Appendix H - Historical Archaeological and ... - CBP.gov

forts in the Champlain Valley, New Hampshire’s seacoast, and frontier borders to defend from
British incursion (Charlton, 1931; Churchill, 1967; Wheeler and Wheeler, 1968; Hance,
1991:384; Kingsley, 1997).
Frontier
From the conclusion of the French and Indian War to about the 1780s, Vermont provided one of
the only frontier outlets to southern New England’s sons and daughters. French and Indian War
service, particularly among those who helped build the Crown Point Road, introduced many
soldiers to the Vermont’s advantageous land and resources. Two separate streams of emigrants,
one from eastern Connecticut or Massachusetts and the other from western parts of those states,
helped shaped the distinctive ethnic character of Yankee Vermont (Meeks, 1986b; Hubka, 1984).
Those settling along the Crown Point Road brought with them characteristic patterns of
community development, architecture, types of government, and religion. At the beginning of
the Revolution, Vermont declared itself an independent nation. The formation of this republic
led to the issuance of new land grants and the reallocation of residual lands. The intervening
disputed land years led to numerous hostilities between the territorial rights of New York and
New Hampshire proprietors. Jurisdictional dispute between French, English and Vermont land
grants was not formally settled until 1791 when the Republic of Vermont became a state (Nye,
1947:272-275).
Most settlers in Vermont faced the problem of accessing their property via the network of
footpaths, Indian trails, and military roads. Early settlement during times of peace spurred
improvement to existing overland and waterborne transportation networks. Once settlers reached
their lot, their first priority was to remove the forest, build a shelter, and clear an area to plant
food (Garvin and Garvin, 1988).
Early American settlers in Vermont probably applied the Native American technique of burning
forested land as a primary land-clearance tool (Day, 1953; Krech, 1999). Many found
agricultural fields and old campsites already cleared and “abandoned” by Native Americans.
Early residential farmstead sites may include, but are not limited to, the following components:
improved parcels of land, woodlot, temporary and permanent residential structures, outbuildings,
water source, refuse area(s), animal pens, specialized activity areas, and occasionally a cemetery.
General improvements include field clearings resulting in stone piles, stone walls, stone or
wooden property boundary markers, landscaping through cut and fill areas, stone quarrying,
orchards, pasture, cultivated and fallow fields, and gardens.
Transportation
During the nineteenth century most primitive overland and waterborne transport came to an end
(Wilgus, 1945). The next phase of transportation improvements, toll roads, shunpikes, stage
roads, and post roads enhanced travel and provided new links to waterways and canals. At the
same time, settlement declined across the narrow valleys of New Hampshire with rough terrain
unadapted to labor-saving machinery and the availability of land in the West.
Commercialization of agriculture and development of small industries was aided by advances in
transportation – such as toll roads and canals. Several turnpikes were established early in the
nineteenth century to provide a straight and direct route for teamsters, travelers, and
Northern Border Activities H-77 July 2012