Caledonia County

By Dolores E. Chamberlain

Caledonia County, located in Vermont's "Northeast Kingdom," comprises 17 towns and villages. Early settlers cleared heavily forested land, and communities slowly took form. Businesses such as mills and factories emerged along the many rivers. Each town and village had many special attributes--Ricker's sawmill in Groton cut timbers until 1965, Peacham provided granite for monuments across the country, and St. Johnsbury manufactured goods like scales and maple syrup. Hardworking and industrious, residents have endured fires, floods, extremely harsh winters, and droughts, and they continue to boast a resilient spirit today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Mar 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781439650325

Dolores E. Chamberlain

Dolores E. Chamberlain is the author of Northeastern Vermont Railroads and Images of America: Caledonia County. As a member and past president of the Sheffield Historical Society, she is a passionate collector of all things historical. With husband James, she lives in Barton, Vermont, and has 14 grandchildren. Local historical societies as well as many individuals contributed generously, helping to develop this publication.

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INTRODUCTION

Caledonia County is composed of 17 towns and villages. People who moved here from out of state, sometimes referred to as flatlanders, came here for a quality of life in the beauty of Vermont that cannot be found anywhere else. The Northeast Kingdom, as this area is called, suggests that we are set apart. Like a quilt, each little village and town is collectively placed together and combines as a whole that illustrates the beauty and unique qualities of this region enjoyed by residents and visitors alike.

For instance, Danville is one of the highest towns in Vermont. It was settled in 1785, and in 1789, there were nearly 200 families. Among those born here was William A. Palmer, said to be the only Vermont senator who ever voted for a slavery bill. Greenbanks Hollow (then called West Danville) was completely burned down in December 1885 due to a fire that originated in its five-story mill.

Also located in this county is Stannard, the smallest town in Caledonia County. Stannard was inhabited in 1802 but not organized until 1867. There were at one time two churches, a town hall, and a sawmill. Situated high on Stannard Mountain, many roads travel through this small area, but it is not high in population.

Ryegate was once partly owned by the Reverend John Witherspoon, president of Princeton University and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. It is also known as the birthplace of Edward Cowles, author and physician, and Wells Goodwin, the last American survivor of the War of 1812, who died in Ryegate at the age of 100.

Even though a relatively small state, Vermont has its share of beauty year-round, with mountains topped with snow and alive with skiers and snowboarders barreling down their trails in the long winters and an abundance of forests green as emeralds in spring and summer and aglow with gold, orange, and yellow leaves in autumn.

Ricker’s Mill is a sawmill in Groton and cut its first timbers before 1800. It continued in operation until 1965 and is known as the oldest sawmill in continuous operation in the United States. We are a region rich in natural resources and a living history only found here and have a pride in the people and places contained in the Northeast Kingdom.

The Village of Kirby was settled in 1792, and at one time, a man named Russell Risley and his spinster sister worked a farm here with a variety of ingenious homemade gadgets such as pulleys and wheels, sliding boxes, and so forth. A trapeze stretched between the house and barn and carried the milk pail back and forth. It is the working minds and ingenuity of folks like this who gave Vermont its special name and place in history.

Attracting thousands of tourists annually is the large town of St. Johnsbury. This town is known for many historic sites such as the Athenaeum, the town library and art gallery, a maple museum, the Fairbanks Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, and a restored railroad depot that still offers occasional train rides. Although most railroad depots have been torn down, a few have been remodeled, and trains still carry freight to various locations.

From the 1700s on, early settlers came from New Hampshire, New York State, and Canada to build their homesteads here. They cleared heavily forested land, and from