Pond Mystery May Reveal Ties To a Common Ancestor

Oh hey Vernon, here is the situation: I was writing this blog and it seemed to be headed down boring avenue and that caused me to ask Wayne what he thought of it. Now as any of you guys out there know, when your partner asks questions along the lines of "what do you think?" it's probably a good idea to answer them with a clarifying question something along the lines of, "I'm not sure, where are you going with this?" The reason for this is because the person posing the question probably already has the answer in mind. 

So it was with this suddenly unconventional blog, that I decided with Wayne's answer, that there were plenty of better technical writers out there and maybe I shouldn't attempt to add to their work. Basically this introduction is "take two" with my original attempt being the meat of the sandwich for those who like that sort of thing.  Keeping in mind that when questions are asked its wise to keep an open mind to the answer, I give you a stream of thought on the pool and our seemingly shrunken Lily Pond.

The first slice of bread:

When I read that Lily Pond used to be one hundred acres large and that Vernon used to have a healing  pool, I couldn't help but ask, "What happened? Do things like this just vanish like Harry Potter characters flushing themselves down toilets? What the heck did Vernon do with sixty acres of pond and a spa? The periodical that I read, rather casually and in a single paragraph mentioned the pool. It had been tested and found to have a variety of substances that supported a claim that it was healing. It was mentioned as if everyone was aware of the pool in 1891 in the same way that we are aware of the Vernon pool on Pond Road today.  Doesn't every town have a pool without a more formal name attached? Well what I want to know is, who pulled the plug on that 1891 pool?

My error was that I immediately had mid winter dreams of swimming in the geothermal mineral springs of Colorado when the sulfur springs of Saratoga are closer to Vernon. Imagine my disappointment after relaxing in the hot springs of CO as a teenager and then discovering upon moving to Gansvoort, NY as an adult, that the spa in nearby Saratoga Springs was nothing more than bathtubs filled with natural sulfur water. What could be worse? How about being new to town and convinced by locals to drink it!

As promised, here is the meat of this sandwich:

According to the Bureau of Reclamation* 3% of the Earth's water is fresh, of that 2.5% for various reasons is unavailable and .5% is available fresh water. In TX, a natural disaster has reminded the nation what a valuable commodity water truly is as residents wait in long lines to receive it in bottled form.  In The US, bottled water consumption is expected to grow by 8% annually with this years  projected sales to reach almost 71 billion dollars!** I don't even want to try and imagine how much plastic waste ends up in our oceans from such consumption. 

I'm sure that readers remember well August of 2011, when Hurricane Irene  bestowed upon Vermont more water than we could possibly handle.  My mother in law Janice likely quipped, "Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink."  Vernon however was unscathed by VT's largest flood since 1938, but poor Rutland  reached 8.21 feet above flood stage. 

In June of  2016 VT experienced it's longest drought since the U.S. Drought Monitor began in 2000. The 2016 drought lasted forty five weeks ending in April of 2017. Our most intense drought in 2020, though shorter in duration, affected 29% of VT land. It seems that though we escaped the great record western fires of 2020, we had our own situation going on here. Lily Pond was lower than I had ever seen it last summer, though I remember that in the 2017- 18 drought new wells being drilled throughout town.

It's fairly easy to sit comfortably in my living room picking facts off of the internet that support the notion that a precarious balance of available fresh water exists. With so much information at our fingertips and with fresh water being so valuable, it's more difficult to think that we would lose track of where water once was in VT. But with filling in wetlands being incentivized into the 1950s, that is the case. It's estimated that thirty five percent of Vermont's wetlands have disappeared since European colonization.*** I asked Wayne if he thought that any of this was interesting and he replied, "Not really, I never think of wetlands being in VT." Yet four percent of Vermont land is wetlands.**** Now that's something to think about in my estimation.

Below is the bottom slice of bread:

Mysteries still abound even here in Vernon; but mysteries aren't exactly conducive to a good nights sleep, so I needed more than supporting facts about the state of water in our state. 

 In 1851 Alonzo Stebbins had the water from the pool analyzed. The document states that he had purchased the land that the pool was located on from Samuel Stratton. I spent a lot of time trying to locate another mention of the pool without success. Then it occurred to me that my friend Cheryl responded to my email today about a map, "Did you notice in the business directory, just about every business was farming? I love that about this town."  Cheryl was referring to the 1869 map of Vernon posted on the town website. Sure enough I found him there, "Alonzo Stebbins Farmer District Number 3" I was able to locate J&A Stebbins but no A. Stebbins. It's between "Family Cemetery" and Island Meadow Brook. A 2018 Water Resources Map shows that where the Island Meadow Brook intersects Stebbins Road, there is what looks to be a swelling of the brook. Could this be the pool? If not, there is also a wetland in the area with a larger pool within it. I don't even want to consider the possibility that there were more than one Alonzo Stebbins between 1851 and 1869! 

 I wonder if the town has land records that show that there was once another pool in the area or maybe the exact boundaries of the parcel owned by Stebbins? If  the pool no longer exists, could there be other mineral rich waters in Vernon yet to be rediscovered? 

One online search for mention of Island Meadow Brook brought me to the 1914 publication Industrial Vermont: The Mineral and Water resources of the Green Mountain State. It was here that I found what seems to be a confirmation on the size of Lily Pond, "Lily Pond, in the western part of town, has 100 acres." I had been warned by Martin to not trust old maps for accurate information on the pond. I had questioned the pond's boundaries as drawn on the 1869 map because I had previously found the 1891 publication The towns of Windham County which too claimed Lily Pond to be 100 acres. Could it just be a compounded error?

Clearly if the pond were once bigger it wouldn't have been towards the west which is a steep bank. On the eastern shore there is a more gradual slope and an area that is flooded annually in the spring filling the lowlands east of  the raised parking lot and to the south of the parking area across a narrow path. Is it probable that the lot itself was at one point created with fill?  Similarly, on the southern end of the pond there are swampy areas where tributaries and a distributary meet the pond. How were these areas accounted for in old papers versus in the 2018 town plan? Could this account for the "missing" sixty acres? To the North of the pond there is another wetlands basin on the edge of Silver Lane that also annually fills with water in the spring. Between this area and the pond is a brook and Lily Pond Road. The area spanning the basin beyond the bridge over the brook to the pond  is posted and so I have not ventured across there. Some maps however, do show the connection. Are these the 60 acres included in the old papers? I have contacted the Vernon Historical Society for more information.

Maybe my sandwich comes with chips on the side:

I must take pause from this investigation to speak to the Descendants of William Scott. (pp 39). This paper states: 26- Jonathan Scott, Abigail dau. of Joseph and Ann (Bottom) Safford. He d. Nov 13 1784; she d. Oct 16. 1806. Abigail was granddaughter of Thomas Safford, who emigrated from England and settled in Ipswich Mass in 1641.

This information relates to Lily Pond because the farm around Lily Pond in Vernon was deeded to Eben'r Scott on Dec. 30, 1784 (pp33). I would guess that Scott Road is named for Eben'r?

What readers do not know is that my maiden name is Safford and I only discovered today of a possible connection to the Scott family of the farm around Lily Pond. I too am a descendant of a Thomas Safford from England who settled in Ipswich MA around that date, through my grandfather Whitney D Safford born in Essex New York and died in Burlington, VT. What that connection is I do not exactly know. And so it seems that the more questions that I ask, the more questions that I have -Norma Manning 

*Water Facts-Worldwide Water Supply, Bureau of Reclamation

**Consumer Markets Bottled Water, Statista

***Restore, Department of Environmental Conservation

****Wetlands 101, VT Wetlands program

A copy of the 1869 map showing Lily Pond in District 5 and the Stebbins land in District 3 hangs in Cold Brook Store in Vernon

A pool where Island Meadow intersects with Stebbins Road

This pool is created by a dam

View from Stebbins Road looking East

Following Island Meadow Brook

Falls into the Connecticut River

Stebbins Cemetery is shown on the 1869 map above with J&A Stebbins listed underneath

The same side as the cemetery to 142 has visible from the road areas that look to have seasonal water.

The other side of the road is predominantly farm fields between Stebbins Road and the river.

On the Trail From the Village to the Town Forest

 Please come along as Wayne and I walk from Silver Lane up to the Vernon Town Forest in February on the 142 East / West VAST trail. Though we wore snowshoes, we could have walked the well groomed trail in light hikers. I highly recommend trekking poles however.  - Norma Manning

Resources: Trail Breakers Snowmobile Club 

We picked up the trail on Silver Lane, but if you require parking, it can be started at the Vernon Rec. on Pond Rd. 

A wetland connects to Newton Brook with a gentleman's farm on the opposite side 

Cross Newton Brook and follow the trail to the right

The slight upward grade to Huckle Hill road is a relatively easy stretch of trail to hike. 

I have seen several erratics while hiking in Vernon, the largest being on the Rec Trails, but this one is a good size too

Evidence of a large buck traveling through. The track is deep like a heavy animal, the toes curve together with the dew track behind evident. 

an old nest of twigs just above the snowline

The bridges on this trail are in very good condition and I was grateful for not having to hop over brooks

Crossing Huckle Hill at Stonebridge 

The second part of the trail quickly gets steeper

The last open area before we reach our destination

Pileated Woodpecker holes

Shagbark Hickory with grapevine 

Sapsucker holes in an Eastern Hemlock tree

We saw numerous burls but this one is my favorite.

Hiking along the top of a ravine

Not sure what this is or why it was at the bottom of the ravine near the brook

This old tree rotted away revealing a secret it had been keeping inside

A rock wall is yet another clue to what was once here

Wayne takes a breather while taking in the sights

A check of our GPS location reveals that we are in Jamaica, VT????

It's all uphill from here!

Still going up!

Snow capped mountain in the distance

There is always another hill!

The field of Sweet Fern just outside of the Town Forest!

The Town Forest at last!

Alas there is always someone there first, this time it appears to have been a Gray Fox

How To Measure A Missing Year

 If parents were honest they would admit that some birthdays sneak up on them every year which leaves them scrambling for that last minute perfect gift. It's that way with Helen who falls between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Abby on the other hand is a March birthday and so it feels like come February, I have been counting the days for some time. February in southern VT is an odd month. When the month begins I feel like I have just started winter fun like snowshoeing and ice fishing; but nearing the end as it is now, I am already looking for signs of early spring. Oh to be so lucky as to have two months of wintery snowy fun followed by bright green clover! Suffice to say, that in reality we must look towards the conifers and laurel if we are to find anything remotely close to Irish green in March. 

 It was in February of 2020 that Martin Langeveld and I met at the Vernon library to put into action an idea I had of writing a blog about Vernon's natural features. Martin already had the successful Town of Vernon site and the Vernon, VT Facebook group up and running and so did me a great kindness in mentoring me in this endeavor. Little did I realize that Nature Finds would in its entirety to date, take place during  a socially isolating Coronavirus pandemic. Though I had plenty of time to count the days with one hundred and thirty stories posted, I had forgotten Nature Finds "'birthday." 

It was Abby expressing that she felt like she had "leapt from twenty two years old to twenty four years old" thus skipping twenty three altogether, that started me thinking about the missing year. Had Wayne and I really sat out an entire year? How many candle pin bowling games had we missed? What about all of those dinners and movies out? Is there even still a Target in Keene? While it's true that the birthdays and holidays celebrated on video chat lacked all of the chaos, they also lacked heartfelt conversations and the physical touch of loved ones. Questions began weighing on me, how does one measure a year of being on hold and was there really anything at all worth measuring?

It must have been the optimism of impending March that emboldened me to suggest to Wayne that we go on a trek that we had twice before began but never completed. Years ago, our neighbors the Morrisettes told us about a trail that crossed  through Silver Ln. That first attempt took us as far as we dared go not knowing whose property we were crossing. I remember it being hot and not being a fan of the uphill climb. Then last Autumn, Wayne and I not knowing where we were headed, decided to follow a trail that we picked up in the town forest. I wrote about that adventure in "Hike A Right Before Rifle Season." It was a comment on that post, that alerted us to the fact that the two trails were one in the same. 

That Autumn hike ended abruptly as we could not locate a stream shown on Google Maps. We thought that we were somehow turned around and didn't want to make the evening news. We had made it to the bottom of a long steep hill and began searching for the stream. As it turns out, we took that hike during the most intense drought in VT since the US Drought Monitor began keeping records in 2000. Finding no water, it was back up the steep rocky incline with numerous rests and our inner grumblings about our aches and pains to keep us company. 

How does one measure a missing year? For me it was by strapping on snowshoes at 9:30 on a sunny blue skied morning for a two hour uphill hike. It was being excited by the prospect of not being where Google Maps thought we were (Jamaica, VT), guessing on which trail to take, trusting ourselves, and pressing on. It was about not running into another person until we conquered our goal and feeling like the full streams flowing, animal tracks in the snow and the birds singing all around us where perfect company. It was realizing that I could have hiked for a lot longer distance because I had energy and enthusiasm to spare. Finally, it was texting my children from the town forest that we had made it and were heading back home. 

Measuring a year as if it skipped over your old life is truly a missing year. Exploring a goal that you might have forgotten about or hadn't the time or energy to struggle with in a typical year, then discovering that you are capable of achieving it, is a better measure of a year. I'm sure that if my readers truly looked back at this extraordinary time, many of you would discover that there has always been green beneath that blanket of snow, it's only been dormant for far too long.  The change in ourselves had already taken root a year ago, it had only been waiting for the right time to grow.  

All of the days spent with Wayne over the past year trying to answer the question of "What are you seeing out there?" proved to us that we hadn't missed a year due to COVID after all. We had instead taken the time to hike an old path and in doing so, we discovered  new trails going forward. It may be snowing in Vernon, VT this afternoon and though I may be dreaming of spring, its somehow good to be in my own backyard in Vernon, VT during the winter months.  - Norma Manning

Is Lily Pond a Kettle Pond? Where Does Newton Brook Begin?

On Valentines Day as Wayne and I were walking the dogs, I spotted a patch of pink snow and so waded over to check it out. Upon closer inspection I realized that we had happened upon a kill site. The snow was depressed in the center and surrounded by a variety of tracks. In its entirety, it was only about two or three feet long and wide. There was blood, rabbit fur and rabbit pellets dispersed over the area. I saw what was possibly entrails at the bottom of the depression, but I couldn't confirm that because several animals had defecated and urinated on top of it. 

I understand that I'm a bit of an outlier when it comes to my level of interest in these sorts of discoveries. I find them intriguing, worthy of study, a story to be told and most assuredly there are photographs to be taken for my Facebook album entitled Carrion.  Wayne, unlike myself, prefers to walk on down the road while encouraging me to disengage.  How could I with so many questions to be answered?

I feel that it's important to reiterate here, that it's not death that fascinates me, if that were the case, I think that I would feel the same when finding some poor creature who perished by automobile as I do when finding deer bones in the woods. It is not death but instead the thought of nature having played out as it should and here it is on full display. This animal has a story to tell and I am interested in reading it. 

Since Wayne had no shared interest, I had to reach out to those that would understand my need to know. I first texted seven photographs that contained as much detail as I could capture to my daughter Helen and her boyfriend Kirk who both work in Wildlife. I then asked them why animals had defecated on the site, what exactly was it they were doing and could they tell what kinds of animals had done it?

Surprisingly, they didn't immediately respond, so I dropped Wayne's phone into my jacket pocket and caught up to him. We were on our way to Scott Road to satisfy another question that has nagged me for a long time. As for Wayne?  Wayne thinks that it would be better to leave the answer alone. 

"Omg why is this happening to me emoji emoji emoji emoji emoji emoji emoji emoji...Ahahahaaaa I'm traumatized!" This is what happens when mom accidentally texts the wrong daughter who is just waking up due to a three hour time difference. Apparently Kayden wasn't in the same head space as I was. I wish that I could claim that it is a rare occasion that my head is in one place while everybody else's is in another. Truth be told, I get into a lot of hot water over this.

Here is the thing, I was walking to Scott Road because Newton Brook is noted by the Deerfield River & Lower Connecticut River Tactical Basin Plan as a distributary for Lily Pond and I wanted to see exactly where pond meets brook. Wayne on the other hand, was walking to Scott Road because it was Valentines Day, the dogs had to be walked and he is a good guy. The implications of this revelation (not the one about Wayne, the one about the brook) is that Lily Pond is not a true kettle pond. To quote my eldest daughter, "Omg why is this happening?" 

This is not an easy topic to look at in a town that takes considerable pride in hosting a rare kettle pond, so why even bring it up?  I bring it up because in order to address the issues facing the pond, everyone must understand exactly what the pond is and is not. Understandably, I wanted to do the topic justice so I began by rechecking watershed maps which seemed to confirm that Newton Brook begins in the wetlands at the edge of Silver Lane flows into Lily Pond and exits at the south end by Scott Road. 

 I searched old reports that claimed extraordinary things like," In the westerly part of town ( Lily Pond) covers about 100 acres. Pickerel, Pout, and some other fish are found in its waters." (1891)* I discovered that Newton Brook isn't even mentioned in the same report, "Broad Brook, Upper and Lower Salmon Brook, Island Meadow Brook, and Bedling's Brook are the principal streams and all are small."*  Addendum: 1869 map which includes Vernon's Lily Pond.

Vernon's 2018 Town Plan states on page 42 under water resources, "The largest surface water body in the town is Lily Pond at approximately 40 acres, with a watershed area of about 400 acres."** The only specifically named rivers and streams in the plan are the Connecticut River and Broad Brook, all others mentioned in the report are referred to as, "several critical tributaries."**

Never one to shrug off people with hands on knowledge, I felt it was only right to include it here.   I was told by a resident recently that the 2020 Tactical Plan is wrong, that the natural flow in that area is into the pond as evidenced by the fact that the normal water level of the pond is three feet below the level of the fire pond there. This resident was citing the contour lines on an interactive state map viewer and additionally mentioned a small stream that runs into the pond there.  He also wrote that a Scott Road resident told them, "that outlet is dry as a cork...that outlet exists only because in the 19th century there was an attempt to drain Lily Pond...which was unsuccessful." I have spoken with many other residents in town of which I am sure would agree.

When a recent conversation about my blog on Lower Salmon Brook turned to Lily Pond, Jerry Unaitis wrote an online comment, "I have the original deed from 1830 or so and it shows a brook coming from Lily Pond running through the field behind the house I grew up in. I don't know when Mr. Scott put the dam in but that stopped it," He also mentioned that he would try and locate the deed. I am hopeful that other residents will contribute what they know about this subject.

The Tactical Plan in question states: Lily Pond is a natural on-stream pond on Newton Brook. The pond is the only Outwash Plain Pondshore natural community in Vermont and hosts over a dozen species of rare aquatic plants. Downstream of the pond Newton Brook is impaired for nutrients and sediment due to agricultural impacts.  The steep eastern shore has a 50-foot riparian buffer yet the levels of Total Phosphorus in the pond are high. Protection of this rare community is a priority.(pp 76)*** It is also stated in the report that Lily Pond's low PH is a concern.*** There is a priority restoration focus on Newton Brook that addresses "nutrients & sediment from agricultural inputs."(pp 43-46)*** I want to mention at this point that this report is 235 pages, much of which is too technical for my understanding; but Vernon is mentioned often including the Hatchery, Broad Brook, Roaring Brook WMA, Central Park and Black Gum Swamps. There is a lot of praise for each of these mentions. 

To get back to my conversation about the rabbit kill site, Helen later explained to me that animals will "mark" their territory and most likely these visitors were letting others know that it belonged to them. As for my eldest daughter Kayden, later in the day she texted, "I still need to bleach my brain after this morning." It just goes to show that people can look at the same scenario and come away with varying thoughts on it. No amount of my enthusiasm, talking or texting about it is going to change Wayne or Kayden's opinion on the subject. For my part, I've decided not to post those pictures here. -Norma Manning

Taken while standing on Lily Pond looking towards Scott Road

Same view but taken further back 

Open water visible at the base of the rotten tree on the right as shown above.

View of the tree line from Scott Road where Newton Brook reportedly flows away from Lily Pond

Taken from Scott Road looking towards Lily Pond

Ripples indicate that the stream to the left is flowing into the fire pond. This flow appears to be coming from a small stream flowing down the hill on the left.

Closeup of stream on the right. The same one shown in the first three pictures.

Picture showing a plowed drive leading to the property located to the left of the brook. The drive crosses through the stream that is also shown in pictures 5 & 6

Looking east on Scott Road opposite of Lily Pond and the brook, the bed is evident, but I was unable to see flowing water.

Addendum (4/14/2024), Here is the link to the town map of  Vernon Water Resources which shows a brook connected at the north end of the pond and emanating from the wetlands beyond Lily Pond road. At the south end of the pond where the fire pond is retained at Scott road, the map shows that wetlands span from the pond to where Newton Brook begins. However, Google Earth when magnified labels Newton brook connected to the south end of the pond.  We know that Newton Brook flows south to Massachusetts where it empties into the Connecticut River. I added  this addendum here as there continues to be conversation surrounding the topic and some maps have been updated to reflect this.

*The Towns of Windham County, Vermont Historical Gazetteer volume V, Vernon

**Town Plan Vernon, VT 2018

***Deerfield River & Lower Connecticut River Tactical Basin Plan

Assessment of the Condition of Vermont Waters, Department of Environmental Conservation

State of Vermont 2020, 303 (d) List of Impaired Waters Part A. Impaired Surface Waters in Need of TMDL, Approved by EPA Region 1