(HOST) Vermont history is full of interesting characters, and commentator Tom Slayton says that the identity of one of the most infamous was determined only after his death.
(SLAYTON) In 1822, a strange man came to the little hill town of Brookline and he built a strange schoolhouse.
The schoolhouse was strange because it was round. And Dr. John Wilson, the man who came to Brookline to build it, seemed even stranger. An air of mystery surrounded him from the time he arrived in the remote town in the hills of Windham County. He was obviously a cultured man, and he spoke with an English accent, but never really explained his past. He walked with a limp, and always wore either a scarf or a high collar, carefully concealing his neck. Why would such an aristocratic, well-educated man seek the position of schoolmaster in a remote Vermont village, people wondered. Why was he so particular about building a round schoolhouse? And why was he so careful, always seeming to be on the alert for…something?
The mysteries surrounding Dr. Wilson remained mysteries until he died in 1847. Then, the local undertaker discovered that the mild-mannered school teacher had limped because part of one of his heels had been destroyed, probably shot away. And he apparently wore high collars to conceal the fact that his neck was heavily scarred. Could it have been by a hangman’s rope?
Indeed it could. And there were other surprise discoveries. Dr. Wilson’s walking stick was found to conceal a long, sharp stiletto. And at his home, searchers found an arsenal of swords, guns, and ammunition. After some research, the mystery schoolmaster turned out to be none other than “Captain Thunderbolt,” a notorious highwayman who years before, had robbed from the wealthy lords living along the border between Scotland and England and had shared his spoils with the poor. He had a lively sidekick in is adventures known as “Lightfoot.”
This latter-day English Robin Hood didn’t share all his spoils, however. Along the way, Captain Thunderbolt had amassed enough cash of his own to make his way to America. He had come to the mountain hamlet of Brookline to hide out. Local people subsequently speculated that Dr. Wilson, the schoolmaster, had made his school house round so that he could easily look out of the building’s circle of windows and spot anyone who might be approaching from any direction. Apparently one rope burn on his neck was enough!
Brookline’s legacy from Captain Thunderbolt today is the remarkable little brick schoolhouse. It’s believed to be the only round schoolhouse in the country. In recent years the old building had become slightly run down and its roof was leaking. But now, between the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, the Preservation Trust of Vermont, and local fund-raising efforts, more than $50,000 has been raised to re-roof and restore the old building. The Brookline Historical Commission, aims to have the building open more often.
And here’s the best part: local school children are working on a history of their town that will include the history of Brookline’s unique round school house and its equally unique founder – that wild and dangerous rogue, Captain Thunderbolt!
Tom Slayton is editor-emeritus of Vermont Life magazine.