USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Newport > Tales from the history of Newport > Part 5
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And tho a shade of sadness fall, That come who may, they come not all, Yet Love shall here his torch renew, And Hope, renewed, look upward, too.
And while with grateful hearts we say The God of old is ours today, The same who led our fathers on Till Freedom's heritage was won.
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Still onward leads, while blessings flow As Heaven has turned its tide below, Oh, may each voice a spirit free Bless God for this sweet jubilee.
ROMAN CATHOLIC
The great potato famine of 1848-49 in Ireland did not immediately affect Newport. Shiploads of immi- grants came over the Atlantic but in spreading out did not reach this far inland for some time. Ultimately, they did. The oldest Catholic Church in the state is located at West Claremont, and back in the 1850's it began to be noticed that on Sunday foot passengers were more numerous on the Claremont road than at any other time. As afterward disclosed, Newport Catholics were making a practice of walking the 12 miles to Mass at Claremont and then walking back.
This could not go on very long, of course, and some- time in the late 1850's a mission was established here under the care of Father O'Sullivan of the Claremont church. When the Masons abandoned their old quar- ters in the Matson-Burke-Dudley-Saggiotes block on lower Main Street, the Catholic order promptly moved in and continued in this building for nearly 10 years, in the status of a mission. The Catholic Church (St. Pat- rick's) was established in 1875. Land was given by Dexter Richards - a Congregational deacon, by the way - at a very sightly spot on what was then Chase Street, corner of Summer, and a handsome church was erected. The parish grew and in the 1900's a committee headed by Governor Murphy greatly enlarged the church. The building had been originally a rather high and narrow structure and the changes greatly improved its propor- tions. Some years before a parochial residence had been added to the plant. "Assumption Hall" across School Street has been added to take care of the social activi- ties of the parish, and now the plant is complete and satisfactory, and serves the largest congregation in town.
An early supporter and liberal contributor to the church was Patrick Herrick. He was Dexter Richards'
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right-hand man for many years, but probably never had any exactly defined office, having been what would now be called "an executive." He died and was buried in a family tomb on the grounds of the church.
After Father O'Sullivan, three priests stand out in the affections of the parishioners: Fr. Finnigan, Fr. Sweeney, and Fr. Shields, the present (1961) incumbent. Several times there has been a movement toward a par- ochial school but so far none has been established. There has always been, however, need for a social hall with accompanying facilities, and in 1952 the church had a chance to buy a near-by property with a large barn, and this has now been remodeled into a hall which is called "Assumption Hall," and serves the church very well. The pastor is now obliged to have an assistant.
CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY
The Episcopalians have had a church organization ever since the beginning of the century, but although a church building was provided in 1908, Newport was in the status of a mission until 1928. The church building itself was made possible by the gifts of Mrs. George H. Edgell, daughter of Austin Corbin. The design, quite reminiscent of an old English parish church, was the work of Col. Sam. DeWolfe Lewis of Newport, who was really a banker rather than an architect, but who great- ly preferred the latter occupation. He has several other buildings to his credit, all showing considerable genius.
The first half century of Episcopalian effort show- ed slow development, even though the members display- ed notable devotion and energy, but with the advent of resident clergymen again, the church began to spring into full being. Like St. Patrick's, it was handicapped by the lack of proper facilities for church school and other parish activities, until it was proposed to develop the space under the church. This was undertaken with great enthusiasm partly by the members themselves, and with professional assistance the work was finished and called "The Undercroft." Mission status is now in the past, and the church is enjoying a full and active life in the community.
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This church was established in a singuarly beauti- ful location on the old Albert S. Wait property at the corner of Park and Grove Streets. The old Wait house, next to the Baptist Church, was once used as a parson- age by the Episcopalians, but for reasons of financial stringency they were obliged to sell it, retaining only enough land on Cedar Street for the church itself. Later, however, they were fortunate enough to have it return- ed to them, and it is now repaired, rejuvenated and again used as a parsonage.
GREEK ORTHODOX
Newportonians who now thought their church building complete for a while at least were pleasantly surprised when, about 1950, the Greek people, who had been growing in numbers, wealth and influence all through the first half of the century, blossomed out with a new church property. They procured land on Winter Street and proceeded to build in a style somewhat dif- ferent from any before seen here. This church, heed- ing the new conditions created by the rapid increase of motor transportation, chose a big wide-open lot, which gave room not only for a handsome church structure, but left space for 200 or more automobiles. This church also was built high enough to leave basement space for a well-equipped hall, thus achieving what the older deno- minations had each been a long time in developing. This church is a branch of the Greek Orthodox faith, which looks to Constantinople for leadership. In order to get at the roots of this we have to go back to the Emperor Constantine who established the Eastern church.
SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST
Church development during our second 100 years may be said, barring a somewhat brief interlude of liber- alism under the Unitarian and Universalist banners, to have been characterized by a gradual swing away from the strict doctrines of the Baptist and Congregational dogma and into less and less strictly denominational channels.
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Now, however, roughly in the second quarter of the second century, we behold a reversal of the trend, and the coming of the Adventist and Christian and Mis- sionary Alliance movements, which may be roughly called Fundamentalist. North Newport, which has tra- ditionally showed the way in church movement, again took the lead, and in 1950 or there-abouts these people built a church and opened a parochial school at the north end of town. They also have a pastor, who follows the pattern of the older "elders" and combines the duties of church leader with civilian occupations. The school, recognized under the regular school system, is, I believe, closed at the moment. However, if the movement is as virile as it seems to be, the school may be progressing again before this comes to your eyes.
OUR CHURCHES
The original church in Newport was the Baptist. That is, it was the first to be organized. This took place on "Baptist Hill" which is to say, in the neighbor- hood of North Newport, and it stayed there until the conversion of Col. Cheney, who no sooner joined any- thing but he took over its management. So it was not long before Col. Cheney presented the land necessary to the church at the same time he gave us the Common. This accounts for the magnificent location at the head of Newport Common.
As first laid out the church faced Main Street. It was rebuilt and turned around in 1872, giving us its present appearance. Nobody seems to be able to classify this structure, (it seems to conform to no particular style), but architectually it is a success.
Prominent in the view here presented is the Metho- dist church. Methodism offically did not arrive here until the 1850's, when a split in the South Church, oc- casioned the bringing to light a Methodist movement which had been in existence a number fo years, under "Father" Wakefield, well known citizen of North New- port.
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This movement came into life, and a vigorous church sprang into existence. It happened that a ready-made site, and a most desirable one, awaited this church for the old and celebrated "Tontine," a building as long as our Richards Block, had just been torn down, creating a natural site for the Methodists - who seem to have been prompt in seizing it. The Post Office now covers a part of this land.
Both these churches have enjoyed magnificent re- building operations and both have installed illuminated memorial windows, and the gift of the finest in church organs. Prominent in Methodist giving has been the Fairbanks family, with three generations of active giving.
John Fairbanks is the present representative of the family and he now holds a seat in the town's gov- erning body - the Selectmen, also is a recent town moderator.
The Baptist movement has owed less to individual generosity, and more to congregational action. There was the gift of Deacon Charles M. Emerson. Deacon Emerson's wife, Jeal, was a leading member of the Fletcher family Missionary Society, long active here- about. He it was also who built the handsome house now occupied as a Moose Club House. It was a grand- son of his, also for whom was set up the Kendall Room at the Newport Veterans' Club. Lt. Col. Kendall, a West Pointer, was killed in action in Italy. The Bap- tist bell is one of our two Revere-cast bells in town. It was bought in 1823 and never has been re-cast.
The Baptist minister Rev. William F. Brown, is at present the informal "dean" of the Protestant clergy in town, having been minister much much longer than any of his co-workers. He is also beloved on account of quality of mind and heart.
The early records of the church were long ago destroyed in a household fire; so it is now impossible to produce very much of them.
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All the older churches rejoiced in elaborate horse- sheds - in order that the church-goers of other years might put away their rigs on rainy Sundays. The ex- tent of these horse-sheds was truly remarkable. Joseph Parmelee's poem "Muster Day" indicates some of the unofficial uses to which these structures might be put. It seems that when one of the Grantham riflemen par- took too liberally of the contents of his canteen, his comrades laid him away in the Baptist refuge and then went home without him. It was moonlight when he awoke, and a moon-eyed calf nearly scared the life out of him. Viva horse-sheds. All these churches have been well supported and have contributed much to the culture of the town as well as to the scenic attractive- ness of the village.
THE MILLERITES
I would like to bring this pretty long and serious chapter to a close by relating an incident which in some aspects borders on the comic. Only, of course, well-bred people like you and I do not regard as funny any belief, however grotesque, which is sincerely held by anybody. So this curious manifestation, which seems to have had numerous followers here, as elsewhere, must be respect- ed even though all its disciples have long ago been gathered to whatever reward is reserved for the simple of mind and heart.
In the fall of 1842 and winter of 1843 a prophet named William Miller arose in Massachusetts, who pro- phesied the end of the world, which was to occur on a certain date - April 4 to be exact. As usual, North Newport was the center of local excitement, but it also appears that the "old red store" at the corner of Maple and Main, no - not where the telephone office now stands (that was the residence of Editor Harvey of the Argus) but the other east side corner. This was the old Wilcox store, where stood the whipping post.
Rooms were fitted up in a part of the building and fervid meetings were held. Wheeler says "It is diffi- cult for one not an eye-witness to conceive of the wild
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frenzy which prevailed as approached the day when they were to see the world enveloped in flames which should burn it up and all the wicked, while they, themselves, were to be caught up into the clouds unscathed."
The impassioned eloquence of their leaders, the thrilling strains of music, in which all joined, contribut- ed to the intensity of feelings of the hour. Of course, when "the Day" came, nothing happened, and the "saints" returned to their homes, families and occupa- tions, if, indeed, any still remained to them.
Newport's biggest celebration and did we decorate! The Centen- nial Celebration of 1911.
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CHAPTER X STORM 1821 - 1842 - 1938 OTHER BAD MOMENTS HERE AND NEARBY
In the first 40 years of our history we possess no re- cord of any exceptional storm or flood or other catastro- phy of more than passing note. But in 1821, occurred an event which has been rumbling down the halls of time ever since. It was a sure-enough cyclone, with all the attendant well recognized phenomena - cone-shaped funnel, now broad, now small; heavy rocks lifted out of their beds, straws driven into hardwood trees and more important, an infant lifted out of its bed and dropped into Sunapee's Job's Creek, a quarter mile away.
Half way between Sunapee village and Georges Mills, a side road leads up to what is now known as Brown's Hill - said to afford the finest possible view of the whole lake. On this hill, back in the 1820's lived a man named John Harvey Huntoon. It was in this fam- ily that the cyclone - for such it assuredly was - pro- duced its only fatality in this area, although several deaths were reported over in Kearsarge Gorge, Warner and Sutton. It appears that Newport itself didn't feel this storm very acutely - at least we have no account of it in our town histories. But a manuscript furnished by Mrs. Pearl M. Perkins, long-time Argus correspon- dent at Sunapee, gives a detailed account, a part of which follows:
"On the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 9, 1821, oc- curred the famous tornado in Central New Hampshire. The day before had been very warm and sultry, although the sun shone brightly. The wind blew from the south- west until about six o'clock, when a very black cloud was seen to rise in the northwest and as it passed to the southwest, the lightning was incessant. About 6:30 the wind suddenly changed to north, and a peculiar looking brassy cloud was seen in the northwest. As it came nearer it was noted that a cylinder or inverted cone of vapor seemed to be suspended from it. It did not seem
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to have any very destructive force until reaching Cor- nish and Croydon. It passed from Croydon to Sunapee, then into New London and Sutton, over Kearsarge moun- tain into Warner, finally ending its course in the edge of Boscawen. It is said to have commenced near Lake Champlain.
"One observer, a woman in Warner, stated that its appearance was like a trumpet, the small end downward; also like a great elephant's trunk, let down out of heaven and moving slowly along. When it reached the easterly part of the town, the lower part seemed to be taken up from the ground and bending around in a serpentine form, until it passed behind a black cloud and disappear- ed. This view was from a distance of three miles. It was attended with but little rain in parts of its course - more in others.
"It lowered the water in a pond in Warner three feet. The width of its track was from six rods to half a mile, changing with the height of the cloud, which rose and fell. Its force was the greatest when it was most compact. In Croydon, besides other damage, the house of Deacon Cooper was shattered, his barn and other buildings swept away."
(Resuming the Sunapee narrative) the account says "No other buildings were directly in its narrow path until it reached Sunapee Lake. Here it came in contact with the buildings of John Harvey Huntoon. The house contained eight persons. The tornado, after a brief warning, was upon them, and the house and two barns were instantly thrown to the ground. One side of the house fell upon Mr. Huntoon and his wife, who were standing in the kitchen. The next moment it (the house) was blown away and dashed to pieces. Mrs. Hun- toon was carried at least 10 rods. A child of 11 months was sleeping on a bed in one room. The dress it wore was afterward found in the lake 150 rods away, but the child could not be found. The following Wednesday its mangled body was picked up on the shore of the lake where it had been carried by the waves. The bed-stead was found 80 rods from the house and northerly of the
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hurricane's track. The other seven persons were in- jured, but none fatally."
From Wendell or Sunapee, the cyclone crossed the lake to the New London shore, and it is said that down back of the Deacon Davis place, (Route 103B), its track can still be traced if one knows where to look. Much damage was done in New London, but it was only after the storm had ripped its way over Kearsarge Mountain, seemingly much enraged by the obstruction, and slid down the mountain's easterly slope, that it vented its full fury destroying a dozen sets of buildings and kill- ing half a dozen people. Part of the story relates to a dozen half-grown turkeys which were roosting on a fence. The cyclone whirled them all up into the air, and it was said at the time that no trace not even a feather of them ever was found.
TORNADO OF JULY, 1848
The following account is taken from The Argus & Spectator of Aug. 4, 1848. Remembering that it would require a pretty frightful storm at that period to pry a notice out of our local editors, who were too much saturated with politics to take notice of such happen- ings, it appears that Old Boreas must have been pretty rough to rate this unusual outburst. The storm was, of course, in late July, this paper having been that printed or dated, Aug. 4. The Argus said:
"The tornado, which passed over this region on Thursday, seems to have left its card at various points. Fences were razed to the ground, trees blown over, corn fields were torn to pieces, barns unroofed, chimneys thrown down, windows broken, etc. In this village it seemed disposed to respect private property more than usual in similar cases, and gave no attention to anything short of public buildings. Accordingly, it hurled bricks from the chimney of the jail, walked into the Universal- ist chapel (Johnson's store) through a window, entered the County Safe (Municipal Building) in like manner, and finished the exploit by carrying away the scales from the cupola of the Court House - thus sparing the
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throne cf Justice while demolishing its emblem. We perceive the wooden cannon atop the gun house has been dismounted, and Boreas took it along with him. - With the emblems of war and justice in each hand he doubtless pursued his journey with 'impunity and great boldness.' "
This event was doubtless no "tornado," but just a big wind, as these terms were loosely applied to storms of the period. The Sunapee blow, however, seems to have been a real tornado - the first and last ever re- ported in this state. In a separate story, headed with the caption "Distressing Casualty," we learn that this storm was much more serious in the neighboring town of Cornish. It may have been somewhat modified in get- ting over Cornish mountain - provided it came from that direction. Let us quote again -
"We learn that the house of Mr. Andrew Dodge (of that town) was blown down during the gale of Thurs- day, and four persons, Mrs. Andrew Dodge Jr. and three of her children, were crushed to death beneath the ruins. There were nine persons in the house at the time, those who escaped with their lives being more or less injured, some of whom, it is feared, will not recover. But one of their number, a lad of 14, was able to extricate him- self without assistance, and it is probably owing to this fortunate circumstance that the others obtained relief. He lost no time in procuring assistance from neighbors a half-mile distant, who removed old Mr. and Mrs. Dodge and two living children, the youngest of whom was found clasped in the arms of its dead mother."
From here it will be necessary to pass over several interesting manifestations of nature and tell about the well-remembered hurricane of Sept. 4, 1938.
THE 1938 HURRICANE
Quite unlike the tornado of 1821, which after all was kind of a local affair, the big wind of 1938 was part
+Note : There was at this time a "gun house" about where Towle High School now stands. There may have been another on Court House Common.
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of what has been described as the "greatest single disas- ter (property-wise anyway) in American history." The huge loss was due, not only to the severity of the storm, involving the combined effects of flood, waves and wind, but the wide area to which they were applied - prac- tically all New England, the richest and most thickly settled portion of the nation. Here in Newport and vi- cinity, we suffered no loss of life, but in every other particular we went right along with the rest of the re- gion.
The hurricane was preceded by four days of the heaviest rain anybody could remember. This softened the ground so deeply that trees, deprived of the support of their roots, fell an easy victim to the raging winds which soon came upon them; The season was just at the opening of schools and colleges, when the summer people were reluctantly closing their estates, getting their young folks back to school, and in general readying themselves for the fall and winter season. So the houses were caught mostly empty but only half prepared for the winter season.
Trouble developed in the late afternoon of Wednes- day, Sept. 21, when trees began to go down, and by mid- night the monster was upon us in full force. The storm came in from the southeast, which maybe was the best quarter for Newport, as it gave us some protection from Sunapee mountain and other high lands in that direction. The net result was that over across our valley, on the Pine St. side, destruction was exceptionally heavy. A young pine grove just back of the Fairbanks' place was flattened, and extensive damage continued for a mile or more toward the north. The direction of the storm was of especial importance over on Lake Sun- apee, for places such as The Boulders, North of the harbor, were exposed to the full blast of the storm, with terrific results. Surprising thing about this blow was that trees could be stripped away so generally with little or no damage to houses, even of campar- atively light construction.
It was a wild night here in Newport. "Call to quar- ters" summoned our firemen, military units and semi-
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military units, which all stood ready to answer any alarm, and all through the night went out details to rescue persons caught in various kinds of trouble, and secure property. About midnight the metal roof of the Eagle Apartments, somewhat weakened by age, blew off, and the American Legion disaster unit was sum- moned and quickly spread tarpaulins over the threaten- ed areas, and otherwise acted to save property. One thing they could do nothing about-three big chimneys on the building blew over, two of them into Main and Central Sts., and the third and biggest one onto an an- nex. But nobody was hurt.
Of course, telephone and electric service was crip- pled over a wide area so that emergency crews were engaged for weeks in disentangling wires and setting new poles. Television antennas had not yet made their appearance, otherwise they would have added to the huge job of replacement. William Graves of Sunapee, however, an early amateur wireless operator, was able to contact distant places and inform anxious persons of the safety of relatives known to be in our area, and as to the needs of their property. The big estates on the east shore were pretty much all a shambles - a tangle of great trees lying prone and a bar to egress or ingress.
This condition was immediately recognized as an additional fire hazard and Gov. Murphy immediately issued a warning proclamation. No fires resulted, how- ever, and it was soon recognized that the great number of green trees which toppled over were the answer to this. However, it was also recognized that in time a bad fire hazard would result.
One of the bad spots was on the Hay-Whitney estate in Newbury, where more than a million feet of lumber was salvaged. It must be realized that when this disas- ter came about, the Great Depression, which had got under way in the early thirties, was still on, and artifi- cial employment was everywhere being resorted to. I was, a little later, going to Concord one day and picked up a laborer from the Hay estate. "Ain't it a shame," said he, "that something like this has to happen before anybody will give us a job."
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