Colonel Orien Haseltine of Andover, Vermont, came to Vernon/Big Bend in 1836 after his two eldest sons, Orien Jr. and Curtis, who also came in 1836 and were the first settlers to claim 400 acres. Haseltine named Vernon in honor of George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon. His cobblestone house, built with over 10,000 cobblestones, was completed in 1842. Of Haseltine’s 14 children, his daughters Emeline married Prucius Putnam in 1838, Achsah married Joseph Stickney in 1840, and Hannah married Timothy Brown in 1844, all of them first settlers in Vernon.