LYNDON

A short history of Lyndon

When Rhode Island proprietors secured the original Lyndon township grant, the area was covered in forests and woodlands. The Passumpsic River, flowing through the center of the town, provided power for grist and saw mills. The charter of the town of Lyndon was signed by Governor Thomas Chittenden in 1780.

It seems likely that the name Lyndon was chosen to honor Josias Lyndon (1704–1778), a former governor of Rhode Island and friend of many of the proprietors. Many of these men served with the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment, 1st Division, including Israel Angell. The original proprietors secured the grant as a business venture and had no intention of settling it. Some of the men held high positions of rank, including Jonathan Arnold, William Greene, and James Manning, the President of Rhode Island College, later Brown University. They needed men in search of free land, who would clear each proprietor's grant in return for a portion of it. The town was surveyed in 1781 by Jonathan Arnold, Daniel Cahoon and Daniel Owen. Settlement began in 1789. By the 1790 census, twelve families with 59 residents made their homes in Lyndon. These families installed roads, mills, homes, barns, fields, crops, churches, and schools.

The village of Lyndon Corner was incorporated in 1792; Lyndon Center in 1794. Lyndonville was incorporated in 1866. The village of Lyndon Corner was about 2 miles (3 km) south of Lyndonville. The Hotel Lyndon was built there in 1807. It became a tavern and burned in 1897. About 1867, the Connecticut & Passumpsic Rivers Railroad bypassed Lyndon Corner and Lyndon Center. This resulted in business moving to Lyndonville. The bypassed villages became residential and are no longer distinguished by a separate name. They both gave up their incorporated village status in 1962.

Meetings held in Lyndon in the late 1880s by local resident Theodore Newton Vail led to the creation of American Telephone & Telegraph. In addition to other contributions to Lyndon, Vail constructed Vermont's first paved road from the railroad depot to his estate.

During a centennial celebration in 1891 an iron box was buried as a time capsule but could not be found during a 1991 ceremony.

The Lyndon Outing Club held an annual winter festival in the late 1930 to early 1940s. The festival consisted of dog sled races, cross-country and ski jumping competitions, and sulky races on cleared streets.

Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Lyndon, Vermont, revision 1378747706 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.