Introducing Barre, Vermont

Barre's Walking Tour | Montpelier Walking Tours

History

By 1760, after some years of skirmishing among British, French and Indians, homesteading in Vermont took place with reasonable safety but with constant struggle, toil and hardship. In 1780 a 19,900-acre parcel of wild land, given the name Wildersburgh and comprising the present Town of Barre, was chartered by the Republic of Vermont. By 1788 the first settlers had moved in. Some through the New Hampshire Grants in the east while others were re-settlers from the nearby Town of Berlin. All moved across the Coos Trail, and Indian pathway from Lake Champlain across Vermont to the Connecticut River.

By 1790, after interior roads had been cut through the township, rapid settlement started to take place. By 1800, the nucleus of the Town at Upper Village (present South Barre) started to be surpassed by the Lower Village (Barre City Park area). In 1793 it was voted to change the name of Wildersburgh and that “the man that will give most toward building a meeting house in said town shall name the town.” Ezekiel D. Wheeler was high with a bid of sixty-two pounds and named the town Barre. A persistent legend insists that the name resulted rather from fisticuffs. The winner, Jonathan Sherman choosing the name of his native township, Barre, Massachusetts. There is no mention of such a fight in any town records.

The presence of granite in the surrounding hills had been known and settlers began making millstones, doorsteps, posts, and window lintels. The granite industry was said to have begun soon after the War of 1812 when Robert Parker and Thomas Courser opened the first quarry for commercial use on Cobble Hill. In 1832 granite was hauled to Montpelier for the construction of the state capital.

From 1830 to 1880, Barre's growth was very slow, from 2,012 residents to 2,060 and the growth of the granite industry was equally slow. Farming remained the primary occupation. The coming of the railroad in 1875 was the spark that changed the struggling granite industry. The fame of the granite spread, and coupled with the lure of the “promised land”, resulted in a migration of workers from Scotland and Italy. They were joined by Scandinavian, Spanish, Greek, Lebanese, and later by French Canadian immigrants. The population jumped from the 2,060 of 1880 to 6,790 in 1890 and to 10,000 in 1894.

Granite, though a continuing core industry, was not the only industry evolving in Barre. Early settlement enterprises such as carpentry, milling, stone shaping, soap making, tanning and blacksmithing supported the community. As the population and the granite industry increased, so did the supporting businesses including printing, banking, insurance, the railroads, a creamery, and all manner of retail stores.

For additional information about Barre, pick up a copy of Barre in Retrospect or Barre Granite Heritage, available at the aldrich library (#12) and merchants throughout downtown Barre; or contact the Central Vermont chamber of Commerce at (802)229-5711.

Barre's Annual Community Events

Farm Show - January

Home Show - April

Homecoming - July

Holiday Parade - November, Friday after Thanksgiving

Barre's Walking Tour


© Copyright Central Vermont chamber of Commerce © 2002, All rights reserved.
CV chamber / P.O. Box 336 / Barre, Vermont 05641
1-877-887-3678

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