Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1892-08-12
DUMMERSTON HISTORY.
The Rutherford Hayes Home
stead.

in The Vermont Phoenix, March 20, 1852.
As new interest has been awakened by eN-
President Rutherford b. Hayes's recent
visit. July p. to the old homestead in which
his parents lived before removing to Della
ware, Ohio, in 1917, it is a favorable OPP
portunity to sketch its history briefly from
information obtained from the land rec
ords since the history of the town was
published in 1884.
The Hayes homestead is large, four
rooted. wooden building, two stories high,
surrounded by many shade trees and To-
Gated on plateau which overooks the
fertile valley of the Connecticut and
commands a charming view of long
range of distant New Hampshire hills.
General Hayes was greatly delighted
with the locality and the outlook from it
and said, at is a lovely place. lie re-
NAMED about two hours at the old home
stead and obtained what information he
could relative to his mothers circumstances
while her husband was absent in the West
in search of new home. Soon after the
town was organized in III a burylng
place was chosen at the south end OF the
common, and the first Westinghouse was
located only few rods north of it, In
1892 the town voted to remove the bury
ing-ground' to a new place east OF the
common, and all bodies in graves marked
by headstones were disinterred and buried
on the new lot given for that purpose by
Hosea Miller Two house lots were sold
bv the town at "Publc Ncndue,' May l6,
1893 on the land which had been used for
a burial ground. John Laughton, county
surveyor of lands and roads, bought the
lot on which the Hayes homestead now
stands, containing 445 perches for e3O4.
Lieut.. Solomon Cook bought the other lot,
containing 54t perches, for BIZ. They sold
the lots to Simeon Colby May s, 1894, for
$50. Mr.. Colby probably builta house that
wear, for the town voted, July /, 1875, THAT
Simeon Colby have liberty to set Horse
Shed west of his House near the Brook.
Mr.. Colby manufactured pearlash in lit
tie building west of the brook which the
town gave him leave to set there in ll93.
Mr.. Cook sold him. in 1901, narrow strip
of land adjoining the house lots on the
south side On May 20, 1902, he sold his
house and land to Eben Ash, cordwainer,
for $3.50. Mr.. Ash occupied the place
five wears and sold out to Asa Black of
Putney, who was a tavern-keeper and kept
public house there for seven years. In
1910 he bought of the town the land on
,;,l4 81, ,1l hor
the same year he probably built the store
which stands only a few feet east of the
house, as no store had been mentioned in
any deed of the land up to this date. 1t
was long, narrow one-story structure, a
portion of which now remains as the back
store of the building in which Hon. Asa
Knight was trader for many years. Asa
Black sold the store, with about II square
rods of land, Jan. y, 1911, for s4OO, to
Josiah Hastings and Joshua Tyler, traders
from Chesterfield, y. H. They continued
in trade there till April, 1915, when they
sold to Amasa Clark and he, in November,
1917, disposed of the property to Francis
Goodhue Joseph GOOdhue and John k.
Blake, all of BrattlebOro. In March, ISIS,
Joseph sold his interest to Francis Good
hue. Goodhue d Blake continued in trade
till November 1920, when they sold out to
Adm Thayer of Marlboro. John F.
Stearns & Co. occupied the store at that
date. Mr.. Stearns had been a salesman in
the store so early as 1916, remembered as
the cold season or poverty year.
Thus it appears from the evidence here
given that Noyes Il Hayes never owned Oh
occupied the little store at the south end
of the common, as stated on page 100 in
the history of Dummerston. The writer
was misnformed at the time the histo-
nv of the town was written. The same
mistake appears on page 100 in what was
quoted from the Boston journal of Aug
Is, 1877, reported at the time when Presi
dent Hayes came to Vermont to visit hi'
uncle. Austin Birchard of Newfane. i
was in the old red store on the east side o
the common that Rutherford Hayes frs
engaged in business, being at the time 2
years of age. Gen. Jonas Mann and Hon
John Noyes of Brattleboro were his part
ners in trade They bought the store Apri
II, 1911, for 1928, it being then a part o
the Samuel Porter estate. Mr. Hayes wa
salesman for the firm and boarded with (
family living near the store. The date o
his marriage to Miss Sophia Birchard o
Wilmington is not known to the writer
but it must have been within two or tire
years after his coming to Dummerston.
Gen. Mann continued in the firm tire
wears. He sold his interest to his partner
June /, 1914, and the firm became Noye
& Hayes. They bought, the same year
October p, of Asa Black, his house AM
land at the south end of the common, TO
$1,000. Mr.. Hayes, with his family, tool
possession Immediately. John NOyes di
not become a resident of this town til
1917, after his return from Congress
Probably his removal to Dummerston wa
on account of Mr.. Hayes having sold al
his interest in the store, house and land t
Mr. Noyes, June II, 1917 for $1,000 H
went to Ohio soon afterwards in search c
new home and left his family with MI
Noyes, who was to care for them durin
his absence. Mr.. Hayes was a member {
the firm six years and Austin Birchard b'
came his successor in 1917 and continue
in trade two years, the firm name bein
Moves Il Orchard. The firm was dissolve
in 1910 when Roger Birchard was receive