Milton is a village in northern
Vermont (
Chittenden County). It was chartered in June of
1763 by Governor
Benning Wentworth of
New Hampshire. It was first settled by William Irish, Leonard Owen, Amos Mansfield, Absalom Taylor and Thomas Dewey in February of 1782.
By 1795 there were a whopping 300 people living there. They survived by selling lumber, pulpwood and cordwood, mostly white pine. The seven waterfalls inside the town provided good sources of power for sawmills, but there wasn't much open land for growing crops. Using the technology of the day (oxen), the land was cleared the hard way.
An important crop for the new residents of Milton was potash, which was obtained from the ashes of burned hardwood logs. There was quite a demand for potash salts in Europe, so this product became one of the few sources of ready cash for the struggling Vermont residents. Potash sold for $4.00 to $5.00 per hundred weight.
Around 1840, farmers began to rely on dairy products to get by. By 1935, dairy was the main source of cash for people of the area. After the Milton Cooperative Dairy Corporation of 1919's creamery was shut down in 1974, there has been a decline in the dairy business in Milton. At present, there are only seven operating dairy farms in the town.
The first true sign of civilization in Milton was the post office which opened in 1890. However, it closed a few years later due to lack of business. No surprise there.
Right now, Milton covers about 60 square miles, and contains 9,340 people.