History of Orwell, Vermont, USA

Orwell, Vermont
Rutland county. This town lies on Champlain lake opposite to Ticonderoga, N.Y., and contains Mount Independence, celebrated in the annals of the revolutionary war. The lake here is about a mile wide, and from the Mount a delightful prospect is presented. Orwell was first permanently settled in 1783. The soil of the town is generally good and productive. In 1837 it contained 21,512 sheep. There is a spring in the town from the waters of which Epsom salts have been made, and shells of animals have been found supposed to have pertained to the ocean. There are good mill streams in Orwell and a pleasant village. Population, 1830, 1,598.

Addison Co. Some of the land in this township is broken and hilly ; the remaining part is very level, handsome land, and produces abundant crops of all kinds of grain.

The principal streams are East Creek, which rises in Benson and falls into Lake Champlain, on the north side of Mount Independence, and Lemonfair River, which here consists of two branches, running parallel with each other, along the eastern border, and uniting near the north line of the town. On these streams are several mill privileges, which are good during a part of the year. The waters, where the land is clayey, are slightly impregnated with Epsom salts, or the sulphate of magnesia. There is a spring on the lake shore, about 100 rods south from the north-west corner, the waters of which are strongly impregnated ; and from these salts have been manufactured in considerable quantities. In the compact limestone in this town are shells of various kinds. In the compact limestone on Mount Independence, flint is found. ...