Salisbury, Vermont, USA
1849 - Salisbury

Addison Co. Otter Creek forms the western boundary of this town. The other streams are Middlebury River, which touches upon the north part, and Leicester River, which waters the southern part. Lake Dunmore is about four miles long and from half to three fourths of a mile wide, and lies partly in Salisbury and partly in Leicester. On the outlet of this pond, called Leicester River, are several falls, which afford some fine mill privileges, around which, near the south line of the town, is a thriving village. The surface is somewhat uneven, but the soil is generally good. The eastern part extends on to the Green Mountains. In the western part are some fine tracts of meadow.

In the mountain east of Lake Dunmore is a cavern which consists of a large room, and is thought to have been inhabited by the Indians, as their arrows and other instruments have been found here.

Boundaries. North by Middlebury, east by Goshen, south by Leicester, and west by Cornwall and Whiting.

First Settlers. The first person who came into Salisbury with a view of settling, was Amos Storey. He built a log hut which was consumed by fire, and he himself was killed by the fall of a tree, before his family moved here. Thomas Skeeles and Abel Waterhouse were the two next to make beginnings. The widow of Mr. Storey, and eight or ten small children, were the first family which moved into town, and Mrs. Storey was consequently entitled to 100 acres of land, by a vote of the original proprietors. She came into the town the 22d day of February, 1775. She endured almost every hardship : laboring in the field, chopping down timber, and clearing and cultivating the soil. She retreated several times to Pittsford during the revolution, on account of the danger apprehended from the enemy, but at length she and a Mr. Stevens prepared themselves a safe retreat. This was effected by digging a hole horizontally into the bank just above the water of Otter Creek, barely sufficient to admit one person at a time. This passage led to a spacious lodging room, the bottom of which was covered with straw, and upon this their beds were laid for the accommodation of the families. The entrance was concealed by bushes, which hung over it from the bank above. They usually retired to their lodgings in the dusk of the evening, eind left them before light in the morning, and this was effected by means of a canoe, so that no path or footsteps were to be seen leading to their subterraneous abode.

First Minister. A Congregational Church was organized Feb. 8, 1804, and the same year a meeting-house Avas built. The Rev. Rufus Pomroy was settled over this church from Sept. 15, 1811, to Nov. 19, 1816.

Productions of the Soil. Wheat, 1,460 bushels ; Indian corn, 5,060 bushels ; potatoes, 20,240 bushels; hay, 2,150 tons ; maple sugar, 5,600 pounds ; wool, 15,900 pounds.

Distances. Thirty-four miles southwest from Montpelier, and about six miles south from the Southern Railroad depot in Middlebury.

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

Visit Salisbury, Vermont, USA
Discover the people who lived there, the places they visited and the stories they shared.