122 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



Part III. 



MORRISTOWN. 



MORRISTOWN. 



the year 1800, by Nathan Wilcox. The 

 town was organized in March, 1807, and 

 Christopher Bartlett was first town clerk, 

 and Rufus Stewart first representative. 

 A Congregational church was organized 

 here June 4, 18"i3, and at first consisted 

 of 7 members. Their present number is 

 73, and their present pastor, the R.ev. J. 

 S. Clark, was ordained Jan. 11, 1827. A 

 Methodist class was formed here in 18"2!.>. 

 The surface of the town consists of swells 

 and vallies, and is mostly susceptible of 

 cultivation. Timber generally hard wood. 

 Soil good. A head branch of Clyde riv- 

 er, called Farrand"s river, passes througli 

 the east part of Morgan, and Seymour's 

 lake, which is about four miles long and 

 nearly 2 wide, lies in the central part. It 

 discharges its waters to the south through 

 Echo Pond into Clyde river. Statistics 

 O/1840. — Horses, 8G; cattle, 492 ; sheep, 

 842 ; swine, 187 ; wheat, bus. 1 ,G17 ; bar- 

 ley, 233 ; oats, 3,674 ; rye, 10 ; buck- 

 wheat, 669 ; Ind. corn, 303 ; potatoes, 

 17,675; hay, tons, 1,037 ; suo-ar, lbs. 16,- 

 102; wool, 1,889. Population, 422. 



JMoRRisTowN, is situated in the central 

 part of Lamoille county, in lat. 44° 32' 

 and long. 4"" 20*, and is bounded norther- 

 ly by Hydepark, easterly by Elmore, 

 southerly by Stow, and westerly by Ster- 

 ling. It lies 20 miles northwest from 

 Montpelier, and 29 northeast from Bur- 

 lington. It was granted Nov. 6, 1780, 

 and chartered to Moses Morse and asso- 

 ciates, Aug. 24, 1781, containing 23,040 

 acres. The settlement was commenced 

 in the spring of 1790, by Mr. Jacob Walk- 

 er, who came from Bennington, accom- 

 panied by his brother, who shortly after 

 returned. Mr. Walker remained here du- 

 ring the summer, making his home at the 

 house of Mr. John McDaniel, in Hyde- 

 park, to which place he returned on Sat- 

 urday niglit, going out again on Monday 

 •with provisions sufficient to last him 

 through the week. In this way he la- 

 bored through the summer, and in the 

 fall he returned to Bennington. In the 

 spring of 1791 Mr. Walker brought his 

 family here and continued through the 

 summer, and in the fall again returned to 

 B. In the spring of 1792, Mr. Walker 

 and family came to this town, accompa- 

 nied by Mr. Olds and his family. They 

 built a camp, in which Mr. W. and wife, 

 and Mr. Olds and wife, and two hired 

 men, lived two months, during which 

 time Gov. Butler, of Waterbury, paid 

 them a visit. At the end of two months 

 a house had been erected, into wliieh they 

 all removed. In the i'all Mr. WalkeV 

 moved to Fairfax, and left Mr. Olds and 

 family here alone. Mrs. Olds was the 



first woman that wintered in this town. 

 Their nearest neighbors, on the south, 

 were at Waterbury, 14 miles distant, and 

 no road. The nearest mill was at Cam- 

 bridge, distant 20 miles. In the summer 

 of 1798 Capt. SafFord, from Windsor, Ms., 

 built the first saw mill, at the Great falls 

 on the Lamoille. The town was organ- 

 ized in 1796, and Comfort Olds was first 

 town clerk. The first sermon preached 

 in this town was by Rev. Mr. Bogue, a 

 missionary, in the summer of 1798, and 

 tlie second bv the eccentric Lorenzo Dow. 

 The surface of this town is moderately 

 uneven. The soil is of a good quality, 

 and easily cultivated. Morristown is, in 

 point of agricultural products, the second 

 in the county. The timber is maple, 

 beech, birch, hemlock, &c. The Lamoille 

 river enters this town near the northeast 

 corner, passing by Morrisville and Cadys- 

 ville, and after running four miles in the 

 north part of this town, again returns in- 

 to H3Mlepark. Along this river in Mor- 

 ristown are some fine tracts of intervale, 

 and on it are two excellent mill seats. 

 There are several other streams in town, 

 on which mills are erected. Morrisville 

 is a pleasant, flourishing village, situated 

 near the great falls. Here is one of the 

 finest situations for manufacturing estab- 

 lishments which the state affords. At 

 the falls a few rods west of the village, 

 may be found curious specimens of the 

 Vvonder working power of water in wear- 

 ing holes into the solid rock, some of 

 which are nearly 8 feet deep and 4 feet 

 broad. The river at this place pours it- 

 self into a channel cut directly across the 

 stream, 20 feet deep and 30 broad. This 

 channel the early settlers denominated the 

 ptilpit, from the resemblance of the rocks 

 at the north end to that structure. On 

 the west side of this chasm the rocks rise 

 perpendicularly to the height of 30 feet, 

 and the beholder, while standing on the 

 edge of this precipice, sees the whole bo- 

 dy "of tlie river plunged down at his feet 

 into this boiling cauldron, from which it 

 escapes through a channel at the soutll 

 end, and immediately spreading itself out 

 encircles numerous islands, whose high, 

 jagged points are covered with a thick 

 growth of cedar and fir, and altogether 

 presenting a scene of grandeur and beau- 

 ty seldom found surpassed. Cadysville 

 is situated two miles below Morrisville, 

 and bids fair to become a place of consid- 

 erable business. At the centre of the 

 town is a small village, pleasantly located 

 and wanting only the facilities of water 

 power to make it the principal place of 

 business, [n the southeast corner of the 

 town is a pond called Joe's Pond, from an 



