The History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642 -- 188O.
by Samuel Orcutt and Ambrose Beardsley

Published: Press of Springfield Printing Company, Springfield, Mass., 1880.

Part 8

This war, like many others in the history of the world, was originated and organized in the interests of a political party, upon a basis of small pretexts and with the intention of acquiring the British territory of Canada. The disgrace and dishonor of it has ever been a cloud over the fair name of the United States.

At this time David Humphreys, who had borne the military title of colonel for many years, was residing in Humphreysville, busily engaged in his manufacturing enterprises and philanthropic plans.

Upon the opening of the war, his love for his country was aroused as in his younger days, in the Revolution, and calling a. public meeting at the old and then dilapidated appearing meeting-house standing on Academy Hill, he delivered a stirring and eloquent oration, and called for volunteers. A company, called then troopers, (now cavalry) was enlisted, with the

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Colonel as its first officer, and was accepted by the state. Mr. Humphreys was then appointed major general of the state militia, and afterwards was called General instead of Colonel Humphreys.

No records of town acts in regard to the war are found, except that introduced by General Humphreys as complimentary to Commodore Isaac Hull, and very seldom is a document seen which is more perfect and complete.

"At a meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Derby, legally held by adjournment, April 12, 1813. the following resolutions were introduced and read by Col. David Humphreys.

"Resolved, that Isaac Hull Esq., a native of this town, captain in the Navy of the United States, and lately Commander of their Frigate Constitution, with the aid of his gallant officers and ship's company and the smiles of Providence, having led the van in the career in our naval glory by capturing His Britannic Majesty's Frigate Guerriere, commanded by Captain Dacres, has, in our opinion, deserved well of his country, and is an ornament to the place of his nativity.

"Resolved, that joining cordially in the universal applause bestowed by our native countrymen, on Hull, Jones, Decatur, Bainbridge and Lawrence, and their brave and skillful associates in perils and triumphs, for their glorious naval achievements, we judge we have a right in our corporate capacity, without showing an undue partiality to the first mentioned officer, or stepping aside from our municipal duties, to notice more explicitly his exemplary merits, from having better opportunities of being acquainted with them.

"Resolved, that Messrs. John L. Tomlinson, William Humphreys and Pearl Crafts, be a committee to collect and digest such distinguishing illustrative facts on the subject matter now before us as may be attainable, and that they will cause the result to be communicated to the public in such manner as they shall deem most proper.

"Resolved, that from the interruption of our fisheries and navigation by war, gold and silver we have not, to offer costly demonstrations of respect and esteem in imitation of richer towns, yet what we have we freely give, to wit, a tribute of gratitude.

"Therefore, voted that Isaac Hull, Esq, being already constitutionally entitled to the freedom of this corporation, the thanks of this town be presented to him in a box made of heart of oak, the genial growth of his native hills.

"Voted, that the committee take order from the selectmen for the performance of this service and report their proceedings to a future

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meeting, for the express purpose that a town record be made for the perpetual remembrance of these transactions.

"Voted, that the committee above named be directed to transmit to Capt. Hull a certified copy of the foregoing resolutions.
J. L. Tomlinson, clerk."

Diligent search has been made through the town records and newspapers of that day for the report of the committee which was to be "communicated to the public," but nothing of the kind has been found.

During the war, Derby also furnished a company by draft, which, after repeated trainings in town, was ordered to New London, where, under Captain Gates (of Derby) it rendered material aid against the British, and gained lasting credit to the American service. The company -- the bone and sinew of Derby -- prided themselves on being patriotic and brave, full of Revolutionary pluck, and having enrolled among their ranks no drones or, what were equally as despicable, cowards. But they were slightly mistaken, for one of their number, private E---- B----, was shy of gunpowder, and if possible always shirked his duty. Threatened with an attack, the balls beginning to fly from the enemy, Capt. Gates nerved his men by saying, "Now, boys, is the time to think of your wives and sweethearts, and live or die, fight for the honor of old Derby."

Private B. and another, G. W., rather hung back in fear, saying they did not expect to fight; when the Captain quickly retorted, "What did you come for, if not to fight? We tolerate no cowards in our ranks." Private B. was often ordered out foraging for the company, his mission being to rob hen-roosts or gather anything he could find good to eat, but he generally played sick or truant, and came to camp empty. His designs at length became apparent and his comrades thought him good game for a little sport.

For some military misdemeanor which was construed into rank treason, he was arraigned before a court-martial, and after due trial found guilty and sentenced to be hung. As might be expected, he was overwhelmed at the severity of the sentence. He was given his choice, however, to swing as did Major Andre, or more military like, be shot. He preferred neither, for to lose his life in such a way with his back to the enemy would

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be an eternal disgrace to Derby, and he plead for pardon, promising to take the front in the future. But the laws of war are cruel, and he was led out for execution, but just in time a reprieve from head-quarters reached him, and he was pardoned on certain conditions.

The joke was rather severe, but it had the desired effect, for he was returned to the ranks, became a true soldier, and faithfully endured to the end of the war. After the return of the company at the close of hostilities, its frolicsome members had many a hearty laugh over the New London court-martial, which proved so opportune and happy in its effects.

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Washington bridge at Stratford, to which allusion has already been made, being long a serious obstacle to the commercial prosperity of Derby may properly be connected further with Derby. Its charter was granted in 1802, the Legislature making no provision to alter or amend it. The draw was only thirty-two feet wide, while the right of navigation was in no way to be obstructed. In the winter of 1805 and 1806 a freshet carried away a large portion of the bridge, and in 1807 the Legislature granted the original company a lottery to aid them in rebuilding it.

On the early introduction of steamboats they were built of small dimensions and thus enabled to pass the draw, though frequently not without damage. When the manufacturing interests of Derby increased it became necessary to transport large quantities of freight, which required boats of greater capacity

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pacity and thus the bridge became a great barrier to steamboat navigation. In 1845 an application was made to the Legislature to compel the bridge company to widen the draw. Hon. R. I. Ingersoll of New Haven was employed as counsel. He took the broad ground that the state had no right to close the river against steamboat navigation, especially when Derby was a port of delivery, having vessels and steamboats regularly enrolled and licensed.

Edward N. Shelton, Esq., took a very active and influential part in pushing the matter before the Legislature, where it was referred to the appropriate committee, which reported a bill compelling the bridge company to widen the draw to sixty feet. It passed both Houses but was vetoed by the governor, R. S. Baldwin, on the ground that it was in conflict with the conditions of the charter. This created much indignation, especially among those in the interests of Derby, and the bill was finally passed over the governor's veto. The bridge company refused to comply with the law and a quo warranter was issued by the state's attorney in Fairfield county against the company to show cause why the charter should not be forfeited by neglecting to widen the draw. The case was ably argued, but in the absence of any proof that any vessel had been prevented from passing the draw, although admitted by all that steamboats could not, the court decided in favor of the bridge company.

The citizens of Derby became highly incensed at this dodge of the main question, and at once a meeting was called, money raised, and a committee appointed to act with Anson G. Phelps of New York to force a passage through the bridge, as had been done in a similar case at the Pelham bridge in the state of New York. The committee, Mr. Edward N. Shelton and Mr. Thomas Burlock, called on Mr. Ingersoll, who said, under the circumstances, he could not blame the citizens for this summary process, but after the committee left him, fearing he might be censured for favoring mob-law, wrote to Mr. Phelps saying that he had discovered that in the statutes the act of obstructing the travel over a public bridge was a criminal offense, upon which Mr. Phelps decided to have nothing to do with forcing a passage through the bridge. Not to be beaten in a good cause

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the committee, with Mr. Phelps, decided to charter a steamboat, load it with freight and send it to Derby. The steamer Salem of New Jersey was engaged and soon headed for Derby, being ten feet wider than the draw. As she neared the bridge, with colors flying, there was great excitement She was forced into the draw when open, as far as she could be and remained wedged tight nearly two hours, and then with difficulty backed out and sailed to Stratford dock. The next step was to hire a sailing vessel and take the freight to Derby. A suit was then brought by Mr. Phelps in the United States court for the expense of getting the freight from the steamer to Derby. While this suit was pending the New York and New Haven railroad company, to avoid any conflict with the Washington bridge company, which had in its charter a provision that no bridge should be built within three miles of it, purchased the bridge and proposed to put in a draw sixty feet wide, provided the suit be withdrawn without cost to the railroad company.

In 1848 the draw was widened to sixty feet, and in 1869, the bridge having been abandoned by the owners, the citizens of Milford and other towns applied to the state for aid in some shape to rebuild it, when it was enacted that when "said bridge should be rebuilt it should be with an eighty feet draw, also when the railroad bridge should be rebuilt it should have the same width of draw," which is the width in both at the present time.

Thus for more than half a century this bridge has been a bone of contention, and during great freshets many a wish has been expressed that it might drift into the ocean and no longer obstruct the navigable waters of the Ousatonic. B.

Considerable excitement was awakened at one time in view of the proposition to construct a canal from Derby to the Massachusetts state line, and the subject came before the town meeting, and on it the following record was made:

"March 4, 1822. Whereas it has been reported to this meeting that a petition will be brought to the next General Assembly to incorporate a company for the purpose of establishing a navigation by the Ousatonic river, by means of a canal near its banks or by improving the bed

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of the river as far as the state line; and whereas said operations are in part to be done within the limits of this town, therefore voted, that said canal may be laid through this town and the contemplated operations in the river be made, and that this town waive all objections to said petition on the ground that said petition shall not be regularly served on this town; and the representation from this town is hereby instructed by all proper means to forward the object of said petition, provided nothing herein contained is to be constructed to subject this town to the expense of purchasing the land over which said canal may pass."

The proposition for a railroad in the Naugatuck valley was entertained first by Mr. Alfred Bishop of Bridgeport, who, after consultation with various parties whom he supposed might be interested in the enterprise, brought the subject before the Legislature of Connecticut, and a charter was granted in the year 1845, which was amended in 1847 and in 1848. The persons named in the grant were the following:

Timothy Dwight of New Haven.
Philo Hurd of Bridgeport.
Green Kendrick of Waterbury.
Alfred B. Brittain of Bridgeport.
Thomas Burlock of Derby.
George L.. Schuyler of New York.
William P. Burrall of Bridgeport.

At first it was proposed to make the road only from Bridgeport to Waterbury, with a capital stock of $800,000, but afterwards it was extended to Winsted and the capital increased to $1,200,000. This amount of stock was afterwards increased to $1,500,000 to furnish the road with engines, cars and coaches, or what is commonly called rolling-stock. An organization of the company was effected in February, 1848, and a contract made with Mr. Alfred Bishop to build the road complete and receive in pay $800,000 cash and $400,000 in bonds.

The first officers of the road were: Timothy Dwight, president; Ira Sherman, secretary, and Horace Nichols, treasurer.

The profile and survey of the road, having been prepared, was presented to the directors March 14, 1848, and was adopted, and in the following April the work was commenced. The contract stipulated that the road should be built in the most thorough and durable manner, with a heavy H rail, similar to that used on the Housatonic road, which Mr. Bishop had just

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completed, it being among the first railroads built in the United States.

When the building of the road was assured application was made to the business men along the line of the road to subscribe for stock, and thus aid the project by furnishing money with which to build it. This proposition was declined, supposing that no dividends would ever be realized, and they preferred to make a donation at once, without any expectation of returns except in the use of the road. In view of such want of faith in the enterprise Mr. Bishop named the sum of $100,000, but in a final arrangement he accepted $75,000, which was raised and delivered to the company. In raising this sum and rendering special aid in the construction and completion of the road, Mr. Philo Hurd, who was the general agent in all the work, mentions the following men as having been of great service.

At Winsted, John Boyd, Mr. Beardsley, M. and J. C. Camp, William L. Gilbert, George Dudley.

At Burrville, Milo Burr.

At Wolcottville, George D. Wadhams, John Hungerford, Francis N. Holley and William R. Slade.

At Thomaston, Seth Thomas gave $15,000 or more. [The amounts would have been given but for the fact that the old records are kept in New York.]

At Waterbury, Dea. Aaron Benedict and his son, Charles M. Benedict, W. C. Schofield, Green Kendrick, John P. Elton, Brown Brothers, William Phylo, Almon Terrell, Scofield Buckingham, Charles B. Merriman, Norton J. Buel, Israel Holmes.

At Naugatuck, Milo Lewis, William B. Lewis, J. Peck, William C. DeForest, Mr. Goodyear, Josiah Culver.

At Seymour, Dwight French & Co., George F. DeForest, S. Y. Beach, General Clark Wooster.

At Ansonia, Anson G. Phelps, Thomas Burlock.

At Derby and Birmingham, John J. Howe, Edward N. Shelton, Henry Atwater, Fitch Smith, Abraham Hawkins.

Two men are mentioned by Mr. Hurd as having rendered special aid throughout the valley, George D. Wadhams of Wolcottville and Israel Holmes of Waterbury. The former of these was peculiarly qualified for pushing new enterprises; the latter was remarkable for his general insight into enterprises for the

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public good, in which respect, probably, he had no superior .in his day.

On the fifteenth of May, 1849, the first fifteen miles of the road was ready for the transaction of business, and Old Derby was connected with the outside world by a railroad. On the eleventh of June the road was open to Waterbury; on the twenty-third of July it was open to Plymouth, and on the twenty- fourth day of September, 1849, the whole road was completed. Mr. Bishop, the contractor, having died in June the completion was thereby delayed a few days.

The first time-table was issued on the fourteenth of May, 1849, and on the fourth of July of the same year a regular excursion train was run, and that time-table mentions the following stations, beginning at Inchliff's Bridge and passing Waterville, Waterbury, Naugatuck, Pine's Bridge, Humphreysville, Ansonia, Derby, Baldwin's Platform, the Junction and Bridgeport.

On the twenty-third of July a time-table was issued, the train starting at Plymouth.

On November I5th, the same year, a time-table was issued naming the following stations: Winsted, Rossiterville, Wolcottville, Harwinton, Plymouth, Waterville, Waterbury, Naugatuck, Humphreysville, Ansonia and Derby.

No particular change was made from the first plan of the road except at the south end, where instead of crossing the Ousatonic river at Derby and going direct to Bridgeport, they ran down the east side of the river, as at present, to the New York and New Haven railroad, and on that to Bridgeport. The directors in their first report, 1849, say: "The road commences at Winsted, in Litchfield county, about nine miles from the north line of the state, and terminates in the town of Milford, near the Ousatonic river, about twelve miles from New Haven and five miles from Bridgeport, at which point it intersects with the New York and New Haven railroad. It is fifty-five miles in length, and passes through the villages of Winsted, Wolcottville, Thomaston, Waterville, the city of Waterbury, Union City, Naugatuck, Seymour, Ansonia, Derby and Birmingham, besides several other intermediate stations."

While the country all along the line of the road has been

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greatly benefited, it is pleasant to know that the road, as a business enterprise, has been a success, and in every respect an honor to the country and the men who have conducted it. There has been no repudiation of bonds, nor of bills, nor damages, from the first day to the present time. The president of the New York and New Haven railroad not long since, pronounced it "one of the best managed roads in the country." This must be true or it would have been a one horse affair, instead of being one of the most prompt and energetic institutions in the state.

The expense in repairs on this road, above that of many others, - absorbs annually a large per cent, of the income. The road is built in a narrow valley, and the hills on either side, much of the distance, are very precipitous, and the water rushing down the steep rocks and hills often does much damage to the grading of the road. The clouds sometimes settle down below the tops of the adjacent hills and empty their waters as in a flood, when bridges and heavy masonry are carried away as floating chips, as was the case in 1875, between Thomaston and Waterbury, and also on another occasion when the bridge was carried away at Pine brook, a short distance above Thomaston. On this occasion the workmen on the road above the bridge closed their work at six o'clock and went down the road over the bridge (which was then all right) to Thomaston. Soon after, a heavy shower came along above the bridge, making a great flood, most of it within the distance of about one mile, which flood carried away the abutment of the bridge, the bridge remaining in its place. When the up train came to Thomaston the workmen took a baggage or freight car, which when they came to the bridge went into the river with the bridge, and nine out of the sixteen men in the car were drowned. Great precaution is taken to have track walkers examine the road after showers as well as after the passing of trains, but in this case the shower was so confined to a short distance, and that between the stations, that no apprehension was entertained as to the safety of the road. That shower in its extent was very unusual, as it fell within the distance of one mile on the road, and in three or four hours the flood of water was gone and the river assumed its natural low water mark.

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In consequence of the abruptness of these rocky hills the scenery along the road is wild and picturesque. At Wolcottville the valley widens a little, and the rising of the hills both east and west is gradual and free from rocks, forming one of the most beautiful sites for a city that ornaments the valley.

The valley of the Naugatuck, through the entire length of which the railroad passes, has long been famed for the variety and beauty of its scenery. Not only has it attracted the attention and enlisted the pens of writers who have been familiar with it from childhood, but those who have come as strangers from remote parts of the nation have taken pleasure in describing its picturesqueness and grandeur. From Wolcottville, where the two main branches of the Naugatuck unite, to Derby and Birmingham, where it empties into the Ousatonic, the river flows between wooded hill-sides, verdant meadows and precipitous ridges of rock. All these, with busy manufacturing villages interspersed, present themselves in rapid alternation to the traveler on the Naugatuck railroad, as he is borne northward or southward along its winding track. A recent quite noted writer speaks in the following manner: "The Naugatuck railroad runs through one of the most charming valleys in all New England. The scenery is rare in its beauty, and renders the locality delightful either for permanent residence or for brief visits. Besides these natural advantages, the towns all along the line of the road are homes of numerous and important manufactures, whose products are shipped all over the world, and whose industries give employment and support to large numbers of people." [Rev. George Lansing Taylor.] It is believed that eighty per cent, of all these manufacturing interests have been introduced into the valley since the construction of the railroad. Hence, the writer just quoted thus continues: "In view of these things it is a matter of the highest importance that the railroad facilities afforded shall be ample and ably managed, for without such assistance that whole fertile and productive country would lose its value to the rest of the world. It is, therefore, most fortunate that the Naugatuck railroad is

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one of the best managed institutions in the country. It does a very large passenger and freight business, and at the same time all its officials are courteous and accommodating, looking carefully to the wants and conveniences of the public, and making business intercourse agreeable and profitable; the credit of which is almost entirely due to the superintendent, Mr. George W. Beach."

Until the opening of the railroad, the knowledge of this valley scenery was comparatively limited, but since then, and especially within the last ten years, the visitors have been so many that "High Rock Grove" has become a household word in thousands of families, the children being as familiar with it and the name of Superintendent George W. Beach, the deviser of so many pleasant things for them, as the older people.

At High Rock, a little above Beacon Falls village, the scenery is notably wild and picturesque, and very much so for two miles below that place. On ascending the river on the railroad, the first prominent hight seen is Castle Rock, just below the village of Seymour, on the west side of the river, where it stands in all the grandeur of its ancient days, looking down upon the Falls of the Naugatuck as it did when the Red man of the valley made that his chief fishing place. This rock is about two hundred feet in hight, and without trees or shrubbery. Passing above the village of Seymour, Rock Rimmon rises in sight, jutting out, apparently, in the middle of the valley from the north, and rising to the hight of about four hundred feet, as if it were the foremost tower in a range of hills, like a battlement, to defy the northward progress of an army of railroads. When this rock is seen from a distance at the south, it seems to be on the confines of a boundless wilderness, and this appearance was probably the suggestion of the name it bears, as brought to mind in a very ancient historical declaration, upon the defeat of a great army: "And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon [Judges, 20:45.]." On the west side of the river from Seymour, northward for two miles, the scenery is wild and hilly, but after this the hills disappear so as to allow the coming of two brooks into the Naugatuck, and some little valley land at the place called Pines Bridge. At the up-

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per end of this little opening of the hills is Beacon Falls village, just above which the hills again close in, leaving little more than space for the river and the railroad, and then again the scenery becomes magnificently wild and rocky. On the west side of the river the hills rise very abruptly to the height of three and four hundred feet; the rocks standing out in promontories successively, in a gradual curve, until they reach High Rock, which has an elevation above the river of four hundred

and seventy-five feet, and from which northward the hills gradually decrease in height to the village of Naugatuck. On the east side of the river at High Rock the hills rise more gradually, but are still very steep, and covered with trees of small growth. The accompanying picture represents the hills and the valley just above High Rock, where the valley is but about twenty rods wide. A little below this is the picnic ground.

In the summer of 1876, the centennial year of the nation, the Naugatuck railroad company prepared a delightful picnic ground at this place, for the comfort and enjoyment of multi-

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tudes of visitors, as well as to add somewhat to the returns from the investments made in the road.

By the washing of the river, and the deepening of the channel on the east side of the valley, a strip of land had been formed on the west side, which had grown up within the last fifty years into a beautiful grove. This was cleared of underbrush and graded as far as was needful; two spacious pavilions and other houses were erected; croquet fields arranged; a supply of boats provided on the river, which is here well adapted for rowing in consequence of the Beacon Falls dam just below, and numerous other provisions made for the entertainment of visitors.

In the above cut, High Rock Grove is in the centre at the upper edge of the water, and High Rock is the high point at the left.

The grounds of this Grove, together with all the various conveniences and privileges for entertainment and amusement, are furnished by the company without expense to visitors, except the usual rates of fare, unless in the case of picnics when the fare is greatly reduced.

In the heart of this rugged region, and just at the upper end of the grove, there is a narrow wooded glen, opening upon the river on its western bank, which in former years was a favorite resort for small picnic parties, and was known as "Sherman's Gorge." Through this a beautiful mountain stream comes plunging down, winding around the huge boulders which lie in its path, and leaping over rocky ledges, forming a series of charming little cascades, some of them hidden under the dense shadows of the woods. Southward and northward from this glen extends a ridge of hills, or rather crags, the southern division of which is known in history as Tobie's Rock Mountain. It derives its name from an Indian who, in colonial times, was the slave of one of the chief men of the region, and who soon after his freedom received from the Paugasuck Indians, "upon the consideration of friendship," a considerable tract of land including this mountain. To the highest of these great crags the name of "High Rock" has been given, and the gorge at its base has been named "High Rock Glen." Just below the mouth of the glen, between the railroad and the river, lies the strip of level land which constitutes the famous High Rock Grove. It is

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sheltered on the west by the towering ledge spoken of, whose summit commands a view of distant woods and hillsides; while on the east the river, deep and dark, flows quietly by; and beyond it rises the eastern bank, high and steep, covered with evergreens and other trees, their foliage hiding from view the highway which runs close by. Taken altogether, it is one of the cosiest and most retired nooks to be found in any district into which railroads have penetrated; and yet, it is so convenient that a single step transfers the excursionist from the noise and hurry of the train to the seclusion and coolness of the forest.

The glen affords a charming walk in the shade of the forest for more than a mile. The varying views of the ravine, with its cooling waterfalls and deep, dark water pools, its moss-grown and fern-covered rocks, its glimpses of pure azure above, seen through the opening of the "melancholy boughs," the mirrored images of the "far nether world" in the deep waters, the miniature caves and caverns, the flume of the upper gorge, the dripping and trickling, the plash, rush and play of the gurgling, leaping water, the flecks of golden sunlight, and the dark green

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shadows, all these in their ever changing forms allure and charm the spirit and give the realizing sense that there is indeed "a pleasure in the pathless woods," and in the "love of nature."

HIGH ROCK itself is worthy of a visit from the ocean's side. LOOKOUT POINT, from the top of it, is reached more frequently by a circuitous route of nearly a mile in length through the woods, ascending so rapidly much of the way as to cause the traveler to pause "to take breath," and where frequently on turning to look northward he views the almost perpendicular columns of granite on the opposite side of the glen, or still farther away, discovers the rising summits of this range of hills. Standing on the point, the fragrance and coolness of the ocean atmosphere, in the summer, is quite perceptible and exhilarating, and the enjoyment very satisfying, especially to visitors from the large cities. A few lines written by a recent visitor while standing on this height are appropriate to be recorded:

"From here I gaze over a landscape that has been hunted out by many an artist, engraved and published in a magazine, and is worthy of the brush of Church or Broughton. or Bierstadt or Gifford. The scene is not vast. The sense of the Infinite is given only in the sky above. But here is a mixture of verdure and sternness, of romantic gorge and wild, tumultuous billows of hill and rock, that brings a feeling of solitude, yet of strength to the soul of man. There is an element of almost moral character, a teaching power, in a grand, gray cliff of upright uncompromising granite, that can be felt and remembered. A silent strength goes out of nature into the soul of man amid such scenes as this. J sit amid the vast and roomy silences, studying that twin cliff opposite to this, that infinite upper deep, and feel my heart lifted upward to a Somewhat in that abyss above, a Somewhat that is looking in full faced consciousness on me, and whose inaudible whisper, out of the infinite silences, steals through my soul with a voice more penetrating and more abiding than all the thunders that ever crashed upon these Titan brows of time-defying rock."

Thus seated upon the point of High Rock an impression is sensibly felt of the wonderful ness of nature and the marvelousness of mechanical skill. Nearly five hundred feet below, and scarcely that distance in a horizontal line, is the railroad, upon which so often each day moves the majestic train, making almost the foundations of these rocky hills shake, while the sound

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of the steam whistle echoes, higher and higher, until lost above the top of the hills, and therefore, the contrast between the silent grandeur of nature and the mystery of skill is realized with satisfaction and comfort. The grandeur of the Naugatuck valley, although not equal to, is instructive as well as, the Alps of Switzerland.

If, therefore, the railroad of this valley has been a successful enterprise, as already stated, it must have been conducted by competent and honorable men, for if either of these conditions had been wanting, this end could not have been realized. It will be interesting, therefore, to look over briefly the business life of some of the leaders in this enterprise.

Alfred Bishop, first president of the Naugatuck railroad, descended from Rev. John Bishop, minister in Stamford, and was the son of William and Susannah (Scofield) Bishop, and was born in Stamford, December 21, 1798. At an early age he commenced his self-reliant career as a teacher in the public schools. After teaching a short time he went to New Jersey, with the intention of spending his years in farming. While thus engaged he made personal experiments with his pickaxe, shovel and wheelbarrow, from which he estimated the cost for removing various masses of earth to different distances. In this way, without definite intention, he prepared himself for the great business of his life, that of a canal and railroad contractor. Among the public works on which he was engaged and which constitute the best monument to his name, are the Morris canal in New Jersey, the great bridge over the Raritan at New Brunswick, the Housatonic, Berkshire, Washington and Saratoga, Naugatuck, and New York and New Haven railroads.

He removed from New Jersey to Bridgeport, Conn., where he spent the remainder of his life. It is not claiming too much for him, to say that Bridgeport owes much to his enterprise and public spirit. Mr. Bishop readily inspired confidence in his plans for public improvements, and at his call the largest sums were cheerfully supplied.

But in the midst of his extensive operations and while forming plans for greater works, he was suddenly arrested by his

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last illness. From the first, he felt that it would prove fatal, and under such circumstances, even more than while in health, he displayed his remarkable talents in arranging all the details of a complicated business. In the midst of great physical suffering he detailed with minuteness the necessary steps for closing all his extensive business arrangements, laying out the work for his executors as he would have planned the details of an ordinary railroad contract. He then, in the same businesslike manner, distributed his large estate, bestowing one-quarter in gratuities outside of his own family, partly to his more distant relatives, partly to his personal friends who had been unfortunate, and partly to strictly benevolent uses.

Mr. Bishop married Mary, daughter of Ethan Ferris of Greenwich, and had three sons, all born in New Jersey.

William D. Bishop, his son, was graduated at Yale College, and was president some years of the New York and New Haven railroad.

Edward F. Bishop, his son, was graduated at Trinity College, Hartford; resides in Bridgeport, and is president of the Nangatuck railroad.

Henry Bishop, his son, resides in Bridgeport.

Philo Hurd was born in Brookfield, Conn., in 1795, and was the son of a farmer. He possessed a strong physical constitution, which he used to say he gained "by inheritance, and by holding the plough among the rocks on the hills of Connecticut." He engaged in mercantile pursuits for a number of years in New York city, in the state of Georgia, and in the city of Bridgeport. While conducting business in Bridgeport, he was elected sheriff of the county, and before his time in that office had expired Mr. Alfred Bishop invited him to engage in making railroads.

His first work in this line was in completing the Housatonic road, then being constructed by Mr. Bishop. He was next engaged nearly a year and a half on the New York and New Haven railroad, assisting Professor Twining in locating sections of it and in giving deeds and arranging the preliminaries to the eastern sections.

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In the autumn of 1844, he went up the Naugatuck valley on an exploring tour, to inspect the localities and inquire as to the feasibility of building a road in this valley. His report was so favorable that application was made for a charter, which was granted and Mr. Hurd went through the entire valley with the engineers, as overseeing agent in locating the road and making the profile and survey. Then he went through again, surveyed and measured the land taken by the road, gave every deed, settled every claim of man, woman, orphan or child who owned any of the land, whether those persons resided on the road, in Michigan or in California. He has said that it seemed to him, he had slept or taken a meal of victuals in nearly every house from Bridgeport to Winsted, and that in all this work he never had any serious difficulty with any person.

This last item is remarkable, and indicates that either the people of the Naugatuck valley are a good-natured sort of people, or Mr. Hurd must have been a man of unusual good-nature and kindly ways in transacting such business, or he would have had difficulty somewhere among so many people.

Mr. Hurd gave very high praise to George D. Wadhams of Wolcottville and Israel Holmes of Waterbury for the assistance they rendered in a general manner as to the enterprise, as well as to their work and aid in their specific localities.

In the construction of the road, Mr. Hurd bought all the material along the line, paid all the men employed, and saw everything completed and delivered into the hands of the directors.

The one great thing that made the work comparatively easy was, "the people wanted the road." In 1853, the road had been so prosperous and Mr. Hurd's work so acceptable, that the company made him a present of $1,000.

By the time the Naugatuck road was finished Mr. Hurd had become thoroughly a railroad man, and thereafter very naturally kept in the work.

He went to Indiana, and was engaged some time in finishing the railroad from Indianapolis to Peru. Scarcely was he through with .that when he was invited to engage on the Hudson River road. Governor Morgan was president, and Mr. Hurd accepted the position of vice-president, where he continued some few years.

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When Robert Schuyler failed and the Hudson River road became somewhat involved in troubles, Mr. Hurd accepted the presidency of the Harlem railroad, where he continued about three years.

At this time his health failed. He went to Florida and returned no better, went to St. Paul and returned the same. He then packed his trunk for a long journey, sailed for Europe, went to Nice, in Italy, and there in a short time entirely recovered, and has never since had pulmonary difficulty.

After returning home he engaged a short time on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroad, and after this, with a few items in regard to other roads, ceased to work on railroads.

He resides at Bridgeport, spending the winters at the South, and is still an energetic, cheerful and agreeable man.

Horace Nichols was born in the town of Fairfield, Conn., and was a clerk some years in Bridgeport. He became the treasurer of the Housatonic railroad in 1840, and has held that office since that time.

When the Naugatuck road was started, he was elected secretary and treasurer, and has continued therein, a faithful, honorable, prompt and energetic officer, until the present time. He is unostentatious, scarcely allowing a notice to be made of him in public print.

George Wells Beach is the eldest son of Sharon Y. Beach of Seymour. The genealogy of the family is given elsewhere in this volume. He was born in Seymour (then Humphreysville), August 18, 1833, and received in his native village an education fitting him for the duties of an active business life. It was during his sixteenth year that the Naugatuck railroad was built, and he watched with more than ordinary interest the progress of this new enterprise, connecting Seymour and the whole Naugatuck valley with the great world without.

Soon after the railroad was completed, that is, in 1850, he entered the service of the railroad company at the Humphreysville station in the capacity of a clerk, -- with the understanding, however, that he should fill any position and attend to any du-

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ties on the railroad which might chance to be assigned to him. In 1851 he was made second clerk in the office at Waterbury, but from time to time was sent to different stations, where a responsible person was required; so that during this period in his life as a railroad man he served as agent at nearly every station on the road. Occupying such a position as this, and possessing much quickness of apprehension and keenness of the observing faculties, Mr. Beach became familiar to an unusual degree with the management of the railroad, with the methods of work upon it, and with the men connected with it. He become also extensively acquainted with the people of the Naugatuck valley, and thoroughly informed respecting, the interests centering at the different stations, and the requirements necessary to bring the railroad up to the highest level of efficiency; so that his early railroad experiences constituted the best preparation he could have received for the higher position he was afterward called to occupy.

In 1855, Mr. Beach received the appointment of agent at the Naugatuck station, and held this position for nearly two years. In April, 1857, he was made conductor of the morning and evening passenger train, and while in this capacity took charge of the general ticket agency, thus becoming still more familiar with the business of the railroad as a whole. He continued to perform this twofold work until 1861, when he was made agent at Waterbury, the point of most importance on the line of the road. Here he remained, fulfilling the various duties of his position to the satisfaction of the railroad company and the public, for a period of seven years.

When, upon the death of Charles Waterbury in September, 1868, the office of superintendent of the Naugatuck railroad became vacant, the directors of the company were not long in deciding who should fill the place. Mr. Beach seemed to be specially marked out, by a life-long education and by his personal characteristics, for this particular position, and it was forthwith tendered to him. He assumed the duties of his office in November, 1868, and has exercised them without interruption, and with unrelaxing fidelity, until the present time. His appointment to this important trust has been fully justified by the results. For it is the judgment of those who know best,

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that there is no railroad in New England in better working order than the short but important line which extends from Bridgeport to Winsted. And this is largely due to the fact that the superintendent exercises habitually a supervision which, for thoroughness and system, is equaled only on the railways of England. By constant attention to details, he secures the utmost safety and comfort of the traveling public, and does much to guard against the inconveniences and interruptions to which travel in the narrow Naugatuck valley is liable because of sudden freshets in the river.

Mr. Beach has been well described, in a biographical sketch already published, as "an unpretending, plain, business man." His manner is quiet and somewhat reserved, but his mandates as a railroad officer are never misunderstood, and are always sure to be fulfilled. He possesses not only executive ability of a high order, but the forethought which enables a man to guard against disasters in advance, and to lay plans which will produce remunerative results. It is safe to say that some of the most profitable investments made by the Naugatuck railroad Company during the past twelve years have been the fruit of careful experiment and wise suggestion on his part; and the good results have been secured not by sacrificing the convenience of the public, but in such a way as to add to their comfort and enjoyment. This is well illustrated by the establishment, directly on the line of the railroad, of the summer resort now so well known as High Rock Grove, -- an enterprise originated and carried through by the superintendent's efforts.

Mr. Beach received his early religious training under the strictest Baptist influences, but is nevertheless a member of a Congregational church. He united with the First Church in Waterbury in May, 1863, and has continued in active connection therewith until the present time. He was long a teacher in its Sunday-school, and for several years has held the office of Sunday-school superintendent, -- a position which he seems to consider no less responsible and honorable than the other superintendency by which he is better known to the outside world. Since April, 1873, he has served as one of the deacons of the First Church. In 1861, he was a delegate of the Young Men's Christian Association to the convention in New York which

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organized the "Christian Commission" for the relief of soldiers in the late war. His interest in Christian Associations still continues, and he has done considerable service in their behalf in Connecticut, as a member of the State committee. He held the office'of postmaster in Waterbury during 1866 and 1867, and represented that town in the Legislature in 1870 and 1871.

Mr. Beach has resided in Waterbury since 1861. In 1855 he married Miss Sarah Upson, daughter of the late Hiram Upson of Seymour. Their children are Henry Dayton, born December 29, 1858, and Edward Anderson, born October 10, 1873. Beside these names should be written, with tender remembrances, the name of one who for a number of years occupied the position of a daughter in the household, and was the recipient of fatherly and motherly affection -- Hattie Beach Smith. She went forth from her adopted home under brightest auspices, as the wife of William R. Goodspeed of East Haddam,but died June 20, 1879, at the early age of twenty-four, leaving two children.

Alfred Beers, son of Jonathan Beers, was born at Canaan, Conn., September 26, 1817, where he resided with his parents until about five years of age, when they removed to Lewisboro, Westchester county, N. Y. He continued to work with his father, after the old style, until he was twenty-one years of age, but during which time he had, by various methods and efforts, learned the trade of boot and shoe maker.

At the age of twenty-three he married Mary E., daughter of Capt. Leander Bishop of Rye, N. Y.

Mr. Beers resided a time in Shrewsbury, N. J., and removed thence to Bridgeport and commenced work as a conductor with the Naugatuck railroad company in March, 1851, in which position he has continued to the present time, a term of over twenty-nine years. During this time he has served under all the superintendents who have been employed on the road: Philo Hurd, W. D. Bishop, Clapp Spooner, Charles Waterbury and George W. Beach. The distance he has traveled while in this work has been about one million miles, or the same as forty times around the earth, and has conducted about two millions

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of passengers over the road in safety, having never lost the life of a passenger, nor having had one seriously injured. In one respect he has had the advantage of his brother in the matter of safety; his train runs in the middle of the day, and his brother's at morning and evening, and the only serious accidents which have occurred on the road were two, both on the up train, each in the evening, after a heavy shower of rain.

Mr. Beers, having been so long connected with the road as conductor, has become the personal friend (and almost the personal property) of everybody from Long Island Sound to the Old Bay State, and in traveling it is a matter of about as much satisfaction and sense of safety to the public to see the old conductor, as it is to know there is a steam engine ahead of the train. Indeed, his silver wedding in connection with the road ought to have been celebrated four years ago, and thereby given expression to the joyful fact that in regard to these "bans hitherto no man hath put asunder."

Mr. Beers has six children, three sons and three daughters.

Leander J., his eldest son, is conductor on the Shore Line railroad, and runs from New Haven to New London.

Charles W., his second son, is mail agent on the Housatonic railroad.

Alfred B., his third son, is an attorney at law and judge of the city court at Bridgeport. He enlisted in the late war as a private, served three years, and then re-enlisted, declaring that he intended to do what he could to the very last to put down the rebellion. He came out of the contest unharmed, and with a captain's commission.

Mr. Beers's daughters are married, two residing in Bridgeport, the other in Litchfield.

He has four grandsons, all of them, doubtless, if not on the railroad, are traveling in the "way they should go." Mr. Beers resides in East Bridgeport, is one of the vestrymen of St. Paul's church there, and warden of the borough of West Stratford. He is one of the assessors of the town of Stratford, and also grand juror.

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Amos S. Beers, brother of Alfred, was born in South Salem, New York, in 1827, being the son of Jonathan Beers, a farmer. He worked on his father's farm until seventeen years of age, when he went to New Canaan, where he served his time, three years, as a shoe-maker. From this place he went to New York city, where he remained as clerk in a shoe store two years.

He engaged in the service of the Naugatuck railroad in 1854, as fireman, remaining nine months and then left that position. In 1855 he was appointed conductor and has thus continued to the present time, a period of over twenty-three years, and has thereby, as well as his elder brother, become, if not a part of the rolling-stock of the road, a fixture so important and so familiar to all the people that his absence from his train would require a definite explanation from high authority to satisfy the inquiry of the public. He has at different times run his train successive years without losing a trip.

He understands his business and attends to it without fear or favor, and yet with the demeanor of a true gentleman as well as an officer. Attentive in an unusual degree to the sick and disabled who are compelled to travel, he is decided and thorough in securing perfect order and decorum on his train at all times.

In the accident which occurred a little above Thomaston on the 11th of May, 1876, by which a coach heavily loaded with passengers was thrown into the river, by the breaking of an axle, he manifested such presence of mind in rescuing every person in safety as to secure the approbation of all on the train, and also received a present of an elegant gold watch from the company. As to this accident he has been heard to say that as he was standing on the platform and saw the coach, the last in the train, go down the banks, although the brakes were already on, "it seemed to me that the train would never stop." Very possibly! Persons have sometimes lived ages in a moment. All the suffering and sorrow that might be the result of such an accident would pass before the mind in much less time than it took to stop that train, although that time was but half a minute.

He also knows the road on which he travels and looks ahead

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to avoid possible calamity. Going down on a morning train after a shower in the night, he said to his engineer, "When you reach such a place, before passing the curve stop, and I will go ahead and see if the track is clear." The train stopped at the place, as directed, and in the waiting the passengers began to be uneasy, and to wonder what delusion had come over the engineer or the conductor to stop in such a place. The conductor passed around the curve and there lay a landslide covering the whole track, and if they had proceeded as usual the whole train must have gone into the river or been a wreck.

Behind a clear intellect is often wanting a heart to feel for humanity. Men often know the possibility of danger and calamity, but having very little human sympathy rush on, and much suffering is the result, which might have been avoided.

The Naugatuck railroad has been very fortunate in its conductors.

Mr. Beers's eldest son, Herbert S. Beers, is conductor on the New Haven and Derby railroad.

His son, Willie H. Beers, is shipping clerk for the Gilbert clock factory at Winsted.

As the incipient thoughts of a railroad in the Naugatuck valley originated in the mind of Alfred Bishop, so the first moving of questions which resulted in the New Haven and Derby railroad began in the mind of Francis E. Harrison of New Haven, in 1860 and 1861.

After studying over different propositions to facilitate public travel and the transportation of the mails between New Haven and the Naugatuck valley, the idea of a new railroad was full}' entertained and entered upon, and the efforts resulted in the incorporation of the New Haven and Derby railroad company, by the Connecticut Legislature, in the year 1864, upon petitions numerously signed by the active business men of New Haven and Derby.

The corporators were C. S. Bushnell, Henry Dutton, N. D. Sperry, L. S. Hotchkiss, Benjamin Noyes, Charles Peterson and N. H. Sanford of New Haven, and William E. Downs and Robert N. Bassett of Birmingham.

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In November, 1865, the project was presented to the public at a meeting held at Tyler's Hall in New Haven, at which Francis E. Harrison and Charles Atwater of New Haven, and William E. Downs of Birmingham were the leading speakers, and the meeting resulted, in an increased desire in the public mind for the road.

But little was accomplished until the autumn of 1866, when, by a new and resolute effort on the part of the friends of the project, the subscription was increased until about $200,000 were secured, and on the 24th of April, 1867, the corporation was organized by the choice of its first board of directors, and the election of Henry S. Dawson, president, Morris Tyler, vice-president, Charles Atwater, treasurer, and Francis E. Harrison secretary. The board employed Col. M. D. Davidson of New York city, to make the necessary surveys which were at once commenced, and were completed in the autumn of 1867. In June, 1867, the city of New Haven subscribed $200,000 to the capital stock, and in July, 1869 guaranteed its bonds to the amount of $225,000.

Early in the winter of 1867, the contract for constructing the road was awarded to Messrs. George D. Chapman & Company, with a proviso that it should be completed by the close of the year 1868. The work, however, proceeded very unsatisfactorily, and finally, in the summer of 1869, was abandoned to the company by the contractors. In the spring of 1869, Mr. Dawson resigned the presidency and Hon. Morris Tyler was elected as his successor. In the autumn of 1869, a new contract for the completion of the road was made with Willis Phelps of Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1871, Mr. Phelps having surrendered the contract, the road was completed under the direction of E. S. Quintard, Esq., who had been elected superintendent in August, 1870.

The opening excursion was made on Saturday, August 5, 1871, and the regular running of trains commenced on Wednesday, August 9, 1871. Since that date, its business has been fully equal to the expectations of its proprietors, and now amounts to about $100,000 per year.

In September, 1874, Mr. Tyler resigned the presidency of the company, and late in the year Mr. J. H. Bartholomew of

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Ansonia, was elected as his successor, and has continued to hold that office by successive annual elections until the present time. The officers of the company at the present time are as follows:

President, J. H. Bartholomew of Ansonia,
Vice President, Charles L. English of New Haven,
Secretary, Francis E. Harrison of New Haven,
Treasurer, Charles Atwater of New Haven,
Superintendent, E. S. Quintard of New Haven.

The whole length of the road is thirteen miles, running through a rural district nearly the entire distance, having the good fortune to touch the villages at a single point and then passing into the open country. The stations, beginning with New Haven are: West Haven, Tyler City, Orange, Derby, Birmingham and Ansonia. A brief notice of the leading men engaged in this enterprise is given.

Jeremiah H. Bartholomew was elected president of this company, Sept. 29, 1874, and still holds that office. The biographical sketch of him may be found in another part of this book.

Hon. Morris Tyler was elected president of the company in 1867, which office he held until September, 1874, when he resigned, but continued a member of the board of directors until his decease, in November, 1876.

To Mr. Tyler, is due, perhaps, more than to any other member of the board of directors, the successful prosecution of the work to its completion, in which he, and the board, had to contend against innumerable difficulties, growing out of financial embarrassments occasioned by the failure of the contractors, at a time when the work was about half done. His efficient effort in carrying it to completion is well expressed in the following resolutions passed by the stockholders at the annual meeting, November 15, 1876: "Resolved, that in the death of Mr. Tyler, the New Haven and Derby railroad company has lost a director whose services, far exceeding any requirement of official duty, were invaluable; whose counsel and

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whose means, in the darkest days of its history, largely contributed to preserve its road to the public interests which originally induced its construction, and whose unrewarded services as the executive officer of the company for several years, should ever be held in kindly remembrance. That in grateful acknowledgement of our obligations to Mr. Tyler for his unwearying devotion to the welfare of the company we place these resolutions upon our records."

Morris Tyler was a noble type of American manhood. Without the early aids which arise from inherited wealth, he, by the force of native energy and conscientious industry, acquired the confidence of his fellow citizens, and filled most important positions in the city of his residence, and in the state. He was reelected to the mayoralty of the city of New Haven, and lieutenant governor of the state, besides being connected with many financial and manufacturing corporations, in which he was a large stockholder. He died in the midst of his usefulness, leaving to his family and fellow citizens a reputation for public enterprise, and duties well performed, which they will long remember with honor and affection.

Eli S. Quintard is one of the oldest and best known of the active railroad men of Connecticut. He is a native of Norwalk, where he was born in 1820. His railroad life began with the establishment of the 9.30 morning down train on the New York and New Haven railroad, soon after its opening. Of this train he was the first conductor. Almost a quarter of a century after this (1872) his conductor's trunk, still in a state of good preservation, was sent him as a keepsake by the officials of the road. After a short service as conductor he was transferred to the New York agency of the road, and soon after, in 1852, entered the office and duties of its assistant superintendent, with his head-quarters at New Haven. This position he retained, to the satisfaction of the changing administrators of the company, and with the hearty good-will of its employes, until the winter of 1869, when he surrendered that office and removed to Cleveland, Ohio, where he became superintendent of the Cincinnati, Sandusky and Cleveland railroad.

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In the spring of 1870, negotiations were opened which resulted in the election of Mr. Quintard superintendent of the New Haven and Derby railroad, and his return to New Haven to supervise its completion and take charge of its work. It is but truth to say that his election gave general satisfaction, and was an element of strength in the public mind, which had become greatly discouraged in regard to the road by the various mishaps which had attended its construction. Under his superintendence the road has been carefully and judiciously operated, by which the public confidence has been obtained. The road is now recognized as a very great convenience to the localities for whose benefit it was specially constructed, and the day is not far distant when its receipts will warrant further outlay to make its usefulness more complete and extensive.

In addition to his large railroad acquaintance Mr. Quintard is one of the most prominent Free Masons in the state, having attained the highest honor in the Knights Templar and other kindred organizations of that body. He was also for some years a member of the New Haven common council.

Francis E. Harrison is a native of New Haven, having been born in that city in 1830.

Graduating from Yale College in 1849, the subsequent years until 1861 were occupied in teaching and newspaper editing, in banking and insurance business.

While acting as receiver of the suspended Litchfield Bank his attention was directed, by his own personal inconvenience, to the insufficient accommodations for travel between New Haven and the Naugatuck valley. The difficulties then experienced became still more apparent to him after engaging as chief clerk of the New Haven post-office in 1861, where he had occasion for observing the want of mail facilities between the two localities. To remedy these, he first petitioned the New York and New Haven road for an early morning train into New Haven, connecting with the only morning train down the Naugatuck road, and a corresponding returning train. Such a train was placed on that road, starting from Stamford, reaching New Haven at eight o'clock, and returning at noon.

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While circulating this petition for this morning train, and explaining its object to the business men of New Haven, he was constantly met by suggestions of a railroad making direct connections with the Naugatuck road at Derby. This was so fully in accord with his own ideas that in the spring of 1864, after consultation with prominent gentlemen in New Haven and Derby, Mr. Harrison drafted, secured signatures and presented petitions to the Legislature of that year for the incorporation of the company, which petitions were granted. Upon the organization of the company in 1867 he was elected secretary, in recognition of his services, which position he has held since that date by continuous annual elections, taking an active part in the administration of the affairs of the road.

In addition to his duties in connection with the road Mr. Harrison continued in effect, though not in name, the assistant postmaster of New Haven until January, 1872, when he was elected treasurer of the New Haven Gas Light Company, an office which he still occupies.

Charles Atwater, the treasurer of the New Haven and Derby railroad company, is one of the well known business men of New Haven. Descended from one of the old families of the town, he was born January 2, 1815; graduated at Yale College in 1834, and nearly all his business life, save a short period after graduation spent in Philadelphia, has been that of a New Haven merchant. The firms of English and Atwater, Charles Atwater and Sons, and Charles Atwater and Company, in each of which he has been a member, held a leading position in the iron and hardware trade in the city. He was also for many years a director in the City Bank, and some of that time its vice-president. Leaving that position he was the president of the Mechanics' Bank of New Haven about three years. In both these positions much of the active management of these institutions was intrusted to him.

Besides his business relations in New Haven, Mr. Atwater was a large owner in the Birmingham Iron and Steel Works, and for a time quite active in conducting that enterprise. While thus engaged his attention was directed to the advantages of

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railroad communication between New Haven and the Naugatuck valley, and at the meeting in which the Derby railroad project was first brought to the attention of the public he presented a resolution, "that the business interests and general prosperity of New Haven would be greatly advanced by a more direct railroad connection with the Naugatuck valley," supporting it with remarks of a practical and business-like character, and thus, from the very first, interested himself in that enterprise. When the corporation was organized he was elected a director, and subsequently its treasurer, which position he has held to the present time, giving his services for many years gratuitously, and in the darker days of the road often uniting with Mr. Tyler in sustaining it with his personal credit.

Mr. Atwater is not a stranger to public life, having been a member of the New Haven board of aldermen in 1858; a representative from New Haven to the Legislature in 1861; senator from the fourth district in 1862; the democratic candidate for lieutenant-governor in 1872, and the greenback candidate for governor in two later years. He was also for thirteen years a member of the New Haven board of education. In all these public positions he has shown a practical sagacity that has secured the commendation of his fellow citizens, and has rendered valuable services to the interests intrusted to his care.

Conductor Edward B. Bradley, a native of Newtown, Conn., son of J. W. Bradley, present proprietor of the Tontine Hotel in New Haven, entered the service of the New Haven and Derby railroad as conductor August 9, 1871, he being the first conductor employed under the first time-table issued by the company, and has continued in the same position to the present time. Under his direction, and that of the other conductor, assisted by the engineers, no accident causing the sacrifice of human life has occurred during the eight years, of five trips a day, in the business work of the road.

Conductor Herbert S. Beers, son of Amos S. Beers, who has been conductor on the Naugatuck railroad twenty-three years,

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began work as a brakeman on the New Haven and Derby road in March, 1872, wherein he continued until October, 1875, when he was appointed conductor, which position he still occupies.

The water and ice floods in the Ousatonic and Naugatuck rivers in the long past, according to tradition, were more magnificent and terrible than in later years. Large quantities of cord-wood upon the shores, saw-mill logs, ship timbers, huge trees broken or torn up by the roots, houses, barns and bridges were swept down stream almost annually by resistless floods. A wagoner with his team one day was swept from the causeway while attempting to cross when the rivers were rising. He was rescued by two men in a flat-bottomed skiff from Derby shore, now rowing through the stream, again floating on ice, veering out a long rope which was held by parties on shore. The wagoner was saved at great peril, nearly exhausted, but his team was swept into Long Island Sound.

The Naugatuck often rises suddenly, and many accidents have happened and lives been lost in attempting to cross on the causeway when the water was not apparently very deep. Mr. Thomas Wallace, although warned of danger, was, some years since, very bravely and leisurely crossing over with horse and wagon, when, nearing the western shore, the swift current carried him, with driver and horse, from the roadway, lodging him in a clump of buttonwood trees. Quick as thought the lookers on rushed to the rescue. Mr. Wallace's beaver was "on the swim," and his venerable locks bristling above water. One thoughtful adventurer made a dive for the hat, when Mr. Wallace, like any sensible man, exclaimed, with great emphasis, "Never mind the hat -- save me!" -- and all were safely landed on terra firma.

Once it was more lucrative to catch drift-wood during freshets than at present. This was frequently done by throwing a rope with a stone on its end over a log near the shore where it was clear of ice, and then towing it in. Catching wood in this way, a man from Captain Nichols's wharf, for fear of losing his rope, tied the shore end around his waist, and then grappled a log

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which proved too much for his strength. He was carried down the stream and drowned. One of our oldest inhabitants informs the writer that he has heard the roosters crowing in a barn while riding majestically on the swelling flood, happily unconscious of danger. Eighty years ago, or more, the ice was unusually thick in the Ousatonic, and during an ice flood it was piled up on Shelton's Island just below Birmingham, it is said, at least forty feet high, portions of which remained until the early part of the next June. It was during this freshet an incident occurred of exciting interest. The first house of Mr. Joseph Wheeler stood near the river at Derby Landing, just below the old Leman Stone building. It was a sort of store, eating house, and stopping place for travelers. During the freshet Wheeler was along the shore watching the elements, and saw a large sheet of ice, occupying nearly the entire width of the river, strike the western shore, then veering to the east and approaching his house, and the water rapidly rising. Mrs. Wheeler was alone in the house, unconscious of danger, when her husband rushed in and seizing her, without speaking, carried her, terrified and screaming, through deep water to dry land. The sight was rather ludicrous to the lookers on. Mrs. Wheeler was boiling doughnuts when her husband made the rude assault upon her, but she clung with tenacity to her dripping ladle, and this was all the furniture saved, for house, doughnuts and all, moved off with the unyielding ice, before Mrs. Wheeler had time to realize what was going on.

Mr. John Whitlock, a manufacturer of Birmingham, has kept a faithful record of the heights of freshets for the last thirty years, and some of the most notable are here given. November 13, 1853, the water rose in the Naugatuck, seventeen feet and seven inches. This was one of the most destructive freshets known in town. The water was one foot higher than in the great freshet of 1841, the flats and principal streets of Ansonia being completely submerged. The new bridge at Ansonia built two years prior to this was carried off about seven and a half o'clock Sunday evening, the immediate cause being the undermining of the middle pier. It went unexpectedly, and several persons were on the bridge when it began to reel and totter from its foundations. Two young lovers, John Allen

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and Georgiana Bartholomew, failed to escape from the bridge and were carried down the stream, to an island some rods below partially covered with clumps of alders and overflowed with water seven feet deep. This unfortunate couple clung to the slender bushes, shouting for help, their frantic shrieks being distinctly heard a great distance. Their situation was perilous in the extreme, not much less than the man who about this time lost his life on the island near the Falls of Niagara. Men and a boat in a wagon were quickly on their way from Birmingham to the scene, manned by Charles Hart, A. Kimball, Fred Smith and Herman Baum, but all efforts, with desperate hazard, to reach the sufferers, after repeated trials through the torrent of waters rushing and gurgling with lightning swiftness, proved a failure. After clinging to the bushes for nearly three hours with the most piteous cries for assistance, while growing fainter and fainter, they finally sank to rise no more. Oh, what a sermon the shrieks of those youthful hearts proclaimed to the thousands who stood through those long, dismal hours on the banks of that maddened river, gazing into the gates of eternity, which God in his providence had opened to the victims of that dreadful night! Men and women wept bitterly, their hearts melted within them, but their right arms and prayers could bring no relief to that perishing girl and young man.

The damage in this freshet was immense. Railroads, bridges, houses, barns and factories were swept away. Every bridge north of Birmingham as far as New Milford, was either carried away or greatly damaged. In Ansonia a man from a distant town who held a heavy mortgage upon a house and lot near the river, on visiting the place, found to his great surprise the house not only down stream, but the lot had gone with it. Since that time a dyke has been built along the borders of the Naugatuck to prevent the freshet overflowing the village.

One of the most disastrous ice freshets, it is believed, ever known in Derby occurred February 9, 1857. Factories, offices, stores and dwellings were flooded, and the damage estimated to different parties in the town was at least $125,000. The water in the Ousatonic, from the blockade of ice at the "Point of Rocks" just below the Narrows, rose twenty-two feet and three inches above the ordinary level of the river. On the

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business floor of the Manufacturers Bank, which then stood at the foot of Main street, it rose six feet and two inches, burglariously entering the vault, and many a good note that day went under protest through a thorough and good soaking of water. At the Narrows the water was one foot over the counter of Capt. Z. M. Plait's store. In some places the ice was from ten to fifteen feet over the railroad track, the lower story of Capt. Kneeland Curtis's old residence near the river was stove in and literally packed with ice, and the "Derby Building and Lumber Company's" property with great loss was scattered in awful and terrific confusion. The ice in the river was at least twenty-two inches thick, and the weather for several days had been rainy, foggy and warm. With the great devastation and ruin caused by this freshet, the heavy covered bridge across the Ousatonic at Birmingham known as "Judson's bridge," which had stood the fury of floods for twenty-six years, was carried away. As the water rose with its ponderous load of ice, the bridge was raised bodily two feet and three inches from its piers, and there it remained for. hours. The citizens by hundreds flocked to see the bridge go off, but tired of watching for the sight, being assured by Mr. Lewis Hotchkiss that it would settle down again upon its foundations when the waters abated, they retired to their houses, but William B. Wooster, E. C. Johnson, William Hawkins and Dr. Beardsley remained as lookers on. At precisely one o'clock in the morning, the ice cakes began to hurdle like so many dancing topers. Johnson put his cane upon the bridge with a "good-by," and the writer exclaimed, "It's painful to see it go after crossing it so many times." Slowly and gracefully at first it moved down without a break about twenty rods, then yielding in the centre, forming a half moon circle it parted, the eastern half swinging near Birmingham shore, while the western portion took the current, looking like a train of cars with lights burning but no passengers, going with railroad speed down the river upon the swift and angry waters. The moon shining brightly upon the glistening ice afforded a most magnificent spectacle to the beholders. The toll grumblers never realized the value of that old bridge until the next day, when they gazed upon its naked piers standing as monuments of its great public convenience. The bridge was rebuilt by its

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owners in the summer of 1857, and is now a free bridge owned by the towns of Derby and Huntington. B.

Height of water freshets above high tide at Birmingham, as recorded by John Whitlock:

November 13, 1853,      17   feet, 7   inches
April 30, 1854,         19     "   8 1-2 "
February 9, 1857,       22     "   3     "
March, 1863,            14     "
February 12, 1866,      13     "   1 1-2 "
February 10, 1867,      14     "     5-8 "
March 15, 1868,         12     "   2 1-8 "
October 4, 1869,        16     "
February 19, 1870,      13     "   5 1-4 "
April 19, 1870,         11     "   7 1-2 "
JanuaryS, 1874,         17     "   4 1-2 "
February 25, 1874       11     "   9 1-2 "
February 4, 1875,        8     "   5 1-2 "
February 25, 1875,      11     "   9     "
August 19, 1875,        11     "   6     "
March 26, 1876,         12     "   8 1-2 "
March 29, 1876,         12     "   2 1-2 "
April 4, 1876,          10     "  11 1-2 "
March 9, 1877,          12     "   5     "
March 28, 1877,         10     "   5     "
February 23, 1878,      10     "   5     "
December 10, 11, 1878,  15     "   9     "
February 12, 1879,      10     "   9     "