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County Chapter.
By Hon. David Read.
PART ONE
The county of Chittenden was incorporated by act of the legislature
of Vermont, Oct. 22, 1787. It is bounded on the north by the
counties of Grand Isle, Franklin, and Lamoille; south by the county
of Addison; east by Lamoille and Wasington; and west by the west
line of the state, and the southerly part of the county of Grand
Isle. In all our local histories, so far as noticed, the county is
eroneously said to be bounded "on the west by Lake Champlain." By
statute [see Revised Statutes of Vermont, 1839], the western
boundary includes "so much of Lake Champlain as lies in this state
west of the towns in said county adjoining the lake, and not
included within the limits of Grand Isle." The border towns, by
their charters, were bounded "on the west by the lake;" and it seems
that the legislature did not consider that they extended, by legal
construction, to the west line of the state--which passes along its
main or deepest channel.
The county is situated between 44º, 7', and 44º, 42' of north
latitude: and between 3º, 41', and 4º, 14' of longitude east from
Washington. It has upon every side an irregular outline, formed by
town lines on the north, south, and east: with an average length
from north to south of about 26 miles, and from east to west,
including the waters of the lake, of 23 miles--and contains a land
area of about 520 square miles.
EARLY NATIVE RESIDENTS
A branch of the Abenaquis tribe of Indians, were the aboriginal
occupants of this section of the country, previous to its settlement
by the pioneers; and, indeed, they lingered upon their rightful
soil, at the mouth of the Lamoille river and thence north along the
Missisquoi bay, for a long while after the French and English had
taken possession and commenced the settlement of the country to the
north and south of them. They have not as yet wholly relinquished
their claims upon the country; and although they left it united
themselves with the St. Francis tribe, another branch of the
Abenaquis, who reside at the outlet of the St. Francis river on the
St. Lawrence, they still claim an interest in the soil, and have
repeatedly, and within a few years past, sent their delegates tot he
legislature of Vermont, to seek some compensation for their lands.
[1.] What time they left and joined their friends at St. Franics, is
not fully known. After the settlement of the country, an Indian
encampment and burial place were well distinguished near the mouth
of the Lamoille river, together with a mound of large size, where
the skeletons and bones of the race, buried in their usual sitting
posture, were exhumed, and numberous arrow heads and other Indian
relics found. And near this same place in Colchester, the remarkable
urn or relic of Indian pottery, described by Prof. Thompson, and now
in the cabinet of natural history in the University of Vermont, was
also found [Thompson's History of Vermont]. If, however, the
Abenaquis made that specimen of pottery, constructed in such perfect
form, and so highly ornamented upon its exterior surface, there was
a time when they far excelled in that useful art. The fact that this
relic was found in the vicinity, affords no very certain evidence
that it was the work of that race; but there is strong reason to
believe that it must have been the work of a people far more
advanced in the useful arts.
It appears that the Abenaquis claimed the country along Missisquoi
bay, and sought to disturb the possession of the whites, as late as
1788. By the kindness of Henry Stevens, Esq., we have been furnished
with a correspondence between Ira Allen, who then resided at
Cochester, and Clement Gorselin of Pointe au Roche, Lord Dorchester,
governor of the province of Quebec, and Lt. Col. John Campbell, "of
his majesty's service," respecting the proceedings of these Indians,
at so recent a date--being even after the county of Chittenden was
incorporated; and the settlement in question was then within its
limits.
Gorselin, under date of Aug. 18th, 1786, writes to Allen to inform
him that the Indians claimed the land on Missisquoi bay, and
threatened to drive off the people, who had settled there, and
destroy their possessions. Allen replies, Aug. 23d, 1786, that the
French and Indians lost their claim in the French war, and the lands
had been granted tot he proprietors in 1763; that the Indians can
have justice by applying to the courts in Vermont. Moreover, that
the governor of the state had appointed Col. Eben. Allen of Grand
Isle, to remove all unlawful intruders on the frontier, with a
military force.
Allen procures the deposition of John Waggoner and Wm. Tichout,
"June 21, 1788, before Thos. Butterfield, justice of peace for the
county of Chittenden," wherein they state among other things, that
an Indian named Capt. Louis of the St. Francis tribe, with about
twenty men, came on to the Missisquoi river last October, "and
hoisted a flag on a pole, drew their knives, threatened several of
the inhabitants in a hostile manner, obliged the inhabitants to
provide a dinner for them, claimed a right to the land, and took in
a hostile manner 10 bushels of Indian corn from Waggoner, and about
15 bushels of potatoes from Tichout. The Indians also burnt and
destroyed some fences; that in April last, the same Indians
threatened to dispossess the subscriber John Waggoner, unless he
would pay them one-quarter of all he raised on said land, as rent to
them."
Allen enclosed the above deposition to Lord orchester, July 16th,
1788, and writes him the account of a similar occurence about four
years previous, when, he says, "the settlers were so exasperated as
to be about to drive out the Indians by force, but had forborne on
his request;" and asked the governor to take measures to prevent any
further difficulty. And on the 7th of August, 1788, Allen also
writes to Col. Campbell on the same subject, remarking: "If the
Indians would behave he had no objection to their hunting and
fishing on the land."
Col. Campbell thereupon addresses a letter to Sir John Johnson,
"Bart., Supt. and Inspector GEneral of Indian Affairs," dated,
Montreal, September 5th, 1788, in which he says, "that he had called
the Indians before him, and they confessed they had been on
Missisquoi bay; and always travel with their colors and display them
at their encampment, wherever they happen to be, as a mark of their
attachment to their Great Father the King of England. Though they
had the mortification to find Waggoner, Tichout, and others, on
their lands, yet they neither drew knives or committed any
irregularities; confident that their father would do them justice
therein." That "they were but 9 men, a boy, 11 women, and 8 children
on the breast, in number;" and that the Indians appealed to John
Hilliker, neighbor to Waggoner and Tichout, who was their
interpreter, to prove what they had said. Lord Dorchester, October
11th, 1788, transmitted a copy of the above letter to Ira Allen, for
his examination. Capt. Louis was styled the Abenaqui chief, in the
foregoing correspondence.
With the preceding there is a lease before us, from the papers of
Mr. Stevens, executed in 1765, by a number of these Indians, which
establishes the fact beyond question, that they were a branch of the
Abenaquis tribe, or as they styled themselves, "the Abenackque
nation of Missisque;" who occupied, and, to some extent, cultivated
the lands, at that time, on the Missisquoi bay and river. As the
lease is of historical interest, it is here given at length, except
the formal repetitions in it:
"Know all men by these presents, that we Daniel Poorneuf, Francois
Abernard, Francois Joseph, Jean Baptiste, Jeanoses, Charlotte, widow
of the late chief of the Abenackque nation at Missisque, Mariane
Poorneuf, Theresa, daughter of Joseph Madril, Magdalaine Abernard,
and Joseph Abomsawin, for themselves, their heirs, and assigns; do
sell, let, and concede unto Mr. James Robertson, merchant, of St.
Jean, his heirs, and assigns, for the space of ninety-one years from
the twenty-eighth of May 1765, a certain tract of land lying and
being and situated as follows, viz: being in the bay of Missisque on
a certain point of land, which runs out into said bay and the river
of Missisque, running from the mouth up said river near east, one
league and a half, and in depth north and south, running from each
side of the river, sixty arpents, bounded on the back of the
aforesaid bay and at the end of the said league and a half to lands
belonging to the Indians joining to a tree marked; on the south side
of the river said land belonging to old Abernard; and on the north
side of said river to lands belonging to old Whitehead, retaining
and reserving to the proprietors hereafter mentioned, to wit: on the
north side of said river five farms belonging to Peirre Peckinowax,
Francaise Nickowiget, Annus Jean, Baptiste Momlock, and Joseph
Compient; and on the south side of said river seven farms belonging
to Towgesheat, Cecile, Annome Quisse, Innongaway, Willsomquax, Jean
Baptiste the Whitehead, and old Etienne, for them and their heirs,
said farms contain two arpents in front nearly, and sixty in depth.
"Now the condition of said lease is, that if the aforesaid James
Robertson, himself, his heirs, and assigns, do pay * * * * a yearly
rent of fourteen Spanish dollars, two bushells of Indian corn, and
one gallon of rum, and to plow as much land for each of the above
persons as shall be sufficient for them to plant their Indian corn
every year, not exceeding more than will serve to plant one quarter
of a bushell for each family, to them and their heirs and assigns: *
* * * said Robertson to have the right to build thereon, and
establish the same for his own use, and to concede to inhabitants,
make plantations, cut timber of what sort or kind he shall think
proper; * * * * In witness whereof, we have interchangably set our
hands and seals hereunto, this thirteenth day of June, inthe fifth
year of the reign of our sovereign lord, George the Third, king of
Great Britain, France and Ireland, and in the year of our Lord 1765.
DANIEL POORNEUF, [L.S.]
FRANCOISE JOSEPH, [L.S.]
JEANOSES, [L.S.]
MARIANE POORNEUF, [L.S.]
MAGDELANE ABERNARD, [L.S.]
FRANCOISE ABERNARD, [L.S.]
JEAN BAPT--, [L.S.]
CHARLOLLE , [L.S.]
THERESA, Daughter of Michel, [L.S.]
JAMES ROBERTSON, [L.S.]
Witnesses present:
EDWARD SIMONDS,
PETER STANLEY,
RICARD McCARTY.
The lease was properly autenticated, and "recorded in the English
register, letter A, folio 179, in the register's office of
enrollments for the province of Quebec. George Powell, secry's
regis't.
At the given date there was a Jesuit mission and church among these
Indians, who from their names were evidently baptised or
christianized; and they continued here up to the time of the
Revolution, and some of them later.
It is evident that the French, before the conquest of Canada, were
the first civilized occupants of the county of Chittenden; and
during the period of the French wars, they and their Indian allies,
made this point one of the chief rendezvous of their hostile
excursions against the English settlements, in the valley of the
Connecticut. It was through here they generally led their captives
and carried their plunder--their usual route both in going and
returning was along Missisquoi bay and Winooski river; crossing the
short carrying place between the river and Mallet's by. It was along
here the suffering captives from Deerfield, in the dead of winter in
1704, were led on their way to Canada--where the lad Enos Stevens,
son of Capt. Phineas Stevens the brave defender of Charlestown No.
4, and father of Henry Stevens, Esq., our distinguished antiquarian
neighbor--was carried captive into Canada in 1748; and on the east
shore of Missisquoi bay the year previous, where Mrs. Jemima Howe,
whose narrative is of school-boy notoriety, found her young son
Caleb, perishing with hunger. In 1709, moreover, a skirmish took
place on Onion river between a party sent out from Mass. to watch
the movements of the enemy, and a party of French and Indians, in
which Lieut. John Wells and John Burt were killed; their surviving
associates, however, drove the enemy and pursued them to the lake,
where another skirmish ensued, and several of the French and Indians
were killed in turn [Hoyt's Indian Wars and Hall's History of
Eastern Vermont]. These, with other incidents of a like kind, when
brought to mind, serve to contrast the present populous and highly
cultivated condition of our county, with the dark and savage
wilderness that then brooded over it.
FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENT
The first English occupants, who were known to settle in the
locality, were Ira Allen and Remember Baker. They explored the
country along the Winooski river, int he fall of 1772; and came into
the county to reside the spring following. Baker brought his family
with him; and Allen, being then a single man, resided in the family
of Baker--who was his uncle. They made their pitch at the lower
falls, on the Winooski river; where, as a matter of security against
the Yorkers and Indians, who at that time they held in equal enmity,
they constructed a block house or fort, which they christened with
the defiant name of Fort Frederick, and in which they lived.
About the same time, two Germans settled on Shelburne point,
claiming under New York titles : "who" says Allen, "had the
appearance of peaceable men, and on their promise to behave, were
suffered to remain undisturbed." Prof. Thompson speaks of these men,
in his History of Vermont, by the name of Logan and Pottier; and
that "two points of land extending into Lake Champlain" were named
after them respectively. We have before us the original field book
of Ira Allen, of his first surveys on Onion river, and the lake
shore, in 1773--being the same yar he removed into the country. He
scaled the lake shore that summer, from the mouth of the Winooski
river to the mouth of the La Plotte, at the head of Shelburne bay;
and in the course of his observations he calls Shelburne point
Arkley point, and a house then there Lodawick's house.
On reaching the point now known as rock point, he there takes
observations to the islands, &c., and says: "to Arkley point is S.
15º W.--to Shugar loaf (Rock Dunder?) is S. 24º W.--to Juniper
island is S. 36º W." He then passes along on the beach "E. 29º S.
105 rods to station B.--to Arkley's point is S. 21º W.--to Shugar
loaf is S. 30º W., to Juniper island, east end, is S. 42º W.--to the
Four Brothers, is W. 37º S." When he had passed Burlington bay and
came to Red Rock point, he speaks of it as "east of Arkley point and
had a rocky bold shore." After sailing around it, and passing along
the beach he made another station 27, 30 chains south of a brook
(Louis creek?), and from there, he says : "to Arkley point, is N.
36º 41' W.--to Lodawick's house is N. 77º 30' W.--Shurgar loaf and
Juniper island are just to be seen by Arkley point." He then passes
on, and took several more observations to the house on the point,
until he arrived at the mouth of La Plotte river, where he
terminated his survey.
If Logan and Pottier were the only persons on Shelburne point at
that time, it is not easy to see how Ira Allen came by the names,
"Arkley point," and Lodawick's house." The north end of Shelburne
point is known by the name of Pottier's point, and where, it is
said, Pottier lived. Logan lived on a small point just north of
Judge Mench's old place; and this point still bears his name; but it
could not be seen by Allen in making the above survey.
At the commencement of the Revolution, about forty families had
settled upon the lake shore, and along the Winooski river, including
the family of Mr. Brown on Brown's river in Jericho. Among those
early settlers are the familiar names of Thomas Pierson, Moses
Pierson, Simon Tubbs, John Collins, Stephen Lawrence, Frederick
Saxton, Ira Allen, Remember Baker, Joseph Brown, Thomas Rood, Samuel
Messenger, Thomas Chittenden, John Chamberlin, Jonathan Spafford,
and Amos Brownson. But on the defeat and fall of Gen. Montgomery at
Quebec, and the retreat of the American forces under Gen. Sullivan,
from Canada, in the spring of 1776, all except Brown left their
possessions and fled south among their friends for security. The
wisdom of this abandonment of the settlement, during hostilities
with mother country, was made manifest by the fate of Brown and his
family; who, trusting to his fancied security in the seclusion of
his position--so far from the lake and the ordinary path of the
enemy--was taken by a party of Indians, and carried into captivity.
It is not certin, however, that the settlement would have been
abandoned, had not the troops, who were stationed on Onion river for
the protection of the inhabitants, left their post, and exposed them
to the depredations of the enemy, without any means of defence.
These troops were stationed at a block house in Jericho, on the
river in the south west part of the town, and were under the command
of Capt. Fassett, then holding a commission, and acting under the
orders of Gen. Gates; who had his head quarters at Ticonderoga.
Matthew Lyon (afterwards known as the "Lyon of Vermont") held a
lieutenant's command in the company, and it was said that he and the
other subordinate officers of the company, in view of their exposed
and dangerous position, induced the soldiers to desert it; which,
however, Lyon always denied, casting the blame on Fassett and the
other officers. Lyon went to Gates to make report that the soldiers
had all left; whereupon he with the other officers were arrested,
tried by a court martial, and cashiered for cowardice. When Lyon was
afterwards in congress from this state, he was insulted by Roger
Griswold of Conn., for wearing a wooden sword; which induced the
personal affray on the floor of congress between those gentlemen,
that occurred in 1798; and resulted in a vote for the expulsion of
Lyon; but failing of a majority of two thirds, he retained his seat.
On the return of peace in 1783, Stephen Lawrence was the first to
return with his family, and during the same year most of the former
occupants returned to their farms, and brought with them many new
settlers; and the very great fertility of the soil, possessing all
its native richness and strength, invited a rapid settlement of the
country. At the end of eight years after the close of the Revolution
(1791), the population within the present limits of the county of
Chittenden, was 3,875; and in 1800, it was 9,395; more than
one-third of the present population of the county--it being in 1860,
28,171. It will be seen, however, that the ratable property of the
county has increased in a much greater ratio, than the population;
for we find on the first census, 1791, that the amount of ratable
property returned was estimated in the aggregate, at $50,675.72,
about $13 to each person--man, woman, and child; while on the last
census, 1860, the ratable property is estimated at the sum of
$7,845,941, which is $278 to the person.
It may also be noticed with interest, that the number of persons to
each square mile in the county, in 1791, was 7 1/2; and in 1860, 54
1/5. That the ratable wealth to each square mile in 1791, was
$97.45; and in 1860, $13,165.21. In 1791, Windsor was the most
populous town in the state, containing 801 inhabitants--now
Burlington is the most populous, and contains 7,713 inhabitants;
moreover, in 1791, Vermont was a slave-holding state; having
returned 16 slaves on that census; but it was the last and only
census that testified to the humiliating fact, that a resident slave
treads upon the soil of Vermont.
From the above figures we may plainly see how limited were the means
of our fathers, and how severe must have been their toil, to open
the country and make a beginning for the wealth and comfort of their
children. But it should not be forgotten that they had a higher
object than mere wealth and comfortable support; they looked forward
to the more important advantages of social progress and political
freedom; which have thus far been more than realized. But the result
of the events that are now passing before us, must determine how
much longer these highest of earthly blessings can be enjoyed.
PART TWO
NATURAL FEATURES AND RESOURCES
In turning to the topography and natural capabilites of the county
of Chittenden, we in the first place notice that the general surface
of the county is not unlike the main portion of western Vermont. The
first range of townships bordering upon the lake, is pleasantly
diversified with ridges and valleys; having but few elevations of
sufficient height to be worthy of notice. In the north part of this
range of townships, however, there are two elevations, known by the
name of Cobble hill and Rattlesnake hill--that rise from 500 to 600
feet above the surrounding plain. According to the measurement of
Prof. Thompson, the former is 827 feet and the latter is 912 feet
above the level of the ocean; and Sugar Loaf ill in the south part
of this range, 1003 feet above tide.
These isolated hills rise in spherical form, are easily ascended,
and afford fine views of the surrounding country from their summits.
The range of Green mountains bound the prospect on the east, and the
Adirondacks on the west; and between these two elevated ranges, the
valley of Lake Champlain extends to the north and south as far as
the eye can reach : and affords a prospect of great beauty. The
placid waters of the lake, bearing upon its surface, the various
craft that navigate it--the sail boats and steamers; the bays,
points, islands, and villages upon the shore--the church spires--the
locomotive, dragging its train of cars, and puffing its fiery
breath--the cultivated fields, the flocks and herds--the farm house,
orchards, and groves--the dark forests rising upon the mountain
sides--and the mountains themselves, with their serrated peaks;
afford a picture, not easily copied by a human artist.
As we pass east beyond the first range of townships, the country is
more uneven and broken; yet it has no hills of any great height, and
hardly a spot can be found which is not valuable either for tillage
or pasture, until you arrive at the base of the Green
mountains--which cover the extreme eastern part of the county, and
ascend to the highest point of land in the state. Between the spurs
of these mountains, there are valuable tracts of land for timber and
pasturage, indeed, far more valuable for the dairy and the raising
of neat stock, than they have generally been reputed. The amount of
capital employed in the purchase of these lands, is comparatively
small; and for grazing purposes, they will pay a greater per centage
on the money invested, than our high priced lands--if not an equal
profit per acre. Moreover, these lands are not affected by drought,
and always afford rich pasture and very abundant crops of hay. But
as you ascend the mountains, the timber begins to shorten, and
gradually diminishes in height, until the limbs of the trees,
extending horizontally near the surface of the ground, form a
network of interwoven branches, upon which a person may often walk
with safety. He will sonn, however, reach an altitude where
vegetable life does not receive sufficient heat and moisture to
support it, except here and there a few starved and stinted lichens,
that find a scant and dreary abode in some niche or crevice in the
rocks.
The east line of the county cuts along just east of Camels Hump
mountin, and of the highest points of Mount Mansfield--the chin of
the latter, being 4359 feet above the level of the sea, according to
the trigonometrical admeasurement of Mr. Johnson. Upon this mountain
near the county line, a house for the entertainment of visitors, has
recently been erected; and from the excellent accommodations
afforded by its enterprising proprietor, has become a place of
fashionable resort. Roads have been opened to it, both upon the east
and west side of the mountain; and it is now accessible by horse,
from the east. It furnishes a healthy place of resort for invalids,
and presents a view said to be far superior to that of the White
mountains, and has already become a place of note in the annals of
the pleasure seeking world.
The county is watered by numerous springs, that gush ofrth fromt he
surface of the ground at almost every point desired, and abundantly
irrigate and fertilize the soil; and there are also several streams
that water the county, and at the same time afford ample power for
driving mills and factories. The Winooski river takes its rise in
the county of Caledonia; and after passing across the county of
Washington, and breaking through the Green mountains near the east
line of this county, it passes nearly through its centre, and falls
into the lake between the towns of Burlington and Colchester. The
Lamoille passes through the north westerly part of the county, and
enters the lake near the sand bar bridge. The sand bar, which for so
long a period of time formed an inconvenient and perilous ford
between the island and the main land, was doubtless formed by the
debris deposited by this stream.
There are also numerous streams of smaller capacity, some of which
discharge into the above rivers, and others directly into the lake.
Brown's river empties into the Lamoille, and waters a large portion
of the north eastern part of the county--Huntington river waters the
south east, and La Plotte river and Lewis creek, the south west
part; these two last fall into the lake, the former at the head of
Shelburne bay; Mallet's creek and Day brook unite and empty into
Mallet's bay; and Huntington river, Mill brook, Muddy creek, and
Sunderland brook, each empty into the Winooski. Most of the above
streams are of sufficient capacity for driving mills and
factories--the numerous saw mills, grist mills, and manufactories of
various kinds, have been erected upon them. Indeed the water power
in the county, particularly on the Lamoille and Winooski rivers, is
sufficient to turn the wheels and spindles, and work the looms, in
the manufacture of cotton and woolen fabrics, to an extent equal to
the Merrimac. The falls on the above streams are but in part
occupied, and will afford immense power.
The agricultural interests of the county, especially since the
opening of the several lines of rail way through it, have been
highly prosperous, and give employment to the main portion of the
population. Two lines of rail road pass through the county from the
north to south parallel with the lake, and from the east to west
along the Winooski river. They afford a surprising advantage to the
farmer, ever his old mode of transportation to market now seeks him.
Numerous depots and points of trade exchange are opened at
convenient stations along the lines, where purchasers for the
Boston, New York, and Montreal markets, post themselves to buy up
the various productions of the country; thus the beef, pork, butter,
cheese, poultry, wheat, rye, corn, live hogs, horses, cattle, sheep,
and various articles of lesser importance, are sold, in a few rods,
as it were, of the farmer's door. This gives greater opportunity and
interest in the improvement of his soil and crops; and he adds to
this interest, by comparing his experiments with others at the
meetings of our agricultural societies, and public fairs.
These advantages have resulted in much greater profit to the tillers
of the soil, and a proportionate advance in the value of real estate
in the county, especially of farming lands. The husbandman is
encouraged with the assurance that ample returns will reward his
labor--and truly, the habitual industry of our farmers, and general
fertility of the soil, "fill their garners to overflowing." This
high degree of prosperity attending the agriculture of our county
and state, is not fully appreciated by us--it is difficult to
realize our advantages in this branch of industry, without turning
our thoughts back, and comparing our present facilites for market,
(the all in all to the producer) with the old mode of carting our
produce over a long and wearisome journey, and using the proceeds of
our merchandise to pay the expenses of our pilgrimage.
The county of Chittenden has better advantages, meanwhile, over the
commerce and navigation of the lake, than any other portion of the
state. This is owing to its proximity to the broadest part of the
lake, which affords the most accessible points of shipment on its
eastern shore. The harbor of Burlington is the natural stopping
place of the steamers and other craft, that pass along the lake, in
either direction--it is protected by a breakwater, constructed at
the expense of the general government; and the lines of rail road
concentrate at the wharves here, where they have their principal
depots. This has already become an important point of inland trade,
from which a large amount of produce is shipped, and the merchandise
landed in return, for the use and consumption of this section of the
country and it has also become the depot of an immense lumber trade,
with the province of Canada.
At some future time, when the long projected canal from Lake
Champlain to the St. Lawrence, shall unite those waters, and open a
free navigation between them, in connection with a ship canal from
the lake to the Hudson, it will make Lake Champlain one of the most
busy thoroughfares of inland trade and commerce, on the continent.
The time is not distant, owing to the entire practability of the
scheme, and of its comparative economy of expense, when this will be
accomplished. The increase of population and the progressive opening
of te resources of Canada, constantly urge upon the attention of the
public, new reasons for the construction of this great work of
intercommunication. The tributaries of the St. Lawrence and upper
lakes, that water a country not adapted ot the purposes of
agriculture, will bring down the productions of the forest; and from
present indications, that country will become the chief source of
supply to the lumber trade, in the larger portion of the states of
this Union. Our trade with these provinces must soon require greater
facilities for transportation, and when this is effected, it will
make this harbor one of the principal points of business between the
cities of New York and Montreal.
As the means of commerce and navigation are extended, the natural
resources of the county of Chittenden will be more and more
developed. Its agriculture will be greatly increased, and a field of
labor, now dormant and unproductive, may be opened. In this respect,
the mineral productions of the county, may be regarded as holding an
important place. It is true we have no deposits of coal, or of iron,
to compete with the inexhaustible beds of that mineral upon the
opposite side of the lake; and it is to be admitted, that iron and
coal, considered in an economical point of view, are the most
valuable of all mineral substances for man's use. But we have
excellent building stone, slate, marbel, water lime or hydraulic
cement, and carbonate of lime; all of which, in addition to the
domestic supply, may become very extensive articles of trade. The
red sand stone that forms the shore line of the lake through a
considerable part of the county, is easily quarried and split into
blocks of any desirable size or shape--its color is attractive, and
it forms one of the most durable and safe building materials known.
It is very solid and compact, not splintered by frost, or abraded by
heat and moisture; and cannot be crused by the weight of
superincumbent walls, however high or massive. This stone should
find its way into our towns and cities, as a building material, far
superior to the loose friable rock so extensively used. From its
adaptedness to split with even and square surfaces, it is specially
valuable for that kind of work, where it is an object to save the
expense of cutting; and with the exception of granite--the most
desirable, perhaps, of all building materials, where cut stone is
required--there is nothing superior to it for the walls of buildings
or public works.
A range of siliceous lime rock extends through the county parallel
with the lake shore, and from two to three miles from it; which,
from actual experiment, proves to form the basis of water lime, or
hydraulic cement, and has been worked and satifactorily tried for
that purpose. This is a material extensively used, and is
manufactured in the state of New York, as an important article of
trade. According to the geological reports of that state, as long
ago as 1839, there were 60 kilms in the county of Ulster alone, that
made during that year 600,000 barrels of this article. It is also
manufactured in several places along the line of the western canal,
and used in building and repairing its locks and sluices and for
shipment abroad; and in the town of Waddington in the county of St.
Lawrence, they annually turned off $40,000 worth of this cement.
Immense quantities were used in the construction of the Victoria
bridge at Montreal, and New York furnished the article; while
inexhaustible quantities of the raw material lay undisturbed, in
convenient proximity to our wharves.
Thewhite carbonate of lime lies next east of the water line, and
from 3 to 5 miles from the lake; and also extends through the
county. This has been burned into quick lime, and used to meet the
home demand, since the first settlement of the country; and now,
since the rail roads enable it to find a more distant market, it has
become an article of considerable commerce with the interior and
eastern parts of the state, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. It is
not merely used for building purposes, but is sought as the most
desirable material for bleaching cotton fabrics; and is sent to the
various manufacturing towns for that purpose. The demand will be
likely to keep pace with the business of the country, and this
indespensable article of consumption, will always afford a source of
production to the county.
The county of Chittenden has also inexhaustible deposits of white
and variegated marble. These quarries may furnish employment to a
large number of hands, and be made a source of industry and
production, more extensive than any other in the county, with the
exception of its agriculture. Indeed there is every reason to
believe, that our advantages in the quality and variety of our
marbles, are superior to those of any other county in the state. And
while Rutland county turns off annually an amount, that brings over
a million of dollars in return, our quarries, both white and
variegated, not surpassed in richness and beauty by any in the
world, lie wholly neglected. And there are very certain evidences
that roofing slate, to any desirable extent, may be obtained by
making the necessary appliances for quarrying and preparing it.
With the above sources of industry, the county may also avail itself
of the manufacture of iron in its various forms, from ore shipped
from Port Henry and Peru; which may be worked by steam at the
wharves at Burlington, or by water at the lower falls of the
Winooski or Lamoille rivers, with equal facility and advantage as at
the falls of the Ausable at Keesville. Mineral coal, now extensively
used for smelting iron and working both iron and steel, together
with the ore itself, may, certainly, be landed as cheaply at any of
the above places, as at Keesville, with their heavy expense of
cartage from the wharf at Port Kent.
How interesting it would be to the county of Chittenden, to see
these several sources of industry and wealth, in a state of
successful development; and hundred of industrious artizans and
laborers employed in the work. While these facilities for business
lie dormant, only a part of the county is represented, as it were,
on the credit side of its stock account. The revenue of county may
be immensely enhanced by a reasonable application of enterprise and
capital from our own citizens directed to the unfolding of our
natural resources; but so long as capital seeks investment abroad,
and the sinews of business are drained from the county, just so long
these elements of wealth and industry will lie neglected at our
feet. By comparing the census of 1850 and 1860, we can very readily
see the effect of this suicidal policy, as we notice that the
population of the county is 865 less than it was 10 years ago. Our
pure air and water, so congenial to activity and health, and the
opening of new and additional sources of enterprise, should keep our
young men at home. where in the wide world does the rich variety of
natural scenery tend more to elevate the soul to a sense of personal
freedom and independence, and inspire it with the associations and
contentments of home, than in Vermont? Yet our young men week the
western prairies, and often set themselves down in an abode of
malaria, and of eternal sameness at every point of the compass, to
find employment.
It may be added that we have in every town in our county one or more
villages, of neat New England aspect, with their churches, school
houses, post offices, stores, mils, mechanic shops, and houses of
entertainment. These villages are connected, moreover, by safe and
pleasant public roads, the result of continual labor and
improvement, since the first settlement of the county. And, indeed,
so numerous are the public highways that traverse the county, that
every facility desired is afforded to the inhabitants, in all their
business relations and intercourse with each other. And the
inconvenience of opening roads in a new country is here
substantially overcome.
COUNTY FORMATION AND CIVIL HISTORY
In turning from the natural resources to the civil history of the
county, we find that the territory embraced within the present
boundaries of the county of Chittenden forms but a small part of the
territorial limits of the earlier county jurisdictions, that held
authority over us. The counties of Albany and Charlotte, under the
authorities of New York; and Bennington, Rutland, and Addison under
the laws of Vermont, have in turn extended their jurisdiction over
this section of the state--and last of all, after the county of
Chittenden was first incorporated, its liberal proportions were
divided and subdivided, until we were narrowed down to the speck of
earth that bears that honored name. And it may not be wholly
destitute of interest or utility at the present time, to fling into
a condensed and tangible form, the original outlines of these
successive county jurisdictions, within which the county of
Chittenden has, from time to time, been included.
Under the broad charter granted to the Duke of York, the state of
New York claimed the Connecticut river as her eastern boundary; and
up to July 3, 1786, when the county of Cumberland was incorporated
upon the east side of the mountain, the old Dutch county of Albany
claimed east to Connecticut river; or to be more definite, as far
east as there were any Christian inhabitants [see act of New York
legislature, Oct. 1, 1691, in which the boundaries of Albany county
were described as follows: "The manor of Rensellaerwick,
Schenectady, and all the villages and neighborhoods and Christian
plantations on the east side of Hudson river, as far as Roeloffe
Jansen's creek; and on the west side from Sawyer's creek to the
uttermost end of Sarahtoga." Roeloffe Jansen's creek empties into
the Hudson from the east nearly opposite Kaatskill.] She was bounded
on the north by New France; but previous to the treaty of Paris, and
the proclamation of George III, establishing the southern boundary
of the province of Quebec, she was in doubt whether her northern
boundary extended farther north than the French outposts and
settlements at Crown Point and Ticonderoga; but the establishment of
the 45th parrallel as the southern boundary of the province of
Quebec, and the northern boundary of New York, fixed her limits at
the north. Her western boundary extended to the Delaware river, and
in the direction of western New York, as far as white people
resided. And her southern boundary was designated by a line
stretching across the entire state, from the west side of the colony
of Connecticut to the Delaware river; commencing near the northwest
corner of Connecticut, crossing the Hudson about 2 miles north of
the mouth of Esopus creek, and thence in a direct line to the
Delaware river, at the northeast corner of Pennsylvania.
This immense territory of course embraced the county of Chittenden;
and Albany being the shire town, and most northerly seat of justice
in this great wilderness, naturally extended her court jurisdiction
over the territory; not so much in obedience to any positive
enactments on the subject, as from the necessity of administering
justice to all, who were not otherwise provided for. Thus we have it
recorded, that during the controversy between New York and New
Hampshire grantees, numerous writs of ejectment, executions, and
other legal processes, were issued out of, and made returnable to
the courts at Albany; and were served, or at least were attempted to
be served, by the sheriffs of this great but somewhat indefinite
county.
As may be inferred, her excercise of county jurisdiction over
Vermont, was not acknowledged as lawful by the settlers under New
Hampshire; under which state they held their titles and to which
they owed their allegiance; and instead of obeying their writs and
going down to Albany to seek justice at the hands of their enemies
and pre-judgers, they chose rather to depend upon their own limited
means of self defence, and courage, for the adjudication of their
rights.
New York, however, persisting in her right of jurisdiction over
them, and finding a practical difficulty in the execution of the
duties of her magistrates and sheriffs, and especially, "that
offenders may be brought to justice, and creditors may recover their
just dues;" proceeded March 12, 1772, to erect a new county of
Albany. At the same time she had proceeded to erect the county of
Gloucester on the east side of the mountain; and had also as before
seen, erected the county of Cumberland. The county of Cumberland
embraced the present counties of Windham and Windsor, with New
Hamstead (now Chester) as the shire town; and the county of
Gloucester extended from the county of Cumberland north to the
province line, with Kingsland (now Washington) as the shire.
The boundaries New York allotted to the county of Charlotte as laid
down by the charts of the authorities of that state, purporting to
be compiled from actual survey now before us, commenced on the Green
mountain range near the southeast corner of the present township of
Winhall, thence northerly in a direct line to a point at the east
base of Camel's Hump mountain, thence northeasterly direct to the
south end of Lake Memphremagog and on in its course to the province
line, which it interesected a few miles east of the lake in the
township of Derby; thence due west to the St. Lawrence river, which
it struck near the Indian village of St. Regis; thence southerly in
a straight line to the Mohawk river, about 10 miles above
Schenectady; thence down the Mohawk to the Hudson, up the HUdson to
the mouth of Batten kill, and up the Batten kill, following the
south branch to a point near its source, to the southwest corner of
the old town of Princeton, as chartered by New York; thence to the
southeast corner thereof; and thence in a direct line to the place
of beginning.
It will be seen that this additional set off from the old county of
Albany, had in itself very liberal proportions; and it requires
search to find that fraction of it which forms the present county of
Chittenden. But time and events change together, and on modern
charts we find that the great county of Charlotte is not found, and
the little county of Chittenden is distinctly marked.
While we formed a part of the county of Charlotte, Skenesborough
(now Whitehall) was made our shire town; a rather poor exchange for
the venerable and famous city of Albany--and on the organization of
the county of Charlotte, Philip Skene, the arch tory, was
commissioned by his majesty the king, as the first chief judge of
our court of common pleas. But so numerous were the rioters, as the
N. H. grantees were styled, who sought freedom not only from the
tyranny of New York, but of the king, that it made the Skenesborough
rather an unsafe place for a hostile court to set in. Its proximity
to these rioters, with the Bennington mob hanging upon their
southern flank, became a source of alarm to the royal magistrates of
Skenesborough; and they made application to Gen. Haldimand, then
commander in chief of his majesty's forces in New York, for a
military force to protect them. Gen. Haldiman very quaintly replies:
"That the idea, that a few lawless vagabonds can prevail in such a
government as that of New York, as to oblige its governor to have
recourse to the regular troops to suppress them, appears to me to
carry with it such reflection of weakness, as I am afraid would be
attended with bad consequences, and render the authority of the
civil magistrate when not supported by the troops, contemptible to
the inhabitants." On receipt of this discouraging, and in no wise
very flattering dispatch, the court without any unnecessary delay
was removed from Skenesborough, "to be held annually in the county
of Charlotte at the house of Patrick Smith esquire, near Fort
Edward; on the third Tuesdays in the months of October and May."
This retreat from the advanced post of judicial warfare, set up
among those who had honestly bought and once paid for their lands,
with a view to drive them from their homes and means of subsistence,
for the benefit of New York land speculators, was, no doubt, wisely
made--but on prudential considerations alone. And it seems evident,
that even Gen. Haldiman, unlike James Buchanan in the Kansas
controversy, was not for settling questions of law, between the
provinces of New York and New Hampshire, by military force. The
court for the county of Charlotte, however, after finding a resting
place in a better disposed neighborhood, held its first session, at
Patrick Smith's, on the third Tuesday of October, 1773.
There was no time when the civil power of the county of Charlotte
was acknowledged by the settlers under New Hampshire; and it was so
feeble as hardly to be known as a living power. In addition to the
refugee court, however, there were several justices of the peace,
appointed under the authority of New York, who resided in the
county; and when any of these attempted to exercise their powers as
magistrates, they were chastised and driven off by the settlers.
Indeed, the settlers under New Hampshire took law and justice into
their own hands, in spite of the civil magistrates and sheriffs of
the county of Charlotte, or any aid they could bring to their
assistance. This is clearly shown by the arrest and trial of civil
magistrates and their abettors, as abundantly appears in the
historical records of those times: such as the case of Benj. Hough,
a justice of the county, who was brought to trial before what Ethan
Allen was pleased to style the judgment seat, convicted of course,
and sentenced to the ordinary punishment of the beach seal and
banishment from the territory; which sentence was carried into
effect; also of Dr. Adams of Landlord Fay's sign-post and catamount
notoriety; and the punishment and driving off of many other persons;
and the breaking up of the settlements of Durham, Socialborough, and
other places on Otter creek, held under New York titles--all which
incidents followed each other, with similar demonstrations in the
chasing and driving off the surveyors and other functionaries, who
presumed to act under the authority of New York. These bold and
energetic measures of the N. H. grantees, virtually extinguished the
jurisdiction of Charlotte county over them, and resulted in the
notion that they were capable of establishing and maintaining a
govenment of her own, as the best method of settling the question of
jurisdiction between New York and New Hampshire. [To keep up a show
of jurisdiction over this section of the country, the state of New
York, however, as late as March 7, 1788--even after the county of
Chittenden was incorporated--passed an act rebounding the counties
of Cumberland and Gloucester, and dividing the county of Charlotte
into two counties, by the name of Washington and Clinton. We then,
under New York authority, formed a part of the county of
Clinton--but that authority was a dead letter. See Statute Laws of
New York, 11th session, pp. 133-136.]
After this resolve of the grantees had been acted upon in a
convention of delegates, chosen by the people, and the disputed
territory had been declared a free and independent state, under the
name of Vermont (Jan. 16, 1777) and separate state government
initiated, the new legislative body proceeded to divide the state
into counties, without regard to any previous county organizations
under New York. On the 11th of February, 1779, they divided the
state into two counties, Bennington on the west, and Cumberland on
the east side of the mountain; both extending from Massachusetts to
the province line. Bennington was bounded on the west by the west
line of the state up to the line of Canada; thence east on said line
50 miles; "thence southerly in a direct line to the north east
corner of Worcester; thence southerly on the east line of Worcester,
Middlesec and Berlin, to the south east corner thereof; thence on a
straight line to the north west corner of Bradford (Barnard); thence
in the westerly line of Bradford and Bridgewater, to the south
westerly corner thereof; thence southerly in a straight line to the
north east corner of Shrewsbury, and thence to the south east corner
thereof; thence west to the north east corner of Wallingford; thence
southerly on the east lines of Wallingford, Harwick, Brumley,
Winhall, and Stratton, to the south easterly corner of the latter;
thence southerly to the north west corner of Draper; thence
southerly in the west lines of draper (now Wilmington), and
Cumberland (now Whitingham), to the north line of the Massachusetts
bay;" and Bennington and Rutland were constituted half shires of the
county.
We were only two years under the jurisdiction of Bennington county,
before we were separated from our good cousins there, with whom we
had been associated in so many hard trials. We cherish as a part of
our own history, how the Bennington boys rescued our brave Baker
from the hands of New York kidnappers; and how many of the first
settlers of Chittenden county were made up of those intrepid men,
who stood together in the defence of their persons and property at
Bennington, against proclamations, posse comitatus, words and
bayonets, gus, pitchfords, and various other implements of war, both
of paper and steel; the same men who fought shoulder to shoulder,
also, with the enemies of our common country at Willoomsuck, in the
defence of their wives and children, and firesides, reaping the
victory and joy together. We cherish, also as part of our history,
how our own Ira Allen, the youthful poineer of chittenden county,
and Thomas Chittenden, one of our earliest settlers in the county,
and first governor of the state, the latter the head, and the former
the sould of the old council of safety, labored with their brethren
in the county of Bennington, for the protection of the people, and
the independence of the state. How for many a day, month, and year,
they worked together, in that original self-created body, with no
fixed government, or code of laws, for their guide; but acted, and
acted justly too, on the time honored maxim of the Roman law, Salus
populi suprema lex; arbitrary and despotic as it was--a maxim as
sound to day, in the cabinet at Washington in its efforts to
preserve the safety of the Union, as it was in the days of
Justinian, or in the the council chamber at Landlord Fay's in
Bennington, in the days of the Revolution.
With all these early associations, it may well be supposed, that we
parted reluctantly with our Bennington friends--but like other young
adventurers, we had gained sufficient strength to set up for
ourselves, and consequently left the old homestead. The inhabitants
of Otter creek, the lake shore, and Onion river, in short, all of
the people residing on the west side of the mountain north of the
present county of Bennington, united in applying for a new county at
the October session of the legislature of Vermont, 1780, to be
called the county of Washington.
At that same session of the legislature, a bill was drawn up and
presented to the house, defining the boundaries of the county as
follows: "The territory or district of land hereafter described
(viz): beginning at the south west corner of Pollet; thence north on
the west line of this state to latitude 45 degrees; thence on Canada
south line to the north west corner of the county of Gloucester
(formerly known by the county of Cumberland); thence south on the
Bennington county line (formerly so called) to the north east corner
of the town of Bromley (Peru); thence west to the first mentioned
bounds; to be known and called by the name of Washington." The bill
passed Nov. 8, 1780, both by the assembly and council, but under the
recommendations of the council it was to be printed, and not put
upon record, until after the next session of the assembly. At the
next session of the legislature holden at Windsor, a new bill was
passed, Feb. 13, 1781, by which the name of Washington was changed
to Rutland.
The old county of Rutland as described in the above boundaries kept
itself together for 4 years, 8 months, and 5 days; during which time
the courts were held at Tinmouth.
It was during this period that Abraham Ives, the sheriff of the
county of Rutland, sold such large quantities of land at public
vendue, for the collection of taxes; and many titles in the county
of Chittenden are now held under that sale. The sale was made in a
very loose and imperfect manner, hardly in any respect answering the
formalities and requirements of the law; yet from the necessity of
the case, the court determined to establish the sale as valid, and
it became the origin of the title to a vast amount of land, on the
west side of the mountain. The population of the county of Rutland
continued rapidly to increase, especially along the streams and
borders of the lake, up to the province line; and the convenience,
as well as the interest of parties, required a more economical mode
of settling their disputes, than making a semi-annual pilgrimage,
with their lawyers and witnesses, to attend the trial of their
causes at Tinmouth. To obviate this difficulty and meeet the
reasonable requirements of the increasing settlements at the north,
the legislature of the state on the 18th of October, 1785,
dismembered the old county of Rutland of most of its territory, and
incorporated a new county, by the name of Addison.
The boundaries of the county of Addison as described in the above
act are as follows: "Beginning at the north west corner of the
township of Orwell; thence running eastwardly on the noth line of
Orwell, Sudbury, Brandon, and Philadelphia, and then so far east as
to intersect the west line of the first town that is bounded in its
charter on some town or towns which are dependent for their original
bounds on Connecticut river; then northerly in the westwardly line
of the several towns that are dependent on Connecticut river as
aforesaid, to the south line of the province of Quebec, which is the
north line of this state; then westwardly on said line through
Missisquoi bay, &c., to the centre of the deepest channel of Lake
Champlain; then southwardly in the deepest channel of said lake till
it intersects a west line from the north west corner of said Orwell;
then east to the bounds began at." [Note: See act of October 18,
1785, in the office of the secretary of state. Dr. Williams and
Prof. Thompson, in their respective histories of Vermont, give the
date of the incorporation of Addison county Feb. 27, 1787, instead
of Oct. 18, 1785--in other words they took the revised act of 1787
as the original act of incorporation in this case. As well might
they have given the same date to the counties of Bennington,
Windham, Windsor, Orange, and Rutland. As to Addison, the error
which originated with Dr. Williams doubtless arose from the fact,
that the act of 1785 did not come to his notice; and he mistook the
act of 1787 as the first act incorporating Addison county, whereas
it simply modified and defined the boundaries more clearly, and
reorganized the counties already formed. Mr. Thompson assumed the
data of Dr. Williams as correct; and did not discover the mistake
until after the publication of his reference to pre-existing
counties, and purports to divide the state into six counties, three
upon the east and three upon the west side of the mountain; whereas
all of said counties had been previously chartered.]
The west line of the towns dependent on Connecticut river, also
formed the west line of the county of Orange, as then established;
except Rochester, which lay in the northwest corner of Windsor
county. soon after, by the act of Feb. 27, 1787, the counties were
rebounded, and this line was better defined. It was then described
as passing along "the west line of Rochester, Kingston (now
Granville), Roxbury, Northfield, and Berlin to Onion river, then up
Onion river about 1 1/2 miles to the southwest corner of Montpelier;
then north 36º east in the west line of Montpelier, Calais,
Woodbury, Hardwick, and Greensborough, to the northwest corner
thereof, and then in the most direct course on town lines to the
north line of the state."
By the act incorporating Addison county, the towns of Addison and
Colchester were made half shires, and the courts were to be held on
the 1st Tuesday of March and 2d Tuesday of November. The act made
special provision for the organization of the county, by making it
the duty of the governor and council "to appoint the county officers
and commissionate them for the time being," and limiting the number
of judges to three instead of five as required by the act of 1781.
John Strong of Addison was appointed chief justice, Gamaliel Painter
of Middlebury and Ira Allen of Colchester, assistant justices, Noah
Chittenden of Jericho, sheriff, and Samuel Chipman, Jr., of
Vergennes, clerk; and no states attorney of record--and the first
court was held at Addison on the 1st Tuesday of March 1786.
This appointment of county officers and organization of the court,
was a mere temporary measure, to supply the vacancy up to the
following March, when the people would elect their own county
officers, under the general law; and but one term of the court
intervened (the 1st Tuesday of March, 1786), which was held just
three weeks before the new judgees and county officers were elected,
which election took place at the annual March meeting, then held on
the last Tuesday of March. At the meeting in march, 1786, the act of
1781, requiring five judges, was still in force; and they proceeded
to elect John Strong, chief justice, William Brush, Hiland Hall,
Abel Thompson, and Samuel Lane, assistant justices; and Gamaliel
Painter sheriff; Roswell Hopkins was appointed clerk; and at this
term also there was no states attorney; and the second term of
Addison county court was held by the newly elected judges and county
officers, at the dwelling house of Capt. Thomas Butterfield, in
Colchester, on the 2d Tuesday of November, 1786--this being the
first county court held within the limits of Chittenden county.
The third and only remaining term of Addison county court while we
remained a part of that county, was holden at Addison on the second
Tuesday of March, 1787, where the same judges held their seats, and
Seth Storrs was appointed states attorney; but there were no more
elections of judges by the people. By the new constitution as
adopted July 4, 1786, by the convention holden at Manchester, and
ratified by act of the legislature of March 8, 1787, it became the
duty of the general assembly and council to elect the judges of the
supreme and county courts, sheriffs, judges of probate, and justices
of the peace; limiting the number of judges both of the supreme and
county courts to three, and fixing upon the 1st day of December,
1787, and annually thereafter, as the time for the county offices to
expire. And by a special act of the same date, "the county officers,
then in office, or to be appointed for the remainder of the ensuing
year, were to continue in the exercise of their said offices until
the 1st day of December next."
As we notice the complications this network of legislation and
change presented, it is not strange that an apparent mystery should
hang over the history of our first Addison county courts. The puzzle
as to the holding of those courts before there was a county, and the
jumble of judges, both in their time of office and numbers, have,
however, had no foundation in fact; but have arisen from errors in
dates, in our state histories.
But our connection with the county of Addison only continued for the
term of two years; and Colchester had not the honor of holding the
courts of that county but one term. Before the next stated term, at
colchester, the county of Chittenden was set off from Addison and
incorporated into a distinct county, Oct. 22, 1787. It then embraced
all ther territory between the north lines of Ferrisburgh, Monkton,
Bristol, Lincoln, and Warren, and the province line, was bounded on
the west by the west line of the state, which followed the deepest
channel of the lake, passing east of the Four Brothers, and west of
Grand Isle, and Isle la Motte, and on the east by the west lines of
Northfield, Berlin, Montpelier, Calais, Woodbury, Hardwick, and
Greensborough to the north west corner thereof, and then in the most
direct course on town lines to the north line of the state. By the
same act provision was made "that the supreme court be held on the
first Tuesday of August, and the county courts on the last Tuesday
of February and second Tuesday of November, annually, at Colchester
in said county for the time being." It also provided further, "That
all causes now pending, or writs that have been or may be served,
until the 4th day of November next, returnable to the county court
of Addison county at Colchester, be returned, heard, and determined
at the term of the court to be holden at Addison, on the 2d Tuesday
of November next. And all causes appealed from Chittenden county,
shall be heard and determined by the supreme court in Addison
county, until the further order of the legislature.
The next fall, however, this last clause of the act was repealed by
the passage of an act Oct. 21, 1788, restoring the supreme court to
the county of Chittenden, with all actions and appeals from this
county, pending in the county of Addison, to be heard, tried, and
determined in said court, to be holden at Colchester, and fixing the
stated terms of the court on the 1st Tuesday of August annually. The
supreme court held two annual sessions in Colchester, commencing
with August term, Nathaniel Chipman presided as chief justice, and
Noah Smith and Samuel Knight as assistant justices; and at the third
term held at Burlington, Elijah Paine was chief justice, and Samuel
Knight and Isaac Tichenor assistant justices. The county court held
six terms at Colchester, commencing with the February term, 1788;
the four first terms (1788-1789), John Fassett, Jr., of Cambridge,
presided as chief justice, and John White of Georgia, and Samuel
Lane of Burlington, assistant justices, John Knickerbacor, clerk,
Noah Chittenden of Jericho, sheriff, Samuel Hitchcock of Burlington,
states attorney. John McNeil of Charlotte, was judge of probate,
Isaac McNeil, register, and Stephen Lawrence of Burlington, county
treasurer. The next fourt terms of the court, the two last held at
Burlington, at the inn of Gideon King (1790 and 1791), John Fassett,
Jr. presided as chief justice, and John White and John McNeil
assistant justices, Martin Chittenden, clerk, Stephen Pearl,
sheriff, Samuel Hitchcock, states attorney for 1790, and William C.
Harrington for 1791, Col. Jon. Spafford, county treasurer; and the
county still retaining its original limits, which extended over the
counties of Grand Isle, Franklin Lamoille, and parts of Washington
and Orleans, had been divided into three probate districts, and
Matthew Cole of Richmond, Jonathan Hoyt of St. Albans, and Timothy
Pearl of Burlington, were appointed judges of probate, in their
respective districts.
The first jury trial in the county of Chittenden after its
organization, ws at the February term of the court, 1788, being an
action of trespass quare clausum fregit, in favor of John Collins
vs. Frederick Saxton; in which case David Stanton, Jonathan Bush,
John Doxy, Alexander Gordon, John Martin, John Chamberlin, John
Fisk, David Whitcomb, David Warren, Eben. Barstow, Wm. Smith, and
Allen Hacket, were empaneled as jurors.
By special act of legislature, passed Oct. 27, 1790, the courts were
removed from Colchester to Burlington--fixing the session of the
supreme court on the 4th Tuesday of August, and the county court on
the last Tuesday of February, and last save one in September. The
county officers continued the same up to February term, 1794, when
Martin Chittenden took his seat as one of the assistant justices in
place of John White, and Solomon Miller was appointed clerk, which
office he held for the next 18 years in succession (save the year
1808 by William Barney), to his credit as a very accurate and
efficient officer. And until 1794, the same judges of the supreme
court presided.
In the meantime the county of Chittenden had grown so much in its
business and population, that it became its turn to be cut down in
its territory; and on the 5th of November, 1792, a new county on the
north was incorporated, by the name of Franklin. [Franklin county
was not organized until 1796.] The line that separated Chittenden
from Franklin county, commenced "on the west line of Orange county
(as then established), at the north east corner of Worcester; thence
westerly on the north line of Worcester, Stowe, Mansfield,
Underhill, Westford, and Milton, to the waters of Lake Champlain;
thence across to the north of South Hero by the deepest channel
between that and North Hero; and thence on to the west line of the
state." But the act that removed the courts to Burlington, did not
make that place the permanent shire of the county; and after the
division of the county as above, it seems that there was a
controversy on the subject of locating the county town and
buildings. To settle the question, a special act of the legislature
was passed Nov. 4, 1793, "appointing Thompson J. Skinner and Samuel
Sloan of Williamstown, and Israel Jones of Adams, in the
commonwealth of Massachusetts, a committee to fix on the place for
holding county and supreme courts in the county of Chittenden; and
to stick a stake, for the place of building the court house." The
decision of this committee resulted in the establishment of the
courts and court house at Burlington.
Since the permanent locations of the county buildings, however,
still further deductions have been made from the original limits of
the county. Oct. 20, 1794, Starksborough was annexed to the county
of Addison. Nov. 9, 1802, the county of Grand Isle was incorporated,
and the towns of Grand Isle and South Hero and adjacent islands,
were set off to form a part of that county. In addition, the county
of Jefferson (now Washington) was incorporated Nov. 1, 1810, and the
towns of Mansfield, Stowe, Waterbury, Duxbury, Fayston, Waitsfield,
Moretown, Middlesex, and Worcester, were taken from the county of
Chittenden, to form a part of that county. In 1839, the west part of
the town of Mansfield was annexed to the town of Underhill, and
reannexed to the county of Chittenden.
Thus after such a series of changes from the old county of
Albany--the first that claimed jurisdiction over us--we have settled
down at last to our present narrow limits, comprising only 15 towns,
all told.
[1] In 1798, a petition was presented to the legislature of Vermont
signed by twenty chiefs, representing, as they said, "the seven
nations of Lower Canada Indians," among which were the Abenaquis and
Coguahwaghahs, in which they claimed all the land west of the Green
Mountains and between Ticonderoga and the province line. The
Coguahwaghahs originally formed a part of the Mohawks; but revolted
from that tribe, joined the French, and settled at the Sault St.
Louis above Montreal. If they had any claim it must have been under
the Iroquois title; while the Abenaquis claimed under the title of
that nation who once inhabited the whole country east of Lake
Champlain, south of the St. Lawrence, and embracing the northern
part of New England. This would seem to favor the idea, that the
Iroquois--as Champlain represents when he discovered the lake--might
then have occupied this country on its eastern border. If so, the
Abenaquis must have gained possession of it, and occupied it
afterwards, until they joined their brethren at St. Francis.
Their petition to the legislature was rejected, on the ground that
these Indians had revolted from the English and joined France; and
when the country was ceded to the English by right of conquest, the
title of these tribes followed the fate of the surrender--and that
the subsequent surrender of the country by England to the United
States, vested the property in the state. But the Indians did not
thereupon abandon their claim, and have in several instances renewed
their petitions since [See William's History of Vermont].
Source: The Vermont Historical Gazetteer: A Magazine Embracing a
History of Each Town, Civil, Ecclesiastical, Biographical and
Military. Vol. I. Abby Maria Hemenway. (Editor). "Chittenden
County," Hon. David Read. (Author). Burlington, Vt. : Miss Abby
Maria Hemenway, 1871. (Book page 453 (viewer page 481) to 943.
Transcribed by: Ann McRoden Mensch
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