Most of these grantees, except Ira Allen, were residents of Providence, R.I., and it is claimed that the grantees had drafted their petition for a township by the name of Providence, but that Col. Barton, anxious to immortalize his name, carefully scratched out the word Providence and inserted his own name Barton. This version is only traditionary, however, and it is more than probable it is incorrect. William Barton was a brave officer in the Continental army, one of the principal grantees of the town, and by no means unpopular with his associates, who, in all probability, were knowing to and not opposed to the new township being named in his honor. 

       Though somewhat uneven, the territory has no prominent elevations except in the central and eastern parts. Barton mountain, in the central part, is quite prominent, and affords an excellent view of the surrounding beautiful scenery. Barton river forms the principal water-course  It has its source in this town, one of its branches, Roaring branch, heading in the fountains of Runaway pond, in Glover, flowing northerly into Barton; the other rises in May pond, and after passing through Crystal lake unites with the stream from Glover. Their united waters then take a northerly direction, and, just before they reach the northerly line of Barton, receive Willoughby river, a considerable stream, having its source in Westmore. From Barton, Barton river continues a northerly course, passing through the northeast corner of Irasburgh, and eastern part of Coventry, into Lake Memphremagog, watering about 160 square miles of territory. Runaway pond, in Glover, which broke its northern bound and run entirely out June 6,1810, passed down this river, making very destructive ravages, the traces of which are still to be seen. Several other minor streams are found throughout the township, which unite in enriching the soil, adding to the scenic beauty of the territory, and furnishing motive power for mills and factories. Crystal lake, formerly called Belle Lac by the French, is a beautiful little sheet of water, about two and one-half miles in length by a half mile in width, situated in the southern part of the town. Fuller pond, in the eastern part, covers an area of about one hundred acres. May pond is a small sheet of water in the eastern part of the town, lying partly in Westmore. 

       The soil is very fertile and well adapted to the growth of all  kinds, of grain, while the pasture land upon the hill slopes is excellent. The timber is hemlock, spruce, beech, birch, maple, etc. Large quantities of sugar is manufactured from the maple, for which the township is somewhat noted. The principal rock is calciferous mica schist. About two miles from the Irasburgh line, and parallel with it, there extends a narrow vein of hornblende schist the whole length of the town. The whole of the extreme eastern corner, covering an area of several square miles, the rocks are a mixture of granite, syenite, and protogine. No ore discoveries of importance have been made. Iron has been found in small quantities, and some traces of gold. 

       The only important work of internal improvement is the C.& P.R. & M.V.R.R., which extends through the town from south to north, with stations at South Barton, Barton, and Barton Landing. This road affords a very convenient mode of ingress and egress to the town, and an excellent medium for the transportation of imports and exports. 

       In 1880, Barton had a population of 2,366, and in 1882, was divided into ten school districts and contained fourteen common schools, employing three male and twenty female teachers, to whom was paid an aggregate salary of $2,688.52. There were 482 pupils attending common school, while the entire cost of the schools for the year, ending October 31st, was $2,988.67, with A. M. Wheeler, superintendent. 

       Barton, an incorporated village, is beautifully located at, the outlet of Crystal Lake, a little south of the central part of the town.  The village is nicely laid out, contains some fine residences, has an excellent water-power, is a station on the C.& P.R. & M.V.R.R., and altogether is a charming and very flourishing little town, one of the most important in the county. It has three churches, (Congregational, Methodist Episcopal, and Roman Catholic,) a union graded school, a weekly newspaper, four general merchandise stores, two clothing stores, several groceries, an extensive carriage manufactory, a chair-stock mill, sash, door and blind factory, etc,, and a population of about one thousand. 

       Barton Landing, located in the northern part of the town, on Barton river, is also an incorporated village and station on the C.& P.R. & M.V.R.R. It has two churches (MethodistEpiscopal and Congregational), a graded school, hotel, three dry goods stores, two clothing stores, two groceries, one hardware and two drug and two millinery stores, two blacksmith shops, two paint shops, two carriage shops, one shoe shop, one marble factory, two harness shops, a grist-mill, two saw and  planing-mills, etc., and about 400 inhabitants.

       On the night of July 18, 1876, the village was visited by a disastrous fire, originating in the store of Flint Bros. & Co., dealers in hardware, whence it rapidly spread to Austin's building, adjoining, and thence to the dwellings of D.S.Stafford and H.D.Bigelow. All of these buildings were destroyed, entailing a loss of about $25,000.00. During that season O.H. Austin purchased the ground and erected a large business block on the site occupied by the burned buildings.   On the 12th of February 1878, another fire broke out, destroying this new building. Within a few weeks, however, Mr. Austin began to build the third time, and now has an excellent business block. 

       South Barton, a post village and railroad station located in the southeastern part of the town, contains one store, one blacksmith shop, two saw-mills, and about a dozen dwellings. 

       Barton National Bank, located at Barton village, was chartered July 30, 1875, with a capital of $150,000.00 and with the privilege of increasing the sum to $300,000.00. The officers are Hiram McLellan, of Glover, president; Emory Davison, of Craftsbury, vice-president; and H.R. Dewey, cashier. 

       Barton Foundry and Machine Shops, located on Water street, were built by the present proprietor, John W. Murkland, in 1874, who now employs ten men in the manufacture of plows, sugar arches, stoves, all kinds of mill machinery and in general custom work. 

       G. A. Drew's sash, door and blind factory, located at Barton village, was established by Mr. Drew about 1875. He employs three men and turns out about $10,000.00 worth of manufactured goods per annum. 

       The Walter Hawyard Chair Co.’s located at Barton village, were erected in 1859. Chair-stock in the rough is here manufactured and shipped to Pittsburgh, Mass., where it is finished for use. About 3,000,000 feet of hard and soft wood lumber is used annually, from which $100,000.00 worth of goods are manufactured, giving employment to one hundred persons. 

       Charles J. Ufford's carriage manufactory, located on Water street, at Barton village, is one of the largest in the State. Mr. Ufford has been established in the business about, fifteen years, and now manufactures annually about 16o wagons and carriages and thirty sleighs, representing an aggregate value of $20,000.00. The repository for finished work; is locate on Park street. The works give employment to eighteen men. 

       Oscar F. Rice's carriage manufactory, located at Barton Landing, was built in 1867, by John M. Hammond, and was purchased by Mr. Rice in December, 1869. He does a business of about $20,000.00 per year, employing two men. 

       Chandler, French & Co.'s box factory and lumber dressing mill, located at Barton Landing, was established in 1874. The firm now employs twenty men and does a business of about $75,000.00 per annum. 

       L. M. Chander's saw-mill, at Barton Landing, cut 800,000 feet of lumber per annum. 

       Johnson & Allen's marble works, located on Main street, at Barton Landing, were established by Curtis Johnson, in 1871, who, continued the business till 1875, when his son, William C., took the business and conducted it alone till 1882, when he took in Charles K. Allen, They manufacture mouments and headstones from marble and granite. 

       The Orleans Grist and Flouring Mills, C. S. Skinner, proprietor, located at Barton Landing, were established about thirty-eight years ago. The mills are supplied with four runs of stones and do a large and successful business. 

       C. E. Buswell's steam saw-mill, located just over the line in Westmore, has the capacity for manufacturing 10,000 feet of lumber and 10,000 shingles per day.  Mr. Buswell employs twenty-five hands and turns out 2,000,000 feet of lumber and about the same number of shingles per year. 

       A. O. Blake's saw and grist-mills, are located at South Barton. The saw-mills manufacture 500,000 feet of common lumber and 50,000 feet of clapboards per annum. The grist-mill has two runs of stones. Mr. Blake employs fifteen hands. 

       The proprietors of Barton took prompt measures toward allotting and settling the town. On the day following the issue of the charter, October 21, 1789, they applied to Luke Knowlton, of Westminster, a justice of the peace—who issued his warrant, warning a meeting of the proprietors at the home of Charles Evans in Brattleboro, on the 2d Tuesday of February, for choosing officers, etc. The meeting assembled in pursuance of this warning, when Daniel Cahoon, of Lyndon, was chosen clerk. Colonel William Barton, William Chamberlin, and Elder Philemon Hines were chosen a committee to allot such township, and a tax of L1, 13s on each proprietor's share was voted to defray expenses of the same. General William Chamberlin made a survey and plan of the township which was accepted by the proprietors October 18, 1791.  Soon after this a party of four or five Rhode Island men came to Barton on foot, from Lyndon, and among other things brought a few potatoes. They encamped on the south side of the outlet of Crystal Lake, about ten rods from the head of the falls, where they chopped down the trees and partly cleared a small parcel of land, and planted their potatoes. This was the first clearing made in the town. In 1794, Colonel Barton came on and cleared three or four acres of land on lot No. 5 in the seventh range, on a ridge of land westerly from the old road, and extending to the top of the hill easterly from the present road.   He also cut the timber from ten or fifteen acres more on the side hill toward the northeasterly corner of the lot. On the ridge at the easterly side of the old road he built a frail log house, without floor or chimney and containing but one room. During  the same season Asa Kimball, from Nepucket, R.I., cleared a few acres on lot No. 5 in the sixth range and also slashed four acres on lot No. 5 in the fifth range. During the summer of 1795, Colonel Barton raised thirty or forty bushels of wheat on the land cleared by him the year previous, and Mr. Kimball raised about fifty bushels on his land.  This was the first grain raised in the town. 

       The town was organized and the first town meeting held March 28, 1798 when Asa Kimball was chosen moderator; Abner Allyn, Jr., town clerk; Jonathan Allyn, Asa Kimball, and Jonathan Robinson, selectmen; David Pillsbury, treasurer; James Redmond, constable; David Pillsbury, scaler of leather; Asa Kimball, poundkeeper; Oliver Blodget, grand juror; Samuel Nichols, hayward; Oliver Blodget, tythingman; James May and David Pillsbury, surveyors of highways and fence viewers; Jeremiah Abbot, hog-reeve; and Jonathan Allyn, sealer of weights and measures. The voters in the town at this time were David Abbot, Jonathan Allyn, Abner Allyn, John Beard, James Beard, Oliver Blodget, John Ames, Asa Kimball, Samuel Lord, James May , Samuel Nichols, David Pillsbury, John Palmer, James Redmond, Jonathan Robinson, Peter Taylor, Solomon Wadham, and Daniel Young. 

       The first, justice of the peace was Jonathan Allyn, in 1797, who retained the position twenty-four years.  He was also the first representative, in 1802. The first saw-mill was built by William Barton, in the summer of 1796, near where the railroad crosses the river at the Mansfield farm. The first grist-mill was built by Asa Kimball, in 1797, on the site now occupied by the chair-stock factory. He also built a saw-mill, in 1798, where the grist-mill now is. The first child born in the town was Amelia May, October 3, 1796, a daughter of James and Elizabeth May. The first male child was George Abbot, born June 3, 1797, and died the 20th of the following month. The first adult person to die in the town was Paul Blount, a farm hand in the service of David Pillsbury, in September, 1798. The first barn was built by Daniel Pillsbury. The raisers came from Lyndon, finished the raising in the morning and returned to Lyndon for breakfast. The first church was built by the Congregationalists in 1820, about one mile north of Barton village.   Lemuel Sturtevant was the first merchant, in 1801, though he continued in business but a short time.   Col. Bangs and Capt. Bigelow opened a store in 1805, Samuel Works in 1806, and Abisha Goodel in 1809.  Ellis Cobb built a fulling-mill for dressing cloth in 1803. Joseph Owen established a distillery for manufacturing whiskey in 1804.  The first physician was Elihu Lee, in 1802.  The first lawyer in the town was Asa King, in 1811,  The first religious meeting was held at the dwelling of Asa Kimball, in 1803, by Phineas Peck, a Methodist preacher.
 
 

Gazetteer of Lamoille and Orleans Counties, VT.; 1883-1884, 
Compiled and Published by Hamilton Child; May 1887, 
Page  199-205)

This excerpt was provided by Tom Dunn.

Barton, Vermont - US Census 1850

Barton, Vermont - US Census 1860

Barton Cemetery Listings

Tombstone Listings from the St. Paul’s Cemetery in Barton,  Vermont

Tombstone Listings from the North Cemetery in Barton, Vermont

Tombstone Listings from the South Cemetery in Barton, Vermont

Tombstone Listings from the Welcome O'Brown Cemetery, Barton, Vermont

Tombstone Listings from the Heath Cemetery in Barton, Vermont

First Congregational Church ~ 1817 - 1909 list of Pastors, Deacons & Parishioners

Death notices (1975 - 1986) from the Barton Chronicle Newspaper

Alumni Directory from the 1967 Orleans High School Annual  Yearbook - Orleans, Vermont

1926 issue listing past and present students from the Barton Academy  - Orleans, Vermont