USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > A History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, vol 2 > Part 28
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John Wood; fence viewers: Thomas Burt and Isaac Pool; field-drivers : John White and Richard Wood; flax-culler, Joseph Maxfield.
During the 1812 War the north part of this town seceded from the south part, the former becoming incorporated June 8, 1814, as the town of Wellington. It is stated by various writers that the cause of the separa- tion had to do both with the ministry and meetinghouses, as well as with politics and disappointed politicians. But after about a dozen years of separation the town was reunited to Dighton, February 22, 1826. Dighton was made a port of entry in 1789, and the house still standing on Pleasant street was used as the Custom House to 1834, when the headquarters was removed to Fall River. The following were the collectors of customs : Hodijah Baylies, 1789-1809; Nathaniel Williams, 1809-23; Hercules Cush- man, 1823-25: Seth Williams, 1825-29; Dr. William Wood, 1829-33; Dr. P. W. Leland 1834. Dwight F. Lane has been town clerk and treasurer since 1897: Howard C. Briggs is town auditor.
Schools and Churches .- The first record that relates to the proposed support of a school in the town is dated 1733, when at town meeting of March 20, Edward Shove was appointed to present a petition to the Gen- eral Court relating thereto. The next year it was voted to hire a school- master to teach children to read, write and cipher. In 1751 three school- houses were built, two of them sixteen feet square and one twenty feet square, one located near Jonathan Burt's house, one near Colonel Rich- mond's, another near Robert Vickery's. And then, in 1755, the first school- master, John Richmond, is referred to. There were these school buildings in the town in 1923, namely: the North Grammar building, North Primary building, South Grammar building, Brick school, Broad Cove school, Fish school, Flat Rock school, Segreganset school, Williams school, with a total of 538 pupils. The appropriation for the maintenance of the schools, as made in 1923 was $38,000. Pupils attending high school in Taunton, forty; in Fall River, ten. School superintendents since 1912 have been: John C. Davis, 1912; Mortimer H. Bowman, 1912-21; Walter K. Putney, 1921-23; Norman T. Bond, 1923. The school board in 1923: Chairman, Roy F. Walker; financial secretary, Frank B. Place; corresponding secretary, Samuel C. Hamilton ; Ralph Earle, Henry W. Horton, Trevor F. Goodell.
Four years before Dighton was incorporated as a town, the First Congregational Society was established in 1708, and Rev. Nathaniel Fisher was chosen the minister, his pastorate starting in 1710, and extending through two-thirds of the century to 1777, in which year he died at the age of ninety-one years. Mr. Fisher was a graduate of Harvard College, and his one pastorate was at Dighton, he being ordained here. His church, the first to be erected in Dighton, was at the town cemetery, near the residence of Hon. Charles S. Chase, and was built in 1708. The structure was. burned in 1767, the fire being of incendiary origin. Soon afterwards a meetinghouse was built on Buck plain, fifty-five feet long by forty-five feet wide, the sum of £500 being appropriated therefor. The Brick Church, so-called, was built in 1826, and it was dedicated May 1, 1827. Rev. John Smith who had been assisting Mr. Fisher, became minister of the church in 1777, and he remained until 1800. He was a graduate of Princeton Col- lege. One of his grandsons was Professor W. B. Smith, of Union Theo-
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logical Seminary. Rev. William Warren, a Dartmouth College graduate, was his successor, his ordination taking place in 1802. He was dismissed in 1815, and up to 1826, when Rev. William Torrey preached here for a year, there was no regular pastor. The ministers in succession since then have been: Revs. Preston Cummings, Jonathan King, John Shaw, Joseph Bailey, Malachi Ballard, E. R. Claggitt, William Walker, George Brown, E. Newhall, Ezra Newton, Enoch Sanford, Horace Pratt, Ebenezer Dawes, Edson J. Moore, William B. Green, Nathan T. Dyer, Calvin T. Keyser, Frank E. Mills, Granville Yager, Dorrall Lee, F. J. Noyes, Robert Humphrey, John P. Richardson, William F. Warren, Hollis A. Campbell.
The organization of the Second Congregational Society was brought to pass in this way: the residents of the east and south sections of the town were dissatisfied with the location of the new church on Buck Plain, and they withdrew and built a church of their own on Elm street, on the location of the present building of the Unitarian church. This house was raised and boarded, but its finishing was postponed with the coming of the Revolutionary War, and thus, without windows or doors, the structure was for some time used as a sheep-pen by Captain Rufus Whitmarsh, owner of the farm adjoining. The work of completion of the edifice was put off until 1797, and that year two tracts of woodland were given for a ministerial fund for the Pedo-Baptist Congregational Society, as the church was then called, the donors being Colonel Sylvester Richmond and Joseph Atwood. With the proceeds of the sale of the timber, the church was completed in 1798.
Rev. John Smith, who was pastor of the First Church, assisted in the establishment of the Second Church by preaching there on alternate Sun- days, so continuing until 1800. The first settled minister for the new church was Rev. Abraham Gushee, who came in June, 1803. Ordained September 23, that year, he remained with this church for more than a half century; and when the division took place between the Orthodox and the Unitarians, Mr. Gushee joined the latter. He died October 5, 1861, at the age of eighty-six years, and he was succeeded by Rev. Francis LeBaron, who remained with the society one year. The ministry of this church since that time has been as follows: Revs. Fiske Burrill, J. L. Hatch, George Kelso, F. E. Kittredge, John Wills, William Reeby, Obed Eldredge, Alfred Cross, Mr. Hodges, Miss Leggett, A. J. Rich, Stephen Palmer. The meetinghouse was re-modeled in 1861, at an expense of nearly $2,000. Memorial Hall was built in 1889, and presented to this society by the chil- dren of Alfred Smith, of Newport, as a memorial to their mother; and the house standing on the same lot with the hall was presented to the society, for a parsonage. Bequests by a daughter of Mrs. Smith and by Cyrus Talbot, bring the total of invested funds held by the society to nearly $75,000.
The Baptist Church was organized in the west part of Dighton in 1772, as the result of a religious revival. Elder Enoch Goff was chosen the first pastor, and in 1781 David Simmons was ordained as his col- league. The meetinghouse, near the site of the Rehoboth line, was com- pleted in 1780, and it was dedicated on the "dark day," May 19, 1780. A larger house was built in 1796, a mile to the north of the old one, and
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although it is not now in possession of the original owners, it has ever since been known as the Elder Goff meetinghouse. Elder Ephraim Sawyer was called to the pastorate in 1806, who preached until 1810, in which year Elder Goff died. From 1807 to 1813, 262 members were added to this church. Rev. Silas Hall succeeded Elder Sawyer for a year, and from 1813 to 1840 the following-named were the pastors: Revs. Bartlett Pease, Mr. Lovejoy, Caleb Green, John Reed, J. L. Whitmore. In 1845 this church built a meetinghouse at the Four Corners, at a cost of $1,600, and from that time onwards, the following-named have been the pastors: Revs. John B. Parris, Caleb Blood, Charles F. Colver, Alexander Carr, Samuel Carr, James Andern, Edwin Stillman, S. A. Thomas, L. Kinney, Mr. Latham, Mr. Horton, J. C. Boomer, A. W. Carr, Albert N. Dary, R. G. Johnson, William D. Athearn, Fred A. Robinson, O. H. Wallace, Robert Bennett, Walter Bartlett, E. F. Chandler, Thomas G. Denchfield.
The Christian Church of West Dighton is the outcome of a division that was made with the Baptists in 1840, with Rev. Otis W. Bates as the pastor. The pulpit is occasionally occupied by ministers and students.
As early as 1814, attention was first called to Methodism in Dighton, when Israel Anthony, a mill overseer, secured preachers to hold meetings in the village. The first Methodist class was formed here in 1816, with Rev. Orville Hinds as the leader; there were twenty-six members in this class. In 1830, Rev. John D. Baldwin was first regularly appointed to the pastorate, the church being dedicated July 13, 1831, by Rev. Lewis B. Bates. North Dighton was made an independent charge in 1837, with Rev. John Bayley as pastor, and ten years afterwards, in 1847, the parsonage was built. The present church edifice was completed in 1866, and dedi- cated October 14, that year. Following is the list of pastors: Revs. John Bayley, David Culver, Ephraim Capen, Bryan Morse, George H. Winchester, Charles A. Carter, Edward A. Lyon, Abel Gardner, Richard Donkersley, William Cone, Franklin Gavitt, W. H. Richardson, Asa N. Bodfish, Lawton Cady, Carlos Banning, Nathaniel Bemis, O. N. Brooks, Henry H. Smith, John N. Collier, L. B. Bates, Erastus Beaton, Asa N. Bodfish, T. Snowden Thomas, W. H. Stetson, Edwin F. Jones, George W. Ballou, George H. Bates, J. W. Malcolm, George W. Wright, George H. Lamson, George H. . Bates, Frank S. Parkin, C. F. Brightman, W. E. Kugler, C. H. Ewer, George A. Sisson, H. H. Critchlow, John S. Bridgford, Mortimer Braley, J. B. Aldrich, A. S. Muirhead, A. W. C. Anderson, W. E. Plaxton, Norman Mckay, Edwin J. Reese, John McVay. A new church was built in 1900, and dedicated May 14, 1902.
The Second M. E. Church was formally organized May 13, 1866. In 1893 the old church was sold, and the purchaser removed it. The present structure was erected in its place, and it was dedicated December 14, 1893. The pastors : Revs. James A. Dean, H. H. Smith, A. E. Hall, V. W. Mal- toon, Dennison Brown, John Lindsey, L. F. Causey, S. E. Evans, F. D. Sargent, Thomas Simms, C. A. Littlefield, John Thompson, Silas Sprowl, John H. Buckey, William D. Wilkinson, C. F. Hatch, Robert Clark, Charles B. Allen, E. S. Collier, Jerome Greer, Charles A. Purdy, E. W. Goodier, John Pierce, O. B. oMrris, James Biram, C. J. Oleson, John L. Cole, L. D. Spaugy, W. E. Handy.
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A Universalist society was formed in South Dighton about the year 1840, the church being built on Main street where the Methodist church now stands. After awhile this society went out of existence, its ministers having been Revs. Hewitt, Hodston, Chamberlain and Arnold. Their chapel when it was sold, was converted into an academy, known as Dighton Academy, which building was sold in 1866 to the Methodist people.
The first services of St. Joseph's Catholic Church were held on Easter Sunday in 1887, as a mission of Sacred Heart Church at Weir Village. Rev. Father McDonough purchased a schoolhouse and converted it into a church for the use of the Catholic people of North Dighton. St. Peter's Catholic Church was established in 1902 as a mission of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, at Weir Village. The church was founded here by Rev. Father Smith for the benefit of the Portuguese population in this town.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church was organized at Pilgrim Hall, in this town, March 8, 1914, the first services being held on Easter Day that year. The building formerly occupied by the Christian Church of North Dighton and built by that society in 1831, was secured for the Episcopal church and consecrated as St. Paul's Church. Rev. Walter E. Tourtellot has had charge of the services there the past four years.
The Dighton Union Band that began to hold meetings as early as 1773, brought about the organization of the Christian Union Church of North Dighton in 1831. The society retained its corporate existence many years.
In the Wars .- The townsmen elected to carry into execution the resolves of the Continental Congress in 1775 were Sylvester Richmond (3rd), Rufus Whitmarsh, Peter Pitts, Joseph Gooding, Dr. William Baylies, Abiezer Phillips, George Codding, David Walker, Samuel Phillips, William Gooding, James Dean, John Richmond, John Simmons. Town meetings were held every few weeks for the enlisting of soldiers and raising money for the war. On March 1, 1781, the town issued an emancipation procla- mation so far as the negroes serving in the army were concerned, when seven black men were declared freemen because of their service in the army.
In the Civil War there were ninety-five men who served in the army from Dighton, and nine in the navy-a total of 104. There were 172 in the World War from this town.
Industries .- The following history of the Mount Hope Finishing Com- pany and its great plant, also contains much of value along other lines in local history. It is written by one who is prominent in the industrial world in this section, and who has spent years in gathering the materials for the article which appears herewith.
Not long after 1800 we find a cotton factory called Wheeler's Factory established on the Three Mile river at what was then known as Dighton Upper Four Corners, now the location of the Lincoln Paper Mill. The building was a small one, that had previously been used in connection with the Iron Works owned and operated by the Stephens family. They con- tinued to retain an interest in the cotton factory. Whether Nathaniel Wheeler or his brother Russell was the manager cannot be stated definitely.
July 9, 1810, Thomas S. Baylies, after reserving to himself and his heirs one-sixteenth part, deeded to a list of individuals from Bristol, Providence
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and Boston two pieces of land in Dighton, one containing 17 acres, on which stood the dam and warehouse and later the mill and cluster of houses lining Mt. Hope lane; also a piece containing 18 acres lying north of the first named lot on the road to Westville reaching up to the Taunton line and from the river to the road. The price paid was $3,468.75. Access to the location for the mill was then only through Mount Hope Lane. It was not until considerably later that a continuation of Spring street was built westerly from Pearl street to Walker street. Conspicuous among the names of the purchasers are those of William and George D' Wolf, of Bristol, whose interests combined represented one-half the property.
Nathaniel Wheeler looked on North Dighton as the most desirable place for him to locate. Just when Mr. Wheeler set up his home in Digh- ton does not appear but the records show a son born to him there in 1811, and when his connection with the Bristol Cotton Manufacturing Company began is not now apparent. He was not one of the original incorporators, but his name does appear as treasurer of the company in 1820. In 1818 we find him building a brick mansion, the structure now occupied by the Mount Hope Hospital. He, also, owned the farm of nearly 100 acres that we now know as the Mordecai Lincoln farm. He was a director of the Taunton National Bank, selectman of the town of Wellington, when it was set apart from Dighton, twice elected to the Massachusetts Legislature. Possibly, his brother, Russell Wheeler, was the executive in charge of manufacturing operations in North Dighton. His name appears as agent for the Dighton Manufacturing Company. It seems plain that his con- tact with the cotton factory was that of the prompter, trader and merchant, not as mill superintendent. In 1820 all the property of the Bristol Cotton Manufacturing Company was transferred by deed to James D'Wolf of Bristol. Then follows the incorporation in 1821 of the same property under the name of the Mount Hope Manufacturing Company. Mr. D'Wolf owned Mt. Hope at Bristol and it was, no doubt, out of compliment to him that the Mt. Hope name was given to the new corporation. In addition to Mr. D'Wolf and Mr. Wheeler, the other incorporators are Freeborn Sisson, James Maxwell, John T. Child, Oliver Chase and Levi D'Wolf.
In 1827 Russell Wheeler died, and in 1829 reverses overtook Nathaniel Wheeler, and he made an assignment to four trustees for the benefit of his creditors. Mr. Wheeler moved with his family to Essex county, New York, where he prospered moderately in the iron business. In the spring of 1838 with his two sons he began farming, but returned in 1845 to Fall River where he died in 1854. North Dighton had lost the man who made the community. The village with its two cotton factories, a machine shop, a foundry, saw mill, grist mill and two stores was a lively place of business for those days. Mr. Wheeler's stock in the Dighton Manufactur- ing Company was sold to Job Eddy of New Bedford. Mr. Eddy became actively connected with the management of the business. Following the death of Mr. D'Wolf in 1838, the property of the Mount Hope Manufactur- ing Company was sold for $8,500 to Theophilus, Azariah and Jervis Shove. From then on the management and ownership of the two cotton mills was entirely distinct from each other. Azariah and Jervis Shove lived
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at the old Baylies homestead. They came from Fall River where they had been engaged at what was known as the Nankeen Mill, one of the earliest mills to use power looms. Naturally, they installed looms at Mt. Hope and curiously enough they chose the attic of the old mill for the location. In the list of industrial pioneers in this section are the names of Dexter, Russell and Nathaniel Wheeler. Russell and Nathaniel Wheeler were brothers and were born in 1772 and 1781, sons of Lieutenant Jeremiah Wheeler, of what is now Seekonk. Dexter Wheeler, their nephew, was born in 1777, the oldest child of their elder brother, Jeremiah Wheeler. Dexter and Nathaniel Wheeler as boys were both associated with the Wilkinsons of Pawtucket. After a start with cotton machinery they drifted off to New York State and interested themselves in the improvement of farming machinery. In 1806 Dexter Wheeler and Nathaniel Wheeler with others were engaged in the erection of a mill at Swansea of some 200 or 300 spindles capacity. In 1809 Nathaniel Wheeler then a resident of Swansea in connection with Daniel Gilbert, of Mansfield, Josiah Dean, of Raynham, Nathaniel Williams of Dighton, Seabrey Lawton of Rehoboth, Nicholas Stephens of Dighton, Oliver Chase and Hezekiah Anthony of Swansea and James Maxwell of Warren, R. I., made an agreement to organ- ize a company to be known as the Dighton Manufacturing Company, to enter into the manufacture of cotton and erect a mill or mills for that pur- pose. Land along the Three Mile river, including two lower mill privileges, was purchased. Capital stock of sixty shares was to be issued. No charter was obtained, however, until 1822, at which time also appears the first entry in the corporation's record book. It was at this time, also, that James D'Wolf of Bristol acquired thirty-six shares of the stock of the company. In April, 1812, Dexter Wheeler with his cousin, David Anthony, who had previously been in the employ of Samuel Slater of Pawtucket, settled upon the village of Troy, now the city of Fall River, as the most advantageous spot for their future operations. In 1813 we find their names as the principal incorporators of the Fall River Manufactory. The same year the name of Nathaniel Wheeler appears as one of the incorporators of the Troy Cotton & Woolen Manufactory, and in 1821 he was one of the sub- scribers in the incorporation of the Pocasset Manufacturing Company.
In 1875 the Mt. Hope property was purchased by Stafford & Company. The record shows an assignment in 1884 for the benefit of their creditors. William Mason, who was one of the firm of Stafford & Company, acquired the property in 1885. The mill was operated by him and after his death by his widow as the William Mason Manufacturing Company until 1895, when a mortgage was again foreclosed and the property changed hands. The mill was then operated for a short time as the North Dighton Cotton Co. When the New England Cotton Yarn Company was organized in 1898, it was among the properties included in the consolidation. The New England Cotton Yarn Company did not care to operate the mill. They stripped it of all its machinery, even the engine was removed from the foundation. Two old boilers and the water wheels were the only equipment left. The chairman of the executive committee of the New England Cot- ton Yarn Company, soon after its organization, was Joseph F. Knowles of New Bedford. He was also treasurer of the Acushnet Mill and the Hatha-
Bristol-46
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way Manufacturing Company; and among other industrial enterprises with which Mr. Knowles was associated, was the Dunnell Manufacturing Com- pany in Pawtucket, a bleachery, dye house and print works. The plant of the Dunnell company was destroyed by fire in 1888. In the rebuilding new capital was required, and considerable of this new issue was subscribed by New Bedford investors, Mr. Knowles being president of the corporation. He continued in this office until the Dunnell company was combined with other plants in 1899 to make the United States Finishing Company.
It was finally decided to incorporate a new company to purchase and operate the property as a bleachery, dye house and finishing works. The Mount Hope name was still associated with the property, so it was con- tinued for the new company. Stock was subscribed to the amount of $125,000 by Mr. Knowles and a few of his business associates. Plans were made with the assistance of E. A. Rusden and C. R. Makepeace & Com- pany of Providence, Rhode Island. June 1, 1901, the new company was formally organized with Joseph F. Knowles, president; Joseph K. Milli- ken, treasurer; and William W. Crapo and Thomas S. Hathaway, directors. Mr. Knowles continued president until his death in 1909. He was suc- ceeded by Mr. Crapo, who pays the company a great compliment by serv- ing as its president. Joseph F. Knowles, Jr., was elected to fill the vacancy in the board. June 25th, ground was broken for a small brick building to house the grey room, singe room, kiers, bleach house, drying cans and dyehouse. Work was also started to repair and make ready the old mill for the reception of tenter frames, some dry cans, one calender, a range for dyeing aniline black and the necessary making-up machinery. A Cor- liss engine was installed on the old foundation. One new boiler was added to the two old ones. The old mill chimney was repaired and put into use. Water, steam and sprinkler pipes were installed. An elevated tank was erected to provide water for fire protection. The estimates anticipated the employment of about 75 people and a product of 150,000 to 200,000 yards per week. Experienced help for bleacheries and finishing plants included many Englishmen, who gained their acquaintance with the bleaching, dyeing and finishing of cotton fabrics before they left England.
The new company was successful in obtaining the services of many of these Britishers, who brought with them a great faith in the Rochdale Plan of Co-operative Store Keeping. Quite naturally, therefore, one of the first undertakings for public betterment took the form of a co-operative grocery store. The North Dighton Co-operative Association encountered many difficulties in the beginning. It has now, however, long justified the faith of its founders. It is doing a business of about $50,000 per year, returning to its shareholders regular dividends of nine per cent on their purchases and occasional extra dividends. From a small beginning macadam roads have been built in North Dighton, much of the construction entirely at the expense of the company, some paid for jointly by the town and company. When the Mount Hope Finishing Company was started, motive power was supplied by an engine aided by two old water wheels; where variable speed drives were necessary, small engines carrying steam the full length of the stroke were installed connected direct to the engine by belt or gears. The only electrical equipment at the beginning was that necessary for lighting
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the mill building. No gas for singeing was available. It was necessary to make an installation for generating gas from gasoline. Later, when the pipe lines of the Taunton Gas Company were carried into Dighton, the inanufacture of gas was abandoned and the public supply was happily, also, available for lighting houses in the village. It was early found desirable to do away with the many small engines scattered through the plant, and substitute motors. As the electric generating plant was increased, it be- came possible, also, to provide the energy for street lights. A lighting district was organized, street lights were installed, and the expense was assessed directly on the district benefited. For many years the absence of a public water supply was a serious handicap. Wells were continually running dry or getting polluted. As the community became more thickly settled, the need for a proper water supply grew more imperative. After many tedious preliminaries, a contract was arranged with the city of Taun- ton to deliver to the company water from its pipes at the Taunton-Dighton line. The company made the installation of pipes in the streets, the hydrants and the house connections, and water was sold by it to the people at the same rate as in Taunton. The old home of Nathaniel Wheeler was converted into a hospital to take care of the accident and maternity cases in the village. As the building of plant and village increased, there was a continuing demand for crushed stone for new construction. Stone walls and field stone, which constitute the most conspicuous item in the natural resources of the town of Dighton, have passed in a steady stream through the company's stone crusher and into service as foundations, new roads and reinforced concrete buildings. Cleared of its stone, the nearby land, though of light, poor soil, can be made to raise good crops. Today there are many acres under cultivation and the company conducts a milk and poultry farm, raises potatoes, corn and garden truck, harvests ice for the domestic needs of the village and takes pride in maintaining its farm property and live stock in the best of condition. Coal for domestic purposes is purchased by the company and sold to employees practically at cost. A restaurant is maintained to supply meals for workers. A moving picture machine is operated evenings.
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