Vermont Barn Census
Chittenden County Student Research Project - 2010
History
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University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program
An Brief Agricultural History of Colchester, Vermont
By Elizabeth Warburton
Location and Town Beginnings
Colchester, Vermont is located north of Burlington, the state’s largest city. It is bordered by Lake Champlain to the West, Milton to the North and Essex to the East. Historically, the town of Winooski was a village within Colchester. Ira Allen and Remember Baker, both prominent figures in Vermont’s early development, settled the town in 1772.1 The town was abandoned from 1776-1783 during the Revolutionary War and was resettled at the conflict’s conclusion; after 1783, the town infrastructure expanded and many settlers, including the Wolcott, Severance, Hine, and Densmore families, began to establish themselves as community leaders.2 These families, along with many others, would develop the first Colchester farms that allowed the town to prosper and grow.
The First Farmers
Colchester’s earliest infrastructure centered around saw mills and lumber, but an important agricultural sector also developed in this nascent period.3 After working with Ira Allen to develop one of the sawmills in town, William Munson formed one of Colchester’s first farms, c. 1793.4 Ebenezer and Elijah Wolcott established a farm in c. 1795, and the Wolcott name is prominently featured in the nineteenth century Vermont Agricultural Census.5
Nineteenth Century Farming & Colchester Dairy Production
Soil composition within the town is varied is generally successful for raising a diverse assortment of crops, most especially potatoes, fruits, and grains.6 The close of the eighteenth century was a successful period for sheep farmers, fitting into broader, statewide trends and the boom of the woolen industry.7 This success also led to the rise of improved and in use acres throughout the decades, with the 13,808 acre total in 1860 rising to 14,655 acres in 1870. Colchester’s farms raised a variety of successful crops, but the town is most known for its dairy industry. The Grand List, an inventory of town property and assets, provides helpful figures for years predating the Vermont Agricultural Census; the 1823 Grand List noted 854 cows and cattle in Colchester.8 The 1850 Agricultural Census lists 1,139 cows and other cattle, a number which climbed to 1,748 by 1860.9 Accordingly, as the number of cows in Colchester rose, the production of butter and cheese skyrocketed. In 1870 alone, 74,775 lbs. of butter, 137, 800 lbs. of cheese, and 44,895 gallons of milk were produced on Colchester farms.10 Milch cows were distributed relatively evenly throughout the town farmers from 1850-1860, with each farmer listed having at least one cow. By 1870, cow distribution remained consistent but a small group of individuals had larger herds, some equaling 30-40 cows per farm.11
Other Crops and Community Ventures
Although they were most significant to Colchester’s economy, dairy products were not the only commodities being produced on town farms. Colchester farms produced wool, potatoes, and wheat; wool and potato yields declined from 1860-1870, but wheat production saw a slight increase during these same years. Vermont historian Ruth Wright, in her history of Colchester entitled Colchester, Vermont From Ice-Cape to Interstate notes that Colchester farms were becoming less profitable by the mid-nineteenth century.12 Despite the, the agricultural industry remained one of the centerpieces of Colchester community life.
Circa 1875, a large factory specializing in butter and cheese production was established, continuing Colchester’s specialization in dairy production.13 This era also saw the development of community agricultural organizations, including the opening of a grange in 1911.14 Milk and butter production continued to be Colchester’s staple crops well into the twentieth century, and one farmer referred to them as the “golden egg” in a 1955 letter to the editor.15Twentieth Century
As with many areas of Chittenden County and New England in general, some Colchester farms declined during the mid-twentieth century, specifically after World War II. In Colchester, the dairy production that had been the town’s main source of revenue for decades suffered noticeably. Following national trends, fears of bovine diseases caused a reassessment of barn construction and farming methods, leading to the modernization of many agricultural buildings.16 During this era, many Colchester farmers united in community organizations that attempted to bring better prices and circumstances to Colchester farms; despite their efforts, Colchester’s agricultural production dramatically declined during the postwar era, and many farms were permanently closed.17
Notes
1. Colchester Old Home Week and One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary of the Town Settlement: August 23, 1922. (Essex Junction, VT: Roscoe Printing House, 1922), 4.
3. W.S. Rann. History of Chittenden County, Vermont with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers. (Syracuse, NY: D. Mason & Co, 1886), 555.
4. Hamilton Child. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Chittenden County, Vermont, for 1882-1883. (Syracuse, NY: Journal Office, 1882), 180.
7. Ruth Wright. Colchester, Vermont From Ice-Cap to Interstate. (Burlington, Vermont: Queen City Printers, 1963), 54.
8. The 1823 Grand List and its figures are noted in Wright, 55.
9. US Census Office. 7th Census, 1850. State of Vermont Agricultural Census. Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle. REEL-1
and
US Census Office. 8th Census, 1860. State of Vermont Agricultural Census, 1860. Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle County. REEL-2.10. US Census Office. State of VT. 1870 Agricultural Census. Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle Counties only. REEL-2.
11. 7th Census, 1850.
and
8th Census, 1860.
and
1870 Agricultural Census.15. Fred L. Richmond. “Advice to Milk Dealers.” August 22, 1955. Rolf N. B. Haugen Newspaper Clippings Collection. Binder #48 – Colchester.
Works Cited
Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Chittenden County, Vermont, for 1882-1883. Syracuse, NY: Journal Office, 1882.
Rann, W.S. History of Chittenden County, Vermont with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers. Syracuse, NY: D. Mason & Co, 1886.
Richmond, Fred L. “Advice to Milk Dealers.” August 22, 1955. Rolf N. B. Haugen Newspaper Clippings Collection. Binder #48 – Colchester.
US Census Office. 7th Census, 1850. State of Vermont Agricultural Census. Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle. REEL-1.
US Census Office. 8th Census, 1860. State of Vermont Agricultural Census, 1860. Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle County. REEL-2.
US Census Office. State of VT. 1870 Agricultural Census. Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle Counties only. REEL-2.
Wright, Ruth. Colchester, Vermont From Ice-Cap to Interstate. Burlington, Vermont: Queen City Printers, 1963.
“Center for Digital Initiatives.” University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library. www.cdi.uvm/edu (accessed October 25, 2010)
Colchester Old Home Week and One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary of the Town Settlement: August 23, 1922. Essex Junction, VT: Roscoe Printing House, 1922.