by Charles Lord, Town Historian; edited by Helen Birkmann
First Settler
Elnathan Bush came in 1784, went back to Sheffield, Massachusetts
for his family and returned in 1786.

First Settlement
Bennetsville--Caleb Bennet and brothers soon after 1786.

First Vermont Sufferer to arrive
Asahel Bixby in 1787.

First Grist Mill
Caleb and Reuben Bennett before 1790.

First Doctor
Gershom Hyde came before 1790.

First Recorded Marriage
Charles Bush and Joan Harrington 1794.

First Recorded Death
Elnathan Bush 1791.

First Official Town Meeting
February 16, 1791 Town of Jericho.

First Elected Town Supervisor
Phineas Bennett.

First President (Mayor)
Richard W. Juliand

First Change of Town Name
April 15, 1814 from Jericho to Bainbridge. In 1813, an uncompleted church
being built by the Congregational Society of Cilicia (the present site of the
Presbyterian Church) was destroyed by an arson fire. The word of this
spread into the surrounding areas, and residents of Jericho doing business
were getting tired of being mocked. An application was made to the State,
and the name was subsequently changed to Bainbridge, after
Commodore William S. Bainbridge, a naval hero of the war of 1812.

First Church Society
Congregational Society of Cilicia April 30, 1793
(now the United Presbyterian Church)

First Town Tavern
William Guthrie 1793 "Kirby Flat"

First Village Tavern
"Luther Thurston" - 1793 corner West and North Main Street.

First Built Frame House
Joseph Bush's House in 1800 (this is Jim Singmaster residence
opposite the turn to Bainbridge-Guilford road)

Oldest Village House that is still in existent
Griswold house, built in 1804, 50 West Main Street,
residence of ex-Mayor Jim Winn.

First Bridge built in Bainbridge
Built in 1804, this bridge was built for
Major DeZeng by Henry Evans.

First Published Newspaper
The Bainbridge Eagle, published in 1845, John Hunt, publisher.

First Bank
The Phoenix Bank of Bainbridge, 1853, James Banks, president.