Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1896-03-18
st. Agnes Hall.

The following interesting "reminiscences is
from the pen Of l.. S. Hayes.
The purchase of the St. Agnes property
for a high school building leads to little
Renaissance regarding its past history.
The original lot running from School street
back to the north line Of the building was
bought about so years ago by Jas. Ii. Will
liams, ST., and Wyman Flint for the pur-
pose ofrenting it for a young ladies board
ing school. The building then on the lot
was double tenement house, which COM
prised about two-thirds the present build
ing. This was built about 1888 by Mel
fish & Kellum. One of the tenants for a
number of years just previous to its sale
was George Miner, well-known passen7
ger conductor, who is now running on the
Delaware & Hudson railroad. The price
paid for this part by Messrs. Williams
and Flint was $4,000. To the north end
they added about one-t third its size, and
the small L, renting it to Miss Jane Hap
good for so years. About five years later
Mr. Williams and Edmund Blake bought
of S. r. Wales his fathers old homestead,
the land Of which lay next north, running
=.
to the Episcopal church, or nearly to it.
For this they paid $1,000, including the
old Wales dwelling, which they rented for
private school purposes and as dwelling,
the last person living in it being Mrs. Julia
Elliott, now Mrs. Joseph Wilson. The
dwelling stood just north of the boarding
school, where the old cellar walls are still
seen, the dwelling having been torn down
about six years ago. Later Mrs. G.. F
Eddy kept private school there, and many
of the young men and women of to-day re.
member pleasant school hours there.
The owners. Of this property sold por,
tions Of the land north and cast for GENE
terry and church purposes, leaving at the
present time but a small part of the origi
nal purchase of Mr.. Wales. Both Mr.
Flint and Mr.. Blake sold their interest,
later to Mr.. Williams, and it has remained
as the property of his estate until tn,
present time. The past week N. s. Brock
way has surveyed the property and find
the line upon School street to 154 feet, AM
Pol feet on Cherry street, the east line be
ing irregular. The purchase by the tow
comprises all that remains of the Vale
purchase, as well as that originally bough
for the St. Agnes school. But few year
previous to 1888 that whole tract of lam
down to School street was covered by
thick growth Of scrub pines, not over 81
or eight feet tall, extending to the mort
end Of Pine hill, the tall pines now stand
ing on the hill having grown to their siz
since then, and within the memory of
number OF our old residents. A perso
can hardly realize that in 1925 there wer
but four dwellings between Mr.. Morgan
at the extreme north end of the village
and the Westminster town line, at the ex
IRENE south end except such as clusters
around the canal locks and in the localit
now sKnown as ''the Square" Wher
Green and School streets are now S
thlckly populated was pine underbrush
and west OF that, where now are hundred
OF dwellings on Atkinson and cross street
was COW pasture, the main road throug
the village running through Rockingham
and Canal streets, none west Of that. Th
first church in the village was a small
frame Episcopal church, located between
the present church and the rector's house
remaining there until the present churc
edlfice was occupied in 1866. The frs
E paper mill in town was built about 1900
and stood just east of the grist mill, tn
paper being made by hand. That mil
was built by man named chip Blake
and was burned in few years. A simila
mill was built later by Green & Fleming
which was burned in 1916, which ended tn
paper manufacture here until about 1866
since which time it has made immense ad
Vances