178 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



Part III. 



WAITSFIELD. 



WAITSFIELD, 



Vineyard. See Isle La Molte. 



Virgin Hall. See Jllkens' Gore. 



Waitsfieli), a post town in the south- 

 western part of Washington county, is in 

 lat. 44° 11' and long. 4° 15', and is boun- 

 ded north by Moretown, east by North- 

 field, south by Warren, and west by Fays- 

 ton. It lies II miles southwest from 

 Montpelier, and 30 southeast from Bur- 

 lington, it was cliartered Feb. 25, 17d2, 

 to Roger Enos, Benjamin Wait, and oth- 

 ers, containing by charter 23,030 acres, 

 but by survey in 1788, 23,850. Nov. 7, 

 1822, four tier of lots from the east side 

 of the township, were annexed to North- 

 field. The settlement of this township 

 was commenced in 1789, by Gen. Benja- 

 min Wait. The town was organized 

 March 25, 1794, and Moses Heaton was 

 first town clerk. The first freemen's 

 meeting was holden in Sept., 1795, when 

 Gen. Wait was chosen to represent the 

 town in General Assembly. The number 

 of legal voters in town was, at this time, 27. 

 Gen. Wait, the first inliabitant of tbis 

 town, was born at Sudbury, Mass., Feb. 

 13, 1737. He possessed a firm and vig- 

 orous constitution, and early manifested 

 a dis])osition and talent for military en- 

 terprise. At the age of 18 he entered the 

 service of his country, under the brave 

 Gen. Amherst. In 175G he was taken by 

 the French, carried to Quebec, and Irom 

 thence sent to France as a prisoner. On 

 the coast of France he was retaken 

 by tlie British and carried to England. 

 In the spring of 1757, he returned to 

 America, and in 1758 assisted at the cap- 

 ture of Louisburgh. During the two 

 succeeding years he aided in the reduc- 

 tion of Canada. After the submission of 

 Canada, he was sent, by tlie commandant 

 at Detroit, to Illinois, to bring in the 

 French garrisons included in the capitu- 

 lation. He left Detroit Dec. 10, and re- 

 turned on tiie first of March following, 

 having performed this difficult service 

 with singular perseverance and success. 

 At 25 years of age lie had been engaged 

 in 40 battles and skirmishes ; and his 

 clothes were several times perforated with 

 musket balls, but he never received a 

 wound. In 17G7, he removed to Wind- 

 sor, in this state, and constituted the third 

 family in that townsliip. He acted a de- 

 cided and conspicuous part in favor of 

 Vermont, in the controversy with New 

 York. In 177G, he entered the service of 

 the United States as captain, and fougiit 

 under the banners of Washington till the 

 close of the war, during which time he 

 had been raised to the rank of Colonel. 

 After this, he was made a Brigadier Gen- 

 eral of militia, and was seven years high 



sherifi" of the county of Windsor. Hav- 

 ing made a large purchase here, he re- 

 moved his family to tliis township in 1789. 

 Here he lived to behold the wilderness 

 converted into fruitfnl field», in the en- 

 joyment of competence, and died in 1822, 

 aged 86 years. The religious denomina- 

 tions are Congregationalists, Methodists, 

 Universalists, and Baptists. The Con- 

 gregational church was organized June 

 26, 1796, over which the Rev. Wm. Sa- 

 lisbury was settled Oct. 7, 1801. He waa 

 dismissed Jan. 4, 1809. The Rev. Ama- 

 riah Chandler was settled Feb. 7, 1810, 

 and dismissed Feb. 3, 1830; the Rev. 

 Samuel G. Tenney was settled July 8, 

 1835, and dismissed July 5, 1837 ; and the 

 Rev. Preston Taylor, the present minis- 

 ter, was settled Jan. 23, 1839. The other 

 societies have had no settled ministers. 

 There are three houses for public wor- 

 ship : the Congregational, built in 1807, 

 the Methodist, in 1833, and the union 

 house, in 1836, — the two former of wood, 

 the latter of brick. The town is settled 

 witli industrious, enterprising, and gen- 

 erally flourishing farmers. The soil is 

 diversified, but generally a mellow loam, 

 deep and of excellent quality, producing 

 grass in tlie greatest abundance. Wheat, 

 rye, barley, oats, corn, &c., are raised in 

 such quantities as amply to reward the 

 hand of industry. Mad river passes 

 through the town near the western boun- 

 dary, in a direction from southwest to 

 northeast, and falls into Winooski river 

 in Aloretown, 7 miles below Montpelier. 

 It receives here Mill brook and Shep- 

 herd's brook from the west, and Fay's 

 brook and Pine brook from the east, all of 

 which are sufficient for mills. Along this 

 river the intervales are extensive, and, 

 together with the adjacent uplands, make 

 many excellent farms. Tiie high lands, 

 too, are of a good quality, and there can 

 liardly be said to be a poor farm in town. 

 A range of high lands runs through the 

 eastern part of the town, the chief sum- 

 mit of which is called Bald mountain. 

 Timber and animals such as are common 

 in towns in the central part of the state. 

 Clay of a good quality, iron ore and rock 

 crystals are found. There are in town 9 

 school districts, 8 school houses, 2 stores, 

 2 tanneries, 1 grist, 1 shingle, and 7 saw 

 mills, 1 carding machine, and clothiers' 

 works, and several mechanics' shops. 

 Sla/istics of 1840. — Horses, 238 ; cattle, 

 1,372; sheep, 7,400; swine, 1,022; wheat, 

 bus. 1,615 ; barley, 81 ; oats, 9,104 ; rye, 

 222; buckwheat, 1,136 ; Ind. corn, 3,- 

 559 ; potatoes, 47,315 ; hay, tons, 2,256 ; 

 sugar, lbs. 30,495; wool, 17,499. Popu- 

 latTon, 1,048. 



