USA > Connecticut > Tolland County > Vernon > A century of Vernon, Connecticut, 1808-1908 > Part 8
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The Hockanum Engine Company had a hall, where reunions were held. Joseph Thompson was the first secretary of the company and E. S. Henry the first treasurer. The foreman of hose was S. A. Groves.
The Hockanum and Fire King engines were all the town had for a period of thirty-five years. In 1889 there was agitation for a better fire department and Crosley Fitton, George Sykes and E. S. Henry were appointed a committee to purchase a steamer. After a lengthy investigation they unanimously agreed upon a rotary pump engine which was put in commission in the fall of 1889. Later a second one was purchased. When the old engines went out of commission the Hockanum button engine was sold for junk in exchange for fire supplies. "Fire King" was sold in 1891 to the Pawtuxet, R. I., firemen, who have proved themselves worthy successors of the old Fire King Company,. making a great record with the machine.
Previous to the securing of a city charter, the town of Vernon had several incorporated fire districts. The fire chiefs from the earlier days up to the present time include : William R. Orcutt, A. C. Crosby, N. H. Thompson, Albert Dart, C. E. Harris, Lewis Hunt, Joshua Wood, Nicholas Wendhiser, James Breen, Edward Marshman, Gilbert Holt, John Wagner and John W. Hefferon.
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SUMMARY OF VERNON'S HISTORY EARLY AND MODERN
The officers of the department are: Charles J. Scholl, chief ; E. Serbser, assistant chief; A. T. Dickinson, superintendent of alarms; T. F. O'Loughlin, department physician ;
There are two steamer companies, Fitton Steamer Com- pany No. 2, and Fitch Steamer company, No. 3, a hose com- pany, known as Hockanum Hose company No. 1, and a hook and ladder company, known as Snipsic Hook and Ladder Company. All the companies have their own houses and the paid firemen on the rolls of the various companies, including officers and men, number fifty.
The police force is one of Rockville's most modern institutions. Indeed, it was one of the strong arguments for the adoption of a city charter. In the early days of the town, there was no police department. Constables, grand jurors and justices of the peace preserved order, issued complaints and tried cases. For many years in the early days of the town, George Talcott and E. S. Henry acted as trial justices, and they did their duty fearlessly and well, according to all accounts. Mr. Henry had an office upstairs in his building and Mr. Talcott had an office fitted up in his house. Prior to that time a trial justice would try a law- breaker or violator in any convenient place the lawyer would assign. Phineas Talcott, father of George Talcott, did most of the trial justice work in the very early days of the town and he attained fame and distinction.
Not until the city government was instituted was there a "cop" in Rockville to molest or make afraid. Previous to this the po- lice work was done by constables, who, while they wore a badge and had plenty of authority, had no blue uniform with brass buttons. It was under the administration of Mayor Samuel Fitch, now deceased, that regular policemen and supernumer- aries were appointed. The first regulars were William H. Cady, Fred Einsiedel, D. W. Delaney and Jewett Collum. The first supernumeraries were A. E. Barnes, Frederick, Harding, Frank Davis and Fred Bauchman. William H. Cady was the first captain of police, serving from 1890 until June 30, 1907, a period of seventeen years. He dropped dead on that day at 12:20 o'clock as he was crossing Central Park on his way to his
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SUMMARY OF VERNON'S HISTORY EARLY AND MODERN
office in the police headquarters in the Memorial Building. Apoplexy was the cause of his death. His career was character- ized by faithfulness and fidelity.
By virtue of his office, the mayor is chief of police. The rules and regulations of the department are vested in the hands of the police committee of the City Council, appointed by the mayor.
Rockville's police force at the present time consists of a captain, three regular policemen and five supernumeraries. E. J. Kane, who received his appointment by Mayor Forster on July 30, 1907, as successor to the late Captain William H. Cady, was appointed a supernumerary by Mayor E. S. Henry in 1894 and promoted to be a regular patrolman on December 4, 1900 by the late Mayor William H. Loomis. He was acting captain during the month of July, following the death of Captain Cady. His career as the active head of the police force of the city of Rockville, which was a notably successful one, was ended by death on Friday, July 29, 1910. He died at the Hart- ford Hospital following an operation. The entire city mourned the loss of a faithful officer. His funeral, which was held at St. Bernard's Church on Monday, August 1, was very largely attend- ed, business being generally suspended for the occasion, citizens in all the walks of life uniting to pay their respects to his mem- ory.
On Tuesday, September 20, 1910, Mayor Forster announced the appointment of Leopold Krause as captain to succeed the late Captain E. J. Kane. Captain Krause was made a supernu- merary in 1904 and promoted to be a regular patrolman in 1907.
The regular policemen at the present time are A. E. Barnes, Joseph Forster, Jr., and S. J. Tobin. Owing to continued ill health, Patrolman Forster has done very little duty, the various supernumeraries taking turns filling his place.
The present supernumeraries of the police department of the city of Rockville are Alfred Say, John Donovan, Richard Shea, William Clift and Moritz Kemnitzer. The city is free from vice and there are few disturbances. Few cities in the country, with
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SUMMARY OF VERNON'S HISTORY EARLY AND MODERN
the cosmopolitan population Rockville has, are better policed or have less disorder. Conditions are almost ideal and speak vol- umes for the people who comprise the city's population. Rock- ville is a thoroughly law-abiding community.
Rockville is set, not on a single hill, nor on seven hills, like ancient Rome, but upon a series of hills. Its situation is as pictur- esque as many of the historic Old World villages. Located in the highlands of Tolland County, it overlooks the famous Connecticut Valley and presents a panorama of some of the most charming landscape scenery to be found in New England. From the top of Fox Hill, which is six hundred and ninety-three feet above the sea level, a magnificent view of the city and surrounding country for miles around can be obtained. The upper part of North Park Street also furnishes a delightful prospect. With a good field glass Mount Tom, Mount Holyoke, the State Capitol at Hartford, and numerous other towns and villages can be seen There are beautiful drives and good roads about the city. During the past decade many sewers have been put in and con- siderable curbing has been done. The septic system of sewage disposal is one of the best in the country. The city is 16.7 miles from Hartford, 4.4 miles from Vernon, 109.4 miles from Boston and 125 miles from New York.
The daily wants of Rockville are supplied by one hundred stores, shops and markets. The people of a number of smaller villages, including Vernon, Vernon Center, Talcottville, Elling- ton, Tolland, Bolton, Quarryville, Coventry, Broad Brook and Windsorville, all of which are within a radius of a few miles, do considerable trading in Rockville. There are numerous hand- some and substantial business blocks in the city, among the number, the Prescott Block on Park Street, the Henry Build- ing, at the corner of Park Place and Park Street, Rockville National Bank Building, Exchange Block, Doane Block, Citi- zens' Block, all in the center of the city, the Fitch Block Union Street and the Orcutt property on East Main Street and Market Street, and the Turn Hall property on Village Street. There is one first class hotel, "The Rockville," and several smaller hotels and two
VIEW OF CENTER OF CITY, showing Central Park, Park Place and East Main Street.
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SUMMARY OF VERNON'S HISTORY EARLY AND MODERN.
opera houses, or theaters. A feature that appeals to every stranger, the tripled terraced streets, adds much to the beauty in the center of the city. Located on Park Place, opposite Central Park, is Rockville's Memorial Building, erected by the town in 1889, in memory of the soldiers and sailors who fought in the Civil War. It is a structure of character and dignity. It contains a spacious public hall, capable of seating one thousand persons, also the rooms of Burpee Post, G. A. R., the town and city offices, superior court and bar library, probate office for the Ellington District, which includes the towns of Vernon and Ellington, and is presided over by Judge John E. Fahey, and police headquarters and police court room. For a city its size there are few, if any, that have so many costly and magnificent residences. A very large percentage of the people own their homes, which speaks well for people and community. The telephone and telegraph facilities are first class. The assessed valuation of the property in the town is $6,093,393, an express business of $30,000 per annum is done and the freight business in a year amounts to $200,000.
The geographical position of Rockville is such as to render impossible the allotment of much space for parks, gardens, or even a desirable location of the public streets. The city is by no means destitute of public or private adornments of this kind. There are three parks. Talcott Park, the largest in the city, the gift of Phineas Talcott, was donated by him to the town in the early fifties, and Central Park was donated by adjacent land owners and laid out in its present shape in the early seventies. This is in the very heart of the city on the main thoroughfare. Although small in area, owing to the arrange- ment of the streets, it presents a remarkably pretty picture and attracts the attention of all strangers.
Nearly four score and ten years ago, even almost before the Rockville of today proper had its birth, there was enacted at the east end of the town a drama the real end of which was hardly then completed. General Lafayette, the friend and former protector of an embryo nation on a tour through this country, honored Rockville by his presence, stopping for a few hours at
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SUMMARY OF VERNON'S HISTORY ANCIENT AND MODERN
the old King Tavern, now the town almshouse. On Thursday, June 12, 1902, Lafayette Park and monument were dedicated in memory of General Lafayette. The memorial is the result of hard and persistent work of Sabra Trumbull Chapter, D. A. R. of Rockville. It consists of a large, native boulder with appro- priate inscription on a bronze plate. The boulder is located on a small plot of land, which has been made into a park at the intersection of Grove, East and South Streets, Hyde Avenue and Coventry Road.
GROWTH OF THE TOWN.
The growth of the town has been slow and substantial, rather than showy and meteoric. The entire population was less than a score of families in 1822, six of whom were Grants. In 1823 there were five families in the Rock District. In 1840 there were six hundred inhabitants in the chain of little houses that clus- tered about the mills. Up to the year 1841, so far as can be learned, the people of Rockville were accustomed to getting their mail at Vernon Center, which was the "Hub," being the only voting place in the town and the center of business in general. At this time Rockville was just beginning to put on its village clothes. It had no hotels, it had no steam roads and no trolley cars. The polling place for the town was in the conference room of the Congregational Church at Vernon Center, which was built in 1826. Everyone went there to vote until 1856, when town and electors' meetings began to be held in alternate years at Rockville and Vernon Center. In 1865 all such meetings were transferred to Rockville. The population of the town of Vernon in 1810, two years after it was incorporated, was 827; in 1820, 966; in 1830, 1,164; in 1840, 1,435; in 1850, 2,900; in 1860, 3,838 ; in 1870, 5,446 ; in 1880, 6,915; in 1890, 8,808; in 1900, 8,483 ; in 1910, 9,087. The figures of the thirteenth cen- sus give Rockville city a population of 7,977. Nearly all nation- alities are represented.
Lewis T. Skinner has the honor of being the oldest male native of Vernon living. He was born January 23, 1823, and is eighty-eight years old. The house he was born in stood in the vicinity of the old meeting house at Vernon Center. He
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SUMMARY OF VERNON'S HISTORY EARLY AND MODERN
was personally acquainted with twenty-five of the one hundred and nine freemen of the town where it was incorpor- ated in 1808. He resided in the town for thirty-five years. He now lives on the edge of East Windsor about a quarter of a mile from the Vernon town line. Up to within the past few months he was remarkably spry and active, getting outdoors every day and doing his regular farm work.
Mrs. Harriett K. Maxwell is the oldest female native of Ver- non living. She was born May 2, 1823. She has lived in the town all her life and is a wonderfully preserved woman and unusually active for one her years, with keen mental perception and enjoying excellent health. She is the widow of George Maxwell, one of the pioneers of the town.
William Butler, who died December 18, 1910 had the dis- tinction of having been in business for a longer period than any man in the town-three score years. Among the business men now living, who were in business previous to the outbreak of the Civil War are the following: G. A. Groves, of Bradford, Pa., Joseph Selden of Norfolk, Henry W. Coye of Cottage City, Hudson Kellogg of Chicago ; E. S. Henry, H. B. Murlless, L. E. Thompson, Francis B. Skinner, O. C. West, P. R. Gorman, Hugh Kernan, A. Park Hammond, Frank Grant, George Tal- cott, Edgar Keeney, William P. Robertson, Charles A. Ladd, A. O. Thrall, H. L. James, Henry Burke, J. C. Hammond, Jr. and Dr. John B. Lewis, of Hartford.
IN CONCLUSION.
Vernon (Rockville) has indeed reason to be proud of her record at the end of her first century. A wonderful change has taken place in the quiet little hamlet of a hundred years ago. Then there were seven hundred souls, mostly Yankee farmers. Today Vernon is nine thousand strong, with a reputation in manufacturing that extends far and wide, reaching the high water mark of excellence, being first in the states in the manufacture of the finest worsted and woolen goods silk fish-lines and spool sewing silks, the home of the Hockanum worsteds, Belding silks, Kingfisher silk fish-lines and the parent mill of the United States Envelope Company. The city operates nine hundred
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SUMMARY OF VERNON'S HISTORY EARLY AND MODERN
looms, thirty-five thousand spindles and five hundred braiders, Thirty-four hundred hands are employed with a weekly payroll of approximately $35,000, and a yearly output of one million five hundred thousand yards of cloth. Surely Rockville lives up to her name, the "Loom City," a city in which its looms of industry are building honest riches ; a city whose hills loom into the regions of pure air and invigorating health, crowned by good old New England homes in which abide industry and integrity ; a city whose achievements in all the pursuits of life and whose contributions to the state and the nation stand high in the esti- mation of the American brotherhood of municipalities. May we continue to press forward, doing each duty as it presents itself, placing our confidence "in the God of our fathers, from out whose hand the centuries fall like grains of sand." What will be the lot of those who will be here one hundred years hence, to recall the origin and history of Vernon, is beyond our conception. Our hope is that it will be as peaceful, as prosperous, and as contented as our own.
PART II. CENTENNIAL EXERCISES.
CHARLES PHELPS, President of General Committee, Vernon Centennial Celebration.
RESOLUTIONS AUTHORIZING CELEBRATION.
The following resolutions authorizing the centennial celebra- tion by vote of the town were passed at a special town meeting held on Friday evening, November 29, 1907, in the Town Hall :
Resolved-That the legal voters of the town of Vernon in town meeting assembled, do hereby declare themselves in favor of an "Old Home Week" celebration, to be held during some week in the year 1908, which will appropriately mark the one-hundredth anniversary of the town of Vernon, and that a committee con- sisting of the board of selectmen of the town, the town treasurer, the mayor of the city of Rockville, the president of the Rockville Business Men's Association and Hon. Francis T. Maxwell, rep- resenting the manufacturing interests of the town, be and they hereby are appointed a committee with power to select fifteen other residents of the town, representing its business and profes- sional interests who, together shall form a committee of twenty- two, and who shall have power to arrange for, direct and carry out all plans for such celebration on such dates as they shall select and which shall be considered most appropriate from every standpoint; said committee shall have power to appoint any and all additional committees and sub-committees in their opinion necessary for the celebration.
Resolved-That a sum not to exceed $2,000 be appropriated from the town treasury to be used for the expenses incurred by the "Old Home Week" celebration during the centennial year of the town, and that the town treasurer be, and he hereby is author- ized to honor any and all orders from the treasurer of the general committee for such amounts as the committee shall need from time to time, not to exceed in the aggregate the amount appro- priated by the town.
Resolved-That the city of Rockville be asked to do what it can legally do to co-operate with the town through the mayor and Common Council in making the celebration a success.
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CENTENNIAL EXERCISES
GENERAL COMMITTEE.
CHARLES PHELPS, President.
THOMAS F. NOONE, Vice-President.
JOSEPH C. HAMMOND, JR., Secretary. FRED WOODHALL, Assistant Secretary. PARLEY B. LEONARD, Treasurer.
FRANCIS B. SKINNER,
JOHN H. ZIMMERMANN,
PAUL BRACHE,
GEORGE FORSTER,
FRANCIS T. MAXWELL,
DAVID A. SYKES,
FRANCIS A. RANDALL,
FRANCIS J. REGAN,
GEORGE P. WENDHEISER,
JOHN W. HEFFERON,
AUGUSTIN B. PARKER,
CHARLES N. MCLEAN,
C. DENISON TALCOTT,
HARRY C. SMITH,
HENRY H. WILLES,
MORITZ KEMNITZER,
CHARLES BACKOFEN.
INCEPTION AND ORGANIZATION OF CENTENNIAL MOVEMENT.
Before any definite steps had been taken to celebrate the cen- tennial of Vernon's incorporation as a political factor in the commonwealth of Connecticut, the citizens of the town had their attention called to the subject in an editorial which ap- peared in the Rockville Leader on Friday, October 11, 190%, entitled, "Let a Jubilee Mark Vernon's One Hundred Years of Existence as a Town Next Year." In the same issue an inter- esting historical article, reprinted from the Vernon town records, volume No. 1, appeared. From time to time there were fre- quent references in the public prints and communications from and interviews with prominent citizens during the latter part of 1907 and the forepart of 1908.
The first decisive step toward bringing about a big one- hundredth birthday party was taken by the Rockville Business Men's Association on Friday evening, October 25, 1907, when resolutions favoring the celebration, were unanimously adopted.
At an adjourned meeting of the general centennial committee in the Council Chamber on Friday evening, December 27, 1907,
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at 8 o'clock, with seventeen out of the twenty-two members in attendance, organization was perfected by the election of the following officers: President, Charles Phelps; vice-president, Thomas F. Noone ; secretary, Joseph C. Hammond, Jr. ; assistant secretary, Fred Woodhall; treasurer, Parley B. Leonard. Each one received a unanimous vote.
Realizing the magnitude of the project and feeling that haste would make waste, the general committee in charge of the Vernon centennial celebration took its time and gave careful considera- tion to every phase of the subject. It was no easy task to deter- mine the character and scope of the celebration and to fix dates that would prove satisfactory from every standpoint. Before deciding this question the general committee took special pains to get in touch with public sentiment in so far as possible and to find out just how the citizens of the town felt. Through inter- views with citizens in all the walks of life, which appeared in the Leader, some idea of what would prove satisfactory dates was obtained.
Before definitely fixing the dates for the celebration, the general committee met in the Council Chamber on Friday even- ing, January 17, 1908, at which time the sub-committees were announced as follows:
Finance-Francis T. Maxwell, C. Denison Talcott, John W. Hefferon, Francis A. Randall, John H. Zimmermann.
Public Exercises-Thomas F. Noone, David A. Sykes, George P. Wendheiser, John W. Hefferon, Moritz Kemnitzer.
Invitations and Reception - Parley B. Leonard, George Forster, Augustin B. Parker.
Advertising, Publicity and Printing-Francis A. Randall, Harry C. Smith, Charles Backofen, George P. Wendheiser.
Decorations and Illuminations-Fred Woodhall, J. C. Ham- mond, Jr. and John H. Zimmermann.
Transportation-Paul Brache, H. H. Willes, F. B. Skinner, Francis J. Regan.
Historical Addresses, Events and Relics-Joseph C. Ham- mond, Jr., Francis T. Maxwell, Augustin B. Parker.
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Public Safety-Francis J. Regan, Charles N. McLean, Henry H. Willes, George Forster.
Sports-Fred Woodhall, George Forster, Francis B. Skinner.
Licenses and Privileges-David A. Sykes, Francis A. Randall, George P. Wendheiser.
Executive Board-Charles Phelps, Thomas F. Noone, Joseph C. Hammond, Jr., Fred Woodhall, and Parley B. Leonard.
Each sub-committee elected a chairman and secretary.
It was not until Friday evening, March 13, 1908, that dates for the centennial celebration were fixed. At a largely attended and enthusiastic meeting of the general committee, it was the sense of all that the question of dates could not be delayed longer. A friendly discussion took place and ideas were asked for and given. Nearly all the members of the committee present favored the month of June, owing to the fine weather conditions that usually prevail at that time. It was unanimously voted to hold the celebration from June 28 to July 4, inclusive. Having determined the character and dates of the centennial, the sub- committees lost no time in getting down to business. The mem- bers were selected with great care, and with the idea of getting those adapted to the work devolving upon them, and willing to bend every effort and put forth all the energy they possessed to make the event a notable and successful one. Meeting after meeting was held and with scarcely an exception the members of the various sub-committees put their whole hearts and souls into their work, carrying out, in a manner that elicited the heartiest commendation, the trust imposed in them by the people of Vernon, and by their untiring activity, undaunted courage and splendid enthusiasm, thoroughly stirring and arousing the cordial support and hearty co-operation of the people.
.
OPENING OF CELEBRATION ; DECORATIONS AND ILLUMINATIONS.
At last! After months of preparation, of hard work, of en- couragement and obstacles, of enthusiasm and misgivings, those who had labored saw the fruition of their efforts, and the town of Vernon entered upon its grand centennial celebration.
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Any one-hundredth birthday of a person or of a place is a notable event, and that of our town must live long in the mem- ories of those who shared therein, and have permanent interest for such as shall make Vernon their future home.
Naturally, the story of this historical event centers and circles in and about the city of Rockville. Here began, and here was consummated the desire to mark the growth and progress of Vernon by a series of spectacles and exercises which should leave a lasting record in the minds of the townspeople, and make a worthy subject for preservation in type.
Doubtless the memories still freshest with those who can look back upon the events of that week in June, 1908, are the recol- lections of the decorations which transformed our streets and open spaces into a stage-setting of more than theatrical splendor. Private houses, public buildings, business places, all contributed a lavish share to the total effect of beauty and carnival-like gaiety. Never before had Rockville's natural scenic advantages been so utilized and enhanced by the tasteful touch of Art.
If the daylight effects were inspiring, those of evening and night were thrilling. Myriads of many-colored lights, outlining buildings, festooning streets and parks, made up a veritable "blaze of glory." Especially worthy of mention were the bril- liant effects seen about Central Park. Here were erected Ionian columns, their white gracefulness crowned with gilt; and festoon- ed from pillar to pillar, shone thousands of electric bulbs. A pretty effect was obtained about the fountain in Park Place by twining the four lamp-posts with laurel.
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