USA > Rhode Island > Bristol County > Barrington > A history of Barrington, Rhode Island > Part 43
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BARRINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
The history of the new Public Library may be prefaced with a brief account of the Library Society organized in Barrington at the beginning
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IRVING MAURAN SMITH.
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BARRINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
of the century, by that loyal and devout son of Barrington, Rev. Samuel Watson. He was quick to see that an educated ministry must aid in making an intelligent people, and one of the outcomes of his useful labors was the organization of a Library Society to which the General Assembly gave a charter of incorporation under the name of "The Barrington Library Society," in February, 1806, as follows :
" Whereas, Josiah Humphreys, Junior, of Barrington, in the County of Bristol, hath represented unto this Assembly, that he and thirty others have associated themselves into a Society, in the town of Bar- rington, which they have denominated The Barrington Library Society, and that they have subscribed a considerable sum of money for the pur- pose of procuring a library of useful books; and whereas the said Society have made application to this Assembly for a Charter of Incorporation, and this Assembly approving so laudable a design, and willing to give it all the assistance and encouragement which it so justiy merits, Do enact that Samuel Watson, Joshua Bicknell, Josiah Humphreys, Solomon Townsend, Amariah Lilley. Nathaniel Smith, John Short, John Humphreys, Elkanah Humphreys, Nathaniel A. Martin, Ebenezer Peck, Nathaniel Heath, Kent Brown, Samuel Barnes, Benjamin Martin, Jabez Bullock, Nathaniel Smith, Jun., Ebenezer Tiffany, Joseph C. Mauran, Frances Adams, Matthew Watson, Josiah Kinnicutt, Rebecca Bosworth, Elizabeth Bicknell, Comfort Stanley, William Allin, Calvin Martin, Sylvester Viall, and Samuel Allen, and all others who shall be admitted by them members of their Society, be and are constituted a body politic and corporate subsisting at all times forever hereafter in deed and in name by the name of The Barrington Library Society."
This Society could hold property not exceeding six thousand dollars. Power was granted to assess each share in said library not to exceed one dollar a year. The officers recognized by the Charter were a librarian and treasurer, and such others as the Society might determine, to be elected annually, The first election was held on the first Monday of May, 1806, in Barrington.
This library contained a valuable collection of the standard works of the day, and its catalogue, in the solidity if not in the readability of its volumes, would put to blush many catalouges of a later date. History and theology were the body of the library, and into it were allowed no books of fiction, which the fathers believed " worketh abomina- tion and maketh a lie." The library was at one time kept at the par- sonage, and the minister was the librarian, but later it fell into com- plete disuse and its volumes, if they have not been sold for junk, cumber the garrets of the older houses of the town. If I am rightly informed, Rev. Francis Wood was the last librarian, and it is quite possible that his former roof shelters some volumes of the first Bar- rington library.
The present public library owes its existence primarily and mainly to the efforts of Mr. David A. Waldron, who labored in season and out of season, among his friends in town, out of town, and everywhere, to
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THE HISTORY OF BARRINGTON.
secure the nucleus for the library. The first public meeting for a library organization was held at the schoolroom of Isaac F. Cady, on the even- ing of Jan. I, ISSO. As liberal donations of books had been secured, the meeting decided to prosecute the work, and a board of trustees was elected, consisting of David A. Waldron, Lewis B. Smith, Isaac F. Cady, Erastus L. Walcott, and Royal D. Horton. Later, on the 27th of Janu- ary, the board organized by electing D. A. Waldron, President, and Isaac F. Cady, Secretary and Treasurer. On the ad of March, the trustees voted to transfer the books and other property of the library to the town, whenever the town by vote should accept it. This the town did at the annual meeting, April 7, ISSO. Mr. Cady's school building was hired for the uses of the trustees, and the library was dedicated March 30, ISSO. Mr. Cady was the first librarian, and the library of 2,000 volumes was opened to the public on May S, ISSo. In the construction of the town hall, rooms were set apart for the library, and it was removed to the new quarters on the completion of the new building. The library now con- tains 8,606 volumes. Its annual circulation is 5,253 volumes. About 250 volumes are added annually from town and state funds. The trustees are : George T. Baker, Howard J. Weeks, F. O. Field, R. D. Horton, Ebenezer Tiffany, Jr., and Miss E. S. Bradford is the present librarian. F. O. Field is president of the trustees.
THE BARRINGTON ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY
was organized in May, ISS5, for the purposes of cultivating the historic spirit in the town, and for the collection of various ancient articles which represent the character and conditions of our earlier and colonial life. Dedicatory addresses were made by Prof. William Gammell, LL. D., President of the R. I. Historical Society, and by Thomas W. Bicknell, and a poem was read by Hezekiah Butterworth, on " The Flag of Taun- ton Green." Rooms were set apart in the town building for the uses of the society, and an interesting and valuable collection of material has already been made. Generous donations have been and will continue to be made by persons who desire to place in safe keeping and for the public benefit such articles of various kinds as tell of the honorable past, and in- spire respect for ancestry. The society owes much of its success to Mr. David A. Waldron, its first president, who devoted much time and zeal in securing contributions to its shelves and show-cases. The object les- sons of the collection will increase in value with the years, as the silent teachers multiply in number and value.
THE BARRINGTON GRANGE,
No. 16, Patrons of Industry, was organized May 31, ISSS, and erected a Grange Hall at Drownville.
THE BARRINGTON COUNCIL,
No. 30, Order of United American Workmen, has its headquarters at the · Grange Hall at Drownville. Secretary, Theodore G. Darby.
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CHAPTER XXXVII
BARRINGTON INDUSTRIES
A Farming Town -Seafaring - Shipbuilding - Brickmaking - Salt- making - Fisheries - Gardening - City Business - Horticulture and Floriculture- Stores - Barrington Water Company - Drown- ville Water Company- The Annawomscutt Mills - Electric Tele - graph - Electric Lighting -Telephones - The Barrington, Warren, and Bristol Street Railway Company, etc., etc.
FARMING.
B ARRINGTON was well adapted to farming, the chosen occupation of most of its people prior to the middle of the present century. The fertility of the soil, the climate made genial by the nearness of the waters of the bay and the ocean, tempered as they are by the Gulf Stream, which courses the Northern Atlantic near our shores, made this town an Eden for farmers. The sandy loam soil, usually free from boul- ders, fitted it to be the natural home and garden of the aborigines, and to these attractive fields came the yeomen of England, who had been accus- tomed to similar conditions of soil and climate in their native land. Born to conditions of constant toil on the other side of the Atlantic, we find our ancestors and their descendants, industrious, skillful, frugal. The plough was their representative instrument of husbandry and they illus- trated Franklin's maxim,
" He that by the plough would thrive, Himself, must either hold or drive."
The farm was the mine of wealth in which they delved and found the materials which brought them many home comforts, with but few of the luxuries of life. At the beginning of the present century the labors of a century and a half had created less than $200,000 in house and land values, by a population of over 500 people.
SEAFARING.
The attractions of a sea faring life have led many of our boys and young men in the past " to go down to the sea in ships and to do busi- ness on the mighty waters." Many of these sailors have become accom- plished seamen, and attained positions as officers and masters of the largest ships. The title of captain was once as common among Barring- ton men as was the title of colonel in the South, before the war. The
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inscriptions on the monuments in our cemeteries show the marine rank of a number of our cittzens within the last century.
SHIPBUILDING.
Ship building was engaged in at an early date in the town, although the first vessels built were probably only small coasters. Nathaniel Brown had a shipyard on the west bank of what is now known as Bul- lock's Cove and here were probably built the first vessels in the old town. Mr. Brown removed his old shipyard to Providence near India Point and became a prominent shipbuilder of his day. This was in the early part of the last century, but dates cannot be obtained. Later in the century, vessels small and large from sloops to brigs and ships were built on both banks of the Barrington River. The Martin shipyard was located near the east end of Ferry Lane, opposite Warren. The wharves are still in a good state of preservation. Moses Tyler built ships on the east bank of Bar- rington River, above the railroad bridge. The Eddys, Bowens, and Mar- tins also had shipyards in that neighborhood and the ruins of the old ways and wharves still remain. The brig Agenora, commanded by Capt. James Bowen, was built at the Bowen shipyard. Small craft were also built by the Allens on the same river, near the residence of Mr. Benson Bean. Tradition also has it that vessels were also built on the east side of the river near Nochun Hill. There are also evidences that large ves- sels were built on the east bank of the river south of the Barrington Bridge on land and shore now owned by Mr. Barton.
BRICKMAKING.
Brickmaking, so the oldest people say, was carried on on land now in- cluded in the George H. West farm, west of Nockum Hill. The most extensive brick manufacturer of this part of Rhode Island, however, was Matthew Watson, who came to Barrington about the year 1712, then six- teen years of age, and began brickmaking probably about 1720, instructed either at Leicester or by his employer and future father-in-law, Mr. John Read. His works were located on the clay beds, north of the present Watson house on Mouscochuck Creek. Mr. Watson supplied Bristol County and Newport with the product of his brick kilns at Nayatt. From Newport the Watson brick found their way to a market in New York, and the brick mansions of some of the old families of Manhattan were probably made of Barrington clay. It is stated that wood for burning the Watson brick cost two shillings sixpence a load, and that the lime used in the construction of his brick mansion house, built in 1745 and now standing, was made by the burning of clam and other shells by the Indians. Mr. Watson amassed a fortune for his day, some say $80,000, in brickmaking and farming, and left a large estate to his children.
The Barrington clay-pits lay idle, the land became overgrown with a young forest, when in 1848, The Nayatt Brick Company, under the
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BRICK MAKING.
management of Nathaniel F. Potter, its President, purchased a large tract of land on both branches of the Mouscochuck and began the manufacture of brick by machinery and steam power. This Company made a canal of the creek, with locks at its mouth, and freighted the brick to Providence and 'other markets on large scows, propelled by steamboats and tugs. French Canadians were employed as laborers, who came to Barrington in the spring and left for their homes in the autumn. In the course of the business the Nayatt Brick Company was reincorporated as the Narragansett Brick Company, with a capital stock of $225,000. Mr. Earl C. Potter, son of N. F. Potter, was super- intendent of the works, and Hon. L. B. Smith was purchasing agent of the Company. Mr. Potter estimates that the two companies made and sold fifteen hundred millions of brick between IS4S and 1890.
The New England Steam Brick Company was organized in IS90, and purchased a large tract of land at Barrington Centre, at first, for their works, and later the property of the Narragansett Brick Company. This company now owns the whole body of clay beds between Nayatt and Barrington Centre, and makes brick at both the old and new locations. The manufactories of the Company are presented in a picture on another page, giving as it does a more complete idea than words can, of the extent of this great industry. This Company reached a maximum of sixty- seven millions of brick a year in 1897, a product three times larger than any other factory of its kind in England. The quality of brick ranges from common to the best pressed brick, selling in the market from $7 to $15 a thousand. The kilns are burned by the use of coal and oil. Boston capital is employed and Boston men conduct the business with a main office in Providence, R, I., and branch offices in the large cities. Mr. William G. Titcomb is President, and J. H. Collier, Treasurer. Among the directors are John Shepard, Albert A. Pope, and A. C. Titcomb of Boston. The Company pays taxes in Barrington on an assessed valua- tion of $180,000. A wonderful surprise would greet the veteran brick- maker, Matthew Watson, could he return to see the growth of an in- dustry, started by him in the early years of the 18th century, and now carried on after methods so unlike the hand processes of 1725, and in- creased to a magnitude almost incredible to the people of the modern era and ideas.
SALT WORKS.
During the Revolution salt works were established on land now owned by Mr. John Jenckes, north of Mouscochuck Creek. A pond was exca- vated on Little Island, on the shore of the Bay, which filled at spring tides, and from it the water was pumped to evaporating vats on the land south of Mr. Jenckes' house. The business was probably carried on by Capt. Matthew Allin, as the works were on his farm. How long the manufacture of salt was continued after the war is not known, but proba- bly not long, as salt could be obtained from Turk's Island much cheaper than it could be produced here.
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THE HISTORY OF BARRINGTON.
FISHERIES.
The fin and shell fisheries have always been a source of income to our town. Clams, quahaugs, scallops, and oysters, have been obtained from time immemorial on all our long shore line, from Bullock's Cove to Bar- neysville, and while no estimate has ever been made of the value of these fisheries to the people, it may be estimated at thousands of dollars annu- ally. In 1865 the census reported 7,510 pounds of fish caught, and 962 bushels of clams, 457 of quahaugs, and 1,000 of oysters. The total value of the shell fisheries was $2,313, but this was a low estimate of the value of the fisheries to the townspeople. Herring were caught in Barrington River at the fish ditch connecting the river with Prince's Pond, by Joshua Bicknell in the last century, and the regulation of prices is referred to under town legislation prior to ISoo. Shad were and are obtained in large quantities in Barrington and Palmer's Rivers, and scup, tautog, and blue-fish, are plentiful in the waters of the Bay, and have been a source of food supply for generations.
About 1860, the oyster industry was started in Barrington by Mr. Bowden in Barrington River, and is continued by his sons, Charles H., Wheaton, and Samuel Bowden, at the present time. About 1870, William H. Allin planted oysters in Narragansett Bay, and, later, Higgins & Co., and others of Boston, and Blount & Hunt established oyster plants at Bullock's Cove. Later, the Buckinghams, J. E. and J. B., established oyster plants at Annawomscutt, and the flats between Bullock's and Nayatt Points have been made to yield large returns for the labor and capital invested. The fresh water food supplies to these oyster beds pro- duce the best oysters, and in Boston and other markets, the Narragansett Bay oysters are at a premium over all others. A capital of at least .$50,000 is now invested in the business.
INDUSTRIAL CHANGES.
Fifty years ago the chief occupation of the people was farming. At the present time very few cultivate the land except in the raising of vege- tables and fruits for family consumption. A few notable exceptions exist in the cases of Mr. George H. West, who carries on extensive market gar- dening and milk producing, at Nochun Hill; Mr. Charles J. Smith ; the Gardners, father and sons, who have profitable farms at Rumstick; Mr. John F. Richmond, on the old Richmond farm; the Pecks,-Edwin F., William H., and Leander R. ; Joseph R. Martin, and a few others.
With the city influences and residents in Barrington, it has become a suburban town, and most of the business people of the town transact their various enterprises in Providence. The industrial change has been a very striking one, and marks the new era on which the town has entered. Easy communication with the city, to be greatly increased during the present year by the construction of the Electric Railroad from Providence to Bris- tol and Fall River, has made our younger population practically business
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STORES, MILL, ETC.
people of Providence, with homes in Barrington. Our lighter taxes en- courage and invite wealth and its possessors to the town, and the annual increase of valuation is due not to the profits of agriculture as aforetime, but to the gains from business and professional occupations, carried on, in, and from Providence as the centre of activities.
HORTICULTURE AND FLORICULTURE.
Horticulture and floriculture engages the attention of the people to a commemorable degree. The culture of pinks and other hot-house flowers is now an established business in the town, and the Maxfield Brothers, at Barrington Centre, and Walter S. Nichols, at Hampden Meadows, have shown their taste and enterprise in this business, and have met with good financial results.
KELLEY'S MILL.
A tide mill for grinding grain was owned and run by John Kelley, at Kelley's Bridge, as late as 1870. This was the only water power ever util- ized in the town.
STORES.
Stores. One of the first grocery stores in town stood near the Samuel Low house, near Maxfield's Corners at Barrington Centre. Bowen's Tavern, as we have already noticed, had a variety store as a part of its outfit, and the proprietor sold everything the people used, from a knitting needle to a glass of grog.
Captain James Bowen carried on the grocery business in a building that stood near the east end of the Barrington Bridge. At one time he had a license from the town to sell liquors and gunpowder.
A variety store was opened by Mr. Colby, in a small building near the residence of Benson Bean, about 1848, and was continued for some years after by Mr. Joseph Bean and his son Benson. The Barrington P. O. was kept in the same building for many years.
About the year 1856, a store was opened in the brick building known as Nayatt Hall, near the Nayatt Station, and has been continued to the pres- ent time. Noel Mathewson, George K. Viall, William Winslow, William B. Viall, and Mr. Reynolds have been among the proprietors of this store. The Nayatt P. O. has always been kept in this store.
A grocery and variety store was opened at Barrington Centre, by Mr. Higgins, in the sixties, and is now kept by the Martin Brothers, of Barrington stock. Mr. Leonard S. Bosworth established a branch of his coal and lumber business, originally and still carried on at the Ferry, at Barrington Centre. He also built a building for residence and store, which is now occupied by his son, Mr. Leonard P. Bosworth. The son is now at the head of the several departments of trade, established and suc- cessfully conducted by his father.
Grocery stores were established by Jonathan Allen and William Allin, at Drownville, about twenty years ago, and are still supported.
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THE HISTORY OF BARRINGTON.
PRINCE'S POND ICE.
Prince's Pond has been turned to most valuable uses during the last twenty-five years, in its supplies of ice for Barrington and Warren people. Mr. Ebenezer Tiffany has conducted the business with excellent success, and the purity of the water is a guarantee of health as well as coolness to the patrons.
WATER COMPANIES.
The Barrington Water Company was formed in 1886, for the purpose of supplying the town with pure running water, deriving its supply from the Kickemuit River and reservoir in Warren. It was originally intended to supply the residents at Nayatt Point, but its franchise and supplies allowed it to be carried to any part of the town. Drinking fountains have been established, one at Barrington Centre, supplied by this com- pany, and one at Drownville, supplied by the Drownville Company. Others will eventually be erected in other parts of the town. As a plen- tiful supply of pure water is one of the most important elements in the healthy growth of a town, it is a matter of great consequence that the town is so well provided for. The president of the Barrington Water Company is Mr. J. U. Starkweather, to whose enterprise the introduction of this supply is largely due. Associated with him are Mr. Lucian Sharpe, Charles H. Merriman, and other prominent citizens of Nayatt.
The Drownville Water Company was incorporated in 1887, for the pur- pose of supplying the village at Drownville with pure water, taken from springs near Annawomscutt Brook, near which the pumping station is located. A tank of 53,000 gallons capacity is located on a ledge at the east, 105 feet above the brook, and supplies the pressure and distributes the water. The authorized capital of the company is $20,000; the annual operating expenses about $800; sales of water have increased from $349:34 in 1888, to about $1, ooc at the present time. The minimum cost of water from a single stop is $10. David A. Waldron was the first pres- ident, until his death ; present officers : John Jenckes, president; Charles F. Anthony, secretary; George T. Baker, Treasurer.
ANNAWOMSCUTT MILLS.
The Annawomscutt Mills, located near Annawomscutt Brook, at Drownville, was incorporated in 1897, with an authorized capital of $100,000. Its principal business is the coloring and finishing of cotton goods. The cloth used in the covers of " The History of Barrington " was finished at "The Annawomscutt Mills."
TELEGRAPH LINE.
In 1844 the Morse telegraph line carried the first message to the people, announcing that James K. Polk had been elected the President of the United States. The telegraph line was constructed between Providence
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JOSEPH U. STARKWEATHER.
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B. W. AND B. STREET RAILWAY.
and Newport within the next four years, along the main road and the stage route through Barrington. On the building of the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad the line was changed to follow the railroad. Telegraph offices have been established at Drownville, Nayatt, and Bar- rington Centre by the Western Union Telegraph Company.
THE BARRINGTON, WARREN, AND BRISTOL STREET RAILWAY COMPANY.
The Barrington, Warren, and Bristol Street Railway Company was chartered in May, IS9S, for the purpose of constructing an electric rail- way from Bristol, through Warren and Barrington, to connect with the Union Electric Railroad, in East Providence, thereby making a continu- ous electric route from Bristol to Providence. The capital stock of the company is $500,000. Among the incorporators are Orrin S. Anthony of Barrington, Charles H. Handy of Warren, and Charles B. Rockwell of Bristol. The road will be built through the central section of Barrington during the coming summer, and it is probable that in the early autumn of 189S a person can ride from Providence to Bristol and Fall River, through "Good Old Barrington," on the " Broomstick Train."
TELEPHONE SERVICE.
A telephone exchange was established with the town in 1881, and has been a valuable aid to the social and business interests of the people. The central office is at Warren.
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CHATPER XXXVIII
BARRINGTON CENTENNIALS.
Five Important Memorial Days - Celebration of 1870 - Centennial Com- mittee - Arrangements - Successful Event - Centennial Fund.
B ARRINGTON has good reason to celebrate five memorial days, commemorative of special epochs in her history. The first and most important event without which the others could not have occurred, was the discovery of Sowams and Massassoit by Edward Winslow, in March, 1621. The next significant date was March 20, 1653, when Thomas Prince, Thomas Willett, Myles Standish, and Josiah Winslow purchased " Sowams and Parts Adjacent" of the great and good Chief Massassoit and his son Wamsetto, who confirmed the sale by a solemn deed. The next great event was the establishment of a town government over Barrington in 1667, under the corporate name of Swan- sea. Then our charter rights from Plymouth Colony began, and from thence we develop our municipal character as a New England township. November 18, 1717 was the date when Massachusetts Bay Colony passed the bill which incorporated " Good old Barrington " as a separate town- ship in the Bay Commonwealth, "and the inhabitants thereof are vested with all powers, rights, and privileges that other towns within this Colony have or by law ought to have and enjoy." Thirty years later, in February, 1747, the old town lost its name, and a valuable part of its original territory, in an alliance for twenty-three years with the people on the east banks of the Sowams River, under the name of the patriotic Warren of Louisburg fame. This date also marks our transfer as a town from Massachusetts Bay to Rhode Island Colony, by which our loss to and of our mother colony became Rhode Island's gain. From this civil eclipse, only in name, our town emerged in 1770, in its re-incorporation under the name its people loved in Old England and will continue to the latest day to love in New England, - Barrington. These are our historic days, one of which was celebrated in New Barrington on the Centennial of our new birth, June, 1870. During the autumn and winter of 1869-70, the minds of the people were refreshed with historic facts, and an interest was awakened in the plan of celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the last incorporation of the town, by suitable public ceremonies and festivities. As the annual Town Meeting ap- proached it was proposed by various prominent citizens of the town that the matter should be presented for the consideration of the people
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