“Black ‘47” – two words which resonate with horror for the Irish.
As peasant families in all corners of Ireland struggled to survive the winter of 1846-47, desperate men, women, and children turned to the British government, (who had controlled Ireland since 1801), for help. The help was not forthcoming. A potato blight was destroying Ireland's staple crop. Meanwhile, British landowners in Ireland exported food, while the Irish starved. The government offered little support as corn meal prices tripled. Charles Trevelyan, head of the British Treasury said the starving Irish must learn how to become self-sufficient as he cancelled corn shipments to Ireland and closed corn depots. Those Irish who could find a way off from the island emigrated to new lands in hopes of surviving what was known as the Irish Famine. -from the Boston Irish Reporter
Some of those Irish landed in New England and helped build the emerging railroad systems of the time. Construction of the rail line to Brattleboro began in 1847 and it was constructed by Irish "Railroaders". Here's the story...
