USA > Connecticut > Tolland County > Hebron > Hebron, Connecticut, bicentennial, August 23d to 25th, 1908 : an account of the celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town : 1708-1908 > Part 6
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At this town meeting of Oct. 6, 1845, occurred the memorable giving way of the upper floor of the school house used as a town hall, precipitating those attending the meeting into the room below. It caused, I imagine, quite an excitement at the time and the occurrence is still remembered by a few of our older inhabitants; but no one was seriously injured, so far as
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I have learned. The meeting was then adjourned to the Congregational meeting house steps. On the 20th of the month, 1845, the town voted (meeting on the Congregational meeting house steps) to give up the town hall to the school district or condition that the district take it as it is, and do not call upon the town for damages or repairs; at the same time it was voted to accept the offer of the M. E. Society to furnish a room in the basement of their church at the rate of $20 per annum provided the society should furnish to the acceptance of the selectmen a place for Moderator, Selectmen and Town Clerk, and also for all town business.
The war of 1812 appears to have made no especial impression upon the town's history, so far as anything appears upon record; further than that in 1838, there was money refunded to the town for expenses in the "late war", but how much was not stated. It was voted to use it to pay town expenses.
At a town meeting held the 13th of April. 1818, it was resolved "That whereas, in a Republican Government a written constitution declaring and defining the powers and prerogatives of the rulers, and securing the rights and interests of the people is necessary to the security of freedom. and whereas, the State of Connecticut has no written constitution, of Civil Government, therefore resolved, that the representatives of this town to the next General Assembly to be holden in Hartford in May next, be instructed to give their support to measures preparatory to the forming a written constitution for the Government of the people of this state, and resolved, that said representatives be furnished by the town clerk with copies of these resolves immediately on their election". When it came to voting upon the ratification of the constitution the vote stood 164 in favor, and 80 in opposition. The reasons for their so voting do not appear.
In Feb., 1821, there was a vote of the town to consent to become a part of a new county upon the application, bearing date the first day of Nov., 1820, of the town of Colchester, upon the express condition that the town was to be to no expense in connection with it. Colchester was probably ambitious to become a county seat.
The old pound west of the gristmill on the road to Marlborough was established in 1821, and the selectmen were directed to build it of stone and lav the foundation below the frost. This pound within a comparatively few years, has gone out of use. In 1823, the town voted to discontinue the road from south of the old cemetery on Godfrey Hill leading east to the road to Andover at a point a short distance south of the Cyrus Mann house. In 1830, an effort was made to have the town meetings held half the time in Gilead and Andover, but the proposition as the record has it, "After a full discussion was negatived by a great majority". At a meeting of the town in Oct., 1831, the matter of crows was considered; and fol- lowing a quite lengthy statement of the damage done to crops, etc., by crows, a bounty was voted of 6 cents for each old and 3 cents for each young crow killed in the town, but was abolished two years later.
In 1835 it would seem that a committee appointed by the Superior Court for the County of Tolland reported in favor of laying out a road from Colchester through Hebron to Tolland. The acceptance of this report the town, at a meeting held in Aug. of that year, voted to remon- strate against. The town probably shrank from the expense of building the Hebron portion of it. In Sept., 1837, there was a vote of the town to approve of the petition of Samuel Skinner and others to the County Court of the County of Tolland for the discontinuance of the new road lately laid out by a committee of said Court from Hebron to Colchester (probably a part of the road above mentioned) and Samuel Skinner was
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appointed the town's agent to manage the case. A year later the oppo- sition would seem to have subsided, or at least, proved unsuccessful, as in Aug., 1838, the town voted to accept the report of the selectmen laying out a road from David T. Carver's by the Furnace to the Colchester line, said report following the layout of the County Committee. This road was not actually opened till toward two years later, as appears from the town votein March, 1840, directing the selectmen to farm out to the lowest bidder the Furnace road to the Colchester line; and that it be repaired and made in proper manner for public travel and that it be done forthwith to the acceptance of the selectmen.
Up to 1836, the road leading from the Hebron and Middle Haddam Turnpike to Burrows Hill passed directly over the hill south of the present residence of Loren A. Waldo, about which time the layout of the road was changed to lead around the hill on the east, and the hill avoided. The new route was through land of Aaron Phelps for which he was awarded $92 damage.
In Nov., 1841, a report of the selectmen was accepted, laying out a road through land of Stephen B. Fuller and of David Strong, with dam- ages allowed to Fuller of $146 and to Strong of $52. This is the road leading south from the road to Columbia, a few rods east of where Fitch N. Jones is now living, and terminating a short distance north of the bridge near George C. Tennant's.
In 1842, it was voted to discontinue the old road from the old Col- chester road at a point a little south of the residence of the late William T. Jones to the road from Hope Valley to Grayville, or as the record reads, "to the lower mill". In 1847, there was a vote to discontinue the road leading east from near the Tenth District School House, with the proviso that the owners of land on the road might keep it open for a private way if they saw fit; also the road leading east from Hazael Gott's, Sr., to Asa Strong's. There were votes also passed between 1840 and 1850 to dis- continue some other roads that were nevertheless still kept open. These roads were the so called "Cone Road" leading north from the Burnt Hill road to the south line of Zenas Chappel, vote passed Nov., 1>40; the road leading east from about 20 rods south of Burnham's Corners to the Colum- bia line, vote passed in 1846; and the road leading south from near the dwelling house of Hazael Gott, Sr., to the Colchester line. Leaving the subject of highways for the present, in Feb., 1837, the town voted to receive its share of what is now known as the Town Deposit Fund. The income of this fund was at first ised wholly for the support of schools, but only for a few years, when one-half was used for current town expenses, and continued to be so used as long as the laws of the state permitted; and it was distributed, for a time, at least, in equal amounts to the several school districts. The fund was mostly loaned to individuals, and secured by mortgage of real estate, and it is within a comparatively few years that it has become wholly invested in town orders. The amount received was $4,974.88.
The first action I find taken by the town regarding the sale of intoxi- cants was in January, 1840, a vote "That all persons within the town of Hebron have liberty to sell wines and spirituous liquors in said town for the year ensuing". In January, 1841, it was voted "That no person in the town of Hebron have a license to sell wines and spirituous liquors in this town during the year 1841 except licensed physicians, and they are to sell for no other purpose than medicinal". This vote was rescinded during the same month, and the following substituted for it "That the legal voters of Hebron have liberty to sell in any quantity not less than 1-8 gallon, and not to be drank on their premises, except taverners who may
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sell by the glass", voting in the affirmative 84, negative 64. I find no subsequent vote relating to sale of intoxicants, except that since the sub- stitution of local option for the so called Maine law the town has almost, if not quite, always voted no license.
During the last few years, at least, of the Maine law, every one seems to have sold intoxicants in the town who felt disposed, with no notice being taken of it.
In 1846, the town entered upon the repair of its highways and bridges by contract to the lowest responsible bidder, which method of repair was continued for quite a number of years. Previously the highways were kept in repair by districts, a highway surveyor being appointed for each district to supervise the work and collect the highway tax of such as failed to pay it in labor, of which all taxpayers had the privilege at a certain rate per day for able-bodied men, and for teams. The rate per day was changed from time to time to conform to the prevailing rate of wages. In 1808, the rate was four shillings (663 cents) in the spring, and three shillings (50 cents) in the fall; and at no time up to the adoption of the contract system was the rate per day more than one dollar for a day of ten hours. In 1865 , the district system was adopted again and the rate per day for able- bodied men was made $1.50. The road, leading from the road from Hebron village to Gilead, to the road to Marlborough near Mr. H. F. Porter's grist mill, it would seem, was projected in 1855, as appears by a vote of the town to oppose the lay out of it before the county commissioners.
May 24, 1847, it was voted by the town unanimously, as the record has it, to oppose the petition of Eliphalet Hendee and others of Andover society praying the General Assembly to incorporate the society into a town; and at another meeting, April 24th of the year following similar action was again taken, and it was further voted "That the town will not consent to be deprived of sending two representatives to the General Assembly", and at the same time the town requested the senator from the district, and instructed the Hebron representatives to use all proper means to "carry" the votes of the town in the matter into effect. The opposition was unavailing except that we retained our two representatives.
April 4, 1849, the town clerk, for the better preservation of the town records, was directed to examine, and if he found any "from age, mutila- tion or other cause in danger of being lost, to take means to effectively preserve them, either by copying or binding, or both".
At the annual town meeting held Oet. 1, 1849, the Treasurer of the Town Deposit Fund reported as follows, "Not a cent has been lost, or paid to the agent, or treasurer of the Town Deposit Fund for their ser- vices for twelve years" and there was a refusal to serve longer without compensation, whereupon it was voted that the treasurer receive $10 annually for his services.
In Dec., 1849, the town instructed its assessors to "examine person- ally the property liable to taxation and to assess the same according to its true value in their opinion without regard to any former valuation"; and it was voted that the assessors be allowed $1.00 per day for "time actually devoted to their official duties". With regard to town officers in general, by a vote passed in 1855, they were requested "to transaet the ordinary town business without charge".
In 1851, the General Assembly was petitioned by vote of the town to constitute the town of Hebron a probate district by the name of the Probate District of Hebron with authority to retain the custody and possession of all the records and files of the then present Probate District of Hebron. As a result Hebron was made a separate probate district, but failed to retain the records and files asked for. At the same time liberty
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was asked of the legislature to loan the credit of the town to the New York and Boston R. R. Co. for an amount not to exceed $10,000, but it does not appear the request was granted.
When the management of schools by school societies was abandoned and a board of school visitors was elected for the oversight of schools, there was a vote of the town Oct. 6, 1856, that the board should consist of nine members, six to be from the old society, Hebron, and three from Gilead. The members of the board as then elected, were Rev. William Warland, Rev. Merrick Knight, Rev. James Dixon, Orrin C. White and Flavel Jones from Hebron, and Solomon Norton, Thomas L. Brown and John W. Buell from Gilead.
In 1859, the selectmen were authorized to purchase the M. E. Church building with the land on which it was standing and the appurtenances thereto, and to pay for it the sum of $650, but possession by deed was not secured till 1863.
The taxes of the town previous to the war of the Rebellion would appear not to have exceeded about four and one-half mills on the dollar. In 1861, the year of the commencement of the war the tax voted by the town was three mills for town expenses and one and one-fourth mills for repair of highways and bridges, since which time in consequence of the town's in- debtedness, taxes for the support of schools, higher prices to be paid for labor and for services of town officers, together with a material decrease in the amount of taxable property, the rate of taxation has increased to a yearly tax of about seventeen mills.
While previous wars influenced the town's history hardly at all, it was quite otherwise with that of the Rebellion commencing in 1861. The first record relating especially to this war was a vote of the town passed Aug. 29, 1862, giving a bounty of $100 to each volunteer of Hebron who had enlisted or should enlist on or before the 15th, be enrolled and mus- tered into the service. The same year and month also a bounty of $250 was voted to each volunteer to fill the town's quota, and again $300 was voted to each person drafted and mustered into the service, or to enable him to procure a substitute; and the selectmen were directed to borrow money for the purpose on town orders. Feb. 13, 1864, the town voted that the selectmen be authorized to procure a sufficient number of men to fill the town's quota under a call of the President for 200,000 men; and in July of the same year a committee of five was appointed to superin- tend filling the quota of Hebron under a call of the President for 500,000, and the selectmen, the town clerk and the town treasurer were made that committee.
To pay the war expenses of the town, according to a vote passed Jan. 18, 1864, bonds were issued of $100 each, not to exceed $3,785, payable in ten and fifteen years, and again in Aug., 1864, bonds were authorized to be issued sufficient to pay all expenses under the call of the President for 500,000 men to be payable in twenty years, or after six years at the pleasure of the town.
Previous to this war the town seems to have had no permanent debt.
The names of volunteers from Hebron as near as I can ascertain, are as follows: Edwin C. Bailey, George M. Barber, Willis Bartholomew, Charles N. Bissell, Warren H. Bissell, George Bliss, John F. Bliss, Loren Bradford, Joseph Backus, William Brown, Charles G. Burnham, Lyman Coats, George Gillett, Nathan Gillett, Sylvester G. Gilbert, Andrew J. Hanks, Alfred P. Hanks, George Hanna, William H. Hanna, John A. Holmes, Lucius H. Jagger, Alfred E. Leonard, John Loomis, Harvey N. Johnson, Edwin Loveland, Alfred Miner, Charles G. Miner, Henry B. Porter, Erastus Mitchell, Calvin Strickland, Alonzo Taylor, James J.
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Taylor, Samuel N. Stevens, Francis H. Thompson, James H. Thompson, James Tefft, Adelbert F. Tefft, Loren A. Waldo, Walter E. Wright.
In 1864 a movement was started towards transforming Hebron Green into a park, and a vote was passed in Nov. of that year to allow citizens of Hebron to form themselves into a company for grading it. The grading was largely done by, and under the oversight of, E. P. Buell, and a fence erected about it. In 1887 there was a vote to discontinue the road pre- viously leading through the center of the Green, and also a vote to allow an association to be formed to take charge of the Park and have the use of it so long as it should maintain a fence about it to the acceptance of the selectmen. The association however seems not to have been formed, and the old fence about it getting wofully out of repair, was on the night of Saturday, Aug. 4, 1888, torn down by the boys of the village, and piled up in different places, at the instigation of some of our young ladies whose sense of the fitness of things was offended. Since then the Park has re- mained unfenced as at present.
The railroad indebtedness of the town was a result of a vote of March 3, 1869, to issue bonds to the amount of $28,000 in aid of the New Haven, Middletown and Willimantic Railroad Co. This vote was passed with a good deal of opposition, and would perhaps have failed of passing, but for the agreement of P. W. Turner to guarantee to the town one-sixth of the amount.
To secure the town, it was to receive second mortgage bonds of the road, but the town, for the sake of aiding the company to complete the road in May, 1871, agreed to relinquish these and to receive therefor as many shares of the fully paid stock of the company as at par would equal the bonds relinquished.
In order to raise funds from the sale of the company's second mort- gage bonds the town was asked to guarantee, and at a meeting of Nov. 30, 1871, it voted to guarantee, such bonds of the company to the amount of $28,000, in conformity with similar action by other towns. By those opposed to the town's action, an injunction was obtained in 1872, restrain- ing the selectmen and the town's treasurer from effecting the guarantee voted. The courts finally decided that the meeting at which the vote was passed was illegal on account of the warning not having been posted a sufficient length of time, and that the vote to guarantee was void.
In 1876, it was voted to discard the old Hebron hearse, looked upon as having outlived its usefulness, and purchase a new one to be used for both Hebron and Gilead at a cost not to exceed $250. Subsequently, the select- men were empowered to pay as high as $300, and again as high as $400. This is the hearse now in use.
April 17, 1882, a fire broke out upon the roof of a building, the lower story of which was occupied by Lucien H. Leonard as a store, his family residing in the story above. The fire started from sparks from the chimney. This building, known as the Hendee Store, stood just west of the Congregational Church, and with it was burned, the church and four other buildings on the north side of the Green, and the schoolhouse and two other buildings on the south side. The church and schoolhouse were rebuilt the same year, and two of the dwellings soon after.
In 1878, the Seventh School District was discontinued by action of the town and made a part of the Fifth, and in 1882, the line between the First and Fourth Districts so changed as to take into the First all the territory north and west of the location of the school building in the Fourth, and a new house was erected for the latter district in Turnerville, a little north of the railroad crossing. About 1887, was the commencement of the con- troversy with P. W. Turner with regard to North Pond. He had either
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bought or leased all the land bordering the pond, claimed to own the pond and forbid all fishing in it except with his special permission. As the people of the community had from time immemorial had free access to it for fishing and recreation, there was aroused a natural feeling of resent- ment, and there was a general refusal to admit his claims.
To enable parties to reach the pond without trespassing, the town voted to lay out a road to it, which he naturally opposed, as owning the land through which it passed and claiming to own the pond, to which it was to give access. This lead to a legal investigation of ownership and control, and the decision of the Superior Court being in favor of the town, the case was appealed to the Supreme Court. This reversed the decision of the lower court and decided the case against the town, leaving a feeling on the part of some at least, that if according to law it was hardly accord- ing to equity.
In 1888, an association was organized under the name of The Hebron Literary Society, a constitution adopted and by-laws enacted having for its object the creating and maintaining a library The commencement of the library was with about 200 volumes. In June, 1889, the society voted to transfer its property to, and associate its members with, the so-called Hebron Library Association, incorporated by an act of the legislature at the Jan. session of that year. The library was kept at Dr. C. H. Pendleton's till a library building was erected in 1898, on land given to the association by Mr. Eben B. Page of Boston, a son of the late Jonathan G. Page. At first and till 1899, the privileges of the library were in consideration of an annual fee of one dollar, in which year in consider- ation of an annual appropriation by the town of $50, and to conform to the conditions of a legacy of $500 by the last will and testament of Ben- jamin A. Bissell, the library was made free to all inhabitants of the town.
At the opening of the century the business, as at present, was chiefly agriculture with such mechanical and manufacturing industries as would meet the wants of the surrounding population, but with more or less of a surplus for more distant markets, carried on largely by private enterprise.
At the beginning of the second century of the town's history, the manufacture of shears was carried on by Obadiah White on Burrows Hill, and subsequently that of axes by Joseph White, Sr. and Jr.
On the old road to Colchester near the now railroad crossing, wooden rakes were manufactured by Ephraim Wilcox and his son down to 1850 or later. In the northwest part of the town was the woolen mill of Henry P. Sumner on Blackledge River, burned in 1830. Subsequently near the site of the woolen mill a paper mill was erected and the manufacture of paper carried on by Dr. Charles F. Sumner of Bolton, until a few years ago the mill was burned without insurance and never rebuilt.
In 1814, The Hebron Manufacturing Company was incorporated for carrying on business on the stream running south from Hope Valley, a short distance west from what is now called "The Gull," or sometimes, Grayville. This at first, it would appear, was a cotton mill, as in a deed from Daniel Burrows to Daniel Kellogg, Treas., the land is described as "with a cotton mill standing on it". Afterwards bit-stocks were here manufactured not far from the middle of the century, till the plant was- finally burned.
In 1815 was incorporated The Washington Manufacturing Company for the manufacture of cloths and other fabrics of cotton. The mill was located on the stream from North Pond, nearly half a mile east of the mill of The Hebron Manufacturing Company, or as it was subsequently called The Joint Stock Co. This finally passed into the ownership of William Gray and was operated by him till about 1850 or later. The mill
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is still standing but during the last 50 years has been operated only at intervals. A little further north on the same stream a paper mill was operated as early as 1819, as shown by a lease of land with paper mill from Daniel Burrows to Daniel Burrows, Jr. It was finally changed to a cotton mill, but for many years it has been but little operated.
In Hope Valley in the early part of the century there were two fae- tories, one on the east side of the road leading south, originally for the manufacture of woolen goods; afterwards it was occupied by Samuel Norton and by Charles H. Douglas for the manufacture of bit-stocks, and again as a cotton mill by Daniel I. Norton, till in 1876, it was burned down. A short distance below on the same stream was another cotton mill. This property in 1834, was deeded to Gardner Barber, and the mill operated by him till probably near the middle of the century. This mill was also burned after standing idle for a number of years.
In Sept., 1835, land described as with a blast furnace standing on it was deeded by Buell and Amos Crouch to Jared and Samuel Lewis of Colchester. This was located in what is now Turnerville, near the silk- mill dyehouse, and the business of reducing irou from the ore and manu- facturing products of iron was carried on for a number of years, but was hardly a financial success. The ore used was bog-iron obtained in and carted from an ore bed in Colehester near what has been known as Union- ville. This property was purchased in 1853 by Phineas W. Turner, on which he erected mills and carried on silk manufacturing until his death in 1903, and after his death by his son till early in the present year. At present the property is in the hands of a trustee as an insolvent estate. For several years prior to the appointment of the trustee the business was carried on under the firm name of P. W. Turner & Co.
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