Poultney 250th.out

Happy 250th Poultney!Special Commemorative Edition

1761 - 2011

Celebrating our heritage!

By Ina SmithPoultney Historical Society

Much of the following his-tory of the Town of Poultney has been excerpted from the Poultney Audio Walking and Driving Tours, produced by the Poultney Historical Society.

The story of Poultney is really a tale of two villages.

The town began in histor-ic East Poultney with early settlers drawn to the water-power provided by the Poultney River and concen-trated in the gorge. By the early 1800s, dozens of mills were operating up and downstream of this point. The Melodeon Factory still stands as the oldest remain-ing building from East Poultney’s industrial era.

The unique triangular design of the East Poultney green dates to the original land grant of 1761, from the royal governor of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth. It features strik-ing representations of Federal-style architecture, particularly the Baptist Church, one of the finest examples of its type in Vermont.

This green, the gathering place of the village, offers a rare glimpse back to colo-nial times.

Here, at the crossroads of the Military Road, the Green Mountain Boys would have gathered. Founded by the Allen clan – including brothers Ethan, Ira, and Heber – these frontier-hard-ened fighters shared a pas-sion for defiance, even rebel-lion. Though most of the Allens frequented Poultney, only Heber and his cousin Ebenezer settled here.

For a time, the Allens were said to have owned a third of the land in Poultney, and it was in Poultney that they and other settlers fought to secure the frontier lands that would soon become Vermont. They argued that those who worked the land for their families had a greater right to it than the New Yorkers, who had

It all started in East Poultney

See HISTORY, pg. 2

A SPECIAL KEEPSAKE EDITION FOR THE TOWN OF POULTNEY PUBLISHED BY MANCHESTER NEWSPAPERS

Fireworks and birthday cake

Photos by Alan Nyiri

Two hundred and fifty years of history calls for a lot more than a single day of celebration, and that’s what’s going to happen over the next several weeks as the town celebrates the anniversary of receiving its charter.

The jump-start will come this weekend on the East Poultney Green, where the Seth Warner Regiment will camp and do demonstra-tions from 4 p.m. Friday until late Sunday afternoon. The regiment re-creates the Revolutionary War.

A historical plaque will also be unveiled Friday afternoon.

On Monday, Sept. 19, Whaleback Winery will host tours and tastings from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

On Tuesday, Sept. 20, there will be a presentation on the 1961 Town Bicentennial Parade (snap-shots and articles of Poultney’s 200th Birthday) presented by Tom Hughes at 6:30 p.m. at the Tiny Theater.

Things begin to get into full swing at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 21, when an American Elm donated by the PDRC through the help of a Preservation Trust of VT and State Downtown Program Tree Planting Grant, will be planted in the lawn to the west of St. Raphael’s Catholic Church.

At the tree planting cere-mony, Alan Nyiri will read the Town Charter. Also at the tree planting ceremony, Andy Donaghy, our State Representative, will read the State Resolution to com-memorate 250th charter days across Vermont.

Poultney Elementary School and Poultney High School will hold open hous-es from 6 to 7 p.m., on Thursday, Sept. 23.

A potluck dinner will be one of the special activities on Friday, Sept. 24. The din-ner will be at St. Raphael’s Hall. The hall will open at 6:30 p.m. to bring dishes in, and the dinner will start at 7 p.m.

Alan Nyiri will be taking photographs at the dinner that can be put into the Time

Lots of plansto celebrate

See EVENTS, pg. 5

The next two weeks are a time for celebration as Poultney looks back on 250 years as a chartered town.

this edition is also available to read on-line at manchesternewspapers.com

2 - Week of September 12, 2011 - Manchester Newspapers' Poultney's 250th Birthday Special Edition

POULTNEYHISTORICAL SOCIETY

Melodeon Factory 1791 Union Academy 1896 Schoolhouse

claimed but not yet settled these con-tested lands.

When the Revolutionary War began, Poultney citizens found themselves front and center. In 1775, just weeks after the Battle of Lexington, the sup-port of these Green Mountain Boys proved key in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. The captured cannons were wheeled on ox-drawn sleds past the green, en route to Boston. There they were crucial to George Washington’s victory when he forced the British to evacuate Boston in 1776.

But as the war continued, the town was briefly abandoned in 1777. As the men headed north to fight the British at the Battle of Hubbardton, the women and children evacuated the town. These women became known as the “Valiant 13.” They took their children to safety by traversing more than 50 miles on foot, from Poultney to Bennington, through rough and untracked wilder-ness. Their bravery is celebrated annu-ally on East Poultney Day, with a histor-ic fair on the green the second Saturday of August.

After the battles of Hubbardton and Bennington, Poultney citizens returned to their homes. They cleared the land, cut timber for their new houses, raised their own grain and ground it in their own mills, many on the Poultney River.

But the devastating flood of 1811 changed the course of the Poultney River, and thus the future of East Poultney. The changes in the river cre-ated a new site for mill power in West

Poultney, a sleepy milling hamlet two miles to the west.

The Rise of the DowntownWest Poultney’s location proved to be

at a strategic halfway point between Burlington to the north and the Hudson River near Albany, to the south. The new turnpike (now Route 30) completed in 1811, became the best route for stage-coaches, wagons, and reliable mail ser-vice. Local farmers could transport their produce to markets in Albany. Cattle prodders – herding their stock to the markets of Boston -- would pause here for the night. During this turnpike era, Poultney farmers relied on their cash crops of grain and dairy.

Soon after much of Poultney’s toll-road traffic had been taken away by the canal system to the west, two rival rail-road syndicates made plans to connect Rutland County to Albany.

Only one of the routes, the “Rutland and Washington Railroad,” planned to run through Poultney. Its proponents included Amos Bliss, the storekeeper and newspaper owner who’d given Horace Greeley his start, the industrial-ist Henry Stanley, and the banker Merritt Clark. Public opinion was against it, as it was regarded as “vision-ary.” There was even a rumor that to bolster support, the proponents collect-ed signatures from convicts and from soldiers serving in the Mexican War.

The tracks reached Poultney in 1851, at a cost of 1 million dollars, and the arrival of train service cemented the ascendancy of West Poultney over East. People moved west, and so did the busi-nesses, churches, post office, and schools. By 1857 the shift became offi-cial: the West Poultney Post Office was renamed the Poultney Post Office.

And East Poultney would remain, much as it is today.

AgricultureAs Poultney citizens built turnpikes

and railroads, they moved from hand-hewn cabins into houses built with saw-milled lumber. The first settlers grew much of what they needed, with wheat becoming an early cash crop. By the 1820s the forested Vermont hills were transformed into sheep meadows, with wool exports becoming a key industry – and a reason for the loss of 80 percent of Vermont’s forests.

Here in Rutland County, these hills swarmed with sheep -- 271,727 to be exact, more than any other county in Vermont. There were 56 carding mills here – where the wool fibers were pre-pared for the county’s 11 textile facto-ries that made clothing and other wool products. After the 1840s, though, wool prices crashed and a new market emerged for dairy products, served by rail.

But it was an accidental find that would provide the next and greatest boon to Poultney’s economy.

The Slate IndustryThe slate industry, according to local

lore, was launched by accident. Around 1843, a farmer was showing his land to a prospective buyer, who kicked at a

mound of soil and looked at the rocks he dislodged. He exclaimed to the farm-er “Why -- that is slate,” and the farmer decided not to sell the land, but to sell the

slate.The discovery of huge deposits of

slate transformed Poultney in the last half of the 19th century. This farming community, once populated mostly by New England “Yankees,” changed into an industrialized town enriched by a diverse group of immigrants, with the largest group of immigrant quarry-men coming from Wales.

The first slate quarry in the area opened in 1845. The range of slate col-ors – black, green, red, even purple -- makes our region unique, and our slate a key element to the town’s economic growth.

By the late 1840s, that first quarry was producing 600 school slates per day. A decade later, the industrializa-tion of America supported a home-building boom, and builders began to demand slate for their roofs. You can see proof of this on the roofs of many houses throughout the Slate Valley, notably along the streets of downtown Poultney.

The quarries became their own towns and were almost self-sufficient, often having their own blacksmith shops, general stores, and post offices.

But in downtown Poultney you could find prices that were competitive with the company stores. The down-town served local residents and more than a thousand quarrymen who worked in some 250 quarries in the area. Poultney had five department stores, dry goods stores, restaurants, stables, and several photographic stu-dios.

The new wealth brought by this industrialization is reflected in the architecture throughout the town. It can be seen in the Greek Revival

HistoryContinued from front page

See HISTORY, pg. 4

The slate industry in Poultney was launched by accident

Celebrating 250 years

Manchester Newspapers’ Poultney's 250th Birthday Special Edition - Week of September 12, 2011 - 3

Our Town ~ Our Community

poultneyvt.com

from thePoultney Area Chamber of Commerce

HAPPY 250TH

BIRTHDAY!Assistive Intelligence, Inc......................802-287-0683At the Woods Studio..............................518-282-0047Avon - Eileen Booth...............................802-325-2235 732-586-1422

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C & J Performance, Inc..........................802-645-0245CMC Printing & Graphics......................802-265-3455Café Dale..............................................802-287-1161Camara Slate Products, Inc...................802-265-3200Carpentry with Heart.............................802-884-8136Cartref Taid®(Grandfather’s House).......802-287-5744Casella Waste Management..................802-438-2151Century 21 Bird Real Estate..................802-468-3200..............................................................802-770-5900Chase Construction...............................802-273-3774Chippewa Stone LLC.............................518-499-9090Church Specialties, LLC........................802-884-8059Citizens Bank.........................................802-287-9331Colvin Building.......................................802-287-5294Cones Point Country Store....................802-287-9925Craft Seller............................................802-287-9713

D.S. Masonry.........................................802-287-5139Dave Winter Lawns & Landscaping.......802-287-2544David Buck............................................802-394-7863DeBonis Excavation & Landscaping......802-287-2373DeBonis, Wright & Carris.......................802-287-9110Discount Food of Poultney.....................802-287-9500Donald Collins, Jr. Building ...................802-287-2241Don Tredtin Corp...................................802-775-5206Dumas Trucking, Inc..............................802-287-5545

Echo Mountain Farm.............................802-446-2294Evergreen Slate Company...Toll Free 866-USA-SLATEEveryday Flowers..................................802-287-4094

Fair Haven Inn.......................................802-265-4907Frederick R. Michel, D.M.D....................802-287-4066Friends In Adoption...............................802-235-2373

George & Pam’s Food Concession.......802-985-3274Ginger Archer Interiors..........................802-287-2519Glens Falls National Bank.....................518-642-2206 Green Mountain College.......................802-287-8000Green’s Sugarhouse.............................802-287-5745

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JPW Accounting Services.....................802-353-7044Jim Andrus Construction.......................802-325-3714John Moore Builders.............................802-325-3655

Keyser Energy/Bixby’s Branch..............802-287-5512Kinney Pike Insurance Agency..............802-287-9881Kristal M. Hier, Interpreter......................802-235-1297

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Northend Plumbing, Heating & AC........802-287-2442Northland Real Estate...........................802-287-9797

Original Vermont Store,The...................802-287-9111

Panorama Motel....................................518-282-9648PEGTV..................................................802-747-0151Perry’s Main Street Eatery....................802-287-5188Picket Fence Antiques...........................802-287-2577Poulos Insurance, Inc............................802-287-2324Poultney Area Chamber of Commerce. 802-287-2010Poultney Area St. Davied’s Society.......802-287-5744Poultney Historical Society....................802-287-5252Poultney Launderette............................802-287-4097Poultney Pools.......................................802-287-9646Poultney Snowmobile Club....................802-287-9230Poultney Summer Theatre Company....802-287-4270Priscilla’s Sweet Shoppe.......................802-287-4621

R & B Powder Coating, Inc....................802-287-2300Riverside Motors..................................802-287-9947Roberts-Aubin Funeral Home..............802-287-5511Rupe Slate Company, Inc....................802-287-9692Rutland Regional Medical Center........802-775-7111

Sam’s U-Save Fuels, Inc......................802-265-3608Sheldon Mansion, The.........................518-642-0000Simply Clean........................................802-287-1120Slate Valley Museum............................518-642-1417Steven Czachor....................................802-438-2840Stitchy Women.....................................802-287-4114

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Ultravation, Inc.....................................802-287-9735

VEMAS Corporation............................802-287-4100

Vermont Farmer’s Market (Poultney). . .802-287-9570Vermont Slate Depot............................802-287-5780Vermont Sweetwater............................802-287-9897Vermont Wildflowers............................518-796-2311

Wallingford Plumbing & Heating..........802-446-3214Welch Plumbing...................................802-287-9886Welsh American Genealogical SocietyWhaleback Vineyards/Winery..............802-287-0730Williams True Value Hardware.............802-287-5791Winding River Gallery..........................802-287-5295WVNR 1340AM/WNYV 94.1 FM..........802-287-9031

York Coach Works................................802-287-9897

Main Street Family Counseling.............802-287-9546Maplewood Inn Bed & Breakfast ..........802-265-8039.................................................Toll-free 800-253-7729Marcie’s Hair Studio..............................802-287-2404Mars Insurance Agency........................802-645-0775Myron White, Jr. Concrete Construction. . .802-287-5161

Calendar of Events2011~2012Spaghetti Dinner& Winter Carnival

Spotlight On PoultneyMaplefest

4th of July CelebrationFarmer’s Market

Shakespeare on Main StreetStrawberry FestivalEast Poultney Day

Band Concerts on the Green

Townwide Yard Sales -Spring & Fall

Horace GreeleyWriter’s Symposium

George Jones Lecture SeriesPumpkin Festival

Christmas FairSanta Comes To Poultney


• WATER WELLS• PUMPS

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DRILLING

East Poultney, VT 05741 • [email protected]

From all of us at

“It is an honor and a privilege to serve

Poultney and to celebrate her 250th Birthday!”

State RepresentativeAndy & Joan Donaghy

Stonebridge building and Two Editors Inn, as well as the elaborate Queen Anne houses of Bentley Avenue.

Green Mountain CollegeIn the 1830s, as the Methodist

movement grew, the regional Troy Conference was formed to support more than 60 churches in upstate New York and Vermont. It was the Troy Conference in 1834 that formed

the Troy Conference Academy, now known as Green Mountain College.

The college might not have been located in Poultney, though, if it hadn’t been for the foresight of its townspeople. The Conference noted the “beauty, healthfulness, temper-ance, good order, and freedom from influences baneful to a school, of Poultney.” But the gift of some $6000 from the townspeople clinched the deal.

In 1863 the school’s name changed to Ripley Female College, in part due to the lack of male students, who

were fighting in what the locals at the time called the War of 1861.

The college became a leader in the women’s educational movement and was the first college in Vermont to graduate a woman. One of first grad-uates was Anna Katherine Green, whose 1878 novel, The Leavenworth Case: A Lawyer’s Story, was an early American bestseller. Some refer to Green as the “Mother of the Detective Novel.”

The school reverted to Troy Conference Academy in 1874 and changed again in 1931 when the

Academy launched Green Mountain Junior College, the first junior col-lege in Vermont. And again, during World War II, Green Mountain reverted to a college for women.

The school returned to its coedu-cational mission in 1974, changing its name to Green Mountain College and offering four-year bachelor’s degrees. In the 1990s, the college developed a curriculum focused on the environ-mental liberal arts and has become a leader in the sustainability education movement on college campuses.

HistoryContinued from page 2

We at Manchester Newspapers would like to extend our gratitude to the Poultney Historical Society for its help and support in producing this special section. We received a great deal of help from a variety of people.

Much of Poultney’s history has been preserved through the Poultney Historical Society, founded in 1935. The Society owns and maintains three museums on the East Poultney Green: the 1791 Union Academy, the newly restored 1849 Melodeon Factory, and the 1896 Schoolhouse.

Here at these museums, you can still see the farm plows and agricul-tural tools of the early settlers. Here reside the horse-drawn mail truck, the meat wagon, and melodeons. Here are the records and arti-facts of the last two centuries and the thousands of items donated by Poultney’s residents over the years into the care of this organization.

The Historical Society has produced the award-winning Poultney Audio Walking and Driving Tours and their accompanying brochure, which are available at several locations in town as well as on their web-site poultneyhistoricalsociety.org.

Thank you!



Capsule on a USB Drive, a DVD, or some other storage device. People are invited to bring their own (digital) photos which will be added to this storage device. Alan will photograph other objects from home that people would want immortalized in this fashion.

The Poultney Historical Society will

make a rectangular sheet-cake, decorat-ed in a manner so as to convey Poultney’s history. Those who would like to partici-pate in the Pot Luck can do so by bring-ing a rectangular cake, decorated how-ever they deem fit, so that it can be placed aside the sheetcake, creating a “cake quilt” of sorts.

Also during the event, the Poultney Historical Society will prepare a series of photographs to display as a slideshow during the Potluck Dinner, which will be included in the Time Capsule.

Musicians from around town are asked to bring their instruments for a performance ”jam” before and/or after the dinner, silent auction and slideshow.

One of the town’s biggest annual events will fit neatly into the anniversa-ry celebration when the Poultney Rotary Club will host its annual Chili Cook-off on Main Street, with the addition of a Silent Auction on Saturday, Sept. 24.

The final day of the celebration will be Sunday, Sept. 25.

Bill Lyle of Lyle Welding has con-

structed a Time Capsule, to be buried by the bell at the Town Office. Etched in Stone of Granville, has donated the plaque for the tree and the time capsule, “Buried here is a time capsule com-memorating 250 years of life in Poultney.”

A matinee reading of “Horace’s Sum Total,” written by Burnham Holmes, produced by the Poultney Summer Theatre Company, will take place at the Baptist Church in East Poultney. It starts at 2:30 p.m., and is free and open to the public.

HAPPY 250TH BIRTHDAY!FROM PETE AND ALL OF US AT:

EventsContinued from front page

By Linda Ellingsworth

From Sunderland to Brandon and many towns in between, 250th anniver-sary celebrations are lighting up the skies in southwestern Vermont this summer. What, one might ask, was going on in 1761 that prompted the founding of so many towns in one year?

The answer lies squarely in the pow-erful hands of Benning Wentworth, the Royal Governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766. In fact, it could be said that without Wentworth, Vermont might not exist today.

Gov. Wentworth’s reason for estab-lishing what became known as the New Hampshire Grants was primarily mone-tary. With each tract of land in a grant (usually six square miles), he received a £20 fee paid by each of the 60 grantees per town, reserving two “shares” (500

acres) for himself. He secured the sup-port of the clergy by reserving a plot of land in each town for a church. But Wentworth also coveted a nobility title for himself, and lob-bied for that honor by naming many of the towns after some of Britain’s most rich and politically powerful peo-ple.

The boundary between New Hampshire and New York was a bit nebulous, and Gov. Wentworth based his claim on historical documents that estab-lished his jurisdiction to a line 20 miles east of the Hudson River. Meanwhile, New York based its claim

on a different patent that gave New York all the lands west of the Connecticut

River to Delaware Bay.In an audacious

move, Wentworth made his first grant in 1749 on land west of the Connecticut River, and named it Bennington after him-self. He was cautioned by New York to cease, but continued to make additional land grants throughout the 1750s.

Wentworth made at least 50 grants in 1761, many of which have survived as Vermont towns today. By 1762, however, New York appealed to the British

government that Wentworth was encroaching on their territory. Wentworth asked for a royal verdict on the matter, which he felt confident would go his way. In the meantime, the grant-ees were busy settling the land and mov-ing their families onto it.

In 1764, a royal order from Britain resolved the dispute in favor of New York, which quickly required the grant-ees to surrender their charters and buy back the land at inflated prices. Those who refused to pay lost title to their land. The people who lost their property appealed to the governor of New York to confirm their claims, but in 1770, the New York Supreme Court declared all of the New Hampshire Grants invalid.

Since the settlers had already estab-lished homes and townships, they were

Why 250th anniversaries abound this year

See 250, pg. 6

Benning Wentworth, the Royal Governor of New Hampshire



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250Continued from page 5

outraged by the decision. Led by Ethan Allen, many of them organized as “Green Mountain Boys,” who actually waged war against New York.

By 1777, the people living in the New Hampshire Grants declared them-selves a republic named New Connecticut, and even wrote their own constitution. For 16 years, they oper-ated as a sovereign body, independent of the United States. The Continental Congress recognized that this area should be a state, but it was not until 1790 that New York gave up control of the former New Hampshire grants and consented to allow Vermont into the Union. Finally, in 1791, with the name of Vermont, the new state’s voters rati-fied the U.S. Constitution and were admitted to the union.

While Gov. Wentworth’s motivation for establishing the new towns might have been self-serving, his method of dividing the land laid the groundwork for the future state of Vermont. By creating regularly-shaped, town-sized grants that were settled by middle-class farmers, he set the stage for a populist uprising and desire for inde-pendence that resulted in Vermont becoming its own state. As we cele-brate Poultney’s anniversary, it’s inter-esting to reflect on how one man’s desire for money and recognition 250 years ago gave birth to a unique group of people who now proudly call them-selves “Vermonters.”

One of Poultney’s early settlers was a free black, Jeffrey Brace. Brace was born in West Africa in approximately 1742 as Boyrereau Brinch. He came from a family that held high positions in his country. His father Whryn Brinch was Captain of the king’s Life Guards, as was his grandfather.

When Brinch was about sixteen years old he and a group of his friends were captured by white traders and taken by boat to Barbados, where they were sold into slavery. While enroute from Africa to Barbados he was con-fined to a space that only allowed him to sit or lie on his back, was only allowed two meager meals per day and had to contend with the foul stench of the hold.

He was to endure many years of brutal and inhumane treatment starting in Barbados. Here after leaving the ship he was placed in the “House of Subjection”� where he and the other slaves were starved, whipped and tortured into sub-jection.

Around 1760 he was sold to Captain Isaac Mills who had him trained in mili-tary ways by William Burke. Brace served as an enslaved sailor-soldier aboard Mills’ vessel during in the Seven Years War, also known as The French and Indian War. He received five wounds in a battle with a Spanish ship during the fight for control of Havana, Cuba.

After the war he was sold by Captain Mills to John Burwell of Milford, Connecticut, the first of a series of cruel

owners who subjected him to beatings and other humiliations. Fortunately he eventually became a servant to widow Mary Stiles who treated him kindly and taught him to read, write and speak prop-er English.

After the Revolutionary war broke out, Jeffrey Brace enlisted and served three terms and suffered a leg wound. When the war ended in 1783 he returned to Milford and eventually was granted his freedom by Benjamin Stiles, Mary’s son.

In 1784 he moved to Poultney, Vermont. He worked to save money and purchased land in what is now called Ames Hollow. He worked for a number of years in Dorset, Vermont, to save up funds to develop his land. While living in Dorset he met and married an African widow Susannah Dublin. She already had two children and together they had three more children. In 1795 they returned to

Poultney to build and manage their farm on Ames Hollow Road. They suffered considerable indignities while living in Dorset and Poultney. Susannah was forced to bind over her two children to a couple in Dorset as indentured servants. A neighbor in Poultney Jery Gorman was a jealous spiteful person who coveted their land, turned his cat-tle lose in their crops, tapped their maple trees, and harassed them. He even tried to force the Brace’s chil-dren into indentured servitude.

Finally, the Braces decided to leave Poultney and move to

Sheldon, Vermont, and from there to Georgia, Vermont. Brace lived to be approximately 85 years old and became blind in his later years. In 1810 he told the story of his life to Benjamin F. Prentiss who published his memoirs under the title The Blind African Slave or the Memoirs of Boyrereau Brinch Nicknamed Jeffrey Brace. This memoir attests to the remarkable memory, intelligence and strength of character of the first black settler of Poultney. It is fitting that the University of Vermont’s faculty union awards book scholarships in Brace’s name annually to students who”exemplify not only academic excellence but also an active commitment to achieving social justice” Copies of “The Blind African Slave” can be purchased from the Poultney Historical Society.

Provided by Poultney Historical Society.

Historical marker honors unique Poultney resident -a Revolutionary War soldier and former slave

Shawn Henry (l) and Prof. John Nassivera alongside the historical marker in honor of former slave Jeffrey Brace.



For a small town in western Vermont, Poultney has left a major impact on American journalism.

Horace Greeley was born in Amherst, New Hampshire, in 1811. He came to Poultney to apprentice

himself at the Northern Spectator newspaper in East Poultney from 1826 to 1830. The paper was published in a print shop built on the green in 1823. This building, commonly known as the Horace Greeley House, now houses Picket Fence Antiques.

Though Greeley worked in this house, he never lived there. During his time in Poultney he boarded first at the home of the paper’s editor E.G. Stone and later at the Eagle Tavern, owned by Harlow Hosford. He was well regarded for his intelligence, his factual

knowledge of current events and his debating skills. He quite probably wrote the obituary for former Poultney resident Jeffrey Brace in 1827.

Greeley left Poultney at the age of 19 for New York City, where he became editor of several publications and in 1841 founded the New York Tribune.

As editor of the New York Tribune, Greeley advo-cated reform in many spheres, supporting temper-ance, Transcendentalism, and labor unions. In the 1840�s he urged a generation to “Go west, young man.” Originally a Whig, in 1856, he wrote an editorial sup-porting the creation of the Republican Party. In 1872 he ran for President of the United States as a Democrat against the Republican candidate, Ulysses S. Grant. Harper’s Weekly in 1869 called Horace Greeley “the

most perfect Yankee the coun-try has ever pro-duced.”

George Jones was born in East Poultney in 1811, the son of John Jones, who man-aged and then owned a woolen

mill one mile upriv-er (east) from the East Poultney Green. His family moved to Granville, Ohio, in 1823 and shortly after-wards, George Jones was orphaned at the age of 13. He returned to Poultney to live with his brother John Jones, Jr. He supported himself though work in the general store of Amos Bliss, who also owned the Northern Spectator, and became friends with a fellow employee, Horace Greeley.

The 15-year-old friends were together on the East Poultney Green for festivities celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1826.

Jones left Poultney in 1833 and over the next 18 years acquired experience in banking, book publish-ing and the newspaper businesses. He also formed a close friendship with Henry Raymond, whom he met while both were employees at Greeley’s New York Tribune. The two founded the New York Times in 1851. Jones concentrated on the financial and business aspects of the paper while Raymond served as editor. Together they made the Times a very successful paper.

In 1869, upon the death of Henry Raymond, George Jones became the editor of the Times. In this role Jones was to lay the ground work for the journal-istic integrity of the newspaper. He insist-ed on a buffer between the advertis-ing and business side and the editorial and reporting side of the newspaper. He hon-ored this policy in several important instances.

In 1870, the Times uncovered evidence that Tammany Hall Boss William Marcy Tweed was diverting public funds for personal use. The Times launched an editori-al attack on Tweed and his accomplices and persisted in the attacks despite the loss of advertising income from the city of New York and lack of editorial support from other papers. The effort ultimately led to the defeat of Tammany Hall.

In 1884, Jones, a s t a u n c h Republican and firm Grant sup-porter, could not on principle sup-por t the Republican candi-date Blaine and e v e n t u a l l y endorsed the Democratic candidate for President, Grover Cleveland. Cleveland won, and the Times again suffered a tempo-rary loss of advertising income. These remarkable displays of courage established the integrity of the New York Times.

Small town - Big Journalists

Horace Greeley

Horace Greeley lived here during his time in East Poultney.

The birthplace of George Jones.

George Jones, founder of the New York Times.

Renowned journalists Horace Greeley and George Jones have local ties




By Catherine M. Oliverio

Poultney and East Poultney had been populated with as many as 18 school-houses, varying in size and architec-ture.

Historian Charles Parker stated that the first schools con-sisted of log cabins. “Heating facilities, as well as desks and benches were handmade. Books were few and had to be shared by all. As early as 1784, the Poultney school system met the changing needs of each genera-tion.” This pattern continued year after year with improve-ments made as they are today.

It all began with the 1791 Union Academy, one of the old-est surviving school houses in Rutland County and the second oldest in Vermont. The acade-my served the village not only as an educational institution but also as the meeting forum of the early congregations that worshipped in the area.

The academy was named to commemorate the historic year of Vermont joining the other states. It served as one of the district schools in Poultney until 1895. As the 14th state to join the Union, and Vermont’s constitution required the estab-lishment of primary schools in each town and a grammar school in each county, which led to breakdown of district schools listed below.

A popular face seen at the Union Academy included Horace Greeley, who began his newspaper career and politi-cal voice in East Poultney. Greeley, also the founder of the “The New York Tribune”, was known to conduct his debating society on the second floor.

Currently, the academy displays books, quill pens, slate boards, and antique desks.

In 1833, the Methodist “Troy Conference” was founded and opened its doors to students in 1837. Parker doc-umented that the school was once referred to as “Ripley Female Academy,” and was run as a private institution. Eventually, the school reverted to its original name and is now known as Green Mountain College.

Historian Michael McMorrow stated that although Poultney prospered with the slate industry, teaching also flour-ished in its time. There were 28 teachers employed in the district schools, three male and twenty-five females, with a total of 541 scholars.

Another existing historic building is the 1896 Victorian Schoolhouse, the home of a multitude of treasures of the Poultney Historical Society. The building houses the society’s offices, a research library, and the bulk of historic items, i.e., agricul-tural remnants, as well as a his-toric collection, known as the popular “Brides of Early Poultney” featuring historic bridal dresses.

The Victorian Schoolhouse at one time accommodated eight grades and had an audito-rium on the second floor. “It was one of four schools that consolidated students from one-room schoolhouses around the larger township, and it housed students until 1966.”

The Poultney Central School, erected in 1885, now known as the School House Apartments, is situated in the background on

Main Street. The brick building is a combination of Italianate, Queen Ann, and Colonial Revival architecture and once functioned as Poultney’s graded school.

In addition to the larger schools, the one-room Little Red Schoolhouse exist-ed in the 1800s with no running water or central heating, with the exception of a large, old wood-burning stove. Students ranged from six to sixteen, and the students learned early on how to share with others, as well as spelling, arithmetic, and geogra-phy.

Having eight grades in one room permitted the younger stu-dents the abil-ity for higher education from the older peers, which is what teach-ers today anticipate teaching to our students. This is what we call differentiated teaching; address-ing a wide spectrum of student abilities and talents.

As researched previously, the dates

of the schools are a “researcher’s night-mare,” unless one wants to delve into the records kept at Poultney’s Town Hall.

Instrumental in assisting in this his-

toric recollection is one who remains anonymous. This wonderful woman spent countless hours in researching, interviewing past students, and taking photos of Poutlney’s schools. A book will go on the shelf of the research library at the Poultney Historical Society, including pages added per the

teachers, as well as about 1,200 early school records from the early 1900s.

Not in any particular order due to inconsisten-cies over the years, the dis-tricts were broken down as follows:

District 1 Central School

Main St.—also in this district

are the Poultney High School and Poutlney Elementary School

District 2 East Poultney, Union Academy

District 3 Little Red School, Hampshire Hollow/Rt. 140

District 4 North Poultney, Maranville Hill

District 5 North Poultney , Hooker District, Saltis Farm, Blissville Rd.

District 6 North Poultney, Farwell District, Walker Rd.

District 7 Watkins Hill/Griffin Rd Scribner District

District 8 Pond HillDistrict 9 Hampshire Hollow,

Farm DistrictDistrict 10 Ames Hollow Bird

Mtn. Poultney/Ira line Snow District

District 11 Morse Hollow near Marchland’s—students from Clark Hollow also attended this school

District 12 Little Red School, Lake District, Rt.30 S Lake St. Catherine Golf Course

District 13 Little Red School , South Poultney

District 14 South Poultney Rt. 31

District 15 Ward School, Finel Hollow—this had been built under the insistence of Edward Finel, the father of 10 children, who had a great concern of education

District 16 North Poultney, Blissville Rd. on the Castleton line—half district in Poultney and in Castleton

District 17 Somewhere between East Poultney and Lake District—no one is sure where

Each district functioned like its own community, and students in South Poultney did not know others in East Poultney. Each school had PTAs raising funds for the needs of the school, i.e., playground swings, fish tanks, and the things PTAs still fundraise for today.

Through research many of the dis-trict schools closed for a while due to the lack of students in that district only to reopen when more families with school age children moved back. South and North Poultney families came from the quarry background with more rowdy kids.

“Some parents did not like the fact that it took a stern teacher to control these schools so the parents made arrangements for their children to board in the village and attend the more calm Main Street village school.”

The schools opened and closed for the year around the needs of having the children at home to help with crops and sugaring and lack of wood for heating the school.

Historically, things have changed and have come around to present day. As

Vermont tries to consolidate, it is evident that many smaller schools existed to meet the needs of the families back in the day. Vermont state is spread out, and so are the needs of our students.

With the Federal Legislation of No Child Left Behind, as many would say, it is apparent that we need to fulfill the edu-cational expectations per the students in rural Vermont.

Presently, students from Poultney and the surrounding areas have the choice to attend the Poultney Elementary and Poultney High Schools. School choice is what it is all about these days; however, we need to facilitate and cater to the needs of our students. In Poultney, we have the opportunity to do so with smaller classes and more one-on-one.

Community has had many schools

This school in East Poultney was one of the town’s earlier schools. Union Academy was part of District No. 2 in East Poultney.

The Poultney High School.


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Founded as a coeducational institu-tion in 1834, Green Mountain has a long and rich history. It became a two-year college for women in 1943 when World War II altered the composition of the student body. In 1974, it returned to coeducational status, offering four-year baccalaureate degrees to both men and women. Though historically tied to the United Methodist Church, the College community now reflects a vital respect for spiritual values, individual con-science, and interfaith dialogue.

In 1995, Green Mountain College for-mally adopted its environmental liberal arts mission. Environmental sustain-ability is the unifying theme underly-ing the academic and social experience of the campus. Through a broad range of liberal arts and career-focused majors and a vigorous, service-oriented student affairs program, the College aims to foster the ideals of environmen-tal responsibility, public service, inter-national understanding, and lifelong intellectual, physical and spiritual development.

Named the greenest school in the nation by Sierra magazine in 2010, Green Mountain College offers 45 undergraduate programs and three graduate studies programs. GMC grants bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, bachelor of fine arts, master of science, and master of business administration degrees. Students are drawn from 22 states and 9 foreign countries. The College employs nearly 200 people

(including 50 full-time faculty mem-bers), making it one of the largest employers in Rutland County.

Welsh Heritage Many Welsh immigrants, attracted

by the area’s slate industry, settled in this valley to produce one of the stron-gest Welsh-American communities in the country. The Green Mountain College Welsh Heritage Program seeks to maintain and cultivate that cultural legacy and to foster an interest in Wales and Welsh culture among our students and faculty. The College’s Griswold Library hous-es a special collection related to Wales and Welsh culture. It contains an archive of books, documents, photo-graphs, press clippings, oral histories, family histories and other archival

material and artifacts related to the local Welsh-American community. The latest works in Welsh and Welsh-American studies are available. During Vermont’s fall foliage season each October, the college holds the GMC Welsh Festival, featuring the talents of visiting artists and scholars from Wales as well as students and community members. Under the direction of Professor James Cassarino, Côry Mynydd Glas and Cantorion, our stu-dent choir and ensemble, is the only American choir to perform Welsh hymns and folksongs at each of its per-formances. They have performed for Welsh societies across America and have toured Wales multiple times. The college anthem incorporates the music and words of the Welsh hymn Calon Lan with the poem, This Green Place,

written about the college by New York City poet Ed Moran.

Timeline HistoryGreen Mountain College had its ori-

gins in 1833, when the newly formed Troy Conference of the Methodist Church decided they must have a strong and influential institution near the center of the Conference. West Poultney, Vermont was chosen as a site in 1834, because of the “deep interest and enthusiasm of the inhabitants, and the good morals of its industrious citi-zens who carefully observe the Sabbath,” and also because they had subscribed $5,000 for the institution. On October 25, 1834, the Vermont General Assembly passed the Act of Incorporation.

In 1836, the Troy Conference opened with the Rev. S. Stocking as principal. An academy in the 19th century was actually a combination grammar and high school. In the better academies (of which TCA was one), the more advanced subjects could now be consid-ered college level. TCA’s first graduate received a diploma in 1844.

In 1860, the Vermont Legislature granted TCA the right to convey bacca-laureate degrees to young ladies. A major change for the school occurred in 1863, when former teacher and princi-pal John Newman purchased the acade-my and turned it into Ripley Female College. The school awarded its first

Green Mountain College has long, rich history

See COLLEGE, pg. 10

The entrance to Green Mountain College.



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four baccalaureate degrees in 1866.By 1874, the Troy Conference of the

Methodist Church repurchased the school and it again became the Troy Conference Academy. The Academy building was destroyed by fire 1908, and the school rebuilt.

Two years of college work were added to the institution in 1931, and by 1932, Troy Conference Academy and Green Mountain Junior College co-

existed as two distinct schools sharing dorms, classrooms and faculty. The institution also served as Poultney High School, and the college had its first graduate. In 1933, the first two-year class graduated from Green Mountain Junior College.

By 1936, the last class of the old acad-emy had graduated, and Green Mountain Junior College operated sole-ly as a two-year institution for men and women. In 1943, however, the last coedu-cational class graduated, and the col-lege operated as a two-year college for women only.

The word “Junior” was dropped from

the College’s name in 1957, and Green Mountain College began a period of growth and building that lasted for more than a decade. In 1970, the school’s Methodist affiliation was dropped by mutual consent.

Four-year bachelor degree programs were added to the curriculum in 1975, and the college became coeducational again. In 1989, two-year associate pro-grams were officially dropped from the curriculum.

In 1994, James M. Pollock retired after serving as president for 17 years. Thomas L. Benson was inaugurated as president of Green Mountain College in

1995, and the college adopted an envi-ronmental liberal arts focus.

The college renewed its affiliation with the United Methodist Church in 1996.

In 2001, the college adopted the mis-sion statement: “As a four-year, coeduca-tional residential institution, Green Mountain College takes the social and natural environment as the unifying theme underlying the academic and co-curricular experience of the campus. Through a broad range of liberal arts and career-focused majors and a vigor-

GMCContinued from page 9

See GMC pg. 11


The Town of Poultney wishes a fondHappy Birthday to Our Town!

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for

being a part of our town.Residents and Visitors, Businesses and Customers, Families and Friends -

thank you for being a part of our wonderful Community! It’s been an amazing 250 years, and we look forward to the next 250 years!


WE’RE PROUD TO BE PART OF THE POULTNEY COMMUNITY!

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ous, service-oriented student affairs program, the College fosters the ideals of environmental responsibility, public service, international understanding, and lifelong intellectual, physical, and spiritual adventure.”

The 85-acre Deane Nature Preserve was dedicated in 2002, the same year that John F. Brennan was appointed col-lege president. In 2006, the college began to offer online graduate masters programs leading to the MBA (Masters of Business Administration) and MSES (Masters of Science in Environmental Studies) degrees.

Green Mountain College conferred its first MBA degrees in 2008. The same year, Paul J. Fonteyn assumed the presi-dency of the college after the retire-ment of John F. Brennan.

GMCContinued from page 9

A happy birthday Poultney sign greets visitors to downtown Poultney. After months of planning, it's finally time to celebrate.

The Poultney 250th Birthday special edition

is a publication of Manchester Newspapers.

14 East Main St.Granville, NY 12832

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HAPPY250 YEARS!

By Rebecca CookLibrary Director

On Feb. 4, 1895, Mr. F.M. Rood, town pho-tographer, and Mr. A.B. Carrigan, a Poultney businessman, discussed the lack of a library in Poultney as they rode to nearby Hampton. The citizens of Poultney had been without a library since the old library in East Poultney closed in 1841. After further discussion with interested residents, a meeting was held on Feb. 15. At first a subscription library was proposed, allowing only those who paid for a member-ship to borrow books. After further meet-ings and much debate, it was decided that Poultney would open a free Public Library, to be supported by a tax of 8 cents on each $100.00 of the Grand List.

In the next months, the Trustees quickly set to work to organize their Public Library. The first floor of a private home was rented for $8.00 per month to house the Library. Eleven people applied for the new position of Poultney Librarian, three men and eight women. According to Mr. Rood’s journal, it was decided that “a lady for Librarian would be preferable to a gentleman”. As a result, Miss Addie Kilburn was hired as the Poultney Public Library’s first head librar-ian with a salary of $150 per year.

On June 1, 1895, less than four months after the idea of a Public Library was first proposed, the Poultney Public Library opened for business with 700 books on the shelves. A ten year gap in the records begins after the grand opening. At some point between 1895 and 1905 the Library was moved from its original home, and took up occupancy in three rooms of the original Town Hall building, where it would remain

until 1956.Throughout the years the Library was

housed in the Town Hall, it continued to grow. Despite the fact that a woman was preferable for Librarian, for the first eleven years all of the Library trust-ees were men. In 1906 the first woman was elected to the Board of Trustees. Mrs. James Farnham was an active force in the Library for the next forty years. As the country changed, so did the Library. During World War I plans were made for the Red Cross to use Library space as an emer-gency hospital if needed, in the Depression relief workers helped with the Library duties, and during World War II Library rooms were used for first aid classes.

Since the founding of the Poultney Public Library, space has been one of the biggest concerns faced by its Trustees. In 1946, this problem was escalated when one of the Library’s three rooms was rented out to the Puritan Dress Company. In 1956 the company requested use of the entire floor, and once again the Poultney Public Library needed to find a home.

Many changes were necessary for the Poultney Public Library to make its move from the Town Hall to the old Citizen’s Bank, where it currently resides. In 1956 the Library had a collection of nearly 10,000

books, which had to be reduced to a mere 2,700 to fit into the new building. Many display cases also had to be disposed of, including a collection of stuffed birds which is still fondly recalled by those who remem-ber the Library from its Town Hall days.

As soon as the Library opened at 205 Main St., the Trustees began looking for ways to expand the building space. In 1971, that goal was finally met with an addition to house the

adult collection, allow-ing the original Library space to be used for a Children’s Room. It did not take many years before this building, too, was filled to capacity and space continues to be an ongo-ing struggle.

Since 1971 many changes have come to the Poultney Public Library. Free programs such as Story Time, Summer Reading Program, Book Discussion, Movie Nights, and Wii Game Days continue to grow in popularity. New technologies cause the Library to continually evolve.

In the past decade we have automated

the Library, with computers for our card catalog and book check-out. While books are still the heart of the Library, you can now check out audio books, movies and park passes. Downloadable audio books and e-books are available to Poultney Public Library patrons free of charge. Perhaps the biggest change of all, though, is the comput-ers. We now have three desktop computers and eight laptop computers available for public use in the Library, as well as free WiFi, drawing new people into the Poultney Public Library every day.

I am proud and pleased to report that after 116 years the Library is still growing. Every year we welcome more people through our doors, check out more books, and have higher program attendance. If you haven’t visited the Poultney Public Library recently, please stop in and see what we have to offer!

A special thank you to the fifteen Librarians who came before me:

1895-1912 Miss Addie Kilburn1912-1916 Miss Mary Rood1916-1920 Miss Lilian Vaughan1920-1921 Mrs. Jennie N. Cook1921-1926 Mrs. Frances Fenton Brayton1926 Miss Esther Ripley1926-1932 Miss Eleanor J. Allen1932-1939 Miss Edith F. Ward1939-1944 Mrs. Clara D. Barrett1944-1948 Miss Eleanor J. Allen1948-1957 Mrs. Mabel S. Pruden1958-1959 Mrs. Irene Cebarborg1959-1969 Mrs. Thelma Bruso1970-1975 Mrs. Mary O’Hara1975-1982 Mrs. Jessie Estes1982-2008 Miss Daphne Bartholomew

The Poultney Library was founded on the road to Hampton

The historic Poultney Public Library.



By Catherine M. Oliverio

Lake St. Catherine, situated between Wells and Poultney, has been shared by both towns since they were chartered in 1761. It is surrounded by hills, rolling mountains, hiking trails, wildlife, and breath-taking vistas.

Residents and travelers to the Lake St. Catherine region can attest that it is “a spot fittingly called The Switzerland of New England.”

Author and lake enthusiast, Raymond Lobdell wrote “A Natural Resource Planning Study of Wells”, and came up with the following data:

“Lake St. Catherine is a large, long lake of 930 acres, which begins at the Lily Pond in Poultney and drains south into Wells. The lake has a maximum depth of 68 feet, an average depth of 32.2 feet, and a volume of 29,945 acre feet. It is about five miles long and drains into a narrow channel, which connects it with Little Pond, also known as Little Lake. Little Pond is a shallow lake about 181 acres with an average depth of two feet, a maximum depth of only four feet and a volume of 362 acre feet. The lake bottom is covered by a thick layer of silt and organic matter.”

Although inhabited for centuries by Indians, non-Indians, and Jesuits - who named the lake, the first Wells settler was Ogden Mallory in 1768, followed by Poultney settlers Thomas Ashley and Ebenezer Allen, cousin of Ethan Allen,

arriving in 1771.Prior to the mid-1700s few realized

the Lake St. Catherine region existed, known as the “The Wilderness”, as well as Lake Austin.

The wildlife brought more set-tlers seek-ing profits from pelts of otter and mink. A ready supply of fish, bears, wolves, deer, birds, and other animals added to the food supply lead-ing to more clearing of the sur-rounding for-est. This led to the building of log cabins close by the lake, a dam with a saw-mill and other small industries, includ-ing a wagon shop, wood working shop, wool mill, a tannery, a cheese factory, and a grist mill. Also, small farms, a

variety of architectural homes, and hotels flourished around the lake.

In the mid-to-late 1800s resorts and summer camps began appear on Lake St.

Catherine. To date, many camps exist, and were referred to as ‘cottages’ as local residents of Wells, Poultney and out-of-towners bought par-cels of land adjacent the lake.

The resorts, including the famous

Lake St. Catherine Hotel, the Lake House and at the north end, Lake View in the Pines, were all large and

popular hotels that attracted the cultural elite and celebrities of the time.

Unfortunately, all three resorts disap-peared from the area over the decades. In 1916 Lake View in the Pines burned, before that, in 1909, Lake St. Catherine Hotel was torn down and in 1876 the Lake House burned.

The current loca-tion of the Lake St. Catherine State Park used to be the grounds of the Lake View in the Pines.

Convenient transportation for most into the late 1800s was the steamboat, Myra

Morrow, built in East Poultney. The company, Dewey and Bliss Carriage Shop located south of the Village Green, branched out making other steamboats, including the largest launched on Lake Bomoseen, the

Poultney's own 'Switzerland of New England'

An old-time postcard of Lake St. Catherine.

See LAKE, pg. 14



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Arthur B. Cook. The other steamboat operating on Lake St. Catherine was the Grace B. Underwood.

Among celebrities and other famous individuals to frequent the area was writer Valoise Kintner Hayne. “Elsie Leslie Lyde was the first child star…her summer home was on Road End…a name she chose, and a place she described as ‘verry heaven’,” Kintner Hayne said.

Elsie’s parents entertained frequent-ly with visiting guests to the Poultney cottage. “Among her ‘preshus’ friends were Joseph Jefferson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Edwin Booth and closest of all Mark Twain and his family. Helen Keller and Eleanor Roosevelt were play-mates of Elsie’s.

Ferncliff, with the founder of the Burdick Manufacturing Company of Albany, NY, on the Poultney side of the lake, has quite a unique history. “He built a ‘Swing Bridge’ from the point on the west shore of Ferncliff across ‘The Narrows’, as the channel which con-nects the lake and Lily Pond…a dis-

tance of more than one hundred feet, quite a feat of engineering of its time. It existed until the 1930s.”

Another architectural feature built in 1776 was the wooden-plank bridge across the neck between the ponds, cur-rently the bridge at the Lake St. Catherine Marina.

To date, fishing attracts anglers and tournaments, including ice fishing, because the lake is well stocked with a variety of species. Also, the allure of the lake brings all sorts of boating and jet-ski activities.

Beyond the 250th anniversary, other historical features include interesting

island buildings and cottages, pre-his-toric findings in caves, horse racing on the ice as well as Cone’s Point Peninsula, one of the largest on the lake.

Mr. Cone was one of those who peti-tioned his hometown for the right to join with Poultney. Due to his action, the town line of Wells changed, with Poultney gaining more acreage.

In commemoration of the 250th Anniversary, the Wells Historical Society has made up T-shirts available at the Town Clerk’s office, the Wells

LakeContinued from page 13

See LAKE, pg. 15



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On May 24 the Historical Society planted the Liberty Tree and erected a monument on the grounds of the Wells Green near the library.

On May 26 the society dedicated the monument to all veterans. “We decided to have the ceremonies closely together because of the 250th year,” Joe Capron, president of both the Wells Historical Society and the Modern Woodman of America said. “We thought being green was appropriate, as in our Green Mountain State.”

The historical society also had a reenactment of the signing of the char-ter Aug. 20.

Lake St. Catherine, from its early discovery to today, has undergone many changes. The lake and the eco-system have evolved, as the rest of our environment continues to do so. The Lake St. Catherine Association and other associations, along with State assistance, have been instrumental in assisting in keeping the lake thriving so it will be there for the communities of Wells and Poultney for the next 250 years.

LakeContinued from page 14 By Catherine M. Oliverio

Poultney and its diverse architecture reflect well-preserved historic treasures, both commercial and residential. Each building has its own unique style includ-ing Bungalow, Colonial, Gothic and Greek Revivals, Federal, French Second Empire, Italianate, and Queen Anne with various plans, i.e., Cape Cod, Classic Cottages, and Georgian.

Both downtown and East Poultney have buildings with combined styles and plans. Over the years, farmers made transitions from cabins to wood-framed farmhouses with gambrel roofs, which are two double-pitched sloping sides meeting at a ridge. This represented “an aristocratic” house type, since people connected with politics.

The Bungalow is described with a low, single-story house, large verandas, gabled roof, and deep overhanging eaves.

Revival architecture of the period include the Colonial, popular in the 1800s, and used today with traditional Georgian side-hall or other plans with gable, gambrel, or hip roofs; Gothic was first used in Vermont in the 1820s to 1840s, mainly for churches—although some homes have the same style; and the Greek Revival from ancient Greece, emphasized the main entry, paneled door with sidelights columns or pilasters, which were flat presentations of col-umns.

Gable-roofed Cape Cod type struc-tures include 1 ½ stories, five bays wide

across eaves, central entry, and little or no overhang built, usually with a large central chimney.

Federal buildings, inspired from clas-sical ancient Rome, were the first major style in Vermont in the 1700s. The archi-tecture focused on the entryway, paneled door, sidelights, thin columns or pilas-ters, crowned by a semi-elliptical fan-light, and a semi-circular window radiat-ing leaded glass patterns above a door or window on the gable ends.

French Second Empire prevalent in the late 1800s is characterized by the Mansard roof with four double-pitched sloping sides with the lower pitch being steeper than the upper, as well as a bit of

the Italianate, paired windows, and verandas.

The Italianate, influenced by the Italian countryside villas, were built after the Civil War and are depicted as cubed-houses with pavilions or towers or gable-roofed Georgian plans.

Queen Anne structures tend to be gaudy, colorful and irregular, with asym-metrical building and richly textured surfaces, windows, towers, bay windows, gable screens, and porches with turned columns and balusters.

The Georgian plan 2 or 2 ½ stories center hall homes featured sidelights

Celebrate Poultney's diverse architecture

See ARCHITECTURE, pg. 16

The Stonebridge was built in 1808 in the Greek revival style.


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and Queen Anne porches, which were prevalent during the 1790s with the lucra-tive wheat harvesting. These homes had five bays wide across with a room on each side of a central entryway and two rooms deep.

Poultney’s Vermont State register has a multitude of over 100 historic homes and buildings for the architectural histo-rian enthusiast. The most popular are located in East Poultney and the others in downtown Poultney

The 1790 E a g l e T a v e r n , located in E a s t Poultney, is q u i t e “ u n u s u a l and impres-sive”. It has twelve mon-umental col-umns sup-porting the overhang of the expan-sive hip roof,

a roof with four slop-ing sides meeting a s h o r t e r point or ridge.

“During c o l o n i a l times, the Tavern was known as a ‘stand’ host-ing weary passengers from stage wagons and

coaches haunted by the Green Mountain Boys.” The Federal-style architecture, reminiscent of ancient Rome in this par-ticular building focused on the entryway.

The Stonebridge currently the “hub” of Poultney was built in 1808 Greek Revival with slate, pediment gable, and full entablature, three–part trim consist-ing of an architrave, frieze, and cornice found under rooflines.

Thomas Ashley, one of the first two settlers in Poultney, reportedly built the original Stonebridge house in 1808 for his daughter Priscilla. In 1840 Merritt Clark bought it and extensively remod-

ArchitectureContinued from page 15

See ARCHITECTURE, pg. 17The Melodeon Factory in East Poultney.



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eled it to the present Greek Revival appearance. The house has retained its Greek character on both the exterior and interior.

Clark was a founder and cashier of the Poultney Bank. The bank opened in the west wing of his house in 1841. In 1880 the bank moved to its own Greek Revival building on Main Street.

George Jones, the cofounder of the “The New York Times”, born in 1811, occupied a large, wood-framed home-stead built in 1796. The house exempli-fies the simplistic Federal period with a Georgian plan.

The Horace Greeley House situated by the East Poultney Green and built in 1823 was the office of the “Northern Spectator”. Later, Horace Greeley found-ed “The New York Tribune”. This Georgian plan home featured sidelights.

The Melodeon Factory, “the Bird Street” historic building erected in 1810 is one of Poultney’s oldest buildings remaining and is representative of Poultney’s early industrial era.

Initially, the site served as the town’s local blacksmith shop. By 1852 a second floor had been added when it became known as the Melodeon Factory, one of the largest manufacturers of melodeon outside of Boston and New York.

The melodeon, a key board instru-ment something like a small piano, was a reed organ with pump petals with air passing over the reeds in such a way that it sounded and functioned in a harmoni-ca fashion.

During the 25 years or so, the factory flourished, the melodeon became quite popular for its ease of movement. Rather than having as many as seven individu-als moving a piano, two individuals could easily transport the melodeon.

In 1954, the Melodeon Factory became

the Poultney Historical Society’s muse-um displaying and interpreting artifacts from the mid-19th century.

Another prominent, downtown build-ing in existence is the Journal Press, which was erected in 1908 by Charles Humphrey for the weekly newspaper.

Over the years, the building hosted a vari-ety of busi-nesses and a c t i v i t i e s including, a b a r b e r s h o p, lawyer’s office, clothing store, post office, two bowling alleys, a theater, and a c o m m u n i t y and amuse-ment center. A corner drug store has also been in the building since at least the early 1930s retaining its e l a b o r a t e pressed metal ceilings.

P o u l t n e y and East Poultney not only offer unique histor-ic buildings that are well-m a i n t a i n e d regularly, but both villages are nestled in

the Green Mountains with rolling hills, the Poultney River, Lake St. Catherine, slate quarries, and more. The area will pique and intrigue all that have come and gone, whether it is past, present, and future.

ArchitectureContinued from page 16

The old picture postcard of the Eagle Tavern in East Poultney. It was built in 1790.



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Poultney Area Artist Guild welcomes new membersBy Catherine M. Oliverio

It has been an active year for the Poultney Area Artist Guild in celebrating the 250th Anniversary of Poultney.

The year began with painted wooden birthday candles attached to the Main Street lamp posts. Al Froeschl, PAAG trea-surer and woodcraftsman, made the can-dles, which were given to the artists for their creativity. More than a dozen candles included pictures of flowers, birds, land-scapes, folk art, modern art, maps, and more.

Penny Froeschl, PAAG president, and her husband Al, also created a large, wood-en 250th birthday cake, which is promi-nently displayed at the corner of streets Beaman and Main near The Stonebridge and St. Raphael’s Rectory.

The wooden cake that had been mounted on a vehicle for the July 4th parade won the best depicted theme prize for the day. The winnings went to the Sally Fennell Scholarship Fund.

Sally had been an avid artist and involved with the PAAG for many years; and in honor of her, the scholarship had been set up.

The highlight of the year, the first “Art on Main Street”, occurred on July 16. A total of 20 PAAG members and invited out-of-town artists participated in displaying a variety of mediums. Exhibits ranged from whimsical to traditional and included land-scapes, sculptures, slate carvings, photog-raphy, leather crafts, and more.

“Art on Main Street” had been an experi-ence for more exposure for the PAAG, with lucrative returns for most artists. It was

also an opportunity for more education for the general public with the increased con-versation and awareness of the world of art.

“The public reaction was very good,” said Dale Lott, PAAG member, “and the hope is that the event will be repeated next year.”

“We’re very pleased with our efforts,” said Penny Froeschl, “and the entrant fees for this event also went to the scholarship fund. Each year we award $1,000 to any stu-dent in the area pursuing the arts as a major in college.”

The PAAG continues showcasing art each Thursday during the summer and the fall at the Farmer’s Market held on Main Street, as well as the storefronts in Poultney.

On the East Poultney Day celebration held Aug. 13, the PAAG presence did not go unnoticed with display racks and pictures everywhere. Four members painted and photographed historic pictures of Poultney for the 250th occasion. Dick Weis did a scene of Main Street; Marilyn Parker, one of the first trolleys on Main Street; Dale Lott, his 1870 Victorian Gothic house; and Alan Nyri, a Poultney photo. The four pieces were auctioned off with the pro-ceeds going to the Poultney Historical Society.

At the 250th Birthday Dinner, the Guild’s presence helped kick things off with the art of its members.

The PAAG consists of local amateur and professional artists, who live in Poultney and the surrounding communities. All are welcome to join.

“The more the merrier,” said Penny Froeschl. “We have a wonderful rapport together and enjoy discussing art. Many talented people have been contributing to the PAAG.”

Meetings of the PAAG take place the first Tues. of every month at the Poultney High School art room at 7 p.m.

For more information, contact Penny Froeschl at 802-287-2035.

Members of the Artist Guild created these candles as part of the 250th celebration.



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St. Raphael & St. Anne Parishes21 East Main Street • Poultney, Vermont 05764

Rectory Phone 802-287-5703PASTOR

Rev. Sean DowlingDEACON

Vincent J. Meyers

PARISHOFFICE HOURS

Monday, Tuesday & Thursday

Noon to 2:30 PM

PARISH STAFFBeverly Gutowski, Religious Education Director

Kent Baker, OrganistMichelle Davenport, Parish Secretary

WELCOME TO ST. RAPHAEL & ST. ANNE PARISHESNew parishioners please register at the rectory. We welcome you to our community,

whether you are visiting for the first time or have decided to make our parish your home.

MAY THE PEACE OF CHRIST BE WITH US ALWAYS!

WEEKEND MASS SCHEDULEST. RAPHAEL MASSES ST. ANNE MASSESSaturday 4:00 PM Sunday 8:00 AMSunday 10:00 AM

ALL DAILY MASSES ARE AT ST. RAPHAEL’SFOLLOWED BY A HOLY HOUR

Monday ~ Thursday at 8:00 AMFriday at 5:15 PMSaturday at 9:00 AM

Holy Days: See Mass ScheduleRosary: Prayed after Daily MassConfessions: Saturday at 2:00 to 3:30 PM

By Appointment andduring Holy Hour

EAST POULTNEY CEMETERYLocated .2 miles east of the East

Poultney green on a side road parallel to Rt. 140 East, the road to Middletown Springs. This cemetery contains many beautifully carved old stones with inter-esting verses.

Enos Clark of Middletown Springs carved many of the stones dated before his death in 1815. All the stones with seraphs or angels are his work except for the Martha How stone. Many other early stones were the work of William Denison and Luther Perkins of Rutland and H. Hawley of Dorset.

POULTNEY TOWN CEMETERYOne of the largest in Poultney, it is

located on the east side of Rt. 30, Beaman St, one and one half blocks north of the intersection with Main Street and Rt. 140.

ST JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CEMETERY:St John’s Church is on East Main

Street across from the East Poultney green. It was founded between 1820 and 1825 and the building erected around 1831. The small cemetery is behind the church.

JEWISH CEMETERY, East Poultney This well kept cemetery is located

across from the East Poultney Cemetery on the north side of the same access road. All the stones have Hebrew or Yiddish inscriptions, with English

inscriptions added at the bottom or on the back.

ST RAPHAEL CATHOLIC CEMETERY The entrance to this cemetery is

beside the church on East Main Street one block east of Rt. 30.

AMES CEMETERY This cemetery is located in the north-

east corner of Poultney. The road from East Poultney to the cemetery is now only a foot or horse path. By car drive east from Castleton Corners (the inter-section Rt. 30 and Rt. 4A) about 4.4 miles. Turn right on to a dirt road and drive south about 3 miles. The cemetery is on the left, about 100 feet in from the road.

TRAVERSE CEMETERYThis new cemetery is located beside

the Ames Cemetery and enclosed in chain link fence.

FIFIELD CEMETERYThis cemetery is located on the east

side of Rt. 30 4 miles north of the stop light in Poultney. It is in a clump of tress, about 50 feet east of the road, and is barely visible from the road. There is no parking area along the road.

HOSFORD TOMBThis tomb is located west of Rt. 30 at

the edge of a field 3.3 miles north of the stop light in Poultney. It was built into the side of the hill. In 1900 and again in 1970 the tomb was repaired and sealed

by the owners of the property. Besides the family it is said to contain the remains of a black man who died on the railroad near the spot. A stone which sits atop the entrance to the tomb is inscribed “Erected by Philo Hosford 1844�

HOSFORD’S CROSSING CEMETERYThe Hosford’s Crossing Cemetery is

located west of Rt. 30, 3 miles north of the stop light in Poultney. It is just beyond where the railroad once crossed the highway.

BROUGHTON CEMETERYTo locate the cemetery, from blinker

light in the village, drive south on Rt. 31 1.6 miles, turn left on the Highland Upper Rd and drive south .4 miles. There is a small private drive to the south of the cemetery. The cemetery is about 200 feet west of the road. The cemetery is in part of Poultney, which was originally part of Wells.

WARD CEMETERYThis small cemetery is on Finel

Hollow Rd, 2.3 miles north of Rt. 140 and .7 miles east of the East Poultney green. It is located on the old Nehemiah How homestead. Nehemiah died in 1777 and it is supposed that he and his wife Betsey (Wheeler) How are buried here but no stones mark the spot. Their son John later sold the property to Delbert Pease. There are numerous slate slabs, which probably mark graves.

The William Ward homestead is just southwest of the Cemetery and The Town Farm was in Hampshire Hollow not far from this spot.

RANSOM CEMETERYTo locate this cemetery, drive north

from the green in East Poultney on Hillside Road .3 miles: turn left on Lewis road and drive 1.3 miles turn left on Hannon Road and drive .1 mile. This cemetery is located in a field, near a stonewall about 500 feet beyond the house.

CULVER CEMETERYThis is an abandoned cemetery in the

northwest corner of Poultney. It is on the east side of the Poultney-Blissville-Hydeville Road, just south of the Castleton town line. From the stop light in Poultney, drive north on Rt. 30 3.1 miles: turn a sharp left, pass the Hosford cemetery and drive west .3 miles: turn right or north and drive 1.6 miles. The cemetery has a stonewall and is well above street level.

BUNCE CEMETERYThis cemetery is located on

Hampshire Hollow Road .4 miles north of Rt. 140 and just beyond the former Bunce house.

Information courtesy Margaret R. Jenks from “POULTNEY CEMETERY INSCRIPTIONS RUTLAND COUNTY, VERMONT: 1996″

Poultney's cemeteriesCelebrating 250 years


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HAPPY 250TH, POULTNEY! from Jim & Ruby, Innkeepers HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

On behalf of the Poultney Downtown Revitalization Committee, it is with great pleasure that we wish a Happy Birthday to our wonderful town! We live in an incredible community, and we are honored to be a part of it! With so much going on in our Downtown, including shops, services, organizations, residents, students, and more, it is with great pride that we step back and applaud those who make life in Poultney so enjoyable.

Thank you, Happy Birthday, and many more!

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PoultneyDowntown

Revitalization Committee

Organized in 1870 by the Jewish fami-lies in the area, Poultney’s community was composed of merchants, tailors and pack peddlers from Poultney, Granville, Middle Granville and Fair Haven.

As more and more people arrived from Eastern Europe, some were advised to seek their fortunes in the country. At that time the area had many small iso-lated farms in the back country, which is now overgrown with bush and trees.

Then, open fields and clean fence lines covered our hills, brushy fields and over grown fence lines were the sign of a poor farmer. “Homely as a hedge row fence” was not only applied to the unfortunate maidens.

To these isolated farms, the peddler, whether on foot or wagon, brought mer-chandise to those who could not easily get to town to shop. They also brought news of the area to those who lived lives

remote from the beaten path.Here there was a ready market and

the Jews were encouraged to come here because Mr. Mannes, who occupied the store at 84 Main Street in the West Village, was in the position to supply them with the merchandise for their packs from his store. He, of course, could order from metropolitan areas via the new rail road to replenish his supply.

There were five or six Jewish families

here during the War Between the States but the community was not formed until 1870 with State incorporation in 1875. Solomon Cane came into possession of the Pine Tree House* which was used as a meeting place because of its unique position to the points of the compass. A second floor room on the east end was used for services.

The peddlers would arrive for Sabbath

Poultney once was home to active Jewish community

See JEWISH, pg. 21


HAPPY 250TH POULTNEY!

HAPPY 250TH POULTNEY!


services on Friday evening, remain through Saturday which was their day of rest, and leave Saturday night with their religious obligations satisfied

“their packs full for their route” return-ing the following evening.

When the men could afford to settle down, marry and open a shop, it was to the larger towns that they migrated and opened their businesses.

In 1876 the first burial was made in the cemetery which they purchased just east of the site of the Union Church and

across from the old burial ground on East Main Street (the old road leading from Eagle Tavern to Middletown). The graves are few, but this is an interesting site to visit.

*The Pine Tree House was purchased in 1872 and sold to Solomon Cain 1874 who sold it in 1892 ending the active Jewish community in Poultney and the

first such community in Vermont. It is remembered in a small exhibit including the Ten Commandments and rubbings in the Schoolhouse museum at East Poultney. The Pine Tree House is now (1988) the home of the Joseph Greenwoods.

Source: Reflections on Poultney’s Past, Vol. 2, C.L. Parker 1989

JewishContinued from page 20

Over its many years, Poultney has been home to a wide variety of businesses.

Taking a drive down Main Street in downtown Poultney might put one in a nostalgic state of mind, imagining a time when trolleys ran up and down the street, where the milkman makes his rounds through the neighborhoods, waving to the people as he drops off quarts of fresh milk from the local creamery, and the Poultney newspaper coming hot off the press across from the railroad station.

Buildings from as early as the late 1800’s still stand in Poultney’s historic downtown, but with a changing economy came changing times. Throughout Poultney’s 250 years, the town has seen lots of businesses and industries come and go. Here are some of those stories.

The Colvin/Journal Press BuildingThe large yellow building on the corner

of Main Street and Depot is a well-known and prominent feature in the heart of Poultney’s downtown. Built in 1908 by Charles Humphrey, the building was the home of the Journal Press, a weekly news-paper in Poultney for a number of years.

When newspapers folded in the 1930’s, the Journal Press ran as a job shop, mostly doing letterpress printing, where a surface with raised letters is inked and pressed to the surface of the paper.

In 1946, the Colvin family bought the business and started their own printing business there, continuing to do letter-press printing but also converting to offset printing, which is the technology that makes most magazines possible today. In 1972, Chuck and Katie Colvin bought the business from his parents, along with the building, and carried on the print business for another couple decades, transitioning from letterpress and going strictly offset.

The Colvin’s grew the printing busi-ness, with the design offices and stripping department (which lays out the colors and negatives of printing plates, getting it arranged so that it’s ready for the printing press), as well as a bindery and other offic-es on the second floor.

Within the building, there have been a number of businesses. In the 1920’s, there was a bowling alley and a pool hall on the third floor of the building, and later went on to have mini-golf, constructed of ashes and asbestos.

There was also a barber who had a shop on the second floor there for years. In the room where the shop was, there is still an impression worked out on the floor from him standing around in that same spot a lot.

During prohibition, the “Evolution Club” was in one of the rooms on the third floor, and ran as a private poker club. Each member had a key, and brought their own liquor. It even had a sign on the door down on Main Street.

However, the anchor of all these busi-nesses and of the Journal Press building has been the drug store on the corner, which is still open for business today. What is now Drake’s Pharmacy is unique, as it still has its own compounding lab, which is a lab where pharmacists can mix drugs to fit the unique needs of patients.

Over the years, the building has seen dentists and lawyers, but has now become the Poultney Small Business Center, where Chuck works with local entrepreneurs to

help them get their business going by pro-viding office space with low overhead. Currently, there is an art studio, the Rotary Club office, a graphic designer, and a print-selling office in the building.

Bertolino’s Confectionary StoreJust a few hundred feet up the road

from the Journal Press building is a place that is now known as the Back to Vermont pub. Frank Bertolino, Chuck Colvin’s other grandfather, lived upstairs, ran his business downstairs, and had eight daugh-ters.

The pub used to be an ice cream, candy, and fruit store where Bertolino would sell bananas still on the vine, and customers could come in, cut bananas fresh off the vine and get a banana split made with homemade ice cream.

Inside, little marble top tables with wire-back chairs dotted the interior next to the long counter for ice cream and fruit bins.

Eventually, one of his daughters and her husband bought the store, and turned it to a regular grocery store, where they sold meats, canned goods, and had a butch-er shop.

“In those days, there were at least three butcher shops in town. You could get an order cut fresh, but not much was pre-cut” says Colvin.

The Delaware and Hudson RailroadMany Poultney residents today ride

their bikes or walk their dogs along the trail that used to be the Delaware and Hudson railroad.

The D&H was one of the first railroads in the United States, and came from Pennsylvania and New York up through Quebec. In the 1920’s up through the 1940’s, the train used to bring children up to Camp Arrowhead and Camp Kinni Kinnic, both located on Lake St. Catherine.

Arrowhead, which ran from 1920 through 1960 was a sports camp for boys, established by Pop Silverman and Com Jacobson. It was on the site that is now the Lake St. Catherine State Park, and a few of the original structures still exist, such as the nature center (which was the camp office) and the stone steps on the lake.

Kinni Kinnic was the girls camp, and was owned by Jeanette Brill. Brill was a teacher, lawyer, judge, writer, community activist, camp director, and a mother who was passionate about social justice and

welfare, mostly focusing on children and women. Camp Kinni Kinnic was known for its tennis program, and campers were mostly from the New York area, though a few of the girls did come from Montreal. The camp was founded in the 1930’s, and closed after 1975. The camp is now a resi-dential area on Lake St. Catherine.

Aside from summer camps, the D&H line was a way for the Staso Milling Company in Castleton and Hampton, N.Y. to deliver their goods. Staso also took waste products from slate, ground them into small granules, and sent it down the railroad to companies who used the con-verted waste product to manufacture asphalt shingling. Staso was one of the biggest employers in the area at the time, and had about 225 employees throughout both plants. However, in the 1960’s, syn-thetic products had entered the industry, putting Staso out of business.

Dairy farming was also very large at the time, and the railroad provided a way for farmers to send their milk to the creamery, which used to be in Poultney on Church Street. There were lots of dairy farmers on the loop road (Finel Hollow/Hampshire Hollow) in East Poultney who sold to the creamery. The creamery would deliver to peoples houses every other day.

“The cream would freeze in the winter time, up above the cap,” Chuck reminisces. “It was delivered every other day so it was fresh, and sold in nice glass bottles. You’d clean them and return them, and they would refill them.”

Slate“Slate has always been big since the

1800’s,” says Colvin. “They were all owned by families and handed down to sons. It was a pretty rugged business, and a lot of them have done really well.”

In the late 1800’s, lots of Welsh people came from Wales to the Poultney area, and worked in the quarries. Slate companies would send out a big flatbed truck to pick up workers from the top of every street in Poultney, as there weren’t a lot of cars at that time. In the wintertime, they would put a building on the back of the truck with a coal stove to keep the workers warm on their morning commute.

Today, slate is still a big industry in Rutland and Washington County, as few materials can outlast slate. It is said that in 1848, a barn outside of Fair Haven was the first barn to have a slate roof, and

although it was feared that the barn wouldn’t be able to withstand the weight of the stone, it is still standing today with the same slate roof. Many colors of slate can only be found in this region, and the quarries today still hire a good number of employees.

Downtown PoultneyAside from the Journal Press, many

buildings in Poultney have seen business-es come and go, and some of these original buildings still stand. Where “Young at Heart” is now on the corner of Rt. 30 and Bentley avenue was the home of the Grey Foundry, who manufactured wood and coal stoves, iron grates for roads, and sold machines that were used to bend pipes for construction.

Where VEMAS is now (Rt. 30 and Church Street) Williams Machine Company once was. With most of their business happening during WWII, Williams had 50-60 employees, making products for the war effort. The Williams family sold it in the 80’s, where the busi-ness shut down after nine years and the building sat in disrepair. VEMAS now owns the building and makes electronic equipment.

Poultney/Fair Haven Auto Supply was once a Williams Chevrolet, and also sold Farmall tractors. They had a welder in the back to repair cars and farm equipment, and sold used and new cars on Main Street.

Where Dr. Scovner’s office is on Main Street, to the left (if looking at it) was the Star Theatre, which was a movie theater that sold candy and ice cream, and had seats for 60-70 people.

Stewarts was the site of a large, three-story store that sold clothing, pots, pans, and other household goods, similar to an old-time Bed, Bath & Beyond. The owner of the store lived where the Stonebridge house is now on the corner of Main and 30, but went out of business in the 1930’s when cars started becoming more popular.

Shortly after the store’s decline, Rosenblatt’s moved in and the store was converted to a dress factory where 120 women made shirts for a NYC shirt com-pany. A lot of the women who worked at the factory are still living in Poultney today.

When Rosenblatt’s was going out of business and 120 jobs were about to be lost, a lot of the businesses in town chipped in to buy the building, and got another clothing manufacturer to come in, saving all of the jobs. This manufac-turer stayed in business for a short time, but eventually the jobs went overseas, and the Poultney Development Corporation bought the building, selling it to Stewarts. Although the building no longer remains, it is a little known fact that the bricks that construct the current Stewarts shop are the original bricks from the building that used to stand on that corner.

All in all, Poultney has created its own unique history, one that is full of hard workers and entrepreneurs, and has seen plenty of ups and downs in its 250 years. Many new businesses have sprung up in Poultney in the past couple of years, and it is the people of this community that will keep Poultney running for another 250.

A look at Poultney businesses over the years

The Colvin/Journal Press building on Main Street.




By Tim Donaghy

Churches are often the focal point of picturesque New England towns, and even today these churches serve not only as a place of worship, but a com-munity center, a place for friends and family to meet up every week to worship and catch up with their neighbors.

“We’re tied in with a group of people we enjoy being with in addition to wor-ship, and it’s really a community, it’s a social group,” says Ed McHale of the Episcopalian church.

In Poultney, downtown, there are a number of different churches, and each one has its own distinct history. In 1802, the East Poultney Baptist Church was organized, however, the Federal style church that still stands on the green in East Poultney wasn’t built until 1805. At the time, the church cost $6,000 to build, and was constructed by Elisha Scott who was a master builder in the area at that time.

The Baptist church was built out of a union of two churches – the Congregational Church of Poultney, which had a meetinghouse across from the cemetery on Rt. 140 in East Poultney, and the Baptist Church of Middletown. After many discussions among mem-bers, the two churches joined to create what is now the East Poultney Baptist Church.

Later, in 1872, a second Baptist church was built on the corner of Bentley Avenue and Maple Street, although this church is no longer in use.

Across from the Baptist church is the original site of St. John’s Episcopal Church, which was built in May of 1831 by the same master builder that designed the East Poultney Baptist Church, Elisha Scott. Although the church is no longer in use, candlelight services are still held there yearly.

However, on Church Street in Poultney, the Trinity Episcopal Church was built in 1868 as a result of business-es and a population shift west into the village of Poultney, and although nei-ther church hold weekly services, the church holds a community breakfast every month in conjunction with people from Episcopal churches in the area.

“Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, that is the big role of churches. Every month at the church in Poultney, we

hold a community breakfast on the last Saturday,” McHale says.

The Episcopal Church was active until 1931. Currently, the church is work-ing with the Preservation Trust of Vermont to find an alternate community use for the Trinity Church.

In 1864, the first Roman Catholic Church was built in Poultney on what is now Route 30, although it is now on East Main Street in a church built in 1902 by

Hopkins and Casey.St. Raphael’s Roman Catholic Church

is an excellent example of Gothic archi-tecture. It is a soaring church with thin walls surrounded by large sections of stain glass.

The style is characterized by the join-ing of weights and strains at isolated points resting on vertical pillars and counter balancing flying buttresses. The windows and doors feature arches that meet at a pointed joint.

From the founding of the diocese of Burlington in 1853 this parish, first known as St. Gabriel, then St. Mary and finally St. Raphael has been a remark-able church supported by its faith filled parishioners.

In 2002, St. Raphael’s marked the cele-

bration of its Centennial anniversary and a major milestone as a parish com-munity. Today, it continues the spirit of those who planted the seed of faith here in Poultney so long ago and those who sustained and nourished it through the years.

A large presence in town, the United Methodist Church began in 1798. In 1822, the Poultney United Methodist Church was built on East Main Street with members mainly coming from Hampton, N.Y. Green Mountain College, or the Troy Conference Academy at that time, was part of the reason for the church moving to its current location on Main Street in downtown Poultney in 1841.

Methodist Church - a place filled with open hearts, open minds, and open doors, where your soul will be renewed, and your talents will find a home. We are a Christian people who express our faith through fellowship, music, prayer, reflection, mission and social outreach. We are the kind of church you will want to be a part of.

Located in the center of downtown Poultney, the United Methodist Church has been a leader for many years in sup-porting the larger Poultney community. Church members share their faithful passion through volunteering at Young at heart, Dismas House, Rutland Open Door Mission, Poultney Food Shelf, and other organizations.

In the summer of 2009, the church hosted a mis-sion team from Church of the Redeemer from Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Lives were trans-formed as youth and adults worked side-by-side on several ser-vice projects in Poultney, Fair Haven, and Rutland. The week concluded with a multi-church celebration at Lake St. Catherine and an awesome lake bap-tism. In the summer of 2010, it sent a team to Ohio on an exchange mission, renewing friendships and creating new connections.

A common thread that these different churches have is community, and throughout each distinct history, these churches have brought together resi-dents from throughout the surrounding villages to gather, worship and join in special events.

Poultney's churches: Pillars of the community

The Poultney United Methodist Church while it was being constructed.

Trinity Episcopal Church. St. Raphael's Catholic Church in 1940.

East Poultney Baptist Church.


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Happy 250th, Poultney!The Young at Heart Senior Center, under the direction of Mary Thomas, with the help of 35 volunteers, is a focal point for local seniors; it’s their social center, coffee shop, dining hall, computer center, wellness center, exercise class and bingo hall. They can shop for inexpensive clothing in our Thrift Store, and go on a trip with friends to a place of interest. Free Bone Builders Classes are offered on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Blood Pressure and Foot Clinic on the first Friday of every month. Flu Clinics are offered every year, as well as 55 Alive Driving Safety Classes.

Our goals for the upcoming year are to continue to expand our services to local seniors by providing a new in-home chore service for seniors living independently in their homes, in addition to the programs that we currently offer at the center and Meals On Wheels. The Green Mountain Outreach Program, a service provided by the Young At Heart Senior Center in Poultney, has been up and running for six months. Bob and Deb Buciak have completed over 125 chores with the help of 13 Volunteers. Besides shoveling mounds of snow last winter, the Green Mountain Senior Outreach Program volunteers have also planted a tree, provided transportation and did some Spring Cleaning work. Currently, we are serving 25 seniors.

If you have a name of a senior who would benefit from this program, please do not hesitate to contact the Senior Center to see if they are eligible. If the chore is above and beyond what we can do, we will assist the senior in finding someone who will help them. Also, we are always looking for more volunteers.

From All Of Us At The Young at Heart Senior Center

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By Tim Donaghy

In Poultney, everyone likes a good get-together. And thanks to the many organiza-tions in Poultney such as the Rotary Club, Poultney Historical Society, and the Poultney Downtown Revitalization Committee, there are plenty of opportuni-ties for Poultney residents to get together every year to enjoy the camaraderie of the community.

“We’re living in an age now where people

seem to be cocooning more, staying in their houses and watching TV, unlike 100 years ago where people were out walking in the evening and front porches were a main place for activities,” says Alan Nyiri, a local pho-tographer and member of the Poultney Downtown Revitalization Commitee who has lived in Poultney for the past 25 years. “These events create an opportunity that might not otherwise exist to get people together and interact. Basically, to practice the time-honored art of visiting.”

From snowmobile parades organized by the Poultney Snow Devils to the annual chili cook-off held on Main Street every year, Poultney residents enjoy events that are unique to the community, and are seldom seen in larger towns across the country.

On the second Saturday of August, resi-dents and visitors to Poultney might find themselves in a bit of a traffic jam near the East Poultney Green. Starting in the 1930’s, East Poultney Day has been a big event that draws people in from all corners of the state

and New England, and some from even as far as California.

“You can walk around the streets and see license plates from all over the country. They [vacationers] make a point of coming down to it,” says Nyiri. “But we also see people from the community spending the day on the East Poultney Green, and I sus-pect there are people who only see each other that one time of the year.”

See ACTIVITIES, pg. 25

Poultney features lots of clubs, activitiesCelebrating 250 years



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Nyiri says that he’s been to the East Poultney day every year for the past 25 years, and that it has always been a nice weekend.

East Poultney Day is an opportunity for visitors to socialize on the green, and enjoy arts and crafts, and listen to music by the Poultney town band. The Historical Society’s buildings and indoor exhibits are open, and visitors can check out the 1791 Union Academy, which is Vermont’s second

oldest school building. The Melodeon Factory and the 1897 schoolhouse are also open for the public to enjoy, allowing new and old Poultney residents alike the oppor-tunity to see and learn about the towns heri-tage and unique history.

About a month or so later, the Poultney Rotary Club hosts the annual Chili-Cookoff during the last weekend of September. Coinciding with Green Mountain College’s ‘Family and Friends Weekend’, the chili cook-off draws hundreds to downtown Poultney every year.

During the cook-off, over 25 different cooks take the challenge to make the best chili in town. Visitors visit as many booths

as they’d like, and sample the chili, taking down notes and eventually casting their vote for the best chili in a number of catego-ries.

Later in the day, judges collect the votes and announce the winning chili in a couple of categories, such as “best vegetarian chili”, “best theme booth”, “people’s choice”, and the mighty “Vermont Chili Champion”, among others.

Often, more than 800 people attend the event, which had its first annual in 1989.

The crowd will be bigger this year, on Sept. 24, because the cookoff is part of the 250th celebration.

“I go almost every year to try all the dif-

ferent chili, but my favorite part is bumping into people that I haven’t seen in a while and catching up over a hot cup of homemade chili,” says Kevin Tarbell of Pawlet. “It’s a wonderful excuse to get together, and a plea-sure to try out some awesome chili made with ingredients from the backyard.”

So whether it’s Poultney’s big fireworks display on the fourth of July, or a local spa-ghetti dinner at one of the churches, Poultney has lots of opportunities for the community to come together to enjoy the town, and will continue to for centuries to come.

(To find out more on the events happen-ing in Poultney, visit www.poultneyvt.com)

ActivitiesContinued from page 20

26 - September 12, 2011 - Manchester Newspapers' Poultney's 250th Birthday Special Edition


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The slate industry transformed Poultney in the last half of the 19th cen-tury. An agrarian community populated principally by Yankees became an industrialized town enriched by a diverse group of immigrants. Allegedly, the slate industry was due to an acci-dental event. According to an old story, around 1843, a farmer was showing his land to a prospective buyer. The buyer kicked at a mound of soil and looked at the rocks he dislodged. He exclaimed to the farmer “Why that is slate” The

farmer then decided not to sell!The slate industry began in our area,

when Colonel Alonsen Allen started the first quarry on Scotch Hill in Fair Haven in 1845. The first quarry in Poultney was the famed Eureka Quarry established in 1852 by Daniel Hooker. The initial applications of slate products were school slates for writing and slate pencils. By the late

1840s the Allen quarry was producing 600 school slates per day.

Immigration into the Slate Valley

Then in the 1850s demand for roofing material emerged. Slate roofs could last 100 to 150 years, if

properly maintained. Processing of slate for roofing required special skills

which existed in abundance in Wales. The Welsh had been mining and pro-cessing slate since 1399. Skilled Welsh workers immigrated to the “Slate Valley” in droves. They were motivated by the depressed economy, high taxes, lack of social mobility in Wales and the opportunity they saw in America.

Irish immigrants who had come to the area in the 1840s to build the rail-roads initially performed the unskilled

The slate industry has rich history locally

See SLATE, pg. 27

The first quarry in Poultney was established in 1852


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tasks at the quarries. By 1860, some 450 workers ere employed by 16 companies. Applications of slate expanded to include vases, washbowls, bathing tubs, fireplaces, mantelpieces, tabletops, flooring tile and stairs.Boom and Bust

The slate industry expanded in a series of booms and busts over the next forty years. By the 1900 there were near-ly a thousand workers employed in 250

operating quarries. The 1900 to 1920 period saw Slavic and Italian immi-grants working in the quarries. There are many descendants of these early Welsh, Irish, Slavic and Italian immi-grants living in the area today. Some of these people progressed from workers to managers to owners of quarries.

The great depression caused the com-plete collapse of the slate industry. Recovery after the Second World War was very slow due to the emergence of alternative roofing materials.

Today, Poultney is the center of the Slate Valley, which straddles the New York and Vermont border and the slate

industry is expanding. This has been due to the need to replace all those roofs installed in the 19th century, the recog-nition of the long life and value of slate roofs , the require-ment for fire proof roofs imposed by the State of California and the revival of many of the earlier applications. It is estimated that the Slate Valley has 38 companies employ-ing 200 to 300 employees and producing $40 million a year of slate products.

Visitors to Poultney who would like to learn more about the slate industry can visit the Slate Valley Museum in

nearby Granville, NY. The museum provides exhibits of historical tools used in the slate industry, displays show-ing the science and art of slate quarrying, a geological display show-ing how slate was formed over many years

and photographs and videos showing how slate is processed

SlateContinued from page 26

The Great Depression caused the complete collapse of the slate industry



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