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(39) ► Rutland County(102) ► Washington County(34) ► Windsor County(88) ► 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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
(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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
(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
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
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
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
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
“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
“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
“ . . . 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
“ . . . 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
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
“ . . . 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
“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
“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
“ . . . 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
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
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
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
“ . . . 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
“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
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
“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
“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
“ . . . 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
“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
(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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
