Grace Episcopal Church
Sometimes known as Grace Chapel or Grace Parish
Early History
Grace Church was first organized in 1851 as a Sunday school with classes held in the local schoolhouse. It was encouraged and supported by Rev. Edward Flagg, who was the first Rector of Trinity Church, Norwich and support also came from Rev B. H. Paddock, the second Rector of Trinity Church.
The first records are dated October 1853. Incorporated as a parish and legally organized in 1853, the first Rector was Rev. William Studley and the new church rapidly outgrew the schoolhouse. There were 16 original communicants.
E. Winslow Williams John Beswick
Mrs. Jane Beswick Miss. Bessie Beswick
Miss. Dolly Beswick Henry Holt
James Smith Mrs. James Smith
William Kinney Mrs. William Kinney
Mrs. B. F. Huntington Mrs. Jeviak Huntington
Miss. Sarah Purdy Miss. Emma Henry
Mrs. Alice Havaid Miss. Nellie McNickle
One of whom was Captain E. Winslow Williams, owner of the Yantic Woolen Company. He gave the parish use of a newly built stone house for its chapel. It was located in front of and below the bank in front of the present church. (In 1922 the Stone house that Grace Church used was torn down) Service were held in this chapel and as the congregation continued to grow, space became much too crowded for services and parish activities. Much planning and enthusiastic preparation began for a series of fund raising events for a new church building. Many of these were held at the Yantic Fire House over the years when fairs and socials were very popular. Several beautiful memorial furnishing had been given for the church including, in May 1897 the brass pulpit from Lamb Company in memory of Erastus W. Williams. The brass eagle lectern in memory of Lydia Marvin Williams and the oak altar rail on brass posts were the finest available and the parishioners looked forward to their new church.
In 1895 the Ladies Guild and St. Cecelia’s Guild had two booths at the fire hall fair, held for two days from 3 to 10 pm. All kinds of needlework including rugs, sofa pillows, aprons, shoe bags were sold, along with refreshments. The women and girls also presented tableaux, recitation and singing. Guessing contest were very popular at that time and fair goers could try items such as weight of a cake (6lbs) number of pieces in quilt (507), number of beans in jar (8,641) The winner getting a one dollar prize plus the beans, the name of a doll ( Jane). A total of $ 125.00 was raised and set aside for the building fund.
Another fair at the engine house in 1897 this one a three day event earned then $ 102.84. In 1899 a dollar social was held, each person telling how they how they had earned their dollar. They also sold cookbooks, raising $ 260.00 with a prize of a painting of roses to the one selling the most books. In November of that year each parish member donated a sum corresponding to his or her age for the new church building fund.
Young people of the parish set fine examples of attendance during these years. In June 1898 awards of silver watches were given to ten children, framed pictures to five and stony books to three. A club for boys was started in 1900 by the Rector, Rev Earl Kenyon. Thirty members met one night a week for games and use of reading materials on the upper floor of the parish house.
The New Church Building
The building committee formulated plans to erect a church costing $ 8000.00 to $ 10,000.00. However, due to donations from area individuals, organizations and business, almost $ 20,000.00 was raised and made available. The architect chosen was Francis V. Hoppin of the firm Hoppins and Koen in New York. The building contractors were Peck and McWilliams of Norwich who awarded the contract for $ 14,500.00. In September of 1900 the stones were delivered to the site which was donated by Yantic Woolen Company, land almost entirely on ledge. The mill was closed for the long awaited day and almost the entire male population of Yantic turned out to help. Over period of two days, one hundred ten loads of stones were brought by wagons pulled by horses and oxen from the farm of William Kilory in nearby Bozrah. (Mr. Kilroy was an uncle of charlotte Bentley Foote of Sunnyside, a present member of Grace Church) These stones were from the walls on the Kilroy farm, and the men hand picked out stones with “a horizontal base & straight face” very few round stones were used. The Ladies Guild served lunches at Kilroy’s farm for these hard working men. On May 20th 1901, a rainy Thursday the cornerstone was set in place.
Construction Details
Newspaper article described in great detail the construction process of the new church. It is “perpendicular Gothic style of the transition period in England”, based on drawing and photographs from England. The trimming stones are Indiana limestone cut in “Tudor detail moldings’”. Heavy beams of the porch lead to the base of the tower, forming the Narthex (vestibule) which is 13’ 4” square. There are triple gothic windows over the porch, and rose windows on the opposite side. A circular staircase leads to the gallery and room on the second story of the tower, then upward to the belfry and lookout on the tower top. The dimensions of the Nave (body of the church) are 56 feet long by 40feet wide with a Gothic arch 16 feet arcos by high at the point leading to the Chancel (choir) of 22 feet by 27 feet. No dept was incurred during the construction. The pews of quarter swan oak, to seat 300 were installed at a later date.
Several furnishing were brought to the new church from the old chapel including the brass pulpit, given in memory of Erastus W. Williams in 1897. The brass eagle lectern in, memory of Lydia Marvin Williams and the brass altar rail were also in the old chapel and moved here. The official consecration was held June 28, 1902. The mill was closed for the day so that workers, many of whom were members of the church, could join the state and local officials and residents attending the ceremony, and the luncheon which followed. Senior Warden Winslow Tracy Williams’s son of E. Winslow Williams, who was largely responsible for the beginning of the Grace Church, was master of ceremonies. The service began at 11:00 am and included conformation of thirteen people. The offertory was designated to be used for the new pews. At 1:30 pm, those present adjourned to the adjacent “old chapel” where the Ladies Guild served luncheon of salads, cold meats, rolls, strawberries, cake and ice cream.
Other Furnishings
Parish organizations continued hold events to raise money for furnishing, equipment, etc. The organ fund was the main focus of the chair, with “colonial tea” in costumes, musicals, auctions, ice creams and cake socials, pancake social, Halloween parties some of the successful affairs. At the cost of $ 1,600.00 a beautiful organ was installed December 18, 1909. The organ was built by Dr. Hall of New Haven. It was originally located where the pipes in the Chancel are today and has since been replaced by the beautiful pipe organ built by Alan McNeeley of Waterford, who is the organist and choir director for Grace Church. Some additional pipes have been installed up in the gallery at the rear which greatly enhances the sound.
Many years of effort by the Ladies Guild enabled them to contribute $ 2,600.00 to the church building fund and in addition $ 200.00 for carpets. One rather unique event was poverty social in 1904 with prizes for the most disreputable attire, and featuring a” committee on fluting” which earned $ 25.00.
The Sunday school raised $ 100.00 and also donated the Baptismal Font which is made of Caen Stone (pronounced Kan) a creamed colored limestone quarried near Caen, France. In 1902 there were twelve teachers for the sixty six scholars and seventy six communicants.
The plan was that the old Grace Church would be used for Sunday school for the timing being. The Chapel was taken down in 1922. When the Chapel was removed it was planned that a wide stone stairway, with landings, would be built from the highway to the church knoll, this was not done as you can see by looking over the church wall in front of the church.
Stained Glass Window
The Transfiguration Window was made in Great Britain by J. Wippell Co. and arrived in New York in November 1965. The figures are from left to right: Moses, Christ and Elijah it was dedicated in April 1966 in memory of Mildred Kass, an Organist for many years and the 50 person listed on the memorial in the rear of the Church.
The Bells
There are four of them. The Largest, the B flat, was dedicated at Easter 1923. The others: the E flat, F and G were dedicated in March 1924. They ring the Westminster Pearl of Cambridge, and later copied for the House of Parliament, Westminster
The Wall
The wall which goes along Chapel Hill in front of the Church constructed in 1936 – 1937. Each letter cost .20 cents, the piers were $ 18.00 each and each linear foot cost $ 8.75 with the money donated in small amounts from parish members and friends. Inscriptions are psalms. Martin Hall
It was formerly a two family mill house and it named after our Senior Warden of 37 years, Harold Martin of Norwich town. Our mission today remains similar to that of our founders. Our Sunday school is responsible for Christian education of our young members, about 25 of them at present. We assist various support organizations in the Norwich area, such as Madonna House, St. Vincent DePaul soup kitchen and the Norwich food locker with funding, food, clothing and other item that help those in need. Various parish activities throughout the year such as pot luck dinners, rummage sales, Christmas bazaar, etc., provide fellowship for our members and raise funds for outreach and ongoing parish programs.
Conclusion
Those who worship here are humbly thankful for our heritage given to us by the faithful founders and we believe that the spirit of God is here where the stones and timbers we laid so many years ago.
With continued faith for our future and remembrance of our history we hope to always have Grace Episcopal Church here on Chapel Hill Road Yantic
Information about the Yantic Mill
The village of Yantic lies on the western part of the town, close upon the borders of Bozrah and Franklin. The Yantic Woolen Mill originally was the Backus Iron Works back in the early 1700 hundreds and here is a brief history
Our original ancestor, William Backus, was a cutler: one who makes knives. It seems only fitting that that skill be passed from one generation to the next. But, in America, the skill of taking raw metal into a finished form transformed into the making of nails, anchors, and other metal items needed by the colonies.
The Backus Iron Works, with its lurid fires was quite an institution in its day, and quite an important factor in the growth and development of the country and its times. The iron works made bar iron, tires for wheels, plow irons, spindles and cranks for mills, sawmill saws; all kind of farming tools, such as hoes, axes, scythes; nautical needs such as spindles for buoys, anchors - about everything that was made of iron - and largely supplied the wants of that day. Nails were quite important at that time; all were hammered out by hand for all the purposes of domestic use, no nails being cut at that time.
Its customers were heard from in quite distant parts of the country, even from the new "Northwest Territory". The iron work for the first saw and grist mill erected in the Northwest Territory was made at these works, and transported by land and water, to and over the Allegheny mountains on pack horses, to the then far-distant land of hope - Marietta, Ohio, in 1789.
The iron was made at the melting fire, which was kept in blast by two huge bellows run by water power, and required a strong draft of air. The old structure was a large building having three tall chimneys, the roof partly covered with sheet iron as a protection from fire, and covering three forges, two water wheels, stamper run by water for pounding iron ore, the big shaft and the big hammer. To conduct the process of melting and hammering out into all required shapes required a skilled and strong man.
The Backus Iron Works was important for the only source for these products from within miles around. At Backus Iron Works, they hammered out tools for the farmers and the artisan - directly and indirectly helping materially to hammer out American Independence.
Elijah Backus was the owner and manager of the Iron Works at one point in time, himself a skilled mechanic. The remains of part of his papers show a wondrous amount of writing, and all in his own hand. He was one of King George's justices of the peace, and was, after the Revolution, one of the justices of the peace for his native state of Connecticut. He was a captain in the Norwich militia, going to New London to defend the soil in consequence of alarms of invasion many times. A leading member of the Committee of Safety, member of the Legislature, he was a valuable man of all affairs in all departments of civil life. He administered the rite of marriage in many cases, as his book of records now extant, shows. He was a very busy man, and prosperous.
At this point, just where the roads from Colchester and Windham meet and run together, a mill-dam and pond, a saw-mill, grist mill and carding-machine, with the usual gearing and machinery, had been gradually gathered into a group and in a group, and in the early part of the of the 1800 century were owned by Uriah Tracy.
These improvements were purchased in different parcels from 1818 to 1822 by John and George Tisdale, who added a factory and a stone dwelling-house to the premises, and began the manufacture of cotton cloth. The Tisdale’s were agents, or trustees, in this business, of Robert P. Baker, a native son Scotland, who had spent his time Norwich and seems to have formed the design of investing his capital in the business of the place and enrolling himself as a regular inhabitant. After a few years, Mr. Baker while traveling, it is said in the western part of New York, suddenly disappeared and his fate was never ascertained. The Yantic mill was subsequently sold, to clear off its mortgages and indebtedness, and purchased by Capitan Erastus Williams, a wealthy retired ship master, who greatly enlarged the original building, and devoted it wholly to the manufacture of woolen goods. E. Winslow Williams only son of Capt. Erastus Williams, took over the mill. Yantic Village grew quickly to consist of not only the Williams Flannel Factory , with its various tenements, appurtenances, and surrounding; a fair proportion of mechanics and shops for merchandise, a group of private houses, a post office, a school house, and Episcopal organization call Grace Chapel and about 300 inhabitants.
The census if 1860 reported 110 persons employed in the mill 78 males and 35 females and the annual value of products $ 150,000. This mill, with all its machinery, stock and engines, and an adjoining house that accommodated eight families, was destroyed by fire, May 26 1865. The older part of the mill had stood for nearly fifty years and the flames performed their work with great facility, lighting up the hills and woods like an amphitheatre, and starting the village with showers of flaming cinders. The loss though very heavy, served only as a stimulus to more enlarged enterprise. The corner-stone of the new structure, far more capacious than the former, to be built of stone, from Munson Mass. four stories high, with towers and wings, furnished with all the mechanical conveniences and safeguards invented by modern science, was laid August 16th less than three months after the conflagration. This mill is designed for twelve sets of machinery.
Under the direction Mr. Williams in April of 1866 his son Winslow Tracy Williams, 3, and Louis Brinckerhoff Williams, 8, turned the valves which once again powered the mill for production of materials for Civil War Union Army soldiers. Over the years, successions of different owners and names were recorded in the history of this mill. During both World Wars, material for blankets and uniforms was produced here. In 1968 the mill was sold the Hale Manufacturing Company, which closed around 1980 and is for sale. The Mill was auction off in December 9th 2011 for six hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Presently, (June 2019), the Mill is being converted into a 151 room hotel with all amenities.
Information about the Yantic Stone Bridge
It was privately owned by Winslow Tracy Williams who had it built by the W. N. Flynt Granite Company of Munson MA. Construction began in June 1908 and it was completed in November of that year. There are no wooden parts in the stricter. It is two hundred feet long with two arches: one is 71’ 10” and the other is 35”. At the entrance there is a 48’ square courtyard with summer houses on each side with stone benches. On the right, the wall curves to join to join what at the time was a stone boardinghouse for mill workers. (Now the Post Office sight) On the left was the General Store and post office at the time, presently Meiklem Woodworking Company. Under the bridge can be seen the end of the canal which ran down the left side of the mill along the old road, with water from the canal used to turn the wheel for power to the mill before the boiler room was built.
Sunnyside, as the area across the bridge is called, was where the foreman and supervisors of the mill lived. Up the road over the railroad tracks to the top of the hill is the area called Mansion Hill, where mill owner Erastus Winslow Williams built his mansion, called Rocklyffe in 1868. It was sold at auction in the 1920s and demolished.
One memorable event was the visit in July 1909 of President of the United
States William Howard Taft who was entertained at Rocklyffe by Winslow Tracy Williams.
Sometimes known as Grace Chapel or Grace Parish
Early History
Grace Church was first organized in 1851 as a Sunday school with classes held in the local schoolhouse. It was encouraged and supported by Rev. Edward Flagg, who was the first Rector of Trinity Church, Norwich and support also came from Rev B. H. Paddock, the second Rector of Trinity Church.
The first records are dated October 1853. Incorporated as a parish and legally organized in 1853, the first Rector was Rev. William Studley and the new church rapidly outgrew the schoolhouse. There were 16 original communicants.
E. Winslow Williams John Beswick
Mrs. Jane Beswick Miss. Bessie Beswick
Miss. Dolly Beswick Henry Holt
James Smith Mrs. James Smith
William Kinney Mrs. William Kinney
Mrs. B. F. Huntington Mrs. Jeviak Huntington
Miss. Sarah Purdy Miss. Emma Henry
Mrs. Alice Havaid Miss. Nellie McNickle
One of whom was Captain E. Winslow Williams, owner of the Yantic Woolen Company. He gave the parish use of a newly built stone house for its chapel. It was located in front of and below the bank in front of the present church. (In 1922 the Stone house that Grace Church used was torn down) Service were held in this chapel and as the congregation continued to grow, space became much too crowded for services and parish activities. Much planning and enthusiastic preparation began for a series of fund raising events for a new church building. Many of these were held at the Yantic Fire House over the years when fairs and socials were very popular. Several beautiful memorial furnishing had been given for the church including, in May 1897 the brass pulpit from Lamb Company in memory of Erastus W. Williams. The brass eagle lectern in memory of Lydia Marvin Williams and the oak altar rail on brass posts were the finest available and the parishioners looked forward to their new church.
In 1895 the Ladies Guild and St. Cecelia’s Guild had two booths at the fire hall fair, held for two days from 3 to 10 pm. All kinds of needlework including rugs, sofa pillows, aprons, shoe bags were sold, along with refreshments. The women and girls also presented tableaux, recitation and singing. Guessing contest were very popular at that time and fair goers could try items such as weight of a cake (6lbs) number of pieces in quilt (507), number of beans in jar (8,641) The winner getting a one dollar prize plus the beans, the name of a doll ( Jane). A total of $ 125.00 was raised and set aside for the building fund.
Another fair at the engine house in 1897 this one a three day event earned then $ 102.84. In 1899 a dollar social was held, each person telling how they how they had earned their dollar. They also sold cookbooks, raising $ 260.00 with a prize of a painting of roses to the one selling the most books. In November of that year each parish member donated a sum corresponding to his or her age for the new church building fund.
Young people of the parish set fine examples of attendance during these years. In June 1898 awards of silver watches were given to ten children, framed pictures to five and stony books to three. A club for boys was started in 1900 by the Rector, Rev Earl Kenyon. Thirty members met one night a week for games and use of reading materials on the upper floor of the parish house.
The New Church Building
The building committee formulated plans to erect a church costing $ 8000.00 to $ 10,000.00. However, due to donations from area individuals, organizations and business, almost $ 20,000.00 was raised and made available. The architect chosen was Francis V. Hoppin of the firm Hoppins and Koen in New York. The building contractors were Peck and McWilliams of Norwich who awarded the contract for $ 14,500.00. In September of 1900 the stones were delivered to the site which was donated by Yantic Woolen Company, land almost entirely on ledge. The mill was closed for the long awaited day and almost the entire male population of Yantic turned out to help. Over period of two days, one hundred ten loads of stones were brought by wagons pulled by horses and oxen from the farm of William Kilory in nearby Bozrah. (Mr. Kilroy was an uncle of charlotte Bentley Foote of Sunnyside, a present member of Grace Church) These stones were from the walls on the Kilroy farm, and the men hand picked out stones with “a horizontal base & straight face” very few round stones were used. The Ladies Guild served lunches at Kilroy’s farm for these hard working men. On May 20th 1901, a rainy Thursday the cornerstone was set in place.
Construction Details
Newspaper article described in great detail the construction process of the new church. It is “perpendicular Gothic style of the transition period in England”, based on drawing and photographs from England. The trimming stones are Indiana limestone cut in “Tudor detail moldings’”. Heavy beams of the porch lead to the base of the tower, forming the Narthex (vestibule) which is 13’ 4” square. There are triple gothic windows over the porch, and rose windows on the opposite side. A circular staircase leads to the gallery and room on the second story of the tower, then upward to the belfry and lookout on the tower top. The dimensions of the Nave (body of the church) are 56 feet long by 40feet wide with a Gothic arch 16 feet arcos by high at the point leading to the Chancel (choir) of 22 feet by 27 feet. No dept was incurred during the construction. The pews of quarter swan oak, to seat 300 were installed at a later date.
Several furnishing were brought to the new church from the old chapel including the brass pulpit, given in memory of Erastus W. Williams in 1897. The brass eagle lectern in, memory of Lydia Marvin Williams and the brass altar rail were also in the old chapel and moved here. The official consecration was held June 28, 1902. The mill was closed for the day so that workers, many of whom were members of the church, could join the state and local officials and residents attending the ceremony, and the luncheon which followed. Senior Warden Winslow Tracy Williams’s son of E. Winslow Williams, who was largely responsible for the beginning of the Grace Church, was master of ceremonies. The service began at 11:00 am and included conformation of thirteen people. The offertory was designated to be used for the new pews. At 1:30 pm, those present adjourned to the adjacent “old chapel” where the Ladies Guild served luncheon of salads, cold meats, rolls, strawberries, cake and ice cream.
Other Furnishings
Parish organizations continued hold events to raise money for furnishing, equipment, etc. The organ fund was the main focus of the chair, with “colonial tea” in costumes, musicals, auctions, ice creams and cake socials, pancake social, Halloween parties some of the successful affairs. At the cost of $ 1,600.00 a beautiful organ was installed December 18, 1909. The organ was built by Dr. Hall of New Haven. It was originally located where the pipes in the Chancel are today and has since been replaced by the beautiful pipe organ built by Alan McNeeley of Waterford, who is the organist and choir director for Grace Church. Some additional pipes have been installed up in the gallery at the rear which greatly enhances the sound.
Many years of effort by the Ladies Guild enabled them to contribute $ 2,600.00 to the church building fund and in addition $ 200.00 for carpets. One rather unique event was poverty social in 1904 with prizes for the most disreputable attire, and featuring a” committee on fluting” which earned $ 25.00.
The Sunday school raised $ 100.00 and also donated the Baptismal Font which is made of Caen Stone (pronounced Kan) a creamed colored limestone quarried near Caen, France. In 1902 there were twelve teachers for the sixty six scholars and seventy six communicants.
The plan was that the old Grace Church would be used for Sunday school for the timing being. The Chapel was taken down in 1922. When the Chapel was removed it was planned that a wide stone stairway, with landings, would be built from the highway to the church knoll, this was not done as you can see by looking over the church wall in front of the church.
Stained Glass Window
The Transfiguration Window was made in Great Britain by J. Wippell Co. and arrived in New York in November 1965. The figures are from left to right: Moses, Christ and Elijah it was dedicated in April 1966 in memory of Mildred Kass, an Organist for many years and the 50 person listed on the memorial in the rear of the Church.
The Bells
There are four of them. The Largest, the B flat, was dedicated at Easter 1923. The others: the E flat, F and G were dedicated in March 1924. They ring the Westminster Pearl of Cambridge, and later copied for the House of Parliament, Westminster
The Wall
The wall which goes along Chapel Hill in front of the Church constructed in 1936 – 1937. Each letter cost .20 cents, the piers were $ 18.00 each and each linear foot cost $ 8.75 with the money donated in small amounts from parish members and friends. Inscriptions are psalms. Martin Hall
It was formerly a two family mill house and it named after our Senior Warden of 37 years, Harold Martin of Norwich town. Our mission today remains similar to that of our founders. Our Sunday school is responsible for Christian education of our young members, about 25 of them at present. We assist various support organizations in the Norwich area, such as Madonna House, St. Vincent DePaul soup kitchen and the Norwich food locker with funding, food, clothing and other item that help those in need. Various parish activities throughout the year such as pot luck dinners, rummage sales, Christmas bazaar, etc., provide fellowship for our members and raise funds for outreach and ongoing parish programs.
Conclusion
Those who worship here are humbly thankful for our heritage given to us by the faithful founders and we believe that the spirit of God is here where the stones and timbers we laid so many years ago.
With continued faith for our future and remembrance of our history we hope to always have Grace Episcopal Church here on Chapel Hill Road Yantic
Information about the Yantic Mill
The village of Yantic lies on the western part of the town, close upon the borders of Bozrah and Franklin. The Yantic Woolen Mill originally was the Backus Iron Works back in the early 1700 hundreds and here is a brief history
Our original ancestor, William Backus, was a cutler: one who makes knives. It seems only fitting that that skill be passed from one generation to the next. But, in America, the skill of taking raw metal into a finished form transformed into the making of nails, anchors, and other metal items needed by the colonies.
The Backus Iron Works, with its lurid fires was quite an institution in its day, and quite an important factor in the growth and development of the country and its times. The iron works made bar iron, tires for wheels, plow irons, spindles and cranks for mills, sawmill saws; all kind of farming tools, such as hoes, axes, scythes; nautical needs such as spindles for buoys, anchors - about everything that was made of iron - and largely supplied the wants of that day. Nails were quite important at that time; all were hammered out by hand for all the purposes of domestic use, no nails being cut at that time.
Its customers were heard from in quite distant parts of the country, even from the new "Northwest Territory". The iron work for the first saw and grist mill erected in the Northwest Territory was made at these works, and transported by land and water, to and over the Allegheny mountains on pack horses, to the then far-distant land of hope - Marietta, Ohio, in 1789.
The iron was made at the melting fire, which was kept in blast by two huge bellows run by water power, and required a strong draft of air. The old structure was a large building having three tall chimneys, the roof partly covered with sheet iron as a protection from fire, and covering three forges, two water wheels, stamper run by water for pounding iron ore, the big shaft and the big hammer. To conduct the process of melting and hammering out into all required shapes required a skilled and strong man.
The Backus Iron Works was important for the only source for these products from within miles around. At Backus Iron Works, they hammered out tools for the farmers and the artisan - directly and indirectly helping materially to hammer out American Independence.
Elijah Backus was the owner and manager of the Iron Works at one point in time, himself a skilled mechanic. The remains of part of his papers show a wondrous amount of writing, and all in his own hand. He was one of King George's justices of the peace, and was, after the Revolution, one of the justices of the peace for his native state of Connecticut. He was a captain in the Norwich militia, going to New London to defend the soil in consequence of alarms of invasion many times. A leading member of the Committee of Safety, member of the Legislature, he was a valuable man of all affairs in all departments of civil life. He administered the rite of marriage in many cases, as his book of records now extant, shows. He was a very busy man, and prosperous.
At this point, just where the roads from Colchester and Windham meet and run together, a mill-dam and pond, a saw-mill, grist mill and carding-machine, with the usual gearing and machinery, had been gradually gathered into a group and in a group, and in the early part of the of the 1800 century were owned by Uriah Tracy.
These improvements were purchased in different parcels from 1818 to 1822 by John and George Tisdale, who added a factory and a stone dwelling-house to the premises, and began the manufacture of cotton cloth. The Tisdale’s were agents, or trustees, in this business, of Robert P. Baker, a native son Scotland, who had spent his time Norwich and seems to have formed the design of investing his capital in the business of the place and enrolling himself as a regular inhabitant. After a few years, Mr. Baker while traveling, it is said in the western part of New York, suddenly disappeared and his fate was never ascertained. The Yantic mill was subsequently sold, to clear off its mortgages and indebtedness, and purchased by Capitan Erastus Williams, a wealthy retired ship master, who greatly enlarged the original building, and devoted it wholly to the manufacture of woolen goods. E. Winslow Williams only son of Capt. Erastus Williams, took over the mill. Yantic Village grew quickly to consist of not only the Williams Flannel Factory , with its various tenements, appurtenances, and surrounding; a fair proportion of mechanics and shops for merchandise, a group of private houses, a post office, a school house, and Episcopal organization call Grace Chapel and about 300 inhabitants.
The census if 1860 reported 110 persons employed in the mill 78 males and 35 females and the annual value of products $ 150,000. This mill, with all its machinery, stock and engines, and an adjoining house that accommodated eight families, was destroyed by fire, May 26 1865. The older part of the mill had stood for nearly fifty years and the flames performed their work with great facility, lighting up the hills and woods like an amphitheatre, and starting the village with showers of flaming cinders. The loss though very heavy, served only as a stimulus to more enlarged enterprise. The corner-stone of the new structure, far more capacious than the former, to be built of stone, from Munson Mass. four stories high, with towers and wings, furnished with all the mechanical conveniences and safeguards invented by modern science, was laid August 16th less than three months after the conflagration. This mill is designed for twelve sets of machinery.
Under the direction Mr. Williams in April of 1866 his son Winslow Tracy Williams, 3, and Louis Brinckerhoff Williams, 8, turned the valves which once again powered the mill for production of materials for Civil War Union Army soldiers. Over the years, successions of different owners and names were recorded in the history of this mill. During both World Wars, material for blankets and uniforms was produced here. In 1968 the mill was sold the Hale Manufacturing Company, which closed around 1980 and is for sale. The Mill was auction off in December 9th 2011 for six hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Presently, (June 2019), the Mill is being converted into a 151 room hotel with all amenities.
Information about the Yantic Stone Bridge
It was privately owned by Winslow Tracy Williams who had it built by the W. N. Flynt Granite Company of Munson MA. Construction began in June 1908 and it was completed in November of that year. There are no wooden parts in the stricter. It is two hundred feet long with two arches: one is 71’ 10” and the other is 35”. At the entrance there is a 48’ square courtyard with summer houses on each side with stone benches. On the right, the wall curves to join to join what at the time was a stone boardinghouse for mill workers. (Now the Post Office sight) On the left was the General Store and post office at the time, presently Meiklem Woodworking Company. Under the bridge can be seen the end of the canal which ran down the left side of the mill along the old road, with water from the canal used to turn the wheel for power to the mill before the boiler room was built.
Sunnyside, as the area across the bridge is called, was where the foreman and supervisors of the mill lived. Up the road over the railroad tracks to the top of the hill is the area called Mansion Hill, where mill owner Erastus Winslow Williams built his mansion, called Rocklyffe in 1868. It was sold at auction in the 1920s and demolished.
One memorable event was the visit in July 1909 of President of the United
States William Howard Taft who was entertained at Rocklyffe by Winslow Tracy Williams.