by A. S. Avery
From The Morris Chronicle, 1898
Part Four*
Excerpt from Morris, New York 1773-1923 by Joyce Foote, 1970
Number 7: The Butternut Woolen and Cotton Factory Co. built the four-story stone factory building about a mile below the village in 1825 (on Bernard Barton farm). It is still standing but fast falling into ruin. It was a chartered company that previous to its charter ran a satinet factory east of the old factory schoolhouse. It was a large wooden building painted red. Judge Franchot, Col. Van Rensselaer, Gen. Jacob and John Cox Morris were the heaviest stockholders. The same company in 1831-32 built the “Hargrave Factory” in the village near the old grist mill. Eight double houses were built about the same time, or a year or two later, for about $300 a piece. Some of the first tenants were the Butterfields, Codys, Paynes, Stewards, Mrs. Alpin, Mrs. Sherman, Nelson Weeden, the Hodges, and Cards; all with families to work in the factory and to board others who worked there. The price paid by the boarders was $1.25 a week in factory pay which was orders on the factory store. The stone building now occupied by Phillips and Nichols as a residence was the factory company’s store. The hands in the factory were paid no money but had to take their pay in goods from the store on due bills. These due bills the minister had to take as the factory hands’ share towards his salary, and doctor took them as pay for his services among the hands. The bills were good for their face value in trade at the factory store only, other stores taking them at a large discount. Farmers took them in exchange for wood and produce. There were a few men in town who would advance the cash on these bills at a still larger discount, and this was about the only money the factory hands got hold of. The purchasers of these due bills at about half price, exchanged them with farmers of wood and needed produce at their face value, and thus got their fuel, etc. at half price. Peleg Weened and James P. Kenyon were among those who worked in the factory. They worked about fourteen hours a day and received as wages $1.50 per week in due bills. E.H. Holbrook was the superintendent for the factory company and Andrew G. Washbon was the general agent. The factory burned down on the morning of March 16, 1850.
It was in this factory that Reuben Nelson, who afterward became on of the most prominent of Methodist preachers, lost one of his arms, his had being caught and drawn into the “spreader” where the bolts were made for the cards.
The little one-room one-story house now situated on a corner of Lysander Winton’s lot (N. Foote) on Hargrave Street, was built by Eliakim Howe and stood on a lot where Mr. Dunn’s (Gage house) now stands. It was used for a tailor’s shop. After Howe moved away, it was occupied by H. Glover and later by O.M. Welch for the same purpose and still later by Mr. French who kept a select school and then by Mr. Lynch. Of the eighteen boys who attended that school, I guess that George Hitchcock and myself are the only ones living today.
Howe’s dwelling house on the same lot afterward was occupied by Dr. Brownell, Dr. Garrison, Horace M. Perry, Mrs. Gillett, mother of Mrs. David Beekman. It was then moved away, and now stands about halfway up Liberty Street on the east side and is occupied by Horace Hendrix (Hall).
The old grist mill, the ruins of which stand near the Fairground entrance, was built by Franchot and Van Rensselaer about 1805. The mill house was on the north side of the mill, where is now the deepest part of the pond. Mr. Hewlett, grandfather of Mrs. Ross, was about the first miller and later a Mr. Barnes. When the dyke was built to increase the water supply for the cotton factory, the grist mill building was raised and a stone story put under it. At one time this basement was occupied by G.E. Holcomb for woodturning. Tom Shaw was then the miller.
Job Aldrich built a large part of the dyke on a contract of $100. He is supposed to have made fifty cents a day for self and team. Where now is the fairground was a large swampy wood-lot.
The stone used in the Hargrave factory which was a large building four stories high and built of stone was quarried from the Smith (now Elliott’s) ledge and delivered for 50c a load. The sand was obtained in what is now Lysander Winton’s garden. The graves of two French persons were found in this same hill.
*Editor’s note: This chapter of the book is lengthy, so I have divided it into four parts.
The previous text was taken directly from the book Morris, New York 1773-1923 by Joyce Foote, 1970. I made a few minor edits, but the content remains unchanged.
