Glen Dale

Glen Dale, in Cornwall, Vermont, is significant for the contribution the farm has made to the history of agriculture, most notably sheep farming, in the region. During the years of 1863-1867, Vermont, particularly the area containing the town of Cornwall, achieved national significance for the breeding of fine Merino sheep which had been imported from Spain and introduced to the state in 1811. Milo B. Williamson, owner of Glen Dale, was one of the top breeders of sheep in the area. Mr. Williamson was also a respected man in the community, serving as a lister for the town of Cornwall, as well as treasurer and president of the Vermont Merino Sheep Breeders Association. Glen Dale is also significant because of the distinctive Italianate style of the farmhouse and the attention to detail that is reflected in the craftsmanship of the barns, particularly the carriage barn. The largely unaltered state of the farm and surrounding landscape are significant in reflecting the agricultural history of Cornwall which was so important to the state of Vermont as well as the Nation.

According to Lyman Matthews's History of the Town of Cornwall, Vermont, the land that Glen Dale occupies was settled in 1774 by Solomon Linsley. The Town of Cornwall received its original charter from the Governor of New Hampshire dated November 3, 1761. The names of sixty-five original grantees are endorsed on the back of the charter, which is still preserved among the archives of the town. The first non-aboriginal settlers within the original bounds of the Town of Cornwall arrived in 1774. There were fourteen of them but Solomon Linsley was the only one whose name was on the original charter. It is recorded that 100 acres were surveyed for Solomon Linsley on October 23, 1774, by Gamaliel Painter of Middlebury. Matthews notes that this survey embraces the farm occupied by Milo Williamson in 1862.

Merino sheep, native to Spain and revered by the Spanish culture, was first introduced to Vermont in 1811 by William Jarvis, United States Consul to Lisbon, who brought with him a flock when he retired to Vermont. Merino sheep were exceptional for their beautiful and bountiful wool and quickly spread to be a leading agricultural and industrial product in Vermont and particularly Addison County. The amount of Merino sheep imported and bred in Addison County continued to escalate from 1810 to 1840 when the county had the most sheep per acre in the United States: 373 sheep per square mile or 11.06 sheep per person in the county. In 1836 Cornwall had the fourth largest amount of sheep in Addison County with over 15,000 head. By 1860 the breeders of Addison County were recognized as being the best in the nation and in 1863 Addison County was recognized by the world with their prize-winning sheep at the Hamburg Exhibition in Germany. The 1780 English Barn and 1840 sheep barn indicate that there was farming activity on the Glen Dale parcel from the early period of its settlement. The sheep barn attests to the farm's role in the early period of sheep farming in Addison County.

Milo B. Williamson, owner of Glen Dale by the 1860s, also joined the Merino sheep farming business. He merged his stock with the Cherbino family of Middlebury to breed prize-winning Merino sheep. The years of 1863-1867 brought extreme prosperity to the Merino sheep breeders of Addison County. Merino rams could be sold for prices up to $3,500 per head, the proceeds of which went to new homes, barns, and outbuildings. Milo B. Williamson was part of the prosperity, as it was at this time when the remainder of Glen Dale as we see it today, was built, more than likely with the immense prosperity his sheep had brought him. The houses and barns show evidence of this great wealth in their construction. The house is an Italianate farmhouse, stylish in its details: carved brackets, bay windows, and an ornate entry porch. The barns also show this attention to detail, in particular, the wide peaked lintel board with a central decorative keystone at the main entrance of the carriage barn. In 1876 the farm had achieved such status that the farmscape was pictured in Burgett's Illustrated, Topographical, and Historical Atlas of the State of Vermont along with two of Williamson and Cherbino's prize-winning sheep, Bonaparte and Silver Horn.

Milo B. Williamson was also an important man in Cornwall, serving as a lister; one who created the grand list of properties for a town and assessed property for tax purposes, as well as setting the tax rates. In his stature as a Merino sheep breeder, he also served as treasurer for the Vermont Merino Sheep Breeders Association from 1879-1881 and as president of the Association from 1882-1883.

During the peak of prosperity in 1860, each Merino sheep was as revered as its human breeder. At the death of a sheep, the local newspaper would print obituaries and eulogies, mentioning how the sheep would be mourned. By 1881 Cornwall was at the top of the list in Addison County for sheep breeders, boasting an enormous 89 breeders for such a small town. However, Cornwall was also infamous for the "Cornwall Finish" in which some unscrupulous breeders would temporarily color the sheep's wool with lamp black and amber to make the fleece appear more oily and thicker, thus making it more valuable. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries Vermont Merinos were being shipped all over the United States and as far away as South Africa, South America, and Australia.

The downturn of Merino sheep farming in Vermont has many reasons, among them the demand for mutton sheep over Merino (wool) sheep the use of cotton, and the invention of synthetics for clothing instead of wool. Another factor, particularly in Vermont, was the rise in dairying, something that also affected Glen Dale as well. In the 1910's-1920's the farm converted its stock from sheep to cows.

During the mid-20th century, the farm changed hands several times and the land was split up into smaller parcels. One parcel contained the house and carriage barn and was purchased in 1979 by Jack and Judy Watts. A neighboring farmer had purchased the parcel containing the remainder of the barns, which were then procured by Jack and Judy Watts in the early 1990s. By this time the barns were in poor condition and in 1992 the Watts' applied and were accepted for a barn grant from the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. The barns have since been stabilized. In addition, the property was highlighted in an article in the New York Times on September 16, 1993, entitled "The Cycle is Complete In a Barn Restored".

Glen Dale, although some 130 to 200 years of age, has changed little in the course of time. The drawing in Burgett's Illustrated, Topographical, and Historical Atlas of the State of Vermont could have been drawn only yesterday, so preserved is the landscape. The interior of the house has also been minimally altered with the exception of kitchen remodeling, the replacement of some windows, and the addition of modern bathroom facilities. Much of the original woodwork can be seen in the house as well as remnants of some of the original wallpapers. The barns are equally well preserved with the exception of the raising of the second floor of the stock barn to meet dairying requirements, a change that is minimal in its effects. The original barn of the complex, the English barn still clearly shows historic construction techniques including hand-hewn timber framing, ornate joints, and hand-wrought nails attaching the original vertical board siding to the frame. The sheep barn is also significant in its current state as it is one of the few remaining unaltered sheep barns in the state.