West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 10 by Charlie Miller

JACOB WOOLSTON lived in Northampton township, New Jersey. Northampton Township was renamed Mt. Holly in 1931 and is a suburb of Philadelphia. On February 27, 1759, he married Sarah Gosling. In the 1780 census, he owned 360 acres and had 5 horses, 17 cattle, and 3 hogs. Mr. Woolston died in March of 1799, his estate was valued at 847 Pounds Sterling or about $112,000.00 in today’s dollars. 

In a letter dated 1818 from Lucas Sullivant to Samuel Jones, who was the executor of Woolston’s estate, he claimed that he had not been paid for his survey of VMS 2836 and that Mr. Jones should settle the matter. Mr. Sullivant’s fee was one equal third of the 1000 acres, this reduced the area of the survey to 666 2/3 acres. Samuel Jones and Samuel Sexton, sons-in-law of Mr. Woolston ended up with the land which gave each of them 333 1/3 acres. 

In these early days, the settlers needed a point closer to Franklinton for someone to keep in store such necessities as were likely to be needed by them. On July 4, 1822, Samuel Jones and Samuel Sexton, who had immigrated with their families in 1818, laid out the original plat of a town named New Hampton and it was recorded at London on July 13, 1822. There were three streets east and west which were North, Main, and South, which were 60 feet wide. Two alleys North and South which were Jones and Sexton and five streets north and south. They were Friend, Center, and Pearl which were 60 feet wide, and Union and Prairie 49 ½ feet wide. The Old State Road was the main street through town. There were 93 lots 66’ X 165’. The town had a store, two or three taverns, a Post Office (1830), a Baptist church (now First Baptist in West Jefferson, and about seven families. The cemetery was located in the center of the town. The area of the town from south to north was a little north of Little Darby on the south to a little north of present Fellows Ave. and from east to west was from just east of the old high school to just west of Garfield Ave on the West. 

The 1826 tax list showed that 11 people owned the 93 lots, Mr. Samuel Sexton owned the majority. The first tavern was kept by a Mr. Atkinson on the Old State Road about 550 yards from the entrance of the New Hampton Cemetery. 

The first person to keep the store in the village was a Mr. Gilmore, who opened up soon after the town was laid out. He was a one-legged man and it was quite an inconvenience for him to get around. He soon took on a partner, Mr. Dalby, who had two legs but only one arm. Mr. Dalby would get the goods and Mr. Gilmore wrapped them up. The church was erected in 1820 and was located in the center of town, it was called the Little Darby Baptist church, present-day First Baptist Church. Rev. Isaac Jones, son of Deacon Samuel Jones was its first pastor. In 1828, the National Road was surveyed through here just a little north of New Hampton, when West Jefferson (Jefferson) was founded in 1830 the people of New Hampton moved to the new town, and all that remained of New Hampton was the cemetery.