Agents of Change

 Journal Opinion   January 2026

Train whistles echoed through the valley for the first time in 1848. In 1905 this southbound passenger train was located at the Bradford village station. 

Early telephone co-operatives provided service to the villages of the area. In 1885, the American Telephone and Telegraph began offering long-distance phone service. 

The artificial intelligence revolution will change society, perhaps beyond our greatest hopes or fears.

 There have been dramatic changes before driven by inventions. This column describes the impact of four revolutionary technologies that significantly altered local communities between 1830 and 1930.

The electric telegraph transformed how locals communicated with the outside world. For the first time there was instant communication over long distances.

Samuel Morse is credited with building the first telegraph system in 1843. It spread slowly until Western Union built a transcontinental telegraph line in 1861. By 1864, there were 44,000 miles of telegraph line, and by 1867, there were 90,000 miles of line.

Telegraph offices were opened in Bradford and Wells River in 1853. In Feb 1855, The Orange County Journal reported the establishment of a telegraph office in Newbury village, “with connections to all lines in the United States and Canada.”

At first, the lines were not connected with railroads, but by the 1860s, lines were strung along railroads in the area. The railroad system relied on the telegraph as a reliable method of communication.   

Civil Ware military leaders, especially those in the Union, widely used  the telegraph during the conflict. Additionally, the system began to be used to send weather reports, leading to the establishment of daily weather forecasting.

This beginning of telecommunications led to changes in business and personal communication. In 1869, it took a letter about seven days to go from coast to coast, whereas a short message could be sent instantaneously via telegraph. Once the message was received at a local telegraph office, it was printed and delivered to the recipient.  

The arrival of the railroad gave the telegraph system a new emphasis. By the 1860s telegraph lines were strung along the railways throughout the area. The railroad system relied on the telegraph as a dependable method of communication.

 The train was itself its own revolutionary technology. Train whistles echoed throughout the valley for the first time in 1848. The Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad reached Bradford in October1848, Well River soon after, McIndoe Fallsin October 1850, and St. Johnsbury a month later.

For villages such as Bradford and Wells River, the decision to build the tracks on the Vermont side of the Connecticut River made a tremendous difference in their futures.

The White Mountain Railroad was chartered in 1848 to take advantage of the lucrative mountain tourists demand.  It reached Wells River and Littleton in 1853.

The Montpelier and Wells River Railroad was chartered in 1867, and the 38-mile track opened between the two communities in 1873.

The building of the railroad was not without controversy. They increased land values in those towns they served, and the depot’s location could shift the economic center within a town.

As railroad junctions, both Wells River and Woodsville became major railroad centers. In the late 19^th century, Woodsville experienced tremendous growth due to the influx of railroad workers. The number of passengers changing trains in Wells River led to the development of that village as well.

Before steam engines used coal, lumbermen and farmers harvested thousands of cords of wood from local forests, contributing to deforestation.

Area railroads had tremendous social, economic, and political impacts. They significantly increased the ease of travel and communication. With connecting lines, the area was open to diverse markets at a fraction of the previous cost.

Passenger and mail shipments were also a major part of the rail’s impact. For much of the period, one could choose from up to four trains in each direction.

The growth of the railroad network made life different and, in many cases, better.  It ushered in a period of change not repeated until the coming of the interstate highway system.

 Railroads influenced marriage patterns, the spread of disease, migration, government influence, home heating, building techniques, and the labor market. Even the concept of time changed with the adoption of standardized “railroad time” to address the uncertainly of local clocks. Telegraph was the method used by railroads to insure vital communication.        

If the telegraph improved communication, the introduction of the telephone improved it even more, significantly reducing rural isolation.  With great excitement, the first telephone system went into operation in Bradford on May 1, 1884, less than 20 years after Alexander Graham Bell secured the first patent.

Many of the area’s first telephone systems were cooperatives servicing local neighborhoods. In 1890, a cooperative was formed in Orford to serve a few households and was enlarged to serve other neighborhoods. A similar cooperative was created to service the Thetford area.

In 1891, a line was established between North Haverhill and Haverhill Corners, followed by a line from Woodsville to Wells River.

In 1885, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company formed, and after that, only local telephone companies operating under Bell-granted license could connect to its long-distance network.  For instance, in 1896, a long-distance line connected Haverhill to Boston.

Other neighborhoods and villages were connected in a similar way. In 1897, the South Newbury to West Newbury system was followed by the Topsham Telephone Company in 1899.

When the South Corinth & West Fairlee line was strung, there were 18 subscribers, each of which built and maintained about one-half mile of the system. In 1903, a similar arrangement was created between 16 subscribers for a telephone line between Bradford and West Newbury.

In 1908, the Blue Mountain Telephone Company was organized to service Ryegate, Boltonville, and Groton. In these small companies, the central switchboard was in someone’s home.

Gradually, these small companies were absorbed by larger ones. One exception was the Topsham Telephone Company, which remained independent until 1998.

When telephone service first came to the Bradford area, it was offered by several telephone companies: New England Telephone in 1884, and later the White Mountain Telephone, the Connecticut Valley Telephone Company, and finally, in 1947, the New England Telephone Company again.   

Each subscriber was furnished with a wall-mounted telephone equipped with a hand crank that generated power to place the call.  A local operator asked what number was being called and manually plugged the caller’s cable into the proper hole on the switchboard, thus connecting the two parties.

The party being called would be notified by a combination of long and short rings on their telephone. Each line had a number of subscribers with no conversation privacy, as others on the line could hear conversations on the shared line. 

Hometown telephone operators were central to the dissemination of local news.They knew who was at home, details about illnesses, and emergencies, as well as other personal details of town life. When asked if she ever listened in on private conversations, one elderly telephone operator said, with a sly smile, “Of course not.”

Businesses realized the value of listing a telephone number and gradually more added them to their newspaper advertisements.

Another important innovation developed between 1888 and 1910 when most local villages installed electricity. Before that time kerosene lamps lit homes, and gas lamps were used in village streets. 

The first locale in the vicinity  to install electricity was the mining village of Copperfield in Vershire, followed by Woodsville in 1890, Haverhill in 1890, Wells River in 1896, Bradford village in 1897, Newbury in 1905, Fairlee in 1909, and Orford in 1910. 

Permission from the local government was needed to set poles and string wires. Power came from local power plants, which, in the case of Bradford, came from water power from the Waits River.

The introduction of electricity was not without opposition, both from the gas lighting industry and from those who were concerned about the safety of this “mysterious and deadly” installation.

The introduction of electricity revolutionized homemakers’ lives as electrical appliances were invented. The electric flat iron (1890s) and vacuum cleaner (1901) were followed by the washing machine and toaster (1909), refrigerator (1913), and waffle iron (1911).

By the 1920s, electric stoves began to compete with gas stoves. These new inventions increased in the average customer’s electric consumption from 264 kwh in 1912 to 339 in 1920 and 547 in 1930.

Rural folks did not always have access to these modern conveniences.  Rural areas of local towns often did not get electricity until the Rural Electrification program in the 1930s and 1940s. Some rural families used generators for milking or limited lighting.

Rural sections of Corinth received electricity in 1932, whereas some sections of Topsham waited until after 1942.  Mink Hill in Bradford had poles set in 1948. It was in 1965 that the last Vermont town were hooked to the electrical grid. 

The United Opinion made a prediction in 1897 that has come true far beyond the editor’s wildest imagination” “Electric lights will increase in popularity the more they are seen, and the very few who have predicted a failure in this way of lighting will be answered by the lights themselves, and very soon their fault-finding and bickering will go out into total darkness and oblivion.”    

That was not the newspaper’s only prediction that was borne out by new technology. The United Opinion of November 8, 1895 carried the following: “The model horseless carriage will no doubt come in time.” It was that year that the first American gasoline car company was established.

The following year, the first horseless carriage was sighted driving through Bradford. It was probably a steam powered vehicle.

For the first few years of its appearance, an automobile was seen as the play thing for wealthy men from down country. Because of the frightening impact on pedestrians and horses, these “devil wagons” were not welcomed locally.   

The local residents who owned the first automobiles were usually professionals, such as doctors, or businessmen. 

In Vermont, as elsewhere, there was anti-automobile legislation. This included attempts to limit their use on state highways. In 1894, Vermont passed a law requiring drivers of steam-propelled vehicles to have a person at least one-eighth of a mile in advance “to notify and warn all persons.” This law was repealed in 1900.

Because automobiles injured pedestrians and carriage passengers, the Middlebury Register referred to “the homicidal orgy of the motor car.” Throughout the period, many were ready to make jokes or derogatory remarks about automobiles.

Nevertheless, Vermont began to register automobiles in 1904, followed by New Hampshire in 1905. Newspapers reported the phenomenal growth and vigor of the new industry. By 1915, there were 10,819 registered autos in New Hampshire, and by 1916, 15,350 in Vermont.

Automobile enthusiasts organized to promote the rights of automobile users and the improvement of roads. Good roads were important to farmers anxious to get their products to market in a timely way, as well as an attraction to tourists to the region.   

As the number of automobiles increased, support businesses such as garages and road-side tourist attractions began to appear. Stores offered items the motoring public needed.

Those who raised horses or made harnesses and wagons were negatively impacted.

The first mention of an automobile in a Vermont newspaper was in 1895. It predicted “the passing of the horse.” By 1930, with 60,00 registered vehicles in Vermont and 105,000 in New Hampshire, that prediction had come to pass.   

 These five revolutionary technologies had a significant impact on the lifestyles of local residents. It was said that they “annihilated time and space” by speeding up many aspects of daily life while at the same time connecting the local area to the wider world as never before. Other innovations that can be included in this list will be the subject of a later column.

As society is confronts new technological advances, there will be some predictions that will eventually come to pass while others will not. Likewise, as new technologies bring new challenges, there will be those who will oppose their advancement.

 As at times in the past, the oppositions will be swept away by the force of progress and the advantages of changes.

       

 

  

The Spirit of Giving

 

12/24/25       Journal Opinion

In 1866, financier George Peabody gave the village of Post Mills $5,000 to build and stock a village library. It was the first of a number of donations by others to establish libraries throughout the area. It was a recent visit to the Peabody Library that gave the author the idea for this column. 

 

In 2025, Operation Santa Claus, in its 46th year of giving to area children, provided food baskets, blankets, arts and crafts items, books, and stocking stuffers to hundred of needy families.  It is just one of many such activities that reflect a spirit of giving.   

  In 1968, the Old Fogy column in The United Opinion suggested that while residents may have a “tradition of “penny-pinching,” they are “generous to church, charity and individuals in need.”

While that spirit of generosity is apparent throughout the year, it is especially evident around the holidays.    

Several of the major national charitable giving sites have named Vermont, based on its population, as the most generous state in the nation. New Hampshire was named third after Massachusetts.

This column examines the local traditions of donating to worthy public causes. It covers some of the individual and collective donations that have resulted in buildings, monuments, and other lasting gifts to the area. Fund drives for local and national causes are included. 

One difficulty in writing a column on this topic is that the examples of giving are numerous and varied. I have selected examples that typify the altruism of area residents.

Undoubtedly, readers will immediately think of examples that I have not included as well as area of need that are overlooked by residents.   

Local philanthropy has a long history. Financier George Peabody, a Massachusetts native, is considered to be the father of modern philanthropy. Before his death in 1869, he donated millions to charities in the United States and Great Britain.

In 1866, he gave $5,000 to the village of Post Mills for the construction of a library. This was in recognition of youthful visits to the village. The funds covered the purchase of land, construction of the library and the acquisition of 1,100 books. Opened in 1867, it is considered Vermont’s oldest active library. 

Industrialist Andrew Carnegie continued the tradition of using his wealth to establish libraries across the nation. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries this philanthropist funded over 1,600 local libraries.

A number of local libraries were funded by individuals and families who recognized the value of such institutions.

In 1876, Azuba Latham Barry left Thetford $5,000 to establish a library in honor of her father. In 1892, Erasus Baldwin left a bequest to establish a library in Wells River in honor of his family members.

John L. Woods is one who saw the need for both a library building and a new public school in Bradford in the late 19th century. His 1893 will left $30,000 to build two new buildings. The Woods School Building and the Woods Library Building are the result of that legacy.

In 1894, Ira Whitcher of Benton and Woodsville donated money for a library building. The resulting Whitcher Library Building houses the Woodsville Public Library.  

Seeking a suitable memorial for her father, Martha Tenney donated money for a new library in Newbury village in 1897. That same year, John H. Pearson of Chicago sent funds to renovate the old Haverhill Academy building into a village hall including village library.

In 1902, members of the Blake family donated money for a new library in East Corinth in memory of their parents. In other communities, libraries were established through the efforts of local citizens.

The North Haverhill Library was built in 1912 with donations from various sources. In 1996, an addition and renovations were completed to the building with gifts from the Patten family.

Other public buildings were created by the efforts of local citizens. In 1912, Bradford resident Edward Sawyer donated $12,000 to construct a memorial chapel in the Upper Plain Cemetery.

Community fundraising provided the money establishing public monuments. In 1912, the granite Soldiers Memorial was dedicated in North Haverhill. A public subscription campaign raised funds for a Memorial Park near the Bradford Public Library and, in 1926, a statue of Captain Charles Clark was added.

That same year, the Fairlee Soldier’s Monument was created, the gift of summer resident Arthur Stone.    

In 1937, Herbert A. Clark of Piermont left the Town of Piermont $33,785 in his will. The town invested it and over the years the bequest has grown to over $1.8 million. Recently, the town voted to use the portions of the funds to finance a new municipal building, named for Clark.

From the earliest settlement of area towns, individuals have donated land for public use. Beginning in 1773, locals donated what became Orford’s East and West Commons. The North Common in Haverhill was donated in 1788 by a group led by Col. Charles Johnston.

Bradford’s Low-St. Johns Forest was created in 1946 by a donation from Jessie Blakely Low and enlarged in 1961 by Nina St. John. Throughout the area there are parks and recreation fields donated by and in memory of locals. Bradford’s Elizabeth’s Park, Corinth’s Shea Town Forest, and Wrights and Tucker Mountain sites are just a few of those spots created, in part, by private donations.

Fund drives have been held to raise money for specific local needs. What follows are just some of those.

In 1902, Rev. William Loyne of Woodsville began a fund drive to raise money for a new local hospital. In 1903, the Woodsville Cottage Hospital was the result. Annual drives help to fund its services. In 1957, a special fund was created “with the hope for a new building.” The new building opened in 1960 and, again, annual drives continue to raised funds and enhance its facilities. 

After a 1942 fire destroyed Thetford Academy, a fund drive began to rebuild the school. The new main building opened in 1949. In 1956, a fund drive led to the creation of the Valley Health Center in East Corinth. Funds were collected from throughout the area to add to a significant contribution from Bert and Mary Holland. 

In 1946, the Bradford Community Club began soliciting funds to build what became known as Bradford’s Memorial Field. 

Between 1973 and 1979, locals raised $250,000 to rebuild the Bedell Bridge on the Connecticut. Only 2 months after it was the renovation was rededicated, it was destroyed by a windstorm.

In 2018, the Margaret Pratt Community Center opened in Bradford after 20 years of planning. It sits on land donated by George and Hazel Pratt. Dr. James Barton, who led the project from its inception, and the Pratt family were among the major donors.

There were other local fund drives to support charitable causes. Service groups such as the VFW, the Bradford Community Club, Women’s clubs, and local chapters of the Grange, Rotary, and Lions collected funds and passed them along to community causes.

Youth groups such as the 4-H and scouts, as well as student groups conducted fundraising to support their activities.

Churches have been recipients of bequests, some of which had designated purposes such as ministerial support or building maintenance.

 Churches were also the source of charitable giving. The Catholic Bishop’s Fund holds an annual fundraising drive, a portion of which went to charities. Protestant churches provide funds for both local needs, such as heating oil or food, and relief efforts during natural disasters elsewhere.

For 20 years, the Community Action program provided food and other emergency needs for residents of the Bradford Area. When the program closed in 1995, a group of local churches created an emergency food shelf that is still operational at the Bradford Academy building.

This is just one of the food shelves that operate throughout the area.  Donations from local food and fund drives, as well as business donations replenished their shelves.

 This is just one example of the spirit of neighborliness of area residents. Despite what might be considered a reluctance to create a deep spirit of camaraderie, they are first up when a neighbor is in need.

In 1891, The United Opinion reflected: “Farmers assisted each other in gathering the harvest, and for that farmer who is sick, the neighbors… all turned in to help him get his crops into the garner.”  To this day, farmers rally to assist in the case of illness or tragedy.

This spirt is reflected in community efforts to help others.  An example of neighbors helping neighbors occurred in Jan 1958 when the home of the Glen Marsh family of Orfordville burned, leaving them with little.

Within two weeks, a town-wide event was held at the Orfordville town hall, complete with gifts of household items and money. Pledges of labor and materials to rebuild the Marsh home were accepted.  A farm produce auction and square dance rounded out the evening.

National fund drives have been one way in which locals have contributed to worthwhile causes. The American Red Cross was founded in 1881, and during World War One it began conducting local fund drives to support its efforts.

 The Salvation Army established a presence in Vermont in 1885, with the effort being led by members from New Hampshire. The “red little kettle” drive to bring Christmas cheer to the less fortunate was first mentioned in 1909.

In 1936, the American Cancer Society began an annual fund drive.

In 1938, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis was established, and its March of Dimes program reached into local elementary schools. In 1949, the American Heart Association began annual drives, and in 1964 designated February as Heart Month.

In 1949, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute established the Jimmy Fund to support pediatric cancer research.

In all of these drives, each local town had a fund chairman and volunteers striving to reach an announced goal. The local newspapers carried frequent notices of all aspects of the campaigns. This was significant when a town’s goal efforts were especially successful or not. 

In the early years of these drives, it was common for volunteers to conduct a door-to-door campaign. Donation cans in local stores were also used. Volunteers also collected funds from audiences at events such as motion picture showings and ball games.

In recent years, these national drives have depended on mail solicitations, although local chair names are still mentioned. 

Many individuals, families, and businesses have been generous in their support of local causes. The following three are examples of this generosity.

In 1999, Bradford resident Walter E. Lee left a large bequest in trust to the Town of Bradford. The focus of the Lee fund has been supporting youth recreation. Elizabeth’s Park and Bradford Youth Sports have been recipients of the fund’s interest account.  

The late Walter and Carole Young, residents of Haverhill and Bath, established a record of donations to area causes. Their foundation gave scholarships to local high school graduates and donations to Cottage Hospital. They donated funds for the construction of the Haverhill Corner Fire Department building. A major donation to Dartmouth Hitchcock created the pancreas center that bears their names.

There are few local causes that the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation has not assisted.  Created in 1999 by the Hanover-Etna couple, the foundation has dispensed millions of dollars helping literally hundreds of community organizations.  

Significant contributions have been made by the foundation to Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Hitchcock. The Jack Byrne Center for Palliative and Hospice Care and the Dartmouth Cancer Center are examples of the foundation’s dedication to those causes.

The foundation has also targeted the needs of low-income residents and the unhoused, with the Haven in White River Jct. a major recipient. 

More locally, the foundation is generous responding to requests form student groups, libraries, and community projects. A well-written personal letter to the foundation often results in a check for $5,000. Recently, Mrs. Byrne sent such a check to the Bradford Public Library to help with building repairs.

In 1962, The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation was established. The Vermont Community Foundation was established in 1986. Both offer people access to professional assistance with their acts of generosity and service.  They collect and disperse funds to “achieve charitable goals.”

The holiday season offers additional opportunities to share with the those in need. Programs such as Operation Santa Claus, Red Stocking, Toys for Tots, and Ryegate Santa help brighten Christmas for low-income children.

It should be noted that the needs of those who are without often over whelms the ability of locals to respond fully.

Regardless, ask anyone who is involved in any of the charitable activities mentioned above.  They will agree that the joy that is felt by the recipients of good will is reflected back on those who offer it.