USA > Vermont > Windsor County > Ludlow > History of Ludlow, Vermont > Part 10
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An accident occurred from the use of blasting-powder at this time, which is note-worthy, though not strictly an item of Ludlow history. While the railroad was being opened through the stone-cut below Cavendish station in 1849, one of the laborers, Albert Gage, in tamping the powder into a hole that had been drilled in the ledge, ignited the powder, which exploded and shot the iron bar which he had been using, through his head. The bar, which was an inch and an eighth square by four and a third feet long, entered inside the curve of the under jaw, and came out about an inch in front of the center of the crown. It passed through its entire length, and portions of the brain were found adhering to it. The bar is now in the Boston Mus- eum.
Mr. Gage was taken to the Cavendish hotel, but as his injury was supposed to be necessarily fatal no attempt was made to dress the wound till the following day, but he recovered, and lived ten years after the accident.
The first high bridge over Jewell Brook, was built in 1849. It was a wooden bridge, and part of the lumber was sawed in the old saw-mill north of Black River, where Jesse Spaulding's grain store now stands. It was completed so that trains passed over it in the fall of the same year. The great freshet of July, 1850, raised the waters of Jew- ell Brook so high that they undermined the stone pier that supported the middle of the bridge, letting it fall.
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The bridge also went down and had to be rebuilt. At that time, the dam stood about sixty feet above the bridge. The railroad company had it removed to where it now stands, in order to prevent the middle pier from being washed out in times of high water.
The freshet of 1850 was very sudden and destructive, produced by a shower of short duration. It was supposed to be a cloudburst. The meadow south of the railroad now used as a playground, was completely flooded, and the inmates of several shanties on this lot, had to be rescued with boats, the water rising as high as the windows.
Under the old bridge were two wooden trestles, one east of the highway, and the other west of the pond. The fresh- et of 1869 washed out the east trestle, and trains passed over the bridge for several days without it.
In July, 1895, the old bridge was taken down and re- placed by an iron bridge. The old bridge had stood as a public servant for forty-seven years, and during this period of time, material of every conceivable kind, messages of all descriptions, and people of all nationalities, had been rolled across it. It had become a familiar landmark, and was a spoke in the great wheel that moves on the business of the world.
July 18, 1895, the first piece of iron-work for the new bridge was put into place, it being the center post on the south side of the bridge, over the stone pier. On the above date, while one of the side girders, weighing seven tons, was being put into place with pulleys on the north side of the bridge, one of the pulleys broke and let the girder fall into the pond. Peter Fox, of Rochester, N. Y., who was at work on a staging about fifteen feet above the bridge, was precipitated seventy-five feet into the water below. One leg was broken, and he was badly bruised about the hips, but fortunately escaped fatal injury. It is a mystery how he could fall such a distance, and escape instant death.
The new bridge was finished Sept. 7, 1895, at a cost of about $25,000. It contains two hundred and eighty-five tons of iron and steel, and 65,000 rivets hold the sections together. The length of the bridge is two hundred and eighty-five feet, and the expansion in warm weather, about
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seven-eighths of an inch, or one-fourth of an inch per hun- dred feet. It is an open deck bridge, very strong and durable, and, under ordinary conditions will out-last the entire pres- ent population of Ludlow.
The railroad in this town was very expensive to build, the average cost per mile in the state being $57,000, while some miles of the road in Ludlow cost $200,000. The first railroad station was built in 1849, and stood about where the present one stands, only across the track, so that trains ran through the station. Night trains were not run, so the station doors were locked at night. It was only a temporary, rough board building. All the business was done in this building, ticket office, express office, telegraph office, baggage and freight departments, all in one. This depot was used about two years, and in 1851, the present station was built. It was overhauled and repaired in 1894.
Daniel Perry was the first station agent, and remained till September 1, 1854, when E. W. Smith took the office, and served as station agent, expressman, and telegraph operator for thirty-six years. Through all these years, Mr. Smith proved a faithful servant, both to his employers, and the people he served. In 1889, S. E. Wright came, and filled the office for two and a half years, and then E. W. Smith served again for nearly a year. In 1893, he resigned, having served the railroad company for half of his long life. Probably no other man will ever endure the monotony, the care, and perplexities of this office, for as long a time as Mr. Smith did.
F. R. Smith of St. Albans, served as station agent for nearly two years. John Hull was the first baggage master. He remained about ten years. John Daily also served in this capacity for three years before entering the U. S. service for overthrowing the Rebellion. Then Levi Coffin took charge of that department for about five years. In 1870, Mr. Dailey again took the office, and remained about twenty years, an obliging and faithful servant.
When the building of this railroad was first proposed, people in general, and especially the owners of stage routes, said it would be an impossibility to run cars over the mountain, and freight never could be hauled through the
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country as cheaply by steam power as by teams. But the inventive power of man, and the science of civil engineering successfully executed the scheme, and proved that the horse and mule could no longer compete with steam in moving the produce of the country from one point to another. Yet railroads have not reached their maximum of power. Before the first quarter of the twentieth century has passed, elec- tricity will have superseded steam in hauling railroad trains, as it has already taken the place of horses on street cars.
There have been many improvements in engines since they first ran over this road. The first ones weighed from twenty-six to thirty tons, with two drive-wheels from five to six feet in diameter on each side. They could haul only from ten to thirteen empty cars up this mountain grade, while the engines in use on the freight trains at the present time can haul from fifty to sixty cars up the mountain with comparative ease. They weigh from one hundred to one hundred and three tons, and have four drive wheels on a side, each less than four feet high, thus increasing the grav- itation of the wheels to the rails.
When the railroad was completed, the question arose by what route the U. S. mail could be carried most cheaply and expeditiously, from Bellows' Falls to Essex Junction by ways of the Valley R. R., via White River Junction and Montpelier, or by this road. Two contests were held, in each of which this road came off victorious. Then many believed that the mail could be carried more quickly on horseback than by steam power, and the contest was tried by using relays of horses and running them all the way. Even then the iron horse arrived at its destination an hour sooner than the steed of flesh and blood.
About 1852, a freight train was going up the mountain grade, and just this side of the Summit, the two rear cars broke from the train, and, there being no brakeman on them to set the brakes, and being heavily loaded with rail- road rails, they came rolling down the mountain grade at a fearful rate of speed. They ran to the Cavendish grade, and stopped. Fortunately, there was no other train on that piece of road. At the first crossing below Ludlow station, one of the rails left the car, and was driven the whole
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length through a telegraph pole about ten inches in diam- eter. The rate of speed could not be even approximately estimated. If they had collided with a passenger train, the result must have been terrible.
Previous to 1885, wood was used altogether for fuel for firing the boilers on this road, but at that time the engines on passenger trains began using coal, and in 1891, the use of wood was abandoned on all engines. This injured the wood trade to a great extent, as the railroad company had bought thousands of cords yearly, thus distributing thousands of dollars to the farmers in every town along the road.
EXPRESS TRAFFIC
Alvin Adams was born in Andover, Vt., June 16, 1804. He was the first man in this country to establish the ex- press business. When the Boston and Norwich railroad was opened between Boston and New York in 1840, Mr. Adams commenced the express business, carrying it on with two trunks, and making the trip over the line once in twenty- four hours. From then to the present time, the Adams Ex- press Company has ranked with the first express companies in the world. The first express brought to Ludlow, was in 1849. Henry Howe, brother to Gardner I. Howe, was the expressman.
POST-OFFICE
Previous to 1791, the mail service of Vermont was man- aged by its own local government. Anthony Haswell of Bennington was Postmaster General for the jurisdiction of Vermont. The mail routes of the state were from Benning- ton to Rutland, from Bennington to Newbury, from Ben- nington through Brattleboro to Windsor, and from Benning- ton to Albany, N. Y., where the Vermont mail connected with the mail routes of the United States. Over these routes, the mail was carried on horse-back, a trip being made once a week. Another branch of the service carried the mail from the general offices to the towns and new settle- ments in unorganized townships off the main lines of de-
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livery. These mail carriers also went on horse-back, deliver- ing the mail once in two weeks. This method continued to be employed till suitable turnpike highways were con- structed. When, in 1791, Vermont was admitted into the Union, this local mail service was superseded by the U. S. Mail Service, and the overland mails were carried by stage, till the introduction of railroads.
In the early history of Vermont, the amount of mail carried was so small that the rate of postage had to be very much higher than it is now. The rate varied according to the distance that a letter was carried. For instance, the postage on a letter from Vermont to Ohio was ten cents, and to California it was twenty-five cents. The lowest rate to any point was six and a fourth cents, that being the smallest fractional currency in use previous to 1803, when the first half dimes were coined. Envelopes were first used in 1837. Previous to this, letters were folded in various fashions, the outside page being left blank for the super- scription, and were sealed with sealing-wax or wafers.
The first post-office in Ludlow was, as nearly as can be ascertained, in 1790, at the house of E. A. Goodrich, who lived where the Willard Johnson house now stands. Asa Fletcher was post-master from Oct. 1, 1809 to Feb. 19, 1811. Nathan P. Fletcher served from that date till June 23, 1825. The post-office occupied part of a small building that then stood in front of where Wm. P. Spafford formerly lived. The other part of the building was Mr. Fletcher's law office. Asa Fletcher was again post-master from June 23, 1825, to Aug. 11, 1827, followed by Zacheus Bates who held the office till Mar. 10, 1830, the office being in the house on East Main street where Miss Madeline Billings once lived. Benjamin Billings was post-master from Mar. 10, 1830, to June 9. 1831, and Emory Burpee, from June 9, 1831, to Mar. 22, 1832. The office was removed to the south side of the river in 1832, to the Sewall Fullam house on Main street, later the residence of B. B. Fullam. John How was post-master from Mar. 22, 1832, to Feb. 20, 1835. The office was then removed to Stephen Cummings store, (later Colonel Hathorn's harness-shop) and remained there till 1839, with Richard Fletcher in charge, from Feb. 20, 1835 to Jan. 28, 1839. It was then removed to D. L. Green's
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store, where the Hammond block now is, and John Dunbar was post-master from Jan. 28, 1839, to Aug. 30, 1842, succeeded by Daniel Perry from Aug. 30, 1842, to Aug. 3, 1844. In that year it was removed to the Ludlow House, and John R. Smith was post-master from Aug. 3, 1844 to May 16, 1845. The office was again removed to the Haven store on the corner of Main and Depot streets, now occu- pied by Chiolino's fruit store. Chas. S. Mason was post- master from May 16, 1845 to Nov. 8, 1849. In 1849, the office was removed to the Armington store, where the Bank building now stands, with Reuben Washburn as post-master from Nov. 8, 1849 to June 1, 1853. In 1853 the office was removed to Charles S. Mason's store, (later occupied by Chas. Raymond & Son), with Charles S. Mason as post- master from June 1, 1853, to July 7, 1862. In 1862, the office was again removed to L. G. Hammond's block, with John R. Spafford for post-master from July 7, 1862, to Feb. 28, 1884. The office remained in Hammond's block during this period, with the exception of about a year from the burning of the block in the spring of 1871 till the new block was completed in 1872. During that time, the office was kept in the H. O. Peabody block, in the room which is now the Vermont Tribune office. Mr. Hammond received the first postal card that came through this office in May, 1873. The office was moved to A. J. Brown's block in 1884, and A. H. Lockwood succeeded Mr. Spafford as post-master from Feb. 28, 1884, to April 11, 1887. Ira Goddard was post-master from April 11, 1887 to Feb. 27, 1890, followed by E. A. Howe from Feb. 27, 1890, to Feb. 27, 1894. Daniel Reed was post-master from Feb. 27, 1894, till Aug. 2 1897, when he died. This was the first death of an incumbent of this office that ever occurred in Ludlow. His daughter, Miss Mary Reed, received the appointment to complete the term. E. A. Howe again became post- master, Oct. 1, 1897, till 1914, when John R. Rock suc- ceeded him, and continued in the office till 1923. In that year, L. E. Boyce became post-master, and holds the office at the present time, 1931.
In 1890, the U. S. mail service appointed free de- livery for forty-six villages in Vermont, Ludlow being one of them. It began July 1, 1890, and continued till July 1,
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1896, and was then discontinued, it being proved that the extra postage received did not pay the expense of delivery in most of the towns. Although Ludlow furnished a suf- ficient increase to pay its postman, it was discontinued from the free delivery system with the other towns. The amount of mail received in Ludlow more than doubled under this system, the most of the increase being in religious and daily papers.
W. W. Fish was the postman during the term of free delivery. The post-office was removed to the south end of Gill's block in 1899, and removed to the Town Hall build- ing in 1904. In the same year, the U. S. Government laid out two routes for rural free delivery from the Ludlow post-office. A. L. Taft was appointed carrier on Route No. 1, and E. A. Rowe on Route No. 2.
HOTELS
The first hotel in Ludlow was opened by Joseph Green, who, in 1788, erected a log house in that part of the town now included in Mt. Holly. A few years later, he built the house and barn where W. B. Hoskinson's family lived, still called by many old people, "the Green stand." In the old days of staging, Mr. Green sometimes kept as many as a hundred horses, and sold as many barrels of spirituous liquors every year.
In 1790, E. A. Goodrich made his bow to the then scanty public, as the landlord of Ludlow's second public house. He located, and built his log house on the site where the Willard Johnson house stands, east of the village. In those days, there were not many roads in town, and the amount of travel was very limited. Therefore, Mr. Goodrich had but little business as an inn-keeper. We are told on good authority, that the first mails brought to town were dis- tributed here. Avery Dennison ran the house for a few years after Mr. Goodrich went out. There were less than a hundred people in town at that time, and the stage lines had not been opened. Travelling was done on horse-back. This tavern went out of existence about 1800.
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In 1808, Nathan P. Fletcher, son of Josiah Fletcher, built a hotel where Henry Scott lived later, and did bus- iness there for a few years. Previous to 1830, the barns belonging to this hotel, stood on the site later occupied by the first Universalist Church. In 1814, Abel Woodward, grandfather of Norris H. Woodward, became manager of the house. He gave the town the land for the park in front of the Baptist Church, with the proviso that it should not be used for any other purpose.
In 1822, Andrew Johnson became proprietor, remain- ing but a few years, when Elijah Scott bought the property, and ran it as a hotel until 1853, and later, the house was open summers to city boarders. This old stand was for many years the only hotel in town, and did a flourishing business before the railroad was built. All the stage-drivers with their cargoes of travelers, put up here, as well as all the teams that transported products to and from Boston. The old stand did a lively business while the railroad was being built. The liquor traffic increased rapidly, so a Mr. Frank- lin Riggs opened a bar in his house, which stood on the site now occupied by the residence of Hon. W. W. Stick- ney. The lovers of new rum would first sample Mr. Scott's offering, then Mr. Riggs's supply would be sampled. New rum was sold at three cents a glass, or six cents a pint. The reader can imagine for himself what an effect this must have had on the community. In the spring of 1845, Mr. Riggs being about to paint his house, asked the Rev. Wattos Warren, a Congregationalist clergyman who was passing by, what color he had better use, and received the reply that the color of West India rum would be ap- propriate. Mr. Riggs, being offended, replied with an oath that he would paint it the color of Mr. Warren's character, and the house received a coat of black paint.
The old Scott tavern was burned in 1888, and a residence was built on the same site, by Henry Scott, son of the pro- prietor of the tavern. After the highways were opened so that the mail was carried by coaches, the first U. S. mail carriers put up at the Scott tavern.
About 1798, Thomas Bixby ran a hotel on the farm now owned by his great-great-grand-daughter, Mrs. Mary Bixby
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Murphy. He sheltered and refreshed the weary traveler for several years.
The first house used for a hotel south of the river in Ludlow Village, was built in 1830 by Emery Burpee, and was built for a residence. Mr. Burpee sawed the lumber to build the house, in the old saw-mill that stood north of the river, where J. H. Spaulding's grist-mill now stands, and carried most of the lumber to the place where it was used, on his back. It is said that he was very strong. Soon after this house was built, John Howe, father of the late G. I. Howe, occupied it, and opened a hotel here. Later it was used as a factory boarding-house.
The western part of the Ludlow House was built by Moses Haven and his son Augustus in 1830 for a double residence. The brick were made by Thomas Keyes, referred to in the account of the brick-yards. Mr. Haven did not live long to enjoy his new residence. Oct. 4, 1831, he went to Boston to purchase goods. Three days later, he went to Cam- bridge, was taken sick the same night, and died Oct. 8, 1831, aged forty-eight years. In those days, railroads tele- graphs, and telephones were unknown to the residents of Ludlow. A messenger was sent from Cambridge on horse- back, to deliver the news to Mrs. Haven. It took him about twenty-four hours to make the journey. Mrs. Haven im- mediately started by stage for Cambridge but met the party bringing the remains near Fitchburg.
In 1842, Mr. Haven's residence was opened by Isaac Johnson as a hotel, it being the fifth public house opened in town. It was known for many years as the Green Moun- tain House. Many of the teams and teamsters hauling pro- duce from the towns west and north of Ludlow to Boston, put up at this house. Mr. Johnson remained about three years. Sept. 23, 1845, Augustus Haven deeded his interest in the house to his mother, Sophia Haven, and his brother- in-law, John R. Smith, a brother of our veteran station agent, E. W. Smith.
In 1848, Mr. Smith leased the house to C. C. White and G. R. Richardson. Mr. Richardson remained two years, when he retired, and Mr. White took Augustus Maynard into partnership, with whom he remained five years. In
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1850, Mr. Maynard's sister, Mary, married Prof. Hiram Hitchcock, then principal of Black River Academy.
Dec. 13, 1855, J. R. Smith and wife deeded the premises to George Wood. He remained in the hotel two years, and during this time, Luther E. Wright became interested in the premises through a mortgage. In 1856, Mr. Wright built on the wood part to this house, which contained a large dancing-hall with a spring floor, the only one of the kind ever built in Ludlow. The name of the house was changed to The Ludlow House when the wood addition was built.
The property again changed hands and was deeded to Warren Adams Feb. 10, 1857, by Luther E. Wright, and George Wood deeded him the remaining interest the fol- lowing day. Mr. Adams was very much liked by the pa- trons of this house. He is still remembered by many of our townsmen, as the most extensive ox-dealer that ever lived in Ludlow. He would trade and shift oxen from one farmer's barn to another, in about the same manner that a boy would exchange marbles with a playmate.
Mr. Adams sold the hotel to Geo. H. Cole, Apr. 23, 1864. Mr. Cole remained three years, and then deeded the prem- ises, Apr. 23, 1867, to Lawson Dawley, son of the first male child born in Mt. Holly. Mr. Dawley remained three years, and sold out to Henry A. Howe and C. A. Moore, Feb. 16, 1870. Mr. Howe died while in possession, and his widow, Mary, sold the premises to Louisa L. Green, wife of Henry A. Green. During Mrs. Howe's ownership, the house was leased for short periods to D. L. Jenneson, Henry Harris, George Richards, and George Mandigo.
Mar. 10, 1882, Henry A. Green and wife sold the house to Hiram L. Warner, who run the house a while, and then leased to his son, E. P. Warner, for a short time. H. L. Warner then returned for a short time, and then leased to C. P. Colton, who remained till 1900, when C. F. Knowl- ton took charge of the house.
Mar. 6, 1897, the property was purchased by Geo. H. Levey, Chas. H. Howard, L. C. Howe, and F. A. Walker, the company being known as the Ludlow Hotel Company. The house was over-hauled and repaired the same year.
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In 1843, Harvey H. Dyer built the house by the Branch bridge at Grahamsville, known by some as the Archer place. This house was used for a hotel for several years, and it was here that the help working on the stone cut in Section Eight, during the building of the railroad, found a meeting-place for drinking, story-telling, and so on. The place became a public nuisance, and went out of date as a hotel, with the completion of the railroad.
The large house facing the upper end of Main street, now occupied by the Woodward schoolhouse, was built for a hotel by Abram Adams in 1849. At that time the railroad was being constructed, and Mr. Adams expected that the depot would be built near the Goodspeed crossing, west of the village. In that event, his hotel would be in the right place to catch the custom of the travelling public, but through the efforts of other citizens, the depot was built where it now stands, and consequently, the Woodward residence was never used as a hotel.
The Goddard House, now called The Okemo Tavern, was built in 1891, by Chas. W. Goddard, at a cost of about $5,000, and has since been doing a thriving business. The writer of this history was the constructor.
NEWSPAPERS
The first newspaper published in Ludlow, came out Jan. 1, 1847, and was called The Genius of Liberty. It was started by Rev. Aaron Angier. After issuing it two years, he sold it to Rufus and Asa Barton in 1849. In 1851, the paper was purchased by G. A. Tuttle, who changed the name to The Vermont Star, and in 1852, removed it to Rutland. The next paper was a weekly called The Blotter. R. S. Warner and W. A. Bacon were the publishers. The first number was issued Sept. 14, 1854. In November, 1856, J. A. Porter became associate editor. A year later, the concern was sold out by the sheriff, and was bought out by Mr. Warner, who, after issuing one number, sus- pended the publication. In January, 1860, Mr. Warner again made an attempt at journalism, and issued The
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