The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1895-11-15

(3) There were two forts In Walpole. One
was the habitation OF Col BENJAMIN Bellows,
built in 1852, near where the Thomas Bellows
house and barn now stand, shaped like the let
ter l. and built large and strong enough to be
called fort, and about 100 feet In the arms and
20 feet broad and surrounded by palisade.
1t was really built for the defense of himself
and settlers against the Indians, but 1t appears
that he drew men and supplies for It at the plb-
lie expense and II was equipped with heavy
iron cannon by the loyal government, as were
Dummer and Hinsdale, in the chain of defenccs
against Indians. Col Bellows constructed a
look out from the top of his fort into the forks
Vi view in all directions. The other fort was on
the river bank west of the Joseph Wells place
and protected settlers in passing back and
forth from the upper part of Westminster.
~ Judge Thompson is again mistaken in
his dates. Westminster was first settled In 1889
by Richard Ellis who came there built house
al the foot of Wizards or Clapp's hill and
broke up several acres of land under the offer
of gratuity to such OF the propriet1rs as would
f45 Several other settlers came there during
that and the next year; but the settlement was
abandoned on the breaking out of the Cape
Breton war, and 1t was not until 1851 that Q set
element was again attempted, when John Aver
III and wife and son A sa, came from NOrthheld,
Mass, and occupied one Of the two houses found
standing which which was a. the top OF TapP
were in the first settlement, also returned to the
town during 1851.
Westminster was the third town chartered by
New Hampshire, coming next after bennington
and Halifax and the date of Its charter being
Nov ., 1852 But its first settlement was under
Massachusetts authority when II was granted
Nov %, 1735 with what are now nearly its pres
ent boundaries under the name OF Township
No l." by the Great and General court Of Mas
sachusetts TO number Of persons from Taun.
ton Norton and Easton. Mass. and Ashford and
Kellingly, Conn. Most of them were Taunton
men and the town was for this reason sometimes
several meetings the first january H. I7se, had
SURVEYS made, assigned lots to one another. and
in some cases the rights were sold to other
persons by the grantees. Richard Ellis being
purchaser from n one OF them improve sna
ments projected, when,. March 9Th, lao,
the northern boundary line of Massachus-
etts was fixed, and Westminster, as well as
Putney, Dummerston and BraulebOro, which
had added to Connecticut as
equivalent Lands" and the country, sever
al miles TO the south, including Vernon, were
all found to be in the Jurisdiction of New Hamp-
shire. -
Gov Wentworth, Township" No l was re-
and its name changed TO westminster
November 2, 1852.
fp A cut of the court house, with full de-
scription of it. account of the family In charge
and other interesting papers bearing on the SUD-
iect will be given In later note.
80 Cream Brush, the most famous Iory
prominent man for the few years proceeding
t--5 the man who caused the reward TO be OF
tered for Ethan Aliens head and whose
granddaughter afterwards married Alien, was
a = 50 tragicaIly, a good representative OF
xhst the farmers called the court gentry IN
,hass dave A full account of him, with por-
trait will be given In later note