USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Boscawen > The history of Boscawen and Webster [N.H.] from 1733 to 1878 > Part 53
USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Webster > The history of Boscawen and Webster [N.H.] from 1733 to 1878 > Part 53
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A record of mortality was kept by Rev. Ebenezer Price from 1SOS to 1837, and is preserved in the records for 1841. The least number of deaths in any one year was in 1809, when there were but nine deaths in a population of 1,800. The greatest mortality was in 1825, when the deaths numbered 57 in a population of about 2,200. The average number of deathis per annum was 27. One third of the deaths during the period were of children under five years of age, and one half of the deaths were of persons under 25. The disease most prevalent among adults was consumption,
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which from 1822 to 1837 had an increasing ratio,-110 persons having died of that disease, or one eighth of the total number of deaths. Persons arriving at the age of 55 had a prospect of lon- gevity. In 1836 and 1837 seven persons died whose united ages amounted to 590 years,-an average of 84 years. In 1838 there were living in town 20 persons between 80 and 94 years of age, whose united ages amounted to 1,716 years, an average of nearly 87 years per individual.
INDUSTRIES.
Boscawen and Webster are classed as agricultural towns, but they have also had a fair share of industrial pursuits. Rev. Mr. Price, writing in 1820, thus speaks of the industries of the town at that period :
" There are in this town seventeen saw-mills, five corn-mills,-three of which have two runs of stones, and all furnished with bolts, -four fulling-mills, five carding-machines, two mills for grinding tanners' bark, one trip-hammer, one mill for turning cart-wheel hubs and felloes, and one for grinding lead for potters' ware."
LUMBER.
A chief industry from the first settlement of the town was the manufacture of lumber. The original forest growth was very dense, consisting of white and Norway pine, white and red oak, chestnut, ash, white, red, and brown elm, hemlock, poplar, bass, maple, and other woods. Of pine lumber thousands of masts, spars, and bowsprits were rafted down the Merrimack, or turned adrift in the Contoocook, to run the falls during the periods of high water. The "Mast Yard " station on the Concord & Claremont Railroad has derived its name from the fact that the bank of the Contoocook at that point was a place of deposit for the many masts drawn thither from the pine woods of Bashan, and the ad- joining territory of Concord and Hopkinton.
The sawed lumber was rafted at different points along the Mer- rimack, especially in the bend above Canterbury bridge. For a period of more than half a century the ground now occupied by the main and side tracks of the Northern Railroad was piled, in winter, with lumber, round logs, oak and pine ship-timber, masts and spars, that were rafted to Medford ;- in summer, the same
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ground was covered with huge piles of planks, boards, shingles, clapboards, and laths. The planks and boards were rafted in cribs, suitable for passing the locks at various points, and the shingles, clapboards, and laths were taken as "top-loading." The markets were Lowell and Boston.
Early in the century a large business was done in the manufac- ture of staves for sugar and molasses hogsheads, and beef and pork barrels. They were made up into "shooks," each shook containing the staves of a single barrel or hogshead. The mar- ket, before the construction of the Middlesex canal between the Merrimack and Boston, was at Newburyport. A " culler" of staves was an important town officer, annually elected, who in- spected the " shooks." The shooks were taken down the Merri- mack as top-loading on rafts. Coopering, from the Revolution to the year 1830, was a distinct industry, furnishing employment to a large number of persons.
MILLS.
The saw-mills existing in 1820 were thus located : One on the Contoocook at Fisherville; one on Mill brook ; one in the "Hollow," on the site of the first mill erected in the town; one on the site now owned by Hannibal Flanders; one near Long street, on land now owned by Jeremiah C. Chadwick; one on Pond brook ; one on the site of the second mill erected in town, south of Great pond ; one near the residence of Joseph Burpee ; one owned by Gen. M. A. Pillsbury ; one by Enoch Pillsbury; and one on the site now owned by Harvey Chase. At North Boscawen was a mill on the brook emptying into the Merrimack south of the county farm, and one on Stirrup-iron brook. On the Blackwater was one on the site near the residence of Samuel Little ; one a mile north of Dingit corner; one on the site now occupied by F. L. & W. W. Burbank ; one on Knight's Meadow brook; and one at the out- let of Long pond. On Cold brook there was a mill with a large overshot wheel, the flume supplying it being carried over the highway leading south from the cemetery to Queen street. It was built by David Jackman.
The corn-mills, existing in 1820, were located,-one in the " Hollow ; " one on the site now owned by Hannibal Flanders ; Sweatt & Gookin's, on the Blackwater; and a mill with one run of stones, on Pond brook, owned by Gen. M. A. Pillsbury.
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The fulling and cloth-dressing mills were Gage's, at Fisherville, Durgin's, in the " Hollow,"-the first established in town, by Dea. Isaac Pearson,-and "Sweatt's," on the Blackwater.
The carding-machines were in the same localities. The first carding-machine in the United States was set up by Arthur Scolfield, a machinist who came from England and settled in Pittsfield, Mass., in the year 1800. England at that time was in- tent upon building up her manufacturing industries, and prohib- ited the carrying out of that country machinists' tools. The baggage of every passenger was rigorously searched, so that Scol- field came without his tools ; but being ingenious, and possessing a retentive memory, he made his tools as he needed them, and built a machine for carding. At that time all carding was done by hand; and men and women during the long winter evenings spent their time in carding, seated around the wide-mouthed fireplaces. The Pittsfield Sun, of No. 2, 1801, contains the following adver- tisement of the first machine in the United States :
"Arthur Scolfield respectfully informs the inhabitants of Pittsfield and the neighboring towns that he has a carding-machine half a mile west of the meeting-house, where they may have their wool carded into rolls for twelve and a half cents a pound; mixed, fifteen cents per pound. If they find grease and pick the grease in, it will be ten cents a pound; and twelve and a half for mixed."
" Mixed " has reference to black and white wools, and "picking the grease in " has reference to the lubrication of the wool, neces- sary for carding and spinning. Carding by machinery soon su- perseded hand carding to a great extent, though the compiler of this history can recall the days of hand carding, and once saw Rev. Dr. Wood using the cards and studying at the same time his next Sunday's sermon.
The first carding-machines in Boscawen were probably set up about 1810-1812. A carding-mill was a building, which, besides its machinery, contained a large pile of wool done up in blankets, old counterpanes, and rugs, and a pot containing the unsavory dye, which must be kept in a warm place to bring it to perfection.
SPINNING AND WEAVING.
Spinning was done by hand. Twelve to fifteen skeins per day was considered a good day's work, though there were housewives
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who could spin twenty. Thirteen skeins were equivalent to three and eight one hundreths miles of thread, in spinning which the spinner walked about five miles. Having spun the wool into yarn, that designed for the warp was placed upon the reel and wound upon large spools, which were in turn placed in a form, and from thence transferred to the "warping bars." As many spools were used as there were threads in the proposed warp. From the "bars" the warp was transferred to the loom, wound upon the "beam," and drawn through the "harness" and the reed, and was ready for the weaver.
The "filling" or weft was spun differently from the warp, with more or less hardness, according to the quality of cloth desired. It was transferred from the skein to "quills" made from elder stocks, which were used in the shuttle. The preparation of the weft was far less arduous work than the preparation of the warp. To weave checks and stripes, much care was required in the prep- aration of both warp and weft, and in the weaving. The produc- tion of a web of cloth was quite an event in the household. Dyed clothes were dyed in the wool, in the skein, or in the web. Cloth dyed in the wool usually held its color best. The aphorism in common use, in regard to a man whose principles are fixed, that "he is dyed in the wool," had its origin in this process of dyeing.
SPINNING BY MACHINERY.
Early in the century, between 1810 and 1815, Mr. Benjamin Pritchard established a new industry, the spinning of cotton yarn. He erected a building on the mill-site now owned by Hannibal Flanders, and spun yarn by machinery. The building was subse- quently moved to a site north of Ambrose's tavern, and was used as a shop for the manufacture of carriages, and is now a dwelling- house in Fisherville. The yarn spun by Mr. Pritchard was used for warp by the housewives in the manufacture of satinets.
The establishment of manufactures of cotton and woollen goods by machinery throughout the country brought about an entire change in the domestic industries. The spinning-wheel and loom disappeared from the household; the bumping of the fulling-mill no longer was heard; the dye-pots were banished from the hearth- stones ; and the carders and cloth-dressers were forced to turn their attention to new occupations.
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Carding and Spinning.
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PALM-LEAF HATS.
The industry that in part took the place of spinning and weav- ing was the braiding of palm-leaf hats. The palm-leaf was pur- chased in bales by the traders, who supplied it to families who split and braided it into hats. The industry was not a universal one. The merchants paid cash only in part, making, of course, a large profit on the goods sold. Families in comfortable circum- stances would not engage in an employment in which they would be at the mercy of the merchant, who, though he might be scru- pnlously honest, yet could fix his own profit and their measure of gain. It was a jug with only one handle, and that in the hands of the merchant. Notwithstanding this drawback, the industry gave employment to a large number of women and girls, who otherwise had little chance of earning money.
SHOES.
Following this industry, was the manufacture of shoes. This enterprise, which had long been a leading industry in Massachu- setts and along the sea-coast towns of New Hampshire, did not gain a foothold in Boscawen till about 1842. The leather,-upper and sole,-cut into desired patterns, with linings and bindings, was taken into the farmers' houses, and shops. The stitching and binding were done by women and girls, and the bottoming by the men and boys, who purchased their shoe-pegs by the peck, and their nails by the pound. Many farmers, who never had learned anything of shoe-making, turned their attention to pegging shoes ; but the trade demanded better work, and it was discovered that "system" was necessary to secure the best results in manufac- ture : hence a change in the industry. About 1850, the manu- facture, instead of being carried on by the community at large, became concentrated, and the workmen were brought together in shops. For a few years Boscawen Plain was a shoe mannfactur- ing village; but the introduction of machinery into the manufac- ture in Massachusetts, and the distance of Boscawen from the great centre of New England trade, operated to break down the industry, which never has revived.
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HATS.
The manufacture of beaver and felt hats in the early decades of the century gave employment to many men in the community at large. There were two hat establishments in Boscawen,-Mr. Jacob Hosmer's, on the Plain, and Mr. Columbus George's, White Plain. They purchased mink and muskrat skins of the farmers, and also made silk and wool hats, finding a market at the country stores, or manufacturing to a citizen's order. The compiler of this history has a distinct recollection of having a hat made to order and fitted to his head in the shop of Mr. Hosmer.
POTTERY.
Queen's-ware was manufactured for many years in Boscawen by Jeremiah Burpee. His establishment stood on the spot now occupied by the residence of John Rines. During the bright summer days, travellers on the turnpike were accustomed to see à white horse going his rounds, attached to the sweep of the clay- mill, while through an open window of the shop they saw Mr. Burpee and his sons fashioning milk-jars and cream-pots and jugs upon the swiftly revolving wheels. Upon long boards on the southern side of the shop were rows of manufactured articles drying in the sun. Later in the season, at midnight, the shop was all aglow with the light of the flame of the kiln. The ware found a market among the farmers of the country.
CUT NAILS.
There was a time when all nails were manufactured of wrought iron, by hand. The blacksmiths of the country, when not engaged in other labors incident to their occupation, engaged in making nails, knowing that the time would come when they would be wanted.
In 1795, five years after the passage of the patent law, Josiah G. Pearson, of New York, patented an invention for cutting nails. Whether nails had been manufactured by cutting before that, is not known. The next year (1796) eleven patents were issued for methods of making nails, brads, and tacks, the greater part of the machines having reference to "cutting and heading." The manufacture of nails and tacks soon became a widespread indus- try. Mr. Jeremiah Gerrish engaged in the business on the farm
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now owned by Charles Glitten. The manufacture was also car- ried on in the "Hollow" by water-power. At what date the man- ufacture began in the town is not known, nor how long it was continued. The machinery was rude, and probably gave place to the greatly improved machinery which appeared about 1809, in- vented by James Reed, of Malden, Mass., which cut and headed a nail at a single operation.
CLOCKS.
Boscawen at one time had two establishments for the manufac- ture of eight-day clocks, which also exhibited on the dial the days of the week and the changes of the moon. The cases were usu- ally made of cherry, and ornamented with brass rings and knobs. They were excellent time-keepers. Mr. Chadwick's shop was a one-storied building, which stood on the spot now occupied by the post-office. It was subsequently moved across the street, a second story added, and is now a dwelling-house. Mr. Morrill's shop is now the residence of Charles E. Chadwick.
Upon the introduction of the more modern "time-piece," Mr. Chadwick retired from business, and removed to Vermont. Mr. Morrill accommodated himself to the new order of things, and made time-pieces ; but machine-made clocks soon supplanted the time-pieces, and Mr. Morrill engaged in the manufacture of coun- ter scales. In 1841, upon the appearance of the new musical reed instruments, he engaged in the manufacture of "melodeons" and " seraphines."
TANNING.
The great abundance of oak and hemlock bark gave an oppor- tunity for the tanning of leather. There were three tanneries in town,-that of John C. Cogswell, now occupied by Mr. Raymond; one owned by John Plummer, at the junction of Water and Long streets ; and one owned by John Stevens at Sweatt's mills. Mr. Cogswell and Mr. Stevens used water-power for grinding the bark and working their rude machinery. Mr. Plummer used horse- power. They purchased hides of the farmers, or tanned them on hire.
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MANUFACTURING AT FISHERVILLE.
MANUFACTURING AT FISHERVILLE.
No attempt was made to utilize the water of the Contoocook river till 1787, when a saw-mill was built at the "Burrough" on the Concord side. Not long after, a saw-mill was built on the Boscawen side near the Merrimack, on the site of the present mill. This was followed by the carding-mill and cloth-dressing establishment of William H. Gage. The manufacture of cotton and woollen goods at length made a demand for water-power to drive that machinery. This power attracted the attention of cap- italists ; and in 1823 or 1824 a gentleman of the name of Varney, from the vicinity of Dover, made a purchase of the power and the land on the north side of the river now owned by the present com- pany. He built a dam where the upper dam now is; but for some reason his project fell through, and nothing more was done until 1830, when the Varney purchase was conveyed to Benjamin Kim- ball, Esq., by the Hon. Jeremiah Mason, acting for the United States Bank, into whose hands it had passed.
Mr. Kimball built the dam at the lower falls, on his purchase, and erected the grist-mill adjoining the Contoocook mill. He died in 1834; and the property was sold to Messrs. Calvin Gage and William M. Kimball, being deeded to them by Mr. Kimball about three weeks before his death. They obtained the charter for the Contoocook Manufacturing Company, and sold to the Messrs. Fisher, of Boston, whose heirs now own all, or nearly all, of the stock. In 1836, the Contoocook mill was erected. It is 100 feet by 50, five stories high, and was built of granite. In consequence of the financial revulsion in 1837, this mill stood idle, or nearly so, till 1842. It was then leased by Messrs. II. H. & J. S. Brown, of Attleborough, Mass. They fitted the mill with machinery, and set the wheel in motion. Then the village began to grow, and the "Union district" became Fisherville.
The company not long after purchased the land on the south side of the river, and in 1846 built the Penacook mill. This mill is 300 feet by 52, three stories high, with a wheel-house at each end 36 feet by 30. It is built of stone. This mill was leased by the Messrs. Brown, and run in connection with the Con- toocook mill. Both mills manufacture "print cloth," and have
SUGerrish
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BRIDGES.
been run all or nearly all the time by the Messrs. Brown, either in partnership or separately.
In 1847, Almon Harris, of Harrisville, purchased the site of the old grist- and clothing-mill near the Merrimack, and built a stone edifice 75 feet by 40, three stories high, and commenced the man- ufacture of woollen goods. As the manufacture of cotton and woollens always draws in other industries, it was not long before the saw factory and the flouring-mill were erected near the Mer- rimack, and in the centre of the village. Buildings for the man- ufacture of furniture and various kinds of iron and wood products were erected, so that to-day Fisherville can exhibit a variety of manufactures. Fisherville has now about three thousand inhab- itants, is pleasantly situated on both sides of the Contoocook and partly on the Merrimack rivers. That portion of it that lies in Concord constitutes Ward One of that city. The portion in Bos- cawen embraces the most densely populated part of the town. It has the usual number of churches and school-houses, of stores and shops, that are usually found in such villages, mainly located on the Concord side.
BRIDGES.
CANTERBURY BRIDGE.
The first bridge between Boscawen Plain and Canterbury was erected in 1804 [Civil Hist., p. 165]. Toll was exacted till 1816, when the proprietors allowed persons to pass free of charge, at their own risk, the bridge not being considered safe. The great freshet of 1819 swept the structure away, whereupon the proprietors erected a new bridge, under the supervision of Col. Isaac Chandler of Boscawen, and Jacob Blanchard of Canterbury. It was com- pleted in the summer of 1820, but was washed away in a great winter freshet in the month of February, 1824.
The third bridge was built by Benjamin Kimball, of Boscawen, for the proprietors, in 1825, which remained till January, 1839. There was a great body of snow upon the ground. There came a warm rain, which poured continuously nearly 36 hours. The consequence was a breaking up of the ice, which had an average thickness of about two feet. Every bridge on the Merrimack, south of Franklin, with the exception of the Hooksett and the
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Amoskeag falls bridge, was swept away. The proprietors onee more construeted a bridge, a portion of which was carried away in the winter of 1848.
The construction of the Northern and Montreal railroads had revolutionized affairs in Boseawen. The highways were no longer crowded with teams. The tavern-keepers eut down their signs. The merchants no longer had a throng of customers from other towns. The tide of travel between Boscawen and Canterbury was greatly diminished, and there was no inducement for private indi- viduals to invest their money in a bridge.
Up to this time there had been but one free bridge across the Merrimack, from Campton to the sea-that erected in Coneord in 1839, which had been carried away in 1841, and rebuilt, and again seriously injured. The town of Concord had voted, in 1842, that in the opinion of the legal voters the bridge ought not to be main- tained at the expense of the town. It was argued that the town ought not to support it for the benefit of the general publie, but that it ought to be a county affair. The other towns in the county opposed it on the plea that it was no concern of theirs, as they had little or no occasion to use it.
While Concord was thus discussing the question, citizens of Boseawen and Canterbury petitioned the county commissioners to erect a bridge to be supported by the two towns. This was re- sisted by both towns, till 1857. Meanwhile the public had been educated up to the idea of free bridges, the Boseawen bridge having been built meanwhile. The petitioners were finally sue- cessful in their efforts; and the present covered structure was erected in the autumn of 1857, by Mr. E. L. Childs, of Concord, under the supervision of Mr. John Abbott, of the same place.
BOSCAWEN BRIDGE.
The bridge across the Merrimack, at its junction with the Con- toocook, was built by a company incorporated in 1802, and was constructed the same year. The capital stoek consisted of 29 shares, the par value of which was $29. The stock was taken by citizens of Boseawen and Concord. Col. Isaac Chandler was the largest stockholder,-subseribing for six shares. It was some- times called Chandler's bridge.
At that time Portsmouth and Newburyport were important
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commercial towns, and the travel was largely in that direction. For a few years the bridge was remunerative to the proprietors, but the selection of Concord for the capital, and the opening of the Middlesex canal, with boating to Concord, turned the travel in a new direction. The original structure stood till 1839, when it was swept away by the great ice freshet which destroyed many bridges on the Merrimack. A chain-ferry served the public till 1853, when the present bridge was built by Boscawen and Can- terbury.
SECOND CONTOOCOOK BRIDGE.
The second bridge across the Contoocook was built in 1805, on the site of the first bridge, in the bend of the river, east of Pen- acook hotel. The contract was taken by Lieut. John Flanders, on 2 September, 1805, to be completed 1 October, the same year.
The original document is in existence. The bridge was to be of good pine timber, 20 feet wide ; to be three and one half feet higher than the old bridge at the ends, and five feet higher in the middle. The piers were to have four posts each 16 inches square, a good mud-sill, and a cap 16 by 20 inches, and two braces 16 inches square, "as long as may be necessary." "There shall be a pier on each side of the old box, with good mud-sills and four posts to each pier, the end-posts to be 17 by 20 inches square, and the middle posts shall be 13 by 10 inches square. The two piers shall be be planked with good plank to within two feet of low water, and up within four feet of the cap. Said bridge shall be planked with good plank three and a half inches in thickness. There shall be bolts of iron one inch square through the string piece in the same manner as in the old bridge." The bridge was constructed by the towns of Boscawen and Concord.
CONTOOCOOK RIVER BRIDGE CONTROVERSY.
Previous to 1823 the highway leading from the tavern of Capt. John Chandler to Concord was laid easterly by the residence of Nathan Chandler, down the steep hill to the right, crossing the Contoocook river at the narrow gorge below the falls, thence south across the line between the towns by the school-house and homestead of Winthrop Elliot (a house now standing) to the main road. The large amount of transportation over this highway
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by teams from the north required a road that would avoid the steep hill on the north bank of the river. For the better accom- modation of the publie, the court of sessions, in the year 1821, which by the law of 8 Feb., 1791, had the power to lay out publie highways in certain cases, laid out a road from the tavern before mentioned in Boscawen, in a straight line across Contoocook river to what is now Washington square in Concord, upon condi- tion that the town of Boscawen should give security to maintain one half the bridge over the Contoocook, which bridge was part of the road so laid out. This change would remove the bridge from the town of Boscawen to Concord. The bond is in the hand- writing of Ezekiel Webster, and bears date 12 Jan., 1822.
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