Balch Mill Is Burned

Last mill in town

Balch Mill Fire - July 19, 1941

Balch Mill Is Burned. 

   The saw mill at Gibson Village and which was an old landmark burned to the ground Thursday at 11 p. m. It was the property of Albro L Balch as it had been been his father's before him, and Mr. Balch had worked there all his life. It was built in 1800 and was once a potato starch factory and a cotton mill. It had been in the Balch family since 1878 and Albro Balch bought it in 1910 and worked there daily. He sawed out quantities of lumber. It contained a great deal of machinery, new lathe and boiler, board saws, smaller saws, shingle mill, stave saws, and much more. It was an open mill and the he timbers were 16 inches square, braces 8 x 8. Mr. Balch's loss is $5000 and a total loss. There was also a large amount of fire wood burned. It was so convenient to have a mill of this kind in town and this is the last one. Its loss is felt by all. Less than two weeks before Mr. Balch's mill burned, a similar saw and cider mill about three miles away, Just over the line in Ashby, Mass, be longing to Fred Stacey, was also burned. Each fire was of incendiary origin it is believed.

Balch Mill - Early photo from glass negative

One Hundred Formulas

George Carmichael donated a copy of Stephen A. Thayer’s “One Hundred Formulas” which was published in 1883. It contains recipes from everything from printing ink to pain killers. Here is a formula for treating Whooping Cough. It seems that it should be more specific on how dilute the Nitric Acid should be.

WARNING: Please don’t try any of these “remedies”, many contain ingredients which have been shown to be harmful.

James Roger diary entry

October 29^th 1908 (Thursday)

Drizzly day wind N.E.  David on roads downtown.  Hamish & I sort of loafing around.  Flag raising this forenoon, not very enthusiastic.  Hamish went to Greenville with Fred Shirland in the afternoon.  Got letter from Berkley all well.