Historical Markers and War Memorials in Addison County, Vermont
Middlebury is the county seat for Addison County
Adjacent to Addison County, Vermont
Chittenden County(140) ► Orange County(38) ► Rutland County(101) ► Washington County(30) ► Windsor County(80) ► Essex County, New York(213) ► Washington County, New York(157) ►
Touch name on this list to highlight map location. Touch blue arrow, or on map, to go there.
On Vermont Route 17W, 1.7 miles west of Vermont Route 22A, on the left when traveling west.
Canada geese assemble at Dead Creek from many locations within eastern North America. They are attracted to this management area because of the protection offered by the refuge and the excellent combination of forage fields and water. Fall . . . — — Map (db m109247) HM
On Vermont Route 125 at Vermont Route 17, on the right when traveling east on State Route 125.
This strategic point on Lake Champlain was occupied by Native Americans for thousands of years. In 1690 Jacobus deWarm build a small stone fort here. The French build a wooden stockade in 1731, erecting Fort St. Frederic across the lake in 1734. . . . — — Map (db m85414) HM
On Vermont Route 17, 1.4 miles north of Vermont Route 125, on the left when traveling north.
General John Strong was a Revolutionary War patriot and a prominent early citizen of Addison County. He served as a judge, state legislator and represented Addison at the State Convention, which adopted the Constitution of the United States and . . . — — Map (db m85231) HM
On Vermont Route 17, on the right when traveling north.
Near this spot
on the shore of the lake was the
Northern Terminal of the
Crown Point Military Road
built by
Gen. Amherst, in 1759 — — Map (db m109079) HM
On Vermont Route 17W, 1.7 miles west of Vermont Route 22A, on the left when traveling west.
Snow geese are relatively new to the Dead Creek refuge, having begun to use the area as recently as 1981. Their numbers have continued to increase annually, and peak populations present here in mid-October exceed 20,000 birds.
Snow geese do not . . . — — Map (db m109245) HM
On Vermont Route 17W, 1.7 miles west of Vermont Route 22A, on the left when traveling west.
The Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area (WMA) was established in 1950 to provide breeding and migrational habitat for waterfowl. It is owned by the State of Vermont and managed by the Fish and Wildlife Department. Acquisition and development . . . — — Map (db m109246) HM
On Vermont Route 22A at Vermont Route 17W, on the right when traveling south on State Route 22A.
(front)
Addison Remembers
Her Heroes
1771 - Revolutionary War - 1778
[Honor Roll of Veterans]
1812 - War With England - 1814
[Honor Roll of Veterans]
1861 - Civil War - 1865
[Died in Service]
Joseph Arno • Joseph . . . — — Map (db m109277) WM
On Vermont Route 17W, 1.7 miles west of Vermont Route 22A, on the left when traveling west.
As the name implies, "wetlands" are wet areas characterized by soils that are permanently or seasonally saturated with water. They contain a variety of plants, shrubs and trees which have adapted to living in a wet environment. Wetlands are also . . . — — Map (db m109244) HM
On Vermont Route 125 at Basin Harbor Road, on the left when traveling west on State Route 125.
Erected c. 1864, this one-room schoolhouse served hundreds of children in Bridport for nearly a century. Originally founded as the first district school in Bridport, it later became known as Hathorne School, reflecting the name of a nearby . . . — — Map (db m96475) HM
On Lincoln Road south of Vermont Route 116, on the right when traveling south.
This land was given to the Town of Bristol
by Irving J. Wasley Sr. in memory of
his son, Pvt. Norman E. Wasley of the
341st. Engineers Co.D. He died in an
explosion while fighting a fire in Dawson
Creek, B. C. on the Alcan Highway.
1/27/1924 . . . — — Map (db m159845) HM
On Vermont Route 30 at Fisher Street, on the right when traveling south on State Route 30.
South Side inscription:
Died in Hospital:
Sergt. Romeo R. Peck
Nelson Baxter
Loyal Darling
Adams H. Potter
Emerson Mayo Ja's E. Fenton
Hung by Guerillas
Alva K. Barlow
North and West side inscriptions . . . — — Map (db m136370) WM
William Slade was one of Vermont’s great public servants and an ardent abolitionist. Born when Vermont was an independent republic, he died just before the Civil War.
A graduate of Middlebury College admitted to the bar in 1810, Slade was a . . . — — Map (db m135841) HM
Here in 1833, Rowland E. Robinson was born of Quaker parentage. He became a popular illustrator and interpreter of nature and Yankee dialect. "Rokeby" was a station on the "Underground R.R." Here are the blind author’s memorabilia. Open to the . . . — — Map (db m75967) HM
Frederick Douglass delivered a fiery abolitionist speech here in July 1843. Born in slavery in Maryland, Douglass freed himself by escaping to the north, where he became a tireless crusader for African American freedom and equality. He was among . . . — — Map (db m95449) HM
On Post Office Hill north of Vermont Route 100, on the left when traveling north.
The one-room Corner School, established here at “Codfish Corners,” operated from 1871 to 1951 for grades 1 through 8. Previously, G.V. Wilson’s blacksmith shop (1860-69) and the I.H. Archer Store (1869-74) stood at this site. Granville once had 10 . . . — — Map (db m196206) HM
Near Main Street (State Highway 30) 0.1 miles south of Seymour Street, on the right when traveling south.
Vermont is crossed by a complete system of ancient major routes from the Lake Champlain Valley to the Connecticut River Valley leading eventually to the sea. Paths were first made by migrating herds of animals searching for salt, and later by Native . . . — — Map (db m144471) HM
On Court Street (U.S. 7) at Creek Road, on the right when traveling south on Court Street.
Born in Middlebury on October 4, 1887, Ray Lyle Fisher grew up on farms along Otter Creek and Creek Road. Ray starred in baseball and football at Middlebury High School and Middlebury College before joining the New York Yankees in 1910. He pitched . . . — — Map (db m75987) HM
On North Pleasant Street (U.S. 7) at Main Street, on the right when traveling north on North Pleasant Street.
In this house, the home of SAMUEL MILLER, ESQ. September 30, 1798 Timothy Dwight, President of Yale College, counseled with Gamaliel Painter and other citizens of Middlebury concerning the founding of Middlebury College. This conference led to the . . . — — Map (db m76001) HM
From 1796 to 1814 Court Square was the site of the first Addison County Courthouse, which also served as the seat of the Vermont Legislature (1800, 1806), and home of Middlebury’s first female academy (1800). Here in June 1804 a New York slaveholder . . . — — Map (db m135859) HM
Emma Hart came to Middlebury in 1807 to take charge of the Female Academy. After her marriage to Dr. John Willard, the town’s first physician, she gave the earliest collegiate instruction for women in America at a Seminary in her home, during the . . . — — Map (db m75983) HM
On North Pleasant Street (U.S. 7) at Main Street, on the left when traveling north on North Pleasant Street.
Front side of marker In memory of Emma Hart Willard who wrote at Middlebury in 1818 the Magna Carta for higher education of women in America.
Rear side of marker
Education should seek to bring its subjects to the perfection of . . . — — Map (db m136530) HM
On Main Street, 0.1 miles south of Mill Street, on the right when traveling south.
John Deere learned the blacksmith trade here as an apprentice in the shop of Capt. Benjamin Lawrence from 1821 to 1825. The shop was located below this spot on Mill Street, in what is known as "Frog Hollow". In 1836 Deere removed to Grand Detour, . . . — — Map (db m77845) HM
Near Mill Street just west of Park Street, on the right when traveling west.
The Marble Works Memorial Bridge was constructed and generously donated by the Marble Works Partnership to the citizens of the town of Middlebury for their use and enjoyment.
The bridge is dedicated to the memory of the mechanics of Middlebury . . . — — Map (db m144478) HM
Near Court Street (U.S. 7) at Court Square, on the left when traveling west.
(side 1)
Middlebury
In The
1861—Civil War—1865
Joseph Alexander • Henry W. Bennett • Merrill Bentley
Bertrand W. Billings • John Brunelle • Michael Burke
John Caffrey • Roderick A. Champlin • . . . — — Map (db m136571) WM
On North Pleasant Street (U.S. 7) at Main Street, on the right when traveling north on North Pleasant Street.
In this house, the home of Samuel Miller, Esq., Timothy Dwight, president of Yale College, counseled with Gamaliel Painter and other citizens of Middlebury concerning the founding of Middlebury College.
This conference led to the granting of the . . . — — Map (db m136473) HM
On Court Street (U.S. 7) near Washington Street, in the median.
In 1792, the Vermont Legislature ensured Middlebury’s future prominence by choosing it as the site for Addison County courts. Three courthouses have been built in this area. The original clapboard courthouse shown on the right in the photograph, was . . . — — Map (db m136662) HM
On Main Street at Merchants Row, on the left when traveling south on Main Street.
Built from the Ashes
Middlebury's Main Street has been the commercial center of the town
since its founding, but its character has changed many times, largely due
to that great public enemy of the era-fire. In the first half of the . . . — — Map (db m136661) HM
On Cross Street at Main Street (Vermont Route 30), on the right when traveling west on Cross Street.
The Shire Town
Middlebury was chartered in 1761 as one of New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth’s land grants. The first settlers claimed land in the town in 1766, but were forced back to southern New England during the Revolutionary War. . . . — — Map (db m136535) HM
Near Mount Independence Road, on the right when traveling south.
“I have also provided timber for two Blockhouses.” - Col. Anthony Wayne, February 4, 1777 In the summer and fall of 1776 American forces concentrated on fortifying the northern point of the rocky Mount Independence . . . — — Map (db m19321) HM
Near Mount Independence Road, on the right when traveling south.
“Blockhouses, none of them finished.” - Lt. John Starke, Royal Navy, September 1777 After the British captured Mount Independence on July 6, 1777, their military engineers decided to build six new blockhouses to augment . . . — — Map (db m19332) HM
Near Mount Independence Road, on the right when traveling south.
“ . . . this Day there was two men Buried from our Regt.” - Lt. Jonathan Burton, October 4, 1776 This small stone, engraved “N. Richardson of Staddard Eng died 1760,” may mark the only identified grave on . . . — — Map (db m17849) HM
Near Mount Independence Road, on the right when traveling south.
“ . . . a perfect mousetrap.” - Col. Alexander Scammell, September 21, 1777 From here are seen nearly all the powerful forces of nature that made this spot on Lake Champlain the Gibraltar of the North as well as its . . . — — Map (db m17846) HM
Near Mount Independence Road, on the right when traveling south.
This is one of the best-preserved stone foundations on Mount Independence. It was built during the Revolution, but historic maps and documents do not refer to it. Who built it? Did the Americans have time to build it during the two weeks in June . . . — — Map (db m19441) HM
Near Mount Independence Road, on the right when traveling south.
“ . . . the new Hospital . . . 250 long & 24 wide.” - Rev. Enos Hitchcock, June 14, 1777 This shallow, dry-laid stone foundation was for the largest building at Mount Independence – a 250-foot long by 24-foot wide, . . . — — Map (db m19319) HM
Near Mount Independence Road, on the right when traveling south.
“Our men built huts out of boards to protect themselves from the cold weather.” - Lt. Von Hille, October 22, 1777 During the American occupation from July 1776 to July 1777, soldiers constructed a breastwork of logs and . . . — — Map (db m19436) HM
Near Mount Independence Road, on the right when traveling south.
“Some of the intrenchments are still visible.” – John Disturnell, 1857 After the American Revolution, numerous visitors curious to see the places that figured so prominently in the war for independence visited Mount . . . — — Map (db m19501) HM
Near Mount Independence Road, on the right when traveling south.
“ . . . the possession of every thing here depends upon keeping the Command of the Water.” - Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates, July 16, 1776 In front of you is Lake Champlain, at 120 miles long the sixth largest lake in the United . . . — — Map (db m19440) HM
Near Mount Independence Road, on the right when traveling north.
Fortification was begun in June of 1776, and the name Mount Independence was bestowed following the Declaration of Independence. Lieut. Col. Jeduthan Baldwin was the chief construction engineer. Here the exhausted American Army, Northern Department, . . . — — Map (db m9275) HM
On Vermont Route 22A at Main St (County Route 73), on the right when traveling south on State Route 22A. Reported permanently removed.
After Ethan Allen seized Fort Ticonderoga, the Americans built Fort Mt. Independence, northwest from here on the Lake. Following Burgoyne’s invasion, Gen. St Clair evacuated the Forts, retreating across these hills to Hubbardton. Vermont . . . — — Map (db m9232) HM
On Vermont Route 22A at Vermont Route 73, on the right when traveling south on State Route 22A.
This vital American military road to the south of here was built on the September 7, 1776, orders of Gen. Horatio Gates to connect Mount Independence, a new Revolutionary War fortification on Lake Champlain, to Hubbardton, Rutland, and Fort No. 4 . . . — — Map (db m97307) HM
Near Mount Independence Road, on the right when traveling south.
“ . . . some of the officers have good framed houses.” - Dr. Lewis Beebe, September 30, 1776 This fifteen-foot square, well-defined stone foundation may be the remains of quarters for one or more American officers in the . . . — — Map (db m17863) HM
Near Mount Independence Road, on the right when traveling south.
“began the works at 3 places on Mount Independence.” - Col. Jeduthan Baldwin, June 20, 1777 On June, 1777, American Chief Engineer Jeduthan Baldwin wrote in his journal, “in the afternoon went with Col. Kosiusko . . . — — Map (db m19437) HM
On Mount Independence Road, on the left when traveling south.
This walkway is a loop approximately 0.2 mile long with stairs and gentle slopes. It leads you past the remains of a blockhouse (near the parking area), provides a look at the Mount’s rock formations, and provides a vista of the lake south of the . . . — — Map (db m19536) HM
Near Mount Independence Road, on the right when traveling south.
“ordered a large Stoer House to be built.” - Col. Jeduthan Baldwin, August 17, 1776 At least one of the storehouses constructed on Mount Independence during the Revolution stood in this area. Portions of the remaining . . . — — Map (db m19366) HM
Near Mount Independence Road, on the right when traveling south.
“we are Building a Large & Long Breast work on the South Side.” - Pvt. Thomas Killam, August 19, 1776 When the American Northern Army arrived at Ticonderoga in mid-July 1776, the 300-acre peninsula opposite on the Vermont . . . — — Map (db m19543) HM
Near Mount Independence Road, on the right when traveling south.
“ . . . our Men is clearing the Encamping Ground over the Lake.” - Sgt. Timothy Tuttle, July 23, 1776 In July 1776 Northern Army commander Gen. Horatio Gates organized regiments at Mount Independence and Ticonderoga into . . . — — Map (db m19318) HM
Near Mount Independence Road, on the right when traveling south.
“The Generals have Fix’d on a spot . . . to be fortified.” - Lt. Col. Matthias Ogden, July 19, 1776 On July 5, 1777, Thomas Anburey, who was traveling with British Lt. Gen. John Burgoyne on Lake Champlain, observed as they . . . — — Map (db m19480) HM
On Vermont Route 73, on the left when traveling east.
(front)
These We Honor
Dedicated to the following from the
Town of Orwell
who served in the Armed Forces of our country
World War II
William H. Murray • Franklin F. Phelps
Charles D. Wright • George B. Wright
[Died . . . — — Map (db m109307) WM
On Main Street (Vermont Route 73), on the left when traveling east.
In honor of the Boys of
the Town of Orwell
who served in the World War
Theron D. Bishop • Charles D. Collette
Linas W. Duffany • Harry M. Fitzgerald
Roy G. Phelps • Lawrence H. Ross
[Died in Service]
[Honor Roll of . . . — — Map (db m109279) WM
On Arnold Bay Road, 0.2 miles north of Pease Road, on the right when traveling south.
Near this spot on the afternoon of October 13, 1776 in the first important naval engagement of the War for Independence BENEDICT ARNOLDafter a battle in which he had displayed great boldness, gallantry and sagacity ran ashore and burned the . . . — — Map (db m76010) HM WM
On Vermont Route 125 just west of Frost Road, on the left when traveling east.
A distinguished American poet by recognition and a Vermonter by preference, Robert Frost was Poet Laureate of Vermont and for many years “First Citizen” of the Town of Ripton. He was long associated with the Middlebury College School of . . . — — Map (db m37171) HM
On Route 74 at Smith Street, on the right when traveling south on Route 74.
From Hands Cove northwest from this spot
Ethan Allen with eighty-three Green Mountain Boys
embarked for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga May 10 1775
To commemorate
one of the most heroic adventures of the Revolution
this tablet has been . . . — — Map (db m118290) HM
On Vermont Route 74, on the right when traveling west.
John Larrabee established the first regular ferry here under a grant from the Vermont Legislature when the only business at the site was his tavern. In 1823, the year that the Champlain Canal opened, Larrabee and Samuel Holley built a store and a . . . — — Map (db m15580) HM
Levi Parsons Morton, son of a minister, was born on this site, May 16, 1824, and for 8 years lived in Shoreham. He became a New York City banker, Member of Congress, Minister to France, Vice-President under President Harrison, and Governor of New . . . — — Map (db m95458) HM
This Howe truss Railroad Bridge is one of only two covered railroad bridges left in Vermont. It was built in 1897 on the 15.6 mile Addison Branch connecting the Rutland Railroad at Leicester Junction with the Delaware and Hudson at Ticonderoga, New . . . — — Map (db m85416) HM
On Main Street (Vermont Route 22A), on the left when traveling north.
Intersection of Rivers and Roads
Imagine traveling hundreds of miles in an ox-drawn wagon along muddy, rock-strewn, deeply rutted roads through the wilderness. In search of new homesteads, early settlers followed the same routes you took to . . . — — Map (db m89157) HM
On Main Street (Vermont Route 22A) at Park Street, on the right when traveling west on Main Street.
Victorious commander
of the American Fleet
in the naval battle of
Plattsburg
September 11, 1814
A Gallant Officer
An Exemplary Citizen
A National Hero
Memorial
erected to commemorate
the building by
Commodore Macdonough
of . . . — — Map (db m109195) HM
Near Main Street (Vermont Route 22A), on the right when traveling north.
The Wilderness
Shhh. Imagine Otter Creek 300 years ago when it was pristine wilderness. The river teems with fish, herons, ducks and other waterfowl. Deer and moose tracks dot the river's edge. Downed trees, trampled shrubs, and mounds of . . . — — Map (db m89155) HM
Near Macdonough Drive, 0.3 miles west of Main Street (Vermont Route 22A).
Below the Otter Creek Falls was the site of Thomas Macdonough's shipyard, where the U.S.S. Saratoga was built in 40 days and other ships launched that defeated the British at the Battle of Plattsburgh, 1814. — — Map (db m75977) HM WM
On West Main Street (Vermont Route 22A) at Park Street, on the left when traveling north on West Main Street.
Stephen Bates (1842-1907) was born enslaved on the Shirley Plantation in Virginia. He escaped in 1862 and after the Civil War came north to Vergennes with U.S. Congressman Frederick E. Woodbridge. Bates was first elected Sheriff in 1879 and served . . . — — Map (db m195671) HM
Near Main Street (Vermont Route 22A), on the left when traveling north.
In Need of Water
Fire was the scourge of downtowns all across America in the nineteenth century. Buildings were destroyed by fire time and time again. Water often had to be transported from nearby rivers. Firefighting efforts were frequently . . . — — Map (db m89159) HM
On Main Street (Vermont Route 22A) at Macdonough Drive, on the right when traveling west on Main Street.
Honor Roll
[Died in service]
Philip E. Goodere • Edward L. Mercure
Frederick C. Morris • Hobart P. Preston
[Veterans Honor Roll not transcribed] — — Map (db m109197) HM
On Weybridge Road (Vermont Route 23) at James Road, on the right when traveling south on Weybridge Road.
Born at Amherst, Mass., Silas Wright came to Weybridge as an infant and grew up here. Graduated from Middlebury College in 1815, he studied Law at Sandy Hill, N.Y.; began Law practice at Canton, N.Y. in 1819, and entered politics there. A Brigadier . . . — — Map (db m77967) HM
The U.S. Government established a Morgan horse breeding program in 1905 at the University of Vermont to study and refine the Morgan horse as a superior cavalry mount. That program moved here in 1907 when Joseph Battell donated this farm to the U.S. . . . — — Map (db m77965) HM
On North Main Street (Vermont Route 30) north of Shoreham Whiting Road, on the right when traveling south.
He lies buried in this cemetery. He walked 64 miles to recruit men to aid Ethan Allen in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, May 10, 1775. — — Map (db m136470) HM
