From Wikipedia: “The Bayley–Hazen Military Road was a military road that was originally planned to run from Newbury, Vermont, to St. John’s, Quebec, not far from Montreal. 54 miles (87 km), running from Newbury to Hazen’s Notch near the Canada–United States border, were constructed between 1776 and 1779 during the American Revolutionary War. Portions of the road’s route are used by modern roads today.
The road is named for the principal proponents of its construction. Jacob Bayley and Moses Hazen were among the founders of Newbury and nearby Haverhill, New Hampshire, and Hazen also had property interests at St. John’s. The idea for the road featured prominently in several proposals (promoted primarily by Hazen to George Washington and the Second Continental Congress) for invasions of Quebec by Continental Army forces following the failed 1775 invasion.”
The small dotted line on this map represents the original route of the Bayley Hazen Road. The red arrow is the location of the Stone Hill House and Bayley Hazen Farm.
“The history of the Bayley-Hazen Military Road begins with the ill-starred campaign of 1775-1776 during which Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgomery attempted to capture Canada. The American army urgently needed reinforcements and supplies to continue the siege of Quebec, and Bayley, head of the frontier militia and a resident of Newbury, Vermont, repeatedly wrote to General George Washington urging upon him the importance of constructing a new road that would shorten existing supply routes. Washington, determined to act without the approval of Congress, approved construction of the road on April 29, 1776 aware of the critical situation at Quebec, but equally aware that a road to Canada could just as easily facilitate an attack of British troops from the north.” – Source NVDA (Northeastern Vermont Development Association)
“Moses Hazen, then colonel in the Continental Army, was directed by Washington in the spring of 1779 to renew construction of the road. His regiment and that of Colonel Timothy Bedel worked on the road throughout the summer of 1779, extending it through the present-day communities of Cabot, Walden, Hardwick, Greensboro, Craftsbury, Albany, and Lowell. Blockhouses were also constructed along the route, at Peacham, Cabot, Walden, and Greensboro. Work was abandoned when the road reached the place now known as Hazens Notch in Westfield, again on rumors that the British were sending a force to stop the construction work.” – Source Wikipedia
Learn more about the Bayley Hazen Road here: Cross Vermont (Northeastern Vermont Development Association) and Wikipedia.
Lidar Maps
Our consulting forester kindly shared these maps which reveal some potential paths for the original road.