The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-12-14
When Daniel Webster Spoke
to Big BeIIOzOS Falls CrOzCd

I pally done by a man named George f.
| Johnson who was carriage and sign
painter having a shop on the island and
| living at that. time on Atkinson street.
| After the Rockingham tents had been put
up one of them had an emblem on the
l top. huge pewter plate with the motto,
Harrison Men Don't Use Gold Plates. y
] referring to the proverbial extravaganza
of President Van Buren, during his resi-
dence in the White House.
Throughout the convention the late
Capt. Walter Taylor was the chief mar
shall of the Rockingham forces and as
sisted many other delegations in a similar
capacity William Henry of Bellows
Falls, later member of congress, was a
committee upon resolutions of the conven-
ton, and was nominated as its candidate
for presidential elector, to which position
he was later elected. Cyrus Locke, a pro-
minent citizen of Saxtons River, was
one of the vice presidents of the conven-
ton and John w. Moore. editor of the
Bellows Falls Gazette, was one of the
secretaries.
Up to the time of the assembling of the
convention no arrangement had been
made, nor had it been deemed possible,
that Daniel Webster would visit Bellows
Falls. On account of the prominent part
which Rockingham took in the convention
and at the urgent request of it's large
i
ing decided he would return this way and
speak to a Bellows Falls audience We'd
nesday afternoon. Although the notice
was very short. and there were no tele-
phones or telegraphs in those DAYS. a
crowd estimated at over 1900 people had
gathered, filling the whole public square
as far down Bridge and Westminster
streets as the eye could reach
1t was the middle of the afternoon be-
fore the barouche that brought Mr.. Web
Ster coming by the way of Grafton, Cam
bridgeport and SaxtonS River. reached
the Mansion House where he was enter
tanned while here. Its proprietor at that
time was Capt. Theodore Griswold. Mr..
Webster soon appeared upon the upper
balcony of the hotel and, being intro
duced, spoke in his expressive and elo-
quent manner for about an hour and a
half. \ number of those present have
told the writer many years ago of the
GREATNESS silence of the great audience.
except when they gave forth their mighty
cheers. Gates Perry, jr.. of Saxtons
River and Deputy Sheriff Timothy Fl
Hall of Westminster kept order and fra.
dltlon says you could have heard a pin
drop IN any part of the Square.
During Mr. Webster's stay in Bellows
Falls it is known that he went into two
other houses besides the hotel. These
were the house on the Old Terrace now
=.
SCION Grout prominent politician of
those days, and the small house near the
south end of Atkinson street known as
the Charles Hapgood house now owned
by ~ q. Rice. Mr.. Webster went from
here to keene where he spoke next day
to large audience
The Mansion House. where Mr.. Web.
ster was entertained. and from which he
spoke. was built by James /. Cutler &
Co. As stated at the beginning of this
article. 1t stood where Fenton & Hennes-
Sey's furniture store does now From
the main building, and a little back from
the street, extending south toward
school street stairs. was a long row Of
horse sheds. with the only public hall
of the village over them. south of which
stood the hotel barn which extended to
where the School street stairs now are.
The main building extending back from
the street was at right angles with the
horse sheds, as shown by plan of that
portion of the Square made in 1899. This
plan gives the relative locations and
shapes of this and the old Robertson tav-
ern which stood where Hotel Windham
now IS.
There was pump and wooden trough
in front of the sheds. by means of which
water for horses and for the hotel was
drawn from a well beneath The water
Tor the hotel was carried in at a door
opening into the kitchen from the horse
shed nearest the house The stairs lead
ing to the public hall over the sheds were
through the shed the fartherest from the
hotel. 1t was at this hotel that the his
toric banquet was held Dee Is. 1926. to
celebrate the arrival of the steamboat
Barnet on its way from New York city
bound for Barnet, supposed to be the
opening of permanent navigation between
tide water and the upper Connecticut
river. Many other important events of
those early days were also held in this
hotel. 1t was destroyed by fire Nov. II,
1857