USA > New Hampshire > History of New Hampshire, Volume IV > Part 21
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Chapter XV THE CAPITAL
Chapter XV
THE CAPITAL
The Capital an Epitome of the State-Concord a Fine Residential City- Oldest Concord Represented by Markers-State Library-Building of The New Hampshire Historical Society-Public Library of the City- The Post Office-City Buildings-New Hampshire State Hospital-The Margaret Pillsbury General Hospital-State Prison-The Capital and Its Offices-Monuments That Adorn Its Grounds-Hall of Fame and Art Gallery Needed-Board of Agriculture-New Hampshire Depart- ment of the Grand Army of the Republic-Editor of State Papers- Bureau of Labor-Tax Commission-Insurance Commission-Depart- ment of Public Instruction-Vital Statistics-Fish and Game Commis- sioners-Office of the Adjutant-General-Hall of the House of Repre- sentatives-The Senate Chamber-Commissioner of Motor Vehicles- Office of the Secretary of State-The Council Chamber and Governor's Room-Board of Charities and Correction-Public Service Commission -State Department of Highways-Board of Health-Excise Commis- sion-Forestry Commission-Bank Commission-Office of the Attorney- General-Office of the State Treasurer-Cost of Maintaining State Government.
TT is a familiar saying that Paris is France. A nation's life centers at its capital. The forces that are felt in the activi- ties of a State have their seat at its capital. Here are many of its public institutions. Here its lawmakers convene to plan for the welfare of the entire State. Here its political schemes are hatched by "Jethro Bass" of "Coniston."1 Here the slate is made up, containing the names of officeholders for several years to come-unless the other party, or some new party, upsets the plans of the political managers. Here it is determined who shall go to Congress and how long he shall stay. The leaders gather here and many have made their residences here, after getting started, or discouraged, in some smaller place. Governors,
1 Winston Churchill, the well known author, although not a native of New Hampshire, has his home at Cornish and has taken a prominent part in political movements, the Progressive party having made him their candidate for Governor at one time. His novel "Coniston," so plainly pictures the inside of politics that many readers think they see in his prin- cipal characters real persons with changed names.
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judges, United States officials retired find a pleasant resting place in Concord. It is a residential city chiefly, though per- haps half of its population of twenty thousand or more are supported by manufacturing. As becomes a residential city of considerable wealth, the houses are well built, rather too closely crowded in the central part, and the streets are in good condi- tion. The State highway runs through it and is the thorough- fare for automobiles. Shade trees abound. The one long busi- ness street has a double row of brick blocks that would do credit to any city. Concrete and granolithic sidewalks reach into the outskirts. Macadamized roads are taking the places of the old country roads leading into the city. Concord paid a good deal of money to the State for the privilege of having the capitol here; the State is continually paying it back in indirect ways.
Residential wealth is unenterprising. There is no feverish haste to boom Concord. It is good enough and big enough already for those who want quiet and ease. Money invested in stocks and bonds suits the taste of those who have finished life's work, as well as of those who have inherited sufficient for the comforts and some of the luxuries of life. There is no water power immediately at hand to tempt capitalists. The region has very fine granite, but no monopoly of building material. A visitor would naturally be impressed with the thought that Con- cord is a nice place to rest in. There is a goodly company of State officials, bankers, lawyers, physicians, and men retired from business, that make up a delightful society for the well-to- do classes. As usual in New England the Protestant churches are too many, and in most of them the audiences are thin. The schools are excellent, and St. Paul's, a large and flourishing private school in the western suburb, has a wide and winning reputation.
Such is about the impression made by a residence of a year or two. There is no intention to write of Concord as a city, but only as the capital of the State and to mention those things that pertain to the history of the commonwealth.
The old settlement at Penacook, or Rumford, was at the north end of Main Street, on slightly elevated land overlooking the Indian cornfields. Here the Rev. Timothy Walker built his spacious house, still standing as one of the oldest landmarks.
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It is a privilege to look inside of it and see the portraits of the Walker family, including Count Rumford and daughter. It needs one of New Hampshire's many poets to describe such places, and so the task is left to them. In the yard one can scarcely help noticing the round, massive piece of granite, that once formed the horseblock at the first church, when everybody that did not have to walk rode to meeting on horseback. The stone was a convenience for mounting and dismounting. A little way south of the Walker house stood the store, in the upper part of which convened the first legislative assembly that met in Concord. The building has been moved across the street and is now a residence. The large old elms are one by one disappearing, worn out with old age. The business that once centered in this part of the city has moved south half a mile or so. One can but see and admire the new Walker school build- ing, that stands pretty nearly on the spot where the spacious meeting house was erected in 1756, and where so many political conventions were once held. The Methodists got possession of it, after a new church was built, and converted it into a Theo- logical School, called Concord Biblical Institute. It was burned after the school had been transferred to Boston. The grounds that surrounded the old meeting house indicate that the settlers planned on a liberal scale, when land was cheap and plenty. West of the lot and of State Street may be seen the first burial ground, where memorial inscriptions tell of the honored and beloved. One pauses to read the names of Rev. Timothy Walker, Henry Rolfe, Countess Rumford, Colonel Stickney, the Bradley family and President Franklin Pierce.
In walking down Main Street one notices the frequent markers, that tell of garrison houses in the times of Indian wars, or that this or that distinguished person was born or lived here, for Concord is proud of her traditions and has good right to be. The house where lived for a short time S. F. B. Morse, the inventor of the electric telegraph, is pointed out, and here he found his wife, Miss Lucretia Pickering Walker, great-grand- daughter of the first minister. He was then a painter of por- traits. Look into the Italian garden, constructed by Governor Rollins as a memorial to his mother, daughter of John West, whose house stood here. Notice the marker that tells where
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the first log meeting house stood. Then pass on to the County Building on a slight elevation with a broad lawn around it. This building was rebuilt in 1906 on the foundation of a previous edifice which was a combination of City Hall and County Court- house, and here was the beginning of a city library. The build- ing would do credit to any county. It was the desire of many that the State House should be built on this site. Their dis- appointment is our present gain.
The business portion of Main Street is all of recent growth. The old hotels or taverns of generations past have been demol- ished. The Eagle House has spread its wings and soared. The Phoenix has risen from its former self. At the lower end of Main Street we come to an old residence quarter, and here are shown the houses or sites of houses where lived Robert Rogers, the famous Ranger, Governor Isaac Hill and President Franklin Pierce.
Leaving the State House for later mention let us look at the group of public buildings in its vicinity. The State had no library worthy of the name till 1895, when the State Library Building was dedicated. Prior to that date there was a collec- tion of law books in the State House, safely locked up and little used. In 1866 a room was fitted up and a board of trustees appointed. The Secretary of State or his deputy served as librarian. Soon the number of books outgrew accommodations, and in 1889 plans began to be formed for a suitable building. The result in edifice and collection of books is in every way gratifying. It is now one of the public institutions of the State, open every day except Sundays and holidays for the accommo- dation of readers and students. Its collection of law books is ample for legal purposes. The historical collection contains about all that has ever been printed, pertaining to State, county and town history of New Hampshire, and much may be learned here about other States. There is also a large number of gene- alogical works and special effort is made to obtain all books written by New Hampshire authors. It is a student's library, made up largely of books of reference. When the building was completed there were stored in it 50,000 volumes. It now (1916) has 154,000 volumes, besides many thousand pamphlets and manuscripts. It grows from day to day, and soon enlarged
POST OFFICE . CONCORD, N.H.
STATE LIBRARY. CONCORD, N.H
N
STATE CAPITOL.CONCORD.
N.H. HIST. SOC. BLG. CONCORD, N.H.
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stackroom must be provided in an additional wing. The upper hall, not originally designed for books, is now filled with shelves, and they are crowded with books. The western part of the first floor is occupied as a court room for the Supreme Court of the State. It is not necessary to speak of the edifice itself and at- tempt to describe it in architectural phrases. A picture tells that story to the general reader better than words can do. The building material is rock-faced stone from the quarry at Con- way, with trimmings of Concord granite. Italian renaissance tells the style of architecture. The inside furnishing is of quar- tered oak. The cost to the State was $313,687 and the city con- tributed $25,000 for the purchase of adjacent land. Thus there is space for future enlargement, and since the building is prac- tically fire-proof and is separate from other buildings by a safe distance, it is likely to remain a long time as the abode of legal and historical lore. The occasion of its dedication was a notable one, when Judge Isaac W. Smith, President William J. Tucker of Dartmouth College and Ainsworth R. Spofford, LL.D., Li- brarian of Congress, made the principal addresses. That of Mr. Spofford on "The World of Books" is worthy of a permanent place in literature.
This is a State Library in the broadest sense. Any inhabi- tant of the State may obtain books therefrom by paying the cost of transportation. This is wise and just, since the whole State is taxed to support it. Thus it forms an important part of the system of education, and its maintenance is in fulfillment of the State's Constitution, wherein it is made the duty of the State "to cherish the interests of literature" and encourage all institutions for the promotion of the public welfare.
The next building that claims our attention is that of the New Hampshire Historical Society, the most beautiful edifice in New England, it is safe to say, and one might extend the geographical limits much farther without any danger of contra- diction. Its exterior is built of Concord granite, and that is handsomer and more durable than marble, especially for a cold climate. Notice in the front projections the large slabs of pink granite from East Lyme, Conn. The style is conformed closely to Grecian models, chiefly of the Doric order of architecture, though an Ionic pilaster and capital may be seen on each side
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of the entrance, and Corinthian capitals appear in the reading- room. Over the portal is placed an emblamatic group sculp- tured from a block of granite that weighed twenty-two tons. The group was designed by a native of New Hampshire, Daniel Chester French. The seal of the Historical Society is in the center ; on the right is an aged woman, who holds a skull in her right hand and is intently gazing at a tablet such as might have been seen in ancient Rome or Niniveh. She represents Ancient History. On the left of the shield is the figure of a youth with his hand upon a globe and he is perusing a scroll. The sugges- tion is Modern History. Above the seal is the wise old owl. The seal itself has upon it an open book with radiating light above it. Massive bronze grilles roll back to disclose doors of mahogany and glass, reminding him who enters of Milton's gates of Paradise, "harmonious sound on gold hinges moving," and he is not disappointed on entering, especially if he is a lover of the beautiful in art and the instructive in literature. The monks of Sienna have sent variegated marble to compose and adorn the rotunda or entrance hall, whose walls, arches and ceiling are formed of selected blocks so as to harmonize its many shades of color. The floor is of stone in mosaic patterns. The visitor faces a noble staircase and a bronze tablet, whose inscription tells the name of the donor, and looking about he will see in alcoves bronze, life-size busts of Amos Tuck and his son, Edward Tuck. The latter is a native of New Hampshire and has long resided in Paris as a banker. This building is in loving remembrance of his father and of his native State. No expense and no pains have been spared to make the building as beautiful, as serviceable and as enduring as human art and skill can produce.
To the left is the reading room, with deep alcoves for the books most used; to the right is the lecture hall, with a portrait of Daniel Webster, an oil painting of Constantinople and the Bosporus, and flags of New Hampshire regiments in the Ameri- can Revolution. The doors, and furniture throughout are of mahogany. On the upper floor are a stack-room, rooms for the books donated by Lorenzo Sabine and by Governor Charles H. Bell, and rooms for the display of portraits, medals, old china ware, swords, Indian arrow-heads and axes of stone, silverware and antiques of great variety, that are associated with the his- tory of New Hampshire.
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While a fine building does not make a library, it is an embodiment of thought that makes as valuable and lasting impression as books can do. A studious person may gaze long and often at the exterior or interior of this building and always find something to charm, soothe, expand and elevate the mind. Is not that what a collection of books is for? Books might be placed in such surroundings as to make one almost hate them; to render them alluring they need to be housed in a building that is in itself an illuminated edition of great and beautiful thought.
This building was dedicated in 1912, Guy Lowell being the architect, and in four years the number of books contained therein has doubled, being now over 30,000, besides many pamphlets and manuscripts. Mr. Edward Tuck has endowed it and additions to endowment are made from time to time. The State makes a small annual appropriation and annual fees of over six hundred members help to meet current expenses. The collection of historical and genealogical works bears especially upon the history of New Hampshire, then upon that of New England, the United States, England and the whole world. The State Library and the Historical Society work together, so as not to duplicate too much and to make expended funds produce the largest possible collection of best books.
The New Hampshire Historical Society was chartered in 1823, and ever since it has been composed of leading citizens of the State and of natives who have sojourned in other States. The objects of the society, as told in its constitution, are "to discover, procure and preserve whatever may relate to the natural, civil, ecclesiastical and literary history of the United States in general, and of this State in particular." For some years its books and annual meetings were in the State House. From 1840 onward the home of the society was in the building of the Merrimack County Bank, on North Main Street. In 1869 the building was purchased by the society, and it remains in the society's possession, though unoccupied since 1912. Eleven volumes of historical collections have been published and four volumes of proceedings. The usefulness of the society now far exceeds that of its past and its future prosperity is well secured. Nothing that pertains to the history of any part of New Hamp- shire can be written well without its aid. The benefit of its
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accumulations might be more widely distributed by frequent publications of manuscripts and addresses not accessible to the public.
Two great libraries are not enough for Concord, and so the city has its own, right in sight of the other two, a little south of the State House. It is a decent and unpretentious brick build- ing, and some wealthy citizen would do himself honor by donat- ing $100,000 or more for a larger public library. Here the lead- ing newspapers, magazines, works of fiction and current litera- ture may be found, with books of reference and many photo- graphs and maps. This library is a valuable assistant to the public schools. One can get a liberal, if not a profound, educa- tion by reading the newspapers and magazines, and the stress of business often makes such forms of literature the only ones within the grasp of daily workers. By all means let everybody who wants to know more than he now does have every possible incentive and help to learn. The present city library is a re- modeled dwelling house, dedicated in 1888, the gift of William P. and Clara M. Fowler in loving memory of their parents, Asa and Mary C. K. Fowler, who were for fifty years honored resi- dents of Concord.
It is fitting that the public buildings of the United States should be costly enough to be beautiful and durable, and a State capital demands one of the best. Therefore every loyal American citizen is pleased to look upon a Gothic structure of Concord granite that was planned in 1882 and occupied seven years later as a post office and United States court house com- bined, and he does not feel impoverished when he is told that it cost $230,000, besides fifteen thousand dollars contributed by the city for the purchase of land. The building occupies the center of a complete square, with a broad lawn about it, for a magnificent building should never be set upon a little piece of land and thus hidden from view and exposed to fire. Concord has become the center of a wide-reaching postal system, that demands more and more room for the transaction of the in- creasing business of Uncle Sam. Even now an addition is being made to the post office at a cost of sixty thousand dollars, and although the building as a whole will not be so symmetrical as before and will need enlargement again in a few years, we will
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rejoice that as a nation we are growing rich with great rapidity and can well afford to build us more stately mansions.
Southwest of the post office square is a group of brick buildings of recent date, that are more useful than ornamental. The group consists of City Hall, Auditorium and Armory, crowded together in unseemly and disordered arrangement, with not a square foot of land to spare. It is out of harmony with the other public buildings in sight.
Five churches and a public school building, all worthy structures, complete the remarkable group of edifices that may be seen from the rear of the State House, and one would have to travel far to find a group equally impressive in its architecture. Concord is like ancient Jerusalem, "a city that is compact to- gether, whither the tribes go up."
The institution of the State that appeals most to human sympathy is the New Hampshire State Hospital, a name chosen in mercy to conceal its main purpose, for here those bereft of reason are assembled from all over the State. It was created by legislative act in 1838 and was opened for the reception of patients in 1842.2 There has been a steady growth ever since, and the number of insane people seems to be on the increase. Perhaps insanity is more readily recognized now than it was then. Perhaps relatives and friends are more eager to avail themselves of the benefits of this institution. The report of 1914 shows I,II0 patients, precisely the same number of men as of women. The increase of late has been at the rate of more than fifty annually. During seventy-one years 11,381 patients were admitted, of whom 4,363 recovered and many more im- proved. The excess of patients over capacity was one hundred and sixty-three at the last report. There is now in process of erection a large addition to the Walker building. This building is for those who are quiet and can be employed in industrial occupations both inside and outside of the buildings. Such patients do the printing of the institution and make brooms, brushes, slippers and men's hose. Besides a large amount of farm work is done by patients, for the institution owns one hundred and seventy-five acres of land, the larger part border- ing on Pleasant Street, where the buildings are located on ele-
2 See Chapter XI. of Vol. III.
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vated ground, and fifty acres are distant about a mile. The value of farm products in 1914 was $31,298. The women do all the sewing and mending of the hospital. Some work in the kitchen and do housework. Others make rugs, knit stockings and weave baskets. The cultivation of a garden of flowers or vegetables engages the attention of some female patients and is beneficial. Everything possible is done to restore reason, to improve health, to diminish suffering, and to make the last days easy.
There is a very large hospital for the sick, a special building for the nurses, the Twitchell building for those who are able to pay liberally, an administration building, a heating and lighting plant, a farm house, barn, etc. Eighty-five nurses are employed, besides many attendants. There is a training school for the education of nurses and affiliation with similar hospitals in New York.
Records show that comparatively few young persons be- come insane, but as years increase and cares and labors multiply the human mind gets unbalanced. The largest cause of insanity is alcohol in some form. The imps that troop along after the demon of rum are heredity, old age, ill health, overwork, worry, grief, syphilis, epilepsy and morphine. As to the former occu- pations of the insane the largest number come from those who have done housework. The next largest class are operatives in mills and shops. It is not the brain-workers that get crazy; it is rather those who do one little thing over and over again so that there is little chance for the exercise of the brain. Quite a large number of farmers become insane, perhaps because they do too little brain-work. Only one patient out of four hundred has been a minister, teacher, lawyer, or physician. Let the reader take warning and keep himself busy in thinking and studying about something worth while. Those who have little to do and nothing to think about, or who have only one idea, are most liable to lose what little mind they have. New and fresh ideas will sometimes drive out the obsessing devils.
Of the four hundred and twelve admitted one year only one hundred and seventy-six were natives of New Hampshire, so that the Granite State is comparatively "clothed and in its right mind." It is doing a lot of benevolent work for natives of other
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states and countries. Many inmates have come from Canada and Ireland.
Donations and bequests have increased the permanent funds to $304,000. The total expenditures for the year 1914 were $265,483. The weekly cost per capita was $4.70. The superin- tendent and treasurer of the institution is C. P. Bancroft, M.D., assisted by five physicians. The institution will probably last a long time; the only forces that can destroy it are Eugenics, Hygiene, Temperance, a fair distribution of wealth and labor, and Christian morals.
Opposite the grounds of the State Hospital, on the north side of Pleasant Street, is the New Hampshire Centennial Home for the Aged, founded in 1876. For a few years it occupied a large dwelling house that had been used as a boarding school for young ladies. As funds and applicants for admission in- creased, a new brick structure took the place of the old building. Now there are forty-five inmates, who have come from many different towns. The conditions of admission are, that the applicant shall be sixty years of age or more, a deposit of three hundred dollars, residence in the State for at least ten years, good health and ability to care for oneself. It is for both sexes, yet only one man is there, and he is the husband of another inmate. Donations and bequests have increased the permanent fund to about $200,000. Similar homes in other cities have sprung up in imitation of the example of this one.
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