A Fair View of Fort Dummer: Richard Hazen’s 1741 Boundary Survey
An 1893 USGS topographical survey map shows an unobstructed line of sight from a spur of Pond Mountain (elevation about 1000 ft asl) on the Massachusetts-Vermont border, sighting north northwest to the site of Fort Dummer on the Kwenimskodak intervale.
A transcription of “The boundary line of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, journal of Richard Hazzen, surveyor, 1741” is included in the family genealogical work “The Hazen family, four generations” written by descendant Henry Allen Hazen (1849-1900). The opening paragraph introduces the author’s antecedent surveyor’s accounting of his task in the following manner: “Richard Hazzen (the name is more commonly spelled Hazen) was appointed by Gov. Belcher and the Council of New Hampshire, March 17, 1741, to survey the western and principal section of the boundary between Massachusetts and New Hampshire. His Journal, while prosecuting the survey, is herewith presented.”
The referenced handwritten journal is still extant and has been digitized and published online; it’s a fascinating original document to study, provoking imagination of what those weeks traversing the land may have revealed to the travelers. Intriguing information can be gleaned by reading between the lines and then ‘ground-truthing’ with the lay of the land as we are able to see it with today’s tools and vantage points: mapping approaches such as LiDAR and USGS topography, aerial and surface photography, comparative historical and contextual research, and the like.
Richard Hazen (1696-1754) was an accomplished surveyor, laying out chartered towns and establishing colonial claims atop the homelands of the original peoples of the Northeast. His work was followed by his well-known nephew Moses Hazen II (1733-1803) who, with his associate Jacob Bayley, laid out the Bayley-Hazen Military Road later during the American Revolution. Between the competing and shifting intercolonial boundary disputes, the constant wars of French and British empire-building aggression with their fleeting alliances, and then the Revolution itself, there was plenty of contention and confusion. After several previous attempts by the colonial governments of Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire (and New York, to some degree), Richard Hazen was hired to resolve the border between the two.
It’s his journey west from Môlemagw – Merrimack River that provides an insightful geographic perspective on this portion of Sokwakik-Sokoki Abenaki country. What was seen? And how, and where? In what context, with others? The narrative can be picked up as Hazen’s party, which included his son Richard Hazen Jr. and five others, crossed Kwenitekw-Connecticut River in a canoe after having spent three nights in the relative comfort of Capt. Samuel Wells home in Northfield, MA. It sems they added some unnamed recruits to the party while there. From the outset, the survey team pulled their provisions on hand sleds; there was still a considerable amount of snow on the ground along the route when they left his dwelling place in Haverhill, MA “on March 20, 1740.” Note: the British changed their dating system from the Julian calendar (Old Style or OS) to the Gregorian calendar (New Style or NS) in 1752, so dates preceding that transition are reported as a year earlier, roughly. Looking back, we would date his survey trip as having taken place in 1741 relative to today’s reckoning.
Image courtesy of New Hampshire Historical Society, rights reserved
So… the crossing of Kwenitekw-Connecticut River was on April 6, 1740/1741, which was recorded on page 27 of the journal and 17 days into the journey. Note the remarks for that day; the following couple of days are included for context and orientation.
Detail of the larger map showing the journey from Northfield (settled area at bottom left) over Kwenitekw - Connecticut River to the hill with a clear view northward to Fort Dummer.
Image credit as above.
We can find these remarked-upon landmarks on today’s maps by following the narrative and comparing the surveyor’s route along the MA-VT boundary. The “very high hill” climbed on April 6th is a northeasterly spur of Pond Mountain in Northfield/Bernardston, MA and it is very close to 2 1/2 miles from the west bank of Kwenitekw. The “Small narrow pond lying on the North Side of it, with Two Small islands at the East End of the pond” is Lily Pond in Vernon, VT, and it matches the description quite accurately. The drop off to the north from the Pond Mountain spur to the surface of Lily Pond is a precipitous 660 feet in a mere half mile. An aerial view demonstrates this:
Hazen’s estimate of the line-of-sight distance between his station on the survey line and Fort Dummer at 4 1/2 miles was a little short… the transect is actually a little over 7 miles. That missed guess is certainly understandable! It doesn’t seem that he made the trek there on this outing since all of the days were accounted for in his journal, but he may very well have done so at another time. It would seem that had some personal recognizance with the site since the symbolism on his map sketch indicates a familiarity with the layout.
Further ground-proofing could be pursued… one line of inquiry might be to climb this hill (it is publicly-held Massachusetts land today) and see what might be present at the prospect site. Might this have been a well-used observation post for Abenaki parties desirous of monitoring the Fort with its comings and goings? It does lie quite close to the Old Vernon Road following Bennett Brook, which empties into the main river at Bennett’s Meadow. These would have been well-known and -traveled ways from the Sokoki settlements at Squakheag and Natanis, on each side of Kwenitegok. The persistent naming of two areas on that route known as Hell’s Kitchen and Satan’s Kingdom are another clue worth considering, reflecting the common New England penchant for referring to significant Native places using biblical aspersion. These two designations seem to be toponyms of considerable colonial antiquity.
There is always more to read between the lines, once there is some familiarity with the Land Relationships that are “in place” and the stories that connect them. “Everything changes, and nothing changes.”
The mountains along this stretch of the border, as indicated on a modern trail map.