flags T 1 2a
Book N|_^< 1
HISTORY
OP
NORFOLK COUNTY
MASSACHUSETTS
1622-1918
LOUIS A. COOK
SUPERVISING EDITOR
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME 1
NEW YORK — CHICAGO
THE S. J. CLAKKE PUBLISHING COMPANY
1918
Mi
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
LOCATION, BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT SURFACE AND SOIL — 'WATERCOURSES
GEOLOGY — WORK OF DODGE AND CROSBY — DEVONIAN ROCKS — THE SHAWMUT
GROUP THE GLACIAL EPOCH I
CHAPTER II
EARLY EXPLORATIONS
EFFECT IN EUROPE OF COLUMBUS' DISCOVERY OF AMERICA THE CABOTS GOSNOLD's
EXPEDITION PRING AND BROWNE WEYMOUTH'S EXPEDITION LONDON AND
PLYMOUTH COMPANIES SMITH 's EXPLORATIONS CAPT. THOMAS DERMER
FRENCH EXPLORATIONS- — CONFLICT OF FRENCH AND ENGLISH INTERESTS
ENGLISH CLAIMS SUSTAINED 7
CHAPTER III
INDIAN HISTORY
DISTRIBUTION OF INDIAN TRIBES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CEN-
TURY — NEW ENGLAND TRIBES — THE MASSACHUSETT — NARRAGANSETT — NIP-
MUCK THE PEQUOT WAR THE WAMPANOAG KING PHILIP'S WAR THE
PRAYING INDIANS INDIAN DEEDS TO THE LAND 13
CHAPTER IV
THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS
RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN ENGLAND AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEVENTEENTH
CENTURY— THE PILGRIMS AND PURITANS IMMIGRATION TO AMERICA GREAT
PATENT FOR NEW ENGLAND — THE MAYFLOWER THE COMPACT THE WESTON
COLONY ROBERT GORGES THE DORCHESTER COMPANY THE MASSACHUSETTS
COMPANY TRANSFER OF THE CHARTER SETTLEMENTS IN 163O 23
iii
iv CONTENTS
CHAPTER V
PIONEER LIFE AND CUSTOMS
CONDITIONS NOW AND THEN — THE FIRST HOUSES HEAT AND LIGHT — FURNITURE
AND UTENSILS — FOOD AND CLOTH ING MISCELLANEOUS FEATURES OF PIONEER
LIFE 29
CHAPTER VI
ORGANIZATION OF NORFOLK COUNTY
FIRST COUNTIES IN NEW ENGLAND OLD NORFOLK COUNTY — DIVISION OF SUFFOLK —
THE SECOND PETITION A THIRD EFFORT — THE FOURTH PETITION THE .FIFTH
PETITION THE SIXTH PETITION A LONG DELAY UNDER THE CONSTITUTION —
SUCCESS AT LAST LOCATING THE COUNTY SEAT 35
CHAPTER VII
PUBLIC BUILDINGS OF NORFOLK COUNTY
THE FIRST COURT-HOUSE — THE SECOND COURT-HOUSE — FATE OF THE OLD COURT-
HOUSE — COURT-HOUSE OF l86l — THE PRESENT COURT-HOUSE — THE DEDICATION
— COURT-HOUSE AT QUINCY — THE COUNTY JAIL — THE REGISTRY BUILDING —
VALUE OF COUNTY BUILDINGS 42
CHAPTER VIII
THE NEW ENGLAND TOWNSHIP
TWO KINDS OF TOWNSHIPS IN THE UNITED STATES — THE DIFFERENCE — THE ANGLO-
SAXON TUNSCIPE — ORIGIN OF THE TOWNSHIP — PATENTS ISSUED BY THE
PLYMOUTH COMPANY — FIRST TOWN MEETINGS IN NEW ENGLAND THEIR
INFLUENCE IN THE REVOLUTION JEFFERSON ON THE TOWNSHIP FORM OF GOV-
ERNMENT TOWNSHIPS OF THE SOUTH AND WEST COMPARED WITH NEW ENG-
LAND IN STATE AND NATIONAL AFFAIRS 51
CHAPTER IX
THE TOWN OF AVON
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES — PETITION FOR INCORPORATION — IN THE LEGISLA-
TURE EXTENDING THE BOUNDARIES WATERWORKS TOWN HALL MISCEL-
LANEOUS FACTS ABOUT AVON 55
CONTENTS v
CHAPTER X
THE TOWN OF BELLINGHAM
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN FIRST SETTLEMENT DIVIDING THE LAND
INCORPORATION FIRST TOWN MEETING A BOUNDARY DISPUTE TROUBLE WITH
THE GENERAL COURT A COINCIDENCE — NEW STATE GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO
FORM A NEW TOWN TOWN HALL WATERWORKS VITAL STATISTICS ODD
LEGISLATION — THE BELLINGHAM OF TODAY OO
CHAPTER XI
THE TOWN OF BRAINTREE
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES SURFACE AND DRAINAGE FIRST WHITE MEN BRAIN-
TREE INCORPORATED PETITION OF 1645 SAMUEL GORTON NEW BRAINTREE
THE PRECINCTS THE FIRST MILL TOWN HALL SOLDIERS' MONUMENT
WATERWORKS — ELECTRIC LIGHT WORKS FIRE DEPARTMENT POSTOFFICES A
FEW FIRST THINGS BRAINTREE IN I917 TOWN OFFICERS Jl
CHAPTER XII
THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE
LOCATION, BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT — TOPOGRAPHY — THE HOOKER GRANT — ALLOT-
MENTS OF LAND — FIRST MOVE FOR SEPARATION FROM BOSTON — INCORPORATION
OF BROOKLINE — FIRST ELECTION — ADJUSTING THE BOUNDARIES — TOWN HALL —
WATERWORKS — FIRE DEPARTMENT — PUNCH BOWL TAVERN — BROOKLINE OF THE
PRESENT 83
CHAPTER XIII
THE TOWN OF CANTON
LOCATION, BOUNDARIES AND DESCRIPTION — EARLY HISTORY — CANTON INCORPO-
RATED — THE PETITION AND ITS SIGNERS — FIRST TOWN MEETING TOWN HALL
WATERWORKS FIRE DEPARTMENT GAS WORKS POSTOFFICE THE DOTY
TAVERN EARLY ORDINANCES CANTON IN 1917 99
CHAPTER XIV
THE TOWN OF COHASSET
GENERAL DESCRIPTION FIRST WHITE MEN AND SETTLEMENT DIVIDING THE LAND
— THE HINGHAM REBELLION DISTRICT OF COHASSET — FIRST TOWN MEETING
TOWN HALL — COHASSET WATER COMPANY — FIRE DEPARTMENT — ELECTRIC
LIGHT — MISCELLANEOUS IO7
vi CONTENTS
CHAPTER XV
THE TOWN OF DEDHAM
GENERAL DESCRIPTION — SETTLEMENT AND GRANT — THE COVENANT — THE TOWN
INCORPORATED — NAMING THE TOWN ORIGINAL TERRITORY — A FEW PIONEERS —
FIRST TOWN OFFICERS — DEDHAM IN 1664 — TRAINING GROUND — EARLY MILLS —
DEDHAM ISLAND PETUMTUCK OLD-TIME TAVERNS FIRE DEPARTMENT
DEDHAM WATER COMPANY MEMORIAL HALL THE TOWN SEAL POSTOFFICE
THE DEDHAM OF THE PRESENT 117
CHAPTER XVI
THE TOWN OF DOVER
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES TOPOGRAPHY EARLY SETTLERS POLITICAL HISTORY
— THE PRECINCT SPRINGFIELD PARISH — THE DISTRICT — THE TOWN — FIRST
OFFICERS — TOWN HALL — TOWN SEAL — POSTOFFICES FIRE DEPARTMENT — EARLY
TAVERNS — THE TOWN NAME — SUNDRY INCIDENTS — DOVER IN I917 I34
CHAPTER XVII
THE TOWN OF FOXBORO
FORM OF NAME LOCATION, BOUNDARIES AND TOPOGRAPHY EARLY HISTORY FIRST
SETTLERS INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN FIRST TOWN MEETING ADJUSTING
THE BOUNDARIES TYPICAL PIONEERS TOWN HALL MEMORIAL HALL WATER-
WORKS FIRE DEPARTMENT TRANSPORTATION FOXBORO IN I917 145
CHAPTER XVIII
THE TOWN OF FRANKLIN
LOCATION AND GENERAL DESCRIPTION — THE PRECINCT — SOME POINTED INSTRUC-
TIONS — THE TOWN INCORPORATED NAMING THE TOWN — FIRST TOWN MEET-
ING FRANKLIN'S PATRIOTISM FIRST MILLS WATERWORKS FIRE DEPART-
MENT POSTOFFICE ALMSHOUSE FINANCIAL THE FRANKLIN OF THE
PRESENT 153
CHAPTER XIX
THE TOWN OF HOLBROOK
GENERAL DESCRIPTION — POLITICAL HISTORY — RANDOLPH OPPOSED TO THE ORGANI-
ZATION OF A NEW TOWN! — THE ORGANIC ACT EARLY TOWN MEETINGS — TOWN
HALL — HOW THE TOWN WAS NAMED THE TOWN SEAL — WATERWORKS — FIRE
DEPARTMENT — SOLDIERS' MONUMENT — HOLBROOK TODAY — TOWN OFFICERS. 163
CONTENTS vii
CHAPTER XX
THE TOWN OF MEDFIELD
IN THE BEGINNING AS A PART OF DEDHAM NEW TOWN FIRST PROPOSED PETI-
TION TO GENERAL COURT THE RESULT OTHER TERRITORY SET ASIDE THE
NAME) — AGREEMENT AND COMMITTEE — FIRST HOUSE LOTS — FURTHER SETTLE-
MENTS — SURRENDER OF JURISDICTION — INCORPORATION — A DISCREPANCY IN
DATES — FIRST YEARS OF EXISTENCE! — DIVISION OF THE TOWN — DIVISION OF
COUNTY POPULATION — POSTOFFICE — THE TOWN HALL — PROMINENT EARLY
CITIZENS — PUBLIC LIBRARY — PUBLIC UTILITIES — FIRST VITAL STATISTICS — FIRST
VALUATIONS MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS OF INTEREST I7O
CHAPTER XXI
THE TOWN OF MEDWAY
1
ORIGINAL OWNERSHIP — FIRST GRANT OF LAND THE FIRST ACTUAL SETTLER — THE
STONE HOUSE FIRST LOTS LAID OUT THE NEW GRANT DIVISION OF LOTS
MEETING HOUSE STRIFE — INCORPORATION THE NAME — THE ORIGINAL
FOUNDERS — POPULATION — FIRST TOWN MEETING HIGHWAYS — POSTOFFICES —
MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENT CEMETERIES ITEMS OF INTEREST 185
CHAPTER XXII
THE TOWN OF MILLIS
LOCATION BOUNDARIES SURFACE AND DRAINAGE FIRST SETTLEMENT DIVISION
OF MEDWAY THE TOWN NAME TOWN HALL WATERWORKS FIRE DEPART-
MENT — GENERAL CONDITIONS IN 1917 — TOWN OFFICERS 197
CHAPTER XXIII
THE TOWN OF MILTON
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES TOPOGRAPHY WHITE OCCUPATION THE TOWN IN-
CORPORATED THE TOWN NAME EARLY TAVERNS TOWN HALL POSTOFFICES
WATERWORKS FIRE DEPARTMENT FINANCIAL HISTORY A FEW FIRST THINGS
OLD FAMILIES MILTON IN 1917 TOWN OFFICERS 203
CHAPTER XXIV
THE TOWN OF NEEDHAM
ORIGINALLY PART OF DEDHAM LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES SURFACE — INDIAN
OCCUPATION— FIRST SETTLEMENT PETITION TO BE SET OFF AS A TOWN THE
viii CONTENTS
TOWN INCORPORATED — FIRST TOWN MEETING CHANGING THE BOUNDARIES —
TOWN HALL WATERWORKS FIRE DEPARTMENT ELECTRIC LIGHT POSTOF-
FICES A HISTORIC MONUMENT TOWN SEAL MODERN NEEDHAM 21T,
CHAPTER XXV
THE TOWN OF NORFOLK
LOCATION, BOUNDARIES AND TOPOGRAPHY EARLY HISTORY NORTH PARISH OF
WRENTHAM INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN FIRST TOWN MEETING— TOWN
H \ LL POSTOFFICES THE PRESENT NORFOLK 220
CHAPTER XXVI
THE TOWN OF NORWOOD
LOCATION, BOUNDARIES AND SURFACE FIRST SETTLEMENT THE SOUTH PRECINCT
FIRST PRECINCT MEETING LOCATING THE MEETING HOUSE CHANGING
THE BOUNDARY — TOWN OF NORWOOD INCORPORATED FIRST TOWN OFFICERS —
TOWN SEAL PRESENT DAY CONDITIONS TOWN OFFICERS FOR ICH7 225
CHAPTER XXVII
THE TOWN OF PLAINVILLE
GENERAL DESCRIPTION EARLY HISTORY PETITION FOR INCORPORATION THE
ORGANIC ACT — FIRST TOWN MEETING — DIVISION OF PROPERTY THE TOWN
SEAL — MISCELLANEOUS — TOWN OFFICERS FOR 1917 233
CHAPTER XXVIII
THE CITY OF QUINCY
GENERAL DESCRIPTION SETTLEMENT — MERRYMOUNT — GOVERNOR ENDICOTT — PART
OF BRAINTREE — THE TOWN INCORPORATED FIRST TOWN MEETING AN EARLY
CUSTOM TOWN HALL — QUINCY GRANITE POSTOFFICES CITIZENS GAS COM-
PANY INCORPORATED AS A CITY WATERWORKS FIRE DEPARTMENT MODERN
QUINCY — CITY GOVERNMENT 239
CHAPTER XXIX
THE TOWN OF RANDOLPH
GENERAL DESCRIPTION — CIVIC HISTORY — PETITION FOR DIVISION OF BRAINTREE —
THE REMONSTRANCE — ACT OF INCORPORATION — THE TOWN NAME — FIRST TOWN
MEETINGS DIVISION OF RANDOLPH TOWN HALL FIRE DEPARTMENT WATER-
WORKS — RANDOLPH TODAY — ROSTER OF TOWN OFFICERS IN I9I7 250
CONTENTS ix
CHAPTER XXX
THE TOWN OF SHARON
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES — TOPOGRAPHY — EARLY HISTORY — PETITION FOR A PRE-
CINCT THE ANSWER FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR DISTRICT OF STOUGHTONHAM
— FIRST DISTRICT OFFICERS THE FIRST CANNON BUNKER HILL THE TOWN
OF SHARON POSTOFFICES TOWN HALL WATERWORKS FIRE DEPARTMENT
MODERN SHARON TOWN OFFICERS 257
CHAPTER XXXI
THE TOWN OF STOUGHTON
GENERAL DESCRIPTION — THE NEW GRANT EVOLUTION OF STOUGHTON WILLIAM
STOUGHTON THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD — A STATE GOVERNMENT STOUGH-
TON'S RESOLUTIONS ON THE SUBJECT— SALTPETRE WATERWORKS FIRE DEPART-
MENT TOWN OFFICERS THE PRESENT STOUGHTON 265
CHAPTER XXXII
THE TOWN OF WALPOLE
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES EARLY HISTORY INCORPORATION OF WALPOLE OR-
GANIC ACT THE TOWN NAME THE MEETING HOUSE FRENCH AND INDIAN
WAR TOWN HALL THE FOUNTAIN WATERWORKS FIRE DEPARTMENT WAL-
POLE OF THE PRESENT — TOWN OFFICERS 272
CHAPTER XXXIII
THE TOWN OF WELLESLEY
GENERAL DESCRIPTION HISTORICAL INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN NAMING THE
TOWN FIRST OFFICERS TOWN HALL POSTOFFICES TOWN SEAL WATER-
WORKS ELECTRIC LIGHT— FIRE DEPARTMENT SEWER SYSTEM PUBLIC BATH
HOUSE MODERN WELLESLEY TOWN OFFICERS 278
CHAPTER XXXIV
THE TOWN OF WESTWOOD
GENERAL DESCRIPTION EARLY HISTORY THIRD PARISH OF DEDHAM WESTWOOD
INCORPORATED ACT OF INCORPORATION FIRST TOWN MEETING TOWN HALL
POSTOFFICES FIRE DEPARTMENT TOWN OFFICERS, I917 WESTWOOD OF TO-
DAY 285
x CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXXV
THE TOWN OF WEYMOUTH
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES SURFACE AND DRAINAGE SETTLEMENT THE GORGES
COMPANY THE HULL COMPANY ADJUSTING THE BOUNDARIES THE INDIAN
TITLE EARLY LANDOWNERS INDIAN WARS THE SOUTH PRECINCT ATTEMPT
TO DIVIDE THE TOWN ALMSHOUSES POSTOFFICES SOLDIERS' MONUMENT
WATERWORKS FIRE DEPARTMENT ELECTRIC LIGHT TOWN HALL FISHERIES
FINANCIAL HISTORY WEYMOUTH OF THE PRESENT TOWN OFFICERS. . . .289
CHAPTER XXXVI
THE TOWN OF WRENTHAM
GENERAL DESCRIPTION HISTORICAL THE PLANTATION OF WOLLOMONOPOAG IN-
CORPORATION OF WRENTHAM ORGANIZING THE TOWN— WRENTHAM VACATED
PERMANENT SETTLEMENT SOME FIRST THINGS THE TOWN DIVIDED WATER-
WORKS FIRE DEPARTMENT TOWN HALL SOLDIERS' MONUMENT MODERN
WRENTHAM — TOWN OFFICERS, IG/I7 3OI
CHAPTER XXXVII
THE REVOLUTION
NORFOLK COUNTY NOT IN EXISTENCE AT THE TIME OF THE WAR EARLY CONDI-
TIONS IN THE COLONIES — -LOYALTY OF THE COLONISTS THE STAMP ACT THE
PILLAR OF LIBERTY THE BOSTON TEA PARTY THE BOSTON PORT BILL THE
SUFFOLK RESOLVES WORK OF THE TOWNS BELLINGHAM — BRAINTREE
HROOKLINE COHASSET DEDHAM MEDFIELD MEDWAY MILTON
NEEDHAM STOUGHTON WALPOLE WEYMOUTH WRENTHAM 3IO
CHAPTER XXXVIII
WAR OF 1812— MEXICAN WAR
WAR OF l8l2 RIGHT OF SEARCH OTHER CAUSES OF THE WAR NAPOLEON'S
DECREES BRITISH ORDERS IN COUNCIL WAR DECLARED IN NORFOLK
COUNTY WAR WITH MEXICO ITS CAUSES ARMY OF OCCUPATION NORFOLK
COUNTY IN THE WAR 327
CHAPTER XXXIX
WAR OF THE REBELLION
THE SLAVERY QUESTION CONDITIONS IN 1819 — THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE —
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN OF i860 SECESSION OF THE SOUTHERN STATES — STAR OF
CONTENTS xi
THE WEST FALL OF FORT SUMTER — LINCOLN'S PROCLAMATION CALLING FOR
TROOPS ANSWER OF MASSACHUSETTS WHAT THE TOWNS DID RECAPITULA-
TION 333
CHAPTER XL
FINANCIAL HISTORY
county finances receipts and expenditures assets and liabilities
banking institutions the land bank norfolk county banks
sketches of banks in the order of their establishment cooperative
banks — Norwood's morris plan bank 344
CHAPTER XLI
MANUFACTURING
FIRST NEEDS OF THE PIONEERS BOOTS AND SHOES IRON WORKS COTTON AND
WOOLEN GOODS PAPER AND WOOD PULP STRAW GOODS MISCELLANEOUS MANU-
FACTURES STATISTICAL TABLE FOR 1915 352
CHAPTER XLII
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS
TASK OF THE PIONEERS MOTHER BROOK EARLY HIGHWAYS TURNPIKES STAGE
LINES THE RAILROAD ERA THE GRANITE RAILWAY — FIRST RAILROAD CHARTERS
— THE DEDHAM BRANCH OLD COLONY RAILROAD — NORFOLK COUNTY RAILROAD —
OTHER RAILROADS ELECTRIC RAILWAY LINES FORE RIVER IMPROVEMENT. .362
CHAPTER XLIII
THE BENCH AND BAR
COLONIAL LAWS BODY OF LIBERTIES UNDER THE CONSTITUTION NORFOLK COURT
OF COMMON PLEAS CIRCUIT COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COURT OF SESSIONS —
COURT OF PROBATE DISTRICT COURTS DISTRICT JUSTICES THE BAR SKETCHES
OF EARLY LAWYERS BAR ASSOCIATION 37O
CHAPTER XLIV
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION
o
MEDICINE AMONG THE ANCIENTS CHINA EGYPT THE HEBREWS INDIA — GREECE
HARVEY AND SYDENHAM EARLY NORFOLK PHYSICIANS BRIEF SKETCHES OF
PROMINENT DOCTORS FIRST VACCINATION IN AMERICA THE NINETEENTH CEN-
TURY MEDICAL SOCIETIES HOMEOPATHY — DOCTOR MORTON 380
xii CONTENTS
CHAPTER XLV
EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
DEDHAM SCHOOL TABLET — FIRST FREE PUBLIC SCHOOL IN AMERICA — FIRST SCHOOL
HOUSE EARLY TEACHERS AMES SCHOOL OTHER EARLY SCHOOLS PUBLIC
SCHOOL STATISTICS ADAMS ACADEMY BROOKLINE CLASSICAL SCHOOL DEAN
ACADEMY — WOODWARD INSTITUTE WELLESLEY COLLEGE THAYER ACADEMY
WEYMOUTH AND BRAINTREE ACADEMY UNION TRAINING SCHOOL — AGRICUL-
TURAL SCHOOL — MISCELLANEOUS 389
CHAPTER XLVI
NORFOLK COUNTY PRESS
THE COLUMBIAN MINERVA EARLY DEDHAM NEWSPAPERS — QUINCY PATRIOT — THE
AURORA EARLY NEWSPAPERS OF FOXBORO RANDOLPH STOUGHTON WEY-
MOUTH BROOKLINE FRANKLIN NEEDHAM WALPOLE BRAINTREE
MILTON NEWSPAPERS IN I917 LIST ARRANGED BY TOWNS 398
CHAPTER XLVII
LIBRARIES AND HISTORICAL SOCIETIES
LAWS RELATING TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES — A FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY IN EVERY TOWN IN
NORFOLK COUNTY BRIEF HISTORY OF EACH HISTORICAL SOCIETIES AND THEIK
OBJECT DEDHAM — CANTON — WEYMOUTH MEDFIELD — HOLBROOK —
FOXBORO — WALPOLE — MEDWAY — MILTON — QUINCY 404
CHAPTER XL VIII
CHURCH HISTORY
CHURCHES ORIGINALLY SUPPORTED BY TAXATION — CONSTITUTION OF l820 — DIFFI-
CULTY OF WRITING CHURCH HISTORY ARRANGEMENT BY DENOMINATIONS
THE BAPTISTS — THE CATHOLICS — CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH — BRIEF SKETCHES
OF THE VARIOUS SOCIETIES 421
CHAPTER XLIX
CHURCH HISTORY, CONTINUED
EPISCOPAL CHURCH — METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH — UNITARIAN CHURCH — THE
UNIVERSALISTS — MISCELLANEOUS CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS 435
CONTENTS xiii
CHAPTER L
FRATERNAL SOCIETIES, ETC.
MASONIC FRATERNITY NORFOLK COUNTY MASONRY THE HIGHER DEGREES ORDER
OF THE EASTERN STAR INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS ODD FELLOW-
SHIP IN NORFOLK COUNTY — ENCAMPMENTS — DAUGHTERS OF REBEKAH —
KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS — NORFOLK COUNTY KNIGHTS GRAND ARMY OF THE
REPUBLIC — NORFOLK COUNTY POSTS — WOMEN'S RELIEF CORPS MISCELLANEOUS
SOCIETIES SOCIAL AND LITERARY CLUBS 447
CHAPTER LI
ILLUSTRIOUS SONS
JOHN ADAMS — JOHN OUINCY ADAMS — JOHN HANCOCK PAUL REVERE — FISHER
AMES HORACE MANN WILLIAM T. ADAMS ELEAZAR SMITH WILLIAM M.
THAYER ALBERT D. RICHARDSON HANNAH ADAMS MARY E. WILKINS FREE-
MAN A LITERARY GROUP 459
CHAPTER LII
MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY
LOST TOWNS — DORCHESTER — ROXBURY — WEST ROXBURY — HYDE PARK — QUAKER
PERSECUTIONS A FEW LANDMARKS THE FAIRBANKS HOUSE THE PEAKE
HOUSE ADAMS HOUSES THE AVERY OAK INDIAN ROCK DEDHAM POWDER
HOUSE OTHER LANDMARKS DISTINGUISHED VISITORS LAFAYETTE JACKSON
— LINCOLN — BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS 467
CHAPTER LIII
STATISTICAL REVIEW
CENSUS REPORTS SINCE 179O — COMPARATIVE TABLE OF POPULATION BY TOWNS FOR
I9IO AND 191 5 — OFFICIAL ROSTER — LIST OF PRINCIPAL COUNTY OFFICERS FROM
1793 TO I917 CLERKS SHERIFFS TREASURERS REGISTERS OF DEEDS
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 476
CHAPTER LIV
CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY
FROM OCTOBER 12, I492, TO SEPTEMBER 14, I917 480
History of Norfolk County
CHAPTER I
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
LOCATION, BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT SURFACE AND SOIL — 'WATERCOURSES
GEOLOGY WORK OF DODGE AND CROSBY DEVONIAN ROCKS THE SHAWMUT
GROUP — THE GLACIAL EPOCH.
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES
Norfolk County is situated in the eastern part of the state. Two of its towns
— Brookline and Cohasset — are segregated, the former being entirely surrounded
by parts of Suffolk County, and the latter by parts of Plymouth County and
Massachusetts Bay. With these exceptions the county is bounded, generally, on
the north by the counties of Middlesex and Suffolk and the Massachusetts Bay;
on the east by Massachusetts Bay and the County of Plymouth ; on the south by
Plymouth and Bristol counties ; on the southwest by the State of Rhode Island,
and on the west by the counties of Worcester and Middlesex. The county is
irregular in shape, straight lines forming the boundaries between Norfolk and
Plymouth, Bristol and Worcester counties and the State of Rhode Island, while
the other boundaries are represented by lines that do not follow the points of the
compass, among them being the curves of the Charles River and the ragged
coast line of Massachusetts Bay. Its greatest extent — from Cohasset Harbor to
the southwest corner of the county — is about thirty-six miles, and from the most
northern point of the Town of Wellesley to the Bristol County line the distance is
seventeen miles.
SURFACE AND SOIL
While much of the surface of Norfolk County is broken and uneven, no por-
tion of it can be considered mountainous. The most noted elevations are the
Blue Hills, in the Town of Milton; Great Hill and King Oak Hill, in Weymouth;
the Brookline Hills ; Wellesley Hills, in the northern part of Wellesley ; Indian
Rock, in Franklin ; Federal Hill, in Dedham ; and the ridge in the central part
of Westwood, from which a commanding view of the surrounding country may
be obtained. As a rule, the soil of hilly countries is not noted for its fertility,
but much of the soil of Norfolk County is strong, especially the lowlands along
the Charles and Neponset rivers, and is capable of producing good crops of
grains and vegetables adapted to this latitude. The following description of the
Vol. I— 1
1
2 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
land along these rivers, as the first settlers found it, is taken from Worthington's
History of Dedham.
"The meadows on Neponset River were so far cleared of trees and under-
wood that they produced grass. The inhabitants of Dedham, in the beginning
of their settlement, hired those meadows of Israel Stoughton for a pasture for
their young cattle. A tradition existed at an early period that the grass, called
"fowl meadow,' which is superior to that of any other kind in the fresh water
meadows, was first brought to the meadows in Dedham by a large flight of wild
fowls, and that from thence the meadows and the grass received their names.
. . It is supposed that the Charles River meadows have gradually arisen
from a broken, impenetrable swamp, covered with fallen trees, and the greatest
part of the time covered with water, to their present state. The grass in many
places has much improved in quality within the present recollection. A coat of
peat, from three to four feet in depth, covers these meadows and may have been
principally formed within two hundred years. The deep soil of the upland was
covered with large trees, principally oak. . . . Wigwam and Purgatory
swamps were dismal places. They were covered with a thick growth of cedars
and hemlock. These, with much underwood, rendered these places almost im-
penetrable. Wigwam Swamp became the resort of wild beasts. It being near
the village, the wolf howl was heard from it. To break up that den, it was made
a condition of every grant of land, that the grantee should clear away the wood
standing on a certain quantity of land in the swamp."
WATERCOURSES
The Charles River — "The Winding Charles" — is the principal stream of Nor-
folk County. It crosses the western boundary near the northwest corner of the
Town of Bellingham, and from that point follows a general northeasterly course
until it empties its waters into Massachusetts Bay at Boston. From the northeast
corner of Bellingham to the Middlesex County line it separates the towns of
Medway and Millis from Franklin, Norfolk and Medfield ; then for some dis-
tance it marks the dividing line between Norfolk and Middlesex counties ; then,
turning eastward, it divides the towns of Wellesley and Needham from Dover
and Dedham. Near Dedham it makes an abrupt bend toward the northwest and
forms part of the county boundary.
The Indians called this stream Quin-o-be-quin, which in the Massachusetts
tongue means "Winding Water." The manner in which it received the name
of "Charles River" is thus told in "A Short History of the First Settlement of
Dedham," published in 1818, the authorship of which has been attributed to Rev.
William Montague, rector of the Episcopal Church : "Eleven ships left England
and brought into this then howling wilderness 2,200 emigrants, many of whom
were of the best families, and even some from the minor branches of the nobility,
with their governor and lieutenant-governor, and landed in May, 1630, on a
peninsula, opposite which was another, a river emptying into the head of the
Massachusetts Bay running between them; which in honor of Charles I they
called Charles River, and the peninsula on which they landed Charlestown."
Next in importance is the Neponset River, which is formed by the junction
of several small streams in the southern part of the county. Like the Charles,
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 3
its general course is northeast. It forms the boundary between Canton and
Milton on the east and Norwood, Westwood and Dedham on the west. In its
lower reaches it marks the dividing line between Norfolk and Suffolk counties.
Through East Brook and an artificial channel called "Mother Brook," part of the
waters of the Charles River are drained into the Neponset. A history of Mother
Brook is given in the chapter on Internal Improvements.
Weymouth Fore River is formed in the Town of Braintree by the junction
of the Monatiquot and Cochato rivers. It flows in a northeasterly direction,
separating the towns of Quincy and Weymouth, and empties into Massachusetts
Bay.
Weymouth Back River drains some of the ponds in the Town of Weymouth.
It forms part of the boundary line between the towns of Weymouth and Hingham
and falls into the Massachusetts Bay a short distance east of the Weymouth Fore
River. Its principal tributary is the Old Swamp River.
In the southern part of the county there are a number of small streams that
flow in a southerly direction, their waters finally reaching the Narragansett Bay.
The most important of these watercourses are the Salisbury, Billings and Fur-
nace brooks and the Peters River. In the southwestern part of the Town of
Randolph is the summit of the watershed between the Massachusetts and Narra-
gansett bays, on an elevation about one hundred and thirty-five feet above high
water mark at Weymouth Landing.
Tributary to the Charles River are a number of streams, Mill River, Stop
River, Boggastow, Mine, Noanets and Shepard's brooks being the most im-
portant. Every part of the county is well watered and along many of the creeks
and rivers are beautiful springs of clear, cold water.
GEOLOGY
Although America is called the New World, geologists believe that it is
really older than most parts of Europe. Dana divides geologic time into four
great ages — the Azoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic. These are subdivided
into nine periods, and these into a number of eras. The oldest known rocks are
the Huronian, so-called by Sir William Logan, because first noticed by him in
the vicinity of Lake Huron, though the Huronian limestone, the best example of
the formation, is the least abundant of the bed rocks of New England. At the
beginning of the Cambrian period, the oldest of the Paleozoic age, mountain
masses of granite extended across Massachusetts from northeast to southwest.
As granite is generally conceded to be one of the oldest of the igneous rocks,
i. e., rocks whose constituent parts have been crystallized from a highly heated
condition, Massachusetts was no doubt "dry land" at a time when many parts of
the Old World were still under water. Neither the Huronian rocks nor granite
contain fossils, indicating that they formed part of the earth's surface before
there was. any organic life on this planet.
Granite is an unstratified rock composed of quartz, feldspar and mica. In
the Norfolk County granite the feldspar is of the orthoclase variety, a silicate
of aluminum and potassium, commonly called "potash feldspar." Granite varies
from coarse crystalline masses, in which the crystals are sometimes an inch or
more in length, to a fine granular rock called "felsite." It is one of the most
4 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
abundant and widespread of the igneous rocks. In the United States it is quarried
chiefly in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Delaware and Georgia. In 1913,
the last year for which reliable figures are available, the State of Massachusetts
produced granite valued at $4,096,372. There is also a variety of granite called
"syenite," in which the mica is replaced by hornblende. It is so named from
Syene (now Assuan) on the River Nile in Egypt, where it was first discovered.
Throughout the world, in almost every granite producing section, there are
found also rocks to which geologists have given the names of amygdaloid,
diorite and diabase, all of which are to be found in Norfolk County. Amygda-
loid is an igneous rock containing numerous oval or spherical inclosures, different
in texture from the body of the rock itself. Lava thrown out by volcanoes is
one of the best examples of amygdaloid. Diorite and diabase are plutonic rocks
usually composed mainly of hornblende and a species of feldspar. Amygdaloid,
diorite and diabase are often included in the general term of "trap rock," heavy,
compact in structure, and used in macadamizing roads or for railroad ballast.
Diorite is sometimes called "greenstone."
In 1875 William O. Crosby began a study of the rocks in the vicinity of
Boston, including Norfolk County, and the result of his investigations was pub-
lished by the Boston Society of Natural History in 1880. The granite area he
describes as consisting of about two hundred square miles in the southern part
of Norfolk and the northern part of Plymouth County. The best known quarry
in this field is the one at Ouincy, which was opened in 1825 by Gridley Bryant,
of Scituate, at the instigation of the Bunker Hill Monument Association. It
afterward became known as the "Bunker Hill Quarry." Now the value of
Ouincy granite is well known all over the United States, and some of it has
been shipped to other countries.
In the towns of Dover and Medfield Mr. Crosby found small patches of
Paleozoic rocks "exhibiting local transitions toward granite and diorite." These
rocks, greenish or grayish in hue. compact in texture and very hard, are a species
of felsite which Mr. Crosby classified as petrosilex. Farther southeast he noted
a larger area, extending into what is now the Town of Westwood, in which
the rock was more perfectly crystallized. In this field is the quarry from which
was taken the stone for the Norfolk County court-house, St. Paul's Episcopal
Church and the Memorial Hall at Dedham.
Mr. Crosby also found a considerable area of this petrosilex in the central
and southern parts of the Town of Needham, where the color was gray or
greenish white, with numerous small crystals or grains of transparent quartz,
giving the stone the appearance of porphyry. In the northern part of Needham
he noticed a reddish brown, compact stone resembling quartz in its texture.
Only a few outcrops of this stone were observed in Needham, but just south
of the Boston & Albany Railroad, near the village of Wellesley, the deposits
were larger and the character of the rocks better defined. Similar deposits were
seen in the Blue Hill region in the Town of Milton.
Upon the elevation known as "Rattlesnake Hill," in the southeastern part of
the Town of Sharon, and on Moose Hill in the western part of the same town,
the rocks are chiefly of syenite. In the eastern part, near the Randolph Town
line, there are some beds of granite of excellent quality that have been quarried
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 5
to some extent. In early days a considerable quantity of bog iron ore was mined
in this town.
DEVONIAN ROCKS
The Devonian rocks of the Paleozoic age rest upon the Silurian formations
and are among the oldest of the fossil bearing rocks. Mr. Crosby, in speaking
of the rocks of this period, says they ''occur only in limited basins or depres-
sions excavated in the ancient crystalline formations." One of these basins,
which he calls the ' , Narragansett," extends from Newport, Rhode Island,
through Bristol and Plymouth counties in Massachusetts. Near the line between
the two states this basin divides, a narrow branch of it running northeast into
the Town of Braintree, where it terminates in a bed of Paradoxides, a stone
resembling the Upper Cambrian formation, from which it can be best distin-
guished by the large fossils of the trilobite variety.
Some years before Mr. Crosby made his study of the rocks about Boston,
W. W. Dodge, of the Boston Society of Natural History, made a geologic
reconnaissance in the eastern part of Norfolk County. He noticed the Para-
doxides bed above mentioned, particularly the slate deposits connected with it.
Says he: "The slate along the Monatiquot River in Braintree is like that of the
Paradoxides bed and similarly related to granite, and these two areas are con-
tinuous under the bed of the Weymouth Fore River. On the west side of that
river, at the first bend north of Weymouth Landing, the slate is greenish gray
or brown, tinged with purple. West of the railroad the slate is exposed imme-
diately north of the granite, and is almost identical with that along the Monati-
quot River and at Hayward's Creek. The slate at Mill Cove is continuous across
the Weymouth Back River with that in the northern part of Hingham."
Mr. Crosby mentions what he calls an "island of slate" in the Blue Hill
granite deposits in the Town of Milton, near the boundary between Milton and
Quincy. The slate formation extends to the Randolph turnpike, where it ends
in several ledges of a gray argillaceous rock, similar to the Paradoxides bed
in Braintree, but containing more iron pyrites. Just how these slate beds became
intermingled with the Devonian rocks furnishes food for theory and specula-
tion on the part of the geologists.
The bed rocks in the Town of Weymouth are very old, ranging from the
Cambrian to the Devonian periods of the Paleozoic age. The rocks underlying
a large portion of the town are closely allied to the granite beds in Quincy,
though less perfectly crystallized and broken here and there by wide seams of
amygdaloid and the slate formations referred to above. Some of the veins of
slate here are rich in iron pyrites and contain fine crystals of quartz.
THE SHAWMUT GROUP
According to Crosby, the principal constituents of what he calls the Shawmut
Group are breccia and amygdaloid. The breccia of this group is a conglomerate
composed of angular fragments of the older rocks. Mr. Crosby noticed out-
crops of this group in Dedham and Milton, the breccia appearing on the west
side of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, and the amygdaloid
6 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
on the east side. He also observed outcrops along the road east and west of
Charles River Village in the Town of Needham.
In the Town of Brookline the Shawmut amygdaloid resembles felsite, though
it is not so hard and contains more or less quartz and crystals of feldspar.
Some geologists have given this stone the name of "graywacke," commonly
called "plum-pudding stone," on account of the numerous oval or rounded
nodules of some other mineral found in it. Both the breccia and the amygdaloid
of the Shawmut Group belong to the trap rock species. The Shawmut basin
extends irregularly from the Blue Hill region on the south to the porphyry hills
in the vicinity of Lynn and Maiden on the north.
THE GLACIAL EPOCH
About the close of the Tertiary period of Cenozoic time came the Pleistocene
or "Ice Age," when practically all of British North America, New England, the
Central States as far west as the Missouri Valley and south to the vicinity of
St. Louis, Missouri, were covered by a vast mass of ice called a glacier. This
sheet of ice was formed by successive falls of snow, each adding its weight to the
mass until the whole was compressed into a solid body. How long ago the Ice
Age began, or how long the great ice sheet remained upon the surface of the
country, can only be conjectured. Then came a geologic change. The tempera-
ture rose, the glacier began to melt and the huge body of ice moved slowly south-
ward, carrying with it soil, rocks, etc., and depositing them in the form of
"glacial drift" upon the bed rocks of more southern latitudes. The hard sub-
stances that gradually settled to the bottom of the glacier left scratches, called
"striae," upon the bed rocks, and from these geologists have been able to determine
with tolerable accuracy the course taken by the glacier.
Many of the bed rocks of Norfolk County are striated, thus bearing evidence
that they were once beneath the great glacier. This is especially true of the
Town of Weymouth, where the exposed ledges show the striae plainly; and along
the Weymouth Back River the sharp linear hills, called "horsebacks" or "kames,"
mark the terminal moraine or ridge where the last of the ice melted. The debris
carried by the glacier was deposited upon the bed rocks in the form of drift, as
above stated. The constant grinding reduced many of the rocks to a fine
powder, and these disintegrated rocks form the soil of a large part of the New
England States. Many of the ponds and lakes are of glacial origin, the water
from the melting ice settling into the depressions in the drift.
CHAPTER II
EARLY EXPLORATIONS
EFFECT IN EUROPE OF COLUMBUS' DISCOVERY OF AMERICA THE CABOTS — GOSNOLD'S
EXPEDITION— PRING AND BROWNE WEYMOUTH'S EXPEDITION LONDON AND
PLYMOUTH COMPANIES SMITH'S EXPLORATIONS CAPT. THOMAS DERMER
FRENCH EXPLORATIONS CONFLICT OF FRENCH AND ENGLISH INTERESTS
ENGLISH CLAIMS SUSTAINED.
October 12, 1492, marked the beginning of an epoch in the world's history,
for on that day Christopher Columbus discovered the New World. Previous to
that time the Atlantic Ocean had been a bugbear to sailors, but when the news
of Columbus' successful voyage was carried to the courts of Europe, monarchs
were seized with a desire to send expeditions to the new continent. Although to
Spain was conceded the honor of leading the way, it was not long until other
nations were .competing with Spain for the profits of her discovery.
THE CABOTS
Henry VII, then King of England, was not noted for his liberal policies, but
he was sagacious enough to see that some advantage might be gained for his
country, and showed a willingness to encourage explorations — provided the
royal treasury was not called upon to bear the expense. To that end, on March,
5, 1496, he granted to John Cabot and his three sons — Lewis, Sancius and Sebas-
tian — a commission authorizing them "to sail to all parts, countries and seas of the
East, of the West and of the North, under our banners and ensigns, with five
ships of what burden or quantity soever they be, and as many mariners or men as
they will have with them in the said ships, upon their own proper costs and
charges, to seek out, discover and find whatsoever isles, countries, regions or
provinces of the heathen and the infidels whatsoever they be which before this
time have been unknown to all Christians."
The patent also gave the Cabots power to set up the royal banner of England
in every "village, town, castle, isle or mainland by them newly found, and to
subdue, occupy and possess the same as vassals of the English crown." For
this service the Cabots were given the exclusive privilege of trading with the
natives of the country or countries they might discover and claim in the name of
the crown. This privilege was granted to them, their successors or assigns,
without limit or condition, further than that upon their return to England they
were required to land at the port of Bristol and pay one-fifth of the profit of
their enterprise to the King.
About the middle of May, 1497, John Cabot and his son Sebastian set sail
8 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
from Bristol in a vessel called the "Matthew" and on June 24th they lande'a
either upon the Island of Newfoundland or Cape Breton Island, at the mouth of
the St. Lawrence River. They returned to England and on February 3, 1498,
the King issued to them a new patent, which is said to have been "less ample
than the first and worded more cautiously," though it granted the patentees six
English ships and the exclusive right to trade with the people of the lands they
might visit on their voyages.
John Cabot died soon after the second patent was granted, but Sebastian,
with a fleet of five vessels, sailed from Bristol in May, 1498, on his second
voyage. At that time the extent of the lands discovered by Columbus was not
known, and it was believed that somewhere there was a passage by water to the
"South Sea," as the Pacific Ocean was then called. To find this passage was one
of the objects of Sebastian Cabot, and it is asserted by some writers that in his
voyage of 1498 he passed into Hudson's Bay. He then examined the coast as
far southward as the thirty-eighth parallel of north latitude and is credited with
being the first explorer to discover the mainland of North America. Upon the
voyages and discoveries of the Cabots England laid claim to a large part of
North America.
Nearly a century later (1583) came Sir Francis Drake, Sir Humphrey Gil-
bert and his half brother, Sir Walter Raleigh, and some others, but their explo-
rations have no bearing upon New England history. Colonization did not follow
upon the heels of the explorer and a century after Cabots' first voyage "in all
New England and the vast tract north towards the pole, not a white family was
settled, not a white child had been born."
gosnold's expedition
Early in the spring of 1602, a company of thirty-two men, under the com-
mand of Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold, sailed from Falmouth, England, in a small
vessel called the "Concord." The expedition was fitted out under the direction
of the Earl of Southampton, who bore the greater share of the expense. On
May 14, 1602, the expedition came in sight of land about 43 30' north latitude,
somewhere on the coast of New Hampshire or Maine. Turning southward,
they followed the coast until the afternoon of the 15th, when they discovered "a
mighty headland, which, from the great number of cod fish caught in the vicin-
ity, was named Cape Cod." Here they landed and were no doubt the first white
men to set foot upon the soil of Massachusetts. The next day Gosnold made
another landing, at what later became known as "Sandy Point," in the extreme
southern part of Barnstable County. During the next two weeks he explored
the coast, naming Martha's Vineyard, Dover Cliff, Gosnold's Hope (now Buz-
zard's Bay), the Elizabeth Islands and some other places.
On the 28th he fixed upon a site for his plantation, "near a small lake of
fresh water, about two miles in circumference," on the Island of Cuttyhunk, at
the entrance to Buzzard's Bay. It was arranged for eleven of the men to remain
with him upon the plantation, the Concord to return to England under command
of Captain Gilbert. Three weeks were spent in building a fort and storehouse,
and in lading the vessel with sassafras, "a goodly quantity of which grew near
by." During this time several excursions were made to the mainland's "fertile
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 9
meadows, stately groves, pleasant brooks and beauteous rivers." By the time
the fort and storehouse were completed it was noticed that the stock of pro-
visions was running low and the project of establishing a plantation was aban-
doned. All went on board and on July 23, 1602, the Concord dropped anchor in
the harbor of Exmouth, England.
PRING AND BROWNE
Gosnold's description of the country stimulated interest in the new continent
and encouraged further explorations. The Virginia patent, granted to Sir
Walter Raleigh in 1585, included the present State of Massachusetts, but Richard
Hakluyt, an earnest advocate of colonizing the New World, and Robert Aids-
worth obtained permission from Raleigh to send a vessel to that part of the coast
that had been visited by Gosnold. They enlisted the cooperation of the mayor,
aldermen and a number of the wealthy merchants of Bristol, and raised by sub-
scription a fund of one thousand pounds to defray the expenses of an expedition.
On April 10, 1603, two vessels — the "Speedwell" of fifty tons and the "Dis-
coverer" of twenty-six — left Bristol. The former had a crew of thirty men and
was commanded by Martin Pring, and the latter, with a crew of thirteen men,
was commanded by Capt. William Browne. The two ships were provisioned for
eight months and carried a large stock of cloth, hatchets, trinkets, etc., for the
Indian trade.
The expedition struck the coast near the entrance to Penobscot Bay, and then
cruised southward to the Vineyard Islands. There the Discoverer was laden
with sassafras, which was then considered a panacea for "all the ills that flesh is
heir to," and returned to England in July, leaving Pring with the Speedwell to
make further explorations. In August the Indians in the vicinity began to show
signs of hostility and Pring also returned to England, arriving at Bristol early in
the year 1604.
weymouth's expedition
To follow up the discoveries of Cabot, Gosnold and Pring, the Earl of South-
hampton and his brother-in-law. Lord Arundel, fitted out a vessel called the
"Archangel" with a crew of twenty-eight men and placed Capt. George Wey-
mouth in command. The Archangel left the port of Dartmouth on the last day
of March, 1605, ostensibly to discover the long sought "Northwest Passage," but
really to strengthen England's claim to the territory about Massachusetts Bay.
About the middle of May Weymouth reached the shore near Cape Cod. From
that point he proceeded northward, ascended the Kennebec River some distance
and traded with the natives.
Captain Weymouth did one thing that was a stroke of bad policy, to say the
least. He lured five Indians on board the Archangel and then set sail for Eng-
land. The Indian captives were sold into bondage. This act engendered a feel-
ing of hatred and distrust among the natives that grew as colonies were estab-
lished in New England, until the Indians sought vengeance in the Pequot and
King Philip wars.
10 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
LONDON AND PLYMOUTH COMPANIES
Sir Walter Raleigh's failure to colonize Virginia within the time specified
caused his patent to revert to the crown. Early in the Seventeenth Century
applications were made by two companies for grants of land for plantations on
the Atlantic coast, between the thirty-fourth and forty-fifth degrees of north
latitude. Patents were issued to those companies on April 10. 1606, the southern
grant to the London Company, called the "First Colony," and the northern to
the Plymouth Company, or the "Second Colony." The London Company was
authorized to establish a plantation at any point below 41° north latitude, and
the Plymouth Company to open a plantation any where above 38 °, though it was
stipulated that the second plantation should be located not less than one hundred
miles from the first.
The patent of the Plymouth Company was granted to "Thomas Hanham,
Raleigh Gilbert (a nephew of Sir Walter Raleigh), William Parker, George
Popham, and their associates, knights, gentlemen and merchants, or Exeter,
Plymouth and other towns of the West of England." On the last day of May,
1607, this company started two ships — the "Gift of God" and the "Mary and
John" — with about one hundred men, under Raleigh Gilbert and George Popham,
to open a plantation. They failed to establish a permanent colony and it seems
that no second effort was made under the patent of 1606.
smith's explorations
Capt. John Smith, who had been an active factor in the establishment of the
London Company's colony at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, sailed from London
early in March, 1614, with two vessels and forty-nine men to look for mines of
gold or copper along the coast of New England. In the event he failed to find
the mines, it was his intention to trade with the natives and carry back to Eng-
land cargoes of fish and furs. He explored the coast from the mouth of the
Penobscot (Kennebec) River to Cape Cod, crossed from Cape Ann to Cohasset,
and some writers claim that he entered Boston Bay and to some extent explored
its coast line. He prepared a map of the coast, upon which Quincy and Wey-
mouth bays are shown with a fair degree of accuracy.
That Smith was an enthusiast regarding the beauties and possible advantages
of the Massachusetts coast, may be seen from his report of the voyage, in which
he says: "We saw forty several habitations (that is places where habitations
might be successfully established) along the coast, sounded about twenty-five
excellent harbours, in many whereof there is anchorage 'for 500 sails of ships of
any burden, in some of them 1,000, and more than two hundred isles, overgrown
with good timber of divers sorts of woods. * * * Of all the four parts of
the world that I have yet seen, not inhabited, could I but have the means to
transport a colony, I would rather live here than anywhere. And if it did not
maintain itself, were we but once indifferently well fitted, let us starve."
Associated with Smith on this expedition was an Englishman named Thomas
Hunt, who carried about twenty Indians into slavery— an act that was inexcu-
sable and whirl) bore fruit in after years. Mather says it "was the unhappy
occasion of the loss of many a man's estate and life, which the barbarians did
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 11
from thence seek to destroy; and the English, in consequence of this treachery,
were constrained for a time to suspend their trade and abandon their project of
a settlement in New England."
CAPT. THOMAS DERMER
Smith's voyage seems to have been a prosperous one, from a pecuniary point
of view, and this created in his mind an earnest desire to make a second visit to
the New World. His own capital being insufficient to outfit an expedition, he
imparted his views to Sir Ferdinando Gorges, " a man of kindred enthusiasm,"
and to Doctor Sutcliffe, Dean of Exeter, who agreed to assist him. After some
delay two ships — one of 200 and the other of 50 tons burthen — were furnished
him for a second voyage. Before going two hundred leagues, the larger vessel,
which was commanded by Captain Smith, sprang a leak and was forced to return,
but the smaller, commanded by Capt. Thomas Dermer, kept on, returning to
England after an absence of about five months.
Captain Dermer made another voyage in 1619, and this time carried back to
America the Indian Tisquantum (or Squanto), who had been carried into cap-
tivity by Hunt five years before. This Squanto afterward became the firm friend
and interpreter of the Pilgrims. Bradford (History of Massachusetts, p. 14)
thinks it probable that on this second voyage Dermer visited the harbors of
Boston and Plymouth. While the primary object of these voyages was the
acquisition of wealth, Captain Dermer was instructed to find a place in which to
establish a colony "for the propagation of the gospel among the ignorant and
debased aboriginal inhabitants."
Barry, in his History of Massachusetts, says: "This journey of 1619, as pre-
ceding by a year the settlement of Plymouth, and as taken in the territory so
often alluded to by the Pilgrims, is exceedingly interesting. It was an impor-
tant addition to the knowledge of the country and prepared the way, by its
friendly termination, for the hospitable reception by the generous Massasoit and
his brother Quadequina."
In the fall of 1619 Captain Dermer sailed southward and passed the winter
with the colony of the London Company at Jamestown. The following spring
he returned to Cape Cod, where he encountered a party of hostile Indians and
received several severe wounds, of which he afterward died.
FRENCH EXPLORATIONS
Before the middle of the Sixteenth Century, France had laid claim to the
valley of the St. Lawrence River and the country about the Great Lakes, basing
her claim upon the expeditions of Jacques Cartier in the early part of that
century. In 1603 Henry the Great, then King of France, gave a patent to one
of his friends named De Monts, covering the Atlantic coast from the fortieth to
the forty-sixth parallels of north latitude. De Monts led an expedition to America
and it is said he entered what is now Boston Harbor, in search of a place to plant
a colony, but was discouraged by the hostile attitude of the Indians he found in
that locality. He then explored the coast to the northward and finally located
his settlement at Monts' desert (now Mount Desert), on the coast of Maine.
12 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
The greater portion of the grant made by King Henry to De Monts was
included three years later in the grant made by the English crown to the
Plymouth Company. This was the beginning of a conflict of French and English
claims to territory in America — a conflict which was intensified when La Salle,
in 1682, discovered the mouth of the Mississippi River and laid claim to all the
territory drained by that stream and its tributaries, and which finally culminated
in the French and Indian war.
Following the usage of nations to claim territory "by right of discovery,"
England had the oldest tenure to a large part of the continent of North America,
On account of the discoveries made by the Cabots in the closing years of the
Fifteenth Century. Subsequent expeditions sent out from England strengthened
the claim, which the other nations of Europe ultimately recognized, and in time
English settlements were planted along the coast from Maine to Georgia.
CHAPTER III
INDIAN HISTORY
DISTRIBUTION OF INDIAN TRIBES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CEN-
TURY NEW ENGLAND TRIBES THE MASSACHUSETT NARRAGANSETT NIP-
MUCK THE PEQUOT WAR THE WAMPANOAG KING PHILIP'S WAR THE
PRAYING INDIANS INDIAN DEEDS TO THE LAND.
Note — Indian names are spelled in various ways, every writer on the subject
adopting the form best suited to his ideas. In this chapter the form used is that
sanctioned by the United States Government and employed in the reports of the
Bureau of Ethnology.
NAME AND DISTRIBUTION
When the first European explorers came to America they found here a race
of copper-colored people. Believing that Columbus had opened the way to the
eastern coast of Asia, and that the country was India, they gave these people
the name of "Indians." Their error regarding the geography of the earth has
long since been corrected, but the name they conferred upon the natives still
remains.
At the close of the Fifteenth Century, when the first explorations were made
along the Atlantic Coast, this race was divided into groups or families, each of
which was distinguished by certain physical and linguistic characteristics. The
groups were subdivided into tribes, each of which was ruled by a chief. New
England was in the territory occupied by the Algonquian family, the most nu-
merous and powerful of all the groups, and numbered almost as many tribes as
all the others combined. The Algonquian country may be described as a great
triangle, roughly bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, and by lines drawn
from the most northern point of Newfoundland and Cape Hatteras to the west-
ern end of Lake Superior. The tribes with which the early settlers of the
Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies came chiefly in contact, and which
figured most conspicuously in New England history, were the, Massachusett,
Narragansett, Nipmuck, Pequot and Wampanoag, all of Algonquian origin.
THE MASSACHUSETT
According to J. Hammond Trumbull, of the American Antiquarian Society,
the name Massachusett is derived from three Indian words, "Massa" (great),
"wadchu" (hill or mountain), and "eset" (place). The Indians bearing this name
were known as "The people of the great hill," the eastern slope of the Blue Hills,
13
14 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
in what is now the Town of Milton, having been "the cradle, the home and the
grave of the race." They claimed the country along the Atlantic Coast from
Plymouth to Salem and, according to their traditions, at the beginning of the
Seventeenth Century they were a powerful tribe, numbering about three thou-
sand warriors, under the great sachem, Nanepashemet.
Capt. John Smith, in his account of his voyage in 1614, describes the Massa-
chusett Indians as "tall and strong-limbed people, very kind, but in their fury
no less valiant ; possessors of large cornfields and dwelling in plantations which
covered the islands in the bay." At that time they had about twenty villages,
eleven of which Smith mentioned by name in his report. Among them were
Conohasset, Neponset, Wessagusset, and Passonagessit, all names familiar to
the student of Norfolk County history.
In 161 5, the year following Smith's voyage, Nanepashemet made war upon
the Tarratine or Penobscot Indians and the tribe suffered heavy losses through
repeated defeats. This war lasted about four years, or until 1619, when Nan-
epashemet was killed at his village near what is now the Town of Medford by
a war party of the Tarratine. He was the last great sachem of the Massachusett.
While the war with the Tarratine was going on, a number of the Massachu-
sett villages were depopulated in 1616-17 by a pestilence, which some writers
state was nothing more or less than an epidemic of smallpox, but that is not
certain.
When the first white men came to Plymouth and Wessagusset, they found
a remnant of the tribe living about Passonagessit ( now Mount Wollaston ) under
the chief Chickatabot (House Afire). North of the Neponset River was another
band under the sachem Obbatinewat, and south of the Monatiquot, in what is
new the Town of Weymouth, dwelt a few under the chief Aberdecest. Prof. A.
F. Chamberlain, of Clark University, in the Handbook of the United States
Bureau of Ethnology, says that in 1621 Chickatabot, who was then the ruling
sachem of the tribe, submitted to English authority and entered into a treaty
of peace which was kept sacredly as long as he lived. Ten years later he vis-
ited Governor Winthrop at Boston, "behaving like an Englishman." The tribe
then numbered, about five hundred, all that was left of what had but a few years
before been one of the most powerful Indian tribes in New England. Chickatabot
was a man of note and influence among his people and a firm friend of the white
man. He died of smallpox in 1633. A few years after his death most of the
surviving members of his band joined the "Praying Indians," as the converts
of the misionary John Eliot were called, and lived with them in the villages of
Natick, Nonantum and Ponkapog.
THE NARRAGANSETT
The Narragansett (People of the small point) lived west of the Narragansett
Bay, in what is now the State of Rhode Island, and extending northwest to the
country occupied by the Nipmuck. They had a number of deities, such as the
sun, moon, water, fire, and certain animals, and celebrated numerous feasts. As
they did not live in Massachusetts, the early settlers of Norfolk County did not
come in close touch with them except at rare intervals. They joined the Wam-
panoag in the conflict known as King Philip's war, and in the swamp fight near
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 15
Kingston, Rhode Island, December 19, 1675, lost nearly one thousand men in
killed, wounded and prisoners. After this war the members of the tribe became
exiles among the other tribes in the vicinity.
THE NIPMUCK
The name Nipmuck, or Nipamaug, means "Fresh water fishing place," and
was applied to these Indians on account of the location of their habitat, which
was in the southern part of what is now Worcester County, Massachusetts. Some
ethnologists have classified them as one of the Massachusett subtribes, but James
Mooney, of the United States Bureau of Ethnology, says: "Their villages had
no apparent political connection, and the different parts of their territory were
subject to their more powerful neighbors, the Massachusett, Wampanoag, Nar-
ragansett and Mohegan."
From this it would appear that, even if they had at some time been related
to the Massachusett Indians, they afterward became an independent tribe, though
small in numbers. In 1674 the missionaries had seven villages in the Nipmuck
country and felt encouraged over the progress the Indians were making toward
Christianity and civilization. But the next year nearly all the able-bodied Nip-
muck braves joined the hostile tribes in King Philip's war. After the war those
who had taken part against the whites fled to Canada or New York.
THE PEQUOT
In the native language of this tribe they were called the Paquatong, which
meant "Destroyers," a name that well describes their character and warlike dis-
position. Before they were conquered by the English in 1637, they were the
most quarrelsome and dreaded of all the southern New England tribes. Tradi-
tion says they were originally one people with the Mohegan, from whom they
separated and came to the country of the Niantic, where they drove out the
natives and took possession. At one time the Pequot tribe numbered over three
thousand, but war and pestilence had done their work, so that when the first
white men came to Rhode Island the tribe did not count more than half that
number.
Their principal sachem at the time the first English settlements were made
in New England, and for several years thereafter, was named Sassacus. Nearly
every schoolboy has heard the story of how this Sassacus sent to the Plymouth
colony a bundle of arrows wrapped in a snake skin ; how Squanto, or Tisquantum,
the friendly Indian, explained that this was equivalent to a declaration of war;
and how Capt. Miles Standish filled the snake skin with gunpowder and bullets
and sent it back to the Pequot sachem.
THE PEQUOT WAR
This answer to the challenge, as bold as it was unexpected, had the tendency
to dampen the warlike ardor of Sassacus for a time. But the vindictive nature
of the Pequot could not long be restrained. In 1636 some members of the tribe
killed a trader who they thought had not treated them right, and early the next
16 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
year they began committing depredations upon the infant settlements of Rhode
Island and Connecticut. The white settlers of New England made common cause
against the Pequot. Roger Williams enlisted the cooperation of the Mohegan
chief Uncas, with seventy of his warriors; Capt. John Mason of Hartford raised
a force of ninety men ; Captain Patrick of Plymouth recruited a company of
forty volunteers in that colony ; and Captain Underhill took twenty men from the
Massachusetts Bay settlements, about one-half of whom went from Norfolk
County.
These combined forces marched against the Pequot fort on the Mystic River,
which was defended by practically all the fighting men of the tribe. The fort
was surrounded and set on fire and about six hundred Indians perished in the
flames or were shot down while trying to escape. A number of captives were
taken, some of whom were sold into slavery in the West Indies, small parties of
those who escaped joined other tribes and the name of the Pequot became extinct.
Says Barber, in his "Historical Collections of Massachusetts": "This first war
with the Indians struck such terror into the surrounding tribes, that for forty
years afterwards they never openly commenced hostilities with the English."
THE WAMPANOAG
During the greater part of the Seventeenth Century this was one of the lead-
ing tribes of New England. Their habitat was along the eastern shore of Nar-
ragansett Bay, the name Wampanoag meaning "People of the east." From the
Narragansett Bay they claimed the territory northward to the country occupied
by the Massachusett confederacy. The Nauset Indians, a subtribe of the Wam-
panoag, were found on Cape Cod in 1602 by Gosnold, who traded with them,
but a few years later the French explorer Champlain found them inclined to be
unfriendly.
Massasoit, the principal sachem of the Wampanoag, was the first Indian chief-
tain to enter into a treaty of peace with the early colonists, which treaty he kept
in good faith as long as he lived. He lived in a village called Pokanoket, a name
which has sometimes been incorrectly applied to the Indians of this tribe. Massa-
soit had two sons — Wamsutta and Metacom — and on the occasion of one of his
visits to the white men, he requested that his sons be given English names. The
result was that Wamsutta was called Alexander, and Metacom took the name
of Philip.
king philip's war
Upon the death of Massasoit, about 1659 or 1660, Alexander became sachem
of the Wampanoag. He lived but a short time and in 1662 the scepter passed to
the younger son, who is known in history as King Philip, or Philip of Pokanoket,
and who has been called "the most remarkable of all the Indians of New England."
Philip was quite unlike his father. He was cunning, ambitious, and filled
with an unalterable hatred of the white people, who he believed were robbing
the Indians of their hunting grounds. Soon after becoming sachem, he renewed
the treaty of peace made by his father some fifty years before, but about 1670
the settlers reached the conclusion that he was engaged in some work of treachery.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 17
So grave did this suspicion become that in 1673 some of the towns of Norfolk
County were ordered by the General Court to place themselves in a state of
defense.
In Dedham a barrel of gunpowder and other ammunition were procured;
the small cannon which had been given to the town by the General Court in 1650
was mounted on wheels ; a garrison was organized, a watch set, and the meet-
ing house was designated as a depository for supplies in case of an attack or
siege. Through these preparations Dedham was spared the fate of some of her
sister towns three years later. Similar preparations were made in a few of the
other towns, and they likewise escaped an Indian attack.
All doubts as to Philip's bad faith and hostile intentions were removed in
the winter of 1674-75, when John Sausamun, a Praying Indian, informed the
governor of the Plymouth colony that the wily sachem was engaged in an effort
to unite all the Indian tribes in a general uprising against the whites, hoping
thereby to exterminate them or drive them back across the sea, and thus regain
full possession of their hunting grounds. Not long after this Sausamun's body
was found under the ice in Assawomset Pond, near Middleboro, in the western
part of what is now Plymouth County.
Three Indians were arrested, charged with the murder, and one of them
confessed that they had been incited to the act by Philip. The three were hanged
at Plymouth on June 8, 1675. The hanging of these men told Philip that his
conspiracy was fully known to the hated palefaces, and he hastened forward
his movements. He was then living at Mount Hope, Rhode Island, and from
there sent out the order to his warriors to be ready to move against the white
settlements. The Indians had a superstition that the party which struck the first
blow in a fray would be vanquished in the end, and the plan was to provoke the
settlers to an assault by killing their cattle while they were attending church on
Sunday. The first hostile demonstration was made against the Town of Swan-
zey, Bristol County, at the head of Narragansett Bay, on Sunday, June 24, 1675.
Nine men were killed and several wounded before the white people had time
to organize for resistance. Brookfield, Worcester County, was the next point
of attack, and every house in the town but one was burned. Before the close
of the summer Hadley, Deerfield and Northfield in the Connecticut Valley were
attacked, a number of white people killed and many buildings burned.
In the fall the commissioners of the United Colonies called for one thousand
men to suppress the insurrection and appointed Governor Winslow of Massa-
chusetts commander-in-chief. Massachusetts furnished six companies of infantry
and a troop of horse, under command of Major Appleton ; five companies under
Major Treat came from Connecticut; and Major Bradford recruited two com-
panies in Plymouth.
Mention has already been made of the overwhelming defeat of the Narra-
gansett Indians in the winter of 1675-76. Among the chiefs of that tribe was
Pumoham (commonly written Pumham), sachem of Shaomet, "one of the stout-
est and most valiant sachems that belonged to the Narragansett." Some years
prior to the breaking out of the war he had quarreled with Miantonomo, chief
sachem of the tribe, to whom he was subordinate, and placed himself under the
colonial government for protection. Upon the death of Miantonomo, his son
Canonchet became the chief sachem, Pumoham returned to his allegiance and
18 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
the two chieftains joined Philip in 1675 with about one thousand Narragansett
warriors. Next to Philip, Pumoham "was the most dreaded of the Indian leaders."
It was against the Narragansett Indians that the expedition raised in the
fall of 1675 was sent - Pumoham and Canonchet, when they learned that a large
force was marching against them, took up a strong position in a swamp in the
northern part of Rhode Island and awaited its approach. After a toilsome march
over rough roads, in severe winter weather, the white men surrounded the
swamp and the assault was made on December 19, 1675. What followed is thus
told by John Davis in the "New England Memorial."
"The attack on the enemy's fort was completely successful. It was a counter-
part to the memorable exploit against the Pequots, forty years before, by the
men of Connecticut. A day of horrible conflagration and slaughter inflicted a
blow, from which the Narragansett nation never recovered. Seven hundred of
their fighting men fell in the action, and it was computed that at least three
hundred more died of their wounds and from the hardships which ensued. Such
are the numbers given by Hubbard in his Narrative, derived from the confession
of Potock, one of the Indian chiefs, afterward taken at Rhode Island and put
to death in Boston. It was a dear-bought victory to the assailants. Five brave
captains were slain in the action : Davenport of Boston, son of Capt. Richard
Davenport, distinguished in the Pequot war, Johnson of Roxbury, Gardner of
Salem, Gallop of New London, and Marshall of Windsor. Captain Seeley of
Stratford was mortally wounded and lived but a few days. The whole loss
sustained by the assailants was eighty-five killed and about one hundred and fifty
wounded. Among the wounded were Major Bradford and Captain Church, of
Plymouth Colony, and Lieutenant Upham of Massachusetts. The latter died
of his wounds some months later."
Up to this time the war had not seriously affected Norfolk County. Her
trials were yet to come. On February 12, 1676, a party of Indians made a sudden
descent upon the Town of Weymouth and burned several houses. Hurd's
History of Norfolk County gives the date of this attack on Weymouth as Feb-
ruary 12, 1675, but all the histories of the war consulted by the writer, except
one, agree that the hostilities began with the attack on Swanzey, June 24, 1675,
more than four months after the date mentioned by Hurd. The exception is the
account given by Niles, who fixes each of the events connected with the war
one year earlier than their actual occurrence. It is possible that this may
account for the statement made by Hurd.
Early in February, 1676, the main body of the Indians assembled at Wachu-
sett Mountain, in the Town of Princeton, Worcester County. Here they divided,
one party moving northward toward Concord and Haverhill, and the other
against Lancaster, Marlboro and Medfield. The latter was commanded by the
chief called Monaco. Lancaster was burned and pillaged on the 10th, and late
on the 20th the citizens of Medfield observed signs of the enemy's approach. A
strong watch was set during the night, but the Indians, under cover of darkness,
managed to elude the pickets and the next morning found a considerable number
of them secreted in the outbuildings and even under some of the dwelling houses.
As soon as the watch was removed, these skulkers came forth from their hiding
places and applied the torch. Altogether about fifty buildings were consumed.
The records of the town contain the names of seventeen residents who were
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 19
killed and a number received dangerous wounds, from the effects of which a few
afterward died.
In anticipation of an attack, the minister, Mr. Wilson, had sent a letter to the
governor and the council asking for soldiers to defend the town. About a
hundred men were sent there, but they were distributed around at the houses
of the citizens and could not assemble in time to drive off the enemy until the
damage was done. The cannon was fired, hoping that the reports could be
heard at Dedham and bring reinforcements. The Indians ■were afraid of
artillery, and at the first discharge retreated across the river, setting fire to the
bridge as they departed. Then across the river, in full view of the burning town,
they indulged in a grand feast. The number of savages engaged in this nefarious
work was estimated at five hundred.
Shortly after the destruction of Medfield, Indians were seen prowling about
in the woods near Wrentham and the General Court, "in consideration that
many Indians were skulking about our plantations, doing much mischief and
damage," offered a bounty of' three pounds per head "to every person who should
surprise, slay, or bring in prisoner any such Indians." In March, 1676, the in-
habitants of Wrentham left their homes and went to Dedham for protection,
remaining there until the spring of 1677.
In April, 1676, John Jacobs was killed by the Indians while working in his
field in the'Town of Cohasset, then a part of Hingham, and four or five dwelling
houses were burned. On the 19th of the same month Thomas Pratt was killed
at Weymouth. These outrages were the work of a small marauding party and
not that of the main body of Philip's army. It was probably the same party
that went into Braintree, where they killed three men and a woman. The ac-
count of this raid says they carried the woman "about six or seven miles, and then
killed her and hung her up in an unseemly and barbarous manner by the wayside
leading from Braintree to Bridgewater."
Pumoham, who had managed to escape at the time of the "Swamp Fight"
in December, 1675, gathered a handful of warriors and commenced preying upon
the unguarded settlements. About the middle of July, 1676, it was learned that
this predatory band was in Dedham woods, waiting for such time as they could
catch the people unawares to commit further depredations. Captain Hunting
quietly organized a small company of Dedham and Medfield men, with a few
friendly Indians, and went in pursuit. Thirty-five of the Indians were captured
without resistance, but Pumoham refused to surrender. After being fatally
wounded he seriously injured one of Hunting's men with his tomahawk, and
Barber says "he was slain raging like a wild beast." Fifteen Indians were killed
in this action, which took place on July 25, 1676.
Sometime in the summer of 1676, the exact date is uncertain, a man named
Rocket, while looking for a stray horse, came upon an Indian trail near the
present line between Franklin and Wrentham. Suspecting that it was the trail of
a war party, he followed it with great caution until almost sunset, when he dis-
covered the Indians preparing to go into camp at the foot of a rocky eminence
near the Mill River. He hurried back to the settlements and reported what he
had seen. A company of thirteen men was collected and, under command of
Capt. Robert Ware, was guided to the encampment by Mr. Rocket. Captain
Ware stationed his men in the thickets about the camp, with instructions not
20 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
to fire until it was light enough to aim with certainty. About sunrise the Indians
arose and began their preparations for resuming their march. Instantly thirteen
muskets were discharged and as many savages fell killed or wounded. The
sudden and unexpected attack threw the others into consternation and they sought
safety in flight. They were pursued and several of them killed. The rock where
this encounter took place is still known as "Indian Rock."
From the time of the first attack on Swanzey to August I, 1676, fifty-two
towns were attacked and twelve of them almost or quite totally destroyed. Then,
seeing that the colonists were thoroughly aroused, Philip retired to a wild tract
of country, known as the Pocasset Cedar Swamp, in the northern part of Rhode
Island. Capt. Benjamin Church of Plymouth, with a force of white men and
friendly Indians, made the last march of the war and reached the swamp on
the afternoon of August 12, 1676. In drawing a cordon about the swamp the
men were placed in pairs — a white man and an Indian together. It was dark
before Captain Church could perfect his arrangements, and a night attack was
made upon Philip's swamp fortress. Many of the Indians fell at the first volley
and others were killed while trying to escape. Philip made a bold dash for liberty
and succeeded in getting through the first line, when he encountered one of the
pairs mentioned. The white man's gun missed fire, when the Indian fired and
the bullet sped true to its mark. Thus ended the career of Philip of Pokanoket,
whose war of fourteen months cost the colonies six hundred brave men, the
destruction of a dozen towns, several hundred dwellings scattered through the
rural districts, and about half a million dollars in money. Philip's wife and son
were captured and sold into slavery. The defeat of the Indians was complete,
and never again did any of the tribes make open war upon the New England
colonies.
THE PRAYING INDIANS
In October, 1646, John Eliot, the ''Indian Apostle," preached his first sermon
to the natives at what afterward became known as Newton Corner. The Indian
village that subsequently grew up there was called Nonantum, or "Place of re-
joicing." In 1650 Mr. Eliot founded the village of Natick, where the "Praying
Indians," as his converts were called, were given a reservation of six thousand
acres. A few years later Natick had a population of over two hundred, and until
the time of King Philip's war, it was probably the most important Indian village
in New England. In 1663 there were fourteen praying villages.
Mr. Eliot translated the Bible and some other works into the Indian language,
established schools among the children of the forest, and taught them many of
the customs of the white man's civilization. After his death the Praying Indians
gradually decreased in numbers. Some of them took part in the French and
Indian war and at its close the population of Natick was only thirty-seven.
INDIAN DEEDS
It was the policy of the Massachusetts colony, in granting tracts of land to
companies of persons for the purpose of founding towns, to make such grants
subject to the Indian title. The Council of New England advised the grantees
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 21
to purchase the title of any Indians who might claim rights of inheritance to
any of the lands included in the grant, thereby maintaining friendly relations
with the natives and refuting all charges of confiscating their hunting grounds.
The first purchase of Norfolk County land was made soon after the Town of
Dedham was incorporated (possibly before the act of incorporation was passed),
from the sachems who claimed the country west of the Neponset River and
south and east of the Charles River. The tract included the present Town of
Dedham and some of the adjacent towns, though it does not appear that any
deed or treaty relating to this purchase was ever made a matter of record. The
Indian title to Medfield and some of the adjacent territory was purchased of
Chickatabot.
Says Worthington : "In 1660 two agents are appointed to treat with the saga-
mores who owned Wollomonopoag, now Wrentham. In 1662 Richard Ellis and
Timothy Dwight, the agents appointed for that purpose, made a report that they
had made a treaty with Philip the sagamore, for lands six miles square, or as
much as six miles square, at Wollomonopoag, and exhibited his deed thereof,
under hand and seal. Six days after this report is made, the town ratify the
treaty and assess their common rights to the amount of twenty-four pounds ten
shillings, for the purpose of paying King Philip the stipulated price for his deed."
In the fall of 1669 Philip notified the Dedham authorities that he still owned
certain lands in the vicinity of Wollomonopoag, and offered to sell them to the
white people. The Dedham selectmen appointed a commission of five persons,
at the "head of which was Timothy Dwight, to treat with him for the lands,
"provided he can show that he has any rights to the same, and provided he will
secure the town against future claims of other sachems." It is extremely doubt-
ful whether Philip really had any more right to the lands in that section of the
county than any other Indian. But his experience of nine years before taught
him that the white inhabitants were willing to pay, and, realizing that it was
only a question of time when they would come into possession at any rate, he
took advantage of the situation to get as much money as he could. On November
15, 1669, the town ordered an assessment of seventeen pounds eight shillings
to pay for this second purchase of Philip.
In the meantime, July 4, 1665, the Indians Wampatuck, Ahahden and Squmuck,
sons of Chickatabot, deeded certain lands in what are now the towns of Cohasset
and Hingham to Capt. Joshua Hubbard and Ensign John Thaxter, for the white
inhabitants, thus confirming the act of their father in permitting the white people
to occupy the land, though it is not certain that Chickatabot sold the land outright.
On August 5, 1665, Wampatuck, alias Josias, sagamore of Massachusetts,
son of Chickatabot, with the consent of his wise men, viz. : "Squamog, his brother
Daniel, old Nahatun, William Mananiomott, Job Nassott, Manuntago and William
Nahatun," sold to the white settlers "all of the east of the lands within the bounds
of Braintrey . . . being bounded on the sea side with the northeast, and
with the Dorchester line on the northwest, and by the Waymouth line on the
southeast and with the Dorchester line on the southwest."
The white men who negotiated this purchase were Samuel Basse, Thomas
Faxon, Francis Eliot, William Needham, William Savill, Henry Neale, Richard
Thayer and Christopher Webb. The consideration was twenty-one pounds and
22 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
ten shillings. For many years this deed, properly framed, hung in the town
house of old Braintree.
On April 14, 1680, a deed was executed by William Nahaton, alias Ouaanan,
and his brothers Peter Natoogus and Benjamin Nahaton, and their sisters Tah-
keesuisk Nahaton and Hannah Nahaton, alias Jammewwosh, "living in Punka-
pogg, near Blue Hill in the bounds of Dorchester, to any lands lying in the Town
of Dedham." This deed especially describes a "parcel or tract of land as it lieth
towards the northerly side of Dedham, by the Great Falls of the Charles River,
to the Natick saw mill brook," etc., to which land the Indians relinquished ''all
right, title and whole interest." This purchase was brought about by Timothy
Dwight, Richard Ellice and Thomas Battelle, commissioners appointed to nego-
tiate the treaty and receive the title to the land.
John Magus, a minor sachem living at Natick Village, and his wife, Sara
Magus, executed a deed on April 18, 1681, to Daniel Fisher, Thomas Fuller,
Richard Ellice and Nathaniel Bullard, commissioners appointed by the Dedham
authorities, embracing "the whole parcel or tract of land as it lieth in Dedham
bounds," etc. The tract thus conveyed was known as Magus Hill and included
the present towns of Natick and Needham and that part of Dedham known as
Dedham Island. The consideration was five pounds in money and Indian corn
to the value of three pounds.
The territory now included in the Town of Brookline was first obtained of
Chickatabot in 1630. On March 19, 1685, his grandson, Charles Josias, alias
Josias Wampatuck, and his councilors, by and with the advice and consent of his
guardians, William Stoughton and Joseph Dudley, made a deed to Elisha Cooke,
Elisha Hutchinson, Samuel Shrimpton, John Joyliffe, Simon Lynde, John Saffin,
Edward Wyllys, Daniel Turel, Sr., Henry Allen, John Faireweather, Timothy
Prout, Sr., and Theophilus Ffrary, "in behalf of the rest of the Proprietated
Inhabitants of the Town of Boston and Precincts thereof," confirming the act of
his grandfather fifty-five years before. The consideration mentioned in the deed
was a "Valuable Summe of Money," payment of which is acknowledged.
On April 18, 1685, this same "Josias, alias Josias Wampatuck, son and heir
of the late sachem of the Indians inhabiting the Massachusetts, in New England,
and grandson of Chickatabot, the former grand sachem," made a deed confirming
the sale of land included in the town of Dedham by his grandfather fifty years
before. The deed was approved by William Stoughton and Joseph Dudley,
guardians for Josias, who received four pounds and ten shillings as a considera-
tion. Some of these ancient deeds are now in the collections of the Dedham
Historical Society.
CHAPTER IV
THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS
RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN ENGLAND AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEVENTEENTH
CENTURY THE PILGRIMS AND PURITANS IMMIGRATION TO AMERICA GREAT
PATENT FOR NEW ENGLAND THE MAYFLOWER THE COMPACT THE WESTON
COLONY ROBERT GORGES THE DORCHESTER COMPANY THE MASSACHUSETTS
COMPANY TRANSFER OF THE CHARTER SETTLEMENTS IN 163O.
Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth, James I ascended the English throne.
At that time there were four religious organizations in existence in England.
First, the Church of England, which had the sanction and support of the British
Government and its King; Second, the Separatists (later known as the Pilgrims),
who refused to affiliate in any way with the Church of England, or to acknowl-
edge the authority of the state church ; Third, the Puritans, or Nonconformists,
who differed from the Anglican Church only in their disregard of certain ritual-
istic rites and observances ; and Fourth, the Roman Catholics, who in some parts
of the country formed the prevailing religious power. The religious situation
in England at the close of the Sixteenth Century wielded an important influence
upon the early settlement of North America.
Twice before becoming king — in 1581 and again in 1590 — James I had
openly professed a sincere belief in the teachings of John Knox and the Puri-
tans. On April 3, 1603, when about to leave Scotland for his coronation, he
gave thanks publicly in the kirk, declaring that "As God has promoted me to
greater power, it is my duty to establish religion and take away corruption in
both England and Scotland." This public and apparently fearless public utterance
gave great encouragement to the Puritans. But they soon learned that James
was not sincere. In his address to Parliament in 1604, he pronounced the Puritans
to be "a sect insufferable in a well governed commonwealth." Three-fourths
of the members of the House of Commons sympathized with the Puritans, and
they were not slow in showing by their actions that the insolence of the king
had awakened the indignation of the Nonconformists. The attitude of the House
of Commons led James to say in a letter written about this time: "I would
rather live like a hermit than be a king over such a people as the pack of Puritans
are that overrule the lower house." His motto seemed to be "No bishop, no
king." In July, 1604, he issued a proclamation in which he declared that he wanted
only "one doctrine, one discipline, one religion, in substance and in ceremony,"
and ordered "all curates and lecturers to conform strictly to the rubrics of the
prayer book, on pain of deprivation."
Not long after this proclamation was promulgated, James confidently asserted
that he would make all dissenters conform to the ceremonies of the Church of
23
24 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
England, or he would harry them out of the country. And that was exactly
what happened. Large numbers of the Separatists refused to conform and left
their native land to find refuge in Holland. It was at this time that they took the
name of Pilgrims. For several years a congregation of the Pilgrims was located
at Leyden, under the pastoral guidance of Rev. John Robinson, who has been
spoken of as "the most learned, polished and modest spirit that ever separated
from the Church of England."
IMMIGRATION TO AMERICA
In February, 1619, the Pilgrims in Holland sent agents to England to obtain
a patent to land in America. After considerable delay a patent was issued in the
name of John Wincob. The original document has been lost and, so far as
known, there are no copies in existence. It is believed that it covered certain terri-
tory that now lies within the State of New York. As soon as the patent had been
obtained, the Pilgrims began making their preparations for emigrating, but more
than a year elapsed before the first company was ready. The delay in completing
their preparations caused radical changes in their original plans for planting a
colony in the New World. Another agency in altering their plans was the
GREAT PATENT FOR NEW ENGLAND
On luly 23, 1620, Sir Thomas Coventry was ordered to prepare a new patent
for the Plymouth Company for the king's royal signature. The result was the
"Great Patent for New England," signed by King James and conveying to forty
of his subjects "all that part of North America extending from the fortieth to
the forty-eigth degree of north latitude, and between these parallels from the
Atlantic to the Pacific."
The company of forty, which included some of the most wealthy and power-
ful of England's nobility, was known as "The Council established at Plymouth,
in the County of Devon, for the Planting, Ruling, Ordering and Governing New
England in America." The Great Patent did not pass the seals until Novem-
ber 3, 1620.
THE MAYFLOWER
While the Great Patent was pending, those of the Pilgrims who had decided
to try their fortunes in America made everything ready for their departure.
The "Speedwell" of 60 tons was chartered in Holland, and the "Mayflower" of
180 tons was chartered in England for the voyage. The two vessels started on
August 13, 1620, but the Speedwell sprang a leak and was forced to put in at
Dartmouth for repairs, the Mayflower waiting until her sister ship could be put
in condition. After a few days another start was made, but again the Speedwell
began to leak and the two ships put in at Plymouth, where on August 21st the
Speedwell was condemned as unseaworthy. On September 6, 1620, the May-
flower, with 1 01 persons on board, left Plymouth and on November 9th the
immigrants sighted the cliffs of Cape Cod.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 25
THE COMPACT
Before effecting a landing and choosing a site for their settlement, the men
on board assembled in the cabin of the Mayflower and drew up the following
agreement or compact :
"In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are under written, the loyal
subjects of our dread sovereign, King James, by the Grace of God, of Great
Britain and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c, having undertaken, for
the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith, and the honor of
our King and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern
parts of Virginia, do, by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence
of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together unto a civil
body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the
ends aforesaid ; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such
just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time,
as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony ;
unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.
"In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names, at Cape Cod,
the nth of November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King
James, of England, France and Ireland, the 18th, and of Scotland the 54th,
A. D. 1620."
This compact was signed by every man on board and for ten years it was
the only constitution or organic law of the Plymouth colony. On the day that
it was signed a party of fifteen men, well armed, was set ashore at Long Point
to explore the coast and select a location for the proposed plantation. This was
followed by several similar exploring parties until December n, 1620, when they
landed at Plymouth. A fort and storehouse were built and land was allotted
to the several families. The white man had at last gained a permanent footing in
New England.
THE WESTON COLONY
In July, 1622, Thomas Weston, a merchant of London, sent out two ships —
the "Charity" of 100 tons and the "Swan" of 30 tons, with fifty or sixty men,
to establish a colony. The following month the ships arrived at Plymouth, where
a majority of the men lived at the expense of the Pilgrims while the Swan went
along the coast to seek a suitable location for a settlement. The men were not of
a type to win the confidence and respect of the Pilgrims. A few of them were
honest, but most of them were "rude and profane fellows," and none was fitted
by training or experience to develop a new country.
After a few weeks the Swan returned to Plymouth and reported in favor of
a place called Wessagusset (also written Wessaguscus), about twenty-five miles
north of Plymouth, in what is now the Town of Weymouth, Norfolk County.
In October, after buildings had been erected for the use of those who remained
as colonists, the Charity returned to England, leaving a supply of provisions
sufficient to last the colony through the winter. But they were without a com-
petent leader, inexperienced in the work of building up a settlement in a wilder-
ness, with' no settled habits of industry, and the supply of provisions was soon
26 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
exhausted, after which they applied to their neighbors at Plymouth for assistance.
Finding the people of Plymouth almost as destitute as they were themselves,
they proposed to the Pilgrims to furnish the Swan to visit some of the Indian
villages along the coast and procure a supply of corn. Governor Bradford, with
a few men and the friendly Indian, Squanto, took the vessel and went to a place
called Monamoycke (now Chatham), where he obtained eight hogsheads of corn
and some beans.
Past experience had taught the men of Wessagusset nothing, it seems, for
they soon wasted their share of the corn and beans. Some of them worked for
the Indians to get food, some stole from the natives, and a few actually died of
starvation. In their idleness they incurred the displeasure of Wituwamat, a
minor chief of the Massachusett Indians, who threatened to destroy the colony.
They appealed to the Pilgrims for protection and Miles Standish — the only man
in New England with previous military experience — was sent on March 23, 1623,
with a few men, to settle the difficulty. The Indians also flocked to Wessagusset
and for a little while trouble seemed imminent. Inviting Wituwamat, Pecksuot
and two other Indian leaders into a room, ostensibly for a parley, the door was
closed upon a signal from Standish and the Indians were assaulted. Three of
them were killed in the room and the other one was taken out and hanged. The
death of their leaders demoralized the Indians, who fled, and Standish returned to
Plymouth. A few of Weston's men went with him and the others went on board
the Swan and sailed away.
ROBERT GORGES
In December, 1622, Robert Gorges received from the Plymouth Council a
grant of land in Massachusetts, with "all shores and coasts for ten English miles
in a straight line toward the northeast." In other words, his grant lay north of
the Pilgrims' colony and extended along the coast for ten miles. Robert was
the youngest son of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, and soon after receiving the above
mentioned grant he was appointed lieutenant-general of the country.
In the latter part of August, or early in September, 1623, Robert Gorges,
accompanied by Rev. William Morrell and a number of colonists, some of whom
brought their families, arrived in Massachusetts Bay. After selecting his ten
miles of coast line, to which his grant gave him title, he established his colony
at Wessagusset, where Weston had attempted to plant a settlement the year
before. This was the second permanent colony to be established in Massachu-
setts. It was located within the present limits of Norfolk County, and a more
detailed history of it is given in the chapter on the Town of Weymouth.
THE DORCHESTER COMPANY
Early in 1623 a patent was obtained by Robert Cushman and Edward Wins-
low, "for themselves and associates," to a tract of land on Cape Ann where a
fishing station was established. A little later the Dorchester Company was
organized and a plantation opened, which for the first year was under the man-
agement of John Tilly and Thomas Gardner. They were succeeded by Robert
Conant, who in 1626 removed the plantation to Naumkeag (now Salem), hoping
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 27
"that in following times it might prove a receptacle for such as, upon account
of religious views, would be willing to begin a foreign plantation in this part
of the world."
After the removal of the colony to Naumkeag, the Dorchester Company was
dissolved, and Rev. John White, who has been called "the father of the colony
at Cape Ann," undertook to get a new patent to lands bordering upon Massachu-
setts Bay. In the meantime King James had died and was succeeded in March,
1625, by his son, Charles I, who followed his royal father in political and re-
ligious matters. Through Mr. White's influence, a number of London merchants
subscribed for stock in the enterprise, and, when a sufficient amount of stock
had been subscribed to make a good showing, application was made for a patent.
THE MASSACHUSETTS COMPANY
On March 19, 1628, a patent was granted to Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir John
Young, Thomas Southcote, John Humphrey, John Endicott and Simon Whet-
comb as the Massachusetts Company, embracing "that part of New England
lying between three miles to the north of the Merrimac and three miles to the
south of the Charles River, and of every part thereof in the Massachusetts Bay;
and in the length between the described breadth, from the Atlantic Ocean to the
South Sea."
One of the first acts of the new company was to select John Endicott, "a
Puritan of the sternest mould," to conduct a party of emigrants to the Conant
settlement at Naumkeag "to carry on the plantation of the Dorchester agents
and to make way for the settlement of another colony in the Massachusetts."
Endicott and his family, with about forty or fifty colonists, embarked at Wey-
mouth, England, on the good ship "Abigail" in the latter part of June, 1628, and
on the 6th of September arrived safely at Naumkeag.
In May, 1629, they sent three ships — the "Talbot," 300 tons, Capt. Thomas
Beecher; the "George Bonaventure," 300 tons, Capt. Thomas Coxe ; and the
"Lion's Whelp," 120 tons, master not known, with about two hundred planters
to join the colony under Endicott. They arrived at Naumkeag late in June,
bringing the news that they were soon to be followed by three other ships bring-
ing additional colonists. John Endicott was elected governor, and a council of
thirteen, of which the governor was one, was chosen to control the affairs of
the colony. In June, 1629, a second colony was established under the auspices
of the Massachusetts Company at Charlestown.
TRANSFER OF THE CHARTER
Up to this time the company and the colony had been separate, the former in
England making rules and regulations for the latter in America. Among the
Puritans was a deep-seated idea that those who left England and came to Amer-
ica should be given the privilege to establish such government as they desired —
"to form a new state, as fully to all intents and purposes, as if they had been
in a state of nature and were making their first entrance into cizilized society."
They therefore sought to have the charter transferred to America and finally
succeeded, the transfer being made on August 28, 1629. Prior to the transfer,
28 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Matthew Cradock had been governor of the company and John Endicott of the
colony. By the transfer of the charter the company and the colony were blended
under one governor. John Winthrop was the "first governor chosen by the
freemen of the colony within its limits under the charter after its transfer."
•
AT THE CLOSE OF 163O
During the year 1630 seventeen ships, carrying about fifteen hundred persons,
arrived from the mother country. By the close of that year, just a decade after
the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, at least a dozen settlements had been estab-
lished in Massachusetts, to wit: Plymouth, Wessagusset (now Weymouth),
Watertown, Mount Wollaston, Mattapan (now Dorchester), Salem, Lynn, New
Town (now Cambridge), Charlestown, Noddle's Island (now East Boston),
Roxbury and Shawmut (now Boston). Some of these settlements were situated
within the present borders of Norfolk County, and their history is given in con-
nection with that of the town in which they are located.
CHAPTER V
PIONEER LIFE AND CUSTOMS
CONDITIONS NOW AND THEN — THE FIRST HOUSES — HEAT AND LIGHT — FURNITURE
AND UTENSILS — FOOD AND CLOTHING — MISCELLANEOUS FEATURES OF PIONEER
LIFE.
In these early years of the Twentieth Century the citizen of Norfolk is in the
full enjoyment of the fruits of modern invention and progress. If he desires
to visit another part of the county he can step into his automobile and glide
along over an improved highway almost with the speed of the wind. Should he
not be the fortunate possessor of an automobile, the network of electric railways
is at his service, and for a trifling sum the trolley car will carry him to Boston
or any of the suburban towns. In the event a longer journey is contemplated,
he can take a seat in a railway coach, palatial in its appointments, and be whirled
across the continent behind a powerful steam locomotive, eating his meals and
sleeping comfortably at night on the train. He enters his house after dark, turns
a switch, and the whole place is flooded with electric light. The telephone
enables him to converse with his friends or transact his business without leaving
his office or his residence. He turns a faucet and receives a supply of pure, whole-
some water in any quantity desired. A boy brings the daily newspaper to his
door. His children attend school in a stately edifice, heated by steam during the
winter seasons and equipped with all the modern apparatus for imparting in-
struction. On Sunday he worships in a church with cushioned pews and car-
peted floor, and listens to the jubilant tones of a pipe organ that in many instances
cost thousands of dollars.
But does he ever pause to think of the slow and tedious process by which all
these comforts were developed for him to enjoy? The Puritan forefathers,
when they first came to this region, found none of these things. Instead they
found a wilderness, inhabited only by wild beasts and savage Indians — the
primeval forest untouched by the ax, the soil unbroken by the plowshare. Into
this wild and desolate country they came as exiles, with little capital besides
their industry and determination, and began the work of building up a community
whose foundations should be laid deep and secure in the principles of everlasting
justice.
THE FIRST HOUSES
The first problem that confronted the pioneers was to provide shelter for
themselves and their families. The first dwellings were log cabins, such as the
settlers themselves could construct without the aid of the trained carpenter,
29
30 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
bricklayer or plasterer. The roofs of these cabins were covered with thatch,
and in many instances the only floor was "mother earth." In some of the better
cabins there was a floor of puncheons — that is, slabs of timber split as nearly
the same thickness as possible, the upper surface being smoothed with an adz
after the floor was laid.
A little later came the frame house. Saw mills were not introduced for
several years and the first boards were made with the whip-saw. A "saw-pit"
was excavated somewhere in a convenient hillside, the log to be sawed into
boards was usually hewn on two sides, so that it would rest firmly upon the
timbers over the pit, and on the upper hewn surface lines were struck to show the
thickness of the boards required. The whip-saw was operated by two men — one
standing on the top of the log to guide the saw by the lines, and the other below
in the pit to pull the saw downward. It was a slow method of making lumber,
but many of the first houses in the county were constructed of boards thus
manufactured. Another improvement that came with the frame house was the
shingle roof. The first shingles were rived or cloven with an implement called
a frow, and then shaved thin at the upper end with a draw-knife. Nails and
glass were the most difficult materials to obtain and in some of the houses light
was admitted through oiled paper or a piece of white muslin stretched over a
framework of light sticks. Brick or stone foundations were rare. The house
was usually set on posts or piles and in the fall of the year earth was banked
up around it to form an "underpinning" to keep out the cold. Sometimes the
upper story of a house would project beyond the walls of the first story. This
gave rise to the theory that they were so constructed that the settler might fire
down upon Indians trying to break in at the door, but this is hardly true, when
one considers that houses of that type had been constructed in England for years
before the Puritans came to America.
HEAT AND LIGHT
In the first cabins «n opening was left at one end for the great fireplace,
capable of taking in logs or sticks of wood four or five feet long. The chimney
was built outside the cabin. It was generally of stone, though, where stone was
not convenient, it was sometimes built of sticks and plastered with clay to keep
it from catching fire. When people began to build frame houses, the chimney
was placed in the partition wall, in order that there might be a fireplace in each
of the two principal rooms on the lower floor. In front of the fireplace was a
hearth of stone or baked clay (bricks were used later), and upon this hearth,
extending well back into the fireplace, was a pair of great andirons to support
the blazing logs. Some of these andirons were "curiously wrought and highly
ornamental." Here and there a pair has been preserved by some historical society
or collector of curios, but many people of the present generation probably never
saw an andiron and know nothing of the pleasures of an open fire.
For light of evenings the first settlers depended upon pine knots. Then came
the "betty lamp," a round, shallow metal dish with a nose or spout about an inch
long on one side. The dish was partially filled with oil or grease of some kind,
into which was placed a loosely twisted strip of cotton cloth, one end of which
projected through the spout. The projecting end was then lighted, and although
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 31
such a lamp emitted both smoke and odor, it gave sufficient light to enable the
housewife to attend to her duties. Over the fireplace and the table were hooks,
from which the lamp could be suspended.
Another lamp, called the "phebe/' differed from the betty lamp only in that
it was made with two dishes, the larger one being placed underneath to catch the
ashes from the burning wick and the drippings of grease. Lamps of this char-
acter required a great deal of attention, as the wick had to be pushed forward as
often as it burned down to the edge of the spout.
A little later came the sperm oil lamp. It was made of tin and burned a round
wick, which passed through a small tube to the oil. In one side of the tube was
a narrow slot, in which could be inserted a pin, needle or small wire to pull up
the wick when the flame began to burn low. This lamp was regarded as a great
improvement over the betty and phebe lamps.
Next came the tallow dip, which was made as follows : Several soft cotton
wicks, about six inches long, were fastened at one end to a slender wand, then
dipped into a kettle of molten tallow and hung up over a pan until the tallow
adhering to the wick became hardened. Again and again the "dips" were im-
mersed in hot tallow, a little more of which was added each time, until enough
had accumulated to form a fair sized candle.
Then some genius invented the candle-moulds — a group of four, six, or even
more, tin tubes, one end of which was slightly smaller than the other, soldered
together in a frame. A wick was drawn through the center of each tube and
the moulds were then filled with molten tallow. When the tallow hardened the
candles were withdrawn. Often there was but one set of candle-moulds in a
neighborhood, but the owner was nearly always generous enough to lend them,
and they passed from house to house until all had a supply of candles laid away
in a cool, dry place for future use.
Lanterns were sometimes made of horn, scraped thin enough to emit a faint
light from the candle that was being placed inside. Others were made of per-
forated tin, the holes being small enough to prevent the wind from blowing out
the candle, yet large enough to throw out a tiny ray of light. Such a lantern
made everything look "as spotted as a leopard."
Matches were unknown in those days and every family kept a "tinder box"
filled with scorched cotton rags. Into this "tinder" a spark was struck with flint
and steel. The dry tinder was easily ignited and with a little care and skill could
be coaxed into a flame. Then a betty lamp or a candle was lighted, when the
box was closed and the tinder smothered until it was again needed.
FURNITURE AND UTENSILS
Bedsteads brought from England, or made by the first cabinet makers in this
country, contained three or four times as much timber as the factory made bed-
steads of more modern times. The posts were often four or even six inches
square, turned in ornamental designs, and reached almost to the ceiling. There
were neither slats, springs nor mattresses, such as are in use today. Cords were
drawn tightly around small pins or through holes in the rails, which were almost
as large as the posts. L T pon this network of cords was placed the "straw-tick,"
on the top of which was the feather bed. Between the posts at either end were
32 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
the head and foot boards, frequently ornately carved or scrolled along the upper
edge. In the better class of homes a canopy was fastened to the tops of the
posts, and from the edge of this canopy curtains extended almost to the floor.
Then there was the '"trundle bed," a miniature of the great "four poster"
as to the manner of construction, though much smaller in its dimensions. It was
occupied by the children at night and during the day was pushed back under
the larger bed to economize space.
Tables and chairs were as massive in proportion as the bedsteads. Some of
the chairs of colonial days, notably those of Governor Carver and John Eliot, the
Indian apostle, have become historic. In the rooms of the Dedham Historical
Society is preserved a chair once owned by Michael Metcalf, also Mr. Metcalf's
chest, which he brought with him to Dedham in 1637. Both chair and chest
are richly carved and so solidly put together that they have withstood the
ravages of three centuries.
The more opulent of the pioneers ascertained the time by a "grandfather's"
or "wall-sweeper" clock. These clocks were about six feet tall, with wooden
wheels, and the cases were many times works oi art. The weights of the
clock were cylinders of tin filled with fine sand. If the clock ran too slow more
sand was added to give greater impetus to the movement, and if it ran too fast
some of the sand was taken out. Those who were not able to afford a clock
depended upon a sun dial, or at least a "noon mark" on the sill of one of the
south windows of the house.
Cooking stoves and ranges had not then made their appearance and the meals
were all prepared at the fireplace. The principal cooking utensils were an iron
tea-kettle, a long-handled skillet (sometimes called a spider), and a large iron
pot. Fastened to one of the walls of the fireplace was a crane, upon which the
pot could be suspended over the fire. Excellent bread was often baked in the
spider, by placing it over a bed of hot coals and then heaping more coals on the
iron lid, so that the bread would bake at both top and bottom. The large pot
was used in the preparation of the "New England boiled dinner," which con-
sisted of meat and several kinds of vegetables cooked together.
Many of the vessels and dishes — bowls, plates and spoons — were made of
wood. When porcelain or earthenware dishes first came into use, many objected
to them because they dulled the knives. There were also pewter porringers,
teapots, etc.
Farm implements were of the most primitive "type. Plows with wooden mold-
boards, harrows wtih wooden teeth, rakes and pitchforks made of wood were
in common use throughout the colony. Wheat was harvested with the old sickle,
or "reaping hook," and threshed with the flail. Corn and wheat were ground in
hand mills brought from England until some one with a little capital and enter-
prise built a dam and mill on one of the streams. Settlers often went thirty
or forty miles to such a mill rather than operate the old hand mill.
FOOD AND CLOTHING
Not many dainties could have been found upon the tables of the early set-
tlers. Their food was plain but wholesome — beef, pork, cornbread and beans.
The early mills did not bolt the meal and it was run through a sieve to separate
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 33
the bran from the part intended for use. Game was plentiful and the family fre-
quently enjoyed a feast of wild turkey or venison. Potatoes were not introduced
until the early part of the Eighteenth Century. When they began to come into
use many people thought they were poisonous. If any were left at the close
of the winter they were carefully buried for fear some horse or cow might
eat them and be killed. A story has been told of one man, who, when he saw
the first potato, bit into it raw and then remarked that it "might be all right
if allowed to stay in the ground until ripened by the frost." In some of the towns
there was a by-law that no cakes, buns, or similar pastries should be served
except at funerals and weddings.
The first orchards were planted with seeds brought from the mother country.
When they were old enough to bear fruit a stock of apple butter was prepared
in the fall for use during the winter. Cider filtered through fine sand was also
put in jugs and stored until such time as it might be needed.
Everybody wore homespun clothing — woolen goods in the winter and linen
in the summer. Each family had its flax-brake and hackle, and in the long winter
'evenings the housewife, after her regular day's work was done, would get out
her spinning wheel and spin flax until time to retire. Woolen yarn was spun
on a larger wheel, the operator walking back and forth as the thread was drawn
out and then wound up on the spindle. Cloth was woven on the old hand loom,
garments were cut and sewed by hand with the needle, and there was probably
not a lass sixteen years of age in the Massachusetts Bay colony who was not able
to make her own dresses, or to operate a spinning wheel. How many of the
young ladies who graduated in the Norfolk County high schools in 1917 can
make their own gowns?
In every settlement there was a tanyard, to which the farmer took his hides
to be converted into leather. The shoemaker, or "cordwainer," did not have a
fixed place of business. Each year he made his itinerary, stopping with each
of his customers and boarding with the family while he made up a supply of
shoes for the several members of the household. For his services he received
about sixty cents a pair.
MISCELLANEOUS FEATURES
One of the first things to be done in a new settlement was to erect a stockade
for protection in case of an Indian outbreak. For many years a sentinel was
kept constantly on guard against the Indians. The signal was the beating of a
drum, three shots fired from a musket, a beacon fire at night, or the firing of a
cannon, if the town possessed one. Any one of these signals would cause mes-
sengers to hurry to the outlying houses and warn the inmates.
Nearly every house was surrounded by old-fashioned flowers, such as holly-
hocks, marigolds, larkspur, bouncing betty, sun flowers and honeysuckle, and
in the gardens were cultivated a variety of plants "for physick." Thyme, sage,
wormwood, spearmint, pennyroyal, tansy and various other herbs were carefully
garnered against a day of sickness, for the nearest physician was often miles away.
Books were scarce and the few that found their way into a new colony were
read and reread until their contents were almost known by heart. Every family
had the Bible, the Catechism, Watts' Hymns and an Almanack, which consti-
34 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
tuted the principal portion of the library. As late as the middle of the Eighteenth
Century there was but one newspaper in all New England, and it had only a
small circulation. Pamphlets by such men as Franklin, Adams, Jefferson and
Paine, treating on the political situation, were printed and circulated among the
people, which helped the cause of independence.
Late in the fall of the year the Indians burned the grass and underbrush in
certain tracts of woodland to drive out the game. After the white men came
the cattle belonging to them would be gathered into a common herd and pas-
tured in these burnt woods, or wherever there was a sufficient quantity of grass.
These places were called "herd walks," and the common herd was in charge of
a "herdsman."
Although the forefathers were believers in temperance, West India or Ja-
maica rum was used freely on all occasions, such as the dedication of meeting
houses, funerals, in harvest time, or when the pastor visited the family, and
instances are recorded where parish meetings "adjourned to the nearest inn,"
where liquors were served. Yet an intoxicated person was rarely seen.
Travel in early days was chiefly on horseback, as no highways were opened
for the accommodation of vehicles. In front of nearly every house, at the church,
and before the stores in the villages were "horse-blocks," from which one could
easily mount to the saddle.
A popular superstition was that if one ate of pancakes made of rye flour
on Candlemas Day he would not want for money during the year. Consequently
on that day rye pancakes were served at least at one meal in nearly every
household.
Wolves and wildcats infested the woods and annoyed the settlers at night
with their howls and cries. The story of Little Red Riding Hood had never been
told to the children of that period, but many a night the little ones cuddled more
closely together in their trundle bed and shuddered with fear as the howl of a
wolf was heard near the frontier dwelling. But worse than the annoyance of
their howls were the depredations of these prowling beasts upon the pig-sty and
the sheep-fold. Bounties for wolf scalps in Norfolk County ran as high at one
time as. two pounds.
CHAPTER VI
ORGANIZATION OF NORFOLK COUNTY
FIRST COUNTIES IN NEW ENGLAND OLD NORFOLK COUNTY — DIVISION OF SUFFOLK —
THE SECOND PETITION A THIRD EFFORT THE FOURTH PETITION — THE FIFTH
PETITION — THE SIXTH PETITION — A LONG DELAY — UNDER THE CONSTITUTION —
SUCCESS AT LAST — LOCATING THE COUNTY SEAT.
In the settlement of New England, especially in Massachusetts, townships or
towns were established before the counties, and for a score of years the town-
ship formed the unit of political action on all questions of public policy. In
1642 the people of New Hampshire voluntarily united with Massachusetts, and on
May 10, 1643, th e whole territory was divided into four counties — Essex, Middle-
sex, Norfolk and Suffolk. These were the first New England counties.
OLD NORFOLK COUNTY
The County of Norfolk established in 1643, and which has since become known
as "Old Norfolk County," embraced the towns of Dover, Exeter, Hampton,
Haverhill, Salisbury and Strawberry Bank (now Portsmouth), all lying north
of the Merrimac River. The Town of Amesbury was afterward erected and
added to the county. In 1679 New Hampshire was made a royal province, taking
four of the towns from Norfolk County, and on February 4, 1680, the General
Court of Massachusetts issued the following order:
"This Court being sensible of the great inconvenience and charge that it will
be to Salisbury, Haverhill and Amesbury to continue their County Court, now
some of the towns of Norfolk County are taken off, and considering that these
towns did formerly belong to Essex County, and attended at Essex courts, do
order that these towns that are left be again joined to Essex and attend public
business at the Essex courts, there to implead and be impleaded, as occasion
shall be ; their records of lands being still to be kept in some one of their own
towns on the north of the Merrimack, and all persons according to course of law
are to attend in Essex County."
By this order "Old Norfolk County," established in 1643, passed out of
existence, and the name was not revived until more than a century later, when
the present Norfolk County was erected. The territory comprising the Norfolk
County of the present day was included in the County of Suffolk in 1643, and
remained a part of that county for one hundred and fifty years.
DIVISION OF SUFFOLK
The first movement for a division of Suffolk County was made early in
May, 1726, when "A memorial of divers persons, representatives of ye country
35
36 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
towns within the County of Suffolk, praying that said towns be set apart by
themselves and made a distinct county, was read in the House of Representatives
of the Province," etc. (See State Archives, Court Records, vol. 13, p. 225.)
The memorial at that time presented, and in which seven towns joined, set
forth the following reasons for the establishment of a new county:
"First — The hardships on the country jurymen attending a week or a fort-
night together to causes they know little of by reasons of their ignorance of
affairs of trade and merchandise. The allowance for the actions they try does
not defray the charge of their attendance. The hardship to the parties who have
actions in the courts that they are obliged to attend until the Boston cases are
tried.
"'Second — The vast business of the Sessions and Common Pleas coming
together prolongs the court, and not about eight country causes in one hundred
actions.
"Third — If the country towns were a distinct county, it is probable that four
days in the year would be sufficient for the dispatch of their business, and the
juries would be concerned only in titles of land.
"Fourth — The country towns are at great charge in maintaining the Boston
prison.
"Fifth — The greater number of justices of the county live in Boston, and so
cannot be presumed to be knowing in country affairs.
"Sixth — It is observable that the country people are at great charge in trav-
elling to Boston for probate of wills, etc."
After this memorial was read in the house, it was ordered that the Town of
Boston be served with a copy thereof, "That they may show cause (if any they
have), on or before Thursday, the ninth day of June next, why the Prayer of
the petitioners shall not be granted."
On May 25, 1726, the selectmen of Boston — John Baker, Nathaniel Green,
Henry Dering and Timothy Prout — sent in a partial reply and asked for further
time in which to prepare a full answer. They were granted until the following
November. On November 26, 1726, the reply of the town, which had been pre-
pared by the selectmen "with much skill and dexterity," was read in the House
of Representatives. On the 30th the House voted in favor of granting the peti-
tion, but the next day the Council refused to concur. Thus the project to establish
a new county was defeated.
THE SECOND PETITION
Another petition asking for a division of Suffolk County came before the
House of Representatives on June 19, 1727. It was signed by W. Dudley, John
Chandler, Joseph Write, Thomas Tileston, Jonathan Ware, Joseph Ellis, Samuel
W T hite, John Morse and John Brown, "in behalfe of ye Inhabitants." They also
asked, in the event a new county was impracticable, "That the Inferior Court
of Common Pleas and the Court of General Sessions of the Peace may be
removed into the country part of Suffolk County, one to Braintree and the other
to Medfield or Dedham."
No action was taken upon this petition by the General Court until the 26th
of the following December, when the House of Representatives granted the
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 37
petitioners power and instructed them "to bring in a bill for constituting the
country towns into a separate county," but the Council refused to concur. The
following month the House of Representatives voted "That two of the Courts
of General Sessions of the Peace and Superior Court of Common Pleas be kept
as follows, viz., one at Braintree and the other at Dedham." Once more the
Council nonconcurred, thereby manifesting a disposition to grant no favors
whatever to the country towns.
In this connection it may not be amiss to offer a word of explanation regard-
ing the attitude of the Council on the question of establishing a new county.
Under the charter of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, the General Court
was composed of the Governor, appointed by the King, the Council and the House
of Representatives. The Council was at first appointed by the King, but the
members of the House of Representatives were elected by the qualified voters
in the respective towns. After the Court was established, the members of the
Council were elected annually by joint ballot of the two branches of the Court.
The councilmen, twenty-eight in number, were generally able to secure their
reelection, and having first been placed in office by royal favor, they did not recog-
nize any obligations to the people. Their refusal to recognize such obligations,
or to show the common people any favors, added to the general discontent that
culminated in the Revolution some years later.
A THIRD EFFORT
On October 2, 1730, the towns of Abington, Braintree, Hanover, Hingham,
Hull, Scituate and Weymouth presented a petition asking that they be organized
into a separate county. Evidently this movement was not regarded with favor
by either branch of the General Court. It was laid over until the next session
and on April 7, 1731, was dismissed without further consideration or ceremony.
THE FOURTH PETITION
The next request for the establishment of a new county came from the towns
of Bellingham, Dedham, Framingham, Holliston, Medfield, Medway, Sherborn,
Walpole and Wrentham in the form of a petition which was presented to the
General Court on June 8, 1733. The petition respectfully asked "That said towns,
and any other town adjacent, which the General Court shall think fit to join
within the counties of Suffolk and Middlesex, may be erected into a separate
county." The petition was referred to the next sitting of the Court, and there
the matter appears to have ended, as no further record can be found.
THE FIFTH PETITION
In the House of Representatives, on June 19, 1735, was presented another
petition "of divers towns in the County of Suffolk, praying that the county towns
be set off from Boston." This petition was received and referred to the next
sitting of the General Court, when Boston offered a lengthy argument, giving
various reasons why the County of Suffolk should not be divided. One of these
reasons w y as as follows:
38 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
"The more we are united, the more our judges, by the recompense now allowed
them, will be able to study the law and furnish themselves still further with
power agreeable to their place and duty. . . . The bigger our counties are,
the more contracted will the business be, the fees and profits of the judges shared
among the fewer, and the more business despatched in less time, and that con-
tinued without interruption and wasteful vacancies interposed."
The House of Representatives refused to be converted by this argument
and on January 2, 1736, passed a bill granting the prayer of the petitioners
and authorizing the establishment of a new county. Again the Council noncon-
curred and the question lay dormant for about two years. On January 10, 1738,
a bill providing for the formation of a new county by the division of Suffolk
reached the third reading in the House of Representatives and was ordered to
be engrossed. It was then sent to the Council, where it was "indefinitely post-
poned."
THE SIXTH PETITION
On December 30, 1740, a petition signed by a large number of the citizens
of Braintree, Dedham. Dorchester, Hingham, Medfield, Milton, Needham, Rox-
bury, Stoughton and Wrentham came before the General Court, asking for a
division of Suffolk County ; that the towns above named be erected into a new
county ; and that Boston and Chelsea be made a separate County. The House
of Representatives voted in favor of granting the petition, and, to the great
astonishment of the petitioners, this time the Council concurred.
At last it looked as though the country towns were to be successful in their
efforts to secure a division of Suffolk County. But the truth of the old adage,
"There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip," was never better verified than
in the fate of the petition. On January 9, 1741, a bill carrying out the intent of
the petition was passed by the House of Representatives and sent to the Council.
There it was read once, when further action was "indefinitely postponed," and
again the movement to establish a new county met defeat.
A LONG DELAY
Discouraged by repeated rebuffs, the people of the country towns allowed
several years to pass before making another effort to secure the division of
Suffolk County. In 1760 a petition was circulated in some of the towns, but it
did not meet with a hearty support and the attempt was abandoned.
Again in 1775 it was voted in some of the towns to present another petition
to the General Court asking for a division of Suffolk County. Efforts were made
to secure signers to such a petition, which was drawn in the names of all the
towns in the county, except Boston and Chelsea, praying for the establishment
of a new county to be called Hancock. A number of signers had been obtained
when the battle of Lexington occurred, the war overshadowed everything else, and
all thoughts of the new county were postponed until the restoration of peace.
UNDER THE CONSTITUTION
Nothing further in the matter of the division of Suffolk County was under-
taken until after the adoption of the Massachusetts State Constitution on June
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 39
15, 1780. Under that constitution the first General Court was convened in Boston
on October 25, 1780. A short time before the meeting of the Court, a number
of towns in the county elected delegates to a convention to decide upon some
policy relative to the division of the county. The convention met at Timothy
Gay's tavern in Dedham, December 12, 1780, and adopted a resolution to the
effect "That the towns of Bellingham, Dedham, Foxborough, Franklin, Medfield,
Medway, Needham, Stoughton, Stoughtonham, Walpole and Wrentham, with
Holliston, Hopkinton, Natick and Sherborn, in the County of Middlesex, ought
to be formed into a new county, with Medfield as the shire town."
A petition in harmony with the spirit of this resolution was circulated and
was signed by a large number of the citizens in the various towns. It was
presented to the House of Representatives on April 28, 1781, where it was read
and referred to a committee. When the bill passed by the house came before
the senate it was amended, and in the amended form failed to become a law.
On September 29, 1783, a petition from Dedham and other towns was read
for the first time in the House of Representatives. Just how this petition was
finally disposed of is not clear. It was referred to a committee in the house
and sent to the senate for concurrence. On October 20, 1783, the senate voted
to concur in the action of the house, but no new county was established.
The next move for the division of Suffolk County came on January 31, 1784,
when a petition signed by Daniel Gay and others came before the senate. This
petition was presented "in behalf of Dedham and certain other towns in the
counties of Suffolk and Middlesex,'' asking for the erection of a new county.
The senate ordered that notice of said petition be given to all the towns in said
counties, and the house concurred with an amendment, which the senate accepted.
In May, 1784, a town meeting was held in Dedham, at which it was voted
to appoint a committee to confer with the other towns in the County of Suffolk
as to the expediency of dividing the county. The meeting also decided "That our
representative be instructed to use his influence to secure delay on the petition
for dividing the county until the sentiment of said towns can be known." Later
in the month, at another meeting, it was voted to instruct the representative "to
use his influence to oppose the granting of the prayer of the petition now before
the General Court for dividing the County of Suffolk."
The action of the Dedham town meetings seems to have been effective in
defeating the purpose of the Gay petition and preventing a division of the county
for the time being. But in 1786 Dedham instructed its representative "to endeavor
a division of the county whereby we may be separate from Boston, and in support
of the motion you are to offer the following arguments, and such others as your
ingenuity may suggest."
Then follows in detail a series of reasons for the division of the county, one
of which was : "Should courts of justice be erected -in some country town within
the county, w r e expect (at least for awhile) that the wheels of law and justice
would move on without the clogs and embarrassments of a numerous train of
lawyers. The scenes of gaiety and amusements which are more prevalent at
Boston we expect would so allure them, as that we should be rid of their perplex-
ing officiousness."
Apparently the people of that period believed the average lawyer to be a
pleasure-loving individual who cared more for "gaiety and amusement" than for
40 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
the serious business of his profession. Although the instructions to the Dedham
representative were full and complete, he failed at this time to secure the desired
division of Suffolk County, and the subject was permitted to rest for another five
years.
On February 25, 1791, the petition of Moses Fuller and others, asking for the
division of Suffolk County, was read in the House of Representatives. A few
davs later it was referred to a joint committee and notices sent to all the towns
of the county. Remonstrances came in from Boston, Brookline, Hingham and
Roxbury, but the joint committee recommended a bill for the establishment of
the new county asked for by the petitioners. The report of the committee was
accepted by the house on February 24, 1792, by a vote of 72 to 40, but on March
8th the senate voted not to concur.
SUCCESS AT LAST
Encouraged by the action of the General Court on the Fuller petition, the
advocates of county division girded on their armor for the final fray. As the
project was defeated in the senate, an anonymous letter was sent to all the towns
suggesting that a contest be made for the election of senators who would favor
the establishment of a new county. Suffolk County at that time had six senators.
The election was to be held on the first Monday in April, 1792. Less than a
month remained in which to make a campaign, but a man from each of the thir-
teen towns that had been advocating division (except Bellingham, Braintree and
Medway) met at the house of John Ellis, in Dedham, and assumed authority to
nominate a senatorial ticket.
Prior to this meeting, however, what was known as the "Boston Ticket" had
already been named. The candidates on this ticket were : Thomas Dawes,
Benjamin Austin, Oliver Wendell and James Bowdoin, of Boston ; William Heath,
of Roxbury ; and Stephen Metcalf, of Bellingham, all of whom were supposed to
be opposed to the division of Suffolk County.
The meeting at Ellis' nominated Stephen Metcalf, Lemuel Kollock, John
Everett, Seth Bullard, Elijah Dunbar and Gen. Ebenezer Thayer, Jr. Dr.
Nathaniel Ames, in an account of the affair, says: "But their meeting was so
public, made such a bustle, and was so indiscreetly managed, that the idlers about
the house talked openly of their business of choosing senators, so that it will be
in the newspapers and the whole design defeated, as secrecy was the only founda-
tion to build on."
Stephen Metcalf, being on both tickets, was elected without question. At the
opening of the General Court the senate and house, in joint convention, elected
all the remaining candidates on the "Boston Ticket" except James Bowdoin, for
whom General Thayer was substituted.
But the "tempest in a teapot" over the election of senators had its effect. On
June 12, 1792, the House of Representatives took up the Moses Fuller petition
and referred it to a committee, with instructions to report as to the advisability
of dividing Suffolk County. Nothing further was done until February 8, 1793,
when a joint committee recommended the passage of a bill in accordance with
the prayer of the petitioners. The bill was accordingly introduced, passed both
house and senate on March 22, 1793, and was approved by Gov. John Hancock
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 41
on the 26th. It provided that "All the territory of the County of Suffolk, not
comprehended within the towns of Boston and Chelsea, from and after the 20th
day of June next, be and hereby is formed and erected into a distinct county, by
the name of Norfolk, and Dedham shall be the shire town till otherwise ordered
by the General Court."
Before the day came for the act to take effect, the towns of Hingham and
Hull sent petitions to the General Court asking to be allowed to remain a part of
Suffolk County, and on June 20, 1793, an act was passed repealing that part of
the act of March 26th relating to those two towns.
As originally erected, the County of Norfolk consisted of twenty-one towns, to
wit : Bellingham, Braintree, Brookline, Cohasset, Dedham, Dorchester, District
of Dover, Foxborough, Franklin, Medfield, Medway, Milton, Needham, Quincy,
Randolph, Roxbury, Sharon, Stoughton, Walpole, Weymouth and Wrentham.
It is not certain who is responsible for the county's name. In the bill a space
was left and the name "Norfolk" was inserted just before the final passage of
the measure. Geographically, the name is inappropriate. As the first settlers of
Massachusetts were English people, it was natural that they should adopt many
of the names of their native land. In the eastern part of England, on the shores
of the North Sea, there are two counties called Norfolk and Suffolk. The inhabi-
tants of the northern county were originally known as the "North Folk," and
those of the southern were called the "South Folk." In time the names were
shortened to Nor' Folk and Sou' Folk, and the counties became known as Nor-
folkshire and Suffolkshire. It is related that not long after Norfolk County,
Massachusetts, was organized, John Randolph of Virginia walked up to John
Quincy Adams in the national House of Representatives, of which both were then
members, and said: "Look here, Quincy, how is this? You live in Norfolk
County ; now what the devil do you people in Massachusetts mean by setting off
Norfolk County and putting it south of Suffolk County?"
LOCATING THE COUNTY SEAT
When it came to locating the county seat, or shire town, opinion was divided.
Braintree, Dedham, Medfield, Milton and Roxbury were all mentioned for the
honor, but none of them was satisfactory in every respect. The people of Medfield
destroyed the aspirations of that town by declaring that "The practice of visiting
the court room during the trial of cases would be prejudicial to habits of industry
in the citizens."
On February 8, 1776, seventeen years before Norfolk County was established,
the General Court passed the following act : "Whereas, Boston is now made a
garrison for the ministerial army and become a common receptacle for the enemies
of America, it is enacted that Dedham shall be made the shire town of the County
of Suffolk for the future."
Dedham remained the shire town of Suffolk until after the evacuation of
Boston by the British army, when the seat of justice was taken back to Boston.
But the town having once been thus honored by the General Count seems to have
given it some advantage in the contest, and it was declared to be the shire town
"till otherwise ordered by the General Court." As that body has never seen fit
to order otherwise, Dedham remains the shire town to the present day.
CHAPTER VII
PUBLIC BUILDINGS OF NORFOLK COUNTY
THE FIRST COURT-HOUSE — THE SECOND COURT-HOUSE — FATE OF THE OLD COURT-
HOUSE — COURT-HOUSE OF l86l — THE PRESENT COURT-HOUSE — THE DEDICATION
— COURT-HOUSE AT QUINCY — THE COUNTY JAIL — THE REGISTRY BUILDING — ■
VALUE OF COUNTY BUILDINGS.
One of the first necessities of a new county is a suitable building in which to
hold the sessions of the courts and transact the county business. The first step
toward the erection of a court-house in Norfolk County was taken on January 7,
1794, when the Court of General Sessions of the Peace, then in session "in the
meeting house at Dedham," on account of cold weather "to adjourn to the Sign of
the Law Book" (the Ames Tavern). This brought up the subject of the court-
house, and Thomas Crane, of Canton ; Stephen Penniman.of Braintree ; and Joseph
Guild, of Dedham, were appointed a committee "to look for a proper spot of
ground and report on what terms the County of Norfolk can be accommodated
for their public buildings."
At a subsequent meeting of the court, the committee reported that the Episco-
pal Church in Dedham offered the house of worship "and the land lying common
adjoining," but reserved the right "to worship therein on the Sabbath until such
time as they can build another church." This resulted in the appointment of
another committee, consisting of Joseph Guild, Dr. Nathaniel Ames and Elijah
Adams, to solicit funds to provide the county with a public building. Anticipating
that some of the citizens might prefer a new court-house to the old church, the
committee was given a twofold authority : First, to raise funds to repair and
remodel the church building, and second, to raise funds to build a court-house on
the First Church land, near the Episcopal Church.
On June 30, 1794, the First Church of Christ in Dedham made a voluntary
grant to the County of Norfolk of "the northeast corner of their lot, near the
meeting house of the First Parish of said Dedham, for the situation of their
court-house, together with as many suitable trees to be marked by the trustees
of said church, as will be sufficient for making all the joists for the proposed
court-house on said corner, as a gift to the county," etc.
At the same session of the court the committee appointed to solicit subscrip-
tions for repairing the Episcopal Church or building a court-house reported that
it had been unable to raise funds for either project. The court then ordered that
the offer of the First Church be accepted and that the court-house be built upon
the ground thus donated. In the estimates of public expenditures for the year
was included the item of six hundred pounds for a court-house. Joseph Guild,
42
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 43
Thomas Crane, Stephen Badlam, James Endicott and Stephen Penniman were
appointed a committee to receive conveyance of the land, and "proceed to con-
tract for and make provision of necessary materials for said court-house, as soon
as may be ; that they contract for the frame of said court-house on the most
prudent terms for said county, of good timber, well wrought in a workmanlike
manner — sills about 35 by 45 (or 50) feet, more or less, as near consistent with
due proportion, according to a plan to be obtained from Mr. Bulfinch, of Boston,
and other good architects, and approved by the court at their adjournment; and
that they proceed to contract by the job with such persons as they, after they
have advertised and received proposals of as great a number as will offer in
reasonable time prefixed, shall judge and select as for the best interest of said
county at large, to perform each a different part of said court-house in a work-
manlike manner, according to a plan approved as aforesaid, and that said con-
tracts be made in writing sufficiently secured."
On August 17, 1794, the Court of General Sessions voted to accept a plan —
or rather a wooden model — of a court-house submitted by Isaac and Samuel
Doggett, contractors of Dedham, which was presented by the committee. The
contract for the erection of the building was awarded to Isaac and Samuel
Doggett, and on October 28, 1794, the court, then in session in Gay's Hall,
ordered : "That the court-house be erected with one end north, fronting the
meeting house, the other end south, and that the committee on buildings so far
deviate from the plan of the court-house first adopted as to make it nearly con-
formable with the plan of the Salem Court-House within, with a door at each
end without."
The following spring the court made another addition to the original plan.
On May 14, 1795, it was ordered: "That Thomas Crane, Hon. James Endicott
and Stephen Penniman, Esq., be a committee to proceed with as great economy
as may be for the county, and, by complete workmen, so far finish the court
chamber that the Supreme Court may hold its next session for this county therein
by the 15th of August next; and that they apply to Mr. Bulfinch, architect in
Boston, for a plan of a decent cupola, or turret, to such court-house, agreeable
to the rules of architecture for a building of such site, use and magnitude, and
proceed in stoning, clapboarding and painting the outside, with such cupola com-
plete, and that said committee shall be held responsible for the goodness of work-
manship and materials aforesaid."
Another order of the same date was to the clerk "to draw orders on the
treasury in favor of sai'd committee for sums not exceeding the amount of three
hundred pounds, to be advanced to them as they have occasion to purchase for
executing the trust in them."
Just when the "last nail was driven" is not certain, but on April 26, 1796, the
Court of General Sessions allotted the rooms in the court-house to the several
county officers and courts. The building was two stories high, 36 by 50 feet, with
a hall eight feet wide running through the center. The exterior was colonial in
style, the corners ornamented with quoins and the roof surmounted by a cupola.
The interior was finished with paneled wainscoting. The cost of the building
cannot be ascertained. It served Norfolk County for about thirty years, when
it was replaced by the
44 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
SECOND COURT-HOUSE
About 1820 some of the lawyers practicing in the Norfolk County courts, and
others, realized that the county had outgrown its court-house and began an agita-
tion for a new one. It was urged that the old house was too small for the proper
transaction of public business; that, being entirely of wood, it was not a safe
place for the public records, and that it was an "undesirable incumbrance upon
the church green." Parties interested in litigation soon saw that courts were
handicapped by the antiquated appointments of the old house, and the movement
in favor of a new court-house gathered momentum as it went along.
On December 26, 1821, the Court of General Sessions appointed as a com-
mittee Edward H. Robbins, of Milton; Elijah Crane, of Canton; Ebenezer Seaver,
of Roxbury ; Thomas Greenleaf, of Ouincy; and John Bates, of Bellingham,
''to take into consideration, among other things, the subject of erecting a fire-
proof building for the safe keeping of the records of the county." The committee
reported on July 2, 1822, that the members thereof were "unanimously of the
opinion that the duty of erecting a fire-proof building for the safe keeping of the
records of the county, pursuant to law, is imperious, and that the same should
be made of convenient size and construction as soon as practicable."
The committee also reported that two sites had been offered as a site for the
new structure, and recommended that one of them be selected. One was an acre
of ground adjoining the jail lot, which was offered by John Bullard, and the
other was a tract of land belonging to the heirs of Fisher Ames "embracing the
whole northeast end of their lot, from Hartford Road to Cross Street, so far as
the extreme southeast side of the Mansion House." The Hartford Road is now
High Street and the name of Cross Street has been changed to Norfolk. Mr.
Milliard asked $800 for his lot and the Ames heirs wanted $1,200 for theirs. The
latter was selected by the Court of Sessions and on May 4, 1824, Mrs. Frances
Ames executed a deed conveying to Norfolk County "a parcel of land containing
about one acre and a half, lying in front of her dwelling-house in Dedham, on the
opposite side of the road, as a site on which it is contemplated to erect a court-
house."
The land thus conveyed to the county is the site of the present court-house, and
the Court of Sessions agreed that no buildings should ever be erected upon the
same except those for county purposes. On the day the deed was executed, the
Court of Sessions ordered John Bullard, then treasurer of Norfolk County, to
give a note, as treasurer of the county, to Mrs. Ames for $1,000, payable in five
annual instalments of $200 each, with interest, "said note being the consideration
for a parcel of land conveyed by her to said county," etc.
Solomon Willard, then a resident of Ouincy, was commissioned to prepare
plans for a new court-house, and on November 4, 1824, the Court of Sessions
ordered Treasurer Bullard to sign and execute contracts with the firm of Damon
& Hates for the erection of the building, which was to be 48 by 98 feet, two
stories in height, modeled in the form of "an ancient Grecian temple, with columns
at both ends." The cost of the court-house and the ground upon which it was to
be built was provided for by a levy of about three thousand dollars a year until
the whole expense of about thirty thousand dollars was paid.
On Monday, July 4, 1825, the corner-stone was laid according to the ceremony
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 45
of the Masonic fraternity. The day being the anniversary of the signing of the
Declaration of Independence, a number of militia companies participated in the
ceremonies by forming at the Masonic Hall and escorting the Grand Lodge
"through a triumphal arch to the site of the new court-house." Under the corner-
stone was placed a silver plate, bearing the following inscription, engraved by
Hazen Morse :
"The corner-stone of this court-house was laid with Masonic ceremonies
by R. W. Thomas Tolman, Esq., acting as grand master, assisted by Constella-
tion Lodge at Dedham, and other lodges of Free and Accepted Masons in the
County of Norfolk, July 4, Anno Lucis 5825, and 49 years since the Declaration
of American Independence. Norfolk County established June 20th, A. D. 1793.
Building Committee : Hon. Jairus Ware, Daniel Adams, Samuel P. Loud, Judges
of the Court of Sessions; Elijah Crane, sheriff; John B. Bates, master mason;
Isaac Damon, master carpenter; M. W. and Hon. John Abbot, grand master;
M. E. and Rev. Paul Deane, grand high priest ; John Ouincy Adams, President
of the United States ; Levi Lincoln, Governor of Massachusetts."
Deposited with this plate were, among other things, a small beaver hat of
the then prevailing fashion, made by Timothy Phelps of Dedham, the newspapers
of the day, Daniel Webster's address, with an account of the battle of Bunker
Hill, and specimens of marbled paper manufactured by Herman Mann & Sons
of Dedham.
This second court-house in Norfolk County was 48 by 98 feet, two stories
in height, with a projection of ten feet at each end resting upon four Doric
pillars, three feet and ten inches in diameter at the base and nearly twenty-one
feet high. The granite in the walls came from a quarry about eight miles west
of Dedham. It was dedicated on February 20, 1827, by Chief Justice Isaac
Parker, of the Supreme Judicial Court. In his address Judge Parker gave it as
his opinion that the new court-house "excelled the Worcester court-house in its
material, and the Suffolk court-house in its architectural beauty."
FATE OF THE OLD COURT-HOUSE
On October 19, 1827, the old court-house was sold at public auction by order
of the Court of General Sessions. It was purchased by Harris Munroe and
Erastus Worthington and removed to the easterly side of Court Street, a short
distance south of its original location. The purchasers had a hope that the
building would be bought by the Town of Dedham, but in 1828 the people of
the town voted to erect a town hall and the old court-house was used as a millinery
shop and dwelling. In 1845 Munroe and Worthington sold it to the Temperance
Hall Association, which converted the upper story into a hall for public meetings.
Among the noted men who spoke in Temperance Hall were : Dr. Oliver Wen-
dell Holmes, Horace Mann, Abraham Lincoln, William R. Alger, Bishop Hunt-
ington and John Boyle O'Reilly. On April 28, 1891, the old court-house and
some of the adjoining buildings were destroyed by fire. All that is left of Norfolk-
County's first temple of justice is the old bell, which is now among the relics
preserved by the Dedham Historical Society. It bears the inscription : "Revere,
Boston, 1790." The bell was cast by Paul Revere, whose famous ride on the
46 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
night of April 18, 1775, "Through every Middlesex village and farm," will
never fade from the pages of American history.
COURT-HOUSE OF l86l
In i860 it became apparent that Norfolk County was in need of more room
in which to transact properly the public business. The board of county com-
missioners was then composed of Nathaniel F. Safford, of Milton ; Lucas Pond,
of Wrentham ; and Charles Endicott, of Canton. These commissioners first
considered the erection of a separate building, to be used by the register of
deeds and the register of probate and insolvency, and a tract of land across
High Street from the court-house, including the site of the old Ames Tavern,
was purchased by John Gardner as a location for the new building. At a later
meeting of the board it was decided that it would be more convenient to have
all the county business under one roof, which could be accomplished by extend-
ing the north front and adding wings to the court-house.
This proposition met with some opposition. A remonstrance, signed by about
forty representative citizens of the county, was sent in to the commissioners
and published in the Dedham Gazette, but it was ignored by the commissioners,
who on April 26, i860, voted "to erect a fire-proof structure for the custody
of the public records, and additional apartments for the accommodation of
citizens in attendance upon the business of the court, by extending this building
to meet the existing wants of the county."
The contract for the alterations and additions was awarded to Nelson Curtis
and William Huston, who began on June 12, i860. The corner-stone was relaid
on September 13, i860, without disturbing in any way the deposit placed in the
corner-stone laid on July 4, 1825. By the side of the former deposit were placed
the following articles: A photograph of the court-house of 1825; a drawing
of the court-house showing the alterations of i860; a list of the officers of the
Court of Probate and Insolvency ; a list of the county officers ; the Boston
Almanac, all of i860; copies of the county newspapers; a copy of the annual
report of the Town of Dedham for i860; newspapers containing the history of
the previous court-houses ; a document containing the names of the architects,
contractors and others concerned in the alterations then being made, and a steel
pen. The first session of the Probate Court in the new office in the north wing
was held on November 4, 1861, but the building was not fully completed until
the following year. The cost of the alterations was about seventy-five thousand
dollars.
THE PRESENT COURT-HOUSE
During the year 1890 the board of county commissioners authorized the
expenditure of over five thousand dollars in making repairs upon the court-
house. The board was then composed of George W. Wiggin, of Franklin ; John
Q. A. Lothrop, of Cohasset ; and Melville P. Morrell, of Hyde Park, which was
then one of the towns of Norfolk County. Mr. Morrell advocated another addi-
tion to the building, rather than spend any more of the county's money in what
he considered "temporary makeshifts." In the fall of 1891 the question of
another addition to the court-house became, in a way, a political issue. Mr. Mor-
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 47
rell, whose attitude on the subject was well known, was reelected by a large
majority, indicating that his views had the approbation of the citizens.
Shortly after the election, the commissioners employed the firm of Wait &
Cutter, architects of Boston, to make plans for the proposed addition. On April
28, 1892, a contract was made with Lyman D. Willcutt, of Dedham, for the
first stone work, and on the 25th of the following July Air. Willcutt was awarded
the contract "for the superstructure of the addition on the rear of the old court-
house and changes of the court-room portions." The next day a contract was
entered into with B. D. Whitcomb & Company, carpenters and builders, of
Boston, to do the finishing on the new addition. Later contracts were made
with Keeler & Company, of Boston, for new furniture, and with Hollings & Com-
pany, of Boston, for the gas and electric fixtures. On February 6, 1894, another
contract was made with Lyman D. Willcutt & Son "for the complete alteration
of the front portion of the old court-house and the dome.''
The walls of the new addition were constructed of granite from the same
quarry as that used in the former building and addition, that no lack of uni-
formity might appear. The halls, corridors and lavatories are wainscoted with
marble from Tennessee and Italy, and the same kind of marble is used in the
stairways. The main floor in the corridors is also of Tennessee marble. Through-
out the woodwork, door and window casings, etc., is of polished quartered oak,
and the furniture is of the same material. The roof of the building is of slate
and that of the dome is of copper. In 1894 the Legislature authorized the
county to borrow $125,000, which sum represents approximately the cost of the
new addition and the alterations in the old part of the court-house.
THE DEDICATION
On June 20, 1895, just one hundred and two years after Norfolk County was
first organized, the remodeled court-house was dedicated with appropriate cere-
monies. The first exercises were conducted in the court-room, beginning at
10:30 A. M. Mellville P. Morrell, chairman of the board of county commis-
sioners, called the meeting to order and, after prayer by Rev. Mark B. Taylor
of Canton, made a short introductory address. He was followed by Hon. Fred-
erick D. Ely, who delivered the historical address, in which he reviewed the
progress of Norfolk County for one hundred and two years and gave a brief
history of each of its court-houses. Judge Ely was followed by Chief Justice
Albert Mason, of the Superior Court of the Commonwealth, who delivered the
dedicatory address. The exercises at the court-house were followed by a banquet
in Memorial Hall, which was attended by some four hundred persons. Thomas
E. Grover acted as toastmaster, and among the responses were the following:
"The County of Norfolk," Hon. Roger Wolcott, Lieutenant-Governor of
Massachusetts.
"Our Revolutionary Patriots," Charles Francis Adams.
"Political History of Norfolk County," Alfred D. Chandler.
"The Norfolk Bar, Past and Present," Edward Avery.
"The Superior Court," Hon. James R. Dunbar.
"Norfolk County in the Civil War," John D. Billings.
"Manufacturing Industries of Norfolk County," Elijah A. Morse.
48 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
"The Clergy, in Their Relation to Civil Government," Rev. Reuben Thomas
of Brookline.
COURT-HOUSE AT QUINCY
Chapter 477 of the Acts of 1910 conferred upon the commissioners of Norfolk
County the necessary authority "to purchase land in Quincy and construct a
building for the District Court of East Norfolk." The site for the building
was purchased at a cost oi $19,000, and the Legislature of 191 1 passed an act
"to provide for completing and furnishing the building," etc.
William Chapman, an architect of Boston, was employed to make plans, and
on July 8, 191 1, the contract for the erection of the court-house was awarded to
William Crane of Cambridge, the contractor who built the new wing of the
state house. His bid was $59,471, but these figures did not include the heating
plant, plumbing, electric wiring and some minor features. On January 10, 1912,
the commissioners reported that the cost of the building up to that time was
$71,797.07. The grounds were graded and a few "finishing touches" were
added after that report, so that the total cost of court-house and furnishings
was about seventy-five thousand dollars.
The Quincy court-house has a granite foundation and the walls of the super-
structure are of light-colored brick. At the main entrance are two large granite
columns that reach nearly to the top of the second story windows, supporting
a pediment of simple yet graceful design. The construction of the building is
fireproof throughout and its capacity is ample for the needs of the District Court
of East Norfolk for years to come.
THE COUNTY JAIL
On August 25, 1794, the Court of General Sessions, at a session held at Gay's
Tavern in Dedham, ordered : "That the committee on buildings proceed as soon
as may be in collecting materials for building the jail, with the necessary irons
for plating one room of the same for the security of prisoners, without being
restricted to contract by the job, as for the court-house, but according to their
best discretion for the benefit of the county."
On the last day of September following this order, the court accepted from
Timothy Gay the gift of a lot "Bounding southerly on the Post Road from
Boston to Providence, beginning ten feet west of the southwest corner of said
Gay's garden near his dwelling house, thence measuring fifty-four feet south-
westerly, on said Gay's land 88 feet, two sides in said Gay's land similar, so as
to make a parallelogram."
In other words, the jail lot thus donated was situated on what is now High-
land Street, not far from the Episcopal Church. The jail erected on that lot was
a frame building and the first prisoner was incarcerated within its walls in Feb-
ruary, T795. It served the county as a jail until 1817, when a stone jail thirty-
three feet square and two stories in height was erected upon the lot occupied by
the present jail. The old wooden jail was then used until 1833 as a house of
correction. It was torn down in 1833, the year after a brick house of correction
was completed on the jail lot on Village Avenue.
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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 49
The jail built in 1817 was of hammered stone, with walls so massive that,
after deducting the space for the rooms assigned to the jailer, there was but
little space left for cells and stairways. The cost of this jail was $15,000 — not
a profitable investment for the county, owing to the defects in arrangement
mentioned above. In 185 1 part of the jail and the brick house of correction
were torn down to make way for the main portion of the present structure, which
includes the octagon central portion and the east and west wings, in which cells
were constructed. The workshop was added to the west wing in 1875, and the
sheriff's residence, on the south side of the central portion, facing Village Avenue,
was built in 1880.
Around the walls of the octagonal central portion are iron galleries level
with the floor of each tier of cells in the wings. The total number of cells is
108. By this arrangement the turnkey, from his desk in the center, commands
a view of all the corridors and can detect any mutiny or insubordination on the
part of the prisoners. In this high central part two men have been executed.
George C. Hersey was hanged here on August 8, 1862, and James H. Costley
on June 25, 1875. An account of the crimes for which these men suffered capital
punishment is given in another chapter. In scraping off the old paint on the
interior of the central portion in May, 1917, preparatory to repainting, the date
"1832" was exposed on the wall of the north wing, showing it to be a part of
Norfolk County's second jail.
The jail kitchen in the basement is equipped with modern cooking and
bread-making apparatus, the oven having a capacity of 500 pounds of bread at
one baking. In the basement are also the store room and a large bathroom
provided with a dozen porcelain lined bathtubs. Every prisoner is required to take
a bath upon entering and at regular stated intervals during his imprisonment.
The entire building is heated by steam and special attention is given to the
sanitary conditions. In the county treasurer's report ft for the year 1916 the value
of the jail building and lot is given at $333,500.
THE REGISTRY BUILDING
Opposite the court-house on High Street stands the Registry Building, which
was erected under the provisions of the act of May 12, 1903, authorizing the
county commissioners to expend the sum of $280,000 for that purpose. A
previous act had authorized the expenditure of $200,000. After the passage
of the supplementary act, adding $80,000 to the building fund, the firm of Pea-
body & Stearns, architects of Boston, were employed to make plans and speci-
fications. Three bids were opened on July 7, 1903, and on the 14th the contract
was awarded to McNeil Brothers of Boston, their bid being $256,506.
The main section of the building is 52 by 186 feet, two stories high, and in
the rear there is a one-story projection 68 by 80 feet. There is a basement
under the entire building, in which is located the heating plant, etc. The front
and end walls of the main portion are faced with Deer Isle granite, and the rear
part is of gray Pompeian brick. The main entrance is marked by two granite
columns of the Corinthian order, extending to the top of the second story
windows, surmounted by a pediment of classic proportions. The floors are
mosaic, the roof of copper, and the furniture of steel, so that the entire structure
50 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
is as nearly fireproof as human ingenuity can devise. The building was completed
and occupied on September i, 1905. Its total cost was $278,197.97.
VALUE OF COUNTY BUILDINGS
On page 34 of the county commissioners' report for the year 1916, the value
of the public buildings of Norfolk County, including the grounds is given as
follows :
Court-House $ 402,000 .
Jail 333.500
Registry Building 298,000
District Court-House at Quincy 100,000
Training School at Walpole 21,500
Agricultural School 75'°oo
Total $1,230,000
In this table there is a small cash balance included in the value of the Agri-
cultural School. That institution and the Training School at Walpole are educa-
tional in their nature and their history is therefore given in the chapter on
Education.
CHAPTER VIII
THE NEW ENGLAND TOWNSHIP
TWO KINDS OF TOWNSHIPS IN THE UNITED STATES — THE DIFFERENCE — THE ANGLO-
SAXON TUNSCIPE ORIGIN OF THE TOWNSHIP PATENTS ISSUED BY THE
PLYMOUTH COMPANY FIRST TOWN MEETINGS IN NEW ENGLAND THEIR
INFLUENCE IN THE REVOLUTION — JEFFERSON ON THE TOWNSHIP FORM OF GOV-
ERNMENT — TOWNSHIPS OF THE SOUTH AND WEST COMPARED WITH NEW ENG-
LAND UN STATE AND NATIONAL AFFAIRS.
Townships in the United States are of two kinds — civil and congressional.
The congressional township did not come into existence until after the passage
of the "land ordinance" by Congress in 1785, and is therefore unknown in New
England. It is always six miles square, bounded by township and range lines, and
is divided into thirty-six sections, each one mile square, for convenience in
measuring, describing and conveying land. In the western states, where the
public domain was surveyed under the new system, the civil and congressional
township are often identical. In the older states the civil townships vary in size
and shape, their boundaries in many instances being formed by natural features,
such as streams, ranges of hills, etc., or by "direct lines'' between two given
points. The civil township also differs from the congressional in that it is a politi-
cal subdivision, possessing officers and powers for local government.
In England, during the reign of King Alfred, a minor political division called
the "tunscipe" was established. It equaled as an ecclesiastical unit the parish,
and as a political unit was governed by a popular assembly called the "tun moot,"
a term which in later English was developed into "town meeting," the oldest form
of government known to man. Far back in the history of the human race, a
few families, usually related to each other, would form a "clan" and in a mass
meeting make rules for the regulation of their affairs. The principle was carried
down to Rome in the meetings held in the forum, and in Greece the assemblages
of the populace in the agora for the discussion and settlement of questions per-
taining to the general welfare. Among the Germans and Scandinavians, the same
principle is seen in the government of the minor political division called the
"mark."
Under the Great Patent to the Plymouth Company, November 3, 1620. pro-
vision was made for issuing two kinds of patents to occupants of lands. First,
for private proprietors of small plantations, who were to have certain lands at a
specified annual rental, which lands they were not to abandon without permis-
sion, and who obligated themselves to settle a given number of persons within a
stipulated time. Second, for "such parties as proposed to build towns, with large
numbers of people, having a government of their own, with magistrates who
51
52 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
were to have power to frame such laws and constitutions as the majority should
think fit, subordinate to the state which was to be established, until other order
shall be taken."
The first settlers of Massachusetts were dissenters from the Church of Eng-
land, whose greatest desire was to bring about a reform in church affairs so that
the congregation should have more power in church government, and the minister
should be more independent than formerly of the bishop. It was therefore
natural that they should come in congregations, led or accompanied by their
pastors, and that they should settle in a body. These church congregations
obtained grants or patents, according to the second plan above mentioned, and
set up a local government similar to that of the "tunscipe" of King Alfred's time,
with the "town" and the "parish" practically the same. Says Forman: "Their
town meetings were at first religious assemblages acting as pure democracies,
except in Rhode Island, where the civil authority did not interfere in matters
of conscience. The meetings in the colonies where the theocratic principle pre-
vailed were usually held in a church, and all the male church members of the
town who were of age could attend, take part in the discussions, and vote upon
any question that might arise."
Thus the early settlers of New England came to live in compact communities,
which later took the name of townships or towns. They were generally people
of a high degree of intelligence, almost equal in social rank and worldly goods,
hence they were democratic in their ideas of government and unanimous in the
belief that "authority in spiritual and temporal matters should flow from the
same source."
For some time after the first settlements were established town meetings were
held frequently. The records show that the Town of Boston held ten town meet-
ings in the year 1635. As the number of farms increased and the settlement
spread over a wider territory, officers were elected to manage the town's business
between meetings, until many of the townships came to hold meetings but once
a year, unless some unexpected occasion arose which might require a special
meeting. The principal officers are the board of selectmen, clerk, treasurer and
board of assessors. In early days there was a tithing-man, a sort of "Sunday con-
stable," whose business it was to see that everybody attended church, and to keep
them awake during the services ; a hog reeve, who was required to see that all-
hogs running at large had rings in their noses ; a field driver, who impounded
stray animals ; and overseers of the poor. Some of these offices are still in exist-
ence, but the duties of their incumbents are not so arduous as in the old colonial
days. The early town meeting overlooked nothing. It prescribed how the school-
master should use the rod upon unruly pupils, fixed the rate of taxation, desig-
nated the hours that men should labor, appropriated funds for schools and high-
ways, etc. Most of this business is now transacted by the board of selectmen.
Beginning with the first settlements, the town system grew with New England
and the town meeting soon became deeply rooted in the minds of the citizens.
During the Revolution and the years immediately preceding it, the town meeting
was the distinguishing feature of New England life. When the war began these
little democratic communities proved to be the most powerful aids to the cause
of liberty. In the town meeting it was easy to determine who was the patriot and
who was the tory. Through their work military stores were provided, the cele-
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 53
brated "minute men" were organized, and the resolutions of many of the town
meetings expressed in no uncertain language the sentiment of the people that
afterward found utterance in the Declaration of Independence.
And their influence did not end with the Revolution. On December 22, 1807,
Congress passed what was known as the "Embargo Act," to prohibit trade with
England. Town meeting after town meeting in New England passed resolutions
denouncing the act, which led President Jefferson to say afterward: "How
powerfully did we feel the energy of this organization (the town) in the case
of the Embargo. I felt the foundations of government shaken under my feet by
the New England townships. There was not an individual in their states, whose
body was not thrown with all its momentum into action, and although the whole
of the other states was known to be in favor of the measure, yet the organization
of this selfish community enabled it to overrule the Union."
While this may sound like a criticism of the town meeting and the manner
in which New England defeated the purposes of the Embargo Act, it does not
express Mr. Jefferson's real sentiments as to the value and importance of the New
England form of government. When his own State of Virginia adopted the
county as the chief political unit, Air. Jefferson advocated the division of the
counties into townships, and in referring to the New England system said :
"Those wards, called townships in New England, are the vital principle of their
governments and have proved themselves the wisest invention ever devised by the
wit of man for the perfect exercise of self-government and for its preservation."
Most of the southern states followed the example of Virginia and adopted the
county system, with the result that in those states the civil township is little more
than a name. In the West the two systems are combined. Michigan, Wisconsin
and Minnesota, and those counties in Nebraska and Illinois that have adopted
township organization, hold town meetings very similar to those of New England.
In other states of the Middle West questions of incurring indebtedness for public
improvements are submitted to the voters of the township at a general election
instead of at a town meeting, though the principle is the same in general effect.
When the first grants were made to church congregations or companies of
immigrants, the thickly settled portion of the grant was known as the "town"
and the outlying, uninhabited portion as the "township." In time, as settlement
was extended to these outlying lands, the last syllable was dropped and the name
"town" was adopted for the entire district. The towns were incorporated by the
colonial legislature, which was the only authority with power to create new towns,
and this system has been in operation in Massachusetts for nearly three centuries.
As a matter of experience, local government in New England has undergone
some changes with the constantly changing conditions. Thickly settled parts
of the towns in some of the New England states have in many cases been incor-
porated as villages or boroughs, the people surrendering a portion of the business
to municipal authorities or agents, though in Massachusetts the town meeting is
still the chief source of power in the adjustment of local public affairs.
Not only has the township been the dominant force in local government, but
it has also been an important factor in shaping the destinies of the state and
nation. In the old Anglo-Saxon "tunscipe" the principal officer — the "tun reeve"'
— the parish priest and "four discreet laymen" were delegates to the "shire moot"
or county meeting, at which the views of the people regarding county affairs were
54 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
ascertained through their chosen representatives. This system was extended by
the Parliaments of 1265 and 1295, concerning which Fiske says: "These dates
have as much interest for Americans as for Englishmen, because they mark the
first definitive establishment of that grand system of representative government
which we are still carrying on at our various state capitals and at Washington.
For its humble beginnings we have to look back to the 'reeve and four' of the
ancient townships to the county meetings."
In the early history of New England the township was not only the dominant
force in questions of a local nature, as a self-governing body politic, but it was
also the unit of representation in the colonial legislature or General Court. In
modern times the unit of representation has been modified to some extent, but in
many localities the township forms the basis of representation in the conventions
of political parties, thus the township, besides managing its own affairs, wields
?.n influence upon state and national politics.
In Norfolk County there are twenty-eight towns, to wit : Avon, Bellingham,
Braintree, Brookline, Canton, Cohasset, Dedham, Dover, Foxborough, Franklin,
Holbrook, Medfield, Medway, Millis, Milton, Needham, Norfolk, Norwood,
Plainville, Ouincy, Randolph, Sharon, Stoughton, Walpole, Wellesley, Westwood,
Weymouth and Wrentham. A history of each of these towns is given in the suc-
ceeding chapters.
CHAPTER IX
THE TOWN OF AVON
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES — PETITION FOR INCORPORATION — IN THE LEGISLA-
TURE — EXTENDING THE BOUNDARIES — WATERWORKS TOWN HALL — MISCEL-
LANEOUS FACTS ABOUT AVON.
The territory comprising the Town of Avon was originally included in that
part of Dorchester known as the "New Grant." When Stoughton was incor-
porated on December 22, 1726, it embraced the present Town of Avon and exer-
cised jurisdiction over it for nearly one hundred and sixty-two years, hence the
early history of Avon is given in the chapter on Stoughton. The town is located
in the southern part of the county, being bounded on the north and west by
Stoughton ; on the east by Randolph and Holbrook, and on the south by Plymouth
County.
PETITION FOR INCORPORATION
On December 2, 1887, the following petition was published in the Stoughton
Record, the result of a movement started some months prior to that time for
the establishment of a new town:
"To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Common-
wealth of Massachusetts, in General Court assembled :
"The undersigned petitioners, citizens of Stoughton, Norfolk County, respect-
fully represent that we desire all that part of Stoughton east of the following
described lines to be incorporated into a town separate from Stoughton, to be
called . Said lines to be the Old Colony Railroad commencing at the
southerly line of the Town of Randolph and running southwesterly to a point
where the Boston & Taunton Turnpike, so called, crosses said Old Colony Rail-
road, and from thence the Boston & Taunton Turnpike to be the line to the
City of Brockton."
This petition was signed by D. H. Blanchard, Hiram Blanchard, Alva M.
Butler, Charles H. Felker, D. C. G. Field, S. S. Gifford, James Keith, G. F. Little-
field, L. G. Littlefield, Gilbert Littlefield, George W. Robbins, George J. Smith
and H. H. Tucker.
IN THE LEGISLATURE
This petition came before the House of Representatives on February 1, 1888,
and was referred to the committee on towns, which reported favorably, and a"
bill granting the prayer of the petitioners was passed and sent to the senate.
55
56 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
It passed that body and was approved on February 21, 1888. Section 1 of the
bill reads as follows :
"All that territory now the Town of Stoughton, in the County of Norfolk,
comprised within the following limits, that is to say : Beginning at a point
on the easterly line of Stoughton, where the Old Colony Railroad crosses said
easterly line ; thence southwesterly along the westerly side of the Old Colony
Railroad about four hundred and sixty rods to a point on the westerly side of
the culvert where Saulisbury Brook passes under said railroad ; thence in a straight
line south about five hundred and thirty-two rods to the westerly side of Oak
Street, where it intersects South Street ; thence southerly again along the westerly
side of Oak Street about seventy-five rods to the Brockton line; thence along
said Brockton line about six hundred and eighty-seven and one-half rods to
the Holbrook line ; thence in a straight line northerly about eight hundred and
ninety-four rods along the Holbrook line and the Randolph line to the point of
beginning, is hereby incorporated as a town by the name of Avon, and said Town
of Avon is hereby invested with all the powers, privileges, rights and immuni-
ties, and made subject to all the duties, liabilities and requisitions to which other
towns are entitled or subjected by the constitution and laws of this Common-
wealth."
Sections 2 to 6 inclusive refer to the division of the town property, appor-
tioning the town debt, relief of paupers, etc. Section 7 places the new town
in the Second Congressional District, the Second Councillor District, the Second
Norfolk Senatorial District and the Seventh Norfolk Representative District.
Section 8 provides that "any justice of the peace in the County of Norfolk
may issue his warrant directed to any inhabitant of the Town of Avon requiring
him to notify and warn the inhabitants thereof qualified to vote in town affairs
to meet at the time and place therein appointed for the purpose of choosing all
such town officers as towns are by law authorized and required to choose at their
annual meetings," etc.
EXTENDING THE BOUNDARIES
Soon after the town was organized under the provisions of the above act,
an agitation was commenced for the acquisition of certain tracts of land in the
towns of Randolph and Holbrook. A petition asking for the annexation of these
lands to Avon was presented to the next session of the Legislature, with the result
that the following act was passed and approved on April 16, 1889:
"So much of the towns of Randolph and Holbrook, in the County of Nor-
folk, with all the inhabitants and estates thereon, as is thus bounded and described,
to wit : Beginning at a stone bound on the westerly side of Main Street in the
boundary line between said towns of Randolph and Avon (formerly Stoughton)
marked *R' on one side and 'S' on the opposite side, and thence running in a
straight line over territorial land of said Randolph and of said Holbrook midway
between the two main tracks of the Old Colony Railroad as now existing and
distant north, sixteen degrees and fifteen minutes east, six hundred and ninety-
four and eight-tenths feet from the southerly side line of High Street in said
Holbrook ; thence running south, sixteen degrees and fifteen minutes west, mid-
way between said tracks, one thousand five hundred and sixteen and four-tenths
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 57
feet to a point of curvature in said Holbrook and intersecting said southerly-
line of High Street at a point distant south, fifty-six degrees and thirteen minutes
east, one hundred and sixty-seven and seventy-two hundredths feet from a stone
bound set in the southerly line of High Street ; thence running by a curve to the left
of five thousand seven hundred and thirty feet radius, one thousand three hundred
and twenty-three and forty-five hundredths feet to a point of tangency in Hol-
brook ; thence running midway between said tracks south, three degrees and one
minute we^t, five hundred and thirty-five and forty-five hundredths feet to the
boundary line between said towns of Holbrook and Avon ; thence running north-
westerly by said boundary line between the towns of Randolph, Holbrook and
Avon to the point of beginning, containing an area of about fourteen acres of
the territory of the said Town of Randolph and about one hundred and thirty
acres of the territory of the said Town of Holbrook, is hereby set off and sepa-
rated from the said towns of Randolph and Holbrook and annexed to the said
Town of Avon.''
The reason for this enlargement of the town was to give it access to railway
facilities. The Old Colony Railroad mentioned in the above act is now the
Boston & Middleboro division of the New York, New Haven & Hartford rail-
way system, which covers a large part of New England. Avon station was
established soon after the boundary of the town was extended to the railroad.
WATERWORKS
Soon after the town was incorporated a movement was inaugurated to estab-
lish a system of waterworks. A petition was presented to the Legislature asking
for authority to issue bonds for that purpose and on April 9, 1889, the governor
approved an act empowering the Town of Avon "to supply itself and its inhabi-
tants with water for the extinguishment of fires and for domestic and other pur-
poses," etc., and to take "by purchase or otherwise and hold the waters of Porter's
Brook or spring in said town." The act also authorized the town to borrow not
more than thirty thousand dollars, issue bonds therefore and provide a sinking
fund for their redemption when due, said act to take effect upon its acceptance
"by a two-thirds vote of the voters of said Town of Avon at a legal town meeting
within three years after its passage.''
The conditions imposed by the act were accepted by the required two-thirds
vote, Lewis Hawes of Boston was employed as chief engineer, and the water-
works were constructed in 1889-90. Wells were sunk to obtain a supply of water
and a pumping station was installed. The standpipe, twenty feet in diameter
and ninety feet high, was built by E. Hodge & Company of Boston. It has a
capacity of 212,670 gallons and the average pressure of the system is sixty-five
pounds to the square inch. Up to December 31, 1912, the total cost of the plant
was $83,324.09 and the aggregate amount of bonds issued was $69,500. There
were then eight miles of mains. Since that time some extensions have been made
and the bonds have nearly all" been paid. The works are owned by the town.
TOWN HALL
.V
On October 18, 19 12. the town hall was damaged by fire to the amount of
$1,500 and the contents to the amount of $1,500. The building was erected a few
58 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
years after the incorporation of the town at a cost of about three thousand dollars.
It contains a hall for holding town meetings, offices for the town officials and
quarters for the fire company. At the time of the fire the town carried $2,000 in-
surance on the building and $1,200 on the contents. The damage to the building
was quickly repaired, but the loss of records renders it impossible to ascertain the
original cost or just when the structure was completed.
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS ABOUT AVON
Avon is the smallest town in Norfolk County. It is an agricultural community
and has no manufacturing establishments of importance. In addition to the trans-
portation facilities furnished by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail-
road, the Milton & Brockton division of the Bay State Street Railway Company
traverses the town, connecting it with practically all the principal places in Norfolk
County. Cars run on this line every thirty minutes.
The first board of selectmen was composed of Hiram Blanchard, George W.
Robbins and Bartlett Collins, who also served as the first town assessors. George
J. Smith was the first town clerk, and James Keith the first treasurer. In 191 7 the
town officers were as follows : John F. Geary, Frederick P. Bodwell and Fred-
erick A. Parmenter, selectmen; John J. Collins, clerk; William W. Littlefield,
treasurer; John F. Geary, Frederick A. Parmenter and Fred P. Whitten, assessors.
In the principal square stands a neat monument of granite bearing the in-
scription :
In Grateful Remembrance
of the men
of Avon
Who fought to
Save the Union
1861-1865
Above the inscription are two crossed swords carved in bas relief, and on the
top of the monument is the figure of an infantry soldier. Avon was a part of
Stoughton at the time of the Civil War, but the monument commemorates the
gallant deeds of those who went from that part of Stoughton now comprising
Avon. On the die of the monument is the following:
Presented by
Orlando Leach
To the Town of Avon
MDCCCCV
In the southeastern part of the town is Highland Park, one of the beauty spots
of Norfolk County. It is on the electric railway line 'running from Avon to Brock-
ton and is a favorite resort for persons who desire a day's outing amid peaceful
surroundings.
On the covers of the annual town reports is a small portrait of William Shake-
speare, indicating that the town derives its name from the birthplace of the im-
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 59
mortal bard— "Stratford-on-Avon" in England. The Avon of today has two
modern public school buildings, a well drilled and equipped fire company, a public
library, Baptist and Catholic churches, and a number of cozy homes. The popu-
lation in 1910 was 2,013 and in 1915, according to the state census, it was 2,164,
an increase of 151 in five years. The assessed valuation of property in 19 15 was
$1,119,847.
CHAPTER X
THE TOWN OF BELLINGHAM
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN — FIRST SETTLEMENT — DIVIDING THE LAND
INCORPORATION — FIRST TOWN MEETING — A BOUNDARY DISPUTE TROUBLE WITH
THE GENERAL COURT — A COINCIDENCE — NEW STATE GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO
FORM A NEW TOWN TOWN HALL WATERWORKS VITAL STATISTICS ODD
LEGISLATION THE BELLINGHAM OF TODAY.
Bellingham is the most western town of Norfolk County. It is 'bounded on
the north by the Town of Medway ; on the east by Franklin and Wrentham ; on
the south by the State of Rhode Island; and on the west by Worcester County.
The surface is generally uneven, though there are no large elevations in the town.
The Charles River flows across the northern part, the Peters River rises near the
center and flows in a southerly direction into Rhode Island. Its principal trib-
utary is the Bungay Brook, which rises in Wrentham. North of the Charles River
and connected with it by a small stream is Beaver Pond, and in the southern part
is another pond of considerable size called Jenks' Reservoir. There are also a
few smaller ponds drained by the Peters River.
FIRST SETTLEMENT
From the best authority at hand, it is believed that the first white man to locate
within the limits of the present Town of Bellingham was Jacob Bartlett. Follow-
ing the custom of the time, Mr. Bartlett selected a tract of land some time in the
summer of 1713 and erected a cabin, to which he moved his family. Land was
then plentiful and such a thing as acquiring it by purchase was almost unknown.
On October 27, 1713, the proprietors of the Town of Dedham, of which the
territory was then a part, granted thirty-five acres to Jacob Bartlett. This grant
is the first official mention in the records of the region now included within the
town limits of Bellingham.
During the fall of 1713 and the following winter, several families settled near
the Charles River. That no confusion should arise regarding the possession of
the land, a crown warrant was issued early in February, 1714, the return upon
which was as follows :
"In pursuance of a warrant to me directed by John Chandler, Esq., one of
her Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the County of Suffolk, these are to give
public notice that a meeting of the proprietors of that tract of land belonging to
Dedham lying between Wrentham, Mendon and Providence is appointed to be
held and kept at the house of Deacon Thomas Sanford, in Mendon, on the
eleventh day of March next ensuing, at eight o'clock in the morning, then and
60
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 61
then to agree upon a division of land and what relates thereunto, of which all
persons concerned are to take notice and give attendance accordingly. Dated this
twenty-fifth day of February, A.D., 17 14.
"Jonathan Wight, Constable."
Between the time the warrant was issued and the day of the meeting, the
land was divided into lots or parcels containing from twenty to sixty acres each.
On the appointed day the residents in that part of the present County of Norfolk
assembled at Mr. Sanford's house and the meeting was organized by the election
of John Ware of Wrentham, moderator, and Thomas Sanford, clerk. Slips of
paper were prepared, each bearing the number of a certain lot of land, and the
slips were then placed in a box and thoroughly mixed. Each settled then drew
a slip, which entitled him to the tract of land bearing the same number. The
highest number was 121, indicating that there were then that number of actual
or prospective settlers in the district.
INCORPORATION
The five years immediately following the distribution of land witnessed the
influx of quite a number of new settlers. In the summer of 1719, owing to the
great distance from Dedham, where the inhabitants had to go to attend church
and transact their business with the town authorities, a movement was started
for the establishment of a new town. A petition was accordingly prepared, ad-
dressed to "His Excellency Samuel Shute, Esq., Captain-General and Governor
in Chief in and over his Majesty's Province of the Massachusetts Bay, in New
England, and to the Honourable Council and House of Representatives in General
Court convened at Boston."
After setting forth in detail the reasons for asking that a new town be created,
the inconveniences to which the inhabitants of the territory was subjected, etc., the
petition closed as follows :
"Our Prayer Therefore is that your Honours would Graciously plese to con-
sider our Difficulty Circumstances and grant us our petition, which is That ye
above mentioned Tracts of Land (as by one Piatt heretofore affixed & Described)
may be incorporated together & made a Town & Invested with Town Preveliges.
That we may be Inabled in Conveniant Time to obtain ye Gospel & Public Worship
of God settled, & our Inconveniances by Reason of our Remoateness be Re-
moved ; granting us such Time of Dispence from Public Taxes as in wisdom you
shall think Conveniant, & in your so doing you will greatly oblige us who am your
Humble petitioners : and for your Honours, as in Consciance we are Bound,
Shall ever pray.
"Dated ye 17th Day of November, 1719."
The petition was signed by Richard Blood, Thomas Burch, Nicholas Cook,
Nicholas Cook, Jr., Seth Cook, Daniel Corbet, John Corbet, Cornelius Darling,
John Darling, Samuel Darling, Zuriel Hall, Jonathan Hayward, Oliver Hayward,
Samuel Hayward, William Hayward, Eliphalet Holbrook John Holbrook, Joseph
Holbrook, Peter Holbrook, Inheritance of Mendon, John March, Samuel Rich,
James Smith, Pelatiah Smith. Samuel Smith, Ebenezer Thayer, Isaac Thayer,
Ebenezer Thompson, John Thompson, John Thompson, Jr., Joseph Thompson,
Samuel Thompson and Nathaniel Weatherby.
62 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
The plat submitted with the petition showed "a Tract of Land belonging to
Dedham, westward of Wrentham, and a small Corner of Mendon adjacent
Thereto." On November 26, 1719, the petition was read in the lower house of
the General Court and that body ''Ordered that the prayer of the petitioners be
granted, and that a township be erected and constituted according thereunto and
the plat above : Provided they procure and settled a learned orthodox minister
within the space of three years now coming."
It was further enacted that "John Darling, John Thompson and John Marsh
be Impowered to call a Town Meeting any time in March next to choose Town
Officers & manage ye other prudentiall affairs of ye Town. The name of the
Town to be called Bellingham." The upper house concurred in this action the
next day, so that the Town of Bellingham dates its corporate existence from
November 27, 1719. The name was no doubt chosen as a mark of respect for
Sir Richard Bellingham, who was one of the early colonial governors of Massa-
chusetts.
FIRST TOWN MEETING
The commissioners named in the act of incorporation — Darling, Thompson
and Marsh — issued a call for a town meeting to be held at the house of John
Thompson on March 2, 1720. Pelatiah Smith was chosen moderator, and the
following town officers were elected : Selectmen, John Darling, Pelatiah Smith,
John Thompson, John Corbett and Nathaniel Jilson ; Clerk, Pelatiah Smith ;
Treasurer, John Holbrook ; Tithingmen, John Marsh and Nicholas Cook ; Con-
stables, Nicholas Cook and William Hay ward ; Hog reeves, "for the due observ-
ance of swine," Oliver Hayward and Samuel Darling.
Bellingham did not actually obtain a corporate charter by the act of November
27, 1719, but the people were authorized to form a town government which
should become fully operative if they established a church and installed a min-
ister within three years. This provision came before the first town meeting.
John Darling, Nicholas Cook, Sr., John Corbet and John Holbrook were ap-
pointed a committee to select a location for the meeting house, and another com-
mittee, consisting of Nathaniel Jilson, Nicholas Cook, John Corbet and Pelatiah
Smith was appointed to build the house, "so far as the covering and inclosing are
concerned."
On November 14, 1720, the committee on location reported at a town meeting
held at the house of John Thompson — "That the meeting house should be sett
whare thare is a Stake standing near Weatherly's corner, with a heap of stones
Laid about said Stake and a pine tree marked ; said Stake Standing in an old
Road that goes from Mendon to Wrentham, the Demension of the meeting house
to be : f ourty foott long thirty foott wide, Eighteen foott Between Joynts. The
Stated price for Laborers for a Narrow axx man finding himself tow shillings and
a sixpence per day, Broad axx man three shillings pr day, finding themselves."
The location thus selected for the meeting house is a short distance north of
the Charles River, near the site of the village of Crimpville, which afterward
grew up there. The building was evidently inclosed some time in the summer or
early fall of 1 721, for on November, 23, 1721, a town meeting voted that the
meeting house should be lathed and plastered with white lime and that an aisle
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 63
four feet wide should be left through the center and aisles four feet wide between
the ends of the seats and the sides of the building. In January, 1723, the town
voted to give fifty acres of land to the first minister who would settle in the
town and not long afterward Rev. Thomas Smith accepted the offer and entered
upon his duties as pastor of the church. Bellingham then became fully incorpo-
rated according to the provision of the act, though a little more than three years
elapsed before a regular minister was settled.
A BOUNDARY DISPUTE
In 1723 a difference of opinion arose between the people of Bellingham and
those of Wrentham as to the actual location of the boundary line dividing the two
towns, and some ill feeling was developed before the question was finally settled.
Bellingham appointed a committee to carry the matter before the court, and a tax
was levied upon the cattle of the town to defray the expenses. A little later the
town sold one hundred and fifty acres of common land, for which the sum of one
hundred and forty pounds was obtained, practically all of which was expended
in making a survey and securing the establishment of the line as it stands at the
present time.
TROUBLE WITH THE GENERAL COURT
So far as can be gleaned from the records, the first call for a member of the
General Court was made on Bellingham in 1755, but the town meeting voted not
to send a representative, on the grounds that the people could not afford the
expense. The General Court appears to have been incensed at the action of the
meeting and fined the town for its disobedience of orders. When the people of
Bellingham learned of the fine another town meeting was called, but the only
action taken was to petition the General Court for an abatement of the fine and
voted the sum of two pounds and ten shillings to defray the expense of carrying
the petition to the Court. At the same meeting it was decided to assess the sol-
diers who enlisted in the King's service and the people pledged themselves to stand
by the assessors in levying a tax on said soldiers. It is not shown by the records
that the tax was ever collected and the assessment probably was a "dead letter."
Early in the year 1757 the General Court again made a demand on Belling-
ham for a representative, but at the May meeting the town again "voted in the
negative" and no representative. No fine was imposed upon the town in this in-
stance, but when in April, 1761, Bellingham again voted not to send a represent-
ative a small fine was levied against the town. A year later another demand was
made for a delegate, but the town meeting declined "by a large vote."
Although refusing to send a representative to the General Court, the people
of Bellingham recognized the authority of that body and cheerfully endeavored to
observe the laws. At least in one instance they called upon the Court to settle
a local dispute. At a town meeting held on March 6, 1764, officers for the en-
suing year were elected. Nine days later another meeting (or an adjourned
meeting) undertook to annul the action of the former one and elected another
set of officers. Nineteen citizens signed a protest against this second election
and sent it up to the General Court, with their reasons therefor. The Legislature
64 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
decided that the election of March 6th was legal and the subsequent action of the
adjourned meeting null and void, "much to the satisfaction of the officers first
chosen."
At the March meeting in 1773, "the condition of the country being in an un-
settled state, and the town being greatly inconvenienced by the excessive taxation,
a committee consisting of John Metcalf, John Corbett, Samuel Scott, William
Holbrook and Benjamin Partridge was chosen to look into the condition of affairs
and report at the next meeting." If the committee ever reported it was not made
a matter of record.
About this time, the town being so negligent about sending a representative
to the General Court, another fine was imposed and a petition of abatement was
sent as payment. It seems that none of the fines had ever been paid and the town
had been at some expense in the matter of petitioning for their remission. In the
case just mentioned, the Legislature gave no immediate attention to the petition
and the town records that on October 22, 1773, when the question came be-
fore a town meeting it was "Put to vote to see if the town will send to Court any
more to get the fines off that we are fined for not sending a Representative in
years passed. Decided in the negative."
At the beginning of the year 1774 the colonies were almost in a state of
revolution against the excessive taxation levied by the mother country. In May
of that year the people of Bellingham voted to send a committee to the General
Court to explain their poverty and ask that the town be assessed for a less amount,
as well as that the fines imposed upon them for their failure to send a represent-
ative be remitted. This committee met with better success than its predecessors
and the fines were abated, restoring good feeling between the Bellingham people
and the colonial authorities. On September 2, 1774, a town meeting voted "the
sum of nineteen shillings to the General Court, to assist in carrying on expenses."
At the same meeting it was agreed that the citizens of the town would purchase
no goods imported from England, and the sum of five pounds was voted for
ammunition.
On September 30, 1774, Luke Holbrook was elected as Bellingham's "first
delegate" to attend the Provincial Congress at Concord on the second Tuesday of
the following month. Seven pounds additional were voted on December 19,
1774, "for the purchase of powder and bullets." The action of the people of
Bellingham for the purchase of ammunition and the boycott of English goods
shows clearly where their sympathies lay in the difference of opinion between
the American colonies and the mother country, and from this time forward there
was no controversy with the Massachusetts General Court.
A COINCIDENCE
On July 4, 1776, a town meeting was held in Bellingham for. the purpose of
discussing general conditions and determining upon a definite course to be followed
in case of a rupture between the British Government and the English colonies in
America. Almost at the same hour that the Declaration of Independence was
adopted by the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, the Bellingham town meeting
declared : "That in case the Honorable Continental Congress shall think it neces-
sary for the safety of the United Colonies to declare them independent of Great
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 65
Britain, the inhabitants of this town, with their lives and fortunes, will cheerfully
support them in the measure."
And the declaration was no idle boast. When the news of Lexington and
Concord reached the little town in the southwest corner of what is now Norfolk
County (then a part of Suffolk), the people of Bellingham were ready. Out of
her meager population ninety-three men served in the Continental army during
the Revolution and fought to achieve their independence.
NEW STATE GOVERNMENT
On September 17, 1776, the General Court sent to the several towns in the
state a communication asking opinions regarding the formation of a new state
government, with such suggestions as the people felt inclined to submit. Belling-
ham was not at all backward about expressing her ideas on the subject. At a
town meeting held on October 20, 1776, Dr. John Corbett, Coroner John Metcalf,
Elder Noah Alden, Deacon Samuel Darling and Lieut. Seth Hall were appointed
a committee to prepare the town's reply and report at an adjourned meeting on
the first Monday in December. The report, which was adopted at the adjourned
meeting, was as follows :
"We are of the opinion that the settling a form of government for this State
is a matter of the greatest importance of a civil nature that we were ever con-
cerned in, and ought to be proceeded in with the greatest caution and deliberation.
It appears to us that the late General Assembly of this State, in their proclamation
dated January 23, 1776, have well expressed that 'power always resides in the
body of the people.' We understand that all males above twenty-one years of
age, meeting in each separate town and acting the same thing and all their
acts united together make an act of the body of the people. We apprehend it
would be proper that the form of government for this State to originate in each
town, and by that means we may have the ingenuity of all the State, and it may
qualify men for public station, which might be effected if the present Honorable
House of Representatives would divide this State into districts of about thirty
miles in diameter, or less if it appear most convenient, so that none be more than
fifteen miles from the center of the district, that there may be an easy com-
munication between each town and the center of its district, that no town be di-
vided, and that each town choose one man out of each thirty inhabitants to be a
committee to meet as near the center of the district as may be; to meet about six
weeks after the House of Representatives have issued their order for the towns
to meet and draw a form of government, and the same committee to carry with
them the form of government their town has drawn at the district meeting and
compare them together, and propose to their towns what alteration their town in
their opinion ought to make, and said committee in each district adjourn to carry
to their several towns and lay before them in town meeting for that' end, the
form of government said district has agreed to, and the town agrees to or alters
as they see meet; after which each district committee to choose a man as a com-
mittee to meet all as one committee at Watertown at twelve weeks after the order
of the House of Representatives for the town first meeting to draw a form of
government, which committee of the whole State may be empowered to send
precepts to the several towns in this State to choose one man out of sixty to
66 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
meet in convention at Watertown, or such other town as each committee shall
judge best. Six weeks from the time of said district's last sitting the said one
man out of sixty to meet in convention to draw from the forms of government
drawn by each district committee one form of government for the whole State;
after which said convention to send to each town the form of government
they have drawn for the town's confirmation or alteration, then adjourn, notify-
ing each town to make return to them of their doings at said convention, and at
said adjournment said convention draw a general plan or form of government
for this State, so that they add nothing nor diminish nothing from the general
sense of each town, and that each town be at the charge of all they employ in the
affair."
Although the language used in this report might be improved on, its purport
is clear and shows how zealously the early colonists guarded the right of local self-
government as the very corner-stone of their political liberty. Rev. Noah Alden,
pastor of the Baptist Church, was elected a delegate from Bellingham to the
constitutional convention which met at Cambridge on September I, 1779, and part
of his instructions was to see "that each part of the State have properly delegated
their power for such a purpose, and that a bill of rights be framed wherein the
natural rights of individuals be clearly ascertained — 'that is, all such rights as the
supreme power of the State shall have no authority to control — to be a part
of the Constitution."
The idea carried by these instructions was not peculiar to Bellingham. It
pervaded all the colonies. In a modified form it was applied in the adoption of the
Federal Constitution, which was submitted to the several states for ratification,
and in every one of the forty-eight states of the American Union the State consti-
tution was submitted to the people for their approval or rejection before it became
effective.
EFFORTS TO FORM A NEW TOWN
Owing to the inconvenience in attending the town meetings at Bellingham
Centre, some of the citizens living in the northern portion of the town started
a movement in 1807 to form a new town by taking parts of Bellingham, Franklin,
Medway and Holliston, the last named in Midlesex County. A petition to that
effect was sent to the Legislature, which appointed a committee to view the terri-
tory. The committee reported adversely and the matter was dropped for the
time.
In 1816 the question again came before the Legislature and the standing com-
mittee on towns in the House of Representatives reported favorably, providing
the boundaries asked for in the petition were changed so as to take a smaller
portion of Bellingham. To this proposition the petitioners would not assent and
the petition was then denied by the Legislature.
Eight years later the subject was again agitated and several hearings were
granted by the General Court, but nothing definite was accomplished. In May,
1824, another petition came before the Legislature asking for the erection of a new
town with the following boundaries: "Beginning at the Milford line on the
northerly side of Nahum Clark's farm, and running easterly, including said farm
and across the land of Henry Adams, to a stake and stones on the northerly side
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 67
of a town road; thence across said road to the northest corner of the Adams farm;
thence to a white oak tree standing on the east side of the road, about twenty-
rods north of Capt. Jonathan Harding's barn ; thence to the south side of the
farm belonging to the estate of A. Morse, opposite his dwelling house ; thence to
continue in a straight line on the southerly side of Morse's farm to the Pond road,
so called ; thence running southerly on said road about twenty-five rods ; thence
easterly in a straight line along the south side of Capt. M. Rockwood's home farm
to the old grant line (so called) ; thence southerly on said line and Candle wood
Island road (so called) to the old county road; thence running southerly across
said road and Charles River to the end of a road near Amos Fisher's house in
Franklin; thence southwesterly on said road to a town road leading from the
factory village in Medway to Franklin meeting house ; thence to the corner of the
road near the house of Joseph Bacon; thence, following said road by Luther Ellis'
house, to the southeasterly corner of Leonard Lawrence's land on the westerly side
of said road ; thence to the southeast corner of Stephen Allen's meadow land ;
thence westerly across Mine Brook to a white oak tree on the line between
Bellingham and Franklin; thence westerly on a division line of lands of Stephen
Metcalf and Jesse Coombs to a town road in Bellingham; thence westerly across
Charles River to a stake and stones beside the turnpike road west of Elijah Dew-
ing's barn ; thence crossing said road and running northwesterly to a town road on
the division line of Nathan Allen and Benjamin R. Partridge, easterly from said
Allen's house; thence northerly on said division line to the Holliston town line;
thence running westerly on Holliston s line to farm corner (so called) ; thence
northerly on the town line of Milford to the corner first mentioned."
Doubtless many of the land marks mentioned have disappeared and the owner-
ship of farms changed until it would be extremely difficult, if not utterly im-
possible, to trace the boundaries of this proposed town. The prayer of the
petitioners was refused by the Legislature and no further efforts were made to
divide the Town of Bellingham, consequently its boundaries remain as they were
established when the dispute with Wrentham was settled in 1724.
TOWN HALL
In 1800, the town experiencing some difficulty in obtaining the use of the
meeting house for public meetings, appointed Ezekiel Bates, Eliab Wight, John
Scammell and Laban Bates a committee "to examine into and report upon the
feasibility of constructing a new building and finding a suitable location there-
for." The committee reported as follows :
"We are of the opinion that the most central and convenient spot for erecting
said building is on the land occupied by David Jones, situated at the end of the
road leading from Ezekiel Bates' dwelling house to the road known as the
Taunton Road, and is bounded partly on the west by the said Taunton Road.
The said Jones proposes giving the town one acre of land for the purpose of
setting said house and other buildings upon, provided said town will agree to
erect such a building as will best accommodate the religious society in said town
for a house of public worship."
About the time this report was submitted Joseph Fairbanks, who had pre-
viously set up a saw and grist mill on the Charles River, associated with him
several of his neighbors and made the following- offer to the town :
68 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
"Bellingham, March 15, A. D. 1800.
"We, the undersigned, do hereby propose to the inhabitants of said Belling-
ham that we will undertake the building of a public house in said town for the
purpose of better accommodating said inhabitants to transact their public con-
cerns in. We propose said house to be forty-five by fifty feet on the ground,
twenty-five feet posts, and one porch fourteen feet square, which shall be built
of good materials and be well wrought; providing said town will grant the sum of
one thousand dollars, five hundred to be assessed and paid into the treasury for
the above purpose by the first day of April, 1801, and the other five hundred
to be paid by April 1, 1802, and also to grant us the privilege of building pews in
said house for the accommodation of the religious society in said town, and
giving us the benefit of the sale of said pews to defray in part the expense of
said building; and if the above proposals shall be accepted by a vote of said town,
we do hereby jointly and severally agree and engage completely to finish said
house without any other expense to said town, and we will give bonds to indem-
nify for the above purpose.
"In testimony whereof we have hereto set our hands.
"Joseph Fairbanks "Samuel Darling, Jr.
"Laban Bates "John Scammei.l
"Eliab Wight "John Chilson
"Simeon Holbrook "Elisha Burr
"Seth Holbrook "Stephen Metcalf, Jr."
At a meeting held in the following September, the proposition of these ten
public-spirited men was accepted and work commenced upon the building.
It was completed in 1802 and was dedicated in December of that year, Rev.
Thomas Baldwin of Boston preaching the dedicatory sermon. That the builders
did their work well may be seen from the fact that the building, although more
than a century old, is still used as the town hall and is well preserved.
waterworks
From the first settlement of the town, the people have depended upon wells
for their supply of water for domestic purposes. At the town meeting of March
6, 1916, it was unanimously voted "That the town do establish a system for
supplying the inhabitants of the town residing in the villages of North Belling-
ham, Caryville and South Bellingham with water, and that Addison E. Bullard,
Cornelius W. Fitzpatrick, Timothy E. Foley, Hadley D. Perkins and Ervin
E. Biglow be appointed a committee with authority to construct such system and
lay pipes, and to make contracts in relation to the same in the name and behalf
of the town."
The sum of $150 was appropriated for the use of the committee in securing
expert advice, etc. Plans were drawn and specifications prepared for two water
systems — one in the north end and the other in the south end — the former to be
connected with the Medway water system and the latter with that of Woonsocket,
Rhode Island. Owing to the prevailing high prices of materials nothing further
was done by the committee, though the people in the two districts are still hope-
ful that the near future will find them provided with waterworks.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 69
POSTOFFICES . .
Early in the year 1837 the people of the town sent a petition to the Post Office
Department asking that an office be established at Bellingham Centre, and recom-
mended Rev. Joseph T. Massey for the position of postmaster. Later in the year
the office was established under the name of "Bellingham" and Mr. Massey was
appointed. For many years this office had but one mail a day from Boston.
In the extreme northeast corner of the town is the village of Caryville, named
after William H. Cary who was at one time a resident of that locality. A post-
office was established here a few years after the one at the "Centre," with two daily
mails from Boston, one from Milford and one from Medway. At the beginning
of the year 1917 the postoffices of the town were those at Bellingbam, Caryville
and North Bellingham. Many of the inhabitants receive mail daily by rural
carrier.
VITAL STATISTICS
The earliest birth noted in the vital records of Bellingham is that of "Eleze-
bath, daughter of Zuriell and Susanah Hall," who was born on June 8, 1688,
while the town was still a part of Dedham and Mendon. The earliest recorded
marriage is that of Pliny Holbrook and Martha Perkins, which was solemnized
on May 7, 1726. Walter Cook and Margery Corbet were married on the 17th of
October in the same year. The date of the earliest death given in the vital
records is March 26, 1720, when Elizabeth, daughter of Peter and Hannah
Holbrook, died. In the old cemetery stands the gravestone of Josiah Corbet,
the inscription showing that he died in 1705, but his name does not appear in the
records. Near by is the gravestone of John Corbet [Corbett], who died in 1706.
ODD LEGISLATION
Exercising the privilege of the New England township conferred by the
General Court, Bellingham frequently issued orders or edicts having all the
force of local laws, and provided penalties for their violation. In April, 1777,
Silas Penniman fell ill and it was reported he had the smallpox. A town meeting
was hurriedly called and it was voted to establish a hospital "in the -woods."
The records of that meeting also show that it was "Voted that the town forbid
any person from having the smallpox in the house of Daniel or Silas Penniman,
except said Silas, now sick, and if any person or persons be so presumptuous as
to have the smallpox in either of them two houses they shall forfeit to the town
ten pounds, to be recovered by the treasurer."
In the spring of 1791 the smallpox again made its appearance and the question
came up in the town meeting "to see if the town will provide a house for the
inoculation of the smallpox, and voted no." The people of that day had little
faith in the efficacy of vaccination, but the meeting voted "that the town disap-
prove of the Smallpox coming into the town Contrary to Law."
During the next forty-five years public opinion underwent a change, for when
another epidemic of smallpox came in 1836 an appropriation was made for a hos-
70 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
pital on the town farm and one hundred and fifty dollars were expended for
vaccination.
THE BELLINGHAM OF TODAY
On November 27, 1919, Bellingham can celebrate its two hundredth anni-
versary as a town. During these two centuries great changes have come. The
wild beast and the savage Indian have disappeared and in their places have come
the hum of civilized industry. The chief occupation of the people of Bellingham
is agriculture. Fifty years ago shoes, farm tools, cotton and woolen goods and
some other commodities were manufactured in considerable quantities. A few of
these factories are still running, but most of them have been discontinued or
removed to more favorable localities. Their history is given in the chapter on
"Manufacturing." Bellingham has three public schools and in the year 1916
expended $10,702.84 for educational purposes. The public library, though small,
is well selected and well patronized by the people. Two lines of the New York,
New Haven and Hartford railway system and three electric lines afford ample
transportation facilities to all parts of the town. In 1910 the population was
1,696 and in 191 5 the state census reported it to be 1,953, a g am °f 2 57 m fi ve
years. In 1916 the property was valued for taxation at $1,107,960.
The town officers at the beginning of the year 191 7 were as follows : Selectmen,
Michael J. Kennedy, Harold M. Bullard and Hadley D. Perkins ; Clerk, Percy
C. Burr; Treasurer and Tax Collector, Walter H. Thayer; Auditor, Harold
G. Sackett ; Assessors, Orville C. Rhodes, Timothy E. Foley and Carroll E.
White ; Overseers of the Poor, Emery B. Whiting, Otto L. Bullard and Percy
C. Burr; School Committee, Henry McCarthy, Chester H. Richards and Richard
B. Sill.
CHAPTER XI
THE TOWN OF BRAINTREE
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES SURFACE AND DRAINAGE FIRST WHITE MEN BRAIN-
TREE INCORPORATED PETITION OF 1645 SAMUEL GORTON NEW BRAINTREE
THE PRECINCTS THE FIRST MILL TOWN HALL SOLDIERS' MONUMENT
WATERWORKS — ELECTRIC LIGHT WORKS — FIRE DEPARTMENT — POSTOFFICES — A
FEW FIRST THINGS — BRAINTREE IN I917 TOWN OFFICERS.
The Town of Braintree, situated in the eastern part of Norfolk County, was
incorporated by act of the General Court on May 13, 1640. As originally estab-
lished, it embraced the present towns of Braintree, Quincy, Randolph and Hol-
brook. Quincy was set off on February 22, 1792, and Randolph (which included
Holbrook) on March 9, 1793, reducing Braintree to its present dimensions. On
the north it is bounded by the Town of Quincy; on the east by Weymouth; on
the south by Randolph and Holbrook, and on the west by Quincy and Randolph.
SURFACE AND DRAINAGE
In common with other portions of Norfolk County, Braintree has a generally
rolling surface, though the elevations here are not so large as those in some of
the adjacent towns. The north fork of the Monatiquot River crosses the
western boundary at the northeast corner of Randolph and flows in a south-
easterly direction. The south fork forms part of the dividing line between
Braintree and Randolph. A short distance south of South Braintree the two
unite and from that point the main stream follows a northeasterly course to the
Weymouth Fore River. Great Pond is situated between the forks of the
Monatiquot, on the line between Braintree and Randolph ; Little Pond is near the
center of the town, and in the southern part is a small body of water called
Cranberry Pond. The waters of all these ponds finally reach the Monatiquot
through small streams.
FIRST WHITE MEN
In September, 1621, an expedition of thirteen men, under command of Capt.
Miles Standish, came up the coast from Plymouth in a large sailboat, entered
Boston Harbor and landed on Squantum Head, in what is now the Town of
Quincy. These were the first Englishmen to set foot upon the soil of this part
of Norfolk County. They made no attempt to found a settlement but "returned
in safety to Plymouth, full of admiration of the noble harbor and the fair
country surrounding it, which they had then for the first time seen, and wishing
they had been there seated."
71
72 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Thomas Morton, with a company of about thirty men, came to Mount Wol-
laston in June, 1622, and made a feeble effort to establish a plantation. He
soon afterward returned to England, but came back to America as a member of
Captain Wollaston's company of adventurers in June, 1625. This company es-
tablished a settlement at Mount Wollaston (then so named after the leader of
the expedition), building several houses and laying out a plantation. The severe
winter that followed seems to have been enough for Captain Wollaston, who
left there early in 1626 and went to Virginia. Those who remained came under
the leadership of Morton, who was afterward arrested and sent to England,
charged with selling liquors and fire-arms to the Indians in violation of the royal
proclamation. (See the chapter on Ouincy for a further account of Morton's
doings).
After the expulsion of Morton, the Neponset River was for several years the
southern border of the settlements about Boston. But in May, 1634, the General
Court ordered "that Boston shall have convenient enlargement at Mount Wollas-
ton, to be set out by four different men, who shall draw a plot thereof and present
it to the General Court, when it shall be confirmed." The report of the "four
different men" was confirmed by the General Court the following September. By
this arrangement large tracts of land were given to certain people of Boston, most
of whom held their lands for speculation, but a few came and established their
honres south of the Neponset, and from 1634 dates the first permanent settle-
ment of Braintree. Some five years later considerable dissatisfaction arose on
account of the non-resident land owners, and the following covenant was agreed
upon as a settlement of the question:
"It is agreed with our neighbors of Mount Wollaston, viz. : William Cheese-
brooke, Alexander Winchester, Rich : Wright, James Penniman, i. e. in the name
of the rest (for whom they undertooke) that they should give to Boston 4 shs
the acre for 2 acr of the 7 ac formerly granted to divers men of Boston upon
expectation that they should have continued still with us ; and 3s the ac for every
acre which hath bene or shallbee granted to any other who are not inhabitants
of Boston, and that, in consideration hereof and after the said potions of money
shallbee paid to the towne treasurer, all ye said lands shallbee free from any
towne rates or charges to Boston : & upon the tearms and alsoe from all county
rates assessed with Boston, but to bee rated by the Court by its selfe: Provided
that this order shall not extend to any more or other lands than such as shall
make payment of the said rates so agreed upon of the 4s and 3s the ac ; & upon
the former consideration there is granted to the Mount all that Rockye Ground
lying between the Fresh Brook & Mr. Coddington brooke adjoyning to Mr.
Hough's farme & from the West Corner of that farme to the south west corner
of Mr. Hutchinson's farme to be reserved & used in common for ever by the
Inhabitants & landholers there : together with an other parcell of Rockie ground
near Knights Neek which was left out of the third company of lots excepting
all such ground lying among or near these said Rockye grounds formerly granted
in lots to particular Persons."
BRAINTREE INCORPORATED
Soon after this covenant was made a petition of the residents was presented to
the General Court asking that they might be incorporated into a separate town,
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 73
and on May 13, 1640, the Court enacted the following: "The petition of the
inhabitants of Mount Wollaston was voted & granted them to bee a town accord-
ing to the agreement with Boston : Provided, that if they fulfill not the covenant
made with Boston & hearto affixed, it shabee in the power of Boston to recover
their due by action against the said inhabitants, or any of them, and the town is
to be called Braintree."
The town was named after Braintree, in the County of Essex, England. At the
time it was incorporated in 1640 the resident land owners, most of whom signed
the petition, were as follows: Henry Adams, George Aldrich, Samuel Allen,
Benjamin Albye, John Arnold, Gregory Belcher, Peter Brackett, James Clark,
John Clark, Thomas Clark, John Dassett, William Davis, Francis Eliot, John
French, Richard Hayward, Thomas Jewell, Benjamin Keayne, Stephen Kingsley,
Henry Maudsley, John Merchant, Thomas Meakins, John Miles, Henry Neale,
William Needham, John Pafflyn, Alexander Plumley, George Puffer, Abel Porter,
W r illiam Potter, Robert Scott, George Sheppard,, Thomas Thayer, Edward Tinge,
Henry Webb, George Wright and Richard Wright.
Samuel A. Bates says : "Previous to its incorporation Quincy was called
Mount Wollaston and Braintree, Monoticut. It took its name from the river
which flows through it, and which is spelled in so many different ways in the
ancient records that it is uncertain which is the correct one. It is now written
'Monatiquot.' Holbrook and a part of Randolph (perhaps the whole) were
called Cochato, sometimes Cocheco. In one instance Cochato was called Beer-
sheba. Tradition says that Randolph was at one time called 'Scadding,' but I
have never seen the name on the records."
petition of 1645
A little while before Braintree was incorporated, Samuel Gorton came with
a small company from England and founded a settlement in what is now Plymouth
County. Gorton's religious teachings soon brought him into conflict with the
colonial authorities. On November 3, 1643, it was ordered by the General Court
"That Samuel Gorton shall bee confined to Charlestowne there to be set on worke
and to weare such boults or irons as may hind'r his escape and to continue dure-
ing the pleasure of the Co'rt : Provided that if hee shall breake his said con-
finem't or shall in the meane time either by speach or writeing publish declare
or maintaine any of the blasphemos or abominable heresys wherew'th hee hath
bene charged by the Generall Co'rt contained in either of the two bookes sent
unto us by him or Randle Holden or shall reproach (or) repr've the churches
of o'r Lord Jesus Christ in these United Colonies or the civill governm't or the
publick ordinances of God therein (unless it bee by answer to some question
ppounded to him in conference w'th any elder or with any other licensed to
speake with him privately under the hand of one of the Assistants) that imme-
diately upon accusation of any such writeing or speach hee shall by such Assist-
ant to whom such accusation shallbee brought bee committed to prison till the
next Co'rt of Assistants then and there to be tryed by a Jury whether hee hath
so spoken or written and upon his conviction there of shallbee Condemed to
death and Executed."
This was rather severe upon one who sought to exercise that religious liberty
74 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
for which the Pilgrims and Puritans exiled themselves from their native land,
but it had the effect of breaking up Gorton's settlement. Not long after Gorton
was confined at Charlestown, pursuant to the above order, the General Court
ordered him to be banished from Massachusetts and he sought a refuge in Rhode
Island, some of those who came with him from England accompanying him to
that colony. In 1645 a petition was presented to the authorities by some of the
inhabitants of Braintree, asking for permission to begin a new plantation "where
Gorton and his companie had erected two or more houses."
Those who signed the petition were : Christopher Adams, Henry Adams,
Sr., Henry Adams, Jr., John Adams, Samuel Adams, Thomas Adams, George
Aldridge, Thomas Barrett, Richard Brackett, Deodatus Curtis, Francis Eliot,
William Ellice, Thomas Flatman, John French, John Garing, Humfry Grigs,
John Hastings, Nathaniel Herman, Stephen Kingsley, Henry Maudsley, Thomas
Meakins, Robert Quelues, John Shepard, Daniel Shode, Edward Sparlden,
William Vaysey, Arthur Waring, Thomas Waterman, Christopher Webb, John
Wheateley, Thomas Wilmet and Nicholas Woode, "They beeing about twenty of
the thirty-two subscribers freemen."
The petition was dated October 7, 1645, an ^ a few days later it was denied
by Mr. Browne, one of the commissioners of the United Colonies, who gave
as his reason therefor that the place was in Plymouth and that the Massachu-
setts Bay Colony had no jurisdiction. Thus ended the first effort of the people
of Braintree to acquire more territory.
NEW BRAINTREE
By 1666 practically all of the land in the town available for cultivation had
been allotted to settlers. Early in October of that year the inhabitants presented
to the General Court a petition "to grant unto us a quantity of six thousand acres
of land in some place so as may be a relief to the inhabitants of this Towne
which we hope will be according to God & no detriment to any other Township."
On October 11, 1666, the General Court voted that "In answer to the petition
of the Inhabitants of Braintree, the Court on Consideration of the reasons therein
expressed judge meet to grant unto them six thousand acres of Land in some
place, limited to one place, not prejudicing any plantation or particular grant."
A committee of the citizens selected a tract lying between Braintree and
Plymouth, but the General Court refused to confirm the selection. On March
31, 1670, the selectmen of the town appointed a deputy to bring the matter before
the General Court. The personnel of that body had changed materially since
the petition had been allowed four years before, and the Court saw "no cause
to grant the petition." There the matter rested for more than forty years.
At the town meeting on March 2, 1713, Peter Adams, John Cleverly, Nehemiah
Hayden, Nathaniel Hubbard and Joseph Neall were elected selectmen. These men
immediately set in motion the machinery to obtain the grant of 6,000 acres allowed
by the General Court in 1666. First they ascertained that the claim of the town
was still valid, and then the question was submitted to a town meeting on June
8, 1713. At that meeting the action of the selectmen was approved, and it was
voted "That Captain Chapin, Peter Webb and Joseph Crosby be a committee to
find & lay out the six thousand acres of land formerly granted by the Honoured
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 75
Court to this Town & to do what is needful to be done about the same in ye
space of one year & shall have for their so doing Thirty Pounds if the thing be
effected otherwise nothing. And if Captain Chapin should refuse to go then Cap-
tain Mills to be joyn'd to ye other two."
The committee visited several localities where the land had not all been par-
celed out to actual settlers, and finally selected a tract in the western part of
Worcester County. The tract soon afterward became known as ''Braintree
Farms.'" In 1751 it was included in and gave name to the Town of New Brain-
tree. It was so far away that only a few of the inhabitants of Braintree went
there to settle and the land was divided into lots and sold, the proceeds being
divided among the precincts — that portion of the town now comprising Quincy
being known as the North Precinct, Braintree proper, the Middle Precinct, and
Randolph and Holbrook, the South Precinct.
THE PRINCINCTS
It may be of interest to the reader to know something of the manner in which
the town was divided into three precincts. The original Braintree settlement
was along the shores of the bay and on the upland and in the valleys in the
immediate vicinity. In February, 1640, only about three months before the in-
corporation of Braintree as a separate town, a grant of land on the Monatiquot
River was made to John Collins, who was probably the first actual settler in that
locality. By slow degrees the population worked its way back from the shores
of the bay into the interior.
On January 19, 1643, tne Town of Boston granted to John Winthrop and
his associates 3,000 acres of land on the Monatiquot, "to be laid out next adjoin-
ing and most convenient for their said iron works." The "said iron works" thus
referred to consisted of a company formed about that time under the name of
the "Company Undertakers of the Iron Works," for the purpose of establishing
a foundry somewhere in the colony of Massachusetts. The works were built on
the Monatiquot River and stimulated immigration to that part of the Town of
Braintree, though as early as 1658 a few adventurous settlers had established
claims as far west and south as the present Randolph line, on the old road to
Taunton. One of these settlers was John Moore, who located upon a tract of
600 acres between the Monatiquot River and the Great Pond. This tract was
known as the "Moore Farm" for more than two centuries, and that portion of
the river forming part of its boundary was called "Moore's Farm River," in
memory of the first settler upon its banks.
Now, it should be borne in mind that during the early settlement of Massa-
chusetts, the church and the town government were inseparable, remaining so in
fact, to some degree at least, until after the adoption of the revised constitution
in 1820, which made a complete separation of the church and state. About thirty-
five years after John Moore and his associates settled in the southwestern part
of the town, a sentiment grew up among them that they were entitled to a more
convenient place for holding religious services, as some of them were compelled
to go several miles to attend public worship. No organized effort was made,
however, to establish another church until about 1690. The movement was
opposed by the inhabitants of the northern portion of the town and a bitter feud
76 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
grew up between the different sections. Little can be learned of the dispute from
the records, but one John Marshall, who lived in the north end, left a diary in
which were some caustic criticisms of certain persons living in the southern part,
"who acted in a disorderly manner and withdrew from the Lord's table." The
contention went on until 1706, when the members of the congregation living in
the southern part built a new meeting house at the corner of Elm and Washing-
ton streets. Concerning this meeting house Samuel A. Bates says : "That it was
built legally no one claimed, but its founders did claim that might had deprived
them of their just rights, the opposers of the new movement being composed of
the most influential citizens of the town, at the head of whom stood the Hon.
Edmund Quincy, one of the leaders of government in the colony."
Notwithstanding the influential opposition, the builders of the meeting house
went ahead, and on September 10, 1707, Rev. Hugh Adams was installed as
pastor. The north end continued its objections and the members of the new con-
gregation petitioned the legal authorities to be set off as a distinct precinct, or
parish, to be called ''the South Precinct in Braintree." The petition was granted
on condition that they continued to pay their proportion of the expense of sup-
porting the old society, which was levied upon them in the form of a tax, and
also to pay for their own pastor, the money for which was raised by subscrip-
tion. On November 3, 1708, a town meeting was held "to fix upon a suitable and
reasonable line of division, and that said line be lovingly agreed upon and settled,
if it may be." There were some who still opposed the division of the town, but
after some discussion it was voted that Edmund Quincy and Nehemiah Hay den
be appointed a committee to agree upon a line and present the matter to the
General Court, then in session, asking that the southern part of the town be set
off as a separate precinct. This was done two days later, hence the South Pre-
cinct came legally into existence on November 5, 1708. Among those who were
especially active in bringing about the establishment of the new precinct were:
Joseph Allen, Samuel Bass, Samuel French, Nehemiah Hayden, Caleb Hobart,
Samuel Niles, Jr., Ebenezer Thayer and Samuel White.
After the division of the church and the organization of the South Precinct,
the original Braintree settlement appears in the records as the North Precinct,
which was set off as the Town of Quincy in 1792. The records of a town meet-
ing held on November 17, 1727, show clearly that there were then but the two
precincts. The first mention of the Middle Precinct is in the minutes of the
town meeting held on March 4, 1728. This would indicate that the precinct was
established some time between those two dates, but the writer has been unable to
find any account of the manner in which it was created.
THE FIRST MILL
One of the first acts of a town meeting was to grant to Richard Wright the
privilege of building a mill. On May 1, 1641, it was ordered by a town meeting
"That their shall noe other mill be built in the plantation without the consent of
Richard Right or his heires so long as. the mill remains in ther hands which was
built by the said Richard Right, unless it evidently appear that the sd mill will
not serve the plantation & that he or they will not built another in convenient
time."
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 77
This mill figured prominently in the town's history for more than a quarter of
a century. On April 30, 1662, a ca^e came before a Country Court held in Boston,
in which the parties to the action were as follows : "Thomas ffaxon, Sen r Peter
Brackit & Moses Paine in the behalfe of the Towne of Brantrey Plaintiff vs
Thomas Gatliffe of the s d Towne Defendant." In this action the defendant was
charged with "Treaspassing vpon the Townes right in lands that is or hath bine
flowed by the mill pond by mowing grass and chalenging it as his owne propriety ;
as alsa treaspassing vpon the Towne's common in fencing in part of it & vpon
the townes highway by his building fencing & digging holes according to attach-
ment dat: 23 2d mo 1662."
It seems that Gatliffe showed to the satisfaction of the court that he had
acted within his rights in "treaspassing" as charged, and the case was settled by
the plaintiffs and defendant entering into the following agreement :
"Whereas a p'cell of land aboute twenty years Sine was granted vnto Richard
Wright by ye Towne of boston for the encorigement and furtheranc of a water
mill at Brantrey wch said mill & pond together with other estate hath been solde by
the said W right vnto major Gibbins & by him vnto Symon Lynde and by the said
Lynd assigned to Thomas Gatleiffe who' now dwelleth (on) & posesseth the same
& Wheras sundry differences are arisen concerning ye mill pond & flowing therof
by reason of divers apprehensions how & for what end ye sd pond was granted
therfore so it is that I Thomas Gatliffe of Brantrey miller doe herby owne &
declare that I doe fully apreehend & adjudge that ye sayd mill and pond & flowing
thereof was at first granted for such an end and purpose as that ye Towne of
Brantrey might be served & accommodated therby and as it hath ben hitherto so
improved & at this time it is so : I declare and promise by gods assistance that
I my heires & assignes shall so improved the said pond & noe wayes seeke to cast
downe or demolish the same to the Frustrateing of ye Townes accomodations as
wel as my owne particuler proffit by grinding.
"And we Thomas ffaxon, Sr., Peter Brackitt and Moses Paine, part of the
Selectmen of Brantrey and as chosen & apointed by ye Towne of Brantrey to end
and settle the differences about ye said pond doe also herby in o'r owne name &
and in the name of ye Towne of Brantrey declare & owne that we also aprehend
& Judge that the formentioned mill pond was granted as aforsaid for & to such
an end & purpose as is above exprest and doe herby for us and o'r successors of
ye Towne of Brantrey declare and promise that neither wee nor they shall or
will seeke to interrupt hinder or molest the said Thomas Gatlieffe his heires or
assignes for or touching ye s d mill pond or ye flowing therof or any wayes seeke
to demolish the same but on ye contrary gladly cherrish & countenanc the main-
tening & upholding the same for the ends and purposes aformentioned for wch
it was granted."
The agreement was signed by all the plaintiffs and the defendant, and was
witnessed by Richard Brackett and Richard Cook. The settlement of this suit
left Thomas Gatliffe in peaceable possession of the mill property and for a num-
ber of years thereafter he ground the town's corn. Twelve years later the mill
question again came before a town meeting. The records for January 20, 1674,
contain the following entry :
"Ther being a legal Towne meeting of the inhabitants meet to consider of
some proposalls made to the Towne by Leut John Holbrook & Christopher W r ebb
78 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
about the mill being wholly demolished by fire there was chosen Capt Rich Brackit
Deacon Base (Bass) Edm Quinsey Robert Tweles & Joseph Crosby by the Towne
for a committee to heare and consider and to act for themselfes & the Towne of
Brantrey's behalfe."
On the 22nd the committee reported that the original grant to Richard Wright
and the contract with Thomas Gatliffe had been duly considered, in connection
with the proposals of Lieutenant Holbrook and Christopher Webb, and closed
the report with this statement : ''We agree that the custom of the Towne is
ingagded to this mill while wel supplyed & vsed Therefore we account him an
offender that doe make vse of any River that is not perticuler propriety to grind
for the Inhabitants." Thus the monopoly granted to Richard Wright thirty-five
years before was maintained and this mill remained for some years longer the
only one authorized by the town.
TOWN HALL
From the incorporation of the town in 1640 to 1730 the town meetings were
held in the North Precinct meeting house. For the following twenty years they
were held alternately in that building and the meeting house in the Middle Pre-
cinct. From 1750 to the building of the town hall on the corner of Washington
and Union streets in 1830 they were held in the Middle Precinct meeting house.
The first meeting in the town hall was held on March 1, 1830. That hall was
sold in 1858 to private parties, who removed it to Taylor Street and converted it
into two dwelling houses.
On February 11, 1851, was probated the will of Josiah French, a native of
Braintree and a man who had been active in promoting the interests of the town.
The will was dated March 19, 1845, and contained the following provision: "I
give and devise to the Town of Braintree, in the County of Norfolk, Common-
wealth of Massachusetts, a certain piece of mowing and tillage land lying situate
in said Braintree, containing five acres, more or less, and bounded as follows :
Easterly on Washington Street, northerly on land of Capt. Ralph Arnold,
southerly on town land, and westerly on land of Peter Dyer. To have and to
hold the same to the said Town of Braintree forever, to be used and occupied by
the said town as a common or common field for companies and buildings for
town or public business, but no private dwelling houses or buildings whatever to
be placed on said premises, but to be forever French's common, except the wood
I give my wife."
Mr. French died on January 1, 1851, and after his will was probated the town
had to defend a lawsuit before it obtained possession of the property. The case
was finally settled in favor of the town and immediately afterward it was decided
to erect a new town hall upon the tract, which is situated near the geographical
center of the town. The new building was completed in 1858, when the old hall
was sold, as already stated. The hall erected in 1858 was used for town meetings
and the transaction of public business until its destruction by fire, when the
present handsome and commodious structure was erected upon the same site.
Braintree now has one of the finest and best appointed town halls in the State of
Massachusetts. It is of brick, stone and steel and is as nearly fireproof as human
ingenuity can devise. On the main floor are the town offices and a large hall,
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 79
capable of seating about one thousand people. On the second floor is a hall for
the Grand Army of the Republic and rooms used for various purposes. The base-
ment contains the heating plant and storage vaults. It was completed in 1912
and cost about ninety thousand dollars.
On French's Common is also situated the public library, and between the
library building and the town hall stands the soldiers' monument, which was
dedicated on June 17, 1874.
THE MONUMENT
Early in the year 1865 a meeting of citizens was held in the town hall to con-
sider the subject of erecting a suitable memorial to the Braintree soldiers who
sacrificed their lives in defense of the Union. As a means of raising the neces-
sary funds it was decided to hold a fair, a project in which the women of the
town joined and about fourteen hundred dollars were thus realized. With this
fund as a nucleus a canvass for subscriptions was commenced. Harvey White
left the monument fund a legacy of $500, which with the sum raised by the fair
and the subscriptions paid in was placed at interest until such time as the money
was needed to pay for a memorial.
In 1867 another meeting was held, at which F. A. Hobart, Asa French, Horace
Abercrombie, Levi W. Hobart, E. W. Arnold, Jason G. Howard, Edward Avery,
Alva Morrison and Edward Potter were appointed a committee "to procure plans
and estimates for a suitable memorial." Mr. Howard and Mr. Potter removed
from the town before anything definite was done by the committee, and their
places were filled by James T. Stevens and William M. Richards. Several
designs were submitted to the committee and on June 27, 1873, the town voted
"That the soldiers' monument committee be instructed to erect upon some portion
of the town land, near the town house, a statue cut in granite, after a model
submitted by Messrs. Batterson & Canfield of Hartford, Connecticut, with a
pedestal designed by H. & J. E. Billings, architects of Boston, at a cost not exceed-
ing five thousand dollars above the foundation."
On the front of the pedestal is the inscription: "The Town of Braintree builds
this monument in grateful remembrance of the brave men whose names it bears."
On the reverse is the simple inscription — "Dying they Triumphed," and on the
north and south sides are the names of the forty-six Braintree soldiers who fell
in action or died while in the service of the United States. The pedestal is sur-
mounted by a life-sized statue of an infantry soldier, standing with his musket
"at rest," carved in Westerly granite. The total cost of the monument was
$6,466.26 of which sum the town appropriated $3,628.07.
WATERWORKS
The first move toward supplying the Town of Braintree with water for domes-
tic purposes and for extinguishing fires was made on March 26, 1884, when the
Legislature passed an act incorporating the Braintree Water Supply Company.
In the act N. E. Hollis, Benjamin F. Dyer, George D. Willis, James T. Stevens,
A. S. Morrison, Samuel W. Hollis and Ebenezer Denton were named as the
incorporators of the company, and they, their "associates, successors and assigns,"
80 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
were authorized to make a contract with the Ouincy Water Company for a supply
of water for the Town of Braintree.
This act was repealed by the act of June 3, 1886, which incorporated a new
Water Supply Company in the name of Francis A. Hobart, William Wheeler,
Joseph E. Manning, E. W. Arnold, Benjamin F. Dyer and Charles F. Parks,
"their associates and successors." The new company was given the privilege of
taking the waters, "or so much thereof as may be necessary," of Great Pond,
situated in the towns of Braintree and Randolph, "and the waters of any spring
or artesian or driven wells within the Town of Braintree, and the water rights
connected therewith,, except the property known as the Monatiquot spring, so
called, in South Braintree," etc.
The capital stock of the company, as authorized by the act, was not to exceed
$100,000, and Section 10 provided : "That the said Town of Braintree shall have
the right, at any time during the continuance of the charter hereby granted, to
purchase the franchise, corporate property and all rights and privileges of said
corporation, at a price which may be mutually agreed upon between said corpo-
ration and the said town," etc., and by Section n the town was authorized to
issue bonds to an amount not exceeding $100,000 to pay for the same, or to pro-
vide for annual payments which should not extend beyond the life of the charter.
By the act of May 20, 1891, the town was authorized to issue bonds to the
amount of $50,000, or notes or scrip to that amount, "to complete the purchase
of the waterworks of the Braintree Water Supply Company." The act also
authorized the town to take certain lands on the borders of Little Pond, in order
to obtain an additional water supply. Under the provisions of this act, the Brain-
tree Waterworks became the property of the town. Since that time additional
bonds and notes have been authorized for the purpose of extending the mains,
purchasing new pumping machinery and otherwise improving the plant. At the
close of the year 1916 the total amount of water bonds and notes outstanding was
$276,000. For the redemption of these bonds there was at the same time an
accumulated sinking fund of $229,810.04, leaving a net indebtedness on the water-
works of $46,189.96. According to the report of W. E. Maybury, superintendent
of the works, there were a little over forty-six miles of mains, and the income
for the year from the sale of water and making connections was $32,347.46.
ELECTRIC LIGHT WORKS
The Braintree municipal lighting plant was established in 1893. Of the bonds
issued on April 5, 1893, to pay for construction, the amount outstanding on Decem-
ber, 31, 1916, was $16,500, practically offset by a sinking fund of $15,866.92. At
the close of the year 1916 the sendee included 725 street lights, for which the town
paid $6,282, and 1,600 private customers. According to the report of the town
treasurer, the total income of the plant was $41,890.94. During the year nearly
fifteen thousand dollars were expended in the purchase of new machinery, making
the estimated value of the equipment at the close of the year over one hundred thou-
sand dollars. Few towns in the state have a better lighting system than Brain-
tree, and the cost of light to the consumer is much lower than in many of the
large cities. F. B. Lawrence, manager of the municipal lighting department,
closes his report for 1916 by saying: "Prices on pole-line, hardware, poles, wire
MOUNT VERNON HOUSE, KING OAK HILL
W EYMOUTH HEIGHTS
BATHS OPERA HOUSE, (EAST) BRAINTREE
FACING WEYMOUTH SQUARE
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 81
and fuel have increased considerably over 1915, yet our manufacturing cost has
been well within our income. With increased business and greater generating
efficiency, we expect to make an even better showing for the coming year."
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Protection against fire was a subject that early claimed the attention of the
people of Braintree. On January 11, 1644, a town meeting "Ordered that evry
(house) holder in this towne shall by the first day of March next insuing shall
have a Ladder of his to stand up against his Chimney to secure them & the towne
from fire or else shall be lyable to pay what penalty the towne's men shall impose
one them."
That was the beginning of Braintree's fire protection system. The ladders
were followed by the old-time "bucket brigade," in which all the citizens within
call formed a line between the burning building and the nearest available water
supply and passed pails of water from hand to hand, the last man at the end of
the line dashing the water upon the fire. Then the hand engine and the company
of volunteer firemen came into use. This was a decided improvement upon the
bucket brigade, but it was far short of the present modern system of fighting fires.
The Braintree fire department now consists of three stations — one in each pre-
cinct — equipped with the most approved apparatus. Each station is provided
with a hose company and a hook and ladder company, and each is equipped wtih
a combination motor truck. The total amount of appropriation for the support
of the department in 1916 was $12,711.73, of which $3,529.75 was for the pay
of firemen. According to the report of F. A. Tenney, chief of the department,
sixty-three calls were answered during the year 1916. The total value of prop-
erty involved was $94,800 and the actual loss was only a little over eleven thou-
sand dollars — a recommendation of the department's efficiency.
POSTOFFICES
When the United States postoffice department was established under the law
of 1792, there were not more than eight or ten regular postoffices in Massachu-
setts. The office at Braintree — the first in the town — was established in Febru-
ary, 1825, with Asa French as postmaster. He kept the office in his house on
Washington Street. The South Braintree postoffice was established on March 13,
1845, w ^h Judson Stoddard as postmaster, and was at first located on the corner
of Washington and Pearl streets. The United States Postal Guide for July, 191 7,
gives both of these offices as branches of the Boston postoffice.
A FEW FIRST THINGS
The first white child born in the town was Hannah Niles, a daughter of John
and Jane Niles. She was born on February 12, 1636.
The first marriage was that of Henry Adams and Elizabeth Paine, which was
solemnized on October 17, 1643.
The first recorded death was that of Mary Paine, whose burial occurred on
June 2, 1643.
82 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
The first case of insanity was reported in 1651, when "In answer to the peti-
tion of John Heydon of Braintree, for relief in respect of his distracted childe,"
he was allowed five pounds per annum toward the charges of keeping the child, etc.
The first manilla paper ever manufactured was made at the Hollingsworth
Paper Mills in Braintree in 1843.
The first church was organized on Sunday, September 16, 1639.
The first school mentioned in the records was taught in 1648 by Henry Flint,
teacher of the First Church.
The first factory was the iron works, established on the Monatiquot River in
1643-
The first newspaper was published on June 5, 1875.
BRAINTREE OF TODAY
According to the United States census, the population of Braintree in 1910 was
8,066, and the state census of 191 5 reported a population of 9,343, an increase of
1,277 m fi ve years. The assessed valuation of property in 1916 was $9,780,179,
an increase of $1,158,127 over the assessment of the preceding year. The total
appropriations made by the annual town meeting of 1916 amounted to $195,268.73,
of which $61,093 were for the support of the public schools, and $33,944 for
the maintenance of streets and highways. From these liberal appropriations it
can be readily seen that the people of Braintree believe in education and good
roads. South Braintree has a bank, there are two weekly newspapers published
in the town, excellent transportation facilities are afforded by the New York,
New Haven & Hartford Railway and the electric lines that traverse the town,
churches of various denominations are open to worshipers of all beliefs, the
Thayer Academy, one of the leading educational institutions of Norfolk County
is located in Braintree, the manufacturing interests are both varied and extensive,
the last report of the State Bureau of Statistics giving reports from eighteen
Braintree concerns having a combined capital of $3,299,047 and employing 2,000
people, and the mercantile establishments compare favorably with those in towns
of similar size and population.
The principal town officers at the beginning of the year 191 7 were as follows:
George H. Holbrook, Henry M. Storm and B. H. Woodsom, selectmen, highway
surveyors and overseers of the poor; Henry A. Monk, clerk; Otis B. Oakman,
treasurer; Albion C. Drinkwater, Henry W. Mansfield and Henry M. Storm,
assessors; Frank W. Couillard, Paul Monaghan and C. F. Tarbox, auditors;
William C. Harrison, John Kelley and James T. Stevens, water commissioners
and commissioners of sinking funds ; Alexander T. Carson, Charles T. Crane and
Norton W. Potter, municipal light board ; Ann M. Brooks, Frederick C. Folsom,
William W. Gallagher, Benjamin Hawes, Carrie F. Loring and Frank A. Reed,
school committee ; J. F. Kemp, Ray S. Hubbard and James H. Stedman, park
commissioners; Frank A. Smith, tax collector; J. S. Hill, Fred A. Tenney, Frank
O. Whitmarsh and the selectmen, engineers of the fire department; Jeremiah F.
Gallivan, chief of police.
CHAPTER XII
THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE
LOCATION, BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT — TOPOGRAPHY — THE HOOKER GRANT — ALLOT-
MENTS OF LAND — FIRST MOVE FOR SEPARATION FROM BOSTON — INCORPORATION
OF BROOKLINE FIRST ELECTION ADJUSTING THE BOUNDARIES TOWN HALL
WATERWORKS — FIRE DEPARTMENT — PUNCH BOWL TAVERN — BROOKLINE OF THE
PRESENT.
Brookline is the most northeastern town of Norfolk County. When the county
was established in 1793, its territory was continuous from the Charles River at
Charlestown to the Rhode Island line. Since then the towns surrounding Brook-
line have all been annexed to the city, leaving the town segregated from the main
body of Norfolk County and bounded on all sides by the City of Boston. Its
greatest length from northeast to southwest is nearly four and a half miles, and
its average width from southeast to northwest is a little less than two miles.
TOPOGRAPHY
Like most of the country near the sea coast in Eastern Massachusetts, the
surface of Brookline rises gradually from the side next to the shore line toward
the interior. On some maps are shown a line of elevations marked "Brookline
Hills." The highest of these is Lyman's (or Cabot's) Hill, the summit of which
is 336 feet above high-water mark. Next comes Hyde's Hill, which rises to a
height of 309 feet above the .high-water line. Near the old standpipe of the
Brookline Waterworks is another elevation 306 feet high, and Walnut Hill has
an altitude of 283 feet. Other hills, of less altitude, but equally beautiful and
picturesque, are Goddard Heights, Aspinwall's, Fisher's, Corey's, Bradley's, Bab-
cock and Chestnut Hills, all except the last mentioned deriving their names from
early owners. From the top of these hills a fine view of the surrounding country
may be obtained, and the diversified surface of Brookline, its location, and other
attractions have made the town a favorite resort for the suburban residents of
Boston.
The principal stream is the Charles River, which now merely touches the
town on the northeast. When the Town of Brookline was first incorporated in
1705, the Charles River formed the boundary line for some distance on the north,
but that portion of the town was subsequently annexed to Boston. Muddy River
has its source in Jamaica Pond and forms a portion of the boundary line between
Brookline and the city. The early settlement, known as ''Muddy River Hamlet,"
took its name from this stream. In early days vessels of considerable tonnage
could ascend the Muddy River with cargoes of goods for the inhabitants, deliver-
83
84 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
ing them at AspimvaH's Dock or Cotton's Landing. There are also several small
brooks in the town, hence every part of it is well watered.
THE HOOKER GRANT
The first organized effort to plant a settlement along the shores of Muddy
River was made in the autumn of 1634. Two years prior to that time Rev. Air.
Hooker and forty-six members of his congregation at Mount Wollaston were
granted permission by the General Court to remove to New Town (now Cam-
bridge). In May, 1634, these same people complained of a scarcity of land, espe-
cially meadow, in New Town and requested permission to look for and remove
to a new location. The request was granted and messengers were sent out in
different directions to seek a site for a new settlement. Those who went to
Connecticut brought back flattering reports of the conditions there, and on Septem-
ber 4, 1634, a petition was presented to the General Court praying for permission
to remove to Connecticut. Fifteen of the deputies expressed themselves in favor
of granting the petition, but the other ten were opposed. The governor and two
assistants also favored the proposition to allow the people to depart from New
Town, but other officials took the opposite view. The matter was finally com-
promised by Mr. Hooker's company accepting the enlargements of land granted
by Boston and Watertown, viz: "What are now the towns of Brookline, Brighton
and Newton, excepting that portion which had previously been assigned to indi-
viduals. These donations of land to New Town were made upon condition that
Mr. Hooker's company should not remove from the colony, as is shown by the
record of September 25, 1634, to wit:
"Also it is ordered, that the ground aboute Muddy Ryver, belonging to Boston
& vsed by the inhabitants thereof, shall hereafter belonge to Newe Towne, the
wood & Timber thereof groweinge & to be groweinge to be reserved to the inhab-
itants of Boston; provided, and it is the meaneing of the Court, that if Mr.
Hooker and the congregacon nowe setted here shall remove hence, that then the
aforesaid meadowe ground shall returne to Waterton & the ground att Muddy
Ryver to Boston."
In April, 1635, the General Court appointed Ensign William Jennison to run
and mark the line between New Town and Roxbury. His report was as follows :
"The line between Roxbury and New Town is laid to run southwest from Muddy
River near the place called 'Nowell's Bridge' a tree marked on four sides, and
from the mouth of the River to that place ; the south side is for Roxbury and the
north for Newtown."
Apparently the lands at Muddy River were not to the liking of Mr. Hooker
and his associates and the records do not show that they made any serious attempt
to found a settlement at that place. Early in 1636 the entire congregation, num-
bering about one hundred people, led by Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone, went to
Connecticut and laid the foundation of the City of Hartford. After their depar-
ture the land at Muddy River reverted to Boston, in accordance with the proviso
included in the grant of September, 1634. William Spencer, Nicholas Danforth
and William Jennison were appointed to locate the boundary lines between New
Town and Boston and made the following report in April, 1636:
"We whose names are underwritten, being appointed by the Court to set out
COUNTRY CLUB, BROOKLINE
ST. MARK'S METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. BROOKLINE
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 85
the bounds of the New Town upon Charles River, do agree that the bounds of the
town shall run from the marked tree, by Charles River, on the Northwest side of
the Roxbury bounds, one and a half miles North east, and from thence three miles
northwest, and so from thence five miles Southwest ; and on the Southwest side
of Charles River, from the Southeast of Roxbury bounds, to run four miles on
a Southwest line, reserving the proprieties to several persons, granted by special
order of the Court."
This report was signed by all three of the commissioners and their intention
was to restore the Muddy River territory, or so much of it as had not been granted
to individuals, as set forth in the last clause. The lines recommended by the com-
mittee were not accurately established and when the name of New Town was
changed to Cambridge by act of the General Court on March 2, 1638, some dissat-
isfaction arose over the vague condition of the boundary dividing the towns of
Cambridge and Boston. The two towns were therefore authorized to appoint
members of a joint committee to settle the question. Boston appointed Thomas
Oliver and William Collbron, and Cambridge appointed John Bridge, Richard
Champney, Gregory Stone, Joseph Isaac and Thomas Marett. The committee
was appointed on December 20, 1639, but did not do its work until the following
summer, when the line was marked and established as follows:
"We whose names are underwritten being appointed by the towns to which
we belong, to settle the bounds between Boston (Muddy River) and Cambridge,
have agreed that the partition shall run from Charles River, up along the channel
of Smelt Brook to a marked tree upon the brink of said brook, near the first and
lowest reedy meadow; and from that tree, in a straight line, to the great red oak,
formerly marked by agreement, at the foot of the great hill, on the northernmost
end thereof ; and from the said great red oak to Dedham Line, by the trees marked
bv agreement of both parties this August 2, 1640."
The establishment of this line restored to Boston the lands along Muddy River
almost identically as they had been claimed by the town before the grant to Rev.
Mr. Hooker's congregation in 1634. The condition of the lands was then about
as described in Wood's "New England Prospect" in 1633, the year before the
Hooker grant was made, viz :
"The inhabitants of Boston, for their enlargement, have taken to themselves
farm houses in a place called Muddy River, two miles from their town, where is
good ground, large timber, and store of marsh land and meadow. In this place
they keep their swine and other cattle in the summer, whilst corn is on the ground
at Boston ; and bring them to town in winter."
ALLOTMENTS OF LAND
Among the early settlers of Boston the custom prevailed of parceling out the
land to families in proportion to the number of members in each family. This
was done by a given number of persons selected for the purpose — usually five
or seven — who were known as "overseers of the town's occasions," or sometimes
"townsmen" or "allotters." Between the years 1634 and 1640, on different occa-
sions, the lands at Muddy River were thus divided and allotted to the citizens.
Among the larger grants were 100 acres of upland and 15 acres of marsh to
Thomas Leveritt, the same quantities of each to Thomas Oliver, 150 acres to
86 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
William Coulborne, ioo acres to Wentworth Day, 80 acres of upland and 20 acres
of marsh to Captain Underhill, and to John Cotton "all the ground lying betweene
the twoe brooks, next to William Colborne's allotment there and soe to the other
end unto the shortest overcut beyond the hill toward the northwest."
Those who received "Greate Lotts" were : John Kenricke, John Leveritt,
Richard Holledge, Gryffen Bowen, John Smyth, David Offley, Richard Sherman,
George Curtys, Henry Messenger, Thomas Scottoe, Joshua Scottoe, William Ting,
Thomas Painter, William Blanton (carpenter), Leonard Buttles (bricklayer),
Robert Wing, Jacob Wilson, Mawdit Inge, William Hudson, Jr., Nathaniel
Woodward, John Love, William Hibbins, Edward Grosse, Theodor Atkinsone,
Edward Fletcher, Silvester Saunders, Ralph Mason, Thomas Wheeler, Thomas
Alcock and Edmund Oremsby.
Isaac Grosse received fifty acres ; Edward Bendall, thirty-five acres ; Phile-
mon Pormont, thirty acres; George Griggs and Nathaniel Woodward, Sr., twenty-
eight acres each ; William Pell and Robert Reynolds, twenty-five acres each :
Thomas Flint, William Dynely, Richard Tappin and Francis Bushnall, twenty-
four acres each ; and Richard Fairbancke, twenty-three acres.
Twenty-acre lots were allotted to Nathaniel Heaton, Richard Bulgar, Robert
Mear, Thomas Wardall, Robert Tytus and Alexander Winchester.
John Cramme, Robert Houlton, William Beamsly, Thomasyn Scottna
(widow), James and Richard Fitch received sixteen acres each.
Those who received fifteen acres each in the general allotment were : George
Baytes, William Blackstone, Henry Burchall and William Talmage.
Descending the scale, John Mylam and Robert Walker each received allot-
ments of fourteen acres, though the latter was subsequently granted five acres of
the marsh land.
Benjamin Ward, Raphe Route and William Wilson were awarded lots of
twelve acres each.
Allotments of ten acres each were made to James Davisse, John Cranwell,
William Courser, Robert Turner, William Denning, John Arratt, Thomas Snow
and William Coulborne, the last named having previously received a grant of
150 acres.
Quite a number received allotments of eight acres, viz. : Edward Browne,
James Johnson, Edmund Jackson, Elizabeth Purton (widow), W'illiam Salter,
William Townsend, Henry Elkyn, Jarrat Bourne, John Bigge, Alexander Becke,
Robert Reade, Mathew Ines, Anthony Hawker, John Pemmerton, Anne Oremsby
(widow) and John Odline.
Thomas Savage received seven acres, Isaac Perry a "houseplott," and several
grants were made to persons if there was sufficient land to be had. Edward
Grubb, Benjamin Gillum, Job Davis and a few others purchased their lands out-
right, paying therefor ten shillings an acre.
Most of those to whom lands at Muddy River were allotted were residents of
Boston, and only a few of the recipients became actual settlers. For about
seventy-five years after the settlement of Boston the territory now included in
the Town of Brookline was known as "Muddy River," "Muddy River Hamlet,"
or "Boston Commons," the last name having probably been applied because of
the fact that on December 30, 1639, it was agreed that there should be set apart
"500 acres at Muddy River for perpetuall Commonage to the Inhabitants there
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 87
and the towne of Boston, to begin at the outer bounds of Mr. Hibbin's Lott, and
soe to goe into the Country, as the Land will afford, before any other allotments
are laid outt hereafter."
During this period the inhabitants of Muddy River remained under the "care
and jurisdiction of the Town of Boston," and paid taxes to the Boston authorities.
FIRST MOVE FOR SEPARATION
The first move on the part of the people of Muddy River for the privilege of
acting independently of Boston in any way, was made on March 29, 1686, when
they presented a petition to the Boston selectmen for permission to establish a
school. In response to the petition "It was voted that the selectmen take this
matter into consideration and inquire into the reason thereof and represent it to
the next General Towne Meeting what is necessary to be done therein."
No report was made by the selectmen and after waiting for several months
the inhabitants of Muddy River grew somewhat impatient. A petition asking for
exemption from town rates and the privilege of establishing a school was pre-
sented to the General Court, where the records show it was disposed of as follows :
"New England: — By the President and Councill of his Majesties Territory
and Dominion, Aforesaid &c.
"Wednesday, December 8th 1686.
"Present, the Honble Joseph Dudley, Esq., President; William Stoughton,
Esq. Deputie Prest. ; Edward Randolph, Wait Winthrop, Richard Wharton, John
Usher, Bartholomew Gidney & Jonathan Tyng, Esqrs.
"In answer to the petition of ye inhabitants of Muddie River, prayinge to
have libertie to erect a school &c upon the hearinge thereof, the President and
Councill doe order, That henceforth the said Hamlet of Muddie River be free
from Towne rates to ye Towne of Bostone, they maintaininge theire owne high
waves and poore and other publique charges ariseinge amongst themselves, And
that within one yeare next comeinge they raise a school house in such place as
the two next Justices of the Countrie (upon a publique hearinge of the Inhab-
itants of said Hamlet) shall determine as also maintaine an able readinge and
writinge Master there, from and after that day, and that the Inhabitants annuallie
meete to choose three men to manage theire affaires.
"Edward Randolph, Seer.
"A true coppie as attests
"Benjamin Bullivant,
"Late Clerke of ye Councill."
At a full meeting of the inhabitants of Muddy River on January 19, 1687, the
above order was accepted by a unanimous vote, and Andrew Gardner, Thomas
Steadman and John White, Jr., were chosen to "manage theire affaires" for the
ensuing year, Provision was also made at this meeting for the maintenance of
a schoolmaster. The minutes of this meeting constitute the first entry in the
Muddy River records. For about two years the people of Muddy River congratu-
lated themselves upon the acquisition of the privilege to control their own affairs,
but at a town meeting in Boston on March 16, 1689, it was "Voted, that Muddy
River Inhabitants are not discharged from Bostone to be a hamlet by themselves,
but stand related to Bostone as they were before the yeare 1686."
88 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
This action on the part of Boston was a direct attempt to deprive the people
of Muddy River of the rights and privileges granted them by the General Court
and reopened the whole question of town rates, etc. During the next few years
the population of the hamlet increased and in 1698 the following petition was
presented to the General Court :
"To the Hon. William Stoughton, Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts, the
Honorable Council, and the Representatives in General Court assembled, 25th
May, 1698:
''The humble petition of the inhabitants of Muddy-river humbly showeth —
Whereas in the year 1686, the Honorable Joseph Dudley, President, William
Stoughton, Deputy President, and the Council, in answer to the petition of the
inhabitants of Muddy-river, praying liberty for a school among them, &c, did
order, that the Hamlet of Muddy-river be free from Town rates to the Town
of Boston, and other privileges, as in said grant, on the other side, may more at
large appear;
"We, your petitioners, do humbly pray that the said granted privileges may
be confirmed unto said Hamlet, with the addition that the inhabitants may choose
such officers amongst themselves, as may assess the inhabitants their due propor-
tion, as may be thought sufficient and expedient for defraying such necessary
charges to said school, and other things ; and that one constable may be chosen,
who may be sufficiently impowered to collect the rates for the County and the
Hamlet ; and your petitioners, as in duty bound, shall every pray.
"Thomas Gardner^) In the name
"Benjamin White [■ of the
"Roger Adams J Inhabitants."
Upon this petition the General Court failed to take any action, or at least
no record of any action can be found, and the relations between the Town of
Boston and the settlement at Muddy River continued without change for about
two years longer. Then, the population of the hamlet having increased to such
an extent that the people felt able to support a town government oi their own,
decided to take such steps as might be necessary for their separation from Boston.
INCORPORATION OF BROOKLINE
Accordingly, on March 11, 1700, a petition signed by nearly every man resident
at Muddy River, was sent to the parent town asking that they be set off as a
separate district or hamlet from Boston. The petition was not favorably received
by the people of Boston, for at a town meeting on the very day it was presented
the following action was taken :
"Upon the Petition of the Inhabitants of Muddy River to be a District or
Hamlet, separate from the Town of Boston for these reasons, following, viz., the
remoteness of the situation, which renders them incapable of enjoying equal bene-
fit and advantage with other of the Inhabitants of Publick Schooles for the
instruction of their children, relief of their Poor, and Repairing of their
Highways.
"Their petition being read and reasons given therein debated, It was voted in
the negative, and that though they had not for some years been rated in the Town
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 89
rate, yet for the time to come, the Selectmen should vote them in the Town Tax
as the other Inhabitants, and as formerly they used to be, and for their encour-
agement it was voted that the Selectmen should provide a schoolmaster for them
to teach their children to read, write and cypher, and order him his payment out
of the Town Treasury.
"A True Coppie as entered with the records of the Town of Boston.
"Joseph Prout, Town Clerk."
That the people of Muddy River were greatly disappointed at this reception
of their petition may be easily imagined, and doubtless some ill-feeling was de-
veloped among them. Matters were allowed to drift along without change for
about three years, when the inhabitants of the hamlet decided to appeal to a higher
power for relief. Accordingly the following petition for presentation to the
General Court was prepared and circulated for signatures :
"To His Excellency the Governor, Council and Assembly :
"The humble petition of the Inhabitants of Muddy River, Humbly Sheweth,
That they are a Hamlet belonging to Boston, have been lately settled there and
sometime since in the year 1686 being grown to a good number of inhabitants
represented to the Government then in being, praying to be acquitted from paying
duties and taxes to the Town of Boston, being then willing to bear their public
charges of Bridges, Highwaies and Poor, and were accordingly then released and
ordered to maintain a Reading and Writing Schoole as the order annexed will
show, which accordingly we have ever since done, and now further humbly pray
that being grown to a greater number of good settled inhabitants we may be al-
lowed a separate right to have Selectmen, and all other rights belonging to a
Township, which may further encourage us as we are able to settle a minister and
other benefits amongst us, and we shall ever pray."
The petition was signed by Samuel Aspinwall, Thomas Gardner, Sr., Samuel
Sewall, Jr., Thomas Steadman, Sr., Benjamin White, Joseph White, John Win-
chester, Sr., and Josiah Winchester. It came before the General Assembly on
June 17, 1704, when it was ordered "That the Selectmen of Boston have a copy
of this petition and be heard thereon at ye next Session of this Court." On
November 1, 1704, the Council ordered "That the Selectmen of Boston bee notified
to attend on Saturday morning, the fourth, current, November 4, 1704." It is
not certain that the Boston selectmen obeyed the summons, probably because they
were not ready to present their side of the case, and the petition was continued
to the next session.
At a meeting held in the Boston Town Hall on March 12, 1705, Elisha Cook,
Joseph Bridgham, Ephraim Savage, Bezour Allen and Oliver Noyes were ap-
pointed a committee "to consider and draw up what they shall think proper (on
behalf of this Town) to lay before the General Court at their next session relating
to a petition of sundry of the Inhabitants of Muddy River, that the said District be
dismist from the Town of Boston and be admitted to be a Town of themselves."'
Following is the report of that committee :
"Upon perusal of the said petition (we) observed that several sessions of the
General Court have passed after the time set for the hearing thereof, and that
consequently the matter then fell; however, if it be again revived by any new
petition or order, we think it proper to lay before the Court the unreasonableness
90 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
of their demand, they having been hitherto supported by the Town while they
were not able themselves to defray their necessary public charges, now increasing
upon us and the body of ye town abounding with poor, and such as are not capable
to defray, but rather greatly increase the charges for the Inhabitants of Muddy
River at such a time, and being themselves now grown more oppulent and capable
to be helpful to ye town, to be sent from us seems most unreasonable, and in them
very ungrateful and may be a bad example to others to endeavor the like, and to
cutt the town into such shreds, as will best suit themselves without any due
regard to ye public Intrist, the charge of the Road upon ye neck is great and is
still growing and ye petitioners and Inhabitants of Muddy River have had more
benefit and do more to increase the charge of that way than all the rest of the
town. Several other things might be instanced which the Selectmen are well
acquainted with and we think they ought (if the General Court see cause to
proceed on the petition) to pray to be heard therein."
On June 15, 1705, the petition came up in the Council and it was ordered that
the selectmen of Boston be given an opportunity to be heard on the 19th. The
House concurred in this action and the next mention of the matter is found in
the journal of the House for June 20, 1705, when it was "Resolved that since the
time of hearing of ye premises before this Court is Slipt, there should be a hearing
thereof on fryday next at three of the Clock in ye afternoon, and that ye Select-
men of Boston be notified thereof."
The Council concurred and this time the selectmen of Boston appeared and
submitted the following answer to the petition :
"To his Excellency, Joseph Dudley, Esq., Captain-General and Commander-
in-chief, and to ye Honorable, ye Council and Assembly :
"The Answer of ye Selectmen and ye Committee of ye Town of Boston, to ye
Inhabitants of Muddy River, Humbly Sheweth, That they have been as easy in
this Town as they could in reason desire. That they have not urged anything
in their petitions to the contrary. This Town has never called on them to support
the ministry of the town as is usual in like cases in ye Country. They have not
been enjoined to watchings and wardings, either stated or occasionally, which
has layn heavy on ye body of the Town. That they have constantly had ye nomi-
nations of their own officers ye towne has usually confirmed. Upon ye desire and
Regular motion for a Schoole in that part of ye Town, it has bin allowed them.
That lately there has not been more levied on them (and not always so much)
as would defray the charges incident in that Part of ye Town and when, as they
mention in ye petition, it would in them in time to support the charge of a stated
ministry thereby importing ye present inability, which seems a very preposterous
arguing.
"The law requiring a settled ministry thereby as one qualification for a Town-
ship and some of the subscribers since ye signing have declared ye contrary Inten-
tions. And that which makes this desire the more unreasonable is that they have
hitherto been supported by ye Town, while they were not able themselves to
defray ye public charges in too many instances to be enumerated. That it may
be a precident of ill consequences to ye public to divide Townships into small
slips of land rendering them weak and every charge a Burden, tending to starve
learning and religion out of ye countrey, especially when no reason of state
requires. Ye consideration of which we submit to this honorable Court.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 91
"We humbly offer further to this honorable Court that such a separation is
contrary to ye undoubted right and interest of Boston, there being 500 acres of
land common in that part of the Town, which is the Town's right, but on a sepa-
ration can be of no service to the Town. That the Town is very much straightened
in its present boundaries by our former too easy concessions as was that of the
Neck to Dorchester, or the Lane to Newtown and Cambridge, and the whole
Townshipp of Braintree, and would so much more if Muddy River so near us
should be separated from the Town. Rumney Marsh, &c, would have a preci-
dent to desire the same so that Boston would only be confined to this Isthmus
of a mile long which was never thought sufficient bounds for a Townshipp, espe-
cially at this time when Boston is daily ye centre of all foreign poor, of saviors
widows, and the refuge of our distressed neighbors from ye frontier who Insensi-
bly grow upon us, so that upon the whole we hope your Excellency's honorable
Court will not grant said petition.''
This answer was signed by three members of the committee appointed the
preceding March — Savage, Allen and Noyes — and "By order of the selectmen
it was spread upon the records of the town on June 22, 1705. It is interesting
now, in that it shows what a plea of poverty and hardship Boston, now the
wealthiest and most populous city of New England, could make two hundred and
twelve years ago. So far as the people of Muddy River were concerned, the plea
fell on deaf ears, as they redoubled their efforts to bring about a separation. At
the fall session of the General Court another petition was presented, to wit :
"To his Excellency, the Governor, Council and Assembly in General Court
convened :
"The humble petition of the Inhabitants of Muddy River sheweth, That at
a session of this honorable Court, held at Boston on 13, August, 1704, the said
Inhabitants exhibited their humple petition praying that the said Muddy River
might be allowed a separate Village or Peculiar, and be invested with such rights
and powers as they may be enabled by themselves to manage the general affairs
of said place. Which petition has been transmitted to the Selectmen of the Town
of Boston, that they may consider the same ; since which your humble petitioners,
not having been informed of any objection made by the Town of Boston, afore-
said, we presume that there is no obstruction to our humble request made in that
petition.
"Wherefore we humbly beseech your Excellency, that this honorable Court
will be pleased to proceed to pass an Act for the establishing of the said place
a separate Village or Peculiar, with such powers as aforesaid, and your petitioners
shall ever pray."
The petition was signed by John Ackers, John Ackers, Jr., William Acker-,
Eleazer Aspinwall, Samuel Aspimvall, Peter Boylston, Abram Chamberlen,
Edward Devotion, John Devotion, John Ellis, Caleb Gardner, Joseph Gardner,
Thomas Gardner, Thomas Gardner, Jr., John Seaver, Samuel Sewall, Jr., William
Sharp, Ralph Shepard, Joshuah Stedman, Thomas Stedman, Thomas Stedman,
Jr., Benjamin White, Benjamin White, Jr., Joseph White, Henry Winchester,
John Winchester, John Winchester, Jr., Josiah Winchester, Josiah Winchester,
Jr., Thomas Woodward, and a few others whose names cannot be deciphered.
On November 2, 1705, this petition came before the House of Representatives
and on the 9th that body ordered that the prayer of the petitioners be granted.
92 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
On the ioth the petition and order passed by the House were read for the first
time in the Council, where the .action was concurred in on the 13th. Following is
the full text of the order :
"Anno Regni, Anna Regina Quarto.
"At a Great and General Court or Assembly for her Majesty's Province of the
Massachusetts Bay in New England begun and held at Boston upon Wednesday
the Thirtieth of May, 1705, and continued by several Prorogations unto Wednes-
day the Twenty-Fourth of October following, and then mett Tuesday November
13, 1705, In Council:
"The Order passed by the Representatives upon the Petition of the Inhabi-
tants of Muddy River, a Hamlet of Boston read on Saturday last, viz. :
"Ordered, That the Prayer of the Petition be Granted and the Powers and
Priviledges of a Township be given to the Inhabitants of the Land commonly
known by the Name of Muddy River, The Town to be called Brookline, who are
hereby enjoyned to build a Meeting House and Obtain an Able Orthodox Minister
according to the Direction of the Law, to be Settled amongst them within the
space of Three Years next coming. Provided, That all Common Lands belonging
to the Town of Boston lying within the bounds of the said Muddy River not dis-
posed of or allotted out shall still remain to the proprietors of the said Lands.
"Which Order being again read was concurred And is consented to.
"Joseph Dudley."
first election
The first town meeting in Brookline was held in the old school house on
Monday, March 4, 1706, and the first thing to come before the meeting was the
election of town officers. Thomas Gardner, Samuel Aspinwall, John Winchester,
Josiah Winchester and Samuel Sewall were chosen as selectmen; Josiah Win-
chester, Sr , clerk ; Samuel Aspinwall, Joseph Gardner and Roger Adams, asses-
sors (Mr. Adams declined to serve and John Winchester was chosen in his place) ;
Daniel Harris and Samuel Clark, tithingmen ; Eleazer Aspinwall, Benjamin
White, Jr., and Robert Harris, surveyors of the highways; John Winchester, Jr.,
and Edward Devotion, fence viewers ; Thomas Stedman, Jr., and Daniel Harris,
overseers of the common lands; Nathaniel Holland and William Sharp, field
drivers.
At the same meeting it was voted that a burying place should be established
in the town and that it should be "on a spot of land on the south side of the Hill
in Mr. Cotton's farm pointing between the two Roads if it can be attaind." The
meeting declined to take any action toward the erection of a meeting house and
the settling of a minister as required by the organic act, but voted that twelve
pounds be levied by tax upon the people of the town "for repairing the school
house and the support of the school for the present yeare."
ADJUSTING THE BOUNDARIES
When the Town of Brookline was established, the little stream known as
Smelt Brook formed the boundary line between the new town and Brighton, and
it is said that from this fact the town of Brookline derives its name. Early in the
TOWN HALL. BROOKLINE
HIGH SCHOOL, BROOKLINE
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 93
year 1825, Josiah Quincy, then mayor of Boston, and John Robinson, chairman
of the board of selectmen of Brookline, joined in a petition to the General Court
asking that the boundary line between Boston and Brookline be established as
follows :
"Beginning at a point (marked 'a' on the annexed plan) 1,123 feet distant
westerly from the westerly side of the filling sluices of the Boston and Roxbury
mill-dam; thence running northwesterly from said point 'a' at an angle of 115
from the mill-dam until it strikes the center of the channel of Charles River; and
also running from said point 'a' southerly at an angle of 103 40' until it strikes
the center of the channel of Muddy River, at a point where the respective
boundaries of Boston, Brookline and Roxbury meet each other."
The petition was granted by the passage of a bill which was approved on
February 22, 1825. Section 1 of the act established the boundary line as described
in the petition, and Section 2 modified the boundary lines between the counties
of Norfolk and Suffolk to conform to the new line as given in the preceding
section.
On November 23, 1869, James Bartlett, Thomas Parsons, William J. Griggs,
Edward S. Philbrick and Horace James, selectmen of Brookline, and James F. C.
Hyde, George E. Bridges, D. C. Sanger, Willard Marey, Joseph Walker and
Thomas Rice, Jr., selectmen of Newton, acting under authority conferred upon
them by the General Court, fixed the boundary line between those two towns
as it exists at the present time.
The boundary line between Brookline and West Roxbury was established on
December 2, 1869, by the selectmen of the two towns, viz. : James Bartlett,
Thomas Parsons, William J. Griggs and Edward Philbrick on behalf of Brook-
line, and Aristides Talbot, Charles G. Macintosh, John E. Blackemore, Nathan B.
Prescott and Jeremiah E. Williams on behalf of West Roxbury.
On the same day the above named selectmen of Brookline and B. F. Pierce
and H.-W. Baxter of Brighton fixed the boundary line between the two towns.
The line as established by the selectmen was made legal by an act approved on
June 18, 1870.
TOWN HALL
The early town meetings of Brookline were held in the old school house. The
first mention of a town house to be found in the records is in the minutes of the
meeting of May 10, 182 1, when it was "Voted, that the Town build a two-story
building, the basement to be entirely above ground, that the building be of wood
48 by 28 feet, and that the town treasurer be authorized to borrow a sum of
money sufficient to complete said building."
Some delay was evidently experienced in the erection of the building, as the
records show that "On Saturday evening, January 1, 1825, the New Town Hall
was dedicated by Prayer and Sacred Musick." On that occasion John Robinson
presented a chandelier for lighting the hall. On August 17, 1843, the town hall
was ordered to be remodeled for a high school building, which was done at a
cost of $281.67, and on November 13, 1843, the following was adopted by a town
meeting:
"Whereas, in consequence of our recent appropriation of the Town Hall to
94 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
the use of the public high school, and of the destruction of the Engine House by
fire the past summer, it is both expedient and necessary that measures be taken
at this time for providing a new Town Hall and store house for the Fire Engine ;
and that a committee of five citizens, selected from different parts of the Town,
be now appointed to look out and decide upon some suitable location, ascertain
the price for which it can be obtained, procure from an architect a plan of build-
ing suitable for the accommodation of the Town, get an estimate of the whole
expense, and make a report of their proceedings to our annual meeting in March
next, and that Samuel Philbrick, Abijah W. Goddard, Charles Stearns, Jr.,
Daniel Sanderson and Timothy Corey constitute said committee."
The report of this committee is dated January 30, 1844, and states that the
committee had obtained the refusal of three sites. The town voted to purchase
the lot fronting on Washington Street 205 feet and 180 feet deep from James
Bartlett, for the sum of $935.82, and Samuel Philbrick, Bela Stoddard and
Charles Stearns, Jr., were appointed a building committee to superintend the
erection of the new hall. The building was dedicated on the evening of October
13, 1845, w i tn m usic and a historical sketch of the town 'by Rev. John Pierce. The
total cost of lot and building was $6,285.32.
Edward Atkinson, Charles D. Head, Charles U. Cotting, Alfred Kenrick,
William S. Spencer, Amos A. Lawrence and Abijah W. Goddard were appointed
a committee on March 18, 1867, "to consider the expediency of adding accommo-
dations to the present Town Hall for a reading room and library." No report
from this committee can be found, but the members apparently did not regard
the project with favor, for on March 28, 1870, the following committee was
appointed to consider the subject of a new town hall: William A. Wellman,
Charles U. Cotting, John C. Abbott, Charles W. Scudder, Augustine Shurtleff,
William Aspinwall, William K. Melcher, William Lincoln and M. P. Kennard.
The committee reported in favor of the new building and the town voted an
appropriation of $100,000, which was placed at the disposal of the committee.
Fifty thousand dollars were subsequently added to the appropriation and bonds
were issued for the whole amount. S. J. F. Thayer's plans were accepted and
bids were advertised for, which resulted in the contract for the masonry being
awarded to Adams & Barstow of Boston, and for the carpenter work to William
K. Melcher of Brookline. The corner-stone was laid on May 23, 1871, and
the structure, which occupies the site of the old town hall, was dedicated on Febru-
ary 22, 1873, with appropriate ceremonies, Robert C. Winthrop delivering the
historical address. At a special meeting held on the 27th, William Aspinwall,
Charles D. Head and William A. W'ellman were appointed a committee "to com-
pile and print the proceedings, speeches," etc. of the dedication. The total cost
of the building was $150,010.
WATERWORKS
At the annual meeting held on .March 20, 1865, it was voted "That the repre-
sentative from this town in the General Court be requested and instructed to use
his utmost endeavors to have inserted in the 'Bill to authorize the City of Boston
to build an additional reservoir,' now before the House of Representatives, a
provision that the city may distribute the waters of Lake Cochituate through the
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 95
said Town of Brookline, and shall make and establish hydrants therein in the
same manner it now may throughout the City of Boston and if the Legislature
shall, upon a respectful request therefor refuse to make such provision, that
our representative be instructed to remonstrate and protest, in behalf of the
inhabitants of Brookline, against so much of the bill as authorizes the City of
Boston to lay pipes through the streets of Brookline."
This was the first move on the part of the people of Brookline to secure a
supply of water for the town. The Legislature failed to grant the request and
the next mention of the subject in the town records is in the minutes of the
meeting of December 7, 1869 when Amos A. Lawrence offered a resolution "That
George M. Dexter, Francis P. Denney and E. C. Cabot be a committee to ascer-
tain whether it is expedient to purchase the property of the Jamaica Pond
Aqueduct Company, or any other supply of water, for the town, and to report
at a future meeting to be called by the chairman of the committee."
The resolution failed of adoption and nothing further was done until the
meeting of May 2, 1871, which voted that the moderator appoint a committee of
five to take into consideration the subject of supplying the town with water and
report at a future meeting. George F. Homer, the moderator, appointed John W.
Candler, William Aspinwall, Amos A. Lawrence, Charles D. Head and Edward
S. Philbrick, and the meeting voted to add Mr. Homer to the committee. On
January 23, 1872, Edward S. Philbrick reported for the committee three plans
that had been considered: 1st, to obtain a supply of water from the City of
Boston ; 2nd, to erect waterworks in connection with the Town of West Roxbury ;
3d, to construct independent works on the part of Brookline. The first proposed
method failed because the water board of Boston reported that the city had no
water to spare, the second also failed because it was learned that the Charles
River, from which it was proposed to take the supply for Brookline and West
Roxbury, was claimed by the City of Boston. With regard to the third method
the committee recommended the purchase of the springs upon the land of the
Brookline Land Company, which showed an average daily capacity of about
three hundred and fifty thousand gallons. The committee reported that nine
acres of the land could be bought for $50,000, and estimated the cost of the works
at $165,968. The report was accepted, the committee was continued with instruc-
tions to confer with the Jamaica Pond Aqueduct Company.
On March 26, 1872, the committee reported that the City of Boston was apply-
ing to the General Court for permission to take the waters of the Charles and
Sudbury rivers and recommended that the selectmen of Brookline be instructed
to have a bill introduced allowing Brookline to take water from the Charles River.
Later at the same meeting Mr. Philbrick reported that the city had withdrawn
its application. The instructions to the selectmen were then changed by a resolu-
ion setting forth that as Boston had for twenty-five years used the streets of
Brookline for water mains, the selectmen ask the General Court to order Boston
to supply the town with water, otherwise to pass a bill giving the town permission
to use the waters of the Charles River. On the 10th of April following the
selectmen and committee presented a petition to the General Court asking that
the town be allowed to take water from the Charles River. A bill to that effect
was passed and was accepted by a town meeting on May 7, 1872, by a vote of
185 to 90.
96 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
At the annual meeting on March 31, 1873, Charles K. Kirby, Charles H. Drew
and William Aspinwall were elected as the first board of water commissioners,
and on October 28, 1873, the town passed an ordinance appropriating $400,000
for the construction of the works. Under this ordinance the plant was com-
menced. Subsequently, "scrip" to the amount of $75,000 was issued to complete
the waterworks, but even this addition was insufficient, and on April 21, 1876,
it was voted to borrow $25,000 in addition to the $475,000 previously appropriated.
By the act of November 8, 1888, the town was authorized "to issue notes, scrip
or certificates of debt, to be denominated 'Brookline Water Scrip,' to an amount
not exceeding $500,000, in addition to the $700,000 which said town has been
heretofore authorized to issue." With the funds thus provided the capacity of
the plant was increased to 3,000,000 gallons daily, giving Brookline one of the
best waterworks systems in the state.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
The first mention of anything in the nature of protection against fire to be
found in the town records is in the minutes of the town meeting of March 17.
1788, when "Col. Aspinwall and Lieut. Croft were chosen Firewards." Some
time after this (the records are not plain in the matter) an arrangement was
made with the Town of Roxtmry to establish jointly a system of fire protection.
In the records of the town meeting of March 9, 1795, is the entry: "Voted to
pay one-half the expences of the Repairs of the Fire Engine in futer." Two
years later, May 18, 1797, it was "Voted that this Town will beare one-half the
expences of the new Waggon for conveying the Fire Engine." This partnership
arrangement with Roxbury continued for a number of years. In 1828 a new
engine called the "Norfolk" was purchased for $475, of which Brookline paid
$325 and Roxbury $150. On April 6, 1829, it was "Voted, That a committee be
chosen to see what amount the Town of Roxbury have allowed for the purchase
of Hose and Buckets for the New Engine Norfolk, and that this Town meet them
in any expense not exceeding Fifty Dollars."
In 1842 the "Norfolk" was sold for $297.40 and the money was divided
between the two towns in proportion to what each had paid fourteen years before.
The Town of Brookline then established a department of its own. An engine
and a supply of hose were purchased and on May 23, 1855, the sum of $1,500
was appropriated for the erection of a hook and ladder house. In the spring
of 1864 the question of purchasing a steam fire engine was referred to the select-
men, who reported that it was "inexpedient to purchase at present, owing to a
scarcity of accommodations for obtaining a supply of water."
In 1 87 1 the office of fi reward was abolished and the selectmen authorized to
appoint a board of fire engineers "in conformity with the General Statutes." The
same year an appropriation of $14,000 was made for a new engine house on
Washington Street, to take the place of the old one, and the pay of the depart-
ment members was increased. Two years later A. Kenrick, Jr., Charles D. Head
and J. T. Waterman were appointed a committee "to purchase and equip three
steam fire engines." The committee reported in favor of purchasing but one
engine, which was obtained and placed in commission at a cost of $6,950. Three
new reservoirs, in addition to two previously constructed, were ordered built.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 97
After the waterworks were finished, Charles K. Kirby, Horace James, A. Kenrick,
Jr., J. T. Waterman and Marshall Russell were appointed a committee "to see
if the steam fire engine could be dispensed with," but it was finally decided to
keep the engine ready for use in emergencies.
On the last day of April, 1877, the selectmen were instructed to "purchase
and place a hose carriage at Longwood, if there is enough left of the appropria-
tion for the Fire Department for that purpose." Longwood is a suburb in the
northwesterly part of the town, where a hose company had been organized some
time before the above action was taken by the town meeting. On March 20, 1882,
an appropriation of $10,500 was made to purchase "a horse and chemical engine
for Longwood." The development of the department since that time has been
in keeping with the growth of the town, so that Brookline now is well provided
with trained men and modern equipment for the extinguishment of fires.
PUNCH BOWL TAVERN
In the fall of 1640 a bridge was ordered to be built at Muddy River and for
many years after that time the present Washington Street was one of the principal
highways leading into Boston. A great many teams from the country west of the
city passed over the road and a stopping place 'became a necessity. To supply this
demand John Ellis built the "Punch Bowl Tavern." The original building was
a two story frame, with hipped roof, to which additions were made from time to
time by purchasing old houses in Boston and removing them to Brookline to form
portions of the tavern. Harriet F. Woods, in her Historical Sketches of Brook-
line, says the house was "a curious medley of old rooms of all sorts and sizes,
connected together in a nondescript manner and presenting an architectural style,
which, if we might apply a geological term to it, we should call a conglomerate."
The house was located near the corner of Pearl Street. Its sign — an oval
board suspended from a high red post — depicted a large bowl and ladle under a
lemon tree laden with fruit, some of which lay around the bowl as though fallen
from the tree. A bench ran along the front under a porch, where the "sages"
of Brookline met to settle the weighty problems of the day. The selectmen of the
town used to have annual suppers in this old tavern. About 1833 tne °^ house
was purchased by Isaac Thayer and torn down.
An old house on the corner of Washington Street and Brookline Avenue,
where the offices of the Brookline Gas Company were afterward located, was
then opened as a tavern under the sign of the "Punch Bowl," but it had none of
the patronage or prestige of its predecessor. Its patronage was local and inclined
to be of the disreputable class. On March 25, 1844, the Brookline Town meeting
adopted the following resolutions regarding this tavern :
"Whereas, The recent painful and distressing occurrence in the death of
Robert Noyes from Ardent Spirits, and by the verdict of the jury his death was
caused 'by liquor obtained at the Punch Bowl and elsewhere,' and
"Whereas, The location of the Punch Bowl Tavern renders it identified in
the weal or woe of the Town of Brookline, and by its indiscriminate sale of Ardent
Spirits is more clearly identified as injurious to the town, producing consequences
that call loudly on the friends of good order and sobriety, therefore,
"Resolved, That this meeting view the untimely death of Robert Noyes from
98 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
intoxication with pain and sorrow, and that as good citizens we will do all in our
power to prevent a like disastrous occurrence.
"Resolved, That a committee of twenty be appointed to repair in a body to the
Punch Bowl Tavern and under sanction and authority of the town remonstrate
with Mr. J. Sprague, or whoever may have charge, against the indiscriminate
sale of intoxicating liquors."
The committee was composed of Samuel A. Walker, A. Ff. Clapp, Daniel
Sanderson, David Coolidge, Thomas Griggs, Otis Withington, Moses Jones,
Samuel Goddard, Hugh M. Sanborn, James Bartlett, Caleb Craft, Jr., Joshua M.
Blanchard, William Hardy, Charles Stearns, Jr., A. W. Goddard, Timothy Corey,
James Leeds, Harrison Fay, Samuel Craft and Thomas Kendall. The crusade
thus commenced resulted in the closing of the house a little later.
BROOKLINE OF THE PRESENT
Brookline is the wealthiest town in Norfolk County and second in population,
being exceeded in the latter respect only by Quincy. In 19 15 the assessed valua-
tion of property was $158,297,618. The population in 19 10 was 27,792, and by
the state census of 191 5 it was 33,490, a gain of 5,698 in five years. The town has
three banks with aggregate deposits nearly ten millions of dollars, two weekly
newspapers, gas and electric light, well paved streets, electric railway lines to
Boston and the neighboring towns, two lines of steam railway (the Boston &
Albany and the New York, New Haven & Hartford), a fine public library, an
excellent public school system and a number of beautiful church edifices. But it
is as a residential town that Brookline stands preeminent. It is related that many
years ago a visiting preacher, in the course of his sermon, said : 'T know not, my
friends, how you can help being Christians, for you already live in paradise."
The present inhabitants have kept up the reputation established by their ancestors.
The broad, well kept lawns, the handsome homes and shade trees all combine to
make Brookline one of the most pleasant towns in the Old Bay State.
CHAPTER XIII
THE TOWN OF CANTON
LOCATION, BOUNDARIES AND DESCRIPTION — EARLY HISTORY — CANTON INCORPO-
RATED THE PETITION AND ITS SIGNERS — FIRST TOWN MEETING TOWN HALL
— WATERWORKS — FIRE DEPARTMENT — GAS WORKS — POSTOFFICE — THE DOTY
TAVERN — EARLY ORDINANCES — CANTON IN I917. ,
A little southeast of the geographical center of Norfolk County is situated the
Town of Canton. On the north and northwest it is bounded by the Neponset
River, which separates it from the towns of Norwood, Westwood and Dedham ;
on the northeast by Milton and Randolph ; southerly by Stoughton ; and on the
southwest by Sharon. The surface is rolling and in some places hilly, and evi-
dences of glacial action are to be seen in the ponds, of which there are several in
the town. Reservoir Pond is located near the center and a little southeast of it
is a smaller body of water called Muddy Pond. Ponkapoag Pond is on the line
between Canton and Randolph, while in the southern part are Ice, Ames, Forge,
Factory and a few smaller ponds. The Pequin River flows into Reservoir Pond,
Mill Brook into Ames Pond, and there are a number of smaller streams, so that
all parts of the town are well watered.
EARLY HISTORY
The territory now comprising the Town of Canton was originally a part of
Dorchester. When the latter town (at first called Mattapan) was created in 1630
it embraced only the little district between Boston and the Neponset River, extend-
ing to the Massachusetts Bay on the east. In 1636 the General Court granted to
the Dorchester Plantation some six thousand acres south of the Neponset. This
was known as the "Unquety Grant" and is now included in the Town of Milton.
The next year another grant was made to the town, "being all the territory not
before granted between Dedham and the Plymouth Colony." In this "New
Grant" were included the present towns of Canton, Stoughton and Sharon, and
portions of Wrentham and Foxborough. On December 15, 1715, this territory
was organized as Dorchester South Precinct. Its dismemberment began in 1724,
when the southwest part was added to the Town of Wrentham, which had been
incorporated in 1673. Stoughton was incorporated on December 22, 1726, and
included what are now Stoughton, Canton, Sharon and a large part of Fox-
borough. On July 2, 1740, the Dorchester Second Precinct was established,
constituting what are now the towns of Sharon and Foxborough, leaving Stough-
ton as the old Dorchester South Precinct. Canton then remained a part of
Stoughton for fifty-seven years longer.
99
100 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
CANTON INCORPORATED
On March 9, 1795, the inhabitants of the First Parish of Stoughton held a
meeting at the parish church. The thirteenth article to come before the meeting
was "to see if the parish will petition the General Court to be set off as a sepa-
rate town." The vote was in the affirmative and Elijah Dunbar, Nathan Crane,
Joseph Bemis, Benjamin Gill and Elijah Crane were appointed a committee to
prepare the petition. It was further voted that Colonel Gill, Capt. Elijah Crane
and Col. Nathan Crane be a committee to present the petition to the General
Court. Following is the petition :
"To the Honourable Senate and House of Representatives of the Com'th of
Mass'tts, in General Court asembled:
"The Petition of the Subscribers, Inhabitants of the first Parish in the Town
of Stoughton, in the County of Norfolk in said Com'th, humbly showeth that the
local situation of said Town of Stoughton is very singular, being near eleven miles
in length & about four Miles in breadth, as may appear by a Plan thereof, and
also that there is a large body of land laying upon and contiguous to the line
between the North and South Parishes, which is and always will be incapable of
any valuable improvement, which throws the bulk of the Inhabitants of said
Parishes at a great distance from each other, which peculiar circumstance makes
it always inconvenient & sometimes impracticable for the Inhabitants of either
of said Parishes to attend Town Meeting as they have been usually held for some
years past, by reason of the great distance of way & sometimes impassable roads.
"Therefore your Petitioners humbly pray that the lands within said first
Parish & the Inhabitants thereof (except those persons and their property that
wish to remain with the Town of Stoughton) may be incorporated into a Distinct
and separate Town. And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, shall ever pray."
The petition was dated April 17, 1795, and was signed by the following resi-
dents of the first parish : Thomas Allen, Dudley Bailey, Henry Bailey, Israel
Bailey, Moses Baker, Joseph Bemis, William Bent, Dan Billing, Isaac Billing,
John Billing, Jonathan Billing, Nathan Billing, Nathaniel Billing, Peter Billing,
Samuel Billing, Jacob Billings, Joseph Billings, Stephen Billings, Adam Blackman,
A.dam Blackman, Jr., George Blackman, John Blackman, Samuel Blackman,
Stephen Blake, Benjamin Bussey, Samuel Canterbury, John Capen, Samuel
Capen, Joseph Chandler, Calvin Crane, Elijah Crane, Elijah Crane, 2nd, Henry
Crane, Jarathiel Crane, Nathan Crane, Silas Crane, William Crane, George
Crossman, Lemuel Davenport, Enoch Dickerman, Edward Downs, Oliver
Downs, Elijah Dunbar, John Dunlop, Elijah Endicott, James Endicott, Jonathan
Farrington, Charles Fenno, Elijah Fenno, Abel Fisher, Ezekiel Fisher, Lemuel
Fisher, Nathaniel Fisher, Thomas French, Benjamin Gill, Elijah Gill, John Gill,
Samuel Gooch, Richard Gridley, David Hartwell, Elisha Hawes, Joseph Henry,
Judah Henry, Joses Hill, Nathaniel Hill, Ebenezer Holmes, Comfort Hoyton,
Ephraim Hunt, Ezekiel Johnson, Ephraim Jones, George Jordan, John Kenney,
John Kenney, Jr., Nathaniel Kenney, Fisher Kingsbury, Rodolpis Kinsley, Silas
Kinsley, Enoch Leonard, Uriah Leonard, Benjamin Lewis, James H. Lewis, Laban
Lewis, Benjamin Lyon, Archibald McKendry, William McKendry, John Madden,
Luther May, Henry Morse, Henry Morse, Jr., John Morse, Samuel Morse, Samuel
Morse, Jr., Nathaniel Pitt, Abel Puffer, Elijah Puffer, John Puffer, James Reed,
PAUL REVERE HOUSE, CANTON
HIGH SCHOOL, CANTON
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 101
Michael Shaller, Nathaniel Shepard, Oliver Shepard, Thomas Shepard, William
Shepard, Ephraim Smith, James Smith, Lemuel Smith, Redmon Spurr, Joseph
Stearns, George Stone, Seth Strobridge, Samuel Strobridge, Benjamin Sylvester,
David Talbot, John Tant, John Tant, Jr., Lemuel Tant, Peter Thayer, Jr., Josiah
Tilden, Nahaniel Tilden, Benjamin Tucker, Daniel Tucker, James Tucker, John
Tucker, Samuel Tucker, Samuel Tucker, Jr., Simeon Tucker, Amos Upham, Sam-
uel Wales, Abel Wentworth, Arunah Wentworth, Benjamin Wentworth, Elijah
Wentworth, Oliver Wentworth, Paul Wentworth, Seth Wentworth, John
Wentworth, Nathaniel Wentworth, Samuel Wheeler, William Wheeler, Lemuel
Whiting, Nathaniel Whiting, Philip Whiting, Richard Wild, Jonathan Withington.
The petition was presented to the General Court on June n, 1795, by Benjamin
Gill, Elijah Crane and Nathan Crane, the committee appointed for that purpose.
Stoughtcn appointed a committee, consisting of James Pope, Samuel Talbot,
Joseph Richards and Samuel Shepard, to oppose this petition. Among the argu-
ments advanced by the Stoughton committee was the fact that the petition was
signed by one hundred and forty-three persons, when there were but one hundred
and forty legal voters in the parish. The whole question was postponed until
the next session of the General Court. On January 20, 1796, Stoughton pre-
sented a remonstrance signed by Lemuel Drake and one hundred and sixty-nine
others. This gave the petitioners a chance to retaliate, by showing that the remon-
strance contained fifteen more names than there were legal voters in the second
parish, and that several of the names thereon were those of residents of the first
parish, who had previously signed the petition. On June 10, 1796, the committee
of the first parish and that of the Town of Stoughton agreed that the matter
should be referred to a special committee, composed of Senator Seth Bullard,
Representative Joseph Hewins of Sharon, and Judge Bullock of Rehoboth. Act-
ing under instructions from the General Court, this committee visited Stoughton
and spent several days in looking over the town, hearing arguments pro and con,
and on September 3, 1796, made a report in favor of granting the prayer of the
petitioners. The report was accepted and on February 23, 1797, the act incorpo-
rating the Town of Canton was approved.
FIRST TOWN MEETING
Thomas Crane, a justice of the peace, issued his warrant on February 24,
1797, to Laban Lewis, requiring him to warn the legal voters to assemble at the
meeting house in Canton on the 6th of March "at one of the clock P. M., then
and there to choose all such officers as towns are required by law to elect." At
the meeting held in pursuance of this warrant, Elijah Dunbar was chosen modera-
tor; Elijah Crane, Benjamin Tucker and Nathan Crane were chosen selectmen
and assessors ; Elijah Crane, clerk ; Joseph Bemis, treasurer. No further business
was transacted at this meeting.
TOWN HALL
For many years after the town was incorporated the town meetings were held
in the First Parish meeting house and the different officials had their offices at
their residences or places of business. Then the meeting place was changed to
102 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
the Baptist Church at Canton Center, and when that denomination erected a new
house of worship at South Canton in 1837 the old one was purchased by the
town for $650. It was a small building, but it was Canton's first town house and
the public business was transacted there for more than forty years.
At the annual town meeting in April, 1878, a committee, consisting of one
member from each of the school districts, was appointed to select a location
and procure plans for the erection of a new town hall. The committee was
composed of William Horton, Elisha Horton, Frank M. Ames, Ellis Tucker,
George E. Downes, Thomas Lonergan and James S. Shepard. On June 17,
1878, the committee reported and after some discussion it was decided to locate
the new hall on the corner of Washington and Depot streets, where Elijah
A. Morse offered to donate the ground for a site. Frank M. Ames, James S.
Shepard, Elisha Horton, Edward R. Eager and Joseph W. Wattles were
appointed a committee to take a deed of the land in behalf of the town, and
to select a plan from some of those submitted to that meeting. The design
submitted by Stephen C. Earle, an architect of Boston, was selected and the
same committee was continued to superintend the erection of the building, "to
be known as Memorial Hall."
The structure is 62 by 101 feet in dimensions, two stories high, with base-
ment under the entire building. The foundation walls and the steps at the
main entrances are of Concord granite. The walls of the superstructure are
of brick, laid in black mortar, and the trimmings are of Longmeadow freestone.
On the first floor are the offices of the clerk, treasurer, selectmen, etc., and a
large fireproof vault for the safekeeping of the public records. For about
twenty years the public library also occupied quarters on this floor. In the main
corridor are the memorial tablets, bearing the names of the Canton soldiers
who sacrificed their lives upon their country's altar in the War of the Rebel-
lion. These tablets were presented to the town by Elijah A. Morse. Over the
door to the corridor is the inscription : "Erected to commemorate the patriotism
of the soldiers of Canton, who fell in defence of the Union in the War of the
Rebellion," and over the tablets is a transom running the full width, in the
center of which are the dates "1861-1865," with the motto: "It is sweet and
honorable to die for one's country." On the second floor is a public hall 58 by
67 feet, with a large stage at one end. The seating capacity of this hall — main
floor and gallery — is about eight hundred, though on special occasions the doors
between the anterooms and the stage can be opened, making room for over
one thousand.
At the time it was voted to erect a new hall, an appropriation of $31,000
was made to pay for the erection of the building and the improvements of the
grounds. The actual cost, including the expenses of the dedicatory ceremonies,
was $30,961.12, leaving a balance of $38.88, which was turned back into the
town treasury. On October 30, 1879, the people turned out in large numbers
to be present at the dedication of their new hall. The address on that occasion
was delivered by Charles Endicott and short speeches were made by a number
of prominent men, among whom were Governor Talbot, Secretary of State
Peirce, Charles Adams, ex-treasurer of state, and Elijah A. Morse, who donated
the ground upon which the building is situated. In 1916 the selectmen awarded
a contract to Martin F. Burke to install a new heating plant at a cost of $3,500.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 103
WATERWORKS
The Canton Waterworks were established in 1887 and were paid for by
a bond issue, of which the sum of $59,000 was outstanding on January 1, 1917.
In their twenty-ninth annual report, for the year ending on December 31,
1916, the board of water commissioners — Michael F. Ward, James A. O'Leary
and Walter S. Draper — give the total cost of the works up to that time as
$335,258.37. During the year 1916 a new standpipe was erected at Ponkapoag
at a cost of $10,359, an d $9°5-78 was expended in repairing and painting the
old one. The sources of supply are Henry's Springs at Springdale, and the
State Board of Health has pronounced the water to be of excellent quality.
During the twenty-nine years since the works were first completed the mains
have been extended, until at the close of 1916 there were over thirty miles in
use. The number of gallons pumped in 1916 was 110,198,000. The report for
that year shows 251 hydrants and nearly twelve hundred customers.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
In the beginning Canton's fire department differed but little from that of
the other towns of Norfolk County — a volunteer company and a hand fire
engine that could cope with fires of moderate magnitude, but were powerless
against great conflagrations. As the town grew in importance and the property
valuation increased proportionately, the people were not slow to recognize the
necessity of better means of extinguishing fires. After the waterworks were
built in 1887, regular hose companies were organized and a number of men
paid by the town were kept constantly on duty. In 1895 a ^ re al arm system
was installed. At the annual meeting in 191 5 it was voted to purchase two
auto combination trucks and the selectmen were instructed to carry out the
order. Ten companies submitted bids on the apparatus, but the board accepted
that of the Kissel Kar Company, which offered to furnish the two trucks for
$6,500. One of these trucks was installed at the Central Fire Station and the
other at Ponkapoag. The latter answers all fire alarms at Canton Corner.
At the close of the year 1916 the board of fire engineers was composed of
Frederic P. Drake, chief. Ralph C. Crowell and Owen Galligan. In their
annual report they give the equipment as one steam fire engine, two motor com-
bination trucks, and three hose companies, each stationed in a house of its own.
All members of the department were placed under civil service by a vote of
the annual town meeting on March 6, 1916. The appropriation for that year
was $4,800, exclusive of the amount paid for the two new trucks ordered the
preceding year. During the year 1916 the department answered sixteen calls,
in which the value of property involved was over forty thousand dollars, but
the loss was only $5,280, fully covered by insurance. No better evidence is
necessary as to the efficiency of the department.
gas works
Early in the year 1916 a public meeting was held in Lower Memorial Hall
to consider the question of granting a franchise to the Brockton Gas Light
104 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Company to furnish the town with gas. It was the sense of the meeting that
the franchise should he granted and the board of selectmen was instructed
accordingly. The board then awarded the franchise on a basis of $1.40 per
1,000 cubic feet of gas for the term of four years, with a reduction of five cents
every two years thereafter until a minimum price of $1.20 is reached, "or fifteen
cents in excess of the then prevailing price in the City of Brockton."
On April 25, 191 7, ground was broken at the junction of the boundary
lines of Canton, Stoughton and Sharon. The board of selectmen — Joseph A.
Murphy, Ernest Guild and Thomas D. Mullin — the members of the Canton
Board of Trade, which was the first to advocate gas, and a large number of the
town's citizens were present. J. B. Anderson made a short address, in which
he outlined the growth of Canton and declared the event to be a fitting one in
commemoration of the town's 120th anniversary. Chairman Murphy, of the
selectmen, Postmaster John J. Haverty, George H. Priest, representing the gas
company, and others made short talks.
POSTOFFICES
The first postoffice in Canton was established in the northern part of the
town, but just when, or who was the first postmaster cannot be ascertained.
The records of the office date back only to the close of the Civil war. Rufus
Wood was appointed postmaster in 1866. He was succeeded in turn by Fred
E. Holmes, Thomas F. Lyons, Fred E. Holmes, Bartholomew Doody, Emery
Britton, Francis D. Dunbar and the present postmaster (1917), John J. Hav-
erty. The office now employs the postmaster, assistant postmaster, one clerk,
four local and one rural carriers. In April, 191 6, the postoffice at Ponkapoag
was made a sub-station of the Canton office, which is now the only one in the
town. Formerly there were two rural routes, but these have been consolidated
and in June, 1917, Canton enjoyed the distinction of having the only motor
rural route in the State of Massachusetts. Free delivery was inaugurated in
191 1. The annual receipts of the office amount to about fourteen thousand
dollars, and the postal savings department carries deposits of over twenty-eight
thousand dollars.
THE DOTY T/VERN
For many years there stood a little south of the base of the Blue Hill a
quaint old building, two stories high, with a large attic under its gambrel roof
and two large stone chimneys. It was built by John Shepard early in the
Eighteenth Century and kept by him as a tavern in 1726. At the time of the
Revolution it was conducted by Col. Thomas Doty, better known as "Tom," of
whom it was said "He kept the best viands and could mix the best glass of grog
of any landlord in all the country around." Under his management the house
became widely known as "Doty's Tavern," the location of which was known to
every stage driver in Eastern Massachusetts.
When the various towns of Suffolk County chose delegates in 1774, to meet
and consider the general conditions then prevailing, it was not deemed safe to
meet in Boston, which was then in the hands of the British soldiery, and
CANTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
MASSACHUSETTS HOSPITAL SCHOOL, CAXT< >X
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 105
Dr. (afterward Gen.) Joseph Warren recommended Doty's Tavern as a quiet
spot where the convention was not likely to be molested. Warren had stopped
at the tavern and was acquainted with the proprietor. The result of his recom-
mendations was that the first meeting of the "Suffolk Congress" was held at
this tavern on August 16, 1774. Norfolk County had not yet been organized
and the territory now comprising it was then all in the County of Suffolk. A
second meeting of the congress was held at Dedham on September 6, 1774, and
three days later, at a third meeting held at the house of Daniel Vose. in the
Town of Milton, was adopted the famous "Suffolk Resolves," which paved
the way for the Declaration of Independence two years later. The Doty Tavern
was destroyed by fire on December 19, 1888. General Lafayette stopped at
this house while on his way from Taunton to Boston during the Revolution,
and John Adams and John Hancock were guests of Col. "Tom" Doty at various
times.
EARLY ORDINANCES
Some of the early ordinances or orders of the town meetings may seem
strange to the people of the present generation. Canton was incorporated in
February, 1797, and the annual town meeting of the following year appro-
priated $1,000 for highways, $500 for the maintenance of schools, $600 for
general expenses, and $300 "to clapboard the back end of the meeting house,
the back side of the belfry, also to paint the house." In the warrant for the
town meeting for 1799 an article was inserted "to see if the town will procure
and set up a stove in the meeting house, for the convenience and comfort of
those who attend public worship in the winter season." The article was dis-
missed, as the sentiment that church congregations should defray their own
expenses was already finding a lodgment in the minds of many of the citizens.
At the annual meeting on March 7, 1808, it was "Voted that a bounty of
one dollar per head or tail for every Rattlesnake absolutely taken and killed
within the months of April, May & October the present year." In his address
on July 4, 1876, Charles Endicott referred to this bounty as follows: "Prac-
tically this was very much like offering a bounty of two dollars for each snake
killed, and very likely it was found to be so, for the next year the town voted
the same sum for rattlesnakes tails only, and cautioned the treasurer 'to guard
against deception when he is applied to for such bounties.' "
canton in 1917
Early in the history of the town Canton came into prominence as a manu-
facturing center, and it is still one of the active manufacturing towns of Norfolk
County. The first factory in the State of Massachusetts for making cotton
goods by machinery was established in this town in 1803. Paul Revere & Son
had established a copper-works two years before, where bells and cannon were
cast. Silks, cordage and woolen goods were among the early manufactured
products, and some of the factories established a century or more ago are still
in operation, though in some cases the character of their products has been
materially .altered. A more detailed account of these establishments will be
found in another chapter.
106 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
In 1910 the population of Canton was 4,797, and in 191 5 the state census
reported a population of 5,623, a gain of 826 in five years. On April 1, 1916,
the board of assessors reported the valuation of property as $7,038,466, and
the estimated value of the town property, school houses, town hall, waterworks,
etc., as $602,000. Canton has two banks, a weekly newspaper (the Journal),
churches of various denominations, a fine public library, seven public school
buildings valued at $140,000, in which twenty-four teachers are employed ; a
number of well-stocked mercantile establishments ; an active and energetic board
of trade, steam and electric railway lines, good public highways, an almshouse
for the care of the poor, etc.
At the beginning of the year 1917 the principal town officers were as follows:
Selectmen and Overseers of the Poor, Ernest A. Guild, Thomas D. Mullen and
Joseph A. Murphy ; Assessors, Matthew E. Callahan, Frederic P. Drake and
Ernest A. Guild ; Clerk, Walter Ames ; Treasurer and Tax Collector, Robert
Bird ; Auditors, James E. Grimes, H. E. Beal and Peter Callery ; Water Commis-
sioners, Michael F. Ward, Walter S. Draper and James O'Leary ; School Com-
mittee, George H. Capen, Augustus Hemenway, I. C. Horton, H. L. Fenno,
Thomas J. Hill, E. L. Underwood, Charles H. French, Francis A. Ryan and
Frederic H. Bisbee ; Constables, John H. Flood and John Bowerman ; High-
way Surveyor, John Buckley, Jr.
CHAPTER XIV
THE TOWN OF COHASSET
GENERAL DESCRIPTION FIRST WHITE MEN AND SETTLEMENT DIVIDING THE LAND
THE HINGHAM REBELLION DISTRICT OF COHASSET FIRST TOWN MEETING
TOWN HALL COHASSET WATER COMPANY FIRE DEPARTMENT ELECTRIC
LIGHT MISCELLANEOUS. -
By the act of March 26, 1793, establishing the County of Norfolk, the towns
of Hingham and Hull were included in the new county. Before the act went
into effect, the people of these two towns presented a petition to the General
Court, asking that they be permitted to remain a part of Plymouth County.
The petition was granted and on June 20, 1793, the very day the law went into
effect, that portion of the act relating to Hingham and Hull was repealed. This
left Cohasset detached from the main body of Norfolk County. On the north,
south and west it is bounded by parts of Plymouth County, and on the east
by the waters of Massachusetts Bay. Cohasset is noted for its rocky coast
line, and' for the number of shipwrecks that occurred there during the days of
the old sailing vessels. The Indian name of this part of the coast was "Cono-
hasset" (sometimes written Quonahassit), which means "long, rocky place."
Along the sea shore the scenery is rather picturesque, the rocky bluffs being
indented by numerous bays and coves, among which are Cohasset Harbor, Sandy
Cove, Little Harbor and "The Gulf.'' There are no streams of consequence in
the town, though in the southern part is Lily or Great Pond, a pretty little
body of fresh water.
FIRST WHITE MEN
Capt. John Smith, who visited Cohasset Harbor on his voyage of 1614, was
the first man to make a report on this part of the Massachusetts coast. He
traded with the Indians of Cohasset, from whom he purchased "neer 1,100 bever
skins, 100 martins and neer as many otters.''
Among the Indians living in what is now the Town of Cohasset there was
a faint tradition that white men had been there prior to the visit of Captain
Smith. In 1568 about one hundred men were abandoned on the coast of the
Gulf of Mexico by Capt. John Hawkins. David Ingram and two others of
the marooned men started northward and by following the Indian trails reached
the New England coast. Subsequently Ingram was rescued by the crew of a
French vessel, who found him on the shores of New Brunswick. From the
story told by him to his rescuers, it is possible that he and his two associates
were the white men of the Cohasset Indian tradition.
107
108 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
In 1633 Edmond Hobart, with his wife, his son Joshua and his two daugh-
ters, Sarah and Rebekah, came from Hingham, England, and landed at Charles-
town. Later in the same year they were joined by Edmond Hobart, Jr., his
wife, his brother Thomas, with his wife and three children, Thomas Lincoln
and Nicholas Jacob, all from Hingham, England. Most of the available land
about Charlestown had been allotted to those who came earlier, and the new-
comers began looking about for a suitable place to found a new settlement. They
selected the place called Bare Cove, on the inside of the Nantasket peninsula.
Under the order of 1629, any man who would cross the Atlantic at his own
expense was to be given fifty acres of land. The settlers at Bare Cove availed
themselves of this order and on September 25, 1634, the little colony there was
taxed four pounds as a plantation.
On June 8, 1635, twenty-eight more persons arrived at Charlestown. Among
them was Rev. Peter Hobart, a son of Edmond Hobart, Sr., and a graduate of
Cambridge College, England. This company joined the colony at Bare Cove,
the name of which was changed to Hingham on September 2, 1635. Rev. Peter
Hobart was asked to become the pastor of several of the early churches, but cast
his lot with the settlement at Hingham, where he was the first minister.
On April 19, 1637, Thomas Loring, Clement Bates, Nicholas Jacob and
Joseph Andrews were granted a monopoly of the herring fisheries of the river
"over towards Cohasset," called "Lyford's Liking." Lyford was an Irish
preacher who came to Plymouth in 1624, but was dismissed from that colony
for treachery. In 1625 he settled near the mouth of this stream, which doubt-
less derived its name on account of his "liking" the location. After Loring
and his associates built their fish weir, the stream took the name of Weir River,
which it still bears. One condition of their monopoly was that they should
"sell fish at not more than ten shillings and sixpence per thousand."
Some time in the year 1637 the settlement at Hingham adopted the system
of having nine picked men to manage the affairs of the colony. The first
men selected for this purpose were: Edward Hobart, Sr., Nicholas Jacob,
Clement Bates, Henry Tuttle, Thomas Hammond, Anthony Eames, Henry Rust,
Samuel Ward and Thomas Underwood. They had authority "to receive any
person into the municipality ; to give, grant, let & set, all for the good of the
whole," but had not the power to fix the rate of taxation. A rule was adopted
that if any one of these nine men should fail to attend a meeting he should be
fined "one peck of Indian corn."
The nearest place where the settlers of Hingham could have their corn
ground into meal was the little corn mill in what is now the Town of Weymouth.
A bare trail was the only road to the mill and it sometimes happened that a
settler would fall a tree and leave its trunk lying across the pathway. On April
11, 1637, the people decreed at a meeting that if any man should fall a tree
across the road, so that a horse and cart could not pass, he should be fined twelve
pence.
At the beginning of the year 1638 the population of Hingham was forty-two.
In that year the ship "Diligent" brought over 133 immigrants to seek homes.
Several of them were mechanics, who brought their tools with them, and quite
a number of the newcomers settled in Hingham, the mechanics especially proving
a welcome addition to the little community.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 109
DIVIDING THE LAND
As early as 1637 the people of Hingham went to the Cohasset marshes to har-
vest hay for their live stock. The first individual ownership of land within the
present Town of Cohasset were the grassy plains called Turkey Meadows, at
the foot of Turkey Hill. On March 5, 1638, these meadows were parceled out
to some of the settlers in lots of about fifteen acres each, in order that they might
be certain of a supply of hay for their cattle. During the next two years there
was a marked increase in the number of inhabitants, and on July 6, 1640, it was
"agreed by joint consent that after the newcomers and others, which come short,
the old planters' accommodations be made up by equal proportions, according to
their stocks and necessities — that the remaining part of Conyhasset shall be
divided by equal proportions according to the men's heads and stocks, twenty-five
pounds in stock to go by equal proportion to a head."
Although the language used in framing this agreement is somewhat ambigu-
ous, the settlers seemed to understand just what it meant, as they divided the
land without dispute under its provisions, a man who possessed live stock worth
twenty-five pounds receiving twice as much land as the one who owned no live
stock. Nine men were chosen to make the division, viz. : Joseph Peck, Nicholas
Jacob, Henry Smith, Edmond Pitts, John Parker, Henry Tuttle, Nicholas Baker,
Thomas Hammond and Clement Bates. By this division each of the newcomers
secured a small tract of the Cohasse't meadows. Joseph Peck and Nicholas Jacob
were evidently men of some prominence among the pioneers. The meadow lands
drawn by them in the division of 1640 still bear their names. Peck's meadow is
situated at the foot of the Richardson Hill on the north side, along the Jerusalem
Road, and Jacob's meadow is crossed by South Main Street, not far from the
Catholic Church.
On February 28, 1648, Thomas Hammond, Clement Bates, Joshua Hobart,
Nicholas Jacob, William Hersey, Anthony Eames, John Otis, Matthew Cushing
and Joseph Underwood were appointed to make a second division of the "Cohasset
Meadows," or that portion of them that had not been allotted to settlers in the
division of 1640. Among those who received tracts of meadow land in this divi-
sion were : Thomas Andrews, Nathan Baker, Clement Bates, Thomas Barnes,
James Buck, William Chapman, Mark Eames, Francis James, Philip James,
Andrew Lane, Matthew Lane, Thomas Lincoln (cooper), Thomas Lincoln (car-
penter), John Morrick, David Phippeny, William Ripley, Thomas Thaxter, John
Tower, Joseph Underwood, Edward Wilder and Ralph Woodward.
Surveyors of the present day would probably look with disdain upon the
methods employed by the nine men selected to divide the Cohasset meadows in
1640 and 1648. With chain and wooden stakes, they measured and marked off
the marshes in the neighborhood of Little Harbor, and in the case of some irregu-
larly shaped pieces of land they "guessed" at the number of acres. They were
guided in their work, however, by a spirit of fairness and impartiality, and if any
dissatisfaction arose over the division it has not been made a matter of record.
There still remained some undivided land in what is now the Town of
Cohasset after the action of February, 1648. On July 4, 1665, the three sons
of the Indian sachem, Chickatabot, deeded the lands now comprising Hingham
and Cohasset to Joshua Hubbard (or Hobart) and John Thaxter for the inhabi-
110 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
tants. The consideration named in that deed was satisfied by granting twelve
acres "on Turkey Hill, on the north side of a way leading to Scituate, to Lieut.
John Smith and Deacon John Leavitt, on condition that they satisfy all the charge
about the purchase of the Town's land," etc.
At a meeting held on January 17, 1670, about four and a half years after the
Indian title was extinguished, the settlers "determined to throw the whole of their
undivided lands into seven hundred shares, and then distribute those shares by
an open vote, and afterwards to survey the land, giving pieces to each shareholder
according to the number of his shares."
Under this arrangement there were about fourteen hundred acres of land to
be distributed, hence each share entitled the holder to approximately two acres.
Daniel Cushing, then the town clerk, received thirty-five shares, the largest num-
ber given to a single individual by the "open vote." Peter Hobart, pastor of the
church, received twenty-five shares; Joshua Hobart, eighteen; John Thaxter,
sixteen and a half; John Smith and Nathan Baker, fifteen shares each; John
Leavitt, fourteen and a half; John Ripley and Jeremiah Beal, thirteen each;
Thomas Hobart, John Beal, Sr., Thomas Lincoln (husbandman), Edmond
Hobart, John Tucker, Thomas Lincoln (carpenter), Edmond Pitts, Thomas
Andrews and John Otis, ten shares each; the other participants being awarded
from three to eight shares each, except Clement Bates, Jr., who received but one
share.
THE HINGHAM REBELLION
In 1644, several years prior to the division of the Cohasset lands, Anthony
Eames, lieutenant of the militia, became so disgusted at the awkwardness dis-
played by the local company that he used some sarcastic language and refused to
drill the men. Eames had been elected captain, but had not yet been confirmed.
To punish him the members of the company held a meeting and elected Bozoan
Allen in his place. The colonial authorities refused to concur in this action,
which meant that Eames must remain at the head of the company until the next
session of the General Court. Two-thirds of the company refused to drill under
Eames and the Boston magistrates issued warrants for the arrest of the offenders.
Five men were arrested — three of them members of the Hobart family — and by
order of Deputy-Governor Winthrop two were lodged in jail.
When the General Court met ninety men from Hingham and Cohasset ap-
peared with a petition asking that Winthrop be tried for exceeding his authority in
committing the men to jail. Rev. Peter Hobart, pastor of the church, was at
the head of this movement, and Joshua Hobart was also quite active. The latter
was fined twenty-five pounds. A smaller fine was imposed upon the pastor, on
account of his calling, but he refused to pay and his fine was increased to twenty-
five pounds. Altogether the penalties levied against the recalcitrants amounted to
one hunderd and twenty-five pounds. The incident disturbed the peace of Hingham
for several years. The people stood by their pastor, paid his fines, and apparently
regarded him with more esteem than before the affair. Some years afterwards
he was forbidden to preach in Boston, the magistrates assigning as the reason
that "He is a bold man and will speak his mind." Hon. Thomas Russell, in an
address delivered at the centennial anniversary of Cohasset, May 7, 1870, in re-
ferring to this controversy, said :
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 111
"We lose patience as we read the story of this contest. We smile at the
superstitious bigotry of Winthrop, who finds a Providential interposition when
some Hingham men made light of the colony's fast and, attempting to take a raft
to Boston, were delayed a month by bad weather. But while we criticise and
smile, we should remember that Hobart and his friends were believed to threaten
the powers and rulers of the province, and that such threats imperiled the right
of self-government. We know, also, that they were dreaded because they troubled
the churches, and those that troubled the churches were believed to endanger
souls. On both sides we find error, on both sides sincerity — the great manly
virtue from which all virtue springs. There have been men of gentler disposition
than Peter Hobart, of more enlightened views than Governor Winthrop, of more
refined taste, of more graceful speech than any of the Pilgrim Fathers ; but those
men have no New England for their monument."
While the turmoil was at its height a few Hingham families left the town
to find peace in some other locality. Lieutenant Eames was ostracized for a time
by a majority of the militia company and their intimate friends, but it seems he
was restored to the good graces of the community, as he was one of the nine men
appointed to divide the lands in February, 1648. And after all, the spirit which
moved the people of Hingham and Cohasset to protest against the sarcasm of
their military commander and what they regarded as the tyranny of Governor
Winthrop, was the same spirit of independence which cemented the American
colonies together more than a century later in their resistance to British oppres-
sion, a resistance which culminated in the Revolution and resulted in the estab-
lishment of a republic.
DISTRICT OF COHASSET
Early in the Eighteenth century the few settlers in Cohasset became dissatis-
fied because of the great distance they had to go to attend church or to send their
children to school. In 171 1 the Hingham tax list showed that there were thirty-
six people in Cohasset against whom poll taxes were assessed. The taxable
property of that year consisted of "22 dwelling houses, 48 oxen, 78 cows, 31 horses,
213 sheep and 14 hoggs." The total tax was about fifty-four pounds. As the
residents of that section of the town paid a considerable portion of the taxes, they
asked to be relieved of part of the burden and permitted to establish a church
and school within easy distance. In response to this request, the Hingham town
meeting of May 14, 1713, voted "That the Inhabitants of Conahasset shall have
Liberty to get up and erect a meeting house there on that land called the Plain."
While the citizens of the Town of Hingham were willing to allow the peti-
tioners the privilege of building a church, they failed to remit any part of the
tax, consequently the people of Cohasset did not "get up and erect a meeting
house." On March 7, 1715, they submitted three propositions to the Hingham
town meeting, to-wit : First, that the eastern portion of the town be made a
separate precinct, so the people there could tax themselves for the support of a
church and school ; second, that they be allowed something out of the town treasury
to help maintain a church; third, the abatement of the sum paid to the minister
in Hingham. All these propositions were rejected by the town meeting.
In June, 17 15, a committee was appointed by the General Court "to repair to
112 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Hingham and have a town meeting called for the purpose of securing satisfaction
for the Conohasset pioneers." The meeting was held the following month, at
which it was voted "That the inhabitants of Conohasset, that is to say the in-
habitants of the First Division and Second Division & part of the Third Division
of Conohasset upland to the fifty-fourth lot of the Second Part of the Third
Division, be freed from time to time from paying toward the support of a minister
in Hingham during the time that they provide an orthodox minister among them-
selves, provided they cheerfully accept of the same."
But the inhabitants of Conohasset did not "cheerfully accept" for the reason
they considered the burden imposed was too heavy for them to bear. In March,
1716, the Town of Hingham voted "to allow £17. 19s. 6d. out of the town treasury
towards maintaining the worship of God in Conohasset." That sum represented
Cohasset's share of the church and school taxes for the preceding year and the
money was ordered to be paid to John Jacob. It appears that Mr. Jacob, probably
advised by some of his neighbors, refused to accept the money, and in February,
1717, the town was again asked to establish a precinct. In the summer of that
year a committee appointed by the General Court again visited the town to investi-
gate the conditions. Upon the report of this committee the Court passed an act
on November 21, 1717, creating a precinct of Cohasset, "alias Little Hingham,"
and setting off the inhabitants in the matter of church and school.
The first meeting in the new precinct or parish was held on July 14, 1718,
Daniel Lincoln presiding as moderator and Thomas James acting as clerk. The
principal business transacted at this meeting was that of accepting the act estab-
lishing the precinct. At a subsequent meeting a fast was appointed for the third
Thursday in April, 1719, in order to call a minister to the parish. Mr. Pierpont
was then called and Mr. Spear in the spring of 1721. No regular minister was
settled, however, until September, 1721, when Nehemiah Hobart was installed
as pastor. In 1727 the precinct petitioned the General Court for liberty to apply
taxes to the support of schools, which was granted, and the first school was
opened in the fall of 1728.
During the next quarter of a century the population grew steadily and at
a meeting held on February 11, 1751, "A vote was tryed whether we should
Petetion the other parte of ye Town that we might be Sett off a distinct District
or Township — Passed in ye affirmative." John Stephenson, Samuel Cushing and
Isaac Lincoln were appointed a committee to present the petition at the Hingham
town meeting in May, where it was "Passed in ye negative." Similar action was
taken by a precinct meeting on March 4. 1752, with the understanding that if
Hingham again refused consent the question should be taken to the General Court.
At the Hingham town meeting on May 14, 1752, the petition was rejected, but
the records do not show that the question was at that time carried to the General
Court. Another efTort was made in March, 1753, when the original committee was
reappointed and instructed to "get the matter before the General Court," but in
this instance the records are also silent as to the general result.
Repeated rebuffs had discouraged some of the people of little Hingham and
they became somewhat indifferent on the subject. Enough maintained their
interest, however, to present the "double barreled" petition again in March,
1756, one to the Town of Hingham and the other to the General Court.
At the Hingham town meeting on May 19, 1756, the petition was again rejected
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 113
and the question then lay dormant for about twelve years. Then the following
petition was prepared :
"Hingham, Jan. ye 2th, 1768.
"To Capt. Daniel Lincoln, Mr. Jazaniah Nichols and Mr. Thomas Lothrop,
Parish Committee for calling meetings, &sf.
"Gentlemen — We the subscribers apprehending that it will be for the advant-
age of the Inhabitants in the Second Parish of Hingham to be made a District Do
hereby Apply to you in behalf of Our Selves and others Requesting that you
would forth with Call a Legal Meeting of sd Inhabitants To See whether they
will vote to apply to the Town at theire Annual Meeting next March to bee in-
corporated or Set off as aforesaid.
"There to chuse a Committtee in order to make the Application to the Town
and also to transact any other matters or things that Shall there Bee thought Con-
ducive to Accomplish this Beneficial End wee have in view, as Wittness our Hands.
"Daniel Tower, John Stephenson, Isaac Lincoln, Solomon Bates, Amos Joy,
John Wilcott, Israel Whitcom, Samuel Cushing, Jonathan Near, John Stephen-
son, Jr., Isaac Lincoln, Sr., Jonathan Pratt, James Litchfield, Mordecai Lincoln,
Obadiah Lincoln, David Marble, Jr., Israel Whitcom, Jr., Job Whitcom, Lot
Whitcom, John Pratt, Joshua Bates, Abel Kent, Thomas Lincoln, Price Prichart,
Micah Nichols, James Hall, Cushing Kilby, Uriah Oakes, Charles Ripley, Morde-
cai Bates, Elisha Bates, Laz Beal, Jr., Nehemiah Bates, Newcomb Bourn, Jonathan
Beals, Mijah Clapp, Thomas Pratt, Solomon Cushing, Benjamin Stetson, Heze-
kiah Lincoln, Benjamin Beals, Richard Tower, Caleb Joy, Noah Nichols, Joseph
Bates, Isaac Tower, Enoch Stodard, James Stodard, Philip James, Abner Bates,
James Bates, Joshua Burr, John Beal, Isaac Burr, Thomas Nichols, Job Tower,
James Stetson, John Tower, Daniel Tower, Jr."
In response to this petition a meeting was called for January 25, 1768, at
which it was voted to petition Hingham and the General Court for a charter and
"to be invested with all the Libertys and Privileges of a Town, that of sending a
Representative to the General Court only excepted, and that they have the Liberty
of joining with ye Town of Hingham in the choice of a Representative from time
to time."
Isaac Lincoln, Jr., John Stephenson, Jr., and Laz Beal, Jr., were appointed a
committee to lay the matter before the Hingham town meeting. When that meet-
ing assembled, Hingham refused the request of the petitioners and appointed
Joshua Hersey, Benjamin Lincoln, Jr., Joseph Andrews, Joseph Thaxter and
Theophilus Cushing a committee to prepare and present a remonstrance to the
General Court. Nothing definite was accomplished until March 28, 1770, when
the General Court appointed Jonathan Bradbury, Colonel Gerrish and Major Ban-
croft as a special committee "to repair to Hingham, as soon as may be, view the
said Parish and report to the Court what in their opinion is proper to be done."
The committee was entertained at the house of Lazarus Beal and the expense of
the investigation (£4. 17s. iod.) was charged to the Town of Hingham. On April
25, 1770, the committee reported in favor of the petitioners and they were given
liberty to frame a bill for the establishing of a district. The bill had evidently
been prepared in advance of the committee's report, for on April 26, 1770, "An
Act for incorporating the Second Precinct in Hingham into a District by the name
of Cohasset," became a law.
Vol. 1—8
114 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Although called a "district" in the act of incorporation, the law provided "That
the inhabitants thereof be and hereby are invested with all the powers, privileges
and immunities which the inhabitants of Towns within this Province do, or by law
ought to enjoy (that of sending a Representative to the General Assembly only
excepted) and that the inhabitants of said District shall have liberty, from time
to time, to join with the Town of Hingham in the choice of a Representative or
Representatives."
Not only were the inhabitants invested with the powers, privileges and im-
munities of a town, but they were also required to perform all the duties required
of towns. Benjamin Lincoln was named in the act as "empowered to issue a war-
rant to some principal inhabitant of said District of Cohasset, requiring him to
call a meeting of said inhabitants, in order to choose such officers as towns are by
law empowered to choose," etc.
FIRST TOWN MEETING
Benjamin Lincoln issued a call for a meeting to be held on May 7, 1770, "at
Cohasset meeting house on the Common." Isaac Lincoln was chosen moderator
and the following town officers were elected : Joseph Souther, Daniel Lincoln
and Isaac Lincoln, selectmen, assessors and overseers of the poor; Daniel Lincoln,
clerk; Thomas Bourne, treasurer; James Litchfield, Ephraim Lincoln and Abel
Kent, school committee. The act of April 26th, incorporating the district, was
accepted and it was "Voted to ask that the style of 'district' be changed to
'town.' ' : This was not done, however, until 1786, when the General Court passed
an act that all districts incorporated prior to 1777 should be, to all intents and
purposes, towns.
TOWN HALL
The town meetings were held in the First Parish Church until 1832. In 1797
a company of persons erected a building for a private school. In 1832 the town
authorities obtained the use of this building, where meetings were held until the
erection of the present town hall in 1857. It is a substantial frame building, two
stories in height, and when first built the lower floor was used for some years for
the high school. The original cost of the hall was about four thousand dollars,
but an addition was made to it some years later, a heating plant and plumbing
fixtures installed, giving the town ample accommodations for the transaction of
public business. The building contains offices for the town clerk, assessors, select-
men, etc., and a large hall for holding public meetings. It is well preserved and the
common in front of the Cohasset Town Hall is one of the prettiest spots in
Norfolk County.
COHASSET WATER COMPANY
Prior to 1887 the Town of Cohasset depended upon wells for its water supply.
On April 26, 1886, fourteen men met and organized the Cohasset Water Company,
which was incorporated a few days later. Several plans were considered for ob-
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 115
taining water for the people of the town, but the one finally selected was that of
driving a number of deep wells in the meadow called "The Picle," pumping the
water to a reservoir on the top of Bear Hill, from which it could be forced by
gravity pressure to all parts of the town. The capital stock of the company was
fixed at $100,000 and as soon as a sufficient amount had been paid in work on
the plant was commenced. The reservoir on Bear Hill, with a capacity of
1,500,000. was constructed and connected by pipes with fifty-four wells in "The
Picle." Mains were laid on the principal streets and the first water was supplied
in the early autumn of 1887. Within recent years there have been some com-
plaints about the quality of the water and the rates charged by the company, and
there have been numerous expressions in favor of the purchase of the plant by the
town, but nothing definite had been done up to July 1, 1917.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
The Cohasset Fire Department dates back to April 30, 1807, when the fol-
lowing petition was presented to the board of selectmen :
"To the Selectmen of the Town of Cohassett :
"Gentlemen — You are requested to insert the following article in the warrant
for the May meeting, viz :
"To see if the Town will Accept of a Fire Engine with Bucketts &c Compleat
According to Law, to be procured and paid for by Mr. Elisha Doane, Jr., Mr.
Nichols Tower, Mr. John Nichols, Mr. Joseph Lincoln, Mr. Wm. Whittington and
such others as may Joyn them to the number the Law allowes and to be Com-
pleated aggreeable to Law in the course of Nine Months — with the proviso, that
if the Selectmen should at any time hereafter appoint Engine men to the exclusion
of the present applicants, or any of their Associates or Assigns, then the Town
shall reimburse to those who they may exclude all expences they may have been
at."
The petition w 7 as signed by Laban Bates, Elisha Doane, Abel Kent, Jr., Thad-
deus Lawrence, Israel Nichols, James Stoddard, William Stutson and Joel Will-
cutt. At the May meeting the proposition was accepted and a few months later
the engine was placed in commission. It was soon discovered that the engine
was not a paying investment, on account of a scarcity of water, the only source
of supply being the wells and some small ponds, and several years passed before
the department was placed upon an efficient basis.
In 1905 a fire alarm system was installed and at the annual town meeting on
March 6, 1916, it was "Voted that the sum of $4,820 be raised and appropriated,
and that $1,000 of this amount be expended under the Board of Engineers for
the purpose of repairs to the fire house at the cove, said repairs to consist of in-
stalling a new heating plant and such other repairs as in their judgment are most
necessary." The board of engineers at that time was composed of Henry E.
Brennock, chief; George Jason, assistant chief; George F. Sargent and Sidney
L. Beal, district chiefs. In their report at the close of the year they announced
that the repairs had been made. The department then consisted of two combina-
tion engine and hook and ladder companies — one at Cohasset and one at Beech-
wood — and a hose company at North Cohasset.
116 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
ELECTRIC LIGHT
On July 28, 1890, a company was formed for the purpose of lighting the towns
of Cohasset and Scituate by electricity. It was incorporated on the 12th of
August the same year under the name of the "Electric Light and Power Com-
pany of Abington and Rockland." Work on construction was pushed forward
with commendable energy and on September 14, 1890, the streets of Cohasset were
lighted for the first time by electricity. The Hingham Municipal Electric Plant
also furnishes a number of lights, especially in the vicinity of North Cohasset.
MISCELLANEOUS
One of the early settlers in Cohasset was Mordecai Lincoln, the ancestor of
Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States. Mordecai Lin-
coln received a grant of land on Bound Brook and built a mill on that stream.
Prior to that time the nearest mill was at Straits Pond, but it could run only when
the tide was out of the Weir River. The volume of water in Bound Brook was
not sufficient to run a mill constantly, but Mr. Lincoln's ingenuity was able to
overcome this difficulty. He built three mills — one at Turtle Island, one at Beech-
wood and the third at Bound Rock. On Monday and Tuesday there was a suf-
ficient head of water to run the mill at Turtle Island ; Wednesday and Thursday
he could operate the mill at Beechwood ; and on Friday and Saturday the one at
Bound Rock was kept busy. There is an old song entitled "The mill will never
grind with the water that has passed," but the composer was evidently not ac-
quainted with the method employed by Mordecai Lincoln, who used the same
water three times. Mr. Lincoln also operated an iron smelter and forge, hauling
his bog iron ore from Pembroke, a distance of ten miles, with ox teams.
During the first half of the Nineteenth Century shipbuilding was carried on
at Cohasset and between the years 1820 and 1845 it was an important industry.
Among the vessels that went out from the Cohasset yards were the brigs Eolus
and Talisman, the Barque Hobart, the schooners Ansurla, Tower, Albicore, Myra,
Convert, Talisman, William Bates, Bela Bates and Fleetwind. A number of the
schooners were employed in the fishing industry, which is still a prominent feature
of Cohasset's business enterprises.
The location of Cohasset makes it a desirable place for summer residence and
many wealthy citizens of Boston own cottages along the coast, where they spend
a large part of their time during the hot weather of July and August. The Boston
& Plymouth division of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railway system
passes through the town, with frequent trains, which enables these summer resi-
dents to make the short journey to the city whenever it becomes necessary. In
1910 the population of Cohasset was 2,585, and in 1915 it was 2,800. The assessed
valuation of property in 19 16 was $9,802,964.
At the beginning of the year 1917 the town officers were: Selectmen, Assess-
ors and Overseers of the Poor, Harry E. Mapes, William O. Souther, Jr., Herbert
L. I'.rowe; Clerk, Harry F. Tilden; Treasurer and Collector, Newcomb B. Tower;
Highway Surveyor, George Jason; Constables, Sidney L. Beal, Henry E. Bren-
nock, John T. Keating, Louis J. Morris and Edward E. Wentworth.
CHAPTER XV
THE TOWN OF DEDHAM
GENERAL DESCRIPTION — SETTLEMENT AND GRANT — THE COVENANT — THE TOWN
INCORPORATED — NAMING THE TOWN ORIGINAL TERRITORY — A FEW PIONEERS
FIRST TOWN OFFICERS — DEDHAM IN 1664 — TRAINING GROUND — EARLY MILLS
DEDHAM ISLAND PETUMTUCK OLD-TIME TAVERNS — FIRE DEPARTMENT —
DEDHAM WATER COMPANY — MEMORIAL HALL — THE TOWN SEAL POSTOFFICE —
THE DEDHAM OF THE PRESENT.
Dedham, the shire town of Norfolk County, is situated a little north of the
center of the county. It is somewhat irregular in shape ; is bounded on the north
by the Town of Needham ; on the east by the City of Boston; on the southeast
by the Town of Canton, and on the south and west by the Town of Westwood.
It is separated from Needham by the Charles River, and the Neponset River flows
between Dedham and Canton. The town is well watered by these two streams
and their smaller tributaries. The surface is generally rolling or hilly, and the
soil is of a sandy or gravelly nature, not naturally fertile, but by careful cultivation
it can be made to produce fair crops of the grains, fruits and vegetables adapted
to this section of the country.
SETTLEMENT AND GRANT
In May, 1635, the General Court gave permission to the people of Watertown
"to remove whither they pleased, provided they continued under the jurisdiction of
the court." Some of the inhabitants of those towns selected a location on the
Charles River, and on September 3, 1635, the General Court ordered that : "There
shall be a plantation settled about two miles above the falls of the Charles River,
on the northeast side thereof, to have ground lying to it on both sides of the river,
both upland and meadow, to be laid out hereafter as the court shall appoint."
The first settlement was made upon the new plantation in the fall of 1635 by
people from Watertown and Roxbury. In March, 1636, the General Court
appointed commissioners to set out the bounds of the plantation. The commis-
sioners made their report on April 13, 1636. At that time it was a custom in New
England for the settlers in anew community, before they were incorporated as a
town, to form themselves into a sort of voluntary association and enter into an
agreement to observe certain regulations until such time as the General Court
should see fit to pass an act of incorporation. Pursuant to this custom, the settlers
of the new plantation on the Charles River, soon after the bounds had been fixed
by the commissioners, adopted the following
117
118 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
COVENANT
"i. We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, do, in the fear and
reverence of Almighty God, mutually and severally promise amongst ourselves
and each to other to profess and practice one truth according to that most perfect
rule the foundation whereof is everlasting love.
"2. That we shall by all means labor to keep off from us all such as are con-
trary-minded,, and receive only such unto us as be such as may be probably of one
heart with us, as that we either know or may well and truly be informed to walk
in peaceable conversation, with all meekness of spirit, for the edification of each
other, in the knowledge and faith of the Lord Jesus, and the mutual encouragement
unto all temporal comforts in all things, seeking the good of each other out of all
which may be derived true peace.
"3. That if at any time difference shall arise between parties of our said
town, that then such party and parties shall presently refer all such difference unto
some two or three others of our said society, to be fully accorded and determined
without further delay, if it possibly may be.
"4. That every man that now or at any time hereafter shall have lots in our
said town shall pay his share in all such rates of money and charges as shall be
imposed upon him rateably in proportion with other men, as also become freely
subject unto all such orders and constitutions as shall be necessarily had or made,
now or at any time hereafter, from this day forward, as well for the loving and
comfortable society in our said town as also for the prosperous and thriving
condition of our said fellowship, especially respecting the fear of God, in which
we desire to begin and continue whatsoever we shall by His loving favor take
in hand.
"5. And for the better manifestation of our true resolution herein, every man
so received to subscribe hereunto his .name, thereby obliging both himself and his
successors after him forever, as we have done."
This covenant was signed by one hundred and twenty-five persons, to wit :
Ferdinando Adams, Thomas Alcock, John Aldis, Nathan Aldis, Edward Alleyne,
James Allin, John Allin, Francis Austin, William Avery, Michael Bacon, George
Barber, Richard Barber, Thomas Bartlett, John Batchelor, Thomas Bayes, George
Bearstowe. William Bearstowe, Henry Brock, Benjamin Bullard, Isaac Bullard,
John Bullard, William Bullard, Samuel Bulleyne, Thomas Cakebread, Thomas
Carter, Francis Chickering, Joseph Clarke, Nathaniel Coaleborne (Colburn),
Edward Colver, John Coolidge, Robert Crossman, Philemon Dalton, Timothy
Dalton, Andrew Deming, Henry Dengayne, James Draper, John Dwight, Timothy
Dwight, Timothy Dwight, Jr., Thomas Eames, John Eaton, John Elderkin, John
Ellice, Joseph Ellice, Richard Ellice, Richard Evered (Everard), George Fayer-
banke, John Fayerbanke, Jonathan Fayerbanke, Jonathan Fayerbanke, Jr., Robert
Feake, Anthony Fisher, Cornelius Fisher, John Fisher, Joshua Fisher, Samuel
Fisher, Thomas Fisher, Thomas Fisher, Jr., John Frayrye, Ralph Freeman,
Thomas Fuller, John Gaye, Lambert Genere, Henry Glover, Robert Gowen, John
Guild, Thomas Hastings, James Herring, Thomas Herring, Robert Hinsdale,
Fzekiel Holliman, John Houghton, John Haward (Howard), John Huggin, Jonas
Humphrey, John Hunting, James Jordan, Thomas Jordan, Edward Kempe, Austen
Kilham, John Kingsbury, Joseph Kingsbury, Thomas Leader, Eleazer Lusher,
THE SQUARE. LOOKING EAST, DKDHAM
FRANKLIN SQUARE, DKDHAM
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 119
John Luson, John Mason, Michael Metcalfe, Thomas Metcalfe, Samuel Mills,
Jeffrey Mingeye, Daniel Morse, John Morse, Joseph Morse, Samuel Morse, Joseph
Moyes, Robert Onion, John Partridge, Thomas Payne, Henry Phillips, Martin
Phillips, Nicholas Phillips, John Plympton, Daniel Pond, Michael Powell, John
Rice, Edward Richards, John Rogers, John Roper, Abraham Shaw, Joseph Shaw,
Ralph Shepherd, Benjamin Smith, Christopher Smith, Henry Smyth, Hugh
Stacey, Th waits Strickland, James Thorpe, John Thurston, James Vales (Fales),
Robert Ware, Ralph Wheelock, Nathaniel Whiting, Thomas Wight, Ellice Wood
and Peter Woodward.
The covenant bears no date to show just when it was adopted, and a few of
the names attached to it were those of mere children, notably Timothy Dwight,
Jr.. Isaac Bullard, Jonathan Fayerbanke, Jr., and John Houghton, some of whom
were not more than five years of age at the time the covenant was first written.
THE TOWN INCORPORATED
The oldest record of a town meeting in the settlement on the Charles River
bears date of August 18, 1636. Another meeting held on the 5th of September
was attended by nineteen persons, who adopted the following petition for presen-
tation to the General Court, which was then in session :
"1. May it please this honored court to ratify unto your humble petitioners
your grant formerly made of a plantation above the falls that we may possess all
that land which is left out of all former grants upon that side of the Charles River.
And upon the other side five miles square. To have and enjoy all those lands,
meadows, woods and other grounds, together with all waters and other benefits
whatsoever now being or that may be within the compass of the aforesaid limits
to us with our associates and our assigns forever.
"2. To be freed from all country charges for four years. And military exer-
cises to be only in our own town, except extraordinary occasion require it.
"3. That such distribution or allotments of lands, meadows, woods, &c,
within our said limits as are done and performed by the grantees, their successors,
or such as shall be deputed thereunto, shall and may stand for good assurance
unto the several possessors thereof and their assigns forever.
"4. That we may have countenance from this honored court for the well
ordering of the nonage of our society according to the best rule. And to that
purpose to assign unto us a constable that may regard peace and truth.
"5. To distinguish our town by the name of Contentment, or otherwise what
you shall please.
"6. And lastly we entreat such other helps as your wisdoms shall know best
in favor to grant unto us for our well improving of what we are thus entrusted
withal unto our particular, but especially unto the general good of this whole weal
public in succeeding times.
"Subscribed by all that have underwritten in covenant at present."
The nineteen men who signed this petition at the meeting at which it was
unanimously adopted were : Edward Alleyne, Francis Austin, Thomas Bartlett,
William Bearstowe, John Coolidge, Philemon Dalton, John Dwight, Richard
Evered, John Gaye, Lambert Genere, Ezekiel Holliman, John Howard, John
120 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Kingsbury, Samuel Morse, Nicholas Phillips, John Rogers, Abraham Shaw,
Joseph Shaw and Ralph Shepherd. Some historians state that the petition was
signed by nineteen inhabitants of the plantation, but as a matter of fact it was
signed by twenty-two. The minutes of the meeting of September 5, 1636, state
that "After ye assembly was dissolved Mr. Robte Feke came and subscribed his
name unto ye said peticion. And Thomas Hastings and John Huggin did the like
at Boston."
It appears that the petitioners lost no time in bringing the matter before the
General Court, for on September 8, 1636, that body ordered that: "The planta-
tion to be settled above Charles River shall have three years immunity from public
charges, as Concord had, to be accounted from the first of May next ; that the name
of the town shall be Dedham ; to enjoy all that land on the easterly and southerly
side of the Charles River, not formerly granted unto any town or particular per-
son ; and also to have five miles square on the other side of the said river.'' It is
from the date of this order that Dedham dates its incorporation as a town.
NAMING THE TOWN
Worthington's History of Dedham, published in 1827, says on page 31 : "The
celebrated John Rogers, of Dedham, in England, had been forbidden to preach
before our first settlers came to this country. Many of his people emigrated to
this country and several to this town. John Dwight and his son Timothy Dwight,
John Rogers and John Page were of this number. From this circumstance we may
suppose the General Court gave to this place the name of Dedham. The inhabi-
tants requested the General Court to give it the name of Contentment, which name
is written over the records of the first several meetings. It appears to me that
the word well expresses the leading motives of the first twenty-four settlers in
coming into this town."
ORIGINAL TERRITORY
The grant made to the Town of Dedham by the act of September 8, 1636, was
princely in its proportions, though rather indefinite as to boundaries. South and
east of the Charles River it embraced the present towns of Dedham, Dover, Fox-
borough, Franklin, Medfield, Norfolk, Norwood, Plainville, Walpole, Westwood,
Wrentham, and nearly all of Bellingham. On the north and west of the river it
included Needham, Medway, Millis, Wellesley, that portion of Bellingham on that
side of the river, and parts of Natick and Sherborn. On the east the town extended
to the grant of land to Israel Stoughton and others, and it was not until nearly a
century afterward that the Neponset River was made the boundary between
Stoughton (now Canton) and Dedham. The boundary line between Dedham and
the towns of Dorchester and Roxbury was not definitely established for several
years. Dedham might be appropriately called the "Mother of Towns," as more
than half the towns in Norfolk County were included within the limits of its
original boundaries, as well as a large part of the towns of Natick and Sherborn,
in the County of Middlesex, and portions of Hyde Park and West Roxbury, which
have since been annexed to the City of Boston.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 121
A FEW PIONEERS
It is impossible, after a lapse of nearly three hundred years and in the absence
of authentic records, to give the names of all the members of the first company
that came to Dedham in 1635. The list of the signers of the covenant given above
was compiled by Erastus Worthington in 1884. From this list and the annotations
made by Mr. Worthington it can be determined with tolerable certainty that
among those who came in each of the first three years of Dedham's history were
the following:
1635 — Edward Alleyn, Philemon Dalton, John Dwight, John Ellis (or Ellice,
as it appears among the signers of the covenant), John Gay, John Howard, Samuel
Morse and Ralph Shepherd.
1636 — Thomas Alcock, William Bearstowe, Richard Evered, Lambert Genere,
Ezekiel Holliman, John Kingsbury, Nicholas Phillips, John Rogers and Abraham
Shaw.
1637 — John Allin, Francis Chickering, Thomas Fisher, Eleazer Lusher, John
Luson, Michael Metcalf, John Thurston, Thomas Wight and probably Hugh
Stacey.
Concerning the character of these pioneers, especially those who came first,.
Worthington says : "This company of men seems from their subsequent conduct,
to have been a portion of that mixed population collected at Watertown, who
possessed good sense and moderate principles and were desirous of forming a
peaceable society. They were Puritans, but by no means of high proof. This
company did in substance at least say to their fellow townsmen, whom they were
about to leave: 'Let there be no strife between us and -thee, and between thy
herdsmen and our herdsmen, for we be brethren ; if you go to the right we will go
to the left, for is not the whole country before us?' "
Edward Alleyn was unquestionably the leading man of the company. There is
a tradition that he wrote the covenant, and that he was active in bringing the peti-
tion of September, 1636, before the General Court is well known. When the town
was incorporated in response to that petition, he was chosen a member of the first
board of selectmen and the first records of the town are in his handwriting. Upon
the establishment of the first church in 1638, he experienced some difficulty in
being admitted, owing to objections caused by rumors regarding his conduct in
England. The objections were removed, however, as soon as Mr. Alleyn could
procure evidence from the mother country. In 1639 he was elected a representa-
tive to the General Court and continued a member of that body until his death,
which occurred suddenly on September 8, 1642.
Philemon Dalton was linen weaver by trade. He came over in the
"Increase" in 1635 ar, d located at Watertown. One account says he did not
become a resident of Dedham until 1637, but as he was one of the first to sign
the covenant and also the petition of 1636, it is certain that he was a member of
the original company. About 1640 he went to Ipswich, where he died on June 4,
1662.
John Dwight first located at Watertown upon coming to America, but remained
there only a short time before coming to Dedham. For sixteen years he served
on the board of selectmen and it was from him that Dwight's Brook was named.
His house stood near the brook, on High Street, and was removed in 1849 to make
122 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
way for the railroad bridge. He died on the last day of June, 1674. When he
first came to Dedham he was accompanied by his family. One son, Timothy
Dwight, was then about five years of age. He grew up in Dedham, was town
clerk for ten years and selectman for twenty-four years. In 1678 and again in
1 69 1 he was elected representative to the General Court. His death occurred on
January 31, 1718.
Samuel Morse and his two sons — John and Daniel — were among those who
came over in the "Increase" in 1635. He was one of the original proprietors of
the plantation on the Charles River that afterward became the Town of Dedham.
In 1 64 1 he was elected a selectman and served for two years. He died on June
20, 1654.
Ralph Shepherd came in the "Abigail" in 1635 and located at Dedham in the
same year. After a short residence he removed to Weymouth and from there to
Maiden. He then bought a farm at Concord and lived there for a few years,
when he went to Charlestown. He died there on September 11, 1693.
William Bearstowe (correct family name "Barstow") was one of the passen-
gers on the "Truelove" in 1635 and soon after landing he became interested in the
Dedham movement. He was one of the signers of the petition for the incorpora-
tion of the town and afterward removed to Scituate. His brother George, who
came over on the same vessel, in 1636 received an allotment of land in Ded-
ham, but did not become a resident until several years later. He was a member
of the Dedham artillery company for a time and then removed to Scituate.
Richard Evered was the founder of the American family bearing the name
of Everett, of which Gov. Edward Everett was a distinguished member. He was
elected one of the selectmen in 1661 and held the office for one year. His death
occurred on July 3, 1682.
Ezekiel Holliman is mentioned in some of the early records as "a man of gifts
and piety," though it seems he did not always conform to established customs. On
March 12, 1638, he was "summoned" because "he did not frequent the public
assemblies," and his case was referred by the court to the ministers for conviction.
Previous to that time he had been fined for felling "one greate Timber tree for
clapboards without his own lott," and also for covering his house with clapboards
"contrary unto an order made in that behalfe." The following month the fines
were remitted "in consideration of some moneyes disbursed by him for ye benefit
of our Towne." About 1639 he removed to Salem and from there went to Rhode
Island, where he became one of the founders of the first Baptist Church in
America.
John Kingsbury came to Dedham from Watertown in 1636 and was one of the
signers of the petition for the incorporation of the town. In 1639 he was elected
one of the selectmen and served on the board for twelve years, and in 1647 he was
elected representative to the General Court. He died in 1658.
Nicholas Phillips came to Dedham from Watertown and was one of the twenty-
two men who signed the petition for incorporation. In August, 1639, he sold his
property in Dedham to Rev. John Allin and removed to Weymouth. He died in
September, 1672. His brother, Henry, who came about the same time, was a
member of the artillery company in 1640, served as selectman in 1645, was an
ensign in the militia company in 1648, and soon after that removed to Boston.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 123
Abraham Shaw first settled at Watertown when he came to America. His
house there was destroyed by fire soon after it was completed and he came to
Dedham. The town granted him the privilege of erecting a water mill on the
Charles River and gave him a tract of land for that purpose, but he died in 1638
before the work was commenced.
John Allin, who is further mentioned in the chapters on Church History,
was born in England in 1596. Cotton Mather says he had been engaged in the
ministry before coming to America, and because of his refusal to conform to all
the ceremonies and requirements of the Church of England transplanted himself
to New England. He was one of the founders of the first church in Dedham, of
which he was installed pastor on April 24, 1639, a position he held until his death
on August 26, 1 67 1.
Francis Chickering came from Suffolk, England, in 1637 and located in Ded-
ham soon after landing in America. In 1641 he was elected one of the selectmen
of the town and continued in that office for fifteen years. He became a member
of the artillery company in 1643. In 1644 an d again in 1653 he was elected repre-
sentative to the General Court. His death occurred on October 2, 1658.
Eleazer Lusher, another pioneer of 1637, was for many years one of the most
prominent men in Dedham. Worthington says : "He was the leading man in all
his lifetime and directed all the important affairs of the town." For twenty-three
years he held the office of town clerk, and to his careful and painstaking mariner
of keeping the records the people of the present generation are indebted for a
knowledge of early events. He was a member of the board of selectmen for
twenty-nine years and he was also for many years a deputy to the General Court.
Through his activity in organizing the Dedham Artillery Company he acquired
the title of ''major," and in many other ways he was influential in promoting the
interests of the town. In 1670 he was appointed commissioner of the Massachu-
setts Bay Colony to revise and codify the laws, and in 1672 he was appointed to
examine and classify historical papers. He died at Dedham on November 13, 1672.
Michael Metcalf, whose name appears as one of the selectmen in 1641, was
born at Tatterford, Norfolk, England, in 1586. On July 14, 1637, he landed in
Dedham. Two years later, soon after the First Church was organized, he was
appointed one of the committee "to contrive the fabrick of a meeting house." He
died on December 27, 1644. An old chest and a chair, both handsomely carved,
that he brought with him from England are now among the collections of the Ded-
ham Historical Society. His youngest son, Thomas Metcalf, afterward became
a deacon in the church, and represented Dedham in the General Court in 1694
and again in 1697.
FIRST TOWN OFFICERS
Although Dedham was incorporated as a town on September 8, 1636, no town
officers were elected until May 17, 1639. At that time a board of selectmen com-
posed of seven members was elected, to wit: Edward Allen (or Alleyn), John
Bachelor, John Dwight, Robert Hinsdale, John Kingsbury, Eleazer Lusher and
John Luson. Edward Allen was also chosen town clerk, which office he held until
1 64 1, when he was succeeded by Eleazer Lusher.
124 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
DEDHAM IN 1 664
Erastus Worthington, writing in 1827, gives the following description of the
village of Dedham, as it appeared twenty-nine years after the first settlement was
established:
"In 1664 ninety-five small houses near each other were situated within a short
distance of the place where the new court-house now stands ; the greater part of
them east of that place and around Dwight's Brook. A row of houses stood on
the north side of High Street, as that road was then called, which extends from
the bridge over Dwight's Brook westwardly toward the court-house. The total
amount of the value of these houses was 691 pounds. Four only of the houses
were valued at 20 pounds. The greater number were valued from three to ten
pounds. The greatest number of these houses were built soon after the first
settlement was commenced. There were then very few carpenters, joiners or
masons in the colony. There was no saw mill in the settlement for many years.
The only boards which could be procured at first were those which were sawed by
hand. The saw pits, now seen, denote that boards were sawed in the woods. The
necessary materials, bricks, glass and nails, were scarcely to be obtained. These
houses therefore must have been principally constructed by farmers, not by
mechanics, and have been very rude and inconvenient. They were probably log
houses. Their roofs were covered with thatch. By an ordinance of the town, a
ladder was ordered to extend from the ground to the chimney, as a substitute for
a more perfect fire engine. Around these houses nothing was to be seen but
stumps, clumsy fences of poles, and an uneven and unsubdued soil, such as all first
settlements in New England present. The native forest trees were not suitable
shades for a door yard. A shady tree was not then such an agreeable object as it
now is, because it could form no agreeable contrast with cleared grounds.
"Where the meeting house of the first parish now stands, there stood for more
than thirty years a low building, thirty-six feet long and twenty wide, twelve feet
high, with a thatched roof and a large ladder resting on it. This was the first
meeting house. Near by was the school house, standing on an area of eighteen
feet by fourteen, and rising to a height of three stories. The third story, how-
ever, was a watch house of small dimensions. The watch house was beside the
ample stone chimney. The spectator elevated on the little box called the watch
house, might view this plain, on which a part of the present village stands, then a
common plough field, containing about two hundred acres of cleared' land, par-
tially subdued, yet full of stumps and roots. Around him at a farther distance
were the 'herd walks,' as the common feeding lands were called in the language
of that time. One of these herd walks was on Dedham Island north of the Charles
River, and one was at East Street and more fully in view. The other herd walk
was on South Plain. The herd walks were at first no better cultivated than cut-
ting down the trees and carrying away the wood and timber, and afterwards, when
it was practicable in the spring of the year, burning them over under the direction
of town officers called 'wood reeves.' Land thus treated would in the spring
appear barren, for nothing would be seen but black stumps, the burnt soil and the
rocks. It would scarcely appear better when the wild grass and cropped shrubs
next succeeded. The meadows were not yet cleared to any great extent. Beyond
these herd walks was a continued wilderness, which was becoming more disagree-
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, DEDHAM
NEW HIGH SCHOOL, DEDHAM
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 125
able to the inhabitants, for the cattle, goats and swine seem to have allured the
wolves to their neighborhood. The dense swamps about Wigwam Swamp were
not yet cleared. The numerous dogs in the plantation, which were so troublesome
to the worshipping assembly, were not a sufficient guard against wolves. The
inhabitants for many years after this period encouraged their hunters by addi-
tional bounties to destroy these troublesome enemies."
This description has been reproduced here at some length, because it gives a
fair idea of the conditions that prevailed at the time, and of the collection of
houses that then formed the village. By comparing it with the Dedham of 1917
the reader can note the progress of two and a half centuries.
TRAINING GROUND
In 1644 the town proprietors set apart the triangular piece of ground at the
junction of what are now High and Common streets for the use of the military
company. This action was confirmed some four years later, as shown by the fol-
lowing extract from the town records :
"7th Mo. 10, 1648. Granted to ye trayned company of this Town and to ye
officers thereof and to their successors for ever the Free use of all that parcell
of land comonly called the Trayning Ground always provided that the said Trayned
Company & the officers thereof shall not at any time hereafter appropriate the
said parcell of Land or any part thereof or improve the same to any other use
than to the Publick exercise of ye said Company without the consent of ye Select-
men of ye Town for the time beeing first attayned. Neither shall it be in the
Libertie or Power of the Selectmen hereafter at any time to dispose of ye said
parcell of Land or any part thereof in any case without the consent of ye said
Trayned Company & the officers thereof first had and Manifest."
By the common consent of the selectmen and the officers of the military com-
pany, one acre of the ground was granted to Amos Fisher in 1677, and at the
same time Daniel Pond was given permission to cultivate one and a half acres, for
which he was to pay "thirty shillings in merchantable corn." Other persons were
likewise given permission to cultivate certain portions of the field from time to
time, enough always being reserved for the use of the company as a drill ground.
In February, 1687, the voters of the town being assembled in town meeting,
and the town being in need of funds, it was voted : "That if any appear to pur-
chase the Trayning Ground & will give betwixt 30 and 40 pounds in money or not
much less it may be sold if the trayned company the military officers and the
Selectmen approve thereof." No buyer presented himself and the field still
remained in the possession of the town and the military company. About 1773
an alms house was built on the western side of the ground and remained there until
1836. when the building, "together with the land and appurtenances thereto belong-
ing," was sold by order of the town. Later a street was opened through the
ground to connect with Bridge Street, and in 1842 the citizens planted the shade
trees along the borders of the field.
EARLY MILLS
Realizing the importance of having some improved way of grinding their
grain, one of the first acts of the Town of Dedham after its incorporation in 1636
126 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
was to grant to Abraham Shaw and his associates the privilege of building a mill
on the Charles River. Shaw built a dam, which Mann says was located "about
three-fourths of a mile southwest from the new bridge," but he died in 1638
before the mill was completed. The place where this dam was constructed is
frequently referred to in the early town records as the "Old Mill," and it is pos-
sible that a mill of some kind was established there by some one after Mr. Shaw's
death.
On March 28, 1639, it was ordered by a town meeting "That a ditch shalbe
dug at common charge through Upper Charles meaddow unto East Brook that it
may both be a partition Fense in the same and alsoe may form a suitable course
unto a Watermill that is if it shalbe found fitting to sett a mill upon in the opinion
of a workman to be employed for that purpose."
The ditch thus excavated became known as Mother Brook. At the same meet-
ing at which it was ordered the town granted liberty to any one who would under-
take it, to build a mill upon the stream and also to give him a lot of land adjoining
the mill. It is not certain who was the first to avail himself of the privilege, but
the records show that in 1641 "a foot path is laid out to the mill," indicating that
a mill had previously been built and was then in operation. Not long after the
foot path was laid out John Dwight and Rev. John Allin conveyed the mill to
Nathaniel Whiting. He and his heirs continued in possession of the mill privilege
until about the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, when it was sold to Ben-
jamin Bussey.
In 1664 Ezra Morse and Daniel Pond asked the town for permission to erect
a corn mill on Mother Brook, a short distance above the one owned by Mr. Whit-
ing. Permission was granted and the mill erected, when it was discovered that it
interfered with the rights of Whiting and a dispute arose, which finally resulted in
the abatement of the new dam. This was the beginning of litigation over mill
privileges and rights that went on for more than a century and a half, the last
lawsuit of which there is any record having been settled early in the Nineteenth
Century. Mann, in his "Annals of Dedham," says that soon after 1639, "Nathaniel
Whiting and Ezra Morse became possessed of the principal mill seats in the town,
and they have been held by their descendants to this day." That was written
in 1847.
Joshua Fisher built a saw mill on the Neponset River in 1664, the town grant-
ing him liberal inducements to undertake the enterprise. It was on the southern
border of the town and as part of the franchise agreement, Mr. Fisher agreed to
saw timber for the citizens at a stipulated price. When Ezra Morse was driven
from Mother Brook, he was granted a mill site on the Neponset, not far from
Fisher's saw mill. This is no doubt the mill seat held by his descendants in 1847,
as referred to by Mann. Draper & Fairbanks built a fulling mill on the Neponset
in 1681. In 1700 the corn mill on Mother Brook, then owned by Timothy Whiting,
was destroyed by fire and the town agreed to loan him twenty-five pounds, with-
out interest, to rebuild it.
DEDHAM ISLAND
Northwest of the village of Dedham the Charles River flows around a neck
of land, which in early days overflowed easily, owing to the slight fall of the river
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 127
at this point. Around the "horseshoe bend" of the river is a distance of almost
five miles, while across the "heel'' of the shoe the distance is less than three-
fourths of a mile. To prevent damage to the meadows by overflows, the enter-
prising citizens of the town in 1652 conceived the idea of cutting a ditch across
the neck, through the "Broad Meadows," thus uniting the two channels of the
river and carrying off part of the water that came around the bend. Thomas
Fuller and "Lieutenant" Fisher were employed to make a survey for the ditch,
the construction of which converted the land inclosed in the bend into an island,
since known as "Dedham Island." One of the first brick yards was established
on the lot of Alichael Metcalf on this island, and along the narrow strip of land
at the westerly end of the island ran the "Long Causeway," upon which a road
was located in 1644, leading to the Great Plain, in what is now the Town of
Needham.
PETUMTUCK
In 1651 the General Court granted 2,000 acres for a new Indian town in Natick,
in which were to be collected those Indians converted to Christianity by Rev.
John Eliot and taught the arts of civilization. The land included in this grant was
taken from Dedham, and the proprietors of the town were given the privilege of
selecting 8,000 acres of any unlocated lands within the jurisdiction of the Court.
Messengers were sent out to examine "the chestnut country" (believed to be some-
where near Lancaster, Worcester County), but they reported unfavorably. John
Fairbanks and Lieut. Daniel Fisher were then sent to look at a tract on the Deer-
field River, in what is now Franklin County. They passed through Sudbury,
Lancaster and Hadley, all then infant settlements, and finally arrived at the
valley. Upon their return Lieutenant Fisher reported as follows :
"We at length arrived at the place we sought after. We called it Petumtuck,
because there dwell the Petumtuck Indians. Having ascended a little hill, ap-
parently surrounded by rich meadow land, from that spot we beheld broad mead-
ows extending far north, west and south of us. In these meadows we could trace
the course of a fine river, which comes out from the mountains on the northwest,
and running northerly through many miles of meadow, seemed to us to run in
among the hills again at the northeast. The tall trees of buttonwood and elm
exposed to us its course. That meadow is not soft and covered with coarse
water grass like that around us here, but is hard land. It is the best land
that we have seen in this colony. We dug holes in the meadow, with the intent
to find the depth of the soil, but could not find the bottom. At the foot of the little
hill we stood on is a plat of ground sufficiently large to build a village upon, and
sufficiently high to be out of the reach of the spring floods. Providence led us
to that place. It is indeed far away from our plantations and the 'Canaanites and
Amalekites dwell in that valley,' and if they have any attachment to any spot on
earth, must delight to live there. But that land must be ours. Our people have
resolute and pious hearts and strong hands to overcome all difficulties. Let us go
and possess the land, and in a few years you will hear more boast of it in this
colony as a good land for flocks and herds than could ever be justly said of the
land of Goshen, or any part of the land of Canaan."
Fisher's optimism so impressed the people that they immediately appointed
128 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
a committee of six to repair to the place and cause the 8,000 acres to be located
there. Capt. John Pynchon of Springfiefild was employed to purchase the lands
of the Indians. He procured four deeds of relinquishment from the natives, for
which they received ninety-four pounds and ten shillings. The tract afterward
became known as the "Pynchon Purchase." In the records the name Petumtuck is
spelled in various ways, but the one here used is the most common. In 1670 the
number of proprietors of the new purchase was twenty-six, twenty of whom were
inhabitants of Dedham. The tract was afterward incorporated as the Town of
Deerfield.
OLD-TIME TAVERNS
The first mention of a public house of entertainment in the town records is
in the minutes of a town meeting held in 1646, when Michael Powell was licensed
to keep a taven, the location of which is now uncertain. Powell was at that time
the town clerk.
Woodward's Tavern stood on High Street, where the Registry Building now
stands. The exact date when the house was opened cannot be ascertained. In
1658 it passed into the hands of Joshua Fisher, who received a license from the
town authorities to conduct a public house. He was succeeded by his son, who
conducted the tavern for several years. About 1735 Dr. Nathaniel Ames became
the landlord. His son, Fisher Ames, was born in this house on April 9, 1758.
Richard Woodward assumed the management in 1769 or 1770. It was in this
house that the committee drafted the resolutions in September, 1774, declaring
in favor of armed resistance to Great Britain if it became necessary, the first
open declaration of that character made by any of the colonists. The building
was torn down in 1817.
Gay's Tavern, which stood on Court Street near Highland, and Howe's Tavern,
farther north on the same street, were two noted hostelries in their day. The
former, of which Timothy Gay was owner and proprietor, was a sort of political
headquarters for years during the early history of Norfolk County. About 1803
the building was removed to the northwest corner of High and Washington streets,
where it and several of the adjoining buildings were destroyed by fire on October
30, 1832. About sixty horses belonging to the Citizens Stage Company perished
in the fire. The tavern was rebuilt by Mr. Gay, who christened the new building
the "Phoenix House." It was opened in 1834 with James Bride as the landlord,
and soon came to be widely known as "Bride's Tavern." At the time it was
completed it was the finest hotel in Norfolk County and in its appointments rivaled
some of the leading hotels of Boston. Under different names and different man-
agers the house continued to do a good business until it was again burned to the
ground on the morning of December 25, 1880. Among the distinguished guests
of this hotel were Gen. Andrew Jackson, while President of the United States,
and President James Monroe.
In 1801 Martin Marsh leased part of the Ezekiel Holliman tract and built a
tavern on Court Street, almost opposite the court-house. It was opened in 1804,
about the time the Norfolk & Bristol turnpike was completed, and soon became
a popular stopping place for stage passengers. Mr. Marsh was a mason by trade
and also a member of the Masonic fraternity. Some of the first meetings of Con-
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 129
stellation Lodge were held in a room in his tavern. In June, 1818, he sold out
to Moses Gragg and Francis Alden, who renamed the house the "Norfolk Hotel."
It was opened under the new management with a grand dinner on July 4, 1818. In
the latter '40s the place lost much of its former reputation through dances, etc.,
that respectable people declined to attend, and the greater part of its patronage"
was diverted to the Phoenix House. In May, 1849, most of the furniture was sold
at auction, and the next year a man named Stimson leased the house and started
a dancing school. On June I, 1866, the building was sold to the trustees of St.
Mary's School and Asylum. This institution was closed in June, 1879. After
that the house was occupied by various persons and used for various purposes
until June, 1905, when it was bought by Charles H. Gifford. A few years later
Mr. Gifford sold the property to Walter Austin, the present owner.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
During the first three years of Dedham's existence as a town, no attention
was paid to precautionary measures against fire. But at a town meeting in 1639
the following action was taken : "For the prevention of damage that might arise
by fire vpon any house in our Towne it is Ordered that every Housholder in our
Towne shall forth with pvide & mayntaine one good stronge & Sufficient Lader
that may be sufficient in all respects for the speedie & safe attayneing to ye toppe
of ye Chimney of his house vpon occasiones which sayd Laders shall be kept in
possesion at against or neere the house or Chimney wher fire is vsually made &
for the greater care heere in as in a case of so greate Concernm 1 it is further
ordered that who so ever being an housholder in our Towne shall fayle in any the
pticulers aforesaide for the space of fourteene dayes together shall forfiet vnto
ye Towne & the vse there of ye sum of Five Shillings," etc.
Coming down to more modern times, Engine No. 1, called the "Hero," was
presented to the town in January, 1801, and was named by a company of volun-
teers composed of Eliphalet Baker, Jr., Jesse Clapp, Elisha Crehore, David Dana,
Paul Fisher, Amasa Guild, Reuben Guild, Reuben Newell, James Noyes, Eli
Parsons, Reuben Richards and Calvin Whiting. It was located at what was known
as the "Upper Village."
Engine Company No. 2 was organized about this time, and in April 1802, was
presented with the engine "Good Intent," which was purchased by the inhabitants
of the town by subscription. It was stationed in the "Centre Village." The first
Good Intent company was made up of the following : Abner Atherton, John Bill-
iard, Jr., William Bullard, Francis Child, Josiah Daniels, Abner Ellis, Stephen
Farrington, George Gay, John Guild, Nathaniel Guild, William Howe, Herman
Mann, Sr., Thaddeus Mason, Martin Marsh, James Richardson, Edward Russell,
Jesse Stowell and Seth Sumner.
In 1826 the "Enterprise" was purchased by subscription and located in the
Upper Mill Village, but the members of the company that first handled it can
not be learned. The three engines mentioned constituted the town's fire depart-
ment until at a special meeting held in December, 1831 the sum of $1,500 was
voted "for the purchase of fire engines and apparatus for extinguishing fires."
The appropriation was to be divided among the several school districts, in pro-
portion to the taxes paid by each, though any two adjoining districts were given
Vol. 1—9
130 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
permission to unite their proportion of the funds. The appropriation of this sum
had the effect of multiplying the number of fire companies and engines in the
town from three to eleven. Six of the engines were located in the First Parish,
two in the Second and three in the Third.
On May 4, 1846, the town voted to raise the sum of $2,500 for the erection of
engine houses "and for placing the Fire Department in a more efficient state
for service." David A. Baker, George Ellis and Samuel C. Mann, of the first
parish, Joseph Day, of the second, and Merrill D. Ellis, of the third, were ap-
pointed a committee to carry the order into effect. Under the supervision of this
committee Dedham's first engine houses were erected.
Since 1846 the department has been developed little by little to keep pace with
the growth of the town. This work of development has been made easier in some
respects by the organization of new towns that took away some of Dedham's terri-
tory, so that the department now does not have to cover so wide a field. The
first steam fire engine was installed in 1873, ar >d at tne same time tne town ex-
pended $2,500 in the purchase of new hose. A new engine house was also built
in that year. According to the report of the board of fire engineers — Henry J.
Harrigan, John E. Shaughnessy and W. E. Patenaude — for the year 1916, there
were then in service one engine company, two hook and ladder companies and four
hose companies, and the cost of maintaining the department for the year was
$19,274.42.
DEDHAM WATER COMPANY
A few years after the close of the Civil War in 1865, the citizens of Dedham
became interested in the subject of some system of waterworks for the town,
as a means of extinguishing fires and obtaining a supply of water for domestic
purposes. Nothing was accomplished, however, until April 11, 1876, when the
Legislature passed an act incorporating the Dedham Water Company. The in-
corporators named in the act were : Edward S. Rand, Jr., Waldo Colburn, Wins-
low Warren, E. Worthington, Royal O. Storrs, William Bullard, Ira Cleveland,
Edward Stimson, Thomas Sherwin, J. P. Maynard, Thomas L. Wakefield, L. H.
Kingsbury, F. D. Ely, John R. Bullard and Charles C. Loring. The act authorized
the above named stockholders, "their associates and successors," to take water
from the "Charles River, Buckmaster Pond, or any other natural pond or ponds,
spring or springs, brook or brooks within the Town of Dedham."
It was also provided in the act of incorporation that the capital stock should
not exceed $200,000, of which the town was given authority to hold one-fourth.
No further action was taken for about five years and little interest was manifested
in the project until after the dry seasons of 1879 and 1880, when the water in many
of the wells failed, and this stimulated the company to do something toward the
establishment of a system of waterworks. A meeting of the incorporators was
held early in the fall of 1880, the capital stock was fixed at $75,000, and the
following officers were elected: Royal O. Storrs, president; Winslow Warren,
secretary; Erastus Worthington, treasurer. Percy M. Blake was then employed
as civil engineer to examine the field and report upon the best plan for obtaining
a supply of water and the cost of constructing works. He made his report on
December 28, 1880, recommending the Charles River as the most available source,
MK.MOHIAL HALL, OLDHAM
PUBLIC LIBRARY, DLDHAM
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 131
with a large "filter well" on the southerly side of the river near Bridge Street,
from which water could be pumped to a standpipe on Walnut Street, and from the
standpipe distributed to the different parts of the town. He estimated that a
plant of this character could be built for less than the amount of the capital stock,
which in the meantime had all been subscribed.
The plan recommended by Mr. Blake was adopted and work was commenced
as soon as practicable in 1881. Kendall & Roberts were awarded the contract for
the construction of the standpipe ; Goodhue & Birnie, for laying the mains through
the streets ; and the Knowles Pump Company, for the pumping station and ma-
chinery. The diameter of the standpipe was increased from fifteen to twenty
feet, and some other changes were made in the original plans, which brought the
total cost of the works up to about ninety-two thousand dollars. The first public
test was made early in December, 1881, and a few days later the water was
turned into the mains for general use.
On January 1, 1917, the company had about forty-one miles of mains and was
supplying water to more than two thousand customers. The daily consumption of
water is over one million gallons. Some years ago the old filter well was aban-
doned and the water is now taken from driven wells. The result of this change
has been a great improvement in the quality of the water, which has been ap-
proved by the Massachusetts State Board of Health.
MEMORIAL HALL
At a town meeting held on March 6, 1865, the question of erecting a monument
to the soldiers from Dedham who served in the Union army during the War of
the Rebellion came up for discussion and was referred to the following com-
mittee : Ira Cleveland, E. Burgess, Comfort Weatherbee, Eliphalet Stone, Eben-
ezer F. Gay and J. N. Stevens. At an adjourned meeting on April 6, 1865, the
committee reported in favor of the erection of a granite monument, "decorated
with military emblems and provided with proper tablets for the inscription of the
names, ages and date of the death of all who have died, with the names of the
battlefields on which they have fallen, or the hospitals or prisons where they have
died." Franklin Square was recommended as the location for the monument,
which the committee estimated could be erected at an expense of from four to six
thousand dollars.
As the war had not yet come to a close, no action was taken upon the report
of the committee, the meeting deciding to wait until peace was restored. On May
7, 1866. at an adjourned town meeting, it was voted to build a "Memorial Hall,"
with walls of granite on the lot bounded by Church, High and Centre (now Wash-
ington) streets, in Dedham Village, "to provide a suitable place for the trans-
action of the town's business and a memorial to the soldiers of Dedham who died
in the service of the United States during the War of the Rebellion."
A building committee of five was chosen, viz. : Waldo Colburn, Augustus B.
Endicott, William Ames, Addison Boyden and Merrill D. Ellis. The town treas-
urer was authorized to borrow, with the consent of the selectmen, a sum not
exceeding thirty-five thousand dollars for the erection of the building. Ware &
Van Brunt of Boston were employed as architects. Prior to this time the lot had
been purchased with a fund raised by subscription and placed in the hands of
132 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
James Foord as trustee. The building is 64 by 104 feet, two stories high, with the
town offices on the first floor and a large hall on the second. There is also an
attic story, which has been used for several years by the Masonic lodge. In the
main corridor on the first floor are the marble memorial tablets bearing the names
of the Dedham soldiers who lost their lives in defense of the Union. On March
2, 1868, the town treasurer was authorized to borrow $12,000 more to complete
the building, which was dedicated on September 29, 1868, Bates' and Gilmore's
bands furnishing the music and Erastus Worthington delivering the dedicatory
address. On the front wall, facing Washington Street, upon a panel of Quincy
granite, is the following inscription :
To Commemorate
The Patriotism and Fidelity
Of Her Sons
Who Fell
In Defence of the Union
In the War
Of the Rebellion
Dedham
Erects This Hall
A.D.
MDCCCLXVII.
This is said to be the first Memorial Hall, or monument of any description,
erected to the memory of Union soldiers in the United States.
THE TOWN SEAL
No common seal for the Town of Dedham was adopted until the town meet-
ing of April, 1878, at which it was voted to adopt a seal, with the following device,
to wit : "In the centre of the foreground a shield, upon which is inscribed the rep-
resentation of an ancient oak ; on the right of the background the representation of
a factory building; on the left the implements of agriculture; above, the sword
and scales of justice; and beneath, in a scroll the motto, 'Contentment;' in the
upper semicircle of the border, 'The Town of Dedham,' and in the lower semi-
circle, 'Plantation begun 1635, Incorporated 1636.' "
It was also ordered that when the seal was executed it should remain in the
custody of the town clerk. The design originated with a member of the Dedham
Historical Society and was approved by that society before it was presented to
the town for adoption. The oak was intended to represent the "Avery Oak," a
further account of which is given in the chapter on "Historic Landmarks." The
factory and agricultural implements portray the occupations of the inhabitants.
The sword and scales signify that Dedham is the shire town of the county, and the
motto — Contentment — serves as a reminder that it was the name selected by the
first inhabitants of the settlement.
POSTOFFICES
For a number of years after Dedham was settled, letters were carried by pri-
vate individuals or received and delivered at the Boston postoffice, which was
established by order of the General Court on November 5, 1639, with Richard
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 133
Fairbanks as postmaster. From that time until 1693 the postal service of Ded-
ham was altogether under Massachusetts authority.- On May 1, 1693, Andrew
and John Hamilton received a royal patent to establish mail communications
between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and New York. Subsequently the route
was extended to Williamsburg, Virginia. The first mailrider carried the mail
from Portsmouth to Boston. There the second took it and passed through Rox-
bury, Dedham, Rehoboth, Bristol and Newport to Saybrook, where he met the
rider from New York. The Hamiltons continued to operate the route until 1707,
when their patent was annulled and the crown controlled the mail service until
December, 1775. After the Government of the United States was established, the
mail route came under its jurisdiction. The first mention of a mail coach passing
through Dedham was in 1785. The line of coaches between Boston and the West
was organized by Eben Hazard, who lived at Jamaica Plain, and continued in
operation until 1835. The railroad was opened to Dedham in 1836 and the old
mail coach line went out of business.
The first postoffice was established at Dedham in 1793, with Jeremiah Shuttle-
worth as postmaster. Mann's Annals of Dedham states that on April 1, 1801,
"letters are advertised as remaining in the postoffice in this town for people in
the towns of Dedham, Medway, Bellingham, Medfield, Dover, Foxborough, Wa.1-
pole, Hopkinton, Sharon, Canton, Franklin, Kittery, Stoughton, Sherburne and
Cohasset."
From this it can be seen that Dedham was the postal center for a large dis-
trict. It would be interesting to know who some of the early postmasters were —
or the early persons in charge of the station under the Hamilton regime — but many
of the postoffice department records were destroyed by the burning of the national
capitol and other public buildings in Washington by the British in the War of 1812,
and it may be that the lack of information is due in a measure to this fact.
In 1917 the Dedham Postoffice reported annual receipts of over seventeen
thousand dollars. The office then employed thirteen people, including the branch
at East Dedham. Edmond H. Bowler was then postmaster and the East Dedham
branch was under the management of Fred A. Campbell.
THE DEDHAM OF THE PRESENT
Erastus Worthington, writing of the town in 1884, said: "The local business
of Dedham, except in the woolen mills, has substantially passed away. The ses-
sions of the courts and the transaction of other public business at the shire town
of the county, still bring people to Dedham, but these come by one railway train
only to leave by the next departing train. The hotels, once the centers of social
life and gayety, have disappeared. Dedham village is mainly a place of residence
for those whose business is in Boston. These constitute the main body of its most
valued citizens, and upon them and upon the interest which they may take in its
local affairs, must chiefly depend its future character and prosperity."
Since that was written but little change has come to the town. In 1910 the
population was 9,284, and in 191 5, according to the state census, it was 11,043,
a gain of 1,759 i n fi ve y^ ar s- The assessed valuation of the property in 1916 was
$16,722,310. Its schools, churches, public library, business interests, etc., are
treated in other chapters of this work. Its principal attractions are its well-kept
streets, beautiful shade trees and cozy homes.
CHAPTER XVI
THE TOWN OF DOVER
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES TOPOGRAPHY EARLY SETTLERS POLITICAL HISTORY
THE PRECINCT SPRINGFIELD PARISH THE DISTRICT THE TOWN FIRST
OFFICERS TOWN HALL TOWN SEAL POSTOFFICES FIRE DEPARTMENT EARLY
TAVERNS THE TOWN NAME SUNDRY INCIDENTS DOVER IN I917.
Dover is situated in the north central part of Norfolk County. It is bounded
on the north by the towns of Wellesley and Xeedham ; on the east by Westwood ;
on the south by Medfield and Walpole ; and on the west by Natick and Sherborn,
two towns of Middlesex County. For about ten and a half miles the Charles
River forms the boundary line of the town, separating it from Sherborn and from
Wellesley and Needham.
TOPOGRAPHY
The word "hilly" might be used to describe generally the surface, though there
are also some fertile valleys, in which are located some of the finest farms in
Norfolk County. Several of the largest hills have been designated by names.
Pine Rock Hill, the highest in the town, rises to a height of 449 feet above
sea level and is the highest elevation in the county except the Blue Hill range in
Milton. From its summit a fine view of the surrounding country can be obtained
and on a clear day vessels can be seen in Massachusetts Bay.
Pegan Hill, so named for an ancient tribe of Indians, lies on the boundary line
between Dover and Natick. It is 420 feet high and from its top can be seen the
state house in Boston, Bunker Hill monument, and some twenty villages. Around
the base of this hill are attractive homes and fertile farms.
Strawberry Hill, in the eastern part of the town, received its name because
in early days its sides were covered with wild strawberry vines. Its summit is
200 feet above the Charles River.
In the southern part are Cedar and Oak Hills, the former 400 and the latter
360 feet high. Here there are fine deposits of granite. From the quarries in
these hills was taken the stone for the court-house at Dedham, the Dedham
Memorial Hall, the asylum at Medfield and several other public buildings.
Big Brook, so named in the early Dedham records, is the largest stream in the
town and flows in a westerly direction into the Charles River.
Clay Brook received its name because the early settlers in the vicinity took
clay from its banks to be used in the construction of the dwelling houses.
There are two streams called Mill Brook. One rises in Dedham and flows
in a southerly course to the Charles River, and the other rises in Dover and flows
in southerly direction into the Town of Medfield.
134
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 135
Noanet Brook rises in the southern part of the town and flows northwardly,
emptying into the Charles River not far from Charles River Village. It is the
outlet of Reserve Pond, which originally covered some twenty acres of land. In
the early land transactions Noanet Brook played an important part, defining boun-
daries of grants to settlers. It was named for an Indian chief.
Trout Brook, west of Noanet and flowing in the same general direction, has
its source in the Boiling Springs and takes its name from the great numbers of
trout which formerly sported in its pure waters.
In the southeastern part of the town is Great Spring, one of the largest in the
county and furnishing a never-failing supply of the purest water. Its outlet, called
Tubwreck Brook, is a tributary of the Neponset River. This stream derived its
name in a curious manner. - One spring, when the brook was much higher than
usual, Capt. James Tisdale embarked in a half hogshead for the purpose of float-
ing down the brook to gather flood cranberries. The novel craft was capsized and
from this incident the little creek became known as "Tubwreck Brook."
EARLY SETTLERS
So far as can be learned, the first settler within the limits of the present Town
of Dover was Henry Wilson, a native of Kent, England, who came to Dedham
in 1640. He received a grant of land, along with the other settlers, but never built
upon it, preferring to go farther west, and he established his home in the easterly
part of the town, not far from the Westwood line. He married and brought
his wife to the new home in the wilderness, and here their first child, Michael
Wilson, was born in 1644, probably the first white child to be born in the town.
Game of all kinds was plentiful in those days, and it is said that Mr. Wilson, upon
awakening in the morning after the first night spent in his new house, was sur-
prised to see a huge wildcat looking in at the window.
The first settler in the western part was doubtless Thomas Battle (spelled
Battelle in some of the early records), who built his house on the Clay Brook
Road, not far from the Natick line. In 1687 he received another grant of land
consisting of "half an acre of upland and meadow bottom as it lieth his own land
near the Great Brook, near Natick, bounded by his own land southeast the way
to the brook, and by the brook in all other parts." Mr. Battle was elected one of
the selectmen of Dedham in 1677 and served in that capacity for five years. He
then held for two years the office of town clerk.
In 1682 Thomas Battle sold a portion of his land to James Draper, of Rox-
bury, whose son John married in 1686 and it is believed he settled in Dover soon
after his marriage. Some years prior to that time a road had been opened from
Medfield to South Natick, and several settlers located along the line of this road.
Nathaniel Chickering came from England in 1681 and within a few years, by
grant and purchase, became the owner of about one thousand acres of land,
part of which lay within the present Town of Dover. He settled in Dover in
1694. but did not live to occupy the house he built, his death occurring on the 21st
of October of that year. His widow and children moved into the house and some
of his descendants still live in the town.
Roving bands of Indians were a great source of annoyance to the Dover
pioneers. For protection and defense they built a fort of thick white oak plank, in
136 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
two walls, filling in .between them with brick. Small windows were left at inter-
vals through which the settlers could fire upon their assailants. The fort stood
near the road leading from Medfield to Natick, on the high land overlooking the
Charles River. It was torn down in the spring of 1800.
POLITICAL HISTORY
Dover was a part of Dedham for nearly a century after the latter town was
incorporated in 1635. About 1725 the inhabitants of the western part of Dedham
reached the conclusion that they should be freed from the rates for the support
of the' minister at Dedham and permitted to build a meeting house of their own.
Nothing was done, however, until March 3, 1728, when they petitioned the Ded-
ham town meeting to be set off as a precinct, with the following bounds : "Begin-
ning at Bubbling Brook, where it crosses the Medfield road ; thence, taking in the
lands of Samuel Chickering, to the westerly end of Nathaniel Richards' house lot,
and so down to the Charles River, with all the lands and inhabitants westerly of
said line."
The town granted the request of the petitioners on November 9, 1729, but
almost immediately the inhabitants developed an ambition to be set off as a sepa-
rate and distinct precinct by the General Court. Consequently, on November 19,
1729, a petition, signed by Jonathan Battle and others, was presented to the Court
making that request. The petition was referred to a committee, which reported on
December 2, 1729, in favor of freeing the petitioners and their neighbors from
paying the minister rate in Dedham. The report was accepted and an act passed
providing that "Samuel Chickering and twelve others should attend church at
Medfield, Ralph Day and four others the church at Needham, and Eleazer Ellis
and thirteen others the church at Natick."
Under this act the territory referred to in the petition became the Fourth
Dedham Precinct. An old tax list of the precinct for the year 1732, three years after
it was set off, shows the names of the following property holders, a few of whom
may have been non-residents: Aaron Allen, Benjamin Allen, Eleazer Allen,
Hezekiah Allen, Moses Allen, John Bacon, Michael Bacon, Jonathan Battle, Jona-
than Battle, Jr., Nathaniel Battle, — Battle (widow) , Jonathan Bullard, John
Bullard, Nathaniel Bullard, John Bullin, Eliphalet Chickering, Nathaniel Chicker-
ing, Samuel Chickering, Ralph Day, John Draper, John Draper, Jr., Joseph Draper,
Benjamin Ellis, Caleb Ellis, Eleazer Ellis, James Ellis, Jonathan Ellis, John Fisher.
Joshua Fisher, Mrs. Jonathan Gay (widow), Abraham Harding, Ebenezer Knapp,
Samuel Leach, Ebenezer Mason, Jonathan Mason, Seth Mason, Seth Mason, Jr.,
Thomas Mason, Joseph Merrifield, David Morse, Nathaniel Morse, Mattis Ockin-
son, Jonathan Plimpton, John Rice, Ebenezer Robinson, Ephraim Ware, Jr., Jona-
than Whiting, David Wight, Ephraim Wight, Samuel Wight, Nathaniel Wilson.
For nearly twenty years no change was made in the conditions relating to
attendance at church, the people being content to worship in other towns, but in
1747 another appeal was made to the General Court to be established a distinct
precinct, the act of 1729 merely freeing the people from paying the minister rate
in Dedham without conferring full precinct privileges. Those who attended church
at Medfield and South Natick opposed the movement and sent in a remonstrance.
Some time was spent in winning over some of those opponents and on April 5,
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 137
1748, a petition for a precinct organization was presented to the General Court.
It was dated at "Dedham, March 30 ,1748,'' and was signed by the following resi-
dent's of the territory it was proposed to include in the new precinct: Samuel
Metcalf, Joshua Ellis, Hezekiah Allen, Jr., Ebenezer Newell, Thomas Merrifield,
Jonathan Battle, Ralph Day, John Draper, Samuel Chickering, Josiah Ellis, Jona-
than Day, Nathaniel Wilson, Ezra Gay, Timothy Ellis, Thomas Battle, Jonathan
Bullard, Thomas Richards, Seth Mason, Joseph Chickering, Eliphalet Chickering,
Jabez Wood, Oliver Bacon, John Bacon, Joseph Draper, Benjamin Ellis, David
Wight, John Cheney, John Chickering, John Battle, Josiah Richards, Jonathan
Whiting, Daniel Chickering, John Griggs, Abraham Chamberlain.
On November 18, 1748, the General Court granted the prayer of the petitioners
and the precinct now became the Fourth, or Springfield, Parish, with "all the
powers and privileges which precincts were entitled to enjoy." Two days later
the warrant was issued for the first precinct meeting, but as the General Court
failed to nominate any one to notify the inhabitants, Joshua Ellis, a justice of the
peace, warned the people to assemble at 10 o'clock A. M. on January 4, 1749, at
the school house near the residence of Joseph Chickering "to choose a moderator,
precinct clerk, and a committee to call parish meetings." At that meeting Joshua
Ellis was elected moderator and later precinct clerk. The committee to call meet-
ings consisted of Joshua Ellis, Joseph Chickering, Joseph Draper, Samuel Met-
calf and Samuel Chickering.
At a precinct meeting held on March 15, 1749, Jonathan Whiting was elected
precinct treasurer, and the following committee was chosen to prepare timber
for a meeting house : Hezekiah Allen, Daniel Chickering, Joseph Draper, Jona-
than Day and Samuel Metcalf. Captain Allen, the chairman of the committee, was
a carpenter by trade. This committee was instructed to prepare the materials for a
meeting house "forty-two feet long, thirty-four feet wide, and twenty feet high
from the top of ye eel to ye top of ye plate."
Another meeting was held on March 24, 1749, at which an effort was made to
choose a site for the meeting house. Two sites were proposed — one on the hill
near Morse's swamp, and the other on the hill south of John Battle's house. The
meeting then adjourned to give the voters an opportunity to inspect the two loca-
tions proposed. Upon reassembling in the afternoon the question was submitted
and resulted in a tie vote. It was then decided to leave the selection of a site to
a committee of five, each member of which was to be a resident of some other
town. The committee finally selected was composed of Thomas Greenwood, of
Newton; Joseph Williams, of Roxbury ; Joseph Hewins, of Stoughton; Elkanah
Billings, of Dorchester; and Joseph Ware, of Sherborn. After viewing the dif-
ferent localities suggested, the committee reported in favor of "the hill east of
Trout Brook," which report was accepted by the precinct "after much debate."
A further history of this parish will be found in the chapters on Church History.
W r ith the exception of the church rates, the people of Springfield Parish still
paid taxes to Dedham. At times these taxes became rather burdensome and
some of the inhabitants of the parish began to talk of separation. Then came
the Revolution and all thoughts of a new town were for the time forgotten
in the great struggle for independence. As the war drew to a close the subject
was revived and on October 10, 1780, a precinct meeting voted "that we desire
138 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
to be incorporated into a town." On February 16, 1781, another meeting was
held, at which Col. John Jones, Capt. Hezekiah Allen, John Reed, Capt. Hezekiah
Battle and Thomas Burridge were appointed a committee to prepare a petition
for presentation to the Town of Dedham, asking to be set off from that town.
At a Dedham town meeting held on June 4, 1781, the petition was granted upon
the following conditions : "The question was put whether the town will consent
that the Fourth Precinct in said town may be incorporated into a township, the
said town relinquishing their right or share in the workhouse, school money, all
donations, and other public privileges in said town. Passed in the affirmative."
The conditions were accepted by the people of the Fourth Precinct on Sep-
tember 17, 1781, when they voted to relinquish all their rights in or claims to the
property of the Town of Dedham, provided they were incorporated into a sepa-
rate town by the General Court. Col. John Jones, Joseph Haven and John
Reed were appointed to present a petition for incorporation to the next session
of the General Court. The petition was accordingly presented on January 16,
1782, and passed the house, but on April 23, 1782, it was defeated in the senate.
Another petition was presented to the General Court on March 17, 1784. In
it the following reasons were given for asking that the precinct be incorporated
as a town :
"Those of our members that have attended town meetings in Dedham have
been obliged to travel between four and ten miles out and as far home, to attend
in the First Precinct, the constant place of town meetings in said town; and, by
reason of the extra distance, the badness of the ways, and sometimes deep snow
and stormy seasons, there hath not been more than two or three of said Fourth
Precinct at their town meetings when matters of great weight are transacted.
And a considerable part of said precinct are wearied with such unreasonable toil
and travel, and determined several years ago never to attend another town
meeting in said place again, and still adhere to their determination, whereby the
interest of the said Fourth Precinct has frequently suffered, and probably some-
times not from any unreasonable desire in the other precincts to infringe on
the interest of the said Fourth Precinct, saving that the said Fourth Precinct
has never been able to obtain a town meeting in rotation within their limit.
That the extra expense and charges that would be incurred by their being incor-
porated into a town would be fully compensated by their negotiating their affairs
within themselves and without much travel ; and, although the said precincts
are not many in number or opulent and wealthy, they are considerably filled with
inhabitants and are increasing. But if they were fewer in number and of less
ability, they are under the absolute necessity of being incorporated into a town
by reason of their irregular form and distance from the other precincts."
A committee of the General Court took the petition under consideration and
reported that "in view of the smallness of the population, the request should not
be granted." Having thus failed to secure the incorporation of a town, the people
of the parish voted unanimously on June 28, 1784, to ask the General Court to
incorporate them into a district as by that means they could be united with some
other town in the election of a representative to the General Court. A petition to
this effect was presented to the General Court and resulted in the passage of the
following act, which was approved on July 7, 1784:
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 139
"COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
"In the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty-four.
"An Act for erecting a District within the County of Suffolk by the name of
Dover.
"Whereas, the inhabitants of the Fourth Precinct in the Town of Dedham in
said County have repeatedly and earnestly petitioned this Court that they may
be incorporated into a district, and it appears that they labor under great diffi-
culties in their present situation;
"Lie it therefore enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in the
General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, that the said Fourth
Precinct in Dedham be, and it hereby is, incorporated into a district by the name
of Dover, with all the powers, privileges and immunities of incorporated districts ;
provided, that the freeholders and inhabitants of the said District of Dover shall
pay their proportion of all taxes now assessed by and debts due from the said
Town of Dedham, and that the said District of Dover relinquish all their rights,
title and interest in and to the workhouse, school money and all donations, and
other public privileges in said Town of Dedham.
"And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the polls and estates
in said District of Dover that were returned by the assessors for the said Town
of Dedham on the last valuation, which then belonged to said Town of Dedham,
be deducted from the return made by the said assessors and be placed to the said
District of Dover until another valuation shall be taken.
"And be it further enacted that Stephen Metcalf, Esq., be and is hereby em-
powered to issue his warrant, directed to some principal inhabitant within the
said District of Dover, requiring him to warn the freeholders and other inhabi-
tants within the said District of Dover, qualified to vote in district affairs, to
assemble at some suitable time and place in the said district, to choose such offi-
cers as shall be necessary to manage the affairs of said district.
"And be it further enacted that the selectmen of the Town of Dedham, fifteen
days at least before the time of choosing a representative for the said town, shall
give notice of the time and place by them ordered for that purpose in writing,
under their hands, to the selectmen of said District of Dover, to the intent the
•selectmen of said district may issue their warrant to the constable or constables
of the said district, to warn the inhabitants thereof to meet with the said Town of
Dedham at time and place so appointed for the choice of a representative.
"In the House of Representatives, July 6, 1784.
"This bill, having had three several readings, passed to be enacted.
"Samuel A. Otis, Speaker.
"In the Senate, July 7, 1784.
"This bill, having had two several readings, passed to be enacted.
"Samuel Adams, President.
"Approved, John Hancock."
Under the laws of Massachusetts in 1784, a district was endowed with all the
powers and exercised all the functions of a town, with the exception of having a
representative in the General Court. On August 9, 1784, the first district meeting
was held in the meeting house. Col. John Jones, Deacon Joseph Haven and Lieut.
140 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Ebenezer Newell were elected selectmen ; Col. John Jones, clerk ; William Whiting,
treasurer ; Theodore Newell constable and tax collector. Dover remained attached
to Dedham for representative purposes until 1789, when a new representative
district was formed of Medfield and Dover. For forty-seven years after that
date the voters of Dover went annually to Medfield to cast their ballots for a
representative to the General Court.
On February 17, 1836, the selectmen of Dover — Walter Stowe, Lowell Perry
and Timothy Allen — pursuant to instructions given them at a previous district
meeting, presented a petition to the General Court asking to be incorporated as a
town. The petition was granted on the 31st day of March following, and Dover,
having passed through all the vicissitudes of precinct, parish and district, became
a full-fledged town. The first town officers were : Selectmen, Walter Stowe,
Lowell Perry and Hiram W. Jones ; Clerk, Noah A. Fiske ; Treasurer, George
dickering; Representative, Rev. Ralph Sanger. Noah A. Fiske was first elected
clerk in 1825 and held the office for twenty-four years. George Chickering served
continuously as treasurer from 1821 to" 1842.
TOWN HALL
For many years the district and town meetings were held in the meeting house.
When that structure was destroyed by fire on January 20, 1839, the town officials
offered to assist in the building of a new one, with the understanding that the
vestry might be used for town meetings. A meeting was held at the Centre school
house on February 11, 1839, at which Daniel Mann, John Williams and Hiram W.
Jones were appointed a committee on the part of the parish to superintend the
erection of a new meeting house. The town appointed Walter Stowe, Lowell
Perry, Joseph A. Smith, John Shumway and Jeremiah Marden a committee to
cooperate with the parish committee, and the sum of three hundred dollars was
appropriated as the town's share of the cost. This sum was used in the construc-
tion of the vestry, which was used for town purposes until 1880.
The ceiling of this vestry was only eight feet high and it was poorly lighted and
ventilated. In 1859 a petition signed by Aaron Bacon and thirty-eight other tax-
payers came before the town meeting asking that a new hall be erected, but it was
not granted. Twenty years later (1879) the question again came before the town
meeting, when the sum of three thousand dollars was appropriated for a new hall.
Warren Sawin, Eben Higgins and William A. Howe were appointed a committee
to procure plans. They reported in favor of a two-story building, a site was
selected on the common facing Springdale Avenue, and the work was commenced.
On July 16, 1879, just after the walls were up and the roof completed, a cyclone
struck the unfinished building and ''scattered it to the four winds." One of the
workmen was killed and others were more or less seriously injured. A meeting
was called to determine what should be done under the circumstances and the board
of selectmen — John Humphrey, Asa Talbot and Barnabas Paine — were instructed
to proceed with the erection of a new building and another appropriation was
made. The loss caused by the storm amounted to $1,926.85. The selectmen chose
a new site and decided to build a one-story hall with basement, after plans made
by Thomas W. Silloway of Boston. The new hall was dedicated on June 17, 1880,
with appropriate ceremonies.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 141
With the growth of the town and the establishment of a public library, the
one-story structure was found to be inadequate, and in the spring of 1893 a com-
mittee, consisting of Eben Higgins, Barnabas Paine and Benjamin N. Sawin, was
appointed to consider the improvement of the building. This committee reported
in favor of raising the building and placing under it another story, eleven feet
in height, which report was accepted and the work was completed in the fall of
1893, at a cost of $3,594.28, giving Dover a town house ample for all needs. In
addition to the assembly hall, the building contains a banquet hall, kitchen, toilet
rooms, quarters for the town officers, and a fireproof vault for the preservation
of the town records.
TOWN SEAL
On April 30, 1894, nearly one hundred years after the incorporation of the
District of Dover, the town adopted a seal which is thus described by Henry E.
Woods in heraldic language : "Upon a field showing on the dexter side a school
house and brook, and on the sinister side a hill and Indians, an escutcheon bearing :
azure on a mount vert a meeting house, without steeple, proper; crest, a plough
and garb, crosswise, proper; motto 'Incorporated 1836,' surrounded by a circle
inscribed in chief 'Town of Dover,' and in base 'Massachusetts,' divided on the
dexter side by 'Parish 1748' and the sinister side by 'District 1784.' ' :
The meeting house is made the prominent figure upon the escutcheon to indi-
cate the desire of the early inhabitants to have the privilege of worshiping among
themselves ; the school house on the left (representing the building erected in 1762)
shows that education is the handmaiden of religion, and that it was so regarded by
the Dover pioneers ; the hill on the right represents Pegan Hill, only part of it
being shown to indicate that it is not wholly within the limits of the town ; and the
principal industry of the people is indicated by the plough and sheaf of grain sur-
mounting the shield.
POSTOFFICES
The first postoffice in the town was established at Dover in February, 1838,
with John Williams as postmaster. Prior to the establishment of this office the
mail was brought from the office at Dedham by whoever might be passing between
the two towns. At first there were but two mails during the week, on Wednesdays
and Saturdays. In February, 1840, Rev. Ralph Sanger succeeded Air. Williams
as postmaster and held the office until January, i860, when he resigned. During
his administration daily mails were inaugurated.
Later in the year 1838 a second postoffice was established at Charles River
Village and Josiah Newell was appointed postmaster. This office was established
with the understanding that the mail should be delivered to it by interested persons
without expense to the Government. When the railroad was completed the office
was removed to the railway station. Upon the introduction of the free rural
delivery system all the offices in the town were discontinued except the one at
Dover, though the inhabitants still receive daily mail by carrier.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
The first record of any effort to organize a fire department, or to take steps
for the means of extinguishing fires, was made in 181 1, when some of the resi-
142 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
dents in the western part of the town presented a petition to the selectmen asking
that the subject be taken into consideration. The board appointed Benjamin Guy,
Jr., John Plimpton, Seth Mason, Noah Fiske, Jonathan Battle, Jr., Obed Hart-
shorn, Benjamin Guy, James Mann and Draper Smith a committee "to draft some
plan of such an engine or machine to extinguish fires as will be suitable to the
district, and to calculate the probable cost of the same."
The committee was unable to present any device that was acceptable to the
people of the district, at a reasonable cost, and more than forty years elapsed before
the question again came up before the authorities. In 1858 it was proposed in
the town meeting that the selectmen be authorized "to provide a set of fire hooks,
ladders, axes and carriage for the same," but again nothing was done. In 1896
a committee was appointed to purchase a wagon, ladders and chemical fire extin-
guishers, and an appropriation of $500 was made for the purpose.
From this modest beginning has been developed the Dover Fire Department,
which at the close of the year 1916 consisted of twenty men, equipped with two
trucks, ladders, a number of fire extinguishers, etc. The appropriation for 1916
was $1,600, which was expended under the supervision of a board of fire engineers
composed of C. F. Lyman, V. A. Hovey and J. A. Knowles. The firemen receive
pay only for the time they are actually on duty.
EARLY TAVERNS
During the old colonial days the tavern was an important institution and gen-
erally stood near the meeting house. As there were no newspapers, the gossip
around the tavern fire was the principal channel through which news was dissemi-
nated. It is believed that the first tavern in Dover was kept by Ebenezer Newell,
a cooper by trade, who came from Needham a few years before the middle of the
Eighteenth Century and opened a house of entertainment near the center of the
parish. In 1764 he was elected one of the selectmen of Dedham and served on
the board for seven years. When the Town of Dedham decided in 1774 that no
imported tea should be used by the inhabitants, he was one of the committee to see
ithat the order was properly observed. At the time of the "Lexington Alarm" he
was a lieutenant in Captain Guild's company and later served in the Continental
army. He was succeeded as "mine host" of the tavern by Daniel Whiting.
John Reed kept a public house for a short time before the beginning of the
Revolution, but the best known tavern in the history of Dover was the Williams
Tavern, which was situated near the center of the district. It was kept by John
Williams, who added a wing on the north side early in the Nineteenth Century,
where many social gatherings were held. The "Sons of Liberty" held meetings
in the great room, where weighty matters were discussed, while the genial boniface
passed around New England rum to enliven the debate. The Boston & Woonsocket
coaches stopped daily at this tavern, and many prominent men were at one
time or another guests of "The Williams."
THE TOWN NAME
When the petition went to the General Court in January, 1782, the petitioners
asked that the town might be named Derby. It is said that this choice was that
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 143
of Col. John Jones, chairman of the committee which presented the petition, and
was selected in honor of Derby, England. In the bill incorporating the district
the name was changed to Dover, after the old English town. "Either name would
probably satisfy Colonel Jones' fondness for old English names." Before the
District of Dover was erected, the territory was included in Springfield Parish, a
name derived from the beautiful boiling springs which form the source of Trout
Brook and the field in which they are located.
SUNDRY INCIDENTS
Prior to 1730 the people of Dover buried their dead in the cemetery at Dedham.
In February, 1730, a small tract of ground on the farm of Nathaniel Chickering
was inclosed as a cemetery. In 1746 Mr. Chickering donated this ground to
the precinct in the following document, to wit : "I give and bequeath to the West
Precinct of the Town of Dedham the burying-ground as it lyeth now within fence,
to be for the use of the said precinct for a burying place."
The first body to be buried here was that of John Battle, a grandson of Thomas
Battle, whose death occurred on February 14, 1730. Additions were made to this
cemetery in 1762, 1826, 1864 and 1891. The oldest gravestone is that over the
grave of John Wight, who died on October 4, 1743, "in ye 12th year of his age."
The first preacher, after the parish was established in 1748, was Thomas Jones,
who began his work on the first Sunday in December, 1749, and filled an engage-
ment of thirteen weeks. The first meeting house was dedicated in December, 1754,
though not completed at the time. It was finished in the spring of 1758.
In 1726 the Town of Dedham appropriated five pounds "to support a school
in the westerly part of Dedham." This was the first appropriation from the
mother town for educational purposes in Dover, though schools had been taught
there prior to that date.
A law was passed by the General Court in 1760 that "any persons able of body
who shall absent themselves from public worship of God on the Lord's Day shall
pay a fine of ten shillings." Col. John Jones held a commission as justice under the
king and the following is taken from his "Book of Minits" :
"Dom. Rex vs Ephraim Bacon)
"Suffolk County \ SS>
"Memo. That on ye 25th day of July, 1774, Ephraim Bacon of Dedham
(Dover), yeoman in ten pounds, Oliver Kendrick of Dedham (Dover), yeoman in
ten pounds, Recognized that ye said Ephraim should appear before ye Court of
General Sessions of ye Peace to be held at Boston on ye 26th Inst at 10 A.M., to
answer for his unlawfully absenting himself from Publick Worship of God on
Lord's Days three months as Expressed in a bill of indictment filed in said Court.
"Suffolk ss., August 8, 1774. Ephraim Bacon in ye same sum and ye same
surety recognized and held to answer at ye General Sessions of ye peace ye 1st
Tuesday in October next."
The records do not show whether a verdict was rendered for the plaintiff or
the defendant, but as the laws at that time were rigidly and impartially enforced,
and Ephraim appears to have been somewhat habitual in his non-attendance at
church, it is quite likely that he was made to pay his fine in accordance with the
statute.
144 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
DOVER IN I917
In years gone by there was some manufacturing- carried on in Dover, but the
establishments have been discontinued or removed to localities where conditions
were more favorable. The Dover of today is a typical New England agricultural
community, some of the finest farms in Norfolk County being located in this
town. Dover has Baptist, Unitarian and Congregational churches, a good public
school system, a public library with over six thousand volumes, a historical society
which occupies a building given by Benjamin N. Sawin and his wife and known
as the "Sawin Memorial Building," well kept streets and highways, a public park,
etc. The Boston & Woonsocket division of the New York, New Haven & Hart-
ford passes through the central portion and affords transportation facilities. In
1910 the population was 798 and in 1915, according to the state census, it was 999,
a gain of 201 in five years. In 191 5 the property was valued for tax purposes at
$7,483,596.
Following is a list of the town officers as they were at the beginning of the
year 1917: Selectmen, Overseers of the Poor and Board of Health, Charles S.
Bean; James H. Chickering and Michael W. Comiskey; Clerk, John H. Faulk;
Treasurer, Eben Higgins ; Auditor, George Battelle; Assessors, Judson S. Battelle,
Eben Higgins and John V. Schaffner; School Committee, Richard H. Bond, Dr.
William T. Porter and Mrs. Agnes Y. Rogers ; Highway Surveyor, James McGill.
CHAPTER XVII
THE TOWN OF FOXBORO
FORM OF NAME — LOCATION, BOUNDxVRIES AND TOPOGRAPHY — EARLY HISTORY — FIRST
SETTLERS INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN FIRST TOWN MEETING ADJUSTING
THE BOUNDARIES — TYPICAL PIONEERS — TOWN HALL MEMORIAL HALL — WATER-
WORKS — FIRE. DEPARTMENT — -TRANSPORTATION — FOXBORO IN I9I/.
In the early records relating to this town the name is spelled "Foxborough,"
which is still used by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but the form adopted
by the United States Government as the name of the postoffice, and in general
use at the present day, is "Foxboro." The town is located in the southern part
of Norfolk County and is bounded as follows : On the north by the Town of
Walpole ; northeast and east by Sharon ; south by Bristol County ; west and north-
west by the towns of Plainville, Wrentham and Norfolk. The surface is rolling
and there are several lakes or ponds in the town. The large pond called Neponset
Reservoir, the source of one branch of the Neponset River, is situated in the
northern part; Cocasset Pond is in the southwestern part and Miramichi (com-
monly called Shepard's) Pond is on the line between Foxboro and Plainville.
Cocasset and Miramichi ponds are drained by Furnace Brook, which flows in a
southerly direction into Bristol County. In the eastern part is Billings Brook,
which also follows a southerly course and crosses the southern boundary line
of the county a short distance south of East Foxboro.
EARLY HISTORY
A part of the present Town of Foxboro was included in Dedham when the
latter town was incorporated in September, 1635, but the greater portion of it
was embraced in the "New Grant'' that was made to Dorchester in 1637. Wren-
tham was set off from Dedham in October, 1673, an d included a small portion
of what is now Foxboro. In December, 1715, the General Court erected "Dor-
chester South Precinct," which embraced the present towns of Canton, Sharon
and Stoughton, and that part of the "New Grant" now within the Foxboro limits.
Walpole was incorporated on December 10, 1724, and Stoughton on December
22, 1726. The latter included the greater part of Foxboro, all of Canton and
Sharon, and a large portion of the original Town of Dedham. Sharon was cut
off as the Town of Stoughtonham in June, 1765, and a small part of what is
now Foxboro was included in the new town. Thirteen years later the Town
of Foxboro was incorporated. John Shepard, a native of the town, was born
on February 25, 1705, while the territory was a part of Dorchester, and lived
to be over one hundred years of age. Through the various legislative changes
Vol. I— 10
145
146 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
above mentioned, the story became current that he had been ''a resident of three
different counties and five different towns, yet lived in the same house all the
time."
FIRST SETTLERS
About 1669 one William Hudson received a grant of five hundred acres of
land (now in Foxboro) from the Dorchester authorities, and on October 21,
1676, conveyed the entire tract to Thomas Platts of Boston for two hundred
and seventy-five pounds. In the deed the land was described as "situate, lying
and being in the wilderness, between Dedham and Seaconet, commonly called
or known by the name of 'Wading River Farm.' ' : Thomas Platts died in the
summer of 1692 and the land passed to his son Thomas, who conveyed it to
Jacob Shepard on July 11, 1704. So far as known this Jacob Shepard was the
first white man to establish a home in what is now the Town of Foxboro. He
was the father of John Shepard, above mentioned, who was probably the first
white child born in the town.
Some years later the Morses and Boydens came from Medfield, the Capens
from Dorchester, the Belchers from Sharon, and the Carpenters from Rehoboth.
In 1713 the proprietors of the outlying lands in Dorchester were incorporated
as "The Proprietors of the Undivided Lands," an organization which continued
in existence for about sixty years, and through which the title to much of the
land in Foxboro was obtained. The following list of residents on January 1,
1777, was prepared by Ebenezer Hill, at that time one of the selectmen of the
Town of Stoughtonham (now Sharon) : Zuriel Atherton, Samuel Balcom, John
Basset, Eleazer Belcher, Beriah Billings, Ebenezer Billings, Elijah Billings, Jona-
than Billings, Jonathan Billings, 2nd, Samuel Billings, William Billings, Josiah
Blanchard, Samuel Bradshaw, Nehemiah Carpenter, Timothy Clapp, William Clapp,
Nathan Clark, Nathaniel Clark, William Clark, Stephen Cobb, John Comey, Wil-
liam Comey, Jacob Cook, Zebulon Dean, Josiah Farrington, David Forrest, Ebe-
nezer Hill, Spencer Hodges, Jacob Lenard, Lemuel Lyon, Elijah Morse, Ezra
Morse, Levi Morse, Nat Morse, Elizabeth Payn (widow), Jacob Payn, John
Payn, Joseph Payn, William Payn, William Payson, Ezekiel Pierce. Thomas
Pogge, Jeremiah Rhodes, Joseph Rhodes, Joseph Rhodes, 2nd, John Richardson,
Thomas Richardson, Josiah Robbins, Daniel Robeson, Seth Robeson, Ephraim
Shepard, Israel Smith, John Smith, John Sumner, Joseph Tifney, David White,
David W'ilkeson, Job Willis, David Wood, Jethro Wood, Joseph Wood and
William Wright.
INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN
The total population at the beginning of the year 1777, based upon Mr. Hill's
list, was 106. Toward the close of that year a petition was circulated and signed
by a majority of the legal voters and taxpayers, asking the General Court to
establish a new town. The petition was granted and Foxboro was duly incor-
porated by the act of June 10, 1778, the title of which is as follows: "An Act
for incorporating certain lands in the County of Suffolk, formerly belonging to
the Town of Dorchester, but now to the towns of Wrentham, Walpole, Stoughton
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 147
#
and Stoughtonham, with the inhabitants living thereon into a town by the name
of Foxbo rough."
On June 29, 1878, Hon. E. P. Carpenter, in an address at Foxboro, gave the
following account of how the town obtained its name: "Charles James Fox,
born 1749, son of Lord Holland, in Parliament before he was twenty years of
age, was already an eminent man when, in 1774, he opposed the Boston Port
Bill and defended the conduct of the colonies. He said in 1775 °f Lord North,
the prime minister of George III, 'The King of Prussia, nay, even Alexander
the Great, never gained more in one campaign than Lord North has lost. He has
lost a whole continent.' One of Fox's biographers says — 'During the whole
American war, Mr. Fox successively protested against every measure of hostility
directed against the colonies.' Of him the Foxborough soldiers, who marched
in quickstep at the 'Lexington Alarm,' and to Bunker Hill and Dorchester
Heights, had heard, and, whatever the faults of that famous British statesman,
no friend of American independence need blush to bear his name."
FIRST TOWN MEETING
On June 29, 1778, the first town meeting was held and the following officers
were elected: Josiah Pratt, John Everett, Benjamin Pettee, Daniel Robinson
and Joseph Shepard, selectmen; Swift Payson, clerk; Nehemiah Carpenter, treas-
urer ; John Comey, constable ; Joseph Pratt, John Everett, Josiah Mann, John
Shepard, Jr., and Nathaniel Clark, assessors ; Benjamin Guild and Jacob Cook,
tithingmen.
ADJUSTING THE BOUNDARIES
In the original act of incorporation it was provided that Eleazer Robbins,
Daniel Morse, Elisha Morse, Mary Patten (widow), David Pratt, Mary Boyden
(widow), Solomon Morse, L T riah Atherton, Samuel Morse, Josiah Hodges, Eliph-
alet Hodges, Josiah Blanchard, John Everett, Isaac Pratt, Joseph Pratt's heirs
and Joseph Gilbert, "with their estates shall remain to the towns to which they
now belong."
Some of those above named were inhabitants of Stoughton — a few living in
that part afterward set off as Sharon — some lived in Walpole, and some in
Wrentham. On March 12, 1793, the governor of Massachusetts approved an
act of the Legislature, Section 1 of which provided that "Eleazer Robbins, Daniel
Morse, Elisha Morse, Solomon Morse, Samuel Morse, Isaac Pratt, Ralph Thomp-
son, widow Mary Patten, David Patten, Caleb Atherton, Eli Atherton, Abijah
Pratt and Seth Boyden be, and they are hereby, set off from the Town of
Stoughton and annexed to the Town of Foxborough, with their families and
estates," etc.
Section 2 of the same act reads : "And be it further enacted that Shadrack
Winslow and David Wilbore, with their families and estates ; also Levi Pratt,
Jesse Pratt, Benoni Pratt, Alexander Doby and the heirs of Jonathan Wilbore,
now lying within the bounds of Sharon and Stoughton, be, and hereby are, set
off from said towns and annexed to the Town of Foxborough."
Section 3 describes the line between Foxboro and Sharon, but this line was
148 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
again altered by the act of January 30, 1833, and was located as it is at present
by the act of February 28, 1850. In March, 1834, part of Foxboro was annexed
to Walpole. The line between Stoughton and Foxboro was adjusted by the act
of March 12, 1793.
TYPICAL PIONEERS
Seth Boyden, whose name appears among those annexed to Foxboro by the
act of 1793, settled in Stoughton about 1738. Twelve years later he was col-
lector for the second ministerial precinct in Stoughton, as shown by an old rate
book still preserved by his descendants. The precinct included the present towns
of Stoughton and Sharon and a large part of Foxboro. His descendants also
have (or had only a few years since) "The Records of the Proprietors of a lot
of land, being ye forty-fifth lot in ye Twenty-five Divisions of land (so called)
lying and being in ye Township of Dorchester, and now in ye Township of
Stoughton, in ye County of Suffolk, and is held in common by ye said Pro-
prietors — Begun the tenth day of April, 1739, Seth Boyden, Proprietors' Clerk."
The lot of land to which this record refers was partly in what is now the
Town of Sharon and partly in Foxboro. It contained a bed of iron ore which
was worked for several years. In the warrant issued by Jonathan Ware, March
4, 1738, for a town meeting in Wrentham, the sixth article was "To determine
in what manner ye Iron oar and stream in s d land shall be disposed of." At
the meeting it was voted "That the iron oar now or hereafter found shall
be reserved to ye proprietors according to their interest, each of whom may
between the last Tuesday in August and October dige oar annually and at noe
other time of the year." The stream is now known as Furnace Brook and was
reserved likewise to the proprietors "to build a mill or dam on provided they do
not raise such a head of water as to float ye adjacent lands or meaddows at any
other time of the year than between ye' first day of October and ye 20th day of
Aprile annually."
Lot No. 45 contained 437 acres, of which Seth Boyden received about 270
acres. According to his account, in the old record referred to, he received as
his share of ore seventy-five tons between the years 1740 and 1755. Mr. Boyden
held several offices before the incorporation of Foxboro.
John Everett was one of the first settlers in the town and was a blacksmith
by trade. He was one of the first board of selectmen and one of the first assessors.
In 1779 he was elected a representative to the General Court and the same year
was chosen a delegate to the constitutional convention which framed the first
organic law of Massachusetts.
Swift Payson, the first town clerk, was a son of Rev. Phillips Payson, at one
time pastor. of the church at Walpole. In his address at Foxboro's centennial
in June, 1878, Mr. Carpenter told this story of Swift Payson: "He was a
humorous, whimsical, but kindly character. Passionately fond of music, his first
accumulations as a boy were devoted to the purchase of a violin. Horrified at
the sound of the instrument, accidentally heard after a long concealment, his
father cried: "Where did you get that fiddle?' T bought it, sir,' was the appar-
ently innocent reply. 'Then sell it at the first opportunity ; let me never hear it
again.' Shortly after the Ministerial Association met with Mr. Payson, to whom,
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 149
sitting in his parlor, demurely entered the lad with his violin. 'Gentlemen, would
either of you like a first-rate fiddle? My father says I may sell it, and I thought
it only right to give you the first chance.' It is to be hoped that the boy's wit
saved his fiddle. It may have done good service in Foxborough, for tradition
says our people, in the midst of hardship and privation, were yet gay and
pleasure-loving and 'often danced on sanded floors to the scraping of the catgut.' ' :
Aaron Everett was a carpenter; Joseph Everett a tanner and glove-maker;
Joseph Comey was the village shoemaker; Eleazer Belcher, who lived near the
northeast corner of the town, made potash and kept a small stock of goods, and
Amos Boyden was a surveyor, who in 1779 was directed ''to take and award
all ye highways or roads in your squardren ; also all ye other roads belonging
to ye Town of Foxborough in that part late belonged to Stoughton."
The first house built at Foxboro Centre was the building long known as the
"Old Carpenter House." It was built in 1749-50 by Nehemiah Carpenter, who
came from Rehoboth, Bristol County, and stood on a way leading off from South
Street and not far from the town house. Some years after it was built it was
used as a tavern. It was torn down in 1880.
TOWN HALL
The early town meetings were held in a meeting house that was erected
about 1763, fifteen years before the town was incorporated. In 1821 Rev. Thomas
Williams, being about to leave the parish, offered the society five hundred dollars
(the amount of his original settlement) if it would apply the money toward
building a new meeting house. The offer was accepted and the work of tearing
down the old church was commenced forthwith, without consulting the selectmen.
On December 22, 1821, the selectmen issued a warrant for a town meeting, "to
assemble at their meeting house on Monday, the 4th day of January, 1822, to see
if the town will repair their meeting house, or do anything relative to the
premises."
Before the time for the meeting arrived the meeting house had entirely dis-
appeared, and the records of that meeting begin with the statement : "Pursuant
to the foregoing warrant the town assembled on the spot where the meeting house
stood. Voted, to direct their treasurer not to prosecute any person or persons on
account of the parish taking down their meeting house."
From that time until November 14, 1836, town meetings were held in the
Union Hall, over the school house, which had been built in 1793. It stood near
the present Baptist Church. During the next eleven years the town meetings
were held in Sumner's Hall, where the Union Building was afterward erected,
then in Cocasset Hall until the spring of 1856, and from then until the com-
pletion of the town hall in the American Hall. The town hall was built in 1857,
by a committee consisting of E. P. Carpenter, Otis Cary, Henry Hobart, F. D.
Williams and Oliver Carpenter. A town meeting on March 14, 1857, voted to
build the hall and the first meeting was held in it on March 29, 1858. The cost
of the building and the ground on which it stands was $15,496.79. In 1874 an
addition was built for school purposes at a cost of $26,244.31. Upon the
completion of the new Savings Bank Building in the spring of 191 5, the town
offices were moved to the second floor of the Bank Building.
150 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
MEMORIAL HALL
In the warrant for a town meeting to be held on March 10, 1866, was an
article in reference to a monument to Foxboro's soldiers who fell in the service
of their country. At the meeting it was voted to refer the subject to a com-
mittee, consisting of E. P. Carpenter, William H. Thomas, Otis Cary, George
T. Ryder and William Carpenter. This committee made an extended report
on March 6, 1867, recommending the erection of a memorial hall, and ten days
later the same committee was instructed to procure plans and estimates in accord-
ance with the report. The hall was erected in 1868 at a cost of about thirteen
thousand dollars, made up of town appropriations, subscriptions and donations.
It stands near the center of the old cemetery, and was dedicated on June 17,
1868, the principal address being delivered by Hon. George B. Loring. At the
rieht of the entrance is a marble tablet, with a medallion of flint-lock musket,
powder-horn and cartridge-box in relief, and the names of those who served in
the Revolution and the War of 1812. Upon the opposite side of the doorway
is the "Roll of Honor," giving the names of those who served in the War of the
Rebellion — 1861-65 — and on a separate tablet, facing the entrance, are the names
of "Our Honored Dead,'' who lost their lives in that great conflict.
WATERWORKS
At a town meeting held on March 23, 1878, E. P. Carpenter, Virgil S. Pond,
N. F. Howard, William T. Cook and Charles F. Howard were appointed a com-
mittee to consider the question of establishing a system of water supply for the
town. This committee made a unanimous report at a subsequent meeting in
favor of some system of waterworks, and suggested a plan by which the town
could be supplied with water. The matter was then taken to the Legislature, and
on April 4, 1879, an act was approved, Section 1 of which was as follows:
"The inhabitants of the Milage of Foxborough in the County of Norfolk,
liable to taxation in the Town of Foxborough, and residing within a radius of
half a mile from the center of the public common in" said village, shall constitute
a water district and are made a body corporate by the name of The Foxborough
Water Supply District, for the purpose of supplying themselves with pure
water," etc.
Setcion 2 authorized the people of the district to use the waters of Governor's
Brook, or any springs, natural ponds, brooks or other water sources ; Section 3
made the district liable for damages to property by the construction of dams,
reservoirs, etc., and Section 4 authorized a loan not exceeding fifty thousand
dollars.
Nothing further was done for about seven years. In the spring of 1886 the
"Mansfield and Foxborough Water Company" was formed by F. D. Williams,
Virgil S. Pond, William B. Crocker, John Q. Lynch, C. W. Hodges and George
F. Williams of Foxboro, and a like number of Mansfield men. The company
asked the Legislature to grant it a charter of incorporation, which was refused
on account of the previous incorporation of the Foxborough Water District.
The Mansfield Water District was then incorporated on June 28, 1886, with
power to borrow $75,000, and the Foxboro people were left just where they were
at the start.
STATE HOSPITAL. FOXBORO
hioh. school, foxboko
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 151
On May 28, 1889, a meeting was held to take action on the question of
increasing the loan $75,000, and a request to that effect was presented to the
next session of the Legislature. By the act of April 2, 1890, the increased loan
was authorized, provided it was approved by a two-thirds vote of the people
living within the limits of the district. An election was held on May 14, 1890,
at which the proposition failed to receive the support of the required two-thirds.
On June 11, 1891, another act was passed by the Legislature relating to this
subject. It repealed the feature of the act of the preceding year requiring a
two-thirds vote, and substituted therefor a "majority vote.'' Under this act the
people authorized the construction of the waterworks, which were completed
about three years later. The town is now divided into two water districts —
Foxboro and East Foxboro.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Xo one seems to know just when the first volunteer fire company was organized
in Foxboro, but it was many years ago. On June 29, 1878, the town celebrated
its centennial and the following issue of the Foxboro Times, in giving an account
of the ceremonies, said : "At the present time we have a population of nearly
thirty-two hundred souls ; a town house that cost nearly twenty-five thousand
dollars, with a school house addition worth as much more ; six other school
houses, valued at from six hundred to two thousand dollars each ; a thirteen
thousand dollar memorial hall, with an excellent public library of nearly three-
thousand volumes therein; two commodious engine houses; fire apparatus (with
an able department to use it), which cost not less than ten thousand dollars,
and which is worth, when it is considered the amount of property it has saved
to our citizens, a much larger sum."
That was written nearly forty years ago and in that period the efficiency
of the department has been increased to keep pace with the growth of the
town. The cost of maintenance for the year 1916 was $1,718.68, and during the
year thirty-two calls were answered. In the warrant for the town meeting to
be held March 6, 1916, Article 8 was "To authorize the treasurer, with the
approval of the selectmen, to borrow money in anticipation of the revenue of
the current financial year." The minutes of the meeting, relating to this article,
show that it was "Voted, that the treasurer, with the approval of the selectmen,
be and hereby is authorized to borrow the sum of four thousand dollars for
the purpose of purchasing a combination auto truck for the use of the Fire
Department, and to issue two notes of two thousand each, of the town therefor,
payable one November 1, 1917, from the tax levy of that year, and one November
1, 1918, from the tax levy of that year, at a rate of interest not exceeding five
per cent per annum."
At the same meeting Article 14 was passed by a vote of fifty-four to twenty-
five, "To sell the chemical fire engine and purchase a combination auto truck,
and raise and appropriate the sum of $5,000 therefor, as recommended by the
board of fire engineers."
With the purchase of the equipment ordered by these votes, Foxboro has a
fire department able to cope with any fire that is likely to occur. An appropria-
tion of $100 was made by the annual meeting in 1916 for a fire lookout on Moose
152 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Hill, and during the year $300 were expended in extending and improving the
fire alarm system.
TRANSPORTATION
Not many towns of its class are better provided with transportation facilities
than Foxboro. Two lines of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad
.system pass through the town and on these lines there are four stations. East
Foxboro is on the main line from Boston to Providence, and Foxboro, North
Foxboro and Foxvale are on the line running from Taunton to Marlboro and
Fitchburg. In addition to these roads there is a division of the Norfolk & Bristol
electric line, with a branch from Foxboro to Wrentham.
foxboro in 1917
According to the United States census, the population of Foxboro in 1910
was 3,863. The state census of 1915 reported a population of 3,755. This shows
a decrease of 108 during the five years. There has also been a slight decrease
in the assessed valuation of the property, that for 191 5 being $3,041,740, and
the assessment for 1916 was $2,825,210. The town has two banks, a weekly
newspaper (the Reporter), nine public school buildings, in which twenty-four
teachers were employed during the school year of 191 5-16, a number of manu-
facturing establishments, churches of different denominations, hotels and mer-
cantile houses, one of the prettiest commons in the county, and a large number of
comfortable homes. It is one of the few towns of the state that have no
bonded indebtedness.
At the beginning of the year 1917 the principal town officers were as follows:
Orlando McKenzie, Jarvis Williams and Louis W. Hodges, selectmen and over-
seers of the poor; George R. Ellis, clerk and treasurer; Percy B. Richmond, John
B. Hodges and Lewis Belcher, assessors ; Benjamin F. GifTord, surveyor of high-
ways ; Franklin A. Pettee, tax collector ; Fred H. Richards, accountant ; William
S. Kimball, Jarvis Williams and Fred N. Griffiths, board of health; Ernest A.
White, Walter S. Keith and Richard W. Barton, engineers of the fire depart-
ment and forest fire wardens ; Lucius A. Cady and Ernest A. White, constables ;
John E. Warren, Miss Frances A. White and William R. Lewis, school committee.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE TOWN OF FRANKLIN
LOCATION AND GENERAL DESCRIPTION — THE PRECINCT — SOME POINTED INSTRUC-
TIONS — THE TOWN INCORPORATED NAMING THE TOWN — FIRST TOWN MEET-
ING — FRANKLIN'S PATRIOTISM — FIRST MILLS WATERWORKS — FIRE DEPART-
MENT — POSTOFFICE — ALMSHOUSE — FINANCIAL — THE FRANKLIN OF THE
PRESENT.
Franklin is situated in the southwestern part of the county. It is bounded
on the north by the Charles River, which separates it from the Town of Medway ;
on the east by the towns of Norfolk and Wrentham ; on the south by Wren-
tham, and on the west by Bellingham. The surface is an elevated plain, diversified
by green meadows, sunny hills and shady valleys. From some of the highest
points the Blue Hills of Milton, nearly twenty miles distant, can be seen, and on
clear days the top of Mount Wachusett, in Worcester County, is clearly visible.
Among the hills are a number of small lakes or ponds. The largest of these
is Popolatic Pond in the northeastern part, on the line dividing Franklin from
Norfolk, the waters of which find their way to the Charles River through Mill
(or Stop) River. Beaver Pond and two smaller ones lie near the center of the
town and are drained by the Mine Brook, a tributary of the Charles River. In
the southeastern part is Uncas Pond, which derives its name from a tradition
that the Mohegan sachem Uncas, in some of his hunting excursions or warlike
expeditions against the Pequot Indians, was wont to encamp upon its shores.
THE PRECINCT
The territory now comprising the Town of Franklin was originally a part of
Dedham. It was included in Wrentham when that town was incorporated on
October 15, 1673, an ^ remained a part of Wrentham for more than a century.
In June, 1736, a petition was presented to the General Court asking for the
establishment of a precinct in the western part of Wrentham. That petition was
signed by forty-eight resident freeholders, viz. : John Adams, Robert Blake,
Ebenezer Clark, David Darling, John Failes, Nathaniel Fairbanks, Eleazer Fisher,
John Fisher, Lineard (Leonard) Fisher, Nathaniel Fisher, Edward Gay, Edward
Hall, Daniel Hawes, Josiah Hawes, Nathaniel Hawes, Ebenezer Hunting, David
Jones, David Lawrence, David Lawrence, Jr., Ebenezer Lawrence, Daniel Mac-
cane, Thomas Mann, Sr.. Eleazer Metcalf, Eleazer Metcalf, Jr., Michael Metcalf,
Samuel Metcalf, Samuel Morse, James New, Ebenezer Partridge, Job Partridge,
Samuel Partridge, Baruch Pond, David Pond, Ezra Pond, Ichabod Pond, Robert
Pond, John Richardson, Benjamin Rockwood, Thomas Rockwood, Ebenezer
153
154 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Sheckelworth, Simon Slocurn, John Smith, Daniel Thurston, Eleazer Ware, Joseph
Whiting, Michael Wilson, Uriah Wilson and Jonathan Wright.
Owing to objections on the part of Wrentham, a delay of more than a year
was experienced, but on December 23, 1737X Governor Belcher affixed his
signature to the bill erecting the "Second Precinct of Wrentham." A few days
later a warrant was issued to Robert Pond, John Adams, Daniel Hawes, David
Jones and Daniel Thurston authorizing them to call a meeting for the election
of officers and the organization of the precinct, ''in the house the inhabitants
usually meet in for public worship." The meeting assembled at noon on January
16, 1738, and after electing officers adjourned to the 20th. At the adjourned
meeting the sum of eighty pounds was voted for preaching and a committee
appointed to secure a preacher. Another committee was appointed to provide
materials for a meeting house "forty feet long, thirty-one feet wide, with twenty
feet posts, toward which each may contribute his proportion." The meeting also
voted to send a request to Wrentham "for the fulfillment of a promise made
them ten years before, that money paid by them, amounting to one hundred and
thirty pounds eleven shillings, towards its meeting house should be repaid to
them." Wrentham at first refused to grant this request, but in May reconsidered
the matter and the money was refunded.
The church was regularly organized on February 16, 1738, Rev. Joseph Baxter
of Medfield acting as moderator. In November following Rev. Elias Haven was
installed as the first pastor, but the meeting house was not completed until the
spring of 1740. (See Church History.)
SOME POINTED INSTRUCTIONS
Franklin continued as the Second Precinct of Wrentham for forty-one years.
From 1740 to 1742 the subject of applying to Wrentham for permission to
become a town was discussed, but no definite action was taken. On March 4,
1754, the people of the precinct presented a petition to that effect to the Wren-
tham town meeting, where it was voted down. Then came the dissensions with
England that culminated in the Revolution and the question was dropped for
nearly a quarter of a century, the inhabitants going to Wrentham to participate
in the numerous meetings called from time to time to consider the condition of
the colonies. At one of these meetings, held on June 5, 1776, the following
instructions were issued to Benjamin Guild, Joseph Hawes and Dr. Ebenezer,
representatives to the General Court :
"Gentlemen — We, your constituents in full town meeting assembled, June
5, 1776, give you the following instructions:
"Whereas, Tyranny and Oppression, a little more than one century and a half
ago, obliged our forefathers to quit their peaceful habitations and seek an asylum
in this distant land, amid an howling wilderness surrounded with savage enemies,
destitute of almost every convenience of life was their unhappy situation, but
such was their zeal for the common rights of mankind that they (under the
smile of Divine Providence) surmounted every difficulty, and in a little time
were in the exercise of civil government under a Charter of the Crown of Great
Britain. But after some years had passed, and the Colonies had become of
some importance, new troubles began to arise. The same spirit which caused
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 155
them to leave their native land still pursued them, joined by designing men among
themselves. Letters began to be wrote against the Government and the first
Charter soon afterward destroyed.
"In this situation some years passed before another charter could be obtained,
and, although many of the gifts and privileges of the first charter were abridged
by the last, yet in that situation the Government has been tolerably quiet until
about the year 1763, since which time the same spirit of oppression has risen up.
Letters by divers ill-minded persons have been wrote against the government (in
consequence of which divers acts of the British Parliament made, mutilating and
destroying the Charter, and wholly subversive of the Constitution). Fleets and
armies have been sent to enforce them, and at length a civil war has commenced,
and the sword is drawn in our land, and the whole United Colonies involved in
a common cause; the repeated and humble petitions of the good people of these
Colonies have been wantonly rejected with disdain; the Prince we once adored
has now commissioned the instruments of his hostile oppression to lay waste
our dwellings with fire and sword, to rob us of our property, and wantonly to
stain the land with the blood of its innocent inhabitants ; he has entered into
treaties with the most cruel nations to hire an army of foreign mercenaries to
subjugate the Colonies to his cruel and arbitarary purposes. In short, all hope
of an accommodation is entirely at an end ; a reconciliation as dangerous as it is
absurd ; a recollection of past injuries will naturally keep alive and kindle the
flames of jealousy.
''We, your constituents, therefore think that to be subject to or dependent
on the Crown of Great Britain would not only be impracticable, but unsafe to
the State. The inhabitants of this town therefore, in full town meeting, unani-
mously instruct and direct you (i. e. the representatives) to give your vote that,
if the Honorable American Congress (in whom we place the highest confidence
under God) should think it necessary for the safety of the United Colonies to
declare them independent of Great Britain, that we, your constituents, with our
lives and fortunes will most cheerfully support them in the measure."
These instructions have been reproduced in full as showing the trend of public
sentiment in "the days that tried men's souls." It is interesting to compare
the language used by this little backwoods settlement in Massachusetts with that
of the Declaration of Independence adopted by the Continental Congress at
Philadelphia a month later. And the sons of Franklin backed up their declara-
tions with their deeds. Upon the first alarm from Lexington and Concord her
Minute-Men were prompt to respond, and from that time until the British Gen-
eral Cornwallis handed his sword to General Lincoln on the field at Yorktown,
October 19, 1781, they were upon the firing line in numerous engagements.
THE TOWN INCORPORATED
During the Revolutionary war the demand for town meetings became more
urgent and the business to be transacted more important. Between January,
1773, and February, 1778, no fewer than thirty-one meetings were held in Wren-
tham. To attend these meetings, the people of Franklin had to travel from
five to ten miles over bad roads in all kinds of weather, but their loyalty and
sense of duty impelled them to make the frequent tiresome journeys. On
156 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
December 29, 1777, another petition was brought before the town meeting asking
"for liberty to be set off into a distinct township, according to grant of Court
that they were first incorporated into a precinct," etc. Deacon Jabez Fisher,
Jonathan Metcalf, Asa Whiting, Dr. John Metcalf, Capt. John Boyd, Joseph
Hawes and Samuel Lethbridge, "chief men of the precinct are put in charge
of the matter."
Wrentham appointed a committee of nine to confer with the "chief men"
above mentioned, and on February 21, 1778, reported in favor of the petition.
Then followed the work of dividing the town property, etc. The quota of soldiers
recruited for service in the Continental army were proportionately accredited to
each section; firearms, military stores, the supply of salt allowed by the General
Court were satisfactorily adjusted; the five paupers were also assigned — three to
Wrentham and two to the new town — and the public revenues were duly adjusted.
All this having been attended to, a petition was presented to the General Court,
which resulted in the enactment of the following bill :
"STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
"In the Year of our Lord, 1778.
"An Act incorporating the Westerly Part of the Town of Wrentham, in the
County of Suffolk, into a Town by the name of Franklin.
"Whereas, the Inhabitants of the Westerly part of the Town of Wrentham
in the County of Suffolk have Represented to this Court the Difficulties they
Labor under in their present situation, and apprehending themselves of sufficient
Numbers & Ability, request that they may be Incorporated into a separate Town.
"Be it Therefore Enacted by the Council & House of Representatives in Gen-
eral Court Assembled, & by the Authority of the same, That the Westerly part
of said Town of Wrentham separated by a line, as follows, viz : Beginning at
Charles River, where Medfield line comes to said river ; thence running south
seventeen degrees and a half West until it comes to one rod east of ye Dwelling
House of William Man ; thence a strait line to the eastwardly corner of Asa
Whiting's barn ; thence a strait line to sixty rods due south of the old cellar
where the Dwelling House of Ebenezer Healy formerly stood ; thence a Due
West cource by the Needle to Bellingham line, said Bellingham line to be the
West Bounds and Charles River the Northerly Bounds, be and hereby is incor-
porated into a Distinct and Separate Toen by the name of franklin, and invested
with all the powers, Privileges and Immunities that Towns in this State do or
may enjoy.
"And be it further enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the inhabitants
of the Town of Franklin shall pay their proportion of all State, County and Town
charges already granted to be raised in the Town of Wrentham and also their
proportion of the pay of the Representatives for the present year. And the said
Town of Wrentham and Town of Franklin shall be severally held punctually to
stand by & perform to each other the Terms & Proposals Contained and Expressed
in a vote of the Town of Wrentham passed at a Publick Town Meeting the
sixteenth day of February, 1778, according to ye plain and obvious meaning
thereof.
"And Be it also Enacted by ye Authority aforesaid, That Jabez Fisher,
Esq., Be & he hereby is Authorized & Required to issue his warrant to one of
RESIDENCE OF H. T. HAYWARD. FRANKLIN
RESIDENCE OF A. \V. PIERCE, FRANKLIN
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 157
the Principal Inhabitants of said Town of Franklin, authorizing & requiring
him to Xotifie & warn the Freeholders & other Inhabitants of said Town to
meet together at such time and place as shall be Expressed in said warrant, To
choose such officers as Towns are authorized by Law to Choose, and Transact
other such Lawfull matters as shall be expressed in said Warrant.
"And be it further Enacted, That the Inhabitants living within ye Bounds
aforesaid who on the Late Tax in the Town of Wrentham were rated one-half
part so much for their Estates and Faculties as for one single Poll shall be taken
& Holden to be Qualified and be allowed to Vote in their first Meeting for the
Choice of officers & such other meetings as may be Called in said Town of
Franklin until a Valuation of Estates shall be made by Assessors there.
"in the house of representatives.
"February 27, 1778.
"This Bill having been read three several times, passed to be engrossed.
Sent up for Concurrence.
"j. WARREN SYKE.
"in council.
"March 2, 1778.
"This bill, having had two several readings, passed a Concurrence, to be
engrossed.
"john avery, Dpy. Secy."
NAMING THE TOWN
Mortimer Blake gives the following account of the manner in which the name
of Franklin was selected for the town: "In the original draft of the charter,
as preserved in the State Archives, the name of the new town is written as
'Exeter.' Why its name was first written Exeter is a conundrum, whose answer
is inaudible among the echoes of the past. Why it was changed to Franklin is
apparent. After the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Benjamin Franklin
with two others was sent forthwith to France to arrange for a treaty of alliance
with Louis XVI. The king dallied with the ambassadors until the close of 1777,
when the capture of Burgoyne settled his doubts, and a treaty of amity and com-
merce was formed with them in January, 1778. News of their success reached
this country while the petition of the new town was waiting decision. The charter
was doubtless amended in honor of that event and 'Exeter' was changed for
the honored name of 'Franklin,' the first of twenty-nine towns in our states who
have since followed her example in calling themselves by the same name."
FIRST TOWN MEETING
Shortly after the act of incorporation was passed by the General Court, Jabez
Fisher, a justice of the peace, issued his warrant for a town meeting to be held
in the new town on Monday, March 23, 1778. At that meeting the only business
transacted was the election of town officers and the choice of a "Committee of
Correspondence," to look after military matters. Jonathan Metcalf, Samuel Leth-
bridge. Joseph Hawes, Asa Whiting and Hezekiah Fisher were elected as the
158 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
first board of selectmen; Asa Pond, town clerk; Asa Whiting, treasurer; and
Joseph Hawes, representative to the General Court. The "Committee of Corre-
spondence" was composed of Capt. John Boyd, Lieut. Ebenezer Dean, Capt.
Thomas Bacon and Daniel Thurston.
franklin's patriotism
It must be remembered that Franklin was born in the midst of the Revolu-
tionary war, when every man was expected to be for or against the cause of the
American colonies. There were no neutrals. The committee on correspondence
looked sharply after the enemies in their midst and a town meeting voted that all
tories should be reported to the proper court. Every demand for men or money
on the Town of Franklin was promptly met. A town meeting directed that
"soldiers' families shall be supplied with the necessaries of life at a stipulated
price at the town's expense," and voted not to deal with any persons whose scale
of prices did not conform to that recommended by the Concord convention of
1779. Within eighteen months the town furnished its proportion of beef to the
Continental army — 33,908 pounds — almost robbing the town of its cattle. When
the credit of the new Government of the United States hung in the balance,
Franklin recommended all who had money to lend "to avoid lending it to monopo-
lizers, jobbers, harpies, forestallers and tories, with as much caution as they
would avoid a pestilence, and lend it to the Continental and State treasuries."
It was patriotism of this type that made the American Republic possible and
placed it upon a sound financial basis.
FIRST MILL
The first mill for grinding corn for the early settlers was built near the foot
of Eagle Hill by John Whiting in 1685, nearly one hundred years before the
Town of Franklin was incorporated. That mill was owned by members of the
Whiting family for over a century. The first boards used in the construction
of dwellings were split in the form of "puncheons" or sawed with a whip-saw.
In 1713 the settlers in the North Precinct of Wrentham, anxious for a mill
nearer to them, induced Daniel Hawes, Eleazer Metcalf, Robert Pond, John
Maccane and Samuel Metcalf to build a saw-mill at the falls of Mine Brook.
The contract, or articles of association, signed by these men is here reproduced
as a literary curiosity: "Wrentham, Feb. the 7. 1713.
"We hose names are hereunto subscrib' 1 doe agree to build a Saw Mill at
the place called the Minebrook : Daniel Hawes wone quarter John Maccane
wone quarter Eleazar Metcalf and Samuel Metcalf wone quarter & Robert Pond
Sen wone quarter. We doe covenant & agree as follows :
"1 We doe promis that we wil each of us carry on & doe our equal pro-
porchon Throught in procureing of irones & Hueing framing of a dam & mill &
all other labour throught so faire as the major part shall see meat to doe then to
com to a reckoning:
"2 We doe agre that all of us shall hav liberty for to work out his propor-
sion of work & in case aney wone of us neglect to carry on sayd Work till it be
done & fit to saw & he that neglects to carry on his part of sayd mill shall pay
half a crown a day to the rest of ye owners that did says Work:
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 159
"3 We doe allsoe agre that sayd Land shall bee for a mill pond soe long
as the major part shall se fit. We doe Allsoe agre that no wone shall sell his part
of sayd mill till he has first made a Tender to ye rest of ye Owners We doe
allsoe agre that no wone shall sell his part in ye land till he has tenderd it to
the rest of ye Owners.
"eleasar metcalf
"robart pond
"john maccane
"daniel haws
"samuel metcalf."
The contract was "signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of Ezra Pond,
Robert Pond, Jr., and Jonathan Wright," and notwithstanding its peculiar phrase-
ology and great number of misspelled words, it seems to have answered the
purpose just as well as a more elaborate document, drawn up and attested by
a notary, would have done. On March 7, 1717, the following supplementary
agreement was indorsed on the back of the original :
"We doe agree to lay out each man's loot as they are drawn the first loot is
to be gin four foot from the upper sil of the streak sil & soe up unto the ind of
the sleapers & to devide it equal into four loots & from the sleapers towards the
road so as not to interupt the road."
This was signed by the five original projectors of the mill and Daniel Thurs-
ton, who it appears had in the meantime been taken into partnership. Subse-
quently the mill and all its appurtenances passed into the hands of the Whitings,
who continued to operate it for many years. Many of the early buildings in
Franklin were constructed of lumber sawed at the Mine Brook Mill.
WATERWORKS
In 1876 the town employed Percy M. Blake to make a survey with a view
of establishing a system of waterworks to supply the inhabitants with water for
domestic purposes and as a protection against loss by fire. Mr. Blake made his
report, but no action was taken until the town meeting in March, 1883. Then
Joseph G. Ray, Asa A. Fletcher and William E. Nason were appointed a com-
mittee "to ascertain the cost and all other necessary information relative to the
introduction of a water supply." While this committee was making its investi-
gations, the Legislature on May 16, 1883, passed an act incorporating the Franklin
Water Company and authorizing it "to issue bonds to the amount of $75,000,
payable in thirty years, and to take water from Beaver Pond." Among the
incorporators of the company were James P. Ray, George W. Wiggin, Rev. Wil-
liam M. Thayer, James M. Freeman, Homer V. Snow and Henry R. Jenks.
In 1906 the works constructed by this company were taken over by the town
and bonds issued to pay for the plant. At the close of the year 1916 the amount
of these water bonds outstanding was $218,000. The water commissioners, in
their report for 1916, give the number of gallons pumped during the year as
120,384,469. The supply is taken from both open and driven wells. There are
145 public and 24 private hydrants and about eleven hundred customers.
160 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Previous to the establishment of the waterworks, the Franklin Fire Depart-
ment consisted of only two hand engines of rather antiquated pattern with the
completion of the waterworks and the purchase of a supply of hose, the depart-
ment was greatly improved. In their last annual report the water commissioners
said : "The town now has about as good a Fire Department as it is possible
to get from call firemen, yet in order to make it more efficient hydrants should
be established in several places where property is not well protected. Under
the policy your commissioners adopted several years ago, to ask no appropriation
from the town, except hydrant rentals, same as were paid to the Franklin Water
Company, we have had no funds to extend the mains in all the streets where it
might be useful for fire protection, but will extend and improve the system
as our funds allow."
At the close of the year 1916 the equipment of the department consisted of
one steam fire engine, two motor combination trucks, one hook and ladder com-
pany, and three hose companies. During that year the department answered
fifty-two calls, in which the value of property involved was $149,500 and the loss
was $17,040. Ernest L. Metcalf was then chief of the department. The engine
company, known as "Ray Engine No. 3," received a gift of a high-powered
searchlight, which was presented by Charles N. Barnard.
POSTOFFICE
In the early years of the Nineteenth Century mail for the inhabitants of Frank-
lin was left at the Wrentham office by the carriers on the mail route between
Providence and Boston, who made their trips three times a week. About 1812
some of the people of Franklin made up a fund and hired Herman C. Fisher,
then a boy of fifteen, to go to the Wrentham office every Saturday and bring
the mail. This arrangement continued until 1819, when Eli Richardson built the
stone store at City Mills (now in the Town of Norfolk) and succeeded in having
a postoffice established there. This brought mail facilities a little nearer to
Franklin, where Mr. Richardson attended church, and every Sunday morning
he would take the Franklin mail, which was left at the store of Davis Thayer,
to be distributed Monday.
Such a system was not satisfactory, and in 182 1 a movement was started
to secure a postoffice at "Franklin Centre." It was successful and the office was
setablished in 1822, with Maj. Davis Thayer as postmaster. The postmasters
since that time have been as follows : Spencer Pratt, Theron C. Hills, David
P. Baker, Cyrus B. Snow, Charles W. Stewart, David P. Baker, Smith Fisher,
J. A. Woodward, Oliver H. Ingalls, James M. Freeman, Henry A. Talbot,
Matthew F. Conroy, Henry A. Talbot. Mr. Talbot died on January 1, 1903,
and Miss Catherine L. Healy, the present assistant postmaster, served as acting
postmaster until the appointment of E. B. Sherman, who was succeeded soon
after President Wilson's inauguration by B. F. Callahan.
On July 1, 1898, the office was given authority to issue international money
orders, and on July 1, 1901, it was made a second class office. Rural free delivery
was established at that time and some of the country postoffices in the vicinity
DEAN ACADEMY, FRANKLIN
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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 161
were discontinued. On March i, 1902, the town appropriated $400 to pay for
numbering the houses for the purpose of free local delivery, which was intro-
duced on the first of September following. At the close of the fiscal year on
June 30, 1917, the office reported annual receipts of about eighteen thousand
dollars, and that a total of twelve people were employed.
ALMSHOUSE
For more than half a century after Franklin was incorporated, little cost
was imposed upon the people in caring for the poor. The selectmen looked
after the few paupers, furnishing them with provisions, the town making an
appropriation for clothing and medical attendance. In 1835 the annual town
meeting voted to purchase the farm and dwelling house of Alpheus Adams for
an almshouse, at a price of $3,000, which sum was appropriated for the pur-
pose. The house was destroyed by fire in 1868, but a new one was soon
afterward built a short distance east. This property is now known as the "Town
Farm" and is valued at $7,000.
FINANCIAL
In their report for the year 1916, the assessors announced the total valuation
of the property in the town as having been fixed at $5,835,812.50. The value of
property belonging to the town as a corporation on April 1, 1916, was as follows:
School Buildings $125,000
Grand Army Hall 2,000
Town Hall 2,500
Public Parks 6,000
Fire Buildings and Apparatus 15,000
Town Farm 7,000
Sewer Beds and Buildings 7,000
Waterworks 200,000
Lucretia Pond Fund 1 ,000
Total $365,500
These values, as fixed by the board of assessors, are considered by local finan-
ciers as conservative. At the same time the town treasurer reported the town's
liabilities to be as shown in the following table :
Water Bonds $218,000.00
School Bonds 22,000.00
Sewer Bonds 157,000.00
Sewer Notes 8,000.00
Sewer Bond Fund 47,105.87
All other evidences of indebtedness 16,332. 69
Total Debt $468,438.56
Thus it will be seen that the corporate property of the town is equal in value
to more than 75 per cent of the public debt. The principal expenditures for
the year 1916 were as follows:
Vol. I— 11
162 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Schools $41,616.12
Waterworks 28,728.31
Streets and Highways 21,557.85
Sewer System 10,914.51
Government, Salaries, etc 8,190.11
Interest on Bonds 17,667.78
Fire Department 3,623.00
Police 3>3!0-50
Of the fund expended on the waterworks, $20,495.98 was received from the
sale of water, and in the poor account $1,731.59 came from the sale of produce
from the town farm and $1,216.82 from other towns.
THE FRANKLIN OF THE PRESENT
In 1910 the United States census gave Franklin a population of 5,641, and
the state census of 191 5 reported it to be 6,440, a gain of 799 in five years.
Franklin is established upon the firm business basis of a number of substantial
manufacturing concerns, which produce cotton and woolen goods, felt and straw
hats, shoddy, rubber goods, pianos, knit goods, carriages, etc. There are two
banks, a semi-weekly newspaper (the Sentinel), steam and electric railway lines
that afford ample transportation facilities, churches of various denominations, a
fine public library, hotels, mercantile establishments, and many handsome resi-
dences. Social life is well represented by a thriving country club and a Young
Men's Christian Association. The Dean Academy, one of the best known educa-
tional institutions in Eastern Massachusetts, is located here. Unionville and
Wadsworth, the only postoffices in the town outside of Franklin Village, are
thriving business centers.
The principal town officers at the beginning of the year 1917 were: Fred
E. Mason, Jacob F. Geb and Palmer A. Woodward, selectmen; Michael J. Cos-
tello, clerk ; Albert H. Martin, treasurer and tax collector ; Lawrence J. Kelley,
Ernest L. Metcalf and Edward L. Cook, assessors; George A. Allen, David
W. Corson and George E. Emerson, overseers of the poor; Walter E. Morse,
auditor ; Bradley M. Rockwood, Fred P. Chapman and Harry T. Hayward,
water and sewer commissioners; James R. Hosford, William Hodge and George-
W. Wiggin, school committee.
CHAPTER XIX
THE TOWN OF HOLBROOK
GENERAL DESCRIPTION — POLITICAL HISTORY — RANDOLPH OPPOSED TO THE ORGANI-
ZATION OF A NEW TOWN* — THE ORGANIC ACT — EARLY TOWN MEETINGS — TOWN
HALL — HOW THE TOWN WAS NAMED THE TOWN SEAL — WATERWORKS FIRE
DEPARTMENT — SOLDIERS' MONUMENT — HOLBROOK TODAY — TOWN OFFICERS.
Holbrook is one of the small towns of Norfolk County. It is situated in the
southeastern part and is bounded on the north by Braintree; on the east by Wey-
mouth ; on the south by Plymouth County ; and on the west by the towns of Ran-
dolph and Avon. The Cochato River forms the boundary line between Holbrook
and Randolph and there are a few small streams in the town, part of which are
tributary to the Cochato and the others flow southwardly into Plymouth County.
The general surface of the town is undulating, though the hills here are not so
well defined as in some other sections of the county.
POLITICAL HISTORY
Holbrook was originally a part of Braintree. When the Town of Randolph was
set off from Braintree on March 9, 1793, it included the present Town of Hol-
brook, which remained a part of Randolph for nearly eighty years. The early
history of the town is therefore embraced in the chapters on Braintree and Ran-
dolph. For many years the people living east of the Old Colony (now the New
York, New Haven & Hartford) Railroad discussed in a desultory sort of way the
advisability of dividing Randolph and establishing a new town east of the railroad
or the Cochato River. Two meetings to consider this subject were held in Janu-
ary, 1867, but there was such a diversity of opinion that the matter was dropped
for the time being. One thing, however, was demonstrated, and that was that the
majority of the citizens of East Randolph, as that portion of the town was called,
were in favor of the erection of a new town, the lack of unanimity occurring
mainly on matters of minor detail.
Early in the fall of 1871 those who most earnestly desired the separation of
Randolph and the establishment of a new town, began work in earnest. Their
efforts culminated in a citizens' meeting, which was largely attended, on Tuesday
evening, December 5, 1871. L. S. Whitcomb was called to the chair and E. F.
Lincoln was elected secretary. As soon as the meeting was organized by the elec-
tion of these officers, Frank W. Lewis offered the following: "Resolved, That it
is the sense of this meeting that it is expedient that the portion of Randolph lying
east of the Old Colony & Newport Railroad be set off from the main town and
incorporated as a new town."
163
164 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
After some discussion the resolution was adopted with only one dissenting vote.
The next day a petition, signed by Elisha N. Holbrook and thirteen other residents
of the territory it was proposed to include in the new town, was filed in the office
of the secretary of state, and on the 8th a copy of the petition was served upon
the Town of Randolph by a deputy sheriff. Another meeting was held on Satur-
day evening, December 9, 1871, at which Elisha N. Hoibrook offered to give to
the new town, in the event of its incorporation, the sum of $50,000, of which
$25,000 should be used for the purpose of erecting a town hall and establishing a
public library, and the remainder for the payment of the town debt which it might
be necessary to assume if set off from Randolph.
Randolph's opposition
At the meeting of December 9, 1 871, it was voted that the Legislature be peti-
tioned to establish a new town, to be called Holbrook, and that E. W. Morton of
Boston be engaged to look after the interests, as counsel, of the advocates of
division. The petition was presented in the state senate early in January, 1872,
by Senator Carpenter of Foxboro. Up to this time the people of the western por-
tion of Randolph had not given serious thought to the project. Now they began
to bestir themselves. A meeting was held in Stetson Hall on January 18, 1872,
"to take action on the petition of E. N. Holbrook and others." At that meeting
it was voted to appoint a committee to oppose the division of the town, and to
instruct the representative in the Legislature, Ludovicus F. Wild of East Randolph,
"to carry out the expressed wish of the town, or resign." Many citizens of the
eastern part of the town were present at the meeting and voiced their protest, but
they were outvoted, as had often occurred before. Hearings before the Legislative
committee on towns began on the 24th of January, Mr. Morton appearing in behalf
of the petitioners, and B. W. Harris for the remonstrants. Before the hearings
were concluded Elisha N. Holbrook died on February 5, 1872.
Mr. Holbrooks' death cast a gloom over the people of East Randolph, but they
went on with the fight. On February 8, 1872, the senate committee reported a bill
for the incorporation of the Town of Holbrook, which was finally passed by that
body on the 13th, by a vote of twenty-five to ten. Then began the contest in the
house, where the most serious opposition was encountered. After hearing both
petitioners and remonstrants in the committee rooms, the bill was reported for
passage, though both sides were indefatigable in trying to secure enough votes to
enact or defeat the bill, as the case might be. On the 19th, after being debated for
the greater part of two days, the bill passed its first reading by a vote of 113 to 91.
The bill was finally passed and was approved on February 29, 1872, by the
governor.
THE ORGANIC ACT
Following is a copy of the more important sections of the act of incorporation:
"Section 1. All the territory now within the town of Randolph, in the County
of Norfolk, comprised within the following limits, that is to say : Beginning at
the stone monument in the line between said Randolph and the Town of Braintree,
on the easterly side of Tumbling Brook; thence taking a southwesterly course in
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 165
a straight line to a point six feet westerly from the northwesterly corner in range
of the northerly side of the so-called East Randolph station-house of the Old
Colony & Newport Railroad Company ; thence the same or other southwesterly
course to a point on the town line dividing Randolph and Stoughton, one hundred
and fourteen rods southeasterly from the town stone monument in said last-
mentioned dividing line, at the southerly terminus of Main Street in said Randolph ;
thence southeasterly, northeasterly, northerly and westerly as the present dividing
line between said Randolph and Stoughton, North Bridgewater, Abington, Wey-
mouth and Braintree runs, to the first-mentioned bound, is hereby incorporated
into a town by the name of Holbrook ; and said Town of Holbrook is hereby
invested with all the powers, privileges, rights and immunities, and is subject to
all the duties and requisitions to which other towns are entitled and subjected by
the Constitution and laws of this Commonwealth.
"Section 2. The inhabitants of said Town of Holbrook shall be holden to pay
all arrears of taxes which have been legally assessed upon them by the Town of
Randolph, and all taxes heretofore assessed and not collected shall be collected and
paid to the treasurer of the Town of Randolph in the same manner as if this act
had not been passed ; and also their proportion of all County and State taxes that
may be assessed upon them previously to the taking of the next State valuation,
said proportion to be ascertained and determined by the last valuation in the said
Randolph.
"Section 3. Said towns of Randolph and Holbrook shall be respectively liable
for the support of all persons who now do or shall hereafter stand in need of
relief as paupers, whose settlement was gained by or derived from a settlement
gained or derived within their respective limits ; and the Town of Holbrook shall
also pay annually to the Town of Randolph one-third part of all costs of the sup-
port or relief of those persons who now do or shall hereafter stand in need of
relief of support as paupers, and have gained a settlement in said Town of Ran-
dolph in consequence of the military services of themselves or those through whom
they derive their settlement.
"Section 4. The corporate property belonging to the Town of Randolph at the
date of this act, and the public debt of the said town existing at said date, shall be
divided between the towns of Randolph and Holbrook according to the valuation
of the property within their respective limits as assessed May 1, 1871 ; and said
Town of Holbrook shall receive from said Town of Randolph a proportionate part
of whatever amount may hereafter be refunded to the Town of Randolph from
the State or United States to reimburse said Town of Randolph for bounties to
soldiers, or State aid paid to soldiers' families after deducting all reasonable
expenses ; and said Town of Holbrook shall bear the expense of making the survey
and establishing the line between said towns of Randolph and Holbrook."
EARLY TOWN MEETINGS
The first town meeting in Holbrook was held in the East Parish meeting house
on March 11, 1872. Lemuel S. Whitcomb was chosen moderator, after which the
meeting proceeded to the election of town officers, with the following result : John
Adams, E. W. Thayer and Lemuel S. Whitcomb, selectmen, assessors and over-
seers of the poor ; Frank W. Lewis, clerk and treasurer ; Jacob Whitcomb, collector
166 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
of taxes ; Ludovicus Wild, Newton White and Nathaniel E. Hobart, auditors ;
Hiram Belcher, Thomas West and Royal Thayer, fence viewers; Samuel L. White,
S. R. Hodge and Z. P. Jordan, constables ; Warren Thayer, sealer of weights and
measures ; Edward Belcher and Samuel D. Chase, engineers of the fire depart-
ment ; Frank W. Lewis, Barton Howard and Charles H. Paine, school committee.
One of the early business transactions to come before the Holbrook town meet-
ings for consideration was the adjustment of the town's proportion of the Ran-
dolph debt, in accordance with the provisions of section 4 of the act of incorpo-
ration. After the subject had been discussed in several town meetings, an arrange-
ment was made with Randolph by which the selectmen of the two towns were
appointed to adjust the indebtedness and divide the town property. The joint
committee met several times and finally presented to the citizens of the two towns
for their approval a report of the manner in which the town property had been
divided and an itemized statement of the public debt. The documents were signed
by all the selectmen and the one relating to the division of the debt bore the follow-
ing indorsement: "Randolph, March 19, 1873. It is hereby agreed and certified
that there has been paid by the Town of Holbrook to the Town of Randolph the
balance of indebtedness as within stated, amounting to $14,988.94, with interest
on the same from February 1 to March 1, 1873, °f $74-94. making $15,063.88."
This sum was paid out of the fund left by Elisha N. Holbrook.
TOWN HALL
In 1873 tne town erected a town hall on Franklin Street, just south of Linfield,
adjoining the Winthrop Church. It was a frame building, with brick basement,
forty-eight by ninety feet in dimensions, and two stories high. On the main floor
at the rear were provided quarters for the public library. Early on Christmas
morning in 1877, fire broke out in the building and both it and the church were
totally destroyed.
Immediately after the fire, the citizens took the preliminary steps for the erec-
tion of a new town hall, which was completed and dedicated on March 26, 1879.
It is a brick edifice, the main portion of which is fifty-three by one hundred feet,
with forty-four feet wings on either side. On the main floor are two rooms used
for mercantile purposes,, rooms for the town officers and quarters for the public
library. The main hall on the second floor is fifty by ninety feet. A stone tablet
in the front wall of the building bears the inscription :
Holbrook Town Hall
Erected 1878
The Gift of
E. N. Holbrook.
On the last day of February, 1898, the town hall was again seriously damaged
by fire, but was immediately repaired, a few changes being made in the original
design. The building was once more brought into use on June 11, 1898.
About half past five o'clock on the morning of March 2, 1916, fire was dis-
covered in the town hall. A general alarm was sounded, the fire department and
many of the citizens promptly responded and the building was saved without
serious damage. The cause of the fire was defective electric wiring. As the struc-
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 167
ture had to be repaired, the town took advantage of the occasion to make a number
of changes and altogether the sum of $11,138.89 was expended in the repairs and
alterations, giving Holbrook a town house that is modern in every respect and
ample for the needs of the town for years to come.
HOW THE TOWN WAS NAMED
A. E. Sproul, writing in 1884, concerning the manner in which the town received
its name, says : "The idea which still remains current to a considerable extent,
particularly outside the borders of the present town, that Mr. Holbrook made his
munificent gift conditional upon the proposed town being named for him, deserves
emphatic contradiction at the hands of the present writer, based upon the most
reliable contemporary testimony. At the meeting where the generous proposal
was made, the citizens assembled at once brought forward the name 'Holbrook'
for the new town, and it received almost unanimous approval by the townspeople.
The name was adopted not so much in honor of any one man as in recognition of
a family of old residents, who had become wealthy in the prosecution of legiti-
mate business, and who had always shown themselves enterprising and public
spirited, and alive to the interests of the community with which they were for so
many years identified. At the meeting of December 9th, therefore, it was imme-
diately voted that the Legislature be petitioned to name the new town Holbrook,
if incorporated, and three cheers were given for the name, and three more and a
vote of thanks for Mr. Holbrook."
THE TOWN SEAL
The corporate seal of Holbrook, which was adopted soon after the town gov-
ernment was organized, is of neat and appropriate design. In the center of a
circular field is a shield bearing a portrait of Elisha N. Holbrook, and above the
portrait are the words "Cochato, 1634." To the right of the shield are a plow
and scythe, and to the left an anvil and hammer, typifying the agricultural and
manufacturing interests of the town. Above the shield is an arm brandishing a
drawn sword, signifying that Holbrook can be relied on to do her part in war as
well as in peace. In the upper left of the circular field is the legend: "Braintree —
1640" and in the upper right, "Randolph — T 793." showing Holbrook's civic connec-
tions before it was organized as a separate town. In a circle around the margin
of the seal is the inscription : "Town of Holbrook, Mass., Incorporated 1872."
WATERWORKS
By the act of May 8, 1885, the towns of Braintree, Randolph and Holbrook
were severally or jointly authorized to supply themselves with water from Great
Pond, to construct buildings, lay pipes, etc., and for the construction of such
waterworks, buildings and pipes, each town was authorized to issue bonds in any
sum not exceeding $100,000. The act was to become effective when it was
accepted by a two-thirds vote of any or all the towns.
Braintree made other arrangements about a water supply, but the towns of
Holbrook and Randolph accepted the provisions of the act and jointly constructed
168 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
a system of waterworks to supply the citizens with water for domestic purposes
and provide better protection against loss by fire. Subsequently Holbrook was
authorized to issue additional bonds to the amount of $35,000 to complete her
portion of the works. A pumping station was built at Great Pond and standpipes
erected in each of the towns, and the water was turned into the mains in the
summer of 1886. (See also the chapter on Randolph.)
During the year 1916 the board of water commissioners laid 6,122 feet of new
main, most of it of six inch pipe. In his report of the condition of the works,
Herbert S. Child, the town auditor, says : "The receipts of this year show a marked
increase over last year, the uncollected accounts are about $600.00 more and the
surplus of revenue is $2,129.56. These figures certainly prove that the year 19 16
was a prosperous year, which is due to the able and efficient management of the
commissioners."
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Holbrook has two fire stations — one adjoining the town hall and the other at
Brookville, in the southern part of the town. Each station is equipped with hook
and ladder truck and hose wagon, and the hydrant service of the waterworks is
extended to all parts of the town. According to the report of the board of engi-
neers for the year 1916, the expense of maintaining the department was $1,863.57,
and twenty-two calls were answered, two of which were false alarms. The mem-
bers of the department receive pay only for the time actually employed at fires,
or in work connected with the department.
soldiers' monument
Holbrook had no corporate existence at the time of the Civil war, being then a
part of Randolph. However, a number of men living within the borders of the
present town enlisted in some of the Massachusetts volunteer regiments and served
their country throughout the war. At the annual town meeting on March 1, 1916,
a communication was received from E. E. Holbrook offering to pay one half the
cost of a soldiers' monument, to commemorate the valor of those who sacrificed
their lives in defense of the Union. The meeting extended a vote of thanks to Mr.
Holbrook for his generous offer and referred the matter to a committee composed
of the following citizens : Charles E. Brown, W. B. Emery, George E. Kent, John
King, Charles S. Ludden, Patrick A. Mack, Charles H. McCarter, Arthur W.
Paine and E. N. Thayer.
At a special meeting on October 11, 1916, the committee reported in favor of
erecting a monument, the cost of which should not exceed three thousand dollars,
to be located in the park near the town hall, and that Mr. Holbrook would con-
tribute $1,500 of the amount. The meeting then voted to appropriate $1,500, to
be taken from the tax levy of 191 7, and that Louis E. Flye, Philip H. Fraher, J. F.
Megley, John W. Porter, H. H. Sampson and Ellis A. White be added to the
committee, which should have full charge of the fund and the construction of the
monument. The design selected was that of Thomas Carrigg & Son of Holbrook.
It consists of a pedestal of Westerly granite, upon which is the figure of an infan-
try soldier in bronze, seven feet high, marching with his musket at a "right
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 169
shoulder shift." Upon the front of the pedestal in neat raised letters is the inscrip-
tion : "This memorial is erected to honor those who offered their lives to gain and
preserve the liberty of this nation." The monument was dedicated on May 30, 1917.
HOLBROOK TODAY
Holbrook is what might be termed an average town. In 1915 eleven of the
twenty-eight towns in Norfolk County reported a smaller population, and seven
showed a lower valuation of property. The population at that time was 2,948, a
gain over the United States census of 1910 of 132, and the valuation of property
was $1,990,337. The Boston & Middleboro division of the New York, New Haven
& Hartford Railroad passes through the town, and the transportation facilities
are augmented by the electric line that runs from Quincy to Brockton. Holbrook
has six public school buildings, churches of different denominations, some of the
fraternal organizations are represented by lodges, there is a good public library,
the streets are well kept and lighted by electricity, parks and playgrounds have
been provided for recreation and the accommodation of the children, and there are
postoffices at Holbrook and Brookville. Formerly there were several shoe fac-
tories in the town, but only one concern of this character remains, the others having
either been discontinued or removed to other locations.
Following is a list of the principal town officers at the beginning of the year
1917: George W. Porter, John King and Ira W. Paine, selectmen and overseers
of the poor; Zenas A. French, clerk; Eugene Snell, treasurer; Frank W. Hol-
brook, tax collector ; George W. Porter, Charles H. McCarter and A. C. Belcher,
assessors ; Frank L. Hayden, W. F. Bourbeau and Arthur W. Paine, water' com-
missioners ; Philip H. Fraher, George E. White and James A. Windle, park com-
missioners ; Melvin Coulter, Ellis A. White and George A. Nason, fire engineers ;
Herbert S. Child, auditor; S. B. Field, Frank T. White and Mrs. Sibyl Niles,
school committee.
CHAPTER XX
THE TOWN OF MEDFIELD
IN THE BEGINNING — AS A PART OF DEDHAM — NEW TOWN FIRST PROPOSED PETI-
TION TO GENERAL COURT — THE RESULT — OTHER TERRITORY SET ASIDE — THE
NAME — AGREEMENT AND COMMITTEE — FIRST HOUSE LOTS — FURTHER SETTLE-
MENTS — SURRENDER OF JURISDICTION — INCORPORATION — A DISCREPANCY IN
DATES — FIRST YEARS OF EXISTENCE — DIVISION OF THE TOWN DIVISION OF
COUNTY — POPULATION — POSTOFFICE THE TOWN HALL — PROMINENT EARLY
CITIZENS — PUBLIC LIBRARY — PUBLIC UTILITIES — FIRST VITAL STATISTICS — FIRST
VALUATIONS — MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS OF INTEREST.
The town of Medfield is located in the western portion of Norfolk County,
Massachusetts. The town is of irregular form and is bounded as follows : on the
north by the town of Dover; on the east by a portion of Dover and Walpole; on
the south by Walpole and Norfolk ; and on the west by the Charles River which
separates Medfield from Millis and Middlesex County. The Charles River on
the west is, of course, the most important stream of this town, with Stop River as
a tributary flowing through the central and southern parts of the county.
IN THE BEGINNING
Although much detail concerning the Indian history of this territory is given
in the chapter devoted to that subject, something of it must necessarily be given
as an introduction to the settlement and organization of the town of Medfield.
All the region to the southwest of Boston was occupied by several Indian tribes,
among them the Natick, the Neponset and the Nipmuck ; the whole organization of
Indian tribes in this section of the country bore the general name of Massachusett.
They were at first friendly with the white men, but after the English had accorded
them harsh treatment at different times, their friendship changed to open hostility.
The territory south and east of the Charles River was included in the domain
of the Neponset. The sachem of this tribe, Chickatabot, was friendly with the
English from the beginning, frequently making treaties with both the Plymouth
and Bay colonies. About the year 1632 William Pynchon of Boston, afterwards
of Springfield, purchased from Chickatabot all of the territory lying between the
Charles River and the Neponset River. This land embraced what is now the town
of Medfield, as well as several other Norfolk County towns as far south as the
Rhode Island line. The boundaries of this purchase were very poorly defined
at the time of the purchase, consequently in after years trouble arose between the
Indians and whites over the exact boundary lines, particularly that of the south.
In 1635 the colonial government asked for persons who were present at the time
170
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 171
of the purchase and could place the boundary lines as they were laid down. How-
ever, no one came forward with the information. Many of the Indians, including
Chickatabot himself, had been stricken with death by the smallpox scourge of
1633 and there were few left to respond.
AS A PART OF DEDHAM
The Town of Dedham was incorporated in 1636 and included "all the lands
on the easterly and southerly side of Charles River not formerly granted to any
town or particular person." Roxbury had been set off from the Pynchon pur-
chase prior to this time, so Dedham, when formed, comprised all the remainder
of the territory included in that purchase, including that now in Medfield. Med-
field remained a part of Dedham for a period of fourteen or fifteen years.
The land now within the Town of Medfield was little used for many years,
except as pasture and hay land. All of the territory of the Charles River valley
between Medfield on the east and Medway and Sherborn on the west, with adja-
cent lands, was called Boggestow by the Indians. The present Town of Dedham
embraced but a small portion of this. The plain a mile east of the village was
known as the "herd-house plain," proving beyond a doubt that citizens from
Dedham, and possibly from other settlements utilized this vicinity as a pasture
ground. As early as 1642 Dedham granted to one of her citizens a farm of 350
acres "to lie in or about that place called Boggestow, or not far from thence." This
tract of land was on the east side of the river and was afterward bought in by
the selectmen of Medfield, no settlement having been made on the site.
NEW TOWN FIRST PROPOSED
The first move for the formation of a new settlement and town was made
by citizens of Dedham, principally because several of the men of Dedham found
the town too small for them and, in addition, wished to gain good landed prop-
erty for themselves. There is a well founded supposition that certain of these
reactionaries desired a little more freedom in religious matters and in political
discussions. Ralph Wheelock was the principal man in the "new territory" group.
He had been educated in England and at first had been a preacher in the estab-
lished church, later becoming a dissenter. It is thought that Dedham was not
entirely agreeable to Wheelock at this time. Consequently, a number of citizens,
led by Wheelock, proposed a scheme to make a new town out of a portion of
Dedham, also a corresponding portion of land lying on the west side of the river,
so including the river bed and the adjacent rich meadows.
PETITION TO GENERAL COURT
A petition was written, signed by the citizens interested, and presented to the
General Court, asking for a grant of land on the west side of the river. This
petition, unfortunately, has not been preserved, but the following order is in-
scribed on the records of the court :
"In answer to a petition of the inhabitants of Dedham for a parcel of upland
and meadow adjoining to their line, to make a village in quantity four miles south
172 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
and north and three miles east and west, because they are 'streightned' at their
doors by other towns and rocky lands, etc. Their request is granted so as they
erect a distinct village thereupon within one year from this day, October 23, 1649,
and Captain Keaine, Mr. Edward Jackson and the surveyor general are appointed
to lay it out at any time, Dedham giving them a week's warning."
Thus, the date of this grant is fixed on October 23, 1649. The land described
in the above has been called the "old grant," and embraced what was later East
Medway and now the Town of Millis.
THE RESULT
The men appointed by the General Court to lay out the lands west of the river
performed their specified duty. In the colonial record for May 22, 1650, appears
the following :
"Whereas there was a grant made by the General Court at a session the 22d
of the 8th month, 1649, unto the inhabitants of Dedham in answer to a petition of
theirs for the enlargement of the village there, as by the said grant may more fully
appear, this grant, so made, was laid out by Capt. Robert Keaine and Mr. Edward
Jackson, who have subscribed it with their hands in manner and form following:
beginning at a small hill, or island, in the meadow on the west side of the Charles
River, and running from thence about full west three miles, and then, turning a
south line, ended at the Charles River at three miles and a quarter, this line being
there shorter than by the grant it was allowed to be, but accepted by grantee, the
said river is appointed to be the bounds from that place to the place where the
first line began. The court doth approve of this return of the persons above men-
tioned concerning the bounds of the said village and in answer to the inhabitants
of Dedham 'doe order that it shalbe called (Meadfield).' "
In the above the small hill, or island, mentioned is about one quarter mile
north of the Boggestow pond; the line "about full west" nearly the present line
between Medway and Sherborn and Holliston ; the "south line" marks the indenta-
tion in the north boundary of Medway and came to the river a little west of
Medway village.
OTHER TERRITORY SET ASIDE
On November 14th, shortly after the grant had been obtained from the General
Court, a town meeting was held in Dedham and a portion of the original Dedham
territory set apart for the new town. The town voted that there should be "granted
for the accommodation of the village so much land within the west end of the
bounds of Dedham next Boggestow as is or may be contained within the extent of
three miles east and west and four miles north and south — the form and line to be
varied and altered as in the judgment of such men as shall be deputed thereunto
shall seem for the most convenient accomadation both of Dedham and the said
village."
In the following January three men, Ensign Phillips, John Dwight and Daniel
Fisher, were appointed to lay out this grant before the middle of April, 1650.
The records show that they accomplished their mission satisfactorily. This made
two separate actions taken by the citizens of Dedham for the formation of the
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 173
new town of Medfield. The first was the petition to the General Court, the
grant by that body and the appointment of Keaine and Jackson to lay out the
said grant ; the second action was the independent move of Dedham, severing a
portion of its territory from the western side of the town and adding it to the
land obtained by the General Court's grant, also the appointment of Phillips,
Dwight and Fisher to lay it out.
THE NAME
The why and wherefore of the name Medfield has been described in several
ways. In the report made by Captain Robert Keaine and Edward Jackson is
the following: "doe order that it shalbe called (Meadfield)." The fact that
the name is contained in brackets seems to be sufficient proof that it had not been
decided upon, but was incorporated in the report later. In other of the earlier
records the name is also spelled Meadfield and Medfield. Of the reasons advanced
for the name the principal ones are : first, the open field where the village was
afterward erected was called the "meadow field," hence the contraction into Med-
field ; second, that there were open fields north and south of the town, which led
to the name of "mid field ;" and third, that many of the settlers near here came
from the towns of Dedham and Medfield in Old England, which lay very close
together. Tradition says that the town of Medfield in New England received
as a present a bell from Medfield, England; however, no confirmation of this inci-
dent is available. The latter theory of the origin of the name is the most plaus-
ible. It is true that Dedham received her name in this manner, which lends
strength to the conjecture that Medfield also received a name similarly.
AGREEMENT AND COMMITTEE
At the town meeting held in Dedham, November 14, 1649, a committee was
appointed to look after the affairs of the proposed town of Medfield. This com-
mittee was composed of the following men: Ralph Wheelock, Thomas Wight,
Robert Hinsdale, Henry dickering, John Dwight, Peter Woodward and Eleazer
Lusher. These men were chosen principally to superintend the various activities
incident to the new territory prior to the time of incorporation.
At the same meeting in Dedham the question was proposed and discussed as
to the conditions upon which the lands were to be granted. Some of those present
desired that they be freely given, while others, in consideration of their town
rights in the meadows, thought the grantees should pay the sum of £ 100 "to be
divided among such of the inhabitants of Dedham as do not remove to the village."
This latter view prevailed, but the amount the settler should pay was afterward
reduced to £50.
Wheelock, Hinsdale and Thomas Wight were the first to go to the new settle-
ment ; Chickering, John Dwight and Woodward were named to remain in Ded-
ham and act for that town; while Eleazer Lusher was appointed clerk of the town
until Medfield was officially recognized.
About this time the "agreement" was drawn up by the committee, in all prob-
ability written by Ralph Wheelock himself, who was the foremost figure. Among
the things provided for in this agreement were : that all persons receiving grants
174 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
of land from the new town should become subject to the town government; that all
differences of opinion or discussions were to be settled by reference or arbitration,
without resorting to the courts ; that no one should be permitted to become a
townsman, but such as were honest, peaceable and free from the burden of a bad
.reputation ;• that grants >of land were to be given to the settlers according to the
extent of their wealth and the number of people in the family; that no one was
to receive in the first grant more than twelve acres of upland and twelve of
meadow, nor less than six of each; and that none should receive lands except
those who intended to become actual settlers, also that all settlements should be
made before the end of May, 1651. Teachers and church officers were specially
provided for and the probable town hall site set off for the minister, which in
this case went to Rev. John Wilson. A tablet is now fixed to the town hall mark-
ing this home of the first minister ; it was set in place by the Medfield Historical
Society.
The first roads were also designated about this time, but no record exists of
their exact location. The main road from Dedham to Boggestow entered Med-
field near Foundry Street. A bridge was constructed across the Charles River near
the later town farm and a road run eastward through the town to Dedham. From
this road, at the center of the town, a road ran northward, now North Street, and
another south, near Pleasant Street. The meeting house lot and the cemetery were
laid out about the same time.
FIRST HOUSE LOTS
The committee in charge of affairs held a meeting on May 10, 1650, when pro-
visions were made for the laying out of house lots in Medfield. Thomas Wight,
Robert Hinsdale, Timothy Dwight, Samuel Bullen and John Frairy were appointed
to assist the surveyor, or "measurer," in this work. Also, every grantee was
ordered to pay the sum of one shilling to the collector, Thomas Wight. On June
19, 1650, the committee named proceeded to lay out the first thirteen house lots in
the new town.
Number One went to Ralph Wheelock ; this consisted of twelve acres at the
west corner of Main and North Streets. Number Two was taken by John Ellis ;
his lot later was known as the Upham Place These two, with that of Rev. John
Wilson, were the only lots then taken on Main Street. Each of three had what
was known as a "home field" on the opposite side of the street, extending through
as far as Oak Street. Lot Number Three was apportioned to Samuel Bullen.
This site was on the lane leading out of Philip Street, near South Street. Number
Four was given to Daniel Morse, consisting of twelve acres next to that of Samuel
Bullen "to the southeast and brook southwest." Numbers Five, Six, Seven and
Eight were assigned to James Allen, Joseph Clark, Francis Hamant and John
Turner respectively, all on South Street from the Rhodes House to the corner of
Curve Street. To John Frairy went Number Nine, comprising twelve acres on
what is now Frairy Street. Timothy Dwight received twelve acres on the same
street, his lot being Number Ten. Number Eleven consisted of three and a half
acres on the later site of the Edmund Chenery home, from the brook to Green
Street, and was granted to Robert Hinsdale. Number Twelve was granted to
Thomas Wight and Number Thirteen to John Wight, his son. These latter two
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 175
were located east of the Hinsdale grant, on the lane leading to their houses, now
Green Street, but for many years called Wight's Lane.
FURTHER SETTLEMENTS
During the following year there was little or no building in the new town.
Isaac Chenery and Henry Smith located on South Street beyond Oak Street.
Joshua Fisher, George Barber and John Thurston obtained lots on East Main
Street from Reverend Wilson's home to the Hewins Place. John Bullard, John
Plimpton and John Metcalf located their homes on West Main Street from the
railroad to the cemetery. Joseph Morse, with his aged father, Samuel, obtained
grants on Pound Street. John Pratt, William Partridge, Thomas Ellis, Thomas
Mason and John Partridge selected sites on North Street. Ten families came to
the new town from Weymouth and Braintree. These consisted of Benjamin Alby,
John Bowers, Nicholas Rockwood, Alexander Lovell, Abraham Harding, Henry
Adams, John Fussell, Edward Adams, Peter Adams and Margaret Sheppard. All
took lots on Bridge Street, in the order named, from the almshouse to the corner
of Bridge and Main Streets. The above named persons, with the original thirteen
grantees, constituted the first settlers of the town of Medfield. The first family
to remove to their Medfield home was that of Samuel Bullen, whose house stood
near Philip Street.
SURRENDER OF JURISDICTION
January II, 1651, a general meeting of the inhabitants of Dedham was held,
at which time the following vote was passed : "It is by the town of Dedham con-
sented unto and ordered that the power, right and privilege of town government
that hath hitherto and is remaining in the township of Dedham, or any of their
trustees or assigns, whereby they have and did act in and on behalf of the town
of Medfield, shall be, or hereby is, wholly or totally transmitted and delivered into
the hands, power and disposing of the township of Medfield in general and the
selectmen thereof and their successors forever. And do also further agree with
those of Medfield that are now present that such care as is necessary that due and
seasonable payment be made of that debt due from Medfield to this town upon
reasonable demand thereof. And further promise as much forbearance thereof
as the public occasion of the town admit of."
INCORPORATION
The sanction of the General Court was given on May 22, 1651, by an act en-
titled "Medfield's Power," which read as follows :
"There being a town lately erected beyond Dedham, in the county of Suffolk,
upon the Charles River, called by the name of Meadfeild, upon their request made
to this General Court, this court hath granted them all the powers and privileges
which other towns do enjoy according to law." Medfield was the forty-third town
in the colony in the order of incorporation. The first board of selectmen for Med-
field consisted of Ralph Wheelock, Timothy Dwight, Robert Hinsdale, John Frairy
and Benjamin Alby, with Henry Adams as clerk.
176 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
A DISCREPANCY IN DATES
In the above account of the incorporation of the town of Medfield the year
165 1 is given as the time of this occurrence. To this statement there may be a
difference of opinion. The date is that used by W. S. Tilden in his various his-
torical descriptions of the town. Mr. Tilden, while living, was known as a care-
ful student and writer of history and his works bear a reputation of accuracy
and veracity. However, there are other authorities which place the date of incor-
poration in the year 1650. The Manual for the General Court, 1917, also the
New England Historic Genealogical Society's publication known as the Medfield
Vital Records, place the date of incorporation as May 22, 1650.
FIRST YEARS OF EXISTENCE
It has been stated before that the first family to move to Medfield to take up
residence was that of Samuel Bullen, whose house stood near Philip Street. The
meadows surrounding the village proper were laid out into grants in the year 1652
and given to the owners of house lots. The following year the lands easily
accessible to cultivation were divided, according to persons and estates, each mem-
ber of the household being appraised at ten pounds. The same year the town
clerk began the vital records — births, deaths and marriages — which have been
continued until the present time.
The custom of burning over all the waste lands in November of each year,
which custom was learned from the Indians, was continued in Medfield for many
years. The purpose was to clear the land of underbrush and so provide good
pasturage for the live stock.
For many years, or prior to 1660, the granting of house lots to new settlers,
the division of wood lands, laying out town roads, making provisions for fences
and bounds, and adopting other ordinances for the good of the community gave
the settlers plenty to do. A pair of stocks for the punishment of the unruly were
also placed upon a public spot.
The territory west of the river was enlarged in the year 1659 by what was
known as the "new grant." This land covered an area of two miles east and west
and four miles north and south. All the owners of house lots in Medfield shared
in the division of this territory, the same being laid out in portions of fifty to one
hundred and fifty acres. Very soon afterward families began to settle on the
west side of the river.
The first emigration from the town occurred about the year 1670, when the
Hinsdales, Plimptons and Frairys removed to the Connecticut Valley. Near the
same time a post road was established from Boston to Hartford and a road laid
out from Medfield to Mendon. In 1672 John Awashamog, an Indian of Natick,
laid claim to the territory west of the Charles River. The Natick tribe had been
the original holders of this territory and it would seem that the Indian's claim bore
some weight, for it was compromised by the payment of twenty-one pounds. The
year 1676 was a memorable one in the history of Medfield, for in this year occurred
King Philip's war and the burning of Medfield. Details of this disastrous event
may be found in Chapter III of this volume.
Again, in 1685, Josias, a son of Chickatabot, made a claim to the lands within
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 177
the town of Medfield. Mr. Pynchon had already purchased the land and paid
for it, but as no deed could be discovered the town was forced to compromise
with the Indian for ten pounds four shillings.
The Black Swamp lands were laid out in the year 1702 to the proprietors, num-
bering one hundred and twenty-three. About twenty-seven of these lived west
of the Charles River.
DIVISION OF THE TOWN
In 1712 the question of dividing the town of Medfield was seriously discussed
by the citizens. In 1713 the people on the west side of the river sent a petition
to the General Court, a committee was appointed and instructed to visit the land
in question and make a report. This they did and advised a division of the town.
By an act of the Legislature, October 25, 1713, the town of Medway was set off
and the Charles River became the western boundary of Medfield. This division
is treated more at length in Chapter XXI on the Town of Medway.
DIVISION OF COUNTY
The first moves for the division of the county of Suffolk occurred in the year
1726, but not until over a half century later did they materialize. The town of
Medfield took great interest throughout this long stretch of years and frequently
the discussion occupied most of the time at the town meetings. The result, as
stated before, was the formation of Norfolk County in 1793. At one time the
proposition was advanced to make Medfield the shire-town, but the objections of
certain citizens prevented this. They said that the temptation of the citizens to
visit the court room during the time of trials would be prejudicial to industrial
activities.
POPULATION
The following table of figures relative to the population of the Town of Med-
field will be found interesting in view of the fact that it has never been published
in a historical volume upon Medfield. The census statistics are taken from the
state and government census reports as compiled by the New England Historic
Genealogical Society. It is stated by one authority that in 1675, twenty-five years
after the incorporation of the town, Medfield had seventy-seven landed pro-
prietors.
1660 (Prov.) 234
1765 (Prov.) 628
1776 (Prov.) 775
1790 (U. S.) 731
1800 (U.S.) 745
1810 (U. S.) 786
1820 (U.S.) 892
1830 (U.S.) 817
1840 (U. S.) 883
1850 (U. S.) 966
Vol. 1—12
178
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
i855
i860
1865
1870
1875
1880
1885
1890
1895
1900
1905
1910
1915
State
U. S
State
U. S
State
U. S
State
U. S.
State
U. S
State
U. S
State
984
1,082
1,012
1,142
1,163
i,37i
1,594
M93
1,872
2,926
3,3H
3,466
3,648
POSTOFFICE
The first effort for the establishment of a postoffice in the Town of Medfield
was made in 1806. Daniel Adams wrote to Seth Hastings of Mendon, Congress-
man, under date of January 28, 1806, stating many reasons why Medfield should
have a regularly established postoffice, also extolling his own qualities for the
position of postmaster. Prior to this time the citizens had been compelled to go
to Dedham or Medway for their mails. Mr. Adams did not succeed in obtaining
the postmastership, although Medfield was given the office April 1, 1807, and
Samuel Seaver appointed the first postmaster. He kept the office in his small
store on the corner of North and Main streets, where he had succeeded Oliver
Wheelock in business. The postoffice is now located in the town hall.
THE TOWN HALL
In the year 1866 the town received a bequest from George W. Chenery for
the purpose of constructing a town hall in the village of Medfield. This sum of
money, amounting to $23,700 was placed in the hands of the following trustees :
Charles Hamant, Isaac Fiske and E. P. Carpenter, the latter of Foxboro. In 1869
the trustees purchased the old tavern lot in the center of the village for $1,760 for
the site of the hall. In 1872 the town hall was erected and dedicated on September
10th. The firm of Hartwell & Swasey drew the plans and the contracting was
done by C. H. & W. Stewart. The total cost of the building, exclusive of the
land, was $26,668.
The citizens of Medfield were permitted to enjoy their excellent new hall but
little over a year. On January 8, 1874, the building was destroyed by fire, with
the exception of a small portion of the tower. The public library, the fire engine
and apparatus and the hearse which was kept in the basement were all burned,
also a portion of the public records. By the heroic efforts of a few of the citizens,
led by Charles Hamant, the safe which contained valuable town documents, was
suspended by a chain and prevented from falling into the flames below ; this alone
saved the most important records from destruction. The fire occurred very late
at night and by the time the alarm had been turned in had progressed too far to
be checked.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 179
The town waited but a short time before taking action toward the erection of
a new town hall upon the site of the old one. On January 24th a meeting was held
and there a vote was taken to rebuild the hall immediately. T. W. Silloway was
named as the architect and Mead, Mason & Company were awarded the contract
for building. The total cost of the reconstruction was $21,500, of which sum
$15,000 was received from the insurance. The new town hall was rededicated
November 2, 1874, with appropriate exercises. The postoffice, public library, and
historical society rooms are now housed in the building.
However, the library and historical society will in the near future be moved
into the handsome new brick library building in process of erection opposite the
town hall on Main Street. This building was given to the town of Medfield by
Granville S. Dailey.
PROMINENT EARLY CITIZENS
The one deserving first mention among the early settlers of the town of Med-
field is undoubtedly Ralph Wheelock, often spoken of as the "founder of Med-
field.'' Wheelock received his education at Clare Hall, Cambridge University,
England, where he took his degree in 1626 and 1631. For a time he was a preacher
in the Established Church. In 1638 he came to Dedham, was made a freeman
March 13, 1638, and died at Medfield January 11, 1684. For several generations
afterward descendants of Ralph Wheelock lived in Medfield. Col. Ephraim
Wheelock, his great-grandson, served in both the French and Indian and the Revo-
lutionary Wars. Notwithstanding the fact that some writers have criticised Ralph
Wheelock for his dissenting views, it cannot be denied that he was a man of
energy, large ideas and strong executive ability. To his efforts may be credited the
success of the movement to form the new town of Medfield.
The next in order of importance in early Medfield was the Rev. John Wilson,
the first minister in the town, whose residence stood on the site of the town hall.
Reverend Wilson commenced his pastorate here in December, 1651. He con-
tinued his work among the people of Medfield a little over forty years, when his
death occurred in 1691. He was a much loved man and of sterling quality.
Timothy Dwight, son of John Dwight, one of the original thirteen house lot
grantees, was a freeman June 2, 1641. Dwight was a representative for Medfield
in 1652. He died in this town in the year 1677.
Daniel Morse, son of Samuel Morse, first came to Dedham and then to Med-
field. He became a freeman May 6, 1635. His death occurred in Sherborn in 1688.
Thomas Wight came from the Isle of Wight to Dedham in 1637. He was of
the Medfield incorporation and died March 17, 1674.
Robert Hinsdale, one of the first thirteen lot holders, became a freeman March
13. 1638. He later moved to Medfield, thence to Hadley, where he resided for
several years, and then to Deerfield. At the latter place he was killed, with his
three sons, by the Indians at the time of Captain Lothrop's defeat at Bloody
Rrook.
Samuel Bullen became a freeman June 2, 1641, and died January 16, 1692.
He was one of the first settlers in the town of Medfield.
George Barber first came to Dedham in 1643, and later moved to Medfield. He
became a freeman May 16, 1647, was a representative in 1668-9 ar) d a high militia
officer.
180 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
PUBLIC UTILITIES
The improvement of roads, public conveniences and private property has been
a matter of gradual and substantial growth in Medfield. This growth has ex-
tended over a period of many years and is an excellent proof of the stability of
the town. Another feature of Medfield at the present time is the fact that there
is practically no debt to burden the citizens. In the past Medfield has bonded
itself heavily, but in recent years these debts have been cleared away, leaving the
town in 1917-18 in very prosperous condition.
Water is supplied by the Medfield Water Company, the supply being taken
from springs. A city plant was first proposed about 1902, but never materialized.
The present company was organized several years later. The Medfield Electric
Light and Power Company supplies electricity to the inhabitants. This corpora*
tion was established m November, 1900.
The first attempt at sewer construction was made in the '80s, when the straw
works and the town divided upon the expense of constructing a sewer to carry the
waste from the factory. In 1886 the town voted to build a common sewer from
a point on North Street to a point northwest of Dale Street, where a filtering
basin was constructed. In 188 1 a sewer had been laid from the corner of Main
and Pleasant streets along North Street to the Meeting House Pond. The sewer
then started has been extended at different times until now practically every
street of importance in the village of Medfield is provided with this convenience.
Land was donated by D. D. Curtis for the sewer-bed.
A large amount of road improvement has been accomplished within the last
decade. There is hardly a half mile of roadway in the town now not improved
and finished with Tarvia, a road bed composition of good wearing quality. The
streets of the town were first given names in 1855, principally for the con-
venience in bounding lands and executing conveyances. The selectmen who per-
formed this task and christened the roads were Charles C. Sewall, George M.
Smith and Benjamin F. Shumway. In 1856 some of the old town roads were
discontinued.
Adequate fire protection is supplied by the usual hook and ladder and hose
companies ; the excellent water supply and pressure assist greatly in the preven-
tion of any more disastrous years of fires such as occurred in the early '70s.
The first fire engine in the town was a gift some years before 1832. This antiquated
engine was kept in a barn. A Hunneman fire engine was purchased in 1853 at a
cost of $600. A short time afterward an engine house was constructed on North
Street and a company formed. In 1877 a hook and ladder truck, with apparatus,
was purchased by the town and another company formed. The first telephone
line built in the town came through in 1883.
The first step taken for the erection of a building for the care of the poor
and destitute occurred in 1837 when the town purchased the farm of George
Newell for $3,100 and changed it into a poor farm. Until this time paupers were
placed on public auction and sold to the lowest bidder for their support.
The visitor to Medfield town is at once impressed by the large number of stately
trees lining the roadways, some of them of magnificent proportions and of great
age. These trees are not all the products of chance, for in the year 1798 the
citizens of the town became interested in the systematic planting of trees along
THE E. V. MITCHELL COMPANY'S HAT FACTORY, MEDFIELD
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 181
the streets. The silvan beauty of the town and village is largely the result of the
enthusiasm aroused at that time for tree planting.
FIRST VITAL STATISTICS
A daughter of John Ellis, afterward the wife of Samuel Rockwood, was first
white female child born in the town.
The first death was that of the infant child of Rev. John Wilson in De-
cember, 1652. The first death among the settlers was that of John Wight in
1653-
The marriage of Thomas Mason and Margery Partridge in 1653 was tne
first in the town. The ceremony was performed by Eleazer Lusher of Dedham.
No minister, unless possibly the Episcopal, was qualified under the English law
to marry people until about thirty years later. Ralph Wheelock was appointed
magistrate in 1656, then he had the privilege of conducting the marriage cere-
monies in this vicinity.
The first murder in Medfield occurred in the year 1802, when William P.
Allen was killed by his brother-in-law, Ebenezer Mason. Mason was tried, con-
victed and hanged on the 7th of October. His body was stolen from the grave
shortly afterward and, although a half-hearted atttempt was made to recover it,
the effort was unsuccessful.
In 1656 occurred the marriage of Thomas Holbrook and Hannah Sheppard,
before Ralph Wheelock and Thomas Grubb, the first before the town commis-
sioners of Medfield.
FIRST VALUATIONS
The first list of property valuations on record for the Town of Medfield are
those of 1652, and not all of them are itemized. As an example of the method
of valuations the following account under the heading of "Ralph Wheelock His
Estate" is given:
£ s. d.
Psons. 10 100 o o
Acrs 9 bro 33 o o
Unbro. 3 5 o o
Orch 10 o o
House 30 o o
Oxen 2 14 o o
Cows 2 12 o o
3 yearl 5 o o
2 yearl. t 3 10 o
One yearl 2 o o
Debts to rece 40 o o
Overplus of first estate given in 20 o o
274 10 o
There were thirty-four property holders listed in this first valuation of town
wealth. Their names and the total valuation of their holdings are given in the
following: table :
182 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
John Bower £gi
Robert Hinsdale 250
John Thurston 246
Francis Hamant 101
Albert Harding 21 1
James Allin 139
Isaac Chenery 41
Edward Adams 104
Peter Adams 100
Alexander Lovell 88
John Plimpton 106
Daniel Morse . . . .' 251
John Turner 116
John Bullard 166
John Alike 148
George Barber 240
Joseph Clark 183
Samuel Bullen 175
Henry Smith 183
John Wilson 231
John Frairy 316
Benjamin Alby 182
Timothy Dwight 278
Thomas Dwight 322
John Wight 88
Widow Sheppard 105
Joshua Fisher 180
Joseph Morse 260
Samuel Morse 90
Thomas Grubb 200
John Metcalf 135
Nicholas Rockwood 100
Henry Adams 210
Ralph Wheelock See above
The whole valuation of the property in Medfield in 1652 totaled £5,834.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS
In early Medfield slavery prevailed to some extent. Rev. Joseph Baxter, in his
will which was probated in 1745, bequeathed to his wife the slave woman Nanny.
He also named certain conditions of good behavior by which Nanny could even-
tually gain her freedom. Warwick Green, Colonel Wheelock's body servant
during his service in the army, was brought here directly from Africa. New-
port Green was another slave in this town.
A cemetery along Main Street was laid out immediately after the settlement
of the town. This plot of ground was cleared of bushes and undergrowth every
year and in 1843 was nrst enlarged by an addition of land on the north and east.
A wall next to the street was built, paths and driveways laid out, and trees
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 183
planted. The resting places of only four of the original settlers could be found
in recent years, the graves being those of Rev. John Wilson, Samuel Bullen,
Samuel Morse and John Metcalf.
About the year 1856 a law was passed that every town should have an "ordi-
nary" or public house. The pioneer tavern keeper in Medfield was Joshua Fisher,
who opened up for business where the home of Mrs. Margaret Hewins was after-
ward located. Samuel Sadey began to operate a public house on North Street,
opposite the head of Dale Street; another was in the south part of town and
first kept by Sabin Mann; another was started by Seth Clark; Moses Richard-
son also kept one in the east part of town. In 1810 David Fairbanks, a prominent
business man of Medfield at this time, built a tavern on the site of the town hall
and this was for fifty years the only public house in Medfield. The Wheelock
estate was purchased by Fairbanks in order to begin this business.
The bi-centennial anniversary of the burning of Medfield by the Indians
was celebrated February 26, 1876, with appropriate exercises. The day started
by the ringing of bells and the firing of the national salute by a detachment from
Battery B of the Massachusetts Artillery under Captain Baxter. The Medfield
Band supplied music during the day. Addresses were delivered by Rev. C. C.
Sewall, R. R. Bishop and a poem was read by James Hewins. The exercises were
held at 10:30 A. M. in the town hall. In the afternoon the people reassembled
and various activities consumed the remainder of the day.
On June 6, 1901 occurred the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth an-
niversary of the incorporation of the Town of Medfield. An appropriation of
$1,500 had been secured some months prior to the day for the proper conduct of
the celebration. The day started in the usual patriotic manner and at 9 o'clock
the grand procession was held, composed of the following: officers, committees,
American Waltham Watch Company Band of twenty-two pieces, Moses Ellis
Post, Xo. 117, G. A. R., Medfield Lodge No. 216, I. O. O. F., Medfield Lodge
No. 40, A. O. U. W., Medfield Grange No. ii4 ; P. of H., fire department. Women's
Relief Corps, Hannah Adams Club, schools, trades, etc. Literary exercises were
held at the First Congregational Church at 11 A. M., with the principal address
by W. S. Tilden. At 1 o'clock a banquet was held in Chenery Hall, presided
over by James Hewins. Sports and games were held at 2 .30 P. M and at 8 P.
M. a concert was given by the band.
The Boston and Hartford turnpike was constructed in 1806. It was owned
by numerous stockholders who eventually found it an unprofitable investment. A
line of coaches was run through the town for the next thirty years and toll gates
were erected at various points along the route.
The first guide boards in Medfield were erected in 1795. There were five
of them and they were placed at the corners of the principal townways.
In a paper read by James Hewins before the Worcester Society of Antiquity
and others at the annual field day at Medfield June 20, 1891, the writer brought
forth the suggestion of naming the more prominent homes of the town after In-
dian characters who had historical connection with the town, either through the
great Massasoit, in whose dominion the territory now in Medfield was situated
at the time of the landing of the Pilgrims in 1620, or through his son, Metacomet,
otherwise known as King Philip. Many names were suggested by Mr. Hewins,
the more prominent of which follow, also the name of the residence to bear
184 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
each : Akkompoin, Edwin V. Mitchell, North Street ; Annawon, George L. Hurll,
Canal Street; Ashamattan, W. S. Tilden, Spring Street; Mantowapuct, Almenia
C. and Amelia F. Everett, Main Street; Mattatoag, M. F. Clark, South Street;
Metacomet, Francis Hamant, South Street; Miantunnomoh, Samuel Ellis, North
Street; Monoco, Ellen Curtis, North Street; Mooanum, W. R. Smith, South
Street; Nanuntemoo, J. Henry Gould, Main Street; Petonowowett, George G.
Babcock, South Street; Pokanoket, A. B. Parker, Main Street; Potok, T. L.
Barney, Main Street; Pumham, J. Augustus Fitts, Main Street; Quadequin,
James Hewins, Main Street ; Quanapohit, J. H. Richardson, North Street ; Quin-
napin, Wilmot W. Mitchell, Main Street; Quinobequin, G. R. Chase, Bridge
Street; Sonkanuhoo, Henry M. Parker, Main Street; Sowampset, A. E. Mason,
North Street; Tiashq, Albert A. Lovell, Railroad Street; Wampatuck, W. P.
Hewins, Main Street; Watuspaquin, Hamlet Wight, North Street; Wawaloam,
Stillman J. Spear, North Street ; Weecum, William Marshall, Main Street ; Weet-
amoo, George H. Smith, Main Street; Woosamequin, Elizabeth S., Alice O. and
Edward U. Sewall, Main Street ; Wootonekanuske, J. B. Hale, South Street ; Jo-
seph A. Allen retained his name of Castle Hill.
CHAPTER XXI
THE TOWN OF MEDWAY
■
ORIGINAL OWNERSHIP — FIRST GRANT OF LAND — THE FIRST ACTUAL SETTLER — THE
STONE HOUSE — FIRST LOTS LAID OUT — THE NEW GRANT — DIVISION OF LOTS —
MEETING HOUSE STRIFE — INCORPORATION THE NAME — THE ORIGINAL
FOUNDERS — POPULATION — FIRST TOWN MEETING HIGHWAYS — POSTOFFICES
MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENT — CEMETERIES — ITEMS OF INTEREST.
The town of Medway lies in the western portion of the county of Norfolk and
is bounded in the following manner : on the north by Middlesex County ; on the
west by Worcester County ; on the south by the towns of Bellingham and Frank-
lin; and on the east by the town of Millis. The territory of Medway presents
an undulating surface, well watered by the Charles River and some of its tribu-
taries. The uplands of this town once became notable as fine meadow lands,
a fact which aided in the first settlement of the town. Part of the town is hilly,
but not in sufficient area to destroy the value of the land.
ORIGINAL OWNERSHIP
The territory now comprising the town of Medway originally belonged to the
territory claimed by the Nipmuck Indians, once a very powerful tribe. Prior to
King Philip's war this tribe became divided, one of the principal branches being
the Natick. The negotiations with these Indians relative to the country in this
vicinity were carried on mostly by the settlers of Medfield, a description of which
is given in the chapter on that town. In addition, the early legal transactions
of the Town of Medfield will answer for the earliest government of Medway, as
the latter town was largely contained in Medfield when set aside from Dedham.
FIRST GRANT OF LAND
In the year 1643 tne General Court of Massachusetts Bay granted to the
Rev. John Allin 200 acres of wild land in the forest beyond the west bounds of
Dedham. This is probably the first grant, at least the first recorded, in the terri-
tory which later was to become the Town of Medway. Reverend Allin, according
to history, never occupied his land in person.
In 1649 Captain Robert Keaine (also spelled Kayne, Kaine and Keane), of
Boston, received a grant of 1,074 acres to the north of the Allin farm. The line
between Medfield and Sherborn afterwards drawn corresponded very nearly with
the line between these two grants.
About the same time thirty-three acres of land were laid out "before Bridge
Street." These seven lots were bounded on the east by the river and formed a
185
186 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
tract later crossed by the turnpike. The first land on the west side of the river
to be divided among the citizens of Medfield was the part known as the
"broad meadows."' In 1653 Abraham Harding and Peter Adams had grants in
Grape Meadow, east of the Black Swamp. In 1655 grants were also made to
Benjamin Alby and Alexander Lovell.
THE FIRST ACTUAL SETTLER
The first actual settler within the territory afterwards included in the Town
of Medway was George Fairbanks. He came about the year 1657, although this
date, as well as his birth and parentage, is buried in obscurity. The year 1657
is approximated only. Fairbanks was married on August 26, 1646 to Mary A.
Harris in Dedham, raised a family of five children, and died January 10, 1682.
On February 6, 1660, the Town of Medfield granted to Fairbanks "such timber for
fencing as shall make 300 rails, with posts for it, as shall be set out by brother
Wight and John Metcalf shall appoint him with what he has already fallen to
make up 300 rails." This is the first mention of him in the town records. Fair-
banks was not associated with the settlement of Medfield Plain, but purchased the
land which in 1643 na d been granted to Reverend Allin by the General Court.
So he held his land by purchase and not by town grant. His dwelling was the
noted "stone house" near the north border of the pond. The location of his farm
prevented Fairbanks from being listed as one of the Medfield proprietors in the
division of the New Grant. In fact, his political and social activities were almost
wholly confined to the town of Sherborn, where he once served as selectman.
For at least seven generations the original farm remained in the hands of and was
cultivated by Fairbanks' descendants. In 1660 it is recorded that his nearest
neighbors were "Nicholas Woods, Daniel Morse, Henry Lealand, Thomas Hol-
brook and Thomas Bass."
In 1652 Nicholas Woods and Thomas Holbrook, both from Dorchester, settled
on the west side of the river, between Death's Bridge and Holbrook's Mills. They
were located one-half mile from each other, were beyond any town and were
four miles from any English neighbors. In the same year, or soon afterward,
Hopestill Lealand, seventy years of age, with his son Henry, came here from
Dorchester. In 1658 John Hill and Thomas Breck located to the southwest of the
above named, one-third of a mile north of Boggestow Pond. They were also from
Dorchester. By marriage most of these men soon became related, forming a large
family community. Thomas Bass appeared in the vicinity about 1660 and married
Woods' daughter. It is probable that Benjamin Bullard resided nearby at this
time.
Joseph Daniel was the second actual settler within the bounds of Medway.
He was the son of Robert Daniel, of Cambridge or Watertown. He first became
identified with Medfield, becoming a townsman there in 1662. His marriage to
Mary Fairbanks on November 16, 1665, was the first in Medway, although that
of Jonathan Adams and Elizabeth Fussell occurred the same year.
Prior to the year 1660 George Fairbanks was the only settler west of the
river in what later was set off as the Town of Medway. John Fussell and his
son-in-law, Jonathan Adams, were early settlers on the west side. William Allin
probably located here about 1668, when be married Elizabeth Twitchell, daughter
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 187
of Benjamin Twitchell. Allin died in 1736, when over ninety years of age. Be-
fore 1669 Peter Calley located near the Boggestow Pond. At the time of the
burning of Medfield Abraham Harding was constructing his house in Medway
territory. Josiah Rockwood in 1677 settled on the place later known as the
Oak Grove farm. John Rockwood built his house here about the same time.
John Richardson is first mentioned in the records of the town in 1678. Before
1680 Peter Adams probably had settled on the west side of the Charles. In his
house the first public worship after the incorporation of Medfield was held.
Samuel Daniel, brother of Joseph Daniel, settled in 1680 and after his death
fifteen years later the farm was sold to Jasper Adams. Vincent Shuttleworth
came to the territory in 1681. He was a deserter during the Indian wars and for
the offense was fined a sum of £5 ; later, however, he further proved his worth-
lessness by becoming the first pauper of Medfield. John Partridge, John Adams
and John Clark came in 1681. Samuel Hill appeared about 1693.
The tax list for the year 1693 gives the names of the following men then living
in Medfield west of the river : John Adams, Jonathan Adams, Sr., Jonathan Adams,
Jr., Peter Adams, John Clark, Joseph Daniel, Joseph Daniel, Jr., John Ellis,
George Fairbanks, Jonathan Fisher, Abraham Harding, Samuel Hill, John Part-
ridge, John Richardson, John Rockett and Josiah Rockett.
THE STONE HOUSE
During the early days of settlement in the town of Medfield west of the river,
later included in Medway, the settlers were compelled to devise some means for
protection. The Indians were hostile and were burning, killing and pillaging
throughout the neighborhood, so it became necessary for the men to act quickly in
order to safeguard their families from destruction. Accordingly, a stone garrison
house was constructed on the north side of Boggestow Pond. This stone block-
house, or fort, was about sixty-five feet long and two stories in height, and was
built of flat stones carried to the site. The house was lined with heavy white
pine planking and a double row of loop-holes were cut clear around the four
sides. The single door at the south end, facing the pond, served as an entrance
and window. Here one could enter without over exposure to the enemy were he
nearby. The upper story was arranged for the women's quarters, with a small
sick room at one end.
It is known with certainty that George Fairbanks used this stone house as a
residence. The precaution of the settlers proved to be very fortunate, for on
several occasions the stone house was subjected to siege by the Indians, every time
without success. The bullets were easily turned aside by the thick stone walls
and the white men's fire in return prevented the enemy from venturing near.
FIRST LOTS LAID OUT
Late in the year 1658 the town of Medfield voted to lay out certain uplands
on the west side. These lands are described in the town records by the following
sentences : "On the long plain to begin next to Boggestow River on that end." "At
the further corner of our bounds by Charles River to begin next to the town."
"In pine valley to begin at the north end and go through it." "At the end of pine
valley on a parcel of land that the path goes through."
188 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
In the spring of 1659 fifteen lots were granted, in all one hundred and eighty
acres. A highway was projected on the east side of the lots, running north and
south. The lots were bounded on the east and west sides by waste lands and
were taken up, beginning at Boggestow Brook, in the following order :
acres
Benjamin Alby 15
Heirs of Joseph Morse - 15
Thomas Wight, Sr 15
John Thurston 10
Samuel Bullen 13
Peter Adams 10
Nicholas Rockwood 11
Thomas Wight, Jr 6
John Frairy, Sr 14
Robert Hinsdale 9
Joshua Fisher 15
Thomas Thurston 11
Thomas Ellis 9
Mr. Wilson 13
James Allen ,' 7
173
About the only one of the above men who became an inhabitant of the
territory so set aside was Nicholas Rockwood, who, in his old age, came to live
with his son John. The land was taken by the men from Medfield principally to
provide homes for their sons, a few of whom later profited by their fathers'
wisdom.
THE NEW GRANT
In the records of the town of Medfield occurs the following : "The Eleventh
of May one Thousand six hundred fifty-nine, in answer to a petition of the town
of Medfield presented to the General Court was granted by the court to the
town of Medfield an addition of land at the west end of their former grant, as the
record of the court will make appear."
In the Colonial Record for May, 1659, appears the following: "In answer
to a petition of the inhabitants of Medfield, the court judgeth it meet to grant
unto them as an addition to their former bounds and at the west end thereof two
miles east and west and four miles north and south, provideth it entrench not
upon any former grants, and that Captain Lusher and Lieutenant Fisher are
hereby appointed to lay it out."
At the next annual town meeting of Medfield, February 6, 1660, the follow-
ing vote was passed by those assembled : "It is ordered that the new grant made to
the town this year by the court shall be divided by way of dividend to all the
inhabitants of the town that are proprietors in the town and that it shall be di-
vided by the common rules of division by number of persons and estates."
Each member of the family equaled ten pounds of estate in the partition of the
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 189
land. At a later town meeting, April 20, 1660, two highways were ordered to
be laid through the new grant, one a half mile north of the Charles River from
east to west and the other through "the midst of the tract of land from the way
that runs west to a line to the north end of the same." These roadways divided
the grant into three separate sections, known as the River, East and West Sec-
tions. The River Section was divided into twelve lots, including an area of
1,079 acres. The West Section was divided into nineteen lots, embracing 1,096
acres. The East Section was divided into sixteen lots, covering 1,658 acres.
There were about 200 acres in the northeast corner of the grant which were un-
divided. The total cost of laying out this new grant was £19 6s. 5d.
DIVISION OF LOTS
The following table will show the names of those who received lots in the
new grant, the order in which they received them and the amount of land in
each :
River Section
acres
Ralph Wheelock 156
John Metcalf 117
Robert Mason 57
John Pratt 39
Widow Sheppard 5 :
Thomas Wight, Jr 56
Timothy Dwight 146
John Turner 120
Alexander Lovell 94
John Ellis 126
James Allen 102
Joseph Thurston 15
West Section
acres
Heirs of Joseph Morse 141
Henry Smith 158
John Bullard 100
Sampson Frairy 68
Edward Adams 102
John Fussell 24
William Partridge 61
Jonathan Adams 84
Daniel Morse 12
John Plimpton 107
Isaac Chenery JJ
Joseph Clark 161
Robert Hinsdale 157
John Fisher 61
190 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Nicholas Rockwood 85
Samuel Bullen 136
Abiel Wight 38
John Frairy, Jr 1 77
Mr. Wilson 147
East Section
acres
Gershom W T heelock 36
Joshua Fisher /S
Benjamin Alby 138
John Frairy, Sr 147
Henry Adams 148
Thomas Wight, Sr 166
Thomas Mason 73
Francis Hamant 87
John Partridge 69
John Warfield 22
Thomas Ellis 77
John Bowers 102
Thomas Thurston 72
John Thurston 191
Peter Adams 101
George Barber 149
Under the date of March, 1702, the Black Swamp, so called from the forest
of pines covering the area, was ordered to be laid out into lots. The record is :
"Voted, that the Black Swamp shall be laid out with such necks of uplands and
ilands as shall make it f ormable by our former rules of laying out lands." There
were one hundred and twenty-three landed proprietors listed, the following
twenty-seven of whom were residents on the west side of the river: Jasper
Adams, John Adams, Jonathan Adams, Jr., Peter Adams, Benjamin Allen, Wil-
liam Allen, John Clarke, Theophilus Clark, Timothy Clark, Ebenezer Daniel,
Joseph Daniel, Joseph Daniel, Jr., John Ellis, Sr., George Fairbanks, Jonathan
Fisher, Henry Guernsey, Abraham Harding, Samuel Hill, John Partridge, Samuel
Partridge, Widow Rebecca Richardson, John Richardson, John Rockwood, Josiah
Rockwood, Vincent Shuttleworth and Ebenezer Thompson.
MEETING HOUSE STRIFE
During the following decade or so there was a strong increase in the popula-
tion on the west side of the river. The people at length became desirous of obtain-
ing a separate meeting house for the west side of the river and so petitioned the
Town of Medfield on May 7, 1712, for this privilege. Their petition was unsuc-
cessful, so later the matter was carried to the General Court. This last petition
was opposed vigorously, but met with colonial favor, and the General Court
"recommended to the town of Medfield to raise money towards the building of
another meeting house on the west side of the Charles River." This was opposed
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 191
by a vote of the town and March 9, 17 13, "voted that the town shall petition the
General Court, declaring their inability to build another meeting house in the
town and to bare the charge attending it."
INCORPORATION
The General Court finally despatched a committee to look over the ground,
with the view of establishing a new town west of the Charles River. This com-
mittee handed in a favorable report after their investigations. Judge Sewall
wrote that .he "helped the selectmen prepare the bill for Medway, the new town
on the west of Charles River." The act was passed the next day, October 25,
1713. Medway, in the order of incorporations, was the sixty-ninth town in the
Massachusetts Colony. The Act of Incorporation itself, which is still preserved,
reads as follows :
. "anno regni annae reginae duodecim
"An Act for Dividing of the Township of Med field and erecting a new Town
there by the name of Medway.
"Whereas the lands of the township of Medfield within the county of Suffolk
are situated on the Charles River, to wit, on both sides of the said river, being
divided by the same : and the town plat and principal settlement, as also the
meeting house for the public worship of God, being seated on the east side for
the accomadation of the first and ancient inhabitants, who are now much in-
creased, many issued forth and settled on the west side of the river to a com-
petent number for a distinct town of themselves, and labor under many hard-
ships and difficulties by reason of separation by the river to enjoy equal benefit
and town privileges with others of their fellow townsmen and neighbors, and
have therefore made application to the town as also addressed this court to be
made a distinct town. Committees appointed by this court having been upon
the ground, viewed the land and reported in their favor for proper bounds to be
set them.
"Be it Enacted by his Excellency the Governor, Council, and Representatives
in General Court assembled and by the authority of the Same:
"That all those lands lying on the west side of the Charles River, now part of
the township of Medfield, be erected and made into a distinct and separate town
by the name of Medway, the river to be the bound betwixt the two towns. And
that the inhabitants of Medway have, use and exercise and enjoy all such power
and privileges which other towns have, so by law use, exercise and enjoy. So
that they procure and settle a learned, orthodox minister of good conversation
among them and make provision for an honorable support and maintenance for
him, and that in order thereto, they be discharged from further payment to the
ministry in Medfield from and after the last day of February next.
"Provided also that all province and town taxes that are already levied, or
granted, be collected and paid, and all town rights and common undivided lands
remain to be divided among the interested as if no separation had been made.
"And Mr. George Fairbanks, a principal inhabitant of the said town of
Medway, is hereby directed and empowered to notify and summon the inhabitants
192 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
duly qualified for voters to assemble and meet together for the choosing of town
officers to stand until the next annual election according to law.
"A true copy — examined.
"Jsa. Addington, Sec'y."
The first board of selectmen consisted of Samuel Partridge, Jonathan Adams,
Sr., Jonathan Adams, Jr., Edward Clark and John Rockett, the latter also acting
as the first clerk of the town.
THE NAME
Like many of the other towns in Norfolk County there are several reasons
advanced for the naming of the town. Some traditional records have given the
reason for the name Medway as the location of the town, lying midway between
the meadow lands as it did. Another is that Medway was the half way stopping
point on the old post road frorh Dedham to Mendon. Other authorities have
placed the origin of the name as the Medway River in England.
THE ORIGINAL FOUNDERS
There were forty-eight men who were credited with the honor of being the
founders of the town of Medway. The names of these men follow : Daniel
Adams, Jasper Adams, John Adams, Jonathan Adams, Jonathan Adams, Jr.;
Joseph Adams, Obadiah Adams, Peter Adams, James Allen, William Allen, John
Barber, Joseph Barber, John Bullard, Malachi Bullard, William Burgess, The-
ophilus Clark, Timothy Clark, Edward Clark, Joseph Curtis, Ebenezer Daniel,
Jeremiah Daniel, Joseph Daniel, Joseph Daniel, Jr., Samuel Daniel, John Ellis,
Joseph Ellis, George Fairbanks, Henry Guernsey, Abraham Harding, Abraham
Harding, Jr., John Harding, Thomas Harding, Samuel Hill, Samuel Hill, Jr.,
Ephraim Hill, Michael Metcalf, Samuel Metcalf, Benoni Partridge, John Part-
ridge, Jonathan Partridge, Samuel Partridge, Daniel Richardson, John Richard-
son, John Rockwood, Josiah Rockwood, Ebenezer Thompson, Nathaniel Whiting
and Nathaniel Wight.
POPULATION
It is probable that at the time of incorporation the Town of Medway had a
population of nearly 300 people. The first census taken, in the year 1765; gave
the number of people as 785, including 380 males, 388 females and 17 negroes.
By this same census there were 123 houses in the town. From that time until
the present the different census figures have been as follows :
1776 (Prov.) 912
1790 (u. s.) ; ' 1,035
1800 (U. S.) 1,050
1810 (U. S.) 1,213
1820 (U. S.) 1,523
1830 (U. S.) 1,756
1840 (U. S.) 2,043
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
193
1850 (U. S.) 2,778
1855 (State) 3,230
i860 (U. S.) 3,195
1865 (State) 3,219
1870 (U.S.) 3,721
1875 (State) 4,242
1880 (U. S.) 3,956
1885 (State) 2,777
1890 (U. S.) 2,985
1895 (State) 2,913
1900 (U. S.) 2,761
1905 ( State ) 2,650
1910 (U. S.) 2,696
1915 (State) 2,846
The total assessed valuation of property in Medway for the year 1915 was
$1,834,260.
FIRST TOWN MEETING
The first town meeting of Medway was held on November 23, 1713. The
principal object of the meeting was to choose officers to serve until the following
annual election. After making a choice for selectmen, town clerk and constable,
matters relative to the meeting house were discussed and voted upon. The record
states this as follows :
"Voted, That John Rockett and Jonathan Adams, Sr., Serg. Samuel Partridge
and Serg. Jonathan Adams and Edward Clark to be a committee to take care to
procure the meeting house built.
"Voted, that Abraham Harding, Sr., John Partridge and Theophilus Clark to
procure and carry in a petition to the town clerk of Medfield in order to the pro-
curing of accomadations for the setting of the meeting house upon the place
commonly called bare hills, and some convenient accomadations for the min-
ister thereabouts."
The above is an example of the character of the town records for the first
half century of the town's existence. Church matters formed the principal busi-
ness during this time.
For the first thirteen years of municipal life the town was not represented in
the Provincial Court. The town had taken a vote on December 3, 1713, "to send
none, accounting ourselves not obliged to send any." This rule was followed until
1726, when the town named Jonathan Adams as the first representative to the
General Court.
HIGHWAYS
When the grants of land were made out to the citizens of Medfield interested
in the settlement of the new territory, various roads were laid out in order to
make the land easily accessible. In 1652-3 a road one rod and a half in width
was laid out from the entrance of Broad Meadows at the south and running
through the whole to the north end. In 1660, as mentioned before, two highways
Vol. 1— 1 3
194 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
were ordered to be laid out through the new grant, dividing the same into three
sections. The first lot, obtained by Ralph Wheelock, was located just where the
village of Medway now stands. The records of the town, under date of April 13,
1 661, state:
"Whereas the way leading through the new grant from east to west is found
not passable nor capable of being made so, it is therefore agreed on, and also laid
out by the men that were deputed thereunto that the way is to assent (ascend) the
hill by the river and thence to cross the lot of Mr. Ralph Wheelock to the side line
of John Metcalf, by a little pine standing on a stony ridge and so to turn down
by John Metcalf's side line to the other way at the head of his lot, which is a matter
of forty rods and to be four rods wide." At this time there was no road from
the Great Bridge westward, except that which is described as "the path up into the
wilderness," which had been surveyed as a highway, part of it being across
Wheelock's lot.
The first road laid out after the incorporation of the town is recorded in the
following manner:
"Tune 4, 1715. The selectmen met at the house of Nathaniel Wight to lay
out highways for the benefit of this town, and for the convenience of travelers
to pass from town to town as follows : begin in the country road that leads to
Mendon near twenty rods east from Nat Wight's, upon a straight line across part
of the plain known by the name of Stony Plain, and cross a swamp place com-
monly called Paradise Island, and by the southeast side of Ebenezer Thompson's
field on to bare hill along at the southwest end of the meeting house to the laid out
highway through the plain commonly known by the name of hills."
The old Mendon road from east to west was laid out in 1670. This was after-
ward the county road, along which Washington rode on his way to Cam-
bridge to take command of the American Army in 1775. It is also said that while
passing through this town he stopped at Richardson's Hotel in the east parish
to dine.
By an act of incorporation, passed March 9, 1804, the Hartford and Dedham
Turnpike Corporation was established. A turnpike was constructed through the
town from east to west, called the Hartford turnpike. The road was opened for
travel in 1807 and toll gates built. One was built near the old Hammond Place,
now marked by the railroad crossing in Millis. Tolls were collected for a score
of years.
The Medford turnpike was laid out and established as a public highway June
4, 1838, and received the name of Main Street. It extended from Medfield to
Bellingham. The old county road, the oldest highway in the town at present, was
given the name of Village Street.
POSTOFFICES
The first postoffice in the town was established at Medway Village in the spring
of 1803. Capt. William Felt was appointed the first postmaster. His first quar-
terly return was made July 1, 1803, Gideon Granger being postmaster-general.
The office was kept in the store of Captain Felt and the mail was carried by a post
rider who went over the route once each week. The office was afterward trans-
ferred to Sanford Hall.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 195
The second postoffice in the town was established in East Medway (now
Millis) March 17, 1819. Timothy Hammond was appointed the first postmaster.
At first the office was kept at the house of Adam Bullard.
The third postoffice was established September 19, 1834, in West Medway.
Olney Foristall was the first postmaster here.
The fourth postoffice in the town was established February 23, 1838, in Rock-
ville. Deacon Timothy Walker was appointed the first postmaster here.
MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENT
From the unimproved lands, ungraded roadways and unsatisfactory buildings
of the early times the town of Medway has developed into a community of modern
things, including improved and level roads, well kept estates, excellent business
blocks and beautiful residences. In scenic beauty Medway is in the first rank of
Norfolk County towns. Like the neighboring town of Medfield the foresight of
past generations in matters such as tree planting has been of great benefit to the
present generation. Water works, electricity and adequate sewerage are but a
few of the municipal improvements added to Medway within the last forty years.
Sanford Hall in the village of Medway was erected in the year 1872 at a cost
of about $16,000. It was dedicated December 31, 1872, and named for the largest
donor to the building fund, Milton A. Sanford, of New York, who was born in
Medway. Theodore W. Fisher, M. D., of Boston, gave an historical address on
the occasion and Rev. R. K. Harlow made the address of dedication.
Partridge Hall in Millis (then East Medway) was erected in 1876. The build-
ing of this hall was largely through the efforts and material aid of the family
whose name it bears today.
Another feature of the town of Medway is the library known as the Dean
Public Library, which was founded by Dr. Oliver Dean and incorporated March 3,
i860. The East Medway Circulating Library was established about forty years
ago.
CEMETERIES
On March 4, 1700, the town of Medfield voted that "the inhabitants on the west
side of the Charles River shall have two acres of land for a burying place, where
they and a committee chosen by the selectmen for that end shall order it in any of
the town commons there." This ground, according to the available records, was
not laid out until the town was incorporated, but burials were made in
Medfield and in the southern part of Sherborn. The voters of Medway met at
the house of Peter Adams, October 29, 17 14, and a vote passed to locate a burying
ground on Bare Hill, within forty rods of the meeting house. A committee was
appointed, consisting of George Fairbanks, Zachariah Partridge and John Rich-
ardson, to confer with the committee from Medfield upon the question of laying
out this cemetery. This cemetery was the first and for many years the only one in
the town of Medway.
The second cemetery laid out was in the west precinct, about the time of the
erection of the first church in 1750. Oakland Cemetery, near Medway, was the
third burying ground in the town. This ground was consecrated June 20, 1865.
196 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
It may be said here that the first burial in Oakland Cemetery was that of Mrs.
Mary Darling, who died October 26, 1865, at the age of one hundred and two
years.
The Catholic Cemetery was located in 1876 a short distance from Oakland.
ITEMS OF INTEREST
Wild animals in the earliest days of settlement were a source of constant annoy-
ance to the settlers. In 1730, in the vicinity of Winthrop Pond, bears became
troublesome and many hunting parties were organized to search for them. The
records show that in 1737 Seth Harding was paid one pound for killing a wild
cat. In 1742 £ig us 6d were ordered to be paid for the slaughter of 817
squirrels and 684 blackbirds. The last deer killed in the vicinity was in 1747 and
the last panther was seen about 1790.
Among the notable men who have been attributed to Medway was William T.
Adams, author, known by his nom de plume of "Oliver Optic." Oliver Optic was
born July 30, 1822. He became noted during his productive period as a writer
of juvenile literature, many of his works now being considered classics in that
particular style of authorship.
On March 3, 1792 the bounds between Medway and Sherborn were established.
On June 25, 1792, a part of Medway was annexed to the town of Franklin. The
bounds between the latter two towns were fixed on November 13th of the same
year. On March 3, 1829, the bounds between Medway and Holliston were estab-
lished and a part of each town was annexed to the other town. Bounds were
again established between Medway and Franklin on February 23, 1832, and on
March 13, 1839, part of Franklin was annexed to Medway. On February 23, 1870,
part was set off to Norfolk, and on February 24, 1885, the eastern part was incor-
porated as the Town of Millis.
The records of the town contain many significant items during the time
of the tea tax, which resulted in the Boston Tea Party. In March, 1770, the
town voted that the inhabitants "will forbear the purchasing of tea and wholly
restrain themselves from the use of it, upon which there is a duty laid by the
Parliament of Great Britain and also that they will forbear the purchasing of
any goods knowingly, directly or indirectly of any importer — until the revenue
acts shall be repealed." In December, 1773, the selectmen were ordered to grant
no favors or privileges to "inn-holders and retailers of strong liquors in this town
from all such persons that shall buy, use and consume any tea in their homes
while subject to duties." Throughout the records there are many other items
which prove the patriotism and loyalty of the town of Medway. The use of
His Majesty's name was first abolished from the town records in March, 1776.
The tax list for 1783 contained the names of 216 residents and 98 non-
residents. The poll tax at this time was 2s 6d. The principal taxpayers were :
Asa P. Richardson, £1 2s 9d ; Capt. Joseph Lovell, £1 3s 8d ; and Nathaniel
Lovell, £1 8d. In 1795 Federal money first came into use and the town finances
were recorded in dollars, cents and mills for the first time.
CHAPTER XXII
♦ THE TOWN OF MILLIS
LOCATION BOUNDARIES SURFACE AND DRAINAGE — FIRST SETTLEMENT DIVISION
OF MEDWAY THE TOWN NAME — TOWN HALL WATERWORKS FIRE DEPART-
MENT GENERAL CONDITIONS IN 1917 TOWN OFFICERS.
The Town of Millis is located in the western part of Norfolk County. It is
bounded on the north by the Town of Sherborn, Middlesex County ; on the east
by Medfield ; on the south by Norfolk ; on the west by Medway, and the Town
of Holliston, Middlesex County, forms a little of the boundary on the northwest.
The Charles River runs along the southern and eastern borders, separating Millis
from the towns of Norfolk and Medfield. In the northern part is Boggestow
Brook, which flows in a general easterly direction to the Charles River, draining
two or three ponds of considerable size on its course. There are some hills
in Millis, but they are not so high nor so picturesque as those of some of the
adjacent towns, and between the hills are fertile valleys that are well adapted
to the pursuit of agriculture.
FIRST SETTLEMENT
The territory now comprising the Town of Millis was originally a part of
Dedham. When Medfield was incorporated by act of the General Court on May
22, 1650, it included practically all of Millis. The first settlements were there-
fore made in this part of Norfolk County long before the Town of Millis was
even dreamed of by the inhabitants. Among the pioneers were George Fair-
banks, Nicholas Woods, Daniel Morse, Thomas Holbrook, Thomas Bass, Joseph
Daniel, John Fussell, Jonathan Adams, Peter Galley, Josiah Rockwood and some
others, all of whom are mentioned more in detail in the chapter devoted to the
Town of Medway, of which Millis was a part for nearly one and three-quarters
centuries.
DIVISION OF MEDWAY
For many years the Town of Medway was divided into three communities,
socially and in a business way, though the people lived under the same town
government without friction, attending the town meetings and voting upon all
questions affecting the common welfare. Under the conditions, however, it
was natural that some of the citizens should become somewhat dissatisfied, and
in 1884 the dissatisfaction of those living in the eastern part of the town found
expression in the following petition for division :
197
198 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
"To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Common-
wealth of Massachusetts, in General Court assembled:
"The undersigned petitioners, citizens of Medway, respectfully represent
that the interests and convenience of a large number of the citizens of said town
would be promoted by the incorporation of the easterly part of said town into
a new town; wherefore, the undersigned respectfully petition that all the terri-
tory within said town comprised within the following limits, that is to say :
Beginning at a stone bound at an angle in the boundary line between the towns
of Medway and Holliston about sixty rods distant from Orchard Street and
near the 'Nathan Plympton place,' so called ; thence southerly in a straight line
to the southeasterly corner of Farm and Village streets ; thence continuing in
the same course to the bank of the Charles River; thence following the present
boundary lines between the Town of Medway and the towns of Norfolk, Med-
field, Sherborn and Holliston to the above mentioned stone bound, the place of
beginning, may be set off and incorporated into a town by the name of 'Millis.' "
This petition was signed by E. S. Fuller, E. L. Holbrook, G. F. Holbrook,
Elbridge Clark, E. O. Jameson, John Bullard, Timothy Bullard, Frank E. Cook,
Israel D. Fuller, Edwin Metcalf, Austin Metcalf, Lansing Millis, "and 125 others."
When it was learned by the people living in the central and western portions
of the town that this movement was on foot, they circulated a counter petition,
which was also addressed to the Legislature, and which was as follows :
"The undersigned, legal voters of the Town of Medway, in said Common-
wealth, in view of the possible division of the town, upon petition to be presented
to your Honorable Body of citizens of East Medway, so called, respectfully
represent that the population of the Town of Medway is substantially divided
into three distinct communities in all their social and business relations, and
your petitioners, therefore, respectfully pray that the town may be divided into
three corporate and distinct towns, upon lines of division substantially in accord-
ance with such as have for many years marked their social and business interests,
to wit :
"That East Medway be incorporated as prayed for in the petition referred to,
embracing the territory of Medway westward to a line from a point on the
Charles River extending northerly to the boundary of Holliston.
"That West Medway, so called, include the territory of Medway extending
eastward to a line commencing at a point on said Charles River at or near the
junction with said river on the Lone Star Brook from Franklin ; thence northerly
crossing Village and Main streets to Hill Street at the Holliston boundary line,
near the house of John Sullivan, in nearly a straight course.
"And that Medway proper remain constituted with the territory and popula-
tion lying between and residing upon the same between the two lines as previously
described and as will more fully appear by a plan of the same to be submitted
to your Honorable Body. And in duty bound will ever pray."
This petition, dated "Medway, October 20, 1884," was signed by M. M. Fisher,
E. A. Daniels, Jesse K. Snow, Edward Fennessy, James O'Donnell, E. C. Wilson,
W. H. Carey, Clark Partridge, C. S. Philbrick, Henry S. Partridge, "and 193
others." Notwithstanding the fact that it bore a much larger number of signa-
tures, the petitioners for the Town of Millis remained steadfast in their work.
Their petition was published in four successive issues of the "Medway Magnet,"
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 199
was sworn to before William A. Wyckoff, a justice of the peace, on December
2, 1884, and was immediately afterward filed in the office of the secretary of
state. In due time it came before the Legislature, which evidently took the view
that it would be impracticable to divide the Town of Medway into three towns,
for on February 10, 1885, a bill was introduced in the senate providing for the
incorporation of the Town of Millis, upon the boundaries asked for by the
petitioners. Two days later it passed the senate and was sent to the house, where
it passed the final stages on the 19th and was approved by the governor on the
24th. Millis therefore dates its corporate existence from February 24, 1885.
THE TOWN NAME
The town takes its name from the Millis family, members of which were
influential in securing its incorporation. The Boston & Woonsocket division of
the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad runs through the town, and
after it was organized the name of East Medway was changed to Millis. Henry
L. Millis was particularly active in promoting the fortunes of the new town.
TOWN HALL
A short distance northeast of Millis, which is the municipal center of the
town, is the railroad station of Clicquot. Not long after the town was incorporated,
Henry L. Millis made an arrangement with the New York, New Haven & Hart-
ford Railroad Company to erect a building, the lower story of which should
be used for railroad purposes and the upper story for a town hall and public
library. Mr. Millis then conceived the idea of communicating with all natives
or former residents and asking each one to contribute a stone for the building.
The result was that quite a number responded to his request, and the walls of
the town hall and railroad station are constructed of boulders from almost every
state in the Union. Some of the stones bear suitable inscriptions, showing from
whence they came and who were their donors. The boulders of different hues
and texture give the building a unique appearance rarely to be found in a public
edifice. The hall is centrally located and the town's portion of the structure
was donated by Mr. Millis.
WATERWORKS
The Millis waterworks, now the property of the town, were also built by
Henry L. Millis, but were sold to the town some years later, a bond issue of
$30,000 being authorized to pay for them. Since the purchase by the town
the mains have been extended in several districts, at a cost of $24,380. The
principal of these extensions is that to Rockville, where a standpipe was erected,
the total cost of the improvement being $16,500. Regarding the matter of exten-
sions, at a town meeting held on February 14, 1916, it was voted: "That the
water commissioners, with three others nominated from the floor, investigate
and report at the next town meeting rules to govern all extensions of water pipes
in the Town of Millis."
The three men appointed to act with the commissioners were Harold P. Wil-
200 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Hams, Osgood T. Dean and Frank S. Hoff. On March 31, 1916, the committee
made a report to a town meeting, a portion of which report was as follows:
"The committee believes that property owners who own property outside of the
so-called water district should be afforded the privilege of obtaining Town water
on a reasonable basis. At the same time the committee realizes that in most
cases the cost of extending the water system to outlying properties is dispropor-
tionate to the income derived from the use of the water, and is greatly in excess
of installing the water supply within said water district.
"It seems reasonable, therefore, to the committee, that property owners who
desire an extension of the water system for their benefit outside of this water
district should pay for a reasonable period a sum in excess of that charged to
takers within said water district. The committee feels that if an annual sum,
equal to six per cent of the cost of extending the system, is paid by the takers
for a period of ten years from the time of installation, this sum would pay for
the water used during the same period and would also reimburse the town to
some extent for interest paid on moneys expended in making such extension.
As it is the belief of the committee that this six per cent guar-
anteed payment will, to some extent, recompense the town for the expense of
extension of its water system, the committee recommends that, where there is
more than one taker of water on any extension, all of the takers on such exten-
sion shall jointly pay a sum equal to six per cent of the investment of the town
in the extension, and if the quantity of water taken on any extension is sufficient,
if paid for at the regular water rate, to pay the town a sum equal to said six
per cent on its investment, that all water taken above such quantity shall be paid
for at the regular water rates ; it being the belief of the committee that the town
should in any event receive a sum equal to six per cent, and as much more as the
quantity of water used would enable it to receive, charging for said water at
the regular rate."
In connection with the purchase of the waterworks by the town, it is worthy
of note that a sinking fund was established for the redemption of the bonds
when they fall due in 1925. As the sinking fund accumulated, it was loaned
to the town. At the close of the year 1916 the town was the borrower of $12,180
of this fund. Thus the town is paying itself interest upon its own money, an
arrangement which is regarded as being much better than paying interest to
outside money lenders. The amount of water pumped in 1916 was 15,694,070
gallons, the receipts for which amounted to $3,387.29.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
The' Millis Fire Department is a volunteer organization. Part of the equip-
ment originally was inherited from the old Town of Medway, when the property
of that town was divided with Millis under the act of February 24, 1885. At
the town meeting on February 14, 1916, a committee previously appointed to
investigate the conditions of the Rockville Fire Company, reported in favor of
the erection of a building for that company, "at a cost of $700, as the town is
paying fifty dollars rental for a building that is not fit for the purpose." The
report was accepted and adopted, and the house was erected during the year.
In their annual report for the year 1916, the board of fire engineers, consisting
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 201
of Charles LaCroix, J. C. Thorne and Albion K. P. Barton, reported that the
department had answered fourteen calls during the year. The appropriation
for the support of the department for the year was $1,000.
FINANCIAL
In 1916 the valuation of the property, as fixed by the board of assessors,
was $1,556,872. According to the treasurer's report, the liabilities of the town
on December 31, 1916,. amounted to $80,230. Of these liabilities the principal
items were as follows :
Water bonds, due December 1, 1925 $30,000
School bonds, due annually to 1933 17,850
Water Extension bonds 13,500
Sinking Fund notes 12,180
All other obligations 6,700
Total $80,230
Millis has never been niggardly in the matter of public improvements, but
from the time the town was organized in 1885 to the present day the people have
exercised good judgment in making appropriations. The expenditures for the
year 1916 were as follows:
Notes paid during the year $20,124.50
Schools 1 1,587.1 1
Streets and Highways 7,956.29
Interest on Town Debt 3,029.40
Poor Department 1,307.78
Moth Department 1,262.26
Fire Department 843.96
Incidentals (including salaries) 2,817.04
All other expenditures 8,361.65
Total $57,289.99
GENERAL CONDITIONS IN 1917
In 1910 the United States census reported the population of Millis as 1,399,
only two towns in the county (Dover and Norfolk) showing a smaller number
of inhabitants. The state census of 191 5 gave Millis a population of 1,442, a
gain of only 43 in five years. Besides the division of the New York, New
Haven & Hartford Railroad above mentioned, Millis is connected with Dedham
on the east, and Milford on the west by an electric railway. Electric railways
that connect with this line afford easy transportation to a number of the adjacent
towns. The principal manufacturing concerns are a large boot and shoe factory
and the Clicquot Club ginger ale works, one of the largest of the kind in the
country. Near this factory the railroad company has established a station to
which has been given the name of "Clicquot." Both station and factory are about
half a mile northeast of the Village of Millis.
202 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
The principal town officers at the beginning of the year 1917 were: Michael
H Clancy, Horace M. Cushman and George G. Hoff, selectmen; Louis LaCroix,
clerk • Evan F. Richardson, treasurer ; J. A. Cole, Frank S. Harding and Moses
C Adams assessors ; Ernest L. Hill, Herbert H. Thorne and Frank S. Harding,
overseers of the poor; Charles LaCroix, George G. HofT and Michael H. Clancy,
water commissioners; J. Clarence Thorne, tax collector; Lawrence J. Reardon,,
auditor; Edward LaCroix, J. A. Cole and J. C. Thorne, school committee; Cor-
nelius J. Erisman and William H. Thorne, constables.
CHAPTER XXIII
THE TOWN OF MILTON
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES — TOPOGRAPHY — WHITE OCCUPATION — THE TOWN IN-
CORPORATED THE TOWN NAME EARLY TAVERNS TOWN HALL POSTOFFICES
WATERWORKS — FIRE DEPARTMENT — FINANCIAL HISTORY — A FEW FIRST THINGS
— OLD FAMILIES MILTON IN I917 — TOWN OFFICERS.
Milton, the sixth town to be incorporated within the present limits of Nor-
folk County, is situated northeast of the center of the county and extends north-
ward to the Suffolk County line. It is bounded on the north by the City of
Boston; on the east by Quincy ; on the south and southwest by Randolph and
Canton ; and on the west by the Town of Hyde Park, which is now within the
Boston city limits.
TOPOGRAPHY
Of all the towns of Norfolk County, Milton is preeminently the "town of
hills." The Blue Hill range, composed of the highest elevations in Eastern
Massachusetts, passes through the town. Except small patches, interspersed
here and there among the hills, there is practically no level land. The soil of
these small level tracts is a deep, heavy loam, quite fertile and productive. The
Blue Hill Reservation, comprising the principal elevations of the Blue Hill range,
has been set apart by the state as a tract for the recreation and edification of
the people, and is under the control of the Metropolitan Park Commission.
The Neponset is the principal watercourse connected with the drainage system
of the town. Its largest tributary in Milton is the Pine Tree Brook, which has
its source in a pond fed by several small streams in the western part of the town.
Its general course is easterly until it empties into the Neponset, not far from
the Central Avenue bridge. Balster's and Cook's brooks flow into the Pine Tree
Brook.
Unquaty or Gulliver's Brook rises near the Milton Cemetery and flows east-
wardly to the harbor. It derives its name from Anthony Gulliver, who was
born in England in 1619 and died in Milton in 1706. It is said that Dean Swift
got the suggestion of his "Gulliver's Travels" from a member of this family.
Jonathan Gulliver, a son of Anthony, was a member of the Massachusetts General
Court in 1727.
Blue Hill River, a branch of the Monatiquot, a small, crooked stream, forms
the boundary line between Milton and Randolph. On some maps this river is
called the Monatiquot. It receives the waters of Silver Brook, which rises on
the east side of the Great Blue Hill and flows in a southerly direction, draining
Houghton's Pond in the course of its meanderings.
203
204 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
WHITE OCCUPATION
In 1630 Gov. John Winthrop arrived in the Massachusetts Bay colony with
the charter. During the next three years there was a heavy emigration from
England to the New World. In 1633 the name of Israel Stoughton first appears
in the Dorchester records as a grantee of lands lying within the present Town
of Milton. For his residence tract he selected 101 acres on the south side of
the Neponset River, described as the "Indian Fields." His tract included nearly
the whole of Milton Hill, extending along the river from the lower falls to the
bend where Briggs' shipyard was afterward located. In 1656 this land was
sold by the heirs of Israel Stoughton to John Gill.
Associated with Mr. Stoughton (doubtless stockholders of the company before
leaving England) were John Glover and William Hutchinson. Mr. Glover
selected a tract of 180 acres directly south of Milton Hill, bordered on the north-
west by the brook. His land was occupied by his agent or tenant, Nicholas Wood,
until it was sold by the Glover heirs in 1654 to Robert Vose.
Mr. Hutchinson laid out a large tract, which included a portion of Milton,
though the greater part of it was in Braintree. In 1656 his son, Capt. Edward
Flutchinson, sold the land to Anthony Gulliver, Henry Crane and Stephen
Kingsley.
In 1636 the Town of Dorchester obtained a grant of land which embraced
nearly the entire present Town of Milton. At that time it was customary, in
occupying a new territory, to obtain a release of the Indian title. Accordingly,
on October 8, 1636, Chief Kitchamakin of the Massachusett Indians, a brother
of Chickatabot, granted and sold to Richard Collicott of Dorchester, "all that
tract beyond the Mill within ye bounds of Dorchester for them and their heirs
for ever — only reserving for my own use and for my men forty acres where I
like best & in case I & they leave it the same alsoe to belong untoe Dorchester,
giving some consideration for the paines Bestowed upon it," etc.
For this tract of land James M. Robbins, in an address delivered on the
occasion of Milton's two hundredth anniversary, June 11, 1862, says Kitchamakin
received "twenty-eight fathoms of wampum." He and his men continued to
occupy the reservation until 1657, when they removed to the country about
Ponkapog Pond, now in the Town of Canton.
An old map or plan of the purchase, made by John Oliver, shows the names
of the landowners at the time it was prepared. The map bears no date, but as
John Oliver died in 1646, it must have been made prior to that time. Upon it
appear the names of Israel Stoughton, Richard Collicott, John Glover, William
Hutchinson, John Holman, Robert Badcock, Nehemiah Bourne, William Daniels,
Nicholas Ellen, Thomas Lewis, Anthony Newton, Andrew Pitcher, Bray Wilkins
and William Salsbury.
Among these early settlers or landowners (a few of them did not occupy
their holdings) the names of Richard Collicott and John Holman appear most
frequently in the records, indicating that they were active in shaping the destinies
of the new plantation. Collicott was "a licensed fur dealer," an occupation
which brought him into intimate commercial relations with the Indians and
doubtless explains why he was selected to negotiate the deal with the chief for
possession of the land. He built his house on what is now Adams Street in 1634.
It was of the style known as a "garrisoned house" and was used later by the
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 205
Town of Dorchester as a "guard house." Mr. Collicott served on the board of
selectmen in Dorchester from 1637 to 1641 ; was a deputy to the General Court
in 1637 ; was first sergeant of the Dorchester Artillery Company, and was other-
wise prominent in town affairs. He died at Boston in 1686.
John Holman received a grant of no acres adjoining that of Collicott and
settled there soon afterward, the property remaining in his family for nearly a
century. He served several terms as one of Dorchester's selectmen; was one of
the original members of the "Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company"; ensign
of the first Artillery Company of Dorchester, and identified with many of the
early events in Milton. His death occurred in 1652.
THE TOWN INCORPORATED
For a little more than a quarter of a century after Dorchester received the
grant of land south of the Neponset River and Mr. Collicott obtained the relin-
quishment of the Indian title, the region now embraced within the Town of Mil-
ton remained a part of Dorchester. By that time a number of families had gone
into the new grant and developed farms, and in the autumn of 1661 a movement
was started for the organization of a new town. It seems that Dorchester
offered no opposition and the following petition was presented to the General
Court :
"To the Hono d Gene 11 Court now assembled att Boston 7th May 1662 : The
humble petition of us who are Inhabitants of that parte of ye Towne of Dor-
chester which is sittuated on the south side of ye Naponsett River commonly
called Unquatiquisset Humbly showeth that ffor as much as it hath pleased God
for to cast the bounds of our habitations in ye more remote partes of Dorchester
Town as that we stand in a more remote capacitie unto a constant & comfortable
attendance upon such administrations as doe respect sivill and ecclesiasticall com-
munion in ye sayde Towne of Dorchester.
"Yet notwithstanding ye difficulties & allmost impossibilityes of ye constant
attendance of us & our familyes have compelled not only our selves but allsoe
ye Towne of Dorchester to acknowledge some necessitie of providing & settling
a public ministry amongst our selves. And to that Purpose ye Towne of Dor-
chester (divers years since) granted us Libertie by our own contribution to
maintayne our own Ministry. But we finding by experience that the orderly
managing of such an Affair as Settlement hath some dependence upon ye exer-
cise of Sivill Power unto ye effectual exercise of Which (as to ye attaynement
of such an end) we find our selves alltogether out of a capacitie as now we stand
therefore we have obtayned from ye Towne of Dorchester a second graunt lib-
ertie to become a Township of our selves — a coppie of which graunt we here
withall present to the view of the Hon ble Court.
"Our humble petition to this Hon ble Court therefore is that (If according to
ye terms & tenor of this graunt you shall in your wisdom judge us capable of
being a Township) you would please by your authoritie to confirm the sd graunt
unto us. And it beeing a more than ordinarie juncture of affaires with us as to
our present Settlement we doe allsoe humbly crave our freedom from country
rates according to the accustomed graunt to new Plantations we beeing (by
Reason of our slowness & ye strait limitts of our place as unable ffor Publick
Affayres as if we were a new Plantation).
206 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
"This cur humble petition is — If it shall bee by this Honor d Court accepted
wee hope wee shall doe what in us lyes to mannage affayres in our comunitie
according to the laws of God & this Goverment out present design beeing the
promotion of ye Public weale which that it may bee the period of your Consul-
tations. So pray your humble petitioners.
"STEPHEN KINGSLEY
"ROBERT VOSE
"JOHN GILL
"In the names of all ye rest of ye Inhabitants."
No time was lost by the Court in the consideration of the petition, for on the
very day it was presented (May 7, 1662) the township was incorporated. The
original petition in the state archives bears the indorsment : "The deputyes think-
meet to graunt this petition, viz. so far as it concernes ye Township but do not
think meet to exempt them from rates."
In merely granting the petition the town was left without a name. To rectify
this oversight the following action was taken later by the Court : "There having
been granted to the inhabitants of Unketyquisset within ye Township of Dor-
chester to become a Township of themselves upon motion of your inhabitants it
is ordered that ye said Town shallbee called Milton."
Stephen Kingsley, whose name appears as the first of the signers of the peti-
tion, was ordained a ruling elder of the church in Braintree in 1653. About
three years later, after he, Henry Crane and Anthony Gulliver had purchased
the, William Hutchinson grant, he removed to Unketyquisset, where it is stated
he conducted the first religious services. He quickly became active in local
affairs and drew up the petition which was signed by himself, Robert Vose and
John Gill as a committee of the inhabitants, which petition resulted in the
incorporation of the town as above noted.
THE TOWN NAME
The Indian name of the region now included in the Town of Milton was
Unketyquisset (the name is spelled in various ways), but as that was too un-
wieldly the General Court adopted the name of Milton, at the request of the inhab-
itants. Three distinct theories as to the reason for the adoption of this name
have been presented. The first says the town was named in honor of John
Milton, the celebrated English poet, who in 1662 was at the zenith of his fame.
The second says it was named from the old mill (Mill Town), which was erected
by the inhabitants of Dorchester on the Neponset River in 1633. This was the
first water-mill in New England. The third theory, which is perhaps the most
plausible one, is that the town derived its name from Milton, England. There are,
however, in England and Wales about twenty towns called Milton, or of which
the word Milton forms some part of the name, and it is impossible to determine
which one was copied in giving name to the Massachusetts town.
EARLY TAVERNS
Soon after the town was incorporated Roger Billings built a large house on
what is now Canton Avenue and opened a tavern, which in a few years became
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 207
noted for "its fancy dinners and high living." Mr. Billings died in 1683, when
the name of the hostelry was changed to "Blue Hill Tavern." The house was
torn down in 1885 and some of the timbers were used in building a barn.
The Bent Tavern was opened on the corner of Canton Avenue and Atherton
Street by Lemuel or Rufus Bent about 1740. About 1790 the name was changed
to the "Bradlee Tavern," when Stephen Bradlee took possession. He was a son
of John Bradlee, who settled in Milton some years before the beginning the Revo-
lution. Stephen Bradlee died in 1803 and the house was kept for some time by
his widow. Then she married Maj. Jedediah Atherton, who in 1810 built a new
tavern on the site of the old one and opened it as the "Atherton House."
White's (later Wild's) Tavern was in existence as early as 1787, for in that
year there was considerable excitement in the town over the report that a man
had died of yellow fever at this house.
Clark's Tavern, on Randolph Avenue, was built in 1809 by Samuel Tucker
for his son Joshua, who conducted it for several years. Then Minot Thayer pur-
chased the property and ran the tavern for some time. He was succeeded in
turn by several other proprietors before the house ceased to be a place of enter-
tainment for travelers.
TOWN HALL
From the time Milton was incorporated until 1835, the town meetings were
held in the meeting house. In March, 1835, the annual meeting was held in the
Academy Hall. On August 24, 1836, the trustees of the academy voted to rent
to the town the lower story of the building for forty dollars a year. A few meet-
ings were held here, when the selectmen obtained permission to use the old stone
church known as the "Railway Village Meeting House." Just how many town
meetings were held in this house is not certain, but in 1837 it was voted to pay
the trustees of the church $300 for the use of the building.
At the same time this sum was voted a committee, consisting of John Ruggles,
Jason Houghton, Jesse Tucker, Moses Gragg, Alva Martin, Walter Cornell and
Samuel Adams, was appointed "to purchase a piece of land near the center of
the town and proceed to erect thereon a town house not to exceed 40 by 60 feet,
one story in height, and at a cost not to exceed $2,500." About that time the
surplus that had accumulated in the United States Treasury during the adminis-
tration of President Andrew Jackson was distributed among the states, and by
the states to the counties and towns. Through this channel Milton received
$3,424.89, which paid for the lot and town house and left a balance of $589.46
in the town treasury. This hall served the town for more than forty years.
At the annual meeting in March, 1878, the town voted an appropriation of
$35,000 for a new town hall. William H. Forbes, Samuel Gannett, J. H. Wol-
cott, James M. Robbins, Samuel Babcock, George Vose, Edward L. Pierce,
Horace E. Ware and Albert K. Teele were appointed a building committee, with
instructions to procure plans and specifications and superintend the erection
of the building. The plans selected were those prepared by Hartwell & Tilden,
architects of Boston. William C. Poland &: Son of Boston were awarded the
contract for the brick and stone work; Creesey & Noyes of Boston, the car-
pentry work; J. Farquhar's Sons of Boston, the roofing; and L. Cushman & Son
208 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
of Waltham, the copper work. The roofing and copper work were afterward
included in the contract of Creesey & Noyes, as were also the painting and glaz-
ing, except the interior decorative painting, which was done by W. J. McPherson
of Boston. The new hall was dedicated on February 17, 1879, Edward L. Pierce
of the building committee delivering the historical address. The total cost of the
strucure was $34,959-°9-
POSTOFFICES
The first postoffice in the town was established at Milton about the beginning
of the Nineteenth Century. Owing to the burning of the records at the time of
the British attack on Washington in the War of 1812, it is impossble to give the
exact date, but the office was in existence in 1801, with Dr. Samuel R. Glover as
postmaster. He was succeeded by Moses Whitney in 1805, who held the office
for some twelve years, when he resigned and Nathan C. Martin was appointed.
In April, 1872, the postoffice at East Milton was established, with J. W. Bab-
cock as postmaster, and on April 1, 1874, the Blue Hill postoffice, on Canton
Avenue near Harland Street, was opened for the receipt and delivery of mail,
with Stillman J. Tucker as postmaster. This office at first received mail once a
day through the postoffice at Mattapan. With the introduction of rural free
delivery the postoffice at Blue Hill was discontinued, leaving but two offices in the
town at the beginning of the year 1917.
WATERWORKS
The system of waterworks in Milton was built by the Milton Water Company
and was purchased by the town in 1902 for $320,155.02, of which sum $120,546.67
was applied to the payment of bonds issued by the company prior to the time
of purchase. The annual appropriations from 1903 to 19 16 inclusive aggregate
$47,000, but of these appropriations $24,503.64 represents unexpended balances
that were turned back into the treasury, making the net cost to the town at the
close of the year 191 6 the sum of $342,651.38.
Since the plant was purchased by the town the mains have been extended until
at the beginning of the year 1917 there were a little more than fifty-two miles,
all of which except about one mile consisted of pipe more than four inches in
diameter. The number of public hydrants was 401 and the total consumption of
water for the year 1916 amounted to 135,878,000 gallons.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
On February 24, 1670, a town meeting ordered that every householder should
have a "lader long enough to reach to ye top of his house by the last day of ye
Fifth Month, or pay ten shillings for faleure to do so & five shillings a month
thereafter so longe as he shall neglect to provide sayd lader." • This is the first
mention of fire protection to be found in the town records, though some precau-
tion may have been made earlier, as the records for the first eight years are
missing.
In 1793 the "Firewards Society of Dorchester and Milton" was organized and
OLDEST HOUSE IN EAST MILTON
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OBSERVATORY. BLUE HILL RESERVATION, MILTON
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 209
Stephen Badlam was elected clerk. The members of the society were exempted
by the two towns from military duty and the payment of poll tax. The first
engine was a small affair, filled by leather buckets. Nearly every house had two
buckets kept in some convenient place, where they could be easily reached in
case of fire, and a number of buckets was always kept with the engine.
The first suction engine — the "Fountain" — was kept near the end of the
bridge, on the Dorchester side of the Neponset River. A little later the "Alert"
was procured and stationed on the Milton side and there was a friendly rivalry
between the two companies as to which could respond the more promptly and
render the better service at a fire. In 1845 a hydrant engine was purchased for
$1,200 and the same year a hook and ladder company was organized. A supply
of hose was also purchased for the use of the fire company. Three years later
the "Ninety's Hose Company" was organized. It is said to have taken its name
from the "87 Hose Company," mentioned in "Doesticks," a volume published
about that time. Better fire protection was afforded in 1861 when a line of pipe
was laid from the mill to Canton Avenue and six hydrants were located thereon.
In 1881 an engine house was built by the town in the rear of the town hall,
at a cost of $3,195 and a chemical engine was bought for $2,000 and placed in
the new house. During the next two years a fire alarm system was installed, and
at the close of 1883 there were twenty-three miles of wire and eighteen alarm
boxes. At that time there were six reservoirs, in which water could be stored
for fire emergencies! — one near the town hall, one on Central Avenue, and the
other four at points in East Milton. The annual town meeting in 1887 made an
appropriation for the purchase of a steam fire engine and the erection of an
engine house at Milton Centre. This was the first steam fire engine introduced in
the town.
According to the report of the board of fire engineers for the year ending on
December 31, 1916, "The apparatus of the department now consists of 1 motor
ladder truck with chemical tank attachment ; 1 750-gallon capacity motor pump
engine ; 1 motor combination hose and chemical truck ; totalling a cost to the
town of $19,450, all of which is housed in the Central Fire Station. The depart-
ment also maintains horse-drawn combination hose and chemical apparatus at
both East Milton and Brush Hill."
During the year 1916 the department answered 131 alarms, besides eight calls
to Boston and six to Quincy. The value of property involved in the 131 fires in
the town was $66,160 and the total loss by fire was $5,207.30, on which the prop-
erty holders recovered insurance of $4,332.30, making the actual fire loss $875 —
a record rarely equaled by town fire departments.
FINANCIAL HISTORY
Milton is the third wealthiest town in Norfolk County, being exceeded in
this respect only by the Town of Brookline and the City of Quincy. According
to the report of the assessors for the year 1916, the total valuation of property
was $35,104,044. This is $1,965,319 lower than the valuation of 1915, but the
decrease is not due to any real loss of property, being due merely to a readjust-
ment of assessments by the board of assessors. On December 31, 1916, the
funded debt of the town was $455,000, distributed as follows :
210 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
School loans $244,000
Water bonds outstanding 160,000
Sewer loans 29,000
Library loan 1 5,000
Public Park loans 7,000
Total $455,000
Of the school loans, $175,000 was authorized in 1916 for the purpose of erect-
ing a new high school building. On the other side of the ledger the town prop-
erty was valued as follows :
School buildings and contents $ 273,890
Public Library and contents 137,318
Police Station and contents 35,3°4
Other buildings and contents 167,947
Cemetery 50,000
Public grounds and parks 36,000
Other real estate 19,700
Waterworks 315,000
Total $1,035,159
In addition to this municipal property, the treasurer reported assets consisting
of cash on hand and uncollected assessments of $201,167. If this De added to
the $1,035,159 representing the value of buildings, etc., the town has total assets
of $1,236,326, or nearly three dollars for every dollar of the funded debt. Surely
the holder of Milton's obligations need feel no anxiety as to the safety of his
securities. The total appropriations made by the annual meeting in 1916
amounted to $397,705, to wit :
Highway construction $ 50,000
Highway maintenance 30,300
Sprinkling and oiling streets 10,000
Sidewalks 5,000
Police department 33> 2 45
Fire department 2 4,7/0
Water department 14,400
Schools 96,300
Poor 7,000
Public Library 10,000
Street lighting I7,9 2 3
Interest 1 1,079
Salaries 10,800
Public parks 3,600
Miscellaneous 73,288
<
Total $397705
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 211
In a majority of the cases, as shown by the above table, the appropriations
were in excess of the actual necessities, and the auditor, in his financial statement
at the close of the year, reported unexpended balances amounting to $180,007.
This shows that while the people of Milton are liberal in giving support to the
town's institutions, the officials who have charge of the disbursement of public
funds have been governed by reasonable concern for the interests of the tax-
payers of the town, and that they have used good business judgment in making
their contracts and purchases.
A FEW FIRST THINGS
The first birth recorded in the town records is that of Elizabeth, daughter of
Thomas Swift, who was born on August 21, 1662.
The earliest recorded marriage was solemnized on November 30, 1671, when
Ale Caig became the wife of Samuel Pilcher, though it is quite certain that this
was not the first in the town — being only the first on record.
The first recorded death is that of Robert, son of Edward Vose, who died on
November n, 1667. An infant son of John Keney died two days later.
The first mention of a school is in the records for March 4, 1669, when
"Ebenezer Tucker was chose Scoole Master for the west end of the Town."
The first sermon was preached by Rev. Stephen Kingsley, but Rev. Joseph
Emerson was the first regularly licensed clergyman to hold religious services in
the town.
The first powder mill in this section of the colony was ordered in August,
1673. A company was at that time organized by Rev. John Oxenbridge and Rev.
James Allen, pastor and teacher respectively of the First Church in Boston,
Robert Sanderson, Capt. John Hull and Freegrace Bendall to build a mill for
the manufacture of gunpowder. They brought over from England Walter
Everendon as superintendent, and the mill was located just south of the Neponset
bridge, on the Milton side of the river. At the time of King Philip's war the
General Court ordered "a constant watch to be kept at Unkety for the preserva-
tion of the powder mill and the grist mill in its immediate vicinity."
The first pound was built in 1670 on Mr. Cushing's land near the present
White Street.
The first paper mill was started in January, 1728, and the first chocolate mill
in the fall of 1764. The first violoncello was made by Benjamin Crehore in 1798,
and the first piano by the same man two years later.
OLD FAMILIES
One little passage in the historical address of Edward L. Pierce at the dedica-
tion of the town hall, February 17, 1879, 1S worthy of more than passing notice.
Said he : "There has been a continuity in the life of this town rare in municipal
history. Growing in population by natural increase rather than by accessions
from other places, there has been a steady flow of influence and character from
one generation to another. Eight of the original trustees, to whom, in 1664, a
tract of land was conveyed for a meeting house and other ministerial purposes,
have always since had and still have descendants in the town bearing their names,
212 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
and in some instances living upon and holding, without break in the chain of
title, their ancestral acres — the Voses, Wadsworths, Tuckers, Sumners, Gullivers,
Babcocks, Swifts and Cranes."
MILTON IN I917
In 1910 the population of Milton, according to the United States census,
was 7,924. The state census of 1915 reports it as 8,600, and in 1916 the superin-
tendent of the waterworks estimates it at 8,933. These figures show a steady
gain in the number of inhabitants, much of which is due as Mr. Pierce said in
his address to "natural increase." Of the families mentioned by him, six were
represented in the tax list for 1916, the Cranes and Gullivers being the only ones
missing.
Milton has two banks, one of which has been in existence for nearly a century,
a weekly newspaper (the Record), several churches, some manufacturing inter-
tests, steam and electric railway transportation, and is one of the most desirable
residence towns in the county.
Following is a list of the principal town officers at the beginning of the year
1917: James S. Russell, Maurice A. Duffy and James P. Mitchell, selectmen and
surveyors of highways; G. Frank Kemp, clerk; J. Porter Holmes, treasurer;
Clarence Boylston, William W. Churchill and Charles H. Home, assessors ;
Josiah Babcock, tax collector ; J. H. Raymond and Frederick N. Krim, auditors ;
Theodore T. Whitney, Jr., Howard Leslie and Thomas B. Gordon, water com-
missioners; Albert D. Smith, Arthur H. Tucker, Walter D. Brooks, Horace N.
Plummer and Caroline E. Williams, overseers of the poor; Bernard W. Trafford,
Malcolm Donald and J. Sumner Draper, park commissioners; Harris Kennedy,
H. B. Edwards, Frank P. Fanning, Stephen C. Mitchell, Reginald L. Robbins and
Eva B. Churchill, school committee; Maurice Pierce, Peleg Bronsdon, Timothy
McDermott and George W. Higgins, constables ; Philip S. Dalton, James S.
Gallagher and J. H. Holmes, fire engineers.
CHAPTER XXIV
THE TOWN OF NEEDHAM
ORIGINALLY PART OF DEDHAM — LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES — SURFACE — INDIAN
OCCUPATION — FIRST SETTLEMENT — PETITION TO BE SET OFF AS A TOWN — THE
TOWN INCORPORATED — FIRST TOWN MEETING CHANGING THE BOUNDARIES —
TOWN HALL WATERWORKS FIRE DEPARTMENT ELECTRIC LIGHT POSTOF-
FICES — A HISTORIC MONUMENT — TOWN SEAL — MODERN NEEDHAM.
The territory now comprising the Town of Needham was included in Dedham
when the latter was incorporated on September 8, 1636, and remained a part of
that town for three-quarters of a century. Needham is situated in the northerly
part of the county, in a bend of the Charles River. On the northwest it is
bounded by Wellesley ; on the northeast by the Charles River, which separates it
from the City of Boston ; and also on the southerly side by the Charles River,
which there separates it from the towns of Dedham and Dover. That portion
of Dedham known as "Dedham Island," lying on the opposite side of the Charles
River from the main part of the town, forms a small part of Needham's boundary
line on the southeast. There are several small streams in the town, all tributary to
the Charles River. They rise in the central part and flow in nearly all directions,
which indicates the general character of the surface.
INDIAN OCCUPATION
At the time Dedham was incorporated, and for many years afterward, the
land in what is now Needham was claimed by the Indians. On April 14, 1680,
a deed was executed by William Nahaton (sometimes written Nehoiden) and
his brothers and sfsters to "a parcel or tract of land as it lieth towards the north-
erly side of Dedham, by the Great Falls of the Charles River, to the Natic saw
mill brook," etc. About a year later, April 18, 1681, John Magus, a minor chief
living at Natick, and his wife, Sara Magus, relinquished all their claims to "the
whole parcel or tract of land as it lieth in Dedham bounds," etc. The tract thus
deeded to the white inhabitants was known as "Magus Hill" and included the
present towns of Needham and Natick and that part of Dedham called Dedham
Island. The consideration received by Magus and his wife was five pounds in
money and Indian corn to the value of three pounds — a total of about forty
dollars. The same lands today are worth several millions of dollars.
FIRST SETTLEMENT
It is uncertain just when or by whom the first settlement was made in Need-
ham, but it was no doubt soon after the extinguishment of the Indian title, as
213
214 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
mentioned in the foregoing paragraph. The records of a Dedham town meeting
held in March, 1694, bear evidence that a settlement of some kind existed in
the vicinity of Magus Hill. On July 2, 1705, the Dedham selectmen granted
one Benjamin Mills a license "to keep a public house near the Lower Falls,"
and on March 9, 1709, the settlers living on the opposite side of the Charles
River from Dedham Village petitioned the town for a grant of eight pounds
to pay a minister for three months, which request the records show was granted.
There must have been a considerable number of inhabitants at that time, or
the grant would hardly have been made. It is not probable that a meeting
house had then been erected, but that the preaching was to be done at a pioneer
school house, or in the homes of some of the inhabitants. A little more than a year
later the people of what is now Needham took the first steps to have a town of
their own established, by petitioning the General Court to that effect.
THE PETITION
The petition asking for the incorporation, which was presented to the General
Court in May, 1710, was signed by Henry Alden, Samuel Bacon, Hezekiah Broad,
Edward Cook, Robert Cook, Andrew Dewing, Andrew Dewing, Jr., Jonathan
Dewing, John Fisher, John Fisher, Jr., Thomas Fuller, Robert Fuller, John Gill,
Joseph Hawes, Stephen Hunting, Eleazer Kingsbury, James Kingsbury, Josiah
Kingsbury, Timothy Kingsbury, John Mclntire, Thomas Metcalf, Benjamin Mills,
Benjamin Mills, Jr., William Mills, Zechariah Mills, Richard More, Matthias Ock-
inton, Isaac Parker, Jonathan Parker, John Parker, John Parker, Jr., Samuel
Parker, Christopher Smith, John Smith, Joshua Smith, Andrew Wadkins, Ebe-
nezer Ware, Ephraim Ware, Jeremiah Woodcock and John Woodcock.
Opposition to the petition developed in the Town of Dedham, which appointed
a committee to appear at the October session of the General Court and show why
the petition should not be granted. The effect of this move on the part of the
mother town was that the General Court declined to grant the prayer of the
petitioners at that time, but advised the people of Dedham to exempt them
from paying taxes for the support of the minister at Dedham, provided they
would undertake to have religious sendees among themselves and to employ a
minister to conduct such services. This advice was accepted by a town meeting
held in Dedham on November 13, 1710, and on the 19th of March following still
further encouragement was given by the proprietors of undivided land in Dedham
setting apart two lots of land (about one hundred and thirty-three acres) to be
used by the settlers of Needham for the support of the ministry. This placed the
inhabitants of Needham in the position of a separate precinct, although such
precinct was not organized under the laws of the colony.
THE TOWN INCORPORATED
The people of the little settlement northwest of the Charles River were not
satisfied, however, with their quasi-precinct organization and during the summer
and early fall of 171 1 another petition asking the General Court to incorporate
"that portion of Dedham lying north of the Charles River as a separate town,"
was circulated and signed by most of the inhabitants. This petition came before
PIBLIC LIBRARY, NEEDHAM
TOWN HALL, XKKDHAM
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 215
the General Court at the fall session, and on November 5, 171 1, it was granted,
"the new town to be known as Needham."
Concerning the name of the town, Rev. Stephen Palmer, in a historical address
delivered by him at the centennial celebration of the town in 181 1, said: "I have
been informed by one of the descendants of the venerable Timothy Dwight, of
Dedham, who was a member of the Legislature when this town was incorporated,
that it was named Needham at the request of Governor Dudley after Needham
in England, and because that town is near to Dedham, although in a different
county."
FIRST TOWN MEETING
Needham's first town meeting was held on December 4, 171 1, when the fol-
lowing officers were elected : Timothy Kingsbury, John Fisher, Benjamin Mills,
John Smith and Robert Cook, selectmen ; Timothy Kingsbury, clerk ; Robert Cook,
treasurer. On May 19, 171 2, Robert Cook was elected as the first representative
to the General Court. The only other business transacted at the meeting of
December 4, 171 1, besides the election of officers, was the appointment of a com-
mittee to select a suitable place for a burial ground. The committee was com-
posed of the selectmen, Jonathan Gay, Jeremiah Woodcock, Thomas Metcalf
and Eleazer Kingsbury.
CHANGING THE BOUNDARIES
As established in 171 1, Needham included the present Town of Wellesley
and a part of Natick. On October 3, 1774, the westerly part was set off as a
precinct and about four years later was organized as a separate parish. Natick
was set off from Dedham in 1781. By an act of the General Court in 1797, the
tract known as the "Needham Leg," containing 1,656 acres, was added to Natick,
but Needham received in return 404 acres from Natick in another place, the
change making both the towns of better shape. On June 21, 1803, the Turtle
Island, at the Upper Falls of the Charles River, was taken from Needham and
annexed to Newton. The Town of Wellesley was set off" on April 6, 1881, reduc-
ing Needham to its present dimensions.
TOWN HALL
In the erection of the Town of Wellesley in 1881, the town hall that had served
Needham for a number of years went to the new town. Needham received from
Wellesley about thirty thousand dollars, which was applied chiefly to the pay-
ment of the town debt. Town meetings were held in hired halls for about
twenty years, but on November 26, 1901, a committee was appointed to consider
the advisability of building a new town hall. The committee made a report in
favor of such a movement, and on March 17, 1902, the following building com-
mittee was appointed : Rodman P. Snelling, Daniel W. Richards, Emery Grover,
John E. Buckley and Harrie S. Whittemore. Plans were made by Winslow &
Bigelow, architects, and the contract was awarded to Mead, Mason & Company.
The corner-stone was laid by the Masonic fraternity on September 2, 1902, and
216 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
the building was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies on the evening of Decem-
ber 22, 1903. The cost, including the furnishings, was $57,500. The structure
stands on the common, so that nothing was paid for land. It is one of the best
appointed town halls in the county. The ceremony of the corner-stone laying
was made a part of "Needham Old Home Week" and was attended by a large
concourse of people.
WATERWORKS
In March, 1887, a committee, consisting of Dr. Albert E. Miller, C. A. Hicks,
Thomas F. Peabody, James E. Cahill and William Carter, was appointed to inves-
tigate the sources of a water supply and report at a subsequent meeting. The
following July an appropriation of $500 was made for the use of the committee,
and on March 8, 1888, an act was approved authorizing the town to issue bonds
to the amount of $75,000, to establish a system of waterworks. Later acts author-
ized bond issues aggregating $280,000. One provision of the act of 1888 was
that it was not to become effective until approved by a vote of two-thirds of
the legal voters of the town. On November 7, 1889, the necessary two-thirds
vote was obtained, the proposition having twice been defeated, and on December
3, 1889, the first board of water commissioners was elected, viz. : John Moseley,
John M. Hodge and James Mackintosh.
During the summer and fall of 1890 the waterworks were sufficiently com-
pleted to furnish water to the more densely populated parts of the town, the
supply being taken from Colburn Spring. In October, 1897, a water reservation
was established by the purchase of the Colburn farm of seventy-three and a half
acres, and the first well was sunk soon afterward. Well No. 2 was added in
1900 and in 1902 the Hicks Spring, with seven acres adjoining, was added to
the reservation. By 1905 the water mains were extended to all parts of the town.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
The first official mention in the Needham records regarding fire protection
is in the minutes of the meeting of March 4, 1833, when George W. Hoogs,
William Flagg, William Pierce, David C. Mills, Tyler Pettee and Elisha Lyon
were elected firewards. During the next five years volunteer companies were
evidently organized, as on April 3, 1838, the town voted to exempt engine men
from poll tax. In 1840 the town voted to "furnish a hose carriage for the use
of the engine company at the Lower Falls, the cost not to exceed thirty-five
dollars." Three years later Colonel Rice, William Flagg, Lyman Greenwood,
Galen Orr, Elisha Lyon and Richard Boynton were appointed a committee to
raise money by subscription for a new engine for the Lower Falls, notwithstand-
ing a majority of the members of the fire company there were Newton men
and the apparatus was kept on their side of the river. The committee was also
instructed to consider the question of providing fire protection at the Upper
Falls, where an engine company had been organized. No report of this com-
mittee can be found.
In 1844 the town appropriated the sum of $150 for the different engine com-
panies, to be distributed as follows: Lower Falls, $60; East Needham, $60;
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 217
Upper Falls, $30. Very few changes were made in the department during the
next thirty years, further than to replace old apparatus with new as it wore
out, and the introduction of new members of the several companies as old ones
dropped out of service. The records of the town meeting of 1874 show that
the Cataract Engine Company was allowed $296.28 and the Mechanics Engine
Company, $123.42, "for services at fires in excess of the $500 appropriated."
New engine houses were erected at Needham Heights and on Chestnut Street
in 1885, at a cost of $3,000, and on March 4, 1889, an appropriation of $900 was
made for the installation of a fire alarm system, an arrangement being made that
the bells of the First Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church should be
used as alarm bells. Boxes were placed at the different engine houses and one at
the corner of Nehoiden and Rosemary streets. The alarm system was installed
by Henry D. Rodgers, who was the first superintendent.
The first hook and ladder truck (purchased in 1882 at a cost of $760) was
replaced by a new one in 1890, when a new company was formed, the department
then numbering ninety men. In 1901 the Firemen's Relief Association was
organized for the purpose of caring for sick or disabled members. A combina-
tion chemical and hose wagon was purchased for $1,200 in 1905, and a second
was purchased about two years later at a cost of $1,800. Since then the depart-
ment has been improved along general lines and is now in first class condition,
both in organization and equipment.
ELECTRIC LIGHT
The first street lights were introduced in 1874, in which year the town paid
$150 for maintaining forty-six lights. In 1878 the number of lights had increased
to 179 and the cost to the town for their maintenance was $450. An act of the
General Court in 1881 authorized the Newton and Watertown Gas Light Com-
pany to extend its pipes into Needham, but only a part of the town ever received
any benefit. In 1883 James Mackintosh raised $1,320 by subscription for the
establishment of eighty-eight street lamps, for which the town agreed to care.
Ten years later the number was increased to 127 lamps.
Under the act of 1891, Massachusetts towns were authorized to construct
their own lighting plants. The provisions of this act were accepted by the people
of Needham on March 7, 1892, and at another meeting on June 23, 1893, the
selectmen were authorized to issue bonds for $10,000, and to be commissioners
of a sinking fund, the money received from the sale of the bonds to be used for
the purpose of constructing a municipal lighting plant. Before anything was
done under this order, the selectmen were instructed by a meeting held on Sep-
tember 15, 1893, to enter into a contract with the Eliot Falls Electric Light
Company to furnish current, and an additional appropriation of $3,500 was made
for the erection of poles, etc., the money to be raised by the sale of bonds.
Nineteen miles of poles and wires were placed by the Hawes Electric Company,
and late in the year the town received its first electric lights. The Eliot Falls
Company was succeeded by the Natick Gas and Electric Company, and in 1898
the Needham contract was renewed with the 'latter company for five years. In
1903 the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Boston purchased the hold-
ings of the Natick Company and since then light has been furnished by the
Edison Company.
218 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
POSTOFFICES
On May 17, 1826, a postoffice was established at Needham — the first in the
town — with Rufus Mills as the first postmaster. He first kept the office in his
house, using a small trunk as a receptacle for the mail, but later removed it to
Daniel Kingsbury's store. A few years ago the little trunk was kept on exhibi-
tion for several days at the postoffice, to show the beginning of Needham's mail
facilities, and it was viewed by a large number of people with manifest curiosity.
The second postoffice was established at West Needham, with Charles Noyes
as postmaster. The exact date when this office was ordered by the postoffice
department cannot be ascertained, but it was prior to 1830, as in that year mail
was delivered three times a week by the stages running between Boston and
Natick. Noyes held the position of postmaster but a short time, when he was
succeeded by William Flagg, who served for twenty-five years. The site of this
office is now in the Town of Wellesley.
On January 6, 185 1, the third postoffice in the town was established at Charles
River Village, with Josiah Newell as postmaster. In November of the same year
a postoffice was established at Grantville in charge of William H. Adams as post-
master. Grantville was made a railroad station in 1884. It is now in the Town
of Wellesley.
The postoffice at Highlandville (now Needham Heights) was established on
December 19, 1871. Jonathan Avery was the first postmaster at this office. Rural
free delivery was inaugurated in Needham on June 4, 1900.
A HISTORIC MONUMENT
In 185 1 the town erected a monument upon an elevation in the old cemetery
to commemorate the valor of the Needham men who lost their lives in the Revo-
lutionary war. The monument is in the form of a granite obelisk, and upon the
side next to the public street is the inscription : "In memory of John Bacon,
Amos Mills, Elisha Mills, Jonathan Parker and Nathaniel Chamberlain, who
fell at Lexington April 19, 1775. For liberty they died."
John Bacon was first lieutenant in Capt. Caleb Kingsbury's company ; Amos
Mills and Nathaniel Chamberlain were privates in the same company ; Elisha
Mills was a sergeant and Jonathan Parker a private in Capt. Robert Smith's
company. A history of these companies will be found in the chapter on the
Revolution.
THE TOWN SEAL
The design of the Needham town seal is certainly appropriate and conveys
an idea of the town's history. In the center are two white men and an Indian in
a circle, representing the purchase of the lands from the natives ; on the left
is a wigwam and on the right a large tree, under which the treaty was held, and
in the background is a hill, representing Magus Hill. In the circle surrounding
this design are the words, "Town of Needham, Incorporated, 171 1."
MODERN NEEDHAM
Besides the public utilities above enumerated, Needham has a banking insti-
tution, a fine public library, a good public school system, excellent highways, a
EPISCOPAL CHURCH, NEEDHAM HEIGHTS
THE CARTER MILES. NEEDHAM HKICHTS
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 219
number of manufacturing enterprises, especially in knit goods, mercantile houses
in keeping with the demands of the population, churches of the leading denomi-
nations, lodges of the principal fraternal organizations, and a number of social
and literary clubs. In 1910 the population was 5,026. The town then stood
eleventh in population, but the state census of 191 5 raised it to the ninth place,
giving it a population of 6,542, a gain of 1,516 in five years. The assessed
valuation of property in 191 5 was $8,765,666, only eight of the Norfolk County
towns returning a larger valuation.
CHAPTER XXV
THE TOWN OF NORFOLK
LOCATION, BOUNDARIES AND TOPOGRAPHY — EARLY HISTORY — NORTH PARISH OF
WRENTHAM — INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN — FIRST TOWN MEETING TOWN
HALL — POSTOFFICES THE PRESENT NORFOLK.
Norfolk is situated in the westerly part of the county. On the north it is
bounded by Medfield and Millis, being separated from the latter for a short dis-
tance by the Charles River ; on the east by Walpole ; on the south by Wrentham ;
and on the west by Franklin. A little of the boundary line on the southeast is
formed by the Town of Foxboro, and the Stop River forms a portion of the
boundary line between Norfolk and Walpole. The general surface is quite
similar to that of the surrounding towns — rolling, and in some places hilly.
There are a few ponds and some small streams, tributaries of the Charles and
Stop rivers.
EARLY HISTORY
The general history of Norfolk is uneventful. When the Town of Wrentham
was incorporated in October, 1673, it included the greater part of the present
Town of Norfolk, and the territory remained attached to Wrentham for nearly
two centuries. The first settlements were made here while the town was still
a part of Wrentham and the early history is therefore incorporated in the chapter
relating to that town. Among the early settlers in this section were the Blakes,
Days, Holbrooks, Manns, Ponds, Richardsons, Wares and several other families
whose names have become intimately interwoven with the affairs of Norfolk
County.
In 1 791 the warrant for a town meeting in Wrentham contained an article —
"To see if the inhabitants are satisfied with the Rev. David Avery as a Gospel
Minister," and "provided that if the major part of the town are satisfied with
the Rev. David Avery, to see if the town will consent that any persons who are
dissatisfied may go to any other society to do duty and receive privilege," etc.
Most of those who were dissatisfied with Mr. Avery as a minister lived in
the northern part of Wrentham. Although no action was taken upon the above
mentioned article at the town meeting, the fact that it was inserted in the warrant
was an acknowledgment that the dissatisfaction existed. Mr. Avery continued
to exercise the duties of pastor and early in the fall of 1795 a call was issued
by some of the leaders in the northern part of the Town of Wrentham for the
inhabitants of that section to meet on "Tuesday, September 29th next for
the purpose of knowing the minds of our inhabitants for building a meeting house
for public and social worship at the said north end."
220
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 221
'rne meeting was well attended and after considerable discussion it was decided
to build a meeting house. A lengthy subscription paper was drawn up (probably
in advance of the meeting), giving the reasons for such action, and this was signed
by thirty-eight of the most influential men in that part of Wrentham, pledging
the aggregate sum of $1,244 for the purpose of building a meeting house and
employing a minister to their liking. It seems that the Town of Wrentham offered
no objection and in this way the present Town of Norfolk became the North
Parish of Wrentham.
INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN
Norfolk continued as the Wrentham North Parish for about one and a quarter
centuries. In 1869 a petition to the General Court was prepared and circulated
among the inhabitants, asking that the North Parish, with portions of the towns
of Franklin, Medway and Walpole, be incorporated as a town. The petition
came before the next session of the General Court, and on February 23, 1870,
the following act was approved :
"An Act to incorporate the Town of Norfolk.
"Be it enacted, etc.
"Section 1. All the territory now within the towns of Wrentham, Franklin,
Medway and Walpole, in the County of Norfolk, comprised w r ithin the following
limits, that is to say : Beginning at a point on Charles River, in the northwest
angle of Wrentham, and following in an easterly course the present line of divi-
sion between Wrentham and Medfield to Stop River; thence running southerly
along said river, and separated by the thread of its stream from Walpole, to a
point forty rods north of the mouth of the first brook running into said river
below Campbell's Mills, on the easterly side ; thence from said point, by a straight
line, running to the junction of Back and Bird streets in Walpole ; thence with
the easterly side of said Bird Street to its junction with West Street ; thence
westerly by the northerly side of West Street twenty-five rods ; thence southerly,
and near to and westerly from the barn belonging to the home estate of Charles
Bird, until said line strikes Stop River one hundred and twenty rods southerly
from West Street ; thence along said river as far as Wrentham and Walpole are
separated by the thread of its stream ; thence by a straight line, running westerly
of the Walpole almshouse and easterly of the farm buildings of Patrick Reardon,
and easterly of the Dupee Blake place, so called, to a point on the line between
Walpole and Foxborough, one hundred and twenty-five rods northeasterly from
Dedham Rock; thence from said point, following the present line of division
between Wrentham and Foxborough, to Dedham Rock ; thence southerly from
said rock along the present line of Wrentham and Foxborough to a point on said
line on the southerly side of Pine Street : thence by a straight line to a point
on the westerly side of Everett Street, northerly of the house of Edmund T.
Everett and southerly of the Pondville Cemetery, to a point on the westerly
side of North Street, five rods southerly of the farm buildings of Samuel J.
Benn ; thence through the Stony Brook reservoir, near to the house of E. S.
Nash, to a point on the line between Franklin and Wrentham, ninety rods south-
erly of the house of Eliphalet Lawrence ; thence running northerly by a straight
line, near to and west of the farm buildings of the home estate of J. E. Pollard,
222 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
near the Elliot Felting Mills, near to and thirty-five rods west of the present
residence of Saul B. Scott, to the southern extremity of Populatic Pond; thence
along the western shore of said pond, at low-water mark, to Charles River ;
thence in an easterly course upon Charles River, and separated by the thread
of its stream from Medway, to the center of the iron bridge over said river;
thence upon the thread of said river to the bridge of the Medway branch railroad ;
thence along the southerly side of said railroad twenty-eight rods to a point ;
thence from said point by a straight line running in a northeasterly course,
passing southeasterly of and near to the village of Deanville, near to and south
of the old barn belonging to John Barber, to a point on Baltimore Street two
rods from said barn ; thence by a straight line to the easterly side of the great
bend in Charles River and near the old fording place ; thence upon said river
and separated by the thread of its stream from Medway to the point of begin-
ning—is hereby incorporated into a town by the name of Norfolk ; and said
Town of Norfolk is hereby invested with all the powers, privileges, rights and
immunities, and is subject to all the duties and requisitions to which the other
towns are entitled and subjected by the Constitution and laws of this Common-
wealth."
Section 2 relates to arrears of taxes assessed upon the inhabitants of Norfolk
by the towns from which territory was taken, which were to be paid to the said
towns as if this act had not been passed.
Section 3 provides for the support of paupers, and Section 4 that "Norfolk
shall retain the school houses within its limits and shall assume and pay its just
and equitable proportions, according to its present assessed valuation, of any
debt due or owing from the towns of Wrentham and Franklin, respectively, at
the time of the passage of this act, and shall be entitled to receive from said
towns, respectively, its just and equitable proportion, according to said assessed
valuation, of all the corporate property then owned by the said towns of Wren-
tham and Franklin," etc.
Section 5 defines the representative, senatorial, congressional and councilor
districts for the new town.
"Section 6. Any justice of the peace within and for the County of Norfolk
may issue his warrant, directed to any principal inhabitant of the Town of Nor-
folk, requiring him to notify and warn the inhabitants thereof, qualified to vote
in town affairs, to meet at the time and place appointed for the purpose of
choosing all such town officers as towns are by law authorized and required to
choose at their annual meetings ; and said warrant shall be served by posting up
copies thereof, attested by the person to whom the same is directed, in three
public places in said town, seven days at least before such meeting. Such justice
of the peace, or, in his absence, such principal inhabitant, shall preside until the
choice of a moderator in said meeting. The selectmen of the towns of Wrentham,
Franklin, Medway and Walpole, shall, before said meeting, prepare a list of voters
from their respective towns within said Norfolk, qualified to vote at said meet-
ing, and shall deliver the same to the person presiding at said meeting before the
choice of a moderator thereof."
Section 7 provides that "This act shall take effect upon its passage," and as
previously stated, the act was approved on February 23, 1870.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 223
FIRST TOWN MEETING
Under the provisions of Section 6, the first town meeting in Norfolk was held
on Monday, March 7, 1870. It was called to order by Saul B. Scott, the justice
who had issued the warrant, and during the voting for moderator, Rev. Daniel
Round checked the lists of voters that had been furnished by the selectmen of
Wrentham, Franklin, Medway and Walpole. Albert G. Hills was chosen moderator,
after which the following town officers were elected : Saul B. Scott, Levi Mann
and Erastus Dupee, selectmen ; Silas E. Fales, clerk ; James H. Haines, George
E. Holbrook and Elisha Rockwood, assessors ; William E. Codding, treasurer ;
George P. Cody and Albert E. Dupee, constables; J. K. Bragg, Lothrop C. Keith
and Daniel J. Holbrook, school committee ; Charles Jordan and Darius Ware,
fence viewers; Levi Mann and Oren C. Ware, surveyors of lumber. The meet-
ing closed by a vote of thanks to Mr. Hills for his efficient and impartial
services as moderator, and another to Silas E. Fales and William A. Jepson for
the gift of a ballot-box.
TOWN HALL
When the Town of Norfolk was incorporated it came into possession of
the old North Parish Church, which was erected in 1796, and which was used
just as it was for several years as a town house. In 1879 the building was
thoroughly remodeled and a tower erected, in which is a clock presented to the
town by Josiah Ware. The building stands upon an eminence and its tower
commands a fine view of the surrounding country.
POSTOFFICES
About 1819, sixty-one years before the Town of Norfolk was incorporated,
Eli Richardson built the stone store building at City Mills and secured an
appointment as postmaster of the office established soon after the building was
completed. This was the first postoffice within the present limits of the Town
of Norfolk. Some years later an office was established at the "Centre" and was
given the name of Norfolk. Deanville, in the northwestern part, and Pondville,
in the southeastern part, were once postoffices, but they have been discontinued.
The only postoffices in the town on July 1, 191 7, were those at Norfolk and
City Mills.
THE PRESENT NORFOLK
In 1910 the population of Norfolk, according to the United States census,
was 960. The state census of 191 5 reported a population of 1,268, a gain of
308 in five years. There is some manufacturing done in the town, but the prin-
cipal occupation is agriculture. The Boston & Willimantic division of the New
York, New Haven & Hartford railway system passes through the town, with
stations at Norfolk and City Mills, and the Boston & Providence division of
the same system touches the southeast corner, with a station at Pondville. In
1915 the assessed valuation of property was $1,111,482. In that year Norfolk re-
224 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
ported the smallest population of any town in the county except Dover, and the
smallest property valuation except the towns of Bellingham and Plainville. The
town has a good public school system, churches of different denominations, but is
without either a bank or a newspaper. Norfolk, Deanville, City Mills and Pond-
ville are all supplied with general stores and are trading centers for the surround-
ing agricultural districts.
CHAPTER XXVI
THE TOWN OF NORWOOD
LOCATION, BOUNDARIES AND SURFACE — FIRST SETTLEMENT — THE SOUTH PRECINCT
— FIRST PRECINCT MEETING — LOCATING THE MEETING HOUSE — CHANGING
THE BOUNDARY — TOWN OF NORWOOD INCORPORATED FIRST TOWN OFFICERS —
TOWN SEAL — PRESENT DAY CONDITIONS — TOWN OFFICERS FOR I917.
The beautiful and enterprising Town of Norwood is centrally located, being
bounded on the north by Westwood ; on the east by the Neponset River, which
separates it from the Town of Canton; on the south by Sharon and Walpole; and
on the west by Walpole and Westwood. The surface is more or less hilly and is
drained by the Babbling (or Hawes) Brook in the southwest, and by the Purga-
tory Brook in the northern part. Both these streams flow in a southeasterly direc-
tion to the Neponset River.
FIRST SETTLEMENT
Originally, the territory now forming the town was included in Dedham. As
the grant to the Dedham proprietors in 1636 was so extensive, it offered great
inducements to persons of an adventurous disposition to begin new settlements
within its limits. It is impossible to say just who was the first white man to
locate within the present bounds of Norwood, though in 1658 Eleazer Lusher
and Joshua Fisher received a grant of land and the privilege of building a saw
mill on the Neponset River, near the Cedar Swamp. Mr. Lusher did not remove
to the mill site, but Mr. Fisher did, and he was one of the early settlers.
In 1664 Daniel Pond and Ezra Morse built a corn mill on the artificial stream
known as "Mother Brook," near Dedham Village, but when their dam was com-
pleted it was found to interfere with a mill privilege previously granted to Nathan-
iel Whiting and they were compelled to remove their dam. Ezra Morse was
then granted, as a compensation for his loss, forty acres on the Neponset River,
"near the old saw mill or at Everett's Plain." He selected the former and became
one of Norwood's pioneers. Other early settlers were the Everetts, Guilds,
Bullards, Smiths, and some of the Fales family.
THE SOUTH PRECINCT
On December 23, 1726, a petition was presented to the General Court by some
of the people living in what are now Stoughton and Norwood, asking that they
might be organized into a precinct "in order that a meeting, house might be
erected for public worship," etc. Stoughton had been incorporated as a town
vol. r— 15
225
226 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
the day before this petition came before the General Court. Notice was served
upon that town and Dedham, and a remonstrance came in which was strong
enough to defeat the object of the petitioners. It was not long, however, until
another petition, headed by Joseph Ellis, was presented. This petition stated in
more explicit terms the difficulties under which the inhabitants labored in attend-
ing church, especially in bad weather, and asked for the establishment of a pre-
cinct, or that the meeting house be moved nearer to the center of the Town
of Dedham. A committee was appointed to repair to Dedham, investigate the
conditions, and report to the General Court "on Tuesday, the 5th day of Decem-
ber next." Following is the report of the committee :
"The committee appointed by the Great and General Court to take into con-
sideration the circumstances of the Town of Dedham, and the petition of the
southerly part of said town, having attended the said service, report as follows:
That viewing the situation and considering the circumstances, are of the opinion
that it will be inconvenient to grant the prayer of the petition at present; but for
as much as it appears to the committee that the major part of the petitioners
labor under great difficulties in the winter season, in attending the Public Worship
of God, by reason of their distance from the Meeting House, the committee pro-
pose that the Public Worship of God be performed by a Minister, to be provided
by the petitioners in some private house, as near the center as may be, for five
months in the year, viz., November, December, January, February and March,
and that there be allowed thirty shillings per Sabbath for the said service, the
charge to be borne by the whole town, and to continue until the further order of
the Court, all of which is humbly submitted by order of the committee."
This report was accepted by the Council and concurred in by the House, after
which it was presented to the governor, who consented to such an arrangement.
But it was not satisfactory to the inhabitants of the southern part of Dedham.
They wanted a precinct and parish of their own. Consequently, Joseph Smith,
Samuel Everett, John Guild, James Fales and others kept up the fight, and during
the next two years several petitions were presented to the General Court. Under
the pressure of these sundry petitions, another committee was appointed by the
General Court to look into the situation and recommend a course for the Court
to pursue. Of this committee William Dudley was chairman, and on November
19, 1729, he reported as follows:
"The committee appointed by this Court to take under consideration the
several petitions, and having been at ye Town of Dedham and Stoughton, and
heard what ye several parties had to say, as well as to view ye circumstances of
ye Inhabitants, humbly report on ye whole their Opinion as follows, viz. : That
all that part of Stoughton lying on ye westward of the Neponset River, and to
the Northward of Traphole Brook to ye Walpole line, be added to and incorpo-
rated into the Town of Dedham, with all ye Inhabitants, which with the Southern
part of Dedham, we humbly are of Opinion be made into a distinct Township, the
boundaries of ye whole to be as follows : Beginning at a place called Purgatory
on Neponset River, where it may most conveniently take ye house and home lot
of Josiah Fisher, Jr. ; from thence to a place called the Cross Wayes ; taking in ye
house and home lot of John Hause (Hawes) ; from thence so as to take in ye
house and home lot of Lusher Gay; from thence so as to take in ye house and
home lot of John Baker; from thence to the line for the Precinct at Springfield
MORRILL MEMORIAL LIBRARY, NORWOOD
NORWOOD PRESS CLUB, NORWOOD
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 227
(now Dover) so as to take in ye house and home lot of Amos Fisher; thence by
ye said line to Bubbling Brook ; from thence to Walpole line and by ye said line
to Traphole Brook ; and by ye said Brook to Neponset River ; and by ye same to
ye first mentioned station, and that ye petitioners have leave to bring in a bill
accordingly.
"And whereas there has been and still remains an unhappy difference of opinion
among ye Inhabitants about placing a Meeting House for the Public Worship of
God, it is therefore humbly proposed that the said Meeting House may be ordered
in such place and time as a Committee of this Court shall appoint, so as to accom-
modate the inhabitants of Dedham, or of all the Inhabitants of this proposed
Town, and the committee propose that the Western part of Dedham be set off
by that town for a Precinct, to be confirmed accordingly, and that the Inhabitants
thereof be allowed to congregate, as they do now, till the further order of this
Court : Provided they do their proportion of the charge of supporting a minister
where they leave."
No action was taken upon this report for nearly a year, but on October 3,
1730, the Council voted to accept the report and ordered "That the Prayer of
this Petition be granted, so far as that the Southwesterly part of ye Town
of Dedham, together with the westerly part of ye Town of Stoughton, accourding
to the bounds expressed in the Report of a Committee of this Court in December
(November) last, be erected into a Township, and that the Petitioners bring in
a bill."
Five days later the House concurred in this action, except striking out the
word "township," and inserting in its place the word "precinct." The same day
the Council accepted the amendment and the governor gave his official sanction
to the act, so that the territory now comprising the Town of Norwood became the
South Precinct of Dedham on October 8, 1730.
FIRST PRECINCT MEETING
Under a separate act of the General Court, John Everett, "a principal inhabi-
tant," was authorized to call a meeting of "ye Inhabitants of ye Precinct." He
served his warrant upon each qualified voter "to assemble in his Majesty's name at
the house of John Ellis on October 22, 1730, to choose Precinct officers." When
the meeting assembled John Everett was chosen moderator and James Fales, Jr.,
was elected clerk. The only officers elected were three assessors, viz. : John
Everett, Ebenezer Healy and James Fales, Jr., who were authorized to call other
meetings of the precinct.
At a second meeting, held on November 9, 1730, Ebenezer Dean was elected
treasurer and Samuel Holmes, tax collector. It was voted at this meeting to raise
and appropriate the sum of fifty pounds, "to pay a minister for six months 1 ' —
three months to be at the house of John Ellis and three months at the house of
Nathaniel Guild, if it can be obtained ; if not the entire six months at the house
of John Ellis." Joseph Ellis and John Dean were chosen a committee to procure
an orthodox minister, and it was also voted "to build a Meeting House for the
Public worship of God in ye Precinct, said house to be forty feet in length and
thirty-six feet in width, to be erected at ye centre of the precinct," and William
Everett, Nathaniel Guild, Ebenezer Healy, Joseph Ellis and Ebenezer Dean were
228 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
appointed a building committee. The sum of one hundred pounds was voted
to pay for the building.
LOCATING THE MEETING HOUSE
On January 30, 1731, Joseph Ellis and Samuel Bullard were chosen a com-
mittee to procure a surveyor to find the center of the precinct, but it seems the
exact center was an undesirable spot for the meeting house. "A loving and
friendly conference" was therefore held on June 7, 1731, at which it was decided
to ask the General Court to appoint a committee "to place ye Meeting House for
this Precinct," and John Everett and William Bullard were selected to present
the matter to the Court. In response to the petition the General Court appointed
Joseph Wads worth of the Council and John Jacob and Benjamin Bird of the
House. They reported in favor of "the south end of the common land lying
between John Cobb's and Doctor Richards' as the best place to set it on," which
report was accepted by the Court and the precinct was ordered to pay four pounds
four shillings to pay the expenses of the committee. The site was not acceptable
to a majority of the precinct, and at a meeting on July 14. 1731, it was voted not
to appropriate money to build a meeting house on the spot selected by the com-
mittee, nor to pay the expenses of the committee.
In the meantime a meeting house had been commenced near the center of
the precinct, as voted by the meeting of November 9, 1730, but owing to dissen-
sions over the location had not been finished. During the year 1731 no fewer
than twelve meetings were called to consider the question of locating the meeting
house, but the lack of harmony prevented a decision. The year 1732 brought no
better results, and on February 26, 1733, William Bullard, James Fales, Jr., Ebene-
zer Dean, William Everett and Ebenezer Healy were selected as a committee to
carry the matter once more before the General Court and ask for a reversal of
the order to build a meeting house on the common land near the house of John
Cobb, but to establish the place according to a vote of the precinct, and to order
the three hundred pounds already granted to be expended on the said center
meeting house. This called forth a counter petition on the part of Joseph Ellis
and others living in the northerly part of the precinct. The result was that the
Court ordered "Joseph Ellis and others, with the two Fishers and Aaron Ellis
with their estates, to be laid back to the Old Precinct; the others to remain in
the South Precinct."
A committee from the General Court then reported that, having considered
the petition of William Bullard and others, "the place for a Precinct Meeting
House be between the houses of Ebenezer Dean and Nathaniel Guild on the
Northwest side of the way to Walpole, about nine rods from said Guild's fence,
in the quarter of an acre of land given and granted to the said Precinct by the
said Dean," etc. On January 4, 1735, the voters of the precinct accepted the
site recommended by the committee, appropriated the balance of the one hun-
dred pounds voted by the meeting of November 9, 1730, and John Everett.
William Bacon, Daniel Draper and John Dean were appointed a building com-
mittee to carry into effect the order of the meeting. On February 6, 1735, an
additional appropriation of £150 was made toward the erection of the meeting
house and John Farrington and Nathaniel Lewis were added to the building com-
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 229
mittee. One would suppose that the vexed question of a meeting house was now
settled. But when on February 9, 1736, the people selected Rev. Thomas Balch
as their pastor, Daniel Draper and seven others, being dissatisfied with the choice,
petitioned the General Court to be released from the precinct. The petition was
granted, except in the cases of John Cobb, William Bullard, Nathaniel Lewis and
Samuel Farrington, who were ordered to remain in the South Precinct. Thus
after about five years of dissension, which resulted in a division of the precinct
as originally established on October 8, 1730, the question of the meeting house
location was set at rest. The church, with Rev. Thomas Balch as pastor, was
formally organized on June 23, 1736.
CHANGING THE BOUNDARY
By an act of the General Court, approved on January 9, 1738, "Capt. Ezra
Morse and his sons, Ezra, Jr., and Joseph, with their estates, are set off from
Walpole and annexed to Dedham and to the South Precinct. Also that part of
Stoughton which was within the limits of the South Precinct is annexed to
Dedham and the Neponset River is made the dividing line between the towns of
Dedham and Stoughton, the original line being about one mile west of that
river."
A few years later a large part of the estate of Nathaniel Sumner was set off
from Sharon and annexed to the South Precinct of Dedham. In 1763 the line
between the two parishes was defined by a committee composed of Ebenezer
Everett and Eliphalet Fales on the part of the South Precinct; Isaac Whiting
and Ichabod Gay, on behalf of the Clapboard Tree Parish. They reported:
"The line beginning from ye center betweene ye meeting houses, then runs North
50 degrees East to ye place where the house of Ebenezer Ellis stood, from thence
North one degree west to the Cross Wayes. The distance betweene ye Meeting
Houses is one and a half mile and 33 rods."
In 1767 the First Precinct selected Jonathan Metcalf, John Eaton and W'illiam
Avery to act with Nathaniel Sumner, David Fisher and Benjamin Fisher of the
Second Precinct in fixing the boundary line between the two. The committee
reported as follows : "We began at Purgatory Hole so called, thence run North-
westerly to a White Oak tree with stones around it on the land of Joseph Wight ;
thence to a heap of Stones at the Northeasterly corner of land now belonging to
Deacon William Avery, thence more northerly to the eastwardly corner of land
now belonging to Capt. Daniel Gay, thence westerly to the Cross Ways near the
house of Jeremiah Dean ; and we are of the opinion that said line ought to be the
dividing line between said Precincts, and for the future to be esteemed as such,
excepting such lands as have since the setting off of the South Precinct been by
the General Court laid to the First Parish in Dedham, which is humbly
submitted."
TOWN OF NORWOOD INCORPORATED
On December 22, 1871, a meeting was held in the village hall to consider the
advisability of presenting a petition to the General Court asking that the South
Precinct of Dedham be erected into a town. George B. Talbot and a few of his
230 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
friends had previously circulated a petition to that effect and obtained 252 signa-
tures. At the meeting a committee was appointed to appear before the legislative
committee on towns and support Mr. Talbot's petition, which asked for the estab-
lishment of a new town to embrace the old South Precinct and a small portion of
Walpole, the inhabitants of which were closely connected with the proposed new
town through their business interests and social relations. Neither Dedham nor
Walpole offered any objections to the movement, and on February 23, 1872,
Governor Washburn approved an act, Section 1 of which was as follows :
"All the territory now within the towns of Dedham and Walpole in the
County of Norfolk, comprised within the following limits, that is to say : Begin-
ning at the point where the southerly side of Canton Street crosses the dividing
line between the towns of Canton and Dedham ; thence running northwesterly on
the westerly side of said Canton Street about three thousand feet, to a point
dividing the lands of John and Luther Eaton ; thence running from said point, on
a line in the direction of the old parish boundary now standing at the junction of
Centre Street and East Street, until said line strikes and crosses Downey Street
at a point about thirteen hundred and two feet from a monument at the corner
of Downey Street and Everett Street ; thence running westerly on the northerly
side of Everett Street, and crossing Centre Street, to the street boundary post on
the southerly side of Clapboard-tree Street, near the southwesterly abutment of
the Boston, Hartford & Erie Railroad bridge near Ellis Station ; thence running
westerly by the southerly side of Clapboard-tree Street to the angle in said street,
which is about forty-five rods west of Jeremiah Gay's house ; thence in a straight
line toward the corner of land of Samuel Cheney on Winter Street, twenty-one
rods north of the house of said Samuel Cheney, until said line strikes Nahatan
Street about three hundred and nine feet southerly from the north corner of
Ebenezer Gay's land ; thence in a straight line passing through the easterly line
of the junction of Oak Street and Brook Street, to the dividing line between the
towns of Dedham and Walpole; then following the said dividing line southeasterly
to a monument where Brook Street crosses Babbling Brook, at a point south of
and near the house of James R. Fisher; thence in a straight line to a monument
on the east side of the old Post Road, on land now or late of the heirs of Isaac
Fisher ; thence by the lines dividing the Town of Dedham from the towns of
Walpole, Sharon and Canton respectively to the point of beginning — is hereby
incorporated into a town by the name of Norwood."
Thus it was that Norwood, after having been a precinct of Dedham for 142
years, took her place among the towns of Norfolk County. On March 6, 1872,
the citizens celebrated the birth of their town. Among the distinguished guests
present were Governor Washburn, Senator Thomas L. Wakefield of Dedham,
A. B. Endicott and Benjamin Weatherbee, two of Dedham's selectmen, and
several others. Governor Washburn made a short speech in which he congratu-
lated the people of the new town upon the auspicious beginning of its career.
FIRST TOWN OFFICERS
In accordance with a provision in the act of incorporation. Willard Gay
issued a warrant for a town meeting to be held on Monday, March 11, 1872.
George Lovis was chosen moderator, after which the following town officers were
hioh school. Norwood
WIXSLOW SCHOOL. NORWOOD
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 231
elected : Samuel E. Pond, Willard Gay and Edward Everett, selectmen ; Francis
Tinker, clerk ; L. W. Bigelow, treasurer ; Caleb Ellis, George H. Morse and Tyler
Thayer, assessors ; J. C. Park, Rev. E. A. Wyman and Francis O. Winslow,
school committee ; James Engles and C. W. Strout, constables.
After the election of these officers, the first official act of the Town of Nor-
wood was to extend a vote of thanks to the committee who had served so faith-
fully in presenting the petition for a new town to the Legislature, etc. This
committee was composed of John C. Park, Caleb Ellis and J. W. Talbot. The
next thing was to adopt the following : "Resolved, That the citizens of Norwood,
in town meeting assembled, recognize with grateful pleasure the readiness and
courtesy with which the citizens of Dedham and Walpole have assisted us in
the inauguration of our new town ; and that the clerk be instructed to present
a copy of this resolution to the selectmen of Dedham and Walpole."
TOWN SEAL
The corporate seal of the Town of Norwood is typical of its early history,
while it was still* the Dedham South Precinct. In the background of a circular
field is a team of oxen hitched to a plow, and to the right is a clump of trees. In
the foreground is the figure of a man in the costume of colonial days, with
musket on his shoulder and powder-horn hanging at his side, while underneath
are the words: "Aaron Guild, April 19, 1775." Aaron Guild was one of the
residents of the precinct at the time the Lexington Alarm was sounded through
the colonies. The deserted ox team and plow tell the story of his loyalty to the
cause of the colonists. He was a member of Capt. Joseph Guild's company in
the northern campaign of 1775-76, and was afterward captain of a company,
a large number of the members of which came from the South Precinct. (See
chapter on the Revolution.) In the margin of the seal are the words: "Town
of Norwood, Mass., Incorporated Feb. 23, 1872."
PRESENT DAY CONDITIONS
Norwood is the fifth town in the county in point of population, and also the
fifth in wealth. In 1910 the population was 8,014 and the state census of 1915
reported 10,977, a S am °f 2-963 m five years. The assessed valuation of property
for 1916 was $17,074,710. This was about thirty thousand dollars lower than
the valuation of the preceding year, owing to a readjustment of assessments. On
December 31, 1916, the bonded indebtedness of the town was $527,900, and the
value of municipal property was $1,427,801, or nearly three dollars of assets
for each dollar of debt, not including cash on hand and other personal property.
The town has a system of waterworks that cost $361,000. with the principal
pumping station at Ellis Station and another at Westwood. The supply is taken
from deep wells, with the Buckmaster Pond as an auxiliary supply in case of
emergency. During the year 1916 the amount of water pumped was 347,000,000
gallons, and the income of the works was $39,933-35- Norwood also has a
municipal lighting plant, the value of which was estimated at the close of the
year 1916 as $125,000. The income for that year was $66,817.80 and the operat-
ing expenses, including the town fire alarm system, were $52,549.22. The fire
232 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
department is equipped with combination auto truck, motor hose wagon and
a hook and ladder truck drawn by horses.
Norwood has two banks, a weekly newspaper (the Messenger), a number of
prosperous manufacturing establishments, well stocked mercantile houses, a fine
public library, good public schools, Baptist, Catholic, Congregational, Methodist
Episcopal and Universalist churches, a fine,, new Masonic temple, well paved
streets, and many handsome residences. The division of the New York, New
Haven & Hartford that runs from Boston to Providence via Wrentham passes
through the town, with stations at Ellis, Norwood, Norwood Central and Mor-
rills, and the town is connected with Boston and the adjacent towns by electric
railway lines, hence the transportation facilities are excellent.
TOWN OFFICERS, igij
Following is a list of the principal town officers at the beginning of the year
1917: Frank G. Allen, Oliver J. Barr, George K. Bird, Patrick J. Lydon and
John E. Folan, selectmen; James E. Pendergast, clerk and accountant; Harold
W. Gay, treasurer and collector; Clarence A. Bingham, general manager; Mahlon
R. Perry, John P. Crowley and Aaron L. Goodwin, assessors ; Cornelius M. Cal-
lahan, Alfred N. Ambrose, Ralph E. Bullard, Sarah N. Bigelow, Henry I.
Everett and Harriet W. Lane, school board ; Francis J. Foley, Herbert H. Miller
and Frank A. Fales, finance commission ; James A. Halloran, town counsel ;
J. F. Boyden, Frank W. Talbot and Clarence A. Bingham, board of fire engineers ;
Joseph E. Conley, superintendent of public works.
CHAPTER XXVII
THE TOWN OF PLAINVILLE
GENERAL DESCRIPTION EARLY HISTORY PETITION FOR INCORPORATION THE
ORGANIC ACT FIRST TOWN MEETING DIVISION OF PROPERTY THE TOWN
SEAL — MISCELLANEOUS — TOWN OFFICERS FOR I917.
Plainville is the youngest of the Norfolk County towns. It is located in
the southwestern part and is bounded as follows : On the north by Wrentham ;
on the east by Foxboro ; on the south by Bristol County, and on the west by
the State of Rhode Island. From north to south its average width is a little
over two miles, and from east to west it is five miles in extent. The surface in
this part of the county is less hilly than in some other portions. There are no
large streams in the town and the few small ones all flow toward the south.
Miramichi Pond is on the boundary between Plainville and Foxboro. It is some-
times called Shepard's Pond, after one of the early settlers in the vicinity. There
is another large pond about a mile west of Miramichi, and there are a few
smaller ponds in the neighborhood of Plainville Village.
EARLY HISTORY
From 1636 to 1673 the territory now comprising the Town of Plainville was
included in the Town of Dedham. In the latter year it was made a part of
Wrentham, where it remained until the Town of Plainville was incorporated
in 1905. For more than ten years after the incorporation of Dedham, the inhabi-
tants knew comparatively little of this region, which was known by the Indian
name "Wollomonopoag." About 1647 John Dwight and Francis dickering
reported indications of some mines, "about thirteen miles from Dedham Village,"
and the general opinion is that some mines were at Wollomonopoag. Two years
later, "on account of the scarcity of grass in Dedham, the inhabitants went to
Wollomonopoag to cut grass from the meadows there." That is the only men-
tion in the Dedham records of this part of the county until July 22, 1660, when
the selectmen appointed Lieutenant Fisher, Sergeant Fuller, Richard Wheeler
and Ensign Fisher to view the lands and make report to the selectmen, etc. On
the last day of December following, the selectmen submitted the report of the
viewers, to wit : "To us it seemeth that it might be helpfull to Conduce to
publick and particuler good that the place might be planted with meet Inhabi-
tants in due time."
At a general town meeting held on March 2j, 1661, it was voted that a planta-
tion be set up at the place called Wollomonopoag, and that a committee be ap-
pointed to allot to each settler his proportion of the 600 acres set apart for the
233
234 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
plantation; to determine who were meet to be accepted; and "to order the
setting of the Plantacion in reference to High Wayes convenient place for a
Meeting House, with such other things Necesary as may here after be pro-
posed." This was the beginning of authorized settlement at Wollomonopoag,
the name of which place was changed to Wrentham in 1673. The account of
the settlement will be found in the chapter devoted to Wrentham.
PETITION FOR INCORPORATION
While still a part of Wrentham, the Village of Plainville was laid out and
settled and a postofhce was there established. Early in the year 1905 the fol-
lowing petition was presented to the Legislature, then in session :
"To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives, etc.,
"The undersigned petitioners, citizens of Wrentham, respectfully represent
that they are inhabitants of the Village of Plainville, in said town ; that they
are desirous of having said Village of Plainville set off as a separate town under
the name of Plainville, or such other name as to the General Court seem suit-
able ; and that the boundaries of the new town be fixed as follows : Beginning
at the northeast boundary stone of the State of Rhode Island; thence in a
straight line to the Foxboro town line on the south side of Thurston Street;
and on*all other sides by the Town of Foxboro, North Attleboro, and the
State of Rhode Island."
This petition was signed by William S. Metcalf, H. E. Thompson, Willis
M. Fuller, Rufus King, "and many others." On April 3, 1905, a bill, which
had previously passed the senate, was reported in the house of representatives
and passed the same day. It was approved the following day, so that Plainville
dates its corporate existence from April 4, 1905.
THE ORGANIC ACT
"Be it enacted, etc., as follows:
"Section 1. All the territory now within the Town of Wrentham which
lies south of the following described line, to wit: — A straight line drawn from
a stone monument in the boundary line between the Town of Wrentham and
the Town of Cumberland in the State of Rhode Island, which monument is at
the intersection of the lines forming the northeast corner of the State of Rhode
Island, to a point where the southerly line of Thurston Street in the Town of
Wrentham intersects the boundary line between the Town of Wrentham and
the Town of Foxborough, is hereby incorporated as a separate town by the
name of Plainville, and the said Town of Plainville is hereby vested with all
the powers, privileges, rights and immunities, and shall be subject to all the
duties and obligations conferred or imposed on towns by the constitution and
laws of the Commonwealth.
"Section 2. The inhabitants of the estates within the Town of Plainville
and the owners of all such estates, shall be holden to pay all arrears of taxes
which have legally been assessed upon them by the Town of Wrentham, and all
the taxes heretofore assessed and not collected shall be collected and paid to the
treasurer of the Town of Wrentham, and all moneys now in the treasury of the
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 235
Town of Wrentham, or that may hereafter be received from taxes now as-
sessed, shall be applied to the purposes for which they were raised and assessed,
in the same manner as if this act had not been passed ; and until the next state
valuation the Town of Plainville shall annually, in the month of November, pay
to the Town of Wrentham its proportion of such state and county taxes as
may be assessed upon the Town of Wrentham, said proportion to be ascer-
tained and determined by the last valuation of the Town of Wrentham; and
the assessors of the Town of Wrentham shall make return of said valuation
and the proportions thereof in the towns of Wrentham and Plainville, respect-
ively, to the secretary of the Commonwealth and to the county commissioners of
the County of Norfolk."
Section 3 relates to the liability of each of the towns of Wrentham and
Plainville in the care of paupers, and Section 4 provides that all suits and pro-
ceedings at law or in equity, in which the Town of Wrentham is a plaintiff or
defendant, shall be prosecuted or defended as though the act had not been
passed.
"Section 5. The corporate property of the Town of Wrentham both real
and personal, in existence at the time of the passage of this act, and the town
debts then existing, shall be divided between the towns of Wrentham and
Plainville, according to the valuation of the property within their respective
limits as assessed the first day of May in the year 1904. The towns shall sev-
erally retain and hold all the real and personal property now within their
respective limits, at a valuation to be agreed upon by a committee consisting of
six legal voters, three to be chosen by each town at a legal meeting to be called
for that purpose ; and the differences in valuation shall be equalized and bal-
ances adjusted by apportionment of the town debt. In case of failure to agree
upon a valuation and division of the assets and liabilities the same shall be
determined by a board of three commissioners, none of Whom shall be a resident
of either of said towns, to be appointed by the Superior Court for the County
of Norfolk, in term time or vacation, upon the petition of either town after
notice to the other, whose award when accepted by the court shall be final, and
the said court may issue any writ or make any order thereon necessary to
carry their award into effect. The award may be set aside for fraud or mani-
fest error, but for no other cause, and the matters to be determined as afore-
said may be recommitted to the same or to other commissioners to be appointed
for the purpose, with like powers and duties as aforesaid."
Section 6 provides that the public library building at Wrentham Centre and
the fund held by the trustees of said library shall belong to the Town of Wren-
tham. Section 7 places the Town of Plainville in the judicial district of the
District Court of Western Norfolk, the Twelfth Congressional District, the
Second Councillor District, the Second Norfolk Senatorial District and the
Tenth Representative District of Norfolk County. Section 8 authorizes any
justice of the peace in the County of Norfolk to issue his warrant for a town
meeting in the Town of Plainville, and Section 9 makes it incumbent upon the
selectmen of Wrentham to call a special town meeting within thirty days for
the purposes of electing town officers to fill vacancies caused by the incorpora-
tion of Plainville. Section 10 relates to powers and privileges reserved to
Wrentham in the construction, maintenance and operation of certain street rail-
236 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
ways. Section 1 1 provides that the Town of Plainville shall bear the expense
of making the surveys and establishing the line between it and Wrentham.
Section 12 sets forth that Plainville shall receive a proportional part of any
funds paid by the Commonwealth or by the United States to Wrentham on
account of bounties to soldiers or for state aid heretofore paid to soldiers'
families, ''after deducting all reasonable expenses," and Section 13 declares
the act shall take effect upon its passage.
FIRST TOWN MEETING
On April 5, 1905, the day following the approval of the act of incorporation,
James H. Shannon, a justice of the peace residing in Plainville, issued a war-
rant to William F. Maintien "to notify and warn the inhabitants of the Town of
Plainville qualified to vote in town affairs, to meet in the Plainville Methodist
Episcopal Church on Wednesday, the 12th day of April, A. D. 1905, at nine
o'clock in the forenoon," to elect officers and transact certain other business set
forth in the warrant, especially the appointment of a committee to act with a
committee of Wrentham for the division of the town property.
The officers elected at that first town meeting were as follows : William F.
Maintien, George F. Cheever arid William S. Metcalf, selectmen, overseers of
the poor and board of health ; James H. Shannon, clerk ; Walter E. Barden,
treasurer ; George W. Wood, tax collector ; William F. Maintien, Joseph F.
Breen and J. F. Thompson, assessors; John J. Eiden, auditor; Edward C. Bar-
ney, highway surveyor; Rufus King, Bentley W. Morse and Gardner Warren,
school committee ; John Ff. Greven, Sylvester Smith and Daniel Crotty. con-
stables.
On the question of the division of the town property, William F. Maintien,
Herbert E. Thompson and Walter E. Barden were unanimously chosen by the
meeting as Plainville's members of the joint committee provided for in Section
5 of the act of incorporation. The meeting also voted to borrow $15,000 for
the purpose of erecting a new school house, and Herbert E. Thompson, W. M.
Fuller, Rufus King and Edward C. Barney were appointed a committee to
superintend the erection of the building. Walter E. Barden, Frank O. Corbin
and Rufus King were appointed a committee on by-laws, with instructions to
procure designs for a town seal and report at the next meeting. Their report
.on by-laws was made at a special meeting held on Monday, November 6, 1905,
and was accepted.
DIVISION OF PROPERTY
The committee above named met with the Wrentham members — Elbridge
J. Whitaker, Artemas Willard and Edward F. McClennan — and the joint com-
mittee organized by electing Elbridge J. Whitaker as chairman and William
F. Maintien as clerk. After canvassing all the property, real and personal,
they found within the limits of Wrentham property valued at $43,592, and in
Plainville at $13,712.22, in addition to which the former held assets of $16,-
391.44, making the total valuation of corporate property $73,695.66. Wrentham
assumed all the town's liabilities, amounting to $29,277.11. The final settle-
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 237
ment was that Wrentham should pay to Plainville $4,055.20 to equalize the
division of corporate property, and $727.30, with interest thereon at 4 per cent
from February 1, 1905, as the town's share of the school fund.
THE TOWN SEAL
At the meeting of November 6, 1905, the committee on by-laws, pursuant to
the instructions of the first town meeting, submitted a design for a town seal, a
representation of the new school building to occupy the center of the seal.
James H. Shannon, town clerk, brought forward a design making use of the
Angle Tree boundary monument as the proper emblem to occupy the center of
the seal, and explained at some length the significance of his design. Walter
E. Barden, a member of the committee, moved that the design submitted by the
town clerk be substituted for that offered by the committee, which was carried
by a decisive majority.
A brief history of the Angle Tree monument shows the wisdom of the town
in selecting it as the central figure of the corporate seal. When Charles I granted
the patent to the Massachusetts Bay Company in the spring of 1628, the south-
ern boundary was designated as "three miles south of the southerly end of the
Charles River." It was not long until disputes arose between the Plymouth and
Massachusetts Bay colonies as to the exact location of the boundary line. In 1640
Plymouth selected William Bradford and Edward Winslow, and Massachusetts
Bay selected John Endicott and Israel Stoughton, "for ye setting out, setting
& determing of ye bounds & limitts of ye lands betweene ye said jurisdic-
tions," etc.
The work done by these commissioners evidently was not satisfactory to
the people of the two colonies, for in 1664 a second commission was appointed
to run and mark the line. The record of this survey was outlined on a tree,
called the "Angle Tree," standing on the line between the present towns of
Plainville and North Attleboro, where it remained for more than a century.
Finally the old tree disappeared and in May, 1790, the General Court appointed
Lemuel Kollock to erect a monument where the tree stood, and to "make a
return of his doings into the Secretary's office with a Certificate from under
the Hands of the Selectmen of the Towns of Wrentham and Attleborough or
the Major Part of them sworn to before some Justice of the Peace certifying
that said stone is erected in the same spot where the said station or angle tree
formerly stood & is one of the bounds between said towns, and lay his account
before this Court for allowance and payment."
On March 11, 1791, Lemuel Kollock was allowed £21 2s 6d for "procuring
and fixing a Monument upon the important Bounds in the Town of Wrentham,
by order of the Government." It is a representation of this monument which
occupies the center of the town seal. At the top of the monument are the words
"Mass. Colony 1628"; in the center, divided by the figure of the monument,
"Wrentham, 1673, Plainville, 1905," and in the circle surrounding the central
field the inscription: "Town of Plainville, Mass., Incorporated April 4, 1905."
MISCELLANEOUS
A fire engine house had been built in the Village of Plainville before the town
was incorporated in 1905. This became the property of the Town of Plainville
238 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
in the division, and the department has since been improved by the purchase of
some new equipment and a supply of hose. The appropriation for the depart-
ment in 1916 was $500. Soon after the town was incorporated a system of
waterworks was established. At the close of the year 1916 the amount of water
bonds outstanding was $29,400. In their report for that year the water com-
missioners announce that the total supply of water pumped and distributed was
9.968,954 gallons, and the amount received from water rates was $2,366.06.
Plainville is well supplied with public schools, churches of different denomina-
tions offer opportunities for public worship, the manufacturing interests include
jewelry, shoestrings and shoddy, the town claming the largest manufactory of
ladies' mesh bags in the world, and the mercantile interests are in keeping with
the general demands of the town. The Boston & Providence division ( via
Wrentham) of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad and the electric
railway running from Franklin to Attleboro provide good transportation facilities.
In 1910 the population of Plainville was 1,385, and in 1915 *it was 1,408, a
gain of only 23 in the five years, owing to the removal of several persons from
the town. In 1916 the assessed valuation of property, as shown by the report
of the assessors, was $1,070,032.
TOWN OFFICERS, I917
At the beginning of the year 1917 the principal town officers were: Earl B.
Thompson, William E. Blanchard and Fred W. Northup, selectmen, overseers of
the poor and board of health ; Theodore E. A. Fuller, clerk ; Walter E. Barden,
treasurer; J. Fred Thompson, William E. Blanchard and Frank E. Barney,
assessors; Harry B. Thompson, William H. Nash and Charles N. Moore, water
commissioners; James H. Cheever, auditor; John J. Eiden, Willis M. Fuller and
Charles C. Root, school committee; Oliver P. Brown, tax collector.
CHAPTER XXVIII
THE CITY OF QUINCY
GENERAL DESCRIPTION SETTLEMENT — MERRYMOUNT — GOVERNOR ENDICOTT — PART
OF BRAINTREE — THE TOWN INCORPORATED — FIRST TOWN MEETING — AN EARLY
CUSTOM — TOWN HALL — QUINCY GRANITE — POSTOFFICES — CITIZENS GAS COM-
PANY INCORPORATED AS A CITY WATERWORKS FIRE DEPARTMENT MODERN
QUINCY CITY GOVERNMENT.
The City (formerly Town) of Quincy is situated in the eastern part of the
county and is bounded as follows : On the north by the Town of Milton and
Quincy Bay ; on the east by the Weymouth Fore River and Town River Bay,
which separate it from the Town of Weymouth ; on the south by Braintree
and Randolph ; on the west by Milton, and on the northwest the Neponset River
forms a little of the boundary line, separating Quincy from the City of Boston.
The coast line from the mouth of the Neponset to the mouth of the Weymouth
Fore River is indented by numerous bays, such as Dorchester and Quincy bays,
Rock Island Cove and Town River Bay. Projecting into the waters are several
capes or headlands, the principal of which are Commercial Point, Squantum
Head, Quincy Great Hill, Hough's Neck, Rock Island Head, Gull Point and
Quincy Point. The main water-courses are Town River, Sagamore and Black
creeks and Furnace Brook. The surface is uneven and some of the finest granite
deposits in the United States are found within the Quincy limits.
SETTLEMENT
It is quite probable that Capt. John Smith, while voyaging along the coast
in 1614 and trading with the natives, landed in what is now Quincy, for on the
rude map of the coast drawn by him the coast line can be identified. But the
first recorded visit of white men was in the month of September, 1621, when
Miles Standish and twelve men came up the coast from Plymouth, anchored in a
small cove on Thompson's Island on the night of the 29th, and the next morning
landed on Squantum Head, where they found a pile of lobsters, upon which they
breakfasted. Taking four men and the Indian guide, Squanto, Captain
Standish started out to explore the country. They soon met an Indian woman,
who was going after the lobsters they had eaten, and for which Standish gave
her something in the way of compensation. Squanto accompanied the woman to
her village, which was on the northerly side of the Neponset, while Standish
and his companions returned to their boat. Upon their return to Plymouth they
gave a favorable account of the country they had visited, "wishing they had been
there seated."
239
240 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Nearly four years elapsed after the visit of Standish before any attempt was
made to plant a settlement at the place where he had landed and which he partially
explored. In June, 1625, a company of adventurers, chief among whom was a
Captain Wollaston, came over from England with a party of articled servants with
a view to establishing a trading post. They located at a place called by the Indians
Passonagessit, but to which they gave the name of Mount Wollaston — a name
which it still retains. Here was built the first house within the limits of Quincy,
but its exact location cannot be determined. The winter that followed was
severe and it seems that Captain Wollaston had enough of the "stern New Eng-
land climate," for in the spring of 1626 he took part of his company and set sail
for Virginia, leaving a man named Rasdell in charge of the post at Mount
W'ollaston. He reached Virginia and managed to send word back to Rasdell to
place one Fitcher in charge of the post and come on to Virginia, bringing with
him a number of the servants, whose labor was afterward sold to Virginia planters.
MERRYMOUNT
In the company was Thomas Morton, who had first come to America with
Andrew Weston, a brother of Thomas, in June, 1622, and passed a portion of
that summer at Wessaguscus ( that portion of Weymouth later known as Old
Spain), returning to England in September. Morton has been described as a
sportsman who was desirous of returning to America, but was without means
to organize an expedition of his own. Having been connected with Weston's
unfortunate venture, he deemed it imprudent to apply to Sir Ferdinando Gorges,
who was laboring to encourage emigration, so he joined the company led by
Captain Wollaston. When the latter sent for the man Rasdell, Morton saw that
it was the intention to break up the settlement at Mount Wollaston, a movement
with which he was not in sympathy. He therefore sowed the seeds of discon-
cent among the remaining servants by telling them that if they were taken to
Virginia they would be sold, and suggested that if they would place him at the
head of the plantation they could all live there in comfort and derive large profits
by trading with the Indians. After Rasdell's departure there were but eight
men left, one of whom was the man Fitcher -selected by Wollaston to conduct
affairs.
Morton soon won over the seven men and Fitcher was expelled from the
settlement. He went to Plymouth, leaving Morton in full control. Nor did he
fail to make good his promises regarding easy living and the profits of the
Indian trade. With the Indians he became a great favorite, because he not only
bought their furs on liberal terms, but he also admitted them to the drunken
revels of the trading post. Morton decided to rechristen the plantation and on
May-day, 1627, he set up a maypole, a merry song was made "which was sung
by a chorus, every man bearing his part, which they performed in a dance hand
in hand about the maypole, while one of the company sang and filled out the
good liquor, like Ganymede and Jupiter." The name selected by Morton was
Maremount, but the place soon became known as "Merrymount," on account of
the wild orgies conducted there from time to time.
Had Morton and his associates contented themselves with their frivolities,
they would probably not have been molested by his neighbors at Plymouth, even
CAIRN ON PENN'S HILL. QUINCY
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 241
though they might have remonstrated with him because of his worldy practices.
Unfortunately, however, he began to supply the Indians with fire-arms and
ammunition. Some five years before this time the French on the coast of
Maine and the Dutch in New York had commenced to sell guns and ammunition
to the natives and the practice was forbidden by royal proclamation. Morton
ignored the proclamation and sold the Indians all the guns he could spare, after
which he sent to England for a new supply, preparatory to going into the busi-
ness on a larger scale. All along the coast the infant settlements looked upon
Merrymount as a menace to their safety. The settlers from Plymouth to Ports-
mouth realized that if they attempted to drive Morton out by force he could
summon to his aid his Indian friends and prove to be a match for them all.
Nevertheless, something must be done.
In the spring of 1628 the Plymouth authorities wrote a friendly communica-
tion to Morton, asking him to desist from his evil practices and requesting an
answer by the messenger. Morton sent back word to the Plymouth magistrates
that they were meddling in matters which in no way concerned them, and inti-
mated that he was capable of conducting his trade with the Indians as he pleased
and without any of their interference. Again the authorities wrote to Morton,
reminding him of the royal proclamation concerning the sale of fire-arms to the
Indians. To this he replied that King James' proclamation was not law and that
he was prepared to defend himself against any attempt to molest his business
or his plantation. Early in June, 1628, Capt. Miles Standish was despatched
with eight men to suppress the Merrymount nuisance. Standish had evidently
been coached by some of Morton's near neighbors, as he arrived at a time
when most of the company were absent on a trading expedition. He found
Morton at Wessaguscus, to which place he had gone, as he said, "for the benefit
of company." Standish arrested him and placed him under guard. During a
thunder storm that night, the prisoner managed to make his escape and went
back to Merrymount, where he barricaded himself in his house, accompanied by
his three retainers, one of whom Charles Francis Adams says "in the endeavor
to stimulate his courage, got hopelessly and helplessly drunk."
When Standish and his party arrived on the scene the next morning and
demanded a surrender, Morton returned an insolent reply. The door was
ordered to be broken down, when Morton came out, followed only by his
drunken associate. He aimed his gun at Standish, but it was turned aside
by one of the Plymouth party, after which Morton was again made prisoner and
this time was taken to Plymouth. From there he was sent to England. Merry-
mount being outside the jurisdiction of the Plymouth colony, it is clear that
Morton's arrest and banishment was not strictly legal, but "desperate diseases
yield only to desperate remedies," and the act was one of self-preservation.
GOVERNOR ENDICOTT
In September, 1628, about three months after the arrest of Morton, Governor
Endicott and his company landed in Salem, under the patent of March 19, 1628,
to those who afterward became known as the Massachusetts Bay Company.
Endicott was a typical Puritan and when he learned of the doings of Morton
(it is possible that he had received instructions regarding the Merrymount
242 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
plantation before leaving England), he lost no time in taking action. With a
small company he crossed the bay, suddenly appeared at the settlement, overawed
the startled inhabitants, hewed down the maypole and warned them against the
continuance of their pernicious practices. Bradford says the Merrymount
people now changed the name of their place and called it Mount Dagon.
Xo charge was placed against Morton in England and in some way Isaac
Allerton, the London agent of the Plymouth Company, was induced to befriend
him by helping him to get back to America. Late in the summer of 1629 he
appeared at Plymouth, much to the chagrin of the inhabitants, and from there
made his way to Merrymount, where he again assumed control. Although he
did everything in his power to annoy Governor Endicott, it seems he was tolerated
for a time. About Christmas Endicott sent men to arrest him, but he succeeded
in eluding them and continued his annoyances. His company was reduced by
this time to a mere fragment of its former proportions, probably not more than
four or five men being left. Morton was finally arrested in the latter part of
August, 1629, and on the 17th of September was arraigned for trial. He
attempted a defense, but was ordered to hold his peace and hear his sentence,
which was pronounced by Governor Winthrop. He was ordered to be set in the
stocks for a certain length of time, at the end of which he was to be trans-
ported to England, deprived of all his possessions, and have his house burned to
the ground, "to the end that the habitation of the wicked should no more appear
in Israel." Such was the end of Merrymount.
PART OF BRAINTREE
For several years after the expulsion of Morton the territory now comprising
Ouincy was without a single white inhabitant. Not until the May session of the
General Court in 1634 was it "ordered that Boston shall have convenient enlarge-
ment at Mount Wollaston." On the 8th of December in the same year a grant
of land at Mount Wollaston was made to Rev. John Wilson, pastor of the
Boston Church, who was the first landowner in Ouincy under the Massachusetts
charter.
On January 4, 1636, the point of land which still bears his name was awarded
to Atherton Hough, and at the same meeting a committee of five was appointed
to make further individual allotments. Among those who received allotments
under this arrangement were : William Hutchinson, husband of the noted Anne
Hutchinson, William Coddington, Edmund Quincy, and Rev. John Wheelwright.
The last named married a sister of William Hutchinson. He became minister
at Mount Wollaston and as Anne Hutchinson was already engaged in a sort of
feud with Rev. John Wilson when Wheelwright arrived in America in June,
1636, she made haste to enlist him on her side. The next few years were taken
up with church dissensions on account of this feud, and little progress was made
in developing the Quincy settlement. In March, 1638, Governor Winthrop
ordered Mrs. Hutchinson to leave the Massachusetts jurisdiction and she crossed
the Neponset to join Wheelwright's family, intending to go to Portsmouth, but
the plans were changed and they went to Rhode Island, where some of their
adherents followed.
After the expulsion of Mrs. Hutchinson and Wheelwright, more attention
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 243
was paid to the settlement of the region and on May 13, 1640, the Town of
Braintree, which included the present City of Quincy, was incorporated by act of
the General Court. From this time until February, 1792, the reader is referred
to the chapter on Braintree for the history of the events connected with Quincy.
However, it may be well to state that the South Precinct — which included the
present towns of Braintree, Randolph and Holbrook — was incorporated on
November 5, 1708, and Quincy became the North Precinct of Braintree, remain-
ing as such for more than half a century.
THE TOWN INCORPORATED
In the latter part of the year 1790 about one hundred and twenty inhabitants
of the Braintree North Precinct, and a few of those living in Dorchester and
Milton immediately south of the Neponset River, united in a petition to the
General Court asking that they might be set off as a separate town. The petition
came before the Senate in January, 1791, and about the same time a town meet-
ing was called in Braintree to decide on some course of action regarding it.
In the meantime the original South Precinct had become the Middle Precinct
and a new South Precinct, embracing the present towns of Randolph and Hol-
brook, had been organized. These two precincts now combined against the peti-
tioners. A committee of six was appointed "to appear before the General Court
by counsel to oppose the division of the town, and its representative was instructed
to the same end." The petition went over until the next session, and in Septem-
ber, 1 791, another town meeting was held "to make one more effort before the
legislative committee to prevent the dismemberment of Braintree." The effort
proved futile, for on February 22, 1792, Gov. John Hancock, who had been born
and brought up in the territory, approved the act incorporating the Town of
Quincy.
While the act of incorporation was pending in the Legislature Rev. Anthony
VY'ibird was requested to suggest a name for the town, something the petitioners
had failed to do. He declined the honor and then Richard Cranch was asked
to supply a name. He suggested the name Quincy, "in honor of Col. John
Quincy." Some of the inhabitants wanted the town called Hancock, after Gov.
John Hancock, who was then at the height of his personal popularity, though
members of the Quincy family had been identified with the town almost from
the very beginning.
FIRST TOWN MEETING
This same Richard Cranch, who was a justice of the peace, was authorized by
the organic act to issue his warrant for the first town meeting, which he did,
calling the meeting for Thursday, March 8, 1792. The warrant was addressed
to Lieut. Elijah Veazie, who notified the voters, and at the appointed time
the citizens assembled and elected the following officers : Ebenezer Miller, John
Hall and Benjamin Beale, Jr., selectmen and assessors; Eben Vesey (or Veazie),
clerk ; Thomas B. Adams, treasurer ; Joseph N. Arnold, constable ; Peter Brackett
and Jonathan Baxter, fence viewers; Peter Brackett, Ebenezer Nightingale,
Jonathan Baxter, Samuel Bass and Jonathan Beale, surveyors of highways;
244 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Peter Adams and John Sanders, hog reeves ; William Adams and William
Sanders, tithingmen; Thomas Pratt, surveyor of boards and stileworks; John
Billings, surveyor of hemp; Ebenezer Adams, packer of beef; Samuel Brown,
culler of fish; Jonathan Webb, bread weigher; Thomas Cleverly, Jr., sealer of
leather; John Nightingale and Lemuel Billings, hay wards; Edward W. Baxter
and Samuel Nightingale, fire wards.
From this formidable array of officials it would seem that Quincy started
off on its career with an officer for every conceivable duty. Quite a number of
the positions, such as bread weigher and culler of fish have long since passed
out of existence.
AN EARLY CUSTOM
At the time Quincy was incorporated the custom prevailed in many of the
New England towns, of warning undesirable inhabitants to leave within a given
period, "or suffer the consequences." At a town meeting held on February 12,
1793, the selectmen were instructed to issue warning to the following persons
that their presence in Quincy was no longer to be tolerated : Thomas Welsh and
wife, Barnabas Swift, Thomas Swift, Seth Joice, James McDaniels, Jacob Fowle
and family, Linke Herd and family, Joseph Dorren, 1 — Copeland, John
Paul and family, James Faxon and family, Gaius Thayer and family, William
Jenkins and Patty Page. No reason is found in the records why these people were
to be expelled so unceremoniously from the town, though it is evident that they
were engaged in some questionable line of business, or in practices that affected
the general moral welfare. No doubt the citizens of that day were more zealous
in their efforts to exclude such people from their midst than are the people of
modern Quincy.
TOWN HALL
Not long after the town was incorporated and the local government organized,
a building was erected for a grammar school with a hall for holding town meet-
ings. It was destroyed by fire on December 30, 18 15, and at the annual meeting
on March 4, 18 16, a committee was appointed to recommend a plan for a new
structure. The report of the committee was as follows :
"Your committee are unanimously of the opinion that it will be expedient
for the town to cause to be erected a building of sufficient dimensions to allow
two school rooms on the lower floor, the second story to be reserved and con-
veniently arranged as a town hall for the inhabitants to meet in. Your committee
were also requested to report on a site for said building, but not having had
time to give this point suitable consideration, would have it referred to another
committee and they be chosen by ballot."
The report was accepted and agreed to, and the second committee reported in
favor of a building 30 by 55 feet, two stories high, "to be located on John
Brinsler's lot next to the burying ground." They also reported that such a
building would cost $2,200, if built of wood, or $3,600, if built of stone. Thomas
Greenleaf, Benjamin Page, Thomas B. Adams, Edmund Billings and Josiah
Adams were then appointed a committee to select a site on the training field. This
CITY HALL, QUINCY
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 245
action was reconsidered on June 24, 181 6, and after several sites had been
examined it was voted on the 16th of July to accept the Brinsler lot, which was
accordingly purchased for $339. The building was completed on July 21, 1817,
at a cost of $2,127.19.
In 1841 the question came before the annual meeting in March of building
a new town house and it was voted to build it on land owned by Daniel French,
provided the same could be purchased at a price not exceeding one thousand
dollars. It seems that this was as far as the proposition went at that time, for
on February 9, 1844, a movement was voted down in town meeting to purchase
the Universalist Church and convert it into a town hall. At the same meeting
a proposition to erect a stone building for town purposes was defeated. A com-
mittee was then chosen to investigate the subject and recommend a course
to be pursued at an adjourned meeting. The committee, consisting of Solomon
Willard, John Savil, Gershom Clements, John A. Green and Noah Curtis, reported
in favor of a frame structure, the estimated cost of which was $7,587, on a plan
50 by 85 feet, two stories in height.
The report was accepted and the treasurer was ordered to purchase the lots
on the corner of Canal and Hancock streets, owned by Faxon & Willett, but the
title was found to be defective. Daniel Baxter, Benjamin Page, James New-
comb, John Souther and George Veazie were then appointed a building com-
mittee, the proposition to erect a frame house was reconsidered and it was
voted to build one of stone, on land to be bought of Daniel French. The build-
ing was completed in 1844, at a cost of $19,115.93. In 1871 it was remodeled
at a cost of $6,478 and is now the Quincy City Hall. In his inaugural address
in 1917, Mayor Joseph L. Whiton said:
"I find that there are seventeen department officials and boards, with their
respective clerks, having offices in the basement of the City Hall. It seems
incredible that a city of the size and importance of Quincy should require so
many of its officials and boards to transact its business in a basement under such
unhealthy conditions as exist in the basement of this hall. This condition of
affairs should be remedied at once and other quarters provided for them. The
reducing of the number of councilmen from twenty-three to nine will enable the
council to transact its business in smaller quarters than formerly used. This will
enable us to supply accommodations for some of these departments above the
first floor of the hall. When these departments have been removed from the
basement, the basement can be fitted up, made fireproof and equipped so as to
be a very desirable place in which to preserve the records and archives of the
city."
From this extract from the mayor's inaugural address it can be seen that
the city has outgrown the capacity of its municipal building and it will be but a
few years until the question of a new one, more in keeping with the progressive
spirit of the city, will have to be affirmed.
Thomas Greenleaf, who was appointed chairman of the committee in 1816
to select a site for the town hall, was an important factor in the development
of Quincy about that time. He was born in Boston and graduated at Harvard
in 1790. In 1803 he took up his residence in Quincy and soon manifested an
interest in town affairs. Besides his connection with the building of the town
hall, he caused the first almshouse to be built, securing an appropriation of
246 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
$2,000 for this purpose, and under his efficient business methods the cost of
maintaining the town poor was reduced about one-half. He died in Quincy in
1854.
QUINCY GRANITE
Previous to the year 1825 little attention had been given to the value of the
granite deposits of the town. In that year, on behalf of the Bunker Hill Monu-
ment Association, Gridley B riant bought a quarry in West Quincy for the pur-
pose of taking out stone for the monument. This stone had already been
examined and approved by Solomon Willard, and the quarry is still known as
the "Bunker Hill Quarry." Before the opening of this quarry, the rough, glacial
bowlders which lay scattered about over the surface had alone been used for
building purposes. King's Chapel in Boston was built of this kind of stone.
Shortly after it was completed in 1852, a town meeting in Braintree voted to
prohibit the removal of any more stone from the commons, because if the ship-
ment of stone to Boston continued there would not be enough left for the town's
own use. In 1803 Josiah Bemis, George Stearns and Michael Wild split a large
stone with iron wedges. This opened the way for the working of the great
granite deposits and Quincy granite is now known wherever stone is used for
monumental or building purposes. The report of the Bureau of Statistics for
191 5 gives returns from more than one hundred stone working concerns, having
a combined capital of over two millions of dollars.
POSTOFFICES
The first postmaster in Quincy was Richard Cranch, whose commission was
dated April 1, 1795. Mr. Cranch, it will be remembered, was the man who
selected the name of Quincy for the town, and the justice of the peace who
issued his warrant for the first town meeting. Several times he represented
Braintree in the Qeneral Court and was afterward a judge of the Court of Com-
mon Pleas. At the time of his appointment as postmaster the rates of letter
postage varied from six cents for carrying a letter thirty miles or less to twenty-
four cents for carrying one 450 miles or more. He served as postmaster until
his death in 181 1, and on January 1, 1812, Dr. Benjamin Vinton was appointed
as his successor. During the period of his service, eastern and southern mails
arrived and departed three times a week.
The present handsome postoffice building in Quincy was completed early in
the spring of 1909 and was occupied on the first of March of that year. Its cost,
exclusive of the site, was a little over seventy thousand dollars. The office is
now a station of Metropolitan Boston. Besides the postmaster and his assistant,
the office employs twenty-six carriers and fifteen clerks. There is also one rural
carrier.
At the beginning of the year 191 7 the other offices within the city limits were
located at Atlantic, Squantum and Wollaston, all of them being branches of
the Boston postoffice. Some forty years ago there were postoffices at West
Quincy and Quincy Point, but they have been discontinued.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 247
CITIZENS GAS COMPANY
Early in i860 Daniel P. Nye, F. M. Johnson and Eleazer Frederick applied
to the Legislature for a charter to manufacture and sell gas to the town and
people of Quincy. They and their associates were incorporated as "The Citizens
Gas Light Company of Quincy," with power to own and hold real estate, manu-
facture gas and make contracts for the sale of the same to the municipality and
its inhabitants. The next year the town agrees by vote to pay for gas for street
lamps for any persons who would erect lamp posts at their own expense, the
posts to be a certain distance apart. This plan was followed for a few years, but
in 1874 it was decided that coal gas was too expensive for illuminating the town,
and it was voted to use naphtha gas instead. In 1876 the gas company reduced
its prices and the town returned to the use of coal gas. Several years later the
gas lights were displaced by electricity and the gas is now used chiefly for cook-
ing and lighting private buildings.
INCORPORATED AS A CITY
Quincy was incorporated as a city by the act of May 17, 1888, Section 1 of
which provides that "The inhabitants of the Town of Quincy shall, in case of
the acceptance of this act by the voters of said town, as hereinafter provided,
continue to be a body politic and corporate under the name of the City of Quincy,
and as such shall have, exercise and enjoy all the rights, immunities, powers and
privileges and shall be subject to all the duties and obligations now pertaining
to and incumbent upon the said town as a municipal corporation."
The act authorized the division of the town into six wards and the election
of members of a city council — five of the members to be elected as councilmen
at large and one from each ward. The executive authority is vested in a mayor,
and the management of the public schools in a school committee. It was also
provided that the first city election should be held on the first Tuesday in
December and that the municipal year should begin on the first Monday in Janu-
ary. The voters accepted the provisions of the act and on January 7, 1889, the
city government of Quincy went into effect.
Following is a list of the mayors since the incorporation of the city, together
with the year when each assumed the duties of the office : Charles H. Porter,
1889; Henry O. Fairbanks, 1891 ; William A. Hodges, 1894; C. F. Adams (2nd),
1896; Russell A. Sears, 1898; Harrison A. Keith, 1899; John O. Hall, 1900;
Charles M. Bryant, 1902; James Thompson, 1905; William T. Shea, 1908;
Eugene R. Stone, 1912; John L. Miller, 1914 (died the same year and the unex-
pired term filled by Joseph L. Whiton) ; Chester I. Campbell, 1915 ; Gustave B.
Bates, 1916; Joseph L. Whiton, 1917.
WATERWORKS
The first move toward supplying the Town of Quincy with water was made
on May 3, 1883, when the governor approved an act of the Legislature incor-
porating William L. Faxon, John A. Gordon, John O. Holden, Charles H. Porter
and their associates and successors as the "Quincy Water Company," with a
248 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
capital stock not to exceed $250,000. By the provisions of the act the company-
was authorized to take the waters of Town Brook, with all the other rights and
privileges to which such corporations are entitled under the laws of Massa-
chusetts. It was also provided in the act of incorporation that the Town of
Quincy might purchase the franchise and property of the company, at a price to
be mutually agreed upon, when two-thirds of the legal voters of the town gave
their assent.
In June, 1885, the company was given the right to supply the Town of
Milton with water, and on June 11, 1891, two years after the incorporation of
Quincy as a city, the Legislature, conferred upon the municipality the right
to take the waters of Blue Hill River and certain of its tributaries as a water
supply, and to issue bonds in any sum not exceeding $400,000 for the purpose of
purchasing and developing the plant of the Quincy Water Company. The works
were then purchased by the city and on June 13, 1892, another act was passed
by the Legislature authorizing the mayor to appoint a board of water commis-
sioners of three members. The same act increased the borrowing power of the
city to not more than $700,000, to be known as the "Quincy Water Loan."
At the close of the year 1916 the Quincy waterworks system embraced nearly
one hundred and forty miles of mains, 1,119 hydrants, with 8,872 meters in use.
The receipts from water rates for the year amounted to $155,624.67 and the
expense of maintenance was $12,968.29. About three miles of additional mains
were laid in 1916 and forty-one new hydrants installed, at a cost of nearly
twenty-nine thousand dollars.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Almost immediately after the town was incorporated in 1792, the citizens met
and organized a Fire Association. Buckets, ladders and fire hooks were pur-
chased and for many years this was the only fire department of which Quincy
could boast. In 1812 a fund was raised by subscription and a hand engine
was purchased. It was one of the kind that had to be filled with buckets and
at a fire a line would be formed, the buckets passed from hand to hand to
keep the engine supplied with water, while the firemen worked the pump. In
cases where the supply of water was some distance from the fire, the engine
would be drawn to the pond or rivers for a supply and then back to the fire,
repeating the process until the fire was extinguished or the building burned down
— more frequently the latter. The engine was called the "Columbia" and was
stationed on Hancock Street. A little later another engine of the same type was
purchased and named the "Adams." It was kept on School Street.
In 1826 a law was passed exempting firemen from military duty. This stimu-
lated interest in the fire companies of Quincy and a number offered their services
as volunteers. The first suction engine — the "Niagara" — was purchased in 1840.
Three more and a hook and ladder outfit were purchased in 1844. The new
engines were named the "Vulture," which was located at the Point ; the "Tiger,"
stationed at South Quincy ; and the "Granite," in West Quincy.
By the act of April 8, 1853, the town was authorized to establish a fire depart-
ment, but little change was made for nearly twenty years. In 1874 a steam
pump was bought, the town paying $350 and the balance being raised by sub-
scription. Two years later a reservoir was built at Wollaston Heights in order
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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 249
to store a volume of water to be used in case of fire. From that time additions
were made to the department at intervals, until it reached its present state of
efficiency.
The Quincy fire department now has six stations, viz. : Central, Wollaston,
Atlantic, West Quincy, Quincy Point and Hough's Neck. According to the
report of Faxon Billings, chief of the department for the year 1916, the equip-
ment of these stations was then as follows : Central, one steam fire engine and
tractor, one auto combination ladder truck, two auto combination hose trucks,
one chief's car, two spare hose wagons and one bobsled. Wollaston, one com-
bination ladder truck and one combination hose wagon, both drawn by horses.
Atlantic, one auto combination hose truck. West Quincy, one ladder truck and
one hose wagon, both drawn by horses. Quincy Point, one combination hose
wagon drawn by horses. Hough's Neck, one combination hose wagon, horse
drawn. The value of all the apparatus, including horses, was estimated at
$82,600.
The department consists of a chief, three assistant chiefs, one captain, one
lieutenant, the superintendent of fire alarm system, and thirty-five permanent
men. During the year 1916 the department responded to 376 alarms.
MODERN QUINCY
According to the United States census of 1910, the population of Quincy was
then 32,642. In 191 5 the state census reported 40,674, a gain of 8,032 in five
years. The city has four banks, two daily newspapers (the Patriot-Ledger and
the Telegram), twenty-five churches of different denominations, seventeen public
school buildings, a number of well stocked stores, and more than one hundred
and fifty prosperous manufacturing establishments. Quincy is located on the
line of the Boston & Plymouth division of the New York, New Haven & Hart-
ford railway system, only eight miles from Boston, and is connected with the
adjoining towns by electric railway lines. The assessed valuation of property
in 1916, as reported by the board of assessors, was $62,789,130, and in his annual
report the city treasurer announced a municipal indebtedness of $1,570,521.15
— nearly forty dollars in assets for every dollar of liabilities.
CITY GOVERNMENT
Following-is a list of the principal city officials at the commencement of the
year 1917 : Joseph L. Whiton, mayor; Emery L. Crane, clerk; Walter E. Piper,
treasurer; Charles A. Hadlock, collector of taxes; Moses L. Brown, commis-
sioner of public works; William Campbell, overseer of the poor; Frederick
E. Tupper, Charles A. McFarland and Michael T. Sullivan, assessors ; James
H. Slade, Philip R. Guinan and Alexander A. Robertson, Jr., park commis-
sioners ; Daniel R. McKay, chief of police ; Faxon Billings, chief of the fire
department ; Walter H. Buchan, Dr. Michael T. Sweeney and Tupper G. Miller,
board of health.
The city council, the legislative branch of the government, was composed
of Alfred H. Richards (president), Thomas Griffin, Thomas J. McGrath, Rus-
sell A. Sears, John D. Smith, Lewis Bass, William A. Bradford, Alexander
Falconer and Rodney P. Gallagher. Regular meetings of the council are held
on the first and third Thursday evenings of each month.
CHAPTER XXIX
THE TOWN OF RANDOLPH
GENERAL DESCRIPTION — CIVIC HISTORY — PETITION FOR DIVISION OF BRAINTREE
THE REMONSTRANCE — ACT OF INCORPORATION THE TOWN NAME FIRST TOWN
MEETINGS DIVISION OF RANDOLPH — TOWN HALL — FIRE DEPARTMENT WATER-
WORKS — RANDOLPH TODAY — ROSTER OF TOWN OFFICERS IN I917.
Randolph lies in the southeastern portion of Norfolk County. On the north it
is bounded by the Town of Milton and the City of Quincy; on the east by
Braintree ; on the southeast by Holbrook ; and on the west by Canton and Stough
ton. Great Pond lies on the line between Randolph and Braintree, and Ponka-
poag Pond on the line between Randolph and Canton. The Blue Hill or
Monatiquot River forms the northern boundary line, and there are several small
streams flowing into Great Pond. The surface is generally rolling, but in the
valleys are fertile farms and fine orchards, giving the town an air of thrift and
prosperity.
CIVIC HISTORY
Randolph has been called the daughter of Braintree and the mother of
Holbrook. When Braintree was incorporated in 1640 it embraced the present
towns of Braintree, Quincy, Randolph and Holbrook. Fifty years later the
population numbered nearly three thousand. The town was then divided into
three precincts. — North, South and Middle. The North Precinct included prac-
tically what is now the City of Quincy ; the Middle Precinct, the present Town
of Braintree; and the South Precinct, the present towns of Randolph and Hol-
brook. Quincy was set off as a town on February 22, 1792, and immediately
afterward the inhabitants of the South Precinct began to insist upon a similar
privilege. At a meeting held at the South Precinct meeting house on March
15, 1792, Dr. Ephraim Wales, Nathaniel Niles, Joseph White, Samuel Bass,
Seth Turner and Samuel Niles were appointed a committee, "with discretionary
power," to take the necessary steps to effect a separation between the precinct
and the Town of Braintree, and to "sustain the claims of the South Parish
for a division before the General Court, or doing anything they may think proper
for the purpose aforesaid."
At another meeting on June 15, 1792, for which the inhabitants of the pre-
cinct had been specially warned, it was voted that, "Whereas a Petition has
been presented to the Generall Court for a division of the Town of Braintree, by
a large number of Signers Hon. Samuel Niles, Dr. Ephraim Wales, Samuel Bass,
Col. Seth Turner, Seth Mann, Joseph White and Lieut. Nathaniel Niles be
250
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 251
chose a committee with discretionary Powers to sustane the Aforesaid petition
until the passage of it be Granted."
The Town of Braintree — or rather the Middle Precinct — opposed the division
of the town, and a counter petition was presented to the General Court. As these
petitions throw considerable light upon the situation as it then existed, they are
reproduced in full.
PETITION FOR DIVISION
"To the Hon ble Senate and the Hon ble House of Representatives in General
Court assembled:
"The Petition of the Inhabitants of the South Precinct of Braintree respect-
fully shews That your Petitioners from long Experience have found the incon-
venience of being Connected with the other parts of the Town of Braintree, As
the town is very long and narrow — the Centre of said South Precinct is more
than five miles distant from the Middle Precinct meeting house, which is the
usual and most convenient place of holding Town Meetings while the town is in
its present form which makes it necessary that nearly one half of your Peti-
tioners should travel five miles and Upwards to attend every Town Meeting, or
otherwise which is frequently the case: They are obliged to submit to the Centre
of the Town's transacting the whole of the Business which they do as your
Petitioners think with a very Partial Eye to their own Interests.
"And as Travelling is often very bad at March and April meetings it is
difficult & Many times impossible for Elderly & Infirm people to improve the
Privileges they might otherwise do & which every free man wishes to Enjoy.
Many other Disadvantages peculiar to your Petitioners extreem situation in
the Town will be made more fully to appear should your Honors grant them
a hearing
"And your Petitioners wish further to sugest that the South Precinct afore-
said in its present form is very incommodious & Irregular and was owing
originaly to a Cause which now ceases to exist, Viz. When the Division of the
Middle and South Precinct was first Proposed the Rev d M r Niles was Minister
of Both in One & owned a large farm which incircled several other farms that
lay within the Bounds of the proposed South Precinct. But the Rev d M r Niles
being willing his own farm should lye within the limits of his own parish opposed
the South Parish going off unless he might be thus Gratified and as he was then
a man of much Influence your Petitioners were obliged to relinquish said farms
or continue very much to their Disadvantage a part of his parish & the former
of the two evils they submitted to— Now circumstances relative to said farms
are far different. A considerable part of M r Nile's farm is now owned by
Residents of the South Precinct & the Proprietors of the other farms aforesaid
are desirous of improving the advantages they ought long since to have enjoyed
by joining the South Precinct as they are much nearer to that meeting than their
own. Your petitioners wish therefore to be set off from the other Parts of the
Town of Braintree in connection with the proprietors of the aforesaid farms
as a separate town : and they as in duty bound shall ever pray."
The petition was signed by Ephraim Wales, Seth Turner, Levi Thayer,
Ebenezer Alden. John Stetson, Richard Belcher, Nathaniel Niles, Benjamin Man,
252 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Seth Man, Joseph White, "and one hundred and ten others,'' and on the back of
the original in the state archives is the indorsement: "In the House of Repre-
sentatives Jan r 17 111 1792. Read & Committed to the Standing Committee on
Incorporations to consider report. Sent up for concurrence." Signed by D.
Cobb, speaker. Then follows a similar indorsement, signed by Samuel Phillips as
president of the senate, showing the concurrence by that body on January 18,
1792.
THE REMONSTRANCE
"We the Subscribers Inhabitants of the now North Precinct in Braintree being
Deeply imprest with the Disagreeable Situation of this once Respectable Town
of Braintree A Town which has Produced some of the First characters among
man kind and even those who have arisen to Exalted Stations amongst the
Rulers of our Country. The old North Precinct are Already got off from us
and Incorporated into a Town by the Name of Quincy and our Breathren of
the South Precinct are now Petitioning the General Court to be set off and incor-
porated into a Town by Some other Name should the Prayer of their Petition
be Granted there will be but a small Part of their old Town of Braintree left
to bare up the Name it appears to us that the Reasons Why our Breathren in the
South Precinct are aiming to git off from us is that they Suppose the Number of
Inhabitants in this Now North Precinct will be Greater than in the South Pre-
cinct & by that means they will be Exposed to have Voted from them those
Privilege which they have a Just right to. Now to Ease the minds of our
Breathren in that Respect We the Subscribers do hereby upon our Words and
Honour Which in the Nature of the thing is the Strongest Obligation that we can
lay our Selves' under Engage that we Will at All times as far as we are Able
prevent their having Just Cause of Complaint in that Respect & We do hereby
Declare that if they will Withdraw their Petition Which we think will be to
their Advatage as Well as ours and Equally so that We are Willing that the
meetings Shall be held Alternately & that our Breathren of the said South
Precinct shall have Every advantage from the Suffrages of the People at Large
if we Continue together Without Seperation Which they Shall have any just
reason to Expect & at the same time that We May Experience the same benevo-
lence from then & that We may Continue together in Brotherly Love & Unity
is the Sincear and Hearty Wish of Us the Subscribers."
This remonstrance was signed by James Faxon, Elisha French, Adam Hobart,
Jonathan Thayer, Abraham Thayer, William Allen, Nehemiah Hayden, Samuel
Holbrook, and "sixty-three other residents of the North Precinct," but it bears
no evidence that it was ever seriously considered by the General Court. The
advocates of division were well organized and presented their cause with such
force that they finally won their object through the passage of the following
ACT OF INCORPORATION
"An Act for incorporating the South Precinct of the Town of Braintree, in
the County of Suffolk, into a separate Town by the name of Randolph.
"Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 253
General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That the lands com-
prised within the South Precinct in Braintree, as the same is now bounded, with
the inhabitants dwelling thereon, be, and 'they hereby are,, incorporated into a
town by the name of Randolph; and the said Town of Randolph is hereby
invested with all the powers, privileges and immunities to which towns within
this Commonwealth are, or may be, entitled, agreeably to the Constitution and
Laws of the said Commonwealth."
"Section 2. And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the
inhabitants of the said Town of Randolph shall pay all the arrears of taxes
which have been assessed upon them by the Town of Braintree, and shall sup-
port any poor person or persons who have heretofore, been, or now are, in-
habitants of that part of Braintree which is hereby incorporated and are or may
become chargeable, and who shall not have obtained a settlement elsewhere when
they may become chargeable ; and such poor person or persons may be returned
to the Town of Randolph, in the same way and manner that paupers may, by
law, be returned to the town or district to which they belong. And the inhabitants
of the said Town of Randolph shall pay their proportion of all debts now due
from the Town of Braintree, and shall be entitled to receive their proportion of
all debts due to the said Town of Braintree; and also their proportionable part
of all other property of the said Town of Braintree, of what kind and descrip-
tion soever : Provided always, That the lands belonging to the said Town of
Braintree, for the purpose of maintaining schools, shall be divided between
the said Town of Braintree and the said Town of Randolph, in the same pro-
portion as they were respectively assessed for the payment of the last state tax.
"Section 3. And be it further enacted, That any of the inhabitants now
dwelling within the bounds of the said Town of Randolph, who have remon-
strated against the division of the Town of Braintree, and who may be desirous
of belonging to said Town of Braintree, shall, at any time within six months
from the passing of this act, by returning their names to the Secretary's Office,
and signifying their desire of belonging to said Braintree, have that privilege,
and shall, with their polls and estates, belong to and be a part of said Braintree,
by paying their proportion of all taxes which shall have been laid on said town
of Randolph, previously to their thus returning their names, as they would by
law have been holden to pay had they continued to be a part of the Town of
Randolph.
"Section 4. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That
Samuel Xiles, Esq., be and he is hereby authorized to issue his warrant, directed
to some principal inhabitant of the said town of Randolph, requiring him to
warn and give notice to the inhabitants of the said town, to assemble and meet
at some suitable time and place in the said Town of Randolph, as soon as con-
veniently may be, to choose all such officers as towns are required to choose at
their annual town meeting in the month of March or April annually."
This bill passed the House on March 5, 1793, and was sent to the Senate,
which passed it the next day. On the 9th it was approved by Gov. John Han-
cock, and from that day the Town of Randolph dates its corporate existence.
An indorsement attached to the original copy of the act in the state archives
shows that Levi and Timothy Thayer, Abraham Jones, Noah and Samuel Chees-
254 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
man, claimed the privilege extended by Section 3 and remained inhabitants of
Braintree.
THE TOWN NAME
The town was named for Peyton Randolph, who was born in Virginia in
j 723, the second son of Sir John Randolph. After graduating at William and
Mary's College he studied law in London and at the age of twenty-five was
appointed royal attorney for Virginia. Soon after this he was elected a member
of the Virginia House of Burgesses and was appointed chairman of a committee
to revise the laws of the colony. In 1764 he framed the remonstrance of the
House of Burgesses against the passage of the Stamp Act. He was the presi-
dent of the First Continental Congress, which met at Philadelphia on September
5, 1774, and was again chosen for that position when Congress reassembled at
Philadelphia on May 10, 1775. Mr. Randolph died of apoplexy at Philadelphia
on October 22, 1775. The naming of this Norfolk County town in his honor was
a fitting tribute to one who devoted his life to the interests of the American
colonists.
FIRST TOWN MEETINGS
Pursuant to the authority conferred by Section 4 of the organic act, Samuel
Niles issued his warrant for a town meeting to be held on Monday, April 1,
1793. Dr. Ephraim Wales was chosen moderator, after which the meeting pro-
ceeded to elect the following town officers : Micah White, Jr., Dr. Ebenezer Alden
and Joseph White, Jr., selectmen ; Samuel Bass, clerk and treasurer. Samuel
Bass, Nathaniel Niles and Seth Turner were appointed a committee to settle
with the Town of Braintree.
At a second meeting held on Thursday, May 16, 1793, Samuel Bass was
elected representative to the General Court, and at the annual meeting in 1794
all the town officers chosen the preceding year were reelected. At the same time
it was voted "That the committee appointed to settle with Braintree shall apply
for a division of powder and balls, and in case there is a deficiency the selectmen
are requested to procure more." The selectmen were also requested to ''build
a powder house in some suitable place, according to their discretion."
DIVISION OF RANDOLPH
When the town was first established in 1793, it extended southward to the
county line. Through a narrow valley running north and south ran a narrow
riverbed, in which flowed the Cochato River. Two villages grew up on roads
about a mile apart, the one on the east side of the Cochato being known as East
Randolph, and the other as West Randolph. When the railroad now known as
the Boston & Middleboro division of the New York, New Haven & Hartford
system was built, the station on the east side was given the name of "Randolph."
A few years later the railroad from Boston to Taunton was built down the west
side of the valley, passing through West Randolph. Some of the citizens enter-
tained a hope that the two villages would grow together, but the hope was never
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 255
realized. In 1872 East Randolph was set off as the Town of Holbrook (see
Chapter XIX) and the name of the railroad station was changed to correspond
to that of the new town. The word "West" was then dropped from the other
village, which has since been merely known as "Randolph."
TOWN HALL
Randolph's town hall, which was the gift of Amasa Stetson, was dedicated
in 1842. It is a substantial frame structure, the cost of which was about ten
thousand dollars, and is centrally located. Amasa Stetson was born in Randolph
in March, 1769, while the town was still a part of Braintree. He learned the
trade of shoemaker, went to Boston, where he became associated with his brother
Samuel in the shoe business and thus laid the foundation of a large fortune. He
died on August 2, 1844, leaving a fortune of over half a million dollars and
no children. The lower story of the town hall was used for some time for high
school purposes. A few years ago the building, called "Stetson Hall," in honor
of the donor, was thoroughly remodeled. Mr. Stetson also left the town a fund
of ten thousand dollars for educational purposes. It is known as the "Stetson
School Fund," and the income is used for the support of the public schools.
In 1916 the trustees of the fund reported the amount of the fund as being
$19,488.63, invested in interest bearing bonds and bank stock.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Soon after the town was incorporated a fire company was organized and
for many years the old hand engines— "Fire-King," "Independence" and "Fear-
less" — responded to fire alarms with as much "pomp and circumstance" as the
more efficient fire departments of modern days. When Holbrook was set off
in 1872, the question of a better fire department came up in the town meetings,
and during the next decade great improvements in the service were made by
the purchase of two steam fire engines, a hook and ladder truck and two hose
wagons.
In 191 5 a new combination auto fire truck was purchased by the town and
placed in commission by the board of fire engineers. On July 30, 1916, the old
department was disbanded and two days later was reorganized on the basis of
sixteen men to be known as "Combination Company No. 1"; nine men as "Hose
Company No. 1"; six men as "Hose Company No. 2"; eight men as "Hook and
Ladder Company No. 1"; and an engineer and stoker for "Steamer No. t."
The cost of the department for the year 1916 was $1,860. The board of engineers
was then composed of Richard F. Forrest, James H. Meany, George Stetson
and M. F. Sullivan.
WATERWORKS
By an act of the Legislature, approved May 8, 1885, the towns of Braintree,
Randolph and Holbrook were authorized to supply themselves with water from
Great Pond, severally or jointly, and to be united in the construction of build-
ings, etc. Braintree did not accept the provisions of the act, but Randolph and
256 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Holbrook each issued bonds to the amount of $100,000 (the maximum authorized
by the act) and established a joint system of waterworks, which were completed
in the summer of 1886. During the year 191 6, according to the report of the
water commissioners, the cost of maintenance was $9,898.91, which included
$1,232 for interest on outstanding bonds and $2,303.49 for extension of the
mains to new districts. The receipts for the year amounted to $12,953. The
amount of water consumed during the year was 146,720,000 gallons.
After the first issue of bonds other issues were authorized by the Legislature,
with the stipulation that a sinking fund should be established for their redemp-
tion when due. At the close of the year 1916 the amount of bonds outstanding
was $107,200, and there was then in the sinking fund $74,286.28 and $2,385.14
in cash in the hands of the town treasurer, leaving a net indebtedness of
$30,528.58. As the last of the bonds do not fall due until July 1, 1926, it is
evident that Randolph's waterworks will be paid for according to the original
plan.
RANDOLPH TODAY
Of the twenty-eight towns in Norfolk County, Randolph in 19 15 stood four-
teenth in population and eighteeth in the assessed valuation of property. The
number of inhabitants, according to the state census, was then 4,734, a gain of
433 since the United States census of 1910. The assessed valuation of property
was $3,252,912. In 1916 the assessors reduced the valuation to $2,879,100, merely
as a matter of equalization.
The town has two banks, five public school buildings, eighteen teachers in the
public schools, churches of various denominations, electric light, some manufac-
turing concerns, though this line of business is not as great as in the years
immediately following the Civil war, a fine public library, lodges of the leading
fraternal orders, mercantile establishments in keeping with the demands of the
town, steam and electric railway transportation, a weekly newspaper (the News),
and a money order postoffice which has one rural route that supplies daily mail
to the surrounding country. The visitor to Randolph cannot fail to be impressed
with the air of neatness that attaches to the many cozy homes — the chief charm
of the town.
TOWN OFFICERS, I917
Following is a list of the principal town officials at the beginning of the
year 1917: James Ff. Dunphy, Michael E. Clark and Jeremiah J. Desmond,
selectmen and overseers of the poor; Arthur W. Alden, Michael E. Clark and
James H. Dunphy, assessors ; Patrick H. McLaughlin, clerk and treasurer; Richard
F. Forrest, William F. Barrett and John B. McNeil, water commissioners;
Michael F. Cunningham, John B. Wren and John K. Willard, auditors ; Jeremiah
J. Desmond, tax collector; Edward Long, George V. Higgins and Edmund K.
Belcher, school committee ; Joseph Belcher, representative to the General Court ;
Frank J. Donahue, Michael F. Sullivan, John J. Madigan, Frank W. Harris, Fred
O. Evans and Fred Vye, constables ; Frank M. Condon, Patrick H. McLaughlin,
H. F. Howard and John H. Field, registrars of voters.
CHAPTER XXX
THE TOWN OF SHARON
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES — TOPOGRAPHY — EARLY HISTORY — PETITION FOR A PRE-
CINCT — THE ANSWER — FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR — DISTRICT OF STOUGHTONHAM
— FIRST DISTRICT OFFICERS — THE FIRST CANNON — BUNKER HILL — THE TOWN
OF SHARON — POSTOFFICES — TOWN HALL — WATERWORKS — FIRE DEPARTMENT —
MODERN SHARON — TOWN OFFICERS.
The Town of Sharon is situated in the southern part of the county, extending
southward to the county line. On the north it is bounded by the towns of
Norwood and Walpole ; on the east by Canton and Stoughton ; on the south by
Bristol County; and on the west by Foxboro. The Neponset River just touches
the northeast corner, and Traphole Brook forms a little of the boundary line
between Sharon and Norwood.
TOPOGRAPHY
The surface of Sharon is varied. Moose Hill, in the western part is the
highest elevation. Its summit is said to be about six hundred feet above the
level of the sea. It received its name from the fact that in early days it was
a favorite haunt of the moose. Only a few years before the beginning of the
Revolution deer reeves were elected by the people of Stoughton (of which
Sharon was then a part) for the protection of the moose and deer that inhabited
the forests about this hill. A winding road leads to the top of the hill, where
in the days immediately preceding the Revolution was lighted "the signal fires
of liberty." In later years an observatory was built there. From the observatory
can be seen Mount Wachusett, the hills of New Hampshire and Rhode Island,
the Blue Hills of Milton, and the Neponset Valley is spread out like a panorama.
One can readily infer how Rattlesnake Hill, a high, rocky ridge in the south-
eastern part of the town, received its name. The slopes of this ridge are
covered with a growth of timber that affords an excellent place of abode for
the serpent that gave name to the elevation. The road to North Easton passes
over this ridge.
There are a number of smaller hills, such as Bald Hill, Bluff Head and Bul-
lard's Hill. From the southern part of Bullard's Hill a fine view of the Village of
Sharon may be seen. Along the foot of the hill runs the little brook, fed by
springs, called by the Indians Maskwonicut, but to which the white settlers
gave the name of Puffer's Brook.
Near the center of the town is Lake Massapoag, a pretty body of water,
bearing an Indian name signifying "Great Water." About thirty or forty years
Vol. 1—17
257
258 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
ago the lake was stocked with fish — black bass, white perch, land-locked salmon,
etc. — and along its shores have been built quite a number of summer residences
by people from Boston, who come from the city during the hot weather to enjoy
the scenery and rest.
In the western part is Wolomolopoag Pond, which in the Indian language
means "deep, pleasant water." The outlet of this pond flows in a southerly
direction and on its banks was built the first house in what is now the Town
of Sharon. It was built by some one about 1660 or a few years earlier, and
being located on the old Boston and Bristol post road was occupied by Captain
Billings as a tavern in 1675. The pond above mentioned is sometimes called
Billings' Pond. On the southern boundary lies Wilbur Pond — also known as
Leach's Reservoir.
In the eastern part of the town are some good granite quarries, and in early
days considerable quantities of bog iron ore were obtained here.
EARLY HISTORY
When the Town of Stoughton was incorporated in December, 1726, it included
all the territory south of the Blue Hills and extended from Readville to the south
line of Suffolk (now Norfolk) County. The west line of Stoughton was nearly
twenty miles long, and the average width of the town from east to west was about
ten miles. In this large town was included the present Town of Sharon. The
colonial laws of that period required the towns to support churches and the
people to attend public worship on Sunday. Stoughton was so large that it was
inconvenient for many of the people to attend the church supported by the
town, which was located at Canton Corner, hence those living adjacent to other
towns attended worship where it was most convenient. After some ten or
twelve years, the people living about Lake Massapoag decided to ask the General
Court to establish a town or precinct for their benefit, and the result of their
agitation was the following
PETITION
"To His Excellency Jonathan Belcher Esqr. Captain-General and Governor
in Chief in and over His Majesties Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New
England — and the Honourable His Majesties Council & House of Representa-
tives of ye General Court assembled in Boston on ye Eighth day of June 1739.
"The petition of John Hixson and Benjamin Johnson committee to Prefer
a petition to this Court in behalfe of ye subscribers Inhabitants of ye Southerly
part of Stoughton humbly sheweth that Whereas by the Providence of the All
Disposing God our lots are fallen to us at so greate a Distance from the Publick
Worship of God in ye North part of ye sayd town that your Petitioners cannot
ever without greate difficulty attend the Publick worship of God. Wherefore we
have petitioned the Town once and Again to be eased of the greate Difficultyes
we now labor under but have been by them rejected Notwithstanding the greate
length of way which some of your Petitioners live from ye Publick Worship in
ye sayd North Part about eight or nine miles And in Consideration of our greate
Duty to attend ye Publick Worship of God not only Our selves but by our
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 259
familyes and Children which by the Blessing of God are greately increased There-
fore your Petitioners have of late Petitioned this Honourable Court to be sett
oft" a seperate town or Precinct, but this Honourable Court did not see Cause
to grant ye Petition. The reason as we Humbly conceve was the answers to the
Petition which were wrong & erroneous.
"Therefore your Petitioners humbly Pray this Honourable Court to see with
your own Eyes by sending a Committee to view ye circumstances at the charge
& cost of ye Petitioners that this Honourable Court may be rightly Informed &
see the Unjust procedings of the Honourable respondents & their fallacious
answers to our former petitions & as your Petitioners are Obliged by Conscience
and Law to attend the Worship of God they have by a free Contribution main-
tained preaching amongst them selves for a Considerable time Notwithstanding
they have alsoe payed their proportional Part to ye North Part where they can
have but little or none advantage. And we would beg leave to Inform this Hon-
ourable Court that since we have had preaching amongst us it has encouraged
some well minded Persons to come & Settle within the limitts herein Petitioned
& if it should Please the Honourable Court to Grant our Petition it would be a
greate encourragement to a greate many more if your Petitioners were in a
Capacity to have the Ordinances of God administered amongst them & your Peti-
tioners having had some Experience by their Having maintained preaching
amongst them selves they look on them selves as able to Maintain the Worship
of God. Your Petitioners therefore humbly pray this Honourable Court that
they would please send a Committee to view our Circumstances that so your
Petitioners may be put into a Capacity that they may have the ordinances of the
Saviour Settled amongst them in a regular Order by setting them off as a dis-
trict and seperate Town or Precinct viz :
(Here follows a description of the boundary lines including the present towns
of Sharon and Foxboro, after which the petition continues:)
"We humbly beg leave here to say that what we now offer in Respect to our
being sett off is in sincerity for the promoting of the Worship of God and
Religion in its purity amongst us. Wherefore we pray Your Excellency &
Honours would be pleased to hear our request and grant our petition and as in
duty bound shall ever pray."
The signers of this petition, in the order in which their names appear, were
as follows: Benjamin Estey, Timothy Tolman, Isaac Cumings, John Smith,
William Colwell, Samuel Cumings, William Richards, Samuel Estey, Samuel
Dwelly, Nathaniel Coney, Pelatiah Whittemore, Eleazer Puffer, Joseph Ingra-
ham, Samuel Lovel, Matthias Puffer, Abraham Chandler, Ebenezer Estey,
William Webb, Mahew Tupper, Stephen Holland, Benjamin Perry, Joshua
Johnson, Josiah Perry, Eliakim Perry, John Noyes, Eleazer Hawes, Job Swift,
Jacob Estey, Daniel Richards, Joshua Whittemore, Ebenezer Hewins, Edward
Belcher, Jeremiah Belcher, Matthew Hobbs, Clifford Belcher, Ephraim Payson,
Samuel Bird, Thomas Randall, Thomas Rogers, Ebenezer Capen, William Wood
and Nathan Clark.
THE ANSWER
To this petition the inhabitants of the north part of Stoughton prepared a
response, in which they said: "The Petitioners have used a great deal of Craft
260 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
in the course they have pursued, in as much as the Town now owes the minister
about eighty pounds (i8o) & the town has just layed out nearly one hundred
pounds (£100) in building a Road for the petitioners to go to Meeting & now
they have built a Church near their own Doors & ask to be set off as Town or
Precinct."
The General Court appointed a committee as asked for in the petition, and
after visiting the territory the committee unanimously reported in favor of
granting the prayer of the petitioners. A bill to that effect passed both branches
of the General Court and it was approved by the governor on July 2, 1740. At
a meeting of the inhabitants held soon afterward, John Hixson, Ephraim Pay-
son and Daniel Richards were elected a committee to manage the affairs of the
precinct, and Ebenezer Hewins was chosen treasurer. On January 5, 1742, Rev.
Philip Curtis was called to the pastorate of the Second Precinct, and the meeting
house mentioned in the petition was completed in 1744.
FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR
In this conflict quite a number of the citizens of the Second Precinct volun-
teered as members of the company commanded by Capt. Elkanah Billings.
Among them were some who signed the petition asking for the establishment of
the precinct, notably Samuel Cumings, Nathan Clark, Mayhew Tupper and
Benjamin Estey. Samuel Billings was lieutenant of the company; Eleazer
Robbins, ensign; Elijah Billings, Timothy Morse and Ebenezer Billings, ser-
geants; Daniel Morse, Benjamin Rhoads and William Savage, corporals;
Eleazer Fisher, clerk; Ebenezer Bullard, drummer; and Seth Lane, fifer. The
company served in Colonel Miller's regiment about Crown Point, Ticonderoga
and Fort William Henry.
Capt. Ebenezer Mann of this precinct raised a company, most of the mem-
bers of which came from Wrentham. The volunteers from Sharon fought side
by side with the British regulars and acquitted themselves in such a manner that
the precinct afterward profited by their services. The war closed in 1763 and
not long after that the inhabitants of the Second Precinct decided to ask the
General Court to be set off as a separate town, or at least to be made a district,
whereby they would enjoy greater civil and political privileges.
DISTRICT OF STOUGHTONHAM
Early in the year 1765 Joseph Hewins, Jr., Jeremiah Fuller and William
Richards were appointed a committee to present a petition to the General Court
asking that the Second Precinct of Stoughton be made a separate town or dis-
trict, and this committee emphasized the services of the men who went out from
the precinct in the French and Indian war as an argument why the petition
should be granted. It does not appear that the Town of Stoughton offered any
serious objections and on June 21, 1765, the following act was passed:
"anno regni regis georgii tertii quinto
"An Act for incorporation the Second Precinct in the Town of Stoughton,
in the County of Suffolk (as it now is), into a District by the name of
Stoughtonham.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 261
"Whereas, the inhabitants of the Second Precinct in Stoughton labor under
great difficulties, by reason of their distance from the place where town meetings
are held in said town :
"Be it enacted by the Governor, Council and House of Representatives,
That the Second Precinct in the Town of Stoughton, by the same bounds and
limits which the said Second Precinct now have, be, and hereby are, incorpo-
rated into a separate district by the name of Stoughtonham ; and that the inhab-
itants thereof be vested with all the powers, privileges and immunities which the
inhabitants of any town within this province do, or by law ought to enjoy —
excepting only the privilege of sending a representative to the General Assembly
— and that the inhabitants of said district shall have liberty, from time to time,
to join with the Town of Stoughton in the choice of a representative," etc.
FIRST DISTRICT OFFICERS
Pursuant to the authority conferred upon him by the above mentioned act,
Joseph Hewins, justice of the peace, issued his warrant to Richard Hixson, as
one of the principal inhabitants of the district, to notify and warn the legal
voters of the district to meet on July 8, 1765, for the purpose of electing such
officers as by law the district was entitled to choose. At the appointed time
Daniel Richards, Job Swift and Thomas Randall were elected selectmen and
assessors, and Daniel Richards, clerk and treasurer.
The district was now in a condition to manage its own affairs, take care of
its own poor, divide the school money with the Town of Stoughton, and a
settlement with that town was effected without trouble or ill feeling.
THE FIRST CANNON
It may not be generally known that the first cannon cast in America were
made in the Town of Sharon while it was the District of Stoughtonham. In
the spring of 1767 Edmund Quincy, Jr., came to the district and bought a farm
on the east shore of Massapoag Lake. One day while walking along the shore
of the lake he noticed the indications of iron ore in considerable quantities.
Realizing that in case of a war with the mother country, which then seemed
imminent, this ore would be of great value to the colonies in the manufacture
of heavy guns, he communicated the information of his discovery to his friend
Richard Gridley of Boston. Colonel Gridley was the only American who knew
anything regarding the manufacture of cannon, having been an engineer in the
colonial service. Mr. Quincy purchased of the Dorchester proprietors the right
to take the ore. He then formed a sort of partnership with Colonel Gridley
and Joseph Jackson and bought the furnace that had been erected by Ebenezer
Mann in the south part of the district. The first cannon were completed in
1775, and Colonel Gridley, who had in the meantime become the chief engineer
of the Continental army, came out to the works to test them. The test proved
satisfactory and the guns were used on various fields of the Revolution.
BUNKER HILL
When the "Lexington Alarm" was sounded through Massachusetts on
April 19, 1775, two companies, commanded by Capt. Samuel Payson and Capt.
262 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Israel Smith, marched from Stoughtonham (See chapter on the Revolution).
But there was one incident connected with the War for Independence that
belongs peculiarly to Sharon history, and is thus told by Solomon Talbot :
"It was the morning of the 17th of June, 1775, when the stillness of the
early hour was broken by heavy cannonading in the distance, at Boston. The
roar of heavy guns continued all the forenoon. In the afternoon the contest
seemed to have redoubled its fury. What were the thoughts of these women
as the horrors of war and bloody strife entered their minds? What if their
husbands or sons should be slain in battle and a revengeful, conquering enemy
should put into execution their threats to come with fire and sword, burn the
houses and kill the defenseless women and children?
"In their agony of spirit and despair they turned their steps to Sharon Hill,
the high ground near the school house, where they might possibly behold the
fearful contest. They sank down in despair as they beheld before them on the
horizon, twenty miles away, in a fearful mass of smoke and flames, Charles-
town, with its six hundred dwellings.
"Night coming on, the tumult and voice of war was hushed. Anxiously
awaiting some tidings from the terrible strife before them, they went into the
school house, where they could sympathize with and console each other. Others
came in and a goodly number were gathered. Rev. Philip Curtis, who had
faithfully watched over them these many years, was with them with his prayers,
exhortations and watching. Here on this eventful night was held the first
watch-meeting ever held in Sharon. Here these women, with aching hearts and
tearful eyes, beheld in the light of burning Charlestown the beacon of freedom,
the dawn of a nation's birthday."'
THE TOWN OF SHARON
On August 23, 1775, was passed the general law providing that all districts
in the Province of Massachusetts Bay should become towns, and on that day,
or under that act, Stoughtonham became a full-fledged town. Its boundaries
then included the present Town of Foxboro, which was set off on June 10,
1778. In some of the records there is a mention of a meeting at which the citizens
voted to ask the General Court to change the name to Washington, but no fur-
ther information on the subject is available. On February 25, 1783, the follow-
ing act was approved by Gov. John Hancock:
"An act for discontinuing the name of a town in the County of Suffolk
incorporated under the name of Stoughtonham, and calling the same Sharon.
"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That the said Town of
Stoughtonham shall no longer bear that name, but henceforth shall be called and
known by the name of Sharon, the aforesaid incorporating act notwithstanding.
And all officers in said town shall hold and exercise their respective offices in
the same manner as they would have done had not the name of said town been
altered."
POSTOFFICES
The first postornce in the town was established on July 1, 1819, and was
located at Cobb's Tavern, on the Bay road. In 1828 the postoffice at Sharon
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 263
Centre was established. On June 3, 1841, the name of the office at Cobb's
Tavern was changed to East Sharon, and that at Sharon Centre to Sharon. The
former has been discontinued, so that the only postoffice in the town is the one
at Sharon.
TOWN 'HALL
For many years the town meetings of Sharon were held in the meeting
house or in hired halls. In 1883 J. M. Weston, C. C. Barney and A. B. Lovejoy
were appointed a building committee to superintend the erection of a town hall,
45 by 70 feet and two stories in height. Plans were prepared by Arthur H.
Dodd, an architect of Boston, and the contract was awarded to L. E. & T. L.
Barlow, except the granite foundation which was built by John Moyle. The
superstructure is a frame, the first story of which is covered with clapboards
and the second story with shingles. At the right hand of the front entrance is
a circular tower and the building is surmounted by a cupola, the top of which
is seventy-six feet above the sidewalk. The first floor is occupied by the town
offices, the clerk's office being provided with a fireproof vault for the preservation
of the records. On the second floor is a large hall, 44 by 45 feet, with the cus-
tomary anterooms, etc. The public library was formerly kept in the building,
the cost of which was about eight thousand dollars. The hall was dedicated on
February 21, 1884, with appropriate ceremonies.
WATERWORKS
The Sharon Waterworks were built by a company and were acquired by
the town in 1895. Since that time, to January 1, 191 7, the town has appropri-
ated $31,414 for water for public use, and the sum of $89,544.51 has been
realized by the sale of bonds. Of these bonds the amount outstanding at the
beginning of the year 1917 was $49,000. The system includes two pumping
stations, nearly twenty miles of mains and 107 public hydrants. During the
year 1916 Pumping Station No. 1 pumped 26,121,500 gallons, and No. 2, 20,371,-
952 gallons, making a total consumption of 46,493,452 gallons, for which the
town received $10,325 and the cost of maintenance was only $3,403.
On November 20, 1916, Daniel W. Pettee, who had served on the board of
water commissioners for more than twenty-one years, passed away by death and
Alfred C. Sampson was appointed to the vacancy. The board at the beginning
of the year 1917 was composed of Ralph O. Brown, Alfred C. Sampson and
Timothy F. Quinn.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
The Sharon fire department, like those of most of the towns, has been de-
veloped from the old hand engine and volunteer company into a thoroughly modern
fire-fighting organization. The cost of maintenance for the year 1916 was
$4,541.77, of which $2,552.51 was used to pay the salaries of the members of the
department, and $698.27 represents the cost of installing a new storage battery
for the fire alarm system. Concerning this battery, the board of fire engineers
264 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
say in their report : "On June 3d the new storage battery for the fire alarm
system was put in commission, replacing the old gravity battery which had been
in use since the first installation of the alarm system. The cost of operating the
old battery from January 1, 1916, to June 3, 1916, was $146.88, while the cost of
operating the new battery from June 3d to the end of the year was $18.79. At
this rate the new battery will soon pay for itself, as well as being more reliable
and up to date."
The board of fire engineers at the beginning of 1917, was composed of Edgar
H. Andrews, chief ; C. P. Curtis, assistant chief and clerk ; A. D. Packard,
superintendent of fire alarm.
MODERN SHARON
The Sharon of 191 7 is quite a different affair from the old Second Precinct of
Stoughton in 1740. In 1910 the population of the town, according to the United
States census, was 2,310. In 19 15 the state census reported the number of in-
habitants as being 2,468, a gain of 158 in five years. The assessed valuation of
property in 1916 was $3,900,627, an increase of $488,038 over that of the
preceding year.
Sharon has two weekly newspapers (the Advocate and the News), four public
schools, three of which are conducted in buildings erected for the purpose and
one in the town hall, electric light, steam and electric railway transportation
facilities, a fine public library for a town of its class, churches of different faiths
are represented by comfortable houses of worship, several mercantile establish-
ments and some manufacturing concerns. The good roads movement has not
been neglected, as in 191 6 the town meeting appropriated over one thousand
dollars for the purchase of a steam roller and about ten thousand dollars for the
construction and repair of highways and sidewalks.
TOWN OFFICERS
Following is a list of the leading officials at the beginning of the year 1917:
Charles E. Whitcomb, Robert G. Morse and Herbert F. Nelson, selectmen and
overseers of the poor; Charles A. Hixon, Henry A. Boyden and Edgar M.
Hixon, assessors ; George H. Whittemore, clerk ; George A. Dennett, treasurer
and tax collector; William D. Wheeler, moderator; Ralph S. Earle, John J. Rafter
and Sidney A. Weston, school committee; Ambrose B. Peach, highway surveyor;
Hervey T. B. Derry, Joseph B. Legge and Milton O. Parker, constables; Edmund
H. Talbot, town counsel.
CHAPTER XXXI
THE TOWN OF STOUGHTON
GENERAL DESCRIPTION THE NEW GRANT EVOLUTION OF STOUGHTON WILLIAM
STOUGHTON — THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD — A STATE GOVERNMENT — STOUGH-
TON'S RESOLUTIONS ON THE SUBJECT — SALTPETRE — WATERWORKS — FIRE DEPART-
MENT — TOWN OFFICERS — THE PRESENT STOUGHTON.
Lying on the southern border of Norfolk County, about midway between
the Atlantic coast and the State of Rhode Island, is the Town of Stoughton.
It is bounded on the north by Canton ; on the east by Randolph and Avon ; on
the south by Avon and Plymouth and Bristol counties ; and on the west by the
Town of Sharon. The central portion is the most elevated, the streams rising
in this section flowing in different directions, some northward into Canton and
others southward into Plymouth County. Ames Pond, in the southern part, is
the largest body of water. York Pond, which receives the waters of Beaver
Brook, is on the boundary line between Stoughton and Canton, and in the
northwestern portion there is a chain of smaller ponds drained by Mill Brook,
which flows in a northerly direction and finally reaches the Neponset River.
Being less hilly than some of the other towns, the soil is better adapted to culti-
vation, and some of the finest farms in Norfolk County are located in Stoughton.
THE NEW GRANT
The territory now comprising the Town of Stoughton is a part of the exten-
sive tract known as the "New Grant" to Dorchester, which was made in 1637.
That tract extended from "ye Town House to ye Plymouth Line." Its north
end was near the present village of Readville and its south end was on what is
now the southern boundary line of Norfolk County. The average width was
about ten miles.
EVOLUTION OF STOUGHTON
On December 15, 171 5, the region embracing the present Town of Stoughton,
and some of the adjacent towns, was organized as the "Dorchester South
Precinct." Part of this precinct was set off to Wrentham in 1724, and on
December 22, 1726, the territory now embraced in the towns of Canton, Sharon,
Stoughton and the greater part of Foxboro was incorporated as a town by the
name of Stoughton, taking its name from Gov. William Stoughton. On July 2,
1740, by an act of the General Court, that part now included in Foxboro and
Sharon was established as the Second Precinct. This precinct was made a dis-
265
266 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
trict called Stoughtonham on June 21, 1765. Foxboro was incorporated as a
town on Tune 10, 1778, Sharon followed on February 25, 1783, and the Town
of Canton (originally the First Precinct of Stoughton) was incorporated on
February 23, 1797. These changes reduced Stoughton to its present dimensions
and boundaries. The first town meeting in Stoughton was held on January 2,
1727. The records of that meeting are not available, but it is known that George
Talbot was chosen as one of the selectmen. Joseph Tucker was the first town
clerk.
WILLIAM STOUGHTON
The man for whom the town was named was born in Dorchester in 163 1, and
was a son of Israel Stoughton, one of the Dorchester proprietors. He graduated
at Harvard College at the head of the class of 1650, and soon afterward went to
England, where he enjoyed a fellowship at Oxford and completed his studies
for the ministry. In 1662 he returned to Massachusetts and followed the pro-
fession of a clergyman until 1671, though he never was pastor of a regularly
organized society. In 1686 he became the head of the colonial courts, which
position he held until the arrival of Governor Andros. Judge Stoughton was
named as a member of the council under Andros and by his acceptance he lost
much of his popularity. He regained the confidence of the people to some extent
in 1689, when he was the first to sign the petition to the king demanding that
Andros surrender the reins of government.
Under the new charter he was made lieutenant-governor under Sir William
Phipps, and when Governor Phipps instituted a special court of Oyer and
Terminer for the trial of the witchcraft cases, Judge Stoughton was appointed
chief justice. Barry describes him as "a Puritan of the commonwealth mould;
of phlegmatic temperament; rigidly attached to the Puritan creed; thoroughly
versed in the knowledge of men; knowing how to accommodate himself to a
variety of circumstances, yet superior to all ; he was one who, in any situation,
was calculated to succeed."
In the witchcraft trials by the special court of which Mr. Stoughton was
chief justice, nineteen persons were convicted and sentenced to death. Con-
cerning these trials and convictions, Barry says : "As the excitement subsided
the prominent actors in the terrible tragedy began to reflect, and a few made
public acknowledgment of their error. . . . Stoughton alone refused to
retract, and to the day of his death never regretted the part he had taken."
When the Superior Court was organized he was made chief justice, his com-
mission being dated December 22, 1692. His commission was renewed in 1695
and he continued as chief justice until only a short time before his death, also
holding the office of lieutenant-governor at the same time. Upon the removal
of Governor Phipps in 1694, Stoughton became Governor and served until the
arrival of Lord Bellamont in June, 1697. Lord Bellamont died in March, 1701,
and Stoughton again became governor, somewhat reluctantly on account of his
age and the state of his health, and served until his own death on July 7, 1701.
Governor Stoughton was a benefactor of Harvard College. Before his death he
erected at his own expense the building known as "Stoughton Hall," and in his
will be left a legacy of a thousand pounds to his Alma Mater.
NEW HOME OF THE STOUGHTON TRUST COMPANY
HIGH SCHOOL. STOUGHTON
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 267
THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD
During the first half century of Stoughton's corporate existence little out of
the ordinary took place. The people were busily engaged in building better
houses, developing their farms, establishing schools for their children, opening
highways, etc. With the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765, the dawning of the
spirit of independence began to be felt. Early in 1773 a letter from the Boston
Committee of Correspondence was sent to all the towns of Suffolk County. At
a town meeting in Stoughton on March 1, 1773, this letter was read and it was
voted to send a reply, setting forth the opinion that the rights of the colonists
had been seriously infringed upon, violated by arbitrary will and power, and
that the people of Stoughton were apprehensive that in the future this might
prove fatal to them and their posterity by reducing them to a state of slavery.
On September 26, 1774, Thomas Crane, who lived in the First Parish, after-
ward set off as the Town of Canton, was elected representative to the Great and
General Court to be held at Salem, and was given the following instructions :
"Sir — As we have now chosen you to Represent us in the Great and General
Court to be holden at Salem on Wednesday ye 5th day of October next ensuing
We do hereby Instruct you that in all your Doings as a member of the House of
Representatives you adhere firmly to the Charter of this Province granted by
their Majesties King William and Queen Mary & that you do no act that can
possibly be construed into an acknowledgement of ye validity of ye Act of the ye
British Parliament for altering ye Government of Massachusetts Bay. More
Especially that you acknowledge ye Honourable Board of Counsellors elected by
ye General Court at their Session in May last as ye only rightfull & Constitu-
tional Counsel of this Province : And as we have reason to believe that a Con-
scientious Discharge of your Duty will Produce your Disolution as an House of
Representatives We do hereby Impower and Instruct you to join with ye mem-
bers who may be sent from this and ye Other Towns in ye Province & to meet
with them at a time to be agreed upon in a General Provincial Congress to act
upon such Matters as may come before you in such manner as may appear to
you most Conducive to ye true Interest of this Town & Province as most Likely
to Preserve the Liberties of all North America."
When the Suffolk Congress met on August 16, 1774, at Doty's Tavern (then
in the Town of Stoughton) several citizens of the town were in attendance, but
it does not appear that they were chosen by any action of the voters of the town.
That meeting was opened with a prayer by Rev. Samuel Dunbar, pastor of the
First Parish Church — a prayer which Bancroft says "breathed forth among
them the spirit of liberty, and the venerable man seemed inspired with the most
divine and prophetical enthusiasm." The action of that meeting acted as a spur
to the people of Stoughton, for on August 29th, at a town meeting called for
the purpose, it was —
"Voted, That a Committee be chosen to Represent ye Town in a County
Convention of ye Towns and Districts of this County to be holden at ye house
of Richard Woodward at Dedham on Tuesday ye 6th day of September next
with full power of adjourning acting & Doing all such Matters & things in said
Convention or in a general Convention of ye Countys of this Province as to them
may appear of Publick Utility in this day of Publick and General Distress.
268 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
"Voted, That five persons be chosen for this Purpose & also that John
Withington, Theophilus Curtis, John Kenney, Jedediah Southworth and Josiah
Pratt be this Committee ; That this Committee be directed to Endeavor to obtain
a County Indemnification for all such Persons as may be fined or otherwise have
suffered by a non-compliance witn a Late Act of ye British Parliament intitled
'An Act for the Better Regulation of the Government of the Massachusetts Bay
in North America.' That this Committee be also a Committee of Correspondence
to advise and Correspond with ye other Towns in this Province about all such
Matters & Things as may appear to them likely in any way to affect the Publick."
On May 22, 1776, six weeks before the Declaration of Independence was
adopted by the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, that event was foreshadowed
by a town meeting in Stoughton, which declared by an almost unanimous vote,
"That if the Honourable Continental Congress should for the safety of the
Colonies declare us independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain, we the In-
habitants of Stoughton will solemnly engage with our lives and fortunes to
support them in the measure."
A STATE GOVERNMENT
In September, 1776, the General Court sent out to the various towns of the
state a communication relative to the formation of a state constitution and the
inauguration of a new form of government. On the last day of the month a
town meeting was held in Stoughton to take action on the communication. John
Kenney, Christopher Wadsworth, Jonathan Capen, Abner Crane and Elijah
Dunbar were appointed a committee to draft the town's reply. Following is the
report of the committee :
"We the subscribers, being chosen a committee by this town at a town meet-
ing legally assembled at Stoughton on the 30th of September last, to draft a vote
upon and article in ye town warrant respecting chosing ye present Gen'l Court to
form a plan of Government for ye State have attended to that Service & Beg leave
to report the following resolutions viz
"1 — Resolved That good Government is the basis of liberty & absolutely
necessary to the safety & Wellfare of a People.
"2 — Resolved That as the end of Government is the Happiness of ye people
so ye sole Power & Right of forming and establishing a plan thereof is essen-
tially in ye People.
"3 — Resolved That as this State is at Present destitute of a fixed & Estab-
lished form of Government it is Absolutely necessary that one Immediately be
formed Agreeable to the recommendation of ye Grand Congress.
"4 — Resolved "That as the present House of Representatives have passed a
resolve to see if ye Severall Toens in this State would empower them, the said
House of Representatives together with the Council, to enact a plan of Govern-
ment for this State it appears to us unadvisable & Irrational & a measure that
ought not by any means to be Complied with for these reasons viz — That we are
totally unacquainted with the Capacities & Patriotism & Character of ye mem-
bers that compose ye said House & Council excepting our own member Also
because they were Never elected by ye people for that purpose & also because
the present Embarrassed State of our Publick Affairs calls for the steady atten-
tion of every member of ye said House and Council.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 269
"5 — Resolved That it is the Duty & Interest of this Town immediately to
choose one or more members to join with the members of the Other Towns in
this State to form & Publish a plan of Government for said State.
"6 — Resolved That in order to Carry ye foregoing Resolutions into Execu-
tion as soon as ye Importance of the matter may admit it appears to us best that
the members of ye Severall Towns in this State Chosen for ye express purpose
afore said should meet together by Them selves or by their Committee in a State
Convention or Congress & compare the severall forms of Government together
whereby the Wisdom of the whole State may be collected & a form of Govern-
ment be Extracted.
"7 — Resolved That it appears to us Absolutely necessary for the Liberty &
safety of this State that the plan of Government when formed and Published
should not be Established till ye People of this State have had time & Oppor-
tunity of thoroughly examining the same & shall consent that it be established by
the said State Convention or Congress.
"All of which is humbly submitted by us.
"John Kenney
"Christopher Wadsworth
"Jonathan Capen
"Abner Crane
"Elijah Dunbar
"Stoughton, October 2d, i//6."
Such was the idea of the people of Stoughton regarding a state constitution
and the manner of its formation and adoption. If the reader will now turn to
the chapter on Bellingham and note the action of that town on the same subject,
he will be impressed with the similarity of the theories advanced by those two
towns, and that without any collusion between them. For years the town meet-
ing had been educating the people to the notion that government in any form
should derive its just powers from the consent of the governed — a sentiment
which found expression in the Declaration of Independence and has been the
dominating idea in the formation of all our state constitutions.
saltpetre
Gunpowder was quite an item in 1776, and at a town meeting in Stoughton
on March 4, 1776, an article in the warrant was "To see if the town will take
any method to encourage the manufacture of saltpetre." At the meeting it was
voted that a committee be appointed to begin the manufacture of that article.
Adam Blackman, Jonathan Capen, Esquire Dunbar, Samuel Osgood and George
Crossman were appointed as the committee. These men set to work upon the
project and in June their factory was ready to begin operations. The first salt-
petre from this committee was sent to the powder-mill in Milton about the time
of the adoption of the above resolutions, or perhaps a little earlier. (See also
the chapter on the Revolution.)
WATERWORKS
The first move toward providing a water supply for the inhabitants of
Stoughton was made on May 28, 1886, when the governor approved an act of
270 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
the Legislature incorporating "John G. Phinney, Charles W. Lunn, E. Morton
Elmes, Charles W. Welch, Charles E. Parker, their associates and successors, as
the Stoughton Water Company."
By the provisions of the act the company's authorized capital stock was not
to exceed $50,000, and it was given power to take water from Knowles' Brook,
Muddy Pond Brook, Porter's Brook and the Drake School House well, "and
take by purchase and hold the Hill and Drake well, so called, situated on land
of the heirs of Henry Drake," etc.
Section 10 of the act provided that the Town of Stoughton might "at any
time purchase of said corporation its franchise, corporate property and all its
rights and privileges, at a price which may be mutually agreed upon," etc., when-
ever two-thirds of the voters give their assent thereto, and in the event of such
purchase the town was authorized to issue bonds in any sum not to exceed
$100,000, to pay for the same.
In 1887 the Stoughton Fire District was organized. It was incorporated by
the act of April 30, 1888, with power to purchase the rights and privileges of the
Stoughton Water Company, provided that the Town of Stoughton did not within
one year exercise its right of purchase under the act of May 28, 1886. This
stimulated the town to action and before the expiration of the twelve months it
was voted to issue the necessary bonds and acquire the franchise of the Stough-
ton Water Company. The town was also given the right to acquire the franchise
and property of the Stoughton Fire District, in the act incorporating said district.
By the act of June 3, 1892, the town was authorized to issue bonds to the
amount of $150,000 for the completion of the waterworks and the extension of
the mains to all parts of the town, with the provision that a sinking fund should
be established to guarantee the payment of the bonds when they became due.
The sinking fund provision was changed by the act of March 17, 1893, which
gave to the town the privilege of making annual payments on the water loan
instead of establishing a sinking fund. Under the liberal legislation of the above
mentioned acts, Stoughton has a system of waterworks second to none in
Norfolk County.
According to the report of the water commissioners for the year ending on
December 31, 1916, the total cost of the works up to that time had been $352,193.73,
and the net expense for maintenance, $184,675.35. The total income from bonds
was $303,407.28, and from water rates $222,506.23. During the year 126,564,000
gallons of water were pumped and distributed through nearly thirty-one miles of
mains to 1,528 families, 3 hotels, 18 factories, 19 business bulidings and 330 street
hydrants. The amount received for water rates was $14,688, exclusive of meter
rentals and the $6,600 paid by the town for the use of hydrants in case of fire.
During the year the bonded debt was reduced $17,000, leaving the amount of
bonds outstanding at the close of the year $134,000.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Stoughton's fire department is in keeping with the town's general progress.
The board of fire engineers for 1916 was made up of James J. Pye, chief; Henry
M. Bird, first assistant and clerk; James E. Reilly, second assistant; Cornelius
Healy, Jr., George W. Pratt and George E. Malcolm. From their annual report
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 271
it is learned that the department consists of four companies, to wit : Stoughton
Steamer Company, in connection with which is kept the auto combination truck,
numbers sixteen men ; Washington Hook and Ladder Company, ten men ; North
Stoughton Hose Company, six men ; West Stoughton Hose Company, eight men,
a total (including the six members of the board of engineers) of forty-six men.
The cost of maintenance for the year 1916 was $6,150.51, considerably more
than half of which was used in paying the salaries of the members of the depart-
ment. During the year fifty-six alarms were answered, sixteen of which were
forest fires. The fire alarm system consists of twenty-two boxes, stationed at
convenient places in all parts of the town, so that no time need be lost in calling
the department.
TOWN OFFICERS
Following is a list of the principal town officials at the beginning of the year
1917: George W. Pratt, Cornelius Healy, Jr., and George E. Malcolm, select-
men and overseers of the poor; Cornelius Healy, Jr., George W. Pratt and James
E. Reilly, assessors ; George O. Wentworth, clerk and treasurer ; Henry Fitzpat-
rick, tax collector ; George P. Curtis, G. A. Sprague, Jr., Ernest E. Randall, water
commissioners ; John W. Wood, Edgar F. Leonard and Dennis W. Toomey,
school committee ; Jerome F. Murphy, Ralph S. Blake and Arthur R. Jenkins,
auditors; Daniel F. Vaughn, highway surveyor; George H. Coward, Michael F.
Powers and Arthur L. Holmes, park commissioners ; Richard Vanston, Anson L.
Favor, James J. Pye and Daniel F. O'Connor, constables.
THE PRESENT STOUGHTON
Between the years 1910 and 191 5 the increase in population in Stoughton was
666, the United States census of the former year giving the town a population
of 6,316 and the state census of the latter year reporting 6,982. The assessed
valuation of property on April 1, 1916, according to the report of the assessors,
was $4,747,017, an increase over the assessment of the preceding year of $525,585.
Stoughton has a bank (the Stoughton Trust Company), two weekly newspapers
(the News and Sentinel), eleven public school buildings and employs thirty-
three teachers, Baptist, Catholic, Congregational, Methodist Episcopal and Uni-
versalist churches, a number of thriving manufacturing establishments, well-
stocked stores that handle practically all lines of merchandise, good roads and side-
walks, and many handsome residences. The town is lighted with electricity by
contract with the Edison Company and recently an effort has been made to have
the Brockton Gas and Illuminating Company extend its lines into the town. Two
divisions of the New York, New Haven & Hartford unite at Stoughton Junction.
The railroad stations in the town are North Stoughton, West Stoughton, South
Stoughton and Stoughton. Electric railway lines connect the town with Brockton,
Randolph, and East Sharon, where other lines are connected, so that the trans-
portation facilities are unsurpassed.
CHAPTER XXXII
THE TOWN OF WALPOLE
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES — EARLY HISTORY — INCORPORATION OF WALPOLE — OR-
GANIC ACT — THE TOWN NAME — THE MEETING HOUSE FRENCH AND INDIAN
WAR — TOWN HALL — THE FOUNTAIN — WATERWORKS — FIRE DEPARTMENT — WAL-
POLE OF THE PRESENT TOWN OFFICERS.
Situated in the central portion of Norfolk County is the Town of Walpole. It
is an irregularly shaped tract of land, bounded, beginning on the north and pro-
ceeding eastward, by the towns of Dover, Westwood, Norwood, Sharon, Foxboro,
Norfolk and Medfield. The Neponset River flows in a northerly direction from
the southern boundary to a point near the center, where it turns more to the north-
east, and after passing through a long, narrow pond enters the Town of Norwood.
There are several ponds in Walpole, the best known of which is probably Morey's
Pond, lying a little west of the center of the town. The surface is generally rolling
and in some places so rough and hilly as to be poorly adapted to cultivation.
EARLY HISTORY
When the Town of Dedham was incorporated in 1636 it included the territory
now comprising the Town of Walpole, and for nearly a century the history of
Walpole is part of the history of Dedham. There is abundant evidence that set-
tlements were made within the limits of Walpole at an early date. The cedar
swamp frequently mentioned in the early Dedham records is generally conceded
to be the cedar swamp "lying between the plain and South Walpole." In May,
1658, Eleazer Lusher and Joshua Fisher were granted a privilege to erect a saw
mill on the Neponset River. It has been stated by several writers on Norfolk
County history that this mill was situated in what is now the Town of Norwood,
but Henry E. Fales, in an address delivered at Walpole on September 28, 188 1, on
the occasion of the dedication of the town hall, set up the claim that it was within
the limits of Walpole.
When the first settlers came to this part of Dedham they found the uplands
covered with timber. The meadows along the Neponset and in the vicinity of the
larger ponds were open and afforded an abundant supply of hay for the live stock.
These meadows formed the principal inducement to settle in the locality. Game
was abundant in the woods and gave the settler an opportunity to provide his
family with a large part of the meat consumed. Wild beasts of prey were likewise
numerous, and after the Town of Walpole was incorporated bounties were paid
for the destruction of wolves, wildcats and rattlesnakes.
272
m n :' .SB* -a
MAIN STREET, WAU'OLK
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 273
INCORPORATION OF WALPOLE
As in the case of several of the Norfolk County towns, the moving cause of
separation from the mother town was the inconvenience of attending church in
Dedham. As early as 1721 a petition was presented to the General Court, asking
that the south part of Dedham might be set off as a parish for the purpose of sup-
porting religious worship, in accordance with the laws of the colony. There is no
doubt but that petition was signed by some of the inhabitants living within the
present limits of Walpole, but the petition itself has disappeared from the
archives. Dedham opposed the movement and the General Court refused to
grant the prayer of the petitioners. Three years later a more formidable petition
was presented and a committee was appointed to urge that it be granted. This time
the Town of Dedham gave consent and on December 10, 1724, the General Court
passed the following
ORGANIC ACT
"Whereas, the South part of the Town of Dedham, within the County of Suf-
folk, is completely filled with inhabitants, who labor under great difficulties by
their Remoteness from the place of public worship, etc., and have thereupon made
their application to the said Town of Dedham, and likewise addressed this Court,
that they may be set off a distinct and separate town, and be vested with all the
powers and privileges of a town, and the inhabitants of Dedham having consented
to their being set off" accordingly, and a committee of this Court having viewed the
said Town of Dedham and reported a proper divisional line between the two parts
thereof —
"Be it therefore enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor, Council and Representa-
tives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same. That the
southerly part of the said Town of Dedham be and hereby is set off and constituted
a seperate township by the name of Walpole.
"Provided that the inhabitants of the said Town of Walpole do, within the
space of eighteen months from the publication of this act, erect and finish a suit-
able house for publick worship of God, and as soon as may be procure and settle a
learned, Orthodox minister of good conversation, and make provision for his com-
fortable and honourable support ; and likewise provide a schoolmaster to instruct
their youth in writing and reading; and that thereupon they be discharged from
any further payments for the maintenance of the Ministry and school in the Town
of Dedham."
THE TOWN NAME
The town was named for Sir Robert Walpole, the eminent English statesman,
who was one of the leaders of the whig party and prime minister in the reigns of
George I and George II. He was accused of corrupt practices and not without
some grounds, as it was his custom to win public men to his side by giving bribes,
either in money or public office. He is said to have been the author of the memo-
rable saying, "Every man has his price." Notwithstanding this trait of character,
he was recognized as one of the foremost statesmen of his day and his own acts
274 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
in public life stand above reproach. He died in 1745, before the commencement
of the troubles between the American colonies and the mother country that cul-
minated in the Revolution.
THE MEETING HOUSE
The oldest town record bears date of March 30, 1725. That a meeting had
been held before that time is evident, and the records of that meeting no doubt
contained the names of the first town officers. It is known that Samuel Kingsbury
was the first town clerk — elected at the first town meeting and served until 1729.
At the meeting of March 30, 1725, it was voted to build a meeting house, in
accordance with the provisions of the act of incorporation. Pending the comple-
tion of the meeting house, religious services were conducted by different ministers
in the homes of the citizens. After several meetings, it was decided to build the
meeting house near the center of the town, and that it was to be 32 by 38 feet in
dimensions. It was commenced in 1726, but was not fully completed until several
years later. Rev. Joseph Belcher was the first minister called by the town. (See
chapters on Church History.)
FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR
In the expedition organized for the invasion of Canada in 1759, a large part of
the company commanded by Capt. William Bacon came from Walpole. There
were also several men from Walpole in Capt. Eliphalet Fales' company from
Dedham. Josiah Lyon and Ebenezer Pratt, of Captain Bacon's company, were
either killed or captured ; thirteen died of disease during the campaign ; and two
others — James Weatherbee and Simon Pittee — died soon after they returned to
their homes.
The French and Indian war wielded an important influence upon the subse-
quent history of Massachusetts. It was closed by the treaty of Paris in 1763, and
on March 10, 1764, Lord Grenville, then secretary of state for Great Britain, pro-
posed to Parliament to provide for part of the expenses of the war by taxing the
American colonies. Then followed the Stamp Act in March, 1765, the first of
the acts levying taxes upon the colonists. The men of Walpole, who had fought
under the British flag for the conquest of Canada, were now just as ready to
resist what they regarded as unjust taxation. On September 26, 1774. they
elected Nathaniel Guild as their representative to the Provincial Congress, and on
the 19th of December following a town meeting adopted by a unanimous vote the
fourteen articles of association submitted to the colonies by the Continental Con-
gress that met at Philadelphia on September 5, 1774. The active part taken by
Walpole in the Revolution is told in another chapter of this work.
TOWN HALL
When Walpole was incorporated there was neither meeting house nor school
house in the town. The first town meetings were therefore held at the house of
one of the residents. After the meeting house was sufficiently completed, the town
meetings were held in that structure, and still later in the vestry of the First
PUBLIC LIBRARY. WALPOLl
ODD FELLOWS" BUILDING AND TOWN HALL. WALPOLE
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 275
Church, where they met as late as 1881, or until the completion of the present
town hall. At the annual meeting in 1880 it was voted to build a town house and
a building committee, of which George E. Craig was chairman, was appointed to
superintend the work. The building was completed the following year and was
dedicated on September 28, 1881, Henry E. Fales delivering the historical address.
The hall is a substantial brick structure, standing upon an eminence at the corner
of Main and Stone streets. The lower floor is fitted up for the town offices and on
the second floor is a large hall. In the tower is a clock. The cost of the building
was about thirty thousand dollars. It was thoroughly remodeled in 1916.
THE FOUNTAIN
At one side of the square, almost in front of the town hall, stands a granite
monument in the shape of a fountain, which was presented to the town by George
A. Plimpton in 1907. On the front of the fountain is the inscription: "1755 —
Erected in grateful recognition of the services of the men of Walpole and vicinity
in the French and Indian war. They enlisted not for a livelihood, but with intent
to return to their farms and trades, being chiefly influenced to take up arms by a
regard for the honor of the King, the defense of their country and the preserva-
tion of their religion and liberties."
On the right of the reverse side are the names of Capt. Eliphalet Fales, Capt.
Ephraim Wheelock, and thirty-four members of their companies, and on the left
the names of Capt. William Bacon, John Clapp and thirty-four members of Cap-
tain Bacon's company.
WATERWORKS
By an act of the Legislature, approved on May 2, 1893, the Town of Walpole
was authorized to supply its inhabitants with water, using therefor the waters of
Spring Brook, Mill Brook, Traphole Brook, artesian or driven wells, etc., and for
the purpose of constructing a system of waterworks the town was given power to
borrow not more than $125,000, whenever two-thirds of the legal voters gave their
assent to such a proposition. At a town meeting called for the purpose, the neces-
sary two-thirds vote was obtained and early in 1894 work was commenced.
The source of supply consists of forty driven wells near Lower Brook, just off
Washington Street. A pumping station, equipped with machinery installed by
the George F. Blake Manufacturing Company, pumps the water from these wells
into three standpipes having a combined capacity of 675,000 gallons. From these
standpipes the water is distributed to about ninety per cent of the inhabitants
through a little more than thirty-one miles of street mains. The water was first
turned into the mains for the consumers in the early summer of 1895, in which
year the board of water commissioners made their first annual report.
In 1916 the board of water commissioners was composed of Henry B. Plimp-
ton. Harry L. Howard and John C. Donnelly. In their annual report for that year
they state the net cost of the plant to December 31, 1916, as $214,798.55 ; net debt
on December 31, 1916, as $60,300, and the net cost to the town as $51,169.75.
During the year 271,032,682 gallons of water were pumped and distributed to the
5,200 consumers, for which the town received in water rates the sum of $22,965.92.
There are 241 fire hydrants placed at convenient places throughout the town.
276 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
FIRE DEPARTMENT
The board of fire engineers at the close of the year 1916 was composed of
James J. Hennessey, Thomas H. Smith, Frank A. Fisher and Guy A. Williams.
The fifth member of the board, elected at the annual meeting in 1916, was
James E. Mahar, who removed to Norwood before the expiration of his term
and consequently resigned his place on the board. According to the annual report
of this board, the department consists of five engineers and fifty men, assigned to
the three companies as follows : Company No. 1 at Walpole Centre, twenty men ;
Company No. 2 at East Walpole, twenty men ; Company No. 3 at South Walpole,
ten men. At the Central Station the equipment consists of one hose truck, one
ladder truck, and one forest fire wagon. The same equipment is provided for
Station No. 2 at East Walpole, and at the engine house in South Walpole is kept
a hose truck and forest fire wagon. During the year 1916 the department answered
twenty-three calls, exclusive of forest fires. Several new alarm boxes were in-
stalled during the year. The appropriations for the department at the last annual
meeting were $3,200 for the department proper, and $1,250 for the maintenance
of the fire alarm system. All in all Walpole has a fire department that compares
favorably with those of other towns of its class.
WALPOLE OF THE PRESENT
Upon the town seal of Walpole is depicted an old water mill, presumably
the old saw mill of Eleazer Lusher and Joshua Fisher on the Neponset River,
with a forest of trees in the background, and in the margin are the words:
"Walpole Massachusetts, Incorporated 1724." Quite a change has come to the
town since the conditions represented by the corporate seal existed. The Walpole
of the present day is one of the thriving towns of the Old Bay State, with a
population of 5,490 in 1915, a gain of 598 during the preceding five years. The
total valuation of property on April 1, 1916, according to the report of the
assessors, was $7,636,198; an increase over the assessment of the preceding year
of $757,i8i.
Walpole has a bank, a weekly newspaper (the Enterprise), a fine public library,
six public school buildings, parks and playgrounds, well kept streets, a number
of manufacturing establishments with an invested capital of over five millions of
dollars, electric light, telephone connections with the surrounding towns and the
City of Boston, three postoffices — Walpole, East Walpole and South Walpole —
and a number of well tilled farms. Two lines of the New York, New Haven &
Hartford railway system pass through the town, crossing each other at Walpole
Junction, and there are electric lines to the adjoining towns. Evidence of pros-
perity is seen in the fact that the town carries insurance upon the municipal and
public school buildings aggregating $273,663, while the net bonded debt at the
close of the year 1916 was only $191,540.
TOWN OFFICERS
At the beginning of the year 1917 the principal officers of Walpole were as
follows: Henry M. Stowell, Louis E. Vose and Timothy E. Delaney. selectmen
WALPOLE RUBBEE COMPANY, WALPOLE
LEWIS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, WALPOLE
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 277
and overseers of the poor; Charles Brown, Melzar W. Allen and Nathan W.
Fisher, assessors ; Harry L. Howard, clerk ; Harry A. Whiting, treasurer ; George
H. Kingsbury, Michael F. McCarthy and Charles S. Bird, Jr., park commission-
ers ; Thomas D. Plimpton, George Cobb and Frederick H. Fuller, board of health ;
Otis J. Dionne, tax collector ; William Jarvis, highway surveyor ; J. E. Plimpton,
George M. Graves, P. H. Mahoney, Philip R. Allen, Ida N. Caldwell and Eliza-
beth H. Vose, school committee ; William F. Riordan, N. E. Winslow and
William P. Crowley, constables.
CHAPTER XXXIII
THE TOWN OF WELLESLEY
GENERAL DESCRIPTION — HISTORICAL — INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN — NAMING THE
TOWN — FIRST OFFICERS — TOWN HALL — POSTOFFICES TOWN SEAL — WATER-
WORKS — ELECTRIC LIGHT — FIRE DEPARTMENT — SEWER SYSTEM — PUBLIC BATH
HOUSE — MODERN WELLESLEY — TOWN OFFICERS.
Wellesley is the most northern town in Norfolk County. On the north it is
bounded by Middlesex County; on the east by Needham; on the south by Dover
and the County of Middlesex ; and on the west by the County of Middlesex.
Lake Wa'ban and Morse Pond are located in the western part, and there are a
few small streams, tributaries of the Charles River. The shape of the town is
that of an irregular rectangle, about four and a half miles from northeast to
southwest, with an average width of a little more than two miles. Magus ( or
Maugus) Hill takes its name from the Indian who deeded the land to the Dedham
proprietors in April, 1681. Wellesley Hills, also called "Wellesley Hundreds"
(because the land was allotted to the early settlers in tracts of 100 acres each),
has long been a favorite residential district on account of its healthfulness and
picturesque scenery.
HISTORICAL
Wellesley is a comparatively new town and its early history is included in
that of Dedham until 171 1, and from 171 1 to 1881 in that of the Town of Need-
ham, of which it was a part during that period. For more than sixty years after
the incorporation of Needham in 1711, there was but one meeting house in the
town. In 1773 the old meeting house was destroyed by fire and immediately a
contest arose regarding the location of the new one. Those living in what is
now the Town of Needham were in favor of rebuilding upon the old site, while
those living in the westerly part of the town (now Wellesley) wanted the meet-
ing house placed in a more convenient location for their accommodation. By
this time a considerable number of people had settled in the westerly portion
and to settle the dispute they were given the privilege of building a meeting house
and employing a minister of their own. Two hundred pounds were raised in a
short time by subscription, a meeting house was built, and in 1778 the parish
was incorporated as the "West Precinct of Needham" by an act of the General
Court.
INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN
Although the inhabitants of the West Precinct enjoyed all the freedom in
religious matters that they would have enjoyed as a town, they soon came to desire
278
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 279
political rights and privileges, whereby they could develop their local institu-
tions. Consequently an effort was made in 1801 to have the precinct set off as
a town, but the opposition of Needham was too strong to be overcome at that
time and the General Court denied the petition. Another well organized move-
ment for separation was started in 1820, but again the petition was defeated
through the opposition of the mother town. During the next fifty years several
attempts were made, all of which end£d in failure. Then came a period of about
ten years in which the subject was allowed to lie dormant, in the hope that the
people of Needham would lose interest in the question of separation. In 1880
a petition went up to the General Court, bearing the names of nearly all the legal
voters in the West Precinct, which had by this time grown into a populous and
wealthy community, and a committee was appointed to see that it was given the
proper consideration. This time Needham's opposition was merely nominal,
and on April 6, 1881, the governor approved an act incorporating the new town.
Section 1 of that act is as follows :
"All that territory lying within the Town of Needham northerly and westerly
of a line beginning at a point in the boundary line between the towns of Need-
ham and Dover seventy-five feet northerly from the central line of Charles
River Street where it crosses Charles River; thence running northeasterly about
four miles and seventy-six hundredths of a mile to a point in the centre of the
reservoir, so called, near the village of Newton Upper Falls, two hundred feet
easterly from a point in the centre line of Reservoir Street midway between the
abutments of the bridge by which said Reservoir Street crosses said reservoir;
thence running easterly by the centre line of said reservoir about fourteen hun-
dred feet to a point in the boundary line between the Town of Needham and the
City of Newton near the centre of the Charles River, is hereby incorporated
into a town by the name of Wellesley ; and the said town is hereby invested with
all the powers, privileges, rights and immunities and is subject to all the duties
and requisitions to which other towns are entitled or subjected by the constitu-
tion and laws of this Commonwealth."
Other sections of the act contain the usual provisions, in incorporating a new
town, relative to arrears of taxes, support of paupers and the division of town
property and debt.
NAMING THE TOWN
Wellesley derives its name from the Welles family, members of which were
among the early settlers. Samuel Welles purchased a tract of land at the junc-
tion of Washington Street and Pond Road (then within the limits of the Town
of Natick) as early as 1750 and built thereon a dwelling which was occupied by
him and his family for many years as a farm and summer home. He became a
large landowner and at one time owned the Wellesley town farm. Samuel
Welles graduated at Harvard with the class of 1707, married Hannah Arnold
and removed to Boston, where his wife inherited large property. His two
sons — Arnold and Samuel — both graduated at Harvard, and John W r elles, a son
of Arnold, became a member of the banking house of J. & B. Welles, of Boston
and Paris. John Welles was also a member of the House of Representatives and
the Senate in the Massachusetts Legislature, and was one of the early presidents
of the Boston City Council.
280 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
In 1839 this same John Welles, after several years in Paris in connection with
his banking business, purchased the residence known as the "Morrill House" in
Wellesley, which he used as a summer home for some twelve or thirteen years.
Later, upon a tract of about thirty acres about the "Mansion House," he laid
out and developed one of the most beautiful gardens to be found in the United
States. His daughter became the wife of H. H. Hunnewell and inherited the
property, which has since become widely known as "Hunnewell Gardens."
FIRST OFFICERS
A few days after the passage of the act of incorporation, Solomon Flagg,
who had been town clerk of Needham for some thirty years, but who lived in
that part set off as Wellesley, issued his warrant for a town meeting to be held
on Monday, April 18, 1881, for the purpose of choosing such officers as towns
are authorized by law to elect. At that meeting George K. Daniell was chosen
moderator ; Lyman K. Putney, Walter Hunnewell and John W. Shaw, selectmen
and overseers of the poor; George K. Daniell, Joseph H. Dewing and Dexter
Kingsbury, assessors ; Solomon Flagg, clerk ; Albert Jennings, treasurer ; Joseph
E. Fiske, Benjamin H. Sanborn and Marshall L. Perrin, school committee. At
an adjourned meeting on the last day of April, appropriations were made as
follows: Schools, $8,000; highways and sidewalks, $3,500. Provision was also
made for general expenses, and it was voted that no licenses to sell intoxicating
liquors in the town should be granted. A committee was appointed at this
meeting to effect a settlement with Needham, which was done to the satisfaction
of both towns.
TOWN HALL
In the division of Needham and the erection of the Town of Wellesley, the
town hall that had been used for many years by Needham fell within the limits
of the new town. Its location was not convenient for the Town of Wellesley,
and besides it was an old building that had "outlived its usefulness." Hollis H.
Hunnewell gave to the town a new building, designed for a town hall and public
library, surrounded by a park of about ten acres. The cost of the building,
which is a handsome and substantial stone structure, was about sixty thousand
dollars. In addition to this munificent gift, Mr. Hunnewell also provided a
fund of twenty thousand dollars, the income from which is to be used in caring
for the building and grounds. The edifice was completed and dedicated in 1883.
POSTOFFICES
The first postoffice within the limits of the present Town of Wellesley was
established about 1830, with Charles Noyes as postmaster. It was known as
West Needham. Mail was brought every other day by the stages running be-
tween Boston and Natick. Charles Noyes was a son of Rev. Thomas Noyes and
an optician. He kept the office in his "shop" where he conducted his business
until succeeded by William Flagg, who held the position for about twenty-five
years. The office has long since been discontinued.
WELLESLEY NATIONAL BANK
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 281
Grantville was made a postoffice in November, 185 1, with Rev. William H.
Adams in charge as postmaster. A railroad station was established here in
1884, but both the postoffice and station have disappeared from the map.
Wellesley Farms postoffice was established sometime in the early '90s and
was at first kept in the house of the postmaster, J. F. Wight. Later it was
removed to a room near the railroad station. It is now a station of the Boston
office, as is the office at Wellesley.
TOWN SEAL
The town seal was designed by the architect who planned the town hall and
library building. In the center of a circular field is an escutcheon, upon which
is an open book with a flower lying across the pages. Projecting above the
escutcheon are two arrow heads and a tomahawk. In the margin are the words :
"Wellesley, April 6, 1881." The open book represents Wellesley College; the
flower across the pages, the Hunnewell gardens ; and the arrows and tomahawk,
the early association with the Indians, all appropriate to some phase of Welles-
ley's history.
WATERWORKS
In the fall of 1882, about eighteen months after the town was incorporated,
it was voted at a town meeting to ask the Legislature for authority to establish
a system of waterworks. At the same time a committee, of which Judge George
White was chairman, was appointed to examine the various sources of supply
and report a plan for furnishing water to the inhabitants. In response to the
town's request, the Legislature passed an act, which was approved on May 5,
1883, authorizing Wellesley to supply itself and its inhabitants with water for
extinguishing fires, for domestic purposes, etc., and to take water from the
Charles River and Longfellow's Pond, lay mains, locate hydrants and provide
the necessary pumping facilities. In order to construct the works, the town was
also authorized to borrow a sum of money not exceeding fifty thousand dollars,
and to issue bonds, notes or scrip therefor. The act was to become effective
when accepted by two-thirds of the legal voters.
The committee on water supply reported that the most feasible plan was to
erect a pumping station, take water from the Charles River and pump it to a
reservoir on Maugus Hill, from which it could be distributed to practically the
entire town.
By an act of the Legislature, approved on June 28, 1883, the Town of Natick
was authorized to make a contract with the selectmen of Wellesley to supply
that town with water, and to extend its mains into Wellesley for that purpose,
the act to take effect immediately upon its passage. The people of Wellesley,
however, preferred to own a plant of their own. The provisions of the act of
May 5, 1883, were accepted by more than two-thirds of the voters, and the report
of the committee on water supply was adopted. Work was commenced, but it
was soon discovered that the $50,000 loan was not sufficient, and on February
12, 1884, the Legislature authorized the town to borrow $75,000 more. A third
loan of $50,000 was authorized by the act of May 7, 1885.
282 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
The machinery at the pumping station was installed by the Goulds Manu-
facturing Company and the George F. Blake Manufacturing Company and has
a daily capacity of 3,000,000 gallons. The first water was supplied to consumers
in 1884, though extensions have been made every year since that time, until at
the close of the year 1916 there were nearly forty-eight miles of mains and 370
hydrants. The total cost of the works to January 1, 1917, was $481,155.80, and
the amount of outstanding bonds was $119,915.56. During the year 1916 the
system supplied to the town and its inhabitants 182,133,407 gallons of water, for
which the town received in water rates $27,839.23.
The first board of water commissioners, elected on December 22, 1883, was
composed of Albion R. Clapp, William S. Ware and Walter Hunnewell. The
board at the beginning of 1917 was composed of Frank L. Fuller, Charles E.
Fuller and Francis C. Hersey. This board also has the management of the elec-
tric light plant, which was established a few years ago. It consists of a sub-
station 26 by 43 feet, built of brick, steel and concrete, one story and basement,
and a frame shed 25 by 32 feet for storing wagons and material. In the sub-
station is a switchboard connecting feeders from the Edison Company's trans-
formers with the primary commercial circuits and the street light circuits. The
total cost of this plant to January 1, 1917, was $113,363. During the year 1916
the income from this plant was $40,272.22.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
The Wellesley Fire Department consists of four companies, to wit: Hose
Company No. 1, composed of seven men; Hose Company No. 2, eight men; Hose
Company No. 3, six men; Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, eight men, a total
of twenty-nine men, exclusive of John P. Doyle, chief of the department, and
John W. Fowle, superintendent of the fire alarm system. During the year 1916
the Wellesley fire alarm system was connected with that of Newton, so that the
department of that city may be called in case of a fire which the local depart-
ment is unable to control. In their report for the year, the selectmen recommend
that the entire department be motorized, and suggest that this be done by an
issue of bonds for the purchase of the new apparatus. Chief Doyle, in his report
for 1916 states that the department answered calls on forty-three occasions, the
value of the buildings at risk being $284,480, value of contents, $62,710, and
that the total fire loss for the year was $55,445.
SEWER SYSTEM
In 1907 the Legislature passed an act authorizing the Town of Wellesley to
elect a board of sewer commissioners, which should have charge of the con-
struction of a sewer system for the town. No commissioners were elected under
this act until March 8, 191 5, when William H. Blood, Jr., Isaac Sprague and
Charles E. Fuller were chosen at the annual town meeting, "to have charge of
the construction of a system of sewers for Wellesley." The work of sewer
building was commenced in 19 15, the commissioners making a contract with
Coleman Brothers for certain lines of sewer. In 1916 the same commissioners
were again elected and in their report for the year 1916 they say:
THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE, WEELESLEY COLLEGE
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 283
"'During the year the construction of the main trunk sewer from the Welles-
ley-Needham line to a point near the junction of Washington Street and Long-
fellow Road in Wellesley Hills has been completed. Additional lateral sewers
have been constructed in parts of Wellesley Village, in the Abbott Road district,
Wellesley Hills and in other streets south of Washington Street in Wellesley
Hills. To the main trunk sewer have been added 6,610 feet, making the total
length of this sewer constructed to date 20,826 feet. During the year 38,428
feet of lateral sewers have been built, making the length of lateral sewers com-
pleted, 49.506 feet. . . . Proposals for bids for additional work on sewer
construction to be undertaken during the year 1916, were published early in
May, and the bids were received and opened May 18th. The contract was
awarded to John E. Palmer of Boston. . . . During the latter part of May
proposals for bids for house connections were published and bids were received
and opened June 1st. The contract was awarded to Charles N. Taylor of
Wellesley."
The total cost of sewers to December 31, 19 16, was $202,023. At the same
time the amount of sewer bonds outstanding was $225,000. With the comple-
tion of the system as planned by the commissioners, the Town of Wellesley will
be as well provided with sewers as any town in the state.
PUBLIC BATH HOUSE
In the report of the selectmen for the year 1916 is the following statement:
"During the past year Wellesley College offered the town the use of its bath
houses on Lake Waban for bathing purposes in the summer season, and this
offer was accepted by the selectmen, and the value of the generous offer of the
college has been demonstrated while the bathing privileges have been in use.
Mr. Joseph E. Curry was installed as superintendent in charge of the bath houses
and the board believes that from a sanitary standpoint, as well as that of pleasure,
the proposition has been a tremendous success. The board will therefore
recommend at the March meeting that something be done along permanent lines
to insure the establishment of permanent bath houses."
MODERN WELLESLEY
Some idea of the growth of Wellesley since its incorporation may be gained
from the following comparative statement: In 1881 the assessed valuation of
property was $3,024,698, and in 1916 it was $22,645,434; the total appropriations
in 1881 amounted to $28,550, and in 1916 to $319,765; the total net debt at the
close of the year 1881 was $50,000, and at the close of 1916 it was $509,915.
In 1910 the population, according to the United States census, was 5,413, and
the state census of 191 5 reported a population of 6.439, a g am °f LO 2 ^ in five
years. Wellesley has seven modern public school buildings and is the seat of
Wellesley College, the history of which is given in another chapter. In 1916
the town paid $66,583 for the support of its public schools. The town has one
national and one private bank, two newspapers, besides the Wellesley College
News, Congregational, Catholic, Unitarian and Episcopal churches, a number
of manufacturing and mercantile establishments, steam and electric railway lines,
284 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
etc. The following, which was written of the town in 1883, is applicable today :
"The charm of the Town of Wellesley consists in its refined rural atmosphere,
its pleasant homes, its delightful drives and its beautiful landscape scenery."
TOWN OFFICERS
At the beginning of the year 191 7 the principal town offices were held by the
following incumbents : Otho L. Schofield, Harrison A. Plympton and Patrick J.
Fitzpatrick, selectmen; Flavius J. Lake, Franklin B. Ingraham and Job Mona-
ghan, assessors; John T. Ryan, clerk; Fred O. Johnson, treasurer; John H.
Sheridan, tax collector; Richard Cunningham, auditor; Dr. Gilbert N. Jones,
Dr. Royal Hatch and Frederick D. Woods, board of health ; Sara S. Gilson,
Charles A. Sibley and Sydney M. Williams, school committee ; Thomas T. Watt,
Charles E. Fuller and William H. Brainerd, park commissioners; Charles L.
Cavanaugh, William J. Dana and Claude U. Gilson, constables. The board of
selectmen also acted as overseers of the poor, highway surveyors, town agents
and fence viewers.
CHAPTER XXXIV
THE TOWN OF WESTWOOD
GENERAL DESCRIPTION EARLY HISTORY THIRD PARISH OF DEDHAM WESTWOOD
INCORPORATED — ACT OF INCORPORATION — FIRST TOWN MEETING TOWN HALL —
POSTOFFICES — FIRE DEPARTMENT — TOWN OFFICERS, 1917 WESTWOOD OF TODAY.
Westwood, one of the comparatively new towns of Norfolk County, is cen-
trally located, being bounded on the north and east by Dedham ; on the south-
east by Canton ; on the south by Norwood ; and on the west by Walpole and
Dover. The Neponset River flows along- the eastern boundary line, separating
Westwood from Canton, and in the western part the town is watered by Mill
Brook, Bubbling Brook and Buckminster Pond. The surface is diversified and
from some of the highest hilltops a fine view of the surrounding country may
be obtained.
EARLY HISTORY
The territory comprising the Town of Westwood was included in the original
plantation on the Charles River, which was ordered to be established by the
General Court on September 3, 1635, and was incorporated as the Town of
Dedham on September 8, 1636. The history of Westwood is therefore a part
of the history of Dedham from 1635 until its incorporation as a separate town
in 1897.
On October 8, 1730, the present towns of Norwood and Westwood were
incorporated by an act of the General Court as the "South Precinct of Dedham."
A controversy soon arose in the new precinct over the location of the meeting
house, with the result that several petitions were presented to the General Court,
asking that body to settle the dispute by sending a committee to view the situa-
tion and decide on a location for the said meeting house. In response to one of
these petitions, a number of the inhabitants of the South Precinct were "set off*
from said Precinct & again layed to the First Precinct in the Town of Dedham.
whereunto they originally Belonged."
Those who were thus reunited with the old parish were not satisfied with the
situation in which they were placed, owing to the distance they had to go to
attend public worship, and on April 13, 1734, a petition was signed by Joseph Ellis
and others, asking that they be set off as a separate parish or precinct, with
authority to build a meeting house and employ a minister, and to be exempt from
paying rates to the Town of Dedham for the support of the minister in the First
Parish. Although the prayer of the petitioners was not at that time granted,
they organized a religious society on June 4, 1735, and installed Rev. Josiah
285
286 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Dwight, a son of Capt. Timothy Dwight, as their pastor. The parish was hnally
incorporated as the "Clapboard Trees" parish on January 10, 1736, and was
known as the Third Parish of Dedham. The name clapboard trees no doubt
was derived from the fact that in that vicinity grew timber suitable for making
clapboards to cover the dwelling houses erected by the early settlers. On Janu-
ary 17, 1836, Rev. John White, then pastor of the church in the Third Parish,
preached a historical sermon, reviewing the growth and work of the parish dur-
ing the one hundred years of its existence.
WESTWOOD INCORPORATED
In the course of time the parish became known as "West Dedham," under
which name it continued until the early part of the year 1897, when the follow-
ing petition was presented to the Legislature:
"To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts :
"The undersigned petitioners, citizens of Dedham in said Commonwealth,
respectfully represent that they are inhabitants of the village of West Dedham,
in the said town, or of parts of said town most nearly allied in interest with said
West Dedham ; that they are desirous of having the village of West Dedham,
with a certain other portion of the territory of the said Town of Dedham, set off
as a separate town under the name of West Dedham, or such other name as to
the General Court may seem suitable ; and that the boundaries of such new town
be fixed as follows : — Beginning at a line near the bridge across the Neponset
River near Green Lodge Station, so called, upon the Boston & Providence Rail-
road ; thence in a straight line to the junction of Canton and East streets ; thence
in a straight line to the junction of Washington and Elm streets; thence in a
straight line to the junction of Grove and Higte streets; thence to the boundary
stone between the towns of Dedham and Needham which is nearest to the Town
of Dover, and on all other sides by the towns of Dover, Walpole, Norwood and
Canton, as the town lines now exist."
This petition, which was signed by Calvin S. Locke, Luther A. Eaton, Henry
E. Weatherbee and "twenty-two others," resulted in a bill granting the prayer
of the petitioners being introduced in the House of Representatives on February
2 3> 1 ^97- After a thorough consideration of the subject by that branch of the
Legislature, the bill was passed and on March nth was sent to the Senate. In
due time it passed the Senate and on April 2, 1897, the governor gave his approval
to the following
ACT OF INCORPORATION
"Be it enacted, etc., That all the territory now within the Town of Dedham
which lies southwesterly of the following described line, that is to say : Begin-
ning at the Neponset River at the center of said river and the easterly line of
Greenlodge Street, where said street crosses said river; thence running north,
47° 45' west, a distance of seven thousand six hundred and forty-eight and
seven-tenths feet through private lands and crossing Greenlodge Street, to a
point on the northerly side of East Street ; theijce by a course north, 70 55'
TOWN HALL, WESTWOOD
POSTOFFICE AX]) HIGH SCHOOL, WESTWOOD
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 287
west, a distance of five thousand five hundred and eighty-six and forty-six-
hundredths feet through private lands and crossing the roadbed of the New
England Railroad, Elm Street and the roadbed of the Norfolk County Railroad,
to a point on the northerly side of Washington Street at the junction of Gay
Street with said Washington Street; thence by a course north, 45 26' west,
a distance of seven thousand seven hundred and twenty-nine and seven-tenths
feet through private lands and crossing the Sandy Valley road, to a point on the
northerly side of High Street at the junction of Grove Street with said High
Street ; thence running by a course north, 50 22' west, a distance of nine thou-
sand one hundred and forty-seven feet through private lands and crossing West-
field Street, to a point in the center of Charles River; thence running south-
westerly along said Charles River a distance of three hundred and forty feet,
about to the present dividing line between the towns of Dover and Dedham,
where said line meets the Charles River — is hereby incorporated into a separate
town, by the name of Westwood ; and the said Town of Westwood is hereby
vested with all the powers, privileges, rights and immunities, and shall be subject
to all the duties and requirements to which other towns are entitled and subject,
under the constitution and laws of the Commonwealth."
Other sections of the act relate to the payment of taxes, the care of paupers
and the division of town property and debt, in about the same language as that
usually used in the incorporation of new towns. Some of the petitioners wanted
to name the town "Nahatan," but the Legislature decided upon the name of
"Westwood."
FIRST TOWN MEETING
Pursuant to the provisions of the act of incorporation, W. W. Baker, a justice
of the peace, issued his warrant to John Dean on April 6, 1897, directing him to
notify the legal voters of a town meeting at Colburn Hall on Saturday, April 17,
1897. As this was the first meeting called in the new town, nearly every voter was
present. Howard Colburn was chosen moderator and the meeting then proceeded
to the election of officers, with the following result : Benjamin Fisher, Henry E.
Weatherbee and John L. Fisher, selectmen, surveyors of highways, overseers of
the poor and board of health ; Henry E. French, William Schlusemeyer and David
A. Hodgdon, assessors; Willie W. Baker, clerk; George A. French, treasurer;
Charles H. Ellis, tax collector; George Kingsbury, auditor; Calvin S. Locke, W.
W. Baker and Crawford D. Place, school committee ; John Dean, George W.
Thompson and Isaac H. Carter, constables.
TOWN HALL
At a meeting held on June 15, 1909, it was voted to appropriate the sum of
$30,000 for the erection of a new town hall, and a building committee was ap-
pointed. Hurd & Gore, architects of Boston, submitted a design which was
accepted, and the contract was awarded to Frank C. Woodward. The building was
completed in 191 1. On the first floor are the town offices and a small hall; the
second floor is occupied by a large hall, with the customary anterooms ; and in the
basement is a banquet hall and the town lock-up. The building is a substantial
288 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
edifice of brick and stone and is surmounted by a tower in which is a clock. West-
wood has one of the best town halls in the county.
POSTOFFICES
"West Dedham" postoffice was established in 1824, with Jason Ellis as post-
master. When the Town of Westwood was incorporated, the name of the post-
office was changed to correspond to that of the town. During the ninety-three
years that this postoffice has been in existence, it has had but three postmasters.
Jason Ellis served for a number of years, when he was succeeded by Theodore Gay,
who served until 1880, when the present incumbent, Charles H. Ellis, was ap-
pointed. The only other postoffice in the town is at Islington. It is of compara-
tively recent origin.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Westwood has four fire companies, three of which were inherited from Ded-
ham. Nearly opposite the town hall is the building occupied by the Franklin
Engine Company No. 1, and Hose Company No. 1. There is another fire station
near the Unitarian Church and one at Pond Plain, both equipped with hand engines
and hose carts, and at Islington, in the eastern part of the town, is a chemical engine.
The cost of maintaining the department for the year 1916 was $1,529. All the
apparatus is of rather obsolete pattern and in their report for the year 1916 the
board of engineers recommended the purchase of a combination auto truck, but
their recommendation had not been approved by the town at the close of the year.
TOWN OFFICERS, I917
At the beginning of the year 191 7 the principal town offices were occupied by
the following incumbents : Henry E. Weatherbee, Herbert W. Bonney and George
C. Lee, selectmen ; William L. Lucey, William H. McLaren and Benjamin F.
White, assessors; Willie W. Baker, clerk (Mr. Baker has held the office of town
clerk ever since Westwood was incorporated) ; Edward S. Colburn, treasurer;
Charles H. Ellis, tax collector; Richard Lennihan, Carrol H. Draper and Gran-
ville W. Baker, auditors ; Mrs. Louisa C. Perkins, John C. Mulvehill and William
H. Spokesfield, school committee; Frederick Fisher, Albert C. Crocker and
Thomas H. Kelly, constables. The selectmen also serve as overseers of the poor,
surveyors of highways and board of health.
WESTWOOD OF TODAY
Westwood is a typical rural town. Without bank, manufacturing enterprises
or a newspaper, the people "pursue the even tenor of their way." The town has
two public school buildings — the Colburn School at Westwood and the Islington
School — Baptist, Congregational and Unitarian churches, a public library, and
well kept highways. But the town's greatest attraction is its homes, nearly all of
which are owned by the occupants, who take commendable pride in keeping up
their premises. In 1910 the population was 1,266 and in 1915 it was 1,448, a gain
of 222 in five years. The assessed valuation of property in 19 16 was $5,924,108,
an increase of $1,139,222 over that of the preceding year.
CHAPTER XXXV
THE TOWN OF WEYMOUTH
LOCATION AND BOUNDARIES — SURFACE AND DRAINAGE — SETTLEMENT — THE GORGES
COMPANY THE HULL COMPANY — ADJUSTING THE BOUNDARIES — THE INDIAN
TITLE — EARLY LANDOWNERS — INDIAN WARS — THE SOUTH PRECINCT — ATTEMPT
TO DIVIDE THE TOWN — ALMSHOUSES — POSTOFFICES — SOLDIERS' MONUMENT
WATERWORKS FIRE DEPARTMENT ELECTRIC LIGHT TOWN HALL FISHERIES
— FINANCIAL HISTORY — WEYMOUTH OF THE PRESENT — TOWN OFFICERS.
Weymouth is the most eastern of the Norfolk County towns except Cohasset,
which is detached from the main body of the county. On the north, Weymouth
is bounded by the Massachusetts Bay; on the east by the Town of Hingham; on
the south by Plymouth County ; and on the west by Braintree and Holbrook.
From north to south it is a little over nine miles in extent and its average width
is about two and a half miles. It has a water front on the Weymouth Fore and
Back Rivers of over eight miles.
SURFACE AND DRAINAGE
While the general surface of the town is undulating, there are only two hills
of notable prominence — Great Hill on the shore of the bay in the northern part
and King Oak Hill, about a mile farther south. A considerable portion of the
area is covered by ponds, the largest of which is Great Pond, also known as Wessa-
gusset Lake, in the southerly part. It is over a mile and a fourth long and about
a third of a mile in width. Whitman's Pond, in the central portion, is next in size,
being nearly as long as Great Pond but not so wide. Whortleberry Pond, a small
circular body of water, lies a little south of Whitman's Pond, and Rolling Mill
Pond is connected with Whitman's.
Mill River, the outlet of Great Pond, passes through Whitman's Pond to Back
River, a distance, following its meanderings, of some five or six miles. Old Swamp
River rises in Hingham and flows into Whitman's Pond. These two rivers are the
only streams of consequence in the town. Both have fine water privileges which
have been utilized to some extent for manufacturing purposes.
SETTLEMENT
In Tune, 1622, about sixty men came over from England in two small vessels —
the Charity and the Swan — and landed on the north shore of what is now the Town
of Weymouth at a place called by the Indians "W r essaguscus" (also written Wes-
sagusset). The place where they established their settlement is on the south bank
VoL 1—19 _„
289
290 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
of the Fore River, a little east of Hunt's Hill Point. Back of this expedition was
Thomas Weston, a merchant of London, who had been associated with the Pil-
grims in their negotiations with the Plymouth Company, and whose dream was to
establish a trading post that would yield large profits.
Unfortunately, in the selection of men to carry out his project, he accepted any
one willing to join the expedition without regard to his qualifications for the work
in hand. These men came without families, had no definite idea of the methods to
be followed, and no settled habits of industry. Being without a competent leader,
they soon became dissatisfied with their surroundings, neglected their work, and,
as might be expected, they were soon reduced to the verge of starvation. They
appealed to the Plymouth colony for assistance, but the people there were far from
opulent and could not help them. It is said that ten of the number actually per-
ished of starvation. After the expedition of Miles Standish in March, 1623 (see
Chap. IV), the company disbanded, the men going in different directions, and by
the summer of 1623 not one was left at Wessaguscus. Thus ended in failure the
first attempt to plant a settlement in Weymouth.
THE GORGES COMPANY
A few months after the disappearance of the Weston colony, probably in early
September, 1623, another expedition sailed up the Fore River and landed at the
deserted plantation. It was led by Robert Gorges, a son of Sir Ferdinando Gorges,
acting under a charter from the Plymouth Company. The men who came with
Captain Gorges were of a different type from those sent over by Weston the year
before, one of them being Rev. William Morrell, a minister of the Church of Eng-
land. The charter gave them "ten miles of the coast on the northeast side of the
Massachusetts Bay and extending thirty miles inland." In selecting the place to
begin his settlement, Gorges no doubt thought Wessaguscus was covered by the
grant. Says Gilbert Nash: "They chose their ten miles evidenly to include the
entrance to Boston Harbor, and this mistake, if mistake it were, was the cause of
much trouble in the future." Mr. Nash says further : "The plan of the colony
was projected upon a scale of magnificent proportions and with machinery suffi-
cient to conduct the affairs of an empire. Captain Gorges was named as Governor-
General, with a general oversight of the company's officers in America, and
authority by commission to carry out his plans. Associated with him in the govern-
ment were Capt. Francis West, admiral; Christopher Levet, Esq., perhaps the
chief judicial officer, and such others as the Governor-General chose to appoint,
any two of whom, with himself, were empowered to transact any business neces-
sary for the government of the colony. The governor of Plymouth, for the time
being, was constituted a member of the government."
As soon as Governor Bradford of Plymouth learned that the company had
arrived at Wessaguscus, he made arrangements to visit the colony. Before he
had time to put his design into execution, Gorges, while on a tour of inspection
over his grant, encountered bad weather and took refuge at Plymouth. After
remaining there a few days he returned by land to his settlement. Upon his
arrival there it appears he for the first time exercised his authority as governor-
general by causing the arrest of Thomas Weston, who had come into Plymouth
Bay on the Swan, and ordering him and his vessel to be sent around to Wessagus-
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF WESSAGUSSETT FROM GREAT HILL, NORTH WEYMOUTH
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 291
cus. Not long after this he returned to England, with a considerable portion of
his company, "thoroughly disgusted with the work of founding an empire in the
New World."
After the departure of Gorges, some of his colonists went to Virginia, Rev.
William Morrell took up his temporary abode at Plymouth, and a few remained
at Wessaguscus. In fact the settlement made by Gorges at Wessaguscus was never
entirely broken up. Mr. Morrell went back to England in 1624 and the same year
a number of emigrants from Weymouth, England, joined the little band on the
shores of the Fore River. With them came a non-conformist minister by the name
of Barnard, who remained in the settlement until his death. The records of the
colony for the next few years are meager, though there is an occasional mention
of the settlement at Wessaguscus, indicating continual though small accessions to
the number of inhabitants. Governor Winthrop visited the place in 1632 and was
"liberally entertained by those residing there," and in the next year Wessaguscus is
mentioned as "a small village." All the evidence tends to show that the Gorges
settlement was permanent and therefore the second settlement in Massachusetts.
THE HULL COMPANY
On July 8, 1635, the General Court granted permission to Rev. Joseph Hull,
with twenty-one families, numbering about one hundred persons, to settle at
Wessaguscus. This was the largest addition, perhaps, that was ever made to the
settlement at any one time in its history. The members of this company were
people of sober and industrious habits and they were welcomed with joy by those
who had preceded them. They came from the Town of Weymouth, England, and
quickly acquired prominence in the new settlement with which they now cast
their lot. Mr. Hull became for a time the minister of the town. On September 2,
1635, tne settlement was erected into a plantation and the name was then changed
to Weymouth. The next day the plantation was ordered to send a representative
to the General Court. Although an infant settlement, there were three political
factions in the plantation. The first represented those of the Gorges company who
had not abandoned the place; the secon'd was made up of those who came from
other towns in the colony ; and the third was composed of those who came over
with Mr. Hull in the summer. The first faction voted for John Bursley, the second
for William Reade, and the third for John Upham. The court recognized Mr.
Reade and the other two were compelled to retire.
Regarding the change of name from Wessaguscus to Weymouth, the Massa-
chusetts Historical Collections (Vol. XXI, p. 396) says the reason for the adop-
tion of the new name is unknown, "but probably in honor of Capt. George Way-
mouth, the navigator. It is to be noted that, 20th March, 1635, about one hundred
persons are recorded at W'eymouth, County Dorset, England, as bound hither."
There is little doubt that the name was suggested by some member of Mr. Hull's
company as a tribute of respect to the old home town in England.
ADJUSTING THE BOUNDARIES
The Colonial Records of Massachusetts show that in March, 1635, a commit-
tee was chosen to fix the boundaries between Wessaguscus and Mount Wollaston,
292 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
and in July following another committee was charged with the duty of establish-
ing the line between Wessaguscus and Bare Cove (now Hingham). Notice that
the former of these committees was appointed before the arrival of the Hull com-
pany and is another evidence that a permanent settlement existed in Weymouth.
From the time of Weymouth's incorporation in 1635 for several years after-
ward, the boundary lines between Plymouth County on the south and the Town of
Braintree on the west appear to have been a question of frequent disputes. Com-
mittees were several times appointed by Weymouth to join with a committee from
Braintree in running and marking the line between the two towns, but for some
reason Braintree declined to act. Finally the people of Weymouth lost patience
and at a town meeting held on June 13, 1712, instructed the selectmen to bring an
action against the selectmen of Braintree for their persistent refusal to run the
dividing line as the law provided, and voted to stand by them in any suit brought
for that purpose. If such an action was ever instituted in the courts, it seems
that it failed to accomplish its end, as the Weymouth-Braintree line was not set-
tled until in the latter part of the Nineteenth Century.
THE INDIAN TITLE
Although the English Government granted to Robert Gorges a tract of land
embracing ten miles of sea coast and extending thirty miles into the interior, the
grant did not dispossess the Indians, who were the real owners of the land.
Therefore, the first settlers at Wessaguscus were what might be termed ''squat-
ters," so far as the Indian title was concerned. Their title was merely that of
possession, but back of that possession there was nothing which would enable them
to hold the land upon which they had located before it was really in the possession
of either the Plymouth or Massachusetts Bay Company. No one realized the pre-
carious character of their tenure better than themselves and negotiations were set
on foot to purchase the land from the Indians. The Indians did not own land as
individuals, but as a tribe. A purchase from the chiefs bound every member of
the tribe to their action. On April 26, 1642, a deed was executed by the resident
chiefs, who signed themselves as Wampetuck, alias Jonas Webacowett, Nateaunt
and Nahawton. This deed is recorded among the deeds of Suffolk County. With
the execution of this deed, the town was in a position to allot the lands and con-
firm the inhabitants in their possessions. The list of landowners made soon after-
ward indicate that this was done.
EARLY LANDOWNERS
Says Mr. Nash : "In this list, which is very incomplete as will be easily seen,
there are the names of seventy-one persons with a general description of the prop-
erty owned by them. In these descriptions the names of seventeen others are
mentioned, from whom some of the property was purchased, or to whom the
original grants were made. There are also mentioned as owners of property
bounding the different lots described, the names of fifty-two, who do not appear
in the other two classes, yet who must have been property owners or they could
not have been abuttors, making in all 123, at least, real estate owners at the time
the list was made up. Why this large number escaped record we have no means
INDEPENDENCE SQUARE, LOOKING NORTH.
SOUTH WEYMOUTH
COLUMBIAN SQUARE, SOUTH WEYMOUTH
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 293
of knowing, but since such is the fact we may reasonably infer that many others
may have been omitted altogether, and that the full number was originally much
greater ; in fact we have evidence that this was so, from incidental mention in the
later records. Taking, however, the lists as they come to us, we have the names of
123, without doubt most of them heads of families. These with an average of five
to a family, a moderate estimate for those days, would furnish a population of
more than 600.''
Of the 123 landowners mentioned by Mr. Nash, only seventeen are recognized
as members of the Hull company which came over in 1635. John Bursley, Wil-
liam Jeffries and a man named Ludden are recognized as members of the Gorges
company and had no doubt maintained their residence there from the year 1623.
Others in the list were Robert Abell, Henry Adams, John Allen, Stephen French,
John Glover, Walter Harris, Edmond Hart, James Parker, Thomas Richards,
Thomas Rawlins, Clement Briggs, Richard Sylvester and Clement Weaver, all of
whom were living in Weymouth as early as 1630.
INDIAN WARS
Probably one reason for the selection of W T essaguscus for a settlement was the
fact that there were but few Indians living in the immediate vicinity. Although
in a retired spot, the settlement was not altogether free from the effects of Indian
depredations in other parts of the province. In 1637, when 160 men were called
for to serve in the war with the Pequot Indians, Weymouth's quota was five men.
They were furnished, and from that time until after King Philip's war the town
always contributed both in men and money to the various expeditions sent against
the savages.
In the French and Indian war, forty Weymouth men served in Col. Benjamin
Lincoln's regiment in the expeditions of 1755 and 1756 to Crown Point and Lake
George. These forty men were members of a company commanded by Capt.
Samuel Thaxter. Colonel Lincoln was afterward promoted to general, and Lieut.
Solomon Lovell, one of the Weymouth company also became a general in the
Revolution. When the British captured Nova Scotia (then called Acadia) in
1755, the inhabitants were forced to abandon their homes and a large number of
them was brought to Boston. They were known as "French Neuters," and as no
provision had been made for their care and support, they were divided into small
companies and sent to the various towns. Weymouth received its share of these
unfortunates. On March 8, 1756, the records of the town meeting show that Dr.
Nathaniel White was paid eight shillings per week for a year for keeping French
Neuters, and on the last day of February, 1761, James Humphrey was allowed six
pounds for a similar purpose.
THE SOUTH PRECINCT
As the town increased its population the settlements gradually extended over
practically the entire territory. Being a long, narrow town, those living in the
southern part were placed at a disadvantage in the matter of school and church
conveniences. Schools could be provided at comparatively small expense, but the
church difficulty was not so easily settled. The church had already been located
294 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
and built in tbe northern part of the town, and those living near the meeting house
looked with decided opposition upon the proposal to establish a new church for
the benefit of those living farther south, arguing that the town was too poor to
bear the burden.
In 1722 the people of the southern portion came to the determination to ask the
General Court to set them off as a distinct town or precinct. The north part,
feeling secure in its majority of voters, was just as fully determined to oppose
the movement. A town meeting was called and a committee appointed to oppose
the petition in the General Court. A majority of the members of the Court, how-
ever, recognized the justice of the petitioners' request and in the spring of 1723
the petition was granted. The South Precinct was then organized with an area
embracing more than half of the town. There were still occasional difficulties
over the possession of the parsonage property, which was in the North Precinct,
and which the people there refused to relinquish.
During the next forty years the South Precinct steadily gained in numbers
and influence and on March 24, 1761, that section of the town was strong enough
to define the word ''ministry" in the parsonage deed to include both ministers, and
that each should draw his income from the town revenues in proportion to the
amount of tax paid by his parish. A meeting house had been erected in the South
Precinct about the time the petition was presented to the General Court in 1722.
The parish was organized on June 21, 1723, and the Second Congregational
Church, of South Weymouth, now the Old South Church, was organized on Sep-
tember 18, 1723, with Rev. James Bayley as pastor.
ATTEMPT TO DIVIDE THE TOWN
In 1796 another effort was made to divide the town. This time the North
Precinct was the aggressor. A petition to that effect was prepared and signed by
a majority of the residents of the North Precinct, for presentation to the General
Court. The South Precinct was practically unanimous in its opposition. Nothing
came of that petition and for the next six or seven years the subject was one of
constant discussion by the citizens and in the town meetings. In 1802 a census
was taken, showing 965 inhabitants in the North Precinct and 838 in the South.
The question came before the Legislature and the Senate voted in favor of the
division, but the House refused to concur. The whole question was then referred
to the next session of the General Court, and there the matter ended. A few
spasmodic attempts have been made since then to bring about a division, but with-
out any prospect of success. One of these was made in the town meeting of March
19, 1866, when by a vote of 269 to 239 an order was made for the division of the
town upon the line forming the northerly boundary of the fifth and sixth school
districts, and a committee of one from each district was appointed to carry the vote
into effect, but nothing was done. At the annual meeting in March, 1878, attention
was called to the failure of the committee to discharge its assigned duty, and the
selectmen, with three from each ward (twenty in all), were constituted a com-
mittee to consider the matter and report. Their report was made at the next
annual meeting, March 3, 1879, "that it is inexpedient to divide the town at this
time," and there the whole matter ended. Another effort was made about fifteen
years later, but it also came to naught.
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, WEYMOUTH HEIGHTS
VIEW FROM SOLDIERS" MONUMENT, WEYMOUTH HEIGHTS
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 295
ALMSHOUSES
Tn 1779, after several unsuccessful efforts, it was voted to build a "work-
house near the center of the town, not far from Tirrell's mill, for the accommoda-
tion of the poor." Owing to the hardships imposed upon the people by the Revolu-
tionary war, and various other causes, the number of paupers had increased to
such an extent as to require this action on the part of the town. The house then
erected was used as an almshouse until 1809, when another was erected at Wey-
mouth Landing for the same purpose. The house at Weymouth Landing was used
until the establishment of the town farm, on Essex Street, in 1839.
Early on the morning of September 14, 191 7, fire was discovered in the town
farm buildings. At that time there were eighteen inmates in the institution, all of
whom were saved except Mrs. Mary Rosa, eighty-five years of age, who perished
in the flames. Being a cripple, she was unable to escape. The loss was $40,000.
At a special town meeting held on Friday evening, September 28, 191 7, the sum of
$40,000 was appropriated for a new building.
POSTOFFICES
On February 6, 1804, the town instructed the selectmen to petition the post-
master-general for a postoffice to be established at the head of navigation on the
Fore River. The petition was granted and the postoffice was named Weymouth.
It was the first postoffice in the town, but the writer has been unable to learn the
name of the first postmaster or any of the history of the office in its early days.
At the beginning of the year 1917 there were four postoffices in the town, located
at Weymouth, East Weymouth, North Weymouth and South Weymouth.
soldiers' monument
Weymouth furnished nearly six hundred and fifty men for the Union army
in the War of the Rebellion, over one hundred of whom were killed in action or
died while in the service of the United States. The war was scarcely at an end
when a movement was started to erect a monument to commemorate their serv-
ices in behalf of their country. After several meetings an appropriation was
made and the monument was erected in the old North Cemetery. It stands upon
a terrace on the easterly side of the highway, a plain granite obelisk, a suitable
tribute on the part of the people of Weymouth in behalf of the memory of those
who sacrificed their lives upon the altar of their country. The monument was
dedicated in 1868.
WATERWORKS
For several years prior to 1880, the question of utilizing the waters of Great
Pond as a supply for the town had been discussed in private conversations and
in town meetings, but nothing was accomplished until April 6, 1881, when the
Legislature passed an act authorizing the town to use the waters of the pond for
extinguishing fires, domestic purposes, lay mains, set hydrants, etc., when the
act was accepted by a two-thirds vote of the town.
296 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Two years passed and the act had not been accepted by the voters. On May
3, 1883, Peter W. French, Leavitt Bates, Zachariah L. Bicknell, John P. Lovell,
Nathan D. Canterbury, Marshall C. Dizer, Joseph Totman and their associates
and successors were incorporated as the East Weymouth Water Company, "for
the purpose of furnishing the inhabitants of the Town of Weymouth with water
from Weymouth Great Pond and the waters which flow into it," and to connect
with the pipes of the Hingham Water Company at the boundary line. The
Town of Weymouth was given the power to purchase the franchise and property
of the company at any time during the life of its charter.
The passage of this act served as a stimulus to the people of Weymouth to
accept the provisions of the act of 1881, which was done at a special town meet-
ing called for the purpose on September 18, 1883. The vote in favor of accept-
ance was 356 to 114. At an adjourned meeting on the 25th Josiah Reed,
Augustus J. Richards and Henry A. Nash were elected water commissioners."
In the meantime the waters of Great Pond had been subjected to an analysis and
the meeting voted an appropriation of $1,000 to employ an engineer to make
survey and submit plans for a system of waterworks. Oran White and Thomas
H. Humphrey were added to the board of water commissioners.
The board employed M. M. Tidd to examine the waters of Great Pond and
make plans for the waterworks. He reported a plan including thirty-seven miles
of mains, with the Great Pond as the source of supply, and estimated the cost
of such a plant as contemplated at $296,000. At the annual meeting on March
3, 1884, it was voted to issue bonds to the amount of $300,000, the vote on the
question being 529 to 231.
On May 12, 1885, the act incorporating the East Weymouth Water Company
was repealed, because it came in conflict with the act of April 6, 1881, which
granted to the town the right to use the waters of Great Pond to supply the
inhabitants of the town.
In the construction of the works a pumping station was built at South Wey-
mouth to lift the water from Great Pond to a reservoir, also at South Weymouth,
whence it is supplied to the town by gravity. The pumping machinery was
installed by the George F. Blake Manufacturing Company and the Deane Steam
Pump Works, each having a daily capacity of 1,500,000 gallons. The reservoir
has a capacity of 700,000 gallons. At the close of the year 1916 the system
embraced 76.55 miles of mains, 453 hydrants, with 1,940 meters in use. The
total number of gallons pumped during the year was 141,126,790. According to
the statement of the town accountant, the cost of the plant to December 31,
1 91 6, was $600,339.35.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
About 1830 a company of volunteer firemen was organized at Weymouth
Landing and a small hand engine called the "Aquarius" was purchased. For
many years this company was the only fire protection in the town, except the
primitive "bucket brigade," which passed the buckets from hand to hand, back
and forth, the man nearest the fire dashing the water upon the flames, unless the
fire was too hot for him to get within reach, in which case the only thing to do
was to protect the adjoining buildings from destruction.
FORT POINT BIRD'S-EYE VIEW FROM GREAT HILL. NORTH WEYMOUTH
JREAT HILL FROM QUINCY POINT BRIDGE, NORTH WEYMOUTH
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 297
The town was divided into fire districts about 1844 ar >d hand engines pro-
vided. The next month the order was rescinded, and nothing further was done
until the annual meeting on March 5, 1877, when a committee of three from each
ward was chosen to organize a fire department. The committee reported in
May in favor of the purchase of three fire engines, three hose carriages, and
two hook and ladder trucks, also to build three engine houses and construct five
reservoirs. The appropriation asked to carry out this plan was $18,000, which
was voted by the meeting and the Weymouth Fire Department became a reality.
In January, 1878, an appropriation of $1,100 was made for the purchase of
another hand engine, and in May the sum of $2,000 was voted for an engine
and hose carriage.
In March, 1880, the first steam fire engine was purchased at a cost of $3,200.
It was stationed in the Third Ward, which caused the people of some of the
other wards to look with some jealousy upon the proceeding, and in 1883 a
second steamer was purchased for $4,200 and placed in the Second Ward. The
department now consists of seven hose companies and a hook and ladder com-
pany. Companies one, two, three and five are equipped with auto combination
trucks ; companies four, six and seven, and the "Hardscrabble" hook and ladder
company with apparatus drawn by horses. The cost of maintenance for the
year 1916 was $14,690, and during the year the department answered forty-
seven alarms. *
ELECTRIC LIGHT
The Town of Weymouth is lighted by electricity from the plant of C. D.
Parker & Company (incorporated) of Boston, which operates about twenty
such plants in the State of Massachusetts. The Weymouth plant began business
in 1889. It now supplies the towns of Weymouth, Hull, Hingham, Randolph
and Holbrook and furnishes power to a number of the shoe factories in Wey-
mouth. Between the years 1910 and 1916 the works were generally overhauled,
new machinery installed and the efficiency increased along all lines. The prin-
cipal office of the company is in East Weymouth. The appropriation made by
the annual meeting in March, 1916, for lighting the streets was $12,500. At the
close of the year a balance of $219.10 was turned back into the town treasury.
The committee on electric lighting in their report at the close of the year, says :
"The Weymouth Light and Power Company have given us excellent service and
have been ready and willing at all times to assist us in fulfilling their part of the
contract."
TOWN HALL
Weymouth was without a town hall until 1852, when "a plain, inexpensive
structure was built on the westerly side of Washington Street, at the corner of
Middle Street, and very near the geographical center of the town." In 1907 it
was taken down and rebuilt at East Weymouth, where it was burned in 1914
and since then the town offices have been housed on the second floor of the East
Weymouth Savings Bank Building.
298 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
FISHERIES
During the early years of Weymouth's history a considerable portion of the
food supply came from the fish taken from the ponds or the waters along the
borders of the town. The principal dependence was placed upon the herring, or
alewives, which came up into the ponds by way of the Back River to spawn.
Mention is made of the "herringe broge'' as early as 1648, indicating that the
fishery dates back almost to the very beginning of the town. At a town meeting
held on March 8, 1725, a committee was chosen "to treat with the mill owners on
the river, by Bates', to make a convenient passage for fish into Whitman's Pond,
to pay not over five pounds."
From that time the "alewives business" appears frequently in the town rec-
ords. Officers were regularly chosen to take charge of the fisheries, preserve
the fish, take and sell them during the proper seasons, the revenue thus derived
being turned into the town treasury. In their report for the year 1916 the
board of selectmen make the following statement relating to this subject:
"In compliance with authority conferred by the town, acting under Article
72 of the warrant for the last annual meeting, concerning the alewive fishery,
the board communicated with George L. Wentworth, Esq., trustee of the John
P. Lovell estate, and obtained the terms upon vVhich the fishery could be leased
by the town. The terms for the lease for the year 1916 were $150, and sug-
gested the sum of $2,500 for which the fishery right would be conveyed to the
town, subject to the approval of the beneficiaries.
"A lease was entered into for the year and Joseph H. Sherman was placed in
charge of the fishery. . . . Mr. Sherman was instructed to make sure that
a suitable number was taken to the pond and to give his personal care to the
protection of the young fry during the progress to tide water. Twenty thousand
fish were taken to the pond. The number sold was small. The cost of the
fishery, including the lease, was $3/7-/i. The amount received from the sale of
fish was $34.43. [Each family received a certain quantity without charge.] As
the fish do not return until the third year, it will take at least three years to
build up the fishery to its former proportions. We recommend that the right
be purchased by the town."
FINANCIAL HISTORY
In the annual town report for 1916 is given a comparative table showing the
property valuation and expenditures from 1890 to 1916. During that period the
valuation increased from $6,441,845 to $12,981,333, and the expenditures from
$130,696.86 to $325,822.49. The principal expenditures for the year 1916 were
as follows :
Schools $ 87,690.20
New school house, Ward 3 15,886.21
Highways 22,055.26
Sidewalks 4<3^3-37
Fire department 14.689.78
Police department 8.193.50
FOGG LIBRARY, SOUTH \\ KV.MolTH
GREAT POND, LOOKING NORTH, SOUTH WEYMOUTH
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 299
Health department 3,1 14.00
Poor department 25,767.57
Street lighting- 12,280.90
Public libraries 5,877.94
Salaries 10,590.47
Interest 10.788.08
Moth suppression 6,470.99
Public parks 780.46
Applied on public debt 22,500.00
All other expenditures 74,048.73
Total $325,822.49
\n the amount expended by the poor department the sum of $4,719.54 repre-
sented the receipts from the town farm. The auditors reported the town assets
on December 31, 1916, as follows :
Real estate, school houses, etc $ 418,150.00
Waterworks 600,339.35
Personal property 60,166.54
Trust funds 15,900.00
Sinking funds 127,309.58
Uncollected dues 152,855.04
Tax deed property 3,518.92
Sidewalk appropriation 717.21
Cash on hand 38431 -35
Total $1,418,387.99
On the other side of the ledger the town's liabilities were set forth as follows :
Water bonds $221,000.00
Notes payable 226,200.00
E. B. Nevins school house appropriation 62,000.00
Trust funds 15,900:00
Miscellaneous 11,340.84
Total $536,440.84
These figures show a balance in favor of the town — the excess of assets over
all liabilities — of $881,947.15. Weymouth bonds command a premium when-
ever they are offered for sale, owing to the conservative management of public
finances that has distinguished the town for years past. And with nearly three
dollars in assets for every dollar of liabilities there is no good reason why her
bonds should not continue to sell at a premium in the years to come.
WEYMOUTH OF THE PRESENT
Weymouth, the oldest incorporated town in Norfolk County, reported a
population of 12,895 m 1910 and the state census of 191 5 gave the town a
300 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
population of 13,969, a gain of 1,074. The town has four banks, three news-
papers, two fine public libraries, churches of various denominations, seventeen
school houses, well kept streets and sidewalks, and many pretty homes. The
town exceeds all the other Norfolk County towns in the manufacture of boots
and shoes. The Boston & Plymouth division of the New York, New Haven &
Hartford railway system (via Cohasset) passes through the northern part of
the town, with stations at Weymouth, East Weymouth and Weymouth Heights.
The Boston & Plymouth division of the same system (via Whitman) passes
through the southern part, with a station at South Weymouth. There are also
several lines of electric railway, hence the town is well supplied with transporta-
tion facilities. The town owns three public parks — Webb Park, Beals Park and
Great Hill Park — which are being gradually improved and beautified, that future
generations may have places for rest and recreation.
TOWN OFFICERS
At the beginning of the year 191 7 the principal town offices were filled as
follows: Edward W. Hunt, Bradford Hawes, George L. Newton, Henry E.
Hanley and Ralph P. Burrell, selectmen and overseers of the poor ; Lewis W.
Callahan, Charles H. Clapp, John F. Dwyer, Frank H. Torrey and Leavitt W.
Bates, assessors; John A. Raymond, clerk; John H. Stetson, treasurer; Charles
B. Gushing, accountant ; Winslow M. Tirrell, collector of taxes ; Frank N.
Blanchard, William H. Pratt and Winfield S. Wells, auditors ; Irving E. John-
son, superintendent of streets ; George W. Perry, George E. Bicknell, Frank H.
Torrey, Edward W. Hunt and John H. Stetson, water commissioners ; Walter
W. Pratt, chief of the fire department; Arthur H. Pratt, chief of police; Louis
A. Cook, J. Herbert Walsh and Nathan Q. Cushing, park commissioners; Arthur
H. Alden-, Prince H. Tirrell, Elmer E. Leonard, Frederick D. Nichols, Theron
L. Tirrell and Sarah S. Howe, school committee ; Dr. George E. Emerson, Dr.
Fred L. Doucett and John S. Williams, board of health ; W. F. Hall, George B.
Bayley, Elbert Ford, Arthur H. Pratt, Charles W. Baker, Edward F. Butler,
George W. Nash, Thomas Fitzgerald, Charles W. Barrows and George W.
Conant, constables.
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CHAPTER XXXVI
THE TOWN OF WRENTHAM
GENERAL DESCRIPTION HISTORICAL THE PLANTATION OF WOLLOMONOPOAG IN-
CORPORATION OF WRENTHAM — ORGANIZING THE TOWN — WRENTHAM VACATED
PERMANENT SETTLEMENT SOME FIRST THINGS THE TOWN DIVIDED WATER-
WORKS — FIRE DEPARTMENT — TOWN HALL — SOLDIERS' MONUMENT — MODERN
WRENTHAM — TOWN OFFICERS, ICH/.
The Town of Wrentham is situated in the southwestern part of Norfolk
County. On the north it is bounded by Franklin and Norfolk ; on the east by
Foxboro ; on the south by Plainville and the State of Rhode Island ; and on the
west by the towns of Franklin and Bellingham. The surface is diversified.
Lake Archer and Lake Pearl in the central part are two beautiful little bodies
of water, frequented by large numbers of pleasure seekers, and Marsh Pond is
on the line between Wrentham and Norfolk. There are a few small streams in
the town, but no large ones.
HISTORICAL
Wrentham was included in the grant of 1636 to the Dedham proprietors,
which grant embraced "all the land on the southerly and easterly side of the
Charles River not formerly granted to any town or particular persons." About
1647 J onn D wight and Francis dickering gave notice of indications of a mine
near certain ponds, about thirteen miles from the settlement at Dedham. It is
believed that the ponds referred to were within .the limits of the present Town
of Wrentham. This report of Dwight and dickering is probably the first men-
tion of this part of Norfolk County. Two years later, owing to a scarcity of
grass in Dedham, the inhabitants of that settlement went to the meadows called
by the Indians "Wollomonopoag" to obtain a supply of hay for their cattle.
Wollomonopoag was the Indian name for what is now Wrentham.
The oldest record relating to a settlement in this part of Norfolk County is
dated at Dedham, June 22, 1660, to wit : "At a meeting of the Select men there
Lieut. Fisher, Sergt. Fuller, Richard Wheeler, Ensign Fisher, are Deputed to
view the lands both Upland and Meddow near about the Ponds by George
Indian's Wigwam & Make report of what they find to the Select men in the first
Opportunity they can take."
This order of the selectmen and the appointment of the committee was in
accordance with a desire expressed by the inhabitants "formerly in a Lecture
day." The following December the selectmen reported that they had sent men
to view the place, and that upon the report of the men thus deputed, which was
301
302 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
encouraging, two men had been deputed by the selectmen "to endeavor to com-
pound with such Indians as have a true Right there." The selectmen further
expressed themselves in favor of establishing a plantation there, and recom-
mended the appointment of a committee "to Explore the place further & to
Consider what measures are propper in the Premises & propose them to the
Town in some Publick Meeting to be Considered & Resolved as the Case -may
require."
On March 27, 1661, at a general town meeting, the question was brought up
as to whether there should be a plantation established at Wollomonopoag and a
majority voted in the affirmative. The meeting also voted that the Indian title
to the lands at the place intended for the new plantation should be extinguished
by purchase, and a committee was appointed "to Settle and Determine such
things as shall be mentioned need full for ye Plantation before named. First
they shall Determine when men Present them selves for Entertainment there who
are meet to be Accepted Second they shall proportion to each man his part of
ye Six Hundred acres Third they shall Order the settling of ye Plantation in
reference to Situation High wayes convenient Place for a Meeting House a lot
or lotts for Church Officers with such other things Necessary as may hereafter
be Proposed."
Later in the year the boundaries of the plantation were established at a
general town meeting as follows : "It is ordered that ye bounds of the Planta-
tion at Wollomonopoag shall be upon Stop River towards the East Beginning at
Medfield bounds and so all along as the river lies up Stream until it comes about
half a mile above the Falls in that river near about where ye Path to that Place
at present lies & from thence Southward to Dorchester Line & the West Bounds
shall be at or about the end of five miles from one of the Ponds in Wollomono-
poage to be a line running Paralel with the line of at ye east end of ye Planta-
tion Always provided that it Extend not to any lands but such as are at present
our owne. And the South Bounds shall be Dorchester Line & ye North Bounds
shall be Medfield bounds in Part and Charles River in Part."
Richard Ellis and Timothy Dwight were appointed agents to negotiate a
purchase of the land from the Indians and in 1662 they reported that they made
a treaty with Philip, sagamore of the Wampanoag tribe, for a tract of land six
miles square at Wollomonopoag, for which they had obtained a deed. (See
chapter on Indian History for a further account of this transaction.)
THE PLANTATION OF WOLLOMONOPOAG
Pursuant to the action taken at the meeting of March 27, 1661, Anthony Fisher,
Isaac Bullard, Robert Ware and Richard Ellis were appointed a committee to
settle and determine "such things as shall be mentioned needful for ye Plantation,"
etc. At a meeting on January 12, 1662, they reported that ten men had been
selected, or accepted, by them to go to Wollomonopoag, but that this number was
not sufficient to "goe on with ye Plantation." The Town of Dedham evidently did
not offer the expected encouragement to "goe on," and the first attempt at settle-
ment failed. On March 2, 1663, the proprietors resolved by a unanimous vote
that they "could not advise parties to proceed to make it a Plantation all things
considered as they are now Circumstanced."
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 303
Three weeks later another meeting of the proprietors was held, at which it was
agreed that those who had already made improvements there "might take the lotts
they had subdued and Improved and not draw lotts with the rest of ye proprie-
tors." The persons who were thus allowed to choose were Anthony Fisher, Jr.,
Job Farrington, Richard Ellis, Robert Ware, Joshua Kent, Samuel Parker, James
Thorpe, Samuel Fisher and Isaac Bullard. These men were the first to break-
land and begin a settlement within the limits of the six hundred acres alloted for
the Wollomonopoag plantation, and were therefore the first settlers in Wrentham.
Among those who drew lots on March 2$, 1663, were James Draper, Nathaniel
Whiting and Ralph Freeman. Later in the year the selectmen of Dedham con-
firmed a highway from that town to the Wollomonopoag plantation, "at the request
of ye persons who have drawn lotts there, ye highway to be at ye east end of
sayed lotts."
The settlement was not a success. Says Samuel Warner : "Although an
attempt to settle a colony at Wollomonopoag had failed in 1663. yet the idea was
not absolutely abandoned. Proof of this is seen in the transactions had in the
interim between that date and 1669. We instance the drawing of lots, the laying
out of a highway, surveying of the meadows, the settling of lines of lots, the
purchasing of proprietors' rights, and the second treaty with King Philip."
The second treaty with King Philip was concluded in the fall of 1669, and in
December of that year the proprietors of Wollomonopoag, now independent of the
Dedham proprietors, met at the house of Joshua Fisher (in Dedham) "to adopt
some Rules as to the ordering & due management of ye said place for the further-
ing and settling a Plantation there." This was their first meeting, distinct from
the proprietors of Dedham. Among the rules they -adopted were the following:
"1st — All rates &c for defraying public charges hereunder written Shall be and
remayne in full Force to all ends intents & Purposes to all Proprietors there untill
the intended Plantation become a Town.
''2d — Every Proprietor shall annualy pay towards the Maintenance of a Min-
ister there is 6d for each cow comon right besides what he shall be Assessed upon
improved land.
"3d — That the Libertie to call or invite a Minister to exercise to the People
there is left to the Inhabitants there & Such of ye principal Proprietors as may be
advised without Difficulty provided it be by ye Allowance & Consent of ye Rev.
Mr. Allin of Dedham & ye Ruling Elder of ye Church there & Elea Lusher.
"4th — That a Convenient meeting house shall be built to which end 2s per cow
common shall be paid whereof Mr Theo Deane Capt Willm Hudson & Mr Job
Yiale promise to pay accordingly in money which is accepted John Thurston,
Robert Ware & Sergt Fuller are appointed a Committee for ye ordering ye
building & Finishing that Meeting house in convenient time."
The meeting house was not finished for several years, but on December 27.
1669, Rev. Samuel Man was invited to become the minister at the plantation.
The letter of invitation was signed by thirty-nine persons.
INCORPORATION OF WRENTHAM
In October, 1673, the inhabitants, now grown to a considerable number, pre-
pared the following petition, which was in due time presented to the General
Court :
304 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
"The petition of ye Inhabitants of Wollomonopoage humbly sheweth that
whereas it hath pleased God by His especial Providence to sett the place of habi-
tation of divers of us in a place within the bounds of Dedham where some of us
have lived Severall years conflicting with ye Difficultyes of a Wilderness state &
being a long time without any to Dispense the word of God to us although at last
it hath pleased God to send the Gospel amongst us dispensed by that faithful
servant of his, Mr Samuel Man ; but not having power to assess or gather what
have been engaged by reason divers live not Within the limits of the Town & the
Constables of Dedham are not willing to gather what has been engaged neyther
is that Engaged by Town power so the pay is not attayned but that work is like to
fail & We perish for lack of Knoledge unless it please God to move your hearts
who are the Fathers of the country to take care for us & not for us only but for
the Interest of God here now being helpless and hopeless doe yet venture to
spread our complaint before your Honours desiring you would put forth your
power to Promote the ordinances of God here.
"That which we desire & humbly present to your pious consideration is that
there may be a Committee appoynted & Impowered by this Hon Court to settle
some way for the maintenance of the Ministrie which we doubt not but most of
ye proprietors in Dedham & Elsewhere will readily grant yet some there are that
have rights here seem only to be willing that we should labor under the Straights
of a new Plantation so as to bring their land to a great Price which no other can
regulate (that we understand) but yourselves. Therefore we fly to your wisdom
& justice for help which no other under God can do The proprietors also having
engaged but for so long as we remain under the power of Dedham & Dedham
now advising us to be of our selves Declaring that they cannot act for us as is
Necessary in divers cases they living so remote & if it shall please God so far to
move you to help us in this distressed State we humbly further crave to be excused
from paying any County rates for 7 or 8 years we being very Few and poor & far
into the country & not considerable to the County which will oblige us to serve
your Honours. We have herewith sent the Coppies of what the Proprietors did
engage (which have caused us your Petitioners to Venture upon these Difricul-
tyes expecting more would have come to us) which we desire may be ratifyed till
they send Inhabitants suitable or what other way God may direct your wisdom
to Determine which shall ever Oblige your poor supplyants to pray &c."
The selectmen of Dedham offered no objection to the plantation being incor-
porated as a separate town, but ventured the suggestion that "if the Court see meet
to grant them town power that it may be called Wrentham." Upon the 15th day
of October, 1673, trie act incorporating the Town of W r rentham became a law.
The name is taken from Wrentham in England, a small parish in the County of
Suffolk, from which came John Thurston, Thomas Paine and a number of
people who accompanied Rev. Mr. Phillips (or Philip) when he came to Ded-
ham in 1638. He afterward returned to England and resumed his pastoral
duties in his old parish.
ORGANIZING THE TOWN
John Thurston, Daniel Fisher, William Park and Hopestill Foster were ap-
pointed a committee by the General Court "for ordering the affairs of the Town
BELEN KELLER'S RESIDKN'l K. WRKXTHA.M
VIEW OF THE SQUARE. WRKXTHAM
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 305
called Wrentham." This committee met for the first time on December 4, 1673,
and adopted the following regulations :
"1st. Thomas Thurston to have ye Town Book and make record of such
orders as have passed respecting such Plantation &c.
"2d. Property holders there shall pay is 6d for every cow common for sup-
port of ye Minister according to a previous vote.
"3d. £50 to be Assessed upon ye proprietors towards building him a House
according to an act past by them ye 31 June '72.
"4th. All former committees to continue the work committed to them Here-
tofore as to laying out high wayes &c.
"5th. That the order in Dedham Town Book referring to ye admitting of
Inhabitants made June 1 '66 be transcribed in this Town Book to be an order for
ye Town of Wrentham as to all intents & purposes therein Contayned.
"Per order of Gen Court."
(Signed by all the committee.)
The order referred to in the last paragraph related to "ye entertainment of
persons privately," and provided "That no inhabitant of ye Towne or tenant of
any house lands &c shall after due Publication hereof grant sell alienate lease
assigne sett or to farme lett any house lands or parcels of land whatsoever within
sayed Towne to any persons not formerly dwelling within our Towne nor shall
hire any out of ye town person for a servant by the years or any apprentice for
more than two months without leave of ye committee or select men without
Securitie for ye Towne's indemnitie as sayed Committee or Select men shall
accept. Notice shall be given of all such Contracts made or intended to be made
to some one of ye Committee or Select men & if not forbidden within a month
then the partie may proceed therein but if being forbidden he shall notwithstand-
ing proceed to contract or entertain contrary to this Order or shall fail to give
notice as above provided he shall for every month so continueing forfeit to the
use of ye Towne twenty shillings to be levied upon his good by ye Constable by
warrant from the Com'ttee or Select men or be recoverable by action at Law."
Such an order seems peculiar in these days, but the early settlers of Massa-
chusetts were careful to protect themselves from the presence of undesirable
citizens or sojourners, and regulations of this nature were adopted by practically
every town in the colony.
WRENTHAM VACATED
King Philip inaugurated his war upon the white settlements by his attack upon
Swanzey in June, 1675. At that time the inhabitants of Wrentham were few in
number and occupied a somewhat isolated position. Furthermore their settle-
ment lay directly in the trail from Mount Hope, where Philip had his headquarters,
to Medfield and was in constant danger. In an old record of the town is found
the following entry: "March ye 30, 1676, ye Inhabitants ware drawn of by rason
of ye Endian worre." After they were gone the savages came' into the town and
burned all the deserted dwellings but two, which, according to tradition, they
spared because they believed them to be infected with the smallpox.
Vol. 1—20
306 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
PERMANENT SETTLEMENT
In January, 1677, a meeting of the proprietors and those who were formerly
inhabitants of Wrentham was held and the latter were asked if "they would go
on to rebuild and inhabitt Wrentham.'' To this they replied with the following
written obligation :
"We whose names are hereunto subscribed haveing formerly had our residence
in Wrentham but by those sad and sollame dispensations of Gods Providence were
removed yet desire a worke for the honour of God & the good and Comfort of
our selves & ours might be again ingaged in and promotted att that Place. There-
fore our purpose is to returne thither God willing But knowing our owne inability
for so Great & Waytie a worke both in respectt of our insufficiency for the carry-
ing on of new Plantation worke & the dainger that may yet be renewed upon us by
ye heathins breaking out on us we thinke it not saffe for us to returne alone except
other of ye proprietors joyne to go up along with us or sende Inhabitants to ingage
in that worke with us. Subscribed by Elizear Metcalf Saml Fisher Daniell Haws
William Macknah Daniel Wight Elizear Gay Samuell Man Cornelius Fisher
Joseph Kingsbury Robert Ware John Aldis John Payne Benjn Rocket Nath Ware
'John Ware Michell Wilson Samuel Sheeres."
The proprietors gave a favorable answer to this appeal for a larger number ot
inhabitants and agreed to sell their interests to actual settlers in good faith. The
subscribers to the above document then returned to their homes, rebuilt their
houses, and in a short time were "joyned by a goodly number." Wrentham was
now permanently settled.
SOME FIRST THINGS
The first white child born in the town was Mehitable, daughter of Samuel and
Mary Sheers, who was born on February 1, 1668.
The first mill was authorized by the town in January, 1672, when it was
ordered that a grant for "a corn mille be made upon that stream that comes out of
ye ponde & runns into Charles River in the neerest convenient place to ye lower
end of ye ponde in Wollomonopoage & made fitte for work & doe grinde corn as
such a mille ought to doe before the first daye of Maye which shall be Anno 1673.
& be soe kept & attended that ye Inhabitants there be supplyed with good meale
from time to time of the corn they shall bring to mille."
A committee entered into a contract with Robert Crossman to build the mill,
but before he had completed it King Philip's war came on, so that the work was
delayed. In 1680 it was voted that if he did not speedily put his mill in repair the
inhabitants "will see out for the procuring of another mill." In 1685 the grant
formerly made to Crossman was conferred upon John Whiting.
The first meeting house was ordered in March, 1681, but it was not completed
for more than ten years after that date.
The first school was taught the winter of 1701. The records show that "con-
sidering the scarceness of money &c it is proposed that for this winter time ye
Select men & such others as will joyne in yt worke with them doe by them selves
or som others in their behalfe take their turns by ye week to keepe a school to
teach children & youth to read English & wright & cypher gratis & in hope that
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 307
som of Our neighbors will joyn with us in yt worke we Intend God willing to begin
next Monday." This record is dated December 19, 1701, and it is to be hoped
that those who "joyned" in the work were better spellers than the clerk who made
the above entry.
The first school house "twenty foot long and sixteen foot broad," was built in
1702.
The first bank was started in 1832 by Philo Sanford, Robert Blake and others.
THE TOWN DIVIDED
When Wrentham was incorporated on October 15, 1673, it embraced all the
present town of that name, the towns of Franklin and Plainville, and the greater
portions of Foxboro and Norfolk. Franklin was cut off on March 2, 1778; Fox-
boro, on the 10th of June the same year; Norfolk, February 23, 1870; and Plain-
ville, April 4, 1905, thus reducing Wrentham to its present dimensions.
WATERWORKS
On February 16, 1904, the governor of Massachusetts approved an act of the
Legislature authorizing the Town of Wrentham to provide a supply of water for
the inhabitants by driven, artesian or other wells, or to ''take by purchase or other-
wise and hold the water of any pond, stream or spring, or artesian or driven well
within the limits of said town," etc., and to borrow not exceeding $125,000, to be
repaid in annual payments, beginning five years after the first issue of bonds,
notes or scrip, the act to become effective when accepted by a vote of two-thirds
of the legal voters at a meeting called for that purpose within three years, not more
than two such meetings to be called in any one year.
The three years expired before the terms of the act had been accepted by the
required vote, and on April 13, 1907, an act was passed extending the time for
such acceptance to February 16, 1908. Not long after the passage of this act a
meeting was called and the necessary two-thirds vote was obtained. A loan was
effected and work was commenced upon the plant. The board of water commis-
sioners made their first annual report in 1908.
According to the report of the commissioners in 1916, there were then a little
over eleven miles of mains in use; total number of connections, 315; number of
gallons of water pumped during the year, 38,486,250; receipts for the year,
$5,991.32; operating expenses, $2,185.78; bonds outstanding on January 1, 1917,
$50,700. Extensions and new connections have been made every year since the
works were established, and with receipts more than double the operating expenses
it is evident that Wrentham will soon own its water plant unencumbered by debt
and its benefits will be extended to all parts of the town. The board of commis-
sioners at the beginning of the year 191 7 was composed of Edward P. Bennett.
Murray Winter and Dr. J. F. Jenckes.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
At the close of the year 1916 the board of fire engineers was made up of Rob-
ert A. Wood, George P. Francis, Murray Winter and George H. E. Mayshaw.
308 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
The last named was also forest fire warden. In their annual report for the year
they say: "The present equipment consists of one auto truck, one hose wagon,
one combination chemical wagon, one hose reel, one hand tub, 1,800 feet of hose
and one combination chemical wagon at Sheldonville."
The Pioneer Engine Company, located at Wrentham Village, numbers twenty-
five men, and the company at Sheldonville, in the western part of the town, ten
men. The cost of the department for the year was $1,422.76.
TOWN HALL
Samuel Warner, writing of Wrentham in 1883, says: "Some years since the
town erected a large and convenient building in Wrentham Village for the ac-
commodation of the high school and a grammar and primary school. It was also
provided with a spacious and convenient hall for the transaction of its public
business, and the town bade adieu to the vestry of the meeting house in which.
and its predecessors, it had held its town meetings for more than one hundred
and fifty years."
This building stands in a convenient location, facing the town common, and
is well adapted to the wants of the town. It was completed about 1874 and is
still in good condition.
soldiers' monument
On the common, diagonally across the street from the town hall, stands a
granite monument surmounted by the figure of an infantry soldier "at rest."
On the front of the pedestal is the inscription : "In memory of the brave men
of the army and navy who answered their country's call," and on the die below
the dates "1861-1865." On the reverse side of the pedestal is the simple state-
ment: "Erected by the Monument Association, 1915."
The erection of the monument is due to the efforts of an association of
Wrentham women, of which Mrs. Maria MacCorrison was president; Mrs. Cora
Pratt, vice president; Mrs. Gertrude B. Bean, secretary; Mrs. Catherine Morse,
treasurer. Through the efforts of these patriotic women and their associates,
the funds were raised to pay for the monument, which was dedicated on May
22, 191 5. Charles Moore, commander of George H. Maintien Post No. 133,
Grand Army of the Republic, presided at the dedication; music was furnished
by the Norwood Band ; the dedicatory address was delivered by Gen. Alfred S.
Roe ; and the monument was unveiled by Misses Edith Hittenger and Dorothy
M. Pierce. George P. Willard, chairman of the board of selectmen, accepted
the monument on behalf of the town in a few well chosen remarks. Addresses
were also delivered by Gen. Elisha N. Rhodes, past senior vice commander-in-
chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, and Charles E. Reed, commander of
the Sons of Veterans. Mrs. MacCorrison, president of the Monument Associa-
tion, presented the monument to the town.
MODERN WRENTHAM
Two hundred and forty years have passed since the first inhabitants of the
Town of Wrentham were forced to give up their homes to the torch of the
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 309
savage. Several volumes would be necessary to trace all the events that have
happened in connection with the town history during these two hundred and
forty years. Suffice it to say that the people of Wrentham no longer live in fear
of the scalping-knife and tomahawk of the painted Indian. The war-whoop has
given way to the hum of civilized industry; the Indian trail has broadened into
the improved highway ; the scream of the factory or locomotive whistle tells the
story of progress and development. Wrentham has a national bank, a number
of manufacturing establishments, the streets are lighted by electricity, mercantile
houses carry stocks of all lines of goods likely to be demanded by the citizens,
Catholic, Baptist, Congregational, Universalist and Episcopal churches afford
ample opportunities for the worship of God, and four public school buildings
bear witness to the fact that the people believe in educating their children. In
1910 the population numbered 1.743, and in 1915 it had increased to 2,414, a
gain of 671 in five years. According to the report of the board of assessors, the
valuation of property in 1916 was $1,651,333.
TOWN OFFICERS, I917
Following is a list of the principal town officials at the beginning of the year
1917: George P. Willard, Harrison V. Hall and George S. Sheldon, selectmen
and overseers of the poor; David T. Stone, clerk; James E. Carpenter, treasurer;
Wesley G. Dibble, tax collector ; Willard H. Bennett, George S. Sheldon and
Albertus J. Whiting, assessors ; Charles L. Eldridge and William A. Morse, high-
way surveyors ; Ernest A. Hall, Edwin F. Wood and Oliver J. Goodspeed, school
committee; Clarence A. Raymond, auditor; Fred L. Blatchford, Daniel S. Far-
rington and Hiram A. Cowell, park commissioners ; Edgar I. Blake, William
A. Morse, George H. E. Mayshaw, Frank E. Snow and Joseph P. Quirk,
constables.
CHAPTER XXXVII
THE REVOLUTION
NORFOLK COUNTY NOT IN EXISTENCE AT THE TIME OF THE WAR — EARLY CONDI-
TIONS IN THE COLONIES LOYALTY OF THE COLONISTS THE STAMP ACT THE
FILLAR OF LIBERTY THE BOSTON TEA PARTY THE BOSTON PORT BILL THE
SUFFOLK RESOLVES — WORK OF THE TOWNS — BELLINGHAM — BRAINTREE —
BROOKLINE COHASSET DEDHAM MEDFIELD MEDWAY MILTON
NEEDHAM STOUGHTON WALPOLE WEYMOUTH WRENTHAM.
Norfolk County, as such, did not come into existence until nearly ten years
after the close of the Revolution. At the beginning of that war, the territory
now comprising the county was all included in the County of Suffolk. The
organized towns then within the limits of that territory, and which were after-
ward taken to form Norfolk County, were as follows : Bellingham, Braintree,
Brookline, Cohasset, Dedham, Dorchester, Medfield, Medway, Milton, Need-
ham, Roxbury, Stoughton, Walpole, Weymouth and Wrentham. In 1778, while
the war was in progress, the towns of Franklin and Foxboro were incorporated,
and Sharon was established in February, 1783, a little more than six months
before the final treaty of peace.
EARLY CONDITIONS IN THE COLONIES
In the very beginning of English settlement in America, it was the radical
element that came across the sea to escape the persecutions of the conservatives —
that is, of those who were satisfied with conditions in the mother country. Once
here, these radicals sought charters which would give them control of their local
affairs. The British Government, "to keep them quiet," granted such charters
to several of the colonies. This was a mistake if the government expected or
intended to retain permanent control over the colonists. In establishing their
local governments, the town meeting became a prominent feature. In these town
meetings, all voters stood upon a perfect equality, each one being at liberty to
speak his sentiments fully and freely upon any question affecting the town's
welfare. Here v the measures of local government came up for consideration and
by the expressed will of the majority were enacted into laws. Here were chosen
the representatives to the General Court, who received from their constituents
detailed instructions as to the course to be pursued and were held to a strict
accountability. The members of the General Court were themselves of the
same class of men who so boldly and unhesitatingly expressed their opinions in
the town meeting. They knew the temper of their constituents, with whom
they must associate, while the royal government was far away across the
310
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 311
Atlantic. They realized, too, that any evasion, any shirking of responsibility,
would bring them into disfavor with their neighbors. As a rule, however, the
representatives in the General Court were actuated by the same spirit as their
fellow townsmen who elected them, and were governed by that spirit in the
discharge of their official duties.
Thomas Jefferson, writing to Samuel Kercheval under date of July 12, 1816,
took occasion to express his opinion of the town meeting as follows : "Those
wards, called townships in New England, are the vital principle of their govern-
ments, and have proved themselves the wisest invention ever devised by the wit
of man for the perfect exercise of self government and for its preservation."
And a more recent writer, James Bryce, in his American Commonwealth,
says: "Of the three of four types or systems of local government which I have
described, that of the town or township with its popular primary assembly is
admittedly the best. It is the cheapest and the most efficient ; it is the most
educative to the citizens who bear a part in it. The town meeting has been not
only the source, but the school of democracy."
What wonder, then, that under a system of local government of this nature,
where free speech was a fundamental, and where "every vote counted one," a
spirit of independence should develop that would resist oppression to the last ?
LOYALTY OF THE COLONISTS
Notwithstanding the liberality of their charters, the English colonists in
America remained loyal to the crown for more than a century and a half before
they openly rebelled against the policies of the home government. Even when
Sir Edmund Andros arrived in December, 1686, with a commission from King
James for the government of the New England colonies (except Connecticut)
and began to overturn the established order of things, the people remained loyal,
though they entered a vigorous protest against the proceedings of the new
governor. Previous to his coming the governor seldom interfered with the man-
agement of local matters; now, everything was made subject to the will of the
executive, who possessed a power under his commission that was almost absolute.
Town meetings except for the election of town officers were abolished. The
vote by ballot was rejected. None could leave the country without a special per-
mit. Heavy taxes were levied, which the people generally refused to pay. Writs
of habeas corpus were withheld and the laws of England denied to the citizens
of the colonies. Oaths were administered upon the Bible, which caused a serious
objection on the part of the Puritans. Personal liberty and established customs
were disregarded. Indian deeds to the land were pronounced worthless, and
old grants must be renewed at high rate of fees ; grants made under the charter
being declared void by its forfeiture. All commons and lands reserved for the
common people were given to favorites. Finally a petition to the king was pre-
pared and Increase Mather was on his way to England with it, when the rebellion
of 1688 broke the power of James and with his power went that of his rulers in
the colonies.
The tyrannical methods of Governor Andros marked the beginning of a series
of important events that had a significant bearing upon the political fortunes of
New England. But after his administration came to its untimely end, the people
312 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
returned to their allegiance. In April, 1690, at the time of King William's war,
the expedition of Sir William Phipps against Port Royal was fitted out in Massa-
chusetts. Later in the same year an expedition was planned against Quebec,
in which Sir William Phipps was to command the fleet and Governor Winthrop
lead the land forces, but it failed owing to the lateness of the season. In Queen
Anne's war (1702-1713), in King George's war (1744-1748), and in the French
and Indian war (1756-1763), the colonists fought on the side of England. Says
Barber: "The final reduction of Canada in 1760 caused great and universal re-
joicing in the colonies and public thanksgivings were appointed."
THE STAMP ACT
George III began his reign on October 25, 1760. He has been described as
"narrow-minded, self-willed, jealous of his royal prerogatives, envious of others'
greatness and resentful of all difference from his wishes on any public measure
as a personal offense to the King."
After the close of the French and Indian war, the British Parliament, urged
on by the new king, formed a plan for raising a revenue by taxing the colonies.
The first act of this nature was passed and received the royal assent on March
22, 1765. It was known as the "Stamp Act," for the reason that it laid a duty
upon all paper, vellum or parchment used in America, and provided that all
deeds, contracts, etc., written upon unstamped paper should be null and void.
Immediately the storm broke. The Virginia Assembly, then in session, declared
its opposition in a series of spirited resolutions; the Sons of Liberty, an organiza-
tion to resist the act, sprang into existence ; in Boston some of the houses of
those who upheld the measure were demolished by an indignant populace; mer-
chants banded themselves together in a pledge to import no more goods from
England until the obnoxious law was repealed, and in various other ways the
opposition to the act was made manifest.
It remained for Massachusetts to crystallize the general discontent into some-
thing like coherent form. That colony sent out a call to the other colonists to
send delegates to a convention in New York in October, to determine upon a
policy to be followed by all the English colonies affected by the Stamp Act.
At the appointed time delegates from nine colonies met and declared in language
that could not be misconstrued that the Stamp Act was an infringement upon
the rights of freemen. The convention adopted a "declaration of rights and
grievances," prepared a petition to the king and a memorial to each house of
Parliament asking for the immediate repeal of the act. Through the influence
of William Pitt and other friends of the colonists, the act was repealed on
March 18, 1766, four days less than one year from the time of its enactment.
THE PILLAR OF LIBERTY
On the corner of the Green, at the junction of Court and High streets in the
Town of Dedham, is a square block of granite about four feet in height, which
was once the 'pedestal of the "Pillar of Liberty," the history of which is told
by the inscriptions it bears. On the east side of the stone, next to Court street,
is a bronze tablet bearing the legend: "This stone was first placed near this
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 315
spot July 22, 1766. It supported a wooden column surmounted by a bust of
William Pitt. Both column and bust disappeared about the close of the last
century. The stone was removed from the opposite corner in 1886."
The opposite corner referred to was the corner of the courthouse lot, where
the stone was placed in 1828 by the citizens of the town, being then taken from
the corner of the Common, near the place where it stands today. Facing High
street is the following inscription carved in the stone, some of the letters blurred
by time : "The Pillar of Liberty to the honor of William Pitt, Esqr., and others,
Patriots, who saved America from impending slavery and confirmed our most
loyal affection to King George III by procuring a repeal of the Stamp Act, 18th
March, 1766.
"Erected here July 22, 1766, by Dr. Nathaniel Ames (2nd) Col. Ebenezer
Battle, Major Abijah Draper and other patriots friendly to the rights of the
Colonies at that day.
"Replaced by the Citizens, July 4, 1828."
On the west side of the stone is the inscription : "The Pillar of Liberty
erected by the Sons of Liberty in this vicinity. Laus Deo Regii et Immunitat m
autoribusq maxime Patronus Pitt qui Rempub. rursum evulsit faucibus Orei."
The men who erected this monument in the first place, like the wooden column
and bust of Pitt, have long since passed from the stage of action. But for more
than a century and a half the old stone has stood as an eloquent testimony of the
lofty sentiments that animated the patriots of 1766 in so boldly resisting the first
attempt at oppression on the part of the British crown.
THE BOSTON TEA PARTY
As a means of raising revenue, the Stamp Act was a failure, hardly enough
being realized to cover the expenses of the attempts at its enforcement. In
repealing it the British ministry still insisted upon the right to tax the colonies,
and in 1767 the Parliament passed an act laying duties upon glass, painters'
colors, paper and tea. The duties were purposely made light, in the hope that
the colonists would pay them without protest, but the Stamp Act had concen-
trated opposition to the principle of "taxation without representation," and no
duty, however small, was likely to be paid willingly.
Again the merchants of Massachusetts entered into a compact to import no
goods upon which duties were charged. A circular letter was sent to the other
colonies, urging similar action, and in nearly every instance it met with friendly
support. Colonial assemblies joined in the opposition and sent petitions and
remonstrances to the king and to Parliament, which resulted in all the duties
being abolished except the tax of three pence a pound on tea. In many of the
towns the citizens pledged themselves to use no imported tea until the hated tax
was removed. Thus matters stood until December, 1773. Early in that month
three vessels laden with tea arrived at Boston. The commanders of these ships
were summoned before the citizens' committee, composed of Samuel Adams,
Jonathan Williams, John Rowe, William Phillips, John Hancock and John Pitts,
and warned not to land any of the tea, but to take their vessels to Griffin's wharf
and there await further orders. On the afternoon of the 16th a meeting was
held in Faneuil Hall, attended by about two thousand men from all parts of the
314 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
country about Boston, to determine what course should be pursued relative to
sending the tea back to England. A few minutes before six o'clock the captain
of one of the vessels appeared in the hall and announced that the governor would
not grant a permit for him to take his ship back to England until it was regu-
larly cleared. What followed this announcement is thus told in Snow's History
of Boston :
"A violent commotion immediately ensued. A person who was in the gallery,
disguised after the manner of the Indians, shouted at this juncture the cry of
war; it was answered by about thirty persons, disguised in like manner, at the
door. The meeting was dissolved in the twinkling of an eye. The multitude
rushed to Griffin's wharf. The disguised Indians went on board the ships laden
with the tea. In less than two hours 240 chests and 100 half chests were staved
and emptied in to the dock. The affair was conducted without any tumult ; no
damage was done to the vessels or to any other effects whatever. This was exe-
cuted in the presence of several ships of war lying in the harbor, and almost under
the guns of the castle, where there was a large body of troops at the command of
the commissioners. We are left to conjecture for the reasons why no opposition
was made to this bold adventure. The names of the men who dared to engage in
it have never been made public."
This affair has become known in history as the "Boston Tea Party." Although,
as Snow says, the names of the disguised patriots were never made public, it is
known that James Stoddard of Cohasset, a son of Gen. Joseph Palmer of Brain-
tree, and probably others from what is now Norfolk County were among those
who emptied the tea into the harbor. "They had the honor of a part in the act
which brought the king and Parliament to a decision that America must be sub-
dued by force of arms," and four regiments of British soldiers were ordered to
Boston.
THE BOSTON PORT BILL
To punish the citizens of Boston for their temerity in destroying the tea, or
for their failure to prevent its destruction, Parliament in March, 1774, passed the
act known as the "Boston Port Bill," which prohibited all maritime intercourse
with that town and removed the custom house and all the public offices to Salem.
While the act had the effect of preventing vessels from foreign ports from enter-
ing the harbor, it could not keep the small schooners, shallops, fishing smacks,
etc., from coming in, and these were kept busy bringing supplies from all the coast
towns of New England, the people of which cheerfully sent large donations to the
Boston people.
Three other obnoxious measures were passed about this time: 1. The "Mas-
sachusetts Bill." which changed the charter of the colony, taking the government
from the people and giving it to the king's agents ; 2. The "Transportation Bill,"
which provided that any citizen of the colonies who might commit murder in re-
sisting the laws should be sent to England for trial ; 3. The "Quebec Act," an-
nexing all the territory north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi rivers to
Canada. The effect of these acts was to cement the people of the colonies more
closely together in their determination to resist the encroachments of the crown.
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 315
The slogan "No taxation without representation," was now changed to "No legis-
lation without representation."
THE SUFFOLK RESOLVES
On May 13, 1774, Thomas Gage arrived in Boston, accompanied by more
troops and armed with a commission as Captain-General and Governor, to enforce
the laws above mentioned. Events now moved rapidly. Not long after General
Gage's arrival, invitations were secretly sent to all the towns in Suffolk County to
choose delegates to a meeting to consider the state of the colonies and decide upon
some concerted plan of action. The first meeting of these delegates was held at
Doty's Tavern, in what is now the Town of Canton, on August 16, 1774. Dele-
gates from every town in the county were present and the meeting has become
known as the "Suffolk Congress." A second meeting of the congress was held at
Woodward's Tavern in Dedham, September 6, 1774, the day following the as-
sembling of the first Continental Congress at Philadelphia. An adjournment was
taken to the 9th, when the delegates again met, this time at the house of Daniel
Vose, in the Town of Milton, where the famous "Suffolk Resolves" were unani-
mously adopted. As these resolves show the all prevailing sentiment of that day,
and as they originated in what is now Norfolk County, nearly two years before
the Declaration of Independence, they form an important part of the county's
history and are here reproduced in full :
"Whereas, the power but not the justice, the vengeance but not the wisdom,
of Great Britain, which of old persecuted, scourged and exiled our fugitive par-
ents from their native shores, now pursues us, their guiltless children, with unre-
lenting severity ; and whereas, this then savage and uncultivated desert was pur-
chased by the toil and treasure, or acquired by the valor and blood of those of our
venerable progenitors, who bequeathed to us the dear-bought inheritance, who con-
signed it to our care and protection — the most sacred obligations are upon us to
transmit the glorious purchase, unfettered by power, unclogged with shackles, to
our innocent and beloved offspring. On the fortitude, on the wisdom, and on the
exertions of this important day is suspended the fate of this New World and of un-
born millions. If a boundless extent of continent, swarming with millions, will tame-
ly submit to live, move and have their being at the arbitrary will of a licentious min-
ister, they basely yield to volunteer slavery, and future generations shall load their
memories with incessant execrations. On the other hand, if we arrest the hand
which would ransack our pockets ; if we disarm the parricide who points the
dagger at our bosoms; if we nobly defeat that fatal edict which proclaims a power
to frame laws for us in all cases whatsoever, thereby entailing the endless and num-
berless curses of slavery upon us, our heirs, and their heirs forever ; if we suc-
cessfully resist that unconstitutional power, whereby our capital is robbed of the
means of life ; whereby the streets of Boston are thronged with military execu-
tioners ; whereby our coasts are lined and our harbors crowded with ships of war;
whereby the charter of the colony, that sacred barrier against the encroachments of
tyranny, is mutilated, and in effect annihilated ; whereby a murderous law is
framed to shelter villains from the hand of justice ; whereby that inalienable and
inestimable inheritance, which we derived from nature, the constitution of Britain,
which was covenanted to us in the charter of the province, is totally wrecked,
316 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
annulled and vacated — posterity will acknowledge that virtue which preserved
the free and happy; and while we enjoy the rewards and blessings of the faithful,
the torrent of panegyric will roll down our reputations to the latest period, where
the streams of time shall be absorbed in the abyss of eternity. Therefore we
have resolved, and do resolve :
"i. That whereas His Majesty King George the Third is the rightful suc-
cessor to the throne of Great Britain, and justly entitled to the allegiance of the
British realm, and, agreeable to compact of the English colonies in America —
therefore we, the heirs and successors of the first planters of the colony, do cheer-
fully acknowledge the said George the Third to be our rightful sovereign, and
that said covenant is the tenure and claim on which are founded our allegiance
and submission.
"2. That it is an indispensable duty which we owe to God, our country, our-
selves and our posterity, by all lawful ways and means in our power, to maintain,
defend and preserve these civil and religious rights and liberties for which many
of our fathers fought, bled and died, and to hand them down entire to future
generations.
"3. That the late acts of the British Parliament for blocking up the harbor
of Boston, and for altering the established form of government in this colony ;
and for screening the most flagitious violators of the laws of the province from a
legal trial, are gross infractions of those rights to which we are justly entitled
by the laws of nature, the British Constitution and the charter of the province.
"4. That no obedience is due from this province to either or any part of
the acts above mentioned ; but that they be rejected as the attempts of a wicked ad-
ministration to enslave America.
"5. That so long as the justices of our superior courts of judicature, court
of assize and general gaol delivery, and inferior courts of common pleas in this
county are appointed or hold their places by any other tenure than that which the
charter and the laws of the province direct, they must be considered as under
undue influence and are therefore unconstitutional officers, and as such no regard
ought to be paid to them by the people of this country.
"6. That if the justices of the superior court of judicature, court of assize,
etc., justices of the court of common pleas, or of the general sessions of the peace,
shall sit and act during their present unqualified state, this country will support
and bear harmless all sheriffs and their deputies, constables, jurors and other
officers who shall refuse to carry into execution the orders of said courts. And
as far as is possible to prevent the inconveniences that must attend the suspension
of the courts of justice, we do earnestly recommend it to all creditors to exercise
all reasonable and generous forbearance to their debtors, and to all debtors to dis-
charge their just debts with all possible speed; and if any disputes concerning
debts or trespasses shall arise, which cannot be settled by the parties, we recom-
mend it to them to submit all such cases to arbitration ; and if the parties, or either
of them shall refuse to do so, they ought to be considered as cooperating with the
enemies of this country.
"7. That it be recommended to the collectors of taxes, constables and all
other officers who have public moneys in their hands, to retain the same, and not
to make any payment thereof to the province or county treasurers, until the civil
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 317
government of the province is placed upon a constitutional foundation, or until
it shall be otherwise ordered by the proposed Provincial Congress.
"8. That the persons who have accepted seats at the Council Board by virtue
of a mandamus from the King in conformity with the last Act of the British
Parliament, entitled 'An Act for the regulating the Government of the Massa-
chusetts Bay,' have acted in direct violation of the duty they owe to the country,
and have thereby given great and just offence to this people. Therefore,
"Resolved, That this county do recommend it to all persons who have [been]
so highly offending by accepting said department, and have not already publicly re-
signed their seats in the Council Board, to make public resignation of their places
at said Board on or before the twentieth day of this instant September ; and that
all persons neglecting so to do shall from and after that day be considered by this
county as obstinate and incorrigible enemies of this colony.
"9. That the fortifications begun and now carrying on upon Boston Neck
are justly alarming to this country, and give us reason to apprehend some hostile
intention against that town, more especially as the commander-in-chief has in a
very extraordinary manner removed the powder from the magazine at Charles-
town, and has also forbidden the keeper of the magazine at Boston to deliver out to
the owners the powder which they lodged in said magazine.
"10. That the late act of Parliament for establishing the Roman Catholic
religion and the French laws in that extensive country now called Canada is dan-
gerous to an extreme degree to the Protestant religion, and to the civil rights and
liberties of all America ; and therefore as men and Protestant Christians we are
indispensably obliged to take all proper measures for our security.
"11. That whereas our enemies have flattered themselves that they shall
make an easy prey of this numerous brave and hardy people from an apprehension
that they are unacquainted with military discipline, we therefore, for the honor,
defence and security of this country and province, advise, as it has been recom-
mended to take away all commissions from the officers of the militia, that those
who now hold commissions, Qr such other persons, be elected in each town as
officers in the militia, as shall be judged of sufficient capacity for that purpose, and
who have evidenced themselves the inflexible friends to the rights of the people ;
and that the inhabitants of those towns and districts who are qualified do use their
utmost diligence to acquaint themselves with the arts of war as soon as possible,
and do for that purpose appear under arms at least once every week.
"12. That during the present hostile appearances on the part of Great Britain,
notwithstanding the many insults and impressions which we must sensibly resent,
yet, nevertheless, from an affection to His Majesty, which we have at all times
evidenced, we are determined to act merely upon the defensive, so long as such
conduct may be vindicated by reason and the principles of self-preservation, but
no longer.
"13. That as we understand it has been in contemplation to apprehend sundry
persons of this country, who have rendered themselves conspicuous in contending
for the violated rights and liberties of their countrymen, we do recommend, that
should such an audacious measure be put into practice, to seize and keep in safe
custody every servant of the present tyrannical and unconstitutional government
throughout the country and province, until the persons so apprehended are lib-
318 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
erated from the hands of our adversaries and restored safe and uninjured to
their respective friends and families.
"14. That until our rights are fully restored to us, we will to the utmost of
our power (and recommend the same to other counties) withhold all commercial
intercourse with Great Britain, Ireland and the West Indies, and abstain from the
consumption of British merchandise and manufacture, and especially of East
India teas and piece goods, with such additions, alterations and exceptions only
as the Grand Congress of the colonies may agree to.
"15. That under our present circumstances it is incumbent on us to encourage
arts and manufactures amongst us by all means in our power ; and that Joseph Pal-
mer, Esq., of Braintree; Mr. Ebenezer Dorr of Roxbury; Mr. James Bois and Mr.
Edward Preston of Milton ; and Mr. Nathaniel Guild of Walpole, be and hereby
are appointed a committee to consider of the best ways and means to promote and
establish the same, and report to this convention as soon as may be.
"16. That the exigencies of our public affairs demand that a Provincial
Congress be called to concert such measures as may be adopted and vigorously exe-
cuted by the whole people ; and we do recommend it to the several towns in this
county to choose members for such a Provincial Congress to be holden in Concord
on the second Tuesday of October next ensuing.
"17. That this county confiding in the wisdom and integrity of the Continental
Congress now sitting at Philadelphia, will pay all due respect and submission to
such measures as may be recommended by them to the colonies, for the restoration
and establishment of our just rights, civil and religious, and for renewing that har-
mony and union between Great Britain and the colonies so earnestly wished for
by all good men.
"18. Whereas, the universal uneasiness which prevails among all orders of
men, arising from the wicked and oppressive measures of the present administra-
tion, may influence some unthinking persons to commit outrage upon private prop-
erty, we would heartily recommend to all persons of this community not to engage
in any riots, routs or licentious attacks upon the properties of any person whatso-
ever, as being subversive of all order and government, but, by a steady, manly, uni-
form and persevering opposition to convince our enemies, that in a contest so im-
portant, in a cause so solemn, our conduct shall be such as shall merit the approba-
tion of the wise and the admiration of the brave and free of every age and of
every country.
"19. That should our enemies by any sudden manoeuvers, render it necessary
for us to ask aid and assistance of our brethren in the country, some one of the
committee of correspondence, or a select man of such a town, or the town adjoin-
ing where such hostilities shall commence, shall despatch couriers with written
messages to the select men or committee of correspondence of the several towns
in the vicinity, with a written account of such matter, who shall despatch others
to committees or select men more remote till proper and sufficient assistance be
obtained; and that the expense of said couriers be defrayed by the county until it
shall be otherwise ordered by the Provincial Congress.
"Voted that Joseph Warren, Esq., and Dr. Benjamin Church of Boston; Dea-
con Joseph Palmer and Colonel Ebenezer Thayer of Braintree ; Captain Lemuel
Robinson, William Holden, Esq., and Captain John Homans of Dorchester; Capt.
William Heath of Roxbury; Colonel William Taylor and Dr. Samuel Gardner of
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 319
Milton; Isaac Gardner, Esq., Capt. Benjamin White and Capt. Thomas Aspinwall
of Brookline; Nathaniel Sumner, Esq., and Richard Woodward of Dedham — be
a committee to wait on His Excellency the Governor, to inform him that this
country is alarmed at the fortifications making on Boston Neck, and to remon-
strate against the same, and the repeated insults offered by the soldiery to per-
sons passing and repassing into that town; and to confer with him upon those
subjects.
"Attest: William Thompson, Clerk."
WORK OF THE TOWNS
At the time of the adoption of these resolves, the organized towns within
the present limits of Norfolk County were Bellingham, Braintree, Brookline,
Cohasset, Dedham, Medfield, Medway, Milton, Needham, Stoughton, Walpole,
Weymouth and Wrentham. The action of the Suffolk Congress in adopting the
resolutions encouraged the people in their determination to resist to the utmost
further encroachments upon their liberties. Military companies were formed in
almost every town. They were known as "Minute Men," because the members
pledged themselves to drop their peaceful occupations and take up arms ''at a
minute's warning." The time to answer the call came much sooner than many
of them anticipated, but not one failed at the crucial moment.
Bellingham began her activities on September 2, 1774, when delegates were
chosen to attend the meeting of the Suffolk Congress to be held at Woodward's
Tavern in Dedham on the 6th, and voted the sum of five pounds for the pur-
chase of ammunition. On the 30th of the same month Luke Holbrook was chosen
as delegate to the Provincial Congress to meet at Concord the following month.
On the 19th of December the town voted to appropriate seven pounds more to
the ammunition fund and elected Stephen Metcalf the congressional delegate
for February. At a town meeting in January, 1775, a motion was made to appro-
priate a sum of money to "pay those men ready to go at a minute's warning,"
but it failed to pass. On April 25, 1775, six days after the battle of Lexington,
the town voted unanimously in favor of giving a bounty of £1 5s to every mem-
ber of the "town's share of the 13,600 men to be enlisted, if Congress does not
give it." From that time forward Bellingham was represented on the firing line,
no fewer than ninety-three of her sons serving in the Continental army.
Braintree was a hotbed of rebellion. There Gen. Joseph Palmer was a leader
in the opposition to British oppression. At a meeting held on March 1, 1773,
more than two years before the actual beginning of the war, he submitted a
series of resolutions, one of which was "That all taxation, by what name soever
called, imposed upon us without our consent by any earthly power, is unconsti-
tutional, oppressive, and tend to enslave us."
General Palmer was one of the committee named in the Suffolk Resolves to
wait upon the governor and remonstrate against the fortification of Boston Neck.
He, with Ebenezer Thayer and Capt. William Penniman, was appointed on the
committee of correspondence in August, 1774. The North Precinct (now
Ouincy) was full of tories. Near the Church of England the town's supply of
powder was stored in a small house built for the purpose. When General Gage,
about the 1st of September, 1774, seized the ammunition at Charlestown, the
320 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
people of Braintree grew alarmed for the safety of their powder. On Sunday
evening, September 4, 1774, about two hundred men marched to the powder-
house, loaded the powder into a cart and took it to the South Precinct, where it
was concealed until it might be needed.
A town meeting on April 24, 1775, instructed the selectmen "to dismiss Mr.
Rice their Cramer Schoolmaster as soon as their present Engagements are ex-
pired." The reason for this action was to save the money expended on the
school for the purchase of ammunition and the payment of volunteers. Mr.
Rice afterward became captain of a company.
On Saturday, June 17, 1775, the day of the battle of Bunker Hill, the roar
of cannon from the British men-of-war, as they shelled the breastworks that
had been thrown up the night before, could be distinctly heard in Quincy. Mrs.
John Adams, accompanied by her son, John Quincy Adams, went to the top
of Penn's Hill, hoping to ascertain what was going on in the vicinity of Boston.
The great volume of black smoke that arose from burning Charlestown could
be plainly seen. A cairn of stones marks the spot where the mother and child
sat to watch afar the first great battle of the War for Independence.
In June, 1777, a Braintree town meeting was called "for the purpose of agree-
ing upon a list of those Persons dwelling in Braintree who are esteamed Inimical
to the popular Cause." This was the first pronounced action against the tories
of the town. The selectmen presented the names of Rev. Edward Winslow,
Maj. Ebenezer Miller, Benjamin Cleverly, Joseph Cleverly, James Apthorp, John
Cheesman, William Veazie, Nedabiah Bent and Oliver Gay. To this list the
meeting added the names of Henry Cleverly, Joseph Cleverly (2nd), William
Veazie, Jr., and Thomas Brackett. Capt. William Penniman was chosen to
procure evidence of their disloyalty and lay it before the court. Mr. Winslow
followed the British army to New York. The other proscribed citizens, if they
still retained their tory views, were careful not to give them voice. Subsequently
some property in the town, belonging to non-resident tories, was seized and sold.
One piece of this confiscated property was the old Vassall house, which was
bought by John Adams, and from which he was buried in 1826.
Says Charles Francis Adams: "Between the years 1775 and 1782, as nearly
as can now be estimated, Braintree sent into the field about 550 men, enlisted
for periods of six months or over. The number of men, as well as the length
of enlistment, varied with the different years. In 1775, for instance, besides
the militia to guard the coast, the town sent not less than 150 men, enlisted to
the close of the year, into Washington's army about Boston. In 1776 about 120
men were furnished. In 1777 some seventy were enlisted for three years. In
no year were less than forty sent, except in 1781, when the enlistment appears
to have been for four months only. Under this system the same men in the
course of a seven years' war may have enlisted several times. It is therefore
impossible even to estimate the portion of Braintree's 650 arms-bearing men who
actually served in the Continental army, though it is probably safe to say that
the number did not fall below 300."
Brookline placed herself on record as early as December 15, 1767, soon after
Parliament levied the tax on tea, a town meeting voted unanimously "That this
Town will take all prudent and Legal Measures to promote Industry Occonimy
& Manufactures in this Province & in any of the British American Colonys &
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 321
will like wise take all Legal Measures to discourage the Use of European
Superfluities."
The "Superfluities" referred to were the articles subjected to taxation. Wil-
liam Hyslop, Benjamin White, Isaac Gardner, John Goddard and Samuel Aspin-
wall were chosen as a committee "to prepare a form for subscription against
Receiving of those European Superfluities and make report at the Adjournment
of this meeting." The report was made on the 29th and a number of the citizens
signed the agreement not to use tea until the offensive tax was removed. Be-
tween 1772 and 1774 several town meetings passed resolutions and appointed
committees to act with the other towns of the province in resistance to British
aggression. On November 17, 1774, the "Bill of Rights" submitted by the first
Continental Congress to the colonies was passed unanimously, and on May 29,
1775, Capt. Benjamin White was elected delegate to the Provincial Congress to
be held at Watertown.
When the "Lexington Alarm" was sounded through the Massachusetts towns
on April 19, 1775, two companies from Brookline responded. One was officered
by Capt. Timothy Corey, First Lieut. Thomas Cummings, Second Lieut. Jonas
Johnson, and the other by Capt. Thomas White, First Lieut. Caleb Craft, Second
Lieut. Daniel White. Lieutenant Craft afterward commanded a company of
militia on Dorchester Heights from July 4 to 28, 1778, the company forming
part of Colonel Macintosh's regiment. The companies commanded by Captains
Pettengill, Childs and Coggswell also contained a number of Brookline men.
Cohasset was some distance from the "seat of war," but the people were
just as determined in their course as those who dwelt nearer to Boston. On
March 7, 1774, it was voted to build a closet in the meeting house for ammuni-
tion. On Christmas day of that year a committee of eleven was chosen as recom-
mended by the Continental Congress. Jesse Stephenson was chairman of the
committee. At the same time it was voted to pay the province tax to Henry
Gardner instead of Harrison Gray, and to indemnify the selectmen and constables
for so doing. On April 28, 1775, an appropriation was made to buy one hundred
pounds of gunpowder and five hundred flints.
In actual military service Capt. Job Cushing's Cohasset company was attached
to Colonel Revere's regiment; Captain Stowers commanded a company that was
engaged in guarding the coast ; Capt. Noah Nichols commanded a company of
artillery, nearly all the members of which came from Cohasset; Maj. James
Stoddard was one of the "Boston Tea Party," and afterward led the attacking
party that captured a British brig becalmed off the Cohasset shore, laden with
supplies for the British troops in Boston ; Joseph Bates was in the battle of
Bunker Hill and after his ammunition was exhausted was seen throwing stones
at the English troops as they swarmed over the breastworks ; and the name of
Benjamin Lincoln has been handed down in history as one of the heroes of the
Revolution.
Dedham, which then included several of the adjacent towns that have been
incorporated since the Revolution, heard the news of the Lexington affair about
nine o'clock on the morning of April 19, 1775. The messenger came through
Needham and Dover, probably for the reason that the more direct routes were
held by the enemy. Six companies of minute men were quickly assembled,
to-wit : Capt. Joseph Guild's and Capt. Aaron Fuller's of the First Parish ;
Vol. 1—21
322 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
Capt. William Ellis', of the Third Parish; Capt. William Bullard's, from the
South Parish (now Norwood) ; Capt. Ebenezer Battle's, from the Fourth Parish
(now Dover) ; and a company of seventeen men commanded by Capt. George
Gould, with Richard Woodward as lieutenant, went from that part of the town
known as Dedham Island, and West Roxbury. After a hurried march Captain
Fuller's company and Captain Battle's company met the British as they were
retreating toward Boston. In the action which followed, Elias Haven was killed
and Israel Everett was wounded. The former belonged to Captain Battle's com-
pany and the latter to Captain Fuller's.
During the month following, companies of soldiers from the southerly parts
of the province and from Rhode Island were constantly passing through Dedham
to join the Continental army about Boston. Toward the end of April some of
the provincial cannon were removed to Dedham to be out of reach of the enemy.
In May the town voted to raise 120 men, "to be ready to march on an alarm."
Committees were appointed to procure guns and ammunition, a night watch was
established, and the great gun of King Philip's war was ordered "to be swung."
Ebenezer Brackett was detailed to guard the cannon.
On May 27, 1776, six weeks before the adoption of the Declaration of
Independence by the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, a Dedham town meet-
ing declared that "if the Honourable Congress shall see fit to declare the Colonies
Independent of Great Britain the Inhabitants of this town will solemnly engage
to Support them in that Measure."
In July, 1776, the town voted a bounty of seven pounds to each soldier in
addition to the other wages, and a committee was chosen to provide for soldiers'
families needing assistance. In February, 1777, the bounty was increased to
twenty-four pounds for each man who would enlist for three years or during
the war. In 1778 the First Parish imposed a tax of £4,480 upon the inhabitants
for military purposes, and in 1779 another assessment of £8,000 was made
"towards defraying the expense of hiring soldiers." Worthington, in his
History of Dedham, estimates the annual expenditures of the town during the
war at about eight thousand dollars. Thus it will be seen that from start to
finish Dedham bore her part, both in men and money.
Medfield's revolutionary activity began with the passage of the Stamp Act
in 1765. Seth Clark, then the representative in the General Court, received
instructions not to "give acquiescence, or even a willing submission to the acts
of Parliament." The instructions close with the injunction to "honor the king,
but save the country."
In 1774 the town adopted the agreement and articles of the Continental
Congress and ordered the resolutions to be entered on the town records. During
the years 1774-75 meetings were held by adjournment from week to week, a
committee of correspondence of five members was chosen, one-fourth of the able-
bodied men were enrolled as minute men and were paid for the time spent in
drilling — three half days each week. When the news of the battle of Lexington
reached Medfield, Capt. Sabin Mann and his company of twenty-seven marched
to the field and were in service for twelve days. In all, eighty-two Medfield
men responded to the Lexington Alarm. Captain Chenery marched for Bunker
Hill when it was learned that a battle was on there. He arrived too late to be
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 323
of service on that eventful day, but he and his company served in the siege of
Boston.
Medway was not behind her sister towns in giving expression to sentiments
in opposition to the Stamp Act and those other acts of Parliament which fol-
lowed it. Elisha Adams, the representative, received similar instructions to those
sent from Medfield to Seth Clark. In January, 1775, an appropriation of thirty
pounds was made "to encourage the enlisting of a number of able-bodied men
to the number of one-fourth of the military soldiers to complete and hold them-
selves in readiness to march at shortest notice."
In this company of minute men Joshua Gould was a lieutenant. A full list
of Medway's volunteers cannot be given, but she did her share, both in creating
patriotic sentiment and fighting the battles of the colonies.
Milton was one of the first towns to go on record in opposition to the Stamp
Act. On October 24, 1765, Dr. Samuel Gardner, Benjamin Wadsworth and
Jazaniah Tucker were chosen a committee to draw up instructions to Stephen
Miller, the town's representative in the General Court. The instructions are
too long to be reproduced here, but they voiced in no uncertain language the
town's opposition to an act that made the colonists "as distant from the liberty
of Englishmen as are the slaves in Turkey." Mr. Miller was also instructed to
"discountenance as far as lies in your power the late horrible outrages that have
been committed in the town of Boston, and that you use your utmost endeavors
that the Offenders may be found out and brought to Justice," etc.
It was in the Town of Milton that the Suffolk Resolves were adopted. In
June, 1774, three months before the adoption of the resolves, a town meeting
in Milton appointed a committee to "consider and determine upon some proper
measures for this town to come into respecting the situation of public affairs."
Capt. David Rawson, Ralph Houghton, Amariah Blake, Oliver Vose, Joseph
Clapp, Dr. Samuel Gardner and Samuel Henshaw, Jr., constituted the com-
mittee. The report — an address to the people and a series of resolutions — was
submitted to an adjourned meeting on July 25, 1774, "and was unanimously
agreed to." One of the resolutions was : "That we will unite with our Brethren,
'The Sons of Freedom in America,' in any proper Measures that may be adopted
to defeat the late Cruel and Oppressive acts of the British Parliament respecting
America and this Distressed Province in Particular, to extirpate the idea of
Tyranizing which is so fondly Fostered in the bosoms of those in Power and to
secure to our selves and to Posterity our invaluable Rights and Priviledges."
In the General Court, in the Suffolk Congress, in the Provincial Congress
and on the field, Milton men were to be found doing their full duty, never falter-
ing until the American colonies were forever freed from the British yoke.
In Needham three companies of minute men had been organized prior to
the battle of Lexington. They were respectively commanded by Capt. Caleb
Kingsbury, Capt. Aaron Smith and Capt. Robert Smith. The first numbered
forty men, the second seventy, and the third seventy-five. About eight o'clock
on the morning of April 19, 1775, a messenger (tradition says he was bare-
headed) rode through Needham on his way to Dover and Dedham, carrying the
news of the battle of Lexington. Ephraim Bullard, who kept a tavern on the
Sherborn road, went to the top of a hill near by and fired his musket three times
as a signal for the minute men to assemble. Fires were made in the house,
324 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
women assisted in moulding bullets and preparing rations for the men, and as
fast as they could be supplied they started for the scene of the conflict.
The Needham companies encountered the British at West Cambridge, and
lost no time in getting into action. First Lieut. John Bacon, Amos Mills and
Nathaniel Chamberlain, of Captain Kingsbury's company were killed, and Sec-
ond Lieut. Eleazer Kingsbury was wounded. Capt. Robert Smith's company
lost Sergt. Elisha Mills and Jonathan Parker killed, and John Tolman, wounded.
Throughout the war Needham sustained her reputation for patriotism and
loyalty to the cause of the colonists. Committees of correspondence and public
safety were appointed from time to time, large sums of money for that period
were raised to pay troops and provide for soldiers' families, and in every possible
way measures were adopted to aid in a successful prosecution of the war. Col.
William Mcintosh, a Needham man, was commissioned colonel of the first
regiment of militia in the County of Suffolk on February 14, 1776, and served
to the close of the conflict. Washington commended him as "a good officer
and a brave man."
At the time of the Revolution, Stoughton included the towns of Canton,
Sharon and a large part of Foxboro. On September 26, 1774, Thomas Crane
was elected representative to the General Court and instructed "to adhere firmly
to the Charter of the Province as granted by their Majestys William and Mary
& to do no act acknowledging the validity of the act of the British Parliament
for altering the Government of Massachusetts Bay."
Two companies of minute men from what is now Sharon responded to the
Lexington alarm on April 19, 1775. The first, numbering thirty-two men, was
commanded by Capt. Samuel Payson, with Royall Kollock as lieutenant, and the
second by Capt. Israel Smith, with Daniel Morse as lieutenant. This company
numbered but twenty-two men.
Besides these two companies, seven others from Stoughton answered the
call. They were Capt. James Endicott's, eighty-three men ; Capt. William Briggs',
forty-one men; Capt. Asahel Smith's, seventy-seven men; Capt. Peter Talbot's,
eighty-five men ; Capt. Josiah Pratt's, thirty-three men ; Capt. Edward Savel's,
sixty-four men ; and Capt. Ebenezer Tisdale's, thirty-one men, making a total
of 469 men that went from Stoughton at the first clash of arms. Captain Savel's
company afterward responded to the second call for troops and assisted in the
fortification of Dorchester Heights on the night of March 9, 1776, the movement
which forced the British to evacuate Boston.
Nor did the activities of Stoughton stop there. On July 8, 1776, a meeting
voted "to raise a sum of money to be levied upon polls and estates to give to
each man to the number of thirty-eight (the town's assigned quota) that shall
enlist in the service of the Northern Department against Quebec, the sum of
£6 6s 8d as an addition to their bounty." At the same time fourteen prominent
citizens each agreed to pay the poll-tax for two men that would enter the service
as aforesaid.
Walpole adopted a series of resolutions in 1773, reported to a town meeting
by a committee consisting of Aquilla Robbins, Enoch Ellis, George Payson,
Seth Bullard and Samuel Cheney. Just what the text of the resolutions was it is
impossible to say, but Henry E. Fales, in his address at the dedication of the
town hall in 1881 says "they rang with patriotism and independence." Two com-
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 325
panies — Capt. Jeremiah Smith's and Capt. Seth Bullard's — a total of 132 min-
ute men, marched from Walpole to Lexington, and in Captain Mann's company
of Medfield there were twenty-five Walpole men. Later a Walpole company
commanded by Capt. Aaron Guild assisted in fortifying Dorchester Heights.
Captain Fisher's company took part in what was known as the Warwick expedi-
tion, and there was at least one Walpole man with Washington when he crossed
the Delaware — Holland Wood, who served in the artillery. It is said that at
the battle of Monmouth his gun fell from its carriage and that with his own
unaided strength he replaced it and went on with the fight.
Weymouth took an active part in the events that preceded the Revolution.
On October 16, 1765, Maj. James Humphrey, then representative in the General
Court received definite instructions as to the course he. was to pursue with
regard to the Stamp Act. On September 21, 1768, James Humphrey and Dr.
Cotton Tufts were appointed agents to meet in Faneuil Hall in Boston the next
day, to consult with agents of other towns upon the state of public affairs. At a
town meeting on January 3, 1774, it was decided "by a very great majority not
to purchase nor use any of the East India Company's teas of any kind (excepting
such as. they might now have on hand) until the act of Parliament laying a duty
thereon be repealed." In December, 1774, both precincts accepted the agreement
and articles of association recommended by the Continental Congress.
On March 9, 1775, a committee of correspondence, of which Dr. Cotton
Tufts was chairman, was chosen to act with similar committees of the neighbor-
ing towns. The first meeting of this committee was held at Arnold's Tavern at
Weymouth Landing a few days later and from that time to the close of the war
rendered efficient service. A company of minute men was organized and on
March 13, 1775, it was voted to pay each member of the company a shilling a
week for four weeks. On May 2, 1775, it was voted to pay "a pistareen a day
for a week to a company of fifteen men for a military guard in the present trouble-
some times."
Nathaniel Bayley was chosen a delegate on May 24, 1775, to the Provincial
Congress to meet at Watertown on the last day of that month, and at the same
time the committee on correspondence was directed to ascertain who were in need
of arms. The day following this meeting the town accepted the offer of Mr.
Polley to allow the town the use of two swivel guns then at Salem, and Doctor
Tufts agreed to have them brought to Weymouth.
These active preparations for war were largely due to an event that occurred
on May 21, 1775. Three ships and a cutter came out from Boston Harbor and
early on that morning dropped anchor in Weymouth Fore River. Alarm bells
were rung, the Braintree minute men fell in at the tap of the drum, many of the
women and children in the northern part of Weymouth were hurried to places
of safety, and general consternation reigned. One report said that 300 men had
been landed and were marching on Weymouth Village. Another rumor stated
that they were marching against Germantown. As a matter of fact the British
consisted of nothing more formidable than a foraging party, but in a little while
enough minute men had been assembled to cause them to embark on their vessels
and set sail for Boston.
The Declaration of Independence was read from the pulpits of both the Wey-
mouth churches on the first Sunday after it was received, and was spread in full
326 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
upon the town records. About this time the town took steps to prevent a monopoly
in articles of necessity and to fix prices at which such articles should be sold.
Just how much money was raised by taxation in Weymouth for the purpose
of buying ammunition and paying bounties to soldiers, would be difficult to
state. But from 1775 to 1778 there was scarcely a town meeting in which the
question did not come up, and in a majority of instances of this kind appropria-
tions ranging from twenty pounds to one thousand pounds were voted. Among
the Weymouth men who served with distinction in the army may be mentioned
Capt. Thomas Nash, who served under Washington during the siege of Boston
and was officer of the day the night Dorchester Heights were fortified ; Capts.
Joseph Trufant, Samuel Ward, Asa White and Lieutenant Gushing, who were
with Benedict Arnold in the Canada expedition ; Lieuts. Samuel Kingman, Thomas
Vinson, David Joy and Asa Dyer ; and last but not least Gen. Solomon Lovell,
who was in command of the Eastern Military District, the headquarters of which
were in Boston. General Lovell also commanded a brigade in the Rhode Island
campaign of 1778, and was commander of the unfortunate Penobscot expedition
in 1779, which failed because of the failure of Commodore Saltonstall to cooperate
with his fleet. Saltonstall was afterward cashiered for cowardice and inefficiency.
Wrentham began her revolutionary history at an adjourned town meeting on
November 1, 1765, when a protest against the Stamp Act was placed on the records
of the town and a copy forwarded to the General Court. It was drawn up by
John Goldsberry, Jabez Fisher and Lemuel Kollock. The House of Representa-
i-'-^ Ii.kI und.rr cm ii!<-'-'ii"n ;i bill to grant compensation to the sufferers from
the Stamp Act riots in Boston and free and general pardon to the offenders, and
the town instructed its representative, Jabez Fisher, to support the measure.
A company of minute men was organized in January, 1775, and it was soon
followed by another. The first was commanded by Capt. Oliver Pond ; Wiggles-
worth Messinger, first lieutenant ; Hezekiah Ware, second lieutenant. The officers
of the second company were: Benjamin Hawes, captain; Timothy Guild, second
lieutenant (no first lieutenant appears on the muster rolls). Capt. Samuel Cowell
raised a company immediately following the Lexington alarm, and from the
northerly part of the town went the companies commanded by Capts. Asa Fair-
banks, Elijah Pond and David Holbrook. Still another company that was organ-
ized in 1775 (Samuel Warner says it marched to Lexington on April 19, 1775)
was the one of which Lemuel Kollock was captain; Joseph Everett, first lieuten-
ant; Swift Payson, second lieutenant. Capt. Thomas Bacon also commanded a
Wrentham company which left the town on the last day of April, 1775. Captain
Hawes afterward was promoted to colonel. In 1778 Lieut. Timothy Morse
recruited twenty-four men in a short time in the bar-room of the old Wrentham
Tavern for three years' service. Altogether Wrentham has no cause to be
ashamed of her Revolutionary record.
Quite a number of the descendants of Revolutionary soldiers still live in
Norfolk County. A few years ago the State of Massachusetts caused to be com-
piled and published complete rosters of the regiments and companies that served
in the War for Independence. These volumes are in nearly every public library
in the state, and by consulting them a full record of any individual soldier may
be obtained. The records for the Norfolk County towns are too voluminous to
be included in a work of this character.
CHAPTER XXXVIII
WAR OF 1812— MEXICAN WAR
WAR OF l8l2 RIGHT OF SEARCH .OTHER CAUSES OF THE WAR NAPOLEON'S
DECREES BRITISH ORDERS IN COUNCIL WAR DECLARED IN NORFOLK
COUNTY — WAR WITH MEXICO — ITS CAUSES — ARMY OF OCCUPATION — NORFOLK
COUNTY IN THE WAR.
The story of Norfolk County's participation in the War of 181 2 and the
Mexican war is soon told, as both conflicts were unpopular in the New England
States and only a few troops were enrolled in that section of the country. Not
only was the number of soldiers few, but also the records of those who served in
the army and navy in both the War of 18 12 and the War with Mexico have not
been carefully preserved, hence the historian is at a loss for adequate data.
RIGHT OF SEARCH
One of the causes of the War of 1812, sometimes called the "Second War
with England," dates back almost to the beginning of the American Republic.
That was the "Right of Search." Great Britain seems to have held to the theory
"Once an Englishman always an Englishman," and claimed the right to search
American ships on the high seas for such seamen. If one was found he was
charged with being a deserter and "pressed" into the British service. Between
the years 1796 and 1802, nearly two thousand American sailors were thus taken
from vessels and pressed into the service of England. Although the United
States authorities made frequent protests against this practice, it was not regarded
as a sufficient cause for declaring war, and as England ignored the protests the
impressment continued.
OTHER CAUSES OF THE WAR
During the closing years of the Eighteenth Century and the opening years
of the Nineteenth France and England were at war, which gave a great impetus
to American commerce. This trade was seriously interfered with in May, 1806,
when Napoleon declared the ports of Bremen and Hamburg closed to neutral
vessels. Great Britain immediately retaliated with her "Orders in Council," de-
claring the coasts of Belgium, Holland and Germany to the mouth of the River
Elbe in a state of blockade. Napoleon's retort to> these orders was the Berlin
Decree of November 21, 1806, announcing a blockade against all the ports of
England. More Orders in Council followed on January 7, 1807, prohibiting ships
from neutral countries from trading from port to port in France, or with any
327
328 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
country in alliance with France. This closed practically all European ports to
American commerce.
Throughout the remainder of the year 1807, "Orders" and "Decrees" were
hurled back and forth between England and France. They could not be enforced,
but they had the effect of making trade between either country and America un-
lawful and therefore dangerous. On December 22, 1807, President Jefferson
approved "An act to prevent Americans from engaging in foreign commerce."
This act, which became widely known as the "Embargo Act," met with great
opposition from the New England States and under it smuggling flourished. So
unpopular did it become that early in February, 1809, Congress declared by
resolution that its effects should end with Jefferson's administration on March
4, 1809.
On that date President Madison was inaugurated and England sent David
Erskine as minister to the United States. With him Madison negotiated a treaty
which promised the withdrawal of the Orders in Council, at least so far as Ameri-
can trade was concerned, and as soon as the terms of the treaty were made public
six hundred ships left American ports. But the London Cabinet refused to
ratify the treaty and Mr. Erskine was recalled. F. J. Jackson was then sent to
Washington as the English minister. He insulted President Madison by insinuat-
ing that Erskine had been duped into signing the treaty and was dismissed.
Thus matters went on from bad to worse, the relations between the two coun-
tries becoming constantly more strained. In the spring of 1810 France seized
and confiscated American cargoes valued at $10,000,000, because some of Na-
poleon's decrees had been violated. At the same time France agreed to set aside
the decrees, provided England would rescind her Orders in Council. In the
meantime the Embargo Act had been succeeded by another of the same character,
not quite so arbitrary in its provisions, known as the "Non-Intercourse Act."
After the confiscation of the cargoes by France, President Madison notified Eng-
land that if the Orders in Council were not rescinded by February 2, 181 1, the
Non-Intercourse Act would be enforced against trade with that country.
In the fall of 181 1 there was an uprising of the Indian tribes in the Ohio
valley and it was charged that the insurrection was due to British influence, which
increased the bitter feeling against Great Britain. The Orders in Council had
not been rescinded and Madison by proclamation reinstated the Non-Intercourse
Act. In a message to Congress on June 1, 1812, the President referred to the
"paper blockades" and the "right of search," and recommended a formal declara-
tion of war. The slogan of the republican party (Madison's party) in the political
campaign just then opening was "Free trade and sailors' rights."
War was declared on June 18, 1812, and Congress ordered the regular army
increased to 25,000 men, gave the President authority to call for 50,000 vol-
unteers and 100,000 militia. Nearly every one of the Eastern States, by an act
or resolution of the Legislature, prohibited the militia from going beyond the
borders of the state. The opposition was greatest in Boston. Concerning the
attitude of the people of that city, Carey, in his Olive Branch, says: "From the
moment when war was declared, they clamored for peace and reprobated war as
wicked, unjust and unnecessary. They made every possible effort to raise obstruc-
tions and difficulties in the prosecution of the war and yet reprobated the admin-
istration for their imbecility in carrying it on. They reduced the Government to
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 329
bankruptcy and reproached it for its necessities and embarrassments. In a word,
all their movements had but one object — to enfeeble and distract the Govern-
ment."
IN NORFOLK COUNTY
With such an influence as that described by Carey at work in their immediate
vicinity, it is not surprising that the people of Norfolk County failed to respond
to the demands and requests of the national administration. However, some of
the towns stood by the Government of the United States, and so far as possible
to gather reliable information their work is herein given.
Samuel A. Bates says that Braintree was opposed to the war, but at a town
meeting on May 28, 1812, "voted to make each man's pay, with the United States
pay, fourteen dollars per month, as long as they are out in service." On Sep-
tember 16, 1814, when the shores of Massachusetts Bay were threatened by a
British invasion, another Braintree town meeting "voted to add four persons to
the selectmen, which shall be denominated a Committee of Safety. The selectmen
at that time consisted of Caleb French, Dr. Jonathan Wild and Maj. Amos
Stetson. The persons added were Jonas Welch, Capt. Thomas Hollis. Lieut.
William Reed and Minot Thayer." At the same meeting it was voted "that the
town raise the sum of $300 to pay the troops, and that we pay the same that
Randolph, Milton and Quincy pay." Mr. Bates says the only persons from Brain-
tree, so far as he had been able to learn, who were in the service of the United
States were John Isaac, Ebenezer Holbrook and James French.
Brookline stood by the administration better than some of the other towns. A
company of volunteers was raised, of which Timothy Corey was captain; Robert
S. Davis, lieutenant; Thomas Griggs, ensign; Daniel Pierce, sergeant. It num-
bered twenty-seven men in addition to the above named officers and was stationed
at Fort Independence. Col. Thomas Aspinwall, a Brookline man, commanded a
brigade and lost his left arm at the storming of Fort Erie, near Buffalo, New
York, August 15, 18 14.
In a Canton town meeting on May 4, 1812, six weeks before the formal dec-
laration of war, it was voted to "make up the pay for persons volunteering to
fourteen dollars per month, if they go into active service." At another meeting on
August 15, 1 8 12, it was voted "that such addition be made to the pay of those
persons who were drafted from this town under the last requisition of the Presi-
dent of the L T nited States as shall make their monthly pay eighteen dollars."
On September 12, 18 12, it was ordered that each non-commissioned officer
and soldier be furnished with sixty rounds of ball cartridges, and directed the
selectmen to purchase immediately 600 pounds of pork, 200 pounds of beef and
800 pounds of bread for supplying the militia of the town, when called to defend
their country, and to procure covered baggage wagons to be in readiness when
the militia received orders to move. In 1813 Rev. Edward Richmond of Stoughton
preached the fast day sermon in the Canton church, of which Rev. William Ritchie
was then pastor, and in his sermon said something about the prosecution of the
war that did not meet the approbation of the audience. A committee of fifteen,
appointed for the purpose, made the following report to a town meeting on April
5,1813:
330 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
"Gentlemen of the Town — Your committee, appointed to take into considera-
tion the subject of Rev. Edward Richmond's fast day sermon, have attended to
the duty assigned them and do recommend that the town pass a vote expressive of
their disapprobation that the Rev. Edward Richmond should hereafter be intro-
duced into the Desk of the Canton Meeting House on Lord's Days, Fast Days,
Thanksgiving Days and Lecture Days, as a teacher of Religious Morality, &c,
and that the Town Clerk be directed to serve the Rev. William Richey with a copy
thereof without delay.
"Elijah Dunbar, per order."
The record shows that the report was adopted and Mr. Ritchie was probably
notified. The incident indicates that Canton was in favor of a vigorous prosecu-
tion of the war. It is to be regretted that the names of the Canton soldiers in the
War of 1 8 12 cannot be learned, but the only muster rolls are in the custody of
the war department at Washington.
In Cohasset a committee of safety was chosen and a coast guard company of
seventy-five men was organized. A committee was then sent to Boston to ask
arms and ammunition from the state. Governor Strong was absent and Lieuten-
ant-Governor Cobb refused the request, recommending to Cohasset men "to hoist
a white flag." The committee "was too spunky for that" and finally procured some
muskets and a small field piece. In June, 1814, it was reported in Cohasset that
a British man-of-war had sent a flotilla of barges to burn the shipping at Scituate
and was preparing to do the same for Cohasset. Capt. Peter Lothrop was roused
from his bed by a messenger from Scituate, hurriedly dressed, mounted a horse
without a saddle and rode through the village awakening the members of his
company. The citizens worked with the coast guard in throwing up earthworks
at White Head, and when the British appeared the next morning they found what
they thought was a large force ready to receive them and withdrew. Militia
from Weymouth, Hingham and Scituate, with the artillery companies of Abing-
ton and Hanover marched to Cohasset and for three months the works at White
Head were occupied by a garrison.
Dedham refused to join in the opposition to the war and took a decided stand
in favor of the administration. Boston's communication requesting the Dedham-
ites to cooperate in measures to handicap the President was "promptly rejected."
The town voted that every drafted man should receive from its treasury a sum
sufficient to make his wages fifteen dollars a month while in actual service. Vol-
unteers were recruited and drilled ; in August some five hundred delegates from
the towns of the county met in convention at Dedham and adopted resolutions
expressing their approbation of the war ; the Dedham Light Infantry, under
Capt. Abner Guild, was on duty at South Boston for several months ; large quan-
tities of beef and pork were packed in West Dedham by Willard Gay and sent to
towns along the coast that were blockaded by the enemy.
Foxboro was one of the towns that sent delegates to. the Dedham convention
in August, 1812. On July 2nd, several weeks before that convention, the town
voted "to make up to the soldiers detached from the militia in Foxborough, with
the government pay, twelve dollars per month for May, June, July, August, Sep-
tember and October, and ten dollars per month for November, December, January,
February, March and April, if they are called into active service."
HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY 331
On August 22, 1814, it was voted "to make up to the soldiers of the last de-
tachment, and all who may be detached in Foxborough previous to March next,
eighteen dollars a month each, and each rive dollars bounty." The bounty part
was afterward reconsidered. Says E. P. Carpenter, in his centennial address at
Foxboro, June 29, 1878: "In the absence of statistics showing the number of
inhabitants of the town at the time, we are led to infer that Foxboro had a large
representation of soldiers in the War of 1812."
Sharon furnished twenty-three men as her share of the state's quota of sol-
diers. They were in different commands, some of them being stationed about
Boston Harbor, some about the Great Lakes and a few were with the army that
invaded Canada.
Many of the young men of Weymouth enlisted for service in the army and
navy. On May 21, 18 12, before the declaration of war was made by Congress, a
town meeting voted a bounty of five dollars and ten dollars per month pay while
in active service to each enlisted soldier credited to the town. On June 30, 18 14, it
was voted to make the pay of non-commissioned officers and privates fifteen
dollars per month, "and the same to those called out upon the alarm at Cohasset
and who remained there until legally dismissed." On November 7, 1814, an ap-
propriation of $1,200 was voted "to pay the soldiers and build a powder magazine."
Wrentham sent a few men to the forts about Boston Harbor, but, as in the
case of the other towns, the muster rolls are all at Washington and it is impossible
to give the actual number. Dr. James Mann of Wrentham was a surgeon on the
Niagara frontier and at the battles of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane.
It is quite probable that some of the other towns sent men to aid in the prose-
cution of the war. Ebenezer Wilkinson and Daniel Fuller were drafted in Dover,
and Medway furnished her quota. Ouincy was a strong Federalist town and stood
with Boston in opposition to the war, though a few men went from the town and
served at points along the coast. The same is true of Milton and Randolph.
WAR WITH MEXICO
The causes of the war between the United States and Mexico go back as far
as 1810, when the Mexican revolution against Spanish domination was commenced.
In 1821, after the Mexican Republic was established, Moses Austin obtained per-
mission from that government to plant a colony in what is now the State of Texas,
but which then belonged to Mexico. Austin's colonists came from different parts
of the United States, and it was not long until they grew dissatisfied with Mexican
rule. The United States offered to purchase the territoy, but all offers were
rejected. More Americans went into the region and in 1835 they revolted against
the Mexican government. General Santa Anna, then president of the Mexican
Republic, led an armed force into Texas to quell the rebellion. His army was de-
feated by the Americans under Gen. Sam Houston on April 21, 1836, and Santa
Anna was captured. Houston forced him to sign a treaty recognizing Texas as
a republic. Houston was elected president.
The independence of Texas was recognized by the United States and in April,
1844, the citizens of that country asked to be annexed to the United States. In
1845 Texas was not only annexed, but in December of that year it was admitted
into the Union as a state. Then a dispute over the boundaries arose between this
332 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
country and Mexico, the latter contending that the boundary line was the Nueces
River, while the Texans claimed the country to the Rio Grande — a claim that was
supported by the United States authorities.
On January 13, 1846, President Polk sent Gen. Zachary Taylor, with the
"Army of Occupation," to the disputed territory, under instructions to hold it
until the dispute was settled. Mexico sent an army to drive out the invaders.
The first attack on the American troops was made on April 25, 1846, but it was
only a slight skirmish. On May 8th Taylor defeated the Mexicans in the battle
of Palo Alto, and the next day at Resaca de la Palma. War was formally de-
clared by Congress on May 13, 1846, when the regular army was ordered to be
increased to 30,000 men and the President was authorized to call for 50,000
volunteers.
NORFOLK COUNTY IN THE WAR
The Mexican war was even more unpopular in New England than the War
of 1812. The district occupied by General Taylor, which was the cause of the
controversy, was so far removed that the people took little or no interest in the
matter. In a general way it is known that a few men volunteered from the County
of Norfolk, but neither the state nor town authorities appear to have been suf-
ficiently concerned to preserve a record of such volunteers. Histories of about
half of the towns in the county have been published, in which no mention what-
ever is made of the War with Mexico.
Five men — Charles Andrews, Capt. George Crane, Erastus Prior, William
Wood and Timothy Wiggin — enlisted in Col. Caleb Cushing's regiment. Captain
Crane had previously been captain of the Quincy Light Infantry. Colonel Cushing
was a member of the same family as the Weymouth Cushings, several of whom
enlisted from that town in the Civil war.
Brookline sent a few volunteers under Colonel Mansfield, but no record of
their services can be found. Colonel Mansfield was commissioned brigadier-gen-
eral soon after the beginning of the Civil war and was killed at the battle of Antie-
tam in September, 1862.
So far as known, Henry Hunnewell was the only man to enlist from the Town
of Foxboro in Colonel Cushing's regiment. Medfield had organized a militia com-
pany in 1839 and a few of its members joined Colonel Cushing's command for
service in the war. It is probable that, all told, Norfolk County did not furnish
more than fifty men. The war ended with the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Feb-
ruary 2, 1848.
CHAPTER XXXIX
WAR OF THE REBELLION
THE SLAVERY QUESTION CONDITIONS IN l8lO. THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN OF i860 SECESSION OF THE SOUTHERN STATES — STAR OF
THE WEST FALL OF FORT SUMTER — LINCOLN'S PROCLAMATION CALLING FOR
TROOPS ANSWER OF MASSACHUSETTS WHAT THE TOWNS DID RECAPITULA-
TION.
Almost from the very beginning of the American Republic, the slavery ques-
tion became a dominant issue in politics between the free states on the one side
and the slave states on the other. Slavery was introduced into America in 1619,
when a Dutch trader sold a few negroes to the planters of the Jamestown colony.
The custom of owning negro slaves gradually spread to the other colonies, but
slave labor was found to be unprofitable in the northern part of the country and
by 1819 seven of the original thirteen states had made provisions for the emancipa-
tion of their slaves.
The first clause of Section 9, Article I, of the Federal Constitution provides
that "The migration or importation of such persons as any of the states now exist-
ing shall think proper to admit shall not be prohibited by Congress prior to the
year 1808."
The adoption of this clause was regarded by the slaveholding element as a
victory, inasmuch as under it Congress had no power to interfere with the foreign
slave trade until 1808. In that year Congress passed an act prohibiting any
further traffic in or importation of negro slaves. Then the slavery question was
injected into American politics.
CONDITIONS IN 1819
In 1819 slavery existed in six of the original thirteen states, the other seven
having abolished it as already stated. In the meantime Kentucky, Tennessee,
Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama had been admitted into the Union under con-
stitutions permitting slavery, while Vermont, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois had been
admitted as free states, so that the country was evenly divided — eleven free and
eleven slave states. Maine was admitted as a free state in 1820, giving the oppo-
nents of slavery a majority of two in the United States Senate.
THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE
Immediately upon the admission of Maine, the advocates of slavery sought to
have Missouri admitted as a slave state, in order to maintain the equilibrium in
333
334 HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY
the United States Senate, as it had been for the past decade. After a long and
somewhat acrimonious debate, that state was admitted in 1821 under the act known
as the Missouri Compromise, which provided for the admission of Missouri with-
out any restrictions as to slavery, but expressly stipulated that "in all the remaining
portion of the Louisiana Purchase, north of the line of 36 30', slavery shall be
forever prohibited."
During the next quarter of a century the slavery question remained com-
paratively quiet, owing to the admission of free and slave states in equal number.
At the conclusion of the Mexican war in 1848, the United States came into posses-
sion of a large expanse of country in the Southwest, to which the advocates of
slavery immediately laid claim, and again the slavery question came up as a subject
for congressional consideration. The passage of the compromise act, usually
called the "Omnibus Bill," was held by the free-state people as a violation of the
provisions of the Missouri Compromise, because it sought to carry slavery north of
the line of 36 30'. Four years later the Kansas-Nebraska Bill was passed, which
added fresh fuel to the already raging flames. Its passage was the chief cause of
the organization of the republican party, which opposed the extension of slavery
to any of the new territory of the United States whatever.
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN OF i860
In i860 the newly organized republican party nominated Abraham Lincoln of
Illinois as its candidate for the Presidency and the issues were clearly defined.
Some of the slave states announced during the campaign that in the event of Mr.
Lincoln's election they would withdraw from the Union. The people of the North
gave little heed to these declarations, regarding them as so many idle threats,
made merely for political effect. Through a division in the democratic party, Mr.
Lincoln was elected and on December 20, i860, South Carolina carried her threat
into effect, when a state convention at Charleston passed an ordinance of secession,
declaring that state's connection with the Union was severed and that all allegiance
to the United States Government was at an end.
Mississippi followed with a similar ordinance on January 9, 1861 ; Florida
seceded on January 10th ; Alabama, January nth; Georgia, January 19th; Louisi-
ana, January 26th ; and Texas on February 1st. All these states except Texas sent
delegates to a convention at Montgomery, Alabama, February 4, 1861, at which a
tentative constitution was adopted ; Jefferson Davis of Mississippi was elected
provisional president; and Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia, provisional vice
president of the Confederate States of America. They were inaugurated on
February 22, 1861, the anniversary of the birth of George Washington. Conse-
quently, when Mr. Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861, he found seven
states in open rebellion, with an organized government, in opposition to his admin-
istration. Notwithstanding this state of affairs, the President, his cabinet and the
people of the North generally, clung to the hope that a reconciliation could be
effected and that the citizens of the seceded states could be induced to return to
their allegiance. In that hope they were doomed to be disappointed.
STAR OF THE WEST
More than two months before Mr. Lin
