The following article was published in the April 25, 1913, Maiden Section of the Newton paper.

ULSTER COUNTY GAZETTE ANNOUNCES DEATH OF WASHINGTON
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PUBLISHED ON JANUARY 4TH, 1800, IN KINGSTON, NEW YORK.
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THE FIRST COTTON MILL
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Mr. Carpenter's Collection of Old Relics - An Old German Bible - Wooden Shoe Soles Worn in War Times - Many Other Interesting Relics.

In 1881 Mr. L.A. Carpenter, then a young man came to where Maiden now stands and cleared away a patch of pines and built the first cotton mill, in fact the first building where the town of Maiden now stands. This was not a large mill but one that has been a success from the start. Through the courtsey of Mr. Carpenter we were shown through the mill and every detail of the working of the machinery explained. There most of the machinery in the mill has been in use since the opening in 1881 and is still in good condition and doing good work. We were shown how the cotton from the bale is taken and the different machines it passes through until it is made into fine yarn ready for shipping. Our knowledge of a cotton mill is greater now than ever in the past. In an adjoining building, Mr. Carpenter has a repair shop where every piece of iron, casting, or steel that is broken can easily be repaired by the method of brazing, the only shop of its kind in the county. We were told that the parts mended by this plan were stronger than before broken.

Mr. Carpenter invited us after looking over the mill to go with him to his residence and see a collection of old relics that he has gathered from all parts of the world. Here are things that would be far more interesting than many of the relics in the Smithsonian Institute or any state museum. The first thing shown us was a copy of The Ulster County Gazette, published in Kingston, New York, on January 4th, 1800, one hundred and thirteen years ago. This paper contained the account of the death of General George Washington, and is printed on brown parchment paper with heavy black lines between the columns in token of the great sorrow of the country. An announcement of the plan of the funeral is given together with the names of the pallbearers as follows: Cols. Sims, Ramsey, Payne, Gilpin, Marsteller and Little. The ads are unique and show many interesting things. A list of advertised letters in the postoffice at Kingston appears and among the names are many that are familiar in this country at the present time, such as Little, Mosier, Kline, Grant, etc.

An announcement is made at the head of one column, that owing to the lack of space on account of the Washington edition only brief notice will be made of the most important items. One advertisement of Luther Andres & Co. is written in poetry and starts off as follows: "Luther Andres & Co. have this day been opening goods both fresh and gay." Announcements are made of the sympathy offered by foreign governments in the sad bereavement of the United States. In a separate article we hope to reproduce a number of the interesting things that appear in this paper.

Our attention was next called to a table full of old books. An old German Bible that was the property of Mr. Carpenter's grandfather, especially attracted our attention, but the date was torn out so we couldn't tell how old it was. Another book, Martin Luther's Explaination of the Bible was also written in German and bore the date of 1739. A number of German Bibles and hymn books of the dates 1750 to 1800 are in this collection which numbers more than one hundred

In this museum are several old laterns used by Mr. Carpenter's grandfather which resemble old tin buckets with holes punched in them and a place to fasten a candle, which threw the light out through the holes. A lamp, used in olden times in this bunch of relics, resembles a small coffee pot with a receptacle for oil and a place for the wick to go through the spout to the oil. Old army canteens used by Federal and Confederate soldiers are in this collection, also deer horns, indian relics, the old carpet bag of war times, and hundreds of other interesting things.

Mr. Carpenter has not only gathered relics of stone, war remembrances, etc., but several kinds of fish, from the watery deep, such as the balloon fish, the cow fish, the hog fish, and several kinds of snakes which are stuffed and preserved in their natural form.

Guns of all description are in this collection of relics. Several old guns and bayonets used by Confederate soldiers, are well preserved and look like they could be used yet if necessary. The old flint and steel is here and we were shown how it works. There were wooden shoe soles worn by our soldiers in the war. Mr. Carpenter says he not only saw them worn, but wore them himself. They were about two inches thick and were fastened on the soles of the shoes by means of straps. An old counterpane 127 years old and made by hand was also among the collection. The ladies of the present day would do well to work out the artistic patterns on this valuable piece of fancy work. We were shown a piece of the goods from which the ladies made their dresses in those days. It seemed as if it were a dozen times as heavy as some of the dress goods worn at the present time, and that yet in the very coldest weather.

Newton people will be interested to know that Mr. Carpenter has in his possession two bowls, that were used in the old Gross hotel, the first one built in Newton. They are very pretty in design and resemble hand painting. We were very much interested and wanted to know more about it when told by Mr. Carpenter that he had a walking stick made by a Phillippino while in prison, of human and animal bones. One joint is human bones and are right white and the next joint is made of different kinds of animal bones and are dark colored. Here we saw our first flexible sand stone that you can take and bend any way you desire. A brush made by Mr. Carpenter when he was only 12 years old is prized by him highly, it is so superior in quality to many of the brushes on the market at the present time. Old pewter dishes, seas shells from all parts of the world are here. His grandmothers old photo tray over 100 years old and hand painted is interesting to look at.

We shall never forget the kindness shown by Mr. Carpenter on this visit. His explaination of the different curios was worth months of study of jeography.

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