St. Johnsbury, Vermont
Caledonia county. This pleasant and flourishing town is 35 miles N.E. from Montpelier, 57 N. from Hanover, N.H., and 7 E. from Danville. The town was organized in 1790. Population, 1830, 1,592; 1838, about 2,000. The surface is uneven, but the soil is generally strong and fertile. In 1837 there were 4,546 sheep in the town.
The amount of available water power in St. Johnsbury is great and valuable, indicating its future inportance as a site for large manufactories. The Passumpsic river, a considerable stream, which falls into Connecticut river at the foot of Fifteen Mile Falls, passes through the central part of the town from north to south. Moose and Sleeper's rivers unite with the Passumpsic and afford a succession of excellent mill seats seldom so closely combined.
On Sleeper's river is the establishment of E. and I. Fairbanks, for the manufacture of their improved platform balances, on an extensive scale; also iron works of various kinds, on the other streams.
There are three handsome villages in the town: that called the Plain is on an elevated ground and near the junction of the streams. This town commands the trade of a considerable portion of the country, and these villages, which are neatly built, enjoy an active business.
