USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > A History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, vol 1 > Part 27
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69
His Honor Mayor N. J. W. Fish, in his inaugural address in January, 1898, recommended that the City Council petition the Legislature that the shade trees in the public streets of the city be placed in the care of the Park Commissioners. In accordance therewith, the Legislature passed the following act, which was approved February 24, 1898:
Chapter 86, Sect. 1. The park commissioners of the city of Taunton shall have the custody, care and control of the shade trees in the streets, squares and public places of said city.
Sect. 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
The act imposed new and large duties upon the Park Commissioners, as there are very many and very large trees all over Taunton. Since that time the board has trimmed and removed trees, treated cavities in trees, and looked after the ravages of the elm-leaf beetles, the gypsy and brown- tail moths. In 1910, the board employed Frederick H. Carpenter to take charge of all tree work, and in 1911 he was followed by Leonard W. Hodg- kins. In April, 1918, Howard M. Briggs was elected deputy tree warden, and since then all tree work has been under his efficient supervision. In 1912, the board established a tree nursery on vacant land at Mayflower Hill Cemetery for the cultivation of shade trees suitable for city purposes.
His Honor Mayor Nathaniel J. W. Fish recommended in his inaugural address in January, 1898, that the City Council petition the Legislature that the public cemeteries be placed under the care of the Park Commissioners. In accordance with the petition the following act was approved March 9, 1898:
Chapter 153, Sect. 1. The Park Commissioners of the city of Taunton shall have the custody, care and control of the public cemeteries in said city, subject to all general laws relating to cemeteries.
Sect. 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Since then the Park Commissioners have been given care of all family burying grounds which have been endowed.
The City Council subsequently passed an ordinance governing the same. The Park Commissioners took possession and all charge of the public cemeteries the first of June, 1898. The cemeteries under the care of the Park Commission are: Mayflower Hill Cemetery, Plain Burying Ground, Summer Street Burying Ground, Oakland Cemetery, Westville Cemetery, Pine Hill Cemetery, Caswell (or Fairbanks) Cemetery, Caswell Street Burying Ground, Staples Street Burying Ground, King Burying Ground, Franklin Woodward Family Burying Ground, Knapp Family Bury- ing Ground, Crane Avenue Burying Ground, Greenwood (or Quaker) Bury-
TAUNTON-OLD "KNOTTY WALK," NOW TAYLOR'S BLOCK
-
DE
0
TOUT-1AYQUINCY MARKET
ـيم
1111
193
TAUNTON'S PUBLIC UTILITIES
ing Ground, Hathaway Family Burying Ground, East Weir Cemetery, Burt, Crane, Gulliver and Walker Burying Ground, North Taunton Ceme- tery, Presbrey family lot at Sandy Hill Burying Ground, William L. Walker Family Burying Ground.
On assuming charge of the cemeteries, the commission found many of the old burying grounds grown up to bushes and in very neglected condi- tion, and in many of these the early settlers of Taunton were buried. The commission had the trees, bushes and undergrowth removed and the sev- eral grounds cleaned up. The first neglected cemetery to receive their at- tention was the ancient burying ground on Summer street, which is the oldest burying ground in Taunton. Here general improvements were made, and the conditions greatly improved. Then, in 1906, through the generosity of interested parties, under the auspices of the Old Colony His- torical Society, the ancient burial place was again regraded and reseeded, and several of the old and frail headstones reset in blocks of granite.
The Plain Cemetery, formerly and now quite commonly known as "the Plain Burying Ground," comprising six and four-tenths acres of land, was once a part of the eighty-eight acres in the old Training Field, extending from Taunton Green northerly to this point. This lot of ground was in- cluded in the portion of the Training Field purchased by Rev. Samuel Danforth, the fourth minister of Taunton, and was presented by him to the town for a burial ground. Here lie the remains of many of the early inhabitants of the town, and of many Taunton soldiers of the French and Indian wars and of the Revolutionary War. Many families owning lots by inheritance still continue to use them for burials, but there is no room for new lots in that cemetery. The cemeteries now generally used are Mayflower Hill, started in 1862; Oakland, Westville, and Pine Hill. The cemeteries occasionally used are Plain Burying Ground, East Weir Ceme- tery, Staples Street Burying Ground, King Cemetery, Hathaway Burying Ground, North Taunton Cemetery, and the Burt, Crane, Gulliver and Walker burying grounds.
The members of the Board of Park Commissioners, 1894-1923, follow, with dates of appointment and expiration of service:
Charles S. Anthony (d. March 15, 1908), 1894-1908; William Reed, 1894-1913; Edgar L. Crossman, 1894-98; Dr. William W. Waterman, 1894- 1905; Leonard C. Couch, 1894 (two months), 1898-1900, 1909-17; Frank L. Fish, 1894-1907; Nathan Newbury, 1900-17; Dr. John B. Gillon, 1905-14; Charles H. Buffington (d. May 7, 1912), 1907-12; James E. Lewis, 1908-09; William O. Kingman, 1912-18; Thomas J. Morton, 1913-18; Simon Cote, 1914-20; John D. Fahey, 1917-22; John O'Brien, 1917-21; Hon. Louis Swig, 1918-22; Bernard J. Connolly, 1918 -; Leonard A. Pierce, 1920 -; Charles F. Foster, 1921 -; Charles E. Mason, 1922 --; Enos W. Hart, 1922 ---.
Taunton's Playgrounds .- The "playground idea," as it was at one time styled, has become so entirely a practical part of the city's progress that it could not now be eliminated without detriment to the life of the city itself. "The playground system" it now is, and a very vital part of the municipal system. Thousands of children have attached themselves to its advantages and benefits, season after season, and their directed play time is one of the unforgettable phases of the springtime of their lives. Their homes, the schools, and the city as a whole, share the wholesome effect
Bristol-18
194
BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS
of the beneficent playground enterprise. In playground usage, the ancient Greeks are emulated today here in Taunton, with the generous teaching of athletics in all its forms, and having the spirit of fair play taught on the public field.
At this time (1923) the city of Taunton has four ample and thoroughly equipped playgrounds-that at the Lovering lot, that off First street, Weir Village, and the two lots donated respectively by the Whittenton Manu- facturing Company at Whittenton, and the Corr Manufacturing Company, at East Taunton. The programme for girls is exactly like that in use in all the larger and metropolitan cities-hand-training, sewing, basketry, folk dancing, story telling; that for boys, athletics of every sort, baseball, tennis, volley ball, and the like; and the children have flocked to the play- ground, for they have found that physical strength and accomplishment are the outcome of the teaching of the supervisors. The average daily at- tendance during the year 1922 was 1260 children, and their diversions con- sisted of a succession of field days, of picnics, of parents' days, of "good English" weeks, and athletic contests. The members of the playground commission at that time were H. H. Shumway, J. E. Galligan, S. H. - Dupont.
It is to Ralph Davol, a native of Taunton, and one of its most enter- prising and gifted citizens, that is due the launching of the playground movement here. The city ha's him only to thank for the inauguration of a movement that has in later years become city-wide in its varied interests. In 1904 he first began to urge the establishment of recreative centers in Taunton; and when he was elected to the Legislature, in 1907, he framed a bill calling upon the electorate of Taunton to decide whether there should be playgrounds in this city. He gathered and increased local enthu- siasm for the future of the playgrounds by his donation, in 1912, of his at- tractively situated Oak street lot, with its natural amphitheatre. As the Davol playground it is henceforth known in Taunton history, and both Taunton children and grown-ups have reaped great benefits therefrom. There, during the Pilgrim Tercentenary, Mr. Davol directed a pageant of the Pilgrim era. Five years afterwards, June 30, 1917, the Holy Family playground at East Taunton was formally opened under the direction of Rev. Father William Cullen. It should be noted, too, that a playground was opened in the Cohannet school yard in July, 1911, supervised by Mrs. Hattie B. Woodward. assisted by Miss Ruth A. Woodward.
During the administrations of Mayors J: William Flood and Leo H. Coughlin, all of the ensuing programmes of playground enterprises have been planned and achieved. On July 4, 1917, the Lovering playground was opened, when Miss Susan L. Lovering raised a new American Flag, and there were addresses by Major J. William Flood and Hon. Frederick S. Hall. In 1918, the Weir Village section of the city was given needed at- tention in this regard. and the city purchased the Barrows estate. on First street, for the directed play and work of the children. During the same year. the Whittenton Manufacturing Company donated land for play- ground purposes on Pleadwell street, and the Corr Manufacturing Company, at East Taunton, gave a similar donation. Rev. Father Edward J. Mori- arty was chairman of the first playground commission, and he was assisted by Ernest K. Vanderwarker and Miss Elizabeth Corr. The commission for
195
TAUNTON'S PUBLIC UTILITIES
1921 consisted of Bernard S. Conaty, chairman; Mrs. Chester S. Godfrey and Joseph E. Galligan. Competent teachers have been placed in charge each season, the work and play of the children have been supervised in a masterly way, and the equipment and attractions make the various grounds the equal of any in New England.
Taunton Public Library *.- In every effort for the advancement of the welfare of the community, the Public Library has made its purpose mani- fest, and many citizens of Taunton have been foremost in their devotion to its varied and increasing service. The beginnings of this institution were appreciated in Taunton nearly a century ago, and that appreciation has be- come magnified into a high regard for such advantages as can only be offered by a progressive municipality. The city of Taunton in 1866, two years after its incorporation, came into possession of three small libraries, which in that year were united in the formation of the Public Library.
The Taunton Social Library, organized in 1825, the successor of parish libraries, had the support of many prominent citizens, and, like the proprietary libraries of that day, was dependent for its maintenance upon courses of lectures, May Day festivals. and upon gifts of books and of money from its members. This library, kept for many years in the office or place of business of the librarian, was in 1847 removed from the Bristol County Bank building to a new building erected by Samuel B. King on the northerly side of the Green, where it remained until 1863, when it was re- moved to rooms above the Bristol County Savings Bank. The following were the librarians of the Social Library in the order of their service: William A. F. Sproat, Henry Williams, Sydney Williams, James Dalrymple, Harrison Grey Otis Colby, Edgar H. Reed. Timothy Gordon, Seth Wil- liams, Arunah A. Leach. Benjamin R. Dean, Jane B. Carver.
The Young Men's Library Association was made a corporation in 1854, for the purpose of instituting and maintaining a library and reading room, especially for moral and intellectual improvement of the large number of young men in the community. Membership dues defrayed current ex- penses, and the surplus was used for the purchase of books. There were also gifts and special subscriptions of its members. Public lectures and other social activities contributed additional income, and a fund of a thou- sand dollars, established by Samuel B. King. was to be of aid, with its in- come, for the purchase of standard books. Among those who contributed collections of books and public documents were Hon. Edmund H. Bennett and Hon. James Buffington, M. C. Much also was accomplished by this association in the maintenance of evening schools and a debating club. This library was first located at the Bristol County Bank building, but in 1860 was removed to more commodious rooms in Union Block. The li- brarians were Henry C. Porter and Thomas Shepard.
The Taunton Agricultural Library Association was organized in 1860 through the special efforts of Hon. Edmund H. Bennett and others, and was possessed of an excellent collection of agricultural and scientific works, which formed a valuable contribution to the Public Library. Its librarian was George W. Hill. With these libraries, built up by slow degrees through a series of years, the collections of which numbered less than six
*By Prof. Joshua E. Crane, Librarian.
196
BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS
thousand volumes, the Public Library was attended in the first year of its existence with a circulation of twelve thousand volumes. It was located until 1904 in the building of the Bristol County Savings Bank, for the use of which the city paid an annual rental.
The sources of its income since its organization have been annual appropriations of the Municipal Council, including the proceeds of the dog tax, together with the income of the King fund of the former Social Li- brary, and of the Cobb fund of approximately forty thousand dollars, re- ceived by the trustees in 1916 as a bequest to the library as a beneficiary under the will of Samuel Crocker Cobb, late of Boston and formerly of Taunton, who died in 1891. This bequest became available at the expira- tion of certain life tenancies, for which provision had been made by the tes- tator, and is to be kept as a trust fund, the income of which only is to be used for the purchase of books. The library has been the recipient of many publications from the government, from the Smithsonian Institution, from the secretary of the Commonwealth and from many other sources. The largest donations of books from individuals were those made by the late Hon. Edmund H. Bennett, the first mayor of the city; the late Samuel O. Dunbar, the late Rev. Charles H. Brigham, the late Cyrus Lothrop, and the late David Paul Brown, Esq., of Philadelphia.
On September 10, 1903, the cornerstone of the present library building was laid, and on November 30, 1904, the building was dedicated with appro- priate ceremonies. The structure* is the result of the gift of the late An- drew Carnegie of seventy thousand dollars for the erection and equipment of a modern library building. It contains a large delivery room, reference, periodical and card catalogue rooms on the first floor; newspaper, lecture and trustees' rooms on the second floor; and children's library and reading rooms in the basement. There are upon its shelves about eighty thousand volumes, with a reference library which embraces also a large collection of New England town histories, vital records of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and many volumes of family genealogies.
Series of lectures have proved of value at various seasons, and mem- bership in the Library Art Club has provided numerous and attractive collections for exhibit in the library hall. Under the direction of the Cen- tral Library, branch reading rooms, prospective centers for the distribution of books, are maintained at Britanniaville, Weir Village and East Taunton. During the World War the library, with hundreds of interested citizens under the direction of the American Library Association, gathered hundreds of books for the use of the soldiers and sailors in the public service. The institution is governed by an excellent board of trustees, who endeavor to make the library and the reading rooms as accessible as possible to the public. Since its organization the Public Library has had the following librarians : Benjamin F. Presbrey, 1866-68; Edwin Manley, 1869-75; Lemuel T. Talbot, 1875; Walter S. Biscoe, 1875-76; Ebenezer C. Arnold, 1876-95; Joshua E. Crane, 1895-
Taunton's Newspapers .- In but few cities and towns have the local newspapers been received into the home of the readers with so genuine a fireside welcome as always has been the case in Taunton. From the times
*Representing a modern adaptation of the Roman classic style of architecture.
197
TAUNTON'S PUBLIC UTILITIES
of the "Old Colony Reporter," in 1821, to the "Taunton Daily Gazette," the home paper has been accepted so heartily that it cannot be dispensed with, and it is often truthfully declared that every word of it is read, "from editorials to ads-the freaks, the fashions and the fads."
Taunton's earliest regular weekly newspaper, the "Old Colony Re- porter," was first published April 4, 1821, a news vendor. that heralded an unbroken succession of newspapers, both weekly and daily, to this hour. "The Saturday Miscellany," a small weekly, had intermittently preceded the "Reporter," but its publication was of brief duration. Though the "Taunton Daily Gazette" of today is not a direct descendant of the "Re- porter" of a century ago, the editorial ancestry of the "Gazette" can easily be traced by way of Edmund Anthony and associates, who had been ap- prentices in the office of the "Reporter." The type of the latter publication was set, and the paper was printed on a hand press, in a small building that stood on Weir street, on the east side of the street, though the street at that time was little more than a winding and hilly road, known as Jockey lane. Jacob Chapin, a young lawyer, was the publisher, and the printer was Allen Danforth; and it was at that time that Taunton, with its popu- lation of 4500, was the largest town in Bristol county, New Bedford's population then being less than 4000, and that of Fall River less than 2000.
The "Reporter" at its beginning was a four-page sheet, nineteen by twenty-four inches, with five narrow columns on a page. In 1822 the paper was enlarged, and its name was changed to "Columbian Reporter and Old Colony Journal." Mr. Danforth retired from his activities with the publication in 1823, and thenceforth took up his residence at Plymouth, where he started the career of the Old Colony Memorial. His brother, George Danforth, succeeded him in the publication of the "Reporter," up to the year 1825, when, in April, Samuel W. Mortimer was the printer, so continuing until the year 1826. Christopher Hack and Edmund Anthony, both of whom had been apprentices in the "Reporter" office, succeeded him as publishers, and both in later years were to become printers and pub- lishers of more than local note. Mr. Hack retired from the paper in 1829, when Mr. Anthony became the joint publisher with Mr. Chapin, the orig- inal publisher of the "Reporter." After January, 1832, Mr. Anthony gave his attention to the publishing of the "Independent Gazette," with Henry Williams as the editor. Then Mr. Hack again became the "Reporter's" printer until October, 1832, when Mr. Chapin assumed its entire charge up to December of that year, when he sold to Franklin Dunbar, who started the "Old Colony Whig." The "Taunton Daily Gazette," the enterprising and successful newspaper of Taunton of this period, that has outlived all the rest, was first issued from the "Bristol County Democrat," June 10, 1848, by Edmund Anthony and Amos Kilton. Genealogically the "Gazette" is thus connected with these newspapers: The "Old Colony Whig," later became the "Whig and Reporter," and the "Taunton Whig," when Cap- tain John W. D. Hall changed its name to "American Whig," and then "American Republican," which later was united with the "Bristol County Republican."
Ezra Davol had begun the publication of the "Bristol County Tele- gram," a Republican paper, July 3, 1858; and in 1861, Captain John W. D. Hall disposed of his interest in the "American Republican" to Ezra Davol
198
BRISTOL COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS
and Joseph Wilbar, who then united both newspapers under the heading "Bristol County Republican," Rev. Ebenezer Dawes also having joint in- terest in the paper, which continued to be the leading weekly paper in Taunton for about twenty-three years. Captain Hall meantime became an associate with A. M. Ide in 1862, in the publication of the "Gazette and Democrat," which they later called the "Daily and Weekly Gazette." Mr. Ide retired from that newspaper in 1867, and Captain John W. D. Hall then had sole charge of it until he sold out to William and Milton Reed, October 1, 1872. As to the "Bristol County Republican," Davol, Wilbar and Dawes sold that paper in 1886 to A. O. Milne, who in turn sold it, in 1889, to W. F. Greenough, and the latter disposed of it, in December, 1889, to William Reed, Jr. The "Republican" was published with that heading up to Friday, December 10, 1910, the "Gazette" also continuing that and the daily, as before. The "Review of the Week," that appears each Friday in the "Gazette," is the vestige and summary of the "Republican." When William and Milton Reed became the publishers of the "Gazette," that newspaper was printed on the second floor of the Templar hall building. Later, it was removed to a building on Weir street next to the place of publication of the old "Reporter," where it continued to 1894, when it was removed to the building known as the Westminster Hotel. In 1899 the business was incorporated under the name of the William Reed & Sons Company. William Reed died in 1913, but the incorporated business has been carried on by his children, the older son, William H. Reed, having been gen- eral manager of the newspaper since 1900. George D. Guthrie is managing editor of the "Gazette"; Clifford L. King, city editor; James M. Lincoln, assistant editor.
The fire of 1838 destroyed the plants of the "Old Colony Whig," that at that time was being issued by Samuel O. Dunbar and Hiram Martin, and the "Daily Whig," that was not a success, and that was in the hands of Israel Amsbury, Jr., and Seth Bradford. The "Weekly Gazette" was then made a tri-weekly, under the name of the "Bristol County Democrat," with Edmund Anthony in full control. The first issue of the paper under this name was on Friday, October 12, 1838, when Marcus Morton, of Taunton, was nominated for Governor by the Democrats. Mr. Anthony went to New Bedford in 1849, when he sold his paper here to Abijah M. Ide, Jr., who was Taunton postmaster in 1853 and 1866, and who started the "True Democrat," August 1, 1848, which sustained the candidacy of General Caleb Cushing for Governor of the State. The "True Democrat" afterwards united both the weeklies as the "Taunton Democrat."
Charles G. Greene, of Boston, started the "Free Press" in 1823, that lasted about a year, the editors being Theophilus Parsons and Pliny Mer- rick. James Thurber and George Danforth began a weekly paper in 1827, called the "Commonwealth. Advocate," in the cause of Masonry; in 1830 its name was changed to the "Advocate," and in 1834 Major George Leon- ard bought it, made it a Democratic paper, and called it the "Sun." The "Star of Bethlehem," a religious paper, was issued from the "Reporter" office in 1825, with Lorenzo T. Johnson as editor. The "Aurora" was pub- lished in 1829 by H. A. Lowell, Esq.
Among the earlier newspaper publications was the "Dew Drop," that appeared in six volumes, from 1843 through 1848, with B. W. Williams as
199
TAUNTON'S PUBLIC UTILITIES
editor, a herald and messenger of the Washingtonian movement. Mr. Williams aided and abetted the interests of a score of temperance or- ganizations then at work in the town. The "Cabinet," William S. Tisdale editor, was another of the smaller publications of this period. The "Fire- fly," Thomas Prince editor, was published in the thirties. In 1889 M. V. B. Perley, of Newburyport, started the "Taunton Evening News" on Cohannet street, Simon Swig being interested in the business end of the paper. Mr. Perley sold to Thomas B. Eaton, of Waltham, and later the plant was acquired by a group of Taunton men-William A. Holmes, Enos D. Wil- liams, and others-and was published for a number of years in the Leonard block.
The "Taunton Evening Herald" was begun by Dr. Michael C. Golden. December 28, 1893, and it was published for several years from the old blue front building on Broadway, on the site of the present Courthouse block. It was later issued from the Taylor building on Taunton Green, up to the time of its sale, by Dr. Golden, in 1901, to the "Taunton Evening News," with which it was consolidated. John Latchford, John Collyer and Herbert L. Thurber were early editors, neither of these, however, being long con- nected with the paper. Of longer and more noteworthy effect on its policies was the editorial management of Samuel Hoyt and Henry A. Noyes, who was at the managing editor's desk at the time of the consolida- tion. The "Taunton Globe" was started in 1916 by James Driscoll. This newspaper ran along for a year, and was sold to New Bedford capitalists. It was again revived in 1918 as the "Taunton Evening Press," and was discontinued in 1919.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.