USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Woonsocket > History of Woonsocket > Part 10
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66
S. James
Nov., 1858.
W. H. S. .Sept., 1855. . .
Snow II. B. .April, 1861
Spooner Nelson May,
Sprague E. HI .Oct.,
1842.
. .
Thomas
Jan.,
1862.
Steere Edward F. Jan.,
Thomas May,
1860.
... Lient., 1st Infantry.
Stiles James F.
Jan.,
Stockwell E. M
April, 1856.
. ..
Stone Charles HI .Oct., 1842.
Street James B
Sept., 1858.
Streeter V. R.
May, 1844 ....
Sweet James A April, 1862.
Sweetser George April, 1845. . ..
1860 ....
-
1842. . .
1856 ....
1844. . . .
Capt., 2d Infantry.
1860 . .
1856.
1856 ....
July, 1857
. .
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
Date of Membership.
In U. S. V. Service.
Talman John B May, 1846 ....
Taft George
Oct., 1842 ..
Thayer Allen May, 1844.
.. George W. .Jan., 1802.
יי II Oct.,
James W. . Feb.,
Thurber Edward.
Oct.,
1855.
Tourtellot L. C. May,
1844. Capt., 3rd Infantry.
Varney A. J
Vaslet N. A.
May,
Verry George F. Nathan T
Oct.,
1812
Vose Seth II ..
66
Wales Charles M Aug.,
M., jr.
Sept., 1855.
Sylvester Oct., 1857.
Willis II. Mar., 1862.
Walker George H June, 1856 .. . .
Washburne George. . June, 1844.
Waterhouse George W.Sept., 1856.
66 John R. . . . July, 1859 ..
Waterman R. B .. .. . April, 1861.
66 Stephen S. . Oct.,
1842.
Capt., 9th Infantry.
Wheelock Anson 66 E. W Oct.,
. May, 1854 . .
1858. . ..
1862 .. . .
Peter April, 1843. . .
Whipple Enoch. Oct.,
1842
Wiglit George A. May, 1844.
Wilbur George A Sept., 1855.
Capt., 7th Infantry.
Wilcox D. C.
Jan., 1762.
Wilkins George W Aug., 1846.
Williams II. P
Lieut., 3d Infantry.
Wordwarth M Aug., 1844 ....
1842
1856. . .
1859.
1856. ...
Capt., 2d Infantry.
Watson C. L. . Sept., 1855.
Jos. H. Jan.,
PART II.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
WHEN the tinkling of the bell on the Lyman Mill re- echoed through the valley of the Blackstone, a new order of things had begun. Not particularly that the Lyman Mill was ornamented with a bell, but that most of the factory bells which began to ring about this time, in the valley of the Blackstone, were so similar to it in pitch and tone, that they might easily have been mistaken for echoes of the bell upon the Lyman Mill. Occasionally there were bells which had a deeper tone, like those which in these later days adorn the factories of heavy corporations. But most of the bells in the days of which I now am writing, seemed to have been moulded by the same hands and pitched in the same key. And so I repeat the sentence with which this chapter opened, that when the tinkling of the bell on the Lyman Mill re-echoed through the valley of the Blackstone, a new order of things had begun. It tolled the knell of the past and rang a welcome to the future- when iron and steel should take the place of musele and sinew ; when the steam- engine should supplant the ox, and the mountain, the forest
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122
HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
and the sea should cease to shut out the productions of the earth ; when the song of the plough-boy was to have a plain- tive tone, and the sounds of life and industry upon the farms should grow faint and fainter, till at last upon the hill-sides and the meadows a peaceful stillness should descend.
There is no farm-house however isolated, and no hamlet however remote, but whose inmates have been changed in their manner of living and their modes of thought by the advent of the locomotive and the spinning-frame. The changes which have taken place at Woonsocket since the bell upon the Lyman Mill first rang, it is now my pleasant duty to discuss.
What is now Woonsocket was then a wilderness, and what was then Woonsocket is now, I was about to say, a deserted village. Indeed, the village-which then contained the Post Office, the Bank, the Academy, the stores and the taverns- has not only been deprived of every one of these useful institutions, but it is now not even comprised within the limits of the town to which it gave a name.
Let us, in imagination, take a trip from what is now Monument Square to this village, which fifty years ago was the social, financial and political centre of a large extent of territory, and honored with the title of the "Capital of Smithfield." In the vicinity of what is now Monument Square stood a house which had fallen into ruin. Here, many years before, Moses Arnold, the grandson of John, had committed suicide. It was a suicide which partook of the nature of murder. Failing to destroy his wife, he took the axe, which he had designed for her destruction, and deliberately chopped himself to death. The cellar walls, and a portion of the chimney to the house in which the tragedy occurred, were all that now remained. Amidst the rubbish a tree had taken root. It was a gnarled, deformed and stunted tree, and seemed to bend its quivering branches
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
above the step stones in a terribly suggestive manner. It is hardly necessary to say that this spot could not be passed, even at noon-day, without a shudder.
Where the Providence Railroad now is, and where oftimes the music of our Cornet Band floats out upon the evening zephyr, was a deep valley or ravine, gloomy and dark with thick woods. From this point the road continued to Market Square, in level places winding among the pines, or a narrow cart-path scooped out from the sandy hill-side. Along the road-side, and where the mills on Main street now are, was a rude trench or ditch, which connected with the saw-mill pond, and from which water was drawn to irrigate the meadows which lay along the bank of the river from the Rubber Works to the Clinton Mills. It may be well to say, in this connection, that on a rocky knoll, which was situated where the Cumberland end of the railroad bridge now is, Mr. James Arnold constructed a pump for the purpose of watering lands which the ditch did not reach. This knoll was called the " Pump Rocks." A trench also ran along the Smithfield bank of the river, for purposes of irrigation. This was built by George Arnold, the half-brother of James.
From Market Square there were two ways of reaching the Smithfield shore. One was to continue straight through the "Ram Pasture ; " or, in other words, along where Ray's Mill, Kendrick's Harness shop, Elliott's Stable and the Rub- ber Works now are to the " wading-place," which was near where the Ballou Manufacturing Company's new mill now is. The other was to diverge to the saw-mill, which stood where now stands the tower of the Ballou Mill, near the " Falls," and from thence through the " Forge Lot " to the bridge.
The bridges still occupy about their ancient position. The Smithfield bank of the river, near the falls, was a steep bluff, thickly studded with hemlock trees, which had taken root in mysterious ways among the jutting rocks.
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
Things now began to look more civilized. A few steps and the old house of William Arnold, upon one side of the road, and that of his brother Seth, upon the opposite side, are reached. A few rods more, and the homestead of John Arnold is seen. A short way further, and we have passed the present limits of the town and entered a busy hamlet, where sounds of life and industry are heard on every hand.
The village remains, but the yards of the taverns are covered with verdure, the crack of the coachman's whip and the ring of the blacksmith's anvil are no longer heard. The village remains, but a peaceful stillness has settled down upon it like a shroud. It seems to have had a mission to perform, and to have performed it.
Let us turn from this Woonsocket of the past to the Woonsocket of the present, in which everything is unfin- ished, and everybody seems to be in haste to add more incompleteness ; where those who tear down and those who build up, seem to be working in unison to the same end ; and where the shadows are fast deepening upon the old order of things, and the dawn is growing bright and brighter upon the new.
Hitherto I have been speaking chiefly of names and things. My path has been among dusty records and deserted habita- tions. I have now to speak of men, whose memory is still fresh and green in the minds of many, and to describe events which have but recently transpired. My task seems to be an easy one. But it is one thing to gather a huge collection of facts from sources which are within the reach of all; it is quite another thing to arrange these facts. so that they shall be useful and fitting. In entering, therefore, upon the modern history of the town, I crave the indul- gence of the reader. I fully realize the responsibility and importance of my work.
CHAPTER II.
STARTING THE MILLS.
THE Woonsocket of the present, like that of the past, owes its existence to its water-power. This is derived from the falls of the Blackstone and its tributaries, Mill and Peters rivers. When the two last-mentioned streams received their names, I have been unable to ascertain. They were thus named when the earliest deeds of Woonsocket estates were drawn.
The first use of Woonsocket waters as a motor was upon the Blackstone, and operated a saw-mill, to which reference has been made. The second was upon Peters river-the upper fall supplying power to a grist-mill and the lower to a trip-hammer. The third was upon Mill river, and turned the first cotton machinery in these regions.
There are two other small streams, whose waters were appropriated in former times, but which have since been abandoned. One of these, known in ancient times as the " Little River," and at the present time as Cherry Brook, rises near Woonsocket Hill and empties into the Blackstone near the Air Line Railroad. The other, which is too in- significant to be honored with a name, murmurs through the meadows at the Globe, and finally lends its humble assist- ance in turning the spindles in that vicinity.
The total fall of the Blackstone, from the brow of the upper dam to the Bernon wheel apron, is abont thirty-one fect-giving say 2,000 horse-power; 14-32 of the river passes into the Bernon pond, and from thence through the wheels of the Bernon mills. Of these fourteen parts, eight
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
parts pass through the wheels of the Globe mills, on the Smithfield side of the river: and the remaining six parts through the wheels of the Ballou, Harris No. 1, the Lyman and the grist mills, on the Cumberland side of the river; 16-32 of the river passes through the wheels of the Lippitt and Harris mills and of the Woonsocket Machine Works, and from thence through the wheels of the Groton and Clinton mills. The remaining 2-32 of the river passes- First, through the wheels of the Bartlett Mill ; second, through the D. N. Paine, now the Lippitt Privilege; and third, through the wheels of Pond's Warp Mill. The total fall of Peters river is fifty-two feet, twenty-four feet at the upper fall and twenty-eight feet at the lower fall-giving say 110 horse-power. The total fall of Mill river is sixty feet, forty feet being used at the Harris Privilege and twenty at the Social-giving about 450 horse-power.
The proprietors of the water privileges at Woonsocket in 1810, were James Arnold, Stephen Wilcox and Joseph Arnold-the first-named representing the power upon the Blackstone, the second upon Peters river, and the third upon Mill river.
The success of Samuel Slater in his new enterprise had enkindled high hopes in the minds of men. The time seemed to be at hand when the barren hill-side and the rocky pasture could be utilized, and when the smiles of Fortune should descend through the forbidding skies and upon the sterile fields of New England. Many a thrifty farmer and industrious mechanic embarked his all in mills and machinery, to awaken at last from a golden dream to the stern realities of failure and disappointment.
The first to catch the infection at Woonsocket was Joseph Arnold. This man had inherited from his grandfather, Daniel Arnold, the large extent of territory reaching from the river at Cold Spring Grove to the river again at the
127
HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
Social. Mr. Arnold did not go into the undertaking very largely, and had the caution to associate himself with others with whom he might share the losses as well as the profits of the enterprise.
October 24, 1810, a meeting was called. The company consisted of the following-named gentlemen : Ariel, Abner and Nathan Ballou, Eber Bartlett, Job and Luke Jenckes, Oliver Leland and Joseph Arnold. At this meeting a " covenant of agreement " was signed and by-laws enacted, with the following preamble :
" Whereas, a connection hath this day ben formed for the purpos of manufactring cotton yarn and eloth for our common emolument, to be caled the Social Manufactring Company," etc.
The capital stock of this concern was $16,000, divided into sixteen shares. In the beginning, cach stockholder was the proprietor of two shares. The original estate of the com- pany consisted of two lots, the whole containing four acres and twenty-five rods, which had been sold to the company by Mr. Arnold. The mill was to contain 2,000 spindles, including carding aud repairing machinery. This mill was a small wooden structure, and now forms a part of the boarding-house at that place. In ancient times, probably from its size, it was named or nick-named the " Pistareen." In 1814 the stock had changed hands, and the sixteen parts stood as follows :
Job Jenckes 5 parts. Ariel Ballou 2 parts.
Luke Jenckes 4 Abner Ballou.
Moses Jenekes 1
Joseph Arnold
In 1822 the Jenckes proprietors disposed of their rights in the concern and commenced their operations on Peters river, at a place now known as Jenckesville. The first mill at this place was built in 1822, and was the first stone mill erected in Woonsocket. The second was built in 1828.
In 1823 the Social stock stood as follows : Smith Arnold, nine parts ; Arnold & Earle, seven parts.
128
HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
In 1827 the second wooden mill was begun at this place .* This mill is now a tenement house, and known as the " Castle."
March 16, 1839, Arnold & Earle became tenants in com- mon of the estate.
November 12, 1841, Dexter Ballout became the sole pro- prietor, and the following year began the erection of a stone mill. This mill was afterwards improved and enlarged, and as far as money and skill could avail, was made perfect in all its appointments. The company, under whom the principal improvements were made not only in the mill but at the village, is officered as follows: Orin A. Ballou, President ; Henry Lippitt, Treasurer ; Charles Nourse, Superintendent.
July 1, 1874, this mill was entirely consumed by fire ; but the company at once began the erection of the elegant and massive structure which now adorns the locality. The mill of the Social Manufacturing Company is now the pride of Woonsocket, and no one, in these days, ever thinks of calling it " The Pistareen !"
*The speeders for this mill were made by Joseph Ray, of East Blackstone, the father of J. P. & J. G. Ray. The spinning frames and mules were built by Metcalf, at Arnold's mills. Other machinery was made by Messrs. W. & L. A. Cook, of Woonsocket.
Mr. Ballon at first run the Social for the assignees of Arnold & Earle. When the property was sold in 1841, he, in company with Tyler and Dan A. Daniels, purchased it for $25,000. IIe afterwards bought of James Aldrich the surrounding lands and meadows.
CHAPTER III.
JAMES ARNOLD.
THE proprietor in 1810, at Woonsocket, of the water- power of the Blackstone and the surrounding estates was a great man-a very great man-being upwards of six feet tall and well proportioned. His name was JAMES ARNOLD. His title I have followed down in a previous chapter; but for the benefit of those who begin the reading of this History at its second part, I will repeat what I have given before. The first proprietors were the Indians, the second was Josiah Chapin, the third was Seth Chapin, the fourth was John Arnold, the fifth was his son (Anthony Arnold), the sixth was Seth Arnold (the brother of Anthony), the seventh was James Arnold (the son of Setli).
Seth Arnold at first lived at the Globe, in a house which stood in the rear of the Globe store, and has recently been demolished to make room for a brick building which has been erected by the Ballou Manufacturing Company. He subsequently removed to the house of his son James, which stood where now stands the Woonsocket Hotel, where he passed the remainder of his days. This house was after- wards removed a few feet up Arnold street, and was last used principally as a rum shop. It has since been removed to its present locality on River street, to make room for the briek block of Grimes Brothers. The well to this house was about in the centre of what is now Arnold street.
James Arnold, familiarly known in his day as " Unele Jim," was a manufacturer-of Indian meal. The cotton
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
mania seems not to have afflicted him to any great degree. He built mills and shops and store-houses, but he was con- tent to allow others to occupy them at a fair rent. Unele Jim was a cautious mån-a very cautious man ; in fact, his extreme caution was the chief source of his unhappiness, for he never parted with an inch of his real estate without a pang, and always referred to the transaction as if he had realized the worst of the bargain. His querulous comparisons of the values of land in Woonsocket and in New York city were touching in the extreme. But in his struggle to develop the value of his estate, he suffered the greater part of it to slip through his fingers. When the great freshet of 1807 washed away his works upon the island, his building operations began. He was now in the forty-fourth year of his age.
The first building of James Arnold was erected in 1808. This was a grist mill. The upper story of this building was used by various parties in a small way to card wool. Daniel Paine (not Daniel N.) at one time, and Jesse Carroll at another, were manufacturers therein. This building was destroyed in the great fire of March 25, 1829, and the grist mill now owned by Albert Mowry, Esq. was erected upon its site.
The second building of James Arnold was a shop, about 30x38 feet in size. This was built in 1810, and used in sub- sequent times for various purposes. Its principal historic value consists in its having been where Welcome Farnum began his career as woolen manufacturer. This building was afterwards removed a few feet down Main street to make room for Holder's block, and was occupied at the time of its recent demolition by Jacob Hein, as a barber's shop, and by Messrs. J. P. & J. G. Ray, as an office to their mills.
The third building of James Arnold was erected about the year 1812. It first occupant was Daniel Wilkinson. This man was from a place formerly known as "Sinking Fund,"
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
and now as Ashton. He is spoken of as having been the first cultivator of cherries in this section. He was a nephew of the celebrated Jemima Wilkinson. Like nearly all the Wilkinsons, he was a mechanical genius, and differing from many of this race, he was a firm and consistent Quaker. He was a manufacturer of card clothing, and occupied the build- ing as a place in which to draw the wire for that purpose. The second occupant of the building was Amos Whipple, a machine builder. The third were Rufus & Stephen Thayer, of Milford, to whom the building was sold April 5, 1822. They had previously leased the building, and used it as a place in which to finish satinets and woolen goods, manufac- tured by W. & D. D. Farnum and others. The Messrs. Thayer leased a portion of the building to a firm, consisting of Job Greene, his son Samnel and Simon Mowry (a cousin of Spencer). They were manufacturers of woolen goods in a small way. March 25, 1829, this building was destroyed by the great fire to which I have alluded. Soon afterwards another building was erected on the site. March 26, 1831, the property came into the possession of Edward Harris, and was where this remarkable man began his business opera- tions at Woonsocket. The building is now known as " Harris No. 1 Mill."
The fourth building of James Arnold was erected about the year 1814. For what purpose it was designed, I am as unconscious as I believe its builder to have been. It seems to have been a development instead of a creation. Here Dexter Ballou began to spin cotton at Woonsocket, and here, long before that of Sharpe & Roberts, a self-operating mule was in successful operation. It was used in spinning wool. Its inventor was Gilbert Brewster. It was rather a clumsy affair, and was abandoned after being in use but a short time; but it served to illustrate the genius and the skill of its inventor. October 8, 1821, the building was
-
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
conveyed to Daniel Lyman, and has since been known as the "Lyman Mill." At the time of its conveyance its occu- pants were : Dexter Ballou, in the first and second stories, and Gilbert Brewster and Samuel Shove in the upper stories. August 6, 1864, the Lyman Mill estate passed into the hands of its present proprietors, Messrs. J. P. & J. G. Ray.
The fifth building of James Arnold was that which is now occupied by the Kendrick Loom Harness Company. This was erected about the year 1817, and was first occupied by a party by the name of Sayles, as a thread mill. It was subsequently occupied by Thomas Arnold as a machine shop. Since then it has been used for various purposes. In the meantime, " Uncle Jim " had enlarged his real estate by pur- chasing the right of his cousin Elisha in the saw-mill estate, and the rights of Thomas and Moses Aldrich in the "Old Forge." He had also erected several small dwelling-houses, and his new mansion on Arnold street, which is now owned and occupied by the heirs of the late Charles Donahoc. Besides these mills and houses, he leased lands upon which other parties erected buildings. A part of one of these buildings is now standing near the old office of Messrs. George C. Ballou & Son. It is spoken of in the deed as being 18x66 feet in size, and "situated a few rods south- west from the grantor's old mansion-house." It was built by Giles Richards, and used as a silver-plating establishment. During the last war with Great Britain, business was sus- pended therein and never afterwards resumed. But, to go back to James Arnold, the more that " Uncle Jim " possessed, the poorer he grew. His real estate increased in volume, and so also did his interest account. He was, therefore, obliged to part with many of his dearly-loved acres to save himself from bankruptcy.
1. His first sale of real estate was made May 12, 1814, to Samuel G. Arnold and Daniel Lyman. It is spoken of in
-
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
these days as the " Arnold and Lyman purchase." The estate consisted of one-half of the river and twenty-five aeres and one hundred and twelve rods of land, and comprised the present mill estates from the Lippitt to the Clinton Mill inclusive.
2. His second sale was made April 25, 1821, to Dan A Daniels. This comprised what is now the Bartlett Mill estate, the new purchase of the Lippitt Woolen Company on the southerly side of Bernon street, the eastern portion of the Harris Woolen Company's estate, the Cumberland property of the Woonsocket Company and the Mason Soap Works estate.
3. His third sale was made October 8, 1821, and was that of the Lyman Mill and estate.
4. His fourth sale was made June 1, 1827, to Thomas Arnold, Thomas A. Paine and Marvel Shove, and was what is now known as the " Globe estate."
5. His fifth sale was made October 20, 1827, to Dan A. Daniels, and was what is now known as the "Bernon estate."
To each of the above-mentioned real estate transactions (with the exception of that of the Lyman Mill property, of which I have spoken at length), I shall devote a liberal space at the proper time.
000
600
CHAPTER IV.
THE END OF THE OLD SAW-MILL.
WHEN " Uncle Jim " had disposed of the estates which have been enumerated, there was but little left of him. But he was still the proprietor of the connecting link which joined the past history of Woonsocket to the present-I re- fer to the ancient saw-mill, with the history of which you are already familiar.
The purchase of the Lyman Mill in 1821 had forced its occupants to look about them for other quarters. May 1, 1822, Oliver Ballou and his son Dexter leased the " saw- mill lot " of James Arnold, for the purpose of erecting a mill for the manufacture of cotton and woolen goods. The dimensions of this lot were stated as 33x70 feet, and the mill to be erected thereon was to cover the ground. An- other of the conditions was, that the " saw-mill be removed to the west side of the river within one year." At the same time, another lot of land was leased by Oliver Ballou & Son, which was said to contain 900 square feet, and upon which a stone was to be placed. The mill which "covered the ground " was, therefore, 33x70 feet in size. It contained two stories and a stone basement. When first started it was occupied as follows: The basement by Messrs. W. & D. D. Farnum, the first story by Messrs. Oliver Ballou & Son, and the second story by Samuel Shove.
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