60 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



Part ill. 



COVENTRY. 



COVENTRY GOr.K. 



CRAFTSBURY' 



year, and Joel Linslcy was the first town 

 clerk, and Hiland liall tlie first representa- 

 tive. The Cong-regational churcli, in this 

 town, was organized July 15, 17c5, and 

 September 26, 17f:<7, they settled the Rev. 

 Thomas Tolman, who was dismissed 

 November 11, 17!t0. The Rev. Benjamin 

 Wooster was ordained over this church 

 February 23, 17117, and dismissed Janua- 

 ry 7, 1802. The Rev. Jededioh Bushnell 

 was installed May 2-3, 1SU3, and this year, 

 their meetinghouse was erected. He was 

 dismissed May 25, 1^36, and was succeed- 

 ed by the Rev. Lamson Miner, who was 

 settled January 3, 1837, who has since 

 been succeeded by the Rev. Jacob Scales 

 the present pastor. This church consists 

 of ai)out 3.30 members. In 1841, a Free 

 church was organized from the Congrega- 

 tional and Baptist churches, which is 

 under the care of the Rev. Wm. B. Ran- 

 som There is a Methodist church in the 

 west part of the town who have a neat 

 chapel. There is a literary debating so- 

 ciety which was incorporated in 1832. It 

 has a good hall for its weekly meetings 

 and a choice library of about 450 volumes. 

 Elder Henry (Jreen was settled over the 

 Baptist church and society, in 1809, and 

 dismissed Februar}^ 28, lb24. The Bap- 

 tist meeting house was erected in 1807. 

 One person has died, in this town, aged 

 106 years, and several have lived to be up- 

 wards of !(0. This is a very handsome 

 township of land, and the surface is gen- 

 erally level. Lemonfiir river crosses the 

 northwest corner, and Otter creek wash- 

 es a part of the eastern boundary. This 

 township, by charter, compreiiended that 

 part of Middlebiiry, which lies west of 

 Otter creek, including the mill privi- 

 leges on the west side of the creek at Mid- 

 dlebury falls. In the south part of the 

 town is a quarry of excellent dark blue 

 lime stone from which the inateral for the 

 front of the new college in Middlebury was 

 obtained, and near the centre of the town 

 is a bed ofliydraulic cement, or water 

 lime. Calcareous spar, in very beauti- 

 ful, transparent, rhomboidal crystals, is 

 found in the western part of this township. 

 Along Otter creek, in the southeast part, 

 is a large swamp covering several thou- 

 sand acres. There are here 2 saw mills, 

 3 stores, 1 tavern, 2 tanneries and 1 marble 

 shop. Slntist.irs of ]840. — Horses, 318; 

 cattle, 3,0.59 ; sheep, 24,561 ; swine, 824; 

 wheat, bus. 2,436 : oats, 9,021 ; rye, 874 ; 

 buck wheal, 690 ; Indian corn, 7,2SS ; po- 

 tatoes, 24,307; hay, tons, 8,751; suorar, 

 lbs. 11,000; wool 60,897. Population 

 1163. 



Coventry, name altered to Orleans, 

 November, 1841. See Orleans. 



CovK-VTRY Gore, a tract of 2000 acres 

 of land belonging to Coventry, (now Or- 

 leans,) lying in Orleans county, a few 

 miles to the southwest of that town. It 

 is bounded north by Newport, east by 

 Irasburgh, south by Lowell and west by 

 Troy, and contains 10 inhabitants. 



Craftseury, a post town in Orleans 

 county, lat. 44° 39' and long. 4*^ 32', si.x 

 miles square, and is bounded on the north 

 by Albany, east by Greensborough, south 

 by Wolcott, and west by Eden. It is 

 situated twenty-five miles south from 

 Canada line, and about the same distance 

 northerly from Montpelier, and is nearly 

 at equal distances from Connecticut river 

 on tlie east, and lake Champlain on the 

 west. It was granted Nov. 6, 1780, to 

 Timothy Newell, Ebenezer Crafts, and 

 their associates, and chartered by the 

 name of Minden, Aug. 23, 1781. The 

 first settlement in the town was com- 

 menced in the summer of 1788, by Col. 

 Ebenezer Crafts, who during that sum- 

 mer opened a road from Cabot, eighteen 

 miles, cleared ten or twelve acres of land, 

 built a house and saw mill, and made con- 

 siderable preparation for a grist mill. In 

 the spring of 1789, Nathan Cutler and 

 Robert Trumbell moved their families 

 into this township. In the ensuing fall 

 Mr. Trumbell, by reason of the sickness 

 of his family, spent the ensuing winter in 

 Barnet, but Mr. Cutler's family remained 

 through the winter. Their nearest neigh- 

 bors were Ashbel Shcpard's family, in 

 Greensborough, distant six miles; there 

 were at that time no other settlements 

 within the present bounds of Orleans 

 county. In Nov. 1790 the name of the 

 town was altered to Craftsbury. In Feb. 

 1791, Col. Crafts, having previousl}' erect- 

 ed a grist mill, and made considerable ad- 

 ditions to his improvements, together with 

 John Corey, Benjamin Jennings, Daniel 

 Mason, Joiin Babcock, and Mills Merri- 

 field, removed their families from Stur- 

 bridge, Mass. After arriving at Cabot 

 they found it imj)Ossible to proceed any 

 further with their teams, on account of 

 the great depth of the snow, being about 

 four feet deep. They were obliged to 

 provide themselves with snow-shoes, and 

 to draw the female part of their families 

 on hand sleds, a distance of eighteen 

 miles. These settlers v.'ere soon after 

 followed by several other families from 

 Sturbridge and other towns in Worcester 

 county. In March, 1792, the town was 

 organized, and Samuel C. Crafts was the 

 first town clerk, and was annually chosen 

 to that office until March, 1829, when 

 Joseph Scott, (then jun.) was elected, 

 and continues to hold said office. The 



