USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Littleton > History of Littleton, New Hampshire, Vol. I > Part 26
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79
Neither of these narratives strictly belongs to the decade which it is the purpose of this chapter to describe. One precedes it by a single year, the other follows it after a lapse of three years. But together they give what may be accepted as a good picture of the scenes and progress of events during the intervening thir- teen years. David Goodall's home was on the farm long the property of Arza Eastman on the old Portland road, as the high- way from Lyman, now Monroe, was formerly called.
265
Annals.
XVIII.
ANNALS. 1820-1840.
T HE half-century mark, from the settlement of the town by Captain Caswell, was reached in April, 1820. The years had been given to opening up farms from the primeval forest and building such primitive mills as were essential to the limited wants of the inhabitants.
The growth of the town had begun to centre at Ammonoosuc Village, as it was then called, which increased in commercial and manufacturing importance with a slow but steady march for thirty years, until the building of the railroad in 1853, when it advanced by leaps and bounds.
In the twenty years covered by this chapter many changes took place in the village. The firm of Roby, Curtis, & Co. was dissolved ' by death. Dr. Roby died in 1818, and Ephraim Curtis in 1825. The " Old Red Store " which this firm built, and where its pros- perous business was conducted, was the social and political head- quarters of the town. The firm was annually licensed to sell spirituous liquors, and the pipes and casks were arrayed in a long row on heavy timbers in the back store, and a gill cup hung from the spigot for the accommodation of thirsty customers. The books of this firm are probably no longer in existence, but could they be called back, what a tale their musty pages would reveal ! Here the village worthies, the esquire, the statesman, and the major, met each evening, held their court, and rendered judg- ments from which there was no appeal; and as the social glass passed to and fro, they entertained their audience with wit and wisdom, and then, over-mellow, each found his home and waiting spouse, who, nothing daunted, assisted her weary lord and master to his bed. To this sober age the picture may seem startling, but the life of three generations ago was not that of to-day. Then no man lost caste by reason of over-indulgence in drink, for the reason that it was a universal custom, indulged by priest and people. The principal exceptions to this rule were found in the austere lives of Dr. William Burns and Elisha Hinds, who were all their days
266
History of Littleton.
total abstainers. There may have been others who in that far dis- tant day followed their examples ; but if so, neither history nor legend has transmitted the story of their virtues.
After the death of Major Curtis, the business was conducted by William C. and Aaron Brackett, who purchased the stock of Elislia Hinds, administrator of the estate of Mr. Curtis. About 1833 they built the large store now occupied by English & Bond, and their stock was transferred to it. The " Old Red Store," thus abandoned, fell rapidly into desuetude, and some years after was purchased by the late Capt. James Dow and removed to Pleasant Street and converted into a carpenter's shop and subsequently into a dwelling- house.
Dean Conant,1 when a young man, came from Windsor, Vt., and rented one of the Bonney buildings back from Main Street, and was in trade for about two years (1824-25). He married Almeria, daughter of Peter Bonney, and probably, believing he had secured all that was of value here, removed to Charlestown soon after. Mrs. Conant was a charming and cultivated woman. She subsequently, when widowed, returned and lived in the South- worth house, which she had inherited from her brother, Franklin R. Bonney.
About 1824 George Little, of Newbury, Mass., moved to town and built what was long known as the " Yellow Store." The tim- ber for this store was drawn the preceding season, and the store was first occupied in the autumn of 1824. Mr. Little was active in business, politics, and the militia, and attained the rank of major in the line. His personal and business characteristics have been described by William J. Bellows : -
" Of Mr. Little, it may be said that his like is seldom met with. Well educated, of gentlemanly instincts and address, with strong con- victions, and fearless in expressing them, with a knowledge of the world acquired by mingling with all classes, both socially and in a variety of business relations, he could readily adapt himself to any position with credit. But with all these qualifications he was eccen- tric and absent-minded to a degree that rendered him unsafe in the man- agement of details in small matters incident to the keeping of accounts in a retail business, the reason apparently being that his mind was con- stantly occupied by matters of large moment, leaving minor considera- tions unheeded. He would walk the entire length of the street, earnestly talking and gesticulating to himself, without recognizing his best friend whom he might meet. These moods, however, disappeared when the matter in hand was of sufficient importance to command his attention.
1 He was the grandfather of Prof. Dean C. Worcester, of the Philippine Com- mission.
267
Annals.
Although nominally in trade, therefore, it can hardly be said that he was practically identified to any considerable extent with the buying and selling of merchandise in Littleton ; yet he was far from being an unimportant factor in the growth and development of the town." 1
Mr. Little was active in town affairs as well as in many business enterprises, including a supervision of his father's large landed property in this town, and a membership in the firm of Bellows, Redington, & Co. As the representative of his firm he visited England to arrange for the sale of the Fairbanks scales in that country. This venture, which was counted upon to make a for- tune for all the parties interested, was not successful, as the English agent failed to fulfil his contract.
In 1829 George B. Redington purchased the interest of Mr. Little in the " Yellow Store," and he in turn sold his lease to Colby & Eastman in 1836, when he built the brick store at the corner of Main and Saranac Streets. The firm of Colby & East- man was soon dissolved by the retirement of the senior member, and in 1838 Henry Mattocks became a member of the firm. In 1836 John Farr, who had served a long apprenticeship under Mr. Curtis and Major Brackett, entered into a partnership with Marquis L. Goold, who was for some years a clerk for William Brackett in the meadow store, and they erected the building at the corner of Main and Brook Streets, and occupied it for three or four years for purposes of trade.
Among the valuable additions to the citizenship in these years were Henry A. Bellows, William J. Bellows, Truman Stevens, John Merrill, Francis Hodgman, and Philip C. Wilkins. Mr. Stevens was a harness-maker, but early gave his attention to the develop- ment of the general business interests of the town, and by his great enterprise and ability added much to its advancement and welfare. Henry A. Bellows, beside his law practice, which soon became large, was long associated with Mr. Stevens in his business ventures. He purchased the lot then owned by Capt. Isaac Abbott, but now occupied by the residence of C. F. Eastman. Mr. Bellows moved a part of the old house to the west line of the lot and re- modelled it for an office, and built, in 1835, an attractive dwelling on the old site.
The twenty years from 1820 to 1840 were memorable for the growth - indeed it may be said for the creation - of the village. All the dwellings on the north side of Main Street west of the Dr. Burns homestead, now owned by Dr. McGregor, except the
1 See Littleton Centennial, pp. 247, 248.
268
History of Littleton.
old house which then stood on the Dr. Sanger lot, were built in these years, as were most of those on the south side of the street, including, beside those already mentioned, stores at the west cor- ners of Main and Mill Streets ; 1 the Colby Building, now occupied by Cyprian Trombly ; the Eastman Block ; the Cohashauke Club- house, built for a cabinet shop by John Merrill ; the drug-store of Herbert E. Kenney, erected by Francis Hodgman ; the Ouver- and Block ; the Union House, now removed back from its original site ; the brick store, the original building on the Cottage Hotel lot ; the brick house, the Batchelder house, where now stands the Tar- bell house, owned by Dr. Beattie ; the W. A. Haskins house, the residence of Dr. Parker ; and the house at the corner of Main and Meadow Streets. A large proportion of these buildings were erected between 1830 and 1840. It requires but a casual glance at the list to show that the period was one of unusual activity and great prosperity.
In the same period was laid the foundation of Apthorp, or the Scythe Factory, village, as it was then termed. Edmund Carleton built the sawmill, so long operated by Calvin F. Cate, and in 1835 Ely, Farr, & Co. erected a shop and began the manufacture of scythes at this village.
While the material growth of the town was satisfactory, its moral and educational welfare was not neglected. The first village church was dedicated on the 3d of July, 1833, and the No. 8 school dis- trict was divided, and Districts 14, at the Scythe Factory, and 15, which embraced that portion of the village lying west of School Street and the line of No. 6, were created, and substantial school- houses built. That in 15 contained three rooms, was of two stories, and while without ornament was quite an imposing structure for that day.
The greatest obstacle to the progress of the remote interior towns during the early years of the century was a want of easy intercommunication with the markets on the seacoast. In 1802 there were but three post-offices in the north country. These were at Haverhill, Littleton,2 and Lancaster. About this time the Federal government was active in creating new post-routes and establishing new post-offices. From an account printed in 1800, it is learned that " Post roads have been very much extended of late through the United States ; a list of them would be too prolix here. The main road extends from Brewer's at Schrodis, Maine,
1 Mill Street forms a quarter-circle, with an easterly and westerly entrance into Main Street.
2 This was at North Littleton.
269
Annals.
to Rocky Landing in Georgia, a distance of more than 1500 miles. A great number of cross roads are established for a general inter- course with the interior part of the States. The General Post- Office is kept at the seat of government." In 1802 there were 1017 post-offices in the United States. In 1803 " four clerks were allowed the Postmaster-General, each of whose salary was not to exceed $500 per annum."1 The marvels of the century are mani- fold, but not the least of them is the upbuilding of a postal sys- tem rendered possible by thousands of inventions calculated to advance commerce and the arts.
The story of the first post-office and mail-route has been told. Eighteen years after that important event, on the 8th of February, 1820, an office was established at " Littleton Village," with Elisha Hinds as postmaster. The office was at the dwelling of Esquire Hinds, now the residence of the widow of the late Otis G. Hale. This house was the only one on the south side of the river within the present limits of the village district. The salary of Postmas- ter Hinds for the first year was $13.09. In 1824 it had increased to $17.97. Soon after the Bracketts purchased the " Old Red Store " the office was moved to that establishment, and A. S. Allen, then one of the clerks in the store, was made assistant postmaster. In 1825 the name of the office was changed from Littleton Village to that of Glynville. Dr. Burns relates that when the postmaster requested him to sign a petition asking for a change of name, he made objection to the " y," and asked to have the letter " e" sub- stituted therfor ; but the Esquire was obdurate. The Doctor re- garded the new name as a misnomer. As the location was in a beautiful glen, the name he suggested would have been appro- priate, while the one approved by Mr. Hinds was without local significance. However, the name did not long survive. When Andrew Jackson became President and the doctrine of " To the victor belongs the spoil" became the rule, Simeon B. Johnson, a stout Jackson man, was appointed postmaster in place of Ephraim Hinds, who had supported Adams. The office was moved to the " Yellow Store," and in December, 1830, was named Littleton, a designation it has since retained.2 Mr. Johnson continued in
1 U. S. Laws, 1803.
2 The first office bearing this name of Littleton, and the first in town, was estab- lished at North Littleton, September 30, 1802. The name was changed to Pingree- ville, June 12, 1828, and this to North Littleton, January 19, 1843. The first office at West Littleton was created May 27, 1857, with George Carter as postmaster. This office was discontinued in December, 1864, and was re-established as Pattenville in July 19, 1890, with John Burgin as postmaster. There was an office at South Littleton during a considerable part of the time; the Littleton Luml er Company operated a mill at that point.
270
History of Littleton.
office until 1841. When Harrison became President, Guy Ely was appointed to this office.
Old residents still refer to Mr. Johnson as a model postmaster, gentlemanly and exceedingly obliging to the patrons of the office. During the twelve years he held the position, there were at first two and later but three mails a week each way. It was long be- fore the day of boxes, and it was hiis custom to deliver such mail matter as remained uncalled for on the day of its arrival, at the home of village residents. It is quite probable that he inaugurated the system now so universal in our cities of mail delivery by car- riers. The Esquire - all postmasters bore the title in the days of long ago - wore the conventional tall hat, and in this he deposited such mail matter as remained in the office, and started on his mis- sion of delivery. His route was up one side of Main Street and down the other, thence back to the office. Knocking at the door, while awaiting a response, he removed his beaver and selecting the mail stood with uncovered head, and when the door was opened landed in the letter with a courteous bow, resumed his hat, and continued his trip. Postage in those days was seldom prepaid, and the charge to the recipient was sometimes a matter of grave concern.4
The stage-line from Haverhill to Lancaster was founded in 1820 by Samuel Ross of Bath. The conveyance was a three-seated can- vas top wagon drawn by a pair of horses. This stage made two trips each week, leaving Haverhill Wednesday and Saturday morn- ings, and leaving Lancaster for the return on Tuesday and Satur- day mornings, making the distance of fifty miles in a day. The fare was two dollars. The carriage was of the style which is now called a mountain wagon without springs, but with wooden rockers on each side, resting on leather straps of many thicknesses, which broke the jolt and jar of the carriage as it passed over the numerous obstructions in the road. This wagon was drawn by a pair of horses, which were changed for fresh animals at distances of fifteen
1 The postal rates in 1802 were as follows : "For every single letter conveyed by land, not exceeding 40 miles, 8 cents ; over 40 and not exceeding 90 miles, 10 cents ; 90 and not exceeding 150 miles, 12} cents ; 150 and not exceeding 300 miles, 17 cents ; 300 and not exceeding 500 miles, 20 cents, and exceeding 500 miles, 25 cents." In 1820 the rate was: "Every letter composed of a single sheet of paper, conveyed not above 30 miles, 6 cents; over 30 miles and not exceeding 80 miles, 10 cents ; over 80 miles and not exceeding 150 miles, 12} cents ; over 150 miles and not exceed- ing 400 miles, 182 cents ; over 400 miles, 25 cents.
"Every letter composed of two pieces of paper, double those rates ; every letter composed of three pieces of paper, triple those rates; every letter composed of four pieces of paper, weighing one ounce, quadruple those rates ; and at the rate of four single letters for each ounce any letter or packet may weigh." Newspaper rates bore a comparatively proportionate rate. In 1840 the above rates remained unchanged.
271
Annals.
or twenty miles. A few years after the establishment of the line, Mrs. Anne Royall visited the mountains and necessarily came to this town and also journeyed to Lancaster. In the " Black Book " she relates some incidents connected with her ride by stage to the Upper Coos.1 The trip was made in November after a heavy fall of snow. She says : -
" Being told that the stage was ready, upon going to the door I found, instead of a covered sleigh, a great open square box 2 upon run- ners, and it raining very hard. Upon remonstrating with the driver, he was very insolent, and swore I should pay double for going in that ; it was hard going for the horses (the snow melting), and if I did not pay what he asked, I might stay, and thus I was forced to submit ; the box was filled with dirty lumber withal, . . . and had it not so hap- pened there were three young men in the box I should have been afraid to venture. . . . One of the passengers was quite a decent young man,8 and having an umbrella he very politely held it over my head. . . . This young man had served in the late war, and related many anec- dotes of my friends and the battles he was in. He was in the battle of Queenstown and Chippewa. . .. He spoke in high praise of Colonel Towson, Generals Brown, Ripley, Scott, and Jessup."
Her description of the scene along the route is interesting at this distance of time. She continues : -
" The country from Littleton to Lancaster is thinly settled, the hills swell into vast mountains, and the yellow pine, birch, and maple appear mixed with hemlock and spruce. A few fields are seen at a distance on the Vermont shore, of a circular figure, with smooth white stones con- trasted, and mingled with the rough yellow pine, which at this season seems to be blooming with white roses ; these, with sharp ridges, deep valleys, rushing streams, rocks, and precipices, with the beautiful Connecticut (though frozen in many places), present to the delighted traveller a scene rich in variety and beauty. ... Deer abound in this part of New Hampshire. As we were changing horses in the evening at a house perched on a lofty rise, at the foot of which the Connecticut rolls swiftly on, with a soft, low murmuring sound, the landlord of the house very politely came out to converse with me as I sat in the box. Seeing the rocks in the river covered with such moss as I have seen deer feeding on, it reminded me of them, and I asked the gentleman if there were any deer in the neighborhood. 'Yes,' he said ; ' they very often come down the hill on the opposite shore to drink, and eat the moss in the heat of the summer days.' He had formerly killed many,
1 The orthography of this word follows that used in the laws of the State at the period referred to.
2 The red or pod sleigh of those days.
3 Major John W. Weeks.
272
History of Littleton.
but they were now grown scarce. Nothing could exceed the beauty of the road as we drew near Lancaster. It had long been night, but the moon shone, the evening mild and thawing, the rain had ceased, and our road ran on the brink of the river, which, though very narrow, was smooth and straight. It was quite late when we reached Lancaster ; the soldier (I believe an officer) stopped some distance back."
At the time Mr. Ross extended the stage line from Haverhill to Lancaster, or but a few months afterward, a weekly mail was car- ried between Plymouth and this town through the Franconia notch. It consisted of a single pouch strapped on the back of a horse. This pouch contained the mail for delivery at all the offices between the terminus and that for more distant points. Arriving at the office, the bag was delivered to the postmaster, who examined its contents, taking such as he found addressed to his office, returned the rest to the pouch with such as he had to add to it, and gave it to the post-rider, who continued his solitary journey through the woods.
There were men of enterprise in all the towns in this section of the State who desired to increase the means of communication with the State capital and Portsmouth. In this town Henry A. Bellows, Truman Stevens, and Capt. Isaac Abbot were of this class. Nathan Pike, of Waterford, Vt., was one of the most ar- dent advocates of this plan. He visited the several towns along the line of the proposed route between Plymouth and Waterford, and addressed public meetings called to consider methods for the establishment of the stage line. These meetings were largely at- tended and very enthusiastic. At a meeting held in this town he pleaded long and eloquently in behalf of his favorite project. He gave statistics showing the number of double sleighs that made the annual trip from northern Vermont to Portland, with the ton- nage and value of their freights, and claimed that a large percent- age of this business would be diverted from Portland to Portsmouth, and a regular line of freight teams, as well as the mail and passen- ger stage, established under his plan of operations. " This line," he declared, " would scoop all the travel between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Pole."
A meeting of this character was held at Franconia January 25, 1826. Col. Timothy A. Edson presided, and George Little served as secretary. Nathan Pike, Joseph Palmer, Joshua Quimby, Wil- liam Quimby, Levi Parker, Jonathan Bowles, and Isaac Smith constituted a committee on resolutions, whose report favored the project of a road through Franconia Notch connecting with that to Concord and thence to Portsmouth, and providing for two
273
Annals.
committees, one on ways and means and the other on petitions to the legislature. Elisha Hinds, of this town and N. P. Rogers, of Plymouth, were members of the first committee.
The merchants of Portland became alarmed over the outlook, and fearing the loss of trade began a counter agitation. Their remedy for the threatened evil was to make the way easier by building new roads and straightening and repairing existing ones. To this end they gave their money, and secured the passage of a law by the Maine Legislature making an appropriation for build- ing a road through the Ammonoosuc valley from the present Bethlehem Junction to this village. This movement was effec- tive, to a large extent, in holding the trade of this section for the Maine city.
The efforts of Mr. Pike and his associates were successful ; the stage line was founded under the auspices of a corporation of which that gentleman and Messrs. Russell, Webster, and Merrill of Plymouth, Stevens, Ely, and Abbott of Littleton were the di- rectors. It is evident, judging from the sequel, that the glowing anticipations of its projectors were not realized, for after a preca- rious existence of eighteen months the assets of the corporation were disposed of to Truman Stevens and Isaac Abbott, who operated the line for some years with varying success and failure.
The first " coach " was similar to the one in use on the Haverhill and Lancaster line which has been described, drawn by a pair of horses when the travelling was considered good, but an extra horse was put on the lead spring and autumn, and sometimes after a heavy storm in winter. The driver was Olcott Holton, who was famous in his day for his ability to wind the horn and send its notes echoing among the hills.
The enthusiasm awakened among the people by the promoters of the scheme of founding the line was akin to that which is wit- nessed at the present time when a new line of railroad is about to be built into regions where the shrill sound of the locomotive whistle has never penetrated. Extensive preparations were made to welcome its advent, and when the music of Holton's horn first floated across the valley from the heights near the junction of the Franconia and Bethlehem roads, all the inhabitants of the village, largely augmented by reinforcements from other parts of the town, turned out to give him greeting. The coach was met on the hill by a cavalcade of horsemen and a numerous party on foot, who escorted it to the Union House, then but a few weeks opened to the public. Feasting and speech-making followed, and the party
VOL. I .- 18
274
History of Littleton.
separated, firmly convinced that the occasion they had celebrated was the harbinger of better and more prosperous days for the town. They were a full day nearer Concord and Portsmouth than they had been, and that fact counted for much even then. The pro- prietors advertised their line in some of the publications of the day, and demonstrated their determination to make the venture a success if making its advantages known to the public would con- tribute to that result.1
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.