Part III. 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



33 



BRIDPORT. 



BRIGIITOI*. 



reiaken and remained a prisoner till the 

 close of the war. The other three, after 

 almost incredible perseverance and suffer- 

 ings and hair-breadtli escapes, succeeded 

 in making their way through the wilder- 

 ness to the fort at Pittsford.* 



Bridport was organized March 29, 1784, 

 and J. N. Bennet was first town clerk. It 

 was first represented in 1786, by Nathan 

 Manley. There are three churches and 

 three meetinghouses in town. The Con- 

 gregationalist church was organized June 

 30, 171)0, and now consists of 200 mem- 

 bers. Their meeting house stands in the 

 village, and was dedicated in 1813. The 

 Rev. Increase Graves was installed over 

 this church February 26, 17!)4. On the 

 7th of June, J. —27, the Rev. James F. Mc 

 Ewen was settled as colleague of the Rev. 

 Mr. Graves, then advanced in age, and 

 December 1, 1820, both were dismissed. 

 The Rev. Dana Lamb, the present pas- 

 tor, was settled February 16, 1831. The 

 Baptist church was organized in 1801. It 

 now consists of about 80 members. Their 

 meeting house is situated about a mile 

 from the lake, and their present minister 

 is Elder Alfred Harvey. The Methodist 

 society was organized in 1800. The 

 church consists of about 60 members and 

 is supplied with circuit preaching. Their 

 house for worship, built in 1821, is in the 

 villaare. There has been a small society 

 of Protestant Methodists here. There 

 have been several general revivals of re- 

 ligion. The first in 1803, subjects about 

 100. The second in 1813, upwards of 

 100 ; and the third in 1821. Ofthe fruits 

 of the latter about SO united with the 

 Congregational church and a considerable 

 number with the other churches. There 

 were also considerable revivals in 1831, 

 1836, and 1841. The dysentery prevailed 

 here in 1802, of which 16 died. Ofthe epi- 

 demic in 1813, about .50 died. In 1829, 25 

 died here of the dysentery. The surface of 

 this town is very level, and the soil, gen- 

 erally, is a brittle marl, or clay. The hills 

 are a loam and red slaty sandstone. A 

 range of shelly blue slate extends through 

 the town, lying, generally, a little below 

 the surface. The prevailing timber, in the 

 west part of the town, is oak, with white 

 and some Norway pine, along the lake 

 shore. In the eastern part it is, principallv, 

 maple and beech. The raising of sheep has 

 been the chief occupation of tlie people for 

 several years past, which accounts for the 

 decrease of population . This town is poorly 

 watered, there being no durable mill 

 streams, and the springs and ground, gen- 



* A full and interesting account or these transac- 

 tions was givon in tlie first edition of our Gazetteer, 

 but are omitted here lor the want of room,- 



5 



erally, being impregnated with epsom 

 salts, or sulphate of magnesia. For family 

 use, rain water is, generally, employed. It 

 is preserved in large reservoirs, or cisterns 

 set in the ground. Ofthe brackish water, 

 in' this town, cattle are e.xtremcly fond, 

 and it serves, in a manner, as a substi- 

 tute for salt. Some ofthe springs are so 

 strongly impregnated, that, in time of low 

 water, a pailful will yield a pound of the 

 salts. The discovery of these salts as an 

 ingredient in the v/aters here, was made 

 by the Rev, Sylvanus Chapin, and they 

 were manufactured in considerable quan- 

 tities, as early as 1790, but the cheapness 

 ofthe imported salts has prevented much 

 being done at the business for some years 

 past. There is a small but neat and 

 pleasantly located village, consisting of 

 about 2-5 dwelling houses. The prospect, 

 from the "common," of the mountain 

 and lake scenery is very fine. This town 

 has its medicinal spring impregnated with 

 sulphurated hydrogen, siwiilar to those 

 which are so common in the eastern part 

 ofthe state. There are several landing 

 places of goods on the lake shore, and in 

 the town si.x: stores, one tavern, one orist 

 and four saw mills, and 12 school dis- 

 tricts. Statistics of 1840. — Horses, 452 ; 

 cattle, 4,672 ; sheep, 27,228; swine, 776 ; 

 wheat, bu. 2,920 ; barley, 24 ; oats, 10,700; 

 rye, 487; buck wheat, 629; Indian corn, 

 2,988 ; potatoes, 15,820 ; hay, tons, 11,- 

 475 ; sugar, lbs. 484 ; wool, 69,164. Pop- 

 ulation, J 480. 



Brighton, a post town in the western 

 part of Essex county, in lat. 44° 45', and 

 long. 5° 6' and bounded northerly by 

 Wenlock, easterly by Ferdinand, south- 

 erly by Newark and a part of Westniore 

 and Easthaven, and westerly by Charles- 

 ton. It was chartered August 13, 1781, 

 to Col. Joseph Nightingale and associates 

 of Providence, R. I. and contains 23,970 

 acres. It was named Random by the 

 Hon. Joseph Brown, it being a random 

 purchase from an agent sent to Provi- 

 dence, from V^ermont. The name was 

 altered to Brighton November 3, 1832. 

 The settlement was commenced in 1823 

 by Enos Bishop ; and John Stevens mov- 

 ed his family into the town in 1825. The 

 settlement is mostly in tlie westerly part 

 of tlie town. The town was organized in 

 March 1832. William Malada was first 

 town clerk, and Timothy Cory first repre- 

 sentative. The township is watered chief- 

 ly by Ferren's river and other head 

 branches of Clyde river, but some of the 

 liead branches of the Passunipsic and 

 Nulhegan rivers originate here. Pitkin's 

 pond and Knowlton lake discharge their 

 waters through Clyde river. This is con- 



Pt. III. 



