A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume I, Part 49

Author: Lincoln, Allen B
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co.
Number of Pages: 930

USA > Connecticut > Windham County > A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume I > Part 49

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The older people of that period in the town's history deserve unstinted praise. They not only made a good record for themselves, but they also, by precept and example, handed down to men and women of a more recent time (including those of the present generation) a noble inheritance. We can. here mention only a few of these greatly respected citizens who lived in, or about, the Village of Eastford. Deacon Earl Preston was one of these, for many years an active and kindly officer in the Congregational Church. His maiden sister, who lived to a very great age, and was known by all as "Aunt Rhoda," was a woman of unusual influence. Hiram B. Burnham was the most promi- nent merchant of the town, and "Burnham's Store," even after it had passed from his management, was known by his name. It at length became the prop- erty of Isaac Warren and his enterprising son, Charles O. Warren. The build- ing, with some changes is now the famous store of A. M. Bowen, who is known as a correspondent of the Windham County Observer wherever that splendid paper has gained circulation.

Capt. Jonathan Skinner was probably the most enterprising cloth manu- facturer the town has ever possessed. The old Red Factory was his monu- ment of successful service, inseparably associated with his memory. Both the owner and his factory have long since passed away-the building to be suc-

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ceeded by the greater and more modern enterprise of J. M. Tatem and Sons- its owner, to be the first man whose remains were buried in the beautiful Grove Cemetery which he did so much to establish in 1866.

Maj. Joseph Dorsett was the village postmaster and merchant. Capt. Jarvis Chapman lived as his nearest neighbor. Oliver Bowen, who spent. his last years in the village, was at first a farmer and tradesman living a mile outside. At the time of his death he was reputed to be the wealthiest man in Eastford. He was always one of the busiest. His motto was: "a nimble six- pence is better than a slow shilling." For many seasons he did business reg- ularly as a buyer of farm produce for the Providence market, and he became as well known "on the Bridge" in that city as almost any merchant of the place. The same may be said of Edmund W. Warren, a fine citizen, a man of superior judgment, who carried country produce into Providence for many years, besides managing a large farm of his own situated on East Hill.

Mr. Bowen's family of sons and daughters, held a social place in the upper village similar to that occupied, as already described, by the children of Square Latham in the lower village. Stephen Oliver Bowen became known through- out the commonwealth as the Master of the State Grange. He was a forcible and convincing speaker, with a lively imagination and an accurate memory. He held many responsible positions in the agricultural societies of the county. His next younger brother, Asa B. Bowen was a celebrated physician and surgeon in Iowa only recently deceased, and still another brother is Judge Andrew J. Bowen of Willimantic. A firm personal friend of Mr. Bowen was Preston B. Sibley, who for a series of years was the sheriff of the county, and the keeepr of the jail at Brooklyn. Mr. Sibley never lost his interest in his native town.

We find ourselves entering now upon a period in Eastford's career when there was an unusually large class of bright and ambitious young men and women among its population. Scarcely one of these is now living. They in- cluded Frank O'Kief, Frank Cheney, William L. Spaulding who gave up his noble life in the Civil war, Clark Barrows, Orrin and Hiram Burnham, Ben- jamin Dorsitt, Henry Trowbridge, and his cousin Ingoldsbee W. Trowbridge who subsequently removed to Pomfret, Edwin Macy the popular clerk in Hiram Burnham's store until he (like many others) entered the Union army, Ben- jamin Warren, David Carpenter, Foster Deans and others. The young women of the same period (several of whom became the wives of the men just men- tioned) were Kate and Isabel Cheney, Martha and Mary Spaulding, twin sisters whom even their youthful lovers could hardly identify, Mary Cham- berlain, the fair daughter of the Congregational minister, Ella Skinner and her two sisters, Caroline and Sarah Lewis, the latter of whom became a some- what celebrated poet, Phoebe Lyon who was the leader of the Congregational choir when its members circled nearly half way round the church gallery, Jennie Noble and her sister, inseparable on all the joyous social occasions of the church where they belonged.

This was in the time when Rev. Charles Chamberlain, a graduate of Brown University, was the pastor of the Congregational Church. Mr. Chamberlain was a superior preacher and a gifted writer. His book, the "Layman's As- sistant," has received circulation among men of other Protestant denomina- tions. After his day the Rev. Clinton M. Jones was the pastor. He came to Eastford in 1871, after having served a short pastorate in the neighboring

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Town of Hampton. He was then in the prime of a full, earnest, and exceed -. ingly agreeable manhood. He brought with him to his new field of labor his wife and family. Their coming was a day of great joy and bright promise to this pleasant inland town. The farming population of the town was of the sturdy, intelligent, New England type and the Congregational Church of the place, which a large majority of this population sustained, was a center of moral, religious and social power. Its vacant pulpit needed a wise and able minister.

Such a leader did God send to that people in the person of this beloved and now departed minister of the Gospel. He made his strong mind and deep sympathy immediately felt in all the services of his church and as years went by, in other churches of the vicinity, till he came to hold a very warm place in the hearts of Christian people throughout the northern part of Windham County. He had the foresight to plan and assist in the building of a parish chapel, and in aiding in the general improvement of the village and its ceme- tery. He was a natural teacher; and his service on the school board and as superintendent of education was never surpassed-indeed never equalled, in the entire history of the town.

To him also the community is largely indebted for the establishment of its public library. Through a long period of years he stood with fearless front against the evil of intemperance, and finally rejoiced to see (but with no hatred or malice) the overthrow of the rum power in this town.

Mr. Jones was a true son of the open fields, the silent woods, the quiet waters, the lowly by-ways. Like Nature, he was a modest, unassuming man, full of sympathy, patient, loyal. He knew Nature-her life, her forms of grace and beauty, her secrets of wonder, as not one clergyman in a thousand in these busy days knows her. The wild creatures of the forest, the songsters of the orchard and the meadow were the special objects of his love and study, his veneration and comprehension. He was Nature's nobleman. The words of John Burroughs express the spirit, the hope, and the triumph of his ministry, and his life :

Serene I fold my hands and wait, Nor care for wind, or tide, or sea : I rave no more 'gainst Time or Fate, For lo ! my own shall come to me.

Asleep, awake, by night or day, The friends I seek are seeking me : No wind can drive my barque astray, Nor change the tide of Destiny.

The waters know their own; and draw The brook that springs in yonder height. So flows the good with equal law Unto the soul of pure delight.

The stars come nightly to the sky ; The tidal wave unto the sea ; No time, nor space, nor deep, nor high Can keep my own away from me.

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Among many others, one especially noble woman, Miss Caroline Sumner, was in the prime of her useful life when Mr. Jones came to Eastford. She made her home in the family of Charles O. Warren, whose wife was her niece. This brought her into the center of the village, to a dwelling always hospitable and attractive. She exerted, without the least display, a wide influence over the community and in the church. Chastened by sorrow, especially by the death in a terrible railroad accident of her sister, Susan, and three young children, she knew how to comfort the sorrowing; while her ill health (an experience of many years) created in her mind a deep pity for all in trouble. She has long been our ideal of that gracious woman described in those lines :

"The dear Aunt, whose smile of cheer And voice in dreams I see and hear, -- The sweetest woman ever Fate Perverse denied a household mate, Who, lonely, homeless, not the less Found peace in love's unselfishness, And welcome whereso'er she went, A calm and gracious element, Whose presence seemed the sweet income And womanly atmosphere of home. How many a poor one's blessing sent With thee beneath the low, green tent Whose curtain never outward swings!"

One private residence in the village is most conspicuous. It is known as "' The Castle." It was built many years since by Benjamin Bosworth-a family name well known in the town. Mr. Bosworth made a handsome home and set it in a fine location. It is now the property of the Misses Trowbridge of Brooklyn, N. Y., whose father and grandparents on the paternal side were Eastford folks. The building has lent its charm of situation and history to a writer who has celebrated its name in a poem entitled, "My Castle." Within its antique walls many a scene of country life and festivity has taken place, and we trust the best is yet to be.

Such also may be the wish and hope concerning hundreds of other dwellings in this town which has always been a staunch and patriotic member of Wind- ham County. Good as her past has always been, we expect that her future will be even better. If any reader of this chapter should care to ask its writer what he has seen in these places and persons of by-gone years-"these Flemish pictures of old days"-he would reply by quoting that famous saying of Abdul Baha, who, when asked, "Why do your guests always leave you with smiling faces ?" responded, "I can not tell you, but this I know, in all upon whom I have looked I have seen my Father's face!"

THE CASTLE-EASTFORD, CONN. By Janette Trowbridge

The Castle was built in 1800 by Squire Benjamin Bosworth. The framing and sills were laid by the North Star. The hand carvings on the mantels, windows, and doors were elaborate for that time. They were cut with a jack- knife by an employee who lived and worked in the house for an entire winter.

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Squire Bosworth desired a house which should be different from any other in the neighborhood. In this he succeeded, for the house has the appearance of a small gable-roofed house built on top of a larger square-roofed house. The small upper house was the Masonic Lodge which could be reached only by passing through the main house. The benches on which the Masons sat are still in the old hall with the tiny fireplaces at either end, which warmed the hall. Rev. Sherrod Soule of Hartford has the kid apron which his father wore at a lodge meeting held in the Masonic Hall in The Castle.

The two lower stories were the residence of Squire Bosworth until his death in 1850. The Castle then passed into the possession of Mrs. Major Dorsett, niece of Squire Bosworth. Mrs. Dorsett set out the two arbor vitae trees in 1862 and these trees are now taller than the house and form a lofty roof to the front porch. It was under these trees that Mrs. Dorsett enter- tained her friends and dispensed good gingerbread between services on Sundays.

After the Dorsett residency, many families occupied The Castle. Among others who were born in this historic house are the late Henry Bosworth of Eastford, Conn .; Mr. B. B. Dorsett of Fredonia, N. Y .; Mrs. Mary Bosworth- Derby of South Weymouth, Mass .; and Mr. Walter Dodge of Putnam, Conn. In 1879, Mr. E. Grant Trowbridge, a grandnephew of General Lyon, bought The Castle and is the present owner.

The interior of The Castle is filled with Colonial furniture in keeping with the historic house. There are twelve fireplaces fitted with utensils for baking, roasting, toasting before an open fire and with cranes for hanging kettles.

Several articles are from the old home of Gen. Nathaniel Lyon, whose sister, Delotia, was grandmother to the present owner. There are pewter plates, a trencher, and the warming-pan which belonged to the general's mother. Photo- graphs and steel-engravings of General Lyon and his captain's commission hang on the walls of the house. His book of accounts from September, 1858, to May, 1861, is also the property of the Trowbridge family.

In the library is a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, so written that that the portrait of Lincoln is brought out by the shading of the letters. Other quaint prints and engravings hang in the rooms. Some of the windows are fine specimens of Colonial architecture and the views from these are unsur- passed.

Altogether, The Castle is an interesting landmark.

GENERAL LYON MEMORIAL

The State Park Commission of Connecticut has recently purchased, through . Hon. Fayette L. Wright, commissioner, the Lyon homestead in Eastford where Gen. Nathaniel Lyon was born and passed his boyhood, and consists of about seventy acres, situate in the southeast corner of Eastford. It will be held as a park of the state-park system and eventually some suitable memorial will be erected.

General Lyon was the first northern general to be killed in the Civil war. He was born in 1818 and in 1841 was graduated from the United States Mili- tary Academy. For many years he served in battles against the Indians, and for several years was in command of the department of the West. He was killed in the battle of Wilson's Creek in 1861. General Lyon's body was brought to Eastford for burial and at the service was one of the largest gather- ings ever held in Windham County.

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EASTFORD IN PUBLIC LIFE

When Eastford was a part of the old Fourteenth District, Joseph D. Bar- rows was sent as state senator in 1869 and 1870. As a part of the Sixteenth District Clark E. Barrows was senator in 1883 and 1884; Monroe F. Latham of Phoenixville, 1897 and 1898. . John M. Tatem was senator in 1915 and 1916, after Eastford had become part of the Twenty-eighth District.

Following are the names of the representatives in the General Assembly from 1859 to date: 1859, Joseph D. Barrows; 1860, Joseph B. Latham; 1861, Azel C. Sumner; 1862, Henry H. Arnold; 1863, Cyril Whitaker, Jr .; 1864, Horatio Carpenter ; 1865, Samuel D. Bosworth; 1866, James B. Latham; 1867, Orrin M. Burnham ; 1868, J. B. Latham, Jr .; 1869, Joseph E. Marcy ; 1870, James M. Carpenter; 1871, John H. Bullard; 1872, Ezra P. Arnold; 1873, Preston B. Sibley ; 1874, Preston B. Sibley ; 1875, C. B. Rockwell ; 1876, Stephen O. Bowen ; 1877, James E. Latham; 1878, Hiram H. Burnham; 1879, Clark E. Barrows; 1880, Andrew J. Bowen; 1881, Elisha K. Robbins; 1882, Simeon A. Wheaton ; 1883, Charles N. Smith ; 1884, Monroe F. Latham; 1885, Charles O. War- ren ; 1886 Henry R. Allen; 1887-88, Chas. A. Wheaton; 1889-90, Franklin George; 1891-92, George W. Olds; 1893-94, Ira B. Cushman; 1895-96, Gurden B. Marcy ; 1897-98, Leander H. Snow; 1899-1900, Edwin O. Sumner; 1901-02, Henry B. Buell; 1903-04, Harvey H. Converse; 1905-06, Ward G. Holman ; 1907-08, Arthur M. Keith ; 1909-10, Andrew G. Morse ; 1911-12, John M. Tatem ; 1913-14, Orlo B. Carpenter; 1915-16, Welcome Davis; 1917-18, Charles E. Buell; 1919-20, Charles W. Clark.

Eastford judges of probate from 1859 to date are as follows: 1859, Joseph Dorsett ; 1860, Uriah B. Carpenter; 1861, John B. Adams; 1862, Joseph Dor- sett; 1863-69, Joseph D. Barrows; 1870, S. O. Bowen; 1871-74, Jeremiah K. O'Keefe ; 1875-83, H. H. Burnham ; 1884-85, E. Keyes Robbins ; 1886-88, Stephen O. Bowen; 1889-90, E. Keyes Robbins; 1891-92, James M. Keith; 1893-94, Edmund W. Warren; 1895-1902, James M. Keith; 1903-12, John M. Tatem ; 1913-18, Arthur M. Keith; 1919- John M. Tatem.

From 1859-1862, David B. Deane was registered in Eastford as a practising physician. From 1859-1907, Elisha K. Robbins was registered, first as a botanic, then successively as eclectic, reform medical, then eclectic. Harvey H. Con- verse, an eclectic, practised from 1892 until his death in 1909. Frank B. Con- verse, his son, practised in Eastford in 1895 and 1896, then removed to West- ford; later to West Willington where he is now located. There is now no resident physician in Eastford.

CHAPTER XVIII THE TOWN OF PUTNAM *

EARLY HISTORY-PUTNAM HEIGHTS-CITY OF PUTNAM-PHYSICIANS-WINDHAM COUNTY TEMPORARY HOME-PUTNAM IN PUBLIC LIFE.

Putnam, the youngest of all the towns in Windham County, has only a brief history of sixty-five years under that name; still the town had its existence long before it was called Putnam. At one time it was known as Pomfret Fac- tory, then later as "Quinnebaug."

In 1722 the first bridge was built just below the falls by John Sabin of Pom- fret at a cost of £120.

The first grist mill was erected in 1730 by David Howe.

In 1787 Captain Benjamin Cargill built a new mill-house and set up "three complete sets of grist-mills and a bolting-mill" together with a black- smith's shop and two trip-hammers, a fulling-mill, "a mill to grind scythes, and a mill to churn butter."

In January, 1806, Ozias Wilkinson with his sons, Abraham, Isaac, David, Daniel and Smith, and several others came from Pawtucket where they had worked on the first cotton spinning machinery in this country, selected Cargill Falls as the site of the first cotton mill in Connecticut, and organized as "The Pomfret Manufacturing Co.," from which name the settlement was called "Pom- fret Factory," this was the third cotton mill in the United States.

A deed of the mill privilege and about 1,000 acres of land adjoining was se- cured for $25,000.00-comprising what is now the present site of the thriving city of Putnam. The affairs of the company were managed with great shrewd- ness and ability by Smith Wilkinson, who planned "the raising of the frame of the factory on July 4th, 1806, enlisting popular sympathy and co-operation in the enterprise. As many as 2,000 people came together to help and look on, and as free punch was furnished to all, it was a most agreeable change from the customary formal celebration."

Previous to 1849 this was known as "Pomfret Factory," it was then pro- posed to incorporate a new township from parts of the towns of Thompson, Killingly, Pomfret and Woodstock. Accordingly the matter was brought before the legislature; the petition, however, was rejected and the old towns flatly re- fused to part with their territory.

From 1849 to 1855 the place was called "Quinnebaug" and many of the old buildings of that period also bore that name. Quinnebaug Hall, now Union Block, Quinnebaug House, a hotel still standing in the rear of Flagg's store.

* NOTE: The Editor is specially indebted to Mrs. Mary Bugbee Bishop and Mrs. Abbie L. Daniels for information as to the later history of Putnam; and to Miss Rosa- mond Danielson as to Putnam Heights.

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The conflict over the new township lasted for six years and was conducted on both sides with great spirit and bravery. In the second petition Woodstock was dropped, still the fates for a time seemed to favor the old towns. The adoption of the name of Putnam in the last stages of the controversy was a har- binger of victory. No name could have been so appropriate. Every character- istic trait of the Old General had been shown in the struggle. The fight with ONE WOLF was surpassed by that with the Three Old Towns.

In July, 1855, the new town was incorporated and what had been Quine- baug, was now called Putnam. Tombstone and other records prove the adop- tion of the name of Quinebaug which existed from 1849 to 1855.

The mill enterprise extended northward and other mills were built through the agency of large manufacturers from Providence; Wilkinson, Rhodes, Ballou, Morse and others. Two fine stone mills were erected in that part of the

MANHASSET MANUFACTURING CO., PUTNAM

town which was known as Rhodesville, and about 1870 the brick Powhatan mill was erected, not forgetting the prosperous brick mill called "Monchanset," lo- cated just south of the Falls, a cotton mill, now called Manhasset Mfg. Co., mak- ing tire duck.

Further industries sprang up from time to time, among the most prominent of later days being Fisher's Shoe Shop, W. S. Johnson's Shoe Factory, Wheaton Building and Lumber Co., Putnam Foundry and Machine Co., B. M. Kent & Sons sash and blind factory. Dean Pin Factory, Hammond & Knowlton Silk Mill, John A. Dady Silk Co., Eureka Silk Mill, Putnam Steam Laundry, Tatem Handle Factory, Putnam Box Factory, F. A. Maryott roll covering, extensive green-houses and numerous others.

Quinebaug Village took on its new life about 1840, and here and there new homes sprang up, then the needed churches and school houses.

The Baptist Church was organized August 24, 1847, with forty members, and the following year a church edifice was erected ; this building was destroyed

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by fire and was replaced by another frame building which was also burnt, this was in turn replaced by the much larger present stone structure.

The Congregational was organized in 1848 with 27 members, and erected its first building in 1852 which still remains in the center of the town. When larger accommodations were needed, the present brick church was built and dedicated in 1870.

The mill industries located in the northern part of the town were largely re- sponsible for the increase in population, most of whom are of the Catholic re- ligion. Their needs have been met for many years by Saint Mary's Church, Parochial and Convent Schools and Cemetery.

The little brick schoolhouse stood near the old Congregational Church and the present Quinebaug House which was at that time a popular hostelry, as was also the May House, located a little to the North on May and Main streets, and . kept by Prescott May. Another small frame schoolhouse was also built and still stands by the bend of the river, to the north of the May House. Later with industries thriving and Putnam growing, an attractive two-story school building the "Fifth District School," with tower and bell replaced these smaller houses. This wooden building was removed in 1901 to give place to the present brick "Israel Putnam School."

With the development of the town, came the necessity of higher education, and through the generosity of Mr. George M. Morse, the owner of the prosperous mills which bore his name, the town accepted his offer of land located near the Baptist Church, and erected a brick structure for a High School; previous to this, the school was housed in the second story of the old Union Block, with limited accommodations, long benches serving as seats, no desks being pro- vided. The present, modern brick High School located on School Street, ac- commodating 350 pupils, and with a present corps of ten teachers, marks the educational advancement of the town. Putnam is also fortunate in receiving from the State, one of its Trade Schools, built on land adjoining the High School and it has proved of special advantage to the High School pupils.

Except for the houses belonging to the two early Stone Mills, The Pomfret Manufacturing Co. and Morse's, there were in 1855 only a few scattering dwell- ings, among these we might recall the dwelling of L. O. Williams on South Main Street, called "The Gables." On what is now Grove Street, there stood the house now owned and occupied by Mr. J. B. Tatem, and there lived Mr. Simeon Stone. From this home went their only son to serve his country in the Civil war, and his was the first life sacrificed from Putnam, in that great strug- gle. Two unmarried daughters remained in this home. An old settler relates an amusing incident. At this time the fashion of wearing artificial "baked" curls prevailed and the daughters of Simeon Stone possessed one set of these long curls which were fastened just behind the ears, but it was noticed that these spinsters never appeared together, and it was afterward learned that the same set of curls was first used by one and then by the other.

The commercial and industrial activity of the town was due not only to its fine water privileges, but to the incoming railroads. On Thanksgiving day, 1839, the first cars ran from Norwich to Worcester, this road being a single track; later, about 1860, the double track road was put through from New York to Boston, called the N. Y. and N. E. Railroad. This mode of travel became popular: A former resident of this vicinity tells this interesting incident:

HAMMOND & KNOWLTON SILK CO. MILL, PUTNAM

SILK AND WOOLEN INDUSTRY, PUTNAM

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Shortly after the town struggle from 1849 to 1855 which gave Putnam its ter- ritory from the four different towns, much resentment still existed, because Put- nam had taken so much land. Her grandfather, a Thompson resident found himself unwillingly residing in Putnam, was so opposed to the inevitable, that he would not drive to Putnam Station to take a train, though the distance was much shorter, but patronized the Thompson Station instead, a distance of four miles from his home.

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A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut : a Windham county treasure book, Volume I, Part 49

Author: Lincoln, Allen B Publication date: 1920 Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co. Number of Pages: 930

Author: Lincoln, Allen B
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke publ. co.
Number of Pages: 930