Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1900-01-26
THE ENTERING WEDGE.
Religious Services which Were Held
at Fort drummer.

at Fort Dummer.
| Judge Hoyt II. Wheeler in the Congregation.
alist the first in a series Of nine articles on
/ evolution Of the church In Vermont
On the broad meadow between Venter's
! brook and the Connecticut, now a part of
the town of Brattleboro, close by the
| river bank once stood an irregular, but
substantial, blOckhouse known as Fort
Drummer. 1t was named in honor Of Sir
| William Drummer, then lieutenant-governo
and acting governor Of the province. This,
strangely enough, was the earliest centre
Of religious influence in the state.
The building was begun Feb. 3, 1924.
The second house south of the depot,
between the railroad and the river, stands
| partly upon its site. The country for
many miles north was then within the
I province Of Massachusetts Bay, and the
fort WAS built by that government. Lieut..
Timothy Dwight of Northampton was first
commander and superintendent its building
Of native pine timber by carpenters from
Springfield and Mortified, some of whom
were Indians. Inside the wall were a num-
Der of small buildings surrounding and
facing parade ground and so constructed
that the back wall of each was a part of
the wall of the fort, while a single roof
sheltered all. There was also an under
ground passage from the river into the fort
Col. John StoddaTd of Northampton, in
writing Governor Dummer about the fort,
said: " Dwight thinks they should lead
heathenish life unless a chaplain be
allowed, and, besides the advantage the
English soldiers may receive from him, it
may possibly be an opportunity TO Chris
tianize the Indians, which the assembly
lin the former part) seemed very DESTROYS
Of" The General Court voted on June
following that DR.. Mather, Mr.. Coleman,
Mr.. Sewall, Mr.. Wardsworth be desired to
procure person of gravity, ability and
prudence" to be nominated TO the gov
ernor for his approval as chaplain. Rev.
Daniel Dwight was nominated and APP
proved. Besides doing his duty as chap
lain, be was especially enjoined to instruct
the Indian natives residing Whereabouts in
the true Christian religion" He was
allowed 800 as salary, more than was paid
his brother Timothy, who had then become
Captain Dwight and commanded the fort,
with 80 effective men, of whom 43 were
English soldiers and II Mohawk Indians.
This Timothy Dwight afterward reached
the rank of colonel and-perhaps an even
greater distinction-became, through a son
born at Fort Drummer, grandfather of the
first President Dwight Of Yale college.
This was the first settlement in what has
become the state of Vermont, except that
the first settlement of Northheld in 1862
and years following had extended over
what has since become the line between
Massachusetts and Vermont, and the min
istrations of Chaplain d wight at this fort
we're undoubtedly the first public religious
services of any sort ever held in this terri
tory. There was no other settlement even
vuif In l.,e l. n
In 1870 Rev. Ebenezer Hinsdell was
made chaplain of the fort. He is said to
have been an excellent man, of sound
judgment and good influence. He had
been for several years a missionary TO the |
Connecticut River Indians. In a letter |
written from the fort Jan. 26, 1928, he |
stated that good disposition was preva- !
lent among the Indians, that on Sunday a |
number OF them usually assembled to hear |
him, that child had been presented TO |
him for baptism, which he had refused |
because the parents were not Christians.
that he had endeavored to instruct the |
parents in Christianity, but as vet with no |
success. AT this time the fort was not
manned as such, but was occupied as a
trading post of the province, and called a
truck-house. In l742 Mr.. Hinsdell built a
Tort OF his own about two miles from Fort
Dummer, across the Connecticut river. He
came to be called Colonel Hinsdell and |
practiced medicine and surgery with some
Skill And he continued to preach at both
these posts, and sometimes at others near
oy' Tor many years and with much use
fulness.
After the French and Indian war brol,a
out again in 1744 the truck house was
renamed as fort and in l747 Lieut.. Dud-
ley Bradstreet, jr, son of Rev. Dudley
Bradstreet of Groton, became for a few
months the commander, and Rev. Andrew
Gardner from Worcester, "chyrurgeon "
as well as clergyman, became chaplain.
On Sunday, July II, 174S, after several
disastrous surprises to parties in varions
directions from the fort, causing great
alarm and encouragement, he preached to
the garrison and those from other garrisons
near by from the Revelation of ST. John
III, 81" If, therefore, thou shalt not watch
1 VIII come on thee as a thief, and thou
shalt not know what hour will come upon
Thee" He was the last chaplain at The
lori, which ceased to be such in 1859. In
Ito5 rev. Bunker Gay came to Hinsdale.
when was named after Rev. Ebenezer
Hlnsdell, and then lay on both sides of the
Connecticut. He resided about four miles
south of Fort Drummer on the onnosite
side OF the river. The part of HinsdaIe
on the west side of the river, now Vernon
was part OF his parish The first church
In Bennington, also the first in what ia
now Vermont, was organized in 1863 with
rev. Jedediah Dewey as pastor. Preach
ing services were begun at Westminster IN
1906, by Rev. Jesse Goodell, pastor. and
on Meeting House Hill, Brattleboro in
Iioo. Thus 1t will be seen that the reIi.
glous exercises by the chaplains at Fort
hummer were by many years the earliest
of any In the state. '"'iieS'