From 1823 to 1872, Vestal grew from an early settler farming newly cleared land into a town served by sawmills, grist mills, small tanneries, shoemakers, blacksmiths, wagon makers, grocers, and one-room school districts. Roads were laid out by Highway Superintendents elected at each annual town meeting and were cared for by pathmasters. Lumbermen floated logs down the Choconut and Tracy Creeks to the Susquehanna, where they lashed together log rafts to carry both logs and cut lumber downriver for sale, then returned to make the trip again before spring water levels began to drop. The census population was 948 in 1830, 1,253 in 1840, 2,054 in 1850, 2,211 in 1860, and 2,221 in 1870.