Benning Wentworth wrote his last grants on this day in 1764. New Hampshire and New York both tried to lay claim to the land that would become Vermont.

Benning Wentworth, New Hampshire’s governor, began granting land in 1749. He granted land to the towns of Hubbardton and Dunbar on this day.

Grants were based on surveys that were largely inaccurate. Dunbar, for instance, was granted on land that had already been acquired and named as the town of Sudbury. Hubbardton, therefore, was the last successful Wentworth grant, and even Hubbardton is much smaller than Wentworth intended.

Image courtesy History of Hubbardton, Vermont by Donald R. Sondergeld.