February, 1842. 



THE FARMER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. 



31 



Hernly's Pateut Double Sheared Com Plough 

 Culti% ator. 



The lollouiiij IS d hediitiliil pTtlein of Ilcin- 

 ly's Ploiuh Ciiltiidtoi a paiticulai desciiption of 

 nhich V, A- sivrii m No 12, Vol. 3, of tlje Visjioi 

 and owned by Robert Hale, &. Co., Fianklin 

 N H. 



Manchester, S. H.-Feb. 23, 1843. 



Nearly two iiiillions of dolluis Imve been in- 

 vested by Massaclinsetts capitalists in expendi- 

 tiues near the great Amoskeag fulls upon the 

 Menimack within the last five years. Aided by 

 the fmther investment of Massachusetts capital 

 ill the Concord Railroad of two hundred thou- 

 sand dollars, with a f;reater amount subscribed 

 by citizens of New Hampshire, an immediate 

 effect of these two investments has been the 

 rise in value of property in New Hampshire to 

 at least an equal amount. A large portion of 

 these iuvestnieuls has been ex|)ended in the pur- 

 chase of lumber, bricks and other materials and 

 in waj;es of laborers. And this is not all — the 

 erection of every new worksliopand factory cre- 

 ates a permanent demand for work that fin-- 

 nishes the means of increasing wealth to al- 

 most every young man and woman who had 

 rather find employment for their hands than to 

 remain idle. Female employment in factories, 

 under generous rejiulatioiis such as we believe 

 exist at Lowell, Nashua, Manchester, Dover, Ex- 

 eter, New Market, &c. is a blessing to the poor 

 and an advantage to those who are even well to 

 live. It takes off, it is true, some of the best 

 " hell)" of our families ; but still it helps hundreds 

 who would not otherwise be able to help them- 

 selves. There are numerous cases in this State, 

 as there is more than one in this town, where 

 the daughters of indigent parents have furnished 

 from their wages at inanufactnring establish- 

 ments the means of purchasing little farms; and 

 to enable the waning strength of the father to 

 keep this " little farm well tilled," the generous 

 daughters have even assisted with the further 

 means necessary to pay for the labor. 



Well might .our member of Congress, Mr. 

 BcRKE, present as the evidence of our greater 

 prosperity over the State of Tennessee the pro- 

 ducts of our manufacturing capital and industry 

 as so much additional advantage. As this part 



of Mr. Burke's triumphant reply was npi)lauded 

 by the ijewspa[!ers of all parties, so we ha 

 light to infer that tiiere is very nearly a ur 

 mous sentiment in favor of every event or i 

 suie which shall be made to conduce to 

 manulhctnring prosperity. 



We are getting away from our subject, which 

 was to notice the rapid growth of the village at 

 Amoskeag, situated on the east side of Merri 

 mack river, which has almost entirely grown up 

 within the last three years. That village, ; 

 late census of enumeiation by the firewards, 

 leady enumerates a population of 3700 souls and 

 upwards, and together with the other population 

 on that side of the river within the limits of th( 

 town of Manchester, embraces nearly 5000 in 

 habi'ants. The entire village is within the limiti 

 of lots laid out during the last four years by the 

 Coi|ioration of the Amoskeag Company. Seve- 

 nl denominations of Christians have already 

 elected large and spacious churches within these 

 limns, for each of which tiie ground has been 

 piesented by the Corjioration. "]t also presented 

 to the town a lot for the erection of a splendid 

 town house, which has just been com|.'leted. The 

 town house is situated on tlie westerly side of 

 Elm Street, an avenue which is a sort of dividing 

 line between the citizeiis' houses and the lacto- 

 nes and dwellings belonging to the several Cor- 

 poiations. The town-house is sixty by eighty 

 feet on the ground : on the basement is the post- 

 ofhce and stores and slii)|is of various kinds. 

 0\ei these is the piiiii'ipal ball, being a square 

 of about sixty li'et, o^palile of holding about one 

 thousand people, with, a gallery over the entrance 

 at one end. Over this great hall is a finished 

 storj 111 the roof, containing a large hall in the 

 centie and apartments for the deposite of fire- 

 aims and other jiroperty of the town. The up- 

 pei hall is very suitable for the dining or drilling 

 niihtiry companies. Central ujion a slated roof 

 with gable ends is the cupola and bell of dimen- 

 sions sufficient to carry the sound many miles ; 

 and in the open air, upon the balcony where it 

 rests, is a pitlendid prospect up and down the 

 iver over the magnificent falls for the distance 

 f eight or ten miles, and of the compact huild- 

 ngs already erected. 

 In the basement of the town house are several 



splendid blocks of hewed granite. The largest of 

 them were taken from Rattlesnake ledge in this 

 town ; several of these weighed after they were 

 prejiared fifteen tons each. The contractor, Mr. 

 Farnum, in the coiuse of a few weeks, being 

 very successful in lif;iiiii:g on a ledge of peculia 

 ly straight and ready rift granite, cleared in 

 small job of a few weeks one thousand dollars. 



The hall was dedicated by a splendid ball on 

 Thursday evening, Feb. 24: and on the succeed- 

 ing evening the editor of the Visitor, by request 

 of a committee which waited on him three days 

 before, delivered a political address before a very 

 civil and ailenlive audience of gentlemen of mix- 

 ed o|iinions, all of whom deserve our praise for 

 the perfect order and silence observed for the 

 space of nearly two hours, where many could not 

 be seated. 



The houses already erected by the citizens are 

 partly of wood, upon streets running at right an- 

 gles ; but the buildings erected by the Corpora- 

 tion, we lielieve, arc all of bricks. With the 

 quality of these bricks we have as yet seen none 

 in any part of the country that coidd compare: 

 they are of a deep bronze red, and so effectually 

 burnt that tlii^y will bo |)roliably equally lusting 

 and i)cruianent as giMuite itself. 



Such is !\Iai;cliester as it now exists — a town, 

 which under some circumstances, may four-fold 

 its present pnijulation and wealth iu ten years; 

 and uuflerolher circumstances, may fall back and 

 become the rcsideiire of tlie "moles and the 

 bats" where humanity now inhabits. 



The canal which lin-uishes the water power to 

 the great machine shojjs and factories, is extend- 

 ed already from the head of the liiUs to the dis- 

 tance of nearly a. mile. This canal is cajiacious 

 and direct: its posiiion, some fifty feet above the 

 bed of the river below the tails, is secure. Along 

 side this canal, passing up and down the river, 

 the railroad has been laid entirely out of the way 

 of interruption to the buihiings and business of 

 the inhabitants, and crossing very few streets or 

 other avenues. 



THE STARK TARM AND MANSION. 



the tract of land for many years owned by Gen. 

 John Stark, one cf the best, if not the very best 

 partizau officer this country ever produced ; and 

 on this ground, upon a somewhat abrupt rise 

 some fifty rods from the river, rest the mortal re- 

 mains of thtt veteran. Over these remains is a 

 granite monument erected by his eldest son 

 bearing the simple inscription ".!/. G. John Stark 

 died May 8, 1822, .^l. 94." At the head of 

 another grave at his side is a slate-stone slab with 

 the inscription " In memory of Mrs. Elizabeth 

 Stark, who died June 29, 1814, in tlie. llth year of 

 her age." 



The tract of land composing the first Stark 

 farm consisted of about five hundred acres lying 

 upon the east side up the Merrimack river about 

 half a mile and running back. Like nmch of the 

 town of Manchester, within the last fifty years, it 

 has been considered as rather poor land. Archi- 

 bald Stark removed "into the woods" upon this 

 land soon after the first settlement of Concord, 

 about the year 1734 : he came from the flouri.^h- 

 ing town of Londonderry, some ten miles to the 

 east, when his son John was about six years of 

 age. There were several brothers of the family. 

 A variety of causes operated in the course of 

 time to make the tract of land taken up by 

 Archibald Stark less productive than several oth- 

 er flirms of the vicinity. The M'Gregoie farm, 

 on the west side below the falls extenduig on the 

 river more than a mile, had always, been consid- 

 ered more valuable: this farm was purchased by 

 the old Amoskeag company, whose mills are and 

 were located near the head of the falls upon this 

 side and upon islands in the falls, some fifteen 

 years ago, at the ])rice of $25,000. It has been n 

 profitable farm at that price, and has been con- 

 stantly improving. 



The Stark farm, until recent I v, has not been 

 much improved. In the days of' its first owner, 

 the sons, in the first spirit of the rough enter- 

 prise of that day, fearless of Indians or other ob- 

 stacles, were "mighty hunters," absent in the 

 dense forest many miles from home for weeks 

 and months in succession. It was on one of these 

 excursions that John Stark was taken prisoner, 

 escaping death by his sintiular resolution and 

 courage, and returned back'from Canatla on p;iy- 

 ment of his ransom. 



Possibly other means for a livelihood might 

 have been relied upon than the farm soon after 

 'ts early settlement. Much of the soil in the 

 •ourse of one hundred years seems, until quite 

 ately, like most other farms that possessed not 

 the resources for making niaiiiire,to have degen- 

 erated into sterility : lonie of it, if we mistake 

 not, lost its greensward surface and became run- 

 ning sard beds. The absence of the sons, first 

 on hunting excursions and afterwards in the Ran- 

 ger service of the old French war, probably con- 

 tributed to this result. 



The following is a literal copy of a1i original 



parchment commission now in possession of John 



Stark, which we were permitted to copy, viz. : 



By His Excellency Hilliam Shirley Esg. General 



and Commander in Chief of ail His Majesty's 



Forces in JVorth America. 



To John St«rk Gent 

 I do hereby Constitute and Appoint you the 

 said John Stark to be Lieutenant of an Indepen- 

 dent Company of Rangers whereof Robert Rog- 

 ers Gent is Captain ; You are therefore to take 

 the said Company into your Care and Charge as 

 Lieutenant and to use your best Endeavours to 

 koep them in good order and Discipline. And 

 I do hereby Command them, the inferior Officers 

 and Men of of the said Company to Obey you as 

 their Lieutenant. And you a.ie" to observe and 

 follow such orders and directions from time to 

 time as you shall receive from his M.ajesty, my- 

 self, your Ca|)tain or any other vour superior Offi- 

 cer according to the Rules and Discipline of 

 War 



Given at Albany the twelfth day 

 of April one thousand seven 

 hundred and fifty six 



W Shirley 

 By His Excellency'is Coinm.ind 

 Wm Alexander. Secy 

 Soon after the close of the war of 1756, Gen. 

 then Capt. John Stark came into possession of 

 the premises. The house in which he died in 

 1822 was by him erected in the year ir(),5. The 

 late Dea. John Kimball of Conccrd. was master 



Directly north of the head of the great falls is I carpenter ; and his work now remaining thero 



