Leaving behind the Whithed Cemetery and that scoundrel, J. O. Frost, we’ll travel north on Route 142 until we get to the composting bins and the Town Garage.

It was a busy spot in 1839, just as it is today. A mill was constructed on the north side of the Town Brook in 1839, through the combined efforts of Marshall Whithed and David Ball, of Winchester, N.H. The basement contained a grist mill, the first floor a saw mill, and the second floor was reserved for dances. The yard held agricultural fairs, in season. A small part of the yard was shared with Benjamin Arnold Streeter, Vernon’s first blacksmith. He also raised fancy fowl (shades of J. O. Frost!)

The building cost five hundred dollars, and the pit and dam, $6,500. In 1859, Whithed deed the mill and road to David Ball. John Hunt purchased the mill from the Ball family.

In 1908, part of the land was deeded through a will. The remaining part was deed to the Town in 1927, by the only living heirs to the Whithed family, Marshall and Aimee Whithed of Bernardston. (It sure kept the Town Clerks busy!)

But Whithed’s Mill was resurrected in the 1950s, under “new management” and became an attraction in Vernon and beyond. Mystery and mayhem are involved. More next month, stay tuned!