USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Bristol > History of the town of Bristol, Grafton County, New Hampshire, Volume I > Part 40
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL
does not appear to have owned the real estate, as the same year it was taxed to Moses Lewis.
A writ of ejectment was issued to Jonathan Harris by the court in October, 1808, for the possession of enough of the real estate of Moses Lewis to satisfy his claim, and Mr. Harris sold his interest in August, 1810, to Thomas W. Thompson, of Con- cord, for $3,845. Jonathan Howard, of Boston, was also granted a judgment of $4, 103 against Lewis, and a part of the real estate was set off to satisfy this claim. Thomas W. Thompson pur- chased Howard's claim and the remaining rights of Mr. Lewis, if any, and thus became the sole owner of the Lewis property. Nov. 13, 1817, Mr. Thompson leased the tannery, with the land and water privilege connected, to Jonathan Howard for 994 years for the annual rental of a single kernal of corn, payable on the 15th day of June, annually. May 3, 1820, Mr. Howard sold the tannery property to Nathaniel S. Berry for $800. It seems probable that the tannery had remained idle from the time Albee retired in 1810, or a little later, till its purchase by Mr. Berry. Mr. Berry's purchase included the tan yard, with twenty-four pits, and the privilege and land connected. The land embraced Spring street and the house where now stands the residence of Clarence N. Merrill. At this time there was no road where is now Central street, simply a "path " to the tannery from Central square ; and Spring street was a lane which terminated at the house referred to, which became the residence of Mr. Berry.
Soon after Mr. Berry purchased, he erected a building for a bark-mill, 24 x 30 feet, two stories, and the next year built a curry shop on the upper side of the path, where is now a two- story dwelling. Seven years later, he erected a tannery build- ing,' 40 x 80 feet, to tan with hot liquors, on the "New York plan," as it was then called. Mr. Berry traveled to Windham, N. Y., by stage, to get the model for his tannery building and the new process, and he always claimed that his tannery was the first in New England to use this process. By the old method of tanning with cold liquor it required a year to tan hides, while the new process required only one or two months. In building this tannery, thirty-five gallons of rum and five or six barrels of cider were used. In November, following, when putting in the first pack of hides, the proprietor proposed that all agree that no more intoxicating liquors be used. To this all assented, and Mr. Berry claimed that this was the first temperance society in the state.
Mr. Berry had associated with him at different times Nathaniel Clark and John McClary, and at one time sold the whole plant to Nathaniel G. Upton ; but very soon he re-pur_
Dr. J. S. Eaton said this building was raised May 1, 1829, the day before he first visited Bristol.
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chased and continued the business till Sept. 2, 1836, when he sold to Warren White. The property at this time consisted, as appears from an advertisement a few months previous in the New Hampshire Patriot, of "a bark-mill, hide-mill, rolling-mill and pump, all propelled by water; factory 86 x 36 feet, two stories ; bark house 43 x 21, two stories ; bark shed 60 x 26; curry shop 30 x 21, two stories." This advertisement gave the additional information that bark was plenty at from $2 to $2.50 per cord, and that freight to and from Boston was fifty cents per 100 pounds. The capacity of the yard was 3,000 hides per year.
Mr. White had had several years' experience in tanning, and at once entered upon the prosecution of his business with that energy and sagacity that characterized all his business efforts. From that time till his death in 1874, a period of thirty-eight years, he operated this tannery to its full capacity, which was, during the last few years, 6,000 hides yearly. In 1845, he rebuilt and enlarged. In 1853, fire destroyed the buildings, but he immediately rebuilt. After his death, his son, Marshall W. White, continued the business for the heirs till May 25, 1881, when the property was sold to Dr. Moore Russell Fletcher. Two months later, Dr. Fletcher conveyed it to the New Hamp- shire Chemical Pulp company, a company organized under the laws of the state of New Jersey, for the manufacture of chemical pulp. In August, 1882, after a few months of active operation, there came into being a new company composed practically of the same men as the old, and called the New Hampshire Pulp and Paper company. This company abandoned the manufac- ture of pulp by the chemical process, and put in operation several stones to grind the wood into fibre ; a process then gen- erally in vogue. The same month, the company purchased the paper-mill of Mason & Wooster on Lake street, and commenced there the manufacture of manila paper from the pulp made at the tannery site. Joseph H. Hayden, of Boston, was the general manager of all the operations of this company. The business did not, however, prove a success, and in June, 1884, the com- pany assigned to Fling & Chase, lawyers, of Bristol, with an indebtedness of nearly $20,000.
Feb. 1I, 1885, Messrs. Train, Smith & Co., of Boston, creditors, took possession of these two mills under a foreclosure of mortgage, and commenced to operate them. One year later they came into full possession. In the summer and fall of 1888, extensive improvements were made at the pulp-mill. Messrs. Train, Smith & Co. leased of the Bristol Water Power company all the water in the stream to which they were not already entitled. A dam was built by the Water Power company across the south channel, and a canal, twelve feet wide and four deep, was cut to turn the water into the north channel at the junction of Water and Central streets. To convey this water to the mill
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a new flume, one hundred feet long, nine feet high, and twelve feet broad, was constructed. The stone work under the mill was replaced with brick. The wheel-pit was sunk ten feet in the solid rock, and the channel, cut in 1865, was sunk seven feet deeper and made fifteen feet wide to convey the waste water back to the south branch, into the dam of the pulp-mill near the rail- road station. This gave a head and fall of thirty-five feet, and in the wheel-pit were placed two 30-inch horizontal Hunt wheels, of 500, horse-power. A steel penstock seven feet in diameter and ninety feet long connected the flume with the wheel. New grinders were placed in the mill and other improvements made. The mill now ground 1,500 cords of wood per year, and gave employment to nine hands.
In the morning of June 27, 1901, the pulp-mill was destroyed by fire. The work of rebuilding was commenced soon after, and Oct. 28, following, a new brick building was completed, 90 x 48 feet, one story and basement, equipped with the latest machinery for making pulp. The power was now furnished by two 27-inch McCormick wheels and one 18-inch Hunt wheel. Ira B. Bur- pee has had charge of this mill as foreman for sixteen years.
From what has been said, it appears that the first grist-inill and saw-mill on the south side of Newfound river were erected by Moses Lewis, about 1805. The first dam at this point was just below the present bridge from Central square. The grist- mill was next below the dam, and the saw-mill still farther down the stream. In 1822, the court ordered the heirs of Thomas W. Thompson to remove or lower this dam because it caused the water to flow land owned by other parties. The present dam, farther down the stream, was then built, and the old dam removed. On South Main street, two or three rods south of the bridge, was a large culvert under the highway, through which a part of the river flowed in times of high water, and the black- smith shop, that stood where the post-office block now stands, was at such times on an island.
These mills were a part of the property of Moses Lewis, which came into the possession of Thomas W. Thompson, as narrated above, and were a part of the property which, by the will of Mr. Thompson, passed in 1822, one-half into the hands of Dartmouth college, one-fourth to the American Education socie- ty, and one-fourth to the New Hampshire Missionary society. William C. Thompson, of Plymouth, was the successor of Dart- mouth college and the societies named above, in 1829, and the same year he sold to Brackett L. Greenough.
In 1836, Mr. Greenough built a new grist-mill farther down the stream, below the saw-mill. The water to operate it was still taken from the same dam by means of a flume. This building is now the first story of the main building owned by Calley & Currier, crutch manufacturers. Trueworthy G. Currier came
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from Hopkinton and erected the mill, and on its completion operated it on shares until 1849. The mill when completed had four run of stone; and another was added soon after. In 1843, Mr. Greenough sold the saw-mill and grist-mill to I. C. & Levi Bartlett. Soon after, Levi Bartlett became the sole owner and built what is now known as the Blake block, next to the bridge from Central square, for a threshing-mill. In June, 1849, Mr. Bartlett sold the whole to Daniel B. Bartlett for $7,000. In November, following, Daniel B. Bartlett sold the grist-mill to T. G. Currier for $4,000, and the same day sold the saw-mill to Jersine B. Favor, and about 1855 sold the threshing-mill to Aaron Jewett. Mr. Favor operated the saw-mill for two years, when Severance & Favor took possession. They were suc- ceeded by Dearborn & Kidder, who continued from 1853 till 1856. Joshua Kidder sold his half to James Patten, and Mr. Patten sold to A. S. Dearborn, who was the owner from about 1856 till 1864, during which time the mill was operated by Benjamin E. Blackstone, with the exception of one year ( 1863), when Henry & Benjamin L. Wells did business here. In 1864, B. E. Blackstone succeeded to the ownership and operated the mill about two years, when he, in turn, sold to Calvin D. Cass, who sold to William A. Berry, in 1868. Mr. Berry sold one- half of this property to Milton A. Kent, and Kent & Berry prosecuted the glove business here till 1877, when the building was torn down and has not been rebuilt. July 12, 1880, Mr. Berry sold his interest in the real estate to Albert Blake. Mr. Kent continued the manufacture of gloves in Bristol, in what is now Frank W. Bingham's harness shop, till 1886, George F. Buttrick being in charge of the work.
After Mr. Currier purchased, in 1849, he continued to own and operate the grist-mill till March, 1865, when he sold to Draper & Berry, who, in turn, for $700, sold to Forbes & Cass, the owners of the grist-mill on the north side of the steam, all the water to which the Currier grist-mill was entitled, over and above 336 cubic inches,' and to Henry Nuttall, of Cohoes, N. Y., the grist-mill and 200 cubic inches of water, reserving to themselves 136 cubic inches.
' The sale of this surplus water was the cause of long and expensive litigation. The grist-mill privilege on the south side of the river was entitled to the first right of sufficient water to turn all its wheels. The saw-mill privilege, between the grist-mill and the dam, was entitled to the surplus water over and above that used at the grist-mill. The owners of the saw-mill privilege contended that the water could not be diverted from one side of the stream to the other, and continued to use water claimed by virtue of this purchase to belong to the north side. The heirs of Josiah Minot, owning the grist-mill privilege on the north side of the stream, brought suit against Kent & Blake, the owners of the saw-mill privilege, for the misuse of the water. The case was first heard by Hon. Ira Colby, of Claremont, as referee, at the town hall in Bristol in July, 1897, and was
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Mr. Nuttall added another story to the grist-mill building, and, in company with John H. Musgrove, carried on for a year or more the manufacture of shirts and drawers, under the name of the Granite State company. In 1867, Mr. Nuttall sold to R. W. and J. H. Musgrove, and they carried on the wool business. here for about three years. They were succeeded by Rice & Turner, who prosecuted the hosiery business till about 1875, when they sold to A. M. Draper, who manufactured buckskin gloves and mittens. In 1880, William T. Taylor and Frank A. Gordon purchased this property and engaged in the manufacture of picker-sticks and other mill supplies, employing ten or twelve hands. At the same time they prosecuted an outside business, as carpenters and builders. Mr. Gordon retired in July, 1892, and Mr. Taylor continued the business here till his death, in September, 1893. William A. Berry succeeded to the busi- ness and continued till 1899, when he sold to Calley & Cur- rier. Here Calley & Currier have the largest manufactory of crutches in the United States. This business was commenced in November, 1881, by F. W. Calley and J. A. Simonds. George C. Currier soon after succeeded Mr. Simonds, and the firm became Calley & Currier. They prosecuted their business in the attic of the enlarged grist-mill building till 1884, when a two-story addition, 25 x 40 feet, was erected for their use, and another addition, 20 x 16, a year or two later. They now occupy the whole of the inain building and additions, employing fifteen hands or more, and make a large number of crutches which are shipped to all parts of the world. In a building connected on the south, Frank A. Gordon is engaged in the manufacture of picker-sticks and other mill supplies.
In 1865, Draper & Berry built a glove shop about 24 x 50 feet, one-story and basement, on land next below the Currier grist-mill, and on its completion moved their works from Lake street to this place. The power to carry the machinery was the 136 cubic inches of water reserved in their deeds that year to
continued from term to term till May, 1899, when a report was rendered that the sale was valid. This report was carried on questions of law to the full bench, and the report was affirmed in the spring of 1902.
As a part of his report, the referee found that the amount of water to which the grist-mill on the south side was entitled, previous to the sale of 1865, was 980 inches under twelve foot head ; that the saw-mill was accustomed to run but little, except in the spring and fall ; that in times of low water the average discharge from the lake is equal to 800 square inches, under twelve foot head, giving 464 inches in excess of the 336 inches reserved in the sale. The court also found that the flow of water in 1894 and 1895 was 6,000 or 6,200 cubic feet per minute in the river. Of this the grist-mill privilege on the south side was entitled to only 2,469 cubic feet per minute. Dearborn & Chase, of Bristol, and Hon. J. S. H. Frink, of Greenland, were counsel for the plaintiff ; Hon. L. W. Fling, of Bristol, and Hon. John M. Mitchell, of Concord, were counsel for the defendants.
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Forbes & Cass and to Henry Nuttall. Here Draper & Berry continued the manufacture of buckskin gloves and mittens till 1867, when Mr. Berry sold his interest to his partner. The business was continued by Mr. Draper, Hiram Harriman, and George A. Draper, under the firm name of J. C. Draper & Co., till April, 1868, when J. C, Draper died ; by Hiram Harriman, Alfred P. Harriman, and Buriey M. Ames, till the building was destroyed by fire, in 1875.
On the site of this glove shop was built, in 1879, the present saw-mill by Thomas T. Drake, who operated the same for some time. His successors have been Edward M. Drake, Hutchinson Brothers, Charles P. George, Charles A. George, and Homer H. Hutchinson ; Mr. Hutchinson now operating the mill. The Hutchinson Brothers, besides operating the saw-mill, did a large business in the manufacture of articles of wood, such as clothes- horses, saw-horses, and clothes-line reels, and this business is now prosecuted by Homer H. Hutchinson, in addition to operating the saw-mill. Frank B. Wells now occupies the basement for the manufacture of house finish and carpenter work. Marshall Ballou occupied a portion of this mill for five years, 1885-9, in the manufacture of picker-sticks, and Warren E. Locke manu- factured articles of wood here, 1883-5.
Aaron Jewett came into the possession of the Blake block, as named above, about 1855. Newton Gage & Company, David Gage, I. Fred Smith, Aaron Jewett, and George A. Robie successively manufactured bedsteads here. Albert Blake became the owner of this property about 1865, and refitted the building for mercantile uses, and erected, in 1871, a building for a planing-mill at the southeast corner. In this mill Mr. Blake and R. S. Hastings did business in 1872. They were succeeded by B. L. & A. Wells who manufactured house finish here till 1889, when they removed to the carriage factory build- ing. From February, 1897, to the spring of 1902, it was used by the Bartlett Shoe company, which employed about twenty-five hands in the manufacture of shoes.
The power to drive the machinery at this point was derived from a wheel, placed above the dam near the building, which discharged its water through a spout under the dam. When Mr. Blake erected the planing-mill, he placed the wheel below the dam, discharging its water into the wing dam of the grist- mill on the north side of the stream, as before. In 1881, he lowered this wheel, thereby discharging the water into the stream below the wing dam, until, by order of the court, it was raised so as to again discharge its water into the wing dam.
GRIST-MILL ON CENTRAL STREET
The exact date when the grist-mill privilege on Central street was first utilized for manufacturing purposes cannot
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now be determined. According to the genealogy of the Kelly family, Ebenezer Kelly was associated with Moses Lewis in the dressing of cloth at this site. This must have been at some date between 1794 and 1804, and these men were prob- ably the first to engage in this industry in Bristol village. In 1804, Moses Lewis sold to James Martin forty-four square rods of land on the north bank of Newfound river, includ- ing this site, on which was a carding-mill. Soon after this purchase, a dye-house was erected on the east and later a fulling-mill, or clothing-mill, was added on the west. Mr. Martin continued in business till 1809, when he was succeeded by Elliott & Durgin, who prosecuted the business till 1817. In October of this year, Pingree & Powers advertised in the New Hampshire Patriot that they had bought the fulling-mill in Bridgewater village and that they had four workmen, "one of whom was from England," and that they would "dye the following colors, and dress the same in a workmanlike manner : Deep blue, black, Bristol mud, wine, London brown, crawbo, drab, olive brown, light olive, navy blue, bottle green, grass green, pea green, scarlet, red and various other colors."
Jesse Sanborn was in business here in April, 1824, and Jonathan Powers again came into possession a year later. Mr. Powers left town in 1827, and John Little appears to have been his successor. He evidently died while conducting this busi- ness, for in January, 1830, Thomas Little, his administrator, offered for sale the "carding- and clothing-mill belonging to said estate, a dye-house and shop two-stories, and small dwelling- house, machinery, and other articles belonging to the carding and clothing business."
In June, 1832, Fordyee F. Lincoln, agent, advertised that he had newly fitted up the woolen-mill in Bristol village for manu- facturing custom wool into cloth of any kind on shares. Mr. Lincoln was in business here in 1833, and, in March of that year, gave to Aaron Emmons a mortgage of the machinery, consisting of a carding machine and picker, a 50-spindle billey, 100-spindle jinny, a warping mill, twisting machine, five looms, 1,400 filling bobbins, and 600 warp bobbins.
This same year, Aaron Emmons and Kinsley Mason asso- ciated themselves with Lincoln, under the firm name of Emmons, Lincoln & Mason. Later, Mr. Emmons became the sole owner, and, in 1837, sold to Moses Morey, who, in 1838, sold to Daniel B. Bartlett, and he, the same year, sold to Jonathan Moulton. Mr. Moulton, in 1840, sold to Joseph Ela, and, in 1853, Ela sold to Calvin D. Cass. Five years later, Mr. Cass discontinued the clothing business and put in operation a grist-mill. In 1860, he rebuilt and enlarged. In 1865; he sold one-half of the busi- ness to Wells Forbes, and the business was continued under the firm name of Forbes & Cass. This firm purchased the surplus
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water, to which the grist-mill privilege on the south side of the river was entitled, and, in turn, sold one-half of this water to Samuel Page, the owner of the shoe factory site. Soon after this, Mr. Cass sold his interest in the grist-mill to his partner.
In 1867, Mr. Forbes sold to George T. Crawford, and Mr. Crawford and Reuben B. Locke commenced business under the firm name of Crawford & Locke. They largely increased the capacity of the mill and had three run of stone for the manufact- ure of flour, and two for custom grinding. The daily output of flour was from thirty to fifty barrels, and each year they ground from 30,000 to 40,000 bushels of corn, which found a sale in Bristol and neighboring towns. They continued the business till 1872, or early part of 1873, when Cyrus Taylor succeeded Mr. Locke, and the firm became Crawford, Taylor & Co. A few months later, Person C. Shaw, of Sanbornton, succeeded Mr. Crawford, and the firm became Taylor, Shaw & Co. They discontinued the manufacture of flour but did a large business in corn. In 1874, Woodbury Sleeper succeeded to this business, and he was succeeded by R. B. Locke. Mr. Taylor and Mr. Shaw resumed business here in the fall of 1877 under the firm name of Taylor & Shaw.
In July, 1884, Clarence N. Merrill, an employee of the mill, bought Mr. Shaw's interest, and the firm became Taylor & Merrill. In 1895, they built a storehouse 45 x 80 feet, three stories high, opposite the mill, extending from Central to Spring street. In May, 1896, Mr. Taylor retired and the business has since been continued by Mr. Merrill, who does an extensive business, grinding 60,000 bushels or more of corn each year. He is also a large dealer in fertilizers, farming machinery, coal, wood, hay, and lumber. In 1896, Mr. Merrill purchased of the heirs of Judge Minot the grist-mill and water-power connected.
SHOE FACTORY SITE
In December, 1832, Brackett L. Greenough conveyed the site of the shoe factory to Daniel Kennedy, with the right to draw water from the dam across the river at this point sufficient to turn one wheel, when the water was not needed on the south side of the stream. Kennedy erected on this land a small building that he used as a wheelwright shop. This building was destroyed by fire and rebuilt by Kennedy, previous to 1837. Moses Morey was his successor in this business, and James Butters was in business here from 1839 till as late as 1845. House & Ainsworth were here, as house carpenters, from about 1848 till 1851, when Reuben B. Locke succeeded Mr. Ainsworth. The second story of this building was used as a paint shop for many years.
From 1855 till 1865. Samuel Page was in business here as a wood-worker or maker of house finish. He was succeeded by
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL
James T. Sanborn and Chas. Forrest, who continued the same business till succeeded by Edmund Jordan, about 1867. Mr. Jordan continued to own this property till 1874, when he was succeeded by George G. Brown, who removed the main build- ing, or west end, and in its place erected a stable, and converted the one-story ell on the east into a grist-mill. Here he operated a grist-mill till October, 1882, grinding 20,000 bushels of corn per year. During this time, Hon. Samuel K. Mason was associated with him from November, 1874, till August, 1876, and Reuben B. Locke, a year or more from January, 1878.
For some years the stable was used by Charles E. Davis as a livery stable, and he was thus using it in 1894,' when Mr. Brown sold to the Bristol Improvement company. This com- pany was incorporated March 20, of that year, and erected the present four-story building, at a cost of $8,000, as a place of business for Nathaniel Bartlett & Son, shoe manufact- urers. Messrs. Bartlett took possession soon after its completion, being exempt from taxation for ten years, and continued the business till Sept. 1, 1896, when they assigned with liabilities amounting to $35,000 and assets $32,600. The business was closed up by the assignee.
The business men of Bristol, anxious to have the building used, and to increase the business of the place, assisted the firm of Farnsworth & Saunders to commence business here as shoe manufacturers, but the firm had but small financial resources, and soon failed. Another firm commenced business here, but was discouraged by the lack of tenements in town and withdrew, and the building has since remained idle.
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