Windham County, Vermont

A Local History of

Civil, Educational, Biographical, Religious and Military

WITH HISTORIES OF

SUTTON IN CALEDONIA COUNTY, AND BENNINGTON IN

BENNINGTON COUNTY.

COLLATED BY

ABBY MARIA HEMENWAY.

Published by

MRS. CARRIE E. H. PAGE,

BRANDON, VT.

1891

Pages 725-726

FAYETTEVILLE

The first frame house in Fane was built in the summer of 1768 by Jon­athan Park, in the yard in front of what we term the old Parks house, just north of the Fayetteville hotel.

Nathaniel Stedman, Thomas Hig­gins, Artemus Bruce, Ephriam Ful­ler, and Thomas Green were among his early neighbors. Fuller settled on the first farm north of the vil­lage, now owned and occupied by M. 0. Howe. Green came from Worcester and built his cabin on the hill about half a mile west of Park.

Artemus Bruce came September 22, 1776. He built the first saw mill in this part of the town. He had three sons: Ephriam, Artemus Jr., and Elijah; from the latter of whom Mansfield Bruce, the Baptist divine, is a decendant. Samuel, a son of Ephriam, built a dam and first occupied the privilege, where now stands F. O. Burditt's cabinet shop, about 1820. He rented a portion of the shop to a clothier. From them the line of occupancy decended to Ide, Kidder and Burditt. About 1815 Thomas Cook built a darn and trip-hammer shop near the bridge south of the village. From him it passed to Newman & Newton, scythe manufacturers, and from them to Joseph Green, in 1823, who continued the business until 1839, In 1840 he erected a grist mill with a sash and blind shop on the second floor. From him it passed to E. O. Walker, in 1851, and from Walker to the present owner, Frank Wellman, who is engaged in the manufacture of lum­ber.

Soon after the opening of the Brattleboro and Whitehall Railroad Charles N. Davenport of Brattleboro, and Geo. W. Underwood, started a steam mill at the north end of the village, for the manufac­ture of lumber and chair stock, which is now occupied by Mr. Un­derwood.

The county buildings were located on the Park flats, in 1825, Mr. Park giving the land to the country for a common so long as the build­ings remain here. It was proposed to call the place Parkville, but Mr. Park was decidedly opposed to the plan, and at the suggestion of Gen. Field it was named Fayetteville, in honor of Gen. Lafayette, who visited this country for the last time in 1824.

During the early growth of the village, religious meetings were held for several years in the court house. About 1830 the several religious sects united and erected the Union church, in 1831. One of the arti­cles of the association provided that each sect should have the right to occupy the desk, in proportion to the number of pews said sect owned in the house. This union was dis­solved in 1838, and the Congrega­tionalists erected their new house in 1839. The Universalists continued to occupy the old house until about 1853, when they found themselves unable to sustain a pastor. From that time the house began to decay, and in 1872 it was remodeled and is now called Union Hall.

In 1845 the enterprising farmers of the county organized and estab­lished the Windham County Fair at this place, and with the exception of a year or so at Brattleboro, and six at Westminster, it remained here, and as a whole was a successful and prosperous society until the estab­lishment of the Valley Fair at Brattleboro. The last County Fair was held in 1889.

The Windham County Savings Bank was chartered in the fall of 1853. Upon its organization the Hon. Austin Birchard was chosen treasurer, the duties of which posi­tion he faithfully discharged for twenty years, retiring January 1, 1874, at the advanced age of eighty, leaving the institution with a capital of $184,500.

Merchants from 1780 to 1891:

Luke Knowlton, John Holbrook, A. and B. Birchard, Birchard & Sawyer, Sawyer & Miller, Geo. Smith, Goodhue, Winslow & Park, Holbrook & Co., Winslow Brothers, N. M. Batchelder, Anthony Jones, Geo. A. Morse, Phelps & Sanford, Baker & Merrifield, William L. Williams, Eager Brothers, Dunklee Lamb, S. P. Miller, Goodnough Morse, E. W. Blodgett, Edwards Pierce, A. V. May.

Daniel Kellogg was the first post-master, and began to render accounts at Newfane on the first of October, 1811. The following lists give the names of the several postmasters at each office, together with the dates of their appointments, as found in the record books of the P. 0. De­partment at Washington, D. C.

NEWFANE, WINDHAM COUNTY, VERMONT.

The office was established, July, 1811: Daniel Kellogg, appointed postmaster, July, 1811; Jonathan Nye, Feb. 24, 1812; Adolphus Wing, Oct. 23. 1815; Henry Kel­logg, June 2, 1817; Martin Field, Nov. 2, 1818; David W. Sanborn, Nov. 17, 1819; Charles X. Field, June 21, 1825;

On the twenty-fifth of November, 1825, the name of the office was changed to Fayetteville:

Charles K. Field, appointed P. M., Nov. 25, 1825; Roswell M. Field, May 1, 1826; Ira McCollum, April 26, 1830; Dexter Holbrook, Nov. 25, 1831; Wright Pomeroy, Nov. 4, 1834; Jacob Dunklee, Jr., Dec. 27, 1837; Franklin Sawyer, May 10, 1841; Jacob Dunklee, Jr., May 16, 1845; John P. Warren, Sep . 29, 1849; Jacob Dunklee, Jr., October 20, 1853; Samuel P. Miller, Aug. 5, 1861; Chandler Wakefield. Oct. 26, 1864; Amherst Morse, Oct. 24, 1865; Francis W. Fairbanks, Jan. 6, 1868; William H. Goodnow, Aug. 26, 1868; Elliott W. Blodgett. Feb. 12, 1874.

January 20, 1882 the name of the office was changed to Newfane:

Elliott W. Blodgett, re-appointed P. M., Jan. 20, 1882; John D. Pierce, appointed June 15, 1883; Frederic O. Burditt, June 28, 1888; Newton M. Batchelder, Mar. 29, 1889.

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