Documentary History of American Water-works

Guildhall

Guildhall, Vermont

Guildhall was chartered in 1761.

The first water system was built in 1841 by Allen Gould and John S. Nelson, who used wood logs to bring water into the village of Guildhall from the northern line of the town, but the source was at the same elevation as the village so it was unsuccessful. Despite the heavy cost, the two men built another pipeline across the Connecticut River bridge to an elevated spring in New Hampshire, which worked well unless cold weather froze the water in the exposed pipe on the bridge. The following spring they laid a pipe on the bed of the river, which solved the freezing problem. George Hubbard and William Hubbard acquired the system around 1850 and operated it until 1857, at which time they sold it to Nathaniel Shaw.

The Guildhall Falls Water Company was incorporated in 1859 by Greenleaf Webb, Nathaniel Shaw, George Hubbard, David Kent, Jr., John Dodge, Josiah D. Jackson, George N. Dale and Wm. H. Hartshorn "for the purpose of constructing and maintaining an aqueduct to supply the inhabitants of the village of Guildhall, in the county of Essex, with pure water for domestic uses." This company apparently operated the system until September, 1872, when Frank Hall and E. G. Richardson bought the system and relaid the logs. Charles E. Benton bought out Richardson's share in June, 1874, and he and Hall managed the system until September, 1883, when the Guildhall Aqueduct Company was formed, although it had been chartered in 1874.

The Guildhall Aqueduct Company was incorporated in 1874 "for the purpose of constructing and maintaining an aqueduct for the purpose of supplying the inhabitants of the village of Guildhall with water for domestic and other purposes." This company operated the system until it was sold to the Town of Guidhall in 1959.

Water is supplied by Town of Guildhall.

References
1859 An act to incorporate the Guildhall Falls Water Company. November 12, 1859.

1874 An act to incorporate the Guildhall Aqueduct Company. November 23, 1874.

1882 An act to amend an act entitled "An act to incorporate the Guildhall Aqueduct Company," approved November 23, 1874. November 13, 1882.

1886 "The Guildhall Aqueduct Company," A History of Guildhall, Vt, by Everett Chamberlin Benton
Pages 97-98: The Guildhall Aqueduct Company. Originally the people of the village had to content themselves with wells from which to obtain their water, but frequently some drew it from different places in barrels. This was a very inconvenient way, and the larger the village grow, the more the necessity pressed itself upon the people to have some different methed of obtaining their water. It was about the year 1841, that Allen Gould and John S. Nelson laid the first aqueduct; their plans were to lay logs from the spring near the Maidstone line to the village, but when it was completed they found it would not work; owing to the fact that the spring itself was at about the same altitude as the village. They did not give up, however, although they had been to a heavy expense, and the same year laid logs from a spring upon the hill opposite the village, in N. H. Upon its completion they found it worked to great satisfaction. This successful aqueduct wan laid across the bridge, and when the cold weather came, it froze up, and it was found necessary to devise some plan to surmount this obstacle, and the next spring they laid a pipe across the river letting it rest upon the bottom of the stream. About 1850, Mr. Geo. Hubbard and Mr. Wm. Heywood got possession of the property and managed it up to 1857, at which time Mr. Nathaniel Shaw became owner and ran it up to Sep. 1872, when Mr. Frank Hall and Mr. E. G. Richardson bought it and relaid the logs.
June 1st. 1874, Mr. Charles E. Benton bought out half interest and Mess. Hall and Benton managed it until Sep. 1st. 1883, at which time the Guildhall Aqueduct Co. was formed by J. B. Parker, Geo. Hubbard, Robt. Chase, Mrs. S. A. Hall, H. E. Hubbard, P. R. Follansby, A. W. Grow, R. K. Poole, C. D. Crawford, David Kent, C. E. Benton, A. D. Benjamin, W. H. Hartshorn, Dr. N. S. Boyce and the M. E. Church.

1975 History of Guildhall, Vermont, Compiled and Edited by Patricia Rogers