MANCHESTER, VERMONT • Historic New England (original) (raw)

Manchester, Vermont

Bennington county. One of the county towns. Situated between the Green mountains on the E., and Equinox mountain on the W. The latter is 3,706 feet above the sea. There are two neat villages in this valley; the county buildings are in the south village. The scenery here is very beautiful. The town is watered by the Battenkill and its branches, and affords good mill sites. The soil along the water courses is good, but the principal part of the town is better for grazing than tillage. Here are large quarries of beautiful marble, some manufactures, a curious cavern, and about 6,000 sheep. Manchester lies 22 miles N. by E. from Bennington, and about 40 W. from Bellows Falls, across the mountains. First settled 1764. Population, 1830, 1,525.