142 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



Part III. 



PLYMOUTH. 



POMFRET. 



of 3.5 feet from the surface. In draining 

 off the mine a larcre bed of sand was dis- 

 covered, which has proved very service- 

 able for moulding. The various kinds of 

 ore which have Ijeen found here, and all 

 of them of a superior quality, render this 

 one of the most favorable locations in the 

 country ; and the iron, which is produced 

 by compounding them together, is believ- 

 ed to be superior to any other in New 

 England, and is said to be equal to the 

 best of foreign importation. Through the 

 enterprise of the proprietor, a flourishing 

 village has already sprung up here. A j 

 store and a ware-house are connected i 

 with the works, as are also all the neccs- j 

 sary mechanical shops. In order to se- I 

 cure the complete success of his under- 

 taking, Mr. Tyson had previously pur- 

 chased all the wood land in the vicinity, 

 in order to be well supplied with the ne- j 

 cessary article of fuel, and so e.xtensivc 1 

 are the forests around, and so apparently 

 inexhaustible the mines which have been ■ 

 already developed, that there is little 

 doubt but the establishment will be able j 

 in a short time to supply the whole coun- 

 ty with the important product of iron, i 

 The average number of hands connected j 

 with the furnace is about 100. The cast- 1 

 ings and pig iron amount in the year to 

 about 600 tons. The stoves and other ar- ] 

 tides sent forth Jiave already reached , 

 most of the New England states, and ob- I 

 tained a decided preference. The pres- ] 

 ent manager is Mr. Martin, and the agent ' 

 Mr. Augustus Haven. A post office, of 

 the same name, has been established here, 

 and a stage runs daily through the place. 

 All that has been already accomplished 

 lias been done without the aid of an act 

 of incorporation, and the proprietor in- 

 tends still furtiicr to enlarge his under- 

 taking, by erecting a rolling mill and nail 

 factory. The works are favorably situa- 

 ted -5 miles north of tiie villacre in Lud- 

 low, and 17 southwest from Woodstock. 

 The village has sprung up as if by en- 

 chantment, among the mountains, and, 

 from its romantic location, offers induce- 

 ments to the admirer of whatever is grand 

 in the works of nature. In the immedi- 

 ate vicinity are three beautiful sheets of 

 vvater, two of which are well stocked 

 with the lake fish, and are about a mile 

 in length. In the north part of the town 

 lie the Plymouth caves, imbedded in the 

 side of the mountain. To the lover of the 

 natural sciences, and particularly to the 

 mineralogist and geoloffist, the locality is 

 a matter of interest. The Green Moun- 

 tain range seems here to display orratuit- 

 ously its internal wealth. Large quanti- 

 ties of plumbago have been found in the 



vicinity. Considerable manganese has 

 been exported from thence, and specimens 

 of copper ore are occasionally discovered. 

 A large bed of steatite lies about a mile 

 and a half to the east. Nearly all the 

 minerals common in the state, are found 

 in different parts of the town. Limestone 

 exists in great abundance. A few miles 

 north of the iron works is a valuable quar- 

 ry of marble, which has been wrought to 

 considerable advantage. It. consists of 

 several different kinds, varying in color 

 and quality ; the most beautiful of which, 

 as well as the most valuable, is a dark 

 clouded ; the others consist of different 

 shades of white and sienna. The success 

 which has tlius far attended the establish- 

 ment of Mr. Tyson, seems almost unpar- 

 alleled ; and if we may judge of its future 

 success from its past and present, we may 

 readily infer that it will become, at no 

 distant period, one of the leading places 

 in the state. 



Plymouth is a good grazing township, 

 and there are here some excellent dairies, 

 it is divided into fifteen school districts, 

 with school houses. There are three grist 

 and thirteen saw mills, one trip hammer 

 shop, two stores, two taverns and one 

 tannery. Statistics of 1840. — Horses, 275; 

 cattle, 1,739 ; sheep, 8,144 ; swine, 537 ; 

 wheat, bus. 1,!I10 ; barley, 384; oats, 6,- 

 G76, rye, 645 ; buck wheat, 1,333; Ind. 

 corn, 3,374 ; potatoes, 59,840 ; hay, tons, 

 4,127; sugar, lbs. 13,4»0; wool, 17,105. 

 Population, 1417. 



PococK. Name altered to Bristol, Oc- 

 tober 21, 1789. See Bristol. 



PoMFRF.T, a township in the north part 

 of Windsor county, is in lat. 43° 42' and 

 and long. 4° 31', and is bounded north by 

 Sharon, east by Hartford, south by Wood- 

 stock and west by Barnard. It lies 18 

 miles north from Windsor, and 40 south 

 from Montpelier ; was chartered July 8, 

 1761, to Isaac Dana and associates, and is 

 seven miles long and five and a half wide. 

 The settlement of this township was com- 

 menced in the spring of 1770, by Barthol- 

 omew Durkee, from Pomfret, Con., who 

 came into it with his family, consisting of 

 a wife and five children, on the 6th day 

 of March. In coming into the town, the 

 family proceeded on foot, upon a snow- 

 shoe path, six miles, drawing their furni- 

 ture upon handsleds. In the course of a 

 few days, they were joined in the settle- 

 ment by Mr. John Cheedle and family. 

 John, son of B Durkee, was born Decem- 

 ber 25. of this year, and was the first child 

 born in town. The proprietors made him 

 a present of 100 acres of land. In 1771, 

 Wm. Wilson came into the township from 

 Connecticut, and, a few weeks after, his 



