Part 111. 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



195 



WINDSOR. 



Smith, was the first child born. The tovv'n 

 was rapidly settled, and was soon organ- 

 ized, though the records do not show the 

 time when. Dca. Thomas Cooper was 

 the first town clerk. During the contro- 

 versy between the government of New 

 York and New Hampshire, respecting the 

 jurisdiction of the territory now forming 

 the state of Vermont, the proprietors of 

 Windsor became alarmed for their title 

 and conveyed their respective rights of 

 land, in trust, to Col. Nathan Stone, who 

 surrendered the same to Win. Tryon, the 

 Governor of the Province of New York, 

 who regranted the township to Col. Stone 

 and 28 others, by Letters Patent, dated 

 March 23, 1772. Both these Royal grants 

 reserved one whole share for the Propa- 

 gation Societ)% one share for the first set- 

 tled minister of the gospel, one for a glebe 

 for the Church of England, and one for 

 the benefit of a public school in town. 

 From what few of the proprietors' records 

 are now remaining, it appears that the 

 public lots were drawn and set apart, ac- 

 cording to a plan or map of the town, then 

 in existence, previous to the regrant of 

 1772. But after that grant, the old plan 

 seems to have disappeared, and a new one 

 was substituted, in which all the public 

 rights are located on the most barren and 

 inaccessible part of Asculney mountain ; 

 so that they are of no value to the town. 

 At an early period, two religious societies 

 of the Congregational order were formed 

 in Windsor, one in iho east and the oth- 

 er in the west parish of the town. About 

 the year 1778, the Rev. Martin Tuller 

 and the Rev. Pelatial Chapin were ordain- 

 ed the first ministers over their respec- 

 tive churches in those parishes. Tlie 

 Rev. Samuel Shuttlev/orth succeeded Mr. 

 Tnller, as the pastor of the Congregation- 

 al cliurch in the east parisli, who was or- 

 dained June 23, 179(). His successors 

 have been Rev. Benj. Ball, Rev. Bancroft 

 Fowler, Rev. John Wheeler, Rev. Geo. 

 Wilson, and Rev. Thomas Kidder. The 

 latter was recently dismissed. The Con- 

 gregational churcli in tlie west parish has 

 been for some time vacant. Tliere is al- 

 so a small Baptist churcli in the west par- 

 ish, of which Elder Samuel l.,awson is 

 the pastor. In 1813 a Baptist church and 

 society was formed in the east parish. 

 Piev. Joshua Bradley was the first pastor 

 over this church. He has been succeed- 

 ed by the Rev. Leland Howard, the Rev. 

 Romeo Elton, and the Rev. Elijah Hutch- 

 inson, who is the present pastor. An 

 Episcopal church, by the name of St. 

 Paul's church, was organized here Nov. 

 2-5, 1816, under the temporar}' ministry of 

 the Rev. Dr. Morss. The ministers of 



this church have been Rev. Dr. Chapman, 

 in 1818, who was succeeded by the Rev. 

 George Leonard, who continued till 

 1829; Rev. Wm. Horton, who officia- 

 ted from 1829 to 1835; Rev. Darius Bar- 

 ker, from 1836 to 1833; and Rev. O. H. 

 Staples, from 1838 to 1841, The Rev.W. 

 D. Wilson is the present minister. The 

 church edifice is of brick, in Grecian 

 style, and was consecrated Nov. 20, 1822. 

 It has a good organ and bell. In 1793 

 the town was divided into two distinct 

 parishes, by an act of the Legislature. In 

 1814, these two parishes were, by an act 

 of the Legislature, erected into two dis- 

 tinct towns, by the names of Windsor 

 and West Windsor, with the right in each 

 to send a representative to the General 

 Assembly. The next year, however, tlie 

 party excitement which had induced that 

 measure, having in some degree subsided, 

 they were reunited again into one town, 

 under the ancient name of Windsor. 

 This town is hilly, but it is well watered 

 by small streams, and the soil is fertile. 

 Nearly all the tillngeable land in town is 

 settled ; but is capable of subsisting a 

 much denser population than it does at 

 present. The principal stream in town 

 is Mill brook. It rises in the westerly 

 part of Reading, and after an easterly 

 course of about 15 miles, it falls into Con- 

 necticut river at the south end of Wind- 

 sor village. It affords a variety of mill 

 seats. Ascutney mountain is situated 

 partly in Weathersfield and partly in 

 Windsor : the line between the towns 

 passing across the apex of the mountain. 

 See Jlscutncy. The timber of this -town- 

 ship is principally sugar maple, white 

 maple, birch, ash, walnut, red oak, but- 

 ternut, basswood, Vi'hite pine, spruce, and 

 hemlock. IVindsor village is situated oa 

 the west bank of Connecticut river, about 

 equi-distant from the north and south 

 lines of the township. It is built on the 

 westerly side of the meadow, which here 

 is large and beautiful, about one fourth 

 of a mile from the river, between Mill 

 brook on the south and southwest, and 

 the Pulk-hole brook, so called, which ter- 

 minates it on the north and northwest. 

 These two streams approach very near to 

 each other on the v/est side of the village, 

 leaving but a narrow isthmus between 

 them ; then suddenly turning, the one to 

 the south, and the other to the north, 

 they diverge to the extent of a mile, and 

 then both turning easterly, they fall into 

 the Connecticut. It is through this isth- 

 mus that the main roads from Reading, 

 and the west parish of Windsor, and the 

 road from Woodstock, which form a junc- 

 tion a little west of the village, eater it. 



