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Metcalf & Luther - [Illustration of an eye, with an imp leaning on top of it with a bandage covering one eye, between the letters O and C]. O C $50,000.00 worth of house furnishing goods to be sold this Fall, regardless of cost! ...
Silver plated solid steel knives - a full assortment of these knives which every family is now using in preference to all others, just received and selling low. A good thing for $3 per dozen. C.P. Forbes. Greenfield.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 20, 1875
Wendell
Wendell - There are growing signs of an upward tendency, all things included. A new hearse house has just been completed, and a new hearse is, we are assured, under way, and it is time, for the old one had become so frightful that no one would consent to be put into it on any condition.
The remark has often been made that there has been a decided improvement within the last few years in the expectation of men regarding the near future of these old hills, and in the actual effort that is being made to restore the place to its former relations, so far as that may be done. Although our population is the lowest that it has reached for 6 decades, yet there is a future for these hills and valleys that but few dream of at the present day of trial and tramps.
In the mercantile line a new change has occurred. J.N. Beach, successor of Danforth Putnam and the company he represented, as the legitimate successors of O.H.H. Powers, himself the successor of Messrs. Oatman & Fisk, who succeeded Mr. Creagh after the fire, who came in after M.M. Stebbins made the mistake in leaving the place and O. Leach, his immediate successor in quitting the business when it was prospering in his hands.
There is no trouble in trade here except the scarcity of paying, ready paying customers, and this seems to be the general complaint all around. There is one item in this matter which the welfare of the place requires to be stated. It is this: Orange and elsewhere have completely succeeded in deluding a large class of the people with the notion that they are, in coming to them with their trade, doing first rate when they just fleece them, with the expectation that they are getting things cheap.
But there is the other side to this matter. Where did the money come from to build up those fine blocks and shops and sich [sic]? Now quite a large slice of it came off from these hills. But Orange and elsewhere don’t pay any taxes to keep things up here moving; don’t build up anything here and don’t propose to do it.
What these greedy places evidently want is to have us get what we can and run down and bring it to them at the price they think best to give, and take their truck and dicker at their own price.Don’t suppose they feel any pangs of guilt in the matter; but this past and present state of things up here shows that there is a screw loose somewhere.But things will change sometime, if not sooner, when the valleys will be obliged to conform to the old hills, or go without potatoes.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 20, 1875
Turners Falls
Turners Falls - Drs. E.C. Coy and E.R. Campbell, late of Saxon River, Vt. have gone into partnership, and will at once open a drug store in Schuler’s Block in the store lately occupied by A.W. Stevens.
[Read more about Dr.Campbell in the "History of the town of Rockingham, Vermont, including the villages of Bellows Falls, Saxtons River, Rockingham, Cambridgeport and Bartonsville, 1753-1907, with family genealogies" on Internet Archive]
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 20, 1875
Greenfield items
Greenfield - Francis B. Wells, son of Elisha Wells of Deerfield, who has for some years been a clerk in Howland & Lowell’s drug store, is taking a course of study in the College of Pharmacy, New York.
[See the Internet Archive’s "Greenfield Directory" for 1885 to see his listing].
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 20, 1875
Greenfield items
Greenfield - J.P. Felton has purchased of W.S. Moore the meat market opposite the American House. D.L. Fay, formerly with Mrs. Moore, takes charge of it for Mr. Felton.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 20, 1875
Conway
Conway - It is said that Arthur Tucker and R.M. Cook have been taking a short trip to the sea shore. There are some new goods in Mr. Tucker's store since his return.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 13, 1875
South Deerfield
South Deerfield - O.S. Arms' stock of boots and shoes was removed from his store in Pierce's block, and was considerably damaged. Mr. Boche's stock of drugs was injured in removal to the amount of $500. [This name was blurry; I had him down as M. Roch before; it might even be Roche].
Boyd & Houghton also removed their goods which were damaged not less than $250. Charles S. Babcock, who was boarding at the Bloody Brook House with his family, lost about $600 worth of furniture, clothing, etc. G.W. Scudder, jeweler, lost tools and jewelry to the value of $250. S.F. Fisher's loss from damage to harness goods in [?] is $300 not insured.
Pierce's block was injured to the extent of $300 or $400, which was insured. Dr. D.M. Elliot's residence, though in great danger for some time, was finally saved, and with little damage to the contents which were partly removed.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 13, 1875
Turners Falls
Turners Falls - George W. Jones & Son have dissolved partnership, and Charles Jones and Clarence Jones have become co-partners in the meat market on Second Street, carrying on the business under the firm name of Jones Brothers.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 13, 1875
Orange
Orange - A new building is about to be erected on East Main Street adjoining the National Bank building, and is to be occupied by Frank Water and C.I. Kellogg as a first class grocery.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 13, 1875
Orange
Orange - Darius Stone has purchased the stock of groceries formerly owned by H.C. Davis, and has placed James Dyke in charge of the store as salesman. Should he be successful in disposing of the old stock, he will continue with a fresh lot of carefully selected goods.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 13, 1875
News about home: Greenfield items
Greenfield - D.L. Moody, the evangelist, was in town last Tues., and won the everlasting esteem of one of our grocers by purchasing 4 pounds of coffee. By the way, they tell the following little incident which occurred the other day when Mr. Moody and his wife went to Brattleboro shopping. Not being particularly interested in the purchases she was to make, he took a walk along the street, and when passing the store where his wife was engaged, one clerk called to another to come to the door and see the famous preacher.
The knight of the yardstick waiting upon Mrs. Moody said "There goes Moody, the revivalist, would you not like to see him? There are a plenty of better looking men than he is, ain't there?" The lady relished the joke, and of course had a good laugh over it with her husband.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 13, 1875
News about home: Greenfield items
Greenfield - The scales in Main Street, near George A. Arms' store, have been taken out. The pit was frequently filed with water, and it was so much expense and trouble to keep the scales in order, particularly in the winter, that Mr. A. decided to have them removed.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 6, 1875
Shawl lost
Lost between the South Deerfield railroad crossing and Greenfield depot, a Broche Shawl, with fringe all around. The finder will be rewarded by leaving it with Howe Brothers, South Deerfield, or at the Gazette & Courier office.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 6, 1875
A child on the witness stand
Little Walter Ross, brother of the missing Charlie Ross, was on the stand in the Westervelt (brother of the person who abducted Charley Ross [sic] but who was shot for burglary) trial at Philadelphia on Tues. He is about 7 years old, intelligent, and told his story in his own way with very little questioning. His evidence was as follows:
"I live in Germantown, on Washington lane; on the afternoon of July 1, Charlie went out with me into the lane and we were playing; two men came along and spoke to us; they were riding; they heard us shooting fire crackers up in the yard, and they said didn’t we want to go and buy some; and Charlie said he wanted to go and buy some and then the men asked us to get in; they lifted Charlie in and then I got in; they drove up the lane and then drove up toward Limekiln pike; before we got in they said they were going to take us to get some fire crackers.
I was between the two men and Charlie was sitting on one of the men’s lap; we went down Limekiln Pike down to Church Lane; then they turned up a great high hill and then turned up another street, and then they stopped at a hotel and got Charlie and me a drink; then they stopped in a street at the corner; they gave me money and I went in the buy the firecrackers; Charlie was in the carriage; I bought the fire crackers and came out of the store and then the buggy was gone.
A man came along and asked where I lived, and I said on Washington Lane; he asked me if it was in Washington and I said no, it was in Germantown; he asked if I wanted to go to the station house and I said no; I wanted to go home, and he took me home; I met my father in the lane coming up; while we were riding in the buggy Charlie cried a little, and the men said we were going to buy fire crackers now; Charlie said before he got in he wanted torpedoes; the men said they were going to buy the fire crackers at Juliann’s.
There was a red striped cover in this buggy; they had it spread over Charlie and all of us; Charlie rode all the time on the man’s lap; I had seen these two men before the day they took us away in the wagon; I had seen them twice before that and talked with them; when I saw them before that, they were riding in a buggy; they gave us candy first; they gave us candy twice before they took us away; they were right in front of Mr. Boutelier’s place; they were on the other side of the road from me, and they said Halloo; I did not see the buggy that day; that was in the afternoon when we were going to Sunday School...
The day they give us candy I took it up to Papa and told him that the man gave us candy; there were two new houses building opposite our house last summer; there was nothing said by the men about the houses at any time; one of the men had his nose up this way (pushing the end of his own nose upward); and the other had it down; the one whose nose was up had a cut on his nose, and the other had a mustache, which was red, and his hair as red; one man had on black pants and a light jacket; the pocket went below his knees; the other had on black pants and black jacket".
[For more information see Charley Ross in Wikipedia].
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 6, 1875
Great fire at South Deerfield
Great fire at South Deerfield - over $40,000 worth of property destroyed. One of the most destructive conflagrations that has ever visited Franklin County raged at South Deerfield Sat. night, sweeping out of existence the two village hotels, the finest private dwelling house in the place, a manufacturing establishment, a livery stable with several buildings, sheds and other property.
About 15 minutes before 12 o’clock, fire was discovered in the trimming room, in the second story of the ell part of John Ockington’s carriage shop, which was located on Depot Street, a little west of the Main street of the village. Before the alarm became general the flames with almost lightning rapidity spread to the main building, a large 2 story wooden structure, used for the various branches of the carriage business, and a repository for finished work.
Mr. Ockington’s books were rescued, and a portion of his stock, but a carryall, buggy, express wagon, sleigh, and a no. of carriages in different stages of construction, tools and lumber and stock of various kind were destroyed. ..The wind, which was blowing strongly from the north and north west, carried the flying cinders in the direction of Main Street.
Ten and a half ft. from the shop was the livery stable owned by W. Houston and occupied by Frank Warren. Hardly 15 minutes from the breaking out of the fire the stable had caught, and in a very short time was reduced to ashes...The next building reached by the devouring fire fiend was the Hayden Hotel, a large 2 story wooden building in the south west corner of Main Street and Depot Street, 75 ft. distant from the stable. It was owned by L. Hayden and occupied by his son Charles Hayden.
...Nearly all the furniture was removed from the building, but still considerable valuable property was destroyed. Miss Benn Hayden occupied a fancy goods store in the block, and her stock was nearly all saved.
100 ft. to the south on Main Street was Loren Hayden’s fine dwelling house, built but a short time ago, the most extensive residence in South Deerfield, and well furnished. Only a part of the furniture was saved, and the building and most of its contents were soon in ashes. In the rear, 27 ft. distance, was a large new barn which with its contents of hay and grain were destroyed....
While the conflagration was waging its war of destruction upon this corner of the street, another had broken out with equal fury on the opposite corner. The Bloody Brook House, belonging to C.P. Aldrich, was in a few moments a mass of flames. This long building, extending over 100 ft. on Main Street, with a new ell on Depot Street, its barns and numerous outbuildings melted before the flames like frost beneath the rays of the sun.
Efforts were made to clear out the contents but they were mostly unavailing, and the furniture, a piano, billiard table, provisions, bedding, etc. were lapped up by the greedy element. In the large grocery store of L.T. Harris, in the ell part of the building, but little was taken out. Scudder, a jeweler, saved most of his stock, but shot himself through the hand while handling one of his revolvers. J.T. Burnett occupied a room as a barber shop, but met no serious loss.
S.F. Fisher, who had a harness shop in the building, packed his goods and tools in trunks, and saved nearly all. P. Corkins, the shoemaker, another occupant, was alike fortunate. Several boarders in the hotel lost their clothing, but fortunately no one perished or was seriously injured.
Providentially there was a change in the wind, and the fire made no further progress in a northerly direction; though a horse belonging to Edward Jones of Greenfield, which is adjacent, was scorched and vigilant watching was required to prevent it from igniting. O.S. Arms’ house, on the east side of Main Street opposite Hayden’s, was several times on fire. All of the furniture was taken out, and by cutting through the roof and applying water as best they could when flames were discovered, he and his neighbors managed to save the building.
On the corner of Main Street opposite the Hayden hotel, is a large wooden building belonging to C.A. Pierce. This too was scorched. and the roof was frequently on fire, but it was saved without serious damage. Its occupants, M. Roch, druggist, Boyd & Houghton, dry goods, Mrs. B. Parsons Mansfield, milliner, O.S. Arms, post office and shoe store removed a portion or all of their goods, and had them more or less damaged. William B. Houston, who occupied a tenement on the 2nd floor, had his furniture taken out.
Deacon L.H. Fellow’s house, some 20 ft. from the post office, was also on fire and its contents taken out, but the fire was kept at bay by the use of small hand pumps, such as are used in gardens and in washing carriages. C. Mosher’s livery stable was saved in the same way. Numerous other houses and buildings were at different times on fire, but the assembled people were able to put them out.
South Deerfield is without a fire engine, reservoir, or any organized means for extinguishing fire. The people who assembled in obedience to the alarm could do little but assist in moving furniture and goods, and the fire in the destruction of the buildings mentioned had it all its own way. Within two hours from the breaking out of the flames in Ockington’s shop they had done their work, and nothing was left but tottering chimneys and smouldering embers.
About a quarter past 12 a dispatch was sent to Springfield for help and an hour or two after, two steamers and a hose cart arrived, making the run from Springfield in 40 minutes; but it was too late to be of service, and if the engines had come earlier there would have been little water that could have been made use of. The train soon returned.
The Deerfield Guards, under Captain B.F. Bridges, who had returned from msuter the afternoon previous, were early called to guard the property scattered about the streets. Some disturbance was created by boys who had confiscated liquors, but it was quelled without serious trouble. The fire was seen for miles, and burning brands were carried as far as Sunderland.
Mr. L. Hayden was so prostrated from the excitement incident to the fire that there were rumors yesterday that he was not likely to survive; but these rumors were probably exaggerated. John Ockington, one of the principle sufferers, is away at the seaside.
[Article goes on to discuss policies and amount of insurance, but this is all nicely listed in the NYTimes article].
Though there is some doubt about the origin of the fire, the prevailing belief is inclined to incendiarism. There had been no fire about the carriage shop after 3 o’clock the previous afternoon. The place in the building where it broke out was quite a distance from the forging shop. The calamity is a serious blow to the community.
[See the article "Losses by fire" in the Sept. 6, 1875 issue of the New York Times Online Archive].
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 6, 1875
Cheapside as it was more than 50 years ago
Cheapside as it was more than 50 years ago - A good deal of business was transacted at Cheapside even as late as 1819. Two stores were in operation, one situated on the west, the other on the east side of the covered bridge. Robert Bardwell and Clark Houghton were the storekeepers. A line of boats, owned by Clark Houghton, run [sic] regularly to and from Hartford, and freight came in there to be distributed among the merchants of Greenfield and vicinity, even to merchants in Rowe, Whitingham, Wilmington and others west of here.
In later years Allen & Root of Greenfield run a line of freight boats to Hartford, and had a store on the landing, and sold quite a large amount of heavy goods. Uncle George P. Field had a bakery there and sold crackers - and good ones, too - to the people in all this region. Robert Field tended the gate, and made cut nails by hand, with the aid of a heading machine, and had a two story building on the side of the road next to the river.
There was no tavern there in those days, so the storekeepers had license to retail the ardent. The consequence was that in dull days, or rainy days, lots of thirsty bodies presented themselves to be lined inside with something to take. Old St. Croix was cheap then - about $1 per gallon; new rum .33 per gallon. Oh, how they did drink!
The main farm in Cheapside was owned by a man who died many years since, and not one foot of said farm is owned at present by any of his heirs; neither is there now a slab to mark his resting place in the cemetery, near the railroad station at Old Deerfield.
At the time when a division of the old county of Hampshire was talked of, there was a strong effort made to have the shire town of the (then) new county of Franklin established at Cheapside, but the man who owned at that time, hundreds of acres of land in that locality, would not sell any for the purpose, so that village today is not as valuable as in 1819. W.
[Those interested in Cheapside simply must read "History of Greenfield: Shire Town of Franklin County, Massachusetts" by Francis McGee Thompson, and Lucy Cutler Kellogg].
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 6, 1875
News about home: Greenfield items
(Greenfield) School children who need new books will find a full assortment at Moody's. He furnishes them neatly covered if desired. Merriam has also a stock of all books in use, for sale cheap.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 6, 1875
News about home: Greenfield items
(Greenfield) The biggest thing in the way of cucumbers has been raised by John Holton of Gill. He brought two into town Sat., one measuring 5 ft. and the other 5 ft. and 8 inches in length. They grew in coils, like snakes. The shorter one can be seen in Moody’s window.
Gazette & Courier - Monday, September 6, 1875
News about home: Greenfield items
(Greenfield) John A. Clark, formerly of the Federal Street market, now of Columbus, Ga., is paying his old friends a brief visit. They are all glad to take him by the hand once more.
- Sun, Feb 21, 2010
