USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Walpole > A history of Walpole, New Hampshire, Volume I > Part 52
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The old Cheshire Turnpike seems to have crossed the stream at the very narrowest point at the head of the gorge, affording a magnificent view of the rock formations worn by the tumbling stream, probably the most rapid descent in its whole course. The dry laid stone abutment high on the south bank still stands intact. That on the north may have been the same construction, but at some later date was covered with cement. The old bridge was directed toward the Langdon Road. The present
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bridge, a few feet to the east (upstream) is directed more to serve both the Langdon and Alstead roads.
A short distance upstream from the present bridge on the south bank there are still remains of the old mill dam as high as the bridge and between that and the bridge are foundations which were probably for the mill there. Here there is also a water gauge.
On the south bank west of the bridge abutments, high above the gorge, is the stonework above which were built the Fisher mills. Some of the stones have fallen from their places, but most are still there. From the south end of the bridge one may follow the old road through the trees and brush to these old mill sites. The present highway is supported by a wall, and the old road follows along its base, dropping down to the level of the mills which seem now to have hung on the edge of nothing. It is awesome to look from here down into the gorge. The old road swings back into the present road opposite the LaClair house.
Going downstream from the gorge along the north side of the river, one finds the old dam and foundations of the Pill Box Shop. Part of the water from here went to the other mills here, described in the Drewsville land records.
In 1898 William Kiniry of North Walpole bought mill rights here, and in 1899 a charter was granted to the Walpole Electric Light & Power Company-Wm. H. Kiniry, Patrick E. Griffin, Chas. J. O'Neil, John H. Hassett of North Walpole, Chas. M. Blake of Rockingham, incorporators, -for the purpose of generating, manufacturing and supplying electricity for light, heat and mechanical power, and furnishing same in Walpole, Alstead and Langdon. Said corporation was authorized to appropriate any dam sites on Cold River within one mile of the iron bridge at Drewsville which were not at the time in actual use as a water power. . . .
At the same time a group including some of the same names formed the North Walpole and Acworth Street Railway Company authorized to construct and operate an electric road from "a point at or near the B&M Railroad bridge in North Walpole southerly and easterly through the town of Walpole and in the vicinity and direction of Cold River through the southerly corner of the town of Langdon, and the towns of Alstead and Acworth to some convenient point in the village of Lempster. .. . " Fragments of the dreams passed on to others and finally died.
From 1870 to 1915 various parties connected with the brewery owned approximately what is now the Cold River Sand & Gravel Corporation land and the former Mountain Spring Trout Club. The former company has literally torn the place apart to obtain sand and gravel, primarily for
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road construction. The Mountain Spring camp ground by the river has been used for many years for large picnics, clambakes, etc. The brewery had a pond here and cut ice in the winter.
On Mountain Brook, a tributary flowing from the south side of Fall Mountain, Gilbert Griswold had a sawmill, leasing from Samuel Wight- man in 1815 and for some years thereafter. In 1842 Sanford Granger was there. The Langdon map shows sites of three sawmills.
The first bridge across Cold River seems to have been at the site of the present bridge on the road from Bellows Falls to Drewsville. The main road passed this way in 1762, but a bridge may not have been built until 1781, a covered bridge.
STONE ARCH BRIDGE OVER COLD RIVER
Soon after 12 o'clock during the night of May 18, 1907, Mrs. Charles Tole noticed at the west end of the old covered bridge a light which soon developed into a blaze. The family hurried to the scene, meeting others coming from the Mountain House. Nothing could be done, the bridge soon fell into the river. The fire was thought to have been started by a passing traveller or an incendiary. There was sentiment for a new iron bridge that would not burn, nor have to be snowed in winter. A special town meeting was held, a committee appointed to act with the selectmen to make plans, obtain bids and decide the type of bridge, reporting by July 2.
The committee, W. J. King, P. E. Griffin, J. W. Prentiss and Daniel Connors, with the selectmen decided on a stone arch bridge, J. O. Fol- lett's bid being $4000 compared with the United Construction Company bid of $5800 for a steel bridge with concrete floor. In accordance with plans drawn by State Engineer Dean the bid was changed to $4300 for a two arch bridge, the contract signed August 6, work to begin in ten days and to be completed in 90 days. All went well until the river rose due to heavy rains and carried out the wooden arch supporting the east stone arch, several tiers of stone falling to the river bottom. In fact, the wooden supports were twice washed out, delaying the work while the frames were rebuilt and the stones raised from the river. The completion time was extended to December 13, but another month was required. It was finally accepted by the selectmen January 31.
The bridge was built 100 feet between abutments, two arches of equal length, 19 ft. in height, springing from a pier in midstream. The outside width was 18 ft., coping of granite 8 inches above the roadway on each side, the town building the iron railing. The granite blocks, 2 ft. in
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Howard Studen 1962
Old Cold River Bridge
depth, were brought from Fitzwilliam. The space between the arches was filled with concrete to a height of 10 ft., with drains at the sides, then sand and gravel. This bridge carried all the Route 12 traffic until the new road was built farther west in 1958 with its own bridge.
Farther downstream, 25 to 30 rods, the Third New Hampshire Turn- pike Corporation built its bridge. Next downstream is the new Route 12 bridge, higher than any of the others, built in 1958. Next west is the rail- road bridge, the present span replacing the old wooden bridge in 1897.
NORTH WALPOLE WATER SUPPLY
Prior to 1869 J. D. Bridgman had trout ponds on his land, destroyed by a flood October 4, with damage of over $2000. A mill dam on the side of Fall Mountain gave way and flooded the trout ponds, liberating the fish and spoiling the ponds. A tame bear kept in a cage building nearby was carried down into the river where he struggled bravely, some of the time under water, exciting the sympathies of large crowds on the bank. Finally Frank A. George got a pole with a hook on the end, caught it in the bear's chain and pulled him out of the river.
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In the early 1870's Mr. Nathaniel Monroe purchased a spring, situated above the mill pond as it was in 1899, for $100. From this spring he laid a 21/2" lead pipe to his house and, having a surplus of water, he began to furnish new residents. Finding the supply inadequate to meet the grow- ing demand, other springs were brought in. Dorr Adams sold water rights to Monroe reserving only the flow from a one-inch pipe for his barn. Soon after the 1869 freshet, referred to above, the various springs were consolidated, a pumping station put in and a reservoir built on the hill above. This was the main water supply of the village.
In 1892 Monroe was selling water to 181 families, there being only 16 or 17 who did not buy water from him. The +7000 gal. reservoir 40 feet above the village was fed by a few springs from above, but mostly from springs where the Bridgman fish ponds had been. The water was raised to the reservoir by a large water wheel which Mr. Monroe planned to replace with a steam engine. The main supply flowed through a 31/2" cement pipe, but some families were still supplied by the first pipe which had been in use 20 years.
In July 1893 North Walpole Fire District was constituted a Water District to see what could be done about buying Monroe's water system, price $15,000.
In 1895, Mr. Monroe, finding himself by reason of age and infirmity unable to oversee the system, sold it to William H. Kiniry, Charles J. O'Neil, Patrick E. Griffin and John H. Hassett as the North Walpole Aqueduct Company. In the hands of these enterprising young men the system was improved. The main pipes used by Mr. Monroe were aban- doned and replaced by an 8" iron pipe. Connections for hydrants were placed at suitable points and a new reservoir built to furnish sufficient head for fire protection.
In 1899 the system was supplying 225 faucets.
In 1901 the North Walpole precinct bought the North Walpole Aque- duct Company for $27,000. During the fall of 1901 several special meetings were called at which rates and regulations were established. The rates included: For each family or faucet $4.00; Waterclosets $2.00; Bath tubs $2.00; Per horse $2.00; Per cow $1.00.
By 1911 there was concern about the volume of water, especially under heavy demand such as a fire. The supply was supposed to be adequate for 80 gals. per day per family. Cisterns which could be filled from the village supply had been located back of the J & W Market, at the north end of Center Street and near the corner of Main and River Streets. A brick reservoir had been installed on East Street before 1920. This was
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abandoned just before World War II after the Village reservoir (over 300,000 gals.), was constructed on the mountain back of Patrick Bowen's. The pumping station between Lloyd's and Reardon's maintained the head at the reservoir level. In 1950 a deep well, drilled near the pumping station, served to augment the supply from the springs which was still somewhat limited. A chlorination system was installed about 1956. In 1959 another well, 280 feet deep and with a flow of 40 odd gals. per min. was drilled by the Village on Cray property but has been capped and unavailable pending litigation over lack of a deed. As of 1962 concern over the water supply indicates that action will be forthcoming to obtain a greater supply, probably from driven wells.
Concurrent with the Village water supply for domestic use has been another supply, not connected, for fire fighting. There was, in addition to the cisterns, a main with hydrants running on Church Street from the location of the fire house to River Street. This was supplied by a large wood water tank owned by the Boston & Main Railroad. This was purchased in 1959 for one dollar. After a 40 horsepower pump was installed at the river to keep the main filled, the wood tank was torn down.
ABENAQUI MINERAL SPRINGS
On the bank opposite the Cecil Patch place (#528) on the road from Walpole Village to North Walpole, about two-thirds of the way up from the old Kilburn Meadow, was an old mineral spring said to have been visited by the Indians who believed in the curative powers of its waters, especially in the case of eruptive diseases. This spring was included in the tract purchased by Samuel Wightman in 1801, and it came to be known as the Wightman Spring.
The spring was not developed until after the coming of the railroad. As a part of the tourist business in connection with the Island House, Algernon Sidney Baxter bought two acres of land, including the spring. Following is a portion of the report of the analysis he had made of the water:
". . . One gallon afforded 13.34 salts dried at 200°F. ... decomposed into Crenate of iron 7.10, Crenate of lime 4.11, Chloride of sodium, sulphates of soda and lime and silica 2.13. . .. It is well known that the protoxide salts of iron are among those tonic medicines on which the greatest reliance is placed, and chalybeate waters are also known to possess the highest restorative properties. In view of these facts, I do not hesitate in expressing my belief that this will be found a valuable medici-
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nal water. Respectfully, A. A. Hayes, State Assayer, 1 Pine Street, Boston, 27th February, 1851."
. The spring was substantially walled in, making a large reservoir in the side of the hill, and a pavilion erected over it. Pipes led from the spring into a large granite fountain for drinking, from which the water was bottled and also sold in bulk. From this fountain the waters were conducted into the top of a building in which were bath tubs and shower baths, that were patronized by thousands.
The grounds were artistically laid out, the spring being so far up on the hillside as to admit of several reservoirs, or "offsets", as they were termed. Another building contained a bowling alley, and there was a dancing pavilion. The buildings were all of a Gothic style of architecture and presented an inviting appearance. ... Public teams were run on pleasant days during the summer season once in two hours between the Island House and the spring.
With the decline of the tourist business of the Island House, the popu- larity of these springs lessened. The buildings gradually fell into decay, the last one disappearing about 1870. . .. The two acres of land carved out of the Wells farm passed into the possession of Thomas N. Keyes, later to Henry C. Rawson.
BLANCHARD BROOK AND COLBURN MILL POND #467
A short distance west of the Hubbard Road to Drewsville and south of the Four Corners on the Valley Road is Blanchard Falls. At the foot of these Falls Col. Benjamin Bellows had a saw and grist mill from which he was returning the day the Indians attacked the Kilburns. This mill is mentioned in a deed between Atkinson and Bellows January 8, 1756 (Rockingham, N. H., County Records). According to deeds it belonged to John Rice in 1797 and 1805.
Joshua Quinton is said to have had a clothier's mill on Blanchard Brook near the Hubbard Road about 1793 but we have reason to doubt this. At that time there was a Joshua Quinton down near the Wellington Meadows who was a clothier.
There is some indication that there was a natural body of water where the mill pond is. In 1818 an indenture was made by Thomas Bellows granting to the owners of the gristmill here, so long as "they shall keep and maintain a good and sufficient gristmill on or near where said grist- mill now stands", "to turn the water in Sikes Brook near the Sikes place" and flow through Bellows' land to the mill pond. One of the later owners of the mills at the Mill Pond was forced to install a power grinder, to con-
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vert grain into meal, at a cost of $1100.00 in order to keep this right.
In 1826 Tarbell and Hurlburt bought the mill property. Hurlburt had clothing works farther west (downstream) on the brook while Tarbell had mills (probably saw and grist) by the highway, west side. They re- corded an explicit agreement on rights to the water.
The lower mill dam was where the new road was built in 1961. Some- time about 1858 the lower mill became a gristmill and the upper con- tinued as a sawmill. In 1850 Uriah Newton reported sawing 1,500 logs (200,000 ft. of lumber) all by water power with one up-and-down saw and grinding 12,520 bu. of grain into meal with nine run of stone. (Run of stone is pair of millstones.) The gristmill had fallen into disuse by 1913.
Selkirk, and later Colburn, had a cider mill here, making in 1880 over 1200 barrels.
In October 1879 John Selkirk had a dredging bee, his friends and neighbors turning out with some dozen yoke of oxen. Fifteen to twenty men spent a day dredging the lower part of Blanchard Brook to turn all the water to the Mill Pond.
While John Selkirk owned here, he started the ice business, having an ice house on the south side of the pond (1887) east of the road. In 1890 he moved it to the north side of the pond. In 1892 the Colburns added an ice house just below their mill and another one in 1893. One horse was used to raise the ice into the house. The Colburns were the first to establish regular ice delivery during warm weather. This was continued by Mathers until electric refrigeration made ice no longer profitable. In 1895 the Colburns stored 650 tons of ice.
The Mill Pond was a favorite fishing ground. Within one week in February 1895, seven hundred pickerel were taken from the pond.
In the fall of 1892 the bridge was washed out and a new one of rail- road irons covered with stone was built. In the fall of 1907 the mill flume was washed out and the pond drained dry. This was rebuilt in December.
While Copley Amory owned the Homestead Farm, he built two reser- voirs on the hill above the pond, one on the east side of Hubbard Road, the other on the west side. The work was done by Italian laborers from Boston (1901). When water was low, the lower pond was filled from the upper.
MAD BROOK
Mad Brook drains the hills directly east of the village. One branch rises in the Cranberry Swamp on the north side of the highway easterly
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from the Country Club, the water on the other side of the road flowing into Great Brook. Another branch is east of Reservoir Road, supplying the town water supply there. Farther down, on the Turner Farm (#422), Joseph Thatcher had a tannery 1785-1791. That part of the brook east of School Street flows down through a deep cleft known as Academy Ra- vine, a most picturesque spot, a favorite retreat of Louisa May Alcott during her stay in Walpole. In 1930 this tract was given to the town precinct as a memorial to Henry Whitney Bellows and Frederick New- man Knapp.
On June 20, 1850, a little past noon, two storms converged east of the village bringing rain and hail, accompanied by a strong wind. The hail- stones were said to be as large as partridge eggs. In less than thirty min- utes three large streams of water from the east so swelled Mad Brook that it carried away everything in its path. Three cows belonging to the villagers were taken from the rubbish, one dead and one minus a horn. When the flood reached the railroad culvert, the water rose to the top of the embankment which, together with the heavy masonry of the culvert, gave way. The blocks of stone weighing a ton or more were carried across the river where they were embedded in the sand for many years there- after. People had to go to Keene to find enough glass to repair their windows. Roads were badly washed and some bridges carried away.
In 1787 David Stevens, tanner, bought a piece of land on the east side of North Main Street and built a tannery which remained there until it was burned in 1847 while owned by Harvey Reed. At that time there was a carriage making shop (French) on the second floor. See land records.
On the west side of North Main Street Thomas C. Drew is supposed to have had a brickyard probably early in the 1800's.
About 100 ft. west of North Main Street on the south bank of the brook, there remains a trace of a stone abutment which had to do with the water-power woodturning lathe of Ebenezer Crehore. The brothers Warren and Alvin Colburn were the last owners and operators of this Crehore lathe, which they superseded with modern machinery in 1912 when they built for a complete woodworking shop what is now Mrs. William Lane's barn (#37).
On the old lathe Crehore turned the spindles for the pew ends for the first meeting house on Prospect Hill. Identical banisters for the elegant balustrades of several Walpole houses indicate that Ebenezer made a template which he used in making banisters for himself and other build- ers. Among these houses are the Cutter and Spitzli homes.
While John Crafts was still living, he bargained grist mill and pondage
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rights on the brook downstream from Elm Street to Aaron Hodgskins. He apparently built a gristmill and a house. (See land records.) This was long known as the Mead Mill (#17). In connection with his milling busi- ness Moses Mead is said to have manufactured rakes of superior quality which were in great demand wherever known. His son David continued the business.
In later years Augustus Faulkner had a shop here. There were in recent years two buildings here-the mill, and to the north a blacksmith shop. The mill was burned in 1961, the shop is in a state of disrepair. William J. Hall had a cabinet shop here where he reconditioned antiques. Charles Russell had a wheelwright shop here.
WALPOLE VILLAGE WATER AND SEWER SYSTEM
In the earlier days of Walpole Village the matter of water supply and sewage disposal was the concern of each householder and many "rights" are included in the deeds. There were private wells and springs and some of them at least semi-public in nature. When Westminster Street was laid in 1807 it began "a little north of cistern, being southeast corner of Craft Tavern lot" and in another description "in a range with the north end of the brick store". It was probably this same reservoir that in 1882 was being covered with stone to make room for carriages, providing a water tank (probably a watering trough) at the east side. There seems at that time to have been a shortage of such in the village. It was for a time covered by the bandstand which was removed 1889 when the Walpole Band was disbanded.
In 1873 we find a record of an appropriation of $175, part of which was for repairing and building reservoirs, but no mention of any specif- ically. There was one near Robert Sawyer's house (#74), one above ground near the walk to the front door of the Porter place (#174), one at the corner Westminster and River Streets by the Town Hall, one be- tween the Walpole Inn and the Bank; one at High Street near store on Main Street (with pump); pump and trough on Turnpike and North Main. It was about this time or a year or two earlier during a season of severe drought that the latter well was dug by voluntary subscriptions and labor at the fork of the road by Henry Allen's harness shop.
Many springs were piped from the top of High Street Hill. The over- flow from springs was carried in an underground aqueduct, probably pump logs and/or soapstone pipes, down Union Street. There was a brick water house in front of the Porter place and another at the south end of the Common.
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In December 1876 we find that there was the prospect of a town pump at the well at the junction of Main and Turnpike, and by late January it seems to have become an actuality. A half hogshead served as a tub for the water, but not until Roswell Blanchard, sexton of the cemetery, installed one at his own expense was there a pump early in 1877. The precinct accepted the pump, but never paid for it. The water came to be known as Blanchard's Tonic. This was a favorite rendezvous of the neighbors, gathering to exchange news and views as well as to obtain water.
By 1883 the old pump and tub had worn out in public service and the users clamored for new. The old pump was reconditioned, then replaced by subscription. In September somebody stole the pump-it was hoped they would catch him when he came back after the well. In October Warren Jennison furnished a new half hogshead, hooped by Fred Le- bourveau, to replace the old tub. After another pump was obtained, the stolen one was found one day padlocked to it, with lines in rhyme at- tached. This pump was again replaced in 1898 and with the one on High Street was the last to remain in public use.
By 1893 there was discussion of water and sewer problems. Pipes all too frequently froze in winter, springs and wells failed in summer. There was an obnoxious sewer that came down High Street, then Turnpike. Even the hotel dumped raw sewage into it and the odor was both un- wholesome and unpleasant. Bath tubs and "closets" were being installed in increasing number.
Finally, after the public wells had been pumped dry once or twice in September 1899, forty or fifty townspeople came together to discuss their problems with an engineer. He suggested a reservoir east of the village near Charles Burt's to flood 5 acres, to provide a fall of 300 feet, at an estimated cost of $20,000. Following discussion of this proposal and the sewage problems T. N. Hastings, Dr. A. P. Richardson, J. W. Hayward, and O. J. Butterfield were chosen a committee to confer with the street commissioners and to hold a precinct meeting if advisable. Some were in favor of a syndicate, some opposed.
In the fall of 1902 Copley Amory, in connection with his development of what became the Walpole Inn, laid a sewer from the foot of the hill on High Street, along High Street and Westminster Street, and westerly into the river southerly of the Woodward plant. This became a part of the present sewer system.
February 17, 1903, Copley Amory and six other Walpole men were granted a charter as the Walpole Water and Sewer Company for furnish-
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ing people with a supply of pure water, for extinguishing fires, for manu- facturing and other uses, and provide sewers for the village. The first meeting of the incorporators was held at Keene in June 1904 with Wal- lace L. Mason of Keene, Harry B. Hurd of Walpole and H. E. Cowan of Boston chosen as directors and Judge John E. Allen as clerk. In July the Village Precinct voted unanimously in favor of the project, contracting for 20 hydrants for 10 years at not over $25 per hydrant per year. August 8 construction was begun with 60 Italian workmen starting the digging at the foot of Prospect. The crew of Italians, ranging from 60 to 125 in number, was housed in a 60-foot building put up on the discontinued road north of the former hill meeting house.
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