USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Manchester > Manchester on the Merrimack, the story of a city > Part 6
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new owners, Messrs. Gay, Pitcher and Slater. They were men of energy and enterprise, with the further asset of years of experience behind them, and they decided not only to complete the mill begun by Mr. Robinson, but to build a third on the little island a short distance from the western bank of the river. For the purpose of financing these enlargements, they enlisted the interest of Dr. Oliver Dean of Medway, Massachusetts, Lyman Tiffany of Salisbury, Massachusetts, and Willard Sayles of Boston. Dr. Dean was chosen agent, and the new firm was launched under the name of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company. This was in Decem- ber, 1825, and in a short period of time the suggested expansions of the plant were under- way and the development of manufacturing at Amoskeag Falls was assured.
Thus in these three humble wooden build- ings we may discover the nucleus of a great and famous corporation. The grouping of these three structures made an attractive picture, and it is worthwhile prodding the imagination a bit in an effort to reconstruct the scene. The "old mill", already showing signs of age, clung precariously to the rocky bank, threatening to topple into the stream. A little beyond was its mate, the "Bell Mill," so-called because of the bell in its belfry used to summon the operatives,
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and also as a curfew. Nearby a worn pathway led down to "Ben's Bridge," connecting the mainland with the island and its mill. This bridge owed its name and indeed its existence to Samuel Blodget's son, Benjamin, who had found it no easy task to throw a bridge across the surging river at just this point. As a back- ground to the mainland mills, there was the thriving little hamlet of Amoskeag, with its homes, its Inn, and its daily excitement when the stage arrived bringing passengers and news of the outside world. It is interesting to note that Peterson's Magazine published a story with this picturesque setting. The author was Eliza Jane Cate of Sanbornton, and her literary work, described as a "novelette", bore the title of "The Old Mill At Amoskeag". Why it should have carried the diminutive "novelette" is hard to explain, inasmuch as it ran to thirty-one chapters, developing the theme that working in a mill need involve no social stigma.
It should be noted that at this point and up to the year 1836 there was no sign of com- mercial activity on the east bank of the Merri- mack at the falls, except that occasioned by the river boats. One writer describes this area as "acres of sand dunes, a picture of desolation, framed in with a background of pitch-pine forest." To keep this description in mind is to
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be more keenly aware of the remarkable changes a few brief years were to accomplish.
On July 1, 1831, the New Hampshire Legis- lature granted an act of incorporation to the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, with an authorized capital of one million dollars. The Company began immediately in a quiet way to acquire land for future enlargement of its plant, on the east bank as well as on the west. With keen vision it foresaw the possibilities waiting just around the corner, and numerous large farms and other tracts of land came into its possession. It also secured undisputed rights on the river, obtaining ownership of the Union Locks and Canal Company, the Hooksett Canal Company and the Bow Canal Company.
The year 1836 marked the beginning of actual work in the project of preparing the east bank of the river for manufacturing. The wooden sections of the dams built by General Stark and Judge Blodget were put into repair, and those of the Stevens brothers were reno- vated. The following year the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company began a new dam with guard locks at Amoskeag Falls, a few yards below the entrance to the old Blodget Canal. They also built a reservoir approxi- mately where Judge Blodget had his mill-pond. This dam was constructed by David Bunton,
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with the aid of W. A. Boyden as chief engineer. On April 12 of that year William Amory be- came Treasurer of the Company, beginning a period of service that was to last thirty-nine years.
The year 1838 is another important mile- stone in the history of Manchester's mills. The Stark Mills Corporation, named in honor of General Stark, was organized and chartered with a capital stock of five hundred thousand dollars. The Amoskeag Manufacturing Com- pany sold to them fourteen acres of land, granted them water rights, and erected for them a large brick mill, the first one to stand on the east side of the river. Six tenement blocks were built for the operatives and their families, and it is reported that "the transformation of the scene amazed the inhabitants." These "six tenement blocks" were significant and pro- phetic. They were the advance guard of long lines of identical brick apartment houses, plain and unadorned in design, with small gray-painted wooden ells in the rear, that even today stand up sturdily against time and the weather on the streets leading off the river, familiar landmarks of Manchester old and new. The mid-nineteenth century workers in the new industry who found homes there were the forerunners of those thousands
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who through the years to follow came to "live on the corporation". "He works on the Amos- keag and lives on the corporation," became an identification tag reeled off as glibly as an A.B.C.
In 1839, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Com- pany built another mill for the Stark Corpora- tion. It was just to the south of the first one and was its duplicate in every detail. Together, with a connecting structure, these became later, Stark Mill, Number 1. The same year marked the organization of another corporation, the Manchester Mills, with a capital stock of one million dollars. This was followed, in 1840, by the beginning of the construction of Number 1, Amoskeag Mill, and by the addition of a machine shop to the equipment.
The transformation of the quiet river bank to the busy scene indicated by these startlingly rapid developments might well have "amazed the inhabitants." A few years earlier there had been only two small mills, on the west bank of the Merrimack, plus the island mill. And it was but thirty-three years since Samuel Blodget had made his spectacular and triumphant journey down his new canal. How far toward reality had his dream progressed in but little over a quarter of a century!
Having sketched briefly this outline of the origin and early development of Manchester's
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mills, we are aware that the words of Rev. Cyrus W. Wallace, spoken in 1851, have a peculiar significance. He had noted the revolu- tionary changes taking place in the little com- munity by the Falls. He had heard the under- currents audible as the Merrimack was har- nessed to progress, and he was concerned as to their possible portent. "Whither our city?" was in his mind. He said: "We point to our spindles and looms, to our forges and machine shops, to our railroads and steam-presses, and call it prosperity. But is it real, substantial pros- perity? Is it an advancement for which the generations to come will bless us?" He then went on to acknowledge the absurdity of at- tempting to impede the advance of material improvements, while he urged a sane, middle- of-the-road course. "Instead of going back- ward," he continued, "till all labor-saving machinery should be silent, and commerce swept from the ocean, my hope and belief is that the world will yet go onward, mind con- stantly making new triumphs over matter, till a point is reached as far in advance of that which we now occupy as the present is in advance of the remotest past. Such is the destiny of our race, and the man who most helps to roll on this tide of improvement, stands among the great- est of the earth."
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VINDERY
DOK MANUFACTORY
CHESTER NATIONAL BANK
MANCHESTER CITY HALL
Preface to a City
Someone has said that the history of Man- chester is the history of her mills. Careful study reveals the fundamental truth of this statement, even though a superficial interpreta- tion of the words might lead to a misconcep- tion of their real meaning. Perhaps a supple- mentary clause is necessary: that because of her mills Manchester is infinitely more than her mills.
For while a great industry was developing down by the river, parallel processes involving
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an entirely different set of values were in operation in the little settlement up over the hill, the vigor of which very obviously was conditioned by the growth of the mills. With- out this parallel development, Manchester might have become a mere "mill city", and its history a record of sterile counting-room sta- tistics. On the other hand, without the count- ing-room the Manchester we know today never would have come to birth.
Man always mounts a dangerous steed when he sets out in pursuit of prosperity. Investing the shining prize with all the properties of idealism, he may have every intention of hold- ing a steady course toward the goal. But all too often his hand falls slack on the rein, and before he can recover control again, he is hope- lessly lost in the jungle of materialism. If only civilization could have devised a system of checks and balances by which material gain would be accompanied always by a correspond- ing progress in the direction of culture and ethics, history would tell a happier story, and the hazards of today be less breath-taking.
The history of Manchester during the middle years of the nineteenth century provides an ex- ample of the operation of something approxi- mating that ideal system of checks and balances. As the mills flourished and waxed strong, so
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grew the little town up beyond the river. Forces other than materialism were at work. Churches, schools, the germ of a city library- all the elements of city culture-were begin- ning to take form, with provision for their de- velopment. The mills, symbolizing that magic word "prosperity", contributed force and effec- tiveness to these elements. In other words, the mills were building a city. Not merely the en- largement of plants, erection of new factories, purchase of modern equipment, but also "the intangibles" were given place in the plans. The horizon was not limited to the boundaries of the mill-yards; the vision was not focussed on the ledger.
In the forefront of those who not only de- veloped a thriving industry but laid the founda- tions for a proud city stands Ezekiel A. Straw. Connected with the mills for forty-four years, he was their guiding force for nearly that entire period. His interests and endeavors also reached out into state affairs. He was governor for two terms, and an active leader in shaping New Hampshire policies over a much longer time.
Once more the times produced the man at the precise hour of need. John Stark had been ready for the military call of '75. Samuel Blodget had been ready when the opening
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nineteenth century required practical imagina- tion. Ezekiel Straw was ready when industrial outlook must be supplemented by vision and all-around perspective. He first came to Man- chester in July, 1838-a youth only a few months out of school and six months beyond his eighteenth birthday. Expecting to remain for only a brief period, he was destined to spend his life here and to put upon the city of his adoption the indelible imprint of his per- sonality and his vision.
Mr. Straw was a native of New Hampshire, having been born in Salisbury, the son of James and Mehitable Fisk Straw. When he was five years old, he moved to Lowell, Massachusetts, and was graduated from the High School in that city. After study at Phillips-Andover Academy, he entered the employ of the Lowell and Nashua Railroad as an engineer. Soon after this, he was discovered and his abilities were recognized by Mr. Carter and Mr. Boyden, en- gineer and consulting engineer respectively for the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, and they were successful in securing his services. Thus began a long career of singularly high achievement.
At the same time Manchester-On-the-Mer- rimack, the city as we know it today, began to take shape. It was Ezekiel A. Straw, who, with
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careful forethought and wise vision, mapped and planned its early layout. To him more than to any other person belongs the credit for the wide, straight streets, the public parks and commons and the happy choice of sites for public buildings, churches and schools. Elm Street, the principal thoroughfare, was routed parallel with the river. Because of its width, one hundred feet, some of the citizens sug- gested the appropriateness of Broadway as a name. But with commendable regard for na- ture's contribution, it was ultimately decided to call it Elm Street, after the magnificent elm tree that towered over its junction with what is now Spring Street. Rows of elms were planted on each side of the highway, and a line decorated the middle. In 1855, leak- ing gas pipes destroyed the center row. The parallel streets, Chestnut and Pine, were charted, and at right angles five branch thor- oughfares were laid out: Merrimack, Man- chester, Hanover, Amherst and Concord. Two open squares, Concord and Merrimack Com- mons, each with its small, picturesque body of water, were thoughtfully reserved for the pub- lic's use and enjoyment. After World War I, Concord Common became Victory Park. To- day it is a regrettable commentary on the vic- tory of material expediency over less tangible
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considerations, that a large portion of this beauty-spot has been transformed into a park- ing-lot for the city's overflow of cars. The stately, old elms, planted with careful con- sideration for the future and preserved through long years, are sacrificed on the altar of progress.
On October 24, 1838, the Amoskeag Manu- facturing Company held the first of its famous land sales, and the enthusiastic public response might well have been regarded as prophetic of the rapid and almost phenomenal development about to take place as the little community mushroomed into a city. Eighty-four lots were sold that first day. The first person to build on land purchased at the first sale was one Anna Hayes of Londonderry, who erected a house on the lot later occupied by Sweeney Post, American Legion, on Concord Street. By the spring of 1839, the significant sounds of hammer and saw were heard on all sides. Several blocks shot up on Elm Street, a dwelling for the agent of the Stark Mills was built at the corner of Hanover and Pine Streets, and con- struction had already begun on the tavern which the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company had previously voted to erect at the corner of Elm and Merrimack Streets. This was the original building so long known as Shepherd's
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Inn (for the man who was its first proprietor), later becoming the Manchester House, and now called the Rice-Varick Hotel. It was built on the present site of the James W. Hill Store, but was moved later to its present situation at 32 Merrimack Street.
As we read of the activities developing around the new streets and buildings in what is now the downtown section of Manchester, we may wonder what was becoming of the old Manchester Center on Mammoth Road, site of the old meeting-house, scene of the early town meetings, and center of general interest over a period of years. It is not surprising to find that the astonishing progress beside the river had met with distrust and hostility in some quarters, and that bitter discord had arisen be- tween the new and the old. The intense feeling culminated at the annual town meeting held in March, 1840, a stormy session reminiscent of the first town meeting in 1751, when the op- posing factions had glowered at each other across a room in John Hall's house. Finally the citizens of the "new village" won their point and elected their candidates for selectmen and other officers. The new selectmen chosen were Amos Weston, Jr., J. T. P. Hunt, and Hiram Brown. The old guard did not retreat without the satisfaction of firing a final shot, however.
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At the close of the session, John Stark, Esquire, known as Justice Stark, advanced to the mod- erator's desk and briefly and emphatically spoke his mind:
"Who are ye that are here to act and to tread upon us in this manner?" he demanded angrily. "I'll tell ye who ye are! You're a set of inter- lopers who have come here to get a living upon a sand bank. And a d ---- d poor living you'll get, let me tell ye!"
But Justice Stark's wrath could not rescind the votes of that town meeting; neither could his direful predictions concerning the poor liv- ing on a sand bank stem the tide of prosperity already on its powerful way.
Early in the same year the post office at Manchester Center was discontinued and this department of the town's activities found new quarters in Duncklee's Block (site of the pre- sent Weston Block) on Elm Street. President Martin Van Buren appointed Jesse Duncklee to the position of postmaster, but feeble health prevented him from attending to the routine duties, and he lived only a few weeks following his appointment. His successor was Paul Crai- gin Jr.
This establishment of the post office on Elm Street was something in the nature of the hand- writing on the wall. Very obviously, irrevo-
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cable changes were at work and the Mammoth Road village, the old "Centre," was being by- passed. It is not surprising to learn that the next year, 1841, saw the movement for a new town hall getting well under way. This was only a logical step: the vigorous young com- munity must have suitable quarters in a con- venient location for carrying on the expanding civic activities that were keeping pace with the rapidly-growing industry down by the river.
One may surmise that there was a plentiful display of street-corner oratory in those early days of 1841. Should there be a new town hall, anyway? Where should it be located? How much should it cost? How large should it be? The board of selectmen, having conferred with the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, made their formal report at a town meeting held February 1, 1841, in old Washington Hall, on the south side of Amherst Street, the site later occupied by the mechanical department of the Public Service Company of New Hampshire. At this town meeting, the deed for Valley Cemetery was also accepted. The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company conveyed to the town twenty acres of land for a cemetery and a com- mittee of seven was appointed "to superintend and fit up the same." The committee was com- posed of Samuel Bell, George Porter, Hiram
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Brown, George B. Swift, Walter French, J. T. P. Hunt and Alonzo Smith.
The selectmen submitted various lots of land for consideration as a town hall site, and finally by a vote of one hundred and sixty-two to ninety-one, a lot on the corner of what is now Merrimack Square was accepted. It appears however that there was some dissatisfaction with this site. In spite of the preponderance of votes in its favor, a committee of three was appointed to ascertain if the Amoskeag Manu- facturing Company would consider exchanging this lot for some other. On March 10, the Baptist Meeting House at Manchester and Chestnut Streets was the scene of the moment- ous town-meeting that ironed out the wrinkles and made the actual plans for the building. The session was not harmonious, but in spite of opposition to the project as a whole, Messrs. Thomas Hoyt, George Morrison and Mace Moulton, the three committee members, sub- mitted the results of their investigations. They reported that they had under consideration a deed of land on the west side of Elm Street, op- posite Hanover; that this site contained ten thousand square feet and could be purchased for twenty-five hundred dollars, with the stipula- tion that nothing should be built upon it but a town house of brick or stone and any neces-
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sary outbuildings, and that such space within the structure as was not needed for town busi- ness might be used for stores or offices. It was further voted "that the town build a town house this present year," and that the select- men be authorized to raise money by loan not exceeding twenty thousand dollars to pur- chase the lot and meet the expenses of the building. J. T. P. Hunt, John D. Kimball and Edward McQuesten were appointed to super- intend operations.
The building was begun at once, and the wan- ing of summer saw its completion, ninety feet long and sixty-six feet wide, constructed of brick. The first floor housed the post office and four stores. A town hall sixty-three by seventy feet occupied the second story, and over this was an attic with rooms designed to serve as armories. Surmounting the structure was a cupola provided with a bell which weighed twenty-eight hundred pounds. It was a build- ing to satisfy the hearts of those who had per- sisted in the face of opposition, and the pro- ponents of the project must have felt the pride of personal achievement whenever their vision was caught by "the eagle of fine proportions" that topped the town house cupola.
For a period of three years this building served Manchester well. Then, on August 12,
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1844, a disastrous fire laid it in ruins. The sup- position was that someone had carelessly tossed a lighted paper on the floor of one of the third- story armories, and that by means of scattered powder, shavings beneath the boards had caught a spark. When discovered, the flames had made such headway as to render control impossible. The contents of the post-office were removed, but the loss to individuals and to the town was about thirty thousand dollars, eleven thousand of which was covered by in- surance.
This was a staggering blow to the little town. But her citizens had plenty of spirit and courage. Within less than three weeks a town meeting was called to discuss the matter of rebuilding, and it was voted "to build the town house as good or better than the old one, and put a clock and bell on the same." Twenty thousand dollars was the sum mentioned to be borrowed as a means of financing the new project. The committee appointed to secure plans and specifications consisted of Daniel Clark, Asa O. Colby, John M. Smith, Elija Hanson, Stillman Fellows, Walter French, Samuel D. Bell, Alonzo Smith, E. A. Straw and W. A. Burke. This committee, together with the selectmen, were authorized to choose an agent to oversee the operations of building and
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to fix the amount of his compensation. Edward Shaw of Boston submitted his specifications and was given the contract for the work, with Elijah Hanson acting as agent for the town, and Garret Wilton in charge of construction.
It is evident that no one shirked a duty or took time off to rest on his oars. For by Octo- ber of the following year, 1845, the new town house had risen, practically complete, from the ruins of the old: the present City Hall, now for many years a familiar landmark, dignified, well-proportioned, and symbolizing, we like to think, the unostentatious beauty and balance that belong to New England. The walls were of brick, painted and sanded, and the columns and caps were of hammered stone. Originally, the entrance and stairway were on Market Street, but in 1895, during the administration of Mayor William C. Clarke, alterations were made providing public access to the building from the Elm Street side. In the early days, the first floor housed stores in addition to the office of the City Clerk and a room for the Common Council. The second floor included the city hall and the offices of the Mayor and the City Marshall. The school committee and the engineers had the third story to themselves. In the southwest corner of the basement was the city prison.
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The completion of so important a project as that of the town house was sufficient to mark the year 1845 as one of signal importance. During this year also, we are told, forty other buildings made their appearance and two hun- dred more were in process of construction. Among the important buildings erected was the Union Block, at the corner of Elm and Mar- ket Streets, the first brick business block to appear on the west side of Elm Street. The new Manchester, offshoot from old Derry- field, was indeed "booming". The sources and the symbols of its phenomenal growth were many, and a clear picture of the decade from 1836 to 1846 provides the record of a be- wildering variety of developments of great sig- nificance for the future.
Among the outstanding signs of the times was the firm establishment of various denom- inations of church groups within a radius of a mile from the rapidly-growing center of the town. The picture is in sharp contrast to the one presented less than a hundred years before, when the only meeting-house in the community was, to borrow from the rather belittling de- scription of the historian Potter, "fit for a place of worship at no time, (though) in summer and on a fair day it answered better than a barn." There was very general interest in providing .
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