USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Rehoboth > History of Rehoboth, Massachusetts; its history for 275 years, 1643-1918, in which is incorporated the vital parts of the original history of the town > Part 25
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Salix discolor, Muhl. Pussy-willow.
Carya alba, (L.) K. Koch. Mocker-nut; White-heart hickory.
Carya glabra, (Mill.) Spach. Pignut hickory.
Carya ovata, (Mill.) K. Koch. Shagbark hickory.
Juglans cinerea, L. Butternut.
Betula lenta, L. Black birch; Cherry birch.
Betula lutea, Michx. f. Yellow birch.
Betula populifolia, Marsh. Small white birch; Gray birch.
Carpinus caroliniana, Walt. Hornbeam; Blue or Water beech.
Ostrya virginiana, (Mill.), K. Koch. Hop hornbeam; Ironwood; Leverwood.
Castanea dentata, (Marsh.) Borkh. Chestnut.
Fagus grandifolia, Ehrh. Beech.
Quercus alba, L. White oak.
Quercus bicolor, Willd. Swamp white oak.
Quercus coccinea, Muench. Scarlet oak.
Quercus ilicifolia, Wang. Scrub oak.
Quercus prinoides, Willd. Scrub chestnut oak.
Quercus prinus, L. Chestnut oak. (Reported by B. F. Munroe).
Quercus rubra, L. Red oak.
Quercus velutina, Lam. Black oak; Yellow oak.
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HISTORY OF REHOBOTH
Morus rubra, L. Mulberry (introduced).
Ulmus americana, L. American elm.
Sassafras variifolium, (Salisb.) Ktze. Sassafras.
Hamamelis virginiana, L. Witch-hazel. Platanus occidentalis, L. Buttonwood; Sycamore.
Amalanchier canadensis, (L.), Medic. Shadbush; Juneberry. Crataegus, L. Hawthorn.
Prunus pennsylvanica, L. f. Wild red cherry; Pin cherry.
Prunus serotina, Ehrh. Black cherry; Rum cherry.
Prunus virginiana, L. Chokeberry.
Gleditsia triacanthos, L. Honey locust (introduced).
Robinia Pseudo-Acacia, L. Common locust.
Rhus copallina, L. Dwarf sumac.
Rhus glabra, L. Smooth sumac.
Rhus typhina, L. Staghorn sumac.
Rhus vernix, L. Poison sumac; Poison dogwood.
Ilex opaca, Ait. American holly.
Acer rubrum, L. Red maple; Swamp maple.
Acer saccharum, Marsh. Rock maple; Sugar maple.
Tilia americana, L. Basswood; Whitewood; Linden. Cornus alternifolia, L. f. Green osier; Dogwood.
Cornus florida, L. Flowering dogwood.
Nyssa sylvatica, Marsh. Tupelo; Sour gum; Pepperidge.
Fraxinus americana, L. White ash.
Fraxinus nigra, Marsh. Black ash.
Viburnum lentago, L. Sheep-berry.
CHAPTER XII REHOBOTH MANUFACTURES
THE REHOBOTH UNION MANUFACTURING COMPANY
THIS Company was formed at Rehoboth Village Aug. 24, 1809, consisting of Richard Goff, Dexter Wheeler, and the four sons of Col. Thomas Carpenter, -Stephen, Thomas, James and Peter. Col. Thomas had bought the privilege of the brothers Abraham and Eleazer Bliss who for many years had owned and operated a sawmill and gristmill at Bliss's Mill, known later as Rehoboth Village.1 The Company erected its cotton-mill here in 1809 and equipped it with 360 spindles. It employed fourteen hands in the manufacture of cotton yarn, which was colored at a dye-house near by. Most of the mill-hands were farmers' daughters who lived in the town. The yarn was then put out into families of the neighborhood to be woven by hand into cloth. The women received six cents a yard, and for striped ginghams as high as twelve cents, and averaged ten or twelve yards a day. Some of the cloth was sold to families for home use, but most of it found a market in New York City. During the embargo of 1812, the goods had to be carted to New York, the teams taking the cloth from the mill and returning with West India goods. The Company had a store in the basement from which the work- men were paid in part for their labor. Its first agent was James Carpenter; after him came David Anthony of Fall River, Edward Mason of Swansea and William Marvel 2d, who moved to Rehoboth in 1829 and held the position until the Company sold out in November, 1835, to Nelson and Darius Goff.
The new firm began at once to make cotton batting. They also manufactured wadding in a small mill further up the stream, which Richard Goff had used even before 1776 for fulling and dressing cloth. The goods were shipped on board a sloop in Prov-
1 They were sons6 of Abraham Bliss", "the miller," son of Samuel4, son of Jonathan3 (and Miriam Carpenter), son of Jonathan2 (and Sarah Bliss), son of Thomas1, a first settler in town. Jonathan2 settled at Palmer's River and one branch of his descendants bought the mill privilege which came to be known as "Bliss's Mill." The Bliss homestead was near the present Post Office, and the farm embraced most of the village area and the Marvel meadow lying to the westward.
[265 ]
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HISTORY OF REHOBOTH
idence under Captain Spellman and taken to Albany, and a por- tion of them thence by canal to Buffalo. In the financial crisis of 1837, Darius Goff took a cargo of "bats" to Albany and be- yond, for which he was obliged to take New York money in pay- ment and then pay a premium of eight or ten per cent for New England money.
In 1839, E. A. Brown came to Rehoboth Village, and in 1842 bought out Nelson Goff's interest, and the new firm, Goff & Brown, in addition to the manufacture of batting, started the business of making ball and carpet twine. In March, 1846, the wadding- mill was burned and Mr. Goff soon after moved to Pawtucket, giving his attention to the cotton-waste business and planning for a large wadding plant. Mr. Brown thus had the complete management of the Rehoboth mill, and improved its equipment at large expense. He installed a turbine wheel costing $1,000, a twenty-five horse-power engine, and White's patent apparatus for illuminating buildings, for which he paid $5,000. The Com- pany employed twenty-five hands, half of them women, who spun, twisted and wound the twine. The women earned $3.00 a week and the men $5.00.
For a few years goods were in demand, the sales averaging about $60,000 annually. In the year 1863 the Company is said to have cleared $13,000; but this was more than offset by the heavy losses which followed. After 1867 the property changed owners frequently. In 1868, Goff & Brown deeded the property to John D. Cranston and Mr. Brown went into bankruptcy. The property was then sold to Darius Goff, who took John C. Marvel into partnership with him on a one-fourth interest. Mr. Marvel managed the business for about three years, but the firm lost heavily on account of failures in New York. In November, 1870, Goff & Marvel deeded the privilege to William W. Johnston, who immediately mortgaged it back. In 1875 the firm foreclosed, leaving Mr. Johnston bankrupt with George N. Goff as assignee.
The title again being vested in Goff & Marvel, they sold out to Hargraves Heap, who did a good business, but having other plans, deeded the property in 1879 to William H. Bowen, who sold it to Charles F. Easton, reserving the old wadding-mill privilege, where he established a grist-mill. This property is now owned by Mrs. Emily Bowen Horton. The Village mill property finally, in 1887, came into the hands of John C. Marvel,
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and remained idle until, in 1898, he sold the privilege to J. F. Shaw & Co., builders of the electric railway which ran through the property, and was operated by what is now the Bay State Street Railway Company. In the same year the old mill was torn down and its lumber removed.
In the fall and winter of 1837-8 the "Bad Luck Reservoir" was built by Nelson and Darius Goff, representing the Village Company, in co-operation with Benjamin Peck, who acted for the Orleans Company. In this enterprise Nelson Goff was the chief financial factor. The dam was built on the site of an ancient dam con- structed for a sawmill which stood a short distance below. The land of the reservoir was purchased of Valentine Horton at $25.00 an acre. Much of the adjoining land has belonged to the Keltons.
On the 24th of June, 1859, very early in the morning, the dam broke away and the whole body of water poured forth, sweeping everything before it. Trees were uprooted, four bridges carried away, costing the town $600.00 to rebuild them. The noise was heard for miles away. The Village mill was undermined and the machine shop and tools carried off.
THE ORLEANS MANUFACTURING COMPANY
The Orleans Mill Privilege is situated on Palmer's River in the southwest part of the town. It is about six miles from Warren and seven from Providence, R.I. As early as 1662 a grist-mill was erected near the spot where the road now crosses the upper end of the present pond. Subsequently it was removed farther down the stream to the site of the Orleans mill. This was only a six months' privilege, the water being drawn off during the summer for the sake of the grass on the meadows. This mill, or others in its place, was doubtless patronized by the neighboring settlers for nearly a hundred and fifty years, or until 1810, when a project was started for erecting a cotton-mill to manufacture yarn. A company was formed consisting of Asa Bullock, Barnard Wheeler, Capt. Israel Nichols, William Blanding, and others of Rehoboth; Thomas Church, John Howe, and Capt. Benjamin Norris, of Bristol; and Richmond Bullock of Providence.
Having secured, through Mr. Asa Bullock, the necessary prop- erty and the annual right of flowage, they formed a partnership to date from the 20th day of September, 1810, to continue ten years. The amount paid for the property was $5,765, and th
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shares were fixed at $400 each. The mill was completed and put in operation in 1811. This was more than two years before the building of the old "White" and "Troy" mills of Fall River. Three other mills had already been built in this vicinity - that at Swansea Factory about 1806, one at Rehoboth Village in 1809, and the "Old Central" in what is now Seekonk, in 1810. They all manufactured number twelve yarn, which was put out among the surrounding families to be woven by hand, the power-loom not having been then introduced.
This new company proposed to make finer yarn, number six- teen, and styled themselves the Palmer's River Manufacturing Company. They do not appear to have been very successful in business, for although they retained possession of the property till 1822, it was leased for several years to Mr. Nathan Sweetland. At this time the machinery was crude. The cotton was parcelled out among the farmers to be beaten with sticks to remove the dirt, then picked by hand, then spread upon the cards separately by children, then transferred from the lap-roll to the "can-frame." In 1822 a commission was chosen consisting of three of the Com- pany to dispose of the property, and it was sold to the brothers Nathaniel and Ebenezer Ide of Attleborough for $5,000. Whether looms had been introduced previous to this sale is not certainly known, but the Ide Brothers manufactured cloth. Becoming em- barrassed through ill success in 1824, they mortgaged the property to Abraham and Isaac Wilkinson of Pawtucket for $10,000. In 1826 they made an assignment to Isaac Wilkinson and the property was sold, - David Wilkinson purchasing the real estate, and A. and I. Wilkinson the personal property, which they removed from the mill. The question arose with reference to an oaken cloth-press, whether it was real or personal property, and being submitted to a lawyer he decided that if it was secured to the building at the top and bottom it would be held with the mill; and as this was the case it remained.
In the fall of 1825 a new company was formed by David Wil- kinson, Joseph Tomkins and others, who proposed to manufacture woolens under the name of the Rehoboth Woolen Company. A new building was erected for a dye-house, and other necessary arrangements were made for the business. In 1826 the only mem- ber of the firm who understood the business, Mr. Thomas H. Stafford, died and the project was abandoned. During this
HON. WILLIAM A. KING Skilled Mechanic, School Committee, Newspaper Correspondent
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DEA. BENJAMIN PECK, forty years (nearly) Superintendent of the ORLEANS FACTORY (Burned March 5, 1884)
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same year a new firm was established to be known as the Orleans Cotton Manufacturing Company, consisting of David Wilkinson and Co. and Mr. Benjamin Peck. This firm, among the first to use "mules" for spinning, made very fine goods for calico print- ing from number forty yarn, using the New Orleans cottons, hence the name of the company. In 1829 the firm failed and made an assignment to Thomas Burgess, Esq., who leased the mill for one year to Crawford Allen. It was then sold to Mr. Benjamin Peck, who subsequently took into partnership with him James H. Mumford of Rehoboth, Asa Pierce, Esq., of Providence, and others. In November, 1831,1 the mill was totally destroyed by fire except twelve looms and a few cards which were removed. It was rebuilt of stone the following year, 72 ft. by 40 ft., two stories high with attic and basement stories, and contained sixty looms employing about twenty-five hands. Mr. Peck owned one- half the property and operated the mill (after 1843) on contract, till 1861, when the Civil War broke out and business was suspended and was never resumed by that company. When Mr. Peck came to South Rehoboth in 1826, he was accompanied by Dea. Eleazer A. Brown, who had been with him in mill-work at Smithfield, R.I., and remained as overseer in the carding-room until 1836. During a part of this time Amos D. Lockwood, a young man from Providence, was receiving his first lessons in manufacturing at the Orleans mill. He developed unusual skill in mechanics and was placed in charge of the weaving room. He afterwards be- came a wealthy manufacturer.
It is worthy of mention, too, that John C. Marvel came from the Village and took charge of the factory store for a time.
In 1865, David S. Harris of Providence purchased a controlling interest in the property, Mr. Peck retaining one-fourth, and prep- arations were made for resuming business. Before these arrange- ments were complete the property was sold to Nathaniel G. Guild, who at once began to enlarge the mill, putting in new looms, self-operating mules, auxiliary steam-power, apparatus for heating by steam, etc. Mr. Guild continued to manufacture print-cloths until 1869, when he removed the looms and made important changes in the machinery for the manufacture of thread. This business soon after declined, and attention was turned to hosiery, and this was the principal article manufactured until 1874, when
1 The date given by Wm. L. King, son-in-law of Benjamin Peck.
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HISTORY OF REHOBOTH
Mr. Guild suspended business. The mill remained idle till 1875, when the property was sold to the Cutler Manufacturing Com- pany of Warren, R.I., Capt. Charles R. Cutler, treasurer, which still made a specialty of hosiery yarn, turning out about 5,000 lbs. weekly. The building at this time consisted of a one-story factory 40 by 80 feet for mules, an engine-house, a large storage building with capacity for storing 300 bales of cotton, an office and packing room, all substantial buildings of stone. It was equipped with first-class machinery, and under the efficient super- intendence of Mr. G. C. Hutchins. This factory was burned on Wednesday morning, March 5, 1884, doubtless the work of an incendiary. The loss was estimated at $20,000, fully insured. Only the stone walls were left standing, and these ruins con- tinued to stand through the years a sombre blot on the land- scape, until within the last few years, when most of the rubbish has been removed.
In March, 1911, the Bristol and Warren Water-Works, finding the water-supply of these cities inadequate, bought the Orleans Mills property of Kandar Kandarian. The purchase included land lying around the old dam, the flowage rights, most of which were acquired as far back as 1828 or earlier, and an undivided one-half interest in the reservoir on Bad Luck Brook, as well as many acres of adjacent land. The dam at Orleans Mills was rebuilt to its former height and an eighteen-inch pipe was laid following the east bank of Palmer's River to the company's res- ervoir in Warren.
Since the first week in September, 1912, water has been flowing by gravity through this pipe from the reservoir at Orleans Factory to the Warren reservoir, at the rate of about one million gallons per twenty-four hours. The dam at Bad Luck Brook was found to be in a very dangerous condition, and in 1913 it was entirely rebuilt at an expense of about $30,000.
NOTE
This locality is often called Shad Factory, being at the head of tide-water, where large shoals of shad and herring were wont to come up the river in the spring to spawn. The herring would come in large quantities over the old dam as far as Rehoboth Village, and sometimes shad would be seen above the dam. At the right time some of the men of the town who enjoyed the sport
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would proceed to the river with their nets to catch the shad; in some instances they would salt them for future use. As they were not allowed to cast their nets until sunset, there was a rush to secure the best places. After a time the town was accustomed to sell the right to the highest bidder. In recent years, on account of so many traps set further down the river, few shad have come up so far, and the interest has declined.
PERRYVILLE
The old Perry homestead, where Ezra Perry and his descendants lived, was located on what is now Ash Street near the source of the Perry Stream, which is the west branch of Palmer's River. Three- fourths of a mile further north, on a small tributary, Ezra Perry manufactured the first bobbins for cotton factories in the country. They were used at the Slater Mill in Pawtucket and later at other mills. His son Ezra, Jr., known as Dea. Ezra, had six sons, and together they ran a saw-mill on Ash Street, with a blacksmith shop in the basement and a turning shop in the upper part where many bobbins were turned.
In 1831, Daniel, one of the sons, came down the stream about a mile and a half and bought a farm in what is now Perryville. On this part of the stream a turning shop had been erected about 1820 by Cyrel Bullock, son-in-law of Dea. Ezra Perry, who car- ried on a small business here for several years.
Soon after Daniel Perry settled here he started the turning business for himself, while the brothers Otis and William continued the business at the old place until about 1840, when Otis came down the stream and bought a part of the water privilege and buildings of Daniel and each operated a turning shop. A few years later they started a grist-mill. Meanwhile William con- tinued business at the old mill until 1850, when Dea. Ezra Perry died and the homestead soon came into possession of Stephen Perry, another branch of the family.
At about this time Otis at Perryville bought out his brother Daniel's interest and built a sawmill which is still in operation.
About 1825, James Perry, also a son of Dea. Ezra, had come to the place and built the house in which Charles Perry now resides. In about 1850 his son James H. started to make tool-handles, first in the basement of the old mill, then in the old building Cyrel Bullock had used, and in 1859 he built a new turning shop still
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HISTORY OF REHOBOTH
further down the stream. In 1865 Charles Perry bought a half- interest in the business and the firm-name was James H. Perry & Co. They manufactured a large variety of goods such as butter- molds, rolling-pins, chisel- and auger-handles, brush-handles, mallets and mauls from lignum-vitae and hickory, ice-picks, horse-rackets, threshing-flails, etc.
In 1871 Charles Perry became sole owner, and the following year sold a half interest to Edwin Perry, and the firm-name be- came Charles Perry & Co. After 1890 it was the Charles Perry Mfg. Co., and in 1892 Mr. Perry withdrew from the concern, which soon went out of business and has since owned and operated the sawmill and gristmill.
SOME LESSER MANUFACTURES
In addition to the industries of the Orleans factory, Rehoboth Village and Perryville, there were numerous smaller enterprises carried on for the most part by individuals. Here and there were small shops where coopering was done, or where the wheelwright, or the shoemaker, or the blacksmith plied his trade. The cobbler would sometimes have a work-room in his own house.
As Perryville had its manufactures on the West Branch of Pal- mer's River, so there were also industries established at an early period on the East Branch of the same stream.
Not far from the rise of this stream near Great Meadow Hill, the Pecks had an iron-forging plant before the middle of the eigh- teenth century. This enterprise was founded by Ebenezer Peck, who was born in 1697. He was the eldest son of Jathniel Peck, one of the first settlers at Palmer's River. The iron ore was brought from Bristol by ox-teams to Peck's forge, where it was freed from impurities and rendered malleable in a furnace, and then by hammers, including a trip-hammer, was forged into bars or other forms suitable to the blacksmith's art. It is notable that blacksmithing was carried on here extensively by three suc- cessive generations of Pecks. At this forge were fashioned vari- ous implements of agriculture, plows, harrow-teeth, chains, tires, iron braces for wagons, etc. This forge privilege was located on a lane leading off Fairview Avenue, which runs from Cyril Peck's store direct to Taunton. The ancient dam is well pre- served, but only the cellar and well of the Old Peck homestead are now to be seen.
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On this forge privilege Peddy Peck, daughter of Cromwell Peck, was born and reared, who became the mother of Leonard C. Bliss, the distinguished promoter of the Regal Shoe Co.
In connection with the iron business the Pecks also operated a sawmill and gristmill; and after the forge became silent nearly a century ago, Mr. Horace West reconstructed the mill and con- tinued to saw lumber and introduced a lathe for turning bobbins, and also machinery for making cotton batting. Mr. Ira A. Peck, author of the Peck Genealogy, says that when he visited this forge privilege in 1862 some of the cotton machinery still remained, though the mill had been for some time neglected.
Mr. West built the cottage which still stands in good condition near the mill and is occupied by Mr. James Peck, a lineal descend- ant of Ebenezer. The old mill is also standing after more than fifty years of quiet. One may still pick up pieces of iron slag from the partly imbedded mass, deposited perhaps a hundred and fifty years ago. There was doubtless a larger flow of water than now in this and other streams in those days of more abundant forests.
Half a mile or so farther down this stream Mr. Francis Car- penter and his brother Joseph operated a grist-mill, a saw-mill and a shingle-mill. To the grist-mill here, farmers for miles around brought their corn, rye, and wheat to be ground into meal and flour.
To the casual passer-by there is to-day scarcely a sign of these former activities. Mills, millers and patrons have long since passed away and are forgotten.
It may be mentioned that there was formerly a saw-mill on the "Bad Luck" branch of this stream, just before it crosses the County road, near the home of Frank Goff, owned by Cromwell Bliss, who sold the then unused privilege to Nelson Goff about the year 1837. There was also another mill at the reservoir, whose ancient dam was standing in 1837, the year that Nelson and Darius Goff built theirs for the Rehoboth Union Manufacturing Company.
Besides the mill privileges just named, there were, as late as 1850, several saw-mills and grist-mills and at least one shingle- mill on Rocky River, in the south part of the town, and a turning shop on Cole's Brook; also a shoe-string mill owned by Samuel West and run by his son Nathan. He made the metal tips and fastened them to the ends of the strings. Also on Cole's Brook, Joshua Pierce, a Revolutionary soldier (born 1754), had a shop
18
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HISTORY OF REHOBOTH
and made knee-buckles, and his son Joshua (born 1797), an expert tanner and blacksmith, manufactured on the same stream the first cast-iron plows made in New England, the casting being done in Albany, N.Y. For these he made his own models. He also made clothes-pins out of maplewood in large lots and sold them in New York and Albany.
In addition to his manufacturing interests, Mr. Pierce carried on his large farm of three hundred acres.
Near the mouth of Rocky River, the Thurber's had a grist- mill until recently, which was largely patronized, and about half a mile up the stream Benjamin Martin had a saw-mill and shingle- mill, and part of the old walls are still standing. Near the source of the same stream at Oak Swamp there was also a saw-mill and grist-mill owned by Samuel Baker, and still another mill below in the Horton and Martin neighborhood. Several of these old mills had a turning shop connected.
Statistical information gathered by the Rehoboth assessors by order of the General Court in 1856 gives the following interesting facts respecting manufactures in the town for the year ending June 1, 1855:
Hogshead hoops prepared for market, 333,800, valued at $6,676. Nail-keg hoops, 597,000, valued at $1,791. Persons employed, 16.
Lumber prepared for market, 311,000 ft., valued at $1,075. Three persons employed.
Firewood prepared for market, 2,717 cords, valued at $10,868. Number employed, 40.
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