Henry H. Furbish, the Forest Fibre Company, and the Berlin Electric Light Company
Henry Hart Furbish, son of Dependence H. and Persis H. (Brown) Furbish, was born on June 3, 1835, in Gray, Maine. In 1799, H. H. Furbish’s grandfather, Stephen, constructed a tannery in Gray, which was one of the largest in that state, and ran it for many years. Mr. Furbish’s family moved to Portland when he was only six months old, he received a great education in the schools of that place. It seemed he inherited business qualities from both his maternal and paternal ancestors. He entered the sugar house of J. B. Brown, from whom he received the best training and supervision of large interests. By 1871, Furbish was introduced to the manufacture of wood fibre by the soda process. He moved to New York where he conducted experiments and eventually perfected this process. He became manager of the experimental works at Yarmouth, Maine, which he did from 1873 to 1877. In July, 1877, Furbish came to Berlin and built a small pulp mill (mill “A”) which manufactured three tons of wood-pulp a day. This mill had two storage rooms, a wood peeling and cutting room, a rack room, a wheel house, a pit and chip room, a liquor room, and a black ash house with a large smoke stack. There was also a dam on the river next to this mill. The Grand Trunk Railroad had a side track that passed this mill, connecting it with the rest of the U.S. and Canada. |
Due to the demand for this product, Furbish erected “Mill B” in 1880 in connection with J. A. Bacon, who owned paper mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts. They also wanted to erect 25 houses, but only 16 were built in that year.This area of town was called “Fibreville.” Most, if not all, of the men who worked here were from out of town because all of the Berlin men worked at the Berlin Mills Company sawmill. These two mills once stood around the area of where the new courthouse is today. Mill A was to the north of Mill B, they had night, day, and Sunday watchmen, auto sprinklers in all buildings, except the Black Ash buildings, that were fed by town water, “no smoking” water power, steam heat, wood for fuel, and eclectic lights. Henry H. Furbish married, first, in September, 1856, Harriet A. Ordway, who died in December, 1871. He later married Susan A. Emery on September 20, 1883. Mr. Furbish named two streets in Fibreville, Willard Street, after his son with his first wife, and Emery Street, after his wife’s maiden name. He bought and remodeled the beautiful home that once stood on spot now occupied by the bowling alley. From this house, a great view of Mt. Washington could be seen. This home was later purchased by Abraham Stahl, who later sold to the Elks Club. When H. H. Furbish came to Berlin, the only lights that brought peoples homes out of the darkness were those of oil lamps. Mr. Furbish decided something needed to be done about this, so in 1887 he introduced electric power and lights to Berlin. He first saw the usage of electrical lights on a visit to Boston. He came back to Berlin and brought with him two immense arc lights. They were very large affairs and required the use of a separate dynamo each, to operate. When people first saw these lights light up his mill during the night, although amazed, they thought it was a hopeless venture. He then introduced this system to the town. Thanks to Furbish, Berlin had a light plant years before any other place this side of Boston. A company by the name of the "Berlin Electric Light Company" was later incorporated in 1893 with the following officers: Henry H. Furbish, president, Edward A. Noyes, treasurer, J. P. Dubey, superintendent and general manager. The company furnished electrical light, heat, and power and dealt extensively in electrical fixtures. J. P. Dubey, a native of St. Thomas, Canada but educated in Berlin, later became president of this company. |
Being a strong believer in the Episcopalian faith, Mr. Furbish donated some of his land to build the St. Barnabas Church here in Berlin. This building was a wooden building that was later replaced by the stone building we have today. This church had the first pipe organ, thanks to Mr. Furbish. Henry Furbish is known as the “father of Berlin” because he gave so generously to any organization that would benefit the town. He help lay out Berlin’s sewer system, which was no small task considering Berlin is located on immense ledges of granite. He showed Berlin’s farming community lessons of improved agriculture and shock raising.
Mr. Furbish is the man who is credited for Berlin’s growth and prosperity. He introduced an industry and a tradition that lasted almost 130 years, until Berlin’s mill was dismantled in 2006-2007. His energetic force, his love of the beautiful, and his broad liberality is what made him make a wilderness into a comfortable city. His signature really gives you a good idea about his personality. When the book “History of Coos County, New Hampshire” was written, the author, who is usually credited as George Drew Merrill, went around and took photos of people who influenced each town’s history. Most people simply signed their name, but Mr. Furbish wrote, “Truly yours, Henry H. Furbish.” |
In 1893, the Forest Fibre Company changed its name to the Berlin Falls Fibre Company, with Willard H. Furbish as superintendent. By 1898, the mill was owned by Elias Thomas of Portland and the superintendent was Herman Martinson. On Sunday afternoon, Christmas Day of 1898, and fire alarm rung and as people hurried to the scene, they found that Mill A was engulfed in flames.The fire most likely started in the Black Ash House, due to the fact that this room was the only room that didn’t have sprinklers. A long shed collapsed upon 14 firefighters, it was a miracle that they all survived. The men saved were: Ernest Turner, John Johnson, Martin Erikson, Olaf Oleson, Mark Frost, Anton Nilson, Theodore Pinette and Sigmond Anderson, from Company No.1. Also, Henry Oleson, Fred Ouilette, Alex Madsen, Humphrey Dickey, and Olaf Oleson from Company No.2 and David Hazzard from Company No.3. The fire threatened the River Side Pulp Mill, which was on the opposite side of the river, but it was saved. To this day (2013) remnants of this mill can still be seen. On March 12, 1913, Henry Hart Furbish passed away in Bath, New York, where he had been living on a poor state of health with some of his relatives. Mr. Furbish had a dream; this dream was to turn a small New England style town into a large city. If it wasn’t for Mr. Furbish, there would be only the “town” of Berlin not the city. |
References
1. Once Upon a Berlin Time: The Forest Fibre Company, by Paul “Poof” Tardiff.
2. The History of Coos County, New Hampshire (1888), by George Drew Merrill, pg. 825-827.
3. Traditions and Recollections of Berlin, N. H. (1897), by Bailey K. Davis, pg. 92, 93, and 122.
4. Photo of J. P. Dubey, courtesy of Poof Tardiff.
5. Photo of Mill A and B from a map made by George E. Norris, 1888. (Click here to view)
6. The other photos are from the Brown Bulletins and the History of Coos County, New Hampshire (1888).
7. Recollections of Berlin Since 1880, by John Hayes (1926)
2. The History of Coos County, New Hampshire (1888), by George Drew Merrill, pg. 825-827.
3. Traditions and Recollections of Berlin, N. H. (1897), by Bailey K. Davis, pg. 92, 93, and 122.
4. Photo of J. P. Dubey, courtesy of Poof Tardiff.
5. Photo of Mill A and B from a map made by George E. Norris, 1888. (Click here to view)
6. The other photos are from the Brown Bulletins and the History of Coos County, New Hampshire (1888).
7. Recollections of Berlin Since 1880, by John Hayes (1926)