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A
Brief History of Corinth
The
little village of Corinth lies in the central part of Orange County, bounded
northerly by the rolling hills of Orange, Topsham and Newbury, easterly
by Bradford and West Fairlee, Vershire on the south, Washington on the
west.
It
was first chartered by New Hampshire, February 4, 1764, to Col. John Taplin
and others, and a confirmatory grant was afterwards procured from New York,
by Henry Moore and others, February 2, 1772. It contains an area of 23,040
acres.
The
first family to settle in the town was the Ezekiel Colby family in 1777,
followed by several other families settling there in 1780 at which time
the town was organized.
Corinth
township is comprised of the following: West Corinth Village - about 1
1/2 miles from the west and 2 3/4 miles from the south line of town; East
Corinth Village - in the northeastern part of the township, extending to
the Topsham line; Corinth Village - about 1 mile south of the center of
the town (also known as Cookeville); Corinth Center, a hamlet 3/4 mile
east of Corinth Corinth Corners, a hamlet in the southwestern corner of
the town.
The
surface of this township is generally very uneven and broken, and the elevations
abrupt, yet the land is, in almost every part, susceptible of cultivation.
The soil consists of a dark loam, mixed with a small portion of sand, is
easily cultivated, and is very productive. The land was originally
timbered with hard wood except on the streams, where there was a mixture
of hemlock, spruce and fir. Small but handsome specimens of feldspar,
garnet, serpentine, hornblend, mica and rock crystal have been found.
The rocks are principally granite and mica slate. This township is
well watered by Wait’s River, which runs through the north-east part, and
by several of its branches.
On
North Branch, from Topsham, in the north-east corner of the town is East
village. Another branch rises in Washington, passes through the south
part of this town, and unties with Wait’s River in the western part of
Bradford. There are some other streams on which mills and other machinery
are erected.
Boundaries.
Northerly by Topsham, easterly by Bradford, southerly by Vershire, and
westerly by Washington.
First
Settlers. In the spring of 1777, previous to the settlement of the
town, Ezekiel Colby, John Nutting and John Armand, spent several
weeks here in manufacturing maple sugar. They started together from
Newbury, with each a five pail kettle on his head, and with this load they
travelled, by a pocket compass, twelve miles through the wilderness to
the place of destination near the centre of the township. This year,
Mr. Colby moved his family into Corinth, which was the first family in
town. The next year, 1778, Mr. Nutting moved his family here, and
Mrs. Colby was delivered of a son, Henry, the first child born in town.
In 1779, Messrs. Edmund Brown, Samuel Norris, Jacob Fowler and Bracket
Towle, moved their families here, and the same year, Mr. John Aiken, of
Wentworth, N. H., erected the first grist mill, which went into operation
the year following. Previous to this, the settlers had to go to Newbury,
twelve miles, for their grinding. In 1780, several other families
came in, and the town was organized.
First
Ministers. A Freewill Baptist Church was organized in the north part
of the town in 1805, and one in the south part in 1807. A Congregational
Church was organized in 1820, and in 1821 they settled the Rev. Calvin
Y. Chase, who died here in 1831.
Distances.
Twenty miles south-east from Montpelier, and ten north-east from Chelsea.
The Connecticut River Railroad passes near this town.
(Gazetteer
of Vermont, by John Hayward, 1849, p. 50-51)
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