[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 72 (Friday, June 10, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         TRIBUTE TO MILFORD, NH

 Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize a special 
town in my home State of New Hampshire. As our Nation prepares to 
celebrate the 218th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, it 
is appropriate and timely for us to recognize the contributions the 
people of the great town of Milford, NH, have made to our heritage.
  Milford's origins and growth closely mirror that of our country. In 
1764, Thompson Maxwell moved into the area that was to become known as 
Milford. In 1773, he took part in the Boston Tea Party and, later, 
fought along side 15 other future Milford citizens at the Battle of 
Bunker Hill. Fortunately, none of those patriots were killed or 
seriously wounded, although Lieutenant Maxwell reported he lost one 
fine shirt and one powder horn.
  In 1794, the residents of the southwestern portion of Amherst, NH, 
and the northwestern section of Hollis, petitioned the New Hampshire 
General Court for their independence and to be ``invested with all the 
powers, privileges, and immunities which towns in this State are 
entitled to enjoy.'' That year, Augustus Blanchard became the first 
chairman of the Milford Board of Selectmen and served with Jacob Flinn 
and Benjamin Hutchinson in a tradition that continues to this day.
  Some of the earliest opposition to slavery was heard in Milford. In 
1841, Rev. Humphrey Moore, in a speech on the New Hampshire State 
Senate floor, denounced the institution of slavery. Several prominent 
town residents, including Benjamin Gooden and Elizabeth Hutchinson, 
took the name of ``come-outers'' as a result of their opposition. One 
hundred and ninety-six Milford citizens volunteered to serve in the War 
Between the States to preserve the union of the States. Sixty lost 
their lives. Col. Oliver W. Lull, after being gravely wounded, said, 
``Thank God I die for my country.''
  As the railroads connected the town to Nashua and Boston, Milford 
grew into a thriving industrial center in the later 19th century. The 
mills an factories along the Souhegan River produced textiles, 
furniture, shoes, and lumber. The layer of granite underneath Milford 
gave it the nickname ``The Granite Town of the Granite State.'' It has 
been said that here is hardly a town or city in the United States that 
does not contain some Milford granite in its buildings, monuments, and 
in the curbing that makes up its streets. In fact, the columns in the 
U.S. Treasury Building are made of granite cut from Lovejoy's Quarry in 
1908.
  Today, Milford has stretched to a community of almost 12,000 people 
with diversified interests but a common goal. On the bicentennial of 
the founding of Milford, we salute its citizens and honor their 
accomplishments, their love of country, and their spirit of 
independence.

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