St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1915-08-18

Stanley, VINO DullL the 0TSL SdW-mlll,
on the south side of the same dam
where is now the gristmill. Prob
ably during the same year came
Joseph Stanley, who built the first
blacksmith shop, standing between
the gristmill and what was, fol-
years, "Hutchins' shoe shop"
Quite a number of families were
now settled here, and the town was
organized on March 18th, 1898, the
first. town meeting being held at the
house of Ashbel Sheppard. Other
settlers continued to come. Accord
ing to one authority there were, in
1875, % families and 1O8 persons
In 1897 came DIR. Samuel Hunting
tommy great grand father-whC
settled on what is now known as the
Baker farm. l remember hearing my
father tell about Dr. Huntington hav-
ing patients as far away as Peacham
whom he visited, as he did all of his
patients, on horseback, carrying his
s'barks and herbs in saddlebags
slung across the horses back.
In the succeeding years there were
built clothing works, in which was
carried on the cloth dressing business
the building was later used as a
trip hammer shop-a tannery, an oat
mill, an iron foundry for casting
stoves, hollow ware, etc., a wheel
wright shop, in the second story of
which Eli Austin operated the first
carding machine in Greensboro. Not
one of them is in operation today.
The village has suffered from fires,
in one of which, August 9th, 1881,
the town records were destroyed;
in another, December 9th, 1888,
~
an oatmill, a store, and seven or
eight other buildings were burned.
There was no insurance and the loss
was heavily felt.
Churches and Sunday ScohOl.
The Congregational church was or
ganized on November oath, 1904, in
the store chamber of Hale & Strong.
Chat store stood just above where
is now the cottage of Prof. Bliss
Perry.) Between that date and jan
uary 18th, 1845, the date on which
the Presbyterian church was organ
lied, there were formed, at various
times, Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist,
Protestant Methodist, and Wesleyan
churches, a Universalist society and
an Associate Presbyterian church
Most, if not all, of these organiza-
tions, as then formed, no longer ex-
ist
In June, 1914, the first Sunday
school was established, believed by
many to be the first one in the state
and quite probably the first one in
New England. This of itself is a
unique honor for any town. Of those
associated in this first Sunday school
eight became ministers and nine be-
came missionaries. There is little
doubt but that the first Sunday school
celebration to be held anywhere was
held in a new barn standing near
where the road branches off which
passes near the golf house.
Other Beginnings.
The first school in Greensboro was
held in the summer of 1894 in Aaron
Shephard's barn; whether or not the
barn was near the block house where
Aaron Sheppard first lived is not
stated; probably it was nearer what
is now the village. The first school
house built in after
wards burned-stood on the hill
near the present golf house.
"The first physician who ever act
ed professionally in town was DR..
William Scott, in the family of Ash
bel Sheppard, in March, 1890" The
first "Taverner" was Timothy Stan
ley; the second one was DR.. Samuel
on the Baker place. Pre-
sumably the present house on the
Baker farm was used-and probably
built-for hotel. The present Cas-
plan Lake House was built in 1882.
The first wedding in Greensboro
was in July, 1898, when Mr.. Joseph
Stanley of Greensboro and Miss Mary
Gerould of Craftsbury- she of hand
sled fame-were married by justice
Timothy Stanley, there being no min
lister in either town. The wedding
dinner was in Craftsbury, the home
of the bride; after which the parties,
riding horses that had been obtained
from Peacham for the occasion, pro-
ceeded to Greensboro for the mar
rage ceremony. All of the inhabi
tants of the town were invited and
it is believed that all but five at
tended. After the ceremony at the
groom's house the wedding supper
was served out of doors in front Of
Judge Stanley's house. This couple
constituted the fifteenth family in
town. This house stood on the knoll
where George CuthbertSon now lives.
GREENSBORO
The first adult to be removed by |
death was Mrs. Peleg Hill, whose re-
mains were buried on what has al
ways been known as the Hill farm,
at the head of the lake. Up to the
year 1854, two persons, each over
1ne hundred years of age, had died
in town, one-a Mr.. Bush-who died |
March Is, 1915, supposed to be near
y lis years old, the other-Mrs.
Susan Corlis- who died October 4th,
1850, aged 100 years and Is days.
Hon. Luke P. Poland, at one time |
chief justice of the Vermont Supreme
Court, and later a member of Con-
yress, began the practice of law in
Early History of the Lake.
It is unfortunate that there is not
vt hand more authentic history con-
.erning Lake Caspian-Lake Beau
iful it was sometimes called years
tgo. That it's wooded shores were a
avorite haunt of hunters, both In
liam and white, and that it oft bore
fI,alA