Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1894-03-30

From the 5Oth anniversary number of the
Springfield Daily Republican
To recur to transportation methods of
those early days IL is difficult to portray
the labor required to prope the heavily
laden fat-boats through the narrow rapids
to moorings near the present site of the
railroad arch which spans Milestone brook
at its mouth. A rude windlass inside the
covered bridge, to which was attached a
ponderous rope or cable dragged every in
coming boat through the tortuOus rapids,
turned by half a dozen stalwart men and
aided by more pushers with rude poles
along either side of the ungainly and awk
ward craft The last vestige of these help
full boats decayed at anchor near the Gil
son ferry about the advent of the Civil war,
and score of years after railroad had
supplanted in 1S40, the more tedious
methods of locomotion The experiences
of the "swift water men, in these early
boating times were second only to the
scenes upon the Hudson and Mississippi in
| thrilling interest and aneCdote, and it is
related of an old Chesterfield farmer that
it took him all summer to recount to his
neighbors his hazardous experience on
trip to Hartford.
The population of Bratteboro today,
both in the village and town, is nearly
three-fold greater than in 1914, when the
village had but 800 inhabitants all told
and the town about double this number
or about one-nith of the total population
of the county. The principal merchants of
that day were G.. G. Hall, Williston &
| Tyler, A. +. Dwinell, Calvin Townsley N
Son, Ieotes Dickinson, John II. Wheeler,
G.. ~ c. Lawrence, w. p Cune, Wood
cock & Co. and Dutton IL Clark, while at
West Brattleboro were Orlin Clark Il Co.
and Dunklee n Clark. The manufacturers
were Salisbury ~ Co., iron founders, Jacob
Estey, lead pipe and pumps, A. Barber
GoOdhue, Chaplin n Co., leather, Hines.
| Newman ~ Co., machinists, and the Brat
tleboro typo company, paper. The lawyers
were Asa Keyes, j. d. Bradley, L. G..
Mead, Charles J. Walker and Samuel
Elliot The town representative was La
fayette Clark. The postmaster was F. II.
Fessenden, and Roswell GoodenOugh at the
West village. The town clerk was Stephen
Greenleaf who was succeeded in 1914,
after more than quarter of a century OF
service, by Lafayette Clark. The select
men were Samuel Root, Paul Chase and
5. f. Goodnough. The physicians included
John l. Dickerman, +. j. Higginson, w.
II. Rockwell, John Wilson, Reuben Spauld-
ing, Willard Arms, j. Paige and o. j.
county clerk The clergymen were Charles
Walker, Corban Kidder, Addison Brown,
John English, j. c. Foster and William 5.
Ballou.
Beginning at Milestone brook, the first
building on the east side of Main street
in 1914 was Nathan Woodcock's large two
story, white painted dwelling house, only
the wall-todo ~ that time having painted
houses, In the rear Of this house was the
machine shop of Hines a Newman, look
ing very much as a. the present time.
Next cane the old house OF Anthony Van
Doom and the only ready-made clothing
store in town, kept by r. Franks. This
; was a small, two-stoGy building with high
! basement, in which was the Brattleboro
market. The Phoenix House, now the
: American, came next, which looks much
, the same today as 80 years ago, barring
I the pillars added since. Then came q
block of four stores, the front of all being
2 some 20 to 30 feet further back than a.
present and on the line with the present
1 meat market. These stores were occupied
at that time by G.. Il G. Lawrence for gen
eral merchandise, bookstore, the Ester
. brooks tin shop and Jonas Cutler!
3 bakery. At the north end of this b.ocl
was another large white dwelling-hOuse
n owned and occupied by John II. Wheeler
: one of the successful merchants in tn,
place.
The store now owned by O. j. Pratt wa
~ =. at that time occupied by II. d. Bracket,
= skilled jeweler for those days. Next cam
, John II. Wheeler's general store, thel
those of Ielotes Dickinson, w. p. Cune
j. dry goods, and A. +. Dwinell, dry goods
Most of the merchants kept everything
IL that was sold in general store, including
e liquors, which at that period were princi
J. pally old Santa Cruz rum, new rum, Hol
land gin and brandy. An amusing Incl
n dent is told of a clerk in one of thes
e stores. A customer came in early in tn
}. morning for some brandy, and asked tn
IS young man if he was sure it was the pur
e article. sob, yes, know it is" was tn
n reply, "for Mr.. - made it himself yes
terday" Next north of this building cam
an old wooden building, called Ryther'
Arcade, where the only negro in town
Mr.. Radshaw, kept the only barber shop
Adjoining this on the north was a Ion
SIS two and one-half-story building Gale
"Halrs long building" and standin
n where the Hooker brick block now stands
In this building were millinery stor,
Thompson IL Rangers jewelry store, tw
IL shoemaker's shops, one of whom was th
famous self-made botanist, c. c. Eros
oil Inc pOSt-Otllce was IN THIS building.
an After quite an open space came I'll
wooden store of Hall Il Townsley, then I'll
= stone stores of n. b. Williston hardwar
nr drugs, etc Then we come to the on
" bank of any kind in town, kept in a SINAI
two.story yellow brick building. Epaphr
n, ditus Seymour was president and Horat
nd S. Noyes, cashier. Adjoining was IL
Congregational church, then house ownt
~ and occupied by Mrs. Francis Goodhu
then fine large brick house built by Go
nd Holbrooks father, now occupied by B.
Harris, the houses of Wells GoOdhue, Ma
. Henry Smith and Judge Whitney. TT
Is section of Main street from the brick sto
lu' on the High street corner is now occup
,h- by the Brooks House, Crosby block al
,ht the Vermont national bank On Ma
i IN street opposite the Blake residence and
H. the spot where the Peoples bank buildil
Up now stands nothing was standing but o
'ln of those little one-story, two-room bull
ings, occupied first by Samuel Elliot, aft
by L. G. Mead as a law Office and later
millinery shop.
dep GRAFTON.
elf, Albert L. Rice is in town for a sh,