Vermont AHGP
Part of the American History and
Genealogy Project
Waterbury Center Village, Vermont
The Village at the Center, divided by Alder brook near the middle, is pleasant and beautiful in all its surroundings. On the north side are several handsome dwellings, the Methodist chapel, in the hall of which town meetings are held alternate years, 1 store, the district school house, 1 tavern, a blacksmith shop and a few other shops. The Center burying ground is on this side of the stream. On the east side are more private dwellings, all neat and comely in appearance. Also, the Baptist meeting house, of wood in good taste, 1 store, in which the town clerk's office and the Center post office are kept, and two or three mechanic's establishments.
Green Mountain Seminary
A Freewill Baptist institution, is located at the Center village, on the east side. It was chartered Oct., 1862, to D. L. Frost and other 12 corporators. The trustees were authorized to confer "degrees on male and female pupils as are usually conferred by the best Colleges, Academies and Seminaries; also, on male pupils a diploma of honor." The corporation had no endowment to start upon, and were under the necessity of relying entirely on private subscriptions for the means to erect their seminary building, and to provide a suitable apparatus. By the energy and perseverance of the trustees, and the liberality of the citizens of the vicinity, they succeeded. It is truly said in their first report that their "Seminary building is one of the finest structures in the State, and surrounded by natural scenery unsurpassed in its magnificence and grandeur. Mount Mansfield, Camel's Hump, and all the spurs of the Green Mountains, from Addison, through Chittenden, Washington and Lamoille counties, stand out in bold relief in full view from the Seminary.''
Villages - Business In R. R. Village
In the town are two large villages and three small ones. Much the largest one is on the Winooski River, nearly midway between Middlesex and Bolton. It is more than a mile in length east and west, and north on the Stowe road; half that distance in width, not including Mill village. Mr. Marsh and Mr. Butler, the first and second settlers, commenced here, and laid the foundation of a community, which, ever since, has had a steady, prosperous and healthy growth. It now (1870), has a population of about 800, and a grand list of $4,000. Has four churches, in each of which are regular services. The largest and first built, in 1824, is the Congregational; the second, of brick, is the Methodist, built in 1841; the third, the Second Advent chapel; the fourth, the Roman Catholic.
In this village is Waterbury First National Bank, two hotels, one commodious and handsome, on the site of the one previously burned, owned and kept by W. H. Skinner: the other, owned and occupied by J. Brown. There is also M. E. Smilie's large brick foundry, built by D. Adams on the site of his wooden one, there recently burned; Geo. C. Arms' extensive marble works, and three large brick stores, one on the corner of Stowe and Main street, built by Leander Hutchins, now owned by his son-in-law, C. N. Arms, and occupied by Wyman and Smith, merchants. The other two are on the opposite side of Main Street, one erected by Wm. Carpenter, in which two of his sons are dealing in crockery.
Business Firms
"Ready-made clothing, medicines, &c.," Geo. W. Kennedy's office and the village library are in this store.
A three-story building, erected by the late A. S. Richardson, owned by Clough and Randall. In it is the law office of Palmer and Clough, a tailor's and jeweler's shops; a grocery in the basement, and a family living in the upper part.
The large wooden block on the corner, opposite C. N. Arms' brick store, built by I. G. Stimson (the larger part), and C. Graves, on the foundation of Stimson's store burned a few months before. The part of the block built by Stimson, owned by L. H. Haines, contains the store of Richardson and Fullerton, of Arms and Haines, traders in flour, grain, nails, tea, etc.; the post-office, Moody's book and stationary store, and the Young Men's Christian Association reading-room. The part built by Mr. Graves is owned by him, in which he manufactures tinware, and has a stove and hardware store.
On the other side of the street is the cabinet-shop of George W. Atherton, the fine store of M. M. Knight, rebuilt a few years since by J. B. Christy on the same spot where stood his former one, there recently burned; the furniture shop of A. A. Atherton and Son; in the same building the groceries of F. Taylor and W. Ashley; and adjoining, the apothecary store of Frink and Remington.
Brown and Atkins, successors of I. C. and S. Brown, wholesale and retail dealers in grain, general groceries, etc., are doing an extensive business near the depot [Arms & Haines, successors].
Manufactories
The village has a supply of such mechanics as are commonly found in country towns. L. Parmely, on Main Street, opposite of the bank, for a number of years has been engaged in the shoe trade; and Geo. W. Lease in harness-making. Waterbury Manufacturing Co., successors of Case & Thomas, is opposite of the State Reform School. It was incorporated in 1869, with a working capital of $30,000. The business of the company is mostly making cane-seated chairs, doors, window-sash and blinds. They also do a large amount of planing, wood-turning and scroll-sawing. They employ about 30 hands, and occasionally a number of the Reform School [1870] boys in addition. The Company deal to some extent in pine lumber.
Mill Village took its name from its being the location of the first grist and saw-mills built in town. It is situated on the Stowe road, at the lower falls on Thatcher's Branch. There is here, within the distance of a fourth of a mile, a succession of falls, affording three good mill privileges, all of which are occupied. At the first is the large brick grist-mill, built a few years since by the late Wm. W. Wells, Esq., and now owned by his heirs. It stands on or near the spot of the one built in 1792. It has always done a large custom business. A few rods up stream, A. H. Selleck & Co. have a woolen factory, where they card wool and manufacture to some extent. They have recently put in machinery for turning small boxes. At this place were the first clothing works in town; owned and operated by sundry individuals and companies; at a very early day by Jotham Robbins, subsequently a short tune by Jared Perkins, who became a Methodist preacher, a presiding elder and member of Congress from New Hampshire. Since Perkins, by Thomas and Thompson, by Thompson, Seabury and Blanchard, and others constantly until it came into the hands of the Sellecks.
A short distance above the factory, is the saw-mill and mechanics shop owned by N. A. Rhoades. There has been at this place a saw-mill ever since the first settlement of the town. Over 40 years ago, P. Brown, a tanner, built at these falls a mill for grinding bark, and put in a few vats for tanning, in connection with his principal yard in the other village. Here, too, Thomas, Thompson and Seabury formerly had a woolen factory, burned some years past and never rebuilt.
At the south end of Mill Village on the west side of the stream, Samuel Dutton many years since started a tannery on a small scale, intended principally for his own convenience in his trade as shoemaker. It passed from him to his sons, Thomas, David, and Harper, and from them to Wm. W. Wells, who greatly enlarged and improved the works; Wells sold to R. Blush, and in a few years, while owned by Blush, the works were burned. The real estate and few out-buildings not consumed by fire, were purchased by Sylvester Henry, who, with his son, rebuilt on the old site extensive works, making it one of the largest and best establishments of the kind in the State. The tannery is rented for a term of years by C. C. Warren, who works it mostly by steam, and in the amount of tanning he is exceeded by few, and by none with the same number of hands employed, in the State of Vermont.
Source: History of Washington County Vermont, Collated and Published by Abby Maria Hemenway, 1882.
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