Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1894-01-26
THE FIRST MEETING HOUSE.
Its Location as Fixed by the Early Rec /
Ords---the Town as IL Was In Is0s--a
List of the Grown Wen at That Time.

Where and when the first meeting house
in this town was built has been the subject
of some debate, as shown by the letter of
Rev. Mr.. Grout The town was surveyed
and allotted under the New Hampshire
charter. Five acres were reserved for
common and burying-grOund on the top Of
Westinghouse HILL south of the centre
line, and marked on the plan. They in
cluded the south part of the cemetery now
there, and extended over a part of the
open field south. The place was probably
selected by Col. Josiah Willard, com
mander at Fort Dummer who became
largely interested in the town, and had the
lot out of which it was reserved. The
Westinghouse would, of course, be built
upon this common near the buryng-
ground, as was the custom then. That it
was so built is clearly shown by the laying
out of a road from the Westinghouse to
Ebenezer Hawes's by Thomas Reeve and
Noah Bennett commissioners for laying
out and regulating highways, June %,
IVA; beginning at the burying yard in
the centre line, from there running with
the centre line on the south of said line
the north side of the meeting house to
William Cune's land which was next
west, etc. AS the road was south of the
centre line and north of the westinghouse,
the latter must have been at least the
width of the road south of the centre line,
the place of which there is well known,
and which would take il into the open
field south of the cemetery. The burials
of Elizabeth, a little daughter of Samuel
Wells, in 1865, and Major John Arms in
117O, and other early burials had been
made further east, and the yard did not
extend so far west as it does now, and 60
ing west from it north of the meeting
house might, and as the road ran from the
Westinghouse probably did, leave the
Westinghouse as far east as the southwest
corner of the present cemetery.
After Judge Wells got grant of the
town from the province of New York he
decided the land to the trustees of the town
for buildings for public worship of Al
mighty God; for a burying place, the
profits of the pasturage to be for the use
of the minister; and for training in the
use of arms, or any other useful and en-
tertaining exercise, and every other public
use.
No road led to the meeting house or to
that place on the first Tuesday in March,
l76S. All the roads near there were fur
ther north. On the first Tuesday in
veyor and overseer of the highways to in
spect and oversee that the road from Ma
thaniei Church's to the meeting house" be
kept in good order and repair. This
shows that the meeting house and a road
to it had been then built, and as they
would not be built in January OF February
they must have been built in the season
before of l76S. This agrees with the re-
cords q the pnVauaptars urbo nc ehou.,,
in Mr. CIRCUITS very valuable sermon. were
holding meetings i'll March, 1863, and who
must have built the meeting house, for the
town then by law could not do il.
This first road to the Westinghouse
came up the hill from the north past
where Mr.. Doolittle now lives, and
west OF the burying ground on to the com
mon. Then a road was built from
the east around up near where the
road now goes part way up the hill, and
then turned to the left on to the common.
Then another was built from near where
the first bridge is at West Brattleboro up
to the west side of the common. and then
turned TO the right on TO it, Then this road
leading west, which went along the side
hill to near Samuel Sargent's, crossing the
brook there, was built. The place pointed
out to Mr.. Grout as that of the meeting
house, as mentioned by him, is north of
the centre line, and cannot be the place of
it. Besides this, it is the place of house
which had a cellar, which was not the
fashion with meeting houses then. Itmav
have been the place of the house of David
Church, who owned the land His mar
riage intentions with Demaris Church were
the first to be published in this town
which was done, as certified by Henry
Wells, NJ. D., toxin clerk, according TO
custom He had to go, however, over to
Rev. Bunker Gay, who lived lust this side
of llinsdale village, to get married, which
he did December 20, l76S, because. per
haps, he could not get married here with
out giving bonds, by a law of New York
The building of Westinghouse at that
time was quite an undertaking. In March,
l76S, the number of grown men in town
was %. Their names were Josiah White
John White, Abijah White, Tilly Wilder
lilly Wilder, jr., Wldar Willard. Benia-
min NourSe, Samuel Brown and Willard
King, who lived south of where the village
is. William King, who lived up the hin
above the cider mill at Mr.. Thayers was
furthest west; John Sergeant, Thomas
Sergeant, Benjamin Butterfield. BENJAMIN
Butteriield, ir., Jesse Frost, Jacob Spald-
H. JpSlud W llutI, ltmutl henurlCk, Ben
jamin Gold, Nathan Gold, and Levi Bald
win above West river; Samuel Wells.
Elias Wilder, Elias Wilder, ir, Isaac Ear
heart, Joel Atcherson, John Arms. Josiah
Arms, Joseph Herrck, Jonathan Herrick.
William Nichols, Oliver Harris, Oliver
Harris, jr., Ephraim Knapp, Jonathan
Church, William Ellis, Thomas Ellis. sam
uel Knight, John Baldwin, Jonathan Hobs. |
and Daniel Baldwin, northwest of where
the asylum is; Timothy Church, Nathaniel !
Church, David Church, William Granny.
Israel Field, Richard Prouty, Samuel Kent, |
William Goss, Ebenezer Knapp, John Pike !
and Jacob Pike, in the neighborhood |
about Oscar Wares; Dr. Henry Wells. !
Joshua Partridge, Ebenezer Fisher, Alex |
ander Houngs, John Campton, Jacob Ball, |
Shadrach Ball, William McCune, Isaac |
Mcclure and Elijah Prouty in the neigh |
horhood east and north of the common |
where the Westinghouse was built; and a
Mr.. Burnap, Reuben Bump, Nathaniel
Church, Eber Church, Jabez Davis. Ed |
ward King, Samuel Bennett, Thomas |
Cooke, Oliver Cooke, John Alexander.
James Knapp, Jonas Knapp and SAWYER
Wright northwest of there toward Wico- |
pee hill.
There were grist-mill and saw-mill on
the brook above Main street bridge in what
is now the village of Brattleboro, but
there was no house in the valley of the
ffly l,nV Ill