Ryegate Historical Society

Sequel to The Ryegate History

News Update Number 42  -  December 2006

"The Down of the Thistle - 20th Century Ryegate, VT" by Dwight White

This News Update is to let you know that "The Down of the Thistle- 20th Century Ryegate VT" by Dwight White will be available at the Town Clerk's Office and the home of the author as of December 15, 2006. The book is a sequel to The Ryegate History by Miller and Wells which was published in 1913. It contains 18 chapters and over 200 pictures. Published by L. Brown & Sons of Barre, this hardcover edition is designed to be a companion volume to the 2002 reprint of the original.

"The Down of the Thistle" contains an introductory chapter which is a concise summary of the founding and growth of Ryegate during the first 125 years. Its purpose is to put the 20th century in context while acquainting or reacquainting the reader with Ryegate's rich heritage. This is followed by a chapter entitled "Three Villages and a Countryside". The remaining 16 chapters have to do with Town Affairs, Business, Education, Religion, Community Groups, Transportation, Communication, Disasters, War Times, Homee and Community Life, Celebrations, Sketches and Anecdotes worth preserving. The book is indexed for convenient reference.

This limited edition, subsidized by the Town of Ryegate, is available for $30.00 per copy plus $4.00 for mailing. The Town Office, P. O. Box 332, Ryegate, VT 05042 (802-584-3380) is open on Monday - Wednesday from 1:00 - 5:00 PM and on Friday AM from 9:00 - 1:00. It is closed on Thursdays.

Ryegate Vital Statistics

     1790 Census    1800 Census    1810 Census    1820 Census

Census reporting ends with the 1820 census. There were over 50 separate items of data gathered in the 1830 census. That fact and that names are not in alphabetical order make it impractical to report later years.

Ryegate Schools

The names and locations of historic Ryegate schools was derived from old copies of topographical maps.

Ryegate, VT Schools of the Past

Ryegate Churches

Cemetery Information

Digging Deep Unearthing the Mysteries of Burial and Cemetery Laws

Caledonia County Cemeteries Courtesy of Paul DesTroismaisons

Cemetery Listings

Blue Mountain Cemetery

Hillside Cemetery

Manchester Family Cemetery

Nameless Cemetery

Old Scotch American Cemetery        GPS coordinates are estimated as the actual cemetery has not been located.

Pinehurst Cemetery

West Cemetery

Other Ryegate Links

    Some Old Photos of Ryegate --  Instructions will be shown on that site.

    Somers of Caledonia County, Vermont    The information contained in this link has been challenged. The challenger claims there were only
                                                                        four Somers branches, not five. He also claims that the information contained in Frederick Wells'
                                                                        History of Barnet, Vermont is inaccurate. John¹, b. 1740, is a duplicate of the information for
                                                                        Claud¹ and his children (pages 608-610). John³, b. 1823, belongs on page 611 as son of (5) John³.

    Vermont Historical Gazetteer - Courtesy: Rod Skinner    Local History for Vermont towns.

    HomePage for Upper Connecticut River Valley    Lots of other genealogical information.

    Other Listings of Interest, Courtesy - Janice Boyko

Bibliography

Ryegate Bibliography

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