USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Warren > History of the town of Warren, N.H., from its early settlement to the year 1854: including a sketch of the Pomigewasset Indians > Part 5
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The sum of one hundred and thirty dollars was paid Mr. Enoch Davis, who lived where Mr. Addison Gerald now resides, for the future main- tenance of a pauper,-the second one that had become chargeable to the town.
At a town meeting held during the year it was voted that the device for the weights and measures belonging to the town should be
WN.
This device was presented by Dr. Ezra Bartlett. In 1806 the town empowered the selectmen
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COOS TURNPIKE COMPANY.
to sell the ministerial lands to Mr. Caleb Homan or Stephen Flanders, jun., or to any other per- son, if they considered the sale of the lands an advantage to the town. Chose Col. Obadiah Clement, Capt. William Butler, Mr. Jonathan Fellows, Capt. Joseph Patch, Lieut. Stephen Flanders, jun., and Mr. Aaron Welch, a commit- tee to choose another committee of three un- prejudiced persons, living out of town, for the purpose of establishing a suitable place in War- ren for erecting a house of public worship. At a meeting held Dec. 17, voted not to build a meeting-house, but the town declared by a unan- imous vote that they were willing one should be built by subscription.
March 10, 1807, brought in sixty-three votes against revising the Constitution.
The old Coos Turnpike Company having re- ceived a charter from the Legislature on Dec. 29, 1803, this year commenced to build their road. It was twelve miles in length, and com- menced near the spot where the Society school- house was built, and running over the height of land, terminated at Haverhill Corner. The road was not fully completed until several years after, and cost fifteen thousand and seventy- four dollars. It was contracted for by different individuals, who took short sections. The first section extended from the location of the Soci-
84
HISTORY OF WARREN.
ety school-house, above the Blue Ridge, and was built by Mr. Joseph Merrill. The cutting through this large ridge of land required a great amount of labor and much time, and before it was fin- ished the people thought it was a blue job for Mr. Merrill, hence the name Blue Ridge. When the turnpike was finished, the inhabitants who lived upon it were permitted to pass over it free from cost, and consequently several roads which had been previously built, not being now re- quired, were discontinued.
1808. Voted to build a pound, thirty feet square within the walls, and eight feet high. It was to be constructed of good pine logs, and to have a stout, substantial door, hung with iron hinges, and to be fastened with a staple, hasp, and padlock. For some reason, never explained, this contemplated pound was not built.
Liberty was given to Mr. Moses H. Clement to construct a canal under the road near Joseph Merrill's saw mill, to carry the water from Baker river to Black brook, provided he indemnify the town for all damages done the road. This canal, although not completed until three years after, was a great work for an individual in those times, and shows Mr. Clement to be a person of much enterprise. The underground passage was built of pine logs, and although placed there forty- four years ago, are still in almost as good condi-
85
FREE WILL BAPTIST SOCIETY.
tion as when cut. When the railroad was built the engineer caused the earth to be removed from the lower ends of them, thinking that they should be obliged to supply their place with a stone culvert; but upon an examination he thought they would answer for many years to come, and now daily pass over them the heavy laden cars, with the heavier engine, with as much safety as though they had the solid earth be- neath them.
In March, 1809, chose the selectmen a com- mittee to provide powder and ball for the use of the militia of the, town, as provided for by an act of the Legislature in June last.
From the year 1802 up to 1810 there had been several ministers of the Free Will Baptist denomination, successors of Joseph Boody, who had preached occasionally in town, viz .: Joseph Boody, jun., Louis Harriman, Thomas Perkins, J. Marks, and Wallace. These were succeed- ed by Elder James Spencer, under whose influ- enee the first Free Will Baptist Society was com- menced. The members consisted of Samuel Merrill and wife, James Dow and wife, Caleb Homan and wife, Aaron Welch and wife, True Stevens and wife, Mrs. Betsey Ramsey and Mrs. James Williams. Elder Spencer labored with the society for many years after.
In the year 1811 chose Jonathan Merrill as
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HISTORY OF WARREN.
an agent to carry on the suits pending against the town in relation to bad roads. Voted to divide the town into districts for the working out of the highway tax.
About the year 1812 commenced the sec- cond war between the United States and Eng- land, and for three years there was much fighting done without any signal advantage to either country, when, by the consent of both parties, the war was closed and an amicable treaty formed between the two governments. New-Hampshire raised a large militia force to guard her frontier, by drafting men from her towns. Abel Merrill was appointed by the State to draft men from Warren, and the following individuals served at times during the war, viz. : George Libbey, Nathaniel Libbey, Nathaniel Richardson, Jesse Eastman, Tristram Pillsbury, John Abbot, John Copp, Daniel Pillsbury, David Patch and Maj. Daniel Patch. These men all returned to Warren at the close of the war, or the end of the time for which they enlisted, except John Abbot, who died while in the army. 1813. This year about the greatest freshet ever known in this section of the country oc- curred. Many of the bridges across the streams were carried away, and the roads much damaged. In 1814 the people of Warren gave fifty-five
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FIRST STAGE LINE.
votes against revising the Constitution and none in favor.
During this year the first stage line from Con- cord via Plymouth, up the valley of Baker river to Haverhill, was established. There had been another line from Concord to Haverhill via Leb- anon, commenced a short time previous, but this latter was a much longer route, and as the citi- zens of the former section wished for the facili- ties that would be afforded by a line of stages, several individuals, headed by Robert Morse, of Rumney, succeeded in establishing one. The stock of the company was raised principally among the farmers along the line. The time it commenced running was a great day to the peo- ple who lived in the section through which it passed. The coaches, although far different from those used at the present time, were a great novelty to those who saw them, and had large wooden axles,-iron ones being unknown at that time,-and the driver held a high station in the estimation of the public. Col. Silas May was the first driver upon this route, and instead of the long tin horn which drivers at that time usually had, to warn the people of their ap- proach, he played in an excellent manner upon a fine bugle. He was an exceeding good reinsman, and not unfrequently drove six horses with one hand, while with the other he held his
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HISTORY OF WARREN.
bugle and played those beatiful tunes, the glad- dening echoes of which floated over forest and dell, and lost themselves upon the far off tops of the distant hills and mountains. The first time he drove through, he arrived at Haverhill three hours before the other stage. When within half a mile of that place, by some accident a linch- pin was lost from the end of one of the axles, but as the wheel did not come off, owing to his skill in driving, he succeeded in reaching Haver- hill Corner without replacing it.
In the year 1814 gave fifty votes against re- vising the Constitution, and none in favor.
In 1815, and for two years previous, a furious epidemic raged throughout New - Hampshire, known by the name of the spotted fever. It was a disease new to the physicians, and break- ing out suddenly in many places, baffled for a time their skill. Individuals, strong and healthy, and in the prime of life, even though guarding by every possible means against infection, would be suddenly stricken down, and in a few hours the once proud form was a loathsome corpse. Old and young were alike a prey to it. The people were alarmed; town-meetings were called in many towns, and the selectmen instructed to procure aid of the best physicians possible.
The malady first broke out in Warren upon Beach hill. One of the younger members of
·
89
FATAL MALADY.
Mr. George Bixby's family was suddenly taken alarmingly ill. A physician was sent for; he came, and not discovering the nature of the dis- ease, gave, as he thought, a simple remedy, and took his departure. In a few hours the young man was dead. The corpse was laid out, and two young men, sons of Amos Little, came to watch by it through the succeeding night. The next day one of them, James Little, was taken sick, and in a few hours was dead. The disease spread rapidly, and soon all was consternation. There was no physician in town, and the inhab- itants were obliged to send to Piermont for one. Dr. Wellman, of that place, came, and a short time after, while visiting a man sick with the disorder, was himself taken sick, and in a short time died.
One third of the inhabitants living on Beach Hill were cut off by it, and the whole town for a time bid fair to be depopulated ; but as the fall advanced, and cold weather came on, the disease gradually disappeared, and since but very few cases have been known.
The town of Warren paid . out for physcians' fees nearly two hundred dollars; besides this, numerous individuals paid large sums. Many years elapsed before the town recovered from the loss it received from the death of its inhab- itants from this dread malady, and the numerous 5*
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HISTORY OF WARREN.
tomb-stones in the grave-yards, bearing the date of 1815, testify to its fearful ravages.
" The year 1816, though the last of ten years of uncommon seasons and dearths, yet it is to be distinguished from any preceding year. The whole face of nature appeared shrouded in gloom. The lamps of Heaven kept their orbits, but their light was cheerless. The bosom of the earth in a midsummer's day was covered with a wintry mantle, and man, and beast, and bird, sickened at the prospect. For several days the people had good sleighing, and it seemed as if the order of the seasons was being reversed. Autumn returns, alas! not to fill the arm with the generous sheaf, but the eye with the tear of disappointment. On the sixth of June, the day of General Election, the snow fell several inches deep, followed by a cold and frosty night, and on the two following days snow fell and frost continued. Also, July ninth, a deep and deadly frost, which killed or palsied most vegetables. The little corn which had the appearance of maturity, was destitute of its natural taste or substance ; and yet the providence of God was bountiful in supplying the article of bread from the crops of rye, which were uncommonly good.
1817. After the first of June a very great change was observable in the atmosphere and the vegetable world. The winds were generally
91
FIRST MEETING-HOUSE.
from the southwest for more than half a year. The air became warm and natural; vegetation unusually rapid, and autumn poured forth her blessings in rich abundance."
In November of this year Mr. Frederick Clark, a native of Piermont, was ordained an itinerant preacher of the Free Will Baptist denomination. Previous to his ordination Mr. Clark gave the selectmen a written agreement, signed by himself, by which he gave up all the right which would accrue to him, by his ordina- tion, to the ministerial lands in town.
At the regular meeting of the town in the year 1818 the inhabitants voted to build a meet- ing-house, the size to be forty feet by fifty feet, within joint. Chose Jonathan Merrill, Nathaniel Clough, Abel Merrill and James Williams a com- mittee to superintend its building, and for that purpose was appropriated all the money due the town on the leases, including the present year, and also the avails of the wild land belonging to the town.
To the building of the house the committee proceeded with a right good earnest. The frame, that good old oaken one, which is yet as good as new, was hauled from many a dark recess of the old woods by the laboring oxen-the inhabitants ready to assist, giving many a long day's work ; and by the first of July it was ready for erec-
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HISTORY OF WARREN.
tion, and the fourth-the glorious old Fourth- was decided to be the time when the raising should take place. The morning of that expect- ed day at last dawned, but ere the golden beams of the sun had lighted up the bald top of Moosehillock or the green wooded summit of Mount Carr, the workmen were on their way. Few indeed were the sleepy persons found that morning, for a raising was a raising in those days ; but the raising of a meeting-house was a sight seldom witnessed but once in a lifetime.
From every quarter they came; the good man and his buxom dame, and their rosy daugh- ters, who had spent a long hour more at the toilet that morning than usual. All were there, and by the presence of those fair faces many a young man was stimulated to perform herculean feats of lifting, and mounting giddy heights, every way worthy his ancestors. All around near the destined spot lay strewn the heavy tim- bers. The old men, with shining broad axe, were shaping pins, or smoothing the end of many a tenon, while the master builder, with rule under his arm, and feeling the great responsibility rest- ing upon him, was moving hither and thither; now giving directions to one party and then to another, who were tugging, lifting, and straining themselves into very red faces, as they carry the heavy timbers over the numerous blocks and
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RAISING OF THE CHURCH.
chips. The building committee were there also, giving instructions to each other, the master builder, and every one else. And now one huge broadside is ready. Those stalwart forms range themselves side by side ; the master builder gives the word, and, creaking and groaning, that old oaken broadside goes slowly up : a pause-the stout following poles hold, and now long pike poles are applied, guided firmly by strong arms, and again that broadside goes up, as a hush comes over the anxious crowd, eagerly watching, but who soon breathe more freely as the huge timbers erect settle firmly into their resting places; and now, with no laggard hands, the re- maining broadside and the cross timbers are put in their places ; and long ere the rays of the setting sun had departed, the roof, with its crown- ing steeple, towering above, were in their proper positions. Here succeeding generations must la- ment the loss of that speech, every way worthy of the occasion, which was delivered from the ridge pole to all who were refreshing themselves upon the ample bounties provided by the com- mittee. The gentle breezes of that summer day wafted it afar over the green foliage of the wood to the distant hill sides, where it was re- corded in their beautiful shaded dells, but no man can read their phonography.
After the raising, the finishing of the house
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HISTORY OF WARREN.
progressed steadily, and early in the fall, though it was not in its present finished state, it was dedicated. Rev. Edward Evans, a minister of the Congregationalist order, preached the dedi- catory sermon. The house on the occasion was filled to overflowing; many having come from other towns, and all were pleased with the dis- course. Mr. Evans was hired the ensuing year to preach in it one half of the Sundays, and the town voted in 1819 to appropriate the interest of the minister lands toward paying him.
1819. Sept. 21, at a town meeting held for the purpose, the following report of the building committee was read and accepted, viz. :
1st. The meeting-house finished except the painting.
2nd. All the pews disposed of and are the property of the purchasers when paid for, other- wise the property of the committee. The pur- chasers and owners of pews to have the liberty to pass and repass the doors and aisles to and from said pews, whenever the doors are opened for public worship or town meetings.
3rd. The other part of the house to be for the use of the town, upon the following condi- tions, viz .: that the town pay over to the com- mittee all the money and land that they agreed to give to encourage a committee to undertake to build said meeting-house, which was three hundred dollars, or thereabouts.
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SURVEY FOR A CANAL.
4th. The committee respectfully request the town to unite with them and adopt the best measures or means to finish the painting of the house and erect door steps.
JONATHAN MERRILL, NATHANIEL CLOUGH, ABEL MERRILL, JAMES WILLIAMS,
Committee.
N. B. There are demands in the hands of the committee arising from the sale of two pews, viz. : number forty-one and forty-two, to the amount of fifty dollars or more, besides what we have laid out in painting said meeting-house.
1820. Amos Burton this year erected the large building now occupied by Damon Y. Eastman as a wheelwright shop, and commenced to trade on a much larger scale than any individual ever be- fore had done in town. About this time War- ren was created a post town, and Mr. Burton was appointed postmaster, being the first ever in Warren.
1821. Gave eighty-six votes against revising the Constitution, and none in favor.
During the year 1825 a survey was made through this section of the country for a canal. It was to commence at Dover; thence by the way of lake Winnepiseogee to the Pemigewas- set river; then up Baker river to Warren, and from there down the Oliverian to the Connecti-
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HISTORY OF WARREN.
cut at Haverhill. The town of Warren present- ed numerous obstructions to building the canal, but the persevering engineer, Mr. McDUFFEE, at last overcame all these, and reported the route a very practicable one. The chief difficulty met with was the insufficient quantity of water to be had upon the Summit. To obviate this, Mr. Mc- Duffee intended to take the water from Tarlton pond and convey it round the hill in a winding manner to the place where it was required. This would involve a considerable outlay, but would afford an adequate supply of water in the dry- est season, and consequently was the only one practicable. This proposed canal was never built, for the reason that a sufficient amount of stock could not be disposed of; consequently the com- pany, though chartered and well organized, for the want of funds failed in carrying out their plans. There was also another company charter- ed, to construct a canal to extend up the Merri- mack and Pemigewasset rivers, to intersect with the first mentioned one at Holderness.
In 1826 the town raised fifty-seven dollars sixty- three cents, in lieu of the avails of the wild land voted to the committee appointed to build a meeting-house in 1818.
In the year 1833 the people residing in the south portion of the town of Coventry (now Benton) made application to the town of War-
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REFUSAL TO ANNEX COVENTRY TO WARREN.
ren to be annexed to the same, but a majority of the inhabitants of Warren voted not to ac- quiesce in having a part of Benton annexed to Warren. At the same meeting the inhabitants gave seventy-nine votes against and none in favor of making a revision of the Constitution.
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CHAPTER V.
CIVIL HISTORY.
DURING the year 1834 Mr. True Merrill dis- covered upon his farm, not far from his residence, a large vein of ore, which upon a subsequent examination proved to be copper, intermixed with several other kinds of ores. Such was the extent of this mine, and the abundance of ore it promised to yield, that shortly after a com- pany was formed, consisting of Mr. H. Bradford and others, and the mine opened; but as the company who commenced had but a small cap- ital, and a large outlay being required before any considerable remuneration could be realized, the company discontinued its labors upon the work. The mine has at different times since been wrought, but only to a small extent.
At the present time "the known and meas- ured width of the tremolite bed, containing the copper ore, is forty-eight feet, but the nearest wall rock on the west is ninety-four feet from the east wall of the bed on the western side. A covering of soil prevents our ascertaining whether the bed extends to the mica slate.
" Across the top of the opening of the mine the width is thirty-eight feet, and the depth of
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IRON AND COPPER MINE.
the excavation is six feet five inches through the soil, and a little less than thirty in the tremolite rock. In the eastern wall rock there are veins of the pure yellow copper pyrites, with veins of quartz. A bed of copper pyrites also occurs along the line of junction of the tremolite rock with the mica slate. Several veins of copper ore, with large bunches of iron pyrites, and re- splendent black blende, are found in the midst of the tremolite, and occasionally some large crystals of rutil, or red oxide of titanium, accom- pany the iron pyrites.
" Most of the tremolite is mixed with copper pyrites, and may be completely separated from it by stamping and washing. The rock contains from six to twelve per cent. of metal ; while the pure ore yields thirty-two per cent. by assay in the crucible, and contains thirty-four per cent., as proved by analysis.
"It is easy to drain the mine to the depth of one hundred and fourteen feet, without any ma- chinery for pumping, since there is a rapid descent from the hill-side to the brook along a ravine, which affords drainage in that direction. The brook will furnish a valuable water power for stamping and washing the ore. The mine is now not properly opened, and in future ope- rations it must be covered and protected from
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HISTORY OF WARREN.
snow and rain, so that the work may proceed in the winter.
"There is a small vein of copper pyrites, distant forty rods S., 20° W. from this mine, on the land of Mr. Joseph Copps. The vein is in quartz, which is twenty inches wide, while the copper ore is but one or two inches thick. It is not of sufficient magnitude to be considered valuable. Two miles and a half N. E. from this mine, cop- per pyrites, in small veins, have been found on the land of Mr. Stevens, but are not rich. One hundred yards north of the tremolite bed, an extensive vein of black blende, mixed with cop- per pyrites and galena, has been opened, and the mine promises to be valuable. The principal vein is six feet wide. I have analyzed and assayed average lots of this ore, and have dis- tilled from it from twenty to thirty per cent. of metallic zinc by the usual process.
"I regard this mine as valuable, and have no doubt that it will ultimately be wrought for zinc. Either copper or zinc may be manufactured, or they may be combined in the form of brass. These ores also contain a considerable amount of silver. Near the copper mines a vein of largely crystalized epidote occurs, and had been mista- ken for a zinc ore. On blasting this vein, im- mense crystals, of a beautiful green color, were observed, some of which are eight inches in
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BERRY BROOK ROAD.
diameter. They are contained in quartz, and are very abundant. The smaller crystals are very perfect, and present several modifications in their crystalline form, that will prove interest- ing to mineralogists. Hemitropic crystals, with salient angles at one end and re-entering angles at the other, are most abundant.
" The large crystals are apt to be shattered to pieces by blasting with gunpowder ; hence only a small charge should be used to crack the rock, which may then be forced apart by the crow- bar and broken up by a heavy sledge hammer, so as not to communicate the vibrations too pow- erfully to the crystals."
This year the road running through the val- ley of Berry brook, and commonly called the Berry Brook Road, was commenced, but it was several years before it was finished. The road running over the Height of Land, owing to the steep hills, was a difficult one, for the numerous teams to draw their heavy loads upon ; and as this was the direct route from northern New- Hampshire and Vermont to Boston, it became a matter of interest to all persons engaged in the mercantile business in those sections, to find some easier road. Accordingly, individuals were employed to look out a different route, and as the valley of Berry brook afforded the most con- venient locality, the subject was agitated consid- erably to have a road constructed through it.
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HISTORY OF WARREN.
Many of the inhabitants of Warren were strongly opposed to building this road, for the reason that it would subject them to much cost, and that as it ran through an uninhabited sec- tion, it would cost a large sum each year to keep it in repair; but the town, at a legal meeting held on the 22d of July, 1834, chose Nathan- iel Clough, Solomon Cotton and Samuel Bixby a committee to examine and explore all routes thought proper for a highway through the town. But the town was tardy in its movements, and some individuals, wishing to have the work pro- ceed faster, carried the subject into the court of common pleas. The court, after a hearing upon the matter, decided that it was just that a road should be built through the Berry Valley, and appointed a committee to lay out the road. This was done, and the town, having been ob- liged to pay a large fine on account of the bad- ness of their roads, and seeing that they could not avoid building it, called a meeting on the 8th of December, and voted that the road should be built. They also chose Solomon Cot- ton, Samuel L. Merrill and Joseph Bixby a com- mittee to carry the work through, and author- ized them to raise the sum of five hundred dol- lars to commence with. But this sum only made a beginning to the work ; for before it was fin- ished some three thousand dollars was expend-
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