Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, June 19, 1915, Page 11

PAGES 11 to 18 WINDHAM DATES Bought of Indians in 1675, First Settler John Cates. Town Grant Accorded 1692, First Mill Built by Col. Dyen First Schools 1713. First Court Held in 1726, First Church Established 1735, Willimantic Settled 1717. First Bank Established 1842, 5% First Railroad Built 1849, =T Population in 1910, 12,604, nary steps in the Old hool week celebration, ond in importance in tho ¥ v of Windham county to the e ial celebration in 1892, were 2 Allen B. Lincoln of New a former Willimantic boy, ng a series of letters to the Chronicle relative to the High school and the hool, then in process of Lincoln's _ enthusiastic £ an old school week, a celebration and reunion and 2 for the former pupils and the schools of Windham, approval, and ulti- talk of an Old Home week as as heard, to be held in conjunc- th the Old School week. wary, 1915, en open meeting called in the rooms of the Willi- Board of Trade and Business association. The plans for the on were presented by Mr. Lin- temporary nominating hosen, including W. A. George S. Elliott, E. Simonds, C. C. len B. Lincoln, and Fred D. committee brought in the names committee, to whose un- the success of the event be @ue. This committee, chosen from among the representative mem- bers of the community, is as follow General Committee. lor, chairman; H. urer; Mrs. H. H. Spaulding, secretary; Mres, William P. Jordan, M. Eugene Lincoln, Joseph Berard, Mre, ur W. Gates, Charles L. ne, Nelson A. Daniels, Florence A. Sub-Committees. The general committee organized and appointed the following sub-commit- tees to help in the work: cbration by Churches—Rev. W. S. Beard, chairman; Rev. C. L. Adams, Rev. W. O. Nuzum, Rev. J. J. Papillon, Rey, T. F. Bannon, Rev. W. F. Rowley, J. F. Twomey, Hormisdas Dion, Fay- ette Goss, A. C. Scripture, Dr. Louis L Mason, Rev. Moses Monzingo, Jay Shepard, Rev. F. A. Peterson, Ernest C. Johnson, H. C. Latbrop, Guilford §mith. Societies—Clarence . Avery, chair- man; Frank A. Rockwood, C. C. Par- rish, John Murphy, Herbert Ladd, Mrs. Georze F. Taylor, Pierre Laramee, Theodore Delarge, W. P. S. Keating, T. F. Berth, M. F. Sullivan, George K. iiss’ Mary Bulger, J. F. Two- D. Leach, Mrs. Lottie Gilman, S. Martin, Alexis Caisse, Samuel an, H. Dion, Mary E. Clark, J. C. . L. L. Thompson, Mrs. H. L. F. H. Burt, F. D. Jordan, Leslie Nichols, J. P. Mustard, Peter Kramer, C H. Robinson, Lyman Maine, Jr. Nellie_Gager, Willlam Bucking~ Mary Lovett, L. N. Dondero. y and_Town Government—Mayor niel P. Dunn, chairman; Aldermen Raymond Comins, George M. Graves, W. Jacobs, Alexis Caisse, Charles Holbrook, W. L. Jenkins, Alphonse Gelinas, Selectmen Robert E. Mitchell, Alphonse Gelinas, George Backus. Labor Unions—Felix J. Lessard, M. C P. Driscoll, Henry Gee, John R. Mc- Cart Albert Angell, Rufus H. Rood, Joseph’ W. Beauchemin, Harry Ander- son, H. A. Dumas, P. Miss Anna Burke. Finance Committee—E. Frank Bug- bee, chairman: E. S. Boss, Guilford Smith, H. R. Chappell, C. A. Capen, J. O'Sullivan, H. Dion, J. O. Blanchette, Dennis_Shea, H. C. Lathrop, Philip §. Hills, J. P. Bath, H. C. Murray, F. D. Jorden, George S. Elliott, D. P. Dunn. On Parade—F. P, Fenton, chairman; R. H. Fenton, L. N. Dondero, H. E. F. Tiesing, F. W. Gerrick, W. E. Tinker, C. H. Larkin, J. R. McCarthy, W. W. Webster, J. L. Harroun, Frederick Shattuck, John H. Morrison, Theodore Morrisette. Exhibition Harroun, chairman; Goldsborough, of School Work—J. L. H. T. Burr, J. J. Papillon, Rev. T. J. Bannon, F. L. Shattuck. Press—F. H. Foss, chairman; G. A Bartlett, A. M. Potvin, L. B. Lincoln, A. N. Colgrove. Speakers—George F. Taylor, chair- man; Dr. C. Simonds, Dr. T. R. Parker, Mrs, W. N. Potter, Rev. W. S. Beard, Rev. J. J. Papillon, Rev. T. F. Bannon, H. T. Burr. Music—C. A. Caswell, chairman; N. D. Webster, Miss Ethel Risedorf, Mrs. D. P. Comptois, A. L. French, Mrs. C. A. Caswell, Mrs. O. B. Robinson, W. P. . Keating, Miss Lorinda Brown. Historical and Memorabilla — Mrs. Hattie Boss Fenton, chairman; D. A. ‘man, Columbia; C. H. Dimmick, Mrs. *. F. Webb, Miss Daisy Winslow, Al- en B. Lincoln, Guilford Smith, T. S. Weaver, Hartford. Reunion Before 1872—James Hagger- y, chairman; Mrs. C. H. Colgrove, Mrs. H. T. Congdon, Mrs. F. F. Webb, Mrs. C. C. Bdgarton, Albert C. Adams. Firemen—F. W. Gerrick, chairman; Michael Driscoll, W. E. Tinker, Charles Larkin, F. P. Fenton. Sports—G. K. Anderson, chairman; D. P. Dunn, W. K. Faatz, R. O. Branch, H. A. Bickel. Invitation—E. P. Chesbro, chairman; W. C. Norris, G. O, Cartier, J. O. Sulli- van, S. A. Peckham, Mrs. W. A. Ar- nold, Mrs. E. L. Casey, Mrs. D. P. Dunn, Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Hickey, Mrs. H. B.Cummings, Mrs. A. Chagnon. Board of Trade—J. C. Tracy, with power. Mr. Tracy appointed the fol- lowing: For industrial exhibit—Clif- ford J. Alpaugh, Frank Larrabee, C. W. Alpaugh, Frances Sherman, Andrew Roux, John Reilly, W. B. Knight, A. G. Turner, L. A. Kingsbury; float commit- tee, John E. Brick, G. O. Cartier, J. C. Lincoln, A. L. Weatherhead. Reception—D. P. Dunn, chairman: George E. Hinman, W. C. Norris, W. A. King, Mrs. C. E. Leonard, Mrs. W. A, Arnold, Mrs. C. E. Simonds, Ray- mond Parker, Mrs. R. H. Fenton, R. O. Branch, Mrs. D. P. Dunn, Mrs, Jay M. Shepard, Mrs. Rue, H. Dion, Mrs. W. A. King, R. E. Mitchell, H. E. F. Tie- sing. Entertainment—D. P. Dunn, chair- man; W. C. Norris, W. A. Haddad, Charles Agderson, F. P. Lombardo, Peter Yondlas, J. M. Shepard, Clifton Adams, W. A. Arnold, P. Larramee, John F. Collins, Arthur McQuillan, George R. Bartlett, Francis Keon, Samuel Johnson. Housing Guests — Miss _ Florence Grant_chairman; Mrs. H. L. Hunt, Mrs. H. T. Burr, Mrs. W. O. Nuzum, Mrs. H. Dion, Mrs. J. M. Berard, Mrs. John Reilley, Mrs. E. Frank Bugbee, Mrs. J. O. Sullivan, with power to add assistants. Decorations—P. D. Donohue, with power to select decorators from stores to assis Advertising Committee—George F. or, chairman; Dr. W. K. Faatz, H. H. Spaulding. Old Graduates Committees. The committee for the old grad- uates were nominated by the alumni associations, and these nominations were confirmed by the general com- mittee for the years as follows: 1872-1888—W. P. Jordan ’82, chalr- man; Mrs. W. A. Buck °$5, G. S El- liott '84, Mrs, D. G. Baker '8§, A. D. Boss 85, 1889-1895—W. A. Arnold '90, chair- man; Mrs. J. M. Shepard '91, Mrs. A. I Biil *89, Mrs, Helen Boss Cummings '$3, R. H. Fenton 9L 1896-1900—L. B. Lincoln T: M ’96, chair- man; Mrs. C. C. Case %, F, J. Wil liams ’93, Mrs. D. Van Zant '99, A. N. Potter '9 1901-1907—Ellison Smith 03, chair- man; Harold Lincoln '01, Miss Carrie Colgrove ‘02, Miss Verna Hastings '04, Jay Grant '06. 1908-1910—Kenneth _ Hillhouse 08, chairman; Miss Dorothy Larrabee, *0: John Leonard, Jr., '10, Miss Ruth Tay lor ’09, L, Vincent Sweeney "09. 1911-1915—Russell Chappell L chairman; Agnes Egbert '11, Mary R. Blanchette 12, Donald French 13, Eli cla, Casey '12. Mammoth Parade. At the city meeting the second Mon- day in April, the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars was appropriated for the celebration. Members of the finance committee _solicited individual sub- scriptions for the necessary expenses of the week. Day by day the enthusi- asm grew until a comprehensive pro- gramme for the week was mapped out, one that allowed no feeling of partisanship, but made for a_closer union of the citizens and institutions of the town, both past and present. IHISTORY OF THE OLD TOGWN WHICH WAS PURCHAS ED FROM SON OF UNCAS IN 1675—GROWTH OF ITS ¢ INDUSTRIES, BANKS, CHURCHES, AND SCHOOLS—FESTIVITIES OPEN SUNDAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY—BIG CIVIC AND INDUSTRIAL PARADE ON C'TIZENS’ DAY FOLLOWED BY ADDRESS BY FORMER PRESIDENT WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT—SCHOOL REUNIONS AND BANQUETS —LEGENDS OF THE WINDHAMS—PROGRAMME OF THE WEEK’S EVENTS school reception in the armory, all be worked up by the various com- mittees. Invitations have been sent to former pupils, former teachers, former pastors of churches, former fnent men, have been received and plans for housing and _entertaining the guests. By June 10 all reports were supposed to be in and everything in readiness for the event, citizens, ~prom- THE TOWN OF WINDHAM. History Shows It at One Time to Have Belonged to Uncas—lts Early Affairs. The history of the Town of Wind- ham, like the history of Norwich, is woven around the name of Uncas, the great_chief of the Mohegan Indians, the Nipmuck Indians, an insignificant branch of the Mohegans, occupied the tract of land known as Windham coun- ty. These Indians were few in num- ber and wanderers by instinct. Through the warm spring and summer they fished the Willimantic and Shetucket rivers, where shad and sma were found in abundance o corn in the open tracts near the river banks. Thick woods covered t greater part of the territory, but t tracking of many feet between s er plant Willimanti So_the the history until King Philip was subdued Shetucket rivers. Sixteen Original Grantees. who settled Norwich, Rev. James I itch OLD SCHOOL AT NORTH WINDHA M Plans were successfully made for the largest parade Willimantic had ever known; firemen and ex-firemen, old pupils, old classes, school children, practically every organization in the city volunteered to march or contri- bute a float; local industries planned a series of pageants, and it is confident- Iy expected that the entire First reg- iment, C_ N. G., and possibly the Put- nam Phalanx and the Governor's Foot- guards of Hartford, will take part in this mammoth parade, while ex- President Willlam Howard Taft has promised to be on hand, and will re- view the pageant. Mass Meeting. The state armory, on Pleasant street, will be loaned for the occasion. and Sunday, June 21, the opening day of the week of festival, will be celebrated by a mass meeting of citizens, and members and pastors of all the church- es of Willimantic. Speakers, both Protestant and Catholic, w take part; there will be special music and a sacred band concert. Week of Festivities. During the weei the streets will be illuminated, and the buildings dec- orated: nightly band concerts will be held in the various parks and pub- lic squares; ball games, athletic con- tests, aquatic sports, an automobile parade, a historical ana industrial ex- hibit in the town hall throughout the week, reunions and banquets for for- mer pupils and teachers, a big high and his son, Major James Fitch, John etc. Hundreds of replies made win a ELDERKIN HOUSE Story of Rapid Growth, icceeding period of Windaam 2 story of rapid growth out The history part of the country and Uncas' hea 1 ) to her seographical quarters, in Norwich, had worn a well ways were laid out; a mi'- defined_trail known as the Nipmuck |itia organized; a public pound pre path. Traces of the original path can |vided; a g ground marked off still be found in Hampton and it. The close of the land, but the main track has lost jan war, marl identity in the Main street of modern an_activity whic = the Rocal ened a com struggle. emp, argument relative to the leg were raised; wheat Indian titles was settled. These mat- | other grains were raised for the ex- ters being disposed of, 16 orwick: | port trade e Windham,” Eliska gentlemen, who had doubtless long had [ Abbe's little < ir eves turned toward this_terri- | in the coast water: aded by Captain John Mason, |had the jarsest ar 1675, bought from 4 [ Connecticut; Colone son of Uncas, a tract of [a dam over zhé Shetucket land eight miles square, boun on | Windham and another at th the northeast by Appaquoque pond |pond and operafed grist and sa and disposed to the westward and A ict at the county jail southward by the Willimantic and overed how to malke tacks cut Jedediah Elderkin Pioneer Manufac- The Indian grantor of the tract died turer, while his father, Uncas, was stilll The esactions of the h put a alive and the grantees came into pos- [stop to this, however, and stared tle session of the land May 27, 1676 ¢ | town on its manufacturing career. Jed- sixteen original grantees included Cap- |edian Elderkin, the pioneer in this line tain John Mason, Daniel and Samuel | planted a mulberry or 1 Mason, sons of Major John Ma Windham, made a w h was used for handkerchiefs, Ieanwhile Wind rew to be the foremost inland town east of the Co1- river. The & esct contrib- imstance to this prosperity tion of Windham county > as a shire town. A court had been established i in October, 1719. The §; court was held in W am, June 26, and 46 cases tried. Jabez Hun- tington was iff. Until tt rilding of courthouse the town officia First Execution, On December 18, 1743, cution_in county oc st Betty Wolcott was jrde Roger 1d news of the and wide. North Windham Paper Mill. In 1810 the second manufacturing concern was established when n paper mill was built a Windt the firm of T: and Dadger, il natives of , and after a series of vicissitudes was run by Fos- ter and Post, but soon abandoned by them. Meanwhile a Foudrinier ma- ne was sent to Windha 1 from Ens- d by one Pickering. an, un- Bircherd, Lieut. Thomhs Tracy, Thom- | nad bY one Pickering, This man, un as Adgate, Simon Huntington, Lieut. took possession of the old [ Thomas Lefingwell, Dr. John Olm S I CT ik A Rl T sted, Willlam Hyde, William Backu: 76 tha¥went into Ahe Hand Hugh_Calkins, Captain George Deni 7" Daniels, who operated it son, Daniel Wetherell. 3 1 Justin Swift Subsequently, by the death of John perty, and converted ‘it Mason, the diSposal of his person ATl e BUilAtaE St atter interest by Samuel Mason and the it to Merrick hroth- purchase of John Olmsted’s part & ehd thatel ToliNcs John Post, only thirteen of the original & Son bought the prop- B o iolt Ihese fourteen | oty and used it for the manufacture s of olde: mes formed e e sroducing & b sort of trust company and, none of LRI e i e DS them wishing to settle the countr ¢l the : ime i e XY | until the mill was a second time des Bimeelf, an agreement was signed Fel. | iroyeq by fire in the winter of 1913 17, 168%, whereby each owner obtained |}y his tract according to lot—God's prov i dence—and agreed to admit only sucr Other Early {Factories. matters as the company should deem| Sc° 41 more or less successful advisable. At the time of actual settlement the far-seeing Masons and Fitches owne: over half of the 60,000 acres named the grant. Lieut. Thomas Leffingwel!, Sergeant Richard Bushnell and Simon Huntington surveved the land, camp- ing, according to tradition, on a cf manufactories were started during this period, one for making felts, one for making cabinets, which was run b; Amos Allen for about 35 years. and a fulling mill on the site of the presert Smith & Winchester Co.’s plant, where much of the cloth for the army was made in the war of 1812, ing opposite what is now the Wi In 1830 the first foudriniers made mantic Fair Grounds. Three lots of |in any quantity in this country were land were plotted out, one at Hithor |Produced in this same building, and Place, one at the Pondes, the present |here the first dryers made in this Mansfleld Center, and one at mantuck. John Cates First Settler, John Cates, who was suspected cf being a refugee regicide, but whose past was always a mystery, was t. first settler, and with his negro slave, Joe Ginne, erected a rude hut whick, with the assistance of Jonathan Gi nings, to whom the first white child in this section was born, was made over into a comfortable home. The first settlement being made, others followed Tapidly. The woods ‘were cleared away, sawmills erected on Merriok's brook, the Shetucke: and Willimantic grist mills and a_tannery built, Cattle raising, spinning and weaving were carried on. Lieut. Crane secured a hotel grant from the court of Hartford. Bettlers were constamt ly arriving from Norwich and the Massachusetts colonies. Town Grant Accorded in 1692, In 1601 the Genmeral court was peti- tioned for a-town grant, which was accorded Jume 12 1692 The names of the men who signed tnis petition include many well known in Windham today. They were: Joshua Ripley, John Cates, Jonathan Crane, Josepa Huntington, William Eackus, Jeremiah Ripley, Jonathan Ginnings, Richard Wil Hendee, Jobn Backus and John lLar- rabee. On the above date the first which at country were constructed, superseding the old hand drying method. Here also was perfected the contrivance for cut- ting a continuous sheet of paper into sheets of uniform size. Smith-Winchester Co. Paper mills all over the state wero built by Phelps & Stafford, and sup- plied with their own machinery. Dur- ing the panic of 1337, the firm was forced to sell out their interest. The purchasers, Charles Smith and Har- vey Winchester, brothers-in-law of George Spafford, in the year 1838, or- canized the new well known Smith & Winchester company. _On the death of his father, Guilford Smith, then only thirteen years of age, assumed the responsibility of the business and proved himself equal to the task. The works have been enlarged several times, and two large reservoirs built. The company has always been prom- inently identified with the life and in- terests of South Windham, and have from time to time shown their pub- lic spirit by benefactions, the latest of which is the erectfon during the Past vear of a home for the South Windham Fire brigade. Machine For Making Wood Type. To a native of South Windham, is also due the cheapening and increas- ed demend for wood type. Edwin Al- len invented a machine which did away with the old fashioned method of hand work, and-which has never 79 John G. Cooley, and transferred to New York ei Guilford Smith, a grandson of Joshua Smith; purchased Mr. Allen’s property and made woolen felts there until after the Civil war. In 1878 the American Wood Type company used the old mill for s original purpose. Since 1850, in the Old Grist mill, built by Elisha Holmes, thousands of tons of gypsum have been ground and distributed. The old buffing wheel manufactury, Central Vermont used as an electric light plant by ter, was built for the ating and. Manufac- Adams Nickel turing company. This is in brief the manufacturing history” of Windham proper. The greater history of the manufactures of the town with her offspring, the ity of Willimantic, the rise of which contributed to the decline of old Windhans. In 1818 the Horseshoe bridge over t atchaug river was built, and this, together with the re- movai of the county seat to Brooklyn, in 1519, hastened the down fall. The/ growth of however, as the chi e change. HISTORY OF WILLIMANTIC. Samuel Ashley Became First Settler in April, 1717, Quarter of Century After Windham Town Grant. Twenty-five vears after the first settlement at Wi the proprie- tors of the home lots at Willimantic had exchanged them for lot: the £ Nachaug, now known as the plots at s hay fields r_the Windham farmers. In April, 171 dred Samuel Ashley bou: acres from John Fitch northeast ndham. on both sides of the Lit- He was the first settler in it two hun- Second Settler, Babcock was probably the nd is the common an- Coventry and_Mansfield Jonathan familles of that name. His house beyond the western limits of the h of Willimantic, near the vil- cemetery. The fall of the Willi- mantic river, dropping ninety-one feet between the mills of the Windham company and the junction with the Nachaug, proved an incentive to man ctare, early in the history of Willi- c. In 1808 a machine for picking carding wool was set up at the falls. Other industries soon followed andgin 1522 Perez O. Richmond built a citton spinning mill on the present site of No. 3 mill of the _ American Thread Company plant. The Jillson Srothers built three mills (one the present spool shop). the old duck mill, and a_three story building, all on the site of the present plant. Old “Stone Row.” In 1824 the Jillson's built old “stone row,” and from 1523 to 1827 the Wind- ham Company’s mill was built on its present site by Tingley and Watson of Providence. The Smithville company Was started when Deacon Charles Lee of Windham built_a little mill, a row of ten houses on Main street, and the stone store and boarding house at the corner of Bridge and Ma This company was later reorganized by A. D. and ex-Governor Smith of Rhode Island, and Duilt up by Whiting Ha den. ' This {s included in the pres Quidnick-Windham plant. In 1830 Stephen Hosmer kept two toll_gates, one at Post Hill in Co- lumbia, the other at the present junc- tion of Bridge and Pleasant street. The building of the two last named mills created an influx of settlers in this locality, and' after a__vigorous fight, a _temporary wooden bridge was built which in 186 was replaced by the present stone structure, Borough Charter in 1833. In 1833 the legislature granted Willi- mantic_a borough charter, and in 1849 with the coming of the railroads, old Windham lost the last of her pres- tige, the stage. coach and the hospi- table taverns. Once the railway lines were established, others came in rapidly. The New London Northern in 1849, the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill In 1853, the Boston, Hartford and Erie about 1872. The Air line was the last to be built. The depot was bullt in 1850, and the. passenger sta- tion in 1880, nd Banks. Previous to the coming of the rall- roads in 1842, the Windham Savings Institute had heen established, a rival to the old Windham National bank, which organized ten years defore, put- ting out curious bank notes, which portrayed Col. Dyer at one end, and Col. Elderkin at' the other, With the famous frogs rampant and militant in the center. In 1854, the .Windham bank _was robbed of seven thousand dollars in currency, and fifteen thousand in se- curities, ' which wag recovered when the thieves were overtaken at Allyns Point. This circumstance caused a feeling of insecurity, and the old in- stitution was removed to -Willimantic in 1879, Other banks organized in Willtman- tic were the Merchants Loan and Trust, 1870, Dime Savings bank, 1872, been. improved: » 1852, the bus- { First National in 1878, the Willl~ ness: Wl ha%vfiyw_gw RS Whiting, and included in the town of Windham at an early date. Mansfield Set Off. In 1701 Mansfield, or Pondetown, which was settled about the same time as Windham and was part of the orig- inal town, disagreed on certain relig- ious matters, and was separated from her. In 1703 the town of Windham was reconstructed with half the orig- inal Joshua’s tract, and the Crane and Whiting tract added to it. In 1786 Hampton or Canada, so named after the first settler, David Canada or Kennedy, was set off from Wind- ham. At the same date the general assembly gave to Windham the tract of “no man’s land” which lay between the southern boundaries of the orig- inal grant and the rivers which were the natural boundary, and was in dis- pute between Lebanon and Windham. Chaplin and Scotland Go. The final divisions were made in by the formation of Chaplin, and tively recent origin. Of these only the first two and last are now i istence and all are in a condition. Willimantic Linen Co. So Willimantic continued to thri In 1854 the Willimantic Linen pany was organized. This first manufactured crash_towel S , . - 5 ] by the formation of Scofland. N e dtitnele The present population is about thir- iy e e teen thousand, about twelve thousand y an_the manufacture | o whom are ety - wotton. Praciananufacture | of whom are in the city of Williman: tie. time, put up in skeins, ana this new colored cotton thread had been method ealed t: Newspapers. The Phoenix, or Windham Herald, of winding the thread buyers, and husines 30 the leading newspaper of old Win rush. | The mill ecalled No. 1 wag|Was first published in 1791, and dis built in 1857. Before the Civil wap|tributed to over 1,200 subscribers by Dunham and Ives, the proprietors, | POSt rid This paper flourished bought up a quantity of cotton, and |dUTing. i sperity, but disappeared mado a fortrge which resulted in the | With the decline of ‘the old town. The growth of the plant. In 1864 they | ArSt newspaper published in Williman- bousht the land where the old stone |ti¢ Was the Public Medium, published schoolhouse stood, d put up Min|by John ns in Janua 1847. Its No. 2 and the row of tenmments|Dame was changed to the Willimantic known as the “new village. Journal, and its ownership changed a "The) Jillson’ and Capen number of times until its publication Dbought in_ 1876, and filled stopped some fifteen vears i "This is mow Mill No. 4, 1884, The Willimantic Week v Enterprise wa erected in 1280, and “The ( sent_out from was bullt up about that time. Th its office In the Franklin building. N. lohmert i ihIe e e W. Leavitt was its moving spirit.y fected the whole proces: Passing through various states, the manufacture, and their elaim to mak- | PEPEr is now the only daily published ing the best thread in the world is well [ IR Willimantic, and from 1879 has been Rained Sy s Sl and | called the Willimantic Chronicle, with awards, For the prominence of this|headquarters on Church street. Other product, Willimantic has n | pavers started in the city were either known as the “Thread Sinee | Short-lived or removed to another 900 the plan s been a. p »f the ce. 190 he Binthes heen s Fertiof the |15 aadition, The | Norwich, Bulletin s has for a number of years maintained EeEetRe il i et a correspondent in Willimantic, and e Trind Marte st eon. | featared; the; riews; of | thet cityilon: the pany were the first sillc industry lo- | seeona Page of its publication, the cating in Willimantic, and was estab- | 2 5°St in Hastern Connecticut. d in 1836 by J. H. and H. G. Windham in War. ‘Holland, who built the brick mills on The patriotism of Windham has al- opposite corners of Church and Val- been a notable feature of her ley streets, still used by the company. nd old V dham Green was Each member of the firm built a beau- | on’s battlefields. Three sons tiful home, that of J. H. Hoilland on | ground for many heroes Maple venue being at pre nt the uel Whiting were colonels home of e Sisters conne 1 with St, |in the French and Indian war, and Col- Mary’s chure! and the home of H.|onel Nathan Whiting and ‘olonel G. Holland now being the idence ¢ r Fitch were at the fall of Mon- Dr. T. R. Parker. Mr. C. W. treal. ngh s the present treas r and cal citizens were roused to fury local manager of the plant, which still | he passage of the Stamp Act, and manufactures ewing silk and sed Jar oll, the stamp col- The vearly output of the bu: or, to resign, afterward burning rated at approxim L in effigy. lion. Colonel Eiderkin's regiment number- On the death of Col {ed four companies of 150 men each, silk industry was transfers lin the battle of Bunker Hill. _ During where it was developed the Revolutionary war Windham brought back fo_the tow alone sent one thousand men to the n by the O, S. field. Elderin and Wales manufactur- SOUTH WINDHAM SCHOOL company, established in the|ed most of the powder used by the old_ Pais! the corner of|Continental army in their mills in Church streets in 1 Windham, while Hezekiah Huntington This company_was later_organized, in | manufactured and repaired firearms at he Natchaug Silk company, |his iron work located on North street, where the war of 1812 The Windham, silk, braid, watch-guard - Abbe's little coasting schoone glass cords and fish were manu- confiscated, and a number factured. The Chaffee Manufactur- |young men saw service guarding New ing company now occupies the old site | London barbor, but participated in no at the .qorner of Church and Valley |actual warfare. In the regular army, streets, in the manufacture of fish |however, we find the names of Major lines principally. Cha Larrabee, who served under Among the more recent plants are | General Harrison, and Captain Adams the following: Windham Silk_com- | Larrabee, who was placed in command pany, organized in 1901; Rossi Velvet|at the battle of French Mills, near company, 1912; Vanderman Manufac- | Plattsburs, when his captain was dis- organized in 18! turing company abled, and’ was wounded. Willimantie Machine company, 1899; Iniihe Creil War A T s oiias |, 13561 Wa fiid the Hisis towm twell which have aided in the recent growth [0 the front lLester E. Brailey was e the first to enlist and became captain of the cit of the Lyons Guards, Co. G., 12th Conn. Growth of the Borough. Vol. Other Windham boys who went The borough grow rapidly. In 1362 (0 the front were Charles D. Bowen, horough grew rapidly. 2 | captain Co. H, 18th C. V.; Francis S. the polling place was removed from|iong, first lieuteiant and captain, 21st W md‘nnm tn( W l"‘gnll-lr‘l‘ it “':m}“'r, 21 C. V., who fell at Petersburg in 1864, complete system of public w WOrks | ;na for whom the local post, No. 30, Was established. 'Tn 1893 the boroush | &% R [y Tamed; Henrs B Taato was granted a city chartel A th | Second lieutenant, Co. H. 18th C. V. lights, a street raily L e “»| William H. Locke, second lieutenant, ;;:‘;-S&r?ontr‘)fl{;:m\:g;“ q«;t;:;_“m Tole¥ |17th C. V.; the four Ripley brothers, one of whom became captain in Co. D of the Sth, and lost an arm in ser- vice; Andrew Loomis, lieutenant, Co. the Consolidated (now the Shore Railway company) railway lines con- Dr. Lathrop, who lost his life in hos- pital service and many others. James Haggerty of Willimantic was the youngest Connecticut volunteer. He went out in Co. H, 16th Conn., Jan~ vary 5, 1863, aged 138 years and 1 month. _Altogether three hundred and four enlisted from Windham during the war, in 22 different regiments, 14 of whom were killed, 25 died and 39 were wounded. 200 in Spanish War. In the Spanish war a total of about two hundred men went out from the town of Windham, over a hundred of whom made up Co. E, 3rd Conn., with the following officers: Captain, B. Flynn; first lieutenant, Mike Cronan;| second lieutenant, James Cochrane. RELIGOUS HISTORY. = Scotland the First Parish and Eben« ezer Devotion the First Pastor. The religious history of the town of Windham is woven so closely into the development of the town that it is al- most impossible to treat it under a separate head. Scotland parish, which took its name from the nationality of its first settler, David Magoon, engag- ed Ebenezer Devotion as its first pas- tor. He worked as a farmer through the week, but was none the less re- vered by his parishioners all through the 36 years of his service from 1735- 71, and was the motive force in the in- tellectual and eivic work of the com- munity. Jabez Fitch. The earliest religious leader in Wind< ham Mr. Jabez Fitch, whose home was fortified and used for a meeting house for a number of years. Con- temporaneous with Ebenezer Devotion was Rev. Samuel Whiting, whp served the people in Windham parish for 33 years, and whose name appears in many real estate transactions. His de- scendants, bearing the Bradford strain through his wife, Elizabeth (Bradford) Adams, gave Colonel Eleazer Fitch and Colonel John Whiting to the French and Indian war Lieutenant Colonel Whiting to the seige of Louis= burg and Lake George. . _Rev. Thomas Clapp afterward pres- ident of Yale university, succeeded Rev. Mr. Whiting, and ruled so harsh- 1y that his parishioners were quite re- lieved when he accepted the call to New Haven. Seated According to Station, Age and Estate. In 1700 the front part of the home lot of William Backus was purchased by Rev. Mr. Whiting and Ensige Crane, and given to the town for a meeting house plat, and here the first meeting house was erected, the plat x:nrmmg the neucleus for Windham Green. This is the real birth of the ‘Windham Congregational church. In 1713 this meeting house was en- larged, and orders given to seat every- one according to his station, age and estate. The pastorate of Rev. Stephen ‘White, who followed Rev. Thomas Clapp in 1739, and which extended over a period of fifty years, marks the be- ginning of a less moral, but decidedly more prosperous era for Windham. The separatist agitation disturbed the community at this time, but made no immediate destructive impress on the religious history of the town. Episcopal Society With Norwich Pae- tor. Mr. White was followed by Elijah Waterman of Bozrah. This ardent Young preacher started a _crusade against prevailing heresies,which forc- ed a portion of the more liberal mind- ed to form an organization of their own, known as the Episcopal society, and this sect chose John Tyler of Nor- vich for their pastor. These divis- ions caused a shortage of funds nec- essary for the support of the church, and from 1805 to 1808 they were with= out a pastor. Rev. Mr. Andrews then took the helm, but he could steer the unfortun= ate craft into no quieter waters. In 1815 Rev. Cornelius B. Everest took charge of the parish, remaining for 12 years, and leaving it in a much more satisfactory condition. succeeded by Rev. R. F. father of the late ex-president. Rev. Mr. Cleveland'’s ministry covered & period of three years, at the end of which time a faction joined the Bap- tist church which had been organized in 1827 in Wiilimantic. For nine years, again, the mother church was without a pastor. In 1837 Rev. J. E. Taylor came, and remained 14 yvears. The present church was dedicated in 1887, and those who have had charge of the pastorate since Rev. Tyler are the following: Rev. George I. Stearns, Samuel Hartley, Rev. Hiram Day, A. F. Keith, Rev. F. K. Thompson, . A. Holden, Rev. W. S. Kelsey, Rev. F. M. Wiswall, Rev. Frederick H. Means, Rev. Charles B. McDuffy, Rev. Harry Grimes, and the present incum- bent, Rev. M. Raymond Plumb. Congregational Church. The Willimantic Congregational church was organized in 1827, and Rev. Dennis Platt was the first pastor, and preached in the new church, which is now_the Maloney block. There fol- lowed Rev. Ralph S. Crampton of Mad- ison, Philo Judson of Woodbury, A. . Sharpe and Samuel A. Willard, who! Was prominent in_educational affairs and a fellow of Yale. Then came Rew, Horace Winslow, to whose efforts wu1 due the erection in 1871 of the present | edifice at the corner of Walnut and! Valyey streets. He was followed by | Revs. S. R. Free, Andrew Jackson Sul- livan, C. P. Crofts, C. A. Dinsmore, Edward George, Ashley D. Leavitt and the present incumbent, Rev. William | S. Beard, who has been prominently identified with public interests and to whose efforts is due the erection of | He was Cleveland, necting with all parts of the country, telephones and telegraphs, and finally munis 1 mark a new Will mantic which the inhabitants of fifty- three years ago would hardly recog- nize. The print of Main street from North to Lincoln's store, taken about 1860, shows vacant lot: torn up squares, and a line of horses and car- riages, where the streets are now thronged with automobiles Since the picture was taken a row of trees has grown to maturity and been cut down in this section of Main street. First Four Whecled Wagon. In 1509 the first four wheeled wag- on owned by Roger Huntington was driven to Leicester by young George Webb and Thomas Gray, and created a wave of excitement and wonder throughout the country side. What would be the state of mind of these simple folk if they could witness the reconstruction of today. Original Boundary Changed. The territory of the town of Wind- ham has been changed several times, the ownership of land lying between the original boundary and the bound- ary of Norwich, a tract of ten thous- and acres, known as the Mamosqueage lands, the title to which was contest- ed by Indians and white men, was confidrmed by _the_general court to the.; sste. - Crane__and e H of the 2d; Joel R. Arnold, liteuten- ant and aide on colonel's staff of the 165th New York; Lieutenant Charles Wood, killed at Petersburs in 1864; the fine church house recently con- structed. The Episcopal Church in Windham. The Episcopal society, as noted,