USA > New Hampshire > Belknap County > Sanbornton > History of Sanbornton, New Hampshire, Vol. I - Annals > Part 3
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By the French " Armada " is doubtless meant the French fleet under Duke D'Anville, which had come to our shores in September, 1746, for the supposed purpose of recovering Louisburg and harass- ing New England, but in a sigually providential mauner was dispersed and in part destroyed, like the Spanish " Invincible Armada" nearly one hundred and sixty years before.
It is very probable that Col. Atkinson's men may have eneamped temporarily at Little Bay ; but not at all that they, rather than the earlier Indian warriors, originally built those large fortifications, as implied in the latter, though corrected in the former of the two quota- tions above. All former writers upon Sanborntou and the ancient fort (scc Chapter IV.) are entirely silent as to its ever being occupied by Col. Atkiuson's regiment. The island of the same name, near by, is supposed to have been called after IIou. D. C. Atkinson and his brother, who owned the mills and resided ou the site of the fort. To the writer of this Ilistory it is still decidedly a matter of doubt whether the " Fort Atkinson " alluded to above, or the main fortification and encampment of Col. Atkinson's regiment, was not farther up, and nearer to Lake Winnipiseogee ; which would have proved far more conducive to their fishing excursions ou that lake than if their head- quarters had been at Little Bay, twelve or fifteen miles distant from its shores.
Dr. Belknap in his " History of New Hampshire," Vol. II. p. 233, inakes, as it seems, a more correct allusion to the same expedition of Col. Atkinson, in the following terms (the italie words, as in the two former quotations, are our own) : -
" When the alarm occasioned by the French fleet had subsided,
xxvi
INTRODUCTION.
Atkinson's regiment marched into the country to cover the lower part of the frontiers, and encumped near the shore of Winnipiseoyre Luke, where they passed the winter, and built a slight fort. They were plentifully supplied with provisions, and had but little exercise or discipline. Courts martial were not instituted, nor offences pun- ished. The officers and men were tired of the service ; but were not permitted to euter on any other business, lest orders should arrive from England. Some were employed in scouting, some in hunting or fishing, and some deserted."
Chapter XXIX. should have received an additional " specimen" (had it come to the anthor's notice in season), from the nineteen stanzas " composed by Jeremiah Ellsworth, of Sandbornton, on the sudden and surprising death of his three children, who perished in the dreadful hurricane, on Friday morning, January 19, 1810." They were printed on another " coflined" broadside, ten inches square,
* Our attention is also called, while in press, to the following extract from the " New Hampshire Adjutant General's Report," Vol. II., 1866, p. 83 : -
"Col. Atkinsou's regiment [in October] was ordered to Lake Winnipesaukee, to guard the frontiers from attacks of the French and Indians. There they built a fort, in which they passed the winter of 1746-47, and tarried till October of the latter year, when the regiment was disbanded. This was the first fort built in the interior under orders from the goverment of New Hampshire. It was built on the north side of what is called Little Bay, near what is kuown as Union Bridge, in the town of Sanbornton. It has been called Fort Atkinson."
As the assertious of this paragraph (italics our own) are singularly destitute of cited authority, we see no occasion for changing or even qualifying the above state- ments in the text; and in this, our final conclusion, the Ion. George W. Nesmith, who is the best living authority ou the old New Hampshire soldiers, fully concurs. Ile remarks that if Atkinsou's men had been quartered ou Sanbornton soil for a whole year, the fact would never have escapedl the notice of such intelligent men of an earlier day in Samboruton as llon. Nathau Taylor, James Clark, Esq., and Col. Charles Lane; moreover, that some of those six hundred men would, in all probability, have beeu fouud among the future grantees or settlers of Sauborntou, and would not have failed to communicate this information to their descendants.
Judge Nesmith says he never knew that Atkinsou Islaud was called by that name till Ilon. Daniel C. Atkinsou purchased it with the maiuland and mill privileges adjacent. He thinks we should by all means follow Belkuap rather than these more recent authors, although the whole matter of Col. Atkinson's expedition he regarils as somewhat mythical.
It is morally certain, from Dr. Bouton's " Provincial Papers," Vol. V., that Theo- dore Atkinson was present at Portsmouth for nearly every meeting of the governor's council during 1746-47, so that he could not have been commanding his regiment in person ; and it is by no means probable that the regiment itself stayed in the Winni- piseogee region any longer than through the winter, as Belknap represents. Indeed, of this expedition as a whole, the Provincial Records of 1745 to 1747 are ominously silent.
xxvii
INTRODUCTION.
with the text. "Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?" and breathe a spirit of piety and resignation.
It is a matter of regret that some of the family records designed for the .. Supplement to Vol. 11.," at the close of this volume, were not received till after the printing was all done. This is true especially of the .. Godfrey Family," p. 476, leaving that record far more im- perfect than it would otherwise have been.
MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
The earliest map or plan of the town now supposed to be in exist- ence was obtained by the writer at North Hampton, being " A plan of Sanborn's town, by a scale of thirty-five of Mr. Gunter's chains to an inch, A. D. 1763, p'r D. Samborn."
This was before any part of the . undivided land of about three thousand acres " at the north, or of the " common land " elsewhere in town, had been assigned by committee to the deficient second division lots. as per plan on p. 38.
Meredith, on this original plan, is called " New Salam" ; Andover, " New Brittan " ( Breton) ; and Salisbury, " Baker's Town."
Early in 1806, Master Joshua Lane, having surveyed New Hampton, Boscawen, and other towns the year before, completed his survey of Sanbornton. This was for Philip Carrigan's celebrated map of New Ilampshire. The map actually drawn from this survey was ou a scale of two hundred rods to the inch, and is still to be seen in the Secretary of State's office at Concord.
It represents the New Hampton boundary line as four miles and forty-two rods in extent ; that of Meredith as six miles and seventy rods ; and the highways, boundaries, and water-courses much as on the Carrigan map.
The town, however, seems to have retained its preference for the original plan, or that copy of the stune still in its possession, in refer- ence to which was the following vote, in 1817 : " That the map of the town be deposited with the Town Clerk." It was still felt that improve- ments might be made upon this map ; and hence, March 10, 1821, the selectmen were *authorized to procure a plan of the town," which was probably the origin of that executed by Joshna Lane, and copied on p. 38. On this last the disparity between the boundary lines of New Hampton and Meredith is even greater than upon the Carrigan map of 1806.
The map of Sanbornton, as it appears on that of Belknap County, published in 1859 was found to afford a convenient basis for the new " Historical Map," which, as the last of the series, accompanies the
xxviii
INTRODUCTION.
present volume. This, together with the seven village plans, is designed to show Sanbornton both as it was and is. The original lots are clearly designated and numbered, according to the fuller descriptions ou pp. 32-11, 564, and 378.
Topographical nicety or exactness is not claimed for the map, and especially for the plans, which partake more of the nature of diagrams than maps. A faithful representation is merely sought of the numer- ous building sites, new and old, and of the water-courses, highway's, and lot lines, though several of the last may not be projected in precisely the right places with relation to houses, roads, or brooks ; and indeed, it is now impossible to identify many of these lines, or determine just where they ran, - all traces of the same, if ever marked by walls or fences, having long since disappeared. Yet, with the degree of fulness attained, it is believed that the topography of the old town and its villages is as accurately delineated as it could be, except by the most elaborate surveys.
The final draughting of the map and plans was essentially aided and chiefly accomplished by the skilled hand of Mr. Arthur P. Ayling, artist and delincator, of Boston ; the engraving was by Mr. George II. Walker, also of Boston.
The illustrations of the two volumes inust speak for themselves. The portraits have nearly all been furnished either by the persons whose names they bear, or (more frequently) by their friends. Most of the private residences have also been inserted at the expense of their owners, though solicited on account of their historie interest, or as illustrating different styles and eras of house building. Map, plans, public buildings, and other objects of general importance, are paid for ont of the towns' appropriations.
The contract for the steel plates, engraved expressly for this work, was very satisfactorily made with that excellent artist Mr. Frederic T. Stuart, who called to his aid Mr. J. A. J. Wilcox. Most of the smaller pictures were excented by the new photo-engraving process of Mr. E. A. Samuels, 25 Congress Street, Boston, and several of them from Mr. Ayling's original sketches. (See list of illustrations. )
It was found impossible to change the " gelatine proof's " of some of the latter pictures, as was attempted, from lack of time for the con- tract. A few slight defects must therefore be pardoned; and our friends of the First Baptist Church must accept their house of wor- ship with its open blinds in front as perhaps more ornamental than natural.
xxix
INTRODUCTION.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
The anthor would present his grateful acknowledgments to the artists just named, and to others who have aided in embellishing his work ; but especially to Messrs. Alfred Mudge & Son, and all under their employ, for their excellent workmanship and for the uniform patience, courtesy, and kindness extended to himself during this long period of more than two years, while the History has been going through their press.
For the preparation of his work his thanks are supremely due to that Infinite One who ouly hath " made. it to prosper"; also to many kind friends who have aided in various ways. Among these shoukl be named his old instructor, Prof. Edwin D. Sanborn, of Dartmouth College, who has favored him with invaluable suggestions, and has furnished some of the best poetical and other mottoes or headings for the title-pages and several of the chapters ; IIon. George W. Nesmith, to whom the final completion and correctness of Chapter XV., on the Revolutionary Ilistory, are largely due ; Rev. Henry N. Kinney, now of Fergus Falls, Minn., who exeented the diagram of the mountains, read for criticism the opening chapters of Vol. I., and rendered other literary assistance ; and Hon. Charles E. Tilton, as by far the most liberal patron of this work, whose excellent portrait is therefore entitled to the place it ocenpies opposite the page of dedication. To these should be added the former contributors to a "History of Sanbornton," already named or alluded to, and all those mentioned in the Introduction to Vol. II. as having aided or encouraged the collect- ing the genealogies.
Above all should the late venerable Capt. John B. Perkins be recalled, for his assistance upon Vol. I. not less than upon Vol. II., faithfully continued to the last. Finally, the help " nearer home" should not be omitted in these acknowledgments, especially that of Misses Carrie S. and Kate B. Runnels in making and arranging the greater portion of the indexes, and of Miss Fannie II. Runnels in the selection of poetical quotations.
CONCLUSION.
In conclusion, the writer may as well crack the Ciceronian nut on the previous title-page, for the benefit of many of his readers : -
" History is the witness of the times, the torch of truth, the life of memory, the teacher of life, the messenger of antiquity."
He would simply add, as the expression of his hope, that the humble labors bestowed npon this History may have the effect to increase in
INTRODUCTION.
the minds of those interested their respect for that noble system of Town Organizations which is the glory of New England, and " has given hirth to free soil, free speech, and free men."
Y'et he would commend to all who may now or hereafter have occa- sion to consult these volmnes the utterance of Curtis, that under every form of government, " virtue and intelligence are the ouly rulers by divine right "; as also this most suggestive passage from Burke, who says, while speaking of lawless freedom : -
" I do not rejoice to hear that men may do what they please, unless I know what it pleases them to do. Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon the will and appetite be placed somewhere ; and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things that men of intem- perate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters."
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TILTON VILLAGE. (Sanbornton Square in the distance.)
HISTORY OF SANBORNTON. ANNALS.
CHAPTER I.
NATURAL FEATURES. - WATER-COURSES. - MOUNTAINS.
"The mountains ! They proclaim The everlasting creed of liberty. That creed is written on the untrampled snow ; Thundered by torrents, which no power can hold Save that of God, when he sends forth his cold ; And breathed by winds that thro' the free heavens blow."-BRYANT.
"Gop made the country, man made the town." We propose in this and the following chapter to speak of that territory which for more than a century past has borne the name of Sanborn- Sanbornion as
Gud made it. ton, as it existed and still exists, in its natural features and characteristics, - as God made it. Our nomenclature must be recent, and we shall speak of modern " uses," though treat- ing of objects around and within our borders which have had a being from times primeval.
Occupying very nearly the geographical centre of the present State of New Il:unpshire, at the junction of the two streams Position. which for its chief interior river, the town of Sanborn- ton contained, as originally laid out, about one hundred square miles, in latitude 43º 31' north, longitude 71º 35' west, or 5º 25' cast from Washington. Its first boundaries were
Natural pernliar. and to a great extent " natural" : spurs of monu- boundaries. tains and hills upon the north ; water upon the other three sides. It might have been aptly styled the peninsular township.
To begin, as in the Mosaic cosmogony, with its waters : The rivers and bay's (or more properly lakelets) which form thus, in good part, the bounds of the old town, exceed thirty miles in extent. The l'enigewasset River yields some eight miles of its length for at Western boundary, - a rapid stream, subject to sudden
l'omigewasset swells, with falls, like Blake's and Eastman's, in its lower Hiver.
section which have never been much utilized for water
-
2
HISTORY OF SANBORNTOY.
power ; while the southern and eastern water boundary, with its wind- ings and numerous inlets, would nearly or quite equal twenty-five miles for a shore line. About six miles to the east from the point where the Franklin line now incets the Winnipiscogee, is a widening shore liw. of said river a mile in length and one half of a mile in width, called the LITTLE or LowER BAY, with its beautiful Atkinson Island, so plainly visible at the East Tilton railroad station. Still farther to the north, past the old Gibson's or Cuion Biver and bay, Bridge Falls, we reach the SANBORNTON of MIDDLE BAY, ason the south alul cunt. two miles in length and three fourths of a mile wide, tor- minating at Mohawk Point. For a mile and a half above this, the river reminds one of the noble Mississippi for its breadth and majesty, gradually expanding into the GREAT BAY, or more poetically LAKE WINNISQUASI, which washes nearly four miles of the town on the east, and then penetrates five miles farther into the heart of old Meredith. The fall from the Great Bay to the junction Extent of Water fall. of the rivers, or the whole distance of the original San- boruton border, is about two hundred feet, affording mill sites at convenient spaces from each other much of the way, with a stream entirely free from freshets, but little troubled with ice, and only hindered in its development, during these later years, by the restrictions of the Water Power Company.
Of the waters within our ancient town, SALMON BROOK is by far the most important of its streams, penetrating and forming Brooks and ponds within the townt. a diagonal valley through the entire extent of its northern section from northeast to southwest ;' rising in the heights of Meredith, passing through Plusnat's PorD and the reservoir of the North Saubornton mills ; receiving Hassur Brook as its largest tributary from the east, and the united Mousrix and DEARBORN BROOKS from the northwest; passing through CAWLEY POND, receiving GILES Brook from the east, and next
S.thanon Brook and tributaries. expanding into ROLLINS POND ; taking MEADOW and Mix- IstER Brooks from the southeast, ou either side of Clark's Corner, and the lively little stream called THRESHING-MIL.t. BROOK below the Chapel Mills; finally, bursting through a romantic gorge at the late Morrison Mills, in Franklin, - the original town mill site, - and soon losing itself in the nobler Pemigewasset. This brook was formerly well stocked with sahnon, hence its name. Not a shad was found in this ; not a salmon in the Winnipiseogce .* They
salmon.
" parted company," as Mr. Webster used to say, at the
junction of the two rivers. Salmon Brook has also from the first driven mills on at least four sections of its course, and does
* A very few exceptions to this rule were noted in olden times.
3
NATURAL FEATURES. - WATER-COURSES. - MOUNTAINS.
still at three of those points, except during the dronghts of summer, which affect it more than formerly. The other most important affinents of the Pemigewasset are PREscorr Brook in the .. New State," COLBY BROOK discharging itself near the Shaw Tributaries of place (Lot No. 1, Second Division), and CATE BROOK in the l'emige- Wasser. Franklin, all three of which have furnished a limited water
power in former years, no longer used (see Mills). Ou the other side of the town, we have, discharging into the Great Bay in the extreme northeast, the BLACK, originally BLACK CAT BROOK (50 called from several animals of the pekan or lisher species being killed at its mouth by early hunters), SUCKER Brook, and CHAPMAN BROOK, formed by the BARKER, ROLLINS, and WALLIS BROOKS farther back among the hills. BAMFORD BROOK empties into Little Bay, near East Tilton. GULF Brook finds its way down through a wild gorge from near the centre of the town, receiving THOMAS Brook from the north- cast, three fourths of a mile below the square, and HUNT Trilmituries of Brook from the west, abont one half a mile above its
the Wiuni-
piscogee. continence with the Winnipiseogee, near Shaker Bridge, in Tilton. Finally, not to speak of numerous smaller streams, we may mention PACKER Brook, which from north and cast of the Tin Corner joins the river at Tilton village just below the rail- road bridge (its course, like that of Hunt Brook, being erroneously indicated upon the county maps) ; and another, MEADOW BROOK, which, being now crossed by the Tilton and Franklin road near the line between the two towns, also joins the Winnipiseogce a short distance south of this point. Besides the natural ponds already named, Sanbornton can boast of but one other, a prominent object in the eyes of the early settlers, called by them the CENTRE Iluukins Pond. SQUARE, in recent years the HUNKINS POND : a gem-like sheet of water, in a setting of emerald from the woods and bushes which skirt its entire border; about a mile in cirenm- ference, and affording of late, on its east banks, a pleasant resort for summer picnies. This pond discharges itself into Barker Brook.
The very names of these brooks and ponds will thrill the hearts of many absent children of the town, whether in remembrance of quiet " sylvan scenes," tumbling cascades, or the former trophies
First restric- of hook and line. Never till the year 1881 bas it been tion ou lish- unlawfid to fish from the brooks of Sanbornton, which ing.
were that year newly stocked with young tront at the expense of the State.
It may truly be said that " the mountains are round about " San- bornton, like .. Jerusalem" of old, in the common version of the one hundred and twenty-fifth Psal. Spurs from the mountainous ridge
HISTORY OF SANBORNTON.
which divides the Connecticut and Merrimack valleys seem to have marshalled their forces from the northwest, and stationed
deselst of the their advanced guard this side the Pemigewasset, in the Dathorntonl. peaks of the Sanbornton Mountain (or the Salmon Brook Mountains of Carrigan's Map) ; while similar spurs from the Sandwich Range, in the northeast, passing down through Mere- dith, seem to take their tinal stand at Hopkinson Hill, overlooking the Great Bay : and so both lines of march seem to have halted as if confronting the Suncook Range, which appears in the Belknap leaks and the Gilmanton and Bean Hills across the Winnipiscogee, - each mountain phalanx, too, throwing out its vedettes : that of the northwest in Prescott, Calley, and Weeks Hills, north of the Salmon Brook; that of the northeast in Parsonage, Centre, and C'alef Hills, south of the same stream, to which latter system might also be added Gale Hill and the Hedgehog, in what is now Frank- lin, and several minor eminences in the south part of the original town.
But dropping the military figure ; the range which enters the north- west corner of the town, running diagonally in a southeast direction, and terminating near Cawley l'ond, is made up of a succession of peaks, and is the highest land in town. Viewed from the southwest, as at the Franklin railroad station, it presents a chain of beautiful ovals, like two figure 8's laid end to end upon their sides, - hence called SALMON BROOK MOUNTAINS upon some of the old Falmon Brook Mountains, or maps ; but viewed from the southeast, as from the heights Sanbornton Mount. of Gilmanton, the whole appears like one very respectable mountain, - the end view of the chain, - hence the SAN- BORSTON MOUNTAIN of our later maps. Special and varying names have, however, been given by inhabitants dwelling near to the several eminences. For example, as you gaze from a near point of observa- tion in the " New State," like Calley Hill, the first long bare sununit between two forests (above Lot No. 53, Second Division) has been called Burleigh Mountain, one of that name once living nyou the north side of it, - or Hersey Mountain upon the county map. The bare-topped peak sontheast of the last, and just beyond a Individual puks. notch in the woods, was formerly named Atkinson Mon- tain, from its chief owner. These are the two highest of the range, most readily approached from the cast by the old New Hampton Road. Hale Mountain is now the best recognized tith: of the next peak, at considerable distance southeast of Atkinson ; while the smaller peak still farther to the southeast, terminating the range in that direction, and extending into the old " Lane neighbor- hood," might well be styled Lane Mountain. The gradual swell of
Hedgehog.
Sandwich Dome. Gale Hill.
OUTLINE OF SALMON BROOK MOUNTAINS (from Franklin).
Moosllauke.
Fisher.
Stinson Mt .:
Mt. Kinsman.
La Fayette. : Flume Mt.
Tecumach.
Sandwich Dome.
Carr Mt.
Cannon Mt.
Welch.
OUTLINE OF MOUNTAINS (north from the old site of First Baptist Meeting-House). (See p. 5.)
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5
NATURAL FEATURES. - MOUNTAINS.
land proceeding from Burleigh Mountain to the Pemigewasset is the northwestern termins of this range, whose highest erests afford the only glimpse of Mount Washington which can be Views ufforded. obtained in Sanbornton, while their imposing prospects down the valley of the Pemigewasset and Merrimack, to and beyond the present village of Franklin, well repay the wearied tourist for ascending.
The other or northeastern range, which enters our town from Mere- dith, has for its objective and much-frequented points The north- eastern range Eastman's, Steele's, and Hopkinson Hills, the latter well and chiel' omi-
worthy the appellation of a mountain, being the second
BOUCES.
highest eminence in town. The views of the northern mountains here obtained are unparalleled, save that Whiteface proudly robs these hills of the glory of disclosing Mount Washington to their visitors, a privilege also denied to the Parsonage and other hills below. But the smiling lakes and lake villages of the eastern prospect (Laconia and its neighbor) make ample compensation : Winnisquam nestling directly beneath, and the other lakelets succeed- ing each other till the broad Winnipiseogee closes the scene in the bazy distance. It is confidently alleged that the panorama Unsurpassed of lake and mountain scenery from these eminences is lake and moun- tain scenery. hardly surpassed by any other so easy of access in New
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