The Patch Hollow Tragedy, also known as the Patch Hollow massacre, was an event that occurred on the evening of May 11th, 1831. A man, Rolon Wheeler, was not well-liked in the community. It was this community who developed a dislike of Wheeler because he was "guilty of indiscretion with his wife's sister". The community worked out a plan to grab Wheeler from his home, tar and feather him, and then chase him out of town. The gathering of individuals who were going to seize Wheeler were young men from Wallingford, Shrewsbury, and Sugar Hill. A few of the young men threatened Wheeler publicly before May 11th and Wheeler made it clear that he would defend himself. Subsequently, he had a large metal file that he owned formed into a two-edged knife by the local blacksmith. The 11th of May arrived and, on that evening, the party set out to grab Rolon Wheeler. Here's an excerpt from  History of Wallingford, Vermont By Walter Thorpe, Page 186-187 : The History of Well...