158 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



Part III 



SALISBURY. 



SAMSBURY. 



David Hopkins, jr. in 1802. The town 

 was organized April 30, 1822, and Samu- 

 el Blake was first town clerk. Clyde 

 river runs tlirough the township in a 

 northwesterly direction, and falls into Sa- 

 lem pond, which is partly in this town- 

 ship and partly in Derby. There is no 

 other stream of consequence, and no mills 

 nor mill privileges in town. Tiiere are 

 two other ponds, one of which lies in the 

 course of Clyde river, and the other on 

 the line between this township and 

 Brownington and they are each about one 

 mile in length and three fourths of a mile 

 in breadth. South bay of lake Memphre- 

 magog lies between this township and 

 Newport. The surface of the township 

 is uneven but not mountainous. Tiie 

 timber is principally maple, beech, birch, 

 ash, hemlock, spruce, fir, cedar and pine. 

 Statistics of 1840. — Horses, G7 ; cattle, 

 428 ; sheep, 9G1 ; swine, 2!)4 ; wlieat, bus. 

 701 ; barley, 2.jO ; oats, 3,073 ; rye, IG ; 

 buck-wheat, GOG ; Indian corn, 4r)4 ; po- 

 tatoes, 13,270; hay, tons, G8i) ; sugar, lbs. 

 19,420; wool, ],87l. Population, 209. 



Salisbury, a small post town in the 

 central part of Addison county, is in 

 lat. 43" J3.j' and long. 3° 57' and is boun- 

 ded north by Middlebur}', east by Goshen, 

 south by Leicester, and west by Cornwall 

 and Whiting. Itlies 34 miles southwest 

 from Montpclier, 40 south from Burling- 

 ton, and was chartered Nov. 3, 17G1. The 

 first person who came into this township 

 with a view of settling was Amos Storey. 

 He built a log iiut wliicli was consumed 

 by fire and he himself was killed by the 

 fall of a tree before liis fanrily moved here. 

 Thomas Skceles and Abel Waterhousc, 

 were the two next to make beginnings. 

 The widow of Mr. Storey, and 8 or 10 

 small children were the first family which 

 moved into town, and Mrs. Storey was 

 consequently entitled to 100 acres of land, 

 by a vote of the original proprietors. She 

 came into the town the 22d day of Feb- 

 ruary, 1775. She endured almost every 

 hardshi]), laboring in the field, chopping 

 down timber and clearing and cultivating 

 the s.oil. She retreated several times to 

 Pittsford during the revolution, on ac- 

 count .of the danger apprehended from 

 the enemy, but at length siie and a Mr. 

 Stevens prepared themselves a safe re- 

 treat. This was affected by digging a 

 hole horizontally into the bank, just above 

 the water of Otter creek, barel}' sufficient 

 to admit one person at a time. This pas- 

 sage led to a spacious lodging room, the 

 bottom of which was covered with straw, 

 and upon this their beds were laid for the 

 accommodation of the families. The en- 

 trance was coucejiled by bushes which 



hung over it from tlie bank above. They 

 usually retired to their lodgings in the 

 dusk of the evening, and left them before 

 light in the morning, and this was effec- 

 ted by means of a canoe, so that no patli 

 or footsteps were to be seen leading to 

 their subterraneous abode.* The family 

 of Abel Waterhouse was the second in 

 town. The religious denominations are 

 Congregationalists and Methodists. The 

 Congregational church was organized 

 Feb. 8, 1804, and the same year built a 

 meeting liouse. The Rev. Rufus Pome- 

 roy was settled over this cliurcli from 

 Sep. 15, 1811 to Nov. 19, 1816, the Rev. 

 Joseph Cheney from March 11, 1819, to 

 March 4, 1823, and the Rev. Eli Hyde 

 from May 30, 1833 to Sept. 27, 1836. The 

 present minister is the Rev. Calvin But- 

 ler. Otter creek forms the western boun- 

 dary of this township. The other streams 

 are Middiebury river, which touclies up- 

 on the north part, and Leicester river 

 wJiich waters the southern part Lake 

 Dunmore is about four miles long and 

 from half to three fourths of a mile wide, 

 and lies partly in this township, and part- 

 ly in Leicester. On the outlet of this 

 pond, called Leicester river, are several 

 falls which afford some fine mill privile- 

 ges, around which, near the south line of 

 this township, is a thriving little village 

 containing 2 saw mills, 1 grist mill, 1 

 carding machine, 1 woollen factory, 2 

 stores and other shops and machinery. 

 The surface of this township is somewhat 

 uneven, but tlie soil is generally good. 

 Tlie eastern part extends on to the Green 

 Mountains. In the western part, are 

 some fine tracts of meadow. In the 

 mountain east of lake Dunmore is a cav- 

 ern which consists of a large room, and is 

 thought to liavc been inhabited by the In- 

 dians, as their arrows and other instru- 

 ments liave been found here. There are 

 several considerable swamps, which fur- 

 nish cedar for fencing and other purposes. 

 The timber is maple, beech, oak, pine, 

 cedar, &c. The stage road from Rutland 

 to Middiebury passes through the village 

 in this township. The town contains 10 

 schools, 2 stores, 1 grist and 6 saw mills, 

 a glass manufactory &c. Statistics of 

 1840.— Horses, 1G4 ; cattle, 740 ; sheep, 

 5,200; swine, 490; wheat, bus. 1,460; 

 oats, G,300 ; rye, 800; buck-wheat, 150; 

 Indian corn, 5,CG0 ; potatoes, 20,240; 

 hay, tons, 2,150 ; sugar, lbs. 5,600 ; wool 

 15,900. Population, 942. 



*Mr.s. Stoiev afterwards married ftlr. Beiij.Tiiiin 

 Smalley ono of thn first sottlers of Middleliury. 

 ■Mrs. S. and her underground room occupy a promi- 

 nent place in the recent historical tale. ''Tlie Green 

 Mountain Boysj" by Daniel P. Thompson, Esq. 



