The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-11-06

Graves place, which has been patronlzets
by Wilmington during the construction
of the balance of the road to the latter
place.
Here we strike the fertile meadows Of
the Harrington's, Boyd's, Wares and
Others and by an easy grade we approach
the junction of the east and west
branches of the Deerfeld opposite the
old Tanner place, then on through the
Bellows and old Burchard lot, across the
Titus, Patch and Forbes tracks until we
reach the Shafter place, and here just
below the shapely maple grove half way
to the highway, we alight from the first
train into Wilmington, over a grade of
exceptionable evenness and secured, il is
hoped, from high water and ice jams
Wilmington has waited long and pa
tiently for a railroad, and no wonder ller
people rejoice at the promise of future
growth. Soon, we trust, her abundant
water power will be utilized in the whIrr
of spindles and the clatter of machinery.
Already the town has felt the impetus,
and as result, new houses are going u
and many more are contemplated.
/ Even large industries are promised, to
| gether with the machine and repair shopt
of the railroad, and among other thing
large hotel is projected on the Forbes
place.
The large number of summer visitors
who have found accommodation either
at the Vermont house or the spacious
"RapOnda," are expected to return with
their friends another season to find fh-
! creased facilities for their entertainment
The large club house of the Forest ana
Stream club will be ready for occupancy
when several prominent families for the
first time, will spend their summer hera.
The water privileges the whole length
of the line of railroad are valuable, and
some say they will be used to the protft
of manufactures and for the upbuildiDg
| of the several towns named.
The Republicans report gives notes Of
| which we copy part: On the streetIR
Wilmington, that runs at right angles to
Main may be seen a small, one-stUrv
wooden structure with apitched roof. II
has two windows in front and the white
panels of the heavy door have many a
time yielded to the assaults of the heavy
boots of Wilmington's friskY youth. Fc-
many years this was the Office of some of
the smartest and ablest lawyers in the
State of Vermont. Judge Shafter, who
became prominent legal light in Csii-
fornia before he died, the well-known
! Davenports and others in this small
structure grubbed the statutes and aA-
sorbed the principles of Blackstone.
But now the place has become the store
room of an adjoining tin-shop.
| Following the east branch for a mile OF
two the road reaches the depot in Wiz
mingtOn, which is located on the Shat
ter place, about one quarter of mile
from the village tavern. Newton Brothers
now own both the Shafter and Bel
| farms, and it is rumored that a new
summer hotel will before many years be
built there. However that may be, VIII
mington now has the long wished for
railroad, while Newton Brothers. says
| local wag, shave the town. This OK
tensio0 of 13 miles, which is legally
known as the Deerfield Valley Railroad,
cost $4,000 mile, say the builders.
The rolling stock of the whole road will
include several new cars and one or two
new engines.
From the time that Francis Barnard
and his '66 others" built the first village
upon the hill in 1868, until within few
years, the population of Wilmington has
been of the stock that settled New
Hampshire and Massachusetts in the
Colonial days. Scarcely any one of foreign
parentage reached the town until the
hard-working Swedes recently were
brought to cultivate the desolate and
! abandoned farms on the slopes of Hoy
back. Few natives can remember a ne
gro resident in the history of this CVB-
munity.
1t is only few years ago that the Gus
tom was abandoned of ringing the
Methodist meeting house bell to an
nounce the death of a resident. S. L.
Chamberlain, whose life is still spared,
tolled the bell for that purpose very
often while he was sexton from 1866 to
1876, and so did n. NJ. Haskell who came
after him. This was the good old rule:
First, 10 slow strokes to annOunce-a
death; then, after an interval, two mere
if it was man, and three if it was ,WO-
man; and last of all would come thS
stroke corresponding to the age Of thp
one who had died. There are seVerSk
old citizens who remember when Amt
Annie Thayer's mother died. StTe was
104 years old and it seemed as if George
Rose, the sexton, tolled the bell all day,
although by figuring it out you will fina
that to announce the death, age and sex
Of that respected first settler" would
require but two hours of steady tolhnR.