20 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT, 



Part IIL 



BENNINGTON. 



BENNINGTON COUNTY. 



meeting house was built in 183!t. The 

 church, being a colony from the old cen- 

 tre church, was organized April 26, 1836. 

 Rev. Aretas Looniis the present minister, 

 was settled soon after the organization of 

 the church. — Union Academy is a flour- 

 ishing institution, under the patronage 

 of the Baptist denomination. It is at 

 present under the charge of W. G. Brown 

 and VV. A. Fisher. 



Bennington Iron Wnrhs are situated 

 near the east line of the town, about three 

 miles from the centre village. They con- 

 sist of three large blast furnaces, which 

 produce from two to three thousand tons 

 of pig iron per annum, giving employ- 

 ment to 150 or -.200 hands, and from 4l) to 

 50 teams. The ore is obtained in about 

 equal quantities from two beds ; one, half 

 a mile from the works, and the other about 

 six miles distant in the west part of the 

 town. The ore yields about 50 per cent 

 of pure iron. The descent from the sur- 

 face of the ground into the west ore-bed 

 is by means of a windlass through a per- 

 pendicular shalt 70 feet in depth. From 

 the bottom you may travel by candle-light 

 through its subterraneous passages for 

 several hundred yards. 



North Bennington is situated about four 

 miles northwest of the court house, on 

 Paran creek, a branch of the VValloom- 

 scoik. It has 50 dwelling houses and 

 about 300 inhabitants, a post office, tav- 

 ern, five stores, two cotton and one wool- 

 len factories, two establishments for mak- 

 ing carpenters' steel squares, a grist mill 

 and saw mill. One of the cotton facto- 

 ries, which was the first that was put in 

 operation in the state, has 1280 spindles 

 and 3t) power looms, employing about 40 

 hands, and manuiactures 450,000 yards of 

 shirting per annum. The other factory, 

 more recently erected, makes sheeting 

 exclusively ; its productions being about 

 equal to the first. The woollen factory is 

 on a small scale. The business of manu- 

 facturing carpenters' squares, was com- 

 menced in this vilhige in 1820, and was 

 the first establishment of the kind in the 

 United States. The article is much su- 

 perior to any imported, and has nearly 

 superseded foreign squares in market. 

 There are now two establishments in the 

 village, capable of turning off" 50 finished 

 squares per day, or from 12 to 15,000 an- 

 nually. The village has also a Univer- 

 salist meeting house, built in 1S36. The 

 Rev. G. Leach and the Rev. Wm. Bell 

 have successively officiated as clergymen. 

 There is at present no resident minister. 

 There is also a Bajitist meeting house 

 about three-fourths of a mile north of the 

 villao-e, within the limits of Shaftsbur}'. 



Hinsdillvillc is about a mile south of 

 of North Bennington, at the junction of 

 Paran creek with the Walloomscoik. It 

 has three cotton factories, and until with- 

 in three or four years past was a busy and 

 flourishing village ; but the works are 

 not now in operation. On the 29th of 

 October, 1834, a portion of the old centre 

 cliurch formed themselves into a new 

 church, ado])ting the Presbyterian mode 

 of government, and, in 1835 erected at 

 this place a neat stone house for worship. 

 The Rev. Mr. Kenney, the Rev. Mr. 

 Johnson, and the Rev. Mr. Notthave suc- 

 cessively been the pastors of the church. 

 It has at present no minister. 



Irish Cornir is three quarters of a mile 

 below Hinsdillville, at which are a tavern 

 and store, and also a cotton factory, not 

 now in operation. Between this and Hins- 

 dillville is a small Methodist chapel, built 

 in 1836. 



WaLbridgRviUc, about three quarters of 

 a mile above Hinsdillville on the Wal- 

 loomscoik, has two paper mills where 

 paper is extensively manufactured by ap- 

 proved modern machinery. It has also a 

 saw mill and a small woollen factory. 



Iron ore is found in several places in 

 this town. The oxyde of manganese, of the 

 variety called the earthy oxyde, is also 

 found in connexion with brown hematite. 

 Its color is brownish black. Radiated 

 and compact varieties also occur. It is very 

 abundant. The yellow oxyde of iron, or 

 yellow ochre is also found in abundance 

 in this town. It is a good article for com- 

 mon uses, and about 100 tons are annual- 

 ly prepared and sent to market. Marble, 

 magnesian limestone, argillacious slate, 

 and hornstone are also found. The mar- 

 ble is worked, but not to a large extent. 

 Mount Anthony, in the south west part 

 of the town, is a considerable elevation. 

 On the east side of the mountain, a mile 

 from the centre village, is a cavern, which 

 is a considerable curiosity. Stalactites 

 are suspended from the roof, and also 

 incrust the sides of the cave. Statistics 

 of 1840.— Horses, 6U2 ; cattle, 2,66'J; 

 sheep, 0,.578 ; swine, 2,138; wheat, bu. 

 2,185; barley, 930; oats, 30,399; rye, 

 3,852 ; buck wheat, 1,213 ; Indian corn, 

 16,000 ; potatoes, 56,475 ; hay, tons, 564 ; 

 sugar, lbs. 7,828 ; wool, 26,327. Popula- 

 tion, 3429. H. H. 



Bennington County lies in the south- 

 west corner of the state, and is bounded 

 north by Rutland county, east by Wind- 

 ham count}', south by Berkshire county, 

 Mass., and west by Washington and Rens- 

 selaer counties, N. Y. It is situated be- 

 tween 42° 44' and 43" 18' north lat. and 

 between 3° 46' and 4° 14' east long, and 



