Part III. 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



79 



GUILDHALL. 



GUILFORD. 



15 northwest from Newbury. It was 

 granted November 7, 1780, and chartered 

 to Thomas Butterfiekl and his associates, 

 October 20, 1789, containing 28,300 acres. 

 The settlement of the township was com- 

 menced in 1787, by Messrs. James, Ab- 

 bott, Morse and Osmore. John James 

 was the first male child born in town. 

 The town was organized March 28, 1797, 

 and Nathaniel Knight was the first town 

 clerk. The wife of a Mr. Page, in this 

 town, was, in 1819, delivered of four male 

 children at a birth. The religious denom- 

 inations are Baptists and Metiiodists. 

 The ministers are Elder Lyman Culver, 

 Baptist, and Elder James Smith, Metho- 

 dists. The surface of this township is 

 generally uneven, rough and stoney. 

 There is, however, some very good land, 

 both in the nortiieast and southwestern 

 parts. The timber is mostly spruce and 

 hemlock, interspersed with maple, beech 

 and birch. This township is watered by 

 Wells river and some of its branches, 

 which afford several good mill privileges. 

 There are also several natural ponds. 

 Wells river pond, tlirough which Wells 

 river passes, is in the north part, and is 

 three miles long and three quarters of a 

 mile wide. Little pond, in the south- 

 eastern part, covers about 100 acres, and 

 lies in the course of Wells river. Kettle 

 pond, so called on account of Mr. Hos- 

 mer, a hunter, having lost a small kettle 

 in its vicinity, lies in the northwest cor- 

 ner, and covers about 40 acres. The 

 soutli branch rises in Harris' gore, and 

 running nearly east through the south 

 part of the town, joins Wells river just 

 balow Little pond. In the south part of 

 the township is an extensive bank of 

 white clay or marl, which is a very good 

 substitute for chalk, and which has been 

 used instead of lime in plastering, and is 

 said to answer a very good purpose. 

 There are here one grist, seven saw and 

 one fulling mill, two stores and two tan- 

 neries. Statistics of 1S40. — Horses, 169; 

 cattle, 1,138 ; sheep, 2,061 ; swine, 605 ; 

 wheat, bus. 2,185 ; barley, 306 oats, 13,- 

 618; Indian corn, 2,967; potatoes, 31,- 

 095 ; hay, tons, 2,009; sugar, lbs. 20,530; 

 wool, 4,001. Population, 928. 



Guildhall, a post and shire township 

 in Essex county, situated in lat. 44? 32' 

 and long. 5° 18', containing 19,477 acres, 

 or thirty square miles. It is 50 miles 

 northeast from Montpelier, 25 from Dan. 

 ville, and 83 from Windsor. It is bound- 

 ed north by Maidstone, east by Connec- 

 ticut river, south by Lunenburgh, and 

 west by Granby,and lies opposite to Lan- 

 caster in New Hampshire. Guildhall 

 was chartered October 10, 1761, and gran- 



ted to Elisha Hall and his associates. 

 The settlement was commenced in the 

 lower part of this town, which was then 

 thought to be a part of Lunenburgh, in 

 1764, by David Page, Timothy Nash and 

 George Wheeler. In 1775, Enoch Hall, 

 Micah Amy and James Rosbrook joined 

 the settlement; Eleazer Rosbrook and 

 Samuel Page, in 1778, and David Hopkin- 

 son, and Reuben and Simeon Howe, in 

 1779. The first settlers suffered severe 

 privations and hardships for a number of 

 years. They brought their grain and pro- 

 visions, in canoes, from Northfield in 

 Massachusetts, a distance of more than 

 150 miles. During the revolutionary war, 

 they were in continual alarm, and fre- 

 quently annoyed by the Indians and to- 

 ries, who killed their cattle, plundered 

 their houses, and carried a number of the 

 inhabitants into captivity. The first town 

 meeting recorded was in March, 1785. 

 But it appears from the records, that the 

 town had been previously organized. The 

 denominations of Christians are Congre- 

 gationalists, Methodists and Baptists. 

 The Congregational church v^as formed 

 in 1799 ; settled the Rev. Caleb Burge, 

 August 3, 1808, who was dismissed in 

 March, 1814. The Rev. James Tisdale 

 was settled September 20, 1830, and dis- 

 missed in May, 1836. The Rev. Francis 

 P. Smith, the present pastor, was settled 

 in September, 1838. There have been 

 two county grammar school houses erec- 

 ted in this town, both of which were con- 

 sumed by fire. The surface of this town, 

 except on the river, is uneven, hard and 

 rocky. The intervales and flats are easy 

 and fertile. Burnside and Cow mountain 

 are considerable elevations. Connecticut 

 river washes the east side of this town. 

 Its other waters are. Cutler's Mill brook, 

 on which mills have been erected, and 

 Burnside brook, on which also, are mill 

 privileges. There is a small village in 

 the northeast corner of the town, con- 

 taining the county buildings, several offi- 

 ces, stores, &c. At this village is a good 

 bridge across Connecticut river. There 

 is another bridge, connecting this town 

 with Lancaster, near the south east cor- 

 ner. There are here two stores, one tav- 

 ern, one grain mill, two saw mills, and 

 one fulling mill. Statistics of 1840. — 

 Horses, 126; cattle, 794; sheep, 1,285; 

 swine, 446; wheat, bu. 957 ; barley, 78 ; 

 oats, 6,285 ; buck wheat, 1,774 ; In. corn, 

 905; potatoes, 25,025; hay, tons, 1,415; 

 sugar, }bs. 11,800 ; wool, 2,081. Popula- 

 tion, 470. 



Guilford, a post town in the south 

 part of Windham county, is in lat. 42" 

 47' and long. 4" 26', and is bounded north 



