From The Connecticut River Valley in Southern Vermont and New Hampshire: Historical Sketches by Lyman S. Hayes, Tuttle Co., Marble City Press, Rutland, VT., 1929, page 326:
STORIES OF BELLOWS FALLS BETWEEN 1841 AND 1898 BY GEORGE SLATE
George Slate was a well known and influential resiident of Bellows Falls from October, 1841, until his death in 1898. lIe was born in Hinsdale, N. H., August 15, 1814. He was brought up on his father's farm and in 1839 engaged in hotel business, coming to Bellows Falls as a permanent resident in 1841. He was apppointed deputy sheriff in 1846, and in 1858 he was elected high sheriff of Windham County. About 1854 he became connected with the bank of Bellows Falls as director and trustee, and with the Bellows Falls Savings Institution. Of the latter he was president two years, resigning his connection with both institutions in 1882. He was assistant United States district assessor four years durring the Civil War and for a number of years held the office of referee in bankruptcy. fIe was the treasurer several years of the Connecticut River Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which had its head offices in the Times building. Mr. Slate was a leading spirit in many enterprises, among them the laying of the first water pipe from Minard's pond and for the first twenty years he was the manager of the water works, they being a private enterprise of which he was a large owner. Later these were purchased by the village. In 1845 Mr. Slate married Frances A. Griswold, who died in 1879, leaving one son, William W. Slate, who is still living, a merchant in Needham, Mass.
After the death of Mr. Slate in 1898 an interesting manuscript was found in his desk which he had planned upon reading at a Y. M. C. A. meeting, but died before [327] the meeting was held. It tells interesting stories of conditions and people of the village over eighty years ago. Among them:-
"When I came here in 1841 there were but three buildings under the hill, an old saw mill owned by the Canal company, used only a little, a paper mill owned by Green & Fleming, which was burned in 1846 and never rebuilt. The grist mill was owned by Col. Alexxander Fraser, an Englishman, who sold his commission for $30,000 and came here to reside. Now, gentlemen, if you will reflect for a moment how it looked when I came here, and then take a look as it is now, you will agree with me in saying the change is marvelous.
"We now go to the Island, so called. It is all that land lying north of the highway leading from the stone bridge that crosses the canal to the Tucker bridge, bounded by the river on the east and the canal on the west. When I came here there were but three buildings on this land: The toll house, Judge Baxter's residence on the site of the Island House, and a house on the site of the Vermont Farm Machine Company's buildings. Most of the land was used for cultivation. I have seen oats growing and cows grazing on the land where the depot and freight buildings now stand. There was no way of getting on the Island except by Bridge Street. Where Henry and South Streets are the land was used for cultivation several years after I came here to reside. On the three terraces now covered with dwellings, the land was used for cultivation, not one building standding on the same.
"There were but seven or eight streets in the villlage; now I suppose there are some 25 or 30. Only one schoolhouse in the village, a small brick building on the site of Mrs. Arms's house near George K. Russell's, with some 30 scholars. (This location is where now is the residence of J udge Warner A. Graham, on the corner of School and Cherry Streets.) Now we have five large [328] brick schoolhouses with some 800 scholars. There were only two churches, the Episcopal and Methodist. The Episcopal, which was of wood, after a time was taken down and the present one built to take its place. The Methodist church is the only one standing that was here when I came, but a story has been put on to it and it has no natural look to me.
"The canal was originally chartered and built as an aid in navigating the river to enable boats to pass up and down by the falls, and manufactured lumber on rafts to pass down.
"I think there were seven locks required to take boats from the eddy; the last lock was nearly opposite the gristmill. Previous to the building of the railroads these locks were used quite extensively through the summer season. The tolls amounted to quite a sum of money, but after the railroads were built about 1847, all the freight that formerly passed through these locks was transported on the cars, and the original purpose for which the canal and locks were built passed away, and manufacturing has taken its place.
"When these boats were in use on the river it reequired a captain and two hands, sometimes more, to manage them. They could sail when the wind was aft, but otherwise they pushed them along with what they called setting poles. I was acquainted with many of those captains, but I know of but one now living. Capptain Richardson of Hinsdale, a schoolmate of mine, is still alive.
"There must be about as many thousand people in this village now as there were hundreds when I came here to reside. Business was done very differently from what it is now. We had no meat market, no drug store, no ready-made clothing store. We had a boot and shoe maker and a tailor. When we wanted clothes we went to the tailor and ordered them made; also went to the shoe maker for our boots and shoes. We had three stores. They kept an assortment of almost everything [329] you wished to purchase (dry goods, groceries, hardware, iron and steel, crockery and glassware, hats and caps, gloves and mittens, pipes and tobacco, butter, cheese and eggs, pitchforks and scythes, hoes and shovels, rum and brandy, dry and pickled fish and many other articles too numerous to mention). We were supplied with water from the old aqueduct and three wells. The old aqueduct still remains but the wells are filled with earth. This aqueduct is still in use by a few families, having been relaid a few years ago. The water comes from large springs on the Saxtons River road just beyond J. A. Thwing's residence.
"When I purchased my place, located on the corner of Oak and Atkinson Streets, where I now reside, it was on the outskirts of the village and I enj oyed it very much. Doctor Blake and William Stone were my neighbors. We all kept cows, pigs and poultry. We were not annoyed with each other's stock but Mr. Stone was very much annoyed by the skunks that came down from the hill and caught his poultry. He loaded his gun and declared if he ever got his eye on that skunk he would put an end to his getting any more of his poultry. Soon after this John G. Wightman, Mr. Stone's apprentice, came rushing into the house quite late one dark night and called for the gun. Mr. Stone asked what was up. Wightman informed him the skunk was in the yard. Mr. Stone sprang out of bed, grabbed the gun, saying, 'I want the pleasure of shooting that skunk myself.' John pointed to where he saw the skunk. Mr. Stone took good aim and fired. As the gun was discharged Mr. Stone said, 'Go into the house, our clothes will be all scented up.' They both rushed into the house and Mr. Stone's' success gave him a good night's rest. He got up quite early in the morning and went to see the dead skunk, and instead of the skunk there lay two of his best ducks, shot through the head. Mr. Stone would say when they asked him about it that [330] he was willing to own all as the truth except the smell. But John said he complained about the smell.
"There was an old gentleman living here when I came, by the name of Jabez Hill, and if he had never been born the saying that it takes all kinds of people to make a world would not be true, for I am quite sure there never was another man like Jabez Hill. He came to Bellows Falls when a young man and died here an old man, I think some 75 years. He was a brother to Squire Hall's wife. Mr. Hall was a man of wealth and influence, he was a merchant, built the Mammoth block, also built the house now owned by Hetty Green in 1800. Jabez knew every man in town, but he never spoke or bowed to a person except on business, and then he wasted no language. Men would occasionally try the experiment when they met him on the street by saying, 'Good Morning,' or 'How are you Mr. Hill?' but he would take no more notice of you than if he had been a marble statue. He lived with Mr. Hall and was a clerk in his store. He would tell you the price of an article but he never spoke in its praise. After telling you the price, and if yon had any questions to ask it was yes and no, nothing more. After Mr. Hall's death Jabez kept' bachelor's hall. Mr. Hall paid him good wages and Jabez saved every cent, put it at interest, and after a time had mortgages on several buildings, and afterwards owned them. He lived and dressed very plainly. It was said he wore one hat 20 years. Jabez had no enemies. He was once appointed postmaster and gave general satisfaction, and was always faithful and obliging. He was the first letter carrier that I ever heard of in that day. It was said that when letters came into the office for people two or three miles away he would take the letters, walk out and deliver them.
"For a long time his only diet was hasty pudding and molasses three times a day. He was subject to occaasional freaks 'when there would be a complete change in his conduct and demeanor. He would then appear more [331] rational to people unacquainted with his life and habits. At such times he was usually enthusiastic over some scheme or business project. On one such occasion he prevailed upon a nephew to come here and he would set him up in the bakery business. He also engaged a sister to come and keep house for him. When the business was well under way he appeared at the bakery one morning and commanded the nephew to leave. He was not wanted there and told him he ought to have known better than to have come there. Here ended the whole business, and Jabez went back into his normal state.
"The oven-shaped hole in the bank in the rear of H. M. Amadon's jewelry store (now the Goodnow store block), which has always been a mystery to our present generation, is the old oven built by Jabez Hill. He owned the block in front of it and occupied a small room in it at the time of his death.
"William Henry, cashier of the bank and later a member of Congress was very peculiar. He spent much time fishing, was very blundering and often getting into trouble. He always embraced the opportunity to fish through the ice as soon as the eddy froze over. He always wanted to be first. One time he went on the ice with an axe and fishing tackle. The axe sank and Mr. Henry caught on to the ice. He would throw his arms on the surface of the ice and try to raise himself out, but the ice would crack and down he would go. He continued to do this until he reached the shore, about four rods. Another time he was walking on the side of the canal lock, made a misstep, plunged into the canal and swam out. He was continually getting into trouble, but always came out safe. It was a mystery how such a man could be sent to Congress. There were twenty men better qualified to fill the office. Samuel Billings, the tanner of Rockinggham village, one of the shrewdest politicians in the county, if alive, could tell you how it was done. Dr. Wells said it was his gold and silver talents that elected him."