The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-06-09
mills to Mud pond was covered with
a heavy growth of softwood timber.


heavy growth of softwood timber.
Long pond was a beautiful body
oil, water, situated IN the extreme
southeastern corner of Glover at an
elevation of fourteen hundred feet
above the level of the sea. 1t was
nearly all in Glover but its outlet and
! its extreme southern end, which was
very shallow, was in Greensboro; its
outlet flowed south over nearly level
| land for some distance, forming the
| headwaters of Lamoille river and was
| valley and the Barton river
valley; in the dense forest, no road
or pathway around it, and some miles
| from any habitation. 1t was about
one-half to three fourths of a mile
In width and probably from one hum
dred to one hundred and fifty feet deep
in it's broadcast part. and did not di-
minish in depth until within a short
distance of the northern side The
eastern shore was covered with heavy
timber and sloped gradually to the
was steep, rocky hill rising abrupt
ly from the water ira places over one
hundred feet. and covered with white
birches to quite an extent; on this day
their delicate gray green foliage was
thickly interspersed with the darker
green of the hemlock, spruce and ce-
dar, now and then broken with bare
patches of gray moss covered lodges,
the whole one of natures finest set
tings. making a picture of rare beau
ty. At the northeastern corner was
a little valley or plain of few rods
along the shore of the pond. covered
with a growth of alders and other
small growth where the shore was
nearly level back for about twenty
rods; it then dropped off quite abrupt
ly into Mud" pond which was about
100 rods north and about $50 feet low
err and nearly half as large as Long
pond. The outlet to this pond was
north and the water from this, Dan
iels. and Chambers ponds fed the
stream that supplied power for the
Aaron Wilson grist and sawmills,
which were about three and one-half
miles north, the stream running
through virgin forest.
The spring of 1910 had been very
dry, very little rain had fallen, con-
sequently all streams were low and
Mr. Wilson was much troubled for
power, the same difficulty had existed
the year previous, and he had contem-
plated cutting a channel across this
low land northerly out of Long pond.
making it's outlet into Mud pond.
thereby increasing his water power.
After talking the matter over with
the settlers from Barton Sheffield.
Wheelock and Glover, all of whom
patronized his mills, it was thought
best to have a bee and all hands take
hold and divert the flow of Long pond
from Lake Champlain to Lake Mem
phremagog. Accordingly il was ar
ranged to meet at 'Keene's Corner
bright and early on the 9th daS of
!unc armed with shovcls and axes
Why the 9th day of June was select
ed, the evidence from all sources
seems to prove, because it was an
election day in New Hampshire, and
many of the settlers from New tianip-
shire and in that State as well as in
Vermont. in that early day, election
day had been observed as holiday
| am also satisfied from statements of
those who were present that Mr.. Will
son was to pay them for their days
work and furnish spirits for the oc-
casion.
In 1910 the township of Glover was
substantially an unbroken forest. In
the whole township there were only
three hundred and eighty-seven souls.
The most of the buildings were made
of logs, and as you might stand upon
some mountain top and look out upon
the township the clearings were so few
and so small that they We're hardly
noticeable. 1t was from such homes
as these, that the settlers plunged i'll
to the forest, from all directions
bright and early on this beautiful June
morning headed for Long pond accord
ing to the recorded statement of Lor-
/ ing Frost, who was one of them
about sixty men and boys, arrived
at Long pond not far from eight
o'clock and Immediately set to wor'
digging a ditch across this low land
Probably there never was any correct
record of all those who were there
There is a record. taken from the
publications named above, of thu
names of the following; Spencer
Chamberln, Richard Goodwin, Sila'
Wheeler, John Crane, Silas Clark
Joseph Owen, Daniel Frost, Lorer
Frost, Asa Brown, Joseph Gray Heck
iah Bickford. Nathaniel. Silas, Jonah
Zenas. George. Barzillai and Lindo
French, Aaron Wilson, Levi Par
fridge, Elijah Stone. Samuel Twomb'y
Archelaus Miles, Jr. Samuel Bean
Jacob Twombly, Benjamin Hawkins
and Robert Brown. The soil on tn