USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Swanzey > The history of Swanzey, New Hampshire, from 1734 to 1890 > Part 23
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Mr. Whitcomb and Mr. Cooper built an addition to the mill, into one part of which Mr. Whitcomb manufactured shingles, and into the other Mr. Cooper put a turning lathe.
For about twenty years after the death of Elisha Whitcomb the carding-mill was occupied by Joseph Whitcomb and was largely pat- ronized by people from this and adjoining towns.
In 1821 Roswell Randall bought of the Whitcomb heirs some land on which he built a mill and carried on the business of custom cloth- dressing until he sold to Asahel Randall and Asahel Randall, 2d, in Nov., 1826. During the ownership by the Randalls the business was carried on some of the time by Calvin Bryant and after him by Na- thaniel Poland.
The Randalls sold their mill to Benjamin Page in 1828. At this time Page was making flannels at the old homestead where Mrs. Alonzo Ballou now lives, with machinery propelled by hand. He moved the business to this mill and continued it some two years when he substituted for it the making of pails. These were the first pails made by machinery in Swanzey, and were nearly the first made any- where. A few had been made at that time in South Keene, in Marl- borough and Troy.
Mr. Page enlarged his mill, a part of the addition being used for a store ; and in 1836 bought the adjoining mill, thus owning the entire privilege. In 1839 the mills, store and dwelling-house owned by Mr. Page were burned. A dwelling-house standing near the bridge, which he did not own, was also burned. The buildings burned formed a continuous line reaching from the bridge to the saw-mill. They were in good condition and made a creditable appearance. The main building was two stories high, had upon it a bell deck in which there was a bell. Mr. Page estimated his loss at seven thousand dollars, and he had no insurance.
He rebuilt the saw-mill and a small pail shop. Benjamin Read managed this mill most of the time till the death of Mr. Page. Levi M. Wellington made bailed boxes in the pail shop one or two years, about 1851.
Josiah M. Read bought this property in 1859 and sold it to C. G. and R. R. Ramsdell, Oct. 13, 1871. During these years Benjamin Read inanufactured pails here, excepting the year 1868, when Harvey Sar- gent had the management of the pail business. After the Ramsdells
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bought the property, various kinds of wooden ware were made, until the mills were burned in February, 1883. They have not been re- built. The site is owned by James M. Ramsdell.
In August, 1831, Benjamin Page bought the land and water power of George Bucklin, where the pail shop of Wilder P. Clark stands. He immediately built a large pail shop here and fully equipped it for manufacturing pail stock and pails.
William and Samuel Tenney, Davis Wilson, Chester Lyman, Henry S. Applin and Benjamin Read made pails at this place for Mr. Page at different times.
Asa B. Clark bought the property in 1859 and manufactured pails till he sold to John S. Sargent in March, 1865. Mr. Sargent soon after sold to Jesse W. Murphy, Silas B. Partridge and Daniel E. Woodward, and, Jan. 11, 1866, Partridge conveyed hisinterest in the property to Mr. Murphy.
Mr. Murphy and Mr. Woodward continued the business till Mr. Woodward sold to Calvin Alexander in October, 1871, his third, and Mr. Murphy sold to Mr. Alexander at the same time one-sixth of his two-thirds.
Murphy and Alexander were in company from 1871 to Nov. 20, 1879, when Murphy sold to Alexander. During this time the old mill was burned and the present one built.
After Mr. Alexander became the owner of all the mill, his son-in- law, Herbert W. Mason, was associated with him in business several years. The property was sold to Wilder P. Clark of Winchendon, Mass., in September, 1884.
From that time to the present, Mr. Clark has been the owner, and the manufacturing business has been managed for him by Charles H. Applin. About 600 cords of pine timber are used annually and ten men employed.
In 1849 Nelson Howe of Fitzwilliam and his brother-in-law, G. G. Willis, of this town, built a large, substantial mill where that of G. F. Lane now stands. They made pails and wash-tubs. In 1853, Howe sold to Asa B. Clarke, another brother-in-law. Willis and Clarke were in company till Dec. 20, 1855, when Willis sold his in- terest to Clarke. The latter, in 1857, conveyed the property to Willis, who built 'an addition to the mill, added also the making of buckets, and for about ten years did a very flourishing business, making the best of goods, for which there was a ready market.
Oct. 5, 1868, Nathan Winch and George F. Bucklin bought the es- tablishment and sold it to G. F. Lane, Oct. 20, 1869. In the spring
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of 1869 the mill was burned. Mr. Lane, soon after his purchase, re- built the main building now standing, and has at different times built tlie storehouse, the addition to the main building, and the connecting building. He with his son, C. M. Lane, as manager, employ twenty- five men and use annually about 1,200 cords of pine, 200 of hemlock and 100 of hard wood.
About 1831 Henry Cooper and Helon Holbrook built a store west of the bridge on the triangle between the three roads. Mr. Holbrook sold goods in it some six years. Subsequently it was occupied by Benjamin Page, and from 1842 to 1849 Benjamin Read did business. here most of the time.
Mr. Read built the store east of the bridge in 1850 and occupied it till 1863, when Moses D. Ballou continued the business till the time of his death in November, 1865. Some parts of the years 1867-68 George Oliver was in business here. From 1873 to 1880 A. B. Read kept his stock of goods at this place. In 1883 Martin L. Lane bought the store and occupied it one or two years. From 1886 to 1888 George W. Willis was the owner and occupant. Willis sold to A. B. Read.
For a few years previous to 1873 a stock of goods was kept and sold by Murphy & Woodward and Murphy & Alexander in one of their dwelling-houses.
The store now occupied by A. B. Read was fitted up for him in 1881 by Alexander and Mason, and has been occupied by him since that time.
G. F. Lane's dwelling-house near the mill was built by G. G. Wil- lis for a store, and a stock of goods was kept in it by him a number of years. Since Mr. Lane has owned it goods were sold from 1874 to 1878.
WESTPORT.
The Lower Falls, so-called, and the surrounding territory were laid out in 1774 to Capt. Samuel Brown and Moses Boardman Williams, it being a seventh division lot containing fifty acres.
The best record that has been found to indicate when mills were built on this site is the following vote of Swanzey, March 19, 1782.
"Voted, That the selectmen shall lay out a road from Richard- son's mills to the great road that leads from Winchester to Swanzey in such place as they shall judge most convenient."
It is not known who built these mills, but from the fact that they were called Richardson's mills, and from the following conveyances, it is inferred they were built by John Richardson, Daniel Franklin
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and Abijah Brown. The descendants of Mr. Williams have no knowledge that he had anything to do in building the mills which makes it probable that he disposed of his right in the pitch before they were built. Capt. Samuel Brown, who made the pitch in con- nection with Mr. Williams, was the father of Abijah Brown, and lived in Paxton, Mass.
Abijalı Brown sold one-half of a saw-mill and grist-mill Jan. 24, 1795, to Nicholas Trask and Daniel Franklin of Winchester; and John Richardson of Northfield sold one-half of a saw-mill and grist- mill to Moses Cadwell, June 16, 1795. Mr. Cadwell sold his half Dec. 5, 1796, to Mr. Trask.
Ephraim Taft of Winchester bought the mills of Mr. Trask Oct. 17, 1806, and sold them to David Wilson Dec. 22, 1815. Mr. Wil- son sold to Jonathan Roberts and Ezra Emerson Oct. 18, 1817. Robert Emerson, a brother of Ezra, was connected with him in run- ning the mills some six years.
Levi Willard was the financial backer of Roberts and Emerson and ultimately became the owner of the property which he sold to Clark Wilson May 20, 1826. A wool-carding mill was included with the saw- and grist-mill in the sale to Wilson. Wilson sold to John Cham- berlain and Joshua Graves, jr., March 16, 1830. Chamberlain bought Graves' interest in the mills Apr. 24, 1830. The mills at this time consisted of a saw-mill, a grist-mill, a carding-mill and a shingle-mill. These mills were burnt Oct. 10, 1846, and owned by Chamberlain at the time.
In 1822, a Mr. Twitchell had a wheelwright shop south of the saw- and grist-mill. In 1827, Clark Wilson sold to Levi Willard the right to take water from his flume for operating a fulling-mill. The full- ing-mill building was the same that had been the wheelwright shop. For a number of years Benjamin H. Carlton carried on cloth dress- ing in this mill. This was followed by the making of bobbins. The business was managed by Alva Keyes from 1836 to 1839. It was in this mill that Joseph Cummings, Mr. Eveleth and Franklin Hol- man commenced to make pails. After some two years Holman ob- tained the interest of Cummings and Eveleth in the business which he continued until the mill was burned in October, 1846.
Baxter Murdock built what was known as the belt saw-mill, the power for propelling which was obtained by running a belt to one of the other mills. John Chamberlain became the owner of this mill a few years before it was burned in 1846. Mr. Holman manufactured his pail stock in this mill.
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Sylvanus Bartlett built a mill about 1842 south of the other mills. He immediately commenced to make shoe pegs in company with Abi- jah Woodward. One year before the mill was burned Bartlett made brush-woods in company with Alanson S. Whitcomb.
Oct. 10, 1846, all the mills in the village were burned.
The work of rebuilding was soon commenced and Chamberlain, Holman and Bartlett each built a mill. The one now standing is that which Chamberlain built. The others were burned Oct. 10, 1856, just ten years from the time of the previous fire.
During these ten years Holman manufactured pails and buckets, and Bartlett made pails, buckets and shoe pegs.
John Chamberlain sold his mill in 1856 to Sylvanus Bartlett and Jerome C. Fields. During the twenty-six years he had owned and operated it his principal business had been manufacturing lumber and grinding grain.
He had as associates in his business at different times Wetherbee Chamberlain, Alvah Holman, Moses Thayer, Jonas Temple, Alfred Spalding and Alanson Read.
A firm composed of Samuel E. Hartwell, Harvey Cooper and El- liot Hammond manufactured sash and doors in Chamberlain's old mill for a number of years before it was burned. Judson A. Read, Simeon Nelson and Alanson Read occupied a part of Chamberlain's new mill some years, including 1854, for making the same kind of goods.
Soon after Bartlett and Field bought the mill, machinery for mak- ing pails was put into it and Bartlett had the management of the pail business.
The owners of the mill who succeeded Bartlett and Field were Henry Holbrook, Stephen Faulkner, Marshall Rixford, Charles Fos- ter, P. Atwood Ware, Ira W. Russell and Stephen Fay. They sold to James Marsh Dec. 5, 1865, and Marsh conveyed one-half the property to E. F. Read a few days after.
Marsh and Read manufactured pails and lumber till March 4, 1878, when Read sold his interest to his partner
Since Marsh became the sole owner of the establishment he has an- nually made a large quantity of pails, employing now about fifty hands and using yearly some 1400 cords of sapling pines.
In the mill now owned by Marsh, William P. Coburn commenced to make boxes in 1863, continuing in business only a few years, when he sold to Henry Holbrook and George H. Jackson. Holbrook sold to J. Mason Reed in 1868, having previously bought Jackson's interest in the same. Reed removed the business to Keene in 1881.
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HISTORY OF SWANZEY.
Jerome C. Field built his steam-mill in 1881. It has been used for manufacturing pails, buckets and lumber. It has a capacity suf- ficient to work up 1000 cords of timber annually and give employ- ment to twenty-five men.
STORES.
The first person known to have sold goods in Westport was Cal- vin Field in 1820. They were sold at his house which stood where Willard Field now resides. Mr. Field built a store where Sylvanus Bartlett now lives which was occupied several years previous to 1830 by Reuben Porter and Samuel Belding, jr .; from 1831 to 1834 by Caleb Sawyer, and from 1836 to 1842 by Mr. Bartlett.
Elisha Osgood opened a store on the south side of the road in the lower part of the village as early as 1826. He died in 1827, and his widow and Ezekiel his oldest son continued in trade one or two years. Mr. Bartlett bought this store in 1842 and carried on business there the next fifteen years. Jotham W. Frink was a partner in 1844 and '45. Benjamin L. Draper carried on business a few years after Mr. Bartlett, and then John Chamberlain some six years previous to 1867.
Mr. Bartlett fitted up a new store on the hill on the east side of the road, where he sold goods from 1857 to 1865. He was followed by Henry Abbott who remained till 1867, when he was succeeded by James Marsh and E. F. Read. They in turn after a few years gave place to Marsh and George W. Brooks. In 1879 Mr. Marsh built a new store which he has since occupied, a part of the time with Mr. Brooks, and later with one of his sons.
J. C. Field fitted up a store in the north part of the village in 1878, in which he did business several years.
Barnabas C. Peters established the tailoring business in the village about 1823, and continued it many years. He was succeeded in the same business by H. B. Murdock.' From 1814 to 1847, S. Bartlett was likewise engaged in tailoring.
HOTELS.
B. C. Peters kept a popular hotel many years. It was in the lower part of the village on the south side of the road. He was followed by Jonathan Whitcomb, 3d, and Mr. Whitcomb by Elijah and Seth Willard.
Previous to 1826 Otis Cross kept a public house where Bartlett's lower store afterwards stood. The successors of Mr. Cross were Eli- sha Osgood in 1826; widow E. Osgood, 1827; Reuben Porter, 1828 ; Paul S. Wright, 1829; Wright and Horatio Black in 1830. Calvin Greenleaf kept the house at one time, and after him Norris Wheeler.
Hous truly Use . Spraque
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BLACKSMITHS.
Aaron Lombard was a blacksmith here from 1822 to 1841; Alva Keyes from 1843 to 1851; Charles Kezer from 1854 to 1861. Since then there have been Luman Seaver, Orren Fowler, Albert French and others.
STONE QUARRYING.
Considerable business has been done in quarrying stone on Frank- lin mountain during the last thirty years by different parties. Je- rome C. Field has been engaged much of the time in this business.
SPRAGUEVILLE.
Abijah Whitcomb sold to Philemon Whitcomb, Jan. 11, 1806, one- half the water privilege near Ezekiel Page's, for building a saw-mill which was probably soon erected. About 1824 Jonathan Locke bought the premises and moved on to them his buildings and cloth dressing machines from Swanzey Factory. Soon after this removal, by a break in the dam, the works were nearly demolished, except the old saw- mill which stood on the south bank of the stream. Dr. Ephraim K. Frost was involved with Mr. Locke in the loss and became the owner of what was left after the disaster. The saw-mill was run some years and then went to decay.
Aaron Wilson, backed by Gen. James Wilson of Keene, made the dam safe and substantial, and in 1846, obtained an act of incorpora- tion to facilitate the formation of a company to engage extensively in manufacturing. This effort was not successful.
About 1853, David R. Marshall leased water power, built a small mill where the old saw-mill stood, and for twelve years manufactured successfully pail, tub and bucket stock.
After this the privilege remained unused till 1877, when it was pur- chased of the Wilson family by Obadiah Sprague, who immediately repaired the dam, built flumes and, in 1879, erected two large mills, two and three stories in height above the basements, one for the manu- facture of woollen goods and the other wooden ware. After success- fully operating them about eighteen months, employing some ninety hands, Mr. Sprague leased the woollen mill to Logan and Lindsey of Worcester, Mass. Instead of making beavers as Sprague had done, they manufactured satinets, producing about 1,500 yards per day.
After running it about nine months, the mills were both burned Jan. 16, 1882. The wooden-ware mill was at once rebuilt 50 x 80
16
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HISTORY OF SWANZEY.
feet, three stories and basement. It has since been occupied by the Ches- hire Box Co. (O. Sprague, Charles L. Howes and James L. Wright), manufacturing boxes of all kinds, extension tables, etc., employing about 25 men, and using 700 cords of pine and 200 of hard wood an- nually.
In connection with the mills, Mr. Sprague erected three dwelling houses and a large boarding house.
SWANZEY CENTRE.
About 1836, Virgil Woodcock was taking contracts to build meet- ing houses and other large structures in this and neighboring towns. To prepare a portion of the building material, he erected a large steam shop south of J. A. Rand's present residence. His enterprise was not successful, and the large business which he followed for some years was discontinued, his shop being converted into the dwelling houses now owned by Mrs. E. Howes and Mrs. H. Chamberlain.
Mr. Woodcock went to California soon after gold was discovered, remained there a few years, returned with considerable capital, and, in company with Phinehas Stone, Sylvander Stone and Giles Taft erected a large steam-mill where that of M. C. Stone's now stands. Before much progress had been made in building, Messrs. S. Stone and Taft sold their interest in the concern to the other partners. A considerable amount had been contributed by people in the vicinity to encourage the undertaking. A saw-mill, grist-mill, pail works and machinery for manufacturing chair stock were put in the building, and for several years it was one of the busiest places in Swanzey. The different branches of business were carried on by Woodcock and Stone except the making of pails which was done by Luther S. Lane and J. L. Parker. The capital of the firm being insufficient to run the business they had the assistance, during some of the last years that the mill was in operation, of Paul F. Aldrich and David Parsons, who were its principal managers. The enterprise did not prove to be a financial success. The mill was sold about 1864 to Osborne and Hale, of Keene, taken down, carried to South Keene and set up there, about ten years from the time it was built.
On the same spot, by the side of the old historic moat, Marcus C. Stone, in 1888, erected a smaller saw- and stave-mill, in which he is doing a good business.
GRAVES' PLACE.
It is supposed that Elijah Graves commenced to dig the canal at the Graves' place, on the South Branch, as early as 1801. He sold,
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Sept. 10, 1802, one-half the land and water power to Philemon Whit- comb for a saw-mill which was doubtless soon built. After several transfers of the Whitcomb part, Mr. Graves ultimately became the owner of the whole which he sold to his son Ezekiel.
Ira Taft, who married a sister of Ezekiel Graves, built an addition on the west end of the saw-mill for a shingle-mill. Abel W. Read became the owner of this shingle-mill after Taft. He made shingles and other kinds of wooden ware.
George F. Lane bought the saw-mill Dec. 5, 1842, and at a later date became the owner of the shingle-mill building. He commenced to make buckets in 1856, and was burnt out in 1861. He immediate- ly rebuilt a much larger and more convenient mill. This mill was burned March 3, 1873. Mr. Lane then built the substantial mill now standing, and the stone flume at the mill.
Elisha F. Lane became the owner of this mill, June 10, 1878. He made substantial improvements ; built the stone dam at the head of the canal and enlarged the canal by raising the embankment. Mr. Lane sold the mill to George E. and Andrew J. Fuller, near the last of 1890. During the time he owned the mill, his son Hubert E. was connected with him, manufacturing buckets and had the principal management of the business.
The Fuller brothers manufacture buckets, use 500 cords timber and employ ten men.
A public house was kept by the Graves's in the house near the mill.
WILCOX SHOP.
The Wilcox shop, the next down the stream, was built in 1859 by Elisha F. Lane, Stilman A. Bigelow and John A. Batchelder. Before the close of the year, Lane sold his interest to Bigelow and Batchel- der, and in 1860, Bigelow bought out Batchelder. These firms manu- factured chair stock.
Edward Wilcox bought the shop in 1861. From this time to 1874 he manufactured clothes pins, bucket hoops and chair stock. Since 1874 he has made packing boxes, bucket hoops, chair stock and pail stock. He recently put in a saw-mill and manufactures lumber to some extent. His son, Allen C. Wilcox, has been associated with his father for some years past in the business. They employ some six hands and require about 300 cords of timber annually for their busi- ness.
LANE MILL.
The third mill down the South Branch in Swanzey, about a mile from East Swanzey, was built in 1858 by Elkanah and Frederick A.
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Lane. It was a well constructed two-story building, in which was . placed a grist-mill and machinery for making pail stock and pails, which were used till 1864. At this date, the Lanes with D. HI. Dick- inson and J. Herbert Smith formed a copartnership for manufactur- ing horse blankets. They continued in this business till 1870, when the mill was burned. A portion of this time, Messrs. Blanding and Hill were partners in the business.
A company of which Luther S. Lane, E. and F. A. Lane and Eph- raim Kendall were partners, made wool mattresses at this place a number of years after the fire ; machinery for preparing the material being used in a building that escaped the fire. The company trans- ferred this business to Cleveland, Ohio.
INDUSTRIES UPON BRIDGE BROOK.
Some years before the Revolutionary War, Timothy Bishop was located upon the old Swanzey and Boston road, a little west of the line that now divides Swanzey and Troy. Here he had a farm, made potash and probably sold goods. On the Bridge Brook, about a mile above the East Swanzey and Richmond road, he had a foundry in which were cast necessary household utensils. A large hewed stick of timber across the bed of the brook marks the place where the foun- dry stood.
Just above the East Swanzey and Richmond road, Josiah Wilson built a shop about 1840, for making window sash.
Nathan Whitcomb at one time and Jesse Thompson at another were subsequent owners of this property.
Above where Mr. Wilson built his shop, Samuel S. Farris built a mill about 1866 for manufacturing wooden ware stock. Mr. Farris died in 1878, and the mill was subsequently bought by Elkanah Lane. Mr. Lane used it only a few years, since which nothing has been done in it.
C. G. and R. R. Ramsdell built a mill in 1856, below the road, for manufacturing wooden ware. They followed the business here about fifteen years. The mill has gone to decay.
Zadock L. Taft and his son Farris, built a mill on the East Rich- mond Brook near the house of Frank E. Ballou. They owned it in 1843, and used it a number of years for doing various mechanical work. Mr. Farris Taft died in 1854, after which the mill was bought by Jeremiah Hale, and it subsequently went to decay.
OTHER MILLS IN SWANZEY.
At the foot of Swanzey pond, about 1780, a dam was built, a mill erected and sickles manufactured by Wyman Richardson. The mill
Edmund Stone
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was afterwards purchased by Steplien and John Potter and used as a clothi dressing or fulling mill. After this, about 1812, the Potters and Manning Hunt built a saw-mill on the same location, which soon after came into the possession of Ebenezer Hill. It was operated by him till about 1825, when it passed into the hands of Richard Crossett and George Darling ; Elbridge Goodell being associated with them a part of the time while they owned it. From 1832 till 1865, Daniel H. Hol- brook was the successful proprietor. He rebuilt the mill and built the stone dam, and annually cut out large quantities of boards and lumber. In 1865, Holbrook sold to Varus Stearns, who retained pos- session about two years, when it was purchased by B. F. Lombard, and operated by him (and his son F. F. Lombard a part of the time) till 1890, when Jolin F. Ballou became the owner.
A few rods below this mill, on Pond Brook, about the year 1816, another saw-mill was built by John Hills and managed by him some ten years, when he took it down and rebuilt it on the west stream flowing from Richmond, about a half mile below the Perry mill. It was subse- quently purchased, with territory adjacent by D. H. Holbrook, and soon after went to decay.
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