Stephen Atwood: Historical Marker

The first permanent settler in West Chazy was Stephen Atwood. Atwood was born on September 22, 1772, in Smithfield, Rhode Island. Several years later, his father purchased land in Shoreham, Vermont and moved the family there. In 1798, when Atwood was 26 years old, he purchased lot 7 of the Point au Roche Patent. "He apparently purchased this land after listening to the enthusiastic stories of Solomon Wood who spent the winter of 1798 in Shoreham after a few years in Clinton County, New York." Atwood would become one of the founding fathers of the village of West Chazy.

In 1799 Atwood and a man called Huggins "cut down eight acres of timber about a mile south of what is now West Chazy Village." Later that year, Atwood and several other men would raise a 20 by 20 foot barn. "The roof of the barn was covered with bark and the sides left open," to accommodate the first harvest of winter wheat. Several years later, in 1814, this same barn would house British soldiers who were passing through the area. Atwood himself was in Plattsburgh where he was a lieutenant, preparing for the upcoming battle that would happen on September 11th, 1814.

Stephen Atwood Historical Marker

Before 1814 though, Atwood continued to develop West Chazy. In 1801, Stephen Atwood and his brother Joab built the first sawmill and the first gristmill in West Chazy in 1804. However, "their dams flooded much land, unleashing a flurry of lawsuits." Therefore, the two brothers decided to shut down the mills only a few years after they were built. Throughout these years, Atwood, his wife, Mercy Finch, his son, and his daughter (who died at eight months of age), lived in a log cabin that he built shortly after the barn around 1799. Atwood began to work on a more permanent home around 1824. Atwood worked on the stone home in his free time, and it was finally completed in the fall of 1827.

Stephen Atwood was also very involved in politics for the town. Atwood held several town offices as commissioner and assessor. Atwood died on August 11, 1852. His son, Levi Atwood, took over the farm and handed it down for several generations after him. The historical marker was put up by the Friends of the Chazy Public Library.

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