Part III. 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



55 



CHITTENDEN. 



CHITTE.NDEN COUNTY. CLYDE RIVER. 



CI.ARENDON. 



unequal depths below the surface, and 

 about 300 tons, worth ,$35 per ton in 

 New York, are annually sent to market. 

 A fui'nace was erected in this town as 

 early as 1792, by a Mr. Keith of Boston. 

 In 1839, a forge was erected which makes 

 about .500 lbs., of bar iron per day. The 

 town contains 6 school districts, 6 saw 

 mills, each sawing yearly 100,000 feet of 

 boards, one store and a post office, the 

 two latter estal)]ished in 1841. SUitistics 

 of 1H40 —Horses, 126 ; cattle, 481 ; sheep, 

 4,326; swine, 287 ; wheat bus., 1,115; 

 barley, 5 ; oats, 5,032 ; rye, 2G2 ; buck 

 wheat, 345 ; Indian corn, 2,379 ; potatoes, 

 16,830 ; hay, tons, 1,970 ; su^ar, lbs. 11,- 

 790; wool," 9,202. Population, 644. 



Chittenden County, is bounded north 

 by Franklin and Lamoille county, east by 

 Lamoille and Washington county, south 

 by Addison county and west by lake 

 Champlain. It lies between 44° 7' and 

 44° 42' N. lat. and 3° 41' and 4° 14' east 

 long. Its extent from north to south is 

 30 miles, and from cast to west 22 miles, 

 covering about 500 square miles. It was 

 incorporated October 22, 1782. A few 

 settlements were commenced in this 

 county before the revolution, but they 

 were all abandoned during the war. Win- 

 ooski river runs through the middle of the 

 county and fills into lake Champlain be- 

 tween Burlington and Colchester. The 

 river Lamoille runs across the northwest 

 corner, and Laplott river and some other 

 streams water the south part. This coun- 

 ty, except along the lake shore, where it 

 is generally level, is uneven, but not 

 mountainous. The soil is various, being 

 in some places pine plain, and licrht and 

 sandy ; in others a rich loam, and in others 

 a deep alluvion. The flats on the Wi- 

 nooski river are equal to any in the stale. 

 Burlington is the seat of justice and the 

 principal town in the county. Tlie su- 

 preme court sits liere on the Monday pre- 

 ceding the first Tuesday of January ; the 

 county court on the 4th Tuesday of May 

 and November. Statistics of 1840. — Hors- 

 es, 4,231 ; cattle, 24,142; sheep, 110,774; 

 swine, 25,310 ; wheat, bus., 29,.502; barl 

 ley 1,305; oats, 131,799; rye, 31,570; 

 buckwheat, 11,575; Indian corn, 119,- 

 087; potatoes, 522,792; hay, tons, 56,- 

 3.57; sugar, lbs. 177,343; wool, 215,019. 

 Population, 22,978. 



Clyde River, has its source in Pitkin's 

 and Knowlton's ponds, in the northeast 

 part of Brighton, and runs a northwester- 

 ly course tlirough Brighton, Charleston, 

 Salem and Derby, to lake Memphrema- 

 gog. E.xcepting a few short rapids, this 

 is a dead, still river, until it comes with- 

 in tjjree miles of lake Memphrcmagog. 



This stream runs through Round pond in 

 Charleston and through Salem lake, a 

 beautiful sheet of water, near two miles 

 in length and one in width, lying partly 

 in Salem and partly in Derby. It waters 

 about 150 square miles. 



Cl.'Vrendon, a post town in the central 

 part of Rutland county, is in lat. 43° 31' 

 and long. 4" 6', and is bounded north by 

 Rutland, east by Shrewsbury, south by 

 Tininouth and VVallingford, and west 

 by Ira. It is 55 miles S. from Montpelier, 

 and 46 N. from Bennington, and was 

 chartered September 5, 1761. It was 

 granted both by N. H. and New York, 

 and comprehends a part of the two grants 

 of ^ocialborough and Durham. The 

 settlement was commenced in 1768 by 

 Elkanah Cook who was joined the same 

 year by Randal Rice, Benjamin Johns and 

 others. The first settlers were mostly 

 from Rhode-Island, and purchased their 

 lands of Col. Lideus, who claimed them 

 under a title derived from the Indians. 

 This title was however, never confirmed 

 by either of tlie colonial governments, 

 and the diversity of claimants occasioned 

 much litigation, which continued till 

 1785, when the legislature passed what 

 was called the quieting act. By it the 

 settlers were put in peaceable possession 

 of their land, and the New Hampshire 

 title to the lands not settled, was con- 

 firmed. In consequence of these pro- 

 ceedings there are no public rights in 

 town. The first town meeting on record 

 was in 1778, and Stephen Arnold was 

 this year town clerk, and Abner Lewis, 

 representative. Elder Isaac Beals of the 

 Baptist order was the first settled minis 

 ter. TJie Congregational church was 

 gathered here Feb. 1822 by the Rev. Hen- 

 ry Hunter, who was installed over the- 

 same on the 6th of November following 

 and continued six years. The church at 

 first consisted of 12 members ; the present 

 number is 70. Otter creek runs through 

 this town from south to north, a little 

 east of the centre, and receives here Mill 

 river and Cold river from the east, which 

 aftbrds numerous sites for mills and other 

 machinery. Mill rircr rises in Mount- 

 Holly, runs nearly on the line between 

 this town and Wallingford, receiving from 

 the latter the waters of a considerable 

 pond, crosses the southwest corner of 

 Shrewsbury and falls into Otter creek near 

 the south part of Clarendon. Cold river 

 rises in Parkerstown, crosses the north- 

 west corner of Shrewsbury and enters Ot- 

 ter creek near the north part of Claren- 

 don. Furnace brook, called also Little 

 West river, rises from a small pond in the 

 south part of Tinmoutli and runs north, 



