First American Platform Scale

First American Platform Scale is a Vermont historical marker in Caledonia County.

Caledonia County · U.S. Route 2 & Mt. Vernon Street Intersection., St. Johnsbury

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After experimenting with new types of farm equipment, plows and stoves, Thaddeus Fairbanks invented the platform scale here in 1830. With his brothers Erastus and Joseph, he founded the company which still bears their name. Many St. Johnsbury public institutions were gifts of this talented family.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Example

under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

From one family's 77-marker roster

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Marker data: Vermont Division for Historic Preservation

More markers nearby

St. Johnsbury Trade Schoolunder 1 mi
Northeastern Speedway5 mi
Moore Round Barn5 mi
Greenbank's Hollow -- A Forgotten Village5 mi

On the National Register nearby

Fairbanks, Franklin, House300 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.