Middlebury, Vermont
Addison county. Chief town. This is a large and flourishing town on both sides of Otter creek, 31 miles S.W. from Montpelier and 33 S.S.E. from Burlington. The fathers of this town were Col. John Chipman and the Hon. Gamaliel Painter, who came here and settled in 1773. The settlement advanced but slowly until after the revolutionary war; it then began to increase and is now one of the most important towns in the state. In 1791 it became the shire town of the county, and in 1800 Middlebury college was founded. The surface of the town is generally level. Chipman's hill, 439 feet above Otter creek, is the highest elevation. The soil is fertile and productive, and furnishes large quantities of wool, beef, pork, butter and cheese. The town is admirably watered by Otter creek and Middlebury river. At the falls on Otter creek, the site of a flourishing village, are extensive manufacturing establishments; and large quantities of white and variegated marble, with which the town abounds, are sawed and polished for various uses and transported to market. Middlebury is a very beautiful town, and the mart of a large inland trade. Population, in 1830, 3,468.
Middlebury river rises in Hancock, and passing through Ripton falls into Otter creek at Middlebury. This mountain stream is about 14 miles in length, affords a fine water power, and is very romantic in its course. It passes some distance along the road from Windsor to Vergennes, and presents some delightful scenery.
