USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Exeter > Exeter: tercentenary commemoration, 1638-1938 > Part 2
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With Wheelwright came a little group of men who shared his theo- logical views, men of character and education. They early agreed upon a form of government, the "Combination," the first of its kind in the terri- tory which was later to be known as New Hampshire. Exeter thus be- came an independent commonwealth on the outskirts of the English world. From the beginning the colony faced hard times. The country was a wilderness, food difficult to obtain, the only power able to give pro- tection suspicious and unfriendly. As the settlers pondered their help- lessness, sentiment grew in favor of reunion with Massachusetts. When it became evident that the plantation which he had made would soon revert to Massachusetts and that he would again be forced into exile, Wheelwright took title from Ferdinando Gorges to land on the Maine coast in the neighborhood of what is now Wells, and departed. He never returned to Exeter.
With Wheelwright, in 1643, went the best of his associates. The town was left poverty-stricken as to both necessities of life and human material. There was no money; valuations were reckoned in pipestaves and furs which could be traded at the ports. Corn, meat and fish were the staple foods. Pigs roamed the rough tracks which served as streets, but were sent down the river during the summer to shift for themselves on an island in Great Bay. The river was the salvation of the settlers. It abounded in fish, and for two centuries served as the regular avenue of trade. The approaches by land were Indian trails. The first mentioned is the "Salisbury Path."
In 1647 came the first promise of better things when Edward Gilman,
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with his father and brother, John, contracted with the town to set up a sawmill at the falls. Other mills were soon built wherever a fall of water permitted, and lumbering became the chief town industry. In 1650 the town engaged Samuel Dudley, son of Governor Thomas Dudley of Massa- chusetts, to be town minister. A man of energy and shrewd business sense, he contributed greatly to the progress of the settlement. Condi- tions gradually improved and new settlers came in. Shipbuilding began at the waterside, and some of the inhabitants made profits by seafaring. When the four towns, Portsmouth, Dover, Hampton, and Exeter, were set off in 1680 from Massachusetts, Exeter held important place in the group. The people were sturdy and independent. In 1684 they drove out of town Governor Cranfield's minions who had come to collect taxes which the inhabitants of the town considered illegally levied.
Between 1675 and 1725 Exeter suffered for long periods under con- stant fear of attacks from northern Indians. Though the actual loss through murders and captures fell far below that of Oyster River and Dover, the total number of fatalities during the period exceeded three score. There was continuous activity by rangers and scouts. Defense centered about the garrison houses, of which there were four within the limits of the modern town, and fourteen in the larger area, which included the present towns of Newmarket, Newfields, Epping, Brentwood, and Fremont. The Gilman garrison, still preserved, was a chief center of refuge. It was never actually attacked, though on one occasion it escaped by a narrow margin through a lucky accident. The population of the town at the end of the Indian wars had reached four hundred.
Through the 1700's the town slowly developed. The common lands were finally distributed between 1725 and 1735. During this century business activity centered more and more in lumbering and the river trade. Shipbuilding became an important industry. Vessels of 300 tons burden were built in the yards at the foot of Center Street and farther down the river, not only engaging in the coasting trade, but sailing to remote parts of the world. Larger vessels-500 tons was the maximum- had to be floated down as hulls to deep water at Portsmouth, where they were rigged and outfitted. Through the 18th century and well along in the 19th, Exeter was an export point for country produce which came in on ox-drawn sleds in the winter from distant inland farms. Most of these wares were transported to Portsmouth on the decks of "gundalows," heavy scows which crept slowly to and fro through river and bay under lateen sails, taking advantage of the tide and anchoring when it went against them. Business men made profit in trading in stores at the wharves and in speculation in land.
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Manufacturing began early. When the Revolution came, there were eight mills at the Falls, including one for expressing oil from flaxseed, gristmills, fulling mills and sawmills. While all about, on every running stream, sawmills were devouring the old-growth timber, agriculture con- tinued the chief support of the people, and a good farm remained the safest form of property. Cattle raising was long a source of cash income for farmers, but yielded at last to the cheaper products of the western plains brought to eastern markets by the railroads.
The last of the 17th and the first half of the 18th centuries witnessed the passing of home industries. Little factories came into existence, giv- ing employment to the growing population. Carriage and wagon build- ing had a long period of prosperity. Strange as it may seem to us now, the printing of books in Exeter by Henry Ranlet, Francis Grant, the Williams brothers, and others, put Exeter for a brief period on a par with New York as a publishing center. For a time in the early 1800's a starch mill on Hemlock Side, using the excess potato crop, maintained a success- ful existence. A cotton textile factory, established about 1825, became the parent of a successful business which has continued with few breaks to the present day. The mills at Pickpocket produced paper for a cen- tury, and tanning was for many years an important town industry.
In 1865 was established the Exeter Machine Works, which built sta- tionary engines and blowers, and originated the sectional boiler for steam heating. Competition from the large centers ultimately brought this local enterprise to an end. Two apprentices who learned their trade as ma- chinists in the Exeter shop, Ambrose Swasey and Worcester Warner, later established the celebrated Warner and Swasey works in Cleveland, O., which became famous for the manufacture of telescopes and instru- ments of precision. The Folsom Brass Works, established in 1870, still maintains activity. Shoe factories, in no way distinguished from those set up in other New Hampshire towns, have, with the cotton factory, carried the burden of employment during the present century.
The golden time of political activity for Exeter covered two decades beginning with the Revolution. Portsmouth being exposed to attack by the king's ships, the capital of the province was moved to Exeter, where the legislature met in the town house opposite the meeting house (ap- proximately the site of the Squamscott Hotel), and the Committee of Safety foregathered at the house of Deacon Brooks, which later gave place to the Methodist Church. It was in the town house that John Langdon made his famous offer that spurred the legislature to commis- sion Stark as Brigadier General, and send him out on the expedition that destroyed Baum's force at Bennington, and started Burgoyne's collapse.
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In the town house were held the first meetings of the delegates to debate the adoption of the federal constitution. In the house now belonging to the Society of the Cincinnati, Nicholas Gilman, Sr. guided the strained finances of the state through the Revolution. Into the square before the meeting house flowed a steady stream of war news, from the first rumors of the resistance at Lexington to the final threat of revolt by the towns on the Connecticut when the war was over. Late in the 1780's the legis- lature began shopping round for a permanent seat, which was finally fixed, soon after 1800, at Concord.
The loss of the capital was partially made up for by the founding of Phillips Exeter Academy, which opened its doors in 1788. It is doubtful if Concord, in all its political history, ever entertained as distinguished a company as gathered in the meetinghouse in Exeter in 1838 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Benjamin Abbot's appointment as Principal. Daniel Webster presided at the exercises, Alexander and Edward Everett contributed of their eloquence, as did John G. Palfrey, the historian, Caleb Cushing, and Judge Jeremiah Smith. Lewis Cass, son of Exeter, then at the height of his fame, sent a message of congratulation. It was a festival of transcendent glory.
During the last twenty-five years of the century that has elapsed since 1838, the Academy has grown into a mammoth institution. It now owns a wide swath of land running through the center of the town, the Gilman farm meadows and woods, and fifty buildings, the smallest of which is the first Academy building, still preserved. Students now num- ber 700, and teachers more than 80. The growth has been made possible by magnificent gifts from graduates and friends.
Of the churches it may be said, in brief, that the Congregational parish, the direct heir of the old town religious organization, includes in its membership both the ancient First Church and the Second or Phillips Church, which had an independent existence for nearly two centuries. The First Baptist Church was organized in 1800, the Methodist in 1830, the Unitarian in 1854, the Episcopalian in 1863, the Advent about 1850. In 1853 the first Roman Catholic services were held in Exeter. St. Mi- chael's parish now includes the largest body of worshipers in town.
Exeter, the town, has had many proofs of the love borne her in the hearts of her children. The first of importance dates from the period of the Civil War, the bequest of William Robinson for establishing and main- taining a free school for girls. Then came endowments from the Merrill family for library, school prizes, and lecture courses; the benefactions of Edward Tuck; the gifts of Ambrose Swasey, of which the most conspicu- ous are the Swasey Pavilion and the shore Parkway; the long list of dona- tions by natives and strangers, all friends of Exeter, which have resulted in building up the Hospital from the slightest of beginnings to an insti- tution with a million and a quarter of resources. Above all do we remem- ber Thomas W. Weeks, who, animated by a sentiment cherished from
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boyhood, gave continually to the Hospital during his lifetime, and made it a large sharer in his fortune at his death. No pretentious claims of local merit can rival such silent testimony to the respect in which Exeter was held by the inhabitants of former days. In splendid private resi- dences reared on the profits of trade at the turn of the 19th century it made no pretense to rival Portsmouth and Newburyport; in the intel- lectual standards which it set for itself it might well have welcomed comparison.
Of distinguished men Exeter has had its full proportion. The Gil- mans, a large clan, contributed Brigadier Peter; Nicholas, Sr., already mentioned; Senator Nicholas, signer of the Constitution; John Taylor. wise governor for many years; Governor Charles H. Bell, town historian, connected by marriage with the family. John Phillips not only founded Phillips Exeter, but had a part in the earlier foundation of Phillips Andover. General Nathaniel Folsom did notable service both in the French and Indian War and in the Revolution. Lewis Cass is commemo- rated in the name of the street on which he was born. In more recent days lived George A. Wentworth, of the Academy, whose series of mathe- matical books long held a leading place among educational manuals; and Judge John E. Young, of the state supreme court, our most learned jurist and very loyal citizen. Daniel Chester French, a sculptor of international fame, had his first sight of the world in a house on Court Street. His memorial to the Exeter soldiers of the World War, which stands at the head of Front Street, is regarded as one of his finest works.
To our political history of the 19th century belong Senator James Bell and others of the family name; Amos Tuck, friend of Lincoln and co-founder of the Republican party; Judge Jeremiah Smith, a man of unusual ability and character, who held in the course of his life nearly all the important offices of the state; General Gilman Marston, of Civil War fame. This list by no means includes all who deserve mention as conspicuous figures in the history of Exeter, but citations must be kept within the allotted limits of space.
While it is inadvisable, for obvious reasons, to choose among living citizens those entitled to special honor, two of our townsmen now in ad- vanced years should have mention in any history that touches the present : Judge Henry A. Shute, whose Real Diary of a Real Boy created interest in Exeter throughout the nation; and John Templeton, who has made The Exeter News-Letter the first weekly newspaper in the state, and whose unselfish devotion to the town, like that of a monk to his order, gives him unique place in the community. It needs not be said that this slight trib- ute is made over his protest.
ALBERTUS T. DUDLEY.
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NEW ENGLAND'S MOST BEAUTIFUL TOWN HALL The architect of the Exeter Town Hall was Arthur Dilevan Gilman, who designed the Boston City Hall, a number of New York City's great buildings and the Capital at Albany
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THE PAGEANT UNDER THE STARS
"THE CAVALCADE OF EXETER"
The pageant, to be staged at the Phillips Exeter Stadium, is a pro- duction of unusual quality. It embraces the history of Exeter from its conception to the present time, telling the tale of the hardships, the struggles, the successes.
A huge stage will stretch across the stadium, covering almost the entire field. A spectacle in itself, the stage will be enhanced by the native beauty of the surroundings. Trees and shrubbery from the hills of New Hampshire will transform the stadium into a natural amphitheatre.
The pageant will be a panoramic tale of Exeter's history. Five hun- dred local people, dressed in the authentic costumes of the periods, will enact the famous episodes. Entirely under professional direction of the Jerome H. Cargill Company, of New York, "The Cavalcade of Exeter" will be in pantomime. The action is timed to music and a narrator tells the story, while the action on the stage portrays it.
Authenticity has been the keynote of all plans. A committee has scoured the countryside, dug into attics, marched through barns to secure the articles necessary for the production. Stagecoaches, tallyhos, fire engines, high-wheel bikes, and autos of the 1900 vintage are but a few of the "properties" that will be used.
More than five miles of cable will be used to connect the huge lights that will flood the stage into almost daylight brilliance. Around the stage will be placed special spotlights that will follow the action so that the audience may see the pantomime in detail. An acoustically perfect sound system will be installed to give audibility to every section of the stadium, and the new Hammond organ, supplemented by standard orchestra instruments and a chorus of 40 voices, will give the pageant its musical background.
Under the stars at the stadium, "The Cavalcade of Exeter" will be performed. For three nights, July 1, 2 and 4, our town will be the home of the most unusual productions ever presented.
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EXETER FROM THE SWASEY PARKWAY
SYNOPSIS OF THE PAGEANT
"THE CAVALCADE OF EXETER" EPISODE 1
"The Puritan Village"
When the colony of Boston banished John Wheelwright for what they termed "sedition and contempt," they only fortified that brave man with the determination to establish a colony of his own. In 1638, at the falls of the Squamscott, he gave the name of Exeter to his new home and soon afterwards his followers came.
Pushing their way through the wilderness, the hardy Puritans made their way towards their goal, and step by step the tiny cluster of houses grew ... grew to the Puritan village of Exeter.
SCENE: Exeter in the early years.
EPISODE 2 "Industry Comes to Exeter"
The falls in the rivers led John Wheelwright to establish his colony at this site. Their prospective value as a source of power was foremost in his mind and he foresaw the possibility of Industry. Mills for the grinding of corn came almost with the first settler, but in 1647 a great step was taken forward.
Edward Gilman, a resident of Hingham, Mass., impressed by the possibilities of Exeter, proposed to the elders of the town that he become a resident on condition that he be allowed to construct a sawmill. Accepted with alacrity, Gilman started his mill, the first true commercial enterprise of Exeter.
SCENE: The signing of the pact between Gilman and the elders.
EPISODE 3 "Young America Starts to Rebel"
Years passed by and the village of Exeter grew. The government of the province of New Hampshire took the town under its jurisdiction, but with this change came the burden of taxation. Taxes of all kinds were piled upon the heads of the colonists, until one day things came to pass.
John Folsom, a resident of Exeter, was beset by a tax claim he felt to be unjust. Attempt upon attempt by the King's men to collect were ignored by Folsom, until the provost-marshal himself came to find this upstart who dared to defy his order.
SCENE: Folsom's home, the provost-marshal finds his man.
EPISODE 4 "The Death of Hilton"
Despite its growth, Exeter was still a frontier town, and its forest harbored savage Indians. Until 1675, the town seemed immune from attacks, when suddenly a bloody war broke out. Party after party were ambushed by the Indians until no man dared leave the settlement by him- self. In 1710, the redskins became particularly menacing and scouts were constantly on guard. The names of Exeter men grew famous as Indian fighters and the name of Winthrop Hilton led the list.
On July 22, 1710, Hilton and a party of men left the town to strip some logs for masts, some fourteen miles from town. There, suddenly ambushed by Indians, the party was almost entirely massacred and Hilton met his death, fighting to the end.
SCENE: The woods ... the attack by the Indians.
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EPISODE 5 "Revolutionary Exeter"
No long story need be told of those tense days when men fought for freedom. On the 19th of April, 1775, when the first news came through that the British had attacked, the men of Exeter formed a company and marched off to help their comrades. Exeter gave freely to the cause, both in money and men.
SCENE: The streets of Exeter, 1775 - the news.
EPISODE 6 "The Visit of Washington"
In 1789, when the victories of the Revolution were passed, the town dressed itself in banners and bunting, for the President, George Wash- ington, was coming for a visit. The whole village turned out en masse to meet the father of their country, and pay him the homage due.
SCENE: Washington and his party, as the cheering throngs greet him.
EPISODE 7 "The Ball"
In the days when hoop skirts were the style, and when girls still curtsied and gentlemen bowed from the waist, Exeter was the scene of many gay parties. In their finery and best manner, the young damsels of the nineteenth century met their beaus at the Balls of Exeter.
SCENE: A nineteenth century ball.
EPISODE 8 "The Academy"
Phillips Exeter ! A name synonymous with a great school. The marching feet of students have echoed through its halls for many years. From a humble beginning, Phillips Exeter has become one of the greatest schools of the country, its graduates famous throughout the world.
SCENE: The Academy in the last century.
EPISODE 9 "The Civil War"
The question of slavery and states' rights pounded its way through history. Here in Exeter, meetings of both sides were held until the whole town seemed divided. But when the call to colors was sounded, the Exeter boys responded.
SCENE: Exeter in the hectic days of '61.
EPISODE 10 "The Gay Nineties"
Twenty-three skidoo! The bicycle built for two and the moustache cup. Exeter at the turn of the century was a prosperous town, with its buggies and high steppers. The gas lights flickered and Pa was the gay blade.
SCENE: A picnic in the Gay Nineties.
EPISODE 11 "The World War"
Over There, in the year 1917. The World War.
EPISODE 12 "The Crucible"
From all over the world came our foreign population. The melting pot, with its alchemy, has fashioned a great race in a great country.
SCENE: The dances of our foreign people.
EPISODE 13 "The Finale"
A spectacle, linking the past with the present and the future.
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HISTORIC PLACES OPEN TO VISITORS
Congregational Church: Founded in 1638, reorganized in 1698, present Church building erected in 1798. Architect, Ebenezer Clifford. Visitors Register. Genealogical Register of descendants from early settlers of Exeter. Open to visitors: 9 - 12 A. M., 2 - 5 P. M., Fri- day and Saturday, July 1 and 2; 2 - 5 P. M., Sunday, July 3; 9 - 12 A. M., Monday, July 4.
Antique Exhibit in the Old Garrison House: Built by Councilor Jolin Gilman between 1650 and 1658. Probably the oldest house in Now Hampshire. The antique exhibit in this house is given under the auspices of the Exetcr His- torical Society. Open to visitors: 9 - 12 A. M., 2 - 5 P. M., Friday and Saturday, July 1 and 2; 2-5 P. M., Sunday, July 3; and 9 - 12 A. M., Monday, July 4.
Cincinnati Hall: Home of the New Hampshire Society of the Cincinnati. Built in 1721 and at one time the home of Governor John Tay- lor Gilman. Open to visi- tors: 2 -5 P. M., Friday and Saturday, July 1 and 2.
Exeter Manufacturing Company: Established in 1827. The oldest cotton mill in continuous operation in America. Open to visitors: Friday morning, July 1.
Phillips Exeter Academy : Administration Building. Open to visitors, as well as other of the Academy build- ings: 9 - 12 A. M., 2 - 5 P. M., Friday and Saturday, July 1 and 2; 2-5 P. M., Sunday, July 3. See exhibit of pic- tures of Exeter and other interesting items in the Davis Library.
Original Academy Building: Now the Fac- ulty Club. The Academy opened May 1, 1783, in this building. Open to visitors: 9 - 12 A. M., 2 - 5 P. M., Friday and Saturday, July 1 and 2; 2 - 5 P. M., Sunday, July 3.
Harriet Tilton House: Built by Josiah Cof- fin Smith just previous to his marriage in 1789. Open to visitors: 9-12 A. M., 2 - 5 P. M., Friday and Saturday, July 1 and 2; 2 - 5 P. M., Sunday, July 3.
Cass House: Erected about 1750, the birth- place of General Lewis Cass. Open to visitors: 9 - 12 A. M., 2 - 5 P. M., Friday and Saturday, July 1 and 2; 2 - 5 P. M., Sunday, July 3.
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OLD POWDER HOUSE
Built in 1771. In it was stored some of the powder captured at Fort William and Mary, Portsmouth, in 1774.
Giddings Tavern: Built in 1727 by Zebulon Giddings. Scene of the mast-tree riot, 1734. Open to visitors: 9 - 12 A. M., 2 - 5 P. M., Fri- day and Saturday, July 1 and 2; 2 - 5 P. M., Sunday, July 3.
The Dudley Houses in Brentwood: The Mary Dudley house, built in 1700, is now owned and occupied by the ninth generation of the Dudley family. On the opposite side of the road is the John Dudley house. Take the Brentwood Road from Exeter to Marshall's Corner and turn left, driving about three- quarters of a mile from the corner. Both houses are open to visitors: 2 - 5 P. M., Friday and Saturday, July 1 and 2.
The Graves Houses in Brentwood: The Everett Graves house was built about 1703. See the old ballroom and the birth- plates by the bedroom fire- place. The next house just beyond, also in the Graves family, has much interesting antique furniture. The houses are located on the Brentwood Road about one and one-half miles beyond Crawley's Falls. Both houses are open to visitors: 2 -5 P. M., Friday and Saturday, July 1 and 2.
Several old and interest- ing houses are open in New- fields on Friday, July 1, 2 - 6 P. M., when "Ye Olde Street Fair" is held.
Swasey Pavilion (Band- stand): Gift of Ambrose Swasey, a native of Exeter. Town Hall: Erected in 1855.
'Academy Gymnasium: The Grand Ball is held here the evening of July 4, at 10 o'clock. Court House: Red Cross Headquarters on Monday, July 4.
World War Memorial: The work of Daniel Chester French, a native of Exeter.
Robinson Seminary for Girls: Erected in 1869, the gift of William Robinson, a native of Exeter. Open to visitors.
Tuck High School for Boys: Open to visi- tors.
Swasey Parkway: Gift of Ambrose Swasey. "The Arrival of Wheelwright" will be shown here, 7 P. M., June 30, and also the Commu- nity Sing, Sunday evening, 7.30 o'clock, July 3.
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