Providing Context for an 1887 Fourth of July

By Jennie Shurtleff

Diaries and journals are invaluable to historians as they provide personal perspectives on events; however, since they are generally not written for a public audience, they often contain cryptic details or references that are not clear to others. In these cases, other sources - such as newspapers - can provide invaluable illumination and context.

Case in point…

On July 4 of 1887, seventeen-year-old Woodstock resident Will S. Eaton wrote in his journal about his Fourth of July. He stated:

 “Not a bell was rung except the factory. But we had about 40 boys in line with the house and marched around the streets making more noise than the bells would have. We had three tar barrels and the fuses were left going all night. A big crowd in town all day. Had a team representing the waterworks in the horribles. Took 4th prize… We ought to have had first but there were two waterworks run on the committee of judges. The ballgame was a failure or fraud. The stars won 27-11. The fireworks were too far away to be seen at their best; on the whole I think it all was cheap. I did not have a very good time. Clarence got second money in both bicycle races. In the first race the two leaders collided.”

This brief journal entry is illuminated by the July 7, 1887, issue of the Vermont Standard, which referred to the day’s festivities as a “glorious anniversary of our independence.”

While Will noted in his journal entry that not a “bell was rung except the factory,” (undoubtedly referring to the Woodward Woolen Mill - present-day Rec Center building - as the “factory”), the Vermont Standard explains that bell ringing on Independence Day that year had been officially prohibited. Previous years, the bells from the school and other buildings that had bells had been rung in the middle of the night - waking people from their sleep. The village’s ban on bells, however, seemed to have the opposite effect from what the trustees intended as the village’s young mischief-makers found new ways to make themselves annoying. According to the Vermont Standard article, “Promptly at twelve o’clock [midnight] the din of small cannon, fire crackers, tin horns and the like, began in various parts of the village, and was more intense because of the official prohibition of bell ringing. A strong police force was on duty guarding the several churches and town hall, but it is questionable whether there was less noise because of the lack of bells. In fact it is thought the boys never painted the town so red in ushering in the natal day. A long procession of youth marched through the principal streets soon after twelve, letting off explosives, blowing innumerable horns, and making all the noise possible, not forgetting a specially robust demonstration before the residence of each trustee of the village. Delight was taken in daring the police to attempt an arrest and a great chorus of small boys joined in singing, “We’ll hang Bill Davis to a sour apple tree,” meantime marching around the officer in question.”

Another example of how historic newspapers can complement our understanding of personal writings comes with Will Eaton’s mention of the “Horribles” parade. According to the Standard, most of the teams who participated in the parade patterned their floats after local businesses or institutions, such as the Woodstock Bakery and the recently-formed Woodstock Aqueduct Company (which Will refers to as the “waterworks”).

Unfortunately, the Woodstock History Center does not have a photograph of the Aqueduct float, which the Standard describes as “capital;” however, it does have a photograph of a Woodstock Bakery float. Like other “Horribles” parades, Woodstock’s parade attempted to caricature and poke fun at people and organizations, which is clear from the costumes of the people on the float. (For more information on “Horribles” parades, go to the History Center article “A Horribles Parade” that was published June 26, 2020.)

In addition to the parade, Will mentions in his journal entry two bike races as part of the Independence Day festivities - one of which ended with the two leaders colliding. Once again, the newspaper article from the Vermont Standard provides some context. The first bicycle race was a “slow trial.” It appears that the goal of this race was to bike around the Green as slowly as possible, and the last one across the finish line was the winner. This type of race was described as being “very trying to the nerves, especially in a sultry day.” One can imagine that watching bicyclists inch around the green on a hot day would be a bit tedious, rather like watching paint dry.  Regarding this race, the Standard writes: “a large number [of bicyclists] started but only one made the entire distance, L.P. Thayer. Clarence Fisk really did the best work in the race, and but for a misunderstanding regarding the finish line would have taken first prize… Then came a fast trial with five to start, and it was very exciting, the contestants going twice around the Park. As they were coming into the finish, Wesley Archer a trifle in the lead and Winnie Booth and John Foster close upon him, Booth struck Archer’s machine and threw him and then went down himself. Foster went through safely and Clarence Fisk and Bert Pinney followed in.”

The bicycle competitions were followed by an obstacle race (not mentioned by Will Eaton), which consisted of such tasks as picking up a line of potatoes (one by one) and putting them in a wheel barrel, then crawling through a barrel, eating a cracker and backing back out of the barrel to the place one began.

The afternoon was then rounded out with a baseball game between the Stars and the “Picked Nine.” Will describes the game, in which the Stars won 27 to 11 as either a “failure or fraud.” The Stars, according to the newspaper, were young local boys. The Picked Nine were nine “mostly full grown” men from different towns and were (in the words of the Vermont Standard) “the best to be found.” It appears that the underdog team’s victory over what had seemed to have been the more seasoned team of players was the basis for Will’s “failure or fraud” comment.

The day closed with a torchlight procession and fireworks in front of Mount Peg’s westerly face. Will complained that the fireworks were “too far away to be seen at their best,” but the Standard reported the “display was excellent” and that the hundreds of Chinese lanterns that hung about the Park made it a thing of beauty.

The one part of the day mentioned by Will Eaton that is left out of the newspaper account is the tar barrels. Will notes that he and his friends had “three barrels and the fuses were left going all night.” Apparently the Standard just considered the tar barrels as part of the general mayhem created by the Village’s youth and didn’t see them worthy of particular mention. However, tar barrels appear to have been of great interest to young Will as he not only mentions them in his July 4 journal entry but also in one made several weeks earlier on June 18, 1887. In that earlier entry, Will notes that “some of the boys went up to the gas house and got a couple of barrels of tar and stored them in my yard. Some cusses came and took one pouring over all the tar and burning it on the common.”

While Independence Day 1887 as a whole was not to young Will’s liking, the activities and excitement of the day would have likely delighted many young people who lived outside Woodstock Village and had far fewer opportunities to see races, baseball games, and fireworks.

As the son of a local merchant and grandson of Joel Eaton (who lived in the large, beautiful brick house at 3 Church Street), young Will had the opportunity to experience many exciting events. In fact, his diary is filled with references to playing ball, boating, swimming, skating, sledding, boxing, attending the lyceum, playing tennis, and attending card parties and other social events.  What few references there are to his doing “work” are limited to his occasionally shoveling snow or planting corn.

The transcript of the journal that the Woodstock History Center has in its collection that belonged to Will Eaton only covers the year 1887. It is unknown whether he kept journals other years. We do know, however, about Will’s later life, and once again newspapers provide the context.

According to his obituary, published in the June 22, 1939, Vermont Standard, after graduating from the Woodstock public school system, Will worked for the Woodbury Label Co. in Woodstock where he was learning the printer’s trade. Unfortunately, he sustained an injury to one of his eyes that rendered him unable to pursue printing as a career path, and he ended up working for Frederick Billings and later Mrs. William Dreer on their estates. Additionally, William served as a fire warden and as the “local government weather observer.” He passed away on June 14, 1939, and is buried in Woodstock’s River Street Cemetery.

Above: Photo labeled Will Eaton, from the Woodstock History Center’s collection. In this photo, Will appears to be wearing his fire uniform.