Center Rutland in Rutland County, Vermont — The American Northeast (New England)

Mead's Falls

Photographed By John Arsenault, September 25, 2014

1. Mead's Falls Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

James Mead, Rutland's first settler, arrived at these falls on the Otter Creek in 1769. The next year he and his family were given shelter by members of the Caughnawaga tribe while they finished their log cabin. Mead built saw and grist mills on the falls and ran a ferry on the Otter Creek. He was an ardent defender of the New Hampshire Grants and served as a colonel in the militia. Mead's Falls was an important military site: the 1759 Crown Point Military Road ran by here. General Arthur St. Clair wrote his report after the Battle of Hubbardton in 1777 at Mead's home on the West Proctor Road, and Fort Ranger was built in 1778 on the bluff northeast of the falls.

Erected 1999 by Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers • War, French and Indian. A significant historical year for this entry is 1769.

Location. 43° 36.234′ N, 73° 0.888′ W. Marker is in Center Rutland, Vermont, in Rutland County. Marker is at the intersection

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of Business U.S. 4 and Simons Ave., on the right when traveling east on U.S. 4Business . Located at the bridge over Otter Creek. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Center Rutland VT 05736, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Center Rutland Depot (approx. ¼ mile away); Lemuel Haynes (approx. 1.4 miles away); Rutland Veterans Memorial (approx. 1.6 miles away); Governor Israel Smith (approx. 1.6 miles away); Historic West Street Cemetery (approx. 1.6 miles away); Harriet Quimby (approx. 1.7 miles away); A Tribute to the Brilliance of Christo & Jeanne-Claude (approx. 1.7 miles away); Why Trains? (approx. 1.7 miles away).

Photographed By John Arsenault, September 25, 2014

2. Mead's Falls Marker

Mead's Falls image. Click for full size.

Photographed By John Arsenault, September 25, 2014

3. Mead's Falls

As seen from the Route 4 bridge over Otter Creek.

Mead's Falls and the railroad bridge image. Click for full size.

Photographed By John Arsenault, September 25, 2014

4. Mead's Falls and the railroad bridge

Old postcard of The Falls at Center Rutland made expressly for Nelson's Five Cent Store. image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Unknown

5. Old postcard of The Falls at Center Rutland made expressly for Nelson's Five Cent Store.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 25, 2014, by John Arsenault of Middletown Springs, Vermont. This page has been viewed 811 times since then and 151 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on September 25, 2014, by John Arsenault of Middletown Springs, Vermont. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.