USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Sullivan > A history of the town of Sullivan, New Hampshire, 1777-1917, Volume I > Part 25
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LXXXI. Mar. 9, 1852, the town accepted the road laid by
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the select-men, Dec. 20, 1851, called the " Ellis Road," from the A. C. Ellis house (where Mr. Ward now lives) to connect with the preceding road. The vote of the town implied, although not explicitly so stated, that this road should replace the former road from Mr. Comstock's, where G. W. Holt lives, to the " Warren Road." It was so understood, and the Comstock road was closed to public travel, on the completion of this, which is now used.
LXXXII. July 1, 1852, the town voted to build that link of the present " Gilsum Road," extending from the new meeting- house to where John Locke lived, near Mr. Marston's. The select-men laid this road, Apr. 16, 1849, and the town, at first, accepted it, on the fifth of September following ; but, on Oct. 8, - 1850, a vote was passed not to build it and, on Mar. 11, 1851, the town discontinued it. A petition to build it was presented to the March term of the Court of Common Pleas, in 1851, and the September term of that Court referred the matter to the county road commissioners, who laid the road, Dec. 5, 1851, and made their report to the March term of the Court, in 1852, which ordered the road built. Then the town voted to build it, on July 1, 1852. It has been and is a useful and important road. LXXXIII. Not far from the time that the preceding road was built, Henry Howard constructed a private road to a house which he had built, in the north-west part of the town. It has been thought that he followed in part a private road which led to a former blacksmith-shop, in early days, of Asa Nash, How- ard's road continuing quite a distance beyond, south-westerly and westerly.
LXXXIV. June 13, 1854, the county road commissioners laid out a road from the mill of Jacob Spaulding (near the house where Malachi Barnes lived) to a road near the house of Edward Reed (where the latter's son George E. lives) in the west part of Stoddard. A petition had been presented to the September term of the Court of Common Pleas, in 1853. At the March term of the same court, in 1854, the matter was referred to the county road commissioners. They examined the route and, at the house of Jacob Spaulding, on the date given at the head of this article, laid the road. They reported to the September term of the court, which accepted the road, but Sullivan, through its counsel, Levi Chamberlain, a distinguished lawyer of Keene,
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appealed to the higher court, at its July sitting at Concord, in 1855. This court overruled the exceptions and accepted the report of the road commissioners, and the lower court, at its September term, at Keene, in the same year, ordered the road to be built. But the towns of Sullivan and Stoddard fought it strenuously and bitterly, and with consummate obstinacy. The town, at the annual March meeting, Mar. II, 1856, voted to dis- continue it and presented a remonstrance to the March term of the court for that year. The matter was continued to the Sep- tember term, when, all formalities having been complied with, and the case having been duly argued, the court referred the ยท matter anew to the county commissioners for that year. As John Symonds of Marlow, one of the commissioners, was sup- posed to be interested in the road, Joseph Hammond of Swanzey was appointed by the court to take his place. The two other commissioners were Nelson Converse of Marlborough and Arvin Aldrich of Westmoreland. These commissioners met at the house of Jacob Spaulding, Nov. 25, 1856. They discontinued the road, for two alleged reasons: I. The road from Gilsum to Keene had been widened and improved. This reason was really worthless. That improvement did not remove Bingham Hill, which was the great objection urged by Marlow and north- western Stoddard to the Gilsum route ; while this proposed route would have given a road from Marlow to Keene, via South Keene, with a down grade all of the way, and the return route, Keene to Marlow, the same way, would have had no grade of over four degrees. 2. Their second alleged reason was that the road commissioners had just previously laid a road from a point 74 rods below Jacob Spaulding's, via the Ellis mill, to the Moore mill in Stoddard. This reason was utterly irrelevant. It had nothing to do with the case in any way. The two roads were designed to accommodate totally different neighborhoods. These were really only "make-believe " reasons. The real animus of the affair is stated, on what we believe to be good authority, to have lain in the fact that a prominent member of the board of county commissioners, who had an imperious will, which easily swayed the minds of the other two, bore a mortal grudge against a certain Marlow gentleman who had served in a previous board and had done something which greatly offended him. He knew
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that this Marlow man wanted the new road very much, so he took this Indian-like revenge upon one whom he fancied had injured him. No road was ever more needed. It ought cer- tainly to have been built. It would have saved two or three towns and as many neighborhoods. As a result, temporary roads have had to be substituted in transporting the vast amount of wood and lumber which were produced along the route. This action of that board of county commissioners was about as great a calamity as ever happened to Sullivan ; and it is supposed to have been simply a work of spite.
LXXXV. July 1, 1854, the select-men laid the Holt road, which the town accepted, Mar. 13, 1855, virtually, though not in so many words, by making an appropriation for roads which would cover its construction. Still used.
LXXXVI. Aug. 28, 1856, the first board of commission- ers which properly bore the title of "county commissioners", at the house of Dauphin Spaulding, 2d, where Mrs. Wood lives, laid a road from a point on the "Valley Road," 74 rods below the house of Jacob Spaulding (the M. Barnes place), to the Moore mill in Stoddard, near where Samuel C. Greene lived at that time, using 158 rods of the Ellis Mill Road (No. LXXX.) as a part of the proposed route. This affair began, two years before, with a petition of Cummings Moore and 31 others for a road from George Kingsbury's in Sullivan to a point in the high- way, near the house of Eliphalet Fox, south of Stoddard village. This petition was filed with the September term of the Court of Common Pleas, in 1854. At the following March term, as the commissioners had not been convened in the case, a motion was made to the court to deny the petition. The court refused the motion and referred the matter to the road commissioners for 1855, who were Nelson Converse, Arvin Aldrich, and John Symonds. They met at the house of Dauphin Spaulding, 2d, Aug. 17, 1855, and refused to lay the road. At the September term of the newly created " Supreme Judicial Court," for 1855, a new petition was presented, signed by Henry P. Wheeler and fifteen others, asking for a road from George Kingsbury's to Moore's mill. At the April term, 1856, the matter was referred to the newly elected "county commissioners", who were the same three as those previously mentioned as being the persons
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called " road commissioners " in 1855. These men met, as has been stated, on the date named at the head of this paragraph, and laid the road which the petitioners desired. This road was also fought with great vehemence. Men who would have been very greatly benefitted by it worked with all their might against it. The town of Sullivan, on Dec. 1, 1858, discontinued their portion of it. Stoddard did likewise. An appeal was made to the Supreme Judicial Court to sustain the discontinuance, at the March term, 1859. This court referred the matter to the county commissioners for 1859, who were John A. Prescott of Jaffrey, Lawson Robertson of Alstead, and Willard Adams of Swanzey. They met at the house of D. Spaulding, 2d, Oct. 6, 1859. The petitioners employed F. A. Faulkner, Esq., of Keene, for their counsel, and the remonstrants employed Frederick Vose, Esq., of Walpole, to defend their interests. Unfortunately for the interests of Sullivan, the decision was adverse tothe petitioners, and the former lay-out was discontinued and the road was killed. The alleged reasons for this action were that the new steam mill, just above the Great Meadow (now Great Meadow Reser- voir), had proved a failure, and that other circumstances had so changed since the lay-out as to alter the case very much. The reasons were insufficient, however. The building of the road would have developed new enterprises along good water privi- leges and would probably have saved the western side of Stoddard from becoming so awfully deserted. The road should have been built. If it had been constructed, probably the Rugg and Estey farms would have been cultivated to-day, and the history of the town would have been quite different from what it has been. Needed internal improvements should never be denied simply to dodge taxes, unless they are on a scale obviously extravagant. There was a later attempt (see No. XCI.) to build a road over a part of the same route.
LXXXVII. Oct. 16, 1856, the select-men laid the road from the "Valley Road " to D. Spaulding, 2d's, mill. There is no record of the town's formal acceptance, but the road appro- priations at the next annual town meeting covered the expense of it, and it was built. It has never been discontinued, although the mill has been burned.
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LXXXVIII. May 2, 1857, the selectmen laid a road, ac- cepted by the town, May 16, 1857, which was a slight alteration of the road leading from the "South Part Road," easterly, to the old Franklin Buckminster place. The alteration was west of the house where the Hubbards live. That road is still in use.
LXXXIX. June 24, 1863, the town finally ordered the building of the road from Jacob Spaulding's (the Barnes place) to a point in the old highway just below the Justus Dunn house, to replace a very hilly portion of the old Stoddard road. This new road had a stormy beginning. The select-men laid it, Mar. II, 1861, and the town accepted it the next day, at the annual town meeting ; but opposition to it immediately began and it was discontinued at a special meeting, June 27, 1861. On the 23d of the following August, a petition of David Seward and others, asking for this road, was filed with the clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court. This court, at the October term, in that year, ordered the county commissioners to take the matter in hand. They met at Jacob Spaulding's, Nov. 20, 1861, and laid the road. They reported to the April term of court, 1862, which accepted the report and ordered the construction of the road. The town was given until Sept. 10, 1862, to complete it. It was delayed, nevertheless. At the March meeting of 1863, it was voted that the selectmen have charge of the matters per- taining to that proposed highway. Finally, on the date named at the head of this paragraph, the town ordered the construction of the road, to be completed before the next sitting of the court. This piece of road is now much used. It was a greatly needed improvement. It nearly spoiled the little farm (if it could be called such) of Jacob Spaulding, leading directly through a fine orchard, which it ruined. Subsequent owners of the place, how- ever, purchased other land which, in a measure, made up for it. It cut off the house of Dexter Spaulding who, however, soon moved to the place where Mr. Currier lives. The west side of the town made a strenuous opposition to this road. It was for- gotten that helping one part of a body-politic helps the whole. To preserve the value of a whole town, each part must be helped when necessary.
XC. June 14, 1871, the select-men laid the " New Ellis
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Road ", from the Stony Brook bridge so-called, south-westerly, to the Valley Road. There is no record of the town's formal acceptance, but it was built and is now much used.
XCI. Ira Bartlett and 29 others applied to the April term of the Supreme Judicial Court, in 1871, for a road from George Kingsbury's to the Wood mill, formerly the Moore mill, in Stod- dard. The court ordered the county commissioners to act upon the petition. The latter met at the house of George Kingsbury on Sept. 13, 1871 and adjourned until the following day, at the hall in the old brick church building at Munsonville. They declined to lay out the road. Conditions had changed consider- ably since the former attempt was made, but it is to be regretted that a failure to build the road in the first instance had ever brought about such conditions. Those who lived on the old road from Sullivan to Stoddard, at the time the first attempt was made to build a road through this valley, were afraid it would take travel from their road. Can those of them who survive not perceive that the failure to construct the new road may have been a forceful reason for the melancholy decline of the western side of Stoddard, which eventually took nearly all travel from the old road ?
XCII. Aug. 15, 1874, the select-men laid the " Beauregard Road", from the Concord Road to the old " Joseph Mason Road", to save building a new bridge in place of an old one. There is no record of any formal acceptance by the town of this road, but it was built and is still used.
XCIII. Aug. 7, 1875, the selectmen ordered the widening of the road just west and southwest of the bridge at East Sulli- van, which was done, insuring the present wide road in that place.
XCIV. Mar. 31, 1888, the town finally accepted a road laid by the select-men on May 14, 1886, from near the North Part schoolhouse to the West Road, near the old Martin Spaulding house. As early as May 31, 1877, there was a hearing by the select-men on a proposition to lay a road from the aforesaid schoolhouse in a westerly direction, but nothing came of it. There was some opposition to this road, but it was built without much difficulty and has proved quite useful. It gives to persons of the North Part an easy grade to Keene, and is a saving in distance.
XCV. Aug. 23, 1892, the select-men laid the road from
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No. 3 schoolhouse to a point near the old Pompey Woodward place, to replace a hilly section of the former road. It is a road much appreciated.
XCVI. June 6, 1898, the select-men had a hearing on a petition of certain citizens with reference to a road from the Ellis mill (now owned by Will. H. Harris) to the site of the D. Spaulding, 2d, mill, also owned by the aforesaid Harris. The petition was denied.
XCVII. In the spring of 1901, F. W. Ruggles, who lives on the old Gcodnow farm in Roxbury, built a private road, at his own expense, northerly from his house, through his own land and that of Henry Davis, to the latter's house, near East Sullivan. About 75 rods of this road, immediately south of the house of Mr. Davis, are in the path of an ancient private road, built by Samuel Mason, near the close of the eighteenth century, leading from the main road (No. XXII.) to his house upon the hill to the south of Mr. Davis's house. It was the first house upon the farm, and was a few rods to the east of the private road.
XCVIII. Late in the eighteenth century, or early in the nineteenth, a private road was constructed from the old road (No. IX.), beginning between the present houses of Wm. H. Bates and Charles A. Bates, then leading northerly to a house which once stood upon the old Thompson farm, on the Sullivan side of the line. This private road was afterwards continued to the house where Levi Barrett lived.
XCIX. There was a bridle path from the old Eaton place in the North Part to the old place where James Davis once lived, north-west of the Eaton place, which was enlarged into a cart road from the latter place down the hill into what is now Gilsum village.
C. Westerly from the house of James Davis, more than a hundred years ago, was the cabin of Abraham Nash and, near it, that of "Dilly" Dolph. A bridle path, over which, perhaps, carts could be taken, led from these places down the hill into what is now Gilsum village, uniting, in the last part of the way, with the path from James Davis's.
There have thus been an even hundred roads, proposed or built, including a few bridle paths, down to the present time, in Sullivan. The last four were never laid by the select-men nor accepted by the town.
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II. BRIDGES.
The first bridge in Sullivan was over the Ferry Brook, on road No. I., built in 1768, where that road ( same here as No. V.) crosses that brook between the old Sawyer and Osgood places. The next bridge was the small one over the same brook, on the old Gulf Road No. III., built about 1771, between the old Heaton (afterwards Proctor) place and the place where Martin Spaulding afterwards lived. There is still a bridge there, just east of the spot where that old road crosses the present West Road, near the site of the old M. Spaulding steam mill. The next bridge was the small one across the Hemenway Brook, on the old Bingham Road, No. IX., probably built about 1784. That road is still used in this place. It is possible that, at this point, the travelled track is moved just a trifle to the north of the first location. The same road crosses a small brook flowing into the Hemenway Brook over a little sluice. The next bridge, not taking account of sluices, was the important bridge over the Spaulding Brook, on the Stoddard Road, No. XIII. The road was laid, June 3, 1788. On the eighth of the following Septem- ber, the town voted not to build a bridge at this place. It was evidently not long before they did, however. At first there was a ford here. The next bridge in town was the Warren Bridge, on the old Warren Road, near the Ellis mill. It was first built in 1792. It was closed to public travel, Oct. 8, 1850; but is still used privately, one taking his own risk in doing so. It crossed the Otter River and was by far the most important bridge in town at the time of its construction. It was on road No. XVII.
The largest and most important of all the bridges of the town was built in 1794, on the extension of the Packer's Quarter Road, No. XXII., near the spot where Mason's mill was built, where now stands the mill of Thomas A. Hastings. It was called the Mason Bridge. On Aug. 23, 1892, it was voted, at a special town meeting, that the select-men be authorized to pro- cure an iron bridge to replace the wooden structure at this point. It was voted to make the bridge 18 feet in width and to use steel stringers. The bridge was constructed by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company of Berlin, Conn. It cost $875.00, exclusive of the incidental expenses involved in the, placing of it. It was the first, and is the only, iron bridge in the town.
The " Widow Nash " Road, in 1795, No. XXVIII., involved
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the building of a bridge over Hemenway Brook. The road was discontinued, Mar. 14, 1837. The building of the North Part Road, No. XLIV., involved the making of a small bridge over the Hemenway Brook, between schoolhouse No. 5 and where H. C. Rawson now lives. The next bridge in town was the third over the Otter River, built in 1816, on road No. LVIII., the old Mason Road, discontinued, Mar. 10, 1835. On the same road was another bridge, across Nelson Brook, at the foot of the Joseph Mason hill, which was disused after building the new road to Beauregard's, No. XCII., in 1874. In 1818, the road ( No. LIX.) was built from the J. Heaton (later F. Buckminster ) place to the South Part Road, crossing the Hubbard Brook over a small bridge. The building of the Concord Road, No. LXXI., in 1834, necessitated two more bridges. These were over the Nelson Brook, one near the old Mason Road, the other, called the Line Bridge, happened to be at the point where the road crosses the town line between Sullivan and Nelson.
In 1845, the road (No. LXXVII.) was built from the mill of Dauphin Spaulding, in the south-west part of the town, to the old Nims Hill road, near the Nahum Wright place. A small bridge over Ferry Brook was made for this road. In 1850, the road, No. LXXIX, was completed from Jacob Spaulding's mill to East Sullivan. On this road is a bridge of considerable size spanning the Spaulding Brook. Just below it is another bridge, spanning the same brook, built in 1856, on road No. LXXXVII., leading from the latter road to the mill, recently burned, built by Dauphin Spaulding, 2d.
These are the only bridges of any considerable size in the town. They are mostly of the old string bridge pattern, strong logs being laid across the stream, from one abutment to the other, upon which the planks are securely laid, which latter are more firmly held in place by two other large logs, laid upon the ends of the planks, upon the two sides of the bridge. A few of the smaller bridges are of stone. The fine iron bridge at East Sullivan has already been noticed. No account can here be taken of the many little bridges across the smallest brooks and little water-courses.
III. HIGHWAY SURVEYORS.
For many years, the care of the roads was entrusted to local agents elected at the annual town meetings, for each district, known as highway surveyors.
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HISTORY OF SULLIVAN.
The districts were often subdivided into subsections, each having its highway surveyor. Previous to 1810, the districts were not officially numbered, and those assigned to them in the following lists were men residing in the parts of the town afterwards located in such districts. For highway purposes, there have been six districts, corresponding with the school districts, except for the fact that, for many years, the second and sixth districts have been united for school purposes as No. 2. The highway taxes were, until recently, " worked out " upon the roads, by the citizens. They assembled for the purpose at times appointed, and the " working out " of their taxes, by groups of men assembled in the various localities, was usually made a pleasant and merry affair. In olden times, as these highway workers would reach one house after another, a liberal treat of good cider would be proffered by each house owner to his neighbors. There was a great difference in the value of the labor which was thus performed. Some men were of great service, others were comparatively worthless. Some young men rather frolic than work; some of the older men were really too feeble to earn what they nominally were credited for their labor. The work was estimated by the hour. Ox-teams (or horse-teams), plows, and all other implements, were credited, at certain rates, to their owners, if the owners insisted upon such exact accounting. Boys were valued according to their ages and capacity. A general sense of fairness caused all to be treated in accordance with the same rules, but the inequality in the value of the services rendered led eventually, in 1891, to the paying of the road tax in money, to be expended as the select-men should deem fit. From this time until 1899, special road agents were chosen to hire men and use the road tax to the best advantage. In the latter year, the so-called Pillsbury highway law was accepted by the town. This system has since continued in force. It involves the division of the town into highway districts (six in this town) and the appointment of special agents in each, who are to superintend the repairing of the roads and the expenditure for the same in their sections, the town being required to appropriate an amount of money according to definite rules determining the amount, although they can raise more if they wish. At the annual meeting of 1875, the select-men were author- ized to purchase a road scraper. At the annual meeting of 1882, it was voted to buy a road scraper of D. W. Rugg, also one of Mr. Thatcher. At the annual meeting of 1886, the town voted not to purchase another road scraper. At the annual meeting of 1899, it was voted to buy a road machine and $250.00 were appropriated for the purchase of it. The roads of this town have always been kept in good condition. They have always compared most favorably with the roads of any other town. The following is the list of highway surveyors :
1787. None appointed.
1788. Erastus Hubbard, for 1, 2, and 4; Nathan Bolster for 3; Ebenezer Burditt for 5; and Jesse Wheeler for 6.
1789. Eliakim Nims for 1, 2, and 4; Ezra Osgood for 3, then living in what was No. 2, later ; Ben. Chapman, for 5 ; John Dimick, for 6.
1790. Ben. Kemp, for 1, 2, and 4; Grindall Keith, 3; John Chapman, Jr., 5 ; Joshua Osgood, 6.
1791. Erastus Hubbard, 1, 2, and 4; Josiah Seward, 3; Joseph Woods, 5 ; Timothy Dimick, 6.
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1792. Zadok Nims, 1, 2, and 4; Elijah Carter, 3; Hinds Reed (lived in what is now 2, but owned land in what is now 5) ; Abel Allen, 6.
1793. Roswell Hubbard, 1, 2, and 4; Ezra Osgood (then in 3, now in 2) ; John Chapman, 5 ; Thorley Belding, 6.
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