USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Hillsborough > The history of Hillsborough, New Hampshire, 1735-1921, Volume 1 > Part 40
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Coming back and following the right branch of the road up the hill we come into the neighborhood of some of Hillsborough's most rugged farmers in the days of building up the agricultural interests of the town. In this vicinity, at the crest of the hill, was the Enoch Sawyer homestead. Among his neighbors were David Jones and others of this time-honored surname, Alonzo Wilson, Hugh Smith, Clark McColley, and before him John Gib- son, Asa Goodale, where Simon Perkins has since lived, John Houston, Simon Atwood and John Hall. We are now on the Hall Road, so called, which comes out at the Upper Village near the Carter place.
UPPER VILLAGE.
One mile and a half to the northwest on the turnpike lies the "Upper Village of Hillsborough," with a greater number of dwellings than the Lower Village, there being twenty-two oc- cupied houses, two stores, a tavern, post-office, and more or less manufacturing. This hamlet is also on the Hillsborough River, and has good mill power, which is utilized in the manufacture of carriages, furniture, and so forth.
*This name is said to have originated from the fact that a certain residert there bought so much sulphur to cure the itch .- Author.
467
HILLSBOROUGH LARGEST VILLAGE.
BRIDGE VILLAGE.
The largest and most picturesque of the four villages com- prising the bulk of the inhabitants of Hillsborough and the greater percentage of its industries is the thriving hamlet built upon both banks of the Contoocook River in the extreme south- east corner of the town. The secret of the growth and activity of this section lies in its water privileges. Here came the first settler in colonial days, James McCalley and his wife, pitching their tent the first night in the wilderness here in nearly the heart of the present hamlet. The principal portion of the village is built upon two eminences of land rising abruptly from the river between sixty to seventy-five feet.
This village is near the northern line of Deering and on the railroad between Concord, Contoocook and Peterborough and other places to the south. It is three miles southeast of the Centre Village, and two miles nearly east of the Lower Village.
The Contoocook in pursuing its tortuous course plunges down two series of rapids or falls. The river near the lower descent is contracted by its stone boundaries so it is spanned by a bridge of a single arch. Here the water of the stream when swollen by spring rains or summer freshets, becomes a mass of swirling waters of tempestuous appearance.
There are several excellent sites for mills, and the early comers were quick to improve the advantage by erecting a saw mill here as early as 1738, the first mill on the Contoocook.
It must have been early in the progress of settlement that this locality was destined to become the business corner of the town, and so as these advantages were improved the number of dwellings and business blocks increased, until it was prophesied by one of its historians that Hillsborough might rival some of the cities on the Merrimack.
Mr. Charles J. Smith, in his excellent monograph of the town, which was written in 1841, says: "There are fifty-six dwelling houses, two churches, three stores, two hotels, two cotton factories, two grist mills, two saw mills, two stores, one trip- hammer and axe manufactory, one lawyer, one physician, a post- office, &c. Many of the dwellings are handsome, especially those
468
HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH.
of recent construction and a number of them exhibit much neat- ness and taste in their architecture, yet the beauty of the village is considerably diminished by the irregularity in the arrangement of its buildings and the narrowness of its streets."
There is no better retrospective view of this thriving village and surroundings than that obtained through the vision of one who was born in this vicinity, Dr. J. Putnam Whittemore, who was a part of its activities in 1830-1840. After conjecturing between the rugged virtues and stalwart manhood and woman- hood of that period and the then present (1870) he says :
"We will suppose ourselves standing upon the old wooden bridge which spanned the river at or near the site of the present one looking up the hill towards the north. The bridge, which was of wooden structure throughout, was of antique pattern and venerable with age. It was built and mostly used for the purpose of facilitating trade from one side of the stream to the other, but upon its removal about this time it was found to have been used for banking purposes, its abutments and recesses for vaults and private offices. For some unknown reasons these officers upon vacating the premises left a large amount of bills and money ready for circulation behind, which they never called for. At the north end of the structure on the right is a two-story wooden building, 100 feet long by 25 feet wide, designed for a factory but as yet only partially occupied.
"In front of this, across the road, is a large, unfinished house erected for a boarding house, and at present occupied by George Little, Esq., and is known as the Little house in the future. On the top of the hill, to the right of the square is an upright house occupied by Captain Benjamin Bradford. This was burned about (1816) ? I think another one was soon erected which was the centre piece of the late American House. Across the Hen- niker road stood the Taggard store, late the apothecary shop and now millinery.
"Up the road north was the farm and dwelling house of Lieutenant Taggart. A little farther north was the farm house and blacksmith shop of Deacon Jacob Spaulding. Again a little farther up was an antique and dilapidated structure where Uncle
469
BRIDGE VILLAGE, IN 1840.
Bill Johnson lived. Herbert Kimball now occupies the place which is in a much improved state. Returning to the square we find on the corner to the right the dwelling house of the late James Butler, Esq. Up the River road a few rods was the house of Captain Seth Holden, the most pretending one in the village, now Mr. Town's. A little farther up is the two-story house of Jonathan Fulton, now Esquire Campbell's, with a store in one end of it. Nearly opposite is the cottage home of Mr. Mattoon. A little way above this is the saw and grist mill of William Rum- rill, Esq., recently built.
"On our way to the square again we pass a one-story house near the hay scales, built for or made into a bakery by Captain Zebediah Shattuck. On the top of the hill at our right as we approach the square is a large unfinished wooden building in- tended for a dwelling house. In the only finished room upon the ground floor dwells a Mr. Hoyt and family. In a small room . above finished for the purpose Mr. Hoyt and son transact the shoe business. Here the writer remembers having his shoe work done, and recollects going there with a pair of boot legs to have them transformed into a pair of summer shoes, and as distinctly remembers going a week later for the finished articles, but will not attempt to describe his thoughts and feelings as he walked out of the village toward home with his new shoes on.
"On the knoll, a few rods below the Taggard store, stood a cottage house occupied by Samuel Taggard, Esq .; a few rods below this was the village school house. It was then of modern aspect, not clapboarded or painted, with a large fireplace, two rows of seats which reached across the house and covered about two-thirds of the floor. This was the only public institution in the place, and meagre and small as it might now seem to some of the young academicians and collegiates it had really some able scholars, not a few men and women of mark and character, merchants, mechanics, lawyers, clergymen, doctors, teachers and legislators. And if they have not graduated here with as much of Greek and Latin, in heir heads, they may have had that which was practically as useful, a good sense of propriety and self- reliance, weapons of good, practical value in the warfare of life.
470
HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH.
"In the rear of the American House stood the residence of Dr. Luther Smith. These, I think, are all or nearly all of the buildings or dwellings that stood in the village. In these build- ings, or closely connected therewith, were two or three shops or stores and perhaps a tavern, though of that I am not certain. And these several places constitute all, or nearly all, the chief places of interest, if we accept a great rock or bowlder on the left at the top of the hill, behind the Hoyt house before mentioned. (It was near this rock the well described in another chapter was dug, and this was undoubtedly the rendezvous where Kenewa at the head of his Lost Legion, perished in battle as described in Chapter II.)
"Of the stores of that day, if not imposing with huge stocks of goods bought upon credit, they were adapted to the tastes and capacity of the day. Their trade was not small, nor as restricted as might appear at first thought. They commanded the business of the surrounding districts of farms, while there was no Man- chester, Nashua, Concord, or Lawrence to draw their trade away, nor had Francestown yet dawned into mercantile existence.
"The merchants of that day were shrewd, keen at trade, but honest and sincere as the world moves. The same might be truthfully said of their customers, while neither one party nor the other was unafraid to make a sharp deal, providing it did not ruffle the even tenor of their business integrity. The following incident of actual occurence illustrates this position: A female of some apparent pretensions called upon one of the traders with butter for sale. She had four or five pounds of fine quality and she must, of course, have an extra price for it-at least 121/2 cents a pound, which was a good price at that time. The trader took the butter and paid her price . It looked so good he took it to his own house for home consumption. Upon cutting open the lumps, quite unexpectantly, he found each one to contain in the centre a nice, clean little pebble, weighing three or four ounces! These he carefully saved but kept his own counsel. In due course of time the woman came to the store to purchase some cotton wool worth seventy-five cents a pound. Upon weighing out the cotton wool the trader added the stones, and the customer took
47I
BRIDGE VILLAGE, SOUTH SIDE.
the parcel, paid for it and went her way. What her feelings were upon opening the bundle is not known, for nothing has been heard from the transaction since.
"So far we have spoken of the village on the north side of the river, but now we are to cross the stream and describe the south village. The dam originally across the river at this place was but a few feet above the bridge, and the present one built some thirty years since, occupies nearly the same spot. It is, I think, some twelve or fifteen feet high, and the grandeur of the scene which is presented at the time of spring and autumn freshets, by the water, as it rolls in one vast sheet over the dam, and pitches into the boiling, seething abyss below, and then rising and rush- ing onward and downward presents a view which is not a feeble parallel with Niagara. The depth of the water under the bridge is said to be forty feet; whether this is owing to a fissure in its rocky bed, the result of some geological upheaval, or was oc- casioned by the constant wear of the water, as it formerly dashed over the precipice, now made greater by the dam, is a matter of uncertainty and of no great moment. Soon after the erection of the present dam the people were disturbed and some even alarmed by what seemed to be and was quaintly styled an infant earth- quake, or more like the rumbling which preceded one. The disturbance, however, consisted in the rattling of the windows this, after a short time was found to be occasioned by the fall of water which, when at moderate height only would fall over the breast of the dam, in so thin a sheet that it would often break before it reached the rocks below, perhaps several times, and this produced such a constant succession of light atmospheric shakes that windows were effected, and would rattle and frighten the timid for a mile or two around by night or day, without regard to the feelings or fancy.
"That this stream was abundantly supplied with salmon in primeval days there is no doubt, and not until its waters were made use of for manufacturing purposes, and the passage of these fish up the stream obstructed by dams across it did they finally abandon its waters. The early settlers seemed aware of this threatened calamity, and when the original dam was built an
472
HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH.
opening some two feet in diameter was left in it for the fish to pass through, up, but it is doubtful if they accepted the terms or used the privilege, which they must have regarded as too narrow dimensions, or the fight against the current of the water focused here too strong to combat. Why should they accept so narrow a pike when they could roam undisputed in the unlimited, bound- less waste of other waters. Should they choose they could em- ploy their own elastic powers and leap over all obstacles into their free element above. I have myself heard Mr. Bennett, who lived a mile below, say that he had stood upon this bridge and himself seen the salmon jump over this dam. And I have heard Major Riley, who lived in a cabin at the foot of Cork Mountain, and was the son of Philip Riley, who commenced a settlement before the French and Indian wars on the homestead of the late Jacob Whittemore of Antrim, now the residence of Captain Reed P. White, say that he could recollect that when a boy he had known a half barrel of salmon to be taken in half a day between his father's farm and the junction of the Contoocook and Hills- borough rivers, now known as the "Crotch."
"But I am wandering from the subject I had in mind and will return. At the south end of the bridge is a small, unpreten- tious cottage owned or occupied by a Widow Preston. A few feet up the hill and a little back is the dwelling house of Joseph Alcock later Joseph Phipps. In this house Mrs. Phipps opened a millinery store which was for years the emporium of fashion for miles around. A little further up the hill is the residence of Retire Kimball, a tanner by trade who moved into the village. soon became quite popular as a military man, and rose rapidly to the Colonelency of the 26th Regiment of New Hampshire Militia. The Colonel was not a man ambitious for place and honor, never sought or courted them, and only accepted the situa- tion of a military officer because he was urged to do so; neither was he an expert horseman, but would have as soon ridden on a bull's hide for a saddle as on one of the gayest Mcclellan patterns. Should this article be read by anyone who ever saw Colonel Kimball sitting upon his horse on muster day, in front of his regiment, in his full uniform, methinks they could draw a
473
BRIDGE VILLAGE-CONTINUED.
striking resemblance between him and General Grant as he sat upon his horse at the surrender of Lee, with one leg over the pommel of his saddle and both hands in his breeches pockets as described by Governor Chamberlain in his lecture upon that feature of the war; each alike entirely oblivious of their con- spicuous positions, indifferent and unconscious of every thing but their own weight of responsibility. One thing only is lacking to complete the analogy: Colonel Kimball did not smoke, while General Grant was always puffing a cigar.
"The house of Colonel Kimball was the last one on this side of the road for some distance; then comes Mr. John Eaton, a little farther Mr. J. Smiley's and farther still the residence of Judge Alcock, a gentleman of English birth, I think, and a man possessing many qualities of sterling worth.
"Returning to the bridge we again ascend the hill, and on the left near the top, we find the homestead, inn and store of Timothy Wyman, Esq. Here for many years previous was the centre of trade, the only apothecary and the only inn of importance in the village. Clustered around this estate is a little hamlet of tenement cottages, all painted red, with light doors, all numbered ; they are a pattern of order and neatness as was the proprietor, in his person and in his appointments. Squire Wyman was a man of great good sense, a strong politician, an acute observer of human nature, and we are happy to learn his son, heir and successor to his broad acres, wears his mantle worthily and gracefully.
"Going back to the square as we go down the Henniker road we pass on the left the oldest if not the first mill in the place. On the right is the tannery of Colonel Kimball already mentioned. We find no more buildings for half a mile, and then comes Uncle Peter Codman's on the right. Farther on at the left is the home of Mr. Daniel Bennett, one of the oldest and firmest men in town Ascend the hill and we come to the home and estate of Father Howlett, one of the pillars of the Methodist Church, as well as one of the most tasty and successful farmers in this region. He raised the most and best wheat and corn, had the spryest and sleekest horses, the best stock, the largest hogs in the place. Mrs.
474
HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH.
Howlett made excellent butter and cheese, all of which was sold for the highest prices the market affords."
There was a saw and gristmill at Bridge Village as early as 1769 for it is recorded that the first framed house built in Antrim (1769) was constructed from trees felled near the Falls and sawed into boards and planks by the mill standing here. The lumber was drawn on sleds over the ice of the frozen river.
As late as 1782 there was no road between Deering and Henniker except that passing through the corner of Hillsborough known as Falls Village. At that time it was made up mostly of the farms of Taggards, Thorps and Bradfords.
BUSINESS SITUATION.
To-day the following rough sketch briefly describes the situation.
Including the business section of the village, and starting at Colby block on the brink of the hill, Main Street, and going east, the first store was occupied by H. J. & E. C. Gage for nearly twenty years, is now known as "The Red Front," general gro- ceries, by Atlantic and Pacific store; the other half is occupied by W. E. Newman, plumber, who succeeded Henry Colby twenty- five years ago. On the second floor is the Manahan studio and hall of the Spiritualist society.
The next building, which was once the home of the old National Bank, has known frequent changes in occupants during the past twenty years, including shoe repairing shops, Ennis harness shop and other lines, and is now headquarters of Hills- borough Dairy Company, milk business. Upstairs were the offices of Brooks K. Webber and James F. Briggs. Next comes the Valley Hotel, mention of which is made in another chapter, but in this building Frank G. Rumrill has had a barber's shop for some years. Chestley Favor conducts a barber's shop in the old Marcy building. This is in the Marcy block, where Charles Sleeper has a clothing store, while in the basement facing on Bridge Street, George W. Boynton has a grocery store. On the opposite side of this street and a little removed from Main Street Proctor has a bakery and across the river, Mosley and Son, a grocery store. Coming back to Main Street Miss Dickey
475
BRIDGE VILLAGE, 1920.
has a corset store on the corner in the Whittemore block; then Cook's restaurant, and next comes Moxley's drug store. Upstairs in the same block Dr. S. O. Bowers has a dentistry.
The Post Office building fronts the square, where the mail station has been since early in the Sos. . Besides this business the Farrar Sisters kept a millinery store for several years but it is now occupied by Robertson's restaurant. On the second floor Kirk D. Pierce has a law office. John W. Bradshaw occupies the next place, a harness shop. Lovering house comes next and then Dreamland theatre managed by Everett Bean. J. B. Tasker has a clothing store in the Baker Block. Stillman Baker now occupies the opposite store in the furniture business. On the second floor, Baker's block, Dr. Elgin Bowers, dentist, has his office. In the basement are the town offices and vault.
Situated at the fork of Depot and Henniker streets, and facing the square is Halladay's sporting goods store. Beginning on the opposite side of the street is the office of the Hillsborough Messenger, published by Joseph W. Chadwick. The next building is the Methodist church, and then comes Child's opera block, oc- cupied by the following tenants : Hillsboro Dry Goods Co., Frank E. Merrill's general store since 1878, Charles F. Butler's news store, on the corner of School street. On the second floor are the offices of Holman & Smith, Attorneys at Law. The town hall is in this building. A short distance up the street is the building of the First National and Savings banks in a brick building.
On the opposite side is the Butler Block, a brick building, occupied by Arthur Duval, shoe repairer, American Express Office, D. E. Gordon, Jeweler. Upstairs is the library. In the basement on the corner is the Boston Fruit Store, and facing on Main Street is Charles S. Perry's drug store, while over this is the "The" club, and in the same building is Bruce & Rumrill's Millinery store. Butler's old store is occupied by H. G. Yeaton's general merchandise store. Next is the antique shop of Cleaves McAllister, where William H. Story had a jewelry store for many years. and town clerk's office.
476
HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH.
A barber's shop comes next, and then the millinery store of Clara Lovering's. The ground floor of the Rumrill block is occupied by Kimball & Roach, Clothiers. Upstairs is the home of the Masonic Lodge of the Eastern Star and Telephone Office. Roy Gordon has been a dealer in grain in the old Dutton Block for several years; on the second floor Dr. Bailey has an office.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
BYWAYS OF HISTORY.
Changes in Population-Inventory of Hillsborough, 1919-Pounds and Pound-Keepers-The "Hard Winter"-Year Without a Summer- Dark Day-Cold Friday-Shooting Stars-Marriage Ceremony- The Story of a Simple Life-Anecdote-Counterfeit Money-Items of Interest-The Big Ash-Casualties and Fatalities-Fires.
In gathering up the odds and ends of the history of the town one finds many little incidents that are small in themselves and yet each one has played an important part in some life, reminding us of the great truth that the big events is made up of small things, just as the universe is composed of "little grains of sand, little drops of water." So the miscellany of this chapter is placed on record.
POPULATION.
The population of Hillsborough from the first enumeration in 1766 to the present time is given for intervals in the following table, and as a comparison adjoining towns are included in the returns :
1790
1820
1850
1880
1900
1920
Hillsborough
798
1982
1685
1646
2254
2229
Deering
928
1415
890
674
486
287
Francestown
982
1479
1114
937
693
385
Antrim
528
1330
1143
1172
1366
1052
Hancock
634
1178
1012
689
642
531
Windsor
120
237
172
65
38
21
Henniker
1127
1900
1688
1326
1507
1344
Bradford
217
1318
1341
950
805
580
Stoddard
701
1203
1105
553
367
213
Washington
545
992
1053
682
464
308
-
-
-
-
-
477
478
HISTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH.
It will be noticed that in 1790 Deering, Francestown and Weare, strictly farming towns, were among the largest towns in this section, either of them being much larger than Hillsborough. All the towns gained from 1790 to 1820, and that everyone lost in population from that time until 1880, and since 1880 it has been only the manufacturing towns that have gained while the others have been steadily losing.
The population of Hillsborough as returned in October, I773, was as follows :
Unmarried men, 16 to 60 16
Married men, 16 to 60 27
Boys, 16 and younger 34
Men 60 years and over 3
Females unmarried 44
Females married 29
Whole number 153
At this time it was estimated Henniker had 338; Hopkinton, 943 ; Peterborough, 514; Temple, 418; New Boston, 410; Wash- ington, 504.
In 1756 there were fifty six persons living in the town. These comprised 31 men, 27 women, 9 males under fourteen, and 10 females under fourteen. At this time there were one saw mill and one grain mill in town. The first minister was settled in February, 1767, the Rev. Solomon Moore of Newton, Mass.
In 1870 Hillsborough supported five churches, and not one of them but what was well attended. There were seventeen school houses, three post-offices, five hotels, six stores, two cotton factories, one woolen factory, two fulling mills, seven saw mills, three grist mills, five tanneries, one starch factory.
The total annual valuation of the town according to the assessors' returns was $816,585, which meant about two-thirds of its actual valuation, or a true valuation of $1,219,877. The amount of capital invested in manufactures was about $55,000.
479
POUNDS AND POUND KEEPERS.
INVENTORY OF HILLSBOROUGH, 1919.
Horses, 285
$35,200.00
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