The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1870-04-26
The Frozen Well at Brandon.

While Oh visit to Addison County
VT, last August we heard description
of the wonderful frozen well at Brandon /;
and in order to CRAFTY curiosity ,and con-
firm by the evidence of sight that of the
testimony which we had received, we
made pilgrimage to the spot Leaving
the railroad depot at the village, and
walking about half mile to the west, we
came to the premises of Mr.. David from
bly,. The spot is about a mile from Otter
Greek, and is elevated considerably above
the bed of that stream. Mr.. Trombly
dug the well in the autumn of 1857. In
answer to our inquiries he stated that he
dug through layers of gravel and clay for
nearly fifteen feet, when he came to frozen
earth, through which he carried the exca-
vation nearly ticenty-three feet, when he
reached bed of gravel in which water
was obtained. The well is nearly forty
one feet deep, and about two feet in diam
eter. The water was icy cold. BY the
aid of an ordinary looking-glass, casting
the suns rays down the well we distinct
ly saw the stones forming the wall of the
well near the water, covered with ice.
Seeing is believing, and the partial incre-
dulity grounded upon our ignorance Of
this phenomena vanished before the sight
of the ice and the taste of the water The
family told us that during the last ten
years, ice had formed in the we'll so as to
exclude them from the use of the water
from the latter part of November until
the middle of April. For some years,
they had boy who occasionally descend
cd the well and broke the ice, but since
his leaving, few years ago, they have
been unable to use the well during the
winter and early spring. This constant
freezing shows the phenomena is not tran
sient, but is produced by some permanent
cause.
The Boston Natural History Society,
having learned of the phenomena connect
ed with this well, began some explora-
tions to ascertain the extent of this frozen
stratum. In September, 1859, they dug
a well seventy feet southeast of the frozen
one, passing through layers of compact
clay, fine sand, gravel, pebbles and boul-
dcrs. They found water at depth of
twenty-nine feet They encountered no
frozen earth in digging this well,although
the under side of some of the boullers
was incrusted with whitish substance
resembling frost. The temperature of the
water was forty-six degrees, while that of
the open air was fifty-two degrees. In
the latter part Of the same month, an ex-
cavation was commenced seventy feet
southwest of the frozen well, and prose-
cuted until October 22d, with some inter-
ruptions. At the depth of twenty-nine
feet crust of frozen gravel two inches
thick was found. At thirty-one feet in
depth they dug through stratum of
frozen earth eight inches thick. Two feet
lower they found ice mingled with the
gravel, and the whole frozen into solid
mass difficult to penetrate with the pick.
The men were only able to dig through
a foot of this frozen mass during the
day, and the excavation was carried no
further. While the thermometer ndicat-
ed temperature of fifty-two degrees in
the open air, it descended to thirty-eight
degrees when placed in the bottom of this
well. The ice encountered in this exca-
vation was owing to some cause in the in
terror of the earth, and not to the cold
upon the surface: because, although it
had frozen slightly at the surface, water
remained unfrozen in holes only eighteen
inches deep.
A we'll dug ono hundred and twenty
yards northeast Of the frozen one was car
ried to depth of forty feet through lay
ers of clay and sand, and only reached a
small quantity of water, which escaped
after the clay bed, which held it, was pen.
etrated. This excavation was close to
the high gravel ridge which lies west of
the frozen well.
From an examination Of these various
excavations Professor Edward Hitchcock
inferred that there was great irregularity
in the position and thickness of the beds
of clay and gravel, and that on this ac.
count water would occur at different
depths, and that if the first experimental
well had been carried deeper ice would
have been reached. The regular depres.
sion of temperature favors this inference.
These frozen wells have been before
observed. The Rev. Mr.. Perkins, OF
Ware, Mass, dug well in the summer
Of 1858, thirty-fve feet in depth. One
night the following winter the water was
crusted with thin layer of ice mot thick
er than ordinary window glass The
same thing was observed the second win
ter. This well was inside OF the house,
and of course was so protected that this
frost could not have been produced except
by some internal cause, even had the
cold been sufficiently severe to freeze wa
ter at that depth in wells standing in the
open air.
A well has been described in the Amer
lean Journal of Science, Vol. SO, lst Se-
ries, in Oswego, n. Y. This well was
seventy-seven feet deep, and during four
or five months in the year was frozen so
hard as to become useless to the people.
In winter the sides of the well became so
thickly coated with ice that only space
Of one foot remained between them, and
the surface became so solidly frozen that
it could not be broken by heavy iron
weight attached to rope. The ice con-
tinued as late as July, but disappeared
during the latter part of summer.
This well is situated in the gravel bank
Of the Susquehanna River, about three.
fourths of a mile from the water, at a
point where the ground is elevated about
thirty feet above it. When lighted can
die was let down into the well it seemed
to encounter current Of air at depth
Of about thirty feet, as the fame Aickered
and seemed carried in one direction.
In the Literary Journal published al
Concord, N. H.. in 1923, a Mr.. Caleb
Emery, of Lyman, Grafton County, pub.
lished an account Of his examination of 0