USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Ashfield > History of the town of Ashfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts from its settlement in 1742 to 1910 > Part 10
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In these days of steam and electric cars, saying nothing of automobiles, this would seem a hard trip, but our hardy ances-
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tors regarded it a pleasure. A writer said some years since: "In early times the only means of public travel was the stage coach, a thing of comfort in its day, sometimes a luxury in travel. Well do we remember the time when lines of stages were run between important places with their relays of horses between every ten or fifteen miles, the tooting horn announcing its approach, the jolly passengers who would alight for the noon meal, or to stretch their legs up some long hill, then in again to ride on to their destination. Say what you will, the old stage coach was an institution which, though it has gone, can never be for- gotten."
The early stage drivers were Lucius Paine, Josephus Crafts, Uncle Ezra Williams and a Mr. Loud.
The fare from Greenfield to Albany was at first $3.00. Busi- ness was reported good, although there was another line running through Charlemont over the Hoosac Mountain.
The opening of the Connecticut Railroad to South Deerfield in 1846, bringing the mail from the east via Springfield, broke up the through stage lines and a daily stage was started from Ashfield to South Deerfield, taking mail and passengers east and south and bringing them to Ashfield, where there was a connec- tion with another daily stage running from here through Spruce Corner, Plainfield and Savoy. About 1850, Lemuel Cross and Allen Phillips commenced on the stage route from here to South Deerfield, driving quite a portion of the time a four-horse team. Their equipment was a good one, and the stage route of Cross and Phillips was very popular. They continued it for about twenty years, when they sold out to Frank Warren. E. Payson Eldredge and others had the route for a while. The opening of the trolley to Conway discontinued the through route, since which it has only been run to Conway.
The stage over the mountain was run with four horses for a time, then with two. Henry Coulliard for Joseph Bement, Merritt Stetson and Justus Smith were among the principal drivers. The stages each way started out about half past six in the morning, and returned about the same time at night.
The completion of the Troy & Greenfield Railroad to Shel-
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burne Falls in 1867 opened a new avenue to Boston for both mail and passengers. A stage route was soon opened to Shelburne Falls, connecting with a mail from Buckland. John Wilde and Asa Sanderson ran the route to Shelburne Falls for several years, selling out in 1874 to William Deming. About this time a through mail route was established to Shelburne Falls, which is still continued. After the completion of the trolley to Conway it was proposed to have two mails a day from that point, but the scheme was thwarted by the friends of the Shelburne Falls stage putting in a petition for two mails a day on that route, which was granted. "Uncle Bill Deming" was the proprietor and popular driver for over thirty years, up to the time of his death. Many good stories of Uncle Bill Deming still enliven the long stage route from Shelburne Falls to Ashfield.
The post office in South Ashfield was established about 1866. Chandler Ward was the first postmaster, then Charles S. Guil- ford, Arthur Harris, Henry Higginbotham, and for the past seventeen years, Arthur J. Chapin. In 1888 a post office was started in Spruce Corner, and in 1898, the one in Watson. Alanson Cole, Frank H. Cook and George A. Thayer have been postmasters in Spruce Corner, and B. W. Anderson in Watson.
In the early days the cost of postage and the distance to a post office gave little patronage to Uncle Sam's mail department. In 1800, it cost seventeen cents to send a letter to Cape Cod, and twenty-five cents to western New York. When it was known that a person was going from Ashfield to either of thesc sections, or from there here, he was always made the bearer of many letters. One Nathan Crosby, "Old Crosby," as he was called, used to make frequent trips to the Cape and carry letters back and forth. He was a harmless, good natured old man, a little "daft," who charged nothing for his services, but was always welcomed and entertained at both ends of his route, as the bearer of news from the "Cape" or from the folks "up country." Money was not over plentiful, and the story comes down of the
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old man who has now many deseendants living with us, saying to his daughter just after she had married a man who was about to emigrate to western New York, "Well, Susy, you are going way out into York State to live; we'd like to hear from you onee in a while, but don't write too often; you know it eosts a good deal of money to send letters."
CHAPTER VII
INDUSTRIES, ETC.
The beginning of the first settlers in agriculture was to raise a little corn for subsistence and to cut a little wild hay for the small amount of stock they had on hand. Of course their stock raising progressed slowly. In 1766, over twenty years after the town was settled, we find by the census given on another page that there were in town 35 oxen, 31 cows, 17 horses, 72 swine and 188 sheep.
The lack of fences made the kecping of stock a difficult matter, hence the importance attached to the votes for field drivers and hogreeves, also whether "to let the hogs run at large this year." The record of the ear marks for the stock of the different owners is begun on the town records in 1765, and continued until 1845. In 1767 the mark for stock of Jonathan Lillie was a cross top of left ear, slit in same ear and a slit in top of right ear. 1774, Chileab Smith, crop of each ear and slit in right. Dea. John Bement, a slit under side of left ear. Kimball Howes, a half penny upper side of right ear. Ephraim Williams, a swallow tail in the end of the left ear and a sloping cross the under side of the right ear. Jasher Taylor, a hole in the left ear, and so on, no two alike.
If stock was found running at large and troublesome, the field driver or hogreeve was found, and the animal placed in the public pound, which was early provided. The car marks were examined, the records consulted if necessary, the owner was notified and requested to "pay charges and take away" his property. These "pounds" were evidently substantial struc- tures. In 1791 it was "Voted: To build a pound 30 feet square, 7 feet high, to have large posts set in the ground, with a plate on the top with rail mortised in said posts-the pound to be sett up back of Seth Wait's horse house." (Back of Dr. Urquhart's.)
Barnabas Howes in his history relates that Jesse Edson, who lived in the north part of the town, cut and stacked the hay on a meadow in the west part of the town, on the farm where Addison
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J. Howes now lives, and in the winter drew it home on a hand sled, the distance probably four or five miles, and that Dea. John Bement, who settled on the Dr. Murray place, did the same from the Knowlton place in the Chapel neighborhood, something like one and one-half miles. The meadow on Mr. Howes' farm is still called the Edson meadow. Both Bement and Edson were here sometime before the Revolution.
In elearing up the country the settlers raised rye on their new land, adding to their eorn eake rye, making "Rye and Indian" bread which was their staple artiele of diet. People living re- member the shoveling of large loaves into the briek or stone oven with the long iron sliee. Dr. Smith used to tell the story-with how much truth we trow not-of how one housewife with a large family of children used the eradle to mix up this bread in, then after the loaves were in the oven and the eradle washed, the oeeupant was returned to its former place.
In the "Grand Valuation List" taken in 1821, only ten of the largest farmers each raised 50 bushels of eorn. These were Henry Alden, Cyrus Alden, John Bement, Samuel Elmer, Joseph Porter, Roswell Ranney, Ephraim Williams, and Jonathan Yeomans, Jr., who raised 50 bushels each, Silas Blake 60, and Timothy Catlin 70. Some of the farmers are down for a few bushels of rye, oats and wheat, no others as high as 50 bushels. Apples and potatoes are not considered of enough importanee to be mentioned, but it is asked how many barrels of eider ean be made from the farm, and the answers range all the way from one to sixty. Potatoes were lightly esteemed as an artiele of diet, and did not come into general use until several years after this when the varieties began to improve. In 1840, in an old aeeount book, a farmer charges for ten bushels of potatoes 20 eents per bushel, and for Carter potatoes 33 1-3 cents. So little was known of the potato among the early settlers, that one man having a few bushels on hand in the spring deelared he should hold them over until another year, priees were so low.
Apple orehards were started early, but there was little grafted fruit, people depending on the best kinds of common fruit for their own use and there was but little sale for apples. Rhode
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Island Greenings, Blue Pearmain and Roxbury Russets were among the first varieties grafted in. The Baldwin came later. Apple Valley was early an apple section. Israel Williams, who first lived on the farm now owned by Herbert Clarke, then where William and Robert Williams live, raised a great many apples. He had a cider mill and two distilleries. His apples went into cider, and the cider into brandy. He had large vats or hogsheads in his cellar, where his cider was stored. Daniel Forbes, the veteran school teacher of ninety terms, mentioned elsewhere, lived early at the head of Apple Valley about one hundred rods below where John W. Howes now lives and did much towards bringing in new varieties of fruit. He did grafting for the people and encouraged the farmers' boys to do the work themselves and improve their orchards. He was a small man with a mild and pleasant manner. There are those living who well remember his kind saying, "You can do it yourselves, boys, just as well as I can." Posterity today is reaping the profits from the thousands of fruit trees which he and his family started and helped to cultivate.
Anson Goodwin, who lived where Albert Richmond does, was a great lover of fruits. His son, Eldad Frank, had a nursery for a time. About 1840, the best apples were drawn from here to Springfield and sold for $2.00 a barrel.
The prices for butter and checse varied. In a store account in 1789 between Murray and Bennett and Esq. Williams, 42 shillings is allowed for one firkin of butter weighing 84 lbs., that is-6 pence or 8 1-3 cents a pound. From this time to 1840, butter is quoted from 8 1-3 to 15 cents and cheese from 5 to 10 cents. The butter was usually sold to the country merchants who sent it to Springfield and Boston. It went to those places in wagons packed in straw (no ice) drawn by two or four horses. After the completion of the railroad to Greenfield and Shel- burne Falls, the farmers packed their butter in five and ten pound boxes, with their initials on the box and left them with the different merchants, to be sent to commission houses in Boston, getting their returns once in two weeks. The butter was sold on its merits, although it was claimed there were ex-
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ceptional cases to this. A farmer carried in his butter to the merchant or shipping agent one week with his boxes marked as usual with the exception of one box which was marked D. P. The agent asked what that meant. The farmer said it meant Darned Poor, that his wife had poor luck with that batch and he dare not put on his own initials. When the returns came back, the D. P. butter was marked higher than his regular stamp. At first, the farmers received from 20 to 30 cents, but during the last years of the war it went as high as 50 and 60 cents. This practice was continued into the eighties when creameries began to be established.
The "Grand Valuation" taken by the assessors in 1821, may not present the true situation of agriculture at that time. The official census taken in 1845, certainly gives a much more en- couraging view, although the population was smaller. That gives for this town: Number of Horses 188, Value $5,640; Neat Cattle 1,457, $15,550; Swine 244, $488; Sheep 7,667, $12,000; Bushels of Corn 6,253, $4,689; Wheat 881, $881; Rye 470, $352; Oats 2,241, $318; Potatoes 23,452, $3,908; Bushels of Apples 6,284, $1,047; Pounds Butter 49,045, $4,904; Cheese 30,846, $1,388; Maple Sugar, 59,981, $3,598; Pounds Wool, 21,402, $7,515.
OLD MILLS AND VARIOUS INDUSTRIES
The contract with the proprietors and Chileab Smith for building the first corn mill in 1743 is still in existence. It was to be built on "pond brook," where in the deep glen at the foot of Mill Hill its foundations and one of the old millstones may still be seen. Others of the millstones have been drawn up to the cemetery and may be seen on the border of Mrs. Henry Hall's lot. This mill was in existence until about 1832. Twenty years ago people were living who remembered going there on horse- back from distant parts of the town with grain to grind. Lewis Foster was one of the later millers. It is said the following verse was posted in his mill :
"I would have you know It is a good thing To mend well your bags And keep a good string."
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Mr. Ranney has noted that Mr. Anson Goodwin told him hc remembered when there was quite a collection of houses in the hollow below where the Whitney summer bungalow now is. The main road from Baptist Corner south passed through here.
As has been noted, the first sawmill was built just below Bear River bridge. It seems that the corn mill on Pond Brook was not satisfactory and needed frequent repairs. In 1752, Chileab Smith is directed by Proprietors' vote to put the grist mill in order at once and have charge of it for one year. In 1762, from the records it seems that Mr. Smith had built a new corn mill below the sawmill, so near to it that the pondage injured the sawmill, whereupon it was voted that "The said Chileab Smith be ordered and directed to remove his corn mill as he would avoid what may ensue upon his failure hereof." Uncle Chileab, with his usual adroitness, got out of the difficulty by buying the sawmill. The foundation of each of thesc mills can still be seen, and one of the millstones marks the site of the Phillips and Ellis fort. A number of years after, there was a saw and shingle mill a little further up stream, run first by the Flowers and later by the Phillipses. Still higher up stream, just below the "Factory Bridge," was a woolen factory which about 1830 was moved three-fourths of a mile northward and converted into the two- story dwelling house now owned by Dana L. Graves, formerly by Roswell L. Church.
At the upper end of the village, just below where Anton Dige lives, was a tannery and shop owned by Asa and L. C. Sanderson which was carried away by the freshet of 1878. Below, just back of the hotel, was a factory wherc Col. Nehemiah Hathaway made axes in the thirties and was succeeded by Allen Phillips in the same business. Then for a number of years Nelson Gard- ner had a wood-working factory therc, then A. D. Flower bought it for a grist mill and did a good business until the freshet swept this also away.
It is believed that Jacob Gardner built the first sawmill in South Ashfield. A grist mill and rake factory were afterwards added with which Bela Gardner, son of Jacob, had considerable to do. Afterwards both passed through various hands. John
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Sprague rebuilt the sawmill in a thorough manner, then it was run by Levi Gardner and son for a number of years until after the death of Mr. Gardner it passed into the hands of C. A. Bronson and others and finally burned down in the winter of 1910.
The grist mill at the South Ashfield village did a flourishing business for about fifty years and was run by Bela Gardner, John Ward, Julius Fuller, Zachariah Howes and son, and others. It was badly damaged by the freshet in 1878, and in 1879 was bought by A. D. Flower and the works were moved to his new mill on the Plain, now operated by Geo. W. Cook & Co.
At an early date there was a saw and grist mill where Blakes- lie's mill now is. In the twenties it was taxed to Horatio Bart- lett, also to Roswell Ranney. On Esq. Williams' map of the survey of the town in 1795 a sawmill is located here. Abner Kelley probably bought of Bartlett and had a saw and broom handle mill here for some time. In the forties there was a plane shop here which employed quite a number of hands. The busi- ness was afterwards moved to Conway, then to Greenfield. Jasper Bement built the mill now occupied by Walter Guilford for a carding and fulling mill. Elijah and Henry Field after- wards did carding and fulling business here quite a number of years. Samuel Barber had a tannery just back of where Mrs. C. F. Howes now lives and Joseph and Henry Barber had wood working and other shops above the village. Dorus Graves had a carding and fulling mill above the bridge, below Clarence Guilford's, for more than forty years. Towards the head of the west stream, George Stocking had a tannery where the creamery now is. On what are now insignificant streams, mills were made to do quite a business a hundred years ago. There were two saw- mills owned by the Blakes and others just below the Ludwig place, and Joshua Knowlton and Alvan Clark (father of the telescope maker) had a grist mill just below Chapel Falls.
In 1769, the Proprietors voted to give Jonathan Taylor and Daniel Williams encouragement to build sawmills. Jonathan built his mill below the "Taylor Corners" southwest from where Fred Kelley lives.
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Daniel Williams, who married a daughter of Capt. Ephraim Hunt, was prospecting for his son Ephraim, who brought up his mill irons from Easton, and built a mill in the forest at Spruce Corner at the corner where the road turns to Watson. This mill remained in the Williams family until destroyed by the freshet in 1878. The mill now run by George Thayer was formerly owned by Amasa Holbrook and Nelson Gardner. There was a sawmill for many years just above the bridge about forty rods west of the Benjamin Dyer place near Plainfield line. Asa Guil- ford early built a mill northeast of Edgar Lesure's. Another was built on the same site in 1868 by Oscar Lilly and Elisha Howes, which was sold afterwards to William Ford and burned about fifteen years since. In the forties, Asa Guilford built and run a steam mill just back of where Benjamin Anderson lives. For a good many years there was a sawmill half a mile west, owned last by Wells Porter.
About 1835, a mill built by Jonathan Lillie which stood some twenty rods north of the Water Company's reservoir above the Sullivan place burned down, but another one was soon built about seventy-five rods below on the Northwest road. This was operated until about 1850 by Elijah Howes, then sold to David S. Howes. At quite an early date, Alexander Ward owned a sawmill at Howesville, and about 1840 Jonathan Howes built another near the present bridge at the lower end of the state road. This mill and the Dyer mill at Spruce Corner were both built before 1795. A saw and shingle mill owned by Daniel Miles and Bethuel Lilly was on the brook east of Fred Lilly's, and a sawmill owned by Sears and Eldredge west of Cape Street, also a wood-working mill on the cross road from Cape Street to Lythia owned by the Seldens and Parkers.
With the old up-and-down saws 1500 or 2000 feet a day was called a big day's work. Two dollars a thousand was had for sawing, and in 1845 hemlock lumber sold for $5 or $6 per thou- sand. Darius Williams probably put in the first circular saw for sawing boards.
We have now but little idea of the timber growing in our primeval forests. Only about sixty years ago four sticks of
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spruce timber eighty feet long, squaring one foot at the top, were cut from a single lot in the west part of the town (Watson). These were for the tower of the Baptist church at Shelburne Falls, where they may still be seen. Thousands of broom handles were drawn "down the river" and sold for a cent apiecc, sometimes less. Rolling pins, meat mauls, lather boxes, butter paddles, faucets of all sizes and other articles were made in the wood-working mills. The manufacture of wooden splints for use in limb fractures was carried on in a small way by both Henry S. Smith and Heman S. Day. It is claimed that Mr. Smith invented a device which was an improvement and made his splints quite popular.
Sixty years ago there was a manufactory of pottery in South Ashfield which did quite a business.
Shirts, linen bosoms, collars and skirt supporters were "put out" by Selden & Perkins and Bement and Belding for the women of the town to make. The census of 1845 gives $12,000 worth of linen bosoms and collars made in one year, and $3,000 worth of braided palm leaf hats. The women of those days certainly carned their "pin money."
A letter on the products of Ashfield in 1824 gives the value of peppermint oil made as over $40,000 yearly.
Before 1800, the Bennetts made wool hats on the Plain and there were others in the same business between that time and 1821.
At an early date sand paper was made in Apple Valley where Will Willis now lives, getting the sand from the bank opposite.
Besides those industries that have been mentioned there were several small tanneries and many shoemakers and "cord- wainers " named in old records, scattered about town.
In 1878, Ellsworth & Bradford started a cheese factory on the Kimball Howes place now occupied by Wm. H. Howes in Watson, taking the milk produced in that part of the town. After running one season the enterprise was abandoned.
In 1880, the Ashfield Cooperative Creamery Association was formed, which has had a good degree of prosperity. Some $5,000 has been expended on its plant and the present output of butter
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is about 150,000 pounds a year. A. D. Flower was the first President, succeeded by Walter G. Lesure until 1895, and by Sanford H. Boice since that time. Charles A. Hall was the first secretary and treasurer, then C. H. Wilcox, A. D. Flower, and John M. Sears since 1895. D. B. Dunham, Geo. G. Henry and W. R. Hunter have been superintendents and butter makers.
Thayer & Harmon started the manufacture of wooden handles and so forth on "Centre Hill" about ten years ago and by industry and square dealing have built up quite a business. They use from 200,000 to 300,000 feet of lumber and their yearly output of goods is some $15,000 worth.
George Thayer of Spruce Corner also does something in the wood-working line and last year made 18,000 apple barrels, selling for about $6,000.
STORES
With the data in our possession it would be a difficult matter to mention all the stores that have existed in town. Gad Wait had a store here at an early date. Capt. Selah Norton evidently built a house and opened a store on the corner where Mrs. Rosa Ranney now lives, in 1793. The Bennetts also had a store and hat shop in Ashfield about that time. Abraham and David White bought of Zachariah Field in 1808 the building now owned by Alvah Howes and had a store there until 1816 when they sold out to John Williams, Jr., from Goshen. Mr. Williams did a large business. He had also a "Potash, " located just back of where Dr. Fessenden's office now is, where he manufactured the article. He used to send a team to the outlying towns and gather up the ashes, paying for them from a few goods carried in his wagon, sometimes going as far as Savoy. He kept up the potash business until about 1840. One of the large kettles used in its manufacture is now in the possession of Mr. William Gray. It measures about four feet in diameter across the top. Mr. Williams sold the building about 1838, and opened a store in the rear of the house where Mrs. Alvan Hall now resides.
Selah Norton sold out his store in 1815, and it was owned by various parties until 1826, when it was bought by Samuel W. Hall who was a prosperous trader there for over twenty-five years.
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About 1830, Alvan Hall occupied and probably built a large store five or six rods north of the Alvah Howes house. Jasper Bement afterwards bought the store and from here large num- bers of Ashfield peddlers were fitted out with their trunk of Yankee notions and basket of essences. Later it was moved to its present location (the Rice meat market) where Joseph Bement, son of Jasper, continued in the same business. Moses Cook succeeded him, then Flower Brothers, afterwards Church & Wait, then Asa G. Wait who sold to Henry Higginbotham & Co. in 1905, the last occupants as merchants. They sold the build- ing to Rice Brothers in 1908.
The building on the other corner, opposite the Episcopal church, was also quite a trading place. John Hart had a store there in the thirties, Cook & Ranney from 1842 to 1847. Later, Hall & Ranney, also Alvan Perry, traded in the same place. Josephus Crafts had a store in town as early as 1835 and was succeeded by his brother, Albert W., in 1847, who still remains on the same corner in a store much enlarged and improved under the firm name of A. W. Crafts & Sons.
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