Arlington, Vermont, USA (East Arlington)
1824 - Arlington

ARLINGTON, a post town in Bennington county lies in at lat. 43° 4′ and long 3° 50', and contains 39 square miles. It is bounded north by Sandgate, east by Sunderland, south by Shaftsbury, and west by Salem, N.Y., and is situated 40 miles from Troy, 40 miles from Saratoga Springs, 40 from Whitehall and 40 from Rutland. It was chartered July 28, 1761, to a number of persons mostly belonging to Litchfield county, Connecticut. The first settlement was made, in the year 1763, by Doctor Simon Burton, William Scarls and Ebenezer Wallis. In 1764, Jehial Hawley, Josiah Hawley, Remember Barker and Thomas Peck, removed into this town. The former was a principal land owner, and has left in this place a numerous and respectable posterity. The early records of this town were lost or destroyed in the year 1777, by Isaac Bisco, then town clerk, who became a tory and fled to Canada. Hence the precise time the town was organized, is ont known. It was about the year 1768, and Remember Barker, an active and distinguished leader in the controversy between the N. Hampshire grants and New-York, was the first town clerk. Thomas Chittenden was the first representative, who was the same year elected governor, and was succeeded as representative by Ethan Allen.

There are two Episcopal chruches in this town of about 80 comminicants, and one Baptist chruch, besides a considerable number of professors of other denominations. The Rev. Abraham Bronson has been settled over the Episcopal churches for more than 20 years. The practicining physicians are Aaron McKee, Simeon Littlefield and Abel Aylsworth, jr. Arlington, lying lower than the surrounding towns, has the principal streams in the county, passing through it. Roaring branche enters the eastern part of the town from Sunderland, Mill brook the south east part from Glastenbury, Warm brook the south part from Shaftsbury and Green river, the north part from Sandgate. These streams all fall into the Battenkill, which enters the town near the northeast corner, runs southwesterly about 3 miles, thence nearly west about 6 miles furhter, and crosses the west line of the town into Washington county, N.Y. These streams afford many very excellent mill privileges, and along their banks are considerable tracts of the finest interval land. The principal elevations are West Mountain and Red Mountain, which extend from south to north through the west part of town. These mountains are separated by the Battenkill, in its westerly course through the town. They are covered with a considerable variety of timber, consisting of white, red and black oak, white and black birch, chestnut, hickory, &c. The soil is rich and very productive of English grain. The soil in the eastern part of the town is chiefly loam, and the timber principally beech, maple, ash, birch, elm, bass and butternut. A glade of land, 3 miles in lenght and one in breadth, extending from north to south, near the foot of West Mountain, was formerly covered with an extraordinary growth of white pine. The soil of this tract is sandy. Several extensive quarries of granular limestone, or white marble, have been opened here, from which large quantities are annually taken and wrought into tombstones and for other purposes. There is also an abundance of compact limestone from which lime, of a superior quality, is manufactured. Near Aylsworth's mills in the east part of the town, is a medicinal spring, which is resorted to by the inhabitants of the vicinity as a remedy for cutaneous diseases, opthalmics, &c. The water is strongly impregnated with ferrugenous matter, and rather unpleasant to the taste. It contains a minute portion of hydrogen gas, but no carbonic acid. Its temperature is about the same as that of the springs in the neighborhood. Near the north east corner of the town is a cavern which is much visited as a curiosity. Its entrance is on the east side of a steep hill, and of a capacity sufficient for one person to enter at a time. From the entrance to the bottom it is about 20 feet, and the passage makes, with the horizon, an angle of about 45°. The cavern then extends westerly in a horizontal directon 13 rods. Its other dimensions are somewhat various in different parts of its course. Its medium width is about eight feet, and its height about the same. In some places, it contraces so as barely to admit a person to pass along, and in others expands into capacious rooms or vaults. Near the western extremity is a large room of conical form, the sides of which are very regular. Its height from the base to the apex is more than 50 feet, and its sides are limerock incrusted with stelactites. The bottom of the cavern is mostly a fine white clay, and a stream of very pure water runs through its whole length. The road from Bennington to Rutland passes through this town. The town is divided into nine school districts, in which there are about 500 scholars. The public money appropriated to the support of schools, amounts to 67 cents per scholar. There are two houses for public worship, three grist and six saw mills, one woollen factory, two mills for sawing marble, on forge, two stores, three taverns, two distilleries, and three tanneries. Pop. 1820, 1354; 697 males and 657 females.

April 1824. A.A. JR.

A Gazetteer of the State of Vermont Containing A Brief General View of The State, A Historical and Topographical Description of All the Counties, Towns, Rivers, &c. Together with a Map and Several Other Engraving by Zadock Thompson, 1824 Montpelier, Published by E. P. Walton and the Author E. P. Walton, Printer, 1824

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