USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Claremont > History of the town of Claremont, New Hampshire, for a period of one hundred and thirty years from 1764 to 1894 > Part 17
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On the south side, in olden time, Colonel Josiah Stevens, it is said, built a one-story wooden building at the south end of the upper bridge, and put into it machinery for making paper. This must have been, according to Mr. Ide, prior to 1810. The building was burned about 1812, and the present two-story wood structure erected there, which, in 1831, was owned and occupied by David W. Dexter as a gristmill. It was afterwards used for various purposes, and is now the repair shop of the Monadnock Mills Company.
MANUFACTURING AND OTHER INDUSTRIES.
MONADNOCK MILLS.
In 1831 the New Hampshire legislature granted to Leonard Jarvis, Joseph T. Adams, and Russell Jarvis and their associates, a charter under the name of the Sugar River Manufacturing Company, for the purpose of carrying on the business of manufac- turing cotton and woolen goods in all their branches, in the town of Claremont. The charter was signed by Franklin Pierce, speaker of the house; Samuel Cartland, president of the senate, and Sam- uel Dinsmoor, governor. In 1844 the company was organized, the mill now known as Mill No. 1 was put up and partly finished, and tenement and boarding houses built. Machinery was not put into the mill, and the property was idle until 1844, when the whole was sold to Parker, Wilder & Parker, and others, of Boston, who com- pleted the mill and put in machinery for manufacturing cotton sheeting. Henry Russell was appointed agent, and took charge as superintendent of the mill. He was succeeded by Jonas Livingston in November, 1845. In 1846, by act of the legislature, the name of the company was changed to that of Monadnock Mills.
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MONADNOCK MILLS PROPERTY.
DANIEL W. JOHNSON.
195
HISTORY OF CLAREMONT.
· In 1853 the company bought the grist and saw mill and cabinet shop on the north side of the river, on the Island, so called, in- creased its capital stock to two hundred thousand dollars, and erected Mill No. 2, equal in capacity to Mill No. 1. In 1856 the plant was further increased by the purchase of what was known as Sunapee Mill, at the north side of the river, which was operated as a cotton mill until 1864, when the cotton machinery was exchanged for that for making wool flannel, and was changed back again in 1881. In 1859 the gas works, which have since supplied the mills and village with gas for illumination, were built. In 1866 the mo- tive power for operating these mills, derived from Sugar river, was supplemented by a two hundred and fifty horse power steam engine, the boiler for which heats the mills, and the engine fur- nishes power in times of low water. In 1871 the company put in looms and other machinery for the purpose, and began making Marseilles quilts. In 1874 a brick building between Mills No. 1 and No. 2 was erected, to be used for bleaching and finishing the goods made. In 1892 a weaving mill one hundred and ninety-six by sixty-seven feet feet on the ground, three stories and basement, was built west of and in a line with the other two, and early in the following year was put in operation.
The whole number of hands employed in these mills is 425, and the monthly pay-roll is $12,000. The annual product is one million pounds of cotton sheeting and Marseilles quilts. In 1863, after having had charge of these mills seventeen years, Jonas Livingston resigned, and was succeeded by Daniel W. Johnson, who occupied the position until his death, on April 29, 1894, and he was suc- ceeded by Frank P. Vogl, for many years clerk in the office, and paymaster. For fifty years this corporation has been an important factor in the growth and prosperity of Claremont, and a good in- vestment for its stockholders.
SULLIVAN MACHINERY COMPANY.
This company occupies the water-power from fall No. 3, thirteen feet, which was formerly owned by Roswell Elmer, who carried on a small iron foundry, making castings for plows, stoves, potash
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HISTORY OF CLAREMONT.
kettles, etc. Mr. Elmer was succeeded by George W. Emerson, in a similar kind of business, who in 1850 built a machine shop. In 1851, D. A. Clay & Co., consisting of D. A. Clay, James P. Upham, and John S. Walker, leased the machine shop and started a general machine business. Subsequently James P. Upham purchased the water-power and real estate, including the foundry,of Mr. Emerson, made extensive additions to the buildings and facilities for doing business, which was continued for a few years by D. A. Clay & Co. In 1868 the Sullivan Machine Company was organized, and pur- chased this property, - J. P. Upham, president, R. W. Love, treas- urer, and Albert Ball, superintendent. These gentlemen owned most of the stock of the company. Mr. Love subsequently sold his interest to Charles B. Rice, who took Mr. Love's place as treas- urer. Mr. Rice died May 26, 1891, and was succeeded by J. Dun- can Upham. Between 1888 and 1890, all the old buildings, fur- nace, machine shop, and office, mostly of wood, were replaced by handsome and substantial brick structures, as shown in the illus- tration. In April, 1892, the Sullivan Machinery Company, to succeed the Sullivan Machine Company and the Dimond Pros- pecting Company, of Chicago, Ill., was organized, and the fol- lowing officers elected : President, Frederick K. Copeland, of Chi- cago; vice-president, James P. Upham; mechanical engineer, Albert Ball; treasurer, J. Duncan Upham; secretary, Thomas W. Fry, of Claremont.
The business of the present company is the manufacture of diamond drills for the prospecting of mineral lands; quarrying machinery ; coal and other mining machinery; paper roving cans for cotton mills; corn crackers; water wheels, etc. It takes con- tracts for prospecting mineral and coal lands, and operating its machinery in stone quarries and coal mines, in which branches, in ordinary business times, from fifty to a hundred men are em- ployed. The principal shops of the company are in Claremont, where, in the different departments, one hundred and twenty-five men are employed, and the pay-roll is about five thousand dol- lars per month. The principal selling office is in Chicago, while
JAMES P. UPHAM.
.
JOHN TYLER, 2D.
SUGAR RIVER PAPER MILL AND OFFICE.
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HISTORY OF CLAREMONT.
they have a salesroom in Denver, Col., and an office in New York city. The machinery and tools made by this company are sold to go to almost every quarter of the globe.
Many of the machines and tools made, sold, and used by this company have been originated or perfected by Albert Ball, its mechanical engineer, who has also invented and patented many other machines -some of them quite complicated -for different purposes.
SUGAR RIVER PAPER MILL COMPANY.
This company was incorporated in 1866- capital stock one hundred thousand dollars, mostly owned by citizens of Clare- mont - erected mills on fall No. 6, east side of the river, for the manufacture of print paper, and commenced business in 1868. The dam first erected was twenty-two feet high, and was after- ward raised three feet. The power derived from Sugar river is supplemented by two steam engines aggregating two hundred and twenty-five horse power. John Tyler, a large stockholder in the company, superintended the erection of the dam and mill. The officers since the organization of the company have been : John Tyler, president; John L. Farwell, treasurer ; John T. Em- erson, agent. In 1884 they purchased of Reuben Shepardson, what has been known as the Lafayette privilege, on the " Gully," on the west side of the river, and tunneled through the rock of the island, formed by the main stream and this "Gully," two hundred and four feet, the tunnel being six feet square, taking the water that runs in the "Gully" into their pond, thus getting the use of all the water that runs in the river. The Lafayette privilege had the right to take from the river, above the dam on privilege No. 6, and down this gully, one half the water of the river, and return it to the main stream below the paper mill dam. By this arrangement this company obviate, to a consider- able extent, the use of steam to supplement their water power. In 1889 this company added to its plant the grist and saw mills, known as the Sugar River Mill property, next above on the
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HISTORY OF CLAREMONT.
stream. The paper mill was built for a two ton mill, but by improvements in machinery, methods of manufacturing, and keep- ing pace with the times, its average production now is nine tons of fine book and news paper per day. It may be said that this is the first manufacturing corporation in Claremont that has con- tinued with substantially the same stockholders, under the same management, and with a good degree of success from its start.
THE CLAREMONT MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
This company was chartered by the New Hampshire legislature in 1832, with an authorized capital of one hundred thousand dol- lars. It was the first company for manufacturing purposes organ- ized in Claremont. The largest stockholders were Austin Tyler, Timothy S. Gleason, William Rossiter, and Timothy Eastman. The plant was located on the south side of the river, at fall No. 4. The walls of the factory building and a large two-story ten- ement house are of stone, quarried within a few rods of their location. The business contemplated was the manufacture of cotton and woolen goods and printing and writing papers. In December, 1834, Simeon Ide, then a bookseller, printer, and pub- lisher of a weekly paper at Windsor, Vt., sold to the Claremont Manufacturing Company his entire stock of books and the print- ing establishment, taking his pay in the stock of the company, and came to Claremont and took the agency and general management of the concern, which he continued until 1858, and was succeeded by his brother-in-law, Edward L. Goddard. Mr. Ide sold his stock to his two sons, George G. and Lemuel N. Ide. Mr. Goddard con- tinued as agent until 1867, when George G. Ide succeeded to the place, and continued in it until his death, in 1883, and he was suc- ceeded by his brother, Lemuel N. Ide. The business was contin- ued until 1880, when the paper-mill building and machinery were destroyed by fire, and the building has not been replaced. The printing and book making was continued until 1886, when the busi- ness was discontinued. The factory building and water-power were sold to Messrs Maynard & Washburn, and the houses and
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SIMEON IDE.
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HISTORY OF CLAREMONT.
other buildings to other parties. The factory building has since been occupied by John H. Parke for a shoeshop, and by an electric plant. For many years the Claremont Manufacturing Company employed from fifty to eighty hands.
SLIPPER SHOP.
In February, 1887, John H. Parke, of Lynn, Mass., began manufacturing a high grade of men's slippers in the building formerly occupied by the Claremont Manufacturing Company for printing and binding books. Subsequently shoes and women's boots were added to the products of this establishment. From sixty to seventy-five hands are employed, and the pay-roll is about $2,500 per month.
SUGAR RIVER MILLS COMPANY.
The mills of this company are at fall No. 5, on the east side of the river. From the Upper Bridge, or fall No. 1, Sugar river runs nearly due west, but between the Claremont Manufacturing Com- pany's privilege and the next one below it, the river turns and runs nearly due south; hence the reader will understand why a part of the privileges named are said to be on the south and a part on the north side of the river, and so of those named as being on its north and west side. This fall No. 5 has been known for ser- eral generations as the old " Tyler Mills " privilege. Benjamin Tyler, before referred to, one of the first settlers of the town, once owned all the water-power from fall No. 1 to No. 9, both inclusive. He erected the first grist and saw mills in town, at the west part, in 1768, and the old "Tyler Mills" on this privilege in 1785. He gave the latter to his son Ephraim on his coming of age, who continued to own them until 1836, when a company, consisting of three gentlemen of Keene and three of Claremont, bought the mills and mill yard and appurtenances with the avowed intention of removing the buildings, which were very old and dilapidated, and putting in their place suitable buildings for a first-class calico- printing establishment. In the spring of 1837 they commenced
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HISTORY OF CLAREMONT.
their preparations for building, but before they had proceeded far the financial panic struck the country, and the project was aban- doned. The old mills remained standing, and were rented to Mr. Tyler, their former owner, and, by his administrator, to Lewis W. Randall and others until 1854, when the property was purchased by E. W. Sanborn of Boston, and Abner Stowell, Aaron Dutton, Edward Brown, and George Hart of this town. In 1855 they erected the large three-story brick building for a gristmill, and the sawmill adjoining, now standing and in active operation. They put into the grist mill eight run of stone, four flouring-bolts, and, to propel them, eleven Tyler turbine water wheels. The work was done under the superintendence of John Tyler, then of West Lebanon, but now of this town, patentee and manufacturer of the Tyler turbine water wheel. This mill was designed for custom grinding and to manufacture flour from western wheat, and it was said to be capable of making ten thousand barrels of flour per annum. These mills have been leased to various parties since they were built. In 1889, the Sugar River Paper Company bought the property and it has since been leased by H. W. Frost.
THE HOME MILL.
The three-story brick building now standing at fall No. 4, north side of the river, was erected by the Claremont Manufac- turing Company in 1836, with the intention of using it for mak- ing fine writing papers. The times did not favor the comple. tion of the project, and the building was only so far finished as to protect the walls with roof and windows, until 1849, when a few of the stockholders of the Claremont Manufacturing Com- pany bought it, together with one half of the water-power, fitted it up with machinery for manufacturing cotton cloth, and sold the whole to George D. Dutton of Boston. In 1852 Mr. Dutton sold a part interest to Arnold Briggs, a practical cotton manu- facturer, of Woonsocket, R. I., and under the firm style of Ar- nold Briggs & Co., the business of manufacturing cotton goods
SULLIVAN MACHINERY COMPANY WORKS.
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HISTORY OF CLAREMONT.
was carried on until 1875, when, by reason of there being but a limited demand for the goods made by this firm, the business was stopped. In 1876 Mr. Briggs died, subsequent to which the inter- est of Mr. Briggs's estate in the mill was purchased by Pierce, Harding & Co., of Boston, who ran it but a few months. In 1883, Messrs. Maynard and Washburn, gentlemen from Massachusetts, purchased the property, repaired the buildings, put in machinery for the purpose, and have since been manufacturing shoes there.
THE EMERSON-HEYWARD PRIVILEGE.
On fall No. 7, south side - the river has taken another turn and runs westerly - about 1842, George W. Emerson put up a one- story brick building, carried on the furnace business for a few years, when it passed into the hands of Simeon Heyward, who did some furnace work, made horse and hand rakes, and various other farm implements. The building was destroyed by fire in 1866, and the dam connected with it, by flood soon afterward, since which no use has been made of this privilege. It is now owned by George L. Balcom.
THE SULLIVAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
This company's mills are located on fall No. 8, south side of the river. It was chartered about 1833 for manufacturing woolen goods, and its buildings erected the next year. The machinery, as before stated, was taken from the Claremont Manufacturing Com- pany's mill, and they commenced the manufacture of satinets. In 1836, Ormond Dutton, of Keene, was appointed agent of the com- pany, and continued as such about three years. During the hard times, from 1836 to 1840, goods did not sell readily; a large stock was accumulated, which was sold for less than it cost to produce it, and the mill was closed. Its capital, fifty thousand dollars, was exhausted, and. the company settled with its creditors in the best way it could. In 1844, Thomas Sanford and William Rossiter got possession of the real estate and some of the machinery, and manu- factured satinets and cassimeres until 1857, when the entire prop-
14
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HISTORY OF CLAREMONT.
erty was purchased by George L. Balcom, who has manufactured woolen goods there ever since, running three sets of machinery. During the late war Mr. Balcom was very successful, and one year, under the United States internal revenue law, he paid the largest income tax of any man in New Hampshire. He is now making fancy union cassimeres.
THE OLD KNIFE-FACTORY PRIVILEGE.
This privilege is on the north side of the river, on fall No. 8. The large three-story wooden building on this privilege was erected in 1836-37, by Dr. John S. Spaulding, but for what purpose it was to be used is not known. It stood empty, its inside but partially finished, until 1853, when Thomas Sanford, William Rossiter, and some other gentlemen formed a company and manufactured table cutlery there for about five years, when the business was aban- doned. In 1866, the " Claremont Linen Company" put in ma- chinery for making linen toweling from the raw material, by a new process, but this was not a success, and, after two or three years of experiment, this business was closed up, and the mill was unused until 1877, when Herbert Bailey, of Enfield, this state, bought the property and enlarged, repaired, fitted the buildings, and put in machinery for manufacturing knit goods, employing about forty hands and turning out goods to the amount of one hundred thou- sand dollars annually. This mill has not been in operation since 1892.
THE LOWER FALLS COMPANY.
In 1836 this company, composed of gentlemen from out of town, bought a small farm of Jonathan Read, located below fall No. 8, with the design of making a ninth fall of about twelve feet, by taking the water from the river by a canal. The canal was dug, a good foundation for a large factory building put in and building materials got upon the ground, when, in view of the threatened hard times for manufacturers, the enterprise stopped, the building materials were disposed of, and the ninth privilege has never been utilized.
SULLIVAN MILLS .- GEORGE L. BALCOM.
---
203
HISTORY OF CLAREMONT.
In 1832, Nicholas Farwell equipped a mill located on the west side of the river, just above the Sugar River Paper Mill dam, with machinery, and manufactured cotton cloth in it until it was destroyed by fire, March 13, 1841. This was the first cotton mill in town.
THE LAFAYETTE PRIVILEGE.
On the west side of the river, at fall No. 7, on the "Gully," is what was known as the Lafayette privilege. In 1828 Arad Taylor bought this privilege of Bill Barnes. In 1836 the prop- erty was put on the market in thirty-two shares, of one hun- dred dollars each, which were soon taken, but it was not im- proved until 1844, when Chester Dunklee bought most of the shares and erected upon the privilege a two-story wood build- ing, which was occupied by Mr. Dunklee and Simeon Ide for sawing slate stone, and J. G. Briggs for making furniture, until 1866, when Reuben Shepardson bought it, made extensive im- provements, and rented and used it for various manufacturing purposes until the fall of 1884, when he sold it to the Sugar River Paper Mill Company, as before stated.
THE OLD MEACHAM FACTORY
Was on fall No. 5, opposite the Tyler mills, and this factory is said to have been the first one built in Sullivan county for the manufacture of woolen goods. It was built in 1813, by Asa Meacham. It was a two-story wood building, and was occupied successively by Asa Meacham, Asa Meacham, Jr., Woodman & Rockwell, Wilson & Earl, and William Earl, all of whom manu- factured woolen goods, until the spring of 1854, when the main building was destroyed by fire. The following year Simeon Ide bought the property. A small shop and storehouse escaped the fire; the first he fitted up with water power and rented it for various mechanical purposes, while he converted the other into a dwelling-house to rent. In 1859 Mr. Ide erected, on the site of the old factory building, a round brick structure, two stories high, and fitted it up with machinery, printing presses, etc., for
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HISTORY OF CLAREMONT.
the making of books on contract for city publishers. The break- ing out of the war in 1861, and other unforeseen events, ope- rated against this enterprise, and the building was rented for different mechanical purposes. It was purchased by Reuben Shepardson in 1883. What was the shop was purchased by Ira Proctor and occupied by him as a sash, blind, and door factory until about 1873, when it was destroyed by fire. The site is now occupied by the Freeman & O'Neil Manufacturing Com- pany's buildings.
FREEMAN & O'NEIL MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
In 1874 Messrs. Charles N. Freeman and David W. O'Neil purchased the site of the Ira Proctor shop, erected large wooden buildings, and fitted them up with the most approved machinery for manufacturing stair builders' supplies and fine house and of- fice finish, using expensive foreign and domestic woods. They employed about forty men, until December, 1882, when their main building, stock, and machinery, valued at about twenty-five thou- sand dollars, were destroyed by fire. They immediately com- menced the erection of new buildings, which were completed and ready for occupancy in August, 1883. In April, 1892, this concern was made a stock company, with a capital of fifty thousand dol- lars, under the style of the Freeman & O'Neil Manufacturing Com- pany. The officers were George C. Currier, of New York City, president ; Paschal P. Coburn, of Claremont, treasurer. They em- ploy from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five hands - most of them skilled workmen -and their pay-roll is about one thousand dollars per week.
THE MAYNARD & WASHBURN SHOE FACTORY.
In the summer of 1883, Messrs. Frank P. Maynard and Charles N. Washburn came from Massachusetts and bought the Home Mill property, on fall No. 4, north side of the river, fitted up the build- ings, put in machinery, and in November of that year commenced the manufacture of shoes, employing about fifty hands. The busi-
MAYNARD & WASHBURN SHOE FACTORIES.
FRANK P. MAYNARD.
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HISTORY OF CLAREMONT.
ness was increased gradually until 1888, when the firm made exten- sive additions to their factory, and later made further additions. In 1893 they employed two hundred and twenty-five hands, turned out eighteen hundred pairs of medium grade men's, boys', and youths' shoes per day, and their pay-roll was about $7,000 per month. In January, 1887, this firm bought the Claremont Manu- facturing Company buildings and water-power, on the south side of the river, made repairs and improvements upon the property, and leased a part of the buildings and water-power to John H. Parke, for a slipper factory. An electric light company was organ ized in November of that year, and an electric apparatus was placed in the building, which had been occupied for many years as a paper mill. In April, 1893, Mr. Washburn sold his interest in the business to Mr. Maynard, but the style of the establishment has been continued.
THE EASTMAN TANNERY.
In 1811, Timothy Eastman established a tannery on fall No. 4, north side of the river, continued the business there until his death, in 1859, and was succeeded by his son, Charles H. Eastman. On January 22, 1871, the old buildings were burned and new and larger ones were erected on their site. Charles H. Eastman con- tinued the business until his death, in 1879, since which the prop- erty has been unused. The real estate is now owned by the widow of Charles H. Eastman, the buildings having been burned.
CARPET FACTORY.
Between fall No. 9 and the confluence of Sugar river with the Con- necticut it is claimed that the former river falls about two hundred and fifty feet. On the north side of Sugar river, a mile or so below fall No. 9, in 1852, Henry Russell and Dr. F. T. Kidder built a dam twenty feet high, erected a large one-story brick mill, put into it machinery for the purpose, and manufactured tapestry carpets there for a few months, when the business ceased and dam and buildings have disappeared.
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HISTORY OF CLAREMONT.
At West Claremont, Sugar river furnishes excellent water power. The fall there is about nineteen feet. On the south side of the river, at this fall, Dr. Leonard Jarvis erected a two-story wood building, and in it manufactured broadcloth for about fifteen years. After his death, which occurred in 1848, this property passed into the hands of his son, Russell Jarvis, who died on the twenth-fourth of February, 1888. The broadcloth factory was converted into a pa- per mill about 1853, and was operated by Fiske & Burpee, the Clare- mont Manufacturing Company, N. Whitney, J. Pierce & Co., and its owner until his death, making hanging and some other kinds of paper. Russell Jarvis was succeeded in the paper making business by his oldest son, Russell. The mill was burned May 12, 1890; was replaced by a substantial brick building which was com- pleted and ready for operation in April, 1892. It makes about thirty hundred pounds of tissue manilla paper per day, and is called the Jarvis Paper Mill.
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