HISTORY OF STARK, COOS COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE
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SOURCE: History of Coös County, New Hampshire by Georgia Merrill Drew;
Syracuse N.Y.: W.A. Fergusson & Co., 1888, 1888, 1018 pgs.

page 562
STARK lies on the Upper Ammonoosuc river.  It is bounded north by
Stratford and Odell, east by Dummer and Milan, south by Kilkenny,
and west by Northumberland.  The surface is broken and hilly, but
upon the river there are many good farms.  The north and south
branches of the Ammonoosuc form a junction in the northeast part of
the town.  Nash's stream, flowing from Stratford, falls into the river
in the north, and Percy or Christine lake is in the eastern portion.
Near the village there is a narrow passage-way between the mountains,
through which runs the river, the railroad, and a wagon road.  On the
south side of the Ammonoosuc is Mill mountain, rising very abruptly
to the height of over 3,000 feet.

The "Devil's Slide" is a ledge on the north side of the river, rising
perpendicularly, while on the other side, cattle may be driven to its
top.  The perpendicular walls of this precipitous mountain rise to the
height of 740 feet.  "The Indians, as is well known, peopled all these
mountain regions with invisible spirits who controlled the winds and
storms, and in their quarrels hurled gleaming thunder bolts at each
other, the effects of which were seen in the splintered trees and
shivered rocks; and they had a tradition that in a remote age a huge
mountain barred the valley where now the railroad passes, and that on
a time when the heavens were convulsed, the earth reeling, and the
atmosphere blazing with the terrible warfare of these invisible powers,
one-half of the mountain sunk down into the bowels of the earth,
leaving the precipitous sides of the other bare and shattered as they
are to the present day.  Hence, the name."

The "Devil's Hop-yard" is located nearly three miles southeast of
Stark station.  It is reached through a path winding through a
rugged bowlder-strewn forest along a noisy brawling mountain stream for
the first part of the way.  The last half mile is, however, pathless,
and lies in a tangled thicket of larch and birch, with moss of
wonderful variety and beauty ankle deep.  Suddenly you come upon a
ravine a mile in length.  The little brook at the bottom runs into one
of the seven beautiful "South ponds."  Where you first arrive you stand
on the verge and look down a chasm of thirty feet.  The break is 
abrupt, the transition surprising.  Broken ledges are on either side of
a gap of several rods in width, and the bottom of the gorge is filled
with great bowlders which line both of the slping sides of the chasm.
Between the rocks the slightly wooded slopes are covered with thick 
and fine gray moss; a different variety, however on each side.  No
water is seen, as the bowlders conceal the tiny rill.  Descending to
the bottom, we follow the chasm over a mile through impressive
scenery.  Immense trees span the valley with their roots and tower
heavenward.  As we go on, the brook appears as the bowlders disappear,
and open valley succeeeds to wild defile.  Just as we are wondering if
this is all, we reach the brink of another precipice, over which the
brook dashes in a foamy fall of great beauty with three leaps of
twenty feet each. Picking our way cuatiously, we are soon in an
"ante-room" of the yard.  Here ledges rise in broken courses of
gigantic masonry--many as regular as if laid with plummet and square,
and fantastic and weird in their gray brown coloring--for seventy feet.
Turn around! The amphitheater in which you stand has an opening
shaped like the letter U.  Advancing to the edge and looking down, the
eye penetrates nearly 200 feet into one of the wildest gorges of wild
New Hampshire.  Into this the little brook plunges noisily, and in a 
few get hides itself under the bowlders filling the upper end, and by
aid of which we descent.  From the bottom we look up.  On the right
stands "the Look-out," a huge gray sentinel, lifting its 250 feet of
smooth granite precipitously, square as a die, and covered with pines,
into the air.  On the left, great giant ledges, broken but yet grand,
tower sky-ward.  Further south rises the "choir" like the facade of a
great cathedral: block laid upon block, with joins broken regularly
like a masterpiece of masonry, for full 120 feet in height, and 
surmounted and crowned with a majestic fretwork of pinnacles of 
evergreen trees.  Opposite the "choir" a break in the wall gives a
way of egress.  By following the brook other cascades and bits of
scenery nearly as grand continue for an eighth of a mile further, when
the ledges disappear, and the brook empties into South pond, a pretty
sheet of water.  The "Hopyard" receives its name from a fancied
resemblance of its tall evergreen trees covered with trailing
streamers of gray moss to a hop-yard with its poles covered with
heavily laden vines.

  The scenery of STARK is both wild and picturesque and it is a 
delightful ride from Groveton up the narrow and winding valley of the
upper Ammonoosuc, through Stark, to the high land beyond.  From this
point, a full view of the mountains is had, looking away to the
southward, while the two valleys, still heavily wooded, stretch away
for miles on either hand.  The scene is more broken and varied from
other points of view, the notches being cut more deeply between the 
mountains, and the mountains themselves throwing a sharper outline
against the sky.  It is pleasant to linger here through a clear
autumn afternoon and see the sun go down, and return to the valley
below in the early evening.

CHRISTINE LAKE--North pond for many years was a favorite fishing
ground for the sportsmen of Northern New Hampshire.  It is a beautiful
sheet of water, bordered by deep-foliaged woods, which are set around
about by the granite peaks of Stark and Stratford.  Right in this
glorious amphitheater of mountains the basin of the lake is found.
Its altitude is about 2,000 feet above the sea; its length is one and
a half miles; its width one-half mile.  The lake is fed by spring
brooks that fall into the upper end.  The overflow emerges at the
eastern rim of the basin, and after tumbling in white cascades down
several hundred feet in a distance of half a mile, falls into the
Upper Ammonoosuc river at Percy station on the Grand Trunk railway.
  Trout are the only fish in the lake.  In early times great numbers
were caught and carried away by visiting fishermen.  Before 1883 scores
of people from neighboring towns would go to the pond, and, cutting
holes in the ice, take large quantities for the market as well as for
their own use.  It was estimated by a competent authority that in the
spring of 1883 at least half a ton of trout was thus caught and carried
off.  The result of this wanton destruction was to reduce the supply 
of fish so that very few were taken during the open seaons of 1883 and
1884.  Sine the latter year the fishing has greatly improved.  The
trout are from four to eight ounces in weight and are of the finest
quality of real "brook trout."
  In the spring of 1882 Mr. George P. Rowell of Lancaster, thinking it
would be a very desirable place for a summer camp, made inquiries as to
the feasibility of purchasing the land around the pond.  Henry Heywood,
Esq. was engaged to negotiate the land, and as the result of his
endeavors, lots upon which the pond is situated were purchased of the
owner, Mrs. Charlotte Rowell, of Lunenburg, Vt., and conveyed to Mr.
Rowell.  He invited some friends to unite with him in making a camp on
the pond, and, in the fall of 1882, accompanied by Messrs. Samuel H.
Kauffmann, of Washington, D.C., Francis H. Leggett and W.D. Wilson, of
New York, and Ossian Ray, of Lancaster, the place was visited, at
"Camp Percy," so-called, a rude structure which had been built by
S.M. Crawford, the noted hunter and woodsman, for the occasion.
  These above named gentlemen, with Mr. Charles N. Kent, of New York,
organized themselves into a voluntary corporation, under the laws of
the state, which they called the "Percy Summer Club," "for the purpose
of maintaining a place of resort and recreation for its members and
its guests; promoting and encouraging field sports; propagating,
cultivating, and protecting brook-trout and other food and game fishes
in the streams, ponds and lakes, as well as land-game of every sort,
in the County fo Coos and State of New Hampshire; with the object of
enjoying the sports of rod and gun, and developing the resources of
said County of Coos in these directions."
  The first annual meeting of the club was held September 13, 1883.
At this session of the club it was voted to re-name North pond and
call it "Christine Lake" in honor of Mrs. Christine Coates, of
Philadelphia, the first lady visitor entertained at the camp by the
club.
  During the four years of its existence the club has worked 
harmoniously together.  Five comfortable lodges have been erected;
a cottage has been built for the superintendent; a path has been cut
to "Giants Grave," one mile; and none to North peak, three miles away,
both of which points are often visited by guests; a fleet of
first-class boats has been procured, and a hatching house established
under the supervision of Mr. Leggett, as a result of those efforts
upwards of 90,000 young trout have been hatched, and put into the lake
and its tributaries.  The club is very hospitable, and entertains
every season a large number of guests.  A by-law provides that no
member or guest shall take over forty fish in any one day.  The
officers are: President, George P. Rowell, Lancaster; vice-president,
Ossian Ray, Lancaster; secretary, Charles N. Kent, New York; treasurer,
Francis H. Leggett, New York; auditor, Samuel H. Kauffmann,
Washington, D.C.; superintendent, Stephen M. Crawford, Percy, N.H.

The soil is rich, free from stones, and productive in the valleys;
hay, oats, and potatoes are easily raised, and agriculture is an
important business with the inhabitants.

Population in 1790, 48; 1830; 134; 1850 418; 1860, 246; 1870, 464; 
1880, 690.

**MINERALS**
A red biotite granite resembling somewhat the red Scotch granite,
but finer, and not permeated with the "pinholes" occuring in that,
has been quite extensively quarried.  A monument of this granite
exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, in 1876,
received a medal and diploma "for the good quality of the material."
   Pike's Pond has a deposit of the white light earth sometimes called
infusorial silica.  It seems to be distributed over the entire bottom
of the pond, is known to be three feet in depth, and is probably much
more.  It. is of excellent quality, and the quantity sufficient for
commercial use.  
  Many people have taken specimens from the well-known labradorite
bowlders of the town.  They are found in no other place in this 
section, but are abundant here.

*NAMING OF THE TOWN*
STARK was originally Percy, which name was given to the territory
granted August 3, 1774, by Gov. John Wentworth to Jacob Walden and
others.  Percy was the family name of the Duke or Earl of
Northumberland, and one of the family, Rev. Thomas Percy, was at
that time chaplain to the King.  This probably indicates the origin
of the name inserted in the charter, and also of that of the
adjacent town of Northumberland.

[Boundaries given in the charter in original document, not included
here].

The town was incorporated as "PIERCY" January 9, 1795.  By act 
passed June 21, 1832, the trace of land embraced in ranges 17, 18, 19
and 20, in the southeast district of Stratford, was annexed to this
town, and on the 21st of December of the same year, the tract of 
land granted to Gen. John Winslow, or Marshfield, Mass., October 21,
1773, containing 5,060 acres, was also annexed to this town.  By an
act passed December 28, 1832 the name of the town was changed from
Piercy to Stark, in honor of Gen. John Stark, then recently deceased.
December 4, 1840, a tract of land owned by Elhanan Winchester was
severed from this town and annexed to Lancaster.  July 1, 1868, a 
small tract of land was severed from Stark and annexed to Dummer.

*PETITION OF INcoRPORATION - PIERCY*
On May 10, 1791, a group of petitioners signed a document requesting
the incorporation of the town of Piercy.  The signers included:
Caleb Smith, Jonathan COle, Barnard Cole, Clafford Cole, Edmund Cole,
Abner Clark, Aaron Jackson, Edward Rowell, John Waid, Elisha Blake,
Anthony Clefford Jun., Nath'll Dodge, Peter Leavitt, James Leavitt,
Peter Leavitt Jnr, Daniel Miles, James Massuere, Daniel Rowell.

*NAMES OF GRANTEES WITH LOTS DRAWN in 1st and 2d Divisions*
[names only here, lot #s can be found in original document]
Jacob Walden, Thomas Walden, Nath. Treadwell Jr., George Gains,
Daniel Lunt, Mark Sevey, Clement March, Thomas Ransom, Nehemiah
Rowell, Phillip Pendexter, Joshua Crockett, Richard Fitzgerald, John
Hurd Esq., John Sewards Jr., Jacob Treadwell, George Rogers Treadwell,
Nath. Treadwell, Frederic Hohn, Ammiruhamah Cutler Esq., Charles
Cutler, Daniel Cutler, Thos. Martin Esq., Joshua Martin, Joseph
Holbrook, John Melcher, Jona. M. Sewell, William Blunt, Stephen
Somner, Francis Little, Edward Ayres, Samuel Lear, John Noble,
Daniel Rindge Rogers, Mark Rogers, Hubartus Neal, Jos. Peverly Esq.,
Thos. Peverly Jr., Daniel Spaulding, John Sanborn, Wm. Marshall,
Caleb Marshall, Silas Marshall, Elphalet Day, Moses Davis, Moses
Marshall, Jesse Johnson, Stephen Wells, Jesse Johnson Jr., Moses
Bartlett, Jere. Eames, Caleb Johnson, John Hodgdon, Edmund Morse,
Reuben Harriman, Saml. White Esq. Benjamin Currier, James Paul, Thomas
Burnside, James Burnside, David Burnside, David Paul, Abner Osgood,
William Moulton, Arthur Worster, Jacob Tilton, Joseph Moulton, Caleb
Toppan, Nathaniel Healy Esq., Geo. Walton Jr., Jonas Clark March,
Daniel Humphreys, Thomas McDonough, Captain John Knight, William Lee
Perkins, William Stanwood, Mark Sanborn, Josiah Bishop, Theodore
Atkinson, Esq., School right, Glebe.

The proprietors organized at the inn of Capt. Jacob Tilton, in
Portsmouth, November 22, 1774, under a call issued by Daniel Warner,
J.P., October 24, 1774.  Committees were appointed at this meeting to
"view" the town, and other business.

[more info on the proprietor's meetings in the original document, most
of which is not included here except for brief abstracts].

July 23, 1787 Jacob Treadwell reported 26 persons had agreed to settle
in the town; Caleb smith and Jacob Treadwell agreed to built a saw and
grist mill.

Nov 26, 1787 voted "that in consideration of Elisha Blake's early 
moving into town with his family, it is agreed that should his
eldest son live in said town until the age of twenty-one years that he
shall be entitled to fifty acres of upland and five acres of interval 
in said town upon his compliance with the duty of a settler."

April 21, 1789, voted to lay a tax of twelve shillings to complete t
the road through town...

February 11, 1790 noted that the sum of twelve shillings was to be
sent to Mr. Rowel, he having the first male child born in the town.
[Daniel Rowell, Jr. came to Stark with his father, and, as
mentioned in the town records, although under age, was granted a lot,
 and in 1803 is spoken of as a resident on lot 16.  The child for whom 
the proprietors sent the twelve shillings to Mr. Rowell was born
January 20, 1790, and named Piercy, after the town]

Business in forming civilization in the new town went on slowly but
steadily.  The first proprietor's meeting held outside of
Portsmouth was at Northumberland, September 15, 1796, at the house
of Jeremiah Eames.  This and several subsequent meetings were
occupied with arrangements to settle all accounts; to give deeds to
actual settlers; to complete survey of the town and finish laying
out lots; in taxing for making and improving roads, particularly the
one laid out from Shelburne to Stratford.  Hezekiah Smith is made
clerk and occupies a responsible and prominent place on committees
and in affairs.  October 2, 1799, "voted that Emerson Cole shall have
100 acres of land, one half of which he has bought of Abner Clark,
adjoining the land of Daniel Rowel Jr. at Ammonusick, provided he
shall continue to live on the same or some person under him for five
years, if he will procure Jere Eames Jr. to lay out the same at his
own expense; also, that Elisha Blake shall have 20 acres given to 
him on the rear of his lot."  January 3, 1803, Hezekiah Smith,
Joseph Peverly Esq., and Jonathan Rowel were chosen committee to
lay out the town, "draughting" the lots, and drawing the same.
  A few meetings were held after the above, but after 1804 no action
was taken until 1872, when a meeting was called by the three,
Benjamin Thompson, John Eames, John M. Whipple, who had come into
possession of the proprietors land yet undivided and James W. weeks
of Lancaster, Adams Twitchel of Milan, and C.E. Benton of Guildhall,
Vt. were chosen to divde the undivided unappropriated lands between
them.  This was done August 4, 1872, and ended the history of the
original propriety of Percy.

***EARLY SETTLERS***
Early Settlers--John Cole, James Massuere, Edward Rowell, Caleb, Isaac,
and Benjamin Smith, with Elisha Blake, were early settlers.  Their
hardships were beyond belief.  Elisha Blake drew on a hand-sled from
Barrington to Stark, a distance of over a hundred miles, a heavy
forty-gallon kettle, and an equal weight in other articles; James
Massuere frequently carried forty pounds weight on his back the
same distance.
  These early settlers located on Beech hill, the soil was warmer
and crops not so liable to be killed by frosts as on the uncleared
and swampy intervals, but as time passed and improvements became
general, one by one the old homes were abandoned for the more fertile
valley lands, and probably, today, the lots first "pitched upon" would
be considered the least desirable locations.  Aunt Hannah Cole's
claim, where she toiled to make a home after the death of her
husband, is valueless and abandoned now.

SETTLERS IN PERCY, JANUARY 1803--John Cole on lot 6; Caleb Smith, 25;
Isaac Smith, 12; Daniel Rowel, 11; Elisha Blake, 13; Anthony
Clifford, 8; James Massuere, 3; Peter Leavitt, 10; Peter Leavitt Jr.,
19; Joseph Lownd, 2; James Leavitt, 4; Daniel miles, 9; Joseph
Leavitt, 18; Nathaniel Dodge, 17; James Waid, 14; John Waid, 26;
Edward Rowel, 23; Thomas Eames, 15; Jonathan Cole, 20; Barnard Cole,
21; Aaron Jackson, 22; Moses Dustin, 24; Thomas Leavitt, 29;
Peter Massuere, 27; Benjamin Smith, 7; Robert Leavitt, 5; Daniel
Rowell Jr., 16; Hannah Cole, 1; Hannah Cole (55 acres), 28;
Abner Clark (40 acres) 30; Abner Clark (50 acres), 31; Abner Clark
(160 acres), 32.

**EARLY BIRTHS AND MARRIAGES**
Piercy Rowell, son of Daniel, was born January 20, 1790.  Lydia,
daughter of same, June 20, 1792.  Edward and Abigail Rowell were
married April 24, 1794.  Robert Pike and Libby Smith married
March 5, 1797.  Olive, daughter of Abner Clark, was born June 4, 1796.
Edmund Cole and Judith Rowell married April 9, 1797.  Sarah, born
March 28, 1790; Lois born October 15, 1791; Marcy, born September 17,
1793; Rachel born June 21, 1795; Olive born February 9, 1797; Alice,
born November 11, 1798; Almira, August 26, 1800; all daughters of
Moses Dustin.  Clifford Cole and "Jint" Rowell married October 6, 1799.
Children of Benjamin Smith: Sally, born April 1,1787; Nancy, June 6,
1789; Benjamin, March 2, 1792; Nathan, August 27, 1794; Hannah,
January 18, 1798.  Jared, son of Abner Clark, born February 5, 1800.
Jonathan, son of Jonathan Rowell, born February 3, 1800.  John
Massuere, born June 28, 1795; Marcy, June 8 1797; James, August 23,
1799; children of James Massuere.  Weedon, son of Clifford Cole,
born October 20, 1800.  Nancy, born August 10, 1799; Eleanor, born
January 7, 1802; daughters of Emerson Cole.  Rev. James Treadway and
Elizabeth Blake married May 16, 1802.

** PIERCY--CIVIL LIST**
By an act approved January 9, 1795, the town of Piercy was
incorporated, and held its first town emeting January 26, 1795,
electing Abner Clark, moderator; Daniel Rowell, clerk; Peter
Leavitt, Barnard Cole, David Rowell, selectmen.

1795. March 3.  Annual town meetin gheld.  Daniel Rowell elected
clerk.  Aaron Jackson, Peter Leavitt, Caleb Smith, selectmen.
1795. May 10 Abner Clark appointed justice of the peace.
1796. Abner Clark town clerk; Abner Clark, Daniel Miles, Elisha Blake
selectmen.
1797. Abner Clark clerk; Abner Clark, Elisha Blake, Barnard Cole,
selectmen.
1798. Abner Clark, clerk; Abner Clark, Daniel Rowell, Elisha Blake
selecatmen. 
1799 Abner Clark, clerk; Daniel Miles, Barnard Cole, John Waid,
selectmen. April 1, John Waid is voted "disqualified for a
selectman," and Aaron Jackson chosen in his place.
1800.  Abner Clark, clerk and treasurer; Aaron Jackson, Barnard Cole,
Abner Clark, selectmen. Jonathan Rowell licensed to keep a house of
entertainment.
1801. Abner Clark, clerk and treasurer; Edward Rowell, Samuel Stone,
Jonathan Rowell, selectmen.
1802. Abner Clark, clerk and treasurer; Abner Clark, Edward Rowell,
Samuel Stone, selectmen. Joseph Blair licensed to sell liquors.
December 27 elected Jonathan Rowell clerk; Elisha Blake treasurer
and selectman in place of Abner Clark who removes from town.
1803. Jonathan Rowell, clerk; Edward Rowell, Jonathan Rowell, and
James Massuere, selectmen.
[Years 1804 to 1886 show town officers and representatives are included 
in original document, but not included here].

**INVENTORY OF POLLS AND PERSONAL PROPERTY, 1809**
[only names are included here; the original document describes
land and animal ownership]
Emerson Cole, Caleb Smith, Daniel Rowell Jr., Clifford Cole, Edward
Rowell, Aaron Jackson, Abijah Potter, Abijah Potter Jr., Isaac Hagar,
Robert Pike, John Waid, John Blake, Elisha Blake, Dr. Nathan
Cummings, Thomas Minor, David Dodge, Edmond Cole, Capt. Samuel Stone,
Benjamin Smith, James Leavitt, Peter Leavitt Jr., Joseph Leavitt,
Jeremiah Scates, Joshua Rowell, Andrew Cole, Anthony Clifford,
Capt. Daniel Miles, Thomas Leavitt, Nathaniel Leavitt, Peter Massuere,
Lewis H. Massuere, Timothy Faulkner, James Massuere, Nathaniel Dodge,
Joseph Lunn, Peter Leavitt, Jacob Puck, John Leavitt 2d, and David
Page.

***CHURCH AND SCHOOL***

UNION CHURCH--not long after the coming of the railroad the citizens
of Stark decided to build a church.  Solomon Cole, Benjamin Thompson
and Andrew Cole were chosen building committee, and business was
carried on rapidly.  The church was soon completed, and was the
finest church for the cost... It was not built by any denomination,
and is controlled entirely by the pew-owners.  It will seat 250
comfortably, and services have been held regularly most of the time
since its erection, principally by Methodists and Free Will Baptists.
Rev. Clifford Cole of the latter church did good service as preacher
for many years.  A Sunday-school of from fiftey to sixty scholars
is conducted through the year.
  The original Christian element of the town was Congregational.
As early as 1810 a church of that belief was formed by seven members,
but it never assumed large proportions nor influence.
  Missionaries--Rev. Royal M. Cole, son of Solomon Cole, a graduate of
Bangor (Me) Theological seminary, went as missionary to Turkey in
August 1868, and has been in active and continuous service in that
field ever since.
  John W. Cole, brother of the above, graduated at Bangor Theological
seminary in 1862, and had made preparations to go to California
as a missionary, but died shortly after his graduation.  Elvira Cole,
of the same family, graduated at Mt. Hoyoke (Mass.) seminary in 1870,
married Rev. Nelson Cobleigh, and accompanied him as missionary to
Oregon and Washington Territory, where she is now connected with the
management of Whitman college, Walla Walla, W.T.

SCHOOLS, DISTRICTS ETC..--....At the annual town meeting in 1846, a
committee previously appointed to district the town made a report
dividing the town into nine districts..... In 1876 rules adopted for
schools included.. "School rooms shall be kept warn and clean, and
teachers in their discretion require scholars to kindle fires and sweep
school-rooms.  Scholars shall be responsible to teachers for any 
misconduct in going to or returning from school, except when in the
immediate care of their parents, masters, or guardians.  No profane
swearing, obscene or vulgar language or expressions will be allowed
to be used in or about the school-houses or grounds."  The penalty
for a "willful offense" of these rules was expulsion from the
school and its benefits.

***TOWN HALL*** -- At the annual meeting in 1846 it was voted to build
a town-house "near the bridge on the south road, near Clifford Cole
Jrs;" the site to be selected by a committee of nine--one from each
highway district--Daniel Rowell, Solomon Cole, John Massuere, Abiathar
Pike, Ezra Hinds, Weeden Cole, Moses Jackson, John Roberts, and Joshua
Lunn, and $300 voted for the purpose.  The neat and commodious town
hall on its pleasant situation was the outgrowth of this movement.

TOWN LIBRARY--In July 1873, a movement was made for a library for the
use of the people.  A subscription paper was circulated, and very soon
the handsome sum of $328 was raised for the purchase of books, and the
"Stark Library Association" formed.  In the call for the annual
meeting of March, 1874, the eleventh article in the warrant read,
"To see what action the town will take with regard to a town library;"
and it was voted "to accept the library of the Association now
existing, and ot pay $100 a year" for its benefit.  Albert Thompson
was appointed librarian; Albert THompson, W.T. Pike and Joshua Rowell
chosen to purchase books.  The town voted $100 annually for some time
thereafter, and of late years has appropriated $50 a year for the
benefit of the library.  This library has been well patronized, has
wrought a perceptibly good work among the community, and now
consists of over 1,200 well selected volumes.  George P. Rowell, of
the Percy Summer Club, gave to the town recently about seventy fine
books for the town library.  Electa M. Pike is the librarian.

***MANUFACTURING***
  Manufacturing has been the chief business of the town since the
completion of the railroad, and the pine and spruce, which until then
had no value on account of the difficulty of transportation, have
been rapidly cut off.  The veteran surveyor, A.J. Pike says that
over 100,000,000 feet of spruce has already been cut.  Mills were
soon erected, and both steam and water were taxed to aid in the
production of lumber.  The supply still exists in large quantities,
millions of feet of spruce having been cut during the past winter.
The pine, however, which at first stood thickly in the valleys of the
western part of the town, was long ago used up.  Agriculture has been
somewhat neglected during this episode of making lumber, but many
valuable farms exist along the streams on the productive intervals,
and the condition of the town is prosperous.

Many of the early settlers are represented in the families living
here today.  The Coles are numerous and are valuable and well-to-do
citizens; the Smiths are also men of substance, enterprise, and
intelligence; the Potters are among the solid and substantial people,
and quite numerous; the Rowells have been well represented from the
time of the birth of the first son of the town--Piercy Rowell.

BUSINESS INTERESTS--The Thompsons were early settlers of Berlin.  In
1853 Benjamin Thompson purchased the mill privilege on the Ammonoosuc,
at Stark, built a water mill, and conducted it for some years, 
employing from twenty to thirty men.  He sold to Cobb & Sturtevant,
who soon sold to other parties; the latter put in steam power and
enlarged the mill.  Charles E. Doyle is the present owner, and from
forty to fifty men are employed.  Albert Thompson, son of Benjamin,
is an extensive and prosperous lumberman in Pennsylvania.

In 1867 Sumner W. Thompson was postmaster, Edmund Green, merchant,
Benjamin Thompson, manufacturer of lumber.

In 1877 the merchants were Edmund Green, John Thompson; the manufac-
turers of lumber, Sylvester Cole, Dexter Cole, E. Hinckney & Co.,
J. M. Pike and Milan Steam Mill Co.  Postmasters: Stark, Clifford
Cole; Starkwater Station, G.W. Perkins.

In 1887 there are several mills for making lumber.  Dole & Stewart
manufacture by steam and waterpower at Stark station, dimension
lumber, laths, shingles, clap-boards and pickets to the amount of
7,000,000 feet annually; Milan Steam Mills (F.A. Pitcher) dimension
lumber, laths, clap-boards and pickets, 5,000,000 feet per annum;
Burney, Rumery & Co., steam mill, 1,000,000 feet.  Andrew Jackson has
a shingle-mill producing 3,000,000 shingles annually and a grist-mill,
both run by water-power. Baldwin & Smith run shingle and grist-mills,
and produce 3,000,000 shingles yearly.  James Baldwin & Co's bobbin
mill, carried on by J.H. Bowles & Co., use about 3,000 cords of hard
wood yearly.  The saw-mills have planing machines connected.  
Sumner W. Thompson carried on manufacturing both in Stark and Dummer,
and does an extensive business.  George M. Smith, Sylvester Cole,
and W.T. Pike, engage extensively winters in cutting and drawing
timber.

MERCHANtS--George M. Smith, A.G. Peabody & Co., Andrew Jackson,
George P. Ockington, M.T. Thurston.
  Breeders of Fine Horses--J.A. & W.T. Pike.
  Recently the culture of strawberries has been commenced by Norris
Hinds with flattering indications of great success.

OF THE FIRST SETTLERS, CALEB AND BENJAMIN SMITH were well fitted for
pioneers in this section.   Both were strong, sinewy men, active and
industrious.  They came here from Boscawen in 1785.  At one time,
Caleb Smith wagered that he could bring three bushels of wheat on
his shoulder from Northumberland Falls to Beech hill, a distance of
nine miles, with the privilege of stopping to rest once, and won the
wager.  On seeing a number of salmon in the Ammonoosuc river where it
runs through Stark, there being no dams then to keep the fish from 
running up the river, he shot three of them, one of which weighed
twenty-seven pounds.  His name appears first on the petition for
incorporation in 1794.  Benjamin Smith built the first house on a 
hillside at the center of the town, enar the Ammonoosuc river.  It is
related that a sheriff came over to arrest him for a small debt.
The sherrif took hold of Mr. Smith, who started homeward.  The sheriff
kept his hold on Mr. Smith and once sprang upon him, but he continued
his home journey at a rapid gait, leaping five-foot fences, and
clearing everything that came in his way until the sheriff, completely
exhausted, gave up his game, and never renewed the attempt at
capture.  His son, Jeremiah E. Smith, was for many years a prominent
and useful citizen.  He died in 1885.  His son and heir, George M.
Smith, is a resident of Stark, has represented his town in the
legislature, and is an active business man.

JOSEPH LEAvITT, an old settlers, was a great hunter and trapper, and
an exceedingly courageous man.  Once, in the depths of the forest,
he found he was stealthily pursued by a panther, and knowing that the
attack was a matter of life and death, he turned back on his tracks 
and met the animal--a powerful one--shot at him, and was ready, with
a bullet in his tteth, to load and fire again; but the first shot had
been an effectual one, and the panther lay lifeless before him.  These
old hunters were very valuable auxiliaries in new and unsettled
regions, and the people retired to their rest with a feeling of
security, when they were near ot protect them from the wild beasts
of the forest. JOSHUA ROBERTS, a great bear and moose hunter, was out
at one time with his dog without his gun.  His dog chased a bear into
the swamp, where a fierce battle ensued.  Mr. Roberts, thinking
the odds might be in favor of the bear, rushed in, grasped the
animal, and captured him alive.
   As the COLE FAMILY has been so conspicuous in the town, and
served so many continuous years in its public offices, a few words
relative to the origin of the family in America will doubtless be of
interest ot its members.  James Cole, the first of the name in
New England, came to the Plymouth Colony in its early days, and his
name appears on the first list of freemen recorded in 1633.  The family
is an old and honored one, was strongly patriotic, and some of the 
members served in the Revolution.
   ROBERT PIKE, son of Nathaniel and Betsey (Bush) PIke, born at
Portsmouth, December 1766, came to Stark in the beginning of the
present century.  His father, Nathaniel, was an officer on a 
privateersman in the Revoltuion, and was put in charge of a prize that
he brought into Portsmouth.  Robert Pike had a farm in the eastern
part of Stark, on which is grandson, Joseph A., now resides.  He 
served as selectman and town clerk.  He married Deborah Smith.
Harwood Pike, son of Robert, was born January 11, 1808.  He was a
farmer, carpenter, school-master, surveyor, and a scholarly man
of unusual ability.  He had a remarkable memory, was well-read in
history and the classics, and was able to give information, on many
subjects, and was accurage in dates of events.  He was a life-long
Jacksonian Democrat and his official positions were all that were
within the gift of his townsmen.  He was a representative two terms,
and twice delegate to constitutional conventions; county commissioners
three years. He was six feet in height, straight as an arrow, and
bore himself with gentlemanly dignity.  His wife was a Cole.  He died
in 1871.  His son, Joseph A. Pike, has been first selectman of Stark
many years; representative two terms; a member of the constitutional
convention; and was a prominent candidate before the Democratic
convention of 1886 for state senator.  William T. Pike, youngest son
of Harwood Pike, has been selectman, clerk, etc.  He was sheriff of
Coos county from 1879 until 1883 inclusive, his re-election proving
his efficiency in official duties.  Mr. Pike succeeeds S.G. Hannaford
in charge of the Coos county alms-house and farm.
  AARON JACKSON SMITH, born December 3, 1810, married first, Lucinda
Cole; second, Louisa Cole.  He died June 7, 1884.  He was for many
terms selectman, thirty years consecutively town clerk, also town
treasurer, on the board of school committee, representative and
county treasurer.  He was a fine mathematician, a good school teacher
and a very valuable man in the community.

(end)