Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-10-13
SMALL BUT sPUNKY.
Such Was the Town of Acton, about
which Some Further Facts are her,
f.fveu

Such Was the Town of Acton, about
which Some Further Facts are here
Given.
The history of Johnson's Gore, after
wards Acton, partly given by a cores
pendent in The Phoenix, is quite interest
ing, although the town contained but
1O4O acres and was the smallest ever
organized in the county and the only one
ever abolished. Townshend when charter
ed, was bounded on Newfane and Thorn
llnson, now Grafton, on Hampstead, now
Chester. They did not meet, but left this
gore between. 1t was a part of the New
YORK township of Warrenstown, and after
Vermont arose was for while called
| Waltham. The first settler of Bratteboro
| away from Fort Dummer, was BENJAMIN
Moore, at the place of the Asylum farm
house, in 1857. He was killed there bv
Indians in the night of March &, 1853, and
his wife and children were taken to Can
ada. Mrs. Moore returned after about a
year and was afterwards married to Moses
johnson. He was a soldier in the revolu-
tionary, war became a lieutenant in the
active militia, and lived at Putney. This
gore was situated upon very high land
from which Acton brook runs into West
river at West Townshend, Simpson brook
at Harmonyville, and branch of Saxtons
river into that river at Grafton. Riverious
Hooker, John Hooker, and Ruel Hooker.
made settlements on Simpson brook and
Noah Fisher, from Hartford Conn, Flea
ger Fisher and Ebenezer Bivins on Acton
brook in the summer of 1871 and the latter
three remained
On petition the governor council and
general assembly of Vermont, Feb. %.
1852, granted the land to Lieut.. Moses
johnson and 30 others, among whom
were these settlers and Philemon Holden
OF Shirley, Mass, who became a settler
that year, but without the privileges of a
town. None of the other grantees ever
became inhabitants. Bivins was shoe
maker, as was Elisha Covey, who came
after him, and Timothy Fisher after him.
Francis Green had tannery near Simpson
brook where the old road crosses it. He
ground bark out doors by horse power
with milestone turning edgewise round
shaft on bed. David Butler was
blacksmith in the Fisher neighborhood, as
also was Charles Kathan, who came from
Westmoreland. Kathan also had small
stock of goods and kept tavern in the
house afterwards occupied by Dea. Daniel
Fisher And Noah Fisher, ir who came with
his father, kept a store two or three years
where Isaac Fisher lived. William Jennison
came from Sutton, Mass, in 1856 and
settled near the southwest corner of the
gore, where the lane comes out from the
Adams place. The proprietors held meet
ings in Putney for dividing their lands,
but no town meetings were held, officers
chosen, or taxes laid. In 1891 the popu-
lation was 40. BY an act of Nov. 6, 1900,
the gore was made, after Jan. following,
to be town by the name of Acton, with
the privileges of other towns, except that
of electing representatives, but with the
privilege to the freemen of assembling
with the freemen of Townshend for the
choice of state officers and representatives
either in Congress or in the State" and it
was made the duty of the constabes of
Iownshend to warn the freemen of Acton
TO assemble with the freemen of Towns
bend in all freemen's meetings by posting
warning in the most public place in
Acton. A grand list was made, Sept. IA.
1901, on which there were % resident and
one nonresident tax payers. The number
of inhabitants in 1910 was 245, the high
est number ever reached. After 1924 it
was held that under the constitution no
town could be deprived of a representative,
and this town sent one the same as other
towns till it was annexed to Townshend in
lS4l, as stated. 1t never had a resident
doctor, lawyer or minister, but always
stood up for its rights. In 1928 London
derry removed a pauper and family who
had a small poor farm there, to Acton
An appeal was taken and great contest
made. The principle of magma charta,
that freeman could not be moved from his
land, was established here, Acton prevailed,
and the paupers had to be taken back,
which was a great victory, not only for
Acton but for human rights.
The union of the towns was celebrated
by meeting on February l, 1S41, at West
Townshend, which was addressed by Chas.
Phelps, then a practicing lawyer there,
and father of the late Judge James H.
Phelps; Ebenezer Huntington, who, al
though not a lawyer, practiced law with
ability in Acton; John Roberts, then the
practicing lawyer at Townshend; William
r. Shafter father of Oscar l.. and James
NJ. Shafter of Townshend; Samuel F.
Thompson of Townshend, and others.
"Reminiscences of Acton.
I,o ~