"This
is the chief town in the county. It is delightfully situated upon the tongue
of land formed by the confluence of the Winooski River with Lake Champlain
. . . The surface of the township is agreeably diversified, and is so much
elevated above the lake that the air is pure and wholesome.
This
town is not surpassed in beauty of location by any one in New England.
It lies on the east shore of Burlington Bay, and occupies a gentle declivity,
descending towards the west, and terminated by the waters of the lake .
. . There are regular daily lines of steamboats between this and St. John's,
and between this and Plattsburgh. . . Three extensive wharves, with store-houses,
have been constructed and most of the merchandize designed for the north-eastern
section of Vermont is landed here . . . The manufactures of the place consist
of two woolen mills, one cotton mill, one foundry and machines hop, two
saw mills, one grist and an extensive flour mill. The principal manufacturing
establishment is the Burlington Company, at "Winooski City." They commenced
operations in 1836-37. It continued to manufacture on a small scale till
1845, when the company was newly organized and much enlarged. The company
now runs sixteen sets of woolen machinery . . . it employs 450 hands .
. .
"The
first that was done in this town with a view to its settlement was in 1774.
During the summer of 1775, some clearings were made on the interval north
of the village . . . But the revolution commencing this year, the
settlers in this and neighboring towns, either retreated to the south in
the fall or took shelter in the blockhouse in Colchester for the winter,
and abandoned the country the succeeding spring. During the war no attempt
was made to renew the settlement in these parts; but on the return of peace
in 1783, many of those who had been compelled to leave the country, returned
and others with them, and a permanent settlement was effected. The first
man who brought his family into Burlington in the spring of 1783, was Mr.
Stephen Lawrence. A number of other families came into Burlington the same
season, among whom were Frederick Saxton, Simon Tubbs, and John Collins,
and from that time to the present the population has been constantly on
the increase."
(Gazetteer
of Vermont, Hayward, 1849)
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