USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Haverhill > History of the town of Haverhill, New Hampshire > Part 32
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
(who was at that time a kind of railroad king) having assured them that if they should let us alone, we must fail and that we could not complete a single mile without their assistance.
By incessant labor and with wearing effort we at length graded our road to Sanborn- ton, when a new and utterly unsuspected difficulty assailed us. Our agent made an agreement with a Boston firm for the iron required, stipulating that the order and pat- tern should be sent to England by the next steamer which was to sail in one or two days. When too late, I learned that the vessel had sailed without the order, and upon asking the cause, was told that after our agent had left the city, certain gentlemen connected with the Passumpsic and Northern roads had assured the firm that we could not pay for the iron, that our pattern would be unsalable, and that consequently it would be a dead loss. I immediately cancelled the bargain, and dispatched an agent to England, who bought the iron of the very house from which it was to have been obtained by the Boston parties, and thus saved in commissions about twenty thousand dollars.
After our road was opened to Sanbornton, two lines of stages from the north connected with it. We had the sympathy of the people through that section and northern Vermont, and not only were the stages filled to their utmost capacity, but, at times, all the car- riages which could be obtained were pressed into the service. The Northern put on an opposition line from Plymouth to their road but obtained little patronage. The North- ern built a branch road to Bristol for the purpose of heading us off, but without success. A great effort was also made to stop us at Laconia. Just before the annual meeting when the subject of extension was to be considered, Mr. French, who was then our treasurer, was induced to issue a circular purporting to give the condition of our affairs, and pro- fessing to show that we could not proceed further. In this were statements absolutely false. I immediately went to Concord, took the books from Mr. French, appointed Mr. George Minot treasurer, and issued another circular stating the facts. At the meeting it was voted to go on, and the utmost efforts continued to be made to promote success.
We struggled on, but could not get sufficient stock taken and were obliged to borrow money. This could not be raised simply on the Corporation notes, and some of the directors were obliged to indorse them. Times were hard and we had to pay large sums to keep our floating debt along. . It was a gloomy time for us. Our difficulties increased instead of diminishing, and at length became insurmountable. I was holden as endorser for large sums and finally I advised the directors to stop payment and put the road into the hands of trustees to secure the endorsers. This was done, strenuous efforts were made to sell the bonds, a thorough investigation was made into the affairs of the corporation and every debt was paid.
This statement of President Quincy gives some idea of the almost insuperable obstacles which met the directors of the corporation in the construction of the road. At the annual meeting in 1850 the directors reported the road as open to Plymouth, and in 1851 it was open to Warren, and work was proceeding on the unfinished section to the north. The location of the road in Haverhill was not fully decided until the summer of 1851. The Passumpsic owners were anxious that whatever junction was made with this road should be at Newbury instead of Wells River, and the people at Haverhill Corner also hoped that this would be the plan finally adopted. In their annual report in May, 1852, the directors say :
During the last summer, negotiations were entered into between this Corporation and the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad, for a connection of the two roads,
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
but that company was extremely desirous it should be made at Newbury instead of Wells River, and made proposals in accordance with that wish. Such propositions could not, of course, receive other than the most attentive consideration of this board; and three lines were surveyed into Newbury, with a view to determine its practicability. The result was that considering the progress that had been made above the point of divergence between the lines to Newbury and Wells River, there would have been no saving of expense, and it would have been attended with the permanent disadvantage of a grade of nearly seventy five feet to get down to the line of the Passumpsic track, as well as danger from freshets to the road and bridge in crossing the intervale lands at New- bury. Under this aspect of the case as presented in the engineers report, this Board con- sidered a connection there as substantially impracticable, and declined the proposition.
The road was opened to East Haverhill in the fall of 1852, and in May, 1853, to Woodsville. The Passumpsic railroad having failed to force a junction of the Boston, Concord and Montreal at Newbury, were deter- mined to prevent a junction, if possible, at Wells River. The White Mountain Road was approaching completion. If the Boston, Concord and Montreal was halted at Newbury, the White Mountain would be obliged to take all its mountain passenger travel from the Passumpsic at Wells River, or at the New Hampshire line. The Passumpsic proposed to control the mountain travel. It laid out a spur track from its main tracks to the prospective bridge across the Connecticut, in order to reach the White Mountain Railroad, but not proposing to have any connection with the Boston, Concord and Montreal. The latter could not extend its road into Vermont without a charter from that state, and with the president of the Passumpsic corporation holding the office at the same time of Governor of Vermont, this charter could not be obtained. The Passumpsic, on the other hand, could not build a bridge across the river without a New Hampshire charter, and this it could not obtain. On the advice of counsel the Boston, Concord and Montreal purchased land on the Vermont side of the river for bridge abutments, acquiring title to some eight acres of land extending to the Passumpsic right of way. The Passumpsic then undertook, by way of injunction, to prevent the build- ing of a bridge abutment on the land purchased by the rival road, and failing in this tried to confiscate the land to the state on the ground that a foreign corporation could not hold land in Vermont, but the courts held that such corporation could so hold. Resort was then had to physical force. The Boston, Concord and Montreal began to grade for tracks on its land, and the Passumpsic sent a small army by night to destroy the work done. The Boston, Concord and Montreal did this work over again, removing obstructions made by their rivals and for some days exciting, though bloodless warfare followed. In the end the New Hamp- shire Corporation won out, and its tracks were permanently laid on the Vermont side of the river. There was a great celebration at Woodsville in May, 1853, when the road was opened to that point and the junction
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
with the Passumpsic was completed, though trains did not begin to run regularly till August. The rivalry between the roads was continued for some time, and the weapon of cut rates was brought into use. The Bos- ton, Concord and Montreal during the summer of 1853, and perhaps later also, ran a stage from Newbury to Haverhill depot, and gave passenger service from Newbury to Concord and other points between Concord and Boston at less rates than were charged by the Passumpsic over its line to the same places. This was somewhat unprofitable, and the bitter railroad fight was soon ended.
For three or four years previous to granting the charter to the Boston, Concord and Montreal there had been strong opposition to such grant to any railroad, and the dominant democratic party was divided into two factions, the one led by Isaac Hill being an anti-railroad faction. It especially opposed permitting railroads to secure right of way by right of eminent domain, but insisted that such right should be acquired only by purchase from individual owners of land. Finally by act of June, 1844, all railroad corporations were declared to be public corporations, and a board of railroad commissioners was created with power to determine routes and assess damages for right of way where agreement was not had between corporations and individual owners. The damages awarded Haverhill land owners by the railroad commissioners for right of way amounted to $4,643.73 of which $1,100 or nearly one-fourth was awarded to Windsor S. Cobleigh, owner of the property now owned and occupied by the Cottage Hospital. It happened that Mr. Cobleigh had but a little before erected new buildings that had to be removed or destroyed.
The line of the road extended for about sixteen miles in Haverhill, and stations were established at Woodsville, North Haverhill, Haverhill, Pike Station, East Haverhill and later at Horse Meadow, between Woods- ville and North Haverhill.
As has been noted the progress in construction was slow, largely due to the difficulty experienced in raising the necessary funds. When the construction account closed in May, 1856, it footed up $2,580,134.78, and $282,288.33 had been expended for equipment. The liabilities were $850,000 in bonds, a floating debt of $239,743.82, $800,000 of preferred, $541,000 of new, and $421,700 of old stock. The income for the year ending April 30, 1856, was $286,949.83, and the operating expense $163,378.67, a net income of $123,949.83. But the tide of liabilities con- stantly increased, and in January, 1857, the property was assigned to trustees, and a committee was appointed to devise some means for pro- viding for the floating debt and the maturing bonds. The committee were measurably successful and in 1860 the management reverted to the directors.
In 1860 John E. Lyon of Boston, who had become interested in the
CENTRAL STREET, WOODSVILLE, IN 1890
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
road, succeeded Josiah Quincy as president of the board of directors. From that time until his death in April, 1877, he was the controlling spirit of the road. He foresaw the possibilities of the road as an avenue to the mountain region, and he had the strength to grasp them. He had large resources and he devoted them all to the support and extension of the road; and step by step, in spite of great obstacles, he carried the road through the wilderness and over the steps to Groveton and Fabyan's.
The White Mountain Road was chartered in 1848, and opened to Littleton in August, 1853. As it was without equipment, the Boston, Concord and Montreal agreed to run its trains over its track for $7,000 a year, and in 1859 leased the road at an annual rental of $10,000 for five years. This lease was subsequently extended, until in 1873 the White Mountain was consolidated with the Boston, Concord and Montreal, its stockholders exchanging their stock for $300,000 in 6 per cent consolidated bonds. Prior to this the White Mountain had been extended to the Wing Road in Bethlehem, which it reached October 1, 1869; to Lancaster, January 1, 1872; to Groveton, August, 1872, and to Fabyan's in July, 1874. The cost of these extensions, about $1,440,000, was provided for as far as possible by the sale of mortgage bonds. In July, 1876, the road was extended to the base of Mt. Washington, giving direct connection from that point to the summit of the mountain. The Boston, Concord and Montreal voted in 1881 to lease the Pemigewasset Valley Road for a period of ninety-nine years at a rental of 6 per cent of its cost.
As has been the case with other roads, the benefits growing out of con- struction have largely accrued to the state, and to the communities through which the road has passed, rather than to its builders. The town of Haverhill, especially the Woodsville section, owes much of its pros- perity to the railroad. The original stock, amounting to $1,000,000, until the merger of the road in the Concord paid nothing but scrip divi- dends, and $800,000 preferred likewise paid nothing until 1869, after which it paid 3 per cent semiannually until 1885.
In 1884 the Boston, Concord and Montreal and its leased lines was leased to the Boston and Lowell for a period of ninety-nine years, the rental being guaranteed to be sufficient to pay the interest on its indebtedness, the rental due the Pemigewasset Valley Road, and 6 per cent on the pre- ferred stock of the Boston, Concord and Montreal for the first year of the lease and 5 per cent thereafter. This lease however was declared in- valid in March, 1887, and a fight was inaugurated between the Concord and the Boston and Lowell to secure legislation which would enable a valid lease to be made to the latter road. After a long and bitter con- test, such an act was passed which was vetoed by the governor, and the Boston, Concord and Montreal returned into the hands of its stock- holders. Subsequently the larger part of the stock of all descriptions was
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
purchased by a syndicate of stockholders of the Concord Railroad, and in November, 1888, a contract was made with the Concord Road which placed the operation of the Boston, Concord and Montreal in the hands of the former, which was followed by the merger of the two roads in September, 1889, into a single corporation under the Corporate title of Concord and Montreal Railroad, and this latter road with its leased lines was in turn leased to the Boston and Maine, June 29, 1895, and became part of that great New England system.
The land damage to owners of land for right of way by Boston, Con- cord and Montreal Railroad through the town of Haverhill as awarded by Asa P. Cate, J. M. Weeks and S. M. Dearborn, commissioners, in September and November, 1851, was as follows:
Alexander Manson
$100.00
F. & H. Keyes
$111.00
Lyman G. Clark
72.00
Town of Haverhill
75.00
Isaac Pike .
65.00
Archibald Hoyt
60.00
Henry M. Marsh
45.00
Abigail Eastman, Guard.
12.50
Caleb S. Hunt
2.00
John C. Morse
161.00
Abner Bailey
20.00
Windsor S. Cobleigh
1,100.00
Joshua Q. Clark
24.00
Horace Jones
70.00
J. Powers & E. Swift
1.00
B. F. Palmer
180.00
John S. Sanborn
38.00
Jeremy S. Cross
120.00
Ruth E. Eastman
12.50
Charles Wetherbee
100.00
Hannah Currier
25.00
Lyman Buck
35.00
William Waddell
81.00
William Bailey
42.50
James Woodward .
230.23
Jefferson Pennock
230.00
Stephen Farnsworth
280.00
John F. Mulliken
202.00
B. F. Simpson, Lowell man.
225.00
Hubert Eastman
50.00
David Dickey
50.00
Major Nelson .
200.00
Charles R. Smith
165.00
J. M. Morse and wife
60.00
Henry O. Eastman
25.00
Francis D. Kimball
365.00
Betsey Johnson .
31.00
The commissioners also awarded damages for White Mountain right of way in Haverhill, as follows: Socrates Tuttle and Franklin Eastman of Barnet, Vt., $184.00; Isaac F. Allen, $800.00. The right of way through land of Abiel Deming and other parties was purchased.
As has been noted, the building of the railroad and the enlargement and improvement of its facilities operated disastrously on the further growth and development of the village at Haverhill Corner, and Woodsville at the other extreme corner of the town, an insignificant hamlet in 1880, advantageously situated at the junction with the Passumpsic, and later with Montpelier and Wells River railroad, grew into a busy railroad centre, more than offsetting in its growth and prosperity the decadence into which its sister village fell, when stage lines were superseded by rail- road trains, when manufactories at the Brook were given up, when the Court house and County offices were removed, and when a large and important section of the village was devastated by fire.
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
Haverhill, except for the village of Woodsville, has, in common with most other farming towns of the county, and for that matter of the state, fallen off in population since the building of railroads. Some of the towns have grown and increased in population by the building up and growth of manufactures, but Haverhill is not of this number. Except for the whetstone plant at Pike, and to a limited extent a lumber industry it is still a farming town, and maintains its old time reputa- tion of being one of the best in the state, but that it has in recent years increased in population and valuation is due to the growth and develop- ment of Woodsville as a railroad centre, and railroad division head- quarters.
The census statistics for Haverhill and Grafton County from 1840 to the present time tell their own story. In that year when the Corner was at the height of its prosperity as county seat and stage centre the popula- tion of the town was 2,675; in 1850, 2,405; in 1860, 2,291; in 1870, 2,270; in 1880, 2,452; in 1890, 2,545; in 1900, 3,414; in 1910, 3,498. The growth since 1870 has all been in Woodsville, and this has been coincident with the growth in importance of Woodsville as a railroad centre. Its most marked growth was in the decade 1890-1900, when the Boston, Concord and Montreal merged with the Concord into the Concord and Montreal, was leased to the Boston and Maine and Woodsville became the head- quarters of an important division of a large and powerful railroad sys- tem. The growth of the town has been proportionately larger than the growth of the county, to which contribution has been made by the col- lege town of Hanover and the manufacturing towns of Littleton and Lebanon.
The population of Grafton County in 1860, was 42,245; in 1870, 38,725; in 1880, 38,791; in 1890, 37,145; in 1900, 40,844; in 1910, 41,632. The county reached high-water mark in 1860. Its population in 1910 was less by 613 than in the former year, while that of Haverhill was 1,207 more. Yet there have been prominent Haverhill citizens who have decried the advantages accruing to the town from railroad transportation and facili- ties, and have used their utmost endeavor to prevent railroad develop- ment and prosperity.
The application of electricity to transportation is in its infancy and its history is yet to be written.
CHAPTER XII
COURTS AND BAR
COURTS ESTABLISHED IN GRAFTON COUNTY IN 1773-COURT HOUSE IN HAVERHILL- FIRST TERM APRIL 21, 1774-SUSPENDED DURING THE REVOLUTION-COURT HOUSE BUILT-DISSATISFACTION-MOVED TO CORNER IN 1793-BURNED IN 1814 -REBUILT IN CONNECTION WITH ACADEMY-NEW COURT HOUSE ERECTED IN 1846-REGISTERY OF DEEDS, PROBATE OFFICE AND JAIL FOLLOWED-REMOVED TO WOODSVILLE-THE BAR-MOSES DOW, ALDEN SPRAGUE, GEORGE WOODWARD, JOHN NILSON, DAVID SLOANE, JOSEPH BELL, NATHAN B. FELTON AND OTHERS- GILCHRIST IN CASE OF STATUTE LAWYERS-HAVERHILL POLICE COURT.
THE proprietors of Haverhill embraced every opportunity which pre- sented itself to secure for their township anything which would tend to promote its growth and prosperity, and give it a leading position among its sister townships. They failed of securing the location of Dartmouth College within its borders, but were more successful in their efforts to have the town made the county seat.
It was not until 1755 that any effort was made to divide the Province of New Hampshire into counties. In January of that year it was pro- posed to set up two counties-Portsmouth and Cumberland-with the Merrimack River as the dividing line between them. The Assembly favorably entertained the proposition, but the council rejected the plan since it provided for a court at Exeter as well as at Portsmouth, and this could by no means be consented to. It was not till 1769 when an agree- ment was finally reached and the approval of the Crown secured. March 19, 1771, five counties were erected: Rockingham, Strafford, Hills- borough, Cheshire and Grafton. Strafford and Grafton, on account of sparsity of population, were annexed to Rockingham, until the governor, with advice of the council, should declare them competent to exercise their respective jurisdictions. This was done in 1773.
Grafton County was territorially large, embracing all of the present counties of Grafton and Coos, a large part of Carroll and parts of Merri- mack and Sullivan. According to a census taken of twenty-five towns in the county in 1773, it had a population of 3,549, including 90 students in Dartmouth College and 20 slaves. A census ordered by the Revolution- ary Convention of 1775 resulted in a return of 4,101. The importance of Haverhill among these towns is seen from the fact that, in 1767, five years after its settlement was begun, it had a population of 172, which had increased to 365 in 1775.
In anticipation of the organization of the county the proprietors, at a
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
meeting May 12, 1772, took measures to secure for their town the distinc- tion of county seat. Col. John Hurd was in high favor with the govern- ment at Portsmouth, and was at that time in the town by the sea. He was chosen agent to petition the General Assembly to secure the bringing of the courts to Haverhill, and for such service he was voted, if successful, "1,000 acres of land in the undivided land in the township of Haverhill," with "liberty to pitch it in square form." Col. Asa Porter was chosen to send a copy of the vote to Colonel Hurd by "the easiest method" which doubtless meant that he made a personal visit to Portsmouth. Colonel Hurd was successful in securing the county seat for Haverhill, but the proprietors later refused him the land they had promised. They did, however, reimburse him for cash expended in the matter, since at a meet- ing held August 16, 1773, they voted to allow his account as follows: "Cash paid for two petitions to the General Cort to gitt the Courts in Haverhill, 12s; cash paid to Mr. Livermore, 12s; cash paid to Mr. Lovel, £2, 8s." The total was £3, 12s, a modest sum for securing so important results.
With the organization of the county, it was included in the circuit of the Superior Court of Judicature. A county Court of Common Pleas of four justices and a Court of General Sessions of the Peace, composed of the justices of peace resident in the county, were established with the other departments of county civil government.
The Court of Common Pleas was an exceptionally able one in its per- sonnel. Col. John Hurd of Haverhill was named as chief justice, with Col. Asa Porter of Haverhill, David Hobart of Plymouth, and Bezaleel Woodward of Hanover, as associates. Colonels Hurd and Porter were graduates of Harvard, and had large influence in giving Haverhill early prominence. Colonel Hurd had been receiver of quit rents, and, besides his appointment as chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas, he was also appointed county treasurer and register of deeds. He had large holdings of lands in Haverhill and also in other towns of the county. Colonel Hobart was a prominent citizen of Plymouth and was active in the military affairs of the Province. Bezaleel Woodward came from Con- necticut with Eleazar Wheelock, and was professor in the college at Han- over. A graduate of Yale, he was for a period of more than thirty years the final legal authority in Hanover and the neighboring towns. He was trial justice for many years under the authority of both New Hampshire and Vermont. Col. John Fenton of Plymouth was clerk. It was a dis- tinguished court. It is doubtful if the Grafton Court of Common Pleas ever saw an abler bench.
The first term of this court of which there is record was held at Haver- hill April 21, 1774, the chief justice and associate justices being present. The term lasted for three days. John Fenton was clerk. There were
19
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
twenty-three cases on the docket of which fifteen were disposed of, and of these fifteen, six were tried by a jury. Eight were continued to the July term. The counsel in the cases whose names appear on this first docket were Jonathan M. Sewall of Portsmouth who had been appointed register of probate and who probably intended to settle in the county as a lawyer, and who appeared for the plaintiff in each case, and Simeon Olcott of Charlestown who was entered for the defendant in two cases. There were probably no resident attorneys in the county. Moses Dow suc- ceeded Sewall as register of probate in this same year, 1774, and at the October term of the court in Haverhill his name appears on the docket of forty cases as attorney, together with those of J. M. Sewall and Samuel Livermore of Portsmouth and B. West, Jr. The full bench was present, as it also was at the April term, 1775, when the names of Chief Justice Hurd and Associate Justice Porter appear as parties in suits. As this April term was the last held by this court previous to the Revolution, only three terms were held in Haverhill. At the July term, which was set for Plymouth, only Associate Justice Hobart appeared and no business was transacted. Adjournment was taken to the second Tuesday in October to meet in Haverhill, but there is no record that the court met or that any term was held. The King's courts ceased to do business in Graf- ton County. Though the Provincial Congress of 1776 reorganized them with a reformed personnel in harmony with the spirit of the times, there is no record that the Common Pleas transacted any business, and it prob- ably never met during the war.
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