USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Canton > Celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Canton, Connecticut, July 15, 16, 17, and 18, 1906 > Part 1
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Gc 974.602 C168c 1784701
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01723 4995
CELEBRATION
of the 100th ANNIVERSARY
of the INCORPORATION of the TOWN of
CANTON, CONNECTICUT July 15, 16, 17, and 18, 1906
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/celebrationofone00cant
1806. 1906.
CANTON CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
CANTON, CONN. 1906
1784701
F
84606 .09
CANTON, Conn. 1806. 1906. Canton centennial celebration. [n.p., 1906] 84p. comm
Title from cover.
. .
TANYA
COLLINSVILLE GREEN, JULY 18, 1906.
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CONTENTS.
EXERCISES AND EVENTS,
Page S
PRAYER BY REV. CHARLES P. CROFT, .
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ADDRESS OF WELCOME BY WILLIAM HILL,
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BY HON. JOSEPH L. BARBOUR,
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BY HON. HENRY ROBERTS, .
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PRAYER BY REV. J. W. MOULTON, ·
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS BY HON. EDWARD H. SEARS,
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ADDRESS BY REV. CHARLES P. CROFT, .
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PROPHECY BY MRS. ELIZABETH J. WARREN, . ·
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APPENDIX,
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.
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ILLUSTRATIONS.
COLLINSVILLE GREEN, JULY 18, 1906,
Frontispiece
PORTRAITS OF SELECTMEN,
Face page 5
¥
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OF OFFICERS OF CELEBRATION,
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CHURCHES IN CANTON,
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PORTRAIT OF HON. EDWARD H. SEARS,
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FARMINGTON RIVER AND CHERRY'S POND,
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SCHOOL HOUSES IN CANTON, .
¥ 61
COLLINSVILLE ELMS,
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.
·
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OF OTHER TOWN OFFICERS,
I. JOSIAH B. LOUGEE, First Selectman.
2. FREDERICK G. HUMPHREY, Second Selectman.
3. FRANK M. MILLS, Third Selectman.
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ACCOUNT
OF THE
EXERCISES and EVENTS
Sunday, July 15, 1906.
In the various Churches of the town religious exercises were held commemorative of the anniversary.
Monday, July 16, 1906.
A Loan Exhibition, under the management of Emerson A. Hough, chairman of the sub-committee in charge, was opened and continued for four days on the second floor of the hall of the Town Building in Collinsville.
A large collection and great variety of antiques, cos- tumes, and utensils, dating from Colonial times and from households in Canton and vicinity, were the features of the exhibition.
Tuesday, July 17, 1906.
A general reception was held in the Town Hall, Collins- ville, attended by a large number of townspeople and old residents who came, not only from New England, but from Western States, to join in the festivities of the occasion.
The Hall was elaborately decorated and here the greet- ing of old friends and the meeting of people of former and
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present generations made this a brilliant event for the "Old Home Week."
Letters of regret from absent former residents were announced by William Hill, Chairman of the General Com- mittee.
Miss Nellie Myers, an elocutionist and Collinsville resi- dent, recited a poem of her own composition, entitled "Home Coming," which was received with much appreci- ation.
The principal exercises of the celebration were held in Collinsville on
Wednesday, July 18, 1906.
A federal salute of thirteen guns was fired at 6 A.M., and a national salute of forty-six guns at 8 A.M.
At 9.30 A.M. the parade formed at the Green.
At 10 A.M. a salute was fired of forty-one guns.
At 10 A.M. the parade began promptly and marched through the principal streets of the village, under the leader- ship of George L. Terry, marshal.
In the procession were hundreds of workmen from the Collins factories. From many of the departments the men appeared in uniform and represented their several industries by elaborate and ingenious floats.
Citizens on horseback and in carriages, representing vari- ous occupations and orders, helped swell the number.
The Governor of the State, with his military staff and the speakers of the day, followed in carriages, reviewing the parade from the grand stand in front of the Congregational Church at 11.15 A.M.
The exercises at the grand stand were a prayer by the Rev. Charles P. Croft, of Simsbury; Address of Welcome, by Chairman William Hill, of Collinsville; Address, by Hon.
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WILLIAM H. SULLIVAN, Judge of Probate.
2. MUNROE E. MITCHELL, Town Clerk.
3. HENRY HUMPHREY, Representative.
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CANTON CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
Joseph L. Barbour, of Hartford; Address, by Hon. Henry Roberts, Governor of the State of Connecticut. Judge Syl- vester Barbour, of Hartford, a former Canton resident, made an impromptu address and recited a poem of saluta- tion.
The morning exercises then closed, with music by Hatch's band.
After an intermission, the exercises were continued at the grand stand, consisting of music by Hatch's band; Prayer, by Rev. J. W. Moulton of Canton Center; a Chorus of seventy-five voices, under the leadership of Emerson A. Hough with Mrs. J. B. Flint as piano accompanist, sang the " Recessional," by De Koven, and " Prepare Ye the Way," by Garrett; Historical Address, by Hon. Edward H. Sears; Music by the chorus, entitled "The Heavens are Telling," by Haydn; Address, by Rev. Charles P. Croft of Sims- bury; Music, " America," by the audience, led by band and chorus.
Later there was a baseball game at Athletic Park; A canoe race on the river; Concert by Simonds' band; Fire- works on the "Island " in the evening, under the direction of Howard L. Sanborn.
The display of fireworks was very elaborate, and the re- flection of every piece in the water made a brilliant double effect.
Throughout the village of Collinsville, houses and build- ings were lavishly decorated with flags and colored bunting.
On the following pages the prayers and addresses on the official programme are given in full.
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CANTON CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
PRAYER
BY REV. CHARLES P. CROFT, Simsbury, Conn.
O Thou eternal God, our help in ages past; Thou whose way is in the heavens, and whose kingdom ruleth over all the earth, whose truth is the foundation of enduring govern- ments, and whose life and light have been given to the chil- dren of men through all the generations of the past, we humbly bow before Thee in grateful acknowledgment of Thy goodness unto us as a people. We thank Thee for this glad day, and for the happy occasion which calls us to- gether at this time; for all the pleasant memories and bright prophecies that gather about us, and for all our advantages and developments and inspirations. We rejoice in our free and happy country, won to us by the heroism and blood of godly sires,-noble men and women who fought and died that we might be a free and independent people.
We thank Thee for the manhood of the men who stood for righteousness and justice, when greed and oppression were strongly intrenched against us.
We thank Thee for our material resources, for our broad, rich lands, our mighty rivers, our ocean lakes, -the thoroughfare of a great commerce, through which vast sums of wealth are poured into the lap of our people; for our mountains of silver and gold, and for the mines of inexhausti- ble treasures that lie all around us at our feet.
We thank Thee for the enterprising and progressive spirit that has characterized our people, and for the great prosperity that has waited upon our industries; for the love
CANTON CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 9
of liberty that has made us a free nation, and for the oppor- tunities of service to our fellow men.
We rejoice in the memory of Thy goodness as we think of our fair and happy country, and especially do we recall the good men and women who have lived in this community, and who gave their lives that we might see this glad day. We thank Thee for the strong Christian men who have been leaders in the affairs of this town, and in the councils of our beloved State, who have stood for the cause of education and religion, and interested in all enterprises that were calculated to elevate the people. Thou hast wonderfully led this people, through the century now closed, and given them peace and prosperity; and for this and for all Thy mercies to these homes make us unfeignedly thankful.
We beseech of Thee to grant Thy favor upon the churches of this community - of whatever sect or denomi- nation - grant wisdom and power to Thy servants who speak the good truth to men. May they so interpret the Gospel of Christ that good-will and Christian fellowship may prevail everywhere.
Let Thy favor rest upon our schools, and may education and religion be joined in the great work of redeeming the world from ignorance and darkness.
We beseech Thee to give success to the men who lead our business activities. Inspire them with a high concep- tion of manhood and duty, and while they are diligent in business, may they have a fervent spirit in serving the Lord.
Grant Thy blessing upon the men who labor on the farms and in the shops, and are striving to make this world a good place to live in. May they have abundant reward for duty faithfully performed.
We beseech of Thee to bless and comfort the strangers within our gates, - those who come to us from far-away
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CANTON CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
shores and speak to us in unknown tongues. May they find the warm welcome of a Christian community, as they take up their abode with us, and while we welcome them to our shops and schools and churches, to all our civil and in- stitutional life, may they in turn become loyal and worthy citizens of our common country. Grant that more and more the hearts of this people may be united in the bonds of a more perfect charity.
May all the causes of disturbance and separation and animosity be taken out of our midst. Oh, Lord our God, forbid that we should be a divided and scattered people ! Forbid that anything should dim our prosperity. Forbid that selfishness and arrogance should rule us for our destruc- tion. May this whole nation be nourished by a true Chris- tianity, so that all men shall look upon us and long for the same power which we possess, and serve the same Christ, and rejoice in the same prosperity.
Let Thy favor be upon our beloved Commonwealth. Thou hast mercifully led us thus far, and let not any dis- obedience of ours turn Thy face from us. May Thy servant, the Governor of this Commonwealth, have strength and courage for his duties, and administer the affairs of his high office, not in the interest of a class, but for our common brotherhood, so that we may be in sympathy with those who are strangers to our conditions and bring all men to the fellowship in Christ.
Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, wisdom and guidance to the President of these United States, in his efforts to bring our great people back to national honesty. Clothe him in greater measure with those influences that have guided him thus far. We thank Thee for his sterling manhood; for his unselfish nature; for the wisdom of his world-wide measures; for his devotion to our common
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brotherhood, and for his outspoken Christian life. May success crown his administration in harmonizing the dif- ferent elements in our great nation, and advancing all in- terests that shall preserve us a free and united republic. May peace abide with us as a nation. May we no longer strive in warlike contentions among ourselves, and let the white banner of peace be unfurled to the whole world, until all the earth shall see Thy salvation.
May Thy kingdom come and Thy will be done among men, according to the riches of Thy grace. - Amen.
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CANTON CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
ADDRESS OF WELCOME
BY WILLIAM HILL of Collinsville.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: The town of Canton hav- ing completed the first century of its existence, it is highly fitting and proper that we should set aside this day to cele- brate that event and to gather together the history of the past, that it may be preserved as an inspiration for the future, and also to renew as far as possible those ties which have been broken by reason of the changes incidental to the march of time.
I assure you that it is a great pleasure to us on this occa- sion to welcome here his Excellency the Governor, with other State officials and so many strangers. Yet you are hardly strangers, for most of you have been drawn here by reason of some former association with this town. Doubt- less many of you in looking back, perhaps over many years, remember the home of your childhood as located some- where among these rocky hills, and today, in memory, you see that home again with its surroundings. You remember where you coasted in the winter and where you found the cows at sundown in the summer, and perhaps you hear again, in memory, the gurgle of the mountain brook where, as boys, you sought the speckled trout in springtime. You remem- ber, too, a day when in the flush and hope of youth you went out from that home to do battle with the cold world, and a tinge of sadness comes over you as you recall the forms of those who on that day, amid subdued sorrow at parting, bade you Godspeed when you left, and you remember also that they have long since gone to their reward.
OFFICERS OF CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
I. WILLIAM HILL, Chairman General Committee.
2. GEORGE L. TERRY, Marshal.
3. EMERSON R. LEWIS, Secretary.
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But these rocky hills are here and the winding valleys are here and the mountain brook still gurgles on its journey to the sea, and they welcome you to the old scenes, and those of us whose lot is cast among them would welcome you even as those who are gone would do, could they be here. We rejoice that you have remembered the old home and come again to renew its associations. Our latch strings are out - yes, even more - our doors are open and we welcome you to every part of the old town.
We have here on this platform one of those of whom I have spoken, one whose memory goes back to the days when he attended the little schoolhouse in the northern part of this town, and I know you are anxious to hear him speak. I re- fer to the Hon. Joseph L. Barbour of Hartford, who will now address you.
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CANTON CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
ADDRESS
BY HON. JOSEPH L. BARBOUR of Hartford.
MR. CHAIRMAN AND FELLOW TOWNSMEN: I observe that I am down on the programme to make an address; this is a false pretense, as I am not here to make an "ad- dress." When our good friend Hill asked me to come, I said that I should be rejoiced as a former resident ( although then a young one) of the town, to be here and possibly talk for a few minutes in an informal fashion concerning my. reminiscences and recollections of the town and of my early days here, and he said that that was just what was wanted of me, and when I talked with him again and told him that I had no time to make preparation for an address, he said all that was wanted of me was what I had previously out- lined I would do, and so for a very few minutes I will recall the days I spent in this good old town.
I was not born within the limits of the town, but, never- theless, I think I can claim citizenship, for my father was born here, my grandfather was born here, and two of my great-grandfathers were born here. The line runs back to Heman Humphrey Barbour, Henry Barbour, and Jonathan Barbour, who was father of Henry Barbour, and on the other side Solomon Humphrey, who was the father of my grandmother; all old residents and born within the present limits of this town. Although it was only a hundred years ago that the town was organized (before that it was West Simsbury), yet the territory, the rocky hills and the fields and the brooks are the same now as when they called that territory West Simsbury, and so it happens, through my re-
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lationship here, that when I was a youngster (I was going to say when I was a little fellow, but that would hardly be definite, for I am a little fellow now), when I was a young- ster I used to come here, beginning from the time I was five years old until I was ten or twelve-very often in the sum- mer and very often in the winter- and make my home at my grandfather's in Canton Center on the hill, a mile or more beyond the old Congregational Church, and I rejoice in the present years of my city life that I had that experience of New England country town life because of that relation- ship here, for no city man can realize what the old New Eng- land town life was except he has lived in it, and he cannot realize it today because the old New England town life of fifty years ago is not the town life of today.
I used to go out to the old house on the hill, and I vividly remember some of the incidents of my country life there, the raising of barns and farmhouses; the sowing and the planting, the mowing and the reaping; the swarms of bees passing overhead, and grandmothers and aunts and uncles coming out with tin pans and spoons and the bees settling upon some neighboring branch. The bees remind me of what a country boy told a city boy. The city boy said in the city they had a number for every house on the streets, that they numbered every house and called every house by that number. "That is nothing," said the country boy, "we have got hives of bees out here and we have got a name for every bee." "What?" said the city boy, "got a name for every one of them, what are their names?" The country boy said: "We just call them all bees, that's their name."
Another recollection is seeing my grandmother in the little house that was across the driveway from the old farm- house sitting at a loom weaving a carpet or cloth.
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Another recollection is seeing my uncles and grand- fathers in the pool of the brook washing sheep, for each sheep had to be washed before shearing; and that reminds me of the man who took the pledge, being induced thereto by the minister who had remonstrated with him for a long time. Finally the old fellow said: "Parson, there is one thing I have got to do; when I shear sheep I get wet and have the rheumatism, and there is only one thing that will cure me and that is a drink of whisky, and I must take a drink of whisky when I wash sheep for shearing." The par- son said: "Well, then, promise me that you will drink only one drink when you wash sheep for shearing." The old fellow said: "I will promise." Only a few days after that the parson went by and saw by the road the old fellow very much under the influence of liquor, and said to him: "You told me you would not drink only when you washed sheep. for shearing; you are not keeping your promise." The old fellow said: "Parson, I am keeping my promise." The parson said: "There is no pool here, no water here, and no danger of rheumatism, and you have promised me that you would take only one drink when you washed sheep for shear- ing." The old fellow asked the parson to come with him and led him into the barn, and there was a tub full of water, and there was a big sheep wet and shivering, and the old fel- low said: " Parson, I have washed that sheep six times this morning, and I am liable to wash him again several times before night."
And another of my recollections is of the old school- house that stood in the fork of the road. After you had gone north from the church half a mile or so, you turned to the left and went up the hill, and by-and-by you came to the place where Deacon Hosford lived, and I remember the sugar pears that fell into the road from the tree in his yard,
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and how we used to race for them. Yes, I well remember the old school, and I can smell this minute the smell of doughnuts and apples that used to be in those desks when we lifted the covers.
All of those things come back to me, with many others. But my liveliest recollection is of the Sundays. It is prin- cipally the Sundays I remember in this old New England town, for every Saturday night, just as the sun dropped be- low the horizon, no matter what we children were doing, grandmother would appear at the door and say: "Come, children, it is sundown," and Sunday commenced then and there, and Sunday lasted until sundown Sunday night. We used to go to church at what is now called the Canton Center Congregational Church. I wished at first that this anniver- sary and these meetings were to be held there, but when some who were out there last Sunday said the old columns and galleries were all gone and they had some new-fashioned dome and railings, I did not want to go there at all. I wanted to see the old place as it was in the old time. I dis- tinctly remember seeing the Reverend Jairus Burt in the old high pulpit, and I think he went out of that church to his rest fifty years ago. I remember most vividly and clearly all the incidents of the Sunday service. They had no new- fangled organs and church quartets in those days. The sing- ers were in a gallery at the rear of the church, and there was a railing that went across at the front of the gallery and little upright posts with brass rods that ran through to hold the curtain, and when the singers stood up it was one of the proprieties to pull the curtain along the rods on which rested the books, and behind the singers were Warren Humphrey, playing a fiddle, General Jarvis Case with a flute, and Uncle Ely Brown with a bass viol. The minute the hymn was given out and the music started, up would rise the people and
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turn their backs upon the minister and face the choir until the music was concluded, when they would resume their seats and face the minister again. By-and-by, if it was a hot day, you would see, in the midst of the sermon, some fine specimen of a New England farmer rise in his pew and calmly take off his broadcloth coat and fold it together and carefully lay it back of the seat, and then sit down in his shirt sleeves and listen to the rest of the sermon. By-and-by the forenoon service would come to an end, and then the women of the congregation would sit down and talk and ex- change gossip, and the men would all go out to the horse shed, and out from the wagons would come the boxes with the cheese and the doughnuts and the rye bread and butter and apple pie, and this would be their dinner, from the tail end of the wagons; and the men would talk politics and religion, and settle great matters of statecraft in the old New Eng- land fashion. And then back again to the church for the afternoon service, and back again to the homes. When the sun set Sunday ended. Those were the Sundays we used to have.
Now, then, I have talked a good deal longer than I an- ticipated, and I have not made any address either. I have simply talked in this rambling fashion because Mr. Hill said this was Old Home week, and I have made a home talk. I have gone on in this rambling fashion, giving reminiscences that come to my mind like leaves from the book of a life of a century ago in this old New England town. A few words more and I will give way to others.
This is your Centennial celebration. It was a hundred years ago that this town was organized, and I will say just a word here as to the progress that has been made in the State and Nation since this old town was organized. When this town was organized we had in our Commonwealth one hundred towns, five cities, and one borough. Think of the
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changes that have occurred. Our five cities have grown to eighteen; our one borough to twenty-six; our one hundred towns to one hundred and sixty-eight. Our great country, with a population then of about four million, of whom about seven hundred thousand were slaves, has now a population of nearly eighty million, all free. Our wonderful develop- ment being due to the dauntless courage and energy of the hardy pioneers who, felling forest, leaping great rivers, climbing mighty mountains, conquering wildernesses, mak- ing waste places to blossom as the rose, cleared the way for our magnificent civilization of this century. Since this town was born has been heard the hum of the first sewing machine, the ringing of the first telephone bell, the voice of the first phonograph; has been seen the first photograph, the first electric light, the first electric car, the first bicycle, the first horseless carriage, commonly known as the automobile and to the farmers the " devil wagon." The record is marvelous. In those hundred years the air and ocean have by human science been converted into vast whispering galleries. Dur- ing those hundred years the iron horse has been constructed and so developed that in five days it is possible to span our great continent. In those hundred years have been de- veloped the mighty steamships, touching two continents be- tween two Sundays. The record of those hundred years is the record of great progress in religion and education, of marvelous inventions in mechanics, and wonderful achieve- ments of statecraft. And above us all in this town, in this Commonwealth, and in all parts of our country, from lakes to gulf, from ocean to ocean, floats the flag of a common country, its blue field crowded today with shining stars, where there were but sixteen a century ago, and we rejoice that its folds have been freed from the blot of human bond- age, and pray God that it may never again be blackened by the stain of any national dishonor.
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ADDRESS
BY HON. HENRY ROBERTS of Hartford, Governor of the State of Connecticut.
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