USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Nashua > History of the city of Nashua, N.H. > Part 2
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*The names of attorneys whose portraits and biographies appear elsewhere in this book do not appear in this chapter.
IX
CONTENTS.
RAILROADS.
Introduction. Boston & Lowell railroad. Nashua & Lowell railroad. Union of the two corporations. 1868, 1,200 shares new stock issued. Concord railroad. Lease of Manchester & Lawrence by Concord railroad. The Wilton railroad. Worcester, Nashua & Rochester railroad. The Nashua, Acton & Boston railroad. The Peterborough railroad. The Nashua Street Railway company. 479
NEWSPAPERS.
Introduction. First newspaper in Nashua; its many changes in name and management. Forty-three years under the Whittemores. The Gazette Press company. The Nashua Herald. The New Hampshire Telegraph under the Beards. The first daily newspaper in Nashua, published by Moore & Langley. The Telegraph Publishing company. Public career of Orren C. Moore. The Harrison Eagle. The Oasis. The Nashua Free Democrat. The Granite State Register. First morning newspaper in Nashua published by the Telegraph Publishing com- pany. The New Hampshire Republican. Its history until its absorption by the Telegraph Publishing company. Conclusion. Necrology. 494
FINANCE AND BANKING.
Choice of location of Dunstable. Its favorable position for extended traffic. Large amount of property per capita. Employment of capital. Cotton factory. Building of railways. Other industries. Business mainly prosper- ous. Nashua, Acton & Boston railway. Necessity of banks and bankers. First bank in New Hampshire, 1797. First bank in Hillsborough at Amherst. Its failure. No bank from 1809 to 1825. The Farmers' bank. First bank at Dunstable in 1835. Financial depression of 1837. Crisis of 1857. Depression of 1873. Panic of 1893. Cause. Result. Western investment companies. Nashua looses $2,500,000. Banking institutions. The Nashua bank. Indian Head National bank. The Pennichuck bank. First National bank. The Second National bank. Savings banks. Nashua Savings bank. The City Guaranty Savings bank. Mechanics' Savings bank. New Hampshire Banking company. Nashua Trust company. 510
THE MILITIA OF NASHUA.
Introduction. Early militia laws. The old Fifth regiment. Old time musters. The old artillery company. Its march to Boston June 15, 1842. The Eighth company, Fifth regiment. The First company, Fifth regiment. The Nashua Grenadiers. Reception of President Andrew Jackson. The First Rifle company. The Nashua Guards. Lafayette Light Infantry. Third company, light infantry. Columbian Grays. Washington Light Guards. The Union artillery. The Granite State Lancers. Granite State Cadets. Muster of the state militia at Nashua Oct. 11, 1860. The Governor's Horse Guards. George Stark. The Nashua Light Guards. Nashua City Guards. Muster of Second regiment at Nashua 1866. Trip of City Guards to Yorktown. Foster Rifles. Company C, Second regiment, N. H. N. G. Tolles Light Infantry. The Nashua armory. 522
CIVIL HISTORY OF NASHUA.
Introduction. First settlement. Origin of board of selectmen. The first charter. Dunstable, Mass. Finishing out a settlement. Trials in peace and war. Quarrels over the purchase of a parsonage farm and building a meeting- house. Notes from records. The common and undivided lands. Dunstable, N. H. Boundary lines. Why called "Old" Dunstable. A grievance because of date of charter. Bitter controversy over a minister. A quar- rel, involving the people of Hollis and "One Pine Hill," over the location of a meeting-house. How poor people were summarily dealt with. Dispute over Runnell's Falls bridge. Excerpts from records. The vote for first president and general statistics. Indian Head village. Nashua village. Post office established and other signs of growth. Old South meeting house built and dedication. Town affairs. A notable celebration. Townships of Nashua and Nashville. The cause of the division, an account of the quarrel, history of both towns and incidental topics. Nashua and Nashville reunited under a city charter. A complete outline of the work of each administration, showing the transformation of an unpretentious village into a modern metropolis. Police court. Police and fire departments. Public library. Conclusion. 567
SOCIETIES AND CLUBS.
The club, its influence upon the community. The pioneer organization. Rising Sun lodge, the oldest masonic body in Nashua. Ancient York lodge. Meridian Sun Royal Arch chapter. Israel Hunt council. St. George com- mandery, Knights Templar. Scottish Rite masonry. Masonic Temple. Odd Fellowship. Granite lodge. Pennichuck lodge. Olive Branch lodge, Daughters of Rebekah. Nashoonon encampment. Indian Head encampment. Patriarchs Militant. Odd Fellows' building. Knights of Pythias. John G. Foster post number
x
CONTENTS.
7, G. A. R. Soldiers' Monument. Women's Relief corps. Nashua Protestant Home for Aged Women. Good Templars. Patrons of Husbandry. Golden Cross, Merrimack River commandry and Nashua commandery. Pilgrim Fathers. Knights of Honor. Knights and Ladies of Honor. Good Cheer society. The Nashaway Woman's club. The Guards club. The Fortnightly club. The Shakespeare club. The Hathaway club. King's Daughters' Day Nursery. Nashua Boat club. Improved Order of Red Men. Ancient Order of Hiber- nians. Circle Montcalm. Les Montagnards club. The Entre Nous club. Order of United American Mechanics. Nashua Veteran Firemen's association. The Ballou association. The Knights of Columbus. Sons of Veterans. Daughters of Veterans. The Union Veteran's union. 612
XI
LIST OF PORTRAITS.
LIST OF PORTRAITS.
PAGE
PAGE.
Abbot, Daniel
395
Gage, Charles Pinckney
167
Atherton, Charles Gordon
396
Green, George Warren
170
Allen, Bradford
221
Goodrich, Hiram M.
171
Anthoine, Isaiah G.
225 Graves, Josiah M.
209
Atherton, H. B.
40I
Gray, George
212
Adams, James M.
489
Greeley, James B.
214
Beard, Albin
546
Garland, Jeremiah C.
216
Bowers, Jesse
82
Greeley, George P.
217
Beasom, William Dutton
91
Goodale, John H.
. 247
Barr, Matthew
III
Greenleaf, Richard O.
312
Black, James S.
141
Greenleaf, William H.
432
Blunt, John Gray
I45
Gillis, Thomas W.
545
Bullard, Solomon R.
146
Gilman, Virgil C.
550
Bullard, John
172
Hunt, John M.
106
Bowers, George
227
Hill, C. B.
IIO
Bowers, Horace A.
227
Hammond, Evan B.
210
Bowers, George A.
228
Hammond, Charles B.
218
Barr, John N.
252
Hunt, James H.
312 410
Bowers, Col. George
268
Holman, Charles
556
Bailey, William W.
400
Hall, Williams
563
Brown, Webster C.
431
Hoyt, Katharine E.
226
Brown, Elbridge P.
507
Howard, Joseph W.
565
Bussell, Charles Sargent
487
Jackson, George F.
41I
Barry, Patrick
517
Kimball, John Gardner
147
Burke, Charles H.
562
Kellogg, Henry Martin
I68
Beasom, William H.
563 Kittredge, Frank E.
224
Chase, Thomas
89
King, Dana W.
310
Colburn, Elijalı
208
Lund, John C.
84 86
Crosby, David
246
Lessard, Rev. Henri A.
142
Crowell, Fred J.
229
Locke, Luther F.
226
Copp, Elbridge J.
265
Labree, Edward
521 85
Cutter, Henry Arthur
409 Morgan, Sumner
144
Cross, John
428
Moore, Norman J. M.
21I
Clough, William O.
491
McQuesten, Eugene F.
215
Chandler, Seth D.
553
Marsh, John F.
264 266
Dearborn, Ebenezer
207
Moore, Orren Cheney
484
Dearborn, George V. N.
228
Murray, Orlando Dana
493
Dearborn, Cornelius V.
249
Minard, Lotie Irenus
519
Dane, William P.
253
Morrill, Hiram T.
547 87
DeWolfe, Albert E.
488
Nutt, Charles H.
II3
Davis, Stillman S.
516
Noyes, Frank G.
269
Dearborn, John Eaton
521
Norwell, Henry S.
520
Estey, Jesse
82
Norton, Alfred M.
558
Eaton, Alvin S.
313
O'Donnell, John
143
Eaton, James Bradford
476
Otis, Paul
172
Fassett, James H.
254
Otis, Benjamin B.
517
Foster, John G.
262
Osborn, George O.
519
Flinn, Albert N.
267
Otterson, Jotham D.
55I
Fassett, James Boutelle
406
Pearson, Ambrose
S3
French, George B.
408 Pearson, Thomas Jr.
107
Fletcher, Josiah M.
427 Perham, George W.
I68
Fowler, George Winthrop
490 Petit, A. Wilfred
219
Fletcher, Benjamin Jr.
557 Parker, Edward E.
404
Godfrey, Alfred
92 Parker, Joseph B.
410
263
Hamblett, Charles J.
Badger, George W.
Courser, Harvey F.
108 King, Aaron,
475
Colburn, Edwin C.
213
Laton, Thomas J.
Cutter, E. S.
407
Moore, Benjamin P.
Dunlap, Archibald H.
140
McDonald, James G.
Danforth, Charles Pinkney
487
Noyes, Leonard W.
XII
LIST OF PORTRAITS.
PAGE.
PAGE.
Phelps, George
430
Shattuck, Joseph
518
Poff, Charles A.
490
Spalding, Edward
548
Proctor, Ira II.
520
Sargent, Dana
552
Proctor, Nathaniel II.
520 Spalding, John A.
559
Reed, John
88 Sands, Thomas
564
Reed, Elbridge Gerry
112 Tolles, Horace Clark
107
Rounsevel, Charles S.
220
Thayer, Andrew Eliot
142
Ramsdell, George A.
403
Tuck, Samuel
250
Roby, Luther A.
426
Tolles, Willard C.
429
Runnells, Daniel F.
430
Tolles, James H.
561
Rogers, Freeman S.
545 Underhill, George W.
169
Spalding, Isaac
90
White, James
109
Shea, Augustus W.
223
Wilson, Allen
146
Shattuck, Gilman C.
250 Wellman, Samuel K.
173
Saunders, Albert H.
251
Wallace, Alonzo S.
222
Steele, James
'267 Williams, Seth W.
229
Stevens, Charles W.
314 Whithed, Solon S.
253
Sawyer, Aaron W.
397 Warren, John Q. A.
311
Sawyer, George Y.
399
Woods, Benjamin S.
314
Stevens, David
428
Wadsworth, David
315
Sawyer, Reuben M.
431
Wheeler, Elbert
316
Smith, Roswell T.
433
Wason, Edward Hill
406
Spalding, Edward H.
476
Wood, Egbert O.
432
Stark, George
477
White, Jeremiah W.
505
Spalding, Solomon
506
Williams, Charles A.
518
Spalding, William E.
508
Whitney, George H.
553
Sargent, Fayette S.
508
Williams, Charles
555
Spalding, Charles W.
509
PART I
HISTORY OF DUNSTABLE
WHICH INCLUDES THE VALUABLE HISTORI- CAL MATTER GATHERED AND PUBLISHED BY CHARLES J. FOX, ESQ., IN 1846,-WITH SUCH ADDITIONS AS MAY BE OF INTEREST. THE SAME ORDER WILL NOT BE OBSERVED BY REASON OF THE DIFFERENT DIVISION AND CLASSIFICATION OF SUBJECTS
Virgil C. Filman.
3
HISTORY OF NASHUA, N. H.
CHARLES J. FOX'S HISTORY OF OLD DUNSTABLE.
REVISED BY VIRGIL C. GILMAN.
CHAPTER I.
LEGEND OF THE NORTHMEN. FIRST VOYAGE TO THE NEW WORLD. LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS. VALLEYS OF THE MERRIMACK AND NASHUA. ENDICOTT ROCK. FRIENDLY
INDIANS. SETTLEMENTS EXTENDED NORTH OF CHELMSFORD AND GROTON. EARLY GRANTS. BRENTON'S FARM. CHARLESTOWN SCHOOL FARM GRANT. DRAMCUP HILL. BILLERICA SCHOOL FARM GRANT. JONATHAN DANFORTH, SURVEYOR. THOMAS BRATTLE. JOHN PARKER. BRATTLE STREET CHURCH.
T HE general reader finds little of interest in the history of our country from the time of its discovery by Christopher Columbus on the fourteenth day of October, 1492, down through the sixteenth century. But the student whose ambition is to search out beginnings, finds, along the track of the past, times and places that invite his attention and inquiry; there comes from out the misty years of the long ago the legend of the Northmen; that the shores of this New World were not new to them, but had for generations yielded to them the fruits of fisheries and trade. His efforts, however, to find what the historian demands, as authentic and worthy of record, fail, and he passes it by as the vaporings of pride and boasting, and returns to the great maritime enterprise of Columbus, the most distinguished in all the annals of the world, as the dawn of American History.
From this time on its progress is not left in doubt. Whatever preceded it was limited in ex- tent and meagre in results, and, although it may truthfully be said that our birth was humble, our childhood slender, and at times uncertain, yet the elements of greatness and strength and of mar- velous possibilities were there.
Says a gifted writer, "Except the red race, of doubtful origin and melancholy fate, America has no 'surviving memorial of the past'. Here are no magnificent and picturesque ruins-no stu- pendous monuments of forgotten skill-no curious relics of lost arts, the birth and history of which are in dispute. Here were neither high dukes or mighty earls-neither a nobility, a banditti, nor a priesthood. Yet American History would be a treasure if it could offer to the world but the name of Washington. Massachusetts would be honored, if it were only for the genius of Franklin. New Hampshire will not be forgotten while she preserves the memory of Stark."
European vessels had coasted along the shores but had gained no definite knowledge of the rivers and harbors. As to the order of the important events which followed the opening of the cal- endar of sixteen hundred, there is slight discrepancy.
Says Bancroft, I, page III: "In 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold, who had made himself somewhat familiar with the usual route by the Canaries and West Indies, conceived the idea of a direct voy- age to America and well-nigh secured to New England the honor of being the first English colony." A sail of seven weeks in his chosen bark brought him to the continent and into the waters of Mas- sachusetts bay, not far to the north of Nahant. Not finding a satisfactory harbor and discovering Cape Cod, he, with four of his men, made a landing ; the first soil in New England trodden by Eng- lishmen. He doubled the cape and proceeded southward and reached Buzzard's bay. Upon the islands he beheld vegetation, fruits and flowers in luxuriant growth, which so filled him with admi- ration for his discoveries that he lost no time in making it known. How much the glowing reports had to do in influencing others to make their way to the New World cannot now be determined, but it is certain that others had learned something of the fruitfulness and beauty of the Western world.
The editor of Provincial Papers of New Hampshire (Dr. Bouton) has the following in his pre- liminary notice: "The first voyager to our shores of whom we can find any record was Martin Pring who, in the month of June, 1603, came here with a ship of fifty tons and thirty men and boys ;
HISTORY OF NASHUA, N. H.
and a barque of twenty-six tons, Capt. William Brown, thirteen men and a boy. This small fleet was fitted out under the mayor, aldermen and merchants of the city of Bristol, England, to prose- cute the discovery of the northern parts of Virginia, as the whole country was then called. The flag-ship was called the Speedwell, and the barque the Discoverer. They first touched at one of the islands at the entrance of Penobscot bay; then visited the mouths of the Saco, Kennebunk and York rivers, which Pring says they 'found to pierce not far into the land.' They next pro- ceeded to the Piscataqua and explored it ten or twelve miles into the interior."
Sixteen years before the landing of the Pilgrims in 1620, a French writer, De Monts, in writing from Canada, said, "The Indians tell us of a beautiful river lying far to the south which they call Merrimac."
From the earliest period the valleys of the Merrimack and Nashua were the red men's paradise. Here were their favorite fishing stations, as well as their richest planting fields. Alas, how soon they were to be despoiled of their possessions, and the venerable and happy Passaconaway, whose counsel and wishes were the law for nearly fifteen hundred subjects, to see their glory depart. Barbarism could not forecast the future, and leaves no enduring memorials behind. The ploughshare may reveal some specimens of their handiwork, or the spade disclose some crumbling bones. They lived up to their opportunities-they worshipped the God of Nature-they died in hope of happier hunting grounds.
This volume is designed to include the valuable historical matter gathered and published by Charles J. Fox, Esq., in 1846, with such additions as may be of interest, bringing it down to the present time, although the same order will not be observed by reason of the different division and classification of subjects. Starting with Chapter I, Mr. Fox says :
"The landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, in December, 1620, is an epoch in the world's history. ' On this bleak New England shore,' in the wilderness, with the snows of winter around them and a few wretched dwellings to protect them, they established a colony which is destined to solve a problem of the human race. Its motto and its basis was 'Freedom to worship God.' Persecuted in the old world alike by Catholic and Episcopalian for opinion's sake, driven from their homes, they came to this 'wilderness world' with gladsome hearts, 'singing the songs of Zion,' even in this 'strange land' for that 'here they could worship God according to the dictates of their consciences in peace.'
" The Plymouth settlers were but pioneers, and soon crowds flocked hither ready to dare, and to endure all for the priceless boon of a free conscience and free speech.
"Boston, Salem, Portsmouth and Dover were settled, and everywhere with each little band of brethren, the 'man of God' went forth to cheer them in toil, in peril, and in death. As the fame of this new asylum for the oppressed began to spread abroad more widely, greater crowds of emigrants came, until the older settlements became too populous. Adventurous spirits went forth into the wilderness upon every side to found new plantations, and at a very early period, not long after the settlement of Boston, attention was turned towards the valleys of the Merrimack and Nashua. In August, 1652, the valley of the Merrimack as far as the outlet of Lake Winnipisiogee, was surveyed by Capt. Simon Willard and Capt. Edward Johnson. This survey was made by order of the General Assembly of Massachusetts to determine the northerly bound of the Colony and an inscription was made upon a large stone in Winnipisiogee River, at a point 'three miles north of the head of Merrimac River,' to designate the spot. The colony of Massachusetts then claimed all the land lying 'three miles' north and east of the Merrimac from its mouth to this point and thence due west to Yew York."
In 1833 this stone was re-discovered and the late Judge George Y. Sawyer of this city, who was then practising law in Meredith, was called to view it and interpret the inscription, since which time it has been known as Endicott Rock.
In pursuance of joint resolutions of the Legislature of 1883 and 1885, His Excellency, Governor Hiram A. Tuttle, in 1891, appointed commissioners to erect a suitable structure for the protection and preservation of this Endicott Rock.
The work was completed after some unavoidable delays, and it was turned over to the possession of the State, August 1, 1892. It was an occasion of marked interest, attended by the Governor and Council and a large concourse of people.
Hon. Joseph B. Walker of Concord was president of the occasion. The principal address was
1
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5
HISTORY OF NASHUA, N. H.
delivered by Hon. Erastus P. Jewell of Laconia, and was the result of great historical research. He was followed by Hon. John Kimball of Concord, in behalf of his associate commissioners, Messrs. Jewell and Walker.
He said, "From 1652 to 1833, a period of one hundred eighty-one years, the people of New Hampshire had no knowledge of the Endicott Rock. Since its discovery in 1833 the interest in it has been increasing. A large number of tourists visited it annually and a strong feeling prevailed that something should be done to preserve it, which resulted in placing over it a building of appropriate design, after first raising the immense boulder from its almost hidden, sandy bed. The masonry is surmounted by a capstone suitable to receive a statue of Governor Endicott, which it is hoped Massa- chusetts will place there at no distant day.
It bears the inscription :
"Endicott Rock The name of John Endicott, Gov. And the initials of Edward Johnson and Simon Willard, Commissioners of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Sherman and Jonathan Ince, surveyors, were inscribed upon this rock August 1, 1652. to mark the head of the Merrimack River.
A line three miles northward of this rock was then claimed by that colony as the northern limit of their patent.
E. I. W. P.
S. W.
IOHN ENDICVT GOV
I. S.
I. I.
The structure which covers this historic stone, long known as Endicott Rock, was erected for its protection in 1892, by the State of New Hampshire, in accordance with Joint Resolutions of its Legislature, Approved Sept. 7, 1883, and August 25, 1885.
JOHN KIMBALL. ERASTUS P. JEWELL. JOSEPH B. WALKER. Commissioners."
This expedition was rendered necessary because of the conflicting views relative to the . Mason grant, and the doubt as to the "furthest head" of the Merrimack River. There had been an expedi- tion by order of the Massachusetts Bay Colony made under the supervision of Goodman Woodward and John Stretton, with an Indian guide, in July, 1638, the result of which was their fixing the bound at "a great pine tree " three miles north of the confluence of the Winnipesaukee and Pemi- gewasset rivers in Franklin. This was known as Endicott tree, but its location is now unknown, and Dr. Runnels in his history of Sanbornton, says it was of no account for a colonial bound after the year 1639 ; hence this second survey and the fixing of a more enduring monument.
The valleys of the Merrimack and Nashua are of alluvial formation. That they have undergone great changes is very evident. Their general appearance, the shape of their basins, their outlets, their different levels, and the stratified character of the soil, all show that at some remote period the greater portion of these valleys must have been covered with water in the form of lakes or large
6
HISTORY OF NASHUA, N. H.
ponds. Geologists find the same characteristics upon all our rivers, and some even refer their origin to the Deluge. But whenever and however their origin may have been, it is evident that the valley of the Merrimack was once a succession of lakes, one ending at Pawtucket falls, another at Amos- keag falls, through whose rocky basins the waters at length burst their way, and formed their present lower channel, leaving their former beds dry.
The same is equally true of the valley of the Nashua, one outlet being at Mine falls, and another at the high bluff near the Nashua corporation, through which the water has forced a passage and left large basins exposed for cultivation. In corroboration of this theory we know that logs have often been found here, buried in the earth at great depth. When the excavation for the foundation of the locks near the Merrimack was being made in 1825, at a spot about one hundred feet from the river, and at a depth of many feet below the surface, the workmen found several logs, a quantity of charcoal, as if the remains of a fire, and a toad, which, on being exposed to the sun and air, revived and hopped away. Such discoveries are not of unfrequent occurrence, but as to the time and mode of their deposit we are left only to theory and conjecture.
The valley of the Merrimack was not an object of desire to the English alone. From the earliest periods it seems to have been looked upon by the Indians as almost a paradise. The Winnipisiogee, or "the very pleasant place where there is but little land," or as they sometimes called it "The smile of the Great Spirit," was deeply beloved. The Merrimack with its numerous Naamkeeks, or fishing stations, and its rich planting fields for maize, which also extended along the valleys of the Souhegan and the Nashua, were still more dear.
- -
The Indians who inhabitated the more southerly portions of the valley were of a mild disposition and invited intercourse with the whites, so that in 1655 settlements had extended as far north as Chelmsford and Groton, and for the next ten years there was unwonted activity and prosperity and a corresponding increase of population. It is not strange, then, that when grants came to be made in 1655, the settlers were eager for these valleys and members of the exploring party were among the first to be rewarded.
In 1656 the lands upon both sides of the Merrimack, extending on the west side from Naticook, the little brook just above Thornton's ferry, in Merrimack, to a line about a mile south of Pennichuck brook, and including the greater part of Litchfield, were granted to William Brenton and called " Brenton's Farm."
The Indian name for the towns of Merrimack and Litchfield was Naticook. Belknap says the land east of the river was sometimes called Nacook. In 1659 and 1660 large tracts of land were granted upon the Souhegan, (anciently written Souheganack, meaning crooked), at a place called by the Indians, Quohquinna-pashessananagnog, being the meadows in Amherst, lying at the mouth of the brook which rises in Mont Vernon, flows around the plain in Amherst, and runs into the Souhegan in the south part of the town. Five hundred acres were granted to Capt. William Davis of Boston, and Capt. Isaac Johnson of Roxbury ; five hundred acres to Mrs. Anna Lane, and three hundred acres to John Wilson of Boston. One thousand acres were also granted to the town of Charlestown, Mass., for a " School Farm," lying upon the Souhegan, in Milford, about four or five miles westerly of the first grants, "at a great hill called Dramcup hill," and five hundred acres to Mrs. Anna Cole "ad- joining thereto."
Capt. Isaac Johnson, the above grantee, was killed at the great Narragansett Swamp fight, Dec. 19, 1675.
Dram Cup hill was a point of more than ordinary importance. It was not only the northwesterly bound of Dunstable, but of the "School Farm" grant made to the town of Charlestown and also of Middlesex county, Mass., as this portion of Dunstable was supposed to be a portion of that county. In addition to this it was the northwest bound of the town of Monson, a subdivision of Dunstable, and is near the northwest corner of Milford. It is upon the south side of the highway and the rail- road leading from Milford to Wilton, about three miles from the former and one from the latter, just before crossing the bridge over the Souhegan river by Hillsboro' mills. The origin of the name is unknown but is in itself suggestive, and perhaps the reader may be allowed to infer that, on reaching it at the end of a long and tedious surveying trip through the wilderness, they rested and celebrated the event by indulging in more than the customary "ration"-possibly drank from some stone vessel of Indian handiwork found on the premises.
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