136 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



Part III. 



PAWLET RIVER. 



PEACHAM. 



odists, and Universalists. The Cnngre- 

 gational church was organized August 8, 

 1781. Tlie Rev. Lewis Beebe, the first 

 settled minister, was settled over it from 

 June 14, 1787, to May 6, 17i)l ; the Rev. 

 John Griswold from October 23, 1703, to 

 August 11, 1830. The Rev. Elijah W. 

 Plumb, the present minister, was settled 

 May 18, 1831. They have a handsome 

 meeting house erected in 17'J7, situated 

 in a small village, about one mile south 

 of the centre of the township. The Bap- 

 tist church was organized Oct. 4, 171)1. 

 In the year 1800 they erected a large 

 meeting house in the western part of the 

 township, and Oct. 17, 1802, settled the 

 Rev. Isaac Bealls. There is a small Epis- 

 copal church here, which is called Trinitij 

 church. Mr. Rush, one of the first set- 

 tlers, died here in March, 1824, aged 110 

 years. The principal streams are Fawlet 

 river, which runs southwesterly nearly 

 through the centre of the township, and 

 Indian river, which runs the same course 

 across the southwest corner. The latter 

 rises from a spring of pure water, suffi- 

 ciently large to carry a grist mill. It 

 abounds in trout, and takes its name from 

 the great number of Indians who formerly 

 resorted here for the purpose of fishing'. 

 The township is divided nearly in the 

 centre by a range of mountains extending 

 through it from south to north. The most 

 remarkable summit is a little north of the 

 centre, and is called Haystack mountain. 

 The soil is dry and warm, easily cultiva- 

 ted, and produces good crops of grain and 

 grass. The timber is maple, beech, birch, 

 elm, bass, ash, walnut, oak, hemlock and 

 pine. There are here 1 oil, 3 saw, 1 grist 

 and 5 fulling mills, 2 carding machines, 

 4 woollen factories, 1 cotton factor^', 7 

 stores, 3 taverns, and 1 tannery. Statis- 

 tics of 1840.— Horses, 369; cattle, 2,335; 

 sheep, 20,70.5 ; swine, 1,400 ; wheat, bus. 

 2,477; oats, 12,21;"); rye, 3,244; buck- 

 wheat, 287; Indian corn, (10,950 ; potatoes, 

 41,020; hay, tons, G,03l': sugar, lbs. JO,- 

 300 ; wool, 40,422. Population, 1,748. 



Pawlet River is a small stream which 

 rises in Dorset, runs northwesterly across 

 the northeast corner of Rupert, diagonally 

 across the township of Pawlet, and unites 

 with Wood creek, in the state of New 

 York, 2 or 3 miles above its mouth. This 

 stream affords a number of eligible mill 

 seats in Vermont. 



Peaciiam, a post town in Caledonia 

 county, situated in lat. 44° 20' and long. 

 4^ 47. It is 20 miles east from Montpe- 

 lier, and 18 northwesterly from Newbury. 

 It is bounded northerlj'^ b^- Danville, east- 

 erly by Barnet, southerly by Groton, and 

 westerly by Marshfield and Cabot. It 



was chartered December 31, 1763. In 

 1773, that part of Peacham called " the 

 square," was allotted, and several pitches 

 made. In 1774, pitches were made by 

 Jonathan Elkins, John Sanborn, Frye 

 Bailey, John Skeel and Robert Carr, and 

 tlie same year a line was run from Con- 

 necticut river in Barnet through Peach- 

 am to Missisco bay on lake Champlain. 

 This line was of great use to our scouts 

 and to deserters from the enemy during 

 the revolutionary war. In the spring of 

 1775, Jonathan Elkins came to Peacham, 

 with several hired men, and began im- 

 provements upon tiie lot he had pitched 

 tlie year before. His farm in Haverhill, 

 N. H., he had sold on a credit of several 

 annual payments; but, on account of the 

 depreciation of the currency, after two or 

 three of the first payments, the purchaser 

 paid at the rate of three, four and five 

 bushels of corn for a hundred dollars. In 

 March, 1776, several companies, belong- 

 ing to Col. Beedel's regiment marched 

 through Peacham to Canada, upon snow- 

 shoes, on the line run in 1774. The same 

 spring Gen. Bailey had orders to open a 

 road froniNewbury toSt. Johns, for the con- 

 veying troops and provisions into Canada. 

 He had it cut from Newbury six miles 

 abo-\'e Peacham, when the news arrived 

 that our army had retreated from Cana- 

 da, and the undertaking was abandoned. 

 Jonathan Elkins had removed his family 

 to Peacham in June of this year, but, af- 

 ter a stay of three weeks, was obliged to 

 retreat with Gen. Bailey's men to New- 

 bury, where he remained until the Octo- 

 ber following. He then removed his 

 family again to Peacham, where they re- 

 mained during the war. Only three fam- 

 ilies spent the succeeding winter in Peach- 

 am, viz ; Jonathan Elkins', John Skeel's 

 and Archibald McLachlin's. in 1777, 

 James Baily, A slier Chamberlain and 

 Noah Hollyday removed their families 

 here. Henry Elkins was born on the 15th 

 of October of this 3'ear, and was the first 

 child born in town. In 1778, the inhabi- 

 tants of Peacham were in constant alarm. 

 Our scouts frequently discovered signs of 

 Indians, and informed the inhabitants as 

 they passed and repassed. During this 

 year, a number of prisoners and British 

 deserters found their way through from 

 Canada, and arrived at Peacham in a very 

 weak and famishing condition. The in- 

 habitants had to go to Newbury for their 

 grinding, and a considerable part of the 

 time in the winter, with no other than a 

 snow shoe path. In 1770, Gen. Hazen 

 came to Peacham with a part of his regi- 

 ment, for the purpose, as he said, of com- 

 pleting the road commenced by Bailey in 



