the house which answered our purpose. We immediately commenced clearing away our mill grounds and by October had the saw mill and grist mill in successful operation, also a carriage shop over the grist mill. The year 1816 was known throughout New England as the cold sea- son, ice frequently forming in each of the summer months. Consequently crops were damaged and suffering was felt among the farmers. But the grist mill brought us enough to make us comfortable, and furnished a little for our neighbors. One case I remember : Capt. Samuel Hastings, an elderly bachelor, who lived in the family of Capt. Barker, came to me in the mill one day wanting to buy a bushel of wheat for that family. I told him I couldn't spare it, having only about that amount in the mill. He then began to plead for it, he said the family needed it and he had the two dollars to pay for it. After a while I told him he might have half a bushel, the rest I must keep for urgent cases. He finally accepted the half bushel and paid me a dollar for it. Our mills were well patronized, having all they could do and yielding a fair return, and the carriage shop did a good business. We continued to live in the rude shell of a house two winters and three summers until we had completed a new two-story house on what is now Western avenue, which we occupied in October, 1818." Reminiscences of Sir Thaddeus Fairbanks, 1881. THE PHILADELPHIAN From a manuscript discovered after Chapter XIX was off the press is taken the following reminiscent paragraph read before the Philadelphians, January, 1830. "About four years ago, 1826, the youth of this village formed themselves into a society under the name of the St. Johnsbury 354 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Philadelphian Society. Our object was literary and mental im- provement, and the methods adopted were extemporary and written compositions, debates and declamations. One of the first things done was to secure a library and establish a fund by which it might be augmented. This was accomplished by contributions of books from the members, by membership fees, and fines for neglect of duties, until a hundred volumes and more of useful and deservedly popular books were accumulated. I would at this time suggest that we consider the expediency of having our so- ciety merged with the Lyceum which it is expected will shortly be organized in this place, and that some terms be arranged by which our library can be opened for the use of that institution. "The number belonging to our society has been small, but happily we have always been united in the bonds of strictest amity ; no dissensions or party feelings have arisen, but a warm desire to promote the true objects of the society has prevailed. To this however there has been one exception : a melancholy in- stance of expulsion. While deeply regretting the cause which made necessary this removal of a member, we are now cheered with the assurance of his thorough reform, and whether he shall be restored to the privileges of our society or not, it is my ardent desire that none of us should ever forget that he once was a brother with us and that we still treat him as such." J. P. F. BOYHOOD DAYS How often during those first years in the wilds of Michigan did I long for companionship of the boys and girls that I left be- hind me at St. Johnsbury in 1831. To play once more along the sunny Passumpsic ; to dig artichokes in Capt. Rice's meadows ; to pick red raspberries in Dr. Jewett's cow pasture ; to wear the medal home from school ; to go up and visit and be kindly allow- ed to read some new juvenile books at Mr. J. P. Fairbanks' Book Store. F. L. 1885. We roamed in the meadows, picked strawberries and gather- ed butternuts in their season ; fished and swam in the rivers. It was a never ending day for us boys. Now all is changed — DESCRIPTIVE AND REMINISCENT 355 • 'Grass grows on the Master's grave and the running brook is dry, And of all the boys that were schoolmates then, there are left only you and I." H. P. "The coming of snow in Kalamazoo carries me back in mem- ory to the happy days of boyhood when we were sliding down the Plain Hill into Paddock Village, at the risk of our necks and of the legs of all others on that winding road. It was facilis descensus Paddoci; regressus — hie labor y hoc opus est." 1857 "I seem to see the dear old hills The clover patch, the pickerel pond And I can hear the mountain rills. An' there's the hillside rough and gray O'er which we little fellows strayed, "A checkerberrin' everyday." "How well I remember our tramps up to the checkerberry knoll in the Howard pasture. On the way through the deep woods we went over the banks of ancient moss, and in those days no boy ever went by without throwing himself down to rest on that soft mossy bed and eating wild sorrel. Then on to the checker- berry knoll ; how pungent those checkerberry leaves were ; how keen and biting their flavor ; then off to the open field for straw- berries." C. V. B. HOME REVISITED June 13, 1832. Returned for one night to St. Johnsbury, the spot which above all others I value most, hallowed by recollec- tions most deeply engraved on my heart. At the head of the Plain I stopped my horse before the little law office, (Judge Pad- dock's) where I had spent so many happy hours in professional, and literary studies. All was dark and silent, only a few lights were twinkling at the windows down the street. I rode up to &foe Judge's door, but could not catch a glimpse of anyone, calledlf&t Ephraim's store and knocked, but received no answer; paused before the house of God where I had spent so many happy hours. The silence of death prevailed and the scene awakened feedings almost too powerful to control. As I passed on every otojlsct 356 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY around me seemed to claim acquaintance ; the shade trees, the houses, the fields, the hills which rose darkly against the horizon, seemed to greet their old admirer with joy. The rude house oc- cupied by my father's family for some years would hardly be regarded at the present day as a comfortable shelter for cattle, but here was my boyhood home ; every house, tree and shrub, every hill and valley here awakens recollections of other days, and I cannot easily transfer to any other place the attachment I have for these St. Johnsbury scenes." J, P. F. MEN REMEMBERED "Passing recently down the Passumpsic valley, I spent a few hours in St. Johnsbury, where in the political days of Henry Clay and Frelinghyson, 44 years ago, I attended school under good Master Colby now gone to rest, and with him a long roll of citizens — amongst whom I recalled, as I walked the streets, Ephraim Paddock of the Supreme Court, Huxham Paddock, the iron founder, Dr. Luther Jewett, member of Congress in years gone by, Democrat George Barney, afterward postmaster, Dr. Calvin Jewett, the three Fairbanks Brothers. St. Johnsbury has far out- grown her former self, and as a place of residence has many ad- vantages and attractions." G. B. R. 1887. MOTHER TO THE BOYS OF 1820 In a house on lower Main street nearly opposite the old burial ground lived the family of Deacon Hubbard Lawrence. Meta Lander says it was one of the old-fashioned hospitable coun- try houses with ample chimney corners from which a pile of blazing logs used to send out genial warmth and glow. The mother who presided here — one whom everybody loved to call mother — made the home always cheerful and attractive, espec- ially to the boys. One of these boys, Milo P. Jewett, in after years President of Vassar College, has this reminiscence : — "The boys of the neighborhood liked to go there, whether for play or on errands. Even now I can hear my Father calling, 'Milo ! Milo !' as he would return from visiting some patient — DESCRIPTIVE AND REMINISCENT 357 when we were over there playing together in the old yard, or at work digging potatoes in the garden, or eating flapjacks prepared as nowhere else ; famous flapjacks those were, a stack of them eighteen inches high and of the size of the largest dinner plates, swimming in butter and maple sugar ! And the delicious indian- pudding brought on to the table in place of the soup of modern days. "My childhood recollection of Mrs. Lawrence brings her before me as a model woman, a type of all that is strong and noble and sweet in womanhood, and in full sympathy with childhood. How- ever noisy or rude our sports, she was always patient, carrying an air of authority tempered with gentleness. I remember how she rebuked my childish vanity once, when I was declaiming on the superiority of our hens and chickens, by saying, 'Yes, Milo, your geese are always swans.' " Note — This remark had a much wider reach than she expected. Milo P. Jewett, LL. D., born here in 1808 was graduated from Dartmouth in 1828 and became a distinguished educator. He had an important share in moulding the educational system of the Southern States where he spent sixteen years. In 1855 he came to Poughkeepsie and while there became intimately ac- quainted with Matthew Vassar, who submitted to him his plans for a large hospital which he intended to erect in that place. Dr. Jewett pointed out that his two or three millions might be more wisely expended in providing for the higher education of young women, "to do for them what Yale and Harvard are doing for young men"— carrying out the idea that Tennyson had expressed in the prologue of The Princess : — <<* * * j wou id build Far off from men a college like a man's, And would teach them all that men are taught." Then and there Vassar College was born and Dr. Milo P. Jewett was appointed President. He spent eight months in Europe studying educational methods, elaborated a scheme for the new enterprise voluminous enough to fill 42 pages, and during the years following incorporated the same into the standards and curriculum of the first woman's college in America. He died in 1867. AUNTIE TO THE BOYS OF 1840 , "And Aunt Polly Ferguson, the dear old maiden auntie, who lived alone with her cat, and made trousers and roundabouts for 358 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY us boys ; so hard worked and so good. I remember how discol- ored by the thread and how picked was her bony forefinger by her needle, plied so faithfully and patiently through the long, long years. She filled her humble sphere with rare fidelity, and such as she still live as saints in memory." 5. G. 1893. "My boyish affection for my foster mother so to speak, who repaired the many rents in my garments, soothed my perturbed spirits, and allowed me to fondle her cat — dear Aunt Polly Foggy son, as we used to call her." F. L. 1885. "While in our early teens we used to wear spencers with brass buttons down the front. These were made by Aunt Polly Ferguson who lived in a little box of a house during the forties, which stood nearly opposite the Court House. Her vivacity and kindness won my heart when a child, in so much that, years after, coming home on college vacations I made sure of going in to visit her and her cat in the little room where she used to pat our shoulders and fit our brass buttoned spencers." E. T. F. 1879. AS OTHERS HAVE REMARKED "The stranger within thy gates may not see things with entire accuracy but whatever he has to say will be read with interest." 1812 ' 'We left our vehicles and having obtained "a convenient wagon and a discreet young man to drive it, made an excursion up into the interior of Vermont through the townships of Ryegate, Barnet, St. Johnsbury. On the Posoompsuk as well as on the Connecticut are many rich and handsome in- tervales. In St. Johnsbury is a Plain about half a mile in diameter, remark- able for being the only spot of that nature throughout the region." President Dwight, Yale College. 1814 "It was in the winter of 1814 that I taught school by day and a singing class also in the evening at St. Johnsbury, Vt. Here I found myself among some of the very best of people ; whenever I see or hear the word St. Johns- bury, I always think of the place of which God said— 'this is my rest forever, here will I dwell' * * When I told Dr. Hamlin, who was himself a great mechanic, that the inventor of the platform scale had once been a pupil of AS OTHERS HAVE REMARKED 359 mine, he shut up one eye and squinting at me with the other naively remark- ed — 'y° u must have taught away to him all your own mechanical knowledge' — a bit of pleasantry to be sure, but if I taught it all away it was to one who knew how to use it to good purpose." Dr. William Goodell, Constantinople. 1842 "For a glorious Fourth of July you should have made your way up among the vallies and hills of Vermont to St. Johnsbury; a lovely invig- orating spot with romantic scenery clothed in the dark green peculiar to Vermont, its broad street and neat habitations peeping through the luxuriant foliage ; you should have listened to the murmuring waterfall, the carol of birds and the bell of the village meeting house calling young and old brim- full of glee to the celebration of the day." Boston Traveler. 1860 "Here I am in American Alp-land. Since I left my own home on the borders of limpid Lake Lucerne, I have seen nothing comparable to the picturesque scenery around St. Johnsbury, combining mountains, wooded hills, sweet valleys and gorgeous cloudland. There is an air of complete long established comfort all over the village. I have seen nothing more beautiful than the residences and grounds where ample wealth has been ex- quisitely aided by perfect taste. And things are so different here from what they are on the other side of the water ; the strata of society lie in opposite directions quite new to one who has been accustomed from childhood to stiff unbending social distinctions. My old prejudices faded away when at a pleasant party in this pretty village I saw that the cordiality and respect that were shown to the Governor of the State were equally displayed to all his subjects present." Swiss Lady in Vermont, H. M. F. 1869 "Drawing near some oriental city one is charmed with its appearance but a closer acquaintance dispels the illusion. How different at St. Johns- bury. As I approached from Montreal I was struck with its beauty, but during my week's residence therein I was delighted with the cleanliness of the streets, the neatness of the homes, the English appearance of the coun- try lanes, the fresh glimpses of sylvan beauty met with at every turn, whether walking or driving." W. H. Newlet of England. 1873 "And so Bierstadts' magnificent Domes is doomed to the obscurity of a little town in Northern Vermont." San Francisco Call. 360 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY "But it was no commonplace community for which The Domes of The Yosemite had been captured. It was a town which had long possessed many claims to more than passing interest ; a bright example of the results of conservative energy ; a town pulsing with strong and virile life ; growing always yet growing best while clinging to the traditions of the older New England. Such is St. Johnsbury where the Domes of the Yosemite have found a permanent resting place." New England Magazine. "Bierstadts' canvas has no reason to blush for its company in this ob- scurity of a Vermont town, nor does that grand mass of colors caught from the sky, the sunlight and the laughing waters of the Yosemite lack apprecia- tive visitors — whether among the cultivated people of the town or others, citizens of the world, many of whom come here every year." A. C. K. 1874 "This fair village is of the sort nowhere found outside New England — where what God has made so beautiful is enhanced by the skill and taste of man — where morality, intelligence and public order spring out of thrift and industry, and where men are themselves the best products — you will go far before you find better. Henry Ward Beecher. 1875 "We mount a slope and are in the leaf-strewn avenue called St. Johns- bury, the proper crown and citadel of the river beds. Uplands start from the farther banks and shut us in with green and purple heights on which the sunrise and sunset play with wondrous harmonies of light and shade. This is a village of working men ; beggars are not seen, nor drunkards ; the men are at work, the boys and girls are at school where they are educated free of cost. It is such a village, where the craftsmen own their cottages, as we in England are striving for in our Shaftsbury Parks and other experiments. What are the secrets of this working man's paradise? Why is the place so clean, the people so well housed and fed? All voices answer me— a prohibi- tory law carried out with the rigor of an arctic frost." Hepworth Dixon of England. 1876 "This is a manufacturing town although there is an air of quietude about it that does not comport with one's idea of industrial activity. If such friendliness between labor and capital existed everywhere we should not know what was meant by a strike. There are no saloons here and burglary and street fights are of infrequent occurrence. I have visited many towns and cities, but I never saw a place just like St. Johnsbury, Vt., is." West Virginia. AS OTHERS HAVE REMARKED 361 1877 "To the traveler from afar too much cannot be said of St. Johnsbury and the beautiful country surrounding it— with balmy breezes, springs of pure water, orchards and trees and back pastures. Here too are fresh veg- etables, pure milk and old fashioned flowers." E. P. 1878 "St. Johnsbury is a rare place and in it are rare folks. Panics strike there like balls on impregnable forts. Radicalisms are neutralized there, large thoughts and purposes grow there, with public institutions and benifi- cences home and foreign." W. W. 1879 "This flower is the Queen of the Bogs. Among orchids it is peerless. England has only one representative of the genus, and that is almost extinct. Among her rarest exotics she prizes this American Cypripedium Spectabile, Ladies Slipper, which I have found so abundant in a St. Johnsbury bog." Prof. Gunning 1880 "On the Main street, a broad elm-lined avenue, are residences where cleanliness, refinement and peace prevail ; tall ranks of trees that look as if the century crow had slept in them ; at intervals a galaxy of churches and public buildings — among these the public library, the picture gallery, court house, academy, granite churches, soldiers' monument— a group of natural and artistic beauty, a companionship of wealth and art that would have done credit to the environs of a great city dedicated to education and science. And as I looked upon the scene it was hard to remember that half a century ago this very spot was the home of a poor, simple, industrious, frugal peo- ple, who in summer gathered their little crops into unpainted barus and in winter had no other amusements but bear hunts and sleigh rides, and little more education than what they could extract from the old primer and the older Bible ; where a railroad was as unknown as an earthquake and a li- brary as much a curiosity as a Turk !" Col. J. W. Forney 1882 "I know a village, a city set upon a hill, which might be truly called a light of the world. Inventive thought and busy labor have built up there an industry of vast proportions. Length of days is in the right hand of this in- dustry and in her left riches and honor, and the gathered wealth has flowed in streams which have made the wilderness to rejoice. The village is con- 362 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY spicuous for its schools, its churches, its library and art museums, but most conspicuous of all are the virtue, the peace, the contentment, the social order which prevail, in the midst of which the laborers occupy their pleasant homes with peaceful hearts." Pres. Seeley, Amherst College. 1887 "We find that for some years back the majority of St. Johnsbury people have been resting even from good works, and living on the good name their sinful town once had — from which it is backsliding very fast." War Cry. 1887 "This little Vermont town is wonderfully pretty. Nature smiled when she made the spot and her face has remained a nest of dimples ever since. Such ups and downs, such long slopes and short slopes, such hills and hol- lows never were seen before outside a puzzle box." M. E. B. 1887 "We could not but notice the well-to-do, contented, healthful appear- ance of the workmen of the Scale Works. With dinner pails in their hands they went whistling or pleasantly chatting along, and in no place on their route did they have to pass a saloon. With saloons kept out the village prospers." Lex. 1889 "St. Johnsbury is a beautiful village but there are double the number of trees that should be in it either for beauty or health." Visitor. 1889 "St. Johnsbury is a good place to read about, but it is too slow to live in." C. A. N. 1889 "Just think of it ! Only eight and a half hours from Hartford, and not one chestnut or walnut tree, only one dwarfed horse-chestnut, and only one colored person in St. Johnsbury, and yet the people appear happy." Courant. 1892 "St. Johnsbury is a charming little town perched on the top of a moun- tain. Here are a dozen churches, a public library, reading room, museum, AS OTHERS HAVE REMARKED 363 schools, and a lecture hall that will seat over a thousand people. Who, after this, would consider himself an exile if he had to live in St. Johnsbury? The town has only six thousand inhabitants, eleven hundred of whom came to hear me lecture tonight — where is the European town of six thousand that would supply an audience of eleven hundred people to a literary causerie?" Max O'Rell. 1894 S< Kanake to his brother Kutnoso, Yokohama. "I am now in the city S. Jonsburg, March the 9. I have this evening been to a great banqueting in honor of the ripe aged women of the city who live in a Sunset House. Extremely of interest was it to witness the way of doing among these peoples. They go to a high up hall called a Pythian. This was said to be dedicated to Python the Dragon. I doubt it. But not the less it might have been so once. Curious indeed is the way of getting to the place of food delivery. A company of the hungry get themselves by the door. Then when it opens, that is like the bursting of the dam on the river Yedogawa. Individuals called ushers are set at points to assign seats. But so great ability have these Americans of waiting on themselves that these officials become chiefly ornaments. Among youthful natives of the masculine sort one may see vast appetite for sugared cakes and a sort of frozen mush which they partake of with multitudinousness. In this singular country I think it may be well for one to be capable of looking out for himself." 1897 "And now and then in the quiet sunset hour when the selectmen daily call the voters together on the village green for evening prayer, and even the customary tinkle of the cow bells in the streets is hushed in serions ex- pectancy—some patriarch stricken with deep emotion rises to voice the one confession that hurts the soul of St. Johnsbury— a man in this town once took a drink of liquor ; it was at the raising of the first meeting house in 1804." St. A.M. The pen of our genial contemporary has here portrayed a scene without which picturesque St. Johnsbury might have escap- ed observation ; appended to the preceding paragraphs it com- pletes the composite portraiture of the place seen as others see it. XXVIII BEYOND THE BORDER "No history of New England is complete without some account of events in which her sons have had part beyond her borders." ON A BRITISH FRIGATE— SAVING A PIRATE — THE POWDER CASK — A CATAMOUNT — KOORDISH ROBBERS — HATS — JOTHAM AND ABRAM — BANK BILLS — A RUNAWAY — IN A TYPHOON— SOUTH SEA CANNIBALS— BELL AT MOSCOW. PRISONER ON A BRITISH FRIGATE After his exploits at the Battle of Bennington, Simeon Cobb enlisted as a privateer bound for France for war supplies. The vessel was captured by the British and carried to the West Indies, where her crew was distributed, Cobb being put upon a frigate for what they could get out of him. He was a blacksmith by trade, and when questioned called himself an armorer ; which re- sulted in his being assigned to armorer's duty on the frigate. In after years he dryly remarked that he made a good many gun springs for the British, but he was afraid they were peculiarly tempered and wouldn't last. The bill of fare on the frigate was not very tempting ; it was principally burgoo, a wormy oatmeal made up into porridge in a big cauldron. After two years at sea a ship was hailed and the trumpeter called for the news. Peace with the Colonies was announced. But there was no release of American prisoners. One day a Portugese sailor, friendly to Cobb, but who could not write, asked him to write for him to the BEYOND THE BORDER 365 Admiral. Cobb did the writing and with it put in a plea for him- self ; the letter was delivered to Mother Mary, the friendly wash- woman who got it to the Admiral. Some days later the Captain of the frigate went ashore to confer with the Admiral. On his re- turn he put up strong inducements to Cobb to enlist under the British flag. The proposition was firmly rejected, and some while after Cobb was allowed his liberty ; after his escape he found in his bag a generous gold piece which he credited to his swarthy friend the Portuguese. Mother Mary sheltered him the first night ; the next day he fell in with a skipper who took him aboard his ship loaded with salt from Turk's Island and landed him at Charleston, South Carolina. From that port Cobb worked his passage to Newburyport, thence tramped on foot to Taunton, and finally in 1798 tramped to St. Johnsbury, where he cleared the Cobb farm near the Lyndon line, on which he lived till his death forty-five years later. SIGNING FOR A PIRATE William J. Wright of this town in 1831 sailed for New Or- leans in the ship minerva. On the twentieth day out she struck shoals off western Little Isaac ; the cargo was discharged and all hands were set to work the pumps. A sail hove in sight and was hailed for assistance ; it was the Spanish brig leon, Captain de Soto. He agreed to lay by over night. Meantime the minerva took fire and soon was all ablaze. The long and jolly boats had taken off their quota. Wright continued working at the pumps and barely escaped to the leon on a raft. Captain de Soto gave all kind treatment and after landing at Havana he shipped as an officer on the Mexican. She turned out to be a slaver. They ran down and captured a ship, put the crew in the hold and set her on fire. Some while after the slaver was caught and brought to Bos- ton where the officers were tried and sentenced to be hung for piracy. Captain de Soto's wife came on from Spain to intercede with President Jackson for his life. The men whom he had rescued from the minerva then came forward and signed a peti- tion to the President which secured his pardon. Of several who 366 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY had been stricken with yellow fever at Havana, Wright was the only survivor. ZIBA GETS THE POWDER CASK The story of Zibe Tute's acrobatics at the raising of the Old Town House has often been told. Another achievement of his should not be overlooked. In later years he was living at Wind- sor. The tontine building of that place, occupied by merchants and other tenants was on fire. When all hope of saving it was abandoned someone in the crowd cried out that in one of the upper rooms was a powder cask that ought to be gotten out ; if not it would soon explode imperiling life and spreading the fire. Mr. Tute had no personal interest in the matter, but no other man being disposed to risk himself, he caught up a ladder, braced it to the building, bounded to the top, smashed the window and plunged into the suffocating chamber. The fire was already lap- ping its way to the powder cask when he grabbed it in his arms and brought it safely down the ladder. Ziba Tute deserves to be remembered in this town for his real heroism in rescuing the powder cask rather than for his ath- letic feats on the ridge pole of the Old Meeting House on the hill, upon which his local fame has heretofore principally rested. A NIGHT WITH A CATAMOUNT "We all know a kitten, but come to a catamount The beast is a stranger when grown up to that amount." Judge Poland did not himself encounter the catamount, but he witnessed the fight, and told the story of it one morning on the piazza of the St. Johnsbury House. "When I was a boy the woods were thick on my father's farm and full of catamounts who did great damage carrying off sheep and killing the cattle. We had our stock securely kept in a strong shed which none of the prowling beasts had succeeded in breaking into. One night the family were all in bed except Jonas Shepherd, a farm hand of prodigious strength and courage. He BEYOND THE BORDER 367 was sitting by the big pine fire shelling corn on a jack-knife stuck into a log. Suddenly there was a crash and a big noise out in the cattle shed. He dashed out in his shirt sleeves and found an enormous loup-cervier, catamount, had broken through the roof and was in among the sheep. As Shepherd approached, the beast leaped to the roof, crouched a moment, then sprang for him. Shepherd jumped aside and the big cat landed on the ground, but in an instant was up again and a furious battle began between the two. Shepherd had a knife which he used ; the brute screamed and bit and tore his claws into the man's flesh. The noise awoke the family, my father grabbed a pine torch and we all rushed out. There was Shepherd covered with blood from head to foot, holding the screaming catamount by the throat and heels high above his head, running for the brook in the woods. There he plunged him under water and held him during a tremendous struggle till all was still, while the brook ran red with blood. Old hunters said that if he hadn't have drowned the brute he would have been killed sure. More than 200 distinct wounds were counted on his body from which he never entirely recovered." This story by our distinguished townsman helps to fill the gap in our local traditions, which are sufficiently pictur- esque with bears, but not once out on the trail of a catamount. PLUNDERED BY THE KOORDS Fayette Jewett, M. D., son of Dr. Calvin Jewett, grew up on what are now the Academy grounds ; in 1853 he and Mary Ann Brackett were married on a Sunday evening in the Meeting House ; they went directly to Tokat, Asia Minor, in the medical service of the American Board. In the following paragraph from a private letter Dr. Jewett tells something about travel among the mountains in 1855 : — "On a narrow pass overlooking the Toorkal plain while riding single file, two armed ruffians leaped out from the bushes and the next moment I was dragged from my horse, lying on my back, a robber with his long knife standing over me, and each of the others in our party in the same situation. There were five of the robbers ; they dragged us along to a more secluded spot and 368 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY began plundering us. From Ahmet, our guard, they took all his belongings ; from Carabet Agha they took 99 English gold sov- ereigns and 60 Turkish sovereigns, about $720 gold. Then they began on me. They supposed I would have gold, but I had only about four dollars in metallic currency, and a case of lancets which they took. After plundering my baggage the leader of the gang said, 'this Frank must have gold somewhere, if we don't find it we will murder him.' Carabet said to him, 'you ar e mistaken, this man is a Doctor, he carries no gold, only surgeon's instruments and medicine.' They then examined my medicine chest and small trunk ; finding nothing they cared for they set down and conferred together in Koordish ; to us they spoke in Turkish. I could only commit my case to God. After a time they concluded to let us go. We were conducted by a circuitous path back to the road, where they left us saying, 'Your coming was very agreeable to us.' We threaded our way under the dim light of the stars through the rocky path to a guard house, where with hearts full of gratitude to our Preserver, we laid down by the open fire place, and despite busy thoughts and equally busy fleas, we got some sleep. I have communicated with the United States Minister at the Sublime Porte, asking him to seek satisfaction from the government for this outrage on my person and property." The time came when Dr. Jewett's two sons, Henry M. Jewett and Milo P. Jewett, held important posts in Turkey, as United States consuls at Sivas and Trebizond. The latter was appointed by President Cleveland to represent this government in investi- gating the massacres of the Armenians in 1896. The Sultan would not allow him to serve ; he had been brought up in Turkey, and his knowledge of Turkish subtleties was too intimate and dangerous to suit the imperial Assassin. AT THE MARLBORO The following is from the Boston Transcript fifty years after. "About this time (it was July 4, 1837) this old Tavern met with a radical change. The music of the toddy stick ceased, the bar was abolished. A new and original method of keeping hotel was BEYOND THE BORDER 369 inaugurated, making it a sort of religious home for patrons, with singing and devotional exercises before breakfast and at nine o'clock, each evening. This attracted much public attention and drew within its portals many patrons of note from all over New England : such men for example as Gov. Briggs, Henry Wilson, Geo. S. Boutwell, William Claflin, Erastus Fairbanks and Judge Paddock of Vermont. It happened on one occasion that Judge Paddock and Hon. Myron Lawrence, President of the Massachusetts Senate, were there together. Lawrence was a man of some 400 lbs. weight, who wore an immense hat, Paddock was tall and slight, his hat, of the old narrow brim variety, was about number six in size. These hats as they hung together on the rack made a striking contrast. One evening while devotions were being held in the parlor, two boys mounted these hats ; one, a tall thin fellow seemed to stagger under the Senator's head gear ; the other, short and stout, had Judge Paddock's small tile perched on the top of his big head. Their parading through the hall caused great merri- ment, till cut short by the unexpected appearance of the ponder- ous Senator and the Judge from Vermont, who found their hats rolling on the floor and two boys retreating down the staircase." JOTHAM NOTIFIES ABRAM Jotham B. Pierce, known in his boyhood as the little white- haired lad of Fairbanks Village, was born in 1841. His father at a later period built what is now the Sunset Home. Jotham was a playmate of Arthur M. Knapp, well known in after years in the Boston Public Library, and to him he wrote the following incident in June, 1860. "I was at Galena eight weeks, and then posted off for Spring- field. While there as telegraph operator, I had the honor of being the first one to announce to Abram Lincoln his nomination. During the week of the Chicago Convention he was in our office nearly all the time, and I got intimately acquainted with him. He was one of the freest, most plain spoken men I ever knew, I won't have a vote for two long years and am sorry I cannot help to elect Old Abe ; but the first vote I do cast will be for free labor 370 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY and free speech — for the annihilation of slavery and the inhuman traffic of slave trade. I believe the negro has a better right to himself than anyone else has to him." Tho Jotham was debarred from voting for Abram, he was not debarred from accepting at President Lincoln's hands an im- portant position as telegrapher at the headquarters of the Army of the Potomac, a responsibility which he discharged with honor during the entire period of the war. The town of St. Johnsbury cast 514 votes in 1860 for Abram Lincoln, not knowing that his first notification had been given by one of her own loyal sons. A BUNCH OF BANK BILLS Among the many accomplished singers of St. Johnsbury in former years, few were more highly esteemed and happily re- membered than Mr. and Mrs. Homer E. Sawyer, who removed to Boston in 1861. In the New York Herald of January 24, 1869, appeared the following story. "Five years ago, on the 8th of January, 1864, Mr. Homer E. Sawyer came to this city from Boston and stopped at the Belmont Hotel, J. P. Richards proprietor. He carried $1650 in bank bills in his pantaloons watch pocket which for safety he kept pinned. Starting for New Orleans, he bought a ticket, returning the balance of the bills to his pocket, carefully pinned as before. Soon after he missed the bills, the pocket still being pinned. He concluded the bills had slipped inside the pantaloons instead of into the pocket, and so were lost. He advertised the fact of the loss in the New York Herald, referring the finder to Mr. Richards of the Belmont, went on to New Orleans and died there of yellow fever in 1867. The money had been found by a man who saw the advertise- ment and who remembered the name of Mr. Richards, proprietor of the Belmont. The remembrance haunted him five years. He determined to restore the money. He wrote Mr. Richards anon- ymously, asking him to specify in the Herald particulars of the loss of that money. In the Herald of December 4, 1868, came the following reply: 'Money lost ; on Broadway ; five years ago ; BEYOND THE BORDER 371 about $1500 in greenbacks ; snowy day ; owner now dead ; any communication for his widow gratefully received by J. P. R.' This did not convey all the information desired by the finder of the money, and he wrote a second time asking full name and present address of Mrs. Sawyer, which was duly given in the next issue of the Herald. The man then wrote again asking for the date of Mr. Sawyer's death, date and certification of his marriage, and place of interment. These facts were in due time obtained and published as requested. Still another letter was sent to Mr. Richards relating to the identification of Mrs. Sawyer, her finan- cial circumstances, and the expense incurred by advertising in the New York Herald. To this fourth letter this reply was given in the same paper — 'Mrs. H. E. S. is the right person. I can give bonds to that effect. Her only means of support is singing in a church ; expense of advertising fifteen dollars.' No more letters were sent to the Belmont Hotel, but on the 19th January, 1869, a lady closely veiled, restored to Mrs. Saw- yer in Boston, 171 Warren avenue, the entire sum that had been lost, plus interest to the day of restoration, plus the cost of ad- vertisements, the sum total being $2160. Many friends of Mrs. Sawyer in St. Johnsbury as well as in Boston rejoiced with her that the bills which had been lost were found and therewith an interesting story to tell." THE CALEDONIAN RUNS AWAY "On the 16th of September, 1897, I ascended in the Cale- donian, from the Caledonia Fair Grounds, St. Johnsbury, Vt., at a quarter past three o'clock p. m. After rising a mile and hearing thunder, I descended and left my daughter, saying that after cruising around awhile I would be back for supper. Ascending again I struck a current of air that drove me along with thunder and lightning like a race horse. The balloon began to toss like a boat on an angry sea. Suddenly thro a rift in the clouds I saw mountains ahead ; I let out gas enough to bring the Caledonian down near ground, skimmed over Fabyan's, cleared the peak of Jefferson and Adams, then was whirled back by the wind and landed at the base of Mount Washington. I anchored to a tree 372 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY top and began to prepare some coffee, smiling to find myself among the White Mountains instead of at St. Johnsbury. Suddenly, while eating leisurely, my cable parted, and I was again up in the air, swept thro space before a fierce blast, not knowing whither, till a gleam of light appeared, and farther out the lights of a city, which I thought must be Auburn, Maine. A man at a farm house heard my cry and came out with a lantern, but he couldn't understand what was going on, and I drifted away from him, till coming to another village my lusty cries were heard and two men managed to seize the drag-rope and pull me to earth again. Columbus could not have embraced the earth with more fervor when landing in the New World than I felt in my heart as my feet touched solid ground. As I think of that voyage thro the terrible winds and rain storm, it seems more thrilling than I can put into words. The sweeping of the Caledonian thro space, carrying me a prisoner to such an unknown fate, tho it has not frightened me, has given me serious thoughts. I shall of course continue the work of ballooning, but shall remember my night ride from St. Johnsbury thro the White Mountains for some while, I can tell you." Letter of J. K. Allen. CAUGHT IN A TYPHOON Capt. E. R. Underwood from St. Johnsbury became the mas- ter of a merchant vessel owned by the Pacific Coast Lumber Company, named the fresno. He had taken her to Japan in 1896, and was on the return voyage from Kobe to Puget Sound. On the twelfth of December a typhoon swept down upon the ship, carried away the foreyard, top-sail yard and port rail. The sails were blown from the belt ropes, the rudder gudgeon was torn off and the ship became unmanageable. She was thrown on her beam ends, the water began running into the hold and the ship settled in the water. Capt. Underwood warned the crew that in all probability they had not fifteen minutes to live, and all hope was given up. Not long after the wind shifted, the gale struck the ship from the opposite quarter, putting her on an even keel. After a while the men rigged up a jury rudder, BEYOND THE BORDER 373 and the fresno floated. By skillful management and under many difficulties they succeeded in getting her across the Pacific and into San Francisco bay. "I have been thirty years on the sea," said Capt. Underwood, "and never yet ran into anything in the shape of a gale that could equal that typhoon." But in Oc- tober, 1907, he encountered a storm which cost him his life ; a heavy sea swept him overboard from the deck of his ship bound for Honolulu. CANNIBALS OF THE SOUTH SEAS During the eighties Captain Underwood was first mate on the morning star and while cruising among the Micronesian Is- lands had some acquaintance with cannibals ; as appears in letters of 1880-82 to his sister and his brother Timothy H. Underwood : — "I wish you could see the savages that are on board ship today. They are bedaubed with war-paint bright red and yellow from head to foot, and what with the paint and the filth that is on them one can generally smell them before seeing them. There is a crowd around me now puzzled to know what I am doing while writing, and I shall not be surprised if you complain of the perfume of this letter when it reaches you. Their long hair is done up in all sorts of shapes on the back or top of the head and the pug is run through with a stick that has a large white shell on the end of it, and others like a six-tined fork ornamented with feathers. 1 'All the men carry a spear ten to fifteen feet long made of hard cocoanut wood pointed sharp at both ends, and on it are also a lot of sharp poisoned bones. They heave these savage weapons with such force that often they go clear through a man's body. The women are most abject slaves, they do all the work, and while the men decorated with paint and feathers lie around under the trees, the women and girls are busy keeping flies and mos- quitos off them. They have no marriage ceremony; the men simply take a girl and keep her as long as they want her, then sell her or give her away or get rid of her if nobody care9 for her. The king just now has 23 wives and the old ones are made slaves forthe younger ones. 374 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY "At Papiteauea we made startling discoveries. Two days before we arrived there was a battle in which great numbers were slain. We went ashore and visited the place. I cannot give you the least idea of the scene. The ground was strewn with bones left after the natives and the dogs had eaten what they wanted of the victims. "Last Friday we sent our boat to land on Tarawa ; they came back bringing reports of a lively time on Tarawa where last week was a battle among the natives in which twenty-four were killed and many wounded. The next day, Sunday, there was a great feast in which the captives had an important part, for the victors built a great fire, then roasted and ate them, while the dogs and rats were feasting on those that were killed the day before. "I expect these natives would like to get hold of some of us, for they do not have white meat very often ; they seem to have a hungry Thanksgiving-day look when we are around where they are." These barbaric conditions did not long continue. In the same letters that picture the cannibal scenes we read also of the mis- sionary families whose work among the islanders brought in a new and brighter day. This Morning Star of 1880, third of the name, was the mission ship of the American Board, built by the vSunday School children. True to her name she was a herald of the dawn, cruising to and fro among the islands with the light of a gospel that in process of time transformed the old savagery into peaceful and happy communities. THE BELL AT MOSCOW "There's a Bell in Moscow While on tower and Kiosk O" It was a scale manufactured in St. Johnsbury that was set up in Moscow in 1877, for weighing the great bell. The contract called for a bell of 1800 poods weight ; that is 34,845 pounds. The scale indicated 1654 poods, a shortage of 5283 pounds. M. Finlandski, the contractor, questioned the reliability of the scale. In consequence of which the scale was tested eighteen BEYOND THE BORDER 375 times on the 7th and 8th of October. This was done in presence of two experts invited by M. Finlandski, and a crowd of interested spectators. Each test convinced the people that the scale was un- mistakably correct, and that 145 poods, 4383 lbs. were missing in the bell. The value of the metal involved was $2,500. This bell was for the Church of St. Saviour, built as a memo- rial and thank-offering: for deliverance from the French invasion of Napoleon. It was begun in 1833. There were 2000 tons of metal on the roofs ; 925 lbs. of gold were in the construction. The columns of jasper in the interior cost $13,000 each. There are sixteen windows in the dome standing 26 feet high in bronze frames. More than fifteen million dollars was expended on this church. The Moscow Bell story recalls another that didn't have the benefit of a St. Johnsbury weighing machine. King Edward III set up in St. Stephen's, Westminster, a bell that said "King Edward made me thirtie thousand weiht and three, Take mee downe and wey mee and more you shall fynd me." In the reign of Henry VIII it was taken down and underwrit- ten thus "But Henry the Eight will bait me of my weight." XXIX OCCASIONS AND OCCURRENCES ATLANTIC CABLE — THE CENTENNIAL — MEMORIAL OCCASIONS — PRESIDENTIAL VISITS — OLD HOME WEEK — THE P. AND O. RAILROAD— THE ST. JOHNSBURY — THE JAPANESE EMBASSY — BEDOUIN ARABS — NISHAN EL IFTIKAR. THE ATLANTIC CABLE DEMONSTRATION On the announcement, August 16, 1858, that the Queen of England and the President of the United States had exchanged congratulations by way of the Atlantic Cable, flags were unfurled, cannon answered each other from the east and west hills, and church bells sounded salutes for sixty minutes. In the evening, bonfires were blazing on the hills ; houses and streets were illu- minated in the village ; Torrent Engine Company paraded with band and eighty torch lights ; Deluge Company followed till called off for aid in a fire at Mclndoes. From the St. Johnsbury House balcony, Hon. Thomas Bart- lett gave an address, in the course of which he contrasted this new method of conveying intelligence with that of some years ago when mail was conveyed from Lyndon to Wells River inside of one day ! Moses Chase who had lived eighty-six years hoping he might live to see this triumphal event, sent up six sentiments, including these three — "Franklin, he caught and tamed the light- ning ; Morse, he harnessed and set the lightning to work on land ; Field, he navigates the ocean by lightning." Some days later a dispatch that left London in the forenoon was received at the St. OCCASIONS AND OCCURENCES 377 Johnsbury telegraph office at four o'clock the same day; it created a sensation. NATIONAL CENTENNIAL OBSERVANCE July 4, 1876, was ushered in with bells and cannon. At ten o'clock a procession, unique and striking, presented people and vehicles of a hundred years preceding. A heavy storm swept across the village at noon. At two o'clock began the marching of various orders, fire companies, lads in continental costume, military companies representing all nations, Bunker Hill Monu- ment, the surrender of Ticonderoga, thirty-eight misses repre- senting the States of the Union. All proceeded to the mammoth tent at the head of the Plain. Whittier's Centennial Hymn was sung by a full chorus led by Prof. T. P. Ryder of Boston. After invocation the Declaration of Independence was read by Judge Poland. The oration was given by Gen. Joshua L. Chamberlain of Maine. Plans for the evening, including fireworks and a great chorus concert in the tent were abandoned on account of the heavy down pour of rain. The next evening however the fire- works were discharged from Arnold Park, and upper Main street decorated with banners, mottoes and bunting was ablaze with colored lights made more effective by the heavy foliage and darkened sky. A preliminary observance of the occasion was had on Sunday evening, July the second. Two thousand people assembled in the tent for a religious service led by laymen. Eight different churches participated ; one of the addresses, given by Rev. J. A. Boissonnault, was in French, many who were present not under- standing English. The service was one of Thanksgiving for a hundred years of national prosperity. Patriotic hymns were sung by the multitude of voices mingled with strains of the cornet band. This was designed to be a fitting commemoration of the providence of God in our nation's history. PORTLAND AND OGDENSBURG RAILROAD The conception of a cross-country road connecting Portland with Lake Champlain was fully shaped in the mind of Horace 378 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Fairbanks, its chief promoter, years before the first ground was broken for it. It met with skepticism at the outset and with stiff opposition all along. Popular opinion asserted that a railroad thro the White Mountain Notch was impossible, and up the hills of Danville and Walden and Greensboro, impracticable. Legisla- tive opposition, the antagonism of other railroad interests, the financial stringency were combined against it. But the project would not die ; its promoters believed in it and worked day and night for it. Capitalists in Portland were won to it ; Mr. Fair- banks at Concord convinced the New Hampshire Legislature of its importance to that state ; towns along the line began to bond themselves for it ; at last the work was begun at various points. THE PORTLAND AND OGDENSBURG RAILROAD Was becoming a reality. On the eighteenth of December, 1869, a citizens' meeting was held at the Town Hall to arrange for the first shoveling in this town on the new road. At two o'clock, December 22, a pro- cession of citizens and various orders was formed at Court Square, in the midst of which was a cart and a wheelbarrow bear- ing the inscription P. and O. R. R. The tramp was then made down Main street toward Sleepers River, to a spot near where the dry bridge now is. Remarks were made by Rev. Mr. Bras- tow, after which the first shovel full of gravel was thrown into the wheelbarrow by Mr. Thaddeus Fairbanks ; Capt. Walter Wright, the oldest man in town, 92, then took the shovel and threw the second ; others followed, the last of the shovelers be- ing a small boy. When the barrow load was dumped on the line, cheers went up for the Portland and ogdensburg railroad, salutes were fired, and the band played a triumphal air. In the evening 224 ladies and gentlemen had supper together at the Avenue House, speeches and music following. Bliss N. Davis, Esq., of Danville, reiterated his prediction that ladies there pres- ent would yet live to sniff the loads of tea fresh from China on their way to Queen Victoria via Danville and St. Johnsbury. It was seven and a half years before through connection was finally consummated. The last rail was laid in the town of Fletcher on the 17th of July, 1877. A special train left here in OCCASIONS AND OCCURRENCES 379 the morning carrying a hundred people, another from Swanton coming east met this one in the field where the rails were to be connected. Col. A. B. Jewett, Supt., handed a silver spike to Governor Fairbanks, President of the road, requesting him to drive it home as the last act in uniting the rails between Con- necticut River and the Lake. This done, there were cheers and a tiger ; addresses were made by Judge Poland and Hon. John B. Brown of Portland, who said that that city had put three millions of dollars into this enterprise, which, when first proposed to them by Governor Fairbanks ten years before, they had regarded as an impossibility. "The scene at the joining of the rails was one of deep inter- est. Hundreds of men and women had come from the towns about, to witness the ceremony that was to give them a Railroad. The place was significant ; away from city or village ; away from all habitation ; in a broad valley skirted by a luxuriant wood ; a fit place for the last crowning act of such an enterprise. And when the shouts went up and the last sounds of the doxology had died away in that secluded place, there were many thankful hearts and some moist eyes to testify the genuineness and depth of feeling which pervaded that assembly." THE ST. JOHNSBURY AND LAKE CHAMPLAIN ROAD An immediate and very gratifying reduction in freight rates to and from St. Johnsbury went into effect on the opening of this competing route. There was a prompt and notable drop in the price of coal and other commodities. The towns along the line eagerly welcomed the easier contact with the business world and the more advantageous marketing of their products. As an in- vestment proposition however the new road failed to reap the financial advantages that were anticipated. Both the construction and up-keep, and the running expenses were unexpectedly heavy. The indebtedness increased and the bonds and the stock depre- ciated. Litigation arose, a receivership was appointed and re- organization was effected, under the name of the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad, which assumed the management July 1, 1880, with the following officers : 380 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Horace Fairbanks, president ; William P. Fairbanks, secretary- treasurer; Albert W. Hastings, clerk and cashier; Charles H. Stevens, general freight and passenger agent; John R. Rust, road engineer ; George E. Howe, master mechanic — all of St. Johnsbury ; Col. A. B. Jewett of Swanton, superintendent. A new and substantial steamboat was purchased to ply between Swanton and Plattsburg ; important improvements were made and the prospect brightened. By purchase of the bulk of stock the Boston and Lowell came into control of the road in April, 1885; somewhile after the Boston and Maine in like manner purchased it, and has continued to run it as an independent line yielding a very considerable annual deficit. ADVENTURES OF THE ST. JOHNSBURY The first locomotive put upon the Lake Road after the rails were laid to Hyde Park was the st. johnsbury no. 1, built at the Portland locomotive works. Her first engineer was Alanson Burt under whose steady hand she ran for many years, and with whom she shared some experiences during the early troublous days of that road, not set down on the regular schedule. On the 19th day of May, 1876, while creeping along the track this side the East Village after the great flood, she suddenly lurched and rolled over into Moose River on the Hovey meadow. While she lay there on her left side half submerged in water, the river proceeded to dig itself a short-cut channel which presently penned the engine up on an island of its own. The process of landing her again on the rails afforded entertainment to a multitude of interested spec- tators from different parts of the town. Some years later under similar conditions she again took a bath by tumbling into the Lamoille River near Cambridge. En- gineer Burt was fished out thro the cab window by the conductor. Life on the Lake Road after a while came to be too strenuous for the st. johnsbury and finally her trips on the rail were ended ; she was sold for $340 and her boiler was converted into a station- ary engine. OCCASIONS AND OCCURRENCES 381 MEMORIAL OBSERVANCES PRESIDENT LINCOLN April 19, 1865 "Besides, this Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been So clear in his great office, that his virtues —plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against The deep damnation of his taking-off." Consternation and grief made the day a solemn one. It was Friday, one week from the Black Friday on which the assassin's bullet did its fatal work. Factories, shops and schools were closed at ten o'clock, and the tide of population flowed into Union Park and the schoolhouse grounds. The assembly was marshalled into line by Col. C. F. Spaulding and his aids ; at the front a military escort of two companies of infantry and one of cavalry, followed by veterans recently returned from fields of battle ; then came the group of 36 misses representing the re- united states of the Union, the small army of school children and various groups of citizens. To the tolling of bells the long line moved slowly down the streets and into the South church. The heavy drapery of mourn- ing on the white walls of the auditorium was relieved by con- spicuous Bible verses. The interval of silence was broken by low tones from the organ and the chanting of a psalm ; the deep feeling of the audience had expression in the prayer of Rev. L. O. Brastow, the pastor, and in scriptures read by Rev. E. C. Cum- mings. The serious countenance and grave tones of Judge Poland gave impressiveness to his portrayal of the martyred President as a public servant. The simplicity and moral grandeur of the man, his high-souled dedication to the service of his coun- try would abide as an inspiration and example to all future genera- tions. This occasion was memorable for its peculiar solemnity and important life-lessons, and would have been yet more so could it have been foreseen that this was first in a series of commemora- tions of similiar tragedies yet to come. 382 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY PRESIDENT GARFIELD September 26, 1881 "God reigns and the Government at Washington still lives." On the speaker's stand erected front of the Court House were displayed these words — with which at a critical moment, Garfield, leaping into a balcony, had quelled the fury of the mob in New York City. At two o'clock veterans of the army and citizens were escorted to the grounds by the Band which played a funeral march. Prayer by Rev. B. M. Tillotson. Col. Franklin Fair- banks presided and in the course of his remarks said that the great bell on St. Paul's Cathedral in London had tolled for the death of President Garfield, a thing never done before except for royal personages. There were four addresses. Hon. Henry C. Ide pointed out that Garfield's training in self-discipline, in resolute command of himself during his boyhood and student days, laid the enduring foundation for his subsequent splendid and patriotic career. His quite remarkable achievements as a military officer were vividly portrayed by Henry C. Bates, Esquire. Judge Poland had been Garfield's comrade for ten years in Congress ; he gave him fore- most rank as a statesman of broad vision and courage whose con- duct actuated by purest patriotism had won the unbounded confi- dence of all parties. Rev. E. T. Sandford represented Garfield as a religious man who on all occasions and before all people radi- ated the light and warmth of a devout Christian spirit. The ser- vices of the day were long and impressive, 2000 people were there, and at the end they seemed in no haste to leave the spot where a great bond of sympathy had been holding them on their feet so long together. Business was suspended during the after- noon and evening. OCCASIONS AND OCCURRENCES 383 EX-PRESIDENT GRANT August 9, 1885 "The man who by his consummate military ability had saved the nation, always in his life put simplicity before distinction and duty before pleasure." This time it was not tragedy but commemoration that as- sembled the people on Saturday afternoon in Music Hall. Gen- eral Grant had rounded an eventful and honorable life with a peaceful death. The introductory address was by Gov. Horace Fairbanks, who considered the greatness of the military leader surpassed by the greatness of the private citizen, whose place was now forever secure in the esteem and love of his countrymen. Judge Poland continued in a similar strain; with indomitable firmness and patience Grant had commanded great armies, with the same he calmly faced the bitter misfortunes of later life and the dreaded malady that put an end to it. The remarks of Dr. C. L. Goodell of St. Louis were felicitously made, as is indicated by the words above quoted. In the class that was graduated at Yale College in 1859 was a breezy lovable young Southerner, Rector by name, from the state of Texas. During the civil war he belonged to the picked cavalry of the Texas Rangers whose dashing exploits were well known throughout the South. It happened that Rector, who in the meantime had become Judge Rector of Austin, was spending some while in St. Johnsbury visiting this writer, his classmate. He readily accepted an invitation to participate in the Grant Memorial services, and was introduced as a representative of the Confederate Army. "I am most happy," he said, "as one born in the South and educated at a New England College to join heartily with you in this commemoration. * * * Now, after the grass has been for twenty years growing green on the hillocks where your friends and ours are sleeping — we of the South are ready to say and we do say that our defeat was for the best ; the blight of slavery has been removed, our interests are linked with yours, this great country now undivided is ours as well as yours and we of the South will stand by you in defending 384 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY it." Such sentiments as these from Southern lips had not before been voiced in this town and they were received with prolonged applause. Judge Rector's fluent, frank and cordial manner of speech won every heart and gave eclat to the occasion. PRESIDENT MCKINLEY September 15, 1901 "From the high place whereon our votes Had borne him — clear, calm, earnest, fell His strong words, like the prelude notes Of some great anthem yet to swell." Memorial services were held Sunday evening, September 15, in the North Church, which was appropriately draped for the oc- casion. Selections from the Midnight Mass of Dudley Buck were rendered in the opening anthem. There were three ad- dresses by three of the village pastors— Geo. W. Hunt, Rector Pickells, Edward T. Fairbanks. The two former deprecated pre- vailing social conditions which had bred discontent and encour- aged anarchistic tendencies ; we must devote our energies to building up civic virtue, reverence for law and the righteousness that exalteth a nation. The remarks that followed took direction from the Presi- dent's farewell words — "Good bye ; it is God's way ; his will be done." God's way is to bring order out of chaos, to turn disaster into victory. Man's will works its cruel deed; God's will takes it up, reverses its aim, forces it to work the very opposite. God's will be done in turning this bitter tragedy to the sobering and sweetening of popular thought, to bringing in good will and sym- pathy, purity of life, broadening charity and reverence for sacred things. PRESIDENTIAL VISITS PRESIDENT HARRISON August 26, 1891 A hundred years of events in her history had passed before the town had opportunity to welcome a Chief Magistrate. Then OCCASIONS AND OCCURRENCES 385 on the 26th of August, 1891, President Harrison accompanied by Senator Redfleld Proctor and party, stepped from the train and was escorted by 800 citizens with banners and music to Under- clyfle, where entertainment was given by Col. Franklin Fairbanks. In the evening, which was brilliant with flags and swinging lan- terns, the President addressed 15,000 people from the front balcony of the Athenaeum. He remarked that the taste, beauty and elaboration of the decorations which greeted his arrival here exceeded anything he had seen elsewhere on this trip. He paid a graceful and eloquent tribute to our national flag as representing the heroism and the ideals of the American people, and added: — "I am most happy to witness in this prosperous New England town so many evidences that your community is intelligent, industrious, enterprising, and your people lovers of home and of order. You have here manufacturing establishments whose fame and products have spread throughout the world. You have here public-spirited citizens who have established institutions that will be ministering to the good of generations to come. You have here an intelligent and educated class of skilled workmen ; nothing pleased me more as I passed through your streets today than to be told that here and there were the homes of the Working people of St. Johnsbury, homes where every evidence of comfort was apparent, homes where taste has been brought to make attractive the abodes in which tired men sought rest, homes that must have been made sweet for the children and comfortable for the wives whose place of toil and responsibility is there. This is what binds men to good order, to good citizenship, to the flag of the constitution ; and I venture to say that all our public policy, all our legislation, may wisely keep in view the end of perpetuating an independent, contented, prosperous and hopeful working-class in America." A Boston man, some years after, said, "I had occasion to meet Benjamin Harrison up at St. Johnsbury, Vt., where he ad- dressed a large crowd of people and shook hands with hundreds of them. I never shall forget the grip the President gave my hand ; it was a grasp that meant sincerity, whole-heartedness, strength of character; it won him hosts of friends during his polit- ical career." This demonstration in honor of the President was initiated and conducted by the Board of Trade ; popular interest in it was in- dicated by subscriptions of nearly $1000 to ensure its success. It 386 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY was in all respects a brilliant occasion and justified the President's appreciative acknowledgement. The long column of uniformed orders and citizens in five divisions with three brass bands moving along the gaily decorated streets made an imposing display. There was a halt at the Public School grounds on Summer street, where 250 children gave salute and sang America under direction of Harry May, after which they placed a huge floral key in the hands of the President as a symbol that he now had the freedom of the city ; it was accepted with a graceful response. PRESIDENT TAFT October 9, 1912 A train of automobiles went from this town to Montpelier on the ninth of October, 1912, a month before the national election, and returned with President Taft, reaching here at noon. After luncheon at Underclyfle, the party was escorted by various orders in uniform, including the veterans of Chamberlin Post and the boys of Champlain Guard and of Company D to the Athenaeum. Factories, stores and schools were closed and the streets were gay with profusion of bunting. The President was presented by Alexander Dunnett, Esquire. The crowd cheered, the President smiled. He made ready contact with the audience by referring to his selection of a St. Johnsbury man, Judge Henry C. Ide, to serve on the Philippine Commission ; one result of which was the introduction of many Vermont ideas among the people of the tropics. Having found Mr. Ide a careful guardian of the public interests in that position he subsequently gave him the appoint- ment of U. S. Minister to Spain. He said : "Vermont is a small state but her soldiers did heroic service in the Civil War and her able men have given her distinction in public affairs ; they have proved to be a safe reliance in the councils of the nation. New responsibilities have come upon us since becoming one of the great world powers. A powerful nation, like a wealthy man, is in duty bound to aid and benefit those who are weaker. This is what we are trying to do, aiming OCCASIONS AND OCCURRENCES 387 to promote peace, to develop natural resources and increase hap- piness among all." It did not appear that day that the public duties of the Presi- dent had seriously reduced his avoirdupois. As an experiment in that direction he said that he went one time to Murray Bay in Canada, and while there was the recipient of one of our famous St. Johnsbury scales, on which to mark his downward progress. He was sorry to have to say that this scale didn't suit him ; it was too correct and honest to give him the desired encourage- ment. EX-PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT August 30, 1912 Early in the evening of August 30, 1912, Ex-President Roose- velt arrived here on his return from a tour in Orleans County. The band stand front of the Court House was made ready for his reception with flags and bunting and eight strings of electric lights radiating from it. To this rostrum the Colonel was escorted by several hundred men of the Progressive party, with abundance of enthusiasm and red bandanna. There was no introduction of the speaker, for the reason that immediately after mounting the platform he plunged with characteristic promptness into his ad- dress and held his audience for an hour and a half to an interest- ing exposition of the principles of the newly-formed party of which he was the head. He spoke with moderation and distinct- ness and his statements were received with hearty applause. The occasion was enlivened with music and songs by the Consolidated Band and the Progressive Male Chorus. Newspaper representa- tives from New York and Boston kept eleven typewriters busy and seven men were employed at the telegraph stations forwarding messages. OLD HOME WEEK August 11-17, 1901 In June of the first year of the twentieth century Governor Stickney, in accordance with an act of the preceding Legislature, 388 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY designated the week which included Bennington Battle Day, Au- gust 16, as Old Home Week ; with an invitation to the 200,000 native sons and daughters of Vermont living elsewhere to come home and re-visit the scenes of their childhood. In the spirit of this Proclamation a committee of citizens was appointed to issue in- vitations and provide suitable entertainment for all who might re-visit St. Johnsbury. Letters of invitation were sent to all whose addresses could be found. On Thursday evening a general reception was held at the Museum while a tremendous downpour of rain was deluging the streets. Friday evening, August sixteen, found about 250 people assembled in Pythian Hall. Edward T. Fairbanks presided, the Mahogany Quartette rendered the Bill of Fare in astonishing terms, and the people devoted their attention to it with very evi- dent satisfaction. After introductory words of welcome from the chair, Hon. Daniel C. Remick of Littleton was presented. He said that his father was born in Barnet, his mother in Danville, himself in Hardwick. But he was a St. Johnsbury boy during the years when his father, S. K. Remick, was proprietor of the old Passumpsic House ; still further he claimed an earlier relationship to this town on the ground that Enos Stevens who went down country with Jonathan Arnold on the interesting quest narrated on page 59 of this book — there found Sophy Grout whom he mar- ried and brought back to Barnet, and this same Sophy was great aunt to Dan Remick ; therefore Remick was to that extent a St. Johnsburyite ! He brought greetings from the state of New Hampshire where the Old Home Week idea was born, and fer- vently advocated civic enthusiasm and public spirit in the town. Hon. J. B. Gilfillan responded for the state of Minnesota, where so many Vermonters live, and there isn't one of them who is not proud of the state and the town he was born in. Reverent mem- ories fill the soul of every returning son and daughter. Hon. David J. Foster of Burlington was introduced as one who in his Academy days took pains to acquire the art of public speaking. He used to ride up to the Plain on a poky old horse and one day asked for a pair of spurs. His father gave him one spur. He wanted two. The father assured him that if he man- OCCASIONS AND OCCURRENCES 389 aged to get one side of the horse along the other side wouldn't be far behind. David had kept his elocutionary side well to the front and in due time he landed in Congress. Mr. Foster was warmly greeted and paid an eloquent tribute to the Green Mountain State, especially complimenting the mothers, wives and daughters who had contributed so largely to her fair renown. Hon. F. G. Fleetwood spoke gracefully ; he said that frugality, temperance and industry had been important elements in the making of Vermont ; he was glad to be again in his native town, the finest town in the Passumpsic valley ; happy the man who was born in St. Johnsbury, or who had lived here, or who had married a St. Johnsbury girl. Mr. E. H. Wolcott brought greet- ings from Boston. Senator Hale of Lunenburg paid warm tribute to the home at the south end of the Plain where the girlhood of his mother had been spent. Music and song varied the exercises of the evening, and appreciative responses to the letters of in- vitation were read by the secretary, Arthur F. Stone: — "We love Vermont and loyally wear the green of memory for her men and mountains. There is no town quite like St. Johnsbury, the town I was born in and I am proudly proclaiming the fact." "With happy memories of old days in that beautiful village among the hills, my dearest wish would be to be with you during Old Home Week." "Cordial greetings; I retain lively affection for St. Johnsbury and its people, and would gladly recall with you the cherished memory of St. Johns- bury friends whom we shall see no more." "Success to all such efforts as Old Home Week to foster local attach- ments and perpetuate the memory of our forbears ; to nourish the spirit of liberty and strengthen our national ideals." "I am always happy to reckon St. Johnsbury my home, to recall the surpassing beauty of its scenery and the charm of its generous friendships." "We shall never forget the happy years spent in St. Johnsbury and the unnumbered courtesies there received. The praises of St. Johnsbury have • been sung many times and she is worthy of them all." "It is gratifying to know that E. T. F., my old comrade at the Battle of Bennington ? or was it the Battle of the Night Hawk or some other — ? is president of Old Home Week Association. Greetings to the good old Town." "I am always thankful for those blessed years during which our home was in St. Johnsbury. Nowhere else are there such men and women as Vermont's best." 390 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY "In a state that has reason to be proud of her history St. Johnsbury is one of the most beautiful villages, and she need not blush for her sons and daughters who are far away helping to fashion other commonwealths." "My affection for St. Johnsbury, my only old home, has not diminished one iota during forty years of absence." "Though we've been away in Florida for nearly a quarter of a century, St. Johnsbury is still to us the dearest spot on earth." THE JAPANESE EMBASSY On the first day of August, 1872, Mr. T. Hida, Commissioner of Public Works and Mr. K. Nagano, Foreign Secretary, members of the Japanese Embassy to this country, came up to St. Johns- bury to see how scales were made. They were brought on a pri- vate car to Wells River ; thence on a special train of two cars. While approaching St. Johnsbury, Nagano remarked that he would like to ride on the locomotive. He was introduced to the engineer and given a seat in the cab ; here he watched every movement sharply and was permitted to take a hand in the opera- tions by ringing the bell. Suddenly the whistle blew down breaks ; the train running at forty miles an hour was halted just as the engine reached a timber that had fallen across the track. Nagano, much agitated, made haste to return to the car, and was less communicative than when he had gone forward. On reaching St. Johnsbury the train was reversed and ran around to the scale factory where two hours were spent inspect- ing the works. With keen and intelligent eye the Japanese fol- lowed the entire process of manufacture from the foundry to the sealing and packing rooms. Passing under the flags of Japan and United States which, with low bows and uncovered heads were respectfully saluted, they were taken into carriages and driven thro the village. Arriving at the Athenaeum they were given a salute by the St. Johnsbury cornet band. At seven o'clock a banquet was served by Landlord Gilmore at the St. Johnsbury House, 57 items on the menu. Addresses followed by Gov. Hendee, Henry D. Hyde Esq. of Boston, Hamilton A. Hill, Sec- retary of the Boston Board" of Trade, and local speakers. Escorted by the band and lighted with rockets and fireworks, the orien- OCCASIONS AND OCCURENCES 391 tals returned to the station for the night train to Boston, where the next day they were tendered a banquet by the city govern- ment at the Revere House. SCALES IN JAPAN An interesting coincidence with the Japanese visit to this town was the arrival here later in the same month of a chest of tea from Yokohama. That chest contained a sheet on which was the following printed statement : "This chest contains forty- eight pounds of tea as weighed on the Fairbanks Scales ; we warrant this tea free from artificial colorings." Signed in Japa- nese by the Yokohama tea dealer. Four years later the following letter was received from Japan. "General Post Office, Tokio, Japan, March 20, 1876. Messrs. Fairbanks and Co. On the first day of January, 1875, your scales were introduced into the Postal Service of this coun- try, and since that time the number in use has been constantly increasing, it being found that they are, what is claimed for them, a standard scale. "It is therefore a source of great satisfaction to this Depart- ment to be able to add its testimony to the volumes already writ- ten in praise of the Fairbanks Standard Scales. I have the honor to be, gentlemen, your very obedient servant H. Mayesima, Post-Master Ge?ieral. YA-SHEIKH EL-ARAB A notable band of orientals paid us a visit April 14, 1881 . They were here by invitation of the writer who some years before had tented for a month among the Tawara Bedouin in the Midian desert. There were in the party Abou-Daiyeh, a Sheikh of Moab, Selim Hashmi, one of Stanley's Arab guides ; Yakoob Bazoosie, Syrian Swordsman; Sheikh Mohammed Sulieman, a whirling Der- vish, and others. Their picturesque figures on the streets at- tracted a large assembly in the Town Hall that evening where various scenes and usages of oriental life were depicted. None 392 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY who witnessed it will ever forget the thrilling passage at arms of the Syrian Sword Dance — the swift lightning-like parry and thrust of the flashing swords clashing around the ears of the antago- nists ; nor the whirring whirl of the whirling Dervish howling ya-lell-lee! yo-yell-loo! performances unlike anything ever before known in our town. Sheikh Abou-Daiyeh was a dignified representative of his high-spirited Bedouin race ; with characteristic generosity he left as a friendly memento a coffee roaster which he said had roasted coffee for Sheikh Fallen of the Beni-Adwan Arabs hundreds of years ago. Its appearance does not dispute the claim to vener- able age and service. NISHAN EL IFTIKAR DECORATING A PLAIN MAN At the Vienna International Exposition of 1874, the platform scales manufactured in St. Johnsbury were awarded the highest premiums. In addition to this Mr. Thaddeus Fairbanks, the in- ventor, was knighted by the Emperor. There was a touch of unintended humor in the circumstance that a plain man, extremely averse to notoriety, should have been saluted with the pompous announcement from Chancellor the Baron von Lichtenfels, that, by command of His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty — he, the scale-maker, had been decorated a Knight of the Imperial Order of Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria ! This however was but the beginning of sonorous announce- ments to the man of shrinking mood. The next year, in recogni- tion of his merit as inventor of Standard Scales, came the Decoration of Puspamala or Golden Medal of the Kingdom of Siam. That the Power which is mighty in the Universe may keep him and guard him and grant him all happiness and pros- perity, was the prayer accompanying the Document of Investiture, conferred by His Royal Majesty the Potentate Somditch Phra Paramindr Maha Chululoukom, Phra Chulu Chom Keas, Fifth Sovereign of the present Dynasty of the Kings of Siam. In 1877 additional embellishment arrived — a Saracenic dec- oration conferred by His Highness the Bey of Tunis, consigned OCCASIONS AND OCCURENCES 393 to the care of a relative for presentation. Thereupon a company of citizens invited themselves to the home at Elmwoode and sum- moned the many-titled man to come out from his library and stand in the midst. After some exchange of ordinary greetings, one spoke and said : — "History repeats itself with some variations. It is well known to readers of oriental story that the fifth Caliph of the line of the Abbassides, the world-renowned Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid, upon whom be peace and the joys of paradise, was a potentate not less eminent for the magnificence of his court than for his generous patronage of the liberal arts. It was a cus- tom of this monarch to invite to the hospitality of the Saracenic court, or otherwise to dignify at their own homes, men of foreign and far distant na- tions who had distinguished themselves by services to mankind in the way of useful arts and inventions. Thus he not only advanced the intelligence of the world but crowned -his own reign with superior lustre. Now in view of the decadence of enterprise and art and invention among the Arabic-speaking races of modern times, it is gratifying to find that in our own generation the disposition of the great Haroun-al-Raschid, upon whom be peace and joys, is re-appearing in one at least of the Islamic Sove- reigns—viz : our eminent contemporary, His Highness Mohammed es Sadok Pasha Bey, Ruler of the Kingdom of Tunis. This prince has become so assured of the excellence of weighing machines constructed in our neighborhood and introduced into his Kingdom from the Centennial Expo- sition—also so impressed with a sense of their value to the commerce of the world, that he would in some way manifest his admiration of the invention thereof. Had circumstances favored he might have invited the inventor per- sonally to the hospitalities of the Tunisian court, after the fashion of the re- nowned Caliph of Bagdad Haroun-al-Raschid, upon whom be peace and the joys of paradise. Had the course of events permitted the consummation of this hypothesis we can see that our distinguished host instead of unexpected- ly receiving us under his own roof this evening, might be sitting, feet up, on the divan of the oriental magnate, sipping black coffee from the gilded zarf and fingan of the Bey of Tunis, regaling himself perchance with the fragrant fumes of his exquisite nargeleh ! This, it must be confessed, is merely suppositional ; we will pay attention therefore, not to what might have been, but to what has been done. His Highness the Bey of Tunis has been pleased to confer on the inventor of the platform scale the Knightly Decoration of nishan el iftakar, grade of Commander, an Arabic order of high distinction among the natives of that realm. The recent arrival of this insignia is both a token of international good will and an event of considerable interest in our little community. We have 394 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY therefore taken the liberty of inviting ourselves to the home of the recipient, that we might in his presence recite the formula thereof, which is as follows : "Praise to God alone! From the servant of God May his Name be glorified Who relies on Him And leaves to Him All his earthly affairs. Mohammed es Sadok Pasha Bey Possessor of the Kingdom of Tunis To the Honorable and Honored Mr. Thaddeus Fairbanks Inventor and Maker Of the Fairbanks Scale In compliance with the request Of our Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs And on account of the Merits Which distinguish you We send you this Decoration Ornamented with our Name And which is of the second Class COMMANDER OF OUR ORDER IFTAKAR May you wear it in peace and prosperity!" Written the 7th Babia Elawel 1294 Kheradine, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. XXX MISCELLANEOUS WAGON — LOOM — OIL LAMPS — SEEING THE ELEPHANT — THE SKOOTER— SKATING PARK — TOBOGGANING — FIELD SPORTS — A CHIMNEY — COIN — RHYMES. THE STORY OF A WAGON CHAPTER I— IT ARRIVES ON THE SCENE 1815 "In the month of May, 1815, Joseph and Phebe Fairbanks came to this town in a dark green colored one-horse wagon made by their son, Thaddeus Fairbanks, in Brimfield, Mass. This wagon had one broad seat attached to wooden springs running the whole length of the wagon box, 6% feet long. It had no iron springs. This was the first pleasure wagon owned in our town." CHAPTER II— IT GOES FROM ONE TO ANOTHER "Thaddeus Fairbanks sold that wagon to Ephraim Paddock; Paddock sold it to Marshall Jones whose farm was two miles west of the Plain; Jones sold it to Chauncey Spaulding." It was not sold again, but continued in service or in storage, in the Spaulding Neighborhood till into the twentieth century. CHAPTER III— IT BECOMES ANTIQUATED 1876 "In the burlesque procession of the Fourth of July, this Cen- tennial year, was an antiquated wagon made by Mr. Thaddeus Fairbanks before his invention of the platform scales. It is now 396 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY owned by Chauncey Spaulding. That it has been in constant use so many years is good evidence that it was well made." CHAPTER IV— IT BEGINS TO LOOK YELLOW 1883 "A rival to Oliver Wendell Holmes' One Horse Shay turned up at the Caledonia County Fair last week. It was built 69 years ago by Mr. Thaddeus Fairbanks. It is a four wheeled vehicle, springless, and shaped something like a flat boat. Its single seat is about double the height of those in modern wagons, and the affair is painted yellow. This wagon is almost as good as new, save that the forward axle is some worn and one or two spokes are broken. It shows few signs of the many years' service it has done." CHAPTER V— IT WAKES MEMORIES FAR AWAY 1889 "There is a missionary in India, who was Lois Lee, and who with her friend, Ellen Bugbee, attended the St. Johnsbury Acad- emy under Prof. Colby of honored memory ; and those two girls, who then lived in the Spaulding Neighborhood, were driven to school and back daily in that old Fairbanks buggy. It was not, even in those days, noted for its beauty or its ease of motion, but it did its part well in training a missionary for India — whose privilege it was to found a Girls' Academy where hundreds of women who could not read or write have had a christian educa- tion, in which work that famous old buggy may be said to have had a part." l. l. p. CHAPTER VI— IT GETS A GOOD BERTH 1909 The old wagon, having outlived the period of its active use- fulness, was invited to a berth in the Fairbanks Museum ; and, having been presented by its owner, was transported from the Spaulding stable to that institution in 1909. After being properly groomed and adjusted it was installed in the Colonial room as a cherished relic of the early history of the town. CHAPTER VII— IT TAKES A PLEASURE RIDE 1911 On the Fourth of July, 1911, ninety-six years after its first trip across St. Johnsbury Plain, the old green "pleasure wagon," now MISCELLANEOUS 397 rather more yellow than green, was entrusted for a day to the hands of the Daughters of the American Revolution. By them it was carefully mounted on a hay rack and given a pleasure ride over its original course on Main street, admired by all spectators as a quaint feature in the Colonial parade that day. CHAPTER VIII— IT REPOSES AMONG CONTEMPORARIES The old wagon rests from its runnings in company with the old two-wheeled chaise, the old wooden plough, the old house loom, the old reels and hatchels and spinning wheels of the good old days of its prime. Salutations to these ancient and honorable for good service done in their day. A ST. JOHNSBURY LOOM Alpheus Goss built his log house in 1793, on a pent road run- ning from what is now the Center Village ; the road which today runs on to Paddock Village. In 1800, he replaced this with the frame house which descended to his son, Nathaniel Goss, and is now the home of his granddaughter, Mrs. Angelina Goss Fuller. Here he made and set up the hand loom which has recently come into possession of the Museum, the gift of Mrs. Fuller. This loom is of birch wood, five feet square and six and a half feet high, with its accessories— harness, skarne and warping bars, loom spools, swifts and quill-wheel — and tho it has been in active service thro three generations is still in excellent preservation. Looms of this description, tho not always of this superior quality, were in nearly all the well to do homes of the earlier settlers of the town. This Goss loom undoubtedly did its share in making up the 27,733 yards of cloth turned out from St. Johnsbury looms in the year 1810. The thumping of looms was as familiar a household sound in that day as the ring of the telephone is to- day. Mrs. Alice Morse Earle refers to the loom of our ancestors as being "a historic machine of great antiquity and dignity ; per- haps the most absolute bequest of past centuries which has re- 398 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY mained unchanged for domestic use. You may see a loom of this same sort in Giotto's famous fresco in the Campanile at Florence, painted in 1355. During the seven centuries since Giotto's day, women have continued weaving on just such looms, the same as our grandparents had in their homes." Note. The Indians who captured Hannah Dustin in 1697, tore off a strip of linen from the loom she was running ; after she had tomahawked them she wrapped their ten scalps in this same linen, a portion of which, belonging to Mrs. Lydia Jones Varnum, a descendant, was displayed in floral hall at the Caledonia Fair of 1863. ELECTRIC LIGHTS AND THE OLD OIL LAMP The South Church was adorned in 1852 with whale oil lamps and reflectors mounted on the walls, which did their best to illu- mine the large expanse. On Thanksgiving eve, 1900, at a union service in this house, the pastor, Edward T. Fairbanks, al- luded to the new century electric illumination as contrasted with the dim old smoky oil lamps. Almost immediately, as if in- spired with a spirit of mischief, the lights began to decline and fixed themselves just above the vanishing point. The janitor was obliged to go out in the neighborhood and beg the loan of an oil lamp. This, which he bore up the aisle and set as a trophy on the pulpit, furnished light for the rest of the service. It was, as it were, the call of the electrics to their discarded and antiquated predecessors — "give us of your oil for our lamps are gone out." Rev. Edward M. Chapman, in his work on English Literature, page 240, cites this as an illustration of true humor, which to be genuine must be casual, an inconguity that is unpremeditated, an accidental coincidence that occasions quiet mirth. On a summer evening in 1903, a stroke of lightning whirled the eagle at the mast head of the Athenaeum to the ground and extinguished all the lights. It happened just then that the at- tendant was alone in the building and she had to move around in semi-darkness setting things in order before closing for the night, till Wm. C. Tyler came in from the neighboring store bringing an oil lamp by the light of which a suitable exit was effected. MISCELLANEOUS 399 If the above events had been recorded among the Fables of ^Esop, he would have appended this observation : it is foolish to throw away our old things, they will come in handy some day. GOING TO SEE THE ELEPHANT On a day in July, 1821, Royal Ross of Waterford asked Eliza Mason to go with him to St. Johnsbury to see the elephant. She was the minister's daughter; the family lived on a salary of $100, plus provisions that might amount to any reasonable sum ; for example, the table furnishment one winter was rye bread and milk and half a pig. On the trip to see the St. Johnsbury elephant something more than elephant was arrived at, and the next trip that Eliza took was a bridal one over to the Ross farm house, where she promptly spun and wove thirty yards of sheeting ; and from that time on continued spinning, weaving, knitting, stitch- ing, till near the turn of the century in her ninety-sixth year. During these later years she was coming to St. Johnsbury not es- pecially to see the elephant but to visit her son Chief Justice Jonathan Ross. As time went on other people came here to see the elephant. Which one it was in 1821, is not reported; it may have been Ahasuerus ; but 1834 it was Columbus, in 1849 it was Hannibal, in 1864 it was Tippoo Sahib, in 1882 it was Jumbo. The elephant Columbus belonged to the New York menagerie which exhibited near Josiah Gage's Hotel above the East Village, Sept. 11, 1834, from nine o'clock in the morning till after dinner. A reminiscence of the event has been preserved by one who at the time was a lass of ten years : "We were asleep in the trundle bed in the hotel. In the middle of the night there was a loud pounding on the door. My father got up and went to the door, then came back and said 'the elephant has come.' My mother asked how large the elephant was? 'Oh, it is a monstrous big creature as high as the door.' We children wanted to get up and go at once to see the elephant, but we had to wait till morning. Besides the elephant there was a camel and some ponies. In the morning Mr. Aaron took us out to the barn where they had been put up, and there we were allowed to sit on the camel's back between the humps, and then to feed the elephant. The show 400 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY was on Saturday ; while the tent was being set up in the yard beside our house, a crowd collected and it was an exciting time. The admission was a ninepence, and it was worth that to see the animals, especially the elephant, said to be the first ever in Vermont. (The writer seems not to have known that Ahasuerus was here in 1821?) There were a good many monkeys, and Alonzo, three years old, caught hold of a monkey and got bitten; the monkeys had been taken into our house and allowed to run thro the hall. The caravan staid with us over Sunday, and in the next night went over to the Plain to exhibit there ; we had free tickets given us and went, con- sidering ourselves highly favored." It was on the twelfth day of August, 1882, that Jumbo arriv- ed in this town having only recently landed in America. Here he took his third American bath in the waters of the Passumpsic. There was some apple of discord between Juno and Fritz, the other two elephants, while in the river, causing the deep to boil like a pot ; Jumbo serenely looking on, maintaining the dignity of Olympian Jove. People to the number of 15,000 came to pay their respects to Jumbo, and gave him the satisfaction of surveying an orderly and admiring American crowd. No one had ever before seen a creature of 13,000 lbs. weight, and questions were asked as to his daily rations. These were stated in general to be 200 lbs. hay, 2 bushels oats, 12 loaves bread, a bushel of biscuit, 3 quarts onions, 12 buckets water, with indeterminate amounts of oranges, apples, figs, bananas, candy and other nutritive miscellany. Three years later, after the wreck that ended his career in On- tario, the taxidermist found in his stomach a collection of coins of nearly all nations besides a quantity of car-seals that he had ac- quired as souvenirs of his railroad trips. While in this town Jumbo indicated an inordinate appetite for whiskey, a bottle of which he would empty into his throat at a gulp, and promptly hold out his trunk for more. He had no suspicion that this was a dry town. None of the 400 men who had the circus in charge were allowed any of the bottle refreshment that Jumbo was treated to ; this was one of the strict rules of P. T. Barnum ; but they drank 75 gallons of milk fresh from the cattle on a thousand hills of Caledonia. Note— Thomas Jefferson also went to see the elephant. This event took place in the fifty-fifth year of his age, and later in the same year he was elec- MISCELLANEOUS 401 ted Vice-President of the United States. Posterity would have welcomed from his philosophic pen some observations about the elephant, but we find nothing more than certain entries in his account book, viz: — 1797, March 10 Paid for seeing elephant 25 1797, March 13 Pd for seeing elk 75 1791, Dec. 20 Pd seeing a lion 21 months old Hid The Barnum and Bailey Caravan at a later date paraded the streets with 24 elephants ; 37 lions, tigers and other beasts in open cage wagons ; 16 crowned heads, reigning sovereigns of the world, in chariots and royal robes, escorts accompanying — pretty nearly a mile of moving miscellany. The entertainment enter- tained 13,000 spectators and carried away $8000 as a pleasant reminder of St. Johnsbury, Vt. WINTER SPORTS "THE ST. JOHNSBURY SKOOTER" "There are many things that impress and some that surprise the stranger who visits St. Johnsbury for the first time. If it is in summer he is impressed with the beauties of the place ; if in winter he is surprised to see the skill with which boys ride down hill on a contrivance called the skooter. Instead of a sled with its two runners, the St. Johnsbury boy takes a barrel stave for the base of operations, builds a seat two feet above it, sits astride the contrivance, and with marvelous skill and speed skoots down those steep hillsides. Sometimes he will go a long distance bal- anced without touching a foot to the ground ; sometimes a touch with either toe keeps the thing upright and going ; sometimes he lands in a heap at the foot of the hill." This contrivance, such a curiosity to the stranger in 1871, was no wise remarkable to the native born citizen who had been brought up on it, or rather carried down on it, from boyhood. The skooter was popularly reputed to be a distinctly St. Johns- bury article. Tradition has ascribed the invention of it to the author of this book ; quite likely as with many other inven- tions it may have originated simultaneously in more than one adventurous mind. It is true however that more skooters were put together in a woodshed at the south end of the Plain about 402 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY 1846, than elsewhere in all the town of St. Johnsbury. Here the boys of the period congregated and a choice line of barrel staves was always in readiness for the manufacturing industry in which all hands took a part. More than forty years after, a New York paper announced that up in the Mohawk valley a new device for coasting had made its appearance ; it being a barrel stave fitted with a post and a seat, and called "a jumper ;" possibly derived from the Indians ? This showed no advance on the primitive type ; meanwhile the evolution of the St. Johnsbury skooter had resulted in a steel runner with iron-rod uprights and a shapely seat painted red ; but no generation of St. Johnsbury lads ever generated more fun on their steel shod skooters than the boys of forty-six got out of the old barrel stave equipments, the work of their own hands. The period of the fifties witnessed the advent of the traverse-sled. This not only multiplied the proportions but also the possibilities of the single ordinary sled. Being any- where from six to ten feet in length its smooth or cushioned seat was capable of carrying a very considerable number of snugly packed riders with tremendous momentum either to a gentle pause at the terminal, or to a triumphant catastrophe somewhere on the way. In those days one could mount a sled or skooter at the top of Warner Hill on Summer street and directly after find himself amongst the forges of the blacksmith shop in the scale works. Under present day conditions that kind of entrance into the factory is barred, and coasting on the village streets is not considered advantageous to the public welfare or convenience. THE BUTLER SKATING PARK In 1860, Beauman Butler graded and flooded eight acres of the meadows lying east of the old road to the Center Village. This tract was enclosed with a high tight fence, between which and the inner railing was a driveway and a small building provided with stove and lunch counter. It was arranged to have the ice flowed every night giving a fresh skating surface each day. Tickets were issued at ten cents for each admittance, and season MISCELLANEOUS 403 tickets at one dollar, for either skating or driving round. This Park was opened November 30, 1860, on which day about seventy- five skaters were on the ice, and a large number of spectators within the gates. On pleasant evenings there would be as many as two hundred skaters. For a time the novelty, safety and at- tractiveness of this Skating Park brought in considerable patron- age, but it proved to be too far away from the main villages, and after one season's trial it became evident that the enterprise must prove a failure. It was financially disastrous to the projector and ultimately cost him the beautiful farm which had been in the Butler family since Nathaniel Edson left it about 1809. A favorite skating spot was the artificial pond in the hollow west of Gov. Erastus Fairbanks' house, where the lumber yard now is ; this pond was after a while drained away for sanitary reasons. In later years the ice on Passumpsic River near Rail- road street has been successfully flowed and a very accessible skating surface provided. Viewed from the Summerville bridge it is a merry scene one looks upon of an afternoon or evening when the ice is alive with circling skaters. In 1856, a quartet, of which the writer was one, found a ten-mile skating park down which they sped to the mouth of the Passumpsic, and up which they toiled in a driving snow storm. TOBOGGANING In the early winter of 1886, the town was struck by a tobog- gan craze from Canada. Visitors to the winter sports carnival at Montreal brought back such enthusiasm for these out-door di- versions that a Toboggan Club was formed with stock of $200, afterward increased to $300 at $5 a share. In January, 1887, a chute was erected, the base resting on Mt. Pleasant street, the track running westerly between the buildings of Main and Sum- mer streets. The chute was 40 feet high, 100 feet long, "stand- ing on the only level spot in a town made up of hills." It was for- mally opened February 1, and frequented thereafter day and even- ing, by throngs of sliders, many of them in picturesque toboggan suits. Tickets for the season were $1.50. After two seasons of tobogganing the structure was taken 'down, and not re-erected. 404 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Every now and then one will see in the homes a superannuated toboggan fitted up as a book case. At one of the Y. M. C. A. functions the following lines by James Ritchie were read: — "Toboggan slides as we all know Are only built when there's plenty of snow ; Some are made by kind Nature's hand, But ours is built on Carpenter's land. It stands erected forty feet high, Down which the tobogganists swiftly fly ! Some with suits of blue and gold, Others whose suits are rusty and old. To slide on a toboggan — O what fun ! Come, let's get on, both old and young ; In behalf of the members I wish to extend A cordial invitation to alt to attend ; It's the latest popular amusement of the day And surely ought to be liked by the Y. M. C. A," SNOW SHOEING It was not till about 1900 that snow shoes began to be seen here very much. Interest in this winter exercise began quietly, but it had the steady increase which it merited and became widely popu- lar ; clubs were formed and long evening tramps were taken over fields and fences, hills and forests, winding up with very substan- tial refreshments about the midnight hour. At the present time there are many hundreds of snow shoers traversing the winter hillsides and valleys ; during one season a local dealer sold 117 pairs. An occasional tramper may be seen pursuing his solitary way on the more elongated foot gear of the ski. FIELD SPORTS archery "He could shoot ten arrows upward, Shoot them with such strength and swiftness That the tenth had left the bow-string Ere the first to earth had fallen." It is not recorded that the experts of the Robin Hood and the Idlewild Archery Clubs ever out-did Hiawatha in bow and arrow MISCELLANEOUS 405 work. But they successfully practiced the art of archery on the lawns and open places during the later seventies, and no reason is given why so graceful a pastime under names so romantic should have suffered a decline. Archery as a serious matter was set forth entertainingly at the Pageant when the arrows of the Indians after felling the moose were trained on the rangers led by Scouts Nash and Stark. athletics. The old-time wrestling matches were left far in the background by the more varied feats of strength and skill which held the field in later years. These were not however upon the village streets but down on the Fair Grounds. For several years a regular feature of the annual Odd Fellow functions was the athletic tournament held there. All the regular out-door stunts were adroitly done with accompanying applause from en- thusiastic crowds of spectators. ball games. As to location the Academy Campus is not right in the center of things, but when a ball game is on, it is the center of attraction for hundreds of people. The sheltered seats of the balcony and the open ones of the bleachers are filled by those who have safely crossed the railroad track and made entries with ticket ; the dry bridge and slopes adjoining offer advantage- ous standing ground for a fringe of satisfied spectators whose ap- parent investment in the game is not very large. Among them however quite likely are some who, with other citizens, have con- tributed generously to the up-keep and suitable condition of the Campus. For on this meadow are played most of the games of the village clubs as well as those of the Academy and of clubs that come in from other towns to contest for championships. golf and tennis. In 1899 the high pasture lands north- west of the Plain belonging to Underclyffe, including about twenty acres, were set apart and converted into golf grounds. No better spot could have been found for the purpose, being readily accessible and sufficiently uneven in surface to give scope for either easy or difficult playing, and commanding fine views of the village and its environment. The links were laid out by Alex H. Findley of Boston ; he was born and bred to the game, as it were, in Scotland, and was accounted the champion golf player of the 406 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY world. He laid a course of nine holes ranging from 100 to 260 feet apart, and remarked that this was one of the finest golf grounds in the country, combining so many hazards with long drives up and down the hillside. Golf at once became the most popular of all field sports, the links were thronged with eager and expert players. At the south- west corner of the grounds, adjoining the Club House, a tennis court was constructed, and thereafter a tennis club was formed. Here annual tournaments have been held, sometimes for the championship of Vermont or of New England; occasionally among participants in these field sports have been seen accom- plished players from distant states of the Union. The Old Pine Golf Club taking its name from the patriarchal pine at the summit of the grounds, was organized September 1899 ; after fourteen years of vigorous activities and accomplish- ments its scope was broadened and the name adopted was the Old Pine Country Club. The grounds were ornamented in 1902 with an attractive Club House of 16 by 30 feet dimensions with broad verandas ; a popular resort for unconventional social events and accompanying festivities. CHIMNEY AND WHEEL Asa Lee made the first brick in this town during the summer of 1791. The centennial of that event was commemorated, tho without intention, in the summer of 1891, when 192,000 brick were built into the new chimney of the scale works. This carried brick higher up in the air than any other structure in the state at that time, namely 151 feet from the rock [bed. Standing as it does on a low level its dimensions are not readily estimated. The diameter is 13 feet ; the circular wall 38 inches thick encloses a 6}4 inch flue. The last brick was laid on the Fourth of July, and as part of the ceremony the head of J. Allen Dexter, master mason, was decorated with a high silk hat. This chimney was put up to serve the new engine, the fifth in succession of steam engines at the factory. The first one, in- stalled during the early thirties was an eight-horse-power engine ; this was replaced by a second, and that by a third of larger di- MISCELLANEOUS 407 mensions. In 1880, the fourth, which was a 250 horse-power engine began its work and ran the machinery for 21 years, till in 1891 a double compound condensing engine 500 horse-power was installed, having four steel boilers 17 feet in length, and a weight of 80,000 lbs. The fly wheel is 24 feet diameter with a 42 inch face. The belt, 1200 pounds weight and 36 inches wide, travels about a mile a minute. The fly wheel of the old engine, 16 feet diameter, has been attached to the main shaft as a driving pulley. It makes 100 rev- olutions a minute to 67 revolutions of the big wheel. The ques- tion was put out how many miles did that old sixteen-foot wheel travel during the 21 years of its going, reckoning ten hours a day, 300 days a year ? The solution was worked out by two school girls of ten and thirteen years of age : — 16 feet diameter x by 3.1416 equals 50.2656 feet, circumference of wheel. 10 years x by 60 x 60 equals 36,000 seconds; also number of revolutions in one day. 36,000 seconds x 300 equals 10,800,000 seconds ; also no. of revolutions in one year. 10,800,000 x 21 equals 226,800,000 seconds and revolutions in 21 years. 226,800,000 x 50.2656 equals 11,400,238,080 feet. 11,400,238,080 divided by 5280 feet in a mile equals 2,159,136 miles trav- eled in 21 years. MYSTERY OF THE COIN Treasure-trove would be the last thing to look for in a place so barren as this is of anything out of the ordinary. Yet once in a while the spade has yielded something more than a hole in the ground. Some thirty-six years ago men were digging foundations for a new locomotive round-house. A shovel full of gravel came up in which Alanson Burt caught sight of a small round thing which did not look to him like a pebble. He picked it up, rubbed it clean, and found it was a coin, which however would not classify with specie then in current circulation. An expert in numismatics presently identified it as a votive Roman coin of the fourth cen- tury, bearing the image and superscription of the Emperor Con- stantine. 408 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY This answered the what, but not the how. How came this antique coin down here, buried six feet deep in a Vermont gravel bed ? a place presumably never before pricked by the point of a spade. This was not the site of a military camp of either Romans, Gauls or Visigoths. Neither Iroquois nor Algonquin aborigines carried Roman coin in their wampum belts. The early scouts and pioneers were not making coin collections other than shillings and pence. Shall we entertain the conjecture then that the coin of Constantine was buried here by some one contriving a wonder-find like the Cardiff giant ? The mystery is no nearer so- lution now than on the day that Alanson Burt interrogated Charles H. Horton and left the coin with him for safe keeping. That same year interrogations arose over another buried coin discovered in that vicinity. This was a Spanish silver dollar thrown up in the process of digging a post hole on the neighbor- ing island in Passumpsic river. It bore the date of 1728. And how did it ever find its way into the bosom of Upper Grape Island ? Had it been found half a mile farther up the stream we would credit it to Stephen Nash who camped there for a night when scouting for Indians in 1755. Thirty-five years later Jona- than Arnold made his way up this river in a dug-out, and may have moored at this island, may have camped over night here, may have accidentally dropped a silver dollar here, which the floods of a century may have buried under four feet of river sand. On the other hand the Doctor may not have had a Spanish dollar to leave on that island ; most of his funds at that time were in de- preciated continental currency. What may have been, is, up to this date, the only answer to the mystery of our buried coins. VILLAGE RHYMES OF OLD TIMES THE BOOT AND SHOE MAN, 1830 "Blow, O blow ! ye gentle breezes! All among the leaves and treeses! Sing, O sing! ye heavenly muses And I will mend your boots and shoeses." MISCELLANEOUS 409 J. M. HILL, FASHIONABLE TAILOR, 1849 "Four doors north of the South Bridge, St. Johnsbury Centre Invites the gents both great and small Of every name to make a call. He with ready goose and shears Has proved his skill for many years And in the mastery of his art Has ever cut a noble part. And if you wish a short delay He'll always wait awhile for pay ; And what was nature's oversight In form or make, he'll set right." (Fashions Received Quarterly) THE OLD VILLAGE PUMP, 1851 "Walking in darkness last night I ran k'-thump Against the handle of the old village pump That stands round the corner of Gilson's new building. The pump didn't fall, but that is no matter ; I found myself flat as a pancake or flatter. Since then a question has been propounded, A question on law and on justice founded ; To our city fathers I wish to show it ; Which was out of its place— the pump or the poet? Now a pump that won't pump when it stands in the highway Might be easily moved in some roguish or sly way ; But that would not meet with an honest approval, So if the pump's out of place and not the poet Let our city fathers speedily show it By openly voting a public removal." Note. The old pump was removed. SIGN CARRIED OFF, 1853 "The ancient sign of the Old Daguerreen No more over E. Hall's store may be seen ; For some rascally rogues the other night Took it down and carried it out of sight. Perhaps it was done from spite or from spleen, Or perhaps to plague the Old Daguerreen ; But the Old Daguerreen he'll pocket the wrong And laugh at the rogues this time in his song. 410 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Their labor of love it was all in vain, For the Old Daguerreen still works on the Plain ; And the people will come as they came before To the Daguerreen's rooms over E. Hall's Store. And the crowds that come in and the crowds that go out Tell the world what the Old Daguerreen is about ; And the pictures he takes they will plainly attest That the Old Daguerreen is ahead of the rest." F. B. Gage. GOOD BYE : ST. JOHNSBURY, 1856 1. "Fare thee well, sweet village— I must hence away ; Sterner duties call me, Haste I to obey. 2. But, sweet mountain village, I would linger still- Linger by the brooklet, Linger on the hill. 3. Sad of heart I leave thee, Leave the hallowed spot, With the mountains swelling Round my father's cot. 4. With the mists of morning, Creeping up thy hills ; With the gladsome music Of thy laughing rills. 5. Fare thee well, sweet village, Mountains, dells and rills ; Farewell, but ne'er forgotten, The vill among the hills." F. L. ERASTUS FAIRBANKS THADDEUS FAIRBANKS JOSEPH PADDOCK FAIRBANKS HORACE FAIRBANKS FRANKLIN FAIRBANKS BUILDERS OF THE SCALE INDUSTRY XXXI THE PLATFORM SCALE "Then the inquiring mind of a man was led on from one device to an- other; along imaginary queer-shaped levers, over knife-edges, up perpen- dicular rods, amongst poises and beams and loops; till at length, gradually- outlining itself through the obscurity came the combination of levers that makes the platform scale of today." The Wrought Brim "Jonathun ffayerbancke" of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, migrated to Massachusetts in 1633, and built in Dedham the now quaint and famous structure known as the Old Fairbanks House, of which his descendants in America are the present owners and custodians. In the sixth generation from Jonathan was Major Joseph Fairbanks of Brimfleld, who came to St. Johns- bury in the spring of 1815, and set up a grist and saw mill on Sleepers River. His sons having a practical and mechanical turn of mind, employed themselves in a small wheelwright and foun- dry business, which in time developed into a manufactory of hoes, pitchforks, cast-iron plows and stoves. In 1830, having gained a reputation for skill and reliability, they were awarded a contract for making hemp-dressing machines, required by a new industry then springing up. This presently ne- cessitated some means of weighing rough hemp by wagon loads. A rude apparatus was therefore contrived by Thaddeus Fairbanks, second son of Joseph, by which chains dropping from a steelyard beam suspended on a high frame could grapple the wheel axles, lift the load and get its weight approximately. This arrangement answered the purpose fairly well, but it was too awkward and in- efficient to suit the mind of the man ; he thought something better 412 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY might be devised, and while exercising his ingenuity upon it, he caught the idea, wholly novel to him, of a platform resting on levers, which embodied the principle of what is now known as the platform scale. Indeed, though not suspected, a new age had dawned. The ancient reign of Astraea was disturbed, the steel- yard of old Rome was taking its departure. The new scale was at hand, getting ready to lift the loaded train from the track as a very little thing ; to bear on its platform the light or ponderous traffic of the world. In making the first scale a pit was dug in which was placed a triangular lever, suspended at its point from a steelyard beam ; on this was balanced a platform level with the ground, held in position by chains attached to posts. A team could then be driven on and the weight determined. This was a clumsy affair, but for practical use it was so much better than anything then existing, that a patent was applied for. Some machines were made and an agent was engaged to try and sell them. "He was to take the stage at three o'clock in the morning, and Mr. Fairbanks sat up to call him and to start a fire for breakfast. He was think- ing how to build and improve his scales, when it occurred to him that with two A-shaped levers, or four straight levers meeting at the steelyard rod, or hanging from one that hung upon the steel- yard rod, he could secure four knife-edge supports for his plat- form, from all of which the leverage as related to the steelyard beam might be the same. As a practical weighing machine that was the birth of the modern scale." "Mr. Fairbanks quietly woke the agent, saying that he need not go for a few days, told his wife there would be no early breakfast to get, as he had a plan that he thought was very val- uable, and rested — from that hour the leading scale-maker of the world." It is worthy of remark, that as early as 1826 Thaddeus Fairbanks had patented the cast-iron plow, regarded at that time with suspicion by farmers ; also the Fairbanks cook stove. He was also the original inventor of the method now universally adopted in construction of refrigerators, but having neither time nor capital to give to this, he relinquished his rights in it, which subsequently were valued at a million dollars. From some notes THE PLATFORM SCALE 413 made by him half a century after the first scales were made the following reminiscence is taken : — "My plans were all made in the night, frequently working nearly all night. For lack of tools the scale work all had to be finished by hand, and this with work on patterns, etc., required all my time during the day in the shops. Faulty work was sure to be sent out unless I was watching all the time ; men had to be educated to do the simplest things ; there was no uni- form machine-work as now ; it was 15 years before we had a planer in the shop. In the south end of the old red shop Mr. Levi Fuller and I made the platform scale patterns from number 1 to 10, also in the west end of the grist mill chamber the number one and two iron lever hay scales. Our casting was done in a shed annexed to the old forge ; we were still in want of funds but a larger building was finally put up ; it devolved on me to put in the cupola and fixtures, blast, etc., and start operations. I moulded and took the melting often ; there was no other way to learn what made the unsound stogy places and air blisters ; in order to teach the men how to make sound castings I had to work several months mixing metals and testing their com- position. "In making plans for scales I found three things to be considered— the strength of material, the best shape to secure greatest strength with least material, and the beauty and symmetry of outside appearance. To imagine what the tastes and notions of men in reference to the right proportioning and beauty of this then new article would be, was difficult ; but now after the lapse of fifty years our platform scales are made precisely after the orig- inal design, and all other makers follow the same." . The original platform scales of 1830 were built of wood, and were soon introduced as town hay scales among the villages of Vermont. Nothing further than this was at the time contem- plated. But it appeared that the principle was capable of much wider application. New styles and sorts were gradually invented, including at first portable platform, warehouse and counter scales, and later, railroad-track, canal, elevator and live-stock scales ; also postal and druggist balances ; comprising many hundred varieties, and ranging from one-tenth of a grain to five hundred tons. One result of the introduction of these weighing machines was an entire change in methods of trade transactions, the old fashion of measure and count giving way to that of weight, whether of hay, coal, grain, or live stock. It is on record at the United States Patent Office that the track scale has effected a complete revolution in railway transportation. 414 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY A serious difficulty in the early days of scale-making was that of construction. Plans, machinery and scales had to be made by the inventor, till men could be trained to the work. This was done in two or three inadequate shops or sheds. "There were no tools except for half a dozen blacksmiths, and one old wooden bed- lathe, and later, a few vises and anvils found in a Boston junk shop." Neither was there any capital to speak of. As Mr. Fair- banks once remarked, to make everything out of nothing was a difficult task ; a task withal that might never have been achieved had not his ingenuity, tenacity and mechanical skill been supple- mented by the remarkable business and executive abilities of his brothers. In 1834, the three brothers, Erastus, Thaddeus and Joseph P., founded the firm of E. and T. Fairbanks and Co. They were men of strong individuality, serious-minded, plain in habit, pro- foundly conscientious, most happily adapted to each other in the partnership. Joseph, fifteen years younger than Erastus, had a quick, strong, capacious mind, remarkably well balanced, and made bril- liant attainments in law, business, science, history, literature and practical life in all its phases. In finance, in details of the count- ing-room, in all delicate dealings with men and corporations, his sagacity, alertness of thought and sound judgment won the public confidence and gave steadiness and solid quality to the business. But his intensity of application proved fatal ; he died in 1855 at the age of forty-eight, universally beloved for the worth and beauty of his character. Erastus, the elder brother, was for thirty years, i. e., till his death, the head of the firm. He was a born leader, well trained in the early school of adversity, a man of indomitable purpose, large views, solidity of personal character and fine presence. He became prominent in public life and a trusted leader in civil af- fairs ; he secured the construction of the Passumpsic River Rail- road of which he was first president ; was made governor of Ver- mont in 1852 ; again in 1860, when on the breaking out of the civil war the state placed a million of dollars at his disposal, rely- ing entirely on his judgment as to its use — a mark of confidence THE PLATFORM SCALE 415 amply justified, for his administration of state was, like that of his private business, energetic, true, firm, successful. He died in 1864, aged seventy-two years. Thaddeus, entirely averse to public life, gave his undivided work of brains and hand for fifty-five years to the mechanical de- partment of the business, continuously advancing on his original invention, constructing special machinery, devising new applica- tions for which he secured a series of patents, thirty-two in number. He died at the age of ninety in 1886. With three such men, of different gifts, yet of one mind ; of strong character, of tenacious purposes and generous ideals, it is not difficult to account for the fine issue of their joint enterprise. The public soon learned that whatever bore the name of Fairbanks had on it the stamp of reliability. Sternest integrity presided over the business, truth guided its affairs, honor entered into every detail of construction — as befitted an industry that was furnishing the world with standards of weight for business accuracy. From the first, every instrument constructed in these works embodied an ideal ; it was more than a handy contrivance, it was a symbol of equity in trade ; on its delicate pivots were revealed the eter- nal principles of right, precision, equipoise ; qualities for char- acter as well as necessities in traffic. The final touch upon each machine has always been given by the sealer, who, by affixing to it his name and the number, is made responsible for that scale. Rarely has such a thing been known as the return of a scale ; the durability as well as accuracy of material and work appears in the continuous use of the scales made in the earlier years. Scale number thirty, for example, portable platform, made about 1833 and subjected to almost daily use ever since, is still in every day service in the store to which it was originally shipped ; this is mentioned as an illustrative case, which recently fell under the eye of the writer. The matter of accuracy was of course a supreme considera- tion, and from the first has received most scrutinizing attention. Not only must the trip scale for weighing silk be sensitive to the one-hundredth part of an ounce, but the canal scale of hundreds of tons must respond to the fraction of a pound. After the regis- 416 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY tering of the weight of a boat on the weighlock scale at Albany, 1856, the captain stepped on board, at which the beam indicated an addition of one hundred and seventy-five pounds. Being a portly man the captain claimed more than this for himself, and immediately went to a smaller platform scale known for its accu- racy. To his surprise the beam tipped to a fraction on the figures indicated by the 840,000-pound scale. Of this Albany scale, then the largest in the world, one of the New York dailies remarked: "It is a structure of consummate skill, ingenuity and mechanical truth ; continually in use, subjected to most severe tests, doing its work quickly and with scrupulous nicety, settling by its unerring register on the beam all conflicting questions of weight and toll." At the time the scale industry was started St. Johnsbury was a small town inconveniently situated for traffic of any sort. All supplies as well as finished products had to be hauled on horse teams to and from Portland or Boston. As the business increased the town began to feel the pulse of new life. Property values ad- vanced, skilled workmen came in; none but sound, intelligent, moral, temperate men were employed ; but these were paid gen- erously and personal interest was taken in them and in their families. A reading-room and library was provided for them, and evening lectures were given, sometimes in the new shops. An academy was built and supported entirely by the firm. Education, good order, religion were cherished in every way. Liberal bene- factions began to go out in all directions, and the representatives of benevolent societies soon found the way to this little village up in Vermont. St. Johnsbury finally became the shire town of Caledonia county, railway junction and business and educational centre of Northern Vermont. From 1842 to 1857 the business doubled in volume every three years. It shared with other industries the financial stress of the latter date ; grew with great rapidity during and after the civil war, and with steady advance till 1893. Meantime the origi- nal firm was enlarged ; in 1843 Horace and in 1856 Franklin, both sons of Erastus, became partners. Horace, from the date of the incorporation in 1874 till his death in 1888 was president, and in THE PLATFORM SCALE 417 all forty-five years an officer in the business. He was also presi- dent of the First National Bank, director in the Tamarack Mining Company, and chief promotor and president of the railroad to Lake Champlain. He was elected Governor of Vermont by a decisive vote for the two years, 1876-7. The younger brother, Franklin, was fifty years actively in the business, at first chiefly in the mechanical departments, to which he contributed some important patents ; later with larger respon- sibilities as superintendent and president of the corporation. He also filled important positions of trust and honor elsewhere, both in business, political and religious bodies, till his death, in 1895, at the age of sixty-eight years. Another brother, Charles, was partner in the New York house for several years, but after 1858 he resided abroad. William P. Fairbanks, son of Joseph P., was partner for some twenty-five years ; a man of superior busi- ness capacity ; he represented this town in the Legislature of 1884- 86 ; was first secretary and treasurer of the corporation at St. Johnsbury, and later of the branch house at New York, where he died in 1895. Henry Fairbanks, only son of Thaddeus, is vice president. The founders and managers of the scale business built digni- fied and beautiful homes on happily selected sites, adorned with ample landscape gardening, fine architecture and artistic interiors. But this is not all that they built in the town of their love. Nearly all the churches shared largely in their beneficence ; one of them, the finest architecturally, in northern New England. The Academy which they had founded and sustained for thirty years came to need larger and superior equipment. Accordingly, in 1872, Thad- deus Fairbanks, whose personal gifts to the institution aggregat- ed some $200,000, erected new and commodious structures of brick, with appointments and curriculum corresponding. St. Johnsbury Academy quickly took rank as the first in the state, and among the best in New England, having thirteen instructors, three hundred pupils, and an endowment from E. & T. Fairbanks & Co., of $100,000. St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, the first free pub- lic library with endowment in Vermont, was built, equipped and presented to the town in 1871, by Horace Fairbanks ; the Museum 418 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY of Natural Science with its collections was established and endow- ed by Franklin Fairbanks ; and Music Hall, mainly the gift of these two brothers was conveyed to the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion for the public benefit ; to which was added the Association rooms section in the Y. M. C. A. block erected by Henry Fair- banks in 1885. Altho the original and all other earlier patents have long since expired, the St. Johnsbury Scale Works still remain the largest and most important in the world. The experience of eighty-two years has not only established the correctness of the principle of multiplied levers here first applied, but has enabled the manufacturers, by new patents devised for hundreds of varie- ties of scales, to lead all competitors (400 plus) in the magnitude of the annual output, and in the accuracy, durability and fine finish of weighing machines sent out from this town; on which "one may today with absolute accuracy weigh a ship with its cargo, or the lead which wears from the pencil in writing one's name." The Fairbanks scales keeping abreast of all industrial pro- gress, are now constructed for every department of trade, manu- facture, agriculture, science, transportation, postal and govern- ment service ; and they have for many years been the standard both in this country and abroad. They are used on nearly all the railroads, adopted in all government departments and public works and in the leading mercantile and manufacturing establish- ments of the United States. The Postal Service requires a very large number ; a single order at one time was filled on short no- tice for three thousand scales of range from ounces to tons. Travellers find the St. Johnsbury, Vt., weighing machines used in West Indies, South America, Mexico, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Turkey, India, Siam, Australia, Japan, China. They are announced as standard in the Japanese Postal Service, and in the Chinese Imperial Cus- toms. "Till the arrival of the Fairbanks scales," says a resident in North China, "fifteen per cent of my salary was absorbed in coal; we are now satisfied with the weight." Fine exhibits have been made of these machines, and high- est awards rendered at ten international expositions, including THE PLATFORM SCALE 419 those of London, Paris, Vienna, Philadelphia, Chicago, Buffalo, and St. Louis. At the Centennial, in 1876, there were one hun- dred and ninety-four complete scales, with as many more supple- mentary articles ; at the Columbian, in 1893, the exhibit required three thousand square feet on the floor of the Liberal Arts Build- ing. In this collection was seen scale No. 421, made and sold in 1843, owned and used by five successive parties, survivor of a fire in 1849, repurchased by the manufacturers in 1893, and in its then weather-beaten estate able to lift its beam and magnify its office among stylish competitors of latest finish, as finely as fifty years before in the Polk and Clay campaign. Besides furnishing scales for official use at the Chicago Ex- position, the Fairbanks Company displayed sixty-three medals of award, of which eight were gold, thirty-two silver ; among them nineteen from foreign countries. It should be added that after the Vienna Exposition Mr. Thaddeus Fairbanks, as inventor of the scale, was knighted by the Austrian Emperor, who, through Baron von Lichtenfels, for- warded to him the decoration of the Imperial Order of Francis Joseph. He also received from the King of Siam the golden medal and decoration of Puspamala, and from the Bey of Tunis the diploma and decoration of Nishan el Iftikar, Commander. Being an excessively modest man, not fond of titles or display, he had no use for things of this sort; but his men and towns folk would not let him elude the stroke of honor ; to the day of his death he was known and affectionately venerated as Sir Thaddeus. Until recent years the largest weighing machine in the world was the five-hundred-ton Fairbanks weighlock, erected at Albany, N. Y., about 1854. In 1894, the Watervliet Arsenal scale was built at Troy, for weighing guns in the process of manufacture. This had the greatest capacity for the size of its platform of any scale ever made, viz., six hundred thousand pounds on a twelve by fifteen feet platform, i. e., one thousand six hundred and sixty- six pounds to the square foot. It was remarked that a paper dollar bill on the end of the scale beam when adjusted, disturbed the equilibrium. The introduction of steel cars of great capacity and weight, and the requirements of the huge grain elevators, has created a 420 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY demand for new scales that shall not only be equal to handling the enormous tonnage, but also to do their work with rapidity and exactness. This is greatly facilitated by the Fairbanks type-regis- tering beam now in universal use, which records promptly and with precision the exact weight of whatever is passing over the platform. In 1912 fourteen automatic grain scales were installed in the elevators of the Montreal Harbor Commissioners. These have a capacity of five to six thousand pounds per dump twice a minute and will readily weigh from eight to ten thousand bushels of grain an hour. The hoppers take five thousand pounds of thirty-pound per-bushel grain, and the construction is such that it is not neces- sary to change the weights whether operating with light oats or heavy wheat; a new achievement in automatic weighing. Six railroad track scales have recently been built to meet the requirements of heavy traffic in coal on the Virginia and Pennsyl- vania railroads. These machines are 68 feet in length and are capable of sustaining 400 tons on a four-section platform 57 feet long. They take the weight while the train moves across the platform, each car carrying fifty tons of coal. These are the largest track scales in the world; they are capable of handling a thousand tons of coal an hour. These and similar scales manufactured at the St. Johnsbury works, will represent maximum capacities. The minimum is seen in the assayer's scale graduated to one-tenth of a grain. Between these extremes the code numbers cover two thousand varieties, but these in actual manufacture have been further modi- fied to include, under different standards and special orders, not less than ten thousand varieties. Many of these are for foreign markets, graduated variously to kilograms, libras, poods, pfunds, skalpunds, okas, catties, etc., according to the country they are to go to. Patterns aggregating many thousands are stored in the fire-proof warehouse, also photographs, prints, diagrams of all that goes out from the factory. The original firm which began and had continued for half a century in one family, was in 1874 reorganized into a stock cor- poration, with a capital of two and a half million dollars in shares THE PLATFORM SCALE 421 of $500 each. The works at St. Johnsbury were during succeed- ing years enlarged and re-equipped ; later auxiliary factories were established at Sherbrooke, P. Q., and Moline, 111. Between labor and capital at St. Johnsbury 84 years has brought no ripple of disturbance ; mutual good will and friendly union have pre- vailed. The corporation has a record of ownership of 223 patents and trade marks; of these 159 have been mechanical and design inventions by the employees. Valuable prizes have been distrib- uted to the workmen for practical ideas in scale construction. In 1907, this industry held "the United States record for long service men " a good many having been 30 and 40 years in the works, some 50 and 60 years ; Col. Frank Walker was for 64 years in the foundry ; a large number own valuable homes in the village. There are at this writing 1400 men on the pay roll, which dis- tributes about a million dollars annually to citizens of St. Johns- bury. The factory has 40 buildings, with 20 acres floor space ; 5 tons of copper and 50 tons of iron are melted daily ; 4,000,000 feet lumber are consumed a year. The annual output of scales is $6,000,000 list. SUPPLEMENTARY 1843. History of Scale No. 421. This was a platform scale of the sort used in all the country stores for general merchandise. It was bought by Brackett and Bacon, merchants, in Passumpsic village, Feb. 17, 1834. Five years later the scale was sold with the store to The Farmer's Association, Nath'l Bishop, Clerk. In 1849, the establishment, owned at that time by William Lawrence, was burned out, but the scale was saved. It was owned by William Russell of this town in 1862, and in 1893 was purchased by the Fairbanks Corporation and sent to do duty as a patriarch in the scales ex- hibit of the Columbian Exposition. 1858 During the financial stringency of this year, the men in the scale works presented a paper at the counting room one day in October, express- ing gratitude for favors received and proposing a suspension of the monthly payment of wages till such time as would suit the Company's convenience. The proposition, wholly voluntary on the part of the men, and signed by nearly every one, was accepted with warm appreciation. Early in February following all balances due were paid, and monthly payments resumed. Weekly payments were adopted in 1901. 422 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY 1865 The unearthly drone that issues from Fairbanks Village, morn- ing, noon and night since July, is the steam gong ; it is tremendous. This gong takes the place of the old factory bell. 1871 The new gong at the Scale Works makes a more unearthly noise than the old one did, if that is possible. 1869 At the time of the great flood, 800 scales a week were being shipped, and unfilled orders accumulating. A sixty-foot track scale for the Kansas Pacific Railroad was carried off by the waters, resulting in total loss. A new one was built and shipped within ten days. In 1875, there were man- ufactured in one week 175 hay scales, an average of one each twenty minutes of working hours ; that week 13 carloads of scales were shipped, aggregat- ing 143 tons weight of scales. This was in October. 1874 Revival of business. Some men took a terrier into the old grist mill building at the Fairbanks works the other day. They came out with 110 rats. The scale registered thirty-four pounds of rat. This disproves the recent assertion of the Springfield Republican that business is dull at the St. Johnsbury Scale Factory. 1874 Congress, in December, made a special appropriation for 3000 new style Post Office Scales, ranging from four pounds to a ton capacity, to be delivered within two weeks. This was a difficult proposition ; seven parties bid for the contract. It was awarded to the Fairbanks Company, and the bulk of the order was shipped from St. Johnsbury by mail, in time to reach the Post Offices of the country before the first of January, 1875. 1879 On March 26th a number twelve platform scale built for the Mar- quis of Lome, Governor General of Canada, was despatched to Ottawa. This scale has a nickel plate beam and is decorated with the Coat of Arms of both Canada and United States. 1882 There were 55,000 scales manufactured in 1880, and 58,000 in 1881. In the year 1882 the number rose to 80,000, at a valuation of $3,000,000. Of these, 9450 were large track scales, and 1000 were hay scales. Twenty car loads a week were sent out during the month of December. 1886 At the Industrial Exposition of Austria-Hungary held in Czerno- witz, the State Prize was awarded to the Fairbanks Scales against four com- petitors. On them were weighed H. R. H. the Archduke Karl Ludwig, Archduke Rainer, the Duke of Wartenberg and others. Considerable toll came in from these notables, which was delivered in a sealed box to M. Block for the Red Cross Society. 1888 About 130 men drive daily to the scale works from three to eight miles, and from five different towns. Fifteen come from the Center, six from Danville ; one has driven from the East Village for twenty years, one THE PLATFORM SCALE 423 from the Center twenty-two years, one from Four Corners nineteen years. Most of these men rise at half past four in the morning, and drive 2000 miles a year in all weathers. 1893 On the ninth day of February a young man was seen taking his weight on a Fairbanks Scale in Vacaville, California. Someone heard him say that he was brought up within four miles of the factory where that scale was made. The next day he died. In appearance he was quiet and pleasing, but nothing was found to indicate his name or address. His re- mark about the scale factory was the only clue. A dispatch was sent to the Fairbanks office, and after some days he was identified as Robert E. Slater. Meantime — "by strangers honored and by strangers mourned" — the burial service had been rendered him by a man who was brought up within one mile of the same scale factory — Rev. Henry Erastus Jewett, grandson of Gov. Erastus Fairbanks and of Dr. Luther Jewett. 1901 At West Superior, Wisconsin, the Great Northern Railway Com- pany erected the largest elevator in the world, entirely of steel, with capacity of three million bushels of grain. A Pennsylvania Company, underbidding all others, was given the contract for eighteen hopper scales, which were in- stalled early in 1901. On being tested by the state inspector they were con- demned and ordered out. The Mechanical Superintendent of the road came promptly to St. Johnsbury and placed an order for eighteen Fairbanks hopper scales at the price of the original bid. Plans were drafted, patterns made, foundry and machine work pushed, and within a week the first scale was ready to be shipped by express. The earliest train out was the air-line north which carries no express beyond Newport. By telephoning the Cana- dian Pacific office in Montreal, permission was obtained to forward the scale thro by express and to hold the train at St. Johnsbury ten minutes for the purpose of loading it. The scale, which weighed 4331 pounds, was handled by fourteen men who in three minutes time had it on the express car. The expressage on this scale was $600. The other seventeen followed in due time. After installation the inspector subjected them under standard test weights to the severest tests ever given, to which they responded with entire ease and accuracy up to their full capacity of 120,000 pounds each. During the month of July following, a Fairbanks track scale at Duluth, in the thirteenth year of constant use, weighed accurately a million tons of ore ; a performance probably never before equalled. At Great Falls, Minn., a forty foot track scale of 100 tons capacity, in constant use eight years without repairs or refittings, recorded 5,467,664,999 lbs. as the aggregate of its operations. 1902 Grocer scale number 536, bought by a merchant in Rushville, 111., has stood for fifty years on the same spot upon the nail counter, where hun- 424 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY dreds of thousands of nails have been thrown upon it. No repairs have been needed, neither file nor oil have been applied to it ; a shingle nail or even a bit of paper lifts the beam as promptly as it did half a century ago. 1903 The weekly payment system which went into effect in October was a very agreeable surprise to the men at the scale works ; the more so in- asmuch as it came unexpectedly only six months after the shortening of the working-day last April. 1904 At the St. Louis Exposition was an ornate scale of polished oak, onyx platform, and registering device that stamped the weights at the rate of 3000 per day. Printed tickets of weight were issued to about 225,000 per- sons who stood upon it ; the heaviest man was 390 pounds, the lightest was nine pounds. Some 15,000 people chose to test their weight on the seventy year old scale, less ornamental but equally accurate ; with this was dis- played the original application for a patent, written by Thaddeus Fairbanks in 1831. 1906 Russian cannon converted into scales. Since the war in the east, C. H. Horton has purchased two car loads of gun metal, rapid firing guns, cannon and gun furnishings, recovered from Russian battleships sunk in Port Arthur harbor and the Corean Straits. Russia is the largest foreign purchaser of the Fairbanks scales ; at one time before this war 400 cases of scales were shipped to Moscow and 50 cases to St. Petersburg. It is fair to assume that some of this gun metal will find its way back into the Kingdom of the Czar in the more peaceful product of the St. Johnsbury manufactory. NEW EQUIPMENT The demand for weighing machines of great capacity and ac- curacy caused by the increasing tonnage of the railroads and by the requirements of the Interstate Commerce Commission have necessitated within recent years important changes in the manu- facturing plant. The old shops have been almost entirely reconstructed, new and larger buildings erected, heavier machinery installed, the en- tire equipment modernized and perfected. Iron loop work that formerly required a day's work of two men is now done by a ma- chine in sixty minutes ; boxes are neatly nailed by a single drop of an iron lever. Automatic hopper scales are set up and operat- ed as in the great elevators ; an erecting plant served by an overhead electric crane is used for the assembling and erection of the heavier scales. Among the new types of machines now being constructed are the dial scales which are designed for weighing baggage and freight on the railroads. THE PLATFORM SCALE 425 SCALE Two cities, yea seven, claimed the name of Homer as a son born in their midst. Two languages might claim the word scale as born in their vocabulary. The even balance in which Abraham weighed his silver in the trade with Ephron the Hittite was still in use in its primitive form among our Anglo-Saxon ancestors, called by them the bal- ances or scales — "every one hath his scholes with him to market to weigh his silver withal." The shallow pans suspended at either arm of the balance, from their resemblance to a clam shell, scyll, scele, came to be called sceale, hence in Early English — scales, or a pair of scales. This is the clam-shell origin of the word scale or "a pair of scales," as sometimes called for even now at the Fairbanks works. The Romans modified the old balance of equal arms having its fulcrum in the center, by lengthening one arm and fitting to it a sliding poise. This constituted the steelyard type. The long beam was graduated by means of notches to indicate the number of ounces. These notches, scalae, gave to this instrument the identical name scale derived in England from the Anglo Saxon clam-shells. The scale of today is thus doubly certified as of historic origin and name, as well as of a two-fold type of construction — multiplied now into thousands of varieties in the leading scale manufactory of the world at St. Johnsbury. XXXII IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE "A public servant — the choice indeed of a party, but himself above any party— seeing clearly what justice and humanity, the law and the public welfare require him to do, and doing it ; trusting the heart, the intelligence, the conscience of his countrymen, thus leading them up to more perfect justice, union, prosperity and peace." Geo. IV. Curtis Governors — secretaries— justices — senators — educators — generals — lieut. governors — federal judges. It is noticeable that for a period of sixty years till about 1850 nearly all the men of Caledonia who occupied positions of state were from our neighboring towns. During the next sixty years St. Johnsbury made some contributions to the wider public ser- vice, respecting which mention is made in the groups of two and two that follow. TWO GOVERNORS Erastus Fairbanks — was made Governor of Vermont in 1852. This responsiblity came to him apart from his own seek- ing ; the people chose him as a man in whom they trusted. As early as 1836 while a member of the legislature he had left his mark as a man of sound judgment and ability. One of his col- leagues remarked — "no man of my acquaintance in Vermont commanded more unqualified respect than he ; having practical good sense, ready discrimination and great quickness of percep- tion, he was a safe and judicious counselor, and acquired and re- tained in an unusual degree the confidence of all parties." It remains on record that his administration as Governor was firm and judicious and eminently healthful in tone. Matters relating IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE 427 to popular education and social order engaged his special atten- tion. His Thanksgiving proclamation attracted the attention of a well known Massachusetts divine who read it to his congrega- tion as more appropriate than the one issued in his own state. A notable event in the legislature of 1852 was the enactment of the prohibitory liquor law which was destined to give Ver- mont, as well as Maine, distinction for the next fifty years. To this the Governor affixed his signature with peculiar satisfaction, believing it to be a salutary act and for the public good. It operated against his re-election ; the combined liquor interests of the state opposed it and many others questioned its expediency. The next year there was no choice of governor by the people ; of 23,708 votes necessary for a choice Erastus Fairbanks, whig, had 20,849 and John S. Robinson, democrat, had 18,142. This threw the election into the legislature, where on the 26th ballot of the joint assembly Robinson received a majority of one vote. After the lapse of sixty years it is interesting to look back thro the vista of intervening events and observe the oscillation of the figures in that balloting of the joint assembly : — no 102 102 106 101 R 97 99 101 99 101 F 103 102 103 104 103 R 100 100 100 101 104 F 104 105 103 104 105 R 103 102 104 100 103 F 103 102 104 103 100 R 99 117 119 118 118 Twenty-sixth ballot F 103 104 105 104 105 104 R 118 116 117 119 117 120 Similar defeat in the general election overtook most of those who had supported the prohibitory measure the year pre- ceding ; the act itself however was not repealed. On his return from Montpelier, a private citizen, Erastus Fairbanks was greeted by a salute of 31 guns : "the powder used was procured, and the gun itself was worked, altogether by men who were opposed to him in politics." The town had given him 427 votes as against 152 for Robinson. In 1860 he was again nominated at the convention held in Rutland and on election day received 34,185 votes, there being 11,793 for John G. Saxe the democratic nominee. This town registered 456 votes for him, 73 for Saxe. 428 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY No one could have guessed what exacting responsibilities were soon to fall upon the Executive. To meet the situation precipitated by the assault on Fort Sumter required at the head of the state as well as of the nation a man of decision, sagacity and force. The Governor promptly met the emergency with resoluteness and high patriotic spirit. The fact that war would entail great loss of property held by the scale firm in the South- ern states had not a moment's consideration, the honor of the flag must be defended at whatever cost. On the same day that President Lincoln called for troops the Legislature was summon- ed to Montpelier by a proclamation, a copy of which is given on page 274, and the business of war was taken hold of with deep and solemn determination. "It was in his new position as Commander in Chief," says one who shared with him the burdens of that stressful time, "that I again found the Governor master of the work he had to do. The responsibility was his ; with a prayerful desire to be guided aright, his foresight and energy at once appeared when raising the first regiment sent out from Vermont. The extra session of the Legislature which met eight days after the firing upon Fort Sumter, had the good sense to place at his entire disposal a million of dollars, putting no check upon the use of it, only as his judg- ment might deem prudent and best. Our people, unused to large public expenditure, it is true, kept a jealous eye upon all his acts, but never, to their praise, with a thought of any dereliction of duty or misuse of power on the part of the Executive. Their confidence was justified, and looking back on the expenditures of his successors during the years in which we were engaged in war, none will bear closer scrutiny. To those acquainted with his good judgment, strict integrity, his high sense of impartial right, his systematic business habits and comprehensive mind, early and continuously trained to grasp business matters on a large scale, the result is no surprise." On retiring from his official duties at the end of the year the Governor requested the appointment of a special com- mittee to examine and audit his accounts. This action was taken and the Legislature in view of the report rendered adopted the following : — "Whereas, in consequence of the war in which the country has been en- gaged—new, arduous, and peculiar duties have devolved upon the Executive, IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE 429 involving great responsibilities and calling forth great administrative ability, therefore Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Vermont — That the thanks of the two Houses be presented to Erastus Fairbanks, late Governor, for his most laborious, efficient, and praise-worthy efforts to raise, equip and uniform the six regiments of volunteers that have been sent forward from this state to the seat of war. Resolved, That we, as representatives of the people, do appreciate the difficulties which beset the course of the Executive in the trying emer- gencies incidental to the inauguration of a militia system and a war policy among a people pre-eminently peaceful — and we feel doubly gratified for the judgment which decided without wavering the path of duty, and the courage which pursued it to success." It was not courage chiefly, but a profound sense of provi- dential guidance that animated Erastus Fairbanks. He believed that God had appointed him to a solemn responsibility ; inspired with this conviction he dedicated his energies under God to the ser- vice of the state. The salary to which he was entitled was not touched, it still remains in the State Treasury. The exactions of the public service at that critical, strenuous time were a heavy strain upon his vitality. Three years later he died at the age of seventy-two years. Horace Fairbanks— son of Erastus, was elected Governor in 1876 for the biennial term. While riding across the state on business relating to the Lake road and to the University of Ver- mont, a telegram from Montpelier was handed him which said : — "You are to be Governor of Vermont in spite of yourself." The phrasing of this message is explained by the fact that Mr. Fair- banks had distinctly declined to be a candidate, and had refused to allow the use of his name as such. Notwithstanding this, when the nominating convention at Montpelier found itself un- able by ballot to agree upon either one of the three candidates before it — the name of Horace Fairbanks was introduced and the nomination was at once accorded him by acclamation without a dissenting voice. Impressed by the spontaneity and stress of such a call to the public service, he could not conscientiously re- 430 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY treat from it, and in replying to it he said : "The unanimity of the convention supplemented by the solicitations of many friends has overborne my own judgment and wishes and leads me to ac- cept the nomination." The election, like the nomination, was decisive. Being both centennial and presidential year, every effort was made to reduce the republican vote ; but the Governor was elected by a majority of 23,721. The sentiment of this town was recorded in the 826 votes given him, which was more than the total vote of any pre- vious election in the history of the town. Citizens of St. Johns- bury and neighboring towns to the number of 3000 took uninvited possession of the Pinehurst grounds on the evening thereafter, for congratulatory jubilations, with swarms of torch-lights and patriotic noise from the cornet band and the guns on Reservoir Hill. Rev. D. E. Miller was spokesman for the party, and in the concluding words of the reply every one recognized the note of sincerity — "I assume the position devolved on me with the great- est diffidence and I ask your forbearance, your counsel and your prayers." This natural diffidence added to his lack of legislative ex- perience led some to query how far he would prove equal to the new official duties. "His father, the first war governor of Ver- mont, served in eventful times and left a brilliant record — would the son maintain the prestige gained by the father?" Gratifying assurance as to this began to appear in his inaugural, which as re- ported, attracted wide attention both in the state and abroad for its plain and vigorous handling of matters needing reformed and advanced methods, notably the management of prisons and jails. He urged the state to encourage arbitration in place of the too frequent resort to jury trial ; advocated reform in matters of tax- ation; gave special attention to educational methods, recommend- ing uniformity of text books, consolidation of the smaller schools and the employment of a higher grade of teachers. The prison system of the state was sharply arraigned, declared to be a failure, radically wrong in principle, requiring immediate and en- tire revision. "in short, the state should put forth its most active and earnest endeavors to reclaim the convict from a life of IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE 431 crime to a life of virtue, and the State Prison should no longer be an institution for the reformation as well as the punishment of offenders with the reformation all left out." This message was received with universal commendation throughout the state, approved as clear in expression, broad and statesmanlike in its views. The Springfield Republican remarked editorially — "Gov. Fairbanks' message is unexpectedly remark- able for its sharp and intelligent criticism of state administra- tion." The conclusion of one of the New York dailies was that "in selecting him for her chief magistrate, Vermont chose better than she knew, and her renowned scale maker will prove a model governor." This prediction was not wide of the mark. Many of the Governor's urgent recommendations were promptly and favorably acted on by the General Assembly, and all of them have since that date been incorporated into the legislative acts of the State. The popular judgment at the end of the biennial term — aside from some dissent over a case of executive reprieve — was, that the ad- ministration had been wise, progressive, judicious and practical. "The ability and scope of his state papers, the desire to be iden- tified with the people, his efforts to inaugurate reforms and im- provements, have served to make Horace Fairbanks one of the most popular executives the State has had in many years." It is also to be remembered that he brought to the public service a personality of singular attractiveness. There was the in- variable touch of refinement and a spirit of quiet but large generosity in all his contact with life. The firmness with which he held his matured convictions was graced with sincere courtesy and con- sideration for the opinions of others. He retired from the official duties to which he had been called assured of the high regard and good will of all ; ten years later, 1888, he died in New York City. TWO SECRETARIES Worthy of mention as related to the preceeding paragraphs are the names of two men who won appreciative recognition as Secretaries of Civil and Military Affairs. 432 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY George A. Merrill — was Superintendent of the Passumpsic Railroad when called to official duties by Gov. Erastus Fairbanks during his second term in 1852. His remarkable aptitude and versatility in affairs made him an invaluable assistant in organiz- ing the military system at the outbreak of the Civil War. Few men, if any, ever lived in this town whose gifts of adaptation were so marked and varied. His lithe and elastic figure seemed formed to fit every situation with easy, prompt and graceful action — whether mounted as chief-marshal born to command, or moving in the social circle with vivacity and courtliness, or fluent- ly 'addressing an audience on any theme whatever, or doing ex- pert, quick and accurate work at the desk, or dashing off spicy communications for the press, or rendering practical service in the church and neighborhood. One visible mark of his originality is still an architectural feature of Eastern Avenue — the brick octa- gon a novelty in its day, which he planted on the knoll for his residence. Andrew E. Rankin— Secretary to Gov. Horace Fairbanks, was a man of fine accomplishments. To his ability as an educa- tor the town was indebted for the successful inauguration of our Union School system in 1858. He acquired high standing in business and at the bar ; for the twenty-four years preceding his death in 1888, he was Clerk of the Caledonia County Court. His appointment by the Governor was universally commended, and in this position his cultivated tastes were peculiarly agreeable to his chief. Mr. Rankin was a finished scholar and always deeply in- terested in educational matters. He was for some years Secre- tary of the State Board of Education, and in 1883 was appointed delegate from Vermont to the Interstate Educational Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. President Grant tendered him the posi- tion of American Consul to Messina, Sicily, which however he de- clined. Mrs. Rankin was a daughter of Judge Poland. To the Athenaeum, of which he was one of the original Trustees, Mr. Rankin gave important services for seventeen years. Among other things of practical interest was the series of Athenaeum Questions, 140 in number, which he put out in 1885, relating to history, art and literature. These were designed to IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE 433 stimulate the habit of library research ; they awakened keen in- terest and active work among the books for several months, and the publication of the answers opened a mine of literary informa- tion. Mr. Rankin's early death was deeply lamented; it was "like the falling of a strong and beautifully carved pillar in the portico of a temple ;" he was a man of serious mind and ripe culture, quiet and courteous, sensitive, "always a gentleman and a gentleman to all men." TWO CHIEF JUSTICES TWO SENATORS Luke P. Poland — born in Westfield, 1815, was admitted to the bar at the age of 21, took his seat on the supreme bench at the age of 33, to which position he was returned by the viva-voce vote of seventeen successive elections in the General Assembly. From 1860 he was Chief Justice till his appointment in 1865 as United States Senator succeeding Judge Collamer. The Judge used to say that he was educated in a saw-mill ; after three years' course in that institution he exchanged boards enough to secure five months at Jericho Academy which complet- ed his academic curriculum ; thereafter his education was advanced thro a perpetual course in the university of men and affairs. He was nearly forty years a resident of St. Johnsbury, one of the most prominent and distinguished citizens of the town. His death in 1887 brought out generous acknowledgements of his public service, excerpts from which are here given : — "Judge Poland was one of the most marked characters that Vermont ever produced. In every position whether as citizen, lawyer, judge, legisla- tor, congressman or senator, he earned and preserved an honorable reputa- tion and displayed conspicuous ability always reflecting honor upon his native State." "He was one of Vermont's most distinguished sons, whose career was one of large and varied trusts fulfilled with great ability, industry and fidelity. As a lawyer, jurist, state and national legislator, financier, and friend of education Judge Poland was truly and justly eminent." "During the ten years of his Congressional life no other member of either house of Congress was so intimately identified with so many import- 434 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY ant measures. His eminent intellectual ability and particularly his innate love of justice, developed and strengthened by long judicial service, en- abled him to rise above all partisan considerations and to decide each ques- tion entirely on its merits." With these qualifications he was well fitted for the delicate task of investigating the Credit Mobilier transactions, which was committed to his leadership ; the unanimous report of the com- mittee was sustained, tho it involved the retirement of some prominent men of his own party from public life. He also led the Congressional investigation of the doings of the Ku-Klux- Klan, the findings of which filled 13 large printed volumes and resulted in ridding the country of that infamous band. Judge Poland's most important achievement while in Congress was the revision and consolidation of the Laws of the United States, done in pursuance of an act introduced by him in the Senate of the 39th Congress. The magnitude and character of that undertak- ing is well stated in an address given at Philadelphia in 1875 by Hon. Loren Blodgett. CODIFICATION OF THE STATUTES "Having originated the whole work while a member of the Senate in 1866 and followed it as chief director in all subsequent proceedings in both Houses of Congress for seven years, Judge Poland consummated what all regarded as a great work which no other member of either branch could claim. No test so severe, both as to familiarity with the ordinary construc- tion of the statutes, and as to legal discrimination in regard to the intrinsic incompatibility of acts which had successively overlapped each other for nearly a century, has at any time been applied to a committee in Congress during an active session. Indeed under no circumstances and at no time has a like effort been made. The energy and determination of the dis- tinguished chairman were always conspicuous, and the work was accepted by Congress in June 1874, without amendments. In reviewing this revision or codification it is impossible not to accord it a rank quite distinct from, if not higher than, any previous work of the kind known to history." Judge Poland's public service at Washington included two years in the Senate and eight in the House. He was a man of mark on the floor of either house, both by reason of his intel- lectual stature, his weighty speech and his dignified port to which the buff waistcoat and brass buttoned coat of colonial times added IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE 435 a touch of agreeable distinction. He was framed and equipped for a public career, which in point of fact he both enjoyed and adorned. Jonathan Ross — left the ancestral farm in Waterford and came over to enter St. Johnsbury Academy in 1844. Notwith- standing the opinion expressed that " 'twas a pity to spoil a good farmer for to make a poor lawyer," he continued his course thro Dartmouth College and subsequent legal studies till in 1856 he was back in St. Johnsbury beginning his career as a lawyer, poor in nothing but purse. His lack of native brilliancy was more than made up by a robust honesty of the Abram Lincoln type, by sincerity of Christian principle and diligent attention to details which very soon commanded public confidence and patronage. Important trusts were committed to him in the town and in the State. He ranked high at Montpelier both as representative and senator. In 1870 he was on the Supreme bench ; in 1890 he was made Chief Justice ; in 1899 he was appointed for the unexpired term to succeed Justin S. Morrill in the United States Senate. It will be noted as a coincidence that these successive ad- vancements duplicated the course of his fellow townsman Judge Poland. Not often does the same town have two men so unlike in native endowment, style and personality who win high honor in public careers so nearly identical. The two are not to be compared as to which was superior. Each excelled in a way of his own ; both carried their parts with distinction. When Poland entered the Senate in the prime of his alert and vigorous man- hood at the age of fifty, no one doubted that he would make his mark. Ross, less widely known, took his seat as Senator in his 74th year and no one expected any thing remarkable from him. A surprise was coming. Within forty-eight hours after his appointment, wholly unex- pected, he had all outstanding items of court business closed up and was on his way to Washington. He reached the Senate chamber in time to participate in the action that ratified the treaty with Spain. Inasmuch as this was carried by a majority of one vote only, that deciding vote may now be said to have arrived 436 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY from St. Johnsbury, Vt., just in time to secure the ratification of peace with Spain by the Senate. Immediately new and delicate problems were thrust upon Congress relating to the impending re- sponsibility for Puerto Rico and the Philippine Islands. To these questions Senator Ross gave close attention and study involving exhaustive research, historical and legal. On the 23d of January, 1900, he introduced a series of resolutions on the Relations of the United States to its Island dependencies — asserting for substance that the provisions of the Constitution itself unaided by an Act of Congress are inadequate for suitable sovereignty over these outlying dependencies ; that therefore our duty to them demands the creation of a department of administration and the passage of a law to make appointments thereto unpolitical. This proposi- tion he supported with remarks, not oratory, and did not immedi- ately catch the ear of the Senate. Presently some began to dis- cover that he was master of his theme. Senator Pettus of Ala- bama rose to say, "this is an important question and it is a great lawyer who is speaking ; we should give him our attention." Five years later a similar estimate from the legal point of view appeared in THE GREEN BAG : — "This effort made a sensation throughout the country and marked Judge Ross as a man of national fame, and beyond question it shaped the policy of the nation with reference to our Island Possessions. President McKinley characterized it as the most enlightening treatment of the subject he had yet seen, and stated that it led him to a complete change of mind as to national policy in regard to the annexation of territory." Struck by a railroad train near the East Village, Feb. 21, 1905, Judge Ross and his wife met the sudden death that startled and saddened the whole community. State officers came to join with his townspeople in the funeral service at the South church of which he was the senior deacon and for more than fifty years teacher of a class in the Sunday School. In his public service as also in private life he was strenuous for righteousness and justice, with a deep sense of responsibility to God and responsibility for men. "Judge Jonathan Ross was a representative New Englander, one of the best his State has produced within the last century, retaining much of the IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE 437 conservatism as well as sturdiness of the old school of citizens ; interested in all good service whether political, religious, educational, or social ; an example of what may be accomplished through the genius of hard work and uprightness of character." Boston Transcript TWO EDUCATORS "It is to be remarked that the Teacher as truly as the Judge or the Governor is a public servant, with functions judicial and executive of su- preme importance to the State." James K. Colby— In their careful search for the right man to carry out their ideals of education the founders of St. Johns- bury Academy were providentially led to a most felicitous choice. Mr. Colby, with little previous expeiience, opened the school in 1842, and except for a short interval presided over it for 23 years. He quietly created an institution that gave distinction and honor to the town. The suspicion that he was a man of more than ordinary mark probably never entered his mind, he was thinking of what he could do for the young minds around him. A discriminating writer remarked that while he passed an unevent- ful life in the beautiful village to whose prosperity and attractive- ness he contributed so much, he yet possessed a thoroughness of intellectual training, a solidity of judgment, a self-control and ad- ministrative ability sufficient for the headship of a college or the chief magistracy of a state. Principal Colby founded his school on a well defined plan : certain things were as corner stones — exact scholarship, good manners, character building, the fear of God. The supreme object was to train boys and girls to become intelligent self- respecting citizens ; whatever was most important for community life must be already in force among these young people ; first of all respect for authority and strict fidelity to duty. Insisting that order was heaven's first law and fundamental in good society the Master demanded and secured it in his little kingdom. His com- manding figure and quiet tones inspired respectful attention ; his words were few, deliberate and weighty, if additional emphasis became necessary there was a smooth ferule in the drawer whose 438 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY merits were well understood. Usually however to "hold a fretful realm in^awe," the sound of his approaching footstep or the sig- nificant tap of his pencil sufficed — "the tap of that pencil, how well I remember it ; more potent it was in his schoolroom than that of Caesar's finger in the Roman Senate." Exactness and mastery of every detail was the rule to which he rigidly held himself as well as others. That explained the omission of the Bible exercise one Saturday morning ; sickness had interf erred with his "suitable preparation." Indifference and careless work merited sore dis- pleasure ; every painstaking endeavor was encouraged, usually by some hint that would set the mind on the track of working out its problem. The entire plan and procedure of the day was to awaken unrecognized abilities, to stimulate good impulses, to root deeply in the mind a sense of responsibility. One who was easily a non-conformist in opinion affirmed that for real eminence as an instructor, for firmness of discipline judiciously tempered with mildness, for the quality of guide, philosopher and friend to youth, Mr. Colby in his generation was without a peer. He was also an educator unofficially in the larger life of the community ; shaping public opinion and inspiring a sense of mutual obligation among men. He had the weight of influence that rests on a well-balanced mind, clear judgment and strong convictions modestly insisted on. Universally respected and re- vered as a leading citizen his name added dignity to the town. In the South Church of which he was one of the founders and pil- lars it stands in lettering of the language that he loved and taught: — JACOBUS K. COLBY ACADEMIC PRECEPTOR ECCLESLE DIACONUS Homer T. Fuller — The Academy of the second quarter- century was as truly an original creation of Principal Fuller as the former had been of his honored predecessor. It was a new insti- tution with the mark of the new age upon it, a visible embodiment of his versatility, breadth of vision and "insatiable appetite for work." Like his predecessor a native of New IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE 439 Hampshire and a graduate of Dartmouth, he had first chosen the Christian ministry for his life work ; like him again he fulfilled a Christian ministry of conspicuous usefulness in the field of education and as a man among men. Mr. Fuller had been urgently desired in other places but he was attracted to St. Johnsbury by the moral earnestness of the men who called him here and who responded to the large ideals that were in his mind. The results of his leadership began to appear in the imposing buildings that rose on the grounds in 1872, in the progressive spirit and modern scientific methods, in the liberal endowment he secured, in the increasing and widely representative enrollment, in the high rank his pupils were taking in New England colleges. All this was a continuation of the fine record of former years but on a broader scale and under higher pressure. The volume of life energy that Principal Fuller poured into this institution in ten years seemed adequate for twice ten years, and indeed the momentum he gave it was felt long after he had gone to expend himself in like manner elsewhere. His mantle fell on fit successors : Charles E. Putney and David Y. Comstock are remembered as accomplished educators, unlike in personality and temperament, alike in their careful and scholarly training of the youth and in their active promotion of good citizenship. Principal Fuller was not only a master in education but a man of affairs. In the church and in the life of the town he was alert, far-sighted, solicitous for the public welfare, ready to serve anywhere, prompt and practical in doing things. He was unfailingly courteous and thoughtful for everybody. By his urbanity and wide intelligence he had ready access to men ; his inquisitive mind absorbed varied learning which flowed easily into speech or written papers ; his retentive memory enabled him to fringe the most ordinary conversation with instructive facts or figures or illustrations. He traveled widely in this country and abroad and had acquaintance with men of distinction in business and professional life. Scientific and philanthropic societies welcomed him to membership ; colleges conferred their honors upon him, the Ph. D. and DD. and LL. D. These he carried lightly, for the honor most prized by him was 440 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY the privilege of being a servant of God called to a life of useful endeavor. Doctor Fuller's last and most exacting work was the presidency of Drury College, to which he gave the eleven ripest years of his life ; his energetic administration revived its life at a critical time but undermined his own. He died in 1908 at Saranac Lake, New York. Note. That St. Johnstmry has been favored and honored in the work of eminent educators is recognized in the words of Hon. Joseph A. DeBoer incorporated in a document relating to Vermont, issued in 1900 by the United States Bureau of Education :— "But the Academy, which, of all others, has constantly stood forth as the most progressive, most prosperous, best attended, and for college prepara- tory work, the most successful institution in the state, is the St. Johnsbury Academy. There are many reasons perhaps, why this is so — a favoring loca- tion, a magnificent plant, very complete equipments, eminent instructors— * * well-directed, ample, unrestricted private munificence." TWO GENERALS Asa P. Blunt — In 1876 a driveway was opened from Western Avenue to the high bluff afterward known as South Park where Asa P. Blunt had built the square house now the home of H. W. Blodgett. He was at that time a draftsman in charge of the pattern department of the scale works. In July, 1861, he went to the war as Adjutant of the Third Regiment, the next year he was made Colonel of the Twelfth Vermont. After the capture of Gen. Stoughton he was put in command of the Second Vermont Brigade till General Stannard assumed it. Promotions followed rapidly and in March, 1865, he was breveted Brigadier General of Volunteers for meritorious services in the field. His ability as Quartermaster in different departments re- sulted in his becoming Captain and Assistant Quartermaster in the regular army. For eleven years following 1877 he was in com- mand of the military station at Fort Leavenworth where his administrative abilities brought about important transformations. At this time he was commissioned brevet Major General in the United States Army. IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE 441 General Blunt is remembered by his St. Johnsbury friends as a man of slight build, soldierly bearing and winning personality. As a patriot soldier he filled with credit to the end of his life in 1889, official positions of responsibility and honor. William W. Grout— While St. Johnsbury did not have the name of General. Grout on the check-list he seemed essentially a citizen among us, tho he had to cross the town line a few rods to reach his Sabine farm in Kirby on the ancestral acres cleared in 1799. His business, post office, political, church and social rela- tions centered in this town, to which he first came as an Academy student in 1853. He began the practice of law in Barton where he enlisted in 1862, and later was made Lieut. Colonel under Colonel Redfield Proctor of the Fifteenth Regiment which was in Stannard's Brigade at the battle of Gettysburg and other engage- ments. After the St. Albans raid he was commissioned brevet Brigadier General of Vermont Militia and assigned to the pro- tection of the Canadian frontier. General Grout was especially known for his services as rep- resentative from the Second District ; he was a member of five Congresses from 1880 to 1891, having several times received unanimous renomination. He was an active and tireless worker as Congressman, keenly alive to the public interests of the com- mon people ; he secured the enactment of the bill protecting dairymen from the fraudulent marketing of oleomargarine or chemical butter ; he obtained suitable recognition of Vermont maple sugar in the McKinley tariff. Through his efforts the U. S. Fisheries Station was established at St. Johnsbury. He was a rigid teetotaler, an incorruptible legislator, loyal always to his con- victions, a man of large, generous heart. He was defeated in his aspirations for the Senate in 1900 ; reverses that followed he bore manfully ; he died in 1902 and was buried in Grove Ceme- tery at East St. Johnsbury. General Horace K. Ide— see page 284. TWO LIEUT.-GOVERNORS Henry C. Bates— The law firm of Bates and May was well known in the town for twenty years. During that period Mr. 442 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Bates was twice State's Attorney, once Representative and recog- nized leader of the House at Montpelier ; twice Senator from Caledonia ; Lieut.-Governor 1898-99. His most important work however was in the Philippines, when in 1901 he was sent by President McKinley to be Judge of the Court of first instance in Iloilo, Island of Panay. This position he held in a manner that merited praise from Washing- ton, till obliged by considerations of health after six years to re- turn to America, where he died in 1909 at Berkeley, California. Of his standing and work at Iloilo an intelligent estimate was given by his fellow townsman, Hon. Henry C. Ide of Manilla : — "It was not an easy thing to go among a people alien in race, customs, traditions, laws and language, and win the respect and love of the people. But this Judge Bates did. There was universal confidence in his integrity, fairness and ability. His district was one of the most important in the Philippine Islands, embracing 400,000 people, or more than the entire state of Vermont, and he was the only Judge for all these people, except on an appeal to the Supreme Court. He was courteous on the bench and off it ; fair, patient, of open mind, willing to listen, with a strong sense of justice. He left the Islands with the universal respect of all who had been brought in contact with him." Note. Another official on those Islands was Charles A. Willard, a native of this town who in 1901 at the age of 44 was made an associate justice of the supreme court at Manilla. He had a seat in the National re- publican convention of 1904 as delegate from the Philippines. For a year or more after his graduation from Dartmouth he was librarian of the Athenaeum; He died in 1914 at Minneapolis where he had been judge on theU. S. district court. Leighton P. Slack — The law-firm of Dunnett and Slack had a record of eighteen years of substantial business, during twelve of which years the town committed its legal affairs to Mr. Slack. He was State's Attorney two years and in the Legisla- ture of 1904 was Senator from Caledonia. Important constructive work devolved on him while in the Senate. He drafted the act which created the office of Attorney General, and had a leading hand in formulating the elaborate bill regulating the traffic in in- toxicating liquors called for by the referendum of 1903. Governor Proctor placed him on the Commission to make a study of the IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE 443 taxation problem the report of which was submitted at the legisla- tive session of 1908. In 1914 he was appointed one of the judges of the Superior Court. Alexander Dunnett — was appointed United States District Attorney for the four years' term by President Roosevelt in 1906, and the appointment was renewed in 1910 by President Taft. The District comprises the State of Vermont. TWO FEDERAL JUSTICES Henry C. Ide — gained early recognition as a lawyer of judicial gifts and at the age of forty-five was on the way to parti- cipate in a delicate mission on the other side of the globe. Governmental troubles in the Island of Samoa occasioned the appointment of a commission created by Great Britain, Germany and the United States to secure if possible a solution of the points at issue. Mr. Ide was selected by President Harrison to represent this government and he was made chairman of the Commission. !He was chiefly instrumental in formulating and testing a scheme of adjustment which met the entire approval of the King of Samoa and others involved in the disputes. Under joint appointment of the three powers he held the position of Chief Justice of Samoa for a term of years till 1897. Three years later President McKinley placed him on the Taft Commission charged with organizing a form of civil government in the Philip- pine Islands. Here he became successively secretary of finance and justice, vice and acting governor, and in 1905 Governor General of the Islands. He reorganized the monetary system of the island on a permanent gold basis ; formulated the land and registration act, the internal revenue law, the code of procedure in civil actions and some three hundred minor laws enacted by the Commission. At a banquet tendered him 1903 on the eve of a vacation, Gov. General Taft remarked : — "The independent, clear-sighted, keenly analytic mind of Judge Ide has saved the Commission from doing a good many foolish things. He has been the watch-dog of the treasury keeping expenses down. The code of civil procedure which is working so well, is wholly the work of Judge Ide. 444 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY There is no harder working commissioner than he, and his work is done solely with a view to the public interests of the Islands." When William H. Taft became President of the United States he found in Mr. Ide a man whose standing and services in the former Colonial possessions of Spain rendered him peculiarly persona grata to the Spanish government ; he was sent as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the Court of Spain, which position he held till the incoming [of the democratic administration. Wendell P. Stafford— St. Johnsbury Academy 1880 and Harvard Law School 1883, began and continued his professional life in this town till in 1904 he was called to Washington by President Roosevelt to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. This took him from the Su- preme Bench of Vermont on the fourth year following his appointment thereto. While holding strictly and ably to his judicial duties he has accepted invitations to address distinguished audiences on commemorative and other occasions in New York, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Boston and Washington. He interpreted the lessons of the hour at the Tomb of General Grant, at the Wendell Phillips Centennial, at the Lake Champlain Ter-centenary, in our State Capitol rehearsing the heroic story of Vermont. A volume issued from the Caledonian press containing twenty-seven of these addresses, shows mastery in many fields, breadth and finish of culture and a versatility of expression as varied as the many sorts of themes passing under review. In the volumes en- titled North Flowers and Dorian Days are grouped selections from Mr. Stafford's verse — the latter as with inspirations from Parnassus, presents both classic and current themes in the lyric measures and spirit of the Hellenic poets. At the 110th anniversary of Middlebury College Mr. Stafford was called to deliver the poem of the occasion ; his subject felici- tously chosen was — Vermont. Referring to this, one of the keenest-minded men of the State remarked : — "I consider it the noblest and most finely phrased tribute of veneration which any son of Vermont has ever brought to an alma civitas, and, for that IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE 445 matter, know of nothing more eloquent, heart-searching and loyal, ever given by any laureate to the country of his birth.' ■ A few lines from this poem are here given : — VERMONT dear little state among the dark green hills, Who for thy never-changing bounds didst take The long, bright river and the azure lake, And whose deep lap the short-lived summer fills With sudden sweetness till its wealth o'erspills, — How shall we sing thee for thy beauty's sake, Or praise thee in a voice that shall not break For pathos of the theme wherewith it thrills ? Thou sit'st with loins upgirt, like those that wait, Not those that slumber ; and round thy knees True sons of thine, scorners of fear and ease, Make music of their toil, early and late ; For thou art fitly compassed in thy state By fields of clover, reddening to the breeze, Hummed over by the blithe and laboring bees And guarded by the mountains calm and great. Swarm after swarm thy children have gone forth But still the old hive keeps its golden store, Filled by the same bright service as before With frugal bounty and unwasted worth. And thou dost watch with sweet solicitude The plowfields putting on their green attire, The blue smoke curling from the cottage fire, The little school house, many-scarred and rude, Half shrinking in the shadow of the wood, And, ringed with loving elms, the tall white spire. Mother of Men ! whom the green hills enthrone, From whose bright feet the rivers haste away, Thou of the ages art— we of a day, Yet we have loved thee and thy love have known, And if with too faint breath our reeds are blown To carry the great burden of our lay — Yet some true notes among our measures play — The shame will all be ours, the honor thine alone. 446 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY ONE MAN Public service in private life There was a man who carried the uplift of the people as a burden on his heart. Limitations of vitality and business cares did not check his lavish expenditure of thought and effort for public betterment. It was early influential in the Sunday School and church ; later in educational and civic matters, in village im- provement, in originating and shaping the plan of an Academy ; later still in the legislature, securing among other things an Act for the Improvement of our Common Schools. This was but the beginning of toils for the schools of Vermont, kept up for years in voluminous correspondence with Ex-Gov. Eaton, first Super- intendent of Schools, in tireless efforts to awaken public senti- ment, in organizing state and county associations, in establishing the Vermont School Journal, subscribing for 100 copies for this county and later guaranteeing a thousand, in a constant quiet way of making up various deficits. Partisan interests in the legis- lature of 1851 nullified the School law — a heavy blow to its orig- inator, who, contemplating the state now bereft of a Superinten- dent of Schools, remarked : "I had so loved Vermont and felt so proud of her reputation wherever I have traveled in other states of the Union that I can hardly endure the thought of her degradation." The toils of these years however were not with- out ultimate permanent results, tho he died without the sight thereof ; the efficient public school system of later years owed more than most men have ever known to his far-sighted plans and unremitting efforts. His activities for the public benefit took wide range. He was aboundingly and modestly benevolent distributing multitudi- nous gifts anonymously and with a fine sense of adaptation. He served the church universal with ardent devotion. In quiet ways and in all directions he was influencing public opinion toward gen- eral improvement. Hundreds of pages of letters and press articles went out from his pen on almost every theme of current importance, such as agriculture and stock-raising, the attractions and opportunities of Vermont, the value of scientific methods, IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE 447 phenomena of nature, books, reading and libraries, home life, current issues in religion and politics, education, slavery, temper- ance, morals and health, world-wide Christian missions. Self- seeking was as far from his thought as the planet Mars. Some things he advocated before their day had come, not in- frequently the hand that gave an initiative impulse was undetected. As early as 1845 he urged the legislature of Vermont to petition Congress to take initiative measures in favor of international ar- bitration, suggesting that a congress of nations be called for the purpose. He wrote to Washington Irving, then at the height of his fame, imploring him as the leading American man of letters to crown his work and serve his countrymen by preparing a History of the United States of America. In the pages of Irving's Life of Washington covering the birth and establishing of the nation, we of this town may be allowed to detect an initiative im- pulse that reached the Sunnyside study from the south end of St. J®hnsbury Plain. A similar impulse from the same hand advo- cated in one of the Boston papers the founding in that city of a free public library two years before the corner stone of that institution was laid. These multiplied activities were carried on without detriment to the daily business efficiency or to the important and delicate trusts committed to him in his own town. But his vital resources were prematurely exhausted, too soon the silver cord was loosed and his work among men was done. If the world's need could have kept him he had not gone so soon. In filial remembrance of Joseph P. Fairbanks. XXXIII UTILITIES "Every person in the state has a direct or indirect interest in the proper management of our public utilities." The Outlook MAIL SERVICE — BANKS — TEL AND TEL — STREET LIGHTS — FIRE TRUCKS — FISHERIES — CEMETERIES Water supplies and fire engines which would naturally fall under this head have been treated on pages 297-304. THE POST OFFICE For thirteen years, during which time there was no Post Office in the town, mail was brought in irregularly by post riders or anybody else, and deposited at the tavern or store, as narrated on pages 173-176. In 1803 an Office was located at St. Johnsbury Plains, and Joseph E. Dow was made Postmaster. Like David Dunbar of Danville, he may have found that this government berth was "not as profitable as a good farrow cow," but it gave a man distinction in those days to hold a commission issued from Washington City. Some of these old commissions have survived the changing administrations and are now on file at the Athe- naeum — "Confiding in the Integrity, Ability, and Punctuality of Daniel Chamberlin Esq., I do appoint him a Postmaster and authorize him to execute the duties of that Office at St. Johns- bury, State of Vermont," etc.; so runs the document given out March 30, 1820, by Return Jonathan Meigs Jr., Postmaster Gen- eral under President Monroe : — UTILITIES 449 Note— This was Return Jonathan Meigs 2nd. His grandfather, Jona- than Meigs of Connecticut, when paying attentions to one of the daughters of the land found her so coquettish or unpersuadable that he finally mounted his horse saying he should not return again. As he rode slowly down the lane she followed, and at the gate, called out, "Return, Jonathan ! Return ! and I will marry thee !" He returned, they were married, and the first born son, 1740, was named Return Jonathan Meigs. His son, born 1765, became Chief Justice and Governor of Ohio, and was the Postmaster General Return Jonathan Meigs Jr., whose signature is on the commission of the St. Johns- bury Postmaster of 1820. This is the story as narrated in Appleton's Cyclopedia of Biography and noted in the Meigs Journal of the Expedition against Quebec, 1775. A letter addressed to the Boston Tran- script in 1912 asking further information, brought out the same ver- sion from two correspondents, one of whom had it verbally from Dr. Return Jonathan Meigs of Worcester, Mass., a lineal descendant. But this is the age of relentless historical criticism and another writer in a later issue of the Transcript affirmed on apparently substantial grounds, that the story was mere frostwork of the imagination melting away under the sunlight of truth. But we of this latitude, who let in the winter sunlight thro glass windows, have some appreciation of the decorative functions of frostwork thereon, and are kindly disposed to some touches of it in the traditions of the town. The prosaic statement that a Meigs signature has been found among our town papers would not take vivid hold of the imagination unless embellished with some footnote frostwork of tradition or fact, whichever it may be. Inasmuch as St. Johnsbury was not in 1820 a remarkably temperate town, it may not have been the one referred to in the following incident. A printed circular issued during Monroe's administration by the Post Office department carried at the bot- tom of the page the autograph in facsimile of Return J. Meigs. A county postmaster mistook this signature for a postscript order, reading "Return your Mugs." He wrote the department that he "had the honor to report that no mugs were used in his office." Chamberlin's first quarterly report April, May, June, 1820, shows receipts of $30.10 ; of which $3.54}^ was postage prepaid 450 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY on letters mailed at this office, and $26.55^, nearly eight times as much, was postage on letters unpaid or underpaid received at this office. Postage on letters at this date was from ten to twenty-five cents. The appointment of February 25, 1829, in Jackson's administration was as follows — "The Honorable Mr. Buck, Representative from Vermont, is informed by the Post- master General that he has this day appointed Joseph P. Fair- banks Esq. to be Postmaster at St. Johnsbury Plains, Vt., vice Ephraim Paddock." Opposite Abel Rice's tavern was the small building near the present bank block where J. P. Fairbanks had his law office, book store and the Postoffice all in one. His suc- cessor in 1832 was Moses Kittredge, who kept the office in his store where the Brown block now stands, and here it remained twelve years. In his time "there were three mails a week and sometimes there would be as many as a dozen letters in a single day" as Frank Brown the lively clerk once told me. Reduced rates of postage were then welcomed ; only six cents to Danville, ten to Montpelier, twelve and a half cents across Lake Champlain, eighteen and three-fourths cents to Boston. DIMICK SORTS THE MAIL Under President Polk the office went to Victor M. Dimick. He had no place of business and the best he could do was to lease the basement of a small house a little way down the street. This was probably under the old law office and bookstore. The en- trance was thro a bulkhead on the south side, and from the door- sill there was a step down before reaching the floor. The room was very small ; it contained a few pigeon holes for mail, a chair or two and a single bed for the postmaster. During the day the bed was jacked up against the wall, when let down it would be directly front of the door. Stages arrived at 9 o'clock P. M., 6 o'clock A. M. The postmaster used to get up, sort the mail, then lie down again for a nap. This he was doing one mid-winter morning, 1846. A near-sighted man happened along that morn- ing with the mail from the Fairbanks counting room. It was cold and dark. A dim lamp twinkled inside. In his haste the mail carrier quite forgot about the step below the door, and plunged UTILITIES 451 in on to the sleeping postmaster. The grapple that ensued was not lacking in energy ; Dimick never heard the last of his attempt at assorting the early male. Dimick was not a success as postmaster. The whigs con- sidered him an undesirable choice for a democrat, and for some time they made Passumpsic their postoffice for outgoing and in- coming mail. This did not prove convenient. They finally got Dimick out and Landlord Hutchinson in, so for a time the mail distribution went back to the tavern as it was in the old days be- fore the advent of a postoffice. But James K. Polk was still President and it was not long before George C. Barney, the most exuberant of democrats here- about had the office over in his shoe-shop in the building whose narrow gable still fronts the street just above Union Block. After Zachary Taylor's inauguration it went back across the street again to Ephraim Jewett, an equally bouyant and manifest whig. But Barney kept pegging away at his shoe bench and bided the time for his second innings which came to his entire satisfaction during the two administrations that preceded the civil war. Our war-time Postmasters were Col. Geo. A. Merrill and Emerson Hall, very efficient and popular officials, as were their immediate successors, H. W. Fleetwood, Charles P. Carpenter and N. P. Bowman. For nearly 110 years the St. Johnsbury Postoffice has been on or near its present location. The new quarters in the brick block were first occupied January 7, 1870. The increase of population and business eastward has led to frequent petitions for the re- moval of the office to some more central point ; it is not unlikely that the new federal building for which Congress has made ap- propriation will be on Eastern Avenue. In April, 1872, a branch accommodation office was opened in the Randall store on Rail- road street. In 1883, a similar branch office was established in Summerville ; H. V. Powers had it till 1888, and C. F. Weeks till August, 1891, when in view of the annexation then effected, it was discontinued, free delivery being thereafter in force for the entire village. Station one, for stamps and money orders is at Stiles' store on Railroad street, number two is at Renfrew's in 452 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Summerville — from these stations $8,625 postage was sold in 1912, and 3505 money orders were issued. St. Johnsbury was designated for a money office in 1865. No record of the earlier transactions is found. In 1880 the amount sent out of town on 1635 domestic money orders was $17,923.61, also $224.25 sent to Canada and $224.34 to Great Britain. The amount received on domestic orders was $23,583.48. In 1912 there were 10,008 domestic orders issued, carrying out $64,641.56, on which the fees aggregated $584.79. Besides these there were sent out $6,052.60 on foreign orders. The total money order transactions of the year exceeded a quarter of a million dol- lars. It should be remembered that this office is a business center for nearly forty smaller offices in this region. Free delivery was granted October 1, 1889, under Major Bowman ; not because we had 10,000 inhabitants, but because the office showed receipts for 1888 of $12,000, which was $200 in ex- cess of the limit required for free delivery. At first there were two daily deliveries and one at 5 o'clock in the business sections. J. K. Bonett, J. A. Paddock and H. A. Holder were the carriers. The cost of free delivery in 1900, the first year, was $4,306.85, the largest in the state, due to the mileage covered. There are now two general and four business deliveries, and six carriers whose trips average twelve to fifteen miles daily. Rural delivery began March 1, 1902, with two routes ; the first easterly 21 miles, serving an area of 15 square miles, 87 houses, and a population of 391, H. R. Chesley, carrier ; the second northwesterly 22 miles, area 15 square miles, houses 101, population 454, E. F. Sherburne, carrier. During the first year 48,731 pieces of mail were delivered. There are now four routes, one of which, Jason W. Carpenter carrier, reaches a maximum of 24 miles, including besides this town parts of Danville, Stannard and Wheelock. POSTAL NOTES Parcel Post. Forty countries had Parcel Post service before we did. It was needed here as long ago as April ]865, when $^.50 postage was paid on a pair of shoes mailed from our office to a UTILITIES 453 soldier boy in New Orleans. Parcel Post was regularly estab- lished in January, 1913. Round about route. Two letters in 1883 were dropped into the office together ; one was addressed to Chicago, the other to Fairbanks Village. The latter contained $25.00. It seems to have stuck to the Chicago letter and accompanied it to that city ; neither there nor in Milwaukee nor in Minneapolis to which points it was forwarded could any Fairbanks Village be found. Its next trip was to Fairbanks, Franklin Co., Maine, thence to the dead letter office. In due time it arrived and delivered its contents to the waiting recipient in Fairbanks Village on Sleeper's River. Yielded up by the Sea. A letter addressed to St. Johnsbury and postmarked Constantinople, March 2, 1886, was sunk in the steamer Oregon at sea off Fire Island, N. Y. On the sixth day of May, it was received at this office having been recovered in the last mail pouch fished out from the wreck. Three weeks in salt water sufficed to dim but not obliterate the superscription. Resumption of specie payment. A letter to Postmaster Hazen in 1904 contained a quarter of a dollar. This was to pay the Railroad Company for a trip the sender had taken from the Center Village to this place 33 years before. The conductor had overlooked him. Address List. The following persons were addressed as follows : Geo. May St. Johnsbury Darmont, Canada. May 1884 San gOnsbury santr Mristr abal purs (Abel Pierce, St. J. Center Sept. 18, 1868) direCt thise liter to 9inty fore Portland Strete St. Gonsbery Vt. Pies giv thise liter to yoUr sin in law and til him to giv it to his nerest nebor. The nearest neighbor was duly found by John H. Moore, Carrier, February 1892. Letters bearing 44 variant spellings were delivered to W. O. Rocheleau in 1902. Letters addressed "Est odique" and "ipone" were forwarded from this office to East Hardwick and Island Pond, o. k. 454 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Christmas. During Christmas week 1911, there were sold at this office, 31,000 one cent stamps and 22,000 two cent stamps; 50,000 picture post cards were handled. All packages were de- livered by horse teams and fifty mail sacks were dispatched on the night service in addition to the large number sent during the day. The stamp sales that week aggregated $1400.00. Salaries. In 1830 Joseph P. Fairbanks, Postmaster, was allowed $50 salary ; some while after 1860 the salary had risen to $1000; subsequent to 1880 it became $2000; in 1890 it was $2200, prior to 1900 it rose to $2400 ; at this writing in 1912 it is $2700. The gross receipts of the St. Johnsbury Plain office in the year 1912 were $30,665.83 which yielded a net revenue to the government of $11,598.36. POSTMASTERS ST. JOHNSBURY PLAIN Joseph E. Dow Barnabas Barker Amaziah D. Barber Ephraim Paddock Daniel Chamberlin Reuben H. Deming Ephraim Paddock Jos. P. Fairbanks Moses Kittredge Victor M. Dimick Joseph Hutchinson Geo. C. Barney ST. JOHNSBURY CENTER Ezra Sanger Horace Evans Wm. P. Stoughton John Bacon Hiram Weeks Edward M. Ide Byron Wright Truman Harriman Lester D. Stiles George A. Dow 1803-1806 Ephraim Jewett 1849-1853 1806-1807 Joseph C. Fuller 1853-1853 1807-1815 Geo. C. Barney 1853-1861 1815-1820 Geo. A. Merrill 1861-1862 1820-1823 Emerson Hall 1862-1866 1823-1827 H. W. Fleetwood 1866-1875 1827-1829 Chas. P. Carpenter 1875-1887 1829-1832 N. P. Bowman 1887-1892 1832-1846 W. W. Sprague 1892-1894 1846-1847 F. G. Bundy 1894-1898 1847-1847 L. D. Hazen 1898-1909 1847-1849 Arthur F. Stone 1909-1912 A. H. Gleason 1913 ( ER ST. JOHNSBURY EAST In part Calvin Morrill David Goodall Leon Goodall George B. Goodall Fernando Harrington Lewis W. Fisher Roy E. Blodgett UTILITIES 455 BANKING INSTITUTIONS The Old Passumpsic Bank, 1850 Considering the manu- facturing done and the amount of general business in the town, it seems today surprising that up to the year 1850 our fathers had to climb the hills to Danville for their banking privileges. There had been difficulties in procuring a charter ; the bill which finally chartered the Passumpsic Bank of St. Johnsbury, encountered serious obstacles put up by other banks, before arriving at its passage, on the 13th November, 1849. The authorized capital was $100,000, in shares of $50 each. Subscription books were opened and on February 1, 1850 there were 4357 subscribers who had taken 6926 shares ; these were mostly in Caledonia County, but with a considerable distribution thro six other counties. At a meeting of the stockholders to fix the location of the Bank there were 170 votes for the Center Village and 1650 for the Plain. A building was erected for a banking house, to be occupied in part by the family of the cashier ; that building, now owned by the Athenaeum, stands between the Art Gallery and the Berry-Ball store ; the original site was on the edge of the sidewalk. Seven directors were appointed, viz : J. P. Fairbanks, Barron Moulton, John Bacon, Calvin Morrill, of St. Johnsbury, Henry Keyes of New- bury, E. B. Chase of Lyndon, Harry Baxter of Barton. Business was begun May 1, 1850. The bills issued by the new Bank were regarded with interest in this town ; the three dollar one would be a curiosity today ; they presented cuts of the farming and mechanical industries ; withal it was a new and pleasing thing to see the name St. Johns- bury on a bank note. Nearly forty years later a writer said: "I have before me one of the original Passumpsic Bank Bills, worth much more to me than any one dollar it promises to pay — because of the two strong, well rounded signatures with which it is graced: viz : J. P. Fairbanks, President and E. C. Redington, Cashier — men of great transparency and simplicity of character, of incor- ruptible integrity and fine generosity, whose memories are still gratefully cherished." Under the National Banking Act of February 25, 1863, it be- came necessary to re-organize, and the result was the establish- 456 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY ment of the First National Bank. Cashier Redington and Jona- than Ross took in hand the assets of the old Passumpsic ; after all bills had been redeemed and outstanding debts paid, the stock- holders received the face value of their shares plus $4.01, that is $54.01. The affairs of the Bank were satisfactorily wound up August 2, 1864, about three months after the opening of the First National, which bought the property. In October 1864, "a great loss of property by fire" was re- ported on the street. It proved to be $55,000, of Passumpsic Bank bills burned by order of the Directors ; $6,600 had been previously incinerated. When the Bank Commissioners, bearers of specie, were here to arrange for the opening of the Bank, May 1, 1850, a stranger appeared whose movements occasioned suspicion. It came out afterward that this was the notorious convict, Bristol Bill, who on the 21st of June struck down State's Attorney Bliss N. Davis in the Danville Court House. His next stopping place was at Windsor. Passumpsic Savings Bank, 1853 Under charter of October 1852, this first Savings Bank was organized at the St. Johnsbury House January 26, 1853, with Barron Moulton, President, and E. C. Redington, Treasurer. It appeared as an adjunct of the old Pas- sumpsic Bank, in the rooms of which its business was transacted for six years. In 1858 it was transferred to the store of Boynton and Deming in the Union Block. Three years later Jonathan Ross succeeded Deming as Treasurer and his office on the east side of the street became headquarters. In 1869 it was taken back to Union Block, David Boynton being Treasurer. For the next ten years its business had steady growth and in 1879 it set up an establishment of its own over the Bingham drug store, where it prospered till in 1885 it erected for its use the commod- ious and tasteful Passumpsic Bank Block, at an expense of $15,000, including the site. In June 1877, William S. Boynton was appointed to succeed his father as Treasurer ; he retained the position 35 years, and was at his desk as usual on the day of his sudden death, April 9, 1912. The treasurership was then conferred on Richard C. Baker UTILITIES 457 who had at that time been in the service of the Bank 24 years. Passumpsic Savings Bank ended its first year with $34,838.99 de- posits ; it opened its sixty-first year with deposits of $2,812, 550.53 ; the number of depositors being 7025. All the assets and property of this Bank % belong to the depositors ; there are no other stockholders. Dividends to the amount of $2,178,595.10 have been distributed to the depositors. First National Bank On the ninth of May, 1864, this Bank was organized with a capital of $100,000. This was increas- ed in 1865 to $250,000, in 1869 to $450,000, in 1873 to $500,000. For twenty years it remained at that figure ; during this time two other banks were established and doing good business ; the capital of the First National was reduced in 1893 to $400,000, in 1901 to $300,000, in 1905 to $200,000, at which it stands today. It has paid in dividends $1,236,000, which is a little over three times its average capital of $400,000. During the panicky year of 1873, 1 'notwithstanding its tottering condition," its net earnings were $65,000, of which $50,000 were applied to dividends, $15,000 to surplus. In 1912 the surplus and undivided profits were $62,679.61. The valuation of the banking house erected in 1869 is $16,000. In 1895 extensive improvements were made and a new safety vault installed ; this has outer and inner walls of brick and granite, 16 and 18 inches thick, separated by a five inch air space ; and a steel lining of welded iron and steel, considered proof against drilling or sledging. The outer door of six inch solid steel is automatic in action, when closed it throws and bolts the locks, which are released by chronometer device. The weight of this door is three tons. Presidents of the First National: Luke P. Poland, 1864; Horace Fairbanks, 1887; Franklin Fairbanks, 1888; Angus H. McLeod, 1895. Cashiers, George May, 1864; John C. Clark, 1883; Homer E. Smith, 1893. "In February 1886, the Steamer W. R. Carter blew up and burned and sank in the Mississippi River. Three years later wreckage was recovered from the bottom of the river. On March 20, 1869, the First National Bank of St. Johnsbury, Vt., 458 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY George May Cashier, redeemed twenty-one $5.00 bills taken from that wreck. In some of the bills the figures were identified only as blackened cinders pasted on the paper. Merchants National Bank The increasing importance of Railroad Street as a business center led to the organization of the Merchants National Bank, which began business September 20, 1875, with a capital of $300,000. This was increased in 1883 to $400,000 ; in 1888, a reduction was made to $300,000, and in 1905 a further reduction to $150,000, at which the capital stock now stands. The first President was Col. Frederick Fletcher, 1875 ; his successors were William E. Peck, 1885 ; L. D. Hazen, 1894; H. H. Powers, 1896; Elmore T. Ide, 1897; Cashiers, Wil- liam E. Hazen, William S. Streeter, H. W. Allen, Chas. W. Ruiter. Business was begun in the block which the Bank soon after purchased ; the disastrous fire of October 1892 took this building in its sweep ; the next day all that was seen was the bank vault, which stood erect and uninjured amidst the blackened ruins. This was a Morris and Ireland Vault with double granite walls and a time lock, installed at an expense of $6000 — the contents suffered no injury whatever from the fire. An expert was brought from Boston who undertook to move this vault to a more desir- able position ; its weight was roughly estimated at 5000 tons ; he lifted it bodily from its bed, moved it thirty feet south then thirty feet east to where it now stands ; and over it was erected the new Merchants Bank Block, sixty by seventy-five feet dimensions, with large well furnished rooms for its increasing business. The Banking house property stands at $30,000 valuation ; surplus and undivided profits at $85,729.38. Since 1895 a savings bank department has been in operation. Citizens Savings Bank In a small room on the east side of the Avenue House Block, the Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company began business February 1, 1887, John T. Ritchie, Treasurer. The capital stock, $50,000, was increased January 1, 1904, by a stock dividend of 100 per cent to $100,000 ; again by a similar dividend May 1, 1911, to $200,000, at which time there UTILITIES 459 was also a surplus and profits of $80,000. In 1893 this Bank purchased the Ward block site on the east corner of the Avenue, 4400 square feet for $12,000; the highest price per foot ever paid for land in the town. Additional land to constitute a lot of 7000 square feet was acquired and thereon was erected the large and sightly Citizens Bank Block, 75 by 90 feet ground dimen- sions, four and five stories high, the finest business block in the town. The Banking Rooms were considered the best in the state, spacious, well lighted and richly furnished. This building was gutted by fire in the early morning of October 30, 1909. The outer walls stood uninjured ; the vault was opened the same day and everything in it came to light as if nothing had happened. Reconstruction was immediately begun, with improvements and safety devices that make the new better than the old. The block is valued at about $60,000. The Citi- zens Bank has had but one Treasurer, John T. Ritchie, during its quarter century of business ; Presidents, J. G. Hovey, C. M. Chase, A. L. Bailey. Deposits at the end of the first year's busi- ness, $127,697.61, at the present writing, $3,322,161.66. Surplus and undivided profits, $117,504.31. THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH "We had letters to send. Couriers could not go fast enough, nor far enough — broke their wagons, foundered their horses ; bad roads in spring ; snow drifts in winter, heat in summer— could not get their horses out of a walk. But we found that the air and the earth were full of electricity, and always going our way, just the way we wanted to send. Would he take a message for us? Just as lief as not, had nothing else to do, would carry it for us in no time." Emerson In 1851, within a year after the opening of the Passumpsic Railroad, telegraph wires were strung into the town by the Boston and Vermont Telegraph Company. This was about nine years after Morse had succeeded in sending messages between Washington and Baltimore, and it was during this year of 1851 that a convention of deputies from different nations adopted at Vienna the Morse system as international. The terminus of the line in this town was at the railroad station and here among the 460 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY first dispatches received was the announcement that Franklin Pierce had been elected President. This bit of news had a bad effect on Dr. Calvin Jewett, a whig of tremendous convictions, who was seen stalking by with forceful stride, smiting the ground with his staff as if to stamp out the dangerous principles of the democratic party in its alliance with slavery. The next year a telegraph office was opened on the Plain in the old Dr. Stevens house where the brick block now is ; Camp's grocery was then in the basement. At that date there were only two lines in the state, one from Boston via White River and Bur- lington to Montreal, the other to St. Johnsbury. Col. J. W. Robinson, who kept a hat store, was the first operator on the Plain. At that time there was great enthusiasm over Louis Kossuth's recent arrival in this country and among the interesting things at the hat-store-tele graph- office were the popular Kossuth hats decorated with plumes, the first one of which was promptly mounted by Henry L. Clapp, who thereby became a hero in the eyes of the younger boys. Robinson had an unconscious way of humming tunes while at his work without much regard to melody or tune ; in the midst of which one Sunday morning a friend re- minded him that he ought not to be sawing wood on Sunday. The Bain system of telegraphy was the one in use at that time, messages being rendered by a scheme of dots on a circular disk. There was a fairly good opportunity for variation in the recording of messages. Among the early ones sent from this office was an order for a keg of tripe ; as taken at the Boston office it read cag up trip. This was interpreted to mean — send a cage on the up-trip; accordingly the bird cage arrived on the next day by Cheney and Company express, up-trip. Major Edward D. Redington of Chicago when introducing a speaker on wireless telegraphy not long ago, commented on the surprising progress made, and remarked that when a boy he had learned the wonderful art as then practised in the little office at St. Johnsbury, Vt. — his first duty each morning being to go to the basement and charge the battery. "Where," said the speaker of the evening jocosely, "we will suppose Major Redington first won his military title by a successful charge of his battery." UTILITIES 461 Telegraphy proved a boon to one man in the town. H. W. Brickett lost his right arm ; he readily mastered the art of oper- ating the instrument with his left fingers, and a year or two later came into charge of the orifice and continued in it till promoted to a position in the city of Lowell. In 1856 this line went into the hands of the Western Union. Coincident with the construction of the Portland and Ogdens- burg R. R. was the formation in this town, 1869, of an independ- ent telegraph company known as the Vermont International, Franklin Fairbanks, President. This new line was intended to serve the new road and the region traversed by it ; the towns fur- nished and set the poles, the company strung the wires. Pending the completion of the railroad and its stations the offices were for several years set up in stores or houses in charge of anyone who would attend properly to the business. In Bakersfield a woman of seventy years learned to operate and had the office in a small sleeping room adjoining her kitchen. In 1876 this company extended its lines either way from here to Wells River and from Swanton to Canada line in order to operate through business with the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company, which, the very next year was absorbed by the Wes- tern Union. Since that date while retaining its independent organization, it has operated under identical rules and tariff with the Western Union, having headquarters at its St. Johnsbury office. For thirty-one years, since 1883, E. A. Silsby has been Superintendent. THE TELEPHONE "Theodore N. Vail persisted in spite of considerable ridicule in main- taining that the telephone was destined to connect cities and nations as well as individuals. When the Bell Company refused to build a line from Boston to Providence, he himself picked up the risk and set off with it alone ; owing to some failure at first it went by the name of Vail's Folly." H. H. Casson Early in 1877 it was reported that A. C. Harvey, Superintend- ent of the International Telegraph Company, was going to intro- duce to St. Johnsbury the wonderful new invention by which people could talk over electric wires. On the twentieth of July 462 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY that year announcement was made in The Caledonian : "The wonderful telephone has come ; wires are stretched between C. C. Bingham's house and drug store, and conversation is going on. This is a curiosity that will repay investigation." Nine months later connection was made between the drug store and doctors' offices and real business began to be done over the tele- phone, tho at an expense above the reach of the general public. In November, 1879, a transmitter made by S. H. Brackett of the science department of the Academy was mounted on the desk of the South Church pulpit, thro which the entire service, vocal and musical, was distinctly rendered in the pastor's house on Park street. It happened that the sermon that morning was on the theme of new heavens and a new earth, and occasional references to the graphic imagery of the Apocalypse coming over the wire with a weird and far-off effect seemed like new announcements sounding down from another world. This conveyance of a church service over telephone wires attracted wide attention ; it was re- ported by the press all over the country, and gave to St. Johns- bury apparent priority in this particular application of the won- derful new invention. The Brackett telephone however was adjudged an infringement on the Bell patent and was thereafter withdrawn. A telephone exchange was installed in 1880 by C. C. Bing- ham in the corner of his office, which he operated under the original Bell Telephone Company ; he held the rights for Cale- donia county. Prominent citizens at that time doubted its prac- ticability and were slow to take it up, but its value to the doctors was so evident that by the second year there were 35 patrons on the exchange, the annual expense at that date being $25 to each subscriber. Mr. Bingham constructed a line to Newport, another to Bradford and operated the entire system for some years under the New England Telephone Company ; it was not very long be- fore he was talking with Montpelier, Burlington, Sherbrooke, Concord, N. H. On the first day of May, 1907, the Passumpsic Telephone Company was organized and took over property valued at $150,000 which yielded $4514.98 net earnings the first year. Meantime the Citizens Company organized in 1900 by UTILITIES 463 Manager Buzzell connecting towns east and west had been in suc- cessful operation, and its lines were absorbed in 1912 by the Passumpsic Company for $41,250, whose property then stood at a valuation of $336,217.87, on which there was earned the first year a net income of $11,163.09. Important and costly improvements were made the next year, including removal of the poles and laying an underground system of wires along the principal streets of the village. In 1914 there were 1553 telephones operating in the town. wireless The first wireless received in the town was a marconigram from John W. Titcomb to his wife dispatched June 7, 1904 in mid-ocean from the Red Star liner Vaterland. In November, 1910, Herbert Dean Pearl installed a wireless apparatus on a Park street house roof which has rendered messages from points as far distant as Key West and Colon ; it also regularly records the noon hour from the government station at Arlington, Virginia. This instrument is 30 feet long and 75 feet from the ground. Leon Dimick, Corcell Stuart and others have similar lines of their own construction, and a more recent one owned by H. W. Randall is conspicuous on the roof of the brick block at the head of Eastern Avenue. Signals are now caught from ships far out at sea and by a system of relays contact will soon be made with the Pacific coast. ^ STREET LIGHTING Hand lanterns did what they could to lighten the evening path for about ninety years. Originally these were of the punch- ed tin variety with a tallow dip inside and later a whale oil con- tainer; then came the kerosene oil lantern. In 1867, a street lan- tern mounted on a pole was set up by Richard Cook front of the express office near the head of Eastern Avenue. Then David Silsby erected one front of his clothing store on Railroad street, and soon after Howard and Rowell had one up at the corner of Main street and Eastern Avenue. These and possibly some others were after a while taken over by the village corporation, and others were added, till some time during the seventies there were 110 kerosene oil lights on the streets. The lamps were gauged 464 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY to run to a given hour and then die out ; an exception would now and then occur, so that after some bright moonlight night a lamp or two might be seen resolutely delivering its illumination till the middle of the next forenoon. In 1880 the lamps were lighting fifteen streets running from the Advent church to the Fairbanks village school house and the ox barns on Danville road. This gave Uriah Elliott a seven»-mile trip in two sections, one at candle- light to start the lamps, one at bed time to put them out. The expense that year was $447 ; in 1888 it was $695.35 of which $101 was for oil and the balance gave Levi Harlow, the lamplighter, consideration for the necessary tramping, trimming and care of the lamps. That year electricity was introduced and in March, 1889, thirty-five poles were erected and the arc light system installed at the rate of $65 per year for each arc, burning till midnight. The expense of street lighting for the year 1889, three months oil and nine months voltaic arcs, was $1189.63, for 1890, arcs wholly, it was $2101.70. In 1912 there were 100 arc lights doing all night service at $60 each for the year. Both the East and Center Vil- lages and the main road to the latter are electric lighted. FIRE ALARM AND TRUCKS During the old-time fire engine period general alarms were rung from the belfries, engines were pulled up to position, attach- ment made to cisterns and inadequate fire streams pumped on to the blazing buildings. After the aqueduct mains had been laid with hydrants for heavier hose, a new bell of 2100 pounds weight was hung in the Methodist church tower on Central street. The village trustees paid $100 for the right to attach to this bell a fire alarm of modern construction with six alarm boxes. This was in 1875 and the next year seventy hydrants were set up on the vil- lage water system fed by the Flanders pump. That fire bell did service for twenty years, till in 1895 the Gamewell alarm system was installed with a heavy bell owned by the village in the Court House tower, and two smaller ones in Paddock and Fairbanks villages. There were 24 boxes and six gongs on the line ; the expense was $2403.82. UTILITIES 465 trucks The village trustees were empowered in January, 1912, after several years of fruitless agitation and debate, to ex- pend not exceeding $7500 for the purchase of a combination auto- matic fire-truck carrying chemicals. A central station which had also been authorized, was built on Eastern Avenue, and in Au- gust that year the new machine, American-LaFrance pattern, was installed. It was a seventy-horse-power truck carrying an equip- ment of two chemical tanks, total capacity of seventy gallons, 400 feet of chemical hose, extension and roof ladders, and 1000 feet of standard fire hose. Under the hand of demonstrator Ruggles of Elmira its clangorous racket, bright red dress and swift agile action made a sensation on the streets. It took 25 men across the Plain at 47 miles per hour, made the twist up Sand Hill at 12 miles and the slope of Eastern Avenue at 45 miles speed. The superiority of this machine was soon and often tested, its prompt arrival and efficiency at the point of need has averted more than one impending disaster. In January, 1914, the village took additional measures for protection by voting $6000 for a hook and ladder automatic truck and $2500 for the establishment of a telegraph police and fire service. This new truck, the first motor-driven ladder truck in Vermont, takes the place of one which had done good old-fashioned service for twenty years. Like its mate, the chemical truck, it is at maximum a seventy horse-power machine, with rather more than twice its length of wheel base, viz., twenty feet five inches, entire length 42 feet. It carries eight ladders of 212 feet extension, also a forty gallon chemical tank and 220 feet of hose, a life net, and all modern appliances. Four men are housed at the Central station caring for the machines and ready on the instant of alarm to put them at work. In 1895 the Center Village Fire District was incorporated and built the Firemen's Hall near the river; the town the same year appropriated $200 toward the purchase of a new engine which was named the Torrent. Five years later the same amount was appropriated toward the equipment of a fire station and company at the East Village. At the present time the main reliance for protection is on the new trucks at the central fire station. 466 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY DIRECTORIES The first village directory was published in 1875 by W. S. Webb of New York and was sold for half a dollar. There were 26 pages of names including Summerville. At that date there were no house numbers ; an approximate designation was all that could be given, as : — Poland Luke P Prospect St off Main Hall Emerson Main St off Court House Mackinnon Robert clerk Main near Hotel Paddock John H Church Cor Summer Fairbanks Horace W Ave opp Belvidere The next directory was issued by the same publishers in 1881. By this time the telephone had obtained a residence in Bingham's drug store, and the names of 34 subscribers appear : the telephone rates were then from $20 to $30 a year. The directory of 1883 was a home product, published by H. B. Davis and Jesse Gage of the Caledonian Press. House numbers had at this date been mounted on the principal streets, and this gave added value to the lists of residents. Names of all persons over ten years of age were given; of these some one in- terested in feminine names discovered that 215 were answering to the name of Mary. Summerville made a separate list. Successive editions of this directory were issued from the same press in 1885-89-91-93-95-97 and in 1901 Dennis May pub- lished a village and town directory. The Union Publishing Com- pany of Boston in 1897 brought out a directory of this and five neighboring towns, and beginning with 1905 has issued a revised edition of the same every other year to the present time. This is a work of about 333 pages, the price of which is $2.50, and it includes the towns of St. Johnsbury, Barnet, Concord, Danville, Kirby, Lyndon, Waterford. UNITED STATES FISHERIES STATION "Master Corcuelo told me he had an excellent trout, but those who would eat him must pay for him— to which I made answer that the best fish would not be too good for the renowned Gil Bias of Santillane." The Legislature of Vermont in 1890 appropriated funds for a state fish hatchery which in due time was established in the town FISHERIES 467 of Roxbury. Congress, recognizing the practical interest thus manifested by the state, followed it by an appropriation of $15,000 for a Government Fisheries Station. The inspection of various suggested sites resulted in the choice of St. Johnsbury, which had been warmly recommended by Congressman Grout. The spot selected was at the Emerson Falls where Sleeper's River comes foaming down the long rock ledge making in high water the finest cascade in the town. The dam diverting the water flow at the head of the falls was constructed in 1893, and during the following year buildings were erected on the reservation and the culture of lake trout was begun. John W. Titcomb who had been appointed superintendent of construction and of management continued in charge of the station nearly ten years, till his promo- tion in 1902 to the Bureau of Fisheries in Washington. His suc- cessor, Edgar N. Carter, was transferred in 1912 to a station in Georgia, and Albert H. Dinsmore, who had for several years been in charge of the government salmon fisheries of the Puget Sound region, was made superintendent of the St. Johnsbury Station. Subsidiary to this are two other stations, one at Swanton for propagating varieties of perch from Lake Champlain, one at Holden for trout, in charge of Miltimore E. Merrill who was fifteen years in this hatchery. About two million brook trout are handled here annually, and among other varieties of fish, the land-locked salmon and small- mouthed black bass. Distributions of eggs, fry and fingerlings up to two inches long, are made to all the New England states and New York. The latest yearly summary of fish raised and distributed under direction of the St. Johnsbury superintendent is as follows : Species Eggs Fry Fingerlings Total Brook Trout 205,000 1,548,707 384,318 2,138,025 I^ake Trout 16.000 36,000 52,000 Steelhead Trout 80,860 80,860 landlocked Salmon 21,525 21,525 Black Bass 33,000 3,150 36,150 Pike Perch 20,225,000 58,100,000 78,325 000 Yellow Perch 10.000,000 10,000,000 Total 90,653,560 468 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY The process and stages of fish culture are of special interest in the spring- when the eggs are hatching and the fry are in the swimming school aspiring to become fmgerlings ; visitors may- see them any week day between eight and four o'clock. The es- tablishment is controlled by the National Bureau of Fisheries, department of commerce and labor. MODERN CEMETERIES mount pleasant Some while before the question of a site for the Court House had arisen it was evident that the old grave yard of sixty years ago had reached the limit of its capacity and of its good standing in the community. The time had come for more suitable and spacious grounds and public sentiment was ripe for more adequate supervision than the town was was likely to render. Responsible persons accordingly secured an act of incorporation, and on May 20, 1851, the St. Johnsbury Cemetery Association was organized, James K. Colby, President, Ephraim Jewett, Secretary. The charter provided for an issue of 100 shares at $6 a share ; of these 97 shares were taken by 78 subscribers, including nearly all the principal citizens of the Plain and vicinity. The name adopted was Mount Pleasant Cemetery. The shares of original stock having been applied to starting the enterprise, no more were issued and since then there have been no stockholders. In May, 1852, a tract of eight acres was purchased of Lam- bert Hastings for $450, which included the portion now lying nearest the gateway, and later the same season a strip was an- nexed from Ephraim Jewett's pasture adjoining the highway farther up. During the next summer additional land to the north- ward was acquired of Lambert Hastings. Seven men purchased lots appraised at $1814 and from that time on the increasing de- mand has necessitated successive enlargements of the grounds. The situation was felicitious in every particular ; being ele- vated, dry, easily accessible ; its slopes and levels adapted to artistic treatment, commanding wide and varied landscape views. In 1875, it was said by a writer in the Lowell Citizen that "Mount Pleasant Cemetery is among the best in New England CEMETERIES 469 outside suburban districts ; commanding hill and dale, lawn and woodland in happy combination, and has a natural observatory from the summit with charming outlook over the town, the river, the mountains and the verdant valley of the Passumpsic." The grounds were laid out under direction of J. H. Sackett, landscape architect, of Springfield, Mass., in the spring of 1853 ; the dedi- catory services were held on the second day of June that year, including scripture readings, prayer of dedication and address by Rev. W. B. Bond. At the sale of lots in 1853 the first choice was bid by Ephraim Jewett and at his death in 1866 he left $100 for the perpetual care of his family lot. This suggested the desirability of a permanent fund for this purpose which it was hoped might reach $3000 or more. The next year $500 was offered by one of the Trustees for this fund ; before 1890 it had reached $3006 as originally hoped for ; in 1900 it was $5700 and in 1912 it had increased to $22,710 mostly in sums ranging from $50 to $200. The Trustees are obligated to apply the income from these sums to the perpetual care of the lots so endowed, keeping the principal intact and securely in- vested. The general expense of upkeep and improvement of the Cemetery is met by the sale of lots. The Association is com- posed of lot-owners who choose to be enrolled as members ; at the annual meeting in May seven Trustees are appointed who serve without remuneration, charged with the administration of funds, property and general management ; there are no profits to any one. The acreage was doubled in 1888 by the inclusion of the large tract north and east, in addition to the recently acquired pasture extending to the Hastings Hill road. Ten years later the Lodge was built as a residence for the Superintendent. A re- ceiving vault and pavilion was constructed by E. & T. Fairbanks & Co. in 1870 at an expense of $2955 ; an additional sum of $2^00 was expended upon it in 1907, when it was rebuilt, enlarged and modernized, and later the steel fence on the highway was erected. William C. Arnold was Superintendent 15 years from 1856, Wil- liam Green 20 years from 1871, A. D. Nelson four years till his 470 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY death in 1896, Alfred Guild 13 years till 1911, and S. D. Atwood since that date. Not long after the opening of Mount Pleasant two of the active incorporators were carried to their burial, Dr. Calvin Jewett and Joseph P. Fairbanks ; the shapely marble block at the grave of the latter was a noticeable variation on the old uniform style of upright headstones. Near by is the rocky knoll sug- gestive of the ancient Machpelah, where Thaddeus Fairbanks, the patriarch of the town, received burial in 1887, after many years of valuable service to the cemetery as its president. Near the center of the original grounds is the granite shaft raised by the trustees and alumni of the Academy to the honored memory of Principal Colby. A massive block of granite near the west highway marks the lot of Judge Poland ; a few steps above it is the upright marble stone that carries the name of Jonathan Arnold ; the height of land is crowned with a group of artistic monuments and sculptured figures. The most conspicuous object in the cemetery is the granite obelisk of the Ide family erected in 1893, a mono- lith of 35 tons that rises 32 feet from its base. Near this is the lot presented by the Association in 1886 to the Grand Army vet- erans, who placed upon it the figure of the soldier with his rifle. Along the entire stretch of this newer part of the cemetery are sunny terraces adorned with shrubbery and stones of tasteful design and finish. forest grove, east village This property is held by the Association of that name, organized in 1857. The trustees purchased the grounds for $600 giving their personal notes there- for. The old burial ground was on the slope of the hill as one enters the village from the west ; removals from this spot to the new grounds were immediately made, a receiving vault was con- structed and $300 expended for a village hearse. Family monu- ments costing ten to fifteen hundred dollars have been erected ; there is a good water supply brought down 194 rods from a clear spring. The location is well chosen, near the town line adjoining Kirby, overlooking Moose River with glimpses of the village lower down. CEMETERIES 471 ST. johnsbury center cemetery Under this name the Association was formed in 1864, empowered to hold nine acres. The Act was amended in 1906 allowing ownership of fifty acres and other property to the amount of $20,000. It was also made possible to assess a lot tax not exceeding $3 any one year upon lot proprietors for the purchase of additional grounds, improving and embellishing the same and defraying necessary expense of care and management. A receiving vault was constructed, and there were some removals from the old church yard. This ceme- tery is well cared for and is finely situated half a mile above the village on a pleasant slope looking down on the valley of the Pas- sumpsic. mount calvary cemetery The first Catholic burial place was on the steep hillside between Caledonia street and the river. In 1863, a stranger standing on the platform of the passenger station remarked on the pleasing appearance of the spot, the ter- races, with green fronts rising one above another on which were the beds where sleep the dead. The place however was too con- tracted and otherwise not suitable. The site for a new cemetery was accordingly secured, including most of the old Fair Grounds of 1855, on the plain above Paddock Village. To this place in October, 1876, went a procession of 1500 people from Notre Dame church, led by the cross bearer, acolytes and school children for the dedication service. The address in French was given by Rev. C. A. Beaudien of Montreal, in English by Rev. Father Boisson- nault. To the memory of the latter, revered for his 35 years' ministry in Notre Dame parish, a memorial was erected in the center of the grounds in 1911. A group of figures represents the Virgin Mother and St. John with the kneeling Magdalene, above which rises to a height of 22 feet the figure of the Saviour on the cross. The service of dedication was impressive, held on Mem- orial Day in the presence of 2000 people. The bronze figures were brought from France. Of the fifteen revolutionary soldiers who were among the early settlers of the town, one lies in Forest Grove, four in the enclosure above Goss Hollow, five in the two Center Village 472 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY grounds, six in Mount Pleasant. In 1910 the number buried in this town who had participated in the five several wars was 204; of whom 118 were in the armies of the civil war. The graves of all alike are marked with flags and with the special honors of Dec- oration Day. The area of Mount Pleasant Cemetery grounds at the pres- ent time is about fifty acres. CEMETERY The word is significant and historically interesting. The early Christians were accustomed to think of death as a sleep and of the place of burial as a coemeterium, that is a place of sleep, of repose and rest in God. It was brightened with in- scriptions of hope and cheer from the New Testament. The cemeterial eels of the ancient Christians, said Sir Thomas Browne, were filled with draughts of Scripture. This, as well as the for- mal dedication and the memory of sainted lives combined to make the place of burial hallowed in popular thought and in literature. "In the holie grounds called the Semitory Hard by the place where Kynge Arthur was founde." XXXIV BUSINESS NOTES Brief notes are here given relating to industry and trade subsequent to the period covered by the earlier narrative ; it is not possible to include all that might well merit attention ; space is given to some that have attained long standing or considerable proportions or a bit of novelty. hoes and forks The Moose River Works, so called, estab- lished in 1848 by Geo. W. Ely, were founded on the earlier manufacture of hoes and forks by the Fairbanks Brothers prior to 1830, when such articles were hammered out by hand on the anvil. The business as carried on and perfected by the Ely family has had an honorable history of 66 years and its products are widely distributed throughout the country. Garden and farm implements of many varieties are brought out thro a process of trip-hammering, rolling, plating, tempering, grinding, polishing, mounting. Formerly two car-loads a year of Nova Scotia grind- stones were used up in the works, these have been superseded by a new process of forging developed in this factory and now gen- erally adopted elsewhere. As many as a thousand tools may be produced in a day, they are noted for shapeliness and durability and have won many premiums. In 1868 they were awarded first prizes at the state fairs of Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri ; at the latter tests were made that called out the following paragraph in the Daily Herald: "We do not know but St. Johnsbury will become as famous for its hoes and forks as for its platform scales. In Agricultural Hall we saw the exhibit- or of the Ely forks stick the tines into a board and literally twist them one over the other like a string, as soon as released they would fly back to the 474 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY original position. He also put the tines under heavy weights to straighten them out, after which they instantly came back to their correct curve. Hoes were tested in the same way, sticking the blade into a board and bending it back almost to a semi-circle but without the least injury. These are without exception the best articles of the kind we have ever seen; they are the con- stant wonder and admiration of the crowds who gather to see them tested." The principal distribution has been in New England and vi- cinity, but in remote parts of this country as well as in Europe, South America and other foreign lands these St. Johnsbury im- plements are doing their good share of the world's work. Fire destroyed the factory in 1859, again in 1895, but new and better buildings were immediately erected. In 1893, the power was re- inforced by a new dam and steam engine of fifty-horse power, and in 1905 an electric current of a hundred-horse power was in- stalled. The Ely company, of which Henry G. Ely has been for 35 years president, was taken over in 1902 by the American Fork and Hoe company with principal offices at Cleveland, Ohio. This corporation has a capital of $4,800,000, it embraces a dozen dif- ferent factories and controls a considerable part of the present output in the country. grain and milling business The McLeod Mills On the spot where Jonathan Arnold put up the first grist mill in 1787, was the old brown mill built by Capt. James Ramsey in 1817 and rebuilt in 1842, subsequently owned and operated by W. D. Rob- inson, and finally purchased in 1871 by Angus H. McLeod of Ottawa. He increased the plant from three to six run of stones and the storage capacity from 2000 to 20,000 bushels, erecting new buildings with modern machinery and fixtures. Within ten years the annual business rose to $70,000 with an annual freight expense of $18,000 ; the facilities were such that a car-load of grain could be unloaded, ground and reloaded in half a day. At that time the grinding and marketing of western corn and wheat was the principal feature of the business ; owing to new pro- cesses adopted in the western mills this was finally discontinued and entire attention given to the manufacture of feeds. The McLeod Milling Company, incorporated 1893 with capital of $55,000, was purchased by the Brooks Brothers in 1910, Jonas BUSINESS NOTES 475 H. Brooks, president; there is an annual marketing of feeds amounting to 40,000 tons. Elevator A has tour floors of 60 by 102 feet with capacity for 25,000 bushels of grain ; there are five grinding rolls fed by water from a nine-foot head which will grind 2000 bushels a day. Elevator B has a floor space of 29,000 square feet and will accommodate 135 carloads of grain, about 2000 tons; the flag staff carries the flag 95 feet from the ground. This es- tablishment has an element of interest as showing on the identi- cal spot the evolution of the first mill that ground corn in the town a century and a quarter ago. The Ide Mills In 1879 St. Johnsbury became headquarters of the flour milling business established 1813 at Passumpsic Vil- lage by Timothy Ide, continued by his son Jacob and by his grandson Elmore T. Ide, who became manager in 1861. In 1866 the partnership of E. T. and H. K. Ide was formed with $50,000 capital, and this management continued till the death of the latter in 1897. The tract of about three acres, partly swamp land on the west bank of the mill pond, was acquired, reclaimed and connected by the new Bay street with Eastern avenue and Portland street ; this provided ample ground for new buildings. The mill at Pas- sumpsic having burned a new one was purchased at Lyndon Falls. This presently met the same fate, after which those water priv- ileges were sold and a large new mill was built on Bay street in 1906, also a circular corn bin of 12,000 bushels capacity. The elevator building previously erected stands 50 feet high with four floors of 50 by 80 feet, adjoining it is a coal plant with pockets into which 1500 tons of coal may be dumped from the cars. The old Passumpsic water privilege which cost $1200 in 1813 was sold to the Electric Company for $15,000, and from that place, three miles down the river, power is now delivered at the Ide mill on Bay Street thro seven electric motors 132 horse power. There are in the building three roller mills each three pair high, three attrition mills, eight grain elevators, automatic power shovel, automatic weighing machine and all modern equipments, making it possible to grind 3000 bushels of grain per day, and to store 30,000 bushels of bulk grain and 1000 tons of sacked flour and feed. This is the only business in the town which has been con- 476 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY tinuously in one family for the period of a century, viz., 66 years in Passumpsic, 34 years in St. Johnsbury. Griswold and Mackinnon The first wholesale establishment in the town was opened in 1850 by Ephraim Chamberlin in the building 50 by 100 feet on the site now occupied by the Swift Brothers just north of the passenger station. Grain, flour, hardware, oils and other commodities were dealt in and the busi- ness was a large and profitable one. From 1860 till 1878 it was owned and conducted by Joel Fletcher and his sons, then by Gris- wold and Mackinnon and Pearl ; but meantime the hardware de- partment had been purchased by William Wilder. Fire destroyed the old building in 1892, and the new Griswold-Mackinnon ware- house for handling grain was erected on upper Railroad street. This is a building of four floors equipped with elevator and hop- per bins and with the annex has a mill capacity of 1500 tons of grain. The mixing plant handles two carloads of grain per day, and the annual business approximates a million dollars. Mr. Mackinnon's connection with the business covers 41 years. That three large wholesale grain establishments planted within half a mile of each other should be carrying on for so many years a constantly growing and profitable business amounting collectively to as much as three million dollars, is an unusual circumstance ; it certifies to a high order of business management and makes St. Johnsbury the leading grain distribut- ing center in this part of the country. iron works The blast furnace and iron works founded by Huxham Paddock in 1828 were continued by John C. and John H. Paddock for nearly a quarter century ; then successively by Alex- ander Thompson, Daniel Thompson, O. W. Orcutt, Luke Buzzell, Michael Hynes, O. V. Hooker and Frank B. Hooker as O. V. Hooker & Son. The old machine shop was bought by the Hookers in 1878. Starting in a small way with one lathe they have enlarged the business interests until today their patented saw sharpeners, saw mills, felt tighteners, and other products are shipped all over the world. Here were made the first Dupont Power Hammers and Howard Saw Tables, both St. Johnsbury BUSINESS NOTES 477 inventions. The partnership of O. V. Hooker & Son was incor- porated in 1912 with $50,000 paid capital and since that time much new machinery has been added ; electricity for power and light- ing is furnished from their own generators ; in the new power house is installed the Sampson-Lefell water wheel of 112 horse- power and 15 tons weight, also an air-compressor which distrib- utes pneumatic power in the granite works. brick and stone work Early brick making has been described on pages 141 and 194. The Bagley brick works were established in 1810 by Mr. Bagley, who came from Weare, N. H., his son, Ira Bagley, born here in 1813, continued the business thro his life time on the plain above Paddock Village. He made all the brick now in the Court House, the first Catholic church, the Union school house and the Athenaeum. The brick yards of Sandford and Lewis Thayer on the Danville road above the pres- ent dry-bridge did a brisk business during the thirties. In 1870 Major Bowman and his son Thomas bought twelve acres on the river bank above the village water works on which was laid out a floor for making ordinary and also hard-pressed brick of su- perior quality ; these were used in the construction of the Under- clyffe home and other buildings of that period. Millions of brick of high quality were made here, the expenditure for labor the first nine years was $25,000; from this kiln in October, 1882, there were turned out 400,000 brick, the largest single bunch ever produced in the town; a good proportion of them went in to the new school building on Summer street ; comparatively few brick are now made in the town. Granite and Marble. All the early stone work of the town was in marble, which was made up into head stones ; there were sheds for this purpose at the Center Village and on the Plain. Ex- cellent and elaborate work in marble has been done for many years by the Bennetts and others, but since the opening of the quarries in Ryegate granite work has become much the more important. The St. Johnsbury Granite Company was founded in 1867 by Peter B. Laird, enlarged and reorganized in 1874, and the prod- ucts of Granite Square obtained high recognition. Statuary came to be an important feature. This was done at first by 478 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Italians. Some 25 statues a year were being made in the early eighties ; these were distributed in most of the Atlantic states as far down as South Carolina ; some are in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. The fireman's monument of Rochester, N. Y., was made at a cost of $7000, the granite figure of a fireman in full uniform was nine feet in height erected 48 feet above the ground. After the Laird Brothers retired the Carrick Brothers con- tinued to operate on Granite Square and some important orders were executed by them. One was the Vermont Gettysburg monument, a Corinthian column of 35 tons weight modeled after the Lord Nelson shaft in Trafalgar Square, London ; surmounting this is the bronze statue heroic size of Major General Stannard rising to a height of 66 feet. The order received in 1886 from Camden, Arkansas, for a confederate monument to be made in the St. Johnsbury granite works is worthy of record. The weight of a granite sarcophagus made for Greenwood Cemetery was 120 tons ; the receptacle was 16 by 18 feet with bronze doors and columns of polished granite. Monumental structures of large proportions have not been produced in recent years, but a brisk and profitable business of perhaps $100,000 in granite has been continuously carried on by various owners. carriages The Miller Wagon business which originated in Lyndon during the forties was removed to St. Johnsbury in 1862 and for fifty years under management of Miller and Ryan was among the important industries of the town. Carriage making required the skilled hand of four different trades — wheelwright, blacksmith, painter and trimmer ; master workmen were employed and the Miller wagons came to high rank everywhere for their superiority; "a well known Vermont institution, good for mill or for meeting, for pleasure and for service." All varieties were made and the yearly output would reach 200 wheeled vehicles and 50 sleighs, representing a $25,000 business. Following the death of both proprietors the business was discontinued and the large building, a notable landmark on Railroad Street, which had for half a century been sending out its contribution to the running activities of the road, was transformed into a garage for vehicles of a quite different type. BUSINESS NOTES 479 file works James and Charles Nutt of England set up works near the old steam mill in 1860 for re-cutting files. This was a peculiar process requiring expert training and skill. The files were subjected to a ten-hour bath in furnaces to draw the temper, then ground to a level surface, in doing which a two-ton grindstone would be used up in a few months ; cutting the teeth was a work of extreme nicity and precision, followed by final hardening in crucibles of melted lead and chemical cooling solu- tions. These files were of all shapes and sizes — fiat, round, three-cornered, long, short, thick, thin, of weight from one ounce to five pounds. For more than 23 years the Nutts of three gen- erations cut files for the Fairbanks scale works — 36,520 files in the year 1880 ; they also cut files for the Howe Scale Works ; for the pistol works in Worcester and for other factories in New England and Canada. belknap works Amos K. Belknap, after seven years as apprentice under Samuel Crossman, surpassed his master, became the most expert blacksmith in this part of the world and stood vigorously at his anvil when nearly eighty years of age. He was famous for edge-tools, would make as many as 300 axes a year, produced the first cast steel welding done in the town. Belknap- ville at the little water power on Sleeper's river south of the Plain acquired distinction for nice work in iron, steel or brass. John Belknap, son of Amos, keen and skilful, bred to the trade, surpassed the father in ingenuity. He was capable of readily producing any desired article, from a plain edged tool to a well bored and mounted rifle, a nice machine or powerful water wheel. Something like 100,000 Belknap knife blades were in use in most of the northern and western states ; an average of 100 blades a week were made and sold at a quarter of a dollar each ; $25 worth of steel would yield $1400 of knife blades. The John Belknap water-wheel much in demand, was the ultimate product of 41 different models which he constructed. He built the dam on Passumpsic river south of the Fair Grounds over which he was swept by the current of high water and drowned. other novelties Aeolicons. These were manufactured by Gilbert and Spencer during the fifties in considerable quantities ; 480 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY they were then a popular musical instrument; now and then a lonely survivor may be seen at the present day. Shoe Pegs. In 1864 Napoleon Flint and Israel P. Magoon were manufacturing shoe pegs in Summerville at the rate of sixty bushels of pegs a day. Hoop Skirts. A factory for making hoop-skirts was in operation on Railroad street above the old Passumpsic House as late as 1868. Archaeologists of future generations desiring to know just what the products of that establishment were, can excavate the mounds of rubbish now buried in various parts of the village. Saw Horses. Colby and Gay manufactured saw-horses that folded up like a jack knife ; they worked up two million feet of lumber into these convenient horses in 1867, the merits of which were appreciated by one firm in Boston to whom 6000 of them were sent. Threshing Machines. B. F. Rollins began with making half a dozen of these machines a year in the early sixties ; to meet the demand he soon had to build five times that number. Tobacco. Roederer was turning out 30,000 cigars a month in 1880. Bed Frames. Out of four million feet of lumber Jovite Pinard in 1887 got 10,000 bedsteads and 500 chamber sets, not to mention other products. Mineral Spring. The sulphur water of Asisqua Spring, pumped up, charged, bottled and distributed by Capt. E. L. Hovey in 1895, brought in $1400 that year from people of this and other towns who did not go to Saratoga or Brunswick Springs. milk, meat and medicine In the good old times when pasturage was abundant on or near the Plain almost anybody could have a cow and the land flowed with milk if not with honey. After the opening of the railroad, William Green, who had the care of J. P. Fairbanks' herd of cows, began delivering a few cans of milk from the farm wagon which was driven around the village by John Green, in later years a victim of Andersonville prison pen. This was the first regular distribution of milk in the town other than the neighborhood supplies carried by hand in pails or cans. It was some years before a real milk wagon made its appearance ; since then the number has multiplied with the de- creasing pasturage and increasing population, till at the present time there are ten or more daily traversing their routes. The Pen- BUSINESS NOTES 481 nimans for more than 30 years, and A. F. Lawrence for many years, have been large dealers, delivering from one to two hun- dred quarts a day each ; also Higgins, Grady, Ladd and others ; the total daily delivery is estimated at about 2800 quarts. Meat was formerly bought of the farmer and a family supply for the winter was put down in nature's cold storage. The meat cart and pedler's cart were contemporaneous, the latter distribut- ing tin ware, brooms, goose wings and sundry notions in exchange for rags ; (a man universally respected for his character and commiserated for his obstinate stutter was James Wheaton of the Center Village ; his brawny figure perched on the high cart fringed with brooms was a familiar feature of the road over which he jogged for so many years.) The first meat market was open- ed in 1850 by Augustus Sanborn in the basement of the Brown block on the Plain ; at that time there was not another one nearer than Montpelier or Lancaster. Harvey Gilman took it next, then Lambert Hastings, H. S. Wright, Leonard Penniman, and others in the same place down to the present time. In 1858, R. B. Flint and A. M. Daniels opened a market on Railroad street ; among others of later date in the same business were A. M. Cook, Jarvis Bartlett, William Daniels, Sylvester and Gray. The local branch of Swift Brothers was established here in 1893, with a refrigerator capacity of two car loads of dressed beef, cooled by a semi-annual deposit of 180 tons of ice. Refrigeration is now secured without ice by the ammonia process ; there is an annual business of about $400,000, C. W. Steele, manager. Live stock operations by Lambert Hastings had acquired proportions even before railroad transportation began, see page 226 ; Bela B. Hastings carried on the business with increasing volume. Current transactions in live stock of W. A. Ricker in- cluded last year 12,223 cattle, 30,542 calves, 11,602 sheep, 14,581 swine, together with 50,000 pounds of wool, a total valuation of $1,140,607.60. Bakery. As the so-called staff of life, bread was entirely a kitchen product and crackers a Boston importation till the sum- mer of 1851 when John S. Carr began bakery operations on a small scale in the old Major Peck building of 1799. The business 482 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY was carried on by different parties for fifteen years, then pur- chased by George H. Cross who continued it forty-five years, during which time it expanded from the making up of three barrels of flour a day, to a daily manufacture of seven times that amount of flour, plus a ton of confectionery. The new establishment on Railroad street is considered one among the best in New England. St. Johnsbury bakery products from these ovens and others are distributed in nearly every town within a radius of sixty miles or more. Medicine. The little apothecary or medicine shop of Dr. Luther Jewett near where the Academy now is, had a tolerably ample assortment of drugs, as shown on page 229 ; the establish- ment was moved after some years into the building more recently known as the Cross bakery ; while there it was purchased by J. C. Bingham and continued to be for thirty years the only drug store in the town. The remembrance of this druggist as he stood among the rows of jars carefully pouring paregoric or whatever else into a phial, is interesting — his gaunt figure and peculiar physiognomy made attractive by high worth of character and gentle courtesy. The business descended to his son Charles ; this store ranks all others of the town in point of age and has been continuously in the same family. Physicians. Following Dr. Jewett came Dr. J. P. Bancroft in 1847 ; ten years later he was called to take the superintendency of the New Hampshire asylum for the insane at Concord, in which position he was succeeded by his son Charles, a native of this town. He built the house at the east end of Prospect street, now the Notre Dame rectory, owned afterward by Dr. Selim Newell who was for many years one of the most eminent physicians in this region. Other doctors well known or long resident were H. S. Browne, S. T. Brooks, Gates B. Bullard, J. D. Folsom, H. C. Newell, J. R. Nelson, T. R. Stiles, J. E. Hartshorn— Sanborn, Houghton, Cushing and Sparhawk were homeopathists. Of seven- teen physicians now in active practice, two are women, Alice E. Wakefield, Charlotte Fairbanks ; four have a professional record in medicine and surgery of twenty years or more in the town, W. J. Aldrich, J. M. Alien, C. A. Cramton, E. H. Ross. BUSINESS NOTES 483 Few towns the size of St. Johnsbury are favored with so many specialists and surgeons of superior skill and hospital facilities so finely equipped. Dentists. The first dentists were the Kilbourne Brothers, who in 1850 began operations in a small room over Frank Brown's store ; H. H. Newton was next in the line. J. L. Perkins' dental rooms in the south corner of the brick block were a familiar fea- ture of the place for forty years ; G. F. Cheney has been nearly the same length of time in practice ; also R. W. Warner, and the profession is well represented by more recent comers. Lawyers. It was reported that St. Johnsbury in 1849 had the services of only one lawyer, Judge Paddock. Whether this indi- cated a non-litigatious condition just then prevailing does not appear, it may have simply happened to be so. The growing town however required more legal talent and the demand has always been abundantly and ably supplied. Among its citizens the town has had lawyers of high character and distinction, not- ably the two chief justices, Poland and Ross. Of the seventeen lawyers now in residence, Elisha May and Marshall Montgomery, both army veterans, are also the veterans of the legal fraternity — old war-horses of the bar who have survived forty-eight years of law-battles or peaceful adjustments. The town has sound and able lawyers and the fraternal spirit alluded to at the banquet in the St. Johnsbury House, 1856, as noted on page 268, still prevails. mercantile Dry Goods. The designation of some goods as dry apparently originated in the days when textile fabrics were carried by merchants in the same store with fluids like molasses, rum and vinegar — the sign over the door indicated the two main departments of dry goods and groceries. Among the first strictly dry goods dealers were Samuel Jewett and Samuel Higgins, later N. M. Johnson, whose successors were H. H. Carr and L. P. Leach ; but for a good many years the combination of dry goods and groceries continued. The largest stock was in the old Fair- banks store near the scale works, founded in the early forties and burned in 1889. Three years later the dry goods department was installed in the new brick block adjoining the St. Johnsbury 484 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY House, which gave 25,000 square feet floor space. James Ritchie was manager ; later this became the Brooks-Tyler, and now is the Berry-Ball dry goods store. That store when first opened in 1892, together with the finely appointed establishment of Lougee and Smythe on Railroad street already two years in high repute, gave the town a sort of metropolitan rank in the quality, bulk and variety of dry goods transactions. In 1850, Wm. H. Horton re- cently from England, established the first tailoring house in the town, in a small white building where the Merchants Bank now is ; he continued in the business about forty years ; in that store was a glass show-case, a novelty at that time which attracted at- tention. Not long after, Joseph Boles opened a similar store in Union Block on the Plain. This was before the era of men's fur- nishing establishments like those of Steele-Taplin, Moore, and others that are adding much to the business importance of the town today. There are some business houses of long standing. The vet- eran among merchants is T. M. Howard who opened a bookstore in 1852 ; prior to that time George and Plummer Downing were repairing watches and dealing in small jewelry near the St. Johns- bury House. Mr. Howard in 1856 purchased their business which he combined with books, continued it first in the Gilson building, then after 1870 in the new brick block on the same site, where it is now known as the Randall and Whitcomb store. The large and choice assortments of jewelry and other wares in Thad- deus C. Spencer's store were hastily rescued from the flames that swept Railroad Street in 1892 ; four years after he lost his life in the Avenue House fire ; his successors today are Lurchin & Lurchin, the business dating back somewhat more than forty years. Geo. P. Moore is the merchant of longest record in that part of the village, now nearing the half century mark. The Edson Randall store, now in its thirty-sixth year, is in the block built by his father, Sias Randall, sixty years ago when the lot was purchased for $200 and the first drug store on that street was opened. C. A. Calderwood bought the furniture house founded by Justus Burnham in 1851 and has continued it nearly forty years ; for about the same period A. L. Bailey has been supply- BUSINESS NOTES 485 ing musical instruments and the Estabrooks store distributing dry goods and groceries. C. A. Stanley inherits the furniture business of Thomas L. and S. W. Hall which began in 1850 in the basement of the old Ephraim Jewett store now standing in the rear of the Berry-Ball block. On the east side of Main Street four men in four stores in a row are in the second quarter-century of their business, Bundy, Goodrich, Brown and Flint. When the Union Block was built in 1854, David Boynton set up there the first hardware store in the town ; later hardware men were Capt. C. F. Spaulding, Fayette Fletcher, C. P. Carpenter in the Gil- son building, then standing on the Pythian Hall corner, also H. J. Goodrich, whose iron ware, heating and plumbing business is now in its thirty-seventh year. The C. H. Goss Company with specialties in steam fitting, has had rapid expansion, doing an an- nual business of about $300,000, retail and wholesale. This house is one of the most extensive in the state ; its heating plants are installed in many public buildings here and elsewhere. The Goss garage and warehouse, a modern structure of concrete and iron, has fifteen plate glass windows, some measuring nearly ten by ten feet and containing 10,000 pounds of glass. This building dignifies a corner formerly distinguished for unsightliness, and is hardly surpassed for its purposes in New England. Another spa- cious, finely equipped establishment is the new Wright garage on Railroad street. Of fifty business offices in the town, nearly all have high standing in the community, many have a most creditable past record, some have large out-of-town patronage, few only can be included in this brief sketch. lumber and construction The most extensive lumber dressing plant was that established in 1881 by the Northern Lum- ber Company with mills in Granby and St. Johnsbury wherein ten million feet of logs were manufactured yearly ; C. H. Stevens president since 1890. The Paddock Village mills were dressing a good deal of lumber from an early period, also the Moose River mill in Summerville built by Jonathan Lawrence in 1854, the business of which has been profitably continued by Moses Barrett, J. S. Parker, E. L. Hovey, W. L. Russell, C. C. Follensby. As many as thirty or forty teams used to be seen at 486 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY a time on a winter day around the yard ; in 1904 a million and a half feet of lumber were sawed and sold here. The town has had capable contractors and builders. Horace Carpenter built the Pinehurst residence and the South Church in 1851-52. Lambert Packard was for 24 years architect and builder for the Fairbanks Company. He constructed the brick buildings of the Academy, the Athenaeum, the Y. M. C. A., the residences of Underclyrle and Brantview ; he was the designer and builder of the North Church and the Museum. W. J. Bray, Horace Ran- dall, A. L. Bragg, Matthew Caldbeck built many of the substantial business blocks and private residences ; Wm McFarlin, Joseph Brunelle, James Foye are well-known contractors. With the ex- ception of the Notre Dame Church, Brightlook and the Masonic Temple most of the important buildings of the town represent the designs and construction work of our own citizens. woodwork Besides the iron-works at Paddock Village a large amount of wood-working has added to the hum of industry around the old Arnold Falls. Joseph Hancock's furniture of early years was equal to the best in style and finish. Ramsey, Morris, Rollins, Randall, Carpenter, L. O. Stevens, Severance, Orcutt, Pinard, Galer, Lynch, Jones and Shields are names well known as manufacturers of furniture, sash, doors, blinds, house finish and specialties in woodwork which have added to the business standing of the town. The output of these miscel- laneous products in 1900 was valued at $75,000. modern conveniences Ice. When so much good ice was running to waste every spring it seems surprising that our ances- tors were content to cool their butter by depositing it under the well-curb or on the earth floor of the cellar, instead of utilizing nature's cooling material. Small bins for ice began to be built in the woodsheds before 1850, but regular business in ice was not taken up till long after. As late as 1880 there was one ice wagon running in the village, making three trips a week. It requires four wagons running every day to supply present day demands during the summer months. In 1907, Menut and Parks put up a plant for the manufacture of hygienic ice ; the product was superior but as the expense exceeded the income, the making of a BUSINESS NOTES 487 high grade of ice was abandoned and the proprietors returned to nature for their supplies. They harvest about 3500 tons in the winter, of which 1200 tons or more are distributed to patrons ; a large percentage of the ice is lost by the summer shrinkage. The annual business is about $5500 — ice being delivered at rates rang- ing from 25 to 30 cents per hundred weight. It is interesting to know that St. Johnsbury is the place where the true principle of refrigerator construction, now in uni- versal use, was first discovered and applied. This fact was estab- lished in 1871 when the court sitting in New York City ruled that what was then claimed by certain parties for a patent right had been long before applied in this town — "evidence is conclusive," said the Judge, "of the construction both in 1846 and in 1849 by Thaddeus Fairbanks, of refrigerators embodying the invention set forth in his application for a patent, and that these refrigera- tors continued in practical use and are produced in evidence in this case." The principle in question consisted in placing the ice above the food cabinet, thus securing a down-flow of dry, cool air. Mr. Fairbanks having neither time nor money for promoting his invention relinquished his rights ; in process of time they were valued at a million dollars. Gas. Somewhile after 1850 the Fairbanks Company installed a gas plant for supplying light in their scale shops and residences. A few years later the pipe line was extended up Western Avenue for the benefit of the South Church and some other buildings; later still most of the public buildings on the Plain were lighted from this plant until the introduction of electricity. An effective and brilliant illumination was that of the Athenaeum on the even- ing of its dedication in November, 1871. In 1906, the St. Johns- bury Gas Company was organized, Geo. W. Cross president, and a plant was erected near the mouth of Sleeper's River. The pro- prietors were exceedingly generous ; pipe lines were laid thro the principal streets of the village and patrons were provided with service piping, gas ranges and meters free of cost at an ex- pense to the company of $125,000. The product of this plant is carbureted water gas made from crude oil and broken coal, used mostly on the cooking ranges ; the price is $1.20 to $1.50 per 488 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY thousand cubic feet according to the monthly amounts drawn from the meter ; the total yearly consumption is about fifteen million cubic feet. Electricity, The St. Johnsbury Electric Light and Power Company organized May 1888, was re-organized in 1891 with $50,000 capital, at which time there were on the streets 50 arc lights of 2000 candle power each, and for in-door use 36 arcs and 750 incandescents, on a circuit of 35 miles of wire. There are now 80 arcs and about 36,000 incandescent lamps, the circuit being 122 miles. This Company owns four power stations — one at the Belknap dam below the Fair Grounds, one at Passumpsic village, one at the Center, one east of the railroad station ; these four com- prise all the water powers of this vicinity on Passumpsic river with the exception of the Paddock village falls. The plant was pur- chased in 1913 by the Twin State Gas and Electric Company. photography The old-time Daguerreotype Car, painted white, sky-lighted, drawn by four horses, used to appear periodi- cally on our streets prior to 1850, and all the sun-pictures of that period were taken under its glass dome; there are still a few surviving specimens of 1849 that were printed in the Brooks car from Boston, which was moored a little way below the old burial ground. The pioneer daguerreotypist who obtained a residence was F. B. Gage whose St. Johnsbury Portrait Gallery was opened 1851 in the Emerson Hall building then standing on the Athenaeum site. He was ingenious, painstaking and skilful as an artist, with a touch of eccentricity and droll humor ; he styled himself The-Old-Daguerreen, The-Man-with-the-long-flowing-Beard, crea- tor of Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Statutypes, Colorotypes ; he took first premiums at the County Fairs and diversified the columns of the Caledonian with his whimsical verse. The lines here given were entitled BUSINESS NOTES 489 & SO FORTH & SO ON BY THE FLOWING BEARD How swiftly the moments of life hurry on, Nor slow forth nor slow on, But swift as the tide of a swift rushing river They flow forth & flow on & so forth & so on. Then O, as you row down the River of Life, As you row forth & row on, Have your likeness preserved in a case or a frame To show forth and show on & so forth & so on. And e'en though the weather be cloudy or fair Or snow forth & snow on, And e'en though the tempest should rise in its wrath & blow forth & blow on, We'll take you a picture you won't be ashamed When you go forth & go on To show forth & show on & so forth & so on. The Gage gallery in Brown's block at the time of his death, was purchased by Geo. H. Hastings and has descended thro suc- cessive owners to W. H. Jenks, the present proprietor. Long time photographers on Eastern Avenue were T. C. Haynes and C. H. Clark. A photographic artist of eminence was D. A. Clif- ford over the Post Office block, who died in 1889. For 47 years he had kept himself master of every known process of his art. Among 167 exhibitors, English and American, at the Lambert ex- position in New York 1878, the first prize for large carbon work was awarded D. A. Clifford of St. Johnsbury, Vt., and two of his pictures were kept by Mr. Lambert as specimens of American photography to be exhibited in England. Clifford was for sev- eral years, until his death, vice-president of the American Photog- raphers Association ; for his enthusiasm in the art he was called among the members the old war horse from Vermont ; it was agreed that his landscape pictures were adding much to the popu- lar fame of Green Mountain scenery, chiefly of this immediate vicinity. 490 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY newspapers The Farmer's Herald and The Caledonian have already come under review on pages 184 and 219. Complete files of both are preserved at the Athenaeum; the volumes of the latter cover a period of seventy-seven years and contain valuable infor- mation relating to events of the last half century. In 1869 the St. Johnsbury Times was established by Arthur Ropes, D. K. Simonds and Edwin L. Hovey, as an independent sheet, a free lance. It was published on Railroad Street ; con- tinued three years and in 1872 the plant was bought by T. H. Hoskins of Newport; the name of the paper was changed to the Vermont Farmer \ edited by Royal Cummings. Five years later in 1877 it went into the hands of John W. Lewis, receiver, with liabilites of $5000. In December, 1879, it was revived under the name of the St. Johnsbury Index, A. B. Howe, editor; it was sold to J. E. Harris in 1883, and he in turn sold it the next year to the Caledonia Publishing Company, organized with $10,000 capital, subsequently increased to $15,000. This company, composed of business men from this and other towns in the county, Dudley P. Hall of Lyndon, president, took over whatever property was left of the Index after paying notes and bills payable of a good many thousand dollars. The experience of fifteen years had demonstrated that St. Johnsbury was not a favorable field for radical journalism. Meantime a new situation had developed. Mr. Blaine had not received the full support of his party here in the recent presidential campaign. One result of this was the es- tablishment by the Caledonia Publishing Company of the st. johnsbury republican The first issue was brought out March 26, 1885 ; Edward Johnson of Burlington was appoint- ed editor and C. T. Walter business manager, and the new paper prospered. In 1890, the Republican Block was erected, which, besides providing superior facilities for publishing purposes, was a valuable addition to the group of substantial buildings in that locality. In 1894, the paper was sold to L. P. Thayer, who for four years conducted it as a private enterprise. Then in 1898 it was purchased again by the Republican Company to whom the block belonged, the principal ownership being in Lyndon, and Mr. Walter became editor and manager. The Republican has BUSINESS NOTES 491 continued to have favorable patronage and good standing in the state ; at the present time the two newspapers of this town are eight-page sheets well printed, of the same political faith and nearly identical in style and make up. maple sugar The early methods of sugar making and soap making were ludicrously similar ; the fluid contents of the big iron kettle suspended on forked sticks over the fire were re- duced to the desired consistency, poured off, stirred and stored in barrels for the year's supply of the family. There was little if any sugar or soap to be marketed ; it was yet a good while before cane sugar either in brown bulk or in white cones wrapped in blue paper made its appearance. By the year 1850, however, Cale- donia County had a reputation for sugar, the product that year being 854,820 pounds ; this was more than any other County in the state produced, Washington, Franklin and Orleans being next in productiveness. This town, however, was never famous as a sugar producer; sixty years ago more was made than now, there were more trees then. In 1857, the maple groves on seventeen of the Four Corners and Goss Hollow districts yielded 16,190 pounds of sugar, principally on the farms of the early settlers, Gardner Wheeler, David Goss, Aldrich, Hawkins, Houghton, Ayer and others. Whatever rank St. Johnsbury has failed to attain in the pro- duction of sugar is being rapidly offset, so to speak, by its in- creasing importance as a distributing center — George C. Cary's transactions in maple sugar amount to a million dollars annually ; the Towle Maple Products Company, now operating in the con- crete block on the meadow, send out a like amount of Log Cabin Maple Syrup and cakes to all parts of the world. In this estab- lishment the syrup purchased from the farmers is reheated by steam, pumped thro a filtering press into tanks holding 2200 gal- lons, then piped into copper kettles, reheated and drawn into re- ceptacles for shipment. The volume of this business began to appear in September, 1912, when a special train in five sections of 25 car loads of maple products was dispatched from the St. Johns- bury works across the continent to San Francisco. With sugar business aggregating two million dollars annually, this town is at the present time the largest maple sugar market in the world. XXXV CLUBS AND ORDERS THE BOARD OF TRADE The St. Johnsbury Board of Trade was established February 25, 1891, with sixty charter members, H. N. Turner, President. For ten years it was an important institution, public spirited and practically useful ; its membership included 150 of the business and professional men, and there was a paid Secretary. The Board of Trade Rooms on the first floor of the new Republican Block became an open forum for the discussion of almost every question relating to the prosperity and welfare of the town at that period. Much attention was paid to business and industrial in- terests ; in 1893 there were sent out 50,000 circulars setting forth the main features and attractions of St. Johnsbury. Numerous public functions were organized and conducted by the Board of Trade, such as the reception to President Harrison ; the patriotic send-off to Company D on its departure to the Spanish war ; the relief fund to San Francisco after the earthquake. Matters of this sort continued to be taken up by officers of the Board after suspension of its regular meetings in 1900. The annual banquets were notably interesting, not infrequently with speakers of na- tional reputation as guests. The first of these was at the Town Hall in February, 1892 ; there were 160 covers, and the remark was made that "this is the first time in the history of the town that all its interests were combined in so large numbers." A year later, "the largest banquet ever in St. Johnsbury" was pre- pared by Landlord Krogman in the Stanley Opera House, at which the guest of honor was the new-born Woman's Club, repre- sented by Mrs. Jonathan Ross, its President. CLUBS AND ORDERS 493 THE MERCHANTS' ASSOCIATION In March, 1890, fifty-seven men were organized under the name of the St. Johnsbury Merchants' Association, the object being to correct abuses of the credit system, to collect bills and to keep lists of cash customers and of others whose credit was not good. Two years later this body became a department of the Board of Trade ; in March, 1896, it resumed independence and came to be much more than a local institution. Its membership of 750 in 1898, represented seventy-five towns and cities, with net receipts of $1,131.82. Each year its business methods attracted wider range of patronage ; a Boston house reported having in one year collected more than fifty accounts in six different states, and ranked the St. Johnsbury Merchants' Association superior to any similar system. The membership includes leading manufacturers; merchants, wholesale and retail ; banks and bankers ; profession- al men; gas, electric, telephone, insurance, coal and ice com- panies, from 208 towns and cities in the United States and Canada. During 1912 there were 1470 names put on the cash customer list; total on this list is 17,305 ; the entire membership of the Associa- tion has been 2954, President, L. N. Smythe; Secretary and Treasurer, C. H. Bagley. THE COMMERCIAL CLUB The Board of Trade remained quiescent and was not revived under the same name ; but a process of metempsychosis was going on and when ten years were fulfilled it appeared again re- incarnated in The Commercial Club, born April 20, 1910. A dis- tinctive feature of this body was the energy with which younger men addressed themselves to the public welfare. Charles W. Steele was the first President. A large and wide awake member- ship was enrolled, with annual dues of five dollars. One of the first matters taken up was that of the water supply for domestic uses, in view of the fact that the condemnation of the river water by the State Board of Health had not been taken seriously. Other important interests forwarded have been the promotion of new industries, improved roads and highways, more adequate fire 494 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY protection and advantageous insurance rates, better freight and transportation facilities, underground wiring, cleaner streets and a sensible Fourth of July. To the Commercial Club is mainly due the establishment of Merchants Day, the St. Johnsbury Ver- monter of October, 1911, the guaranty and success of the Pageant of 1912, securing appropriation from Congress for a Federal Building, also the very satisfactory hotel equipment of the new St. Johnsbury House. A wholesome town spirit has been awakened and many hundreds of dollars spent for town better- ment ; the Club Banquets at Pythian Hall for discussion of cur- rent problems have brought together large and representative as- semblies. As a diversion, this masculine body had the audacity to challenge the Woman's Club to a spelling match. THE ST. JOHNSBURY WOMAN'S CLUB "In great things Unity In small things Liberty In all things Charity." "We, the women of St. Johnsbury, interested in the beauti- fying and improvement of our beloved town, and in promoting a kindly feeling and broad unison of spirit and action within its borders, do band ourselves together into an association for this purpose, and to insure success adopt the following Constitution." This was the preamble under which the Club was organized in the Board of Trade Rooms, May 9, 1892, with Mrs. Jonathan Ross first President and Mrs. Elisha May vice President. That the Woman's Club has never lost sight of its original purpose to work for the good of the town, is plainly seen in its fruitful record of twenty years. Appropriations were immediate- ly made for village improvement and for securing the Home for aged women. Following the disastrous fire of October, the same year, the Club raised and distributed a relief fund of $404.82. Street cleaning was undertaken and lawn settees placed in the parks at the expense of the Club. In 1896, the sum of $266 was given the Village Trustees for the erection of drinking fountains and stone water troughs. An appropriation of $160 was made in 1904, for a vacation school on Summer Street, at which basketry, CLUBS AND ORDERS 495 woodwork, repairing, sloyd, sewing and cookery were taught. The results of this were so gratifying that during the following year the town voted $300 for the same purpose and this experi- ment in industrial training was continued for some years. The Club also introduced into the schools a penny stamp savings system; during a single month 150 children made deposits amount- ing to $50. The employment of a district nurse was inaugurated in 1906 ; for this purpose generous sums were voted, which at successive town meetings were supplemented by liberal appro- priations from the town. A booklet containing a digest of the laws of the state relating to women and children was published by the Club, and through its efforts an important revision of our Village charter was secured. The activities of the Woman's Club have not been limited to local interests. In 1896, it took the initiative in the project of bringing together all similar clubs in the state, the result of which was The Vermont Federation of Woman's Clubs organized in this town with a St. Johnsbury woman first President. The first traveling libraries in the state were purchased and sent on their trips by the St. Johnsbury Club ; these were subsequently presented to the Vermont Library Association and have grown to be an important feature in its work among small towns. Mean- time a system of rural district libraries has been instituted by the Club for the schools of our own town ; of these there are five in constant circulation, with headquarters at the Athenaeum. The influence of this Club was recognized in the passage of child-labor laws, pure food laws, and in the appointment of women on the state boards of charitable institutions, the first to serve in this ca- pacity being one of its own members. Among public entertainments provided by the Woman's Club, not to speak of many musical ones, have been addresses or read- ings by Mrs. General Custer, Julia C. R. Dorr, Sallie Joy White, Kate Gannett Woods, Alice Freeman Palmer, Mabel Loomis Todd, Katherine Lee Bates, Isobel Strong, Frances Dyer ; with now and then an interesting man on the rostrum for variety. A recent important enterprise is the acquisition of the Dr. Folsom property on Cherry street for a Club House. This is 496 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY centrally located, and the buildings and grounds are adaptable to any desired development ; including under present plans an ample auditorium, rest and guest rooms, facilities for classes in domestic science and other feminine accomplishments, and an inviting resort for young women who have no home. Considering results already quietly accomplished in village improvement, in the development of refined culture and practical arts, in the unifying of diverse or sectional interests, in the culti- vation of unbiased public spirit and a broadening vision, the Woman's Club will be accorded a front rank among agencies working together for the good of the town. DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION At this point mention should be made of the organization which undertook to secure for St. Johnsbury a permanent record of its history. A chief feature of the order of The Daughters of the Revolution has been to perpetuate the memory of the early patriots, to secure and preserve documents, events and traditions of the past, both national and local. With this in view the present writer was urged by the local Chapter to compile the historical narrative set forth in this book, and at the same time the expense of its publication was assumed. This Chapter, taking the name of the town god-father, was organized June 17, 1897, the 122nd anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hall. Obviously the membership could not be large tho the name was a long one ; there were twelve charter members and during the seventeen years about forty in all. Anniversaries of notable days in the history of the state and nation are appro- priately commemorated, with occasional public entertainments. Future generations interested in past events of the town as re- corded on these, pages will acknowledge indebtedness to the ST. JOHN DE CREVECCEUR CHAPTER of the DAUGHTERS of the AMERICAN REVOLUTION. FRATERNAL ORDERS THE MASONIC The beginnings of Masonry in this part of the state were at Danville, where Harmony Lodge No. 14 was established in 1797. CLUBS AND ORDERS , 497 This lodge was removed to St. Johnsbury in 1812, meeting first in Major Butler's house on the Center Village road, later in the hall of John Barney's Tavern and in Hezekiah Martin's hall, till 1829, at which time anti-Masonic agitation was at its height, and the lodge expired. Among the Masons of that period were some of the prominent men of the town : Calvin Jewett, John Barney, John Armington, Jerry Dickerman, Ezra Ide, Hezekiah Martin, Eleazar Sanger, Stephen Hawkins, Joseph Fairbanks, Joel Roberts, and others. The last paragraph on the books of Har- mony lodge records that Erastus Fairbanks was chosen represen- tative to the Grand Lodge in 1831. Twenty-two years later came the establishment of Passump- sic Lodge No. 27. Among the first officers were Dr. Calvin Jewett, Francis Bingham, Franklin Fairbanks, Pearl D. Blodgett. For ten years a hall over the Bingham drug store was occupied, then for about twenty years the hall in Union Block. Masonic Hall on Main Street was built in 1885, and occupied 46 years, until the completion of the new Masonic Temple on Eastern Avenue in 1912. This building, devoted entirely to the uses of the order, is an imposing structure, sixty by eighty feet ground floor, richly and tastefully furnished, with ample accommodation for all departments and functions. C. A. Calderwood was chair- man of the building committee. Its cost was $35,000 ; the finest Masonic building in the state ; membership is about 400. De- partments : Passumpsic Lodge No. 27 ; Haswell Royal Arch Chapter No. 11 ; Mizpah Lodge of Perfection ; Caledonia Council No. 13 ; Palestine Commandery No. 5, K. T. ; Mystic Star Chapter No. 29. The writer is indebted to R. C. Sulloway for facts above given. ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS Caledonia Lodge No. 6 was established, at Danville, January 1, 1847. The chief officers were Charles S. Dana and David Boynton, who soon after became citizens of St. Johnsbury. In 1850, the Lodge was removed to this town. It may have been in connection therewith that on the fifth of February that year "two omnibus loads of Odd Fellows went to Danville, each Fellow 498 i TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY made even by an Odd Sister." In 1853, a division occurred in the Lodges of the State (over the color question) in consequence of which Caledonia Lodge and all others excepting four, dis- banded. It was reinstituted January 19, 1869. On the 23rd of July, 1874, the corner stone of the Odd Fel- lows Block on Railroad street was laid, with ceremonies. This was a three story brick building with tower, completed at a cost of $20,000 and dedicated December 1, 1874. Twenty-one years later, after extensive improvements, the Hall was rededicated on the occasion of the quarter century State Encampment, May, 1895. There were 250 representatives of the Order in the parade, and a complimentary entertainment was given in Music Hall ; the ad- dress of the evening was given by Rev. Dr. Heath. The athletic contests of Field Day at the Fair Grounds have attracted throngs of people. KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS Apollo Lodge, No. 2, of this order was organized with 48 charter members. It was here that the Grand Lodge of Ver- mont was instituted in 1888. The Pythian Block on Eastern Avenue was erected in 1893 and the hall was dedicated February 27 of the year following. Twelve months and twelve days from that date the building and the records were destroyed by fire in- volving a loss to the owners and occupants of $35,000 ; it was im- mediately rebuilt. An interesting occasion was the State Con- vention and Field Day of 1899 when 350 visiting Knights were here, public buildings and blocks were decorated, the parade and review on the school common drew many spectators. Not only was St. Johnsbury the birth place of the Grand Lodge but the local uniform rank company was the first in the state and Apollo Lodge the second in order of subordinate lodges. As an as- sembly room for various public purposes the Pythian Hall has probably been more used than any other in the town. PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY The national order of this name was perfected in Washing- ton December 4, 1867, under direction of O. H. Kelley of the CLUBS AND ORDERS 499 Bureau of Agriculture, with a view to secure improved conditions among the agriculturists of the country. Jonathan Lawrence, son of David Lawrence, a pioneer who had pitched above Crow Hill in 1790, became interested in the movement and secured authority from Washington to establish granges in Vermont. The immediate result of his commission was the foundation, July 4, 1871, of the Green Mountain Grange, No. 1, in St. Johnsbury. This was literally number one, being the first grange formed in New England. It was organized in the old Armory on Summer street with thirty members ; they signed the articles on a drum head, Volney F. Powers, secretary. After about twenty years this grange was removed to the Center Village and occupied the new Green Mountain Hall. A second grange called the Wide Awake was formed here in 1876, and these two, with four others, in neighboring towns, constitute a group subordinate to the Po- mona Grange. The Vermont State Grange was organized in this town July 4, 1872. The State Grange Lecturer is our townsman, Erastus H. Hallett. This order has revived the old English word grange, which signified a farming establishment attached to a feudal manor or monastery : — "The broken sheds look'd sad and strange Upon the lonely moated grange." Besides the orders above mentioned having longest record and buildings of their own, there are others of more recent date : Knights of Honor, since 1885 — Eureka Lodge 918. New England Order of Protection, 1892— Green Mt. Lodge, 49 Red Clover Lodge, 540 Catholic Order of Foresters, 1893— St. Johnsbury Court, 300 Sherman Court, 627 Improved Order of Red Men, 1895— Algonquin Tribe, 9 Junior United American Mechanics, 1897 — Gen. Logan Council, 22 Order of United Commercial Travelers, 1897— St. J. Council, 230 Knights of Columbus, 1899— Sheridan Council, 421 Modern Woodmen of America, 1901— Asisqua Camp, 8149 XXXVI THE VILLAGE OF ST. JOHNSBURY INCORPORATION Under charter of October, 1852, the corporators met and or- ganized the Village of St. Johnsbury on the fifth of January, 1853, with the following officers : President, L. P. Poland ; Clerk, B. O. Stephenson ; Treasurer, Horace Paddock ; Trustees, Asa L. French, J. P. Bancroft, Horace Fairbanks, Wm. D. Weeks, Joseph Boles. At the first Village Meeting after adoption of the by-laws, it was voted to raise $1000 for a new fire engine with fixtures, and to build large reservoirs on the Plain and near the Passump- sic House. The bounds of the village were drawn to include Paddock Village, the Depot, the Plain and Fairbanks Village, and in October, 1853, the streets were re-surveyed, approved and opened for travel as "public streets in the Village of St. Johns- bury." The Village Corporation was empowered to elect fire war- dens and regulate operations of the fire companies ; to care for the streets, light the same and keep a watch ; to provide for planting and preserving shade trees ; to regulate markets, gro- ceries and victualing shops ; to restrain cattle, horses, sheep, swine and geese from going at large ; to impose fines and levy necessary taxes. Additions to the Act of 1852 were made by the Legislature of 1856, 1859, 1888, 1890, 1896, 1906, relating to mat- ters arising from time to time, such as the appointment of police officers and chief engineer of the fire department ; the mainte- nance of aqueducts and reservoirs ; suitable exits from public halls and theatres ; the suppression of disorderly and gaming ST. JOHNSBURY VILLAGE 501 houses and nuisances ; the regulation of fast driving, of cruelty to animals, of pedlers and shows, of the use and sale of fire crackers, squibs, toy pistols ; control of parades and crowds on the streets. The first pamphlet containing the Acts and By-Laws was printed at Boston in 1853, the second at Concord 1870, the third at the Republican Press 1893, the fourth with amendments and additions in 1904, the fifth enlarged and revised in 1907. Seven hundred citizens met February 20, 1907, at the special village meeting to take action on this revision of the By-Laws subject to the Act of 1906. The Town Hall being crowded, ad- journment was made to the armory building on Central street and the 37 Articles discussed and adopted seriatim. This was an im- portant meeting ; it conferred on the Trustees full control of the sale of beverages and the maintenance of good order and quiet in the village. ANNEXATION OF SUMMERVILLE The question of extending the boundaries of the Village east- ward occasioned much debate with diverse opinions, on both sides of the river. In March, 1890, a petition for annexation signed by eleven freeholders residing in Summerville was present- ed thro the Village trustees to the Judges of the County Court. This resulted in the appointment of P. K. Gleed of Morrisville, A. B. Carpenter of Waterford, L. W. Hubbard of Lyndon, Com- missioners to conduct negotiations. Preliminary meetings were held with full discussion ; the final vote of Summerville was taken May 17, resulting as follows : 67 voted no, with a grand list of $701.08, and 73 voted yes, with a grand list of 791.93. The Commissioners reported a majority of six votes and $90.85 favor- ing annexation. Their decision was contested on technicalities, but was finally accepted. At a special meeting held August 29, at the Stanley Opera House, the question was taken up by residents of the Village. The result of balloting showed 147 in favor of the annexation, 144 opposed to it. It will be noticed that on both sides of the river the vote was a close one ; the opposition was well defined, grounded on reasons that have since lost much of their force. It 502 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY was soon apparent that the result arrived at was for the best interests of the entire community. The population of the Village was increased by about a thousand, and its rank now became third instead of fifth among the Villages of the State. With the opening of the new century came up the proposition to reorganize from a Village to a City. In December, 1902, a City Charter was granted by the Legislature, and on January 22, 1903, a meeting was held to take action upon it. The matter was discussed intelligently and ably, seriously and humorously. Be- coming a City seemed to some indicative of municipal progress ; whereat Marshall Montgomery wanted to know if a boy was any bigger for calling him Mister, instead of Bub? The question was decided on what was regarded as its real merits by a majority vote of 170 against city organization. STREETS AND BUILDINGS The track opened thro the forest on the Plain in 1787 by Dr. Arnold determined what is now known as Main street. For sixty- three years this was the only street on the Plain. As late as 1810 there were only about a dozen houses on the entire length of the street ; of these Joseph Lord's at the south end was two storied and painted red ; the only other painted house was the Willard Carle- ton tavern, advertised for sale that year in the North Star ; this was the Cross bakery building taken down in 1897 to give a site for St. Aloysius Church. Exits northward were the road to Four Cor- ners, and down Sand Hill to the Arnold Falls, thence up the river toward Lyndon. In 1820 the street was dignified by the erection of the Paddock mansion, the first building of brick ; and some- while later by Capt. Martin's house of similar style on the other side of the street. In 1830 the tavern stand at the Bend, Abel Rice proprietor, was a popular resort with a well furnished bar ; and a meeting house had recently been built where the stone church now is. In 1840 the street had about thirty houses, no new ones of importance. In 1850 the expansion began ; that year Summer street was laid out. Frank Brown built his small house some distance back of the new St. Johnsbury House, and James M. Warner set his gothic cottage at the jumping off place STREETS AND BUILDINGS 503 where the steep descent of Summer street runs down to Fair- banks Village. It is on record that in 1832 Leonard Howard had gone back into the field and put up a house far away from any street ; it was more than twenty years before a street got to it ; now it is known as the Daniel Carpenter house, 15 Church street. Spring street was laid out in 1856, and the same year a driveway was opened up from Western avenue on to the table land of South Park, where A. P. Blunt was building his new square house on the northwest edge of the bluff, behind which in the field was the Harvlin Paddock house ; Park street was not laid out till 1874. Cliff street was opened in 1870 ; within two years seven houses were put up on Cliff, five on Autumn, four on Church, fifteen on Spring street. By this time most of the avail- able building ground on the Plain was accessible through the new street lines, except Boynton Hill and Highland avenue. In 1872 Underclyffe was built ; in 1884 Brantview. Principal blocks at the business center date as follows : Brown's block, 1850 ; Union block and hall, 1854; Bank and Post Office block of five sections, 1869, built by E. and T. Fairbanks at cost of $50,000 ; the plan was drawn for six sections, one of which was taken off to allow fifteen feet additional width at the head of Eastern avenue ; the length is now 134 feet on Main street, 60 feet on the Avenue. Passumpsic Savings Bank with the Town Offices, 1885, also during the eighties the Walker, Masonic and Roach blocks com- pleting the row ; Fairbanks block, now the Berry-Ball. The road to Fairbanks Village along which used to run a plank foot walk, acquired the name Western Avenue when its new neighbor, Eastern Avenue, was built in 1850 ; two years later the Pinehurst residence was built by Horace Fairbanks on the site of the old tannery and slaughter house ; Elmwoode house took its present form in 1878, including in its walls the cottage built by Thaddeus Fairbanks in 1838. Among the village streets so called, ate the Belvidere pitch into Western Avenue and the Spruce street pitch into upper Railroad street; people unaccus- tomed to the hill country are wont to be shy of Sand Hill descent into Paddock Village and the winding way exit off South Park. 504 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Railroad street was newly opened and ready for business when the trains began to run in 1850, and that summer Eastern Avenue was built across the pastures ; the only building between the Plain and Passumpsic River was the small farm house, old even then, which now sits at the foot of Pearl street, disguised beyond recognition by roof windows and piazzas. Swamps, thickets and stumps held the ground now occupied by the business blocks. A pioneer on the street was the Passumpsic House, later known as the Avenue House ; this and nearly all the earlier buildings on the east side of the street were destroyed by the fires of 1870, 1892, 1906, including the Cbamberlin and Fletcher wholesale block just north of the station. The first dwelling house on Railroad street was Amos Morrill's, built in 1850 ; Sias Randall the same year paid $200 for the Randall block lot. R. B. Flint and L. C. Woodbury opened one of the first stores on Railroad street, a grocery store and market ; William H. Horton soon had a tailoring business there ; Samuel Jewett, dry goods ; Aaron Farnham, furniture ; W. T. Burnham, furs. A new road ran up alongside the railroad track to Paddock Village ; that road thirty years later was widened and elevated into upper Railroad street. This was made possible by the washing away of Bagley Hill by a stream of water from the Village Water Works under supervision of Beauman Butler ; where the old sand bank was, we see the line of well built dwelling houses fronting eastward. In 1856 it was remarked that a traveler arriving at the upper end of the road from Paddock Village and looking southward, would see stretching a mile down the valley a beautiful street, which might with all propriety be called a village ; with stores wholesale and retail, for hardware, dry goods, groceries, clothing, boots and shoes, drugs, paints and oils. At that time the new bridge across Passumpsic River opened the way to many and de- sirable building lots along the broad fields and raspberry patches between Harris Hill and Moose River. "The New City" which finally developed into Portland street and Summerville was at its beginning ; the prospective growth in that direction made Rail- road street yet more important as a business quarter. Meantime the new city began taking on increasing importance of its own. It ST. JOHNSBURY VILLAGE 505 crept steadily eastward along Portland street and down toward the mouth of Moose River; took Elyville into its capacious em- brace ; climbed up the steep slopes of Harris Hill ; till, standing by itself alone, it ranked among the larger villages north and south, on the line of Passumpsic railroad. Whether by reason of its location or temperament or training or all of these combined, Summerville acquired a notable solidarity and civic consciousness; cared well for its community affairs, and was in no haste for the annexation to Greater St. Johnsbury Village, which came in 1890. The name originated with Capt. Edwin L. Hovey, who was for forty years an enthusiastic promoter of its interests and develop- ment. Until 1840 nearly all the dwelling houses on the Plain were low-posted cottages, painted white with green blinds, rarely having anything like a porch or piazza, but securely defended from assault by a white picket fence. Quite a number of these old houses still retain a standing, either pushed back into some obscurity or so changed from their former aspect as to defy recognition — see Dr. Cramton's reconstructed cottage, 100 Main street. A sample of the original style, unchanged except as to color and windows pushed out on the roof, sits on the opposite side of the street, second above Maple, where it was planted by Luther Clark a century and more ago ; its mate at the head of Clark Avenue built by John Clark about the same time has suffer- ed little from the imposition of alleged improvements and still retains the main features of former time. A variation of the pre- vailing type was brought in by Joseph P. Fairbanks in 1841, whose house fronting the south end of the street, introduced the novel features of a library room, parlor windows brought down to the floor, and a piazza resting on fluted columns ; also somewhile later the novelty of a conservatory for fruit and flower culture. Other similar houses were built soon after ; one was the cottage south of South Hall now quite disguised by red paint and expan- sions ; another was the house built by A. G. Chadwick in 1845 still standing unchanged on the corner of Main and Winter streets; this cottage if not interfered with, has the opportunity of preserv- ing for future generations, a type of village architecture quite admired in its day. xxxvn PARKS AND TREES "Not only in the city but in our rural villages the spirit of the age de- mands the most approved artistic effects in the treatment of parks, trees and shrubbery." Arnold park What used to be known as "The Green" at the head of Main street was for more than sixty years an open space without trees ; used as the men's ball ground, as the start- ing place for horse races, and for June training, as the rendezvous for public assemblies under a temporary bower or tent, and here was planted the first village band stand. In the spring of 1855 it was enclosed within a fence and trees were set out ; after this it received the name of Arnold Park, being situated front of the old Arnold house; it was part of his original homestead lot made over to the town. Four hundred loads of dirt were dumped upon this Park for grading in 1891, and residents of the vicinity erected the fountain, the largest and most conspicuous one in the town, the basin being eleven feet and a half in diameter, the vase eleven feet and seven inches above it, surmounted by a bronze figure. The ex- pense of this fountain was $400; it was from the Mott Iron Works, N. Y. In 1898, the fencing was removed, the west end extended, and the street cut thro direct to Boynton Hill. The two oak trees on the north side of Arnold Park were planted there by Lieut. Col. Geo. E. Chamberlin before he went off to the war. MONUMENT SQUARE : COURT HOUSE GROUNDS. Only those who recall the ragged and unsightly aspect of the old burial yard, PARKS AND TREES 507 can understand the transformation effected by converting that spot into ornamental grounds. Originally the surface jutted out on the north side and went down by a steep pitch into the pasture where Eastern Avenue now runs. The resident of seventy years ago could hardly have imagined a smooth sloping turf, a statue of America, twin cannon and a band stand on the ground then cover- ed with old fashioned grave stones and tangled bushes. This en- closure, after all removals had been made to Mt. Pleasant Ceme- tery, was quit-claimed to the Village Trustees, by William C. Arnold, representing the heirs of Dr. Jonathan Arnold, as a site for the Court House and Town Hall, "the residue of said land to be used as ornamental public grounds." The date of that instru- ment was January 24, 1856 ; in the spring of 1857, the grading, turfing, and planting of elm trees was completed ; the erection of the soldiers' memorial eleven years later gave added dignity to the grounds, and naturally suggested the name Monument Square. Hundreds of men and women cross it every day ; other hundreds leisurely sit on the grassy slope summer evenings ; other hundreds stand fronting the Avenue every time the ponies and camels and elephants of the circus are parading ; other hundreds promenade to the evening music that sounds from the band stand ; other hundreds gather silently around the Monument while honors are paid to the heroes of the war on Memorial Day. ramsey park Capt. James Ramsey and Hiram Jones in 1822 owned the mills at Arnold Falls, and also most of the level ground, now covered with buildings in Paddock Village, includ- ing the central square. This last they conveyed to the village for public ground ; the square was called Ramsey Park and the road around it Jones street. It remained for a long time an open square used for sports and pleasure ground ; then it was fenced, and in 1891 trees were planted and the fountain set in by the Vil- lage Trustees. central park : school common The open grounds between Main and Summer streets, fronting the School House were deed- ed to School District No. 1, November 28, 1863, by Charles S. Dana, Esq., for a consideration of $1200, "to have and to hold, etc., on condition that no building be erected on any part of said 508 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY granted premises ; that they be occupied, improved and orna- mented solely and exclusively for a public park and promenade, for public amusements, plays or meetings ; excluding from it cir- cuses, shows, menageries and similar exhibitions which are here- by prohibited." In June 1864, the ground was graded and called Central Park. Its ordinary designation is the school common, and being mainly used for play grounds, the walks and lawns are not as trimly kept as on the other village parks. south park This tract was deeded as a gift to the Village, April 10, 1877 by the heirs of the estate of Joseph P. Fairbanks ; subject to the conditions that "no buildings shall ever be erected or placed on said described grounds ; that no tents or booths shall be placed on said land for exhibitions, circuses or shows of any kind ; that said land shall never be used for ball playing, and that said land shall always be suitably enclosed and cared for as an ornamental Park, by said village. " The conditions were ac- cepted ; the rail guard that enclosed it from the first, stood until in later years the prevailing usage of doing away with fences and rails in the village led to its removal. The spacious area and level floor of South Park make its well trimmed lawn a noticeable feature among our public grounds. academy park This little parcel which now belongs to the Academy by deed of Henry Fairbanks, April 16, 1894, was known forty years earlier as South Park. In those days there was no Woman's Club, but sundry women in that part of the Village con- stituted themselves a working body, got paint pots and brushes and with their own hands laid a coat of paint on the enclosing rail, to the great entertainment of the appreciative public. That painted rail disappeared long ago ; now the principal feature is the fountain with boy and dolphin, erected by the Academy class of 1890. Here was the bottomless well of 1829 — see page 300. the triangle that pitches from the head of Summer street toward Hastings Hill was taken hold of in the spring of 1903 by the Woman's Club, and fitted with granite curbing at an expense of $100. In the fall of that year the Trustees erected a heavy rail. This was removed in 1912. PARKS AND TREES 509 the depot park is characterized by extreme narrowness and steepness, by the Music Stand, and by the lettering st. johnsbury, set by the Woman's Club in the turf that slopes toward the incoming trains. In 1891, there was an expenditure of $1141 on the Village Parks for grading and improvements. The Trustees in 1898 placed settees on South and Arnold Parks, and the Woman's Club provided them the same year for Monument Square. TREES "He went up to the tree and put his arm around it, saying, as if some sacred association touched his memory — my dear old friend, how doyou do?" The first thing to do for our village was to get rid of the trees ; the next was to get in some trees, the next is to thin out the trees. In the summer of 1787 Jonathan Arnold and his five men cleared off the trees from the street ; in the spring of 1841 a posse of men answering a popular call assembled on The Green at the head of the street, with spades and hoes for transplanting trees. No record of their doings is found. On the 24th of April, 1855, the Ornamental Tree Association was formed, with one dollar as the price of membership. A committee was appointed to direct the work ; probably it was this Committee that placed the first trees on the Green, now Arnold Park ; but already at that time other transplanted trees were making thrifty growth. The row of elms front of the Paddock homestead, were set there for the Judge by Ezra Davidson of Waterford some time before 1830; those on the opposite side of the street front and north of Capt. Martin's, were planted by William C. Arnold a little later. The first trees known to have been transplanted into the vil- lage were the maples front of the old burial ground, and at inter- vals along the upper end of the street, east side. William A. Palmer, afterwards Gov. Palmer, brought these maples in from the woods on his back when they were saplings, about the year 1821. In 1850, some twenty of them were standing ; the last sur- vivor was wrecked by a storm, 1892, in Major Bowman's yard op- posite Arnold Park; the gavel of the Woman's Club, also of the Seventy Club, was made from wood of this old tree. 510 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Fifty years or more after Gov. Palmer's maples were set, Cyrus Sargent began to bring in young elms which he planted on Spring and Cliff streets recently opened. This was the kind of recreation he indulged in mornings and evenings ; others in that neighborhood did the same. In the spring of 1877, the Village Trustees voted to procure a hundred more shade trees ; these must have been for new streets as the congestion of shade was already apparent elsewhere. On the older streets it is only when the leaves are off that the multitude of trees show to best advan- tage either en-masse or as individuals. Then one sees the per- sonality of the fine old elms on upper Main street, or, from the head of Summer street looks down the long line of outspreading tree tops that set their gothic arch against the western hills. Someone in Brattleboro one time sent Judge Poland a pair of white poplars. "They were about as large as my walking stick/' said the Judge, "and about as dry." But they made a lusty growing pair of twins front of Squire Belden's house, and till this year the big survivor with triple trunk invited attention in Squire Nichols' dooryard. Probably the largest tree now flourishing in the township is the willow on the west side of Rabbit Plain above Goss Hollow. Once a brown ash was growing near the swamp where the Pinehurst lily ponds are now ; that ash is today the only tree among the groves of that estate that has the distinction of being a native, "and to the manner born." It may have been during the Polk and Clay campaign that a pair of elm seeds flew down under the edge of the high tight fence which then enclosed the Academy grounds. The soil was rich, the fence was shelter- ing ; in the course of years the saplings twisted themselves into a double elm that took on stalwart proportions and ways of its own ; stretched out arms that were angular and not unshapely ; by its striking contour and willowy droop and broad outspread of nigh a hundred feet won its place as the queenliest elm on our bowered Plain. "Again I see the huge Old Pine with patriarchal air Spreading wide his arms as if to guard the forest there." the old pine on the hilltop above the golf links, now the vanishing ghost of a tree, was for a hundred years the most dis- PARKS AND TREES 511 tinguished tree in the town, not only as sole survivor of the primeval forest, but as the most conspicuous landmark on the horizon. From the time the pioneers' axes first broke into the wilderness till down past 1890, it was flourishing as in the vigor of youth ; then one day it was hurt by a lightning stroke. Col. Fairbanks re-assured it with the modern device of a lightning rod. But the mischief had been done, its vitality was sapped. We looked anxiously up at the old sentinel, sorry to see that decline and fall must surely come ; if the Old Pine should go, there never could be another. It seemed as if the old fellow thought so too ; he surprised his admirers by holding on with grim determination. And now for some fourteen years since being shorn of his greenery, his gaunt trunk has stood up against the sky like a spectre from former ages — to which in 1912 the grand finale march of the Pageant wound its way, as if to pay homage to the venerable Patriarch of the town. "Towering high above all other trees Thou giant Pine of many centuries, With thy dead limbs outstretched against the sky, Storm-tossed and stricken by the lightning's blast, What canst thou tell us of the days long past ?" Some answer to this was overheard by a woman who had personally known the veteran almost a hundred years, and she translated what the Old Pine Tree said — "Here I have stood three centuries or more, head and shoulders above my neighbors — in my early days I saw nothing but wild beasts and birds — bears, wolves, deer, panthers, and the moose with broad horns — the loon and wild geese went screaming over my head — next I saw Indians clothed in fur with their bows and arrows — I could see the smoke of their wigwams curling up through the forest — then the white men came — they cut down my big neighbors and built them houses to live in — they cleared the forest and burned trees to make potash which they sold for groceries, and I fear too for whiskey sometimes — then they sowed the cleared fields with grain, and built roads and bridges, and after a long time they had a church — now I can see a dozen churches, and many fine resi- dences — I hear the whistles and see long trains of cars — the gong 512 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY down to the right of me calls hundreds of men together to manu- facture the wonderful scales known the wide world over — now I am old — one day I got an electric shock which gave me my death blow — I am only waiting now for the north wind's blast to lay me low, to be remembered no more forever." C. B. S. 1898 After waiting seven years longer, the Old Pine, still erect on the hilltop, was in a reminiscent mood one day ; heard again the harp of the winds and felt tlie grapple of the storm : — "Under my gray-green mantle, Jewelled with sleet or rain, Was hid a harp that murmured Forever of the main. The breeze from Newark mountain Bore down a song to me ; I sang it to Moosehillock And he sang it to the sea. Down Sleeper's River valley And up the woodlands dim, The summer twilight hearkened The holy thrush's hymn. * * * * All the sinews that sustained me, All the sap that kept me warm, I had sucked from sand and snow heap, Or had wrested from the storm. Rain and snow and hail were welcome, All the gales were loud with glee ; All the strain and stress of winter Was but ecstasy to me. When the big wind of December Blustered down from Walden height, I rubbed all my hands together Knit my muscles for the fight. Year by year I flung my banner For a standard seen of all ; Stood, a king above my fellows Like a crowned and sceptered Saul. Then, unwarned, the lightning smote me, And I stand, discrowned and blind. Waiting for my strength to leave me, Or the tempest to be kind." W. P. S. 1905 Another seven years, and the Old Pine is still waiting. 1912 XXXVIII COSMIC EVENTS AND DISASTERS ECLIPSE— COMET — COLD— HEAT — AURORA — SNOW — DROUGHT STORMS — FLOODS — FIRES THE WEATHER "What an invaluable piece of good luck to have the weather always with us — always ready to be talked about when a body meets a body, and never anybody embarrassed by not knowing anything about it." Some metereological occurrences are here noted which occa- sioned comment and went on record in the former days. Local reference is found to two phenomena of a century ago. In 1810 there was a solar eclipse; "hens went to roost, cattle appeared dumbfoundered, a solemn and anxious suspense prevailed as if ex- pecting some great calamity." In 1811 the great comet illumined the heavens for ninety days, "Its prodigious tail swept 50 de- grees of the skies ; threads of light from the nucleus streamed down its immense length and curved at the end into a vast luminous arch." The cold summer of 1816. Apparently this town was not so great a sufferer as some others during that extraordinary season. It stands on record that "snow was ten inches deep in Vermont in June, ice thick as window glass in July, and an inch thick in August." But Henry Little says that in St. Johnsbury he trained with his Company on Major Butler's green, the first Tuesday in 514 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY June, and found the day too warm for the required military ac- coutrements ; and the day after was decidedly hot. The change was sudden, for Chauncey Spaulding clad in tow trousers and cotton shirt, while planting potatoes with James Works, was driven from the field by the wild snow squall. The following days, June 7 to 11, were gloomy, dark and cold with snow flying and the ground frozen. Later in the month however corn, potatoes, peas, buckwheat, beans and turnips were planted, but the continuous cold prevented the maturing of any crops, except a very little poor corn and potatoes. Wheat and corn were brought into town and sold at $2.50 a bushel. James Works brought up a lot of corn on flatboats from Charlestown No. 4, which sold at $3.00 cash down. A few small unripe potatoes could be had in Waterford for 75 cents a bushel. "Oatmeal, rice and boiled beech leaves (nuts?) were in use as food." For the next planting in June 1817, seed corn of 1815 was used at $5.00 a bushel and little to be had even at that price. This condition of things that our fathers then went through is a reminder of the year 1204, of which the Fabyan Chronycle says : — "in this yeare, that is to saye, ye Vth yere of Kyng John, by reason of ye unreasonable weder, whete was solde for XV shilling a quarter." 1829 The last week in December was soft and mild ; there was no frost, grass was green as if growing ; men were doing out door work without gloves. During this pleasant week the large building for the new hemp works was put up at the Fair- banks Mills ; it was in the operating of the hemp works that the first platform scale was afterward devised and constructed. 1834 May 15 Heavy snow fall today. "I was sent to look up some sheep that had strayed far up Saddle Back; snow there was nearly a foot deep." 1842 June 17 A snow fall of several inches ; but corn and beans in the garden came thro all right. On the 20th of October, 18 inches of snow fell and remained till the next spring. Potatoes caught in the ground by this snow came out sound and good in the spring. Between November 9 and COSMIC EVENTS 515 February 1 there were 30 snow storms which deposited 12 feet of snow. This was the season of the fatal erysipelas. 1851 A very distinct lunar rainbow was seen at nine o'clock September 5, spanning the sky in the west opposite the rising moon. 1852 During the past winter there were 35 big snow storms in St. Johnsbury ; 7 in November, in December, in March ; 8 in Jan- uary, and 6 in February. 1854 The comet now in view is so amiable and modest that none of the Millerites have ventured to predict the end of the world from any antics it may perform. 1855 Jan. 14 Earthquake, with explosions in the skies like the bursting of balls with fire inside. 1856 July 12 A fierce hail storm, with high north wind. All the north windows in the Center Village reported broken, hail stones from six to ten inches in circumference. The hail stones lay in deep windrows under fences where they might have been shoveled up by the cartload. Acres of timber were blown down and crops destroyed ; the damage in this town was reckoned at $20,000. 1858 Donati's comet reproduced the splendor of the comet of 1811 referred to on page 513. 1861 April 5 The brilliant aurora threw a belt of light from one horizon to the other, making a perfect arch at an eleva- tion of 90 degrees. Note. This was surpassed by the aurora of February 7, 1902, when the northern, southern and western heavens were an aerial sea of flame as if an entire city were on fire ; the colors slowly fading from red to brown, to violet, to purple, to blue, to a pale ashen hue. 1862 On New Year's Day fourteen inches of snow with driving wind. A St. Johnsbury farmer had to tunnel thro a drift as big as his barn to get at his cattle. 1868 On the twelfth of March a good sized grasshopper was hopping contentedly over H. N. Roberts' farm, and a frisky but- terfly flew into an open window on Summer street. 516 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY 1868 The Fourth of July was celebrated with warmth. On this and the following day the temperature ranged from 100 to 103 degrees. In the Fairbanks foundry mercury stood at 135 de- grees and all work was suspended. Masons who were laying the foundations of the Athenaeum quit work. In Goss Hollow a man died in the hay field. This heat was followed by an electric storm. Two balls of electric fire were seen to fall on Frank Brown's store, doing considerable damage. No such heat had been known by the oldest resident of the town. Note. Similar conditions prevailed July 4-12, 1911, during which period the mercury averaged about 100° at mid-day for nine days, on one of which it registered 115° in the forenoon. Work was suspended at the foundries for two days. 1869 Three days heavy rains, October 3, 4 and 5, with six inches rain fall, resulting in the great flood of 1869, an account of which is given farther on. 1870 Three inches of dirty snow fell on the twelfth day of February. This snow contained three grains of meteoric dust to the square foot ; equal to 360 lbs. to the square mile. The storm covered 400 square miles, and is computed to have laid 7200 pounds of meteoric dust on the surface of the earth. 1870 During the summer there were thunder showers nearly every day. On the twentieth of July mercury stood at 100 degrees in the shade — 133 degrees in the sunlight. 1870 At eleven o'clock A. M. of October 20, the community was startled by an earthquake, the most violent shake ever known in the town. There was alarm everywhere ; consternation in the Union School from which the children swarmed out as the heavy brick building rocked on its foundations. The South Church steeple was seen to sway to and fro as if it were a reed shaken by the wind. Door bells rang, crockery rattled and crashed; no serious damage however was done. 1871 The month of February, this year, recorded tempera- ture at 40 degrees below zero ; also thunderstorms, grasshoppers and butterflies. COSMIC EVENTS 517 1872-1873 The snow fall this winter was fourteen feet, lack- ing one inch. Hiram Cutting reckoned the average snow fall of this region to be from three to fourteen feet; not all on the ground at one time. 1873 There was less than half the usual rainfall during the warm season. Pastures and fields were dried up and barren; Passumpsic River never so low before ; Moose River was only a small brook; the worst drought ever known. 1874 On the twenty-fourth of April, a blizzard of 36 hours and eight inches of snow. Nearly three feet of snow remained on the ground till the first of May. 1875 During the second week in February the mercury ranged on successive days at 20, 30, 24, 23, 30, 34 degrees below zero. On the first day of May, this year, the ground was frozen to the depth of seven feet and three inches on Main street. 1878 New Year's Day. Pansies blossoming in gardens on the Plain, pussy willows in fur coats on the meadow, sap running in maple trees on the hillside. Before the middle of the month, mercury at 22 degrees, 30 degrees, 40 degrees below zero. 1878 Nov. 29 At four o'clock in the afternoon a notable Sun Dog appeared, 20 degrees from the zenith ; a bright and perfect circle. "Walking forth this frosty morning on an errand in the town I came aware of ice upon the sidewalk by unexpectedly sitting down." Jan. 28, 1886 1887 Jan. 6 A particularly luminous Sun Dog appeared today, attracting much attention and many prophecies of storms and dire disasters. 1888 June 7 A cyclone swept across the Plain and Rail- road street. Two heavily charged clouds met directly overhead at 4.30 in the afternoon. First darkness, then hurricane winds from east and west which grappled each other over the village. Some roofs were torn off ; the granite sheds were collapsed ; win- dows were blown in ; trees blown down ; William Clement lost 350 full grown trees. On Portland street a blacksmith shop was 518 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY demolished, killing and burying a horse that was waiting to be shod. On Summer street A. E. Sanborn's hen house was laid low, but the hen inside, engaged in sitting, continued to sit, the hailstones did not drive her from the post of duty. Reports of this storm having reached Minnesota, the St. Paul News remarked: "Last week a cyclone passed over St. Johns- bury, Vt., which makes all western tornadoes appear tame as gentle breezes whispering to the young spring leaves. Trees were rooted up, huge beams crashed thro the roofs of houses, in- numerable buildings were totally destroyed. Small boys were lifted like kites on a windy day and carried over hill and dale, till catching hold of high tree tops they managed to bring their aerial transportation to a termination"? ? ? FLOODS AND FIRES "Wherein I spake of most disastrous chances Of moving accidents by flood and fire." Flood of 1828 On Friday, September 5, heavy rains swelled the West Branch and washed away five bridges and sev- eral mills on the stream, including the works of the Fairbanks Brothers, which only a few months before had been rebuilt after a disastrous fire. The violence of the waters was so great at this time that a clothier's screw press weighing four hundred pounds, was swept down the stream and lodged on the meadow nearly half a mile below : see page 186. Flood of 1866 The high water of April 25, flooded the streets and swept off the lower bridge across the Passumpsic at Center Village, two Moose River bridges and one on Sleeper's River. It also tore away the mill dam on Passumpsic River, east of the railroad station, which had been rebuilt only seven years before. This shut down the Miller Carriage factory, Thompson's foundry and machine shop, Carpenter's wood shop, Warner's mowing machine shop and the Nutt file works. Flood of 1869 A storm of thirty hours' duration, October 2 and 3, proved the most disastrous ever known in the town. Pas- FLOODS AND FIRES 519 sumpsic River at the Center Village was two and a half feet higher than any former record ; streets and houses were flooded ; railroad tracks were washed away ; trains were stopped ; for five days there was no mail from the south ; on the fifth day Post- master Fleetwood set out with a mail of 1600 letters which he proposed in some way to get delivered at White River Junction. On Sleepers River "the turbid waters were floating timbers, trees, logs, wagons, horse powers and endless other miscellany ; soon the cry was heard: 'the bridge is coming !' and like a duck on the water, came sailing down the lumber yard bridge ; it broke thro the highway bridge, pitched over the dam, took out the next bridge with a crash and hurried on ; for a time it was held at the foundry bridge till a broadside of the castings' shop struck it and all went down the stream. In the new brick engine house, the engine was submerged ; east of this was the scale packing shop, originally the grist mill built by Joseph Fairbanks in 1815, and the only survivor of early times ; under the force of the flood it tottered and fell with a terrific crash and was carried off. Startling events were following each other with fearful rapidity, while hundreds of men stood powerless to avert further calamity. The power of the waters was seen in the floating down stream of a 600 pound lot of iron gearing. The work of cleaning up next day was a sorry spectacle, tools and machinery full of mud which lay in places two feet deep on the floor." Loss was $50,000. "When the flood was at its highest, amusement was created by an old breeding sow that came floating down the current, stern first, but paddling as for dear life, up the stream, her nose resting on a plank. She went over the dam and out of sight ; supposed to be drowned. Toward night a Frenchman came driving her home, as lively as ever and a good deal cleaner ; he had found her down on the meadow, pulled her out, shaken her hind legs till finally she came to, a soberer and cleaner hog." Floods of 1896 On the eleventh of May meadows and fields along the Passumpsic valley were turned into wide spreading ponds. As the train was coming in from the east the locomotive St. Johnsbury sagged and finally rolled over into Moose River on the Hovey meadow. For nearly a week, owing to a serious 520 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY break in the dump, trains from the south were not able to run above Passumpsic Village. On the first day of March this year was the biggest ice pack ever known in the town. Forty acres of ice covered the Butler meadows, in some places several layers deep ; the highway to the Center Village was blocked, and the road commissioner had a passage cut thro ; the ice stood four to six feet high as a wall on either side. Houses in the Center Village were flooded, five families were turned outdoors ; one woman was brought out in a boat over four feet of water. The same conditions of ice and flood and the drowning out of families on Elm street near Moose River, inspired some versifying a la habitant: ' 'Ma golly ! You otter see de ice come float him down On de reever dis mornin' rat in to de town. Gret beeg cake come float him in here, An' make awful noise mos' like I never did hear." All dese time de water rose him high An' beeg cakes ice come float him by, An' strike him hard on Peet pig pen An' hees pig make loud sqneel — " Flood of 1897 At noon, July 24, looking up North Danville road, one saw a wide lake of water ; broken bridges, dams, logs, and other debris swept down upon the highway bridge. There was liability of a repetition of the flood of 1869, which did $50,000 dam- age to the scale works. But the bridge withstood the shock ; tho the foundry bridge was swept off and water ran four feet deep thro the blacksmith and machine shops and the foundries, depositing generous layers of mud. Four bridges went off on the Sleeper's River, and a strip of land was gullied out from the south side of the Academy Campus. Similar results on this river followed the flood of June 1902, with damages of $1500 at the scale works. FIRES The old Hezekiah Martin house was burned in September 1858, with a loss of $5700 to Moses Kittredge, the owner and FLOODS AND FIRES 521 occupant at that time. This was a serious loss to the village as well as to the family, sweeping off one of the finest residences on upper Main street, a stately brick building of Colonial style similar to the Judge Paddock house and erected in 1825 by the same builder. The hall attached to this house was the home of the St. Johnsbury Female Academy during the seventeen years of its existence. The entire wiping out of this interesting land- mark is a matter of lasting regret ; the more so, if, as believed at the time, it was the work of an incendiary. In 1859, the old red mill belonging to what was then called Elyville on Moose River was destroyed by fire. This structure, said to have been built by the Fairbanks Company, was used by the Ely Hoe and Fork Works, an old and conspicuous landmark. In July of the next year fire again broke out at midnight and destroyed property valued at $5500 at these Works. To reach the place, the fire companies had to drag their engines across the Plain, down Sand Hill, thro Paddock Village, but they arrived in time to save three important buildings, and won applause for their prompt and effective performance. The Ely Works met with almost total loss again by fire at midnight, in July, 1895 ; considerable damage was done by the flames in 1912. The Railroad Repair Shops were burned March 23, 1866, with a loss of $75,000. Machine shop, blacksmith and wood shops, with machinery and tools a total loss. The old "Cale- donia," one of the first locomotives on the road, escaped tho badly burnt. For a time the freight and passenger stations were in extreme danger. April 16, 1870 Fire broke out at midnight that destroyed the Colby, Burnham and Woodbury buildings on Railroad street, north of Randall's block. Loss, $17,000. The wind was strong from the south and burning cinders fired roofs on Maple street and dry grass and leaves in Paddock Village. The Scale Factory Fire, Jan. 21, 1876 At five o'clock, after- noon, a cinder dropped into the vat of japan ; the result was a raging fire that threatened destruction to the entire works, the wind blowing a gale from the west. All the hydrants, two steam $22 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY pumps and two engines played streams of water; hundreds of yards of new carpeting from the store were spread over the saw shop, boiler and engine house ; on the roof of the benzine maga- zine hosemen stood five hours battling the flames inch by inch. A special train from Lyndonville brought relays of firemen who took the places of those who succumbed to cold, smoke or exhaus- tion ; coffee was served to the men from the store and bean soup from an adjourned church social. A lull of the wind made it pos- sible at last to check the flames at one of the fire walls that ran high above the roof, but streams were kept playing all night over the buildings. Loss $40,000. Seven weeks later new shops were opened, having four brick fire walls from sixteen to twenty inches thick, with iron doors and casings. In November, 1889, the Fairbanks store and Counting Room were entirely destroyed by fire. The Old Steam Mill opposite the Railroad Station was burned March 20, 1876. This was a large building erected in 1851, by a stock company, capable of housing several different industries. At the time of this fire it held the sash and door manufactory, the St. Johnsbury Tool Company, the Nutt File Works and the Miller Carriage Factory. The loss was $14,000. The building erected on its site, occupied by Jones and Shields and others was destroyed by fire in December, 1910, total loss $30,000. The Center Village Fire, July 1, 1876 On the morning of that day this village consisted of 80 dwellings, three churches several stores and mills or shops. At noon 27 buildings were in ashes, including the straw board mill, grist mill, flour mill, two stores, one church and the school house — taking out a third of the village, nearly the entire business center. As there was no tele- graph station, a messenger had to drive his horse to the Plain; then the engines were dragged up three miles in the hot sun, the only local apparatus being water pails and wet blankets. The old Armington Hotel and the Universalist Church opposite were wrapped in flames ; it seemed impossible to reach the upper end of the street where help was most needed, except roundaboutly by the burning school house and the swamp. But with a daring FLOODS AND FIRES 523 plunge, the Deluge Engine Company dashed thro the smoke and flames and reached the north end, where finally they checked the further progress of the fire, after $50,000 property had been con- sumed and many families left homeless. Among these was William Hall, who tucked his bank bills amounting to $500, under the corner of a carpet for safe keeping, and went with his wife to spend the day up at Wesley Sargent's. Four months after this fire, Julius Paradis went up to the Center Village post office and enquired for a Mrs. Armington. He was taken by Edward M. Ide to her house. Had she lost anything at the fire? She had. What was it? A pocket book. Anything in it? Yes, $250 in bonds, $400 in notes, $80 in cur- rency. Paradis handed her the wallet containing these articles ; he said he picked it up from the ground while helping to load goods on to a wagon ; it seems he had been talking with Father Boissonnault and took this occasion to relieve his pocket and his conscience. On Sunday afternoon, March 26, 1881, the work of fire was so sudden and swift, that the Free Baptist Church had vanished from its place on Main street before many of the citizens were aware that anything had happened. The Union School House on Summer street was burned in the early morning of November 3, 1882. The fire department could not get pressure enough to throw water on to the roof which had been recently tarred. The outer walls of two and three layers of brick stood uninjured for the work of reconstruction. The property loss was $17,000, and unfortunately the school records covering 26 years were destroyed. On Sunday afternoon, October 27, 1892, the east side of Rail- road street was ablaze with flame, driven by a fierce wind from the north. A roaring noise was first heard from the basement of Lougee & Smythe's store, then an explosion, then flames fifty feet high from the rear of the building. Within half an hour the entire row of business blocks south were on fire, Drouin's, Cald- beck's, Daniels', Merchants Bank, Ward's, Griswold and Pearl's. Thirty families were burned out, fifteen of them in Ward's block 524 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY on the corner ; in the Caldbeck building two lives were lost. The property loss was figured at $170,000, including the Mer- chants Bank and fifteen stores. The new steam pump played in 14 streams 1000 gallons of water a minute ; the Aqueduct sys- tem was also turned into the mains. The Avenue House nar- rowly escaped ; its turn came, however, four years later. On Sunday, January 26, 1896, the Avenue House was destroy- ed by fire, with a loss of $60,000. The guests in the building had hardly time to escape thro the doors and windows ; T. C. Spencer, caught in the corridors, was so injured by the heat that he died the following day. The firemen were on duty twelve hours ; they played 17 streams from 13 hydrants, both water systems being turned on. A train from Lyndonville brought 25 firemen and 1000 feet of hose, which was a welcome reinforcement. The Opera House seemed doomed, for thro a door left open in the fire wall, the flames made entrance ; but they were stubbornly fought and this building as well as the Republican Block was saved. On Sunday, March 10, 1895, the Pythian Block went down by fire involving a loss of $35,000. It was a new building, erected only the year before. Dense smoke filled the building for two hours before any flames burst out ; the firemen devoted all their energies to saving the adjoining buildings. Everything in this block was destroyed, some thirteen parties being occupants ; it was rebuilt on the original plan the next year, with the addi- tional feature of solid brick walls. Citizens Bank Block. In the early morning of October 30, 1907, fire was discovered in the basement, which with rapid progress destroyed the whole interior of this block and cost the lives of nine persons. "It is small wonder that people awakened out of sleep by the cry of fire in the hall ways, the blowing of engine whistles and the ringing of fire bells should have become bewildered and crazed ; " lost their way in the smoke and perished. One woman in night dress only, plunged thro smoke and fire that melted celluloid pins in her hair, then ran without shoes for shelter to a house on Cherry street. Guy Cheney hung FLOODS AND FIRES 525 for twenty minutes from a top window in stifling heat, too high up to be reached by any ladder, till Oscar Hall rushed up the fifty- five foot ladder carrying a shorter one, which he and Harley Cas- well held straight up to his feet, and by this narrow margin rescued him. C. T. Ranlet, the well known printer, lost his life by falling from a high ladder. This was the most tragic catas- trophe in the history of the town. The property loss was $50,000. One effect of this disaster was the increased public demand for more effective fire protection than could be rendered under the existing system, and this ultimately brought about the establish- ment of the central fire station and the purchase of the motor trucks. The property losses caused by the conflagrations here mentioned, not including the long list of less serious ones, aggre- gated nearly half a million dollars. XXXIX MISCELLANEOUvS CHRONICLE "Sir," quod I, "your wordes be to mee rigrbte agrreable and have done mee greate plesure- ^vrhiche shd not be loste, but putte in remembrannee and eronycled if God wyll." Froissart CHRONICLE OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS MOSTLY FROM THE CALEDONIAN January 14, 1838 Imagine a railroad once completed and trains of loaded cars bringing all the benefits of Atlantic markets to our very doors. What would induce us to relinquish its privileges and return to our present pent up and sequestered condition? December 1, 1839 Dr. Calvin Jewett intends keeping constantly on hand Foreign Leaches for use and for sale. A few Smyrna and Swedish Leaches may now be had in the clay in which they were imported. February, 1840 Whig convention at Danville — the delegation from the east came up led by a team of six grey horses with a Tippecanoe canoe mounted on runners in which was the St. Johnsbury Brass Band whose per- formances elicited universal praise. April 6, 1840 Hull Curtis has removed his Tailor Shop to the south part of the Plain opposite to where the Temperance House was kept. Note. That tailor shop is now the Girls' Cottage of the Academy ; the Temperance Hotel is the present Club House. It was Hull Curtis, who in waggish tra- ditions of later time was credited with cutting all trousers from one pattern, saying "if you find they're too long wash 'em and they'll shrink all right ; if they're too short just let out your suspenders." April 16, 1840 Swartwouted ! from the subscriber, an indented appren- tice, Michael Coffney, 15 years old. All persons forbidden to harbor. — Wm. C. Arnold. (Swartwout was a notoriously slippery official under Van Buren) MISCELLANEOUS CHRONICLE 527 May 4, 1841 Citizens of St. Johnsbury Plain who are willing to devote half a day to transplanting trees to ornament and beautify our village, are desired to meet at the head of the Plain at one o'clock tomorrow with proper implements, equipped for manual labor ; none excused except the lame and the lazy. October 30, 1841 Thirty bushels of beechnuts wanted, in exchange for goods. By spreading a blanket under the trees the nuts can be easily gathered. Shedd a?id Jewett . March 4, 1842 The St. Johnsbury Lyceum. Topic for debate : Is the influence of woman upon society in the aggregate salutary, or not? Aff. Wm. Dickinson, Jacob Benton, Charles Fairbanks, John H. Paddock. Neg. Dr. Morrill Stevens, Asa L. French, J. P. Foster, Aaron Farnham, December 19, 1842 Found, in the woods 100 rods from my house, seven sheep variously marked in the ear. The owner will please hand over a little cash and take them away. Royal Ayer September 9, 1843 David Camp has on hand and for sale about 80,000 teazles of first rate quality. 319 W* December 12, 1843 St. Johnsbury Academy. This new Institution now has a building for its accommodation, built by Messrs. E. and T. Fair- banks and Company at a cost of $2000.00. It is warmed by a furnace in the cellar and is so ventilated as to keep the temperature even, promoting the health of its occupants, May 16, 1844 Wonasquatucket calicoes, crepe nemours, muslin de lanes, Victoria lawns, barages, lace stripe muslins, ginghams, gimps, fringes, rib- bons, bonnets, parasols, whale bone for trimming bonnets. E. Jewett August 16, 1844 The St. Johnsbury Henry Clay Club will meet at the Centre Village school house. Discussion on the Annexation of Texas, in which our political opponents are invited to participate. August 28, 1844 The St. Johnsbury Glee Club and the Band went over to Lunenburg to attend the Whig Convention ; they added much to interest of the convention, which was addressed by Erastus Fairbanks and others. One procession of carriages going to this convention was more than a mile in length ; upwards of 1000 people were present ; the Old Coon Spirit of 1840 is still alive, opposing Free Trade, Annexation of Texas and Slavery. Nov. 17, 1844 The whigs of St. Johnsbury tender their acknowledge- ments to the Loco-foco clique of Lyndon lawyers and their etcs., and subs, also to Harry Hibbard, for the deep concern manifested for them before the election. Note Loco-foco as a designation of the democratic party originated in Tammany Hall, October 29, 1835. During a stormy debate that evening one wing of the party extinguished the lights and left the hall ; the opposing 528 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY wing promptly lighted candles with "loco-foco matches" and then continued the meeting— hence in popular phrase amongst the whigs— loco-foco, a democrat. March 1845 1001 Meeting of the several chapters of the Order at St. Johnsbury Center, Wed. March 12. Every member should be present as the Grand Sardocumonicum has arrived from Boston and will be distributed. August 6, 1845 The Driesbach Menagerie arrives on the Plain, the music car drawn by four elephants ; after it twenty wagons, in which Herr Driesbach appears fondling and caressing his carnivorous family and driving them in harness. February 7, 1846 The first annual meeting of the Caledonia Association for the improvement of common schools is held at St. Johnsbury Plain. July 25, 1846 The art of Phonography is now being taught here by B. P. Worcester, Professor of the art. He will give an exhibition of it Tuesday evening at the Meeting House on the Plain. August 29, 1846 300,000 Slaveholders, thro the so-called Democratic Party, rule this country as with a rod of iron ; and with measures so abominable as to carry dismay among us. Shall the whigs falter in this crisis? No, no, never ! Next Tuesday do your most sacred duty at the polls and rally for Freedom and Independence! September 4, 1846 Text books adopted for schools in Caledonia Coun- ty — Webster's Spelling Book, Saunder's Readers, Morse's Geography, Col- burn's Intellectual Arithmetic, Adams' Arithmetic, Well's Grammar, Cutter's Physiology, Ackerman's Natural History, Goodrich's History United States. January 30, 1847 Stages now leave Franklin, N. H., on the arrival of the cars from Boston, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, passing thro Plymouth and Franconia Notch to Littleton. Next morning at seven o'clock leave Littleton for Waterford, St. Johnsbury and Danville ; returning on the opposite days. February 24, 1847 The Caledonia Medical Society will hold the semi- annual meeting at Geo. W. Ely's Inn, St. Johnsbury Plain at 10 o'clock. Patients prescribed for gratuitously. Calvin Jewett, President May 6, 1847 It is well for us that wheat is plenty on our farms now that flour is up to $10 a barrel. Better to use our domestic wheat than to pur- chase a single pound of flour. September 4, 1847 "A little more grape, Capt. Bragg," said Gen. Zachary Taylor, when the Mexicans were pressing hard on our army at Buena Vista. So say we, gallant Whigs of Vermont ! Pour in the grape of Whig ballots into the rotten hulk of locofocoism next Tuesday ! Give the Annexation of Texas and Slavery allies a full, plump, well-aimed charge of grape ! Up, and at them ! MISCELLANEOUS CHRONICLE 529 October 1, 1847 Snuff. We are receiving from the manufactory Scotch and Maccaboy snuff in barrels, half barrels and jars ; sold at two to four cents less than can be procured from Boston. Fuller & Co. March 4, 1848 Now that the Railroad is coming, if every farmer would turn his attention to increasing our agricultural products we can show up an amount that will astonish the Bostonians. September 2, 1848 Whig Nominations For President, Gen. Zachary Taylor Vice President, Millard Fillmore Electors at Large, Erastus Fairbanks, Timothy Follett x?„~ r^„ ~m~~ n„^™ n i.vi— Senators, J E. C. Chamberlin For Governor, Carlos Coohdge Caledonia, \ Edward A. Cahoon November, 1848 Our young Whigs let off 100 guns in honor of Old Zack's election on the 7th inst, followed by a torch light procession and a banquet with music and speeches at Hull Curtis' Inn. February 23, 1850 The selectmen have laid out a road from the west end of the Paddock Village bridge southward to the Depot ground, 190 rods also from the depot grounds westerly up the hill to the Plain striking Main street just north of the burying ground ; this will be Eastern Avenue, 24 feet wide, to cost $600. May 20, 1850 Bristol Bill and Meadows, now in Danville jail were in town when the Bank Commissioners were sitting here for the new bank. They were thought to be suspicious characters and a good lookout was kept that night over the specie deposited by the commissioners. Bill had regis- tered at the hotel as Mr. Warburton and wife, Philadelphia. He is an old Botany Bay convict, and the marks of the 39 lashes are still on his back. November 16, 1850 Rails are now laid up to Passumpsic Village ; next week we shall doubtless see the Iron Horse in our midst. November 28, 1850 The cars have come ! The first regular train of cars arrived here at 4 o'clock ; a cheering sight. * * * The boys are careless about the depot grounds when the cars are moving. They do not understand the danger and parents should keep their younger boys away. February 22, 1851 All the employees of the Scale factory with their ladies were invited by the Fairbanks Company to a trip on the cars to White River. There were 350 or more on the special train ; the engine Caledonia in her best attire was ornamented also with a scale. There was a dinner and speeches ; the day was one to be ever remembered. June, 1851 Much building activity is noticeable on the new street laid out parallel with Main — Summer street. September, 1851 No other County Fair in the state could bring together so many fine cattle and horses as the 300 we have just had exhibited here. Those in pursuit of fine stock will now know where to come to find it. 530 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY May, 1852 More ornamental trees should be transplanted into our vil- lage ; a hundred of them would not be one too many. June, 1852 There are two nuisances that should be at once attended to : the frog pond near the North Church and the other one above Central street. The boys have been killing frogs in these ponds and the result can be snuffed a considerable distance. Four and six pence of the highway tax paid on the Plain might be claimed for abating these nuisances. November, 1852 By the aid of the telegraph we had at this place at 11 o'clock Tuesday evening information that Franklin Pierce had been elected President. The railroad when opened two years ago was considered a great advance on the old mail stage ; but even that is now deemed too slow by some who want their news as quick as lightning. March, 1854 At the annual March meeting this town denounced the Nebraska Bill now pending in Congress, by a vote lacking only two of being unanimous, of which two one was by the Democratic postmaster. "This Ne- braska perfidy is black, hideous and repulsive to every lover of freedom and human rights." "Will ye thus our land despoil, Fair Nebraska's virgin soil Yield to slavery's bleeding- toil?" April, 1854 It is rumored that no mill privileges will be disposed of for the present on the pond front of the school house on the Plain, or until the flowage question is settled. June, 1855 A new road is to be laid out at right angles from R. R. St. running east across the Passumpsic River to connect with the East Village road. Note. This was the beginning of Portland Street. September 8, 1855 It is like enduring the tortures of the Black Hole to stay in the low, unventilated dungeon of our Town Hall at the Center Village, the air nauseated with smoke and exhalations from 700 pairs of lungs, so that even the lamps go out for want of oxygen to keep them burning. More than any necessity for County Buildings is our need of a new, wholesome, capa- cious Town Hall. March 1, 1856 Beyond a doubt St. Johnsbury is the highest market in Vermont. There is not a village in the state where the average value of everything used for man and beast rules higher than here. Figures will show this. April 19, 1856 There is competition staging north of St. Johnsbury, Vt., and passengers can ride at their own price to Island Pond, connecting with the Grand Trunk for Canada. MISCELLANEOUS CHRONICLE 531 May 3, 1856 May Day morning was celebrated by a procession of 20 baby carriages thro Main Street, each carriage drawn by two girls ; babies, carriages and girls decorated with flowers, and refreshments served at the end of the route. May 24, 1856 Summer street and the newly opened Spring street, adorned with young maples will some years hence be as beautiful streets as one will see in any country village. The steep bank on the left as one goes down Western Avenue is being terraced and planted with trees and shrub- bery preparatory to the erection of dwellings on the table land above. Those who can remember when there was but one street, one old church and one schoolhouse on the Plain may see that not all the spirit of progress has gone out west of the Alleghanies. June, 1856 The nomination of Freemont and Dayton for presidential ticket was responded to at St. Johnsbury by a salute from the twelve- pounder. The ball is rolling— clear the track ! October 4, 1856 A good thing recently done for our village is the estab- lishment of a regular police. Its usefulness is already seen in the preserving of good order and the ferreting out and destroying of large quantities of poor liquor. October 18, 1856 Nothing can be lovelier than St. Johnsbury just now. The light fog of early morning soon melts away ; not a cloud obscures the clear October sky ; the sun walks thro the heavens with a mild benignant look ; the autumnal breeze just stirs the leaves half mournful in their russet hues ; a calm repose like Hercules leaning on his club carries enjoyment out of doors to a height above which it can no farther go. The crescent moon too is now abroad o' nights pouring silver light upon the completed glory of autumn. There's no more glorious clime than this. May 7, 1857 On the 25th inst. an opportunity will be given to get rid of those detestable coins the ninepence and fourpence ha'penny ; and so to be rid of an infinite deal of half-cent trickery in their use. The government is calling them into the Philadelphia mint, and we hope to see them all starting toward that bourne whence no fourpence ha'penny ere returns. May 30, 1857 The grounds around the new Court House are being greatly improved by grading, gravel-walks and turfing. Future generations will find it hard to believe that these beautiful premises were once a populous grave yard fronted by one of the most unsightly holes that ever disgraced a Tillage. June 14, 1857 Letter to a St. Johnsbury manufacturer : "June the 11 one 1857, sir ihave lerned that you have a horse rake that gros on wheals that is got up at your plase and ishod like to no what you ask apease fore them ore by the dosen at your plase or dlivlered at the stasion Jefferson county Antwerp, N. Y. ihave wrote befor and have not got no anser." 532 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY February 2, 1858 The fire wardens report the cisterns near the South church, on Summer street and on R. R. street, sound and full of water ; the cistern opposite the Court House is two-thirds full, the one near the Post Office is broken and empty. July, 1859 Independence Day toast. — The Ladies : Fireside ornaments, Presiding Deities in the Temple of Home, China Vases amongst the stone ware of humanity ; responded to by Geo. W. Cahoon of Lyndon. July 13, 1859 An unusual sight was that of thirteen ladies and gentle- men passing thro our streets on horseback yesterday. They were a party of tourists on the way to the mountains from New York City on a 700 mile trip. July 18, 1859 Mowing machines are beginning to supersede the scythe on our fields. They seem to work well, tho our Vermont hills were supposed to be proof against any such innovation. Aug. 10, 1859 A Sunday School excursion of 34 cars, 12 of which were from this town, to the Bradford grove. The train was nearly a quarter of a mile long ; with banners and evergreens and merry children numbering almost four thousand. August, 1859 The late Judge Paddock was an influential member from this town of the Legislature during the twenties ; at a time when that body had such a galaxy of learning, of talent, and of eloquent speakers as the state of Vermont has seldom furnished. March 28, 1860 My grandson Isaac Snell has run away with the help of his brother I,ewis Snell the third. I forbid all persons trusting- him on my account as I will not pay one cent for him no way. The Widow Polly Snell August 17, 1860 Hon. Justin S. Morrill, who spoke before the Vermont Teachers' Association at the South Church last evening, was serenaded and escorted with a torch light procession by the Torrent and Deluge fire com: panies. November 9, 1860 Behold, how brightly breaks the morning ! Repub- lican tornado ; Abram Lincoln to be next President ! Hear what the people say! December 10, 1860 Stove wood is for the first time a drug on our mar- ket. Best maple and yellow birch $3 a cord ; common run of wood less. April 19, 1861 War! Fort Sumter bombarded and surrendered ! 75,000 militia called out by President Lincoln ! April 20, 1861 Today Col. Harvey of the Passumpsic House drilled 100 men or more, who at the tap of drum and scream of fife stepped into mili- tary line. A strange scene on our streets ! MISCELLANEOUS CHRONICLE 533 April 22, 1861 Patriotic Meeting! The Town Hall filled to overflowing ! 70 men volunteer for military service ! May 17, 1861 The listers of our town, as required, return 460 men quali- fied for enrolment in the state militia. June 9, 1861 Gov. Fairbanks' remarks to the Third Regiment at Camp Baxter on Sunday, showed his great solicitude for the honor of the state and also a personal care for the soldiers that was not official only, but parental. Nothing but the sacredness of the day prevented rounds of applause. July 6, 1861 At the Town Hall, 40 ladies have made up 900 towels for the Camp Baxter Boys. Many flowers have also been sent down to them. July 24, 1861 The Third Regiment of 882 men left St. Johnsbury today in a train of 24 cars, bound for the seat of war. January 1, 1862 Periodical literature mailed to this village : 212 dailies, 27 semi-weeklies, 817 weeklies, 54 semi-monthlies, 173 monthlies ; total 1283. February 21, 1862 On a neighboring farm is a snow drift as big as a forty foot barn ; it was necessary to tunnel it in order to get at the cattle. April 1, 1862 The snow has settled considerably. Guard rails and hitch- ing posts begin to make their appearance again on our streets ; 25 inches of snow fell in March, 51 in February, 41 in January. August, 1862 In recruits under the call for nine months' service, the Center Village led the County. This town's quota of 62 was promptly made up, and within five weeks 94 men were enlisted. Out of 30 men who make up the Excelsior Hook and Ladder Co., 26 are now in the army. January 1, 1863 The emancipation proclamation of President Lincoln was greeted by the ringing of all the bells of the village for three quarters of an hour. February 13, 1863 "I wish to protest against the wide advertising of St. Johnsbury as the coldest spot in New England. Years ago Franconia was the cold place, but lately it is being eclipsed by bulletins sent out from this town. Approved thermometers do not justify this." May 26, 1863 A pair of loons found their way to the Depot mill pond Saturday. There may not have been any wild shots but the man who was hit in the back by a spent ball doesn't care to have any more loons come to that pond. May 30, 1863 The listers found 86 dogs in town, and by the law now in force they stand the same in the list as 86 horses valued at $100 each ; $8,600 of dog. XL FRAGMENTS 'Of the fragments that remained they took up twelve baskets full" 'What a good deed it is to gather up these scattered crumbs of the past" Wagner FIELD AND GARDEN — LIVING CREATURES — COST OF LIVING — REAL ESTATE — MIGRATORY BUILDINGS — WAYSIDE THINGS SUNDRY PRODUCTS OF THE SOIL 'Tho' thine ocean-roll of rhythm sound forever of Imperial Rome" * * • "Thou too singest wheat and woodland, tilth and vineyard, kine and horse and herd ; All the charms of all the Moses often flowering in a single word." Tennyson's Salute to Virgil If required, precedent is conclusive among the major poets for suitable attention to common products of the soil and homely creatures of the farm yard. Jonathan Arnold affirmed in 1787 that the soil of the town was good. Other men as time went on have found it so or made it so, tho the record of productiveness does not indicate anything extraordinary. Researches in this field are far from being ex- haustive ; a few items appear of possible interest to farmers and gardeners. FRAGMENTS 535 Beginning with 1850, Perley Stone's pumpkin of five feet girth had 60 pounds of pumpkin material, which exceeded by 16 pounds the largest pumpkin reported from the state of Massa- chusetts. Bible Hill in 1868 took the honors from Pumpkin Hill when Otis Hallett's pumpkin attained the 80 pound mark. In 1852 a 52-inch English turnip was turned up in A. B. Tyler's gar- den ; this was lateral measure ; William Fuller's turnip of 1869 went down 26 inches longitudinally. Joel Hastings' corn reached an altitude of 10 feet 8 inches in 1853, and David Chapman's corn advanced to 11 feet 4 inches somewhile afterward. Jerry Norton's oats were 44 pounds to the bushel in 1859. Ten years later Philander Adams' rye was waving 6 feet 4 inches in the upper air, and Asa Livingstone's rye was 5 feet on the way to that record mark in early June, 1873. Fine timothy hay was cut 5 1-2 tons to the acre on the Fairbanks meadows along the North Danville road in 1866, and in 1877 Hiram Russell harvested corn at the rate of 280 bushels to the acre. the potato "The potatoe roote is thicke fat and tuber- ous, some are rounde, some oval or egge-fashion and with knobbie rootes fastened with a number of threddie strings ; it groweth naturally in America but I make it to growe and prosper in my garden." Gerard's Herbal 1597, It continued to grow and prosper in the land of its birth. Jonathan Arnold dug a first crop of 564 1-2 bushels of potatoes from his clearing on St. Johnsbury Plain in 1787. From one hill in 1868 Loren Stone turned out 106 new potatoes. Ezra Ide had three California po- tatoes in the spring of 1864; he put them in the ground and in the fall he had three bushels of the same. C. M. Stone from one pound of early rose in 1869 harvested 77 pounds of early rose new potatoes. Judge Ross dug 91 bushels of early rose on half an acre in 1893. The sweet potato has not been wholly foreign to our soil ; twelve sweet potato sprouts in 1875 yielded 19 pounds of the tubers in a Main street garden, which averaged three potatoes to the pound — "a foode as also a meate for pleasure equall in wholesomenesse unto any, rosted in embers and eaten with oile, vinigar and pepper." These potato paragraphs may be construed as a local appendix to the Treatise on Potato 536 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Culture published in France, January 1, 1782 by our town god- father, de Crevecoeur. for pie supply This place has a modest title to inclusion within the "perpetual pie belt." Its pumpkin pie product above mentioned was quite surpassed in 1870 by the Center Village squash, which under Edward M. Ide's judicious coaxing went on expanding its girth to 7 feet 4 inches, and accumulated 200 pounds weight of squash pie filling. There was serious question whether in this case squash quality had not been sacrificed for quantity. For those who wanted rhubarb pie Lewis Pierce in 1869 grew pie-plant stalks of six inches periphery and J. Huntley 1896 did the same on stalks of 28 inches length and 26 ounces weight. Stalks of this sort promoted leaf expansion : Dr. Ferrin at the East Village got them 3 feet by 3, and I. J. Robinson on Railroad street got them 3 feet 10 by 3 feet 6 inches, a circuit of about 10 feet. grown under ground The beet had no unusual develop- ment, tho in 1864 Ezra Ide lifted a ten pound one out of his beet bed which occupied two feet circuit of the soil ; Alexander Stuart's best beet fell two pounds short of this ; there must have been other beets whose attainments are not found on record. John Morse in 1855 considered 17 pounds fairly good weight for his ruta-baga, but Jacob Hovey's ruta-baga went on to 20 pounds in 1864, and the same year W. Lockwood's ruta-baga arrived at 27 pounds. That same year David Chapman one day dug 5 feet four inches into the ground to reach the end of his horse-radish, at which point it broke off, and he seems not to have pursued his researches any further down. No large crops of peanuts have been harvested here ; H. Courchaine however got good ones in 1900 out of his Hastings Hill sand patch. An unusual under- ground product was brought to light on Cliff street July the eighth 1872, by Horace Jackson on his way down for well water. His spade had gone down thro three feet of loam and six feet of clay, at which point nine feet below the surface, he arrived at the home of a family of toads. They were snugly nested in hard clay, content with their environment, willing to be let alone, but denied the privilege. Sunlight and the upper air brought about a FRAGMENTS 537 transformation from blue clay color to true toad brown, and from age-long inertia to normal toad hop and keen interest in the sum- mer evening bugs. small fruits Formerly the method in vogue with the strawberry was to take a milk pail into the mowing and bring home ten quarts of berries in it. They had the inimitable native flavor of the fields but were not remarkable for size. It was not till 1859 that Sylvanus Graves brought in from his garden a straw- berry that called for four inches of the tape measure. In 1876 the Underclyffe strawberry drew out nearly six inches of the tape, and Victor Harriman in 1889 celebrated by putting a girdle of seven and a half inches around his Fourth-of-July strawberry. Gov. Horace Fairbanks varied his duties of state in 1876 by bringing out 23 red currants on a small stem, their average meas- ure being one and a half inches or more, making a total super- ficies of three feet of currant on that stem. BEASTS OF THE EARTH AND FLYING FOWL Varieties few — information scanty — characteristics ordinary. The catamount entrapped up in the north part of the town in 1847 proved to be only second cousin to the catamount — lynx or bob-cat by name ; 28 teeth for poultry, tufts on ears, three feet, three inches length, three inches depth of fur on tail around about. An inquisitive bear indiscreetly sauntered on to John Spencer's premises November 12, 1847, and got shot for it. A seventeen-pound porcupine bristled his quills gracefully in the grove below the south end as late as 1866. The bear that lost his way near the east town line October 7, 1854, was taken care of and sold for nine dollars. A moose took his breakfast in Sylva- nus Owens' cornfield ; it was Friday, September 27, 1879, and he took occasion to move on before his measure could be taken. Observatory Knob was carefully inspected by a moose November 12, 1895. The Nova Scotia Bull Moose was piloted into the Museum in August, 1898, where he stands six feet six in height with antlers four feet spread. In his normal state he represented 1200 pounds of moose. It was a fisher cat that came down from Saddleback October, 1886, and did not find his way back home 538 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY again. Elijah Blodgett's old tabby cat was a fisher cat in 1891 when she fished out a thirteen-inch sucker from Sleeper's river. The seventeenth woodchuck that Perley Hazen got in the summer of 1887 was a cherry colored woodchuck. The bear that scared the women driving on the East Village road October 5, 1886, was so scared a young bear himself that he got out of the way quicker than he got into it and scampered for the nearest woods. The flourishing product of Squire Nichols' government garden seeds replenished one hungry deer in June, 1899, and on the last day of June, 1900, the lawns of Underclyffe kept the attention of another busily browsing most of the day. First and last quite a number of the wild deer family have made occasional neighborly calls in the village, much to our gratification. For thirty years the grace- ful figures of the flock of red and axis deer, confiding enough to take a nibble of something from your hand, gave unfailing at- traction to the Pinehurst Deer Park. The Crow Hill owl of 1857 carried six feet spread of wings ; the Owens' Hill eagle in 1863 exceeded this by eighteen inches. There was a blue heron heading for Canada in 1864 that spread six feet of wing over Passumpsic river; her successor of 1873 on the same trail had a wing-spread of six feet three inches, a height of four feet six inches and projected six and a half inches of beak. contributions of the hen No king has been known to mount a domestic fowl on the royal standard, but it is recorded by Gibbon, that one imperial poultry man converted his hens' eggs into crown jewels ; "When Vateces, the Nicene Emperor, presented to the Empress a crown of diamonds, he informed her with a smile that this precious ornament was from the sale of the eggs of his poultry." This introduction of the hen's egg into the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, justifies some notice of it in a less ambitious historical work. Postmaster Barney's hen used to produce good democratic eggs under Polk's administration to weigh a quarter of a pound. On the other hand Hiram Pierce's hen yielded an independent egg to weigh a quar- ter of an ounce. In June, 1877, C.P. Carpenter's mature hen de- posited in twelve days' time twelve eggs the size and caliber of robins' eggs. Between Dorking and Wyandotte up at the Four FRAGMENTS 539 Corners there was a one-inch variation one way of the egg and none the other way ; Wm. C. Arnold's Dorking being nine inches, Guy C. Wright's Wyandotte ten inches the long way. A biddy be- longing to Mrs. White started in on a day in February with one egg followed by ninety more the next ninety-three days ; then a week's vacation and on to business again. A fully developed frog of dimensions suited to his environment was liberated from an egg at the Cross Bakery one October day in 1893, and in August, 1878, Ezra Hawkins' hen presumably a Bang-kok, achieved a brace of Siamese-twin eggs, one for yolk and one for white, with provision for distributing the same thro a pipe-stem canal of one inch length uniting the two. sheep There was a time when sheep had distinction in the town ; they alone shared with the human family the honor of mention in the New England Gazetteer of 1837, "about 2000 people and 4546 sheep" constituting the population as there re- corded. It will be noticed that the numeration of sheep was exact, that of men, women and children stood in an indeterminate or round figure. Sheep had a way in former days of more than doubling their number. Moses Huntley in the spring of 1862 had 34 "middling likely ewes," each likely ewe of the bunch had twin lambs, a flock of 68 likely young sheep. Sheep had value as well as number ; Leonard Shorey wintered 17 sheep in 1854 and realized $5.70 on each ; in 1863, A. H. Wilcox sheared 19 pounds of wool from his Spanish Merino buck, and was not dis- posed to take the $500 offered for him. For nearly half a century Bela S. Hastings dealt in sheep, handling as many as 30,000 in a single year ; he took them down the road on foot and estimated that if all he had marketed were in line it would make a continu- ous string of sheep populating the road from here to Boston. live stock, a cow or two "The cow has been the merited theme of eulogium in all ages." From a nine-year old farrow cow Chauncey Spaulding in 1849, besides all supplies for family use, marketed 413 pounds of good butter ; this was one of the common old-fashioned red cows. During the year ending May- 1881, the Jersey Queen bred by E. and T. Fairbanks and Co. yielded 700 pounds of butter ; she was then sold to A. B. Darling 540 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY of the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York, and in May, 1882, her record for the year was 12,854 pounds of milk and 851 pounds of butter. New York regarded the Vermont cow with favor. oxen The Carlos Pierce ox was a native of Stanstead but he came to distinction in this place at the Caledonia Fair of 1864, ticketed as follows : "General Grant, six years old, largest ox in the United States will be presented to Father Abram on the eighth of November next on his re-election to the Presidency, unless Richmond falls before that date, in which case he will report to the successful General and await further orders. " In 1873, Asa Livingston had at the Fair what was then considered a heavy ox for a four-year-old at 2508 pounds. For the benefit of future generations who would like to know what was the prevailing style of farmer-ox-talk of that period, a few of the sixty-eight expres- sions overheard by this writer and penciled on the spot, are here given : "My, what an ox — say, ain't he big — marster big ox — that's what I call an ox — swanny he's a big one — ain't no question 'bout that — well, I never did see such an ox— he's awful fat, ain't he— there ye see what meal '11 do — I sh'd like a meal out o' him — fat laid right on even — too fat, wouldn't give much for him — can't feel any ribs on this ox — he's so fat he's homely— can't kick very spiteful — ain't much excited is he— I tell ye he's an ox — some big roasts in him — say Major, stand here an' look at that ox— hip bones don't stick out much on him — consid'ble heft on him — weighs 2508 and hain't drink'd today — sh'd think 'twould make his legs ache to stand— big ox ain't he— just about the pret'st ox yet." This ox could hardly have elicited such complimentary re- marks a few years later. L. D. Hazen brought on a yoke of oxen in 1886 believed to be the largest in New England, 6187 pounds weight, 9 feet 4 inches girth. Bela Hastings bought them for $500 and some while after was offered $100 a week for the privi- lege of exhibiting them ; they were finally sold for exhibition pur- poses in New York and ultimately brought their owner $2000. Moore and Hastings' Durham oxen, ten years old in 1889, weighed 8030 pounds, reputed the largest in the world and George C. Cary's largest-in-the-world yearling steer stood at 3300 pounds in 1906. Twenty-six oxen and steers from the Fair- banks herd registered 39,700 pounds on the Fairbanks scale in FRAGMENTS 541 1888 and were thereupon shipped to England. In the Hazen string of oxen at the fair of 1886, there were 24 yoke carrying along 99,489 pounds of ox; an expert ox-man remarked that "Vermonters never saw so much good beef tied together in one lot before and it is doubtful if anyone ever did." PRICES CURRENT 1821 3 lbs. shugar 64 cts. 10§ lbs. cheese 64 cts. 4i lbs. butter 57 cts. 1 lb. talow 17 cts. 14i lbs. beef 58 cts. 11 lbs mackeril 77 cts. 12 lbs. flower 30 cts. 5 lbs. pourke 35 cts. 15 lbs. lamb 61 cts. Ipig 1.00 1 bushel potatos 1837 25 cts. 1 lode wood 25 cts. Butter, lb. 12 cts. Potatoes, bu. 15 cts. Hay, ton 5.50 Eggs, doz. 10 cts. Oats, bu. 1842 25 cts. Wood, cord 1.20 Beef 4 cts. Potatoes 12i cts. Molasses 10 cts. qt. Butter 12i cts. Oats 20 cts. Rum 8 cts. pt. Alcohol 10c pt. Onions 90 cts. Honey 12 cts. Opodeldoc 20c bottle Hens 16 cts. each Tobacco 2 cts. a pl'g 1856 Butter, lb. 21 cts. Potatoes, bu. 25 cts. Hay, ton 10.50 Cheese, lb. 11 cts. Flour, bbl. 10.50 Wood, cord 2.50 Beef Steak 11 cts. Eggs, doz. 1884 18 cts. Brick, per M. 5.00 Eggs, doz. 35 cts. Potatoes, bu. 45 cts. Honey 22 cts. Cheese, lb. 17 cts. Flour, bbl. 8.00 Onions, lb. 3 cts. Butter, lb. 30 cts. Apples, bbl. 1.50 Cranberries, qt. 20 cts. Oatmeal 6 cts. Oysters, qt. 40 cts. Lemons, doz. 30 cts. REAL ESTATE VALUES The items that follow have appeared in print and are here recorded to illustrate the changes in values. 1787 The present price of good land for farms in St. Johns- bury, uncleared, is one dollar per acre ; $20 on 100 acres in hard money down, $50 in neat cattle in six months, $30 in neat stock or grain in 18 months. 542 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY 1814 Joseph Fairbanks paid Pres West $300 for five acres on the east side of Sleeper's river with mill privilege, where the scale works now are. 1818 Ephraim Paddock bought his homestead lot of four acres, on which the first brick building in the town was placed, of John Taylor for $300. Of this land Samuel Jewett bought in 1874 the adjoining lot south for $2500, on which he built the house now owned by Hon. Henry C. Ide. 1828 Polly Furguson paid John Barney $25 for the 30 rods of her house lot opposite the burial ground ; her quaint bit of a cottage sat where she put it for 75 years, long enough to become an interesting old relic, on the site of which Lambert Packard built the house owned by N. R. Young, now appraised at $6000. 184-0 The Harris farm now included in Summerville was listed at $1700. In 1873 its valuation was $55,000. 1850 Geo. C. Barney bought the house north of the present Union Block for $1000, put up the narrow building south of it, used for Post Office 1853-1861, and in 1867 sold the property to B. D. Burnham for $6000. 1854 Col. Merrill built the octagon and on removing to Rut- land sold to Samuel Moore for $7500. Some years later Moore sold $3000 of the land and the remainder of the place to Dr. Bul- lard for $9000. There was a contract at one time pending with Dr. Perkins for the sale of this property including four acres of the Sleeper's river meadow, for $16,500, but Dr. Bullard decided to retain the place, which is still held in the family. 1860 Dickinson and Butler bought the George Downing place at east end of Prospect street for $1750. The same was bought by Dr. Perkins in 1868 for $3800, and sold in 1892 for $6000 for St. Johnsbury Hospital site. 1870 Moses Kittredge held his house on Prospect street at $7500, and sold it the next year at that price to Father Boisson- nault for the Notre Dame rectory. 1884 The highest price paid for real estate in the history of the town was $250 for a space of one inch depth. James S. San- FRAGMENTS 543 born took a deed for the lot adjoining the Walker block on the Plain on which to erect the Masonic block. It was found that the granite coping of the Walker block was laid to the line and the brick wall withdrawn one inch. To leave this space open to the weather would result in serious damage. Walker's price for it was $300, generously reduced after a while to $250, which sum Sanborn paid, and the two blocks stand so snugly together that no disturbing element can get in between them. BUILDINGS THAT HAVE TRAVELED The old Town and Meeting House of 1804 did not make its transit in recognizable form. It was taken down, packed on to wagons, carried across Passumpsic river and re-erected at the head of the Center Village burial yard, in 1845 ; now occupied by the First Congregational Church. Isaac Wing's house, built about 1880, was high up on Wing Hill, a mile or so east of the Center Village. Some thirty years later it was braced with iron rods, lifted on to wooden shoes and brought down Wing Hill by forty yoke of oxen ; twenty yoke pulled and twenty yoke held back on the descent. It was owned by Reuben Hallett, and is now the home of his son Erastus. The Meeting House built on the Plain in 1827, was mounted on rollers in 1847 and trundled down the street to a vacant lot beside the old burial ground, where it now stands, adjoining the Court House. The most restless traveler of early times was the district school- house on the Plain. First it was on Main street, north of the Meeting House; then down some distance near the burial ground; then up to the foot of Mount Pleasant ; then down below the Meeting House ; then up over against Arnold Park ; then down again near the point it started from, where it was attached to a dwelling house, thus ending its migrations. Pres West built a house in 1813 for Groom the hatter directly opposite the burial ground. Some 30 years later it was owned and occupied by Emerson Hall till 1876 when it was moved up to the head of the Plain and set into what thereafter became a lane for traveling houses, Green street. 544 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY The large white house built by Joseph Fairbanks in 1817 f where Western Avenue turns down to the Scale Works, was re- moved by his grandson Franklin in I860 across the Sleeper's river and built into the new boarding house, where its original front appears very much out of place, wholly shorn of all its former dignity. The first parsonage of the South Church, directly opposite the meeting house, was in 1867 rolled up thro Main, Central and Spring streets to where it now sits in pillared dignity at the head of Autumn street. Dr. Calvin Jewett's little pink pill shop was picked up from its place near the South church in 1854 and set down amongst a nest of small buildings on the north side of Maple street. Judge Paddock's old yellow law-office which for 40 years was a landmark on the edge of the sidewalk, retreated to the rear, exchanged its old sheep-covered law books for fresh dairy products ^and when its day was done retired quietly from the scene. The white store of Emerson Hall, over which was Gage's Daguerrotype Gallery, was removed to make way for the Athe- naeum in 1868. It now stands next to St. Andrew's church, out- wardly unchanged except in color. The little Dr. Stevens house used successively as a grocery, post office and express office before the brick block was built, had an easy trip across the street to the west end of Union Block, where it has continued to accommodate shoemakers and hair dressers. The old Caledonian Block built by Benj. Gilson, 1850, was rolled down Eastern Avenue in 1869 and up Prospect street in 1892 and is now the office building of the Electric Company. J. P. Fairbanks' house was built in 1841, on the site of Dr. Lord's old red house at the south end, and for forty-two years its vine-covered pillars were a landmark in sight as far up as the Bend. In 1883 it was seen receding over the hill into the narrow pass of Pine street, bereft of its familiar features of pillars and trailing woodbine. FRAGMENTS 545 The Academy of 1843 had an upward trip in 1871 into the bosom of the new brick Academy where it still keeps securely the original pine and birch benches of seventy years ago. The Judge Poland residence on Prospect street — transformed in 1896 into the Home for Aged Women — was taken down after 21 years' occupancy and transported to the Center Village ; this made way for a modern, commodious and comfortable haven of rest — the new Sunset Home. WAYSIDE OBJECTS band stands For some years the only band stand was on the Green, now Arnold Park, which had been from time immemo- rial the one-sided center of open air functions. Occasional band concerts would be given on the hotel veranda or other convenient place. A permanent stand was erected by subscription, W. J. Bray builder, front of the railroad station in 1889 ; and some years later the one that is near the Court House. The Don't Worry Club provided the Summerville band stand at an expense of $174.15 ; other similar stands have been erected at East and Center Villages, the latter by initiative of James R. Stevens. water troughs The first stone water trough was planted front of the Court House in 1874 ; this was afterward removed to the head of Summer street and a new one was set in its place. Barre granite water troughs costing $328 were erected by the Woman's Club in 1896, also the iron drinking fountains at the head and at the foot of Eastern Avenue, and in 1905 the stone water trough in Summerville. The East Village granite trough was set in 1903 as a memorial to Calvin Morrill by his daughter, Miss Charlotte Morrill ; about the same time a similar one was erected and donated to the Center Village by Myron D. Park. wayside clocks The Village clock in the bell tower of the South church was purchased by individuals and installed in 1853. Its original cost is not known but its meritorious action is dis- tinctly announced every hour of the twenty-four; after sixty years' continuous attention to duty it still tolls the hours with promptness and precision. The street clock erected by H. W. 546 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Randall in 1910 at the head of Eastern Avenue was at that time the only one of the sort in the state. It stood in the price list of Howard clocks at $700 ; and it was none the worse for having been many years looked at by the crowds that frequent the grand central station of New York. It gives out the hours of day and night, nineteen feet above the pavement, from forty-inch dials en- closed in glass and illuminated after dark by revolving electric lights. The Lurchin suspension clock, near the foot of Eastern Avenue, gets more attention maybe than others, being hard by a most populous business corner and very handy for everybody on the way to take a train. When the Citizens block was a-building in 1893, there was a project to put up a high tower clock with night dials and a fire alarm attachment. The estimated cost was $1200, of which amount the bank would assume $5C0 but the requisite balance was not secured. Two years later the Gamewell fire alarm was installed in the tower of the Court House. cannon The Parrot guns on Monument Square were ob- tained of the War Department by Congressman Grout and pre- sented to the veterans of Chamberlin Post, who raised $100 for setting them properly in position on the strategic point that com- mands our eastern thoroughfare. This was in August, 1899. The guns are thirty-pounders, nine feet long, two tons weight each. The one planted west of the monument is Parrot 126, of the arma- ment of the warship Magnolia. The other is Parrot 107 which sent out salutes to the enemy from the deck of the Kanawah. In August, 1904, Ensign C. S. Thurston of Winchester paid a visit to an old acquaintance of his located the past five years in St. Johnsbury — Parrot Number 107 by name, which he had helped to man in war time. It was an interesting reunion, which gave oc- casion for recounting thrilling events in which they had partici- pated in the days when the Merrimac and Monitor were making history. meridian posts These low peaked granite blocks were set in the Academy lawn by the Class of 1888 to mark the termini of a true meridian line. Their exact position was determined by the observations of S. H. Brackett, instructor in physics. A brass pin is countersunk in the apex of each stone ; the needle of the FRAGMENTS 547 compass when placed over the south one should point directly- over the other toward the north pole of the earth ; its deflection either way will indicate a variation from the true meridian line. Slightly east of this line and near the north flight of granite steps is the round pillar of the sun-dial placed here by Rector F. S. Fisher in memory of his daughter of the Class of 1885. The fountain on the west side of the street was presented to the Acad- emy by the Class of 1890. street and bridge To the steady old family horse the steam roller of 1889 became an unwelcome intruder demanding right of way on the street, which was promptly and discreetly granted. Its more powerful and noisy successor of 1899 did not mend matters with the horse, but it did more satisfactory mac- adam work, the first trial strip of which had been 100 yards at the half-way point of Eastern avenue. At the present time all the principal streets have macadam surface and the village owns its quarry and crushing plant. Railroad street was concreted ten inches thick in 1891 at a cost of $3500. The next year a petition to change the name of this street to Columbia avenue did not meet with success. In 1850 plank and gravel walks had oblitera- ted most of the old foot paths thro the grass ; these in turn gave way some forty years later to the Tilton concrete which every- body appreciated ; now even that superior surfacing has lost its good standing since the advent of the granilithic pavement. In the winter of 1890 the huge snow-roller began to roll and soon drove its predecessor, the peaked snow-plow, from the street. Kelley's village hack, regular pattern, began its trips in August, 1893, and in the summer of 1895 the plague of road dust began to be abated somewhat by the street sprinkler, more effectually in 1914 by the distribution of oil on the main thoroughfares. The road mileage of St. Johnsbury Village is recorded as 21 miles ; beyond the village limits there are 78 miles, a total of 99 miles for the town. Possibly this is an understatement. In 1889 nineteen new guide posts were planted at the cross-roads. By the provisions of the legislative act of 1907, there was distributed that year to the credit of the village, a rebate from the state of $177.48 and of $473.29 to the town, on highway expenditures. 548 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY There are fourteen covered bridges and three open ones be- sides an unreported number of smaller ones, a total of bridges above the average in other towns of the state ; this agrees with the statement of our first selectmen in 1790 as recorded on page 49. The most important one is the steel bridge connecting Rail- road street and Summerville, built by the Albany Construction Company in 1905, at a cost of $12,000. This bridge of 108 feet span has a twenty-foot driveway and a six-foot side-walk ; it spans the mill-pond which was first created by the old steam mill dam of 2850, replaced in 1900 by a roll-dam 196 feet long con- taining 2000 feet of lumber and 200 cords of stone ; cost $6000. The project for a viaduct spanning the entire depression between the Railroad and Portland street levels at a cost of about $50,000, came within one vote of being consummated July 1, 1899 ; of the 304 ballots cast, 152 were aye, J52 were nay. Alexander Dunnett, the moderator, cast the deciding vote and declared the motion lost. There is no special attention to be paid to the Moose River bridge near the town farm except the curious circumstance that this is one-half of a bridge washed by high water from its moor- ings at the Center Village ; Ephraim Stone, who for many years was pontifex maximus of Caledonia County, recovered and recon- structed it on its present abutments ; the other half was similarly utilized in another part of the town. observatory knob The height of land between Passumpsic and Sleeper's rivers known as the Knob commands a clear view of surrounding towns and summits including on the far horizon the peaks of Willoughby and Moosilauke, Lafayette and the en- tire presidential range. A lookout on this point erected in 1887 was destroyed by high winds in October 1894. The next year C. S. Hastings and associates secured subscriptions amounting to $182 for the new Observatory, an open structure standing 15 feet square and flying a flag 42 feet from the ground which at this point is 1091 feet above sea level. The place became a resort for hill climbers and junketing parties, and for nearly 20 years reso- lutely clung to its high perch withstanding assaults of the ele- ments, a conspicuous and ornamental feature of the landscape till, to everyone's regret, the fury of a storm in January 1914 swept it from view. FRAGMENTS 549 FRAGMENTARY ITEMS A CALL TO AFRICA Henry M. Stanley's first visit to this town was December 10, 1886, when he gave his lecture on The Dark Continent. While sitting that evening in the parlors of Pinehurst a cablegram from London was handed him containing a call to take command of a relief expedition for Emin Pasha, in response to which he sailed for England four days later. On the 14th of February 1890, having just emerged from Darkest Africa, he wrote from Cairo : — "I remember the warm reception I received at St. Johnsbury, and there too I received the summons to enter Africa again. * * * The end crowns the work, which is now accomplished ; true I am blanched and white but what matters it ? If any mission of a like nature presented itself I should still wish to do it." He accepted the invitation to revisit St. Johnsbury and gave his lecture on Darkest Africa in Music Hall January 13, 1891, before a crowded house. Dr. Lamson in presenting him said: "By his energy this man has given a continent to the world, and the continent has been more than just in giving this man to the world ; Africa uncovered, if it did not discover, the man whose genius is the genius of duty." The ends of the earth have at different times been well rep- resented on the Y. M. C. A. lecture course in Music Hall by three distinguished explorers whom we may designate as Stanley Africanus, Kennan Siberiensis, Peary Arcticus. At the reception given to Stanley in the Athenaeum 1886, he was surprised to meet a man whom he had last seen in Mozambique and to be greeted by two young persons, natives of Africa, in the Zulu tongue. There was even more variety of tongues at Principal Fuller's Thanksgiving dinner table in South Hall, 1878, where conversa- tion by twelve persons was held in thirteen different languages ,* there were at that time pupils in the Academy from widely sepa- rated mission fields of several continents. The town has not succeeded in keeping its name constant; variants have ranged from de Crevecceur's original contrivance of 550 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY St. Johnsbury, to St. Johnsborough, St. Johnsville, St. Jones- burgh, St. Johnstown, Saint Scaleville, and F. Hopkinson Smith's pseudonymous "West Norrington, Vt., built on a high plateau where you may get five meals for a dollar." The town may be reached by any one of a number of trains. In 1850 there was one passenger train a day and one for freight ; in 1880 the number had multiplied to 28 trains a day on the two lines, and the number has not varied much since that time. In 1900 the yearly tonnage received at the freight station was 156,829,000 pounds ; in 1912 it was 161,587,452 pounds, of which 9,214,338 pounds were from the Passumpsic road and 4,251,283 from the Lake line monthly. An average of 500 carloads a week are received and dispatched. scientific balloting The Australian ballot system was in- troduced for municipal elections of the village January, 1900 ; four years later it was adopted by the town at the freemen's meeting of 1894. There was no haste on the part of some for exchanging the simple usage born in the Mayflower for a cumberous system imported from the other side of the globe, but experience has justified its adoption and the voluminous sheets of candidates for office continue to be carefully checked up by the voter in his soli- tary booth with the town pencil tied to a string on the wall. The ballots for freemen's meeting November 3, 1914, carried 131 printed names, some duplicated ; at the first voting 1609 ballots were cast, a bunch as we might say of 210,779 names in all, that went into the ballot boxes in the endeavor to express the sove- reign will of the town. TABLE OF POPULATION ACCORDING TO THE CENSUS DECADES 1790 143 1830 1592 1870 4665 1800 663 1840 1887 1880 5801 1810 1334 1850 2758 1890 6567 1820 1404 1860 1910 3470 8098 1900 7010 The grand list of 1790 was $408.10 ; in 1910 it was $41,333.58 and in 1914 it was $74,792.90. FRAGMENTS 551 longevity The town has had no remarkable record of longevity. One or two items however may be mentioned. Of the 19 charter members of the Second Congregational Church of 1825, two attained 93 years, two 92 years, one and perhaps two 90 years, three 80-85 years, three over 70 years, and the youngest died in her 60th year. In 1870 there were six nonagenarians, one of whom was 95, and 27 octogenarians, one of whom was 89 — the average age of these 33 was 84 years. Of the few centenarians, Mrs. Betsy Stevens reached 101 years, Mrs. Abel Butler 102 years ; Mrs. Mary Brodie Clement of Goss Hollow died Sept. 25, 1889 at the age of 114 years, 4 months, 20 days according to records filed at the town clerk's office ; her husband died 14 years earlier having attained only 100 years. Arrivals during the seventies for permanent residence — Abraxa Ribearia Currant Worm 1871 ; Doryphora Decemlineata Potato Beetle 1874 ; Passer Domesticus English Sparrow, 1876. XLI THE PAGEANT OF ST. JOHNSBURY Commemoration of the one hundred twenty-fifth anniversary of the town was held August 15-17, 1912. No single event in its history ever engaged the eager attention of so many people of all ages and classes ; it was quaint and fittingly spectacular, dignified and impressive ; it evoked patriotic town sentiment and inspira- tions to good citizenship. The Commercial Club thro its com- mittees took the initiative and individuals guaranteed the neces- sary funds which approximated $7000. The text of the drama, a pamphlet of 86 pages, was prepared by William Chauncey Lang- don of New York, a master in pageantry, whose imaginative genius created the interludes with dances of the Nature Spirits, and wove into the episodes historic incidents and personages taken from the first manuscript pages of this book. Miss Madeline Randall was director of the dances and B. C. Peters of the music, much of which was composed for the occasion and rendered by' a chorus of a hundred voices and fifty orchestral instruments. Nearly 700 actors appropriately costumed had part in the scenes and ten thousand spectators looked down upon them from the grand stand. The theatre was felicitously chosen on one of the high levels of the golf course near the Old Pine tree and overlooking St. Johnsbury Plain. The entire setting was ideal ; it was as if Nature foreseeing the event, had planned her construction work expressly for it — laying out a greensward floor flanked on the rear by the forest and opening frontwise down the pasture slope upon the village nestled amongst the trees, beyond which the river valleys stretch miles away toward the far horizon. To THE PAGEANT OF ST. JOHNSBURY 553 spectators of the Pageant the effect of the play was heightened by the historic spots in full view and the picturesque scenery beyond — as, on a more imposing scale spectators from the seats of the Dionysiac theatre of Athens witnessed the dramas of their great tragedians and at the same time had before their eyes the marble temples of their beautiful city, the stream of Ilissus, the heights of Hymettus and the blue waters of the sea. The Pageant opened with a dramatic scene representing the ancient wilderness. Down from under the Old Pine Tree stalks the primeval Power of the Wilderness, a gigantic figure, shaggy- haired, girt about the loins with bear skins, brandishing his huge club, breaking the stillness of the forest with weird howls. Be- hind him and subject to him flock the Spirits of the Mountains and Forests with flying hair and fluttering scarfs, waving green boughs of pine and maple. Up from the lower level come the graceful Spirits of the Rivers and the Valleys in three streams (Passumpsic, Moose and Sleeper) garlanded with wild flowers, draped in shimmering white and blue, their rippling veils sugges- tive of rapids and waterfalls. All alike are subject and submis- sive to the stern Power of the Wilderness till at a clear trumpet call from the orchestra the Spirit of Civilization enters with stately step. She is robed in white with a golden girdle, a sheaf of wheat on her arm and in her hand a sickle. At the sight of her the Wilderness becomes defiant and angrily brandishes his club. She advances confidently and sweeps across the arena with the air of one born to command. In the dramatic dances that follow she brings the wild Nature Spirits under the spell of her queenly dignity and refinement, and the scowling Giant of the Wilderness, defeated, slowly retreats backward up the hills into the gloom of the forest. The Spirit of Civilization moving to the music of her motif from the orchestra, leads the wild romp- ing Spirits of the Rivers and Valleys in triumphant march down toward the meadows. Episode 1 The red Indians skulking along the edge of the forest spy a moose ; they bring him down with their arrows and after a hunt-dance around him lug him off behind the hemlocks. 554 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Enter at this point the Rangers led by scouts Nash and Stark in their buckskin breeches and coonskin caps ; there are shots and shouts and war-whoops amongst the hemlocks, and a young Indian emerging falls dead where the moose fell just before. The Rangers carry off the moose, the dead Indian gets up and sings a plaintive death song, he is then picked up by his tribesmen and carried off into the forest. It is a second prefiguring of the passing of the Wilderness and the Savage. "The old order changeth, yielding place to new." Note. At this point a cablegram just received from Dr. Lionel de Crevecoeur representing the present day family of the town god-father, is read — conveying thanks for invitation to the hospitalities of the town, and congratulations on the Pageant in which he had been invited to personate his distinguished ances- tor. The text of the cablegram is here given : — Paris, France, August 15, 1912. L' Co Edward T. Fairbanks, Famille St. Jean Crevecceur reconnaissante invitation recemment recue vous adresse sinceres remerciements compliments bien cordiaux. Episode 2. Jonathan Arnold appears with Surveyor General Whitelaw and Martin Adams carrying compass and chain ; they are laying out proprietors' lots, sighting from the Old Pine Tree which Dr. Arnold thinks will last at least 125 years, even tho struck by lightning. Plans and prospects for the new town are talked over. Presently around the shoulder of the hill comes Gen. Joel Roberts with the bag of potatoes and jug of rum that he has brought up on foot from Barnet, and Tom Todd comes along kicking his one big potato up home. They discuss the old Dunmore grant, Arnold's fight for Vermont in Continental Con- gress, and all sing "Down with the Yorkers." Mrs. Arnold joins the circle with her children and Aunt Ruth the negress who was given to the family as a slave in Rhode Island. The Doctor points out the beauty of the situation, the spot at the head of the Plain where the family home shall be with lilacs growing around it—' 'lilacs that will spread like my new town, a beautiful, clean, THE PAGEANT OF ST. JOHNSBURY 555 upright free city extending down into the valley and even beyond, climbing up on to the hills across the river." Episode 3 Pioneer sociability and business, 1790-1800. Ox teams are driven up by Roberts, Lord, Hawkins, Spaulding and others, wives and children, on the way to Eleazar Sanger's at Center Village on Town Meeting day. They bring spinning wheels and whatever else in the way of pies, cheese and liquid refreshment will contribute to the annual town-meeting-day- junket. Spinning begins and town affairs are discussed; it is agreed that there must be a bounty on wolves and a set of town weights and measures purchased. A girl on horseback appears, it is Elathan Ide who lays down hard cash to pay for her father's land right ; haymakers come along with their scythes, they are thirsty and Charlotte Lovell is mounted on a horse and sent down to the Plain to get them a jug of rum ; the lad Stephen Hawkins is promised a nice girl if he will go and get Mrs. Brown to witness the Shorey-Hawkins deed ; the Post-Rider's horn is heard and Bill Trescott delivers the scanty mail from his saddle bags and is persuaded to recite some of his famous poetry. Jonathan Sanger blows the dinner horn and all move happily together to the festal board. Interlude The Fields and the Streams. From either side come dancing into view the Spirits of the Fields and Spirits of the Rivers. Their forceful whirls and the spirited toss of their veils indicate rivalry as to which shall have the lead in the future of the town, the farms or the factories. Sud- denly the Spirit of the Future appears ; her manner at first is expressive of uncertainty and doubt ; she peers wonderingly thro the ripples of her streaming hair, scans the horizon, seems to catch a vision then to lose it ; glides away but quickly returns. The Fields and the Streams each beckon her to their side, appeal- ing to her with winsome ways, the orchestra in like manner changing the motif from one to the other. At last the vista of the Future seems to open to her, the Rivers will have preemi- nence ; advancing to their side she stands like a goddess awarding to them the decrees of destiny ; hereafter at this junction of 556 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY streams the water-wheels of the Rivers shall rank above the harvests of the Fields. Episode 4- The Old First Church 1809. Hubbard Lawrence leads up the nineteen men and women, who have come hither on foot or on horseback to be united into a church. Dr. Leonard Worcester has come over from Peacham to preside at the Council. Nineteen out of twelve hundred population seems to him a feeble flock, too small to meet the tides of ungodliness around them ; Lawrence replies : "Sirs, this business must go on ; we are too poor to live longer without the ordinances of the gospel." The Council realizes that the Spirit of God animates them ; they are immediately organized as the Congregational Church of St. Johns- bury, and all join together praising God by singing "Hark from the tombs a doleful sound." Rev. Pearson Thurston is introduced as the minister ; the men greet him with low bows and the women with respectful curtsies and all give a handshake greeting ; no sooner done than, according to usage, he is accosted by the con- stable and ordered to depart from the town lest he some time might become a town charge. The nest full of the Wing family, nine little Wings, are presented one by one for baptism, after which the entire congregation led by clarinet, flute and bass viol retire, singing "The New Jerusalem comes down Adorned with shining grace. " EpisodeS The Invention of the Scale 1830. A clumsy old wooden steelyard beam is set up, and a man from Danville drives his load of hemp under it to be weighed ; the cart is lifted by chains that grapple the axles and Francis Bingham figures the weight at about three-quarters of a ton. Thaddeus Fairbanks tells Bingham he thinks an apparatus that can only get some- where near the weight isn't good for much ; if it is only pretty nearly right it is all wrong. He has been studying on a new device just finished which has a platform set on four knife-edge bearings which he would call a platform scale; it is brought up, the load is put on the platform and the true weight is found to be 1482 pounds exactly. The farmer is better satisfied with this figure than with the one that Bingham got, and says that Danville THE PAGEANT OF ST. JOHNSBURY 557 will want one of those scales ; he thinks there ought to be money in that device, to which the inventor replies that he wouldn't care to take $1000 for it right now. He is going to start on horse- back for Washington in a few days to get a patent on the new Fairbanks scale. The man from Danville thinks it will surely make a big industry for St. Johnsbury one of these days. (Thad- deus Fairbanks was personated by his son Henry, himself an in- ventor and an octogenarian, who came driving onto the field cor- rectly costumed, in the antiquated chaise of four-score years agone.) Episode 6 The Railroad 1850. Citizens who have been for years trying to secure railway communication are exchanging congratulations on the twenty-eighth of November — Fairbanks, Jewett, Paddock, Ramsey, Ely, Chadwick and others. The new order of things and new prospects for business are talked over. A stage coach passes by, a whistle is heard, and down on the lower level of the pasture is seen a moving train of cars pulled along by the Caledonia, the first locomotive that brought pas- sengers into the town. Everybody is moving forward to catch a view of this novel sight ; Erastus Fairbanks, president of the road, hastens with them leaving his cane sticking in the ground ; Willard Brockway of Sutton has a round yellow thing in his hand, his boy wonders what it is ? and he is told to carry it home as the first orange ever seen in Sutton, but now that the railroad is here there'll be oranges and plenty of other good things coming up that way. All agree that this is a great day for St. Johnsbury and announcement is made by the President that within three months last past the stock of this road has advanced from $83 to $91 on the Boston exchange. Interlude Trade of the World. Uncle Sam (ever Young) appears in his striped trousers and big hat, and with him youthful Rollo in green representing Vermont. Some men disputing over a matter in trade appeal to him. Uncle not being able to settle the case satisfactorily sends Vermont out to bring up one of those newly invented scales. This results in a clear and ready adjust- ment of the difficulty. Fourteen different world nations in their varied costumes begin coming up in long line to the benignant 558 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Uncle of the World desiring his aid in arbitrating their commer- cial disputes. His good offices are graciously given and their trade transactions are all equitably adjusted on the St. Johnsbury scale. This done the nations are marshaled in double line and execute a quick-step recessional to the strains of Yankee Doodle. Episode 7 The County Seat 1856. A series of coffins leis- urely carried across the green represents the removal of bodies from the old burial ground to make way for the county building soon to be erected. Bystanders interject suitable remarks, in- cluding a reference to Yorick whom the foreman is quite sure was never buried here. A Danville man strongly disapproves this transfer of the county-shire from his town, but the timely and realistic appearance of Judge Poland on the scene gives opportu- nity for setting forth conclusively why St. Johnsbury is now the only suitable place for the Court House, and moreover the town itself is contributing $5770 toward the building expense of it. It is finally agreed that the spot where the dead were awaiting judg- ment is an appropriate place for the living now to be receiving judgment. Episode 8 The Civil War 1861. Veterans of the Grand Army bearing their battle flag pace across the field, greeted with rising applause. Boys in blue of the younger generation person- ate the scenes which the soldiers of the Third Regiment were actors in half a century ago. They are reviewed by Governor Fairbanks who reads a requisition just received by telegraph from the Secretary of War to forward the regiment at once. A group of women appear with the regimental flag which they have hastily made ; it is formally presented by the Governor, and Captain Allen replies "we will bear it on to victory, or sleep in honorable graves beneath its folds/' Farewells follow and all march for- ward to the strains of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Ep>'soi* 9 Depression and Prosperity. Men representing the industries of the town are discussing conditions and prospects which are rapidly brightening. Sam Small of Thetford comes with his family carrying carpet bags and band boxes ; he is look- ing out for a job, and Richard Towne thinks he can quickly get THE PAGEANT OF ST. JOHNSBURY 559 him a place in the Ely factory. Men are wanted too at the scale works. A company of French Canadians just arrived on the morning train with boxes and bundles is met by Father Boisson- nault who gives them assurance of steady employment if they continue industrious and trusty, and they all kneel to receive his paternal benediction. Everything promises well for a brisk re- vival of business and prosperity in the town. Interlude Old country folk-dances in costume — the Vintage Dance of France, German Hopping Dance, the Kull-Dansen of Scandinavia, the Tarentella of Italy, the Scotch Reel and St, Patrick's Jig of Ireland. All mingle in a composite dance repre- senting the mingling activities of the nationalities in the citizen- ship of this American town. Episode 10 Scale-making 1912. The component parts of various types of large scales are brought up, assembled and ad- justed to each other as in the factory. After tests by the in- spector they are declared correct, approved and ordered to be taken down, packed and shipped to different parts of the world. Episode 11 The Children of 1912. Out from the grove trips the slight elusive figure of Imagination ; she is shy and sensitive but in the exhilaration of the sunlight, dances, plays, skips up and down, till by and by beginning to be lonesome, she craves com- panionship. At the top of the hill Boy Scouts appear and begin signaling ; Camp Fire Girls gather on the slopes and kindle a fire ; little Danes come on to the field with their Dance of Greet- ing and Swedes with their Ox-Dansen. Imagination enjoys the fun. Boys and girls out on a Bird-Walk are trying to identify the Hermit Thrush and Pileated Woodpecker. Smaller children come under the wand of Imagination who weaves a spell over them ; they fall asleep like plants in the winter ; when spring time arrives she touches them one by one with her wand and they awake like the early flowers of April and May. Episode 12 The Larger Responsibility 1912. Men of the Commercial Club are considering public interests and just now inspecting the plans for the new St. Johnsbury House. Members of the Woman's Club come up discussing educational work, vil- 560 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY lage improvements, the district nurse, the fly-pest. A stranger coming along overhears what is being said, says some good words about St. Johnsbury, but thinks there's need of more pub- lic spirit and enthusiasm to make this the best town that can be found to live in. Finale A gentleman of France in the costume of 1787, genial and courtly, steps into view, looks around, takes a pinch of snuff, looks around again, is evidently pleased. He meets a bevy of children, they admire his foreign dress, and venture to ask his name. "Certainly, I am Monsieur St. John de Crevecoeur." They recognize the name; from it came the name of the town, they say. The talk continues and presently he tells them some- thing about the noble Knights of St. John in the times of the Crusaders. Their interest is excited. Suddenly to their amaze- ment and delight a procession of mediaeval Knights in full armor mounted on horses richly caparisoned is seen winding in to view ascending the hillside. At the front rides the Knight of St. Johnsbury bearing a standard that displays the name and the arms of the town. He is clad in chain-armor, has a red tunic with eight-pointed cross, a black mantle and red-lined hood ; two squires beside him represent the East and Center villages, other Knights and squires are for different towns in Caledonia county ; there are forty in all. They cross the field and begin to ascend the hill. From above descends the white-robed figure of America with flag and shield, and by her side the State of Vermont. The Knight of St. Johnsbury dismounts, is presented by Vermont to America ; he kneels in homage ; is raised and receives at her hands the American flag. Marshaled in a solid body the entire Pageant, men, women, children, led by Monsieur de Crevecceur and attended by the Spirit of Civilization and the Spirit of the Future, with the mounted Knights a rear-guard, marches up the hill to the Old Pine Tree, singing with the chorus and orchestra a song to America, and disappears from the scene. It is the passing of the past of the town as presented in the Pageant — leaving imagination to picture on the invisible field beyond, the working out of a destiny worthy of her cherished traditions and ideals. THE PAGEANT OF ST. JOHNSBURY 561 The lines that follow were written by one to whom the scenes of the Pageant came with a touch of inspiration: — THE HOME TOWN Dear little town among: the hills, We sing thy praise today, Bring grateful homage from our hearts That turn to thee alway. And so from every fireside hearth Shall glad thanksgiving rise For all thy sturdy, earnest past That littleness denies. Oh, little town among the hills, We love each winding street, The shading elms, the quiet homes Where friends are wont to meet. The church spires pointing to the sky, The bells that call to prayer, The busy mart, the jostling throng, Life stirring everywhere. We love the joyous, gladsome sound Of children at their play, Whose unrestrain-ed merriment Is music all the day. We love the early melting snows When maple trees grow sweet, The long, bright, blissful, Summer days, The wild flowers at our feet. We love thy wooded slopes beyond, The fields and meadows green, The streams that trickle down the hills, The verdant vales between. We love the early song of birds, The thrushes' mellow call, Diffusing joy from happy throats As lengthening shadows fall. Our tribute to those pioneers Who turned our virgin soil, Gave us the heritage sublime That follows honest toil, The strength that comes from sweated brow, The horny-handed might, The powerful arm, the mind alert, These be our free-born right. So, little town among the hills, Thy sons and daughters true, If e'er they've faltered in their trust, Return with purpose new, Life's stern demands and homely tasks With vigor to pursue, That thy fair name be never dimmed Thy glory kept in view. Caroline S. Woodruff. 562 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY "That the former days were better than these ?— thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this." THEN AND NOW It was this writer's good fortune some long while ago to be in one of the villages of the land that was flowing with milk and honey. Thro the vista of intervening years it lies in pleasant remembrance like "Sweet Auburn, lovliest village of the plain." The flow of life went quietly along from one day to another, rarely stirred out of the ordinary unless under spasmodic stimulus of some whig and loco-foco politics or the lively doings of train- ing day. Everybody knew everybody and almost all were neigh- borly ; some queer folks there were, angular or cranky and some who must have things their own way, but prevailing public senti- ment was strong for sobriety and civic virtue. Boys and girls were encouraged to be correct and dutiful and regardful of pro- prieties. The Sabbath was an holy day and people went up to the meeting house for worship. Happy little village, of small white houses with old fashioned larkspur and hollyhocks inside the picket-fenced door yards — a couple of stores, a tavern, a plain meeting house, a good school leading up presently to a modest little academy ; a footpath by the roadway where one could walk amongst browsing cows not yet dehorned, or after nightfall with lantern in hand ; house doors locked or not as you please, the nine o'clock bell hinting approach- ing bed time; railways 150 miles off, telephones if anything a romance of Jupiter's moons. Happy village ; no police, no jail, not even the old time whipping post and stocks. Did ever any operations of the works of darkness disturb those peaceful pre- cincts, I wonder? Yes, somewhat ; now and then something happened ; here and there the church records even cast a shadow on the scene. But back of every such thing were effective safe- guards ; a well-defined public opinion, community spirit that was decisive and controlling, a village atmosphere wholesome above the average. THEN AND NOW 563 Is it then a sorry change that has come to pass — population quadrupled, manufactures built up, trains running in from four quarters, free mail delivery, the word city printed on the dump carts ? No one is saying so. Better is the new than the old if the heart of the community is sound and right-spirited. Better the hundreds of homes on the old hay fields and pas- tures, the lines of brick blocks, banks, well furnished stores ; the net work of wires that flash light from the pole tops, that carry messages over the path where the errand boy used to run or loiter, used to give or forget his message. Better a new Acad- emy, Athenaeum, Music Hall, Museum, Sunset Home, Hospitals, Y. M. C. A. and ten churches loyally sustained ; better a county building in the heart of the village than an old tangled burial yard, better a cemetery on the sunny slope lovingly kept and adorned. The hum of many prospering industries and businesses, good ballast, as Lowell has said, for keeping the mind steady on its keel — is better than any leisurely flow of life that lacks vigor and stimulus, then and now here stand contrasted—on the other hand, now as then, approved standards of life are shaping public thought and the best traditions of the past will continue in a village dedicated to intelligence, sobriety and virtue. FAIRBANKS, EDWARD TAYLOR "Born St. Johnsbury, Vt., May 12, 1836 * * * Congregational Pastor, St. Johnsbury, 1868-1902 * * Author : The Wrought Brim, Yale Class Histories, History of St. Johnsbury."' Who's Who in America, 1914 APPENDIX TOWN OFFICERS — MEN AT THE STATE HOUSE — VOTES FOR GOV- ERNOR — PRESIDENTIAL VOTES — VITAL STATISTICS — FLORA AND FAUNA "It is a great excellence in a writer to put into his book as much as his book will hold." Doctor Samuel Johnson STATISTICAL On these tables all blank spaces are to be filled by the name standing immediately above them. PRINCIPAL TOWN OFFICERS De Tocqueville traces the whole form of our American gov- ernment back to the New England town meeting, which was modeled on the church-meeting of the Pilgrim Fathers in which every man was entitled to vote ; and this, as Thomas Jefferson said, is the only form of pure democracy in the world. Moderator Clerk Treasurer 1790 Jonathan Arnold Jonathan Arnold Jonathan Adams 1791 Joel Robert* 1792 1793 Bradley Richards 1794 Joseph Murray J. L. Arnold J. L. Arnold 1795 Joel Roberts Joel Roberts 1796 Jos. Armington Joseph Lord 1797 John Ladd Abiathar Dean 1798 Joel Roberts TOWN OFFICERS 565 Moderator Clerk 1799 Joel Roberts Nathaniel Edson 1800 Sam 1 B. Goodhue 1801 Joel Roberts 1802 1803 Alexander Gilchrist 1804 1805 1806 1807 Lt. John Ladd 1808 Ariel Aldrich 1809 Luther Jewett Luther Clark 1810 1811 1812 Maj. Abel Butler 1813 Ariel Aldrich 1814 Luther Jewett 1815 Ariel Aldrich 1816 1817 1818 Pres West 1819 1820 Daniel Chamber! in 1821 Pres West 1822 1823 Ariel Aldrich 1824 Abel Butler 1825 Pres West 1826 Sam'l Wheeler Jerry Dickerman 1827 1828 Maj. Lovell Moore 1829 1830 1831 Jonas Flint 1832 1833 1834 Jonas Flint Jerry Dickerman 1835 Jubal Harrington 1836 Jonas Flint 1837 Calvin Jewett 1838 1839 1840 1841 Jonas Flint 1842 1843 Moses Hill 1844 1845 Jubal Harrington 1846 David W. Lee 1847 1848 John Morse 1849 1850 Moses Hill 1851 Treasurer Joel Roberts Eleazer Sanger R. W. Fenton Daniel Packard John Clark Hubbard Lawrence John Clark Thos. Pierce Jr. Wm. P. Stoughton 1853 566 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Moderator 1854 John Morse 1855 Geo. A. Merrill 1856 Calvin Morrill 1857 1858 James Harris 1859 Calvin Morrill 1860 1861 Barron Moulton 1862 1863 1864 Geo. A. Merrill 1865 Calvin Morrill 1866 Ephraim H. Stone 1867 Calvin Morrill 1853 Jonathan Ross 1869 Calvin Morrill 1870 Charles S. Dana 1871 Franklin Fairbanks 1872 Calvin Morrill 1873 Franklin Fairbanks 1874 Calvin Morrill 1875 A. M. Dickey 1876 1877 Henry C. Ide 1878 A. M. Dickey 1879 Walter P Smith 1880 Franklin Fairbanks 1881 L. P. Poland 1882 Franklin Fairbanks 1883 N. M. Johnson 1884 Franklin Fairbanks 1885 N. M. Johnson 1886 Henry C. Bates 1887 1888 Alexander Dunnett 1889 1890 1891 1892 Elisha May 1893 Harry Blodgett 1894 Alex. Dunnett 1895 Henry C. Bates 1896 Arthur F. Stone 1897 Alex. Dunnett 1898 1899 1900 1901 1Q02 Edwin L. Hovey 1903 P. F. Hazen 1904 Alex. Dunnett 1905 Perley F. Hazen 1906 1907 Arthur F. Stone 1908 Harry H. Carr Clerk A. J. Willard Hubbard Hastings Treasurer Wm. P. Stoughton Hiram Weeks Barron Moulton Hubbard Hastings Barron Moulton Pearl D. Blodgett P. D. Blodgett Elijah D. Blodgett Elijah D. Blodgett Herbert W. Blodgett Herbert W. Blodgett TOWN OFFICERS 567 Moderator Clerk Treasurer 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 Robert W. Simonds Harry H. Can- Joseph Fairbanks John Rickaby Robert W. Simonds Charles G. Braley SELECTMEN Charles G. Braley "Beyond all doubt the New England town selectmen were the most remarkable governing body in the history of mankind." Nath. S. Shaler 1790 Joel Roberts Joseph Lord Martin Adams 1791 Asa Daggett 1792 John Ladd 1793 John Ladd Reuben Bradley 1794 Lt. John Ladd 1795 1796 Nathaniel Edson Jeriah Hawkins 1797 Samuel Pierce William Sumner 1798 Jeriah Hawkins Barnabas Barker John Ladd 1799 John Ladd Thomas Pierce 1800 Samuel Barker Simeon Cobb Joel Hastings 1801 Gardner Wheeler Samuel Barker Ariel Aldrich 1802 Ariel Aldrich Thomas Pierce 1803 Thomas Pierce Ariel Aldrich 1804 Luther Jewett 1805 1806 1807 Ariel Aldrich Eleazer Sanger 1808 Ariel Aldrich Hubbard Lawrence Stephen Putnam 1809 1810 1811 - Barnabas Barker 1812 Barnabas Barker Philo Bradley 1813 Philo Bradley Joel Hastings 1814 1815 1816 1817 Gardner Wheeler Josiah Thurston Charles Hosmer 1818 1819 Daniel Chamberlin Stephen Hawkins 1820 Abel Butler Josiah Thurston 1821 1822 Ariel Aldrich Gardner Wheeler 1823 1824 Ezra Ide Josiah Thurston Abel Butler 1825 1826 Abel Butler Leonard Harrington 1827 Samuel French John Armington 568 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY 1828 Samuel French Abel Butler 1829 Abel M. Rice 1830 Abel Butler 1831 Abel Butler David Goss, Jr 1832 David Goss, Jr. Thomas Pierce, Jr 1833 1834 1835 Calvin Morrill Jubal Harrington Abel Butler 1836 Abel Butler Jonas Flint 1837 Thomas Pierce David Goss, Jr. 1838 1839 1840 Lambert Hastings David W. Lee 1841 1842 Ezra Ide Jonas Flint 1843 Lewis Pierce Calvin Morrill 1844 1845 Hiram Roberts 1846 John Morse Russell Hallett 1847 1848 1849 David Chapman 1850 David Chapman John Higgins 1851 John Higgins John Bacon 1852 1853 1854 1855 Charles Blinn Abel Willey 1856 Beauman Butler 1857 Beauman Butler Abel Willey 1858 1859 1860 1861 Barron Moulton 1862 Barron Moulton Calvin Morrill 1863 1864 Calvin Morrill Horace Paddock 1865 1866 Horace Paddock James R. Stevens 1867 Calvin Morrill Horace Paddock 1868 J. H. Applebee 1869 Sias Randall 1870 Henry C. Hastings 1871 Richard Peabody 1872 Calvin Morrill 1873 1874 1875 C. A. Sylvester Abel Willey 1876 1877 Wm. Higgins 1878 1879 Daniel Carpenter 1881 Jacob Benton Daniel McGregor David Goss, Jr. Thomas Pierce, Jr. Calvin Morrill Edmund Hallett John Armington John Morse Gardner Wheeler Hiram Roberts Charles Blmn Harris Knapp Charles Blinn David Chapman John Higgins John Bacon David Goodhall Beauman Butler Abel Willey Calvin Morrill J. H. Applebee James R. Stevens Simeon Huse Sias Randall George Ranney Ephraim H. Stone William Higgins L. P. Cheney Daniel Carpenter A. R. Hovey James R. Stevens SELECTMEN 1883 Wm, Higgins Daniel Carpenter 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 Daniel Carpenter Charles Cobb 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 L, B. Hartshorn 1895 Wm. B. Johnson 1896 Wm. B. Johnson Freeman Pierce 1897 George Ranney Ellery P. Potter 1898 Geo. W. Story 1899 L. B. Hartshorn Ellery P. Potter 1900 1901 Ellery P. Potter C. C. Follensby 1902 C C. Follensby Harry H. Carr 1903 1904 Harry H. Carr Wesley Sargent 1905 1906 Wesley Sargent Fred D. Gilman 1907 1908 1909 M. J. Hovey Charles Weeks 1910 Charles Weeks Geo. H. Morrill 1911 Geo. H. Morrill Wm. F. Welch 1912 Wm. F. Welch Charles Weeks 1913 1914 A. F. Lawrenee 569 James R, Stevens Charles Cobb E. L. Hovey O. P. Bennett L. B. Hartshorn Charles Cobb Freeman A. Pierce George Ranney L. B. Hartshorn Ellery P. Potter C. C. Follensby Harry H. Carr Wesley Sargent Fred D. Gilman Luraan H. Ladd Geo. H. Morrill Wm. F. Welch Charles Weeks Conrad F. Beck AT THE STATE HOUSE 1852 1860 1876 GOVERNORS Erastus Fairbanks Horace Fairbanks LIEUT. GOVERNORS 1898 1910 Henry C. Bates Leighton P. Slack SENATORS 1790-1793 Jonathan Arnold during the three years preceding his death was a member of the Governor's Council. By a change 570 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY in the Constitution in 1836, this Council was superseded by the State Senate. It was fourteen years before St. Johnsbury had a Senator. Caledonia members of the Senate from this town since 1850 have been : — 1850 David Goss, Jr. 1876 Henry C. Belden 1894 1854 Asa L. French 1880 E. D. Blodgett 1898 1858 A. G. Chadwick 1882 Henry C. Ide 1900 1864 Chas. S. Dana 1886 Henry C. Bates 1902 1867 Gates B. Bullard 1888 " " 1904 1869 Horace Fairbanks 1890 Albro F. Nichols 1908 1870 Jonathan Ross 1892 " " 1910 1872 Calvin Morrill 1914 L. Downer Hazen Harry Blodgett Alexander Dunnett Truman R. Stiles Leighton P. Slack Edward T. Fairbanks David E. Porter Robert W. Simonds TOWN REPRESENTATIVES 1791 Joel Roberts 1835 1793 Josias L. Arnold 1837 1796 Joel Roberts 1H40 1798 Joseph Lord 1812 1799 Joel Roberts 1843 1801 Joseph Lord 1845 1802 Nathaniel Edson 1847 1805 Presbury West 1849 1806 Nathaniel Edson 1851 1807 Presbury West 1853 1808 Ariel Aid rich 1854 1811 Calvin Jewett 1855 1816 Ariel Aldrich 1857 1819 Presbury West 1859 1820 Abner Miles 1861 1823 Ephraim Paddock 1863 1827 Ariel Aldrich 1865 1831 David Goss, Jr. 18P8 1834 Jonas Flint 1873 David Goss, Jr. Erastus Fairbanks Lambert Hastings Huxham Paddock John Bacon Jos. P. Fairbanks Moses Kittredge Jerry Dickerman Hiram Knapp J. P. Bancroft Francis G. Parks Hubbard Hastings Geo. A. Merrill Barron Moulton Charles S. Dana Gates B. Bullard Jonathan Ross Emerson Hall Franklin Fairbanks 1872 1874 1878 1883 1888 1890 1892 1891 1896 1898 1900 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 (Speaker) Elijah D. Blodgett Luke P. Poland Walter P. Smith Wm. P. Fairbanks T. C. Fletcher L. D. Hazen Francis Walker Wendell P. Stafford John C. Clark Henry C. Bates Truman R. Stiles Fred G. Bundy Wm. A. Ricker Harry H. Carr Harland B. Howe C. A. Calderwood Dr. W. J. Aldrich Fred D. Gilman TOWN VOTES FOR GOVERNOR 1794 Isaac Tichenor 6 Thos. Chittenden Nath. Niles 1795 Thomas Chittenden 30 Isaac Tichenor 1796 Isaac Tichenor 24 Thomas Chittenden 1797 Elijah Paine 82 Isaac Tichenor 1798 Isaac Tichenor 43 Paul Brigham 1799 40 1800 39 1801 46 1802 51 Israel Smith 1803 66 Jona. Robinson 1804 67 1805 59 VOTES FOR GOVERNOR 571 1806 Isaac Tichenor 97 Israel Smith 1807 73 1<*08 96 1809 104 Jonas Galusha 1810 73 1811 Martin Chittenden 114 1812 141 1813 132 1814 134 1815 135 1816 Samuel Strong 81 1817 Jonas Galusha 67 Isaac Tichenor 1818 91 Charles Marsh 1819 67 Paul Brigham 1820 Richard Skinner 113 Dudley Chase 1821 105 Charles Marsh 1822 42 1823 Cornelius P. Van Ness 45 1824 36 Joel Doolittle 1825 126 1826 Ezra Butler 83 1827 60 Ezra Ide 1828 Samuel C. Crafts 88 1829 Heman Allen 149 S. C. Crafts 1830 Wm. A. Palmer 143 1831 180 Heman Allen 1832 226 S. C. Crafts 1833 220 Ezra Meech 1834 237 Horatio Seymour 1835 103 Charles Paine 1836 Silas H. Jennison 141 W. C. Bradley 1837 183 1838 223 1839 198 Nathan Smilie 1810 240 Paul Dillingham 1841 Charles Paine 211 Nathan Smilie 1842 241 1843 John Mattocks 189 Daniel Kellogg 1844 William Slade 270 1845 Horace Eaton 263 1846 256 John Smith 1847 240 Paul Dillingham 1848 Carlos Coolidge 273 1849 291 Horatio Needham 1850 Charles K. Williams 816 Lucius B. Peck 1851 315 John S. Robinson 1852 Erastus Fairbanks 416 1853 427 1854 Stephen Royce 373 Merritt H. Clark 1855 386 1856 Ryland Fletcher 515 Henry Keyes 1857 372 1858 Hiland Hall 385 1859 415 John G. Saxe Erastus Fairbanks 73 72 45 55 60 34 84 59 115 127 157 145 157 141 133 156 124 105 141 145 185 175 141 184 152 164 103 109 116 110 169 73 572 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY 1861 Frederick Holbrook 305 Andrew Tracy 1862 280 B. B. Smalley 1863 J. Gregory Smith 403 T. P. Redfield 1864 426 C. N. Davenport 1865 Paul Dillingham 380 1866 512 1867 John B. Page 561 John L. Edwards 1868 617 1869 Peter B. Washburn 352 W. W. Heaton 1870 John W. Stewart 371 1872 Julius Converse 666 A.B.Gardiner 1874 Asahel Peck 700 1876 Horace Fairbanks 826 W. H. H. Bingham 1878 Redfield Proctor 691 1880 Roswell Farnham 811 Edward J. Phelps 1882 John L. Barstow 740 George E. Eaton 1884 Samuel E. Pingree 741 L. W\ Redington 1886 Ebenezer J. Ormsbee 581 S. L. Shurtleff 1888 W. P. Dillingham 793 1890 Carroll S. Page 551 H. F. Bingham 1892 Levi K. Fuller 725 B. B. Smalley 1894 Urban A. Woodbury 599 Geo. W. Smith 1896 Josiah Grout 929 John H. Jackson 1898 Edward C. Smith 578 Thomas Maloney 1900 W. W. Stickney 882 John H. Senter 1902 J. G. McCullough 689 P. C. Clement 1904 Charles J. Bell 1074 Eli H. Porter 1906 Fletcher D. Proctor 696 P. C. Clement 1908 Geo. H. Prouty 775 James E. Burke 1910 John M. Mead 665 Charles D. Watson 1912 Allen M. Fletcher 305 Harland B. Howe 1914 Charles W. Gates 700 W. J. Aldrich 105 125 116 43 78 96 137 36 44 135 176 191 196 142 212 148 253 199 248 207 349 545 297 450 431 420 777 656 TOWN PRESIDENTIAL VOTE Read this table from left to right 1840 Harrison 220 Van Buren 113 1844 Polk 137 Clay 278 1848 Z. Taylor 290 Cass 151 1852 Pierce 217 Scott 434 1856 Buchanan 147 Fremont 558 1860 Lincoln 514 Douglass 100 1864 Lincoln 612 McLellan 116 1868 Grant 722 Seymour 93 1872 Grant 753 Greeley 131 1876 Hayes 793 Tilden 293 1880 Garfield 910 Hancock 209 1884 Cleveland 246 Blaine 779 1888 Harrison 810 Cleveland 225 1892 Cleveland 300 Harrison 712 1896 McKinley 949 Bryan 188 1900 McKinley 864 Bryan 224 1904 Roosevelt 888 Parker 158 1908 Taft 752 Bryan 233 1912 Wilson 388 Taft 536 1912 Roosevelt 554 APPENDIX VITAL STATISTICS 573 FIFTY YEARS 1860-1910 The following table is compiled from the state registration records which began with the year 1858. Population is reckoned as on the first year of each census decade. The percentage of deaths to population appears in the right hand column. Year Population Births Marriages Deaths Per cent 1860 3469 70 31 38 1.09 61 71 20 48 1.36 62 63 28 44 1.29 63 106 31 94 2.75 64 81 45 74 2.13 65 93 60 92 2.65 66 119 68 82 2.36 67 100 42 76 2.19 68 118 52 59 1.72 69 180 50 47 1.35 1870 4665 150 41 77 1.65 71 145 64 100 2.13 72 156 58 140 1.31 73 173 76 99 2.12 74 136 69 103 2.21 75 145 53 85 1.83 76 154 65 79 1.69 77 155 49 73 1.56 78 127 57 66 1.41 79 160 44 89 1.90 1880 5800 155 64 123 2.63 81 161 66 124 2.14 82 156 76 117 2.02 83 152 62 102 1.71 84 181 58 142 2.45 85 122 42 87 1.50 86 116 67 74 1.27 87 147 70 105 1.75 88 123 44 125 2.12 89 132 65 80 1.37 1890 6567 158 80 108 1.65 91 155 58 133 2.02 92 143 73 122 1.80 93 143 56 129 1.96 94 150 67 100 1.50 95 129 56 95 1.44 96 131 58 67 1.00 97 136 68 132 2.01 98 118 65 162 2.46 99 137 93 136 2.70 574 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Year Population Births Marriages Deaths Per cent 1900 7010 115 77 132 1.88 01 128 95 146 2.08 Of 147 88 139 1.98 08 169 81 189 1.98 04 168 68 122 1.74 05 182 84 153 2.18 06 205 86 157 2.23 07 158 107 145 2.07 08 188 75 143 2.18 00 171 100 139 1.98 1910 8098 191 82 144 1.7* FLORA AND FAUNA From tables prepared at the Fairbanks Museum PLANTS AND SHRUBS Amaranth Family Amaranthaceae Amaranth Green or Pigweed Arum Family Araceae Arum Water Flag Sweet Jack-in-the-Pulpit Balsam Family Balsaminaceae Touch-me-not Pale Spotted Barberry Family Berberidaceae Barberry Common Cohosh Blue Birthwort Family Aristolochiaceae Ginger Wild Bluebell Family Campanulaceae Bellflower European Borage Family Boraginaceae Forget-me-not Smaller Gromwell Common Hound's Tongue Stickseed or Beggar's Lice Broom-Rape Family Orobanchaceae Beech-drops Cancer-root One-flowered Buckthorn Family Rhamnaceae Buckthorne Alder-leaved Buckwheat Family Polygonaceae Bindweed Fringed Black Buckwheat Buckwheat False Climbing Dock Bitter Dock Yellow or Curled India-wheat Knotweed or Doorweed Lady's Thumb Persicaria Water Smartweed or Water Pepper Sorrel Sheep Tear-thumb Arrow-leaved Cat-tail Family Typhaceae Cat-tail Composite Family Compositae Aster, Arrow-leaved Common Blue Wood Furbish's Wood Large-leaved Long-leaved Many-leaved New England Northeastern Purple-stemmed Starved Tall Flat-topped White Tall White or Panicled Tradescant's PLANTS AND SHRUBS 575 Velvety Broad-leaved Villous Long-leaved Wavy-leaved White Wood Whorled or Mountain Burdock Beggar-ticks Purple-stemmed Chamomille German Chicory Coltsfoot Sweet Cone-flower Tall Green-headed Cudweed Low Marsh Daisy White Yellow or Brown eyed Susan Dandelion Common Red-seeded Elecampane Everlasting Clammy Fragrant Pearly Plantain-leaved Fleabane, Common Daisy Fireweed Golden-rod Blue-stemmed Bog Bushy Canada Cut-leaved Early Field or Gray Hairy Late Stout-ragged Tall Hairy Yellowish-stemmed Zig-zag Hawkweed Orange or Devil's Paint-brush Panicled Rough Horse weed Joe Pye Weed Lettuce Arrow-leaved Hairy Hispid Tall White Tall Blue White or Rattlesnake-root Wild Lion's Foot Marigold Water Mayweed Plantain Robins Pineapple-weed Ragwort Golden Scabious Sweet Snake-root White Stick-tight Sunflower Pale-leaved Prairie Woodland Tansy Thistle, Canada Common or Bull Common Sow Field Field Sow Spiny-leaved Sow Swamp Thoroughwort Wormwood, Roman or Ragweed Yarrow Crowfoot Family Ranunculaceae Anemone Large White-flowered Long-fruited or Thimbleweed Wood Baneberry Red White Buttercup Bulbous Creeping Marsh Stevens' Tall or Meadow Columbine Wild Crowfoot, Hook-styled Small-flowered Goldthread Hepatica Round-lobed Sharp-lobed Marigold Marsh Meadow-rue Early Purplish Tall Virgin's Bower Purple White Dogbane Family Apocynaceae Dogbane, Spreading Indian Hemp Periwinkle or "Blue Myrtle" Dogwood Family— Cornaceae Cornel, Alternate-leaved Dwarf or Bunchberry Red-osier Silky Evening Primrose Family Onagraceae Nightshade Enchanter's Smaller Primrose Evening Willow-herb Downy Great or Fireweed 576 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Northern Purple-leaved Sundrops Small Figwort Family Scrophulariaceae Beard-tongue Brooklime Butter and Eggs Figwort Hare Maryland Foxglove Monkey Flower Mullein Common Speedwell Buxbaum's Common Corn Thyme-leaved Turtlehead Flax Family Linaceae Flax, Common Four-o'clock Family Nyctaginaceae Umbrellawort Heart-leaved Fumariaceae Fumitory Family Corydalis, Pale Dutchman's Breeches Fumitory, Common or Hedge Squirrel Corn Gentian Family Gentianaceae Gentian Closed Spurred Pennywort American Water Geranium Family Geraniaceae Herb Robert Ginseng Family Araliaceae Ginseng Dwarf Sarsaparilla Spikenard Gourd Family Cucurbitaceae Wild Balsam-Apple Grass Family Gramineae Barnyard Grass Blue Grass Canada Kentucky Bottle-brush Grass Brome Grass Brome Grass Downy Brachyelytrum Chess Wild Couch Grass Fescue, Taller or Meadow Finger Grass Smooth Foxtail Green Yellow Herd's Grass Hungarian Grass Manna-grass Blunt Meadow Grass Reed Old-witch Grass Panicum Agrostis-like Hairy Northern Spreading Red Top Grass Rye Grass Virginia Wild Thin Grass Goosefoot Chenopodiaceae Goosefoot Maple-leaved Narrow-leaved Lamb's Quarters or Pigweed Pigweed Strawberry Blight Heath Family Ericaceae Arbutus, Trailing Blueberry Indian Pipe Pipsissewa or Prince's Pine Pyrola, One-flowered Rhodora Shin-leaf Wintergreen, Aromatic or Checkerberry Greenish-flowered Liver-leaf One-sided Holly Family Aquilifoliaceae Mountain Holly Honeysuckle Family Caprieoliaceae Cranberry-tree or High Bush Cranberry Dockmackie or Maple-leaved Arrow-wood Elder Common or Sweet Red-berried Hobble-bush • Honeysuckle American Fly Bush Mountain Fly Swamp Fly Tartarian Snowberry Twin-flower Viburnum.. Sweet or Sheepberry Iris Family Iridaceae Grass Blue-eyed Iris or Blue Flag Lily Family Liliaceae Adder's Mouth Green Adder's Tongue Asparagus Bellwort or Wild Oats Large-flowered Carrion Flower Clintonia PLANTS AND SHRUBS 577 Cucumber-root Indian Hellebore American White or Poke Leek Wild Lily Cow Wild Yellow Lily-of-the-Valley Wild Solomon's Seal False Star-flowered False Three-leaved Star-of-Bethlehem Trillium, Nodding Painted Purple Twisted-stalk Clasping-leaved Lobelia Family Lobeliaceae Lobelia Brook Pale Spiked Tobacco, Indian Lopseed Family Phrymaceae Lopseed Madder Family Rubiaceae Bedstraw Marsh Northern Rough Small Sweet scented Bluets Partridge Berry Mallow Family Malvaceae Mallow Common European Musk Mezerum Family Thymelaeceae Leatherwood or Wicopy Milkweed Asclepiadaceae Milkweed Common Swamp Mint Family Labiatae Basil Bergamot Wild Bugle Weed Gill-over-the-Ground Heal-all Hoarhound Cut-leaved Water Mint American Wild Marsh Whorled Mountain Motherwort Nettle Hedge Hemp Peppermint Skullcap Marsh Mad-dog Spearmint Thyme Wild Mustard Family Cruciferae Charlock Cress Field Penny Hispid Marsh Marsh Water Winter Wood Bitter Horseradish Mustard Black Hare's-ear Hedge Indian Tower Tumble Wormseed Peppergrass Apetalous Wild Radish Wild Rutabaga or Wild Turnip Shepherd's Purse Toothwort Two-leaved Nettle Family Urticaceae Clearweed or Richweed Hop Nettle Slender Stinging Wood Nightshade Family Solanaceae Cherry Clammy Ground Nightshade Common Orchis Orchidaceae Calypso Coral Root Ladies' Tresses Hooded Nodding Slender Lady's Slipper Larger Yellow Ram's Head Showy Stemless Small Yellow Orchis Hooker's Larger Purple Fringe Long-bracted Prairie White Fringed Round-leaved Showy Tall Leafy Green Twayblade Orpine Family Crassulaceae Live forever or Garden Orpine Stonecrop Mossy 578 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Parsley Family Umbelliferae Angelica Caraway Carrot, Wild or Queen Ann's Lace Cicely Smooth Sweet Woolly Sweet Hemlock Bulb-bearing Honewort Parsley Hemlock Parsnip Cow Early Meadow Sanicle or Black Snakeroot Pink Family Caryophyllaceae Bouncing Bet Campion Bladder Campion White Catchfly Night-flowering Corn Cockle Chick weed Common Mouse-ear Pink Ground or Moss Rocket Dame's Violet Sandwort Blunt-leaved Starwort Long-leaved Pitcher Plant Family Sarraceniaceae Pitcher Plant Plantain Family Plantaginaceae Plantain Common English Primrose Family Primulaceae Loosestrife Bulb-bearing Fringed Moneywort Star Flower Poppy Family Papavaraceae hloodroot Pulse Family Leguminosae Alfalfa or Lucerne Clover Alsike Rabbit-foot Red White Yellow or Hop Groundnut Melilot White or Sweet Clover Yellow Medic Black Tick Trefoil Canadian Vetch Blue Common Purslane Family Portulacaceae Purslane Common Spring Beauty Rose Family Rosaceae Agrimony Avens Purple or Water White Yellow Blackberry Common Running Cinquefoil Common Rough Silvery Tall Meadow-sweet Meadow-queen Raspberry Black Dwarf Purple-flowering Red Rose Cinnamon Smooth or Meadow Wild Steeple-bush or Hardhack Strawberry American Wood Barren Common St. Johnswort Family Hypericaceae St. Johnswort Canadian Larger Canadian Common Corymbed or Spotted Dwarf Elliptic-leaved Saxifrage Family Saxifragaceae Currant Golden Red Skunk Gooseberry Prickly Smooth Grass-of-Parnassus Mitrewort or Bishop's Cap False Naked-stalked Saxifrage Early Swamp Sedge Family Cyperaceae Bullrush Pale-green Small-fruited Grass Alpine Cotton Tall Cotton Wool Sedge Awl-pointed Crested Golden-fruited Gray's Loose-flowered Long-stalked PLANTS MOSSES FERNS 579 Nodding Plantain-leaved Porcupine Slender Wood Spiderwort Family Commelinaceae Spiderwort or Spider Lily Spurge Family Euphorbiaceae Cypress Spurge Staff-Tree Family Celastraceae Bittersweet Climbing Verbena Family Verbenaceae Vervain Blue White Vio'et Family Violaceae Violet Canada Dog Downy Yellow Kidney-leaved Long-spurred Marsh Blue Northern Blue Round-leaved Yellow Selkirk's Sweet White Smooth Yellow Woodland White Woolly Blue Vine Family Vitaceae Grape, River Bank or Frost Virginia Creeper or Woodbine Water Plantain Family, Alisnaceae Arrowhead Broad-leaved Slender-leaved Water Plantain Wood Sorrel Family Oxalidaceae Wood Sorrel Common Lady's Upright Yellow I— MOSSES Bog Mosses Syhagnaceae Common Sphagnum Rock Mosses Andreaceae Andreacea True Mosses Bryinae Bryum Giant Georgia Haircap Common Juniper Slender Hypnum Common Pinnate Mnium Toothed Woodsy Mollia Green Moss Fern Fissiden's Plume Whitish Rock Wiry Fern Reveler Triangular Wood Webera (very rare) II — FERN ALLIES Club Mosses Lycopodiaceae Christmas Green Trailing Club Moss Common Fir Shining Stiff Tree Adder's Tongues Ophioglossaceae Fern Rattlesnake Common Grape Dissected Grape Matricary Grape Ternate Grape Horse-tails Equisitaceae Horse-tail Common or Field Swamp Rush Common Scouring Variegated Scouring III — FERNS Fern Family Polypodiaceae Brake Common Fern Brittle Bulblet Bladder Christmas Cut-leaved Hay-scented Lady Round-fruited Long Beech Maiden-hair Oak Ostrich Polypody Sensitive Boot's Shield Common Spinulose'Shield Crested Shield Evergreen Shield Marginal Goldie's Shield Marsh Shield 580 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY New York Shield Spinulose Shield Spleenwort Ebony Narrow-leaved Silvery Woodsia Rusty Flowering Fern Family Somundaceae Fern Cinnamon Clayton's or Interrupted Royal or Flowering TREES Beech Family Fagaceae American Beech Black Oak Chestnut Oak Red Oak Scarlet Oak Swamp White Oak White Oak Birch Family Betulaceae American Canoe Birch Black Birch Yellow Birch Speckled Alder American Hornbeam Hop Hornbeam Cashew Family Anacardiaceae Staghorn Sumach Velvet Sumach Olive Family Oleaceae Black Ash Red Ash White Ash Lilac Linden Family Tiliaceae American Linden Basswood Maple Family Aceraceae Box Elder Red Maple Rock Maple Sugar Sycamore Maple Striped Maple Mountain Maple White Maple Nettle Family Urticaceae American Elm Slippery Elm Hackberry Pine Family Pinaceae Red Cedar Arbor Vitae (White Cedar) Hemlock Balsam Fir American Larch Pitch Pine Red Pine White Pine Red Spruce Pulse Family Leguminoseae Common Locust Honey Locust Rose Family Rosaceae Apple Thorn Apple Choke Cherry Black Cherry Wild Red Cherry Canada Plum Scarlet Hawthorn Shad Bush American Mountain Ash Willow Family Salicaceae American Aspen Large-toothed Aspen Balm-of-Gilead Lombardy Poplar White Poplar White Willow Yellow Willow Walnut Family Juglandaceae Butternut Witch Hazel Family Hamamelidacea Witch Hazel BIRDS Blackbirds Icteridae Baltimore Oriole Bobolink Boat-tailed Grackle Bronzed Grackle Cowbird Meadowlark Red-winged Blackbird Rusty Blackbird Chickadees Paridae Chickadee Red-breasted Nuthatch White- breasted Nuthatch American Pipit Creepers Certhiidae Brown Creeper Crows. Jays, etc. Corvidae American Crow Blue Jay Canada Jay (rare) BIRDS 581 Cuckoos, Coccyges Black-billed Cuckoo Yellow-billed Cuckoo (rare^ Flycatchers Tyrannidae Acadian Flycatcher Great-crested Flycatcher Kingbird Least Flycatcher Olive-sided Flycatcher Phoebe Traill's Flycatcher Wood Pewee Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (rare) Fowls Gallinae Ruffed Grouse Spruce Grouse (rare) Hawks, Owls, etc. Raptores Bald Eagle Golden Eagle Broad-winged Hawk Cooper's Hawk Fish Hawk Goshawk Marsh Hawk Pigeon Hawk Sharp-shinned Hawk Sparrow Hawk Red tailed Hawk Red-shouldered Hawk Acadian Owl Barn Owl Barred Owl Great Gray Owl (rare) Great Horned Owl Long-eared Owl Short-eared Owl Saw Whet Owl Screech Owl Richardson's Owl Snowy Owl Kingfishers Alcedinidae Belted Kingfisher Kinglets Sylviidae Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Larks Alaudidae Horned Lark Prairie Horned Lark Nighthawks, etc. Mac ochire* Chimney Swift Nighthawk Ruby-throated Hummingbird Whip-poor-will Shrikes Laniidae Logger-headed Shrike . Northern Shrike Sparrows Fringillidae American Crossbill White-winged Crossbill Goldfinch Purple Finch Junco Lapland Ixmgspur Pine Grosbeak Rose-breasted Grosbeak Pine Siskin Redpoll Indigo Bunting Snow Bunting Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Fox Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow (rare) House Sparrow Song Sparrow Savanna Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Tree Sparrow Vesper Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Swallows Hirundinidae Bank Swallow Barn Swallow Eave Swallow Tree Swallow Purple Martin Tanagers Tanagridae Scarlet Tanager Thrashers Mimidae Brown Thrasher (rare) Catbird Thrushes Turdidae American Robin Bluebird Hermit Thrush Olive-backed Thrush Wilson's Thrush Wood Thrush (rare) Vireos Vireonidae Red-eyed Vireo Yellow-throated Vireo Warbling Vireo Warblers Mniotiltidae Black and White Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Bay breasted Warbler 582 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Canadian Warbler Cape May Warbler Chestnut sided Warbler Hooded Warbler Magnolia Warbler Maryland Yellowthroat Myrtle Warbler Nashville Warbler Ovenbird Parula Warbler Pine Warbler Prothonatory Warbler Redstart Tennessee Warbler Water Thrush Yellow Warbler Waxwings, Bombycilidae Cedar Waxwing Woodpeckers Pici Downy Woodpecker Flicker Hairy Woodpecker Pileated Woodpecker Red-headed Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Wrens Troglodytidae House Wren Winter Wren Water Birds Black Duck Golden-eyed Duck Wood Duck Bittern American Coot Pied-billed Grebe Red-necked Grebe Great Blue Heron Night Heron American Merganser American Scoter Loon Woodcock Least Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Spotted Sandpiper Wilson's Snipe Killdeer ANIMALS I— CARNIVORA Say's Silver-haired 2 Shrews Foster's Short-tailed 2 Moles Brewer's Star-nosed 4 Bear Black Bear 6 Raccoon Raccoon 6 Weasel Ermine Fisher Marten Little Brown Mink Otter Skunk Small Brown Weasel 7 Foxes Black or Silver Fox Cross Fox Red Fox Cats Bay Lynx Canada Lynx II— RODENTIA Rats Muskrat Porcupine Common Mouse Jumping Mouse Meadow Mouse White-footed Mouse Brown Woodchuck 2 Squirrels Gray Flying Red Striped 3 Hedge Hog 4 Rabbit Cottontail III — RUMINANTES 1 Bats Deer Cloinaar Hoary Common Deer Moose rare INDEX Academy- 244-252, 417, 437-440 Account books, old 230-232 Adams, James, 85. Mrs. Submit 37 Address list, P. 0. 453 Agricultural car 271 Agricultural society, county 289 Aldrich, Asquire 151 Altitudes 46 Animals, list of 582 Anti-rum agitation 215 Anti-slavery 236-237, 242 Appraisals, 225 Grand Lists 550 Aqueduct 301-302 Arc light system 464 Archery 404-405 Arnold, Mrs. Alice C 79 Arnold, Jonathan 16, 29-35, 59-63, 69-80, 104 Arnold, Josias Lyndon 72-75, 346 Arnold, Lemuel H. 76-78 Arnold, Mrs. Susan P. 75 Arnold, William C. 1st 81, 168 Art Gallery 323 Ashes 141-142 Asisqua Spring 11, 480 Athenaeum 321-325, 417 Athletics 405 Atlantic Cable 376-377 Auntie to the boys of 1840 357-358 Australian ballot 550 Avenue House 264 Bakery 481-482 Ball clubs, 159. Ball games 405 Bands, 339. Band Stands 545 Bank bills 370, 455, 458 Banks 455-459 Banns, proclamation of 214-215 Baptism, of children 129 Barber, Amaziah, first store 195 Barney, George, 451. John 192 Bass viols 337-338 Bates, Henry C. 382, 441-442 Bears 67, 164-165, 537 Beasts, miscellaneous 537 Bedouin Arabs 391-392 Beecher, Henry Ward 320, 360 Bees, social 162-3 Belknap works 152, 479 Bells, 332-337. Bell Fair 209 584 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Bessborough 14 Biblo Hill 347-348 Bingham, J. C. 462 Birds, 327. List of 580-82 Birthday party 63-64 Births 99-100, 573-4 Black Ruth \ 61-63 Blunt, Asa P. 440-441 Board of Trade 492 Boissonnault, Rev. Father 294, 311, 328 Bond for Court House site 267 Books 238, 321 Boy and girl and Indians 204-205 Brick making 140-141, 394, 406, 477 Bridges 48, 52, 181, 548 Brightlook Hospital 329-331 Bristol Bill 456 Brown, Frank 197 Buildings 502-5, 543 Burial grounds 107 Buryal ground, The old 104-105 Business notes 473-491 Butler, Major Abel 166-7, 168 Cabinet work 145, 486 Caledonia County 95 Caledonian, The 219, 490, 526 Camp Baxter 276-277 Canal project 257 Cannon, Parrot 546 Carriages 478, 271 Catamount 366, 537 Catholic churches 310-311, 314 Catholic Societies 294 Cattle 226, 539 Cattle Fairs 200, 269 Celebrations 233-234 Cemeteries 468-472 Census of 1790, 54-55. Of 1840 225 Centennial observance, national 377 Centre Village, roads, 51-52. Stores, 197-198. Taverns 193-194 Chadwick, Albert G. 185, 219-221 Chaise 88, 557 Chamberlin, Lt. Col. Geo. E. 279-280 Chamberlin Post 279, 288-289 Charter, 18. Fees 17 Chief Justices 433-437 Chimney, A. 406 Choral Union 339, 341 Christmas, first observance 137 Chronicle of 25 years 526-533 Church bells, 332-336. Buildings, 211-14, , Records, , 214. Usages 328-134 Churches of St. Johnsbury 305-314 Civil war 273-290, 428 Clark Bros, 141, 195. Luther 215 INDEX 585 Clearing the wilderness 29 Clifford, D. A. 489 Clocks 84, 163, 545 Cloth-dressing 139-140 Clover seed 144-145 Cobb, Simeon 163, 364-365 Cobbler, the 143-144 Coins 407-408 Colby, Prof. James K. 246, 437-438 Cold summer 151, 513 Cold water army 292-293 Cole Corner 91 Colegate Hill 91 Colonial mansion 205-206 Combs, hair 145 Commercial Club 493-494 Company D 289-290 Convent 311 Cook stoves 154 Cosmic events 513-518 Counting room, the old 155 Country produce 202 Court House 105-106, 267 Crevecceur, America Frances 22-4 Crevecoeur, Lionel 25, 554 Crevecceur, Robert 25 Crevecceur, St. John 22-28 Danielou, Rev. S. 310-311 Daughters of Am. Rev. 496 Day of Judgment 117-118 Debating cluba 235-238 Depart said town 152 Depot, grounds and buildings 260 Diary of 1840 boy 231-232 Directories 466 Distances 46 District nurse 331 Diversions 159 Diving flue cook stove 154 Doctor Jupiter 183-184 Dog Committee 125 Doings on the farm 198-200 Domes of the Yosemite 323 Dunmore 15 Ear-marks 66 Earning money, story 118 East Village, 91-93. Taverns 194-195 East Village Valley Road 52-54 Edson Tavern 82, 84, 165 Educational 244-256, 327 Educators, two 437-440 Eighteen-hundred-forty 223-224 Electric lights 398, 464, 488 Elephants 399-40t 586 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Ely Hoe and Fork Works 148, 473 474 Engines, factory 406-407 Escapes, Civil war 282-285 Excerpts from Caledonian, August, 1837 221-222 Fairbanks, Edward T. 563 Fairbanks, E. & T. & Co. 249 Fairbanks, Erastus 92, 171, 273, 299, 414, 426 Fairbanks, Franklin 325-327, 417 Fairbanks, Henry 318, 417, 557 Fairbanks, Horace 321, 377, 379, 416, 429-431 Fairbanks, Major Joseph 150, 151, 352, 411 Fairbanks, J. P. 190, 238-239, 414, 446-447, 455 Fairbanks, Thaddeus 151, 154-155, 249, 353, 411-415, 556 Fairbanks, William P. 417 Fairbanks Brothers . 414-15 Fairbanks Mills, 150-52. Scales 411-25 Fairbanks Village school 120 Fair Grounds 268, 271 Farmer's Herald 184-190 Farmer's song 201 Federal Justices, two 443-445 Female Academy 207-209 Fenton, Major R. W. 144, 165 Ferguson, Aunt Polly 357-358, 542 Ferns, list of 579 Field and garden 534-537 Fields of Bible Hill, poem 348 File works 479 Fire alarm bell 337, 464 Fire engine companies 296-299 Fire trucks 465 Fire works 171-172 Fireman's parade 297-8 Fires, destructive 520-25 First church 124-128, 305, 556 Fisheries, U. S. Station 466-468 Flag First 168 Floods, destructive 518-520 Flora and Fauna 574-82 Flywheel 407 Four Corners 64, 81, 85 Fraternal orders 496-498 Free delivery 452 Frost, Edwin B. 279 Fuller, Homer T. 247-248, 438-440 Furniture makers 145, 486 Gage, F. B. 488 Galignani 239 Garfield, Pres. 382 Gas works 487-488 Generals, two 440-443 Glebe lands 18 Golf 405-406 Good-bye, poem 410 INDEX 587 Goodell, William 116, 358-359 Goose plucking bees 162-163 Goss, David 86, 150 Goss Hollow 86-88, 150 Governor's war proclamation 274 Governors, two 426-431 Graded Village schools 252-256 Grain and milling business 474-476 Grand list 94-95, 550 Grane orders 103 Grange 499 Granite work 477 Grant, Ex-President 383-384 Grantees 17 Great raising 124-125 Grist mills 146, 149, 151, 352 Grout, William W. 441 Halls, public 340-344 Harrison, Pres. William Henry 232-233 Harrison, Pres. Benj. 325, 384-386 Hastings, Cynthia 59-60 Hastings, Lambert 226-227 Hawkins, Stephen 88-89, 168 Hawkins horse 178-79 Hemp 154 Hens 538-539 High school 253 Hoe and Fork Co. 148, 473-474 Home for Aged Women 327 Home from School, poem 115 Home revisited 355-356 Hooker, O. V. & Son 477 Horseless carriage 271 Hospitals 328-331 Hotels 262-266 House, First 36, 78-80 House at Four Corners 81 Household religion 130 Houses, Ten 96-97 Husking bee 161 Ice 486-487 Ide, Elathan 65 Ida, Henry C. 247, 382, 386, 443-44 Ide, John 65 Ide Library 241-242 Ide Mills 475 Immigration 42-43 Independence Day 169-172 Indians 12 Industries, early 138-158 Inside glimpses 212-213 Iron works 180, 476-477 Japanese Embassy - 390-391 Jewett, Dr. Calvin 165, 227 588 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Jewett, Ephraim 137, 183, 196, 236, 451 Jewett, Dr. Fayette 367-368 Jewett, Dr. Hibbard 236 Jewett, Dr. Luther 183-185 Jewett, Milo P. 356-357 Jewett & Brown 196 Jumbo 400 June training 167-169 Kennan, George 320, 324, 549 Kittredge, Moses 196, 450 Knapp, Hiram 155-158 Knights of Pythias 498 Koords 367-368 Laird Bros. 477-478 Lake Road 262 Lamson, Dr. C. M. 325-326, 549 Land rights 19 Landscape paper 205 Lawrence, Dr. Edward A. 130 Lawrence, Hubbard 128, 130, 134, 143, 211, 356 Lawyers 483 Leather 143 144 Lecture Course 237, 319-320, 342 Lee, Asa 67-68, 406 Legendary 11 Libraries, early 238-243 Library, Public 321-325 License, votes on 296 Lieut. Governors, two 441-443 Lincoln, Abram 369-370, 381 Literary clubs 235-238 Little, Henry 352 Little House of Meeting 211-213 Little York 90 Live stock 226-227, 481, 539-540 Local Option 295-296 Logan, Gen. John A. 288-289 Longevity 550 Loom 397-398 Lord, Dr. 86, 154, 191 Lumber 485 Lyceums 235-238 McKinley, Pres. 384 McLeod Mills 474 Mahogany Quartette 339 Mail routes and carriers 174, 452 Making money, story 118 Maple sugar 491 Marble work 477 Marriages 98-99, 573-4 Martin, Hezekiah, house 145, 207, 520 Masons 496 Mead, Larkin G. 286 Meat markets 481 INDEX 589 Medical 227-9, 482 Meeting Houses, old 121-126, 213, 340 Meeting House on Plain 211-14, 306, 340, 543 Meigs, Return Jonathan 448-449 Memorial observances 381-384 Mercantile 483-485 Merchants, early, 195-8. Later 483-5 Merchants' Association 493 Meridian posts 546-547 Merrill, Col. Geo. A. 202, 432 Militia 167-168 Milk 480-481 Mills, early 139-140, 145-152 Morgan horse v 178-180 Mormons 217-219 Mortality, per cent 573-4 Moscow, bell of 374-375 Mosses, list of 579 Mother to the boys of 1820 356 Mount Pleasant Cemetery 105, 468-470 Museum of Natural Science 325-327, 418 Music and musicians 337-340 Music Hall 318-320, 342 Musket, Cobb 163-164 Name of the town, 21. Variants 550 Nash, Scout, Journal of 13, 347 New Academy 249-252 New Boston 89 New Year's receptions 323 Newspapers 184, 219, 490 Nightingale, The Orange 64 Nishan El Ifitikar 392-394 No-license 296 Notre Dame des Victoires 310-311 Nurses' Home 330-331 Observatory Knob 54S Odd Fellows 497-498 Oil lamps 398 Old Daguerreen, rhyme 409-410 Old Grist Mill 352-353 Old Home Week 387-390 Old Passumpsic Bank 455-456 Old Pine Tree, poem 512 Old Tippecanoe 232 Old village pump 4U9 Oxen 540 Paddock, Judge Ephraim 160, 203-207, 238, 337 Paddock, Huxham 147-148, 151 Paddock, John H. 178, 337-338 Paddock Iron works 1+7 Pageant of St. Johnsbury 552-560 Parades and tests 297-298 Parks 506-509 Parochial schools 311 590 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Passumpsic Kiver Pastors, see churches Patriotic Bally (1812), 165. (1861) Pews, sale of Photography Physicians Piano, first Piei Pioneer and slave Pioneering Pious old horse Plain district Plants and Shrubs, list of Platform scale Poland, Judge Luke P. Politics, Whig Population Post Office Post riders / Postage Postmasters Potasheriea Potato Pottery Presidential visits Prices current Prohibitory liquor law Proprietor's meeting Public confessions Publications, of marriage Quelph to Mago Quill wheel Quoit3 Eailroads Baisings Bamsey's Mills Eankin, Andrew E. Eeal estate Redington, E. C. Eefrigerator, invention of Eegimental flag Religion, early Eeligious organizations Eeligious revivals Eeligious service, first Eemedies, medical Eeminiscences Eepresentatives, town, list of Ehymes, village Eice, Abel Eiver terraces Eoads Eoberts, H. N., narrative Eoosevelt, Ex-Pres. 75, 345-7 275 124-125 488-489 227-228, 482 205-206, 337 536 62 29, 35-38 134 115-117 574-579 155, 411-425 322, 366-367, 381, 383, 433-435, 483 232-234 94, 225, 550 173, 448-454 373-175 174, 450 448-454 141-142 38, 535-536 144, 152 384-3S7 541 295-6, 427 19 132-133 98 249-52, 350-51 259 160 257-262, 377-380 161 146 322, 432-433 541-543 455 487 277-279 121-137 305-317 315-317 36-37 229 352 358 570 408-410 152, 192 41-46 48-54 113, 150 387 INDEX 591 Boss, Hon. Jonathan 399, 435-436, 483 Rural delivery 452 Sabbath Bells, poem 336 Sabbath, observance of 131-133 Saddlery and harness making 150 St. Johnsbury, The 380 St. Johnsbury Hemp Co. 155 St. Johnsbury Plain, poem 350 Sangers' Party, 63. Mills 90 Scale, Platform 411-425 School, districts, 56-57. Houses 113, 117 Lchool records, 111, 115. Reservations 17 Schools, public 109-120, 244-256 Scouts, Colonial 12 Selectmen, list of 567 Shave horse 142 Sheep 134, 226, 539 Shire town 266 Sickle, story of 64-65 Signing for a pirate 365-366 Skating park 402-403 Skooter, the St. Johnsbury 401-402 Sleeper's River 35, 150 Snow, Erastus Fairbanks 217-219 Soap 142 Soils 43-44 Soldiers' Monument 286-287 Spanish war 289-290 Spaulding Neighborhood 90-91, 119 Spinning, 138. Wheels 147 Sports of the girls 206-207 Stafford, Wendell P. 444-445 Stage coach 176-177 Stage routes 177-178 Stanley, Henry M. 320, 324, 549 State House, at the 569 Starch factory 142, 149-150 Stark, John 12, 14, 347 Stevens, Henry, 60, 201; also Preface Stevens, Dr. Morrill 227-228 Stevens, Hon. Thaddeus 227 Stiles Pond 92, 302 Stone, C. M. 220 Stores 195-198 Stories 59-68 Stoves 151, 154 Street lighting 463-464 Streets 502-505, 547 Summerville 501-502, 255 Sunset Home 327-328 Surveys 33 Sweet Caledon, poem 95 Taft, Pres. 325, 386-387 Tannery 143 592 TOWN OF ST. JOHNSBURY Taverns Telegraph Telephone Temperance reform and societies Then and Now Thurston, Pearson, first minister Tobogganing Tomahawk Town liquor agency Town Hall Town meeting, first Town ofiicers in 1800, 96. Total list of Town records, early- Town votes for Governor Town votes for President Transportation teams Traverse-sled Trees Trees, list of Trescott, Bill Tute, Zibe Underground railway Utilities Van Buren, Pres. Vassar College Vegetables Vermont, poem Village of St. Johnsbury Vital records— 1788-1800 Vital records— 1860-1910 Wagon, story of a Wagon-making War of 1812 Warned out Water pipes, clay Water supplies Water troughs Wawhsuk and Imquk Weather Weaving Webster, Daniel Wheeler, Gardner Whigs of 1840 White man, the first Whitelaw, Gen. James Wing children Winter sports Wireless telegraph Woman's Club Woodpecker petition Young Men's Catholic Library Assoc. Young Men's Christian Association 268, 41, 191 459-461 461-463 215-17, 291-5 562 128, 556 403-404 12 295 340, 530 47-48 564-569 100-103 570-72 572 180-181 402 509-512 580 375-176 124, 366 146-147 448-466 232-233 357 534-537 445 500-501 98 573 395-397 151 165-167 152-153 299-300 301-304 545 11 513 138-39 184 64-65 232-234 13 34 129 401-404 463 494-496 53-53 243 317-320 831, Total Pages, including Plates, 604 FOURTEEN DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. LIBRARY USE SEP 2 11972 2 MAY 1 1955 fen* St 6Feb'5ZBR INTER-LIBRARY. REC'D JL.D J ^3U 1957 LOAN MR 12 19 7 J 5s gp M6l81987=g< R JAN 30 1959 MAY U 1968 71 ^- - RECEIVED MAY 17*63 -3 PM LOAN DCPT. prwTZ^HHn LD 2 (B139s22)476 niversity of California Berkeley GENERAL LIBRARY -U.C. 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