USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > Westerly > Westerly (Rhode Island) and its witnesses : for two hundred and fifty years, 1626-1876 : including Charlestown, Hopkinton, and Richmond until their separate organization, with the principal points of their subsequent history > Part 24
USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > Charlestown > Westerly (Rhode Island) and its witnesses : for two hundred and fifty years, 1626-1876 : including Charlestown, Hopkinton, and Richmond until their separate organization, with the principal points of their subsequent history > Part 24
USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > Hopkinton > Westerly (Rhode Island) and its witnesses : for two hundred and fifty years, 1626-1876 : including Charlestown, Hopkinton, and Richmond until their separate organization, with the principal points of their subsequent history > Part 24
USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > Richmond > Westerly (Rhode Island) and its witnesses : for two hundred and fifty years, 1626-1876 : including Charlestown, Hopkinton, and Richmond until their separate organization, with the principal points of their subsequent history > Part 24
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32
On Thursday morning, Sept. 24, 1868, the schooner "John Adams," of Rockland, Me., Captain Spafford, from Rondout for Portland, with a cargo of cement, went ashore on Watch Hill Reef, and soon afterwards bilged. Crew saved. The masts, sails, and rigging were saved, and taken to New London. The hull and cargo were a total loss.
The steamer "Metis," on the 29th of August, 1872, Capt. George B. Hull, sailed from New York for Providence. On the morning of Aug. 30, 1872, she was wrecked off Watch Hill, and part of her hull came ashore on what is known as the East Beach. About 20 lives were lost and the whole of the cargo.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND TRADES.
As men advance in character, knowledge, and wealth, there first arises the power, and second, the necessity, of united effort in carry- ing out their common plans, social and financial. Combination of strength, counsel, and skill is a mark and test of civilized society, and is itself one of the grand products of Christianity that lays the foundations of confidence between man and man. A common faith in, and love for, the right, inspires men with faith in each other, and prompts them to join their hands in common enterprises and such associations as are fitted to advance the interests of individuals and of society. We therefore note this development of life in the town.
The following record of corporations and associations will illus- trate the increase of business and wealth in the town since the open- ing of the present century. It will be seen that very rapid progress has been made since 1840.
Washington Bank was chartered in 1800; capital, $50,000: Rowse Bab- cock, 2d, president; Arnold Clarke, cashier; present capital, $150,000.
Phenix Bank, chartered in 1818; capital, $50,000: Amos Cross, presi- dent; Jesse Maxson, cashier; present capital, $150,000.
Pawcatuck Bank (on Connecticut side of the river), organized 1849: capital, $75,000; Orsemus M. Still- man, president: John 1. Morgan, .cashier; present capital, $$5,000.
Niantic Bank, organized 1854; cap- ital, $200,000; Horatio N. Campbell. president : James M. Pendleton, cash- ier; present capital, $250.000.
Ashaway Bank (in Hopkinton), or- ganized in 1856: capital. $75,000; Jonathan R. Wells, president: Jona- than L. Spencer, cashier.
The Providence and Stonington Railroad was opened and the first train of cars passed through the town in 1837. The influence of this road upon the business, and hence the life, of the town cannot be measured.
A Yonng Men's Lyceum was organ- ized in 1839, and existed till 1841.
In 1841 was formed the first Total AAbstinence Society. This body ef- fected much for the temperance and purity of the town.
The Fire Companies Nos. 1, and 2 (one on each side of the river) were organized in 1845.
In 1845 was embodied the Society of Odd Fellows, which, however, was dissolved near 1860.
The Pawcatuck Library Associa- tion, having a Library that cost $1,100, was instituted in 1848.
River Bend Cemetery Association was incorporated in 1849; and the Cemetery was dedicated in Decem- ber, 1852.
The Sons of Temperance were or- ganized in 1850, but disbanded in 1860.
The Westerly Savings Bank was in- corporated in 1854, with Jesse L. Moss, president, and Simeon F. Perry, secretary and treasurer. The
235
CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND TRADES.
present officers are, Thomas Perry, president; Simeon F. Perry, secretary and treasurer; and the deposits in December, 1868, were $460,000.
As the old hand-engines of the fire companies were worn and weak, and quite behind the improvements of the day, the citizens made arrangements, and raised by voluntary tax, the money to secure two steam fire en- gines.
Franklin Lodge of Free and Ac- cepted Masons was chartered in 1856; Palmer Royal Arch Chapter and Nar- ragansett Commandery of Knight Templars have since been organized. Pawcatuck Lodge, chartered in 1864, holds its meetings in Westerly.
The Pawcatuck Dredging Com- pany was formed, but the stock was finally bought up by Mr. Jacob A. Tefft, and the machinery was sold to parties in Norwich, Ct.
In 1855 were chartered the West- erly Rifles. The Armory was built in 1859.
In the same year (1855) was erected the granite Light-house (succeeding the old wooden structure) at Watch Hill.
In 1866 were organized the Burn- side Lodge of Good Templars in the village of Westerly, the Niantic Lodge of Good Templars at Dorr- ville, and the Roger Williams Lodge of Good Templars at Ashaway.
An association termed the Fenian Brotherhood, to promote the politcal prospects of the Emerald Isle, was organized in 1866.
The Westerly Gas Light Company was organized in September. 1867, and erected their gas-works in the autumn of the same year, employ- ing in their operations a capital of $50,000. Rowse Babcock, president; Hiram Arnold, secretary and treasu- rer; John Loveland, superintendent. Gas was first made Jan. 6, 1868, and furnished to customers Jan. S. Its officers now are, Jesse L. Moss, pres- ident; John Loveland, superinten- dent; Jesse L. Moss, Jr., secretary and treasurer.
The leading manufacturing, me- chanical, and mercantile firms at pres- ent (1876) are:
White Rock Manufacturing Com- pany.
O. M. Stillman & Co.
E. & H. Babcock. Campbell & Co. Stillman Brothers & Co. C. Maxson & Co. G. Stillman & Co
Cottrell & Babcock. Hall & Dickinson. Porter & Loveland. J. L. Moss & Co. H. N. Campbell & Co. Lewis Brothers. Ripley & Browning. Champlin, Ennis & Co. Lewis & Stillman. J. H. Porter & Co. Steam Mill Company.
W. H. Robinson & Co. Chapman & Campbell. A. Englehard & Co.
HI. S. Berry & Co. Gates & Mainthrow.
J. A. Brown & Co.
E. G. Champlin & Co.
M. Brown & Co.
E. B. Clarke & Co.
Hazard & Gavitt.
Knowles & Langworthy.
J. Milner & Son.
Hall & Perrin.
Latimer, Carmichel & Co.
Lewis & Spicer.
Maryott & Champlin.
The persons engaged in trade in
1876 were as follows : -
William C. Pendleton. Joshua Thompson.
T. W. Segar.
E. M. Dunn.
J. F. Pendleton.
A. B. Collins.
O. Stillman.
C. A. Bradford.
J. S. Fifield.
D. Smith.
J. H. Lewis.
B. F. Arnold.
J. R. Champlin.
J. L. Bliven.
S. A. Champlin.
H. C. Richmond.
J. Vose.
A. Crandall.
S. L. Dickens. William F. Sheffield.
T. Barber.
B. F. Thompson.
H. B. Thompson. William F. Wallace.
William Hutchinson.
G. A. Stanton.
J. H. Babcock.
R. A. Woodburn.
J. H. Potter.
S. C. Sullivan.
A. Cimiano.
William Clarke. John Perrin.
H. A. Brown.
B. F. Arnold. E. A. Schofield.
G. W. Gavitt.
Sanford Stillman.
236
WESTERLY AND ITS WITNESSES.
John P. Dyer. A. A. Crandall. H. Braman. William Pollock. Saunders York. Giles Wilcox. William Swiverly. Josephi Brown. Albert Stillman, 2d.
G. W. Foster.
Of late, Westerly has mourned the death of three excellent and enter- prising citizens and successful manu- facturers, - Welcome Stillman, died Feb. 25, 1864; Edwin R. Brown, died Sept. 25, 1865; Rowse Babcock, died Marclı 6, 1872.
Col. Henry C. Card has com- manded the Westerly Rifles from the
date of their origin, Aug. 13, 1855, to April 24, 1874, at which time he removed from the State. Col. Albert N. Crandall was then elected, and continues in command. The armory is the property of the Rifles. paid for only in part by the State. They always purchased their own uni- forms till 1867.
The Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation, organized in 1868, had for officers: George G. Stillman, presi- dent; Robert F. Lattimer. secretary ; Charles Perrin, corresponding seere- tary; John Loveland, treasurer; William Pierce, librarian. Its offi- cers now are: Samuel G. Babcock, president; Ira B. Crandall, secretary and treasurer.
·
CHAPTER XL.
PUBLICATIONS, INVENTIONS, ETC.
THE true life of a town is to be sought in the ideas and motives of the people. What is outward is but the embodiment of what first existed within. True progress in a community is a growth of knowl- edge, principles, and character. And as men advance in the right direction, one idea springs out of another as twigs spring from the branches, and branches spring from the trunk of a tree. Education and invention, springing from a wholesome moral root in society, multiply themselves in various ways almost without number, and mark the steps of a happy upward progress. So we wisely take note of publications, inventions, and the arts.
The first regular newspaper published in the town, was a small weekly, entitled the Literary Echo, commenced in the spring of 1851, edited and published by Mr. George H. Babcock. This sheet was continued till 1858, when it was merged in, and succeeded by, the Narragansett Weekly, edited and published by J. H. Utter & Co., until 1859, when it became the property of the present firm, G. B. & J. H. Utter, who are also job printers. In 1862, this firm published the Sabbath Recorder, the organ of the Sabbatarians, previously published in New York.
A series of articles, entitled "Letters From Ashaway," by J. L. Spencer, appeared in the Narragansett Weekly, containing much and valuable local history relative to Ashaway and Hopkinton.
As the people of Westerly have been seduously devoted to indus- tries of a practical and utilitarian type, only a few have been enticed into the province of authorship.
Pamphlets, sermons, and contributions to periodicals have been as numerous perhaps as in any other similarly situated township. The oldest printed sermon is one preached by Rev. Joseph Parke, at a time when the town was suffering sorely from small-pox; it came from the press in 1761; the small-pox visited the town in 1759.
John Wilbur employed a fruitful pen ; but he gave only a few of his pieces to the press. Important letters from his pen appeared in
1
L
1
238
WESTERLY AND ITS WITNESSES.
England. After the Gurney schism, he published a duodecimo of 355 pages, entitled, A Narrative and Exposition, etc., which came from the press in 1845. His Journal and Correspondence, an octavo of 596 pages, published after his death by his kindred, appeared in 1859.
Dea. William Stillman, in 1812, composed and published an octavo of 60 pages, upon the Sabbath, entitled, An Attempt to Remove Error. He also, in 1852, published a sort of autobiography and mis- cellany, a 16mo of 188 pages, entitled, Miscellaneous Composi- tions.
Rev. Thomas H. Vail, while rector of Christ's Church, was the compiler of the excellent catalogue of the Pawcatuck Library Asso- ciation.
Rev. A. L. Whitman (Congregationalist) published in 1854 a funeral sermon, with historical notices of the Noyes family.
Rev. A. G. Palmer, D. D., and Rev. E. T. Hiscox, D. D., former pastors of the First Baptist Church here, have published various ser- mons and small volumes. Dr. Palmer, withal, has ventured, not without success, into the realm of poetry. The Rev. Frederic Den- ison, at one time pastor of the Baptist Church, was the author of the Sabbath Institution, the Supper Institution, Historical Notes, Army Hymns, 2 vols., A Shining Light, the Life and Labors of Rev. J. S. Swan, Sabres and Spurs, several sermons, and various poems, hymns, biographical and historical sketches. He also pub- lished A Historical Sketch of the First Baptist Church.
We have previously alluded to the valuable Memoir of Gor. Samuel Ward, from the pen of Charles H. Denison, Esq., a former citizen of this town.
Westerly is not without her roll of witnesses in the inventions of the age.
Dea. William Stillman invented and secured a patent for the first cloth-shearing machine known in the world. A second patent was secured for an improved shearer. He also obtained a patent for bank locks. The veneering plane was likewise his creation. By trade he was a clock-maker. He at last engaged in the manufacture of cotton-working machinery.
Orsemus M. Stillman, Esq., invented and held the patent of the famous self-adjusting temple, whereby power weaving was greatly facilitated and improved. He secured other valuable patents in me- chanical and manufacturing operations: the plaid weaving loom ; hot-air engines (two patents) ; steam-engines (two patents); super- heating steam ; manner of using superheating steam.
The now universally used gaft saddle was invented by Mr. John Brown.
Mr. Stephen Wilcox, 3d, has contrived important improvements in steam-engines, and in the use of hot air as a motive power.
01
239
PUBLICATIONS, INVENTIONS, ETC.
Important patents on looms have been obtained by Mr. Edwin A. Scholfield.
The first inventor and patentee of polychromatic printing was Mr. George HI. Babcock.
Capt. John F. Hall has obtained a patent for adjusting the centre- boards of vessels.
A patent was obtained by Oliver D. Wells, Esq., for ventilating and preserving ships.
Mr. Jonathan P. Stillman holds a patent for a wool-drying machine.
Rev. Christopher C. Stillman is the patentee of a superior water wheel.
A patent for a coal-sifter has lately been obtained by John S .. Fifield.
Near 1812, Mr. Jesse B. Breed, of Pawcatuck, invented and patented a ring spinner, for spinning cotton, and shortly sold his right to Mr. Jolin Brown for the small sum of $100. This success- ful and profitable patent has never been superseded, but is still used in this and other countries. .
During the year 1868, Mr. Benjamin W. Taugee secured a pat- ent, known as " Taugee's Equalizing Tube," for equalizing the rop- ing, in woolen manufacture, as it passes into the dresser.
A patent has been granted to C. H. Holdredge for boxes for car- riage wheels.
Nor has Westerly been wanting in her gifts for the delicate and enchanting creations of the imagination. Among the celebrated devotees of the pencil stands Mr. Johannes A. Oertel, who had his studio at Stillmanville. He is an artist proper, belonging to the crea- tive school, and engaged chiefly on sacred themes. Under his hand the canvas speaks with more than mortal eloquence. The products of his pencil are sought with great avidity and at great cost ; some of them have already passed to the old world, to stand by the side of the works of the old masters. A later artist of ability, in both land- scapes and portraits, is Mr. Calvin Thurber.
Westerly has also its roll of amateur artists. But as these are of the gentler sex, and claim that their easels are strictly private, hav- ing never consented to dispose of their beautiful sketches, except as gifts to friends, I am restrained from now giving them public notice in this historic connection. Time, however, will care for these names, and place them on their appropriate historic pedestals. The charms of the canvas, surviving the gifted hand that created them, will not be defrauded of their due fame from any extreme of modesty.
A monthly advertising sheet, a large folio, entitled Westerly Enterprise, appeared in November, 1867, with T. A. Carpenter, ed- itor and proprietor, and G. II. Hoxsie, general agent.
--
CHAPTER XLI.
PUBLIC MEN, ETC.
IT is doubtless to be regretted that the design of our work, and the want of requisite time for research, forbid more than a passing record of the public and professional men that have. served and ... adorned the town. A series of articles entitled Westerly Settlers, by Charles H. Denison, Esq., appeared in the Narragansett Weekly, commencing Nov. 28, 1861, and ending Feb. 27, 1862. The de- scendants of the first settlers, and the lovers of specialties, will con- sult these articles with profit ; they contain particular information for the Champlins, the Crandalls, the Babcocks, the Hiscoxes, the Rogerses, the Saunderses, the Parkeses, and others.
It falls not within our purpose to give genealogical records; we are only tracing the general current of the town's life; hence we usually mention only the prominent actors. We have had occasion to speak of the conspicuous characters in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Babcocks, the Wards, the officers of the Revolution, and also of the clergymen of the various denominations. Previous chapters have mentioned ship-builders, merchants, mechan- ics, manufacturers, and inventors.
We meet with no names of the legal profession till after the Revolution. The first lawyer in this vicinity, whose name was con- spicuous, was the accomplished Col. Harry Babcock, who practiced law after the close of his military career.
Hopkinton, always closely connected with Westerly, has had its public men, scarcely more her own than her neighbor's pride and property. Lieut .- Gov. Jeremiah Thurston was elected in 1818. His son, Hon. Benjamin B. Thurston, was elected lieutenant-gov- ernor in 1838, and afterwards chosen Representative in Congress from 1847 to 1849, and again from 1851 to 1857.
The Hon. Nathan Fellows Dixon commenced the practice of law in Westerly in 1802. For seventeen successive years he repre sented the town in the General Assembly; and was chosen by that body, in 1838, as United States Senator. At his post of duty he died in Washington, Jan. 29, 1842. His name was a legacy to his children and to the inhabitants of Westerly, and all will be thank- ful for the photo-engraving of him that we here present.
NATHAN F. DIXON.
Born Dec. 13, 1774. Died in Washington, D. C., Jan. 29, 1842.
241
PUBLIC MEN, ETC.
His son, Hon. Nathan F. Dixon, has already represented the town eighteen times in the General Assembly, and has been Representative in Congress from 1849 to 1851, and again from 1863 to 1871. For the last thirty years, Mr Dixon has been the leading lawyer in this part of the State. The later members of the legal profession have been, John H. Cross, Thomas H. Peabody, Francis Sheffield, Giles Babcock, A. B. Crafts.
In the early part of the present century, Judge Amos Cross of this town was widely known as a judge, a trader, and a farmer. At Kingston he was regarded as " the court."
We must not omit a record of the men who have laboriously, patiently served the town as clerks. We give a list of their names and the dates of their appointment, from the organization of the town.
May 18, 1669, Joseph Clarke.
June 25, 1702, Joseph Pendleton.
1704, Joseph Clarke, Jr. 1705, Joseph Pendleton.
1706, John Babcock.
1732, William Babcock.
Jan. 24, 1751, Silas Greenman.
1760, Joseph Crandall.
1790, Samuel Bliven.
1807, Jesse Maxson, Jr. 1824, Stephen Wilcox, Jr. 1830, Jesse Maxson.
Nov. 4, 1844, Joseph W. Wilcox. 1848, J. Hobart Cross.
1853, James M. Pendleton. 1855, William E. Parkinson.
April 2, 1856, Jirah I. Gray. April 6, 1859, Samuel H. Cross.
Some idea of Westerly's contribution to the marine service of our country may be formed from the following imperfect list of sea- captains who have gone out from this town.
Nathaniel Barnes. Joshua Hazard. John Hall.
Franklin Pendleton. William Pendleton, 3d.
Benjamin Barnes.
Rowland Burdick, 1st.
Lyman Hall, 1st.
Harris Pendleton, 2d.
Rowland Burdick, 2d.
Lyman Ifall, 2d.
Gurdon Pendleton.
Joseph Barber.
Lyman Hall, 3d.
Joshua Pendleton.
Nathan Barber, Ist.
Braddock Hall.
Isaac Pendleton, 2d.
Sprague Barber.
Palmer IIall. John Hoxie.
Benjamin Pendleton, 1st.
Benjamin Pendleton, 2d.
Lyman Berry. Saxton Berry.
Pierce F. Hoxie.
David Pendleton.
. Nathan Burdick, 2d. Albert Burdick.
Clark Lampher. Jonathan Nash, Jr.
Paul Pendleton, 1st.
George Burdick.
Joseph Nash. James Nash.
Libbeus Pendleton. Benjamin Pendleton, 3d. William C. Pendleton.
Daniel Babcock.
Joseph Pendleton, Jr.
Paul Pendleton, 2d.
Varnum Barber.
Amos Pendleton, 1st. Amos Pendleton, 2d.
Gilbert Pendleton, 1st. Gilbert Pendleton, 2d. Stanton Stevens.
Daniel Bliven.
Charles Pendleton.
Erastus Bliven.
William Pendleton, 1st. Isaac Pendleton. 1st.
Oliver P. Saunders. Peleg Saunders.
John C. Champion.
Jared S. Crandall.
Jonathan Pendleton, Ist. Elias Saunders, Jr. Otis Pendleton.
William Saunders. Joshua Thompson.
Joseph Dodge. Thomas Dunbar, Ist. Thomas Dunbar, 2d. Silas B. Greenman. William Greenman. 16
Harris Pendleton, 1st.
Jonathan Pendleton, 2d. Hezekiah Wilcox. William Pendleton, 2d. Nathan B. Wilcox. Frederick Pendleton.
Emery Babcock.
George P. Barber.
5.5
242
WESTERLY AND ITS WITNESSES.
One of the earliest physicians in the town was Dr. George Still- man, the ancestor of the large family of Stillmans in this region. Of physicians in regular practice since the days of Dr. Joshua Babcock, we can mention : -
William Vincent. William T. Thurston.
William H. Wilbur.
James Noyes. John E. Weeden. Edwin R. Lewis.
Daniel Lec. John G. Pierce. John H. Merrill.
William Robinson. Daniel Lewis.
Amos R. Collins.
Horatio Robinson.
Albert Utter.
Etta Payne.
John Rose.
Joseph D. Kenyon.
Of homeopathists we may mention, - Caulkins, John Knowles, Samuel M. Fletcher, Luther A. Palmer.
Of the Thompsonian practice there have been, William Stillman, Jr., Levi Smith, William H. Stillman, Francis Murphy, Lucy A. Babcock.
Rev. Thomas Hiscox served the town of Westerly as treasurer for sixty years, and on his resignation in 1772, received the "unani- mous thanks" of the freemen.
Of those who have served Westerly as silversmiths, watch- makers, and jewelers, we can present the following roll : -
Paul Stillman. Thomas Perry. John S. Fifield.
Barton Stillman. Niles Potter. William F. Wallace.
Elnathan C. Brown. Charles H. Bradford.
We regret that we cannot give a roll of the worthy masters of the modes for gentlemen "from the most ancient time." The "knights of the shears" belonging to the present century have been -
John Allen. Ephraim Payn. Harvey Richmond.
Christopher Cranston. Levi P. Derby. Jolm Perrin.
- Dawley. Stillman Lewis. - Morgan.
Charles Bradford. Wm. Dennis Pendleton. Jolm Nathans.
Henry A. Brown.
A townsman of odd, and sometimes inspirited wits, passing along Broad Street, near 1840, with his bundle over his shoulder on a stick, looked up sagaciously and gravely at the face of the build- ings on the north side of the street near the bridge, and read the signs as follows : -
"HARRY BROWN; and, THOMAS PERRY; WILLIAM DODGE, Confectionery."
More for the sake of future annalists and family historians, than for any present use, we may here name some of the principal farm- ers in the town in the year 1866. Those marked with a star (*) are such as improved farms not their own : -
243
PUBLIC MEN, ETC.
Paul Babcock.
*Benedict Crandall.
Sanford Noyes.
Thomas Brightman.
William R. Chapman.
Wm. H. Mitchell.
Charles P. Chapman.
John Pendleton.
Albert Chapman.
William D. Potter.
Pardon S. Peckham.
Libbeus Sisson.
*Wm. P. Taylor.
William R. Frazier. James B. Thompson.
Amos P. Chapman.
Ethan Foster.
Edwin Thompson.
Harris P. Chapman.
Thomas B. Kenyon.
Charles B. Vose.
Charles Crandall.
Albert B. Langworthy.
Horace Vose.
Town Council for 1876: Horace Brightman, president; William HI. Chapman, Gideon T. Collins, B. Court Bentley, Albert Babcock.
The following is the best catalogue of Westerly's postmasters that we have been able to obtain :-
Joshua Babcock. Jesse Maxson, Jr.
Rowse Babcock, 1st. Lemuel Vose.
Paul Rhodes. Jesse L. Moss.
Enoch B. Pendleton.
Amos Cross.
Lyndon Taylor.
Eugene B. Pendleton.
George Gavitt.
The list of watchful light-keepers at Watch Hill presents the following names : -
Jonathan Nash. Enoch Vose.
Daniel Babcock.
Daniel F. Larkin.
Ethan Pendleton.
Jared S. Crandall.
Gilbert Pendleton.
Nelson Brown.
J. Hobert Cross. George Brown.
Weeden H. Berry. *Bradford Bliven. Emory Babcock. Benjamin P. Bentley. Sumner Chapman. John Chapman.
*Gideon T. Collins. Oliver Davis. John K. Dunn.
-
CHAPTER XLII.
PUBLIC-HOUSES.
NEARLY the whole of the present village of Westerly, south of Babcock Brook that runs under East Broad Street, was once held by Edward Denison (son of George, and grandson of Colonel George). Ile built a house on the present site of the Dixon House, which was, withal, an inn. This house was afterwards enlarged, and was always a tavern till removed to make room for the present noble structure. Mr. Denison was drowned while fording the Pawcatuck .. on horse in the night near Boom Bridge, returning from his estate at Ashaway.
The inns or taverns of the former century were simply large dwelling-houses located on the highway, having one front room for a bar, and a large barn for horses. And such in substance they remained till within the last twenty years.
The house near the west end of the bridge, now owned by Mrs. Martha C. Noyes, was formerly an inn. The first building erected purposely as an inn on the west side of the bridge was the Pawcatuck Hotel, composed of brick, built by Dr. Joseph D. Ken- yon in 1853, and used as a public-house till 1867, when it was sold, to be used simply as a boarding-house. For a time_it was known as the " Red Jug."
The Dixon House, of which we give an engraving, was erected in 1866 and 1867, by Messrs. Babcock and Moss, and is one of the largest and finest hotels in New England, composed of iron, stone, and brick. In honor of a worthy family, it is called the Dixon House. The architect was Mr. Peleg Clarke, Jr.
The main building measures 112 x 61 feet ; the wing, 92 x 38; height, five stories ; the material, brick. The front of the lower story is iron ; this story is mainly devoted to shops and offices, ele- gantly finished with black walnut. The cost of the edifice and its attachments was about $300,000.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.