164 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



Part 111. 



SPRINGFIELD. 



STAMFORD. 



STARKSBORODGH. 



gationalists built a meeting house in 1792, 

 and settled the Rev. Robinson Smiley in 

 1801, who was succeeded in 1827 by the 

 Rev. Mr. Goodman. He continued five 

 years, and was succeeded by the Rev. D. 

 O. Morton, who also continued five years, 

 and was succeeded by the Rev. H. B. 

 Holmes, who continued three years. Rev. 

 C. D. Noble is their present minister. In 

 1634 they built a new meetinghouse, and 

 the same year tlie Episcopalians and Uni- 

 versaiists built a house in union. The 

 Baptists built a house in 1836, and have 

 since settled the Rev. B._Brierly. The 

 Methodist society is large, and is supplied 

 by circuit preachers, and the Universal- 

 ists are generally supplied with preach- 

 ing. The Episcopal church, called Union 

 Church, is small and without a minister. 

 There arc two villages, the centre and the 

 north. The Centre ci//«o-e contains 5 stores, 

 2 taverns, 1 cotton, 1 satinet and 1 cassi- 

 merc factory, each 4 stories high, a paper 

 mill 100 feet long, an extensive sand pa- 

 per manufactory, a machine-card manu- 

 factory, an oil u)ill, iron foundry, and va- 

 rious other mills and machinery. This 

 village is situated at the falls in Black 

 river 4.^ miles from its junction with the 

 Connecticut. These falls amount to 110 

 feet in an eighth of a mile, 50 of which 

 are nearly perpendicular, and they are re- 

 garded as one of the greatest curiosities 

 in tlie state. In some places the channel 

 through which the river passes is not 

 more than 3 yards wide, and for 20 rods 

 it passes through a deep ravine from 3 to 

 5 yards wide, walled by perpendicular 

 ledges of mica slate from 60 to 80 feet 

 high. Tlie village and all the scenery 

 about is highly romantic and interesting. 

 The North village is 3 miles north of the 

 centre, and contains 3 stores, 1 tavern, 1 

 grist mill, 1 saw mill, 1 tannery, and sev- 

 eral shops. In other parts of the town 

 are 1 grist and .'S saw mills. The produc- 

 tion of silk has received considerable at- 

 tention here for a few years past, and 

 more than 1000 lbs. of cocoons have been 

 produced in a year. Among the minerals 

 may be mentioned granite suitable for 

 building, quartz suitable for making sand 

 paper, limestone, mica slate, tremolite, 

 epidote, serpentine, titanium, scapolite, 

 schorl, yenite, hornblende, garnet, alumi- 

 nous slate and galena. There are in 

 town 17 school districts and one high 

 school. Statistics of 1840. — Horses, 433 ; 

 cattle, 2,643; sheep, 18,583; swine, 1,198; 

 Vi?heat, bus. 2,305 ; barley, 873 ; oats, 

 17,527 ; rye, 8,260 ; buckwheat, 7,455 ; 

 Indian corn, 3,181 ; potatoes, 46,603 ; hay, 

 tons, 6,345; sugar, lbs. 13,247; wool, 

 48,412. Population, 2,625. 



Stamford, a township in the south part 

 of Bennington county, is in lat. 42° 47', 

 and long. 4° 0', and is bounded north by 

 Woodford, east by Reedsborough, south 

 by Clarksburgh, Mass. and west by Pow- 

 nal. It lies nine miles southeast from 

 Bennington, 21 southwest from Brattle- 

 borough, and was chartered March 6, 

 1753, containing, by charter, 23,040 acres. 

 The surface of this township is very un- 

 even, and a considerable share of it waste 

 land. The south part is watered by some 

 of the head branches of Hoosic river. In 

 the north part are several natural ponds, 

 the most important of which are Moose 

 pond and Fish pond. The waters from 

 this part run northerly into the Wal- 

 loomscoik. The streams here are all small. 

 The town is divided into four or five 

 school districts, and contains several 

 mills. Statistics of 1840. — Horses, 112; 

 cattle,.572; sheep, 1,259; swine,292; wheat, 

 bu. 267 ; barley, 6 ; oats, 3,666 ; rye, 355 ; 

 buckwheat, 398; Indian corn, 569; po- 

 tatoes,; 14,755; hay, tons, 1 ,652 ; sugar, 

 21,050; wool, 3,059. Population, 662. 



Starksborough, a post town in the 

 north part of Addison county, is in lat. 44° 

 13' and long. 4° 0', and is bounded north 

 by Huntington and Hinesburgh, cast by 

 liuntington and Buel's gore, south by 

 Lincoln and Bristol, and west by Monk- 

 ton. It lies 22 miles southwest from 

 Montpelier, and 20 southeast from Bur- 

 lington. It was granted November 7, 

 1780, and chartered the 9tli of the same 

 month, containing 18,500 acres. A part 

 of Monkton has since been annexed to it. 

 The settlement was commenced in April, 

 1788, by George Bidwell and Horace 

 Kellogg with their families. John Fer- 

 guson and Thomas V. Ratenburgh came 

 into that part of Monkton wliich has 

 since been added to this township, about 

 the same time. The first settlers emigra- 

 ted jjrincipally from New York and Con- 

 necticut. Mr. Bidwell lived 52 years on 

 the place where he settled, endured at 

 first many privations and hardships, but 

 by industry and economy acquired a hand- 

 some landed property, and died April 13, 

 1840, aged 84. He was in his day one of 

 the principal men in the town and he is 

 still remembered with gratitude and affec- 

 tion. The town was organized in March, 

 1796. Warner Pierce was first town clerk, 

 and John Ferguson first representative, 

 both chosen this year. The religious 

 denominations are Congregationalists, 

 Methodists, Friends and Freewill Bap- 

 tists. Tlie Congregational church was 

 organized Aug. 7, 1804, but has had no 

 settled minister. The Friends have a meet- 

 inghouse built in 1S12, which was, in 1824, 



