Leicester, Vermont, USA
1886 - Leicester

Leicester is situated in the southern part of the county, and is bounded on the north by Salisbury; on the east by Goshen; on the south by Brandon, in Rutland county, and on the west by Whiting. The surface of the town, except in the eastern part, is moderately level, declining into low, marshy land along the Leicester River and a part of Otter Creek. The most elevated points are the summits of Bald Mountain and Mount Pleasant, the former taking up nearly the entire surface of the eastern part of the town, and the latter occupying a considerable portion to the north. It follows that the scenery is varied, and in many respects beautiful. Lake Dunmore, extending south from Salisbury to nearly the center of the eastern part of the town, is known far and wide for the sparkling beauty of its waters and the grandeur of the grim and stately evergreens which stand like sentinels upon its shores. East of this is another lakelet no less beautiful, called Silver Lake, from the silvery whiteness of the sand which glistens in its depths, and the limpid clearness of its waters. It rests among the mountains fourteen hundred feet above sea level, and one thousand feet higher than the surface of Lake Dunmore. Its diameter measures about a mile. Little Pond, south of Dunmore, and Mud Pond, west of the same, are small bodies, which do not detract from the beauty of the place. The principal streams are Otter Creek, which forms a part of the western boundary of the town, and Leicester River, which flows southwesterly from the center of the northern boundary into Otter Creek. The soil is a rich, sandy loam, interspersed with some flats of clay, and along the streams valuable tracts of intervale, though towards the east, on approaching the mountains, it becomes harder and less productive, and more adapted to grazing than cultivation.

The town was chartered by the royal governor of New Hampshire, Benning WENTWORTH, on the 20th of October, 1761, to Aaron BROWN and sixty-six associates, in seventy-two shares, to contain the regular township area Of 23,040 acres. In common with the experience of the original grantees of nearly all the towns in Vermont, the proprietors of Leicester failed to find the required number of acres within the limits of their town...

History of Addison County, Vermont, With Illustrations And Biographical Sketches of Some Of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Edited by H. P. Smith. Syracuse, N. Y.; D. Mason & Co., Publishers, 1886
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