Factory in Burlington, Vermont, 19th century
Saturday Aug 21th (sic) Cousin Harriet came up to see us
this morning and invited us to spend the day
at Mrs Mills but she stopt to dinner there
and we went to Mrs Mills to tea Miss Ann Clark
and Mr S Mower called. After tea Mrs A Ames
Oakes A & self called at Mrs Mowers and they were
going to the Panorama of the garden of Eden and Mrs Ames
Mrs Stetson and I went with them. Oakes A returned to Mrs Stetsons
Evelina, Oakes Angier, and Almira Ames woke up in Burlington, Vermont, at the home (or boarding house) of a Mrs. Stetson. Surely they spent the morning unpacking and whisking road-dust off the outfits they had traveled in. Their quiet time was soon interrupted by visitors, however, including their spinster cousin, Harriet Ames.
Burlington is Vermont’s largest city, and even in 1852 was a bustling town. Located on Lake Champlain, it had a railroad line that connected not only with Boston and New York, but also with a steamship company on the lake, making shipping and manufacturing a big part of the local commerce. Like many communities in Massachusetts, the city had attracted a large Irish population that became its dominant work force.
Vermont as a whole struggled through most of the 19th century between the influence of industrialization in its few urban areas and the entrenched rural preferences of its many small towns.* Many would say that the agrarian forces triumphed, for in the 21st century, Vermont remains New England’s most rural state. Burlington itself is now home to the main campus of the University of Vermont and, more important, the headquarters of Ben and Jerry’s.
All that lay ahead, of course, and would have been beyond the reach of Evelina’s imagination. For her, this 19th century day was full of becoming acquainted with a new city, seeing her eldest son get settled, and finding friends.
*Paul M. Searls, Vermont in the Nineteenth Century, http://www.flowofhistory.org
evelinaames 