USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Manchester > Manchester on the Merrimack, the story of a city > Part 8
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The inauguration exercises were held at ten o'clock in the forenoon and were opened by
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Moses Fellows, chairman of the retiring board of selectmen. Prayer was offered by Rev. Cyrus Wallace, senior clergyman in the com- munity, and the oath of office was administered to Mayor-elect Hiram Brown by Hon. Daniel Clark. The new mayor, having administered the oath to his aids in the city government, delivered an inaugural address which unfor- tunately has not been preserved. It would be interesting to know specifically what Hon. Hiram Brown planned and promised for the new city. The "Manchester Palladium," a news sheet obviously not favorably disposed to the incoming executive, printed in its issue of Sep- tember 10 the following tart report of the speech: "The inaugural address of Mayor Brown was quite lengthy, and the originator displayed some talents in getting it up for the occasion, which was more than half lost for the want of someone to read it correctly. The deacon performed his part miserably and gave decisive proof that his lesson was poorly studied." Political prejudice and personal rivalry were apparently at work in those days when the city was only a fledgling.
The valuation of the city at this point was set at $3,187,726. The tax list was $22,005.95, and the number of polls was 2056. An item in the Messenger of May 9, 1846, places the pop-
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ulation as 10,125. Some two years earlier, the local paper had noted the progressively upward trend of the population as follows: "The pop- ulation of Manchester in 1790 was 362; in 1800, 557; in 1810, 615; in 1820, 3234; and in 1844, 6036. Smart place this. The historian, Potter, commented, "There is no procrastination here. A building is decided upon and it goes up, as if by the power of Aladdin's Lamp." He also quoted from the Democrat concerning de- velopments in the "north end", one day to be- come Manchester's choicest residential section. "11 beautiful cottages are building in the woods, hard upon the "celebration ground", quoth the newspaper. "With a taste alike rare and credit- able, several gentlemen have purchased these pine groves, leaving enough of the forest trees for shade and ornament, and are fitting up beautiful grounds, preferring natives to exotics, and having an immediate pleasure instead of anticipation".
Not long after its incorporation, the city adopted an official seal, rich in symbolism, with devices that suggest the inner meaning of outer appearances. The motto, "LABOR VINCIT", (industry triumphs) emphasizes the fact that the mills built the city. The powerful right arm, uplifting the homely and familiar hammer, suggests steady application to the
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simple ideal of work. The shield below the inscription carries a likeness of the Falls, of a gear-wheel and its governor, and of the mills and a locomotive with steam billowing from its engine. One may translate these three representations as symbolizing respectively, power in its natural state, power harnessed, and power creating, contributing tangible evidence of its cooperation with human endeavor. Eons of time are telescoped in the devices on that shield: time before human ear had heard the roar of "the terrible Falls" of Amoskeag; time when the human brain began to take over and bend to a purpose the powers of nature; time when human perseverance made the age of steam an instrument of miraculous progress. And now the age of steam is in a measure obsolete. What new figures might be added to the seal of Manchester in recognition of the age of the atom: what new devices to suggest something more than material efficiency as the desperate need of our time?
Manchester was aware during these years of her responsibility to a larger world beyond the city, beyond the state, even beyond the nation. She played her part in the War with Mexico, which began in April, 1846, sending not only members of the Stark Guards, but others who volunteered promptly. A complete record of
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the men serving at this time is not obtainable, but the following is a partial list:
Bernard A. Thorp
James Bray
James S. Daniels
Joshua Davis
John Goodall
John M. Goodwin
Josephus Harris
Luther Hovey
John S. Langdon
Carlton P. Langmaid
Augustine Morrill Benjamin F. Osgood
Thomas P. Pierce
James M. Pushee
John F. Place
Samuel W. Pinkham
Thaddeus C. Rogers
Sylvester Tennant
John Webster
Lewis B. West
James S. Daniels died in Mexico, and Benjamin F. Osgood was seriously wounded in the assault on Chapultepec.
The gold fever of 1849 affected the pulse of Manchester as it did the rest of the country, and proved that there were plenty of adven- ture-minded citizens in the little city on the Merrimack. Since it reflects "the spirit of the times", the following item, clipped from the local newspaper in the issue of February 3, 1849, is significant: "On Wednesday last, the California Company took leave of this city. The Depot was completely crowded with the enterprising adventurers and their friends. The confiding wife, the fond mother, the affection- ate father and the beloved sister and brother were there to take leave of their near and dear
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friends, perhaps for the last time. And would it be strange that such an event should exhibit a sense of sadness not soon to be forgot? But a more determined company of daring spirits we never saw together; bound by the ties of friendship and common interest they have gone forth to gather up the riches that so abundantly abound in a distant clime, and we hope that their most sanguine expectations will be realized."
In the late forties the people of Ireland suffered the Great Famine, due to the failure of the potato crop. Manchester was quick to respond to this disaster and to reach helping hands across the Atlantic. The overseers and the employees of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company contributed a thousand dollars to the relief of the afflicted country. This Irish famine, moreover, was destined to have an important and long-range effect upon Manchester. It came about quite naturally that when immi- grants from the stricken land began to pour into America, Manchester received a large con- signment, and these people and their descend- ants have contributed notably to the growth of the community, figuring prominently in its industrial and professional life.
But the Irish famine was not the only source of Manchester's contact with "overseas" dur-
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ing this period. In 1851, London was the scene of a World's Fair, and the Amoskeag Manufac- turing Company submitted an exhibition of flannels, sheetings, ticking and denims to com- pete with the products of Great Britain's lead- ing industries. How it would have rejoiced the heart of Samuel Blodget could he have known
when he made his famous prophecy that within less than a half-century the Manchester of his dreams would carry off high honors in old England, being awarded a medal for ex- hibiting the best articles in their class of all those presented.
Then too, Manchester participated actively in the temperance movement that swept the nation during these years. The Good Templars organization did not reach the community until around the close of the Civil War, but numerous smaller groups preceded and paved the way for participation in this world-wide organization. There were the Manchester Washington Total Abstinence Society, the Martha Washington Temperance Society, the Sons of Temperance, the Daughters of Tem- perance, the Cadets of Temperance-all de- voted to the cause of total abstinence from alcoholic beverages. In the local newspaper of August,1842, we find this item: "John Haw-
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kins, the great apostle of temperance, has de- livered four lectures in Town Hall. The pledge was circulated and three hundred names were added to the already extended list. Another paragraph in an issue of May, 1843, exults: "The ladies of Manchester, clever souls, are not one whit behind the ladies of other towns in their endeavor to promote the cause of temperance." It goes on to relate that they have been making "articles of use" to be disposed of for the benefit of needy, and that a "Temperance Tea" is under consideration. Plummer's Tavern, situated on Mammoth Road about half way between Man- chester and Lowell, is recommended as a tem- perance house, and as "decidedly the best for public entertainment in the town", in a com- munication in one of the local papers in 1845. "We have a pretty strong rum influence to contend with," the writer goes on to say, "and if in any way the more respectable part of the traveling (public) can be brought to that house, it will produce more effect upon the other taverns than all the moral suasion that can be brought to bear."
A group of local children formed a "Cold Water Army", and under the leadership of Dr. Wheat sang songs like the following:
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Sparkling and bright in its liquid light Is the water in our glasses; 'Twill give you health, 'twill give you wealth Ye lads and rosy lassies.
Chorus
Oh, then resign your ruby wine, Each smiling son and daughter. There's nothing so good for the youthful blood Or sweet, as sparkling water.
The slavery issue also was a matter of con- cern and plentiful controversy in these days, even in this little community so far north of the Mason and Dixon line. As early as 1851, Hon. John Hale was addressing the public on this question, and quite evidently the founda- tions were being laid for the stand to be taken later.
Manchester was no isolated community in those early days of her life as a city. Meantime, internal developments were justifying the Messenger's use of the word "magic" as applied to the city's growth.
Reference has been made already to the in- corporation of the Manchester Bank and the Manchester Savings Bank. In 1848, the Amos- keag Bank, predecessor of the Amoskeag National, was incorporated with a board of directors consisting of Richard H. Ayer, Samuel D. Bell, Mace Moulton, Stephen D. Greene,
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John S. Kidder, Stephen Manahan and Edson Hill. Richard H. Ayer was president and Moody Currier, cashier. Succeeding this bank was the Amoskeag National which was organized in 1864, with Moody Currier as president and George B. Chandler, cashier. The first direct- ors were Moody Currier, John S. Kidder, Stephen D. Green, Edson Hill, Henry Putney, Adam Chandler, Daniel Clark, Darwin S. Daniels and Horace Johnson. The Amoskeag Savings Bank was chartered in 1852, with Walter French as president, and the following men serving as trustees: Isaac Flanders, William Richardson, Frederick Smyth, Samuel Ayer, Jacob G. Cilley, John S. Kidder, Timothy W. Little and Stephen Manahan. Moody Currier was appointed treasurer. The year 1853 saw the organization of the City Bank, with Isaac Flanders as president and Edward A. Harring- ton as cashier. The board of directors consisted of Isaac Flanders, Samuel W. Parsons, Joseph Kidder, William C. Clarke, Oliver Bayley, William H. Hill and Andrew G. Tucker. The City Savings Bank, occupying the same rooms as the City Bank, was chartered in 1859 with Joseph Kidder as president and Ed- ward W. Harrington as treasurer. The trustees were Samuel W. Parsons, James Hersey, John D. Bean, R. N. Batchelder, James S. Cheney,
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Andrew G. Tucker, J. C. Ricker, Bradbury P. Cilley, James S. Cogswell and John F. Duncklee. In 1855 the Merrimack River Bank was char- tered and its first officers were as follows: Will- iam G. Means, president; Frederick Smyth, cashier; David Cross, Waterman Smyth, John H. Moor, William Whittle, William P. Newell, Benjamin F. Martin, William G. Means, direc- tors. In 1865 this was put under United States jurisdiction and its name changed to the First National Bank of Manchester.
The Manchester Five Cent Savings Institu- tion was chartered in 1858, with Waterman Smith as president and David Gillis and George Porter as vice-presidents. Frederick Smyth was treasurer and following is a list of the trustees; Benjamin F. Martin, Joseph B. Clark, Isaac Smith, William B. Webster, Frank A. Brown, George Thompson, John B. Clark, Peter S. Brown, Frederick Smyth, Josiah S. Shannon, John L. Kelly, James M. Varnum, Alonzo Smith, Thomas Wheat, Warren Page, Albe C. Heath, Warren S. Peabody, Joseph A. Haines.
This period was a time of rapid expansion for the industries down by the river; there were new mills, new tenements and boarding houses, a new foundry and machine shop. The building of a new machine shop was especially important as it was work in this department
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that was to keep the plant active in the ap- proaching depression. Due to the increasing dif- ferences between North and South, the cotton manufacturing industries were hard hit in the late 50's but the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, with its facilities for producing machinery, was able to weather the gale.
Another very important development of these years was the building of Mechanics' Row at the northern end of the canal, a group of wooden buildings with brick partitions which provided quarters for a variety of small enter- prises and presented a lively picture of hum- ming industry from the beginning. At the upper end of the Row was a structure which housed the pumps used to lift the river water to the company's reservoir in the square bounded by Blodget, Harrison, Oak and Russell Streets. This reservoir, with a capacity of eleven million gal- lons, provided water for the tenements and was available in case of fire.
In 1848 the Amoskeag Manufacturing Com- pany undertook the manufacture of locomo- tives, a line of work in which they were to at- tain an enviably high degree of success. The first engine sent out by the Amoskeag Machine Shop bore the name Etna, and was shipped March 1, 1849, to the Northern Railroad. The Con- cord Railroad received the second engine, the
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General Stark, a twenty-four ton passenger locomotive. Having produced two hundred and thirty-two engines, in the late 50's the Amoskeag Company discontinued the manu- facture of locomotives, selling out to the al- ready established firm of Bayley, Blood and Company formerly called the Vulcan Works. In 1854, this firm had taken the name of Man- chester Locomotive Works, one of the lead- ing manufactories of the city for a long period. Oliver W. Bayley was the first agent, but in 1857 he was succeeded by Aretas Blood, under whose personal management the industry at- tained its conspicuously high place. Mr. Blood was known throughout the country as a lead- ing authority on locomotive building, being thoroughly familiar with every intricate detail of the construction of an engine. He was, furthermore, an outstanding executive, possess- ing rare skill in dealing with his subordinates.
Other improvements of the period include the incorporation of the Manchester Gas Light Company in 1850, and in 1851 the laying of gas pipes through the city streets. Soon there was not only the fashionable and miraculous new lighting system in private residences, but a pale glow at street intersections, making evening perambulations safer and more comfortable. Not always, however. The Gas Light Company
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deferred to the almanac and had no intention of running in competition with the moon. When the almanac indicated moonlight, you might be sure there would be no street light, regardless of flood, fog or raging blizzard. And any night, if business or pleasure kept you abroad after the respectable hour of 11 P.M., you would do well to carry a lantern. The Manchester Gas Light Company did not en- courage midnight revels, and so the street lights were extinguished promptly a good hour before the stroke of twelve.
These were the years when Manchester be- came definitely "transportation-minded", and modern facilities for getting about developed rapidly. In 1853, a shining, new omnibus drawn by two sleek Canadian horses appeared upon the streets, making half-hourly trips be- tween upper Elm Street and Piscataquog Vil- lage, on a schedule beginning at six in the morning and operating until ten in the evening. Here was the ancestor of our familiar horse car, trolley car and bus. In 1848 the Granite Bridge was made a free thoroughfare with responsi- bility for its upkeep divided between Man- chester and Bedford. Three years later this arrangement was put to the test, when flood waters swept down the Merrimack and de- stroyed the old bridge. Whether on economic
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Manchester on the Merrimack
or esthetic grounds, the two towns failed to agree as to the style and type most desirable for the new structure, and the result was two modes of architecture meeting in the middle of the river. Possibly the United Nations set-up might borrow a leaf from this record of mid- century compromise. Two new railroads were opened in 1849 and 1850, the Manchester and Lawrence, and the New Hampshire Central (later the North Weare) connecting Manchester and Henniker.
Among the new buildings of the period was the Intermediate School, a brick structure on the corner of Manchester and Chestnut Streets, site of the present Police Station. In anticipa- tion of any probable reluctance on the part of youth to attend this school, a room for truants was provided in the attic. Three flights up presumably discouraged attempts at escape, even in the most adventurous-minded truant. The South Grammar School, originally con- ducted in a chapel on Concord Street, was transferred in 1847 to a new building on Park Street. This was the nucleus of the present Franklin Street School, being moved to the Franklin and Pleasant Street location in 1857. The North Grammar School was established in 1848, in a brick building on Spring Street. An offshoot of this institution became the Ash
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Street Grammar School in 1869 with William E. Buck as master.
Both the Lyceum and the Atheneum, al- ready mentioned in the preceding chapter, were active and live organizations during this period, and it is of more than passing interest to notice the nature and variety of intellectual food pro- vided for the adult Manchester of the mid- century. Among the Lyceum speakers en- gaged for the season of 1849-1850 were Horace Mann, Wendell Phillips, Richard H. Dana, Jr., and Theodore Parker. Listed lecture topics in- clude: "Copernicus and His Time", "The Af- finity between Literature and Liberty", "Self- Education", "Philosophy of Vision or the Sci- ence of Optics". The newspaper issue of January 31, 1845, informs the public that on the following Saturday evening the question for discussion at the Lyceum will be "Is Morality On the Increase?" Sometimes the press took exception to a speaker's subject or his method of handling it. Said the Messenger of January 3, 1846: "The lecture before the Lyceum on Wednesday evening was by Rev. Mr. Hidden. As a lecture it was altogether inappropriate to the occasion, and as a literary production it was wanting essentially in point." The speaker was critized for uttering "doctrinal sentiments not allowable at a Lyceum lecture" (including a slur
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at the Abolitionists), and the oblique scolding concluded with the hope that "hereafter the lectures will be such as to impart interesting and valuable instruction of a scientific character rather than that which is ecclesiastical and sec- tarian."
Disapproval of another Lyceum lecture, de- livered by Hon. John C. Parks of Boston, was expressed in no measured terms: "He stated no new or strange propositions nor established any truth in science, government or morals. For our part we prefer a scientific lecture before the Lyceum." It seems that science was con- sidered a good, safe topic, not likely to stir up dissension or to step on sectarian toes. As for literature, a hardy soul by the name of Henry Hudson came to the Lyceum platform and dis- coursed upon Shakespeare. The press polished him off in this fashion: "But when the speaker had finished, we could not help asking our- selves what good such a lecture could do. Did those who listened obtain any new or valuable ideas? We must not meddle with the manage- ment of the Lyceum, but we do urge the neces- sity of a more useful course of lectures than we are now having. The people want something more useful than mere literary lectures. Can't they have it?" It is apparent that the craft bear-
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ing culture to Manchester's intelligensia some- times ran into rough weather.
Another institution purporting to provide information as well as entertainment was the Museum, on the corner of Elm and Pleasant Streets. The Manchester Directory for 1848 describes it as follows: "Manchester Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts. Contains many speci- mens of Birds, Insects, Paintings, Statuary, Shells, Minerals, Fossils, Curiosities, etc., from all parts of the world. In this collection may be found the entire skeleton of the Greenland Whale, or river whale, which is the only one on exhibition in the United States. The Museum offers a delightful promenade to visitors, both day and evening. Open every day, Sunday ex- cepted, from 7 A.M. to 10 P.M. M. H. Hough, Proprietor." One may wonder who would be likely to avail himself of the privileges of the "delightful promenade" at 7 A.M., even in the rugged days of 1848. It seems that M. H. Hough, Proprietor, had a partner by the name of Robinson, and together they had petitioned the board of Mayor and Aldermen for a permit to conduct such an institution. Although the petition was signed by forty-eight leading citi- zens, the whole project was bitterly opposed by clergy and churches. Finally a license was granted, but it was heavily weighted with re-
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strictions. No records are available to reveal how long the Museum provided entertainment and enlightenment for the public, but it was not listed in the City Directory after 1850. It may have fostered an interest in the drama, but no dramatic entertainments were permitted on Saturday evenings-nor on any evening after the stroke of ten o'clock, unless the Mayor gave his sanction in writing. Thoreau, reporting on his pilgrimage up the Concord and Merri- mack Rivers, mentions that he noticed the flag of this Museum waving in the breezes, but it is not probable that he stopped to marvel at the skeleton of the Greenland Whale, "the only one on exhibition in the United States." A colony of living muskrats on Goose Pond was more to Thoreau's taste.
These were the years that brought the City Missionary Society into being, and that saw the organization of the local Y.M.C.A. The former had its beginnings in 1847, and was legally organized in 1850. Originally its object was to provide religious instruction for those not accustomed to attend church services, but in 1870 its functions were enlarged to include practical help to the needy. The building on the corner of Merrimack and Beech Streets was erected in 1850, from funds contributed by individuals and by the Congregational and
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Presbyterian churches of the state. The site was given by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company.
In February, 1854, the young men of the various churches met in the vestry of the First Congregational Church to take action relative to "making a systematic Christian effort to help young men and to uniting in a closer bond Christians of different denominations." A committee was appointed to draw up a con- stitution, and on March 17, at a meeting held in the Franklin Street Church vestry, this con- stitution was adopted and the Y.M.C.A. of Manchester was formally organized. In addi- tion to the regular officers, a board of directors was provided, consisting of one representative from each of the local Evangelical churches. At first, the organization held its gatherings in the vestries of the different churches. Later it had a meeting place and reading room in Patten's block, and in 1855, it moved to quarters in the newly-built Smyth block. Wil- liam G. Means was the first president, assisted by John E. Tasker and E. B. Merrill, vice-presi- dents, J. S. Harriman, recording secretary, J. M. Coburn, corresponding secretary, Alfred B. Soule, treasurer, and J. D. Jones, librarian.
These were important years in Manchester's newspaper circles. The Daily Mirror was
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established in 1850, and the Union Democrat in 1851. The Farmer's Monthly Visitor, which began in 1838 and was suspended in 1849, was resumed in 1852. The Ladies' Enterprise began publication in 1854.
The foregoing glance at developments, in- dustrial, civic, cultural and educational, indi- cates the momentum engendered in Manchester as it emerged into the status of a city. But there were discouragements and setbacks to test the fibre of these early citizens. Fire and flood did not pass them by. A hail storm did tremendous damage in 1853, and the dread cholera visited the city in 1849. The year 1848 brought de- struction by fire to those valuable old land- marks, the "Old Mill" and the "Bell Mill", on the west bank of the river. They were still functioning industrially, and the financial loss was estimated at about seventy thousand dol- lars. The greater loss was on the level of "the intangibles", since they were eloquent spokes- men for the frail beginnings of a powerful in- dustry. William B. Clarke, an old overseer, commented that "the mills were in pretty bad shape, and were so rickety that the water would splash out of the sink when one walked across the floor." He added that "the old pine timbers burned like tinder." The Stark Mills, the Steam Mill, and the Manchester Print
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