USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Troy > Historical sketch of the town of Troy, New Hampshire, and her inhabitants from the first settlement of the territory now within the limits of the town in 1764-1897 > Part 21
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HISTORY OF TROY.
not destined to end in fruition, for he continued to grow worse, and finally passed peacefully away, on the morn- ing of May 23, 1880.
In April, 1879, Dr. Harriman married Miss Jessie B., daughter of Isaac W. Farmer of Manchester.
MELVIN T. STONE, M. D.
Dr. M. T. Stone settled in Troy, Feb. 20, 1880. Studied medicine with Dr. F. A. Stillings of Concord, N. H., and graduated from Dartmouth Medical College, November, 1879.
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PHYSICIANS AND LAWYER.
The legal profession has never had but one representa- tive who became a resident of Troy. Whether this should be attributed to the peaceful disposition of the citizens, or to some other cause, we will not attempt to state. The fact is but one lawyer ever resided in Troy. Luther Chap- man, Esq., was born in Keene, Dec. 28, 1788, and was the son of Samuel Chapman, a farmer of that town. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1803, studying law with John C. Chamberlain, Esq., of Charlestown, and commenced the practice of his profession in Swanzey in 1806. He married Sally, daughter of Samuel King of Chesterfield, Feb. 9, 1808, and removed to Fitzwilliam, where he resided until 1836, when he came to Troy and located in the house which formerly stood on the site of the double tenement house now owned by the Troy Blan- ket Mills. He was for many years a conspicuous member of the Cheshire bar, and although not regarded by many of his associates as a very brilliant lawyer, was considered as one of the "best read" lawyers in the state. The fol- lowing anecdote is related of him: It is said that at one time he was defendant in a suit brought against him by Cyrus Merrifield, which, though very small in magnitude, maintained its place upon the court docket through many successive terms, and afforded some amusement among his professional brethren. Whenever a term of court com- menced and he appeared, their first inquiry would be con- cerning the progress of the Merrifield suit. On one of these occasions he was asked how he got along with Merrifield; to which he replied, "I guess the suit is about done; I told Merrifield the other day that he might take fifteen dollars and go to h-1, and I guess he will do it." Mr. Chapman returned to Fitzwilliam, where he died Aug. 15, 1856, aged seventy-seven. His wife died there Aug. 1, 1869, aged eighty-seven.
CHAPTER XVI.
MILLS AND MANUFACTURING.
FIRST GRIST AND SAWMILLS .- MANUFACTURE OF WOODEN WARE .- PAIL SHOPS .- SCYTHE FACTORY .- PAIL HANDLES .- BROWN EARTHERN WARE AND POTTERY .- TANNERY .- HIAT MAKING .- FULLING MILLS .- FIRST HORSE BLANKETS MADE .- TROY BLANKET MILLS .- GRANITE INDUSTRY .- BOX MAKING .- BRICK YARDS.
At a meeting of the proprietors of the township Monad- nock No. 4, held at the inn of Capt. Thomas Cowdin, in Fitchburg, Oct. 11, 1768, it was voted that the sum of twenty pounds, lawful money, be paid to Col. Sampson Stoddard in consideration of his conveying to Doctor Gideon Tiffany two lots of land to build a gristmill on, which sum was to be in full for the same. For some reason the mill built by Tiffany was not accepted by the proprietors, and at a meeting held March 4, 1772, a com- mittee was chosen to put in execution the bond given by Tiffany, to build and keep in good repair a gristmill, or to make some proper settlement with him regarding the mill. Soon after this, the mill was completed and put in order by Thomas Tolman. This mill, which stood near where the old blanket mill stands, answered the purpose of the proprietors. A little later he erected near it a good sawmill, which was close by the spot where the highway crosses the stream. Joshua Harrington purchased the property about 1780. The sawmill was not long used, but the gristmill for a long time was known far and wide as the "Harrington mill," and was continued in operation by Mr. Harrington and his sons until about 1834, or more than fifty years.
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MILLS AND MANUFACTURING.
About 1779, Daniel Cutting built a sawmill near the present mill of C. D. Farrar, and Phineas Farrar built a gristmill at the North end in 1784. A sawmill was built near the present site of the Troy Blanket Mills about 1789, by Ephraim Root, which was burned some years later.
In 1803, Hezekiah Hodgkins built a sawmill on the location now owned by Geo. S. Colburn on East Hill. At one time Luke Parkhurst had a sawmill near the Porter White place, so-called, on West Hill.
The manufacture of wooden ware is one of the most important industries of the town, having been carried on for more than one hundred years.
Thomas Clark, in 1779, commeneed the making of mor- tars, spools, plates, bowls and trays, which he carried away and exchanged for food and clothing, thus materi- ally adding to his income.
The first shop erected for the manufacture of pails was built by Moses Curtis and was situated on the stream below the old tannery. At what time this shop was built we are unable to state, but about 1826, or a little later, the shop was purchased by Luke Harris, and soon after he formed a partnership with Charles Coolidge. This part- nership continued for a few years, when the shop was purchased by Mr. Coolidge who carried on the business alone until 1859, when he sold the shop to Thomas Goodall and retired from the business.
In the spring of 1845, Capt. Solomon Goddard and Edwin Buttrick formed a partnership for the manufacture of pails, and built the brick pail shop now in use. This partnership continued until the death of Capt. Goddard, which occurred in 1854, when Mr. Buttrick bought his partner's share of the business which he carried on alone until 1866, when his son-in-law, Asa C. Dort, became a
286
HISTORY OF TROY.
partner. In June, 1878, the larger part of the shop was destroyed by fire, the sawmill and the interior of the brick building being burnt, entailing a loss of several thousand dollars. The present wooden buildings were built soon after. After the death of Mr. Buttrick in 1891, the latter
PAIL SHOP OF E. BUTTRICK & CO.
succeeded to the business which is still carried on under the name of E. Buttrick & Co. Some twenty or twenty- five hands are employed in the manufacture of tubs and pails, consuming about twelve hundred cords of pine.
About 1826, Amos Sibley built a new shop at the North end, which was for several years used as a peg mill and was afterwards converted into a pail shop. This mill remained vacant for a number of years and became the property of David W. Farrar. This is the mill now owned by his son, Charles D. Farrar, in which he commenced the manufacture of pails and buckets in 1873.
Since 1880, Mr. Farrar has had his dry houses destroyed
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MILLS AND MANUFACTURING.
by fire several times, either wholly or in part, with more or less loss each time, aggregating a large sum. He employs eighteen or twenty men, and uses about a thou- sand cords of pine yearly, making principally pails and buckets.
PAIL SHOP OF CHAS. D. FARRAR.
George Brown built a mill at the North end in 1837, in which he made wash boards, mop handles, clothespins, turned bed posts, mortars and fancy dishes.
About 1878, Coolidge & Whittemore commenced the manufacture of wooden ware at Bowkerville, in the shop formerly owned by Elijah Bowker of Fitzwilliam. Both partners, Elbridge Coolidge and Henry M. Whittemore, are residents of Troy, but the mill is located just over the line in Fitzwilliam. This firm continued in business until 1895 when Mr. Coolidge retired, and the business was conducted by Henry M. Whittemore for a short time.
About 1801, William Barnard and Moses Aldrich built
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HISTORY OF TROY.
a seythe factory at the North end, the first one in town, and commenced making seythes, continuing in business until 1816, when they sold out to Amos Sibley, who carried on the business until 1844. At that time it was considered a good day's work for a person to make six seythes, which were worth ten dollars per dozen. He sold the seythe shop to Whitcomb & Forristall in 1856, who converted it into a pail shop. This is the building near the railroad crossing, which was last used as a pottery and is now owned by the Troy Blanket Mills.
For several years Webster Corey made pail handles at his shop on West Hill, turning them by hand, and at one time did quite an extensive business, but the invention of machinery, so that the whole work is done automatically, has made it unprofitable to do business by hand turning.
Winthrop Knight carried on the wheelwright business at his shop at the North end, and forty or fifty years ago manufactured sash and blinds.
The manufacture of earthen ware and pottery was carried on more or less constantly for a period of sixty- five or seventy years.
In 1821, Constant Weaver built a pottery, the first in town, which stood in the back part of what was recently the hotel garden. Mr. Weaver did but little in the pottery himself, devoting his time to the tavern, but committed the management of it to his son, who proved incompetent to the task, and it not proving profitable was soon given up.
About 1812, Col. Daniel W. Farrar built a pottery which stood in the forks of the road near the place owned by Mrs. Gilbert C. Bemis, and which was rented in 1817 or 1818 to Solomon Goddard and Jonathan B. French, who carried on a partnership business for about three years, when their business relations were dissolved. Capt.
MILLS AND MANUFACTURING. 289
Goddard was a potter by trade, having served an appren- ticeship in his father's shop. Some time previous to the dissolving of the partnership, he had purchased of Joshua Harrington, Jr., about two acres of land with the build- ings thereon, which was part of the place now owned by Hiram W. Hutt, and upon which he built a new pottery in which he carried on business until 1843, when he sold it to Eri J. Spaulding, and after about two years entered into business with Edwin Buttrick in the manufacture of wooden ware. The old pottery in which Goddard and French worked was afterwards removed and formed part of the dwelling house now owned by Nicholas Grimes.
After quitting the pottery, French, in company with Moses Ballou, rented Col. Farrar's store and was engaged in trade for a short time but soon relinquished it and moved to the West.
At one time there was a pottery on the brow of the hill just beyond the residence of John MeCarley. This originally belonged to Rev. Ezekiel Rich and afterwards became the property of Elisha H. Tolman. Who carried on business in this establishment cannot be ascertained.
About 1878, C. M. Silsby & Co. made pottery at the North end in the old Whitcomb & Forristall pail shop, and a year or two later by W. G. & R. M. Silsby for a short time, and afterwards by Henry McCormac. About the same time Charles A. Farrar was engaged in making pottery in the brick shop now owned by him.
The business could not be made profitable in competi- tion with the larger establishments which turned out the cheaper grades of ware by machinery, and gradually fell into decay, and no manufacturing has been done for some twelve or fourteen years.
Frank A. Aldrich carried on the North end pottery for a short time previous to Henry McCormac.
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290
HISTORY OF TROY.
Harvey Blanding built the shop now owned by C. A. Farrar, in 1849, in which he manufactured pails for about ten years, or until his death. After his death the shop was purchased by E. P. Kimball and Daniel M. Farrar, and for a time was rented to one Perley for the manu- facture of chair stock. After a time Mr. Farrar purchased the interest of his partner and engaged in the manufacture of pails until his death in 1870. He also built the saw- mill which is now a part of the shop of Marcus V. Damion.
Jason Winch, a native of Framingham, Mass., came here in 1782 or 1783, and built a tannery on the site of the one burned a few years since. He carried on tanning and currying for a few years, but being unfortunate in business he closed it up and left town. It is quite prob- able that the property remained idle until 1815, when the tanyard and the Warren stand was purchased by Lyman Wright, of David White and Joshua Harrington, who obtained them of Warren at the time he left town. He came here from Templeton, Mass., where he learned the tanner's trade. Soon after acquiring the property, he built a new tannery which stood nearly over the stream and a little lower down than the old one. Some years after he moved it farther up the stream and toward the north, putting an addition upon the east end, and this formed the principal part of the tannery as long as it stood.
Moses Bush, a native of Templeton and a tanner by trade, came here in 1824, and formed a partnership with Col. Wright, which continued until the death of Mr. Bush in 1826.
At a later period a partnership was formed with Francis Foster, and the firm of Wright & Foster con- tinued in business until the death of Mr. Wright. Mr. Foster carried on the business alone for several years, but in 1869 the tannery passed into the hands of W. G. & R.
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MILLS AND MANUFACTURING.
M. Silsby. The firm consisted of William G. Silsby and Robert M. Silsby, tanners by trade, who came here from Alstead. They carried on the business for about fifteen years, when the former retired from the firm. R. M. Silsby carried on business for a short time until the destruction of the tannery by fire, which occurred April 13, 1887.
The tannery site and water privilege is now owned by the Troy Blanket Mills. Charles Davis, a native of Han- cock, came here in 1819, and purchased an old house which stood on the farm formerly owned by John Flagg and moved it to the village. Mr. Davis was a hatter by trade, and a part of his house was finished for a hat shop, and was probably the first establishment of the kind in Troy. He carried on the business for about ten years and then moved to Holden, Mass.
Benjamin F. Grosvenor, a hatter, came here about 1831, and commenced hat making in what is now called the tinshop house. On coming here he formed a partner- ship with Edward Tolman, and the following year he sold his interest to Tolman and moved to New Boston, where he resided one year, and then went to Hillsborough Bridge, but returned to Troy in 1836, and resumed the business of hat making. The following year he built a shop which stood near what is now the stable of C. W. Brown's heirs, which was removed in 1856 and converted into a dwelling house. He removed from here to Me- thuen, Mass.
The business was afterwards carried on by E. P. Kim- ball, who served an apprenticeship under Grosvenor. Mr. Kimball carried on the business of tinsmith in the same house for a number of years, the tinshop house, so-called, and at one time had ten peddlers on the road.
Alexander Parkman, a clothier by trade, had a fulling mill near the present site of the Troy Blanket Mills, about
292
HISTORY OF TROY.
1778. He lived here for about ten years, and it is pre- sumed found plenty of work to keep him busy in the sea- son for dressing cloth, for at that time all families spun their varn and wove their cloth. He removed to New York about 1788.
About 1790, a fulling mill was built in the village. By whom built or operated cannot be stated. About 1800, two brothers, John and William Brown, came here from Fitchburg and purchased the mill and worked at their trade as clothiers a short time, but not succeeding accord- ing to their expectations, they sold the mill to Thomas Benney and moved back to Fitchburg. The mill was burnt soon after and Mr. Benney rebuilt it. He remained for three or four years and then left the place.
Sahnon Whittemore bought of Jonathan Wood of Fitz- william, the Benney mill, April, 1815, paying sixteen hun- dred dollars for the same, but the mill was old and the timbers so decaved that the following year he took the mill down and built a new one on the same spot, and this building was the one that formed that part of the tannery which was used for finishing leather. Mr. Whit- temore carried on the mill for several years and was succeeded by Oliver Hawkins, who used the mill only for a short time. After this the building was used by a Mr. Coolidge for the manufacture of rakes, and later by one Danforth for the manufacture of pitchforks, etc., and still later by William Jackson, who made axes.
Joshua Harrington, Jr., and his brother, Elijah Har- rington, built a carding mill about 1808, which stood on the opposite side of the stream from what is now called the "middle mill" of the Troy Blanket Mills. They car- ried on business until 1808, when Joshua sold his interest in the mill to his brother Elijah. He continued the business alone in the season for carding wool until 1840,
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MILLS AND MANUFACTURING.
when he sold it to Charles Coolidge, who took it down, as it interfered with the operation of his pail mill.
Luke Harris bought the gristmill and water privilege of Elijah Harrington, in 1836. He took the gristmill down and commenced immediately to build a factory, which was completed the following year and used to manufacture woolen cloth.
The most important and chief branch of industry, and one that has added much to the growth and prosperity
:
F
=
TROY BLANKET MILLS-FRONT VIEW.
of the town, is the manufacture of horse blankets. Troy is the birthplace of this branch of industry, for previous to the time when the first blanket was made by Thomas Goodall, in 1857, there was none made in America, all blankets used being the English square blanket, imported and expensive. From a very small beginning, this branch of manufacturing has become an extensive one throughout
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HISTORY OF TROY.
the country, and is an important one in many towns in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Thomas Goodall was a native of Dewsbury, England, and served an apprenticeship with a large manufacturing establishment in his native town for eleven years. He came to America in 1846 and settled in Troy in 1851. On coming to Troy he hired the Harris mill, then owned by Stephen Wheeler and Brown Nurse, and in company with a Mr. Turner, commenced the manufacture of a cheap grade of beavers and satinets, or "nigger cloth," as it was called on account of its color. The weaving was done in the Harris mill, but the material was prepared at the mill of Winthrop Knight, at the North end.
After a few years, Goodall & Turner sold out to Bur- nett & Risley, Mr. Goodall going to Ashuelot, where he engaged in getting out shoddy; from there going to Marlborough. The latter firm did not possess sufficient capital to conduct a successful business, and Mr. Goodall returned to Troy, buying out the interest of Burnett, the firm becoming Goodall & Risley. The business did not pay and Risley disposed of his interest to Mr. Goodall. This was just preceding the financial panic of 1857; business was getting dull and money scarec, and horse blankets were imported and expensive. Mr. Goodall con- ceived the idea of making blankets from the cheap eloth which he was manufacturing, with straps and buckles attached. This cloth was three-fourths of a yard in width, and the first blanket was made by taking two strips of suitable length, joining them together, a narrow strip of red flannel being used to cover the seam and for binding. As all the imported blankets were square, an improvement was made in those for stable use in having them cut out so as to fit the neck without wrinkling. As a blanket made from this cloth was not quite wide enough, the
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width was increased to one yard, and for a long time the blankets were made in this manner, being sewed together by hand by the people of the village, the cloth being cut into suitable lengths and shaped and distributed at their residences. The blankets did not sell very readily at first, but the hard times and the war of the Rebellion soon created a demand for a cheap blanket and they then found a ready sale, and for several years the business proved highly profitable.
*
TROY BLANKET MILLS-REAR VIEW.
After a time, Mr. Goodall purchased the mill and also the building known as the middle mill, and continued in business until November, 1865, when the Troy Blanket Mills was formed by J. H. Elliot, R. H. Porter and Bar- rett Ripley of Keene, who purchased of Goodall the mills and machinery and all the other real estate and privileges owned by him. At that time the mill contained two sets
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HISTORY OF TROY.
of cards, two hand jacks, nine looms and but one or two sewing machines, as most of the blankets were made by hand. The present brick mill was erected in 1869 and contained three sets of cards, jacks and looms. It was enlarged in 1877, and the machinery of the old mill moved to it and the old mill abandoned.
The mill was enlarged in 1880, at that time containing ten sets of cards, seven self-operating jacks, with fourteen hundred spindles and sixty looms, besides printing machin- ery and sewing machines. It was further enlarged in 1887, when the office was built; in 1889, by the addition of the engine house, storehouse and west wing, and again in 1890 and 1892. The capacity of the mill has been increased from five hundred blankets daily in 1880, to twelve hundred at the present time, and two hundred and fifty hands are employed.
Barrett Ripley was superintendent until 1887. The Troy Blanket Mills was incorporated Jan. 1, 1887, with a capital stock of eighty thousand dollars. Franklin Rip- ley is the present superintendent.
The growth of the town has been commensurate with the growth of this industry.
Mr. Goodall located in Sanford, Maine, after leaving Troy, where he has been very successful, building up a large and prosperous business, having six or seven large mills used in the manufacture of blankets, plushes and plush goods of various descriptions, and about which has developed a large and flourishing village.
But little was done in the granite industry until within a very few years, although Troy contains granite of a superior quality, which has been found to be very valu- able for building and monumental purposes, having good color and evenness and firmness of composition which enables it to withstand exposure, holding its color well
MILLS AND MANUFACTURING. 297
after long exposure to air and moisture. As examples, the residences of Mrs. Sarah E. Harris and Hiram C. New- ton may be cited, both having been built more than fifty years ago from stone taken from the quarry now owned by the Troy Granite Co.
Quite a good many years ago, a Mr. Bates opened a quarry near the present farm of Michael Enright, 2d. The stone was used in the construction of a bank build- ing in Fitchburg. This quarry was afterwards owned by David Woodward, but little stone was ever taken from it, and it has remained idle for twenty years or more.
Alpheus Crosby owned the Falls quarry, now owned by the Troy Granite Co., and got out the stone from
QUARRY OF TROY GRANITE CO.
which the basement to the Congregational church and the house of Mrs. Harris was built, the latter in 1837. Later one Frye became the owner and built the house now owned by H. C. Newton. After changing hands several times, it became the property of Luther Whittemore, but
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HISTORY OF TROY.
it was not worked much, nearly if not all the stone taken out being used for local purposes only. About 1890-91, the quarry became the property of Pellett Bros. of Wor- cester, Mass., who quarried considerable stone which they used for building purposes. After a year or two they sold out to other Worcester parties, who operate it under the name of the Troy Granite Co. The present officers are, L. A. Taylor, president; O. W. Norcross, vice president; A. O. Knights, treasurer. In 1895 the firm of Noreross Bros. secured the contract for building the approaches to the new Congressional Library at Washington, which they built of the Troy granite, erecting a large shed, two hun- dred feet in length, and several other buildings for the purpose, and for a time over a hundred men were em- ployed. Previous to this all stone had been shipped in the rough state. William Y. Woodbury is the present super- intendent.
Marcus V. Damon commenced the manufacture of pails in 1893, on the site of the Mellen Farrar sawmill.
Austin B. Gates manufactured clothespins in the mill now owned by Arthur Edwards. This mill was built by Mr. Gates and was afterwards owned by John Woods and later, by George Brown and A. W. Stockwell, who sold it to Edwards.
In 1883, Oliver C. Whitcomb came here from Swanzey and commenced the manufacture of locked corner packing boxes in the old mill formerly occupied by the Troy Blan- ket Mills. A few years after, Frank S. Harris entered into partnership with Mr. Whitcomb, the firm name being O. C. Whitcomb & Co. Some twenty to thirty hands were constantly employed, and it became necessary to procure larger and more commodious quarters. Accordingly the old "picture frame shop" was leased and was being fitted up for the business, when it was destroyed by the fire
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which occurred in April, 1887. They remained in their former quarters until 1891, when they moved to Harris- ville.
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