54 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



Part III. 



CHESTER. 



CHIMNEV POINT. 



CHITTENDEN. 



considerably diversified with hills and 

 vallies, but the soil is generally good ; 

 the uplands yield excellent pasturage, 

 and when newly cleared, produce abun- 

 dance of grain. The intervales are rich 

 and fertile, producing good crops of rye, 

 corn, barley, oats, peas, beans, potatoes, 

 &c. The roads are now all free, re- 

 markably well laid, level and well wrought 

 for such an uneven township, mainly 

 following streams. Timber, mostly hard 

 wood, with some hemlock, sjiruce and 

 pine. Minerals, granite, actynolite,augite 

 chlorite, common and potter's clay, cy- 

 anite, epidote, feldspar, garnet, hornblend, 

 iron, magnetic, o.xyde of sulphuret, quartz, 

 serpentine, talc, and mica. The town is 

 divided into twenty school districts, with 

 18 school houses, mostly of brick or stone, 

 and 74'i scholars, on the first day of 

 January, 1.'^'40. An academy was incor- 

 porated, and a building 5U by 40 feet, 

 three stories high, erected in 1814, in the 

 south village. The school is now in a 

 flourishing condition, under the instruc- 

 tion of James O. Pratt. There are two 

 villages, called the north and south vil- 

 lage ; the north village is situated near 

 the centre of the township, on the north- 

 erly side of the north branch of William's 

 river. It contains one meeting house, 

 2 stores, 2 grist mills, 2 taverns, '2 cabinet 

 shops, 1 attorneys oflace, 1 tannery, and 

 about 25 dwelling houses. The south 

 village is situate in a pleasant valley on 

 the north side of the middle branch of 

 William's river, three fourths of a mile 

 south of the north village, and one and a 

 half mile southeasterly of the centre of 

 the town. It contains 1 academy, 2 

 meeting houses, post office, 1 woollen 

 factory, 1 clotliier's shop, 1 hatter's shop, 

 1 saddler's, 1 chair maker's, I wheel 

 Wright's, 2 blacksmith's, 2 mechanic's 

 shops, 1 tannery, 2 taverns, 3 attorney's 

 offices, 4 stores, and about GO dwellino; 

 houses. The line of stages from Boston 

 to Montreal, and from Hanover and 

 Charlestown, to Saratoga and Albanv, 

 intersect in this village. The road from 

 Chester to Manchester, is considered the 

 best passage of the Green Mountains in 

 the state, south of iMontpclier, and renders 

 this village the great thoroughfare for the 

 travel from Maine and New Hampshire, 

 to the state of New York, and particularly 

 to Saratoga and Ballston springs. There 

 are in operation in the town, .5 grist mills, 

 8 saw mills, 3 tanneries, 2 carding ma- 

 chines, 5 stores, 5 taverns, and 2 fullinor 

 mills. Statistics of 1840. — Horses, 486^ 

 cattle, 2,5.o9 ; sheep, 10,752; swine, 1,287; 

 wheat, bu. 1,477 ; barley, 510 ; oats, 15,- 

 272; rye, 2,328; buck wheat, 876 ; Ind. 



corn,8,G27; potatoes, 35,255 ; hay, tons 

 4,490; sugar, lbs. 18,987; wool, 30,263] 

 Population, 2,305. 



Chimney Point is in Addison opposite 

 to Crown Point and is the most westerly 

 land in Vermont. It was upon this point 

 that the first settlement was made in the 

 western part of Vermont by the French 

 in 1731, and here they erected a stone 

 wind mill, which was garrisoned during 

 the Colonial wars, and hence it has some 

 times been called Windmill point, but 

 this name is now confined to a point in 

 Alburgh. 



Chin, the name given to the north peak 

 of Mansfield mountain in the township of 

 Mansfield. This is the highest summit 

 in the State, being according to Captain 

 Partridge, 4279 feet, and according to E. 

 F. Johnson, Esq., 4359 feet above tide 

 water. 



Chittenden, a post town in the north- 

 eastern part of Rutland county, is in lat. 

 43"^ 44', and bounded northerly by Go- 

 shen, easterly by Pittsfield, southerly by 

 Parkcrstown, and west by Pittsford and a 

 part of Brandon. It was granted the 14th 

 and chartered the 16th of March, 1780, to 

 Ghershom Beach and associates. The 

 township of Philadelphia was annexed to 

 Chittenden, November 2, 1816. The set- 

 tlement of this township was commenced 

 about the close of the revolutionary war, 

 but much of it being mountainous remains 

 unsettled. The religious denominations 

 are Methodists, Congregationalists and 

 Roman Catholics. The Methodists num- 

 ber about 70, of whom 10 are Protestant, 

 the Congregationalists about 50, and the 

 Roman Catholics 100. The Methodists 

 erected a house of worship in 1832, and 

 the Congregationalist in 1833. The most 

 distinguished man who has resided here 

 was Aaron Beach. He fought under 

 Wolf on the heights of Abraham, served 

 his country through the war of the revolu- 

 tion and was prevented only by the solicit- 

 ations of friends from being with theGreen 

 Mountain Boys in the battle at Platts- 

 burgh. The northwest part is watered 

 by Philadelphia river, which falls into 

 Otter creek at Pittsford. Tweed river 

 rises in the eastern part and falls into 

 White river. The southwestern part is 

 watered by East creek. Near Philadel- 

 phia river, is a mineral spring, and among 

 the mountains are some caverns, but they 

 are little known. This town is interest- 

 inn- on account of its minerals. Iron ore 

 of good quality is found here in abun- 

 dance and also manganese. About 600 

 tons of the iron ore are raised annually, 

 much of which is smelted at the works in 

 Pittsford. The manganese is found at 



