Early days in Bennington
County, VT, are recalled through a mix of colorful tales, factual
data and trivia, in this booklet comprised of excerpts from three
rare vintage books: The
Geography and History of Vermont by S.R. Hall (1871); History
and Description of New England - Vermont by A.J. Coolidge and
J.B. Mansfield (1860); and Vermont, a Guide to the Green Mountain
State, written by the Workers of the Federal Writer's Project
of the WPA (1937).
The 61 page booklet is printed single-sided
on 60# opaque paper
with the print size enlarged as needed to fit the 8 1/2 x 11 size.
A vinyl sheet has been added to protect the front cover.
A major part of
the booklet consists of histories of each township (town), which
vary in size depending on the prominence of the town and its historical
significance. The towns and villages include
Arlington, West Arlington, East Arlington; Bennington, Centre Bennington,
North Bennington; Dorset, South Dorset, East Dorset and North Dorset;
Glastenbury; Landgrove, Clarksville; Manchester, Factory Point;
Peru; Pownal, Pownal Centre, North Pownal; Readsborough, Readsboro'
City, Hartwellville; Rupert, East Rupert, West Rupert; Sandgate,
East Sandgate, West Sandgate; Searsburgh; Shaftsbury, South Shaftsbury;
Stamford, Stamford Hollow; Sunderland, North Sunderland, Piety Hill,
Mount Pleasant and Sunderland Borough; Winhall, Bondville; Woodford.
This county is famous
as the home of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys and the site
of the Bennington Battle of 1771 (the result of a land dispute between
Vermont and New York). Prominent Bennington residents included Samuel
Robinson, James Breakenridge, Seth Warner, Samuel Robinson and sons,
John Fassett and son, Stephen Fay family, Isaac Tichenor, and son,
Nathan Clark, Martin Scott and Hiland Hall.
Because the early
history of Vermont is closely tied to this county, we have included
additional excerpts pertaining to the Vermont-New York dispute.
These excerpts are from the general history of Vermont section of
the 1860 book cited above. (One gets the feeling from reading this
that there really should have been 14 stripes in our flag!)
The WPA excerpts
include a section on the historic shire town of Bennington, including
points of interest: the Old Burying Ground, the Jedediah Dewey House,
oldest frame house in the state, the First Congregational Church,
site of Catamount Tavern, Bennington Battle Monument, etc. The other
WPA excerpts, while out-of-date as a tour guide, remain a fascinating
source of historical tidbits.
The booklet has
a few illustrations, but their quality is only fair.
Wouldn't this make a unique
gift?
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