GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



Part. III. 



AVERV S GORES. 



was the first death of an inhabitant of tlie 

 town. On the 25th of Nov. followinir, 

 two men, at work in a remote part of tlie 

 town, were alarmed by the whoops and 

 yells of the Indians. They quit tiieir 

 work and spread the alarm as fast as pos- 

 sible. The people, affrighted almost out 

 of their senses, hurried away with tiieir 

 women and children with all possible de- 

 spatch, e.\'j)ccting from each tree that 

 they passed to be saluted by an Indian 

 tomahawk or scalping knife. J. Perham 

 and family decamped in such haste that 

 they left their oven heating and their o.xcn 

 chained to a tree. The report was spread 

 with the greatest rapidity through the 

 neighboring towns, that Athens was de- 

 stroyed by the Indians. The whole coun- 

 try was immediately in arms to defend 

 themselves and property from the merci- 

 less foe. Some spent the wliole night in 

 preparing their guns and amunition, and 

 the fearful apprehension of impending 

 destruction, chased sleep from every eye. 

 " Lo the mountain laboured and brought 

 forth a mouse." The hallooing of a hunter, 

 aided by imaginations rendered suscep- 

 tible by fear, amounted in the course of a 

 few hours to the destruction of a fine 

 settlement and the massacre of its inhabi- 

 tants.* Athens was organized March 4, 

 1761, and William Eeal was first town 

 clerk. It was represented the same year 

 by Abel Mattoon. The religious deiiom- 

 inations are Methodist, Congregational- 

 ists, Baptists, Universalists and Christians. 

 These denominations united in 1818, and 

 erected a very good brick meeting-house. 

 The Methodist Episcopal Church was 

 organized in 1801, and have been favored 

 with the labors of several distinguished 

 itinerant preachers, among whom were 

 Jonathan Nichols, John Broadhead, Wil- 

 bur Fisk, and H. Guernsey. The sur- 

 face of this township is uneven, but the 

 elevations are not generally abrupt. The 

 soil is good and produces well. It is, 

 however, much better adapted to grazing 

 than tillage. The apple tree flourishes 

 and produces as well iiere as in any part 

 of the state. The natural growth of tim- 

 ber is beech, birch, maple, ash, basswood, 

 hemlock and spruce. There is but one 

 stream of consequence in town. It origi- 

 nates in a pond of about 30 acres area in 

 the westerly part and falls into Saxton's 

 river in Rockingham, affording several 

 mill privileges. Lily pond is small, lies 

 in the south west part of the town, and 

 derives its name from the great quanti- 

 ties of white lilies growing in it. The 

 town is divided into three scliool districts 

 with a school house in each. There is 



*See part second page 70. 



one saw mill standing on the site where 

 the first mills were erected. Statistics o^ 

 184(1. — Horses, 75; cattle, .55.3; sheep, 

 3,061 ; swine, 284 ; wheat, bu. 501 ; bar- 

 ley, 112; oats, 1,082; rye, 589; b. wheat, 

 322; Indian corn, 1,885; potatoes, 10,- 

 035; hay, tons, 1)66; sugar, lbs., 6,470; 

 wool, 5,387. Population, i'.78. 



AvF.RiLL, a township six miles square in 

 the north part of Essex county, is boun- 

 ded northeast by Canaan, southeast by 

 Lemington, southwest by Lewis, and 

 northwest by Norton. This township 

 was chartered June 23, 1762, and it 

 is watered by a considerable branch of 

 Nulhegan river, several streams which 

 fall into Connecticut river, and some 

 which pass off northerly into Canada. 

 There are likewise several considerable 

 ponds. It is inhabited by two or three 

 families only. The surface of the town 

 is broken, and the soil cold and unfavor- 

 able for cultivation. Statistics of ISAO. — 

 Horses, 3 ; cattle, 14 ; sheep, 35 ; swine, 

 15; buck wheat, bu. 100; potatoes, 400 ; 

 hay, tons, 20 ; sugar, lbs. GOO. Popula- 

 tion, 1 1. 



AvEKv's Gores. — A considerable num- 

 ber of tracts of land situated in different 

 sections of the state were granted to Sam- 

 uel Avery in 1701, and received the name 

 of Avery's Gores. Several of these have 

 since been annexed to townships. We 

 shall mention a part of them. 1. A>jcrifs 

 Gore in Addison county, was granted 

 Januar)' 27, 1791, and contained 8744 

 acres. It is bounded north by Lincoln, 

 east by Kingston, south by Hancock and 

 west by Ripton. It lies nearly on the sum- 

 mit of the Green Mountain, and the 

 greater part of it has been annexed to 

 Granville. Arerifs Gore in Chittenden 

 county, was granted January 7, 1791, and 

 originally contained 5970 acres, but a 

 j)art of it has since been annexed to Hun- 

 tington. Itis ofatriangular form and lies 

 south of Huntington, and west of Fays- 

 ton. Ancrifs; Gore, in Essex county, is 

 bounded north by Norton, east by Lewis, 

 south by Wenlock, and west by Warren 

 Gore. It was granted January 27, 1791, 

 and contains 10,685 acres. It is moun- 

 tainous and uninhabited. Arerifs Core, 

 in Franklin county, is bounded north by 

 Montjromery, east by Lowell, south 

 by Belvidere, and west by Bakersfield. 

 It was granted June 28, 1796, and con- 

 tains 9723 acres. This Gore lies on the 

 western range of the Green Mountains, 

 and is the source of two branches of the 

 Missisco river. In 1840, it contained 

 35 inhabitants, and has a post office. Sta- 

 tistics. — Horses, 6 ; cattle, 26 ; slieep, 50; 

 swine, 7; wheat, bu. 60; oats, 40; buck 



