Spaulding's Cabot Plains Farm

Written by Richard Spaulding in 1992, a continuation of his Christmas message for his daughters, Susan and Sharon.

1973 - I [Richard Spaulding] bought 29 acres at the upper end of Maple Glen Farm from cousin Elton Walbridge, the fourth and last generation to own it, thus preserving some Foster/Walbridge "roots" on Cabot Plains! Elton retained rights to harvest the ten acres of Christmas trees for ten years.

1974 - Moved the Walbridge Schoolhouse from Walden Heights Road to the Plains and restored it, a special place where our family camped for many years. The school was attended by many relatives and friends, including Grandma Walbridge, Mom (Nana), Buck Perry's father [Leon], Aunt Thelma, Uncle Fred, Aunt Maidene [all Walbridges], and Uncle Maurice, who later taught Mom ("kid sister" Merna) at Pinkerton Academy in Derry N. H., where she met her future husband (my father) Henry Abram Spaulding. On August 29, 1974, we spent the first night at the school house with Mom visiting during "old Home Week." It marked exactly fifty years since Henry and Merna were married on the lawn of Maple Glen.

1977 - Transplanted small maples from Maple Glen sugar woods, along the Cabot Plains roadside of the 29 acres. The idea inspired by Great Grandfather Alonzo Foster as he had done a similar planting, along the same road, in the vicinity of Maple Glen, 100 years earlier. Bob Davis mentioned the importance of aggressively pruning them for shape, which has paid off.

1978 - Bought what I always called the "Sunset" field opposite the Cabot Plains Cemetery, from Ed Stone. Ed always spoke of it as his best land. One day we looked at the setting sun reflecting off the outcroppings of rock and shook hands on the sale. After years of dickering, Ed said, "Dick, you know it's no sin to be (a) poor (hill farmer), but it sure is unhandy!"

1982 - Mom's (Susan and Sharon's "Nana") last trip "up home" as she always called it, was for Fall Foliage. As we watched the magnificent sunset from the Plains brighten her last year of life, she spoke of the once full view of the Green Mountains where she and Henry had spent their honeymoon. She mentioned how the view and sunset has become blocked in recent years by the growth of softwood in what was once the Maple Glen young cattle pasture. She asked, "Will it ever come back?" And so, Merna energized the plan to restore the land and view, inspired too by reclamation work Bedros Baharian and Bill [Bolton] Jr., have done on Bolton Plains Farm.

1985 - Bought back four more contiguous smaller parcels of pasture and crop land in the vicinity of the cemetery and Stone home place Ed had sold off during the 1970's. Ed always reserved in the deeds the "right to crop the land as long as he could ride a tractor." After Ed became ill, could not hay, and had finally "gone to glory," the fields continued to be cropped every year by neighboring farmers: Ackermans, the Davis's, Boltons and most recently, Keith Burtt, who bought Maple Glen from Bob and Barbara Davis in the late 1980's. The quality of the old Stone Farm land had diminished with some erosion since it had not been fertilized, limed or crops rotated for nearly twenty years, following Ed Stone's dairy barn burning in the mid 1960's.

1988 - Started a land conservation and agriculture program by clearing 15 acres of softwood from the former Maple Glen young cattle pasture, grown up over twenty years of non use, beginning when Elton [Walbridge] stopped raising replacement heifers. Shaped the land to improve drainage with two natural reservoirs: one in the spring-fed ravine; the lower one at the old young-cattle spring. Saved "SUSHAR," the flat top boulder once at the head of SUSHAR Trail that Susan and Sharon had cleared behind the school house as kids. Plan to convert the old pasture to cropland. With liming and regular manure fertilizing, hope to eventually improve soil quality and crop tonnage, so sale of dairy feed to neighboring farmers will pay its way and the real estate taxes. Built covered bridge over the upper reservoir with spruce timber logged from the 15 acre clearing; a replica of the queen truss, 45-foot central span farm bridge (Orton Bridge) over the Winooski along the Valley Road, Plainfield. The Foster Bridge may seem more winsome than practical. However, since doing a paper on history of bridge design as a civil engineering student, have been especially interested in covered bridges and convinced their application, even today, can be more economical and scenic in Vermont than steel and concrete in may secondary locations. The Foster Bridge to our family, symbolizes nearly 150 years of the Foster/Walbridge and Stone Families working cooperatively on the Plains and with several generations of the Boltons, as well. Bought the Hartwell Stone Place from neighbor Bill Davis for permanent residence, together with outbuildings and old barn foundation. Hope to rebuild the barn, post and beam, rather than move one to the Plains for storage of hay and equipment as originally planned. Continued contract cropping and land improvements with Bill Jr's [Bolton?] help and equipment, assisted by Wendell "Buck" Perry who has hired on with our family for three generations.

1989 - finished grading around reservoirs, seeded and mulched them. Picked stone and roots, "driftwood," as Buck calls it; harrowed and seeded old pasture into timothy and clover. Put new standing -seam roof on farm house, poured foundation and raised up one floor of new barn before winter set in. Became permanent resident of Cabot, Vermont, January 1, 1990.

1990 - Completed rebuilding Hartwell Stone barn with remainder of spruce logs from clearing of old pasture. Cousin Frank Foster's mill in Walden sawed and stockpiled them. Cousin Eleanor Walbridge and Elwin Blondin's son, Doug Blondin, built the post and beam barn in the old way. Barbara Stone Ailes very helpful, having located a good picture to go by of the old barn before it burned. Also, bought back 30 acres of Hartwell Stone sugar woods and field next to the barn from Bill Davis, previously owned and sugared by brother, Dan. The lower portion of sugar woods was once owned and sugared by Grandpa Payson Walbridge (part of old Adams Place) and sold by Uncle Fred to Ed Stone years ago to pay for rebuilding Maple Glen Barn. The southerly 15 acre side of the original Stone sugar woods was subdivided off to go with the Bill Davis place, bought in 1989 by [Jessica] Mill and Kitson, "writers," they say, from California. Hay tonnage continues to improve with three good cuttings this year; PH of soil up considerable due to liming and liquid manure. Continued tapping and boiling in cooperation with Davis family who have sugared Ed Stone sugar woods for many years. They have some passion for quality sugar making, as did Alonzo Foster; and for high standards, as Bob Davis established as manager of Cabot Creamery, which saved the business with one of the first all-natural gourmet products in the USA, Rosedale/Cabot Cheese, as well as successfully marketing quality, as did Alonzo foster with maple sugar and syrup thru promoting the Vermont Sugar Makers' Association and his nationwide direct mail advertising and distribution, starting in the 1870's.

1991 - Removed hedgerow and gained an acre or more of usable crop land north of sugar woods. New fields now dry enough to enclose temporary open drainage completed in 1988. Picked stone from new fields, using them to line permanent drainage swale. Plowed, harrowed and seeded with timothy and clover. Repaired septic system and graded rear yard of home place. Began work on an open shed next to barn to store equipment for cropping in 1992, thus freeing up barn for storing next season's bailed hay for sale in spring, 1993.

Well, it has been an uphill task! Grandma Walbridge often said, "Farming is hard work but good lubrication for body and mind." Buck says, "We'll not live long enough to pick all the stone on Cabot Plains." Robert Frost, who taught English to my father at Pinkerton Academy, put it another way: "A plow, they say, to plow the snow - they cannot mean to plant it, no -- unless in bitterness to mock, at having cultivated rock."

Note: Original manuscripts on file at Cabot Historical Society Main Street museum and resource center.

+++++++++++++++

Ric