Chester Crain was born in Berlin on this day in 1818. Twenty years later, in November of 1838, Crain would stumble upon a murder.

Two men from Montpelier conspired to rob an old Dutch peddlar known to carry large sums of money on his person as he returned to Montpelier from Northfield. They struck him over the head with an iron rod, killing him.

Crain, returning home from a dance, saw the men on the shores of Berlin Pond. They swore Crain to silence or they’d kill him. The peddler and his cart were cut into pieces, weighted down with stone, and dropped into the deepest water, never to be found.

The Vermont Book Of Days photo.