USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > The town and city of Waterbury, Connecticut, from the aboriginal period to the year eighteen hundred and ninety-five. Volume II > Part 5
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Some twenty-five years after the above was written, an appli- cation was made to the legislature in behalf of the city for the formation of a new county, to be composed of adjoining portions of Litchfield and New Haven counties, with the county seat at Water- bury. There was no great unity or enthusiasm among the citizens for the project; but Mayor Henry I. Boughton, and other leading and public-spirited citizens and members of the city government were earnest in its advocacy. Mr. Hollister was one of the counsel who appeared before the committee of the General Assembly in opposition to the measure, representing the town of Litchfield. In
* History of Connecticut, by G. H. Hollister. Vol. I. p. 305.
SOUTHEAST VIEW OF WATERBURY, FROM THE SUMMIT OF THE ABRIGADOR, 1857.
(FROM BRONSON'S HISTORY).
37
WATERBURY AS A CITY.
the course of his remarks before the committee, he indulged in some good natured but rather sarcastic criticisms upon the preten- sions of Waterbury in aspiring to the dignity of a county seat. The writer of this article, who appeared in behalf of the city, having sent out and procured a copy of Mr. Hollister's "History " while his speech was going on, read the above passage to the com- mittee in reply, appealing as he said from the criticism of the advocate to the statements of the historian. The opposition from both New Haven and Litchfield counties was sufficient to prevent the granting of the application for a new county ; but terms of the Superior court for the trial of civil cases had already been estab- lished in Waterbury, on account of its distance from the county seat and the delay and expense of employing witnesses so far from their homes. For like reasons, and for the convenience of neigh- boring towns, the jurisdiction of the City court of Waterbury had been extended to all the towns adjoining Waterbury ; the expense of the court being borne entirely by the city. Upon the organiza- tion of the District court, its jurisdiction was further extended to include the towns of Woodbury and Southbury. The salaries of the judges and officers of the District court are now paid by the state ; the city and town of Waterbury furnishing a court room, and court accommodations .*
The following named persons were elected officers of the city by ballot at the first meeting under the charter, in Gothic hall, on the second Monday of July, 1853:
Mayor, Julius Hotchkiss.
Aldermen, David B. Hurd, John Kendrick, Willard Spencer, James M. L. Scovill.
Councilmen, William Brown, Abram Ives, Edward B. Cooke, Elisha Leaven- worth, Charles B. Merriman, Sherman Hickox, John S. Mitchell, William Lamb, Scovill M. Buckingham, John W. Webster, Nelson Hall, Martin S. Isbell, Corydon S. Sperry, James Scarritt, Charles Benedict, George H. Welton, Archibald E. Rice, Richard Welton, Edward L. Frisbie, Thomas B. Eldridge.
Treasurer, Augustus S. Chase.
Sheriffs, Daniel T. Munger, Edward I. Porter.
Auditor, Edward S. Clark.
Leonard Bronson, Esq., as senior justice of the peace in Water- bury, was moderator of the meeting, as provided in the charter, and Nelson J. Welton was chosen clerk by ballot ..
* There are now both civil and criminal terms of the Superior court by law established, and nominally held in Waterbury, though often adjourned to New Haven. Criminal jurisdiction of appeals from the judgment of justices of the peace, police court, borough or town courts, was also conferred upon the District court of Waterbury by act of the General Assembly approved February 16, 1893.
38
HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
Gothic hall, as it was called, was removed about this time from the site afterwards occupied by the Second Congregational church, across the brook to what is now Phoenix alley. It had formerly been the place of worship of the old First church and had stood on the Green near where the Welton fountain now is. It was a cheer- less, out of the way building, reached by a muddy lane, but it was the only place for holding annual and other city meetings, and the only home of the city government, until the present City hall was completed, about fifteen years later. The city court and the whole machinery of the city government were confined to a single room, with little furniture and few comforts. The annual city elections were all held in the large room (or hall, so-called), no division into wards or voting districts having been made for either the town or the city.
It may be of interest to know the whole number of votes cast for mayor at some of the early city elections. In 1854 the whole number was 532; in 1855, there were 473 votes; in 1856, 505 votes; in 1857, 699 votes; in 1858, 673 votes; in 1859, 624 votes; and in 1860, 576 votes. The population was rapidly increasing during those years but there was less partisanship in the affairs of the city than there now is, for the prizes in the form of salaries or pecuniary emoluments were small. At the adjourned annual meeting in June, 1859, there were eighteen electors present, and by a vote of eleven to seven the salaries of the mayor and clerk were fixed at $150 per annum. At the annual meeting in 1861, these salaries were raised to $300 each. Another reason for the smallness of the vote at city elections was the fact that no other elections were held on the same day.
The first meeting of the Court of Common Council was held in the court room in Gothic hall on the evening of July 12, 1853, the day after the first city meeting. The first business transacted was the appointment of forty jurors for service in the new city court, under the charter. The only other business was the appointing of committees to prepare rules for the government of the Court of Common Council and to draft by-laws for the city government. The meeting adjourned to July 18, when the committees reported rules of proceeding for the Common Council, and also a number of by-laws, which were adopted. Standing committees were ap- pointed and the committee on law was instructed to report such further by-laws as they might deem necessary. At an adjourned meeting of the Common Council, held July 25, a resolution was adopted imposing a fine of fifty cents on every absentee from any regular or special meeting of the court, "unless satisfactorily
39
WATERBURY AS A CITY.
excused by that body." The records fail to show that the revenues of the city were very much increased by that action .*
A special city meeting was warned and held August 20, 1853, for the purpose of acting upon the by-laws of the city, which had already been approved by the Court of Common Council. The several by-laws were adopted and ratified at that meeting, and the new city government was now fairly launched and in successful operation. But one thing was wanting, and a special meeting was called, December 10 of the same year, to supply the want, which was the laying of the first city tax. The tax laid at that meeting was three cents on the dollar. Under the first charter, taxes were laid by vote of the electors in city meetings, as town taxes are still laid. Two years later, in 1855, those electors assembled in the annual city meeting determined to have money enough for some special city improvements, and voted to lay a tax of six cents on the dollar. That was a little too much for the tax-payers patiently to endure, and another city meeting was called, in which the vote was repealed, and a tax of three cents on the dollar laid in its stead. But these apparently large taxes were very small in com- parison with the taxation of the present day. The tax was laid, under the law in those years, upon three per cent only of the valuation of the property.} For instance, if a person's house and real estate was valued at $10,000 it went into the list at only $300 for the purposes of taxation. If the property of a corporation was valued at $100,000 it went into the list for taxation at only $3000. When the law was changed a few years later, requiring the value of the property to be set in the list, we find that the city tax laid in 186I was only one and a half mills on the dollar. And the storm of civil war had then burst upon us.
A statement of the expenses of the city government for a few months during this period may be of interest. In the second year of the city government, the auditors reported its expenses for eight months, from June 10, 1854, to February 5, 1855, as follows:
Fire Department,
$ 831.50
Common Council, .
200.65
Police Department, .
212.64
Streets and Lamps,
1673.08
City Court,
25.21
Total, .
$2943.08
* Section 56 of the charter provided that " at any meeting of the Court of Common Council, warned and held under the by-laws of the city, the mayor and any one alderman and such number of common council- men as shall attend, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business." It made a conveniently small quorum.
+ A tax of three cents, under the law at that time, would be a little less than a tax of one mill on the dollar as now assessed.
40
HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
The first sewer built in the new city was a brick sewer extend- ing from the southeast corner of the Green to the stone bridge at the junction of Scovill and South Main streets. This sewer had been commenced under the authority of the borough, before the city charter was granted. It was to be built by a subscription to the amount of $800, by the property owners about Exchange place. That was the estimated cost of the sewer. The city ratified and authorized the completion of the sewer by vote of the Court of Common Council, passed October 3, 1853. This vote was upon the express condition that a subscription of $800 by individuals and firms interested should be first paid or secured to be paid. It was found in the end that the subscription was not quite large enough to complete the sewer, and the city paid a small balance in settle- ment of the work. Great brook at that time was an open, uncovered stream, a short distance below Scovill street, running thence along the east side of South Main street, then a mere country road, to where it crossed South Main near its junction with Grand street. Horses and cattle were driven to the brook by the side of the street for water at all hours. The city began thus early to get the benefit of sewerage in its running streams.
The chief public improvements in the city under the old charter were inaugurated in the year 1867, under the administration of Dr. P. G. Rockwell, who was mayor at that time. These were the intro- duction of a supply of water for the city from East Mountain, and the building of a city hall. In February, 1867, votes were passed at special meetings of both town and city, for the purchase of land and the construction of a public building for town and city pur- poses. The miserable accommodations for the town and city gov- ernments and also for the courts, in the old Gothic hall, could not well be endured much longer. Besides, with the increasing popu- lation, there was no hall in the city large enough for public gather- ings. The largest was Hotchkiss hall (afterwards called Irving hall) at the corner of North and East Main streets.
Prior to this time, the people of the city had depended for water upon a few private springs, the owners of which rented water to those living on the line of the pipes, and upon the wells of the place. At a city meeting held March 16, 1867, a committee of ten was appointed to apply to the legislature for the passage of an act for taking and securing a water supply for the city. There was some vigorous opposition to the project of establishing water works, arising chiefly from fear of the expense and the increase of taxes. But the use for a year or two of the pure and wholesome water from East Mountain, and the experience of its utility at one or two fires, especially in
41
WATERBURY AS A CITY.
CITY HALL, BRONSON LIBRARY, AND SCOVILL HOUSE, 1893 .*
the preservation of the dwelling houses near St. John's church when that was burned, were sufficient to obliterate whatever feeling of opposition had existed. At the May session of the General
* The building on the left of the picture is the "Scovill House." That in the foreground, on the corner of West Main and Leavenworth streets, was occupied by the Bronson library until August, 1894. The front part of it was built by Mark Leavenworth in 1831-2, for a general store. M. Leavenworth & Son had then a clock factory on Cherry street, and Leavenworth & Kendrick a button factory at Waterville. It was the custom then for the more enterprising manufacturers to keep a stock of goods, sometimes at the factory, sometimes at a separate store, where their employees traded on a running account, and this store was started with that in view. It was managed by Willard Spencer. Later, in the course of business changes, it passed into the hands of W. & A. Brown, Merriman & Stiles, Hotchkiss & Merriman, H. Merriman & Co., and perhaps others. Still later it was occupied by E. B. Cooke & Co. as a job printing office, and was the publica tion office of the Waterbury American. It was purchased by the Board of Agents of the Bronson library in 1868. The rear part of the main store (with gable on Leavenworth street) was built a number of years later than the front, and the "book stack" (still further to the right) was added by the Agents of the Library in 1883. For the history of the Scovill House, see the chapter on taverns, etc .- F. J. K.
42
HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
Assembly, 1867, bills were introduced granting authority to the city to issue bonds both for the building of the new city hall, and to meet the expense of introducing water. The opposition to the latter insisted upon submitting the question to a vote of the electors of the city for approval or rejection, claiming that a majority of the voters were not in favor of it. The act was passed with a provision thus to submit it and was ratified by a large majority of the voters. The rate of interest upon the bonds for both purposes was fixed at seven per cent, this being the highest rate allowed by the acts. The Court of Common Council fixed that rate of interest for the city hall bonds, and it was found that the bonds for the water supply could not be negotiated at any lower rate. To the present generation this seems an extraordinarily high interest for city bonds; but it must be remembered that rates of interest were then abnormally high. The war had closed only two years before, and even the United States government had paid seven and three- tenths per cent upon many of its obligations. Ten or even twelve per cent upon mortgages was not unusual. In fact, it was not easy to negotiate the bonds at seven per cent, and the contractor for the water works was obliged to take a large part of his pay for the work in the bonds at par, as they were not readily sold at that rate.
On May 23, 1870, action was taken by the Court of Common Council for the purpose of procuring a new charter, the old one being found in some important respects inadequate to the public wants. A committee of thirteen was appointed "to draft a proper charter that will meet the requirements of this city, and procure its passage by the legislature of the state." The committee consisted of William Brown, Willard Spencer, John W. Webster, Frederick J. Kingsbury, Charles B. Merriman, Charles W. Gillette, John O'Neill, Jr., George L. Fields, Stephen W. Kellogg, Edward L. Frisbie, Theo- dore I. Driggs, Nelson J. Welton and Theodore S. Buell. Messrs. Webster and Gillette were appointed a sub-committee to draft a proper charter. In due time these gentlemen presented their report to the full committee, and it was approved and adopted. The new charter was a copy, substantially, of a charter granted to the city of New Haven three years before. It was presented to the General Assembly at its May session, 1871, and was passed by that body, and approved July 10 .*
The limits of the city under the new charter remained the same as in the original. An improvement was made in the corporate
* It is said that the New Haven document was so closely followed, that in the first draft of the new charter, given to the public for inspection, there was retained, through an oversight, a provision for the appointment of a harbor master !
43
WATERBURY AS A CITY.
name, which was simply "The City of Waterbury," in place of the ponderous designation of the old charter already referred to. Other important changes were introduced. The annual city elec- tion was changed from the second Monday of June in each year to the first Monday of October,-the annual meeting of the city to be held that day at the voting place in the third ward (which has always been the City hall). The term of office of the mayor and aldermen was extended to two years, beginning on the first Mon- day of January next succeeding their election. The term of office of the common councilmen and other officers was still limited to one year, commencing on the first Monday of January next after election. An important change in the Court of Common Council was its division into two separate bodies, the number of aldermen being increased from four to eight, two from each ward. One-half of these were to be elected for two years at each annual election after the first, for which a special provision was made. The board of aldermen comprised one body, over which the mayor was to preside, the city clerk acting as clerk of the board. The common councilmen were to constitute the other board, and choose their own president and clerk. The number of councilmen remained at twenty .* Boards of Finance, of Road Commissioners, of Fire Com- missioners, of Police Commissioners, and of Compensation, were established, and appropriate duties assigned to them. A new body of ordinances was required, and these were enacted from time to time after the charter took effect, -the same being copied sub- stantially, mutatis mutandis, from ordinances then existing in New Haven. The charter was not submitted to the voters of the city for approval or rejection, but it was provided that it should "take effect on the first Monday of January, A. D. 1872." It was also pro- vided that the first election under the charter should be held on the first Monday of October, 1871.
At that time officers were in fact elected, and they took office the following January. An election had been held under the old charter on the second Monday of June, 1871, at which a mayor, aldermen and common councilmen were elected for one year. The new charter provided that the terms of these officers should expire on the first Monday of January, 1872. It does not appear that any question was made as to the right of the legislature to cut short the terms of office of those already elected by the people. But as the same person was chosen mayor at both the June and October elections, there was no occasion for a question in his case.
* By the section providing for the division into two bodies, the name of the Court of Common Council was changed to "a Board of Common Council ; " but the next section called it a "Court of Common Coun- cil," and it was so styled in sundry following sections.
44
HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
3
4
5
At a meeting of the Court of Common Coun- cil held on April 7, 1890, a com -. mittee of its members and other citizens, thirty in all, was appointed to prepare a revision of the charter of the city, to submit to the Com- mon Council with reference to its adoption. By these gentlemen a sub-committee was chosen to draft the revision, consisting of 19 C. R. Baldwin (mayor), Earl Smith, J. P. Kellogg, L. F. Burpee, E. G. Kilduff (city clerk) and G. E. Terry. "It is a matter of general gratulation," said the Waterbury Republican of April 21, "that the able and repre-
The following is a list of the mayors of the city : *
Julius Hotchkiss (1) June 10, 1853, to June 10, 1854
David T. Bishop (2)
. June 10, 1854, to June 11, 1855
George W. Benedict (3) June II, 1855, to June 9, 1856
John W. Webster (4) June 9, 1856, to June 8, 1857 June 8, 1857, to June 13, 1859
Henry F. Fish (5)} .
Charles Benedict (6)
June 13, 1859, to June II, 1860 June II, 1860, to June 8, 1863
Aner Bradley, Jr. (1)
L. Sanford Davies (8) June 8, 1863, to June 13, 1864 June 13, 1864, to June II, 1866
John Kendrick (9)
Philo G. Rockwell (10) .
.
June II, 1866, to June 10, 1867
Joseph B. Spencer (11)
June 10, 1867, to June 8, 1868
* The figures refer to the portraits.
+ Henry F. Fish resigned his office as mayor during his second term, Oc- tober 4, 1858. His resignation was accepted, and Nathan Dikeman, Jr., senior alderman, discharged the duties of the office during the remainder of his term.
MAYORS OF WATERBURY, 1853 TO 1868.
WATERBURY AS A CITY.
45
13
14
15
12
sentative com- mittee on revis- ion has taken hold of the mat- ter with earnest- ness." A charter was prepared 16 with much labor, embodying the more advanced modern views in regard to muni- cipal government, fixing respon- sibility directly upon the mayor and a small board of public works. After full discussion and various modifications it was adopted by 19 the committee of thirty as their report to the Court of Common Council, and printed for the information of the public. It was expected that if accepted it would go into opera- tion on January 1, 1892. But for reasons which do
18
MAYORS-continued.
John Kendrick, . Charles B. Merriman (12) . Isaac E. Newton (13) . George B. Thomas (14) . Archibald E. Rice (15)
Henry I. Boughton (16) . Guernsey S. Parsons (17) Greene Kendrick (18) Henry A. Matthews (19) Henry I. Boughton, Charles R. Baldwin (20) Daniel F. Webster (21) .
Edward G. Kilduff (22)
June 8, 1868, to June 14, 1869 June 14, 1869, to June 13, 1870 June 13, 1870, to June II, 1871 . June II, 1871, to January 3, 1876 January 3, 1876, to January 7, 1878 January 7, 1878, to January 5, 1880 January 5, 1880, to January 2, 1882 January 2, 1882, to January 3, 1884 January 3, 1884, to January 4, 1886 . January 4, 1886, to January 6, 1890 January 6, 1890, to January 4, 1892 January 4, 1892, to January 1, 1894 January 1, 1894, to January 3, 1898
20
22
MAYORS OF WATERBURY, 1869 TO 1896 .*
* The two groups on pp. 44 and 45 are reproduced from a collection of the portraits of his predecessors made by Mayor D. F. Webster in 1892 and 1893. (See the Waterbury American of May 23, 1893).
46
HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
not appear the report was never laid before the Common Council, and therefore never acted upon. Some of the proposed changes were subsequently brought about by legislative enactment, but one of the most important-that providing for a board of public works-when it came before the legislative committee on cities and boroughs for a hearing, on May 17, 1894, found no one to appear in its favor, and was withdrawn.
The list of city clerks is as follows :
Nelson J. Welton, Charles W. Gillette, Joseph B. Spencer,
Augustus H. Fenn, Henry I. Boughton, . Thomas Donohue, 2d, Charles D. Hurlburt, Thomas Donohue, 2d, Homer W. Keeler, Thomas Donohue, 2d, Greene Kendrick,
Edward G. Kilduff, William R. Mattison,
July II, 1853, to June 14, 1858 June 14, 1858, to June II, 1860 . June 11, 1860, to June II, 1866 June II, 1866, to June 10, 1867 June 10, 1867, to June 8, 1868 June 8, 1868, to June 21, 1869 June 21, 1869, to June 20, 1870 June 20, 1870, to June 26, 1871 June 26, 1871, to January 1, 1872 . January 1, 1872, to January 4, 1875 January 4, 1875, to January 6, 1879 . January 6, 1879, to January 2, 1893 January 2, 1893, to January 1, 1894
The streets of the city were named in 1857, under the direction of the Court of Common Council. A committee, consisting of L. W. Coe, George Pritchard and Wooster Warner, was appointed for that purpose. In their report, which was adopted August 24, Centre square was described as "comprising what was called the Green, and the dwellings and stores which surround it." Exchange place was described as comprising "the open space from Apothecaries' hall south, Brown's property east, post office, Benedict & Scovill company, et al., west, and Centre square north." The post office was then located at the corner of Exchange place and West Main streets, where the Western Union Telegraph company had its office afterward for several years. The Benedict & Scovill com- pany owned the property now owned and occupied by E. T. Turner & Co. The names of the following streets were established by the report as adopted :
East Main, West Main, North Main, South Main, Bank, Union, Union square, Grand, Meadow, Willow, Grove, Prospect, Cook, Church, Leavenworth, Field, Cherry, High, Walnut, Mill, Liberty, Clay, Scovill, Elm, Cole, Spring, Brook, Hill, Buckingham, Linden, Baldwin, Harrison alley, Kendrick alley, Riverside, Wall, Dublin, Pine, Niagara.
The report further says :
The following are streets or passways thrown open and built upon, but not yet laid out as public streets : Hopkins, School, Maple, Orange, Ridge, Jewelry French alley, Judd alley, Sperry, First avenue, Second avenue, Third avenue Bishop, Dover, Wilson, Wilson place, Gilbert alley, Franklin, Cottage place.
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