USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Derby > The history of the old town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642-1880. With biographies and genealogies > Part 42
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" The Star of Empire shall take its way !"
Standing near this monument of Yankee enterprise and looking back through the past, how striking is the contrast to-day in comparison with two hundred years ago! Then Derby contained a population of only eleven small families of British stock ; Huntington "beautifully less," while these surroundings were a mere howling wilderness, lined with winding footways, along which the savage man and more savage beast traveled alike in single file ; birds here built their nests in the forests, unmolested by roguish boys, while the cunning fox dug his hole in yonder hill unscared. Sturdy oaks and taller pines hung in deep shadows over the margins of this ancient Pootatuck, which for centu- ries had rolled its waters unchecked in silent majesty down to their ocean bed. " Here lived and loved another race of beings." Yonder mound of mother earth, which now links the savage with the civilized was once an Indian fort, in front of which no white man dared show his face. The " Poor Indian," monarch of all he surveyed, brought to his wigwams here and there the fruits of his daily hunt, smoked his pipe in peace, and sailed up and down this river, not in the Monitor nor
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the Dunderburg, but in his little bark canoe. Such was this spot in its primitive loveliness, stamped as it were from the first dawn of creation, but wild and uncultivated as it was, still it was the paradise of Indians :
" Over whose graves the reckless ploughshare driven, Has scattered their ashes to the winds of heaven."
Tradition tells us that in later times just below where we stand, our good forefathers once erected a vast store-house, where cargoes of sugar and not a little good rum were brought from the West Indies, dumped and stowed away to cheat the colonial government, just as some of our pious rascals nowadays cheat the federal government out of its lawful revenue. Hence this place was given the savory name of "Sugar street." It is well that they did not call it " Rum street." But how changed ! It has lost its historical significance in the slow but sure march of civilization. The same river rolls at our feet, but changed in its course as it now is, may its waters in the noisy hum of factory wheels, yet roll down streams of plenty to this people, and to genera- tions that shall come. Once more, let us rejoice in the completion of an undertaking which unfolds to our view a brighter, more hopeful, more prosperous future. May the blessings of heaven rest upon the enterprise ; and when the dwellers upon the east and upon the west in after years shall from day to day, go to their evening repose lulled by the roaring music of this little Niagara, may they, in gratitude, never forget the authors and finishers of the Ousatonic dam.
SPEECH OF EDWARD N. SHELTON, ESQ., PRESIDENT OF THE COMPANY.
I must make my grateful acknowledgments for the manner in which the doctor has alluded to the directors of the Water Company. They have labored incessantly for more than four years, and the result is be- fore you and will speak in more impressive language than anything that I can say. As to the eulogy pronounced on myself it does not become me to speak, but I will leave it to the citizens to say how well it is merited. Few persons that have not been engaged in a similar enterprise can appreciate the amount of labor necessary to bring a work of this magnitude to completion, to say nothing of the annoyances and interruptions always attending it. And perhaps a brief statement of the origin and progress of the enterprise may not be out of place at this time.
The question of damming the Ousatonic river for manufacturing pur- poses was first agitated in 1838 ; and in 1839 application was made to the Legislature of this state for a charter, or rather the revival of a charter that was granted in 1822, for a canal from Derby or Hunting- ton to New Milford, for purposes of navigation, and which had expired
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by its own limitation. The requisite legislation was obtained, but as the shad interest was so important, and science had not then discov- ered that fish like individuals could climb ladders and go over dams, the company were not permitted to build a high dam like the one com- pleted, but a low dam, with a tumbling rapid over it for the shad. This required the location of the dam near Zoar bridge and the water to be brought down in a canal to the present location or below. The surveys made at that time made the expense so great that it was aban- doned, and most of the men who were engaged in the enterprise at that time have gone and but few remain to be with us to-day.
The enterprise was then allowed to sleep more than twenty years, and many supposed it would rest forever. But in 1863 a few individ- uals, looking upon it as of much importance to this vicinity, concluded to make another effort. To make it an object to enlist the necessary capital, the real estate must be secured, which was obtained after much labor and many embarrassments. Application was made to the Legis- lature in 1864 for permission to dam the river. Here we were met by parties from New Milford and other places by a strong opposition on account of the shad fisheries. A delegation was sent to Maine to inves- tigate the fish weirs in operation in that state. So satisfied were they of the success of the weirs that they engaged a gentleman who had had considerable experience, to come with them to New Haven and bring a model of a weir, and they were successful in convincing the commit- tee of the Legislature of the practicability of passing the shad over the dam, and thereby obtained a report in their favor, and thus secured the legislative enactment, and we trust we shall be equally successful in demonstrating to our New Milford friends the coming spring that shad will go over dams on properly constructed weirs. The weir now being built will be the first in the state.
An effort was made in 1864 to raise the necessary capital and failed. After the close of the war, in 1865, the revival of manufacturing by the great demand for all classes of goods revived the hopes of the friends of the enterprise. Another effort was made in 1866 with better results and the company was organized in the autumn of that year, since which time the work has been progressing, embarrassed and retarded by fre- quent freshets. In 1869 the dam was nearly completed, when by the great freshet of October 4, owing to the manner in which the work was left, a portion of the dam was swept away, being near one quarter of the work. We were disheartened but not discouraged, and now pre- sume the work to be completed and able to resist the roaring torrents of the Ousatonic, as we put perfect confidence in its stability. It is also proper to mention in this connection, that most of the capital for this
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great work was raised in our vicinity, an instance of the great public enterprise of its citizens.
But, gentlemen, although the dam is completed our task is but half finished. That sheet of water, as beautiful as it is, is of no particular value to this community until it is made to turn the wheels and drive the machinery, guided by skillful hands, to be made productive, and every citizen should feel that he has an interest in the enterprise, for if it prospers the whole community will prosper, and if it is allowed to lan- guish the community will be affected by it. As the dam has become a fixed thing, all discussion whether it is located in the right place, or built in the best manner, or of the best and most approved materials, should cease, and everything should be done to give confidence and thereby secure success by attracting capital and labor to it, and we shall then soon see these hills covered with residences and the whole valley teeming with prosperity.
POEM BY JOHN W. STORRS, ESQ.
O fair and smiling stream that flows So sweetly, grandly on, Beneath the slanting, genial rays Of mild October's sun ; We come to-day a festal throng, To give thee joyous hail,
And crown thee in our speech and song The monarch of the vale.
To-day the bow of promise spans The crystal waters o'er, While Hope with radiant visage stands Upon thy shining shore ; And with her prescient finger points To history's glowing page, Where foremost stands thy name among The blessings of the age.
Fair Ousatonic1 Round thy banks Full many a mem'ry clings, Of tree and crag and eddying nook- Those old familiar things. There's not a rock upon thy banks, No pebble on thy shore, That has not some sweet tale to tell Of good old days of yore.
Lo! yonder cliff with frowning front Reveals a granite page, Whereon is writ in mystic lines Of that primeval age,
C
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When, from earth's groaning centre came- By fierce volcanic shock- 'Mid sulph'rous fumes and burning flame, The boiling, bubbling rock.
On old Fort Hill, athwart the stream, Methinks an hundred braves Awake to anger as the spade Of progress strikes their graves ;
And forth they come upon the trail- The war whoop sounds again, And burning cabins tell the tale Of vengeance on the plain.
Nay, 'twas a dream ! Through fairer fields To-day thy waters flow, Nor molten rock, nor forest child The present age can know ; Forever hence 'mong peaceful scenes Thy onward waters press, While busy progress bendeth down Thy white lipped waves to kiss.
Upon thy fair and sunny slopes, Luxurious homes of ease Raise their proud forms, while wealth and art Join hand in hand to please. Around your rustic cottage door The laborer tills the soil, And finds in love-'tis all he asks- Sweet recompense for toil.
Behold the future bringeth now A vision to the eye ! A city, lofty spired and domed, Looms up against the sky ; Its serried walls of brick and stone Wind upward from the shore, Where men may come, whence men may go, Till time shall be no more, With restless hearts, to chafe and beat Against life's prison walls, Or sport the hour of pleasure sweet Among its palace halls.
And hark ! Along the winding shore An hundred giant mills, With hammer clack, and screaming gong, Re-echo to the hills, While forge and wheel and glowing steel Take up the glad refrain, And sing the song of toil redeemed From manacle and chain.
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OUSATONIC DAM.
Oh, glorious thought that breaks upon The spirit of the age,
Which lights and cheers the present and Illumes the future page : That tells of those millennial days Which e'en may now begin, When common aims and common ends, Make all mankind akin.
When generous wealth, forgetting self, Shall come with lavish hand
To spread broadcast for public good Its influence through the land, To build its giant walls of rock The mountain streams to span,
To stay their rushing tides and tame Their energies for man ; Who dies that other men may live The world hath crowned with bays,
Who sows that other men may reap Shall surely wear the praise.
O generous men ! heroes of peace Whose courage never failed,
When timid hearts beat faint and low And croaking tongues assailed ; This lesson let us learn from thee, That not life's sunny side Shall give us strength; that greatness comes From battling with the tide.
SPEECH OF JAMES E. ENGLISH, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE.
Fellow Citizens of Birmingham : While it was not my fortune to have been born in the Naugatuck valley, it was my good fortune to be born in the good old state of Connecticut, and to have spent my life within her borders. As a citizen of Connecticut, I have always felt a deep interest in every thing that was calculated to promote the best in- terests of both the people and the state.
Geographically speaking we are confined within very small limits. Our ancient fathers were for the most part farmers, and at best ob- tained but scanty reward for their labor. We have a hard and un- yielding soil, which submits reluctantly to the hand of toil and gives but grudgingly of its rewards to industry.
The agricultural production of the state is but a small portion of our consumption ; in fact there are not four months' food in Connecticut to-day. Stop the importation of food and our people would have to leave the state or die of starvation within that period. Hence the
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necessity for a diversity of pursuits. Early in the eighteenth century there was but a single fulling mill in the state ; this manufactured what is called fulled, but undressed cloth.
Col. Humphreys commenced the manufacture of fine cloth in this valley early in the present century. So celebrated had become his cloth, that in November, 1808, Thomas Jefferson, then president of the United States, desirous of appearing at the White House on New Year's day, with a suit of clothes of American manufacture, sent the collector of customs at New Haven the following order : " Home- spun is become the spirit of the times. I think it an useful one, and therefore that it is a duty to encourage it by example. The best fine cloth made in the United States, I am told is at the manufactory of Col. Humphreys. Send enough for a suit." From that early be- ginning to the present time manufacturing in your valley has been increasing, until to-day it ranks as one of the most extensive manufact- uring districts in the state.
In this whole dam, with its gates and canals, you have a work of which you may well be proud. It is a monument to your foresight, skill and liberality. We celebrate its completion to-day, and all re- joice that we are permitted to be here and witness the water as it flows over this grand structure. It is a beautiful sight. You that have erected, at so much cost, this power, need not be told by me how to utilize it. A liberal man deviseth liberal things. This work is but an evidence of your great liberality. I doubt not you will extend to those who may seek to use your power the same liberality you have expended in erecting your privilege.
When this power comes to be used, as it will, to its full capacity, then your village will reap all the benefit which must come from a work of so great a magnitude. Nor will the benefit be confined to your town, as every town and county in the state will be benefited by it.
SPEECH OF HON. S. W. KELLOGG.
It is no ordinary event that has brought this vast assembly together. It is the happy consummation of an enterprise, rare in its magnitude and rare in the difficulties that have been surmounted, which has called out every household in this community, has closed their shops and factories, and poured forth their whole industrious population on this auspicious occasion, as if it were a day of jubilee. It is right, emi- nently right, to celebrate such an event. It is right for the whole peo- ple to come together, to do honor to the energy and the enterprise of the men who planted and carried forward this great work, in spite of disaster and unexpected obstacles, to its glorious completion. I well
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OUSATONIC DAM.
emember the history of the legislation of 1864 by which the charter f this company was obtained, which has been so well related by Mr. shelton in his speech ; and it is to his individual energy and persever- nce that you are so much indebted for this great work. Mr. Shelton ind other leading citizens of your place came to the Legislature that year with a petition for a charter ; and I was associated with John S. Beach, Esq., as counsel in the matter, and the case was heard before he committee. The petitioners came before the committee with their evidence ; and the case was so strong, that it seemed as if there could be no objection to the granting of a charter for so beneficent an enter- prise, but all at once we heard the shrill cry of " Shad ! shad !" echoing down the river from the lips of some representatives of towns above you, interested in their up-river shad fisheries. They thought they could defeat the petition with this cry, too ; for you know it is the popular impression, that, with a Connecticut Legislature, there is not in the whole field of logic or in the wide range of legislative debate, so potent and controlling an argument as "shad !" But the men who had charge of the petition ; Messrs. Shelton, Downs and others, were not to be de- feated in that way, and one of them, Mr. William E. Downes, went at once to Maine and brought back with him an expert in the building of dams on the rivers in that state. They then produced before the committee a model of a fish weir, such as had been used in the construction of their dams in Maine, and it was made so plain that the fish could go above the dam by means of this weir, that the committee were satisfied they could grant the charter and preserve their respect for the right of the shad and the shad-eaters at the same time. I am not very certain what the shad will do about it now. And although opposition did not cease, the charter was granted, and we knew then that the fulfillment of this great enterprise would come.
The war was then being prosecuted to its final grand struggle ; it was the last year of the war, and the whole resources of the country, money as well as men, were demanded to sustain the government in its efforts to preserve its existence. It was impossible at such a time to raise the necessary capital for so great a work. When the war was at an end, we watched with interest the progress of the enterprise and were glad when its success was assured. And when one year ago this month, the floods had broken up our railroad and interrupted our com- munication with each other, and we learned that the same destructive storm had swept away the work of years of anxiety and toil, I did not meet with a single man among all the business men of Waterbury, who did not speak of it with sadness and with sympathy for you in your great calamity. But though the work of weary years was gone, disas-
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ter and loss could not stay the enterprise in such hands as yours ; its fulfillment has come and before us is the grand result which you are here to-day to celebrate.
Our good state of Connecticut must depend upon manufactures, more than any one interest, for its increase in wealth and prosperity. Our worthy governor has just told you, in his speech, that Connecticut was very early a manufacturing state, and was among the first to establish certain branches of manufacturing industry. While we are proud of the history of our state for this and many other reasons, we must ad- mit, I think, that the manufactures of the state were comparatively a small interest, until within the last thirty years. I think my friend Plumb and some others I see before me remember well that in the Naugatuck valley thirty years ago, the manufacturing establishments were upon a very small scale compared with those of the present day. The increase in this time has been wonderful-thanks to the energy of men like him and others here.
Some have claimed that the day of increase in the manufacturing interests and prosperity of New England has gone by, and that other sections of the country are fast supplanting her in this respect. I know that the manufacturing interest has largely increased in the West the last few years. But while some branches of industry may seem to have declined, let us see if the manufactures of New England, as a whole, have not rapidly increased during these years. By statistics taken during the last year, it was found that in. 1869 there were, in New England alone, four thousand and one hundred factories, whose annual production of goods would average , one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for each factory. One-half of these had been estab- lished since the beginning of 1863, and one-fourth since the beginning of 1866. And the whole annual production of these establishments is more than six hundred millions of dollars, more than enough in four years to pay our whole national debt, and this in New England alone. Tell me not, then, that the manufacturing interest of New England is declining, and that the day of its rapid increase is gone. At the same time, many branches of manufactures have been established in the Western states and in other sections of the country ; and there are to-day over six hundred woolen mills west of the Alleghanies, more than half of which have been established within the last five years. Thank God, there is room enough in this broad land for them all ; and there is room enough in the rapid development of the resources of the country for new and more extensive establishments of the manufactur- ing interest of the country.
The great work in whose presence we stand is the combined result
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THE DAM.
of capital and labor. Capital employed as this has been is devoted to the interests of labor. Upon labor it bestows its blessings and benefits. Their interests are the same and they go hand in hand. How many families have had their daily wants supplied, and the rewards of toil freely bestowed upon them, in the progress of this work; and how many more there will be, we trust will be seen in the near future, when the mills shall line both banks of the river below ! Give labor its full reward ; but the men who have planned and carried forward this great work, through discouragement and disaster, have had the hardest of the labor. Unto each be their full share of the merit of its completion, and how soon in this land the energetic and industrious laborer may become the capitalist. There are to-day, upon the banks of a single branch of the Naugatuck, in Waterbury-the Mad river-five large manufacturing establishments, that employ daily from 1,200 to 1,400 hands, and furnish the means of support and the comforts of life to more than three times that number of population. And yet the gener- ation has not entirely passed away since the men who built these establishments might be found, from morning until night, in their little one-story shops where their rolling mills and four-story factories now stand, with their coats off and their shirt sleeves rolled up, and with their own sturdy toil laying the foundations of their own future wealth and prosperity. So has it been here, and so has it been with others who have won the success they deserved. We trust you will gather a full reward for the energy and toil that have brought this great work to a successful completion. May the results of the increase and pros- perity of your community far outrun your most sanguine expectation. May the year soon come when both sides of your river shall be lined with factories, and the ringing of hammers and the rattle of machinery shall resound from bank to bank, and these beautiful hillsides and summits shall be covered with houses, the houses and homes of the people. And may the good God in his mercy, who gathereth the waters and bindeth the floods from overflowing, preserve you from any disaster or destructive freshet to sweep away the work of your hands.
THE DAM.
The Ousatonic is one of the largest rivers in New England, having a much greater volume of water than the Blackstone, Quinebaug, Chicopee, Shetucket or Willimantic, all bordered by flourishing manufacturing towns, and but little less than the Merrimac, which drives the countless spindles of Lowell. The Ousatonic takes its rise among the hills of Berkshire county,
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Massachusetts, more than one hundred miles above the head of tide water at Birmingham, and empties into Long Island Sound near Bridgeport. It drains about two thousand square miles of territory and receives numerous tributaries, some of which are rivers of considerable magnitude, such as Still river, Pom- peraug and Shepaug. These affluents usually commence their course at the outlet of large lakes which serve as natural reser- voirs, equalizing the flow of water, and insuring an unfailing supply at all seasons of the year. The minimum average flow of water during the lowest stages is estimated at not less than five hundred cubic feet per second, which is equivalent to twenty-five hundred horse power for twelve hours per day.
Aside from the abundance of water which the Ousatonic affords, the fact that it was the last available large water power in close proximity to navigable tide water along the whole New England coast would seem to have been sufficient inducement for its speedy utilization, but it was only recently that its in- comparable advantages appear to have been fully recognized.
The dam is located at the head of navigation on the Ousa- tonic river, only seventy miles by rail from the city of New York. It consists of solid masonry twenty-two feet in height, constructed in the most approved and substantial manner across the Ousatonic, a distance of six hundred and thirty-seven feet. The great extent of country drained by this river, together with the immense reservoir above the dam five miles in length, en- sures a permanent supply of water equal to twenty-five hundred horse power twelve hours a day. Mr. Henry T. Potter was the engineer and superintendent of this great work, which occupied nearly three years in its construction and in rebuilding a portion which was torn away by a flood when the enterprise was near its completion. The work began on the eastern side late in the spring of 1867. The first year a considerable portion of the eastern abutment was built, and a portion of the dam proper was run across to an island near the middle of the river. The next year this portion was completed, a bed and apron were put in place for about one hundred feet in the middle of the river, and another section of the dam was pushed westward about half-way across the remaining portion of the river. Here be- gan a contest between human skill and the powers of nature,
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