The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-09-05
CORRESPONDENCE.
How TO Improve the Water Power OF
Bennington : The View from the
Hagar Clearing. -.

SSAaAsASA SAN0 @@@NNS
How TO Improve tho Water Power o.
Bennington = The View from the
HaEar Clearing. -..
WooDFoRD, VT, Sept. ID, 1889.
To the Editor of the Banner :-Wber
the late Seth B. Hunt was building hi
large wooden mill, now, together with thu
extensive Fisher addition, the property oil
1.-THE John s. Holden Manufacturing
Company" suggested to him the feast
bility of increasing his water power, and
Of course that of all the mill owners Of
the village, by building q new dam al
the outlet of the pond here, below the
present dam and also Of greater height
asked him to send up his engineer sc
as to ascertain the probable cost Of such
a dam and the amount Of water that il
would retain behind it. He fell in with
my proposition readily, and the engi-
neer, Mr.. Wright, came on and made
the measurements and the calculations
1t was found that by going below the
present dam to a spot where the land il
suitable for the construction of the kind
Of dam required, and by raising it to the
height allowable without altering the
highway, the amount of water retained
behind such a dam would be eight times
the amount then retained. The pond
would be about twice as long as it ID
now, as it would be Isngthenei at both
ends. We found the cost to be quite
small; the precise figures 1 do not re-
member. The report was satisfactory
but why was the work not done and
why has it never since been done The
reason is probably this. The water that
runs from the pond to carry the saw
mills OF Woodford City does not reach
the mills of Bennington till some hours
afterward. What is used here in the
early part Of the day is of value at Ben.
nington in the latter pert; what is used
in the latter part here runs past the Ben
nington mills in the night.
This, believe, was the experience OF
the Bennington mill owners who did lay
-, out large sum Of money at the Wal
Inns mill and Stamford Pond, up the
Dunnville stream, for this very purpose.
The dam at this pond went out, il re-
member Alright, in the great freshet OF
1869, and that was the end Of that ex-
pertinent. Naturally its repetition was
not sought at the Woodford pond,
thought the cost here would be but a
small proportion of what it was at the
Wallins mill. But there is way to pre-
vent this passage of the water past the
mills of Bennington in the night, and
that is the very simple one Of stopping
it before it gets there. A dam, or more
than one, could be constructed, at small
cost, below the Woodford mills to retain
the water in the afternoon for the pur-
pose of releasing it before morning, go
that it would find it's way to Bennington
in season for the mills there. In this
way both the Woodford mills, and the
Bennington mills, could get the use OF
all the water that flows from the pond.
A few years after my talk with Mr..
Hunt l obtained, at some cost, the con-
control of the outlet of the pond. The
subject OF the control was in dispute, the
owner of the land at the outlet claiming
it and the mill owners here asserting
that he had no right It. Without ever
looking into the legal claims OF either
party l bought the small farm Of the
owner at the outlet and gave life lease
of it to him, 80 long as either he or his
wife should live. This satisfied him and
moreover, converted him into friend
OF the lumbermen here, instead Of an
enemy. He no longer stood, pitchfork
in hand, to drive off the mill men who
came to open and shut the gate, thereby
damaging his crops, but would open and
shut it willingly himself.
Often, as now, when have been here
have talked over this old project oil
vo;a;n~ "nadforI Yond hu tho On.OnaFa,
ton of the lumbermeD here and the
owners Of mills in Bennington. The
owners here would readily enter into
any feasible plan OF cooperation. The
projected dam or dams below Woodford
Getty" would create water power that
would be Of some value though small, az
the control would be with the Benning
ton mill owners.
rode up to-day to the Hagar Clear
ing, the view from which is 30 fine and
which have 80 often enjoyed. The at
mosphere was not clear and the view
was therefore INSTRUCTED. l could moi
look down on the Maiu street of Ben
nington Centre nor off into the State oil
New York, as one can on a clear day
nor on the other hand far into the Valley
of the Connecticut, but the view wal
fine nevertheless. This clearing il
one OF the few spots in South Western
Vermont to which a carriage can bt
driven and find 80 extensive view. II
is on the divide, on the summit Of the
Green Mountain range, between the wa
ters of the Connecticut and the Hudson
and few rods either way takes YOU
from the one slope to the other. Thu
clearing here was begun many years age
when "coaling" was going on for thu
old furnace company on what is now
the Shields place, and has been continued
at intervals almost ever since. A flint
mountain farm is one result, where sucf
crops as can be raised at such an eleva
ton grow luxurianIly and yield bounti
full return. 1t was too late in the season
to hear the click of the moving ma
chimes in the stout grass, but earlier i
could have been heard.
CHAs. NJ. BLISS.