102 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



Part TIT. 



LEECH S STREAM. 



LEICESTER. 



LEMINGTON. 



was made with so much show and spirit, 

 as to lead the Indians to suppose that 

 they were assailed by a force far superior 

 to their own, and that their only chance 

 of escape consisted in a hasty retreat to 

 their canoes. They accordingly betook 

 themselves to flight, and, being closely 

 pursued, when thej^ reached their landing 

 place, they seized their canoes, hurried 

 them into the stream, and leaped on board 

 with the utmost precipitation. But what 

 was their surprise when tliey found their 

 canoes were disabled and were all filling 

 with water! In this forlorn condition 

 they were attacked b}^ the three men, 

 who had lain concealed on the bank, and 

 the pursuinfif party soon coming to their 

 aid, the Indians were all shot, while strug- 

 gling to keep themselves afloat, or sunk 

 to rise no more — not an individual being 

 allowed to escape to tell to their kindred 

 the tale of wo. This well contrived and 

 successfol stratagem gave name to Lajdoi 

 (tficplot) River. So says tradition. An- 

 other and more probable account of the 

 origin of this name is, that, during the co- 

 lonial wars and before any settlements 

 were made in these parts, an ambush 

 was formed near the mouth of this stream 

 for an English scouting party which was 

 expected that way, but^ the scout getting 

 information of the plot, managed to sur- 

 prise and defeat the liers-in-wait, and to 

 slauglitei the greater part of their number, 

 and hence the name La Plot. But these 

 traditions to the contrary notwithstanding, 

 this river undoubtedly took its name from 

 the poiiit in the west part of Sholburne, 

 called on the early French maps Poiiitc au 

 PIdtre or Plaster Point. It was formerly 

 often written La Platte. 



Leech's Stream, proceeds from a small 

 pond in the north part of Averill, and runs 

 about northeast across the west part of 

 Canaan, and falls into Leech's ])ond, 

 which is about 2 miles wide and 3 long, 

 and lies about half in Canada and half in 

 Vermont. From this pond the stream 

 runs nearly east about 3 miles, then south- 

 east into Connecticut river. Its mouth 

 is nearly 2 rods wide. 



Leicester, a small post town in the 

 south part of Addison county, is in lat. 43'=' 

 51' and long. 4" 0', and is bounded north 

 by Salisbury, east by Goshen, south by 

 Brandon, and west by Whiting. It lies 

 miles south from IVIiddlebur}', and .36 

 southwest from Montpelier; and was char- 

 tered Oct. 20, 17GI . The settlement was 

 commenced in 1773, by Jeremiah Parker, 

 from Massachusetts. The settlement, 

 however, made but little progress till af- 

 ter the revolution. The town was organ- 

 ized in 1786. Ebenezer Child was first 



town clerk, and John Smith first repre- 

 sentative. The Methodist society i.s the 

 most numerous. There are some Bap 

 tists, Congregationalists, and Universal 

 ists. The principal streams are Otter 

 creek and Leicester river. The former 

 runs through the township near the west 

 side, and the latter runs across the north- 

 west corner, and falls into Otter creek. 

 The current of these streams is very slow, 

 and they furnish, in this townsliip, no 

 sites for mills. Lake Dunmore lies part- 

 ly in this township, and partly in Salisbu- 

 ry. There are two other ponds ; one, a 

 little south of lake Dunmore, is \ of a mile 

 long, and half a mile wide, and is called 

 Little Pond, and the other, a little west 

 of lake Dunmore, is about a mile in cir- 

 cumference, and is called Mud Pond. 

 There is also a pond east of lake Dun- 

 more, and cast of a range of the Green 

 Mountains, whicii abounds in e.xcellent 

 trout. The other ponds furnish bull heads, 

 perch, and trout. The princijia! eleva- 

 tion is a branch of the Green Mountains, 

 running through the eastern part, called 

 Bald hill. The soil is a rich, sandy loam, 

 interspersed with some flats of clay. 

 Along the river are valuable tracts of in- 

 tervale. In approaching the mountain to- 

 wards the cast, the soil becomes harder 

 and less productive. Stotistics of 1640. — 

 Horses, 113; cattle, 726; sheep, 5,.531 ; 

 swine, 32-5; wheat, bush. 772; oats, 3,- 

 175 ; rye, 863 ; buckwheat, 24 ; In. corn, 

 3,321 ; potatoes, 10,960 ; hay, tons, 4,600 ; 

 sugar, lbs. 820: wool, 12,900. Popula- 

 tion, 602. 



Lemingtox, a township in the north- 

 eastern part of Essex county, is in lat. 44° 

 53" and long. 5° 22', and is bounded nor- 

 therly by Canaan, easterly by Connecti- 

 cut river, which separates it from Cole- 

 brook, N. H., southerly by Bloomfield, 

 and westerly b^' Averill. It lies 04 miJea 

 northeast from Montpelier, and was char- 

 tered June 29, 1762, containing 23,040 

 acres. The settlements in this township 

 are mostly confined to the margin of Con- 

 necticut river. Tiiere are three large 

 brooks running through the township, 

 which are tributaries to the Connecticut, 

 on one of which is a cascade of 50 feet. 

 The most northerly of these streams is 

 called Willard's brook. The Monadnoc 

 mountain of Vermont lies in the north- 

 east corner of this township. The town 

 is divided into 2 school districts, and con- 

 tains 2 saw mills. Str/tistics of 1840. — 

 Horses, 44 ; cattle, 266 ; sheep, 483 ; 

 swine, 126 ; wheat, bush. 294 ; barley, 65 ; 

 oats, 1,120; buckwheat, 1,112 ; In. corn, 

 163; potatoes, 7,470 ; hay, tons, 503; su- 

 gar, lbs. 1,650; wool, 757. Population, 124. 



