HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAVENDISH!

 

Cavendish, Vermont Historic Timeline

9,000 BCE-2025 CE

 

                                           Updated: September 2026

                                                

 

 

 

There is archeological evidence of human occupation at Jackson Gore in Ludlow that dates back at least 11,000 years (9,000 BC), shortly after the ice age ended. Judging from the tools uncovered, these hunter/gatherers were highly skilled craftsmen whose travels included trading with other groups. A high percentage of the stone used for the tools came from Maine. 

 

Cavendish would have had Indians traveling through the area via the Black River and/or what became known as the Crown Point Rd. They would have stopped to fish and hunt and may have spent days or weeks depending on food availability. 

 

Tools used about 5,000-7,000 years ago, called the Archaic period, have been found in Cavendish fields, indicating there might have been an “upland” Indian settlement away from the river.

 

1535: Diseases, such as small pox, were brought by Europeans. Because of trading with other tribes, many Abenaki would have contracted diseases and died by the time Jacques Cartier arrived in VT in 1535. The Europeans began pushing the Abenaki off their lands, which resulted in many emigrating to Canada around 1669. 

 

1754: Just after the outbreak of the French and Indian War, an Abenaki Indian raid took place in Charlestown, NH, Susannah Willard Johnson is captured with her family and taken to Saint-Francois-du-Lac, Quebec. She gives birth to Elizabeth Captive Johnson in what is today Cavendish on August 31.The marker of this event appears in Reading, VT. 

 

1759: Crown Point Road is built by the British, linking Fort Number 4 in Charlestown, NH to Fort Crown Point on Lake Champlain. Major John Hawks and 250 rangers cleared a roughhewn road through the forest. A path was cut across the elevation in southeastern Cavendish, now called Hawks Mountain. Soldiers traveling along this section of the road soon complained of its roughness. Another route bypassing Hawks Mountain was laid out during the next spring. An encampment twenty miles from Charlestown on the road gave the tributary of the Black River its present name Twenty Mile Stream. The Crown Point Rd had originally been an Indian trail.

 

Cavendish had “squatters,” or “backwoods pioneers,” men who brought their families to make claim in isolated lands, stayed for a while and would have been forced to move on once land was being sold. When these people would have started arriving is unknown, though it is expected that both Charleston’s Fort # 4 (founded in 1735) and the building of the Crown Point Rd, would have made the area known to European settlers. 

 

1761: Cavendish Charter signed by King George III of England on Oct. 12. The area of land includes what is today, Cavendish and Proctorsville villages and Baltimore, VT. 

 

1769: John and Susanna Coffeen and their children are the first European settlers in Cavendish. Their home was located on the Cavendish Reading Road, close to Brook Road. Not long after Coffeen settled in Cavendish, he and his wife set out for Charlestown, NH for supplies and grinding their grist. Due to a snow storm, the parents did not return for six weeks. During this time, one of the Coffeen children became ill and died. The other children kept the body in the house until the parents return, at which time, due to heavy snow, the body was buried across the road from the house. Coffeen decided that this would be the family’s cemetery. Coffeens, Baldwins and at least four Revolutionary soldiers are buried there. Members of the Tumbo/Tumber family are thought to be buried there as well. 

 

1775-1783: American Revolutionary War. 

In a new settlement like Cavendish, one of the first order of business would be to establish a militia for self-defense. Every able-bodied  man would be a member, with one elected as Captain. These groups were also called “training bands.” John Coffeen was captain of the first Cavendish Militia and during the Revolution was at the head of a troop of Rangers. 

 

When the Revolution came, these military companies were called into action. In addition there were “alarm-lists,” which enumerated all the men between 14 and 65 years of age, who were liable to be called upon in an emergency. Up until 1847, all able-bodied men between 18 and 45 years of age, by law, were enrolled in the militia and were required to do military duty. Every man was required to keep arms and equipment as needed for actual service, and for so doing, his poll was exempt from taxation. 

 

Susanna Coffeen was the only woman to remain in Cavendish through the entire Revolutionary War period. 

 

1777: Capt. Coffeen’s grain and grass fields,  as well as fledgling young orchard,  were destroyed when 300 New England troops were stationed on his farm, while working on the Crown Point Road. Later in the year, after the surrender of Crown Point and Ticonderoga, militia, whose terms had expired or where discharged for misconduct, again encamped at Coffeen’s as they made their way home. The tavern house, which Coffeen had established, was immediately filled to overflowing. Those who could not get lodging inside, built fires with the boards that Capt. Coffeen had procured for building a large barn and house. They stripped his home of nearly everything it contained and the turned their horses into his grain. They justified their actions by declaring that the enemy would do it themselves within 48 hours. Capt. Coffeen sent his family to relatives in Rindge, NH. For the remainder of the summer, his house became a camp for the vagrant soldiery, several of whom died under his roof. 

 

• Coffeen was chosen to represent Vermont at the Windsor Convention to form a Constitution for the new State of Vermont in June of that year.

 

1778: The earliest burial in town was that of Henry Proctor in the Old Revolutionary Cemetery, located off of Brook Rd in Cavendish. The 1760 Crown Point Road passes to the right (north) of this cemetery. 

• First marriage Michael Coffeen and Sarah

 

1781: Salmon Dutton moved to Cavendish from Massachusetts. Dutton worked as a road surveyor, a justice of the peace, and the treasurer of the town of Cavendish. His home was located on what is today the Cavendish Green, and is now located at the Shelburne Museum. He is buried in the Cavendish Village Cemetery on High Street.  

• First recorded birth John Gilbert on July 9

 

1782: Capt. Leonard Proctor, a Revolutionary War veteran, moved his family to Vermont. With his two sons (Jabez and John) he built a “shunpike” to the village of Gassetts in nearby Chester to avoid paying the tolls of the Green Mountain Turnpike. Salmon Dutton, helped to build the Green Mountain Turnpike, which ran from Bellows Falls to Rutland, bringing Boston coaches north up the Duttonsville Gulf to the village and then west along the present RT 131 (Main Street) through Proctorsville. The “shunpike” being toll free resulted in North bound traffic from Boston coming directly to Proctorsville and bypassing Duttonsville. 

 

Because of the road, the Dutton and Proctor families, as well as the villages of Duttonsville and Proctorsville, feuded for 75 years. Proctor is buried in the Proctor Cemetery off of Main Street in Proctorsville. 

 

• There were 35 “freeman” and their families living in Cavendish

• First Warning for Town Meeting Feb. 28. Held at Noadiah Russell’s home on March 12

• First Town Clerk: Josiah Fletcher; Salmon Dutton first town treasurer

 

1784: The first saw and grist mill were established in Cavendish on what is now known as Atherton Mill (Carlton Road).

• The first road in Ludlow was laid out and surveyed Sept. 6 by Solomon Dutton and built from Cavendish to Ludlow. Bridle-paths were cut from this road to the north and south hills and later in other directions. This was the only road till the organization of the town, when it was continued through Shrewsbury and further west; it subsequently became known as the Green Mountain Turnpike and the original owners were the Fletcher brothers, of Ludlow, Salmon Dutton, Christopher Webber, of Cavendish, the latter being the business manager. This turnpike had three toll-gates between Duttonsville and Cuttingsville, and in later years was a source of great profit. The Ludlow gate was located well up to the eastern entrance of the valley … The paying of toll became unpopular, and “shunpikes” were built. “History of Windsor County, VT”  1891,

 

1787: First physician in Cavendish, Asaph Fletcher, settled near Proctorsville. 

 

1790: Cavendish population 491

First burial in the Cavendish Village cemetery on High Street. The land originally belonged to Salmon Dutton, but the town bought the land from several local people.

 

1791: Vermont becomes the 14th state on March 4. 

 

1792: The Cavendish Academy (corner of High Street and Main Street Cavendish)  was incorporated as the first Academy to be chartered in the State of Vermont. The first Academy school was kept in Salmon Dutton Jr’s tavern building until 1812, when a two-storied building was erected. In 1833, there were 70 students enrolled. The Academy was given up in 1853 and the building was converted to a store. Currently it’s not occupied. 

 

1793: Oct. 19: The Southeastern corner of Cavendish (4.71 miles), containing about 3,000 acres of land, was incorporated separately into a new township, Baltimore. 

• Samuel Hutchinson Sr, who gave the land for The Twenty Mile Stream Cemetery in Proctorsville, buried the first person there, his wife Abigail. 

 

1795: Cavendish. Center Road School on the corner of Town Farm Road and Center Road adjacent to the Center Road Cemetery. From 1795 to present day, there have been 13 public schools in Cavendish. Students were assigned to the school closest to where they lived. In addition to Center Rd school, which was closed in 1955, schools included: Proctorsville Village School (closed 1959); Duttonsville (closed 1972); Coffeen (Densmore) School (burned in 1922); Hudson School (burned down in 1901); Stockin School (half in Weathersfield); Parker School (closed 1911); Rumke School (closed 1923); Tarbell Hill School (closed 1955); Bailey Hill (unorganized district); Gilchrist School (closed 1947); Wheeler School (closed 1955); and Fittonsville School (Spring Mill). The town now has one school Cavendish Town Elementary School, for grades K-6, located in Proctorsville on what was once the Proctorsville School site.  Middle school and high school students attend Green Mountain Union High School in Chester.

 

1800: Cavendish population 920

• First Cavendish postmaster Salmon Dutton

 

1802: First recording of a family being “Warned Out.” These notices would have been given to families that were thought to be “undesirable.” A  legal technicality to keep towns solvent, towns often didn’t care if the person actually moved on. It was done to ensure that the community would never be legally required to support that person. Most likely there were families, particularly the “pioneering” ones, that were “warned out” prior. 

• Union Meeting house to be used for religious purposes established

 

1803: First Baptist Minister Rev. Aaron Leland

• First regular delivery of mail to Cavendish from Rutland to Cavendish and beyond by post rider June 22

 

1805: The first child of African descent, Charlotte Tumbo/Tumber, is born. Her father, Peter Tumbo/Tumber, was born most likely in the Tumbo region of West Africa. He survived the middle passage, fought in the Revolutionary War, obtained his freedom and moved to Cavendish in 1795. In 1804, he buys 50 acres of land from Lake Coffeen, and lived in the area close to the intersection of Brook and the South Reading Roads. Another couple Prince (also a former slave and a Revolutionary War veteran) and Anna Robinson lived with the Tumbos in Cavendish. The Robinsons eventually relocated to Rutland, VT. 

 

•  The Mount Union, Center Road Cemetery, had its first burial. The land was obtained from several local citizens. 

• First Lawyer Uriel C. Hatch

 

1810: Cavendish population 1,295

 

1811-1815: Spotted fever epidemic. Many of the early settlers died, particularly the young and the old. The Pesthouse Cemetery, located on the upper end of Town-Farm Road was a place to bury those who died from contagious disease such as small pox. The only marker in this cemetery is for Jotham Wheelock b 8-26-1763 d 4-27-1831. 

 

1812: Cavendish Academy building constructed.

 

1815: Old Brick Store Edmund Ingalls and Addison Fletcher in Cavendish.

 

1816: First burial in the Proctor Cemetery, which is located off of Main Street, in Proctorsville. The land was donated by the Proctors and contains the graves of this family.

 

1820: Cavendish population 1,551 people

• First saw and grist mill in Proctorsville-Josiah French and Elisha Swift

 

1824 The town consisted of  a meeting-house, an academy, eleven school districts, nine school-houses, eight saw-mills, three grist-mills, four fulling-mills, three carding machines, two woolen factories, one nail factory, three tanneries, two distilleries, one tinware and stove factory, one hat factory, three stores and three taverns. (History of Windsor County, Vermont by Lewis C. Aldrich and Frank R Holmes, 1891)

 

1828: Hillcrest Cemetery, located on Bailey Hill Rd in Proctorsville, had its first burial. The land was obtained from the Proctors. The tomb was built in 1897. Just before entering the Hillcrest Cemetery, there used to be a “potter’s field.” A story has been handed down, but has yet to be confirmed that during the Depression (1930’s), this area was plowed and used for planting potatoes. Only three graves remain in this area of the cemetery. 

 

1830: Cavendish was dotted with farms, corn and wheat fields and pastures for sheep. The raising of hops was carried on for many years on some of the farms, until a disease destroyed a great deal of it. 

            - Cavendish population 1,498

 

1832: Black River Canal and Manufacturing Company built in Cavendish. By 1842, they employed 175 workers making broadcloth. The building burned in 1873. Gay Brothers Woolen Mills eventually built on this property. 

-       The abolitionist newspaper, “The Liberator,” along with “The Vermont Watchman” & “State Gazette” carried a notice that read, On Jan 30, 1832, Peter Tumbo, “colored man”, aged 106 died in Cavendish. Learn more about Peter Tumbo/Tumber, a Revoluntionary War Veteran, abolitionist, former slave & well respected resident of Cavendish at https://cavendishhistoricalsocietynews.blogspot.com/2021/02/peter-tumbotumber-revolutionary-war.html

 

1833: Fire District #1 is formed in Proctorsville and is staffed by volunteers. 

 

1834: Second Baptist Church built in Cavendish. Extensive renovations were made to the brick structure in 1875, but the building was destroyed by fire. The Baptist Church decided to relocate and the building was sold to the town for $500. Currently the home of the Cavendish Historical Society Museum, the building served as town office, community and recreation center at various times. “Firebug Fitton” was thought to have set the building on fire, but the Cavendish Baptist Church records note, on April 27, 1875, the building caught fire from a burning shop located near the canal floodgates. There was no firefighting apparatus at hand, and it was but a short time before the building was a mass of ruins. Only by the hasty action of the people were the pews and pulpit set saved. These are still in use in the present Baptist Church. Plans were immediately made to build a new church.

 

1835: Proctorsville Woolen Manufacturing Company, started by Jabez Proctor, employed 35 workers, making cassimere cloth by 1842.

 

• The Cavendish Green Marble Quarry established in America for extraction of the green serpentine rock known in the stone industry as Verde Antique. The first site was quarried in approximately 1835 by the Black River Marble and Soapstone Mfg company.  The original quarry was located on the Black River, near Winery Road at a place formerly called Hart’s Bend. It was moved up to its present location in 1931. The Moriglioni family owned and operated the Quarry during this period. Marble was quarried from the late 1930’s through the early 1950’s. The marble on the floors and interior columns of the main entrance of the National Gallery of Art in Washington (which opened in 1941) comes the Proctorsville Quarry. In 1989 the Ruby brothers, from Fair Haven, attempted to open the quarry but did not have the equipment to do so. In late 1990’s the Vermont Marble Company (owned by an Italian company) bought a 20 year lease to remove stone. The quarry was worked for 3-4 years and then work ceased. During this time,  stone was shipped for cutting to Italy, Spain and Brazil. 

 

1836: The Proctorsville Woolen Mill started. Failed in the panic of 1873-74 and was not used for three years. It was reopened with new owners in 1877 and became known as the Crescent Woolen Mill.

 

1840: Cavendish population 1,427

 

1844: Universalist Church (Old Stone Church) built in Cavendish. This was the beginning of “snecked ashlar” buildings in the town. This construction technique refers to walls constructed with exterior and interior surfaces composed of mortared stone slabs arranged vertically on edge, tied together with smaller horizontal slabs called "snecks." The space between the wall surfaces was filled with rubble stone. Most of the stone buildings in Cavendish were constructed by Clark Wardner and John Adams of Reading. They taught the trade to McGrath wdo did much of the work in Twenty Mile Stream district. They used mortar, made from native lime and had a secret formula for mixing it. Examples of “snecked ashlar” construction are present throughout the town: Glimmerstone (Main Street); Black River Health Center; Roundy Farm (corner of Wiley Hill Road and High Street in Cavendish); Saydek home adjacent to the Town Office; the Black River Bank building on Depot Street in Proctorsville and several homes on Twenty Mile Stream Rd. The stone for the various buildings was mined in Cavendish. 

 

1845: Black River Bank is built on Depot St., Proctorsville

 

1848: Phineas Gage, a foreman, was working with his crew excavating rocks in preparing the bed for the Rutland and Burlington Railroad in Cavendish. An accidental explosion of a charge he had set blew his tamping iron through his head. It entered under the left cheekbone and exited through the top of the head. His recovery from this injury and the impact on his life was the first well-documented case of traumatic brain injury in the medical literature. It was also the first understanding that different parts of the brain have different functions and effects on personality. With this knowledge, the first brain tumor removal operation became possible in 1885.

 

1849: The Rutland Railroad runs through both villages, connecting Burlington and Boston-December 18.

 

1850: Cavendish population 1,576

 

1857: John Brown visits Proctorsville. Henry Bridge Atherton wrote to John Brown’s autobiographer about this visit in 1882. Proctorsville, VT Mary 9th, 1882

 

James Redparth Esq

 

I have sometimes thought the day would come where your publishers would issue another edition of your “Public Life of John Brown,” which was 1st published at Boston in 1860 by Thayer and Eldridge 11 St and 116 Washington St. I have been recently reading that book, and it occurs to me that, inview of the events following the execution of the old hero-the man-the freedom of the slave, the political results of the execution-and the history of our country in the past quarter of a century-you might perhaps to write that book and, if so, I would want a copy to side by side with the copy I now have in my library. John Brown and his son, Owen, I think it was, came here in the last days of Dec. 1856 or in the early part of January 1857- and spent some time on those days at my office-boarding at the Village Hotel. At that time I held the office of Secretary of the VT Senate- and our Governor-Hon. Ryland Fletcher, a brother of the late Hon. Richard Fletcher, of Boston, and Judge of Mass. Sup. Court- now my new neighbor. Our Legislature at the previous Oct.  Session at Montpelier had passed an act authroising Gov. Fletcher, in his discretion to furnish funds to an amount not exceeding twenty thousand dollars -$20,000-for the relief of the suffering citizens of Kansas-as you will find by reference to the session laws of 1856 in the Library-Our state casual   care of __ General Gundry of Vergennes, VT had on hand quite an amount of guns-out of date & useless to our  State. Gundry  was authorized to sell or dispose of them. In some way John Brown had learned of these facts—and came here to examine the laws-and to confer with Gov. Fletcher. The Old man told us that the generosity of the people had so supplied the citizens of  Kansas with food and clothing as none of  this __ appropriation would be thus needed, least be thought possibly  the Gov. might be authorized to let him have some of the old guns from the state Arsenal-He became satisfied on looking at the law, that Gov. Fletcher could not appropriate guns for the Defense of Freedom in the direction indicated. The Old man told us his objectives to enlist young men-pious and patriotic determined young men-not  wild and ­­ profane ones in his service and that he proposed to rendezvous at Tabor in Iowa-just over the boarders from Kansas and await events. He showed me the enlistment papers as drawn up by him and most neatly executed. He said he expected on the return of Spring in 1857- the Missourians-becoming supplied themselves with a new stock of whiskey, would again invade Kansas-and he wishes to be ready to repel them. He said that courage of those invaders depended very much on the amount of whiskey they had. He was very conscientious-writing at my office table many letters in the time he was here. I offered him paper, envelopes—postage stamps-and he always left the dimes in the box to pay for them. The son was a light complexioned and sandy haired youth as compared with the father-they had the chains with them-that the borders….

 

1858: Emily Dutton marries Redfield Proctor, ending a 75-year feud between the villages of Cavendish and Proctorsville. The merger of these families proved to be important to Vermont, since three governors and a United States Senator issued from this Dutton-Proctor line.

 

• The Proctorsville Library Association formed. Redfield Proctor elected librarian and clerk. The Hon. Richard Fletcher, of Boston Mass made a donation of books the following year. 

 

1860: Irish railroad workers, who settled in Cavendish, form the Catholic Church in Proctorsville. 

 

-        Cavendish population 1,509

 

1861-1865 Civil War Era: Prior to the War, Cavendish becomes part of the eastern trunk of the Underground Railroad between Brattleboro and Montpelier.  

 

• In the War of the Union. — The first action taken by the town in reference to the late civil war was at a town meeting held April 30, 1861,  Governor Ryland Fletcher presiding. It was then voted to raise $2,000 to liquidate all obligations incurred by Captain Tuttle in raising the Cavendish Light Infantry, and to pay the board of the men and furnish support to their families. Another loan of $3,000 was authorized in August, 1862, to pay bounties for nine months' volunteers, and in November of the following year a bounty of $200 was offered for volunteers, which was subsequently increased to $300, and another loan of $4,000 negotiated. During the latter part of 1863 the bounty was increased to $500, to make it possible to fill the town quota, and the selectmen were authorized to raise $10,000 to pay the expense of future calls for volunteers. In January, 1865, another loan of $7,000 was made, and in 1867 $15,000 was borrowed to pay the balance of the war debt. From a compilation made by the Hon. Calvin French we give the following figures : Cavendish furnished to the armies of the Union twenty men in response to the first call for troops for three months' service. In the Second, Eleventh, Fourth, Seventh aud Fifth Vermont Regiments, forty-two men for three years' service. These volunteers received no bounties Forty-two men were furnished under the nine months call. For subsequent calls fifty-three men were furnished for three years, and thirty for one year, making a grand total of 187 volunteers furnished by the town, whose terms of service would amount to 3521^ years for one man. Of these 125 volunteers received bounties amounting to $43,550, the others being recruited before it was necessary to offer a bounty. As early as 1867 a movement was inaugurated to  erect a soldiers' monument in Cavendish, but it was not successful. In May, 1883, the present secretary of war, Redfield Proctor, presented his native town with a fine white marble monument, suitably inscribed and surmounted with an eagle. The town at this time appropriated $1,000 to grade the lot and pay the expense of the dedication of the monument. History of Windsor County, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich and Frank R. Holmes, 1891

 

-        Tom Seaver, William Sperry and Daniel Davis Wheeler all receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for their service during the war. 

 

1867: Fitton Mill (Spring Mill) established and soon became the largest mill in the area. The Mill complex was destroyed by arson in 1875. Remains of the Mill can be seen in the area just before the Cavendish Gorge. 

 

1869: At a special town meeting held October 18, 1869, the town  accepted of the gift of Hon. Richard Fletcher, of Boston, Mass., of 2,600 volumes and the interest accruing on $2,000, for the permanent establishment of a library, which was named in honor of the generous donor. The question of the location of the library caused a great deal of jealousy among the people of the villages of Cavendish and Proctorsville, the inhabitants of the latter desiring the establishment of a branch in that village, which was at first refused by a vote of 138 against, to 119 in favor. Tile library was first established at the house of Luke Parkhurst, then town clerk. History of Windsor County, edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich and Frank R. Holmes, 1891

 

• The flood of 1869 destroyed New City. This area was located four miles from Cavendish village near Weathersfield. As early as 1856, wooden ware was manufactured there. Newspaper accounts indicate that some form of settlement was in place by 1845. The 1855 Hosea Doton map shows three building, with one marked ‘sawmill.” New City is an example of an area that, according to the usual pattern of New England settlement, would not be inhabited. It was ignored in the early days. Far from other settlements, deep in a narrow valley, subject to flooding, it does not make sense to live there unless an economic situation provides incentive. Only prosperity would allow investors to develop the normally undesirable spot. The promise of good waterpower during a boom time must have caused the essential optimism to seek a “New City.” This area was an example of 19th century waterpower manufacturing boom and related domestic sites that are no longer operating or even standing. With the elimination of a boom time that demanded cut lumber and wooden ware, there was no other reason for industrial operations. CHS Archives. 

 

1870: Cavendish registered the highest population in its history with 1,823 people. 

 

1875: Baptist Church (now the Historical Society Museum) and Alonzo Mills are burned. 

 

1877: The Proctorsville Woolen mill is reorganized and becomes the second largest mill in Vermont under the management of Taft, Burbank and Murdock. It was known as the Crescent Mill but would eventually be known as Murdock’s Mill

 

1880: Cavendish population 1,276 This significant decline can be attributed to several factors-the westward expansion, demise of Fitton Mill and lack of work.

 

1883: Civil War Memorial, donated by Vermont’s Former governor Redfield Proctor, is dedicated. This memorial is in front of the Cavendish Historical Society Museum. 

 

• Fire District # 2 is formed in Cavendish and is staffed by all volunteers. 

 

1886: The Gay family moves its woolen mill operations from Tunbridge to Cavendish. 

 

• A local group of Odd Fellow (I.O.O.F. Mt. Sinai Lodge No. 22) is organized in Proctorsville. 

 

1890: Cavendish Population 1,172  

 

1899: First automobile E.H. Atherton June 30

 

1900: Cavendish Population 1,352

 

1905: The Claremont Power Company began construction of the Cavendish Hydro Station on the Black River. The dam was built in 1907, at the entrance to the gorge, and operation of the hydro station began that same year. First electric lights C.D. Gay January 20.

 

1906: First telephone, J.F. Gay April 13

 

1907: Proctorsville becomes part of the town of Cavendish. 

 

1909: Electric light poles started being installed in Cavendish and Whitesville. Electric lights were installed in the Town Hall in 1910, but it took until the 1940’s and some stretches even later, for electricity to be available town wide. 

 

1910: Cavendish population 1,208

• The telephone comes to Vermont. There is evidence that Ludlow Telephone was in operation by 1913. Because of the costs, telephone service was slow to come to the rural areas. Most places had phone service by the mid 1940’s. Ludlow Telephone Company was eventually sold to TDS Telecom in the 1990’s. 

 

1911: Activities for the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Cavendish Charter are postponed due to a small pox epidemic. Festivities are held in 1912, which are documented in “The Vermonter.”

 

1914: Proctor Piper State Forest, with the donation of 424 acres, established. A second gift from Leon S. Gay in the mid 1930’s added 300 acres and additional purchases of property added another 700 acres. 

 

1917-1919 (WWI): 57 men and one woman from Cavendish joined the military. The flu epidemic of 1918 took the lives of three of the four Cavendish servicemen that were to die during the war. Food and coal rationing were required. The latter was not an issue for local farmers, who burned wood, but it was difficult for those in the villages. Daylight Saving Time was started on April 1, 1918. 

 

The mills were operating at full tilt for the war effort. Business was in a boom period through 1920. Most of the Cavendish servicemen returned home.

 

1918: Cavendish elected its first woman selectman, Gertrude Foster.

 

1919: First plane seen flying over Cavendish, Henry Stickney of Ludlow flew from Springfield to Rutland Sept. 5.

 

1920: Cavendish population 1,319

 

1923: WWI Memorial dedicated in Proctorsville. Redfield Proctor, Jr donated the monument. 

 

1927: The largest flood on record in Vermont caused heavy damage in the Black River Valley, particularly Cavendish. A quarter mile long channel avulsion bypassing the Cavendish Gorge eroded approximately 2 million tons of sediment down to bedrock leaving a channel 150 feed deep and 600 feet wide. Seven houses were washed away and the Duttonsville School ended up protruding over the edge of a high sandbank. Redfield Proctor, former Vermont governor, offered $10,000 to restore the schoolhouse. Olin Gay, Chairman of the School Board, proposed using this gift to move the school to a new location. He also proposed that the town raise an additional $5,000 by taxes to put in an auditorium basement, modernize the heating system and install toilets. The school building was moved on big rollers by oxen and horses 400 feet back to a safer location. It had much better facilities than before the flood. A Vermont Standard School until 1928, thanks to the renovations after the flood, Duttonsville was upgraded to a “Superior School,” a status it retained until closing in 1971.

 

• President Calvin Coolidge telegraphs his cousin, Park Pollard, after the flood, wanting to know what he can do for Cavendish. He sent Herbert Hoover, his Secretary of Commerce, to visit the region and to make recommendations. Two Army engineers came to give technical help about relocating the state road

 

• Charles Lindbergh flies over Cavendish

 

• Radio Station WLAK begins in Bellows Falls. Cavendish has radio service. Many farmers make their own “crystal” radios. They would use their car batteries to power them. 

 

• Murdock’s Mill now becomes Proctor Mill

 

1928: In September, almost ten months after the flood, President Coolidge comes to Cavendish to view the damage. He looked at the washed out areas, but characteristically, did not say much. 

 

1929: Stock market crash. This did not have an immediate impact on Cavendish. Few people had investments to lose, and for the Gay Brothers Woolen Mill, 1929 was the best year, financially, in the history of their business. It took several years before the depression was felt. Cash was scarce, but for many farmers, that had always been the case. Frugality was part of the depression, but it wasn’t caused by it. 

 

1930: Cavendish Population 1,418

 

1932: Black Bear Woolen Mill replaces Proctor Mill and operates until 1937. Even though the mill functions was thought to be productive, it closes in 1937 possibility because of union strikes the year before. The building is sold to Proctorsville and is never used for textiles again. It was eventually used by Proctor Reels to make reels and furniture. 

 

1933: A Civilian Conservation Corps camp was established in the Proctor-Piper Forest in Proctorsville. One hundred twenty five unmarried men, between the ages of 18-25, came from New York to join local men in clearing trails for horse back riding and hiking and to create a recreational area. 

* National Black River Bank is closed in March and re opens in Sept. As the Black River Branch of the Windsor County Bank.

 

1938: A hurricane struck the Town. The winds blew down thousands of trees, blocking nearly every road. 

 

1940: Cavendish Population 1,398

 

1941-1945 WWII Era: One hundred and sixty-eight men and one woman served in the war. Imogene Baxendale served as an Army nurse. Six men were killed in action and several were wounded. They served in every branch of the armed services and in nearly every area where American soldiers, sailors and flyers were sent. 

 

• Gay Brothers Mill was described as “the chief war industry of the town where 300 people worked producing 30,000 yards of woolen blankets, Navy uniform cloth and Khaki flannels each week for the United States Government. 37% of the workers served in the military. In need of workers, women worked in the mills, many men had second jobs there and all high school students over 16 were asked to work at the mill whenever possible.

 

• Due to its proximity to Precision Valley, as well as the mills in the Villages, Cavendish was viewed as being at risk for enemy bombing. Three spotter towers were erected and were staffed by volunteers (women, high school students, and men not in the service) 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The towers were located above the Duttonsville School, across from Moonlite Meadows Farm, on East Road, and at the end of Blood Terrace off of Maple Street in Proctorsville.

 

1946: Allen Wilcox becomes the first town manager hired. Each year the town would vote whether they wanted a paid town manager. Some years they had one and many  years they didn’t.  From 1951-1955 there was no town manager and in 1956 was passed by a margin of 5 votes. In 1960, Donald Ellison became town manager and held the post for quite some time. 

 

1950: Cavendish population 1,374

• Dutton House moved from the Cavendish Green to the Shelburne Museum.

• The Cavendish Historical Society is formed. Ethel Roosevelt Derby urged the formation of a local historical society. Elizabeth Williams, the Roy Healtds, the Will Atkinsons, Constance Bradley and others to establish CHS. Elizabeth Bradley collected and arranged artifacts, while Miss Williams keep record. The first president was Atherton Bemis.The society was able to lease the old Town Hall for its museum in 1970 and the old Stone church was given to CHS for preservation shortly thereafter. 

 

1950-1953: Korean War. Fifty four men from Cavendish served in this war. All returned home safely. 

 

1951: Gay Brothers Mill closes. The mill is sold to F. C. Hyuck and Sons and becomes known as Kenwood Mills. 

 

1953: Rutland Railroad stops passenger service, ending passenger service in Proctorsville and Cavendish. Depots in both towns are dismantled. 

 

1954: First Television set comes to Cavendish. Vermont’s first television station, was established in 1954 when WCAX-TV began broadcasting from Burlington. Joseph Warren on Twenty Mile Stream owned the first TV set in Cavendish. 

 

1955: Cavendish Historical Society established. Atherton Bemis is the first president. 

 

• Cavendish Town Office built in its current location on High Street in Cavendish. 

 

1956-1957: Physician serving the Cavendish/Proctorsville area dies. Two fatal car accidents occurred and Cavendish found they could not rely on Ludlow for medical coverage. Community leaders meet with the University of Vermont Medical School about the situation.  They were advised to equip a medical office and then solicit for a physician. Kenwood Mills, who purchased Gay Brothers Mills and its holdings in 1951, donates the stone building to help form the new Black River Health Center. Members of the community donated their time to renovate the building. Workers at Kenwood Mills had $1 a week withheld from their pay to help establish the Health Center. Dr. Eugene Bont and Dr. Lawrence Bixby set up practice. 

 

1957: Kenwood Mills, formerly Gay Brothers Woolen Mill, once the leading employer for the town is sold and closed by the new owners. 

 

• Passenger and freight train service no longer available in Cavendish.

 

• Art Briggs is elected Fire Chief for Fire District #2 (Cavendish). With his experience fighting fires in WWII, he creates a well organized group and legally incorporates the Fire Department. An active Auxiliary is formed. Prior to Briggs arrival, Cavendish stored fire fighting equipment at various locations in town and depended heavily on Fire District #1 and the Gay Brothers Mill for putting out fires. 

 

• Hawks Mountain Fire, which started on the Cavendish side and spread to Perkinsville. The National Guard had to be called for help. The fire started on May 7 and wasn’t fully extinguished until May 11. 

 

1960: The new Proctorsville Elementary School building opens. Duttonsville School is still open, but will close in 1971. As the Cavendish village students enter the school in Proctorsville, the school becomes known as the Cavendish Town Elementary School. 

 

• Cavendish Population 1,223, the lowest since 1910.

 

• New Route 103 extension added, no longer requiring traffic to go down Proctorsville’s Depot Street to a stop light, where drivers turned left for Ludlow or right for Cavendish. Depot Street becomes a town road and no longer a state highway. 

 

1961: The town celebrates its 200th anniversary. 

 

1962: Mack Molding opens in the Gay’s Brother Mill complex.

 

1963-1973: Vietnam War Era. Sixty four men and three women (Harriet Dockum, Linda Tyrell and Rachel Strong) served in this conflict. 

 

1967: On December 12, the voters of the Cavendish Town School District approved, by a margin of 122 to 73, the formation of a union high school district, grades 7-12, with the town School Districts of Andover and Chester and the Duttonsville Independent School District. 

 

1969: Lawrence Kelly Jr. Opened the Chopping Block, in Proctorsville. This was a popular nightclub at the intersection of 103 and 131.

-       Green Mountain Union High School opens for grades 7-12

 

1970: Cavendish population 1,264

The Cavendish Historical Society leases the old town hall building for its Museum. Shortly thereafter, the Old Stone Church (Universalist Church) is leased to the Historical Society for preservation.  

 

• Vermont passes Act 250, known as the Land Use and Development Act, as a result of the increasing development of resort and second home housing. This expansion was putting a heavy burden on small towns, particularly in the southern part of the state, who would need to significantly expand infrastructures to meet the expansion. One of the first projects was the Black River Estates off of Pratt Hill in Proctorsville. In subsequent years, this law is used to stop development thought to be inappropriate for Cavendish. 

 

1972: The bank in Proctorsville, which became part of VT National in 1964, closes. 

-       The Duttonsville School closes with one school-Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES) serving the entire town. 

 

1973: Major flood, which washed out many roads and bridges as well as the town’s wastewater treatment plant. 

 

1976: Solzhenitsyn, Nobel Prize winner and Soviet dissident, settles in Cavendish with his wife, children and mother-in-law. His home becomes a place of refuge for other Soviet dissidents. 

 

• In honor of the country’s bicentennial, Cavendish Town Elementary School changes its mascot from the Blue Devils to The Patriots.

• The town celebrates the bicentennial with an Old Home Day celebration on July 10 with a parade lasting an hour and 20 minutes, a fair at Greven Field and capped it off with a street dance.

 

1977: Cavendish and Weathersfield residents learn that Springfield is planning to build a hydroelectric plant on the Black River from the media. Concerned Citizens of the Black River Valley (CCBRV) is formed to keep Springfield from building the generating project. Six units were proposed, the largest of which was Hawks Mountain Dam located on the Cavendish/Weathersfield town line. This dam would have been of earth fill construction, 165 feet in height and 900 feet in length at the crest and would have flooded five miles in Cavendish. CCBRV included citizens of the Towns of Cavendish, Weathersfield, and Springfield. Their slogan was “Save the Valley.” 

 

• Stepping Stones Preschool opens in Ludlow to serve area children. The school will eventually move to a building on the border of Cavendish and Ludlow, primarily serving Cavendish. 

 

1978: Singleton’s general store opens on Main Street in Proctorsville. This marks the beginning of the Proctorsville revitalization effort. 

 

1979: Alexander Ginsburg joins Alexander Solzhenitsyn in Cavendish. He was one of the architects of the dissident movement in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s. A constant irritant to the KGB and its political masters, Ginsburg served three terms of imprisonment for his activities. From 1960 to 1962 he was incarcerated in a labor camp. He was again arrested in 1967, and sentenced to five years. In 1977, after 17 months of interrogation, he was tried and convicted of “anti-Soviet agitation”, and sentenced to eight years. However, he and four fellow-dissidents were exchanged in New York for two Soviet citizens who had been jailed in America for spying.

 

1980:   Cavendish population 1,355

 

1981: Lisa Ballantine becomes the first female fire fighter for the Cavendish Fire Department (District #2). 

 

• The Southern Windsor/Windham Counties Solid Waste Management District is formed in order to provide solid waste management authority, services, and planning to its member towns, one of which is Cavendish. 

 

1982: The Mueller’s purchase the Okemo Ski area in Ludlow and begin to turn it into a resort. This will have a significant impact on Cavendish in subsequent years. The 1980s saw a new potential economy-tourism-as Okemo Mountain became a prominent ski area. Increasingly, people looked to Cavendish for vacation and seasonal housing. 

 

• Acousti-Phase, the old mill building on what is now the Proctorsville Green, burns down.

 

1985: Donna Blanchard is the first female fire fighter for the Proctorsville Fire Department. Her sister Amy was the second female fire fighter.

 

1986: Proctorsville ceases to be an incorporated village and, with Vermont State Legislative approval, the governmental entity is merged into the Town of Cavendish.

 

1987: Proctorsville’s water system has to be abandoned due to contamination from road salt. Combined with the Cavendish Municipal Water system. 

 

1988: Dr. Bont and his wife Phyllis Bont, a nurse practitioner, leave Black River Health Center to work at Albany Medical Center. In the coming years, various medical groups try to establish a health center but are short lived. Opportunities in Learning (OIL) a school for students who do not function well in a regular classroom was run in this location but eventually was incorporated by the GMUHS. Many people receive care via the Springfield Medical Care Systems, which includes federally qualified health care system at the Ludlow Health Center and various offices in Springfield. Current occupation is limited to mental health counselors and alternative therapy practitioners.

 

• Richard Svec becomes town manager, a position he holds until the beginning of 2017. He served longer than any other town manager in Cavendish history. 

 

1989-1990: Twenty eight Cavendish residents served in the Lebanon and Granada conflicts. This included five women-Amy and Donna Blanchard, Valerie Scales, Norma Westcott and Nicola Woodell.

 

1990: Cavendish population 1,323

• Cavendish Fletcher Memorial Library is built attached to Cavendish Town Elementary School, Through the efforts of Building for Books, the two small village libraries were merged to form the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library. The building was dedicated on Dec. 1. 

 

1991: Bi-Centennial of Vermont Statehood. Cavendish celebrates with a parade. Solzhenitsyn is one of the speakers. 

 

1994: Solzhenitsyn returns to Russia with his wife. Solzhenitsyn addresses Town Meeting and national media once again come to town to capture this event. Mike Wallace, of “Sixty Minutes” is not allowed to use the Cavendish Post Office bathroom, because it is a Federal building. 

 

1995: Sovernet Communications opens in Bellows Falls and offers internet access via “land lines.” The availability of internet service makes it possible for more people to “telecommute” from home. 

• Arson damages Dr. Gene and Phyllis Bonts home. This prompts them to withdraw the use of the kids using their field for baseball. A second baseball diamond is added to Greven Field. 

 

1996-1998: Proctorsville revitalizing projects undertaken. With matching funds and in-kind matches provided by the Town and the private sector, the Town was able to change the vacant Proctorsville mill site into a handsome, well-designed village green with recreational space. Affordable housing is strategically placed adjacent to the green with the move of the historic Freeman House from next to the Cavendish Pointe Hotel to the Green in 1997. 

 

1996: Act 60, also known as the Equal Educational Opportunity Act, is signed into law. The Legislature drafted the law in response to a Vermont Supreme Court decision that said Vermont's existing educational funding system was unconstitutional. The court, in Brigham v. State of Vermont, concluded that the state must provide "substantially equal access" to education for all Vermont students, regardless of where they reside. Initially Cavendish is not impacted by the bill but in subsequent years, particularly with the growing resort second home owner community associated with the mountain, residents started to be “taxed” out. 

 

2000: Cavendish population 1,470   

 

2001: LPC-TV is launched. A public access television station for the towns of Ludlow, Plymouth and Cavendish, local school board, select board and town meetings can now be seen on television along with other community events. This is made possible by Comcast. LPC-TV establishes a website www,lpctv.org and is one of the few public access channels that includes the videos of events and meetings, which means people don’t have to be a subscriber to Comcast in order to watch events.

 

• In response to 9/11-the destruction of the World Trade Center towers in New York City and damage to the Pentagon, Cavendish churches hold an ecumenical service at the Cavendish Baptist Church. Many knew people that were hurt, and in at least one case, killed.

 

2002: McLean Quarry proposes to build a quarry at the end of Tierney Road, which would extend onto route 131 (Main Street) between the two villages. Residents, whose property who would be directly impacted by the proposed quarry, form Concerned Cavendish Citizens (CCC). Leaders of this group included Robin Timko, April Hensel, Will Hunter and Suzanne Meaney. When the quarry was finally defeated in 2006, CCC became CCCA (Cavendish Community and Conservation Association). CCCA, in addition to its conservation efforts, started the Cavendish Community Fund, which provides small grants to Cavendish organizations and individuals. 

 

As part of keeping people informed about Quarry matters, Margo Caulfield started an electronic newsletter called “Quarry Update.” As there was limited local news coverage for Cavendish, this e-mail newsletter evolved into the “Cavendish Update,” which provides a weekly news service, as well as bulletins for emergencies and special events. 

 

2003: A Class I tornado, a ferocious storm with heavy rain, lightning and very severe winds, left a path of damage from the Black River all the way to Brook Road in Cavendish. One mobile home was destroyed. Acres of trees were felled, leaving town roads closed until clean up could take place. 

• Act 68 is passed amending Act 60, to relieve some of the tax burden placed on local school districts. 

 

2004: Cavendish Town Elementary School has an extensive renovation and addition.

 

• Village Center Designation is awarded to the villages of Cavendish and Proctorsville. This designation offers a variety of benefits including tax credits for historic buildings and commercial properties renovating to code and priority consideration for certain types of state grants. 

 

2006: Outdoor classroom constructed at the Cavendish Town Elementary School. 

 

2007: Ancient Roads Committee Formed.  Old Home Day tradition revitalized by the Cavendish Historical Society.

 

2008: The Cavendish Update becomes a blog at www.cavendishvt.blogspot.com

 

• Partnering with the Rockingham Area Land Trust (RALT), Cavendish develops a variety of affordable housing-townhouses, apartments and senior housing-around the Proctorsville Green. 

 

• Alexander Solzhenitsyn dies in Russia and once again the town is inundated with reporters and television crews. A private town service is held to remember Solzhenitsyn. 

 

2009: New sidewalks and curbs are installed in Proctorsville. The project took nine years from grant application to project completion.

 

• Water filtration project completed. A bond was passed in 2002, which began the town’s efforts to improve water quality, due to high levels of iron and manganese, as well as replace asbestos pipes and the Proctorsville water tower.

 

2010: Cavendish population 1,367, a decline of 7% from 2000.

 

• The Cavendish Town Elementary School budget is now voted on by Australian Ballot on Tuesday. Monday night’s Town Meeting is just for town matters, as a sepearate school informational meeting is held prior to Town Meeting Day. 

 

2011: Tropical Storm Irene causes considerable damage, including the loss of several homes and millions of dollars worth of damage to the town’s infrastructure (water, sewer, electricity and power) as well as roads. The flooding waters creates a “canyon” similar to the one in 1927. A shelter is open for 10 days at the Cavendish Town Elementary School. One of its functions is to house the National Guard brought in to help rebuild the roads. In spite of the devastation, Cavendish holds a four day 250th anniversary celebration in October. While the parade route had to be modified and shortened considerably, many lined Depot Street, an area that sustained heavy damage, and cheered. 

 

• Cavendish VT Facebook page www.facebook.com/cavendishvt is started initially because of the events surrounding the town’s 250th anniversary. It takes on a new way for the town to communicate during Irene. 

 

• As part of the town’s anniversary, a Town Wide Tag Sale is held the last Saturday in July. It is one of the few activities from the year-long celebration that has continued. 

 

2012: At the end of the year, the Universalist Church agrees to transfer the deed of the Stone Church to the town. The actual transfer will take place on May 11, 2013. The building will be the future home of the permanent Solzhenitsyn Exhibit and will also serve as a small venue space for concerts, lectures, films, plays etc.

• The Rutland Windsor Supervisory Union (Ludlow, Mt. Holly and Plymouth) merges with the Windsor Southwest Supervisory Union (Chester,/Andover, Cavendish and Londonderry) to create the Two Rivers Supervisory Union.

 

• Extensive rebuilding of the town’s infrastructure following Irene. Includes mountains of paperwork for the town office as they comply with FEMA and other agencies relating to the funding of the recovery.

 

• Jim Ballentine, very active in town politics for many years, dies while serving as chair of the Cavendish Selectboard. 

 

2013: In March, voters agree to accept the donation of the Cavendish Universalist Church, also known as the “Stone Church.” It’s purpose is to be for permanent home of the Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn exhibit as well as small venue space for talks, theater, films, concerts . The Universalist Church Convention is held in at the Cavendish Stone Church in May. While a voice vote is agreement to transfer the deed of the church to the town, nothing is finalized by the end of the year. 

 

• The entrance of Chubb Hill off of route 131 is moved so that it bisects Donnie Davis’s field. 

 

• To reduce Cavendish’s carbon footprint, Zero sort recycling begins at the Cavendish Transfer Station and enters into an agreement with Soveren Solar of Putney to establish a 150 solar array on town property-south facing slope just below the Cavendish Waster Water facility.

 

2014: A snowy and cold winter contributes to numerous fires, including the destruction of two historic homes on Main Street, one in each of the villages. The lot next to the school, resulting from the fire in Proctorsville, is purchased by the town and leased to the school for their use. 

 

• At Town Meeting, the voters approved a Cavendish Recreation Dept. by a narrow margin. 

 

• While Vermont Yankee, Vermont’s only nuclear power plant, decides to close, Cavendish voters approve a $450,000 bond to develop a 150 kw solar power array to offset the cost of the town utilities supplied by Green Mountain Power. The solar array is operational by Dec. 31

 

• Cavendish Connects is formed which offers the continuation of the Cavendish Update and Facebook page [www.facebook.com/cavendishvt] and adds a community website [www.cavendishconnects.com]; Instagram and Pinterest [www.pinterest.com/cavendishvt] CC also conducts a telecommunications survey, which shows that many people are having problems with cell and Internet service, with the latter being a reason for people not moving to the town. 

 

• The first annual Abundance Swap, organized by Cavendish Connects, is held.

 

• The first annual Honey Festival is held in September at the Golden Stage Inn, sponsored by the Inn and Goodman’s Pizza.

 

2015: By vote at Town Meeting, the Cavendish Cemetery Commission is dissolved, and the town’s seven cemeteries now come under the Select Board.

 

• An assistant town manager, Bruce McEnaney is hired. Among his many duties is Sexton

 

• Peggy Svec retires from Cavendish Town Elementary School. She taught at the school for over 30 years. 

 

• A Telecommunications Committee  is formed to address both the lack of broadband and diminished cell service. 

 

2016: Karlene Glidden is the first female to achieve life membership in the Proctorsville Volunteer Fire Dept., having served 20 years with the PVFD. She serves as driver/pump operator. PVFD purchases Fast Attack truck in order to respond to emergency medical services calls. 

 

• Richard Svec announces his retirement as town manager. The Select Board hires Brendan McNamara whose first day will be Jan. 3, 2017. 

 

• Cavendish’s first winery and tasting room opens at Brook Farm Vineyards off of Twenty Mile Stream in Proctorsville. It remains operational for approximately a year.

 

• At the end of the year, the Telecommunications Communication Committee learns that Comcast will apply for state funding to expand services into underserved parts of town.

 

• TDS wires the Tarbell Hill area of town for high speed Internet. 

 

2017: A new town manager, Brendan McNamara, takes over from Rich Svec, who retires on Jan. 3

 

• Two fires strike on Feb. 15. While the Pollard family home is heavily damaged, the Town Garage is destroyed. Other towns help out with equipment so that roads can remain clear during the remaining winter months. The Garage is torn down in August and the Select Board votes to relocate the gagage to an area south of town where the sand pits are located.

 

• Murdock’s a pub style restaurant opens on the Proctorsville Green in what was once an old mill building. It is named after the mill owner Herbert T. Murdock

 

• Voters approve to replace the wastewater treatment plant aeration system.

 

• Voters in Cavendish, Chester, Andover, and Baltimore vote to form the Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD). Ludlow is not part of this new district, but rather forms a new one with Mt. Holly. They are known as the Ludlow Mt Holly Unified School District (LMHUSD). These two districts are now under the Two Rivers Supervisory Union. 

 

•  Ludlow and Mt. Holly vote to close Black River Union High School (BRUHS), a school which many people from Cavendish attended before the establishment of Green Mountain Union High School (GMUHS). The vote would be challenged but the revote in 2018 confirmed the decision to close BRUHS.

 

• Table 19 closes and is sold to Proctorsville residents who open “Neal’s Restaurant.”

 

2018: Former Town manager, Rich Svec dies suddenly just hours before town meeting on March  5. Hundreds attend Svec’s celebration of life and the 20th anniversary dedication of the Proctorsville Green on June 16.

 

• The Town Constable position is abolished with increased time given to the Windsor Sheriffs Office. 

 

• Amy Perry becomes the first woman to be an officer of the Proctorsville Volunteer Fire Dept when she became Lieutenant

 

• George Thomson, who has been the principal at CTES for over 30 years, retires as does the principal of GMUHS. Considerable controversy surrounds the hiriting of Thomson’s replacement. Debra Beaupre is hired. CTES’s school board is dissolved and all the decisions for the school are made by GMUSD, where Cavendish has 3 representatives on an 11 member board. 

 

• Vail Ski Resort buys Okemo Mountain Resort.

 

• Recreational marijuana becomes legal in Vermont.

 

• Cavendish Streetscape Committee is formed (Julia Gignoux, Martha Mott, Carolyn Solzhenitsyn, Rolf van Schaik) with their first project being “Raise Our Flags.” The night of July 3, flags are hung along Main St. in Proctorsville. 

• The largest solar array in VT is constructed between Ludlow and Cavendish on Barker Rd and contains 83,000 solar panels

 

• Olive Kingsbury, the last member of the Kingsbury family on Chubb Hill, depicted in “Chubb Hill Farm and Cavendish Vermont: A Family and Town History,” dies at 92 on Dec. 11.

 

• The new Cavendish Town Garage is to be located across from the “sandpit” on the outskirts of the village. The town uses the old Black River Produce building as a temporary location. The Select Board provides funding for Cavendish Streetscapes to refurbish the previous town garage site, which is to take place in 2019.

 

• Mike Ripley resigns and Bobby Glidden becomes the town’s new emergency coordinator.

 

• Late November, a severe early snow and ice storm causes a major power outage in town that lasts days, triggering the opening of the Cavendish Shelter, now located at the Cavendish Baptist Church. 

 

• Cavendish celebrates the 100th anniversary of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s birth. The letter sent to the People of Russia from the People of Cavendish becomes widely recognized and is replied to by the Russian Ambassador to the USA.

 

2019

• The new Town Garage is completed with occupancy and dedication in Feburary. 

 

• After serving on the Cavendish Select Board for two decades, George Timko is replaced by Michael Kell for the three year position. However, Kell takes a job in New York and Timko takes his place starting with the August meeting. 

 

• Dr. Eugene Bont, who was as the town doctor from 1957-1988, and served on the school boards of Duttonsville School, Cavendish Town Elementary School and Green Mountain Union High School dies at the age of 88. 

 

• Outer Limits Brewery opens on the Proctorsville Green 4th of July weekend.

 

• Murdock’s on the Green expands to include outdoor porch seating during the warmer months.

 

• The position of Asst. Town Manager, which had been held by Bruce McEnanney, is abolished. McEnanney remains with the town as sexton. 

 

2020

• Census reports 1,392 residents.

 

• Fire District #2 (Cavendish Village) votes to hire an EMT since it is difficult to recurit volunteers.  

 

• Covid 19 pandemic changed life for everyone. Cavendish Connects started posting information to help prepare the community starting in late January. Some members of the community viewed it as a hoax. On March 14, the state announced Covid cases, which included two people from Ludlow. Because of exposure risk potential, all of the schools in the Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD) were immediately closed. By March 18, Vermont had closed all schools, along with colleges and the state moved into lock down. By the following weekend, two people from Ludlow were among the first people in the state to die from Covid-both of whom were much loved members of the Okemo Valley Community. 

 

The Governor issued a state of emergency on March 15 and continued to renew it every month thereafter. Multiple press conferences were held weekly and by Dec. 31, 100 Covid related press conferences had been held.

 

From March through May, the focus was on “flattening the curve.” As the state “turned the spigot” to reopen, cases of Covid remained low. However, that all began to change in October as social gatherings started taking place. The surge after Halloween parties caused new restrictions, but not to the degree of the spring. 

-       Cavendish Library closed but began to offer Facebook activities, free Wifi from the parking lot and curbside pick up. They reopened for the summer months but with the rise of cases in the fall returned to curbside service only. 

-       Singleton’s began offering curbside and delivery services

-       Mack Molding remained open throughout as they were deemed an essential service. Their 100^th anniversary occurred with minimal fanfare. 

-       Crow’s Bakery, Neal’s and Murdock’s switched to take out and offered limited in person dinning when it was allowed, 

-       Cavendish forms a Covid team (Margo Caulifield, Doris Eddy, Bobby Glidden, Abe Gross, Mark Huntley, Brendan McNamara, Diane McNamara, and Peter LaBelle). 

-       Cavendish Connects publishes Cavendish Covid Resource Guide, which was continually updated as the pandemic changed, along with Updates and daily Facebook information. 

-       Town Office was closed to the public but resumed limited services starting in June by appointment only. The town applies for grant funding so town records will be available on-line, thereby reducing the need to visit the town office. The office is modified with plexiglass to reduce exposure risk. 

-       The Select Board meetings and other town committees all move to the Zoom platform. Okemo Valley TV begins offering live coverage of meetings via their uTube Channel. 

-       Town Meeting was held in person but in December, the Select Board discusses a Zoom town meeting for 2021 with the budget being voted on by Australian Ballot and possibly a mail in option. 

-       The option of mail in voting resulted in more people in Cavendish voting in the Presidential election then ever before. Of 1,113 registered voters, 796 (71%) voted with 506 (45%) voting early. The town voted for President Biden (D) and Governor Scott (R). 

-       Many volunteers begin making masks, first for hospitals who were lacking in PPE but then for the community.

-       In October, Vermont had a surge in new cases and numbers stayed high right until the end of the year. 

-       While Cavendish went for many months without any cases, by the end of Dec. 8 cases were reported, with most occurring in that month. There were fortunately no deaths. 

-       CTES principal resigns just before the end of the school year.  Katherine Fogg splits her time as principal between Chester Andover Elementary and CTES. In September, enrollment for in school learning includes 55 students, but has a total enrollment of 78 students, with the 6^th grade teacher teaching remotely and the former 2^nd grade teacher teaching 6^th. In school Kindergarten and 1^st grade are combined.  

-       The Cavendish Historical Society keeps the Museum closed but offers an array of new services, while continuing to hold the Annual Plant Sale and the Phineas Gage Walk & Talk. CHS installs the Cares Closet that contains masks, information and lots of entertainment options, including books, puzzles, games, art supplies etc. It’s all free and available 24/7. The cabinet was built by Dave Gallagher and his girlfriend Ana. 

-       The Annual Town Wide Tag Sale and Proctorsville Green concerts are held but with requirements of social distancing and mandatory masks. 

-       While the state experiences an increase of people from “down country” moving here, no appreciable change happens in Cavendish.

-       With the arrival of a new postmaster, Miguel, the Cavendish Village post office becomes an island of comfort as Miguel and his family decorate for all the holidays, including a free Letters to Santa box. He and his wife personally write back to the children who posted letters. 

-       By the end of December, some of Cavendish’s front line workers are vaccinated. 

 

• Phyllis Bont, one of the first nurse practitioners in the state, who worked with her husband in running the Black River Health Center as well as helping to develop the legislation for physician extenders, dies. In retirement, she enjoyed a second career as a fiber artist, helping to found “Six Loose Ladies.” Their home, formerly built by Olin Gay, goes up for sale along with 17 acres. 

 

• The last area of Cavendish that is under/un served for high speed Internet (northwestern part-Knapp Pond, Tarbell Hill) is wired by Comcast. With many families working and going to school remotely, this was a very welcome addition. TDS Telecom significantly upgraded their services as well, however, not all areas have access to speeds to make working from home feasible. Two outages on the TDS line, caused by breaks well away from Cavendish (one was in New York) calls for an upgrade to Wifi. At the end of the year, public Wifi is available with an expanded service from the Cavendish Library and from the Cavendish Baptist Church.

 

• Major construction begins on Route 131-from the intersection of 131 and 106 west to the intersection of 131 and 103 from April-October. This includes replacements of culverts and blasting out various ledge close to the road. Various areas of one lane traffic throughout the summer. 

 

• A record breaking snowstorm occurs on Dec. 17, bringing almost 4 feet of snow within a 24 hour period. While much was closed, including the town office, school went ahead as planned via Zoom. On Christmas, Dec. 25, a rain storm of almost 3 inches, dissolves much of the snow, causing flooding and road closures.

 

• LPC TV changes its name to Okemo Valley TV www.okemovalley.tv

 

2021

• The impact of Covid continued:

-       Sales of Cavendish homes accelerates as people either wish to relocate or purchase “escape houses” due to Covid

-       Cavendish starts reporting Covid cases as of Dec. 2, 2020. By the end of May, a total of 30 cases had been reported. From Oct 2020-April 2021, cases sored in Vermont first to gathering for parties (Halloween) and then the holidays. While vaccinations began in the state in late December, it took until mid April before vaccination was available for any eligible age group (12+)

-       The town office remained closed to the public, with limited appointments. Select board, committee meetings and even town meeting all took place via zoom. Town meeting had the lowest turn out ever.  In June, when the state made it’s 80% first vaccination rate for all eligible Vermoneters, the town office once again was open to the public and meetings returned to in-person. By July, thanks to the Delta variant, cases rapidly started rising, even among the vaccinated. By the end of August, Cavendish had two new cases and an outbreak began at the Gill Home, a long term care placement for many elderly residents in Ludlow. Cases would ultimately occur at Green Mountain Union High School and surrounding town schools. By the end of the year, Cavendish had a total of 95 cases, while CTES had at least 4. The state data showed only 3 cases but families shared information about their children and it was possible to confirm that there were at least 4 cases and potentially more from Sept-Dec. 

-       On the morning of May 22, the Cavendish Volunteer Fire Department (CVFD) hosts a Covid-19 vaccine clinic, Johnson & Johnson, for those 18+. Thirty-two people are vaccinated, which was the second highest state total that day. CVFD held a clinic on Sept. 1, and had 24 people vaccinated, including at least five students at GMUHS. A third clinic, held on Sept. 22 was well attended, administering the second Pfizer shot as well as J&J. A number of people opted for J&J saying they hadn’t wanted to be vaccinated but it was now required by their job. 

-       When the vaccine is approved for children 5-12, CTES holds a vaccination clinic. 

-       In December the omicron variant arrived. On Dec. 13, at the monthly Select Board meeting, the select board approved a mask “Rule,” which required masks in all indoor public spaces. With no enforcement to back it up, masks are not always worn.  

 

• From April until October, Vtrans hired Pike Industries to reconstruct and pave 131 from 106 to the 103 intersection. People had complained for years about the road, which was already in bad repair when Irene hit leaving it with even more problems. Lots of issues ensued from the road work including broken sidewalks, foundations of older homes experienced damage and even one of the pillars of the Cavendish Fire Dept was damaged. 

 

• Free public access WiFi becomes available on the Cavendish and Proctorsville Greens. 

• Two of Cavendish’s oldest residents die just days apart-Jim Hasson (95), a WWII veteran and Millie Fitzgibbons (98). Lloyd Stilwell (91), an entrepenur and former Cavendish Fire Chief, also died. 

 

• The 2020 Census shows that Cavendish’s population increased by 25 people to 1,392. The state grew 2.8%, while the country grew 7.4%, the lowest growth rate since 1940. In surrounding towns, Ludlow’s and Reading’s population increased while Chester’s declined. 

 

• The VT Suprement Court affirmed the Environmental Division’s conclusion “that a stone quarry on less than an acre of land within a large unimproved parcel does not constitute “development” in a muinicipality that has not adopted permanent zoning and subdivision bylaws and therefore does not require an Act 250 permit.” The proposed stone quarry, Snowstone, is at the end of Tierney Rd. Neighbors have been fighting the quarry since 2017. 

 

• Two days after Christmas, a trackor trailer goes off of 131 and lands passengar side down in the Black River. The Cold Water Rescue Team from the Proctorsville Fire Dept. arein the water from about 3:15 am to 8 pm, first rescuing the driver and then helping to off load the traler, which held reams of paper.

 

2022

• in a Supreme Court case that was deciding the fate of the Snowstone quarry at the end of Tierney Rd in Cavendish, Justice William Cohen included an interpretation of Act 250 that would have changed the way the law has been administered since its. Inception. All parties, including the attorney for Snowstone, agreed the historic interpretation of the law should remain in place. The new interpretation was irrelevant to the case, the attorney for Snowstone argued, because both the project footprint and the parcel size of the quarry are less than 1 acre.  The neighbors had argued that the landowner and the quarrier had tried to evade Act 250, and structured their transaction to that end.  The court’s revised decision, which restores the historic interpretation of the law, comes after multiple parties reargued the case. The court decided Friday, Feb. 11,  that the quarry does not fall under Act 250 jurisdiction because of the size of both the project and the parcel of land where it’s located. 

 

• Covid continues with the new year starting out with masking at schools and in public.

-       The Cavendish Fire Department continues to host vaccine clinics. 

-       Cavendish Fire Department provides free masks, test kits and hand sanitizer.

-       Schools open in September without masks or other Covid measures. Within the first few weeks of school, Covid cases increase at both CTES and GMUHS. 

 

• In June, a three day search and rescue effort is launched in Cavendish, following the dissapearance of Donald Gurney of Springfield. A 65 year old man with Alzheimer’s Disease, his truck was located at the end of Parker Hill Rd. There were approximately 50 searchers daily, plus neighbors and friends, working in Cavendish & Reading. The crews included the Vermont State Police Search and Rescue Team, New England K9 Search and Rescue, Upper Valley Wilderness Search and Rescue, the Vermont Warden Service, Cavendish Fire Department, Reading Fire Department, Rescue Inc., Killington Search and Rescue, and a helicopter from the Vermont Army National Guard. Many in Cavendish and surrounding towns donated to help keep the searchers well fed and hydrated. Gurney was located alive on the afternoon of the 3^rd day in the woods near the area where Knapp Pond #2 intersects with Chaos Turnpike. He was transported to Springfield Hospital. 

 

• Crows Corner Bakery and Opera House Café closes. Renovations begin with the new owners, who receives a first class liquor license approval by the Cavendish Select Board in December. The name given is Crow’s Food Hall. 

 

• Neal’s restaurant  on 103 closes, with Smokin Bowls taking over the space in December. 

 

• In August resident Michael Mills is shot by Ludlow police and dies nine days later. Mills had been arrested numerous times over the years, jailed but returned to the community upon release. He had long standing mental health issues and had called the police a total of 28 times the night of the shooting, making suicidal statements and daring police to challenge him to a duel. The police officer, Zachary Paul was cleared in December of any wrongdoing by the Attorney General’s Office. 

 

• The Mt Ascutney Regional Commission (MARC) updates their regional plan and includes startling information about Cavendish. 

-       The median family income for 2020 is $70,938

-       Housing Unit Growth went from 852 in 2000 to 473 in 2020, a decline of 44.5%

-       Seasonal Housing unit growth went from 195 in 2000 to 417 in 2020, a 113% increase.

 

• CTES school enrollment, 75 students in Sept but reduced to 72 in December, is at an all-time low. 

 

• Green Mountain Unified School Board asks voters in November to support a $20 million bond to renovate and upgrade heating systems at CTES, GMUHS and Chester Andover Elementary School. The bond fails to pass at the November election. 

 

2023

• Proctorsville Fire Dept is 190 years old this year.

 

• Town Meeting is held as a “hybrid meeting,” with people attending in person as well as via zoom

 

• Shortly after Town Meeting, town manager Brendan McNamara resigned, having served the town for six years. He becomes Ludlow town manager. While his first act as town manager was to deal with the fire that burned down the town garage, he ended on a similar note with a major oil spill at the old town garage site. The diesel tank had yet to be relocated to the new town garage, when someone trying to siphon gas out of the tank, caused an oil spill of 1,600 gallons of diesel fuel. A major environmental hazard. Mitchell Horton is charged with the crime.

 

• Rick Chambers, a Cavendish resident, is hired as the new town manager. Chambers has extensive experience with municipal water and sewer, having working in Springfield for many years.

 

• The principal of CTES, Amy Bouhren, resigns having been at the school for one year. She is replaced by Dale Mann, who has extensive experience as a principal as well as school superintendent, in the mid-Atlantic region. 

 

• Memorial Day activities once again take place in Cavendish, the first time in four years.  Former CTES principal George Thomson takes a leadership role on this activity and for the first time reads the poem recited at bridge when the wreath is tossed. 

 

• On July 10, the town experiences flooding similar to Irene. The Shelter, at the Cavendish Baptist Church, remains open for two weeks and it then serves as a hub for the Mennonites who stay there while working on recovery activities in the Black River Valley. Unlike what happened in Irene, electrical and town water/waste water held. However, the damage to private homes, businesses and roads was more extensive than the 2011 tropical storm. Smokin’ Bowls, which was heavily damaged, closes. Outer Limits, also heavily impacted, while trying to reopen, is still closed at the end of the year. The former Crows Bakery was set to open in two weeks when the flood hits. They continue to work to reopen. Greven Field sustains heavy damage and has to have all remaining buildings, bleachers and fencing removed. The Green Monster sustained minimal damage.

• Cavendish Labs opens

• Selectman Stephen Plunkard dies in October. His position on the Select Board is replaced by Dave Norton. 

• TDS wires their catchment area of Cavendish with fiber for high speed Internet.

• On December 18 an extensive rain storm and warm temperatures create flooding. The town shelter is open for the afternoon for those who were concerned about rising flood waters. While the town was largely spared, some of the properties damaged by the July floods were once again impacted. The former Crows Bakery site on Depot St. is again flooded as did Greven Field.

• A long term recovery group is formed with the towns of Cavendish, Ludlow, Mt. Holly and Plymouth. Known as the Black River Valley Resources Group (BRVRG), Cavendish Connects and the Cavendish Baptist Church are members

 

2024

• Town meeting is held in person and via zoom, with all articles voted on by Australian Ballot. Voting results in the adoption of Australian ballot for all future public questions and approves the opening of a cannabis store in town. At a subsequent Select Board, a Cavendish Cannabis Board (Cavendish Select Board) is established, which will require all potential retail licenses to go through this board before filing with the state.  

• Grafton Cheese opens a retail store in March at the former Black River Produce building.

• Greven Field floods several more times during the winter months and is not available for baseball. Games are played in Ludlow at Dorsey Park and at the former high school. The town applies for grant funding to turn Greven field into a floodplain and nature area. 

• Outer Limits Brewery and restaurant closes 

• Dartmouth students begin surveying and clearing VT culverts, which ultimately leads to the “Culvert Crawlers” program as part of the Black River Action Team (BRAT). The students from Dartmouth and 5^th/6^th graders at CTES assist in clearing Greven Field of Invasive plants. 

• CTES principal resigns and is replaced by Emma Vastola.

 

2025

• Cavendish Town Meeting, now only informational, is moved to Saturday afternoon. Approximately 50 people attend, which is 10 more than the previous year. 

• Cavendish had secured a loan of $2million to pay for town flood damage after the 2023 floods. 

• On June 16, two stalwarts of the Cavendish community died. Barbara Dickey and Sandra Stearns. One of the early members of the Cavendish Historical Society, Sandra was Cavendish's own Laura Ingalls Wilder. Her "Little House" book was called "Cavendish Hillside Farm 1939 to 1957” and she made time to read it to the students at CTES.  Sandy served as a select board and school board  member, girl scout leader, historian and educator. Barbara Dickey served on the Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES) school board, as well as working with various town groups including the Cavendish Community Fund, Cavendish Community and Conservation Association, Streetscapes, and Gethsemane Church. Through her gardening, grant writing, activism, organizing both a film and music series, she touched everyone in the Cavendish community. In addition, Dr. Barbara Dickey was also an Associate Professor Psychology, Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston with numerous articles and contributions in health care.

• SuperRoasted opens in the former Crows Corner Bakery. Open Thursday-Sunday featuring hours that are 7ish-11 ish.

• A Farmer’s Market takes place on Friday evenings on the Proctorsville Green from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Vendor space is free.

• The Honey Festival is moved from the Golden Stage Inn to the Proctorsville Green.

• Bruce McEnaney and Diane McNamara announce their retirements, as town sexton and Town Clerk/Treasurer respectively.

 

2026

• Abe Gross is appointed by the Select Board as town sexton, while the voters elect Michael Murphy as town clerk/treasurer following Diane McNamara’s retirement

• Act 170 passes The law establishes seven regional CESAs (taking effect July 1, 2026) to share services like special education, transportation, technology, and business operations. Participation by supervisory unions and districts is mandatory. Act 170 does not immediately redraw school district boundaries or force consolidation. Instead, it requires districts to participate in merger study committees to explore potential unified union districts. Cavendish is part of the Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD), which  is a member of the Two Rivers Supervisory Union. As such, the town is part of Group 7 along with Athens/Grafton, Bellows Fals, Springfield, Rockingham, and Westminster. Many families are already sending students to Woodstock and would rather the town be part of Group 8.

• ATVs on town roads becomes as issue with May and September Select Board Meetings devoted to the topic

• First Salsa Midnight Dance party is held on Depot St.

• To celebrate the country’s 250^th anniversary, the Cavendish Historical Society hosted a reading of the Declaration of Independence on the 4^th of July at Super Roasted. Board member Bruce McEnaney read the Declaration. CHS, working with community members and the CTES 6^th grade, painted 250 stones and hid them all over the town. Known as 250Rocks! It was very popular with kids as well as adults.

• 1^st Culvert Cares Day takes place in Cavendish and Ludlow on the last Saturday of the month. The goal is to create a statewide event on this Saturday in subsequent years.

• CTES principal Emma Vastola resigns and is replaced by Proctorsville resident Angela Cartier. Enrollment in Sept. is 62 students K-6 with an additional 10 students in the pre K program

 

 

For more information about Cavendish:

“Chubb Hill Farm and Cavendish Vermont: A Family and Town History 1876-1960” (includes an epilogue 1994) by Barbara B. Kingsbury This is available from the Cavendish Historical Society and the Town Office. Books on genealogy and town history, as well as walking tours of Proctorsville and Cavendish, are also available at these locations.

 

Cavendish Historical Society Blog www.cavendishhistoricalsocietynews.blogspot.org