The Date Line
By Charlene
THE INDUSTRIAL AGE: 1850-1893
1850: Railroad goes through Bristol; Bristol Brass opens
1851: Gad Norton and Isaac Pierce form partnership to develop Lake Compounce
1857: Depression strikes again; E.N. Welch emerges as Bristol’s foremost industrialist
1862: Company "K" from Bristol marches off to the Civil War*
1863: Wallace Barnes’ spring shop opens
1871: Bristol Press begins publishing
1875: Bristol National Bank founded
1888: Albert Rockwell begins manufacturing "New Departure" doorbells
1891: First high school building erected
*After the Civil War ended, agriculture in Bristol continued its decline while the population increased 30 to 40% each decade, eventually reaching 7,362 in 1890 – there were more houses, more streets, and a town center emerged.
BRISTOL: AN EMERGING CITY
1893: Depression strikes again
1895: Trolley service established
1899: Metal Polishers industrial trade union formed
1910: Immigrants make up 3/5 of Bristol’s population
1911: City Charter approved; John F. Wade becomes 1st mayor after a victory over George W. Hull
1914: Rockwell Park was donated to the city
1915: Wave of strikes hits New Departure, Bristol Brass, and other manufacturers
1916: United Motors (later called General Motors) acquires New Departure
1917: World War I
1920: Memorial Boulevard construction under way
1921: Saloons officially closed during Prohibition Era
1922: New high school completed on Memorial Boulevard
1929: Stock Market crash; first "talkie" in Bristol
1932: City on verge of bankruptcy due to Depression
1933: More than 1,000 Bristol men employed on public works projects; Prohibition repealed
1941: U.S. enters World War II
1942: Bristol recycles 30,000 pounds of rubber and over one million pounds of metal as part of the war effort
1945: Post-war conversion of industry begins
Sources:
Bristol Press Oct 12, 1971; (Lake Compounce article)
Clouette, Bruce and Roth, Matthew. The History of Bristol: A Bicentennial History 1785-1985. Phoenix Publishing. Canaan, NH. 1984.