USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Salisbury > The history of Salisbury, New Hampshire, from date of settlement to the present time > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71
"None can show such a roll of honor?" Gently, venerated historian! John Adams Dix, William Pitt Fessenden, Samuel Wood, Ebenezer Price, and Jacob Little! How nobly you served your country and your race in your day and generation. You appear to us as bright stars in our firmament as you look down upon us from your celestial abodes. But -
"Ye stars that glitter in the skies And gayly dance before our eyes, What are you when the sun shall rise?"
What are you in the presence of him who stood on Plymouth Rock, with the Pilgrim Fathers, in 1820; on Bunker Hill, with Lafayette and the survivors of the Revolution, in 1825; in Faneuil Hall in 1826, commemorating the lives and services of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, and in the Senate of the United States, in 1831, in an encounter with the monster of
IO
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
nullification ? Your brilliancy is almost obscured in the pres- ence of such a luminary.
.
Within the original limits of Salisbury, in the new town of Franklin, on the Webster Farm, is located the "Orphans' Home of New Hampshire." On the soil of Salisbury, the home of Daniel Webster, of his father and mother, near where sleeps their silent and sacred dust, is located the first Orphans' Home outside of city limits in New England, an institution whose noble benevolence as a State charity is universal. It was estab- lished and dedicated in 1871. Under its guardian and shelter- ing care are gathered the poor and destitute orphans of all nationalities, and the waifs that have been thrown out upon the stormy sea of life. This heaven-directed home receives as its beneficiaries all perishing children of want, without regard to their social status, nationality or complexion. It not only takes in its arms the little orphans of the State, but it folds in its gentle and tender embrace those that are more unfortunate than orphans, rendered so by the dissolute character and poverty of their parents. It binds up the broken hearts of the little unfor- tunates who have been crushed by the demon of intemperance ; those whose hopes would be blasted and whose prospects would be ruined by dissolute and drunken parents. These children are cared for morally, intellectually, and physically. A school is in session during the year, all are members of the Sunday school, and all have the benefit of divine service upon the Sab- bath and of religious teachers.
Upon this home of benevolence, located in a spot as lovely as earth and sky and air and sun can make it, as beautiful as the landscape and the softly-fanning breezes of heaven can ren- der it, upon that fairy-like scene of Lower Franklin, at the Elms Farm, is concentrated the united charities of all religious denominations who worship Him who came to bind up the broken-hearted and to seek and save those who are lost, and who said, "Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
II
PRELIMINARY CHAPTER.
Where can such a home find another such appropriate spot - interesting in its traditions, rich in its historical associations, and charming in all its surroundings ?- where the greatest intellect of America grew, expanded and matured, and where the great master of human speech dwelt and had his home?
But let the poet tell the tale :
" What hallowed memories arise Within our hearts and dim our eyes. We think of him without a peer, Who spent his happy boyhood here, And with his brother, brave and true, Ate honest bread and earned it too. We call to mind his mother dear, Whose precious dust lies buried near ; Her record is preserved on high In characters that cannot die."
741
PHOTO ENC CO NÀY
BIRTHPLACE OF DANIEL WEBSTER. (Engraved specially for Dearborn's History of Salisbury.)
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
CHAPTER I.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE TOWN.
" In plains that room for shadows make In skirting hills to lie ;
Bound in by streams which give and take Their colors from the sky ; Or on the mountain's crest sublime, Or down the open glade, O, what have I to do with time ? For this the day was made."
DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY.
Sixty years ago Moses Eastman, one of Salisbury's most eminent men, gave a description of the natural features of the town, in plain, terse style, which we now adopt :
"This town is pleasantly situated on the western banks of the Pemigewasset and Merrimack rivers, fifteen or sixteen miles north of Concord.
"It is bounded on the east by the Pemigewasset and Merri- mack, on the south by Boscawen, on the north by Andover, and on the west by a tract of land once called Kearsarge Gore, lately annexed to Warner. It is four miles wide, from north to south, and nine miles long, from east to west.
"A short turn on the Merrimack, to the east, forms a fine tract of fertile intervale in the southeast corner of the town, which consists of about three hundred acres, and appears to be an alluvial of the Merrimack. In this place are as pleasant, productive and valuable farms as any in the town.
14
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
"The original growth of wood on land adjacent to the rivers was pitch, Norway and white pine," with occasional elms, maples and birches.
"From the intervale and pine lands on the Merrimack, there is a gradual ascent to the uplands, which afford a pleasing variety of hill and dale, until you arrive at the valley of the Blackwater river. The hilly lands, in their natural state, were covered with a heavy growth of the sugar maple, white maple, beech, birch, elm, ash, and red and white oak. The valleys were interspersed with evergreens.
"The soil of the uplands is strong, deep and loamy, and has a substratum of pan.
"From the Blackwater valley there is a rapid ascent to the assemblage of hills which form the basis of Kearsarge mountain.
"The scenery is grand, beautiful and picturesque. The dis- tant, azure mountains, the fertilizing streams, the cultivated fields, the glens and valleys, and extensive pasture grounds, interspersed with beautiful copses of woodland, conspire to render it delightful to the eye, and to afford fine subjects for the pen."
RIVERS.
"The east part of the town is watered by the Pemigewasset and Merrimack rivers. The union of the Pemigewasset and the Winnipesauke forms the Merrimack.
"Boat navigation terminates a short distance above the junc- tion of those rivers. When a few obstructions shall be removed and one or two locks erected on the Merrimack, above Concord, by the medium of the Middlesex canal boat navigation will be rendered safe and easy from Boston to the East Village in Salisbury.
"Blackwater, called a branch of the Contoocook in Richard Hazen's map of the township-1736-7-passes through the western part of Salisbury. It takes its rise in the hilly regions of Danbury, Wilmot, and New London, and in its passage receiving considerable accession from tributary streams trav- erses Andover, and passing round the east end of Beech Hill,
15
DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY.
throws itself into Salisbury in a large bay, which abounds in pickerel, perch, eels, and a variety of other fish. At the outlet of this bay there is a gradual descent for more than a mile, which affords excellent sites for mills. From thence it rolls its dingy waters through Salisbury and Boscawen, and at length unites with the Contoocook in the northern part of Hopkinton.
MOUNTAINS.
" A considerable portion of Kearsarge range is within the bounds of Salisbury, the northwest corner bound of which extends nearly to the summit. The altitude of this mountain, as taken by Captain Partridge in August, 1820, by means of the barometer, was found to be 2461 feet above tide-water. It is composed of a range of hills, running from north to south a distance of about six miles. Its general aspect is ragged and craggy. Its northeast and southwest parts are steep and pre- cipitous. It may be ascended with pretty severe exertions from the northwest or southeast corners. Its summit was formerly covered with evergreens, but it has long been stripped of its primitive honors by the combined agency of fire and wind. It now presents a bald rock of granite, many parts of which appear to be in a state of gradual disintegration.
" In the spring of 1819 a large mass of rock, several tons in weight, was loosened from the southern declivity of Bald hill and precipitated with great violence to the valley below, carry- ing 'all before it' for the space of forty rods in length and four in breadth.
"The aspect from the summit of this mountain is magnificent and beautiful. Snow and ice have been observed upon this mountain in the month of July, in the clefts of the rocks on a northern exposure.
MINERALOGY.
"The mineralogical productions have never been scientifically examined. The prevailing rock is granite. A very fine quarry has lately been discovered on Mr. William Webster's farm, on
16
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
the east side of 'Meeting House hill.' It yields readily to the wedge and hammer, has a due proportion of its component, parts, and yields in beauty to no rock of that description in any other part of the State."
SUPPLEMENTARY DESCRIPTION.
To make this chapter of our history complete, we must add to the sketch which we have copied and enlarge on the descrip- tion of the natural features of the town.
The surface of the town is very uneven. It is hilly, and in the western section mountainous. But these broken areas afford excellent pasturage and compensate for all the disadvantages they occasion. The soil, which is of a granitic character and often loamy, is productive of abundant harvests. It is retentive in its nature, having a substratum of hard-pan or compact gravel, which prevents loss of fertility and counteracts the effects of drouth. The extreme variation in the weather is from 25° below zero to 98° above, which limits seldom occur. The average for the year is not far from 44° above zero. Thun- der showers, though frequent, are not destructive nor severe. It is not unusual in summer time to see a shower in the northwest strike Kearsarge mountain and divide, one part passing west of the mountain and the other moving down the valley of the Blackwater, while the highlands of the eastern part of the town are not reached. The warm rays of the sun, attracted by the many hill slopes and the rocky soil, followed by irrigating showers, cause the productions common to the climate to ripen quite as early as do corresponding crops in towns further south.
HILLS.
Scarle's, or "Meeting House hill," called "Mount Zion " on the Proprietors' book, and "Mount Pisgah" by Mr. Webster, was named for the first settled minister, to which was added its first supplementary name from the fact that it was the location of Salisbury's Zion, or its first church. It is near the centre of the original town, and its summit was the scene of the alarm
I7
SUPPLEMENTARY DESCRIPTION.
fires, which were kindled as signals in the perilous days of the pioneers, and presents many magnificent landscape views. At one time it was thickly settled, but now only a single set of buildings remains.
Loverin's Hill is situated on the centre range-way, west of Searle's hill, and is of steep ascent. It was named for Samuel Loverin, who resided there.
Calef Hill, named for the Calefs who resided on its summit, is situated near Boscawen line, about midway of the southern boundary of Salisbury.
Bean's Hill is near the Union Meeting House, and was so called for Sinkler Bean, who located in that section in 1766. The Indians are reported to have occupied this hill as a lookout, and its northern ravine is said to have been used as a place of retreat when pursued by the white man. By the upturning of an old tree, a few years ago, an Indian oven was disclosed, having been entirely covered by the roots of the tree. It is two feet in depth, with a circumference of six feet, carefully stoned on the sides and bottom. It is covered by a flat stone, through which a round opening is cut.
Bald Hill is a spur of the Kearsarge, situated on the western line of the town.
Smith's Hill is situated easterly of Searle's hill and is in that part of the town which now belongs to Franklin. It had its name from Lieutenant Robert Smith, the first permanent set- tler in that vicinity.
Raccoon Hill lies northeasterly of Centre Road Village. It is a good farming section though the soil is stubborn until sub- dued by the plow and the hoe, when it becomes profitably pro- ductive. For many years it has been known as the home of the Shaws, who are among the best farmers in the town.
PLAINS.
Notwithstanding the many hills of the town, and the moun- tainous territory, there is no inconsiderable portion of plain land, particularly in the western section, on both sides of the Blackwater. Nearly one-sixth part of the town has a sandy soil.
2
18
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
KEARSARGE.
This noted mountain rises abruptly from a comparatively level country. It is situated seventy miles southwest of the White Mountains, in the towns of Salisbury, Andover, Warner, Sutton and Wilmot. Its height is 2943.5 feet above tide-water and 943.5 feet higher than Ragged Mountain, in Andover. For the accompanying notes the compiler is indebted to John M. Shirley, Esq., of Andover, who has recently prepared an elab- orate and carefully studied historical address on Kearsarge Mountain, in Merrimack county, the occasion of which was a discussion which originated a few years after the sinking of the Confederate gunboat Alabama, June 19, 1864, by the Union sloop-of-war Kearsarge. Carroll county claimed that the moun- tain within its borders was the original Kearsarge, and that the mountain in Merrimack county derived its name from an English hunter named Hezekiah Currier Sargent, who was supposed to have had his home somewhere upon it. Governor Harriman, in his History of Warner, says: "It is a sufficient answer to this to say that no such a man ever lived on Kearsarge Mountain, on the top or on either side of it. The story is a fabrication." Mr. Shirley's address is a thorough explosion of that fallacy, and proves that the mountain in Merrimack county is the true Kearsarge.
The Indian name for this mountain is Coowissewasseck.
In the Journal of Capt. Samuel Willard, of Lancaster, Mass., a noted Indian ranger, a record is made of seeing the mountain, and writing it Cusagec. In 1652, Governor Endicott explored the Merrimack river to Lake Winnepesauke, and made a plan of the survey, which was recently brought to light by George E. Emery, of Lynn, Mass. It bears no date, but must have been executed before 1670. On this plan the mountain is spelled Carasaga. July 4, 1733, the proprietors of what is now Boscawen hired Richard Hazen to "make a plan of the planta- tion," a copy of which map is in the possession of the compiler of this history. Along the northern and western boundary line is represented an irregular line of hills which he calls "Kiasarja
19
SUPPLEMENTARY DESCRIPTION.
Hills." In Clough's survey of Stevenstown (Salisbury) is a sketch of the mountain, with the inscription, "An exceeding high mountain, called by the Indians Coowissewasseck, and by the English Ciresay."
It is not easy to convey, by the use of English letters, the precise sounds given by the Indians. The reader must bear in mind that the parties, spelling this name, had never seen it in print, that they had no communication with each other. They spelled it as it sounded when pronounced to them. Al- though spelled differently, the pronunciations are somewhat similar. It is often pronounced Ki-ah-sarge.
Mitchell and Hazen's map, of 1750, gives the mountain in Merrimack county in its proper place, and spells it "Kyasage Mts." The same can be said of Holland's map, published in 1784, the orthography being "Kyar-sage Mt., by the Indians Cowissewaschook." In the first official map of the province, published in 1792, it was spelled Kearseage, and in 1794, Kearsarge, since which time the latter spelling has been most generally observed. A plan of Kearsarge Gore, drawn by Col. Henry Gerrish, previous to 1757, spells it Kaysarge. In the Proprietors' records of Sutton it is spelled Kiasargg Hill.
LAKES AND PONDS.
Webster Lake, so called in compliment to Mr. Webster, who made frequent visits to it in his hours of recreation, is located in that part of Franklin which was taken from Andover. We appropriate it from its association with Salisbury, and because its waters reach the river by a course through territory that belonged to us. Mr. Webster called it "Lake Como," from its resemblance to the Italian water of that name. It has been called Chance pond and Great pond. It is a pleasant summer resort, and in winter is often visited by fishermen.
Tucker's Pond is the largest body of water within the present limits of Salisbury, and was named for the Tucker family, whose older members were the first settlers upon its shores. In early records it is called Almsbury pond, from its proximity to War- ner, which was called Almsbury at the time of its settlement.
20
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
Greenough's Pond, known also as Cook's pond, was named for Richard Greenough, and is situated in the westerly section of the town, near the South road.
Wilder's Pond, named for Captain Luke Wilder, a large land- holder and one of the first merchants in the town, is located about half-way up Kearsarge mountain, and is fed by mountain springs. On the old maps it is called Kearsarge pond. Its outlet divides into three streams, which empty into the Black- water river.
BROOKS.
Bog, Beaver Dam, or Bowley Brook, called Buttermilk brook on Richard Hazen's map, 1736, rises in the meadow southwest of the Centre Road Village, and flows southerly into Couch's pond. Taking the same name at the outlet of the pond, it pur- sues a southerly course, passing through Great pond in the town of Webster, and emptying into Contoocook river.
Chance Pond Brook, or Mill brook, takes the water from Web- ster Lake to the river. Although the lake from which it flows has borne various names, the stream has had but one since the occupation of the town. On an early map of Andover and Salisbury, before they bore their present names, it is called Clough's brook. Its outlet is 446 feet above sea level.
Stirrup-Iron Brook rises in the meadow-land south of Raccoon hill, flows southeasterly and empties into the Merrimack, a half mile below the south line of the town. It received its name, as the story goes, from a stirrup-iron lost in the stream by General Henry Dearborn, of revolutionary fame.
Punch Brook, so called as early as 1767, has also sometimes been designated as Hancock brook, for Mr. John Hancock, who resided near by. On this brook was built the Proprietors' mill.
Wigwag Brook. A story is told regarding the naming of this and the preceding brook. A company of men, it is said, started from Penacook (Concord) with a cask or keg of rum, for Ply- mouth. It was fastened to a pole by ropes, and carried by a man at each end. They followed the Indian trail, and reaching the brook first named, rested and partook freely of punch, made
21
SUPPLEMENTARY DESCRIPTION.
from the contents of the keg and the clear water of the stream. From the drink they took on its bank they gave it the name of Punch brook. Cherishing pleasant sensations of their experi- ence here, they rested again at the next brook. By this time their steps became unsteady, and their cask swung to the right and left in a wig-wag way. They therefore called the second brook the Wigwag or crooked brook.
VARIETIES OF TREES AND PLANTS.
When the first settlers came to this town they found it a wilderness. In the forests could be seen nearly forty varieties of trees, the most valuable among them being the mighty white pines, which were marked with the "arrowhead," as reserved for the royal navy. To cut one of these was a crime which was punished with much severity. Though they might never be required for masts, they were the king's property and must not be removed. They were often found of great height, even exceeding one hundred and fifty feet in length. Nearly all the original varieties of forest trees are still found, though usually of smaller growth than formerly. At the present day we find the poplar and bass wood, and several varieties of beech, oak, birch and maple, which were not in the early times designated as distinct varieties. We may also add the ash, the elm, lever wood, chestnut, hickory and butternut, though rare, and most of the evergreens. The flora of Salisbury possesses nothing not common in towns of corresponding soils, and demands no especial mention.
WILD ANIMALS, BIRDS AND REPTILES.
These forests abounded, at the time of the early settlers, in black and brown bears, catamounts, wild cats, and grey wolves. Moose and red deer were not uncommon. The beaver, musk- rat and otter were often seen, as were the mink, ferret, red fox and raccoon, which are now but rarely found. The grey or silver fox, the woodchuck, red, grey, striped, and flying squirrels, the hedgehog, skunk and rabbit, still occupy our woods and fields. The rivers and ponds are stocked with common fish, though
22
HISTORY OF SALISBURY.
none have been put into our waters by authority of the State. The brook and mountain streams furnish the wary trout. The different varieties of fish found in our waters are said to be the common perch, flat-side, horned-pout, two or three varieties of suckers, the grass-fish or ordinary shiner, the eel, dace, and pick- erel. Specimens of the black bass have also been taken. For- merly the shad and the salmon, and perhaps other varieties, frequented the Merrimack. Naturalists tell us that the shad, coming to the junction of the Winnepesauke and Pemigewasset rivers at East Salisbury or Franklin, instinctively continued on to the lake, for spawning, while the salmon invariably sought the waters of Squam or Newfound lakes.
The birds found here are common to other sections of the State, in the same latitude, and need not be enumerated. The same is true in regard to snakes and the ordinary reptile tribes.
GEOLOGY.
The entire area of the town of Salisbury rests upon a granitic base, though its geological aspect is somewhat varied. At the close of the Laurentian period of the Eozoic era, which was the first period of the first era, according to the classification of the geological epochs, the earliest dry land of the State made its appearance, constituting an archipelago of about thirty islands. One of these embraced a small portion of the territory of Salis- bury and Warner ; the northernmost section being in Salisbury and identical with the neighborhood that now surrounds Tuck- er's pond. The geological designation of this development was porphyritic gneiss.
Succeeding the Laurentian came the Atlantic period of the same era, and during its continuance appeared as solid land the remainder of Salisbury ; first, Lake gneiss, covering the greater part of more than the southern half of the town, and bounded by an irregular line on the north, which extended along the Kearsarge Andalusite group of rocks, then running just north of the West Salisbury post office, and then turning to the south- east as far as Salisbury Centre, where it forms an angle, and
23
SUPPLEMENTARY DESCRIPTION.
follows a curve in a northeasterly direction till it reaches the western boundary of the town of Franklin.
Next in order comes the Montalban series of rock, covering the entire remaining area of the town, and including the Kear- sarge Andalusite groups, characterized as the name indicates by the presence of andalusite, which, when found in a perfect state, is a mineral having the shape of a rhombic prism. The Lake gneiss derives its name from its prevalence in the neigh- borhood of Lake Winnepesauke, and the Montalban series from the White Mountains.
The valley of the Blackwater river embraces an area of modi- fied drift, extending with varying width from West Salisbury post office to the southern limit of the town. This drift pre- sents the characteristics of a soil that has been formed by river floods, being an alluvium made up of sand, gravel and clay, deposited on the original Lake gneiss, which was there long before it.
It does not appear that there is any formation of granite within the present limits of Salisbury. Gneiss, though resembling granite in some of its constituents, is specifically different and furnishes a better foundation for a productive soil.
MINERALS AND ROCKS.
The rocks are mostly Montalban and Simonite. A species of bog ore, containing iron, also exists. The mineralogy of Kearsarge mountain is andalusite and tourmaline. In the west part of the town, near Wilder's pond, tripoli is found in large quantities near the surface of the ground. This is of economic value. After cleansing it of foreign substances and drying, it is an excellent polishing powder. With other ingredients it makes a valuable cement, and gives a pure whiteness to linen, when properly used. Plumbago exists in various sections of the town, a large vein being found on the eastern slope of Kearsarge. This vein has been worked, but through lack of capital or cost of transportation it has been abandoned. An- other vein has been found on the southern slope of Searle's hill,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.