New Britain Herald Newspaper, June 25, 1919, Page 5

THOSE OF PRESENT TIME RELATED / (PSS A Plainville yesterday celebrated the 50th anniversary of its incorporation a8 a town and its residents in every | w2y madc the day one of great im- portance. When first byt a wil dians as the town was to the In- and from founded rmes known the Great Plain, that me its later and permanent fame The Indians loved the place dearly and considered it the favorite of their camping places in the state, to all the records of its early white settlers of Farm- zed the advantages of the its situation For that them signed a pe- legiclature for the | The grant | and a band of agking the incerporation of Plainville was given and from that time the shackles of Farmington to which it original belonged were thrown off and Plainyjlle became a town by it- self From then on its history has been filled with proofs of progress. The section at first most attractive neigh- btored White Oak and around Ham- lin's pond. Agriculture was the oc- cupation of the first settlers though farmers did not cultivate to any great extent because it was thought the s0il was too thin. Tt a favorite and well known tradition in Plain- viile that one of the early settlers coming from Farmington used to stop and crawl over a portion of the ground because he thought the crust would break and he would be swal- lowed up in the interim. From the fime the Indians moved westward the white settlers became more at home in the territory and fgon the town's growth started. Plainville today is a thriving com- | marcial and railroad center. It is ene of the most important of the £maller junctions in this section of the country. Plainville proud of its progres- siveness. Its manufactories are all important and all growing ones. It is with interest that people have watehed the srowth of the Trum- | buil Electric Mfg. Co., which was started by the two brothers who were poor ‘bovs and have risen to the head of ‘a big plant pure and simple hard work. The Rockwell-D part- of the Marlin Rockwell cor poration, is ev started factory In the community but its owners see the benefits of the town and have made large purcha of land there for future use. The Edwin Hills factory has re- centiy erected a large factory build ing and the Bristol Mfg Co.’s plant ! sHll offers the same permanent em- | ployment to people that it did years ago Néw Britain factories have also be¢ome interested in Plainville and Linders Frary and Clark of that city | . has started new factory building there with a large tract of land pur- chased on the river bank for further censtruction work. But recently the Hart and Hutchinson factory started work on a new factory which is being Built farther out towards Plainville firs The boom scems tow great prosperity for town and we wish it all kinds of is <o factory, a to, point the luck The town is now the center of this part of the state. The war depart- ment saw that and worked around if. & net of towns for a draft district and from the Plainville region se eral hundred men were sent to the service It boasts of four state highways, one to Farmington, one to Bristol. one to Southington, and one to New Brit- ain. The town is particularly care- ful of its traffic and also prides it- self on keeping its center clean which adds to the admiration of passing autoists. For its railroad facilities Plainville 1 and New Britain manufac- s often use the ncighboring place for their own service. There are two d lines. the Highland and mpton divisions, running into it and has exceptionally fast freight service Tts progressiveness may be further seen in the recent fact that it has started an ation field and will in ! all probability have a regular landing place there before New Britain even starts to contemplate one Ite record in the war far excels that of this city for its size and pop- ulation and the people of the town feel proud that they can fly flags of victery for success in every war cam- besides glowing with pride } they tell of their 199 heroes sreat war. a glorious history that Plain- built up for itself in the of its life and may the rersary sze the town a city, progressed far be- its present stage. Nothing but admiratior can be felt for tnc town ! and the people in 1* wind are always working its inter: H. A. Castle. town the following history of the town at ! the exercises last night: We have met this evening to cele- brate the fiftieth anniversary of the fncorporation of Plainville. Shortly after the close of the Civil war, the inhabitants of this village began to consider the question of incorporating as a separate town but <it was not until 1868 that any defl- nite movement was set on foot to that end. Early in 1869 a petition to the General Assembly, to be convened on May 1 of that year, was prepared, signed by thirty-seven of our repre- sentative men and presented April 21, followed seven days later by an endorsement bearing the namoes of two huyndred and forty:-nine legal voters of this district of Farmington. The committee appojnted by the General Assembly, found uponr in- quiry that the proposed new town en the Tt O0th ann prosperous 3 historian, read { within the vear. | it, i Wethersfield had | made { the court to explore th! | through { having would cover twelve square miles, that a half million dollars’ worth of va- rious materials were produced here by our xteen factories during the year preceding and that our nine local stores showed cales amountir to $259,000. It was found that 182,- 584 tons of freight had been received, 82,000 tons shipped, and 33,000 rail- road tickets sold. Our population in that vear was 1.500 persons. Our grand list amounted to $600,000 with 2 prospective addition of th these facts in evidence, the necesgary legislation, setting off this village from Farm- ington was enacted on the 6th July following., and on July 22 the event was celebrated by the town people in a manner befitting the im- portance of the occasion. Although Plainville has enjoyed po- litical independence only since 1868, the history of the territory within our present boundaries antedates that time by more than two centuries. Let us therefore consider in detail not jonly what has taken place here since the date of incorporation, well, the less familiar yet more interesting events that spired prior to the separation from the mother town. As a matter of fact the history of Plainville begins with the settlement of Farmington in 1640, Newtown, or Hartford as we know was firmly established with the coming of Thomas Hooker and his company in 1836, Windsor and also been founded and for three years thereafter no at- tempt was made to colonize inland from the Connecticut river. We may easily imagine however, that the comers to Connecticut would not long remain insensible to the possibilities of other tracts of meadow yond the ranges ward, the suggestion of which would be stimulated by the speculations of the settlers at Windsor, as to the source of the Tunxis river which en- tered the Connecticut at that village. As the population of the “River Town increased, for additional meadow land became more keenly felt and in 1639 we find the inhabitants of Hartford, Wind- but as perhaps tran- ! sor and Wethersfield seeking “further accommodations’ court to of the general A committce was appointed “view the valley of the Tunxis' and report their findings on the twentleth of February following, but Windsor then had important business to attend to at home and Wethers- field objected to the wintry weather so the court added to its committee, Captain John Mason of Windsor, who had but a short while before, some six hundred Pequot In- dians, desirable neighbors by Kkilling them off and It was he who brought the court, on the fifteenth of June ensuing, to order the ‘“‘Particular Court” to conclude the conditions for | the planting of Tunxis. Farmington Settled. In the fall of 1639 a party of men, very probably those designated by region, were the first white men to view the Tunx- is river valley or that part of Con- necticut now known as Farmington. In the spring ment was begunm, the first in the state away from navigable water. Of this scttlement and i there is a very scanty rccord, never- theless, Egbert Cowles, who died in Farmington in 1881 at the age of ninety-nine yvears, by means of knowledge derived from his grand- father, informs us that “The first view of Tunxis was had from the groups of rocks just pass through the hills to Hartford. In front lay the open meadow land which flowed the Tunxis river. the Indians. In the distance, bound- ing the western side of the valley, rose the lines of wooded hills where the Mohawk Indians were wont to appear as they came to hunt, wage war or levy tribute upon the Tunxis and other tribes dwelling hereabout.” Although the site selected for set- tlement was included in a grant of land to the men of Hartford by the Indian Sunckquassen several years before, it was now repurchased from the Tunxis Indian: TUpon arriving at what we know as Farmington Center, these first com- ers stopped at a place near the pres- ent Congregational meeting house and after resting, journeyed on to the great plain beyond, thus becoming the first white men to view and stand upon what they then termed the Great Plain, what we know as Plain- ville. They pa observed of white birch sandy soil and the heavy growths and scrub oak, ack of suitable meadow land, retraced their steps on the day following, to east bank of the Tunxis river and there began their settlement. The town ds originally lald out cov- ered that portlon of land extending from the pass through the hills to Hartford, to the original house lot. tent werc plotted for dwellings, those along the present Main street being bounded by the river on the west, on the east by the mountain and divided by the street, on the western side of which, the first log cabins were built. As new settlers came they acquired Jots as a gift of the town or by pur- chase from the original owners. Farmington Incorporated. On December 1, 1645 the general court passed an order whereby Tunx- is became Farmington and paid its first tex amounting to 10 pounds and . in the same year, regular preaching services were begun, leading yp to the organization of the chyrch 1652. At this time the téwn was bounded oast by Windsor, Hartfera and Wethersfield; north by Simsbury; south by what we knew as Walling- in $39,000 | ot ford and west by the “Western Woods", and included the territory now occupied by Farmington, Union- ville, Avon, Southington, near all of New Britain and Berlin, Bristol, Burlington, Plainville and parts of Wolcott, Harwinton and Bloomtfield. In 1650 o new agreement concern- ownership of the land thus made with the Indians and {in 1671 the bounds before mentioned were confirmed by the general court. In 1673 to further satisfy the In- dians, a third agreement was made with them whereby mutual rights in the land were protected for all time and in 1685, upon application fo the general court, a patent was granted to the town, founded upon necticut charter and confirming original grant of 1645 Indian Troublcs. the land be- | of hills to the west- | three | the desire | j abundant, From the beginning the settlers were at peace with the Indians and no serious outbreak ever took place. Notwithstanding the friendly rela- tions that prevailed, our early settlers were by no means free from fear of molestation by the natives. In 1657 two women were murdered, a child injured and one or more houses burned. In the same year a Mr. Scott was murdered in gion then as now Swamp. These acts of hostility were ascribed to the Indian Moshupano and his followers and by way of compensation ton Indians paid each vear demnity for seven years. the {record reads, “Bighty faddeme of wampum well strung and merchant- able.” While this outbreak was very Iy perpetrated by India tance, nevertheless paid the penalty This affair extended into our pres ent town limits where the Indians made an attempt to kill John Root at his house in the White Oak district. Mr. Root was at family prayers at the time and the tradition is, that his loud voiced application to the Lord and the barking of his dog saved him and his household. Indians Move West. 1750, as game became less the Indians gradually left , this vicinity, some going to Stock- bridge, later to Oneida county, New York, and finally to Green Bay, consin. an in- like- from a dis- the Tunxis tribe About The last Indian living within land north of the railroad depot, where his hut stood is still known by his name. In 1672 the proprietors of town, eighty-four in number, took pos- | lows: | mons, ete | four proprietors. of 1640 the secttle- | s beginning | ! tween. . the proprietors. north of the present | | out on the Great Pl There stood the wigwams of | d the night here but | and . the | meeting | Lots of five acres in ex- | session of all lands within the town limits and ordered a division as fol- They measured from Round Hill, in the Farmington meadows threc miles north; two miles, sixty four rods cast; five miles, thirty-two rods south and two miles we: The land that fell within these limits was termed the reserved lands, large tracts of which had been taken up, the re- mainder, was reserved for town com- and what fell without these lines was divided among the eighty- Actual surveys were begun in 1721, in which year, six tiers i of land were laid out, cach three hun- dred and five rods wide from east to west and about eleven miles in length north and south, with highways be- These six tlers of land were subdivided from north to south among Divisions six to two | inclusive now coustitute the towns of Bristol and Burlington. Division one, the extreme western portion of Farm- ington and Plainville. In 1737 two tier n covering prac- tically all of the present central por- tlon of Plainville Of the territory surrounding Farm- ington center the farms on the slopes, of the east mountain weroe settled first, then the region since known as Stan- ley Quarter in New Britain, while here and there an adventurous fam- ily was bold enough to penetrate into | the forest towards Bristol. As early as 1698 Samuel Woodruff established himself in Southington. By 1727 Bris- tol began to be settled and by 1740, Burlington. With these few tlers dwelt well within village. There were two houses along ournorthrn exceptions the & or three border but White Oak, the Red Stone hill section | and the Great Plain itself uninhabited practically, and dued for many vears. First Roads Built. In 1695 the first rough highways were cut through, one to our center, another to White Oak, the first men- tioned becoming a part of the “high road” from Boston through Hartford and Farmington to New Haven Time will not permit us to trace the allotments of land made to our early settlers and it is only possible to nofe ! in passing, that between 1657 and 1737 a considerable acreage on the Great Plain and at White Oak was granted remained unsub- ous sales and exchanges are revorded and much interest appears to have been taken in the region about Great Pond. so-called, now known as Ham- lin's Pond First Flouse Built. The first recorded instance of a dwelling hotse on the Great Plain 1a . that of one belonging to Mrs. Eliza- beth Newell and menticned in her will | of December 19, 1739. In the follow- ing year this house, having come into possession of her son Joseph, he, in | turn conveyed it to John Root, Jr., April 20, 1740. This place, known to all of ys a, the Root house, stood un- t!l quite recently on Neals Court. This house or at least a part of it ; was undoubtedly built in 1630 by 1Thoma.s Newell, Jr., son of Thamas, | one of the original settlers of Farm- | ington. | Soon after 1740 Thomas Lowrey the Con- | i Colonial Inn { Root jand E: i time and sn#n after occupied by Lad- thelress RiOC known as Scott's | therefore the Farming- ! | ter, the house owned by Orrin Wis- | ! our own borders was called Cronx, the ; the | ; due to the ; rich i of of lots were laid the original to individuals by the town and numer- | fand 1if settled at Red Stone Hill whers James Burns now lives Old Settlers. Mos Hills, fourth removed of Edwin bought first. picce of land on the Great Plain. In 1759 he built the house still standing at the east end of Broad strect and became the founder of the Hills family in Plainville. In 1771 Allen Merrill built at White Qak. In 1774 Asahel Hooker, a descend- ant of the Rev. Thomas Hooker, founder of Hartford, settled at Red Stone Hill and buil: the honse since remodeled by Mrs. Russell T. Good- rich. In the year following, Richard Por- ter built opposite the Hooker housc. In 1777 the original part of the was built by Salmon and about the same time, his brother Samuel Root built the small brown house opposite Cooke's garage. The small white house at East Main streets was built at this Tn 1747 grandfather H. Hills, wick Hotel k Up to this time the necessary lum- i ber for our buildings was sawed eith- er at Farmington or Bristol and it was until 1785 that Demming’s mill was built where the Hills factory now stands. Another earty settler was Oak to live in 1758 in which year the birth of his first child is recorded. Be this as it may, it is known that in 1784 he built the house now owned by Frederick C. Whitc at White's cross ing. In 1759 Thomas Bishop came to Red Stone Hill. In 1789 Phincas and Oliver Hamblin built at White Oak, the former, the red and yellow housc on the north side of the New Britain road, the lat- Hes- ford. Tra Hooker built what we know as | the Willlam Manchester house in 1791 or 92. John Cooke's tavern built just prior to 1704, came into possession of the Cooke family in 1795 when John Cooke enlarged the house to its pres ent size and opencd In 1790 Phineas Cowles settled ju north of the cemetery on Unionville avenue, Ezelsiel C Swamp district, buying his first plece of land there # 1770 and in 1799 Ben- jamin Styles owned the property lo- cated at the northwest corner of the town on the Farmington line. il Thought Poor. Thus, briefly, Plainviile was settled. Its beginning had been long postponed fact that the.iand in this vicmity was considered thin and pra. Ily worthless as compar meadows to which the founde Farmington came in 1640. In il- lustration of this féeling, there is a tradition that one old Farmington pro- prietor was in the hadit. when com- ing to Plainville on horse back, to dis- mount and crawl on his hands and kne: over some of the very sandy spots for fear of breaking through With the Warriors. During the period we have ju sidered occurred the severa the French and Indiar French war,” so-called, years 1744 and 1748. the men then dwelling on the Great Plain, took part in that conflict, Asa Bronson who lived on Red Stone Hill in 1814 and whose means of Ii hood was in making hair sieves, was a survivor of that war as was our Dr. Samuel Richards who, in later years lived on Broad street. Dr. Richards was assistant surgeon in the expedi- tion against Cape Breton and is bur- ied in the old cemetery on Iiast street. In the Revolution. During this period also the war for American Independence was - fought. In this conflict Farmington did its part nobly and well. Supplies of every kind were sent from here to the in- habitants of Boston during the dis- tress occasioned by the enforcement of the Boston port bill. A committee of correspondence was maintained and the town prepared for eventuali- ties by the purchase in 1774 of 3.000 pounds of lead, 10,000 zun flints and 36 barrels of gunpowder. Men. muni- tions and money were supplied in abundance. The men from Plainville who fought against the British were Ira Hooker, Daniel and James Low- rey of Red Stone Hill, Licut., Hamblin of White Oak and Ladwick Hotchk t con- wars with The *Old between the While none of More Warriors. the war of 1812 Plainville represented by Salmon and James iiills and Demas Warner. George Cooke was drafted for service but be- In was | fore his call came the war had ended. In the Mexican war, Julius Dorman, who was then working in White Oak, served from February 3 to Mz 5 1847 rose to the rank of s geant. Religious Beliefs, respect to the religious thought of this community in the carly davs., the great majority of our amilies attended church and Thurs- day lecture at the Congregational meeting house in Farmington Center and continued so to do until the or- ganization of our first ecclesiastical - in 1839. In the year following our Congregational church was or- ganized and its first hous> of worship was then built. That there were Baptists hereabout is clear for the reason that that de- nomination held preaching services on Red Stone hill as early as 1752. Nine- ty-nine years later, in 1851, our first Baptist church was organized. That there were a few Episcapal- lans among our first settlers is evi. denced by the fact that Daniel, the son of Thomas Lowrey, was baptized in that faith in Bristol in 1750. In 1859 the Episcopal church was or- In Hohn junction of Broad Hamblin who doubtless came to White | i 1814 it contained a goodly number of | Oak and three { Plainville was at a standstill and | northward to the state line eame into | a tavern which | C | being there was no incentive for those ! he conducted fcr a number of years. { other than farming les sottled in the Seott's | i Ho i a small shop ne { where { temas Root in 18068 | was | carding | in | pins, eli- | { nut street and connec John j | navigation through the town zanized and its present house ship built. From time to time cther déf tions asserted themselves. the Advents held preaching 8 here. The Methodist in 1834 1859 the latter organized a chu 1848 the Rev. Luke Daly began . ministrations to our Roman Catholl Schools Started. Next to the church or rather as es-g sential ta the continuance and perity of it, in the estimation ferefathers, came the schools. As far back as we find records, we find its needs, as were theose of the church, the annual care of the town. On De- cember 22, 1760, it is recorded “that the farmers living south of Jonathan Gridley's and round about the eat | Plain shall have a school for the space of six weeks for the year Doubtless this resulted in secur teacher to instruct such children then lived within our own borders, who boarded *round” and taught the pdiments of the “three I In 1772 a division of Farmington into districts was made and a school maintained in each and it was at that| time that what we know as Plainville | was divided into two districts known as the Great Plain and White Oak districts and at that time two school houses were built here, one the and Washington by the brook at ! pros- our treets, the other White Oak. In addition to the schoals a library was started, probably in 1783. Bv books. In 1823 it was incorporated as the Farmington Plain Library. 1 have said that the settlement of Plainville w: lang postponed and its growth slow. One hundred years ago, | that is in 1819, there were as nearly as 1 can discover from the records, 24 families living on the Great Plain, 19 on Red Stone hill, nine at White in the Scott's Swamp total of 55. Growth Slow. The growth of the town from that | time until the opening of the Farm- ington canal was ecxceedingly small un Haven section, a til that waterw from New dwelling here to engage in occupations | ov such small trades as were necessary to sustain life There was not even a fertile soil to hold the original settlers or attract jmmigration from other towns in the state Industrial Start. Of our industrial beginnings we find, shortly before 1754, a fulling mill located on Pond river, at the point where Farmington, Néw Britain and Plainville meet. About 1760 Ladwick *hkiss and his son Lemuel put up | rby where they made and other small 1785 Samuel wrought iron nails articles of iron. In Demming built 2 saw and grist mill Edwin H. Hills' shop stands. Here our agrain was graund and our logs sawed into lumber. This mill came into possession of John and Ar- and to milling added cloth dressing and wool in a building that stood on the present site of Eaton Brothers’ mill. Moses Morse who settled he 1807 made chairs, brooms, ralling salt-shakers and other house- hold articles which he peddled from house to hou He also patented and mgde a wood comb, papular with the women of that day as an ornament for the hair, While the manufacture of tinware had been begun at Red Stone hill prior to 1814 a substantial growth of that industry was impassible for want of suitable shipping faciliti ] 01a Highwa The only highway the Hartford and New through Farmington and along our Farmington avenue and East street| through to New Haven. a road from | Southington to Scott's swamp along | vhat is now Wa ngton street and a ad from Bristol to w Britain, entering Plainville by way of Chest- ing with the turnpike just beyond Cooke’s tavern. ! There was also an attempt at a road from the Hills farm to Red Stone hill | rhere Broad street runs, continuing along the line of the hill beyand the Hooker and Lowrey farms. Bohemia street had also been opened, connect- ing Red Stone hill with Scott" by means of a bridge across the quabuck neay the * Canal Started. The apenir of the canal in 1828 marked the beginning of a new era in | the history of Plainville, and Novem- Hei of tha vear is memorable in | that it is the date of the opening of ! While prosperity to ulted in the ,370,000 Plain- | 3 1 ailable were | Haven road. it this attempt to bring inland New Ingland » loss of more than § ville derived a lasting benefit from the venture, due to the fact that it open- ed up a profitable business in many commodities brought in from the sea- | board. with Bristal, Terryville and the towns in Litchfield county, which opportunity was quickly seized by the Whitings and by Harmanus M. Welch as will later appear. With the open- | ing of the canal Plainville began fo | grow Tin Manufactured. | I have referred to the manufacture ! of tinw as having been undertaken | here prior to 1819. As nearly 1 can discover, this industry was begun | an Red Stone hill in 1800 by reason of { the demand of the time for such arti- cles and by reason of the success at- tained in this line of work by parties in Kensington, where the . first started in America by Wil. liam and Edward Patterson in 1740. | In all, no less than cight shops wer ‘ operated in Plainville for this line of | work. Of eur carly tinsmiths, the most important, by reason of volume, | werc the Hookers, Asahel and sons Bryan and Tra Hooker. The original Hooker shap stood quite near the industry | | built a blacksmith’s shop on the | er articles of iron. { dam built south of the tracks just east | son of Eli | Plainville in | 189 { busin { center | wagon Ebarn, just) off fro: Teat ff. It.was not | 2 payiig venture and was soon discon- tinued. H During 1814-15 Hermes Carter, who lived on the.road from South Wash- ington street to Red Stone hill, oper- ated a tannery. In the early thirties; John H. Cooke | ew Britain road and in company _with John D. Hamlin worked at his frade | of making wrought iron natls and oth- Mr. Hamlin soon ilt a shop narth of the railroad just beyond Watkins' swimming pool, where he began the manufacture of edged tools including the famous Hamlin axc. This shop was burned, its site abandoned and a new shop and of Hamlin’s pand. Wagon making was commenced here by Elias Hills prior to 1830. His shop stood on t street near Broad. The first to engage in this business in all its branches was Hiram Hills, the naw the Rus- st Main street was | opened in Henry D. Stanley and Ebenezer W. Webster soon be- came associated with him in the firm of MHills, Stanley & Webster. Lewis S. Gladding, who came to 1843 associated himself with Mr. Webster in the firm of Web- ster & Gladding. In 1868 Mr. Glad- ding formed a partnership with Ho: ace Johnson under the name of L. S ladding & Co., and occupied a new factory then bullt on Whiting street From this beginning came the| Plainville Carriage company, the (‘nn-l dell, Mastin & Butler Co. and Horace Johnsan's shops. The carriage busi- ness cam o an end in Plainville with the burning of the Johnson factory in sell buildi In 1834 Hiram Hills now conducted by son, Edwin H. Hills. His first shop | stood off North Washington street on | the shore of Plainville pond and just south of his house on Camp street. In order to securc a suitable water pow- | er Mr. Hills bullt a low dam across | the Pequabueck river where that! stream enters the pond and dug a ch to bring the water to his wheel. His first work was sawing shingles, shaping wood for the wood locks then made by the Stanleys in New Britain founded the his grand- | | | and sawing hame wood for Ira Stan- | ley of New Britaln. A saw mill for heavy work was soon added. The Plainville Water Power com- pany. incorporated in 1853, purcha ed-the Root property on Plainville pond and bullt the large dam now in use, practically on the site of Dem- ming’s mill dam of 1785. The plan | was to furnish water power to such | manufactories as it was hoped might be induced to locate in Plainville. In this the company was but partially successful. A majority of the stock ne eventually into possession of M. Hills, who thereupon removed to the north side of the new dam. Here the saw mill was continued, a grist mill put in operation, window sash, doors and blinds made and the quarry, now filled with water was worked. These combined industries were successful, | especially 5o the manu wood hames during the Civil war. In order to meet the demand for this in- dispensable part of the army equip- ment, Mr. Hills extended his business to the south side of the river in 1862 and at that time occupied the shops so long a landmark of the town. Many important developments re- sulted from this small beginning, in- teresting to trace to thelr present status if time permitted. Another prominent figure in man- ufacturing in our early days was Lu- s H. Carter, who in 1839 started the rass foundry now owned by Edward T. Carter While the town of Bristol became a of the clock industry in Con- necticut at an early date, Plainville has never taken an active part in this line of work except that Hills & Goodrich during the forties made a line of clocks and a fow of our towns men undertook the manufacture such parts as faces and pointer i In 1837 John C. Royce began mak- | ing polished and painted clock foces st cast from Henry bull’'s house. The polishing wi first done by hand but being a man of | inventive mind, Mr. Royce set up a| wheel, cavered its rim with| rags and while one man turned the | wheel, others held the work against the rags until the desired polish re- | % ! sulted About 1845 this Building was moved to the lot west of the Rovce house and a hot air engine installed, prob- ably the first of its kind in this vieinity. In this sectipn of the town during the thirtles, Ezekiel Porter made cow bells. In 1840 Morris Clark began the manufacture of clock keys in a building north of the depot. | In 18556 he organized the firm of Clark, Cowles & Co.. known after 1857 as Clark & Cowles. | Shortly after 1850 George A. Smith located at Blossom's corner and began | and | making “fifth wheels” for the wagon | trade. | Knitting Factory Incorporates. | The knittipg factory was incorpes- | ated as The Plainville Manufactere ing Co., August 18, 1850, through the efforts of Jared Goodrich, who was also the founder of The Bristol Manu- facturing Co. and The New Bsitain | made and a general | been purchased by { opened for busin { where John | tremely | document ,opened another general store The first building eecu burned in 1857 and in thes year the present brick shop Knitting Co piéd wa followin was built. This industry introduced an em tirely new line of work and furnish employment to a large number off persons. During the first few yearg] the carding. spinning, etc., was done} at the factory but much of the work was sent out into numerous homes about town, where both men and j women knit the cuffs on hand loomsy did the seaming, worked the buttom: holes and sewed on the cuffs and buttons and often the children did the raveling, a process necessary io zivel the knitted fabric a straight edge for shaping and seaming. y In 1852 John Wiard organized the firm of Wiard and Porter and lates of Wiard, Smith & Co. Thelr factory stood near Thompson's lumber yard. Here doors, sash and blinds were wood working busness, including houses. The foregoing constitutes the - be= ginning of manufacturing in Plain- ville. The opening of the canal wax the first incentive to its establishment on anything like a large scale and the coming of the raflroads, the New Haven and Northampton in January, 1848, and the Boston, Erie and New England in 1850, was the foundauon upon which it grew to its present pro= portions. Contrary to the usual manufacturer preceded the store= keeper. The first store was opened in Plainville in 1829. The building in which this enterprise started stood on Farmington avenue where Frank T. Wheeler's house stands, and was built by Eenezer Hawley Whiting and Adna Whiting in 1828, the land having the former in course, the 1826 Ezenezer H. Whiting dug a canal basin at the rear of this property and made ready to open a general store. Suddenly the plan was changed. The Whitings announced that they would move west and the property, includ- ing the tavern, was sold to Timothy Cowles of Farmington for $5,750, January 22, 1830. Just before th deal had been completed, Austin Fil Williams and Henry Mygatt put in & stock of general merchandise and April 1, 1829 and pending the removal of ths Whitings to the west, engaged [benezer as clerk. The business was a success, often running as high as $25,000 per I veas, Whitings Leave Town. The removal of the Whitings £ extended ‘pr as far as the PEeS cenier of the town, where, on Sep ber 10, 1830, Adna Whiting Bo) fourteen acres of land. The purch west | thus made, the records say, for $108 included roughly the land no bpunded by West Main, Canal, Broad and Park streets, extending as far a B. Miner lives. In 188 the Whitings built the large woode store still standing on Central Square dug a canal basin, known through. out the state as Bristol Basin, put in a stock of general merchandise and began a business which became ex profitable. Colncident wif the beginning of this enterprise th Whitings opened up Whiting stree also Park street and were instrumen. tal in having West Main street ex. tended through to Bristol by the wal of Dublin Hill Post Office Estblished. It was at this time, that our post office Prior to 1800 our fore: or drove to Farmington there received and posted In 1800 a post rider be, mail on the Great Plain. By 1822 de liveries were more promptly madd and oftener by stage coach. Early f 1829 IEbenezer Hawle Whiting| Lemuel 8, . Lewis, Joh H. and e Cooke and Dr. Josialf Hotchlki realizing that the cana had given this community an impers tant place in the business world, me one evening at the tavern just com pleted at what is known as Blot som's corner, and John H. Cook drew up a petition to the postmastes general requesting that an office b opened on the Great Plain and recom mending the appointment of D Hotchkiss as postmaster. When {] came to deciding upon a name {0 the village, Lemuel Lewis suggested Plainville, which was adopted and th petition drawn accordingl) Thi was sent to Washingto! nd the office was established Februyl y 11, 1830, with Dr. Hotchkiss a the first postmaster. The office in one of the rooms of th tavern From that time the nam Plainville has remained, despite thi ct that in the petition to thj general assembly asking for incos poration, it was proposed to substitut the name of Welch The importance of Bristol Basin a trade center was greatly increase in 1834 when Harmanus M. Welch ad] quired land where the knitting mll nds, put up a large building amn unde] Welch & Cd Welch ha that was s in 183 established thers walke: center an their mail gan to delive: the name of H. M. Just previous to this Mr started in the lumber business Whiting's basin on Farmingto avenue, the beginning of H. C. Thomp son's present yards. The Welch store was in operatiol untli 1848. The two stores at Bristol basin did large business with towns to the wes and north, to which points boat 16l of dry goods, groceries, lumber, brought here over the canal, W forwarded by teams. 3 Boats Unloaded Here The Whitings and ‘Welches ope: ated their own boats and unload diréctly ento their own docks buil (Continued on Sixth Page.)