Town of Clarendon
The Town of Clarendon was first settled in 1811 and created in 1820 from the Town of Sweden before Orleans County was established. It was originally named Farwell’s Mills for Eldredge Farwell, an early settler but renamed for his wife’s hometown of Clarendon, Vermont. Clarendon was once noted for its quarries and cement plants and has two properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Butterfield Cobblestone House and Clarendon Stone Store.
Notable people of Clarendon include Carl Akeley, (1864-1926), noted taxidermist, conservationist and inventor
Akeley (1864-1926) is known as the Father of Modern Taxidermy. He devised a method for fitting an animal’s skin over a meticulously prepared and sculpted form of the animal’s body. The process included the animal’s musculature and details such as wrinkles and veins and produced a very realistic result.
Akeley earned acclaim after stuffing the giant elephant Jumbo, and made several trips to Africa, hunting animals and displaying them in New York City at Akeley’s Hall of Mammals in the American Museum of Natural History. Akeley also liked to place the mounted animals in settings that reflected their native habitat. His adventures connected him with Theodore Roosevelt, P.T. Barnum and George Eastman. Akeley died in 1926 and is buried in Africa.
This memorial stone in the shape of Africa was dedicated on May 19, 2016 on Akeley’s 152nd birthday. Many taxidermists from around the country donated to the memorial for Akeley at Hillside Cemetery. The other side of the monument includes images of Akeley and Africa.
The monument is in the shape of the African continent and the stone is black African granite. The memorial includes a quote from Akeley, who survived being mauled by an elephant and vicious bites on his arm from a leopard. “Death Wins! Bravo! But I Laugh In His Face As He Noses Me Out At The Wire.”
Lemuel Cook, (1759-1866), last verifiable surviving veterans of the American Revolutionary War, who moved to Clarendon in 1832, died there in 1866, and is buried there.
Must see & do in Clarendon:
Clarendon Historical Society Museum & Farwell’s Settlement
Two buildings with artifacts of local interest: a barn featuring agricultural items and an historic one-room schoolhouse with a wide variety of items on display. By appointment.
Established in 1866, this beautiful cemetery demonstrates the romantic style of the Rural Cemetery Movement in its eastern section, while the western section shows the more recent Lawn Style. The highlight is a stunning Gothic Revival chapel built of Medina Sandstone in 1894 (pictured right). Pick up self-guided walking tour at the garage.
