History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

1S4-'! he tirst began to use lior,-.es and \va,<;on> in de- Ojh' (]|' the first |iulilie nieasnn's of the citizens of livi'rinj;-, and soon afterwards Adams .V ( 'o. nLude a Xewfield — afterward^ the lioroULih of r>ridi:ei»>rt — contract with the Treasury Department lor the trans- ^yas to form themselves into a tire company, wdiieh portation of irovernnient funds, which tlieir ^mi-essors \v.|s incorporated, as already nu'ntioned, in 171I7. An .still continue, (let. lM;, 1S4S, the New "^ ork and New ;,,.( ,,f similar tiiior was passed in the followiufT year. Haven Uailroad was o]ieiieil for travel from New .,],il jn IS.'Uathird lire eom[iaiiy w as chartered, fol- Haven to r>ridi!:ci)ort, and on October ".Ist the follow- lnwcil in 1S4(I by the I'lnenix Fire ('omiiany, No. 4, in^; advcrtisenuait appeared in the ]Vi'i'/rfi/ S/ninliifil : jmil the l'i'i|Uonnoek l-'iri' ( 'ompany, of N<irth liridfrc- ■■\ 1- w i-xi'fi-s 1"""*' '""' '" ''^^■' ''-^ ''"' '''''1.-' I""' 1'"^'' t'l'inpany. ,. . , , ,-, ., ,, .,,..,, , The ensiincs (d' that dav, however, were e.xtrcnudv ".\<laitia ,V Co, rL'spei-ttulIy i^tv Iii-Ii<<- tliat liny have- rniiiiii,-iii -■'! ^ miaiing a .iail.v i' v press, t.. nwi u-m .N. « iiavi-Ti aii.i i!ii.i^.i~.,t, in rude affairs, without aiiv suction apparatus, it beiiiif ciimiertuiii with tlicii N.w Ymk anil New Haven liue. fackasis, m-ecNsary to ponr the watir into them before it Was Spedo, Bank-Notes, au,l ValuaMes uf every Jeseription inUnst,.,! ,„ ^^ ■.^^,^^ ,|„. ,i,.,.^ .„„| ,v|„,,„.v,,,- :,,! alarm of Wvr their cnre will he tiansluilteil witll the utmust safely am! ihspateh, aiel ' ' .... all h,isine.«, sueh „.« the eolleeti.,,, ,.r Xules an.l Hills, the ,lel,ve,v .,t "a> -IVill the fir-t duty of a ,^-oo,l iltlZell Was to rllsh to Inartsfiil ae,i-ptiuiee. an.l .inlels uf all Uiinls. will re.'.'ive Ilieii pal tli-- tlu' Spot witll Ilis firc-luicket, whi(dl Was a part id' tllC „lar altenli..,,. .\ s iai messenu-er wilt aeeompany Hie train leaviiiK tiirnituie of evirv house, and to form one of a line for New Haven at .piailei heli.ie nine .\..ii.; letuniing will lea\e Bi iM;.'e- . . " • ^ ii i • p,.itatten.o,„nani,al..f i.natrren,.NewV,„k. , drawiu.i; Water from Some convenient Well and pas.sing * »«,»*« « it lip to the eiiiiine. Under these circumstances it is "nrricKs Axn ai;ents: ""t surprisini;- tluit tires were freipieiit and destrne- ".\p.»Ms>«: ('M..1G Wall Street, New y,.rk. five. ( 'oiilhiL; rat ions several timi'ssWi'pt through the "\v. Weuh .t c... 14:'. (•hai>el Street. DwiKlifs linil.lini;, New Haven. Iiu>iness |iart of the place, notably u]ioii the morning ••.S.^NFnUD CnR.NWALl., Nu. ^ Exeha„Ke flaee, opposite the Slellm^- ^^|. ||^,^, ,|_ ]^^-_ ^^.||,,„ ,||,. ^,.,„tern side id' Water Uotlse, B,i,l,epott." . ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^.^^^^^ ^^^. ^^.^^|, _^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^.^_^.^ The office of the express company was afterwards i devastated. Forty-nine buildings were consumed on located under the Sterling House, sidiseijneiitly re- this occasion, and the loss was estimated at over one moving to the York House building, on the west >ide hundred and twenty-live thousand doll.irs. of Water Stri'ct, near Fiiioii Stieet. and I'rom thence 'I'lie fust engine worthy of the name was that pur- to its pri'seiit location, in the di'|iot biiihling at the chased lor ( 'ompany No. .'i. wliieh had a suction apjia- foot of Fairfield .\ venue. The .iilams JOxpre.ss Com- ' ratiis, and was built in New "i'ork at a co.st id' one jiaiiy was formed by the consolidation of some half thousand dollars. Within :i week after its arrival the a dozen other lines, .(uly 1, LSod. At that time the steam flour-mill near the corner of Water .Street and capital stock was divided into twelve thousand shares, South .\veiiue was burned, and. ten days later, the whose value was not siiccified, but supposed to be Jlethodist church on I'leavcr Street siilfered the same worth at least one hundred dollars each, or one mil- fate, lion two hundred thoiisainl dollars altogether. The I'levious to 1 S47 there was no orgaliizi'd lire do lude- leaiUiuarters of the New lOnghind division were re- partmeiit, the sevend companies bidiig not only moved from Hartfiird to Piridgejiort, .\pril 2. bsii.'i; to |ieiiilent of one another, but sometimes antagonistic. Boston, Sept. 1, 186S ; to Ilarttord, Sept. L'. isilli; and ,\ by-law drafted by .Mr. I\. H. Laeey, providing tor the again to I'ridgeixn't. l''eb. li. isji;. Since that time appointment of a board of engineers and the enforce- Bridgeport has been the central oliiee. all the other mciil of better discipline, was adopted in that year, agencies in New England reporting to it. and continued in force until the adoption of a paid The comjiany has experienced several robberies. lire de]iartiiicnl. The steam fire-engine D. H. Ster- One of the greatest on record took [ilaee on Saturday ling. No. I, was purchased by the city in January, evening, Jan, (i, ISIili, when the door of the expri'ss- 18(14, and |iroved so succe.-sful that in Jlay, 18(15, car running from New "^'ork to lloston wa- forced, steaiuer rroteetor. No. 2, was purchased, and in I and securities, cash, ami other valuables, to the ,\ ugust of the same year steanur Excelsior, No. o. amount of half a million dollars, were abstracted I ii ( letobcr, 1S72, the vidnnteer lire de|iartment was therefrom. Nearly all the stolen properlv was re- disbanded, and a paid department snbslituteil for covered, and the criminals, who were arrested ill il. (/harles .A, ( ierdeiiier, who had bei'ii at the head Norwalk, were tried and sentenced at Ilridgcport in of the volunteer organization since J8(j'.l, was ap- February, 18G(5, pointed chief engineer, and has held this im]iortaiit The officers and re]ireseiitatives of the .\dains Ex- : oflice to the present tiiiii-. press Company residing at I'riilgcport are; Henry The pr..|icrty of the lire deparlment. March 1, 1880, Saiiforil, (ieiieral Siiperintemhail ; Chipp Spooner, consisted in part id' the following articles: Five en- liesidcnt Mamiger, and Superintendent of New Eno- gine-hou-e-. three steam lire-engines, two hook-ami- 118 HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT. ladder trucks, one of them.with chemical attachment, ten thousand four hun<lrcd feet of liose, two bell- towers and ahirni-bells, ii fire-alarm telepraidi, five chemical fire-extinguishers, twelve horses, and one hundred and seventy-three hydrants, the aggregate value of the whole being one hundred and seven thousand seven hundred and nineteen dollars. Hesides the chief engineer, the active force of the department consists of nine assistant and steamer en- gineers, seven drivers, and forty-five hose and liook- and-ladder men, — in all, sixty -two persons. The government of the department is in the hands of a lioard of commissionei-s, Messrs. S. W. Baldwin, AVil- liani K. Higby, Eli Dewhurst, and .Tobn M. Saniniis* being tlie present mend)ers. Tlie department has upon the whole met with ex- cellent success ever since its orgauizaticjn in subduing the ravages of the devouring element, but it is hardly to be expected that a ])laee of this size should wholly , escape from disastnms fires, the work cither of ineen- i diaries or of carelessness. Among the noteworthy fires of recent years have been the following: July 22, 18.52, steamer "Alice" burned at the dock: loss, j twenty-eight thousand dollars ; Dec. 22, ISOo, car- riage-factory of F. Wood & Co., on Broad Street, badly damaged ; May 28, 1871, lumber-yard of Beards- ley, Wilson & Co. burned; t^ept. ;{0, 1872, planing- mill and lumber-yard of S. Nickerson tS: Son de- stroyed; Feb. 21, 187:J, Courtland Block badly dam- aged ; Dec. 9, 1874, Presbyterian churcii destroyed ; Dec. 14, 1875, the cabinet-factory of the Wheeler & Wilson Comjtany destroyed, causing a loss estimated at six hundred tiiousand dollars; June 7, 1877, the hat-manufactory of (ilover Sanford & Scms burnt, on which occasion eleven lives were lost by the falling of a wall. FIIKKMASONS. St. .John's Lodge, No. 3, F. and A. M., of this city, was founded under a charter dated Feb. 12, 1702, and issued by (Jcorge Harrison, (irand Master of the province of New York, to Eleazer llubbell, of Strat- field, in the county of Fairfield and colony of Connect- icut. There was then no (irand Lodge in Connecticut; indeed, there were but two other lodges in the colony, — viz., lliram, No. 1, of New Haven, instituted 17.J0, and St. John's, No. 2, of Middletown, instituted 17.')4. Tile first meeting nf St. .John's Lodge uniler its new charter was at the house of Capt. Samuel Wake- lee, which stood upon the street now called Park Avenue, a short distance south of State Street, Feb. l.i, 17()2. Five members were present, — viz., .\rnout Cannon, of the city of New York, who officiated as Master 7<co tern.; Joseph Knajip and Isaac Young, botli of I'airfield; Eleazer Hubbell, ofStratfield; and J. Anderson, who acted as Secretary, and was jjcrhaps a visiting brother, aa his name occurs but once again in the records. It was a special meeting, called for • 3Ir. Sniiiniia iUimI in .Viiguat, ISW. the pur|)osc of initiating David Wlieckr and M'olcott Chauncey. The first regular or ])ro))er meeting wsls held at the house of Richard Hubbell, who lived on tlie street now called Clinton Avenue, Feb. 24, 17(«2. On July 14tli of the same year occurred the first elec- tion of officers, when Eleazer Hubbell, who had already acted in the capacity, was formally chosen Master for the ensuing year.