USA > Vermont > Windham County > Rockingham > History of the town of Rockingham, Vermont, including the villages of Bellows Falls, Saxtons River, Rockingham, Cambridgeport and Bartonsville, 1753-1907, with family genealogies > Part 33
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The present apparatus for extinguishing fires consists of one powerful steam fire engine, of the Silsby rotary type,
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History of Rockingham
one hook and ladder truck with first-class hooks and ladders, a full supply of light and heavy hose carts and all the needed smaller appliances ; one engine company, one hook and lad- der company, five hose companies and 4,200 feet of service- able hose. All members are "call" men and paid by the hour for service. "The Stevens" alarm system consists of fifteen alarm boxes; five miles of covered and three of bare wires ; one bell striker attached to the Methodist church bell, and a whistle machine, connected with the boilers of the International Paper company : tappers, gong indicator and all other appliances, making the equipment first class in every respect. A number of the mills have powerful force pumps and fire departments of their own, which double the efficiency of the fire department in the business section, in case of emergency. The steam and water power pumps of the mills are connected with the mains in such manner that in case the gravity system should at any time be inadequate, the mains of the whole village can be filled from the Connecticut river, making a valuable auxiliary to an otherwise most complete fire-fighting system.
Until 1885 the village had no system of sewerage. In that year the village voted to lay main sewers of large capacity the whole length of Atkinson street and through the Square at an expense "not to exceed $20,000." Lavant M. Read, N. G. Williams and John Robertson were the com- mittee under which the system was built. Judge L. M. Read was the engineer in charge. During the next ten years sewers were laid through all the side streets and every building was connected with them. Extensions of the system, as well as of the water service have been made every year since. From the natural characteristics of the place it has been possible to make this system as nearly perfect as any in the country.
From the primitive highway in use through the village when the corporation was established, to the present complete and well-graded street system, has been a gradual evolution at no particular year requiring notable expense. The cost
Origin of the Names of Streets 365
has been large, but it has been very evenly distributed. The streets are a credit to the enterprise of the citizens. They were lighted to a greater or less degree, generally "less." until 1890 by kerosene lamps. In that year it was voted to light them by electricity, which has since been done in a creditable manner, the cost increasing with the extension of the system. The village purchases the lights of the Fall Mountain Electric Light & Power company. That company having both steam and water-power plants of large capacity renders excellent service, not only to Bellows Falls, but to all . the surrounding villages. Bellows Falls paid in 1905 $4,154.60 for lighting its streets, and $6,711.63 for its other street department expenses.
Some of the streets are named for early citizens as fol- lows :
Atkinson, for the English family of that name who built the canal and owned it seventy-four years.
Barker for William P. Barker, who owned the land around which the street runs and lived in the old dwelling at the south end of Westminster street, known as the " Barker house," one of the first built in that section of the village. He had a slaughter house in the rear.
Blake, for Dr. S. M. Blake, for many years a prominent business man. editor, dentist, etc. He once owned land through which the street runs.
Brosnahan avenue, for John E. Brosnahan, a present resident who was active in securing the opening of the avenue, owning dwellings upon both sides.
Brown, for George A. Brown, an attorney and real estate dealer, who purchased all the land now covered by the New Terrace and divided it into building lots.
Burt place, for Judge Benjamin Burt, a prominent civil and military official during the Revolutionary war, who formerly owned all the land now covered by the south part of this village and the north part of Westminster.
Butterfield avenue was laid out through land owned by Mrs. Charles W. Butterfield, who erected all the houses on both sides of the street.
Chase park, for Clark Chase, a former merchant of the village who pur- chased the land, erected the buildings, and still owns them.
Earle, for Ira L. Earle who erected the first dwelling upon the street, which was for many years the only one there.
George, for Frank A. and Dr. Ozias M. George, many years prominent public officials and business men of the village.
Granger, for Sanford Granger, who once owned a saw-mill and consider- able land near the mouth of Saxtons river, including that through which the street passes.
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History of Rockingham
Green, for Henry Francis Green, and Henry Atkinson Green, promi- nent business men of the village. Through land owned by the latter the street was laid out.
Gove, for E. W. Gove, who built the first dwelling upon the street.
Hadley, for Franklin P. Hadley, for many years a prominent tin-man and merchant of the village. He owned the large dwelling on the corner of Hadley and School streets at the time of his death.
Hapgood, and Hapgood place, for Solomon Hapgood, whose farmhouse stood at the corner of Hapgood and Westminster streets, and whose farm comprised what is now the south part of the village, extending one-half mile from the Westminster line, and parallel thereto, one mile west.
Henry, for William Henry, the first cashier of the old Bellows Falls Bank, and later a member of congress from this district. When Henry street was laid out he made the proposition that if the village would give it his name he would set out a row of maple and elm trees on each side, which he did and the beautiful arching trees now there were set and nurtured by him.
Hyde, for Col. Russell Hyde, a prominent merchant, postmaster, land- lord and business man of former days. He owned the land through which it runs, and the stone ledge has always been known as the " llyde ledge."
Lovell, for Leverett T. Lovell, a local merchant, hotel and real estate owner. He owned land through which the street was laid out.
Russell, for William A. Russell, prominent as a paper-mill owner, and the leading spirit in the evolution of the manufacture of paper from wood.
Steuben, for Baron Steuben. a noted general during the Revolutionary war. Previous to Quartus Morgan's coming to Bellows Falls in 1798, he had been private secretary to the general, and upon intimate terms. The family of Mr. Morgan in laying out the different streets upon their farm, gave to one the general's name.
Tuttle, the family name of Mrs. Lorana Morgan, widow of Quartus Morgan, who purchased the land through which the street runs, in 1814. She owned the farm until her death, and the streets were laid out under the direction of her heirs.
Underhill avenue, for A. S. Underhill, through whose estate the street was run, the dwellings being built upon his land.
Webb's terrace, for Carlton E. Webb, who owned the farm from which the land was sold.
Wells, for Dr. John H. Wells, a prominent physician and the first druggist of the village.
Williams, for James I. Williams ( Ist), who during his whole life was connected with the banking enterprises of the village as clerk, cashier and president, and prominent in financial matters of the village.
The policing of the village has grown with the place, from no protection, except such as given by the town and county, to a present force of two permanent and six special men. The cost of this department in 1905 was $1,515.32.
CHAPTER XXVI.
VILLAGES OF SAXTONS RIVER -- ROCKINGHAM - CAMBRIDGE- PORT - BARTONSVILLE AND LA GRANGE
The village of Saxtons River is situated on the river of that name near the center of the southern boundary of the town of Rockingham. It is to-day a flourishing village of about nine hundred and fifty inhabitants, with a variety of mills and other industries. It is the location of Vermont Academy, the Baptist educational institution of Vermont. The village is connected with Bellows Falls by an electric railroad five miles long, completed in 1900.
The first settlement was made in this village in the year 1783. As late as the year 1858 there resided at Windsor a man by the name of Amos P. Cummings, then in the ninty- first year of his age, and the oldest person living in the town of Windsor. Mr. Cummings often gave to interested hearers an account of his first visit to the locality now covered by this beautiful village, when it was an entirely unbroken wilderness of immense trees of primitive growth. He said that in the year 1783 he cut down the first tree felled in the forest where Saxtons River village now stands. Henry Lake, one of the early settlers often said in later years there were but two houses in the village when he came to town in 1795.
The selection of the location of Saxtons River village as the site of a growing hamlet was occasioned by the three valuable water-powers situated there and known as the "upper," "middle," and "lower" falls of the river. These falls have since the early settlement of the place been utilized by varied industries and have furnished business and employ- ment for a large portion of the citizens, especially in the earlier years.
January 5, 1820, application was made to the selectmen of Rockingham to lay out and establish the boundaries and
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History of Rockingham
limits of the territory to be known as the village of Saxtons River, and they defined them as follows :
"Extending west on the road leading to Grafton as far as the division line between Ebenezer Lovell's land and Samuel Ober's land : and north on the road leading to John Pulsipher's as far as the division line between Ebenezer Lovell's land and Jonathan Barron's land ; and north on the road leading from Saxtons River village to the centre village. in said Rocking- ham, as far as the division line between Gates Perry's land and James Willard's land; and east on the road as far as Josiah Fay's house ; and also east, on the road leading to Bellows Falls, as far as the bridge near Whit- comb's saw-mill" (Carter Whitcomb's saw-mill was located across the road from the present woolen-mill), " and south on the road leading from Saxtons River to Westminster West Parish as far as the north line of the House farm, so called ; and east, leading up Bolles hill, so called, 50 rods beyond Joseph Elliott's house ; and west on the road to Samuel Mott's, as far as the top of Beaver Dam hill, meaning to include all the public highways within the extreme limits above mentioned."
August 21, 1821, the above boundaries of Saxtons River village were enlarged as follows :
" Beginning near Gates Perry's barn on the road from Saxtons River, by Timothy Clarke's, extending as far as llezekiah Rice's north line including said Rice's farm."
Thompson's Gazetteer of Vermont, published in 1828, says of the village :
" It was built and settled principally through the exertions of the active and enterprising Roswell Bellows, Esq. The village contains an elegant meeting-house "(now the public school building), " a post office, two carding machines, one grist, two saw, and two fulling mills, one tannery, one forge, one furnace, one distillery, two woolen factories, one tavern, two stores, one law office, and forty-five dwelling-houses. The grist-mill in this village was built by Allbee & Russell, and is equal to any in the state."
Theophilus Hoit, now living in Saxtons River at the age of ninety-two, made his home there in 1835 and has been familiar with the changes occurring there since that year. He says :
In '35 on the upper falls there was a one set cassimere woolen-mill, "nar- row," owned and run by Earl & Campbell, an iron foundry, cabinet shop, blacksmith shop and a wheelwright shop. On the middle falls was another wheelwright or carriage shop and a sand-paper manufactory on the south side of the river, while on the north side were a saw-mill, grist-mill (taken down many years ago), soap stone mill, wool pullery and tan-yard. The saw- mill was owned and run by Ransom Farnsworth, the grist-mill by Jeduthan Russell and the tannery by David Chandler. When Mr. Russell built his
F
SAXTONS RIVER VILLAGE, 1907.
Saxtons River Industries 369
grist-mill he paid for it by grinding corn for the Allbee distillery which was located between East Westminster and Bellows Falls. On the lower falls, standing where the present woolen-mill is, was a large satinet woolen-mill which was burned in April, 1847. In 1835 it was owned by Jefferson T. Butler, who had purchased it the year before of the Whitcomb Brothers of Swanzey, N. H. They owned all the land on that side of the street up to the Baptist church, including the pasture and wood lot east of the factory, and the "Perry house" just east of the church, which had been built by a man named Bellows, and in which Judge Horace Baxter, a leading lawyer of those days, had lived. Mr. Butler late in 1835 sold the woolen-mill property to Ammi Smith, who ran it till 1845 or '46, and it was occupied by Prosper Merrill when it burned in 1847.
In March, 1835, in addition to the manufactories mentioned above, there were two hotels, three stores, one tin shop and the meeting-house referred to in the quotation from Thompson's Gazetteer, which had been known as the " Old South Church in Rockingham " to distinguish it from the old " North Church" at Rockingham village. It was the second church building in the town. In 1835 what is now known as "Edson's factory" building stood at the upper end of the village and was being used as a sand-paper shop. In '60 this building was changed into a shoe manufactory by a cor- poration with a capital stock of $15,000. A man named D. F. Murphy owned the larger part of the stock and managed the business. The manu- factory was operated only a few months and made a failure.
In 1842 there was a clock manufactory here owned by Daniel M. Tuthill. Both brass and wooden clocks were made, a number still being in use in various parts of this and surrounding towns. Mr. Tuthill was a cabinet maker having his shop on the south side of the upper falls where the pres- ent grist-mill stands. He lived in a dwelling standing in what is now the mill-yard near by. The brass works of the clocks were purchased in Connecticut, while the wooden clocks were made by him. He made all the cases in his shop and placed the finished product upon the market.
November 29, 1905, Saxtons River village became incor- porated under the general law, the limits then detailed being only slightly different from those recorded in 1820. The first officers were Dr. F. L. Osgood, moderator; George P. Alexander, clerk ; Cecil K. Hughes, treasurer: B. M. Walker, collector; F. B. Locke, W. W. Barry, Starks Edson, W. B. Glynn and S. A. Whipple, trustees.
The village of Rockingham located near the centre of the township dates from the first settlement of the town, as it was
25
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History of Rockingham
probably in that immediate vicinity that the very first settlers made their homes. Until about 1825 it was the principal village of the town in business and inhabitants, and most of the town officers were located there. In 1835 there were three taverns, two stores, two blacksmith shops and an exten- sive tannery in the village. At the present time there is one general store, one hotel, two blacksmith shops, about twenty dwellings and here is located the old town Meeting-house built in 1787 near the site of the first town building erected in 1773. About 1835 an extensive factory was projected on Williams river near the present railroad station. A dam was erected about twenty feet below the location of the present highway bridge, forming a large pond covering several acres. The company failed to build the mill and after expending much capital the enterprise was abandoned. While the pond was there pleasure boats were placed upon it and it was made attractive for visitors. Not a trace remains of the projected manufacturing plant.
The village of Cambridgeport is located in the south- western portion of the town on the line of Grafton, a portion of the village being in that town. The village has fewer inhabitants at the present time than during a large portion of the last century. It has a post office, country store, a saw and grist-mill and a hotel.
It derives its name from J. T. Cambridge, who com- menced the clothier's business there in 1825, the name being given to it by " Squire " Joseph Weed, then of Saxtons River.
Uzziah Wyman, a prominent resident of the locality, who died about 1888 at the age of nearly ninety years, is authority for the following statement in relation to the early history of the place :
"In 1792 a Mr. Adams came from the settlement at Saxtons River, making his way by marked trees, to what is now Cambridgeport, and built a hut, moving his family thereto in the same year. He remained only a short time, however, and for some years no other settlement was made. In 1810 some parties by the name of Bulling purchased a tract of one thousand acres of land in this vicinity, including the present site of the village and extending over into the town of Athens, upon which they erected mills, where the
SCHOOL HOUSE
MAIN STREET
LOOKING WEST
CAMBRIDGEPORT FROM THE HILL -
CUSHINGS - STORE- FOR 65+ ~YEARS
MAIN STREET LOOKING EAST
MAIN STREET - LOOKING EAST
CAMBRIDGEPORT-HOTEL
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Villages of Cambridgeport and Bartonsville
village now is. In 1812, Nathaniel Bennett purchased the mills, erected two dwellings and the following year the first school-house was built. In 1814 Simeon Evans built the first store and commenced trade. During this year the first road was laid through, running east of the present factory pond, and over the hills to Grafton. Mr. Evans also built the old tavern, which he occupied a few years. He died in 1819. In 1825 Mr. Cambridge, as before mentioned, commenced the clothier's business here, and soon after the mills were destroyed by fire together with a quantity of dressed and undressed cloth. In 1836 the Union church was built, called the Cambridgeport Union House, preaching being supplied by the Baptist, Congregational, Methodist and Universalist denominations. During this year, also, a factory was erected hy Royal Earl, John Campbell, Josiah Stoddard, and Roswell Minard, who worked it a few years, when it fell into the hands of Ithamar Bolles, who sold it to George Perry, Benjamin Scofield and others. In 1860 this factory was burned, though immediately rebuilt. In 1866 the factory was sold to the Rockingham Woolen Co., and was afterwards owned by George Wellington. A Mr. Cochran was the first blacksmith in 1819. Mr. Mitchell, a hatter, came the same year. A man by the name of Jesse Howard opened a law office here about 1840, and died soon after."
In 1836 Earl & Campbell, who owned the woolen mill at Saxtons River, went to Cambridgeport and erected an exten- sive stone woolen-mill building at a cost of over $31,000. During the panic of the next year the firm failed and the mill was not utilized for some years. In 1857 George Perry, Philip Fletcher Perry, J. A. Farnsworth, B. Scofield and T. Hoit bought the mill and all its belongings for $5,000. They put in new machinery and an engine for power and under their management the enterprise was successful. Under dif- ferent ownerships the mill had varying success and it was burned down twice. For many years it furnished the major part of the business of the village, the only other manufactur- ing enterprise being a soapstone mill a short distance up the river. The stone walls of the original woolen mill are those now holding the saw and grist-mill. After its last destruc- tion by fire about 1878, while owned by Robert Fitton, it was not utilized as a woolen factory.
The village of Bartonsville, located in the extreme north- west corner of the town, dates from about 1840, when Jere- miah Barton erected the first mills there, using the water power then furnished by the Williams river. It derives its name from him, he being an honored citizen of the vicinity
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History of Rockingham
from 1832 until his death in 1879. The village may be termed as the successor of the little village of La Grange located a half mile farther west. A saw and grist-mill was early built on the upper falls at Bartonsville and in 1851 or 1852 they were rebuilt into a paper-mill by E. R. Robertson, later of Bellows Falls, and a man named Dunham of West- minster West. Three or four years later John Stearns and Noyes L. Jackson erected a second paper-mill on the lower falls.
These mills furnished the life and activity of the little hamlet until the disastrous flood of October, 1869. When that occurred Albert C. Moore, of the present corporation of the Moore & Thompson Paper company of Bellows Falls, owned the upper mill and had just thoroughly rebuilt it at a large outlay of capital and was to start it the very day of the flood. He was also manager of the lower mill for its owners. the Union Paper company of Springfield, Mass. This flood changed the course of the river, leaving the village and mills some distance away, and ruining the power, as shown in chapter XXVII.
The village from that time declined rapidly, and business has been at a low ebb. At the present time there are only a country store and twelve or fifteen dwellings.
Until about 1840 there was a little hamlet known as La Grange, of which present residents know little, situated upon the plain where is now the town farm about one-half mile west of the present Bartonsville post office. Until that time it had for some years two taverns, two blacksmith shops, a country store and a dozen or more dwellings. Now only four farm dwellings are in sight. This place was a noted stopping place for stages, different ones putting up at each hotel, and business for some years was as promising as that of most other villages in the vicinity. The utilization of the water power at Bartonsville drew the business there, and it grad- ually dropped out of existence as a village. A post office was established at La Grange in 1835 and continued two years with Samuel Jackson, the storekeeper, as postmaster.
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A Village on "Parker Hill"
A village of some importance once existed on Parker Hill, on high ground near the line between the towns of Rocking- ham and Springfield.
The locality was so named in honor of one of the first settlers in this vicinity, Lieut. Isaac Parker, who came from Chelmsford, Mass., as early as 1788. He travelled by the public road as far as the old village of Rockingham, then striking into the virgin forests and following a trail directly north by means of marked trees for a distance of two miles, he came to one of the highest points of land in the town of Rockingham. He chose this spot for his future home and the locality has ever since borne his name. He built first a log house, and later a framed dwelling upon his farm. A portion of his farm was located in Rockingham and a portion in Springfield. A few years after settling there he joined with other zealous Universalists in building a brick church building, or society house as it was then called, and a creditable cemetery was laid out. (See pp. 159 and 118. )
Within a few years after 1800 this locality on the top of the hill was one of the most populous settlements of the vicinity. There were two taverns, two blacksmith shops, a shoe shop, a shop for making sleighs, one or more stores, the church and about fifty dwellings. The old cellar-holes of many of these buildings are still to be seen, although there are but two farmhouses within a half mile at the present day.
One of the taverns was kept at that time by Leonard Parker, son of Lieut. Isaac Parker, the first settler; the other, by Leonard Walker. In the dance hall of this latter public house some of the earliest Masonic meetings held in this vicinity took place. There was no water-power near Parker Hill and the tendency of the next generation was toward more advantageous sites for villages, where power could be secured. In 1833 the village had dwindled in size until it was but a small farming community. The many cellar-holes, the old cemetery in which many citizens rest from their labors, and the traditions of "the oldest inhabitant" only remain to tell the story of this once populous village with its church, school and industries.
CHAPTER XXVII.
HOTELS
The first hotel, styled in early days "inn" or "tavern," known to have been established in this town was located on the site of the dwelling now standing next west of the old meeting-house in Rockingham village. The first inn- keeper was David Pulsipher, who in 1767 came from Ware River, Mass., to Rockingham, and soon after erected a large building of logs on this spot and kept it as an inn for the entertainment of travellers. It is often referred to in the town records. March 28. 1771, and until the first town church was ready for occupancy in March, 1774, the town meetings were held "at the Now Dwelling house of Mr. David Pulsipher's Innholder," and this was for many years a common rendezvous for public meetings of different kinds. Mr. Pulsipher went into the Continental army early during the Revolution and never returned, nor did his family ever know of his fate. His widow managed the old tavern for a number of years thereafter, and the records speak of it as "the house of the widow Pulsipher's Innholder." During the years 1775 and 1776 the records speak of town meetings being held "at the house of Jehial Webb Innholder," indicating another public house in addition to Mrs. Pulsipher's.
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