USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Greenfield > A brief history of Greenfield, New Hampshire, 1791-1941 > Part 2
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Therefore we pray that your Honors would incorporate us with the Inhabitants above mentioned into a body Politic, with the same privi- leges and Emmunities that are enjoyed by other Towns in this State, or Grant us Reliefe, as you in your wisdom shall see fit: Joseph Batch- elder, Joshua Holt, Peter Pevey, Joseph S. Severence, Thomas Pevey, Nathan Lovejoy, John Lovejoy, John Fletcher, William Blunt, John Holt, John Dane, Timothy Holt.
Lyndeborough Gore, May 25th 1790."
Peterborough consented to the foregoing in 1790 as follows: "Voted, to grant to the persons petitioning the General Court the east Range of Peterborough in Case they obtain from Lyndeborough and other places what they have petitioned for to be incorporated into a Town.
Attest, Thomas Steele, Town Clerk.
Peterborough, october 18 day, 1790."
Greenfield was finally incorporated June 15, 1791, and was com- posed of portions of Society Land, Peterborough and Lyndeboro, and land between the two last named towns, called Lyndeboro Slip or Gore.
When Greenfield was incorporated it already had a considerable pop- ulation and was growing rapidly. The petitions of 1784 and 1790 were signed by eighty-eight different men. There were others who did not sign. No census was taken of the new town until 1800 when the popula- tion had reached its maximum, 934. The distribution of the people in 1791 was quite different from that of today. There was no village; every home was a farm of considerable extent. Each household was an indi- vidual unit producing practically all materials needed for food, clothing, and general use. These farms were scattered more or less evenly throughout the township including districts almost unknown today.
By studying old deeds, genealogies, and searching the memories of the oldest residents, many of whom are now deceased, the following townspeople of 1790 to 1800 have been placed with some degree of cer-
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tainty. There were three Burnham brothers, Stephen, James, and Na- thaniel, all of whom had enviable records in the Revolutionary War. One of these brothers lived at the present Eaton Sargent place, the other two were nearby. Joseph Ellinwood's home was at the top of the hill north of the Sargent place. Joseph Herrick was settled on the farm now owned by Mrs. Mary Cain. Both of these men were also soldiers of the Revolution.
William Holt, another veteran, who came from Lyndeboro and was not related to the family of Joshua Holt, built his house on a hill in what is now woodland, southeast of the Ralph Sayles place. The present Sayles home was probably built by William Holt's son, Oliver.
On the land now owned by James Whitney, William Abbott from Andover, Massachusetts, made his home. One of his neighbors was Simon Lowe. The Persons family were at the present Taylor farm and Hugh McAddams (a name which soon became corrupted to Addams and Adams) was at the present Atwood place. Hugh McAddams came from Londonderry; he, Simon Lowe, and the Persons men had military records. The home of John Johnson cannot be located but was in the eastern part of the town. He served in the Revolutionary War and fought in the battle of Bunker Hill. During the engagement his brother- in-law, David Carleton, was mortally wounded and was carried from the battlefield by Mr. Johnson. William Parker located between the present Kittredge place and Greenvale Cemetery. The Goulds had been settled some time; Daniel, at the place now owned by Louis Bowes and Rich- ard, his half-brother, a short distance northwest of where the McCor- mack family lives today. No road now leads to the spot. Stephen Gould, who served several years with the Revolutionary forces, was prominent in town affairs. The location of his home is as yet undetermined. David Bean lived at the center of the town and probably built the little house now owned by Thomas Coughlan. Thomas Addison owned the farm which is the property of Joseph Belmore. It is reasonable to assume that he built the old red house which stood on this spot many years ago. William Darrah lived on the hill now owned by the Battles estate (Top of the World) and of the two houses there, built the more westerly one. Benjamin Pollard located where Hollywood Lodge stands today.
Asa Butman built his home near the top of Russell Hill. The place now owned by Mrs. William A. Merrill had been the property of Moses Lewis since 1774. It was occupied for over one hundred years by three generations of the family. Jonas Center came from Woburn in 1792 and built a log house on the farm by the Contoocook River near the covered bridge on the Hancock road. Most of the other citizens of Greenfield in its early years can be placed in some certain district of the town although the exact location of their homes is unknown.
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Charles Daniel Emerson, Jr., Esq., of Hollis by authority of the Gen- eral Court, called the first Town Meeting on July 5, 1791 at two o'clock in the afternoon at the home of Mr. Daniel Gould (Louis Bowes' house) . The meeting immediately adjourned to a building in use as a meeting house. Here the following officers were chosen:
Town Clerk: Joseph Herrick.
Constables: Robert Day, Samuel Ramsey.
Selectmen: Joseph Herrick, James Ramsey, Joshua Holt.
Town Treasurer: John Reynolds.
Tythingmen: Nathaniel Burnam, Benjamin Pollard.
Fence Viewers: Ebenezer Farrington, Stephen Burnham.
Surveyors of Highways: Joseph Herrick.
The boundaries of the town were defined by the General Court at the time of incorporation.
In December 1791 the line between Greenfield and Lyndeboro was corrected. A year later the fact that all were not in accord was mani- fested by a petition to the General Court expressing the dissatisfaction of those who lived in the northeastern corner of Greenfield. This peti- tion was signed by ten men expressing their grievances as follows, “ . . . That it is with unspeakable sorrow, they consider themselves as included within the bounds of said Greenfield to which they have been uniformly and decidedly opposed, since the first Movement with respect to said Greenfield, and with which they never can with any degree of content- ment be connected, . . . That they are all on the borders of Frances- town and within two or two and a half miles of Francestown meeting house . .. That they have long attended public worship in said Fran- cestown, not only on account of its being nearest and most convenient for them; but on account of the minister whom they highly esteem-and can be better accomodated with the Schools there, than in any other place ... That the distance from the place now talked of for holding public worship in Greenfield, is a quarter, or a third further, from your petitioners and the road much worse, and always likely to be so, and the real center of Greenfield still more distant, and the annexing your petitioners to Francestown will mend the form of that Town without injuring that of Greenfield-your petitioners therefore pray that they may be rescued from the bondage of belonging to Greenfield, or living within the limits of it, and be annexed to Francestown. . .
Greenfield sent a committee of three to the General Court to defend the town against what it considered a mutilation of its boundaries. The General Court, however, upheld the demands of the petitioners and a part of the northeast portion of the town was set off to Francestown. In 1872 some additional territory was added to Francestown in order to straighten the town line. .
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CONOR
GREENFIELD, N. H
Congregational Church
MEETING HOUSE
The house now owned and occupied by Elwyn C. Smith was orig- inally located at the top of the hill on the Jarvis Adams property. Pre- vious to 1791 it was the property of the "Proprietors." Who these "Pro- prietors" were and why they owned the building is unknown. Occasional preaching had been held here and this was the meeting house where the first town officers were elected. "Meeting house" should be under- stood to mean a building used by the people for any secular or religious gathering. In 1792 three men, Deacon Cram, Joseph Ellinwood, and Paul Cragin were appointed to appraise the meeting house. The com- mittee reported it was worth twelve pounds. The town voted to raise the twelve pounds to purchase the building from the Proprietors and also to raise nine pounds more to repair it.
It was the custom of the times to hire surveyors to determine the center of a town; on a suitable spot close to this center the meeting house was built and about it a village developed. In October 1793 the citizens of Greenfield voted to center their town and began to discuss building a new meeting house. It was decided that the best place to build was "near where Ebenezer Coster's house now stands between the two brooks." Here our church stands today. In June 1794 the building in use as a meeting house was moved from the present Adams property to the spot it now occupies on Elwyn C. Smith's land. It continued in use as a meeting house for about two years. The town voted to sell it in
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April 1796. This venerable little house has been occupied as a private residence ever since. In recent years it has again served the public, this time as the central telephone office. In June 1794 the town voted "to build on a small hill in Coster's cleared land, so called, and have accord- ingly set up a stake and spotted a stump for front of the house, and, al- though we do not altogether approve the ground in its present state, we yet think that by the labor of the inhabitants it may be made eligabel and all things considered recommend it as the best place."
In December of the same year the town voted "to give Mr. Hugh Gregg seventy-five pounds for which sum he is to get a meeting house frame of the same construction of the meeting house in Temple which frame is to be delivered fit to raise on the spot where the house is to stand by the first of September next and he, said Gregg, is to give bond to the town for the performance of same." Hugh Gregg was a resident of Greenfield and there is reason to believe that the massive timbers of the frame were hewn from trees within the township. The frame was de- livered satisfactorily and the fifteen inch underpinning of native stone was laid. In August 1795 it was decided to have one hundred men to raise the meeting house, "nine from Peterborough, nine from Lynde- borough, nine from Temple, nine from Francestown, nine from Wilton, nine from Hancock, six from the Society." The date chosen for the raising was September 16, 1795.
According to the custom of the times food and drink was furnished by the town for those who gave of their time and strength to this tre- mendous task. A committee advised, "one hogshead of West India Rum, half a Quintal of Cod Fish, half a hundred of sugar, the raisers to have a baiting at 9 o'clock in the morning and a dinner at one of the clock." A committee of seven, Captain Whittemore, Benjamin Abbott, John Reynolds, Stephen Burnham, Charles Cavender, Elijah Bradstreet, and Joseph Herrick, were chosen to purchase and care for the stores. The whole town was expected to turn out "to fix the meeting house and raise." Rev. Mr. Goodridge of Lyndeboro and Dr. John Peabody were invited to be present. Isaac Foster and Joseph Batchelder were appoint- ed to keep order on the grounds. The frame was raised on the appoint- ed day, September 16, 1795, by means of inch and a half rope, four blocks, and ladders.
The exterior of the building was boarded and shingled as soon as possible but was not painted for three years. The citizens of 1941 would not recognize the old town house as it was when first completed. What is now the west side of the building, was the front and faced the south toward Main Street. The structure was also shorter by the length of the vestibule. No belfry nor steeple relieved the outline. There were five entrances painted green.
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The surrounding land was in a primitive state but was soon cleared of bushes, logs, trees, and stumps. The common was leveled and sowed with hay chaff. The grave yard was laid out north of the meeting house. In 1799 the town voted to fence this yard with a board fence. Also on the town land provision was made for a pound somewhat to the north- east of the meeting house toward the Francestown road. Those who desired were allowed to build horse sheds on three sides of the meeting house but were not to infringe on the common in front of it. A day was appointed on which numbers were drawn to determine the location of each man's shed.
The interior of the meeting house in these early days was as much different from today as the exterior. It must be remembered that the meeting house was used not only as a church but also for town meet- ings which were sometimes held as often as once a month. Skilled work- manship was required for the interior finish; therefore it was several years before it was completed. Money was obtained for the work by sell- ing pews by number to the highest bidder. Prices were surprisingly high. A deed was given the purchaser for his pew which became a part of his estate to do with as he saw fit.
The interior of the meeting house was unpainted, the natural wood being left to take on the patina of time. There was one floor only but a gallery was built across the front and two sides. The lofty pulpit, reached by narrow stairs, was placed about midway between the floor and gallery against the long north side. A large sounding board was suspended over the pulpit. Directly below the pulpit was a high pew which the deacons occupied, facing the congregation. The other pews were constructed on three sides of the room and occupied the entire body of the building as well as the gallery. These pews were built somewhat like a pen, very high and about six feet square. Within, nar- row board seats were built along the sides and left uncushioned. They were hinged in order to give more room when the congregation arose for prayer. Often a ladder-back rush seated chair was placed within the pew. At the center of the south gallery was a special pew for the singers. Unbelievable though it may seem now, no means for heat was provided nor deemed necessary for about twenty years.
Thus we have a mental picture of the meeting house as it was built in the first days of the town. It filled a long-felt want and became the spiritual and political center of the town's activities. It is the same building that stands today though it presents a far different appearance both inside and out.
No major alteration was made in the meeting house until 1825 when the belfry was added; this was accomplished by building a tower out- side of the easterly end (toward the Francestown road) of the building.
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The dimensions of this tower were the same as that part of it which rises above the roof today. A bell was obtained by subscription and hung in the belfry to call the people together for town meetings and summon them to worship. While being tolled at the death of Simeon Fletcher, the bell became cracked. In 1848 the town voted to buy a new bell, the one that we hear today.
It was also in 1848 that the whole interior of the meeting house was changed. A petition was granted to allow the upper part or gallery to be made into a separate second floor for use as a church, provided it could be done at no expense to the town. The lower part of the building continued to be used for town meetings.
In 1867 the town house was turned a quarter of the way around so that it took its present position. Much preparation was necessary before the feat could be accomplished. A life long resident who witnessed the event described the actual turning as being done by means of rollers motivated by block and tackle with a one-horse sweep. At the same time the ground floor was lowered about two feet to its present level. Three hundred dollars was raised by the town to make these alterations.
The lower part of the tower which had been added in 1825 was now removed and the whole building lengthened to its present dimensions by an addition to the front containing on the first floor two stairways with a vestibule between.
A fund used to purchase a clock for the belfry was collected by the school children of the town, augmented by generous contributions from former residents. The presentation speech was made by Charles P. Hop- kins, aged twelve, at the Centennial Celebration on June 15, 1891.
In 1938, $250 was raised by the town to remove the west staircase in the vestibule and, in its place on the ground floor, build a kitchen. The new kitchen was equipped by the Woman's Club, Grange, Ladies Benevolent Association, and Sportsmen's Club.
There are only three ancient public buildings remaining in New Hampshire which continue to house both the church and the town hall under one roof. Our meeting house, built in 1796, is the oldest of the three.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY
Immediately after the incorporation of Greenfield in 1791 proceed- ings were started to establish a church. On September 7, 1791, at the house of Joshua Holt, Jr., an ecclesiastical council formally organized the Church of Christ with twenty-eight members.
The original members were:
Deacon Benjamin Cram
Hawthorn Cram and Rachel, his wife
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Robert Day and Mary, his wife
Philip Fletcher and Mary, his wife
Joseph Batchelder and Phoebe, his wife
George Person and Elizabeth, his wife Mary Carlton, wife of Thomas Carlton
Deriah Blunt, wife of William Blunt
Joshua Holt and Hannah, his wife
Widow Mary Fletcher
James Ramsey and Mary, his wife
John Dane and Deborah, his wife
The above were in communion with other churches before the or- ganization of the Greenfield church.
The following were admitted on profession of faith at the time of organization:
John Reynolds and Elizabeth, his wife
William Burnham and Huldah, his wife
Hannah Burnham, wife of S. Burnham
Lucy Peavey, wife of Peter Peavey
Joshua Holt, Sr., of Andover, Massachusetts, father of Joshua Holt, Jr., gave the church its first communion set consisting of a pewter tank- ard, two cups, and two plates. This communion set remained in use until 1902 when it was replaced by a more modern service, the gift of Mr. and Mrs. Wingate Sargent. The old communion set was sold about 1910.
For several years after its organization the church had no resident minister. The pulpit was supplied by different preachers for varying lengths of time until Rev. Timothy Clark, according to the church records, became the first settled minister. He was ordained on January 1, 1800. The town voted to give him "settlement of $600 viz: $400 laid out in lands and (said) lands remain as a parsonage to Town forever and $200 as his own property and a salary of $250 during his service as min- ister."
Rev. Clark was dismissed at his own request in 1811. From old deeds it is ascertained that he owned the land either where the present parsonage stands or where Charles R. Hopkins now lives. He probably made his home at one or the other of these places.
In November 1811 the church invited Rev. John Walker to become their preacher. For about ten years the church continued to prosper; then dissension arose, finally to such a degree that many withdrew to the Presbyterian Church of Peterborough. In 1834 the Greenfield brancl: of the Peterborough Presbyterian Church, together with some from the Congregational Church here, formed the Evangelical Church of Green- field. They built the "New Church" located on the lot just south of the
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Library where the cellar hole may be plainly seen today. This church continued in existence about thirty years until the diminishing popula- tion could no longer support two churches. The last service held in the church was the funeral of Mrs. Woodbury Hopkins. The majority of the members of the Evangelical Church now combined with the Con- gregational Church. The Evangelical Church building was sold and was made into tenements. The structure was totally destroyed by fire in 1901.
After the organization of the Evangelical Church in 1834, the older church carried on under great difficulties until 1839 when it reorganized as a Congregational Church. Interest increased to such a degree that it was possible in 1848, when the meeting house was remodelled, for the Congregational Church to assist financially in order that the upper floor might be reserved entirely for its services. In 1867 the Congregational and Evangelical Churches combined under the name of "The Union Congregational Church" and as such exists today.
When the interior changes were made in 1848, a small gallery for the singers was built across the south end of the church. About 1870 the Ladies Circle assisted in the purchase of an organ which was at first placed in the gallery. In 1878 the organ was moved from the gallery to a position beside the pulpit and enclosed by black walnut woodwork. At the same time the high pulpit platform was lowered and a new black walnut pulpit set, chairs, and communion table were pro- vided by the Ladies Circle. September 6, 1897 Mrs. Edward Swift pre- sented a reed organ to the church in memory of her mother, Betsy Hardy Bailey. In 1900 the church was closed for five months during which time a steel ceiling was put up, woodwork painted, walls papered, carpet renovated, and the pews, now in use, installed. A room for the use of the pastor was made beside the pulpit where the wing pews had formerly stood. The partition was of black walnut to correspond with that around the choir loft. In 1904 the old windows were replaced by those of stained glass given in memory of Zebediah Peavey and family, Deacon Jacob and Martha J. Gould, John Ramsey, M. D., and family, Eliza Richardson Gould, Philena S. Gould, William and Sabrina H. Ath- erton, Leonard Bailey and Betsy Hardy Bailey. The interior of the church was again redecorated in 1938.
In 1903 the Congregational Church acquired the former home of Mrs. Ambrose Gould for a parsonage. By 1914 the need was felt for a new parsonage and a committee consisting of Walter L. Hopkins, Fred Brooks, and George Reynolds was appointed. It was voted to use $1500 of the church funds and borrow a sum not to exceed $3000 for the building of a new parsonage. The old parsonage was sold and moved to its present location on Sand Hill on the Bennington road where it is now
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Gilman Fletcher Building in 1890-Formerly Evangelical Church
occupied by Mrs. Elisha Goodwin. The new parsonage was built on the site of the old one and was ready for occupancy in 1915.
Church services were held intermittently in the schoolhouse in South Greenfield beginning in 1897. The first meeting was led by Deacon John Fletcher. Starting in 1905 services were held regularly every Sun- day for a period of five or six years. The pastor of the Greenfield church usually conducted the services but his place was sometimes taken by the Lyndeboro minister or some visiting clergyman. Twenty-five or thirty people attended the meetings. After the church services were discon- tinued at about 1911, a Sunday School was established which continued for a shorter period.
A Baptist Church was organized in 1805 under the name of "The Peterborough and Society Land Baptist Church" in what is now Ben- nington. Among its members were a few from Greenfield. The name of the organization was changed a number of times; it was eventually incorporated into the Antrim Baptist Church. A meeting house was built before 1812 on a knoll on the west side of the Bennington-Peter- borough road, in Greenfield, near the Bennington-Greenfield town line, south of the railroad crossing. Facts concerning the history of the building are very meager but it appears that after a short time the struc- ture was demolished and the lumber used for the construction of a house in Bennington. In 1836 the town of Greenfield voted to allow the Baptist Society use of their meeting house on certain Sundays during
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the year. A branch of the Lyndeboro Baptist Church was formed in Greenfield in 1839 with nine members. After three trying years it seemed wiser to reunite with the Baptist Church in Lyndeboro. There have been no further efforts to establish a Baptist Society here.
In 1913 the Hillsboro parish of the Roman Catholic Church estab- lished a mission in Greenfield. From then on to the present date Mass has been celebrated in the hall of the schoolhouse building every Sun- day during the summer months. Mass was also held one Sunday a month during the remainder of the year until 1936 when the small win- ter population and the facilities of transportation made attendance at the Bennington church practical.
CEMETERIES
Land for the first cemetery, previously mentioned, was given by Simeon Fletcher from a part of his cleared land. It is situated some distance north of the Mountain Road to Lyndeboro and is now com- pletely overgrown. The only visible stones remaining are those of John Fletcher who died in 1792 and those of Mr. and Mrs. John Savage who died in 1821 and 1825 respectively.
A tradition persists that there are graves on a knoll near the west shore of Zephyr Lake, south of Whiting's ice house, between the road and railroad track. One legend is that these are Indian graves. How- ever archaeologists find nothing in the vicinity to substantiate this theory. Another tale is that either one or perhaps two Abbott boys, sons of William Abbott, are buried here. The boy or boys were drowned in the lake. It seems unlikely, however, that they would have been buried at the scene of the tragedy because their home was some miles distant on the side of North Pack Monadnock and members of their family are buried in the church yard. Stones of the traditional graves by the lake have been seen within thirty years but at that time they were flat on the ground. There were once several homes in what is now pasture land nearby and it is entirely possible that some family used this spot as a private yard.
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