USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Manchester > Semi-centennial of the city of Manchester, New Hampshire, 1896 > Part 14
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In this connection it is eminently proper to remark that I should do a great wrong to my auditors, and the public generally, as well as to the purpose and spirit of this address, did I omit reference to the great central figure in the history of Harrytown, Derryfield, and Manchester. John Stark was born in the neighboring town of London- derry, on the 28th day of August, 1728. His father, Archibald Stark, was a native of Glasgow, in Scotland, and was educated, we are told, at its ancient university. In his eloquent address at the unveiling of the statue to General John Stark, in the state house yard at Concord, in 1890, the late Hon. James W. Patterson spoke as follows of the father of John and the lineage of the Starks: "Early in life, Archibald Stark removed to Londonderry, in Ireland, where he married and became closely identified with the heroic people of that famous city. They were of the same race and creed with himself, and he partook of their trials and aspirations for better conditions. The man who had fought in the siege of Derry could not submit to oppression from any government or church, and in the spirit of heroic adventure accepted the hardships of the sea and the cruelties of the wilderness in the hope of larger liberty and a more generous expansion for his children." In 1733, at the age of five years, the young boy John came to Amos- keag Falls with his father and remained a citizen of Manchester during the remainder of his long, eventful, and useful life. The tract of land that came into the possession of the family extended from the falls to Hooksett line, running back a mile or two from the Merrimack river. The location where the Stark mansion was subsequently erected, a half mile above the falls, and near the place where the precious remains of the great warrior now rest in quietness, is one of the most charming spots in picturesque New Hampshire; and his ashes will be forever kept sacred in the Stark park, now owned by the city of Manchester. John Stark, from his boyhood, was the idol of his townsmen, and when he had achieved the high military honors that will long cluster about Bunker Hill, Trenton, Princeton, and Bennington he was almost literally the object of man-wor-
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ship by his countrymen. Bennington was the crowning glory of his military oper- ations. That great battle was the pivot on which turned the political destiny of the American people, and made American liberty and American institutions possible on our soil.
Now John Stark, with his broad views, rigid adherence to the right, patriotic views and blameless life, was a factor or element in developing the best traits of character in the people around him; and to him, more than to any other agency, are we indebted for the rich legacies of stern virtue and indomitable patriotism that have come down to us as their descendants. All hail to the memory of General John Stark!
The close of the long sanguinary struggle with England and the proclamation of peace came like a benediction to the people of this country. The soldiers returned to their families, farms, and shops, and thrift and happiness followed their labors. In 1793, Samuel Blodget projected the Blodget canal, which, after many discouragements, was completed and opened to public service in 1807. For thirty years or more this canal was of great value in maintaining water communication for the transportation of goods and merchandise and lumber between Concord and Boston. It answered well its pur- pose until superseded by the railroad and its methods of transportation in 1842.
The first schoolhouse in Manchester was built in 1795. Others followed as fast as there was a demand for increased educational facilities. About the same time McGregor bridge was built across the Merrimack, from the present terminus of Bridge street on the west. A library was organized in 1854. In 1806 the town was divided into high- way districts for the construction of better roads. Four years later, in 1810, a cotton mill was built on the west side of the river at Amoskeag falls; and Derryfield, by act of the legislature, became Manchester. Judge Blodget, a man of keen perceptions, proph- esied that the town, in consequence of its extensive and valuable water power, would some day become the Manchester of America. Time bids fair to verify the prophecy. The population at that time was about six hundred.
It is a somewhat singular fact, and one perhaps not readily explained, that Manches- ter, like many other agricultural towns in the state, for thirty years previous to 1840 made but little advancement in population. Since then, in many localities, there has been a marked decrease. But Manchester never retrogrades. She held her own in the epoch of stagnation, but made little progress in material things, except in her roads, dwellings, schoolhouses, and farms. Mentally and morally there was perceptible advancement. There was but little to disturb the peace and harmony of the place. The same river ran to the ocean, and the same canal facilitated traffic between Boston and Concord. There was little immigration to the town. Children were born and people died, among the latter-the noblest citizen of all-General John Stark, rich in wonderful experiences and honors and fully ripe in years. His death occurred peace- fully at his home, above Amoskeag falls, near the river bank, May 8, 1822, at the age of 94 years, wanting a few months. He was buried with distinguished military honors, and now sleeps the sleep of the brave and the just, with a brilliant military fame second to few in modern times. Manchester, New Hampshire, the country, revere his name, and will long cherish his memory. Among his survivors whom I recall from per- sonal recollection, and who gave character to the town, may be named the Starks, the Kimballs, the Clarks, the Rowells, the Stevenses, the Dickeys, the Westons, the Moores, the Gambles, the Huses, the Jacksons, the Merrills, the Harveys, the Johnsons, and the Kidders. There were others not less worthy of mention that are not upon the list. These families, with their neighbors and associates, made Manchester what it was in character during the first four decades of the nineteenth century, and I now declare upon my honor, according to the best knowledge at my command, that for a country town, in the way of industry, honesty, integrity, fair deal and general intelligence, early Manchester had few superiors in the state. May we and our descendants seek to per-
From an old print.
HON. SAMUEL BLODGET.
WHO BUILT THE CANAL AROUND AMOSKEAG FALLS IN 1807.
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petuate, through many generations, the noble heritage that has come down to us from our fathers.
In 1838 a new era began in our quiet little town. On the 24th day of October occurred the first public sale of lands by the Amoskeag Corporation. In laying out the lots the engineer made a sad mistake that time will not correct or even mitigate. Elm street, the widest, longest, and most beautiful in the state, should have been laid due north and south, with all the others on the east side parallel or at right angles to it. As contemplated by the plan, it was the purpose to benefit the corporations. It did not do it, but has forever marred the symmetry of the streets and lots and the beauty of the city. After the sale, which was eminently successful, the first house erected was on the corner of Concord and Chestnut streets. Others followed in different localities, with stores and blocks on Elm street. Soon on every hand was heard the sound of ax and hammer, and the click of the trowel, and every other tool in use by builders. The town grew as if by magic. Men of tact, business, and means came to the embryo city and joined their fortunes with the old inhabitants. Our people became a busy people, and thoughtful as well, providing as far as possible for the health of the citizens, the education of the young, and the moral and religious training of all. First and prom- inent among social and fraternal organizations were the Masons and Odd Fellows, main- taining their supremacy to the present day. In seven years there were more than ten thousand inhabitants. The time had come, in the thought of the people, for a city, and on application a charter was granted by the legislature in 1846. The formal organization of the city government, under the act of incorporation, took place September 8, 1846, with the late Hon. Hiram Brown as mayor. It was a proud day in the history of Man- chester and an event of great significance to our people.
As old residents, born or living here fifty years ago, in conjunction with sixty thou- sand people, we are today celebrating the birth and growth of Manchester,-the first, the largest, and most successful city in the state. Veritably it is the "Queen City." Let the Stars and Stripes float; let the guns be fired; let the loud huzzas of our free and happy people fill the air with joy and rejoicing. And may the Divine benediction rest on the celebration and all our people.
I have but a word more to add. I began this address with an earnest purpose to vindicate the character of the early settlers of the town and subserve the cause of truth and justice; and at the same time to stimulate, if possible, the present generation of our people to new and greater sacrifices in behalf of health, education, morals, and religion. I trust I have not utterly failed in either of my plans. And now, dear friends, I give you the parting salutation. This morning we met largely as strangers; tonight we part as friends. It is the first and last meeting of our organization. When we separate the organization is dissolved. There can be no reunions. None of us will be here fifty years hence. It is "hail, and farewell!" Our prayer is that we may so live that in the end we can lie down to pleasant dreams and awake refreshed, in the heavenly and immortal kingdom!
Brief remarks were made by Rev. Claudius Byrne of Lawrence, Mass., and Prof. Henry E. Sawyer of Bradford.
The audience then joined in singing "Praise Ye Jehovah's Name."
The following verses, composed by Mrs. Clara B. Heath and inscribed to the old residents, were read by Henry B. Stearns:
OUR CITY, 1846-1896.
CLARA B. HEATH.
There was, once on a time, as story-books say- We begin our rhymes in the good old way- A village that stood by a river's side. That river which now is onr joy and pride, The beautiful Merrimack! Fairest stream That ever reflected the sun's bright beam, At least to us who have seen each phase,
Year after year, since our childhood days ;- But this village had little of wealth to show, Save the "Falls" above, and the "River" below.
Its site had once been the camping ground Of an Indian tribe; and there still were found Their broken arrows and rusted spears, Unused, perhaps, for a hundred years; Their rough stone mortars, and hatchets rude, And other relics as quaint and crude; All telling of years when the paleface fled, Or stood in fear of his brothers red; Those cruel brothers who went their way, While their hunting ground is ours today.
Years passed, and the village began to grow, And more than fourscore years ago They petitioned the court and changed its name To an old-world one well known to fame. A wise selection,-'twas hard to yield The prestige of Derry to Derryfield. The former ranked high as a prosperous town, And for years, 'tis said, looked coldly down On her humble sister, whose wealth in chief Was known at the time as "Derryfield beef."
"Tis a growing age; and quick and fast The changes came to the little town. The last was first and the first was last. As the later years have truly shown. Like the wonderful gourd of ancient times It grew and grew, till we heard the chimes, And the bells from many a steeple fair, In the quiet hours of the Sabbath morn. Ring out the summons to praise and prayer. Where late were woods or the waving corn.
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We are proud of our city, its growth and wealth, Its winsome beauty and rustic health; We could point to many a noble name Of those who have brought her wealth and fame. Her colonels and captains were in the war; Her judges and lawyers have graced the bar; Her sons have full oft filled the governor's chair; Of senate and house she has had her share; Her schools and churches have been renowned For good seed sown on a fruitful ground; While thousands have toiled, both early and late. To make her good, and to make her great; But of all that has made her rich or blest, Her beautiful river is first and best.
We are proud of our suburbs, fresh and fair, Our hills that are veiled in a purer air, Our library dim, and our boulevards, Our bridges, and boats, and electric cars; Of our airy parks, and the streets we tread, Where the elm trees meet in an arch o'erhead, While the humble toil of our shops and mills With peace and plenty the homestead fills.
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If old Rock Rimmon had chanced to stand In some noted town in a far-off land, It might have had place on history's page, Been famous for something besides its age. But seeking others to praise or applaud, Our rocks, like our prophets, must look abroad.
"Tis "a thing of beauty"-the lake so grand, That stretches across our border land- "A joy forever!" Her islands fair, Are "isles of beauty,"-and everywhere There are views to delight the artist eye, Though her waters reflected an angry sky. Lake Massabesic! In shade or sun It is seldom we see a fairer one. Its musical name was a rich bequest, The Indians left as they journeyed west.
No brook ever sang a sweeter song Than the Cohas sings as it flows along 'Twixt flowery banks, through the meadows wide, Where reeds and lilies grow side by side, And willows bend o'er the rippled tide; While the meadow lark in his airy way Joins now and then in a roundelay. 'Tis a song of hope with a glad refrain That soothes a sorrow, or stills a pain; We hear it often when far away, It seemed to ring in our ears today;
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It whispers of pleasures beyond our ken; Who listens once will listen again; Like Tennyson's brook, with its steady flow, Though men may come, and though men may go, The Cohas sparkles o'er rocks and moss, While the years go by with their gain or loss.
We had many dark days with the flag half-mast, While the storm of our civil war swept past; When sire and son wore the army blue, And fought 'neath "our flag" so brave and true; Dark days when we mourned for our nation's dead, Dark nights though our camp-fires glowed so red. We were proud of that blood so freely spent, And proud of the stately monument,
That shaft that speaks of our honored ones ;- With the bravest e'er stood New Hampshire's sons. 'Tis well their graves should be strewn with flowers, Their honor and glory is also ours.
So much for the past,-what still may be, Ere the year of our city's jubilee, But few of us here may live to see. We reap the fields by our fathers sown, We profit by wisdom they have shown; For once at least the saying is true- "They builded far better than they knew."
We say it is only fifty years Since our city had but a village fame; But think of the joys and hopes and fears, Her days of pleasure, her hours of tears, And, alas, sometimes, her hours of shame. God keep her in future, as in the past, From pestilence, famine, fire, and flood; May her coming days be fair and good, „And never by war-clouds overcast.
How few there will be of the mighty throng That walk through the streets, the grave or the gay, That will join in the march or list to the song In honor of her centennial day! Perhaps the skies that now arch us fair, May hold in their trackless fields of blue The airy wings of the ships that bear Full many a gay and gallant crew. The horseless carriage may then be known As a quaint device, long since outgrown.
Who knows but the lake on our border line May be our center, and 'mid the green Of the hills and dales of our suburbs fine Rise fairer mansions than we have seen.
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Oak hill, with its tower, may be the home Of those who study and watch the stars; And men from the east and the west may come To look through the glass in the vaulted dome, And even communicate with Mars. But the Uncanoonucs, still uncrowned, Will stand like sentinels, robed in blue; And gray Rock Rimmon, as if spellbound; And the river run like a ribbon through.
All hail, fair city! Our very own, From your highest tower to the lowest stone. For fifty years we have watched your growth, To the east, and west; to the south, and north; We have mourned your sorrows, and shared your fears, And rejoiced in the gain of the passing years. Go on and prosper-grow good and great- Queen City thou art of the Granite State; God keep thee safely, forever and aye, Till the hills and valleys shall pass away.
The meeting closed with the singing of the Doxology.
WILLIAM P. MERRILL. CHAIRMAN ENTERTAINMENT COMMITTEE.
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ADDRESS OF HON. DAVID CROSS.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8.
The old residents were provided with special seats in the tent during the literary exercises.
In the evening, in city hall, another interesting program was carried out, under direction of Chairman William P. Merrill, opening with "Auld Lang Syne." Frank H. Challis read the "First and Fiftieth Chapters of the Book of Chronicles," a series of amusing allusions to olden times, and scenes and persons concerned in the history of Manchester for fifty years.
Hon. David Cross delivered the address of the evening, as follows:
ADDRESS OF HON. DAVID CROSS.
To the fifty or sixty thousand people of the city of Manchester, this Semi-Centennial anniversary comes as a holiday, or as an oceasion when a multitude of people gather as for an ordinary purpose of celebration or thanksgiving. The great majority know nothing of Manchester as it was in 1846 and before, and have no association with its early history, with its sparse population, with its poor, sandy soil, with its unfinished streets, with its limited advantages for business, family, and school life.
In 1831, and before, the territory now covered by the city of Manchester was barren, uninviting, and seemingly undesirable as a place of residence. Reeall, if you can, Man- chester before the beginning of manufacturing in 1831. Here and there a few small dwellings; a few men engaged in rafting and boating on the Merrimack river, a little farming and fishing for salmon and eels at Amoskeag falls. I suppose the poet of the centennial, in 1851, with some humorous poetic exaggeration, pictured this feature of the town when he said:
Our fathers treasured the slimy prize; They loved the eel as their very eyes; And of one 'tis said, with a slander rife, For a string of eels, he sold his wife! From the eels they formed their food in chief. And eels were called the "Derryfield beef!" And the marks of eels were so plain to trace That the children looked like eels in the face:
And before they walked-it is well confirmed-
That the children never crept but squirmed. Such a mighty power did the squirmers wield O'er the goodly men of old Derryfield, It was often said that their only care, And their only wish, and their only prayer.
For the present world and the world to come Was a string of eels and a jug of rum!
Doctor Wallace in his centennial address states that he met a man in our western country, who had left Manchester in its carly history, who described it in this way: "That his father owned four hundred acres of land which was not worth nine pence an acre, and so he had left it for better land in the West."
With the building of the canal from the Amoskeag falls, by the Amoskcag Company, and the running of the first spindles on this side of the river, in 1839, a new era dawned upon Manchester and upon the state of New Hampshire. From that day young men and women from the hills and valleys of New Hampshire and Vermont began to seek this
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as their new home. The first people were New England born, and the girls in the mills, as well as the young men, were from the farms of New Hampshire and Vermont. Grad- ually other nationalities have continued to join us until this Semi-Centennial day, when people, Yankee, Irish, French, German, Swede, Norwegian, and others, heartily unite in singing the praises of our adopted city and pledging loyalty to our homes and our country.
In 1846, with the exception of a few native born, the people were all in the vigor of early life. They had come here for work. As a rule they were without property and they came here to earn a living. The prominent characteristic of Manchester in 1846 and since 'has been that it was a hive of industry. We have all given our days to constant and persistent labor. Labor has been honorable, and the idler has found but few congenial companions. The motto of our city seal fittingly typifies the spirit of the city: "Labor vincit"-"Labor conquers." This spirit of industry has been an inspira- tion to our people and a constant incentive to good and noble achievement. It has been impossible, in the midst of such industry, prosperity, and success, for the idle or the lazy to live with any comfort.
In memory I see Manchester for more than fifty years past, its gradual growth in population and wealth, the men and women who have lived and wrought, and who have left us, and those now remaining. The whole seems to me tonight as a panorama, which, if I had the genius of a magician, I would unfold to you, and we would all for the hour live over again the past. It is all as real to me as your presence. How can I present this Manchester of 1846 so that you may all see it and realize what it was, and what have been the changes in its material, its educational, and its social progress?
It is difficult to describe Manchester as it was at any particular date. I knew it first in 1841, and came here to reside permanently in 1844. Recall the place, those of you who can, as it was in 1841 to 1846. The principal buildings on Elm street were the Manchester House at the corner of Elm and Merrimack streets, a two-story building at the corner of Elm and Manchester, a two-story wooden building where now stands the Merchants' ·exchange, the Union building and Central block, Farley & Dunckley's store, and a few wooden structures on the east side of Elm street. There was no dwelling house in the town costing above $5,000, unless possibly the J. T. P. Hunt, Daniel Clark, and J. G. Cilley residences on Lowell street, and the residence of the agent of the Stark mills on Hanover street, now used as an orphan asyluni.
Among the young men in Manchester in 1841 and 1846, I have only time to speak of four: One a clerk in Porter & Pinkerton's grocery store, then working for $300 a year, in the wooden building now belonging to the George W. Thayer estate. Most of you, I think, remember this young man. He was first a clerk, then a partner, and then in trade for himself, soon after city clerk, and then mayor, and governor of the state. Frederick Smyth is a specimen of the young men who came to Manchester in its early history, and who achieved success and high position. As a trader, as a liberal citizen, contributing to all the charities of the town and the city, in his official positions of banker, mayor, governor of the state, and in the general government, he has been an honor to the city and to the state. We all regret that he is unable to join us in this celebration with his usual energy and activity.
Among the other men who came almost as boys was Ezekiel A. Straw, who, at first as civil engineer, and afterwards as agent and manager of the Amoskeag Corporation, came to be one of the foremost men of the state. He took a leading part in establishing the water-works, the New Hampshire Fire Insurance Company, and the city library. He was among the very first manufacturers in the country, and an important adviser in the construction of the buildings of the Exposition at Philadelphia in 1876. He would have been a leader in any community and any department of business in which he might engage. He had the rare ability of mastering any subject he undertook to
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investigate. In the manufacture and use of machinery, in the construction of mills and the application of water-power, or in the use of light and heat, he was an expert. As a legislator and governor of the state he commanded universal respect.
James A. Weston, born on a farm in the south part of the city, spent his hfe here, with the exception of two or three years about 1850. As a civil engineer, mayor of the city, governor of the state, in all his duties as a citizen, and in all positions of trust, he commanded and well deserved the high regard of the city and state. The city fittingly laid the corner-stone yesterday, upon Oak hill, of the observatory which he left the means to build.
Moody Currier was here in 1846, and still lives in serene old age to enjoy these anniversary celebrations. As a man of large literary culture, and writer of prose and verse, he is well known. As a banker, a financier, chief magistrate of the state, as a liberal giver to our city library and in many positions of important trust he lias com- manded universal respeet.
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