For Here, There Once Were Mills Down the Hill, Below the Falls

1 For Here, There Once Were Mills Down the Hill, Below the Falls By Jennifer L. Adams 1 2 3 Pool Above the Stanley-Colburn Mill Site. Lynne K. Brown For Here, There Once Were Mills: Down the Hill, Below the Falls Jennifer L. Adams Author Note Independent historical researcher Jennifer L. Adams is a member of the the Fitzwilliam Historical Society [former Chair], Troy Historical Society, Historical Society of Cheshire County (HSCC), and Association of Historical Societies of New Hampshire. She served on the Monad- nock Historical Societies Forum Committee, which organized and designed the exhibit and authored the publication described below. She also served on the Troy Conservation Commission. Publication Notes Research for this monograph was conducted without financial support. It is intended for nonprofit educational purposes. Fair use of copyrighted material is employed within APA, CMS, and STM policy guidelines, as protected under the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107. Draft portions of the monograph were adapted for the following exhibit and its companion publication: Historical Society of Cheshire County's Exhibit, The Power of Water: The History of Water Powered Mills in the Monadnock Region, on display in HSCC's Exhibit Hall from November 30, 2012 through June 29, 2013; also, the exhibit’s accompanying Collaborative Publication & Exhibit Companion (of the same title as the presentation) by the Monadnock Historical Societies Forum (November 2012). Keene, NH: Historical Society of Cheshire County. Cover/Frontispiece Pool Above the Stanley-Colburn Mill Site https://www.lynnekbrown.com For Here, There Once Were Mills ii Abstract This longitudinal study documents the history of two small 19th century watermills at East Hill, a location that was separated from Marlborough, NH, and integrated into Troy upon its 1815 incorporation. Once established, these mills became functional components of the local land- scape, and basic supportive elements of their nascent community’s social fabric. Following an introductory generic overview of watermills, the study examines interpersonal relationships and topographical features that led to architectural siting and construction of the first mill in this vicinity, c. 1800, and its terrain alterations. Proceeding chronologically through the 19th century, as categorized by sequential eras of this primary mill’s ownership, it delineates the mills’ development and the lives of their “mill people” within a dynamic framework of often- turbulent sociological, technological, and economic factors. Six appendices provide more detailed attention to topics of specialized interest: the first revisits an unpleasant episode in the life of one of the mill people; the second offers three alternative hypothetical scenarios for the original mill’s destruction by arson; the third delineates sweeping changes in industrial management-employee relationships, attitudes, and concerns, focusing on the 1880s, as experienced locally; the fourth recounts a certain “postmortem inspection” of the larger mill’s premises; the fifth addresses its conjectured conversion, comparing the overshot water wheel with the turbine; the last analyzes the demise of the small American country watermill. Keywords: industrial archaeology, watermills, Monadnock Region, 19th century, Perkins Pond, Fitzwilliam, Jaffrey, Marlborough, Troy, Cheshire County, NH; Gardner, MA. Biographical names: H. D. Thoreau, Daniel Goodenough, Richard Roberts, Joseph Frost, Heze- kiah Hodgkins, Pelatiah Hodgkins, Edmund Bemis, Jonas Gary, Moses Perkins, Aaron Hodg- kins, Moses S. Perkins, John Williams, Walter Heywood, William Putnam, David H. Gilmore, Stephen Wheeler, Flood Family, Priest Family, Luke Parkhurst, Jedediah Foster, Stanley Broth- ers (Abner, Alvah, James R.), Joseph Haskell, Cyrus H. Thompson, Luther Chapman, Alpheus Crosby, Abel Baker, Edwin Buttrick, Benjamin Fox, Nora (Fox) and Edwin Flagg, George S. and Frances (Sawyer) Colburn, Cyrus Wakefield, Levi Heywood, Benjamin F. Marshall, Josiah N. Rugg, Asa Swett, Francis A. Faulkner, John B. Proctor, Byron D. Leighton, Alfred Haskins, William H. McNeil, Ozro C. Flint, Henry J. Fassett. For Here, There Once Were Mills iii Acknowledgment Iver and Dorothy Olsen1 The author gratefully acknowledges permission to conduct on-site investigation of the archaeo- logical remains and environs treated in this monograph, kindly granted in 2006 by landowners [World War II Navy veteran] Iver and Dorothy Olsen, before Dorothy’s untimely passing in 2009, and Iver’s in 2017. Their extended interest, warm-hearted cooperation, and steadfast support made this project feasible. The Olsens – active Lifetime Members of the Troy Historical Society – continually welcomed personal visits and discussions as the research progressed. Their cordial presence has been fondly esteemed by all those privileged to know them as good friends. For Here, There Once Were Mills iv Epigraphs Water is the driving force of all nature.2 ——— Leonardo da Vinci. In L. Pfister, H. Savenije, and F. Fenicia, Leonardo Da Vinci’s Water Theory: On the Origin and Fate of Water. Throughout rural America . country mills, driven in most instances by water, nearly ever[y]where followed closely on the heels of settlement and persisted long after the days of pioneering had passed. They rank with the plow, ax, and oxen as basic equipment of a pioneering people; they played an essential role in the sub- sistence phase of agricultural development; and they contributed to the transition to a market economy. Gristmills and sawmills were among the first community facilities obtained in frontier areas, in most regions taking precedence over schools, churches, and stores and coming well in advance of wagon roads. In the common experience the lack of mills was one of the most acutely felt – and most frequently mentioned – hardships of pioneering.3 ——— L. C. Hunter, A History of Industrial Power in the United States, 1780- 1930: Vol. 1. Waterpower in the Century of the Steam Engine. Material evidence should play an important role in almost any historical research project focusing on industrial development. Artifacts are, of course, the focus of investigations by industrial archaeologists, who by definition are concerned with the physical remains of the past and the information that “things” can provide. Most people know that archaeologists use objects or structures to answer questions about the creation of an industrial site or the work that was done there. Another critical contribution of material evidence is often overlooked: raising questions that require intensive archival research to answer. A sequence that seems common in the best examples of industrial archaeology is (1) a research question and/or a hypothesis formed in the presence of baffling physical evidence; (2) archival research using the documentary record, ideally done in association with repeated examination of the industrial site; (3) conclusions that are supported by both documentary evidence and “ground proofing.” Few questions of historical significance can be answered by artifacts alone, but physical evidence or even an evocative “sense of place” can create the spark of intuition or curiosity that leads to an effective research project using a variety of evidence.4 ——— P. M. Malone, Surplus Water, Hybrid Power Systems, and Industrial Expansion in Lowell. For Here, There Once Were Mills v Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgment ........................................................................................................................... iii Epigraphs ....................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................v Lists of Figures and Tables ........................................................................................................... vii Location Map ............................................................................................................................... viii Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 Dedication ........................................................................................................................................2 Generic Overview ............................................................................................................................3 What is a Watermill? What Physical Concepts Govern its Operation? ....................................3 Motive Power: The Overshot Water Wheel...............................................................................5 Impetus: Need and Location ......................................................................................................6 Siting: Prospective Feasibility and Layout ...............................................................................6 Sawmills .....................................................................................................................................8 Gristmills....................................................................................................................................9 Mill Privilege ...........................................................................................................................12

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