News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1894-08-16

OF all these forces none is more eff
Gent, obvious, constant and certain
in its operation, more all-pervading.
safe and inexpensive in its applica-
ton, than gravitation. The water.
fall, perhaps, gives its most useful
expression.
There was no way to harness that.
at, or near the North village. There
was a place where that could be done
and that was at the Lower or Mill
village, where the falls of Waterbury
river were. In 1896 Josiah Hurburt
erected a saw mill and grist mill un-
der one roof on the Waterbury river,
where a dam was raised to obtain
what is commonly called a head, but
really to make available the tall of
water towards the center of the earth.
In the course of a few years, these
natural causes sent the main part of
the business to the Lower village.
Observing how things were working,
the dwellers at the North village, per-
hlps not fully perceiving the opera
ton of causes, and influenced partly
by patriotic love for their village,
and to some extent by a spirit of
competition made, what were consid-
cred by dwellers in the Lower village
as rather unwise and unsuccessful, eff
forts to retain business and business
men; and in derision they called
their waning village Fucker Street"
For quite a number of years the
main part of the business was done
at the Lower village. The post-office
and the town clerks office were there;
tannery was carried on there !;
there was the clothing manufactury !;
a large part of the trade was there.
In 1915 Calvin Sartle built a good
sized hotel there, on the site of the
larger one erected by Thomas Down
er in 1916, and now in the occupancy
of Mrs. Isham. The main saw mill
in town was there. At length causes
began to operate which eventuated
in making the Center village what it
now is, the principal village of the
town. ....
Among those causes were these !:
This village is near the geographical
center of the town ; all the roads
come in here as naturally as if they
could go nowhere else. The only
church building which was occupied
by all denominations, and also
town house was erected here. There
was room for a broad street, and
abundance of room on each side of
it, and near it, for buildings of all
kinds, public and private. Most of
the shops and stores soon came here,
with all the offices and residences of
professional men. Soon after 1910
the post-Ottice and the town clerks
Office came here to remain. There
was not sufficient room for the build
ing up of such a village at the lower
one if other causes Acknowledgement
to work the change.
Stowe has suffered severely from
three epidemics. The first was dys-
EMERY. Among those who suffered
was the only resident physician, T. B.
Downer. DIR. Peabody of Montpe-
lier came here and remained two or
three months; and was employed
day and night In spite of all efforts
to relieve, such was the fatality of the
disease that one-eighth of the popu-
lation fell victims to it. This was in
1903 and it was probably the most
gloomy time that the people of Stowe
ever experienced. This was in the
early settlement of the town and
there was great discomfort, many
believing and talking that it must be
very unhealthy region. The gloom
finally subsidized as the people again
took up their busy avocations and
there followed a period of unusual
exemption from sickness of any
kind. In the late winter of IS43,
erysipelas, of very fatal type, pre-
vailed in town, and 81 persons, many
of them prominent citizens, died of
the disease.
In the winter of 1867 Stowe was
afflicted with one of the most fatal
and contagious diseases to which
human flesh is heir. Probably no
town of like population in the State
or whole country ever suffered to the
same extent. Late in the autumn or
early winter a retired clergyman re-
turned from New York and was soon
affected with an eruptive disease,
which he called and probably thought
was chicken pox. In his family was
a grown-up daughter who soon after
was affected in the same way, but
was not much sick. Before the pus-
tules had quite disappeared she at
tended church. She also attended
singing school and an evening party.
Subsequent events showed that the
disease was modified form of small
pox, all of the family having been
innoculated. The result was that in
spite of all that could be done to
prevent the spread of the disease
land vigorous measures were used)
about hundred persons were seized
with it in the natural way or in the
form of varioloid. For several weeks
the face of society was very gloomy
here. Business of all kinds came to
a stand-still. Professional men did
not go to their offices and the mer-
chants had no occasion to be at their
counters News Of the Contaoion