History of Fairfield County, Connecticut : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 30

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) comp. cn
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1572

USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > History of Fairfield County, Connecticut : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 30

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FIRE DEPARTMENT.

One of the first public measures of the citizens of Newfield-afterwards the borough of Bridgeport- was to form themselves into a fire company, which was incorporated, as already mentioned, in 1797. An act of similar tenor was passed in the following year, and in 1834 a third fire company was chartered, fol- lowed in 1840 by the Phoenix Fire Company, No. 4, and the Pequonnock Fire Company, of North Bridge- port, and in 1845 by the Bridgeport Hose Company.

The engines of that day, however, were extremely rude affairs, without any suction apparatus, it being necessary to pour the water into them before it was squirted upon the fire, and whenever an alarm of fire was given the first duty of a good citizen was to rush to the spot with his fire-bucket, which was a part of the furniture of every house, and to form one of a line for drawing water from some convenient well and passing it up to the engine. Under these circumstances it is not surprising that fires were frequent and destruc- tive. Conflagrations several times swept through the business part of the place, notably upon the morning of Dec. 11, 1845, when the eastern side of Water Street and both sides of Wall and State Streets were devastated. Forty-nine buildings were consumed on this occasion, and the loss was estimated at over one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars.

The first engine worthy of the name was that pur- chased for Company No. 5, which had a suction appa- ratus, and was built in New York at a cost of one thousand dollars. Within a week after its arrival the steam flour-mill near the corner of Water Street and South Avenue was burned, and, ten days later, the Methodist church on Beaver Street suffered the same fate.

Previous to 1847 there was no organized fire de- partment, the several companies being not only inde- pendent of one another, but sometimes antagonistic. A by-law drafted by Mr. R. B. Lacey, providing for the appointment of a board of engineers and the enforce- ment of better discipline, was adopted in that year, and continued in force until the adoption of a paid fire department. The steam fire-engine D. H. Ster- ling, No. 1, was purchased by the city in January, 1864, and proved so successful that in May, 1865, steamer Protector, No. 2, was purchased, and in August of the same year steamer Excelsior, No. 5.

In October, 1872, the volunteer fire department was disbanded, and a paid department substituted for it. Charles A. Gerdenier, who had been at the head of the volunteer organization since 1869, was ap- pointed chief engineer, and has held this important office to the present time.

The property of the fire department, March 1, 1880, consisted in part of the following articles: Five en- gine-houses, three steam fire-engines, two hook-and-

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HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.

ladder trucks, one of them with chemical attachment, ten thousand four hundred feet of hose, two bell- towers and aların-bells, a fire-alarm telegraph, five chemical fire-extinguishers, twelve horses, and one hundred and seventy-three hydrants, the aggregate valuc of the whole being one hundred and seven thousand seven hundred and nineteen dollars.

Besides the chief engineer, the active force of the department consists of nine assistant and steamer en- gineers, seven drivers, and forty-five hose and hook- and-ladder men, -in all, sixty-two persons. The government of the department is in the hands of a board of commissioners, Messrs. S. W. Baldwin, Wil- liam R. Higby, Eli Dewhurst, and John M. Sammis* being the present members.

The department has upon the whole met with ex- cellent success ever since its organization in subduing the ravages of the devouring element, but it is hardly to be expected that a place of this size should wholly escape from disastrous fires, the work either of incen- diaries or of carelessness. Among the noteworthy fires of recent years have been the following: July 22, 1852, steamer " Alice" burned at the dock : loss, twenty-eight thousand dollars; Dec. 22, 1865, car- riage-factory of F. Wood & Co., on Broad Street, badly damaged ; May 28, 1871, lumber-yard of Beards- ley, Wilson & Co. burned; Sept. 30, 1872, planing- mill and lumber-yard of S. Nickerson & Son de- stroyed; Feb. 21, 1873, Courtland Block badly dam- aged; Dec. 9, 1874, Presbyterian church destroyed ; Dec. 14, 1875, the cabinet-factory of the Wheeler & Wilson Company destroyed, causing a loss estimated at six hundred thousand dollars; June 7, 1877, the hat-manufactory of Glover Sanford & Sons burnt, on which occasion eleven lives were lost by the falling of a wall.

FREEMASONS.

St. John's Lodge, No. 3, F. and A. M., of this city, was founded under a charter datcd Feb. 12, 1762, and issued by George Harrison, Grand Master of the province of New York, to Eleazer Hubbell, of Strat- field, in the county of Fairfield and colony of Connect- icut. There was then no Grand Lodge in Connecticut; indecd, there were but two other lodges in the colony, -viz., Hiram, No. 1, of New Haven, instituted 1750, and St. John's, No. 2, of Middletown, instituted 1754.

The first mecting of St. John's Lodge under its new charter was at the house of Capt. Samuel Wake- lee, which stood upon the street now called Park Avenue, a short distance south of State Street, Feb. 15, 1762. Five members were present,-viz., Arnout Cannon, of the city of New York, who officiated as Master pro tem .; Joseph Knapp and Isaac Young, both of Fairfield ; Eleazer Hubbell, of Stratfield; and J. Anderson, who acted as Secretary, and was perhaps a visiting brother, as his name occurs but once again in the records. It was a special meeting, called for

the purpose of initiating David Wheeler and Wolcott Chauncey. The first regular or proper meeting was held at the house of Richard Hubbell, who lived on the street now called Clinton Avenue, Feb. 24, 1762. On July 14th of the same year occurred the first elec- tion of officers, when Eleazer Hubbell, who had already acted in the capacity, was formally chosen Master for the ensuing year.

Meetings continued to be held in Stratfield until Dec. 8, 1762, when the lodge was removed to the house of Isaac Young, in Fairfield. It was voted at this ineeting that brother Young should be paid forty shil- lings in lawful money for the use of two west chambers for a period of one year from date. Two years later it was voted to remove to "the sign of the Anchor," probably the village inn at Fairfield. In January, 1763, it was voted that the lodge should have a seal and parchment, and that the secretary should charge three shillings for giving a certificate. The initiation fec was three pounds ten shillings until 1780, when it was fixed at three pounds silver money, or its equiva- lent in the depreciated Continental currency. Besides the initiation fee, taxes, regular and special, were often imposed upon the members to defray the ex- penses of the lodge. Several passages in the records show that the "refreshments" furnished were what would now be thought of a convivial nature. Among the furniture of the lodge-room were glasses and a punch-bowl, while by special vote it was made the duty of the steward "to provide necessaries for the lodge, such as rum, sugar, pipes, and tobacco." This was according to the universal custom of the time, when spirituous liquors were freely used at gather- ings of cvery description, even those of the clergy. Masonry at the present day, however, has an excel- lent record in the matter of temperance, for nearly sixty years ago the Grand Lodge of the State of Con- necticut forbade, under heavy penalty, the introduc- tion of ardent spirits into any lodge within its juris- diction, and the law is still enforced.

Frequent mention is made in the records of the celebration of the two St. John's Days,-June 24th and December 27th,-when the members of the lodge and invited guests usually dined together after listen- ing to a sermon by some one of the clergy. The Rev. Andrew Eliot, of Fairfield, was a frequent guest upon these occasions, and the names of the Rev. Messrs. Lamson, Sayre, Baldwin, and Shelton also occur in this connection. Slight tokens of good will were often voted to the officiating clergyman, such as a piece of calico for a summer gown to the Rev. Mr. Eliot, a pair of silk gloves to the Rev. Mr. Stebbins in return for a "very ingenuous and pathetic discourse" in memory of a brother lost at sea. The following resolution dated Feb. 25, 1793, is a similar instance :

"Voted unanimously, That Bro's Lacey and Cannon wait on the Rev. Philo Shelton and present him with the thanks of this lodge, as likewise one guinea, for his excellent discourse on St. John's Day, 27th Dec., 1792, at Newfield."

* Mr. Sammis died in August, 1880.

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Among the prominent members of the lodge while it remained in Fairfield were Jonathan Bulkley, who for seventeen years was elected Master; Gen. Elijalı Abel, the county sheriff; Lieut. Isaac Jarvis and Capt. Samuel Smedley, of Revolutionary fame, the latter afterwards the collector of customs for Fairfield Dis- trict ; and Dr. Francis Forgue, the leading physician of the village, who for many years was a constant attendant.

On Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 1782, the following resolution was passed by the lodge:

"Voted, That Brother Abel be desired to wait on Brother Forgue and know whether it is his desire that prayers be desired for him at the Throne of Grace, under his present indisposition of body."

A few weeks later the brethren of the order followed his body to its last resting-place, and resolutions of respect to his memory were drawn up and published in the New Haven paper.

Jan. 14, 1784, St. John's Lodge participated by its delegates in the formation of the present Grand Lodge of the State, on which occasion Pierrepont Edwards, of New Haven, but afterwards of Bridgeport, was chosen Grand Master. No allusion to either the Revolution or the war of 1812 is made in the records, but in December, 1799, it was

"Voted, That the members of the lodge wear snitable mourning upon the arm, during the pleasure of the lodge, in token of respect for the memory of the late M. W. Grand Master of the United States, George Washington."

During the war of the Revolution intervals of sey- eral months occurred during which no meetings were held, and from 1786 to 1789 the meetings were very infrequent and but slenderly attended.

In 1789, through the efforts of Josiah Lacey, Lam- bert Lockwood, and Daniel Young, influential mem- bers of the order engaged in business at the thriving settlement of Newfield, which centred near the present corner of Water and State Streets, Bridgeport, the lodge was removed here. The first meeting was held at the dwelling-house of Daniel Young, which is still standing, on the southwest corner of Union and Water Streets, June 24, 1789. Nine members of St. John's Lodge and four visiting brethren were present, and officers were elected and delegates to the convention chosen, after which the brethren adjourned to the public-house of William Peet, "where they dined and drank in good harmony."

Jan. 27, 1790, the lodge voted to meet at the house of Mr. William Peet, innkeeper, upon the north side of State Street, where the post-office now stands, "un- til a more convenient place can be obtained." Dec. 14, 1791, it was voted to remove to the chambers of Brother Josiah Lacey's house, which stood upon the south side of State Street, between Main and Water Streets.

March 14, 1792, the committee previously appointed to procure sundry articles belonging to the lodge, which were supposed to be at Fairfield, reported that they had found fourteen drinking-glasses, one punch spoon, one silver seal, an old great chair, and three

large wooden candlesticks without the brasses. A pair of brass andirons which had been left at the house of a member in Fairfield were not forthcoming, but were believed to have been carried off to Delaware by his son.

Oct. 5, 1792, the lodge voted to purchase ten tickets in the lottery for building Newfield Bridge.

Dec. 12, 1792, it was voted to remove to the house of Isaac Hinman, which stood upon the southwest corner of Wall and Water Streets.

Many other interesting extracts might be made from the early records did space permit, but it is suffi- cient to say that after its removal to Bridgeport its condition was prosperous. The surplus funds in the treasury amounted to several hundred dollars, and were loaned to members to use in their business, always by vote of the lodge and upon a six months' interest- bearing note.

From 1809 to 1812, by order of the Grand Lodge, the lodge was obliged to meet within one mile of the court-house, in the town of Fairfield. In 1812 it re- turned to the house of Brother Ephraim Knapp, who succeeded Mr. Hinman upon the corner of Wall and Water Streets, and from that time it has continued to meet in Bridgeport.

During the years 1831 and 1832, on account of the supposed abduction of Morgan, public feeling ran high against Masonry. It was accused of being an institu- tion dangerous to the community and injurious to morality and religion. To meet this charge a defense of Freemasonry, signed by fifty members of St. John's Lodge, was published in the local newspapers. The document, though interesting, is too long to quote here. Among the signers were such well-known names as those of Hanford Lyon, Philo Hurd, Wilson Hawley, Gen. Enoch Foote, Charles Foote, William Peet, Rev. H. R. Judah, rector of St. John's Church, Dr. William B. Nash, Abijah Hawley, Ezekiel Hubbell, Eli Thomp- son, Gideon Thompson, and others of equal standing in the community. Notwithstanding this defense, the popular prejudice was so strong against the institution that Masonry was practically dormant in this place until about the year 1847. After this date it began to revive, and meetings were held at first in the old lodge- room, which was in the upper story of the school- house, No. 200 State Street, afterwards upon the north- west corner of State and Water Streets, then over Ferris Hurd's store, on Water Street, at the foot of State Street, and finally, in 1855, in the present well- known and handsome rooms in Sturdevant Building, corner of Main and Bank Streets.

Feb. 12, 1862, the centennial anniversary of St. John's Lodge, No. 3, was celebrated by interesting exercises held in the First Methodist Episcopal Church, 1 and by a supper at Franklin Hall, at which some four hundred members of the order and invited guests were present. An account of the proceedings, together with a historical sketch and an oration delivered on the ocea- sion by the Rev. Dr. Ewer, was afterwards published. The present membership of St. John's Lodge, No. 3,

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is five hundred and eight, and the officers of the body are: Frederick F. Callender, W. M. ; Thomas F. Daly, S. W. ; Edward T. Ward, J. W .; E. Stewart Sumner, Sec. ; William R. Higby, Treas. ; Rev. E. W. Maxey, D.D., Chaplain.

Corinthian Lodge, No. 104, was chartered May 22, 1868, and now numbers one hundred members. It meets in the same lodge-room used by the members of St. John's, and its officers are as follows: Daniel N. Morgan, W. M .; W. W. Ingham, S. W .; H. E. Winsor, J. W .; Charles E. Wilmot, Sec .; H. H. Porter, Treas .; Rev. Sylvester Clarke, Chaplain.

Hamilton Commandery, No. 5, Knights Templar, was chartered (under name of Hamilton Encamp- ment), May 10, 1855, with sixteen charter members, all of whom had originally belonged to Clinton Com- mandery.

May 21, 1855, Hamilton Commandery, No. 3, of Norwalk, was instituted, officers were chosen, and three members-William R. Higby, James L. Gould, and James E. Dunham-received the honor of knighthood. The first public appearance of this body was at the fu- neral of Alexander Hamilton, a prominent citizen, from whom the Commandery took its name, who died Aug. 27, 1857. Its twenty-fifth anniversary was celebrated May 20, 1880, by appropriate exercises, including an interesting historical sketch by William R. Higby, which has been published. Officers of the Com- mandery at this time are: William E. Seeley, E. C .; Hugh Stirling, Gen. ; William R. Higby, Treas .; W. B. Osborn, Rec.

Following are the dates of organization of several of the other Masonic bodies in this city. Want of space forbids giving any account of them at this time:

Jerusalem Chapter, No. 13, R. A. M., Oct. 21, 1813. Jerusalem Council, No. 16, R. and S. M., in 1827. De Witt Clinton Lodge of Perfection, May 11, 1858. Pequonnock Chapter, R. C., June 1, 1858.

Washington Council, P. of J., June 1, 1858.

Lafayette Consistory, S. P. of R. S., June 1, 1858.

As will be seen by what has been written, the mem- bership of the order in this city is at this time over six hundred. Though not professing to be a charita- ble organization, it does not a little for the relief of the sick and suffering, and in this respect is certainly worthy of all praise.

GASLIGHT COMPANY.

The Bridgeport Gaslight Company was incorporated in 1849, and, as already mentioned, commenced busi- ness in December, 1851, with seventy-six private con- sumers and twenty-six public street-lamps. Among the original corporators named in the charter were Horace Nichols, R. B. Mason, W. P. Burrall, Philo Hurd, and Hanford Lyon. H. K. Harral was the first president of the company, and P. C. Calhoun the first treasurer. After the decease of Mr. Harral, in June, 1854, his place was filled by Hanford Lyon, who hield the office until April 2, 1868, when he was succeeded

by Amos S. Treat, who has ever since been president. The original cost of the works was seventy-five thou- sand dollars, but more than one hundred and seventy- five thousand dollars additional has since been ex- pended upon them. The late John Cornwall was sec- retary and treasurer for twenty years, from 1854 to 1874, and C. A. Gerdenier, the present superintendent, has been connected with the company since 1864.

Officers of the company at the present time are : Hon. Amnos S. Treat, President; William B. Hincks, Secretary and Treasurer; Charles A. Gerdenier, Su- perintendent ; Samuel C. Trubee, William H. Perry, William R. Higby, A. C. Hobbs, Henry L. Clark, Horace Nichols, Sidney B. Beardsley, Amos S. Treat, William B. Hincks, Directors.

GRAIN-ELEVATOR.

The following account of this building is taken from an article entitled " The Trade and Manufactures of Bridgeport," in the " Municipal Register" for 1876. " Bridgeport has the only grain-elevator on the coast between New York and Boston. It was erected in 1871 by the enterprising firm of Crane & Hurd, and grew out of their connection and experience with the grain trade in the West. It is forty by fifty feet at the base, and one hundred feet in height. It is run by a twenty-five horse-power engine and the labor of five men, and is capable of taking in and storing eight thousand bushels of grain per day of ten hours from either railroad-car or boat at the dock. Grain is brought in bulk in rail-cars from any point in the West, or by water in canal-boat, barge, or schooner from any of the larger markets, and here conveniently and economically handled and then distributed to the various points of consumption. As many as one and a half million bushels of grain have passed through this elevator in a single year. Mr. John Hurd is the present sole proprietor."

HARBOR.

With proper attention Bridgeport Harbor ought to be one of the best upon the Sound. Systematic im- provements were begun by the United States govern- ment in the summer of 1872, and are still in progress .. Before dredging was commenced there were but five. and a half or six feet of water at low tide at certain points where there is now twelve feet. The intention of the government engineers is ultimately to make the: channel three hundred feet wide and twelve feet deep. from Long Island Sound to the lower bridge, and to extend the present breakwater to a point thirteen hundred and eighty feet from the eastern shore. The effect of the breakwater, it is thought, will be to keep the channel from filling up again, and thus make the improvements of a permanent character. Above the lower bridge the harbor has been much injured by encroachments, some of the docks and piers having been built out much farther than should have been i permitted.

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HORSE-RAILROAD.

The Bridgeport Horse-Railroad Company was in- corporated in 1865 with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, the charter of the company giving it permission to extend its line from the starting-point near Pembroke Lake, in East Bridgeport, to Moun- tain Grove Cemetery and Black Rock, with a branch to the railroad depot at the foot of Fairfield Avecune. Cars first commenced running from the Sterling Honse to the eastern terminus Jan. 23, 1866, and while the road was a novelty it was liberally patronized. The present western terminus is at the junction of Fair- field and Clinton Avenues, the length of track fonr miles, and the rate of fare five cents. Nine cars and forty-one horses are owned by the company and three hundred and thirty thonsand eight hundred and forty- seven passengers were carried during the past year.

Officers of the corporation are : Albert Eames, Pres- ident; Frederick Hurd, Secretary and Treasurer; B. F. Lasher, Superintendent; N. Wheeler, P. T. Bar- num, C. A. Hotchkiss, James Wilson, Frederick Hurd, Albert Eames, J. J. Gorham, Directors.

HOSPITAL.

The need of a well-conducted hospital in a city of the size of Bridgeport for the relief of cases of acci- dental injury and the treatment of patients who can- not receive proper care at their homes is very apparent. To Dr. George F. Lewis belongs the credit of first attempting to supply this want. At his snggestion a bequest was inserted in the will of his aunt, the late Miss Snsan Hubbell, of West Stratford, for founding a hospital in this vicinity. In January, 1878, the Bridgeport Hospital was organized as a body corporate by the Legislature. Following are the officers of the corporation : P. T. Barnum, President ; E. F. Bishop, Vice-President; George F. Lewis, Secretary and Treas- urer ; Jarratt Morford, William B. Hincks, Robert J. White, Executive Committee ; P. T. Barnum, Samuel W. Baldwin, George F. Lewis, F. B. Hall, R. W. Bun- nell, E. F. Bishop, Robert J. White, Amos S. Treat, William B. Hincks, Charles B. Hotchkiss, Jarratt Morford, Samnel C. Trubee, Directors.

The amount of Miss Hubbell's bequest was thirteen thousand four hundred and seventy-nine dollars, to- gether with a lot containing abont one acre of land on Mill Hill Avenue, West Stratford. By accumulation of interest upon the investments, and by collections taken up in behalf of the object by churches and so- cieties, this amount has now increased to abont twenty- ' two thousand dollars; but, as the sum of sixty thon- sand dollars is needed before commencing to build, it is obvious that much remains to be done.

HYDRAULIC COMPANY.

A very full account is given in the "Municipal Reg- ister" for 1873 and succeeding years of the history of the water supply of Bridgeport, and only a few of the leading facts will be recapitulated here.

The first effort to supply water by pipes to the people of Bridgeport was made by Rev. Elijah Waterman abont the year 1818. Certain springs of pure water near the present corner of Golden Hill and Hewit Streets were deepened and cleared out, and the water condneted down town and through the principal streets in wooden pipes, or rather bored-out logs. The enter- prise was continued, at first by Lewis C. Segee, who sneeceded Mr. Waterman about the year 1823, and afterwards in May, 1833, by Jesse Sterling, Stephen Hawley, S. B. Jones, Nichols Northrop, and their as- sociates, who were incorporated in May, 1833, nnder the name of the Bridgeport and Golden Hill Aqnednct Company, with capital of ten thousand dollars, the water being obtained from the sonrce already men- tioned.

In 1853, the need of a more extensive supply of water, partienlarly for fire purposes, being felt, the Common Conncil granted to Nathaniel Greene (agent of the Pequonnock Mills, in North Bridgeport), and to his assigns the exclusive privilege of laying down water pipes in the public streets, on condition of his furnishing the city and the inhabitants with a full supply of pure water for domestic, mechanical, and all ordinary uses, both public and private. The Bridgeport Water Company was incorporated by Mr. Greene and others for this purpose in the year 1853, with a capital of one hundred and sixty thonsand dollars, and during the following year a distributing reservoir in North Bridgeport was constructed and pipes were laid through the principal streets of the city, the source of supply being the water of the Pe- qnonnock River, which was pumped np into the res- ervoir.

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History of Fairfield County, Connecticut : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 30

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) comp. cn Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co. Number of Pages: 1572

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) comp. cn
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1572