USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > History of the county of Berkshire, Massachusetts, in two parts > Part 33
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In 1755, in the second French war, Col. Williams was sent at the head of a regiment to join Gen. Johnson at the north, and was killed on the Sth of September in that year, near the southern extremity of Lake George.
After the death of Col. Williams, the oversight of the fort was committed, it is believed, to one Capt. Wyman. Įle is known to have lived in the house within the pick- 36*
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ets, and to have occupied the land reserved for the use of the fort.
June 7, 1756, a body of the enemy came again to this fort, and Benjamin King, and a man by the name of Meacham were killed.
The Rev. Stephen West, afterwards Dr. West, minis- ter of Stockbridge, was chaplain in 1758, and perhaps in 1757.
The location of the fort is still indicated by the print of a cellar, and the horse radish, which was planted by the soldiers, and still grows upon the spot.
Some of the first settlers in this township, except a few soldiers who lingered round the fort, were, Abiel Smith, Gideon and Jacob his sons, John Kilborn his son- in-law, and John McNeal. These all came from Litch- field, Con. Reuben Hinman and Jonathan Smith, came from Woodbury. There were also the names of Par- ker, Cook, and Leavenworth, from Wallingford. Rev. Samuel Todd, who had previously removed from North- bury, Con. to Lanesborough, and Israel Jones, Esq. settled here.
Abiel Smith and his sons lived in two houses ; one occupying the present site of Mr. Alpheus Smith's ta- vern in the north village ; the other, a spot a few rods further east. Mr. Kilborn settled near the present site of the Friends' meeting-house ; Mr. McNeal near the present residence of Mr. Kingsley, about a mile and a half south of the north village ; and Mr. Hinman lived on the spot now occupied by Col. Henry Willmarth, two miles north of the south village.
Most of the first settlers soon disposed of their lands to purchasers from Rhode Island, many of whom be- longed to the society of Friends, and the population gradually changed, till nearly all had sold out and re- moved from the town. The settlement of Friends be- came extensive and prosperous. Several other families also from Rhode Island, came in about the same time ; and these two classes of inhabitants and their descend- ants have since occupied the greatest part of the town.
A part of the emigrants who came from Rhode Island into this section of Massachusetts, pitched on Stafford's Hill in Cheshire, then called New Providence. It ap- pear s to have been the wish of these New Providence
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settlers to be incorporated with Adams; and during the year in which Adams obtained its act of incorporation, the inhabitants were twice called to vote on the question of extending the charter so as to embrace New Provi- dence. The proposition was rejected.
The town was incorporated Oct. 15, 1778, and called Adams, in honor of Samuel Adams, afterwards Gover- nor of the State.
On the 8th of March 1779 the first town meeting was held under the act of incorporation. Capt. Philip Mason, Capt. Israel Jones, and Capt. Reuben Hinman were then chosen select-men.
The inhabitants seem to have maintained a prompt co-operation with government in the war of the revolu- tion. Numerous votes stand on record, authorizing as- sessments to defray the expenses of the part they were taking in the contest. They raised large sums at a time. At one meeting they "voted, to give nine months men 10 dollars a month in grain, wheat at 6s. a bushel, rye at 4s, corn at 3s. and one hundred continental dollars before they marched."
Adams occupies the summits of Hoosic and Saddle mountains, and the interjacent valley. The town is di- vided into two parts nearly equal, by the south branch. of the Hoosic river, which traverses the bottom of the valley. Of these two parts, the eastern is formed by the western slope of Hoosic mountain, which, in the first two thirds of its descent, is steep and regular, con- stituting a lofty wall on the eastern border of the town ; but in the remaining one third sinks by broken and ir- regular depressions. The north eastern quarter of the town is uneven and stoney. In the south eastern quar- ter, the land towards the bottom of the mountain exhib- its a more regular surface ; the ridges are flattened and blended together, forming a sufficient space of smooth table land for several valuable farms.
The western half of the town is composed of the two eastern ridges of Saddle mountain, the valley between them, and the valley which opens a passage for the Hoosic towards Williamstown. The latter valley is a continuation of the principal valley that constitutes the heart of the town. At the bend, it is narrowed up, by the east ridge which protrudes itself northward almost
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to the base of the opposite mountain, crowding the two branches of the Hoosic, suddenly into one channel. Towards the west, the hills retire southward, and leave a beautiful tract of meadow, which with the sloping pastures on each side, affords some of the pleasantest farms in the town.
On the south of these farms the main body of Saddle mountain rises in a majestic and comely form, parting near the summit, and forming an elevated valley of good pasture ground. Along this valley the line passes between Adams and Williamstown. The eastern ridge of the mountain projects a mile further north. The two ridges embraced within the line of Adams converge to- wards the south, and meet about a mile and a half from the commencement of the shortest ridge. The tapering valley between them, called "the Notch," comprises several valuable dairy farms. By the union of the two eastern ridges and the abrupt termination of the western ridge in Williamstown, the triple summit of Saddle mountain here becomes single, and immediately rises into the peak called Saddle Ball.
This peak takes the appellation of " Greylock," from its hoary aspect in the winter. Its eastern decli- vity, from its summit to its base, is rugged and steep. Northward towards the junction of the two eastern ridg- es, the declivity of the mountain is gentler, presenting a surface that may be comfortably tilled.
The mean width of the principal valley in the town, may be half a mile. In some places it is nearly inter- terupted by spurs from the adjacent mountains, shoot- ing out to the bed of the stream. The direction of the valley is north-east, till it passes an abrupt projection from the eastern ridge of Saddle mountain, about three- fourths of a mile from the north village, it then turns due north, and at the north village, passes round the end of that ridge, and leads the Hoosic into Williamstown.
The soil on the mountains is calcareous. Saddle mountain is a vast ledge of limestone. In different parts of the town there are a few hills of silicious sand. There are also numerous and vast beds of clay. To- wards Williamstown, the soil is a mixture of clay and silex, combined in various proportions. In that quar- ter, except on elevated ground, the clay predominates
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The streams of water in Adams are few. The two branches of the Hoosic, with their small tributaries, all passing out of Adams by one channel, comprise the whole. The south branch, coming in from Cheshire, receives from the east, about half a inile south of the south village, Dry brook, which in frechets is generally larger than the main branch, but a part of the year is entirely dry. A quarter of a mile below, it receives from the west mountain Hoxie's brook, which supplies in its short course a fulling-mill and a saw-mill. Half a mile north of the south village, it receives Tophet brook from the east. This brook is named from a rocky ravine about 100 rods in length, and in some places more than 60 feet deep, through which it falls from the hill into the valley. It supplies a factory. The south branch on its way northward receives only a few rivu- lets, which flow a part of the year from the adjacent mountains, until about 60 rods west of the north village it meets the north branch. Hudson's brook falls into the north branch three-fourths of a mile above. About a mile west of the north village, a small but rapid stream comes down from " the Notch," and a mile from this, another from the north mountain falls into the Hoosic ; which thus becomes the common outlet of all the waters of the town.
The principal roads in Adams, are the two valley roads running one on each side of the river, through the the length of the town, and the Greenfield road passing through the north village east and west. These roads were laid out under the direction of the original proprie- tors. There are two mountain roads, running nearly parallel with these ; one on each side of the town. The west mountain road leaves the Greenfield road about a mile west of the north village, enters " the Notch " at its northern opening, passes out from between the two ridges at their point of junction, and descends the mountain south-easterly into the Cheshire road, near the south village. The east mountain road parts from the Greenfield road 1 } miles east of the north village, and follows a shallow valley, made by an undulation on the side of Hoosic mountain, to near the south line of the town, where it connects with the Savoy road. Be- sides these five, the roads are inconsiderable.
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Adams exhibits two natural curiosities of considerable interest.
About a mile north-east of the north village, near the line of Clarksburg, Hudson's brook has worn a channel 30 rods long, and in some places 60 feet deep, through a quarry of white marble. 'The mass of rock terminates towards the south in a steep precipice. Down this pre- cipice, it appears the water once fell ; but finding in some places natural chasms, and in others wearing away the rocks themselves, it has found a passage, from 30 to 60 feet below its former bed. The mean breadth of the channel is about 15 feet. Two masses of rock, one of which lies 10 or 12 feet above the other, under which the water successively found its way, lie like bridges across the channel. The upper bridge is now much broken. Under the lower one, which is beautifully arch- ed, the stream has sunk its bed nearly 50 feet. Many cavities of different figures and dimensions, worn by the action of the water, are left in the solid rock from 50 to 60 feet above the present bed of the stream. These ca- vities, together with the position and appearance of the walls of the"chasm, prove that this remarkable excava- tion in the bed of marble is the work of the water. The stream is sufficient to supply a saw-mill but a part of the year.
A little west of the top of the chasm is a cave, inclo- sed by masses of rock piled loosely together. It con- sists of an irregular room of difficult entrance, in some parts of which a man may stand erect. This room may be entered, both from the north and south-east. These two avenues, the one being a convenient inlet and the other an outlet for the water; the position of the cave in relation to the bed of the stream, being lower than the former channel of the brook ; the position of the rocks below the cave, and the inclination of the ground above it ; the signs of friction in the rocks at the outlet where they presented solid obstructions to the water, and the smooth course gravel on the bottom of the room within, make it probable that the cave was once full of earth, which was removed by the water, as it explored the in- terior of the hill, to select for itself a passage to the valley below.
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The rocks about the cave and the fall, even in some places which appear inaccessible, are covered with the names and initials of the nunicrous visitants.
The other curiosity worthy of notice is a cave in the side of a hill, about a mile south of the north village, near the road to Cheshire. . A narrow and difficult pas- sage, about 10 feet in length, leads to a room large enough to contain 6 or 3 persons. Northward, a small horizontal avenue, 10 or 12 feet long, leads to another room considerably larger than the first. From this, by descending 20 perpendicular feet, another room is en- tered 30 feet long, by an average breadth of about 20 fect, and 20 feet high. Beyond this and lower down, are smaller apartments, answering to bedrooms, pan- tries &c. Further on no one has explored. The walls of the cavern are composed of limestone, belonging to the vast ledge of which Saddle mountain is built.
The population of Adams in 1820 was 1,838. It is now estimated at about 2,500. The principal cause of its rapid increase is the extension of the manufacturing interest.
'The two villages began to grow about the same time. 'The gristmill and sawmill required to be built by the conditions of Col. Williams' grant in 1750, stood in the north village, a few rods south of the present site of Phoenix factory. Another gristinill was early erected where the south village now is. These mills accommo- dated the inhabitants to a considerable distance around, and attracted the business of the town to these two spots.
The north village now contains 3 houses of religious worship, one for Baptists, one for Methodists and one for Congregationalists. It has ? factory buildings, 7 stores, 2 taverns, a printing office, a post office, an iron furnace, 3 blacksmith's shops, one tin shop, 2 cabinet makers', 6 shoemakers', one silversmith and jeweller's, 3 mil- leners', 2 tailors', one hatters', two saddle amd harness raakers', 3 carpenters', 2 sleigh and waggon makers', shops. There are other mechanics in the village who kecy no regular shops ; such as carpenters and joiners, brick layers, &c. and there are other shops connected with the different factories, for working wood and iron, which are not embraced in this list. The village contains 87
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dwelling houses, occupied by 105 families, which includ- ing all employed in the factories, mechanic shops, &c. number not far from 1000 souls.
The south village contains one house of religious wor- ship, an academy, one factory, 4 stores, 2 taverns, a post office, 2 blacksmiths' shops, 5 shoemaker's, 2 cabi- net shops, 2 saddle and harness makers', 2 carpenters' and joiners', 2 stone cutters' shops, and 35 dwelling- houses, occupied by 42 families.
There are in the town "? practising physicians and S attorneys. Of these, 4 physicians and 2 attorneys are located in the north village, the rest in the south.
Adams contains 15 factories. Seven of them are lo- cated in the north village, 6 near the south village, and 2 near the line of Williamstown. The following sche- dule gives a condensed description of their extent, ope- rations, &c. :
Old Brick Factory ; Thomas Higginbottom, Daniel P. Miriam, James Howard, proprietors ; located on the south branch of Hoosic river, at the west end of the north village ; built in 1811 ; 60 feet by 34, 4 stories, brick ; material, cotton ; fabric, coarse sheeting and shirting ; spindles, 1092 ; looms, 23; persons employ- ed, 40 ; yards annually made, 170,000. This factory was first built by J. Q. Robinson and 19 others, who put in $1000 each, and were incorporated under the name of " Adams North Village Cotton Manufacturing Com- pany." The present proprietors became a corporate body in 1829. Connected with this factory are 2 shops for making machinery ; one for wood and one for iron. The picker is also in a building by itself.
Eagle Factory ; Caleb B. Turner, proprietor ; on north branch of the Hoosic, in the north part of the north village; built in 1813; 45 feet by 32, 4 stories, wood; material, cotton ; fabric, coarse sheeting ; spin- dles, 712|; looms, 20 ; persons employed, 20; yards an- nually made, 130,000.
Factory ; Caleb B. Turner, proprietor ; 10 rods east of the preceding ; built in 1826; 40 feet by 30, 3 "stories, wood; material, cotton ; fabric, coarse sheeting ; spindles, 504; looms, 20; persons employ- ed, 20; yards annually made, 130,000.
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A. Factory ; Caleb B. Turner, proprietor ; 40 or 50 rods east of the preceding ; built in 1928; wood. These three establishments are supplied with water from the northi branch, by one canal, which carries the water along on the north bank about 70 or 80 rods. The fa- bric produced here is of the coarser texture. The last · of these buildings is not yet completed. It is at present occupied for building machinery to be used on the pre- mises.
Estes' Factory; David Estes & Son, proprietors ; on the north side of N. branch of the Hoosic, 40 rods below Clarksburg road ; built in 1825; 46 feet by 31, 4 sto- ries, brick ; material, wool ; fabric, satinet ; spindles, ISO ; looms, 7; persons employed, 25; yards annu- ally made, 20,000. Connected with this is a building of wood, 40 feet by 22, containing 5 carding machines, 1 roping and 2 picking machines, 2 satinet looms, dye- house, &c. There are also 150 spindles for satinet warp. Wool carding and cloth dressing is also done for customers.
Phonix Factory ; Giles Tinker, proprietor ; on south branch of the Hoosic, at the west end of the north village ; built in 1925 and 1823 , 110 feet by 34, 4 sto- ries, brick ; material, cotton ; fabric, coarse sheeting ; spindles, 456 ; looms, 16; persons employed, 25; yards annually made, 125,000. In this building, there is a grist-mill with 2 run of stones. A large part of the building, is occupied for making machinery, of which about $10,000 worth are made annually. Connected with the establishment is a furnace for casting ma- chinery, and a triphammer shop in two separate build- ings, each 30 by 40.
Union Factory ; Ingals, Wells & Burke, proprie- tors ; on north branch of the Hoosic, at the eastern ex- tremity of the north village ; built in 1827 and 1828 ; 95 feet by 30, 3 stories, wood ; material, cotton; fabric, coarse sheeting ; spindles, 408 ; looms, 14; persons employed, 23; yards annually made, 100,000. Wool is also manufactured here into satinet ; spindles, 220 ; looms, 6; persons employed, 12; yards annually made, 30,000. Considerable carding and cloth dressing is also done for customers.
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Boys' Factory; Wells, Blackington & Co., proprie- tors ; on Hoosic river, 2 } miles west of the north vil- lage, near the line of Williamstown; built in 1814; 60 feet by 25, 3 stories, wood ; material, wool ; fabric, sati- net ; spindles, 465 ; looms, 9; persons employed, 20 ; yards annually made, 52,000.
Boys' Factory ; Wells, Blackington & Co., proprie- tors ; 2 rods from the preceding; built in 1821 ; 50 feet by 25, 3 stories, wood; material, cotton ; fabric, satinet warps ; spindles, 300 ; persons employed, 20. One of the buildings is occupied for carding, spinning and weaving the wool, and the other for making the cot- ton warps for satinet. Carding and cloth dressing is also done for customers.
Old Brick Factory ; R. Brown and others, proprie- tors ; on south branch of the Hoosic, half a mile south of the south village ; built in 1814 ; 75 feet by 32, 3 stories, brick ; material, cotton ; fabric, coarse sheeting and shirting ; spindles, 708; looms, 26 ; persons em- ployed, 35 ; yards annually made, 156,000. The com- pany who built this factory, were incorporated in the year 1814, by the name of " Adams South Village Cotton and Woollen Manufacturing Company."
Factory ; J. & A. Anthony, proprietors; on south branch of the Hoosic, 4th of a mile above the pre- ceding ; built in 1827; 50 feet by 34, 3 stories, wood ; material, cotton ; fabric, coarse sheeting and shirting ; spindles, 720; looms, 24; persons employed, 33; yards annually made, 144,000.
- Factory ; D. Anthony, proprietor ; on south branch of the Hoosic, at the north extremity of the south village ; built in 1826 ; 56 feet by 36, 4 stories, brick ; material, cotton ; fabric, coarse sheeting and shirting ; spindles, 504 ; looms, 18; persons employed, 25; yards annually made, 130,000. This building is calculated for double the quantity of machinery it now contains. It is gradually filling up, and the intention of the proprietor is to produce 260,000 yards annually.
Factory ; Isaac U. Hoxie, proprietor ; ¿ ths of a mile east of the south village, on Tophet brook ; built in 1822; 40 feet by 30, 3 ₺ stories, wood ; mate- rial, cotton ; fabric, yarn ; spindles, 144 ; persons em- ployed, 7. The building is chiefly occupied for making
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machinery, of which about $15,000 worth is made an- nually. The water is thrown upon the wheel from a level with the third story of the building.
Factory ; George Turner, proprietor ; half a mile north of the south village, on the south branch of the Hoosic ; built in 1814; 30 feet by 30, wood ; material, cotton ; fabric, stripe ; spindles, 336 ; persons employed, 13; yards annually made, 60,000. The weaving is all done in families abroad.
Factory ; Jesse Jenks, proprietor ; ¿ ths of a `mile south of the south village, on south branch of the Hoosic ; built in 1823 ; 50 feet by 34, 1 story stone, 2 stories wood ; material, cotton ; fabric, coarse sheeting and shirting ; spindles, 383; looms, 12; persons em- ployed, 15; yards annually made, 80,000. This fac- tory is yet unfinished. It is calculated for nearly three times the quantity of machinery it now contains.
In the town of Adams, it appears from the foregoing schedule, there are about 330 persons employed in the cotton and woollen manufacture, producing about 1,300,000 yards annually.
There is much valuable water power unoccupied, es- pecially in the north part of the town. Some on the north branch of the Hoosic in and above the north vil- lage, and more on the Hoosic below the junction of the branches, towards Williamstown.
There are 3 grist-mills in the town, 2 in the north vil- lage, and one in the south ; 10 saw-mills, one oil-mill, 3 tanneries, and some other small machinery moved by water, and adapted to various uses.
There is a small furnace in the east part of the north village, which produces annually about $5000 worth of castings, chiefly machinery.
The first settlers, most of whom came from Connec- ticut, maintained the religious sentiments and habits nourished by the excellent institutions of their native State. They early assumed the form of a Congrega- tional church and society, and fulfilled the condition on which the settling lots were conveyed to them, by build- ing a meeting-house and settling a minister. Their first meeting-house was built of logs, on a spot now oc- cupied by an orchard, at the corner of the roads near the centre of the town. The Rev. Samuel Todd, who
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came into the town in the early period of its settlement, was installed pastor of the church. The records of this church are lost, and the particulars of its history can- not now be known.
Not long after the settlement of Mr. Todd, the change of population withdrew his support, and obliged him to relinquish his ministerial labours. A vote of the inha- bitants, taken Jan. 3, 1778, before the incorporation of the town, appears on the clerk's book, proposing to the Rev. Mr. Todd to relinquish his claim to the minis- terial lands, to which his being the first settled minister entitled him, and take his dismission. He was dismiss- ed, but retained the land.
MI: Todd was born in North Haven, Con., in 1719, and educated at Yale College, where he received his first degree in 1734, at the early age of 15. At the age of 20, he was settled in the ministry in Northbury in Woodbury, Litchfield county, Con. The date of his dismission from that charge is not known. He remo- ved to Lanesborough, and from thence, in the fall of 1766, to Adams. After his dismission from the church in Adams, he was commissioned a justice of the peace. He removed to Northfield, Franklin county, Mass. thence to Orford, Grafton county, N. H., where (say the records of that church) he and his wife were receiv- ed into the church, June 4, 1782. He preached occa- sionally to that congregation, and the elderly inhabitants of the town who knew him, highly commend his charac- ter and talents.
Mr. Todd possessed a mind of more than ordinary strength, and great decision of character. His religious sentiments and feelings were strictly evangelical. The revivals of 1740 he warmly approved, and exerted him- self to promote them.
The Friends' society in Adams was formed in the year 1731. David Anthony, Isaac Killy, Isaac Upton, Jo- shua Lapham, Gec. Lapham, and Adam Hartness, with their families, constituted the society at its first organi- zation. They worshipped in a log dwelling-house, till about the year 1786, when they erected the house in which they now meet. It stands about half a mile north- west of the south village. The building lot, together with adjacent accommodations for a burying ground,
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the whole comprising about 4 acres, was given to the society by Daniel Lapham.
In 1819 the society enjoyed its greatest strength. It then embraced about 40 families. They now number between 25 and 30 families, some members of which belong to the society. Their decline is attributable partly to removals from town, and partly to the reluc- tance of the rising generation to take the places of their fathers.
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