Corbin Park Timeline
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info on this page compiled by Cory Chace
1835 -- Corbin Covered Bridge across Croydon branch of Sugar R. in N. Newport is built.
1888 -- Austin Corbin is repairing and improving the Corbin Bridge, so-called, at his own expense. -- Argus 17 Aug. 1888.
1888 -- Austin Corbin fences in 26,000 acres in Newport, Croydon, Grantham, Plainfield and Cornish, and stocks it with wild boar, elk, bison, moose, antelope and Himalayan goats. Austin Corbin, a Newport native, bought a total of 60 farms in Croydon, Grantham, Plainfield, Cornish and Newport and brought his collection of deer, antelope and bison from his Long Island home to this area. He named the plot Blue Mountain Forest and added wild boar, caribou, mountain goats and other wild life. His buffalo herd increased and many were shipped to parks and zoos throughout the U.S. In the 1930's Bangs disease hit the herd and the last buffalo had to be shot in 1944.
1890 -- Corbin Park . Six men arrived in town last night from Jersey city to fence Austin Corbin's big park. About 1,000 acres are to be fenced off with their netting, and topped with several strands of barbed wire. The fence is to be eight feet high. -- from As We Were 100 Years ago in May 9, 1990 Argus. --- [Also -- From As Were Were Dec. 5, 1990 -- "1890- Nearly 25 farms with buildings have been sold to Austin Corbin, and the families are leaving town. We think that those who have sold are on the lucky side, but it remains to be seen whether it is lucky for the other townsmen."]
1890 -- D.C. Barton with a gang of men are setting posts for the (Corbin) extended deer park in Croydon. -- Argus 5 Sept. 1890
1890 -- Nineteen moose, elk, etc., arrived in town Saturday for the Corbin deer park. The grizzlies have not put in the appearance yet. -- Argus & Spec. 14 Nov. 1890.
1890 -- Mr. Corbin and family, with friends, arrived from New York Thanksgiving Day, in his private [railroad] car, "Manhattan." They spent several days at the farm [the Corbin place on Corbin road owned in 1995 by Wm. B. Ruger, Jr. ] and returned to New York Monday.
1890 -- A field, within Corbin Park, is of interest as being the birthplace of one of the wives of the late President Filmore. Her name was Abigail Powers, and she was the daughter of the late Lemuel Powers of Croydon. -- Argus & Spec- 12 Dec. 1890
1890 -- George H. Dyer is making the gates to close up the Corbin Park. (Q. Is this the end of public admittance to park?) -- Argus and Spec 26 Dec. 1890.
1891 -- Eleven deer arrived in town Monday, by freight, for Austin Corbin (for Corbin Park). They were shipped from Lake Megantic, P.Q., Canada and were in charge of S.D. Ball, a hunter and trapper of that region, who did the work by contract. Mr. Ball informed us that his method of capturing deer was to hunt out their yards, so-called, and then drive them into the deep snow and catch them by using snow shoes. -- FEATURE ARTICLE ON page 2 - Austin Corbin and likeness. -- Argus & Spec. - 6 Feb. 1891.
1891 -- Two reporters from the New York World have been stopping in town this week, making sketches and writing up the (Corbin) Deer park, which will probably be published in the Sunday edition of the World. -- Repub-Champ. 12 Feb. 1891.
1891 -- Non-resident Austin Corbin paid a Newport tax bill of $458.06 for the highest, and Nathaniel Brown, $25.04 for the lowest. (Industrial workers in 1890 earned $12 a week.) - Argus & Spec. 5 June 1891.
1891 -- In Croydon Flat Mr. Corbin's help is at work fencing in the Marsh place of about 300 acres, which is inside the park. This, we understand, is to be winter quarters of some of his animals. -- Argus - 19 June 1891.
1891 -- Two more animals arrived at the station for the (Corbin) deer park last week. -- Repub-Champ - 23 July 1891.
1891 -- Union Chapel at North Newport has been renewed inside by a coat of paint. A new carpet has also been laid, which was given to the society by Mrs. Austin Corbin. - Argus & Spec. 31 July 1891.
1891 -- See Page 2: Full column feature on The Corbin Deer Park, written by the Hon. Charles R. Corning of Concord, who with a party from Pine Cliff paid a visit to the park on Thursday last. -- Repub-Champ. 3 Sept. 1891.
1891 -- Austin Corbin will entertain the directors of the American Express in this town Friday. // The tax of the Austin Corbin & Co. in New York City is $600,000. -- Argus and Spec. - 26 Aug. 1891.
1891 -- Mr. Corbin's new palace car is at the Northville depot. Rumor has it that he is to build a new depot at that place and that a new side track is to be put in. // Thirty elk arrived at the Corbin park yesterday from Idaho, under the charge of Joseph Komp, a typical westerner who makes his business that of a mountain guide and hunter. One of the elk died on the way. Eighty-five rabbits also arrived at the park this week. -- Repub-Champ. 17 Sept. 1891.
1891 -- Another lot of quail, upwards of 100 in number, have been shipped to Corbin Park. -- Argus and Spec. 11 Dec. 1891.
1892 -- Austin Corbin has notified the selectmen that he is ready to contribute $50 toward the lighting of the streets in Newport village, providing $350 additional is raised by subscription for that purpose. -- Argus & Spec. 18 Mar.
1892 -- FLOOD - The high water swept away the boathouse of Austin Corbin, Jr. last week, and his elegant canoe, which was inside was demolished in the wreck. (The concrete foundations for that boathouse could be seen in 1995 near the west side of the Corbin covered bridge.) -- Repub.-Champ. 1 Sept. 1892.
1892 -- Corbin Park. Six imported boar hounds were shipped here (Croydon) Tuesday for Austin Corbin. They were imported from Paris, having been thoroughly trained for hunting wild boar and will be used for that purpose in the park. -- Argus. and Spec. - 2 Nov. 1892.
1893 -- Two moose were recently put into the Corbin Park, and ten buffalo will soon be shipped into Newport for the park. This will make with what are now in the park 33 ... the largest private herd in America with a single exception. -- Argus and Spec. - 6 Jan. 1893.
1893 -- Austin Corbin has improved his house at the farm with a new porte cochere. -- Argus & Spec. - 16 June 1893.
1893 -- Mr. and Mrs. Edgell and children arrived in town Thursday evening last, in Mr. Corbin's private railroad car "Manhattan," and are now at their summer home for the season. -- Repub.- Champ. - 22 June 1893.
1893 -- Fourteen elk were recently shipped to Newport for the Corbin park which is now supplied with animals. We are informed that Mr. Corbin has decided to get rid of the wild boar and will soon instiute some hunts with this end in view. [Well, this end in view never happened. Boar now range the countryside outside the park.] - Argus and Spec. 29 Sept. 1893.
1893 -- Daniel Webster, Mr. Corbin's colored cook, has arrived from New York, preparatory to attending to a party at the farm during the next few days. - Argus and Spec. - 29 Dec. 1893.
1894 -- A couple of beavers arrived on Wednesday from Montana. They were the property of Austin Corbin. [Corbin Park] -- Repub-Champ. - 1 Mar. 1894.
1894 -- Newport's five heaviest taxpayers: Richards, Dexter and Sons, $2,011.15; Austin Corbin, $704.22; E. L. Putney, $349.41; Mrs. Dexter Richards, $323, and Arthur C. Bradley, $318.71.
1894 -- The Blue Mountain Forest [Corbin Park] is now open to visitors and will remain so at all gates on Sundays until further notice. The following gates will be open: Brighton, East Pass and West Pass. ... The Italians have constructed a number of sod houses on their camping ground near the south end. They are interesting little domiciles and afford evidence of neatness and ingenuity. ... Work was begun on our water system Monday morning. The gang of hands numbers between sixty and seventy .. mostly Italians, who came to town from Boston Saturday evening. ... Mr.Corbin is surrounding his park with a complete circuit of telephone wire and will put in telephone machines at each important point. F. S. Currier has charge of the work. -- Argus and Spec. 15 June 1894.
1894 -- Provisions are being made at the Granite State Mills [known in 1995 as Dorr Woolen] to install electric lights. - Argus and Spec. - 29 June 1894. // The electric light wire is being extended to the Edgell and Corbin residences north of the village. -- Repub-Champ. 2 Aug. 1894.
1895 -- A lot of English red deer and other animals have been shipped to Newport this week for Corbin Park. The entire consignment is valued at $2,500. It is now estimated that this park contains about 3,000 animals. -- Argus and Spec. 1 Mar. 1895
1895 -- Photographer Ross photographed the school house at North Newport Wednesday, and the views will be sent to Mr. Corbin, whose architect will make plans for the remodeling of that building. -- Republican Champion, 21 Mar. 1895.
1895 -- Corbin Park has nine buffalo calves. The herd now numbers about 50. -- Repub-Champ. -- 10 May 1895.
1895 -- Shipment of a lot of fox squirrels from Wichita, Kansas, for the Corbin Park, arrived in Newport Tuesday. -- Repub-Champ. June 6, 1895.
1895 -- It is understood that Austin Corbin, Seth W. Richards and Wm. F. Richards will erect a fine new block on the lot now occupied by the Universalist Chapel. [This plan apparently died, because John. W. Johnson bought the building. (See 1895 above.) According to present plans, Mr. Corbin will own a half interest and the Richards brothers a fourth interest each. -- N.H. Argus and Spec. -- 23 Aug. 1895.
1895 -- Austin Corbin recently chartered from Eunch, Edye and Co. the steamship Chateau Yquem. This vessel sailed from Genoa Nov. 8 with 700 Italians on board. She is due in New Orleans Nov. 26. It is known that Mr. Corbin is at the head of a big colonization enterprise. -- Argus and Spec. - 29 Nov. 1895.
1896 -- Austin Corbin, who recently attained an ambition which he had cherished for 80 years, in obtaining complete control of the entire railroad system on Long Island. [A rather unlikely cherish, for he died at age 69. see below for his obit.] -- Argus and Spec. 14 Feb. 1896.
1896 -- David Leach is making several stone watering troughs which are to be shipped to Austin Corbin in New York. /// Advt. Croydon - Blue Mountain Forest: The Brighton, East and West Pass Gates are now open to visitors and will remain open until Oct. 15 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. No four-horse teams allowed. The Central Station is open Wednesdays only. /// The Corbin family came to their summer home last Saturday in their private palace car. -- Argus and Spec. 5 June 1896
1896 -- Austin Corbin dies 4 June. - reference in a story on the Corbin mansion in Argus 3 Aug. 1988; also Hist. Soc. Scrapbook V, p. 15.
-- following is the complete obituary of Austin Corbin, as printed in the Friday, 12 June 1896 issue of the Argus and Spectator.
AUSTIN CORBIN KILLED!
in a Terrible Accident
Also Coachman John Stokes
Corbin Edgell's Leg Broken
Dr. Paul Kunzer Badly Injured
Mr. Corbin's Brilliant Career
The sad and tragic event with which the community was shocked on Thursday afternoon of last week, and which resulted in the death of Austin Corbin and his coachman, John Stokes, and the serious injury of his grandson, Corbin Edgell, and the boy's tutor, Dr. Paul Kunzer, cast a shadow over the community which deepens and darkens as the days pass by. The awful calamity could not be taken in at once by the community, and even now after the lapse of a week, it can hardly be comprehended in all its fullness.
How much was crowded into that fatal afternoon in connection with that one family! The planning of a pleasure trip by its honored head, the preparing of the team, its appearance at the place of departure in charge of the faithful coachman, the good-byes spoken, the start, the fright of the horses, their rapid plunging down the driveway, the upsetting of the carriage, the groans of the dying -- and finally, the deathbed scenes -- one about as the shades of evening began to gather and the other a little later -- when the stars in silent sadness, were gazing down upon the house of sorrow.
The Corbin homestead in this town, embracing every convenience and arrangement for enjoyment and comfort that wealth can give, is situated about two miles and a half from this village in a north-westerly course. The mansion is located a short distance north of the main road, which runs east and west. From it two driveways converge -- one leading to the main road in a south-easterly direction, and the other leading to it in a south-westerly direction.
A week ago last Saturday, May 30, Mr. and Mrs. Corbin and their youngest daughter Miss Anna Corbin, came to the farm in their private car to enjoy a season of rest and recreation. On the day of the fatal accident a drive to Governor's Pond, situated in the park at the southern extremity of Croydon mountain, had been planned by Mr. Corbin for the purpose of fishing. The party, which included only the four individuals before mentioned, started with a span of horses and a two-seated open carriage on the driveway leading south-westerly to the main road. About as soon as the start was made the horses which had been harnessed for the first time without blinders, became frightened and ran rapidly down the driveway. They acquired speed and momentum in their flight, and when at a point where the roads intersect the carriage was upset and the occupants thrown out with great force. As the accident was seen from the house it appeared as if the victims were sent many feet into the air. Mr. Corbin was thrown against the stone wall on the south side of the highway, young Corbin Edgell was thrown about the same distance and also came in contact with the wall. Dr. Kunzer was sent over the wall into the field, and Mr. Stokes was partially wound around a tree near the wall.
Mrs. Corbin and other members of the family witnessed the frightful scene from the veranda, and at once telephoned for assistance. Dr. J. Leavitt Cain arrived in nine minutes after receiving the dispatch, and Dr. Stickney a little later. Drs. Tolles and Upham, of Claremont, came on the 4 o'clock train, and Dr. O. G. Cilley, of Boston, accompanied by A. N. Parlin, Jr., an intimate friend of Mr. Corbin, arrived by special train at 8:30.
On the arrival of Dr. Cain preparations were at once begun for taking the injured to the house and this was soon accomplished by the use of mattresses. The wounds were attended to as far as possible. Mr. Corbin's injuries were found to be of a most serious nature. The right leg was badly broken in several places, the bones projecting a number of inches, a scalp wound three or four inches in length was found on the forehead, another incision of about the same size on the right side of the face in front of the ear, while the lips and chin were badly cut, bruised and distorted. The coachman's right leg was frightfully fractured and mangled, and there were two fractures on the skull -- one on the right temple and other at the base of the brain, either of which would have caused death. Corbin Edgell sustained a compound fracture of the right leg, and Dr. Kunzer a fracture of his right wrist. The two latter, after the fractures were adjusted, were removed to the Edgell residence on the Croydon Road. Mr. Stokes died at about 6 o'clock, having been unconscious from the time he was thrown from the carriage.
Mr. Corbin died at 9:45 o'clock. He may have been partially conscious for a few minutes after he was injured, but if so he soon lost consciousness and did not regain it. Mrs. Corbin and the two daughters, Mrs. Edgell and Miss Annie Corbin, and several attendants were constantly at his bedside until he breathed his last. Dr. Cilley, of Boston, and the local physicians were also present and closely followed every symptom of the dying man.
The son, Austin Corbin, Jr., was in Boston at the time of this accident and came to town that evening by special train. He did not arrive, however, until about three-quarters of an hour after the death of his father. George B. Edgell, Mr. Corbin's son-in-law, was in Arkansas and was not able to reach New York until Monday. The horses with which Mr. Corbin set out on his fatal drive were recently purchased by him of one of our livery stable keepers who bought them in Lebanon a short time since. They were a handsome seal-brown span, and Mr. Corbin was proud of them. At about the time they began to ....... Mr. Corbin raised a ... umbrella, and this may have been the cause of their fright as they had always been accustomed to blinders; but of course this is mere conjecture, and cannot be stated with any certainty.
Brief Episcopal services were held at the Corbin mansion at 10 o'clock, a.m., Saturday, and were conducted by Rev. W. B. T. Smith of Charlestown. The director was David A. Newton, who performed all the duties appertaining to the position. (Father of Dixi Newtown?) The casket, in which were the remains of Mr. Corbin, was of Spanish cedar; its covering was of broadcloth and its trimmings silver. The inscription was as follows: "Austin Corbin: 1827-1896." The services were private, and were attended by the following persons outside of the immediate family circle: William Dunton, Edmund Wheeler, Albert S. Wait, Abiathar Richards, Seth M. Richards, Mrs. Dexter Richards of Newport, Miss Alice Wheeler and Mrs. Wm. P. Wheeler of Keene and A. N. Parlin, Jr. of Boston.
The remains were taken to New York in Mr. Corbin's private car Saturday afternoon, just a week after his arrival in Newport, and were accompanied by Mrs. Corbin, Austin Corbin, Jr., Miss Annie Corbin and Mr. Parlin, Mrs. Edgell going Monday noon. The remains of Mr. Stokes, accompanied by Mrs. Stokes, who arrived in town the day following the death of her husband were also taken to New York on the same train.
The funeral services in New York were held in St. Bartholomew's church, Forty-fourth street and Madison Avenue, Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock, and were conducted by Bishop Williams, assisted by the Rev. Dr. Huntington and the Rev. Dr. Booth, assistant rector of the church referred to above. They were attended by twenty or upwards of the directors of the different railroad enterprises with which Mr. Corbin was connected and one hundred of the employees of the Long Island Railroad Company were present in a body. The pall bearers were Cornelius Vanderbilt, Gen. B. F. Tracy, Senator William E. Chandler, Sir Roderick Cameron, C. M. Pratt, J. Rogers Maxwell, J. G. K. Duer, Dumont Clark, A. N. Parlin, and William B. Kendall. The remains were taken to Woodlawn in Mr. Corbin's private car and the interment was made in the family vault.
Mr. Corbin was a remarkable man. As a financier he had few equals in the country and perhaps no superior. His strong mind and unerring judgment, coupled with great executive ability and a clear understanding of human nature, enabled him to grapple successfully with any enterprise which he took up in earnest and to crown his life-work with a success that but a few men ever attain.
He was born in this town on the very place where his life so tragically ended, July 11, 1817, [NOTE: both Wheeler and Parmalee give his birth date as July 11, 1827] and was therefore nearly 60 (this is an error, nearly 70 is correct) years of age. He was well educated, though not a college graduate. He turned his attention to the law, pursued his studies with the late Chief Justice (of N.H. court), Edmund L. Cushing and the late Gov. Ralph Metcalf, and completed them at the Harvard Law School, from which he graduated in 1849. He practiced with much success in Newport two years and then, his ambitions lead him to seek a wider field. In the fall of 1851 he located in Davenport, Iowa, where his reputation as a lawyer was soon established. He practiced first alone, and then as head of a firm which he formed, and which, it is said, had a more extensive and lucrative practice than any other law firm in his adopted State. But there came a time, his success in the profession of the law notwithstanding, when he was ambitious to explore other fields of labor. Accordingly in 1854 he launched into the banking business, and was engaged in it in Iowa most of the time, and with remarkable success, until 1865, when he removed to New York and formed the Corbin Banking Company. This company has always been pre-eminently successful, and today one of the best known institutions of its kind in the country. He has been at the same time connected with many other banking institutions, and the story of one is the story of all where he has had a controlling influence.
But the business of banking alone seemed not to afford sufficient scope to satisfy his ambition. He sought other worlds to conquer. Among his great enterprises has been that on Manhattan Beach. He had occasion to visit Coney Island in the interest of a child in feeble health in 1873, and his keen intellect at once saw a fortune in the locality. For generations the conditions had existed just as at that time, but it remained for Mr. Corbin to see them as they were and turn them to practical account. This conversion of the island from a barren waste into one of the finest seaside resorts in the world was accomplished in a few years, and the enterprise while bringing large sums of money to Mr. Corbin's coffers, has been a great blessing to the people of New York, Brooklyn, Jersey City, and other places more remote.
He next became engaged in vast railroad enterprises, the scope and success of which have been marvelous. His railroad enterprises on Long Island, his work accomplished as president of the great Reading and Pennsylvania railroad, and his other enterprises of this character are so well known that we need not recount them here.
The same may be said regarding his enterprises in this vicinity. His purchasing of the old homestead in this town, where his parents lived many years, and where he spent the days of his youth, the additional purchase of many neighboring farms, the extensive improvements thereon, the purchase of Croydon mountain and surrounding territory, its transformation into a park containing twenty-five thousand acres and stocked with buffalo, deer, elk, wild boar, and other specimens of the animal kingdom, are facts so well known to the general public as not to require recital in this article.
But after the accomplishment of all which we have mentioned and much more to which we have not the space to refer, his mind, fertile in the conception of enterprises and many great schemes which he hoped to carry out, were not begun at the time of his death. Conspicuous among these was that of crossing the Atlantic in four days by means of a line of steamships running between Montauk Point, Long Island and Milford Haven, England. Another favorite scheme was that of uniting Long Island and New Jersey by a tunnel. Extending under the North and East rivers, it was to connect the Pennsylvania depot with the Long Island Railroad terminus at Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn. Some of these proposed enterprises may, and doubtless will, be carried out by living partipants in the world's progres, but they will not have the assistance of the departed save in the spirit and influence which he left behind.
We are unable to make any accurate statement with regard to the amount which Mr. Corbin was worth, but there is no room to doubt that he was a multimillionaire and worth many millions.
Mr. Corbin, who was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Austin Corbin, well known and highly honored residents of Newport, had brothers and sisters as follows: Lois, now dead, who was born in 1819 and married William Dunton; Mary Ann who was born in 1829 and died in 1847; Daniel C. who was born in 1832 - a very successful man; Sarah Emily, born in 1835, married True W. Childs, a Toledo, O. merchant; James, born in 1838 and a successful lawyer. --- (see Wheeler p. 351 and 188) ----
Mr. Corbin was united in marriage August 16, 1853 with Hannah M., daughter of Simeon and Hannah (Haven) Wheeler and grand-daughter of the late Rev. Jacob Haven of Croydon who has ever been a worthy consort of her lamented husband. Their children have been Mary, now dead, who was born in 1855, and married Rene Cheronnet Champollion of France; Isabel, who was born in 1858 and married S. Edgell, a noted business man; William, who died young; Annie, born in 1863; and Austin Corbin, Jr. born in 1872.
It was in his family circle where Mr. Corbin's happy, sunny, and kind disposition, and the excellent characteristics of the man were displayed to the best advantage and neither the affluence and luxury with which the bereaved are surrounded, nor the sympathy and consolation of friends can bind up the severed ties of the mourning household or assuage the grief produced on that fatal day.
-------- then follows a poem written for Mr. C.'s death, and a reprint of a story from "Friday's Brooklyn Eagle." ------
In the Eagle story Henry W. Maxwell "who was vice-president of the Long Island railroad when Mr. Corbin was president" is quoted ".... he was the liveliest man I ever saw......The firm of Maxwell and Graves became associated with him in the purchase of the Long Island railroad in 1881..... most indefatigable worker and the most buoyant type of a man. He had profound faith in New York ..... and too, great confidence in the West, but he concluded that genious and hard work had a very good chance in developments about the metropolis......He invested his money and gave all of his thought, time and strength to the development of the Long Island road without compensation or salary, feeling that in the growth of the road his compensation would come with that of the other stockholders. I regard...his conception and development of Manhattan Beach as one of the greatest of his achievements. He made it the great, clean playground for the people, and it is a worthy monument to his life. Had he done nothing more than to create this from the sand hills he found there his life would not have been lived in vain."
----
-- from page 188 of Wheeler's History of Newport:
AUSTIN CORBIN, son of Hon. Austin Corbin, was born July 11, 1827. He was well educated, and at the age of nineteen commenced the study of the law, pursuing the same with Hon. Edmund L. Cushing, of Charlestown, since chief-justice of New Hampshire, and later with Hon. Ralph Metcalf, afterwards governor of the state. His legal education was completed at the Harvard Law School, where he received his degree in 1849. In that year he was admitted to the bar, and at once began practice as the partner of his former teacher, Mr. Metcalf. He practised for two years, and with great success, but, desiring a wider field, determined to remove to the West, which he did in the fall of 1851, locating himself at Davenport, Iowa.
In Davenport he resided until 1865. During all this time he was engaged in the practice of his profession, -- first, alone, then as the senior partner of the firm of Corbin and Dow, and afterwards of Corbin, Dow and Brown. These firms took high rank in the state; and for some years no law firm in Iowa had a more extensive or more successful practice. During the later years, however, Mr. Corbin had very little to do in the active practice of his profession. In 1854 he became interested in banking, as the partner of Mr. Louis A. Macklot, under the firm name of Macklot and Corbin; and from that time on he occupied a very prominent position in the state in that business. In 1857 there were seven banks and banking-houses in the city; and in the severe times that followed the financial troubles of that year, every one suspended except that of Macklot & Corbin. That house met all demands promptly, and paid depositors in full.
In 1861 Mr. Corbin sold his interest in the house to his partner, and retired from the business; but in 1863, immediately upon the passage of the national currency act, he organized the First National Bank of Davenport, became its president, and commenced business of the 29th day of June 1863, which was two days in advance of any national bank in the United States. The result of the organization of this bank was also most successful. In June, 1865, after the bank had been in business two years, and had paid dividends of 15 per cent. per annum, its stock was worth $250 on the books, and very soon thereafter sold for $300.
This year Mr. Corbin sold out all his stock and nearly all the property he had in that county, and removed to New York, where he established himself in the banking business, and where he has since been. His first partner in New York was Mr. Gilman S. Moulton. He retired in 1870; and then Mr. Corbin organized "The Corbin Banking Company." This is a private company, under the laws of New York, issuing no notes, but with stock, as in other banks, except that all shareholders are individually liable to the extent of their entire estates for the debts of the company. Connected with him are several prominent capitalists; and the company stands high, as well in New York as in the West, where they do a very large business. A large part of this is the lending of money upon farms; and they are reported to have on their books collections of this character amounting to over $15,000,000. In this special class of investments they have larger dealings that any other firm in the world.
Mr. Corbin is also largely interested in stock companies for the investment of capital, outside of his own, -- "The New England Loan Company" at Manchester, N.H., and the "New England Mortgage Security Company," at Boston. He has also large holdings of stock in the "American Mortgage Company of Scotland," at Edinburgh, the Corbin Banking Company being its American correspondents.
But probably no undertaking of his life has met with such
immediate and signal success as the organization of the Manhattan Beach enterprise near New York city. In 1873 he was compelled under the advice of his physician, to go at once, with his sick child, to the seashore; and taking the nearest one at hand, went to Coney Island. Here the family remained most of the summer, and during his sojourn he was astonished to find, within an hour of New York city, the finest sea-beach on the Atlantic coast. But its proximity to the great city had made it largely the resort of the worst portions of society; and, so far as its front was occupied, it was constructed of poor buildings. A portion -- nearly half the island, and the best part -- was wholly unoccupied, the titles being in very great disorder. This portion Mr. Corbin determined to secure, redeem from its bad reputation, and build up and preserve for the better classes of New York. After three years of work, and at great expense, he acquired all the titles, and had under his control an ocean front of 2 and one-half miles, and a territory of over 500 acres, extending from ocean to bay. He then organized a railroad company, to which the whole was conveyed; and in 1877, on the 19th day of July, it was opened to the public. On the ocean a magnificent hotel -- the finest seaside hotel in America -- had been erected; extensive bathing-houses had been built; and the Railway hotel and grounds were crowded with guests the balance of the season. During the years 1877 and 1878, the railway carried over 1,600,000 people. It has been already a very great, and is destined in the future to be a much greater, blessing to the citizens of New York. Its hotel, its bathing facilities, and its police system, are unequalled in any city on this continent. Mr. Corbin has received from every source, public and private, high praise for the conception of this grand idea, and the grand manner in which is has been carried out. [See Wheeler Genealogy.] -0-
1896 -- The will of the late Austin Corbin has been filed and his estate is estimated at $40,000,000. - Argus and Spec. 17 July 1896.
1896 -- "Grover Cleveland," the enormous buffalo at Corbin Park that escaped from his enclosure a short time since and has had the liberty of the park, has been recaptured and confined where he is usually kept. -- N.H. Argus & Spec. 24 July 1896
1896 -- The New York papers report that Miss Annie Corbin, daughter of the late Austin Corbin, is engaged to Hallett Alsop Borrowe, who is said to be well known in the "Four Hundred" of New York society. -- Argus and Spec. 23 Oct. 1896.
1896 -- Croydon - Twenty-five buffaloes will be shipped to Cortland Park, New York City, from Corbin park as soon as the necessary cars for their transportation arrive at Newport depot. -- Argus and Spec. 29 Oct. 1896
1897 -- The buffaloes which the late Austin Corbin presented to the city of New York, on condition that it should take care of them, have been shipped back to the Corbin Park, and are now occupying their old home. A New York dispatch says it took five hours to get the 23 buffaloes into the six cars. -- Argus 24 Dec. 1897.
1898 -- On and after June 1 the Corbin Park will be open to the public for pleasure driving. The roads through the park have been put in good condition this spring. The buffaloes in Corbin Park have mostly been turned out from their winter quarters, and now have the run of the park. -- Argus - 27 May 1898
1898 -- During a drive through Corbin Park Monday afternoon, we saw a single herd of 46 buffaloes. Many elk and deer and a few goats were seen in the fields. -- Argus 15 July 1898.
1899 -- According to the New York papers, Austin Corbin Jr., as he is called, is not unlike his lamented father. It is stated that he has earned the right to a seat with the Bonanza Kings, having in one short year acquired the fortune of a "cool million" in the mining industry in the west. The scene of his operations is in the town of Joplin, Mo. He is the directing head of several companies engaged in the zinc industry and each is moving right along the lines of success. Young Mr. Corbin is not so large a man, physically, as was his father, but in his make-up is evidently included the same sort of metal. -- Argus 25 August. 1899.
1899 -- A large clubhouse, 50 by 20 feet and two stories, is being constructed at the central station in Corbin Park. -- Argus 11 Aug. 1899.
1901 -- Thirty deer were shipped from the Corbin Park to F. M. Smith, Greenport, Long Island, N.Y., Wednesday. /// Wm L. Morrison of the Corbin Park appeared in Newport Village Wednesday, bearing the scars of a furious attack from a wild boar. He came suddenly upon him in a thickly wooded place, and with jaws extended and tusks protruding, the animal immediately began an onslaught. Mr. Morrison made an unsuccessful attempt to climb a tree but finally succeeded in beating off the infuriated beast. He was a happy man when the animal decided to retreat. -- Argus 12 March 1901.
1901 -- Three elk were shipped from Corbin Park to Chicago on Saturday for exhibition at the Sportsman's Show. -- Argus 19 Mar. 1901
1901 -- [Visitors to Corbin Park this week ] report seeing 97 buffalo, 29 elk, three goats, one bear, one moose and 19 deer. -- Argus - April 2, 1901.
1901 -- A few days ago we paid a visit to Corbin Park. It is an interesting place to visit, but the contrast between the locality now and a few years ago is very marked. Then waving fields of corn, wheat and oats met the eye this season of the year, and cattle and sheep in large numbers grazed upon the hillsides. Now none of these things are to be seen, but in their place are deer, elk, wild boar and buffalo. Time is sure to bring changes, though they may not always be for the best. -- Argus -- 7 August 1901.
1902 -- William Morrison, of the Corbin Park, informs us that he now has charge of 25 buffalo calves, making the entire herd of buffalo 131. This is the largest in the country, with the possible exception of that owned by "Buffalo" Jones. -- Argus 29 May 1902.
1902 -- President Teddy Roosevelt arrives in Newport on private car from Newbury where he had been guest of John Hay.-- The Mountaineer, Vol. 1, No. 3, Aug. 3, 1964, New London, N.H. Also Argus of 27 Nov. 1996 on p. 24, has a cutline to a 3-col photo: "President Theodore Roosevelt, in white wide-brimmed hat, prepares to leave the Newport train station shortly after arriving in town Friday morning, Aug. 29, 1902. The carriages are in front of the present (1996) offices of McCrillis and Eldredge Insurance. The president is in the carriage owned by George E. Edgell and driven by Anton Carlson. Ernest L. Putney is on the white horse, and Mr. Edgell is in
the second carriage. (photo from the 1980 Newport Carriage Festival book.) /// Arrangements for the reception of President Roosevelt who, with an official party including several members of his cabinet, is to visit this state the last week in August, will be completed in a few days. -- Argus from As We Were printed July 30, 1997.
1903 -- To date there have been 21 buffalo calves at Corbin Park this season. These animals now number 146. -- Argus 8 May 1903.
1903 -- Mrs. Austin Corbin will soon go to the Oriental Hotel on Long Island. [Is this one of Corbin’s enterprises there?] -- Argus 17 July 1903.
1904 -- There are now 23 buffalo calves at the Corbin Park. This will make a herd of 156 buffaloes all told. Six or seven more calves are expected. -- Argus 6 May 1904.
1905 -- H.E. Richardson of West Brookfield, Mass., shipped from this station Monday between 20 and 30 deer, eight or ten elk and 50 wild geese, all of which are to go to New Zealand. The deer and elk were obtained in Corbin Park, and the wild geese were raised by Mr. Richardson. He exhibited them at the World’s Fair in St. Louis, and took them to this point from the exposition. Both the geese and the animals go to the government of New Zealand, and will be taken in charge at Washington, D.C. by an agent of that country. -- Argus 9 Feb. 1905.
1905 -- The buffaloes at the Central Station (Corbin Park in Croydon) now number 150. – Argus 6 April 1905.
1905 -- Ernest Harold Baynes has taken charge of two three-weeks-old buffalo calves from the Corbin Park, which he will bring up on a bottle and attempt to break for draft purposes. The experiment is a novel one and will be watched with interest by persons interested in animals. – Argus 1 June 1905.
1910 -- Thirty buffalo were shipped from Corbin Park to Pawnee Bill in Oklahoma. Shipping charge: $525. -- Hist. Soc. Scrapbook I, p. 131, As We Were.
1911 -- Buffalo from Corbin Park shipped to South America by Dean Bowman of Goshen. Deer, buffalo and elk from Corbin Park go to Pennsylvania. -- NHS Scrapbook II, p. 130.
1913 -- "Two school teams are necessary this term to carry the scholars out of the school district in North Newport to and from school. Mrs. Lizzie Blodgett, taking the children from Head Station (Corbin Park), and Clesson Parker and Mrs. Perley Goodwin taking the children from Smith and Goodwin over on the other road back and forth to school." -- Repub-Champ. 18 Sept. 1913.
1916 -- A consignment of 25 deer from Corbin park was shipped by American Express, in a special car, to the state game preserve at Jameson City, Pa., Monday noon. -- Repub-Champ. 16 Mar. 1916.
1916 -- Croydon: Professor G. Harold Edgell of Cambridge, Mass., is spending a few days at Central Station, Corbin Park. -- Argus-10 April 1941.
1917 -- Three male and three female buffaloes were shipped from the Blue Mountain Forest Park by the American Railway Express to Honiny, N.C. as a gift from Austin Corbin of New York City to the Pisgah Club of that place. -- Repub-Champ. 23 Jan. 1917.
1917 -- A carload of 45 deer was shipped from Corbin's park yesterday afternoon to Buffalo, N.Y. -- Argus and Spec. - 9 Mar. 1917.
1917 -- The United States Enters World War I on April 6, 1917.
1917 -- The Winter Carnival, sponsored by the Newport Outing Club, will take place Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Jan. 30, 31 and Feb. 1. The first day will be devoted to the seven-mile sleigh ride to Blue Mountain Forest Park, where the deer drive on snowshoes will take place, followed by a dinner at the clubhouse of the Blue Mountain Forest Association. Friday afternoon will be devoted to snowshoeing, skiing and ski jumping on the club grounds, with various races transpiring. In the evening there will be a grand concert and ball at the opera house with music by Hough's Orchestra. Saturday there will be races of all kinds on the outing club grounds, a hockey game between the McElwain and Newport Outing Club teams and an exhibition of ski jumping by Morton Bridge of Hanover. In the evening the carnival will be brought to a close with a huge bonfire on the club grounds. -- Repub.-Champ. 23 Jan. 1919. -- (See also Argus and Spec. 26 Jan. 1917. "Pictures of the buffalo and ski jumping at the Outing Club grounds. The stores are busy preparing for the carnival next week. One merchant has sold more snow shoes this season than in all of the past five years."
1917 -- Three male and three female buffaloes were shipped from the Blue Mountain Forest Park by the American Railway Express to Honiny, N.C. as a gift from Austin Corbin of New York City to the Pisgah Club of that place. -- Repub-Champ. 23 Jan. 1917.
1917 -- Corbin Park will be open to the public June 20. Passes can be obtained at the Newport House, Brighton, East and West Pass Gates. -- Argus and Spec. 19 June 1917.
1917 -- Front page Feature Story on Croydon Mountain. Notes of Corbin Park and Something of Life on Croydon Mountain with Buffalo, Deer and Other Wild Animals for Neighbors. Picture of the buffalo in the park. -- Argus and Spec. 13 July 1917.
1919 -- Buffaloes were shipped from Corbin Park (in? to?) Boston via American Express Tuesday. (Going where?)
1920 -- Plan to participate in the deer drive and game dinner at Corbin Park Thursday, Jan. 24, the first day of the carnival.
1921 - Two buffaloes were shipped from Corbin Park to Granlock, N.J., by American Railway Express. -- Repub. Champ. - 3 Feb. 1921.
1928 -- At an informal meeting of interested citizens at the Newport House Monday evening, the subject of an airport for Newport was discussed and the organization of an airport corporation considered. The offer of Mr. Fairbanks to donate his land along the Sugar River, know as Fairbanks Meadow, was commended. However, it seemed to be the general opinion that the Austin Corbin field at the junction of the Croydon and North Newport roads was better adapted for airport purposes. -- Argus 7 June 1928.
1928 Robert Fogg of Concord, New Hampshire’s premier aviator, was in Newport last week and inspected the Austin Corbin field at the junction of the Croydon and North Newport roads at the request of citizens interested in establishing an airport in Newport. After a thorough inspection Mr. Fogg unqualifiedly endorsed the location. -- Argus 2 Aug. 1928.
1928 -- On Sunday Capt. William F. Centner, a member of the Airport Division of the Aircraft Corps of Washington, D.C., made a visit to Newport to view the two tracts of land that have been considered for the Newport airport. Capt. Centner met Judge J. M. Barton, E.J. Hurley, agent for Austin Corbin, and Kenneth Andler, surveyor, and examined the Fairbanks meadow and the Corbin field. The Fairbanks field was first inspected and pronounced undesirable. Then they went to the Corbin site and Centner pronounced it most excellent for an airport. -- Argus 13 Sept. 1928.
1929 -- Albert N. Parlin Field is opened. In 1930, the airfield is opened by Curtiss-Wright Corp. (Is taken over by town in 1939. See entry Mar. 4, 1937 for town meeting warrant. Did article fail in 1937?) -- Bicentennial, p. 8; Historical Soc. Scrapbook III, p. 41. /// A meeting was held recently and officers were elected for the Austin Corbin Airport, Inc. with Judge Jesse M. Barton as president, J.L. Young and George E. Lewis, vice-presidents, and William F. Sullivan, secretary, and articles of incorporation have been filed with the Secretary of State. -- Argus 25 April 1929.
1929 -- In appreciation of a very generous contribution from Susanne H. Parlin, and in fitting recognition of the public spirited career of her late husband, the directors changed the name of Newport’s airport to The Albert N. Parlin Field. Mr. Parlin was a life-long friend of the elder Austin Corbin, and the fact that Newport’s aviation field is located on the Austin Corbin property is of no little significance in this connection. Mr. Parlin first met Mr. Corbin in negotiations over a western railroad of which the former was president, and they spent many weekends together, both here and in New York. Both were fond of hunting qnd fishing, and Mr. Parlin was persuaded by Mr. Corbin to buy a deserted farm in Croydon and make it over into a club where he could entertain his friends. -- Argus 13 June 1929.
1937 -- Twenty-six buffalo, of all ages, from the one born last fall to full-grown ones, are now included in the herd at Corbin Park. -- Argus 22 April 1937.
1939 -- Parlin Field (Newport's airport), buys the land it occupies from the estate of Austin Corbin. The field had leased the land since 1929. -- Argus p. 7, Oct. 18, 2000. [refers to article, From Trains to Planes, the History of Aviation in Newport, by Kenneth Andler.
WORLD WAR II
War begins Dec. 7, 1941 when Japanese aircraft attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Germany surrenders May 7, 1945; Japan on August 14, 1945
1941-1945 -- 701 Newport residents serve in World War II. 26 die in service.
-- Source: - Andrew L. Andrews, American Legion.
1941 -- Large herds of elk, migrating back and forth through the towns of Washington, Goshen, Unity, Lempster and Marlow, have often been seen by motorists and woodchoppers in those sections while residents of those towns have reported that the elk have fed off hay and other foods in their back yards. [Elk escaped from Corbin park when 1938 hurricane broke down fence around park.] -- Argus - 20 Feb. 1941.
1941 -- New Hampshire's first open season on elk starts Dec. 16 and continues to Jan. 1, unless 125 elk have been shot before that time. (These were Corbin park escapees during 1938 hurricane.) -- Argus - 30 Oct. 1941.
1944 -- Controlling interest of the Blue Mountain Forest Association, (Corbin Park) 22,000-acre private game preserve, around Croydon Mountain, has been transferred by members of the family of Austin Corbin, its founder, to a group of club members headed by Mortimer Proctor, Republican governoral candidate of Vermont.-- Argus - 14 Sept. 1944.
1951 -- Only a few years ago the wild boar in Corbin Park were breaking out of the 19,000-acre private game preserve and raiding neighboring farms and garden plots. During the last two winters, more than 30 tons of whole kernel corn have literally poured from the skies onto the boars' feeding grounds, in a local airlift labeled "Operation Wild Hog." -- Argus 27 June 1951.
1953 -- Corbin Park forest fire starts from a lightning strike in late June and burns much of Croydon and Grantham Mountains through July and August. In addition to hundreds of local firefighters, 300 soldiers from Fort Devens, Mass., and 200 airmen from Grenier Field in Manchester fought the blaze. -- pp. 28-30, Soo Nipi Magazine, June 1997; also see Argus for that period, and especially 10 July 1953.
1953 -- Flareups of the fire still blazing across Grantham Mountain in Corbin Park harried weary men who have been fighting for 10 days to contain the treacherous flames. Local volunteers augmented by 300 soldiers from Fort Devens labored all day yesterday. An additional 200 airmen from Grenier Field, Manchester, are due to arrive today. /// The Red Cross sandwich committee that is working behind the scenes of the Corbin Park fire, under the direction of Mrs. Madlon Karr, has to date made more than 5,000 sandwiches. -- Argus 2 July 1953.
1980 -- Croydon: The town's share of the 1980 Croydon tax rate rose $6.30 for each $1,000 in property value this year as the town begins its five-year payment of $63,000 to the Blue Mountain Forest Ass'n. (Corbin Park). -- Argus - 19 Nov. 1980. (See entry below: Argus 17 June 81.)
1988 -- The Corbin mansion on North Newport Road is undergoing major surgery to regain its former air of grandeur. William B. Ruger Jr.,the house's present owner, is renovating the estate at a cost of about $450,000. Austin Corbin II, a Newport native who gained national prominence as a banker and railroad owner, inherited the estate from his family. Before his untimely death in 1896 [see Corbin obit in this chronology], he built various additions onto the house, creating an architectural masterpiece. The estate includes the mansion, a barn, an ice house, a buggy storehouse and 90 acres. -- Argus 3 August 1988.
1993 -- The Corbin covered bridge, crossing the north branch of the Sugar River in North Newport and erected about 1835, is destroyed by arsonists at 3 a.m. May 25. [ This date seems in error.] Townspeople immediately form committees and begin to raise funds to replace it. (See Oct. 16, 1994.) Argus; Boston Globe Oct. 23, 1994) (See 1835.) -- See also Argus 21 May 1993 which says: “The Newport Revitalization Committee, at its regular weekly meeting five hours after the fire was reported early Tuesday, agreed to offer a $1,000 reward for information leading to conviction of those responsible for what authorities said was a deliberately set fire.”
1994 -- Approximately 10,000 persons attend the 3-day Corbin Bridge Festival, watching oxen pull the replica of the burned Corbin Bridge across the Sugar River in North Newport. -- Argus & Boston Globe, 23 Oct. 1994.
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