Vermont  Beebe Pond & Hubbardton

08/03/2017

 
  •  

     

     

     

    Beebe Pond from Eagle Rock

     

    Eagle Rock east of Beebe Pond

     

    Eagle Rock    December 2010

     

    Eagle Rock    July 2015

     

    Sunrise: September 2015 

     

    Autumn in Vermont:   October 2015 

     

    June 2016

    Sunrise:  August 2016

    Don & Mary's Sondergeld Home on Camp Awanee's "Senior Hill"

    BEEBE POND 

    Beebe Pond  (Lake Beebe)  is a beautiful 110 acre lake located in the Town of Hubbardton in  Rutland County in  Vermont. See map http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/waterq/lakes/docs/depthcharts/lp_beebehubb.pdf#zoom=100
     

    The deepest part is 43 feet deep. Beebe Pond flows into Austin Pond and then into Lake Bomoseen.
      Water from Lake Bomoseen goes through a channel into the Castleton River in Hydeville. 

     

    The Castleton River ends at the Poultney River in Fair Haven.  The Poultney River empties into the East
     Bay of Lake Champlain, near Whitehall, New York. Here is a 1946 topo. In 1965 June Sherline sold a
     lot to the Vermont Fish and Game Department with 100 feet of waterfront for parking and  access to Beebe Pond from Route 30.  This public access has not yet been developed for ease of access.
     

    There are many lots around Beebe Pond.  If you want to know who owns the various lots around Beebe
     Pond and how much lake frontage they own, in feet, click here.

    1.  

  • POTS OF GOLD     

    Steve Buser found two Pots of Gold.  Joe Wolons picture on 10/29/2010. 

     

    Another "Regenbogen" on December 22, 2012 at Beebe Pond. No snow.

    VORTEX  AT  SUNSET AND MORE

    A Steve Buser Sunset at Beebe Pond on January 27,2014   See slide show.
     

    Sunset: September 29, 2014 by Wendy Buser looking SW over Beebe Pond.

     
    Blue Sky: Another Wendy Buser picture
     

    West shore of Beebe in 2014, by Wendy Buser:

    EAGLE ROCK ESTATES - HISTORY

    For almost 50 years there were a number of beautiful summer camps for children on Echo Lake, Beebe Pond, and Lake Hortonia.  The three main cities the campers came from were: N Y City, Montreal, and Philadelphia. June Sherline owned  Twin Lake Camp on Echo Lake and Camp Awanee on Beebe Pond.  She subsequently sold Twin Lake Camp,  but in 1964 she subdivided the Camp Awanee property into building lots on Beebe Pond.  She called the subdivision:  Eagle Rock Estates. Here is some History. See Summer Camps.

     FIRST HOUSES IN EAGLE ROCK ESTATES

    Eagle Rock Estates on Beebe Pond was developed in the mid 1960's after Camp Awanee closed. 

    In 1964 there was one house in Eagle Rock Estates: that of June Sherline, who owned Camp Awanee. 
     

    Her caretaker, Al Greeley of Sudbury, became the foreman or general contractor for those that wanted
    homes built or existing camps remodeled.  Al did grading, put in septic tanks, and used Fred Fortier of
     Fair Haven to do the carpentry work.  A few of the existing camp buildings were remodeled.  Current owners are: Mason (June Sherline's house), Rollman (Infirmary) , Doherty (Counselor's Bunk), Boudreau (Storage Building), and Cooley (Shower House). The first new house was the Gallagher's, built in 1965.  Houses built in 1966 were: Sondergeld,  Ranhofer, Al Fleming (now Holland), and Walker (now Mullen).

     

    We bought our property on Beebe Pond in 1965.   See Sondergeld Property.

     

    A list of the dates of purchase of lots in Eagle Rock Estates is a proxy for the dates the original houses
    were built shortly thereafter.  Here is a map and a location of
    houses in 1989

     

    Here is a phone list of people that provide services to those that now own homes.

     

    Telephone service originally meant a four party line.

    CAMPS ON BEEBE POND & ECHO LAKE

    Read about the history of these summer camps.  Also see Summer Camps.

     

    The Twin Lake Camp and Camp Awanee web site is at http://www.twinlakecamp.com/  A listing of
    Camp Awanee Alumni is at http://www.twinlakecamp.com/index.php?page=index&sub=alumni&class=unknown
     

    Read about Gus, the Canada Goose.   Listen to songs made in 1947 by campers from Camp Awanee,
     the girl's camp , and from Twin Lake Camp, the  boy's camp .                           

     

    Here are many pictures of Camp Awanee  on Beebe Pond, plus a few of Twin Lake Camp on
    Echo Lake.I have added some history, drawn a better map, and added a few more pictures of the location of the various buildings in Camp Awanee, with valuable input from Ilyse Segal, a former Camp

    Awanee camper from Montreal and Doug Nagy who worked at Camp Awanee as a teenager.. 

     

    TWIN AWANEE LODGE

     

    It was located across from Diamond Brook Kennel on property that subsequently became Camp Echo.  The property was later subdivided into five properties with frontage on Echo Lake.

     

    Here are a some pictures.

     

     

    CAMPS ON LAKE HORTONIA 

    Learn about the history of the two summer camps on Camp Road.  Originally there were two camps:  Green Mountain Camp for Boys on Camp Road relatively close to Route 30 and Green Mountain Camp for Girls at the west end of Camp Road. 

     

    The boy's camp was closed and then reopened as a girl's camp called Wanee.  It was closed and vacation  homes are now located there.  The camp buildings are in Hubbardton and the waterfront is in Sudbury. The name of the girls camp was changed to Camp Birchwood and after it closed, was reopened as a boy's camp which is currently operating as Camp Wachusett.  

     

    Info on Camp Birchwood is at:
     
    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hubbardton-VT/Camp-Birchwood-Lake-Hortonia-Hubbardton-VT/295497644606  and at
     
    http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=45483461516  and Camp Wachusett  began in NH. That camp was closedand the name was moved to the new Vermont location.  Our grandson, Zach Principe, has had a terrific time at Camp Wachusett in 2011,  2012,  2013 and is again a Counselor in 2014..  Info on Camp
     Wachusett is at  
    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hubbardton-VT/Camp-Wachusett/208186020737  and at
     
    http://www.campwachusett.com/

    TURTLE CLUB  

    A swim club, mostly ladies, has been in effect for many years on Beebe Pond. 

     Members and friends swim from the west to the east side of Beebe Pond and back at 7:30 am every morning from sometime in June to sometime in September, depending on the water temperature. 

     

    To become a member, one must participate in the 7:30 am swim three times.  New members are awarded a small turtle pin.  The Club was organized in 1986. 

     

              

    The old guard consists of:

                            Joanne Zeoli,   Anne Holland,    Barbara Dellamonte,   Barb Cooley

                  Florence Mason,            Beverly Grald,           Mary Sondergeld

     

     The “Turtles” say:  “Beebe Pond is shaped like a turtle, thus our name

      Others say:   “The pace of the swim is like the speed of a turtle.”

     

    Read "The Turtle Tale". a terrific story and view pictures by the eminent  artist and writer Florence Mason. 

     

    Camp Awanee Turtle Pins

    EAGLE ROCK RACQUET CLUB

    This tennis club is located on Delancey Road near Beebe Pond.  There are 12 families that own stock in Eagle Rock Racquet Club: 8 from Beebe Pond, 3 from Echo Lake and 1 from Lake Bomoseen.  Its History.

    LAKE BEEBE WATERSHED ASSOCIATION  (LBWA)

    "LBWA" is a State of Vermont non profit corporation formed in 2001 as Twin Lakes Watershed Association. It was granted 501C3 tax exempt status by the IRS in 2004.  Its name was changed on December 9, 2015.  Read its By Laws, as amended on December 9, 2015. 

    Tax deductible contributions can be made to this organization. LBWA's major project in 2016 coordinating the placing the chemical, Sonar, in the lake to kill Eurasian Milfoil, raise the money for this expensive endeavor.   Anyone can join this lake association. To see a list of the members from 2013 thru 2016,  click here.

    Don Sondergeld was elected a Director of LBWA along with 6 other new Directors on July 5, 2014.  Later that month Don was elected President. Bob Ranhofer was elected Vice President.   Amy Kullgren was elected Secretary and also Treasurer. LBWA will handle the administration of the milfoil control project beginning in 2015 for Lake Beebe.  The Echo Lake Property Owners Association will continue to handle the administration of controlling milfoil on Echo Lake.  Tax deductible contributions can be made to any one of three separate funds in LBWA: General, or Lake Beebe, or Echo Lake.

    The purpose of "LBWA" is to: 

                1. maintain, conserve, protect and enhance the environmental health, quality and purity of the water constituting the bodies of water generally known as Beebe Pond or Beebe Lake in the Town of Hubbardton and Echo Lake in the Towns of Hubbardton and Sudbury in the State of Vermont (collectively "Twin Lakes") and their tributaries, located within such Towns ("Tributaries") (the area covered by and within a mile immediately surrounding the Twin Lakes and their Tributaries is hereunder collectively referred to as  "The Watershed Area") 

               2. maintain, conserve, protect and enhance the health quality, and beauty of the flora, trees and other plant life located in the Twin Lakes Watershed,

               3. foster and develop the appreciation and enjoyment by residents and non-residents of Vermont of the beauty and environmental quality of the Watershed Area,  and

               4. engage in and encourage activities of a scientific, literary or charitable nature involving or incidental to the foregoing.

    Mary Sondergeld has  been the State of Vermont's Lay Monitor,  involved  in measuring  the quality of Lake Beebe since 1978.  In 2010 she was honored with  a certificate from the State as  Lay Monitor  of this state owned lake for 32 years, a record of more years than any other monitor in the state of Vermont.  Barb Cooley then became the Lay Monitor for Lake Beebe until 2015 when the gavel was passed to Keith Brostek.

    Mary Sondergeld also began writing  Grant applications in 1994 for the Town of Hubbardton to submit to the State for milfoil control on Lake Beebe.   After 18 years, she passed the grant writing gavel to Karla and David Principe in 2012.   Andrew Moran wrote the Grant for 2016. and 2017.

    Although the State of Vermont owns an access to the lake from route 30 just south of the Mosesson's  property, it has not yet been developed.

    In 1971 Don Sondergeld and others petitioned the State of Vermont to ban the use of  combustion engines on the lake. A compromise was reached, although the use of combustion engines was not banned.   In 1973 the State imposed two rules:  a 5 mph speed limit and a maximum horsepower of 10.  See a listing of  rules for each lake in Vermont and a listing of special rules for certain lakes.

    See https://youtu.be/sigtD4kgLyM

    Lake Beebe outlined by its watershed

    LAKE BEEBE PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION   (LBPOA)

    The owner of Eagle Rock Estates, June Sherline, asked Don Sondergeld to set up a Property Owners  Association to deal with road maintenance. This Association was formed on September 1, 1968. The first officers and directors were: President: Don Sondergeld, Vice President: Art Greiner, Secretary: Alan Breckenridge, Treasurer: Frank Lane, Directors: Ken Gallo, June Sherline, Al Tillman, and Joe Wolons. Although the private access roads in Eagle Rock Estates were owned by June Sherline, she had no intention of maintaining the roads, so this property owners association collected money for maintaining these private roads. During the years this was an unincorporated association, Don served as President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Road Commissioner.

    The Association was incorporated in 1981 in order to own the roads to property in Eagle Rock Estates
    and 4.1acres of land surrounding the outlet at the SW end of the lake.   These two properties were deeded to
    it by June Sherline: the two miles of roads on 8.07.1981 and  the 4 acres of land at the southern outlet to the lake on 9.03.1981.  Here are the deeds.

    The new incorporated association (LBPOA) held  its first meeting on August 8, 1981. It is a State of Vermont "not for profit" corporation, but it is not a 501C (3) federally tax exempt organization.   It would not qualify as a 501C(3) as such an organization's assets must be permanently dedicated to an exempt purpose. A separate 501C(3) organization, Lake Beebe Watershed Association (LBWA) was set up in 2001 that enables tax deductible contributions be used for lake the control of milfoil..  See LBWA above.

    LBPOA's main activity has been maintaining the private roads it now owns around the lake. It assesses members and non members that use its roads for road maintenance and for snow plowing.  

    Road Maintenance was its primary function, with little involvement in protecting the lake. However, in 1984 Eurasian Milfoil became an issue and LBPOA was involved in administering projects, both sonar and suction harvesting.  In 2015 "Anti M" a barge used in suction harvesting and associated equipment was sold to LBWA in 2015 and that organization now administers milfoil control projects on Lake Beebe.

    IMary Sondergeld was President from 2006 - 2009.  Officers elected in 2015 are: Karla Principe President, George Osmun Vice President, Rebekah Brostek Secretary, and David Principe Treasurer. In 2016 John Moran became President.

    About 70 property owners, of which 66 have homes, that have a legal  access to Lake Beebe are eligible to join this Property Owners  Association.  LBPOA no longer publishes a Membership List.  Here is a list of property owners that are eligible to join..  Membership dues have been $3. A By Laws change occurred in 2013, in which those Potential Members that do not pay all applicable assessments along with their Dues may not vote.  The By Laws, as amended in  2016 are here. 

    The By Laws state the purposes of this Property Owners Association shall be to enhance, encourage, promote and benefit the general welfare of Lake Beebe and its surroundings.  However, the major purpose has always been to fund the maintenance of the private roads that it owns. 

    On July 5, 2014 the Members 0f LBPOA voted to transfer some of its assets to Lake Beebe Watershed Association  and voted that LB WA administer the milfoil control project on Lake Beebe.  In 2015 $10,000 was donated by LBPOA to LB WA. Another $10,000 was donated by LBPOA to LBWA in 2016. The money remaining in LBPOA's Lake Fund, about $5,000 will also be donated if there is no remaining tax liability on that Fund. This amont will be determined after Federal and State Income Tax problems are resolved.

    Like many other property owner associations, about  50% of those property owners join.  In 2009, only 50% of those properties eligible to join had Members. In 2012  55% of eligible properties had at least one individual membership. However, only 39% of properties that had memberships paid $6 to have two individual  memberships and the other 61% only paid $3.  Also, none of those property owners on Route 30 are asked to help fund the private road maintenance so there is little reason for their joining.

    Location Eligible Properties (Homes) in 2013
    Birch Road 35
    Columbia Drive 16
    State Route 30 15
    Total 66

                                                                                                

    "NEARBY" SHOPPING FROM BEEBE POND        

    Location Stores

    Directions

    Miles
    Rutland Center Everything Rt 30 south to Route 4A east 23
    Rutland South Everything Rt 30 south to  Route 4 east 23
    Brandon Grocery, Gas, Hardware, Restaurants Rt 30 north to Route 73        or 12
    Brandon Grocery, Gas, Hardware, Restaurants Rt 30 north to Burr Pond Rd to Long Swamp Rd 8
    Middlebury Almost Everything Rt 30 north 20
    Fair Haven Grocery, Gas, Hardware, Restaurants Rt 30 south to  Route 4 west          or 15
    Fair Haven Grocery, Gas, Hardware, Restaurants Rt 30 south to  Route 144 west to Rt 22A south 17
    Castleton Center Grocery , Diner, Pizza, Gas, Bank Rt 30 south to North Road south 10
    Castleton Corners Gas, Grocery, Dunkin Donuts Rt 30 south 10
    Castleton West Hardware, Lumber, Auto Parts, Grocery Rt 30 south  to Rt 4A west 12
    Route 30 Pumpkin Patch Grocery Rt 30 south 4
    Orwell Grocery, Gas Rt 30 north to Rt 73 west 10

    POPULATION OF HUBBARDTON AND ITS NEIGHBORS (Annual Estimate)

    Orwell             1247 Sudbury            549 Brandon              3828
    Benson           1028 Hubbardton      690 Pittsford              2879
    Fair Haven      2633 Castleton        4595 West Rutland      2229

      http://www.vermont-demographics.com/cities_by_population

    HUBBARDTON,  VERMONT                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
    Don published a 200 page book titled History of Hubbardton Vermont in October 2005.  He sold 100 copies in 10 days, ordered 130 more and sold 50 by Christmas 2005.  He reprinted 260 copies of a revised 208 page book in July 2007.      Cover (Use 50% size) 
    Inside of Back Cover  

    Here is a Driving Tour "Brochure"  Don Developed of Historic Hubbardton. In 2013 Don started the process
     to get Hubbardton Battlefield designated a National Historic Landmark.  See my 8.13.2013 Letter of Inquiry
     to the Department of Interior and my 8.26.2013 letter to Governor Shumlin of Vermont. Vermont has less  than 1% of hese designations (less than .9 of 1% in the National Register and less than .7 of 1% of NHLs.)

                               Listings in the National               National Historic             

                               Register of Historic Places        Landmarks

    Vermont                                 814  (.009)                       17  (.007)

    Grand Total                      90,575  (.991)                 2,517   (.993)

    Hubbardton, in Rutland County, abuts four towns: Castleton to the south, Benson to the west, Sudbury to the
     north, and Pittsford to the east.  Areas, see:
    http://libraries.vermont.gov/sites/libraries/files/html/townareas.htm 
     
    Hubbardton no longer has a post office. Five post offices deliver mail to five areas: Castle to the southeast, Brandon to the northeast, Orwell to the northwest, Fairhaven to the southwest, and Bomoseen to those on Route 30 almost as far north as Birch Road at Beebe Pond.

    The following describes Hubbardton, the four towns it abuts (Sudbury, Benson, Castleton, and Pittsford), plus Brandon,  Fair Haven, and Orwell.        

     

    Hubbardton:  It is the site of a small battle, a delaying action, that took only a few hours on July 7, 1777 in East Hubbardton as American General St Clair was fleeing from the British after abandoning Ft Ti.          This was the only Revolutionary War battle that occurred on Vermont soil. http://www.revolutionaryday.com/usroute4/hubbardton/

     

    For 45 years there were a number of summer camps for boys and for girls located in Hubbardton.  Hubbardton never had a traffic light and it has no crossroad.  Hubbardton no longer has a school or post office.  Mail is delivered to Hubbardton by five post offices: Bomoseen to Route 30, Castleton to the SE corner, Fair Haven to the SW corner, Orwell to the NW corner, and Brandon to the NE corner.   Some info on the towns that provide mail service to Hubbardton and those that abut Hubbardton is shown below: Post Offices     

                                                                                                 

    Benson: You must visit our western neighbor and dine at the Wheel Inn which is open for three meals

     a day seven days a week.  You will enjoy the food, the prices, the service and the people that dine there. http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-wheel-inn-restaurant-fair-haven Benson is also known for its annual Burdock Festival and Fishing Derby as it is on Lake Champlain.  Be sure to visit Benson Village Store, Silverwear, and the Book Shed.

           Benson Village Store                    Silverwear Jewelry                                   Wheel Inn Restaurant

    Rufus Wilmot Griswold was born on February 13, 1815 and raised as a strict Calvinist in the hamlet of Benson. He was the twelfth of fourteen children. His father was a farmer and shoemaker.  In 1822, the family sold the Benson farm and moved to nearby Hubbardton on the road to Whitmore's Grist Mill.  His
    parents died in Hubbardton but are buried in the Mountain View Cemetery in Orwell, Vermont.  His mother Deborah,  died in July 1860 at age 85 and  his father Rufus, died in August 1862 at age 89.

    As a child, Griswold was complex, unpredictable, and reckless. He left home when he was 15, calling himself a "solitary soul, wandering through the world, a homeless, joyless outcast".

    Griswold moved to Albany, New York, to live with a 22-year-old flute-playing journalist named George C. Foster, a writer best known for his work New-York by Gas-Light.  Griswold lived with Foster until age 17, and the two may have had a romantic relationship. When Griswold moved away, Foster wrote to him  begging him to return, signing his letter "come to me if you love me".  Griswold attempted to enroll at the Rensselaer School in 1830, but was not allowed to take any classes after he was caught attempting to play a prank on a professor. Griswold was married three times.  He built a reputation as a literary critic, becoming known for his savagery and vindictiveness.

    Griswold and Edgar Allan Poe were not friends.  Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849)
     died at age 40.  Griswold died of tuberculosis 8 years later at age 42. He is buried in Green -Lawn
     Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufus_Wilmot_Griswold
     
    http://www.eapoe.org/geninfo/poegrisw.htm and  http://www.eapoe.org/papers/misc1827/nyt49100.htm
     http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/educator/modules/poe/arguing/ and http://www.poeforward.com/poe/texts/griswold-poe-obit.html
     
    http://www.poeforward.com/poe/griswold.html and
    http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/speccol/mss/griswoldrw/griswold-rufus.shtml
    Rufus Wilmot Griswold
    RWGriswold.jpg
    1855 engraving by
    Miner Kilbourne Kellogg
    Born

    February 13, 1815
    Benson, Vermont

    Died

    August 27, 1857(1857-08-27) (aged 42)
    New York City, New York

    Pen name

    Ludwig

    Occupation

    Editor, literary critic, writer

    Signature

     

     

    Brandon:  Famed 19th century statesman Stephen A. Douglas, the "Little Giant" was born in Brandon in 1813. His birthplace is now the Brandon Museum as well as the town's  Visitor Center. The most important industry ever carried on in town, which contributed most extensively and permanently to the growth of the town, was the iron industry established by John CONANT. In 1820 he built the first blast-furnace in town. 

     

    The establishment of the Brandon Training School in 1915 was a significant event, providing many employment opportunities forarea residents. At its height, the Training School served over 600 Vermont residents.

     

    There are three ways to get to Brandon.  Use the Burr Pond Road which us much shorter than route 73.

    Brandon's  historic downtown with its entire core of 243 buildings is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Governor has called Brandon:  The Art and Soul of Vermont.  Brandon resident  Warren Kimble, Liza Myers, Judith Reilly and others, have contributed to making Brandon a great place to experience art in the state of Vermont.  The biggest festival of its kind in Vermont is held in July each year, the Basin Bluegrass Festival.  Dine at Cafe Provence and the Brandon Music Cafe.  Drive by the beautiful homes on Park Street.

                        Stephen Douglas Birthplace                                            Falls on Neshobe River

    Castleton:  In May 1775 Ethan Allen, Seth Warner, Edward Mott, John Brown and Benedict Arnold and a force of about 250 American troops encamped here at the farm of Richard Bentley.Ethan Allen met with Benedict Arnold to plan their next day's attack on Fort Ticonderoga, on the New York side of Lake Champlain. The site of the meeting  is marked by a large stone between the Birdseye Diner and the congregational church. )  Their successful capture of the fort was a holding action that lasted two years until the British launched a powerful sweep southward on Lake Champlain. 

    After the loss of Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence in July 1777, Fort Warren was built and  became a part of a string of forts built across the state for the defense of Vermont. It was located on less than three acres in Castleton from 1777 to 1779, roughly on the NE corner of Rt 4A and the East Hubbardton Road. See more details under Vermont History..

    Castleton is known for the mile-long tree-shaded Main Street, with its array of Federal and Greek Revival style houses and public buildings, many by designer builder Thomas Royal Dake. Birdseye Mountain, is named for Colonel Bird. He had acquired 40 shares of land when the town was chartered.  He built a permanent residence there in the summer of 1769. The railroad came in 1854, and the last half of the century saw the development of tourism around Lake Bomoseen. Several luxury hotels were built around the west end of the lake. A trolley system ran from the center of town to Lake Bomoseen, a popular place for tourists vacationing during the summer. The Hydeville area flourished in the mid-19th century as a slate quarrying and milling center. Have breakfast or lunch at the Birdseye diner. Everyone must read "The Blue Cat of CastleTown". Purchase it at The Castleton Village Store.

    Castleton State College, the oldest college in Vermont, is the 18th oldest college in the US. Castleton Medical College, established in 1818, has roots that go back to October 15, 1787.  http://www.csc.vsc.edu/glance/collegehistory/index.htm   

    Higley House See https://www.castletonvermont.org/home/pages/higley-house  

    Higley House

    Erastus Higley built the Higley House, called the “Homestead” by family members, during 1810 and 1811. Five generations of Higleys lived here and it was next door that Zeruah Higley Guernsey Caswell, Erastus’ niece, created the “Caswell Carpet” which now hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

    Read about the  Blue Cat of Castleton and reviews. See http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/coblentz/cat/cat.html

    Pope House and Jame Pope (shown below on South Street )  Read about artist James Pope at https://vermonthistory.org/documents/findaid/hope.pdf  

     

    Image result for castleton vt and artist james pope

    Pond Hill Ranch in Castleton (802-468-4669) has Trail Rides.  See: ttp://www.pondhillranch.com/       Barrel Races are on Tuesday evenings and Rodeos are held on Saturday nights.

    Fair Haven:  In 1792 Fair Haven's size was reduced when West Haven was split off into a separate town. FairHaven is noted for its Victorian architecture, considered some of the finest in the state. 

    In 1783, Colonel Matthew Lyon moved to Fair Haven and began building mills at the falls on the Castleton River. His enterprises included a gristmill, sawmill and paper mill, in addition to a forge. This began Fair Haven's legacy as a small, prosperous mill town, which by 1859 included a marble mill, rolling mill, nail factory, paper mill producing wall paper, three sawmills, a wagon shop, a machine shop, two blacksmith shops, and twoshoe shops. The quarrying and manufacture of slate began in 1846.

    Orwell:  Mount Independence on Lake Champlain, across from Fort Ticonderoga, was the largest fortification constructed by the American colonial forces.  The fort was being built at the direction of Continental generals Schuyler and Gates when word came that the Declaration of Independence had been signed, so it was named Fort Mount Independence in honor of that fact. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Independence_(Vermont)
                                                                                                                                                                                          
    In the 1870s, several young men were lost in a thresher accident.  The community banned industrial farming
     later that year in a special town meeting. Industrialized farm equipment was only allowed back into Orwell  after the economic collapse of the early 1900s, and even then, special restrictions were placed to limit the capabilities of such farm instruments. The town's law against the use of "Modern Farm Machinery of All Kinds" was never  actually repealed, and continues to be a curio law on the books that the town  refuses to repeal.

    Orwell attempted in the late 1990s to obtain a franchised fast-food restaurant, as a vital link in the food availability between Whitehall, New York, and Vergennes, Vermont, but the residents of the surrounding  townships  blocked the move, claiming it would upset the rural beauty of the western Vermont countryside.  Orwell is known as the Fortress of America. The town motto is 'First in Revolution, First in Recreation' .

    Be sure to visit the woodcarver, Norton.  See http://www.nortonsgallery.com/

    Pittsford:  The town was named for William Pitt ("the Great Commoner").  Two historical picket forts used  by the militia during the American Revolutionary War: Fort Mott (built in 1777), and Fort Vengeance (built  from1780 to 1781), about a mile north are in Pittsford.

    This neighbor of Hubbardton to the east has no paved road from Hubbardton. The Biddie Knob Road from  Monument Hill Road, near the East Side Fire Station, over Pittsford Ridge is no longer open, making  Pittsford a neighbor that is not easily accessible.

    Sudbury:  Known for the famous Hyde Manor, the beautiful Congregational Church, and the Vail House.    http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php?topic=174060.0  

    The  "History of Hubbardton Vermont" was published in 2005.  Don had his second history book printed in September 2011. The new book is  "History of Sudbury  Vermont".  Here is the Front Cover (Sudbury Meeting House)  Back Cover (Hill School) and the Book.  Read about Cecile Preseau and The Horseshoe  Dance Hall constructed from lumber from the Dining Hall at Canp Awanee on Beebe Pond. Visit Trevin  Farm on Willowbrook Road. You will love their wonderful purebred Nubian goats. http://www.trevinfarms.com/

    Read about the Vail House in Sudbury.  Also see https://www.rootsandrecall.com/blog/bratton-brick-house-vail-house-alike/  We have stayed at Seon State Park at the Seyon Lodge, in Groton VT.  Perhaps there is a connection between the owners of the Vail House in Sudbury and the "Vail"  owner of Seyon Lodge.

    RUTLAND COUNTY (1 of 14 in Vermont)

    The map below shows where the Town of Hubbardton is located in Rutland County.  It shares borders with Castleton to the south, Sunbury to the north, Benson to the west and Pittsford to the east. It has postal service from five post offices: NE is from Brandon, NW is from Orwell, SW is from Fair Haven, SE is from Castleton, and most of State Rt 30 is from the Castleton Post Office called "Bomoseen" at Castleton Corners.  It has no schools, but owns part of the Elementary School in Castleton.  Most of its students go to High School in Castleton.

     

    BEEBE POND and HUBBARDTON GULF

    The Hartford (CT) Ski Club had a lodge near the single chair lift at Mad River Glen. As a member, I learned  to ski there, but it was a long drive from Hartford.  When my buddies and I got to Granville Gulf we would  stop the car and hoot and holler as we were almost there.

    After Mary and I bought property at Beebe,  I knew we were almost there as we were going through a gulf,  which I called Hubbardton Gulf.  I submitted a petition to the State of Vermont to name  the area of Rt. 30  south of Beebe Pond: Hubbardton Gulf.   That name was approved in 1975. 

    An October 16, 1975 article in the Rutland Herald was titled Hubbardton-At Last-Has a Gulf of Its Own.
    It now joins a select few  "Gulfs" in  Vermont:  Proctorsville, Northfield, Williamstown, and Granville.  

    The Ottawa Citizen had a short article on Vermont's Gulfs dated June 20,1959: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19590620&id=80sxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=deQFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5695,1204372  
    Put your cursor on the Ottawa Citizen page to scroll.

    Below is a 1946 topographical map of the area:  http://docs.unh.edu/towns/VermontTownList.htm

    ROCKS

    Don loves rocks, but Don is not a Michael Grab.  See http://twistedsifter.com/2013/01/rock-balancing-art-by-michael-grab/  and also https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=balancing+rocks+by+michael+grab&id=F566A37C8EB37EC1D4DDDEBB00B5471B285D80A8&FORM=IQFRBA

    Image result for balancing rocks by michael grab  art of rock balancing by michael grab gravity glue (13)

    Image result for balancing rocks by michael grab Image result for balancing rocks by michael grab

  • Ganson Hill West

    632 feet

    Beebe Pond

    618 feet

    Hortonia Road

    456 feet

    Austin Pond

    442 feet

    Change in Elevation

    176 feet

    Change in Elevation

    176 feet

     

  •  

    Home | Vermont Sightseeing | Vermont: Fauna & Flora | Vermont  Lakes & Rivers | Vermont Mountains & Hiking | Vermont  Beebe Pond & Hubbardton | Vermont: Sondergeld & Principe Properties

    This site was last updated 08/03/17