The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1894-08-10

lr the first place it is charmingly situated, bel
M built upon a high plateau which overloo
+ some of the prettiest hill and valley scene
u, in Vermont, and with its admirable DRAMA
# pure air and water it is one of the healthie
spots to be found anywhere. 1t is one of Il
g smallest villages in Vermont or New Englar
o possessing presidential postotfice and it
Z noted far and wide us the home of the large
I dealer in raw calf skins in the world.
: The town of Hyde Park lies ut about IL
: center of Lamoille county and has an area
L 23.040 acres. 1t was granted by the stat
J. Nov 6, 1880, and chartered August y, IT'S
to ,Jedediah Hyde and 81 associates upon tn
conditions that ''each proprietor of the town
ship of Hyde Park, aforesaid, his heirs o
| assigns, shall plant and cultivate five acres o
land and build Il house at least Is feet squar
on the floor, or have one family settled OF
each respective right, within the term of fou
years next after the circumstances of the wa
will admit of settlement with safety, or
Q penalty of forfeiture of each right of land il
said township not so improved. or settled
and the same to revert to the freemen of the
, state, to be by their representatives regranted
to such persons as shall appear to settle and
cultivate the same"
''The surface of the town is very uneven,
and in many parts quite billy, though there
are no mountains. The lowest portion is
reached near the southern line, ut the La
noble River, whence the surface gradually
/
assume almost the character of a mountain
Gus region. The village of North Hyde Park.
located i'm the northwestern corner of the
town, is, however, little if any higher
than the village of Hyde Park, To-
Gated at the southern line, some 10
feet above the aluvium of the river LA
moille). With the exception of a few sandy
plateals. the largest of which is in the eastern
part of the town, crossed by the old Walcott
! road. the soil away from the river beds in
clay, and well adapted for wheat and grazing.
Trees of a deciduous nature predominate-the
pines being found upon the rough slde-hllls
and on the sandy flats. The sugar maple is
very common. the original growth OF this
tree having been quite generally spared. The
principal river is the Lamoille, which flows
across the southern part of the town, then
drops south into Morristown, to enter Hyde
Park again in the southwestern part OF the
town. The other streams of Importance are
Green River and Rodman Brook, though |
there are numerous minor brooks and streams |
many of which afford excellent mill sites.
The most striking feature in the surface ofthe
township is the cluster of ponds in the north |
eastern part. They vary in size from one to !
150 acres and there are about 20. Great pond |
is the largest. Most of them are supplied by |
springs beneath the surface and are the sourc-
es of brooks which ultimately reach the La
noble river. A few have apparently neither
inlet nor outlet and are entirely surrounded
by primeval forest"
The ponds referred to in the above extract
form one of the attractive features OF the
township and are famous fishing grounds for
visitors to the village of Hyde Park and its
permanent residents. Hyde Pond in the east
ern portion of the town on land owned by
Geo. Wilkins, has been leased by Z. Il. swift, |
C. NJ. Strong. F.. r. Childs and f. l.. Moves,
who will erect a club house in the near future
and otherwise embellish the surrounding
grounds. This pond is full of trout weighing
from two to five pounds There are other
ponds containing trout but the larger portion
swarm with pickerel, pout and black bass.
The first settler in the town was John Me-
Daniel. of Scotch extraction. SIN person Mr..
McDanielwas unusually large and command
ing, being some six feet two or three inches
IN height-the very ideal of backwOods piO-
leer. His name will long be held in remem-
orance in Hyde Park. He reached the town ;
With his family July 4, 1877, and immediate {
y proceeded to erect Il log house. This was
n the eyes of the early settlers, IL handsome S
structure, being made of the best spruce logs {
he bark peeled off and the roof made partly !
If large shingles. The floors were of bass t
wood planks, split and hewn This elegant |
such it then by comparison was !
was located about mile west of Hyde Park I
-illage. His house became the headquarters {
md temporary home of those who came after ]
he being almost father to the |
trowing settlement. When the Hubbells the {
Ioneses, the Taylors and the Guyers of Wal il
oft, came up to prospect and to effect a set p
cement, John McDaniefs house was their r
esting place, until they could look around "
nd commence fairly for themselves. So es- h
'ecially of the early settlers of Hyde Park. Il
When JabeZ Fitch arrived he was welcomed p
nd treated with great courtesy and kindness n
he old house was finally superseded by Il
more commOdious structure where Mcdaniel ft
ept a hotel for many years. He died on 9
August II, 1884, aged Sc years and was in Il
erred in the old cemetery on the Hyde place. ia
Mr.. Mcdaniel was soon joined by William q
,orton and family from New York who with fl
lr. McDaniefs family were the first families $
D spend a winter in the town. They were fiji
lined the next year by Capt. Hyde, Peter pi
lartin, Jabez Fitch and sons and Ephraim BIZ
iaryn, who were followed in few years by 6,
aaron Keller and family, Truman Sawyer, al
!on.N: p. Sawyer and others with their fam of
les. The first settlers suffered all the priva- la
ons of life in the wilderness. The nearest re
rist mill was at Cambridge, Is miles distant.
he town was organized in 1901 and for W
eriOd of 80 years after that its growth was W
cry rapid. The original records were writ OO
N in a durable blank book by Jededah Hyde Gu
roprietors' clerk Nathan p. Sawyer. justice pa
the peace and prOprietors' clerk and by by
aron Keller, town and propretors' clerk. In
he handwriting of the latter is unusually tn
pc
Were it within the province of this sketch 10
ere are many personal items and events that he
ould be of much interest to our Hyde Park
aders, but fortunately they are preserved st'
II future generations in book form. Ii is a ST.
pride which prompts that deep in re
rest one always feels in the early history of err
5 community. One of the greatest days in be
e history of the village of Hyde Park was DO
e centennial celebration in 1857 commence TIN
ting the first settlement of the town by Mr..
cDaniel. to
According TO Rand. McNaly Il Co.. the or
pulation of Hyde Park (yillage) is 400 souls pc
was a very small place, indeed, when it in
~ made the county seat. The erection of er
c Jail and court house in 1886 Doth of W hich
e still used, only with important additiOnsl Ing
We new life to the growth of the place su,
eyious to that a store had been kept for his
any years by Oliver Moves and his son pr,
'eed, on the old Moves place. The postoffice so
Is also kept there. But in 1886 things were att
anged. In 1910 there were 20 dwellings bel
o stores, three hotels and several mechan- tha
: shops. de;
To-day the mercantile interests of the place in
mmand trade from large territory. Aside gr,
I'm the stores mentioned elsewhere there is IN
creditable drug store of l.. b. sherwin. ain
: harness shoy of A. LaIage, the millinery I'll
re of Mrs. Brown, the large firm of Child. fro
ait Il Co., dealers in wagons, carriages. VIII
ighs. farming implements. horses and lum- the
r and who are doing autonomous business has
o blacksmith shops: two wagon shops: the MT
ampion Creamery, which was the first the
'amery built in LamOille county. and which ord
been very prosperous; and SlaytOn's nei
rdwOod flooring mill. This mill has been tina
operation five years and has manufactured OF
million feet of flooring per wear. ID Is nes
arated in connection with the Hyde Park Vol