EO.VKIXG BEOOK IX AVIXtTEE.
' ' All was silent as a dream
Save the rushing of the stream. ' '

HISTORY of
WALLINGFORD VERMONT

By
WALTER THORPE
Minister of
The Congregational Church
Wallingford, Vt.

ILLUSTRATED

The Tuttle Company
Printers and Publisheri
RUTLAND, VERMONT

COPYRIGHT 1911
by
Walter Thorpe

^HIS BOOK IS DEDICATED to the
^l good people of the town of WaUing
ford, Vt. , who combine within them
selves the best elements of New England
life and character.

FOREWORD.
IN PUBLISHING this "History of Walling
ford" the compiler would express his sin
cere thanks to all who have assisted ia any
way in its production. State and County histo
ries have been found helpful and used to goodly
advantage. Much has been gathered by way of
oral tradition, and old documents have yielded
considerable iaformation. The days spent "in
the attics of friends ' ' and iu poring over columns
of old newspapers have not been wasted, and in
presenting the following pages it is with the con
sciousness of at least trying to use to the best
advantage the material at hand.
Special thanks are due to Mrs. W. P. Cary in
giving access to and assisting with the town rec
ords, and also Miss M. Congdon for the helpful
ness in Library references, to my wife in assist
ing with the revision of proofs, to the "Ver-
monter" and The Tuttle Company for use of
certain cuts, and to Mr. and Mrs. G. Sabin, who
have greatly helped in the pictorial part of the
work. I wish the book could have been better, more
accurate and trustworthy. It is sent forth, how
ever, with the wish that it may give to some a
better knowledge of our town, that it may stimu
late a reasonable local pride, and help in develop
ing the community consciousness of the things
that are true and just.

CONTENTS Page
Introduction by Governor John A. Mead. ... 9
CHAPTER I.
The Days of the Wilderness  13
CHAPTER II.
The Granting of the Charter  16
CHAPTER III.
Early Settlement of the Town  23
CHAPTER IV.
Sketches of Some Early Settlers  45
CHAPTER V.
Early Settlers — Continued  49
CHAPTER VI.
Scenes About Town  58
CHAPTER VII.
The Churches  69
CHAPTER VIII.
The Public Libraries  96
CHAPTER IX.
The Early Nineteenth Century . .¦  103

8 History of Wallingfoed.
CHAPTER X. Page
South Wallingford and East Wallingford . . . 112
CHAPTER XI.
Industries  129
CHAPTER XII.
The Town's War Record  145
CHAPTER XIII.
About Town  ,  152
CHAPTER XIV.
Political  159
CHAPTER XV
The Latter Decades of the Nineteenth Century 172
CHAPTER XVI.
Miscellaneous  '  178
CHAPTER XVII.
The Pageant  206

By
JOHN ABNER MEAD, LL.D.,
Governor of Vermont.

IHAVE been asked to write the introduc
tion to this "History of Wallingford." The
town is widely known for its beauty of situa
tion, its spirit of enterprise, and its patriotic ideal
ism. This is in part due to the splendid heritage
that comes to it from the past. It is good that
such a history should be recorded, and one of the
results ought to be a manifestation of keener
interest in the days that are gone, and a stronger
community spirit in the present. Well may the
people of this town be proud of their history;
proud of the noble men and women who have lived
within her boundaries. They were inspired with
a great zeal to bring Society with all its senti
ments, its purposes, plans, customs and institu
tions, under the dominations of Godly principles
and power. They felt and truly, that if they were
to succeed in establishing truth and integrity, and
love of country, throughout the social and politi
cal organism, to whose upbuilding they were giv-

10 History op Wallingford.
ing so freely of their strength, both of soul and
body, that they must advance the "kingdom of
God". Amid the hardships and toil of those who
battled with the wilderness, with wild beast, with
yet wilder and more savage men, who endured all
things, and wrought with untiring energy among
these hills and in these green valleys, through
years of hardship and privations which we of this
favored generation can have only a dim and feeble
conception of, they were sustained and cheered
and energized by lofty ideals of patriotism, of
religious liberty, of progress infinitely more than
by the material; and in the summing up of all
great movements the ideal always wins.
Gladstone in one of his greatest speeches said
"Our business it seems is, that God may utter
Himself through us. The deeper we descend into
ourselves, the surer do we become of this; the
clearer the signs of a divinity that is within, be
neath and behind us. The days and the years are
for the weaving of that Divine into speech and
act." In American social life, there has entered
from the very first beginnings of her political
existence, the spirit of the higher life, the relig
ious conscience that forms the safeguard of the
Republic in times of peril and stress. This is
what enables the local town, the State, and the
Nation to make splendid progress in the ideals of
health, prosperity and happiness.
Religious and intellectual supremacy are we
firmly believe, assured to this great Common
wealth. Throughout the years the influences which
have gone out from such towns as Wallingford,
rich in historical matter, in intellectual and moral
content, shall live, not as atoms lost in the whirl
of years, but as units forming part of a great and
beneficent whole. Of all the fathers suffered, of

Introduction. 11
all they toiled for, naught has been lost, nothing
will be ever lost, for the simple reason that they
gave to the world through their lives of honest
toil, their patriotism, their religious fervor", their
desire for the education and advancement of their
fellow citizens, the great force upon which com
mon humanity both of today and tomorrow must
sustain its inward life. The hastening years bring
changes of manner and actions, but the essential
spirit that prompts the action remains the same.
Our fathers were never cursed by the lust for
conquest. Our nation never suffered by the pas
sion for greater empire, nor for the greed of gold.
All these have strewed the coasts of ages with the
wrecks of many states. The Romans once made
cruel and relentless war against all mankind, but
it was that Rome might be master of the world.
Russia for centuries, has been a menace to many
governments, but it was that its domain might
expand until its Emperor reigned supreme. Spain
once master of the eastern world, drenched a con
tinent in tears, but it was that other nations should
tremble at her frown. Germany saw that noble
river, the majestic Rhine, sweep on for seven hun
dred miles dyed with the crimson stains of the
sons of the Fatherland, but it was that Germany
should be a land of iron and the mailed hand, the
greatest military nation of the 18th and 19th cen
turies. Our fathers never gave their splendid
sons for any of these. Their religion, their ideals,
were not to conquer but to save, not to enslave
but ever to make free. They did not strive that
their government might endure to tyrannize and
oppress, but it was to break the bonds and strike
off the chains of slavery. They fought and suffered
that our flag should be the banner of progress and
not of retreat ; of love and not of hate. That this

12 History of Wallingford.
banner should hold up to mankind not ignorance
but civilization, not despair but hope. It taught
men not to be merciless but just, not cruel but
humane. So if our fathers' children, and their
children's children will continue with the same
spirit of idealism, the same tenacity of goodly pur
pose, the same rugged strength and determination,
then the history of the present and the future,
shall be as replete with instruction and profit as
the history of the past.

^^^ ,^^^C.^^-^

The Days of the Wilderness.

13

CHAPTER I.

The Days of the Wilderness.
ON JULY the fourth, 1609, Samuel De Cham-
plain discovered and sailed upon the lake
that bears his name. It was the first
time that a white man had crossed its waters.
With two companions and sixty Algonquin In
dians he paddled down the
west side of the lake and
saw the "Green Moun
tains". To quote his own
words ' ' continuing our
route along the west side
of the lake, contemplating
the country, I saw on the
east side very high moun
tains, capped with snow.
I asked the Indians if
those parts were inhab
ited. They answered me
'yes' and that they (the inhabitants) were Iro
quois, and that there were in those parts beautiful
valleys, and fields fertile in corn as good as I had
ever eaten in the country, with an infinitude of
other fruits."
Near Ticonderoga they met a band of Iroquois
three times as large as their own and prepared for
battle. The fire-arms of the white men caused
consternation and fear, among the Iroquois and
they fled leaving about fifty dead on the field.
While this event may not have appeared very im
portant, yet the Iroquois never forgot this defeat
and afterwards were the implacable enemies of
the French, and during the wars that followed
always allied themselves with the English.

Samuel De Champlain

14

History of Wallingford.

Vermont being situated equi-distant between
the French and the English settlements did not
invite settlement, and as disputed territory was
exposed to the depredations of both. Before the
coming of the white man it had been the hunting
grounds of Indians. Its lakes
and streams abounded with
fish and its woods were filled
with game. War parties of
hostile Indians travelled the
hills and its valleys were the
scenes of many confiicts. The
Indian occupancy was not as
complete as in some other sec
tions of the country, yet evi
dences of village life have been
found. Places of burial, imple
ments of warfare, vases, urns,
mortars and pestles, indicate
varying grades of social and
mental development.
On account of the dense growth of trees and the
fact that it was not early settled, all the section of
land between Lake Champlain and the Connecticut
River, became known as "The Wilderness".
The wars between the French and English gave
the first opportunities of noting and reporting
what the land was like. Parties came down from
Canada by way of the Richlieu River and Lake
Champlain to the AVinooski, followed that stream
until by a portage they reached a branch of the
White River and thence on to the Connecticut.
This route was so often used by the French that
it was called the "French road". The Indians
frequently paddled Lake Champlain to Otter
Creek which they followed to its source, and then
crossed the mountain to the Black or West River

The First American

The Days of the Wilderness.

15

by which they came to the Connecticut. This was
known as the "Indian road". It made no differ
ence whether they used the birchbark canoe in the
summer or snow shoes and toboggan in the winter,
the streams offered the easiest modes of travel and
became the thoroughfares among the hills.

THE SUGAE HILL CEOSS EQAD.

16

History of Wallingford.

CHAPTER II.
The Granting of the Charter.
WITH THE GRADUAL settlement of the
Connecticut valley, it became necessary
to protect the pioneers from the savage
raids of the Indians so in 1724 a fort was built
beside the river near the present town of Brattle-
boro and named Fort Dummer after the Lieut.-
Governor of Massachusetts. This fort was origin
ally made out of hewn logs and built 180 ft. square.
Upon the walls were boxes for sentries and plat
forms for cannon. One of the cannon was called
the "great gun" and fired as a signal that Indians
were in the neighborhood. It became a brisk trad
ing post and the Indians found that they could
make better trading bargains than at the French
trading post and came in large numbers with furs
and animal skins. This has been called the first per
manent settlement in Ver
mont, though it is poss
ible that the toAvn of Ver
non, which was then a part
of Northfield was settled
previous to this time. New
Hampshire and Massachu
setts were united under
one Governor for more
than forty years and at
the time that Fort Dum
mer was built there was a
dispute regarding the
boundary line. The dis
pute was settled by the
King of England in '1741
and he also appointed a Banning Wentworth.

The Granting op the Charter. 17
Governor for each province. Benning Wentworth
was the first royal governor of New Hampshire.
In 1749 he granted a township six miles square,
twenty miles east of the Hudson river and six
miles north of the Massachusetts line. It was
settled ten years later and called Bennington in
honor of the Governor.
At this period there was rapid growth in the
settlements for even "speculators and adventur
ers began to seek eagerly after land in these
parts. ' '
Others desiring to better their condition also
made application and among them was that of
Captain Eliakim Hall and others of Wallingford,
Connecticut. They desired to start a new town
ship yet retaining the old name. On November
27, 1761 the following charter was granted them:
"Province of New-Hampshire.
George the Third by the Grace of God of Great
Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of
the Faith &c. To all persons to whom these pres
ents shall come — Greeting;
Know ye that we of our special Grace, certain
knowledge and mere motion for the due encour
agement of settling a new Plantation within our
said Province, by and with the advice of our
Trusty and Well Beloved Benning Wentworth,
Esq., our Governor and Commander in chief of our
said Province of New-Hampshire in New-England,
and of our Council of the said Province, Have upoil
the conditions and Reservations herein after made.
Given and Granted by these Presents, for us
our heirs and successors do give and grant in
equal shares, unto our loving subjects. Inhabi
tants of our said Province of New-Hampshire, and
our other Governments, and to their heirs and
assigns forever, whose names are entered on this
(2)

18 History of Wallingford.
grant to be divided to and amongst them into
seventy-two equal shares, all that tract and Parcel
of land, situate, lying and being within our said
Province of New-Hampshire, containing by ad
measurement 23040 acres which tract is to contain
six miles square, and no more; out of which an
allowance is to be made for Highways and improv
able lands, by rocks, ponds, mountains and rivers,
One thousand and forty acres free according to a
plan and survey thereof, made by our said Gov
ernor's order, and returned into the Secretary's
office and hereunto annexed, butted and bounded
as follows, viz :
Beginning at the North east corner of Tinmouth,
thence running due east six miles to the north east
comer of Harwich, thence due west by Harwich
to the south-east corner of Tinmouth aforesaid,
thence due north by Tinmouth to the north-east
erly corner thereof being the bounds begun at,
and that the same be and hereby is Incorporated
into a township by the name of Wallingford, and
the inhabitants that do or shall hereafter inhabit
the said township, are hereby declared to be En
franchised with and entitled to all and every the
Privileges and Immunities that other towns with
in our Provinces by law exercise and enjoy; and
further that the said town as soon as there shall
be fifty families Resident ahd settled thereon, shall
have the liberty of holding Two Fairs, one of
which shall be held on the and the
other on Annually, which
Fairs are not to continue longer than the respec
tive following the said
and that as soon as the said town shall consist of
fifty families a Market may be opened, and kept
one or more days each week as may be thought
most advantageous to the Inhabitants. Also that
the first meeting for the choice of town officers,

The Granting op the Charter. 19
Agreeable to the laws of our said Province shall
be held on which said meeting shall be
notified by Capt. Eliakim Hall, who is also hereby
appointed the Moderator of the first said meeting,
which he is to notify and govern agreeable to the
laws and customs of our said Province, and that
the annual meeting forever hereafter for the
choice of such ofiicers for the said town shall be on
the second Tuesday of March annually. To have
and to hold the said tract of land as above ex
pressed with all privileges and appurtenances,
to them and their Respective heirs and assigns
forever upon the following conditions, viz:
I. That every Grantee his heirs and assigns
shall Plant and Cultivate five acres of land within
the term of five years for ever}' fifty acres con
tained in his or their share or proportion of land
in said township and continue to Improve and
settle the same by additional cultivation, on pen
alty of his forfeiture of his grant or share in the
said township, and of its reverting to us our heirs
and successors to be by us or them re-granted to
such of our subjects as shall effectually settle and
cultivate the same.
II. That all white and other pine tree within
the said Township fit for masting our Royal Navy
be carefully preserved for that use, and none to
be cut or felled, without our Special License for
so doing, first had and obtained, upon the Penalty
of the forfeiture of the right of such Grantee, his
heirs and assigns, to us our heirs and successors
as well as being subject to the Penalty of any act
or acts of Parliament that hereafter shall be en
acted. III. That before any division of the land be
made to and among the Grantees, a tract of land
near the center of the said township as the land
will admit of shall be reserved and marked out

20 History of Wallingford.
for Town Lots, one of which shall be alloted to
each Grantee of the content of one acre.
IV. Yielding and paying therefore to us our
heirs and successors for the space of ten years to
be computed from the date hereof the rent of one
ear of Indian corn, only on the 25th day of Decem
ber annually, if lawfully demanded, the first pay
ment to be made on the twenty-fifth day of Decem
ber, 1762.
V. Every Proprietor, Settler, or Inhabitant
shall yield and pay unto us, our heirs and success
ors yearly and every year forever from and after
the expiration of ten years from the aforesaid,
twenty-fifth day of December, namely on the
twenty-fifth day of December which shall be in the
year of our Lord 1772 One Shilling, Proclama
tion money for every hundred acres he so owns,
settles or possesses, and so in proportion for a
greater or lesser tract of the said land; which
money shall be paid by the Respective parties
aforesaid, their heirs or assigns in our Council
Chamber in Portsmouth, or to such officer or offi
cers, as shall be appointed to receive the same and
this to be in lieu of all other rents and services
whatsoever. In testimony whereof we have caused the seal
of our said Province hereunto affixed,
Witness, Benning Wentworth, Esq., our Gov
ernor and Commander in Chief of our said Pro
vince, the 27th day of November in the year of our
Lord Christ, One Thousand Seven Hundred and
Sixty-one, and in the second year of our reign.
By his Excellency's Command
with advice of Council B. Wentworth,
Theodore Atkinson, Secty,
Province of New-Hampshire, Nov. 27, 1761.
Recorded in the Book of Charters, page 341, 342.
Theodore Atkinson, Secty.

The Granting op the Charter.

21

The names of the original grantees of the town
of Wallingford, are as follows.

Capt. Eliakim Hall
Samuel Bishop
Amos Perkins
Timothy Bradley
Isaac Bishop
Charles Sabin
John Mix
Phineas Bradley
Israel Bishop
Isaac Bradley
Thomas Wilmot
Stephen Ford
Samuel Munson
Samuel Bishop
Daniel Bassett
Hezekiah Sabin
Isaac Doolittle
David Austin
Abraham Bassett
John Turner
Enos Tuttle
Daniel Lyman
James Rice
John Prout
John Sackett
John Whiting
Enos Ailing
Samuel Mansfield
Joshua Chandler
Thomas Howell
Richard Hood
Josiah Thompson

Medad Lvman
Rev. Sanll. Hall
Enos Page
Brenton Hall
Elnathan Ives
Elisha Hall
Caleb Hall
Timothy Page
Eliakim Hall, Jr.
Stephen Hall
Hezekiah Hall
Rev. N. Williams
Justus Holt
John Hall
Giles Hall
David Page
B. Hall, Jr.
C. Hall
William Peck
Eli Todd
-Jeremiah Townsend
Isaac Townsend
Joseph Dorman
Samuel Dorman
Samuel Mi?es
Thomas Rice
William Day
Hez. Day
Benj. Day
Daniel Warner
Joseph Newmark
Samuel Willis

22 History of Wallingford.
His Excellency, Benning Wentworth, Esq., a
tract of land to contain 500 acres as marked B. W.
in the plan which is to be accounted two of the
within shares. One whole share for the Incorpor
ated Society for the propagation of the Gospel in
Foreign Parts; one share for a Glebe for the
Church of England as by Law Established; one
share for the first settled minister of the Gospel;
and one share for the benefit of a school in the
said town.
Province of New-Hampshire.
November 27, 1761.
Recorded in the Book of Charters, page 343.
Theodore Atkinson, Secty.
The compensation given the governor for the
charter was usually $100.00 and in this the pro
prietors shared equally along with the cost of a
survey. On January 7, 1772, Wallingford was included
with Clarendon in a patent granted by Governor
Tryon of New York, under the name of Durham.
It purported to grant 32,000 acres in shares of
1,000 acres each to thirty-two individuals. While
this caused trouble in Clarendon, Wallingford
continued its settlement under the New Hamp
shire grants.

The Early Settlement of the Town. 23
CHAPTER III.
The Early Settlement of the Town.
IT MUST not be thought that all the pro
prietors became residents of Wallingford.
Some used their land for speculative pur
poses. Others that their sons might have the
opportunities of a new country. New townships
were rapidly being settled. In 1761 no less than
sixty townships were granted on the west side of
the Connecticut river and the whole number of
grants in one or two years more amounted to 138.
The first meeting of the proprietors was held in
Wallingford, Conn., on September 12, 1772, almost
eleven years after the charter had been granted.
Capt. Eliakim Hall was chosen moderator, and
Abner Hall surveyor's clerk, and it was voted to
allot one hundred acres of land to each proprietor's
right. Isaac Hall was appointed to superintend
and Captain Eliakim Hall and Miles Johnson a
committee to draft said allotments. Two years
previous the town had been surveyed by Remem
ber Baker and his assistants. On the second of
.June, 1770, in company with a man named Wood
from Pawlet he commenced at the northeast cor
ner of Danby and after running two miles and
sixty chains north, they heard chopping in the
forest to the right. They left their work and fol
lowing the sound found about forty rods to the
east, on the banks of Otter Creek a dwelling and
a small clearing. This was owned by Ephraim
Seeley, who was the first inhabitant of Walling
ford, although he was under the impression that
he was in the town of Tinmouth. The site of his
home was about thirty rods east of the Hager
place and the railroad now runs over its old foun-

24 History op Wallingford.
dation. Remember Baker was one of Ethan Allen's
right hand men, a leader in the "green mountain
boys" and many are the stirring incidents that
are recorded about him.
Gov. Tryon of New York issued a proclamation
offering £100 each for the capture of Ethan
Allen and Remember Baker; and John Munroe, a
New York justice imdertook the arrest of Mr.
Baker who at the time was living in Arlington. It
was in the month of March, 1772, that with ten
or twelve followers he forced an entrance by
breaking down the door. It was early in the morn
ing and in the fight that occurred Baker 's wife and
son were wounded, and Baker was bound and
thrown into a sleigh, and rapidly driven towards
Albany. A rescue party was quickly formed and
pursuing overtook them before they reached the
Hudson river. The prisoner was abandoned and
his would-be captors took to the woods. The inci
dent continued long after in song.
"0 John Monro came in one day.
With all his Yorker train;
And took Remember Baker up.
And set him down again."
After the Proprietor's meeting definite plans
were made to settle the new town and in the fol
lowing summer one family came from Connecticut
to make their new home in what had been the wil
derness. Abraham Jackson was the first legal
settler of the town. With a wife and ten children
he moved from Cornwall, Connecticut. This was
in 1773. He may have been an ofiicer in the old
home church as he was commonly called "dea
con." .Another child, "Loraine", was born in the
new town. Abraham Jackson was a splendid ex
ample of the early settler. Upright and indus
trious he commanded the respect of all who. knew
him.

The Early Settlement of the Town.

25

Through his children his influence is still widely
felt. His oldest son Abraham Jackson, Jr , served
as town clerk for many years and was the first
representative and occupied many positions of
trust. William, the youngest, graduated at Dart
mouth College in 1790. He studied theology with
Drs. Edmunds and Spring and was ordained pas
tor of the church in Dorset in 1 796. He remained
minister of the church there until his death in
1842. His interest in education is shown by the

WALLINGFOED FEOM THE WEST HILL.

fact that through his endeavors more young men
received a collegiate education from his town than
all the rest of the county. He was a great help to
Mr. Burr in the founding of Burr and Burton Sem
inary in Manchester and Middlebury College owed
much to his interest and assistance. One of his
daughters married the Rev. Cyrus Hamlin who
later founded Roberts College in Constantinople,
and whose centenary of birth is celebrated this
year, 1911.

26 History op Wallingford.
A beautiful view of Wallingford is seen from
the West Hill. The village appears to nestle in the
valley and at various places in the roadway the
lake is seen glistening like an immense jewel.
Upon this hill settled one John Hopkins, who came
from Salem, N. Y., in 1770. He cleared a piece of
land and sowed it with wheat. Hopkins was then
eighteen years of age. He had his bread baked
in Danby, and depended upon his gun for meat.
Having no house he slept in a hollow log with
closed ends to keep wild animals out. In the fall
of the year he went to Danby and married Charity
Bromly. Returning early the following summer
he built a log house and his wife soon after joined
him. The wheat he had sown the year before had
grown so tall that he could tie the stalks together
over his head. Mr. Hopkins was a staunch Presby
terian and would not allow any swearing in his
presence. It is related that a man who worked for
him (Nehemiah White,) in gathering wheat was
pricked by the beards and uttered an oath, on
which he was informed that there could be no
more such talk. Repeating the offence a little
later, his employer drove him out of the field with
a pitchfork. Mr. Hopkins resided upon West Hill
until his death at an advanced age.
Before the days of Ephraim Seeley and John
Hopkins, there was an inhabitant who had no title
to his land and exercised squatters rights. His
name was George Scott and according to all ac
counts he was indolent and shiftless. Thomas
Rowley one of the early settlers of Danby, when
out on a hunting trip was caught in a storm and
forced to stay with Scott over night. He was a
poet of more than local renown and he described
his experiences as follows:

The Early Settlement of the Town. 27
"When't fell to my lot to vist Scott,
In one cold winter's storm;
I did propose to dry my clo'se
And my cold body warm.
I stepp'd in door, when on the floor
A herd of swine there met me,
Which round me plied, on every side,
And well nigh overset me.
Beyond the herd a man appeared
As one without a soul,
Who hung his head as if half dead
Above a fire-coal.
His lovely wife to save her life
Sat in the dust and sand.
Her knees erect, her chin protect,
Her nose she holds in her hand.
Poor souls, they '11 freeze, unless the trees
Shall drop their limbs down chimbly.
Or some kind friends a hand shall lend
To help them very nimbly."
Scott's habitation was nearly opposite the
schoolhouse that used to be in the Gurley Marsh
district, (moved and made into a residence, now
occupied by Mr. F. Miner on River Street). It
was a mere shanty and hardly worthy to be called
a human dwelling. Mrs. Scott's name was Lois
and she is described as a little dumpy woman with
blear eyes. Her two daughters Grace and Achsah
were like the mother and took delight in any cloth
ing calculated to make a show. The father wore
what he could get and did not pay very much
attention to what he had. There is a tradition
that when the proprietors found Scott in his
squatters home they tried to induce him to leave

28 History of Wallingford.
it, by promising him the first lot to be run out in
the new town. To this he agreed, but when they
came to the survey, wishing to be rid of him and
his family, they alloted him a portion in that part
of the town lying next to Mt. Tabor, which has
never been and never can be cultivated. But
Scott was not outdone for he stuck to the township
and was supported many years at its expense.
Within the next two or three years the town
was slowly settled, and the new inhabitants found
themselves in the midst of the sharp controversies
that were raging in regard to the land grants.
Governor Wentworth, by means of charter fees
and the sale of his lots in the new townships, had
accumulated a large fortune. The Governor of New
York, desiring to have a share in such profits,
issued a proclamation in 1763, claiming that New
York embraced ' ' all the lands from the west side
of the Connecticut river to the east side of Dela
ware Bay". The King of England in 1764 decided
in favor of New York and Governor Wentworth
abandoned the contest. New York began to treat
the New Hampshire grantees as trespassers and
required them to surrender their charters. Some
complied but the majority refused and several of
the towns organized committees of Safety. A mili
tary organization was formed with Ethan Allen
as its leader assisted by Seth Warner, Remember
Baker and others. The Governor of New York
threatened to drive the rebellious settlers into the
Green Mountains, hence the name of ' ' Green Moun
tain Boys ' ' which they adopted. Doubtless a long
drawn out contest would have resulted if it had
not l)een for the breaking out of the Revolutionary
War, which caused the settlers to turn their atten
tion from themselves to the fighting of a common
enemy.

The Early Settlement op the Town. 29
The first Continental Congress was held in Phil
adelphia, 1774, petitioning the King of England
"as the loving father of the whole people" to
redress their wrongs. This was unheeded, taxes in
creased and the spirit of discontent multiplied.
Political tracts were scattered broadcast, indig
nation meetings held, patriotic sermons preached
and preparations made for a military struggle.
On January 16, 1776, war broke out. Throughout
the district of the grants committees met in con
ventions and their resolves came to have the effect
of laws. This was especially true in all civil and
Loilitary matters.
Such a convention met ' ' at the house of Cephas
Kent, innholder" in Dorset, July 24, 1776. Thirty-
two towns were represented by forty-nine dele
gates. Joseph Bowker of Rutland was appointed
chairman and Dr. Jonas Fay of Bennington, clerk.
Thej' decided to do all in their power for the com
mon cause ' ' but were not willing to put themselves
under the honorable, the provincial Congress of
New York". Two acts of this Convention were as
follows :
"Resolved that application be made to the in
habitants of said grants to form the same into a
separate district."
"Voted to appoint a Committee to treat with
the inhabitants of the New Hampshire grants on
the east side of the range of Green Mountains,
relative to their associating with this body."
Wallingford sent two delegates to this conven
tion, viz. Abraham Jackson and Matthew Lyon.
In all probability it was the oldest son of the first
legal settler for he served as town clerk at this
time. Matthew Lyon became later the founder of
the town of Fair Haven (The late Senator Redfield
Proctor published a fac-simile of the minutes of

1

\ 

/

J , .
1. 1
 f-
/if )
t
i
 . 1
1
30 Histoby op Wallingford. _ the Dorset Con-
-^ vention, and I
am indebted to
his son, Ex-Gov
ernor Fleteherl).
Proctor in being
al)]e to repro
duce the aliovt'
cut.) The index
finger indicates
the North Wal
lingford dele
gates. Abraham
Ives likewise
served in a simi
lar capacity at
one of these con
ventions. All through
the section of the
(Irants there was a growing spirit of independence
and it culminated in the Windsor Convention. At
first it was decided to call the new state liy the
name of "Xew Connecticut" but this was after
wards changed to V'ermont (Verd Mont meaning
(ireen ^Mountains). At the town meeting of ^Marcli
27, 1781, it "was voted to allow 3ilr. Elihu Allen
£2.2.0 for his attendance at AVindsor concerning a
constitution ' '. .V year later it was voted ' ' that the
Burying place be under the inspection and care nf
the Selectmen, also that two men be Raised for
Service." In all iii-()))al)ility they were raised for
active service Iteeause in 17S2 a rate of seven-
pence on the list was raised to defray town charges
and to ]>ay soldiers \\'hile the Vermont Revolution-
Minutes (if the Dorset Convention.
The Early Settlement of the Town.

31

ary Rolls give two or three militia companies
whose commanders and many of the men came
from Wallingford. Capt. Abraham Ives with eight
sub-ofiicers and thirty two men were a part of Col.
Eben E.
Allen's regi
ment in 1780
and a year

' Old Constitution House ' ', Windsor.

jA,ml"^WF" Y-^-'3^HiP..fH| Jl later at Cas-
~ ¦" "^ "*" A b r a h a m
Jackson had
charge of a
similar com
pany. Among
the names we
find Joseph
Randal, Lt.,
Steph. Clark,
Ensn., Elisha Allen, Asabel Jackson, Wm. Crary,
Wm. Fisher, Sergts., Jonah Ives and Joel Naten,
('orpls., and Googer Clark, Fifer.
A state law was passed in 1779 requiring "that
every town in this state shall
make and maintain at their
own charge a good pair of
stocks with a lock and key suf
ficient to hold and secure such
offenders as shall be sentenced
to sit therein" so at the town
meeting held in 1780, it was
"voted to erect a sine post and
-stocks". At this meeting a resolution was "voted
that Titus Andrews to be an inhabitant of the
said town on his good behavior and his tilaking a
publick acknowledgement to the inhabitants of
the said town". It is not known in what way

In the Stocks.

32

History op Wallingford.

Titus had misbehaved, possibly he may have been
a ' ' Tory " or " New York Grant ' ' persuasion. He
must have been reinstated in the good graces of
the town for in 1781 he was made surveyor of
highways. It was in his house that the Baptist
Church was organized. Up to this time the pio
neers had settled along a north and southerly
direction for about three miles and east and west
about half a mile in extent. There was as yet no

OLD STYLE LOG BRIDGE.

school, no church, no laid out roads. Roaring
Brook was crossed on logs. The town was devel
oping an interest in getting about with more ease
for a committee of three, consisting of Abraham
Ives, William Crary and Eliakim Richman, were
appointed to build a bridge across Otter Creek.
An appropriation of £15 was voted and then an
additional £2 was added. This was the old style
of log bridge that can occasionally be seen span
ning the creek. The locality for the "grate
bridge" was upon Benjamin Bradleys lot and

The Early Settlement of the Town.

33

doubtless in the same place as the cement bridge
of today. There has been, not only a utility in the
Bridges that cross the creek, but also a change of
style, for the old log bridges gradually gave way

\1^ "4^
WOODEN PLANK BEIDGE.

to the wooden plank bridges. The one shown in
this photograph was moved in 1907 to cross the
creek near the shops of the American Fork and
Hoe Co. The latest development in bridge build
ing is with cement construction, and one of the
first cement bridges ever built in the state now
crosses the creek where the wooden bridge for
merly was found. It cost $2,800.
The amount of land embraced in the original
charter was 23,040 acres. On October 31, 1792,
3,388 acres were taken from it to form with Jack
son's Gore and a portion of Ludlow, the township
of Mount Holjy. In exchange the Legislature
passed an act October 19, 1793, annexing to Wall
ingford a portion of the town of Tinmouth. This
(3)

34

History op Wallingford.

CEMENT BEIDGE.
included all the section known as "West Hill"
and was a full equivalent for all that had been
given to Mount Holly. In the town clerk's office
is one of the original charts showing the western
boundary just across the creek. From the year
1783, interest was manifest in roads and schools.
A rate of threepence in the pound was voted "for
the purpose of opening the highway by Abraham
Jackson's to Daniel Bradley's". This is the sec
tion of what is now the Main Street of the town,
and at a later meeting it was decided that this road
should be four rods wide. A committee of three
men not residents of the town was appointed to
say ' ' where the roads should be running from the
main road" and within seven or eight years, roads
were built into the eastern part of the town, Sugar
Hill and Hartsborough.
In 1788 at a meeting held in the home of John
Miller it was decided to divide the town into dis
tricts. At first there were two districts mainly for
school purposes and by 1794 the number of dis-

The Early Settlement op the Town.

35

tricts had increased to six with a trustee for each
district. Within the next twenty years we find
the number augmented to ten with a total of 591
certified scholars for the year 1815, all over four
and under eighteen years of age. One of the
school houses in the northern part of the town
was arranged so that half of it was in Wallingford
and half in Clarendon, each town contributing to
its support and sending scholars.

WaLUNGFtiR b

r >ob 1 It MlLi-a si /

\
rv-

i¥

CHAET OF TOWNSHIP.

In the town records there is a list of "the Free
men's names as they were entered in December,
1778: Abram Jackson, Ephraim Andrews, Joseph
Jackson, Timothy Nichols, Willm Son Bool (now

36 History of Wallingford.
Bull), Benjm Bradley, Daniel Bradley, Stephen
Clark, Goodyear Clark, Reuben Ives, Jonah Ives,
Jotham Ives, Amos Ives, John Nichols, Silas Nich
ols, Geo. Nichols, Abrm. Jackson, Jr. It will
readily be seen that several bore the same family
names. Abram Jackson, Jr., was a married man when
he came to Wallingford with his father's family
and had at one time the best built house in toAvn,
bringing brick from Connecticut to build the chim
ney. This house stood near the fordway east of
Pitt Clarks and it was in this house the town was
organized. Abram Jackson afterwards moved to
Jackson's Gore, settling near Mechanicsville.
Joseph Jackson settled near where Mr. Z. Cook
now lives and Amos Ives where M. Ballon resides.
Jotham Ives' home was just south of Mr. Russell
Sherman's. Stephen Clark and Goodyear Clark
had returned from service in the patriot army of
the Revolution, settled east of the road that leads
north from the village. Willm. Son Bool settled
near where the meeting house stands in South
Wallingford and Timothy Nichols where Mrs.
Jerome Brown now lives. Edward Bumpus was
south of C. D. Childs, Daniel Bradley afterwards
occupying the place that Deacon Mosely Hall used
as a tavern between the two villages, (near where
Mr. George Stafford lives) in H^artsborough and
Benj. Bradley where H. M. Hopkins now lives.
Mrs. Daniel Bradley was a sister of the Ives's
and her daughter Parthena Bradley is beheved to
have been the first child born in town. Abraham
Ives kept the first store and tavern and was located
near the Meachem place. He was a man of great
energy and character and held the office of captain
of the militia, justice of the peace and also high
sheriff for the county, 1781-1785. His establish-

The Early Settlement op the Town.

37

ment was not on a very large scale as he had only
one room for store and tavern and a bedroom.
According to an ancient source "he subsequently
built a house where he kept his store and tavern,
and had it painted and papered and was pretty
smart ' '. Mr. Ives one time started to go up to Mr.
Richmond's, now the Ballon place, to carry home an
iron wedge. When about half way he encountered
a huge panther, which, with glaring eyes, stood
a few feet distant in the path before him. He
decided to stand his ground and hurled his wedge
with all his strength at the panther's head. It
gave a terrible scream and darted off into the
forest, leaving
the worthy
captain in un
disputed pos
session. In selling
the tract of
land now
known as Men
don, he opened
the sale at mid
night of the
day advertis
ed, in the in
terests of cer
tain Rutland
men, the said
land being
purchased by
Jonathan Par
ker, hence Par-
kerstown. Ives
fearing prose
cution for his

MES. MELINDA CHATTBETON.
" And He that doth the ravens feed,
Yea providently eaters for the
sparrow,
Be comfort to my age!"

38

History op Wallingford.

irregularity, resigned his office, sold his property
to Samuel Hull and left the state. A good deal of
information regarding the early days of the town
has-been given by Mrs. Melinda Chatterton. She
was born in Cheshire, Conn., March 19, 1772, and
was seven years old when she came with her father
Nathaniel Ives to settle in Wallingford. When the
Congregational Church was organized, her father
became the first deacon. The house where they
first lived was near the spot now occupied by Mr.
Geo. Sabin.
It was only
a log cabin.
It had no
chimney, no
hearth, and
no door un-
t i 1 some
time after
they moved
into it. For
a door they
used to
hang up a
coverlet until it became convenient to get one.
Their nearest neighbors on the south was Mr. Ben
jamin Bradley and family (where Mr. Hopkins
lives). On the north there was none nearer than
the Meachem place where Abraham Ives lived.
There was no bridge across Roaring Brook, but it
was crossed by means of fiat logs. It was more
of a stream then than now and fish were found in
great abundance. Down on the Otter Creek, mink
muskrat and beaver were plentiful. For some
time after settling in their new home, deer were
found in considerable numbers in the forest ; now

!l

Eesidence of Mr. Geo. Sabin.

The Early Settlement op the Town.

39

and then she would get sight of a bear or moose
and at night would hear the howling of wolves
and cries of other wild animals. They used to fre
quent the thick woods down by the creek. Even
the birds were different for when she was a girl
there were but very few robins, blue birds, orioles,
swallows or bobolinks. Then the hawk, owl, blue
jay, partridge, wild pigeon and woodpecker were
most common. There was no store in town. They
made their own sugar and their own cloth. If they

ICE FOUNTAIN CEMETERY.

wanted iron they had to go to Ticonderoga for it.
It was thought a great thing if any had garments
not of home manufacture. Mrs. Abraham Ives and
Mrs. Abram Jackson had each a calico dress that
was very much admired. They cost $15.00 a piece.
When Mrs. Chatterton came to town the ceme
tery contained eight graves, but several hundred
when she died in January, 1867, almost 97 years
old. It might be interesting to relate how the

40 History op Wallingford.
burial ground came to be used as such. A Tory
from Manchester was going to put himself under
British protection at Castleton, got as far as Green
Hill on his way. The citizens learning that he
was on the hill, went out after him. He pointed
his gun at them and they thinking it was loaded
shot him down. Afterwards it was found that his
gun was unloaded when he was brought down to
Mr. Benjamin Bradley's. Here he was kindly cared
for but soon died of his wounds. Mr. Bradley
buried him on his own land on the spot which is
now the village cemetery. In the memory of some
who are still living the Tory's grave can be
remembered with a little picket fence around it.
The original boundary of the cemetery can be
readily seen by noting the line of trees that form
erly lined the outer edges. In later years it has
been extended to the north and east.
As in other cemeteries there are a number of
stones that testify to the mistakes of the stone
carver, or present the theological ideas of the past.
The ground is beautiful for situation and tempts
one to linger for the scrutiny of inscriptions or
the enjoyment of quiet and rest. Here, you are
reminded of the great struggle for Independence,
upon reading, "He was a soldier of the Revolu
tion ' '. There, you see evidences of the manner in
which some dread scourge resulted, decimating
whole families as witnessed by many stones bear
ing family names, with little time between deaths.
Near the entrance is an old tombstone whose
date would make it appear far more ancient than
it is.

The Early Settlement of the Town.

41

CAL ERWIMER
died
acjed 50 yrs,
Smms. IZdys.

It is erected to the
memory of
Caleb Warner
died
June 12, 1334
Aged 50 yrs.
5 mos. 12 dys.
Evidently intended
for 1834, it is surprising
that it should have been
placed in position with
such a mistake.
Upon a stone erected to the memory of a min
ister, the Rev. Oliver Emerson, who died in 1853,
there is an epitaph placed in quotation marks.
It may have been his last spoken words. What was
intended for "my purposes are broken off" reads
a little differently on
account of the mason
cutting an extra "s"
in purposes, causing
it to appear as "my
purposses are broken
off". Is this a protest
against the ortho
doxy of New Engi
land theology? It
hardly seems consist
ent with the doctrine
of the perseverance
of the elect. The futil-

(RtV.Oll'iEREnERSmi APRIL22,1855 iE39y'r3.

ity of human hoipes ^^^^^^^^^
is expressed, but it - -^ "^ "^

42

History of Wallingford.

really would appear more pathetic if "purposses"
had been correctly carved.
There is but a short distance from the subject
of eternal decrees to that of angelology as shown
on this stone.

S^cred to the Kemory c^
LYDlftM&LflSWi^eoJ C&>*MKIELDOUGLftSS
lYitKe60»''ye&r olher ige.

Blest wtKtttottTwlwnllwswititt
lo tnX^ m1» (ndkss test
How imldVy Ifjitnllit closino eyes
n«H g«n% l\(M«)1l,( ^iipmnobrojst
JlriuinphMil smiUs wvesMht b«!mi
h.wi bj Son* AhmU biirpk wmo
0 j*»v« v[h«T« ,4tl^ vutofy nov *

Sacred to the Memory of
Lydia Douglass wife of
Capt. Daniel Douglass
who died May 17, 1811
in the 60th year of her age

"Blest is the hour when the
Saint dies
To enter into endless rest
How mildly beam the closing
eyes
How gently heaves the expir
ing breast
Triumphant smiles invest tho
brow
Fann'd by some Angels pur
ple wing
O grave where is thy victory
now
And now O death where is
thy sting."

The above verse must have been somewhat of a
favorite as it is found on more than one stone.
The ' ' angel 's purple wing ' ' may be poetic license
or a matter of color preference. There is no foun
dation for it in the Scriptures, although Jeremiah
describes it as the color that clothed the idols of
Israel. The idea of its being the royal color and
its usage in tabernacle, temple, and priestly dress,
may have been responsible.

The Early Settlement op the Town.

43

While the theology of the past may have seemed
more profound, and the information regarding
angelic visitors more minute, yet some of the good
folk did not intend to commit themselves too
strongly regarding the lives of those about them.
Upon another lot are found two stones side by
side. Both have a measure of adornment peculiar
to their time.

i

IM MEMORY Of M
Skmwl Hull viho di( j. Apnl
tKe27iKl79l in til* 62. nd
How Ws\i {onert\\( wiy jfttSiMw
cAiU [ni Oh nopl«2N( till wc ^y
filWr tiny vtill br joift fw we cm
aX^tJl tut t».5t« tlie Mter tup fer
Thou 2Jl«MK»,^t3rMikit.uf .

EUmCEHULL
Consort oj Samuel
Hull died %3*
I802>intlie68yed.r
o!l:\era.geTlieyhotli
belonged to iKts^rmc
hurcbm Cheshire iTiCon
i\ttlicul& iippcbTcdtok
bmonsojre&lpiety.

On the one erected to Eunice Hull, consort of
Samuel Hull appears the following:
"They both belonged to the same church in
Cheshire in Connecticut and appeared to be per
sons of real piety." There is no taking chances
of saying what was not so, but the truth expressed
in great literalness. One comes into touch with
the past, as the faint lines on these old stones are
deciphered. Varied grades of humor may be

44

History op Wallingford.

revealed even in a city of the dead but no one can
wander and read without catching something of
the manhood and womanhood which has always
been the pride of the town.

RESIDENCE OF MES. H. EAEL.

Sketches op Some Early Settlers.

45

CHAPTER IV.
Sketches of Some Early Settlers.
MANY OF THB older inhabitants were posi
tive in their convictions and did not rave
over new ideas or discoveries until tried
and found certain. In a town record dated Oct.
17, 1785, it was "Voted to not have the smallpox
set up By a Nokelation". But afterwards this
was changed for in March, 1802, the selectmen
were directed "to license one or more Physicians
to innoculate all those that wish to have the small
pox under such regulation, as they shall think fit
and agreeable".
Lent Ives was one of the early settlers. He
was a soldier of the Revolution. His lot included
the best part of what is now the center of the

'^^.

THE OLD LENT IVES HOUSE.

46

History of Wallingford.

village. After living in a log house he built near
the present home of Mrs. Hattie Earl, and his bam
occupied the site of Mrs. Edward L. Cobb's house.
The space between the house and bam and north
of it, was used for many years as a public park
and parade ground. This house was moved in
1855-56 to the site of the present town hall. It
was moved further north when the new town hall
was built and is now rapidly falling into decay.
It is a matter of tradition that Ethan Allen
stayed here several times. It is built in the old
gambrel roof style, the posts larger at the top
than at the bottom, the walls ceiled and panelled.
The floor was made of very wide hard wood planks
on the lower story, and pine of a superior quality
above. Mr. Ives died June 30, 1838, in his eightieth
year. Midway between the village and South Wall
ingford near the residence of Mr. Greorge Stafford
is the old Deacon Mosely
Hall tavern. Shaded by
an immense pine it is rap
idly falling into disrepair.
Upon an elm tree opposite
there used to hang this
sign. (The original is now
owned by Mr. Pitt Clark.)
Evidently the good dea
con had picked the sign up
elsewhere, for underneath
his own name there can be
faintly seen ' ' Whites
Inn," showing it had done
duty in some other place.
Mosely Hall was born in
Wallingford, Connecticut,
Old Tavern Sign. March 15, 1772. He was

Sketches op Some Early Settlers.

47

the son of Isaac Hall, one of the original proprie
tors. He moved into the new township in 1792
when 20 years of age and married Mary Edgerton
March 12, 1795. He united with the Congrega
tional Church in 1798 and- became the second dea
con. Active and self reliant, no one ever knew
him on the fence where principles were concerned.
He loved his duties and discharged them faith
fully. Whatever he undertook he did to the best
of his ability. He disliked tardiness and was
noted for his punctual habits. Several times the

RESIDENCE OF ME. A. W. ANDEEWS.
late Mr. Greorge Dale, who summered in the little
cottage (formerly occupied by Mrs. Melinda Chat
terton, opposite Mrs. J. Westcott), used to tell
that when he was a small boy he delighted to
drive his mother and stepfather to church. He
was then living in the red brick house that Mr.
Crary lives in, and further to the south there is
decided curve in the road as it winds around a
slope of the hillside. In his impatience he would
ask, "Can't we go, father?" and was generally

48 History op Wallingford.
answered with, "Not yet, my boy. Deacon Hall
hasn't come around the bend!" Deacon Hall's
influence was extensively felt throughout the
town. All chicanery and dishonesty met his de
cided opposition and rebuke. He acted well his
part in life and had the respect of those who knew
him. He died in 1861.
The frequency with which the taverns came on
the road precluded much search for hostelries.
Between the one at South Wallingford opposite
the church and the northern part of the town there
was Deacon Halls, one where Mrs. J. Westcott
lives, one where Mr. A. W. Andrew's home is, that
in the middle of the last century was familiarly
known as "The Beehive". One upon the site of
the present "Hotel Wallingford" and one where
Mr. L. S. Congdon lives, familiarly known as
"Marm Hull's Tavern".

Sketches of Some Early Settlers. 49
CHAPTER V.
Early Settlers — Continued.
ONE of the families early connected with
Wallingford is the Fox family. Wm. Fox
was bom June 28, 1760, probably at New-
burg, N. Y. His father died when he was but two
years old and Wm. with his mother and brother
returned to Woodstock, Conn. When war broke
out he enlisted, although but 16, and was in service
three years and ten months, part of the time act
ing as scout, for which his early experience as a
hunter well qualified him. After the war he came
to Vermont, bought a tract of land in Tinmouth
and there married Miss Philena White. It is said
that Fox and his father-in-law were very success
ful hunters, killing ten bears in thirteen days.
Four or five years after he sold or exchanged his
farm, in Tinmouth for one in Wallingford. He
built the brick house now occupied by Mr. C.
Brown. Fox became popular with his townsmen
and held the offices of justice of peace and town
clerk for thirty years. An amusing story is related
of him that when Governor Isaac Tichenor who
twice served as chief executive of the State was
on his way from Bennington to Rutland, that he
with his party stopped at "Marm Hull's" tavern
in Wallingford to get dinner and bait their horses.
William Fox knew the Grovernor well, had served
with him during the war. He secured the assis
tance of fourteen or fifteen fellow spirits and they
painted and dressed as Indians, then in a body
descended upon the Governor and his staff, and
took them into the woods as prisoners. Here a
regular pow-wow was held and it took more than
(4)

50

History of Wallingford.

one bottle of "fire-water" to secure their ransom.
William Fox represented the town in the legisla
ture for fifteen years and was also a prominent
Mason. He died in Wallingford February 17,
1822.

DE. JOHN FOX.
Dr. John Fox was a son of William and
although bom in Tinmouth August 4, 1781, came
at a very early age to Wallingford. He studied
medicine with Dr. Z. Hamilton and was licensed
to practice by the first Vermont State Medical
Society in 1807. He received the degree of M.D.
from the Vermont Academy of Medicine at Castle-

Sketches op Some Early Settlers.

51

ton in 1829. His wife was a daughter of Capt.
Elias Crary, commonly called "Lef tenant Crary",
a soldier of the Revolutionary war. For nearly half
a century they lived together sharing the bene
fits and labors of a successful career. It is said
that he never returned home at any hour of either
day or night without receiving a warm welcome
and finding everything in readiness for his com
fort. At times when there was a great amount of
sickness, and the doctor nearly worn out, would
declare he could not go out again, she with a few
quiet words and a careful wrapping up would send
him forth upon his errand of mercy. She was a
devoted Christian and for fifty years an honored

THE LATE DR. GEO. H. FOX.

r^9.

History op Wallingford.

and influential member of the Congregational
Church. After the death of her husband in 1853,
she resided with her daughter, Mrs. Edwin Mar-
tindale, until she was called to rest after a short
but painful sickness August 19, 1876.
Their son. Dr. William C. Fox, practised in
Wallingford nearly fifty years and to distinguish
him from his father was known as "Doctor Will".
He represented the town in the State Legislature
in 1852-53 and after a life of great usefulness died
May 25, 1880. His brother George Herbert pur
sued a similar course in the study of medicine and
practiced in Wallingford until 1863 when he re
moved to Rutland. He died 1911.
Another early settler was Samuel Townsend.
His early life
was spent in
Hancock, Mass.^
and when he and
his young family
came to Wall
ingford in 1809,
they brought all
their belongings
in two chests.
He bought land
ih the northern
part of the vil
lage, building
the red brick
house now occu-
p i e d by Mr.
James Cox. His
family consisted
of three sons and
four daughters.
SAMUEL TOWNSEND. It is Said in pur-

Sketches op Some Early Settlers.

53

chasing a farm for one of the boys for which he
paid $3,000, that he paid for it in silver and found
his burden so heavy that it had to be wheeled over
on a wheelbarrow. However by thrift and fore
sight he raised and educated his family and left
property worth over $20,000, all of which was
derived from the soil. At the time of his death in

^0^

'N

DYEE TOWNSEND.

1859, he had twenty-four grandchildren and gave
them each $100. He left a legacy of $200, the
interest to be paid for the support of Sabbath
Schools in the village, $200 for the Congregational
and Baptist Missionary Societies and was the type
of a man whom any descendant should remember

54 History of Wallingford.
with gratitude and pride. He was over ninety-
two and one-half years of age when he died. His
oldest son Dyer bought a farm south of the village
from Ebenezer Towner, June 18, 1814. The house
had formerly been used as a tavern, and a tanning
business was also carried on there by Edmund
Douglass. In the spring of 1814, he married Miss
Lucinda Button. He had a distinct recollection
of Lent. Ives and of Joseph Randall, one of the
earliest school teachers in town. His splendid
health stood him in good stead for it was no un
common thing even when over eighty years of age
for him to ride horseback. He died in February,
1886, at the age of ninety-six. Mrs. Jane Westcott
is a daughter of Dyer Townsend and living at a
good old age on the old homestead.
Joseph Randall was another Connecticut man
who came to Wallingford in 1779 from Stonington.
A man of correct principles and exemplary habits.
A deacon in the Baptist Church for fifty-six years,
he often supplied the pulpit when that church was
without a pastor. He was church clerk fifty-four
years, leader of the singing thirty-four years, jus
tice of the peace fifty years and representative
four years. He was a member of the Constitu
tional Convention in 1793 and is spoken of as an
honorable man, a christian and a patriot.
One man who appeared somewhat as a character
is remembered by his poetry if nothing else. He
was Ephraim Andrus. At one time he was visit
ing in South Wallingford where a furnace gave
employment to a number of men. They were a
rough looking set and probably their looks did
not entirely do them justice. Seeing Ephraim
they began to banter and challenge him to make
them the subject of his rhymes. At first he paid
little attention, but finally excited by their rail-

Sketches op Some Early Settlers. 55
lery, he assumed an oratorical attitude and said:
"If you should take an iron rake.
And rake the pit below,
Another such a hellish set,
I'd stump old nick to show."
Another upon a man named Adams who was
fond of some things stronger than water.
"If Adams was dead and buried
And should snuff the smell of rum.
With open eyes the fellow would rise
And back again would come."
Solomon Miller was born in 1731 and married
Desire Smith in 1756. They came to town early in
its history and settled opposite where the Congre
gational Church now stands. In addition to farm
ing he carried on the business of tanning and
shoe making. He died in 1807. Alexander Miller
was bom in 1776 and was married in 1807 to
Lucretia Robbins. He built a forge and black
smith shop on the site of ' ' the old stone shop ' ' and
manufactured hoes, axes, nails, etc. The Congre
gational Society received from him the ground
for their meeting house and a legacy in land for
the support of preaching, which was afterwards
sold for $1,050. He also left to the church $300,
the interest of which was to be expended in pur
chasing Sabbath School books and in teaching
children to sing. The old homestead is now occu
pied by Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Stone.
James H. Congdon, born in 1779, came to Wall
ingford in 1804 from North Kingston, R. I. He
settled upon the Sugar Hill section of the town
and there raised a goodly family of children. It
has been said that during the haying season it

56

History op Wallingford.

was quite a sight to see "Uncle Hadley", as he
was familiarly termed, walking towards the hay-
field, followed by his nine sons, each over six feet
in height, with scythe upon shoulder. Over "Fifty-
four feet of Congdon" was the common way of
expressing it. Several of his grandchildren are
still living in town.
Philip White and Nehemiah his son came to
Wallingford about 1790 settling upon the Clarence
Ward place. They built a log house which was
succeeded in 1804 by the old house, later used to

JAMES H. CONGDON.

make butter and cheese. The log house had only
a blanket for a door. One morning there was a
piece of venison lying just inside the door and a

Sketches op Some Early Settlers.

57

large bear happening to stroll that way scented
it, went in and helped himself. It was, however,
his last chance for a meal, for Philip White taking
down the old flint lock gun shot the bear dead, and
thus furnished himself with meals for many days
to come.

EESIDENCE OF MES. A. CONGDON.

58

History of Wallingford.

CHAPTER VI.
Scenes About the ToAvn.
IF ENVIRONMENT has much influence on
character, then Wallingford should produce
splendid expressions of manhood. Its natural
beauties are unexcelled and remarkable in variety.
The town is located in the South Eastern part of
Rutland County in latitude 43° 27' and longitude
4° 8' east from Washington. It is well watered
with streams and lakes, and the village is sur
rounded on both sides by ranges of the Green
Mountains.

THE BEIDGE TO TINMOUTH IN WINTER.
The Otter Creek winds its way northward
crossed by many bridges. The old style wooden
one spans the current not far from the more mod
ern one of steel. It may not be a bridge of
"sighs" or of *'size", but there is a certain sen
timent connected with the past, and a picturesque-

Scenes About the Town.

59

'EOUND THE WEST HILL EOAD.

ness that causes the old wooden bridge to appeal
to one's imagination. The Creek allures many in
the fishing season to "cast a fly" or "throw the

VIEW OF THE LAKE.
"Near the lake where drooped the willow,
Long time Ago."

60

History of Wallingford.

hook". Just outside the village, winding for a
short distance round the West Hill road you see a
beautiful sheet of water covering about 100 acres,
that used to be called "Fox Pond", but more

GOING INTO THE WOODS NBAE THE LAKE.
' ' The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year,
Of wailing winds and naked woods and meadows brown
and sere. ' '
recently dignified by the title "Elfin Lake". The
name could add nothing to its beauty. One of the
first impressions of the beholder is that of abso
lute quiet and solitude. This is all the more
strange when it is remembered that within ten
minutes ' walk is the heart of the town and in less
than five minutes, one hears the pounding of ham
mers in the shops and many sounds of industrial
activity.

Scenes About the Town.

61

Walking along the eastern side of the lake many
vistas of beauty are seen as sunshine and shadow
mingle together in glorious combinations. This
has been a favorite stroll for many years and much
delight has come through this beautiful walk in
the woods. To the south of the village there is a
little stream which at certain seasons of the year
presents a rushing cascade. It is easily found by
turning off the main road to the right at Mr. W. K.
Merriam 's. (Formerly it was the road to Center
Rutland, running east of Fox Pond and west side

ENTRANCE TO THE CASCADE.
"The sounding cataract
Haunted me like a passion. '

of the creek.) Turning off the road where Mr.
Huntoon lives, (formerly the home of Dr. John
Fox), there is seen a defile, which gradually nar
rows as one goes further in. The sides become
quite precipitous, and at its further end a stream
falls a distance of 60 or 70 feet. After a heavy
spring rain, or when the snow is melting, it makes

62

History of Wallingford.

THE CASCADE.
an interesting sight. One is reminded of Southey's
"Cataract of Lodore":
"Through meadow and glade.
In sun and in shade.
And through the wood-shelter,
Among crags in its flurry.
Helter-skelter,Hurry-scurry.
Here it comes sparkling
And there it lies darkling,
Now smoking and frothing
Its tumult and wrath in
Till, in this rapid race
On which it is bent.
It reaches the place
Of its steep descent."
Another delightful scene is here reproduced as
one turns round thinking of return and looks to
wards the entrance. A tree trunk has fallen and
the wet rocks glisten even in the dense shade of

Scenes About the Town.

63

LOOKING TOWORD THE ENTRANCE OF THE CASCADE.
the defile. Shut your eyes and listen, you may
hear the tramp of mighty armies, or of clashing

^1

"WHITE EOCKS."
' ' I cannot tell what you say mossy rocks,
I cannot tell what you say
But I know there is a spirit in you
And a word in you this day. ' '

64

History of Wallingford.

bells, the blare of many trumpets or the gladsome
cries of festal throngs, and ever beneath the deep
est harmonies, the rhythm of nature 's music.
Many pastoral scenes charm especially when
contrasted with the days that are gone. As late
as 1857, Hartsborough was the scene of a great
bear hunt. The reason for it was that Mr. Bruin
had invaded the quiet sheepfold of Mr. Israel
Munson and slaughtered nineteen of his choicest
Merinoes. It was generally decided that the bear
should die and a great many men assailed him
with hard words and fierce weapons. Yet he
tracked his way to the mountain, but was caught
and killed in a neighboring town.

SHEEP ON GEEEN HILL.
"Scenes must be beautiful which daily view'd,
Please daily, and whose novelty survives
Long knowledge and the scrutiny of years."

To the east of the village rises Bear Mountain,
two thousand two himdred and sixty-two feet
above sea level. The slopes have been denuded

Scenes About the Town.

65

of heavy growths of timber, but there is yet a lot
of wood upon the hill.
The road to East Wallingford winds its way
between Bear Mountain and Sugar Hill. Rising
sharply to the south is the "White Rocks Moun
tain", just four hundred feet higher than Bear
Mountain — two thousand six hundred and sixty-
two feet. Its beetling cliffs and dizzy heights pre
sent many views of grandeur. From the summit
an extensive panorama of the valley is seen.
The whole face of the mountain at some time has
fallen and rocks are piled one upon the other in a
disordered mass, those at the base of the cliffs
being exceedingly large. It has been called "the
Eagle's Eyrie", and looking upward one easily
understands why it was so named. Ice can some
times be found the year around in the interstices
of the rocks, and a picnic to the "ice-beds" is one
of the summer pleasures. To rub initials or dates
on the moss grown rocks is the ambition of all who
visit. Following this range of hills to the south.

OLD DOCTOE AINSWOETH AND HIS HOME."

(5)

66

History op Wallingford.

there is found the largest pond in the town, cover
ing an area of about three hundred and fifty acres.
It has been known as "Hiram Pond" or "Spec
tacle Pond".
If one returns westward down the Sabe Hill
road, a low rambling structure is pointed out as
the residence of Luther Ainsworth — Old "Doc
Ainsworth" has been a character for many years,
and his sister, "Sleeping Lucy" when alive, was
possessed of supposedly clairvoyant or spiritual
istic power. The farms about appear prosperous.
Modern implements and farm machinery making
the work appear somewhat different to the farm
ing of years ago. Occasionally a yoke of oxen

OLD MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION.

may be seen slowly wending their way along the
road or over the field but they are not as common
as formerly, when used not only for draught pur
poses but as a means of getting about. The busi
ness man, the professional man and the farmei
are economizing on time in ' ' the quiet country dis-

Scenes About the Town.

67

tricts" as well as in the busy centers of trade and
commerce. Nb matter where one turns there are seen scenes
of beauty. Northward of the town is the famous

MODERN METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION.
Clarendon Gorge. For centuries the stream has
cut its way down into the chasm so that care
should be Exercised by all who visit. The steep
slippery sides of the rocks make an element of
hazard that some would call "adventure".
Whether among the rocks or in the fields, by the
lake or on the hillside, one is convinced that
there is
"One Spirit — His who wore the plaited thorns
with bleeding brows.
Rules universal nature. Not a flower
But shows some touch, in freckle, streak or stain,
Of his unrivalled pencil. He inspires their balmy
odors and imparts their hues,
And bathes their eyes with nectar, and includes
In grains as countless as the sea side sands.

68

History op AValungford.

The forms witli which lie sprinkles all the earth.
Happy who walks with Him! whom what he finds
Of flavor, or of scent in fruit or flower
Or what he views ot Ijeautiful or grand
In nature, from the broad majestic oak
To the green l)lade that twinkles in the sun.
Prompts with a rememlirance of a present God.
His presence, who made all so fail', perceived,
Makes all still fairer.

THE SKXIF RESIDENCE IX WINTER.

The Churches. 69
CHAPTER VII.
The Churches.
ON FEBRUARY 10, 1780, the first church
was organized in town at the house of
Titus Andrews. There was no regular
place for worship and services were held in dwell
ing houses and bams. Fifteen articles of faith
were adopted and the little company of twenty-
two people who had gathered from Clarendon and
the eastern part of the town formed themselves
into a Baptist Church. Their standard of mem
bership was high and this in part accounted for
the large nuniber of exclusions. The period was
previous to temperance reform and intemperance
was the commonest cause for such discipline. The
first offence took place in March, 1781, and from
that time until 1820 the number excluded was
quite large in proportion to the number of mem
bers. Ebenezer Murray was the first deacon and
in the following April Joseph Randall was elected
to the same oflfice which he kept until his death
in 1836.
About 1783 Elder Rich who was officiating pas
tor proposed a new plan of church policy and
drew off with him Deacon Murray and two others.
It did not, however, disturb the church which kept
along together and sustained regular meetings.
In. June, 1786, the seceders confessed their fault
and were received again into their places in the
church. The membership at this time amounted
to forty-four so that in the six years it had just
doubled itself. Elder Rich discontinued his ser
vices and a call was extended to Henry Green to
come and preach with a view to settlement. He

70 History of Wallingford.
commenced preaching in March, 1787, and was
ordained by council the following October. The
sermon was from the text Matt. 28, 19-20, and
preached by Rev. Amos Burrows of Shaftsbury.
Ill the meantime with the influx of a large number
of settlers other denominational beliefs became
manifest but all supported the one church.
At a town meeting called for October 3, 1787,
a committee that had been previously appointed
"agreed the right of land for the first settled min
ister be evenly divided in quantity and quality
between the Presbyterian and Baptist Churches".
(It is believed that this is the only example of
such a division in the county and it should be
remembered that in Connecticut a Consociation
of Presbyterian and Congregational Churches was
a common form of alliance in this early period.)
The Congregational Church was organized in
1792, but they united in support of Elder Green's
preaching and it was decided to build a union
house of worship. The location of this church be
came a serious question. At a town meeting called
at the home of Lent. Ives, December 24, 1793, they
tried to fix upon the time and place for building a
meeting house, but did not succeed. They did
agree unanimously that Elder Green should be
"appointed for the examination and approbation
of the regular ministers of Baptist, Congrega
tional or Presbyterian Churches who might preach
to them occasionally". Evidently this did not
prove satisfactory for on January 6, 1794, it was
voted that the Congregationalists ought to have
a committee of their own to examine and approve
of their ministers who supplied the pulpit every
fourth Sabbath. A committee of six, three from
the Baptist and three from the Congregationalist
were appointed to confer together, that the two

The Churches. 71
Societies agree "upon the terms of government
for the meeting house, as there is a suspicion of
imeasiness arising on the principles agreed on in
the last meeting". In the meantime there was no
meeting house built. The members were scattered
over a wide extent not only living in extreme parts
of the town, but also in Tinmouth, Jackson's Gore
and Clarendon. A meeting house so located as to
accommodate one section of the church would not
be convenient for others.
After much discussion it was voted on April 29,
1795, "to request the Council that is to attend at
Elisha Buttons next Thursday, from Clarendon,
Pittsford, Middletown, Salem, Shaftsbury and
Chester, give them advice on a place where a
meeting house ought to be built for the accommo
dation of the town of Wallingford, to seal the
same and deliver it into the hands of the town
clerk to be opened at a future day to which this
meeting shall be adjourned". This council was
composed entirely of legal gentlemen and con
sidered as a disinterested party, thus giving their
decision as absolutely impartial. On May 11,
1795, a town meeting was held to deliberate upon
the advice of the council which was ' ' that in their
opinion the meeting house in town for the accom
modation of the town ought to be built at a stake
and stones which they have placed on Thomas
Miller's land, near where the road from Tinmouth
intercepts the main road, on the east side of the
main road", then on motion the mind of the meet
ing was tried whether they were agreed to accept
the advice of said council and it was found that
there were forty-six in favor and forty-six against.
Then it was voted to build a meeting house
where the council had set a stake near Dr.
McClure's farm, and the good doctor was willing

72 History of Wallingford.
provided they moved the barn to the other side of
the road. The money to build the meeting house
was by a tax levied on the polls and rateable
estate of the inhabitants. It was also voted "that
the bigness of the house be forty feet by fifty
feet." The momentous question was settled.
The salary and manner of paying it in the early
times also affords interesting reading. The agree
ment of the Church with Elder Green "was to
help him on his farm when he needed, to pay his
salary, and to meet at the close of the year to see
if each had paid his full proportion. In 1799 they
voted to give him 40 dollars salary, to be paid in
cattle or grain, and averaged on the church
according to their general ability. The next year,
1780, they agreed to give him £17. 17s. salary,
which would be about $60. In 1801 they agreed
to raise one penny on the pound on their church
list; and for the two succeeding years the same
assessment was voted. In 1805, he was allowed
.$60. This was when the Church numbered about
two hundred and his pastaral duties employed all
or nearly all of his time. It was therefore insuffi
cient for his support and he asked a dismission.
On this the church met and agreed to pay up the
arrears and raise a salary of $100 per year in
future and assist him one day in winter to get up
his wood."
In 1807 Elder Green left Wallingford, respected
as pastor and preacher. Other churches had
grown from the Wallingford church, one in East
Clarendon organized May 30, 1798, and one in
Mount Holly organized Sept. 6, 1804. The Con
gregationalists were supporting their own preach
er since 1802.
Ten years passed after the dismission of Elder
Green before another pastor was secured. Deacon

The Churches.

73

Randall conducted services and there was occa
sional preaching by neighboring preachers. Mat
ters in the church soon got into a bad way. Many
became indifferent and the church was weakened
by the emigration of many members to the West.
Then fault was found with Deacon Randall, some
complaining that they were not edified by his ex
hortations. Then another trouble arose. It was
in the time of the last war with England in 1812.
Some of the members joined the "Washington
Benevolent Society", (a political organization),
and the matter was carried into the church and
amid much excitement hard words were spoken
and strong ground taken.
In 1817 the church secured the services of Sedg
wick Rice, a licentiate from Connecticut, who
stayed two years at a salary of $100 per annum.

BAPTIST CHURCH AS IT WAS.

74 History op Wallingpord.
During Mr. Rice's pastorate the subject of
building a meeting house in the village was agi
tated but nothing definite decided upon. He stayed
with the church about three years. It was during
the ministry of Gibbon Williams that the present
meeting house was built in 1827 at a cost of $870.
(Built by. contract by Capt. Simon Cook who met
with no inconsiderable loss in the operation), and
repaired again in 1843 at an expense of $600. In
1855 the Rev. Simeon L. Elliott in a discourse upon
the history of the church said "From the close of
the labors of Elder Green in 1807 to the present
time, a period of forty-eight years, there have
been fourteen ministerial settlements and the
aggregate of the whole service performed by the
fourteen, as near as can be ascertained is about
twenty-five years — less than two years each —
leaving the church destitute of a pastor nearly half
the time. Now it is perfectly evident that such a
policy as this is not calculated to build up a strong
and efficient church. I am not surprised that the
church has made so little real progress in the last
half century of its existence. I am more surprised
that it has any existence at all, after passing
through, so many changes. I cannot resist the
impression that Deacons Randall and Moon were
men of superior minds and well calculated to
watch over the affairs of a church when destitute
of a pastor. It is evident too that God has exer
cised a fostering care over the church. He has
spared it to be a light to the world for three-
fourths of a century and many precious souls have
been truly saved through its instrumentality. Shall
it continue to be a blessing to this community?
This under God depends in a great measure upon
us. If we are faithful to the truth committed to

The Churches.

75

us, we may be the means of perpetuating this holy
influence to help those who may come after us."
The Rev. Mr. Elliott labored about five years
and after serving other churches came back to
Wallingford where he died October 21, 1865, aged
48 years. His funeral sermon was preached by
the Rev. F. H. Archibald from Matt. : 13, 43. In

REV. S. HENRY ARCHIBALD.

spite of frequent pastoral changes the church has
continued to be a strong influence and for a con
siderable period in its early history the poor of
the church were supported by a tax on the mem
bers according to their ability. One of the longest
pastorates was that of the Rev. S. Henry Archi-

76

History op Wallingford.

bald, who began his labors April 1, 1876, and con
tinued until October, 1898. His ministry is still
remembered as one of great usefulness and he

BAPTIST CHURCH AS IT IS.

endeared himself to the hearts of his people. One
of the stained glass windows in the church is a
memorial of his loving service.

The Churches.

77

Although numerically small the church has been
supported by a loyal membership, eager to carry
forward its mission. Under the pastorate of the
Rev. F. S. Leathers, the building was renovated
and enlarged in the summer of 1904. Stained
glass windows were placed on the south and west
sides. The interior was rearranged and the out
side modernized. The Sunday School has been
regularly carried on and work among the young
people developed. Recently electric lights have

INTERIOR OF BAPTIST CHURCH.
been installed and a goodly measure of success
enjoyed. The present pastor, the Rev. S. D. Sikes,
is forceful and energetic. His labors have been
fruitful and although a call to New York State has
come to him at this time of writing, it is hoped
he can remain with his people, even unto the
larger service and better opportunities of the
future.

78

History op Wallingford.

A complete list of pastors who have served this
church appears upon a following page. Some can
not estimate their ministry by time alone. Many,
quiet and unosten
tatious have labored
faithfully and well.
No great results of
their work may have
been visible, but in
patient courage and
strength they have
lived among their
people, proclaiming
the truth as they
discerned it, and
making an influence
positive and helpful
to the whole com
munity. Mention should
also be made of
those who have
served this church
as deacons, Sunday
School superinten
dents and workers
among the young
people. Love's labor is never lost and self-sacri
fice always influences for good, not only in the
present, but in the days to come.

REV. S. D. SIKES.

The Churches. 79
List of Ministers who have served the Baptist
Church Began Closed

Henry Green

1793

1807

Sedgwick Rice

1817

1819

Leman Andrews

1822

1825

Gibbon Williams

1826

1828

F. Page

1830

1835

Leland Hunter

1838

1839

J. H. Sherwin

1839

1841

David Hascall

1841

1842

Joseph Packer

1843

1844

Elder Constantine

1844

1845

R. Myers

1846

1847

F. Page

1847

1850

E. H. Smith

1850

1851

S. E. Elliott

1851

1857

Edwin M. Haynes

1858

1859

Edward Conover

1859

1863

James W. Grant

1863

1864

Robert G. Johnson

1865

1867

.lohn A. Fletcher

1869

1873

Edward Conover

1874

1876

S. Henry Archibald

1876

1898

F. S. Smith

1898

1901

Silas P. Perry

1902

1903

F. S. Leathers

1903

1905

H. S. McCreedy

1905

1906

Caleb R. B. Dodge

1906

1910

S. David Sikes

1910

1911

Howard B. Smith

1911

80 History of Wallingford.
ST. PATRICK'S CATHOLIC CHURCH.
Among the earliest settlers there were very few
if any Catholics. As late as 1789 Vermont was a
part of the diocese of Baltimore but when the dio
cese of Boston was formed in 1810, Vermont was
included in its territory. Missions were given
occasionally but there were no resident priests.
Father Jeremiah 0 'Callaghan, a priest from the
diocese of Cork, settled in Burlington in 1830 and
his influence and pastoral zeal radiated far and
wide for a quarter of a century. The first mission
in Rutland was established in 1837 by Rev. Fr.
Dailey, a Franciscan Monk, who was known as
"an eccentric and very learned man", whose field
extended from Brattleboro to Canada.
In 1853 the diocese of Vermont was formed and
Fr. de Goesbriand, who had been Vicar General of
Bishop Rappe, of Cleveland, became the first
Bishop of Vermont. On the day of his consecra
tion, October 30, 1853, (he was only thirty-seven),
he found in Vermont five priests, ten churches or
chapels and between 9,000 and 10,000 Catholic
population. The first priest stationed in Rutland
was Rev. Fr. Z. Druon and in connection with his
work he frequently served the Catholics of this
community. He was followed by Father Charles
Boylan who had come as one of Bishop de Goes
briand 's recruits from Ireland. He was an inde
fatigable worker and in his thirty years of min
istry, built several churches, sc'hoolhouses and
convents and collected over $200,000 for religious
purposes. As the settled priest in Rutland he
gave himself unstintedly to calls from outside his
parish, and it was under his guidance and direc
tion that the present church in Wallingford was
built. Previous to the Civil War services were

The Churches.

81

held in various houses but in 1864 a site for the
church was purchased from Mr. I. B. Munson. The
following year the church was constructed and it
proved to be for its size one of the finest in the
State. It was built from drawings made by P. C.
Keiley, the architect of the church in West Rut
land, in St. Albans and the Cathedral in Burling
ton. Situated on the Main Street in the north end
of the village, built of stone quarried nearby, at a

ST. PATRICK'S CATHOLIC CHURCH.

cost of $8,888, with seating capacity for 350
people, it reflects great credit upon the Catholic
population of the town. The corner stone was laid
in May, 1865, and on the second day of September,
1866, the church was blest under the title of St.
Patrick. With the growth of the. diocese and the
increase of parishes, Wallingford, in conjunction
with Danby and Dorset, was considered as a field
of its own. In 1868 the Rev. T. J. Gaffney was
appointed as the first resident priest and remained
(6)

82

History op Wallingford.

about twenty years, after which he was trans
ferred to St. Peters in Rutland.
Tn 1887 he was succeeded by the Rev. A. J.
Glynn, who remained until 1900.
The Rev. Fr. J. J. Boyle followed him the same
year, but his stay was not so long, being trans
ferred in 1903.
Then came the Rev. H. J. Maillet and he devel
oped the resources of the parish, laboring with
zeal and energy for seven years, when he went to

INTERIOR OF CATHOLIC CHURCH.
his present parish in Woodstock, 1910. During
the change the parish was again subdivided, Dor
set and Danby forming a field of its own and Wall
ingford uniting with Mount Holly, and for the
first time Wallingford had a resident priest.
The Rev. Fr. Thomas O'Donoghue, assumed
the charge in the summer of 1910 and more fre
quent services have been held than was before
possible.

The Churches. 83
The service of Mass is observed each Sunday
instead of every second Sunday. A Holy Name
Society has been organized and is exerting a
goodly influence in the community. Under the
present administration a beautiful and commo
dious rectory has been built next to the church
at a cost of $2,800, and all branches of the church's
work are in a flourishing condition.
The present priest is Rev. Fr. Thos. J. Henry,
who was transferred from St. Peter's Church in
Rutland. Since its organization the membership of the
church has far more than doubled and the future
is faced with hopefulness and great courage.
Priests who have serv^ed St. Patrick's Catholic
Church in Wallingford :
Rev. Fr. T. J. Gaffney, Mar., 1868, to Jan., 1887.
Rev. Fr. A. J. Glynn, 1887 to June 15, 1900.
Rev. Fr. J. J. Boyle, June 20, 1900 to Jan. 14,
1903.
Rev. Fr. H. J. Maillet, Jan. 14, 1903 to July 24,
1910.
Rev. Fr. T. O'Donoghue, July 24, 1910 to Oct. 7,
1911.
Rev. Fr. T. J. Henry, Oct. 14, 1911—

84

History of Wallingford.

THE MEETING HOUSE ON THE HILL.
The older inhabitants of Sugar Hill can still
remember the meeting house that stood near the
cross roads not far from Mr. W. C. Stone 's house.
In 1828 when the Rev. T. M
Hopkins was the Congregational
pastor quite a number of church
members lived in this part of the
town. As the distance from the
village was .so great it was de
cided that they should be allowed
the services of their minister a
part of the time.
Then a revival spirit became
manifest and regular meetings
were held. A church was built
on a Union principle, and Bap
tists, Congregationalists and
Methodists occupied it in succes
sion. The Congregational ser
vices were held one week in each
Key of the Old Sugar month and whcu the Rev. Mr.
Hill Meeting House Martindalc became pastor he con
tinued the arrangement throughout his ministry.
Elias Kent was the first and only deacon. There
was an excellent spirit of harmony and good work
was accomplished although there was no formal
organization separate from the one in the village.
Part of the minister's support was raised by the
church members on the hill. After Mr. Martin-
dale had passed on, and Rev. Mr. Mitchell became
the preacher, it appears that he did not go as fre
quently, for according to the records, he visited
the hill eight times a year. Then at a society meet
ing in the village it was voted "that those mem
bers who reside on Sugar Hill should have preach-

The Churches. 85
ing in proportion to the amount of their subscrip
tions". Evidently this kept growing less for the
Rev. Mr. Sanderson preached there four Sabbaths
in the year, and finally services were discontinued
in 1857.
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AND
SOCIETY.
The early records of the church are lost, one of
the first ministers taking them away with him
for the purpose of copying, and he omitted sending
either the original minutes or the proposed copy.
The only information that could be gathered con
cerning them was that he had mislaid them and
they were not to be found.
Deacon Mosely Hall united with the Church in
1798 and stated that it had been in existence seven
or eight years at that time. He informed the Rev.
H.H.Saunderson that there was no Congregational
Church in town until after Deacon Abraham Jack -
son's death. (The good deacon used to go to Rut
land to attend services.) He died September 18,
1791. This statement was also corroborated by
Mrs. Melinda Chatterton (daughter of the first
deacon). So that in all probability 1792 is the
date of the church's organization. We know not
who preached in the first years of its existence oi
where the meetings for prayer or business were
held. So what historical facts we have commence
with the installation of the first pastor. Thii
occurred on November 10, 1802, and the Rev.
Benjamin Osbom was the first minister. He had
been settled over the Congregational Church in
Tinmouth from 1780 to 1787. In the early days
Tinmouth was considerable more of a town than
Wallingford. He was highly esteemed as a pastor

86 History op Wallingford.
and preacher. The Union Meeting House (just
north of Mr. Pitt Clark's barn) had been com^
pleted and occupied in 1800. The Baptist Church
was enjoying the ministry of Elder Henry Green
and both congregations used the same meeting
house. As already recorded the town records contain
evidence of a meeting house as early as 1786 but
the Rev. S. Henry Archibald in his historical
sketch of "The first 100 years of the Baptist
Church of Wallingford" (published 1880) claimed
the records show that the meeting house on the
hill (northeast of the Ballon place) was not used
for the services of the Baptist Church and offered
the explanation "that Elder Rich who seceded in
1783 built the house and after struggling for a
short time to keep up meetings, abandoned it, but
in the minds of the church it was so tainted that
they would not attempt to gain possession of it,
or perhaps could not".
Twelve petitioners, 'desirous of forming a Con
gregational Society, had requested William Fox,
town clerk, to call a public meeting on the 21st
of July, 1802, and the following persons met :
Ichabod Shaw Neh*" White
Josephus Hull Joel C. Warner
John Wylie Sam^ Jones
Jam^ White Eliakim H. Johnson
Sun'' White Miles H. Johnson
Horatio G. Amiden • Zeph, Hull
David Meachem Jam^ Thomson
Asa Warner Phillip Edgerton
Nath°'Ives Robt. Edgerton
Eben'' Campbell, Jr. Sol. Miller
Phillip White Wm. Fox
Eben'' Towner Dan' Douglass

The Churches. 87
James Conkrite Mosely Hall
Joel Hart Fred*"^ Miller
Josh* Hart Edmund Douglass
The above formed themselves into a Society
"for the Support of the Gospell" which has con
tinued unto this day. They voted to give Mr.
Osborn "the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars
and his fire-wood annually".
That the relations were pleasant is shown by the
fact that Rev. Mr. Osborn stayed for nearly six
teen years when in consequence of failing health
the services of^ another pastor seemed to be neces
sary. With the consent of Mr. Osbom, the church-
extended a call to Rev. Eli Meeker and invited a
council for his settlement. This Council met July
6, 1818, and found a division in the minds of the
people as to whether Mr. Osbom should be made
Pastor Emeritus or not. The Council adjourned
before making their decision, till the following
morning. During the night the question was de
cided for them by the death of their pastor.
The Rev. Eli Meeker succeeded Mr. Osborn July
7, 1818, but his ministry was short, terminating
the following year. In 1820 came the Rev. Eli S.
Hunter. He served through the War of 1812 and
while not an educated man, preached with great
acceptance. According to the records he minis
tered about five years, when a council was eailed
to dissolve the relations existing between pastor
and people. The reason for such a dismissal is
given "on account of pecuniary embarrassment
arising from inadequate support". But the truth
is that the inadequacy on the pa,rt of the people
was intentional and simply proved a means of
making the change that the congregation desired.
The Rev. Timothy M. Hopkins came to Walling-

88

History op Wallingford.

ford in 1828 at a salary of $350 per year. He was
born in Pittsford in 1800 and had studied theology
with his brother Dr.Josiah Hopkins of NewHaven.
In a letter which he sent to Dr. Aldace Walker he
says "We continued to meet for a time in the
'Old Church' as it was called (old and built in
1800) whicli stood about a mile south of the vil
lage; but soon removed to the village, occupying

THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AS IT WAS.
the Baptist Church, which had just been com
pleted (1827) and which that denomination thon
without a minister, kindly offered to the Congre
gational Church. ' ' During the summer and autumn
of 1829 the Congregational Church and Society
erected a church and in the beginning of the fol
lowing winter it was dedicated. The Rev. Charles
Walker, D.D., then of Rutland preached the dedi-

The Churches. 89
catory sermon December 1, 1829 from Psalm 122:
1." This sermon is among the Society's records.
Even before Mr. Hopkins came to Wallingford
a committee had been appointed to build a meet
ing house, "forty by fifty with a projection of
three and one half feet either with Brick or wood
as they think best". (May 19, 1827).
It was erected during Mr. Hopkins' pastorate
at a cost of $2,560. The last year of Mr. Hopkins'
pastorate was one of great religious excitement
and interest. To quote from one of his letters
• ' There was soon a perceptible change in the num
ber of our congregation, as well as in the degree
of solemnity or apparent interest in religious
matters in those who attended, so much so that
in the fall of that year some fifteen or more were
added to the church. But the great change which
removed the ancient landmarks of church and
society in Wallingford commenced in the spring
of 1829". The community had been for a long
time agitated with the anti-Masonic Excitement;
so much so that it seemed impossible that anything
of a religious nature should get into the minds of
the people. Prayer meetings were attended by
only a few, and those came to smite upon their
breast and exclaim "alas, alas, to what are we
coming?" A small circle of females met weekly
and by themselves to mourn over the desolations
of Zion. To this circle, their unceasing, patient,
persevering, earnest prayers, I have ever since
been constrained to attribute as a means under
Go'd, the great and precious revival which fol
lowed. This was the commencement of a work
which continued all the following summer, extend
ing on the hill where I was accustomed to preach
one fourth of the time; and ending in the hopeful
conversion of more than a hundred souls. ' ' After

90 History op Wallingpoed.
Mr. Hopkins left in 1830, there was an interim
of several months when the pulpit was supplied
by the Rev. Eli Taylor.
In 1832 the Rev. Stephen Martindale came to
Wallingford. He was a native of Dorset and was
brought into the ministry through the influence of
Dr. Jackson (son of Wallingford's first legal
settler). Mr. Martindale did not wish to be
installed and his connection was that of acting
pastor whieh he continued to hold till his death.
"He had an engaging personal appearance, a good
voice, great flow of language and an earnest
impressive manner." The membership at this
time' amounted to 132 and the salary was $500
annually and use of the parsonage. He won the
affection of old and young, and even the present
inhabitants have reason to call his memory blessed.
His lot was to have an appreciative people and to
find his grave among them. A handsome monument
erected by his parish, marks the spot in the village
cemetery where he is laid. He died March 8, 1847.
Rev. William Mitchell came to Wallingford in
1847, having previously been pastor of the Rut
land church. He was a graduate of Yale College
and Andover Theological Seminary and continued
to serve the churches in the village and on the
hill until 1852. He afterwards became agent of
the American Colonization Society and spent his
last years at Corpus Christi in Texas, where he
died of yellow fever in 1867.
H. H. Saunderson commenced his ministerial
labors in 1853 and remained with the church nine
years. During his pastorate the church was en
larged and remodeled in 1856. There are those still
living who recall the helpfulness of his labors,
and it was due to his infiuence and energy that our
streets are so well shaded in the summer.

The Churches. 91
After leaving Wallingford, he went to Charles
town, N. H., where he wrote and published the
history of "Old No. 4" for the town of Charles
town. Aldace Walker, D.D., entered upon his work the
last Sunday in June, 1862, and after almost seven
years labor was installed as pastor on March 10,
1869. His ministry is recalled with love and
thankfulness. On account of sickness he tendered
his resignation but it was not acted on, so that he
continued his official relation but without preach
ing until his death July 24, 1878. In the church
there is a beautiful Tiffany tablet presented by
his family as a memorial. It reads:
To the beloved Memory of
Aldace Walker D.D.,
Pastor of this church from 1862
until his death in 1878.
"But Cristes his loore and His Apostles twelve
he taughte; but first he folwed it hymselve."
The Rev. E. S. Huntress served as stated supply
during Dr. Walker's sickness, leaving the Church
in December, 1878. He was followed by the Rev.
Charles N. Brainerd who stayed until 1882. Nine
years of fruitful ministry was given by the Rev.
S. Franklin French when he moved to New Hamp
shire in 1892. The Rev. William A. Bushee came
the same year and served as pastor for a year
and then as a stated supply until the Rev. John S.
Tupper came in 1895. On account of sickness, he
resigned in September, 1897.
He was followed by the Rev. John C. Evans who
came in December of the same year, remaining
until February 1899.

92

History of Wallingford.

In May a call having been extended to the Rev.
J . Alphonse Belanger, he accepted and commenced
his labors, staying for three years. He left in
June, 1902.
In August the Rev. Alexander L. McKenzie.
recently graduated from the Seminary, was asked
to become teacher and pastor. He came, and dur
ing his ministry, the interior of the church was
remodelled, the old pews giving place to seats,

THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AS IT IS.

the side windows changed over, substituting
stained glass memorials in their place. An organ
was given in memory of Mr. Albert Congdon
by his wife, and the church was remembered
in the wills of some members thus adding to its

The Churches.

93

endowment. Mr. McKenzie much to the regret of
his people accepted a call to Winthrop Beach,
Mass., and left Wallingford in June, 1906. The
following October the Rev. Walter Thorpe, having
accepted the pastorate, came and his first service
was held on the first Sunday of November.
During his min
istry the front of (~^
the church has
been changed to
better conform
with the sides. A
cement porch with
steps the whole
width of the build
ing was added, and
memorial windows
representing the
three revelations
of God to man
through the Law,
the Prophets, and through Jesus Christ as the
Good Shepherd, were placed in the front.
A new system of lighting was installed when the
town had opportunity to use electric light and in
all probability was the first church in the state
to use what was then the new Tungsten light.
The church is fortunate in having many who take
pride in its appointments and without doubt, for
its size, it presents one of the finest auditoriums
in the county.
A helpful literary society is continued in the
Ladies Fortnightly and the missionary activities
of the church are strong. Sunday School sessions
are regularly held and the church seeks to ally
itself with, and become a part of the greater

94

History of Wallingford.

^^t^A|H

^f^s|
lp p
M . ^^1
gjw.yl
^^^^^^^ni ^
s
jji^^sSi^^
^S^K
- ^"^^^hHBhi
8E£yi
'"^tRJHi
-W&ss?;, ' * 3|
^' ^
' Wl i
\ '- /^^#^f^^',, .
INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH.
influences for good in the town. Many who have
had its welfare upon their minds have
"gone to that bourne
From which none e'er return."
but they in turn are followed by those who are
anxious, that the best of thought and service
should be given for the good of mankind.
The Churches. 95

MINISTERS WHO HAVE SERVED THE
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.

Benjamin Osborn
Eli Meeker
Eli S. Hunter
Timothy M. Hopkins
Stephen Martindale
William Mitchell
Henry H. Saunderson
Aldace Walker
E. S. Huntress
Stated Supply
Charles N. Brainerd
Stated Supply
S. Franklin French
William A. Bushee
John S. Tupper
John C. Evans
,7. Alphonse Belanger
Alexander L. McKenzie
Walter Thorpe

Nov.

1802

July

1818

July

1818

1819

1820

1825

July

1828

1830
Jan.
1832
Mar.
1847
Aug.
1847
1852
May
1853
May
1862
June
1862
July
1878
May
1877
Dec.
1878
Oct.
1879
Aug.
1882
July
1883
July
1892
Nov.
1892
Oct.
1893
Nov.
1895
Sept.
1897
Dec.
1897
Feb.
1899
May
1899
June
1902
Aug.
1902
.June
1906
Oct.
1906
96 History op Wallingford.
CHAPTER VIII.
Public Libraries.
As early as 1795 there was an Association
formed for the purpose of extending the influences
of books. Mr. A. G. Stone has in his possession
the original constitution and by-laws, and the pur
pose of their organizing is presented in the pre
amble "Whereas publick Libraries promote lit
erature and deseminate useful knowledge and we
being desirous to benefit ourselves by the same,
do hereby form ourselves into a Society by the
name of the Wallingford Library proprietors, for
the purpose of framing and using a social library
and hereby agree and promise to Subject our
selves to the following regulations".
Then follows thirty articles which stated that
the library should be open six times a year for
the drawing of books "on the first Mondays of
October, December, February, April, June and
AugTist, at five o'clock".
Definite penalties were affixed for damages to
the books. "If any person shall turn down or
fold a leaf in any book he shall pay a fine of one
shilling." Grease spots were to be paid for in
accord with their size and number. Examina
tions were sfuppose'd to be thorough although.
there is one record under the date of August 7,
1797 "Voted that the Treasurer pay back Mr.
Hall a fine paid into the treasury for damage
done a book that was not examined the preceding
Library day."
The first to sign the articles was the first min-

Public Libraries. 97
ister of the town, Henry Green, and among the
names are:
Wm. Fuller Daniel McClure
Benj. Osborn Edmund Clark
Daniel Edgerton .Joseph Randall
Robert Edgerton Ormond Doty
Nehemiah White Elisha Luther
William Hopkins Elias Crary
Alfred Hall Daniel Moon
Seth Leonard Eliakim Bradley
George Eddy Alexander Miller
Nancy Hart Nehemiah Rogers
.John Ballon Ichabod Shaw
Asahel Hulett Thos. Miller, Jr.
James Wylie
Alexander Miller was chosen first librarian and
he continued in that capacity until October 2,
1820, which is the last record in the book.
It might be of interest to catalogue the first
selection of books that was placed in circulation
in the town. Evidently from the titles it was
planned to please a varied taste. They were
bought from Mr. Samuel Campbell, a bookseller
of New York, and include:
Gordon's American War, 3 vol.
Homes' Sketches of History of Man, 4 vols.
Moore's Travels in France and Italy, 2 vols.
Brydon's Tour Through Sicily and Malta.
Jefferson's Notes on Virginia.
Home's Hints on Education.
Plutarchs Lives, 6 vols.
Baron Trenck.
Blair's Sermons, 3 vols.
Blair's Lectures, 2 vols.
(7)

98 History op Wallingford.
Montesquies Persian Letter.
Goldsmith's Essays.
Fordyce's Sermons to Young Men.
Children's Friend.
The Rambler, 4 vols.
Tom Jones, 3 vols.
Cecelia, 3 vols.
Tristam Shandy, 3 vols.
Sentimental Journey.
Lady Montague's Letters.
Foot of Quality, 3 vols.
Vicar of Wakefield.
This selection cost in New York currency £21.
12. 0, from which a deduction of ten per cent was
given for cash.
A smaller list was filled in Boston, including:
Stackhouse History of the Holy Bible, 6 vols.
Nicholson's Philosophy.
Rollins' Ancient History, 10 vols.
Edwards on Redemption.
Robertson's America, 3 vols.
It will be readily seen that the majority of the
books were for serious reading. The books were
kept in circulation for many years and at differ
ent times the interest lagged and was revived
again, but it was not until the last decade of the
nineteenth century, that there was erected a
building to house books, and to continue in a
larger and more effective manner, "the dissemi
nating of useful knowledge and the promotion of
literature. ' '

Public Libraries.

99

THE GILBERT HART LIBRARY.
The Library building is one of the finest in
town. The foundation and lower walls are con
structed of rock faced blue marble, while the
upper walls are a terra-cotta buff brick. Its lines
are simple and of splendid proportion. Situated

GILBERT HAET LIBEAEY.

on the southwest comer of the square formed by
the crossing of the two principal streets, it is
easy of access and an adornment to the main
thoroughfare. It was given to the town by a
native of Wallingford, Gilbert Hart, of Detroit,
Mich. His grandfather, Amasa Hart, was one of
the early settlers of the town. He came from
Wallingford, Conn., and located in the Hartsboro
section away from the valley of the Otter Creek,
which in the early days was more swampy than
now. The idea was prevalent that malaria and
ague were sure to be contracted unless one settled

100

History op Wallingford.

upon an elevation. Amasa Hart built where the
first house is toward the Creek from the corners
of the road (now the Coleman house). Gilbert
Hart was born in the house below (now the Ganey
place). His early days were spent amid hard
ships and he had to fight his own way in the
world. As the inventor of the Hart Emery Wheel
and by strict attention to business, he secured a
fortune in the middle west, where he has since
made his home. The Library that bears his name
will ever he a memorial to his beneficence and love
for his native town. His gift to the town was
accepted with great appreciation and on July 25,
1894, the library was dedicated with appropriate

GILBEET HAET.

Public Libraries.

101

BEADING BOOM.
' 'Knowing I lov 'd my books, he furnish 'd me
From mine own library with volumes that
I prize above my dukedom."
exercises. On August the first following, books
were being issued. The reading room is an excep
tionally pleasant room. On the tables are found
the leading magazines and newspapers. Part of
the stack room can be seen in the rear. Upon the
south walls of the room, there is a bronze tablet
to the memory of the noble men who left Wall
ingford to take up arms for the defense of the
Union — to be forever "one and inseparable".
It is fittingly called a "Roll of Honor". In the
spring of 1910 an addition was built by Mr. Hart
to make a special Children's Room. The number
of books has increased to almost 5,000 volumes.
Each year the town votes a certain percentage of
its grand list for the support of the library. The
property is under the immediate control of the
Gilbert Hart Library Association, of which Mr.
Charles N. Batcheller is president.
Thus is continued the goodly influence of books
which the earliest settlers appreciated and strove

102

History op Wallingford.

to perpetuate. The library is open each day in
the year excepting holidays.
Under the efficient direction of the present
librarian, its usefulness to the community is con
stantly increasing. Those who have served in the
capacity of librarian are :
Miss Jennie E. Ferry, 1894-1895.
Miss Minnie E. Townsend, 1895-1896.
Miss May L. Congdon, 1896 up to the present
time.

ROLL OF HONOR IN THE GILBERT HART LIBRARY.
' ' Such is the patriots boast, wher 'er we roam
His first, best country ever is at home."

The Early Nineteenth Century. 103
CHAPTER IX.
The Early Nineteenth Century.
In the first decade of the nineteenth century,
Wallingford passed the thousand mark in point
of population. The town organization had become
so well perfected that the election of the "hay-
wards" caused as much excitement and uncer
tainty as though it was the most important office
in town. In the minutes of the town meetings
there can be read the accounts of electing as many
as twenty-nine highway surveyors and eight or
ten "haywards". The latter officials simply acted
as pound keepers, for not only various towns had
enacted laws, but upon the statutes of the state
was one "for the purpose of restraining animals
running at large in villages in this state".
The poor of the town were cared for at the
annual meeting in March. One of the earliest
records shows the recipient of town charity to
have been a colored woman; dated October 4,
1803. "Voted that Geo. Richman be allowed
$12.50 for keeping a negro woman, a porper of
said town; then voted that Benjamin Darby be
allowed $1.00 per week for keeping, clothing and
Physick, for the aforesaid negro woman".
Evidently with the change to auctioning off the
town poor to the lowest bidder, the colored lady
must have been somewhat in demand, for six
years later (March 7, 1809) she only cost the
town $27.75 for the whole year. Her name was
Phyllis and it was generally spelt in the records
phonetically, either "Philis" or "fills, the black
woman". She must have been in the town many

104 History op Wallingford.
years. With advancing age her usefulness grew
less for in 1834 and 1835, the cost to the town had
run up again to $78.00 and $79.00 per year.
There is an account in 1804 how "Captain Ed.
Bumpus was allowed $50.00 for keeping on Jona
than Ketchum and find him food and raiment".
But Jonathan proved either too much of an eater,
or in some way too much of a losing proposition,
for Captain Bumpus called a special town meet
ing a few weeks later, "to see whether they would
or not release said Bumpus, from the cruel and
odious task which he voluntarily took upon him
self at the last town meeting in case of Jon. Ket
chum". However the gallant Captain did not
derive much satisfaction from the town, for it was
"Voted not to release him or allow him any more
compensation for his care".
In 1835, although the poor were still bid off to
the lowest bidders, it was decided to have ' ' over
seers of the poor". In 1839, a committee of five,
consisting of Thomas Hulett, Charles Button,
Dyer Townsend, Alfred Hull, Lincoln Andrus,
were appointed to purchase a farm for the sup
port of the town charges. It was not until 1855
that such a farm was purchased from Solomon
Woodward, consisting of about 140 acres and sit
uated in the eastern part of the town.
Cephas Dale was one of the few Methodists in
the town and it is said that in 1836 he, with Jolm
Ives, conceived the idea of organizing a Methodist
Church in Wallingford. To further this object,
they had Elder Spicer come and on several occa
sions, held services in the school house (now the
Chapel). As they were generally conducted on
Sunday evenings, members of the other churches
would join them, some bringing tallow candles.

The Early Nineteenth Century.

105

After lighting they would drop a little of the
grease on the desk and other available places and
stick the candle into it. They even went so far
as to choose a site and then they began to con
sider more seriously the cost. The question as to
whether they could afford to build another church
and support a preacher, and be honest to their
fellow men, was of great importance. With two
churches already in the village, it seemed as
though they could well care for the religious life
of the people. Finally it was decided to abandon
the project and it proved a wise decision, for
Wallingford has not suffered as so many Vermont
towns have, through over-churching. That there
were definite opinions in the matter, ean be seen
from the following quotation taken from an old

SCHOOL STREET.

letter, mentioning the proposed new church,
"Never organize another religious body until
your population reaches 10,000."

106 History op Wallingford.
It might be of interest to record that the same
Cephas Dale made the first pair of elliptic springs
ever produced in Vermont, and they were for a
carriage belonging to John Ives.
When Howard Harris came to Wallingford in
1824 he kept a store on the site of Mr. W. C.
Mason's residence. It was destroyed by fire in
1851. On about the site of the Gilbert Hart Lib
rary, James Rustin kept a hat store, whose daugh
ter Mr. Harris married. In the south end of the
village Eliakim Johnson and William Marsh kept
a general store under the firm name of Johnson
and Marsh. Button and Townsend were located
south of Edwin Crary 's residence.
Abiel Child practiced law where the Congrega
tional parsonage is, and Dr. John Fox had an office
in the same building. A rather amusing instance is
related of a woman who had come to town from
one of the hillside homes for the purpose of shop
ping. She was passing down Main Street an'd saw
the sign ABIEL CHILD, ATTORNEY AT LAW.
Stopping in her walk, with difficulty she spelled
out the words A BIEL CHILD, exclaiming "A
biled child, why that's shocking." There were
those who added to the joke by claiming that the
"attorney at law" was meant to be "anatomy
show." Whether the close proximity of the
doctor's office had anything to do with it, is not
known. Towards the middle of the century the social
life of the people was stimulating. Mutual respect
for one another's good qualities, combined with a
strong feeling of public disapproval for moral laxi
ities produced a high standard of life and conduct.
This is still shown by the expressions of apprecia
tion on the part of our older inhabitants for those
who were in the period of their youth, the elders

The Early Nineteenth Century. lO'i
of the community. It was a period when a joke
was enjoyed just as much as today. Pure fun and
a jolly good time were associated with some as
naturally as business or politics with others. Such

LINCOLN ANDRUS.
a one was Lincoln Andrus, and many were the
remembrances of those who knew him for his
stories and good natured puns whether they went
to the great West, or remained behind. Another
who gave great pleasure by his singing was
Jerome Hilliard. His voice was naturally of splen
did timbre and his song was considered as neces
sary in the church service as the preacher's ser
mon. For funerals and other public occasions he

108

History op Wallingford.

was greatly in demand, and willingly gave to the
extent of his johysical powers.
In 1824 John Ives- built a house designing it

JEROME HILLIARD.

especially as a tavern. It however was used for
other purposes for at one time Sabin an'd Johnson
had a store in the south end, while Mary Atwood
used one room as a millinery. In it John Warner
had a part for his cabinet shop and Judge Button
used two rooms as his law offices.
In 1835 just following a decided temperance agi
tation, Chester S])encer "opened it as the first
temperance hotel in the world." A large square

The Early- Nineteenth Century.

109

sign was placed on site of Odd Fellows Block and
in large gold foil letters commencing at the bot
tom of the left hand corner, described a circle with
the words TEMPERANCE HOUSE. The sign was
supported upon a post and raised 15 feet from the

THE NEW WALLINGFORD.

ground. Without doubt this was the first sign
erected in Vermont advertising a "Temperance
House." It is a question whether the venture
proved an unqualified success for it was only con
tinued for two or three years. Among those who
have been proprietors of thehotel at differing times
are Almeron Hyde, Arnold Hill, J. H. Earle, Elmer
Barrows and L. J. Vance. In 1877 W. D. Hulett
became the owner and in 1892 made plans to in
crease the size. It was opened in July 1893 under
the name of "The New Wallingford." Special
efforts were made to attract the summer visitor
and the attractiveness of both hotel and surround
ings is testified to, in the repeated visits that some

110

History of Wallingford.

make year after year. The water comes from a
mountain spring and is piped to every floor. The
house is heated by a hot water system and in part
lighted by electricity. There is connected with
it a barber shop and billiard room. Since 1906 the
house had been managed by Mr. Patrick Lane
until his death in 1910, since which time Mrs.

THE PARLORS OF THE HOTEL.

Lane and son have continued in charge. Hospit
able in its management, convenient in its appoint
ments, one is reminded of a certain quatrain,
scratch e'd upon the window of the ' ' White Swan ' '
at Henley-in-Arden, by William Shenstone.
"^¥hoe'er has travelled life's dull round.
Where 'er his stages may have been.
May sigh to think how oft he found
The warmest welcome — at an Inn."

The Early Nineteenth Century.

Ill

Just outside of the Hotel there is a memorial
fountain given by the children of Arnold Hill to
the memory of their father.

THE HILL MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN.

It represents a boy with "one shoe off and one
shoe on," holding at arm's length the "off shoe,"
through which trickles the spring water, "good
for man and beast." Substantial in its construc
tion, not only neat but also novel in its appear
ance, it marks the intersection of two busy
streets and proves a source of blessing.

112

History of Wallingford.

CHAPTER X.
South Wallingford.
BETWEEN four and five miles south of
Wallingford village, there is a pleasing
little settlement with a separate post
office and having its own schools and church.
From Wallingford one follows the Otter Creek,
along a good road, with an occasional stretch
that invites fast riding. Splendid farms indi
cate a prosperous condition and the view down

THE ROAD TO SOUTH WALLINGFOED.
Looking towards the Munson Farm.

the valley is one of great beauty. Nearing
South Wallingford, places are seen that were
worked as marble quarries. The first marble
quarried was in what is now known as the Kelley
quarry about 1835 by Orange Carpenter. A mar-

The Early Nineteenth Century.

113

ble mill was built on the 'dam south from the
quarry by Oscar Eddy. Parties from New York
worked the veins of marble for some time and
then sold out to W. W. Kelley. Neither the
quarry or the mill is used now, the latter burning
to the ground in 1905. At the north end of the
village stands the Grange Hall. It was built in
1909 of timber, commodious and convenient. It

A. W. NICHOLS' PAEM.
makes a splendid place, not only for Grange
meetings but for all public gatherings.
The Main Street of the village presents a pleas
ing scene, especially when the foliage of the trees
is changing. Flanked on either side with wooded
hills, it affords a setting that at times is beautiful
beyond description. The Union Church (build
ing) occupies the head of the street. It was built
in 1840. The money was raised by subscription,
the land being donated by Mr. Holden Stafford.
The first pastor and the only one ever really
(8)

114

History op Wallingford.

THE GEANGE HALL.

settled here, was a Universalist clergyman by the
name of Rev. Dennis Chapin. For many years
the organization worshipping within has been
Congregational in its form and polity. In the
past various young men have labored as summer
supplies, from the Theological Seminaries of the
East, especially Yale. For the last five years,
services have been held the year around by the
pastor of the Congregational Church in Walling
ford. Sabbath School is held regularly, preced
ing the afternoon preaching service.
Opposite the church is the old tavern. The last
landlord was Joseph Edgerton, who left about
1875. Before the coming of the railroad South
Wallingford was a stage station between Rutland
and Bennington. Consequently there were far
more transient guests than now. Even as early
as 1815, a cotton factory was erected here by
Jonas Wood. It was afterwards burnt and in
1835, Jesse Lapham, J. II. and A. R. Vail built a

The Early Nineteenth Century. 115
forge upon its site. A store was also built by Mr.
Lapham that is still standing, four stories in
height, across the creek from the depot.
In 1880, the site of the old cotton factory was
being used as a pulp mill, operated by J. T. Rem
ington and E. P. Ely. Only the broken raceway
is now seen on the east side of Main Street, south
of the post office.
While the evidences of business and industrial
activity are largely in the days that are gone, the
village life is simple and not bound by the con
ventionalities of more populous districts. There
is a great freedom and intimacy existing between
different families and none are strangers to one
another. Social life is strong and many means
of amusement are found. The South Wallingford
Fair is a popular institution, generally held the
latter part of September and attended by great
crowds of people. The Fair Grounds are located
north of South Wallingford, and are very attrac
tively situated. Horse trots, agricultural exhib
its, and the display in Floral Hall, combined with
the opportunity of seeing old friends, or acquaint
ances, prove a great magnet for the folks who
"would not think of missing the Fair."
Across the track is the school house. It was
built in 1836, taking the place of one that was
much smaller. Some winters there were as many
as sixty pupils within its walls.
With the last few years, the Rutland and Benn
ington Ry. Co. have built a substantial depot, and
Lewis C. Needham has been station agent for
many years, coming from Leicester Junction. He
represented the town of Leicester in the Legisla
ture during the years 1884-5, 1896-7 and was door
keeper in the Senate 1898-9.

116

History op Wallingford.

Across the creek is the store of Myron C. Rob
erts. Formerly it was used as a blacksmith shop,
but in 1909, it was raised and now presents a

LEWIS C. NEEDHAM.

pleasing appearance, for overhead are the bran
ches of what is termed the largest ' ' weeping elm ' '
in the State of Vermont. Across is the grist mill
of G. A. Kelley. The earliest proprietors of the
saw and grist mill were J. 0. and H. Stafford.
They were among the earliest settlers in South
Wallingford and several of their descendants are
still living there. Among them is Dwight H.
Stafford, a successful farmer in the southern part
of the town. He represented Wallingford in the

The Early Nineteenth Century.

117

Legislature during the terms of 1908-1909. His
cousin, Roland Stafford, is keenly interested in
school affairs, serving for many years as a school
committeeman. George H. has also been active
in town matters serving in a number of ways.
Many of the residences suggest the comfort of
the typical New England home. A Creamery is
operated by the Brigham Company, of Boston.
There have been no physicians resident here.
North Wallingford monopolizing the medical
practiti oner's
homes. A great
deal of pulp wood
has been cut and
shipped from here.
There is a sawmill
not far from the
depot. The creek
winds its way
through the village
and at the com
mencement of the
open season for
fishing, many an
glers are seen upon
its banks. It is no
uncommon thing
for those berrying
upon the surround
ing hillsides (espe
cially to the East)
to come across tracks of big game including bear.
The post office and general store is upon the main
street. W. A. Girard, the present proprietor and
postmaster has been here since 1908.

DWIGHT H. STAFFORD.

118

History op Wallingford.

SOUTH WALLINGFORD POST OFFICE.
His predecessors in office were John H. Vail,
Ancil Eddy, Geo. Smith, E. 0. Fuller, T. M.
Thompson, W. A. Girard. Upon one of the
hillsides a little to
the northwest of
the Main Street,
there can be seen a
little cemetery. It
is cared for by the
town and one of
the graves contains
the remains of
Jerathmiel Doty, a
Revolutionary sol
dier. When he
died at the age of
93 in November,
1857, he was the

— ©ns® - "^

sv.M.nssa.
^ as ss'^Bs. -
mRoriieiftT Mass ««^UmltKt
wmy il fl\t fc§« <i^ \6m ftostom

The Early Nineteenth Century.

119

last survivor of the body guard and escort to the
gallant Lafayette who returned to his native land
on the good ship "Alliance," sent by the Conti
nental Congress. Jerathmiel Doty not only went to
France but helped to bring back in the same ship
a loan of five million dollars, negotiated from the
French government. On their return they were
attacked by a British cruiser, when the scuppers
of the Alliance ran with blood and Jerathmiel

RESIDENCE OF A. W. NEEDHAM.

fought as gallantly as any until wounded, as it
was thought mortally, and carried below. In the
war of 1812 he again enlisted and was present at
the battle of Plattsburg. After his death a public
meeting was called to make arrangements for his
funeral which occurred on Tuesday, November 17,
1857. The Wallingford Rifie Company under the
command of Captain S. Cook attended, and when
the earthly remains of the old veteran were laid
in their last resting place, in addition to the relig-

120

History op Wallingford.

ious services, the Declaration of Independence
was read, eulogies pronounced and the Rifle Com-

RESIDENCE OF M. C. ROBERTS.
pany fired a last volley over the open grave of A
REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIER. Thus passed one
of a stalwart race who for over fifty years was
closely identified with the interests of the south
ern part of the town.

East Wallingford.
Although one of the first settlers eventually
moA^ed into the eastern part of the town, and was
followed by a number of others, there was no
village settlement, until the coming of the rail
road. East Wallingford is the youngest of the ^
three villages in the township. It is also the more
vigorous. While divided by a mountain range
from the north village, still great interest in town
affairs is manifest by "those from the East side"

The Early Nineteenth Century.

121

as any March meeting will attest. The drive or
walk from one place to the other is most beautiful.
For quite a distance one follows Roaring Brook
as it zig-zags its way over a stony bed towards
the Creek. The music of its waters is an enchant
ment and the reflected shadows are intensified by
the o'er shadowing hills. Up through the gulch
one readily believes the signs, located in conveni
ent spots to notify the passing motorist to "GO

ON THE ROAD GOING EAST.

SLOW— DANGER," as the road narrows and the
sides become precipitous. On the crest of the hill
a glorious panorama of hill and vale is spread
before you. Again the typical New England Farm
is seen, with every appearance of prosperity and
comfort. The road winds around the slope of the hill,
crossing a bridge recently constructed (1910) to
abolish a dangerous grade crossing. There clus
tering around the church with its three or four
streets is the village proper. Joel Constantine
was the first man to settle in this section, making

122

History of Wallingford.

his home near where W. Cutter now lives. He built
and operated a saw mill on the site of the Aldrich
mill. This was in the year 1812. Three years
later a tannery was built by Nathan Smead. Var
ious persons ran it until 1865, when it became the
property of Huntoon and Sons. In 1869 it was
burnt down but rebuilt the same year.
The hotel was built in 1863 by E. A. Cutter and
from that time until 1879 it was run by H. E.
Sawyer, D. Ensign, C. Allen, H. L. Warner, A.
Ahite, J. B. Powell and Joel Todd. There were
sleeping rooms for twenty-five guests, and the

RESIDENCE OF MR. AND MRS. PELKEY.
dancing hall was claimed to be the largest in the
state connected with a hotel. Special efforts were
made to secure the vacationist and at the time
that Joel Todd was proprietor, the house had a
very enviable reputation. It was burnt in 1888.
For several years A. W. Duval has conducted the
hotel opposite the depot but this year 1911, the

The Early Nineteenth Century.

123

railroad commissioners having closed the road
because of danger in crossing the track, he moved
his house upon the old hotel foundation, and so
continues to show the hospitality of the house
upon the old stand. One of the most conspicuous
sights is the Baptist church with its tapering spire.
It was erected in 1860 at a cost of $2,000. The
church was organized on March 3, 1861, by the
Rev. Joseph Freeman with a membership of 29.

BAPTIST CHURCH, EAST WALLINGFORD.

124

History op Wallingford.

INTERIOR OF THE BAPTIST CHURCH

The interior is commodious and pleasing, seating
about 200 people. While the church has had fre
quent changes of pastors, there are several agen
cies that have continued its influence and helpful
ness. The Sunday School has weekly sessions and
the Ladies Aid Society is of great assistance to
the work of the church. The following have
served as ministers:

Joseph Freeman

To

Sept. 1861

J. P. Farrar

Sept.

1861

to

Oct. 1863

Chas. Coon

July

1864

to

June 1866

E. P. Merrifield

Sept.

1866

to

Nov. 1868

Joshua Fletcher

Nov.

1869

to

Dec. 1869

J. D. "Farrar

May

1870

to

May 1872

E. A. Wood

July

1872

to

Oct. 1872

A. G. Chick

May

1876

to

May 1880

T. P. Kellogg

Nov.

1881

to

Jan. 1882

T. H. Archibald

Feb.

1882

to

Sept. 1883

The E.\rly Nineteenth Century.

125

W. G. Patterson

Sept.

1884

to

Dec.

1885

J. R. Patterson

Dec.

1885

to

Dec.

1888

R. B. Tozer

Jan.

1890

to

Jan.

1892

G. H. Wrigley

Aug.

1892

to

Aug.

1894

A. G. Myers

Oct.

1894

to

Oct.

1895

Fred T. Kenyon

Oct.

1895

to

Dec.

1897

A. G. Chick

Jan.

1898

to

Aug.

1902

L. H. Morse

Aug.

1903

to

Dec.

1905

R. A. Burrows

Jan.

1906

to

Apr.

1907

I. M. Compton

Aug.

1907

to

Nov.

1909

Frd'rk Emerson

Jan.

1910

to

The present
pastor is the
Rev. Frederick
W. Emerson,
who reports en
couragingly up
on the work of
the church.
Greater efforts
are being made
to make the
church an infiu
ence in the com
munity toward
solving some of
the problems
that have arisen
on account of
the changed con
ditions of rural
hfe.

REV. FRED'K W. EMERSON.

126

History op Wallingford.

SCHOOL STREET, EAST WALLINGFORD

The oldest store is that now occupied by the
Ridlon Bros. It was started in 1866 by White and
Bucklin and soon changed to W. R. Spaulding and

THE SCHOOL HOUSE.

The Early Nineteenth Century.

127

Co., who continued it until the present proprietors
took possession. Here is also the village post-
office. The following have served as postmasters:
Joel Constantine, Henry White, W. H. Congdon,
H. P. Hawkins, J. P. Powell, Jerome Converse,
John R. Priest, W. R. Spaulding, J. E. Ridlon.
There are several stores and one large carriage
and blacksmith shop carried on by J. J. McGuirk.

THE LATE S. D. HAZEN, M. D.
School street is a beautiful thoroughfare, well
sha'ded by trees and having many attractive resi
dences. Here is also the Public School, the upper
part of which is used for the meetings of the Mill
River Grange, an organization for the promotion

128 History of Wallingford.
of husbandry and agricultural arts. Mr. P. Maloney
serves as School Committeeman for the east
ern part of the town. Many delightful views can
be had in the vicinity. The Mill River winds its
way between the hills and helps to form many
enchanting scenes. The drive to Cuttingsville
and on to Claren'don Gorge is one of great inter
est. For about fifty years the physical needs of the
people were attended to by the late Dr. Hazen.
After studying medicine in Natick, Mass., he
graduated in 1866, soon after settling in East
Wallingford, and continued until his death, which
occurred early in the year.
There is a flourishing Masonic Lodge, known
as "Mt. Moriah," and they have well furnished
rooms in which their meetings are held. The
local Grange is also a strong organization, so that
the facilities for j)romoting the social life of the
people are not lacking.
An atmosphere of repose steals o'er one in
viewing the natural beauties that surround this
village. The quiet calm of the hills in their
majesty and glory prove the truth of the poet's
song, that —
' ' To one who has been long in city pent
'Tis very sweet to look into the fair
And open face of heaven."

Industries.

129

CHAPTER XI.
Industries.
LYMAN Batcheller was born in the mountain
town of Stratton, Vermont, in 1795. His
wife was Anna Gale of the same town,
whom he married in 1816. After the birth of his
first son, Isaac Gale, he moved to Arlington, Ver
mont, where he set up a forge and began to work
at his trade. His other children, Susan, John,
Laura, Ljonan, Jr., and Justin were born in Ar-

The Old Stone Shop when used as a, Fork Factory.
lington. Ih 1835 he moved his family to Walling
ford, purchased a small water power and with the
help of the older boys, laid the foundation for a
business that has since been closely associated
with Wallingford's growth.
In 1847, the first shop was burned but a new
stone shop was built. It is now commonly called
'the old stone shop' and is an object of interest as
the oldest fork factory in the United States. This
(9)

130

History op Wallingford.

cut taken from an old ambrotype in the possession
of Mr. Charles N. Batcheller shows what the old
shop was like when used as a manufacturing
plant. Like the phoenix of old who rose from the
fire with added strength, so with new buildings and
a new partnership (for the three sons, Isaac Gale,
Jolm, Lyman, .Ir. formed with their father the firm
of L. Batcheller & Sons), the business rapidly
increased to larger proportions. Mr. Batcheller
was characterized by fairness, honesty and integ-

THE BATCHELLER BROTHERS.
' ' By the work one knows the workman.

Industries.

131

A Water Reflection

rity. His word was as good as
his bond. He was a staunch
abolitionist and his house was
often used as a station of ' ' the
underground railroad". As a
citizen, he was highly respected
and died February 5, 1858.
The increase in business
necessitated larger opportuni
ties for production and it was
not long before they removed
their factory and offices across
the railroad to their loresent
location. The plant was built
for a woolen mill but was used
for the manufacture of wooden
shoe peg.s. The old stone shop
was used, and still is as a pol
ishing shop.
In 1868, Mr. Justin Batchel
ler and Mr. John Scribner, his
brother-in-law, having been
engaged in mercantile business
in town for twelve years dis
solved tlieir partnership and
became members of Alessrs.
Batcheller & Sons. The
manufacture of hay and ma
nure forks had not only in
creased in volume and variety,
but the product was one of the
vei-y best of its kind. With the
Batcheller quality a reputa
tion was made, not only in this
country but abroad that has
been unexcelled. In 1882 a
stock company was formed

132

History op Wallingford.

FINISHING SHOP AND STOCK ROOM.
and incorporated as Batcheller & Sons Company.
The Batchellers were interested in the welfare
of their adopted town and aided in many ways its
advancement. Many men were employed, some
having grown old in the company's service. The
present plant is comprised of two sections, one
part being near the old dam, consisting of engine
room, hammer and machine shops, and the other
a finishing shop, being a little to the north. In
the vicinity two tjqDical sounds are heard, one the
constant pounding of the heavy hammers and the
other caused by revolving cylinders in which the
forks are polished by means of stones. Water is
run into the ejitnders and then with a rotary
motion forks and stones are rolled together for
several hours at a time.
With the gradual change in business conditions,
the development of corporations and combina
tions, for economy of production and control of
certain industries, the Wallingford plant lost in
a measure its personal identity, by absorption.

Industries.

133

In September, 1902, the Batcheller works were
taken over by the American Fork and Hoe Com
pany, the largest manufacturers in the world of
all kinds of Hand-farming and Garden tools. The
main offices of the company are in Cleveland, Ohio,
and the output of twelve large factories is con
trolled by this concern. In addition to the works
in Wallingford, there is a plant in Jackson, Mich.,

THE HAMMER SHOP.
the Withington Works, with a capacity to produce
one dozen goods per minute. At Fort Madison,
Iowa, there is the Iowa Farming Tool Company
Works, while in Ohio, there are three distinctive
plants, in Geneva, in Ashtabula and Willoughby.
The latter is used largely for experimental pur
poses, in the development of improved machinery
and methods. Pennsylvania claims two of the

134

History op Wallingford.

Company's plants, one at North Girard and the
other at Frankford, Philadelphia. The southern
works are in Harriman and Memphis, Tennessee,
the latter offering splendid facilities for shipping
both by rail and water. The BoUes Works are
located in Binghamton, New York, while Vermont
has one other shop in the Ely Works of St. Johns-
bury. The quality of production in the various fac
tories controlled by the American Fork and Hoe
Company is such that when they label their goods
as "True Temper," they are absolutely guaran
teed to be such by one of the most responsible cor
porations in existence.
One of the pleasing features of working for this
Company is the Employees Pension System. Like
many public servants and employees of the great
railroad systems, the great body of workers on
the pay roll of this Company can feel that con
tinuous faithful service for definite periods will

OFFICE OF THE AMERICAN FORK & HOE COMPANY.

Industries.

135

bring a measure of appreciation, that is sure to
become more frequently expressed by employers,
in the years that are to come.

' THE OLD STONE SHOP " AS IT NOW IS.

Mr. William C. Mason is the General Manager
of the Wallingford plant. Coming here in 1878
in the employ of Batcheller and Sons from Rut-
lan'd, he has ever since associated himself with
the best interests of the town. For thirteen years
he served upon the School Board, acting as chair
man for the greater part of the time. He is now
the 2nd Vice President of the American Fork and
Hoe Company. Under his management the capa
city of the local shop has greatly increased, addi
tions and enlargements becoming necessary. Only
this fall the entire plant was closed some weeks
to allow a new steel flume and turbine water
wheels to be installed increasing the power in the
finishing shops 40 to 45 per cent.

136

History of Wallingford.

The officers of the American Fork and Hoe Com
pany are:

W. H. Cowdery,
E. S. Kretsinger,
T. H. Russell,
William C. Mason,
P. H. Withington,
G. B. Durrel,

President.
Chairman of the Board.
First Vice-President.
Second Vice-President.
Third Vice-President.
Fourth Vice-President.

r

E. D. Lowell, Secretary and Purchasing Director.
Cyrus Reimer, Manager of Sales.
At the centenary of the town in 1873, one of
the addresses
made at that
time was upon
"The Batcheller
Products."Even with the
remarkable in
crease in meth
ods of produc
tion, there is
still kept the
same high stand
ard of merit and
quality that
have made this
firm so famous.
WILLIAM C. MASON.

THE WALLINGFORD MANUFACTURING CO.
In the northern part of the village there is situ
ated the above plant. It now covers quite an area
of ground. Mr. Franklin Post in 1869 was the
first to build and operate a plant for the manufac
ture of forks and rakes. He organized a stock

Industries.

137

company and associated with him Mr. Gale Batch
eller. Six houses were built for the accommoda
tion of employees and this opened up what is now
River Street.

RIVER STREET.

For about two years it continued under the man
agement of Mr. Post and then Carver Bros, of New
York City continued the business. After some
time it was discontinued and the character of
manufactured product changed. John D. Miller
and Henry C. Cole secured control and began the
manufacture of ox bows. In 1900 H. B. Barden and
his brother, H. E., bought the plant. They came
from Granville, N. Y., and began to make scythes,
under the firm name of Barden Bros. Then secur
ing a patent on a grass hook and adding other
farming implements to their production, they
gradually increased the size and capacity of the
shop that it was thought best to turn it into a
stock company. This was done in 1902 under the
name of the Wallingford Manufacturing Co.

138

History op Wallingford.

Two years later the making of forks, hoes and
rakes were added and the company's capital in
creased. Plight houses were built on Franklin and
Railroad Streets and these are still part of the
com])any's assets. H. B. Barden was President
of the C()m])an.\' and he associated with him, AVm.
A. Graham and Geo. A. Graham of the firm of
.lohn H. Graham and Co., of Xew York City. The
C<mipany's busine.ss rapidly increased. In 1904
the output amounted to about 12,000 dozen forks
and hoes but in 1910 it reached 80,000 dozen,
which did not include the output of grass hooks,
corn hooks and corn knives.

THE WALLINGFORD ilAXUFACTURIXG COMPANY.

Ill July, 1910, there was a complete change. The
Company disjiosed of their stock and with the re
organization, the personnel was entirely altered.
Control was secured by The Welland Vale Alfg.
( 'o., Ltd., of St. Catharines, Ontario, Can. This
Company, the largest of its kind in the Dominion
of Canada, thus owned its first factory in the
United States. In addition to the plant at St.
Catharines, there is the Bedford Manufacturing

Industries.

139

The Company's Sawmill, Operated by A. Malcolm.
Co., of Bedford, Quebec, and the Canada Axe and
Harvest Tool Co., of Montreal, combined with the
Wallingford Mfg. Co. in the making of forks,
hoes, axes, saws and picks, mattocks and scythes.
All are under the control of The Welland Vale
Mfg. Co.

WAREHOUSE AND STOCKROOM.

140

History of Wallingford.

hauled and under
changes adopted.

With the s])lendid facilities of the above plants,
there is practically secured the control of the man
ufacture of fanuei's' implements for the Dominion
of Canada. The AVallingford plant was over-
careful Imsiness management
A new warehouse was con
structed 50 X 50,
whi e h added
7,500 square feet
and largely in
creased storage
capacity. Ar
rangements have
been made to
1 install an auto-
I matic sprinkler
equipment, as a
safeguard i n
case of fire. In
addition to the
regular jiressure
provided by the
town hydrants,
a large tank
holding 40,000
gallons of water
will he placed
upon a 75-foot
steel tower, thus ,i!;'reatly aiding fire protection.
At one time it was estimated there were 1,325,000
handles alone in st(.)ek. .John II. Graham & Co.,
while having nothing to do with the management,
still act as selling agents. With offices in New
York, Chicago and San Francisco, they have
abundant opportunities to dispose of the Wall
ingford product. With the installation of im
proved machinery, the annual capacity has in-

irr. A

Fero-uson, Mniiiieer.

Industries.

141

creased to 100,000 dozen. During this summer
the shops were closed several weeks pending
re]iairs and pre];)aring for a large volume of trade.
This trade is not limited to the East, for while a
full line of forks and hoes are made for the New
England trade, special implements are made for
the Western markets. The South has special pat
terns in planters' and cotton hoes, and far-off
Tasmania, Xew Zealand and Australia prove to
be some of the firm's best customers.
Thus has grown a concern of whicli the town can
be justly proud for just as the "Batcheller Label"
meant something that was worth while, so with
the product of the AVallingford Alfg. Company, the
name "Wallingford" on their goods means abso
lutely "The First Quality."
The officers of the Company are
.James D. Chaplin, President.
C. G. :McGhie, Vice-President.
H. C. Cook, Secretary.

A. AY

Ferguson,

Treasurer and Manager.

RESIDENCE OF B. C. AI.DRIdU.

142

History op Wallingford.

What was formerly the Adams Snow Shovel
Companj^ with a shop on School Street, operated
for many years by Mr. F. H. Hoadley, has come
into the possession of Mr. Barney C. Aldrich.
After being closed down for some time it is Mr.
Aldrich 's intention to continue the manufacture
of snow shovels and add to the production other
implements that will promise a ready sale.
The grist mill situated on the south side of
Roaring Brook east of Main Street was started
by F. W. Johnson in November, 1876. Formerly
there was a tannery on this site conducted by Geo.

!IIK GIflST MILL.
Vaughn. In 1909 it was entirely overhauled by
the present proprietor, Mr. F. Edgerton, who
carries a full line of feeds. The mill has a capa
city of about 150 bushels of grain per day.
The Creamery is located on Church Street and
since 1890 a great deal of milk has been sent to
Boston and Worcester from this plant. It was

Industries.

143

THE CREAMERY.

built as a cheese factory by Mr. M. V. Williams
in 1S76, and the upstairs was used as a public hall
for dances and entertainments. When the skating
rink craze was in vogue it was here the young folks
gathered. In 1885 the Brigham Company of Bos
ton secured control and has since operated it with
four other plants in the vicinity. Mr. A. W.
Andrews is their manager. When making cheese
it is possible to turn out 900 lbs. in a day and it
has been no uncommon thing to make a ton and a
half of butter per day. The equipment is thor
oughly modernized and there has recently been
placed in position a new pasteurizer.

114 History of W.\llixgford.
THE PRESS.
The first news})a]Der ever printed in AA'allingford
was published from 1855 to 1860 by Philip H.
P]merson and Amasa W. Bishop. It was called
the Local Spy. Both Mr. Emerson and Mr. Bishop
were studying law at the time in the office of
David E. X'icholson. Their place of publication
was in the "Central Block" on the site of what

rij^ ujca 5?y.

TUE LOCAL SPY.
is now the liatcheller Block. In 1877 Addison G.
Stone estahli.^hed the "Wallingford Standard."
P^'rom its columns much of interest has heen
gathered in the com] illation of this work. The
"Standard" was pul)lished for three years being
merged in the Rutland Times in 1880.

The Town's War Record. 145
CHAPTER XII.
The Town's War Record.
THE town freely furnished her sons for war
purposes. A patriotic call never went un
heeded, and even the earliest records re
veal how the citizens taxed themselves to the ut
most in order that those who volunteered should
find every encouragement. The following names
are gathered from an old newspaper as those who
fought in the stirring days of '76 and in 1812.
Their graves are now in the village cemetery but
they do not include all who represented their home
town at the front: John Randall, John Robbins,
Lent Ives, Robert Harmon, Phillip White, Joseph
Randall, Philbrook Barrows, Daniel Edgerton,
Zephaniah Hull, John Fox, Elias Crary.
In the quiet hillside burial grounds which have
been disused for some time can be found graves
of noble patriots as following list attests:
Revolutionary Soldiers buried in Wallingford:
James Culver, William Fox, Lieut. Abraham
Ives, Asa Anderson, Philbrook Barrows, Eli Cal
kin, Sgt. Nathaniel Dennison, Cyrenius Dewey,
Jerathmiel Doty, Andrew Hewitt, Nathaniel
Keyes, John Sweet! and.
For the War of 1812: Freeman Reed, James
Sabin, Ransom Moon, Caleb Warner, James Cook,
Rufus Bucklin, Elihu Miller, Ezra Tower, Rev.
Stephen Martindale, James Bump.
In the crucial days of "the sixties" when the
Rebellion was growing and Presi'dent Lincoln
issued his first call to arms Wallingford promptly
(10)

146 History op Wallingford.
responded with more than her proportionate share
as witness the following:

Company

Regiment

Charles A. Adams

H

Cav.

Henry H. Adams

C

10th

Anderson Allen

7th

George C. Allen

M

11th

Henry C. Allen

I

5th

Leverett Allen

A

7th

Noel Allen

B

7th

Otis J. Allen

E

5th

Otis J. Allen

B

9th

Rudolphus Allen

H

2nd

George P. Barber

5th

Samuel P. Barber

5th
Carlos A. Barrows
H
Cav.
Eliot Bourn
A
4th
William Bourn
A
4th
David Bryant
Cav.
George D. Bryant
Cav.
William F. Bryant
E
5th
Albert A. Carpenter
B
7th
James T. Carpenter
B
7th
Joseph M. Carpenter
Cav.
Eugene W. Clark
E
5th
Jacob L. Cook
4th
Summervill Crother
I
5th
Daniel L. Culver
2 s.s.
Harry Culver
2 s.s.
Eliphalet Culver
B
9th
George W. Cummings
F
6th
William Cummings
F
6th
George A. Dawson
C
11th
John M. Dorett
10th
Larkin S. Earl
I
5th
Charles M. Edgerton
10th
The Town's War Record. 147
Company Regiment
Rufus A. Edgerton Cav.
William Farr, Jr. I 5th
Levi E. Foster 6th
William Foster 6th
David H. Fuller D 7th
Francis A. Fuller D 7th
William M. Gibson C 6th
George M. Gorton - Cav.
Edwin Green C 10th
Lewis Gregory C 10th
Joel Grover 9th
Jeffrey Hart Cav.
Willis Hart 2 s.s.
John Hawkins B 7th
Edwin M. Haines Chaplain 10th
Mason B. Hebbard Cav.
Daniel G. Hill C. S. 10th
Charles L. Hilliard 10th
Elizur Hopkins B 7th
Lorenzo T. Horton E 5th
Abraham Lapard B 5th
Joseph Lassard E 5th
Harrison Law E 5th
Mathew Maginnis E 5th
John Maker F 6th
Thomas Mann C 10th
John G. Palmer F 6th
Alfred H. Patch A 3rd
Benjamin A. Patch 4th
Daniel P. Patch Cav.
Daniel B. Pelsue D 7th
Henry G. Post C 10th
Henry W. Pratt Cav.
Jonathan Remington 5th
Chartes W. H. Sabin C. V. 9 M. S.

148 History op Wallingford. Company Regiment
William H. H. Sabin 10th
Dexter C. Shepherd D 7th
Thomas E. Smith E 5th
Harvey E. Stewart H 2nd
William E. Stewart 2 s. s.
George R. Streeter 10th
Lewis Taft 7th
Ezra W. Titus Cav.
Harvey Titus Cav.
William Townsend C 10th
Adm G. Wellman C 10th
Austin B. Wellman Cav.
Oscar E. Wells C 11th
Horace H. Wheeler A 4th
Mason L. White 9th
Daniel Wilder 9th
Joseph H. Winn 10th
JuHus D. Wylie I 5th
Edward Yarton C 10th

Those who are credited under the call of Octo
ber 17, 1863:
Three years. Company Regiment
Amos L. Bontell F 4th
Alvin J. Cook 3 Bat.
Francis M. Farwell 11th
Levi E. Foster 3 Bat.
Willis Hart 3 Bat.
Joseph Hastings 11th
Ezekiel Hill E 5th
Anthony Kent 11 Reg.
Wilham H. Keyes 2 Bat.
Robert Niel C 11 Reg.
Walter Southworth 3 Bat.

The Town's War Record. 149

Company

Regiment

Sylvester Strong

C

11 Reg.

Ezra W. Titus

A

7th

William W. White

11th
Horace J. Wilder
11th
One year.
Henry J. Earle
Cav.
Alfred L. Hazelton
11th
Israel W. Lewis
9th
Robert J. Overing
9th
Not credited by name-
—three
men.
'
Volunteers for nine n
ion ths :
Loyal Allen
Richard C. Archer
Jerome A. Brown
David Bryant
Edwin M. Crary
Allen S. Dawson
Henry Eddy
William Frost
14th
Timothy Gleason
A
13th
Jewett P. Hawkins
Joseph C. Hawkins
George Ladd
Michael Mackinlear
Patrick Mackinlear
William H. Munson
George R. Remington
Lyman A. Rondo
B
14th
William B. Shaw
12th
Patrick H. Smith
Thomas E. Smith
Isaac 0. Titus
Edward B. Wells
14th
150 History op Wallingford.
Furnished under draft and paid commutation.
Rufus D. Buckhn Russell G. Sherman
Seneca L. Clemens A. H. Stafford
William C. Croft Charies A. Stafford
Gilbert Hart George Sweetland
Luke A. Hewlett Marshall Thompson
Watson Kent Otis D. Wilder
M. V. B. Phillips
Procured substitutes:
William Davenport Samuel E. Rodgers
In all 161 men went to the war, being three
above all demands.
Every soldier credited for the town received a
bounty varying from $25.00 to $900:00 each.
$2213.46 was raised by subscription and the re
mainder $9136.54 raised on the grand list, making
the total financial cost to the town of $11,350.00.
At this date of writing the veterans ' ranks have
been very much thinned. Too much credit cannot
be given to the Women's Relief Corps in their con
stant effort to inculcate and strengthen the spirit
of patriotism. While there is no post in town, the
ladies have ever been watchful in seeing that the
sacrifices and the struggle of the war should have
their due share of appreciation. The record of
Wallingford's part in the great struggle of our
nation, will ever be a credit and a stimulus, even
to future generations of the town.
The martial spirit still lives and it would
merely require the sense of need to awaken in
the younger men a response, — a response that
would give service and life itself, if the spirit of
loyalty to the flag demanded it. The examples

The Town's War Record.

151

of Wallingford men in showing true bravery have
not been lost upon those who follow them. The
spirit of '76, and of the great Rebellion, is still
found and one of the precious heritages that come
from the past is a strengthening and a deepening
of patriotism that shall have its expression in
the future life of a great nation.
"Praise the Power that hath made and preserved
us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just.
And this be our motto : ' In God is our trust. '
And the star spangled banner, 0 long may it
wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave. ' '

*^'':,

M'^,% ..^^^-'-^S'

''''I

¦ I, ^ ' 'i"-*t^i,„

N\

CANNON ON THE SOLDIERS LOT.

152

History of Wallingford.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE TOWN HALL.
About Town.
THE new Town Hall is situated on School
Street, built of brick and stone, and is one
of the most conspicuous of buildings. In
the early days the meeting house was the place of
all public gatherings, including town meetings.
After the Baptists and Congregationalists had
built separate churches, ' ' the old meeting house, ' '
as it was called, was used exclusively for town
gatherings and in 1835 a vote was taken at the

About Town. 153
March meeting, "not to repair the old meeting
house." Agitation for a town house was begun
and in 1839 it was decided "to have the town
house built on land belonging to Mr. Ives, just
east of the Baptist church, the same not to exceed
$500. ' ' Evidently it was built according to direc
tions for in a later record, there is a request "to
see if the town will let the Wallingford Rifle Co.
have the upper part of the said town hall for an
armory" and it was agreed "to let them in for a
term of ten years on condition that they lay the
floor, lathe and plaster the walls, iron each stud
at the top and the bottom, so the floor will not
settle, the whole to be done in a workmanlike man
ner. " It is not stated whether the Rifle Company
used it, under the conditions imposed.
The old town hall served its day and generation
and the feeling became quite pronounced that it
should give way to £i more modern structure. This
was made possible by the Stafford and Kent
bequests. In 1896 Alonzo Kent left the town the
sum of $3,000 for the purpose of building a town
house upon condition that a regular rate of inter
est for the amount stated should be given yearly
to his niece, Lucretia M. Stone, as long as she
should live. This was followed in 1902 by another
legacy from A. P. Stafford who gave to the town
$12,000 in trust. The interest upon one-half the
amount, $6,000, was to be paid his daughter, Mrs.
Minnie Klock, for life, and at her decease the
$6,000 should revert to her children and in case
of death of both parties become the property of
the town. This sum ' ' was for the purpose of erect
ing a town house in the village to be known as the
Stafford building."

154 History op Wallingford.
In the same year Joseph Randall left a sum of
$1,000 to install a clock in the tower of the town
hall. His will in part reads : " I give and bequeath
to the town of Wallingford the sum of one thous
and dollars in money, to be used in procuring and
keeping in repair a town clock to be put npon the
new town hall when the said town shall build a
new town hall."
In 1905 the town hall was constructed. It is
commodious and convenient, having an audito
rium that will comfortably seat over 300 people.
There is also a well appointed kitchen and dining
rooms and a room used as the Town Clerk's office.
It has a steel and concrete fire proof vault for the
safe keeping of the town records.
There are many attractive residences on School
Street. The name "School Street" must have been
of comparatively late date for the schoolhouse was
not built until 1865. Previous to that time the
building now used as a chapel by the Congrega
tional church was the village school house. It was
built in 1818 by Lent Ives and James Rustin, and
for almost fifty years was the "palace of learning"
for the youth of the place. Reference has already
been made to the schools of the early days. They
expressed a certain ruggedness that appealed to
many, and it cannot be doubted that many virile
thinkers were produced. It is still an open ques
tion whether this was the result of the older aca
demic training or as some would claim "in spite
of it." Even before the Chapel was built a com
pany was incorporated, (1814) consisting of Wm.
Fox, John Fox, Mosley Hall, Alex. Miller, Joseph
Randall, Nathaniel Ives, Sam'l. Townsend, Lent
Ives and Ebenezer Towner for the purpose of
founding The Wallingford Academy. Nothing

About Town.

155

came of it. At different times there were select
schools, but generally speaking, the educational
advantages of the town have been limited to the
public school. After getting into the new school
building it was graded throughout in 1871.
In 1885 there was a vote taken upon the advisa
bility of adopting the town system of schools,
(according to an act passed by the State Legisla
ture the previous year), but it was turned down
by a vote of 135 to 12.

THE SCHOOL HOUSE.
' ' I have had playmates I have had companions
In my days of childhood, in my ,ioyf ul schooldays. ' '
Within a few years there came about a change
of sentiment and the vote was reversed. The older
custom of having a trustee for each school district
passed away, and a committee was elected by the
town at its annual meeting to have control of
school affairs. This brought about a change in
the management of the schools so that the superin
tendent was elected by the committee rather than

156 History op Wallingford.
by the town as formerly. The first man to serve
as Superintendent of Schools was the Baptist min
ister. Rev. S. L. Elliott, in 1853, then followed:
P. W. Emerson, 1857-1858
W. M. Congdon, 1858-1864
Rev. Aldace Walker, 1864-1868
George Noble, 1868-1869
W. M. Congdon, 1869-1871
J. P. Farrar, 1871-1873
William C. Kelley, 1873-1874
John R. Priest, 1874-1877
Rev. S. H. Archibald, 1877-1881
William H. Shaw, 1881-1884
Charies H. Congdon, 1884-1886
Rhoda E. Congdon, 1886-1890
S. H. Archibald, 1890-1892
Since 1892 the Superintendents appointed have
been: Miss Eliza M. Huntoon
Dr. G. G. Marshall
Rev. C. R. B. Dodge
In the town meeting of 1907 it was voted that
' ' school directors avail themselves of the new law
providing for better local superintendence of the
public schools, and form a union with such neigh
boring towns as may seem desirable to the school
directors, and employ a Superintendent of Schools
as provided in Act 45 of the Session Laws of 1906. ' '
So in the early part of 1908 Wallingford united
with the towns of Clarendon, Shrewsbury, Tin
mouth and Middletown Springs, and formed a
Union Supervisory District.
Mr. Carroll H. Drown was engaged as Superin
tendent. The first year after the law was enacted,
twenty Union Districts were formed and Superin
tendents employed. Since then several additional

About Town.

157

districts have been formed so that now there are
about 50 Union Districts in the State. This super
vision aims to systematize the schools givj a uni
form standard of gradation of the pupils, increase
the efficiency of the teaching force and improve the
condition of the buildings and grounds. Mr.
Drown is the president of the State Association

MR. CARROLL H. DROWN.
of Superintendents for this year. Many teachers
have given their services unstintedly and with a
loyal 4evotion to their calling. It would not be
possible to name all, but one who passed away in
1910 typifies the measure of sacrifice and zeal.
Miss Mattie M. Blanchard who died in May, 1910,

158

History of Wallingford.

taught in the primary department of the school
over 28 years, and the expression of appreciation
for her loyal service was not limited in any sense.
Admiring friends cared for her and raised a stone
to mark the last earthly resting place.

MASONIC BUILDING.
One of the oldest organizations in the town is
the Order of Free and Accepted Masons, Chipman
Lodge No. 52. On January 11, 1911, they cele
brated their 50th anniversary of granting their
charter by a banquet in the New Wallingford
Hotel. On the afternoon of the same day, the
Masonic Building was dedicated by the officers of
the Grand Lodge. The hall occupies the upper
part of the building while kitchen and dining
rooms are downstairs. There is also connected
with the Lodge an order of the Eastern Star, and
both societies are in a flourishing condition. The
Masonic Lodge is named after Judge Nathaniel
Chipman who in his day was one of the leading
lawyers in the State, arguing the admission of
Vermont into the Union and serving for many
years in the Supreme Court.

Political. 159

CHAPTER XIV.
Political.
HIGH SHERIFF.
WALLINGFORD has had but one man who
served as High Sheriff of the County,
and that was Abraham Ives. He was
elected in 1781 retaining the office until 1785 when
he left the State, returning to his old home in
Connecticut. STATE SENATORS.
In the records of the town four men are shown
to have been State Senators.
John Fox, 1846-1847
David E. Nicholson, 1858-1859
Charles D. Child 1882-1883
Henry B. Barden, 1910-1911
John Fox was for many years the leading physi
cian in town, interested in its welfare and labor
ing unceasingly for its good. He represented the
town in the Legislature for seven years.
David E. Nicholson, a lawyer, ardent temper
ance reformer, who later settled in Rutland and
enjoyed an extensive practice in his profession.
Charles D. Childs, son of Abiel Childs, one of the
first lawyers to settle in town, is an extensive
farmer, living in the southern part of the town.
Since the days of his young manhood he has been
keenly interested in public affairs, and filling
many offices with credit to himself and the good of
the community. He represented the town in the
Legislature of 1876-1877 and was Senator 1886-
1887.

160

History op Wallingford.

A man of
marked business
ability, as the
success of his
own life's work
denotes. His
home is in the
southern part of
the town and it
includes one of
the best farms
in the region.
Strength of
character based
upon positive
conviction, i s
the impression
made upon all
who have deal
ings with him.
His work for
town and state
was undertaken
with a high
sense of responsibility. A great believer in the
gospel of work, he has the respect of all who know
him. Henry B. Barden came to Wallingford in 1900
and became President of the Wallingford Manu
facturing Company. He was instrumental in
materially improving the town by the introduc
ing of electric light and the furnishing of water
pressure for better fire protection. A strong be
liever in developing Vermont's resources. He was
town representative in 1906-1907 and four years
after became State Senator, 1910-1911. His work

CHARLES D. CHILDS.

Political.

161

in the Senate was characterized by an ardent ad
vocacy of good roads, and the conservation of
natural resources. He served upon important
committees and proved a very useful member of
the upper House. Political life in the town has
ever been interesting and at times exciting, but
there is no realm in which there are better oppor-

HENRY B. BARDEN.

tunities for public service by those who are high-
minded, conscientious, and straightforward.
From the days when the mail was brought in
the old stage coach to the modern methods of
transportation seems quite a change, but the place
of distribution of mail matter remains practically
(11)

162

History op Wallingford.

the same. Methods are different, and there can
be no comparison in the volume of business, with
the new postal savings bank, the use of money
orders, registered letters and international orders,
and the promise of a parcels post still to come.
The Post Office is situated on Main Street and
is combined with the general store of Mr. Herbert
G. Savery. At certain times of the day, this is
one of the busiest places in town, owing to the
large increase of mail matter during the past few
years.

THE POST OFFICE.

The following have served the town as Postmas
ters: Lent Ives, Seth Leonard, Rufus Bucklin,

Political.

163

Lewis Bucklin, Mrs. Lewis Bucklin, William
Ballon, M. C. Rogers, C. M. Townsend, W. B.
Hulett, B. C. Crapo, C. A. Claghom, S. C. Saun
ders, H. G. Savery, the latter serving since 1900.

TOWN REPRESENTATIVE. The essential
characteristic of a
republican form of
government i s
shown in the elec
tion of Town,
County and State
Representat i v e s.
In glancing over
the lists of those
who have served
in the capacity of
Town Representa
tive it will readily
be seen that some
of the strongest
and most influen
tial citizens have
"gone to Montpe-
lier," either at the
annual or bi-annual sessions.
For the second time the town has sent A. G.
Stone to Montpelier. Following the professioh of
attorney at law, he has many times held town
office. For over twenty-five years he has been
moderator in the town meetings, and this year was
appointed a member of the International Peace
Congress by Governor Mead. He represented the
town in the Legislature of 1894 and also in 1910-
1911.

ADDISON G. STONE.

164

History op Wallingford.

TOWN REPRESENTATIVES.

1778 Abraham Jackson 1812
1779 Abraham Ives 1813
1780 Abraham Jackson 1814
1781 Abraham Jackson 1815
1782 Ebenezer Murray 1816
1783 Abraham Ives 1817
1784 Nathaniel Ives 1818
1785 Abraham Jackson 1819
1786 Joseph Randall 1820
1787 Stephen Clark 1821
1788 Joseph Randall 1 822
1789 Abraham Jackson 1823
1790 Abraham Jackson 1824
1791 Thomas Randall 1825
1792 Joseph Randall 1826
1793 Asahel Jackson 1827
1794 Joseph Randall 1828
1795 William Fox 1829
1796 Samuel L.McClure 1830
1797 William Fox 1831
1798 Samuel L.McClure 1832
1799 Samuel L.McClure 1833
1800 Samuel L.McClure 1834
1801 Samuel L.McClure 1835
1802 Samuel L.McClure 1836
1803 Lent Ives 1837
1804 Lent Ives 1838
1805 William Fox 1839
1806 William Fox 1840
1807 WilHam Fox 1841
1808 WiUiam Fox 1842
1809 William Fox 1843
1810 E. H. Johnson 1844
1811 William Fox 1845

William Fox
William Fox
E. H. Johnson
William Fox
William Fox
William Fox
William Fox
E. H. Johnson
William Fox
John Fox
John Fcx
John I'ox
E. H. Johnson
Alexander Miller
Amos Bucklin
Amos Bucklin
Amos Bucklin
Thomas Hulett
Thomas Hulett
Amos Bucklin
S. M. Edgerton
S. M. Edgerton
(no rep.)
Howard Harris
Dennis Hulett
John Fox
Dennis Hulett
John Fox
John Fox
Jolm Fox
S. M. Edgerton
Harvey Button
Harvey Button

Political.

165

1846 (No rep.)
1847 Stephen Hyde
1848 Isaac B. Munson
1849 Isaac B. Munson
1850 Robinson Hall
1851 Robinson Hall
1852 William C. Fox
1853 William C. Fox
1854 (no rep.)
1855 Edwin Martindale
1856 Edwin Martindale
1857 Joel Ainsworth

1858 Joel Ainsworth
1859 Nathan Rounds
1860 Joel Croft
1861 Joel Croft
1862 William Kent
1863 William Kent
1864 D. E. Nicholson
1865 D. E. Nicholson
1866 Samuel E. Rogers
1867 Samuel E. Rogers
1868 Lyman Batcheller
1869 Lyman Batcheller

(Beginning with 1870 the town Representatives
were elected bi-annually instead of yearly.)

1870 L. W. Congdon
1872 Charies D. Childs
1874 Joseph Doty
1876 M. H. Dickerman
1878 C. M. Townsend
1880 Nicholas Cook
1882 G. E. Johnson
1884 R. G. Sherman
1886 B. F. Stafford
1888 Edgar H. Aldrich
1890 C. A. Claghom

1892 Homer Stone
1894 Addison G. Stone
1896 B. W. Aldrich
1898 E. J. Chilson
1900 A. W. Andrews
1902 Eugene Smith
1904 W. C. Stone
1906 H. B. Barden
1908 D. L. Stafford
1910 Addison G. Stone

166

History op Wallingford.

FIRST SELECTMEN OF THE TOWN OF
WALLINGFORD.

1778 Abraham Ives 1811
1779 Nathaniel Ives 1 812
1780 Eliakim Richmond 1813
1781 Ehakim Richmond 1814
1782 Abraham Jackson 1815
1783 Nathaniel Ives 1816
1784 1817
1785 1818
1786 Solomon Miller 1819
1787 Abraham Jackson 1820
1788 Asahel -Jackson 1821
1789 Joseph Randall 1822
1790 Joseph Randall 1823
1791 Joseph Randall 1824
1792 Joseph Randall 1825
1793 Joseph Randall 1826
1794 Samuel L.McClure 1827
1795 Samuel L.McClure 1828
1796 William Fox 1829
1797 Thomas Miller 1830
1798 Joseph Randall 1831
1799 Samuel L.McClure 1832
1800 Samuel L.McClure 1833
1801 Samuel L.McClure 1834
1802 Joseph Randall 1835
1803 Nathaniel Ives 1836
1804 Nathaniel Ives 1837
1805 Nathaniel Ives 1838
1806 Nathaniel Ives 1839
1807 Joseph Randall 1840
1808 William Fox 1841
1809 William Fox 1842
1810 William Fox 1843

William Fox
William Fox
William Kent
William Kent
Samuel Townsend
Alexander Miller
Alexander Miller
Alexander Miller
Alexander Miller
Samuel Townsend
Asahel Hulett
Daniel Roberts
Daniel Roberts
Alexander Miller
Alexander Miller
Alexander Miller
Alexander Miller
Joseph Randall
Joseph Randall
Thomas Hulett
Thomas Hulett
Thomas Hulett
Sam. M. Edgerton
Sam. M. Edgerton
Alfred Hull
Dennis Hulett
Dennis Hulett
Dennis Hulett
Dennis Hulett
Elizur Munson
Stephen Cook
Stephen Cook
Alfred Hull

Political.

167

1844 Alfred Hull 1878
1845 Nathan Rounds 1879
1846 Alfred Hull 1880
1847 Alfred Hull 1881
1848 Sam. M. Edgerton 1882
1849 Sam. M. Edgerton 1883
1850 Robinson Hall 1884
1851 Robinson Hall 1885
1852 Robinson Hall 1886
1853 Dennis Hulett 1887
1854 Nicholas Cook Jr. 1888
1855 Henry Sherman 1889
1856 Henry Sherman 1890
1857 Dyer Townsend 1891
1858 Dyer Townsend 1892
1859 Dyer Townsend 1893
1860 Dyer Townsend 1894
1861 Dver Townsend 1895
1862 Jacob W. Gates 1896
1863 Jacob W. Gates 1897
1864 Henry Sherman 1898
1865 E. H. Bradford 1899
1866 E. H. Bradford 1900
1867 E. H. Bradford 1901
1868 Nathan Rounds 1902
1869 Jacob Fuller 1903
1870 Henry Sherman 1904
1871 Henry Sherman 1905
1872 Samuel E. Rogers 1906
1873 Samuel E. Rogers 1907
1874 Hilon Johnson 1908
1875 Joseph Doty 1909
1876 Joseph Doty 1910
1877 Robert A. Marsh 1911

Samuel E. Rogers
Samuel E. Rogers
Samuel E. Rogers
R. G. Sherman
R. G. Sherman
R. G. Sherman
R. G. Sherman
R. G. Sherman
Joseph Doty
Elias Stewart
Elias Stewart
Elias Stewart
Elias Stewart
Elias Stewart
Elias Stewart
Elias Stewart
Elias Stewart
B. W. Aldrich
B. W. Aldrich
C. 0. Allen
C. 0. Allen
C. 0. Allen
C. 0. Allen
C. 0. Allen
C. 0. Allen
J. E. Edgerton
C. 0. Allen
C. A. Merrell
Wm. K. Merriam
Wm. K. Merriam
Hiram J. Fales
Hiram J. Fales
Hiram J. Fales
Hiram J. Fales

168 History of Wallingford.

TOWN CLERKS OF WALLINGFORD.

1778

Abraham Jackson Junr.

1779

xibraham Ives

1780

William Steward

1781-1785

Abrahani Ives

1786-1787

Joseph Randall

1788

Sol. Miller, Jr.

1789

Abraham Jackson

1790-1796

Joseph Randall

1797-1798

William Fox

1799

William Steward

1800

William Steward

1801-1821

William Fox

1822-1829

Eliakim H. Johnson

1830-1841

Howard Harris

1842-1860

David Holden

1861-1868

J. D. Livingstone

1869-1880

Edwin Martindale

1881

Edwin H. Ormsbee.

1882

W. D. Hulett

1883-1894

Norman Townsend

1895-1896

Fay B. Stafford

1897-1902

Mrs. Clara B. Stafford.

1903-1904

C. A. Merrell

1905

William P. Cary

Political.

169

The present
town clerk is
Mr. W. P. Cary,
the twenty-
fourth in suc
cession to hold
the clerk's of
fice. He resides
in what was
formerly the
old Hull resi
dence on Main
Street and has
been for many
years a mer
chant in town.

W. p. CARY.

RESIDENCE OF W. P. CARY.

170

History op Wallingford.

THE HARTSBORO ROAD.

WALLINGFORD'S POPULATION.
Below is the table showing the number of resi
dents, for each census since 1791. One of the
remarkable things about it is the fiuctuation, the
largest number of inhabitants being in 1870 and
the smallest in 1791.

Year

Population

1791

536

1800

912

1810

1386

1820

1570

1830

1740

1840

1608

1850

1688

1860

1747

1870

2023

1880

1865

1890

1733

1900

1575

1910

1719

Political.

171

THE LICENSE VOTE IN WALLINGFORD.
Since the town has had local option, the fol
lowing has been the vote at the regular town meet
ings in March upon the question as to whether
liquor should be sold in town or not.

Year

Yes

No

1903

147

80

1904 .

135

94

1905

150

133

1906

159

175

1907

121

161

1908

149

187

1909

158

186

1910

156

189

1911

153

165

MAIN STREET LOOKING NORTH.

172 History op Wallingford.

CHAPTER XV.
The Latter Decades of the XIX Century.
TOWNS like individuals have instances when
their investments do not turn out as antici
pated. This was true of Wallingford
which had purchased several shares of railroad
stock. Many miles of railroad were being laid,
and it was considered a profitable venture, when
in 1867, Wallingford owned $30,000 of bonds of
the Lebanon Springs Railroad Company. On
March 8, 1879, the voters were asked to pay these
Railroad Bonds with interests and costs. The
following resolution was offered and was passed:
' ' Whereas the town of Wallingford in the County
of Rutland, State of Vermont, has outstanding and
unpaid negotiable Bonds issued in. 1867 for the
purpose of paying for stock, subscribed by said
town, of the Lebanon Springs Railroad Company
under an act of the Legislature of the State of
Vermont approved March 28, 1867, to the amount
of $55,000 and whereas the said town is desirous
of paying and retiring said bonds, it is therefore
resolVed by the legal voters of the said town in
town meeting assembled that in accordance with
an act of the Legislature of the State of Vermont,
approved October 17, 1878, the Selectmen and
Treasurer of the said town of Wallingford are
hereby empowered and directed to issue the nego
tiable Bonds of said town to the amount of $55,000
for the purpose of paying retiring the Bonds afore-

The Latter Decades op the XIX Century. 173
said, payable at the Treasurer's office in Walling
ford in sums as follows:

Jan.

1880,

$1200.

Jan.

1892,

$2200.

Jan.

1881,

1300.

Jan.

1893,

2400.

Jan.

1882,

1400.

Jan.

1894,

2400.

Jan.

1883,

1400.

Jan.

1895,

2600.

Jan.

1884,

1600.

Jan.

1896,

2800.

Jan.

1885,

1600.

Jan.

1897,

2800.

Jan.

1886,

1600.

Jan.

1898,

3000.

Jan.

1887,

1800.

Jan.

1899,

3200.

Jan.

1888,

1800.

Jan.

1900,

3300.

Jan.

1889,

2000.

Jan.

1901,

3500.

Jan.

1890,

2000.

Jan.

1902,

3700.

Jan.

1891,

2200.

Jan.

1903,

3200.

$55,000.
At the treasurer's office in said Wallingford
with interest coupons annexed at the rate of 5 per
cent per annum, payable semi-annually the first
days of July and January in each year by the
Treasurer of said town of Wallingford in denomi
nations of $1,000, $500 and $100.
In April, 1881, a committee was appointed to
obtain information in regard to the value of the
bonds and the opportunity of selling the same. By
a vote of 35 to 34 the Selectmen were authorized to
sell and dispose of the whole of the L. S. R. B.
now owned by the town but at not less than 20 per
cent net to the town on face value of said bonds
and if said bonds are disposed of that all the pro
ceeds be used by said selectmen in taking up our
town bonds at par value.
When the bonds were finally sold they brought
only $6000, so that the railroad bond proved a
sure loser.

174 History op Wallingford.
THE CENTENNIAL IN 1873.
On October 15 and 16 the town celebrated the
centennial of its settlement. The program included
a fair of the Otter Creek Valley Association and
reflected great credit upon its promoters. The
finance was raised by subscription, there being no
town appropriation. At 10 o'clock on the morn
ing of the 15th a procession was formed on the
common in front of the hotel in the following
order: Marshals of the Day.
East Wallingford Comet Band.
St. Patrick's Hibernian Benevolent Society.
R. A. J's.
Citizens on foot.
Citizens in carriages.
There were about fifty carriages in this decid
edly interesting procession. The R. A. J's caused
much amusement by their laughable and gro
tesque make-up. The boys performed their parts
well and were heartily appreciated. The parade
marched to what is now the ball ground in the
northern part of the village. Here all the exer
cises were held and articles for exhibition jmr-
poses placed in Floral and Centennial Halls. The
President of the occasion was Col. Dyer Townsend.
He called the gathering to order and requested
the Rev. H. H. Saunderson to lead in prayer. The
Rev. Aldace Walker, D. D., was the first speaker
and he announced as his subject "The Changes
of a Century." Although brief it was exceedingly
appropriate and interesting.
After this address Mr. Joseph Haskins, an aged
veteran of 94, who was born in Hollis, N. H., but
who had resided in East Wallingford for many
years, was invited upon the platform and sung an
old Masonic song called "King Solomon," with

The Latter Decades op the XIX Century. 175
wonderful force and vigor. The audience cheered
him enthusiastically. The old man a little later
walked up Main Street and when near to where
Mr. Cary now lives he sat down on the curbing of
the sidewalk, and Mr. Eddy seeing he was some
what in distress went to his assistance, but noth
ing could be done, for the old veteran's head fell
against Mr. Eddy's arm and he was gone. At
two 0 'clock in the afternoon addresses were given
by the Rev. Edwin M. Haines upon "The Progress
of Agriculture ' ' ; Henry Clark of Rutland upon the
"Batcheller Manufactures," and by Hon. D. E.
Nicholson and Henry Hall.
This was followed by Joel C. Baker, speaking
on "The life and public services of Matthew
Lyon." It will be recalled that Matthew Lyon
was for some time a citizen of Wallingford and
with Abraham Jackson, Jr., represented the town
in the Dorset Convention of 1776 (See page 30).
The evening was passed in family reunions and
the East Wallingford Band gave an out door con
cert. On the following day the weather was finer
and a larger crowd gathered than on the preceding
day and the smoothness with which all the exer
cises passed off was very noticeable.
In the afternoon addresses were made by Col.
Dyer Townsend, after calling the assemblage to
order, asked the Rev. Aldace Walker, D. D., to
offer prayer.
"Almighty Father we thank Thee that we are
permitted to assemble here today under so favor
able auspices and on this interesting occasion; that
we are permitted in this pleasing manner to com
memorate the anniversary of our beloved town.
We bless Thee that Thou hast cared for us as a
town during all these hundred years; that Thou
cared for those who dwelt in ancient times upon

176 History op Wallingford.
these hillsides and in these valleys. We thank
Thee that those men were fitted so well for the
work assigned them; for what they did for social,
religious and educational interests here; that they
established law and order throughout the State;
and as our attention is called today to the deeds
of those men, may Thy good spirit guide those
who may speak and those who may listen to them.
And as we honor those who founded our institu
tions, our .praises will ever be given to Thee.
Amen. ' '
The historical address was given by the Rev.
H. H. Saunderson. It occupied about an hour and
a half and closed with the following tribute:
"Wallingford is a true Vermont town in
this, that it has always been on the side of
liberty. The period of its settlement was
one in which the elements were surcharged with
contention. It was just preceding the war of the
Revolution. And it was one in which the liberties
of Vermont (not Vermont then but the New Hamp
shire grants) as well as those of the nation were
at stake. But the patriots of the Green Mountains
were equal to the situation and though during the
period of strife antedating their existence as a
state, they were in many narrow and stormy
straits, yet the star that never sets at last beamed
out for them with a serene and refulgent light.
You are familiar with the names of the champions
of human rights and civil liberty who brought
this about. The names of Chittenden and of Allen
and Warner are to you as household words. And
with these men in spirit were the Jacksons and
Iveses and Bradleys and generally the early sett
lers of the town. They were all men, to use the
expression of Mr. Benjamin Bradley 'who were
for God, for liberty and the independence of the

The Latter Decades op the XIX Century. 177
New Hampshire grants.' " A Rutland daily
newspaper is quoted as saying, "We have never
seen a large gathering of the kind where every
thing seemed to be so quiet and orderly in man
agement and in the general behavior of the crowd
as was the case in Wallingford during the two
days just past. Not a person was intoxicated, no
fights or rows of any sort occurred to mar the gen
eral enjoyment of the affair, and a fine company of
people made np the crowd upon each day. Those
who opposed its inception at the outset cannot fail
to acknowledge and admit that there is abundant
enterprise in town for an affair that does honor
to its manas^ers and orii^inators. "

TUE \VALLIXfi]''()RD ^IIUTARY BAND.

(12)

178 History of Wallingford.
CHAPTER XVI.
Miscellaneous.
IT must be confessed with a large measure of
regret that the compiler has not been able to
arrange the contents of this book as logically
as it should have been. The sequence has been
broken, and chronologically it does not appear to
best advantage. Hence a chapter entitled "Mis
cellaneous," which comes to be somewhat of a
catch-all, for even a Idng period of time. But facts
can be of interest when widely scattered and if
the arrangement has been made so that thej" are
readable, the advantage of having one place where
it will seem "apropos" to place anything, is
greatly appreciated.
The streets of Wallingford run north and south
with cross streets in an easterly directon. Since
the common use of cement in making sidewalks,
great progress has been made in this respect so
that the appearance of our thoroughfares are be
ing greatly improved by increasing lengths of
cement walks.
Much of the building in the vicinity is being
made of cement construction, and hence is in keep
ing with the requirements of the age.
It seems a great advance from the early days
of log huts and primitive means of travel, but
"the earth do move" and nowhere are modem
improvements more warmly welcomed or more
readily adopted than by the people of the town.
The telephone is in large use not only as a business
but now a household necessity. Talking machines
and adding machines, player pianos and vacuum
cleaners have become commonplace.

Miscellaneous.

179

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows have a
lodge of their own and now own what was for
merly Hulett 's Block, purchasing it in 1909. Here
Pico Lodge I. 0. 0. F. and White Rocks Lodge
Daughters of Rebekah have their monthly meet
ings. Among other fraternal orders there are
branches of the Woodmen of America and the
Royal Arcanum, who meet in Greeno 's Hall. In the
same place the Women's Relief Corps also hold

THE ODD FELLOWS' BLOCK.
their meetings. Each year they have charge of
the Decoration Day Exercises, for which the town
generally appropriates $50.00.
There are many fine residences and one advant
age is that they are not limited to any one particu
lar street. Depot Street was opened in 1852 and
is the first thoroughfare one sees after alighting
from the train. It is well shaded and has several
fine residences.
Upon the Main Street going north several styles
of architecture are seen, but each seemingly suffi-

180

History op Wallingford.

RESIDENCE OF MR. AND MRS. A. C. BLANCHARD.
cient unto itself, without a conspicuous semblance
of uniformity that would be monotony indeed. The
home of Mrs. Justin Batcheller is especially fine,

MRS. JUSTIN BATCHELLER'S HOME.

Miscellaneous.

181

.«^»j;_'0«jm«*?5<

RESIDENCE OF MRS. E. J. KLOCK.
surrounded with spacious grounds and beautiful
gardens that tempt one to linger and delight in
the great combinations of colors. Before the little
cottage as well as the more elaborate homes, green
lawns afford pleasing contrasts. The residence
of Rev. and Mrs. E. J. Klock is one of the oldest
in town, formerly known as the Meachem place.
It is supposed that on or near this site the first
little cabin used for a tavern was built. At right
angles and running in a westerly direction is Elm
Street, a pleasant little thoroughfare. At the
foot of Elm Street and running parallel with Main
Street is Railroad Street.
Both Railroad and River Streets have become
lined with homes since the coming of "the iron
horse." A number of new houses have been
erected upon Hull Avenue (called by some Staf
ford Ave.) and it looks as though this old road
way to the East may be lengthened before many
years.

1S2 History of W.\llix(if(ikd.

i/^

\.'

RESIDENCES OF G. L. AND C. N. BATCHELLER.
^lain Street in Winter is ever a pretty sight.
Whether one sees it with the first white covering
of the season or the last sugar snow of the year it
is beautiful. At times it is held in the mighty
grip of (.)ld Boreas and the trees sway and swing
with the wintry blow. There are some splendid

THE DEPOT.

illSCELLANEOUS

RESIDENCE OF MRS. N. J. SCRIBNER.
elm trees on the Main Street and two of them
were removed this last spring, partly to straighten
the road and because of danger through decay.
Near the home of Mrs. N. J. Scribner can be

HOME OF SENATOR H. B. BARDEN.

184

History op Wallingford.

seen the waters running under the roadway after
turning the cylinders in "the Old Stone Shop."
Bordered by cobble stones and with a little moss
and ferns showing here and there it affords a
pleasant change to the eye. Across the road is the
residence of Senator H. B. Barden.
Among some of the older inhabitants there is
still a trace of an old story to the effect that when
the early settlers first came that they came upon
the skeleton of a man, east of the residence of Mrs.
Earl, or t\ liat is now the southwest corner of the
public school yard. The bones had long laid
where they were
found. Beside them
was a rusty gun bar
rel, the wooden stock
of which bad de
cayed. The body was
thought to be that of
asoldier of the
French and Indian
wars. Who he was
or how he came to his
death, whether by
treachery of a com
rade, by open foe or
lurking savage, by
disease or as a prey to wild beasts was never
known. It was Wallingford's mystery. There
have been happenings more or less tragic, some
causing great sadness. One of the most recent
was the murder of Mary Jane Johnson, October
10th, 1909. She was a middle-aged maiden lady
who lived beyond the creek near the American
Fork and Hoe Company's works. Robert Eddy
was accused of the crime and found guilty of
murder in the second degree. He was sentenced

Crispin B. Egerton.

Miscellaneous. 185
to 15 years, which he is now serving in Windsor,
A little more than a year earlier a terrible tragedy
had occurred upon Sugar Hill, when Delia B.
Congdon was murdered, July 24, 1908. She was
an inoffensive, simple, sweet-spirited girl, troubled
with difficulty in speech and hearing, and the
shock it gave to the community can still be re
called. An escaped inmate of Waterbury Insane
Asylum named Elroy Kent was accused and after
some time apprehended in Massachusetts. At his
trial he was found guilty of murder in the first
degree and at present is under sentence of death.
Away back in the early part of the nineteenth
century there occurred "The Patch Hollow Tra
gedy." Rapidly returning to primitive wilder
ness is what was formerly well settled land. On
the east side of Bear Mountain running in a
northerly and southerly direction is Patch Hollow.
At the time of the tragedy the Mount Holly road,
as it was called, passed over the highlands, north
of the present road, by way of Congdon 's and
demons'. About a mile east of the Clemons place
a road branched off north running through Patch
Hollow. Upon this road five families lived. At
the south end, Luther Hale, who made wooden
plows for the farmers of the vicinity. Next lived
David Patch, who had built a substantial house
and reared a large family. Then came Simon
Patch's and away to the right lived Edmund
Patch. Further on north, a little away from the road
to the left, Rolon Wheeler had built a log house
24 X 18 and here was the scene of the tragedy.
Wheeler had married a daughter of David Patch
and was a man of violent passions and jealous dis
position. Report said he was guilty of indiscre
tion with his wife's sister and the community to

186 History of Wallingford.
show resentment for such conduct, planned to
turn out and give him a coat of tar and feathers
and perchance ride him on a rail. They were well
organized and comprised young men from the vil
lage, from Sugar Hill and even Shrewsbury.
Threats were made so publicly that Wheeler
hearing of them swore that if attacked he would
defend himself. Visiting the village, he went to
the blacksmith shop of Thomas Draper, made a
large file into a two-edge knife and fitted it to a
handle. It appears that Jarvis Learned had been
selected to lead ' ' the rioters ' ' but on the appointed
day he was called to attend his sister's funeral in
Danby. He afterwards felt fortunate to think it
was not his own. On the night of May 11, 1831,
the party set out from the village. Several carried
jugs of rum, one a bucket of tar, another a sack of
feathers. The detachment from Shrewsbury got
lost in the woods, either from darkness or too fre
quent potations, and after wandering about for a
time went home and reported they'd had a great
time with "Old Wheeler." Next day, hearing
how the affair terminated they were glad to make
it known that they had never reached the house.
In a field south of the "hollow" the parties from
the village and Sugar Hill met, compared the con
tents of various jugs and proceeded to disguise
themselves. Isaac Osborne at the time a foreman
in James Rustin 's hat shop, was appointed leader.
The party followed along the road until they came
to Wheeler's house and there called for admission.
They claimed they were going fishing in Shrews
bury Pond and wanted some fire. Wheeler had
placed against the door a rail long enough to brace
against the opposite wall and feeling secure paid
no heed to them. Finding it impossible to force
the door, they pried a hole in the gable end of the

Miscellaneous. 1 87
roof and Isaac Osborne, James Sherman and Silas
Congdon sprang into the house. Then commenced a
terrible struggle in the dark. Sherman got Wheeler
by the hair and began to drag him out when
Wheeler commenced to use his knife with deadly
effect. The rail was knocked down and others
rushing in from the outside added to the confusion.
Benj. Brownell received a stab in the side. Jas.
Sherman received fourteen wounds. Silas Congdon
seized the blade of the knife in his hand and it was
twisted around and wrenched from him, cutting
out the inside of his hand. Isaac Osborne fell
across the bed and died without a cry. During
the struggle Wheeler slipped out of his shirt, dived
under the bed, raised some floor boards crawled
under the house and made his escape into the
woods. Meantime those within the house had got
hold of Osborne's body and drew it about the floor
thinking it was Wheeler. It was not long before
they noticed the man was dead when they dropped
the body and hastily left the house. In the mean
time Mrs. Wheeler with many shrieks had run for
her father's house. The "rioters" (for so they
were termed in the indictment) hurriedly dis
persed and James Sherman made his way to Dr.
John Fox 's home so as to get his wounds dressed.
He informed the good doctor of the circumstances,
urging him to hasten to "the Hollow," fearing
that some one was killed. Many times afterwards
in recounting the experience. Dr. Fox claimed that
what he saw within the log hut was the most
terrible sight he could recall. By the dim light
of a bit of tallow candle he noticed the livid hodj
of Osborne on the bed and the cabin literally
soaked in blood. It is a question how Wheeler,
who had passed out entirely naked, spent the
night in the woods. Before daybreak he fled into

188 History of Wallingford.
the Hartsboro section, stole a shirt from Mrs.
Horton 's clothes line and selected an unfrequented
bam to spend the day in. It was entirely empty
excepting two bundles of rye straw. With these
he made himself a straw dress and thus clad made
his way across country to his sister's home in a
part of the town of Pawlet called "Tadmar."
Here he was arrested the following day and
brought back to Wallingford for trial. The court
was called in the Hotel but so great was the inter
est that it moved to the Baptist Church. Upon
hearing the facts of the case the prisoner was dis
charged. His acquittal was unexpected and it
tended to intensify the excitement. After Wheel
er's release he with his wife left town and after
wards lived near Danby Corners, from thence
going to the great west.
The ' ' rioters ' ' in turn were held for trial in the
county court and according to the records Joseph
Hagar and Reuben Wood were fined $60.00 each,
and James Huntoon, James Sherman and Herman
Mighells $40.00.
For the foregoing account I am indebted for
my information to Dr. J. E. Hitt, who wrote an
article upon this phase of Wallingford's history
and before it was printed was at great pains to see
it was authentic. The dreadful tragedy must have
left its blight upon "Patch Hollow" for shortly
afterwards the dwellings were unoccupied and it
has never since been used for residence.
A few years afterwards there was a sad fatality
in South Wallingford which cost the lives of three
young men. Seth Aldrich who lived about fifty
rods southeast from the John Ames farm had
built a log house 12 x 8 for the buming of char
coal. On Sunday, January 20, 1839, he had gone
to church to hear a Rev. Mr. Hawes of Clarendon

Miscellaneous. 189
preach and his son Marcus accompanied by two
friends, David Remington and Abram Cole prom
ised to attend the fires, claiming that every pre
caution would be taken. They desired to remain
overnight and the father reluctantly consented.
About midnight young Marcus came to the house
to get some apples and potatoes for roasting. The
floor of the cabin was littered with straw but they
had been admonished to brush the straw towards
the fire. It is supposed that the boys fell asleep
and a bundle of straw that had been placed near
the door was blown over into the fire. Immedi
ately the interior was ablaze. Young Remington
reached up, removed some of the boards on the
roof and climbed out. Marcus Aldrich followed
but fell back into the buming straw. Remington
reached down and assisted in dragging him up
when the two dropped in front of the cabin door,
and saw young Cole crawling over the fire. The
three boys must have suffered excruciating pain.
Cole and Remington were so burned as to be
blinded and they followed the sound of Marcus
Aldrich 's cries of agony as he made his way home
wards. The father was awakened and when, the
door was opened Marcus said, "0 father, we are
all burned to death." Medical help was secured
as speedily as possible but it proved of no avail.
jMarcus lived until the close of the day, David
Remington continued in pain thirty-six hours, and
Abram Cole lingered five days. This proved to
be one of the saddest catastrophes.
Wallingford has been blessed in having as physi
cians men highly respected for their skill and effi
ciency. At the present there are three doctors in
town and they are all graduates of the same medi
cal institution, viz., the Medical Department of
the University of Vermont.

190

History op Wallingford.

William I. Stewart, M. D., is the oldest in point
of service. He is a veteran of the Civil War and
has practiced medicine in the town for many
years. At the close of the war he began to pre
pare himself for his life's work and later settled
in Dorset. He returned to Wallingford and ever
since has been
continuing a
ministry of
healing and
enjoying the
respect of
many friends.
To answer
the calls that
come at all
times of night
as well as by
day, does not
make a very
alluring pros
pect. When in
addition they
come under
differing con
ditions of wea
ther so that
winter's snow
and chilling
blasts must be
faced, it is realized that a sense of the heroic
must enter largely into such a profession. At
least it seems to be especially true upon the
Vermont hills where endurance and courage are
almost as necessary as skill.
John Henry Miller, M.D., serves as the local
health officer in addition to his regular practice.

DR. W. I. STEWART.

Miscellaneous. 191
After completing his course at the U. M. V., he
took a post graduate course as interne in New
York and Montreal hospitals. For almost five
years he has been settled in town attending to the
needs of a growing business.

DR. JOHN H. MILLER.
One of the finest appreciations in English Lit
erature of the physician 's work is that of Ian Mac-
laren's "The doctor of the old school" as found
in "Beside the Bonnie Briar Bush." The Dr.
McClure typifies the attitude of the profession to-
words disease and death, waging a relentless war
against the one, and not allowing the encroach-

192

History op Wallingford.

ments of the other until human possibility has
reached its limit. Graduates of "new schools,"
or "old schools" possess the love and respect of
their fellow men as they are animated by the same
passion to help the human, in minimizing pain,
eliminating disease and promoting in every way
the better health of their fellowmen. In the writ
ings of Pilpay, the Brahmin gymnosophist, who
lived several centuries before Christ, there are
many sayings which have been exemplified in ex
perience. One reads, ' ' We ought to do our neigh
bor all the good we can. If you do good, good will
be done to you." Sherwin A.
Cootey, M.D.,
comes of a
medical fam
ily. His father
had an exten
sive practice
including the
towns of Mt.
Holly, Shrews
bury and East
W a 1 lingford
before leaving
to continue his
l)raetice in the
city of Rut-
1 a n d. Drs.
Cootey and
Miller were
members of
the same class
in the medical
schoolandafter gradua-

DR. SHERWIN A. COOTEY.

Miscellaneous.

193

tion. Dr. Cootey continued his work in connection
with one of the largest hospitals in Connecticut,
and settled in Wallingford in 1907. He succeeded
to the practice of Dr G. G. Marshall (who became
an eye and ear specialist in Rutland), and is rap
idly realizing a goodly measure of success in his
chosen work. One of the in-
,^ 'i-''.^'' , ^ fluences in the
-' ' ,„ „ ^ , growth of a place is
a high calibre of
citizenship and the
providing condi
tions to sustain the
same. Wallingford
has been fortunate
to have within its
borders people of
means and educa
tion. Some of the
early proprietors
were well to do,
others sought to
better their condi
tion. One of the
families that came
in the early part
of the nineteenth century bought two hundred and
fifty acres of land. This was Isaac Munson who
came from New Haven in 1814. Two of his sons,
Isaac, Jr., and Israel built for themselves, and
later increased their possessions especially through
the benefactions of their father's brother, Israel.
He had formerly been a practicing physician, a
graduate of Yale, but put it aside to enter busi
ness, and became so successful that in later times
he would have been termed either "a merchant
(13)

ISRAEL MUNSON.

194

History op Wallingford.

prince " or a " captain of industry. ' ' Unto nephews
and nieces he bequeathed large sums and the
houses where C. D. Childs, Mr. Crary, Pitt G.
Clark lives, the Andrews farm and where Mrs. H.
Earl lives, in addition to the Munson farm, shows
the very practical way of the bachelor uncle in
providing for his relatives. The Munsons have
been intersted in the town and sought to make it
worthy in every respect. Their farm lands were
among the most fertile and productive in this
region.. Mention should be made of an organization
that with the Woman's Relief Corps, stands for
the development of loyalty and patriotism, and
that is the Daughters of the American Revolution.
They were organized October 11, 1902, and re
ceived their charter on February 3, 1903. The
chapter is known as "Palestrello, No. 595." It
gets its name from the wife of Christopher Colum
bus, the great discoverer. Stated meetings are
held and the excellence of their programs com
bined with the delightful social contact proves
a source of attraction to all of its members.

THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.

Miscellaneous. 195
One of the more recent organizations in town
is the Fire District of the village. It was organ
ized June 10, 1907, and controls the lighting and
fire protection of the village. At the present the
streets are lighted by means of power transmitted
by the Rutland Light and Power Company. The
fire department is divided into hose and hook and
ladder companies with their foremen and C. V.
Howley acts as chief. He has held the position
since the organization. What was formerly the
old town hall has been repaired and turned into
a place for the storage of fire apparatus and a
place of meeting for the firemen. Practice meets
are held and considerable rivalry of a healthy na
ture exists between the various companies. In
case of fire, signals of warning are sounded by
the ringing of the Congregational Church bell, the
Baptist Church bell or by the steam whistle at
the Wallingford Mfg. Company, according to the
location of the conflagration. Efforts are being
made to make the work of this department as
efficient as possible.
At one time in the early history of Vermont the
settlement on Sugar Hill gave promise of being
one of the most important towns of the State.
Many would come from adjoining towns to get
their horses shod, barter their produce, and have
their grist ground. It has been claimed that the
first sugar from the sap of the maple tree in Ver
mont made by white men was on Sugar Hill, hence
its name. It was a rendezvous for the Green
Mountain Boys and here plans were discussed for
the best way of holding on to their grants. Over
towards the White Rocks considerable interest
has been shown by different parties in digging for
buried treasure. It is surprising to think that the
Captain Kidd chest could have been brought so far

196 History op Wallingford.
inland, but there are some people who still
aver that it certainly "was around the Rocks
somewhere." Excavations have been made with
the firm belief that gold would be discovered and
in the early part of the nineteenth century this
was stimulated by the "rod men," who claimed
supernatural guidance in selecting the places for
treasure trove.
Generally the extent of their guidance was lim
ited to the peculiar use of a forked stick, and while
it may have assisted the imagination in locating
wells, it never produced any great results in dis
covering gold mines near the White Rocks. The
mountain to the north which has braved the
storms and tempests of many ages has been called
Bear Mountain for nearly a century and a half.
There is a tradition that one of the sons of the
Jackson's named Reuben, whose father had
settled in Jackson's Gore had a reputation for
making maple sugar that was unexcelled. Ingeni
ous and attentive to his duties his proficiency
was such that the Jackson 's sugar always brought
a little higher price at the store than any other
sugar made in the vicinity. The youth was accus
tomed to the loneliness of the woods. At eventide
he could look down upon the little settlement and
see the "tallow dips" go out one after another as
the residents retired for the night. The work of
boiling down the sap to a suitable consistency
or until it becomes "ropy" consumed from six to
eight hours every night. While the syrup was
cooling off after the fire beneath the kettle had
been raked out, Reuben would go to the sugar
house a few rods away from the "arch," where
he would get a few hours sleep before resuming
the duties of the next day. Forgetting one night
to rake out the fire from beneath the kettle he

Miscellaneous. 197
returned to the arch and was surprised to see a big
bear jump off the further side of the shelf of rock
and make for the woods as fast as possible. The
beast had evidently taken a great deal of pleasure
in licking the syrup that had stuck to the ladle
and skimmer. Reuben, thinking that the $10
bounty would be handy, in addition to the love
for excitement, began to plan how he could cap
ture the bear. Bruin, like a good many humans,
after once partaking of the sweet, would be sure
to come back again for more. ,
The boy had often been told that the time to
catch bears was when they were out, so that any
delay in the arrangements might be disadvantage
ous. It so happened that a keg of powder had
been left in the sugar house from the previous 4th
of July and Reuben had been specially instructed
to keep it dry. Now he strung several layers of
sheep twine, which passed over the ledge of rocks
in the rear of the "arch." The twine was liber
ally sprinkled with powder, thus serving the pur
pose of a fuse. The keg of powder was placed in
a hole, connected with the fuse and lightly tamped
in so the force of the explosion would be upward.
Next day Reuben carried on his work as usual,
and when he left the boiling place he placed an
unusual supply of maple syrup upon the ladle and
set it over the keg near the arch. The boy climbed
a tall tree near the sugar house which enabled
him to watch all the paths. He had not waited
long when he saw the black monster making its
way from some obscure corner of the woods to
ward the kettle of syrup, and spying the ladle he
laid down and commenced active operations upon
his evening meal. While the bear was busy attend
ing to the bill of fare, the boy was engaged at the
other end of the line. Hastily sliding down the

198 History op Wallingford.
tree and applying a lighted match to the end of
the fuse he started the train of fire in motion.
There were no delays whatever, and the explo
sion of the keg of powder underneath the bear
was sufficient to send him suddenly heavenward.
The funny part of the story is that when he fin
ally reached a resting place after many peculiar
twistings and numerous somersaults, he sat bolt
upright in the great kettle of hot maple syrup, his
forepaws resting on the rim of the kettle as "dig
nified as a deacon. ' ' When it became known that
"Rube" had blown up a big bear, it was planned
to have a moving bee the next day. All the farm
ers in the vicinity turned out with their yoke of
oxen, and amid many ' ' gees, and haws, and whoas ' '
it was taken home, skinned and a general good
time indulged in. A taxidermist at Hartford
"sot the bear up" in proper position, and several
who claim that this is the true account of how
the mountain was so named, have seen the bear
or someone else who claimed a similar privilege.
The old fashioned singing schools were in vogue
during the middle and later parts of the past
century. Groups combined of neighboring towns
met occasionally and celebrated the conclusion of
the term of study and social enjoyment, with a
grand concert. Sometimes singers of more than
local repute assisted in making the occasion a
decided success. Amateur plays and theatricals
have always held a strong interest in the com
munity, and the histrionic ability displayed by
some has been deserving of great commendation.
The presentation of dramas and comedies has
been frequent, and vary from the ever popular
"Uncle Tom's Cabin" to an "Aunt Jerusha 's
Photo Album."
In common with other places, happenings occur

Miscellaneous. 199
that furnish conversation for certain periods of
time and occasionally form opportunities of ex
pressing a community spirit. When in the early
days William Fox was excavating for clay to
make brick to build his house (where Mr. Clayton
Brown lives), one of the shovellers was killed by
a mass of clay and soil falling upon him. When
the Town Hall was erected, it also cost a life. Mr.
E. I. Kilboum, who was foreman of the job,
climbed upon the scaffolding that reached nearly
to the top of the building and by a misstep was
precipitated to the ground below. This accident
occured November 1, 1906, and it caused great
regret. The spirit of Wallingford as a town is rapidly
changing with its development of commercial
industries. The quiet atmosphere of the past is
giving way to a stir and bustle, which indicates
to the visitor or commercial traveller, that it is
' ' a live town, ' ' and especially so for Vermont. To
many the change seems welcome, to others it
suggests that no great gain comes without some
loss. But the fact remains that in this growth
there come greater responsibilities unto all, to
keep the goodly reputation of the past not only
as untainted as possible, but to -add unto it an
increasing lustre for the future days. The wel
fare of the community demands the highest type
of. citizenship, and the sharing of responsibility,
so that all assume their part with but one idea,
and that, the advancement of town interests. The
spirit of co-operation has been the prominent ex
pression from the days of the early settlers, and
if in the complexity of our present social life, con
ditions may appear different, every effort must be
made to make this same principle of co-operation
the greatest factor in the Town life.

200 History of Wallingford.
As in every farming community the chores come
around with great regularity and when they were
done it was no micomraon thing to have some
thing to do jirovided for the boys, for "Satan finds
some mischief still for idle hands to do." The
girls knit or worked on their sanqilers, some of

_ * Lrt <>f .! -, ^^lA' Si.. I |_| _ 'il
i In J T 1 '^ I (.1 o' V

SAMI'LKI; WORKED IN LI.\'E.\', is:;.^
tbem becoming very proficient. The women spun
and wove, making the cloth necessary for the
family. In the memory of one still livini;' there is
the iTcollection of the first piei'e of bought cariiet
brought iuto the valley.
The ]ico|)le of tlio vicinity were fond of reading
as indicated in the early beginnings of the library.
But it was not a community in which authorship
was common. The first instance of any ]irinted
woi'k was that by the licv. Benjn. ()sl)oi-u, first
pastor ol' the < 'oiigregational Church, who wrote
a iiietapli) sical ticatisc upon "Truth Displayed,"
which he <'oiisi(ler(Ml the great work of his life.

Miscellaneous. 201
The Rev. T. M. Hopkins also published a work
entitled ' ' Spots on the Sun. ' ' Rev. H. H. Saunder
son wrote the article on "Wallingford" in the
Vermont Historical Gazeteer (1867) and later pub-

GIRL'S SAMPLER WORKED IN SILK, 1812.

lished for the town of Charlestown the history of
"Old No. 4, Chariestown, N. H."
Aldace F. Walker, a son of Dr. Aldace Walker,
wrote a book on "The Vermont Brigade in the
Shenandoah Valley, ' ' published 1869. In 1894, the
Rev. E. M. Haynes, formerly a pastor of the Wall
ingford Baptist Church but at the time residing in
Rutland published '.'A History of the Tenth Regi
ment, Vt. Vols." He was the chaplain of the regi
ment, leaving his home in Wallingford to go to
the front. John T. Trowbridge published in 1903

202 History op Wallingford.
' ' My Own Story, ' ' with recollections of noted per
sons. The scene and characters of one of his most
popular books "Neighbor Jackwood" are taken
from the surroundings of Wallingford. To quote
his words regarding this book, "Though I was
hardly conscious of it the thing was taking shape
in my mind when I went to spend the summer (of
1854) at Wallingford, Vt., in the bosom of the
Green Mountains. In the broad and beautiful val
ley of Otter Creek I found in an old farm house a
quiet place to live, and think, and write. I gave
four or five hours a day to Martin Merrivale, and
had ample leisure in the long summer afternoons,
to bathe in the streams, wander in the woods,
climb the mountains, and in the course of my
rambles make extensive acquaintance with the
country and the people. One day, while explor
ing the interval about the confluence of Otter
Creek and Mad River, which became Huntersford
Creek and Wild River in the novel, the scene of
the fishing adventure of Mr. Jackwood and Bim,
lost like them amid the tortuous windings of the
two streams, still further lost in my own imagin
ings, I suddenly saw rise up before me out of the
tall grass the form of an old hag. And it was not
an old hag at all, but a beautiful girl in disguise;
nor yet a girl but really a creature of my own
imagination, which appeared as vividly to my
mind's eye as if it had been either or both. "Both
it shall be, " I said, ' ' a forlorn maiden in the guise
of an old woman, lost here in this labyrinthine
streams! A mystery to be accounted for." And
the phantom-like projection of my fancy took its
place at once in the plan of the story, giving it life
and form from that hour."
Upon the library shelves there are three books
by a native of Wallingford, Mr. Bimey C. Batch-

Miscellaneous. 203
eller, an expert engineer and skillful inventor. In
1897 J. B. Lippincott Company published for him
"The Pneumatic Despatch Tube System" and this
was followed a year later by the printing of a
paper read before the Society of Arts, Massachu
setts Institute of Technology, Boston, on "A New
System Pneumatic Despatch Tubes. ' ' Both books
are well illustrated and possess great value as
Mr. Batcheller is an authority upon these subjects.
He has also done considerable work in the test
ing of high explosives, having entire charge of
construction for the U. S. Government of the dyna
mite guns for national defence, on both the Atlan
tic and Pacific coasts. In 1902 the Lippincott
Company printed for private circulation, a memo
rial volume to "Anna Louise Batcheller," a ten
der and loving recollection of a beautiful soul.
Among the writers for yoimg people, Mrs.
Eugene Smith, writing under the name of Mary
Gilbert, has written considerably for "St. Nich
olas" and other magazines. National folk stories,
especially of Russia have been described in such
a way as to make her in this realm of literature,
very popular with the children, as well as with
those who are older.
While there are no breed farms for fancy stock
in the neighborhood, there are many farmers who
own cattle and horses of good blood. The Morgan
horse is a favorite and several fine animals are
driven by residents of the town.
The dairy produce is one of the most important
hence the necessity of keeping a high grade of
cattle. For differing purposes, and at various
times the particular breed that is most in demand
changes, and within recent years the Holstein is
bred more commonly. Formerly the Jersey, Ayr
shire and Durham cattle were great favorites.

204

History op Wallingford.

' ' Slowly the lowing kine doth make their way
Homewards at the close of day. ' '

How much a part of the landscape do the cattle
become? Nothing appears so attractive as the
silent herds grazing upon the hillsides, or the
groups of feeding sheep, and frolicking lambs,
creating impressions of repose and beauty in many
pastoral scenes.
The music of the brooks is heard as with devious
windings they find their way into the Creek.
' ' There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet
As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters
meet."
The quiet influence of nature is assuredly one that
tends to the expansion of all that is good, a broad
ening of sympathy, a deepening love for justice
and right, for "God made the country." In the

Miscellaneous. 205
correct interpretation of beautiful surroundings
there is that which draws one into the sense of
God's presence, and the recognition of His laws.
All along the valley of the Otter Creek there is that
which, in the beauty of its surroundings, streng
thens the soul in worship so that its inhabitants
can say with the Psalmist, "I will look unto the
hills, from whence cometh my help," and the
answer comes back to consciousness strong and
clear "My help cometh from God who made hea
ven and earth."

206 History op Wallingford.
CHAPTER XVII.
The Pageant.
AT THE town meeting in March, 1911, the
attention of the voters was called to the
fact that this year was the 150th year since
the granting of the town's charter by Benning
Wentworth, the first royal Governor of New
Hampshire. An appropriation of $250.00 was
granted for the purpose of celebrating such an
anniversary and the following committee appoint
ed: W. C. Mason, A. W. Ferguson, W. P. Carey,
H. G. Savery and Rev. Walter Thorpe. This com
mittee was later increased by adding the names of
Mrs. N. J. Scribner, Rev. Fr. T. O'Donoghue, E. J.
Chilson and D. A. Maxham. After meeting the
committee organized with Rev. Walter Thorpe as
chairman and A. W. Ferguson as secretary. The
committee in a letter sent to every voter in town
suggested that the form of celebration should be
by means of a historical Pageant that would faith
fully depict "the days of ancient times." There
were two reasons that led the members of this
committee to give much thought and time for the
careful planning of such a presentation; first there
could be no better way of recalling the heroisms
and sacrifices of the past than by actually repro
ducing them and secondly the educational influ
ence of such a presentation removed it far out of
the realm of the merely spectacular. If the date
of the Pageant had been a few weeks earlier it
would have been the first representation of its
kind in the State of Vermont. However, Hartford,

The Pageant.

207

Vt., enjoys that distinction for they presented
their Pageant on July 4th. The town appropria
tions were voted at the same time, viz. the annual
town meeting. August the 15th and 16th were
the days appointed, and at the same time the
towns of Thetford and Bennington were produc
ing historical pageants. Through the kindness of
Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Stone, a site was chosen bor
dering on Elfin Lake. For several weeks previous
to the presentations many gave valuable service
in helping to clean up, and prepare the grounds.

'IN THE WOODS BY THE LAKE."

Roads were made, brush burned and the natural
slope of a hill turned into a splendid vantage
ground for clearly seeing the various episodes.
Electric light was carried over and no expense
was spared to make the occasion in every way a
success. Seating capacity was built for 900 people
and the open air stage constructed so that a fine
perspective of approaching and departing com-

208

History op Wallingford.

panics was revealed. Back of it was the lake,
glistening like an immense jewel. Other towns
may have had bigger Pageants, still others may
have reaped larger financial gains but none have
been able to excel in the beauty of the background
and surroundings that were revealed "in the
woods by the lake. ' ' It made a magnificent sett
ing for manj^ beautiful pictures.
Both the Chapel and Town Hall were utilized
for rehearsals and as the time for its production
came nearer the one subject was "the Pageant."
It certainly afforded a topic for conversation.
Al)out two hundred and fifty of the townspeople
participated in the production, and too much can
not be said for the helpfulness and splendid spirit

MISS MYRTLE ANDREWS.

The Pageant. 209
of all who assisted. The chairman of the commit
tee was director of the Pageant and he was ably
assisted by Miss Myrtle Andrews. The training
of the children and the colonial minuet was entire
ly in charge of Miss Andrews. One thing that in
a measure seemed distinctive is the fact that pre
vious to the first representation there was a ser
vice held in every church in town, Catholic as
well as Protestant, on the Tuesday morning (15th.)
At two o'clock Governor John Abner Mead gave
an address from the balcony of the hotel. To
look upon the crowd that gathered gave one the
impression of a motley array. Men dressed as
Indians and Green Mountain Boys, rubbed should
ers with colonial aristocrats and British Regulars.
Some of the ladies were costumed sufficiently
quaint as to provoke amusement, yet all in excel
lent taste. The Wallingford Military Band played
several pieces and at the close of the Governor's
address all roads led to the lake. It is a quesition
whether there was ever seen such a long procession
of pedestrians wending their way over the sand
bank. From the railroad track it appeared like
an immense black sinuous snake twisting its way
into the woods. Every convenience had been
arranged for both team and automobile, and
promptly at three o'clock the performance began.
The first episode represented the days of the
wilderness and there was seen the coming of the
red man. The chief chose a site for the camp and
the squaws were shown carrying the tepees, mak
ing ready the camp and preparing food. In the
meantime a number of braves after the incantation
of the "medicine man" prepared for a typical
Indian war dance. At first slowly and with hideous
contortions they circled around and then as the
dance progressed they entered into it with an
(14)

210

History op Wallingford.

A BAND OF INDIANS.

abandon and a realism that was consummate -act
ing. The picture of the customs of Indian life was
intensified by the Indian maiden's song and the
"smoking of the pipe." Indian scouts bring to
the camp an alarm which is verified by the distant
firing of a gun in the woods. Immediately the word
of command is given, camp is quickly broken and
the Indians are seen on the trail again. The rea
son for their alarm is seen in the stealthy approach
of two scouts or backwoodsmen, forerunner of the
white pioneer. Their skill in woodcraft is shown
and they easily read as in an open book the evi
dences of the previous camp. The second scene
represents the Indians to have turned from the
trail of the hunter to the war path of the warrior.
Upon the Otter Creek moved many Indian bands.
It was known as the "Indian road." Raids upon
the early settlers were frequent and when success
ful, resulted in a return with captives who were

The Pageant. 211
held for ransom, sold into slavery, or adopted by
the tribe. A call sounds over the waters, the In
dians are seen running to the water's edge and a
canoe with Puritan captives rapidly comes into
view. They are brought to shore amid many ex
pressions of feeling. The squaws assist in gibing
the prisoners and preparations are made for tor
ture. One of the most dramatic incidents was in
the running of the gauntlet. One of the prisoners

WATER SHADOWS ON OTTER CREEK.
attempted it but he was beaten down and after
being bound was ignominiously rolled aside for
future sport. Another dashed through and with
a great burst of speed out distanced his pursuers
and dove right into the water and so escaped.
The third scene showed Capt. Eliakim Hall and
two companions on their way from Wallingford,
Conn., to Portsmouth, N. H., there to receive from
Governor Benning Wentworth the charter for the
new township of Wallingford, Vermont. The
horsemen are seen as they make their way through
the woods and then received by the Governor's
Secretary (Theodore Atkinson). Their interview

212

History of Wallingford.

with the Governor is presented and also the sign
ing of the charter. They are urged to remain to
one of the social functions of the town, "The Gov
ernor's Lawn Party," but after excusing them
selves they take their way homewards.
A delightful picture of the aristocrats of the
colonial period is reproduced in this scene. The
gallant, girded with sword and bewigged, dressed
in the costume of the period presents his respects
to the govemor. His companions with low cour
tesy and graceful movements add the finishing
touch to a remarkable scene. Then is introduced
the Minuet. Its stately movements excite admira
tion and gave great pleasure in each presentation.
There will be seen how the principle of contrasts
was used to enhance each scene.

THE COLONIAL MINUET. '
With the fourth episode the captain and his
companions are seen returning to the old home in
Connecticut. Their friends are told that the char
ter is secured and upon the village green is seen
the inimitable boy in frolic, and httle maidens

The Pageant. 213
dancing round the May pole. Old English folk
dances are reproduced and when finished \ the
youngsters laughingly capered off the green.
The coming of the first legal settler, Abraham
Jackson and his family, was realistically shown.
Others soon follow, the Ives's, Halls, Bradleys,
Clarks and others. Some on foot, others on horse
back and several drawn by oxen. The marking
out of the homestead and the commencement of
life amid the new surroundings is seen and the
hardship and sacrifice can readily be imagined
as some of the settlers enter the forest bound for
the new home. Some of the trying conditions that
met the early settlers are seen in the hurried move
ments of the ' ' Green Mountain Boys. ' ' They were
upholding the rights of the New Hampshire grants
in a controversy with the State of New York.
The warning of one who was a "New Yorker"
proved an interesting scene. The excitement was
carried into the town meeting and too much can-
^ not be said for the spontaneity
and realism with which such a
gathering was presented. Party
passions ran high and the first
fatal result in Wallingford was
seen in the carrying down of
the Tory who was shot upon
Green Hill. After the battle of
Hubbardton it is said that de-
A Green Mountain Boy tachmcuts of British trOOpS
camped on the West Hill near
the Newton homestead. There was presented a
detachment in charge of an officer, who gave a
glimpse of the camp life and the glow of the camp
fire and the bright colors of the uniforms were
enhanced by the background of trees.

214

History op Wallingford.

A COMPANY OP BRITISH REGULARS.

A scene that has already been described in an
account of the Fox family (see page 49) was
reproduced in the capture
of Governor Isaac Tiche
nor. The make-believe In
dians could hardly be dis
tinguished from the real
thing. Social life was evi
dent in the Quilting Bee
and Paring Bee. The in
teresting, even animated
gossip is indulged in and
the manifestation of social
courtesies and neighborly
helpfulness revealed. When
the young people of the
Husking Bee came in,
garbed in quaint costumes of the long ago "then
old and young of both sexes took part, their jolly

ISAAC TICHENOR.

The Pageant. 215
labor lighted in the open field by the hunters moon
or a great bonfire. When the work was done the
company feasted on pumpkin pie, doughnuts and
cider. Then the barn was cleared of its litter of
husks, (Si Allen sent for) and when the fiddler
mounted the scaffold and made the gloom of the
roof peak ring with merry strains, to which two
score solidly clad feet threshed out time ' ' in coun
try dance ' ' and ' ' French Four. ' '
But it was in the last scene of all that the audi
ences had opportunity to judge of the great num
ber of participants, each marching in to the strains
of stirring music. What a picture it made, of
early settlers and Indians, British Regulars and
Green Mountain Boys, colonial aristocrats in silks
and satins, others dressed in homespun.
The first presentation of the Pageant was given
on the Tuesday afternoon and the weather at first
seeming propitious, changed shortly after the per
formance started. A large crowd had assembled
and although the heavens darkened and the thun
der rolled yet a good number retained their seats
throughout the program.
In the evening the streets of the town were
electrically illuminated in red, white and blue. A
banquet was served in the Town Hall at which a
large number was present. The decorations were
in pink and green and the upper hall had been
entirely transformed. It was a scene of beauty.
Here and there the electrical effect enhanced the
combination of colors. The Governor was present
with his staff and after the eatables had been
removed he gave a splendid address on "The
Spirit of Vermont. ' ' The Rev. William A. Ballon,
of Ludlow acted as toastmaster and called upon
his brother Rev. Henry Ballon, of Chester, the

216 History of W/Vllingpord.
Eev. W. A. Mclntire, of Danby, George H. Staf
ford and A. G. Stone to express words of greeting.
It had been expected that in addition to the Gov
ernor of the State, other notable public men would
be present bnt owing to the fact that Congress had
not adjourned and some State Legislatures were
still in session several were obliged to absent them-

THE WH ITE HOUSE
W A S M i M G TC M ..,,..,, or. 3 , t 9 I. S

1 %;>..r . ,,-/,iT' it^¦l;l T -J i" ¦^-^l?^ ^t'', aij re~ru!;
-.-=3^ i a';-s.; -' 101 'o ¦i.Mc in acCwpT .our >.i.Tj t-.vi-
:cti(iri to at:i3,-;.j ¦ j ba-.jt.idt i.i L-.^ltihrat iO;i of the
ona han.irea q''< "'¦ "t;?r.", a" i"/-..r5'i^\ jf r ^^j town of
?'alj In:'ror-j on .^n,'-'.- .vr i.;T~-;. "o'.-ev.j"- , it affords
•'1 -^laasurK) ro extor.^ to the people of allingioru,
""^^^Ejirougb you» my b»ftrty congratulations on the attain-

v>

¦.''a.lt er i nor-c ,

PRESIDENT TAFT'S LETTER.
selves. The Rev. Walter Thorpe had received
greetings from several eminent men which were
read at the close.

The Pageant. 217
President Taft sent the following:
' ' The White House, Washington.
August 8, 1911.
My dear Sir:
I have your letter of August Sth and regret that
I shall not be able to accept your kind invitation
to attend the banquet in celebration of the one
hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the town of
Wallingford on August 15th. However, it affords
me pleasure to extend to the people of Wallingford
through you, my hearty congratulations on the
attainment of this anniversary and my best wishes
for a most successful celebration.
Sincerely yours, WM. H. TAFT.
Ex-President Theodore Roosevelt was invited to
be present and he wrote saying that he wished he
could accept but it was simply impossible.
Sir Wilfred Laurier, Prime Minister of Canada,
expressed his regret owing to political engage
ments due to the general election in that country.
Admiral Dewey sent the following letter:
My dear Sir:
I appreciate fully the honor done me in asking
for a message to my fellow Vermonters who are
celebrating the one hundred and fiftieth anniver
sary of Wallingford's charter rights.
Our state pride is more than justified.
Vermont has marked out. a course of courage,
work, hope and loyalty that all the world might
copy. The only difficulty about our ancestors is that
they have made it hard for us poor descendants to
keep up the tradition.
With all good wishes, I am very truly,
GEORGE DEWEY,
Admiral of the Navy.

218 Histoby of Walungpord.
An interesting letter was received from Sir
James Bryce, British Ambassador to Washington.
British Embassy, Washington,
August 12, 1911.
My dear Sir:
It is very good of you and your fellow citizens
to have let me learn of the celebration you are
to hold on August 15th of the 150th Anniversary
of the granting of the charter rights to the town
of Wallingford. The granting took place in the
old days before political connection between Eng
land and her North American Colonies had been
broken. The breaking of that connection did not
dissever the historic bonds which unite the Eng
lish and American peoples of today, who are alike
the children of those far off ancestors of ours who
laid the foundations of local self government in
Old England and gave to both peoples the love
of liberty and the habit of using it wisely and
temperately. I will venture on behalf of the citizens of Wal
lingford in England, a quaint old town which was
inhabited eight and a half centuries ago when
William the Conqueror crossed the Thames there
on his march to London, to send you their greet
ings with my own on this auspicious anniversary,
and to express the hope that the fraternal affection
which now unites the two branches of the old stock
and which is warmer today that it has been ever
before, may go on always strengthing in the cen
turies to come.
Believe me to be,
Very Faithfully Tours,
JAMES BRYCE.

The Pageant. 219
Governor Robert P. Bass, of New Hampshire,
wrote :
.My dear Mr. Thorpe:
I should like to express through you to the town
of Wallingford my regret at not being able to be
present at the 150th Anniversary of the granting
of the charter rights.
I know this occasion marks an epoch in the his
tory of Wallingford. We should now look back to
the conditions at the time the Charter Rights were
granted and compare them with what they are to
day. We should note the progress that has been
made in our government, in our educational sys
tem and in our every day life. We should be
guided by the mistakes and experiences of those
who have gone before us and resolve that Walling
ford shall continue to prosper in the future faster
even than in the past. All should work together
to this end so that future generations can look
back with pride on the movement started at this
150th Anniversary. I extend to the town my
heartiest well- wishes for the health, happiness and
prosperity of her citizens. Sincerely yours, R. P. BASS.
As Wallingford was first settled by the people
from Connecticut it was especially fitting that the
Governor of that State should be invited and the
Hon. Simeon L. Baldwin wrote with regret of his
inability to be present. ' ' It would otherwise give
me pleasure to participate in so interesting an
occasion. Connecticut considers Vermont as one of her
daughters, and I recall hearing from Chief Justice
Poll and of your State many years ago that there
was a tradition that at one of the early sessions

220 History op Wallingford.
of the Vermont Legislature a vote was passed
adopting all the laws passed at the preceding ses
sions of the Connecticut General Assembly, so far
as they seemed not unadapted to the settlements
west of New Hampshire. Yours Sincerely,
SIMEON E. BALDWIN.
Senator William P. Dillingham sent a night
letter by telegraph:
"I regret that public duties will not permit me
to have part in Wallingford's anniversary cele
bration but that the occasion may exceed your
fondest anticipations and become a red letter day
in the history of the town.
Congratulations upon past achievements, good
wishes for still greater ones in the future.
W. P. DILLINGHAM.
United States Congressmen David J. Foster
and Frank Plumley would have been present if
Congress had not been convened in extra session.
Many former residents were there and greatly
added to the enjoyableness of the evening for
"A wonderful stream is the river Time
As it runs through the realm of tears!
With a faultless rhythm, and a musical rhyme,
And a broader sweep and a surge sublime,
As it bends in the ocean of years."
Mention should be made of the parade given
on the Wednesday morning. By general consent
it was conceded to be the best ever seen in the
town. Many of the participants in the Pageant
marched in groups or companies, and some of
"the get ups" were certainly ludicrous if not
lovely. A wealth of imagination was displayed

The Pageant. 221
in the ' ' antique and horrible ' ' section, and a sunny
morning stimulated the prevailing spirit of good
cheer. The Pageant was reproduced afternoon
and evening. In the latter performance, splendid
effects were attained by the use of colored lights
Many in the audience could have said
"How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!
Here we will sit and let the sounds of music
Creep in our ears; soft stillness and the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony. ' '
There was no question in the minds of all who
saw it, as to the value of such a celebration. To
many it will ever be a pleasant memory. It
entailed hard work but it was willingly given,
and the strong spirit of co-operation was the
reason for the Pageant's success. Time was given
by many even when a financial loss, the use of
teams willingly furnished, and one man brought
over his yoke of oxen from Chippenhook, caring
for them between performances without charging
the town a penny.
It is the public spirit in its best forms for which
the town should stand, and anything that calls
forth the manifestation of unselfish interests and
the development of public good, should receive
the commendation of all. It was this spirit ex
pressed in prophecy that inspired the song:
"I sing New England, as she lights her fire
In every Prairie's midst; and where the bright
Enchanting stars shine pure through Southern
night,
She still is there, the guardian on the Tower,
To open for the world a purer hour."

222

History op Wallingford.

REV. WALTER THORPE.

The years
will come and
go and each
general ion
will add its
quota to the
preceding
one, but only
as there is
shown a true
respect for the
noble and
pure, an exal
tation of that
which is just
and right, will
there come an
abiding satis
faction to in-
d i V i d u al or
national life.
This is the les
son of history,
it is the result
of experience,
so ' ' Build thee
more stately
mansions, O
my soul
As the swift
seasons roll!

Leave thy low vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free.
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting
sea."

MEMORANDA

MEMORANDA

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