HISTORY
OF THE TOWN OF
WARDSBORO
WARDSBORO lies in the western part of the county, in lat. 42°
59', and long. 4° 11', bounded north by Jamaica, east by parts of Townshend
and Newfane, south by Dover and west by Stratton. It originally contained
an area of about 23,040 acres, chartered by Vermont to William WARD, of
Newfane, from whom its name was derived, November 7, 1780. On October 18,
1788, an act was passed by the legislature dividing the town into two districts,
called North and South Districts, making two separate and distinct towns,
and on October 30, 1810, the South District was incorporated into a new
town, and named Dover. November 5, 1838, a part of Somerset was annexed
to the township, and November 11, 1851, another part from the same town
was added.
The surface of the territory is very uneven, and in some places
quite rocky, there being a high range of hills between it and Dover. The
soil is better adapted to grazing than tillage, though there are some tracts
of land having a very arable soil. It is watered by Whetstone brook and
its tributaries, a large branch of White river affording some good mill-sites.
The rocks entering into its geological structure are of gneiss and talcose-schist-formation,
the former being found in the western and the latter in the eastern parts.
Among the rare minerals found tremolite and zoisite are the most important.
The former is in fine crystals, sometimes six inches long, penetrating
quartz, while the latter is in prismatic crystals, sometimes a foot in
length, and from one to two inches in width.
In 1880 Wardsboro had a population of 766, and in 1882 was divided
into seven school districts and had seven common schools, employing three
male and eight female teachers, to whom was paid an aggregate salary of
$833.53. There were 188 pupils attending common school, while the entire
cost of the schools for the year, ending October 31st, was $930.19, with
H. M. HOPKINSON, superintendent.
WARDSBORO is a post village, familiarly known as "Wardsboro City,"
located in the northern part of the town, on a branch of West river. It
has two churches (Methodist and Congregational), a hotel, two general stores,
a hardware store, grist-mill, saw-mill, cabinet shop, blacksmith shop,
harness shop, boot and shoe shop, etc., and about 150 inhabitants.
WEST WARDSBORO, a post village located in the western part of the
town, on the same stream as the above village, has one church (Baptist),
a hotel, a general store, a school-house, saw and grist-mill, two blacksmith
shops, etc.
SOUTH WARDSBORO, a post village, lies in the southeastern part of
the town, It has two churches (Congregational and Union), a saw-mill, blacksmith
shop, shingle-mill, etc.
UNIONVILLE is a hamlet located near the central part of the town,
on the west branch of Whetstone brook. It has a grist-mill, blacksmith
shop, butter-tub factory, and about a dozen dwellings.
E. D. PLIMPTON's grist-mill, located on road 71, was built by Waldo
CONVERSE, about thirty-eight years ago.
Herbert E. KIDDER's saw-mill and chair-stock factory, located at
South Wardsboro, turns out, aside from the lumber, about 200,000 shingles,
and 200,000 chair posts per annum.
M. V. B. WAIT & Son's saw-mill and chair-stock factory, located
on road 40, turns out about 1,500 chair posts and 5,000 feet of lumber
per day.
J. C. ESTABROOK's tub manufactory, located at Unionville, turns
out about twenty-five tubs, buckets and pails per day.
SNOW & STEVENS's grist-mill, at Unionville, grinds a hundred
bushels of grain per day.
J. W. RAMSDELL & Son's saw-mill, located on road 24, was built
about forty-four years ago.
BROWN & SHIPMAN's grist and saw-mill, located at West Wardsboro,
has the capacity for manufacturing 2,000 shingles, 6,000 feet of lumber,
and 2,000 chair posts, and grinding 150 bushels of grain per day.
Edward R. HOWE's saw-mill and chair-stock factory, located at Wardsboro,
has the capacity for turning out 2,500 chair posts, 5,000 feet of lumber,
and 20,000 shingles per day.
The settlement of the town was commenced in June, 1780, by John
JONES, Ithamer ALLEN and others, from Milford and Sturbridge, Mass., and
eleven years later, according to the census of 1791, the population had
increased to 753 souls, only thirteen less than it has to-day. March 14,
1786, the town duly organized, Aaron HUDSON being elected town clerk, who
was elected the same year to represent the town for the first time in the
legislature, and who was also the first justice of the peace. This meeting
was held at the house of John JONES, on road 48, the other officers chosen
being as follows: Ithamer ALLEN, John GANSON, Abner HOLBROOK, Ebenezer
SEARS, and Jacob CHAMBERLAIN, selectmen; Thomas JEWETT and Abner SLADE,
constables; James WALLIS, Abner PERRY and Roger BICHARD, listers; Samuel
DAVIS and Edward WALKER, grand jurors; Abner ALLEN, supervisor; Samuel
BRYANT, leather sealer; Elijah BALDWIN and John JONES, tythingmen; Bezaleel
GLEASON, horse brander; John RAMSDELL, sealer of measures; John GANSON,
Silas WRIGHT, Elkanah WOODCOCK, Thaddeus WRIGHT, Samuel DAVIS, John JONES
and Abner PERRY, highway surveyors; Joseph DIX, Nathan GANSON, Elijah BALDWIN,
Edward WALKER, Noah SHERMAN, John JONES, Abner PERRY, and William BRADLEY,
petit jurors; and Thomas JEWETT and Roger BICHARD, haywards.
John RAMSDELL came from Warwick, Mass., in 1786, and lived with
his family of eight children in a log house situated on road 18, near where
Ichabod CHASE now lives. He bought a thousand acres of land about his home,
on which his children spent part of their lives, but some of them subsequently
removed to other localities. The children were Robert; Farrington, who
died in Washington, Vt.; John, Jr., who died in Shoreham, Vt.; Job, who
was born in 1779, and died in 1870, and who, in May, 1803, married Abigail
WHITE of Wardsboro, who died in 1844; Gideon, who moved to Ohio; Eunice,
who married Ebenezer EATON; Sally, who married Nathaniel FITTS; and Anna
who married Peter CLEVELAND, and moved to Cleveland, Ohio. A daughter of
John, Jr., is still living in Shoreham, Vt. Five of job's eleven children
are living, viz.: Joseph, who is seventy-nine years old, on road 18; Sylvia,
who married Erastus RAMSDELL, in Wisconsin; Chester, in Minnesota; Harriet,
who married for her first husband Leonard COOK, by whom she had two children,
one of whom lives in Wilmington and the other in Vernon, and for her second
husband Alden WAKEFIELD, and who is now living on road 37; and Roena, who
married David H. EAGER, and lives on road 20. Laura, one of Sally's six
children, who married Willard JOHNSON, is living with her son-in-law, John
B. SAGE, Jr., on road 26.
Gen. Daniel READ, who was born in 1761, married, December 6, 1782,
Sarah BRIGHAM, of Westboro, Mass., whence he removed to Wardsboro about
1787. He was a tanner as well as farther, and had a large tannery in the
eastern part of the town. Each of his seven sons learned the tanning business.
He derived his title of general from his connection with the military organizations
in this vicinity, when each town had its company and Wardsboro had two.
The general muster was held at Townshend, and Gen. READ was inspector for
the whole regiment. He died August 31, 1845, aged eighty-five. His wife
died June 27, 1836, aged seventy-two. Their eight children were Joseph,
who died November 2, 1849, aged 65; David, who died November 20, 1859,
aged 73; Daniel, who died March 25, 1869, aged 73; Charles P., who died
September 14, 1814, aged 16; Edmund B., the only survivor, who was born
February 6, 1802, and still works his little farm on road 7 1/2, and who
has been steward and sexton of the M. E. church for fifty years; Hamilton,
who died February 5, 1872, aged 68; Elijah, who died April 4, 1864; and
Sarah, who died July 8, 1851, aged 68. Davis READ married Lucinda DAVIS
and had eight children, six of whom are living -- Austin C., who was born
March 30, 1817, has had three wives, and now resides on road 7 1/2; Eliza
L., who married Judge COOK, and lives in Jamestown, N. Y.; Addison B.,
who is living with his second wife in Nebraska; Albert G., who is married
and lives in California; Jerome P., who was born April 23, 1833, married
Gracia BIXBY, and lives on road 16; Marietta, who is married and lives
in Baltimore, Md.; and Hamilton, who is living with his second wife. Elijah
READ married a lady in Boston and lived and died in New Hampshire. Sarah
married Simeon FISHER, and moved to Randolph, N. Y., where her husband
died, when she returned to Wardsboro and died here.
Nathaniel FITTS was born August 5, 1759, and died June 13, 1849.
He came to Wardsboro from Dudley, Mass., about 1790, and in 1793, married
Sarah RAMSDELL of Wardsboro, who died April 18, 1837. Their seven children
were: Levi, who was born January 10, 1795, married Artene CLARK, of Jamaica,
November 19, 1822; Nathaniel B., who was born March 25, 1797, and died
in June, 1808; Amasa, who was born July 23, 1800, married Eliza WARD, April
25, 1825, lived in South Wardsboro, and died in January, 1883; Ebenezer,
who was born November, 2, 1802, married Matilda MORSE of Newfane, Vt.,
December 6, 1827, and died July 19, 1847; Sarah, who was born February
3, 1805, married Joseph E. KNOWLTON, and lived in Wardsboro and Jamaica;
Joanna, who was born August 28, 1808, married Abner WHITE, May 30, 1855,
and died May 15, 1864, without issue; and Laura, who was born June 11,
1811, married Willard JOHNSON, and lived in Dover and South Wardsboro.
Most of them had large families. Three of Levi's five children are living
in West Wardsboro, viz.: Lawretta L., who was born November 27, 1828, and
married Darwin A. HAMMOND; Osmer C., who was born August 13, 1830, married
Abbie M. TWITCHELL, June 4, 1864, and is postmaster of West Wardsboro;
and Philura M., who was born February 26, 1833, and married Thomas F. JOHNSON,
May 21, 1851. Of Amasa's nine children, Augustine M. was born January 30,
1828, and married Hiram B. KIDDER, of Wardsboro; Albert was born August
16, 1831 married Cerintha KILBURN, August 21, 1864, and moved to Dummerston,
Vt.; Mary was born January 26, 1835, and married Spencer ROBINSON September
27, 1854; and Emily S. was born July 30, 1840, and married Charles H. RICE,
September 15, 1864. Henry N. FITTS, one of Ebenezer's seven children, was
born November 24, 1828, married Jane T. NEWELL, May 10, 1849, and still
lives in Wardsboro.
Ebenezer WAKEFIELD came from Massachusetts in 1794 and settled on
the farm where his son Alden now lives, on road 37. He had eight children
by his first wife, of whom William, who resides in Kansas, is the only
one living. His second wife was Eledica PLYMPTON, by whom he had two children.
One of these is Alden, who lives on the homestead farm. Alden married Elizabeth
KNOWLTON, by whom he had one child, who is now living with his father.
He subsequently married Harriet A. RAMSDELL, who bore him no children.
Archibald PRATT, who represented one of the oldest families in Wardsboro,
came from Royalton, Mass., and after a few years' residence in Stratton
removed to Wardsboro. He built a frame house on road 72, which still stands,
though in poor condition. Three of his eleven children still live on road
72, viz.: Clarinda, who married George WILDER, Chandler, and Betsey, who
married Richard W. SMITH. A fourth, Lucretia, married and lives on road
8. A fifth, Diantha, is married and lives in Hinsdale, N. H. Several descendants
of the family live in Wardsboro.
Nathaniel HAMMOND, from Massachusetts, was one of the earliest settlers
in Wardsboro. He located on the farm now owned by Martin WAIT. He married
Mary ROGERS in Massachusetts prior to his coming here, and had five sons
and two daughters, who mostly removed from the town and State. His daughter
Jemima married Elijah NEWELL, and lived on the farm now owned by Lucius
LYMAN, on road 22. Of their children, Linus lives in Grafton Mass.; Allwred,
in Brattleboro; Oscar, who married Rosetta PLIMPTON, on road 4, in Wardsboro;
Ozro, in Brattleboro; Fanny, who married Horace BISSELL, on road 17, in
Wardsboro; Lucretia A., who is dead, but leaves one daughter, Adeline,
who married Martin PLIMPTON, and lives on road 36; and Jane, who married
Henry FITTS, and lives on road 18. The latter have a son and a daughter,
the former of whom, Elwin, is married and lives on road 17, while the latter,
named Cora, resides at home.
Nathaniel KIDDER came with his brothers, Jedediah, Richard and Samuel,
from Massachusetts about 1800, and settled on the farm now owned by Myron
SHINE. He had thirteen children, all of whom are dead, and all of whom
moved to New York State, except one, who went to Massachusetts. Three of
the sons entered the ministry, one as an Episcopalian and two as Congregationalists,
while a fourth, also of Congregational persuasion, studied for the ministry,
but died before his studies were completed. Foster KIDDER, one of Jedediah's
five children, all of whom are dead, lived and died in Wardsboro. Two of
the others moved to New York, and two to Massachusetts. Richard had three
sons and three daughters, of whom Moses, who removed to Massachusetts,
is the only survivor. One, Asa, moved to Newfane, and Theda died unmarried
in Wardsboro. Sylva and Celista married and moved to New York. Richard,
Jr., married Mary JOHNSON and lived and died on the farm now owned by Mary's
brother, Nathaniel B. JOHNSON. They had three sons and two daughters, four
of whom survive -- Henry, who married Marietta HIGLEY, of Dover, and resides
on road 14.; Herbert, who married Selina RYDER, and lives in South Wardsboro;
Richard, who moved to Worcester, Mass.; and Rosella, who married Henry
KENNY and lives in Newfane. Samuel died after being in the town only a
few years.
Oliver WILLARD and wife came here from Dudley, Mass., about 1803.
He died in 1815, aged fifty-five. He had ten children, most of whom removed
to distant States. All are dead, except Ada, who married John WIDWELL,
and removed with her husband and four children to Illinois, accomplishing
the entire journey with a two-horse wagon. Eli, son of Oliver, married
Lucy FROST and lived on the farm on which A. EDDY now resides, of which
he was the first occupant. He had five children, but not one is here, those
who are living having removed to other localities. Oliver, another son,
married and lived on the homestead; but his children have moved to other
parts. Asenath, daughter of Oliver, Sen., married Orin SIMPSON, and her
children, Willard, Louisa, Charles and Oliver, live in Townshend. All are
married, except Louisa, Hosea, son of the pioneer Oliver, was born in 1795
and died in 1877. He married and had three children, viz.: Mary, who married
Henry BRUCE, and lives with her two children on the farm formerly occupied
by her grandfather, Oliver WILLARD; Warren H., who married and lives in
Townshend, and has one son; and Wales, who married Mary DEXTER, has two
children, and lives in Wardsboro village. One child, Silas, married and
lives in Baltimore; the other, Cora, married William GLEASON, and lives
in Jamaica.
Walter MORSE was born October 24, 1794, and came from Woodstock,
Conn., about 1825. He settled on the farm now owned by Asa EDDY on road
15. He subsequently lived in various places in the town, and for three
years in Jamaica. His last place of residence was where Charles RICE now
lives, on road 16. He died there in 1844. In 1827 he married Laura TAYLOR,
of Wardsboro, who was born September 30, 1801, and died in June, 1848,
Their seven children are Samuel F., who was born March 9, 1829, married
Abigail RICE, of Wardsboro, lived on a farm off road 4, and died August
21, 1883, leaving a wife and two children; Abial T., who was born May 21,
1830, married Juliette RAMSDELL, of Jamaica, in which town he lives, and
has eight children: Edward S., who was born February 11, 1832, married
Philinda M. HASKINS, of Wardsboro, and is a Methodist minister, having
received his first appointment in 1858, and preached continuously in this
county until 1879, when ill health compelled him to leave his pulpit; Adaline
D., who was born January 21, 1834, is a maiden lady, and lives in Jamaica;
Hosea F., who was born October 6, 1836, married Minnie WITHERELL, of Boston,
Mass., where he died in September, 1866, and where his widow, who remarried,
still lives; Sarah M. who was born in September, 1838, and married Oliver
SPAFFORD, of West Ballston, Mass., where he still resides, and Mary A.,
who was born in 1814, married Eaton RYTHER, of Dover, Vt., and still lives
there.
Josiah GLEASON, Jr., was born April 21, 1803, and came here from
Jamaica in 1830. He settled on the farm on which his son Martin J. now
lives, on road 7, and died March 7, 1873. He married Susan R. MORSE, of
Newfane, October 6, 1830, and had five sons and one daughter, viz.: Martin
J., who lives on the homestead farm, where he was born October 31, 1831,
and has. one son named John, who resides with him; James M., who was born
October 6, 1833, is engaged in the life insurance business, in Boston;
Edson G. who was born June 21, 1835, and died July 20, 1854; Sarah M.,
who was born February 13, 1838, and died April 10, 1843; William Henry,
who was born April 25, 1840, and died March 26, 1841; and William Henry,
2d, who, was born November 15, 1843, is married and lives in Chicago, where
he has a wholesale jewelry store, and is a deputy sheriff. His (Josiah's)
wife was born September 6, 1803, and died January 9, 1866.
Asahel WATSON was born in 1816, and came to Wardsboro, from Jamaica
in 1840. He owned and operated for several years the saw-mill now owned
by E. R. HOWE. During the last twenty years of his life he owned and kept
the Wardsboro House. He died in January. 1881, aged sixty-four. May 22,
1840, he married Adelphia JACKSON, by whom he had eleven children, who
were born between the years 1841 and 1860, all of whom are living, except
the youngest, who died in infancy. Marion E. is married and lives in Newfane;
Isadore A. is married and lives in Westminster; Victoria J. is married
and lives in Barton, Vt., and like Marion and Isadore, has four children;
Charles C. is single and lives in Chicago; Lydia J., who is also single,
is a dressmaker in Wardsboro village; John H. is married, and is practicing
law in Bradford, Vt.; Royal A. is married and lives in Ripon, Wis.; Rosella
J. married H. P. HIGGINS, and lives on road 25, in Wardsboro; Wales J.
is married and is a hotel-keeper in Charleston, S. C.; Ella A. married
Fred UNDERWOOD, of Jamaica, in 1883, and with him keeps the hotel formerly
owned by her father, in Wardsboro village.
John D. WATSON, brother of Asahel, came here from Jamaica, in 1850,
and has since resided here.
Dr. Franklin MARTIN came to Wardsboro, from Weston, Vt., in 1847,
and has since practiced medicine here. He had nine children, two of whom,
Emeline and Joseph, are dead. Darius is married and lives in Milwaukee,
Wis.; Addison is married and is a miller, and resides on road 6, in Wardsboro;
Charles lives with his father; Maria is married and lives in Beloit, Wis.;
Betsey is married and lives in Bridgehampton, Long Island, N. Y.; Albeit
and James are in Colorado.
David May was born in Brookfield, Mass., and moved, when a young
man, to Wilmington, where he lived and died. His son Amos married Elizabeth
ESTABROOK, of Brattleboro, and lived on Higley Hill, in Marlboro. He died
at the age of fifty-four years. Elvin, son of Amos, married Nancy HASTINGS,
of Marlboro, and lived on the homestead farm after his father's death.
He is still living with his son Erasmus, on Higley Hill, in Marlboro, and
is eighty-five years old. Lyman, another of Amos's sons, married for his
first wife, Miss BELLOWS, of Marlboro, and for his second, Pattie JONES,
of the same town. Amos's daughter Rosana, married Harvey COPELAND, of Dover,
and died a year after her marriage. Sally, another daughter, was a maiden
lady, who lived in Marlboro, and died in Springfield, Mass. Danford, another
of Amos's sons, married Susan UNDERWOOD, of Wardsboro, and has since lived
in this town and Jamaica. His son Madison married Lucy ELLENWOOD, of Hubbardston,
Mass., and had a son who is now in the mercantile business in New York
city. Amos May, Jr., married Martha UNDERWOOD, of Jamaica, and now lives
in Brattleboro. Silas married Mary BATCHELLER, of Massachusetts, who died
a year after her marriage. For his second wife he married Mary HISCOCK,
of Springfield, Mass. William married Alsina MARSH, of Brattleboro, and
lives in Wardsboro. His second wife was Lucy WARREN, of Brattleboro. Siby
married Madison HARRIS, of Dover. Betsey married Harvey COPELAND, of Dover.
Louisa died when eighteen years old. Amos married Lucy (WARREN) MAY, of
Brattleboro; and Melinda, Henry RICE, of Dover.
Daniel HARRIS, from North Worcester, Mass., came to Wardsboro about
1780. Three of his eight children are living, -- Arathusia, widow of Oliver
CARPENTER, resides in Brattleboro, at the age of ninety-three years; David,
born in 1800, resides in Wardsboro; and Alice. widow of Henry MILLER, resides
in Richland, N. Y., aged ninety years.
George POND, from Keene, N. H., removed to Dover in 1834, and from
there came to Wardsboro. In 1833 he married Lorinda BALDWIN, of Dover,
who bore him ten children. She now resides with her daughter, Mrs. Albert
FITTS, of Dummerston, at the age of seventy-four years. George POND died
in Wardsboro, November 7, 1874. Five of the children are living, -- Mrs.
Albert FITTS and Mrs. Mary MAY, in Dummerston; Emery, in Newfane; and George
W. and Henry H., in Brattleboro.
Silas WAITE came to Wardsboro from Hollister, Mass., about 1780,
making the first clearing upon a tract of land in the eastern part of the
town, where he lived alone several years. He married Susannah VINTON, of
Sturbridge, Mass., in 1785, who bore him four children, Joseph, Joshua
V., Thomas F., and Mehitabel B. Joseph was a lawyer and settled in Jamestown,
N. Y. Joshua V. married Julia AMES and settled in Dover. Thomas F. married
Evalina ORCUTT, reared eight children and died in 1846. Mehitable never
married, and died in 1856, Four of Thomas's children are living, Alfred,
Silas M., and Lucretia E., in Brattleboro, and Henry in Cleveland, Ohio.
Nathaniel CHENEY came to Wardsboro from Orange, Mass., in 1803,
built the first hotel here, and was a merchant until 1812. In 1813 he went
to Jamaica where he built the Jamaica House, which is still used as an
hotel. He was twice married, to Betsey HUDSON and to Hannah REED, of Worcester,
Mass., reared seven children, and died at Jamaica, October 30, 1844. His
second wife died in 1860. Samuel T. R., youngest son of Nathaniel, was
born in Wardsboro, June 29, 1805. He married first, Mary E. KELLOGG, of
Jamaica, who bore him two sons, and second, Martha A. BROWN, of Jamaica,
who bore him four children. He lived in Jamaica a number of years, and
in 1860 he removed to Brattleboro, where he has been engaged in farming
and gardening. He represented Jamaica in the legislature five years and
was town clerk twelve years. Nathaniel, Jr., was born in Orange, Mass.,
in 1799, and came to Marlboro with his father. He married Maria MORSE,
of Newfane, and reared four sons. He was a merchant here several years,
then removed to Jamaica, kept a store there, was also a merchant in Townshend,
and died in Brattleboro.
Joseph TWITCHELL, son of Timothy and Sarah (Adams) TWITCHELL, of
Hollister, Mass., was one of the early settlers of the town, coming here
from Barre, Mass., about 1786, settling upon the farm now owned by M. WHITE.
Between 1788 and 1790 he married Lucy RICE, who bore him eleven children,
ten of whom reared families of their own. Two only are now living, Hollis,
in Jamaica, aged eighty-nine years, and Jotham, in Boston. Joseph was one
of the founders of the first Congregational church in Wardsboro, and his
brother Timothy helped build the first house of worship. He died in 1835,
aged seventy-two years. Hollis TWITCHELL married Charlotte RUGG, of Windham,
March 23, 1820, and settled in Jamaica, though he subsequently, in 1836,
purchased the farm now occupied by his son Adams, off road 23 in that town.
Three of eight children, Adams, Eliza and Lucy, are living. David, son
of Joseph, settled in Jamaica and reared three sons and three daughters,
of whom two of the sons are living. Mrs. Flora S. RAWSON is one of the
daughters. David died in 1881, aged seventy-three years. Appleton, another
son of Joseph, spent his life in Jamaica.
The Congregational church of South Wardsboro. - The first Congregational
church was organized May 1, 1793, over which the Rev. Tames TUFTS was ordained
November 4, 1795. In 1796 they built a church building about half a mile
west of West Wardsboro, at what is known as the "old common," a wood structure,
which did good service until 1840, when it was decided to change the church
site. The building was then torn down, while the society was divided, some
to help build a church at South Wardsboro, and others to build a church
at Wardsboro. Thus, the South Wardsboro people date the organization at
the time of the original organization, while the people at Wardsboro date
their church organization at the time their church building was completed,
in 1842. The church at South Wardsboro has at present fifty-six members,
with Rev. Nathaniel RICHARDSON, pastor. The church building is a wood structure,
valued, including grounds, at $1,500.00, and will comfortably seat 350
persons.
The Baptist church of West Wardsboro was organized by a council
convened for that purpose, in 1793, Elder Stephen CHOAT being settled as
their pastor, in 1806. Their church building, a wood structure built in
1795, will comfortably seat 225 persons and, is valued, including grounds,
at $2,000.00. The society now has seventy-six members, under the charge
of Rev. Henry M. HOPKINSON.
The Methodist Episcopal church, located at Wardsboro, was organized
in 1831, by Revs. Guy BECKLEY and James M. FULLER, with six members, Rev.
Guy BECKLEY being installed as first pastor. Their church building was
erected the following year, at a cost of $800.00. It will seat 350 persons,
and is valued, including grounds, at $2,500.00, while they have, in addition,
a parsonage valued at $1,000.00. The society has at present ninety-eight
members, under the pastoral charge of Rev. William A. BRYANT.
The Congregational church of Wardsboro, located on Main street,
was organized in November, 1842, with ten members, Rev. Willard BRIGHAM
being the first pastor. Their church building was erected in 1842, at a
cost of $1,300.00, and dedicated in 1843. It is a wood structure capable
of seating 350 persons, and is valued, including grounds, at $1,500.00.
The society has at present twenty members, with no regular pastor.
Gazetteer
and Business Directory of
Windham
County, Vt., 1724-1884.
Compiled
and Published By Hamilton Child,
Printed
At The Journal Office, Syracuse, N. Y., July, 1884.
Page 304
[48]-304
[57]
Transcribed
by Karima Allison ~2004
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