USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Warwick > History of the town of Warwick, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1854 > Part 1
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01068 8650
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H.W. Smith.
Jonathan Blake
HISTORY
OF THE
TOWN OF WARWICK, ·
MASSACHUSETTS,
FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO 1854.
BY HON. JONATHAN BLAKE.
BROUGHT DOWN TO THE PRESENT TIME BY OTHERS.
WITH AN APPENDIX.
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BOSTON : NOYES, HOLMES, AND COMPANY, 219 WASHINGTON STREET. 1873.
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BOSTON : PRINTED BY RAND, AVERY, & CO., NO. 3, CORNHILL.
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PREFACE.
T HE following brief outline of the early history of the town of Warwick, Mass., by the Hon. Jonathan Blake, was written about forty years ago, in 1831 and 1832. A small part of it has been written since that time. It was compiled from the most au- thentic records of the town, made at the time when the various transactions took place ; and it contains mat- ters of deep and thrilling interest to all the inhabit- ants, whether they be the regular descendants of the first inhabitants or not. All naturally wish to know something of the origin, character, and condition of the first settlers, - of those who first opened their eyes on this beautiful landscape, this wild mountain scenery, this Switzerland of America ; and here pitched their tents, on these sloping hill-sides and in these winding valleys, beside the running streams, and babbling brooks, and quiet ponds, surrounded by the tall pines of the forest. All wish to know some-
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PREFACE.
thing of the hardy pioneers, who felled the giant trees, · cleared up these cultivated fields, made these roads, built these walls, erected these houses, and did so much for the comfort and accommodation of the present inhabitants. To all, then, who have come into possession of this goodly inheritance, it contains matters of great and absorbing interest, which ought to be preserved for future generations. Without any view to publication, it was written expressly for the Warwick Lyceum, before whom select portions of it were read, at different times, as lyceum lectures, to the great edification of the hearers. It was not designed to give a full or complete account even, of the early history of Warwick, but only so much of it as would be interesting to the members of the lyceum ; and even now it is not thought advisable by the publishing committee to enlarge upon this branch of the subject by attempting to supply what may have been omitted.
From this brief outline, however, we have some- thing more than a glimpse, or a mere bird's-eye view, of our forefathers. We have a tolerably correct ac- count of their characters and habits, their spirit and enterprise, their sayings and doings, their joys and rejoicings, their trials and hardships, their privations and sufferings, and their noble devotion to the cause of education, religion, and good government. The work is now printed just as it was left by its ven-
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PREFACE.
erated author, and transcribed by his brother, Samuel Blake, both of whom are now numbered with the sainted dead.
The committee of publication were requested to write out and complete the history, so well begun by Mr. Blake, and to bring it down to the present time. This, at first, the committee thought could not be well done without making it appear like patchwork, - like new cloth on an old garment. But, after a little reflection upon the subject, they concluded to make the attempt, and to do the best they could to complete the work, and to make it match with the early history of the town. From the town-records and other authentic sources, they have collected all the facts and materials they have used in completing the work. With what success they have executed it, each one must judge for himself. Though the whole committee have given their general approbation to all that has been added, without being able to certify to the truth of every particular fact or statement, yet each member is particularly responsible for the articles which stand over the initials of his name.
It is hoped the book will be acceptable to all. By all the natives of the town, whether living here or elsewhere, it will be regarded with high favor, as a kind of godsend, or heirloom, to remind them of their father and mothers, their brothers and sisters, their kindred and friends. And to all others it will show
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PREFACE.
how strong, in the breasts of all the natives of War- wick, are the veneration and love of their birthplace, and the home of their childhood. What shrine is more sacred, what spot is more holy, than the place of one's nativity ? J. G.
WARWICK, March 4, 1872.
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INSTRUCTIONS TO THE COMMITTEE. '
WARWICK, Dec. 26, 1871.
AT a meeting of the citizens of the town, held at the Centre Schoolhouse, for the purpose of considering the propriety of securing the publication of the Hon. Jonathan Blake's "History of Warwick," and of taking measures for the furtherance of said object, -
Voted, and chose Hervey Barber, Chairman ; Edward F. Mayo, Secretary ; Hervey Barber, John Goldsbury, Nahum Jones, S. P. French, and E. F. Mayo, a Committee to take the matter into consideration, and adopt such measures as they may deem expedient to accomplish the purpose.
Voted, To adjourn to the call of the committee.
Fan. 3, 1872. - The committee met according to ap- pointment, and passed the following measures as necessary for the purpose of accomplishing the trust committed to their charge : -
Resolved, That it is the sense of this committee that Blake's "History of Warwick " be brought down to the present time.
Voted, That the Rev. John Goldsbury and Deacon Her- vey Barber be requested to take the matter in charge, bring the work down to the present time, and prepare the same for publication.
Voted, To adjourn without day.
EDWARD F. MAYO,
Secretary.
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INSTRUCTIONS TO THE COMMITTEE.
Article 19th of the Annual March Meeting was as fol- lows : To see if the town will take any action in regard to the publication of Blake's "History of Warwick," and appropriate money for the same.
March 4, 1872, on Article 19th, Voted, That the com- mittee be authorized to borrow money for the purpose.
A. S. ATHERTON, Town Clerk.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK, MASS.
T HERE is a trait inherent in the character of man which is common to us all, - every one more or less feels its influence ; and that is a wish and a desire to look into futurity, -to see and to know what is laid up for us in the vast storehouse (if I may be allowed the expression) of coming events. And equally curious, and equally careful, are we all to explore the past, to investigate, to search out, from whence we came, and where we originated. The
creation of the world, the creation of man and every living thing that exists, whether material or immaterial, are the constant subjects of our inquiry. And it is just the same with regard to inanimate nature : the busy and inquisitive mind of man, with eagerness and assiduity, searches out the past, the present, and the future ; and, where the faithful page of history is wanting, conjecture and imagination
NOTE. - This was written for the amusement and information of the Warwick Lyceum, at several different times, in 1831 and 1832, by Jonathan Blake, jun. Copied from the original manuscript by Samuel Blake.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
supply the deficiency. With what an intense interest do we seek and inquire after the ruins of Pompeii, buried for such a lapse of ages from human inspection by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, that the memorial of the transaction was almost lost to the world ! The meanest articles of domestic use that were in vogue in those ancient times are more valued by us, and excite greater admiration, than the most costly furni- ture in modern use. The brilliant and successful achievements of Champollion in deciphering the hieroglyphics on the monuments and temples, and in the tombs, of Egypt, excite our wonder, and fill us with surprise ; and we catch at every word and sen- tence that will throw light on the history of centuries that have long since rolled away.
The first settlement of this country by Europeans has now become interesting by the lapse of only about two hundred years ; and we lament the inattention and neglect of our forefathers in not recording the facts and circumstances of the times in which they lived : many events are already lost to the present age and to posterity forever. But let us rescue from oblivion what now remains : let us faithfully record every thing that our fathers have done within our knowledge, and hand it down to our children. They will be grate- ful, they will feel thankful, for the historical legacy bequeathed to them by those that have gone before them. The uncivilized natives of this country have set us an example : they hand down from father to son what we can more accurately and more faithfully preserve by our superior knowledge, and acquaintance with letters.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
The theme of our inquiry now is the history of Warwick ; and, although but sixty-eight years have passed away since it was incorporated as a town, many of us could give but a very imperfect account of the scenes that have transpired, and none of us can do justice to the subject. Scarcely three ages have elapsed since this spot * on which we are now convened, and all the adjacent hills and dales, were a howling wilderness, - no trace of improvement, not a vestige of the works of art, not a lonely cultivated field, not a solitary dwelling for civilized man ; but, on the contrary, the whole surrounding country was covered, far and wide, with an almost impene- trable and illimitable forest. The mind unaccustomed to reflection, and unacquainted with woods and wilds, can have but a faint idea of the solitude and gloom of a boundless wilderness ; and those that reflect and consider, and fancy to themselves that they can realize how it looked, how it appeared, and how it was, here " in olden time," may all be mistaken. A sullen gloom, a death-like silence, pervaded the land. Now and then, perhaps, a wandering native might traverse these iron-bound hills in the pursuit of game, or in quest of his enemies. But the prowling beasts of prey and the feathered tribes were the only permanent settlers in these then desolate regions. But, gloomy and silent and desolate as it was, it was destined by the great Author of our existence to be the residence of man ; and, had it not been a wilderness covered with timber, man could not have subsisted here. We are
* The schoolhouse on the common, in the middle of the town.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
indebted to this wonderful display of Infinite wisdom for all the means of enjoyment, and all the various blessings, which we now enjoy. In an inland country like ours, where, nearly one-half of the year, the water is congealed to ice, and the ground covered with snow, the ingenuity of man has not yet discovered the means of sustaining human beings without the aid of wood and timber ; and at this moment, had not wood and timber been found here, these mountains and hills and plains would have been as devoid of the habita- tions of man as the arid and scorched plains of Africa, or the vast and extensive wastes in the open country beyond the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains.
But to return to the subject. In the year 1735, June 10, "at a great and general court or assembly for his Majestie's Province in the Massachusetts Bay," in answer to the petitions of Samuel Newall, Thomas Tileston, Samuel Gallop, and Abraham Tilton, and others in connection with each of them, the said court voted " that four several tracts of land for townships, each of the content of six miles square, be laid out in suitable places in the western parts of this province ; and that the whole of each town be laid out into sixty- three equal shares, one share of which to be for the first settled minister, one for the use of the ministry, and one for schools ; and that, on the other sixty shares in each town, there be sixty settlers admitted, and, in the admission thereof, preference to be given to the petitioners, and such as are the descendants of the officers and souldiers who served in the expedition to Canada, in the year 1690" (viz., one of the said town- ships to each of the aforesaid persons, with such others
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
as joined with them in the petitions) ; "and in case there be not a sufficient number named in the said four petitions as were either officers or souldiers in the said expedition, or the descendants of such as were lost, or are since deceased, so as to make sixty settlers for each town, that then such others as were in the expe- dition, or their descendants, be admitted settlers there, until sixty persons in each township be admitted ; and inasmuch as the officers and souldiers in that expedition were very great sufferers, and underwent uncommon hardships, Voted, That this Province be at the sole charge of laying (out) the said four townships, and of admitting the settlers. That the settlers or grantees be, and hereby are, obliged to bring forward the set- tlements of the said four townships in as regular and defencible a manner as the situation and circumstances will admit of, -and that in the following manner (viz.) : that they be on the granted premises respec- tively, and have each of them an house eighteen feet square, and seven feet stud, at the least ; that each right or grant have six acres of land brought to, and ploughed or brought to English grass, and fitted for mowing ; that they respectively settle in each planta- tion or township a learned orthodox minister, and build a convenient meeting-house for the public worship of God in each township."
These conditions to be complied with within five years from the confirmation of the Platts. Com- mittees were appointed to lay out the aforesaid grants ; and bonds were required of each settler, under the penalty of twenty pounds running to the treasurer of the Province ; and if the grantees, or any of the
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
grantees, fail of fulfilling the terms aforesaid, they forfeited all their title back to the Province.
Warwick was one of these four grants, and the one petitioned for by Samuel Newall and others ; and it was at first called the plantation of "Roxbury, or Gardner's Canada."
In June, 1736, Samuel Newall, and the officers and soldiers in the company, under the command of Capt. Andrew Gardner in the Canada expedition, were authorized by the General Court to call their first meeting of the proprietors. Said meeting was held at the house of James Jarvis, in Roxbury, Sept. 22, 1736. Capt. Robert Sharp was chosen moderator, and William Dudley, Esq., proprietors' clerk.
At this meeting, a committee, consisting of Capt. Robert Sharp, Ensign Samuel Davis, and Mr. Ger- shom Davis, was chosen to procure a surveyor, and lay out the "home lots." Each lot to contain not less than fifty acres, nor more than sixty acres ; and each proprietor was taxed twenty-three shillings to defray the expense of laying out said lots, and paying the costs incurred in petitioning the court, &c.
It is not now known at what time these home lots were laid out ; but by the proprietors' records, on the 24th of October, 1737, the sixty proprietors by name drew for their respective lots, and paid twenty shillings each to defray the expense. The home lots, as they are called, began to be numbered in the south-west part of the town, and were laid one hundred and sixty rods long, and fifty rods wide. Mr. Henry Fuller owns the largest part of lot No. I ; and the stones
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
are now visible where they built their first camp, previous to surveying these lots.
These lots continue on to the north part of Chestnut Hill ; then several of them were located south of the meeting-house, where Mr. Elijah Fisk now lives ; then north of the meeting-house, and over the hill to Medad Pomroy's ; then, beginning at Mr. James Ball's, they continue on to near the north line of the town.
Thus you see that they selected the hills, or high ridges of land, for the first settlements ; and this is one reason why almost all our roads were located over the hills, instead of passing through the valleys.
The boundaries of Warwick, as it was originally laid out, were as follows : on the west line by North- field, six miles and thirty-eight rods ; then on Erving's Grant, two miles and thirty-nine rods ; making whole west line eight miles and seventy-seven rods. North, on the line of New Hampshire, four miles and ninety- eight rods on the town of Winchester, and two miles and forty-two rods on the town of Richmond ; making the whole north line six miles and one hundred and forty rods (it was originally called Arlington and Province land, north). East, on Province land (now Royalston) and Pequeag (Athol), on Province land six miles and thirty rods ; * thence, west one hundred. and seventy-nine rods to the north-west corner of Pequeag ; thence, south two hundred and fifty-six rods to a heap of stones on the west line of Pequeag, and to a small maple-tree south on Erving's Grant, four miles and two hundred and sixty-five rods.
* Allowing one rod in thirty for sag of chain, as the old records say was customary.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
The west and north boundaries of Warwick con- tinue the same as originally laid out ; but when the town of Orange was incorporated, which took off the south-east corner, it left the east line on Royalston three miles and one hundred and two rods ; the south line, two miles and one hundred and eighteen rods ; and the south-east is a zig-zag line, measuring five miles and three hundred and sixteen rods on the town of Orange.
It contained twenty-three thousand acres of land, exclusive of the Great Farm (so called), which was a grant previously made of sixteen hundred acres to one Johnson and his company, for military services ; and is the land that Mr. Aaron Bass, Samuel Williams, Par- ley Leland, Samuel Fay, Samuel Moore, and others, now own ; and also exclusive of the Severance and Field Farms. The Severance Farm contained two hundred acres, on which Jonathan Blake, and Jona- than Blake, jun., Bunyan Penniman, Asa Ware, and Stephen Ball, now live, and each of them owns a part of it. It is a traditional story, that it was granted as a reward for the faithful services of the surveyor who laid out this part of the country, and that he had his choice to select where he pleased. The Field Farm never belonged to Warwick, but made a notch in the south-east corner. It contained four hundred acres ; and Deacon Ward and Jessie Warrick now live on a part of it.
Late in the fall of 1737, a second division of lots was laid out under the direction of a committee, con- sisting of Deacon Davis and Ebenezer Case, who were empowered " to agree with one or more survey-
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
ors and chain-men and pilots." These second-division lots were called farms, and were to contain one hun- dred and fifty acres each, if the land would hold out : and the surveyors were directed to qualify them ; viz., to lay them out according to the quality of the land, - the poorest land into the largest lots, and the best into smaller ones, so as to have them valued alike. This is the reason why the second-division lots are so unequal in size, varying from one to two hundred acres : for instance, on " Beech Hill " the old original lots contain but about one hundred acres each, that being considered the best of the land ; while the broken lots contain nearly or quite two hundred.
I have had occasion to mention sectional and local names in different parts of the town, some of which remain, while others are lost or forgotten. It may not be amiss to state these names for the information of those that may come after us, with the origin, or probable origin, of the same. "Beech Hill," above mentioned, lies in the east part of the town, where Mr. Abijah Eddy and Mr. Calvin Allen now live ; and the name originated from the large and un- common growth of beech timber it formerly contained. "Chestnut Hill " was so named for the same reason, the chestnut-trees being the most common growth. It is located in the south-west part of the town, where the Messrs. Francis and Jonas Leonard, Joseph Wil- son, and Capt. William Burnett, and others, now reside. " Flour Hill" is in the north part of the town, where Messrs. Phinehas Child, John Bowman, and others, live. It is said this name originated from the follow-
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IIISTORY OF WARWICK.
ing circumstance : The inhabitants that first settled this part of the town were in the habit of annually setting fire to the woods in the spring of the year, for the purpose of producing a young and tender growth of trees and plants for the subsistence of their cattle, not having pastures cleared up as we now have. Each one would put a bell upon the leader of his flock or herd or horse, for the purpose of finding them readily when wanted. . Within my own recollection, the hills to the west of us were burned over every year for the purpose above stated ; and the illumination occasioned thereby, for several successive nights, will probably never be effaced from my memory. This practice had almost destroyed the first growth of timber on the spot last mentioned, and the land was considered of
very little value. Mr. Solomon Ager, who at that time was not considered a prophet nor the son of a prophet, had the hardihood to risk his all (as he had nothing to lose) by settling on this open tract of land. Some of his wiser neighbors attempting to ridicule him for selecting so barren a spot of land to get his living on, the old man replied, that "it would one day be the Flour of Warwick ; " and ever after it has been called " Flour Hill."
The east part of the town towards Royalston, where Deacon Ebenezer Stearns, Mr. James Pierce, and others, live, probably from its being so rough and uneven, has sarcastically been called " Moose Plain." The north part of the town, where Messrs. Elisha Rich, David Ball, Amory Gale, and Justus Russell, Esqs., reside, is called " the Brook," originating from the stream of water that takes its rise near the middle of
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
the town, and empties into the Ashuelot River, at Winchester, N.H., being called "Miry Brook." In the south part of the town, the land lying south of Morse's Pond was formerly called " Skunks Baron :" farther south, where Jonathan Shepardson lives, was called " Padanaram." The first name originated from the sterility of the soil, and the last from its being a plain, level spot. What is now the south-east corner of the town, where Messrs. Reuben Wheaton and Andrew Burnett live, was called " Peaked End," from the circumstance of there being no settled spot near them, they being considered the end of the settle- ment.
The two natural ponds obtained their names from the owners of the soil near them; viz., "Pomeroy's Pond," near the centre of the town, and Morse's Pond," a little farther to the south-west. The moun- tain near the middle of the town was called " Mount Grace," in consequence of a child of Mrs. Rowland- son's, whose name was " Grace," being buried some- where near the foot of it. Mrs. Rowlandson, with her child, was taken captive by the Indians at Lancaster when that town was destroyed and sacked and burned. After the destruction of the town, the Indians pro- ceeded on towards Canada with their captives ; and this child died soon after they crossed " Miller's River," ten miles from Warwick; and Mrs. Rowlandson brought it in her arms, until she arrived near this mountain, where, compelled by fatigue, she reluctantly consigned it to the earth .*
* This was an early tradition, and then believed to be true ; but it is not authenticated in Mrs. Rowlandson's history of her captivity.
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HISTORY OF WARWICK.
The brook that takes its rise near the west side of this mountain is also called " Grace Brook," until it reache's " Morse's Pond ; " and then it takes the name of " Morse's Brook." The brook that runs near Wil- liam Hastings, James Ball, and through Caleb Mayo, Esq.'s, meadow, was formerly called " Black Brook :" farther south it takes the name of "Scott's Brook." The brook that runs near James Pierce's house is called " Tully Brook :" the name is derived from Tully River, this brook being the source of West Tully, as it is called ; and East and West Tully unite, and empty into Miller's River, in Athol. The north-east part of Warwick, through which this brook passes, is called the " Kelton Corner." The name was derived from this circumstance : one Mr. Enoch Kelton, an early settler in the town, located himself on the spot where Peter Sandin now lives, and afterwards settled four or five of his sons around him, and lived in this patri- archal manner a considerable number of years.
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