Daily Yellowstone journal., 1883-12-21
Deserted Farms in Vermont.
Rutland w.t. Herald. ]

Vermont fairs show better butter AMI
theese, better cattle and sheep, than
they did forty years ago, but the farm.
yrs teams do not stand for as good
horse stock as they did then: there are
fewer farms We suspect III NermUht.
there are AS many deserted farms and
decayed towns in southern Vermont
to day as there ever were in our his
tory: at least that is the testimony
given us by very Intelligent farm.
bred LAWYER who las Recently person
ally visited the towns that touch either
side OF the Green mountains, from the
Massachusetts lire to Addison county.
In Stratton, where Webster, in $50,
addressed the great Wing mass-meet-
ing. the farm house where Webster
spent the night is ruin and the firm
deserted. In the woodland you meet
the ruins of the old four-ioot stone
wall; in Somerset you find in the forest
stone walls and the remains of an old
highway; the aecaying abutments Of a
former bridge across the stream are all
that remain of the civilization that was
once represented by n church. grist
mill and country store.
The woodland has so encronched
upon these deserted farms that our
friend is confident there is more wood.
land to day in the mountain towns OF
Vermont than there has boon at any
time during the last forty years. In
the old counties OF Bennington, Wind
ham, Windsor. and Rutland our in.
fornant found. lac assures us, plenty Of
evidence Of deserted farms and decay
ing towns along either side of tho
mountain range, and these deserted
farms are not being reoccupied by any
returning wanderer, although NEST of
these towns are places OF much natural
beauty and attractiveness. Amon,,
these towns are Realsboro, Somerset.
Searsburg. Sunderland, WardsbUro,
Jamaica, Peru, Lanagrove. Weston,
Plymouth, Salisbury, Windhall, and
several mountain towns ia Rutland
county. Our friend thinks that towns
touching the mountains on either side
have been permanently deserted.
The future Of Vermont, ii she is to
increase henceforth largely in wealth
and population, lies in manufactures,
not enlarged agriculture. and this is
true, not only OF Vermont, but of all
New England. If the railroads would
only give manufacturers fair chance
to live, they would increase and multi
ply. The growth of Rutland, Of Bel
lows Falls and of the other places in
Vermont that show large increase il.
wealth and population, is due TO the
development and groNth of manufac.
lures. There is water power enough
wasted in Vermont that, if utilized in
manufactures, would add a fourth 10
our population and wealth in tw Gntv
years. But, until the railroads stop
rubbing ont the manufacturer with
their exorbitant freights, the streams
will be veNed by no new water.wheels,
nor the sky dimmed by any new and
strange smokes.
We presume that deserted farms arc
not so common in the northern half of
Vermont as in the southern part, but
an excellent lawyer of Chittenden
county, who has very large farmer
acquaintance, informs us that hope
lessly mortgaged farms in his county
and section of the state are very COM
mon, and the number OF such mort
gagged farms is something of q clue ~
the severity of the average farmer
fight for competence in Vermont.