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 3
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ancestor whose many descendants lived in Higley town, now Tariffville. Some of them came to Canton and their de- scendants now live in the eastern part of this town.
Deacon Joseph Mills, the great-great-grandfather of Mrs. Sarah J. M. Simonds and W. E. Mills of Collinsville, came from Simsbury to Canton Center in 1743.
North Canton was settled by John Moore as early as 1745.
In 1742 Lieut. Dudley Case kept a public house in Suffrage now Canton street, afterwards known as the Hos- ford stand, which was burned down a few years ago.
Between 1750 and 1776 there were four or five negro slaves in Canton. Some of these were given their freedom and others died as slaves. In 1784 Connecticut enacted a law prohibiting further importation of slaves and declaring that thereafter all persons born within its limits should be free.
John Brown 3d, of Simsbury, was a captain in the army of the Revolution and died in the service. His grandson, John Brown, leader of the Harper's Ferry raid of 1859, was born in Torrington, to which place his father removed from Canton.
In 1857, during a visit to Canton, John had made in Collinsville one thousand pikes, which he explained were for frontiersmen in Kansas, but which he afterwards took to Harper's Ferry, Va., and there attempted to have negro slaves use them in an uprising for freedom.
Canton has always been a patriotic town.
In the French and Indian wars, from 1744 to 1763, twenty volunteers from this section entered the service. In the war of the Revolution nearly eighty soldiers went from this town, and in the Civil War, with a population of only about twenty-five hundred, Canton furnished two hundred
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and forty-two soldiers and six sailors, or one recruit for about every ten men, women, and children of the popula- tion. Of this number thirteen were killed, twenty-five wounded, and twenty-seven died at the south of wounds or disease.
On account of the great distance from the meeting houses in Simsbury and New Hartford, where Town and Freemen's meetings were held, as well as on account of the roads which were "rough and tedious," Solomon Everest, George Humphreys and many other residents of West Simsbury and the eastern portion of New Hartford executed a petition to the General Assembly, which was dated April 19, 1806, praying that the parish of West Simsbury and the Inde- pendent Society, so-called, be incorporated as a town. The petition was legally served upon said towns and the parties in interest given a hearing by the Assembly, after which the act of incorporation was passed and became law at the May session of 1806. No record appears as to the approval of the act by the Governor of the State.
The act of incorporation provided that the first meeting of the town of Canton should be holden at the meeting house in West Simsbury on the third Monday of June, A. D. 1806, and there were other provisions as to organization of town officers, collecting taxes, payment of debts, and support of paupers.
In 1830 a small tract from the town of Burlington, and still later another from the town of Avon, were annexed to Canton.
By various resolutions of the General Assembly changes have been made as to the jurisdiction and extent of school districts near the boundary line between New Hartford and Canton.
The population of the town in 1830 was fourteen hun-
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dred and thirty-seven, of which Collinsville contained five hundred.
With the exception of Collinsville, the town has been a farming community, with no large increase of population in recent years. Many farmers' sons from Canton have found more attractive and profitable fields for agriculture in the west and upon the Pacific slope.
Doctor Solomon Everest, who was the first petitioner to the General Assembly for the incorporation of Canton, came here in 1796 from that part of Farmington which is now the town of Avon. He was an able physician and surgeon and during all his life was one of the leading citizens of the town, the incorporation of which was due largely to his effort. He was a member of the Convention that formed the constitution of the State of Connecticut in 1818. In that Convention his name is found as voting for and against many of the amendments offered to the proposed constitu- tion, and upon the final vote for the constitution as amended he cast his vote in the negative. The Convention adopted the constitution by a vote of one hundred and thirty-four to sixty-one.
Upon its ratification by the people it was adopted by a narrow plurality, being less than ten per cent. of the whole number of votes cast.
Hartford, Tolland, and Litchfield counties opposed it, and the voters of Canton voted against it more than three to one.
The opposition was generally on account of the section providing that the General Assembly should be held alter- nately in Hartford and New Haven.
Doctor Everest was a representative to the General As- sembly. At his death he left a fund, the income of which was to aid young men to prepare for the gospel ministry.
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The first meeting house was built at Canton Centre in 1763. This was taken down in 1814 and the present struc- ture erected on the same site. Prior to 1763 religious ser- vices were held on the Sabbath in private houses. In 1750 the General Assembly constituted this part of Simsbury as a separate parish, and the Congregational church was or- ganized about that time.
Curiously enough, the first post office in Simsbury was established at Suffrage, now Canton street, in 1798. A few years later it was removed to Weatogue, and in 1806 to Hop Meadow, now Simsbury street.
The Baptist church in Suffrage was built by Baptists in 1807 on the green, but was moved to its present site in 1838.
The Methodist church in North Canton was built in 1871.
The following named churches are in Collinsville :
Congregational church, built in 1836, burned in 1857, and rebuilt in 1858.
Catholic church, built in 1852.
Protestant Episcopal church, built in 1876.
German Lutheran church, built in 1893.
Swedish Pilgrim church, built in 1893.
While all the ministers of Canton have been loved and respected by the people of their respective parishes, two of the Congregational denomination gave long and contem- poraneous service and were specially endeared to their peo- ple. I refer to Rev. Jairus Burt, who was pastor of the Canton Center parish for thirty-one years from 1826, and Rev. Charles B. McLean of Simsbury, who came to Collins- ville as a young man and gave there his entire life work as a Christian minister, for twenty-three years, beginning in IS44.
These men and their wives are remembered by many of
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the older people of the town with great affection, on account of their godly lives and earnest devotion to the spiritual wel- fare of their congregations.
It is an interesting fact that the earliest plant for the manufacture of steel in this country was begun on the Farm- ington river at Tariffville in 1727, and that the only steel works today in New England for the manufacture of tool steel is now on the Farmington river at Collinsville, both establishments being within the limits of the same original town. As early as 1710 iron was manufactured from bog ore at Turkey Hills, now East Granby.
In 1728 Samuel Higley presented a petition to the Gen- eral Court stating that
"he hath, with great pains and costs, found out and "obtained a curious art, by which to convert, change " or transmute common iron into good steel, sufficient "for any use, and was the very first that ever per- " formed such an operation in America, having the " most perfect knowledge thereof confirmed by many "experiments and that he has good reason to hope " that he shall produce as good or better steel than "what comes from over sea, and at considerable "cheaper rate."
Upon this statement he desired the exclusive privilege of making steel for the term of ten years. The iron for this purpose was procured from Turkey Hills, but to what extent or by what process the manufacture was carried on is un- known. In 1740 the General Court granted to Thomas Fitch and others, as successors of Higley, " the sole liberty and privilege of making, manufacturing and converting iron into good steel within the bounds and limits of this colony " for the term of fifteen years, with the condition that after two years they should make at least half a ton of steel for said term.
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Before the termination of the grant, Elliot and Miller, who had charge of the works, certified to the General Court "that after many expensive and faultless trialls with which sundry of the owners was discouraged the affair being pur- sued by others of them, it has so far succeeded that there has been made more than half a ton of steel at the furnace in Symsbury which was erected for that purpose by the gentle- men to whom said grant was made." They exhibited in- struments " as a specimen of ye goodness thereof to answer ye intentions of German steel."
It is certain that the steel made at that time must have been very crude and faulty in quality.
The reference to German steel indicates the probable method of manufacture. So-called German steel was in early times made by the Styrian method, which was simply the reduction of iron ore of a suitable quality in a charcoal finery or forge. The product was quite dependent upon the various elements and the extent of impurities in the ore used.
This unreliable method of making tool steel was aban- doned in Europe and America and the cast steel process in- vented by Huntsman in 1740 substituted.
As its name implies, cast steel is made by melting properly carbonized iron in crucibles, which secures for the product a more uniform quality and purity than that ob- tained by other methods. This process, with very slight changes, has continued since Huntsman's time.
Collinsville is located at the southern extremity of the town and forms its most populous section. Originally it was wholly within the borders of Canton. By reason of the extensions of its sole industry, its inhabitants have homes in the adjoining towns of Avon and Burlington, so that the village really lies in portions of these three towns.
It is named after the founder of its edge tool works, the
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late Samuel W. Collins, who, with his brother, David C. Collins, and cousin, William Wells, came from Hartford in 1826, and established a factory for the manufacture of axes. The site was selected because of the opportunity for obtain- ing water for power and charcoal for fuel. Other locations were first examined, not too far from Hartford, which was to be the headquarters of the business as a necessary centre "for obtaining supplies and selling the products. They pur- chased a sawmill where they erected a small stone shop in 1827, and gristmill where the present polishing shop stands. The mill was torn down in 1829 to make room for a grind- ing shop. A forge shop was erected the same year with a water wheel for each trip hammer. Ten axes were a day's work for a forger and helper. This comprised the plant of Collins & Co.
The great demand for axes, which at that time were made in small blacksmith shops or imported from England, induced these three young men to engage in the enterprise which is now carried on by The Collins Company with a capital of one million dollars and the employment of over nine hundred men. Many of its employees are the sons or grandsons of men who were its workmen many years ago. There are men with us today who are giving faithful and loyal service to this corporation and who have been identified with this town for a large part of its one hundred years.
Samuel W. Collins was born in Middletown, Conn., in 1802, and at an early age removed to Hartford, and later became a clerk in the hardware store of his uncle, Edward Watkinson, on Front street. Mr. Collins was a man of quiet dignity and reserve. The village and the town owe much to his devotion to its welfare, and his business success was marked by an unflinching uprightness and hon- esty. He never would tolerate anything which interfered
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with manufacturing goods that were not of the highest quality. The large and extensive trade enjoyed by the corporation named after him and his brother is due primarily to his wisdom, foresight, and watchful care. He lived in Collinsville until his death, in 1871.
The business he established grew steadily from the be- ginning. In 1833, on account of insufficient capital and suddenly restricted bank accommodations, the firm was com- pelled to make an assignment, although the business was very profitable, and later every creditor was paid in full. After reorganization, in 1834, with ample capital, the industry proceeded and has continued without interruption ever since.
There have been other small industries in Canton at various times. The following were in existence during the last century :
At North Canton General Ezra Adams had a tannery and shop for the manufacture of harnesses and shoes, and is said to have employed fifteen or twenty men.
In Suffrage district Alanson Andrus had a shop for the manufacture of lead pipe, and Dailey & Son built carriages for various markets.
On the Swett brook near Collinsville Mr. Gildersleeve had a small shop for fulling and dyeing homespun woolens.
At the outlet of the Nepash River the Hazard Powder Company had powder mills, which were sold and used for other purposes after the railroad from Farmington was extended to New Hartford, in 1870. This mill produced about four thousand kegs of powder per annum, valued at ten thousand dollars.
In early times woolen goods, carpetings, and hosiery were a large item of household manufacture, while sheep, cattle, wool, hay, butter, cheese, cider, and cider brandy were farm products of considerable commercial value.
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Various gristmills and sawmills have been erected on streams where water power was available, until in recent years steam mills that could be conveniently located have been in vogue.
There are two creameries now in successful operation, and their products are of the very best quality.
The cause of education in country towns received the attention of the early settlers, their object being to have their children read the Bible, as well as conduct the simple commercial transactions of their daily life.
As early as 1644 the General Court of Connecticut estab- lished a school system; a prominent reason for doing so was that " one chief project of that old deluder Satan was to keep men from a knowledge of the Scriptures."
The selectmen of the towns were required to see that children attended school, and at one time it was the law of the State that every town of thirty families should maintain a school in which reading and writing should be taught, and in every county town a grammar school was instituted. Schools for the education of Indian children were provided, the one for this section of the State being at Farmington.
In 1730 the General Assembly passed a law imposing a fine on any one having Indian children in their families who failed to teach them the English language and instruct them in the Christian faith.
From a very early date there were eleven school districts in the town of Canton, and until the establishment of the graded school in Collinsville in what is known as the High School building erected in 1854, only the ordinary English branches were taught. The number of school districts has been reduced, by consolidation at various times, to eight, and the town now has eight schools under town management.
Prior to the establishment of the Collinsville High School,
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there were private schools of a high order of excellence. The Hon. Sylvester Barbour's school at Canton Centre and the school kept by Rev. Geo. B. Atwell at Suffrage enjoyed more than a local reputation.
At present there are five hundred and sixty-two chil- dren of school age, and if any do not attend school the agents of the State Board of Education very soon know it and see that they do.
The High School building in Collinsville was erected after much opposition at a cost of seven thousand five hun- dred dollars. Dedicatory exercises were held March 3, 1854. The State Superintendent of Common Schools re- ported to the General Assembly in 1855 that " this building, with its grounds, is certainly one of the best, if not the very best, to be found in the State."
It was called a union schoolhouse because it contained the schools of the two Collinsville districts, which were con- solidated a few years before.
An addition has since been added on the west side of the building, and another schoolhouse erected on the east side of the school yard for primary departments.
For many years the Collinsville High School was at- tended by pupils from surrounding towns because of its su- perior educational advantages.
Like all New England towns, Canton has furnished many men of note, who have found reputations and fortunes elsewhere in the professional or business world, where greater opportunities for advancement awaited them.
Their names are well known to you and, although many of them have left us never to return, we will cherish their memory as God's noblemen, and the worthy sons of their native town.
CHERRY'S BROOK, NORTH CANTON
FARMINGTON R .: D
COLLINSVILLE
THE COLLINS COMPANY'S DAM.
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This occasion is too brief to present all that is of historic interest in our town, and much has been left for the future historian, particularly that chapter of Canton history which relates to recent years.
Whittier's Centennial Ode expresses a fitting benediction on this occasion :
" Our fathers' God! from out whose hand The centuries fall like grains of sand,
We meet today, united, free, And loyal to our land and Thee, To thank Thee for the era done, And trust Thee for the opening one."
*
" Oh, make Thou us, through centuries long, In peace secure, in justice strong ; Around our gift of freedom draw The safeguards of Thy righteous law ; And, cast in some diviner mould, Let the new cycle shame the old!"
Remember, then, that this dawn of a new century for us all is :
" Life, the very Life of Life,
" In its brief course lie all the
" Varieties and realities of your existence;
" The bliss of Growth,
" The glory of Action,
" The splendor of Beauty;
" For Yesterday is but a Dream,
" And Tomorrow is only a Vision;
" But Today well lived, makes
" Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,
" And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope."
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ADDRESS
BY REV. CHARLES P. CROFT of Simsbury.
It gives me pleasure to represent the old mother-town of Simsbury. I am honored in bearing to you, her fair daugh- ter, messages of good will and best wishes for the future. This pleasant duty would better be fulfilled by my distin- guished fellow-townsman, George P. McLean, whom you expected to hear on this occasion. In an unguarded moment I made a conditional promise to take his place. I regret the promise and only wish at this moment that I might be with him playing golf on the hill-tops of Maine. I am standing where he properly belongs.
You knew George as a boy, and as boy and man we have known him many years, - the genial companion, the skill- ful lawyer, the brilliant orator, and a popular governor of our Commonwealth. He has a host of friends in this gath- ering who regret his absence, but none more than myself. The position of a substitute is not always agreeable. He has a standard set for him and is anxious to make good any loss, but may fail to fully meet the emergency. I do not apolo- gize, neither do I attempt to fill McLean's place, only beat around in it.
A minister was asked by a young man to make for him a proposition of marriage to the young lady of his choice. He declared that he had inadequate courage to face a possi- ble No. He had been in the war, and stood in many dan- gerous places, and carried about some battle scars, but he really hadn't the nerve for such a trying experience. The
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minister replied that he would be glad to assist him, to help him out of his trouble, but he was afraid that he could not give the proper emphasis at just the crucial moment - his words might lack in warmth and tenderness. As a substi- tute I may fail in emphasis and in the choice of words, but not in the warmth of any good wishes.
As I look around me and see so many distinguished speakers I feel as Daniel probably felt in the den of lions, perfectly safe, but prayerful and anxious, and wishing all the lions might be playing golf on the hill-tops of Maine.
In bringing to you the congratulations and good wishes of the old town, I confess that I am at a loss to know why you seceded. It is hinted that there were differences con- stantly arising in the increasing family, chiefly ecclesiastical contentions and pleasant Christian quarrels, and you, per- haps the more peaceable members, came off together to build up a model community, where there should be no wars nor rumors of wars, where you could worship God as a good Puritan in your own way, and make other people do the same. Whatever was the cause of your leaving we are sorry you left us, and beg to assure you that we hold no grudges. We heartily join in this celebration, we rejoice in your prosperity, your thrift, and in your bright outlook. You have the appearance of success.
We look upon your many prosperous farms lying so peacefully in these fertile valleys that wind away among the hills; upon your well-kept farmhouses that cover the hillsides; upon your flocks and herds and fields of grain, and truly you must be a contented people. We recall that your efficient schools have rendered valuable service to the neighboring towns for many years. Your churches, guided by strong men in the pulpit and in the pew, have been cen- ters of good influences for the surrounding parishes. But
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your town is perhaps more widely known as the centre of a great industry. Your manufactured goods are sent to al- most every part of the world, telling the story of your thrift and the ability and honesty of your skilled workmen. As we listen to the story of your business activities we are re- minded of the strong men who projected these enterprises, and to whom you owe a debt of gratitude. Within a few years comparatively, this great centre has sprung up until you are counted among the leaders in handicraft. This cen- tre of activity is now the palpitating heart of many happy homes all about you. Not only have your products gone into every part of our own country and into almost every other known country, adding to the wealth of the world, but in this prosperous village, and in these beautiful valleys, and among these hills are scores and hundreds of comforta- ble homes and happy families, drawing daily sustenance from this industry. It may be true that the officers and stockhold- ers of this company have received a good return for their money investment, but it is also true that the men who have invested their labor have been well and faithfully rewarded. I venture to say that words of discontent among the em- ployees are seldom heard in the outside world. Such is the loyalty to the common brotherhood of man among employers and employees that no threatening word goes out to mar the peace of this community.
It would seem from the absence of "labor troubles," that so often injure society, that you had an unwritten law among you, "that no man should speak ill of the Collins Company." This contented and prosperous condition can only happen where two things are true, - fair-minded, just, and considerate men at the head supplying the capital and planning the success, and honest and industrious men per- forming the labor and receiving just recompense. But it
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must be remembered in our estimate of men and their business, that time is an important factor. We are yet a young nation comparatively, scarcely passed the experimental stage.
We have had to train and educate our citizens and men of genius. In our early years we had no need of artists and architects. We were born amid poverty and hard but wholesome necessities. We were busy feeding mouths. We are just feeling the thrill of our new world. Every intelli- gent man is thinking and planning along broader lines for himself and his family. It is a good time to live and grow one's own bones.
Work is good, but drudgery destroys soul and body. In our early years the men of this country had no time to rest, no time for self-improvement. Life was simply rising up, going to work, eating, sleeping, and rising again. We have passed that period. The cemetery is preferable to a life of drudgery and chains. We want the laboring man in this country to have time and strength to read good books, to look at pictures, and to be able to go out into God's fields and drink in some sweet thoughts about our common Creator. I am not able to judge of the merits of the eight-hour law, but I should like to see a law compelling all men to work at least eight hours. The thousands of young men who are pampered and purposeless, who live in hotels and clubs, and who have great difficulty in killing time, what a boon to them, - a law compelling eight hours of labor.
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