Part III. 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



47 



CASTLETON RIVER. 



CAVENDISH. 



cess to the public institutions. The post 

 office is at present a distributing office. 

 There are in Castleton ten scliool districts 

 and school houses ; and usually are one or 

 more select schools in the village; num- 

 ber of scholars belonging to the primary 

 schools, 5l)t>. Statistics of 1840. — Horses, 

 322 ; cattle, 1,G38 ; sheep, 14,631 ; swine, 

 8'JO ; wheat, bu. 1,7.52; oats, 8,876; rye, 

 3,306 ; b'k wheat, 822 ; Ind. corn, 10,185; 

 potatoes, 23,yi5 ; hay, tons, 4,479 ; sugar, 

 lbs. 8,660 : wool, 27,631. Population, 

 1769. J. p. 



Castleton River originates in Pitts- 

 ford, runs south into Rutland, thence 

 west through Ira, Castleton and Fair 

 Haven into Poultney river. In Castleton 

 it receives the waters of lake Bombazine, 

 and another considerable mill stream from 

 the north. The road from Rutland to 

 Whitehall, through Castleton village, 

 passes along this river for a considerable 

 part of the distance. Length of the stream 

 about 20 miles 



Cavendish, a post town in Windsor 

 county, is in lat. 43'=' 23' and long. 4° 25', 

 and is 60 miles south from Montpelier, 

 and 10 miles from Windsor. It is bounded 

 north by Reading, east by Weathersfield, 

 south by Chester, and west by Ludlow. 

 This townsiiip was chartered by the gov- 

 ernor of New Hampshire, October 12, 

 1761, and afterwards regranted by New 

 York. It was originally about 7 miles 

 square. In 17!)3, 3000 acres were set off 

 from the southeast corner, and constituted 

 a separate township by the name of Balti- 

 more. On the morning of the 30th of 

 Aug. 17.54, the Indians surprised Charles- 

 town, N. H., and made prisoners of 

 Mr. Labaree, Mr. Farnsworth and Mr. 

 Johnson with his family. The savages 

 proceeded with their prisoners and booty 

 into the wilderness, and encamped within 

 the present limits of this town, where 

 Mrs. Johnson was, that night, delivered 

 of a daughter, which she called Captive. 

 Mrs. Johnson was compelled to keep on 

 her march over the Green Mountains, 

 and to perform a journey of 200 miles. 

 After a captivity of some time, in which 

 they endured many privations and hard- 

 ships, this little band of sufferers were 

 ransomed and returned again to New 

 Hampshire, to the enjoyment of their 

 friends and society. Captive Johnson is 

 now the wife of Col. George Kimball. 

 Near the place where Mrs. Kimball was 

 born, a monument is erected with an in- 

 scription, of which the following is a 

 verbatim copy. "This is near the spot 

 that the Indians encamped the night after 

 they took Mr. Johnson and family, Mr. 

 Labaree and Mr. Farnsworth, August 



30th, 1754, and Mrs. Johnson was deliv- 

 ered of her child half a mile up this 

 brook." 



" When trouble is near the Lord is kind, 

 He hears the Captives cry ; 



Ho can subdue the savage mind. 

 And learn it sympathy,'' 

 The settlement of this township was 

 commenced in the north part by Capt. 

 John Coffein, in June, 1769, at wiiose 

 hospitable dwelling, thousands of our 

 revolutionary soldiers received refresh- 

 ments, while passing from Charlestovvn, 

 then No. 4, to the military posts, on lake 

 Champlain, nearly the whole distance 

 being, at that time, a wilderness. On 

 the farm, now the residence of James 

 Smith, Esq., in the northwesterly part of 

 the town, 20 miles from Charlestovvn, 

 was another stopping place, called the 

 " Twenty miles encampment," giving 

 name to a small river near the head of 

 which the encampment was situated. In 

 177], Noadiah Russell and Thomns Gil- 

 bert joined Capt. Coffein in the settle- 

 ment, and shared with him in his wants 

 and privations. For several years they 

 struggled hard for a scanty and precariou9 

 subsistence. The grinding of a single grist 

 of corn was known to have cost 60 miles 

 travel. Such was the situation of the 

 roads and the scarcity of mills at this 

 early period. Manj' interesting anec- 

 dotes are related of Capt. Coffein, which 

 our limits will not permit us to insert. At 

 one time, he owed his lile to the sagacity 

 of his faithful dog. He was returning 

 from Otter creek, in March, 1771, while 

 the country was perfectly new, and on 

 account of the depth of the snow was 

 compelled to travel on snow-shoes. While 

 crossing one of the ponds in Plymouth, 

 the ice broke, and he was suddenly 

 plunged into the water. Encumbered 

 with a large pair of snow-shoes and a 

 great coat which he had on, he strove, 

 but in vain, to extricate himself. He 

 struggled about half an hour, and, in des- 

 pair, was about yielding himself to a 

 watery grave, when, at this critical mo- 

 ment, his large and faithful dog beholding 

 his situation came forward to the rescue 

 of his master. He seized the cuff of his 

 great coat, and, aided by the almost ex- 

 piring efforts of Capt. Coffein, succeeded 

 in dragging him from the watery chasm 

 to a place of safety. Capt. Coffein lived 

 to see the town all settled and organized, 

 and to take an active part in its public 

 concerns. He was the first representative, 

 and represented the town for a nvnnber of 

 years. The first settlers were mostls' from 

 Massachusetts. Josiah Fletcher was first 

 town clerk. There is a Baptist and Con- 

 gregational church, and some Methodists, 



