by Alysa Southall asouthall@yourneighborhoodnews.com
AUBURN – “Just call David Griffin” was the advice for people looking to store items in Auburn. “People in town always knew that, if you needed to store something, to call David Griffin, and you could put it in the barn,” said Janice Fusco, Griffin’s daughter.
David Griffin was a resident of Auburn his whole life. “My father was born in that house on May 29, 1918, and died there on June 27, 2012,” said Fusco. “He lived there for 93 years.”
Griffin was a library trustee for many years and he provided library storage in his barn. Longmeadow Church also kept things in the barn. The rubber ducks used in the town’s annual duck race were stored in the barn until this year, according to Fusco.
After Griffin’s death, the family had an auction to clear out the barn. “It is the emptiest it has been for 90 years,” said Fusco. “The only thing left now is what people would say, ‘one man’s junk is another man’s treasure’ stuff now.”
The green barn is attached to a house on property that Fusco and her sister, Undice Griffin, currently own, near Griffin Dam. The house, built in 1902, has been home to five generations of Griffins. “It is family history,” said Fusco, adding, “It is in good shape. There is no reason to (tear it down). It is in good repair. It needs work, yes, but it is not in jeopardy of falling down. It was built well. The roof was maintained over the years.” Fusco said, “I don’t live there myself now. My cousin is living in the house right now. It is my father’s great-nephew.”
George Gould Griffin purchased the land in 1862, according to Dan Carpenter, president of the Auburn Historical Association. The 800 acres he bought went from Tower Hill in Candia and included Clark Pond and Little Massabesic Lake, and across Currier’s Point on Massabesic Lake. In the 1870s, his son, Willard – Fusco’s great-grandfather – was purchasing grain by the railroad car load to grind into flour. The Griffins owned a mill there and one on Clark Pond, and they owned shares in others – Dearborn Mill, Hook Mill and a mill in Hooksett, according to Carpenter.
Willard also built the current house, which Fusco said is the third one placed on the property. The original house was moved from the property and another – the “green house” – replaced it before the current house was built. “I have Willard Griffin’s business records from the 1870s,” said Carpenter. “He was purchasing corn and other grain by the railroad car from the Chicago market. The grain would be ground into meal at his grist mill in Auburn.” Fusco said they also sold hay. “The hay hook is left,” said Fusco. “That is up in the rafters that they used to take hay off the wagons when they came in.” When selling off the contents of the barn, Fusco discovered an old weight scale. She said she remembers hearing a thunk of metal hitting metal, or a clang noise, when stepping on a certain part of the floor, but had not thought any more about it until discovering the scale.
“We were cleaning out and sorting through stuff, and behind the door was a scale,” said Fusco. “They used the scale to weigh the hay. They needed scales to weigh whatever they were selling.” “I am not aware of any other barn with the capability of weighing anything by the wagon load,” said Carpenter. “Other farmers would find this useful and probably paid to have a hay wagon, or whatever, weighed.” “It was a different time,” said Fusco. “If you needed to weigh something, go over to the Griffins, and they will weigh it for you.”
David Griffin was well-known in town and so were the barn and house he lived in. “He was well-known and very well-respected. He was out and about six months before he died, and was still driving,” said Fusco. “He was a fixture.”
Its proximity to Griffin Dam also made the barn a popular background feature. “It is like a focal point because of the waterfall and stuff,” said Fusco. “There is a picture of the foliage and there is a picture of the barn on calendars and stuff. Many wedding pictures and prom pictures have been taken where the barn has been a backdrop.” Carpenter agrees that the Griffin barn was well-known in the town years ago.
“There is an Auburn postcard showing Emery’s hay wagon at the Auburn store,” said Carpenter. “Emery owned Oak Farm in Auburn Village. Everitt Seavey says the Emerys purchased hay from the Griffin farm behind what is now the Auburn Village School. It would be easy and convenient to weigh it at the ‘green house’ and proceed into the village to Oak Farm.” Fusco said the Griffin mill operated off the brook at Griffin Dam for years.
“It was the center. There was a business always run out of it (the barn),” said Fusco. “They made barrels there at one point. They had a tool shop in the field and made shingles. They always had something going on there because of the brook. They moved logs down the brook.” It is Carpenter’s guess that the Pillsbury Company put the smaller mills out of business shortly after 1900, and the Griffins sold both of their mills by 1936, he said.
AUBURN – “Just call David Griffin” was the advice for people looking to store items in Auburn. “People in town always knew that, if you needed to store something, to call David Griffin, and you could put it in the barn,” said Janice Fusco, Griffin’s daughter.
David Griffin was a resident of Auburn his whole life. “My father was born in that house on May 29, 1918, and died there on June 27, 2012,” said Fusco. “He lived there for 93 years.”
Griffin was a library trustee for many years and he provided library storage in his barn. Longmeadow Church also kept things in the barn. The rubber ducks used in the town’s annual duck race were stored in the barn until this year, according to Fusco.
After Griffin’s death, the family had an auction to clear out the barn. “It is the emptiest it has been for 90 years,” said Fusco. “The only thing left now is what people would say, ‘one man’s junk is another man’s treasure’ stuff now.”
The green barn is attached to a house on property that Fusco and her sister, Undice Griffin, currently own, near Griffin Dam. The house, built in 1902, has been home to five generations of Griffins. “It is family history,” said Fusco, adding, “It is in good shape. There is no reason to (tear it down). It is in good repair. It needs work, yes, but it is not in jeopardy of falling down. It was built well. The roof was maintained over the years.” Fusco said, “I don’t live there myself now. My cousin is living in the house right now. It is my father’s great-nephew.”
George Gould Griffin purchased the land in 1862, according to Dan Carpenter, president of the Auburn Historical Association. The 800 acres he bought went from Tower Hill in Candia and included Clark Pond and Little Massabesic Lake, and across Currier’s Point on Massabesic Lake. In the 1870s, his son, Willard – Fusco’s great-grandfather – was purchasing grain by the railroad car load to grind into flour. The Griffins owned a mill there and one on Clark Pond, and they owned shares in others – Dearborn Mill, Hook Mill and a mill in Hooksett, according to Carpenter.
Willard also built the current house, which Fusco said is the third one placed on the property. The original house was moved from the property and another – the “green house” – replaced it before the current house was built. “I have Willard Griffin’s business records from the 1870s,” said Carpenter. “He was purchasing corn and other grain by the railroad car from the Chicago market. The grain would be ground into meal at his grist mill in Auburn.” Fusco said they also sold hay. “The hay hook is left,” said Fusco. “That is up in the rafters that they used to take hay off the wagons when they came in.” When selling off the contents of the barn, Fusco discovered an old weight scale. She said she remembers hearing a thunk of metal hitting metal, or a clang noise, when stepping on a certain part of the floor, but had not thought any more about it until discovering the scale.
“We were cleaning out and sorting through stuff, and behind the door was a scale,” said Fusco. “They used the scale to weigh the hay. They needed scales to weigh whatever they were selling.” “I am not aware of any other barn with the capability of weighing anything by the wagon load,” said Carpenter. “Other farmers would find this useful and probably paid to have a hay wagon, or whatever, weighed.” “It was a different time,” said Fusco. “If you needed to weigh something, go over to the Griffins, and they will weigh it for you.”
David Griffin was well-known in town and so were the barn and house he lived in. “He was well-known and very well-respected. He was out and about six months before he died, and was still driving,” said Fusco. “He was a fixture.”
Its proximity to Griffin Dam also made the barn a popular background feature. “It is like a focal point because of the waterfall and stuff,” said Fusco. “There is a picture of the foliage and there is a picture of the barn on calendars and stuff. Many wedding pictures and prom pictures have been taken where the barn has been a backdrop.” Carpenter agrees that the Griffin barn was well-known in the town years ago.
“There is an Auburn postcard showing Emery’s hay wagon at the Auburn store,” said Carpenter. “Emery owned Oak Farm in Auburn Village. Everitt Seavey says the Emerys purchased hay from the Griffin farm behind what is now the Auburn Village School. It would be easy and convenient to weigh it at the ‘green house’ and proceed into the village to Oak Farm.” Fusco said the Griffin mill operated off the brook at Griffin Dam for years.
“It was the center. There was a business always run out of it (the barn),” said Fusco. “They made barrels there at one point. They had a tool shop in the field and made shingles. They always had something going on there because of the brook. They moved logs down the brook.” It is Carpenter’s guess that the Pillsbury Company put the smaller mills out of business shortly after 1900, and the Griffins sold both of their mills by 1936, he said.
