Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1909-08-19
OLD HOME WEEK ropIc
: Glance at the Early Days o. cha,-
sea.--Old-TIm Dolno.

eAou Win It's NTH Old Home Wet -
servAnce it may be of Interest to msnv -
elancs backward to the early davs ~ ~ ~
town around which so much Interest =
centered at this time. 20
New York in 1855 divided the teyr;,o,v
including what is now the state ~ w.
mont into four sections or conntias 49,.
southeastern being named CumbsrIand
~ Aa1e, the Vermont legislature fividad
the state into two counties, Cumberlsnd
ana Bennington, with the Green Noun
talns as dividing line. Cumberland 4,
Ilel was divided into three conntiss
windsor, Windham and Orange. the lat
Yer extending from Windsor to the Cana
da line. ma
In the year 1850, the Vermont leeisla-
ture granted tract OF wilderness Of M
square miles to Bella Turner ana Others
and named the tract Turnersbnro
probably the first " hite man to enter This
grant OF wilderness which Is now Chelsea
was IN the summer Of 1884, when three
men, following the stream up from the
white river, decided what is now the viii
lage OF Chelsea was desirable location IA
make their stand for a future home
these men were Thomas Moore. Asa
BOND and Samuel Moore, all having start
ed from Winchester, Nh. II a said
thomas Moore bought OF the original
grantees tract OF 800 acres of land com
prising what is now Chelsea village and
extending back into the hills on either
side and paid 81 per acre for the same.
He built the first log cabin in what is
now the old cemetery just back from the
main street on the exact spot, it Is said.
where the monument erected to Amos
Hatch now stands. Two, at least. of
these three pioneers, Thomas and Samuel
Moore, are buried only a short distance
from this spot.
While these three men mentioned are
claimed by all the historical writers OF
the town to have been its first settlers,
the question Is an open one, for the same
year four brothers, Jonathan, Joel, Jacob
and Jesse Wills, made their way from
Windham, Conn, mp the other valley and
across the bills to the west part Of the
town and built log house about 80 rods
southeast Of the old house now standing
and formerly occupied by the late George
H. Hardy.
Other pioneers soon found their way to
this locality and the little colony became
large enough to have a town organization
and the first town meeting was held
@sARA@A oAf AAEDs Alc uMluG 1uTuCTHOuTR
did not seem to be popular with the set
tiers, for in the fall of the same year we
find meeting petitioning the legislature
to change the name and the next call for
town meeting was headed "Chelsea.''
Bella Turner, 1t seems, never came there
to live and presumably the citizens did
not care to have their town named for a
man who did not come to share their
hardships of pioneer life.
The first town meeting was held March
81, 1888, and Asa Bond, Joshua Lathrop
and Roger Wales were elected selectmen
and Enos Smith, town clerk and treas
urer.
The first Town hall was in 3 building
on the site where the bank now stands,
and it was here the first session OF Orange
County court was held after Chelsea be-
came the shire town. Here also we're
held the Sunday services for the town for
many years. This building after use for
these purposes for a long time was
moved across the street and remodeled
many times as the years went by, the last
being two years ago, resulting in the neat
and substantial building we see there to-
day.
The early settlers were seldom nlolested
by the Indians, although their fears were
often aroused, and with good cause, for
prowling bands of savages frequently
passed up and down these valleys and no
doubt one OF the bands that participated
in the burning of Royalton passed
through the west part Of the town, camp
ing here over night.
We are able to learn of but one
" bite man who was killed by Indians
here. This man lived alone in a tent or
shack on the brook road near the John
Lincoln place. A band of Indians fol-
lowing the stream along, discovered him,
surrounded his habitation in the night
and killed him. The town, not being
settled until after the Revolutionary war,
bad less of those daring adventures,
thrilling escapes and horrible massacres
than the older towns surrounding 1t.
Chelsea was made the shire town of
Orange county, being given the prefer
ence over the other towns because it was
we'll located in the center OF the county
and also because it was the most prosper
GUS town in the locality.
Chelsea reached its largest population
in 1910, when the census gave it 1853 in
habitants; those OF 1880 and 1850 made II
only one less. During these days Chelsea
was the banner town of this entire locali-
". The farms, neN and productive, gave
back rich returns for the labor of their
owners. Every stream of any size had its
saw mill, ten being in full operation,
with their up and down saws, at one
time. There were grist mills, wooleD
mills. tanneries, iron working shops with
trip hammers, furniture shops, tin shops,
etc, in fact nearly everything needed by
It's population was made here.
Chelsea ct one time had four taverns in
foil blast, each equipped with open bars
for the dispensing OF the popular bever-
ages to the weary traveller. Two taverns
we're the regular number for years. One
OF these was located where the present
Orange County hotel stands, ano we
should Judge was where those attending
court mostly stopped, while the other
was the cid stage tavern, which stood on
the spot where the Hinckley house now
stands. The hotel barn stood beside II
and the big red Norton stage barn just
beyond, part of which Is now Densmore's
jewelry store.
Chelsea was then on the line OF the
great through stage route from Boston to
Montreal and EIihu Norton owned the