USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Woonsocket > History of Woonsocket > Part 11
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April 2, 1827, Oliver Ballou had disposed of his right therein to his two sons, Hosea and Dexter, and the whole mill was used and occupied by the firm of Dexter Ballou
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
& Company-Dexter owning three-fourths and Hosea one- fourth of the concern. February 6, 1828, Dexter purchased the right of his brother, and the whole stood in his name.
March 25, 1829, this mill took fire. The flames were com- municated to the building, which stood where now stands Harris No. 1 Mill, and to the grist mill of James Arnold, and the three buildings were totally consumed. Mr. Ballou was insured for #10,000, but his loss largely exceeded his insur- ance. A few days afterwards a subscription was started by the many friends of Mr. Ballou for his relief, and a large sum was raised. Although Dexter Ballou, with his characteristic independence of spirit, declined to accept the gift, a copy of the names of those who subscribed will be of interest to many :
Welcome Farnum $250 00
Arnold Reynolds. $2 50
Thomas A. Paine.
50 00
Isaac Elsbree.
10 00
William Coe
25 00
Simon Aldrich. 10 00
David Morrison
50 00
Samuel Mowry 4 00
Tyler Daniels
20 00
Arunah Grant
2 00
Van B. Streeter
15 00
Mellatiah Ware.
1 00
Hiram Allen
10 00
Franklin M. Arnold
2 00
William Jenckes
10 00
Smith Arnold
250 00
Darius D. Buffum 10 00
Joli Bartlett.
10 00
Thomas Arnold.
100 00
Jolm Burnham
10 00
Darius Farnum.
250 00
D. A. Lyman.
10 00
Waldo Earle.
250 00
D. Wilkinson
20 00
Hiram Ballou
25 00
William Earle
10 00
Cephas Holbrook
25 00
Eli Pond, jr
20 00
A. S. Streeter
10 00
William Elsbree.
: 50
Nelson Taft
25 00
Darius Sibley
. 00
W. S. Randolph .
10 00
James Follett . .
2 00
Henry Williams.
10 00
Edwin Follett
. 00
Scammell Aldrich
10 00
Sammel Gifford. . .
: 00
William Balcom.
10 00
William B. Mann.
: 00
Alden Coe.
2 00
Joseph Almy, for AAlmy,
John B. Madison (to be
Brown & Slater 125 00
done in carpenter work) Farnum Harris.
5 00
Aaron White
10 00
5 00
The ruins were subsequently roofed over, and occupied first by Arnold and Bacon as a place to finish flat irons, (which were made in a shop then standing where Pond's Warp Mill now is), and afterwards by George C. Ballou, the
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
brother of Dexter. Dexter Ballou continued his business, after the fire, on lands now owned by the Lippitt Woolen Company.
The occupant of the " saw-mill lot" was now George C. Ballou. This eminent citizen was born in Cumberland, in February, 1798. Soon after reaching his majority he came to Woonsocket, where his father and elder brother were engaged in manufacturing. Here he remained a short time, and pursued his trade of carpenter. His first entrance into the manufacturing fraternity was at Waterford, where in 1826, in company with his brother Hosea, he made satinet warps. Soon after the destruction of his brother Dexter's mill he returned to Woonsocket, repaired the ruins and spun yarn therein, which he dressed in the second story of a wooden building owned by Hosea, and standing on lands now owned by the Lippitt Woolen Company. This last mentioned building, together with the other wooden build- ings which stood on this estate, was destroyed by what is spoken of to this day as the "great fire" of April, 1835. But he continued his manufacturing operations on the " saw- mill lot," and prospered to such an extent that he was finally enabled to purchase the property of James Arnold. The sale was consummated August 24, 1839. He now en- larged and extended the works, which continued in success- ful operation until January 23, 1846, when, at half-past eleven o'clock P. M., a fire took place therein, and the mill was a second time consumed. His loss was estimated at $24,000, on which the insurance was but $14,000. But not discouraged by the calamity, he at once began the erection of the stone mill which now adorns the locality.
At the time of his death he was largely interested in the Clinton Manufacturing Company, was president of the American Worsted Company and of the Ballou Manufactur- ing Company, which represented not only the estate of which
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
I have been speaking, but also the "Globe " estate on the Smithfield side of the river, and of which I purpose to speak at length.
He died Saturday, March 25, 1876, at about eight o'clock A. M. His funeral was solemnized at his late residence, on South Main street, on the afternoon of the following Tues- day. The religious exercises were conducted by Rev. Adin Ballou, of Hopedale, Mass., after which the remains were given into the hands of his brethren of Morning Star Lodge, No. 13, and his companions of Union Royal Arch Chapter, No. 5. The brethren selected by the Lodge as pall-bearers were-Charles S. Landers, Abner Ballou, Smith Ray Mowry and Charles Nourse. The companions selected by the Chap- . ter to this sad office were-Dr. Ariel Ballou, Colonel L. C. Tourtellot, Thomas A. Paine and Aruna B. Armstrong. At the preliminary exercises held in the Lodge-room affecting tributes were offered to the memory of the deceased by Past Masters Ariel Ballou and L. C. Tourtellot, and W. M. George A. Whipple.
Mr. Ballou had been a Mason for more than half a cen- tury. The Morning Star Lodge, of which he was a worthy member and a Past Master, was located at Cumberland Hill at the time of his initiation. This Lodge afterwards con- solidated with the Evening Star Lodge, which was located at the Union Village, and took up its abode at the "Falls."
The house and grounds of the deceased at the time of the funeral exercises were crowded with sympathizing friends. The streets were lined with people almost the entire distance between his late residence and Oak Hill Cemetery, where his remains were deposited. It was a touching tribute to the virtues of the deceased. With him passed away one of the pioneers of modern Woonsocket. By his industry, per- severance and frugality, he was enabled to materially assist in the development of a thriving and wealthy village from
18
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
what was a wild and sparsely settled region at the time of his coming. The mills which he built are the pride of Northern Rhode Island; but his many virtues have left a more enduring monument to his memory upon the hearts of all who knew him. By his dress and outward demeanor, he seemed alike indifferent to the smiles or the frowns of Fortune. In prosperity or adversity he was always " Uncle George." Delighting in the patrician tastes of those who owed their all to him and his bounty, he was content and happy to mingle with his humblest laborers as one of them. He passed away, leaving a host of friends and not a single enemy behind him.
CHAPTER V.
THE ARNOLD AND LYMAN PURCHASE.
You will remember that Richard Arnold gave to his two sons, Richard and John, his Woonsocket property, and to his son Thomas his lands in the valley of the Moshassuck. It is a eurious coincidence that one of the parties to whom James Arnold (May 12, 1814) conveyed the large extent of territory reaching from Market Square to the Social, and which is now the most valuable portion of the town, was a descendant of this Thomas Arnold, the third son of the first settler of these regions.
Again, it is a fact worthy of note that one of the Arnold & Lyman firm was the father of a man who was afterwards Lientenant-Governor of the State (Hon. Samuel G. Arnold), and the other was father-in-law of Lemuel Hastings Arnold, a Governor of the State. But I am digressing from what I
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
set out to do, namely-to give the subdivisions of this extensive tract of land, and trace the titles thereof to their present holders.
The price which James Arnold received for the land and water rights was $20,000. This at the time was thought exorbitant. But Arnold afterwards tried to get the property into his own hands again, and made some legal attempts to that end, but in vain. During their life-time the original purchasers did nothing to develop the value of their estate. After their decease, the Court, in 1827, apportioned the property among the heirs in the following manner. It was first divided into twenty lots. The heirs of Samuel G. Arnold were given Lots 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19. The heirs of Daniel Lyman were given Lots 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20.
Lot No. 1 .- This lot is now entirely covered by the works of the Lippitt Woolen Company. I will try and describe this lot as it was when Dexter Ballou, after having been burned out at the " saw-mill lot," commenced his operations thereon in the brick mill which had been erected by his brother Hosea. But before doing so, the reader must allow me to avail myself of the present opportunity to give a hasty sketch of the man who really deserves the honorable title of "Pioneer of Cotton-spinning at Woonsocket." A little had been done at the Social ("the Pistareen "), it is true, before his coming. But it was a very little, and the Social at that time could hardly be said to be in Woonsocket.
Dexter Ballou came to this place in the autumn of 1817. Previous to this time, he and his father had begun their manufacturing operations near a place known in the last generation as "Sinking Fund," and in the present as Ash- ton. The machinery, consisting of five cards-which were made by Dexter in person-and three spinning frames of eighty-four spindles each, were removed from that place
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
to their new quarters in the " Lyman Mill." (I use the term "Lyman Mill" for convenience. Of course, it was not known as such until Lyman became its proprietor.) Subsequently they purchased a mule of one hundred and eighty spindles, which was operated by Lapham Jeffyrs, and in a short time another mule, which was run by Joseph Carroll. Up to 1820 the cotton-picking for this firm, and also for other mills in this section, was done by a man by the name of Everet, who operated a machine in the basement of the Lyman Mill. In this year the Messrs. Ballou purchased their first pieker. During the same year some looms were procured. Patty Ballou, afterwards the first wife of Lapham Jeffyrs, operated two of the looms, for which she received $3 per week. About the same time a dresser was pur- chased. The operator of this machine was a man by the name of Southwick. William Jenckes overseed the earding at five shillings per day, and William Coe kept the factory store and books at the same price. When Daniel Lyman purchased the mill of James Arnold, he bought also the cotton machinery of the Messrs. Ballou. Their operations upon the " saw-mill lot " I have given in a preceding chap- ter. Like his brother George, Dexter Ballou was entirely free from ostentation. With his sleeves rolled up, and his working suit on, he devoted his time and attention to his chosen ealling. " Every shaft, pulley and machine in the mill were set under my personal direction," was his sad re- mark as he surveyed the ruins of his works on the "saw- mill lot." Not only did this prudent man look after his mills and machinery, but he watched over the welfare of his help with parental solicitude. The butcher, the baker and the candlestick-maker had a hard road to travel who took advantage of the help of Dexter Ballou! If in the history of American cotton-spinning there had been more Dexter Ballous, there would have been fewer panics to record. But
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
even Dexter Ballou had his failings-he was an inveterate smoker !
In the year 1829 he resumed manufacturing in the brick mill, which then stood on Lot No. 1. This mill was the first improvement which was made on the lot, and stood on land leased of the Arnold heirs. A short time after the erection of his brick mill, Hosea Ballou built a wooden building, a little southerly thereto, for a store-house. This building contained two stories and an attic, and was where George C. Ballou dressed the yarn spun at his mill on the " saw-mill lot."
In the Fall of 1825, Willis and Lyman A. Cook leased another portion of the lot, and erected thereon a wooden building for a machine shop. The brick mill and the two wooden buildings stood end to the street. Just south of the lot which I am attempting to describe, on land owned by Dan A. Daniels, and where the Woonsocket Falls Bank once stood, was another wooden building.
Such was the condition of things on Lot No. 1 while Dexter Ballou was running the brick mill, until April, 1835, when the three above-named wooden buildings were totally consumed by fire. In the Summer of 1836 Dexter Ballou erected a stone mill on the site of Cook's machine shop, placing its side to the street, and a few years after extended this stone mill, connecting it with the brick mill before- mentioned. The whole was known until 1865 as the " Har- rison Mill," when it was changed into a woolen mill, and took the name of the Lippitt Woolen Mill. The officers of this establishment are-Henry Lippitt, President ; Charles HI. Merriman, Treasurer ; Jonathan Andrews, Superintend- ent. On the ruins of the store of Dan A. Daniels a brick building was erected. In the lower story thereof the Post Office was located, and a grocery store was kept. In the upper story were law offices and the rooms of the Woon-
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
socket Falls Bank. Before taking up its quarters in the building last-mentioned, the Bank was located in a little building now standing near the Cumberland Mill of the Ballou Manufacturing Company. The lower story or base- ment was used as a grocery store. The banking rooms afterwards became the counting-room of G. C. Ballou & Son, and the basement was used for a waste-house. The Bank was started in 1828. Its first President was Dexter Ballou, who held the office until his death, which occurred Tuesday, July 17, 1849. To return to the brick building, which stood south of Lot No. 1. This was torn down in 1870, to make room for the extension of the Lippitt Woolen Mill.
Lot No. 2 .- Upon this lot stands the cotton mill of the Harris Woolen Company .. This lot, with Lots Nos. 3 and 6, was purchased May 31, 1827, of the Lyman heirs by Samuel B. Harris, the uncle of Edward. Upon the failure of Mr. Harris in 1829, his assignee sold Lots 2 and 3 to Alexander Ballou, and Lot No. 6 to W. & D. D. Farnum. The Messrs. Farnum afterwards became proprietors of the three lots, and July 21, 1835, sold them to Seagrave & Harris. June 18, 1836, this firm leased Lot No. 2 to Hosea Ballou, upon which he erected the cotton mill now standing thereon.
I must be allowed to pause at this point, and briefly re- capitulate the business career of Hosea Ballou at this place. In 1826 he was connected with his brother George at Water- ford. April 2, 1827, he came to Woonsocket, and purchased a quarter right in the works on the " saw-mill lot." Febru- ary 6, 1828, he disposed of his right in the " saw-mill lot," and about this time* erected his brick mill on Lot No. 1. After his failure in 1829, the brick mill passed into the pos- session of his brother Dexter, and Hosea continued to manu- facture in the wooden mill then standing south of the brick mill, until its destruction by the great fire of April, 1835.
*The brick mill was erected in 1827.
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
The following year, as before-mentioned, he leased Lot No. 2 of Seagrave & Harris, and built the cotton mill which now stands thereon. June 14, 1846, he sold the mill to Edward Harris, who was the owner of the land upon which it stood, and retired from the village.
Lot No. 3 .- Upon this lot stand the woolen mills of the Harris Woolen Company, which are situated on the easterly side of Main street. These are two in number, and named " Mill No. 2," built in 1840, and " Mill No. 4," built in 1846. The mill on the opposite side of the street, and named " Mill No. 3," was built in 1844, and originally stood on leased land. In these mills Mr. Harris earned his world-wide reputation as an American manufacturer. His large mill on Mill river, at the north end of the village, was completed and started in 1865. All these mills are now the property of the Harris Woolen Company, the officers of which are as follows : Oscar J. Rathbun, President ; Darius D. Farnum, Treasurer; Joseph E. Cole, Agent. Moses J. Chandler is Superintendent of the cotton mill. H. J. Kennedy is Super- intendent of the woolen mills on Main street. Newell A. Boutell is Superintendent of the woolen mill on Mill river.
Lots Nos. 4 and 5 .- On these lots stand the works of the Woonsocket Machine Company. This establishment until recently was known as the Woonsocket Furnace Company. I am now permitted to speak of two men who have donc much to promote the interests of Woonsocket-I refer to Willis and his brother Lyman A. Cook. These gentlemen, now far advanced in life, and with a snug competency, are good types of the self-made men of New England. Fifty years ago, after learning their trade as machinists with Pale- mon Walcott at Valley Falls, they came to Woonsocket, and worked at the bench for Mr. Thomas Arnold, who was then engaged in machine building in an establishment sinee known as the " Daniel N. Paine Mill," of which I shall speak in the
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
next chapter. In 1828 they leased land on Lot No. 1, previously described, and began business for themselves. In this enterprise they were associated with the late Willing Vose. After the destruction of their building by the great fire of 1835, they rebuilt on Lots 4 and 5, at first leased and afterwards purchased of the Arnold heirs. Soon after- wards Mr. Vose, feeling that manufacturing was overdone, retired and went into agricultural pursuits at the Globe, where he passed the remainder of his days. But the Cook brothers were undismayed by the serious outlook of 1837, and continued to look after their increasing business and their bills payable. They made extensions to their works from time to time, until at last the fame of the Woonsocket Furnace Company went out beyond the limits of the town.
Willis is not engaged at present in active business, but his brother Lyman A., although threescore years and ten the 15th of last December-with an erect form, a springing step and hardly a grey hair-continues in the exciting and turbu- lent arena of business with all the vigor and life of middle age. The works of the Woonsocket Furnace Company were purchased in January, 1868, by S. S. Cook, and the name was changed October 1, 1873, to the Woonsocket Machine Company. The President thereof is now Stephen N. Mason. Both of these gentlemen will be noticed farther O11.
Lot No. 6 .- On this lot stands the Harris Institute block.
Lot No. 7 .- This lot is now owned and occupied by S. S. Foss, and upon it stands THE PATRIOT building. This may seem to be a peculiar place to give the history of a literary institution. But this history is a peculiar one, and the in- stitution of which I am about to speak, is one of which the citizens of Woonsocket are justly proud-I refer to THE WOONSOCKET PATRIOT.
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
During the existence of The Patriot there have been many literary enterprises which have lived in our midst. I will briefly allude to them. In 1835 the Rhode Island Advocate had a brief existence of nine months. This was published by Hapgood & Wilder. The latter gentleman was one of the original proprietors of The Patriot. In 1837 a " monthly" was started here. It was called the Rainbow. It was published by I. Robinson and edited by N. Robinson. It lived one year. During " Dorr times " the Independ- ent, a " free suffrage " paper, was removed from Providence to this place, and printed in the " Union building." It was published by Walter Sherman, and lived but a few months. In 1842 the Rhode Island Sentinel, a Thomsonian paper, was published here by Mason & Vose. The Mr. Vose is our respected townsman, A. D. Vose. This existed two years. In 1850 the News-Letter, published by Erastus Fisher, began and ended. In 1864 the Farm and Fireside, edited and published by S. S. & G. W. Foss, was published one year- unappreciated by our agriculturists. In 1873 the Woon- socket Daily Reporter began, under the leadership of L. B. Pease. It still lives.
The Patriot was born in 1833, in a building which is now a part of Fletcher's block. Its parents were Sherman & Wilder. The latter was the practical printer of the firm. Wilder soon afterwards retired, and commenced the publica- tion of the Rhode Island Advocate, which has been previously alluded to. The editor and proprietor of The Patriot was now Mr. William N. Sherman.
In the Spring of 1837 Mr. S. S. Foss began his apprentice- ship with Mr. Sherman. After serving his three years he became associate editor of the paper. In 1841 he was its sole proprietor.
In 1855 the office was removed from Fletcher's (then Rathbun's) block to Waterman's block. In the Spring of 19
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
1865 Mr. Foss purchased the building. If we may judge by its very large circulation, The Woonsocket Patriot is now the best weekly paper published in New England.
The Daily Patriot was started in the Spring of the present year (1876). It at once sprang into a prosperous existence, and is now a necessity to every Woonsocket citizen. As an important adjunet to this journal Mr. Foss constructed, at his own expense, an independent Telegraph line between Woonsocket and Providence.
Waterman's block, now called the "Patriot Building," was erected in 1846.
Lots Nos. 8 and 9, on the easterly side of Main street, and Lot No. 13, on the opposite side of the street, are now occupied chiefly by the works of the Groton Manufacturing Company. The estate thus descends to its present owners. August 1, 1831, John W. Buffum leased the land of the Arnold heirs. On this a mill was erected. Afterwards another mill was built. These mills have been honored with many names-at first as "Buffum's Mill," afterwards as " Law's mill " (from George Law, who was the manager and superintendent for many years. Mr. Law was a very estimable man. At the time of his death he was the Presi- dent of the Woonsocket Savings Institution). The works are now known as the Groton Manufacturing Company. August 20, 1835, the estate passed from Buffum to Peter J. Cook and Samuel Shove. From them it passed to A. D. & J. Y. Smith. James Y. Smith retired a few years since from the concern. The Superintendent at the present time is George H. Grant.
Lots Nos. 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16 .- Upon these lots now stand the Clinton Mills, a portion of the Bailey Washing and Wringing Machine Company estate, and house-lots owned by various parties in the vicinity. The Clinton thus descends :
March 31, 1827, the Lyman heirs sold the lots above-
.
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
mentioned to Benjamin and Thomas C. Hoppin. November 1, 1830, the Messrs. Hoppin conveyed to Edward Carrington. During the year 1832 John H. Clark became a partner of Carrington, and in 1845 he was sole proprietor. April 3 of this year Clark conveyed to George C. Ballou, Orin A. Bal- lou, Samuel P. Rhodes and Peleg A. Rhodes. The Manager of the mills is now Edwin R. Thomas.
I will now give a brief account of the Bailey Washing and Wringing Machine Company. In the Autumn of 1863 Mr. S. S. Cook, a young man full of life and hope, began looking about him for a fortune. He had seen in the store of Mr. William H. Jenckes a new machine-one that no family can do without. It was a clothes-wringer. He sought and found the inventor thereof at Wrentham, Mass. It was Seldon A. Bailey, at that time a poor man, and manufactur- ing the machines in a small way. The result of the inter- view was the starting of the enterprise in the following Spring at Woonsocket. The business was begun in a wooden building then standing upon the "island." In the Summer of 1865 a company was organized, and soon afterwards Mr. John Paine Whipple was chosen Treasurer of the concern. The many virtues of this gentleman (who was cut off in the full blossom of life and of prosperity), his unblemished honor and business integrity, endeared him to all with whom he came in contact. Under his management the business in- creased, and the company were forced to look about them for more commodious quarters. In the Autumn of 1865 they purchased a building known as the Metcalf Machine Shop, and the following Spring removed to their new quarters, in which the works are now located.
This Machine shop was built in the year 1846 by Whipple and William Metcalf. Previous to this time the Messrs. Metcalf had built machinery in a part of the Globe Mills, and afterwards in the basement of the Harrison (now
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HISTORY OF WOONSOCKET.
the Lippitt) Mill. In their new shop they did not prosper as they did in their former places of business, and August 25, 1856, they were foreed to sell their property. The pur- chasers were Messrs. W. & L. A. Cook, who sold the estab- lishment to the Bailey Washing and Wringing Machine Company, as before-mentioned. The President of the last- mentioned concern at this time was Lyman A. Cook.
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