USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Ware > History of Ware, Massachusetts > Part 19
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In 1856-57 the old mills in the Otis Company's lower yard were removed, and a new six-story mill, 250 feet long, was built. This was again enlarged ten years later by a 75 foot addition.
In 1865 it was decided to change the product of No. 3 Mill from woven to knit goods, and a colony of people was brought over from Nottingham, England, for that purpose. In the beginning the major part of the product was stockings; this gradually changed however. In 1890 the making of stockings was discontinued, and since then the product has been wholly shirts and drawers.
On Aug. 10, 1880 the town was thrown into consternation by the fact that No. 3 Mill was on fire. Before they were checked the flames had burned off the entire roof, causing
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a loss of $88,550 to building and machinery. The damage was repaired as speedily as possible. In 1887 No. 4 Mill was erected, and other improvements were made in the plant.
A few further notes are of interest.
In the season of 1849-50 about 3,000 gallons of whale oil were consumed for lighting the mills.
In 1864, at the close of the war, the Company paid $1.85 per pound for cotton, the highest price ever paid.
Assessors' valuation of the Company's property in 1842, $43,793. Valuation in 1910, $1,120,050.
January, 1840, number of names on the pay roll, 211. Pay roll for the month, $2,665. In January, 1911, there were 1,875 hands with a monthly pay roll of $62,000.
Production in 1840, 744,465 yards. In 1910, 16,000,000 yards of cloth, and 360,000 dozens underwear.
Like all others, the Company originally paid its employees semi-annually, and the help lived on credit from the Com- pany's store. The first store was where the library now stands. Later the store was in the building now used as a counting-room.
Abstract from letter from the treasurer of the Otis Com- pany to Mr. Henry Lyon, resident agent, Dec. 28, 1842:
We find that most, if not all, of your neighboring manu- facturers pay but quarterly, and if you once commence paying monthly you will be obliged to continue to do so, as you cannot alter back, and quarterly payments seem to us reasonable, and often enough. - We supposed when we altered from half yearly to 3 mos. that it would have been satisfactory to the operatives and if they nowrequire monthly payments they will soon want weekly, and on the whole we all think you had better continue to make up your payroll and pay off your operatives once a quarter (as at present).
In 1841 Messrs. George H. Gilbert and Charles A. Stevens purchased that part of the Hampshire Manufacturing Company's property that was situated on the south bank of the river for $25,000, and formed the partnership of Gilbert & Stevens. Mr. Gilbert was born in Brooklyn, Connecticut, in 1806. At an early age he went to Pomfret, Connecticut, then to Sutton, then to Worcester, Massachu-
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setts, where he gained a thorough knowledge of the business of a machinist. In 1832 he removed to North Andover, whence he came to Ware.
Mr. Stevens was born in North Andover in 1816, and from a boy was connected with the woollen business.
Gilbert & Stevens at first manufactured broadcloth and cloakings. Two years later they ceased making these goods and began the manufacture of fine flannels. The business increased rapidly, and in 1846 the "Granite Mill " below the bridge was constructed of stone from the Coney quarries.
In 1846 John Brown, the famous abolitionist, was a wool dealer in Springfield, Massachusetts, under the firm name of Perkins & Brown, and in the office of the Gilbert Co. hangs a framed bill of a lot of wool sold by them to Gilbert & Stevens.
So successful were Gilbert & Stevens in the manufacture of flannels that their goods were awarded the highest prize - a gold medal - at the Great Exhibition in Crystal Palace, London, in 1851.
In that same year the firm was dissolved and the prop- erty divided. Mr. Gilbert took the new lower mill, while Mr. Stevens received the old "Ware Woollen Mill."
In 1857 Mr. Gilbert gave his nephew Mr. Lewis N. Gil- bert an interest in the business, and the firm became George H. Gilbert & Co. In 1860 the firm purchased land in Hard- wick upon which the village of Gilbertville has grown up. On account of the increasing size of the business it was de- cided in 1868 to incorporate the same, and the firm became "The George H. Gilbert Manufacturing Co." with a capital of $250,000. The capital was increased to $600,000 in 1883, and to $1,000,000 in 1886. Mr. George H. Gilbert died in the spring of 1869.
In September, 1851, the employees numbered 72, and the monthly pay roll was $1,043. In January, 1911 (Gilbertville included), the employees numbered 1,594, and the monthly pay roll was $61,000.
In 1851 120,000 lbs. wool in the grease were consumed, and in 1910 6,900,000 lbs.
The present product consists entirely of woollens and worsteds for men's wear.
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After the dissolution of the firm of Gilbert & Stevens in 1851, Mr. Stevens continued the manufacture of fine flan- nels. He enlarged the old mill and in 1870 put up a new building. Mr. Stevens's son, Mr. Charles E. Stevens was taken into partnership in 1872 and has carried on the business since the death of the senior member of the firm, April 5, 1892. The product of the mill is entirely white goods, - flannels and broadcloths. About 250 hands are employed and the monthly pay roll is $6,000.
An important industry of the village in former times was the manufacture of straw goods, which was commenced in 1832 by John B. Fairbank, and was afterward carried on by Avery Clark, Lorenzo Demond, C. E. and H. S. Blood, and others.
Clark's shop, which employed a large number of girls, stood in the open lot east of the Sandford house. The build- ing was afterwards moved, and now stands below the bridge on the north side of the river. Blood's shop stood on the east side of South Street near Charles. Besides the work done in the shops, straw-sewing was done largely in the homes about town. Barber's Historical Collections, published in 1839, gives the following statistics for the year 1837:
Straw bonnets manufactured, 85,000, valued at $114,832. Palm-leaf hats, 79,000, valued at $10,870.
Boots and shoes were made in Ware in considerable quantities. The figures for 1837 give 867 pairs of boots and 61,623 pairs of shoes, valued at $53,164. Manufacturing was mainly carried on in small shops, and at benches set up in the various homes where men could make use of their leisure time. A small manufacturing establishment was run by Mayo & Freeman, who kept a store in connection with it. Another firm was that of Guild & Lamb, who did not, however, continue long in the business. About 1875 a number of business men contributed enough to enable a man named Utley to establish a factory. About $4,000 was invested in machinery, but within a year the establish- ment burned. The last of the old shops was owned by George Eddy and stood on Eddy Hill. One of Mr. Eddy's
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specialties was a shoe intended for wear in powder-factories, being constructed entirely without metal.
The J. T. Wood Co., which came to Ware from West Brookfield in 1896, makes a specialty of the manufacture of high-cut shoes for men. At the present time they employ about 100 hands, and their daily output is from 500 to 600 pairs of shoes.
SNELL'S AUGERS
The one unique business of a former generation was the manufacture of augers. Thomas Snell, son of Polycarpus Snell, removed to Ware from Bridgewater about 1790. He acquired a farm of 135 acres in the Flat Brook Valley, but his special business was blacksmithing. It is claimed that he was the first to manufacture twisted augers in America, and the first to make "bight" augers in any country. He was at any rate a mechanical genius, and undoubtedly originated his own method of manufacture. It is related on the author- ity of his son, Deacon Thomas Snell, Jr., that he made augers in Ware soon after 1790. These early augers were made of iron with just enough steel welded to the end to make the cutting part. They were called steel-cut augers. The shank was long and left in the rough and the implement was known as a " tanged " auger.
Thomas Snell, Sen., and Susanna his wife had a large family. Seventeen children were born to them, the first in 1792, the last in 1819. Among them were Thomas, Jr., born in 1798, and Melville, born in 1804. It was probably not until these two were grown that the business assumed very considerable proportions. The shops were located on Flat Brook about a mile above the meeting-house, and at their best employed twenty men. The augers were taken to Boston to be sold, a load of steel, iron and supplies being brought back in exchange. The value of the augers is given by Barber as $4,500 in 1837. In 1839 Melville Snell, son of Thomas, Sen., went to Providence where he made bits a couple of years, after which he removed to Sturbridge. Otis and Lucius, sons of Thomas, Jr., followed their uncle to Stur- bridge in 1844 and 1850 respectively. Deacon Thomas
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carried on the business at the lower shop in Ware for a few years, when, about 1854, he too removed to Sturbridge, and the business of making augers in Ware came to an end.
Thomas, Sen., besides general blacksmithing and auger making, ran a grist-mill on the brook. Toll for grinding was two quarts per bushel for corn, and three for rye and wheat.
The Snells were famed for their musical ability. All were singers, and several played musical instruments. Deacon Thomas Snell served two terms in the Legislature, in 1838 and 1839.
THE OLD STONE MILL
A stone grist-mill stood for many years on the east bank of Ware River near the end of the upper stone bridge. No records have been found throwing light on the date of its construction, but it is remembered as being, in the sixties, already an old building. Very likely it was built to replace the Magoon Mill which stood at the Stevens dam soon after the Ware Manufacturing Company came into exist- ence. In 1850 the Otis Company leased to Lydia E. Peters of Ware, widow-woman,
a certain parcel of land situated on the easterly side of Ware river and northerly side of the highway leading from sd Ware to West Brookfield upon which now stands a certain stone grist mill belonging to sd Lydia, together with the privilege of using the surplus water not wanted by said Otis Co., the same being at all times subject to & under the con- trol of sd Company: To have and to hold for the term of nineteen years, . .. yielding and paying therefore the sum of one dollar for each and every year during said term,
provision being made for annulling the lease. Soon after this the Widow Peters conveyed her rights to Jason Gorham of Barre, who in 1853 sold to George C. Jennison and Samuel Morse of Ware. Jennison conveyed his interest in 1855 to Beaman B. Sibley and Rensalaer Topliff. Samuel Morse disposed of his interest to Ansel Ross, who in turn sold to Sibley & Topliff. In the same year, 1855, Sibley & Topliff conveyed their interest to William S. Knight, who within a month transferred the property and rights to the
THE OLD STONE GRIST-MILL AND FURNACE BRIDGE Both Mill and Bridge were wrecked by the flood of October, 1869.
·
Mend
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Otis Company. The mill was operated until it was wrecked by the spring freshet of 1869, which also destroyed the old stone bridge.
SCHOOLS
The first action taken by the Parish in regard to schools appears in the records under date of 1757, when it was
Voted to Devid ye Peraish into two parts for a scool, and flat Brook to be ye deviding Line.
Voted Joseph Scott to take care of the West part. Voted William Brackenridge to take care of the East Part.
There is no record of money being raised for schooling until after the incorporation as a District in 1761. In 1762 it was
Voted to devid the District into four Quarters, et & wt, Beginning South of Benjamin Griffin's Hous, to the meten Hous, from there to Mr. Rutherford's Barn, from there to Ebenizar Gilbrt's Barn, and So N. & S't by flat Brook. Voted to Rais twelve pounds for Schooling. Voted that Eatch Quarter Shal Shool out there part within the year or be forfit.
The same sum was granted the next year. In 1771 the amount was reduced to four pounds, to be increased in 1772 to fourteen pounds. In 1774 the sum of fifteen pounds was raised. Then came the Revolutionary War, and no further grants for education until 1782, when twenty pounds was raised, the districts remaining as formerly. In this year it was proposed that a schoolhouse be placed near the meet- ing house, but the proposal did not materialize until 1786. At the March meeting of the latter year it was voted to build six schoolhouses, for which purpose seventy-two pounds was appropriated, and three men chosen "for each school- house quarter," Jonathan Marsh, Samuel Densmore, Moses Brown, for Mr. Densmore's quarter. This was the north- east corner of the town. Jonathan Foster; Simeon Cum- mings, James Brakenridge, for Dr. Demmon's quarter. This was the middle section of the northern half of the town. Samuel Cleland, Abraham Thayer, Isaac Pepper, north-west
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quarter. John Quinton, Lieut. Bullen, James Lammon, south- west quarter. Lieut. Cummings, Joseph Cummings, Samuel Brown, south-east quarter. Ebenezer Nye, John Adams, William Page, for the middle quarter. It was further voted that 2s. 8d. per day should be paid to common hands, and 3s. per day for carpenters, and that "if any refuse to work out their tax, that the Bills shall be committed to the Constable."
It was ordered that the schoolhouses be completed by the first of the following November.
So decided a step forward at a period of extreme poverty is difficult to account for, unless by the influence exerted by the Rev. Jeremiah Hallock, who preached in Ware the preceding summer, and whose influence on the town was very marked.
That the schoolhouses were not built as speedily as was expected is evident from a vote of the following year, 1787. In that year, besides £30 for schooling, £36 was voted "to build the schoolhouses," and the committee of the pre- vious year reappointed. Again in 1791 the town voted £36 for schooling and £12 to build a schoolhouse by the meeting- house, Deacon Wm. Paige, George Breakenridge and Deacon Daniel Gould being appointed a committee for the work. This time we may be sure the building was erected, for in 1792-93 the selectmen's records, which began in 1789, show that Deacon Gould and Deacon Paige drew £4,,16 each, and Mr. Breakenridge £4,,10; this besides the payments to the regular committee on schooling. An interesting entry of 1784 is this: "Voted to allow Mr. Samuel Clark an order for £1,,17,,6 for his keeping school." Another of 1793: "To Erasmus Shumway for keeping school £4."
The year 1794 marks another step forward. The Rev. Reuben Moss had become minister of the parish in 1792, and his interest in education was beginning to show salutary results. Mr. Moss left a reputation for efficiency along edu- cational lines, the result of which was far-reaching. He gave much effort to preparing young men for the work of teaching, both in this and in neighboring towns. No town in this vicinity, it is said, furnished so many teachers. Moral and educational standards were greatly raised as
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the result of his labors. Hon. Joseph Cummings taught seven winters in New Braintree, receiving $20 per month, being much more than was usually paid in those times.
One of Mr. Moss's methods was to assemble the different schools yearly in the meeting-house for a public competition in reading, spelling and the Shorter Catechism, honorable mention being the prize for greatest efficiency.
Two quaintly worded certificates have been preserved as heirlooms:
Ware, Aug. 11th, 1803.
This may certify that Miss Abigail Gould appears to have acquired Learning sufficient to render her capable of teaching children the rudiments of Spelling, reading, grammar, and decent behavior.
Reuben Moss, A.M.
Ware, May 20, 1805.
This may certify that Miss Abigail Gould appears to be an amiable, modest young Lady, and as far as I know, sus- tains a fair character.
Reuben Moss, V.D.M.
The usual wages for teaching ranged, in the early years, from four dollars a month to eight dollars for female teach- ers, and from ten dollars a month upwards for men.
The teachers invariably "boarded around," dividing their time among the various families according to the num- ber of children of school age in each.
In a district where there were few families with many children the teacher would stay several weeks in the same house, but where families were small his moves were fre- quent. The assistance given to the children during the long evenings was often, where the teacher was devoted to his work, of even more value than that rendered during school hours, and the teacher won a hearty welcome by such helpfulness.
The whole custom of "boarding around" went out about 1850.
Meanwhile, though a schoolhouse was placed at the Centre, the others voted in 1786-87 hung fire. In 1797 it was voted to build the proposed schoolhouses agreeable
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to the report of the former committee. A committee was also appointed to determine where they should stand. Later in the year another committee was appointed to de- cide how large it would be necessary to build them. At an adjourned meeting on May 8, £20 each was voted for these schoolhouses, and a committee consisting of Deacon Daniel Gould, George Thrasher and John Shaw was appointed to superintend the work of construction.
In 1800 $266.67 was voted for the support of schools. The amount was advanced to $320 in 1805, and the same year it was voted to re-district the town into eight dis- tricts, an act that threw the town into confusion for years. Schoolhouses had to be relocated, and in some instances were moved bodily. Men petitioned to be set off from one district and annexed to another, and then to be set back again. In one instance two districts joined together, pro- vided themselves with three schoolhouses, and proceeded to hold sessions a third of the time in each.
Meanwhile Mr. Moss was making his salutary influence felt on the school work, and in 1807 the town voted "that the school-committee take into consideration the communi- cation made by Rev. Mr. Moss, and recommend to the several districts such books as they shall think proper to be used in our schools."
In 1814 the school appropriation was advanced to $400; in 1825 to $600; in 1830 to $790; in 1835 to $800; in 1836 to $1,000, divided as follows: District No. 1 to have $500. Districts No. 2-9, $60 each. District No. 10, $100.
In 1839 the appropriation was $1,250 with an additional grant of $80 from the State. In 1841 the appropriation drops to $1,000, and in 1843 was increased to $1,100.
The number of school districts varied at different periods according to the need. For some years previous to 1847 the town was divided into ten districts, but in that year Dis- trict No. 8 was abolished at its own request, reducing the number to nine. The old No. 8 comprised that portion of the town just north of the French cemetery.
Not far from the year 1820 the first "Select School for Young Ladies " was opened in Ware, and was taught by Miss Caroline Dutch of Utica, New York. Miss Dutch was
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a relative of Deacon Eli Snow's family. She taught writing in fancy styles, and ornamental work of some sorts, such as were considered accomplishments at that time. She also introduced "Cumming's Geography" with an atlas. But above all she gave careful training in "deportment."
In all the schools pupils were required to "make their manners," the boys to bow and the girls to curtsy to their teachers as they came forward to recite, and also when leaving the schoolroom at the end of the session.
Up to the end of the first quarter of the nineteenth century the Shorter Catechism was taught regularly in the schools, but times were changing. "The Catechism had to be dropped when a few carping spirits who were offended for other rea- sons raised a cry of sectarianism; and teachers began to make more of science than of morals." 1
Up to the year 1844 the school affairs of the whole town were settled in town meeting. In that year there was a change, each district being permitted to choose its own prudential committee. From this time a considerable degree of independence was permitted to the districts, the several committees being authorized to select teachers and contract with them, an arrangement that did not give the best results in the quality of schooling supplied. The town, however, elected a "Superintending Committee of Schools," consisting of three members, whose oversight was of great value. Each district built and owned the schoolhouses within its limits, raising all moneys except for "schooling" independently. There was almost a complete district autonomy. The in- dependent district system lasted many years, though the question of abolishing it was continually argued both in and out of town meeting. Not until 1869 was the vote passed by which the town as a whole assumed ownership of all property, and charge of all the schools, an act which created dissatisfaction in many quarters and called forth petitions for a return to theold system. The vote of 1869 was regarded as virtually abolishing the districts.
In 1847 $1,600 was appropriated for schools, to be divided equally among seventeen schools, allowing eight schools to District No. 1.
1 From a MS. of Miss Cornelia Gould.
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About this time a movement toward a more advanced institution of learning was set on foot. The records are at first sight somewhat confusing, but become clear when we realize that the terms "Grammar School " and "High School " were used interchangeably for some years.
The first move was in 1846, when the Committee appointed to build a Town Hall was authorized to construct in the second story (the basement counted as the first story) a room for a Grammar School. Though the hall and school- room were completed the following year, no provision for a public school was made. In 1848 it was
Voted to instruct the Select Men and School Committee to give the use of the Grammar School Room to some in- dividuals who may wish to establish a High School, and who they shall judge a suitable person for such a school.
In 1849 it was voted to establish a Grammar School. Also voted to raise $2,000 for the support of schools, Dis- trict No. 1 to receive $1,100, No. 9 $200, and each of the other districts $100. The will of the town does not seem, however, to have been carried out that year, and in 1850 a more explicit vote was passed: "That the Town School Committee be authorized to establish a Grammar School in the town school room in the village on or near the first of September next." At the same time $2,000 was appropriated for schools with an additional $300 for the Grammar School. The following year an appropriation of $600 was made "to support the Town High School for the year ensuing." In 1852 it was "Voted that the School Committee be instructed to hold one term of the Grammar School 1 in the centre of the town during the year," - a custom followed for several years.
The history of the beginnings of advanced education has been given in detail that the present generation may realize in some degree the development that took place during the last half of the nineteenth century.
It would be difficult to determine the date of building the first schoolhouse in the village. The earliest recollections
1 Here and in other places it is "Grammar School " in the text of the records, and "High School " in the margin.
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tell of the "Old Red Schoolhouse " standing on the site of the North Street school. Contemporary with it was the "Old White Schoolhouse " which stood at the corner of Chestnut and Maple Streets on the lot where the Orrin Sage house now stands. When Avery Clark bought the land the schoolhouse was moved across Chestnut Street, a little further south, there occupied until some time after the building of the first brick schoolhouse on South Street in 1865.
In 1847 the village district purchased of D. P. Billings for $350 a lot on Third Street, afterwards named High Street, on which a two-room building was erected by the district. This was the present High Street building, though at a later date, in 1869, it was doubled in size by the addition of a second story.1 In 1849 there were six schools in District No. 1, with two sessions of three months each. A third term was added this year. The average attendance was 134. As the schoolhouses provided but four rooms, other accommoda- tions were hired by the committee. The report of 1858 shows a total of 489 pupils attending school in the district.
The building of the South Street school at a cost of about $13,000 was the last important undertaking before the abolishing of the districts in 1869.
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