The Press., 1905-12-06
THIRTY YEARS AGO.
TItems of local interest taken from the columns
 of The Press, thirty years ago.l
December 9. 1875.

l a showy two-story mansard -roofed building, finished in stucco outside, and will be great addition to that partso the village.
 All the public schools in this will lage began the winter terms on Mon day. In the third district the teach CTS are Mrs T. c Lathrop (grammar) aud Miss Georgie Beckwith (primary) ). In the second district the name of the new teacher of the grammar depart ment is Miss Martha F. Woodward of Mansfield, not Hammond, as given last week.
 Born. West Stafford, 9th, a son to Frank Futile.
 In Stafford Springs, 4th, son to John Mack.
 l Married. Holland, 1st, at the residence of the brides father, by Rev. Mir Shepardson of Wales, Henry 0. Thresher of Stafford to Mary P. Wallis.
 | (Continued from last weekly l EARLY HISTORY OF THE STAFFORD MIN.
 RRAL SPRING BY REV. 0. HAMMOND OF
 MON ON.
 In the "Memories of Youth and Manhood" by the late Prof. Sidney 1 Willard of Harvard college, there is found a notice of the Stafford Mine ral Spring, in 1791, twenty years after the visit of President Adams. Prof Willard says: "The mineral spring in Stafford, in q wild valley of the Willimantic, was somewhat known for it's healing virtues in cer- tain maladies, long before I first knew the place But it was visited by valetudinarians only, previous to the beginning of the present century. Acc eIs to it was very difficult, an it was not frequented enough to induce any one to make comfortable pro- vision for invalids, and the thought of creating temptations for visitors in parsuit uf pleasure, had then proha bly, never been suggested or dreamed of.
 | It would seem that Prof. Willard had never heard of Dr Warren's pro- ject of providing for invalids and creating inducements for pleasure travel, the very plan which his own cousin, Dr. Samuel Willard, carried nur ac cordng to the statement of Dr Sumner of Boltou, "by building a large hotel for the reception of patients aud others ''
 There is no doubt that the mineral waters did not long re tain their earl V repute as universal remedy; though it's value in specific diseases was es- tablished by the best medical and scientific testimony.
 There is no doubt that prior 10 the revolution the springs were we'll pat . ronized by pleasure travellers as we'll as invalids. But the war and it's ex- penses banished for a long period the notion of pleasure, as a motive of travel.
 I Dr. Dwight, president of Yale col lege, ill his travels in 1907, speaks of the mineral spring as "long since celebrated for it's medicinal virtues in specific cases. '' "The resort to them, formerly great, was for many years interrupted, for want of convenient accomm odations. ; "It has again become considerable within a very few years in consequence of the com mendable exertions of Doctor Will lard
 It is evident that Dr. Dwight was we'll acquainted with the entire his- tory of the springs. while Prof. Will lard's testimony is limited to their condition ten years previous to the time when the building of the Spri ngs House was undertaken.
 Dr. Samuel Willard, the projector of the Springs House, and it's first landlord for ten years or more, was the youngest son of Rev. John Will lard, D. D., of Stafford, where he was born Dec. 26, 1766. He graduated at Harvard college in 1797. After graduation he taught school at Keene, N. H., then studied medicine, and be- came an eminent practitioner in his native town, where he settled not far from 1791. He was also a druggist, and engaged i'll a general merchandise in connection with his professional pursuits. In his vocation as a phy- sician he was, according to pr. Sum- ner, the medical historian of Holland county, highly distinguished. ''He was one of the founders of the Tol- land County Medical society, and often one of it's fellows.''
 He had an excellent education, a fine personal presence, and dignified department. His dress was the revo- lutionary costume, then generally worn by members of all the learned pro- fessions.
 On the 23d of December, 1901, the store which, as a druggist and mer- chant, he had occupied eight years, was destroyed by fire with a heavy loss of property. This store stood on the site of the one now occupied by Clark H. Grant, and formerly by the firm of Miner and Billings Grant & Go. The fire was caused by an acoi- dental explosion. Dr. Willard and his clerk, Miner Grant, barely es- capped; while another clerk, Augustus Miller, son of Cornelius Miller of Stafford, a youth of fifteen years, perished in the flames. His funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Moses O. Welch of North Mansfield, and printed, with an appendix, giving a full account of the sad affair.
 Not long after this disaster Dr. Willard engaged in the project of 8 hotel at "the Pool," as the springs