Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885, Part 11

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office
Number of Pages: 972


USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885 > Part 11


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Cass Jonathan, of Great Barrington, age 37, Assistant Surgeon, Sept. 2, '62 ; resigned, July 27, '63.


Smith Andrew M., of Williamstown, age 35, Asst. Surgeon, Sept. 2, '62 ; Surgeon, Oct. 4, '63 ; discharged, March 1, '64.


FORTY-NINTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered in for nine months, had a total of 966 men, twenty-one of whom were killed in action, and eighty-four died of wounds or disease. This regiment was raised entirely in Berkshire county, there being only three of its members from other counties. Pittsfield contributed 140, Great Barrington eighty-two, Sheffield seventy-five, Adams seventy-four, Lee fifty five, New Marlboro forty-one, and most of the other towns their just proportions. These men were the very flower of the county, averaging about twenty five years in age. The old 49th upheld well the credit of Berkshire county and of the old Bay State on many a sanguinary field, among which is mentioned, with commendable pride, that of May 27, 1863, when of her 233 men who volunteered to lead the forlorn hope and storm the outposts of Port Hudson, in less than three quarters of an hour eighty fell, killed or wounded. Over the tidings from this fitly-called " Slaughtersfield," could many a Berkshire farmer, had he the Roman forti- tude, exclaim,-


" Thanks to the gods my boy has done his duty. Welcome my Son. There sit him down my friends, Full in my sight, that 1 may view at leisure The bloody corse and count the glorious wounds: Who would not be this youth ? What pity 'tis That we can die but once to save our country."


Brewster Henry A., of Pittsfield, age 38, Qr .- Master, Nov. 19, '62 ; exp. of service, Sept. 1, '63.


Chaffee Samuel B., of Gt. Barrington, age 29, 2d Lieut., Co. D, Capt., Sept. 19, '62 ; discharged at exp. of service.


Clark George W., - of Pittsfield, age 28, ist Lieut., Co. A, Sept. 18, '62 ; resigned, Dec. 26, '62.


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BERKSHIRE COUNTY.


Deming Benton D., of Sandisfield, age 31, Ist Lieut., Co. H,' Oct. 28, '62 ; killed May 27, '63, at Port Hudson, La.


Doolittle John, of Monterey, age 26, 2d Lieut., Co. F, Dec. 31, '62 ; dis- charged at exp. of service.


Dresser Edson T., of Stockbridge, age 22, Ist Lieut., Co. F, Sept. 20; dis- charged at exp. of service.


Foster Daniel B., of Cheshire, age 34; Ist Lieut., Co. C, Sept, 19, '62 ; dis- charged at expiration of service.


Francis Frederick A., of Pittsfield, age 27, 2d Lieut. Co. A, Sept. 18, '62 ; Ist Lieut., Dec. 21, '62 ; discharged at exp. of service.


Garlick Charles R., of Pittsfield, age 27, Capt., Co. B, Sept. 19, '62 ; dis- charged at exp. of service.


Gleason Sanford E., of Adams, age 23, 2d Lieut., Co. K, April 15, '63 ; dis- charged at expiration of service.


Harvie Robert B., of Williamstown, age 21, Ist Lieut., Co. G, Sept. 21 ; dis- charged at exp. of service.


Judd Isaac E., of Egremont, age 22, 2d Lieut., Co. K, Oct. 28, '62; Ist Lieut., April 15, '63 ; died of wounds, June 13, '63, at Baton Rouge, La.


Kellogg LeRoy S., of Lee, age 31, Ist Lieut., Co. I, Oct. 28, '62 ; resigned, May 31, '63.


Kniffen Charles W., of West Stockbridge, age 26, Ist Lieut., Co. B, Sept. 19 '62 ; discharged at exp. of service.


Linginfelter George R., of Pittsfield, age 28, Capt., Co. C, Jan. 3, '63 ; dis- charged at exp. of service.


Lyons Henry M., of Adams, age 23, 2d Lieut., Co. G, Sept. 21, '62 ; dis- charged at exp. of service.


Morey Benjamin A., of Lee, age 44, Capt., Co. F, Oct. 25, '62 ; discharged at exp. of service.


Morey Henry G., of Great Barrington, age 24, 2d Lieut., Co. D, Nov. 24, '62 ; resigned, April 7, '63.


Nichols William A., of Williamstown, age 24, 2d Lieut., Co. L, Oct. 28, '62; discharged at exp. of service.


Noble Robert R., of Williamstown, age 21, 2d Lieut., Co. B, Sept. 29 ; dis- charged at exp. of service.


Parker Francis W., of North Adams, age 27, Capt., Co. G, Sept. 21, '62 ; discharged at exp. of service.


Plunkett Charles T., of Pittsfield, age 22, Capt., Co. C, Sept. 19, '62 ; Maj. Nov. 19, '63 ; discharged Sept. 1, '63, at exp. of service.


Reid George, of Gt. Barrington, age 23, 2d Lieut .. Co. A, May 23,' 63 ; discharged at exp. of service.


Rennie Zenas C., of Pittsfield, age 26, Capt., Co. I, Oct. 28, '62 ; discharged at exp. of service.


Shannon Augustus V., of Lee, age 25, Capt., Co. H, Oct. 28, '62 ; dis- charged at exp. of service.


Sherman Robert T., of Egremont, age 25, Ist Lieut., Co. E, Sept. 19, '62 ; discharged at exp. of service.


Siggens Thomas, of Great Barrington, age 34, 2d Lieut., Co. D, April 15, '63 ; discharged at exp. of service.


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BERKSHIRE COUNTY.


Sisson Henry D., of New Marlboro, age 25, 2d Lieut., Co. E, Sept. 19, '62 ; discharged at exp. of service.


Smith Dewitt S., of Lee, age 22, 2d Lieut., Co. H, Oct. 28, discharged at exp. of service.


Strong James N., of Pittsfield, age 42, 2d Lieut., Co. C, June 24, '63 ; dis- charged at exp. of service.


Sumner Samuel B., of Great Barrington, age 32, Capt., Co. D, Sept. 19, '62 ; Lieut .- Col., Nov. 19, '62 ; exp. of service, Sept. 1, '63.


Sweet George H., of Tyringham, age 19, 2d Lieut., Co. F, Oct. 25, '62 ; discharged Dec. 26, '62, for disability.


Taft Roscoe C., of Sheffield, age 26, Ist Lieut., Co. K, Oct. 28, '62; re- signed March 30, '63.


Train Horace D., of Sheffield, age 40, Capt., Co. E, Sept. 19, '62; discharged at expiration of service.


Tucker Joseph, of Gt. Barrington, age 29, ist Lieut., Co. D, Sept. 19, '62 ; discharged at exp. of service.


Weller Israel C., of Pittsfield, age 22, Capt., Co. A, Sept. 18, '62 ; discharged at exp. of service.


. Wells W. M., of Pittsfield, age 35, 2d Lieut., Co. C, Sept. 10, '62 ; dis- . charged Jan. 24, '63, for disability.


Weston Byron, of Lee, age 31, Capt., Co. K, Oct. 28, '62 ; discharged at exp. of service.


FIFTY-SECOND REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service for nine months, had a total of 955 men, seven of whom were killed in action, and ninety-one died of wounds or disease.


Sabine Henry M., of Lenox, age -, Asst-Surgeon, Nov. 19, '62 ; exp. of ser- vice Aug. 14, '63.


FIFTY-FOURTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered in for three years, had a total of 1,574 men, fifty-four of whom were killed in action, and 154 died of wounds or disease.


Bassett Almon H., of Pittsfield, age -, 2d Lieut., Feb. 14, '63; resigned and commission cancelled.


Emerson Edward B., of Pittsfield, age 17, 2d Lieut., June 3, '63 ; Ist Lieut., July 19, '63 ; Capt., March 30, '65 ; exp. of service, July 14, '65.


FIFTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered in for three years, had a total of 1,543 men, 112 of whom were killed in action, and 137 died of wounds or disease.


Dashull Alfred H., Jr., of Stockbridge, age 40, Chaplain, April 14, '64 ; exp. of service, July 30, '65.


Dresser Edson T., of Stockbridge, age -, Capt., Jan. 25, '64; killed, July 30, '64, at Petersburg, Va.


Heath Charles E., of Monterey, age 32, Asst. Surgeon Jan. 13, '64 ; dis- honorably discharged, Nov. 22, '64.


Hollister Edward P., of Pittsfield, age 27, Lieut .- Col., Dec. 21, '63 ; resigned, April 16, '64.


Marshall James H., of Hancock and Pittsfield, age 21, Ist Sergt., Co. I., Mar. 10, '64 ; Ist Lieut., Oct. 7, '64; exp. of service, July 30, '65.


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BERKSHIRE COUNTY.


Royce Charles H., of Pittsfield, age 20, 2d Lieut., Jan. 28, '64; Ist Lieut., Oct. 7, '64 ; discharged, May 26, '65.


White Whitman V., of Stockbridge, age 28, Surgeon, Dec. 5, '63 ; exp. of service, July 30, '65.


SIXTY-FIRST REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service for one year, had a total of 1,013 men, five of whom were killed in action, and seventeen died of wounds or disease.


Brown William H., of Pittsfield, aged 31, Ist Lieut., Sept. 22, '64; exp. of service, June 4, '64.


Eldridge Simeon N., of Adams, age 26, Capt., Sept. 22, '64 ; exp. of service, June 4, '65.


Johns Henry T., of Pittsfield, age 36, 2d Lieut., Sept. 6, '64; Ist Lieut., Jan. 15, '65 ; exp. of service, June 4, '65, as Brevet Capt.


Kern George H., of Pittsfield, age 26, Ist Sergt., Sept. . 12, '64 ; 2d Lieut., Mar. 15, '65 ; exp. of service, June 4, '65.


Montgomery William W., of Adams, age 21, Private, Sept. 14, '64 ; 2d Lieut., Mar. 15, '65 ; exp. of service, June 4, '65.


GAZETTEER OF TOWNS.


A DAMS lies in the northern part of the country, in 42° 37' north lati- tude, and in longitude east from Washington,* 3º 53', bounded north by North Adams, east by Savoy and a small part of Florida, south by Cheshire and a small part of Savoy, and west by small parts of Cheshire, New Ashford and Williamstown. The town was named in honor of the patriot Samuel Adams, and was originally in the form of a parallelogram, seven miles long and five miles broad, remaining thus until it was divided a few years since, the northern part being formed into the town of North Adams As this division occurred so recently, however, we shall for the present con- sider the towns as one, the old town of Adams, as their early history is co- incident.


These combined townships then, were originally known as East Hoosac, the tract being explored and surveyed by a committee appointed by the general court, in 1749, they being instructed to lay out a township six miles square. This order, for some reason, they did not obey, but made the tract seven miles by five, or having an area of 22,400 acres. From this a small part was taken towards forming the town of Cheshire, March 14, 1793, other than which no changes were made until the division of the town. In the year following that in which the survey was made, in 1750, Ephraim Will- iams secured a grant of 200 acres, under condition that he should "reserve ten acres for a fort, and build a grist and saw-mill, and keep them in repair for twenty years." The reservation of ten acres was located in the north- western part of the town. On June 2, 1762, the general court sold at auction nine townships in the northwestern part of the county, among which East Hoosac was No. I. It was purchased by Nathan Jones, he paying therefor £3,200. Soon after his purchase he admitted as joint proprietors Col. Elisha Jones and John Murray.


The proprietors, in October of the same year, employed a surveyor to lay out forty-eight settling lots of 100 acres each. A line was drawn through the length of the town, dividing the best of the land into two equal parts, and


* As the whole county is in north latitude, with longitude reckoned east from Washing- ton, the terms north and east will hereafter be cmitted.


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TOWN OF ADAMS.


on each side of this line a range of lots was laid out. Each lot was 160 rods long from east to west, abating from the breadth of each lot enough to bring the range of twenty-four lots within the north and south limits of the town. These forty-eight settling lots, occupying the bottom of the valley through its whole length, comprised the heart of the township. Four years after, or in 1764, Israel Jones, then a resident of the town, was authorized to survey a further number of lots, not exceeding twenty, of 100 acres each, and as agent of the proprietors to admit sixty settlers, this number being fixed upon in order to fulfil the conditions voted by the general court, that " when the number of settlers shall have amounted to sixty, they shall build a meeting-house and settle a learned protestant minister." The proprietors would naturally be anxious to obtain this number, as the building of a church and settlement of a minister would prove a great impetus in drawing other settlers, thus enhancing the value of land. The rest of the township was divided into 200 acre lots, in 1768, and distributed among the proprietors according to their shares in the property of the town. Ten years later, October 15, 1778, East Hoosac was incorporated as the township of Adams, named, as we have said, in honor of Samuel Adams, who subsequently be- came Governor of the State. April 16, 1878, the town was divided, the line passing midway between the northern and southern boundaries, north of which the territory was incorporated into the township of North Adams, and the southern part retaining the old name of Adams, and is thus the Adams of which we write.


The surface of Adams is broken and mountainous, being noted for its pic- turesque scenery, having within its limits the highest point of land in Massa- chusetts, old Greylock, towering to an altitude of 3,505 feet. Hoosac river enters the town from the South, flowing a northerly course through the entire length of the township, twisting its serpentine course through a rich valley of great beauty, to the east and west of which rises hill upon hill and mountain upon mountain, here turned in graceful curves, and there broken into sharp angles by crag and precipice. Within this beautiful valley are located nearly all of the inhabitants, within it is conducted the manufactures of the town, and crossing and recrossing the Hoosac, like threads of silver, extend the rails of the Pittsfield & North Adams railroad, over which is conducted the towns' harvest surplus and the result of her toil in the factory and shop. The moun- tains of which Greylock peak forms a part, are now known as the Greylock group, though they were formerly, and are still to a certain extent, called as a whole, Saddle Mountain. This very unromantic title, however, is fast giv- ing way to the poetic and smooth-sounding Greylock, given from the poetic fancy that the peak, when whitened by the snows or frosts of autumn and spring, the body being clothed in dark forests, presents the appearance of the grey and straggling locks of an old man. The sides of the mountain are cov- ered with a thick growth of maple, beach, birch and cherry, while its summit


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TOWN OF ADAMS.


affords to the observer a most magnificent and enchanting prospect, of which Mr. W. Gladden speaks as follows :-


" Down at its feet lies the valley of the Hoosac, nearly three thousand feet below. Pittsfield, with its beautiful lakes, and many smaller villages, are seen in the valleys and on the adjacent slopes. Southwestward the eye sweeps over the top of the Taconics, away to the Catskills, beyond the Hudson ; north- westward the peaks of the Adirondacks, in Northern New York, are plainly visible ; in the north the sturdy ridges of the Green Mountains file away in grand outline ; on the east Monadnock and Wachusett renew their stately greeting, and Tom and Holyoke look up from their beautiful valley ; south- ward Mount Everett stands sentinel at the portal of Berkshire, through which the Housatonic flows. And all this grand circuit is filled with mountains ; range beyond range, peak above peak, they stretch away on every side, a boundless expanse of mountain-summits. Standing here and taking in with your eye all that is contained within the vague boundaries of the horizon, you receive the grandest if not the very first impression you ever had of distance, of immensity, and of illimitable force."


Between Greylock and the other mountain summits, just over the line in Williamstown, lies "the Hopper," a chasm more than a thousand feet in depth whose four wooded sides, seen from above, appear to converge at a point below.


"The Bellow's Pipe " is a narrow gorge between Greylock and the peaks on the east, through which the northwest gales sometimes sweep with fearful violence. The soil of the valley is rich and deep, and here are located some excellent farms, while the hillsides afford some fine grazing land. The rocks entering into the geological structure of the territory are talcose and mica-slate and limestone.


In 1880, when the last census was taken, Adams had a population of 5,591, though she now has, owing to increase in manufacturing interests, about 3.000 more, while the report of the State Board of Education for 1883, shows the town to have employed twenty-eight teachers during the year, five of whom were males, and to have sustained one high school, having forty-four pupils, while the aggregate attendance upon all the schools was 1,581. The annual report of the school committee for 1884 shows the town to have 1,602 children of school age, the average membership in school, being 1, 136, and the average attendance 1,056.


ADAMS is a handsome post village nestled at the foot of old Greylock, on the Pittsfield & North Adams R. R., and extending on both sides of the Hoosac river. Here are collected factories, mechanic shops, rows of busi- ness blocks, dwellings and churches, forming a neat, prosperous and vigorous New England village. North and south of it, strung along the Hoosac like beads on a thread, are other prosperous, manufacturing villages, so that the valley is almost a continuous village through the whole length of the town, for it must be remembered that nearly the whole population of the township is gathered in this narrow valley.


ARNOLDSVILLE is the southermost village, extending nearly to the Cheshire line.


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TOWN OF ADAMS.


MAPLE GROVE is a bright manufacturing community, lying between Arnoldsville and Adams village.


RENFREW is another enterprising little village, where are located the Ren- frew mills.


HOWLANDS comes next, a village yet in its infancy, though possessing a wonderfully sturdy growth, where are located the extensive works of the American Zylonite Company.


The First National Bank of Adams .- This bank was incorporated in 1863, and extended in 1883. The officers are H. J. Bliss, president ; H. H. Wellington, cashier ; and H. J. Bliss, L. J. Colby, L. L. Brown, S. W. Bow- erman, D. J. Dean, James Renfrew, Jr., and H. H. Wellington, directors. The following is a statement of the bank's affairs October 1, 1884 :- Capital stock paid in $150,000.00


Deposits .


197,000.00


Loan and discounts. 328,000.00


Undivided profits


75,000.00


Premium account 10,000.00 Reserve . 68,000.00


South Adams Savings Bank .- This institution was incorporated and organized in 1869, with H. J. Bliss, president ; L. L. Brown, L. J. Cole, and Charles H. Ingalls, vice-presidents ; H. H, Wellington, treasurer and secre- tary ; and D. J. Dean, B. F. Phillips, James Renfrew, Jr., Daniel Jenks, Charles F. Sayles, A. J. Bucklen, D. D. Wheeler, George W. Adams, and J. B. Farnham, trustees. Its present officers are H. J. Bliss, president ; L. L. Brown, D. J. Dean, and L. J. Cole, vice-presidents ; H. H. Wellington, treas- urer ; James C. Chalmers, secretary ; and D. J. Dean, A. J. Bucklin, James Renfrew, Jr., Daniel Burt, F. E. Mole, B. F. Phillips, C. F. Sayles, W. B. Green, and J. B. Farnham, trustees. The bank is doing a prosperous busi- ness, its statement October 1, 1884, when it had 1,700 depositors, was as fol- lows :--


Due Depositors $599,672.59


15,800.00


Guaranty Fund.


Interest account 1,287.50


Profit and loss


20,000.00


Total $636,760.09


The American Zylonite Co .- Paper, camphor and alcohol, combined and treated chemically, make zylonite, and from zylonite in turn are made almost numberless kinds of goods, which have heretofore been produced from shell, bone, ivory, hard rubber, celluloid and metal, celluloid being so similar a combination and closely allied to zylonite in both material and manufacture, that cross suits at law are either pending or have recently been decided in the matter of infringement, injunctions, etc., between the zylonite and celluloid companies. These works are located midway between the villages of North Adams and Adams, at the pretty and prosperous village of Howlands, which no longer than three years ago had neither name or habitation. Ground was


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TOWN OF ADAMS.


broken for the erection of manufacturing buildings and for the residences of employees, the result already attained being a handsomely located hainlet with plenty of room for growth to a comely village.


Like all new enterprises, in this instance introducing not only an entire new line of manufactured goods, but a new process of manufacture, the first steps of progress were slow ; but the outcome gives evidence that they were surely taken, and that the work of building factories and residences, making streets and sidewalks, securing help, constructing machinery, etc., has been success- fully carried out.


In the summer of 1883 the first manufactured goods of the company were put upon the market, the early installments offered to the trade creating such a demand that the entire force of the establishment is kept busy in filling orders for goods, and the larger part of the works is kept running both night and day.


As we said at the outset, paper, camphor, and alcohol are the materials from which zylonite is made, paper being the basis and principal feature of the stock used in this system of manufacture. This must needs be made from pure rag stock, and be as nearly without spot or blemish as the greatest care in the selection of stock and details of the manufacture of paper can make it. This paper is manufactured at the Greylock mills of the L. L. Brown Paper Co., at Adams, being made expressly to order and delivered in rolls. The first process of manufacture into zylonite is the cutting of the paper into strips, about an inch wide and two feet long, the paper being em- bossed while passing through the machine. The embossing is found neces- sary to prevent the paper from matting together, as it would be liable to do in sheets in the following process of manufacture :


The paper strips are placed in iron vessels, when strong acids are applied, and by means of chemical action the paper is again resolved into pulp. Then by means of processes peculiar to the company and which cover all the secrets, if secrets there are, in the manufacturing details, the important features of which are the introduction and combination of camphor and alcohol to the pulp, making the preparation entirely insoluble. At this stage of proceedure, the mass partakes of the nature of cellulose, when colcring matter is intro- duced, and the combined preparation is passed continuously between heavy and highly polished rollers, not unlike paper-mill calender rolls in appearance, or perhaps more like the machinery generally used for grinding rubber. It is then molded into slabs of four or five feet in length, two feet in width and three or four inches in thickness, after a certain length of time, and when in proper condition, the slabs are placed on the bed of a machine in which they are shaved to any desired thickness. At this stage, the shaved sheets are as clear as crys- tal and transparent as glass, presenting nothing to the eye when looking through them, but the shade or color, which may have been added at the proper time.


Celluloid, having first been made from gun cotton, was necessarily an ex- plosive compound, and the idea has quite generally attained that both zylo-


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TOWN OF ADAMS.


nite and celluloid are dangerously explosive substances. Zylonite is not ex- plosive in the least degree ; but it is inflamable, and will burn readily and freely, as will paper in its crude or any of its more finished conditions, Zyl- onite being just as liable to destruction by fire as paper is found to be, and more so. The particulars we give, as to what zylonite is, viz. : paper, camphor and alcohol, cover all the published information that is to be had on the sub- ject, as both Webster and Worcester are silent on the subject, and will con- tinue so until revised editions are printed.


The American Zylonite Co. was incorporated in 1881, with a capital of $750,000.00, the officers of the company being Emil Kipper, of Adams, president ; S. W Ingalls, of North Adams, treasurer. The New York office of the company is at 361 and 363 Broadway. The company employs 150 hands. Later on, in 1883, was incorporated the


Zylonite Comb and Brush Co., with a capital of $100,000.00, which now employs 175 hands in the manufacture of zylonite combs, brushes, and mirrors of all kinds. The officers are W. L. Brown, of North Adams, presi- dent ; B. E. Kingman, of New York, treasurer ; and C. A. Denny, of New York, secretary. Still later, or early in 1884, was incorporated the


Zylonite Novelty Co., with a capital of $100.000.00, for the manufac- ture of zylonite shoe-horns, glove-stretchers, pen-holders, checks, handles of all kinds, toilet boxes, martingale rings, etc., etc., giving employment to about fifty hands. The officers are W. L. Brown, of North Adams, president, and B. E. Kingman, of New York, treasurer. The business of these companies is constantly increasing, necessitating the erection of new buildings, etc., promising within five years to become the largest manufac- turing establishments in Berkshire county.


The Renfrew Manufacturing Co., whose works are located at Renfrew, was incorporated in 1867, its present officers being L. L. Brown, president ; James C. Chalmers, secretary ; and James Renfrew, Jr., agent ; a capital of $1,400,000.00 being employed. The company manufactures ginghams, yarns, turkey-red damask table cloths, and fancy dress goods, employing about 2,500 operatives. The mills are operated by both steam and water-power.


The Adams Steam Grist Mills, located on Hoosac street, Adams, were built by Messrs. Butler & Fairchild, in 1869. In 1871 the property came into the hands of H. A. Butler & Co., and in 1874, Mr. M. C. Richmond, of this firm, became sole owner, and still conducts the business. The mills have two runs of stones, with the capacity for grinding 600 bushels of grain per day.




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