Church, but some of the citizens came to its rescue, and the sum was raised without difficulty. The communion service of St. Michael was also sent to Columbia during the war for safety, and at the evacuation of that city by our army it could not be found. It had been stolen in consequence of its value, or taken as a trophy of war. The old tankard was found in a pawn-broker's shop in New York, and purchased and returned to the Church by a kind-hearted gentleman of that city. Another piece of the com munion service was found in a shop in a town in Ohio. Akind Episcopalian seeing the inscription, bought it and returned it to the Church. The balance of the service has never been recovered. This service was highly prized, from the fact it was presented to the Church in 1762 by Gov. Boone. A monogram was taken from the pulpit; a clergyman in New Jersey accidentally became informed of its whereabouts and returned it to the Church. Altogether, this seems, indeed, to be a very remarkable Church history. THE CITY OF NASHUA. BY O. C. MOORE. The early history of Nashua (formerly Dunstable,) could only be narrated in full in a volume by itself. The town of Dunstable was chartered by the General Court of Massachusetts, October 16th, 1673, O. S., corresponding to October 27th, N. S. The township took its name from Dunstable in England, in honor of Hon. Edward Tyng and his wife, Mary Tyng, who emigrated from that parish and settled in Boston, but died in Dunstable, where their children owned large estates. The name is generally supposed to be derived from "Dun," or "Dunum," signifying a hilly place, and “Staple," a place of trade. Dunstable included within its boundaries, as originally chartered, the present town of Tyngsborough, the east part of Dunstable, the north part of Pepperell, and the northeast corner of Townsend, all in Massachusetts. In the State of New Hampshire, it embraced the town of Litchfield, most of Hudson, the south west part of Londonderry, the west part of Pelham, two thirds of Brookline and Milford, and all the towns of Amherst, Hollis, Merrimack and Nashua. This ancient township contained about two hundred square miles, or one hundred and twenty-eight thousand acres. In 1741, the long disputed boundary line between Massachusetts and New Hampshire was settled, and the settlement severed the ancient township of Dunstable, leaving in Massachusetts that part of it now in Tyngsborough and Dunstable. From the territory left in New Hampshire, which retained the name of Dunstable, was successively erected the towns of Merrimack, Hollis, Monson, Hudson, Litchfield, Amherst and Milford. That portion of the township now embraced within the limits of Nashua continued to bear the old name until 1837, when it was changed to Nashua, the name of the beautiful river that divides the city from east to west, and which signifies in the Indian tongue the “beautiful river with the pebbly bottom.” The city of Nashua has an area of 18,898 acres, and presents a fine diversity in its topography. The north part of the city, where are many of the finest residences and most attractive sites, rises gradually from the Merrimack on the east and from the Nashua on the south, and commands a prospect of the whole surrounding country. Few locations any where afford more beautiful and attractive building sites. From the south side of the Nashua and the west side of the Merrimack stretches a broad plain, upon which extend miles of broad and regular streets, lined on both sides with the best of sidewalks and the noblest of shade trees. The chief growth of the city is westward, where there are still many fine building lots. In the suburbs of the city are some excellent farms, easy of cultivation, and producing annually abundant crops. No city in New England is so magnificently watered. On the east, flows the Merrimack, the peerless stream of song and industry. From the west comes the Nashua, furnishing the admirable water power which drives the cotton mills and receives into its waters the sewerage of the city. On the south, the beautiful Salmon brook joins the Merrimack, after supplying still another water power and a splendid sheet of water before it flows into the Merrimack. On the north, is Pennichuck Brook, a limpid stream, from which is derived the supply of the city water works. All these streams of pure running water not only insure the cleanliness but the health of the city as well. In earlier days, the untutored sons of the forest made their headquarters here in great numbers, attracted by the natural beauty of the location and the finny treasures which were always to be found in the streams. The name of the city itself was borne by the "Nashaways," a tribe of Indians that formerly lived on its banks. Nature might have done more to provide a beautiful site for a city, but it may be doubted if she did. In 1800, the population of Dunstable was 862. The village which is now a city, was then known as Indian Head, but in 1803, it was called Nashua Village, and in that year, the pioneer canal boat was lauched with much ceremony on the 4th of July. There were two other villages in town, one at the Harbor, so called, and another, and the largest, half a mile farther south. Nashua Village had a one story dwelling house on the site of the Indian Head House, which was then used as a tavern, a store and two dwelling houses. The only highways were the Amherst and Concord roads, which united and formed one road. from Nashua River to the Harbor, and a road down the northern bank of the Nashua to the boating house and ferries. At the Harbor, the dwelling house of ever Gen. Noah Lovewell, lately occupied by Col. George Bowers, with two other small houses on the south side of Salmon Brook, were the only buildings. Half a mile south, was the third and largest village, consisting of a tavern, store, shops, dwellings and meeting house. Between Salmon Brook and Nashua River there was a "broad, unfenced, desolate, whitepine forest," unbroken by a single habitation. Such was Nashua at the beginning of the present century. A post office was established at the Harbor in 1803, and Gen. Noah Lovewell was appointed postmaster. In 1804, the Middlesex canal was opened and gave a decided impetus to the growth of Nashua Village, as it opened direct commucation with Boston. Hitherto, the principal markets of this region had been Haverhill and Newburyport. A new meeting house was erected in 1812, and in 1817 a dam was constructed on the Nashua, a few rods above Main street. At one end, a grist mill was erected, and at the other end, a saw mill. A few years afterwards, the present dam of the Jackson Company was constructed, and a new saw mill erected. Nashua Village had now about fifteen houses, and the whole town, a population of 1,142. Within the town, by the census of 1820, there were nine school houses, one meeting house, six taverns, five stores, three grist mills, one clothing mill, one carding machine, five bark mills, and three tanneries. Between 1820 and 1830, the establishment of cotton manufacturing by the Nashua and Jackson Companies gave a marked impulse to the growth of Nashua Village. In 1830, the village had a population of 1,500, and the entire town 2,417. growth in population was now very rapid. In 1836 the population had increased to 5,065, of which four thousand were in Nashua Village. "January 1st, 1837," says Mr. Fox, in his excellent history from which many of the facts of the early history of Nashua are taken, "the township laid aside its ancient name of Dunstable, which it had worn from its infancy, through good and ill fortune a hundred and sixty years, under which it had witnessed two revolutions and formed a portion of a Colony, a Province and a The sovereign State-under which it had passed through many wars, and grown up from obscurity and poverty; and adopted, in order to distinguish it from its neighbor 't'other Dunstable,' its present name, that of the river from which its prosperity is chiefly derived-Nashua." In 1840 Nashua had attained a population of 5,960, and the valuation of the real and personal estate was $2,467,822. In 1842 it voted at the annual meeting to erect a town house. As usual at the inception of such an enterprise, there was no agreement on a site. The contest waxed warm and even furious. Finally it led to a division, the people on the north side of the Nashua securing an act of incorporation from the Legislature in June following as the town of Nashville. This division lasted till 1853, when the two towns that should never have been divided were reunited and incorporated as the city of Nashua. The city now had a population of 8942, and a total valuation of $4,266,658.00. The city was divided into eight wards, and at the first election Hon. Josephus Baldwin, one of the pioneer manufacturers of Nashua, was elected Mayor. In 1860 the population had increased to 10,665, and the valuation to $4,577,878. 1870, the population was 11,000, with a valuation of $5,146,734. The present population is 12,000; (April, 1877) the valuation is $8,280,968, and the rate of taxation $1.50 on a hundred. In It was a prediction of one of the early settlers of Dunstable that the valley of the Merrimack would be a great manufacturing region. Then Lowell and Lawrence, Manchester and Nashua were not. The men who pioneered manufacturing in this valley, first examined the water power on the Souhegan river at Merrimack, but it was not thought adequate to their purpose. On their return they passed the Nashua, but were entirely unaware of the power which has since been so extensively improved. While they were beginning operations at Lowell, by means of the Pawtucket canal, several citizens of Nashua village had awakened to the capacity of Mine Falls, on the Nashua, three miles from the Merrimack, for manufacturing purposes. A saw mill had been erected at Mine Falls as early as 1700, and it was proposed at first to erect mills there. The fall is thirty-six feet, which is unsurpassed in New England. Upon further investigation and an actual survey, it was deemed practicable to erect the mills on the present site and bring the water from Mine Falls by means of a canal. An association was formed, and in June, 1823, a charter was obtained for the Nashua Manufacturing Company, with a capital limited to $1,000,000. The capital stock was at first fixed at $300,000, at $100 a share. Among the subscribers was Daniel Webster, who put his name down for sixty shares, but tradition says he never paid for them. The capital stock was finally paid in, however, mainly by Daniel Abbott, J. E. & A. Greeley, Augustus Peabody, B. F. French, Foster & Kendrick and Moses Tyler, all Nashua men. This great enterprise was undertaken, it will thus be seen, at a time when cotton manufacturing in the United States was in its infancy. If not the originators they were certainly among the pioneeers of this industry in the United States, and their enterprise and forsight deserve the fullest recognition. In 1824 the dam at Mine Falls was built, and the excavation of the canal begun and completed in the following year. The canal is about three miles in length, 60 feet wide, and 6 feet deep, and affords a head and fall of 33 feet. Mill No. 1 was erected and went into Or full operation in 1825. In 1827 mill No. 2 was erected, in 1836, mill No. 3, and in 1844, mill No. 4. All these mills have been greatly improved and modernized and their capacity nearly doubled. iginally they had 32,074 spindles, and manufactured 11,500,000 yards of cloth per annum. They now have a capacity of 76,000 spindles, and turn out 17,500,000 yards of fine sheeting, shirting, print cloth and cotton flannels per annum. Capital, $1,000,000. Employ 1000 hands. R. A. Maxfield is agent and Jas. S. Amory treasurer. In 1824, a canal, with the necessary dams and locks, was constructed to con. nect the Nashua and Merrimack rivers, and thereby open boat transportation to Nashua village. The entire cost of this undertaking was $30,000. The lower water privilege, now occupied by the Jackson Company, was sold by the Nashua Company to Charles C. Haven and others, who were incorporated by the name of the "Indian Head Company," for the purpose of erecting woolen factories. The necessary buildings were at once erected, and the mills went into operation in 1826. The enterprise did not prove a success, the company became embarrassed, and the property was sold to a new company, which was incorporated as the Jackson Company in 1830. The old machinery was taken out, and machinery for the manufacture of cotton cloth put in. There are two mills, which had an original capacity of 11,588 spindles, but which has since been increased to 22,000 spindles, equal to an annual production of 9,000,000 yards of sheeting and shirting per annum. Capital $600,000. Employ 550 hands. William D. Cadwell is agent and Frederick Amory treasurer. Salmon Brook, at the Harbor, was improved by the erection of a cotton mill in 1845. This was followed by the erection of another mill, having altogether a capacity of 5,000 spindles, and turning out 900,000 yards per annum. These are now known as the Vale Mills, with a capital of $500,000. Employ 80 hands. Benj. Saunders is agent and treasurer. We have now glanced at the establishment and growth of the cotton interest of Nashua. We come now to consider the development of other industries hardly less extensive. The manufacture of shuttles and bobbins was begun in 1845, by J. & E. Baldwin. At the present time the business is carried on by Eaton & Ayer, on Water Street, who employ 200 hands, and do an annual business of about $175,000. The maufacture of Mortise Locks and Door Knobs was begun about this time by L. W. Noyes and David Baldwin. Employ 160 hands. Sales amount to $150,000 per C. B. Hill treasurer; Wm. H. Cook, superintendent. In the same year the iron foundry of S. & C. Williams was established, and also the machine shop of John H. Gage, now Warner & Whitney. The former employ 70 men; annual sales, $100,000; Charles Williams, proprietor. The latter employ 60 men; annual sales, $100,000. annum. In 1847, the Nashua Iron Company was incorporated, with a capital ef $30,000. It gave employment to 50 hands, and had a monthly pay roll of $2,000. The growth of these works has been rapid and remarkable. From three small hammers and one shop, the company now has ten hammers and seven large shops, and the capital has been increased to $500,000, with a monthly pay-roll for 300 hands, when in full operation, of $15,000. The works of the company, including the yards, cover about 12 acres. In 1852 the Underhill Edge Tool Company was established with a capital of $80,000. Employ 60 hands. The business reaches $100,000 annually. C. B. Hill is treasurer and agent. J. D. Otterson & Co., iron founders. began business in 1858. The business was established by Hon. J. D. Otterson, on Water street, in the shop formerly occupied by the Lock Co. At that time he employed 14 hands and did a business of $15,000 a year. He remained on Water street until July, 1866, when he removed to his new works, located on the Worcester & Nashua Railroad, near Quincy street. In January, 1871, Mr. J. P. S. Otterson, Mr. J. K. Hosford, and Mr. Geo. W. Otterson were admitted to the partnership under the firm name of J. D. Otterson & Co. They now employ 50 hands, and do a business of $0,000 a year. The Francestown Soapstone Works were located here in 1867, and are in successful operation. They make all patterns of Stoves, Table and Wash Bowl Tops, Register Frames, etc., all from the celebrated Francestown Soap Stone. Employ 25 hands. Sales, $100,000 annually. Williams & Co., proprietors. In 1870 the brick factory of Gregg & Hoyt was erected for the manufacture of doors, sash and blinds. The manufacture of furniture by Fletcher, Webster & Co. has risen from a small beginning in 1862, to its present extent, occupying three large buildings at the south end, employing 80 hands, and doing a business of $100,000 annually. The Novelty Works, near by, Fletcher & Atwood, pro-. prietors, manufacture fancy bird cages and toy furniture. This branch of industry was begun in Nashua four years ago. The large factory on Main street, at the south end, is occupied by Crain & Moody, manufacturers of shoes, who located here in 1874, coming from Manchester. The Nashua Card and Glazed Paper Company manufacture glazed, plated, enameled and embossed papers, and ticket, Bristol and printing card board, and have extensive works on the Nashua, near Main street. This business was started in Nashua twenty-five years ago, by Messrs. Charles T. Gill, O. D. Murray, Charles P. Gage and John H. Gage. In a year thereafter Virgil C. Gilman purchased the interest of John H. Gage. It grew into two concerns, which were consolidated in 1869. It gives employment to 150 hands, with a paid up capital of $100,000. Orlando D. Murray is Presient, and Horace W. Gilman is treasurer. George W. Davis & Co., J. J. Crawford, A. H. Saunders, and Flather Brothers are machinists, a branch of industry that has long been carried on in Nashua with success. There are many minor interests in the city, among which may be mentioned Rufus Fitzgerald, belt manufacturer; S. S. Davis, paper box maker; A. H. Dunlap & Son, seedsmen; L. E. Burbank, suspender manufacturer; Chas. Holman, wholesale confectioner and manufacturer; John Osborn, manufacturer and retail confectioner; American Sheep |