| Show HOMELIKE HOME LIKE ARSENAL valuable collection of antique war relics Is owned by town send his annual parade in uniform of 1839 wilton N H albert townsend waltons fourth of july warrior und neighbor during the summer ot bear admiral walker boasts of the greatest frea test and most valuable collection cf antique arms by any andl bidual in new hampsmire Hamps Lire his hibit includes evereth ng from a rs aoh voh er to a large four wheeled cannon ani all but two or three are of con bid erable age gunner townsend as he is tre referred to in wilton cen ter village has a hobby for anything that Is antique and while many rooms in his bouse which was erect ed considerably over a century ago are stacked with his indent weapons of warfare be has other collections including boks pictures mi in st and furniture the posses sion of which he can trace for many generations A large part of his prop erty was owned by his ancestors while some of it was purchased from families in they had been hand ed down for nearly a century of all his possessions there are none which townsend prides more than his guns almost all of them are the old fash ened flint lod s one old queen anne lf in an ex cellena state of preservation and is about a century and a halt old the gun is apparently as good as when first used and shoots with great acau racy every gun Is kept polished aej oiled and very frequently be eata them at a range in the rear of his home the target Is about yards from the stand and through almost dally practice townsend has become a good shot townsend s house resembles an ar senal at each entrance there are two muskets fully loaded standing against the wa 1 within easy reach of every window in the house there is another and one large room is fairly stacked with guns in adal alon there are many revolvers pis swords fabres sabres knives and other weapons lying around many of these as well as canteens powder horns and ammunition boxes were used in the revolution he has several uniforms used by the miller guards a wilton military company of 1839 as well as a few colonial coats and caps on the fourth of july townsend maxes his appearance on the in the full uniform of a miller guard armed with a musket the old man finds no greater sport than firing na dional salutes all day on his can non townsend s house was erected by john farington in 1790 after return ing from pie revolutionary war in 1803 he sold it to john lovett who owned it but a few years and then it became the property of the town send family the lumber used in the construction was all hand hewn all the windows are furnished with slid ing shutters and the clapboards which were hand split shaved and lapped are as good as new townsend lives alone he cooks his own meals and says he Is con tented townsend was born in the same house 66 years ago on both his ta ther s and mother s side his ances try fought in the revolution the war of 1812 and the french and indian wars when president lincoln called for men townsend wanted to enlist but as he was the only son of a widowed mother and her only support he remained at home and worked on the farm his military enthusiasm was again dampened in 1898 when he wanted to enlist for the spanish american war but was too old and was therefore rejected |
