Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1864-02-10
own of Franklin County, Vermont years

town of Franklin County, Vermont years
ago.
But what change! Where used to be
swampy pasture land-unsafe for any liv-
ing thing that had not great vig6r in
hoof, fetlock and leg, or in "nimble wing"
through which we used to pass by an
awful road up from the Bay" where we
were landed by the geniel Capt. VIM. An
derson-" long may he wave his boat
of boats, in those days the magnificent
McDonoug ugh"-where that swampy region,
second cousin to the slough of despond"
used to be, are infinite millions of loads
of Georgia sand dumped and reliable foun-
dations for acres and acres of offices. de-
pots, machine shops, railroad tracks, and
whatever is needful in the manufacture of
engines cars, &C., or for hospital pur-
poses in case of compound fracture or 9TH
er injury to the same-and snorting en-
gines, and long trains of freight, and ON
nibuses and wagons, loaded with cheese
and butter, and bales and boxes, and Pc
destrians hurrying, dodging as though
they thought the iends Internal were
crouching ON their track, in hot pursuit
1t struck us that there must be pretty
considerable " long head somewhere, to
superintcnd this concatenation of bust
ness and by the way, it was our good
fortune to be introduced to Nv. Merrill.
the very man competent to that vast over
sight, and still, Of leisure to crafty a
most courteous disposition. '' s...
The extensive works of the Foundry
Co." with a frontage of some ten rods,
and wholesale and retail stores, along the
the Macadamized road, to the Park. and
all modern or rather late improvements
bewildering our recollections, which were
so to speak, knocked endwise" utterly
on seeing the beautiful Gothic pile, where
the old Episcopal church used to stand
built of reddish limestone and looming
up beyond it the Catholic cathedral-and
beside it beautiful specimen of archi.
lecture which our unaided wit could not
name. 1t was so massive, and so fanked
by churhes that we could not suppose it
the Governors house or the residence of
some other of the solid men which abound
there. Our confusion was worse con-
founded on being informed that it was
the school house. Think of that In old
Vermont the banner state in our time
for log school houses. and, poorly paid
school MANS awful pretty neverthe,
less--a school house costing thirty thous
aud dollars, accommodating some five
hundred pupils from A B G. to college
studies, with eight teachers in the several
departments, not including teachers Of
music, drawing, &c.-the whole under
the aNle and appreciated supervision OF
cur John s. D. Taylor. Esq
Just north of it is the new Congrega-
tional church, said to be the most beauti-
fnl in the state certainly the most beau
tifnl VIC have seen outside Of the great
cities.
We had the pleasure of riding around
the village, and meeting our brother Da-
Wis of the Messenger, and congratulated
him on being the burning and shining
light" to such an enterpising, intelligent
and religious people. If we did not
say. we might have said, we would not
object to changing places and positions
with him, were it not for our Kohinor,
and smaller gems, to which we are the
central Stone, and some old attachments
in the matter of political principles,
Friendships and party.
We passed the residence Of Gov Smith
absent at the time, at the capital
Legislature in session-and that of bis
brother. the Hon. Worthington G. Smith
Member of Assembly ,also abseut--whou
Plattsburg people remember as in bust
ness here years ago. where he made 9
pile of money, we presume--at amy rate
where ho found an amiable and beautiful
wife. Their houses are delightfully."- stu
ated in ample grounds, tastefully laid
out, overlooking the village and command
ing a wide view of the Lake Champlair