On March 26, 1772, John Church, of Charlestown, N.H., applied to Governor William Tryon, of New York, for a grant of Ryegate.  On June 12, 1775, Church had his application again entered in the secretary's office, and on June 20, 1775,  the town was granted to him and his associates, in all twenty persons, the charter being signed  “at our fort in the city of New York,” by "Cadwalader Colden, Esq., Lieut.-Gov., and Commander-in-Chief of the Province of New York." The grant specified 20,514 acres. 

       The surface of the town is generally uneven, and quite a portion of it is hilly and broken. Blue mountain is a little northwest of the center of the town, and rises, dome-shaped, about 1,000 feet above the surrounding country, and about 2,200 feet above tide water. It contains some of the best granite in the United States, and in inexhaustible quantities. This has recently been largely used for monumental purposes, and been carried to distant parts of the United States. R.F. Carter, who has been the leader in this work for some eight years, is a man of great energy. The town is watered by Wells' river, some smaller streams, and several ponds. Among the latter are Town, North and Coburn ponds. There is not much intervale land on the Connecticut, though in general Ryegate is a first-class farming town, with dairying as the leading industry. It has long been celebrated for its excellent butter. The soil is mostly of clay and loam. The eastern and central parts have the best soil, though stony and hardest to till, while the soil of the western part is easier to cultivate, and more of a chocolate color. Granite and slate rock is found throughout a large part of the town, and copper ore also exists. 

       In 1880, Ryegate had a population of 1,046.  In 1886 it had ten school districts and eleven common schools, employing four male and thirteen female teachers, to whom was paid an average weekly salary, including board, of $7.98 to the former, and $5.99 to the latter. There were 270 scholars, twenty-six of whom were attending private schools. The entire income for school purposes was $2,512.53, while the total expenditures were $2,133.93, with James W. Flagg, superintendent. 

       Ryegate is a post village located in the central part of the town.

       South Ryegate is a post village located in the southern part of the town, containing one hotel, several stores, mechanic shops, etc. 

       The Blue Mountain Granite Company, at South Ryegate, manufactures all kinds of building and monumental work in granite. The business was started by Murdo F. McDonald, about ten years ago.  On September 1, 1884, Robert Farquharson joined with him to form the Blue Mountain Granite Company. They have a quarry on Blue Mountain of one hundred and fifty acres of granite of the best quality. They employ twenty-five men and turn out one hundred and fifty monuments annually, at a value of fifteen to twenty thousand dollars. The granite is of a dark gray color, susceptible of a high polish, and entirely free from rust or blemish of any kind. 

       J.F. & W. F. Hendrick, under the name of Hendrick Brothers, carry on the manufacture of monumental and cemetery work of all descriptions in granite, at, South Ryegate. They have a large quarry of the finest quality of granite on Blue Mountain. Their business was established in the spring of 1885. They employ thirty men and turn out a large quantity of goods annually. 

       I.C.  Renfrew, set up a press for job printing at South Ryegate in November, 1882. He has a Columbian printing press, and is prepared to do everything in the line of his business to the satisfaction of his patrons. 

       Samuel Mills, Jr., carries on the manufacture of light and heavy carriages and sleighs, lumber wagons, etc., at South Ryegate. The business was established in March, 1881.    He employs eight men and his annual sales are about $5,500.00.     He also carries on a jobbing shop for blacksmithing, horse and ox shoeing. 

       The Union Co-operative Granite Works are operated by a company organized April 21, 1885, with James D. Grant, secretary, C.W.Zastrow, treasurer, and Orr W. Lewis, traveling agent. They manufacture all kinds of cut and polished monuments, statuary, vases, urns, etc., and also all kinds of cemetery work. Their shop is located at South Ryegate. Their quarry is near Blue Mountain, is of excellent quality, and is inexhaustible in quantity. There are thirteen members in the company, whose combined and individual aim it is to establish for the company a good reputation. 

       The Ryegate Granite Works, which were carried on for a number of years by Rodney F. Carter, who established the business in 1877, were in the spring of 1885 sold to a stock company with a paid in capital of $90,000.00. They have very extensive works at the “Quint place,” so-called, one and a half miles from South Ryegate, on the M.&W.R. R.R. They employ one hundred men, and have just put in a McDonald stone cutting machine, at a cost of $9,000.00. They have a quarry of two hundred acres on Blue Mountain. 

       Darling & Sargent, at South Ryegate, have a saw and grist-mill. They manufacture all kinds of lumber and lath. Their mill is on Wells river, near South Ryegate station. Their grist-mill is used exclusively as a merchant mill. 

       S.S.  Hunt & Son have a steam and water-power mill on road 19, for the manufacture of hard and soft wood lumber of all descriptions. They also do wood turning, planing, and matching. They produce 500,000 feet of lumber annually. Their mill is on the outlet of Symes pond, in the northeastern corner of the town. 

       James R. Hunter has a manufactory for evaporating apples and making apple jelly, on road 6. The business was established in 1881. He employs six men and uses 2,000 bushels for evaporating, and manufactures eight to ten tons of jelly in a season. 

       Ryegate was first settled by a Scotch company of farmers, in 1774. This company was formed at Inchinan, near Glasgow, Scotland. In their records is the statement, “Since February 1, 1772, everything that is recorded on the books is binding,” etc. The complete organization of the company, the adoption of their rules (which covered twenty pages of an ordinary land record book), and the signatures of all their members, is dated at Inchinan, February 5, 1773. The title of the company was “Scots American Company of Farmers.” The company numbered 137 members, of whom six were women.

*This sketch was prepared principally from statistics furnished by Edward Miller, of Ryegate.

**Another version is that the town is named after the town of Reigate, in England, which was formerly spelled Ryegate.
 
 
 

(Source: Gazetteer of Caledonia and Essex Counties, VT.; 1764-1887, Compiled and Published by Hamilton Child; May 1887, Page 283-285)

This excerpt was provided by Tom Dunn.