Person - Brattleboro Historical Society

Samuel Wells and British Spies in the Revolution

This week we tell the story of an early local Brattleborough resident who was described by the United States Congress as a “perfidious man”. In 1730 Samuel Wells was born in Deerfield, Massachusetts. That’s about 25 miles south of here. He was a tavern keeper in Deerfield and also served in the Massachusetts militia during the French and Indian War. Like many war veterans, as the conflict was winding down, Wells decided to move into the northern frontier territory that had recently been part of the war between the Abenaki, French and British. In 1762 British colonists began to build homes and successfully claim land north of Fort Dummer. Both British colonies, New York and New Hampshire, claimed the area. The Abenaki had been fighting to remain on the land for at least 100 years but, with the end of the war, their French allies withdrew from the region and the Abenaki found it more […]

Samuel Gale (1775)

This week in Brattleboro History the topic will be freedom of the press versus the needs of government. In 1776 British born Samuel Gale was living under house arrest in New York City. He had been held in jail in Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York for a year and a half because of his loyalty to Great Britain and the desire of the infant US government to suppress his voice. In 1773 Samuel Gale had moved to Brattleboro as a New York land surveyor and clerk of the local court. During the years leading to the American Revolution he was loyal to Great Britain and married Rebecca Wells, from a prominent Brattleboro Tory family. He was also a writer with outspoken views supporting the British government and it is thought that he brought the first printing press to Vermont during this time. In 1775, as the clerk of the court in Westminster, Samuel Gale […]

Gardiner Chandler and the Birth of Vermont.

On March 4, 1791 Vermont officially became the 14th state. How did that happen? There were a few steps involved before Vermont could join the United States. First, New York laid claim to Vermont and opposed Vermont’s petition to join the union. Westminster’s Stephen R. Bradley was one of six negotiators who met with New York’s delegation to resolve conflicts between the two governments. New York demanded compensation for its legal claim on Vermont, and also wanted clear boundaries established between the two states. These negotiations went on for ten months and ended when Vermont agreed to pay New York $30,000 for its land claim. Boundary disputes were also settled and New York negotiators signed a document relinquishing any claim to the lands of Vermont on October 7, 1790. Second, the Congress of the United States met in Philadelphia to consider Vermont’s admission to the union. In order for this to happen, Vermont needed to […]

Compiled Obituaries – A

Here is a notebook of over 100 pages of Brattleboro Obituaries with names ending in “A” (Vol A) It’s available to view at archive.org.

ADDRESSES by Mrs. Levi K. Fuller

The Brattleboro Historical Society has scanned a copy of ADDRESSES by Mrs. Levi K. Fuller, a collection of talks given before the Brattleboro Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, available at archive.org.

McNeill’s Brewery

BHS believes the building that became McNeill’s was constructed in 1892 and originally served as one of the fire stations on Elliot Street. The 1892 structure was a replacement for the fire station that had been there previously. McNeill’s moved into the building in 1990 and began brewing beer in January 1991. Ray McNeill Ray McNeill was very proud of his daughter and shared stories with The Brattleboro Historical Society. Ray would tell of the trajectory of daughter Eve’s career. We reminded him of a meeting between Eve and a BUHS teacher when Eve was at Mount Snow Academy. Eve needed a history course. She came to BUHS to find out whether or not she would take a Western Civilization course. The course was described to her and she responded, “I’m not doing that s….” Ray would laugh, at times uncontrollably and say, “That’s Eve.” We would remind him – that was you, also, Ray. […]

John Holbrook – How The River Built Brattleboro Village

Frugality, thrift and free enterprise were some of the watchwords that marked the beginning years of the United States. Locally, John Holbrook personified these traits and was instrumental in the early development of Brattleboro’s economy. Holbrook was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts In 1761, a town a little south of Boston. His family was loyal to Great Britain.During his teen years British officers stationed near Dorchester Heights taught young Holbrook how to survey land. At the end of the American Revolution John Holbrook moved to newly settled Newfane, Vermont to work for Luke Knowlton. Knowlton was one of the first settlers of Newfane and was a local government official. He had Holbrook survey much of the town.When Holbrook was twenty five he married Knowlton’s daughter, Sarah. Holbrook opened a small general store on Newfane Hill.He took locally grown produce and hand-made goods on pack horses along the West River to Brattleboro. From there he followed another […]

Richard Hamilton Speaks At Memorial Day Remembrance

On May 27, 2022 Richard Hamilton, a 1940 graduate of Brattleboro High School, spoke to an audience of more than 400 people on the front lawn of BUHS. He shared stories of growing up in West Brattleboro and attending public schools. This was part of a Memorial Day Remembrance that included students and staff from BAMS and BUHS, and members of the public. Here is the text of Mr. Hamilton’s talk: “Good Afternoon. I was born in Brattleboro in September, 1922. I grew up on the family farm on Hamilton Road in West Brattleboro. We had cows and grew corn and hay to feed them. We also had vegetable gardens and apple, pear and peach trees. I had one sister and three brothers. My sister and a brother were older than me and two brothers were younger. We lived in a multi-generational household. In the home were our family of seven. My father’s parents, one […]

George Bemis and the Phone Message for Coolidge

In 1954 George Bemis became the owner and manager of Hotel Brooks. In 1976 he was honored as the Chamber of Commerce’s Man of the Year. During his time in town he was a big supporter of the Brattleboro Outing Club. At the dinner, held at Dalem’s Chalet, Bemis explained his claim to fame happened in 1923. Bemis was a salesman making his monthly sales trip to Plymouth, Vt. He was in the General Store, (where the only phone in town was located) when the owner of the store answered the phone and took a call from the White House. The call was considered urgent so the owner asked Bemis to run a mile up the road in the pouring rain to get Vice President Calvin Coolidge and bring him back to the store. Bemis did this and sheltered the Vice President with his umbrella on the way back so he could take the message […]

Torger Tokle – The Babe Ruth of Ski Jumping

In February 1942 Torger Tokle retired the famed Harris Hill Winged Trophy for the first time by winning the Harris Hill ski jump three years in a row. Torger Tokle was a Ski Jumper originally from Norway who had emigrated to the United States. His nickname was “the Babe Ruth of ski jumping”. He won 42 of the 48 ski jumping tournaments in which he took part and set 24 hill distance records. Tokle won Harris Hill in 1940, 1941, and 1942 to become the first to retire the Winged Trophy. In October 1942 he joined the U.S. Army and was assigned to the ski troops of the 10th Mountain Division during World War 2. His regiment served in Italy and he taught many soldiers how to ski for the first time. Tokle’s fame grew in the Army as his cheerful, unassuming teaching style made him a hero to many, not because of his ski […]

John & Mary Carnahan Honored at Vermont Statehouse

On Wednesday, January 19, 2022, on the steps of the Vermont Capitol, John & Mary Carnahan were recognized by the Vermont Senate & House of Representatives for their many civic contributions to the Brattleboro community. Watch a video of the presentation at: https://youtu.be/ABvRSpyAxVY?si=hhblf3kdtsd326TD

Madame Sherri’s Castle Ruins

Across the river from north Brattleboro, in West Chesterfield, New Hampshire, a trail winds through the Madame Sherri Forest to a set of ghostly stone stairs—the ruins of Madame Sherri’s castle, an estate whose former glory was lost to fire in 1962.