Colonel Elisha Sheldon -- 1741-1805

In 1776, at the request of General Washington, Elisha Sheldon was commissioned by Congress to raise a regiment of cavalry. Named the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons, the unit served with distinction throughout the Revolutionary War. In 1791 Colonel Sheldon, his sons Major Samuel, Elisha, Jr., and George, and their families came, with other families, from Connecticut as first settlers of this town. The town was originally chartered as Hungerford but the name was changed to Sheldon in 1792. The first meeting to organize the town was held in Georgia, Vermont. The large hipped roof house Colonel Sheldon built in 1795 still stands on a nearby hill.