History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 136

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168

USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire > Part 136

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The town selected William Ramsdell, Clinton S. Averill and Robert R. Howison a building com- mittee. Ground was broken May 6, 1869. Messrs. Bryant & Rogers, of Boston, were the architects.

Laying the Corner-Stone. - The corner-stone of the new town-house was laid on Saturday, July 3, 1869, with interesting Masonic ceremonies, under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire, assisted by the Masonic lodges in Nashua, Milford, Wilton, Mason and Peterborough.

The occasion brought together a very large con- course of people, and the exercises of the day were carried out with perfect success and to the entire satisfaction of all concerned.

At two o'clock the visiting bodies were received at the depot by Benevolent Lodge, of Milford, and a procession was formed in the following order :

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Chief Marshal, J. M. Blanchard. Aide, E. P. Hutchinson. Nashua Cornet Band. St. George Commandery, Knights Templar, of Nashua. Clinton Lodge, No. 52, of Wilton. Rising Sun Lodge, No. 39, of Nashua. Souhegan Lodge, No. 67, of Mason. Altemont Lodge, No. 26, of Peterborough. Milford Cornet Band. Benevolent Lodge, No. 7, of Milford. Officers of the Grand Lodge. Town Connnittee. Citizens.

The procession numbered about three hundred, and made a fine appearance. After making a short march through several of the principal streets, the procession brought up at the site of the new town-house.

The stone selected for the corner was ready for lay- ing at the southeast angle of the foundation on the arrival of the procession. It was suspended by a temporary derrick, and measured three feet in length, one and a half in depth and a foot in width. The following articles were placed in the stone, which was then hermetically sealed :

A manuscript containing a brief history of the ac- tion of the town relating to the building of the town- house, giving the votes and dates of meetings of the town relative thereto; the appropriations of the town for the year 1869, for town charges, for highways, for the Free Library and librarian, and the date of the vote of the town establishing the library and the number of volumes at that time; also a list of the clergymen, lawyers, physicians, machinists, man- ufacturers, banks, the organizations of the schools in the town, with the teachers; the railroad and telegraphic communications, the estimated popula- tion of the town, a set of United States coins of the date 1869, directly from the Mint, and which had never been in circulation, presented by Edwin L. Howard, of the Mount Lebanon Lodge, Boston, Mass., consisting of the dollar, half-dollar, quarter- dollar, dime, half-dime (both silver and nickel), the three-cent piece (both silver and nickel), and the two and one-cent pieces; a half-dozen stereoscopic views, contributed by Edward Lovejoy, Esq., em- bracing a view of the hotel, the veterans, the old town-house, the middle falls and bridge, the oval and group, and the new town-house and lot, with the old town-house in the distance; a catalogue of the Mil- ford Free Library, a hand-bill of the celebration of the day, a hand-bill of the Hutchinsons' celebration concert, a school report of 1869, a report of the re- ceipts and expenditures of the town for 1868-69, a report of the county commissioners for 1868-69, a copy of the by-laws and members of Benevolent Lodge, No. 7, Milford, N. H., for the current year, a copy of the Farmers' Cabinet, dated Feb- ruary 19, 1825, a copy of the same dated July 1, 1869, a copy of the Manchester Mirror dated July 3, 1869, a copy of the Nashua Daily Telegraph dated June 28, 1869, a copy of the New Hampshire Telegraph dated July 3, 1869, a copy of the Daily

Patriot dated June 30, 1869, a copy of the Nashua Gazette and Hillsborough County Advertiser dated July 1, 1869, a copy of the Union Democrat, Manchester, dated June 29, 1869, a copy of the Boston Daily Post dated June 30, 1869, a copy of the Boston Daily Even- ing Journal dated July 1, 1869; Morse & Kaley's card of prices of knitting cottons, manufactured in Milford.

The ceremonies were opened by proclamation of Acting Grand Master of the Grand Lodge, William Barrett, Esq., who had been deputized by M. W. Grand Master Winn to perform the service, that the Grand Lodge had been invited by the civil authorities of Milford to lay the corner-stone of their new town hall. A fervent and impressive prayer was offered by Rev. E. R. Wilkins, of Nashua, acting Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge, and a hymn, "Great Architect of Earth and Heaven," was sung by the Hutchinson family. The stone was then laid with the usual rites and ceremonies of the Masonic order.

The inscription on the plate was read by the acting Grand Secretary, E. P. Emerson, as follows :

"This corner-stone was laid with Masonic ceremonies, Saturday, July 3rd, A.D. 1869, A. L. 5869, under the direction of the M. W. Grand Lodge of New Hampshire, R. W. William Barrett acting as Grand Master ; Charles II. Burns, Esq., of Wilton, Orator.

" Organization of Grand Lodge .- Alexander M. Winn, of Farmington, M. W. Grand Master ; John R. Ilolbrook, Portsmouth, R. W. D. Grand Master ; N. W. Cumner, Manchester, R. W. Sen. Grand Warden; Wil- liam Barrett, Nashua, R. W. Jun. Grand Warden ; John Knowlton, Portsmouth, R. W. Grand Treasurer ; Horace Chase, Hopkinton, R. W. Grand Secretary.

"Ulysses S. Grant, President U. S. ; Schuyler Colfax, Vice-President ; Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice ; Onslow Stearns, Governor N. Il. ; John D. Lyman, Sec. State ; Peter Sanborn, State Treasurer ; Ira Perley, Chief Justice ; Aaron H. Cragin, James W. Patterson, Senators; Jacob Ela, Aaron F. Stevens, Jacob Benton, Representatives.

" Town Officers, 1869 .- William R. Wallace, John Marvell, George F. Bartlett, Selectmen ; James M. Blanchard, Town Clerk ; William R. Wallace, Treasurer; Clinton S. Averill, School Committee; William Ramsdell, W. B. Towne, C. S. Averill, Trustees of Free Library ; Samuel G. Dearborn, Bainbridge Wadleigh, Representatives ; John W. Crosby, Postmaster ; William Ramsdell, C. S. Averill, Robert R. llowison, Building Committee ; Gridley J. F. Bryant, Louis P. Rogers, Boston, architects ; Albert Currier, Newburyport, Mass., Contractor ; James C. Tucker, Boston, Superintendent.

"Amount of Inventory for 1869, $1,185,000 ; amount deposited in sav- ings' Banks, $200,000 ; amount invested in Railroad Stocks, $100,000; Total Valuation, $1,485,000 ; Rate of Taxation, $1.43 per hundred."

After the stone was lowered the Hutchinsons sang an ode, "Placed in Form the Corner-Stone," and M. W. G. M. Barrett delivered a brief address to the people on the character and objects of Masonry.

The procession was then reformed and marched to the oval, where the writer of this article, Charles H. Burns, of Wilton, a native of Milford, delivered an address to fifteen hundred people. The Hutchinson family also sang from the grand stand several stirring and beautiful songs. At the close of the open-air ex- ereises, at four o'clock, a fine collation was served in the old town hall, which was neatly trimmed with flags and flowers for the occasion. Speeches were made, and the post-prandial exercises closed by the entire company joining the Hutchinsons in singing " Auld Lang Syne."

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Thus the good work of building the new town-house was begun. It was completed April 27, 1870, when the edifice was solemnly consecrated by the

Dedication of the New Town Hall .- The day was beautiful, and one of the most significant in the re- cent history of the town. Many of the sons and daughters of Milford who lived away came home to join in the celebration. They were welcomed with warm and generous hospitality. The greetings over, their eyes turned from friends and the old town-house to the new. They beheld an edifice striking in ap- pearance, commanding in stature, ample in all its parts, made of brick, one hundred by sixty feet. The basement, which is constructed of rough granite, with hammered lines, is nine feet in height, and is clear of the ground on the west and south. The first story is fourteen feet in the clear, and contains three stores, post-office and selectmen's room ; the stores, fifty feet deep and from twenty-one to twenty-seven feet wide. The building fronts to the west, and the entrance is reached by a massive flight of granite steps. At the head of the first stair-case, and facing the entrance, is an elaborate and beautifully-carved black walnut case, about five feet in height and eight feet long, inclosing five marble tablets, and on the middle one is inseribed the following :

" The Town of Milford has caused to be inscribed upon these tablets the names of those who fell representing her in defense of the Union in the war of the rebellion of 1861-1865 ; dedicated April 27, 1870."

S. S. Stickney. The hall issymmetrical and beautiful. It is fifty-seven feet wide, sixty-five feet long and twenty- four feet high. Over the entrance, and extending across the west side, is a spacious gallery, capable of seating three hundred persons. The main hall, which is lighted by fourteen large windows, has a seating capacity of eight hundred. The platform is on the east side. On the right and left of this is a small gallery for the use of a band or choir. The hall is frescoed and painted. There is a high wainscoting of chestnut, with black walnut panels and moldings. It has a central chandelier, with four minor ones. The Hoor is Georgia pine. It has settees. The acoustic

qualities of the hall are not good. It may be possible to remedy this. It is well ventilated.

On the right of the entrance to the hall is a dress- ing-room, and on the left one for ladies. They are large, tastefully furnished and provided with all the modern improvements.

" Ascending to the upper or attie story, we have from the large dormer-window a commanding view of a charming landscape. In the foreground is the village of Milford, with the winding Souhegan stretching to the west. In the dim horizon rises Mount Monad- nock, and the Peterborough, Greenfield and Temple hills lift their handsome heads boldly against the sky. The view abounds in beanty, and will be looked on with delight by the thousands who shall hereafter ascend to the great dormer-window of the Milford town- house. The exterior view of the edifice is striking and altogether pleasant. The style of architecture is not distinct, but seems to be a combination of the early Tudor English. A graceful tower surmounts the southwest angle, in which the old bell is placed, too closely hooded to give a clear and certain sound, and above is a clock, with dial on each side. Dwarf towers surmount the other angles, and from the front roof a large dormer-window projects, giving a first im- pression that the town has succeeded in turning an honest penny by building a tempting eyrie for some enterprising photographist. The entire building is heated by steam and lighted by gas."

Such was the new town-house. It still stands in all its original beauty and firmness, a memorial indi- cating the character of a stalwart and enterprising people.

DEDICATION .- The ceremonies of dedication were impressive and eloquent. The spacious building was packed to the brim with interested people. William Ramsdell, a man of mark and one of the foremost citizens of Milford, in behalf of the building com- On the other tablets are inscribed the names of the fifty-three of Milford's patriots who, in the great Civil War, heroically fell. "It is a beautiful and eloquent memorial," conspicuously erected, and will frequently remind the good people of the town of the enormous sacrifice that was made to preserve the nation's in- tegrity. The plan of a monumental slab in the vesti- mittee, delivered the keys to the chairman of the Board of Selectmen, the late William R. Wallace, in brief and fitting words, to which Mr. Wallace made a brief and fitting reply. George A. Ramsdell, Esq., a native of Milford, then delivered an eloquent and polished address, which was listened to by the vast audience with marked pleasure. It was published bule originated in a resolution offered by the late Dr. | in the local paper and deserves a permanent place in the records of the town.

Captain John M. Stanyan read a poem full of local hits and spicy tidbits. Addresses followed by Thomas L. Livermore, Charles H. Burns, F. D. Ayer, J. L. Spring and D. A. Adams. A dedication ode was finely rendered which was written by J. W. Pills- bury.

During the exercises the venerable Dr. Moore entered the hall, and amidst the most earnest ap- plause he was escorted upon the platform. He ac- knowledged the grand reception by the waving of his hat. It was most fitting for the good old parson, Milford's first and most honored minister, to pro-

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HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

nounce the solemn benediction, which he did, with the great audience reverently standing, in the follow- ing words :

" My friends, may the Lord bless you and cause his face to shine upon you, and when you are removed from earth may you be introduced into the hall above, where you may be blessed forevermore."

The audience adjourned to the old town hall, where dinner was served. Hon. Albert E. Pillsbury, a native of Milford, acted as toast-master. Eloquent speeches were made by T. Kaley, Dana W. King, Israel Hunt, J. B. Moulton, Clinton S. Averill and Miss Adeline Crosby.

Mr. Kaley closed his remarks on the occasion with these eloquent words in reference to the new edifice :

"We wish that the last object of the sight of him who leaves this pleasant and thriving village, and the first to gladden him who revisits it, may be something that will remind him of the industry, enterprise and public spirit of Milford. Let it stand, then, to meet the sun in its coming ; let the earliest light of the morning gild it and parting day linger and play on its summit."

Among the eloquent toasts was the following, which was responded to by a dirge from the band while the entire company stood in thoughtful silence :

"To the memory of our heroic band, martyrs in a cause in which to fight was honor, to fall imperishable glory. May they live in the hearts of the people when the marble which we this day consecrate to their memory has crumbled into forgotten dust."

The festivities of the notable occasion were con- cluded by a grand ball, held in the new town hall in the evening, which was largely attended by the beauty and chivalry of Milford and its neighboring towns and cities. The best of music was furnished by Hall's Band, of Boston. The spacions gallery was crowded by spectators and the balcony galleries by invited guests. The scene was one of unusual gayety and brilliancy.

CHAPTER VII.

MILFORD-(Continued).

Miscellaneous Facts-Hutchinson Family-Anti-Slavery Work-Cobbler and Barber-Shops.

THE first saw-mill and first grain-mill in Milford were built on the north side of the river, where Gil- son's mill now stands.

The first storc-worthy of the name-was kept by Mr. J. Shepard in the building on the south side of the common now owned by R. M. Wallace. At that time James Wallace kept tavern in the "old Wallace house" and afterward kept a store where Mr. Shep- ard did. At the same time Captain Thomas Means kept a store in the building which is now owned by Gilbert Wadleigh, having been remodeled and made over anew, and Colonel Joshua Burnham had a store in the ell of the large honse he built on the Lyndeborough road, known as the Jesse Hutchinson house. Colonel Burnham, with the assistance of a

few others, built a bridge across the river south of his house, to accommodate his customers on the south side of the river. A great attraction to this store was the sign with these words: "Rum Sold Here."

The only wheelwright in town eighty years ago was Jeremiah Fairfield. His shop stood south of E. C. Batchelder's store. It is supposed the first blacksmith in Milford was Jonathan Buxton, father of the late Jonathan Buxton, inn-keeper. He wrought in a shop which stood where the stone shop now stands.

The first male child born in Milford was Jacob Richardson, late of Boston. He was born in the Lewis house, now occupied by E. P. Hutchinson. The first house to have blinds was the house where the late Abel Chase lived.

Among the queer incidents of the town the follow- ing may be mentioned : Caleb Jones, an eccentric man, lived near where Jacob Howard formerly lived. He planted and cultivated a cherry-tree expressly for the purpose of furnishing boards for his own cof- fin. After it had grown to a sufficient size he cut the tree and had it sawed into boards. After he died the coffin in which he was buried was made of the same boards.

A Fish-Story .-- It is stated upon undoubted au- thority that a Mrs. Hopkins, who lived a great many years ago upon the south side of the Souhegan, while wading the river one day, caught between her feet a salmon. This foolhardy fish impudently sup- posed he could safely run that gauntlet, but he got caught, and upon being landed by the brave woman, the victim was found to weigh sixteen pounds, and was the best specimen of a leg-locked salmon ever brought ashore.

The Hutchinson Family of Singers .- Colonel Burnham, it appears, was a man of considerable consequence. The sign on his store, "Rum Sold Here," was a sign of the times in which he lived. Rum was then sold everywhere. But times have changed. In the old Colonel Burnham house, after the old colonel had been gathered, with all his customers for whom he built that bridge, to the bosom of the common mother, there was born and reared a family of children, some of whom be- came famous, and by the singing of sweet temperance songs contributed immensely towards bringing about this change.

The Hutchinson family deserve more than a mere allusion in any history of Milford, not because it is numerous or unusually brilliant, but because of the marvelous and exquisite musical gifts possessed by many of them. The most noteworthy of the tribe were Judson, John, Asa and Abby. Jesse and Joshua also deserve mention. The first four named, under the guidance of Jesse, who was a man of ge- nius, won great fame as the sweetest singers of their time. The harmony of this band of brothers and sisters was never surpassed by mortal throats. The

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whole family could sing. They inherited their tal- ents in this behalf from their parents, the mother and father both being beautiful singers.

When the family lived at home, on the old home- stead, it was a treat to happen round and hear the songs. The Sunday evening prayer-meetings, held in the old distriet school-house, were marvels in the way of singing. People came from afar, not to hear the prayers, but hoping to hear the Hutchinsons sing the good, old-fashioned psalm tunes. They were not often disappointed.

Sometimes they were all there,-father, mother, all the boys, and Rhoda and Abby. In the summer evenings the windows would be up, and a crowd, not able to get in, would stand outside and listen entranced as the family sang the immortal old tunes.

There never was such harmony as they made. It moved to tears. It reached into the solemn depths of the soul. It was God-given and heaven-inspired.

The Hutchinsons employed their wonderful gifts in the anti-slavery cause and in the cause of temperanee.

Nathaniel P. Rogers, one of the greatest and noblest of the immortal anti-slavery advocates, in 1844 wrote of the Hutchinsons,-

"God be thanked, the lIntchinsons are in the anti-slavery movement for their sakes as well as ours ! Their music would ruin them, but for the chastening influences of our glorious enterprise. It will now inspire all their genius and give it full play, and will guard them from the seductions of the flattering world, which, but for its protection, would make them a prey. I note them not to praise them ; I am above that, as they are. I do it in exultation for the cause, and for their admonition. Though while they are Abolitionists, they do not need it ; anti-slavery is a safe regulator of the strongest genius. I here take occasion to say, in defi- ance of all rule, that Jesse Hutchinson, Jr., is the most gifted song- writer of the times, so far as I know. None of our most approved poetry comes up to his, written in the hurry of the anti-slavery debate. It is perhaps owing to this and the fact he writes to sing rather than to read-writes under the influence of song-that the music precedes the poetry in his mind ; that the words come at the call of the music, and are drafted into its service, or rather volunteer at its summons ; that his poetry sings so much better than Pierpont's, or Burleigh's, or Lowell's, or Whittier's, or any of the bards. Burns wrote his immortal songs to match the tunes sent him by George Thompson. Ile couldn't sing like Jesse Hutchinson. 1 don't know as he could at all. His soul could if his voice couldn't, and under its inspiration he poured forth his lays in songster verse. What songs he would have left us if he could have writ- ten under such a spell of music as possesses the Hutchinsons ! Jesse's songs remind me of him. 'The Slave Mother' is hardly surpassed in simplicity and pathos by anything of Burns'. I only mention it to call the attention of the people to what is going on in the anti-slavery field."

Milford was once the hot-bed of Abolitionism. It contained a splendid set of men and women, who early espoused the cause of the slave. Among these were the Hutchinsons, known, as before stated, the world over by the singing of stirring Abolition and temperance songs. Leonard Chase, Charles A. Burns, John Mills, Eugene and Benjamin Hutchinson, Eze- kiel Mills, J. W. Pillsbury and their wives, as well as others ; Some of these-namely, Charles A. Burns and Elizabeth H. Burns, Benjamin and Eliza Hutchinson, and perhaps others-were excommuni- cated from the Baptist Church in Milford because they believed in the abolition of slavery. What a rec- ord this for a church! It were enough to make it 37

hang its guilty head in absolute confusion and shame as it contemplates its shallow and hypocritical action. It excommunicated noble men and women because they dared to believe in the universal brotherhood of men. Exhibiting the narrow disposition of a tyrant, it undertook to stifle free speech and free thought whenever it asserted itself in the cause of humanity. But the cause of the slave was triumphant in spite of the opposition of dishonest pro-slavery churches.

Many of those noble men and women lived to see the chains fall from the limbs of slaves, and with pride and satisfaction they have seen the result of their patriotic and devoted efforts.

The anti-slavery people of Milford held many meet- ings for conference and discussion. They were often addressed and encouraged by the great anti-slavery agitators of the land,-Garrison, Phillips, Rogers, Foster, Pillsbury, Douglass, Abby Kelly, Remond and others,-and their splendid eloquence, supple- mented sweetly and grandly by the emancipation songs of the Hutchinsons, created a public sentiment in this thoughtful town which was irresistible, and spread far and wide, and became a powerful factor in bringing about the redemption and disenthralment of the slave, which constitutes the crowning glory of this nation.

The children and descendants of those devoted men and women can now, and for all time will, revert with pride to the anti-slavery work done by those good people of Milford.

In due time the church, by slow degrees, with its customary caution (not to say cowardice), came up to the high and heaven-approved ground occupied by the people it had before spurned, and has made many amends since for its manifold sins in this behalf in the past.

" All's well that ends well."

The Cobbler and Barber .- Their respective shops stood near each other, on the south bank of the river, south of the stone (Shepard's) bridge and west of the road. Major Stimson was the cobbler and John Adams the barber. The major stopped humming his tunes many years sinee ; but John, the barber, al- though he long ago ceased to lather, eut and shave, still lives, a very old man. The major was a good old soul, and so, in fact, was John. Between the two they kept both ends of the men and boys of Milford looking fairly well.

The major was fat and jolly, full of snuff and stories, while the barber was lean, solemn and absent-minded. It would be difficult to name a single particular in which they were alike, except that they were both honest.

The shop of the major ! What a place it was !- a little, old, dingy room in a little, old, one-story build- ing, full of old dust and old boots, pegs and lasts, --- which lasted as long as the major lasted,-and old scraps of leather. It had an old stove, a cobbler's beneh or two, an old leather apron with which the major

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used to cover his capacious belly, and when the old major was in that old shop, as he always was, sitting solidly on the old bench, with awl and hammer in hand, and with boot or lapstone on his leg, working away, whistling as if the troubles of this world did not trouble him, it was a delightful spot to visit. That dirty old shop, with the old major in it, was the most cheerful spot in all the village. It was the best pa- tronized. It was a handy corner to drop into and hear a good story or take a pinch of snuff, if you liked snuff, and if you didn't, it would do yon good to see the major take it. Some of it would lodge on his upper lip, it is true ; but you wouldn't mind that, for it was always there. The major was good to "us boys." He was never cross. He would bear quizzing. His pump-handle was "al- ways out," and we used to ply that handle indus- triously ; but he never told us anything he ought not, and his failings were all on virtue's side. Major Stimson was not only an excellent shoemaker, but he was drum-major. He was skillful with more than one kind of taps. The sound of his drum was the signal for the gathering of a crowd. Cotemporary officers with Major Stimson in the regular militia were Major "Jim " Hutchinson and Major Ezra Bales, of Wilton. Major Jim was fife-major. The clarion notes of his fife used to frequently wake the echoes of the Souhegan Valley, and the three to- gether were an attractive trio. It was considered a rare treat to assemble these three on the village green. The music they made inspired patriotism, and set the boys to marching. The man who couldn't keep time to that music was born wrong, and was only " fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils."

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History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, Part 136

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis Number of Pages: 1168

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis
Number of Pages: 1168