198 



GAZETTEER OF VERMOiNT. 



Part III. 



AVOODFORD. 



WOODSTOCK 



37 miles northeast from Burlington, and 

 22 nearly north from Montpelier. It was 

 granted November 7, 17S!), and chartered 

 to Joshua Stanton and others, August 22, 

 17S1 , containing 23,040 acres. The town- 

 ship is but thinly settled. It is watered 

 by the river Lamoille, which runs through 

 it from east to west, and by several of its 

 branches, among which Green river and 

 Wild branch are the most considerable. 

 There is in the eastern part a large natu- 

 ral pond called P'ish pond. There are in 

 town one store, one tannery, one grist and 

 five saw mills. Statistics of 1840. — Hors- 

 es, 195; cattle, T)07 ; sheep, 1,937 ; swine, 

 493; wheat, bu. 1,733 ; barley, 142; oats, 

 7,530; rye, 460; buckwheat, 136; Ind. 

 corn, 2,(140 ; potatoes, 30,101 ; hay, tons, 

 1,728; sugar, lbs. 32,565; wool, 4,025. 

 Population, 824. 



Woodbury. Name altered to Monroe, 

 Nov. .5, 1838. See Monroe. 



Woodford, a township in the central 

 part of Bennington county, is in lat, 42° 

 52' and long 4", and is bounded north by 

 Glastenbury, east by Searsburgh and a 

 part of Reedsborough, south by Stamford, 

 and west by Bennington. It lies 24 miles 

 west from Brattleborough, 50 south from 

 Rutland, and was chartered March 6, 

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

 This townsliip begaA to be settled imme- 

 diately after the revolutionary war, but 

 the progress of the settlement has been 

 slow. The religious denominations are 

 Congrcgationalists and Methodists. This 

 township is watered principally b}' the 

 head branches of Walloomscoik river, the 

 largest of which originates near the cen- 

 tre in a pond which covers about 100 acres. 

 A branch of Deerfield river rises from a 

 small pond in the northeast part. The 

 townsliip is mountainous, and much of it 

 incapable of settlement. It is well tim- 

 bered with beech, maple, birch, spruce, 

 hemlock, tfcc. The turnpike from Ben- 

 nington to Brattleborough passes through 

 the south part. There are in town three 

 school districts, one grist and three saw 

 mills, and one tannery. Slatisfics of 1840. 

 — Horses, 73; cattle, 219; sheep, 133; 

 swine, 96; oats, 105; buckwheat, 27; 

 Ind corn, 40; potatoes; 1,900; hay, tons, 

 193; sugar, lbs. 515; wool, 350. Pop- 

 ulation, 487. 



Woodstock, a post town and capital 

 of Windsor county, is in lat. 43" 36' and 

 long. 4° 27', and is bounded north by 

 Pomfret, east by Hartland, south by Read- 

 ing, and west by Bridgewater. It lies 11 

 miles northwest from Windsor, 46 south 

 from Montpelier, and 428 from Washing- 

 ton, D. C. It was chartered July 10, 

 1761, and contains 26,017 acres. The 



settlement of this township was com- 

 menced by Mr. James Sanderson, who 

 moved his family here about the year 

 1768. He was soon joined by other set- 

 tlers, and, in May, 1773, the town was 

 organized, and Joab Hoisington was cho- 

 sen town clerk. The whole number of 

 families in 1774 was 14. Major Joab 

 Hoisington w'as the first settler in that 

 part of the town afterwards called the 

 " Green." In 1776, he built a grist mill, 

 and soon after, a saw mill, on the South 

 branch of Quechee river, near the spot 

 where the county jail now stands. These 

 were the first mills erected in town, and, 

 previous to this time, the inhabitants were 

 obliged to carry their grain to Windsor, 

 and, sometimes, lo Cornish, N. H., to be 

 ground. Doct. Stephen Powers was the 

 lirst resident phj-sician. In 1774 he re- 

 moved to this township from Middleboro', 

 Plymouth co., Mass., and erected the sec- 

 ond log house on the " Green." During 

 the revolutionary war, the progress of the 

 settlement was much retarded. There 

 were at this time scarcely any inhabitants 

 in the state to the no'-th and northwest of 

 tliis tou'nsiiip, and the settlers here were 

 subject to frequent alarms by reports that 

 the Indians were coming upon them, at 

 which times they usually secreted their 

 most valuable efiects in tlie woods. The 

 early inhabitants also suffered much by 

 the ravages of the wild beasts. In order 

 to preserve their j'oung cattle and sheep 

 from the bears and wolves, they were, for 

 some years, compelled to guard them 

 during the night, or shut them up in 

 yards, or buildings, prepared for the pur- 

 pose. The llev. George Daman was or- 

 dained over the Canoregational church 

 here about the year 1782, and was the 

 first settled minister. Previous to this, 

 the Rev. Aaron Hutchinson preached for 

 some time in Woodstock, Hartland and 

 Pomfret, alternatel}'. This town was 

 divided into two parishes, called the 

 north and south parish, by an act of the 

 legislature passed JVIarch 1, 1784. The 

 Congregational church, in the north par- 

 ish, erected a meeting house in 1806, 

 which was finished in 1808. April 25, 

 1810, they settled the Rev. Walter Cha- 

 pin, who continued pastor till his death, 

 July 22, 1827. His successors have been 

 the Rev. John Richards, the Rev. Robert 

 Snuthgate, and the Rev. Worthington 

 AVright. The latter, wJio is the present 

 pastor, was installed Feb. 14, 1838. The 

 other religious denominations are Chris- 

 tians, Methodists, Episcopalians and Uni- 

 versalists. The Ciiristian society is large, 

 and has been for more than 20 years un- 

 der the care of Elder Jasper Razen. The 



