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The Story of Bailey's Mills, Vermont

 

Bailey’s Mills refers to the settlement in the northern section of the town of Reading, Vermont and also to the large two-porch brick building lying at the end of a peaceful valley in that section of Reading.

The building, Bailey’s Mills, now a bed and breakfast, was built by Levi Bailey between 1835 and 1837 as the center of a business enterprise which depended on the water power available at the site.  At the time of his purchase of the property, a saw mill was in place along with the dam to provide the power to run it.  In due course, a grist mill was built followed by a clothiers works, a carding mill (one of the first in the state), a linseed mill, a full and complete woolen mill for the manufacture of woolen cloth, a starch mill, a blacksmith shop and a community store.

The Baileys, sympathetic to the Abolitionist movement, give credence to the legend that the old house served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, the conduit for Negroes escaping to Canada prior to the Civil War.

Activities at Bailey’s Mills reached a peak about 1840 and gradually declined after the death of Levi in 1850.  Members of Levi’s family lived on in the old building, the last known Bailey to have lived there was George Bailey, a grandson of Levi.

The building was in considerable disrepair when the John W. Dow family bought it in 1920.  Dow modernized the place, installing central heat, a septic system and the first bathrooms, and the two solariums.  When our family visited Mr. and Mrs. Dow in 1939 from our home in Iowa, Mr. Dow said that he paid more for a new roof than he did for the entire building.

The Dows lived here for nearly five decades.  Mrs. Dow was a collector of antique furniture before it became the large New England industry of today.

At the time that Frank Thaeder purchased the house in 1967 it was again in poor condition.  Thader recalled that a new roof was required, one of the porches was replaced and a new heating system was installed.  The Thaeders decided to make it their permanent home even though Frank worked in Massachusetts and Ohio.  They believed that Vermont would be a good place to raise their six children.

Today the old house is probably in the best shape that it has been for many years, thanks to Barbara Thaeder, daughter of Frank, and Don Whitaker, your genial hosts.

The Bailey family now scattered throughout the country are delighted to know that Bailey’s Mills is being kept up for occasional family visits, and for those who come to enjoy the beauty and serenity of the Vermont Hills.

                   --S. David Bailey, 1995

 

See, also, David Bailey's essay, "The Story of the Spite Cemetery" and
his involvement in "200-Year-Old Feud Is Laid to Rest"