Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-02-27
FORT DUMMER AND THE FIRST
ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS

first permanent settlements in the State.
were made in the Connecticut valley.
There Is no record of any exploration of
this valley north of Pasquamscut falls
turner's Falls, Maes.) prior to the year
1860, when n committee of four per-
sons, appointed by the general court Of
the province of Massachusetts, bay, as
cended the river as far as the present
town of Mortified, Mass. The following
year a party from Northampton went
upon discovery" to the same place, and
in 1911 tract Of laid on both sides Of
the Great tConnecticuD river was pur-
chased of the Indians. the deed being
signed by Massemet. Panout, Pammook,
Nenepownam. his squaw, Wompeleg and
Nessacoscom. According to Temple and
Sheldon's History of Northfeld the north
ern limits of this purchase on the west
side Of the Connecticut was Broad brook,
sometimes called Wanasquatuk river,
near the northern limits of the present
town of Vernon. The town OF Mortified
was laid out In 1872 by Lieut.. William
Clark, william Allis and Isaac Graves.
I In the spring of 1913 settlements were be-
gun, and q stockade was erected around
cluster of houses. or small huts. A
second purchase of 1900 acres was made
on the west side of the river the same
year
In the autumn Of 1915 the Mortified
settlement was attacked by Indians, q
out of 80 persons were killed, and the
little village was destroyed. Some years
passed after this massacre before an at
tempt was made to resettle Northf1eld or
Squakheag, as 1t was often called at
that time. Then it was slowly occupied
once more by sturdy pioneers.
In August, 1858, six persons were muir
dered here by Indians and half the in
habitants thcreupon abandoned the from
tier settlement. In petition to the
Massachusetts general court In June,
1889, the people of Mortified declared
I'VE are reduced 10 IL mean families,
Our small number, in place so remote
exposed us to We rage of ye heather, as
it were, inviting them to prey upon us
Our estates are exhausted by maintain
ing garrison soldiers and being kept from
our labor. Our burdens of watching,
warding, fencing highways-we for our
selves and them that are absent-are
overbearing to US; besides all other hard
ships unavoidable in a new place. Our
wives and children chat we say not our
selves) ready to sink with fears
! With the outbreak of war between
England and France with the General
Court slow to aid the settlers on the from
tiers, and with the ever-present danger
of Indian INVASION 1t was no longer pos
sibe to maintain a settlement at North
field, and it was abandoned in 1880
The signing of the treaty of Utrecht in
the spring of 1913, bringing with it peace
between France and England, and the
expression Of a desire on the part OF
Indian tribes hitherto hostile for a ces-
sation of hostilities, again brought cour-
age to New England pioneers. and after
an absence of % years the surviving
propretors of Mortified took steps tc
reclaim and reoccupy their lands Slow
" the town was populated once more
but there is no evidence to show that
any houses were built as far north as the
southern boundary of Vermont, as II
now exists, prior to the erection of {
fort within the present limits of IN,
town of Brattleboro. The year 1923 saw
another outbreak of Indian hostilities, ant
in August, and again in October raid
were made and settlers were killed b.
the savages.
The need of further protection beCam,
evident if the settlements at Mortified
and elsewhere in the Connecticut val
ley were to be maintained. AS a resu
the Massachusetts, House of Representa-
tives voted on December q, 1923, "Tha
1t will be Of great service to all tn.
western frontiers both in this and tho
neighboring government of Connecticut
to build a blockhouse, above Northfeld
in the most convenient place on tn,
lands called the equivalent land, and t.
post in it 40 able men. English and west
ern Indians, to be employed in scoutint
| "a
. river, West river, otter Creek anc
sometimes eastwarlly above Great Mo
nadnock. for the discovery of the enem,
coming towards any of the frontier towns
/, and that so much Of the said equivalen
: lands as shall be necessary for Il block
house be taken up, with the consent o
the owners of said lands together will
five or six acres of their interval land
to be broke up or plowed for the pres
ent use of the western Indians, Gn cas-
any of them shall think fit to brin.
their families thither")
Mr. Crockett then gave an account o
, the building of the fort and related SOM
, of the experiences of those who garrI
=, soned it.
. The cost of the fort, which was com
, pleted in the summer Of 1924. was f25
it stood on the west bank of the Con
necticut river, near the southern boun
!, dairy of what IS now known as the town o
Brattleboro. At the present time tn
, land where the fort stood is flooded as
r result of the building of the great dan
, at Vernon, n few miles farther down tn
g river. The name Fort Dummer was Civ
r en- in honor OF the acting governor O
r Massachusetts. and the meadows in tn
vicinity of the fort were known as tb
r drummer meadows.
In conclusion. Mr.. Crockett said:
;. with the surrender of Montreal fl
!, 17Go, the peril of French and Indian at
lacks vanished. The frontier fortress O
q Fort Drummer which had proved such
y strong bulwark of defense to the settle
0 ments in the Connecticut valley, no long
8 err was needed and the great pine timber
= which had sheltered many garrsons fror
savage foe gradually sank into decay
Other portions of the State may hav
seen brief settlements at earlier periods
r but this was the first outpost in the Yer
mont wilderness that held its own unit
s the little clearing around the military pos
e merged into the cleared fields of actua
4 settlers who were the p!or GERS of a ne,
( commonwealth among the Green Noun
tains.
The part that was played on this some
I what obscure historic stage, in It's for
est setting, lacked neither in variety no
human interest. FNom rs walls wen
: forth brave men on -perlloua scout duty
to watch from lofty mountain outlook
for the smokes of the Indian campfires
Northward along Indian trails, centurie