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TIMELINE HISTORY OF STOCKBRIDGE
1761 - First grant made to William Dodge and 61 associates by
B. Wentworth in the Province of New Hampshire.
1779 First meeting of Proprietors held in Massachusetts.
1784/1785 - First permanent settlers: John Durkee,
Asa Whitcomb, Elias Keyes, Joshua Bartlett and Samuel Wiley.
1784 First child born in Stockbridge - Joseph Wiley
1785 - Town first surveyed by Park Holland 48 sq miles
30, 720 acres
1787 First recorded death Mrs. Betsey Bartlett died of
exposure suffered when she attempted to bring cattle off Sable Mt during
a storm.
1789 - First marriage in Town: Robert Lyon to Katherine Burnet
1789 First Sale of Properties for Delinquent Taxes
1791 - Census shows 22 families 100 people living in Stockbridge
1792 Stockbridge became an organized Town. John Whitcomb
was the
towns first representative to Congress
1797 - Town meeting - voted one penny an acre tax to build a
bridge over the White River.
1800 - August town meeting the town voted to provide a meeting house.
1800s Town consisted primarily of family farms. Sheep,
cattle, hogs, oxen and horses were common to the area.
1800-1810 - This period was one of growth and organization to meet
the demands of the town. Houses of sawn boards and timbers replaced the rude
earthen floored log cabins.
1801- First Bridge over the White River. Voted a penny an acre from
each landowner to pay for the bridge.
1801 - 836 acres on the North side of the Town was annexed by Bethel.
Elias Keyes owned much of this land and so the surveyor general gave him 836
acres, to compensate him for his loss.
1803 An epidemic of dysentery swept off a great part
of the children in the town (From Zadock Thompsons Vermont pub
1842)
1806 - At this town meeting it was proposed that a general inoculation
for Small Pox be undertaken by the town; but because of opposition no final action
was taken.
1807 - Action was taken at this meeting concerning oxen and teams on
the Common. None were to be left unhitched or "at large".
1809 - Acted to limit the roaming of hogs. Hogs found at large between
May 1st and Nov. 1st are to be forfeited.
1811 The town was divided into 7 school districts with a total
of 238 students. The total population of Stockbridge was 700.
1815 - At town meeting it was voted that all cattle with their marks
should be registered with the town clerk.
1820 Voted to tax the people one cent on the dollar to defray
the costs of maintaining the poor and other needy
1823 - Grand List-136 families paying $ 9,616.60 for taxes.
1823 - At the February 19th town meeting it was voted to allow taxes
to be paid in grain. In September the selectmen were instructed to find a place
to store the grain that had come in for taxes and for rentals. The occupants of
ministerial lands were requested to pay their rents, these could be paid in grain.
1824 - In March it was voted not to build a new bridge at Chase's
over Stony Brook, but a committee was appointed to investigate and empowered to
spend $5 to repair the old one.
1825 - Each town meeting from 1824 on they voted someone to take
charge of the arms of the community.
1825 - Grand List ---received $10,705.00 in taxes.
1826 Town meeting alternated between Stockbridge and the Narrows
1828 Town voted to repair roads and bridges damaged by the
recent freshet
1828 Voted to build an arch bridge over Stony Brook
1834 Post Office at Gaysville established by Merrick Gay
1837 Established the boundaries of a section to be known as
Gaysville
1838 Meeting house built in Gaysville
1840 1,419 inhabitants, 2 meetinghouses, 2 grist mills, 4
saw mills, 1 woolen factory, 2 stores, 2 taverns, 1 tannery and 13 school
districts
1841 Town voted to purchase a Poor Farm
18321891 - Woolen Mill, Button Factory and Power Plant built
in Gaysville
1862 116 Volunteers from Stockbridge enlisted in the
US military or Vermont Militia.
1884 No Town becomes part of Stockbridge, annexed from Parkers
Gore
1890s - Mining for gold takes place on several town sites
1896 Belcher Library established from the bequest of William
C. Belcher.
1899 Town granted a 10-year tax exemption to any manufacturing
or canning
establishment to be located in Stockbridge
1900 First run of the Peavine Railroad between Bethel, Stockbridge
and Rochester
1901 Last run of the horse drawn stagecoach which connected
Stockbridge with Bethel and Rochester since 1861
1910 Train wreck on the Stony Brook Bridge
1913 Gaysville damaged by flood 1923 Verde Antique Marble
discovered at the Greeley Talc mine in Stockbridge.
1927 Flood of Nov 3 destroyed 15 homes, barns and other buildings,
wiped out the center of Gaysville, the railroad and its station, and the
Methodist church.
1932 Last run of the Peavine Railroad
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Business and
Industries in Stockbridge and Gaysville
1786 First grist mill and saw mill built by Elias Keyes
1800s Predominantly family farms, some logging and raising
of hops.
1840 Stockbridge had 1,419 inhabitants, 2 meetinghouses, 2
grist mills, 4 saw
mills, 1 woolen factory, 2 stores, 2 taverns, 1 tannery and 13 school
districts
1856 - Mr. Greenbanks with Nelson Gay, A. A. Brooks
of Bethel, F.P. Holden and Chester Downer of Sharon founded
the Gaysville Manufacturing Co., they employed 70 workers and
grossed $125,000.00 a year. They made men's underwear of
natural hue and also bright red; they also made flannel.
1856 - About this time Isaac Jones started a saw mill which did custom
work. It was water powered.
1856 - The Stony Brook Lumber Co. in No Town was steam
powered, and capable of producing 10,000 feet of lumber and 6,000 feet
of clapboards a day.
1856 Mr. Durkee had a soapstone factory, which made all sorts of articles from
soapstone; hand and foot warmers etc..
1884 Gazetteer listed 7 Blacksmiths, 6 Carpenters, 2 Physicians,
2 Wheelwrights,3 Wooden Ware Mfgs, 1 Knitting Mill, a Shingle Mill and
a Cider Mill, 2 Undertakers, a Lumber Company and a Hotel, as well as several
merchants of food and dry goods.
1884 1894 The Gaysville Button Company and Power Station
were built at the Narrows on the White River.
1900 The Eastern Talc Company and Verde Antique Marble Quarries
operate in town.
1913 Perley W. Green began a Ford dealership at Stockbridge
Four Corners
1925 Ketchum Snowshoes were made by hand in Gaysville.
1946 - 2002 Stanley Rule and Level Company and Advanced Animations
operate in Stockbridge. Hawk Mountain Corp builds 50 homes. Robert Ketchum
operates the single remaining dairy farm in Stockbridge.
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Schools in Stockbridge
1800 The town meeting voted the first money for schooling
1811 The town was divided into 7 school districts with a total
of 238 students. The total population of Stockbridge was 700.
1882 The town was divided into 9 school districts and
contained 10 common schools, with a total of 260 students. It employed
2 male and 32 female teachers to whom was paid an aggregate salary of $1,179.08.
1896 The 4 largest Schools in Stockbridge, 2 at Gaysville,
one on Stony Brook and one on the Common had more than 25 pupils each and
maintained 30 weeks of school.
1956 Stockbridge Central School built
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Population
Statistics for Stockbridge from Federal Census:
| 1791 100 |
1810   700 |
1820 964
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1830 1,333 |
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1840 1,419 |
1850 1,327 |
1860 1,264 |
1870 1,269 |
| 1880 1,124 |
1910 737 |
1920   618 |
1930 460 |
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1940 490 |
1950 427 |
1960 392 |
1970 389 |
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1980 507 |
1990 618 |
2000 684 |
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Please dont let any part of Stockbridge History be lost!
Any item you have or find that relates to an earlier time in Stockbridge,
or any memories you may have of people, places and times past should be
shared.
Contact: Stockbridge, VT Town Coordinator E-mail: Barb
Vellturo
Stockbridge-Gaysville
Historical Society
P.O. Box 100
Gaysville, Vermont 08746
For membership information or to be
notified of meetings,
phone Mette Rea at (802) 746-8369.
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VT main page
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