The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1890-10-04


advantage of the opportunities offered, and
in all portions of our land business and pro
fessional circles have been enriched by the adj
diton of young men with sound minds in sound
bodies whom we have sent out. The extent to
which Vermont has ministered to the wealth
of other states is indicated, to some extent, by
the census of 1850, by which il appears that, of
her native-born sons, there were then residing
in Connecticut. 3,476 in New Hampshire,
1900; in Massachusetts, 26,la3 in New York,
3l,27l the majority of whom. / think it is safe
to say, were to be found in the cities and vii
lagos of those states. The same source of in
formation reveals the fact that of natve-born
Vermonters there were then residing in Penn
sylvana, 5000 in Kansas, 1890; in Ohio, l.0G4
in Minnesota, 500 in Iowa, l2,29I in Mchi-
gan. l2,5SS in Illinois, l4,5!3, and in far-oH
California 1861, so that, comprehensivey
stated, there were then residing in the United
States i:N,O4l persons who had been born in
Vermont, and of this whole number only 2jl,-
$50 or about - per cent of the whole. were
then residing in Vermont. That this exodus
proceeded from the more purely agricultural
towns is, think, generally admitted; but, if
proof were needed, glance at the census tables
since 1880 would probably satisfy the most
skeptical mind of the fact In the county of
Addison, one of the finest for agricultural pur-
poses in the state. though her villages increased
in population and Importance, there was be-
tween 1870 and 1850 n decrease in her popula-
tion of about 100. In 1880 Bennington county
had l. ,4GS inhabitants 20 years later, in 1880.
only 1857, but through growth in manufac-
lures and the opening up Of quarries her popu-
lation i'll 1880 had come to he ~, 800. In
Caledonia county the population. which in 1880
was 2O.96I, had come in 1850 to be 23,Gu7, a
gain largely accounted for in the growth of
two or three of her larger villages. In 1880
Chittenden county had population OF u. 80;
in 1850, -, 81 and in 1850, 32,792, a growth
largely attributable to Burlington's prosperity.
In Orange county. which is peculiarly an agri-
cultural region, but which possesses several
prosperous and growing villages the popula
ton decreased between 1870 and 1SSO from
- 80 to 800. The population of grand old
Rutland county also decreased in the ~ years
between 1880 and 1850, but on the opening of
her quarries and the establishment of manu-
featuring industries her population began to
increase, and between 1880 and 1850 she had
made gain of about ll,UOO. In Washington
county the gain of 1900 between 1850 and 1850
was largely in the villages. and the gain during
the last ten years (the greatest of that of any
county in the state has been mainly i'll Barre
and Montpelier and is the direct result of the
opening of "A large number OF granite quaIIies
at the former place. Notwithstanding the
growth and pro -perity of Brattleboro and Bel
lows Falls the loss of population in Nndham
county between 1880 and 1850 amounted to
1.9S5, while in Windsor county. with some of
our finest and most prosperous villages in her
midst, the falling off during the same period
amounted to more than 1900. All of our
counties have suffered from the removal to
other states of young men from the ranks of
our farmers and the impression which has
generally prevailed that only the back towns
have been affected is i'm nv Indictment mn
founded | am strongly of the opinion that
the exodus began from the towns more ia
Vorably located with reference to railroads and
other great thoroughfares, but was not SO no
ticeable as il would otherwise have been for
the reason that immigration from other states
and countries poured in to take the places of
those who had gone out, Connected with the
building of our early railroads a large immi-
grafton from Ireland was induced and as these
newcomers became acquainted with the exist
ing condition of things and saw the facilities
here offered for obtaining homes they had the
courage and foresight to buy and cultivate
lands and to encourage their friends abroad to
immigrate to Vermont for the same purposes
and in this way it has come about that in many
of our best towns our Irish fellow-citizens have
become the owners of large proportion of the
farm property and are highly esteemed for
their intelligence and success. With the in
crease of manufactures in our larger towns
and the development of our lumber interests in
different sections of the state there have also
come to us large numbers of industrious per
SONS from British America and while GOOD
many of them have purchased land and are en-
gagged in its cultivation it is probably true that
the greater number of them are Gathered in
the business centers
But for the introduction of these now ala
/ r,ents into tho state I annreband tbat tba co,
/ dition we are now called upon to face would
have appeared much earlier: and the fact that
| in the Ten years intervening between IS70 and
1850 the number of foreign born residents in
Vermont decreased from IL ,l55 to i0GS0 indi.
Gates that the tide upon which we had come to
dpnend and which had ministered 50 nnch to
The nrosneritv Of the towns Affected Inv il had
ceased TO flow. The extent TO which these and
other depressinp influences have onproted is
shown Inv this statement of the cornmissioner
that nearly one-tenth of the acreage of the
Il. Il =.
tivated thonph a LARGE nortion of The soil ;e
GOOD NOT wosn ont and can ba mada as fr';tfnI
ms other lands living contiguous which are now
successfully cnltiyated. Tie towns where
these lands are mainly found are what are
i,no'yn ne bacl towns or from tba;r S;t"a+;"n
are at some distance from the railroads n
msnnfactnrinp centers Aside from tbe vaIuf
nf tha;r raai estate tbere 10 con,narat;'ai,