USA > Connecticut > Windham County > Eastford > Town of Eastford : Centennial 1847-1947 > Part 5
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Leaving Bigelow River, on Branch Brook, 100 years ago Ira Morse had a saw mill on the present Yale Forestry land. This mill was in use until the dam was destroyed during the Hurricane in 1938. South of this mill on the Branch Brook was the "up-and-down" saw mill of Neuman Walker, Preston and Marcy. This rotted down and fifty years ago H. B. Buell rebuilt a saw mill here. This dam went out in the Hurricane.
Now we reach the mills that stood near the bridge on Route 44. On the west bank was the Snow Grist Mill. On the east bank below the present bridge was the Clothespin Mill of George Walker, who sold it to Mr. Pelletier. He used it as a cider and grist mill. This is now the Fabian property. The Snow property belongs to the State of Connecticut.
INDUSTRIES IN THE VILLAGE OF EASTFORD
We find the ruins of a dam near the entrance of the Still River into Eastford from Woodstock. For years this dam held back the waters of a large "New Dam Pond". In the late 1700's Daniel Allen had a "fulling" mill here. And here in 1850 was the Skinner and Hewitt mattress factory. This was a two story stone building 35' x 80'. It burned in 1850 and was not rebuilt.
A number of rods below this mill another smaller dam created the "Carder". A sluice way from the Carder furnished power in the very early times for the Mumford woolen factory sometimes spoken of as the Stockinet Company. Arnold Bros. finally came into possession of this property and after building an addition, made carts and wagon
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wheels and carriages. This building has been superceded by the modern Tatem Manufacturing Co. "We Handle the World."
North of the School house and on the brook flowing from Chil- kott's swamp land into the Carder is the ruins of a dam which was the site of a saw mill. Interesting descriptions of flowage rights are men- tioned in the old deeds.
Below the Arnold Bros. Mill on the road going east from the center, Capt. Jonathan Skinner in 1837 built a cotton factory-two floors above the basement and known as the "White Mill". Cassimeres and jeans were manufactured. After the death of Capt. Skinner this mill passed into the hands of Merriel and James Keith and was used as a cotton mill, as was the carding and spinning and manufacturing of woolen yarn during the Civil War. This work was gradually abandon- ed and picker sticks and chisel handles were made. The mill burned in 1918 and was replaced by a one story structure now owned by Oliver Bowen and used for cars storage space.
Reference has already been made to the blacksmith shop of Mr. Chapman and his son Zenas. This was equipped with a big trip ham- mer for heavy forging. The shop later became a grist mill.
Other Village Industries
Dec. Joseph Barrows operated a tannery on the property now owned by Ellery Barrett.
Warren Whitney and son, Lorenzo, had a carriage shop on the triangular common south of the school house. They also made washing machines. This shop was discontinued in the early 1900's.
A large boot and shoe shop, which employed a large number of hands both in the factory and in private homes where bindings were sewed on the shoes, was headed by Hiram Burnham. Under this factory flowed a channel of water which was obtained by digging a ditch from the Still River near the bridge (Arnold Bros. Mill). It re- entered the river at the "White Mill" pond. The boot shop building also boasted a variety store and the Bank of Eastford. When it burned, with a large store of shoes, the business was never resumed. The Bank ceased to function, and from this time several businesses gradually be- gan to lose their prosperity.
A description of the Eastford Creamery in the late 1800's may be read elsewhere in this book.
Andrew Buss had his furniture shop in the center and some of the "highboys" he made are still in the village.
For fifty years the carriage and blacksmith shop of Wm. E. Cheney did a prosperous business. In the late 1800's he added an undertaker's office and kept coffins with a hearse for the convenience of the town's people. This property is now owned by Mr. Howard Black, Sr. At- tachments on the ceiling in the east wing of the house would indicate that the carriage shop was located there. The coffin sign which was over the old shed door may still be seen on the building across the road.
In 1861 mention is made of these names: Ezra Arnold, Boots and Shoes; Darius Chapin, Blacksmith; George Dorsett, Store and Hotel.
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MILLS ON THE STILL RIVER-PHOENIXVILLE
Four dams in Phoenixville furnished power for factories. The mill at the north end of the village (1st dam) was the last one to be built. In 1880, M. F. and James E. Latham built a twine mill here. It was 30 feet by 50 feet with two floors above the basement where they poured ten feet of water on a forty inch Leffel wheel. This mill later became a carpet factory. It was bought by E. Grant Trowbridge in 1921 and as the dam had gone out and the building was in poor condition was torn down in 1926. Mr. Trowbridge has preserved the bell which hung in the belfry.
At the second dam (on Route 44) on the north bank of the river, stood a cotton mill built in 1812 by the Spragues. It was taken over by the Phoenixville Manufacturing Company and used as a carding machine factory. Twine and cotton batting were manufactured here, in 1847, as were woolen stockings. This particular property, without mill standing, eventually passed into the hands of Squire Latham where it remained for two generations. Within the last month it has been purchased by Alex Fabian.
At the third dam, still standing, stands the only reminder of our industries 100 years ago. This old stone mill was built in 1831 by the Phoenixville Manufacturing Company. A history of this mill is pub- lished elsewhere in this book.
On the fourth and last dam was Burnham's Silk Mill - (opposite the cemetery). This property passed into the hands of Alfred Potter, who used the building for a saw mill, grist mill, blacksmith shop and iron foundry. Stoves and plow castings were made here. Remains of the dam may be seen, but the mill disappeared long ago.
Another interesting mill was built on Haven's Brook, which flows through Haven's Ledges and eventually into Still River. It was the water-power shop of John Work Trowbridge. Here was a real artisan. His creative hands made wood working articles, machines of all types, musical instruments and guns. 1830-1860.
Other industries associated with this thriving little village was a milliner's shop and numerous blacksmith shops and grist mills. In the early 1900's the grist mill of Monroe Latham and Son was in great demand and use. The property is now owned by Mrs. Victoria Szy- manski who operates a successful Chevrolet Sales and Service Garage.
EASTFORD INDUSTRIES-The Present
As we write of industries in Eastford in the Spring of 1947, we must take into consideration the factor of the "war years" which greatly affected the volume of business in some fields and restricted it in others. Also, the war may be said to have given impetus to some and to have encouraged investments in others.
For a time the trend was for populations to move into the cities where jobs were more plentiful and wages higher. The war changed this. Transportation was made available for the so-called "war work- ers" so that they might continue to live in rural areas and take posi-
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tions in factories making war materials. Shortages of housing facili- ties also pushed folk back to the old farms and less crowded districts and naturally began to build up the local population. Commuting to one's job continues, now that the war is over, on a smaller scale, and the advantages of a "home in the country" seem to be having a lasting effect for new homes are being built in Eastford and young people are settling here rather than look for the supposed advantages of a city apartment.
With this background in mind, we look at the list of businesses located in the town and directly or indirectly benefiting from this period. They are as follows: dairies, fruit growers, poultry farms, lumbering, grain, stores, hotel, summer camps, contracting and build- ing, insurance, guns, ammunition and accessories, garages, auto body repair, antiques, handle manufacturing, sale of sand, gravel and fire wood and photography. The Connecticut Yankee is versatile and adaptible and the list proves that Eastford's citizens possess these qualities.
We have talked with some of our business men in order to break the list down into some appreciable facts. Mr. William S. Warren of Mill Bridge Farm, estimates that the total output of milk from large and small farms in this community would average about 2,600 quarts per day. He also states that in his grain business, they handle 500 tons a month. The garages in town, in an average year, sell between 200 and 300 automobiles and trucks aside from the sale of farm machinery. Mr. Buell of Hillcrest Farm where the well-known Buell Orchards are located, tells us that in a peak year they have sold 11,000 bushels of apples and in a "poor" year hampered by frosts and other climatic changes, 6,000 bushels. They also raise turkeys and sell an average of 1,400 of these big birds in a year. The handle mill consumes two million feet of hickory dimension stock per year at its Eastford branch and turns out 500,000 picker sticks, approximately 600,000 axe, pick, sledge and hammer handles and 750,000 hammer handles of all other types in a current year.
Although not all the industries which we listed can be discussed in this detail because their volume of business has not been ascertained, all are of importance and represent the life blood of a thriving com- munity. Three stores handle general merchandise of all kinds from meats and groceries to hardware and electrical appliances. The poultry farms do a large business in the sale of eggs, chickens and fowls. Trepal and Sanga, Contractors, are more than busy with building and repair, not only locally but in surrounding communities. The General Lyon Inn is famous for its fine foods and old time hospitality. We need only to turn the pages of this book to appreciate the work of our photo- grapher.
On our 100th birthday, we look forward hopefully to the years ahead. A business which is small today may be the grandparent of a large investment in the future. The young man with ambition and determination now may be the patriarch of another generation, advis- ing his grandchildren, "Now, when I went into business in Eastford ... " -and he will no doubt be quoted at our 200th anniversary.
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THE TATEM MANUFACTURING CO.
HISTORY OF THE TATEM MFG. CO.
In the year 1836 James B. Tatem was born in Phoenix, R. I. He moved with his family to Ashford, Conn. in 1846. When he was 16 years old his father died making it necessary for him to leave school. He learned the trade of shoe making, and with that, supported his family. In 1860 he moved to Woodstock where he carried on as a shoe maker.
In 1866 he took up a new trade, handle making. Two years later, in 1868, he rented a factory in Woodstock Valley and began a wood turning business, making in addition to handles such articles as car- riage poles and whipple-trees. This business prospered sufficiently well and made possible the erection of his own factory. In 1884 he took in his son John Melvin Tatem as a co-partner, and the business was then known as J. B. Tatem and Son. John M. Tatem was born in Woodstock January, 1860. After acquiring what formal education was offered in the district schools he worked into the business, and at the age of 24 became a partner in the firm.
Three years after James Tatem and John Tatem formed a partner- ship their mill in Woodstock burned. It was at this time, in 1887, that they purchased the buildings of the Arnold Bros. Co. in Eastford. This mill was located on the same site where the present factory of the Tatem Mfg. Co. now stands. Ten years later, in 1897, John M. Tatem, the son, bought out his father's interest in the Eastford plant and car- ried on the business until 1910. By this time the business was produc- ing hammer handles, sledge handles, and pick handles in addition to the axe handles previously manufactured. They had also begun the manufacture of picker sticks, a textile loom part. The factory was, at that time, the largest industry in the village.
In the year 1899 Charles and Carlton, the two oldest sons of John Tatem, began working in the factory. In 1905, Harry, the youngest son, started working in the business. In 1906 the business was requir-
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ing such a large quantity of hickory, oak, and ash timber that the two youngest sons, Carlton and Harry, were sent to manage a branch plant in Windham, Conn. This plant was operating until 1918.
In 1910 John M. Tatem formed a partnership with his three sons, and the business which had been known by the name John M. Tatem then became the J. M. Tatem Handle Co. Again disaster fell upon this business when fire destroyed the plant in Eastford in 1910. The Tatems at once rebuilt their plant on the same site and continued to manu- facture their products. By 1926 it was becoming increasingly difficult to secure the proper quality and quantity of material, which this ex- panding business was requiring, from native timber. Consequently, the partners of the J. M. Tatem Handle Co. organized The N. C. Hic- kory Mfg. Co., a corporation in Reidsville, N. C. to supply dimension hickory and axe, pick, and sledge handles for the parent plant in East- ford, Conn. Unable to secure a satisfactory manager for the N. C. plant, Mr. J. Carlton Tatem, in 1927, went to Reidsville, N. C. to operate the dimension mill.
In 1929 the J. M. Tatem Handle Co., Eastford plant, was again burned to the ground. Still undefeated, the Tatems rebuilt what is the basic part of the present plant.
In 1935 John Melvin Tatem, the senior member of the firm, pas- sed away leaving his three sons to carry on the business, which by this time was supplying a world wide market. Also in 1935 John MacNeil Tatem, son of Harry Tatem, and Kenneth W. Walker, both members of the present firm, were working steadily in the business.
In 1940 Mr. Charles D. Tatem, the oldest of the three brothers, passed away very suddenly while on a business trip leaving Harry Tatem to manage the plant here in Eastford, and Carlton Tatem still managing the N. C. plant.
In 1942 Carlton and Harry Tatem, the remaining owners of the business, decided to take their children into the business as partners. Of Carlton's three children his two youngest, Elizabeth and Carlton Jr., were both actively engaged in helping him conduct the business of the N. C. plant. Harry Tatem's two sons, John and Stewart, and his son- in-law Kenneth Walker, were important factors in helping him con- duct the business of the Eastford plant.
In 1945 feeling a need for a still greater source of supply to take care of the increased volume of production, the business established another branch plant, operating under the same name, managed by J. Carlton Tatem Jr. in Orange, Va. Since the present Eastford plant was first built in 1930 there have been several additions made to the phy- sical set-up to take care of the greater requirements for manufacturing and storage space. This business contributed greatly, in proportion to its size, to the war effort during the recent World War II. The products manufactured were required 100% to aid the war effort, and in ad- dition several of the employees of the company served in the armed forces.
In 1946, 78 years after the initial operations of the first plant, the business was incorporated and the name changed to the Tatem Mfg.
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Co. The business now supplies employment to approximately 50 re- sidents of Eastford and near by towns. The Tatem Mfg. Co. manu- factures products used all over the U. S. and on all the continents of the world. It is the largest consumer of hickory timber in the New England states and indisputably holds the position of the largest manu- facturer of picker sticks in the U. S.
Since 1887, for 60 years the business which has been operated by the various generations, now the fourth, has contributed proportion- ately to the advancement and welfare of the town of Eastford.
STEWART M. TATEM.
THE CREAMERY
The Eastford Creamery was a co-operative concern with a capital of $ 2000 formed by the following directors: J. M. Herendeen, D. M. Bent, H. K. Safford, M. F. Latham, C. O. Warren, E. W. Warren, and S. O. Bowen. The company was presented with a piece of land by S. O. Bowen on the highway leading from Eastford village to Phoenixville, with the privilege of digging a well, and conveying water from a favorable site above the building. Cream was collected from the farmers and made into butter. One summer the older people recall that after a particularly mild .winter when a full crop of ice could not be harvested - much of the cream soured. People were "cheezed to death" that summer. Ira and Walter Cushman were the last opera- tors. It was discontinued around 1900.
Robert Froehlich owns and lives in the old creamery building today.
THE OLD POUND
The old "pound" is located on Mrs. Dorothy Bowen's farm one mile South of the village on the road by Mrs. Florence Latham's home. The dimensions are 25' x 30' and probably was six feet tall. It was built by the town to impound cattle and sheep belonging to farm- ers who were slack in keeping their stock confined. Deacon Henry Trowbridge was the last pound keeper and he would take his keys and unlock the gate to put the animals in or get them out; he also col- lected a fine per head. Anyone could impound any stray animal that trespassed or roamed the roads.
Mr. Loren Bosworth was frequently in law suits with the town over his cattle, and Mr. Hasting Warren, who lived at Mr. Craw's place was continually getting his sheep "out of pound".
The pound went out of use about 1900.
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REMINISCENCES
"O, call back yesterday, bid time return!" - Shakespeare.
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TIN
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THE OLD STORE
My Dear Mrs. French :-
Your letter asking for reminiscences of the earlier days, in the history of Eastford came last Thursday. I am glad to know that the Centennial is to be observed in a fitting manner, and that such an able committee has been appointed. My earliest recollections of East-
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ford were about 1874 or 5. At that time four stores, including Isaac Warren's. who also kept the Post Office, Hiram Burnham who was also a shoe manufacturer and president of the Eastford Savings Bank. My uncle Andrew Bowen ran the store by the bridge which he later sold to uncle Aaron. Foster Dean was prop. of a store a little east of the Chapel on the North side of street, later on Dwight Lyon opened an- other store near the old tannery, and all did a thriving business while the people were employed at the Arnold Bros. Wagon Works, which included a saw mill and blacksmith shop. Also a paint shop. The Tan- nery kept quite a number of men busy at that time. James Keith ran the mill by the bridge, including carding wool, grist mill, and planing mill, and later sold groceries. There were also two twine mills running at Phoenixville, and two stores, and Post Office, also a sawmill and grist mill owned by "The Lathams", one of whom was a wheelwright, and another a sea captain. No. Ashford also had a store and large hotel where dances were held at frequent intervals. One of the events of those days was "Van Amberg's Circus" and I wonder now, how a show like that could have paid expenses, in small towns. The circus was held on "East Hill" opposite the David Lewis place and had elephants, bears, lions and other wild animals, beside a good ring performance. At that time Eastford village had two churches, both of which were well attended. The Methodist in the center, and the Congregational on the hill, where Rev. C. M. Jones was pastor for quite a number of years, and later Rev. Chandler, and Rev. J. P. Trowbridge.
Eastford has always had staunch supporters, and I once heard a man say: "Some people seem to think Eastford contains more square rods to the acre than other places". At any rate it held its own through prosperity and adversity, and has always had a goodly number of people in various parts of the town, working for better conditions in business, transportation, and town management, also in religious and educational affairs, and has sent out members of Congress to Wash- ington, D. C., College Presidents, Superior Court Judges, Lawyers and physicians, beside many others who became successful in various lines of endeavor.
One event that made a vivid impression on me at the time, and I have often thought of since was what we called the "Yellow Day" which I think occurred in September 1880 and produced such a de- pressing effect on the people of the village that the schools, and all business, except the stores and Post Office were closed and people stood around the stores in hushed groups, some people thought the world was coming to an end at once. The sky had a thick coppery look and hardly a breath of air was stirring. It was certainly ominous to one 9 year old boy. We afterward learned it was caused by great forest fires in Canada.
One event that happened in Eastford years ago, and vividly told to me by an old resident with a wonderful memory was "A man sent to the gallows at Brooklyn for the murder of his wife. Convicted on circumstantial evidence, and the County Sheriff resigned his office rather than hang him, as the man had lived with him when he was a boy. It was said that the trees near the hanging place were black with
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curious people who had come to see the gruesome affair and as he expressed it "They looked like a parcel of-Crows in the tree tops".
In 1887 a grange was organized in Eastford, and later a Creamery both of which were of considerable benefit to the farmers, the grange bringing them together at regular intervals to get acquainted and com- pare notes, and the creamery made a cash market for cream, which they found better than each trying to sell his own product. Later a market for whole milk was developed which paid better and the creamery was abandoned. Something over 50 years ago Mr. J. M. Tatem came to Eastford and started a handle factory, which he and his sons developed into a thriving business, which helped the town greatly.
Jackson and Summer did a big business in lumber, and the Keith Bros. went into the handle mfg. business, all of which helped to im- prove conditions in general, and the old hotel passed into able and ef- ficient management. I should like to speak of many people and events but I know I have already written too much.
If anything is useful to your program feel free to use it. I hope the Centennial will be a big success, as I am sure it will.
Sincerely,
O. Earle Bowen.
THE BLIZZARD OF MARCH 12, 1888
(from a newspaper file)
Snowflakes began falling in the early Monday morning. They were large and heavy. About noon a driving rain and windstorm commenced, which changed to snow between two and three o'clock. A gale continued all night, tearing down trees, fences and telegraph poles. The piercing cold made the night hideous and dangerous. Morning found drifts three feet deep with a layer of slush underneath, and the wind still blowing eighty miles an hour. Streets and stores were deserted. The mills and schools were closed. In the open country the unrestricted blizzard swept the land with the velocity of a cyclone, and the snow and sleet were strifling. When the storm finally abated, Old Sol quickly reversed conditions, by melting the snow in a very few days.
OLD DARN COAT
A tinker lost his wife-to-be, on the eve of his wedding. This so effected his mind, that he ever after wore his wedding coat. It was darned and patched to such an extent, that the original coat could not be seen. Thus he acquired the name of Old Darn Coat. *
Frank Lyon in discussing the fixing of roads in No. Ashford, one morning on A. M. Bowen's steps, remarked in his slow dragging voice, "There was a mud hole 18 inches deep; They drew on 18 inches of muck and now it is three feet deep."
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THE HURRICANE
THE HURRICANE-SEPT. 21, 1938
I have seen Full many a chill September,
And though I was a youngster then, That gale I well remember.
6 how the ponds and rivers boiled, And how the shingles rattled! And oaks were scattered on the ground As if the Titans battled." "The September Gale" by Holmes
For the second time in two years, we had had a flood in Eastford. The cloud burst in the night had washed a ditch between three and four feet deep in the road that goes past my house and my neighbors marveled that I had slept through it. For I was alone that week. My husband was on Long Island and since the day continued wet and rainy, I sat down at my desk by the south window to write him a letter.
At first I did not pay any particular attention to the increasing rain and wind outside until I heard a sharp "crack" in the vicinity of the kitchen door. I went to investgate and found that my screen door had been snapped off its hinges and laid neatly up against the house.
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