Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1892-07-08

] ldlu, Dul were ufOheH up III - t1' luht
Knowlton was there with the court party
and was refused food in strong language on
his way home over Putney hill toy a woman
/ who was on the other side. Nathaniel
Stedman was there too, with the opposi-
/ ton, and helped take some of the court
party prisoners to Northampton Jail. AZ
/ ter the state of Vermont was established
! the courts for this county were held alter
nately at Westminster and Marlborough.
/ The geographical centre of the county was
about half a mile south of these cross
roads. In 1887 the shire was established
at Newfane if the people there would build
a court house. Luke Knowton, who was
then a judge of the supreme court, gave
/ the land in the northwest angle of the
/ cross roads, extending north far enough to
include the burying ground and west to the
/ brow of the hill, for a common and for the
court house and Jail while they should re-
MAIN and the court house was built. 1t
stood a little south of the middle of the
common with the entrance at the south
end and the court room on the ground
]
The building for the jail, with rooms for
the jailer stood in the rear and north of
the court house.
Silas a son of Luke Knowlton, married
Sarah Holbrook, and John Holbrook,
brother of Sarah. married Sarah Knowl-
ton, sister of Silas, at the same time, No
vember 13, 1856. Holbrook had a store in
the southwest angle of the cross roads.
He moved to Bratteboro in 1870, had
store where the American House there
stands, and was father of GOV Holbrook.
He was succeeded by others and by Aus
tin Orchard afterwards of Fayetteville.
and Roger Birchard, his brother, after
wards of Dummerston. 4 tavern was
kept by Luke Brown, probably in the
northwest angle of the roads. Towns I'M
der Vermont supported the ministry. and
this town, September l., 1892, ''voted to
build a Westinghouse forty feet by fifty.
Voted to set said house betwiXt the court
house and Mr. Taylors lane" Mr.. Tay-
lor's lane led to his pasture from the top
of the hill. The meeting house was built
1t stood on the top of the hill by the north
side of the road, on land now fenced in by
wall with the common. A ''horse block
was built near it of stone. for convenience
of those who rode.
The road leading south was built straight
through what is called the Parish, except
as it was bent to pass the deep valley of
Baker brook: the road from Brattleboro
over Wickopee hill came into it a little be
low the cross roads; the road north led to
Townshend past the Benjamin Eager place,
where Mr. Hescock now lives, and the
Sanders place: another road turned east
from it where the Mortified place is, about
a half-mile north from the cross roads, and
led past Thomas Green's and the Allen
hill past Nathaniel Stedman's TO Dyer 5.
The road leading east branched TO where
Fayetteville is and to Dummerston, and
afterward down the river to Brattleboro.
The graveyard was moved from the north
east corner of the common about half a
mile south of the east road. where ii now is.
Gen. Fields house stood at the north side of
the common on grounds terraced up from
the street below; his large barn stood west
above, painted yellow like his house, but
trimmed with brown imitation doors and
windows, and his office stood on the COM
mon southwest of his house. Joseph e.
ls's house stood on land wharfed up in the
southeast angle of the roads. Mrs. Field
and Mrs. Ellis here took from Gen. Field :
the first wagon ride in town. The
horse became SO excited by the strange rig
going down the hin that he ran in at
Judge Knowlton's and jumped over the
barnyard bars with them in the wagon,
which did not break. They were helped
into the road again and went on. The
academy stood on a wharfing above Parson
Taylor's, on the south side of the road
leading west opposite the common. Ches.
ter Pomeroy lived on the west side of the
south road down the first hill Judge
Knowlton built large new house fronting
toward the court house near his old one
which was left standing; Doctor Old:
lived just on the other side of the road
from him. Ichabod Mortified lived where
the roads separate below, Ward Eager next
below him on the road to Fayetteville; Dr.
: Stone, who married daughter of Judge
KnOwlton, next below Mortified at the
foot of the hill on the other road: Col
Ephraim Holland toward the end of the
fiat on the northeast side of the road neal
the Sibley place; Marshall Newton on the
other side at the Sibley place, and Rev
Aaron Crosby next below on the south
side of the road. Luke knowlton MORSE
lived where his son, Oliver p. Morse, ESQ.
now lives, the first house on the south
road to Brattleboro, and Joshua Davi.
next below him. Joshua Morse lived Oh
the other south road next below Pomeroy
and after him his son Amherst, father OF
Saben and of Austin j. Morse and of Mrs
Nathaniel Cheney of Brattleboro. There
were other houses than those mentioned
I along the east side of the road leading
north, the north side OF the road leading
east and the west side of the road leading
south.
The whipping post stood on the common
below the court house. A woman from
WardsbOro was whipped there on her bare
back by the high sheriff for theft in 1907
Persons could be committed to jail on exc
cuton for debt till they paid. Limits ex
tended a mile every way from the iai
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