USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > Lafayette, Rhode Island; a few phases of its history from the ice age to the atomic > Part 6
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The New Haven continued to run its through ex- press trains, and in some cases increased them, but its local train schedules had to be continually reduced by reason of the continually falling off in passenger travel. Practically all the through express trains cut out the Wickford Junction stops. The Junction slowly resolved itself into a "lonesome place" for those who had mingled in its rush and bustle of the days gone by. It finally reached an irreducible minimum of only one or two local trains a day. Meanwhile, the New Haven slowly slid into bankruptcy.
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I5. Some of the Attendants of the Iron Horse
FOR MANY YEARS, most of the higher officials of the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad con- tinued to be New York men. Their names appeared on various early locomotives and on timetables and other railroad literature, but to the local patrons and employes of the Road, they were only names. They traveled over the line from time to time, stopping over at "Wickford Depot" (or Wickford Junction as it was later known), for periodic inspections. Yet even the trainmen hardly knew them except as top officials, and strangers at that.
Many of the train crews, however, as well as the station employes, were neighborhood men, familiarly known by their first names to the community and to the traveling public. Capt. "Jimmy" Huling led off as first "depot master" in the 1840's, and had the ac- quaintance and respect of everybody in the vicinity. His standing and achievements are given in a separate chapter of this work. He was succeeded by Edward S. Hall who served many years. "Ed" lived in the center of the Lafayette of his day, occupying an old house on the site of the present parsonage. The latter was orig- inally built by Mr. Hall as a replacement of his old dwelling (which was moved back on the lot), and he trudged back and forth between the railroad station
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and his home two or three times daily. He was a man of high business integrity and ability, found time to serve the Town in various offices, and was popular and accommodating in his dealings with the traveling pub- lic. He was a descendant of the Halls who were part- ners with Alexander Huling in the "Huling Purchase."
Following "Ed" Hall, came "Will" Lamphear, a genial South County boy, descendant of a historic family. He married Ida Arnold, daughter of James Burrill Arnold. Robert T. Downs served as station . agent for some time. He married Fanny Rodman, daughter of Franklin, and became prominent in Provi- dence banking circles in later years. Other "depot masters" were "Charlie" Gardiner, Charles and Fred Wilbur, "Jack Smith," Charles Seavey, and Frank Hammond.
In more recent years, Everett Tourgee took over the station agent job. Everett had been local express agent for several years and had a wide acquaintance. He lived on the "Hatchery Road," just above Walker's Crossing. He was a great reader and a steady patron of the Wickford Library. He was a descendant of the Tourgees who were among the original settlers of the French Huguenots colony at what is now known as "Frenchtown."
One of the most popular of the Junction force was Gideon Brown who was long-time baggage master and general mechanic factotum. He was a descendant of Beriah Brown, the settler, in the 6th generation, through Charles Brown the grandson of Abigail Phenix. He lived latterly on one of the farms that this grandson of Abigail's had acquired, and "farmed it" quite extensively.
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"Gid" was a stout, heavy man, as was quite fitting for one who had to handle the huge trunks of the 80's and 90's. The New York-Wickford-Newport summer travel was at its height then, when hundreds upon hundreds of pieces of baggage, totaling tons in weight, were transferred at the Junction in a season. "Gid" had a pleasing personality, an acquaintance far and wide, and was equally popular with the traveling public and the trainmen. It was his custom to give a big clambake each summer at his farm, when a special train brought railroad men and guests to this affair from all along the line.
One of his duties for many years was the operation of the pumping plant at a building then located on the west side of the tracks, opposite the south end of the long station platform. Water from a well below the ground floor was pumped into a big tank in the upper part of the building by means of a pump steam-oper- ated from an upright boiler. Locomotives going south stopped in front of the tower to take on water through a feed pipe leading from the tank. North-bound en- gines took on water from a stand-pipe at the north end of the station platform adjoining the Ten Rod Road. This standpipe was supplied by an underground line from the pumphouse tank. With the use of larger engines and the provision for carrying a greater water supply, the use of this tank tower gradually lessened, and the equipment became another discard in railroad progress.
The freight business was also under "Gid's" man- agement, for in his day all shipments to and from the mills of the Town were made by rail, as were supplies for the various stores and other establishments. Horse-
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drawn carts and wagons, with their drivers, made a lively scene about the freight-house and loading plat- forms. Besides this, he handled the transfer of mails and acted as general repair man in the care and up- keep of all the station property. For assistants in his job, he had "Mort" Perry for many years, and "Will" Phillips, brother of James E.
James Brown, brother of "Gid," acted as express agent in the earlier days of that service, and "Jess" Brown, son of "Gid," was baggage master for a time after his father's death.
The crossing of the Ten Rod Road at the Junction had a series of day and night "tenders" or "flagmen," among whom were Nathan Fiske (former hostler for Robert Rodman); "Bill" Davis (brother of Burrill), who met a tragic death when a reckless driver knocked him down in front of an on-coming locomotive; and Fred Healey, a well-known amateur actor, who made a daily trek from and to his home in Belleville for more than 30 years. He was an enthusiastic bicyclist in his younger days and did some professional racing. He attended the New York World's Fair in 1940, making the round trip on his 40-year-old "bike." He was the last gateman at the Junction crossing. The earlier flagmen used a white flag by day and a white light by night, to signal "all clear" to approaching trains. Then "gates" were installed, operated by hand from a crank-post at one side. Then followed the block system, with a tower by the side of the Ten Rod, from which "gates" and signals were operated by levers in the tower. Finally came the underpass which did away with the grade crossing altogether.
Jim Fiske, son of Nathan, and Charles Arnold were
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flagmen at Walker's Crossing of the main line, and Charles Franklin was tender at the Swamptown cross- ing of the Wickford Branch.
The tower men were mostly from other localities where they had been trained in telegraphy and the technical operation of the block-signal system. They were changed frequently.
Oliver Gardiner Huling, son of Almon and fa- miliarly known as "Oliver G.," was section track patrol, at first on foot, and later on a hand and foot- controlled rail velocipede. Afterward, "Oliver G." was a switchman for a number of years.
The track crew consisted mostly of local men, on the section taking in the Junction. They were com- monly known as "workers on the bed of the road." James Burrill Arnold, better known as "Burrill," was track foreman for many years. He was succeeded by Almon Huling, familiarly known as "Al." He had a son "Al," Junior, who for many years filled many positions in the local railroad service. Other track fore- men were "Ike" Gardiner, George White, Archie Grant, and "Bill" Card. Charles Wood and his son George, served as track foremen on the Wickford Branch.
The track crews included "Sam Huling," Lyman Arnold, John Tourgee (father of Everett) and a shift- ing number of other men, mostly from the immediate neighborhood. They used a hand-car for transporta- tion to and from their places of work along the sec- tion. This hand-car was a four-wheeled affair, with a wooden platform and a raised frame-work in the middle. This frame-work contained an upright shaft connected with the wheels. Two long railings at the
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top were manned by the standing crew. These railings, or handles, were alternately "pumped" up and down by the crew, in the manner of operation of the old- fashioned fire engines. This imparted motion to the wheels, and the strength and rapidity of the "pump- ing" determined the rate of speed. The machine could be readily de-railed to one side of the tracks when the "work-spot" was reached, or in case of emergency such as the approach of a train on the same track. Then came the one-man rail velocipede, and, latterly, a gasoline-motored conveyance after the general style of the old hand-car.
The train crews included John Perry, engineer, who lost a foot in an accident at New London. He was the brother of "Mort" Perry and son of Elder Perry who lived at the Junction and kept a small store there at one time. John married Ellen Gavitt, daughter of "Bill" Gavitt, Sr. Alphonse Phillips, son of George W., was a conductor on through express trains for a long time. George W. Phillips, Jr. was a fireman on both the Wickford Branch and the main line. "Bill" Gavitt, Jr. (Red-Top) was a fireman on main line trains and later an engineer. Adfer Bartlett, who built a house next to the Burrill Arnold House at the Junction, was con- ductor on local trains. "Al" Brown, son of "Gid," was trainman on through express trains for several years. James Matteson, who married Hannah Hazard, and lived at the Junction, was baggage master on local trains.
Mandana Arnold, daughter of Burrill, was tele- graph operator in the earlier days. She married Daniel C. Sweet, insurance agent at Wickford, and retired. Annie Matteson, sister of James, succeeded her. Robert
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Brown, son of "Gid," acted as operator during the early 90's. Following that, the station agents acted as operators in some cases, until the block and tower system took over the telegraph work.
Old-time mail-drivers who daily delivered and re- ceived mail pouches at the Junction, were "Herb" Knight, Charlie Franklin, "Want" Matteson and Charles and Walter Greene, on the Pine Hill route. Of these, Charlie Franklin was a picturesque character in both Exeter and North Kingstown. He had lost an arm in a planing mill, but in spite of this handicap was steadily industrious and never out of a job. "Want" Matteson was a long-haired, bearded woodsman, who lived up near Hell's Half Acre. He knew everybody along his route, and there and at the Junction he was a persistent greeter. In common with the custom of the day, he used to carry passengers for 25 cents a head, and familiarly spoke of his women passengers as "quails." "Jim" Bedford, George Greer, and Archie Saunders ran the Allenton and Hamilton route, and Tom Blatchford carried the Wickford mail after the Wickford Branch suspended operations.
In the early days, the mail pouches between the Junction and the Lafayette post office were carried by boys of the village, who received one dollar a week for two trips a day. Later, the Lafayette post office was served by the contractors on the Allenton route. They were the first to deliver and collect mail to and from individual letter boxes provided by resi- dents along the route. In recent years, the reduction of the train service has resulted in an early morning de- livery, by truck, of local mail from Providence. "Mail- catchers" were installed by the railroad company some
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time ago, for catching a mail pouch suspended on an iron rod alongside the track, in case the mail-carrying train had no scheduled stop at the Junction. Pouches were delivered from such non-stop trains by the well-aimed fling of an alert railway mail clerk, onto a cleared space of the station platform. But even this provision has been minimized by the increased use of trucks for mail delivery and pick-up.
The hey-days of railroad travel at the Junction were also enlivened by the numerous carriage (and later taxi) drivers, who carried passengers to and from the depot. James E. Phillips, Burrill Arnold, Daniel Webster, the Arnold Brothers, Gillette Franklin, Joe Eccleston, and others, were well-known in this line. The summer season, especially, brought out a number of private carriages and, later, automobiles, of shore cottagers, and these created a string of highway traffic in connection with the morning and afternoon trains. Clarence Weaver, the stepson of John Rose, operated an express service over the highway, between the Junction and Wickford.
The local personnel of the Stonington Road would not be complete without mention of Jeremiah B. Gardiner who, though born at West Kingston, became best known to the Wickford Junction traveling public and the local railroad men, out of all the higher officials of the Road. He was born in 183 1 and, as a boy, wit- nessed the building of the Stonington Road. When he was 14, he went to Providence where he studied navigation and became first mate of the ship "William Sprague" on a voyage to the Far East. While the ship was in Manila, the master died, and Jeremiah, then only 19, brought the ship home.
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This seemed to satisfy his ambition for a life at sea, for he turned to railroading at the age of 20. He ad- vanced through various positions in that field until, in 1873, he was made Assistant Superintendent of the New York, Providence and Boston, and in 1878 be- came Superintendent. In 1888, he was made Super- intendent of the Wickford Branch. When the New York, New Haven and Hartford took over the New York, Providence and Boston, he was made Super- intendent of the Stonington Division, where he served until 1894, when he retired. He died in 1899.
"J. B.," as he was popularly known, and as he often signed, was one of those rare men with a genial nature and a genius for executive ability. He rose to promi- nence in railroading on his merits of capability and fidelity. He possessed the faculty of handling men in a manner to the best interest of the men themselves, of the company, and of the traveling public. When a disastrous February flood back in the 80's filled the "Great Swamp," south of Kingston, and interrupted rail traffic, "J. B." led the forces of rebuilding. He almost lived in the Swamp for weeks, on rafts and in boats, while he kept every man available at work weighting the ties with stones and filling in here and there until traffic was restored. Such energetic action in this and like emergencies won him the admiring loyalty of all concerned from highest to lowest. The general prosperity of the Road during his superintend- ency was a tribute to his executive talents and strong character.
In the early days of the Stonington Road, Kingston Depot was an important station. All trains stopped there for "wood and water," giving passengers the
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chance to patronize the lunch counter. The station agent was named Gardiner (authorities disagree whether he was "J. B.'s" father or uncle). Two Gardiner girls ("J. B.'s" sisters or cousins) served the lunch counter. One was named Mary, the other, Mahala. As vast quantities of wood were required for the locomotives, a young man named Henry E. Taber used his tread-mill horse-power to cut the wood to proper lengths for stoking, and kept the station wood- pile well supplied. He met Mahala, they became more than friends, and were finally married. When the new depot at Kingston was opened, Taber followed Gar- diner as station agent. He and Mahala had several children. A daughter, Caroline, married Walter Rod- man, Sr., of Lafayette, a son Constant, was conductor on the New York express trains, and another son, Jeremiah, was station agent at Davisville.
"J. B.'s" brother, Orrin A. Gardiner, had a harrow- ing experience in the "Richmond Switch" disaster. He was conductor on the train involved in the wreck and the car he was in at the time was plunged under water. He held his breath long enough to get to an open door at one end of the car, came up through the water, and was rescued. For the rest of his active life, Orrin was train dispatcher at the Union Station in Providence. He was a sincere, religious man, and occa- sionally occupied the Sunday pulpit in South County rural churches, such as the Queen's River Baptist at Wyoming.
Sunday trains, outside of the boat train on early Sunday mornings, were a comparatively modern fea- ture of the Stonington Road. With their introduction, certain hours of that day at the Junction took on
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an aspect more like a week-day than the old-time Sabbath. Many of the "boarders" who worked in the local mills and elsewhere, went home on Saturday, and the Sunday evening trains brought them. back. At such times, with the mills and stores closed, many young people, as well as older ones, found interest in "seeing the trains come in," a diversion denied them on the busy week-days. One enterprising pastor of the Advent Christian Church of Lafayette took ad- vantage of these sizable gatherings at the Junction, by assembling some of his church and choir members in the depot waiting-room, where they sang hymns in which many of the gathering joined, or listened with profound respect.
So, all in all, the Junction was a busy place over the years long past. Yet, even as a "ghost station" to- day, it can call up many happy memories to those who knew it in its days and nights of a thriving traffic of its own. Now the roar of the big Diesel engines, the swish of stream-lined trains, the rumble of the long freights, and the buzz of automobiles and trucks through the underpass betoken the hectic rush of modern traffic. The once bustling railroad station of Wickford Junction has been by-passed in the ruthless "March of Time."
1
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I6.
Robert Rodman, Village Builder
THE TURN OF the century at 1800 witnessed the development of the manufacturing industry at a point on the Shewatuck to be later known as Lafayette. The previous snuff mill and tannery were replaced by a cotton yarn mill operated by Greene and Hawkins. They constructed a wooden mill, 28 × 33 feet, and three stories high. In 1824, George W. Tillinghast and Charles Eldred succeeded to the business, and put in a new water-wheel and flume. A year later, Eldred sold out to his partner who continued the manufacture of cotton yarn. Tillinghast afterward sold the plant to Gardiner and Hoxie who were not successful. Their assignee sold the business and plant to Jeremiah and Henry T. Chadsey, in July 1844, and the Chadseys made a quick turnover by selling the property to Al- bert Sanford in August, 1844. He started the manu- facture of cotton piece-goods, but three years later sold the premises to Robert Rodman who changed the machinery and commenced the manufacture of woolen goods in 1848.
Rhode Island, at this period, was well on the way in the industrial phase of its history. Samuel Slater's achievements at Pawtucket had given an impetus to textile manufacturing all over the State wherever water power was available for driving machinery. South Kingstown, Richmond, Hopkinton, Exeter,
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and North Kingstown had numerous small streams which were harnessed for this purpose by adventurous pioneers in this new line of manufacturing. This de- velopment dotted the South County with many small water-driven plants, among which may be mentioned Peace Dale, Rocky Brook, Moorsfield, Glen Rock, Usquepaugh, Carolina, Arcadia, Shannock, Hope Val- ley, Ashaway, Wyoming, Exeter Hollow, Hallville, Lawtonville, Millville, Fisherville, Davisville, Sand Hill, Silver Spring, and our own Lafayette. With the use of steam for power and other mechanical advances, some of these have disappeared altogether or have left only ruins to mark their small but once thriving com- munities.
The building of the Stonington Railroad and its opening for traffic in 1837 wrought a great change. Previously, both supplies and products had to be carted for long distances, to and from these water- sites, over rough, and at certain seasons, almost im- passable roads, to reach their destinations. In this re- gard, Lafayette was fortunate, for the elimination of Wickford in the proposed lay-out of the railroad forced the new means of transportation to adopt its present right of way. It established its local station within a half-mile of the Lafayette mill, with the much-traveled Ten Rod Road connecting the two points.
To this community, in 1848, Robert Rodman, at the age of 30, brought the resources and influence of his rugged physique, his upright character, his energy and his talents as a determined young business man. It was not a "hit or miss" venturesome undertaking. For if one could have read his mind, doubtless there
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would have been found a keen realization of the great possibilities in the unfolding expansion of markets for textile products. Had he chosen to continue the exist- ing cotton goods production of the plant, he would have faced an already established and substantial com- petition elsewhere. The finer woolens and worsteds were already on a firm foundation at well-capitalized plants in the State. By combining the two staples, cot- ton and wool, his judgment was rewarded with a rich success.
Robert Rodman was born October 9, 1818, at the Robert Brown house (now demolished) on the Tower Hill Road, near Wakefield, in South Kingstown. He was one of 10 children of Clarke and Mary (Gardiner) Rodman, the latter a Mayflower descendant. On his father's side he was descended from John Rodman, a wealthy planter, who lived and died (1686) in the Island of Barbadoes, West Indies.
Thomas Rodman, of the second generation, came to Newport from Barbadoes, in 1675. He was a cele- brated physician and surgeon in Newport for over 40 years.
Thomas Rodman, of the third generation, was also a physician and resided in South Kingstown where he died in 1775 at the age of 92. He built the Rodman mansion on his large farm, a part of which is now occupied by the village of Rocky Brook.
Samuel Rodman, of the fourth generation, was born in South Kingstown in 1716 and died there in 1776. He was a man of means and prominent in Town affairs.
Robert Rodman, of the fifth generation, was born in 1745 and died in 1806. He lived in the old Rodman
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mansion in South Kingstown, and managed a large farm which he inherited.
Clarke Rodman, of the sixth generation, lived in the Robert Brown house (mentioned above) where he operated a farm, and where his son Robert, subject of this sketch, was born.
The earlier generations of Rodmans were Quakers and many of them are buried in the Friends Burying Ground in South Kingstown. In their day, the Quakers were prominent in all Rhode Island business and politi- cal life, but their creed forbade active participation in military affairs. However, the worthy traits of honesty, integrity, character, good works, and simple, upright living, have fixed themselves in the person- alities of many of the later generations, irrespective of their religious beliefs. Of this survival of such com- mendable attributes, Robert Rodman was an outstand- ing example.
His early years were spent at the home of his birth, where he received the education the times afforded. He engaged in farm and mill work as he grew toward manhood, while the attractions of the growing tex- tile industry in the neighborhood created ambitions for him in that field. This was encouraged by a family atmosphere of the increasing mill business.
The Hazards, who had in some instances inter- married with the Rodmans, were already well estab- lished in that line at Peace Dale. Robert's older brother, Daniel, at the age of 26, was operating a cotton and woolen mill in South Carolina, and in later years ac- quired mills at Moorsfield and Glen Rock in Rhode Island. A relative, Samuel Rodman, was operating a woolen mill at Rocky Brook, and his sister, Phoebe,
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married William E. Pierce who ran a small mill at Narragansett, just south of Belleville, and later built and operated the present brick mill at Belleville. So, at the early age of 22, Robert Rodman embarked in the same line by engaging in the manufacture of "Ker- sey," a sort of homespun cloth, at what was called Lawtonville, in Exeter. It is the present location of the Grinnell farm. He operated there for about one year.
In April, 1841, he married Almira, daughter of Col. William and Mary (Sanford) Taylor. This marriage associated him with two other families who operated early textile mills. The Taylors were engaged at what is now known as Silver Spring, and the Sanfords at mills along the lower Shewatuck, as well as later at what is now Lafayette. In the year of his marriage, Robert leased the Silver Spring mill and manufactured Kerseys there until 1845. Incidentally, he purchased both the Silver Spring and the Lafayette plants later on.
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