Pawlet, Rutland County, Vermont Genealogy

Brief History
Pawlet was chartered in 1761 and probably named after the Pawlet family in England. By 1768, a gristmill turned on Flower Brook, a tributary of the Mettawee, and Pawlet grew around the mill.

Two additional villages developed within the town boundaries: North Pawlet and West Pawlet, which sits right on the New York border adjacent to Granville. Nine families lived in Pawlet when it organized in 1769.

By the time Vermont became a state in 1791, Pawlet had the second greatest population in Rutland County.

Pawlet's agricultural history passed through several stages. Potash, gained by the burning of timber during the clearing of fields, became the first cash crop. Eventually thousands of sheep dotted the land in the 19th century, but when that craze subsided, dairying took hold.

Both sheep and cows created industry. Factories manufactured wool and dairies managed the raw milk. S. Bardwell opened Vermont's first cheese factory in Vermont in Pawlet in 1864. Prior to that farmers manufactured cheese at home.

Starting in the 1860s Pawlet witnessed further diversification in its economic base. It had centered around agriculture, but the discovery of a rich slate belt running through the western part of town changed that region.

Fair Haven tapped its slate resources in 1839, however, it took several decades more for the slate boom to reach Pawlet. Quarries opened in West Pawlet in the 1860s and roofing slates were the prime manufactured product. Dillingham, Rising &amp; Nelson, Hugh W. Hughes and Brownell Slate &amp; Flagging represented some of the firms.

The domination of this industry is still apparent by the large waste piles that remain near working or abandoned quarries and the numerous slate roofs found on local houses. The Rising &amp; Nelson Company still operates.

The Rutland &amp; Washington Railroad that passed through West Pawlet made transportation of this product more manageable and assisted in bringing experienced Welsh immigrant quarry workers.

Before becoming known as West Pawlet, the village had the name of Mark's Crossing because of the railroad.

The Delaware &amp; Hudson Railroad eventually purchased the Rutland &amp; Washington. Trains ran on the line until its abandonment in the 1980s. The stretch from West Pawlet to Rupert has been converted to a recreational path for four-season enjoymentundefinedundefined

Town Histories

 * Pawlet (Vermont) for One Hundred Years, Hiel Hollister, 1867, printed by J. Munsell, Albany, New York. Full text online at this link.
 * Historical photos

Vital Records
FamilySearch Historical Records Collection has Vermont birth, death, and marriage records online.

Probate Records
The probate district for Pawlet is Fair Haven.

Fair Haven Probate Court 3 North Park Place Fair Haven, VT 05743 (802) 265-3380

Maps
1854 Rutland County, Pawlet map

Cemeteries
The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Pawlet. For location of cemeteries, see Cemeteries of Vermont, Rutland County, website at this link.


 * Bardwell Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Blossom Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Hulett Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Mettawee Valley Cemetery - inscriptons at Find A Grave site.
 * Mountain View Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Northeast Cemetery - inscriptions at Find A Grave site.
 * Old Pawlet Cemetery - inscriptons at Find A Grave site.

Churches
1. Pawlet Community Church      PO Box 116     Pawlet, VT 05761     (802) 325-3022

2. Mettawee Valley Church      2946 VT Route 153      West Pawlet, VT 05775      (802) 645-9052

Town Records
Town Clerk Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005, can be found on FamilySerach (searchable and browse only records) at this link.

The Family History Library has microfilm of original records from the Pawlet Town Hall.

Pawlet Town Clerk 122 School St Pawlet, VT 05761 Phone: (802) 325-3309, extension 1 Fax: (802) 325-6109 Email: pawletclerk@vermontel.net Website

Newspapers
Rutland Herald online at this link.

Libraries and Historical Societies
Pawlet Public Library 141 School St, Pawlet, VT 05761 Phone:(802) 325-3123 Website Email: pawlet_pub@vals.state.vt.us

Pawlet Historical Society 79 School St Pawlet, VT 05761‎ Phone: (802) 325-2406