USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Sullivan > A history of the town of Sullivan, New Hampshire, 1777-1917, Volume I > Part 57
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The drivers of the mail teams have done more or less express business be- tween the offices at Keene and the towns along their routes, and they have usually been obliging in doing such errands as they could execute legitimately within the terms of their contracts with the general government. No regular express office has been established in Sullivan.
13. TELEPHONE.
The Cheshire County Telephone Company was incorporated, Sept. 6, 1881, with a capital of a thousand dollars, increased to two thousand, on Oct. 25, of the same year, and to three thousand, on Jan. 30, 1882. They obtained, Dec. 5,
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1882, permission from the select-men of Sullivan to set poles and string wires from Roxbury line to Nelson line, along the Concord Road. A public pay station was established at the house of Leslie H. Goodnow.
THE NEW ENGLAND TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY, with which the Cheshire County Telephone Company had become absorbed, was granted permission, on Dec. 7, 1891, by the select-men to maintain poles and wires from the Nelson line to the Roxbury line on the Concord Road. It was stipu- lated that the " posts should be of the material of the poles then standing in said location, or other suitable material, and should be not less than 25 feet in length. The wires should not be less than 18 feet from the ground and located substantially as then run". No telegraph has ever been established in the town, but the telephone system, under the last named company, has become very useful. The pay station was changed, in 1892, from the house of Mr. Goodnow to that of T. A. Hastings, who had recently moved to his present house west of the river. Three years later, it was again removed to the house of Mr. L. H. Goodnow, where it remained until June 1906, when it was again moved to the residence of T. A. Hastings. During the year 1905, the present company greatly enlarged. the telephone system in Sullivan, by putting in sev- eral subsidary lines, connecting the houses of many of the residents in all parts of the town. A central office was established at the house of Mr. L. H. Good- now, where the pay station was then located, which served not only the Sullivan patrons, but those in Nelson and portions of Roxbury. This central office was moved, with the pay station, in June 1906, to the house of T. A. Hastings. The company has never put in a line of telegraph, a luxury which Sullivan has not yet enjoyed within the town limits, but the telephone answers practically all purposes of quick communication, because it can be readily connected with the telegraph office at Keene. It has proved a great convenience and is one of the new improvements in rural life which operates against the increasing uneasiness among farmers and will, to some extent, counteract the desire, often quite unreasonable, to live " where there is a crowd ". The president of this company is Gen. Thomas Sherwin of Boston, who married a daughter of the late Hon. Thos. M. Edwards of Keene.
14. HOME COMFORTS.
The dwellings of Sullivan were originally very much alike, as respects the arrangement of the lower floor. In by far the greater part of the dwellings, there was a front door opening into a small entry, with a square room to the right and another to the left of this entry. Extending across the opposite side of the house was a kitchen communicating with both of the square rooms, at one end of which was a bedroom and a pantry, at the other end, an entry lead- ing to a side or end door, and usually another bedroom. An ell generally was connected with the kitchen, which contained storage rooms, back kitchen, and sheds for wood and carriages. In the 2-story houses, sometimes called " up- right" houses, the second floor of the main building usually contained two square chambers over the two front rooms of the lower floor. A stairway usually led from the lower to the upper entry, which was ordinarily a winding stairway of 2, 6, and 2 steps. The opposite side of the second floor was some- times finished as a single long room, convenient for dancing or social gatherings, and sometimes cut up into bedrooms.
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In District No. 1, there were six full 2-story houses, built by Joseph Mason, Jeremiah Mason, Rufus Mason, Nathaniel Mason, John Mason, and Amos Wardwell, Sr. (later enlarged), located respectively at 50, 51, 6, 14, 22 & 25 (on the map) ; also two more, built into side hills, which were 2-story in front and I-story in the rear, built by Joseph Felt and Oliver Wilder, Sr., located respec- tively at 54 and 23; also two more recent houses of a different 2-story pattern, built by J. G. Stevens and L. P. Nims, at 40 and 20. The houses of Joseph, Jeremiah, and John Mason, were, at first, nearly alike. The Joseph Mason house (the main building) was moved to Keene and afterwards burned. The other two have been altered to a certain extent. The remaining houses of this district were all mostly of the story and a half pattern, except one or two of the very oldest, which were quite low-posted. Excepting the Joseph Mason house, all the 2-story houses built in this district are still used.
In District No. 2 (old highway district), were seven 2-story houses, built by Joseph Seward, Elijah Osgood, Rev. Wm. Muzzy, Enoch Woods, Samuel Osgood (formerly in District No. 1), Judson White, and Calvin Locke, located respectively at 99, 102, 87, 80, 108, 63 and 71. In District No. 3, there were two 2-story houses, built by Dea. J. Seward and Capt. S. Seward, located respec- tively at 139 and 135. As we have seen (pages 542-3), Pompey Woodward attempted to build such a house at 130, but did not complete it. Those built by the Seward brothers were alike, at first, in every particular, and were excel- lent patterns of the old colonial style, then so common, as may be seen from an examination of the Capt. Seward house, now owned by Mr. Barker. Mr. Barker has rebuilt the ell and made many notable improvements, but the front of the house and the two front rooms still preserve the original form of architecture entirely. The old parlors in those houses were really beautiful rooms. The fine panelling, the fluted pilasters, with Doric capitals, the pretty cornices, with their rows of cubic drops, and the buffets with glass doors and scalloped shelves, on which was set the best china, all still well preserved in what is now the dining room in Mr. Barker's house, have been the admiration of many observers. All of the " upright " houses ever built in Districts Nos. 2 and 3 are still stand- ing and used, excepting the Elijah Osgood house, long occupied by Samuel Locke, Esq., replaced by the T. F. Thomas house, also the Muzzy house, replaced by the present parsonage, and also the Calvin Locke house. Abijah Hastings built, at 141, a house whose upper part was something more than a half-story, with small windows over the corresponding lower windows in the front and rear of the house, which is still standing. Several of the one-story houses have disappeared. Jonathan Kendall and James Comstock built houses which were alike, respectively at 144 and 112. Nathan Bolster and Ichabod Keith, brothers-in-law, built houses respectively at 128 and 138, which, in their original forms, were of a similar pattern, the one being a reversal of the other. As we have seen, nearly all of the other houses of the town greatly resembled each other in the architectural arrangement of the first floors.
In District No. 4 were four " upright " houses, built by Dea. Zadok Nims, Col. Erastus Hubbard, Samuel Seward, Jr., and Benjamin Kingsbury, respec- tively at 152, 170, 159, and 161. All are still standing and occupied, except the Zadok Nims house, which was replaced by the fine cottage built by D. W. Nims
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at 153. There was never an " upright " house in District No. 5, although the house built by Charles H. Cummings, at 180, had a basement on the east which caused that part of the house to have a 2-story appearance. The house had good chambers however. In District No. 6 there were five " upright " houses, built by Thomas Spaulding, Amasa Brown, Ira Ellis, Dr. Timothy L. Lane, and William Brown, respectively at 255, 258, 251, 232, and 235. The A. Brown house was purchased by Abijah Hastings and removed to 141, where it was rebuilt and remodelled, as we noted in the preceding paragraph. The others are all standing yet, but the Wm. Brown house, now owned by Miss Peabody, could not be inhabited without much repairing. The Ira Ellis, later the Leland, house would need much repairing to be comfortable.
Great improvements have been made in the lighting of houses. The old tallow candles (or " dips ") and the whale-oil lamps (many of which were really very beautiful in design) have practically disappeared. It is said that, in the earliest days of the settlement, even candles and oil were luxuries, and that the blaze of a pine knot in the old-fashioned fireplace was often the only illumina- tion. Wax candles are still a luxury, and, when arranged in handsome cande- labra, with tasteful shades, make the softest and most agreeable light, as well as the best for the eyes, of any that can be used. Refined kerosene oil is now used for lighting the houses of the town. It came into use during the fifties and eventually supplanted the whale-oil lamps and tallow candles. Sullivan can never expect to be lighted by gas, but it is by no means impossible, or improb- able, that electricity, the brightest and cleanest of all lights, may yet find its way into the town.
The ancient method of heating houses by fireplaces was really the healthiest and, upon the whole, the most delightful and elegant of any method. Today, it would be a very expensive method and would involve much labor. It insured good ventilation. Stoves of the greatest possible variety succeeded the fire- places, often overheating certain rooms, even to the point of unhealthfulness, without heating an entire house, unless several fires were maintained. Hot-air furnaces have finally reached town, although as yet in limited numbers. The first house heated in this manner was that of Theodore Richardson, at 148, but it did not prove a permanent success. The next furnace, and the first which was really permanently successful, was that of Asahel N. Holt, which was first lighted, Dec. 10, 1900. The next furnace in town, and the last so far as we know, was that of Lyman Davis, which was first lighted, Dec. 7, 1901. These furnaces take wood for fuel. Such furnaces, or steam heating, can as well be used in Sullivan as anywhere, if one wishes. As time goes on, these more com- fortable modes of heating will be largely employed.
The houses of the town are supplied with excellent spring or well water. Some are supplied from springs which have a head sufficiently high to carry water over the houses. The only house, in our knowledge, in this town, which has arranged a water system with reference to toilet conveniences and bathing purposes is the house of Mr. Barker, already mentioned, which has enjoyed that luxury for a short time.
Anciently, people did not fasten their doors, and neighbors often entered without knocking. Brass and iron knockers, so common in other towns, were
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rarely used in Sullivan. There was formerly a knocker upon the front door of the Nathaniel Mason house, and one upon that of Dea. Frost's house. We recall no other. The first door-bell in town, in the fifties, served the front door of the Kemp house, where Mr. Jewett lives. Others followed in due time. The first electric door-bell in town was attached also to the side door (on the south) of Mr. Jewett's house and was arranged by his ingenious son Edward.
CHAPTER XIII. INDUSTRIES.
[The numbers in this chapter refer to the map numbers. ]
By far the most important industry in Sullivan has been farming, if we consider the number engaged. In District No. I there have been in all eighteen farms which can properly be so-called, with houses now standing (or last standing) respectively at 2, 3, 6, 56, 54, 53 (a small farm, the original occupant operating a mill), 50, 51, 48, 14 (the original Nathaniel Mason farm, which included all of the present East Sullivan village), 26, 27 (absorbed later with 22), 28 (absorbed by other farms, the field containing the house site with 44), 22, 23, 24, 25, and 44. The other house sites marked upon the map were or are occupied by per- sons principally engaged in some other industry, although in all cases owning a little land. Aside from the two farms just noted (at 27 and 28), one of which was absorbed and the other virtually replaced by another, many years ago, all the farms of this district are operated and occupied today, excepting the Warren farm at 56, the Ashley Mason farm at 50, and the Heaton (or Buckminster) farm at 24. Of these three the first is totally abandoned ; the other two could be used again, but it is doubtful if they ever will be again inhabited. The farms of this district, as a whole, have been well preserved and this part of the town is well sustained.
In the original District No. 2 there have been in all fifteen farms, whose houses stand (or were last standing) at 99, 102, 104, 89, 80, 108 (formerly in No. 1), 107, 70, 73, 72, 71, 65, 63 (including 62), 64, and 59. The old Samuel Locke farm at 102 is in good shape, with good buildings, but just now without a tenant. The Wilson farm is in good condition, with good buildings, but not just now occupied. The Martin Rugg, or Comstock, farm is in good shape still, waiting for a tenant. The old Thomas Morse farm at 65 was many years ago included in the White farm. All the other farms are operated excepting five, the old Simeon Ellis farm at 89, the old Rowe or Winch farm (now the town farm) at 70, the F. B. Nims farm at 73, the Seth Nims farm at 72, and the Locke farm at 71. The other house sites in this district were occupied by per-
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sons who had a small amount of land and engaged in some other business mostly.
In District No. 3 there have been seventeen farms of greater or less value, whose houses stand (or last stood) at 114, 115, 112, III (as now divided, for- merly a part of the preceding farm), 121, 122, 123, 124, 128, 129, 135 (including 136 which hardly had more than a beginning), 138, 139, 141, 144, 145, and 147 (of which the original house was located at 146). The Dunn farm at 122 has a · tenant as we go to press. The old farms at 123 and 124 were much away from the main road and abandoned many years ago. The Pompey Woodward farm at 129 was inhabited for a long time by negroes, whose humble cottage was burned more than sixty years ago and never replaced. The settlement at 131, made by Barachias Holt, was abandoned before it was hardly begun. All the farms of that district which have been operated within 65 years are still in- habited except the William Hastings farm at 147, the Solomon Estey farm at 144, and the Dexter Spaulding farm at 121. Several of these farms have had two or more dwellings upon them, occupied by owners at successive intervals of time. Two or three other houses have been occupied by persons who owned a little land, but not much engaged in farming. Such were the occupants of 117 and 119. Mr. Barnes, who lived at 119, had a small farm which had been for the most part previously in the farm which went with 121. The Harrison Rugg farm at 145 still has a good house upon it which is occupied some portion of each year. Thus only three farms, which could properly be called such, have, as yet, been deserted in this district.
In District No. 4 there have been 17 farms, whose houses stand, or stood, at 148, 149 (which farm originally included the farm at 148 and is, in large part, united with it today), 151 (the house at 150 not having enough land with it to be called a farm), 153, 154, 155, 156, 159, 160, 161, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 170, and 171 (the house at 172 being on the same farm). The old Kemp farm at 15I, the old John Estey farm at 156, the Calvin Nims farm at 154 (never much of a farm anyway, and originally a part of the old Dea. Nims farm), the David Nims farm at 160, the Capt. Nims farm at 149, the D. W. Wilson farm at 164, the Stevens (or B. Kemp, Jr.,) farm at 165, the Houghton farm at 166, the J. W. Osgood farm at 167, and the Roswell Hubbard farm at 171, ten in all, are abandoned and the buildings have disappeared from them. Only seven farms in this district are now operated out of the original seventeen, a pitiable and pathetic fact.
In District No. 5 there have been twenty-one farms which could properly be called such, whose houses stand, or last stood, at 173, 175, 176, 178, 180 (originally a part of farm 178, but, at times, separated from it), 182, 183, 185, 189 (the buildings of which farm were early moved over the line into Gilsum), 210 (former houses of which farm were at 186 and 207), 206, 203, 215 (the houses at 211 and 212 having been upon the same farm), 214, 221, 202, (includ- ing the house spots at 200 and 201), 196, 193, 190, 191, and 19312. The little cottages of Silas Davis, at 187, and of H. H. Howard, at 188, never had enough land with them to be called farms. The occupants of the cabins at 222, 224, and 225 never owned any land or cultivated any beyond gardens. The Isaac Rawson farm at 173, the Boynton farm at 176, the Cummings farms at 178 and
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180, the Silas Morse farm at 182, the Farrar farm at 183, the Maynard farm at 185, the Corey farm at 189, the Eaton farm at 215, the Henry H. Howard farm at 214, the James Davis farm at 221, the D. H. Corey farm at 190, the Nurse farm at 191, and the old Farnsworth farm, where Rev. Mr. Cummings first lived, at 19372, 14 in all, are no longer operated, and the buildings have disappeared from all of them, except upon the Corey farm, upon which there is still a good set of buildings, just across the line in Gilsum. Only seven out of 21 farms operated in this district ! This is a melancholy fact, although it must be con- fessed that some of these farms were small and others not particularly valuable.
In District No. 6 there have been operated 18 farms of greater or lesser size and value, whose houses stand, or last stood, at 258, 257, 255, 253, 252, 251, 248, 247, 246, 245, 244, 242, 228, 229, 232, 237, 235, and 236. The old Brown farm at 258 (formerly 259) the D. B. Brooks farm at 257, the Proctor farm at 252, the Sawyer farm at 248, the Roswell Osgood farm at 247, the Breed Osgood farm at 246, the Jesse Wheeler farm at 245, the Dr. Cannon farm at 244, the Michael Saunders farm at 242, and the Wm. Brown or Peabody place, with a small farm, at 235, 10 in all, are actually deserted and have no habitable build- ings upon them. The Leland farm, at 251, has lost its barn, and the house would need considerable repairing to make it fit for occupancy. This leaves only seven out of 18 farms still occupied in this district! Some of these are good farms, however, which are well sustained.
There have been 106 farms in the whole town, if we include a few, like the Nurse, D. H. Corey, H. H. Howard, and other places, which really supported families in some shape, but were not farms of much size or value. Four or five of these, which were only small lots, were absorbed by other farms and are still cultivated; 47 of the old farms are permanently abandoned, about 44 per cent of the original number. This fact looks a little worse on paper than it really is. Many of these farms would not have been operated if the town had begun its settlement in the present day and the farmers had made use of present methods. Not many of the really good farms have been deserted. Nearly all of the best farms of the town are still well cultivated. In most cases, the abandoned farms are the smallest and poorest farms. Two or three, like the Warren and Amasa Brown farms, really excellent farms in their day, were too far from the main lines of travel for comfort and convenience.
The crops usually raised upon the Sullivan farms consist of maize, potatoes, oats, beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips, onions, cabbages, pumpkins squashes, peas, beans, water-melons, muskmelons, cantaloupes, citrons, peppers, radishes, artichokes, ruta-bagas, cucumbers, horseradishes, and other garden vegetables. The most of these crops are raised only in limited quantities and for home use. Maize, or Indian-corn, potatoes, and oats are raised for the market. Barley, rye, and wheat were once very common crops. Many farmers raised enough wheat to supply their families with flour, also enough rye for home use, and considerable barley was used. Those grains are now little cultivated in town. Nearly every farm furnishes an abundance of the aromatic caraway, yellow mustard, and dandelions. Rhubarb is also found in nearly every garden. The native grasses were early superseded upon the farms by imported grasses, of which the timothy or herds-grass, the Hungarian grass, and the red clover
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(which is not a grass, but another species of plant, raised for fodder) are the chief species. These are usually called the English grasses, because the first foreign grasses were brought from England. The native grasses are more fre- quently called meadow grasses. The word meadow, by New England farmers, is often restricted to low, swampy tracts of land near ponds or along streams. In other countries the word applies to any fields on which the grass is custom- arily mown, which we call mowings.
Formerly Sullivan farmers prided themselves on their fine herds of cattle. Every good farmer had, at least, one good pair of oxen to do the heavy farm work. They were peculiarly well adapted to draw heavy loads, especially of hay, over rocky fields, a service for which the rapid motions of a horse were less fitted. The oxen were also adapted to draw a plough for breaking and turning sward, and also for lumbering in the forests where the rough roads, rocks, and steep hills render a nervous horse a somewhat unsafe animal to use for such a purpose. However, the days of " buck and bright " seem to be pass- ing. The fact is that there is not as much heavy farm work done as formerly. The farmers do not get off their own lumber, but sell it on the stump to syndicates of professional lumbermen, who do the work in their own way. For the light farm work now accomplished horses are supplanting oxen rapidly. Hon. D. W. Rugg always has a very fine pair, sometimes more than one pair, of oxen. Only a few of the other farmers in town now keep such teams. In olden times, every farmer had a certain number of cows. Nearly every farmer's wife made buttet to sell, and also cheese. Cheese is now mostly supplied to the world from regular cheese factories, but there are perhaps more farms in Sullivan where the dairy business is managed on an extensive scale than in former days.
The raising of beef cattle for food products was once an extensive industry in New England. Every farmer corned a supply of beef for his own family and sold cattle for food, either slaughtered, or more frequently on the hoof, to drovers who took them to Brighton. The great supply of dressed beef from the West, and the use of refrigerator cars, whereby the meat can be safely carried any distance, even in warm weather, have nearly driven this once flourishing industry out of New Hampshire. There are indications that it will, of neces- sity, be revived again, at least to some extent. In the days of this industry, every farmer's barn had a supply of " young cattle ", as they were called, to be fattened for the market at a suitable age, if not retained on the farm for dairy purposes.
Formerly every farmer kept a supply of sheep. The sale of wool was a valuable asset to the farmer. Every neighborhood had its place for washing sheep. The farmers assisted each other at these sheep washings and often made them merry occasions. The snow-white fleeces commanded a good price in the market. The lowering of the tariff on foreign wool, and the modern inventions whereby wool (even of the dirtiest fleeces) is so quickly cleansed at the mills that no extra price is paid for washed fleeces, have so reduced the price of that commodity that wool-raising also ceased to be an extensive indus- try in our state. Formerly fat sheep were sold in large quantities for mutton, and, every year, many farmers had a fine flock of spring lambs ready for the market. Here again the western slaughter houses have trespassed upon another .
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industry, and have been furnishing mutton at such prices as to drive the raising of sheep and lambs for the market out of consideration. There are now indica- tions that the wool and mutton industry may yet return to New Hampshire to some extent.
Every farmer did, and does, raise his own swine for food, and salts every year enough for his use and usually some to sell. The sale of live pigs is how- ever more common than the sale of pork. In former times many good horses were bred in Sullivan. Many farmers have raised and sold valuable colts. At present, the farm work is principally done with horses. Every farmer raises poultry and supplies his own table with chickens and eggs, besides furnishing many fowls and eggs for the market. Turkeys are raised in considerable num- bers, also a few geese and ducks.
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