On Thursday morning, March 27, 1845, the people of this town were thrown into the most intense excitement by the knowledge of the fact that Mr. Jonas L. Parker, a well-known citizen, had been murdered the previous evening, in a thick grove of pines, just east of the village. This piece of woods … was just the place in all the neighborhood for a deed of darkness.” So wrote C. E. Potter in his “History of Manchester” published only 11 years after the shocking murder. This is Manchester's oldest “cold case,” as the crime remains unsolved after 167 years. There will be tantalizing clues along the way that point to particular suspects, but the time is long past for this case to ever be solved.

To find the spot where Parker was murdered that cold March night, a person should stand on the southwest corner of Maple and Manchester streets and look toward the house on that corner. Imagine there is a clearing there, surrounded by tall trees. Parker's body was found a few yards south and west of that spot, near the present location of Monadnock Lane.

Jonas L. Parker was from Lowell, Mass. He and his brother-in-law Ruel Gooden came to Manchester to seek their fortunes. The rapidly growing town needed taverns and other types of entertainment, so the pair opened a saloon and bowling alley on the north side of Manchester Street, on the block between Chestnut and Elm streets. According to L. Ashton Thorp in his 1939 book “Manchester of Yesterday,” the saloon “…was the resort of the sporting element, young men of easy-going habits, and a certain class of politicians.”

Despite his occupation (or because of it?) in 1845 Jonas Parker was Manchester's tax collector. In addition to his other ventures, Parker also dabbled in real estate. At the time of the murder he had just sold some properties, including the saloon he owned with Gooden. He was always ready to transact business, and was known to carry large sums of money, which he made no effort to hide. As Parker was a powerfully built fellow, he presumably felt confident that he could deal with any thief who would attempt to assault him.

The physical layout of the saloon building is of importance to this story. There were two exterior doors to the structure. The door on the west end opened directly into the tavern room. The door on the east side led to a hallway that contained the stairs to the Parker family apartment on the second floor. The hallway was connected to the saloon by a doorway.

On the evening of March 26 at around 9 p.m. David E. Hill, who with a partner had just purchased Parker and Gooden's saloon, decided to visit the establishment. While walking up the alley towards the west entryway, he noticed a man standing on the stoop on the east side of the building, and heard the doorbell ring. Hill entered the saloon, where he saw Parker, Gooden, Stillman Fellows and other men playing checkers or otherwise amusing themselves. Hill told Parker about the visitor, so Parker picked up an oil lamp and went into the hallway to see who it was. After several seconds Parker came back and picked up a lantern and went back into the hallway.

Fellows decided to go home. He exited by the west door and began walking eastward on Manchester Street toward his home, which was farther up the street. As he came close to the east side of the saloon building he overhead the visitor say to Parker, “Mrs. Bean wants to see you at Janesville about urgent business.” The stranger said that the woman was from Lowell, and that she would be leaving by train early the next morning, so Parker should come at once. Fellows — either suspicious or just curious — hid in the darkness. When Parker came out with the lantern, he began following the two men as they walked up the street. Fellows gave up his sleuthing when he reached his house. He would later recall that the stranger was a little shorter than Parker, that he wore dark clothes, and that he was a bit stooped when he walked. .

Next week: More witnesses, and the crime scene.

Aurore Eaton is the executive director of the Manchester Historic Association. Contact her at aeaton@manchesterhistoric.org.