Circa 1775 to 1783 – Salisbury played a very large part in the Revolutionary War. Its most notable contributions were cannon, ammunition, and other vital iron products made at the Salistury furnace. The furnace was located at the outlet of Factory Pond in Lakeville. In 1768 Richard Smith bought a controlling interest in the furnace. His home was part of the present day Holley-Williams house. He also brought 200 books from England for a town library. Richard Smith was suspected of being a Tory and being against the revolution, had to get back to England or face the music. He placed Joshua Porter in charge of the Salisbury Furnace. Joshua Porter, a physician by education, was an amazing man and during his lifetime served the town and his country in many ways. Early in 1776, with Porter in charge, the Governor of Connecticut, under orders from General Washington, started to order cannons, cannon balls, and other military material. By the end of the war the furnace had produced nearly 850 cannons and countless cannon balls for use against the British. Cannons were said to be test fired from where St. Mary’s Church is now into the hill in front of Lakeview Avenue. Joshua Porter left the oversight of the furnace and became a Lieutenant Colonel in the Continental Army and distinguished himself in a number of battles. His house was the building now occupied by Petpourri.

Many Salisbury men, estimated to be between one third and one half of the those in fighting age, fought in the war. The best known, of course, was Ethan Allen, who although not born in Salisbury, was involved in the early years of the Salisbury Furnace. He then went to Vermont to form the Green Mountain Boys. It was this group that defeated the British at Fort Ticonderoga. Many cannon were take from the fort overland, partly along the road that goes by the Great Barrington airport, all the way to Boston. Colonel Elisha Sheldon was the most senior officer from town. He commanded a horse cavalry group that operated with the Continental Army. Twenty seven men from Salisbury were killed in the war. Other names of officers that might be recognized even today are Blagden, Porter, Stoddard, Lee, Stanton, Chittenden, Dutcher, and Allen. Hezekiah Goodwin, of Lime Rock, served six years in the Continental Army. His discharge papers, signed by George Washington, are displayed in the Town Hall.

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