USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Bristol > History of the town of Bristol, Grafton County, New Hampshire, Volume I > Part 41
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About 1843, B. L. Greenough had a wheel-wright shop at the west of this building, about where Horace H. Kirk's resi- dence now stands.
CARRIAGE FACTORY SITE
In 1829, Col. John S. Bryant was engaged in the cabinet business in the ell of the second story of his house which stood where the bank block now stands. This house and shop were destroyed by fire Oct. 15, of that year, and Mr. Bryant built a small cabinet shop on Central street, about ten feet in front of the east end of the carriage factory now occupied by B. L. & A. Wells.
In April, 1823, Abbott Lovejoy purchased the blacksmith shop that stood on the site of Cavis block, and here continued the blacksmith business till May, 1832, when he sold to Joseph Noyes and established himself just west of John S. Bryant's
' This stable was purchased by Thomas T. Drake, who used the material in the erection of a large two-story house on School street near the base of Sugar hill.
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shop on Central street. Mr. Lovejoy did a general blacksmith business, and in addition made edge tools. He was noted for relaying axes ; and teamsters from the northern part of this state and Vermont, when on their way to Boston, would leave axes with him to be relayed, and call for them on their return.
In 1836, Downing & Gove were proprietors of the cabinet shop, and one year later, John C. Gove was in business alone. Harvey N. Ingalls appears to have succeeded Mr. Gove, and his brother, George Washington Ingalls, was later associated with him, and they continued the business several years. Abram Brown was here as a wheelwright in 1845, and Hollis Thompson in 1846.
In 1849, William C. Lovejoy and Joseph D. Kelley, under the firm name of Lovejoy & Kelley, commenced the manufac- ture of carriages here, the wood work being done in the east building and the iron work in the west building. They ab- sorbed the business of Abbott Lovejoy, but discontinued the making of edge tools. This company gave employment to thirty hands and the carriages made here were noted for their durability.
In 1848, when Water street was laid out, the corner building was cut off or moved back about ten feet. In 1859, the present building was constructed by Lovejoy & Kelley. It is 40X 100 feet, two stories, besides attic and basement. Joseph D. Kelley withdrew from the business about 1867, and Geo. W. Dow was associated with Mr. Lovejoy for a time two years later, but at this time the business had largely decreased owing to the intro- duction of western machine-made carriages. About 1871, Otis K. Bucklin purchased this property and continued the owner till his death in 1887. From about 1882 till 1886, George A. Robie was associated with Mr. Bucklin. It remained idle some years till April, 1889, when it was purchased by Benj. L. & Albro Wells and Marshall Ballou. Since this transfer the western end has been used by Marshall Ballou for the manufacture of picker- sticks, while B. L. & A. Wells have occupied the rest for a planing-mill and the manufacture of house finish. Chas. W. Fling was associated with the last named firm for a few years previous to Jan. 1, 1895.
BLACK LEAD MILL
The blacksmith shop on the west side of Water street was used, in 1845, by Olup, Zeabury & Watkins for grinding plumbago from the mine on the Samuel Hilands farm, east of the lake, described elsewhere. This firm also engaged in casting stoves in a building just west of this mill, but it was not successful financially and the members left town suddenly. The building has since been used for various purposes. Here A. H. Blais- dell put in operation, about 1860, the first machine-shop in Bris-
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tol, which he operated till 1865. Don P. Alexander & Co. con- tinued the business till 1868, when they were succeeded by Moody O. Edgerly, who was in business here till 1876. He was followed by J. D. Hemphill, J. D. Kelley, and Geo. A. Robie who also operated a carding machine, and Jeremiah A. Haynes, who had a blacksmith shop here. After the destruction of their factory by fire in December, 1885, E. D. Crosby & Co. used this building for the manufacture of croquet sets. They were fol- lowed by Charles A. Pearson, who occupied a part of the build- ing as a blacksmith shop, and Fred C. Foss, who did carriage work at the same time. It has since been used only as a black- smith shop, the last few years by Clarence A. Smith.
MACHINE-SHOP AND FOUNDRY
In July, 1846, Abbott Lovejoy sold the site of C. W. Holmes's machine-shop and foundry to Ebenezer Kendall. On the site of the machine-shop a building was erected in which Hiram W. Kendall manufactured bedsteads, and on the east, where is now the foundry, Ebenezer Kendall had a small build- ing where he made laths, shingles, and bedstead stock. Levi C. Gurdy purchased this property in 1868, and a year or two later erected the present machine-shop. For a short time, Geo. A. Robie and Horace L. Ingalls manufactured bedsteads in the second story. Holland & Hemphill had a machine-shop in the first story, and this business was continued by McDaniels & Blake, by George A. Robie, and, since 1890, by Charles W. Holmes.
The present foundry building was erected by Levi C. Gur- dy. Mr. Gurdy was a practical moulder and carried on the foundry business here for a time. George A. Robie, Reuben B. Locke, and Walter F. Prince were in business here later.
BEDSTEAD FACTORY
About 1855, Henry Wells erected on the east side of Water street, a two-story building, about 30 x 60 feet, one story, for a carpenter shop. About 1862, Milo H. Crosby purchased this property, raised the building and put underneath an additional story and built an addition of thirty feet on the east. Later he erected another addition, 16 x 30 feet, next to the highway. Here he engaged in the manufacture of bedsteads, and latter of cro- quet sets on a large scale, employing thirty or forty hands. His son, Edward D. Crosby, was associated with him most of the time. About 1864, Mr. Crosby sold to Thos. H. Morey and repurchased about one year later. This building was destroyed by fire Dec. 29, 1885 ; loss estimated at $12,000, and the works were not rebuilt. The business was continued in town under the name of Crosby & Co., E. D. Crosby & Co., and Milo H. Crosby, agent, as described elsewhere.
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COTTON- AND WOOLEN-MILL
The Bridgewater Village Cotton and Woolen Manufactur- ing company was incorporated June 23, 1814. The incorpora- tors were Ichabod C. Bartlett, William Pattee, Thomas W. Thompson, William Webster, Daniel Smith, and others. This company was authorized to hold personal property to the value of $40,000, and real estate to the value of $10,000, and to engage in the manufacture of cotton and wool. The shares were to be one hundred in number, and the company was to be exempt from taxation for a term of ten years from the commencement of operations.
There is no record or tradition to show that this company ever commenced business, unless it was by the erection of a dam on the south branch of Newfound river, where is now the dam of the Mason-Perkins pulp-mill, as a dam seems to have been built here by some parties before this privilege was purchased by the Bristol Manufacturing company.
Aug. 6, 1835, Brackett L. Greenough sold to Joseph Ladd, of Bristol, Samuel Johnson and Dr. Nathan Shattuck, of And- over, Mass., the site of the Mason-Perkins Paper company's pulp-mill near the railroad station, including the foundation of a dam then on the privilege.
These gentlemen and their associates were incorporated June 14, 1836, under the name of the Bristol Manufacturing company. The capital stock was $100,000, each shareholder being entitled to one vote on each share to the number of ten, and one vote on each five shares above ten.
This company erected the same year a factory three stories high, besides a basement and double attic, after the manner of factories of those days. It had projecting entries, where were located winding stairs, on each floor of which were wide doors through which heavy articles were admitted after being drawn up by pulley-blocks attached to a projecting beam. The roof was surmounted with a belfry in which hung the bell that now hạngs in the tower of the engine-house. Nearly in front, and about where the concrete crossing now is, was erected a two- story boarding-house. This building was torn down to make way for the road to the station when the railroad was built.
The only road to this mill was on the south bank of the river from the turnpike, passing in front of what is now Calley & Currier's crutch factory, and where now stands the saw-mill of H. H. Hutchinson.
The power to carry the machinery was furnished by an old- fashioned overshot wheel. The wool used here was purchased in this vicinity, but its cotton and other supplies were brought by teams from Boston.
The mill had run only a year, or a little more, on cassi- meres, when the company failed. In December, 1838, the
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL
property was sold at sheriff's sale, and John S. Bryant was the purchaser. This gentleman and Henry Kidder then continued the business some two or three years, when Kidder became involved financially, and Levi Bartlett became connected with it. In all, it was run only about five years. The machinery was removed, and the building remained idle for many years, the target for every boy in town until not a light of glass was left in it.
About 1865, the Merrimack Hosiery Co. utilized this mill for the manufacture of hosiery. David H. Rice was the super- intendent, and William A. Rice was one of the overseers. The proprietors never resided in town and, about 1872, business was discontinued owing to the failure of the company. Again the machinery was removed from town.
In 1878, David Mason and R. D. Mossman commenced here the manufacture of wood pulp. William A. Berry succeeded Mr. Mossman in February, 1881, and the Mason-Perkins Paper company succeeded Mason & Berry in February, 1891. The wood pulp business has been continued by this company till now. In the summer of 1883, great improvements were made in the privilege, the wheel-pit was sunk several feet in the solid ledge, and two 30-inch Hunt wheels, having 250 horse-power, were put in. The mill since then has had a capacity for grind- ing 2,000 cords of wood per year. August 13, 1892, the two upper stories were consumed by fire, after which the present roof was constructed over the lower story.
THE POTASH BUSINESS
The first potash in town was built in 1780 by Sherburn Tilton. It was located near the head of Black brook, then known as "Newfound pond" brook, on the west side of the lake. New Chester laid out a road from the outlet of the lake to this potash in 1792, showing it was in operation at that date.
Ichabod Bartlett commenced the potash business in Bristol village soon after he opened his store in Central square, about 1802. The potash stood on the river bank on the south- east corner of what is now the library lot. There were several large arch kettles where he boiled down the lye extracted from the ashes. This lye, after being boiled sufficiently, became solid when cold and in this condition it was shipped to market. This business was of great importance to this section, for here the farmers exchanged large quantities of ashes, made in the old-fashioned fireplaces, for rum and other necessary merchan- dise at Mr. Bartlett's store. Gen. David Sanborn had charge of this potash for many years.
THE BROWN TANNERY
On the south side of Pleasant street, east of Newfound river
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where is now the Riverside hotel, Robert Brown had a tannery as early as 1818. In the first story of the east part of this hotel was a curry shop, and in the second story was a shoe shop where were employed from five to ten men making shoes for market. The tan pits were between this building and the river, while the bark-mill, driven by a wind-mill, stood in the rear. Robert Brown was succeeded by his son, Samuel C., who did an extensive business here till about 1851, when he bought the Kendall saw-mill on Lake street and removed his business there. The old curry shop remained vacant many years, till it was made into a dwelling-house. It was partially destroyed by fire, Oct. 28, 1882.
THE PRAY TANNERY
Where is now the stone-crushing plant on Lake street, a saw-mill was erected by Joshua T. Kendall, in 1849, and operated by him a year or two. It was then purchased by Sam- uel C. Brown, who fitted it up as a tannery, and manufactured leather till 1854, when he removed to the west. He was succeeded by Gustavus Bartlett and Warren White, who con- tinued the tanning business under the firm name of Bartlett & White, till 1869, when they sold to Ebenezer K. Pray. Mr. Pray continued the business till 1884. After this date, it remained idle till September, 1887, when it was purchased by Milo H. Crosby, agent, who commenced in January, 1888, the manu- facture of croquet sets. It was destroyed by fire Jan. 9, 1889. The power to drive the wheels here and at the pill-box shop, adjoining on the north, was taken from the same canal as the water to furnish the power for the mill on Willow street. After the fire, the real estate passed into the hands of Taylor & Merrill, who sold the water rights to the Mason-Perkins Paper company.
PILL-BOX SHOP
The old building, next north of the Pray tannery, near the junction of Willow with Lake street, was erected about 1845 by Caleb Beede for the manufacture of house finish. He con- tinued to use it for this purpose about five years. At the same time, the second story was used by Tucker & Weymouth for the manufacture of pill-boxes from wood, and it was for this reason that the building was called the pill-box shop. The Mr. Wey- mouth of this firm was A. D. Weymouth, who has since become famous as the inventor of the Weymouth lathe. The most permanent business carried on here was the manufacture of Ply- mouth buckskin gloves and mittens, by Draper & Berry, from 1858 till 1865.
WILLOW STREET MILLS
The first mill on Willow street was a satinet factory about
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL
40 x 60 feet, two stories high, built in 1842. Jesse George appears to have been the owner in 1843, when the real estate was assessed at $660, and S. S. Worthing was manufacturing satinets, and was assessed for $650 stock in trade. Mr. Worth- ing carried on the business in 1844 and 1845. In 1846, Kimball & Co. were in business here, and S. S. and Amos H. Worth- ing in 1847. Reuben Rollins came into possession in 1847, and was operating the mill in 1848, when it was destroyed by fire. The next year, the privilege was sold for taxes. Levi Bartlett was the purchaser, paying $2.54 taxes and $4.79 costs.
In 1852, David Mason and George W. Dow erected a mill here for the manufacture of strawboard, and did a large and prosperous business. Mr. Dow retired during the Civil war, and Mr. Mason continued the business till 1872, when he sold to Mason, Perkins & Co. The present pulp-mill was built in 1889, by the last named company. Four hands are employed here, and about one ton of pulp per day is made. The water for this privilege is taken from a dam on Newfound river about twenty-five or thirty rods distant, and brought to the mill in a canal. This canal was enlarged in 1889 so as to take all the water of the river at a low stage.
DODGE-DAVIS MANUFACTURING CO.'S MILL
The woolen-mill of the Dodge-Davis Manufacturing com- pany is located one mile northwest of Central square on Lake street. The first mill erected here was a paper-mill, built, in 1857, by Daniel S. Mason, David Mason, George W. Dow, and Calvin Swett, under the firm name of Mason, Swett & Co. Mr. Swett retired about 1858, and the firm name became D. & D. S. Mason & Co. These firms made white paper and this business was continued till October, 1862, when the mill was destroyed by fire. In 1863, Mr. Dow erected another building, 42 X 72 feet, three stories including a basement, and here John H. Musgrove manufactured shirts and drawers for a year or two under the name of the Granite State company. Here he first made, of knit cloth, as an experiment, an outside garment called a "Cardigan jacket," named from Cardigan mountain, and a few were put on sale at the store of George M. Cavis. They were received with so much favor that others were made for the Boston market, and this was the origin of the Car- digan jackets that have been made and worn in such countless numbers all over the Union.
In 1865, Benj. F. Holden came to Bristol from West Con- cord and associated himself with Geo. W. Dow, under the firmn name of Dow & Holden, for the manufacture of shaker flannels. In 1867, or the early part of 1858, Mr. Dow withdrew and the firm became Holden & Co., the firm consisting of Benj. F. Holden, Benj. F. Holden, Jr., and Samuel E. Holden. They
JOHN W. DODGE
)
(View from the street)
(View from the west) MILLS OF THE DODGE-DAVIS MANUFACTURING COMPANY
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continued business here till May, 1883, running two sets of cards and giving employment to forty hands.
In May, 1883, Dodge, Davis & Co., of Enfield, bought the mill with its equipments. Work was at once begun to improve and enlarge the mill and in March, 1885, the company moved three sets of machinery here from Enfield. Further extensions to the mills were made in 1887, 1890, 1895, and 1900, when the floor space was 60,500 feet with eleven sets of machinery and equipments including a complete electric lighting plant, all driven by a 200-horse-power water-wheel. At the east end of the dam is a repair shop equipped with iron- and wood-working and box-making machinery, driven by a 35-horse-power water- wheel and lighted by electricity. Storehouses with 17,300 feet of floor space and houses with eight tenements for employees have also been built. The mills are protected from fire by a sprinkler system internally and hydrants outside which are con- nected with the town water system, and are also supplied from a powerful fire pump.
The mills employ about one hundred hands with a pay-roll of about $750 per week. The production is 750,000 yards annu- ally, mostly the finest white flannels, made from the choicest wool grown, and the reputation of these goods stands second to none in this country. The goods are sold direct, mostly to large retailers, one salesman traveling from the mill and another having head- quarters in Chicago. The partnership of Dodge, Davis & Co. was merged into the corporation of Dodge-Davis Manufacturing company in October, 1887, with practically the same ownership and management. Mr. Dodge was president of the company till his death, in February, 1897. Since then the officers have been H. C. Whipple, president and treasurer ; Fred A. Spencer, assistant treasurer, and Chas. W. Fling, secretary.
Mr. Dodge resided in Bristol from May, 1883, to Novem- ber, 1884, when he returned to Enfield, though he was in town more or less thereafter in connection with the business in which he had a deep interest. Mr. Davis never resided in town, only coming here as business required. Mr. Whipple came to town from Enfield, in November, 1884, and Mr. Spencer in 1886.
TRAIN-SMITH CO.'S PAPER-MILL SITE
The site of the Train-Smith company's mill was first utilized for manufacturing purposes in 1866, when Charles N. Drake and Col. Samuel H. Rollins erected a saw-mill. They operated this mill till the spring of 1867, when Benj. F. Perkins, who came to Bristol from New Hampton, and Geo. Z. Collins, of Boston, pur- chased it and converted it into a mill for the manufacture of straw- board. The name of the new firm was B. F. Perkins & Co. In the fall of that year, Burley M. Ames bought a third interest,
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL
and a year later Mr. Collins sold his interest to his partners, who continued the business.
In 1871, the firm of Mason, Perkins & Co., spoken of else- where, was formed and Mr. Perkins sold his interest in this business to Robert M. Mason, and Ames & Mason continued the business three or four years, when Ames sold his interest to George M. Wooster. The firm then became Mason & Wooster, and the new firm continued . the business till it sold to the New Hampshire Pulp and Paper company in 1882. In 1885, Train, Smith & Co. succeeded to this property by foreclosure of mortgage, and have continued the manufacture of paper till now.
In the summer of 1886, Train, Smith & Co. built what is now the main building of this mill, being an addition to the engine room 56 x 40 feet, one story, with a basement and attic. This addition made the engine room 40 X 113 feet. An addition to the engine room was also made of 40 feet, making that room 35 X 140. Connected with the main building was a tower 17 x 18 feet, 75 feet high. A new Hunt wheel of 225 horse-power was put in, the raceway channel was sunk five feet and other improvements made. The water-power is supplemented with a steam engine of eighty horse-power.
In 1900, the company was incorporated under the name of the Train-Smith company. The production of this mill is about six tons of manila paper and newspaper per day.
This mill is supplied with an electric plant of its own, and for fire extinguishing purposes is connected with the Bristol Aqueduct company and provided with automatic sprinklers and fire pump.
From the coming of Train, Smith & Co. to town, Charles A. Lucas has been superintendent of the business.
NORTH END GRIST-MILL
In 1867, Samuel H. Rollins and Charles N. Drake, having sold the saw-mill and privilege where is now the Train-Smith company paper-mill, purchased the water privilege next above and erected a building for a grist-mill and clapboard-mill. After a time, Mr. Drake retired and Mr. Rollins continued to operate the grist-mill with two run of stone till Taylor & Son leased the property and engaged in the grain business in 1873. They added another run of stone. Henry A. Taylor withdrew from the company, P. C. Shaw, of Sanbornton, taking his place, and the firm name became Taylor & Shaw. They were in busi- ness till the fall of 1877, and were succeeded by R. B. Locke who operated the mill for a time. He was succeeded by Ariel H. George, who was in business here till sometime in 1883.
In 1878, Mr. Rollins sold the real estate to Burley M. Ames, and two years later Mr. Ames sold to William C. Kelley, of
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TRAIN-SMITH CO.'S PAPER-MILL
$1
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FFEE
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(Store Houses)
MASON-PERKINS PAPER-MILL
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Alexandria, who operated the mill from about 1883 till the spring of 1888, when he sold the real estate and business to the Train- Smith company. This company operated the mill till May I, 1893, when Fred W. Bingham leased it and continued the busi- ness for two years. A few months later Louis S. Robie hired the mill and is still prosecuting the grain business here. He grinds about 25,000 bushels of corn each year and also does a large business in flour, hay, wood, and lumber.
THE MASON-PERKINS PAPER-MILL
The Mason-Perkins paper-mill is located about one and one- fourth miles north of Central square. In 1871, or January, 1872, the firm of Mason, Perkins & Co. was formed, consisting of David Mason and Benjamin F. Perkins, of Bristol ; Nathan H. Weeks, of Plymouth, and James Flanders, of New Hampton. This com- pany erected, in 1872, the present brick mill, and commenced the manufacture of paper in January, following. Mr. Flanders withdrew from the company a year or two later. This company was incorporated July 7, 1886, under the name of the Mason- Perkins Paper company.
Improvements and additions have been made from time to time ; but the most extensive was in 1891, when the mill was shut down five months and large additions to the buildings and machinery were made. The present buildings include a bleach and boiler-room, 50 x 40 feet ; an engine-room, with basement and attic, 80 x 44 ; machine-room with basement, 130 x 35, mak- ing a continuous building 260 feet in length. Besides this, there is one storehouse, three stories, 73 x 35 feet ; a storehouse, two stories, 60 x 30 feet, and other buildings, giving in all floor space of about 36,000 square feet.
This mill is provided with the most modern machinery. The class of goods made has been mostly colored poster paper and white news. The output of paper is from five to six tons per day, and employment is given to twenty-five hands. For protection against fire it is provided with a system of automatic sprinklers, has a steam fire pump with a capacity of 750 gallons per minute, a private reservoir, and hydrants connected with the Bristol Aqueduct company.
Hon. B. F. Perkins was manager and treasurer of this com- pany till 1897, when he retired. Frank P. Fields was elected to take his place and has continued till the present.
ELECTRIC LIGHT POWER-STATION
The water-power where is now the power-house of the Bristol Electric Light company was first utilized in 1836, by Joseph Rollins, who built a saw-mill a few rods north of this site. Tradition says that Ebenezer Kendall was associated with him for a time. Samuel H. Rollins became identified with the
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