The Waltham Vault
The Vault
In 1932 Clarence B Magee signs a document to declare he is sober, and fully aware of his doings in marrying Marion W. Merrill.
Tidbits from the Vault
Hidden away in the records of a town are glimpses into the lives of the people who came before us. In Waltham, we are excited to explore and share images, documents and reflections from past residents, some dating back to the founding of the town in October, 1791.
Excerpts from the Diary of William Silas Wright (24 years Waltham Town Clerk)- Ancestor of Robin Jackman
Saturday, April 15, 1865
President Lincoln died today, so says the telegraph. Oh God! Well, thou not punish the guilty? President Lincoln was assassinated in a theater at Washington DC last evening and died this am at 7:08, April 15, 1865. A nation mourns! This loss of a great man! Who shall avenge his death? Will not God avenge his own?
September,1868
Began to work on timber for addition to the north wide of the house. Hewed and framed pills and sleepers. Raised the frame. Put on cornice, roof and laid 1/2 of the floor.
May 1874
Bargained with Saxton for corner of land down on the creek. $ 200.00 for 3.5 acres.
November 1900
The Frank Benton farm sold today at auction to John Gravel for $ 32.65 per acre! Also, wood lot on mountain, 25 acres to H.P. fisher at amount of 15.00 per acre.
Tidbits from the Vault
Waltham History
11/26/2022
Conversation with resident Donna Hunt Corcoran, Waltham resident and former Town Clerk!
How did Route 66 get named? How did it come to join both sides of Buck Mountain?
When Donna Hunt was a young girl, the road now known as Route 66 was barely a track through the woods. From the Maple Street side of the mountain, it stopped just past Gilbert Brill’s property. On the Green Street side, it went up to what is now Vandermade’s. “When I was about thirteen or fourteen the town decided to open the road up,” shared Donna. “At that time there was a popular television show called “Route 66” that featured two adventurous, handsome men with a fancy car. Their adventures were all centered around Route 66, the major highway across the southwest part of the US. We would talk about that show on the school bus - the handsome men, the “hot” car. It appealed to all of us, boys and girls alike. The new “road” was under construction, a significant change to Waltham. You could get to the other side of Buck Mountain without going through Vergennes or New Haven! We started calling the new road Route 66. At home kids called it Route 66 to their parents, the parents started calling it Route 66, the name stuck.”
One thing is certain, those teenagers riding the bus had no idea that their namesake would cause the town to have to replace the road signs for Route 66, no matter what spelling or how it was written. There must be a lot of sign collectors out there!
Donna continued to share, “When I was about 11 or 12, we had a record storm, or “gully washer” as the old timers called it. The storm took out the culverts near the Hunt farm and did a large amount of damage to Green Street - more damage than Maple Street suffered. Repairs to Maple Street were relatively minor but the repairs to Green Street were a huge expense for the town and the Select Board instituted a poll tax to pay for it. The residents on the Maple Street side of Waltham felt it wasn’t fair and got legal representation and the State of Vermont involved. They felt they should not have to pay for something on the other side of the mountain. It was settled with all residents paying their share, but it illustrated for the town leaders the isolation of Waltham not only from other communities, but from itself. The loss of community was not a direction they wanted to go. In time, the memory of this may have been part of the impetus behind taking the road across the mountain and joining both halves of the community.”
