The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1881-01-28
The MIddlebury Road. the Past Years.

cred from our clay roads, especially in |
he muddy seasons, when they became !
lext to impossible. II is proved that
With q comparatively small outlay they !
IAN be remedied, and in this way various ,
drawbacks to the prosperity and value
Of our county removed.
In the first place, efforts were made
by the village to reclaim the village
roads from the mud. believe the vii
lage was especially indebted to Mr..
Wainwright aud John But
tolph for the start in this matter. A
gravel bed was bought on Chapman
Hill at the low price OF three hundred
dollars. In 1874 all act was secured In
the legislature entitled: "Au act
amending an act incorporating Middle
bury village" wherein II was enacted |
that the highway tax for the village of
Middlebury should be paid in money,
and drawn from the treasury by |
the trustees and shall lie expended by |
them in building, maintaining and re-
pairing the street highways, walks,
alleys aud lanes of said village. This
tax has netted about S1100 year,
during the last six years, and In the
same time the trustees have expended
on highways and walks $S117.6S, or
about $500 more than the amount OF
tax. Quite a share of the village roads
are now in very good condition, all
ofthem improved; but some of them, mo-
tably Weybridge street, South street and
Seymour street, need thorough dres-
sing of gravel, Unfortunately Mr..
Buttolph, under whose able manage
ment much of the work had been done,
was left out last year and apparently
little progress was made. Let us hope
that the trustees will serve us better
this year and the job will be finished.
With the tax from the increased grand
list this can be easily done.
We come now to the beginnings on
town roads outside of the village limits.
The first move was made near Branch's
kettle on the East Middlebury road
Mr.. Boyce, Mr. Remele and Mr.. Ham,
mond, selectmen, having drawn dur,
the refuse stone of the White quarry to
build about forty rods of road, in the
season of 1873 this stone was broken
and graveled, making somewhat mar
row road, but the part near the Kettle
has proved very good, at cost of 1862.
70, or about 81 rod. This road has
been regarded since at cost of about
40 cents per rod.
The idea of these stone was the inspi-
ration that suggested how the mud of
this East Middlebury road. which for a
hundred years had remained the same,
could be conquered.
In the winter of 1889 more stone
were drawn, Mr.. Allen r. Foot, first
s,lectnan, and Mr.. Halliday supetin-
tending the job. These stone were
placed by Mr.. Halliday iu the spring of
1879, after the Telford system, pave
ment Of large stone at the bottom with
broken stone on top, and graveled d.
The gravel was got at the Boardman
pit near by. Whole distance built by
Mr.. Halliday, 1876 rods, including 10
rods partly built the year before. Cost
of drawing stone. S240. Placing and
breaking, 800. Crawling, S235.21.
Total S575.2l, or about St.60 a rod.
The stone on the road were placed y
feet wide. The road has proved very
good excepting somewhat narrow. A
little more gravel, at small expense,
was placed last season upon one end,
perhaps forty rods of it.
The third bit OF road built was from
the guide board ct village limits on
the East Middlebury road to meet the
stone road near Branch's kettle, 100
rods. There were no stone used on
this piece of road. 1t was turnpiked
by Mr.. Buttolph at the very moderate
! bill of S62.75. 1t was afterwards gray
eled by Mr.. Allen II. Foot and Mr..
William Goodrich, at cost of S175.
The gravel was fiom the hill, distance
about one mile, and put three loads
abreast. The same fall two loads more
abreast were put on at cost of S93.50
Total cost S330.25, or 8 2.75 per rod.
This road Is also narrow, otherwise il
has proved a good road, and has
needed no repairs since the last grad
ding.
The fourth piece of road from the
village to e. j. Matthew's, 40 rods.
This is also gravel road. Turnpiked
by Mr.. Buttolph; cost S10915. GRAY
cled by him from the hill in the spring
of 1879, light dressing, S103.90.
This road, like others built on the
same plan, has been too narrow a fault
that is partially remedied by time. The
gravel did not prove sufficient, and last
spring went through into the clay.
This summer it was re-graveled, two
L
per load, making the whole cost $3.50
per rod.
The fifth job was the Munger street
road from the village to the track of the
marble railroad beyond Mr.. Ham,
mond's, 230 rods, done in the season of
1879, by Mr.. George Hammond. This
was turrpiked, then graveled from the
hill, and like all of Mr.. Hammonds
jobs was very thoroughly done. 1t
cost &5l4.l7, or 1926 per rod. There
has been nothing laid out on this road
since, and il is in good repair.
There was also laid out in 1879, ne.
pairs OH Carr hill, with stone and
gravel by Mr.. George Hammond; o
very thorough and much needed Job at
cost of SlO8. The swale beyond Mr..
Ed Matthews was filled up with stone
and gravel by Mr.. Hammond. Wheel
er hill and College hill were also turn.
piked aud graveled.
AT our last town meeting, the town
instructed tho selectmen to finish jobs
begun near Mr. sPreston's, aud on the
East Middlebury road between the ket-
tie at Branch's and the Halliday road.
The first distance was 80 rods; the Sec
ond, 20. Both have been built by Mr..
hammond and Mr.. Severance, with
stone bottom 16 feet wide and graded.
Stone were drawn on wheels, thrown
promiscuously into their places, with
very few broken on top. The first Job
is a very good one; the second will
probably need better quality of gravel
OH top. The first job cost about IS. per
rod; the second about 50. This does
not include the expense Of culvert on
the East Middlebury road, but does in
clude the heavy filling of stone by
which the grade of the hill 10 lessened. |
There has been besides, this year, a lit
tie laid out on the road leading to
North Middlebury marble quarry, and |
at Beaver Brook near East Middle
bury.
1t results that there has been expen- /
ded by the selectmen during the last
three years in building gravel aud |
stone roads about $4,000. For this we
have little more than three miles OIL
Il