USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Newport > Tales from the history of Newport > Part 6
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The days after the hurricane saw a good many meetings, and much conference as to what had to be done. The results were not happy. For the end result was that each owner tackled his problem in his own way, usually with the assistance of quite impecunious work- ers from Vermont. Throughout the affected area some five billion feet of lumber was salvaged and turned over to a government agency set up for the purpose. Twenty- six storage places - including a number of ponds - were set up in Sullivan County, and although the gov- ernment arrangements were not fully satisfactory to everybody, they did form a method whereby the wreck could be transformed into much-needed cash.
So here we were with about five years' normal cut of sawed timber on hand, and no regular outlet for it. The second World War solved the problem. Like the hurricane itself, the answer came to me from a person of low degree, traveling on the Claremont train one day. "We didn't know what this was all about did we?" He then explained that without this immense supply of by- then dry lumber it would have been next to impossible for us to have carried on the (W.W. II) war successful- ly, what with the great demand for lumber for every- thing from barracks to ammunition boxes. "We didn't have no idea what t'was all about, but" continued he with a knowing wink, and with one finger pointing aloft, "there was One Feller who knew all about it." I had to agree that he was right.
Well, of course, the highways and railroads were a mess, but we had enormous help from a company of 95 CCC men, encamped in Goshen. Mostly city boys, they had been organized and trained as forest work- ers, and eventually became good soldiers. The flood wa- ters had turned that long railroad bridge at Contoocook right over on its side, and totally demolished another one further down. Crews were employed for weeks in fixing up minor washouts, but these were not the im- portant effects - the damage to our forests was the big loss, locally, and for more than a year crews were at work salvaging the trees. A lot of it couldn't be done.
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CHAPTER XI THE CORBIN STORY ORIGIN OF THE GREAT PARK - THE CORBIN FAMILY - FATAL ACCIDENT
No Newport name is more familiar than that of "Corbin." We have the Corbin bridge and the Corbin place, and more important than these we have the Cor- bin Park or Game Preserve, and lastly the Corbin Air- port.
Yet more properly speaking, none of these familar names really belongs to the prominent features it repre- sents. The Corbin Bridge and the Corbin Place might well be called the Edgell Bridge and "Rush Touton Place" and Corbin Park is officially the "Blue Mountain Forest Game Preserve." The Corbin Airport is official- ly "Parlin Airport."
The Corbin name nevertheless persists, because the name "Austin Corbin" has to do with their origins and because he himself, a native of Newport, was the town's most picturesque and powerful native.
In the history of Newport the Corbin name first appears in connection with Dr. James Corbin, who ar- rived (1791) on horseback, his wife and child on a pillion behind. Dr. Corbin appears to have been a man of con- siderable means and no less a good farmer than a "good" doctor. He proceeded to settle down here in the wilder- ness that Newport then was - not only settled here but remained to become, not Newport's first M. D. but the first to remain here permanently.
Dr. Corbin adopted a strenuous career, he had a wide practice, there being no other M. D. for miles around. His frequent calls were made on horseback, there being little but crude trails throughout the wilder- ness. He was a member of our old Corinthian Lodge of Masons. He died in line of duty Jan. 16, 1826 being then but 64 years of age. The house he built is still standing on the North Newport Road "Over The Hill" being now known as the "Minnie Davis Farm."
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Dr. Corbin brought with him from Somers, Conn., an infant son, named Austin, who had two brothers named James and Charles, both natives, who became prominent men; Austin was one of the three men who moved The Argus (early newspaper) to Newport. He was noted for his politeness and generous hospitality. James was a doctor, lived in Canada. Charles became a Colonel of the 31st Regiment.
Austin's brothers, Daniel C. and James, were among the most prominent railroad builders in all the west. Austin also became the father of the Hon. Austin Cor- bin, who we shall refer to, as "The Austin Corbin," his prominence in life removing him far above his illustrious uncles. He was born in Newport Aug. 16, 1827. He married Hannah M., daughter of Simeon and Hannah Wheeler, who was a granddaughter of the notable Rev. Jacob Haven of Croydon. Austin was bred in the law but being of a restless nature, he soon moved west and established himself at Davenport, Iowa, where he re- mained for several years.
In spite of being president of a Davenport bank; (he got the first Federal bank charter to be issued in the United States) he found Iowa life slow, and when he had accumulated several million dollars, he moved to New York City, where he became one of the great ty- coons of his period. But he never lost interest in his native town, and in the early 1890's he conceived the idea of establishing, on and near Croydon Mountain a great game preserve, the chief object of which was to save the remnants of the American Bison or buffalo, then rapidly becoming extinct. He also introduced many varities of game, including a few moose and some elk as well as a sonder of wild pigs from the Black Forest of Germany.
The whole tract comprised a matter of 28,000 acres, the whole enclosed by a wire fence eight feet above the ground and, in deference to the digging ability of the long snouted porkers, three feet additional, under ground.
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Arriving in the fast growing wilderness of New York City, Mr. Corbin proceeded to undertake projects familiar to the natives but seemingly impossible of ac- complishment. Chief of these was the purchase and total re-arrangement of a big collection of shacks on the wes- tern tip of Long Island, known since revolutionary times as "Coney Island." After endless difficulties and inter- minable labor, Mr. Corbin found himself in possession of the whole tract. He demolished and reconstructed until the place was unrecognizable. But he also found himself in possession of the finest beach in the best loca- tion on the very front doorstep of America's largest city.
He completed his work by building to it a railroad (known later as the Long Island railroad) thus started the most famous summer resort in North America - "Coney Island" - theme of song and story interminable, incredible though it may seem - the brain child of this man from Newport, N. H. - Austin Corbin.
This accomplished, Corbin returned to his favorite New Hampshire project, "The Corbin Game Preserve," 20 miles long, it included parts of five townships and the summits of three big mountains - Stowell Hill, Grantham Mountain and most important of all, three thousand foot Croydon Peak, which looks down upon and dominates the entire Sugar River Valley, and forms its chief scenic feature. The country folk were not im- pressed. They called it "Corbin's deer park." They said Mr. Corbin was destroying valuable farms to little pur- pose. Had he proposed filling the whole area with wild tomahawk Indians, he could not have been less popular.
His purchases included 63 complete farms and total land transfers numbering about 265. In the hard times which were soon to follow, this was referred to as Cor- bin's folly and the tract was called by the New York papers a big worthless chunk of New Hampshire wilder- ness populated by wild animals and thickly scattered with granite boulders.
Mr. Corbin, however, lived long enough to see the complete success of his plans. His buffalo thrived and
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multiplied, their descendants now populate every big city zoo in America (New Hampshire has even export- ed buffalo to, of all places, Oklahoma.) Only the wild pigs failed to observe the parks limits and when a big wind destroyed a western section of the fence, many of them escaped and we still hear of them as ranging some of our western New Hampshire towns.
The Elk, too, got out and started ravaging the coun- tryside, so that 20 or 25 years ago New Hampshire had to declare a one-day hunting season for elk which result- ed in some wild times, still vividly remembered by sportsmen. Only the lordly moose found the preserve too small for their spreading antlers and too lacking in the peculiar kind of moss that they require and they failed to propogate and died out.
The story goes that, once upon a time, Edward, Prince of Wales, came to hunt in the park with one of the Edgell boys and having received permission to shoot a buffalo proceeded to shoot, not one but five.
DEATH OF AUSTIN CORBIN
Included in the park in a small area which lies in Newport is a small pond called Governor's Pond. One beautiful morning in July, 1896, Mr. Corbin, then stay- ing a few days at his birthplace the famous Corbin House on the North Newport road, decided to go to Gov- ernor's Pond on a fishing trip. Unfortunately he had just bought, through the Glynn stables in Newport, a new and spirited pair of horses. The carriage was an open brougham. The horses had new harnesses with open bridles - to which they were unused. Just out- side the portchiere Mr. Corbin, according to local re- ports, occupying the rear seat, raised an umbrella, and this so frightened the horses that Stokes, the coachman, (a rather slight Englishman), lost control and they dashed wildly down the slope toward the main road, and in turning, they couldn't make the curve and the whole party was thrown upon the adjoining rocks.
Mr. Corbin at this time was nearly 70 years of age. He was a heavy man, rather short, with a barrel chest
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and short neck. The violence of his fall broke a number of bones. The coachman died in a few hours, but Austin lived until toward evening - long enough to allow the Boston surgeon, Dr. Cooley, to report that "nothing could be done." Never have I forgotten the train. It made a record run from Boston - and it must have been a wild ride. I remember it standing at Belknap Ave. crossing, air pumps beating a wild tattoo. I suppose it had simply drifted down from North Newport, where the Corbins had a private station, to gain a siding. But maybe for some unknown reason, it stopped here, and allowed the Doctor to proceed by carriage to the estate.
The Corbin house was one of the few here provided with telephone service. That saved a lot of time. Dr. Cain is said to have been on the scene within minutes' after the accident, with Dr. Stickney not far behind. Grandson Corbin Edgell sustained a broken wrist and Dr. Kunzer, German tutor, was also injured. The dead and injured were all loaded into the Corbin private car. Mrs. Stokes also joined the funeral party and so, man and master, they rolled into New York.
Bishop Williams of the Episcopal diocese of New York conducted the funeral service. There was a nota- ble group of bearers; General Tracy, Cornelius Vander- built, Senator Chandler, C. M. Platt, Sir Roderick Cam- eron, J. Rogers Maxwell, Dumont Clark, A. N. Parlin, and W. B. Kendall - all leaders of finance.
The descendants of Mr. and Mrs. Corbin were not- able people. Mary, the eldest daughter, after traveling and studying in France, married Count Champollion, grandson of the famous Frenchman who unravelled the Rosetta Stone inscriptions and so unlocked many of the secrets of Egyptian history - for which service he was made a Count of the Empire. It is a grandson, Andre Champollion, who is interesting to us. He was born in France, and, upon the outbreak of the war, in 1914 as a French citizen felt obliged to offer his services to help save France from the Hun. He may have thought that as an expert linguist he would be assigned in a non-combatant capacity such as translator. But it
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turned out that he was required to serve as a "poileau" and being taller than the average Frenchman, the trenches gave him little shelter, and he soon fell victim to a German rifleman. Newport - still, 50 years later, maintains a French flag at the Legion tree on the Com- mon, in honor of this 1915 casualty. One of Andre Champollion's paintings, a landscape, is still to be seen in the Newport library.
But the Corbin bad luck had not yet run out. An- other grandson, Harold Edgell, curator of the Metro- politan Museum in Boston died untimely, after the death of his wife by a fall from a horse. A son of theirs, graduate of West Point, was killed in an automobile crash in Virginia. The great Corbin park was incor- porated as a private hunting club, and still carries on, although with its limited membership and dislike of publicity, it is of small interest to Newport.
At the time, Newport figured that the death of Mr. Corbin was a real public catastrophy, because he had formed plans in which we figured, and which because of his death, could never be carried out.
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CHAPTER XII OUR BENEFACTORS
How Newport Has Received a Million Dollars in Gifts
This will be a chapter devoted to the tale of how our town has in the last 75 years received gifts of over a million dollars; it is undertaken in the full conscious- ness that probably of the thousands, at one time or an- other, who have lived here, few failed - even though it be only contributing a pie to a "Grand Army Supper" -failed to be a community benefactor; so this becomes a matter of degree. Those who have the means to give have given, and it behooves the rest of us to accord them due credit, and so here goes -
When compiling our list of givers, we will have to begin with the family whose name has become most often associated with gifts of considerable magnitude. So we have to start with the Richards family, and it be- comes necessary to give a little of their background:
About 1800 Sylvanus Richards came from Dedham, Mass. His ancestor is said to have been one of the ori- ginal proprietors of that ancient town. Here in New- port, he soon established the family habit of having plenty of money, for he located out on the Claremont Road on the "Dimmick Cutting" or "Judson Brooks" farm; started a wayside inn, and proceeded to raise a large family.
Some years later, he moved into town and bought of the Buells, the "Rising Sun Tavern." His brother, Leonard, was one of the men who, in turnpike days, drove one of the six-or eight-horse wagons to deliver Newport products at Boston.
Sylvanus not only carried on his farm of 400 acres, but kept a tavern, was frequently a town officer and raised a large family. Several accounts of the family state these facts, but omit telling us what finally hap- pened to him, or, like Moses of old, where his last rest- ing place may be found.
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Of his son, Seth (Capt. Seth) we know a great deal more. In the years we are discussing, Newport Village was gradually taking form. In 1811 Capt. Gordon Buell, Sarah J. (Buell) Hale's father, came down off East Mountain and built a hotel which he called the "Rising Sun" Tavern (still standing a little north of the Congre- gational Church.)
Martha Whittlesey Buell, Sarah's mother, died that year, but whether her death was a cause of Captain Gordon's selling the hotel, we may only conjecture. Seth Richards bought it but did not remain long there. He took a place near William Cheney's Common, and be- came, after that fine leader's death in 1830, his succes- sor in the Cheney store, and in forwarding many of the plans that Col. Cheney started, but had lacked the time to finish.
Among other activities, he became a militia officer and was universally known as "Capt. Seth," but which of Newport's two companies he headed I do not know.
In 1840, a man named Perley C. Coffin, in company with one John Puffer, started a woolen mill on the river east of Newport, which was named "The Sugar River Mills." Its chief product, blue mixed flannel (trade name DRP) became standard throughout the country.
The Richardses enlarged the plant from time to time and made progressive improvements until it be- came Newport's chief industry, and so remained for three quarters of a century.
It has taken a long time to reach Dexter Richards and the story of the Richards Free Library, and the later and greater gift of the Richards School. A lot of matters have to be explained before we can show these gifts in their proper setting.
It was in 1888 that Dexter Richards, son of Capt. Seth, determined to give Newport a much needed Libra- ry Building. You must realize the time element to ap- preciate the real significance of the gift; it happened long before the Federal Income Tax created a new mo-
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tive for community giving, and long before the words, "Carnegie" and "Library" became connected in the pub- lic mind.
There seems to have been no motive for this act, save a desire to see a handsome building performing daily in the direction of better community knowledge and understanding.
Of course, the building itself reflects the mood of its time. If it is high posted and difficult to heat- so was everything built in its period ; fuel was not a serious factor back in the 1890's. People in general did not have steam heat and did not expect to be warm anyway. The dedication was a grand event, with part of the ex- ercises held in the Town Hall, and of course included a general inspection of the building by the public.
As a climax of Mr. Richards' long and notable ca- reer, came the long remembered "Golden Party" which was participated in, in one way or another, by practical- ly every member of the community. The "Golden Book," housed in a golden cabinet and containing the names of almost everybody in town, was circulated and at a mag- nificent reception, held in the spacious Richards "Man- sion" on the Common, was presented to them.
I regret to report that not all of the country folks who were invited to partake of the fancy food provided by an imported caterer enjoyed it, but the party was voted a great success nevertheless, and the cabinet with its golden signatures is still preserved in the archives of the family.
This school was to have several novelties - firstly, it was to be steam-heated. (Stoves had held sway up to this time.) It was to have physics and chemistry labor- atories. The finish was to be in cyprus. Toilets (flush) in the basements. It occupies a big lot near St. Patrick's Church. It was crowned with a shining slate roof. It would hold five grades on the ground floor - with the high school above. Twice since the beginning, addi- tions have been built. It now is of about double its ori- ginal capacity. It has proved a pretty magnificent build-
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ing. It was first occupied in the fall of 1898. Dr. Tuck- er of Dartmouth gave the dedicatory address. The schools of Newport took on new life from this building.
Newport felt pretty rich with the shining roof of the Richards School shining down over everything, but 25 years later, she found herself again in need of more school space. It was then, that one of our NHS grad- uates, Loren B. Towle of Kelleyville and West Newton, Mass., and Boston, Mass., made us a new offer, "The Towle High School."
The story of the Towle High School in itself is a remarkable tale of continued and persistent disaster. In the first place, when Mr. Towle, some 25 years after graduation from Newport High, presented his offer to build a new "high" school for Newport, the offer was accepted only under conditions unacceptable to Mr. Towle, and he withdrew his offer.
Then all "Hell's Fury" broke loose. Committees journeyed to and from West Newton and Mr. Towle finally reinstated his offer.
The work started. When the roof was nearly com- pleted, the roofing contractor died, two other sub-con- tractors died and when the building was about half done, Mr. Towle unexpectedly passed away, having made no provision for any further funds. He had already spent about $70,000. Newport School District took over the work, but before it was quite finished the building caught fire and was heavily damaged.
In the face of all of these misfortunes, it was diffi- cult for Newport people to keep in mind the fact that this was, after all, Newport's largest gift up to that time.
Well, somehow or other the new Towle building got built, and has been known by the Towle name ever since - Towle High School. The name eliminates Newport as a side-partner, although Newport put in a major portion of the cost - and furnishes most of the stu- dents.
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But the Towle School, isn't all Towle. Eleven years before Mr. Towle, Frank O. Chellis graduated from New- port High. He was a lawyer and close friend of Mr. Towle. But Mr. Chellis was also an early headmaster and a very public-spirited man, and for his services in connection with this school, the name "Chellis Auditor- ium" was given the building's assembly hall. The Towle estate in Newton, came into the possession of the Catho- lic Diocese and is still one of the show places of its city.
Col. Seth Richards
Seth Mason Richards, son of Dexter, grandson of Seth, and great-grandson of Leonard, our pioneer, was born in 1850, lived here all of his life, and did his full share of contributing to the improvement and welfare of the town. To be sure he started no banks, built no libra- ries and gave no schools. These things had all been done before his time. But he was a good leader, and many things happened because of his leadership.
In 1878, he married Lizzie, granddaughter of Dea- con Farnsworth, old time Newport merchant and found- er of the Baptist Church, whose son Oliver, followed mercantile pursuits in Boston and became father of Lizzie Richards. Late in life Deacon Joseph, married the widow of Col. William Cheney, also a staunch Bap- tist, and thus were combined two of Newport's wealthi- est families.
Mrs. Seth Richards proved no less able and public spirited than was Mrs. Dexter. It was through her in- fluence in later years, when a fire seriously damaged the Richards Block, that the building was restored to its full size - against the advice of less bread-minded folk, who wanted to see it reduced. Her chief monu- ment, however is the South Church parsonage, her gift to the church, one of the beautiful residences of the town.
Well endowed, the library functioned beautifully for many years. But in time, of course, the rising of prices rendered the endowment insufficient, even after a later addition by Deacon Richards of another $10,000. To
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the rescue, way down near the middle of our own cen- tury, came an organization called "Friends of the Libra- ry" headed by Raymond P. Holden, North Newport au- thor, poet and an affiliate of the "Book of the Month Club," which has been a strong help.
Dexter Richards and his wife, Louisa Hatch Rich- ards, lived to a good old age, as they well deserved, and died full of years and of honors. A bronze tablet re- counting some of their many virtues and good works, will be found at the rear of the South Congregational Church auditorium - almost the only such memorial in town.
The fourth generation of the Richards family in Newport produced another remarkable man in the per- son of Seth M. Richards, who was Dexter's eldest son. This man built, a little north of the Dexter Richards house, a new residence which now, 70 years later, re- mains one of the most notable private residences in the state.
Seth M. became in course of time not only New- port's representative but a senator, and a member of the official family of Gov. Henry M. Quimby, a member of the Governor's Council. He also like his father, was near the close of his life, prominently mentioned for the governorship. His house has more recently been known by the name of his son-in-law, Maj. D. Sidney Rollins, whose widow still makes it her home.
George B. Wheeler
Newport was startled, not so very long ago, to learn that with the death of George Baldwin Wheeler - for 30 years one of the owners of The Argus, a half million dollars - more or less - had been devised to the town. This was to be divided between the Hospital and the public schools, with little restriction upon its use.
George B. Wheeler came from a very distinguished family hereabout. The Wheelers came from that strip of land over near Cornish, which seems about half to belong to Croydon, and which produced the Stowes, Met-
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calfs and other excellent people. George B.'s father was Col. Edmund Wheeler, producer of that History of New- port often referred to in his work. George was a lone- ly sort of man - never married - and possessing an impediment of speech which led to a lonely life. He was not anti-social - he merely did not want to bother people. So he just sat alone and studied things out. And to much purpose. It is true he inherited a good deal of money, but he made much more. Chiefly through care- ful study and appraisal of the stock market. The great panic of 1929 wiped out many less careful investors. But not George Wheeler. Well did he know the market. He considered its prices crazy and failed to consider them permanent. He saw the crash coming. And well in advance HE SOLD OUT. Then he had plenty of capi- tal to reinvest at conservative costs. And finally he gave all his winnings to the town, save a few personal bequests. And so among other things, we have as a physical part of the Towle High School, the "Wheeler Gymnasium" cheerfully ignoring the possibility that Mr. Wheeler himself in all probability never was in such a place in his life.
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