146 



lof&ist 



/if.- 



IJIOTtSW 



Qli)t >^af ncr'0 i tton tl)i|i llisttor. 



cipiil jree.s coflBist -iif large sjjrfBits'^h- shootSj 

 wliifli >|>iiii".' li'oiii llie ij(;ca\i'il piutrips oC l:ill(;ii 

 trues lliMt lie tliickly .sirewed iiboiit, liall-L-ijilji-il- 

 (fcd'iii tliS mini, u liiilr, ;is ipliilcd hy llit- ciiily 

 iiili.-iliiliiiils--, ;iif ^;iiil Id Ii;ivi: died iiriniKili;itely 

 alicr llie daiU diiy <im tliu iilsi of May, .17B0. — 

 "Wffifnlif^tm) mid Wiltl Clieiry is ;ilsn occasionally 

 liiuiid. Aiiioiir; llif varielies of oi iiaiiitiital and 

 iiiedi<:iiial slnnlis, iiiiir^cii},', (-(diiisli, aii'4L-lica, and 

 Indian root appear most conspicuous. Uo^- 

 woo<l jirows plcnliCidly, wIiom; kmioIi is taid lo 

 he poisonous, liui uliicli, in its season of bloom, 

 wears u very licaiitirnl appeai'ance. ,. 



'■"'■ TliP Soil in this lou n presenls all llie vaniiies 

 of piodnctiveness and slerility. On ihe hills it 

 is !i rich liro«n loam, jiflordiiii; where loo rocky 

 lo he turned into tillage, the sweetest pastNiage, 

 and when cultivated, capable of prnducing a- 

 btuidant crops of grass and grain ; wliile iu the 

 vallies the soil is more sterile, embracing a pine 

 and oak fortnaiion, resting on a subsoil of coarse 

 gravel, yet capable, v\ lib increased attention, and 

 close liiishiuidi'y, of yielding an ample return for 

 the extja labor of the industrious Ihrirver. Tliere 

 is a vast <|uai)tity of meadow and intervale land 

 on the luunerous streams, comprising an area of 

 nearly i'ne ihoufaiid acres, or one-fifth of the 

 township. These meadows produce a kind of 

 coarse grass, of siillicient valiii' lo be eagerly se- 

 cured as lliod liji' <'allli', lliough a ujore Ihinougli 

 sysler)! of irrigation and aiienlive husbandry in 

 ditching and draining, might tnake them the 

 most valuable land iu the world, producing an- 

 nually Iheirtwo or three tonsofthe best English 

 bay 10 llie acre. Iu the bottoms of these mea- 

 dows are found v.iluable and extensive beds ol 

 blue clay, wbiidi when exposed to ihe sun and 

 air, must furuisli ilie best means for the renova- 

 tion of worn-out lands. Tiiis clay, when dried 

 in the sun, has the color and consistency of 

 chalk, and ]ierhaps might become exlremely use- 

 ful in the manidacturi- of cai-lhen ware or other 

 purposes. Many acres of this meadow land 

 have become already valuable to their owners, in 

 the heavy cro[)S of Ibid-meadow and oilier grass- 

 es, iu consequence of the rich sediment brought 

 down from the liills by the stream.*, in tiiye of 

 rain, and left u|ion ihe ground. 



Minerals and Pro'lvclions. — Of the minerals, 

 granite seems to be the principal formation. Iiu- 

 iriense ledges of the best giey granile are found 

 in various parts of the town, especially on King's 

 hill, where the supply seems to he inexhaustible. 

 Blocksof any degree of width or ihickness wish- 

 ed for, are easily split out with a clear, straight 

 rift. Kock chrysud is also found. Ou a hill near 

 the south village,is;m extensive mine o/ plumbato 

 or blu<'k lead, which isfre(juenlly used for paint ou 

 the rools and doors of buibiing,^, producing a hand- 

 some ami durable slate color. Abundance of the 

 best clay is found in all parts of the tovvii, in the 

 meadows and on the hills, liirnisbing an inex- 

 haustible supply liir all nsefid and [iraciical pur- 

 poses. 



Of productions, this \o\\n is favorable to the 

 growth of such (rnit and vegetables as are pecu- 

 liar to n nortberu climate. Wheat, corn, rye, 

 oats, barley, peas, beans, fee, are raised in abmi- 

 ilance. On the hills, cxKMisive and lieavy crops 

 of whi-at aic produced, easily yielding (rem '.iO 

 to 31) bushels the acri;. f'orii comes to eiu-ly ma- 

 turity iu the warmth of the vallie.s. Flax is also 

 easily raised. Of li-uit, apples, pears aivl plums 

 of the best flavor and rpialily, reward the atten- 

 tive husbaiulnian with their :diuudaiiee. 



Tioiuls.—'Vhti principal road through this town 

 is liom Concord to Dartmouth (College. 'I'wo 

 stages pass over this road daily, doing a [U'oiila- 

 ble business; many travellers preli'ring this route 

 to the old Fourth N. ij. turnpike. Another r(jad 

 of C(Uisiderable travel passes ihrouiih the centro 

 of the town, by the three villages, fwjui New 

 London to JJradli.rd, liillshorongb, and the 

 south part of the .Stale. On account of the rug- 

 ged nature of the .soil, perhaps no town in the 

 Stiite is so completely intersected by roads in 

 every part as Sutton. 



6cWc/;ie»j<.— Smton was gnuited by the Maso- 

 nian proprietors in I"-!!), lo inhabitants of Hav- 

 erhill, Newbury and IJradlbrd, Mass., and Kiii^'s- 

 ton, N. If. it was Inj'uierly called I'errystown, 

 from ()badiah I'crry, one of the (uiginal and 

 principal proprlelor.v. 'I'lie first stilllement was 

 made iu 17G7, by David Pcaslcv', who located in 

 the sontli pan of the town, on what is now called 



, T 



Kiaf^all's liiH. " lie was soon followt d by a con- 

 siderable niHubi r (if olhei- scitlcrs, among u lioni 

 were lamilieg by the nanoe of Hfaii, who pitched 

 their catnps and cleared the land upon KinL''s 

 bill; lMo.<es King, who settled on liie siimmit of 

 the bill, from whom it nov. -derives its name; — 

 Flieiiezer Key-ar, wlio encamped on the west 

 shore of Kezai's pouil; Matthew llurvey, .Es()., 

 who selected a place of residence upon a bean- 

 tilid swell ol' laud in the north part of the town, 

 now the residence ot 4on. .fona. ilaivey, his sou ; 

 IJenjamin AVadleigh, who pitched his camp upon 

 a lull near the centre of the town, now owned 

 by a sou of iIk; same; name; .iiu^ob l);ivis ; Josi- 

 ali Nichols; I'hilip Nelson ; K.'iiben Cill ; Daniel 

 Page; AmnsPiessey; Jesse I'^elluus, and sever- 

 al others, from whom most of the inhabitants of 

 the town at the present lime are descended. For 

 a long iwniod there were no mills nearer than 

 I'ennacn-oU, — now Concord — so that tioiii neces- 

 sity they subsisted on parched corn, or <'oru 

 poimde<l into a substance called samp,i\uil the flesh 

 of uild aiiiiiials, rather than encounter the ex- 

 tremely bar.ardons journey many miles through 

 a rugged wilderness. 



Politics and Ridigion. — This town has ahvays 

 inaiiuained a strong position in Jlivor of demo- 

 cratic principles. The vote of the presidtniial 

 election iu ]8-10, will show the relative position 

 of the several parties. Fur V;m Dureii, 310 — 

 llanisoii 22, vvhicli they have maintained for 

 many years. Of religious sects, there are in this 

 town. Baptists, Methodiats, Freewill Baptists, 

 Universalisl.s, and Christians. The lirat iiaplist 

 Church w;is i'oi lued in Ajiril, 1782, ami in Octo- 

 ber of the same year the Rev. Sanmel Ambrose 

 was or<lained. He retired from oliice in 17U5. 

 Rev. Nathan Ames succeeded in 18'21, since 

 wliirb time Revs. Messis, Mitchell, Pillsbury, 

 Strong, Sawyer, and Brown have aliernatidy pre- 

 sided. A few yeais ago, ouing to some reli- 

 gious difllcully, the Bajitist Church ilivided, and 

 have since uoisliip|ied in separate congrega- 

 lioiis. Their combined number of communi- 

 cants at present comprises about 1.30 pi.-isons. 

 The Freewill I'aptist society immbcr about the 

 same, over uhieh is' settled Kc:v. Isaac Pe.isiee. 

 There is also a Universalist Cburcdi numbering 

 nearly 50 mendjers. VVitli'tbese Chuiches are 

 connecte'd Sal'bath-.schools. . In this town are 

 three meeting-houses, one at eacii of the three 

 villages, supported by the Ba[itist.s,_ Universalists 

 and Freewillcrs. There are also four stores, two 

 taverns, live ■■■aw-mills, two grist-mills, two clap- 

 board and shingle-mills, one clothing-mill, and 

 two tanneries and bark-mills. 



Educaliua and Longevitjj. — Three pi;i'sons, na- 

 tives of this town, have received a collegiate 

 education .'it J>artmoutb, viz: — Hon. Matthew 

 Harvey, who olllciatcd as Governor of the State 

 in 1830, and has held several important State and 

 National offices. In 1824 he was spi;aker of the 

 House, ^vliile his brother, Hon. Jou.atban Harvey, 

 at the .'same year, presided over the Senate in 

 the,N. H. Legislature — Kev. Horace F.aion and 

 Gilbert Wadleigb, Esip'.s. Iiave since graduated 

 at the same Cnllogc. Five persons iu this town 

 h.'ive lived to be more than one bimdred years of 

 age, viz: Thomas Walker, a native of Wales, 

 iII(mI ip K-i-il, aged 105: He was in seveial im- 

 portant battles of the Revolution — as Brandy- 

 wine and Saratoga ; .Tacob Davis, Francis 

 Como, Mary Bean, and Mrs. Wells, each liv- 

 ed to be more than one hundred yetus of age. 



Populalion. — The population of Sutton at the 

 last census w.is !."G1. in 1830, it was 1 i-Jl : de- 

 c.re.-ise in 10 \ears 63. B. 



Sulloix, 18-i.-). 



Kriiiii Hill'3 II. N. Pntiiot. 

 IWerrimucIv Cotmty Agricultural .Society. 



It spenks hut poorly for Ncvvilainpsliin; .Agriculture 

 that grailu.illy have our Countios, w ith the single c.\- 

 rcptifm of !\IciTiia:u'k, aliandoneil llicir Agiiniltiiral 

 Horieties. While so nuirli h:ts been duiii- iitui i.^ now 

 jloing in our .sister Slates, while the great S-tate of New 

 Vork preseuts in licr State Society a grind iitlniclion, 

 bringing together her farmers liy tliou!i;in<)H luul tens of 

 lliousuuils, and I'uniiers of other States by^hundreds, 

 making it at the same time i»ii interesting speetacle lor 

 lh(i iit:;tosnian who is taught by truo pohiiral econoniv 

 lo foster .AgiienlUne as liiu bettor work of true pntri- 

 otisin; while wo ace Iheso movunienls clseviiicre, it i.s 

 nintter of rogrel to witness the apparent inUili'erenee 

 which eurrouiuLs us. 



Yet, denuded of all hor iissoeia(es, wb are glad 



lal we never 'attended so good :,nd .so plevs- 

 atlle Show and I'air within the liiiiits of 



to say til a 

 ant 'i (■; 



our riiati; a.« that e\hibited in this county at (he new 

 and llouiisliinix little village of Fishersvilfe on the bor- 

 ders of this town, on Wednesday and 'I liurs<lav last. 

 The enterprising citizens residing in .nnd near this vil- 

 higfi took hol.l of till- Inifiiioss ci this f^ir with a spirit 

 and zeal vvliith we should be glad to h,i\e opportunity 

 to (oninicud in some other places which have better 

 advantages but much less patriotism. \i'c attended the 

 Agri •ultural Show at Concord, -Ms., one week before: 

 the unfivorable weather of that dav kept hack many: 

 if it hul not been for this dilference of the weallicr, vie 

 should say ;it once that the New Hamjishire Assni-ia- 

 tion, without the aid ol' the State treasury which is 

 given to all the couiuiis of .Massachusetts having .-\g- 

 ncnltunil Societies, w;is the more ell'ectivc and more 

 spirited of the two. 1'he exhibition of fine o\en, the 

 '■Balls of H;-shan" and other neighborhouds of the vi- 

 cinity, the naked noble animals raised un<l kept as the 

 pride of a hundred farmers, -wa-s truly gratifying. The 

 corps of twenty-four Siixon bucks from llopkinton, 

 with the splendid individuals of the same species from 

 Coscawen, Salisliury and Sanbornton, would have been 

 ;:dniircd. and pi-ob;ibly unrivalled, h.ul the same been 

 exhibited in the Empire .State. Of the numerous other 

 animals, stallions, mares and colts, bulls, cows, heifers 

 and slecrs, we are not competent to the des-ription, 

 other engagements prerluding Iheir minute examina- 

 tion, 'the few samples of mugniticent vegetables, 

 traces of Indian corn, mammoth squashes, beets, on- 

 ions -,ind carrots, proved what may lie done here as 

 well .,s in the more fertile and better cultivated gardens 

 of Mas.saclmsetts and Connecticut. Of fruits the ex- 

 hibition was meagre, bespeaking a too general inatten- 

 tion and indifierence to the setting out and rearing of 

 orcluirds; diere were very few specimens of apples of 

 any kind, and none of pears and pe.iches. The Jlas- 

 sachusutls fanners of old Middlesex put us all to the 

 blush in ihe rearing of fme melons, apples, peaches, 

 pears and grapes: in a climate less adapted to the ma- 

 ple, ¥he shows what was not exhibited at our fair, bet- 

 ter sugar extracted from the trees than the best from 

 Louisiana sugar cane 



But if all things did not exactly please us at onr ex- 

 hil-ition, we might be well proud of the exhibition of 

 men that honored the occasion with their atteudauce. 

 It was a show of honest henrts and Inird hands: many 

 faces were there, tome of the heads frosted by time, 

 which we have known twenty and thirty years, whose 

 ocmipation, little affected by the fluctuations of trade 

 and die revulsions of credit, has been that of success- 

 ful farmers almost exclusively. 



The beautiful new cbnrch recently erected was 

 crowded to overflowing to listen to the verv creditable 

 address of Nathaniel B. Baker, Esq., President of the 

 Society; after wdiich a graphic and interesting account 

 of the travelling committee ou faruis and crops was 

 read by Levi Baitletl, Esq., the Chairman, and a Uis- 

 sertition on .^lanures by the same gentleman, who.sa 

 publication in rtir .Monthly Visitor will kiy open anew 

 th it field of improvement oAen urged in its colunnis as 

 worthy the alteiilion of all who would make two spe;irs 

 of grass to grow where only one or none grew before. 



The second day, storiny and unpleas.int, kept back 

 many ; but it did not prevent the appearance of some 

 twenty teams of oxen as competitors in the ploughing 

 tnatch, as the previous day did the hauling of almost 

 incredible weight by several yokes of o.xen. if train- 

 ing oxen to swift travel and agility be of the higher 

 v:ilue in the ploughing match, the owners, drivers iind 

 plough-holdcis must have been highly gralilicd with 

 their success. The ploughing match was uf little val- 

 ue as showing the noble instrument which best prep;irea 

 the ground for a crop. One of Trouty's Centre Draft 

 Ploughs followed by a subsoil plough stirring the gronnd 

 to double the tlepth any plough had before reacUi'd, ex- 

 cited leiu h ea;.'er nirinsily. .'\ very good mid ingen- 

 ious cast-iron plough, Ihe invention .-ind manufacture of 

 the Messrs. I'roctnrs of Friuiklin, which diil its work 

 in a smooth field \*ilhout a holder while under way . 

 was the best of all ploughs we have yet seen oriit'unit- 

 ing in our County. 



Ks soon as we receive the list we shall publi.sli the 

 awards of preniiuiiis — likewise the reports of com- 

 mittees. 



Something like fifty new members were added to 

 the Society on the two days. It is thought as many as 

 two thousand people appeared on the grouu<l the first 

 day. Both dnys a dinner, belter th:in .sonic that with 

 its appliances li.is cost one to live dollar.s, w.is fur- 

 nished lo several hundreds at the rate of twenty-live 

 cents per man by IVIr. .'Vnibrose, Iteeper of tin- Pisbcrs- 

 villo Hotel. ' ' 



L'si.xG si.NGi.E Oxen. — Many farinors .Tie not 

 aware of ilie ninny uses to wlii<'h a single ox 

 may be put. If they happen to lose ouo of the 

 yoke, they too generally let the other remain Idlo 

 until they ctm find a male liir him, or sell him lo 

 the butcher, lltit why not keep liiiii lo work.' 



