The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-02-17

Many of these petitions were grant
ed. For instance, in the House Jour
nal of 1904 we find an entry showing
that turnpikes were laid out and
that the adjacent inhabitants must
maintain them and keep them in re /.
pair"
An Era or Iurnpikes.
During this turnpike era turn
pixies were built from the mouth of
the Wells River in Newbury to Dan
vile Court House. This route was
laid out especially to facilitate trav-
ell for Orleans and Caledonia county
people to their principal markets,
namely, Portsmouth Hartford and
Boston. In the same Journal of 1904
there is a record of entries of petit
tons for turnpikes from White River
to Ticonderoga and from Wells
River to the Canadian line. There
was also a petition entered for a
road from Newbury to Peacham.
From the year of 1860 a scanty
population had rendered progress
very slow. In 1875 vermont's part in
the Revolution naturally took her
strength and attention away from
the development of her own terri
tory. Thus things drifted until 1891
when Vermont was admitted into the
Union and towns began to become in
corporated. AS we have seen, prior
to township organization and incor-
poration roads-such as they were
were maintained by individuals
through the cooperation of friends
and neighbors.
Finally the township corporations
were intrusted with the whole reg
possibility of laying out, making and
repairing highways. In 1907 Gov.
Israel Smith, in speech before the
Legislature, recommended inquiry
into the manner of carrying into eff
feet the corporate powers of the
several towns in the State with regard
to bodybuilding. The matter was
left to "A committee and the commit.
tee reported unfavorably. Again the
whole supervision was left to the
towns to d. what they thought eA.
pedient.
County Roads.
Then came the question of county
roads. In our research on this sub
ject we find that in the House jour
nal for the year 1897 there is an en-.
try made to the effect that commit.
tees were appointed by the Legisla.
ture for laying out county roads UNI
der the immediate direction of tht
selectmen in the several towns. II
this way provision was made fol
stage roads and by the year 1915
| these came to be quite common. The
expense of these stage roads (ol
county roads, was borne by thu
owns thrcdgh which the roads wer;
tullt.
| Before the Legislature of 1922 hat
convened Gov skinner had TAX 81
considerable care to look up thu
transportation facilities in the ad
joining States He had as result o
els investigation, noted the great d;
parity N The method of roadmak
ing in different States and also be
tween the several towns of the SAM
State. This disparity was not wa
ranted when viewed with regar(
to eqL .lily. of diffcu y and means
The mind of Gov. Skinner the grea
lack of organization was the root y
the difficulty In words Of econcn'i
wisdom he said ACCESS to the nos
favorable markets is the object o
first i'm ,)trtance." Pursuant to Thu
stat omen. he made recommendauOi
to the !rgis lature and a bill wa
brought BEFORE that tory which pro
vided that the supervision of TO ii
AMI matchmaking shonl, be carrlr'
over to the Supremr and Cou it.
Courts. The bill wa. killed, = =
ever. and 10 further change VII
made until 1:24 VIII 4 the bill VIZ
again introd, ced AL enacted int
law.
Supervision by Commission.
Beginning With 1924 d. roads " =
supervised by Commissioners. Taos
c r,'nisaiUnc~s had ne mower to sc,
that fines we're impose: on all own
ncgle citing to repair and build The
full quota
70 pass on a little more summar
lily for lev years we find that by al
act OF the year 1915, turnpike road
might lawfully be purchased of thei
respective companies and appropriat
ed to the general use of the public
This period marked the wane of III
turnpike era. After the turnpik
companies were assigned to tn
towns or counties authority was Civ
en- to said towns and counties to oc
cupy and collect toll on these turn
pike roads for a period not to eX
coed five years. The intendment 0
this act was to reimburse to tn
towns and counties the purchas,
| price