History of Bennington, Vermont, USA

1777 - August 16 - Americans defeat British in Battle of Bennington, Vt
The Battle of Bennington, delayed a day by rain, was fought. The rain delayed British reinforcements, and allowed the Vermont Militia to arrive in time, enabling the Americans to win a victory by defeating two enemy forces, one at a time.
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"In February. 1782, the Vermont legislature met at Bennington, when few of the representatives from the eastern side of the state could be present, and dissolved the union with the New Hampshire towns by a formal vote."

History of Newbury, Vermont... by Frederic Palmer Wells, 1902

1791 - Population of Bennington, Vermont - 2,377

A gazetteer of Vermont... by John Hayward Boston - Tappan, Whittemore, and Mason 1849

1800 - Population of Bennington, Vermont - 2,243

A gazetteer of Vermont... by John Hayward Boston - Tappan, Whittemore, and Mason 1849

1810 - Population of Bennington, Vermont - 2,524

A gazetteer of Vermont... by John Hayward Boston - Tappan, Whittemore, and Mason 1849

1820 - Population of Bennington, Vermont - 2,485

A gazetteer of Vermont... by John Hayward Boston - Tappan, Whittemore, and Mason 1849

1830 - Population of Bennington, Vermont - 3,419

A gazetteer of Vermont... by John Hayward Boston - Tappan, Whittemore, and Mason 1849

1839 - Bennington
Bennington, Vermont
One of the chief towns of Bennington county. It lies 120 miles S.W. by S. from Montpelier, 25 S. from Manchester, and 30 east from Troy, N.Y. Population, 1830, 3,419. Present population, about 4,200. First settled, 1761. The town is situated high above the great rivers and the ocean, yet we find it of good alluvial soil, delightfully encircled by ever-green mountains. It abounds in iron ore, manganese, ochre, and marble. The streams are numerous and afford excellent mill sites. The products of the soil consist of all the varieties common to New England. Great attention is paid to the rearing of sheep: about 7000 of those useful animals feed on the hills and valleys. There are in Bennington, 6 cotton and 3 woollen factories, a very extensive iron foundry, 2 furnaces, a paper mill, flouring mills, &c. The public schools justly sustain an elevated rank. Bennington is finely located for the muses. On the border of this town, about 6 miles W. of the court house, the... Read MORE...

1840 - Population of Bennington, Vermont - 3,429

A gazetteer of Vermont... by John Hayward Boston - Tappan, Whittemore, and Mason 1849

1849 Bennington
One of the chief towns in the county. It is situated high above the great rivers and the ocean, yet we find it of good alluvial soil, delightfully encircled by evergreen mountains. It abounds in iron ore, manganese, ochre and marble. The streams are numerous and afford excellent mill sites. The products of the soil consist of all the varieties common to New England. Great attention is paid to the rearing of sheep.

There are in Bennington a great number of cotton and woolen factories, a very extensive iron foundry, two furnaces, a paper mill, flouring mills, &c. The public schools justly sustain an elevated rank. Bennington is finely located for the muses.

On the borders of this town, about six miles west of the court-house, the gallant Stark, with a small band of "Northern Yeoman," celebrated for their bravery, gained an important victory over the British August 16, 1777. The fame of that battle is as imperishable as the mountains which overshadow the ground. Shame to the... Read MORE...

1854 - Bennington
Bennington Centre, or Old Village of Bennington, a post-village, semi-capital of Bennington county, Vermont, in Bennington township, 117 miles S. by W. from Montpelier, contains the county buildings and a bank. Population, between 400 and 500.

Bennington East Village, a manufacturing village of Bennington township, Bennington county, Vermont, about 1 1/ 2 mile E. from the old village. It contains 4 or 5 churches, an academy, and 1 or 2 printing offices. Besides the several factories, foundries, and tanneries in the place, there is an establishment for making a peculiar kind of fire-brick. These bricks are used in glass ovens and furnaces where a high heat is required, and are generally preferred to any imported. They are composed chiefly of quartz and kaolin, a species of feldspar - minerals found in great abundance in the eastern part of the township. Population, about 800.

Bennington Iron Works, situated about 8 miles E. from Bennington Centre, consisting of several large... Read MORE...

1859
BENNINGTON, a village, semi-capital with Manchester of the forenamed co., 57 m. NE of Albany, 117 m. SW of Montpelier, settled in 1761. It is intersected by branches of the Hoosick, which afford good water-power. The surrounding district is fertile, and affords marble, iron-ore, and yellow ochre. Pop. 1840, 3,429.

A Gazetteer of the World: Or, Dictionary of Geographical Knowledge, Volume 1 Publisher A. Fullarton, 1859

1870 - At Bennington, Vt., a physician gave a man up to die, but going home he broke his leg, and his patient was the one who made him a crutch to hobble about on.

St Joseph Herald
Saint Joseph, Michigan
January 29, 1870

1891 - Bennington Battle Monument completed in Old Bennington

www.e-referencedesk.com/ resources/ state-history-timeline/ vermont.html

1895 - Bennington
Bennington, a post-village, one of the capitals of Bennington co., Vt., is in Bennington township, on the Bennington and Rutland Railroad, 55 miles S. by W. of Rut land, and about 35 miles N.E. of Albany, N.Y. It contains 5 churches, a graded school, 2 national banks, 2 iron-foundries, 7 knitting-mills, a woollen-factory, a pottery, and manufactures of cashmere, machinery, lumber, and chairs. Two weekly newspapers are published here. A monument 1302 feet high, commemorating the battle of Bennington, has been erected. Pop. 3971: Bennington township contains other villages, named North Bennington and Bennington Centre. Total pop. 6391.
Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World Containing Notices of Over One Hundred and Twenty-five Thousand Places ... Joseph Thomas January 1, 1895 J.B. Lippincott

1900 - MUST HAVE SLEPT TIGHT.
Eleven Bennington People Doze While House Burns.
(Special to The Messenger.)

Bennington, June 5. — The boarding house of Mrs. D. A. Healey, on South st., had a narrow escape from being burned Sunday night, and none of the eleven occupants in it knew anything of the affair until after they arose Monday morning. It is the custom to leave a handle lamp on a small table in one of the dining rooms every night, as it is usually late when some of the boarders get in. When Mrs. Healey entered the room Monday morning she was started at the sight that met her eyes. The lamp had exploded some time during the night. The spread on the table was burned to cinders, the table was partly gone, a folding bed near by badly burned, the cane seats in two chairs at a table adjoining the one on which the lamp stood were completely burned out the white table cloth on the table was burned to a crisp and several glasses on it were melted.

The ceiling of the room was black with smoke, and so was that in... Read MORE...

1902 - Unity Collar and Cuff Co. Fire
Bennington, Vt. March 9. - The most disastrous fire in the history of North Bennington broke out in the cutting room of the Unity Collar and Cuff Co., at 3 o'clock this morning completely destroying the establishment and contents except the engine and boiler room and a small storehouse. The building was a three-story frame structure with basement, about 150 by 45 feet.

The loss is estimated at $60,000; insurance, $40,000. About $20,000 worth of goods manufactured or in the process of manufacture were destroyed. The company has frequently had 300 employes on its payroll, though less than half of that number were employed in the mill, the other doing piece work at their homes. Many families in Bennington, North Bennington and White Creek obtained a living in that way. The origin of the fire is unknown.

The company was organized six years ago and had been very successful. The principal stockholders are Milo C. Huling and his son Floyd. The mill will probably be... Read MORE...

1910 - AUTO AND TROLLEY COLLIDE
Rainstorm Dbscures[sic] Driver's View - One Killed and Two Injured.

BENNINGTON, Vt., May 30. - A driving rainstorm that obscured the view of an automobile driver and an electric car motorman to-day caused a collision, in which Henry L. Knapp, 40 years of age, a local saloon keeper, who was in the automobile, was killed, and his companion, Miss Kate McGuire, 38 years old, a cousin of Knapp, and William Newton, a local garage keeper, and owner and driver of the machine, were seriously injured and may die.

The accident happened at an electric railway crossing opposite the Vermont Soldiers' Home. The automobile party were returning from Troy, N. Y., while the electric car was going in the opposite direction, bound from Bennington to Hoosic Falls, N. Y.

The automobile was smashed to pieces. The trolley car and its passengers were unharmed.
The New York Times
New York, New York
May 31, 1910

1912 - BAD WRECK ON RUTLAND. Three Are Dead and Eleven Are Injured Near Bennington.
Bennington, Sept. 9. - In a head-on collision a mile north of the railway station, two persons were killed and nearly a score injured, one fatally. The accident occurred when a passenger train on the Rutland railroad from Troy ran into a southbound milk train. Both locomotives were wrecked and two cars of the passenger train were telescoped.

The milk train was an hour late. It had the right of way and was running at a good speed. The passenger train, having just left the station here, had not gained much headway. Nearly all of the passengers in the partly filled coaches were more or less injured. The milk train carried a passenger coach in the rear, but its occupants, with two exceptions, escaped with a slight shaking up.

The railroad officials at Rutland say the blame for the wreck probably rests on the crew of the local as the milk train had the right of way.

The dead are:

Archie Gokay, 30 years, Rutland, engineer of the passenger train.

Dean Densmore, 23 years,... Read MORE...

1916
Bennington, a banking post-village, one of the capitals of Bennington CO., Vt., is in Bennington township (town), on the Rutland and the Chatham and Lebanon Valley Ra., 55 miles 8. by W. of Rutland and about 35 miles (direct) NE. of Albany, N.Y. It has extensive manufactures of knitted goods, woollens, cashmeres, shirts and collars, needles, etc. It contains a State Soldiers' Home. A monument has been erected commemorating the battle of Bennington, in which the Americans, under Stark, defeated a detachment of Burgoyne's army, Aug. 16, 1777. Pop. in 1900, 5656. Bennington town contains other villages, named North Bennington and Bennington Center, Total pop. 8033.
Lippincotts New Gazetteer: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World, Containing the Most Recent and Authentic Information Respecting the Countries, Cities, Towns, Resorts, Islands, Rivers, Mountains, Seas, Lakes, Etc., in Every Portion of the Globe, Part 1 Angelo Heilprin Louis Heilprin - January 1, 1916 J.B. Lippincott - Publisher

1927 - Flood
...Trolley cars were swept from their tracks by the flood waters at Bennington...
The Oelwein Daily Register
Iowa
November 4, 1927

1930 - Record Flyer, Hurt in Plane, Being Sought. Comrade Leaves Goldsboro, Alive in Wreck, to Seek Aid.
BENNINGTON, Vt., July 14. (AP). - Frank Goldsboro, 19, holder of the junior transcontinental flight record, was pinned beneath the wreckage of his plane in the woods near here Monday. Donald Mocklei, a companion, made his way from the plane wreckage to Bennington, but was unable exactly to locate the position where they had crashed.

Goldsboro and Mocklei left the Buffalo, N. Y., airport in the morning. Mocklei reported the plane crashed into a tree in the wooded mountain lands west of Bennington at about noon.

Mocklei, footsore and suffering exposure and minor injuries, said he had made his way to the town after he had been unable to extricate Goldsboro from the plane wreckage. Goldsboro was still alive when Mocklei left for help.

For five hours Mocklei wandered in the woods, finally making his way to a farmhouse, where he was given transportation to Bennington.
An hour later, a posse of rescuers, accompanied by a doctor, nurse and ambulance, had left Bennington for the... Read MORE...

Here's a list of places to visit and things to do in and around Bennington:
Bennington Battle Monument: Start your visit with a trip to the Bennington Battle Monument, which commemorates the Battle of Bennington during the American Revolutionary War. You can take an elevator ride to the top for panoramic views of the town and surrounding countryside.

Bennington Museum: Explore the town's history and art at the Bennington Museum. It houses an impressive collection of American art, including works by Grandma Moses, and exhibits on regional history.

Robert Frost Stone House Museum: Fans of poetry and literature should visit the Robert Frost Stone House Museum. The famous poet lived here from 1920 to 1929. You can tour the house and its beautiful surroundings.

Old First Church: This historic church dates back to 1806 and features stunning Federal-style architecture. It's a great spot for history enthusiasts and those interested in architectural beauty.

Silk Road Bridge: Take a walk or drive across the Silk Road Bridge, which is not only functional but ... Read MORE...