The Agricultural History of Grafton Vermont
Emily
Morgan
October 26,
2009
University
of Vermont
Historic
Preservation: Researching Historic Sites and Structures
The
town of Grafton Vermont is today a quaint, quiet rural area, which is very in
touch with its roots. The town has
been blessed with generous funding from the Windham foundation, which has
helped keep the historic appearance of the largely agricultural area intact for
visitors today. Throughout
the area one can still see evidence of the rough life that early settlers and
farmers faced as the hilly terrain is dotted with low stone walls and old barns
that blend into the land around them.
The farmers primarily in the early years of GraftonÕs history would have
had to carve a life for themselves and their families out of almost
nothing. Some evidence of these
early farms still exists as their barns have been expanded and adapted for new
uses today. However, in modern
times one is more likely to see cows and horses dotting the landscape where
once sheep would have ranged.
Figure 1 The first the
layout of the initial land plots of Grafton from The First Map of Grafton used with permission of UVM Special
Collections
GraftonÕs
roots reach back to the early days of VermontÕs contested origins. Benning Wentworth issued the first land
grants in 1754 to charter a town then known as Thomlinson[1]. ÒThe grant consisted of 23,040 acresÉdivided
into sixty-four equal shares.Ó[2](See figure 1[3]) A map was prepared of the sixty-four
square lots and was used Òas a reference by surveyors and in connection with
early land transfers and records.Ó[4] The area was remote and it wasnÕt until
a second charter was issued in 1768 that settlers attempted to work the land.[5] These first settlers within a year
gave-up their claims and it wasnÕt until 1780 that the first families actually
arrived to form a permanent settlement in what is now Grafton. The area remained extremely remote, as
the first road was not put in until 1814[6],
so farmers where dependent on themselves for their familiesÕ subsistence.
By
the time Vermont entered the Union as the 14th state in 1791 the townÕs
population was just over 500 people.
During 1791 it was decided that the town should change its name from
Thomlinson to something that did not bear any markings to the proprietors who
had been granted the land but never settled it. In an interesting turn of events a public auction to decide
the name was set and the winner Joseph Axtell, who bid five dollars and a jug
of rum, choose to name the town Grafton after his birthplace in Massachusetts.[7] Thus early Grafton became a town of
farmers first settling the hills as to attain more sunlight and then eventually
moving into the valleys to be closer to the town center and the River Road
(Route 121 today).[8]
Figure 2 Logging
horses in Grafton circa1880 from Landscape Change Project[9]
Early
farmers would have attempted to clear large trees off their properties not only
to use the logs for building and heating but to form fields for animals and
crops. In order to accomplish this
task oxen would have been vital.
Census data from 1860 indicates that almost every farmer had at least
one ox and as many as 4 oxen in order to accomplish this tough work.[10] Eventually draft horses would be
developed to accomplish logging, plowing and rock clearing of fields (see
figure 2). Clearing the fields of
rocks would have been vitally important every spring as the freeze and thaw
cycles brought evidence of the glaciers to the surface[11]. These rocks were then used to form
stonewalls that can be seen throughout the town today (see figure 3). By the time of the 1880Õs
agriculturally census it seems that the number of oxen is beginning to fall off
and the use of horses become much more common.[12]
Figure 3 Stonewall
and barn in Grafton Photo by Kaitlin OÕShea
Cash
would have always been a commodity within this community and town store records
indicate that barter was the main way for farmers to procure necessities they
could not make themselves.[13] In 1814 the first road to Grafton was
put in, a sawmill was built below Bellows Falls and the cooperative production
of potash became the first true industry in town[14]. Owing to the fact that Grafton is built
around numerous streams mills were built along the waterways. Also the sandstone quarry throughout
the area help Grafton prosper and by 1840Õs was a booming industry[15].
The
arrival of Merino sheep from Spain changed the agricultural landscape of
Vermont entirely. The valued
Merino wool drove farmers to increase their flocks by the 1830Õs Vermont was
bring in $1,200,000 a year for their wool[16]. Grafton flourished as their streams
powered the Woolled Fulling Mill in 1831, which could process over 20,000lbs of
wool a year[17]. It is likely that a lot of this wool
came from Grafton but also from the surrounding areas. In the 1860Õs census we see flocks of
sheep ranging from one sheep to over 200[18]. Yields of wool vary from each farm with
larger flocks producing over 400 lbs per year in 1860 to as little as four lbs[19]. The popularity of sheep was so great
that by 1840 sheep outnumbered humans five to one and by 1850 over 10,000 sheep
grazed in Grafton alone[20]. When the market for wool began to
decline so did the number of sheep in Grafton, the census data of 1860 confirms
this and by the 1880Õs flocks still range up into the hundreds but tend to be
smaller[21].
The
decline of the wool market led farmers to invest more in herds of milk
cows. With the advent of new
technology milk could be turned to butter or cheese and shipped much easier and
readily to far away cities such as Boston and New York. Even with a small number of milking
cows a farmer could produce hundreds of gallons of milk and also butter. The census data from 1860 and 1880
supports the fact that for ever milk cow a farmer owned he could produce about
a hundred gallons of milk[22]. Excess milk could also produce cheese;
from 1860 to 1880 the average pounds of cheese produced per farmer grew greatly[23]. In 1892 the Grafton cheese cooperative
was formed so that farm families could work together to produce cheese, which
was a very time consuming process[24]. Farmers could bring their milk to the
co-op building and in turn receive cheese proportional to the number of gallons
they brought in (see figure 4)[25]. Unfortunately the cooperative
arrangement only lasted a few years and was dissolved until the 1960Õs when the
Windham Foundation was able to reestablish it off Townsend road just outside
the town center today[26].
Figure 4 Farmers from 1892
taking milk to the cheese co-op picture from $5 and a gallon of rum
The
production of wool and milk products mark the heights of agricultural production
in Grafton, the majority of the agricultural history is that of small
subsistence farmers. When looking
back at the agricultural census data one can see that wheat, rye, Indian corn,
hay, and oats were common products on Grafton farms. Also the data shows that farmers would have grown small
amounts of peas, beans, and potatoes to feed their families. Mostly these were grown in small
amounts to either feed large families or the animals of the farm. A family commonly would have a couple
of pigs as well whose meat could have been smoked and stored to help a family
survive through long Vermont winters.
A few interesting outliers on the census data shows that some farmers
were producing wine in small quantities and even some hops probably for brewing
purposes[27]. Also interesting to note is that the
number of farms decreases over time as they grew in size suggesting that the
life of Vermont farmers from 1860 onward became much harder and more land was
necessary to accomplish similar goals.
Figure 5 A
sugar house in use from 1974[28]
Another
product that is commonly found in Vermont today is maple syrup. In both the 1860 and 1880 agricultural
census there is data of maple sugar being collected although quantities vary[29]. There is also an indication that some
of the farmers made molasses with their maple sugar. In an account from the 1970Õs by James and Margaret Cawley
they write about how much arduous work would have gone into gathering sap and
turning into syrup. Today in our
windshield survey we found what appears to be a collapsed sugarhouses (see
figure 6)[30].
Figure 6 A
collapsed sugarhouse in Grafton VT picture by Emily Morgan
Farming
has been a way of life in Grafton for centuries. The growth of the Grange, established in Grafton in 1860,
shows the emphasis on educating farmers on new techniques to keep farms alive[31]. The Granger also provided a social
outlet for farm families who might not otherwise meet regularly and helped to
spread new techniques. After World
War I the Grafton Grange saw a great growth influx but unfortunately by 1950Õs
and 1960Õs farming was in decline throughout the area so the organization
became more community service based.
Today the organization still exists and meets regularly however their
mission has shifted[32].
Figure 7 An English style
barn that has been adapted and expanded over time Photo by Emily Morgan
Figure 8 Barn with several
adaptations and expansions Photo by Emily Morgan
Today,
the Windham Foundation who annually funds restoration projects through the town
supports Grafton Vermont in large part.
The Grafton Cheese Factory also brings many visitors to the quaint town
and tourism thrives during the beautiful fall season. When undertaking a windshield survey of Grafton we observed
many older farm buildings that have been adapted overtime to new uses (see
figure 7). What once may have been
high drive barns that housed sheep today may be used for pigs and cattle (see
figure 8 & 9). The nature of
agriculture in Grafton also seems to have shifted more from the traditional
family farm into hobby farms or supplemental income to a family. Also there today seem to be more use of
the land for horses than specifically cattle or sheep as one might have seen a
hundred years ago. Still today the
agricultural nature of the town persists and it is a treasure to behold the
beauty of Main St. Not much has
changed from what you can see today and you can almost imagine the herds of
cows being ushered down the street on the way to market (see figure 10).
Figure 9 High-drive
barn in Grafton Photo by Kaitlin OÕShea
Figure 10 Cows
being herded across Main St Grafton circa 1890[33][34]
Bibliography
Cawley, James & Margaret. Tales of Old Grafton (South Brunswick & New York A. S. Barnes & Co, 1974)
Grafton Historical Society. Five Dollars and a Jug of Rum: the history of Grafton Vermont 1754-2000 (Grafton VT, Grafton Historical Society, 1999)
Heinritz, Stuart F. The First Map of Grafton (1967)
Louis Berger Group, Inc. ÒPhase I archaeological survey: Grafton-Rockingham STP 126 (4) SC project Vermont Route 121Ó (East Orange, NJ Louis Berger Group Inc. 2002)
Palmer, Francis, A history of Grafton, Vermont (Brattleboro, VT, Shaw Press 1954)
Pettengill, Hellen M. History of Grafton, Vermont, 1754-1985: and sidelights on Grafton history (Grafton, VT, Grafton Historical Society, 1985)
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Agricultural Census of 1860, Bureau of Census, Washington DC 1860
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. Agricultural Census of 1880, Bureau of Census, Washington DC 1880
Wilf, Coping. A Vermont renaissance: Grafton & the Windham Foundation (Grafton, VT, Windham Foundation Inc. 1978)