Litchfield enquirer., 1870-05-26
TOWNS ON THE CONN. WESTERN
 RAILROAD.
BARKHAMsTED.

BARKHAMSTED.
 Pleasant Valley, in the town of Bark
 hamsted. lies on the Pennington river. two miles and half north of New Hartford.
 The carriage business is carried on here
 profitably. The river north to Riverton
 abounds with unimproved and valuable
 water privileges, some six in number.
 Youngville, one mile above the valley, SUD- ports several branches of manufacturing
 industry. Riverton is the most important
 place m the town, and it largest factory is
 that of the Messrs. Stephens. who employ
 seventy hands, and make from twenty-five
 to thirty thousand dozen rules of the most
 approved kinds, yearly. The Eagle Scythe company employs thirty workmen and
 make six thousand dozen scythes per year.
 Their works have recently been doubled. G. H. J. Ward have lately established
 their plane business, with a capacity for
 the employment of twenty-five or thirty
 hands. Riverton has two very valuable but nnoccupied water-privileges-one on
 the Pennington. This river affords un- surpassed advantages for water power, hay ing in Otis some three thousand acres of water in reserve in case of need, and at no season of the year are factories obliged to stop for want of water. One mile above Rfyerton, the river is closed in by rocks, jutting out into the river, so that a dam twenty feet high or more, could be put with little expense, by which powerful stream could be carried along the hillside and fur nish water power of twenty feet fall ev- cry ten rods, the entire distance to the village. There are large quantities of wood and timber waiting facilities for a market. At the present time, the lumber business affords employment to quite a number of men. To the east of the Far mington river is another branch, watering fertile valley abounding in water privi- leges and we'll titled farms The whole town of Barkhamsted will be immediately benefited by the railroad. Hartland, ad- joining, contains twelve hundred inhabi- tants. It is large town. densely wooded, and affords innumerable advantages for lumbering and manufacturing; and, at the present time, ships large quantities of but ter, cheese, etc., to market. Gen. Palmer, who surveyed the route from New Hartford to Colebrook, said it was one of the most feasible routes for railroad he had ever surveyed.
 Winsted is the largest village on the line of the Connecticut Western railroad be- tween Hartford and the State line. It contains about five thousand inhabitants. | and issituated in north -easterly direction | from this city, distant, by the survey of | the railroad, little over thirty-two miles. | though by the old Hartford and Albany | turnpike, it is but twenty-six and a half. | From its location, and being the terminus of the Naugatuck railroad, it will be one of the centres whose trade and business will be directed to Hartford by the com- pletion of the road. The principal water power is drawn from the stream issuing from Long Lake, which is most beauti- ful sheet of water, situated but half mile from the village, at an elevation of one hundred and fifty feet above it, and about three and a half miles in length, and from few rods to one mile in width, affording } an abundant never failing water power, which, together with Mad river, furnishes all the sites for manufactures now occupi- ed m the village, and which are as follows: Three scythe factories, the Winsted Manufacturing company, the Beardsley Scythe company, and the Thayer scythe company, (the three employing a capital | of over $10G. .O00); one establishment each for the manufacture of iron goods, pocket. cutlery, table cutlery, planters hoes, draw ing knives, etc., three tanneries, the lar gest of which-Geo. Dudley & Son and John T. Rockwell-are confined to the tanning of sheep-skins for bindings; the l Winsted Foundry and Machine company, one of the oldest machine shops in the | country; the New England Pin company. two feed mills, one silver-plating manufae- tory, one bolt and nut shop, two carriage | manufactures, one brass clock manufac- ! turing company, wagon axle shop, etc. l Most of the mill privileges are occupied, but some of them only in a small way scarcely any of them but what might be changed so as to give employment to more than double the number of hands now em- plOyed. Four stage lines centre in Win sted. and all the adjoining towns look there for their general market.-Courant.