Wallingford is situated in the southeastern part of Rutland county and bounded on the north by Clarendon and Shrewsbury, on the east by Mount Holly; on the south by Mount Tabor and Danby, and on the west by Tinmouth. It contains about 23,000 acres of land. The amount of land embraced in the original charter was 23,040 acres, but in 1792, 3,388 were taken off to help form the town of Mount Holly; and in 1793, in compensation, a portion of the town of Tinmouth was annexed to Wallingford, restoring it about the original extent.

       The principal stream is Otter Creek, which flows through the western part from south to north. Mill River crosses the northeastern corner; and Roaring Brook runs through the village, near which it empties into Otter Creek. There are three ponds in the town, the largest of which is in the southeastern part and called Hiram, or Spectacle, Pond. The others are Little Pond and Fox Pond, the latter near the village.

       The soil of the lower lands, and particularly along the Otter Creek, is rich and productive and there are many valuable farms. The higher lands are not so well adapted for tillage, but afford excellent grazing.

       Wallingford was chartered by New Hampshire November 27, 1761, and a subsequent charter was obtained from the New York government. The first proprietors meeting was held at Wallingford, Conn. (from which place this town was named), September 12, 1772, with Eliakim HALL as moderator. A vote was passed at this meeting to lay out one hundred acres to each proprietor, and they chose Isaac HALL, 2d, to superintend, and Captain Eliakim HALL and Miles JOHNSON as a committee to draft the allotments.

       The town was organized March 10, 1778, with the following officers:  Abraham IVES, moderator; Abraham JACKSON, jr., clerk; Joseph JACKSON, Abraham IVES and Jonah IVES, committee.

       The early records of the public transactions of the pioneers, meager though they were, always bear a deep interest. From those of, Wallingford we make the following extracts:

       At a meeting in March, 1780, it was "Voted to erect a sine post and stocks." These posts (which were in reality whipping-posts) and stocks were in existence in early days in most of the towns of the county and were used as late as during the first decade of the present century.

       Under date of November 14, 1782, it was "Voted, That a rate of seven pence on the list of 1782 be raised to defray town charges and to pay soldiers, said rate to be paid in grain or hard money." Nathaniel IVES was appointed the collector of this rate.

       February 13, 1783. "Voted, That the men that have paid rates in other towns for the last summer campaign have their rates abated."

       March 3, 1783. "Voted, That the inhabitants of this town shall not fall in Timber into Otter Creek."

       March 10, 1783. "Voted, To build a bridge across Otter Creek and appointed Abraham IVES, William CRARY and Eliakim RICHMAN, committee."

       One of the most amusing items it has been our fortune to discover any where, and indicating that the inhabitants of Wallingford took very little stock in the new-fangled notion of vaccination is the following:  October 17, 1785. "Voted, To Not have the small-pox set up By a nockelation."

       At a meeting "Legally warned and held in the meeting-house in Wallingford October 3, 1787:

       March 4, 1788. "Voted, To make the main street through this town four rods wide."

       At a meeting held April 9, 1778, the following officers were chosen: Abraham JACKSON, moderator; Abraham IVES, Abraham JACKSON and Joseph JACKSON, selectmen; Abraham JACKSON, jr., treasurer; Stephen CLARK, constable; Benjamin BRADLEY, Joseph JACKSON, grand jurymen; Abraham JACKSON, tythingman; Edward BUMPUS and Timothy NICHOLS, surveyors; Abraham IVES and Abraham JACKSON, jr., listers; Abraham JACKSON, jr., brander.

       At another meeting held April 20, 1778, it was "Voted, To receive the inhabitants on the east side of the Connecticut River into Union with the State of Vermont a cording to their partition."

       The first person to occupy land in Wallingford with the intention of taking up a residence here was George SCOTT, a squatter. His rude shanty stood just east of where the road now runs, nearly opposite the school-house in what has been known as the Gurley Marsh district. He was very lazy and shiftless, and his cross-eyed wife, Lois, and his daughters, Grace and Achsah, were worthy of him. He was supported by the town the last years of his life.

       Another early inhabitant was Ephraim SEELEY, who, before 1770, erected a log dwelling near the line of Tinmouth, supposing himself to be in that town. In 1774 he removed to Danby where he resided until the time of his death.

       Abraham JACKSON, from Cornwall, Ct., came here with his family in the summer of 1773. He was the first who possessed legal title to the lands he occupied. He was an estimable man, accustomed to discharge all his duties promptly and faithfully. He had eleven children. His eldest son, Abraham, was the first town clerk and the first representative, and held many other positions of trust in this town. The youngest son, William, was educated in Dartmouth College, was largely instrumental in the establishment of Middlebury College and was pastor of the Congregational Church in Dorset from 1796 until the year of his death, 1842. He was also a tavern-keeper.

       John Hopkins came from Salem, N. Y., in the spring of 1770, and made the first clearing in town. He was then but eighteen years of age, and while clearing his land he had his bread baked in Danby, and kept himself supplied with meat with his rifle. In the fall he sowed his land with wheat, which, on his return from Danby (with his young wife, nee Charity BROMLEY), had grown so tall that he could tie the stalks together over his head. He resided on West Hill until his death at an advanced age. Many of his descendants reside there still.

       Abraham IVES, from Wallingford, Ct., followed closely upon the arrival of Abraham JACKSON. He was a member of the convention which met at Dorset July 24, 1776. He was captain of militia, justice of the peace, and was the first high sheriff of Rutland county, holding the office from 1781 to 1785. He kept the first store and tavern that were opened in town. Owing, it is said, to an irregular sale of lands in Mendon, while acting in his capacity of high sheriff he was obliged to sell his property and leave the State. His settlement was on the old Meacham place, on the west side of the street, a few rods below Mill lane.

       Lent IVES in the early part of the Revolution lived in a log house on the place which the late Rebecca HULL occupied at the time of her death. IVES afterwards went into the Revolution. he at one time owned land embracing nearly all of the present village of Wallingford. IVES afterwards kept hotel in the house which Dr. John E. HITT formerly occupied, and entertained several times so distinguished a guest as Ethan ALLEN. He died June 30, 1838, in his eightieth year.

       Daniel BRADLEY came here very early and settled in the north part of the town, on the farm until recently occupied by Olivia BALLOU. He afterwards occupied the place about midway between the two villages, afterwards for yea in the possession of Deacon Moseley HALL. Benjamin BRADLEY, his brother came to Wallingford the same year. He settled on the Thomas HULETT place, more recently occupied by Hon. D. E. NICHOLSON and Dr. CRARY.

       The town was not very thickly settled so late as 1778, if the town records of December of that year may be believed. The following list of freemen resident in Wallingford is there given: Abraham JACKSON, Ephraim ANDREWS (ANDRUS), Joseph JACKSON, Timothy NICHOLS, Williamson BOOL, Benjamin BRADLEY, Daniel BRADLEY, Stephen CLARK, Goodyear CLARK, Reuben IVES, Jonah IVES, Jotham IVES, Amos IVES, John NICHOLS, George NICHOLS, Abraham JACKSON, jr.

       Hon. Joseph Randall moved to Wallingford from Stonington, Ct., in 1779. He was deacon of the Baptist Church fifty-six years and for more than a third of that time supplied the place of pastor; he was church clerk fifty-four years, leader of the singing thirty-six years, justice of the peace fifty years, representative four years, and judge of probate four years. He was also a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1773, and an active soldier of the Revolution and of the War of 1812. 

       Joseph JACKSON, a distant relative of Deacon Abraham JACKSON, lived in very early times on the old Gurley Marsh place in the village. He erected the first grist-mill in the village on the site of the present fork factory. Abraham JACKSON had previously built one in South Wallingford. The first grist-mill in town, however, was erected by Crispin BULL, who purchased the water-power from Isaac HALL. Ephraim ANDRUS, another early settler, was a man of considerable native ability, but unstable in character. He was of a poetical turn of mind, and could turn a witty verse to the discomfiture of those who dared rail at him.

       Among other early inhabitants who attained prominence may be mentioned William FOX, who was born on the 28th of June, 1776, in Woodstock, Conn. He left there when quite young and came to Vermont. He married and settled in Wallingford, probably about the year 1790. He represented the town in the Legislature fifteen years, and held for a series of years other important town offices. He was a prominent Mason. He died on the 17th of February, 1822. His son, John FOX, was born in Wallingford, August 24, 1782. Being of slender frame and delicate health, he concluded to leave his father's farm, and devote himself to the study and practice of medicine. These studies he pursued with Dr. HAMILTON, of Wallingford, and Dr. Zac. PORTER, of Rutland. After completing the course prescribed he received a license to practice from the Vermont council of medical censors. Afterwards, in 1829, the degree of M. D. was conferred upon him by Castleton Medical College and in the following year his son, William C. FOX, was graduated from the same institution. Dr. John FOX continued the practice of medicine in Wallingford for a period of nearly fifty years. He was much interested in politics and affairs of the town, which he represented for several years in the State Legislature. He was also senator from Rutland county for three years. He was held in high esteem by his medical brethren who often called him for advice and counsel. He died June 17, 1853, His son, George H. FOX, who was born in Wallingford on the 22d of March, 1830, is now in practice in Rutland.

       Lyman BATCHELLER was born in Stratton, Vt., March 30, 1795, and came to Wallingford in April, 1835. In 1846 he went into the business of manufacturing forks, in company with Isaac G., John C., and Lyman BATCHELLER, jr., and continued in this relation until the time of his death.

       Solomon MILLER, who was born in 1731, came to Wallingford and erected the first framed house in town, which he occupied until he died in 1807. His son Alexander, who was born in 1776, built a forge and blacksmith's shop on the site of the present stone shop of Batcheller & Sons, on Main street, engaged quite extensively in the manufacture of hoes, axes, nails, etc. Samuel TOWNSEND moved from Hancock, Mass., to Wallingford in 1809, and d in 1859, aged ninety-two and one-half years. Deacon Moseley HALL was in Wallingford, Conn., March 15, 1772. His father, Isaac HALL, was one of original proprietors. Moseley came to this town in 1792 and located half way between what are now the villages of Wallingford and South Wallingford. He was a man of decided opinions and of religious mind, with a determined character. He died in 1861. His son, General Robinson HALL, born in November, 1797, and died in March, 1861. He was one of the projectors of the Western Vermont Railroad. Other early settlers were Asa ANDERSON, Luther HOLDEN, who recently died at the age of one hundred and two years, Stanley STAFFORD, Goodyear CLARK, Zephaniah HULL, Hosea EDDY William KENT, Amasa, Ebenezer and Joel HART, and James H. CONGDON.

       Some of the Revolutionary soldiers from Wallingford have already been mentioned. Wallingford contributed generously to the cause of liberty, and aided well also in the War of 1812. The record of this town in the past justifies the expectation that in the first wars in the future she will deal many blow and hard ones for the righteous cause. Following is a list of the inhabitants of Wallingford who either in person or vicariously served the Union during the late Rebellion:

       Volunteers for three years, credited previous to the call for 300,000 volunteers of October 17, 1863. -- Charles A. ADAMS, co. H, cav.; Henry H. ADAMS, co. C, 10th regt.; Anderson ALLEN, 7th regt.; George C. ALLEN, co. M, 11th regt.; Henry C. ALLEN, co. I, 5th regt.; Leverett ALLEN, co. A, 7th regt.; Noel ALLEN, co. B, 7th regt.; Otis J. ALLEN, co. E, 5th regt.; Otis J. ALLEN, co. B, 9th regt.; Rudolphus ALLEN, co. H, 2d regt.; George P. BARBER, Samuel Y. BARBER 5th regt.; Carlos A. BARROWS, co. H, cav.; Eliot BOURN, William BOURN, co, A, 4th regt.; David BRYANT, George D. BRYANT, cav.; William F. BRYANT, co. 5th regt.; Albert A. CARPENTER, James T. CARPENTER, co. B, 7th regt.; Joseph M. CARPENTER, cav.; Eugene W. CLARK, co. E, 5th regt.; Jacob L. COOK, 4th regt.; Summervill CROTHER, co. I, 5th regt.; Daniel L. CULVER, Harry CULVER 2d s. s.; Eliphalet CULVER, co. B, 9th regt.; George W. CUMMINGS, William CUMMINGS, co. F, 6th regt.; George A. DAWSON, co. C, 11th regt.; John M. DORETT, 10th regt.; Larkin S. EARL, co. I, 5th regt.; Charles M. EDGERTON, 10th,regt.; Rufus A. EDGERTON, cav.; William FARR, jr., co. I, 5th regt.; Levi E. FOSTER, William FOSTER, 6th regt.; David H. FULLER, Francis A. FULLER, co. D, 7th regt.; William M. GIBSON, co. C, 6th regt.; George M. GORTON, cav.; Edwin GREEN, Lewis GREGORY, co. C, 10th regt.; Joel GROVER, 9th regt.; Joel GROVEL; Jeffrey HART, cav.; Willis HART, 2d s. s.; John HAWKINS, co. B, 7th regt.; Ed win M. Haines, 10th, chaplain; Mason B. HEBBARD, cav.; Daniel G. HILL, 10th regt., c. s.; Charles L. HILLIARD, 10th regt.; Elizur HOPKINS, co. B, 7th regt.; Lorenzo T. HORTON, Abraham LAPARD, Joseph LASSARD, co. E, 5th regt.; Harrison LAW, Mathew MAGINNIS, co. E, 5th regt.; John MAKER, co. F, 6th regt.; Thomas MANN, co. C, 10th regt.; John G. PALMER, co, F, 6th regt.; Alfred H. PATCH, co. A, 3d regt.; Benjamin A. PATCH, 4th regt.; Daniel P. PATCH, cav.; Daniel B. PELSUE, co. D, 7th regt.; Henry G. POST, co. C, 10th regt.; Henry W. PRATT, cav.; Jonathan REMINGTON, 5th regt.; Charles W. H. SABIN, c. v. q. m. s.; William H. H. SABIN, 10th regt.; Dexter C. SHEPARD, co. D, 7th regt.; Thomas SMITH, co. E, 5th regt.; Harvey C. STEWART, co. H, 2d regt.; William E. STEWART, 2d s. s.; George R. STREETER, 10th regt.; Lewis TAFT, 7th regt.; Ezra TITUS, Harvey TITUS, cav.; William TOWNSEND, Adin G. WELLMAN, co. C, 10th regt.; Austin B. WELLMAN, cav.; Oscar E. WELLS, co. C, 11th regt.; Horace H. WHEELER, co. A, 4th regt.; Mason L. WHITE, Daniel WILDER, 9th regt.; Joseph H. WINN, 10th regt.; Julius D. WYLIE, co. I, 5th regt.; Edward YARTON, co. C, 10th regt.

       Credits under call of October 17, 1863, for 300,000 volunteers and subsequent calls. Volunteers for three years. -- Amos L. BONTELL, co. F, 4th regt.; Alvin J. COOK, 3d bat.; Francis M. FARWELL, 1th regt.; Levi E. FOSTER, Willis HART, 3d bat.; Joseph HASTINGS, 11th regt.; Ezekiel HILL, co. E, 5th regt.; Anthony KENT, 11th regt.; William H. KEYES, 2d bat.; Robert NIEL, co. C, 11th regt.; Walter SOUTHWORTH, 3d bat.; Sylvester STRONG, co. C, 11th regt.; Ezra W. TITUS, co. A, 7th regt.; William W. WHITE, Horace J. WILDER, 11th regt. 

       Volunteers for one year. -- Henry J. EARLE, cav.; Alfred L. HAZELTON, 11th regt.

       Volunteers re-enlisted. -- Leverett ALLEN, Noel ALLEN, Albert A. CARPENTER, James T. CARPENTER, William V. CHASE, Eugene W. CLARK, Charles B. CROWLEY, Harry CULVER, Francis A. FULLER, John F. MARTIN, Benjamin A. PATCH, Jonathan REMINGTON, Lewis TAFT.

       Veteran Reserve Corps. -- Allen S. DAWSON, Mathew MAGINNIS, Thomas E. Smith.

       Not credited by name. -- Three men.

       Volunteers for nine months. --Loyal ALLEN, Richard C. ARCHER, Jerome A. BROWN, David BRYANT, Edwin M. CRAYERY, Allen S. DAWSON, Henry EDDY, William FROST, 14th regt.; Timothy GLEASON, co. A, 13th regt.; Jewett P. HAWKINS, Joseph C. HAWKINS, George LADD, Michael MACKINLEAR, Patrick MACKINLEAN William H. MUNSON, George R. REMINGTON, Lyman A. RONDO, co. B, 14th regt.; William B. SHAW, 12th regt.; Patrick H. SMITH, Thomas E. SMITH, Isaac O. TITUS, Edward B. WELLS, 14th regt.

       Furnished under draft and paid commutation. -- Rufus D. BUCKLIN, Seneca I. CLEMENS, William C. CROFT, Gilbert HART, Luke A. HEWLETT, Watson KENT, M. V. B. PHILLIPS, Russell G. SHERMAN, A. H. STAFFORD, Charles A. STAFFORD, George SWEETLAND, Marshall THOMPSON, Otis D. WILDER.

       Procured substitutes. -- William DAVENPORT, Samuel E. RODGERS.

       Scarcely any town in the county has suffered so frequent and considerable changes in population since the first census of 1791 as Wallingford, as the following figures, giving the year and population will tesify: 1791, 536; 1800, 912; 1810, 1,386; 1820, 1,570; 1830, 1,740; 1840, 1,608; 1850, 1,688; 1860, 1,747; 1870, 2023; 1880, 1,865.

       The present officers of the town elected in March, 1885, are as follows: Town clerk, Norman TOWNSEND; treasurer, Edwin MARTINDALE; selectmen, Joseph DOTY, Harvey C. STEWART, Joseph E. EDGERTON; listers, Stephen M. SHERMAN, John R. PRIEST, Harvey D. CONGDON; overseer of the poor, John PRIEST; first constable, Harvey D. CONGDON; auditors, William H. CONGDON, Stephen SHERMAN, Charles H. CONGDON; trustee of public moneys, Dyer TOWNSEND; fence viewers, Elias STEWART, John M. ALDRICH, Boardman STAFFORD; town grand jurors, F. O. STAFFORD, C. L. HIGGINS, E. A. FULLER; inspector of leather, Henry JOHNSON; inspector of wood, lumber and shingles, Andrew J. BARTHOLOMEW; town agent and superintendent of schools, Charles H. CONGDON.

       The first Baptist Church of Wallingford was organized at Wallingford village by Elisha RICH on the 10th of February, 1780. The first meeting was held at the house of Titus ANDREWS. The original membership numbered only twenty-two persons, inhabitants of both Wallingford and Clarendon. Ebenezer MURRAY was at this meeting elected deacon, and in the following April Joseph RANDALL was chosen his associate, and remained deacon until the time of his death in 1836. Rev. Elisha RICH was the first pastor, and Rev. Henry GREEN, who came in 1787, was the second.

       This body and the Congregational Church united and erected a house of worship, which was not ready for occupancy until the summer of 1800. Elder GREEN was dismissed in 1807, at his own request, and the church was without a pastor for ten years. During the pastorate of Rev. Gibbon WILLIAMS, in 1827, the present edifice was erected at an expense of $870. It was enlarged and repaired in 1846, and again in 1869. The present pastor, Rev. S. Henry ARCHIBOLD, came here in April, 1876. The church now has a membership of about eighty, of whom sixty are resident members. The average attendant, at Sabbath-school is about fifty, the pastor being the superintendent. The church property is valued at about $4,000. The present officers of the church are as follows: Committee, C. M. TOWNSEND, F. L. CRARY, D. R. MARSH; trustees, H. D. CONGDON, C. M. TOWNSEND, F. W. JOHNSON; collector, A. R. MARSH The hundredth anniversary of the organization of this church was celebrate on February 10, 1880.

       Although the original records of this church are lost, the date of its organization has been fixed upon as the year 1792. Th first members and the earliest preachers are unknown. Deacon Mosely HALL united with it in 1798. The first regular pastor, Rev. Benjamin OSBORN, w. installed November 10, 1802, and remained sixteen years. This church occupied the union house of worship, before mentioned, from 1800 to 1828, when ,the present edifice was erected at a cost of $2,560. The present pastor, Rev. Franklin FRENCH, succeeded Rev. Charles N. BRAINARD on the first of July, 1883. The present church officers are: Deacons, Samuel E. ROGERS, Willis BENSON; clerk and treasurer, Willis BENSON ; society officers, committee, John MILLER, Samuel E. ROGERS, A. Jay NEWTON; treasurer, William C. MASON; Sabbath-school superintendent, A. Jay FENTON ; assistant, John R. ADAIR; secretary and treasurer, H. R. STRONG. The Sabbath-school was organized about the year 1825. Before that each school district had some kind of separate Sabbath-school, and all these were finally transferred to the respective churches. The present membership is about one hundred and eighty-three; while the average attendance at Sabbath-school is about ninety.

       The Union Church edifice at South Wallingford was built by subscription in 1840, the land being donated by Holden STAFFORD. The first pastor, and the only one ever really settled here, was a Universalist clergyman by the name of Rev. Dennis CHAPIN. He remained a number of years. Since his departure the Wallingford village churches have supplied preaching. There are from twenty to thirty regular attendents at services now. There is no Sabbath-school. This part of the town is rich in religious feeling.

       The East Wallingford Baptist Church was organized on the 3d day of 1861, by Rev. Joseph FREEMAN, with a membership of twenty-nine. The house of worship was erected in 1860 at a cost of about $2,000, which is the estimated value of the church property at the present time. The present pastor, Rev. W. G. PATTERSON, came here May 1, 1884. The present church deacon is A. H. JACKSON, and the Sabbath-school superintendent is Mrs. W. G. PATTERSON.

       St. Patrick's Church (Roman Catholic), at Wallingford, was organized by Rev. C. BOYLAN in 1865. At its organization its membership was three hundred which has since more than doubled. The house of worship was erected in 1866 at a cost of $8,000. Rev. T. J. GAFFNEY, of Dorset, is the pastor.

       Wallingford is the oldest village in the town, although more or less business has been carried on at South Wallingford since the earliest settlement of the town.

       The oldest man in town, Dyer TOWNSEND, lives but a short distance south of the village, and notwithstanding his great age has a clear and active memory with reference to the early condition of the village and vicinity. He was born in Hancock, Mass., on the 23d of November, 1789. In 1796 he came from Ballston, N. Y., to Clarendon, and in 1807 removed to the farm in Wallingford now occupied by Eliakim B. TOWNSEND, and in 1814 came on to the farm he now owns and works. In the spring of 1814 he married Lucinda, sister to judge Harvey BUTTON. He has never been sick a day in his life. He has a distinct recollection of Lent IVES and of Joseph RANDALL, whose school he attended when a boy. Joseph RANDALL, the present blacksmith in the village, grandson to the above named. Mr. TOWNSEND also remembers Philip WHIT who lived on West Hill, where Eli M. WARD now lives. In 1813 John REED was operating the grist-mill in South Wallingford. Mr. TOWNSEND was clerk in a store at that village as early as that for Moseley HALL and Ebenezer TOWNER.

       Before the year 1814 Ebenezer TOWNER had made potash in an ashery on the farm now owned by Dyer TOWNSEND. There were numbers of distillers in Wallingford village in these early days. Joel HILL and Dr. FOX used to make rye whisky. Moseley HALL kept tavern about a mile north of South Wallingford, on the farm now occupied by Lewis STAFFORD. Jonathan THOMPSON kept one also about two miles east of the north village on land now occupied by Samuel ROGERS. Martin CAVANAUGH ran a store in the village, not far from the present hotel. Eliakim JOHNSON kept store and tavern there as early as 1814. Edmund DOUGLASS had a tannery on the farm now owned by Dyer TOWNSEND which he afterwards sold to Simeon LEONARD. Mr. TOWNSEND continued it fifteen or twenty years after he purchased his farm. George VAUGHN also operated for some time a tannery which stood on the bank of the brook on Main street in the village, on land now embraced in judge AINSWORTH's yard. He subsequently started a tannery on the site of Johnson's grist-mill, which he finally sold to Elliot BRADFORD. Bradford continued it until about 1873 or ‘74, and failed.

       Further information was obtained from Mr. and Mrs. Howard HARRIS. The former was born in Brattleboro, Vt., August 15, 1799. He came to Wallingford village in 1824, and began to keep a general store on the site of his present residence. He married Pamela RUSTIN, his present wife, October 16, 1826. [Their daughter, Pamela HARRIS, became the wife of Dr. George H. FOX, of Rutland.]  She was born in Wallingford on the 24th of February, 1810. Her father, James RUSTIN, was a hatter, and lived on the corner (now a burnt district) opposite the HULETT store. He owned the land now intersected by Depot street as a garden. His shop stood just north of his house, at the present junction of Depot and Main streets, and is the same building now used by Sherman PRATT in the manufacture of coffins and caskets. When Mr. HARRIS came here in 1824, he had to compete with other merchants here. Eliakim JOHNSON and William MARSH, under the firm name Johnson & Marsh, had a general store at the south end of the village, on the east side of Main street on the corner next to the Congregational Church, in a corner of a tavern kept by William MARSH. Bottom & Townsend had a store also, on the corner just south of Norman TOWNSEND's present residence.

       William HALL and Abiel CHILD practiced law in this village, the office of the latter being on the site of E. MARTINDALE's residence. Dr. John FOX practiced medicine then in the same building. 

       At this time "Potash Seminary" was in existence, being a select-school which derived its name from the fact that the building, which stood about on site of SABIN's tin-shop, had formerly been used in the manufacture of potash; Johnson & Marsh being at one time manufacturers. The distillery of Dr. FOX stood on ground now covered by the house of Mrs. WOOD. At a much earlier day James SABIN ran a distillery, which was owned by William FOX, near the site of Arnold HILL's present residence. It was burned about 1816.

       The school, in 1815, was held in the Congregational Chapel, which was erected as a school-house by Lent IVES and James RUSTIN, and used as such for years, until after the new school-house was built, about 1865, and then sold to the Congregational Society.

       As late as 1820 there was scarcely a large enough collection of dwellings at Wallingford to excuse its being called village. There were only fifteen or twenty houses scattered along on either side of Main street. The road between here and South Wallingford was so rough and rudimentary in construction that nearly all travel was necessarily on horseback.

       When Mr. HARRIS began to trade here in 1824, BUTTON & TOWNSEND and JOHNSON & MARSH formed a union and erected a building on the site of the block now occupied by Messrs. CRAPO & TOWNSEND, intending to drive the new merchant from the field. Daniel ROBERTS called them "the holy alliance." Mr. Harris remained in business, however, until his store was destroyed by fire in 1851.

       Wallingford has ever been aspiring in educational matters. In 1814 a company was incorporated under the name of the Wallingford Academy, and consisted of William and John FOX, Moseley HALL, Alexander MILLER, Joseph RANDALL, Nathaniel IVES, Samuel TOWNSEND, Lent IVES and Ebenezer TOWNER. Unfortunately, nothing came of it. The Wallingford graded school was established on the first of September, 1871. The present principal (there being three departments), H. L. ALLEN, came in the spring of 1885. There is an average attendance at the school of about one hundred and twenty.

       It is not known when the post-office was established here nor who received the first appointment. Lent IVES was postmaster for a long time prior to 1815. John IVES, Seth LEONARD, Rufus BUCKLIN, Lewis BUCKLIN, Mrs. Lewis BUCKLIN (1861), William BALLOU, M. C. ROGERS, C. M. TOWNSEND, and W. D. HULETT have successively been appointed, the last named being established in office in August, 1885.

       The oldest mercantile business still carried on in Wallingford village is the grocery of Norman TOWNSEND, which is a direct descendant of the old establishment already mentioned of Button & Townsend. This partnership was created in 1819 between Charles BUTTON and Samuel TOWNSEND, and lasted until 1833. From that time until 1866 Samuel TOWNSEND carried on the business. At that time his son, the present proprietor, became his successor, and has continued it almost without interruption to the present time.

       E.O. EDDY, M. D., has had a jewelry store here since 1860. He practiced dentistry from 1855 to 1884; practiced medicine in the south part of the town after his admission in about 1844, and relinquished it only from loss of health. He has been photographer since about 1860. E. D. SABIN opened his tin-shop in the spring of 1860. During one year after 1866 his brother, C. V. H. SABIN, was his partner.

       Sherman PRATT has dealt in coffins and caskets in Wallingford since 1860, and has also been engaged in the manufacture of them on demand. G. H. EDGERTON established his present trade in drugs and medicines in the same building which he now occupies, in 1865. C. A. CLAGHORN bought out the dry goods and grocery business of John HODGSON in 1868, and has continued the trade to the present. William D. HULETT entered into partnership with B. E. CRAPO in 1872 and with him for five years carried on a general mercantile business. Since then he has remained sole proprietor of the establishment.

       George W. TOWER, formerly a house builder, opened his grocery and feed store in October, 1877. C. M. TOWNSEND, dealer in drugs and general merchandise, succeeded CRAPO, BATCHELLER & Co. in 1882.

       B.E. CRAPO, dealer in dry goods, boots and shoes, was clerk for E. MARTINDALE from 1867 to 1871. In 1872 he entered into the partnership before mentioned with W. D. HULETT. In 1878 Mr. CRAPO went to Texas and on his return entered into the firm of CRAPO, BATCHELLER & Co. Since 1882 he has conducted the business alone. H. ENSIGN opened a grocery here in May, 1885.

       The only hotel in the village of Wallingford was erected about the year 1824, completed in 1826, by John IVES, who designed it as a tavern. But it was soon converted to other uses. SABIN & JOHNSON had a store in the south end; Mary ATWOOD kept millinery in one room; , John B. WARNER occupied another part as a cabinet-shop ; Judge BUTTON had two rooms in the north end for his office. In 1835 Chester SPENCER opened it as the "first temperance hotel in the world " and remained two or three years. Almeron HYDE kept it a while and owned it. Since then Arnold HILL, J. H. EARLE, Elmer C. BARROWS, L. J. VANCE and others have owned and kept it successively. In 1877 W. D HULETT became half owner with B. E. CRAPO, and in 1877 he purchased the entire property. E. H. SHAW and A. J. GARDINER kept the house from about 1879 to September, 1885, when the present landlord, J. K. FORD, came into possession. He has put in a new livery and improved in many ways upon the indifferent hospitality of his predecessors.

       The most important manufacturing concern in Wallingford is the fork manufactory of the Batcheller & Sons Company. In 1834 Lyman BATCHELLER commenced manufacturing forks in Arlington, Vt., and in 1835 established the business in Wallingford. In 1846 he took his sons I. G., J. C. and Lyman, jr., into partnership, and began to employ men and work under the firm name of L. Batcheller & Sons. On the 3d day of August, 1848, the works which stood on the same foundation now covered by the stone building on the east side of Main street below the Congregational Church, were destroyed by fire. They rebuilt the factory at once, which still stands and is used as the polishing shop. A new company was formed under, the style of Batcheller & Sons. Subsequently, however, they removed their factory and offices across the railroad to their present location. In the summer of 1885 a new (stock) company was formed, and the name was changed to its present form. This company manufactures one of the best forks in the world, and finds a market for its products in every country which has need of such an article.

       The grist-mill of F. W. JOHNSON was started by its present owner and operator in November, 1876. The mill has a capacity for about 150 bushels of grain per day. Mr. JOHNSON also sells flour, feed, grain, phosphates, plaster, lime, etc.

       The Wallingford monumental works were established in the spring of 1877, by John R. ADAIR the present operator. He employs three or four men.

       Although Wallingford has no newspaper at present, several have been published here at different periods. A paper called the Local Spy was published from time to time from 1855 to 1860, by Philip H. EMERSON and Amasa W. BISHOP. Both of these gentlemen were studying law at the time in the office of Hon. David E. NICHOLSON. Philip H. EMERSON is now the United States District Judge of Utah, and Mr. BISHOP is a leading lawyer, residing at Oakland, Cal. In 1877 Addison G. STONE established the Wallingford Standard, which was continued until 1880, when it was merged in the Rutland-Times. The printing was done at Bennington and Brandon.

       Among the lawyers who have practiced in Wallingford in the past may be mentioned Jonathan HOUGHTON, Abiel CHILDS, A. L. MINER, Frederick HALL and Hon. David E. NICHOLSON, now of Rutland. The oldest attorney remaining in practice here is judge Harvey BUTTON, who was born in Clarendon on the 17th of January, 1800. He has been continuously in practice here since June 1, 1826. In February, 1832, he married Irene MILLER, who died in April, 1844; in October, 1848, he married Sarah MILLER, cousin to his first wife. Judge BUTTON, whose career is no less honorable than long, still retains the faculties which brought him into prominence.

       J.W. AINSWORTH was born in Athol, Mass., April 27, 1808. He began to practice in the east part of the town about 1845, and came to this village about 1858.

       Charles H. CONGDON, who has his office with judge BUTTON, was born in Wallingford on the 6th of October, 1820. From 1831 to 1881 he lived in Danby.

       The following physicians have practiced in Wallingford, but are now deceased: Drs. Samuel L. MCCLURE, John FOX, Augustus, Nathaniel IVES, Samuel GRISWOLD, Herman SHAW. Dr. David HOLDEN studied in the office of Dr. FOX, and married his preceptor's sister, Mary FOX. He practiced here before 1820. Dr. Joseph RANDALL, who was in practice here about the same time, also studied with Dr. FOX. Dr. Silas HAMILTON is said to have been in practice here earlier even than Dr. FOX, and to have relinquished his practice as early as 1813.

       The present practice here is divided between Drs. W. E. STEWART and J. AVERY. The former was born in Castleton, December 3, 1843; received his medical education at the medical department of the University of Vermont at Burlington, from which he was graduated June 20, 1867. He first practice about six months in the east part of this town, and from 1868 to 1880, was in Dorset. In June, 1880, he came to this village.

       Dr. AVERY was born in Brandon on the 14th of July, 1845; was graduated from Long Island College Hospital in the class of 1876, and practiced until July, 1880, in Starksboro, Vt., when he began to practice in Wallingford. He is a member of the Rutland County and also of the Vermont State Medical Societies.

       The information concerning the earlier days of this village was obtained largely from Mrs. Oscar EDDY, whose maiden name was Mercy STAFFORD. Her father was John STAFFORD, the youngest of four brothers, Palmer, Holden, Ormond and himself. , Her great-grandfather, Thomas STAFFORD, with his brother John, were sons of Lord STAFFORD of Staffordshire, England, and emigrated to this country in a vessel of their own. Her grandfather, Stutely STAFFORD, married Rebecca, widow of John IRISH, of Tinmouth.

       John STAFFORD, Mrs. EDDY's father, was born September 4, 1798, in South Wallingford, in a building a few rods northeast from the site of the present railroad station. He lived and died within a mile of his birth-place. He died August 13, 1846. His wife, Rebecca A. WOOD, was a native of Watertown, Mass. They had seven children, of whom Mrs. EDDY and Lewis STAFFORD are alone left in Wallingford.

       Mrs. EDDY's memory is distinct as far back as 1830, when the village of South Wallingford was much smaller than it is now.

       John ORMOND and Holden STAFFORD owned and operated then the saw-mill and grist-mill, which were combined in the same building now constituting W W. KELLEY's marble-mill. About 1835, or later, Jesse LAPHAM, John H. VAIL and Aaron R. VAIL, all from Danby, bought the Stafford mills, and erected a forge on the site of an old cotton factory which had burned. This cotton factory was erected as early as 1815, on the site of Mr. ELY's pulp-mill, by Jonas WOOD. South Wallingford in 1830 was a stage station between Rutland and Bennington. There were, consequently, more transient guests here then than since the railroad displaced the stage. Calvin BUNCE then kept a store on the site of Mrs. Eunice WADES present residence. When Jesse LAPHAM came he built a store four stories in height. The building, which is owned now by W. KELLEY, is a tenant house across the creek from the depot. George S. ALLEN, the only lawyer then here, lived in the house now occupied by Cornelius HALL. There were no physicians here, North Wallingford monopolizing the medical practice. Joshua JOHNSON kept a blacksmith shop, which still stands in the south part of the village. Gideon COREY, who died only five or six years ago, then had a shoe shop nearly opposite the church. The school building, which in winter held as much as sixty pupils, stood on the site of the present building, but was smaller. The present school-house was erected in 1836. Judge Joel AINSWORTH was teacher here about that time. Jarvis ANDRUS operated a tannery and had run it for years, on the site afterwards covered by the hotel. He also kept hotel right across from the site of the church and frequently accommodated men who used to train here. The tannery went down in 1850. The hotel was kept after that by different landlords, the last one being Joseph EDGERTON, who left about 1875. The building is now occupied by George SMITH. 

       The first marble was quarried here about 1835 or 1840, twenty rods north of Oscar EDDY's residence, by Orange CARPENTER. He was soon followed by Mr. HURD, of New York; then came Mr. LIPPITT, of New York, for a number of years. They both had a marble-mill on the dam south from the quarry, which Oscar EDDY, as the carpenter, built. W. W. KELLEY then followed LIPPITT, and at first quarried and shipped his product in the rough. He now saws it here. He has operated the mill for about fifteen years. He also owns a saw and grist-mill here.

       The building formerly used as a pulp-mill was built about 1864 by John ADAIR, who intended it for a marble-mill, but did not succeed here. Edward P. ELY and Julius T. REMINGTON bought it in May, 1880, and established the Pioneer Pulp-Mill. The partnership was dissolved in June of the same year. In the fall of 1881 Mr. ELY, who still owns the property, built the saw-mill portion of the building, and now has both steam and water-power.

       The cheese factory of A. R. AMES was started by him in 1873.

       The present postmaster, E. O. FULLER, was appointed about 1876, and has kept the only store in the village since 1873. His predecessors, respectively, in the post-office, have been George SMITH, Ancil EDDY and John H. VAIL.

       I.R. FULLER was born in Troy, N. H., August 13, 1820, and came to East Wallingford in March, 1834. There was no village then, only two dwellings, one a little southwest from Mr. FULLER's present residence, occupied by John JACKSON, and the other just above the present post-office, occupied by Joel CONSTANTINE. The old landmarks are standing yet. East Wallingford is, therefore, the youngest, as well as the most vigorous, of the villages in Wallingford township. Joel CONSTANTINE was about the earliest man around here. In 1834 he operated a saw-mill, on the site of the Aldrich mill, which was erected about 1812. Some of the remains of this old mill are still visible.

       Another of the early inhabitants of the village, William H. CONGDON, was born on the 26th of May, 1826, about two miles southwest from the village, on the place now owned by James C. PATCH. There was quite a large church edifice within a stone's throw of his birthplace at the time of his birth and which stood there until about 1865. There is none there now. It was built sixty years ago. As early as 1820, he says, an old distillery was running about half a mile west of East Wallingford, on the farm now owned by Henry WARDWELL,

       This neat house was erected little about the year 1863 by E, A. CUTLER, who kept it two or three years and has been followed successively by H. E. SAWYER, Daniel ENSIGN, Charles ALLEN, H. L. WARNER, Alson AHITE, J. B. POWELL, and the present proprietor, Joel TODD, who began here on the 27th of March, 1879. The house has sleeping-room for twenty or twenty-five guests. Mr. TODD is a hotelman of experience who entertains a number of Boston and New York sojourners every summer, and who is acquiring an excellent reputation for the elegant balls and game-suppers which he gives with increasing frequency. His dancing-hall, it is claimed, is the largest one connected with a hotel in the State.

       The tannery of HUNTOON & Son, though not strictly an East Wallingford enterprise, is as fitly inserted here as in either of the other villages in Wallingford. This tannery was built in 1815 by Mathial SMEAD. Nathan MATTOCKS succeeded SMEAD and was followed by John P. BOWMAN. Hiram W. LINCOLN operated it for some time. James HUNTOON & Son bought it in 1865. It was burned in 1869 and rebuilt the same year.

       The grist and saw-mill of E. H. & B. W. ALDRICH was built in 1861 by William H. CORYDON and I. R. FULLER, who operated it four or five years under the firm name of CORYDON & FULLER. Various persons, including Eben BAILEY, William KENT, O. DODGE and D. G. JONES were individually and as partners interested in the concern until February, 1878, when the present proprietors succeeded the firm of ALDRICH & JONES. E. H. & B. W. ALDRICH started the manufacture of chair stock in the fall of 1880, and now ship about fifty carloads of rough stock annually. The grist-mill has a capacity for about forty eight carloads of corn per year, while the saw-mill cuts from 400,000 to 500,000 feet of lumber in the same space of time.

       The oldest store in the village is the dry goods and general store of W. R. SPAULDING & Co. (the firm of E. H. & B. W. ALDRICH being the "company.") The building was erected and the business started in 1866 by Henry WHITE and R. D. BUCKLIN, under the firm style of WHITE & BUCKLIN. Bucklin succeeded the firm and ran the store for a number of years, being followed by Jerome CONVERSE. W. D. HULETT ran the store during the winter of 1884-85 and was succeeded in April by the present company.

       J. SMEAD established his present trade in stoves and hardware, and began his work in the tin-shop in 1866. F. O. STAFFORD started his clothing and general store in April, 1883.

       The general store of John R. PRIEST was started; in June, 1884, as successor to the one formerly kept by S. H. STEVENS.  E. R. ALLEN established the trade in the opposite store years ago.

       The carriage factory of Dennis SIRD was started in the spring of 1883, and in the following fall the blacksmithing department of George SPOONER was added.

       There is but one practicing attorney in East Wallingford, viz.: Henry B. HAWKINS, who was born about two miles west of his present residence on the 14th of December, 1846. He was admitted to practice in the Rutland County Court in March, 1874, and in the Supreme Court of the State in 1880.

       Dr. S. D. HAZEN was born May 24, 1842, at Athens, Vt.. He studied medicine in Natick, Mass., and was graduated from a medical institution in 1866. He came here immediately after being admitted. Dr. R. L. CHASE was born in Chester, Vt., on the 13th of April, 1847. He was graduated from the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, O., on the 11th of May, 1875; practiced about a year in Lawrence, N. Y., and then came here. He served four years and two months in the 7th Vermont Regiment during the Rebellion.

       The town farm of Wallingford, which contains about 140 acres, is situated about a mile west of East Wallingford. There are now about fifteen poor on the farm. It was purchased of Solomon WOODWARD about thirty years ago.

       The East Wallingford water-works system is a private enterprise, started about 1873 by R. D. BUCKLIN, H. L. WARNER, Abel RAY, James STARKEY and Edward CHILSON. The water is taken from a source about a mile southwest from the village. The present owners are Joel TODD, Elias STEWART, Abel RAY, Ed. CHILSON and the BUCKLIN estate.

       The first postmaster here was Joel CONSTANTINE, who received the appointment about the year 1850, or very soon after the railroad had begun business. He was followed by Henry WHITE, and he respectively by William H. CONGDON, H. P. HAWKINS, J. P. POWELL, Jerome CONVERSE and the present incumbent, John C. PRIEST, who was appointed in May, 1885.
 
 
 

History of Rutland County Vermont: with Illustrations &
Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers
Edited by H. Y. Smith & W. S. Rann
Syracuse, N. Y.
D. Mason & Co., Publishers 1886
CHAPTER XLI.
History of the Town of Wallingford
(Pages - 831 - 847)
 

Transcribed by Karima 2002

Childs' Business Directory of the Town of Wallingford, Rutland County, VT., 1881-82

Childs' History of the Town of Wallingford, Rutland County, VT., 1881-82

Wallingford, Rutland County, VT Town Reports    Births Recorded - 1905 - 1912

Wallingford, Rutland County, VT Town Reports    Births Recorded - 1913 - 1918

Wallingford, Rutland County, VT Town Reports    Births Recorded - 1921 - 1928

Wallingford, Rutland County, VT Town Reports    Births Recorded - 1929 - 1936

Wallingford, Rutland County, VT Town Reports    Marriages Recorded - 1902 - 1912

Wallingford, Rutland County, VT Town Reports    Marriages Recorded - 1913 - 1932

Wallingford, Rutland County, VT Town Reports    Marriages Recorded - 1935 - 1946

Wallingford, Rutland County, VT Town Reports    Deaths Recorded - 1902 - 1911

Wallingford, Rutland County, VT Town Reports    Deaths Recorded - 1912 - 1926

Wallingford, Rutland County, VT Town Reports    Deaths Recorded - 1935 - 1945