CHAPTER II .

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Proprietary history of the township .Previous to the establishment of an in-

dependent state government in Vermont ,in January, 1777, New Hampshire, whic hprovince claimed the jurisdiction of al lthe territory now contained in this state ,had issued many charters of townships . Inthis way, more than one half of the land ofVermont had been granted before sheassumed the responsibility of self-government, and the remainder was in afew years granted by the State authority .The process of securing and grantin gcharters was something as follows: Uponapplication from a company of men, resi-dent and non-resident, who wished tobecome the proprietors of a township, theGeneral Assembly appointed a standin gcommittee to examine the grounds of thi sapplication, and to act upon it . If thiscommittee reported favorably, whic husually occurred, a vote was accordingl ypassed by the Assembly, and the Gover-nor, immediately upon the payment o fthe required fee, issued the requeste dcharter. The grants before made by Ne wHampshire were also acknowledged andconfirmed by the State . The charter ofBrookfield was not granted till 1781 ;therefore this was one of the townschartered by the State, and Brookfiel dhad no part in the violent controversy be-tween New Hampshire and New York .

Most of the towns in the state wer echartered before any settlement had bee nmade within their limits ; but, on the con-trary, Brookfield was not granted unti ltwo years after the first settlement, andnot until the population of the settlemen tmust have been considerable . The reasonof this has already been explained, andthis circumstance seems to be one o fthose strange anomalies which constitutethe interest and romance of history.

CHARTER OF BROOKFIELDThe Governor, Council, and General

Assembly of Representatives of th eFreemen of Vermont, to all people t owhom these presents shall com e—greeting .

Know ye, that whereas it has bee nrepresented to us by our worthy friendsPhinehas Lyman and company to thenumber of sixty-five, that there is a trac tof vacant land within this State, which hasnot heretofore been granted, which theypray may be granted unto them; we have

therefore thought fit for the due en-couragement of settling a new plantatio nwithin this State, and other valuable con-siderations us hereunto moving, and doby these presents and by the authority o fthe Freemen of Vermont, give and gran tunto said Phinehas Lyman and th eseveral persons hereafter named, hisassociates, viz : Joseph Hawley, Esq . ;Timothy Lyman, Samuel Clark, NoadiahWarner, Samuel Cook the second, JohnSmith, Nathaniel Brush, Elijah Dewey ,Lucretia Colt, Elisha Porter, Esq . ,Stephen Goodman, Moses Hubbard ,Oliver Smith, Benjamin Colt, Daniel Colt ,Edmund Hubbard, Moses Hubbard, Rev.Samuel Hopkins, Eleazer Porter, SamuelGaylord, Jr ., Rev. Joseph Lathrop ,George Breck, Heman Day, Samue lLathrop, Seth Lathrop, Joseph Lathrop ,Jr., John Eastman, Timothy Eastman,Obadiah Dickinson, Obadiah Dickinson ,Jr., John Chester Williams, Esq ., ElijahDickinson, Elihu Dickinson, Elisha Ellis ,Jr., Peter Olcott, Esq., Ichabod Hyde ,Paul Davison, Daniel Bowen, JonasHoward, Benjamin Howard, Phinea sTyler, John Hayward, Paul Spooner ,Jedediah Hyde, Amasa Hyde, NathanRoberts, Nathaniel Humphrey, Nathanie lHumphrey, Jr ., Shubael Cross, JosephCross, Daniel Tillotson, Jr ., OliverHamblin, Caleb Martin, Annah Dean,Daniel Tillotson, John Paine, JamesMoulton, His Excellency Thomas Chit-tenden Esq., Timothy Brownson Esq. ,John Fassett Jr ., Esq., Moses Robinson ,Esq., Jonas Galusha, Esq ., ElkanahSprague, and Ebenezer Brewster ,together with five equal shares or right sto be appropriated to the public usesfollowing: viz: One share or right for theuse of a Seminary or College within thi sState; one share or right for the use of theCounty Grammar Schools throughoutthis state ; one share or right for the firstsettled minister of the gospel in saidtownship, to be disposed of for that pur-pose as the inhabitants thereof shal ldirect; one share or right for the supportof the . ministry ; and one share or right fo rthe benefit and support of a school o rschools within said township—the follow-ing tract or parcel of land : beginning atthe northwesterly corner o fTurnersburgh, then southwardly on th eline of Turnersburgh about six miles to a n

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angle thereof, then carrying that breadthback north sixty-one degrees west so fa ras that a line being extended north thirty-three degrees east across said breadthwill encompass the contents of six milessquare;—and the same be and hereby i sincorporated into a township by the nam eof Brookfield, and the inhabitants that d oor shall hereafter inhabit said townshipare declared to be enfranchised and en-titled to all the privileges and immunitie sthat other towns within the State do bylaw exercise and enjoy .

To have and to hold the said grantedpremises as above expressed with all th eprivileges and appurtenances thereuntobelonging, to them and their respectiveheirs and assigns forever, under th efollowing conditions and reservations ,viz : That each proprietor of said townshi pof Brookfield, his heirs and assigns shal lplant and cultivate five acres of land an dbuild a house at least eighteen feet squareon the floor, or have one family settled o neach respective share or right of land i nsaid township within the term of thre eyears next after the circumstances of th ewar will admit of it with safety, on pain o fthe forfeiture of his respective share orright of land in said township, and thesame to revert to the Freemen of thisState, to be by their Representatives re-granted to such persons as shall appear t osettle and cultivate the same : That al lpine timber suitable for a navy shall bereserved to and for the use and benefit ofthe Freemen of this State. In testimon ywhereof we have caused the seal of thisState to be hereunto affixed, the fifth dayof August, in the year of our Lord onethousand seven hundred and eighty-one ,and in the fifth year of the Independenc eof this State and sixth of the UnitedStates .

Thos ChittendenBy His Excellency's comman d

Joseph Fay, Sec'yAlthough this charter was issue d

August 5, 1781, the town organizatio nwas not effected until March 18, 1785 . In1786 the town was first represented in th eLegislature, then known as the Genera lAssembly, and consisting of a House ofRepresentatives and a Council, the latte rof which could not be regarded as a coor-dinate branch of the Legislature, and wa sabolished on the substitution of theSenate in 1836 .

The first proprietors' meeting of whic hwe have any account was in February ,1783, of which and of the meeting sfollowing we quote the records complete .

At a meeting of the proprietors of th etownship of Brookfield, legally warnedand holden at the house of Lieut . Shubael

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Cross in said Brookfield, on the 18th dayof February, 1783, agreeable to a warningin the Springfield paper No . 36 .

1st. Voted, and chose Lieut. CalebMartin moderator to govern said meeting .

2dly. Voted, and chose Lieut . Shubae lCross clerk for said propriety.

3rdly . Voted, that those of the pro-prietors that have not pitched one hun-dred acres of land on their right or rightshave the privilege of making their pitchon any land not already pitched .

4thly. Voted, that there be a tax of fif-teen shillings lawful money paid on eachright, public rights excepted, to be lai dout in repairing roads this spring.

5thly . Voted, to raise a tax of two shil-lings on each right to defray past charges .

6thly . Voted, that this meeting stan dadjourned until the 19th instant at eigh to'clock in the morning .

February 19th, 1783The proprietors ' meeting was opened

agreeably to the foregoing adjournment .

1st. Voted, to choose a committee offive to look out a mill spot, suitable for asaw-mill, and make report to the nextmeeting .

2dly. Voted, and chos ePeter O1cot, Esq .Phinehas Lyma nIchabod Palmer

for saidPaul Spooner

committeeOliver Hambli n

3dly . Voted, to choose a committee o ffive to complete the allotment of sai dtown.

4thly. Voted, and chos ePaul BrighamDaniel Tillotson, Jr .Benjamin Colt

for saidJonas Howard

committeePhinehas Lyma n

5thly . Voted, to raise a tax of ten shill-ings lawful money on each right-to-defray—-the expense of completing the allotmentof said town.

6thly. Voted, to choose a committee o ffive to manage the prudentials of the pro -priety in the recess of the meetings .

7thly . Voted, and choseJohn LymanNathl HumphreyShubael Cross

for saidCaleb Martin

committeeAbel Curtis

8thly . Voted, to choose a collector tocollect the three several taxes voted andraised as aforesaid.

9thly. Voted, and chose John Painecollector of the aforesaid taxes .

10thly. Voted, that the clerk make outa rate bill of the several sums voted to be

East Brookfield valley, about 1910, looking south, with the John Sprague farm in the middleforeground.

(Courtesy Doris Hill)

raised as aforesaid, and deliver said rat ebill to said collector, taking his receipt fo rthe same.

1lthly . Voted, to pay L24, 15s for 99days work done at highways, which is 5sper day to those who have performed thelabor on said roads .

12thly. Voted, that this meeting stan dadjourned until the second Wednesday inJune next, then to be held at this place .Attest, Shubael Cross, proprietors' clerk .

Brookfield, June 11th 1783 .The proprietors of Brookfield met ac-

cording to adjournment from the 19th o fFebruary, 1783 .

1st . Voted, that the following pro-prietors shall have the lots they have pit-ched and made improvements upon, viz :Shubael Cross No . 63, Joseph Cross No .34, Daniel Tillotson Jr . No. 65, PhineasTyler No. 33, George Breck No. 68,Amasa Hyde No. 67, Daniel Bowen No .70, Paul Spooner, No. 72, BenjaminHoward No. 74, Nathaniel Humphrey No .—, Nathaniel Humphrey Jr . No. —, An-nah Dean No . 86, Caleb Martin No . —,Ichabod Hyde No . 37 .

2dly . Voted, that the lot No. 69 bereserved for the first settled minister andother public uses .

3rdly. Voted, that each proprietor whohas not already pitched one hundred

acres to his right, have leave to pitc hanywhere except where there have bee npitches already made, having care to layhis lot uniform with those lots alreadylaid out, leaving no gores or strips of lan dbetween the lots .

4thly . Voted, and chose Shubae lCross, Caleb Martin and Nathaniel Hum-phrey a committee to see that every pro-prietor pitches in regular form and makesreturn of his pitch immediately to the pro-prietors' clerk . And if any proprietor shal lneglect to make his pitch within six mon-ths from this date, it shall be the duty o fthe committee to proceed to pitch_a_lot t oeach delinquent right .

5thly . Voted, to give Mrs. HepzibathCross one hundred acres of land .

6thly . Voted, to give Mr. John Lymanone hundred acres of land, it being the lo the ,now lives on, with the condition thathe, said Lyman, do twenty days' work onthe road, exclusive of what he has alreadydone, to the acceptance of the committe eappointed for the purpose of laying outand mending highways, and also con-tinue settlement on said lot .

7thly . Voted, to allow Shubael Cross topitch the lot formerly owned by Mr . Olive rHamblin as a second hundred acre divi-sion on his own right .

8thly . Voted, to lay out a road throug hthe town, near the Branch, six rods wide ,

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in the most convenient place .9thly. Voted, to leave out four rods

wide between every other East and West ,north and south .

10thly . Voted, to adjourn this meetinguntil the 12th instant, at this place, atnine o'clock in the morning .

Shubael Cross, proprietors ' clerk

Brookfield, June 12th, 178 3The proprietors met according to ad-

journment from the 11th inst .1st . Voted, to allow any person or per-

sons that will build two mills, viz : a grist-mill and saw-mill, to be built where acommittee appointed for that purposeshall direct, and keep said mills in repai rthree years, and have the mills done bythe first day of November next -

(There is evidently a mistake or omis-sion in this record as the sentence i snot complete . The vote was probably agrant of two hundred acres of land toany proprietor who would undertakethe building of these mills . )2dly. Voted, to choose a committee of

seven to agree with any person or personsto build said mill or mills.

3dly. Voted, and chosePhinehas LymanJonas HowardCaleb Martin

a committeeShubael Cross

for theOliver Hamblin

last mentionedDaniel Tillotson Jr .

purpose .Nathaniel Humphrey

4thly . Voted, to adjourn this meetin guntil two o 'clock afternoon at this place .

Brookfield, June 12th 1783 .Met agreeably to adjournment .1st. Voted, that the above committe e

is empowered to agree with any person o rpersons concerning a mill spot, to set th eabove mills, and also to agree with regar dto flooding or ponding any ground for theaccommodation of said Mills .

2dly. Voted, that said committee bedirected, if occasion requires, to dividesaid land between those who build sai dmills, according to the best of their judg-ment .

3rdly . Voted, to choose a committee ofthree to lay out a road through the tow nfrom Randolph to the north line .

4thly . Voted, and chos eDaniel Tillotson Jr .

a committeeCaleb Martin

for the aboveNathaniel Humphrey

purpose .5thly . Voted, that Mr. Phinehas Lyma n

purchase a proper book at the expense ofthe proprietors suitable for to keep thei rrecords in .

6thly . Voted, that Mr. Jonas Howard b eallowed to pitch his second hundred acre

lot next after every proprietor has pitche dhis first hundred .

7thly. Voted, that the Prudential Com-mittee be empowered to warn pro-prietors' meetings for the future in thefollowing manner, viz : to set up a notifica-tion fourteen days before their meeting ,said notification to be set up in the placesas follows: in the State of MassachusettsBay at a public house in Old Hadley ; inthe State of New Hampshire at Dresdenand Orford at public houses; and in theState of Vermont at Brookfield, at thehouse of Lieut . Shubael Cross .

8thly . Voted, that the Prudential Com-mittee be directed to apply to th eSurveyor General or his deputy to hav ethe outlines of the town ascertained .

9thly. Voted, to pitch one hundre dacres on the school right before any pro-prietor makes any further pitch or pit-ches .

10thly . Voted, to choose a committeeto pitch said school lot .

l lthly . Voted, and choseDaniel Tillotson Jr .

a committee .Shubael Cross

for tha tNathaniel Humphrey

purpose .The above committee made a repor t

that lot No. 36 is the best situated for aschool lot .

12thly. Voted, to accept the abov ereport .

13thly. Voted, that the doings of thi smeeting be recorded in the proprietors 'book .

14thly. Voted, to allow Mr. PhinehasLyman the cost of procuring the charte rof Brookfield, and the cost of the adver-tisement for this meeting . Including bothmakes the sum of 34s .

15thly. Voted, to dissolve thismeeting .

Caleb Martin, ModeratorShubael Cross, proprietors' cler kThe next meeting—of—the proprietors

was held in Brookfield, June 16th, 1784 ,at which officers were elected and a com-mittee appointed to make a new plan o fthe land that had been allotted, and th epitches that had been made . The meetingwas then adjourned till the day following .

'Brookfield, June 17th, 1784 .The proprietors of Brookfield met

agreeably to the foregoing adjournment .1st . Voted, that the votes and pro-

ceedings of the former meetings of thispropriety, as they stand recorded in thisbook with the amendments, shall be goo dand valid, and are established as such bythis meeting .

2dly . Voted, that Mrs . Hepzibath Cros shave the liberty to pitch and lay out th elot north of lot No . 73 in the third range,

bounded westerly by lot No. 15 in the se-cond range, pitched on the right of JonasGalusha, for her hundred acre lot, votedto her by the proprietors of saidBrookfield at their adjourned meetin gholden at said Brookfield June 11th1783 .

3dly. Voted, and granted to Lieut .Shubael Cross, his heirs and assign sforever, two hundred acres of land for hisencouragement in building two mills, viz :a grist mill and sawmill, upon conditio nthat said Cross be bound in a bond of tw ohundred pounds for the faithful perfor-mance of the same, and that said mills b ekept in repair and fit for business the ter mof three years, said bond to be given tothe Treasurer of said propriety for theirsecurity ; and also voted, that said millsbe got ready and fit for business, th esawmill by the first day of July next, an dthe grist mill by the first day o fSeptember next—both of said mills stan-ding on the Branch, near said Cross' .

4thly . Voted, and chose Lieut. CalebMartin, Jonathan Pierce and OliverHamblin a committee to see that sai dmills are got ready and fit for business b ythe time specified as aforesaid, and alsoto see that the bond is properly made andexecuted and laid in the proper office.5thly. Voted, that Lieut. Shubael Crossbe allowed to take and pitch lot No . 93 inthe fourth range as one of those lots forbuilding said mills .

6thly. Voted, that Mr. Cross have onemonth's time to pitch his other lot fo rbuilding said mills .

7thly . Voted, and chose Jonatha nPierce, John Lyman, and Nathaniel Hum -phrey a committee for to lay out ahighway, beginning at the south line o fthe town, meeting the road from Ran-dolph near Mr. Joseph Griswold's land,from thence northerly until it meets th ehighway leading up the hill from th eBranch near Mr. Jonathan Pierce's, andalso to see that said road is well openedand cleared upon the proprietors' cost .* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

8thly . Voted, to adjourn this meetinguntil the 18th inst . at seven o'clock in themorning at this place, and it is according -ly adjourned.Attest, Paul Brigham, proprietors ' clerk

The hundred acres of land voted to begranted to Mrs . Cross was in accordancewith a custom to present a lot of land tothe first woman who should enter a newtownship. This custom gave rise to aludicrous and yet almost tragic incidentin relation to the town of Williamstown,which will be hereafter mentioned .

Of the mills thus voted into existence ,the grist mill was situated at the foot o fthe Falls west of the place now owned b yMr. Nathaniel Wheatley . The saw mill wa sprobably located nearby, though, owin gto conflicting accounts, its exact localitycannot be determined.

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East Brookfield valley, 1953-54, looking north. Albert Martin farm buildings appear in the leftforeground. At the far north end is the school, with the Sprague farm beyond .

(Courtesy Doris Hill)

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