USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Lyndeborough > The history of the town of Lyndeborough, New Hampshire,1735-1905 > Part 40
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426
HISTORY OF LYNDEBOROUGH
The first free delivery route was established March 1, 1901, Benjamin H. Joslin carrier. The post office at the centre was discontinued June 30, 1902, and its patrons served by rural free delivery route No. I.
The following is a list of the postmasters with the dates of their appointment, each holding the office until his successor was appointed :
Oliver Bixby April 29, 1822 William W. Curtis
Feb. 2, 1867
Samuel T. Manahan
May 12, 1832 William H. Clark
Apr. 22, 1872
David Stiles .Apr. 23, 1835 John C. Ordway Oct. 21, 1875
David Stiles, Jr. May 2, 1837 Oliver P. Hutchinson Nov. 22, 1875
William G. French Dec. 20, 1841
Fred K. Ranger June 8, 1877
Daniel Woodward, Jr. Apr. 1, 1843
Martin Whitney Oct. 1, 1878
Oliver Bixby Apr. 23, 1849
Jacob A. Woodward
Jan. 13, 1881
James S. Donnell Apr. 18, 1854 Benjamin J. Boutwell Feb. 28, 1882
William J. Herrick Aug. 7, 1855 Thomas A. Williams June 27, 1889
The post office at South Lyndeborough was established March 3, 1835, with William Holt postmaster.
With the opening of the Forest road in 1831 came a stage line, which ran as far north as Charlestown. Prior to 1837 there were connected with the line between Wilton and Han- cock, Mr. Iram Woods, two young men by the name of Wyman, a Mr. Pennock, Nathan Dane, George W. Tarbell and probably others, either as proprietors or drivers.
In December, 1837, Hon. Hiram T. Morrill bought Mr. Tar- bell's interest, and soon after Mr. Dane sold his to Mr. Phelps, and in 1840 Mr. Phelps sold to Mr. Hall. Mr. Hall retained his interest but a short time, when R. R. Howison and How- land Prouty, both of Milford, became partners of Morrill. After a few years, Mr. Prouty sold to Morrill and Howison, who retained their interest in the line until they sold it in October, 1870, to the railroad company. . This company ran the line until the railroad was opened to Greenfield .*
Among the drivers were Elbridge Harris, Charles Leavett, Ezra Pettingill and John N. P. Woodbury.
When the office at South Lyndeborough was first established, there were but three mails a week. This was increased to a daily service in a year or two.
William Holt and Lewis Cram presumably kept the post office in private houses, but when Joel H. Tarbell was appointed postmaster it was kept for many years at his tavern. When he built the store, which used to stand on land now crossed by the
* Wilton History.
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MAILS, POST ROUTES AND STAGES
track of the railroad, the office was removed there, and was kept there while Mr. Young was postmaster. C. Henry Holt ran a small store in connection with the office and at this writing it is kept at the store of Roy N. Putnam, the present postmaster.
The amount of mail received and forwarded has always ex- ceeded that of the office at the centre.
Two rural free delivery routes are run from this office. Route No. I has already been mentioned. Route No. 2, Harry W. Holt carrier, serves the postal needs of the west and northwest parts of the town and also a part of Greenfield.
The following is a list of the postmasters with the dates of their appointment.
William Holt
March 3, 1835 William W. Young
May 25, 1863
Lewis Cram May 2, 1836 Charles H. Holt Sept. 30, 1872
Joel H. Tarbell Jan. 19, 1839 Roy N. Putnam May 6, 1897
The post office at North Lyndeborough was established May II, 1857, with John H. Goodrich, postmaster. This office was on the post route from Danforth's Corner (now Ponemah Station) to Francestown and the down mail was on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and the up mail Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Ezra Pettengill of Wilton was the carrier.
About the year 1858, he sold out the stage route to Amaziah W. Wood of Hatfield, Mass. He drove the stage until April, 1868, and then sold to Edgar A. Danforth, then of Amherst, who owned and operated the route until 1874, when he sold to Walter Woods of New Boston.
Milford was made the terminus of the route with the coming of the railroad, and while Mr. Danforth ran the route, it was ยท changed to a daily trip and consequently there was a daily mail.
In 1893 the route was changed from Milford to South Lynde- borough and North Lyndeborough, with Levi P. Spaulding and Charles B. Hills as carriers.
When the railroad came to New Boston, the route to North Lyndeborough was changed to that place Sept. 1, 1893, Joseph Chandler and others, carriers. Alvin R. Smith was the last and carried the mail until the office was discontinued. This occurred June 29, 1901, and John H. Goodrich and wife ended a faithful service of over forty years. Many of the patrons of this office are now served by rural delivery route No. 2, which was established July 1, 1901, Alvin R. Smith, carrier, with New Boston as headquarters.
The others are served by rural delivery route No. 1, having headquarters at South Lyndeborough.
CHAPTER XXIV.
ROADS AND BRIDGES.
The roads laid out in Lyndeborough form a source of some perplexity for several reasons. First, they will be found quite numerous ; secondly, they are very minutely described ; thirdly, some of them are not easily traceable ; fourthly, quite a number of them are "thrown up " or abandoned as useless ; and fifthly, some of them are supposed never to have been much more than "bridle paths."
For these reasons it would be well nigh impossible to give any adequate description of the old roads at the present day. Yet a history which should omit some attempt in that direction, must incur a suspicion of negligence or indifference to matters of interest and importance. We will therefore, endeavor to present some names and notes of the highways laid out.
I. The first road came from Narragansett No. 3, now Am- herst, to the meeting house in Salem-Canada, and is thus de- scribed by Rev. Frank G. Clark .* " This first road came up by what used to be called the crotch of the brooks and into Johnson Corner by the place formerly occupied by John Carson, south of David Clark's; after passing Willis Perham's place, and near the Israel Curtis place and George Rose's, it came out at what was then the centre of the town, Putnam hill in South Lyndeborough, near where Mr. Edwin H. Putnam now lives." . It was over this road that Rev. Sewall Goodridge with his young wife, Phebe (Putnam) Goodridge, of Danvers, Mass., came into town "in a two wheeled chaise, a vehicle that had scarcely been seen in any of our towns at that early period. Mr. Jacob Wellman was decidedly of the opinion that they would not be able to come through with the carriage, or at least, that the lady would not have courage to ride in it all the way. Accordingly, he saddled and pillioned his horse, thinking he might have the honor of bringing the bride himself. But it was finally concluded that the minister and his wife should both keep their seats, while six strong men followed behind to keep the chaise right side up." t This road came through the home
* Page 32 of this history, and also Salem-Canada, page 21.
+ Rev. E. B. Claggett, S-Canada, pp. 47-48.
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ROADS AND BRIDGES
lots of the town, aud wound around past the David Carkin place, now Mr. Norbourn's summer residence, and past the Manuel, or Lucas place, by Moses Stiles's, where Mr. Rufus Chamberlain now lives, and so down across Mill Brook and up the hill past the old fort to the meeting-house.
2. The second road was laid out to meet the road which the Ashuelot towns were proposing to build, and did build .* The proprietors having learned of this purpose, promptly voted "to make a good and sufficient way from the place where the said road is brought into this town to the end of the road cleared by Tarbell and Richardson to or near the centre of " this township. This road as described by Rev. F. G. Clark, t " passed from Putnam hill by Emory Holt's place, around Stephenson hill, and by David Grant's and Deacon McIntire's over the moun- tain, and was the first and only road for many years to what is now Greenfield."
3. On Dec. 10, 1741, the proprietors voted " that there be a good cartroad cleared from Deacon Putnam's sawmill to the meeting house, and that three pounds be allowed for the same, to be drawn out of the treasury."
This road was the third so far as appears. The mill was located on the stream which forms Barnes', or as now, Gaerwin's falls, and stood a short distance above the falls. Traces of this old road are still visible. It was one of Wilton's early roads, running down the hill by the Jacob Putnam place northward, passing the old Philip Putnam place, and still down into the bed of the little rivulet, back of what is now called the Hicky place in Wilton, and going still a little east of north from there, till it crossed the Rocky River about twenty rods below the present bridge on the Forest road. Then it turned nearly north and passed through land of the late James Burton, now John Carkin's, and passed along towards the present south village, and was twice crossed by the Forest road before reaching the spot now occupied by the house recently purchased by Miss Ellen B. Churchill. The old walls of this road appear on the west of the Forest road in the Burton pasture a short distance below the last named house, as one goes to Wilton.
4. The fourth road, mentioned in the Proprietor's Records, was the road from Peterborough through this township. Jan. 4, 1743, it was voted that it "be well cleared and mended," to
* Pp. 32, 33. + P. 23.
430
HISTORY OF LYNDEBOROUGH
render it commodious for travel and that "Mr. John Cram is hereby impowered to do the same." (P. 33. )
A short distance west of the School house in District No. 9, a road turns slightly at first from the Forest road and goes down the hill and crosses the Rocky River a little north of the old milldam of what was once the John Stephenson mill. This road passes on by Jotham Sumner Stephenson's, and bears to the westward up the hill west of the late James C. P. Draper's house and up over the northern spur of the mountain and so on westward into the town of Peterborough. On this northern spur is now located the bungalow of Rev. Donald Browne, built for a summer encampment for boys. This was in early days the main road to Peterborough.
Farther than this the order in which the roads were laid out seems somewhat uncertain. We will, however, continue to number them for the sake of definiteness, if nothing more.
I. After the incorporation of the town, many other roads were laid out. I can do no better here than give the same description which Rev. Mr. Clark has so aptly given in his historical address at the town's 150th anniversary. It aims to describe the first road laid out after the adoption of the royal charter.
A road laid out two rods wide, beginning at the end of Amherst road which is laid out along by James Boutwell's house, at Amherst west line and from thence as the road is now trod, or near it, to the north east corner of Wm. Carson, Jr., land and then where the road was allowed at the north side of his land and Adam Johnson's land to the south-east of John Hutchinson land and so on to the footpath that goeth from Adam Johnson's house to John Hutchinson's, and by that or near it to said Hutchinson's house, and by the south side of his house and down the hill westerly to the road as it is now trod and by that, or near it, to where the way turns out to go across by Wainwright's brook little meadow so called and near that as the way is marked out to the east line of Mr. Rand's lot and across the south side of Mr. Rand's lot and through the southeast corner of Mr. Rand's pasture to the way that goes from the meeting house to Benjamin Cram's house and so by that or near it to Benjamin Cram's house and then as the way is now trod by Melchizedek Boffe's house and to the north line of said Boffe's lot."*
This road perhaps would not be readily found by the uniniti- ated today, but was plain enough three or four generations ago. It is doubtless the road which commenced at a point near where the late David Clark lived, now occupied by Mr. Frank Carson and passed down by where Mrs. Kilburn Curtis lives,
* S .- C., pp. 5, 6.
431
ROADS AND BRIDGES
past the place where the Johnson corner schoolhouse stands and down past where C. L. Perham lives, then John Hutchinson's, and over by little meadow, not far from the Haggett place on the opposite side of the road, and across the brook and up past what was later Micah Hartshorn's mill, and up to the road that passes by the meeting house and goes to Benjamin Cram's house where Percy Putnam now lives, and so on by where Melchizedek Boffee lived, but where now Mr. Frank Joslin lives, and passing up to the north line of his land.
So many changes have occurred in ownership and alterations and in the decay or disappearance of marks once well known, that it is difficult now to follow directions.
2. Town Records volume II, pages 19 and 20, present a number of descriptions of roads laid out in different parts of the town, which it may interest the curious to read. The descrip- tions are not fully given. They are somewhat abridged. The second one seems to be the road from the east part of the town coming down by the old Capt. Jonathan Cram place, down what is called the great hill southwest of Mr. Luther Cram's, turn- ing nearly an easterly course at Mr. Rufus Chamberlain's place, passing on by the old Moses Stiles place, by the Manuel or Lucas place, and onward toward the Boutwell place and the meeting house.
3. This road runs from the northeast corner of Wilton and comes down by the Jonathan Cram place, now Mrs. John A. Putnam's, down by Mr. Luther Cram's and across the Mill brook by the old bridge nearly a north course up the hill to Deacon Ephraim Putnam's, and thence northerly toward John Stephenson's, where his great grandson, Willis J. Stephenson, now lives, and over to the road which runs towards the meeting house.
4. This road was laid out from Robert Badger's house to David Badger's, and is that from Harry Richardson's to near where James Karr lives. (Page 21.)
5. This road is from the east line of Wilton over to Perham corner, formerly Bevins' corner, running over Gunn hill, and continuing easterly to the oldest road in town, that from John- son Corner to Amherst. (Page 21.)
6. A road from Moses Ordway's through land of William Holt, till it strikes road formerly leading from said Ordway's to Deacon Putnam's, and thence between Deacon Putnam's house and barn. (March 11, 1766, page 23.)
432
HISTORY OF LYNDEBOROUGH
7. This is a road from Jacob Wellman's to Amherst line near Stephen Peabody's. This is probably what is now called the Milford road, which runs through Perham Corner. (July 5, 1766, page 24. )
8. This road runs from Josiah Dutton's to the west side of Jonas Kidder's, and from that till it strikes the way from Stephen Spaulding's to Joshua Hadley's, till it strikes the way from Robert Badger's to the meeting-house. May 30, 1767, page 42.)
9. Voted, a road from William Thompson's house by John Rowe's for Ephraim Powers and others to travel to meeting, and it was laid out Dec. 25, 1769. (Page 68.)
10. A road for Benjamin Jones to travel to meeting and to market.
II. March 16, 1770. The road from the meeting-house to Ephraim Putnam's, the 3rd., was accepted, i. e., the old road from the meeting-house by Nehemiah Boutwell's and by what is now Emery Holt's to where Mr. Steele lives, near the rail- road station.
I2. Voted, to accept the road from William Jones's land to the road that leads from John Hutchinson's to Amherst. Laid out Dec. 24, 1769. (Page 68.)
13. Also the road from Jonathan Chamberlain's, Jr., to Ephraim Putnam, 3rd. Road between Blaney and Chamber- lain's. (Page 68.) Laid out by Osgood Carleton and Ephraim Putnam, Jr., March 12, 1770. Road No. 9 above was accepted at the same time as this.
14. A road between James Boutwell's house and the old meeting-house spot, southeasterly to Johnson's road, so called. (Page 68.)
15. A road through John Kidder's and William Holt's land, and George Gould's, near the fordway over which said Gould carts his hay, which is over the brook just below Holt's meadow, thence southeasterly to the saw mill, and thence to the road that leads from David Badger's to the meeting- house. (Page 72.)
16. A road from a run of water in the road leading from Johnson's saw-mill eastwardly to Sergt. John Hutchinson's Accepted June 6, 1771. (Page 73.)
17. Road from New Boston south line, south to Stephen Spaulding's. (Page 84.)
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ROADS AND BRIDGES
18. Also, from Amos Whittemore's east line to Edward Spalding's. (Page 84.)
19. Also, from Josiah Woodbury's south line by Robert Badger's to his west line.
20. Also, from Francis Epps' west line to Woodbury's road. (Page 85.)
21. From Joseph Herrick's to the road which leads to Peter Russell's. (Page 85.)
The Francestown Road * intersected with the road through the Centre near. where Dr. Benjamin Jones lived, (now the George Spalding place) running northerly past the Eleazer Woodward place, (later the " Town Farm " ) and up the moun- tain past the Ordway farm. At the top of the mountain, near where Bradley Tay's summer cottage stands, it turned to the right and then northerly, past the Capt. Levi Spaulding place, marked now only by the old cellar, thence down very steep grades to where John Proctor lived, crossed Cold Brook and in- tersected with the New Boston road near where Merrill Spald- ing lives. In two places the roadside walls are still standing, while the rest of the way is now a dense forest with nothing to show that there was ever a highway there. Mr. Daniel B. Whittemore remembers this road.
It is very probable that about the time this road was built, the road from the top of the mountain was continued past the Jonas Kidder place, where Robert C. Mason now lives, down the mountain to the Levi Spaulding place. Here it turned westward running past the homes of Ira Houston, Daniel Wood- ward, Reuben Dutton, and Deacon Samuel Houston, thence north to the Driscoll Hill section of Francestown. From near the corner where the towns of Lyndeborough, Greenfield and Francestown now join, the road has been discontinued, but the roadside walls are still standing and the abutments of the bridge across Cressy River are fairly preserved.
This was undoubtedly the road used by the people of that section of Lyndeborough which was afterwards annexed to Francestown.
The right hand road at the top of the mountain was con- tinued westerly from its intersection with the New Boston road, past the Whittemore place, the Nathaniel Batchelder or E. P. Spalding place, (now the Parry place), then past the No. 8 schoolhouse and the Dea. Oliver Whiting place, intersecting
* Described by Mr. Woodward.
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HISTORY OF LYNDEBOROUGH
with the old Francestown road at the Samuel Houston place. Later, a road was built from the Parry place past the Twitchell and Aaron Lewis homes. This last is the present highway to Francestown.
The New Boston road intersected with the road to Frances- town a few rods north of where the latter intersects with the road from the centre, forming what was called the "crotch of the roads." This road passed the Dea. David Badger place, the William Barron place, and Robert Badger's, down the steep- est part of the mountain by the Abel Hill place to North Lyndeborough where the Atwoods, Clarks and Boardmans lived, and thence to New Boston, and was called the New Boston road. From known dates of the settlement of farms along these roads, it seems probable that they were all built about the same time, from 1770 to 1780. According to credible tradition, the section north of the mountain had chiefly " bridle paths " over the mountain for a few of the earlier years. People rode to church on horseback, the way being marked by " blazed trees."
It was probably several years later that the road from the Capt. William Barron place past the Amos Pratt, or D. G. Dickey, place and the Hadley farm was built, intersecting with the old Francestown road just north of where C. J. Cummings lives. The road from the Parry place running easterly through the north part of the town was probably built to accommodate the travel to North Lyndeborough and New Boston, and that part of it east of where it intersects with the old New Boston road from the center, was probably built as early as any of the roads in the north part of the town.
Some of the principal roads in town cross it diagonally from southeast to northwest. Those from Amherst northwest parish, now Mont Vernon, and from Amherst plain or court house, converged near what is now the Frank Carson place; thence the road passed toward the center by the Micah Hartshorn mill, till it intersected with the road which led to the meeting-house.
From a few rods north of the meeting-house the road turns westward, passing George Spalding's, B. G. Herrick's, Deacon McIntire's, the Pinnacle House, and so on over the mountain by the John Savage place to Greenfield. This was the chief road through the town in its earlier years.
The road from Milford enters the town at the Howard place, and runs north through Perham corner, past the E. C. Curtis
435
ROADS AND BRIDGES
place and the Willard Rose place, and passing the Norbourne place, or the Micah Hartshorn place, intersects the road to the meeting-house at either the William B. Raymond place or the Mrs. Benjamin Dutton place. As the Milford road reaches the Asher Curtis place, a road passes to the rear of his house which goes on to Johnson's corner. Another passes westward and soon runs into the road from the northeast corner of Wilton, road No. 3.
From the corner east of Mr. Norbourne's a road passes southwest in front of his house and intersects with the road from the meeting-house toward South Lyndeborough at the Stearns place. Then it passes by the Lucas or Manuel place, and by the south cemetery toward the R. R. station, post office and church.
The Forest road lies for the most part in the valley of the Rocky River. It appears to have started from northwest of Lyndeborough and passed through to Wilton. The building of it was at first opposed by this town. But Greenfield favored the road so much as to offer liberal assistance to Lyndeborough on condition of their permitting the road to be built. The inducements proved effectual, and a vote was passed to aid in building it. The road came through early in the fourth decade of the last century, and proved of great benefit, especially to the south part of the town.
Commencing at the railroad station at South Lyndeborough and going nearly south, the Wilton line is reached within a mile. The first turning east on this Wilton road passes the old location of the glass factory, and is intersected at two points east of the railroad station by the roads from the John Emery place to the factory and the road which passes the schoolhouse and turns southeast near David Putnam's. This road leads to the center, to New Boston, Mont Vernon, the southeast part of the town and to Milford.
Going west from the railroad station is the direct way over the hills to Temple. Short pieces of highway like that from A. T. Ford's to where W. W. Young's store stood, and also that from Isaac Lowe's to J. A. Blanchard's, are of compara- tively recent date, and need but passing mention. But the Bla- ney road, which turned to the left after crossing the river and passed over the hill a southwest course, passing by the Barrett place and by where Mr. Andrew Burton lived, and ran a very direct course to Wilton centre -this, although long ago aban-
436
HISTORY OF LYNDEBOROUGH
doned as a highway, ought not to be omitted from our record. It was once the direct road to Wilton Centre.
Going west still from the river up the hill to the old Benja- min Cram place, now occupied by Frank Winn, another road branches to the southwest, passing by the Woodward place and on by what used to be known as the Dascomb place, now owned by a Mr. Tighe, and still onward by the Warren Stiles place in Wilton.
On the road from the Frank Winn place northwest is the Ryerson, or Ephraim Putnam 2nd place, now the Pettingill place, and westward from that are now A. D. Cram's, J. C. Miller's places and schoolhouse No. 5, a short distance west of which this road intersects with the road which leads from W. W. Burton's toward the Beasom place, now Samuel Dolliver's. Mr. Burton's farm adjoins the Wilton line. The road which runs from Mr. Burton's place to the Beasom or Dolliver place, after passing the latter, went up over the hill northward by the Aaron Putnam, John Woodward and William Holley places, and in- tersected with the old Peterborough road near the Jacob Butler place. This is said to have been the old stage road between Wilton, Temple, Greenfield and Peterborough.
Again, going toward Greenfield from South Lyndeborough, the first road turning eastward passes between G. M. Cram's and J. A. Blanchard's under the railroad and leads directly to the centre of the town. From Mr. Cram's to the little bridge it is nearly parallel with Brandy Brook, and is thence called the Brandy Brook road. Still farther on, this northwest or Forest road is crossed by the road from the Hildreth place, near Mr. Ed. Dolliver's. The northeast road goes toward Lyndeborough Centre, while the southwest one crosses the river, formerly passed by the Beasom place, but leaves it on the hill northwest, and passing southwest intersects with the old stage road above described, just west of the schoolhouse No. 5.
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