CHS Fall 2024 Newsletter

                                   THE SCRIBBLER II

The Cavendish Historical Society Newsletter

www.cavendishhistoricalsocietynews.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/PhineasGageCavendish

www.pinterest.com/cavendishvt/historical-cavendish/

www.thewriterwhochangedhistory.com

 

PO Box 472 Cavendish, VT 05142

 

802-226-7807     margocaulfield@icloud.com

 

Fall 2024  Vol. 18, Issue 4

 

 

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

 

October 31 (Thursday): Cavendish ghost stories for CTES 5^th/6^th graders

November 1 (Friday): Dia de los Muertos for CTES 5^th/6^th graders.

November 2 (Saturday): Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead): Starts 3 pm at the Cavendish Library, 573 Main St. Proctorsville. Workshop from 3:30-5:30 Pot luck supper follows

November 10 (Sunday): Proctorsville Ghost Walk. Meet at 2 pm in front of the Proctorsville War Memorial. This event is free and open to the public. 

 

REMEMBERING MALCOM MACMILLAN

We recently learned that Malcolm Macmillan who wrote “An Odd Kind of Fame,” a detailed history of the Phineas Gage accident and recovery, died in Australia at the age of 95. Stacia Spaulding, who had been one of the organizers of the 1998 Cavendish 150^th anniversary of the accident posted the following,” I need to give credit where credit is due. There would not have been a 150th Anniversary Phineas Gage Celebration in 1998 if not for Mac. He sent an e-mail in 1996 and mentioned that the anniversary was approaching and suggested that Cavendish might do something to commemorate the occasion.

 

Mac is the one who came up with idea for the bronze plaque that now sits on the Town Green in Cavendish. He worked tirelessly with the designer, Dr. Ross Bastiaan (a periodontist and designer of more than 200 plaques) in Australia, for many many months and raised all of the funds to cover its cost. In fact, the plaque was cast by the Arrow Foundry in Australia. 

 

Mac presented a lecture entitled "Restoring Phineas Gage: A 150th Retrospective" in the Stone Church on Sunday morning of the anniversary weekend, as well as gave a short speech at the plaque's unveiling a short time later.

 

We exchanged dozens and dozens (maybe hundreds) of e-mails during those many months leading up to the 150th Anniversary. And we exchanged Christmas cards more years than not since then. Mac remained passionate about Gage right up until his death at age 95.

 

 

CAVENDISH IN GLASS: Part II

 

This past summer, glass artist Peter LaBelle donated one of his glass art works that consists of 12 panels depicting historical sites in Cavendish.  The CHS summer newsletter, available at the CHS Blog, provides the history for nine of the panels. Below is the history on the three remaining panels. 

 

 

Proctorsville Fire Department: The Proctorsville Volunteer Fire Department (PVFD) was founded in 1833. The current fire house was originally the carriage house for the adjacent residential property at 493 Main Street (now condominiums). The Fire Department purchased the property in the 1950s and moved from the old Firehouse on Main Street near Singleton’s Market. In approximately 1986, the department renovated the building, adding a large addition that expanded the meeting area and increased housing for  their apparatus. 

 

Cavendish Post Office: The Cavendish Post office has functioned in various locations throughout its history, with the

postmaster often serving as the librarian, as was the case for Richard Dutton in 1874. However, in 1880, Elliott White bumped it up a notch and then some as he was the town clerk, librarian, postmaster, undertaker and insurance agent in Cavendish Village. Since he had recently constructed a new building on Main St. (burned in 2015), he moved all of those services there. By 1916, Marion White replaced her father as postmaster. Between father and daughter they ran the post office for 55 years. In 1935, with the Democrats in office, the job of postmaster was given to Alvaredo Gibson. There was no Civil Service exams at the time and appointments were made based on party loyalty. He was replaced by Katharine Moore in 1946. Reports are that the current location of the post office started being used sometime in the 1960s with postmasters being required to take the Civil Service exam. 

Gethsemane Episcopal Church: The church dates back to as early as 1840, though the building that stands today was completed in 1889, In 1885 Miss Sally Parker, whose nephew was Redfield Proctor, governor of Vermont, modified a parlor in her home for use as a church. However, with a growing congregation Miss Parker’s chapel was too small. At her death in 1886, her will specified that a church was to be built on land adjacent to her home, which was to be used in perpetuity as an Episcopal church, with the consecration taking place in 1890.

 

While the church weathered the floods of 1927 and 1938, the flood of 1973 inflicted slight damage to the parish hall. Unfortunately, Irene in 2011, destroyed the parish hall and caused considerable damage to the church itself. The building was raised several feet and a new parish hall was built on the back. The church was refurbished, including the many stained-glass windows. While the church itself was minimally impacted by the floods of July 2023, the grounds around the building were destroyed and required considerable landscaping.

 

With a dwindling congregation, the church has not been used regularly for a number of years, the plan by the Episcopal Diocese in Burlington is to sell the building. 

 

 

 

PROCTOR PIPER PARK PAPER

 

With the close of the Museum, we’ve turned our attention to the archives, setting aside Sunday afternoons as the time for cataloguing and organizing. This past week we came across copies of the “Proctor Piper Park Paper,” from the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) that was located in the Proctor Piper Forest on Bailey Hill above the Hillcrest Cemetery. 

 

The CCC was established by the Roosevelt administration in April of 1933. Single men 18-24 were enlisted in conservation work across the country. A camp was set up in the Proctor-Piper State Forest in Proctorsville in November, 1933. The CHS Winter 2024 Newsletter has a lot of information about the 1218th Company, which can be read on-line at the CHS blog- https://cavendishhistoricalsocietynews.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-scribbler-ii-cavendish-historical.html.

 

While they cleared hiking trails, created horseback riding trails, built bridges over streams, as well as fireplaces and picnic facilities at various sites, they also found time for sports, dances and even the publication of a weekly newsletter that sold for 5¢.  The Proctor Piper Park Paper included news and information that would be of interest and use to the men. Below is an example of some of the stories included.

 

January 24, 1935 Sports

January 16, Proctorsville met Weston CCC Basketball Team and defeated them before a large crowd at Ludlow Town Hall. This is the second tie P.P.P. engaged Weston and emerged victorious on both occasions. Weston played sparkling basketball but the Procorsvillers were on their toes at all times and held them in check. Fouls were few and far between which made the contest all the more exiting. The final score found P.P.P. on top with the score 21 to 12.

 

Here'n There: Health

“A word to the wise is sufficient.” We have listed here, a few DON’TS for those who are fortunate enough not to be on the sick list.

            DO NOT unbutton your jackets if you are perspiring. Doing so may promote a cold, chill or fever.

            DO NOT wear wet or damp clothing. Dry clothing, (especially stockings) is advisable.

            DO NOT wear too much clothing, when working, for this causes one to perspire more easily than otherwise. 

            DO NOT delay in reporting to the infirmary, should you have a chill, fever, cold, headache, or sore throat.

            Let us see how many of you can profit by this advice.

            Be careful, make sure that the other fellow does not stand a chance of catching your cold. 

 

On Saturday, January 19, the first bob-sled was utilized by the Davis’s Carpenter Crew, better known as the “Bantum Crew” of the Proctor-Piper Park. This sled was donated by Mr. Davis to the boys on his crew as a token of appreciation to the boys. The sled on its trial run was doing about 40 miles coming down the Brook Road and about 50 miles coming down the Bailey Hill. 

 

July 4, 1935 Topics of the Day

Flash: Information has been received from the Second Corps Area Headquarters, of the probability of the 1218^th Company being transferred to vicinity of Cape May, at the extreme southern point of New Jersey, on or about August 1. The enrollees will be engaged in mosquito control work.

 

May 30, 1935 Barack Box 

Who was the guy, working so hard that he broke his shovel from applying too much pressure?

            I wonder what that kid in Proctorsville will say when she finds out that her boyfriend has another’s name tattooed on his arm.

            Can it be that two of our plumbers have been fighting? They were seen the other night quarrelling in C Barrack and the following morning one had a cut over his nose and the other had honey on his eye. Tch Tch boys, mustn’t do.

            Polly was talking about the cooks who are supposed to move when and if this camp does move. He said, “I’ll be sorry to leave the boys in this camp and go to another camp.” But heard a lot of cheering when he mentioned that he was not going to the same camp. 

            The barber. Couldn’t take it. His leaving camp cost him a pretty penny. I bet half the camp is laughing up their sleeves at their getting a free haircut. The other half is probably blue because they didn’t get one before he left. 

 

May 30, 1935 Topics of the Day

Flash: In an effort to find the perpetrators of the Vermont mystery murder cases, which came to light with the findings of three bullet-riddled skulls in a wagon road near Middlebury, Lt. Detective Dorsey and State’s Attorney J.P. Conley of Vermont left on a tour of 12 states and a score of large cities. Note: On May 15, 1935, the skeletal remains of a woman and two boys were found in the woods near East Middlebury, Vermont. The victims were shot in the head and were believed to have been killed 3–5 years prior. To date, the case remains unsolved. 

MARCH 1917: THE RED WHEEL, NODE III, BOOK 4 

 

Written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn during the time he lived in Cavendish, The Red Wheel is the Nobel prize winner’s multivolume historical novel about the Russian Revolution. March 1917―the third node―chronicles the mayhem, day by day, of the Russian Revolution. Book 4 presents, for the first time in English, the conclusion of this four-volume revolutionary saga.

The action of Book 4 is set during March 23–31, 1917. Book 4 portrays a cast of thousands in motion and agitation as every stratum of Russian society―the army on the front lines, the countryside, the Volga merchants, the Don Cossacks, the Orthodox Church―is racked by the confusing new reality. Soldiers start to fraternize across trenches with the enemy. The Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, the emperor’s uncle, arrives at military headquarters to assume the supreme command but is promptly dismissed by the new Provisional Government. Even this government holds no power, for at every step it is cowed and hemmed in by a self-proclaimed and unaccountable Executive Committee acting in the name of the Soviets―councils of workers and soldiers. Yet the Soviets themselves are divided―on whether to call for an end to the war or for its continuation, on whether to topple the Provisional Government or to let it try to govern. Meanwhile, in Switzerland, Lenin quietly dictates his own terms to the German General Staff, setting the stage for his return to Russia.

 

The book is now available at Amazon and other book sellers. CHS has limited copies, which can be borrowed. If interested, please contact CHS at 802-226-7807 or e-mail margocaulfield@icloud.com

 

CAVENDISH IN THE FALL

 

Between the Northern lights and the foliage, It’s been a spectacular fall this year, We thought we’d end the newsletter with a few pictures. Leaving the Museum of Sept. 30, we were amazed at how beautiful the tree by Mack Molding looked. 

 

The Northern lights captured everyone’s attention but not everyone was up late or early enough to see it. This picture was taken by Justin Savage around 6 am. 

 

 

BECOME A MEMBER, RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP, DONATE

 

If you have not joined the Cavendish Historical Society, need to renew your membership, and/or would like to be a volunteer, please complete the form below and sending a check, payable to CHS, to CHS, PO Box 472, Cavendish, VT 05142. All contributions are tax deductible. 

Name: _______________________________________

 

Address: _______________________________________________

 

 

Phone Number: _____________________          E-Mail: ____________________________

Membership Level

__ Individual Member $10       __ Senior Member 65+ $5       __ Sustaining Member $500

__ Household Member $15                ___ Contributing Member $250                                

 

Volunteer

___ I would be interested in serving, as a volunteer .I would be interested in serving on the following committee(s):__ Program Planning       __ Fundraising  __ Building (Museum)

__Archives                      _ Budget          ­­–– Cemetery    __ Carmine Guica Young Historians

 

Donations are always welcome and can be designated as follows:

__ For general purposes               __ Young Historians                  __Publications

__ Archaeological Activities                _ Museum & Archival             __ Special Events

__ Rankin Fund                            __  Williams Fund                    __ Solzhenitsyn Project 

__ Other (please specify)              __ Cemetery Restoration           __ Preservation Projects

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHS Briefs: October 2024

On Sunday, as we were setting up for the second talk on plants, several hornets appeared in the Museum, resulting in one person being stung. It turns out there is a nest on the corner of the building, just under the roof. While we are trying to get this taken care of before this coming Sunday, we may need to shorten the season for the safety of all. Please check the Cavendish VT Facebook page, where we will post if we’re unable to open. 

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

October 26 (Saturday): History of the Invasives: Knotweed. 2 pm at the Cavendish Library, 573 Main St. Proctorsville This talk will feature garlic mustard, plantain, barberry, eucalyptus, ragweed and other plants that were introduced or traveled with settlers. We’ll be exploring plants that can do damage to existing ecosystems yet also offer medicine. 

November 1 (Friday): Dia de los Muertos for CTES 5^th/6^th graders.

November 2 (Saturday): Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead): Starts 3 pm at the Cavendish Library, 573 Main St. Proctorsville. Workshop from 3:30-5:30 Pot luck supper follows

November 10 (Sunday): Proctorsville Ghost Walk. Meet at 2 pm in front of the Proctorsville War Memorial. This event is free and open to the public. 

 

Donations for CHS can be sent to CHS, PO Box 472, Cavendish, VT 05142. Checks should be payable to the Cavendish Historical Society.

CHS Briefs: September 2024

Leaves are already starting to turn and school is back in session. Late summer is fading into fall and with it new programs and activities. Happy Fall!

UPCOMING EVENTS

September 15 (Sunday): Annual Phineas Gage Walk and Talk, starts with the talk 2 pm at the CHS Museum. This event takes place regardless of the weather. Wear comfortable shoes, The walk to and from the accident site is a mile and a half on town roads. 

September 29 (Sunday): Plant Time: Herbs focusing on longevity (e.g. chaga) and the life cycle of medicinal plants. This will include a discussion of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s writing and use of plants like chaga and mandrake root (European variety). Dr. Charis Boke will again be one of the speakers. She will be talking about ginseng, cordyceps and other plants that people use to prolong life. As she notes, “the big question is-what can we learn from plants that offer the ‘elixir of youth’ or so we think, in terms of navigating the path through life to death?”

October 13 (Sunday): Last Sunday the Museum is open for the 2024 season. 

October 26 (Saturday): History of the Invasives: Knotweed. 2 pm at the Cavendish Library, 573 Main St. Proctorsville This talk will feature garlic mustard, plantain, barberry, eucalyptus, ragweed and other plants that were introduced or traveled with settlers. We’ll be exploring plants that can do damage to existing ecosystems yet also offer medicine. 

November 2 (Saturday): Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead): Starts 3 pm at the Cavendish Library, 573 Main St. Proctorsville. Workshop from 3-5:30 Pot luck supper follows

November (Date to be announced): Proctorsville Ghost Walk

 

ACADEMY BUILDING: The oldest building in Cavendish Village is about to change ownership. Located on the corner of 131 and High St., it was built in 1812. Salmon Dutton subscribed $7,500 (one third money and two thirds labor or materials) for building “Cavendish Academy”-the largest gift received during the fund drive for the school. Dutton, who is credited as the founder of Cavendish Village, was a universalist and not interested in paying a “preacher tax,” which was customary at the time. Instead he opted to pay for education. 

 

Between the “free piles” and tag sales, many people have been stopping by the building and want to know more about it’s history.

 

The following is from the Fall 2020 Cavendish Historical Society newsletter, 

 

Recently we came across a copy of the Vermont Tribune from January 14, 1965, which featured the article, “Former Cavendish Academy, Vermont Educational Landmark, Overlooks Cavendish Park.” The building was almost torn down in 1965 when majority voters from Proctorsville turned down a proposal to buy the building, for removal, for a parking lot. The one and one half story Cavendish Academy building was for sale for $2500.

 

 It is the fifth oldest academy in the state of Vermont having been incorporated October 26, 1792 at a session of the Vermont Legislature in Rutland. It is also the 24th oldest academy in New England. …The students roomed in the area…..Four terms were scheduled during the year, the Winter Term commencing on the second Wednesday of December; the Spring Term on the second Wednesday of March; Summer term, second Wednesday of June and the Fall Term, second Wednesday of September.

 

The Vermont Historical Society provided a catalogue of classes for the fall term of 1833. The courses of study contrast sharply with the current college preparatory programs at area high schools. The catalogue says ‘The course of study adopted in this Institution is designed to be both liberal and thorough. Students wishing to prepare for College, for teaching, or for business, may expect to find here every facility for pursuing their studies, afforded by any similar institution. In addition English education courses such as Latin and Greek, instruction was also provided in Mathematics, Bookkeeping,  botany, geology, moral and intellectual philosophy, drawing, painting and calisthenics, French, Spanish and Italian. 

 

In 1834, the enrollment at the Academy was 91 gentlemen and 56 ladies. However the school was closed in the 1850s and has served multiple purposes throughout the ensuing years including as a drill hall during the Civil War, Perkin’s Store, Masonic Lodge, the Cavendish Partnership (architectural firm) and most recently RB Marketing. 

 

SUMMER NEWSLETTER: If you haven’t had a chance to check out the summer edition of the CHS Newsletter, check it out on-line as it's a special edition showcasing historic sites in glass. 

 

 

Donations for CHS can be sent to CHS, PO Box 472, Cavendish, VT 05142. Checks should be payable to the Cavendish Historical Society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHS Summer 2024 Newsletter

 THE SCRIBBLER II

The Cavendish Historical Society Newsletter

www.cavendishhistoricalsocietynews.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/PhineasGageCavendish

www.pinterest.com/cavendishvt/historical-cavendish/

www.thewriterwhochangedhistory.com

 

PO Box 472 Cavendish, VT 05142

 

802-226-7807     margocaulfield@icloud.com

 

Summer 2024  Vol. 18, Issue 3

 

 

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

 

We were pleased to see so many people at the talk on July 21-“18^th Century Healers in Rural Vermont.” Given the interest and a request for a series, we’re planning several talks in the fall, listed below, with Dr. Charis Boke of Dartmouth. 

 

September 15 (Sunday): Annual Phineas Gage Walk and Talk, starts with the talk 2 pm at the CHS Museum

September 29 (Sunday): Plant Time: Herbs focusing on longevity (e.g. chaga) and the life cycle of medicinal plants. This will include a discussion of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s writing and use of plants like chaga and mandrake root (European variety). Dr. Charis Boke will again be one of the speakers

October 13 (Sunday): Last Sunday the Museum is open for the 2024 season. 

October 26 (Saturday): History of the Invasives: Knotweed. 2 pm at the Cavendish Library, 573 Main St. Proctorsville

November 2 (Saturday): Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead): Starts 3 pm at the Cavendish Library, 573 Main St. Proctorsville. Workshop from 3-5:30 Pot luck supper follows

November (Date to be announced): Proctorsville Ghost Walk

 

CAVENDISH IN GLASS,

A few weeks ago, stained glass artist Peter LaBelle, stopped by the Museum with a donation of a window containing 12 panes of stained glass, each representing a Cavendish landmark. After many years of what can only be described as a very active retirement, Peter and his wife Nancy are preparing to move to the Upper Valley for the next stage of retirement-no more snow blowing or mowing.  

 

Peter has served our town in a variety of ways for many years including town auditor. He has been instrumental in launching the Cavendish Community Fund (CCF) and has been in leadership positions for the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association (CCCA) as well as the Black River Good Neighbors Services (BRGNS). 

About 25 years ago, Peter took a stained glass window class at Fletcher Farm and has been absorbed by it
ever since. A frequent visitor to the Cavendish Transfer Station, he recycles old paneled frames and inserts stained glass that he designs. His work can be seen throughout Cavendish, including the town logo at the Town Office; a repair of stained glass at the Episcopal Church after Irene, and in the entry way of the Cavendish Baptist Church. He has been incredibly generous in donating items for various fundraisers as well. 

 

Peter included a history for each one of the buildings depicted in his glass work. We thought the newsletter was a great way to showcase his art and the history of many of the places we see daily. In compiling the history, we realized two things: we couldn’t do this in just one newsletter-so it will be spread out over several issues and some of our research led to new information that we want to share.

 

HOLY NAME OF MARY: Irish railroad workers settled in Cavendish in the 1840s and held Catholic services in their homes whenever a visiting priest was available. They bought property in Proctorsville in 1859. John Tierney of Cavendish deeded a parcel of land in Proctorsville to Bishop Louis DeGoesbriand for $150. Ten years later, 1869, Father O'Reilly built a church on that parcel at a cost of $2,000.The church was dedicated to the Holy Name of Mary and the parish consisted of 100 families.

 

In 1877 the Bishop appointed Rev.J.C. McLaughlin as pastor of HNM as well as Annunciation in Ludlow, which had recently opened. In 1882, both of these churches were placed under the care of a curate in St. Peter’s Church in Rutland. 

 

Problems with the floor caused the Holy Name of Mary building in Proctorsville to be declared unsafe and the church was closed for five years. On December 25, 1905 a Christmas Midnight Mass was celebrated by Rev. F. Dwyer. Father Dwyer served as pastor until J.J. Cullin succeeded him in 1913. Father served the religious needs of the entire town of Cavendish. In September of 1946, Holy Name of Mary parish became a mission of the newly formed St. Joseph Church, Chester, and remained in that capacity over the next fifty years. In 2001, Holy Name of Mary parish was reunited with Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ludlow. On November 2, 2005, Bishop Salvatore R. Matano came to celebrate Mass in commemoration of the 100th anniversary since the church was re-dedicated in 1905. 

 

Like many churches, Holy Name of Mary shut down during Covid. Unfortunately, it has not reopened and its future is uncertain. 

 

CAVENDISH TOWN OFFICE BUILDING: The Cavendish Town Office was constructed in 1954-1955 and

dedicated on October 1, 1955. Prior to this time, town clerks Elliott.G. White and his daughter Marion, kept records in their home. The building cost $19,500 and is located on land previously owned by Salmon Dutton. See CHS Museum for more history on the former town office.

 

The first floor, on one side held the offices for the town clerk, town manager and selectmen. Across the hall was the Fletcher Town Library. In 1990, the libraries for Cavendish and Proctorsville were merged into a new building attached to Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES). The vacated space became the town’s meeting room, which doubles as an office for the town auditor as well as file storage.  

 

CAVENDISH FIRE DEPARTMENT: In 1883 the Cavendish Volunteer Fire Dept (CVFD) was formed. Referred to as Fire District #2, the Proctorsville Fire Dept was created in 1833. In the late 1940s, Milton “Mike" Dickerman, fire chief for District #2 during this time remembers Cavendish village still didn’t have much equipment. One of his main responsibilities was to check that fire extinguishers were in working order. For years, there had been ladders and buckets stored at three or four strategic locations in or near Cavendish village. Dickerman did not think they were used much in this period except when the barn next to the Roger and Walter Buck house caught fire on Oct. 28, 1949. The barn and house were adjacent to the Universalist Church on Main Street. One of the storage sites for fire-fighting equipment was on the bank above the church. Men from the village formed a “bucket-brigade” but the Vermont Tribune credits the Proctorsville Fire Department and help from Gay Brothers Mill for putting out the fire. 

 

In 1957, Art Briggs became the fire chief of District # 2 and served in that capacity for the next 30 years. He had received training and experience fighting fires in the Army Air Force during WWII. Under his direction, the volunteer firemen became a well organized group with regular drills, and District #2 Fire Department was legally incorporated. An active Auxiliary was formed. 

 

Construction on the current building that houses CVFD was begun by Charles Whitcomb in the early 1900s for his new bride. Unfortunately, she died before the building was completed, and some say her ghost still haunts the building. While the building was sold to the Local 162, Textile Workers Union of America in 1940, many residents made good use of the building for various purposes. With the mills sold off for other uses, in 1958, the building was sold to CVFD. 

ST. JAMES UNITED METHODIST CHIURCH: The first Methodist Church was built in 1840. In 1882, the

building was replaced and a Hamill pipe organ was installed shortly thereafter. Rev. John O. Long became pastor of the Church in 1925. A year later, he assumed similar duties for the Baptist Church, and has been the only minister in Cavendish to serve two different churches. An energetic man, he was head of a Boy Scout Troop, edited a monthly newsletter, served the sick-particularly when there was a serious scarlet fever epidemic in 1926, and was active in numerous community affairs. As a result, an unusually large number of locals joined one or the other of these churches.

 

CAVENDISH STONE CHURCH: Built in 1884, the mason John Adams, oversaw the construction of the church. Working with him was another mason Clark Wardner, from Reading. Together, they also built “Glimmerstone” on route 131, as well as other places in Chester and Reading. The cost, $1,515, was raised by selling pews, ranging in price from $30-$90, depending on its proximity to the pulpit. It was a custom that no one was allowed to sit in a pew unless they were a member of the family that purchased it. Because this was considered “property,” owners were required to pay a tax on their pew. Of the 48 pews, 26 still bear the original nameplates of the first owners. 

 

The abolitionist Rev. Warren Skinner, laid the first corner stone and preached the first sermon in the church.

 

By the 1930’s, the church was primarily being used in the summers only. This was also the time period when the church was wired for electricity. The Church was decommissioned April 22, 1966 as there were only a few Universalist members in the area.  On June 10, 1971, the Church was leased to CHS. On May 11, 2013, the Universalist/Unitarian Convention of Vermont and Quebec met at the Stone Church and agreed to deed the Church to the Town. 

 

The interior of the church continues to be largely unchanged since it’s construction. It is currently being restored and will be the future home of the Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn exhibit and a small venue space for community use. The church is open to anyone for such events as  weddings, services etc. 

 

CAVENDISH FLETCHER COMMUNITY LIBRARY: For many years, two libraries served the town of Cavendish. The Fletcher Town Library located at the Cavendish Town Office starting  in 1955 and its branch in Proctorsville. Without a school library, classes were bussed to Cavendish and others walked to the Proctorsville Branch. With the passage of time, it became more difficult to bring the students to Cavendish. The room at the school used for such purpose was dismantled due to overcrowding. It became evident that a School library was needed if the students were to be properly grounded in library use and to take advantage of

the resources libraries offer. 

 

In 1983, a time when extensive work needed to be done to the CTES roof, it was suggested that there would be enough space under the roof for a library to be constructed. Recognizing the needs of both school and community library, the decision was made to construct a library to serve both purposes. Building for Books was launched to raise the needed funds.

 

The building was dedicated in July 28, 1990 and has been continually expanding programs and offerings to the town and school. Note that two of the CHS programs planned this fall will be at the Library. 

 

CHS MUSEUM: In 1834, the Cavendish Baptists built the church that is known today as the CHS Museum. Soon after extensive repairs were made, on April 27, 1875 the building  caught fire from a burning shop located near the canal floodgates. The work of the arsonist “Firebug Fitton” the intended property was the mill next door. In 1877, $2,154 was approved to build a Town Hall, restoring the burned out shell of the old Baptist Church. 

 

In 1880, Elliott G. White became town clerk as well as librarian and postmaster to Cavendish village. White moved these functions into his new building on Main St. He also sold caskets from this location. It appears he never charged the town rent. 

 

The Town Hall could be rented for a nominal fee and was used for shows, moving pictures, the Black River Dramatic club, vaudeville, concerts, lecturers, dances and receptions. Electricity was installed in 1910. With the opening of the Town Office in 1955, the building was eventually turned over to CHS for a museum.

 

CALVARY CHURCH-ASSEMBLY OF GOD: In 1958, an Assembly of God evangelist, Rachel Thibodeau, preached in a tent on Greven Field in Proctorsville. Several people became interested and formed the nucleus of a new church. The church building was erected in 1964. 

 

CAVENDISH BAPTIST CHURCH: As noted above for the CHS Museum, the first Baptist Church was heavily damaged by fire in 1875. The hasty action of the people saved the pews and pulpit, which are still in use

in the present Baptist Church. Plans were immediately made to build a new church. The lot on which the present New England style wood church stands was purchased from the estate of Ryland Fletcher for $250 and completed in 1878, During the pastorate of Rev. W.E. Baker, 1908 to 1912, the cellar basement was remodeled to include a kitchen and dining hall arrangement. Extensive alterations were made in 1929 at a cost of $7,500, with new stained glass windows were installed throughout.

 

With major renovations taking place throughout the church’s history, including an addition to the back of the building, allowing for a nursery and shower, following the 2011 flood, Irene, a group of community members organized to develop the town’s shelter at the Church. This required raising funds for a generator. The shelter has been operational during the winter months, particularly when power is out. Following the floods of July 2023, for two weeks it ran as the Town shelter and store after which, it provided housing for the Mennonites who came to help with relief efforts. 

 

BECOME A MEMBER, RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP, DONATE

 

If you have not joined the Cavendish Historical Society, need to renew your membership, and/or would like to be a volunteer, please complete the form below and sending a check, payable to CHS, to CHS, PO Box 472, Cavendish, VT 05142. All contributions are tax deductible. 

Name: _______________________________________

 

Address: _______________________________________________

 

 

Phone Number: _____________________          E-Mail: ____________________________

Membership Level

__ Individual Member $10       __ Senior Member 65+ $5       __ Sustaining Member $500

__ Household Member $15                ___ Contributing Member $250                                

 

Volunteer

___ I would be interested in serving, as a volunteer .I would be interested in serving on the following committee(s):__ Program Planning       __ Fundraising  __ Building (Museum)

__Archives                      _ Budget          ­­–– Cemetery    __ Carmine Guica Young Historians

 

Donations are always welcome and can be designated as follows:

__ For general purposes               __ Young Historians                  __Publications

__ Archaeological Activities                _ Museum & Archival             __ Special Events

__ Rankin Fund                            __  Williams Fund                    __ Solzhenitsyn Project 

__ Other (please specify)              __ Cemetery Restoration           __ Preservation Projects

    

 

CHS Briefs: August 2024

This is a short brief, as the Summer Cavendish Historical Society newsletter will be out next week. 

 

UPCOMING EVENTS: We were pleased to see so many people at the talk on July 21-"18^th Century Healers in Rural Vermont.” Given the interest and a request for a series, we’re planning several talks in the fall, listed below, with Dr. Charis Boke of Dartmouth. 

September 15 (Sunday): Annual Phineas Gage Walk and Talk, starts with the talk portion beginning at 2 pm at the CHS Museum

September 29 (Sunday): Plant Time: Herbs focusing on longevity (e.g. chaga) and the life cycle of medicinal plants. This will include a discussion of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s writing and use of plants like chaga and mandrake root (European variety). 

October 13 (Sunday): Last Sunday the Museum is open for the 2024 season. 

October 29 (Saturday): History of the Invasives: Knotweed (place and time to be announced)

November (Date to be announced): Proctorsville Ghost Walk

 

YOUNG HISTORIANS: August is the month where we start working with Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES) to plan for the coming school year. Teachers can call (802-226-7807)  or e-mail (margocaulfield@icloud.com) to set up times to discuss curriculum and what type of programming they would like to see in the coming year. 

 

Enjoy this last month of summer!

 

Donations for CHS can be sent to CHS, PO Box 472, Cavendish, VT 05142. Checks should be payable to the Cavendish Historical Society.