Middlebury Falls

Middlebury Falls. The Lure of Waterpower. , Otter Creek flows north for 112 miles, from Peru, Vermont, to Lake Champlain in Ferrisburgh. For thousands of years, it provided fresh water, food and transportation for the native Abenaki, who ate its fish and farmed on its shores. French trappers adopted the Indian name, calling it La Rivière aux Loutres (The River of the Otters). In 1766, John Chipman led a group of Connecticut men on an exploration of the river. They built a canoe on its banks and paddled north, shadowed by a few men pulling a cart through the woods alongside. Some would return to be the first Europeans to settle the area., Middlebury Falls was not a promising spot, as described by Samuel Swift in 1859: "The thick hemlock and pine forests which covered it, as well as the soil, was uncommonly forbidding." But it had what the settlers needed most: a waterfall, and that meant a source of power for industry., [Captions:] , The Brassier map of 1762 shows the importance of waterfalls, both as barriers to transportation and as potential energy sources. In this view, Middlebury Falls is shown at the bottom of the map, followed downstream by a series of waterfalls as the Creek flows towards Lake Champlain. These include the present Huntington Falls, Weybridge Falls and the magnificent falls in Vergennes, all of which are now used to make electricity. , "A Survey of Lake Champlain." William Brassier 1762., The Western Abenaki have lived along the eastern shore of Lake Champlain for thousands of years. By the time of European settlement, they were spending part of the year settled in family groups, growing squash, corn and beans. They also fished the streams and gathered nuts, berries and other wild foods. The river was revered as a great source of life and sustenance. Otter Creek was also the Indians' main route to Lake Champlain, which connected them to the important Abenaki settlements to the north, along the St. Lawrence River. , Courtesy of Vermont Historical Society