USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Swanzey > The history of Swanzey, New Hampshire, from 1734 to 1890 > Part 22
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In 1852, Franklin Holman commenced making buckets in John Stratton's new mill. The next year E. F. Read entered into partner- ship with Holman for carrying on the same business. This partner- ship continued until 1855, when Holmnan sold to Read who continued the business alone.
In 1856, E F. Read and Elliot W. Lane formed a partnership, and added manufacturing of pails to that of buckets. This partnership continued only a few months when Lane withdrew and Read contin- ued alone until 1863, when lie sold one-half of the business to Joseph L. Parker.
In 1865, Read and Parker dissolved their partnership and divided their business ; Read took the bucket part of the business and Parker the pail part. Read sold the bucket business in 1867 to Jolin Starkey and Oscar J. Howard ; and Parker, at a later date, sold the pail busi- ness to Elisha Munsell, jr. Henry Abbott bought the bucket busi- ness of Starkey and Howard
In the spring of 1873, a new company was formed for manufacturing wooden ware at West Swanzey, to be known as E. F. Read & Co. The partners were Stratton Mills Co., Charles L. Russell and E. F. Read. This company bought the pail business of Munsell and the bucket business of Abbott. At the expiration of three years Read sold his interest in the business to George E. Whitcomb and the firn name was changed to C. L. Russell and Co. In 1885 Russell & Whit- comb bought the interest of the Stratton Mills Co.
Russell & Whitcomb have had ample means, and have done a large and successful business. They have leased their mill of the West Swanzey Manf. Co. They have a large store house near the rail- road. It takes about 2000 cords of pine saplings and a large quanti- ty of hard wood timber to stock their mill annually. They employ forty hands.
Frank L. Snow built a steam mill in 1882 near the railroad, and commenced to manufacture lumber, and in 1882, Solon W. Snow & Sons began to make boxes in the mill. In 1883 the mill was burned
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and rebuilt in 1884. In 1884 Mr. Snow commenced to make pails in his mill ; he uses some 1500 cords of sapling pines a year for his pail business and employs twenty-five hands.
The grist-mill of Eames and Towne, the motive power of which is furnished from Snow's steam-mill, was built in 1884.
The first firm that made boxes at West Swanzey was John Strat- ton, 2d, Alfred Stratton and a Mr. Jaquith. They commenced the business about 1854 in the old fulling-mill building, which was owned at the time by Jolin Stratton. The two brothers bought the building of their father in May, 1858, and sold it to Francis Morse, Daniel Snow, and Gilbert S. Howard Oct. 1, 1858, and also sold to them their box business. This firm continued until 1863, when Morse sold out to his partners, having been in company with the Strattons in the business some time before his partnership with Snow and Howard.
Since 1863 the following firms have carried on the box business at this place : Daniel Snow & Gilbert S. Howard ; Daniel Snow & Fran- cis Morse ; Abner Thompson & Solon W. Snow ; Daniel Snow & Solon W. Snow ; Elisha Munsell & Frank L. Snow ; Obadiah Sprague & Solon W. Snow ; Obadiah Sprague & Orlow E Parsons ; Orlow E. Parsons, George E. Whitcomb & Arthur H. Whitcomb. Fifteen hands are employed and 450 cords of timber used annually.
Since 1882 Solon W. Snow and his son E. H. Snow have been man- ufacturing boxes at Frank L. Snow's steam-mill. They employ sev- enteen hands and work up five hundred cords of pine timber annually.
After the Strattons bought the Whitcomb mill on the west side of the river in 1853 the old saw- and grist-mill was taken down and a large substantial building built at the same place. The lower part of the new mill was designed for a grist-mill and the upper part for man- ufacturing woollen goods. John Stratton, 2d, had the manage- ment of erecting the building and putting in a grist-mill which had a capacity for doing a large amount of milling. He formed a partner- ship with his brother-in-law, Jotham W. Frink, for manufacturing woollen goods, the firm name being J. W. Frink & Co. This firm carried on the manufacturing a number of years previous to its sale to the Stratton Mills Co.
In 1866 Laton Martin, Obed G. Dort, John Bowker and Obadiah Sprague formed a copartnership for the purpose of purchasing all the mill and water power at West Swanzey, and for manufacturing woollen and cotton goods, lumber and wooden ware. John Stratton owned all the mills on each side of the river except the old fulling-mill, which
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was owned by Daniel Snow and Gilbert S. Howard. The company took deeds of all these mills Jan. 24, 1866, and also bought adjoin- ing land of Abraham Stearns, and a blacksmith shop of Ira Hooper. The company adopted the name of Stratton Mills Co., and commenced business with a capital of forty thousand dollars. In 1868 a new mill was built of brick, seventy feet in length and thirty-five in breadth. The grist-mill was taken out about 1862. Building the new mill and taking out the grist-mill gave room for double the business that was had at the commencement. The old fulling-mill was rebuilt in 1876, and has been leased to different firms for making boxes. Firms en- gaged in making wooden ware have leased the mill since it was bought by the Stratton Mills Co. in 1866. Sprague and Martin bought Dort's interest.
March 16, 1887, the property of the Stratton Mills Co. was merged into a stock company and the name changed to West Swanzey Man- ufacturing Co. The capital of the stock company was made thirty- four thousand dollars, of which Ansel Dickinson of Winchester took fifteen thousand and was made president of the company.
Mr. Sprague has been the treasurer and manager of both companies, excepting some three years when he was building and operating the mills at Spragueville.
The goods that have been made have consisted of black and grey beaver cloth, cashmeretts and flannels. The company employ fifty hands.
The main buildings of the company are the woollen mill, 50 X 76 ft., three stories and basement ; brick mill, 50 × 65 ft., two stories and basement ; box shop, 50 × 50 ft., two stories ; pail shop, 100 × 40 ft., two stories which was rebuilt in 1881 and a store house near the west end of the bridge.
The first store at West Swanzey was built in 1803 by Abraham Stearns where Mrs. Asa S. Kendall resides. In 1807 Mr. Stearns had as a partner in trade Abijah, his eldest son. In 1808 Asaph Stearns became a partner of his brother Abijah. Doubtless the senior Stearns carried on business here at a later date and had the assistance of his sons John, Abraham and Samuel. The last of the family that was in business here was Samuel Stearns and his brother-in-law Joel Eaton. Joseph Hammond, jr., carried on business in this store in 1850 and 1851.
John Stratton built a store about 1827 where the Universalist church now stands, and formed a partnership with Jonathan Whitcomb, 3rd, which continued about two years. Mr. Whitcomb was alone in busi- ness in 1829. The occupants during the years 1830-32 were Jonathan
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and Hiram Whitcomb. Everson Cook did business there from 1834 to 1838.
Mr. Cook built a store on the west side of the river in 1838, and occupied it until 1846. He connected a tailoring establishment with it and sold to Amos F. and Ezra T. Fish in 1846. They sold in 1849 to Jotham W. Frink who carried on business there until 1865. The subsequent occupants have been Paul F. Aldrich, jr., to 1871, and Salmon H. Fox to 1890.
Joseph Hammond, jr., built a store near the Baptist meeting-honse in 1852 and was in business there until he sold it to Paul F. Aldrich, 3rd, in 1863, excepting the year 1857, when he leased it to D. G. Mason. Mr. Aldrich occupied the store until he sold it in 1865 to Joseph Ware, who after doing business about two years sold to Frank L. Snow, who, after being in business some three years exchanged it with A. S. Kendall for the old No. 11 school-house.
This building was moved by Mr. Snow to the east side of Railroad street and fitted up for a store in 1880. He continued in business until 1883, when he leased it to C. C. Brooks, later to J. L. Parker, and in 1885 sold to C. L. Russell and G. E. Whitcomb who sold to Salmon H. Fox in 1887.
The West Swanzey Manufacturing Co. fitted up a store in 1889 on the west side of the river, near the bridge which is now occupied by A. A. Emery for the sale of dry goods and groceries.
The house now owned by Mrs. Asa S. Kendall was built about 1810 by Abraham Stearns for a tavern, and was managed many years by him and his sons. John Grimes, 2nd, was in control of the property in 1825, and Silas Brewer in 1832 ; subsequent owners have been Josiah Woodward, Leonard Whitcomb, John Starkey and David Wilson. The last man that kept a public house here was a Mr. Richards.
Everson Cook and Joseph Hammond, jr., built the hotel on the west side of the river in 1840. Mr. Cook bought Hammond's interest in 1841 and managed the house until he sold to Amos F. and Ezra T. Fish in 1846. The following persons have been in possession of this hotel since it was bought by the Fish brothers : Francis Morse, 1847; Adoniram J. Aldrich, W. G. Owen, 1849; Moses Kinney, 1851 ; Samuel Mattoon, 1857; Albert G. Hill, 1860; Henry Starkey, jr., 1865 ; Homer Evans and family since the last date.
A FAMILY OF BLACKSMITHS.
Shubael Seaver, a blacksmith, bought lot No. 25 in the fourth range, Sept. 25, 1783. He settled upon this lot which was in the east part of West Swanzey. Of his descendants who have been blacksmiths
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are his sons Shubael, William Hyde and John ; his grandsons Shubael and Luman W., and his great-grandson Luman B.
Other blacksmithis at West Swanzey have been Zadock Taft, Lucius Taft, Moses Kenney, George Hamblet, Lorenzo R. Holbrook, Alfred Seaver, Ira Hooper, Amos H. Freeman and Frank O. Dodge.
SWANZEY FACTORY VILLAGE.
The first mills in Swanzey, after the town was re-settled, were built at Swanzey Factory by David Belding, Joshua Graves, Elisha Scott and Abner Graves.
The proprietors of Keene encouraged the building of these mills by granting to the above-named men, May 29, 1759, as follows : "The liberty to turn the water of the stream known by the name of the East Branch, in the most convenient place for the use of a saw-mill and corn-mill, and shall have the liberty and privilege of said stream so much as to be sufficient to support said mills so long and upon these conditions hereafter named, viz. : That they will, in the space of two years time, build and fit a good saw-mill and corn-mill, and that the inhabitants and residents of the town of Keene shall have as good privileges both in sawing and grinding as the inhabitants of Swanzey -passable logs to be sawed for the value of the one-half of the boards from time to time and at all times ; and when the abovesaid gentle- men shall cease or neglect to keep mills there in good repair, to answer the necessity of this township for sawing and grinding, then said privilege to return to this propriety again."
The proprietors of Swanzey held a meeting at the meeting-house June 1, 1759, and, to encourage these men in the undertaking, voted to give them "fifty acres of land to be laid out to said undertakers so as to accommodate the mills they engage to build and keep in good re- pair for the space of ten years, to grind and saw as is the common cus- tom at other mills, or otherwise the land to return to the proprietors again."
Abraham Graves, William Carr and Jonathan Hammond were chosen a committee to lay out the land. The layout was irregular in form, extending from Keene line southwesterly so as to include the entire privilege.
After the digging of the canal and the erection of the mills on the land thus conveyed, David Belding, on the 16th of September, 1761, conveyed one-fourth of the saw- and grist-mill to Joshua and Abner Graves ; later, having bought the fourth interest of Elisha Scott, they became sole proprietors of the mills, Feb. 28, 1765. In Feb. 16, 1767, Abner Graves sold his interest to David Griffith, who sold one-
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half of his right to William Griffith ; Aug. 21, 1799, David Twitchell and Willard Aldrich purchased the half interest of Joshua Graves, and in October the same year, bought the other half of David and Wil- liam Griffith. Later, Selah Smead became an owner in said mills. Still later, Nathaniel Cummings, Aug. 22, 1805, became owner, and sold to Daniel Adams May 2, 1809 ; and Jan. 30, 1811, it came into pos- session of the Swanzey Factory Co. This company was chartered by the legislature June 16, 1810, with a capital of $40,000, for the pur- pose of "spinning cotton and woolen yarn or weaving the same into cloth."
The corporate members of the company were Samuel Dinsmore, Aquilla Ramsdell, Josiah Woodward, William C. Belding, John Thompson and associates.
At first only cotton yarn was made. At this time weaving cotton cloth by the power loom had not been successfully accomplished, and yarn was distributed among families to be woven with the hand-loom. Some years after the mill was built looms were put into it for weav- ing. William Ryder became a stockholder and a manager of the mill soon after it was built. It 1822 and later Jolin Chamberlain had the management of it. Some of the men engaged in operating the mill at different times between 1830 and 1848, when the mill was burned, were Archer Campbell, 1832; George Oliver, 1835; Jarvis Bates and brothers, 1840; W. F. & A. P. Barnes, 1847-1848.
The saw-mill, with machinery for manufacturing pail stock, the grist-mill and the mechanical shop, while owned by the factory cor- poration, usually had a separate management from that of the factory. David Page was the occupant of the mechanical shop for a long time. Jonathan Martin was the chief miller from 1820 to the time of his death in 1832.
May 13, 1813, Jonathan Locke bought a water power of the pro- prietors of the cotton factory for a cloth-dressing establishment, and leased of them a piece of land upon which to erect the buildings. He built and carried on the business a number of years, when on ac- count of some dissatisfaction he bought the property at what is now Spragueville and moved his building and machinery there.
After the cotton factory was burned, Abel Bowers of Leominster, Mass., bought, July 10, 1849, what was left of the corporation prop- erty, which consisted of a saw-mill, grist-mill, a shop and two dwell- ing houses, and which was in rather a dilapidated condition. The men who executed the deed were John Wood, A. & T. Hall, Levi Willard, Samuel Dinsmore, Aaron Appleton, John Elliot, Samuel Wood, Eliphalet Briggs, Samuel Cooper and Salma Hale.
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Mr. Bowers engaged in making combs. He sold the shop and comb business Nov. 20, 1850, to Anson Low of Clinton, Mass., and the saw- and grist-mill, March 4, 1852, to Daniel Thompson and Elbridge G. Whitcomb of Keene.
After the mills were bought by Thompson and Whitcomb, they were for a time occupied by Alonzo and Benjamin Wilson.
Orren Dickinson bought the comb shop of Mr. Low, Nov. 5, 1851, and continued to own the plat during his life. He built a large sub- stantial building where the comb shop stood, soon after making the purchase. He has used the building for a grist-mill and for a manu- factory of doors, sash and blinds. In the grist-mill there has been done a large amount of milling, and in the shop a number of hands have been employed most of the time in manufacturing either doors, sash or blinds. Some of Mr. Dickinson's sons have been connected with him in the business a number of years past, and some of the time he has had Timothy Sherman also for a partner.
Daniel Thompson deeded his half of the saw- and grist-mill to Elbridge G. Whitcomb, May 23, 1853, and the next day Mr. Whit- comb deeded them to Lewis Carpenter and Benjamin Wilson. Sept. 14, 1853, Asa B. Clark bought the mills of Carpenter and Wilson and sold them to Carpenter Oct. 19, 1853.
While Mr. Carpenter owned the mills, they were burned and the site sold to Franklin Holman, Aug. 8, 1854.
Mr. Holman rebuilt where the mills had been burned and sold to Ephraim Murdock, June 27, 1856. There had been put into the build- ing which Holman built, before he sold it, a saw-mill, a grist-mill with three sets of stones, machinery for manufacturing pail stock and pails. Soon after Mr. Murdock's purchase, the mill-stones were taken out and the making of pails was not continued here by Murdock.
Mr. Murdock's purchase included the site where the cotton factory stood, and he immediately built a shop here to be used for making pails exclusively, and using the old grist- and saw-mill place for manu- facturing his pail stock. The making of pails here was continued by Mr. Murdock until a few years before his death, when he built a new shop on lower ground a few rods to the west, into which the pail machinery was placed, the old shop being used for painting and stor- ing pails.
Mr. Murdock died in the spring of 1882, about twenty-six years from the time he bought here. During this time he seldom stopped his machinery unless it was to make necessary repairs, and the amount of goods manufactured was large. The men associated with him as
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partners or employed as foremen were William N. Nason, George W. Tenney, Joseph N. Foristall and Edwin Parks.
George W. Garfield bought of the Murdock estate the establish- ment in 1883 and sold it to Elisha Munsell in 1887. The amount of goods made by Mr. Garfield annually was much less than that made by Mr. Murdock.
Mr. Munsell has made such changes since he bought that a much larger amount of manufacturing can be done than was done by Mur- dock, but, in part, of different goods. The mill built by Murdock on the old factory site, has been moved and placed on the south end of the last one which Murdock built, and has been fitted up for making boxes. The machinery in what was the pail shop has been changed to machinery for making buckets and leased to George and Andrew Fuller. A room has been fitted up in the saw-mill building for mak- ing pails and has been leased to John P. Rust, who employs ten hands and uses 500 cords of timber a year.
H. J. Fowler is occupying the box shop. He employs fifteen hands and uses 700 cords of timber annually.
The most noted public house in Swanzey is in this village. It was known for a long time as the Underwood Tavern. It is probable that it was opened to the public by Joshua Graves, 2d, about the time the turnpike was built. Timothy Underwood, of Northboro', Mass., bought it of Graves in 1816 and sold it May 11, 1816, to his brother James Underwood, who owned it from this time until his death July 4, 1832. Subsequent owners or occupants have been Israel Brown, " Daniel W. Kimball, 1840 ; George W. Holbrook, 1843 ; Franklin Good- now, 1847 ; Lewis Carpenter, Robert Hamilton, Percey and Lampson, William I. Sawyer, 1859 ; Dana Fuller, 1872 ; George G. Bidwell, Henry T. Bidwell, Albert N. Howe and his heirs. Howe bought the stand in 1880 of Henry T. Bidwell.
The large house owned by Charles H. Forbush was a public house much of the time between 1800 and 1850. Jonathan Locke, Elisha Simonds, Israel Brown and others occupied it for this purpose.
EAST SWANZEY.
Oct. 25, 1763, John Whitcomb bought three lots in that part of Swan- zey which was taken from Richmond. The lots were No. 32 in the third range, and Nos. 31 and 32 in the fourth range. Those in the fourth range were bounded on the west by the east line that bounded Swan- zey as it was first laid out. Mr. Whitcomb established his home- stead near the southwest corner of lot No. 31, on the spot where
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Henry Bowen's buildings now stand. All the mills in East Swanzey are on these Whitcomb lots.
The first dam on the South Branch was built by Mr. Whitcomb about 1780. It was located at the same place where that at Rams- dell's upper privilege now stands. Adjacent to it at the same period he built a saw-mill and a grist-mill. The mills were burned some years after this, and rebuilt by Mr. Whitcomb. In 1802 he conveyed them to his son Thomas, who, in 1803, sold them to Philo Sanford of Medway, Mass. Joel Mellen bought them in 1806 and retained pos- session of them till 1817, when he sold them to William Ryder and Phineas Stone. Ryder and Stone built a two-story mill and dug a canal for obtaining the water power. The mill was built where Rams- dell's now stands. The grist-mill was put into the lower part, and machinery for making cotton yarn into the upper part. In 1821 Mr. Ryder sold to Henry Cooper. After this sale the making of cotton yarn was discontinued. Mr. Cooper continued to own one-half of the mill nearly two years when he sold to Phineas Stone, Dec. 24, 1822. Mr. Stone, while he owned the mills, was engaged in mannfacturing lumber for the market down the Connecticut river. April 18, 1825, Mr. Stone sold to Lyman and Roswell Parker.
The Parkers engaged quite extensively in manufacturing lumber for the Connecticut river trade. Into the room where cotton yarn had been made they put a carding machine. About 1829 the grist-mill building was burned and everything connected with it. The mill was immediately rebuilt but the business of wool carding was not resumed. In 1831 Lyman bought out his brother Roswell and owned the mills to March 14, 1840, when he sold to Benjamin Page and James Sib- ley Taft.
While Mr. Lyman Parker was the owner, he built, for manufactur- ing pail stock, a mill which was connected with the saw-mill. Messrs. Page and Taft built an addition to the grist-mill building.
After a short time Page obtained Taft's interest in the mills, and for several years various persons at different times had the manage- ment of the saw- and grist-mill. A Mr. Winzell made shoe pegs in the mill connected with the saw-mill, and Benjamin Read, for a few years, occupied a part of the grist-mill building for making boot forms. In 1847 C. G. Ramsdell was making chairs in the upper room of the grist-mill.
For some two years, including the year 1848, Martin Mason and Russell B. Hall had possession of the mills. During this time Elliot W. Lane and Moses D. Ballou commenced to make bailed boxes in
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the saw-mill shop. This business passed from Lane and Ballou to A. W. Banks, who continued the box business several years, after which, till 1859, he manufactured pail handles.
Soon after Mason and Hall's possession of the mills, Nathan Winch made a contract with Page to manufacture pails for him in the grist- mill building ; and for obtaining the necessary room for the pail machinery the grist-mill was removed. Mr. Winch made pails here about three years, 1849-51. From the time that Winch gave up the business Benjamin Read had the management of the pail business until the mill was burned, April 26, 1855. During some of these years a small shop attached to the grist-mill building was occupied by A. W. Read for making various kinds of wooden ware.
After the fire in 1855 Page built what is now the west part of the mill owned by the Ramsdells. The principal business carried on previous to Mr. Page's death in January, 1859, was making clothes-pins by parties who hired the mill. These parties were Philo Applin and Daniel E. Woodward, Elkanah and Fred A. Lane and J. Mason Reed. Reed had been occupying the mill some two years at the time of Mr. Page's death.
June 30, 1859, Benjamin Read bought at auction all the mills and real estate which Mr. Page, at the time of his decease, owned in East Swanzey. He immediately conveyed the upper mill property to Alanson W. Banks and J. Mason Reed. During their ownership they manufactured pail handles, clothes-pins and chair stock. Sept. 20, 1866, they sold to Merrill C. Peavey. While Mr. Peavey owned the mill, Luther S. Lane, Elkanah Lane and Frederic A. Lane occupied a part of it for making wool mattresses, and Luther S. Lane a part for making pail handles.
After the purchase of Banks and Reed the saw-mill and the adja- cent mill, not being much used, went to decay, and were washed away in the great freshet in September, 1869.
Nov. 9, 1871, Mr. Peavey sold to D. E. Woodward, who built the east part of the mill, run it several years, making pail stock and pails, and then conveyed it to E. Murdock, jr., of Winchendon, Mass.
After Mr. Murdock's death, the establishment was bought by J. M. Ramsdell in 1882. He has made different kinds of wooden ware, em- ploys some twenty hands, and uses seven hundred cords of pine, hem- lock and hard wood annually.
At the next mill-site down the river Elisha Whitcomb built a saw- mill and a mill for wool carding, about 1805. He died in 1814, and during the next twenty years the saw-mill was owned in various pro-
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portions and at different times by the heirs of Mr. Whitcomb, by Joel Mellen. Henry Cooper, Israel Applin, William Aldrich, Nathan Winch, Josephi Putney, Ezra Emerson and Ebenezer Howard.
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