USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Salem > History of Salem, N.H. > Part 2
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The great importance to the town of Salem of this question of the southern boundary of New Hampshire justifies a review of the history of the final adjustment. The claims advanced by the two provinces were so conflicting as to make it uncertain on which side of the line the border towns, as Salem, would be placed.
Between 1734 and 1737, New Hampshire sent two men before the king as agents to procure royal intervention in behalf of the weaker province. The first of these men was John Ringe, who was followed by John Tomlinson. So forcibly did they present their case that the king, with the advice of his privy council, appointed on April 9, 1737, a commission composed of fifteen members, selected from the councillors of the neighboring prov- inces of Nova Scotia, Rhode Island, New York and New Jer- sey, "for Settling, Adjusting and determining the Respective
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HISTORY OF SALEM.
boundaries of Our said Provinces of the Massª Bay & New Hampshire in dispute as aforesaid."
According to instructions the commissioners met at Hamp- ton on September 1, 1737, and proceeded to hear fully the evi- dence and arguments presented for their consideration by com- mittees appointed by the legislatures of the two provinces. The claim presented by New Hampshire was that the "Southern Boundary of Said Province should begin at the end three miles North from the Middle of the Channel of Merrimack River where it runs into the Atlantic Ocean, and from thence should run on a Straight Line West up into the Main Land (toward the South Sea) until it meets with His Majesty's other govern- ments."
Massachusetts' claim was very different. The line was de- fined as "beginning at the Sea three English miles north from the black Rocks So called at the Mouth of the River Merri- mack as it emptied it Self into the Sea Sixty years agoe, thence running Parralel with the River as fare Northward as the Crotch or parting of the River, thence due North as far as a certain tree Commonly known for more than Seventy Years past by name of Indicots Tree Standing three English miles Northward of said Crotch or parting of Merrimack River, and from thence due West to the South Sea."
This line would follow the river, three miles distant, from its mouth to above Franklin, N. H., where the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers flow together, and thence due west to cross the Connecticut River near Windsor, Vt.
The commission heard all the evidence fairly and ably, then adjourned for six weeks to allow the contestants to file appeals, should they wish to do so, from the decision of the court, which was of the following indefinite purport: If the charter from William and Mary to the Province of Massachusetts Bay in- cluded all the land to the north of the Merrimack that belonged to the late Colony of Massachusetts Bay under the charter from Charles I, then the claim of Massachusetts should be upheld. But if it did not embrace all this land, then New Hampshire was in the right.
During the six weeks following, both parties were to prepare
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INTRODUCTION.
and file their appeals; and New Hampshire was all but "frozen out" by the methods employed by her rivals. At this time Hon. Jonathan Belcher was governor of both provinces. He was a Massachusetts man and therefore was not greatly delighted that the claims of the New Hampshire agents were manifestly more potent than those of his own province. For convenience he had assembled the legislatures of the two provinces near the place · of hearing, at the towns of Salisbury, Mass., and Hampton Falls, N. H. On the day before the above decision was ren- dered, he prorogued the New Hampshire legislature to the day before the commissioners were to meet to receive the appeals, while the Massachusetts legislature remained in session and care- fully planned their appeal. Nevertheless the New Hampshire men were ready to act at once upon assembling, and had their appeal ready to file, though without the approval of the gov- ernor and his council (which he was careful not to have in ses- sion). Massachusetts protested against the appeal on the ground that it was not approved, but it was of no use.
Both parties having appealed, the case went before the king. Here New Hampshire was represented by Mr. Paris, a very shrewd and learned lawyer, and so well did he present his case, also because of the weak opposition of Massachusetts, that on August 5, 1740, the king in council rendered the following judgment :
"Ord" and adjudged
"That the Northern Boundarys of the Province of the Mas- sachusetts Bay are and be a Similar Curve Line pursuing the Course of the Merrimack River at three Miles Distance on the North side thereof beginning at the Atlantick Ocean and ending at a Point due North of a Place in the Plan returned by the Commiss'rs called Pawtucket Falls and a Strait Line drawn from thence due West cross the said River till it meets with his Maj- estys other Governm'ts."'
Here we have the settlement of the old error in the early geography. To the king and his council it was patent that the first grants were intended to be separated east and west, as the river was at that time supposed to flow eastward. By this de- cision New Hampshire obtained a large area, including about
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HISTORY OF SALEM.
thirty towns more than she had claimed. Governor Belcher was ordered to have the boundary line determined and surveyed accordingly. But instead of dividing the expense between the two provinces, as was intended, he put the whole burden upon New Hampshire, as Massachusetts refused to help run a line which would take from her so much land. He appointed George Mitchell to run the curved line from the Atlantic to Pawtucket Falls just above Lowell, and Richard Hazzen as the surveyor for the "strait line due west." The entire line was completed in 1741, and is substantially the same as that recognized today. It was surveyed by a joint commission of the two states in 1825, as some inaccuracies in the lines of the Mitchell-Hazzen survey had been discovered. No agreement as to any change was ar- rived at, and the line stood thus until 1885. Then another joint commission was appointed by the two states, which made extensive surveys and permanently established all lines and corners. The finding of this commission was formally accepted by the legislatures of the two states, thus settling for all time the controversy which had lasted for nearly two centuries.
MASONIAN PROPRIETORS.
The decree of the king had put an end to the claim of Massa- chusetts for jurisdiction over New Hampshire territory. But very soon the question of ownership was to be brought up again from a different direction. It happened that John Tufton Mason, who had sold his claim to Samuel Allen, had a son, also named John Tufton Mason, who came forward in 1746 with a claim to the lands of his great great grandfather, Captain John Mason, on the grounds that his father and his uncle, Robert, had no right to give a deed of the property for a period longer than their own lives. He tried to sell his rights to the Province of New Hampshire (considerately omitting any claim that it should revert in turn to his heirs after his death). The par- ties having authority in the province, however, were slow to act, while Mason was more than ready to sell. Accordingly he turned his attention to private capital. A company was organ- ized at Portsmouth, composed of twelve prominent citizens, and known as the Lords Proprietors. After careful investigation of
1
CHARLES KIMBALL HOMESTEAD. (M 330)
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ISAAC WOODBURY.
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INTRODUCTION.
Mason's claim they bought it for fifteen hundred pounds ster- ling. They then set about assuming control of their new prop- erty. No attempt was made to oppose the Province government, but merely to exercise the rights of ownership over the terri- tory. The first meeting of the Masonian Proprietors, as they are known to us, was held on May 14, 1748. The first grant of land was made December 3 of the same year.
No attempt was made to exercise authority over the old towns already incorporated. Quit claim deeds were given to seven- teen of these east of the Merrimack, which had been granted by the province without consulting the heirs of Captain Mason. Liberal terms were offered for settling new towns in the unin- corporated districts. The granting of Salem, which was the twentieth of the proprietors' grants, will be referred to in a subsequent chapter. The usual method of procedure was to give deeds of the land, establish a unified settlement, and then obtain a charter from the Province government; but frequently this order was reversed.
By the time of the outbreak of the Revolution nearly all of the Mason land had been disposed of. The large number of towns in the state, especially in the southern half, which were incorporated between 1748 and 1775 is a direct testimonial to the recognized validity of the Masonian claim to authority of the title, in that the deeds granted by the proprietors were hon- ored as incontestable rights.
WHEELWRIGHT'S DEED.
The heirs of Captain Mason were not the only claimants to authority of ownership. In the south central part of the prov- ince a great chief lived and ruled. His domain extended from the foothills of the White Mountains even south of the Merri- mack River, and his law was acknowledged by all the tribes within this vast tract. This chief was Passaconaway of the Pen- nacooks, who were located near Concord. They were a very powerful tribe, who largely by the sagacity and prowess of their chieftain held dominion over all the tribes in the neighborhood. It was the custom of the early settlers to purchase their land from the tribe having jurisdiction in that locality. But no
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HISTORY OF SALEM.
sales could be made in this region without the sanction of Pas- saconaway, who was, however, very well disposed toward the settlers. Now Rev. John Wheelwright desired a grant in the southern part of New Hampshire, and in 1638, even within three years of the death of Captain Mason, he obtained a deed from Wehanownowit, Sagamore of Piscataquacke, with the sanction of Passaconaway, whom Wheelwright considered the real owner of the land. The grant called for land from three miles north of the Merrimack, thirty miles deep from the coast, and about square, extending to the mouth of the Piscataqua River. Re- servation was made, however, of the "broken-up lands," also of the right to fish and hunt. It will be seen that the territory was the southeast corner of the state, corresponding very nearly with the present county of Rockingham.
This John Wheelwright was the founder of Exeter, and a man of great influence because of his scholarly attainments. He had been a citizen of Massachusetts Bay Colony, a right which he is said to have forfeited because of his avowed belief in the separation of church and state.
There is another Wheelwright deed, the validity of which has been seriously questioned. It is supposed to have been given in 1629, or nine years prior to that referred to above. The terri- tory designated in the two deeds was in part identical, the earlier including the larger area. This deed of 1629 has been declared a forgery by no less authorities than Hon. James Savage, form- erly president of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the . Rev. Dr. Bouton, president of the New Hampshire Historical Society. By others, however, of equal prestige in historical cir- cles, the deed is credited as a valid instrument.
Many of the early settled towns took precautions- to secure title from the Wheelwright heirs. The Scotch-Irish colony which settled Londonderry sent a committee of two, Rev. Mr. McGregor and Samuel Graves, to secure a deed from Col. John Wheelwright of Wells, Me., in May, 1719. Colonel John was grandson of the original grantee of the land.
The Wheelwright claim never had any direct influence upon Salem, as the source of authority here was at Haverhill, with the later sanction of the Masonian Proprietors.
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INTRODUCTION.
We have traced the early settlement of southern New Hamp- shire, considered the various conflicting claims to territorial title and followed the general steps in the determining of the line separating the provinces of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The more specific and detailed treatment of these subjects, which will be necessary to the local interest that we as residents here feel, has been reserved for its more proper place in the chapter setting forth the settlement and early growth of the town.
CHAPTER I.
Topography.
LOCATION AND SIZE.
The town of Salem is situated in the southeastern part of New Hampshire, occupying the extreme southern point of Rock- ingham County. It is bounded on the north by Derry, west by Windham, south by Pelham and Methuen, east by Methuen, Haverhill and Atkinson. The boundary from Pelham-Methuen corner to the Haverhill-Atkinson corner is the state line between New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The bounds by lines and corners, as recorded in the reports of perambulations by the selectmen of adjoining towns, show a very considerable varia- tion. This may be accounted for in most cases by two causes- incorrect allowance for magnetic variation from true points of the compass, and errors in making or copying the reports of the surveys. Following are the correct magnetic directions for the town boundaries; an allowance of about twelve degrees and thirty minutes should be made for the true lines.
Beginning at the northwest corner of the town, at Lower Crank Corner so called, thence south 87º 10' east 556.36 rods, to the corner of Derry and Atkinson; thence south 6° west 36.32 rods, thence south 25° 15' east 398 rods, thence south 25° 10' east 161 rods, thence south 89° 30' west 16.6 rods, thence south 21° 30' west 371 rods, thence north 89° 30' east 309 rods, thence south 25° 30' east 176 rods to the corner of Atkinson on the state line, near Captain's Pond; thence by the state line south 49° 56' west 508 rods, thence south 7º 54' west 1159 rods to the extreme south corner of the town in Strongwater Meadow, thence north 62° 18' west 691 rods, thence north 87º 53' west 226 rods, thence south 79º 19' west 137 rods to the corner of Pelham on the state line ; here the boundary ceases to follow the state line; thence on Pelham line north 30° 41' west 375 rods, thence north 67° 6'
DANIEL TAYLOR HOMESTEAD. (M 630)
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PANORAMA VIEW OF SALEM
AGE FROM SPICKET HILL.
BRIDGE BY WHEELER'S MILL.
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TOPOGRAPHY.
west 411 rods to the corner of Windham line; thence on Wind- ham line north 42° 30' east 1113 rods, across Canobie Lake, thence north 35° east 435 rods, across Hitty Titty Pond, thence north 1º 45' east 575 rods to the Derry line at the point first mentioned.
It will be seen that this irregular tract of land has a peri- meter of almost twenty-four miles. Its maximum length is about eight miles, from the southeast at Strongwater Meadow to the northwest at Crank Corner. (This name is derived from the fact that the southern line of Derry here makes an offset, like a crank on a shaft.) ' The average width of the town is slightly more than three miles. The area is almost twenty-five square miles; more exactly, it is 15,889 acres.
VILLAGES.
Like almost any town of any considerable area, Salem includes within its limits several well-defined villages and hamlets. With the single exception of the two main villages, these are separated by long stretches of sparsely populated territory. Since the development of a community is usually closely associated with its industrial growth, we reserve the treatment of the several divisions of the town for the chapter on industrial history. However, we present here such facts as are needed for an ade- quate conception of the topography of the town, by giving the location and general description of each village or hamlet. Of the former there are three-Salem Depot, Salem Center and North Salem; of the latter five-Canobie Lake, Cowbell Corner, Millville, Messer's and Wheeler's Mill.
The most active community at the present time is Salem Depot, which is favored by its location on the line of the Bos- ton & Maine Railroad between Manchester and Lawrence. This is a village rendered attractive by its well-kept residences and its fine shade trees. Situated in one of the least picturesque parts of the town, with, for the most part, a level or slightly rolling surface, it owes its beauty largely to the artistic ele- ment in the make-up of its citizens. As it is the most recently built-up part of the town it has above all the rest the appearance of a suburban residential settlement, since the buildings are of a
3
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HISTORY OF SALEM.
more modern style of architecture than in other parts of the town.
Within the Depot Village are about one hundred and twenty- five dwelling houses, two churches, a school house, railroad sta- tion, hotel, eight stores, grain mill, large shoe factory, electric power plant, post-office, law office, hose company, livery stable, blacksmith's shop, barber shop and laundry. The splendid car barns of the Southern New Hampshire Electric Railway Com- pany are located on the outskirts of the village, toward the Cen- ter. By the lines of this company the Depot and Center villages are connected with the cities of Lawrence, Lowell, Nashua and Haverhill. All of the buildings above named are centered about the intersection of Main Street, running nearly due east and west, with the Londonderry Turnpike. Both of these roads are macadamized throughout this village, giving an added air of or- der and neatness to the general effect.
Leaving this village toward the northwest, one at once comes upon the beautiful hills and wooded vales about the shores of Canobie Lake. Nay, we are still within the village confines when we see from the height of land on Policy Street the road wind- ing away up the slope of the western hills, the broad, rolling fields separated by the long lines of rough stone wall and studded with orchard trees, the farmhouses nestling beneath the shade of majestic elms, and beyond, as a background to the scene, the tops of waving pines. Along the base of the ridge on which we stand, and separating it from the range of hills beyond, flows the brook which night and day, summer or winter, makes this spot charm- ing with its song, and brings delight to those who will but hear.
The village next in importance from the population view point is Salem Center. This is the patriarchal member of the town family. Here is to be found the scene of the early fight for ex- istence, when all about were wildernesses teeming with foes. Here is the home of the history of the old town; it is Salem. This village lies slightly to the southeast from the geographical center of the town, upon the banks of the Spicket River. The land is even more level than that at the Depot, although on the east side of the river it rises to the greatest height within the town. The impression which one receives as he passes through
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TOPOGRAPHY.
this settlement is that of a quiet country town, peaceful and contented in the possession of its traditions. This effect is due largely to the ancient appearance of many of the buildings, not- ably the town house and the Ewins building, as well as many of the residences. It is due also to the directions of the roads, which meet at irregular angles, forming small triangular spaces, or squares, rather than intersecting at right angles, as do those in more modern towns. In one of these triangles lies the com- mon, for one hundred years the site of the meeting house and the scene of all town activity.
At the Center are two churches, two cemeteries, a schoolhouse, post-office, store, one large shoeshop and a heel shop, blacksmith's shop, town house, public library, hose company, lock-up, and bi- cycle repair shop, besides about sixty-five dwellings.
The electric railway line passes through the village in Main Street, which is macadamized as far as Pine Grove Cemetery. The Lawrence Road is also macadamized for a considerable dis- tance. These smooth, broad roads, lined on either side with beau- tiful elms and maples, add no small contribution to the quiet dignity of the place.
Four miles from the Center to the northward lies North Salem, a small village situated also on the banks of the Spicket, but un- like both of the other villages of the town, it is surrounded by rugged hills and wild scenery. It is built up about the enlarged junction of three roads, which were originally trod as routes to the saw-mill on the upper part of the stream. In this part of the town the Spicket crosses the line of the highway three times, in each case forming a very attractive bit of landscape. The first is where it flows beneath a rustic bridge near Cowbell Corner, after splashing its way noisily down a rough channel fringed with alder bushes; again at North Salem Village, where it leaves the mill pond on the north side of the road and plunges down over a dam built of large, round rocks, which churn the waters into a heavy spray; and lastly, just above Wheeler's Mill, as the stream broadens out to form the mill pond.
North Salem boasts but one church, being less populous than the other two villages. It has two stores, post-office, schoolhouse, cemetery, two woolen mills, and about forty-five dwellings. De-
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HISTORY OF SALEM.
nied the privilege of the railroad, it has not had the opportunity for growth that has been the fortune of other communities.
Besides these three villages there are five hamlets, if they may be so called, where the groups of buildings are more or less scat- tered. The first of these has been built up about the railroad station, the other four about an industrial activity of the past.
Canobie Lake is a small group of houses near the station of that name at the center of the western side of the town, near the head of the lake. The houses in the immediate vicinity are all in Windham, but there are several more scattered along the roads in Salem. There are but three buildings at the railroad- the station, blacksmith's shop, and a store in which is the post- office.
Cowbell Corner, situated at the extreme northeast corner, is so called because of the small bell that hung in the belfry of a woolen mill that stood here some years ago. Once the scene of great business activity, the place exhibits today only the dwelling houses which were built in its "palmy days" and the ruins of the old dam and canal. There are seven houses at the Corner, while several others and a schoolhouse are about half a mile away.
Millville, named thus because of the mills and factories which were built on Hitty Titty brook, at the foot of the southern slope of Zion's Hill, is a small gathering of about ten houses, a school- house, and a shoeshop not at this time in operation.
Messer's (now called Hampshire Road, though we keep the old name because of its historical significance) lies at the extreme southeast corner of the town, and consists at the present time of about twenty houses, a railroad station, and a schoolhouse nearly three quarters of a mile away. The only industry is represented by the blacksmith's shop, which at the present time is not in use. This settlement flourished long before the building of the railroad.
Wheeler's Mill derives its name from the factory of John W. Wheeler, standing on the bank of the Spicket a little over half way from the Center to North Salem. The hills here are very abrupt, forming a deep ravine through which the river flows. In this neighborhood were formerly to be found many spots attrac-
DAM AT NORTH SALEM. (M 565) (See page 24.)
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TOPOGRAPHY.
tive because of their natural beauty; but the recent years have seen many a noble pine beside the winding road felled to earth, bearing with it the travelers' joy, of which it was the source.
Besides the mill here are fifteen houses and a schoolhouse, scattered along the road for a distance of a mile and a quarter.
ELEVATIONS.
Taking as our base of calculations the land at the townhouse, we begin at an altitude of one hundred feet above the sea level. The central part of the town may be considered a rolling plain, approximately enclosed by the Turnpike, Bluff Street and the Spicket. From all sides the land slopes gently upward, here and there rising to a considerable height. The highest point within the town is the summit of Spicket Hill, which is three hundred and fifty-four feet above the sea. The outlook from this point is charming, revealing the surrounding villages and towns hiding among the wooded hills, which rise one above the other until they fade, indistinguishable in the dim distance. The river can be clearly traced, twisting its crooked way like a huge serpent through the broad meadows, now swirling along the foot of the great hill, now by a broad bend carrying its murmured message to the silent dwellers in the graveyard yonder.
The second highest land is along the Salem-Windham bound- ary, between Hitty Titty Pond and Crank Corner. It is away from the road, therefore not very familiar to many residents of the town. It is about three hundred and twenty-five feet high, and covered with woods.
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