Chiselville

Named for the fine quality chisels and edge tools manufactured on site, the small village of Chiselville lies southwest of this 1870 Town lattice truss covered bridge. In 1853, a group of entrepreneurs led by Norman R. Douglass of Shaftsbury purchased the defunct tannery works at the base of the gorge beneath this covered bridge and started construction of a large overshot waterwheel, dam, and steelworks. Under the direction of the Douglass Manufacturing Company, houses were constructed for the managers and foremen, establishing the village. In 1878, Paul Shuffleton purchased the company and renamed it the Arlington Edge Tool Company. In 1886, a work-related drowning accident took the life of Shuffleton and the company later ceased production.