Aspinock Memories
Putnam revisited ... 1895 - charters and mayors
By Terri Pearsall
AHS Museum Curator
As Curator of the Aspinock Historical Society Museum, it is my job to set up and take down exhibits. The largest exhibit in the museum has been on World War II but with the end of the 80th anniversary of World War II, that exhibit has been taken down and new exhibits have been set up.
One of those exhibits is pictures of all the Mayors of Putnam dating back to 1895. I found it curious that the first mayor was elected in 1895 when the town had been incorporated in 1855. Why wasn’t a Mayor elected before that? Did I just miss the first Mayor? Those questions led me on a quest to found out what happened between 1855 and 1895 which led me to a booklet we have for sale in the museum titled “Putnam Revisited 1895-1896”. Most of the research for that booklet was taken from excerpts from articles from the Putnam Patriot Newspapers of 1895 and 1896.
What I discovered was very interesting. Although Putnam was incorporated in 1855, it was incorporated as a town not a city. In January of 1895 a town proposition was introduced to establish city limits of the business section of the town. It was decided that the population was increasing and this was the next necessary step. In March of 1895, a City charter was drawn up by a committee of 20 people. That same month, the editor of the Putnam Patriot asked its readers to submit names for the new city if the charter passed. He suggested that the name should indicate Putnam’s characteristic among other cities. Several names were suggested such as: “Cascade City”, “Trilby City” (because Putnam is indescribably lovely), “Wolf Den City” (because it speaks for itself) and the last name submitted on April 12, 1865, was “Patriot City”.
On May 3, 1895, the Putnam City Charter was passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor. It was then submitted to voters of the entire town for acceptance. Edgar Clark was appointed the task of drawing up the city map on that same day. Apparently none of those names submitted were adopted and on June 21, 1895, The Putnam City Charter was adopted by a vote of 385 to 336.
On December 6, 1895, the First Mayor of Putnam was elected. Lebbeus E. Smith, a Democrat, received 425 votes defeating Republican, Lucius H. Fuller, who received 402 votes. He was elected for a one-year term. He was born on October 17, 1849, in Canterbury and received his early education in the district school of Canterbury. He went to high school in Northampton, Mass., also studied at Burnham’s Business College in Springfield, Mass., graduating when he was 17 years old. He was a State Legislator in 1876 from his hometown. He married Sarah James in Rockville in 1878 and they moved to Putnam in 1881, opened a furniture, hardware and undertaking business in the Arcade Block on Canal Street. He and Sarah had two children, Clara and Herbert James Smith. Before he was elected mayor, Lebbeus served on the Putnam Board of Relief in 1888 and again in 1891. He served as a Grand Juror in 1892, was the acting Town Assessor from 1892-1895, served one year as Mayor (1896-97), and was elected Alderman-at-Large in 1899.
On July 1, 1919, Lebbeus Smith formed a business partnership with Leon Walker of North Grosvenordale. The firm was known as Smith & Walker. Lebbeus continued in business retiring in 1923. His interest in the firm was given to his son, Hebert Smith. Hebert died in 1930. Leon Walker, being the sole owner, still retained the name Smith & Walker. The name is still represented in Putnam with Smith & Walker Funeral Home on Grove Street, Putnam.
Lebbeus died in Putnam on March 19, 1936, and is buried in Carey Cemetery in Canterbury.
Putnam has had 32 mayors including Lebbeus since then. They are Lucius Fuller, William R. Barber, Franklin W. Perry, Edward W. Mullan, John J. McGarry, Archibald Macdonald, Allie W. Marcy, Victor Chapdeleine, Charles A. Richard, Leon A. Talbot, Francis H. Murphy, Harry C. Kelly, William J. McCoy, William P. Barber, Harvey J. Grinsell Sr., John N. Dempsey, Leo C. Tetreault, William St. Onge, Eugene “Dan” Cartier, Paul J. Bourgeois, R. Roger Brodeur, Michael D. Dufty, Stanley Ozog, Everett Shepard, Donald St. Onge, Daniel Rovero, Robert G. Viens, Peter Place, Anthony Falazarano, Norman “Barney” Seney.
In the next few weeks, we’ll be transporting ourselves back in time to see and hear the things our fellow citizens in Putnam were doing in 1895 by researching the Putnam Patriot Newspapers of 1895 and 1896. Stay tuned, I have been thoroughly amused and am sure you will too!
All information in this article is thanks to the archives of the Aspinock Historical Society.
Aspinock Memories graces the pages of the Putnam Town Crier to keep Putnam’s history alive.
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