(From Cabot Historical Society website probably compiled by Peter Dannenberg)
1774 - Lt. Governor Cadwallader Colden (1688-1776) of the Province of New York, granted a patent to establish a town named Sidney, on September 27, 1774. It included today's Cabot and Marshfield, Vermont. John Felthausen & Co. received the patent. The New York State Library has "A map 23,040 acres of Land on the west side of Connecticut river in the county of Gloucester and adjoining the township of Penryn. Surveyed for John Felthausen and his associates. David Colden Surveyor General August 16th, 1774, Vermont." Penryn included today's Calais, Vermont.
New York granted almost all of Vermont's Washington County, but there were no settlements. Many New York patents were irregular shapes and sizes, ignoring topography. Vermont often preferred New Hampshire grants: many were town-sized (six square miles) and settled. The Sidney grant of 23,040 acres was 36 square miles (a square, six miles on each side). The Cabot charter for six square miles from the Vermont Republic was later, Aug. 17, 1781. Today, all Washington County is held under New Hampshire or Vermont grants. New York and New Hampshire grants were often for the same land, with the same or different names. Some had names used elsewhere in Vermont, adding to confusion. Vermont tried to settle property disputes and distribute unsettled land. There were bitter legal disputes over ownership, before Vermont became the fourteenth state, on March 4, 1791.
1776 - 1779 Americans invaded Lower Canada (now Quebec) in September 1775. In April 1776, Gen. George Washington ordered (then Colonel) Jacob Bayley of Newbury, Vermont, to build a road from Wells River, Vermont to St. Johns in Lower Canada. Approved by the Continental Congress, May 10, 1776, the military road was planned by Col.Thomas Johnson and he route surveyed by James Whitelaw of Ryegate. The scout, Joseph Susapp, known as "Indian Joe", was a guide. Surveyors followed the general route of a Native American trail.
Construction began in June 1776. Work paused for two years, after American invasion of lower Canada failed. Rumors were British forces planned to use the road to invade Vermont. When work stopped, the road was just past the Cabot - Peacham line. Work resumed in 1779, but the road was never finished. Work ended under Col. Moses Hazen, between August and September 1779. The 54-mile road ended in Westfield, Vermont.
Peacham, Cabot, Walden, and Greensboro blockhouses along the road were manned by small militia garrisons, at times. The Cabot blockhouse was on Fortification Hill, Cabot Plain. After the Revolutionary War, the road helped settle north-central Vermont. The first Cabot homes were along the road on Cabot Plain.
1780 – John Whittier cleared land on Whittier Hill and moved to Cabot in 1790.
1780-81 – A year of “great severity” due to heavy snows.
1781 – Town of Cabot chartered by Vermont to Jesse Leavenworth and 63 others. Leavenworth never resided in Cabot; he settled and built mills at the outlet of what is now known as Joe’s Pond, thinking he was in Cabot.
In early March, Colonel Thomas Johnson of Newbury, Jacob Page and Jonathan Elkins of Peacham were abducted by loyalist Captain-Lieutenant Azariah Pritchard of the first battalion of the King's American Rangers and ten men, including Native Americans. They returned with the two prisoners to Lower Canada by way of the military road and camped the first night on Cabot Plain. For years after, it was called “Johnson’s Plain.”
Jonathan Elkins, Jr. was born October 23, 1761, in Haverhill, New Hampshire. He joined Colonel Bayley’s Vermont Regiment as a scout. When Loyalist militia rangers captured him on March 8, 1781, he was carried to Quebec, then Ireland. Later Elkins was moved to Mill Prison, Plymouth, England. He was part of an exchange for Cornwallis’ men and returned to Peacham, Vermont in 1782. After the revolution, Elkins moved to Albion, New York, c.1836. In 1843, he moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin. He died May 16, 1852. Reminiscences of Jonathan Elkins:
"An attack was made on Peacham, Vt., March 8, 1781. Col. Thomas Johnson of Newbury, who had engaged to erect a grist mill at Peacham, arrived at the house of Jonathan Elkins on the evening of the 7th of March. About 1 o'clock the next morning, a party of Indians from Canada, invaded the house of Mr. Elkins, and made prisoners of Col. Johnson, Jacob Page, and young Jonathan Elkins, and took them to St. Johns, P. Q. The news of the foray reached Hartford by express sent by Gen. Bayley, who requested immediate help. Capt. Joshua Hazen promptly responded to the requisition and marched with a portion of his company to Piermont, N. H., but there, learning that the enemy could not be overtaken, he retraced his steps. A portion of Capt. Hazen's company was at Quechee when the dispatch was received by that officer. On receiving notification from Capt. Hazen to march to Peacham, Lt. Wm. Bramble collected the members of the company at Quechee, and proceeded toward Peacham, but had marched no further than Dresden (Hanover, N. H.) when Capt. Hazen arrived there on his return from Peacham, and all returned to Hartford to rendezvous until again called into service."
1782 - Loyalist Capt. Azariah Pritchard made an unsuccessful attempt to kidnap General Jacob Bayley at Newbury, Vermont.
1783 – Benjamin Webster was first settler, on Cabot Plain. He cleared land, then brought his wife, their two-year-old daughter (who later married innkeeper Hanson Rogers, Esq., in Cabot), and a hired man to his log cabin. Lt. Jonathan Heath was the second settler; his family arrived two days before the Webster family. Nathaniel Webster followed and built opposite Benjamin Webster. Lt. Thomas Lyford was next. A millwright, he bought the lot that now includes Cabot Village, along the Winooski River, in 1788. He built the first house in the village in 1794.
1786 – Town of Cabot lotted. See LOTTING MAP. The survey was by James Whitelaw, then Deputy Surveyor-General of Vermont and Marston Cabot, Jr., town surveyor of Hartland, Vermont. Marston Cabot, Jr. was born in North Killingly (now Thompson), Connecticut, son of Rev. Marston Cabot. Cabot was named for settler, Sophia Cabot, Marston's youngest sister, at the request of her husband, Major Lyman Hitchcock; he married Sophia, Sept. 14, 1785, before the survey.
Whitelaw speculated in land. To pay for Cabot's survey, Whitelaw was granted one lot. Whitelaw was a proprietor of Ryegate, Cabot, Plainfield (St. Andrews Gore), Cambridge, Waterville, and Groton. Assistants, including William Coit and James Savage, also were paid in land for surveying. Whitelaw became the Vermont Republic's second Surveyor-General in 1787.
"It [Cabot] was granted Nov. 6, 1780; chartered by Vermont to Jesse Levenworth and 65 others, Aug. 17, 1781; but not surveyed and lotted till 1786. The survey was made by [Marston] Cabot, of Connecticut, and James Whitelaw. Thomas Lyford, whose father was one of the first settlers, being at that time a young man 18 years of age, worked with them through the survey. In the extreme west part of the town Mr. Cabot broke the glass in his compass, and was obliged to go through the wilderness to the nearest house about 6 miles away, and take a square of glass out of the window to replace it. The township was lotted by James Whitelaw, and a field-book written out by him September, 1786, contains the number of each lot and full description of the same, measurement, etc., closing each with a statement of what in his judgment the land is adapted to, whether pasture or general farming. There were 12 lots in each division, and 6 divisions, making 72 lots in town."
Proprietors met at the house of Jonathan Elkins, Sr. in Peacham, to set guidelines for the new settlement and form a committee to draw lots. (Deacon Jonathan Elkins, from Haverhill, New Hampshire, came to Peacham and built a log cabin with his son, Jonathan, Jr., in 1775. Construction of Bayley-Hazen Road reached Peacham by July 1776; it passed the cabin. Elkins built a frame house and tavern in 1787.)
Lots were drawn on November 3, 1786. There were 72 lots of about 320 acres each, for a total of 23,040 acres in the six-mile square town. A tax of ten shillings was set to pay expenses of surveying and lotting. Lyman Hitchcock named the town to honor his “bride-elect,” Miss Sophia Cabot, of Connecticut, youngest sister of the surveyor Marston Cabot, Jr. (See: How Cabot Got Its Name)
The first death in Cabot: Nathaniel West, who worked for Benjamin Webster. West was killed felling a large birch tree.
1787 – Six more families arrived on Cabot Plain: Lyman Hitchcock, David Blanchard, Jeremiah McDaniel, John Lyford, James Bruce, and Thomas Batchelder. All came from New Hampshire, with their families, and settled along the military road. The first child born in Cabot was a daughter, to Thomas Blanchard on Oct. 3, 1787.
1788 – The first town meeting was held on Cabot Plain on February 4, 1788. Warned by Walter Brock, Justice of Peace. There were probably 10 or 12 voters at the time. Second child born here was Mercy Blanchard, b. Apr. 1, d. April 14; the 2nd death was. James Blanchard 1753 - 1817.
1788 - Fifield Lyford settled in Cabot. Fifield Lyford was born 1763, in Exeter, N. H. He died 18 April, 1846, at the home of his son-in-law, T. E. Wilson, in Bethel, Vt. He married, first, Elizabeth Sanborn. She was born 1764, in Epping, N. H. She was the daughter of Daniel Sanborn who was born 6 May, 1742, in Epping. Fifield's second marriage, in 1820, was to Judith K. (Heath) Lyford, widow of his brother David. She died, 11 April, 1854.
Lyford served in Capt. Ebenezer Webster’s Company, Col. Moses Nichols’ Regiment of Militia, raised by the State of N. H from July 4, 1780 to Oct. 25, 1780. He joined the Continental Army at West Point in 1780 (N. H. State Papers, Vol. xvi, p. 149). He was Selectman of Cabot,1795-’96 and 1798-1801; 2d Lieutenant, 31st Infantry in the War of 1812.
T. E. Wilson of Bethel, Vt., wrote (25 May, 1894): "When 13 years old Fifield went into the army of the Revolution, as servant to his father, Lt. Thomas Lyford; he separated with his father at Ticonderoga; went to West Point, and was body guard for Arnold when the traitor deserted. While there he saw Arnold beat a sick soldier with his cane, and broke it over his back; he threw the pieces into a ditch. Fifield, boy like, picked up the end with the ivory head, put it on a hickory for himself, and kept it till his death."
Fifield lived in Northfield, 1785, and in 1788, went to Cabot, Vt.
1789 – First vote to defray expenses in town by taxing 12 bushels of wheat. James Morse first settled at the Center of Town [geographic center of the six-mile-square town]. Morse built the first “hotel” of logs. The second home at the Center was built by Oliver Walbridge.
1788-89 – Lt. Thomas Lyford, millwright, built an up and down sawmill on the Winooski River. The mill was located where John Brown’s shop was later. There was a pond at the “upper end of the street.” Lyford also built, with his son, Thomas Jr., a grist mill in Cabot.
1790 – Dr. Gershom Beardsley came to settle in Cabot. Gershom Beardsley 1753 - 1826. Eight acres of land at the Center of Town was presented to the town by Jesse Leavenworth, Major Hitchcock, and Asa Douglas “for public use.” Luther Wheatley built a store there; later Hector McLean owned it.
1791 – Lt. Thomas Lyford was elected town representative, but for some reason did not attend Legislature. The Osgood family came to Cabot to settle. Four brothers came in the spring and boarded with the Whittiers. Father, William, and six sons came in the fall. Voted "the width of sleds shall be four feet and six inches from outside to outside." Anyone whose sled was less would be fined five dollars for every offense. [This had to do with how roads were constructed at the time.]
1792 – James Morse elected town representative; attended Legislature in Rutland. He was also the first Justice of the Peace. The first school, taught by John Gunn, was a log cabin at the foot of Shephard Hill, near the Hazen Road on Cabot Plain It was designated as District 1. A few years later, a new schoolhouse was built about half a mile east.
1793 – First full slate of town officers elected: Capt. James Moss (Morse), moderator; Lyman Hitchcock, town clerk; Samuel Danforth, James Moss (Morse), David Blanchard, selectmen; Thomas Lyford, treasurer; Thomas Batchelder, constable and collector; Ephraim Marsh, grand juryman; James Chapman, Martin Durgin, Thomas Osgood, surveyors of highways; Ezekiel Gilman, hog-ward; Edward Chapman, fence-viewer; Jonathan Heath, pound-keeper; Fifield Lyford, sealer of weights and measures; Thomas Lyford, leather sealer; listers were also appointed. Deacon James Marsh (Cong.Church) arrived from Plymouth N. H. and settled near the Center of Town. Population was 122; second school district formed. (District 1 was on Cabot Plain; District 2 was at the Center.) This district had a log schoolhouse. It was burned later and a better one built.
1794 – Lt. Lyford built the first house in the village. It was where the Lance house later stood. The second house was built by Samuel Lee; third by Elias Hitchcock. John Dana bought the house where Mrs. Haines was and started the first mercantile business in Cabot. Later George Dana built a large store. (John Dana once owned most of the land that became the village.) Dr. Parley Scott came from Craftsbury Common to settle on Cabot Plain, practicing medicine in Cabot nearly 50 years.
1795 – First Board of Listers elected (the work had previously been done by the selectmen): Capt. David Blanchard, Fifield Lyford, and Samuel Warner. First marriage: David Lyford to Judith Heath, July 23, performed by James Morse, Esq.
1796 – Voted to move town business offices from Cabot Plain to the schoolhouse at the Center of Town. The original settlers on Cabot Plain threatened to secede. Marcus O. Fisher was born in Cabot to Joseph and Sarah (Osgood) Fisher. He and his wife, Fanny Hall, lived in the "old red house" in the village. Their son, John M. Fisher wrote Cabot’s early history for Hemenway’s Vermont Historical Gazetteer.
1797 - Cabot Land Grant, February 1797
1797 – Every “able bodied man between the ages of 18 and 45 was obliged to do military duty.” David Blanchard was first captain of the military company. Col. John Stone settled on land near where the Lower Village (Durant) Cemetery is now. William Haines settled in what is now Lower Cabot, where the Gould farm is. Moses Stone built a sawmill and later, the Haines woolen factory located there.
Enoch Hoyt bought 320 acres of land on West Hill in Cabot from Edmund Gilman. Hoyt came with four brothers, some later moved to Wisconsin. The Hoyt farm became the Orson Kimball farm. Leonard Orcutt, Esq. arrived in Cabot with his mother when he was 18 years old. He soon became town agent, assisting in all town lawsuits.
1799 – James Butler was the first settler on Southwest Hill.
Elihu Coburn settled near the river in Lower Cabot. He and wife, Abigail Putnam, kept a public house, “Farmer’s Tavern,” where town business was often transacted.
1800 – A school in Lower Cabot was built. It became District 3. Joseph Fisher was elected captain of the military company; John Stone was elected sergeant; there were several unnamed officers and eleven privates. They met at the parade grounds at the Center of Town.
Second marriage in Cabot was Solomon W. Osgood to Ruth Marsh on Jan. 3, officiated by Joseph Fisher, Esq.
The town purchased an acre of land at the Center for a burying ground, the first public graveyard in town.
1801 – Voted to organize a Congregational Church. Officers: Thomas Osgood, clerk; Oliver Walbridge, treasurer; Joseph Fisher, Horace Beardsley, Thomas Osgood, assessors; Clement Coburn, John Edgerton, Reuben Atkins, committee; Moses Stone, collector. Rev. John Joslin was engaged as pastor. Services were held at the Center Schoolhouse.
William Osgood died on Feb. 5, 1801. His was the first burial at the Center of Town Cemetery. Clement Coburn built the first gristmill in Lower Cabot.
1802 – John Winchester Dana, Jr. and John Damon dealt in land, cattle, etc. on Cabot Plain. Both later lived in the village. John Dana opened a store south of the Yellow House Tavern on Cabot Plain. (John Winchester Dana Jr.'s mother was Hannah Pope Putnam Dana, her father was Major General Israel Thomas Putnam, "Old Put," of the Battle of Bunker Hill.) John Edgerton and Gershom Beardsley were elected the first tithing men. They were to see there was “no hunting, fishing or lounging about” on the Sabbath. Anyone violating the Sabbath was arrested, brought before a magistrate, and fined.
Thomas Lyford was born in Cabot. He gave a long account of Cabot history one evening and apparently suffered a stroke after the meeting. He never spoke again and died 23 days later on June 23, 1881.
1803 – Col. John Stone married Betsey Huntoon of Kingston, N.H. and brought her to his Cabot farm in Lower Cabot.
A Baptist Church was organized. Officers elected were Perley Scott, clerk; Fifield Lyford, treasurer; John N. Gunn, John Whittier, and John Spiller, assessors; Enoch Hoyt, collector; Samuel Kingston, John Blanchard, and Thomas Lyford, committee.
The family of James and Sarah Shepard was “warned out of town” because they were not prosperous and the town feared they would become a town charge.
1804 – Zerah Colburn was born in Cabot. He became a celebrated math prodigy and toured Europe, later returned to Cabot to open a school. He became an itinerant preacher and eventually taught a Norwich University.
1806 – Framework for a Congregational Church raised at the Center. Oliver Walbridge appointed first surveyor of wood and lumber.
1807 – First Methodist meetings were held on Cabot Plain. Elder Thomas Branch probably preached.
Twelve families were warned out of town because they were poor.
1808 – First mail service through Cabot began with carrier Henry Denny traveling on horseback from Montpelier to the Canada line, passing through Cabot, Danville, Lyndon, Barton and on north. The round trip took about 10 days. He brought letters and The Vermont Watchman, a newspaper published in Montpelier. Nicholas Warner was the first postmaster at Cabot.
1809 – Hanson Rogers built the first distillery in town on Cabot Plain; in 1810 the potato crop was used for whiskey. Shortly after, Judge Dana built another distillery half a mile away, and others soon followed. Excess product was shipped to Boston, Portland, or illegally smuggled to Canada.
1810 – Parker Hooker, who lived in Peacham, built a sawmill in South Cabot, four miles from his home. The mill was rebuilt by Liberty Hooker in 1839.
Business began to shift to the Winooski River valley. This was also the approximate start date of commercial potash production in Cabot.
1811 – First class at Methodist Church formed. Members: Mrs. Judge Dana, Mrs. Dr. Scott, Mrs. B. Webster, Mrs. Hills, Mrs. N. Webster, Mrs. Durgin, and Mrs. Rogers. Shortly afterwards, the first men joined: Judge J. W. Dana, Daniel Smith, and Dr. Scott.
1812 – The Yellow House became known as the “Smugglers’ House” and a pond nearby as “Smugglers’ Pond.”
1813 – Second town cemetery was established in Lower Cabot on land that Col. John Stone and Elihu Coburn (each donated ½ acre of their land), gave to the town. It is now known as Durant Cemetery. Joseph Coburn was the first burial, a victim of spotted fever.
1813-14 – Spotted fever epidemic. During the spring of both 1813 and 1814, an epidemic, called at first "spotted fever" and later "malignant fever" plagued much of New England. Deaths in Vermont reached 6,000, about one death in 40 inhabitants. The disease is thought to have been either typhus or cerebral-spinal-meningitis.
1814 – The militia, including minutemen from Cabot, Woodbury, and Calais, was called out on September 11, expecting to engage the British during a battle in Plattsburgh. They camped overnight in Montpelier Center, but the British were defeated and the men returned home.
A small cemetery was laid out on West Hill, near the school, on land later owned by Orson Kimball. There were 19 burials there. All were later moved when a new cemetery, now still in use, was laid out a short distance away.
Jeremiah Babcock was appointed postmaster. He lived on what was later the Dow farm, not far from the post road. Mail not delivered from horseback along the way was taken to church and distributed there on Sunday.
1815 – Apple trees planted by first settlers began to produce. Cider mills sprang up.
1816 – Known as “The Year of Famine” because 18 inches of snow fell in June, ruining crops. W. S. Atkins built another distillery and found a market in Canada, despite it being illegal to supply the British. More distilleries built, making a total of 12 in operation at one time.
1817 – George Sumner was elected captain of the militia; enrollment was 52 men. John Edgerton and David Lyford donated land for a new cemetery on West Hill. A distillery was built where the Union Block stood later. The building then became a tannery and a “currying and shoe-shop” (farrier).
John Heath was second settler in East Cabot; John Clark owned a tavern opposite Molly's Pond called “The Pond House;” George Rogers had a farm near the school house.
1818 – John Edgerton was the first burial at West Hill Cemetery. He died on March 8.
1820 – The Village Cemetery was laid out on ½ acre of land donated by John W. Dana. Eliza Dutton, 22, was the first burial. It was later enlarged to 1 acre. The first Camp Meeting in town was held in the grove of Daniel Smith, later the A. M. Foster sugar woods. Presiding elder was John Linsey. Avery Atkins built a dam on a brook in the western section of townthat flooded the "great meadow" formerly used by early settlers and Indians to grow hay. This formed what is now called West Hill Pond.
Harvey Babcock was appointed postmaster to replace his father, Jeremiah. He moved the post office to Lower Cabot. Captain Covel, Sr., carried the mail for several years.
1822 – First elected overseer of the poor was Daniel Smith. John Dana deeded 1 1/8 acres of land to the town for a common, to be used especially for drills. (Cabot Common Deed 1822)
1822-23 – First Methodist church built on southeast corner of the Common.
1823 – Farmers began to believe raising so many potatoes was “running out their farms,” so turned to other crops.
1824 – Congregational meeting house at the Center of Town was taken down and removed to the northeast corner of the village common.
The town voted to “not elect an overseer of the poor.”
1825 – Reuben Atkins cleared land in Petersville, in the southeast corner of Cabot.
Cabot Plain graveyard opened on land donated by Alpheus Bartlett. Alvira Covell was first burial.
1826 – On the west side of the river, William Scales built a blacksmith shop and a small foundry. The relocation of the Congregational Church from the Center to the Village was completed.
1827 – First Temperance Society organized by Rev. Henry Jones.
1827 – Hector McLean was appointed postmaster. Captain Covell died and Deacon Adams became mail carrier; initiating a horse-drawn stage to carry the mail. When Adams died, Deacon Kellogg became mail carrier.
1829 – Free Will Baptists built a meeting house on West Hill.
1829 – A road was built from Danville four corners to Cabot. Traffic previously went over Cabot Plain. This new road was the main thoroughfare to Montpelier for the next 45 years. Lyman Clark drove the first stage on that route.
1830 – First petition for a road from Molly's Pond at East Cabot to Marshfield was turned down. It was not built until 1865.
1831 – Overseer of the Poor reinstated: John Damon elected. A Total Abstinence Society organized. (No records, only a notation by J. M. Fisher in Vermont Historical Magazine; this group may not have flourished.
1832 – No distilleries remained in Cabot.
1833 – George Fielding established a wool carding and cloth dressing establishment on the west side of the brook in the Village where the carriage shop was later. In August, 1833, the building was washed away by a flood. It was rebuilt in 1834, and eventually Jason Britt bought the business and expanded it to include a carriage shop. The carriage shop was later known as “Cabot Carriage Company,” and was run by A. P. Marshall and W. W. Buchanan. The business closed after three or four years and the property became J. A. Farrington’s. (Note: According to Rev. Fred Blodgett, The Blodgett Papers, two painters who worked at the carriage shop, Clark and Heath, painted the stage curtain now at Willey Memorial Hall – a replica of the famous painting by Culver, “Along the Oregon Trail.”
1834 – Moses Clark donated land for the South Cabot Cemetery. His six-month-old son was the first burial. George Dana was appointed postmaster. He moved the post office from Lower Cabot to the Village.
1838 – Joseph Lance, Esq., who was in the mercantile business in Calais, bought the estate of Judge Dana.
1839 – A bell for Congregational church tower was purchased (1100 lbs., $300.)
1840 – The tannery, which was powered by water instead of horse power, owned by Marcus Fisher, was sold and the Union Block was built at that location. The new building had stores, offices, etc. A starch factory was built where Mrs. Lance's house later stood. Later it was moved across the river to where the hotel stood. [May have been part of Union Block.] The hotel building was first owned by Fisher, then Horace Bliss. In 1895 it was kept by William Whittier, who repaired and renovated it. It was sold, in 1881, to W. W. Buchanan.
1841 – Canker-rash epidemic.
1842 – An Abstinence Society was founded at Lower Cabot: Benjamin F. Scott, president; James M. Harris, vice president; M. P. Wallace, Eben Smith, Jr., and A. T. Gibson, committee. At one time there were 196 members but ceased to exist within a few months
.
1843 – Beginnings of the Advent Church meetings at West Hill and Lower Cabot; no formal church organized.
Dr. M. P. Wallace, a graduate of Hanover Medical College in 1842, opened a practice in Cabot.
1843-44 – Erysipelas epidemic. (also known as "St. Anthony's fire).
1845 – Joseph Lance, Esq., moved from Calais to Cabot. Prominent dealer in cattle and sheep.
1847 - East Cabot Cemetery opened.
1848 – Cracked bell at the Congregational church was replaced. A Committee (Joseph Lance, Jacob Way, and Joseph Hoyt) was formed to purchase a “poor farm” and stock it: They bought the farm and stock for $1,947.89.
1849 – Congregational church building torn down and rebuilt at its present location at the northwest corner of the Village Common.
1850 – Free Will Baptist church lost its organization and the building on West Hill was abandoned.
1852 – Methodist Church renovations were begun. Building Committee: Joseph Lance, Paul Dean, and John Clark.
1853 – Committee formed to build the Methodist parsonage: Allen Perry, Jerry Atkins, and Robert Lance. Joseph Lance gave land for the parsonage. A barn was donated to the church and added to the existing building.
1854 – The town purchased its first hearse, for $100.
1855 – A “commodious house” was built at the Poor Farm.
Hon. John McLean died. Born in Peacham, he became a leader in Cabot.
1857 – Meeting house for the Advent Church built through efforts of Dr. M. P. Wallace.
1858 – Peter Lyford formed a school district in South Cabot; the community became known as Petersville. There were 4 dwellings; 1 school; 1 saw-mill
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1858 – The Advent Church was dedicated and organized with 40 members. Deacons were Nathan Wheeler and Erasmus L. Burnap; M. P. Wallace, scribe. Samuel W. Thurber was first pastor.
1862 – Dr. S. L. Wiswall, a graduate of Woodstock Medical School, set up practice in Cabot.
1862-63 – Diphtheria epidemic.
1864 – Good Templar's Lodge organized: Rev. S. F. Drew, pastor of the Congregational church was presiding officer over 19 charter members. First officers: S. F. Drew, Mrs. Edwin Fisher, Wm. Atkins, Miss Lucy Ray, Wm. Gould, Mrs. O. L. Hoyt, Moses Haines, Miss Olive Stone, R. A. Gunn, Miss Abbie Hoyt, Miss Levina Gould, O. L. Hoyt, William Atkins, F. G. Hoyt, Allen Walbridge, N. J. Mason, and George Dow. They met in homes, the village hall, Masonic Hall, and eventually the hall of John Brown.
1865 – T. H. Lance opened a new cemetery adjoining the original Village burial ground, charging for lots.
1866 – The Village of Cabot incorporated on November 19. Good Templar's Lodge was updated.
1868 – Nathaniel Webster left for Minneapolis, Minnesota to be near family.
1870 – The first post office was established in Lower Cabot, Cornelius Smith was postmaster.
1871 – The Select Board agreed to pay the Vermont International Telegraph Company $200 and set poles from the Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad line to Main Street in Cabot Village. The telegraph was at Sprague & Wells’ store. Charles B. Putnam was the first office manager. Next year, Hiram Wells became the manager.
1872 – New interest in the Methodist church brought about painting, frescoes, carpeting ($200), and a chandelier ($50).
1874 – Methodists install a bell which cost between $400 and $500, a gift from Paul Dean and Jeremiah Atkins.
1881 – Lower Cabot had 30 dwellings; 1 meeting house; 1 store; 1 blacksmith shop; a woolen factory; and a wheel wright shop. Population of the Village was 238. There were 64 dwellings; 2 stores; 1 millinery shop; 1 hotel; 2 blacksmith shops; 1 carriage manufacturer; 1 cooper shop; 1 grist-mill; 1 saw-mill; 1 graded school; and 2 churches.
1891 – South Cabot had: 13 dwellings; 1 store; a post office; a saw-mill; a grist-mill; a blacksmith shop; a school house; a wagon manufacturer; and a “wood and iron workshop.”
1896 – Methodist Church organ installed. The first library in Cabot was founded. Books were kept in a store or home and were moved from place to place. There was little money for books and no permanent place for a large library.
1901 – The Congregational Church installed electricity. Cabot adopted Old Home Week.
1912 - Judith Lyford Woman’s Club was founded with 12 members; they began raising money for a town library.
1916 - Businessman Charles Willey, a summer resident, visiting during Old Home Week, learned of library fundraising. He pledged two dollars for every dollar the Judith Lyford Woman's Club raised. The ladies raised $3,573.15 within a year. Charles Willey gave them $7,646.36. Cabot residents donated more money, materials and labor for Willey Hall. Dr. L. W. Burbank was project manager.
1919 - Cabot Creamery founded. Ninety-four Cabot farmers formed a co-op. They bought the Cabot village creamery, built in 1893, to make butter.
1921 - Willey Memorial Hall opened.
1928 – Congregational and Methodist churches merge to form Cabot United Church and held services in the former Congregational Church. The Methodist church building was sold to the town and became classrooms and gymnasium. Congregational Ladies Missionary Circle and Methodist Ladies Aid merged into Willing Workers. The Methodist organ was installed at the Congregational Church, the unsafe steeple and bell were from the Methodist Church building and the bell was sold to a scrap dealer. It is thought to be at the East Barre Roman Catholic church.
2010 - Voters dissolved the incorporated Village of Cabot. It was incorporated in 1866. The Town assumed village government functions.
Note: Much of this information is from J. M. Fisher's history written in about 1881, published in Vermont Historical Magazine; and from The Blodgett Papers, published in 2008 by Cabot Historical Society.