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ment of the boundary would add some territory to the jurisdiction of Vermont. Governor Tichenor wrote to Gen. Philip Schuyler, who had been one of the boundary commissioners in 1766, asking for information. General Schuyler replied that in September, 1766, Governor Sir Henry Moore, Professor Harper of the "College at New York" and General Schuyler, on the part of New York; and Lieutenant Governor Ervin, Surveyor General Collins and Marquis de Laboneer, an engineer, representing Canada, met at Isle La Motte in Lake Champlain. Stellar and solar observations were made and a monument was erected to mark the boundary. The parallel was extended only to Missisquoi Bay, owing to the swampy nature of the ground near the boundary, but it was agreed that surveyors should be appointed to extend the line westward to the St. Lawrence River and eastward to the Connecticut River. The survey to the St. Lawrence was made by a Mr. Valentine, but General Schuyler thought it probable that the eastern survey never was made. This letter was referred to

a legislative committee.

That portion of Governor Tichenor's message of 1805, relating to the northern boundary, was referred to a committee consisting of Lewis R. Morris, Nathaniel Chipman and Asa Lyon, which reported a bill authorizing the Governor to appoint some competent person to ascertain by celestial observation where the forty-fifth degree of north latitude crossed Lake Memphremagog and intersected the Connecticut River. This bill became a law and the Governor appointed Rev. Samuel Williams of Rutland to make the necessary observations. He

reported, in 1806, that the northern line had not been run in a straight direction; that the monument at Lake Champlain marking the boundary was not in the latitude of forty-five degrees; that the boundary line ought to be thirteen and three-fourths miles farther north at the Connecticut River and seven miles and seventy-one rods farther north at Lake Memphremagog, amounting to about seventeen and one-half townships. A resolution was adopted requesting the Governor and Council to transmit to the President of the United States and the Governor of New York the information obtained, and asking the National Government to take proper measures to ascertain and fix the northern boundary.

For the first three decades of its existence, the State government had no permanent abiding place, sessions of the Legislature being held in the larger villages of the State. In 1791, an act was passed designating Windsor and Rutland alternately as meeting places for the Legislature for the space of eight years. Rutland erected a building for this purpose, but Windsor utilized the meeting house. In 1796, the act of 1791 to which reference has been made, was repealed, and the State government resumed its roving policy. In 1803, James Fisk of Barre offered a resolution which was adopted, providing for the appointment of one member from each county, to join a committee from the Council, the duty of this joint committee being "to take into consideration the expediency of the measure of establishing a permanent seat for the Legislature, and report by bill or otherwise." The committee appointed on the part of the House consisted of Solomon Wright of Pownal, Samuel Porter of

Dummerston, Samuel Shaw of Castleton, William Perry of Hartford, Amos Marsh of Vergennes, Thomas Porter of Vershire, Udney Hay of Underhill, Reuben Blanchard of Peacham, Benjamin Holmes of Georgia, Samuel C. Crafts of Craftsbury and Daniel Dana of Guildhall. Representatives of the Council were Lieutenant Governor Brigham and Noah Chittenden of Jericho, James Witherell of Fair Haven and Eliakim Spooner of Weathersfield. This committee reporting through Lieutenant Governor Brigham, recommended that a committee should be chosen consisting of one member from each county nominated at conventions after the manner of county officers, "for the purpose of examining and fixing upon the most proper place for a permanent seat of government, and to report at the next session of the Legislature." This resolution was adopted and members of the committee were nominated, and appointed by the General Assembly, as follows: Addison county, John S. Larrabee; Bennington county, Jonas Galusha; Caledonia county, James Whitelaw; Chittenden county, Noah Chittenden; Essex county, Daniel Dana; Franklin county, Stephen House; Orange county, James Fisk; Orleans county, Timothy Hinman; Rutland county, Arunah W. Hyde; Windham county, Arad Hunt; Windsor county, Benjamin Emmons. In November, 1803, a bill appointing this committee "to fix a place for a permanent seat for the Legislature" passed the Assembly without division but was not acted upon by the Governor and Council. At the legislative session of 1804, the bill was referred to a committee consisting of William C. Harrington of Burlington, Elihu

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The First State House at Montpelier, built in 1806-07. This wooden structure was replaced by a granite

building in 1836

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