BOLTON a mountainous town lying in the extreme eastern part of the
county, in 44.° 25' north lat., and long. 4° 9' east from Washington,
[As the whole county lies in north latitude, with longitude reckoned east
from Washington, the terms north and east will hereafter be omitted.] bounded
north by Underhill, east by Waterbury and apart of Duxbury, in Washington
County, south by Huntington, and west by Richmond and Jericho, was granted
by Benning Wentworth, the Colonial Governor of New Hampshire, under George
the Third, to Thomas DARLING and seventy one associates, the charter bearing
date June 7, 1763, and giving the township an area of thirty six square
miles, or 23,040 acres. The form and provisions of the charter are somewhat
peculiar, at least they appear so to our modern ideas, and as the same
form was used in chartering most of the other towns of the county, it may
be well to insert a copy of the document at this point, in order that certain
restrictions, reservations, etc, hereafter alluded to, both in this and
following town sketches, maybe the better understood:
| "GEORGE
the Third.
"By the
Grace of God, of Great Britian, France, Ireland KING, [L. S,] Defender
of the Faith, &c.
"To all
persons to whom these presents shall come, Greeting: -- Know ye, that We,
of Our special Grace, certain knowledge, Mere Motion, for the due encouragement
of setting a New Plantation within our said Province, by and with the advice
of our trusty and well beloved BENNING WENTWORTH, ESQ., our Governor and
Commander-in-Chief of our Province of NEW HAMPSHIRE, in New England, and
of our COUNCIL in said PROVINCE, HAVE, upon Conditions and Reservations,
hereinafter made, given and granted, and by these presents for Us, Our
Heirs, and successors, do give and grant in equal shares unto our loving
Subjects, Inhabitants of Our said Province of New Hampshire and Our other
Governments, and to their Heirs and Assigns forever whose names are entered
on this Grant, to be divided to and amongst them into seventy two equal
shares, all that tract or parcel of Land situate, lying and being within
our said Province of New Hampshire, containing by Admeasurement, Twenty
three Thousand and Forty Acres, which tract is to contain something more
than Six Miles square, and no more, Out of which an allowance is to be
made for highways and unimprovable Lands, by Rocks, Ponds, Mountains and
Rivers. One Thousand and Forty acres free, according to a plan and survey
thereof, made by our said Governor's order, and returned into the Secretary's
Office and hereunto annexed, butted and bounded as follows, viz.:
And the
Inhabitants that do or hereby shall Inhabit the said Township are hereby
to be enfranchised with and entitled to all and every the privileges and
Immunities that other towns within Our Province by Law Exercise and Enjoy;
And further, that the said Town as soon as there shall be fifty families
resident settled thereon shall have the liberty of holding Two Fairs, one
of which shall be held on _____ and the other on the ____ annually, which
fairs are not to continue longer than the respective ____ following the
said ____ and that as soon as the said town shall consist of fifty families
a Market may be opened and kept, one or more days in each week, as may
be thought most advantageous to the inhabitants. Also, that the first meeting
for the choice of Town Officers agreeable to the laws of our said
Province shall be held on the first Tuesday in January next which said
Meeting shall be notified by ____ who is hereby also appointed the Moderator
of the said first Meeting which he is to notify and govern agreeable to
the laws and Customs of our said Province and that the Annual Meeting forever
hereafter, for the choice of such Officers of said Town, shall be on the
second Tuesday in March Annually.
"TO HAVE
AND TO HOLD the said tract of Land as above expressed, together with all
the Privileges and Appurtenances, to them and their respective Heirs and
Assigns, forever, upon the following conditions, viz:
"I. That
every Grantee, his Heirs and Assigns, shall plant and cultivate five acres
of Land within the term of five years, for every fifty acres contained
in his or their share or proportion of Land in said Township, and continue
to improve and settle the same by additional Cultivations on penalty of
the Forfeiture of his Grant or Share in said Township, and of its reverting
to Us, Our Heirs and Successors, to be by Us Regranted to such of our subjects
as shall effectually settle and Cultivate the same.
"II. That
all White and other Pine Trees within the said Township fit for Malting
Our Royal Navy, be effectually preserved for that Use, and none to be cut
of felled, without Our Special License for so doing, first had and obtained
upon the penalty of the forfeiture of the Right of such Grantee, his Heirs
and Assigns to Us, Our Heirs and Successors, as well as being subject to
the penalty of any act or Acts of Parliament that now are or shall be hereafter
enacted
"III. That
before any Division of the Land be made to and among the Grantees, a tract
of Land as near the Center of the said Township as the Land will admit
of, shall be reserved and marked out for Town Lots, one of which shall
be allotted to each Grantee, of the contents of one acre.
"IV. Yielding
and paying therefor to Us, Our Heirs and Successor, for the space of ten
years, to be computed from the date hereof, the rent of one Ear of Indian
Corn only, on the Twenty fifth day of December annually, if Lawfully demanded,
the first payment to be made on the Twenty fifth of December, 1763.
"V. Every
proprietor Settler or Inhabitant shall yield and pay unto Us, Our Heirs
or Successors, yearly and every year forever, from and after the expiration
of ten years from the above said Twenty fifth of December, namely, on the
Twenty fifth day of December, which will be in the year of Our Lord, 1771,
One Shilling Proclamation Money, for every hundred Acres he owns, settles
or possesses, and so in proportion for a greater or less tract of said
Land, which Money shall be paid by the respective persons above said, their
Heirs or Assigns in our Council Chamber in Portsmouth, or to such Officer
or Officers as shall be appointed to receive the same, and this to be in
Lieu of an other Rents and services whatsoever.
"In testimony
whereof, we have caused the Seal of our said Province to be hereunto affixed.
Witness,
"BENNING
WENTWORTH, ESQ.,
"Our Governor
and Commander in Chief of Our said Province, this 7th day of June in the
year of our Lord CHRIST, One Thousand Seven Hundred Sixty three, and in
the Fourth Year of Our Reign.
B. Wentworth.
"By his
EXCELLENCY'S Command
with Advice of Council. "
Theodore Atkinson, Sect'y. |
The charter also bears the following endorsement, together with
a list of the grantees: --
| "His Excellency,
Benning Wentworth, Esq.
"A Tract
of Land to contain Five Hundred Acres, marked B. W. on the Plan, which
is to be accounted two of the within shares.
"One whole
share for the incorporated Society, for the propagation of the Gospel in
Foreign parts.
"One share
for the Glebe for the Church of England, as by law established.
"One share
for the first settled Minister of the Gospel, and one share for the benefit
of schools in said Town.
"Province
of Newhampshire,
"June 7, 1763.
"Theodore Atkinson, Sect'y." |
The area of the tract thus chartered remained the same until October
27, 1794, when it was increased by the annexation of a portion of Huntington;
but the law on this point proving rather deficient, and lawsuits relative
to titles arising in consequence, the same was re annexed to Huntington,
November 10, 1808, and all acts under the former law confirmed. Again,
October 25, 1804, a part of Dolton was annexed to Richmond. Other than
these no changes have occurred The surface is very broken and mountainous,
the rugged, rocky piles, with their steep cliffs and dark gorges, afford
many wild, romantic points of scenery, so many, indeed, as to render the
township noted in this respect. Just south of the central part of the town
the Winooski River crosses the country in a nearly easterly and westerly
direction, from which the mountains rise abruptly on either side, forming
a deep, narrow valley, with a bitter, freezing temperature in winter, yet
cool and moderate in the summer months, in consequence of the valley's
forming a natural wind gauge through which Old Boreas passes and repasses
in the same direction; the north and west winds coming up the stream, while
the south and east winds always blow down stream. Duck Brook, from the
north, after many windings and wild plunges over the cliffs, unites with
the Winooski near the western line of the town. PRESTON Brook, from the
southern part of the territory, flows a northerly course, also uniting
with the above mentioned river, while from the north, east of Duck Brook,
the waters of Joyner and Pinneo Brooks help to swell the waters of the
same stream. Mill Brook; upon which the village of West Bolton is situated,
rises in the northern part of the town and flows an easterly course into
Jericho. These, the principal streams, though there are many others of
minor importance possessing equally picturesque courses, afford several
very excellent mill privileges, of which more anon. The Joyner Brook drains
a broad valley some four miles in length, well studded with fine maple,
beech, spruce and hemlock, but which, from the nature of the country, could
not be gotten at by the woodman, except by the construction of roads and
passes at very great expense, until Nature, who is ever kind, opened the
way on the 9th of April, 1852, through the medium of a heavy flood. The
water in the stream was very low on this date, and the sun arose clear
and bright, with no indication of the coming storm; but in the latter part
of the day the air began to grow hot and oppressive, the dead calm relieved
only by occasional short angry whiffs, until towards evening the sky began
to be overcast with clouds through which the sun shone with a fierce, angry
glare, until it was finally hidden by the deep murky cloud banks. At about
seven o'clock the dark mass broke, firing its fiery bolts back and forth
across the valley, and pouring down upon the earth below such a deluge
that in one hour's time the giant spruces and hemlocks that had stood for
years upon the banks of Joyner Brook, were torn up by the roots and swept
onward to the river below. Huge rocks, weighing hundreds of tons, were
swept from their beds, while in one instance a whole farm, known as the
STONE farm, was almost entirely destroyed, Mr. STONE and his family only
escaping death by taking shelter in the branches of a giant sycamore which
stood in his door yard, where they remained until the flood had subsided.
No lives were lost, while the damage to property was amply compensated
by the passage hewn out by the torrent, which has since afforded an easy
access to the rich timber-land beyond, from which there has been taken
thousands of dollars worth of timber.
The whole town of Bolton may be considered as a lumbering district,
the principal part of the inhabitants being residents of the Winooski valley,
and the valley of Mill Brook, in the northwestern part of the township.
Still, there are many tracts of rich tillable land, and many fine, well
cultivated farms. The hillsides have a deep soil of marl and clay, while
many of the streams have upon either bank a rich intervale of sandy loam,
second in fertility to none in the county:
The varieties of rocks are disposed principally in ledges extending
in a north and south direction. In the western portion of the town, for
a distance of two miles east from the town line, they are mostly of gneiss
formation, while in the residue of the township they are principally composed
of talcose schist though they vary much in their aspect and composition.
There is much chlorite and mica slate, the former containing the sulphuret
of iron, and the sulphuret of copper. Veins of granite are found in a moderate
quantity, from which some very fair specimens have been taken. In some
parts, the rocks have a greenish and chlorite hue, a conglomerate, so thick
bedded and compact as to form a very good building stone, though this variety
is comparatively small. Gold has been found in several localities, but
not in quantities sufficiently great to warrant remunerative working.
In 1847, immigration and business interests received quite an impetus
from the building of the Vermont Central Railroad, which crosses the town
from east to west, following the northern bank of Winooski River. Work
was begun in the spring of the above mentioned year, the contract being
taken by Suel BELKNAP, of Burlington, who underlet this portion of the
road to Mr. BARKER and others. Its construction was pushed rapidly for
two or three months, when funds began to run low, causing much discontent,
and some open outbreaks among the Irish workmen, about three hundred of
whom were employed; no blood was shed, however, though operations were
discontinued and the laborers lost the money due them. In March, 1849,
the enterprise was again taken up and pushed so vigorously that cars commenced
running in the following November.
In 1880, Bolton had a population of 678, was divided into six school
districts, and sustained five common schools, employing one male and seven
female teachers at an aggregate salary of $474.00. There were 151 pupils
attending common school, while the entire cost of the schools for the year,
ending October 31st, was $565.35, with Mr. F. W. HALL, superintendent.
WEST BOLTON (p. o.), a small village located in the northwestern
part of the town, on Mill Brook, contains a school house, church (Baptist),
store, sawmill, grist mill, and about a dozen dwellings.
BOLTON (p o.), a hamlet and station on the Central Vermont Railroad,
is located in the central part of the town.
E. M. COLTON’s saw and shingle mill, located on Mill Brook, manufactures
200,000 feet of lumber and 600,000 shingles annually. The saw mill was
erected in 1848, to which the shingle mill was added in 1852, and has done
a thriving business since, although it is operated but a part of the year,
owing to low water. Mr. COLTON employs four hands.
D. W. TRACY's saw mill, located on Joyner Brook, is engaged in cutting
common lumber, turning out 200,000 feet annually. The first mill erected
on this site was built by WHITCOMB & WILLARD, the property coming into
the present owner's hands in 1872. He immediately substituted a circular
saw for the old style of machinery, and also added a shingle mill, though
he has abandoned the use of the latter for the past few years, devoting
all his time to the manufacture of common lumber.
J. G. TOMLINSON's butter tub and cheese box manufactory was built
by W. A. HALL in 1860, and came into Mr. TOMLINSON's possession about four
years ago. He employs from five to twelve men, manufacturing 12,000 butter
tubs and about the same number of cheese boxes annually, besides doing
considerable other work in sawing, etc.
C. P. & G. W. STEVENS, in connection with SPAULDING & LARNED,
are largely engaged in the manufacture of lumber, on road 4. The Messrs.
STEVENS furnish the logs and convey the lumber to the depot, employing
twenty five men and teams in this capacity, while SPAULDING & LARNED
attend to the sawing, the mill being operated by steam power. Every facility
for the rapid and economical manufacture of lumber has been brought into
use, and they consequently do a large and profitable business.
From the date of the charter, 1763, up to the year 1770, we have
no record that there was any meeting of the proprietors called, or that
anything towards the survey or settlement of the town was done. But during
this year, according to the records, the first proprietors' meeting was
warned, and met therefore at the dwelling of Samuel CANFIELD, of New Milford,
Conn., on the 10th day of May, when Samuel AVERILL, of Kent, was chosen
clerk. This meeting was adjourned to the fourth Tuesday in September, when
it was held at the house of Mr. AVERILL, in Kent. Other meetings were soon
after held, and steps were being rapidly taken towards the settlement of
their possessions, when the breaking out of the Revolution put a stop to
their proceedings, as in the troubled times of that period it was impossible
to attempt a settlement with any degree of safety to the pioneers. No white
man had disturbed the quiet solitude of the forest, no roads had penetrated
its solemn depths, except perhaps here and there an Indian trail, left
by the Redmen in their numerous incursions in search of game, when, during
the Revolution and soon after the burning of Royalton, a party of twenty
four, with John BARNET at their head, started from Piedmount, on the Connecticut
River, to explore the wilderness down the Winooski River as far as the
shore of Lake Champlain. Passing over an Indian trail through this town
into Richmond, they were there attacked by a party of Indians and Tories,
and their leader, Mr. BARNET, killed. This is the first record we have
of any white man's visit to Bolton. Soon after the close of the war, however,
settlement was commenced by John and Robert KENNEDY, Peter DILSE, Amos
PALMER, Noah DEWEY, Augustus LEVAGUE, Jabez JONES, Daniel PINNEO; James
CRAIG, John PRESTON, John MOORE, Robert STINSON, and Samuel BARNET. At
the taking of the first census, in 1791, the inhabitants numbered eighty
eight, which, in 1800, had increased to 219.
The first town meeting was held at the house of James MOORE, a quaint,
question loving Yankee, the first hotel keeper in the town, on the second
Tuesday in March, 1794, at which meeting Samuel BELL was chosen moderator;
Jabez JONES, town clerk; Francis JOYNER, William ROGERS, and Samuel BELL,
selectmen; Robert KENNEDY, constable; and James MOORE, town treasurer.
The first representative after the organization of the town was Jabez JONES,
elected at a meeting held on the first Tuesday in September, 1794, though
the town had been represented before it was regularly organized, the first
representative being Samuel BELL, chosen in 1795. The first justice was
Stephen ROYCE, chosen in 1794, and continued in office eleven years. Among
others who held the office for a number of years was John PINNEO, thirty-nine
years; Samuel B. KENNEDY, twenty eight years; Moses L. COLTON, twenty-five
years; Asa STOCKWELL, twenty-four years, and John WHITE, twelve years.
Rev. William L. HURLBURT was the first settled minister, and received the
ministerial lot provided by charter.
John KENNEDY, one of the first settlers of the town, a native of
Massachusetts, was an old hero of the Revolution, personally acquainted
with Gen. Washington, and was with ALLEN at the taking of Ticonderoga,
receiving $80.00 as his share of the prize taken from the British. After
the close of the war, he purchased land in Waterbury, worked there during
the summer and fall, harvested his corn and put it in a crib, and then
returned to his family in Newbury. On his return the following spring,
he found his corn had been stolen, and that there were adverse claims upon
his land, proving his title worthless. He then removed to Bolton, where
he resided until his death, in 1820, in his seventy seventh year.
John MORSE, a native of Massachusetts, came to Waterbury in 1782,
when there were but few houses in that town. During the next season he
removed to Bolton, and located upon the farm now included within the John
PINNEO estate. His family consisted of wife and five children. Joseph,
the fourth son, located on the farm now owned by his son, R J. MORSE, where
he died at the age of sixty three years. During his life he held many offices
of trust in the town, and in the year 1839, was the only representative
of the Whig party in the township. R J. MORSE, residing on road i3, was
born on the farm he now occupies. Early in. life he was a Whig, but in
1868, he joined the Republican party. He has held many of the town offices,
was at one time assistant judge, and town collector twenty years, his term
of office ending in 1874. His family consists of three children, one son
and two daughters.
John SABIN, at an early day removed with his family to Duxbury,
from New Hampshire, and thence to this town, where he resided until his
death, aged seventy years, leaving a family of eight children. Five of
his grand children, children of William, now reside on road 6, viz.: Ransom
J., Elisha B., Elijah H., Allen M., and Jennie, wife of Wm. A. BOHONNON.
The four sons reside together upon a farm they have leased for a period
of sixteen years.
Asa STOCKWELL, from Connecticut, came to Bolton about 1800, and
located on road 16. His son, Eleazer, now resides on road 18.
Joseph, Samuel, and Asa LEWIS, from Bradford, Conn., came to this
town in 1801, or 1802. Asa and Samuel located upon a farm on road 18, and
Joseph settled near them, across the brook.
Moses L. COLTON come to Bolton in 1825, and located in the western
part of the town, where he soon after erected a saw mill, the first built
in that locality. In this mill he continued business until his death, in
1872. He was one of the prominent men of the town, and held many positions
of honor and trust. E. M. COLTON, his son, was born here in 1826, and has
since resided on the old homestead. He has been very successful in the
manufacture of lumber, and has also held many positions of public trust.
Asher HALL, from Jericho, located in the western part of Bolton
in 1835.
Rev. W. L. HURLBURT, born in Dorset, Vt., was the first settled
minister here, and received the ministerial right of land allowed by charter,
though Rev. Roswell MEARS and Rev. Samuel WEBSTER were the first itinerant
ministers. Thomas MITCHELL was the first Methodist minister, having been
invited here from Waterbury, by John KENNEDY. Soon after, Lorenzo DOW preached
here. In 1800 the first church was dedicated. It consisted of a high rock,
and may be seen by the traveler situated at the back of a level meadow
about forty rods from the railway, one and one half miles east of Jonesville
station. It is about fifty feet high, has a natural grotto, three regular
stone steps, and a hollow, shaped like a boiler, which holds about four
pails full, and is called the "Indian's kettle." Here was held the first
Methodist quarterly meeting. The Rev. Shadrick BOSTWICK, of Baltimore,
Md., was presiding elder. There was a large gathering on this occasion,
and the society numbered about seventy six members. Bishop HEDDING preached
his first sermon in Bolton, at John KENNEDY's house, in 1800. Both the
Calvinist and Freewill Baptists formed societies in town before the Methodists
came.
The Baptist Church of West Bolton, located at West Bolton, was organized
by Rev. William S. HURLBURT, with forty-five members, in 1875, and now
has sixty eight members, with Rev. D. F. SAFFORD, pastor. The church building,
however, was built in 1867, a wooden structure, capable of accommodating
250 persons, and cost $3,000.00, though it is now valued at but $2,500.00.
Gazetteer
and Business Directory of
Chittenden
County, Vt. For 1882-83
Compiled
and Published by Hamilton Child
Printed
At The Journal Office, Syracuse, N. Y,
August,
1882.
Pages 86-93.
Transcribed
by Karima Allison ~ 2004
|
