USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Clinton > History of the origin of the town of Clinton, Massachusetts, 1653-1865 > Part 1
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STATHOWM
ـاميري
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معد حميد
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Gc 974.402 C62f 1137013
M. L
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01067 3975
10-
4'90
HISTORY
OF
THE ORIGIN
OF THE
TOWN OF CLINTON
MASSACHUSETTS
1653-1865
BY
ANDREW E. FORD
CLINTON : PRESS OF W. J. COULTER. : : : : : COURANT OFFICE
1896
PREFACE.
1137013
This volume had its origin in some work on local history done in the Clinton High School in the years 1886 and IS87. The researches then begun by the author were continued at intervals, until such a mass of material had been gathered that some gentlemen, who had examined it, deemed that it was worthy of publication. The matter was brought before the town at a meeting held December 12, 1893, under an article : "To see if the town will take any preliminary steps toward the publication of a town history, or act in any way relating thereto." It was voted "to refer the subject matter of the article to the Directors of the Bigelow Free Public Library, and that they report at a future meeting." The report of this committee was made to the town June 22, 1895, and in accordance with its recommendation, it was voted " to purchase the manuscript of A. E. Ford, and that the town appropriate the sum of five hundred dollars therefor." Two thousand dollars were subsequently appropriated to defray the expense of publication.
It was thought best that the history should not be con- tinued beyond the close of the Civil War, as it is impossible to treat recent local events in a proper historical spirit. In a few cases where the unity of the subject seemed to demand it, the narrative has been continued beyond the fixed limit.
iv
PREFACE.
With due allowance for clerical and typographical errors, every statement of fact contained in this history is based upon some authority supposed to be reliable. As a general source of information the files of the Courant have been of inestimable value, for that journal has not only faithfully mirrored passing events, but, during the last quarter of a century, nearly every number has contained some important article bearing on previous local history. In all matters connected with the early history of Lancaster, the works of Hon. Henry S. Nourse have been received as unquestioned authority. All transfers of real estate previous to 1830, and many since that time, have been examined in the Middlesex and Worcester County Registers. The records of the town of Lancaster, the records of School District No. 10, the rec- ords and reports of the town of Clinton considered as a whole and of its various departments, the books of the cor- porations and other manufacturing concerns, the records of the churches, the religious societies and other organizations, the military records of the adjutant-general of Massachu- setts, the Grand Army Memorial Record, the papers pre- sented before the Clinton Historical Society, and many other records, documents and literary works have been consulted. The memories of those who have been personally connected with events described have been ransacked for additional facts. Grateful acknowledgment is hereby made for all assistance thus derived, and for the unfailing courtesy with which the author has been met in his researches.
CONTENTS.
Chapter. Page.
I. THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF CLINTON. I-19
II. SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 20-32
III. JOHN PRESCOTT, THE PIONEER. -
33-60
IV. THREE GENERATIONS OF PRESCOTTS. - - 61-72 V. FARMERS AND MILLWRIGHTS. - 73-89 VI. FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR, AND THE REVOLUTION. 90-102 VII. CLOSING YEARS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 103-124
VIII. THE COMMUNITY EAST OF THE RIVER. -
125-138
IX. THE FIRST COTTON MILL. 139-161 - X. THE EARLY COMB-MAKERS. - - -
162-182
XI. SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 10. 1800-1837. - 183-191
XII. THE COMING OF THE BIGELOWS. - -
192-215
XIII. THE FOUNDING OF LANCASTER MILLS. - 216-229
XIV. THE BRUSSELS CARPET LOOM AND THE LATER LIFE OF E. B. BIGELOW. -
230-242
XV. THE BIGELOW CARPET COMPANY AND THE LATER LIFE OF H. N. BIGELOW. - 243-258
XVI. SCHOOLS IN DISTRICT NO. 10. 1838-1850. -
259-268
XVII. THE INCORPORATION OF CLINTON. - - - 269-283
XVIII. FIFTEEN YEARS OF MUNICIPAL LIFE. - -
284-293 XIX. CLINTON SCHOOLS. - 294-305
XX. FRANKLIN FORBES AND THE LANCASTER MILLS. 306-322 XXI. EMPLOYEES OF THE LANCASTER MILLS. - 323-336
vi
CONTENTS.
Page.
Chapter.
XXII. MINOR INDUSTRIES. - - 337-367
XXIII. CERTAIN PUBLIC ENTERPRISES. - 368-380 XXIV. THE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF CLINTON. 381-408
XXV. LIBRARY AND PRESS. -
409-421
XXVI. LAWYERS, PHYSICIANS AND DENTISTS. -
- 422-443
XXVII. FIRST EVANGELICAL CHURCH OF CLINTON. - 444-463
XXVIII. FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF CLINTON. - 464-479
XXIX. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. - - 480-491
XXX. THE FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH OF CLINTON. 492-504
XXXI. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. - - 505-523
XXXII. VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. - - - 524-536
XXXIII. THE FIFTEENTH AND ITS COMPANION REGI-
MENTS. - 537-562
XXXIV. CLINTON MEN IN NORTH CAROLINA, AND THE VOLUNTEER RECORD. - - 563-581
XXXV. FROM ANTIETAM TO GETTYSBURG. - 582-595 -
XXXVI. IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY, ENLISTMENTS AND FINANCES. - 596-614
XXXVII. UNDER GRANT IN VIRGINIA. - 615-636 XXXVIII. CLINTON SOLDIERS' INDIVIDUAL RECORD. - 636-659 INDEX. -
- 660-696
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page,
CONTOUR MAP OF CLINTON AND VICINITY. -
I
WESTERN VIEW FROM RESERVOIR ON BURDITT HILL. - 19
GRAVE OF JOHN PRESCOTT, THE PIONEER. 60 -
HOUSE OF JOHN PRESCOTT 4TH. - - -
-
71
MAP OF THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF LANCASTER (1795). - - 102
FULLER-CARRUTH HOUSE. 128
TUCKER-CHACE HOUSE. - - - 132
PORTRAIT OF DAVID POIGNAND. - - - 141
SILHOUETTE OF SAMUEL PLANT. - -
157
MAP OF THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF LANCASTER (1830). - - 182
WOOLEN MILLS OF THE BIGELOW CARPET COMPANY. 208 UP THE NASHUA FROM THE HEAD OF CEDAR STREET. 217 - - LANCASTER MILLS, 1849. 228
PORTRAIT OF ERASTUS BRIGHAM BIGELOW. - 238
PORTRAIT OF HORATIO NELSON BIGELOW. - 243
RESIDENCE OF HORATIO NELSON BIGELOW. 251
THE BIGELOW CARPET MILLS.
- 257
THE COMMON, FROM CORNER OF CHURCH AND CHESTNUT STREETS. - 291
THE OLD HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING. 298
PORTRAIT OF FRANKLIN FORBES. - 313
LANCASTER MILLS IN 1896. - 329 -
PORTRAIT OF SIDNEY HARRIS.
- 337
viii
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page.
THE HARRIS HOMESTEAD.
-
- 342
CLINTON WIRE CLOTH MILLS, 1865-1895.
-
-
-
- 346
COUNTERPANE MILL.
CLINTON, FROM HOSPITAL.
- 374
MAP OF CLINTON, 1857.
- - - - 400
CHESTNUT STREET. -
- - - 423
PARKER HOUSE. 1 -
- - 454
THE NASHUA VALLEY FROM RATTLESNAKE LEDGE. -
- 518
VIEW NORTHWARD FROM FRANKLIN PARK. -
- 536
THE TOWN HALL, WITH SOLDIERS' MONUMENT. - - - 579
-
-
- 356
-
-
71044.
71º43'
71942'
7/04/'
71º40
WERE PEKE BROOK
CLINTON WATER SUPPLY
+2°28'
0
4
Ballard
42
NORTH BRANC
Lancaster
RIVER
RIVER
42027
NEWYORK N
an caster
TOM
Lancaster Com ... '
GOODRICH BROOK
-300
FAIR GROUND.
500
ASPUA
ET & HARTFORDA
42026
SLATE
Mossy POND
42°25:
SOUTH MEADOW TPONA
400
SOUTH MEADOW BROOD
COACHLATE
WOND
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BURDA
3
GRANITE
42° 24'
DA
West
Clam She
L
MINE
SWAMP BROOK
D
544
400
QUA
MET. DIK
HORNBLEN
SO
ANCH NAS
MASS. CENTRAL
GRANIT
SCHUST
CONTOUR MAP.
Contour interval 20 feet. Datum sea level. As the height of the water in the Metropolitan Reservoir is to be 395 feet, the boundaries will be between the 400 ft. and the 380 ft. contour lines. The dotted lines indicate boundaries of ledge rock. There is some granite bordering on the quartzite on Burditt and Harris Hills which cannot be shown in the map. The slate is found in the whole region northwest of these hills.
QUAÁRTIZIO
E
WATERSHED OF SSABET RIVER
0
400
SLATE
SLATE
P
ZŁ
400-
MET.
& NASHUA RAILA
CHAPTER I.
THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF CLINTON.
CLINTON lies thirty-five miles west of Massachusetts Bay, upon the eastern slope of the highlands which divide the waters flowing westward into the Connecticut from those that find their way to the Atlantic through the Merrimac and the Charles. A subordinate range of hills to the east, lying partly within the town, pours its drainage on the one side into the Nashua, the more westerly of the two large branches of the Merrimac, and on the other through the Assabet into the Concord, the more easterly of these branches. Only a few miles to the south, in Boylston, are the summits of a transverse range, which forms the northern boundary of the valley of the Blackstone, which flows south- easterly into Narragansett Bay. The hills of East Princeton, Westminster, Leominster, Sterling and Lancaster form the divide between the north and south branches of the Nashua.
From Mt. Wachusett and from the eastern hillslopes of Rutland, Paxton, Holden, Princeton and Sterling on the west, from the northern watersheds of Boylston and West Boylston on the south and to some slight extent from the slopes of the nearer hills on the east, the brooks unite to form the south branch of the Nashua. Before it reaches the dam at the Lancaster Mills, this river has a drainage area of over one hundred and eighteen square miles. As Clinton owes to this stream and its tributaries much of the physical
2
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
formation and the origin of many of the industries of the town, a study of its characteristics will form a fitting in- troduction to our history.
Soon after the south branch of the Nashua enters Clinton, its course is challenged by an elevation known as Burditt Hill, lying in its northward path. Turning to the eastward until it reaches the hills which divide its waters from those of the Assabet, the river winds through a narrow valley. The boatman, who follows the downward course of the stream, finds a constant succession of charming views. Here is a low lying meadow, the home of the blackbird and bob- olink; further on, the shoulder of Burditt Hill pushes the river to the eastern edge of the intervale, then the current, turning again, flows toward the west, and thus the Oxbow is formed. At the present day, even before this point is reached, the water feels the effect of the dam at Lancaster Mills. The stream has been deepened and broadened and in some places spread out over the swamps and meadows.
Below the Oxbow, the water fills all the narrow intervale and forms a beautiful pond, from which, on either side, the rocky and steeply sloping hills rise to the height of some two hundred and fifty feet above the surface. At the southern end of this pond, there is a little island surrounded by a broad area of shallow water full of lily pads and pick- erel weed. At the northern end of the pond, Rattlesnake Ledge, with its grey scales appearing amid the scrubby oaks, which try to grow upon its sides, throws its shadow over the waters long before the close of day. The ledge derives its name from the many rattlesnakes which once found their home here, but none have been seen since the early portion of the present century. In the summer, the brilliant hues of the cardinal flower may be detected glowing in shady coverts along the banks, where the trees bend over as if to embrace their own reflection in the water. In the early autumn, the lowlands near the Oxbow are magnificently attired with the scarlet and gold of the maples. A few weeks later, the hills
3
THE SOUTH BRANCH OF THE NASHUA.
are sombre with the russet shades of the oaks. During the winter, the skaters skim over the pond, and sometimes, it has become a race course, merry with the jingle of sleigh bells.
The surface of the Lancaster Mills pond is two hundred and seventy-six feet above sea level. Of the thirty and eight-tenths feet of descent, which the river makes in passing from Sawyer's Mills in Boylston to the Lancaster Mills in Clinton, some twenty-eight feet are utilized by the latter, and thus a force of about seven hundred horse power is secured. During a spring freshet, a mighty volume of water sweeps over the dam, falling in thunder on the rocks below, and sometimes, as if in mockery of its power, the rainbow plays above the seething foam.
It is said that the Nashaway Indians used to come to the rapids, just above where the dam now is, to fish for salmon. Many years have passed, however, since a salmon has visited these waters. If this region could be restored to the state in which it was when the Indian built his wigwam from the boughs of the primeval forest, what a contrast it would offer to its present condition. Where now we hear the noise of a mighty industry which gives employment and comfort to thousands, a few red men sought a meagre living by spearing fish, by lying in wait for the deer as he came to his drinking place, or by pursuing the bear to his den. Here, sometimes, perchance, the war cry of the ranging Mohawks gave a tardy warning to their destined victims .*
* At the time of the present writing, in 1896, the State of Massachu- setts has granted the right of using the south branch of the Nashua for a Metropolitan Water Supply. It is proposed to build a dam, some three thousand feet along the river above Lancaster Mills dam. This dam will be twelve hundred and fifty feet long, with a maximum height of one hundred and fifty feet. A reservoir will be formed, six and fifty-six hundreths miles in surface area, with a maximum depth of one hundred and six feet. This reservoir will hold sixty-three billion, sixty-eight million gallons. About a square mile of the southwestern portion of Clinton will be submerged. A dike will be built several hundred feet
4
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
Below the falls, the Nashua winds along its course, now in the narrow intervale of Lancaster Mills, now under the brow of Lover's Leap, the steep, rocky cliff of Harris Hill, now through the broader valley of the German Village, now close to the eastern slopes. After leaving the Oxbow on the south, the general course of the river for nearly two miles has been toward the northeast, but, here at Harrisville, its course changes to the northwest and, with this general direction, turns about toward every point of the compass as the outline of the hills and the nature of the soil dictates. So many are its windings, that the total length of the river in the town is over five miles, or more than twice the air-line distance from its entrance to its exit. The average breadth of the stream below the Lancaster Mills dam, as judged from many careful measurements, cannot be less than seventy feet, while the average depth would scarcely exceed four feet. Besides the descent of the river at Lancaster Mills, already noted as available for water power, there is another of four and two-tenths feet which was utilized by the Harris comb factory and is now under control of Lancaster Mills.
Within the next mile and a half, there is another descent of six and eight-tenths feet. The total descent of the river within the limits of Clinton is forty-one and eight-tenths feet, making no allowance for the setting back of the water by the damming of the stream beyond the northern boun- dary. This would give a total available force of about one thousand horse power. The south branch of the Nashua joins the north branch in Lancaster, and the united waters
north of Sandy Pond, extending from Main street, with a slight interrup- tion at the Catholic cemetery, to the western limit of the town. By these dikes the water can be raised sixty feet above the present level of Sandy Pond. Burditt and Wilson Hills will form natural boundaries on the northeast, and another dike will be built to the south of Clamshell Pond. These dikes will have a total length of about two miles. The volume of water in the river below the dam will, of course, be greatly lessened.
5
THE SOUTH BRANCH OF THE NASHUA.
flow northward to the Merrimac. In former times, the united streams were known as the Penecook.
There are two islands in the stream below the dam at Harrisville, each of several acres in extent. One is half a mile or more from the dam, the other is near the boundary of Lancaster. These islands have been formed by changes in the course of the stream, and the force of the current now passes upon the eastern side of the first and the western side of the second, while the bodies of water on the opposite sides are so motionless that they are known as "dead" rivers.
The intervale, with its varying breadth, is usually several feet above the surface of the river. In times of heavy fresh- ets, however, considerable portions of the lowlands are over- flowed. The surface of this intervale land is level, except where there are depressions marking the former bed of the constantly changing stream. There are several lagoons filled with still water connected at one end with the stream and thus making the intermediate step between the "dead" river and the depression. The intervale between Woodruff Heights and the Plain is about two hundred and forty feet above sea level. Currier's Flats are at their lowest point only two hun- dred and thirty-four feet above sea level. The quiet beauty of this valley below Harrisville is heightened by the noble trees, elms, maples and buttonwoods, which grow in the open meadows. There are some beeches which are slowly falling victims to the stream which is washing away the soil from beneath their gnarled roots. This intervale is the most fer- tile portion of the town.
The river receives the waters of several small brooks from the cast during the wet season, but most of these are dry during a considerable portion of the year. Carville's Brook, in the southern part of the town, is the only one of these worthy of particular mention. The tributaries from the west are much more important. These are Mine Swamp and Spring Brooks, near the southern boundary of the town,
6
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
and South Meadow Brook, near the northern boundary. Goodrich, or Gutteridge Brook, after flowing through the northwestern corner of Clinton, enters the river near the Lancaster line.
That portion of Clinton southeast of the Nashua differs greatly in its physical characteristics and associations from the rest of the town. Instead of the sand formation, the quartzite and the slate, which appear elsewhere, the eruptive granite is found, and the drainage seeks the Merrimac through the Concord rather than through the Nashua.
Beginning in the extreme southeast, we find ledges of dark green hornblende appearing among fertile meadows in the scarcely distinguishable crest of the watershed At the foot of this slight elevation, a little stream flows toward Ber- lin or North Brook, a tributary of the Assabet. On the west- ern side of the watershed, lies Carville's Pond, an artificial body of water some five acres in area and from four to six feet in depth. This pond is fed by springs and has its outlet in Carville's Brook, a little stream, scarcely half a mile in length, which finds its way down the hillside through a beau- tiful ravine into the Nashua.
As we go from the pond toward the north and east, we climb the southern slope of a hill covered with ledges and boulders of coarse granite abounding in huge crystals of feldspar. On reaching the summit of this hill, which is five hundred feet or more above sea level, we look down upon Clamshell Pond, a natural sheet of water, which lies in a basin made by the surrounding hills. This pond is thirty acres in extent and somewhat resembles a clamshell in shape. The name may have come from this or from the fact that mussels abound here. It is for the most part shallow, but has in the center a depth of thirty feet. The muddy bottom is filled along the shore with the roots of pond lilies, and in midsum- mer thousands of the white sweet-scented blossoms rise from its dark waters. The pond has no visible inlet in the dry
7
EAST OF THE RIVER.
season, but is fed by springs, which bring the underground drainage of the neighboring hills. It has one tiny outlet on the south, which has before been spoken of as flowing into the Assabet through Berlin or North Brook. On the south- ern side of the pond, is a boulder weighing many tons, which was formerly so delicately balanced that a child could sway it, but a portion of it has recently been broken off so that the equilibrium has been lost and it is no longer a " Rocking Stone." In this section, as elsewhere throughout the town, the oak is the most common tree, but the chestnut frequently appears, scattered over the cleared land or gathered in groves. In July, when these trees are covered with tasseled blossoms, the air is laden with their heavy fragrance and in autumn, an abundance of nuts falls from the prickly burrs, when they are opened by the early frosts. There are here, too, as elsewhere, occasional groves of pine and maple, and a few birches, poplars and elms appear.
This hill, which may well be called Wilder Hill, as the Wilders were the first settlers in this region, continues to the northward on the east of the river. After going down a slight depression, it rises again to another crest known as Wilson Hill. Here, one is greeted by a succession of pic- turesque views. The Nashua lies more than two hundred feet below, with its waters gleaming under the gray crags of Rattlesnake Ledge, and the valley stretches away to the north until the blue hills of New Hampshire bound the range of vision. This elevation continues with a considerable de- scent toward the northeast, so near to the south branch of the Nashua that it sometimes forces the drainage within less than a quarter of a mile from that river, into the distant Assabet. Finally, the hill sinks into a more level area, the southern end of which is called the Acre. This plain ex- tends for nearly a mile in length and grows more narrow toward the north. Here granite suitable for building pur- poses has been quarried and the soil is fairly fertile.
Now the river turning toward the west leaves in the
8
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
northeastern part of the town a tract of sand formation nearly a square mile in extent. Ledges of argillite or slate appear in this at Woodruff Heights and half a mile to the north. From Woodruff Heights, one can look to the south- east up the winding valley of the river, while to the west and northwest is spread out a beautiful panorama of valley, plain and hill with the horizon line from fifteen to forty miles away. This area of sand formation is generally wooded with oak, with a slight mixture of chestnut, maple and pine. At the bluff above the island in the extreme northern por- tion of the town, there is a grove of hemlock. At the foot of this bluff, lies the river, with its two arms encircling the island ; then there is a broad green intervale, and beyond to the south and southwest, the Plain and the hillslopes covered with homes.
Returning once more to the southern portion of the town, let us examine the western tributaries which it gives to the Nashua, and the watersheds which they drain. Mine Swamp Brook is the first of these. Entering the town from Sterling and flowing easterly for more than a mile through Clinton woods and meadows, it empties into the river a short dis- tance from the Boylston line. It has been dammed some half a mile or more above the Nashua so as to form a small pond a few acres in extent, known as Cunningham's Mill Pond. The flow of this brook has been estimated at two million gallons per day.
A smaller stream flows into the river only a few rods to the north of Mine Swamp Brook. It is less than half a mile in length. From the nature of its source, it is known as Spring Brook, for it rises in a small swamp where there are many springs. The largest of these has an opening four inches in diameter, through which the water bubbles up with great force. Besides sending from half a million to a million gallons a day through Spring Brook, these springs pour a considerable portion of their outflow into Mine Swamp Brook.
9
MINE SWAMP AND SPRING BROOKS.
An inquiry naturally arises as to the source of these springs. The swamp, in which they lie, is bounded on the north and west by steep hills. As we climb the slope to the northwest, we look down on the brooks, flowing through peaceful meadows lying between the hill on which we stand and those of Boylston, and still further to the east, lies the broad expanse of the river and the rocky brow of Wilder Hill juts out above the charming valley of Carville's Brook. As we reach the summit of the slope and find an opening through the evergreen trees with which it is covered, the source of the springs is at once revealed, for we see upon the opposite side from the swamp a large sheet of water. This is known as Sandy Pond. We seem to be standing upon an irregular, natural dam, with a breadth of less than a hundred feet at the top on the west and flaring toward the base and widening toward the east. This dam rises thirty feet or more above the pond and over forty above the swamp. It is evident that the springs are the leakage of the pond through the porous soil that lies at the base of the natural dam.
In the middle of the present century, Sandy Pond was connected with a series of other ponds, natural and artificial, to form a reservoir for the Clinton Company. When this connection was made, the mud emptied into the pond was deposited in a thin layer on its bottom. Before, it had been covered with sand, which could everywhere be seen through the deepest water. Hence came the name Sandy Pond. The pond has no visible inlet, but must be fed by springs which receive the drainage of the porous sandy hills by which it is surrounded. Its watershed is estimated at one hundred and fifty-seven acres. The water in the pond was raised some eight feet by its connection with the reservoir, and its area was thus slightly increased. As measured by Thomas Doane in 1878, this area was forty-seven and seven hundred and eighty-eight thousandths acres. The distance around the pond, according to the same authority, was one and one-
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