USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Gazetteer of Cheshire County, N.H., 1736-1885 > Part 6
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48
CHESHIRE COUNTY.
George A. Bingham Oct., 1878, April, 1880 Lewis W. Clark. . April, 1879, Oct., 1879, April, 1883
. Alonzo P. Carpenter Oct., 1881, Oct., 1882
Isaac N. Blodgett Oct., 1884
CLERKS OF COURTS.
Common Pleas.
Simeon Jones. Oct., 1771, to April, 1775
*Thomas Sparhawk. April, 1779, to Sept., 1812
Salma Hale Sept., 1812, to April, 1834
Superior Court of Judicature.
George King. 1772 to 1778
George Atkinson.
. 1778 to 1780
Samuel Sherburne .. 1780, to Oct. 1781
Nathaniel Adams .Oct., 1781, to Oct .. 1816
Salma Hale. May, 1817, to April, 1834
From 1817 to 1834, one man (Salma Hale) performed the duties for both courts, as was the case subsequent to that date, as follows :-
Henry Coolidge April, 1834, to April, 1843
Leonard Biscoe . April, 1843, to Dec., 1857
Edward Farrar Dec., 1857, to present time
JUDGES OF PROBATE.
Simeon Olcott. 1771-75
Frederick Vose 1835-4I
Thomas Sparhawk . 1775-89
Larkin Baker 1841-64
John Hubbard. 1789-1802
Silas Hardy . 1864-74
Abel Parker
1802-23
Harvey Carlton 1874-76
Samuel Dinsmore 1823-31
Josiah G. Bellows, 1876-present date
REGISTERS OF PROBATE.
Thomas Sparhawk 1771
George W. Sturtevant. 1851-57
Ichabod Fisher
1775
Calvin May, Jr. 1857-59
Micah Lawrence
1785
Silas Hardy . 1859-63
Samuel Stevens.
1793-1823
George Ticknor 1863-66
Frederick A. Sumner
1823-27
Allen Griffin I866-71
Asa Parker 1827-33
F. H. Hills. 1871-73
Elijah Sawyer
. 1833-47
Dauphin W. Buckminster 1873-80
George F. Starkweather. . 1847-51
¡Henry O. Coolidge 1880
Aaron Matson 1831-35
*No records from 1775 to 1779.
+Was appointed to the place made vacant by the death of Mı. Buckminster, January, 1880, and still holds the position.
49
CHESHIRE COUNTY.
REGISTERS OF DEEDS.
Josiah Willard.
1771-
Charles Sturtevant. 1852-53
James Campbell. 1824
Harvey A. Bill.
1853-55
Lewis Campbell
1824-37
Charles Sturtevant 1855-59
*John Foster 1837-38
Calvin May 1859-62
Charles Sturtevant
1838-45
+Isaac W. Derby. 1862-64
Isaac Sturtevant.
1845-46
John J. Allen . 1863-83
Barton Skinner
1846-52
Charles C. Buffum, 1883-now in office
HIGH SHERIFFS.#
Ralph Hoyt. 1878 | Horace A. Perry . . . 1880-84
COUNTY TREASURERS.
George Tilden. 1845
Royal H. Porter I865-66
Phinehas Handerson. 1846-47
George H. Tilden 1867-68
George F. Starkweather. 1848-51
Daniel K. Healey 1869-72
Farnum F. Lane. 1852 Oscar G. Nims
1873-74
Joshua D. Colony. 1853-54
Luther W. Wright 1875-76
Edward Edwards
1855-56
Warren W. Mason. 1877-78
Marvin T. Tottingham
1857-58
George A. Litchfield
1878-81
Ephraim Foster
1859-60
Gardner C. Hill.
1882-83
Augustus T. Wilder 1861-62
Jerome E. Wright, 1884-85
Albert Godfrey 1863-64
STATE SENATORS.
(James H. Bingham, 1816, '17 and '22.
Alstead.
Thomas Dinsmore, 1883, '84.
Amos Shepard, 1786,'87,'88,'89,'90,'92,'95,'96,'97,'98,'99.
Chesterfield. Levi Jackson, 1812, '13, '14. '15.
Nathan Wild, 1833, '34. Thomas Fiske, 1859. '60.
Dublin.
John J. Allen, Jr., 1861, '62.
Fitzwilliam,
Levi Chamberlin, 1829, '30. Nahum Parker, 1828.
Gilsum.
George W. Hammond, 1855, '56.
Charles J. Amidon, 1878, '79, '80.
Jaffrey.
Hinsdale. Frederick Boyden, 1847. William Haile, 1854, '55. Levi Fiske, 1835. '36. Asa Parker, 1826, '27.
*Appointed to fill vacancy caused by the resignation of Lewis Campbell.
tResigned in 1863, and John J. Allen was appointed in his place, November, 10th; was elected in 1864, and resigned in 1883.
#Previous to 1878 this office was appointive, and no record of incumbents is available. Its list could be made only by searching vast files of MS. papers. 4*
Phinehas Handerson, 1816, '17, '25, '3'I and '32.
John M. Parker, 1858, '59.
50
CHESHIRE COUNTY.
Keene.
Henry Coolidge, 1837. Benaiah Cooke, 1844. Edward Gustine, 1879, '80, '81, '82. Salma Hale, 1824, '45. *Daniel Newcomb, [795,'1800, '05. Royal H. Porter, 1876, '77. John Prentiss, 1838, '39. Lockhart Willard, 1806, '07, '08, '09, '10. [ John Wood, 1819, '23.
Marlboro.
S James Batcheller. 1842, '50, '51. George G. Davis, 1883, '84. James Burnap, 1876, '77. Amos F. Fisk, 1863, '64.
Nelson.
¿ Milan Harris, 1863, '64.
Rindge.
George A. Whitney, 1875. Josiah Wilder, 1811.
Stoddard. Surry.
Jacob Taylor, 1851. '52.
George K. Harvey, 1883, '84. Elijah Belding, 1820, '40, '41.
Swanzey.
Elijah Carpenter, 1843. Benjamin Read, 1867. '68.
Elisha Whitcomb, 1793, '94, '96. '97, '98, '99, '1800, '01. Amasa Allen, 1804. John Bellows, 1785. '86, '87, '92, '93, '94. Josiah Bellows, 1813. Thomas C. Drew, 1811, '20, '21.
Walpole
¿ TEnoch Hale, 1784.
Henry A. Hitchcock, 1872, 73. Stephen Johnson, 1825, '26.
Roger Vose, 1809, '10, '12,
| Frederick Vose, 1847, '48.
George Aldrich, 1805, '06, '07, '08.
Tileston A. Barker, 1871, '72.
Charles F. Brooks, 1857, '58.
Westmoreland
Joseph Buffman, 1818.
Timothy Hoskins, 1843, '44.
Winchester.
Jotham Lord, Jr., 1821, '22. Ezra Pierce, 1802, '03. Henry Abbott, 1873, '74. Ellery Albee, 1869, '70. Asahel H. Bennett, 1852, '53. [ Orren Perkins, 1865, '66.
*Daniel Newcomb resigned in 1800, and Elisha Whitcomb, of Swanzey, was elected to fill the vacancy.
+In 1784 John Dudley, of Raymond, and Benjamin Bellows, of Walpole, were elected Senators but declined. John Langdon, of Portsmouth, and Enoch Hale, of Walpole, were elected to fill the vacancies.
Marlow.
Seth Payson, 1802, '04
.
5I
CHESHIRE COUNTY.
ROAD COMMISSIONERS.
Barton Skinner, .
Augustus Noyes,
Jonathan K. Smith,
1845
Lawson Robertson, 1853
Asahel I. Humphrey,
Samuel Slade, Jr.
Jonathan K. Smith,
Samuel Slade, Jr.
Aaron P. Howland,
1846 Laban Rice, 1854
*
*
Nelson Converse, .
Augustus Noyes, . .
Arvin Aldrich, 1855-56
Jonathan S. Adams,
1852 John Symonds, 1 .
Jonathan Harvey, Jr.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
John A. Prescott
1857 Franklin H. Cutter 1868
Lawson Robertson
1858 Joshua B. Clark 1869
Willard Adams . 1859
Aaron Smith 1870
Samuel Atherton .
1860 John Humphrey 1871
Aaron P. Howland 1861
* Alonzo A. Ware 1872
Jonathan S. Adams I862
Willard Bill, Jr. 1873
Sumner Knight 1863 Joseph B. Abbott 1874
Zebulon Converse 1864 Charles H. Whitney 1875
David A. Felt
1865 George C. Hubbard 1876
Sumner Knight. 1866 Charles R. Sargent. 1877
H. O. Coolidge 1867 Gardner C. Hill 1878
With the constitutional changes that went into effect in 1878, came the system of electing three county commissioners at each biennial election instead of one annually, and those elected were as follows ;-
Charles R. Sargent,
Joseph B. Abbott,
Gardner C. Hill,
1878
George W. Stearns, 1882
Levi A. Fuller,
Alfred W. Burt, .
Levi A. Fuller, .
Joseph B. Abbott,
Joseph B. Abbott,
1880|
Elbridge Kingsbury,
1884
George W. Stearns,
Alfred W Burt,
ADMISSIONS TO THE BAR.
Asa Dunbar May, 1785| Samuel West,
Noah Cook. May, 1786
Daniel Forbes, May, 1796
Peleg Sprague . May, 1787
Joseph Dennie,
John Barrett,
Samuel Dinsmoor, . . . Oct., 1797
Alpheus Moore, .Oct., 1788
Roger Vose, .
Samuel Hunt . May, 1792
Francis Gardner,
Elijah Dunbar . . Oct., 1792
John C. Chamberlain, .
May, 1798
Jeremiah Mason, .
Erasmus Butterfield, ..
Jonathan Hatch,
Frederick A. Sumner, . .
George Baxter Upham,
Caleb Ellis
Oct. 1798
John Hunt,
May, 1795
David Heald May, 1799
*Resigned and Aaron Smith was appointed to the vacancy,
Daniel W. Farrar,
Edmund Jones,
52
CHESHIRE COUNTY.
Thomas Sterne, . May, 1800
Foster Alexander,
May, 1802
Ralph Metcalf, .
Samuel Dakin, . Oct., 1802
Isaac N. Cushman,. . May, 1827 Zachariah Batchelder, ..
Henry Bellows, Oct., 1827
David Smiley,
William Briggs,
. Oct., 1803
Luther Mills,
May, 1805
Samuel Prescott,.
May, 1806
John S. Marcy
April, 1830
James H. Bingham,.
Salma Hale,*
.July, 1837
Phinehas Handerson, ..
Oct., 1806
Charles Marsh,
David J. Clark,.
. July, 1839
Henry Hubbard,
Edward A. Dana
. July, 1841
Allen P. Dudley,
Elizure Hubbard,
Benjamin Kimball,
. May, 1809
John Muzzy,
Seth Newcomb,. Oct., 1809
George Olcott, Oct., 1810
Boaz M. Atherton, Oct., 1812
Henry Flanders,.
Abel Herbert Bellows, .
. Dec., 1845
Elijah Parker, .
Joseph Buffum, Jr. Dec., 1814
William G. Field
Francis S. Fiske,
.Dec., 1846
Thomas Leland,
. Dec., 1815
Asa Holton,
Benjamin O. Tyler,
Sept., 1850
Allan P. Ingersoll,
W. J. Parker, .
. Mar., 1751
Edward W. Buffum,
Sept., 1852
Austin C. Bryant, .
Sept., 1853
Ralph M. Tappan,
.Sept., 1854
Lucius H. Hall, Sept., 1855
William H. Burt, Nov., 1855
Horace Chase,
Winslow S. Myers,
Sept., 1856
Edmund M. Forbes
Mar., 1858
Lafayette W. Pierce,
Sept., 1858
Samuel Allen,
Don H. Woodward,
. April, 1860
Thomas G. Carey,
C. Fred Webster, Horatio Colony, . July, 1860
Daniel Kellogg,.
May, 1821
Amos J. Blake, .
. July, 1862
Horace Baxter, .
James Wilson, Jr.,
. Oct., 1823
William Frederick Hall,
Aldis Lovell, .May, 1824
Frederick W. Bailey, ..
Frederick Vose,
Leonard Wellington,. .
. Oct., 1865
Elijah Bingham, . May, 1826
Bethual Farley,
. July, 1856
Larkin G. Mead,
Henry Crawford,. . Oct., 1820
Edward Farrar, .
.Dec., 1847
Charles Flanders,
Francis A. Faulkner, .
Sept., 1849
Charles A. Whitcomb,
... Mar., 1850
Levi Chamberlain,
Oct., 1816
William Ainsworth,
Nathan G. Babbitt,
Daniel Wells,
. May, 1817
Joel Parker,.
Samuel Morse, .
Oct., 1817
Noah Rockwood Cooke, . . May, 1818 Elijah Knight,.
George Walker,
Sept., 1846
Albert S. Wait,
Nathaniel D. Hubbard, .
.April, 1844
William L. Foster,
Oct., 1844
J. N. Baxter,
Mar., 1845
Abel H. Bellows,
Sept., 1845
David Hale, .
Oct., 1813
William P. Wheeler,
. July, 1842
John M. Foster,
Oct., 1807
Luther Chapman,
. Oct., 1808
Romanzo Walker,
.April, 1842
Hubbard Newton, .
Elisha H. Allen,
. May, 1828
Joseph Willard,
William R. Hayes,
. Oct., 1828
Daniel Dwight,
Elijah Wallage, May, 1803
John Chamberlin, . Oct., 1826
Timothy Reed, .
Samuel M. Smith,.
Edward M. Smith, . Oct., 1863 Augustus W. French, ..
Carroll D. Wright, ....
* In the Court of Common Pleas, records also show Salma Hale as admitted October 13, 1834.
Dana Miller,
. Oct., 1819
53
CHESHIRE COUNTY.
Charles M. Foster, . Dec., 1865
George Davis,
Charles H. Smith, . Oct., 1870
Elbridge H. Bullard, April, 1871
Hiram Blake, . April, 1873
L. Ward Holmes, Oct., 1873
Giles H. Whitney, April, 1876
Jonathan G. Eddy, .
William H. Elliot, .Oct., 1876
Edmund P. Dole,.
Francis C. Faulkner, . . Aug. 21, 1877 Arthur F. Towne, . Oct., 1877
Charles H. Hersey,
John T. Abbot, . April, 1878
Bolivar Lovell
Since 1878 the laws have required all candidates for admission to be ex- amined at Concord.
PRESENT MEMBERS CHESHIRE COUNTY BAR.
Edward Farrar, clerk of court, Keene Farnum F. Lane, (Lane &
John T. Abbott, (Hersey & Abbott).
Doie).
Keene
Alfred T. Batchelder, (Batchel- der & Faulkner) .
66
Don H. Woodward, 60
Hiram Blake,.
Hosea W. Brigham, Winchester Edmund M. Forbes.
Edmund P. Dole, (Lane & Dole), also county solici- tor,
:
Josiah G. Bellows, (also judge of probate) Walpole Bolivar Lovell,
William Henry Elliot,
Francis C. Faulkner, (Batchel- der & Faulkner) .
E. M. Smith,
Alstead
Silas Hardy, .
66
Daniel K. Healy,.
66
RETIRED MEMBERS OF THE CHESHIRE COUNTY BAR.
George A. Wheelock, Keene
Harvey Carlton, Winchester
John Henry Elliot, 66
--
John H. Fox, .. Jaffrey
Horatio Colony, 66
INTERNAL IMPOVEMENTS.
From time immemorial the Connecticut river was the favorite pathway of Indian travel, and later became the great highway of the white settlers in its valley. But as the settlers became more numerous, commerce and travel increased, and it soon became apparent that some more convenient mode of transportation must be devised than was afforded by the rude flat-boats of the Connecticut, or by the stage lines which traversed the several turnpike sys- tems. Accordingly, October 29, 1829, the legislatures of New Hampshire and Vermont passed an act incorporating the " Connecticut River Steamboat Company," the charter being given to "Jonathan H. Hubbard, Frederick Pettes, George D. Dutton, Isaac W. Hubbard, Edward R. Campbell, Albert G. Hatch, David H. Sumner, William Hall, Jantes I. Cutler, Alexander Fleming and their associates." This charter was altered, however, Novem- ber 5, 1830, to the "Connecticut River Valley Steamboat Company," allow-
Amos J. Blake,. Fitzwilliam
Jesse B. Twiss,.
. Jaffrey
C. Fred Webster,
Leonard Wellington, 66
54
CHESHIRE COUNTY.
ing the corporation to "purchase, hold and convey, real estate to the value of $20,000.00." Canals and locks were built where rapids or falls occurred, so that the Connecticut navigation became very convenient from Hartford, Conn., to the "Fifteen Mile" fall at Dalton, in Coos county. One of the canals and locks was built at Bellows Falls, one at Sumner's Falls, and an- other at Olcott's Falls. Between these falls, except between Sumner's and Olcott's, were located steamers, which were plied until the canal was reached, then the passengers and freight had to be transferred to the steamer waiting at the other end of the canal, though the flat-boats, rafts, etc., made through trips, using the locks. One steamer, run by Captain Nutt, of White River Junction, was built in 1830, so as to be locked through the entire length, but it did not prove a success.
Boating on the Connecticut was done as long ago as when our grandfath- ers were boys. More than fifty years ago aged men claimed that when they were young, long before dams and locks were known here, flat-bottomed boats were used for conveying freight on the levels between the several falls of the stream. Each succession of falls necessitated the transportation of freight to other boats waiting at their foot or head, as the case might be, until Hartford, Conn., was reached, which was then, as now, the head of sea navigation, situated about sixty miles inland.
The boats used then were small, eight tons being considered a good load for one ; but after the canals and locks were completed they were made much larger. The farther up the river one passed, however, the smaller he would find the locks and boats, the " up country " boats being capable of carrying about twenty-five tons. The largest, and also the last, boats used as far up as Hinsdale were owned by Messrs. John B. Capron and Edward Alexander, of Winchester. They were sixty-eight feet in length, fourteen feet beam, would carry thirty-six tons and drew eight inches of water, the draught being increased to three feet under load. Each was supplied with a mast thirty- three feet in height, though a sliding top-mast of twenty additional feet was arranged to be used at will. Their two sails, main and top-sail, aggregated a 200 square yards surface of canvass, and though square-rigged, it is said, the unwieldy crafts were capable of sailing in a nearly side wind, providing it be strong and steady. Handsomely painted, cleanly kept, and supplied with a well-furnished cabin, however, these boats presented a by no means bad appearance.
The boats were run only in the day time, the gathering darkness usually finding them moored to some landing, or, when such was not convenient, anchored in the stream. But still, it must be remembered, the summer sea- son had as short nights, and days fully as long in those times as now, and our crafts allowed no ten-hour laws aboard. In passing down the stream, when the use of the sails was precluded, the propelling power was generated by two men near the bow, who assisted the current by sculling with twenty- four-foot oars. In passing up the river, when the fickle wind refused its aid,
55
CHESHIRE COUNTY.
poles were used, as the large sweeps could make no headway against the cur- rent of the stream. These poles usually varied from twelve, sixteen to twenty- three feet in length, tipped at one end with a pike a foot long. Stationed on either side of the boat, each of the crew would take his turn in a walk from the bow to the mast board, usually about one-third the length of the boat, with the pike planted firmly on the bottom of the river and the opposite end of the pole pressed against his shoulder, a task about as pleasant as that of a blind horse in a tread-mill. A trip to Hartford and return, from Hinsdale, occupied about ten days, on an average, the charges on up freight averaging about $7,00 per ton-down freight being very much cheaper, on account of the assistance the river current afforded. The crew usually consisted of a captain, cook and three bow hands.
Hinsdale Landing is located at the foot of what was called " swift water," the head of the same being about three miles above Brattleboro. Through this swift current the " up country " boats required an extra force of help, usually enough to make fourteen or fifteen pole-men in the bow. On each side of the river, in Hinsdale and Vernon, Vt., resided the men who made this their business, and were known as "swift-water men." Each spring these men would hold a meeting and appoint certain ones who were considered the best of this number to hold themselves always in readiness to go on duty. Two good sets of hands could usually be procured at a time, though the third was difficult to get, at least of first-class hands. A man's usual wages for the trip was $2,50, and one trip could be made each day. With a fair south wind to assist, the swift-water-men were a jolly set ; but with no breeze and a large load just over a heavy sand bar-presto ! Our good clergymen of to- day, could they have heard the conversation then, would indeed have had doubts of the revival chances in Cheshire county.
Poling, however, had to be aided in some places. At the foot of "Little Meadow," about a mile below the bridge at Brattleboro, the swift current and low water called into requisition the aid of oxen. These patient creatures, hitched to a tow-line from three hundred to five hundred feet in length, served the purpose until the foot of " the tunnel " was reached, as the heaviest bar on the swift water was called. Here a powerful windlass usually had to be used. It was fastened to a large bottom-wood tree near the river bridge-a strong perpendicular post with four long arms, or levers, at the top. Here about one-third of the crew left their poles and exerted their strength on the windlass. Leaverett's-rock bar, above Brattleboro, was about like that of Little Meadow, and at its head the swift-water-men were discharged, to make their way home by skiff, by team or afoot, as the case might be, carrying their poles with them.
At West Chesterfield another party of extra help was required, called " fall's men." About eight extra hands in the bow were required to help through to Bellows Falls, and from that place the round trip to Hartford required four- teen days. Bellows Falls eddy, just below the village,however, was one of the
56
CHESHIRE COUNTY.
most formidable spots for the boatmen on the river. Through here, at times of high water, it was no uncommon thing for a section of a raft, with men at each enormous sweep, or oar, to occupy a whole day in getting clear from the force of the maelstrom.
The first attempt at steamboat navigation on the Connecticut was made in 1827, when the "Barnet," a strong boat 75 x 142 feet, was built, and suc- ceeded, with some help, in ascending the river as far as Bellows Falls. This was her first and last trip, however, for she was taken back to Hartford, laid up, and finally broken to pieces. In 1829 a Mr. Blanchard built a boat called the " Blanchard," of the size of the preceding, and another eighty feet long and fourteen feet wide, drawing only twelve or fifteen inches of water, called the " Vermont." The stroke of its piston was horizontal, and its engine a 120 horse power. A few experimental trips were made between Bellows Falls and Barnet, but the obstacles were such that the undertaking was relin- quished, and the methods of plying boats between the locks substituted instead. The advent of the railroad was heralded, however, just prior to 1850. It called the business from the river, and its flat-boats, its canals, its locks and its romance, are among the things of the past. The first railroad in the county was appropriately named after the county and in honor thereof.
The Cheshire Railroad, extending from Bellows Falls, Vt., to South Ash- burnham, Mass., chartered Dec. 27, 1844, to extend from the state line of Massachusetts, in Fitzwilliam, to the state line of Vermont, in Walpole. This charter was subsequently amended, July 1, 1745, to allow a consolida- tion with the Winchendon Railroad, of Massachusetts, which was consum ated in August of that year. The charter was obtained largely through the influence of Hon. Thomas M. Edward, of Keene, who become the com- pany's first president. The road was opened from South Ashburnham to Keene in May, 1848, and through to Bellows Falls January ist of the following year. Thomas Thatcher succeeded Mr. Edwards as president, in 1853, and in turn was succeeded by Ephraim Murdock, in 1864. Hon. R. Stewart has held the office since 1878, and is also general manager of the road. He has been officially identified with the road from the time it was built. The general offices and repair shops are located at Keene, and the corporation gives em- ployment, in all its departments, to about 250 citizens of that town, to about seventy men at other points on the line, with a pay-roll of $180,000.00. The capital stock of the road is $2,153,300.00, its funded debt $800,000.00, with no floating indebtedness. The length of the line from Bellows Falls to South Ashburnham is fifty-four miles, and all trains are run by contract to. Fitchburg, ten miles further. The company also operates the Monadnock Railroad, which extends from Winchendon to Peterboro, a distance of sixteen miles. The roads equipment consists of thirty-one locomotives, twenty-six passenger cars, eleven baggage, mail and express cars, four hundred and fifty-three freight and thirty-two other cars. Its gross earnings for 1884 were $586,685.02 ; net, $123, 109.23 ; dividends, three per cent.
57
CHESHIRE COUNTY.
The Ashuelot Railroad, extending from South Vernon, Vt., to Keene, was completed next. The principal promoter of this enter- prise was John H. Fuller, who advocated the project, secured the charter, and became the company's first president. Through his influence capitalists were interested, aid secured, and the construction carried on to a completion, in 1850. Hon. John H. Elliot was associated with him as treasurer, trustee, and actuary, from the inception of the work. The com- pany completed the road, but never equipped it with rolling stock. The road was operated until 1861, under lease, by the Connecticut River Rail- road Co .; from that time until 1877 by the Cheshire Railroad Co .; and since 1877 by the former company again, whose offices are at Springfield, Mass. In 1861 the road went into the hands of the bond-holders, and the company was re-organized in 1872, with Samuel W. Hale, president, though it did not obtain control of the road until 1877. In May, 1878, A. B. Harris, of Springfield, was chosen president, and still holds the office. The present agent of the road at Keene, is Willard I. Bishop. The original capital of the corporation was $500,000.00.
The Manchester & Keene Railroad, extending from Keene to Greenfield, Mass., a distance of thirty miles, eighteen of which lies in Cheshire county, was chartered July 16, 1864. The road was built in 1878, and the town of Keene aided in its construction by voting a tax amounting to over $160,000.00. In 1884, the Concord and Boston & Lowell roads purchased the property, and it is now operated by the Boston & Lowell Company, its traffic at Keene being handled under contract by the Cheshire Railroad Company. That portion of the road lying in Cheshire county is built upon hills and over deep ravines ; but its wooden trestles are rapidly being re- placed by iron trestles or by fillings.
The Monadnock Railroad received its charter from the legislature of 1848, to extend from Peterboro, up the Contoocook river, through Jaffrey and Rindge, to a point on the state boundary on a line with Winchendon, Mass. A preliminary survey was made, but nothing else was done for many years. But finally, at a meeting held at Peterboro, in the interests of the Manchester & Keene railroad, the subject of the Monadnock road was brought up, and interest was re-awakened, resulting in a survey in the autumn of 1867. An organization of a company was effected October 20, 1868, construction of the line was immediately begun, and the road was completed June 1, 1871. It was operated by the company until September 1, 1874, when it was leased by the Boston, Barre & Gardner railroad, and in June, 1880, to the Cheshire Railroad Company, and finally, April 26, 1884, the stock was sold to the Cheshire and Fitchburg companies-925 shares to each. The corporation remains about as usual, except that the stock is owned by those companies. The officers of the road are as follows, the headquarters of the road being located at Peterboro, N. H .: H. R. French, president; John H. Cutler, clerk and treasurer ; and O. H. Bradley, H. R. French, William G. Living- ston, Rodney Wallace, and E. C. Thayer, directors.
58
CHESHIRE COUNTY.
NEWSPAPERS.
In the following brief sketch of the newspapers that have been published in the county, we have endeavored to, and think we have, mentioned all the efforts ever undertaken in this line, unless it be, perhaps, an amateur affair or so of a short period. For convenience in reference we have arranged the several sketches in chronological order. Titles of papers that are now pub- lished are printed in SMALL CAPITALS.
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