USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Plymouth > Twenty decades in Plymouth, New Hampsire : 1763-1963 > Part 6
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While the Congregationalists were debating their problem, suddenly three members-William Wallace Russell and John Rogers, two successful merchants, and Noah Cummings, a prosperous farmer-decided to construct a new church building. William Webster gave the land that adjoined the site of the new courthouse, with a provision in the deed that the "land be forever appropriated to the worship of God."
The logs for the frame were cut in Holderness, then brought to the site and adzed beside the Main Street. With a few alterations, especially for the dome of the belfry, the exterior presents the original design.
The arrangement of the pews and the two aisles was the same as of today with the exception that so called "wing pews" filled the front corners. A box stove stood in the rear on either side with long stove pipes hanging high above the two long aisles to enter the chimneys on the north wall.
The pews were enclosed by doors at the aisles. No cushions, carpet, illumination, or musical instruments were expected to be furnished in 1836. The first service on the Sabbath was on January 1, 1837.
The three men who invested their money in the building offered the pews for sale to heads of families of the congregation. The pews in the center were priced at eighty dollars, with lesser amounts, depending upon the section, either at the sides or the rear of the room. Many pews remained unsold for a number of years. Finally, the Society reimbursed the builders in part in recognition of their willingness to solve the dilemma.
The center of the village, along the west side of Main Street, was transformed in 1837 by the brick store on the corner, horse sheds and the office that William Coombs Thompson built for his lawyer's firm, then the three imposing structures: the White Congregational church, the brick court house, and Holmes Plymouth Academy, a two story brick structure. Three belfries crowned the roofs and white pillars supported the front gables of the courthouse and the Academy. The present Court Street was then a footpath for the use of the faculty and students to approach their dormitories that stood on the hill above these new structures.
THE ANTI-SLAVERY CONTROVERSY
The Congregational church building was immediately involved in one of the burning questions of that period. The brilliant young lawyer, Nathaniel Peabody Rogers, became an advocate for anti-slavery. He entertained in his home prominent members of the many anti-slavery societies including the poet John Greenleaf Whittier and the most radical William Lloyd Garrison.
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Nathaniel Peabody Rogers, 1794 - 1840
Mr. Rogers requested the use of the new auditorium for a lecture by Mr. Garrison. Few of the wardens or Rev. George Punchard were then concerned about slavery. Mr. Webster once owned two slaves. However, the newspaper that Mr. Garrison published, "The Liberator," was printing dangerous ideas, even proposing that the North secede from the Union unless slavery should be abolished in the United States.
The wardens concluded to refuse permission to allow Mr. Garrison to lecture in the new church building. With a determination not to be thwarted, a grove was rented in Holderness beside the Dartmouth College Road, south of the property of Mr. Harrison Sargent, Jr., and seats were provided under the pines. There Mr. Garrison delivered his lecture, speaking from 3 to 7 P.M. before an audience of approximately three hundred people.
Mr. Rogers resented the refusal bitterly. He soon removed to Concord to assume the position of editor of the anti-slavery newspaper, "The Herald of Freedom." For Mr. Rogers, anti-slavery became an obsession. He aban- doned the successful practice of his profession, lost his health and almost his
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reason. He sold his beautiful home to Mr. James McQuesten, then a lawyer in Plymouth.
Finally, broken in mind and body, Mr. Rogers purchased a farm on the Fairground Road, near the ledges that the Poet Whittier named "Under Cliff," where rest might be found. Suddenly death claimed his life at the age of fifty-two years.
The memory of this brilliant native son of Plymouth has been inscribed in articles by several contemporary magazines, with appreciation for a man whose compassion, generosity and devotion to the freedom of the slaves should never be forgotten.
SUMMARY
The Pottery Business, Plymouth Buck Gloves, New Plymouth Holmes Academy building, 1835, The Congregational Church Building, 1836, The Anti-Slavery Controversy, certainly this was a busy decade.
HORSE AND BUGGY PERIOD
The horse-trough at the north of the Village Green and hitching posts along the sidewalks are conspicuous.
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The First Pemigewasset House, opened in 1843. Notice the gambrel roof at the north end. This was the second Webster Tavern that was enlarged repeatedly in later years, and destroyed by fire in 1862. (See the picture on page 38.)
1843- 1853
THE PEMIGEWASSET HOUSE
This ninth decade was an exciting period for Plymouth.
Mr. William Webster was over seventy years of age when Mr. Denison Rogers Burnham offered a considerable price for the Webster Tavern. The temptation was not too difficult to accept, although the Webster name was closely associated with the town. The Webster family moved into the Stephen Webster residence on Main Street and opened a few rooms to transient guests, thus continuing the Webster Tavern name on the street.
Mr. Burnham purchased the property in 1841. In 1843 he had renovated and enlarged the house and named it The Pemigewasset House. This man possessed ideal characteristics for a successful landlord. Although born in Rumney, he became a merchant in Groton, Vermont for a time, certainly excellent training for good public relations. He was generous, friendly and executive.
His principles were to do it yourself, not relinquish responsibilities to others. He welcomed his guests at the door when the stages from all points swept up to his house. He conducted each person to his room. He personally supervised his cuisine. Soon the reputation of his hotel ranked with the best in New Hampshire. Mr. Burnham ran a strictly temperance house.
When travelers arrived in their own conveyances, his stables were equipped to house any number of horses. If guests desired to drive through the mountains, comfortable transportation was at hand. Soon the house proved too crowded and was enlarged to accommodate scores of patrons.
The reader should realize that central heating and modern lighting were not known in 1843. Mr. Burnham advertised in the newspaper for fifty cords of rock-maple wood. Many maids must have warmed the beds with long handled pans filled with coals from the fireplaces and carried gallons of hot water to each room. Mid-winter cold and snow did not encourage travelers to seek recreation as far north as Plymouth. Winter conditions a century ago are almost impossible to picture in this twentieth century.
TAVERNS IN PLYMOUTH
The Webster Tavern, mentioned above, was attractive to judges and legal counsel when the County Court was in session. On the hill above the
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Academy, Mr. John T. Cutter purchased the students' boarding house and opened it to summer guests. Later he ran a tavern on Main Street about on the site of the Newberry Store.
A large two story house had been erected on the site of the present Fox Block that was the tavern of Mr. Ephraim Green and Son. The father had a reputation of questionable customs that bestowed the title of "Slicky Green" on him in the vicinity. He was a blacksmith by trade. Frequently the horses that were stabled for the night in his barn required new shoes before depart- ing. He was said to have bored small holes in the bottoms of the mangers so that grain sifted into the boxes below as the horses nosed about for food.
This house burned in a fire that swept that corner some years later.
The toll house at the Pont Fayette Bridge was purchased by Alvin Thompson Burleigh for a tavern. He promoted a stage line through the mountains and his stables were patronized by travelers.
There were taverns in the village, as well as along the Mayhew Turnpike and at Lower Intervale, because the tap rooms were the gathering places where politics and town topics were discussed over the mugs of cider or the more potent New England Rum.
Many temperance societies were actively opposing the licenses for the sale of intoxicating beverages. The effects of the brand of liquor were devas- tating to health and to mental reactions. Wife beating was not forbidden by
Pont Fayette, 1844 -1934, over the Pemigewas- set River between Plymouth and Holderness.
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law. Both women and children suffered when an intoxicated man returned to his home in an uninhibited temper.
THE BRIDGE OF 1844
At the town meeting in the meetinghouse on Ward Hill in March of 1842 the men voted "That the Town of Plymouth build and repair the Pont Fayette Bridge in connection with the Town of Holderness."
The following year the two towns purchased the bridge from Mr. William C. Thompson for $350.00. While this may seem to be a small price, the structure was so out of repair that safety demanded action. Probably the toll charges had recompensed Lawyer Thompson for his investment since he became the owner in 1830.
At the town meeting in March of 1844, again the vote was to either repair or rebuild the bridge. Mr. Noah Cummings was appointed chairman of the project. Mr. Cummings was considered a substantial citizen. He was then the owner of the Glover Farm on Cummings Hill, the Pem Farm in West Plymouth and the house on Highland Street west of the Pemigewasset Hotel lot. Mr. Russell Cox was responsible for the Town of Holderness, on the building committee.
The first Pont Fayette Bridge was taken down. Then the bridge that stood during the following ninety years was constructed at an expense of $3,180.82. Iron bolts were used with the exception of a few wooden pins in the roof. In contrast the steel bridge of 1934 cost $48,943.00. Engineers finally discovered the art of truss design that withstood the stress of wind and traffic, ice pressures and flood waters, and the force of gravity.
Here was a famous covered bridge, 262 feet, 21/2 inches long and 18 feet, 61/2 inches wide on the inside. The design of the trusses is the same that is still found in the Blair Bridge in Campton and the Smith Bridge in Plymouth. The Blair Bridge is said to be dated in 1828, the Smith about the same year. At Rumney and over the Baker River the same truss design was used. One author states that Captain Richardson was the engineer for the Smith Bridge. Both the Blair and Smith have laminated arches for reinforcements that were additions since the bridges were first erected. No other bridges in this vicinity have the design of these trussses. They now are tourist attractions.
It may be well to mention here that in Campton the Turkey Jim Bridge is also now famous because of its construction with the early Queen Post truss, one of the few remaining in use with this ancient plan in a covered bridge. Turkey Jim was a veteran of World War I who raised thousands of turkeys on the island that this bridge connects to the main land.
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William A. Dodge, 1818 - 1883
BOSTON, CONCORD & MONTREAL R.R.
January 15, 1850 was an eventful date in Plymouth. On that day a train of freight cars rolled into the town, drawn by two engines: "Josiah Quincy," named in honor of the first President of this railroad corporation, and "John McDuffee," in honor of the surveyor who blazed the trails through the wilderness for the northern townships.
The citizens of the town welcomed this arrival with cheers and the roar of a cannon. The cars were filled with merchandise for William W. Russell & Company.
On the 18th of January, 1850, a special train of passenger cars brought officials of the corporation who were entertained by Landlord Denison R. Burnham at his own expense in his Pemigewasset Hotel. Even in the January cold, a program of speeches, stories and toasts was enjoyed by the inhabitants of Plymouth and the surrounding towns.
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Josiah Quincy's railroad station in Rumney. Notice the wood in the tender of the engine.
Within the following summer, the railroad was extended to Woodsville, the cut through the ledges at the Summit being considered a remarkable engineering feat. Already the railroad was running up the Connecticut Valley and on to Littleton. Rapidly the "summer boarder" influx brought prosperity for the farmers' wives, who opened their homes to guests, and to hotels in the mountains.
OFFICIALS OF THE RAILROAD
To Lawyer Josiah Quincy credit should be appraised for his influence that induced the financial backing to build the railroad from Concord to Plymouth. He was born in Lenox, Massachusetts, in 1793. He came to Plymouth at the age of twenty-five years and in 1819 he married the daughter of Mr. Jabes Hatch Weld. The beautiful colonial residence that he erected stands near the line of the railroad in Rumney. For his accommodation a flag station named Quincy was maintained until the tracks were removed.
He was a valued citizen. He filled positions in the legislature and was a trustee of Holmes Plymouth Academy and in the Pemigewasset Bank of 1825.
Joseph Allen Dodge was the first station agent in 1850. After two years
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The Starr King Elm in 1850 and the office for the railroad. The trees grew to shade Railroad Square.
he became general freight agent and finally general manager of the system. He erected a brick house on South Main Street where he brought his bride from New Boston, where both were born. (See picture on page 20.)
Mr. Dodge was a director in the corporation and constantly promoted its development. He was a Democrat in politics and because of his efforts, com- bined with Mr. James Fogg Langdon and Lawyer Joseph Burrows, the cannon that stands on the Courthouse Green was brought to Plymouth. This gun was presented to the Democratic Party in Plymouth. It was fired to celebrate the election of candidates in the party until there was fear that it might be destroyed from abuse.
The Republicans would steal the gun, toss it into the river or hide it for months. They filled the barrel with sods to prevent its use. The Democrats stored it in hiding for several years. Finally the historical value became known. That ended the danger of its destruction from wanton abuse.
Without doubt, as Mr. Harold C. Freeman ascertained as a member of the American Legion, the barrel of this cannon was brought to New Hamp- shire by General John Stark, being one of the four that he captured at the Battle of Bennington in 1777. The Legion now is responsible for its preser-
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Benjamin B. Dearborn's Store and Green's Tavern, at the corner of Highland and Main Streets, burned in 1869. Rebuilt and burned in 1905. Tufts Block, burned in 1930. Site of two banks in 1963.
vation. New carriage and wheels have been provided and paint to protect it from the weather is frequently applied to its surface.
Unfortunately, the details about the possession of this old gun are forgotten. However, recently another of the four cannon has been located in New Boston, the native town of Mr. Dodge. This may be a clue to the story of this cannon in Plymouth.
Mr. Dodge represented Plymouth in the legislature for three terms and was a member on Governor Weston's staff in 1881. He was an active mem- ber of the Society of the Congregational Church. He died in 1883. Mrs. Dodge remained in Plymouth until her death in 1900, a woman of superior ability and kindness to those in need.
RAILROAD SQUARE
With "Squire" Quincy and the offices of this Division of the railroad at Plymouth, a two story office building was erected at the level of the tracks, beside the drive from Main Street.
The design was impressive, with a hip roof, dentile pattern around the eaves, block corners and Roman window frames in the first story. Tall trees and wide lawns appropriately designated the area The Railroad Square. This fine specimen of Victorian architecture was demolished in 1929 after the offices were removed to Concord.
THE DEARBORN STORE
Benjamin Baker Dearborn removed from Campton to Plymouth in 1849
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and opened a general store in a new building on the site of the Pemigewasset Bank of today. Until his death in 1861, Mr. Dearborn was a prosperous merchant and a valued citizen both in the religious and the public life of the town.
The high building, painted white, dominated the south side of Highland Street until a fire consumed it in 1862.
THE WHITE MOUNTAIN BUGLE
Among the papers that Mr. Hendrick Gordon Webster, born in 1847, collected is a copy of The White Mountain Bugle, dated January 15, 1848. The heading stated "Vol. 1, No. 3. Published by R. C. Stevens at the north room of the range of Chambers connected with Russell & Webster's Store." The terms were 25 cts. for the Campaign.
This four page issue was opposing the administration of James K. Polk, the President and Franklin Pierce for Vice President. The Mexican War was "prodigal of the lives and fortunes of the people, yet there is no promise of its success."
A Convention was called at Plymouth. "Come brethren, in strong numbers, and let us do a good Day's work for our country and her true interests. Get out the double sleighs, and bring a large delegation from Rumney, Campton, Holderness and Bridgewater."
The Russell & Webster advertisements at the Old Brick Store read:
"FALL AND WINTER WOOLLENS
Have just received, and offer for sale, at low prices, and on liberal terms, a desirable Fall and Winter assortment of
Fashionable Woollens
and goods connected with that department of Trade. German and English and American Broadcloths, Plain and Fancy Doeskins and Cassimeres, Heavy Beaver and Pilot Cloths for Over-Coats, Fancy Coatings, Silk and Wool Codington, and Heavy and Thin Tweeds, Silk Velvets & Serges of good make, in black and fancy colors, Rich Dark Vestings-Valencias, Cashmeres, Figured Velvets & boiled Silk and Satins. Also, medium and low Vestings, extensive variety. Tailor's Trimmings Of all kinds and varieties in use-at very low prices. CLOAKINGS, Twilled Flannels, and Satinets &c., &c., at low prices."
Crockery and Hard Ware, Nails, Iron, Sheet Zink, Window Glass, Paints and Oils. Drugs, Medicines, and Dye Stuffs.
Flour, Salt, Lime, Lump and Ground Plaster, Pork, Beef, Grain, Leather, Cooking, Box and Air Tight Stoves, Hollow Ware, Stove Pipe, &c., &c., &c. Also-Agents for most of the Popular Patent Medicines of the present day."
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Certainly customers were enticed to purchase, at the Old Brick Store, a surprising list of commodities at the middle of the nineteenth century in this rural community of about 2,000 inhabitants.
H. W. Merrill advertised: "Having fitted up rooms over Russell's & Webster's Store, he is prepared to take Miniatures of all sizes, Daguerreo- types, particular attention paid to small children."
F. W. A. Robie, Tailor, advertised: "Ready-Made Clothing and Tailor's Trimmings, for sale Cheap." His shop was south of the Pemigewasset Hotel.
Gilmore Houston: "At the Old Stand, two doors south of the Pemigewasset House" was making "Saddle, Harness and Trunks."
Apparently this newspaper failed to attract subscribers. Like its prede- cessor of the same name, its existence was brief.
SUMMARY
The Pemigewasset House, Taverns in Plymouth, The Bridge of 1844 replacing Pont Fayette, Arrival of the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad, Welcome to the Officials of the Railroad, Railroad Square, The Dearborn Store, and The White Mountain Bugle Newspaper, were events of importance for the town.
William Wallace Russell, who erect- ed the Congregational Church.
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1853-1863
This decade began with a prosperous business outlook. Russell's and Webster's Store evidently increased its stock that required an addition to the building in 1854. The name, Webster, was associated with William Wallace Russell and his sons about 1830 when Samuel Cummings Webster became a clerk at the age of nineteen. Within the following eleven years, he advanced to become a member of the firm and remained there over a period of forty-one years.
Samuel Cummings Webster, Jr., 1817 - 1887
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No citizen of Plymouth was more highly regarded for his sagacity, cou- pled with a quaint sense of humor that imprinted the name of Sam Webster to this day upon the memories of his customers. His original maxims should have been written before they were forgotten. One of his young clerks recalled his advice when certain customers were wandering about the store. Mr. Web- ster would remark quietly, "Two, ten, boys." Two meant use your two eyes while ten fingers may shop-lift goods.
When a young salesman was told that every article that he might demand would be found in the stock, he declared that he would test that statement. Accordingly, he faced Mr. Webster with a request for a church pulpit. With his most courteous manner Mr. Webster requested his customer to follow him. Into a store room they walked and there Mr. Webster displayed a pulpit to the chagrin of the salesman who realized that he must pay his wager.
The pulpit was the base of the Ward Hill sacred desk, now the lectern in the Congregational Church chancel. When the old meetinghouse was de- molished, a neighbor saved the pulpit in her wood shed. Unfortunately, her husband was addicted to New England rum and became angry when under the influence. In this condition he returned to his home one day and vented his anger by using his ax to cut up the old pulpit.
The late Moody Gore hurried up the hill, when he was informed about this destruction, just in time to rescue the carved base of the sacred desk. This he added to the goods in Russell's & Webster's back-room and saved the repu- tation of the business-although in this case, without the intention.
GLOVE HOLLOW
The Lower Intervale was a rival of West Plymouth in its industries, be- cause a brook flowed swiftly from Cummings Hill to the Pemigewasset River. Capt. James Hobart built a grist mill by a waterfall and also a saw mill under one roof. A brick yard was not far away and a tan yard was there in 1811. After passing through the hands of several other owners, this water power was purchased in 1856 by Thomas Glynn who introduced a circular saw there, an invention that revolutionized the lumber business.
This brook was named by its owners several times, but finally Currier Brook became the fixed title after Aaron Currier settled under the hill below the Cummings Hill Road. His grandsons, Daniel and Henry, became leather dressers and manufactured gloves in the small building, now falling into decay in the hollow near the brook.
About as early as Alvah McQuesten developed his buckskins, Jason C. Draper began to manufacture gloves, tanning his leather near the brook. In
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The lectern in the chancel of the Con- gregational Church that Moody Gore res- cued on Ward Hill.
1857, Nathaniel F. Draper opened a glove shop at the top of the hill, looking south into Glove Hollow. Later, Thomas and David Glynn tanned and dressed glove stock and made gloves also. Across the highway from the Draper home lived Perley Currier who sent his gloves to be sewed as far away as Center Harbor. Thus the name, Glove Hollow, originated around these tanneries and glove shops of a century ago.
AGRICULTURAL FAIRS
An article that was published in the "Boston Globe" stated that the first County Fair in America was at Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1810. This custom spread rapidly into New Hampshire. The New Hampshire Agricultural So- ciety began in 1812 and was reorganized in 1850. The Grafton Agricultural Society was incorporated in 1818 and a cattle show was held in Plymouth about 1820.
In 1858, the Eleventh Annual Fair of the Grafton County Agricultural
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Society spread its tents and pens on both sides of the Pemigewasset River on the meadows near the Pemigewasset House. Here Landlord Burnham pro- vided a foot bridge across the stream to an island with a park and gardens.
The race track extended in a straight course and the horses raced up and down the field. A newspaper report of this fair may be read in Stearns' His- tory of Plymouth.
One statement is of special interest, "Excellent music was furnished by the Holderness and the Plymouth bands. Although the last named was organ- ized only six months ago, its performance was highly creditable." The leader of this early band was known by the title, "Cappy Little."
The fairs did not become annual gatherings until the present grounds were leased from Mr. Alfred Cook in 1871. This author remembers attending the fair in 1883. Transportation was by the railroad, the trains both north and south arriving in the morning and leaving about four o'clock in the after- noon.
Everybody brought his lunch. The noon hour was a picnic with exchanges of samples of pie and cake by the homemakers. Gypsies were offering to tell fortunes and a Merry-Go-Round was crowded. The final memory is of a very tired little girl, a train crowded with not even standing room, and how grateful she was when the deacon's wife offered a seat on her lap.
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