This
is the shire town of the county, and is a township of good land, with a
pleasant village in the centre. It is watered by the head branches
of White River and has a good hydraulic power. Chelsea produces all
the various commodities common to the climate, and is a beautiful place
of residence. The Chelsea Academy was incorporated in 1848.
Boundaries.
North by Washington and Williamstown, east by Vershire, south by Tunbridge,
and west by Brookfield.
First
Settlers. This town was formerly called Turnersburg. Improvements
were commenced in this township in the spring of 1784, by Thomas and Samuel
Moore, and Asa Bond, who , the next spring, brought in their families from
Winchester, N.H. They were soon joined by others from different quarters,
who settled in different parts of the town. Those who first came
in brought all their furniture and provisions on their backs from Tunbridge,
nine miles distant, where were their nearest neighbors. The first
house in town was erected in the present burying ground by Thomas Moore,
and was burned to the ground with all its contents, in September, 1785,
but four or five months after his family had entered it. The first
child born in town was Thomas Porter Moore, son of Thomas Moore, born Oct.
16, 1785.
First
Ministers. A Congregational Church was early organized here,
over which Rev. Lathrop Thompson was settled in November, 1799. He
was dismissed in April, 1805, and Rev. Calvin Noble was ordained over the
church in September, 1807, and continued in its charge till his death in
April, 1834.
Distances.
Twenty miles south by east from Montpelier, and from this town to Northfield,
through which the great Northern Railroad passes, is about thirteen miles.
(Gazetteer
of Vermont, by John Hayward, 1849, p. 46 ) |
