USA > New Hampshire > The Connecticut River Valley in southern Vermont and New Hampshire; historical sketches > Part 13
USA > Vermont > The Connecticut River Valley in southern Vermont and New Hampshire; historical sketches > Part 13
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ber of strokes announced the sex (three strokes for a man and two strokes for a woman) followed by the number of strokes corresponding to the age of the deceased.
The first church building of the parish was, in 1867, replaced by the present beautiful stone structure, the building being occupied for the first time on Christmas day. In 1891, Schouler Memorial Parish House was presented to the parish by the late Mrs. James H. Wil- liams (2d), in memory of her parents.
There is no record of a resident rector until 1810. The most notable incumbency in that office in the history of the church, in point of length of service, was that of Rev. Carlton Chase, D.D., who was later the bishop of New Hampshire. He served the parish from 1819 to 1844, and the second longest term was that of Rev. David L. Sanford who served from 1889 to 1908. The present rector, Rev. John G. Currier, came to the parish in December, 1919.
The second church building in Bellows Falls was the present Methodist building, erected in 1835. The Congregational church was erected in 1851. The first Catholic Mass was said in this village in 1848, while the railroads were being built, but they did not erect their present building until 1885. The present Baptist church building was built in 1860, and the last church building in the village, that of the Universalist society, was built in 1880 and 1881.
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ST. CHARLES (CATHOLIC) CHURCH -FIRST MASS IN 1848
St. Charles (Catholic) Church of Bellows Falls is one of the strong and effective church organizations of the Connecticut Valley. It is building up a widespread influence for good in this and surrounding towns, having an interesting historic background.
As far as can be ascertained, the first mass ever said in Bellows Falls, or its vicinity, by any priest of the Catholic church, was during the year 1848. Until that year but few Catholics had come to this town, but the building of the different railroads at about that time brought a large number of Irish Catholics here.
From 1848 to 1853, Father Daley, a missionary of the Franciscan order, who was connected with the Boston diocese, visited this section once in three months, holding services in various dwellings of his communicants, and in a large building that stood near where the present office of the Vermont Farm Machine Company is. In a report made by Father Daley at about that time, the Bishop was informed that the number of Catholics in Rocking- ham, Windsor, Woodstock and Plymouth was about four hundred.
In September, 1850, Bishop Fitzpatrick of Boston, accompanied by Revs. George Fenwick and Samuel Mulledy, visited Bellows Falls, coming here from Rut- land. No available hall seemed adapted to the wishes of the bishop, and, looking about the village, he was struck by the beauty of the large pine grove, then standing in the village just north of the present church edifice. He determined to hold his services there, and of this he
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wrote : "On the hill at the west side of the village is an extensive pine grove. We find there a beautiful place for divine service. Two parallel lines of tall pine trees form a nave about a hundred feet long, covered by limbs which form an arch above. The ground is entirely free from undergrowth and perfectly dry. At the extremity of this natural nave a temporary sanctuary is formed of cotton cloth, enclosing three sides, and covering the top to keep off the wind. Four masses are celebrated in the forenoon." He also stated that people came from a radius of twenty-five miles and a great number con- fessed. Also, that the service was in both English and French, and that over a thousand people were present, only a few of whom he considered to be Protestants.
Bishop DeGoesbriand, of the diocese of Burlington, in 1853, celebrated mass in Island Hall, recently used as a boarding house known as the Fall Mountain House. In 1854, Fr. Druon came here regularly from Burlington, establishing his services in the old brick school house of the village, which stood at the corner of School and Cherry Streets, now the site of the residence of Judge Warner A. Graham, and he purchased the building in May of that year. It was remodeled and en- larged for church purposes, named St. Charles church, and served until the dedication of the present fine church building of the same name, on November 4, 1885.
The architect of the new building was George H. Guernsey, of Montpelier, and its cost, with the grounds, was $28,000. The present parochial dwelling was first occupied in January of 1895, and cost $14,500.
In 1894, a large and delightfully located tract of land was purchased for cemetery purposes on the south
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side of "The Basin" about a mile south of the church, Vicar General Lynch, of Burlington, blessing it in September, 1898.
At this time St. Charles parish is much the largest one in town, comprising over three hundred families and over seventeen hundred members.
Father Druon, who came here in 1854, surrendered the parish the following year and it was then served by Rev. Charles O'Reilly, of Brattleboro, until 1869, when he was succeeded by Rev. Joseph Halpin, each having charge of both parishes. Rev. Edward Gendreau came to Bellows Falls, as the first resident pastor, in 1871. In 1882, Rev. Edward C. Reynolds came to assist Fr. Gendreau, and he succeeded to the pastorate in July, 1883. He served his parish longer than a minister of any church in the history of Bellows Falls. He was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in 1852; graduated from St. Bonaventure's College, Alleghany, N. Y., and Grand Seminary, at Montreal, where he was ordained just before coming to Bellows Falls. His whole priestly career was identified with Bellows Falls, and he exercised a strong influence for good over those to whom he min- istered. He died February 19, 1919, and was succeeded by Rev. James D. Shannon, who conducted the parish until April 7, 1927, when he was transferred to Benning- ton. During Fr. Shannon's local administration the parish was freed from all indebtedness incurred by the acquisition and erection of the extensive parish build- ings, and he left it with a handsome balance on hand. He was temporarily succeeded by Rev. Fr. John J. Cullion of West Rutland, Vt.
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Rev. Thomas J. Henry, the present priest of the parish, came here in April, 1928, from West Rutland. The parochial school was established in 1912, and it now numbers over 300 pupils. The public school build- ing, known as the "Old High School" building, was pur- chased by them in 1913, and that year a most creditable convent building for the accommodation of the teachers was erected.
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THE "ISLAND HOUSE," A POPULAR SUMMER HOTEL, 1850-1885
Until a comparatively recent time, people approach- ing Bellows Falls from the north or the south observed as a prominent feature of the landscape a stately building on the highest point of the island, a large brick building with high white pillars, which had, since its erection in 1849, been a prominent feature of the business life of Bellows Falls. It was the "Island House" building which from 1849 until about 1868 was one of the most popular hotels of the Connecticut valley, patronized before the Civil War by an extremely wealthy class of people from the South, on their way to and from the White Mountains, and as a summer hotel. It was the scene of many social triumphs and the home of both beauty and greatness.
Until the first named year it had been the site of one of the best dwellings of the village, built about 1792 by Dr. Samuel Cutler, occupied by him, and later by his son-in-law, Rector Carlton Chase, who was later Epis- copal Bishop of New Hampshire. In 1849-50 Col. Ros- well Shurtleff remodeled the old dwelling for a hotel and it was destroyed by fire before being opened. The Colonel then erected the present four-story brick struc- ture, as the railroads were then just being built into the village from four different directions. For years it was a noted success, drawing a high grade of patronage from wide areas. The Civil War caused a loss of that class of patronage.
Early in its history much money was expended on its surroundings and in providing excursions and enter- tainment for its guests. Col. Shurtleff owned nearly
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all the land on the island. He had two bowling alleys near where the present office of the Vermont Machine Co. is, and the frame building across the street, recently occupied as the Fall Mountain House (now vacant), was erected for an entertainment hall that saw many scenes of gaiety and festivity. For some years it was the largest and best public hall in the village. The stables and ex- tensive gardens and greenhouses were in the rear of the hotel building, on land now covered by the works of the Robertson Paper Co. and the Co-operative Creamery, while across Bridge Street in front and on the two sides were parks with fountains and statuary. A beautiful grove of pines extended over the whole length of the rocky river bank opposite the falls.
A good carriage road was built to the summit of Mount Kilburn and a sightly picnic and observation house built on Table Rock could be seen for many miles up and down the Connecticut, with its Grecian architec- ture and its white pillars. All during the summer sea- son, carriages took guests twice each day to the top of the mountain, and also to the noted Abenauqui mineral spring two miles south on the New Hampshire side of the river.
The decline of the summer business late in the '60s and in the '70s led to a gradual sale of the property sur- rounding the house on the island. Manufactories crept in, the branch railroad to the mills was built along the river bank, destroying its picturesqueness, and the man- agers lost money each year. As a result, it was closed as a hotel in the fall of 1887, and the main part of the build- ing has been for several years a part of the buildings of
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the Vermont Farm Machine Co., occupied largely for storage.
This hotel was at different times the abiding place of a number of eminent people. President Ulysses S. Grant was a guest, and spoke to a large concourse of people from the balcony over the south door, on August 7, 1869. The veteran General, W. T. Sherman, spoke from the same balcony July 23, 1869. On October 3, 1853, the Ancient and Honorable Artillery of Boston had a noted banquet within its walls, and of the frag- ments that remained of the feast on the next day there were picked up six hundred and fifty bottles, the con- tents of which had contributed to the conviviality of the occasion. The bill of fare for that occasion, of which there is still one at least in existence, is one of the most exten- sive, and beautifully printed, of any similar occasion of its kind known to have been held here.
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MORGAN'S TAVERN-OLDEST BUILDING IN BELLOWS FALLS-MORGAN FAMILY
The old building at the northwest corner of the Square, the first building going north on the west side of Rockingham Street, is the oldest building of any kind now standing in Bellows Falls village. It is adjacent to the Central House building and on a part of the same lot. It was known for many years subsequent to 1798 as "Morgan's Tavern." Quartus Morgan, who became its proprietor that year, often remarked that "it was a very old building when I bought it."
Mr. Morgan came to Bellows Falls in the spring of 1798 from West Springfield, Mass., making the journey with his wife on horseback. Their household goods came up the river by the flat boat which then plied between here and Hartford, Conn. He had already purchased, through the influence of his brother-in-law, Leverett Tuttle, who was a part owner of the line of Connecticut river boats, this property which had been used several years as a tavern. This village was at that time having its first boom, for work had been actively prosecuted several years on the building of the canal, which has in all the years since then been such an active factor in the business of the place. The canal was begun in 1792 and the first boats passed through it in August of 1802, ten years later. All accounts indicate that this old hotel, or tavern, was a large factor then, and for many years thereafter, in the business and social life of the small village.
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After the navigation of the river began, this old building was one of the most important stopping places, for all kinds of refreshments, of any tavern for many miles north and south. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan continued it as a tavern until 1814, when, Mr. Morgan having died in 1810, and Mrs. Morgan having erected the dwelling on her farm just north of the village, now occupied by the family of William De St. Croix, she sold the tavern property. It is not known how long it was continued as a tavern, but probably until after the first hotel build- ing had been erected on the present site of Hotel Wind- ham in 1816. Since then the occupancy has been a varied one, mostly for tenements above and mercantile purposes on the ground floor.
In January of 1923 the local organization of Odd Fellows received a deed of it, together with the stables in the rear, with the expectation of sometime erecting a building to be occupied partially by them for fraternal purposes. Quartus Morgan was appointed postmaster of Bellows Falls in 1804 and continued in that office until his death in 1810. The office was located during these years in this building. His original appointment papers in 1804 and again in 1809, together with much correspondence in relation thereto with the department at Washington, are treasured in the town clerk's office. Among the letters are several written by hand, evidently with a quill pen, by the postmaster general himself, when the business of his department was not quite as voluminous as now. Also in the collection are a number of county licenses to Mr. Morgan as an "Inn Keeper" of that olden time.
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Jabez Hills, probably the most eccentric citizen in the history of Bellows Falls, succeeded Mr. Morgan as postmaster in 1810 and the office was that year moved to the Hall & Green general store on the east side of the Square. Mr. Hills retained the office twenty years, or until 1830.
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"TURKEY-SHOOTS" A POPULAR DIVERSION OF A CENTURY AGO-HOTELS BENEFITED
As the Thanksgiving season approached in early years, the practice of having "turkey shoots," and shooting at a mark for other prizes, was indulged in by the citizens of practically all the villages in this section of New England, and was the source of much fun and entertainment. Only a few of the present older resi- dents remember the thrills that came with the practice, which resulted in there being a much greater proportion of excellent marksmen than at the present time.
Turkeys and other game were set up on benches at a fairly long distance and shot at by contestants until blood was drawn, the bird then becoming the property of the lucky marksman, who had previously paid a vary- ing price per shot, depending upon the length of the range. In a similar way all kinds of property were disposed of, the shooting being at a mark.
The proprietors of hotels were usually those in charge of the shooting, as it would largely benefit their bar, the crowd attending such "shoots" usually being a thirsty one. The early Bellows Falls newspapers abound in frequent advertisements regarding these. Among the landlords of this vicinity most frequently advertising such sports was John Robertson of "Robert- son's tavern," which stood where Hotel Windham now does in this village, Peter Evans and John Pierce of Charlestown, John R. Gibson and Amos Hitchcock of Rockingham.
The following advertisement in the Bellows Falls Intelligencer of January 14, 1822, is a sample of many
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others which varied according to circumstances, and the class of property to be disposed of. These, in those days, took the place of the present practice of "selling by ticket."
"TO SPORTSMEN
"The subscriber, on the 24th inst. at 9 o'clock A. M., will set up a target to be shot at, distance 30 rods, tickets one dollar each, not exceeding 54. The prize will be an OX weighing eleven cwt., well fatted. The marksman who comes the nearest the center of the target to draw the prize. Likewise a large fat cow will be set up if the tickets can be sold.
"Tickets to be had at the bar of said Robertson's hotel.
JOHN ROBERTSON."
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BAPTISMS IN THE BELLOWS FALLS CANAL
From the time of the organization of the first Bap- tist church in Bellows Falls in 1856, until the year 1871, this church observed the ordinance of baptism in the Bellows Falls canal at a point near where the Claremont Paper Company's mill now stands. The present changes being made at that point by the new hydraulic develop- ment remind a number of the older residents of the observance of the rite there in those early years. The canal at that time flowed wide open, and formed a large pond at that point, in which at times logs were stored to be cut up by the two saw mills and other manufacturies of those days. Large audiences gathered on the bank back of the Fenton and Howard stores to watch the immer- sions, the ordinance often being observed in the winter time when it was necessary to cut holes in the ice for the purpose. In 1871 changes were made in the canal and at that place it was covered over. Then the church had a baptistry placed in its house of worship, and the use of the canal for that purpose was discontinued.
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BARN RAISING WITH (AND WITHOUT) RUM- A NOTABLE INCIDENT IN ATHENS
Until comparatively recently there has been for many years a large and well-executed sign in a promi- nent position on the front of a barn in the town of Athens, about ten miles from Bellows Falls, reading, "Anti-Rum and Tobacco." The original owner of the farm, Thomas Wyman, came there early in the last century when the locality was a wilderness. He cleared the land and resided there many years. The barn sign was a reminder of the fact that it was the first barn in this locality for many miles around that was "raised" without the assistance of the traditional supply of rum, always expected to be served on such occasions. Mr. Wyman was always one of the most ardent advocates of temperance to be found, and his influence in this respect was greatly felt. When this barn had been framed, and the bents were ready to be raised, he determined to break the previously universal practice of furnishing liquors, a supposed necessity upon such occasions. Plenty of good food had been provided and the neighbors had gathered from miles around, but when the time came they refused to lift the frame without the rum. The owner would not sacrifice his principles, and the raising was postponed after much talk uncomplimentary to the host. A few days later more than a sufficient number of temperance men, who honored the integrity of Mr. Wyman, were on hand to assist, and the barn went up. He placed the attractive and unique sign on his barn, and for several decades it was a reminder to the passers- by of a strong minded and good man, whose example had an important effect toward temperance in all this locality.
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INCIDENTS OF THE RAISING OF THE OLD ROCKINGHAM MEETING HOUSE-GEN. JOHN FULLER BUILDER
Among the incidents connected with the erection of the old Rockingham Meeting House in 1787, the building which has many years been treasured by the inhabitants of the town and is still the Mecca for tourists and sight- seers, the circumstances connected with the raising of the frame on June 9th, 1787, are of particularly interest- ing historical interest. No definite record of the cir- cumstances was made at the time, as far as found, but several old letters have been unearthed which throw light upon it. One written in 1884 by the Rev. Horace Allbee, who was born in this town in 1797 and returned as an old man to spend his last days on his old home farm on the meadows near the Williams river, sets the date. He wrote as follows :-
"Mrs. Ezekiel Weston was the daughter of David Haselton, who was born in 1791. Mrs. Weston says that she distinctly remembers that her grandmother, Jane Haselton, wife of Richard Haselton, related to her that her eldest child, Uriel (Mrs. Weston's uncle), was born on the 6th day of June, 1787, and that on the 9th day of June of the same year, before departing for the rais- ing of the meeting house, her husband, Richard, came into the house and bade her and their baby, who was then only three days old, good-bye, expecting, or fear- ing, at least, that he might be killed at the raising, but, on the contrary, returned in safety to his family after the house was raised. And further, my brother, E. W. Allbee, says he distinctly remembers hearing our father, Ebenezer Allbee, who was born on the 17th of April, 1768, say that he was at the raising, being then 19 years
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of age, and that it was in June, 1787, but he does not recollect the day of the month. The statement of Mrs. Weston fixes the precise date as June 9, 1787, of which there can be no doubt."
Mr. Allbee often told friends and relatives that his father, Ebenezer Allbee, who was at the raising, told him that on the day of the raising of the meeting house a washtub full of toddy, made of rum and loaf sugar, was prepared and notice was given the men to come down from the frame and help themselves with the tin dippers.
An aged man living in Greenfield, Mass., in 1887, in a letter to A. N. Swain of the Bellows Falls Times about the old meeting house building, says :-
"It was my good fortune to have met General Fuller several times during the summer of 1816, who was the master builder of this old house. I was told at that time that when all was ready Mr. Fuller quietly took his place on the beam and went up with the front broadside, as was customary in those days. At the time I saw him he lived in the Dr. Campbell house, so called, now owned and occupied by Rodney Wiley. I think it must have required three or four extra men to carry Mr. Fuller up, for at the time I saw him he was good for at least 250 pounds."
General Fuller was one of the foremost residents of the town in his early days. He lived then on a farm about a mile north of Rockingham village, on top of the hill a short distance south of what were the Proctor and Wiley farms .. A letter written by an old man living in Nashua, N. H., July 7, 1884, gives the following additional details of the "raising" :-
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"I can remember any event told me 70 years ago easier than incidents that took place five years ago. The year that I was 16 years old my father died in Rockingham and I was obliged to work out from home. I went to work for old General Fuller. He lived one mile from the middle of the town and was the man who built the meeting house. He gave me a full account of the time they had at this raising. After he got every- thing ready the old General took a bottle of rum in one hand, a tumbler in the other and stood on the plate of the bent on the south side, then he gave the order to put it up in that position. He rode up on the plate, and he was a man weighing 200 pounds. When they had got it up he stood on the plate, drank his health to the crowd below, then threw his bottle and tumbler down and called for the ladder, coming down amid long and loud cheering."
Without doubt serious accidents occurred at times at those "raisings" of olden times, as feared by Richard Haselton, and described below. At the raising of the present church building in the village of Langdon, N. H., in June of 1842, a portion of the heavy frame fell killing one man and seriously injuring 15 or 20 others. The Rockingham meeting house is 56 feet long and 44 feet wide. It is built of heavy old growth pine timber, por- tions of the frame and roof being 14 by 16 inches square, which must have required the combined efforts of a large force of men to raise in sections, or "bents."
During the first years of the history of the old Rock- ingham town meeting house, its front door was used to post notices of all important meetings and for the gen- eral dissemination of knowledge among citizens of the town. One of its more important uses was the posting of all matrimonial bans, or intentions of marriage, such
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as were required in those years to be proclaimed in church, or other place prescribed by law, that any person might object to their taking place.
March 15, 1804, Rev. Samuel Whiting posted the following unique, but expressive, notice upon the door :-
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