History of Middlesex county, Connecticut, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Part 120

Author: Whittemore, Henry, b. 1833; Beers, J.B. & Company, publishers
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : J. B. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 818

USA > Connecticut > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex county, Connecticut, with biographical sketches of its prominent men > Part 120

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FISHERIES.

For many years, one of the principal industries of the town of Saybrook was its shad fisheries. Previous to the Revolutionary war, shad were not considered of much value, and it is said that if a family had one on the table, and saw a neighbor coming in, they would put it out of sight, being ashamed to be seen eating so common a fish. The river, the sound coast, and every creek and bay, teemed with them, as well as with bass, chequit, and salmon. It is probable that soon after the war, the shad fisheries began to be profitable. The fishing then was mostly done with short seines, which were hauled on shore without the use of capstans. It is said that Capt. Daniel Ingraham, who died about 1845, aged about 90, built the first fishing pier on the river. These piers, which were afterward used by most of the fisheries, were built on the river flats, near the edge of the channel, of logs and stone, the tops being out at high water, and on these, two capstans were placed for hauling in ropes attached to the two arms of the seine. The one built by Captain Ingraham, known as " Jamaica pier," was set directly off the mouth of Ragged Rock Creek, thus preventing any claim for rent, by the owners of the adjoining land. In the early years of the present century, shad fishing was at its height as far as the number of fish caught were concerned. The largest haul on record was made with a short seine by Mr. Elias Tully, who caught 3,700 at the point at the mouth of South Cove, now known as "Folly Point." Later a haul of 2,200 was made on Dickinson's

pier. The fishery at the mouth of the river, near the lighthouse, was for many years one of the best. No pier was needed there, the seine being hauled directly ashore. The beach was covered with stones, which gave it the name of "Pavement." One season, either 1835 or 1836, shad were very abundant. Four thousand were caught at the "Pavement" in one day, the largest haul be- ing 1,700. At the last haul they got 400, and one of the owners suggested that the lead line be raised, and the shad allowed to escape, as they probably could not save them, there being a pile of about 5,000 shad caught that day and the day before, on shore, still unsalted. The other owners would not agree to that, but they then stopped fishing, and went to dressing, and saved them all, with the help of people from the town. In those days, the shad were all salted instead of being sold fresh, and the principal fisheries presented a busy scene in the height of the season. The gangs usually consisted of eight or nine men, and when large hauls were made, extra men were employed to dress and salt. Large sheds were built to contain the salt, and hogsheads of salt fish, and the stores, with the fishermen, drove a thriving trade in salt and provisions. When all the fish - eries that were owned and fished by the people of the present town of Old Saybrook were in full operation they must have given employment to 250 or 300 men . On one occasion, early in the present century, Mr. Asa Kirtland, with several men, went around to " Plumbank," west of Cornfield Point, one night, for the purpose of fishing. While the party were camping in the plum bushes, waiting for the tide, he heard a splashing in a deep hole in Plumbank Creek, which runs through the salt meadows back of the beach. On going over there, he found Mr. James Shipman and somebody else, who had made a haul there, and had caught 300 shad. On the same night, Mr. James Dibble, with a piece of an old seine, caught 300 alone near Salmon Rock, on the flats west of Cornfield Point. In the morning Mr. K. came around into the river, and as he was passing the " Pave- ment " fishery, one of the fishermen, who were mending their seine on shore, cried out, " Make a haul !" They did so, and got 900. The fishermen shipped their net quickly, and did not invite them to make another haul. There happening to be a scarcity of salt in the town, an ox team was dispatched to Stanton's, in Clinton, for a 50 bushel load, to salt them with. This is related to show how abundant shad were at that time. It is said that at one time, 500 shad were caught at a haul in Ragged Rock Creek. The piers on the east side of the river channel were most of them owned by people on this side, with the exception of the "Griswold " piers near the mouth. The first pier on the east side of the river, op- posite the lighthouse, was "Zoar," then came "Gris- wold's " two piers, and then " Sodom." This name was given to it by Mr. Samuel Hart, of the firm of Pratt & Hart, grocers, on Saybrook Point. Mr. Hart was a noted wit. After Sodom was abandoned, and a new pier built, Mr. Hart was applied to for a name. His 'reply was, " Lot fled to Zoar!" and the pier was called " Zoar " ever

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after. "Dickinson's " pier was directly opposite the fort, and the next one above was " Gibraltar," so called because the fish house stood on a rocky hammock. " Sanford's " pier came next. It was sometimes called " Woodiot," on account tof the number of logs that were caught, which tore the seines. "St. John's" was the last below the ferry, those above on that side of the river being mostly owned by Lyme parties. On the west side of the river the "Pavement," near the light- house, was the first. This was abandoned in 1861. The fishery next above at the " Folly," was abandoned many years ago. The first pier was at the mouth of the South Cove. It was named " Cootesborough,"* because some Potapaug people owned it. It never was used much. Another was at Pipestave Point, near where the north end of Fenwick bridge is now. A pier was built south- east of the Point, on which only one attempt at hauling was ever made. The seine was "set," on the strength of the tide," and the men were not able to hold the cap- stan. One let go and the capstan flew around throwing the men into the water and injuring several. The pier ever after went by the name of " Knock-'em-stiff." The "Fort " fishery was next. They formerly hauled the seine on shore, but later a pier was built, the remains of which are now under Pease's wharf. It was abandoned in 1858 or 1859.

The next fishery was known as the "Parsonage," be- ing located on the river flats above the mouth of the North Cove, and opposite the meadow owned by the Con- gregational society, to which society the rent of the fish- ery was paid. This was a famous fishery for many years, but was abandoned soon after the war of the Rebellion. What were known as the two "Ingham " piers, " Jamai- ca " and "Federal," came next, and then the " Ayer " piers, " Washington " and " Independence." Independ- ence, the upper one of the two last named, was so near the Shore Line Railroad Ferry, that the ferry was in the way of their sweep. Accordingly, it was sold to the rail- road company, as was " Rebellion," which is directly under the railroad bridge. "Skunkhole" came next above the ferry, then the fishery on Tilly's or Ferry Point, and lastly, between Tilly's Point, and Mr. Ayers', on a flat, near the middle of the river, were "Santa Cruz " and "Newfoundland." Of these numerous piers and fisheries on the river, all have been abandoned, ex- cept "Washington " and "Federal; " they have been fished up to the present time with fair success.

The gill net shad fisheries probably began about the same time that the seine fisheries did, and with nets about 20 or 30 rods long, and small round bottom boats or sharpies. While the hauling seines were set with one end fast to the pier or shore, and were hauled in at that point, the gill or " drag nets," as they were called, were let off the boat at certain "reaches " on the river, and both boat and net were allowed to drift down with the tide, the net being taken up whenever the owners saw fit, or when the tide was setting them upon some obstruc-

tion. Later on these nets were increased in length, till they swept nearly the whole channel in some places. They are usually made at present, from 60 to 80 rods in length. The boats have also been much improved, and " Connecticut river drag boats " are now some of the most able boats in the world. The business is still car- ried on, but not so extensively and profitably as for- merly, and by a different class of people. Some of the most successful drag men have sometimes caught from 3000 to 5000 shad in a season.

The fisheries on the sound began with short hauling seines, which were increased in length till horses were used to haul in the shore arm of the seine. In the early part of the present century, some large hauls were made on the sound shore, the fish sometimes being driven in shore in schools by porpoises. 1,400 were once caught at a haul on the flats. Some Indians once undertook to haul just as an immense body of shad pursued by por- poises came in shore. They struck the net with such force as to take it away from the Indians, and nearly tear it in pieces. The first fishery west of the lighthouse, was leased for many years, by a man named L'Hommedieu, who was called " Governor L'Hommedieu." The next where the wharf and bathing houses of Fenwick Hall now stand, was the "Avery place," and the next above, the " Gardiner place." These three fisheries were on the farm of William Lynde, judge of Probate, it having de- scended to him from Simon Lynde who bought it of Benjamin Batten, and they all paid him rent. He did not himself live on the farm, but in the village, and on the election day, which was the first Wednesday in May, the three gangs of fishermen with "Governor " L'Hom- medieu at their head, mounted on the horse that turned the capstan at one of the fisheries, with perhaps a drum and fife, and the usual accompaniment of boys, and sticks for muskets, marched to the residence of Judge Lynde, where, of course, they were treated to a drink all round. After their return to the fisheries, an im- mense bowl of toddy was mixed, and the day given up to wrestling matches, and other amusements. In those days, the farmer could not mow, the minister preach, nor the fisherman fish, without toddy. When the Washing- tonian movement started, Deacon Elisha Sill, who was a large owner in some of the piers on the river, and who took a great interest in the movement, decided not to furnish any liquor to his fishermen, but to give them cider instead, which was done. As there were two gangs of men, about 18 in all, in the same house, and many comers and goers, they drank a large quantity of cider. One of the owners of a fishery at the mouth of the river, hearing that they had drank a large quantity, on meet- ing a simple minded man who had fished there that sea- son, said to him: " Leonard, I hear that you have drank sixteen barrels of cider up there this spring." " It isn't so, Mr. K.," replied Leonard. " We've drinked barely ten barrels !" There was another fishery above the last, at Guard House Point, one at Willard's Bay, one at Gillett's Bay, on the east side of Cornfield Point, and fisheries all the way to Westbrook, on the west of Corn-

*Essex, which was a borough, was sometimes in derision called "Cootesborough," because Captain Cootes burned the vessels there.

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OLD SAYBROOK-SHAD FISHING-QUARRY.

field Point. These fisheries, however, ceased to be profitable, and were nearly or quite all abandoned pre- vious to 1850, when a new era in fishing was inaugurated, by the introduction of pounds. These nets were small, and very unlike those now in use. They were first used in Nova Scotia, whence the pattern was brought to Bran- ford, and a small one set there. Mr. Frederick Kirt- land obtained the pattern from that, and set a larger and improved one, for white fish, in the summer of 1849. The next spring a company was formed consisting of Messrs, George H. Chapman, who owned the land at Oyster River where the fishery was located, his son, Robert, Frederick Kirtland, David Clark, and Ezra C. Ingham, and his son, Lucius, who built a larger net, and set it for shad. Its success led to the introduction of others, and in a few years every fishery on the coast was provided with them. Since their introduction, the bulk of the Connecticut River shad that have been sent to the Hartford and New York markets, have been caught in them. Not long before the war of the Rebellion, Mr. Kirtland and others went to Lake Ontario where they introduced these nets, and fished several years, and later they introduced them on Lake Erie, establishing an industry which a Cleveland newspaper, in 1884. characterized as one of the most important on the lake, after alluding to its establishment by Con- necticut men. In the early days of the country, salmon were very abundant, and were the fish mostly used by Saybrook people in their season, shad being considered too common. A lady who was born in 1783 distinctly remembered seeing a cart load of salmon, which were caught at Willard's Bay, east of Cornfield Point, tipped upon a barn floor. As soon as dams began to be built at the head waters of the river, so that salmon were unable to reach their spawning grounds, and factories and gas works began to discharge their poisonous refuse into it, and saw mills their saw dust, salmon began to decrease, till, after 1830, only a few scattering ones were caught, and about 1860, they were entirely extinct. Some years later some salmon, that had been artifically hatched, were placed in the river, and a few were caught at Saybrook in 1879, but they did not increase any, and two years later they were extinct. Bass and chequit were also abundant, bass weighing from 20 to 50 pounds being not unfrequently caught in the coves as late as 1830. For many years the white fishing industry was a very important one, immense quantities of the fish being used for ferti- lizing purposes, the farmers depending largely upon them for their crops, but the introduction of steam vessels with purse nets, and the great demand for menhaden oil, has broken up the schools, so that the fisheries are no longer profitable, and only occasionally a pound is set for them. There are natural beds of oysters on the Oyster River and in the Connecticut River. The oysters on the natural beds are some of the finest in the world. Under the recent oyster law of the State, some of the river flats, and some of the ground off Cornfield Point have been taken up by practical oyster growers, for the pur- pose of planting oysters, but as yet nothing has been ac- complished.

BUILDING MATERIALS.

In building a new town, the most necessary thing, next to the wood of which the houses were mostly built, was a supply of stone for chimneys and foundations. This was found in a rocky knoll less than half a mile west of the present main street of the village, and perhaps an eighth of a mile north of the Oyster River road. It is not known where the first stone were quarried, but it was probably in the early history of the town, as stone were indispensable. The right of the inhabitants of the town to get stone from the quarry, and clay from the low ground near it, has been reserved from the settlement to the present time, as appears by the town records. The clay pits were more valuable in ancient times, than at present, as the chimneys and cellar walls of most of the houses built previous to the Revolutionary war were laid up with clay mortar, instead of lime mortar-lime being very little used.

At a town meeting held April 21st 1868,

" It was voted & agreed upon that Mr. Chapman, Mr. Westoll shall renew the bounds betwixt WVm. Lord & Mr. Nichols by Setting in the Stakes which are reported for to be pushed down by Wm. Lord or his order.

"At the Same Meeting it was voted and agreed upon that the land at the Stone Pits should be measured by Mr. Chapman, Francis Bushnell & Mr. Westoll, and that he shall have his Eight acres layed out, And the re- mainder of the land at the Stone Pits which is the town's, and that the quantity of acres shall be brought into the town.

January Ist 1669 .- "At a town meeting it was agreed & voted that Wm. Lord shall have a fifty pound lot of Upland at the Stone pits adjoining unto his other land, only provided that the Stone Hills with a Highway to them shall Still remain for the town use."

In February 1670, " the town did grant to Wm. Lord Senior, that parsill of land Commonly called the Stone pits, Supposed to be about 4 or 5 acres, that is to say the said Wm. Lord shall have the use of the said land for feeding, & liberty to fence it in with his own land, always provided that the town has full liberty of the Highway that runs thither for egres & regres, or for the diging Stone or Clay, Without any Molestation or disturbance from the said Lord or any of his or any other."

On the 237th page of Volume I, Town Records, May 1693-4, mention is made of a way to the stone pits from Oyster River highway, between Goodman Tracy's lot and John Olmstead's, of two rods wide. In January 1703-4, a committee was appointed " to inspect into the rights of the lands at the Stone pits now in hesitation between the Town and Benjamin Lord." In a . deed from William Lord to William Lynde, 1805, this clause occurs: " Reserving to the Public the privilege of diging stone as usual on the premises, free of all incumbrance &c." The same reservation is made in a deed to Samuel Carter, of same date, of a tract of land south of that, but of which the northwest corner touched the stone pits. In a deed from Henry Hart to Richard E. Pratt, August

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.

20th 1864, of 13 1-2 acres, including the stone pit lot, is this reservation: " The people of the Town of Old Say- Brook have a right to get and cart stone from the Stone pit lot * *

* Free of all incumbrance, except as to the privilege of working and carting stone." Most of the cellar wall stone used since the settlement of the town have been obtained from this quarry, as were the stone with which the Episcopal church was built.

Another requisite for building purposes, was sand for making mortar, and it is probable that the high bank of sand near the clam flats west of Cornfield Point, which is covered with plum bushes, was reserved for that pur- pose. At least that is the tradition, and the people of the town have always used it. When the salt meadow back of this bank, was granted in five acre tracts to Abraham Post, John Pratt, Samuel Jones, Thomas Nor- ton, John Chapman, and John Parker, in 1672, these tracts were bounded, some of them, "on the plum banks," and some "on the beach;" none by the high water mark. The tract nearest the upland was given to John Parker, and was bounded as follows: "Northwest with the land of John Chapman, north with the land of William Southmaid, east with the land of George Fen- wick, called the 'Cornfield ' & 'hundred acres,' south & southwest with the beach, and the point of Upland join- ing to the beach."

George Pratt and Samuel Hart were merchants on Saybrook Point, in the early part of the present century, their store standing below the bank, in front of the residence of Mrs. John D. Ingraham, near the rail- road track. It was taken down when the railroad was built. Mr. Giles Blague also carried on business in a store that stood between the store of H. Potter & Son and the brick store, and Captain Daniel Kirtland's was in the store now owned and occupied by H. Potter & Son. It is said that the house of Mr. Potter, ad- joining his store, was built by Captain John Burrows, in 1665. If this is the case, it is probably the oldest house The necessity of a road to this beach was manifest, and in February 1693-4, Nathaniel Lynde, on petition of the town, granted a highway through his land " to the Plumbanks and Hammoc." in the county. Mr. Ezra Kirtland traded for many years in the next store west of Mr. Daniel Kirtland's, which is now a dwelling house, and owned by Mr. Potter. Captain George Dickinson built the " brick "Gents, in answer to your desire and request, I Na- thaniel Lynde do hereby give and grant unto the pro- prietors of those lands and meadows at the Plumbanks and Hammoc and to their heirs and successors forever, for foot, horse, men and teams, free passage through my lands unto the sea, at southwest part of my field com- monly called Cornfield, always reserving power to myself, my heirs and assigns from time to time, and at all times forever to make such fences as I or they shall judge necessary." store," and Edward Ingraham, and afterward George D. Whittelsey, traded there. The store of Captain Elisha Hart, " up street," after his decease, fell into the hands of his clerk, Amos Sheffield, who for many years carried on business there, and was one of the leading and wealthy citizens of the town. His wife was the daughter of Rev. F. W. Hotchkiss. After Mr. Sheffield's death, his son, Charles A., carried on the business for a while, and then sold to Thomas C. Acton jr., who continues the business in the same building. The next store south is that of MANUFACTURING. Major Hart, which, after his death, was occu- pied for a term of years by Sumner and Manufactories have never flourished in Old Saybrook. In 1854, a joint stock company of residents of the town was formed for the manufacture of skates, and a build- ing was put up near the depot of the Shore Line Railroad, at the head of the street. After working at it a year or two, the business was given up, and the build- ing was sold. After standing idle for several years, it was bought by the Catholics and converted into a church. During the present year 1884, the Catholics James P. Bull. There were two buildings side by side, one of which had been used for a salt store, and after the death of the Bull brothers, this was sold to Robert C. Whittelsey, who moved it up the street to a point op- posite the Mill road, and opened it as a grocery. He afterward sold to George A. Vogel, and his son, George A. jr., carried on the business till he sold to D. Holmes, the present proprietor. The original store of Major Hart was bought by Giles A. Bushnell, who has enlarged have completely renovated their church and added a | the building, and carries on the grocery business. B. steeple and organ loft.

Messrs. Wellman & Gaylord built a shop west of the burying ground on the Point, and near the South Cove, a few years ago. It was run by steam power, but it was burned after a year or two, and what remained of the business was removed to Deep River.

STORES, HOTELS, ETC.

When the new Episcopal church was built in 1871-2, the old building was sold to Messrs. D. C. Spencer and J. H. Day, who moved it to the south side of the road leading toward Oyster River, and a short distance from Main street, and converted the lower story into stores, and the upper into a hall. The hall was used for several years, as a school room, by parties living in the adjoining house, which was also the property of Spencer & Day. A grocery store was kept in the lower part, for two or three years, by W. P. Beach & Company, and later Dud- ley, Bushnell & Company kept both a grocery and a dry goods store in the two departments, on the lower floor. It has been unoccupied for two or three years.

Dowd, and his sons in company with him, and afterward his son, Galen, did quite a business as wholesale and re- tail dealers in leather and boots and shoes. At one time, before the introduction of machinery for the manufac- ture of shoes, about a dozen men were employed by them. The building is now occupied by Augustus Bush-

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OLD SAYBROOK-MISCELLANEOUS.

nell as a boot and shoe store. On the opposite side of the street, on the southwest corner, stood a store in which James Treadway, traded, for a number of years, and which was moved to the corner below, south of the Methodist church. After he retired from business it was occupied by William E. Clark, as a grocery, till he bought the Methodist church. It is now occupied by William H. Smith, as a tin and stove store. Frederick Kirtland kept a shoe store for several years in the building next the Acton Library, now used as a Masonic Hall, and H. S. Chapman kept a grocery near the Junction.

Mr. Humphrey Pratt kept tavern for many years in the house lately owned by Gilbert Pratt, deceased, and General La Fayette and Mrs. Lydia H. Sigourney both stopped there, when they were in town. Mr. William

Dr. Samuel Field was the physician here for many years. He died in 1783. His son Samuel, who was also a physician, was here for several years, and after him Dr. Samuel Carter, who moved away about 1835. Dr. Asa Howe King was the next physician. He came here about 1835 and died in 1870. Dr. John H. Granniss came here in 1868, and is now the only physi- cian in town. Dr. Thomas B. Bloomfield came here a few years ago, since Dr. Granniss came, but he only re- mained two or three years, and then removed to West- brook. Augustus Eliot, son of Rev. Jared Eliot, of Kil- lingworth, was born June 18th 1720, graduated from Yale College in 1740, and settled at Saybrook as a " Practitioner of Physic," and built the house where Captain William Newell and Captain John Bushnell lived, now owned by R. M. Bushnell. He was engaged to be married, when he died, November 26th 1747. aged 27.

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History of Middlesex county, Connecticut, with biographical sketches of its prominent men, Part 120

Author: Whittemore, Henry, b. 1833; Beers, J.B. & Company, publishers Publication date: 1884 Publisher: New York : J. B. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 818

Author: Whittemore, Henry, b. 1833; Beers, J.B. & Company, publishers
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : J. B. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 818