USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Derby > The history of the old town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642-1880. With biographies and genealogies > Part 36
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315
NAUGATUCK VALLEY.
In consequence of the abruptness of these rocky hills the scenery along the road is wild and picturesque. At Wolcott- ville the valley widens a little, and the rising of the hills both east and west is gradual and free from rocks, forming one of the most beautiful sites for a city that ornaments the valley.
THE NAUGATUCK VALLEY.
The valley of the Naugatuck, through the entire length of which the railroad passes, has long been famed for the variety and beauty of its scenery. Not only has it attracted the at- tention and enlisted the pens of writers who have been familiar with it from childhood, but those who have come as strangers from remote parts of the nation have taken pleasure in de- scribing its picturesqueness and grandeur. From Wolcott- ville, where the two main branches of the Naugatuck unite, to Derby and Birmingham, where it empties into the Ousa- tonic, the river flows between wooded hill-sides, verdant mead- ows and precipitous ridges of rock. All these, with busy manufacturing villages interspersed, present themselves in rapid alternation to the traveler on the Naugatuck railroad, as he is borne northward or southward along its winding track. A recent quite noted writer speaks in the following manner : " The Naugatuck railroad runs through one of the most charm- ing valleys in all New England. The scenery is rare in its beauty, and renders the locality delightful either for permanent residence or for brief visits. Besides these natural advantages, the towns all along the line of the road are homes of numerous and important manufactures, whose products are shipped all over the world, and whose industries give employment and support to large numbers of people."2 It is believed that eighty per cent. of all these manufacturing interests have been introduced into the valley since the construction of the rail- road. Hence, the writer just quoted thus continues : "In view of these things it is a matter of the highest importance that the railroad facilities afforded shall be ample and ably managed, for without such assistance that whole fertile and productive country would lose its value to the rest of the world. It is, therefore, most fortunate that the Naugatuck railroad is
2Rev. George Lansing Taylor.
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
one of the best managed institutions in the country. It does very large passenger and freight business, and at the same tin all its officials are courteous and accommodating, looking car fully to the wants and conveniences of the public, and makir business intercourse agreeable and profitable; the credit , which is almost entirely due to the superintendent, Mr. Georg W. Beach."
Until the opening of the railroad, the knowledge of this va ley scenery was comparatively limited, but since then, and e. pecially within the last ten years, the visitors have been s many that "High Rock Grove " has become a household wor in thousands of families, the children being as familiar with i and the name of Superintendent George W. Beach, the devise of so many pleasant things for them, as the older people.
At High Rock, a little above Beacon Falls village, the scer. ery is notably wild and picturesque, and very much so for tw miles below that place. On ascending the river on the railroad the first prominent hight seen is Castle Rock, just below the village of Seymour, on the west side of the river, where i stands in all the grandeur of its ancient days, looking down upon the Falls of the Naugatuck as it did when the Red man o the valley made that his chief fishing place. This rock is abou two hundred feet in hight, and without trees or shrubbery Passing above the village of Seymour, Rock Rimmon rises ir. sight, jutting out, apparently, in the middle of the valley from the north, and rising to the hight of about four hundred feet, as if it were the foremost tower in a range of hills, like a bat- tlement, to defy the northward progress of an army of railroads. When this rock is seen from a distance at the south, it seems to be on the confines of a boundless wilderness, and this ap- pearance was probably the suggestion of the name it bears, as brought to mind in a very ancient historical declaration, upon the defeat of a great army : "And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon3." On the west side of the river from Seymour, northward for two miles, the scen- ery is wild and hilly, but after this the hills disappear so as to allow the coming of two brooks into the Naugatuck, and some little valley land at the place called Pines Bridge. At the up-
8Judges, 20 : 45.
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HIGH ROCK GROVE.
per end of this little opening of the hills is Beacon Falls vil- lage, just above which the hills again close in, leaving little more than space for the river and the railroad, and then again the scenery becomes magnificently wild and rocky. On the west side of the river the hills rise very abruptly to the height of three and four hundred feet; the rocks standing out in prom- ontories successively, in a gradual curve, until they reach High Rock, which has an elevation above the river of four hundred
VIEW OF THE TRAIN APPROACHING HIGH ROCK GROVE FROM THE NORTH.
and seventy-five feet, and from which northward the hills grad- ually decrease in height to the village of Naugatuck. On the east side of the river at High Rock the hills rise more gradu- ally, but are still very steep, and covered with trees of small growth. The accompanying picture represents the hills and the valley just above High Rock, where the valley is but about twenty rods wide. A little below this is the picnic ground.
HIGH ROCK GROVE.
In the summer of 1876, the centennial year of the nation, the Naugatuck railroad company prepared a delightful picnic ground at this place, for the comfort and enjoyment of multi-
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HIGH ROCK GROVE.
tudes of visitors, as well as to add somewhat to the returns from the investments made in the road.
By the washing of the river, and the deepening of the channel on the east side of the valley, a strip of land had been formed on the west side, which had grown up within the last fifty years into a beautiful grove. This was cleared of underbrush and graded as far as was needful ; two spacious pavilions and other houses were erected ; croquet fields arranged ; a supply of boats provided on the river, which is here well adapted for rowing in consequence of the Beacon Falls dam just below, and numer- ous other provisions made for the entertainment of visitors.
In the above cut, High Rock Grove is in the centre at the upper edge of the water, and High Rock is the high point at the left.
The grounds of this Grove, together with all the various con- veniences and privileges for entertainment and amusement, are furnished by the company without expense to visitors, except the usual rates of fare, unless in the case of picnics when the fare is greatly reduced.
In the heart of this rugged region, and just at the upper end of the grove, there is a narrow wooded glen, opening upon the river on its western bank, which in former years was a favorite resort for small picnic parties, and was known as "Sherman's Gorge." Through this a beautiful mountain stream comes plunging down, winding around the huge boulders which lie in its path, and leaping over rocky ledges, forming a series of charming little cascades, some of them hidden under the dense shadows of the woods. Southward and northward from this glen extends a ridge of hills, or rather crags, the southern division of which is known in history as Tobie's Rock Mountain. It derives its name from an Indian who, in colonial times, was the slave of one of the chief men of the region, and who soon after his freedom received from the Paugasuck Indians, "upon the con- sideration of friendship," a considerable tract of land including this mountain. To the highest of these great crags the name of " High Rock " has been given, and the gorge at its base has been named " High Rock Glen." Just below the mouth of the glen, between the railroad and the river, lies the strip of level land which constitutes the famous High Rock Grove. It is
W
SCENE IN HIGH ROCK GLEN.
321
SHERMAN'S CUT.
heltered on the west by the towering ledge spoken of, whose ummit commands a view of distant woods and hillsides ; while on the east the river, deep and dark, flows quietly by ; and be- rond it rises the eastern bank, high and steep, covered with evergreens and other trees, their foliage hiding from view the highway which runs close by. Taken altogether, it is one of he cosiest and most retired nooks to be found in any district nto which railroads have penetrated ; and yet, it is so conven- ent that a single step transfers the excursionist from the noise ind hurry of the train to the seclusion and coolness of the orest.
SHERMAN'S CUT A FEW RODS NORTH OF HIGH ROCK GROVE.
The glen affords a charming walk in the shade of the forest For more than a mile. The varying views of the ravine, with ts cooling waterfalls and deep, dark water pools, its moss-grown and fern-covered rocks, its glimpses of pure azure above, seen through the opening of the "melancholy boughs," the mirrored mages of the " far nether world" in the deep waters, the mini- ature caves and caverns, the flume of the upper gorge, the drip- ping and trickling, the plash, rush and play of the gurgling, eaping water, the flecks of golden sunlight, and the dark green
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
shadows, all these in their ever-changing forms allure and charm the spirit and give the realizing sense that there is indeed "a pleasure in the pathless woods," and in the " love of nature."
HIGH ROCK itself is worthy of a visit from the ocean's side. LOOKOUT POINT, from the top of it, is reached more frequently by a circuitous route of nearly a mile in length through the woods, ascending so rapidly much of the way as to cause the traveler to pause "to take breath," and where frequently on turning to look northward he views the almost perpendicular columns of granite on the opposite side of the glen, or still far- ther away, discovers the rising summits of this range of hills. Standing on the point, the fragrance and coolness of the ocean atmosphere, in the summer, is quite perceptible and exhilara- ting, and the enjoyment very satisfying, especially to visitors from the large cities. A few lines written by a recent visitor while standing on this height are appropriate to be recorded :
" From here I gaze over a landscape that has been hunted out by many an artist, engraved and published in a magazine, and is worthy of the brush of Church or Broughton. or Bierstadt or Gifford. The scene is not vast. The sense of the Infinite is given only in the sky above. But here is a mixture of verdure and sternness, of ro- mantic gorge and wild, tumultuous billows of hill and rock, that brings a feeling of solitude. yet of strength to the soul of man. There is an element of almost moral character, a teaching power, in a grand, gray cliff of upright uncompromising granite, that can be felt and remem- bered. A silent strength goes out of nature into the soul of man amid such scenes as this. I sit amid the vast and roomy silences, studying that twin cliff opposite to this, that infinite upper deep, and feel my heart lifted upward to a Somewhat in that abyss above, a Somewhat that is looking in full faced consciousness on me, and whose inaudible whisper, out of the infinite silences, steals through my soul with a voice more penetrating and more abiding than all the thunders that ever crashed upon these Titan brows of time-defying rock."
Thus seated upon the point of High Rock an impression is sensibly felt of the wonderfulness of nature and the marvelous- ness of mechanical skill. Nearly five hundred feet below, and scarcely that distance in a horizontal line, is the railroad, upon which so often each day moves the majestic train, making al- most the foundations of these rocky hills shake, while the sound
323
RAILROAD MEN.
of the steam whistle echoes, higher and higher, until lost above the top of the hills, and therefore, the contrast between the silent grandeur of nature and the mystery of skill is realized with satisfaction and comfort. The grandeur of the Naugatuck valley, although not equal to, is instructive as well as, the Alps of Switzerland.
If, therefore, the railroad of this valley has been a successful enterprise, as already stated, it must have been conducted by competent and honorable men, for if either of these conditions had been wanting, this end could not have been realized. It will be interesting, therefore, to look over briefly the business life of some of the leaders in this enterprise.
ALFRED BISHOP.
Alfred Bishop, first president of the Naugatuck railroad, de- scended from Rev. John Bishop, minister in Stamford, and was the son of William and Susannah (Scofield) Bishop, and was born in Stamford, December 21, 1798. At an early age he commenced his self-reliant career as a teacher in the public schools. After teaching a short time he went to New Jersey, with the intention of spending his years in farming. While thus engaged he made personal experiments with his pickaxe, shovel and wheelbarrow, from which he estimated the cost for removing various masses of earth to different distances. In this way, without definite intention, he prepared himself for the great business of his life, that of a canal and railroad contractor. Among the public works on which he was engaged and which constitute the best monument to his name, are the Morris ca- nal in New Jersey, the great bridge over the Raritan at New Brunswick, the Housatonic, Berkshire, Washington and Sara- toga, Naugatuck, and New York and New Haven railroads.
He removed from New Jersey to Bridgeport, Conn., where he spent the remainder of his life. It is not claiming too much for him, to say that Bridgeport owes much to his enterprise and public spirit. Mr. Bishop readily inspired confidence in his plans for public improvements, and at his call the largest sums were cheerfully supplied.
But in the midst of his extensive operations and while form- ing plans for greater works, he was suddenly arrested by his
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
last illness. From the first, he felt that it would prove fatal, and under such circumstances, even more than while in health, he displayed his remarkable talents in arranging all the details of a complicated business. In the midst of great physical suf- fering he detailed with minuteness the necessary steps for clos- ing all his extensive business arrangements, laying out the work for his executors as he would have planned the details of an ordinary railroad contract. He then, in the same business- like manner, distributed his large estate, bestowing one-quarter in gratuities outside of his own family, partly to his more dis- tant relatives, partly to his personal friends who had been un- fortunate, and partly to strictly benevolent uses.
Mr. Bishop married Mary, daughter of Ethan Ferris of Greenwich, and had three sons, all born in New Jersey.
William D. Bishop, his son, was graduated at Yale College, and was president some years of the New York and New Ha- ven railroad.
Edward F. Bishop, his son, was graduated at Trinity Col- lege, Hartford ; resides in Bridgeport, and is president of the Nangatuck railroad.
Henry Bishop, his son, resides in Bridgeport.
PHILO HURD.
Philo Hurd was born in Brookfield, Conn., in 1795, and was the son of a farmer. He possessed a strong physical constitu- tion, which he used to say he gained " by inheritance, and by holding the plough among the rocks on the hills of Connecticut." He engaged in mercantile pursuits for a number of years in New York city, in the state of Georgia, and in the city of Bridgeport. While conducting business in Bridgeport, he was elected sheriff of the county, and before his time in that office had expired Mr. Alfred Bishop invited him to engage in mak- ing railroads.
His first work in this line was in completing the Housatonic road, then being constructed by Mr. Bishop. He was next en- gaged nearly a year and a half on the New York and New Haven railroad, assisting Professor Twining in locating sections of it and in giving deeds and arranging the preliminaries to the eastern sections.
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THE RAILROAD WANTED.
In the autumn of 1844, he went up the Naugatuck valley on an exploring tour, to inspect the localities and inquire as to the feasibility of building a road in this valley. His report was so favorable that application was made for a charter, which was granted and Mr. Hurd went through the entire valley with the engineers, as overseeing agent in locating the road and mak- ing the profile and survey. Then he went through again, sur- veyed and measured the land taken by the road, gave every deed, settled every claim of man, woman, orphan or child who owned any of the land, whether those persons resided on the road, in Michigan or in California. He has said that it seemed to him, he had slept or taken a meal of victuals in nearly every house from Bridgeport to Winsted, and that in all this work he never had any serious difficulty with any person.
This last item is remarkable, and indicates that either the people of the Naugatuck valley are a good-natured sort of peo- ple, or Mr. Hurd must have been a man of unusual good-nature and kindly ways in transacting such business, or he would have had difficulty somewhere among so many people.
Mr. Hurd gave very high praise to George D. Wadhams of Wolcottville and Israel Holmes of Waterbury for the assistance they rendered in a general manner as to the enterprise, as well as to their work and aid in their specific localities.
In the construction of the road, Mr. Hurd bought all the ma- terial along the line, paid all the men employed, and saw every- thing completed and delivered into the hands of the directors.
The one great thing that made the work comparatively easy was, "the people wanted the road." In 1853, the road had been so prosperous and Mr. Hurd's work so acceptable, that the company made him a present of $1,000.
By the time the Naugatuck road was finished Mr. Hurd had become thoroughly a railroad man, and thereafter very natur- ally kept in the work.
He went to Indiana, and was engaged some time in finish- ing the railroad from Indianapolis to Peru. Scarcely was he through with that when he was invited to engage on the Hud- son River road. Governor Morgan was president, and Mr. Hurd accepted the position of vice-president, where he continued some few years.
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
When Robert Schuyler failed and the Hudson River road be came somewhat involved in troubles, Mr. Hurd accepted th presidency of the Harlem railroad, where he continued abou three years.
At this time his health failed. He went to Florida and re turned no better, went to St. Paul and returned the same. H then packed his trunk for a long journey, sailed for Europe went to Nice, in Italy, and there in a short time entirely recov ered, and has never since had pulmonary difficulty.
After returning home he engaged a short time on the Dela ware, Lackawanna and Western railroad, and after this, with a few items in regard to other roads, ceased to work on railroads
He resides at Bridgeport, spending the winters at the South and is still an energetic, cheerful and agreeable man.
HORACE NICHOLS.
Horace Nichols was born in the town of Fairfield, Conn., and was a clerk some years in Bridgeport. He became the treas- urer of the Housatonic railroad in 1840, and has held that office since that time.
When the Naugatuck road was started, he was elected secre- tary and treasurer, and has continued therein, a faithful, honor- able, prompt and energetic officer, until the present time. He is unostentatious, scarcely allowing a notice to be made of him ! in public print.
GEORGE WELLS BEACH.
George Wells Beach is the eldest son of Sharon Y. Beach of Seymour. The genealogy of the family is given elsewhere in this volume. He was born in Seymour (then Humphreys- ville), August 18, 1833, and received in his native village an education fitting him for the duties of an active business life. It was during his sixteenth year that the Naugatuck railroad was built, and he watched with more than ordinary interest the progress of this new enterprise, connecting Seymour and the whole Naugatuck valley with the great world without.
Soon after the railroad was completed, that is, in 1850, he entered the service of the railroad company at the Humphreys- ville station in the capacity of a clerk,-with the understanding, however, that he should fill any position and attend to any du-
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GEORGE W. BEACH.
ties on the railroad which might chance to be assigned to him. In 1851 he was made second clerk in the office at Waterbury, but from time to time was sent to different stations, where a re- sponsible person was required ; so that during this period in his life as a railroad man he served as agent at nearly every station on the road. Occupying such a position as this, and possessing much quickness of apprehension and keenness of the observing faculties, Mr. Beach became familiar to an unusual degree with the management of the railroad, with the methods of work upon it, and with the men connected with it. He become also ex- tensively acquainted with the people of the Naugatuck valley, and thoroughly informed respecting the interests centering at the different stations, and the requirements necessary to bring the railroad up to the highest level of efficiency ; so that his early railroad experiences constituted the best preparation he could have received for the higher position he was afterward called to occupy.
In 1 855, Mr. Beach received the appointment of agent at the Naugatuck station, and held this position for nearly two years. In April, 1857, he was made conductor of the morning and evening passenger train, and while in this capacity took charge of the general ticket agency, thus becoming still more familiar with the business of the railroad as a whole. He continued to perform this twofold work until 1861, when he was made agent at Waterbury, the point of most importance on the line of the road. Here he remained, fulfilling the various duties of his po- sition to the satisfaction of the railroad company and the pub- lic, for a period of seven years.
When, upon the death of Charles Waterbury in September, 1868, the office of superintendent of the Naugatuck railroad be- came vacant, the directors of the company were not long in de- ciding who should fill the place. Mr. Beach seemed to be specially marked out, by a life-long education and by his per- sonal characteristics, for this particular position, and it was forthwith tendered to him. He assumed the duties of his office in November, 1868, and has exercised them without interrup- tion, and with unrelaxing fidelity, until the present time. His appointment to this important trust has been fully justified by the results. For it is the judgment of those who know best,
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HISTORY OF DERBY.
that there is no railroad in New England in better working order than the short but important line which extends from Bridgeport to Winsted. And this is largely due to the fact that the superintendent exercises habitually a supervision which, for thoroughness and system, is equaled only on the railways of England. By constant attention to details, he secures the ut- most safety and comfort of the traveling public, and does much to guard against the inconveniences and interruptions to which travel in the narrow Naugatuck valley is liable because of sud- den freshets in the river.
Mr. Beach has been well described, in a biographical sketch already published, as " an unpretending, plain, business man." His manner is quiet and somewhat reserved, but his mandates as a railroad officer are never misunderstood, and are always sure to be fulfilled. He possesses not only executive ability of a high order, but the forethought which enables a man to guard against disasters in advance, and to lay plans which will pro- duce remunerative results. It is safe to say that some of the most profitable investments made by the Naugatuck railroad Company during the past twelve years have been the fruit of careful experiment and wise suggestion on his part; and the good results have been secured not by sacrificing the conven- ience of the public, but in such a way as to add to their comfort and enjoyment. This is well illustrated by the establishment, directly on the line of the railroad, of the summer resort now so well known as High Rock Grove,-an enterprise originated and i carried through by the superintendent's efforts.
Mr. Beach received his early religious training under the strictest Baptist influences, but is nevertheless a member of a Congregational church. He united with the First Church in Waterbury in May, 1863, and has continued in active connec- tion therewith until the present time. He was long a teacher in its Sunday-school, and for several years has held the office of Sunday-school superintendent, -a position which he seems to consider no less responsible and honorable than the other su- perintendency by which he is better known to the outside world. Since April, 1873, he has served as one of the deacons of the First Church. In 1861, he was a delegate of the Young Men's Christian Association to the convention in New York which
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