Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1883-06-20

he was going t. Connecticut emediatly
and would see Mr.. Green and upon his
return he would give an answer in full.
On his return one of the committee waited
on Mr.. SpooIer again and askt him il he
could be INDUCED with the types. Mr..
Spooner answered he could and he would
move to Westminster as soon as the court
house might be repaired so as to make it
convenient for his business and he could
procure paper"
But some way the negotiation with
Alden fell through and Judah Paddock
Spooner in connection with young Timothy
Green were the ones who started the first
Vermont newspaper at Westminster,
February 70, 1881. The court house there
the one where George the Third, his tory
crew" shot William French) had been
fixed over and was the printing office
Here comes question which we have
never seen satisfactorily answered-which
is where did the press used at Vests instel
come from.
A writing office" at Westminster was
confscated in October, 1880, and Mr.
Walton at one time surmised that this
was printing Office" 1t belonged tt
one Samuel Gale a surveyor and it seems
more likely that It was nothing more thar
things belonging to Gales profession and
that it had not anything TO do with the
printing business. The other and gener
ally accepted statement is that j. P
Spooner and young Green brought up 9
press from New London to Westminster
This may be so but there are some things
that make it al least chance that the
Dresden press was the one taken tc
Westminster.
Late in 1880 Judah Paddock Spooner
made trip to Dresden "for types" and
one Lieut.. Thomas Butterfeld makes a
charge under date of January "a, 1880
(which undoubtedly should be January "a
17Sl,) for "helping move the printer.
Whether this moving the printer" was
from Dresden or New London and
whether press was one Of the things
moved farther investigation may show.
1t is generally conceded that wher
George Hough and Alden Spooner started
their paper at Windsor in 1888 they took
the press that was at Westminster and
moved it to Windsor. This press which
is now in exietence and at the State
House in Montpelier is probably the frs
press ever set up in New England-tht
one on which Stephen 1--WE think the name
was Stephen but give it without authority
before us) Daye did the first printing a
Cambridge and which went from his
hands into the possession of the Green s
was taken to Connecticut and about Isl
years after its first use in Cambridge
found its way to Windsor either. first
from New London to Dresden in 177S, ORES
den to Westminster in 1871 and Westmin
ster 10 Windsor 1888; or second from New
London to Westminster in 1881 and from
Westminster 10 Windsor in 1888; or thirt
from New London to Dresden in 1878 ant
from Dresden to Windsor in 1888.
We think that Robert Perkins of the
Springfield Republican knows more abou
this old press and the early Vermont
printing than anybody else and are in
hopes that by the time the Vernon!
Journal is really one hundred years old il
will have a real history of itself written by
him or from information that he can give.
There are, by the way, at least two copies
of the Journals first issue august Z,
1889 now in existence; and Il full file of
it for its first twenty.eight years, making
a very valuable magazine of information
as to the early history of the state.