The 2010 Annual Meeting of the Appletree Point Historical Society will be held on September 19 at 3-5pm, at the Ethan Allen Homestead Museum. We will present our Annual Award to someone int he community who has made an exceptional contribution to historic preservation. Following the meeting and history program, the Chittenden County Historical Society will host an Ice Cream Social.
The highlight of the meeting will be Rolfe Eastman and Tim Prim, presenting the history of farming in the north end of Burlington and on the Point. Rolfe and Tim worked on the farms as boys.
Originally Appletree Point included lands south of the Winnoski River to Rock Point, between the lake and the Ethan Allen Homestead in the Intervale. The first settler in the area was Felix Powell who built a cabin on the Appletree Point in 1773. The exact site of his cabin is not known, but the search is on!
The Harrington/Townsend-Lauber pond was part of the Eastman Farm, and it was stocked with trout by Oliver Eastman. There were swans there too, and people could hear them honking all the way up to the Avenue. Oliver grew the biggest pumpkins anyone had ever seen. Dottie's husband tried to compete with him, but never could. One day they went down to the farm to ask Oliver what his secret was. Oliver told them he injected the pumpkin vines with cream from the cows!
The public is cordially invited to attend. Membership in APHS is open to all who love history and are curious about the early settlements in this area. We are always seeking photos, letters, journals entries, stories, and information about artifacts to expand our documented history which is in it's second draft printing. Copies will be presented to members at the meeting.
