New Hampshire Historic Property Documentation

New Hampshire State Recordation Document Electrosonics Site Chesterfield, New Hampshire RFP No. LBMA312 U.S. EPA Prime Contract No. 68-W-03-037 Task Order No. 0003

prepared for Shaw Environmental, Inc. Hopkinton, Massachusetts by John Milner Associates, Inc. Littleton, Massachusett s November, 2006 NEW HAMPSHIRE HISTORIC PROPERTY DOCUMENTATION

PIERCE SHOPS (Electrosonics, Inc.)

NH State No. 583

Location: 409 NH Route 9A (former Main Street), Spofford Village, Chesterfield, Cheshire County, New Hampshire.

USGS Keene Quadrangle Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinates 18 710652E 47537000N

Present Owner: Dino Zampini

Present Use: Demolished (2005).

Significance: At the time of its demolition in 2005, the only extant industrial building from the nineteenth and early twentieth century industrial village of Spofford, the Pierce Shops housed a succession of industrial enterprises, including production of spinning wheel heads, bits and augers, and paint brush handles, and was used in the twentieth century for the production of fine furniture. The building was also significant for its timber-framed construction. Framing elements illustrated the evolution of nineteenth century heavy wood framing techniques.

PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION

A. Physical History:

1. Date of erection: south block, c. 1810-1830, c. 1850, and c. 1915; north block, c. 1850-1880.

2. Architect/builder: Not known.

3. Original and subsequent owners: Reference is to the records in the Cheshire County Recorder of Deeds Office, Keene, New Hampshire.

1818 Property improved with a saw and fulling mill sold by Thomas Crane and Jonathan Hopkins to Joab Pond for $600 (Deed Book 77:285, February 10, 1818).

1818 Joab Pond sold .5 acre parcel containing saw and fulling mills to Luther Gilson for $605 (Deed Book 70:249, July 20, 1818).

1818 Luther Gilson sold the .5 acre parcel to Charles F. Daniels for $450 (Deed Book 82:41, August 22, 1818).

1821 Daniels sold the .5 acre parcel, described as located near the cotton factory, to Presson Farwell for $400 (Deed Book 85:539, May 19, 1821). Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 2)

1821 Presson Farwell sold the parcel, described as the site of a fulling mill, to Jimna Walker and Jacob T. White (Deed Book 85:539, June 9, 1821).

1825 Jimna Walker transferred partial ownership of the parcel to Jacob T. White (Deed Book 164:457, August 5, 1825).

1850 Jacob T. White sold the .5 acre tract, described as an old fulling mill and shed, to Charles B. Atherton and Andrew Barrett (Deed Book 170:554, January 1, 1850).

1857 Samuel F. Hopkins, acting on behalf of Andrew Barrett, transferred ownership of the .5 acre tract to himself (Deed Book 189:137, March 12, 1857)

1866 Helen M. and Ransford Comstock sold the property, described as adjacent to the blacksmith to William W. Hopkins for $700 (Deed Book 218:293, June 30, 1866).

1875 William W. and Miranda C. Hopkins conveyed the .5 acre parcel to Frederick B. Pierce (Deed Book 251:331, October 16, 1875).

1899 Frederick Pierce sold a half-interest in a .5 acre parcel containing industrial buildings and fixtures to Harry D. Hopkins (Deed Book 320:524, December 13, 1899).

1906 Pierce sold the remaining half-interest to Hopkins and relocated his business to a new factory in South Keene (Deed Book 343:202, March 14, 1906).

1911 Hopkins sold a parcel of one acre and 12.5 square rods to Frank H. Foster (Deed Book 396:8, May 22, 1911). Foster used the building for making tables.

1922 Annie L. Foster, widow of Frank H., sold the tract on which the building sits to Arthur H. Post (Deed Book 410:557, December 30, 1922). Post and employee Theron Yost operated Hampshire Craftsmen, producers of high-quality reproduction furniture.

1966 The heirs of Arthur and Ella M. Post sold the property to Elso, Inc (later known as Electrosonics) (Deed Book 748:395, April 2, 1966).

1983 Electrosonics, Inc. sold several tracts in Spofford, including the site of the building, to Robert M. Burton (Deed Book 1100:869, August 2, 1983).

Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 3)

1987 Burton sold two tracts, including the site of the building, to GMR Associates with a mortgage held by Granite Bank of Keene (Cheshire County Deed Book 1262:266, September 23, 1987).

1993 After the mortgage was placed in default, Granite Bank sold five tracts including the building site to Dino Zampini for $25,000 (Cheshire County Deed Book 1473:755, December 2, 1993).

4. Original and subsequent occupants: Available evidence indicates that the south block was used after 1820 by Jonathan S. Hopkins for the manufacture of spinning wheel heads. Shortly after its initial construction Roswell Bingham may have operated a brass foundry on the site. In subsequent years, the building was occupied by Elliott P. and Samuel F. Hopkins and others who used it to make wheel heads and other wooden goods including cribs and cradles. In the 1850s, the property was owned by Charles B. Atherton and Andrew Barrett, indicated in the Census of Products of Industry as the owners of a wood-turning business whose primary product was bobbins.

During the 1860s, Benjamin Pierce employed 75 hands to manufacture wheel heads in the south block. By about 1880, Pierce’s enterprises had outgrown the available space and he built a “large and convenient building” [probably the north block] on the site of a portion of the old wheel head shop for the manufacture of paint and varnish handles. After Pierce disposed of the property and moved his business to Keene, William Hopkins manufactured brush handles in the building. In the early twentieth century, Frank and Austin Foster used the building for the manufacture of tables.

In about 1922, Hampshire Craftsmen, started by Arthur H. Post and Theron Yost and supported by Morris Friedson, manufactured antique reproductions in the buildings. In the 1960s, Electrosonics purchased the buildings and manufactured circuit boards in them. Most recently the complex was known as Spofford Place and housed Spofford Total Energy Products and Wind River Woodworking (Chesterfield assessment card).

5. Builder, Contractor: unknown.

6. Original plans and construction: Although the exact date of construction is not known, the sequence of construction was evident in the timber-framed building fabric. The northern end of the south block, a two bay by two bay section, appeared to have been erected in 1810 to 1830. The exact date of this section was not known. Evidence included the use of an auger without a gimlet point or screw to drill peg holes. This tool was typically superceded in about 1810. This portion of the frame reveals the use of square rule joinery, introduced in New Hampshire about 1820. The central section of the south block appears to have been erected in c. 1850, while the portion closest to the road was added in about 1915.

Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 4)

7. Alterations and additions: Study of the building framing suggests one early alteration to the south portion of the building. The oldest section of the building had a ridge board, while the second oldest did not, whereas typically buildings without ridge boards are older than those with ridge boards. A possibility, supported by the presence of fire-scarred timbers, was that the roof of the oldest part was rebuilt after a minor fire.

8. The first addition to the original two-story building was the two-and-one-half story north block. Based upon building fabric, this block may have been constructed as early as 1850. Anecdotal evidence cited by Randall in his history of Chesterfield suggests that the block may have been constructed c. 1880 during Frederick Pierce’s ownership of the property.

Substantial alterations were made during the twentieth century to accommodate changing commercial uses. In the early portion of the twentieth century, the south block had a multi-light bay window on its façade and a flush doorway. In its last years, the façade had a recessed doorway and was fenestrated with a one-over one, vinyl, replacement window. Other alterations include construction of irregularly shaped additions to the east wall of the south block, sheathing of the south block in vinyl siding and the north block in aluminum siding, construction of a lean-to addition to the east side wall of the rear block, construction of an external stair on the north gable end of the main block, and installation of gypsum board interior partition walls and dropped acoustic tile ceilings. Many of these changes occurred following the acquisition of the property by Elso, Inc. (later Electrosonics) in 1966.

B. Historical Context

At the time of its demolition in 2005, the Pierce Shops was the only surviving industrial building of the nineteenth and early twentieth century industrial village of Spofford and provided a visible connection to the nineteenth century economic prosperity of the village.

Chesterfield Factory

Spofford was ideally sited to develop as the industrial center of the town of Chesterfield. The village, initially known as Factory Village or Chesterfield Factory, developed around the falls of Partridge Brook as it descends from Spofford Lake. Its first store was established by Ebenezer Stearns in about 1800. Its first hotel, known as Spofford House, was built as a residence by Elnathan Gorham in 1807. The post office was established in the village on January 12, 1828 with George S. Root its first postmaster (Mount Pistareen Grange 1949:37).

The first mill to take advantage of the brook’s waterpower potential was a saw and grist mill built about 1800 that was owned at one time by Benjamin Farwell (Child 1885:96; Randall 1882:157). In 1805, Ebenezer Stearns, Moses Smith, Ebenezer Cheney and seventeen others were incorporated into a company called the Chesterfield Manufactory for the purpose of manufacturing “cotton yarn, cloth and woolens.” In the June 1809 Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 5) session of the New Hampshire Legislature, an act was passed empowering the corporation to raise $50,000 through the sale of stock. Ebenezer Stearns initially held $10,000 worth of stock with the remainder held by about twenty shareholders. The timing of this endeavor was propitious as the British embargo created a demand for domestically produced fabric (Hurd 1886:155; Jenness 2003).

In the following year, the company erected a factory on Partridge Brook. The building, 100 feet long by thirty feet wide and two stories high, was built by Presson Farwell for seven hundred dollars. This factory was located on the lot now occupied by the Spofford Post Office (Tuttle n.d.) It was later used for the manufacture of shirting. During the late nineteenth century, it was used for the manufacture of doors, window sashes and blinds (Hurd 1886:155-156).

Nineteenth century gazetteers give an overview of the development of industry in the town. In 1817, Merrill indicated that the town included a cotton factory with 844 spindles, two distilleries, four grist mills, seven saw mills, two mills for dressing cloth, and two carding machines. He did not indicate how many of these mills were located in present-day Spofford (Merrill 1817:99)

In about 1820, the manufacture of “patent accelerating spinning wheel heads” began in the village by Ezekial Pierce. In succeeding years, Jonathan S. Hopkins, Elliot P. and Samuel F. Hopkins, Ezekial P. Pierce, Jr., Richard Hopkins, Jr., Sidney S. Campbell, Benjamin Pierce, and Frederick R. Pierce also manufactured these items. At a point during the Civil War, Benjamin Pierce employed about 75 in this business (Hurd 1886:156). In 1868, S.S. Campbell, William W. Hopkins, and Howe and Hopkins were listed as wheel head manufacturers in Chesterfield (Briggs 1868:150).

In his 1823 gazetteer, John Farmer indicated that Partridge Brook was sufficiently large to carry the machinery of a cotton factory, sawmills, etc. At the time, the factory had 800 spindles. The factory also accommodated forty looms operated by water (Farmer 1823:101).

In 1836 or 1837, the manufacture of bits and augers began at the Factory Village. From this beginning Chesterfield attained a prominent role in the production of edge tools, bits, augers, and gimlets in the later half of the nineteenth century. With no more than 2,200 inhabitants, it claimed at least ten auger makers. One maker, Richard Henry Hopkins (1831-1877), patented a design for an auger or bit in 1870 (Garvin 2005:2).

The first bit and auger factory was operated by Richardson and Huggins. (Their factory was located in an old meeting house moved to the site and located on the opposite side of NH Route 9A (former Main Street) from the surveyed mill. Its site is now a parking lot.) (Mill notebook:17). This business was carried on by George Goodrich and later by Goodrich in partnership with George Atherton. In about 1853, Benjamin Pierce, who had been employed by Richardson and Huggins as a sales representative, purchased the shop from Barton Skinner and continued to manufacture bits and augers.

By 1855, Partridge Brook provided power for the cotton mill, which then employed 20 hands, two bit and auger factories, a peg manufactory, a large tannery, several saw mills, Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 6) and grist mills, among other industrial facilities (Charlton 1855:147). Three years later, Fagan’s map of Chesterfield Factory depicted the following businesses along Partridge Brook in the village: the cotton factory operated by B. Skinner, Benjamin Pierce’s bit factory, A.J. Barrett’s wheel head factory, G. Goodrich’s shop, J.S. Sargent’s sash and blind factory, a turning shop, and S. Warren’s tannery (Fagan 1858).

In 1870, Benjamin F. Pierce’s son, Frederick Benjamin, began manufacturing bits and augers for his father, having been previously in business with R. Henry Hopkins (Hurd 1886:156). According to the 1870 Census of Products of Industry, the older Pierce had $5,000 in capital invested in this business and employed 20 hands. The factory was powered by a water wheel that generated 20 horsepower. Machinery included two lathes. Inputs included 30,000 pounds of steel, 20 tons of coal, and 30 cords of wood, while outputs amounted to 150,000 bits valued at $20,000 (U.S. Bureau of Census 1870).

In Fogg’s 1874 gazetteer, he indicated capital invested in and production of the town’s manufacturing businesses. Augers and bits represented invested capital of $50,000; 5,500 sides of leather were tanned; 910,000 feet of lumber were produced; and 20,000 wheel heads were manufactured (Fogg 1874:95). In 1882, F.B. Pierce was succeeded in the bit and auger business by Alfred E. and F. Eugene Currier, who employed about 23 in the production of about 150,000 pieces annually (Hurd 1886:156).

Child’s 1885 Cheshire County gazetteer profiled the village:

Chesterfield Factory is a busy post village located on the outlet for the lake. It has one church, two stores, one hotel, a village hall, brush handle factory, bit and auger factory, sash and blind factory, pail factory, grist mill, wagon shop, shingle-mill, wheelhead and spinning-wheel shop, a steam saw mill, blacksmith shop, and about seventy-five dwellings (Child 1885:95).

By the late nineteenth century, the importance of Chesterfield Factory as a manufacturing center began to decline. The railroad had bypassed hilly Chesterfield and readily available timber has been consumed. The use of steam engines to power mills meant that an adequate supply of water power was no longer necessary (Jenness 2003).

Hurd’s 1892 map of Chesterfield Factory indicated that the former cotton mill was then in use as a sash factory. Other businesses located along Partridge Brook included an auger factory, a blacksmith shop, two factories operated by F.B. Pierce, F.O. Scott’s grist mill, C.S. Campbell’s mill, a can factory, and I. Burton’s sawmill (Hurd 1892). By 1912, the only manufacturing enterprise listed in the village was the Spofford Manufacturing Company, maker of buckets (Beaman’s 1912:53).

Patent Accelerating Wheel Heads

The most unusual and most significant facet of the industrial base of Chesterfield Factory or Spofford was the manufacture of accelerating spinning wheel heads. In their article on the patented heads, Pate and Feldman-Wood describe the principle underlying the device:

Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 7)

The principle behind the accelerating head is the introduction of a secondary pulley wheel between the drive wheel and the spindle to increase the spindle speed in relation to the speed of the drive-wheel. This allowed the wheel to be operated with considerably less effort than the traditional direct drive arrangement. It also facilitated the spinning of fibers, such as cotton, which required a great deal more twist than wool… (Pate and Feldman-Wood 1995:5).

This device more than doubled the spindle’s velocity and proved to be crucial to the spinning of the long-staple wool of the Merino sheep that were being introduced into New England and New York at the turn of the nineteenth century (Garvin 2004:3). During the nineteenth century hundreds of thousands of improved spinning wheel heads were made and sold in the United States (White 1997:64).

In his symposium article on the accelerated wheel head, Frank White cites the dominant role of the town in wheel head manufacturing:

In the 1860s, Benjamin Pierce and his fellow Chesterfield manufacturers virtually monopolized the wheel head market. In 1832, 30,000 heads were reported from the two towns of Keene and Chesterfield. In 1850, Chesterfield reported 20,000 heads, but only 8,400 in 1860; then in 1870 this town’s production rose to almost 30,000. Yet, these official returns do not accurately tell the whole story. Pierce alone sold over 13,000 heads in 1859 and over 60,000 in 1865, so in some cases the reported numbers reflect only a portion of actual sales (White 1997:75).

The differing production totals were derived by Frank White by comparing the manuscript Census of the Products of Industry with Pierce’s account book in the collection of the New Hampshire Historical Society. The reason for the disparity is unclear but may be due in part to orders recorded but not filled or only partially filled.

Property History

The earliest history of the property is uncertain due to a lack of clear chain of title. The precise sequence of uses and dates of construction are uncertain due to lack of documentary evidence. According to unsourced notes in the collection of the Chesterfield Historical Society, early uses of the property included the manufacture of wheel heads by Jonathan S. Hopkins and later Elliot P. and Samuel F. Hopkins and its use as a brass foundry by Roswell Bingham. The two latter Hopkinses may have also used the building for the manufacture of cribs and cradles (Mill notebook:19-20). The exact date of construction of the earliest portion of the building, the north portion of the south block, is also uncertain. Anecdotal evidence suggests a date of 1810 to 1820. Based upon building fabric, Garvin (2004:6) postulated a date of 1830, while Necciai suggests that the construction date may have been as early as 1810 (Necciai 2005).

A likely chain begins with the sale of a property improved with a saw and a fulling mill located in proximity to a carding mill and cotton factory from Turner Crane and Jonathan Hopkins to Joab Pond in 1818. The process of fulling involved beating wool cloth in a Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 8) tub filled with water and soap. Fulling removed the oils and the beating formed a denser, more compact cloth. In a fulling mill, the waterwheel powered wooden mallets used to beat the cloth, often for days (Carlisle n.d.). The property was sold for $600 (Cheshire County Deed Book 77:285, February 10, 1818). The date and character of Crane and Hopkins’s acquisition of the property is unable to be determined in Cheshire County property records. Later the same year, Joab Pond sold the ½ acre parcel containing sawmill and fulling mill to Luther Gilson for $605 (Cheshire County Deed Book 70:249, July 20, 1818).

The following month, Gilson sold the ½ acre property, with the exception of the copper kettle in the fulling mill, to Charles F. Daniels for $450 (Cheshire County Deed Book 82:41, August 22, 1818). Daniels owned the ½ acre property, described as located near the cotton factory, until 1821 when he sold it to Presson Farwell for $400. Farwell was a carpenter and tavern owner who was responsible for the building of the cotton factory in 1810 (Cheshire County Deed Book 85:539, May 19, 1821). The following month, Farwell sold the parcel, described as being the site of a fulling mill, to Jimna Walker and Jacob T. White. The transaction included sale of a turning lathe, and Walker and White agreed to maintain the dam (Cheshire County Deed Book 85:539, June 9, 1821).

Four years later, Walker transferred his partial ownership of the property to Jacob T. White (Cheshire County Deed Book 164:457, August 5, 1825). White owned the property for a quarter century. In 1850, he sold the ½ acre tract, described as an old fulling mill and shed located in Factory Village, to Charles B. Atherton and Andrew Barrett. The transaction reserved all machinery, as well as the kettle, tools and water wheel (Cheshire County Deed Book 170:554, January 1, 1850). Atherton and Barrett were indicated in the 1850 Census of Products of Industry as owners of a wood turning business. This business, valued at $1,400, used 150 cords of birch valued at $500. Four people were employed in the water-powered factory. It produced 100,000 bobbins valued at $1,400 (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1850a). Atherton was also listed in the population census of the same year as a merchant and owner of real estate valued at $3,500. In 1857, Samuel F. Hopkins, acting on behalf of Andrew Barrett, transferred ownership of the land and buildings to himself (Cheshire County Deed Book 189:137, March 12, 1857). Hopkins had been indicated as a manufacturer of wheel heads on the 1850 population census. At that time, he owned real estate valued at $1,000 (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1850b). On a map of Chesterfield Factory, issued in 1858, the building, shown as a small square, was notated as A.J. Barrett’s wheel head factory. The next transaction involving the property occurred in 1866 when Helen M. and Ransford Comstock sold the property, described as adjacent to the blacksmith shop to William W. Hopkins for $700 (Cheshire County Deed Book 218:293, June 30, 1866). Hopkins had been indicated on the 1860 Census of Products of Industry as a manufacturer of spinning wheels. His business, which represented invested capital of $800, used 5,000 feet of lumber annually. The water-powered factory employed two and annually produced 1,000 wheels valued at $1,250 (U.S. Bureau of Census 1860).

In 1875, William W. and Miranda C. Hopkins conveyed a ½-acre parcel with buildings to Frederick B. Pierce (Cheshire County Deed Book 251:331, October 16, 1875). Pierce, a son of Benjamin Pierce, was born in Chesterfield Factory in April 1845. He married Emma F. Cook, daughter of Josiah W. Cook of Alstead, New Hampshire. He was Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 9) initially employed by his father in the manufacture of bits or augers. In 1875 or 1877, Pierce established his brush handle factory in the mill eventually employing about 30 hands and doing about $25,000 in business per year. Child commented that “he has done much to build up this village to the standard of prosperity it now enjoys” (Child 1885:97; 137). In the 1880 Census of Products of Industry, Benjamin and Fred Pierce were involved in the manufacture of augers and bits, wheel heads and brush handles. Approximately $20,000 in capital was invested and 60 hands were employed. Seven thousand dollars in materials were used to produce products valued at $25,000. Power for the enterprises was provided by a breast wheel that generated 18 horsepower and a Houston turbine that generated 22 horsepower (U.S. Bureau of Census 1880). According to the late Clifford W. Tuttle, flax wheels and spinning wheels were manufactured in the end of the factory toward Main Street. The rear portion of the building was used by William Hopkins for the manufacture of brush handles (Tuttle n.d.).

In 1880, Frederick Pierce is recorded to have built a “large and convenient building” on the site of a portion of the old wheel head shop for use in the manufacture of paint and varnish handles (Mill notebook:20). This may have been the rear portion of the present building, although both Garvin and Necciai’s investigations based on building framing suggested that it may have been constructed earlier, possibly as early as 1860 (Garvin 2005:11, Necciai 2005). In 1883, Herschel J. Fowler conveyed to Fred B. Pierce, all his right and interest “in and to certain lands lying on the south side of my Box Factory Pond at highwater mark and between the store lot on the east and the brush handle store on the west” (Cheshire County Deed Book 273:326, June 7, 1883).

On the 1892 atlas of Cheshire County, the Pierce shop building is indicated as one of three industrial buildings located on Partridge Brook owned by F.B. Pierce. Pierce sold a half-interest in real estate holdings in Spofford Village to Harry D. Hopkins in 1899. The parcel, described as consisting of 1/2 acre of land, was sold along with one undivided half of all the “machinery, shafting, belting, tools, wheels, dams, and water power in the same or used therewith and all the stock manufactured or in process in or about said buildings” (Cheshire County Deed Book 320:524, December 13, 1899).

The mill property of the F.B. Pierce & Company is shown in a 1902 plan, retraced in 1980, in the collection of the Chesterfield Historical Society. The complex in question, close to the highway, and east of the mill pond, was termed the “upper mill.” A wheel adjoined the west wall of the rear block and was fed by a race. The water reentered the mill pond by means of a flume. A second mill, indicated as the “Lower Mill,” stood north of Partridge Brook and west of present Westmoreland Road. According to Clifford Tuttle, this mill was known as the John York shop and was equipped with machinery for making paint brush handles. It was taken down and may have been moved to South Keene. Its site is represented by portions of rubble walls, a turbine, grinding stones, and assorted machinery remnants. Pierce’s third mill, a saw mill, was located at a 20 foot high falls east of Westmoreland Road. At this mill logs were collected through the winter and were subsequently sawed into lumber and kiln dried to be made into brush handles. The mill used only beech and maple (Tuttle n.d.).

Pierce, who had relocated his brush handle factory to a modern brick building in South Keene in 1901, sold the remaining half interest to Hopkins in 1906 (Cheshire County Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 10)

Deed Book 343:202, March 14, 1906; Keene Souvenir 1908:28). In 1911, Hopkins sold a tract of one acre and 12.5 square rods to Frank H. Foster (Cheshire County Deed Book 396:8, May 22, 1911). Frank and Austin Foster used the building for making tables (Mills notebook). In his will, Frank H. made a bequest of all of his real and personal property to his wife, Annie. The estate inventory included his home place, valued at $2,000, a shop, valued at $800 [presumably the buildings in question], and personal goods valued at $1,300 (Cheshire County Probate Records F-1225).

A portion of the building is depicted in an early twentieth century streetscape photograph of Spofford in the collection of the Chesterfield Historical Society. The view, looking west on present Route 9A, shows the long upper floor of the front block of the mill. The clapboarded wall is pierced with regularly spaced, eight-over-twelve, double-hung, sash windows.

In December 1922, Annie L. Foster, widow of Frank H., sold the tract of land on which the buildings were situated to Arthur H. Post of West Chesterfield for an undisclosed sum (Cheshire County Deed Book 410:557, December 30, 1922). Post and his employee Theron Yost, cabinetmakers, built fine quality reproduction furniture in the building under the business name of Hampshire Craftsmen (Mill notebook). A photograph in the collection of the Chesterfield Historical Society shows the building as it appeared during Post’s ownership. The front block was sheathed with clapboards, painted white. A multi- light, bay window projected from the west portion of the front gable, and a tall brick stove chimney rose from the roof ridge near the front gable. Visible fenestration consisted of double-hung, sash windows.

A second photograph, possibly taken at about the same time, shows a gable front view in winter. The 84-light bay window, extended from nearly the floor to the ceiling. This window may have proved useful for displaying Post’s furniture. To the right of the bay window were two-leaf, four-light, two-panel doors. An eight-over-twelve, double-hung, sash window was placed in the gable peak. A partially visible stair balustrade is evidence that a secondary entrance was placed in the east wall of the lower level. A shed-roofed addition apparently projected from the east lower level wall. The rear block is less visible, but a double-hung, sash window was placed off-center in the gable peak.

Post died in November 1947, after which ownership passed to his widow Ella M., who died the following month. Ownership then passed to their son, Walter J. After Walter J. Post’s death in 1957, ownership passed to his heirs. The footprint of the building as it appeared in 1961 is shown on a parcel plan. This plan appears to indicate a barn to the rear of the north block. In October 1962, Priscilla A. Barnes transferred her partial ownership to the younger Walter’s widow, Katherine L. Post (Cheshire County Deed Book 747:273, October 5, 1962). In 1966, Katherine Post, Jane J. Allen, and Arthur H. Post sold the property to Elso, Inc. (later known as Electrosonics) (Cheshire County Deed Book 748:395, April 2, 1966). The principals of this company, established in February 1962, were Freeman French of Brattleboro and Bernard Hall of Spofford. The company initially rented space on the second floor of Post Garage, the brick building immediately east of the mill. They manufactured circuit boards (Mill notebook:18, 21).

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The building is shown in two 1976 photographs in the collection of the Chesterfield Historical Society. The first, which shows the south façade and east wall of the front mill block, indicated that the large bay window in place during Post’s ownership had been removed and replaced with a one-over-one, double-hung sash window. The two-leaf doors remained as did the eight over twelve, double-hung, sash window in the gable peak. Regularly spaced eight-over-twelve windows were placed in the east second story wall, and a shed-roofed addition extended to the sills of the northern windows. This addition had two six-over-six, double-hung, sash windows in its south wall. The wavy roof profile indicates some form of structural discontinuity. Two tall chimney stacks rose from the interior of the roof ridge of the south block. The west wall was primarily fenestrated with eight-over-twelve, double-hung, sash windows, although six-over-six and two-over-two are also present. The rear block has closely spaced double-hung, sash windows in its upper stories, an interior brick chimney, and a six-over-six, double hung, sash window, placed off-center in its south gable end.

In 1983, Electro-Sonics, Inc. sold a total of six tracts in Spofford to Robert M. Burton (Cheshire County Deed Book 1100:869, August 2, 1983). A photograph of the rear of the building is included in a 1984 Keene Sentinel article about rumored toxic wastes dumped or stored at the site. This photograph shows a two-story, shed-roofed rear addition, and a gabled roof addition in the northwest corner in the general vicinity of the water wheel. In 1987, Burton sold two tracts, including the mill site, to GMR Associates, Robert M. Barofsky, general partner, with a mortgage for $156,250 held by the Granite Bank of Keene (Cheshire County Deed Book 1262:266, September 23, 1987). GMR and Barofsky defaulted on the mortgage and five tracts were transferred to the present owner, Dino Zampini, in exchange for $25,000 (Cheshire County Deed Book 1473:755, December 2, 1993).

According to the Chesterfield assessment card for the property, the building was known as Spofford Place and was most recently used by Spofford Total Energy Products and Wind River Woodworking.

PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION

A. General Statement:

1. Architectural character: The Pierce Shops was a vernacular small-scale industrial complex of additive construction. It was representative of the mills that dominated the nineteenth century landscape of the village of Spofford. While New England is best known for the massive masonry mills erected in industrial centers such as Lowell, Lawrence and Haverill, Massachusetts; Pawtucket, Rhode, Island; and Willamantic, Connecticut, countless smaller, water-powered mills, many of them wood-framed, were erected on the rivers and streams of the region. The complex was one of few remaining wood-framed, water-powered, nineteenth century light industrial factories remaining in the state. Its structure exhibited a succession of timber framing techniques, and the buildings retained significant amounts of nineteenth century fabric including windows and frames, door framing, several doors, building framing, floor boards, and bead board interior walls. Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 12)

2. Condition of fabric: demolished (2005).

B. Description of Exterior: : 1. Overall dimensions: The south block of the building was irregularly shaped with structural posts in both the east and the west walls creating a series of bents that were connected to one another by sidewall girts and wall plates. The south gable end was 20 feet 3 inches wide. The building was approximately 65 feet 6 inches deep. The northern 30 feet of this block had walls parallel to those of the adjoining north block, while the walls of the southern half were angled to the east. The irregularly shaped east lean-to extended from about eight feet north of the southeast corner and was a maximum of about 19 feet 8 inches in depth. The overall dimensions of the north block were approximately 43 feet, 5 inches north to south and 32 feet 2 inches east to west. The gable-roofed addition to the northwest corner of the block measured approximately eight feet square. The shed-roofed east addition extended the length of the east wall and was about 8 feet deep.

2. Foundations: The foundations were rubble stone exposed on the west elevation. A retaining wall between the south end of the southern building and the nearby road was composed of stack granite slabs. An opening to the sub-basement was cut into the basement wall near the north end of the west elevation. Foundation walls of twentieth century additions were poured concrete

3. Walls: The walls of the various building components appear to have originally been sheathed in clapboard, shiplap siding, and novelty siding. The latter siding material was visible in a portion of the lower wall of the north block. At the time of the recordation, the walls of the south block were sheathed in vinyl siding, while the walls of the north block were sheathed in clapboard. The walls of the shed-roofed addition to the north end of the east wall were constructed of concrete block.

4. Structural systems, framing: Timber-framed structure. The heavy timber framing of nearly every section of the building consisted exclusively of 8 by 8 inch members. In a few areas, such as in the basement of the southernmost section, members were 8 by 9 inch. The building also had a number of 6 inch secondary members. The oldest section of the southern building also employed diagonal braces. Between the heavy timbers were smaller studs with some modern infill studs, and a layer of furring, generally 1 ½ inch rough-sawn pieces was added to make up the difference in thickness between older and newer studs and to permit installation of a layer of gypsum wallboard.

Southern Building

The front (southern) block had three independent structural frames or parts of frames dating from three different periods. The independently framed block to the north was built at a single time. Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 13)

The southernmost section, about 20 feet long on its western side and believed to be the newest, was constructed of reused timbers and stands on a concrete foundation, topped with local stone. These reused timbers may have been salvaged from a demolished section of the next frame to the north. The floor of the southern sections was supported by very heavy log joists, essentially slabs of wood with sawn top and bottom surfaces but uncut log sides. These joists, placed in a random pattern, not quite parallel to one another, with spaces varying from 6 to 14 or 18 inches, may have been used as a bridge before the superstructure of this section was built around them or an indication that the builders understood that the front section would be used like a bridge for moving heavy materials in and out of the building on the road side. The joists bore on dropped carriers that were visible in the basement. The carriers were joined to the sides of a column, at the center of the section, and the column continued up through the flooring (Necciai 2005:1).

The middle section of the southern building was composed of sawn members cut on a water-powered upright saw mill. The structural frame had a series of 8 by 8 inch wall posts spaced about 7 feet apart. The total length of this sawn frame extended for only two structural bays, a length of about 14 feet. The roof frame was composed of common rafters that measured about 2 by 5 inches and were placed roughly two feet on center. There was no ridge pole. Between each pair of posts, tie beams extended across the width of the building. On the upper floor, these tie beams supported longitudinal ceiling joists set into butt-cogged joists. In at least a portion of the area, the original vertically-sawn joists were replaced by deep circular-sawn joists, possibly to allow a board floor to be laid in the attic for access for storage and to provide added joist depth to bear the weight of the floor loading. The newer joists were 7 to 8 inches deep and their tops extended above the upper surface of the tie beams.

Unusual features noted in the field examination of this section included an extra beam in the ceiling of the main story only a foot away from the wall of the north section. This beam and its corresponding columns may have been installed to provide a structural frame that was independent of the tie backs into the original frame. The beam also had a series of complex joints indicating columns or tie-ins for wooden machinery elements a few feet in from the wall on the Partridge Brook side. One was a two-stage, roughly-cut, semi-circular, blind notch near the exterior wall, possibly cut for a metal fitting to anchor a ceiling drive shaft (Necciai 2005:2).

The framing of the northernmost section of the southern block was composed of hewn members supporting sawn three-inch wide joists placed 28 to 30 inches on centers. Braces were employed in the walls at the top of the columns and extended in all directions. Field examination revealed marking that appear to be journeyman assembly markings at the joints where sawn joists met the wall plate. The frame was covered with ship-lapped exterior sheathing. The hewn building frame extended for about 28 feet and bore the recessed seats at each joint characteristic of “square rule” framing, which was introduced in New Hampshire Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 14)

in about 1820. The frame of the northernmost section was well-braced. It had braces (or mortises for removed braces) in the planes of the exterior walls and also from the wall posts to tie beams or interior cross girts at the lower level. The frame was strengthened further by iron dogs or staples that clinched together the posts and their intersecting girts. According to Garvin, the use of iron dogs in framing joists was unusual and may indicate that the frame was intended to enclose large, open rooms on each floor, with little interior support at intermediate points. The framing used a variety of joint types. Some horizontal members were joined by tongue joints, while the attic floor joists have lap joints ends with a corresponding cut in the beam or plate (Garvin 2005:8-9; Necciai 2005:2).

Northern Building

The frame of the north building was entirely circular sawn and the framing members were of large dimensions. The frame of this block was strongly braced by 3 by 5 inch sawn braces in the wall planes and by diagonal braces in the planes of the floors. The latter connected the tie beams or floor girders with the longitudinal wall planes and girts, imparting resistance to racking.

The building was intended to have an entirely open second story. Support of the attic floor above this space was accomplished by use of two Howe-type, wood and iron, queenpost trusses in the attic. Since these trusses could support only the tie beams or bottom chords over which they were placed, some means had to be found to support the alternate tie beams. This was accomplished by running a longitudinal floor beam along the center of the building below the ridge pole. This framing was intended to support heavy floor loads and resist the vibration of machinery. Similar to masonry mills, the structure used heavy wooden floor planks to span the six-foot distance between widely spaced joists, themselves of heavy 8 by 8 inch cross-sections.

On both the first and second floor, longitudinal trestles were placed through the central three or four structural bays beneath the longitudinal floor beam. These trestles supported a secondary longitudinal beam below the upper beam and offered additional support in the center of the structure. In further examination of this beam, Necciai concluded that the columns were not long enough to create a tight fit between the beam and the framing above it. He postulated that the columns and beams that comprised the trestle may have been installed to provide surfaces where machinery could be mounted and may have been designed to allow some movement at the top to dampen vibration. Because the north building employed wood-and-iron roof trusses, a structural system widely adopted in the 1850s, it was concluded that the building dates from this decade or later (Garvin 2005:10-11; Necciai 2005:4).

5. Chimneys: An interior brick chimney rose from the east interior roof slope of the north block. This chimney had a corbelled cap. A c. 1976 photograph showed two brick chimney stacks rising from the roof ridge of the south block. The first was close to the front wall of the building, while the second was near the center Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 15)

of the block. Both were tall and topped with corbelled caps. At the time of the field recordation, the chimneys were extant only beneath the roofing.

6. Openings:

a. Doorways and doors: The building had either historic or non-historic doors on each side. On the south side (facing Main Street, NH 9A) was a modern nine-light, three panel door set in a recess in the gabled front block. This was the last main entry to the building. A second single-light, wood panel door, was placed in the south wall of an east lean-to addition. A third door, was placed in the south basement wall of the lean-to.

On the west side, a c. 1920 bungalow style wood door, with two lights and three panels was placed at the south end of the wall. A second modern door, a 15-light, wood-framed French door was placed near the center of the west wall of the south block. An access opening to the sub basement was placed near the north end of the west wall of the north block.

The north wall of the northern building contained two modern doors, a boarded-over, single-light, wood-panel door in the attic, and a wood panel door in the second story. The latter door provided access to a wood-framed fire escape attached to the rear of the building.

The east elevation had a series of modern basement openings placed in additions. At the north end of the addition to the main block were three door openings, a wood and glass garage door, and two entry doors. A fourth door opening, enclosed with a particle board panel, was placed in the concrete block addition to the north block. A final single-light, wood panel door was placed in the west wall of the gabled single-story addition to the north end of the building.

Field examination prior to building demolition indicated that the east wall of the north block had at least two pairs of swing doors where materials were carried in and out of the building. One pair had been removed but the back of the jamb framing was still visible, while the other, near the southeast corner was still in place. The latter pair of doors had been hidden within a wall, and a window opening had been cut though most of the upper half of one leaf. The door leaves had four flush panels each (two up and two down) with an astragal at the meeting of the upper and lower panels (Necciai 2005:4).

b. Windows: The building was fenestrated with a variety of window types, some historic, others of more recent vintage. The south façade had a modern, one-over-one, double hung, sash window placed to the west of the main entry. A modern, rectangular, single-light, fixed window was placed in the south wall of the east lean-to, while a historic nine-light window was placed in the attic wall of the main block. Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 16)

The older south block of the west elevation was irregularly fenestrated with eight-over-twelve, double hung, sash windows in the upper story. Fenestration of the lower story consisted of irregularly placed six-over six, double hung, sash windows with a single, possibly reused, 12-over 12, double hung, sash window placed near the north end of the wall. A two-over-two, double hung, sash window with the lower sash missing is placed near the south end of the west wall.

The west wall of the north block was fenestrated with regularly placed, six-over-six, double hung, sash windows in the upper story, and regularly spaced, one-over-one, double hung, sash windows in the basement level. The sub-basement wall was pierced by two rectangular window openings, both boarded over.

The east wall of the south block had an eight-over-twelve, double hung, sash window placed near its south end. The lean-to addition was fenestrated with two, large rectangular windows, both boarded over. The east wall of the north block was fenestrated with regularly spaced, six over-six, double hung, sash windows. The shed-roofed addition was fenestrated with a modern, single fixed-light, vinyl clad window.

Muntin profiles provide rough dates for some of the windows of the building. For example, those windows in the middle section of the older portion of the building exhibited a profile that was generally diagnostic of the period from about 1845 to 1880. Using this information and information from the building framing led James Garvin to arrive at a date of 1850 for this portion of the building (Garvin 2005:7). The muntin profile of windows in the northern section of the old building was diagnostic of the period from the 1790s to about 1830. The muntin profile of sashes in the large north block was diagnostic of the period between 1835 and 1870 (Garvin 2005:7,9,11).

7. Roof:

a. Shape, covering: The roofs of the two older portions of the building were gabled with the roof ridge oriented roughly north-south. The south block had a shallower roof slope than the north block. Its east slope, including that of the addition, was sheathed in asphalt shingles, while the west slope was sheathed in gray slate. The roof of the north block was sheathed in gray slate, while the roof of the east lean-to addition to the north block was sheathed in corrugated metal. A portion of an earlier wood shingle roof was discovered in selective demolition of portions of the south block. This roof was originally exposed on the east slope of the south block.

b. Cornice, eaves: The eaves of both blocks overhung slightly. Those of the south block were boxed. The north block had a boxed cornice with Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 17)

returns at each gable end. Portions of wooden ogee crown molding survived beneath aluminum covering.

C. Description of Interior:

1. Floor plans: Floor plans of the building prior to demolition were prepared as part of mitigation and are appended to this submission. Many of the interior partitions, particularly on the ground level floor were probably added during the period of Electrosonics ownership. The historic interior plan most likely consisted of largely open spaces on each of the three floors. Modern partitions are indicated on the floor plans by dotted lines.

2. Stairways: The single stacked stairway was located in the southeast corner of the north block. A single run stairway, enclosed by a partition wall extended downward in an easterly direction from the ground floor center hallway. A single run stairway extended up to the second story of the north block in a westerly direction from the southeast corner of the main block. A single run stairway extended downward in an easterly direction from the center hall of the basement. All stairways were plain enclosed wood box stairs. Most lacked hand rails.

Field examination of a section of joists and flooring in the ceiling of the lower level near the south end of the south block, revealed newer materials, possibly installed to close in a staircase. Necciai postulated that this may have been the main stair location before the north block was added (Necciai 2005:2).

3. Flooring: Floor planks of the first story of the north block measure 3 inches by 8 inches at the stairway, while those of the second story measure 5 ½ by 8 inches. The massive depth of the flooring may have been intended to support the weight of machinery and to damp vibrations from this machinery. In 2005, much of the flooring was covered in carpet.

4. Wall and ceiling finish: In later years, most of the interior walls were sheathed in gypsum wallboard, and dropped ceilings had been installed using hanging metal grids and tiles. Two stories of the north block had walls finished in beadboard interior sheathing. Other portions of the building may have had exposed wall studs.

5. Mechanical systems:

a. Power: As originally constructed, the mill was water-powered drawing its energy from the flow of the adjacent Partridge Brook. At the time when the building was demolished, no remnants of a water wheel, turbine or other machinery were found to illustrate how power was originally distributed to the Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 18)

building. Within the building floor and ceiling framing remained evidence of lines of former power transmission shafting, as well as of anchorage for machines.

b. Heating: The mill was presumably originally heated by wood- burning stoves. In its final years, heating was provided by electric baseboard units (these had been removed by the time the recordation took place).

c. Lighting: The building machinery was originally operated by hydromechanic power, and illumination would presumably have been by oil lamps Electrical power was provided at an unknown time in the twentieth century, and electrical lighting would have been installed at that time.

D. Site:

The building was situated on the north side of Main Street (NH Route 9A) in the middle of Spofford Village, Town of Chesterfield. Partridge Brook, its original power source, immediately adjoined the building on its west side. The site slopes sharply downward from south to north. The south end is at road grade level, and the first story of the building was entered from the south side. At the north end of the building, the foundation was completely exposed. The edges of the property are planted in deciduous trees and the former Spofford Garage adjoins the east side of the property. In addition to the historic mill, the property also included a gabled roof, rectangular, wood-framed shed set on a concrete pad northeast of the building. This shed was built in appears to have been constructed in the mid-to-late twentieth century.

E. Comparable Discussion of Wood-framed Mill Construction in New Hampshire

At the time of its 2005 demolition, the Pierce Shops was a rare example of small-scale wood-framed mill construction in the state. The only other wood-framed mill structures included in the New Hampshire historic resource inventory include the c. 1865 Main Mill, 1828 Marcy Mill and the c. 1870 Albion Mill of the Contoocook Mills Industrial District in Hillsboro, the c.1849 Chase Mill in Weare, the Copp Gristmill and Copp Mill No. 3 in the Tilton Downtown Historic District, the 1860 Nashua Lock Company, the 1903 Ashland Grist Mill, Smart’s Mill in Ossipee, the Garland saw mill in Lancaster, and the c. 1817 and following Daniel Cragin (E.B. Frye and Son) Mill in Wilton. The Pierce Shops differed from these other documented properties in its idiosyncratic timber frame construction, described above, with the evolution of nineteenth century industrial timber framing evident in the various sections of the building.

Similar to the Pierce shops, the Daniel Cragin Mill was built in a series of stages beginning in 1817. According to the National Register nomination, the original building is of mortise and tenon construction as was a late nineteenth century addition. The attached sawmill addition, built around 1900, used sawn joists construction. No information was given concerning the specific of the frame construction (Savage 1979).

Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 19)

The 1828 Marcy Mill at Contoocook Mills was completed in 1828. It is of post and beam construction and was one of three early textile mills in New Hampshire to use joisted floor construction. The c. 1870 Albion Mill at Contoocook Mills is of post and beam construction (Belliveau 1985). The Main Mill at Contoocook Mills was constructed using two different methods. The oldest portion, the first and second floors, was built in about 1865 of massive handhewn timbers. The newer section, erected in the late nineteenth century has much lighter sawn members. The slate roof, a partial hip, is supported by wood trusses independent of those which support the fourth story, thus permitting a complete clear span on the third floor (Belliveau and Belliveau 1975).

Smart’s Mill in Ossippee, believed to have been erected in the mid-nineteenth century, is a two-and-one-half story, wood-framed building. Unfortunately, the survey documentation did not address the building’s framing (Mausolf 2000). The former Nashua Lock Company building is a two-story, wood-framed structure. Unfortunately, this survey documentation also did not address the building’s framing (Mausolf 2005).

The 1849, Amos Chase Mill is a c. 1849 building. Presumably of timber-framed construction, an architectural description notes only that four wooden posts support the ceiling (Hengen and Ricky 1991). The Ashland Gristmill, erected in 1903, includes a balloon-framed section and a heavy timber post-and-beam construction section. The framing of the latter section was used to enable it to support nine grain hoppers (Samyn 1978). The Garland Mill, a sawmill, erected in the mid-to-late nineteenth century, is of lighter wood-framed construction consisting of evenly-spaced posts supporting a floor of wood girders and joists and a roof of low-pitched rafters (Southworth 1982). The 1872 Copps Gristmill is a two-and-one-half story wood-framed building. Unfortunately, the documentation failed to describe its construction techniques. Similarly, the construction techniques of the 1889 four-story Copp Mill No. 3 are not described (Ruell 1982).

PART III: SOURCES OF INFORMATION

A. Architectural drawings: None known.

B. Early views. From the collection of the Chesterfield Historical Society, Chesterfield, New Hampshire.

• Undated streetscape photograph of Spofford toward west showing front block of mill toward center. • Undated photograph of mill during its use as a furniture shop. Note bay window on front side and interior chimney on front block. • Undated photograph depicting south gable end of the mill • 1976 photograph of southern block of mill toward northwest during use by Electrosonics. • 1976 photograph of mill toward northeast during use by Electrosonics.

C. Maps

• Chesterfield Factory (Fagan 1858) • Chesterfield Factory (Hurd 1892) Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 20)

• Plan of Mill Property of F.B. Pierce & Co. (Wadsworth, Hall 1980).

D. Bibliography

1. Primary and unpublished sources

Cheshire County Records (County Administration Building, Keene, New Hampshire)

Cheshire County Deeds (Registry of Deeds)

Cheshire County Wills (Registry of Probate)

Chesterfield Town Records

Chesterfield assessment cards (Town Clerk’s Office)

U.S. Census (New Hampshire State Library, Concord)

Census of Products of Industry, Chesterfield, New Hampshire, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880.

Census of Population, Chesterfield, New Hampshire, 1850.

Miscellaneous Primary Sources Garvin, James. Pierce Shops, Spofford Village: National Register Statement of Significance, 2004. Document in the files of the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, Concord.

Garvin, James. Report on the Pierce Shops, Spofford Village, Chesterfield, New Hampshire, 2005. Document in the files of the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, Concord.

Jenness, Cornelia. Chesterfield and the Accelerating Wheelhead, 2003. Typescript in the collection of the Chesterfield Historical Society.

Mills notebook. Collected information on the mills of Spofford Village, Chesterfield Historical Society.

Necciai, Terry, R.A. Pierce Mill, Spofford, New Hampshire, observation/notes, 2005.

Pierce Account Books, Special Collections Department, New Hampshire Historical Society, Concord.

Tuttle, Clifford. Notes on Chesterfield Factory Mills, n.d. Document in the collection of the Chesterfield Historical Society.

Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 21)

2. Secondary and published sources:

Beaman’s Advertising Agency. Directory and Mailing List of Cheshire County, New Hampshire:1911-1912. Springfield, Massachusetts: Beaman’s Advertising Agency, 1912.

Belliveau, Leslie. Hillsborough Hosiery Mills. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. 1985.

Belliveau, Leslie and Paul Belliveau. Contoocook Mills Industrial District. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. 1975.

Briggs & Company. New Hampshire Business Directory for 1868. Boston: Briggs & Company, 1868.

Carlisle Public Schools (Massachusetts). Wool, Wood and Grain Processing, n.d. Website: www.Carlisle.mec.edu/curriculum/student_resources/NewLife/fulling.htm.

Charlton, Edwin A. New Hampshire as it is. Claremont, New Hampshire: Tracy and Sanford, 1855.

Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, 1736-1885. Syracuse, New York: Hamilton Child, 1885.

Fagan, L., surveyor. Map of Cheshire County, New Hampshire. Philadelphia: Smith and Morley, 1858.

Farmer, John. A Gazetteer of the State of New Hampshire. Originally published by Jacob B. Moore, Concord. Reprint. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1997.

Fogg, Alonzo J. The statistics and gazetteer of New-Hampshire. Concord, New Hampshire: D.L. Guernsey, 1874.

Hengen, Elizabeth Durfee and Karen Ricky. Amos Chase House and Mill. National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. 1991.

Hurd, D.H. Cheshire County, New Hampshire. Boston: D.H. Hurd and Company, 1892.

Hurd, D. Hamilton, editor. History of Cheshire and Sullivan Counties, New Hampshire. Philadelphia: J.W. Lewis & Company, 1886.

Mausolf, Lisa. Smart’s Mill. Ossippee. New Hampshire Division of Historic Resources Individual Resource Inventory Form. 2000.

_____. Nashua Lock Company. New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources Individual Inventory Form. Inventory #NAS0094. 2005. Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 22)

Merrill, Eliphalet. Gazetteer of the State of New-Hampshire. Originally published by C. Norris & Company, Exeter, Pennsylvania. Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, 1817.

Mount Pistareen Grange. Cookbook. Spofford, New Hampshire: Mount Pistareen Grange, 1949.

Pate, Frank and Florence Feldman-Wood. “Patented Accelerating Spinning Wheel-Heads. The Spinning Wheel Sleuth 8 (1995):5-7.

Randall. Oran E. History of Chesterfield, Cheshire County, New Hampshire. Brattleboro, Vermont: D. Leonard, 1882.

Ruell, David. Tilton Downtown Historic District. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. 1982,

Samyn, Tom. Ashland Grist Mill and Dam. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. 1978.

Savage, Harland H., Jr. Daniel Cragin Mill. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. 1979.

Southworth, Thomas R. Garland Mill. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. 1982.

White, Frank G. “The Significance of the Patent Accelerating Spinning Wheel Head.” In Textiles in Early New England: Design, Productivity and Consumption, edited by Peter Benes. Boston: Boston University, 1997. Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 23)

PART IV. PROJECT INFORMATION

This project was undertaken as partial mitigation of the adverse effects of demolition of the Pierce Shops, a property recommended eligible for the National Register by the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources (NHDHR). The demolition, under the auspices of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, took place in 2005 to allow for the removal of contaminated soil and building fabric. Mitigation included preparation of measured elevation, section and floor plan drawings; large format photography; preparation of a NHDHR area form for Spofford Village; and preparation of Historic American Buildings Survey-level documentation for the Pierce Shops. Field work for the project took place during the summer and fall of 2005, and the results of the fieldwork were compiled in the fall and winter of 2005-2006. The architectural information section, with the exception of the framing description, was written by Douglas C. McVarish of John Milner Associates, Inc. (JMA). The framing description was compiled by Terry Necciai, AIA, of JMA and incorporated information from James Garvin of NHDHR. Measured drawings were compiled by Scott Pickens and Terry Necciai of JMA. The photography was produced by Charles Freiberg.

Pierce Shops NH State No.583 (Page 24)

Pierce Shops. Location map. Detail of Keene, NH 7.5-minute quadrangle (USGS 1984). Pierce Shops NH State No.583 (Page 25)

Undated streetscape photograph of Spofford toward west showing front block of mill near center. Pierce Shops NH State No.583 (Page 26)

Undated photograph of mill during use as furniture shop. Note bay window on front elevation and interior chimney on front block. Pierce Shops NH State No.583 (Page 27)

Undated photograph depicting south gable ends of mill. Pierce Shops NH State No.583 (Page 28)

Photograph of southern block of mill toward northwest during use by Electrosonics (Allen 1976). Pierce Shops NH State No.583 (Page 29)

Photograph of mill toward northeast during use by Electrosonics (Allen 1976). Pierce Shops NH State No.583 (Page 30)

Pierce Shops

0 400ft

0 100m approximate scale

Chesterfield Factory (Fagan 1858). Pierce Shops NH State No.583 (Page31)

Pierce Shops

0 500ft

0 100m approximate scale

Chesterfield Factory (Hurd 1892). Pierce Shops NH State No.583 (Page32)

approximate location of grinding stone

stairs shed turbine location

approximate footprint of addition

0 100ft

0 25m

Plan of Mill Property of F.B. Pierce & Co. (Wadsworth, Hall 1980). NEW HAMPSHIRE HISTORIC PROPERTY DOCUMENTATION

INDEX TO PHOTOGRAPHS

Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Electrosonics, Inc.) Spofford Village Chesterfield Cheshire County New Hampshire

Photographer: Charley Freiberg, December 2004, June 2005, October 2005

NH State No. 583-1 General view toward east on NH Route 9A showing west and south elevations of Pierce Shops. Documentary and physical evidence indicated that the right (south) portion was built in three sections, while the left (north) portion was built in a single section.

NH State No. 583-2 General view toward northwest on NH Route 9A showing east and south elevations of Pierce Shops. Portion at left was early twentieth century addition; portion in foreground was added in the late twentieth century.

NH State No. 583-3 West and south sides of south block toward northeast. Left portion of the south block was constructed first, central section second, and right portion last.

NH State No. 583-4 Close-up of north and east sides of north block toward southwest. This block was variously dated to c. 1850 to 1880. Additions (both made in the late twentieth century) include the rear stairs and the shed-roof, concrete block east side ell.

NH State No. 583-5 North and west sides of Pierce Shops toward southeast. Note Partridge Brook, the original power source for the mill, at right.

NH State No. 583-6 View of north side, north block, from rise to north, toward south. Structure to the immediate left of the mill was a c. 1973 effluent tank enclosure.

NH State No. 583-7 View southeast on Joslin Street showing north and west sides of Pierce Shops toward southeast.

NH State No. 583-8 Detail of west foundation wall, south block toward southeast. Note random rubble foundation with recent, rough repointing.

NH State No. 583-9 Detail of crawlspace beneath basement, north block, toward south. Due to contamination in this area, building fabric was neither studied nor dated. Note the recently installed dimensioned lumber supporting posts, some of which rested on concrete blocks.

NH State No. 583-10 View from south room, lower level, south block, toward north. Note variety of framing members suggesting reuse of earlier building framing. Index to Photographs Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 2)

NH State No. 583-11 Basement hallway, north block, toward north. Steps installed to accommodate change in level between north and south blocks. Note partitioning of originally open space added in the late twentieth century.

NH State No. 583-12 View of front room, south block, basement level, toward northwest. Note irregularly placed log members at ceiling. One hypothesis is that these members formed a sort of bridge, allowing heavy equipment and materials to be brought into the building from the road.

NH State No. 583-13 Doorway, east wall, south block, lower level toward east. Prior too the construction of the east addition, this doorway may have been used to carry materials and finished products in and out of the building.

NH State No. 583-14 General view of south room, south block, lower level, toward southwest. Note the irregularly placed log members that may have served as a bridge to bring heavy equipment and materials into the building. Notice also the one-inch horizontal wall sheathing.

NH State No. 583-15 View of framing showing brace and mortises, south block, lower level, toward southeast. The empty mortises may indicate reuse of framing members.

NH State No. 583-16 View of lower level, gabled roofed rear extension, northwest corner of north building, toward north. Note gabled roof framing

NH State No. 583-17 View of floor joists and upper level flooring from south block, lower level, toward southwest.

NH State No. 583-18 Windows, lower level of south block, west wall, toward west. Note one- inch horizontal wall sheathing.

NH State No. 583-19 General view of lower level, north block, toward east. Note pair of swing doors, apparently installed as original doors, in rear wall, at left.

NH State No. 583-20 View of ceiling, lower level, north block, toward east. Note sistered central beam provided with additional support by several columns.

NH State No. 583-21 Detail of south end, east wall, south block, upper level, showing painted message, toward east. This is one of several messages uncovered during selective demolition of the structure. These messages were removed and added to the collection of the Chesterfield Historical Society.

NH State No. 583-22 View of east wall, south block, upper level, toward east, illustrating horizontal wall sheathing, regularly spaced 8” by 8” posts, and vertical sawn framing members.

Index to Photographs Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 3)

NH State No. 583-23 General view of south end, south block, upper level, toward southwest. Note regularly placed wall posts and hatchway for attic access.

NH State No. 583-24 Detail of upper story window, south block, south end, toward southwest. It was one of a series of original eight-over-twelve, double hung, sash windows installed in the upper level.

NH State No. 583-25 Detail of room corner framing, south block, toward southwest. Note the supplemental members added to hang gypsum wallboard.

NH State No. 583-26 View of wood shingle roofing, south block, from upper level addition, toward west. This roofing, part of the east roof slope of the south block, was hidden when the east addition was constructed.

NH State No. 583-27 View of corner framing, upper level, south block, toward northwest. This framing is composed of hewn members supporting sawn three-inch wide joists, placed 28 to 30 inches on centers.

NH State No. 583-28 View of words written on attic floorboards, upper level, south block, toward east. This is one of several written messages discovered during the course of selective demolition that were salvaged for inclusion in the collection of the Chesterfield Historical Society.

NH State No. 583-29 View of building framing, upper level, south block, toward southeast. Note hewn members with supporting sawn joists, braces and pegs.

NH State No. 583-30 View of attic floor joists and floor boards, north block toward north. Note partitioning and wiring added in conversion to office use.

NH State No. 583-31 View of floor joists and attic flooring, north block, toward west. Note circular sawn framing members,

NH State No. 583-32 View of corner framing, northwest corner, upper level, toward northwest. Note diagonal floor braces.

NH State No. 583-33 View of ceiling framing, upper level, north block, at west wall, toward west.

NH State No. 583-34 View of western portion of attic truss, north block, toward southwest. This Howe-type (wood and iron) queenpost truss permitted an entirely open second story when the building was originally constructed.

NH State No. 583-35 View of attic rafters, north block, toward north.

NH State No. 583-36 View of attic framing, south block, toward south. This, the oldest section of the south block, employed a ridgepole connecting the common rafters,

Index to Photographs Pierce Shops NH State No. 583 (Page 4)

NH State No. 583-37 Attic framing, south block, toward south. Detail showing ridgepole connections. . NH State No. 583-38 Detail of attic framing, south end, south block, toward south. Note the lack of ridgepole in the roof framing.

NH State No. 583-39 Detail of corner framing, upper level, south block toward southwest. Note use of angled braces and peg holes in the framing timbers.

Index to Photographs Pierce Shops NH State No.583 (Page 5)

approximate location of grinding stone

stairs storage turbine shed location

approximate 8 footprint of addition

0 50ft 3 0 10m

1 direction of photographic view 2

1 Index to Photographs Pierce Shops NH State No.583 (Page 6)

(looking up into attic) 38 36

37 34

37 direction of photographic view Index to Photographs Pierce Shops NH State No.583 (Page 7)

16 18 14 17 12 20 11 13 10 15 (crawlspace) 9

14 direction of photographic view Index to Photographs Pierce Shops NH State No.583 (Page 8)

25 27 39 32 28 31 24 (words in ceiling) 23

30 29 21 22 (toward ceiling)

26 33

23 direction of photographic view