Part III. 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



155 



RYEGATE. 



permit. After examining much of the 

 country, they purchased the south half of 

 the town of Ryegate, and immediately 

 gave notice thereof to their constituents. 

 In the spring and summer of 1774, a 

 number of families and several young 

 men came over and commenced a settle- 

 ment. Aaron Hosmer and family were 

 the only persons in town previous to thi.s 

 time. In 1775, 60 persons left Scotland 

 to settle in Ryegate. But unfortunately 

 for them, before they arrived, the revolu- 

 tionary war had commenced, and they 

 were detained in Boston by Gen. Gage, 

 who gave them their choice, either to join 

 the British army, go to Nova Scotia, or 

 Canada, or return. Some of them settled 

 in Nova Scotia, but they generally re- 

 turned to Scotland; so that no addition 

 was made to the settlement during the 

 revolution. But they who had settled 

 previously maintained their ground. Af- 

 ter peace was concluded, in 17S3, a few 

 families arrived, annually, for a number 

 of years, among which were one family 

 which had returned to Scotland from Bos- 

 ton, and two young men who had gone to 

 Nova Scotia, in 1775. These were all of 

 the 60 mentioned above, who ever arrived 

 at Ryegate. There is still now and tiien 

 a family, or young man from Scotland to 

 join the settlement. Nearly two thirds 

 of the inhabitants of this township are of 

 Scotch descent. They still, in a great 

 measure, follow the habits, and subsist 

 upon the diet to which they were accus- 

 tomed in Scotland. They introduced the 

 method of manufacturing oat meal into 

 the country, which was a great benefit to 

 the inhabitants during the cold seasons 

 between 1810 and 1817. In those sea- 

 sons, about 8000 bushels of oats were an- 

 nually made into meal in this town, and 

 about as many in Barnet. The Scotch 

 inhabitants of this town and Barnet are 

 celebrated, throughout New England, for 

 the manufacture of good butter. The 

 first religions society in this town was 

 the Associate Presbyterian, organized 

 about 1790. From 1791 to 1822 they en- 

 joyed a part of the services of the Rev. 

 David Goodwillie, of Barnet. * In Sep- 

 tember, 1822, they settled the Rev. Thos. 

 Farrier ; and, in 1830, their present pas- 

 tor, the Rev. Wm. Pringle. This church 

 belongs to the Associate Presbytery of 

 Vermont, in subordination to the Asso- 

 ciate Synod of North America. There is 

 here another church called the Scotch 



* Since our account of Barnet was printed, we 

 have received froin the Rev, Thomas Goodwillie 

 a very full account of the Scotch Presl)yterian church 

 in that town, and have to regret that it was not fur- 

 nished in season to he inserted. 



Reformed Presbyter'n church, over which 

 the Rev. William Gibson was settled from 

 1800 to 1816, and the Rev. James Milli- 

 gan from J 818 to 1839. The surface of 

 this township is uneven. In the north 

 and east part it is hilly and ledgy. Near- 

 ly all of it, however, is fit for pasture, and 

 a large proportion of it arable land. There 

 are only three small tracts of intervale on 

 Connecticut river in this town. The 

 soil, near tiie river, is principally clay ; 

 in other parts of the township, it is a choc- 

 olate-colored loam, and in the western 

 part very rich, producing all kinds of 

 grain, and garden vegetables in abun- 

 dance, but peculiarly adapted to grass. 

 Ticldenaked pond lies in the south part of 

 the town, and covers 64 acres. It dis- 

 charges its waters by a stream, which 

 carries a saw mill, and running south falls 

 into Wells' river a little south of New- 

 bury line. Korth pond, in the north part 

 of the town, discharges its waters to the 

 east into Connecticut river. On its out- 

 let are two saw mills. Connecticut river, 

 upon the eastern boundary of this town, 

 is about 24 rods wide. At Canoe Falls, 

 against the middle of this town, there is 

 a dam across this river, and a grist and 

 saw mill on the Ryegate side. Just below 

 the fall is Neilson's ferr}''. Nearly oppo- 

 site to the southeast corner of the town the 

 Great Ammonoosic river, in New Hamp- 

 shire, enters the Connecticut. About 

 half a mile above are the J\~arroics, where 

 the whole river is contracted to a breadth 

 of only 80 feet. Just above the narrows 

 is a swift bar, and the course of the river 

 nearly east, but it turns suddenly south 

 through the narrows, where it is remark- 

 ably deep and still at low water. The 

 ledge, which forms the east side, is a long 

 ridge, called the saddle, extending from 

 Gardner's mountain, and is not more than 

 four rods broad. In very high floods the 

 water passes over this ridge near the 

 mountain. Below it, the river immedi- 

 ately assumes its ustial width. Wells' 

 river runs between three and four miles 

 in this town, through the southwest part. 

 It is about four rods wide, and affords 

 many excellent mill seats. The rest of 

 the town is well watered with small 

 streams. Blue mountain, situated about 

 a mile northwest of the centre, is the only 

 one in town. This mountain is composed 

 of granite, and affords inexhaustible quar- 

 ries of mill stones, «fec. Limestone is 

 abundant in many parts of the town. The 

 timber is beech, maple, hemlock, spruce, 

 and, near the river and ponds, white pine 

 and oak. There is a good meeting house 

 situated near the centre of the town. The 

 town is divided into 9 school districts 



