Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-04-21
IN THE LOCAL FIELD.
AWAY BACK IN 1862.
This Village Was Then Forest.

Where the First Building Stockholders
which Followed 49, Where the First
Roads Handsome OF the Early In
dustrIes.
The village of Brattleboro was really
begun by the building of grist-mil by
Governor Wentworth of Portsmouth on
milestone brook, just above the bridge
where Mr.. Emerson's block is, in 1862.
Governor Wentworth then owned all the
land on which the village stands north to
the Unitarian Westinghouse The date is
well fixed by this receipt:
marlborough, Decemb'r 9th, 1862
Then Reed of Wilder Willard four Pounds Ten
Shillings Sterling in full for ok that was
Damnfed by Bringing his Excelency the Gov.
| errors Milestone.
Pdme, JOHN ARMS"
Wilder Willard lived near Fort Drummer,
and John Arms had settled in that year
where the Asylum farm house is. All the
land on which the village stands was then
wild and covered with forest.
In 1772 the widow Susanna Arms kept
tavern where John Arms lived; Samuel
Knight, the first lawyer of the town,
bought land, built and moved into house
that stood about where Mrs. Cune's house
now stands, next north of the Brooks IL
brary. A saw-mill had then been built on
the other side of the brook from the grist-
mill, and one or two small houses had been
built near there.
Gardner Chandler built "shop' where
the WillistOn store block is, but a little
further back, and house and barn where
| the Brooks House is. about 1870. He af-
forwards lived where Col. Hunt now does,
towards Vernon. In 1884 Oliver Wells
had come and lived about where James +.
Estey does, south of the road which ran
about where High street does to the meet
ing-house which was then at West Brat
tleboro. The widow Susanna Arms had
| just sold out to her son Josiah; and FL
nathan Allen lived where the American
House now is, and had saw-mill on the
north side of Milestone brook by the
landing at the river
In 1898 one road led from Hinsdale, now
! Vernon, and from now Hinsdale by fer
ry where Fort Drummer was and where ST.
mon Brooks lives, by where Royal Wood
lives, over Cemetery hill, about where
South Main and Asylum streets and the
old road to Newfane now are, past the
| Summer Retreat, and down where an old
road goes past the Weld place to and
across West river and the meadows towards
street, ran on down across where the depot
grounds are to the small low island in the
river then called Little Spruce island. And
the road, now High street, crooked down
the hill near, but little south of, where
il now is to the main road
Lemuel Whitney lived where Mr.. Dow
ley now lives; John W. Blake, the next
lawyer, where Mrs. Cune lives, north of
the Brooks library; John Humphrey where
the Brooks library is; Samuel Dickinson
where the stores are along south of the
stone block, on the east side of Main street;
| Joseph. Cook on the west side of. the road;
| Elnathan Allen where the American House
is, with garden where the Salisbury and
the next block is, and another garden on
the west side of the road Edward Hough-
ton had store on the land below the
American House where the blacksmith
shop and Mrs. Van Doorn's house
now are. Joseph Clark lived on the
west side of the road where Elliot streel
now comes out and Stebbins's carriage
shop is, and had fulling mill below
on the brook; and Samuel Dickinson had
blacksmith shop with trip-hammer be-
tween the saw-mill and fulling mill. In
that year Elnathah Allen sold his house
and garden plots to Aaron Horsford, then
of Brattleboro, afterwards of Hartford,
Conn, and Oliver Barber, then of Hart
ford, afterwards of New York, merchants
They were probably engaged in commerce
here and between here and Hartford on the
river.
In 1924 the river bridge had been built
20 wears, where the bridge now is at the
west end a few roads below the landing.
The merchandise brought into town, prin-
cipally by boats, in the year preceding,
amounted to $96,963, of which $40, 1853 was
owned by the merchants of the east, and
1000 by those of the west village. John
Holbrook, the governors father, made
paper at the paper mill to the value of
$4,000 to SIP, 200, and did printing and
book binding TO the amount of 10000 to
$25, 900 yearly. Francis GoOdhue distilled
about 5000 bushels of rye at his distillery,
and manufactured about $4,000 pounds OF
wool at his factory; Edward WoOdman
dressed about 5000 yards of cloth and card
ed about 14,000 lounds of wool at his
factory; and Willard d Dickinson made
tinware at their shop to the amount OF
about $4,000 yearly. There was then an
"Aqueduct Corporation" an Engine Com
pany, a Royal Arch Chapter of Free Ma
sons, and the "Bank of Brattleboro;" one
newspaper, the "Brattleboro Messenger;
one apothecary, and one goldsmith; the
Congregational church, "Female Gem
Society,"" and "Juvenile Missionary So
ciety."
Samuel Knight, when he lived wher,
the Cune place is, owned all the lane
from beyond the Terrace to just below
High street, to the river and beyond Oal
street, and used it for a farm. Matthew
Martin owned that on both sides of Mali
street below to near the brook and to tn,
, river. They were the first to sell land TO
house lots, and those above High stree
and for Chambers shop were the frs
sold. Probably the oldest line in the vii
lage is that between Col. Hooker and tn,
, Baptist church, and the next oldest tina
i between the American House and tn