USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Manchester > Manchester on the Merrimack, the story of a city > Part 9
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Works, also had serious fires in 1850, 1852, and 1853.
In February, 1851, occurred the great freshet in the Merrimack River. The old Granite Bridge was lifted from its piers and swept downstream, and the old "Amoskeag Bridge" at the foot of Bridge Street, already impassable, was completely destroyed .* Mr. George Waldo Browne, in "Waynotes of Manchester" gives a vivid description of the scene: "Then came the furious freshet of February 15 to 22, 1851. The night of the 21st was one of the wildest ever known up to that time in the history of the Merrimack River. When the storm had set in, the river was frozen over to a great depth, except where the rapids pre- vented it. The great wintry flooring was broken up and the swollen stream became a double agent of destruction. The water had been higher on several occasions, but on the night of the 21st it was terrible to behold. The flood held back by the dams of ice, the river below the Falls rose to a level with the river above the Falls, the whole mass swirling, toss-
* This bridge was not replaced until 1881 when McGregor Bridge was built. It must not be confused with the bridge at Amoskeag Falls, built in 1842, de- stroyed by a freshet in 1853, and rebuilt in 1854.
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ing, crushing, roaring and grinding into bits whatever came in its way. And the bridge stood trembling and tottering above its furious current, but the morning showed no bridge across the river which was already beginning to subside. A few anxious watchers standing shivering in the gale on the river banks heard the crashes and knew that the old bridge had gone by the boards."
But notwithstanding these buffetings, Man- chester, the fledgling city, continued steadily on its course of growth and development. The Memorial's editor seemed justified in his en- thusiastic exclamation: "Manchester, if she progresses as fast as for the two years past, will not only be the Manchester of New England but the Manchester of America."
AMOSKEAG
FIRST STEAM FIRE ENGINE BUILT BY THE AMOSKEAG MANUFACTURING CO., MANCHESTER, N. H.
Expansion of a City
The great event of the year 1853, indeed the great event of that decade, as far as Manchester was concerned, was the annexation of Piscata- quog and Amoskeag, settlements heretofore belonging to Bedford and Goffstown respec- tively. The act of the Legislature giving state sanction to this incorporation of two villages into the municipality of Manchester was ap- proved in July of that year, and provided that the city should assume responsibility for all roads and bridges within the limits of the
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specified territory and that it should be ac- countable to the towns for a certain propor- tion of the debts listed in the most recent in- ventories. It would seem to have been a just and generous arrangement and one likely to produce reciprocal advantages. The new wards, seven and eight, were likely to benefit by their status, and the enlargement of the city by these additions surely might be interpreted as an indication of progress.
The public reaction to this annexation at the time is interesting. The local newspaper, the Union Democrat, in issues of July and August gives us a sidelight in this connection. One of its items suggests the truth of the old statement that history repeats itself. How often are to- day's citizens accused of lethargy concerning civic matters-of indifference to the privilege and the duty of expressing their opinions by their votes. Listen to the editorial comment in the Union Democrat nearly a hundred years ago. Under the caption "Annexation Consum- mated" it says: "In pursuance of a call of the city government, a meeting was held on Mon- day evening of last week to secure an expres- sion of public feeling of this city in regard to the annexation of portions of Bedford and Goffstown. The City Hall was well filled, but there was evidently little feeling to express."
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After reporting that resolutions in favor of the measure passed by a vote of three hundred and eighteen to sixty-seven, although a large ma- jority of those present failed to vote at all, the editorial continues: "If this meagre vote, about one fifth of our voting population, can be con- sidered as anything more than a farce, then what is it? However it makes a very good pre- text for a predetermined act, and accordingly the project was perfected in Council on the Tuesday following. We are not prepared to say it will not be for the best; we hope-and not altogether without confidence-it will. At any rate, our friends over the river are welcome to the destiny that awaits the rest of us."
In the issue of July 6, 1853, the same paper commented as follows: "The conditions are so favorable to the old towns that we under- stand very little opposition was made to the passage of the bill, and it is a matter of con- gratulation that the object will be effected with- out any alienation of feeling between our people and our excellent neighbors over the river.
"Much as we have been personally inclined to favor the movement, we have still felt that there were strong reasons against it. In the first place, the integrity of the old towns should never be disturbed for slight or transient rea-
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sons. Geographical propinquity and conveni- ence sometimes requires it, but in this case these considerations forbid rather than demand the change. The Merrimack is a natural boundary and should not be obliterated as a dividing line without strong reasons. Again, it is a policy of the state to discourage rather than to pro- mote a consolidation of wealth and population in one political community. We deprecate the concentration of too much power in large cities. For these reasons we are glad the terms proposed are extremely liberal to the old towns.
"We have no doubt the annexation of this territory will be highly advantageous to Man- chester. It embraces a wealthy and enterprising population of perhaps sixteen or eighteen hundred, and increases the population of this city to nearly nineteen thousand. We have no doubt a new impetus will be given to the already vigorous growth of our city. We wel- come our suburban neighbors to our municipal household, and we trust the government of this city will extend to them all the privileges they can rightfully expect."
It would seem that "our neighbors over the river" generally looked with favor on the idea of incorporation with the larger group of a city. The "History of Goffstown", however,
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records at least one instance of an opposing opinion. It reports on page 279 that in 1857, one Samuel Poor petitioned the Legislature through David M. Taggart, the representative, to disannex the portion of his homestead within the new city limits and restore it to what he evidently considered its rightful place in Goffs- town. But the bill was opposed and the com- mittee on towns and parishes reported that they recommended its indefinite postponement.
And what about Bedford and Goffstown whence came a considerable portion of our population? If we are to understand Man- chester, we must glance at the backgrounds of these "suburban neighbors" welcomed to our municipal household in 1853.
Bedford's first permanent settlement was in 1737, when Robert and James Walker came up from Londonderry and were joined a few months later by Matthew and Samuel Patten whose home had been in Dunstable. They built a hut and courageously began the labors of creating a home in the wilderness down by the river. Today a stone tablet marks the site of this first homestead. A paragraph in the "Bed- ford History" throws an interesting sidelight on the conditions encountered by these hardy pi- oneers whose determination laid the founda- tions for the typical New England town with
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its white church on the hilltop and its winding roads leading off to rich farmlands. The record says: "James removed to what was known as the Jesse Walker farm, afterward part of the farm belonging to the late William McAllister. But the bears and catamounts were so numerous and at night made so much noise about his house that he could not stay. He said his bull was able to keep them off only by climbing to the top of the ledge near the barn and bellow- ing all night long." The spirit of Bedford's pi- oneers never quailed before bears and cata- mounts, however. In due time the Walkers and the Pattens were joined by other families, and the year 1750 brought formal recognition of the settlement as the town of Bedford, named in honor of England's Duke of Bedford.
The records tell us that with few exceptions the early inhabitants of the town were from the north of Ireland, or from the then infant settlement of Londonderry, New Hampshire, to which they had recently emigrated from Ireland, and that their ancestors were of Scotch origin. In his "Historical Sketch of Bedford", published in 1840, Rev. Thomas Savage has this to say: "It is interesting to notice the similarity between the pilgrims of Plymouth and these emigrants from the north of Ireland as re- spects the motives which led them to emigrate.
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It was no worldly ambition, it was no unhal- lowed thirst of gain that in either case appears to have led these hardy men to leave the com- forts and endearments of their native land and come to the western wilderness; it was, so many believe, in both cases for the enjoyment of the rights of conscience and religious privileges that they came across the Atlantic and settled down in these forests."
Bedford has a rich heritage in the possession of the diary of pioneer Matthew Patten from which the day-by-day happenings of that long- ago period may be vividly reconstructed. The original manuscript is in the possession of Mrs. Gordon Woodbury. Couched in the quaint and simple language of the times, spelled ac- cording to the latitude permitted by custom, or possibly according to Matthew Patten's own whim, the recordings are a delight to read. He speaks often of "refreshing rains", of "tedious snow storms", of "hauling logs to the river." In the following item he refers to effort re- warded: "I went to the falls (Amoskeag) and Alexander went the evening before and he got thirty shad and I got twelve and a ten pound salmon." Again: "I went to Amoskeag and got a salmon that weighed seventeen and a half pounds." But effort was sometimes wasted and the trip to the falls a futile journey: "I went
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to the falls but got no eels"; "I went to the falls to fish at our setting place, but the river was so high that I could not." The "trading" that was part of the pattern of those days is recorded thus: "I fished at the new setting place and I got eight shad and twenty-two eelwives and an eel, and I changed them with Sam Farrington for four-fifths of a bushel of corn." "
The recording of July 22, 1785, reveals not only Matthew Patten, the observer, but Matthew Patten, the interpreter, the man of keen awareness: "Alex mowed for his Uncle to the middle of the afternoon when there came on a shower as heavy an one as perhaps I ever see with an Extraordinary wind it broke one of our Appletrees off in the middle of the body Razed the roots of another broke the main top branch off another and Drove over Rail fence and board fence I think it might be called something of a hurricane there was considerable of hail with it And in about an hour after it was over there came on another very great shower but the wind not higher than is com- mon in such showers a great deal of thunder with both showers and a great quantity of rain fell in each it laid the corn generally down and the Rie and broke many corn stalks Entirely off at the lott by Frenches it blowed many trees
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out of ground and broke many off thriveing white oaks torn up by the Roots a pine that was crotched each part 18 or 20 inches di- ameter both broke entirely off about 20 feet high O Lord who can conceive of thy Al- mighty power and yet thou walkest on the wings of the wind in the most calmest manner even when that Airy substance is agitated in the fiercest motion we mortals ever behold yet all we can conceive is infinitely short of thee Give us Exalted thoughts of thee and humble and abasing thoughts of ourselves."
The development of the Piscataquog section of Bedford was due in no small measure to William Parker who about 1785 moved from Litchfield to Bedford and settled in the north- east corner of the town. He it was who really laid the foundations for the brisk little village within Bedford's boundaries which in 1851 boasted two stores, two taverns, one mill, two school houses and an academy and meeting house. The Riddle family also played a very important role in Piscataquog's growth. Com- mercial boating on the Merrimack was a pic- turesque part of the pattern of that era, and it was the firm of Isaac Riddle and Sons who brought it to its high peak of success, by pro- viding transportation for a variety of goods to the towns west and north of Manchester. So
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efficient was this method of moving goods that at one time there was serious consideration of a plan to unite the Merrimack and the Con- necticut rivers by means of a canal through the Piscataquog valley. William P. Riddle, eldest son of Isaac, continued the boating business until 1842, when the Concord Railroad began operations. His yellow store and boating house on the Piscataquog was the center of his activi- ties, but his various enterprises had connections far afield. He furnished building lumber for Boston, Lowell and Newburyport, and ship timber for the Charlestown Navy Yard. He made Piscataquog a depository for hops, buy- ing them from all over the state, from Vermont and Canada, and then shipping them to markets in Boston, New York and Philadelphia, and even to foreign ports. It is said that no less than four or five hundred thousand pounds passed through his hands in the course of a year.
It was in the year 1820 that the citizens of Piscataquog formed a joint stock company and built a meeting house on a desirable site given by the heirs of William Parker. This was the nucleus of the present South Main Street Con- gregational Church, and it is of interest to note that though Congregationalism is the doctrine of the church today, its ancestor was Presby- terian. Through varying vicissitudes, the origi-
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nal building survived until 1916, when it was completely destroyed by fire. This original meeting house, before alterations, was distinctly of the old tradition in architecture, with a high pulpit and pews of the "pen" variety. At one period the upper floor provided quarters for a flourishing academy of which Dr. Leonard French was the first principal. In 1855 the First Wesleyan Methodist group held services in the building, and from 1859 to 1867 it was the home of the First Presbyterian Church in Man- chester. When this group disbanded in 1867, some of the members were given letters of dis- missal to the Franklin Street Church. Later the meeting house became the property of the local Y.M.C.A. on the condition that it keep the building in repair and be responsible for the conduct of regular religious services there.
Before the railroads ushered in the new era of transportation, there were two methods of moving merchandise: by river boats and by "teaming". And there were two ways of getting oneself about on land: by stage coach and on foot. All these means of transportation required places of entertainment along the way: hence the taverns, those storied havens of refuge springing up at convenient points on the main- travelled routes all over the country. There was rich material for the pen of a novelist in
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these taverns-meeting places for the humble and the high-born alike, where teamsters and presidents tarried under the same roof, listening to the same stories recounted around the fires blazing on the wide hearths. Piscataquog pro- vided three of these inns: the Travelers Home, at the corner of South Main and Milford Streets; Parker's, on the northeast corner of South Main and Log streets; and the Merri- mack House, which stood until 1849 on the exact spot where the North Weare railroad tracks lead westward.
The little village boasted also its own fire engine, of the small hand-tub variety, manned by a group known as the Piscataquog Village Fire Engine Company and carefully sheltered in a little building painted a gay red, standing near the corner of what is now Hancock and South Main streets. This machine had the gal- lant record of throwing water over the old church spire which towered one hundred and ten feet in the air.
It is plain to see that Piscataquog which means the "place of many deer", had much to con- tribute to the city with which it was to merge its identity. So also did Amoskeag, offshoot of Goffstown, that was adopted by Manchester . at the same time.
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"Gofestown", known in the early settlement days as Narraganset Grant Number 4, was first referred to by its new name in 1750, and was so-called in honor of Colonel John Goffe, "Hunter John". Colonel Goffe was a man of rare and unusual versatility; a military leader who played an important part in the early wars; a religious man "apt in exhortation and prayer"; a generous and civic-minded man, contributing freely to the community's welfare. A whole cross-section of our country's history in those exciting, adventurous days of the early settle- ments was reflected in the life of Hunter John Goffe, pioneer. He was moderator of the first town meeting of the little settlement of which Amoskeag was a significant and important part, and which was recognized by charter as a town in 1761.
Amoskeag's early importance is linked with the mills of Derryfield. It must be remembered that up to the year 1836, there was no sign of a mill on the east bank of the Merrimack around the falls. The two little factories in Amoskeag- the "Old Mill" and the "Bell Mill" plus the "Island Mill" included all there was of manu- facturing in the vicinity. But that all was much for those days, and it made Amoskeag a hustling little hamlet, a magnet attracting the youth of both sexes from all over northern New England.
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Working in the mill stood high in public opin- ion in the early 1800's, and the operators who flocked in from the country districts to find employment were high type men and women. They found their environment anything but an isolated community. Stage lines ran daily through the village; boats plied up and down the river, and there was active contact with the outside world. The old inn, situated at the junction of the road from Amoskeag Bridge with the north-and-south thoroughfare (Front Street) was a lively place. In 1825, the Marquis de Lafayette made a stop-over at Amoskeag on his way to Concord, and was accorded a grand reception. In 1833, President Andrew Jackson was entertained in the village, stopping long enough to inspect the mills, and reporting that he was impressed with the evidences of their prosperity. His visit afforded a view of un- wonted pomp and ceremony to the austere, puritanical community. He traveled in sumptu- ous fashion, in a carriage drawn by four milk- white horses driven by a negro coachman. En route from Londonderry, he traversed what is now the heart of the city, which at that date was more aptly described as the heart of a wilder- ness. What the southern gentleman thought and what he prophecied in silence about old Derryfield's prospects is not recorded. But it is
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doubtful if he visualized the development of the next hundred years.
The annexation of these two thriving com- munities-Piscataquog and Amoskeag-showed Manchester branching out. The next few years gave ample proof that she was not only branch- ing out but striking her roots more deeply in all directions, commercially and otherwise.
In March of 1854, Frederick Smyth was elected for a third term as mayor of Man- chester. The outstanding accomplishment of this period of his administration was the firm estab- lishment of a city library. In his second inaugu- ral address Mr. Smyth had called attention to the desirability of such an institution, and at the opening of his third term he made an eloquent plea for it. "I can hardly conceive of a more judicious outlay of money," he declared, "than that which you may come to the conclusion to spend in sustaining a free public library and reading room, which shall be open to all, subject to good and wholesome restraints." This rec- ommendation was really ahead of public senti- ment, but Judge Samuel D. Bell and a few other citizens rallied to the cause, and by September, 1854, an arrangement had been negotiated with the Atheneum by which it was converted into a permanent free city library.
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The Atheneum had about four thousand volumes, and in addition it was in possession of sundry valuable documents worthy of pre- servation. All this property was committed to the city, on condition that a thousand dollars annually should be appropriated for the pur- chase of books and periodicals, and that the municipality should provide for the running expenses of the institution. The control and management were vested in a board of trustees, with the mayor and the president of the Com- mon Council as ex-officio members. One trus- tee was to be elected annually for a term of seven years. Providing Manchester's citizens with an open-to-all library was an important milestone in the community's progress, proving that culture as well as commerce was well up front in the procession. Shortly after its estab- lishment, the newly-fledged library was dealt a severe blow. Fire in Patten's Block, where it was located, destroyed all except about six hun- dred of the original volumes. But with char- acteristic energy the city went about the task of repairing damages, and within a few months the library was given new quarters in the new Patten's Block.
Another favorable sign of the times during this period was the increasing of teachers' sal- aries. In his second inaugural address Mayor
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Smyth pointed out that unless larger appro- priations were forthcoming the community would suffer by losing its best teachers. In 1855, principals' salaries were raised to seven hundred dollars, meager indeed even for that day, but an improvement nevertheless. A teacher in the grades received five dollars week- ly, with an extra dollar if she had acquired the dignity of principal's assistant.
It is of interest to notice that as early as 1854 there was recognition of the need of evening sessions in the public schools and that classes were held in Patten's Block for those whom circumstances had deprived of regular schooling.
The first parochial school in Manchester was opened in 1859 in the basement of St. Anne's Church at the corner of Union and Merrimack Streets. During the previous year the Sisters of Mercy had established Mount St. Mary's con- vent at the corner of Union and Laurel Streets, a boarding school for girls.
Immediately upon the conclusion of his third term as mayor, Frederick Smyth, as chairman of a three-member board of commissioners, took up the cause of a projected Reform School for juveniles of both sexes. The plan was launched at a time when political emotions were at the boiling point, the transition period when
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the Republican party was emerging from the old, time-honored Whigs. In daring to advo- cate so progressive an enterprise as "a house of reformation for juvenile offenders" the new party was inviting criticism and ridicule. Why weren't the jails and prisons all that was needed in the way of corrective institutions for offend- ers, juvenile or otherwise? Of course the pro- ponents of the measure were violently attacked. The recommended institution was advertised by the opposition as "a forty-thousand dollar Palace for Prostitutes", and broadsides scream- ing this catchy and alliterative title were scat- tered all over the state.
But Mr. Smyth and his associates did not scare easily, and the undertaking was pushed with vigor. "It is truly a great and good work," said Mr. Smyth in his first annual report to the governor and Council, "worthy the coop- eration of all who desire the good of the com- munity. In every town there are some, and in cities many, who exercise no salutary control over their children, permitting them to grow up in ignorance and vice to fill our prisons and almshouses, unless the state provides means for their rescue." The committee carefully in- spected about twenty possible sites for a pro- posed building, finally settling upon the Stark Farm, part of the estate formerly owned by
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