Montpelier Village

Montpelier Village

HILE searching for the data with which to authenticate and embellish the story of the life and character of America's greatest living naval commander, the writer boarded a train in Grand Central Station, New York city, one Sunday afternoon at four o'clock, and at three o'clock the next morning found himself in the beautiful valley of the Winooski River, in the very heart of the famous Green Mountain region of Vermont. "Montpelier !" called out the trainman in deep stentorian tones, and the Pullman porter helped the weary traveler to the platform of the station. But it was not the Capital City after all - only a junction, from which a few moments later he was carried by a combination of freight and accommodation train to the charming little city which has now become historic as the birthplace of George Dewey, the hero of Manila Bay. The courteous hotel porter escorted the scribe to comfortable quarters for the remainder of the night, and in fifteen minutes after he was left alone the quiet of a New England village had lulled him into a refreshing slumber, undisturbed, until the sweet song-birds, which inhabit this region in great numbers, proclaimed the coming of the dawn of another day. Hastily preparing for breakfast (which comes at an early hour here), the searcher after facts was ushered into a large and commodious dining-hall, where trim New England maidens, in neat frocks, served an old-fashioned New England meal, with fresh Vermont maple syrup for the buckwheat cakes and shaved sugar for the rolls and cereal. Altogether, it was such a reception as one might have expected in a New England city which has erected in its State House a marble statue to Ethan Allen, and which celebrated the naval victory of May 1, 1898, as did no other city in America.

And right here it is well that the reader should become a little acquainted with the city of our Admiral's birth and boyhood. The eleventh census (1890) gave to Montpelier a population of a little more than five thousand persons, but a later school census increases that number to about eight thousand. The city lies in a quiet, sequestered spot, on the bank of the Winooski Eiver. It is surrounded so closely on all sides by the

Green Mountains as to seem to be literally resting in the very lap of Nature. State street, which takes its name from the State House, occupying one whole square of ground, the rear of the building itself reaching to the very foot of the mountain range, is at once a place of business and of pleasure. Not less than one hundred and fifty feet in width, bordered with wide walks of concrete, its parking filled with stately old elms and other trees of dense foliage arching the street, it is indeed a pleasant scene to look upon. Going from the station, which is as near the centre of the town as it .well could be, one enters to the right the business portion of the city, while to the left and in front is to be found the main residence section. The spot where George Dewey was born is a few hundred feet to the left of the station, and just opposite the entrance to the State House grounds. A brother of the Admiral, Capt. Edward Dewey, has since built here a handsome house, that in which our hero had his first struggle for existence having been moved a little farther down the street. Turning to the right, and before reaching, in the business section, what is called Main Street, one passes the government building and courthouse, and, what is here of more importance, the site of Christ Church. That house of worship was built in the early years of the century, largely through the efforts of Dr. Julius Yemans Dewey, the Admiral's father, and was also the church in which the Admiral himself was christened and taught his first lessons in the catechism. The illustration on page thirtynine is of the old church as originally built. It has since been replaced by another and more costly structure. The original building, having been remodeled into a dwelling, is still in use a short distance down the street, as a

Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier

Passing along still farther to the right, and turning into Main Street to the left, the visitor discovers that he has entered another avenue of unusual beauty, bordered on either side by fine residences in wood and stone, surrounded by spacious lawns and gardens enriched by an abundance of flowers. Here he finds the Kellogg- Hubbard Library, a magnificent stone structure built at a cost of $60,000, - a property incorporated and held in trust for the inhabitants of Montpelier. The building is commodious, and a fit place of abode for the Montpelier Public Library, which has had an existence, in one form or another, since the year 1794. It is thus seen that the residents of Montpelier, while yet a very young village, and when its inhabitants could have been counted on the fingers of few hands, were seekers after knowledge; and it is but fair to say of them that they have been seeking it ever since.

Another of the points of interest to the visitor is the Heaton Hospital erected in 1895 on the northern portion of what is known as Seminary Hill, the place taking its name from the Montpelier Seminary, a Methodist institution of learning well and favorably known to Methodists and others throughout the Green Mountain State. Both of these are large and commodious structures, well managed, and possessing attractions for strangers, whether in search of health or education.

Coming back to the city proper, and after feasting our eyes on the architectural beauty of the " National Life," and other structures in marble and sandstone, we will take a look at the old brick school building in which one Pangborn, in the late forties, taught the young ideas of Montpelier how to shoot. It is said that this same pedagogue once conquered the iron will of the boy who in later years conquered the Spanish navy in the waters of the Philippine Archipelago. The building is now used as a dwelling, the view on page sixty-nine being a good one of the outside of the structure. It was in this place that most of the men o f Montpelier, now of mature years, were given their first lessons in the rule of three. There are many now living in the various cities of the United States, as well as many who still dwell beneath the roof which gave them shelter in childhood days, who received their earliest instructions here, and who have since taken their places among the foremost men and women of their time.

Last, but by no means least, in this list of points of unusual interest in the Capital City of Vermont, we come to the official home of the State government itself, the State House. The view presented of this stately structure furnishes but a faint idea of the grandeur of the building. Standing, at this point, in the very centre of the valley of the Winooski River, a view from the dome of the Capitol building discloses a kaleidoscopic panorama to be found, with equal effect, in no other locality. Back of the State House rises majestically one of the highest and most precipitous of the Green Mountain ranges, so close as to make it appear possible for the observer to jump with ease from the dome to the mountain side. Away to the right and left can be seen the winding waters of the Winooski, with its sloping banks and meadowed lowlands. A quarter of a mile down the stream is the ford in which George Dewey nearly lost his life on the occasion of his first naval venture in his father's runabout some time in the early forties. A view of the ford is shown on page sixty-four. Far away, in one direction, on a clear day, can be distinctly seen the foothills of the White Mountains, while in the other, the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain, with its reminders of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys at Fort Ticonderoga, bring the enchanted observer back to earth again and remind him that time flies and waits for no man. At his feet lies the north branch of the Winooski, cutting the little city in two, and winding its way like a thread of silver away to the north and east, forming another valley as -beautiful as the one in which the city of Montpelier rests. Along its banks within the city proper are to be seen many manufacturing plants of varied industries, giving to the little city an air of hustling commercialism surpassed only by its quaint and quiet New England homeliness as a place of either rest or recreation.

The interior of the State House possesses much interest for the stranger. The rooms of the governor and other State officers are both elegant and simple in their furnishings, the walls being hung with paintings of former officials and men of note in the affairs of the commonwealth. The Vermont State Historical Society occupies much space with collections, both rare and rich, of everything, from stuffed birds, native to the State; to the Indian relics of bygone days found within the borders of old Vermont. The exhibits are as fine as could possibly be gotten together, while the display of polished granite and marble would occasion surprise in one unacquainted with the resources of the State in those particular products. Marble and granite are as common in the construction of buildings in Montpelier as were the more familiar cobble-stones in the dwellings and factories of northern New York erected in the early part of the nineteenth century. Here also is to be found the State Library, said to contain the most complete collection of law books of any library in the United States, not even excepting the Congressional Library at Washington. It is a boast of

Vermonters interested in library matters that several of the United States Supreme Court Justices have in recent years written their opinions and decisions within the walls of this building, coming there from the White Mountain country in order to avail themselves of the superior facilities afforded by this collection of law books.

Before leaving the building and after taking a glance into the halls of the Assembly and the State Senate, the visitor is invited to inspect the statue of Ethan Allen, which stands in the porch of the building. This statue was designed by Larkin G. Mead, and is said to have been his masterpiece. Vermonters have an especial fondness for Ethan Allen, and their latest hero is yet compelled to yield a place in the affections of the people of the Green Mountain State for this other Vermonter, who called so early in the morning on the British at Ticonderoga.

Down the broad steps from the porch toward State Street, one enters the spacious grounds with a feeling that he has been well repaid for his time within the building. The grounds are plain but well kept, the walks from the centre gate to the far corners of the inclosure, at either of the side entrances to the Capitol building, being trod daily by a large percentage of the population of the city in their passing to and from business or the station. It was in these very grounds that the children of Montpelier in the early days used to hold their annual May-day festivities, though usually the picnic would commence in the woods on the hills above the State House, and end within this inclosure. It was here that George Dewey, on one of these May-day occasions when he was a lad of thirteen, had an altercation with the boy who has since become the Rev. John P. Demeritt. An account of the altercation is given elsewhere in this work. It is interesting to listen to tales of the annually recurring jollifications among the younger people of those other days, and one is led almost to wish that he were young again, and that the customs of the years gone by had not been so ruthlessly cast aside for the more fashionable but less enjoyable festivities of these later generations.

In another particular the city of Montpelier is worthy of more than passing mention in this initial chapter to the story of the life of George Dewey. Scientists tell us that food and drink, and the habits of life influenced by both of them, are important factors in affecting the career of any people. The soil of the Winooski valley produces the very best of vegetables and cereals, and the waters of Mirror Lake, from which the city receives its supply of water for domestic uses, are declared by chemists to be as pure as any in the world. If we are to take this into consideration, then surely Montpelier is entitled to another credit mark when we are fixing the rewards for the victory of Manila Bay.

Taken altogether, Montpelier is a pleasant place to live in, as well as a good place to have been born in, as has been said by some of the paragraphers in reference to the early home of George Dewey. Best of all, the people are of an hospitable disposition, and the latchstring is always hanging out for the stranger who happens to come within the gates of the city.