Charles Paine
Encyclopedia
Charles Paine was an American Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 politician.

Paine was the son of U.S. Senator Elijah Paine
Elijah Paine
Elijah Paine was a United States Senator from Vermont, serving as a Federalist from 1795 to 1801, and thereafter a long-serving United States federal judge....

. He was a Harvard graduate (1820), and woolen mill owner. He moved to Northfield, Vermont
Northfield, Vermont
Northfield is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. It lies in a valley within the Green Mountains, and has been the home of Norwich University since 1866. The town contains the village of Northfield, where over half of its population lives. The population was 6,207 at the 2010...

 in the early part of the nineteenth century to run the family woolen mill. He opearted this business until it was destroyed by fire in 1848. He had various other business interests including an hotel and a store, but he is most often remembered as the individual who brought railroads to Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

. In Northfield, Paine held the offices of Town Selectman and Moderator of the Town Meeting. In his political life he was a member of the Vermont house from 1828 through 1829 and the 15th Governor of Vermont
Governor of Vermont
The Governor of Vermont is the governor of the U.S. state of Vermont. The governor is elected in even numbered years by direct voting for a term of two years; Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold gubernatorial elections every two years, instead of every four...

 from 1841 until 1843.

Paine was president of the Vermont Central Railroad and built its headquarters in his home town of Northfield. In 1853 the Vermont Central Railroad went into bankruptcy due to over expansion and, in some cases, mismanagement. The railroad was placed under receivership and renamed the Central Vermont Railroad. Its headquarters were moved to St. Albans.

Paine died in Waco, Texas
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....

 after three weeks of dysentery while helping the Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....

 choose a route. He is buried in Northfield, Vermont
Northfield, Vermont
Northfield is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States. It lies in a valley within the Green Mountains, and has been the home of Norwich University since 1866. The town contains the village of Northfield, where over half of its population lives. The population was 6,207 at the 2010...

.

Sources

  • http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/paine.html
  • http://www.central-vt.com/towns/history/HstNort.htm
  • New England Puritan, (published in Boston) Thursday, August 4, 1853
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