The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-03-22

to find the opportunity. But it is in
teresting as a fact of the history of
these early residents of our town, show
ing the mode of their living and Gus
toms of the times.
My grandmother, Arvilla Jackson
Bailey, remembers driving, as a child
with her father and mother, around
1858, from Wiswall hill in Newfane
to the Dunklee farm in West Brattle-
boro, her mother childhood home, and
always as they passed Meeting House
hill "burying ground there were nc
cemeteries in those days-it was on
their left, and not very far from there
they turned off from the post road and
went in a more northerly direction to.
wards the farm. But grandmother says
the approach to the cemetery was al
ways delight-so 'level, and pleasant
and opened up such vista-they were
on the height of land for some dis
tance. But of course the settlement
there had entirely disappeared by that
time. But | think the very fact that
they had to pass this cemetery goes faI
to prove this part of our national
highway, for they would not have gone
so far south and out of their way, had
there been any other road at that time
Meantime, as grandmother had no oc-
casion to pass over these roads. for a
long period of years, for such was the
reality as Daniel L. Cady has so well
said in his poem, that in those days as
a general thing people travelled only
"where they had to- great was her
surprise and bewilderment in approach
ing Meeting House Hill cemetery from
the north in later years, and not reali-
zing the roads had been changed to find
the cemetery on the right of the high
way instead of on the left, as in her
childhood trips. She could hardly make
herself believe it to be the same GENE
terry, still she knew of course that it
must be.
In coming from Newfane at that time
they followed West river down through
Dummerston to the present turn below
the Bailey farm, where now the road di-
vides, one branch following the river
and one over the hill, but at that time
the hill road was the only highway to
Brattleboro.
AS they drove by the "burying
ground on Meeting House hill grand
mothers mother would point out the
graves of the Dunklees and say that
those were her grandfather and grand
mother. These old graves were on their
left, very near the highway, and now
they are at the extreme rear of the Gem
etery, which fact goes far to prove tc
grandmother that the highways have in
deed been changed.
Another fact which puzzled her in the
later years was that the graves of hel
own grandfather and grandmother were
beside the highway, on the right, as she
approached the cemetery, exactly as the
older graves had been on the left
years before, and she forgot that hei
mother had said that they were hel
grandparents. A proof of this fact
| would be that grandmother s owl
grandmother was still living at the
time that they were making these
journeys, for it was she they were going
to visit at the Dunklee farm.
| After turning off from the main post
road, l think they must have followed
a crossroad northerly till they reach
ed the present Wiekopee Hill road
running past the Dunklee farm. fol
they didn t go so far west as the .Whet
stone brook and West Brattleboro, bu
| cannot place this crossroad ae
curately without first actually going t.
the spot and following it in reality
but / think / am right when | say tina
believe it has been pointed out to me
I. but do not know of any one living nov
who would know of its exact location