Misplaced Pages

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29-581: The road is 30 miles (48 km) long. It starts at the Bayley Hazen Military Road in Greensboro . It proceeds north from there. When it reaches Glover , it is first called the Skunk Hollow Road, then Hinman Road, followed by Perron Hill Road and Young Road, and finally there is a long discontinued and unmaintained section through the old Parker Settlement and private property until it rejoins

58-401: A "class 4" town highway until it gets to the golf course. In Brownington and Derby it is a major north–south route, either class two or three town road and known by the historic name. This Vermont road or road transport-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Bayley Hazen Military Road The Bayley–Hazen Military Road was a military road that

87-521: A number of works on the town and has archives which chronicle the town's history from 1776. The Peacham Library is a private library founded in 1810 as a resource for the debating team of the Caledonia County Grammar School. For the first century of its existence, the library possessed no fixed location and rotated from store to store around the town. The original library building was purchased in 1909. It burned in 1959, destroying almost

116-415: A road. Jacob Bayley and 60 men constructed, apparently at Bayley's expense, about 6 miles (9.7 km) (into present-day Peacham, Vermont ) until rumors arrived that a British army was coming down the trail to stop them. The construction was abandoned amid concerns of invasion in the small communities. (Only a small company of Canadiens came down the trail as far as Peacham.) It is unclear whether Bayley

145-407: Is the 2,566-foot (782 m) summit of Cow Hill near the northern corner of town. As of the census of 2010, there were 732 people, 299 households, and 213 families residing in the town. The population density was 15.7 people per square mile (6.1 per square kilometer). There were 542 housing units at an average density of 11.6 per square mile (4.5 per square kilometer). The racial makeup of the town

174-578: The Continental Army's 1775 invasion of Quebec, asked Thomas Johnson, a local landowner, to blaze a trail to St. John's on the Richelieu River near Montreal that army regiments could use to reach the area. On March 26, 1776, Johnson and four men set out through the snow, covering the 100 miles (160 km) to St. John's in 11 days. Several Continental Army regiments made their way along this trail that year, prompting Washington to order construction of

203-580: The West, and many farms either consolidated or went under. Tourism became important during the 20th century as people opened their homes to visitors from the cities of the Atlantic seaboard , often derisively referred to as " flatlanders ". With the advent of the railroad in Barnet and then motor vehicles, Peacham became a popular location for summer residents, some of whom were educators from Boston and New York City . In

232-631: The communities of Haverhill and Newbury on either side of the Connecticut River in the far north of the British province of New Hampshire . The land on the west side of the river was the subject of disputes between New Hampshire and the province of New York , and was known then as the New Hampshire Grants ; this territory eventually became the state of Vermont . Work to develop the road occurred first in 1776. General George Washington, to support

261-503: The county courthouse or the county school, and the residents voted for the school. In 1795 the Caledonia County Grammar School received its charter, and the first school was established in a log structure on the Bayley Hazen Road, halfway between Peacham Corner and South Peacham. In 1799, a library was established, which traveled from store to store. A congregational church was founded in 1794—the first pastor, Leonard Worcester ,

290-500: The entire collection. The current library was constructed on the same location in 1960 and enlarged in 2001. The library has over 9,200 volumes and over 500 registered patrons. Peacham has hosted the yearly Peacham Acoustic Music Festival since 2011, typically in mid-August. Other yearly events include the Fall Foliage celebration and the yearly July 4 festivities, including the traditional tractor parade. In September 2005, Peacham

319-581: The founders of Newbury and nearby Haverhill, New Hampshire , and Hazen also had property interests at St. John's. The idea for the road featured prominently in several proposals (promoted primarily by Hazen to George Washington and the Second Continental Congress ) for invasions of Quebec by Continental Army forces following the failed 1775 invasion . After hostilities in the French and Indian War ended in 1760, several veterans of that war founded

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348-413: The land for agriculture. The original settlers survived almost entirely through subsistence farming despite the long winters, hilly terrain, and rocky soil. Nine years later, records show a population of approximately 200 people. The first recorded town meeting took place in 1784, and selectmen were duly elected to govern the affairs of the town. Peacham was early on presented with a choice of having either

377-462: The original road exists, as much of its route has been taken over by state and local roads, but there have been reports of archaeologists locating isolated sections of corduroy . Peacham, Vermont Peacham is a town in Caledonia County , Vermont , United States. The population was 715 at the 2020 census . In 1763, Governor Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire gave a charter for

406-440: The production and sale of items such as whiskey and potash to help augment the relatively poor harvests. Almost from the beginning, various trades and industries—as many as 30–35 at a given time—flourished. Lumbering, coopering , milling, butter making, tin ware, tanneries and leather goods provided goods for local consumption. From 1800 to 1830, sheep farming flourished as a more profitable endeavor than growing crops. In 1840,

435-408: The region to a group of proprietors, and the town was given the name Peacham (the etymology of the name is unclear). The original proprietors were speculators who surveyed the town, laid a few rudimentary roads, and divided it into lots, though the territory remained unsettled for some time. In 1775, settlers, primarily from Connecticut and Massachusetts , bought the lots and built homes, developing

464-600: The road is discontinued, some of it is dedicated trail under the supervision of the Forest and Parks Department, and some of it has reverted to town road status. (The road was originally under the aegis of the County Road Commissioners, but now is the responsibility of the respective Selectbords of the towns in which it is located.) In other places, it is unmaintained, for example in Barton, it leaves Maple Hill Road and becomes

493-558: The route, at Peacham, Cabot, Walden, and Greensboro (on a site still called Block House Hill ). Work was abandoned when the road reached the place now known as Hazen's Notch in Westfield , again on rumors that the British were sending a force to stop the construction work. In addition, decision-makers came to the realization that a road could just as easily be used for a British invasion of the Thirteen Colonies. Even after construction

522-478: The second half of the 20th century, Peacham became a popular vacation spot and retirement home for prominent intellectuals and liberal thinkers—individuals such as David Dellinger , William Lederer , Roman Jakobson , and the historian Shepard Clough all owned houses in town. Their interests and stimulation enhanced the cultural interests of the town. According to the United States Census Bureau ,

551-480: The town has a total area of 47.7 square miles (123.5 km ), of which 46.6 square miles (120.8 km ) is land and 1.0 square mile (2.7 km ), or 2.18%, is water. Neighboring towns are Danville to the north, Barnet to the east, Ryegate to the southeast, Groton to the south, Marshfield to the west, and Cabot to the northwest. No numbered state highways pass through the town. The highest point in Peacham

580-470: The town reached its greatest population of 1,443. From that date on, census numbers steadily declined. Farming methods changed, and dairy farming came to replace sheep. The larger, more industrially advanced farms of the late 19th century could not support large families, and youth began to leave home. In the 20th century, the population continued to decline to a low in the mid-600s. Farming also became less common due to competition with larger dairy farms in

609-600: The town road system at Roaring Brook Road which runs on toward Barton Village. North of that village it follows the Maple Hill Road north, running through what is now the Orleans Country Club to Brownington . It continues north through Derby to the Canada–US border . It is nearly straight, bearing about 19 degrees from north. Most of the road was used well into the nineteenth and often, the twentieth century. Some of

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638-563: Was 48.0% male and 52.0% female. For the period 2007–2011, the estimated median annual income for a household in the town was $ 62,344, and the median income for a family was $ 81,719. Male full-time workers had a median income of $ 45,078 versus $ 43,958 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 30,373. About 1.7% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including none under age 18 and 15.0% of those age 65 or over. The Peacham Historical Association (PHA) has been preserving records since 1916. The PHA has published

667-469: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45, and the average family size was 2.90. In the town, the population was largely older with a median age of 48.5. Of the total population, 81.5% were 16 or older. Under the age of 5 were 4.8%, 6.9% were between 15 and 19, 13.1% between 25 and 44, 34.7% between 45 and 64, and 17.4% were 65 years of age or older, with 4.7% were 80 or older. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. The population

696-513: Was 98.0% White (717), 0.4% African American (3), 0.5% Native American or Alaska Native (4), 0.1% some other race (1), and 1.0% two or more races (7). Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.4% of the population (3). There were no Asians. There were 299 households, out of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% were someone living alone who

725-446: Was abandoned on the road, the blockhouses on the route were manned, and occasionally subjected to minor skirmishes and scouting actions. The road was apparently identified by the British for use in raiding expeditions in 1780; the raid against Royalton and other small Vermont communities may have included Peacham and nearby communities as targets. Strong local militia may have deterred the raiders from making an attack there. Jacob Bayley

754-553: Was also targeted by the British for kidnapping; at least one attempt was made using the road, which failed as Bayley was alerted to the plan. In 1781, the Greensboro blockhouse was attacked "by Indians"; two scouts were killed. A memorial stone was erected near the site 160 years later. The road was the only road in the area, and became a route for migration and development of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Little evidence of

783-446: Was ever repaid for this work. Moses Hazen, then colonel in the Continental Army, was directed by Washington in the spring of 1779 to renew construction of the road. His regiment and that of Colonel Timothy Bedel worked on the road throughout the summer of 1779, extending it through the present-day communities of Cabot , Walden , Hardwick , Greensboro , Craftsbury , Albany , and Lowell . Blockhouses were also constructed along

812-607: Was originally planned to run from Newbury, Vermont , to St. John's , Quebec , not far from Montreal . The southern 54 miles (87 km), running from Newbury to Hazen's Notch near the Canada–United States border , were constructed between 1776 and 1779 during the American Revolutionary War . Portions of the road's route are used by modern roads today. The road is named for the principal proponents of its construction. Jacob Bayley and Moses Hazen were among

841-518: Was well known for his fiery sermons. His son Samuel went on to be an important missionary to the Cherokee people, creating the first typeface for the Cherokee alphabet and gaining lasting fame as the plaintiff in the supreme court case Worcester v. Georgia . Early residents, who came to be known as Peachamites, traded butter, eggs, and wheat for goods which they could not make at home, and also relied on

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