Brief History of Cavendish

Cavendish has been occupied since the ice age glaciers receded, about 11,000 years ago. While the earliest inhabitants would have used the Black River and surrounding area for hunting and fishing, there is archaeological evidence that an Archaic Indian village existed in Cavendish 5,000-7,000 years ago.

The first Europeans would have traveled along the Indian trail that became known as the Crown Point Rd. Playing a significant role in the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars, the first deeded land was settled by Captain John Coffeen in 1769 in close proximity to the Road. One of the signers of Vermont’s Constitution, Coffeen came to Cavendish seeking religious freedom.

Dutton House in Cavendish, today now the Village

Green

By the early 1800s, the center of town had shifted from the Crown Point Rd area, to the Black River where the river gave rise to a variety of industries that used water powered machinery-woolen, grist, pulp and saw mills. Two villages grew up within the Cavendish township-Proctorsville, named for Leonard Proctor, and Duttonsville, for Salmon Dutton. The latter would eventually be called Cavendish.

In addition to the industrial complexes along the Black River, farming was a staple for the town, with small businesses, such as a hat shop, tanneries, cabinet makers and tinsmiths, flourishing to provide goods and services to farmers and mill workers. While sheep was an initial cash crop, this gave way to dairy farming after the Civil War.

The arrival of the railroads in the late 1840s impacted the town in numerous ways. While blasting for the railroad tracks, Phineas Gage survived a major brain injury when a tamping rod went through his head, thus ushering in the modern understanding of the brain and its functions. More importantly to the town’s economics, the train increased the ability to ship goods and expand markets. It also opened the town to its first wave of tourists, some of whom bought “second homes” to escape the heat of the city in the summer months.

Gay Brothers Mill in Cavendish

While the industrial complex of the Black River made Cavendish a “mill town,” this rapidly changed after WWII, when military contracts for both Gay Brothers Mill in Cavendish village and Proctor Reel in Proctorsville military contracts ceased. By the 1950s, with the mills gone, and farming no longer a viable means of livelihood, many traveled to other areas for work-machine shops in Springfield, General Electric in Ludlow. Fortunately, the Gay Brothers Mill was purchased by Mac Molding, which continues to operate in Cavendish village.

The town’s highest census recorded was in1870 with 1,823 residents. This number would decline rapidly due to job availability in more urban areas as well as westward expansion. Since then, the population census has dipped down to a low of 1,100 and has yet to reach even 1,500.

Beginning in the 1980s, with the transformation of Okemo Mountain into a four seasons resort area, tourism and second homes have become major economic drivers. The 2017 Cavendish Grand List indicates that approximately 54% of the town is now owned by people who do not live here. 

It is the opportunity to live safely, freely and be a place of sanctuary that has drawn many to the town. As early as 1805, a former slave and Revolutionary War veteran found a home in Cavendish. Peter Tumbo (Tumber) signed the freeman’s oath and owned 50 acres of land. He died at the age of 106, with his death being noted in the anti-slavery papers of the day.

With Cavendish native Ryland Fletcher being Governor of Vermont, as well as the town’s strong anti-slavery stance, abolitionist John Brown spent a week  in Cavendish in 1857. Brown had hoped to secure some of the $20,000 the Vermont Legislature had approved to support anti-slavery settlements in Kansas.

In 1976, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the Nobel Prize winner for literature and anti-communist, sought refuge in Cavendish. He would spend almost 18 of the 20 years he was in exile here writing “The Red Wheel.” His books, including “Gulag Archipelago” contributed to the downfall of the Soviet system.

Today, in many ways,  Cavendish has returned to its roots with the single largest employer being self-employment in the building related trades and services that cater to tourism. With the arrival of the Internet age, those parts of town that are fortunate to have high speed Internet, telecommuting and home business ventures flourish. There is a growing artist community as well as a return to small farms, with cows and sheep once again dotting the Cavendish landscape.