USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Hudson > Abstract of the history of Hudson, Mass. : from its first settlement to the centennial anniversary of the declaration of our national independence, July 4, 1876 > Part 5
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But though Hudson has been actively engaged in worldly affairs, and has spent her money freely to promote temporal prosperity, she has not been unmind- ful of her moral and spiritual interests. From the first, the cause of temperance and good order has engaged the attention of the inhabitants, and it is believed that there is less of dissipation and disorder here than in most manufacturing villages. That restlessness and insubordination, - that jealousy of the success and
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hatred of capital, and those disgraceful strikes which have converted some manufacturing towns into a bedlam, have not disturbed the peace of Hudson, or created a hostility between the employers and employed.
Nor has their religious interest been neglected. Long before they aspired to be a town, religious socie- ties were formed, and preaching to a certain extent was maintained ; and, a catholic spirit prevailing, the village enjoyed a stated ministry long before any one sect would have been able to build a church, or support a minister. The first house of worship was possessed by the Baptists, who have maintained regular preaching for some twenty years. Their edifice was rather small, though neat and convenient ; but in accordance with the spirit of the age, the parish desired something more elegant and tasteful, and have just erected a house about one hundred feet by fifty, having two towers, and estimated to cost $16,000. The Unitarians have a neat, commodious house, built about 1861. The Methodists have a handsome church, but a short distance from the others, although, being on the southerly side of the main street, it is on lower ground, and hence is not quite as pleasantly located. They are all situated in the immediate neighborhood of each other, giving a significant indication, that as they all hope to enjoy one peaceful rest in another world, they are willing to approximate each other on earth ; and to their honor be it said, they manifest a liberal spirit, and are disposed to treat each other as brethren. These societies are supplied with regular religious instruction, and may be said to be in a pros- perous condition. But we must not omit the Roman Catholic or Saint Michael's Church. It was organized by Father M. T. MacGuire in 1869. Their house,
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though not in the group of the other churches, is a handsome building, situated on the hill, where it over- looks the others. They all dwell together in. har- mony.
The newspaper press doubtless exerts a considerable influence everywhere for good or evil on public opinion. It is obvious that local country papers cannot secure the circulation and support, and hence cannot command the talent, of the city journals, and consequently their influence will be less. Yet if the local press takes high and honorable ground, and avoids local scandal and mere party contests, it will furnish much intelligence, which will be pleasing and profitable to the commu- nity. Such a publication Hudson has enjoyed for a dozen years. In 1859 Mr. S. B. Pratt issued a paper in Marlborough, called the Mirror, which was liberally patronized in Feltonville ; but about 1864, having passed into different hands, it was given up. In the following year, Mr. C. A. Wood purchased the type and presses, and moved them to Hudson, where he started the " Hudson Pioneer." The pecuniary interest of the establishment has since that period changed hands several times, but the paper has remained, and is now in its twelfth volume. It is a neat sheet of eight columns, well printed, on good paper, and appears to be ably conducted.
It is a striking fact that printing generally follows close upon civilization, and the first issues of the press are a pretty sure exponent of the wants and feelings of the people. The first printing press set up in New England, was at Cambridge in 1638, in almost imme- diate connection with Harvard College, and this was ninety years earlier than any press was established in Virginia ; and the first issues from this press at Cambridge are so suggestive of the popular sentiment
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that I will state the first five issues in the order of their appearance : The Freeman's Oath, an Almanac, a Psalm Book, a Catechism, and a book of laws entitled A Body of Liberties. Here we have a portraiture of our Puritan Fathers -a kind of pictorial representa- tion of their thoughts and feelings, their manners and customs. Their Bibles, which they brought with them from England, were of course first read; then The Freeman's Oath must be taken; next the Almanac consulted to learn the signs of the times ; then they were prepared to join in a Psalm of praise, and to teach their children the Catechism, and after that they were prepared to study their Body of Liberties, and when they had learned their rights, they were ready to assert them in any presence, and to defend them at any hazard, whoever might be the aggressor.
We have already practically given the boundaries of Hudson, so that nothing is wanting to fix the locality, but to say that it is situated in the northwestern corner of the county of Middlesex, and is about twenty-six miles from Boston, and about twelve miles from Concord. The natural features of the township are attractive. Situated in the valley of the Assabet, there are no rugged mountains on the one hand, or sunken swamps on the other. While the general surface is substantially level, there is that pleasing variety of gentle swells, which attract attention and give beauty to a landscape. Mount Assabet, near the village, rises on the south side of the river, directly opposite the princi- pal settlement, to the height of from one hundred to two hundred feet, and, to use a military phrase, " com- mands" the whole village, and a large portion of that section of the town. This graceful swell of land is productive, and capable of cultivation to the very summit, and would afford elegant sites for those
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magnificent mansions in which retired capitalists delight to indulge. There are a number of these gradual elevations within a mile of the village, which would afford beautiful country seats. The roads are remarkably good, furnishing rural and inviting drives in this and the neighboring towns. The railroad, passing through the centre, connects the village with Boston, Lowell, Concord and Cambridge on the east, and with Fitchburg, Brattleborough, Keene and Green- field on the west. There is also a railroad substantially completed to Lancaster, a distance of eight or ten miles, which will open another line of communication with the towns on the north. The Massachusetts Central Rail- road is located directly through the village, and if that should be completed, it would make Hudson a grand railroad centre ; and if the other towns on the line of this contemplated road, would show the same public spirit, and afford pecuniary aid in proportion to this young and liberal town, that line of communication would not long hang in doubt.
The village of Hudson is not only well located, but is handsomely laid out. The streets are wide and well graded, and all adorned with trees blushing into youth- ful, leafy beauty. The streets are kept clean and unob- structed, and well lighted by night. There is nothing in the general plan or arrangement in the village to be regretted, except the neglect too common in laying out new towns, to reserve land in a suitable locality for a town common or a public park. But it is hoped that this omission will be supplied at no distant day. The convenience, beauty, and health of the place would be promoted by such a park, and the good sense and enterprise of the people will soon demand such a luxury, where the pent air of the work-shops can be exchanged for the fresh breezes of an open square.
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One characteristic of the village must strike every visitor as one of its attractions. Though the dwellings are not remarkable for their size, or the splendor of their architecture, they are marked for neatness and good taste, and for that apparent equality which dispels the idea of master and servant. But what adds greatly to the beauty and comfort of the. place is, that the houses of recent erection, and this includes most of them, are placed at such a distance from the streets, as to give a handsome front yard and grass plat, which protects the house from the gaze and dust of the street. And these plats between the house and the front fence, are generally adorned by flowers and shrubbery, which, with the avenues of maples marking the side-walks, give to the street, the yard and the house, a cheerful, rural appearance which must impress every beholder.
But leaving the village, there is no reason to be ashamed of Hudson as a township. Nearly the whole territory is capable of cultivation, and the township furnishes many excellent farms. The eastern part has a portion of light soil, but such lands are well adapted to grain, and with high culture will yield a good crop of corn, with less labor than is required on stronger and more rugged soils ; and when laid down in a good condition, will yield two or three fine crops of hay. Such land is well adapted to root crops and vegetable gardening, and a portion is desirable on every farm.
The territory of Hudson is well watered by the Assabet river and its tributaries. It has also a considerable stream from Berlin, which flows into the mill-pond, and furnishes a good privilege for light work. There is another considerable stream from Bolton, bear- ing the old Indian name of Wattaquadock, which unites with the Assabet at the lower end of the village, furnishing water for the tannery, and affording some
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small privileges above. Fort Meadow brook, below the reservoir, traverses a large section of the town. These streams, with the other rivulets and rills which feed them, furnish all that is necessary for the common uses of agriculture, such as water in the pastures and about the different parts of the farms.
On the whole, taking into view the nature of the soil, the topography of the township, the salubrity of the atmosphere, and the peaceable disposition of the inhabitants, with their admitted enterprise and thrift, Hudson will not suffer by a comparison with any of her neighboring towns. And if we add the facilities of communication, it will at once appear that she actually holds out more inducements to people to take up their abode within her borders, than any town in the region.
Fellow Citizens, I have detained you too long with the dry details of your own local affairs, which may perhaps cramp your broad views and generous emotions. You must realize that you are assembled as American citizens, to celebrate one of the most important events in modern history-the emancipation of one continent, and the modification of the institutions of another. We are assembled to commemorate the birth of free- dom, the equality of man, and his right to self-govern- ment. Though these doctrines appear to us to be self-evident, they were a century ago unknown, or, perhaps more truly, unacknowledged by the nations of the earth. We have met not merely to enjoy the pleasures and the festivities of the day, but to do homage to the memory of our ancestors, whose mature wisdom, cool deliberation, and unflinching devotion to moral principle, enabled, nay, compelled them to stand
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erect before the world, defying Acts of Parliament, Orders in Council, and decisions of Courts of Admiralty -nay more, defying the sword and halter of a haughty nation, before whose arms the powers of Europe had trembled.
Our fathers were politicians in the best sense of that term - they were statesmen, who had studied the science of civil government, and understood the true relations between the rulers and the ruled. They were perfectly acquainted with the principles discussed in the English Revolution, and saw most clearly that the measures adopted by the ministry were totally repug- nant to the principles for which they had contended ; and our statesmen were fully convinced that the minis- try, and not we, were trampling upon the fundamental doctrines of the English Constitution. Seeing this, they knew the path of duty, and their course was a plain one. It seems that in this case, as in all others, men were reared up for the occasion,-men who 'knew their rights, and, knowing, dared maintain them.' And among the prominent men who declared our independence, Massachusetts furnished her full share. John Adams was on the Committee which prepared the Declaration, and was its principal advocate in Congress. John Hancock, as President of Congress, was the first to sign that instrument, and in fact did set that bold and almost defiant hand to the document, before it was known that it would bear any other signature. And there was another Massachusetts man, whose name is borne upon that scroll, who does not appear as the first signer, or as the advocate on the floor of the house, but who had done more than any other man in the country to expose the injustice of Parliament, -to satisfy our people of their duty, and prepare the Colo- nies for self-government. You know, fellow citizens,
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that I must allude to Samuel Adams, who, by common consent, is allowed to be the Organizer of the American Revolution.
These are the men whom the country has delighted to honor, and these are the men we can safely hold up for the imitation of our children. Hancock and Adams* were the men whom Gage in his proclamation exempted from his promised pardon,-declaring their crime "too flagitious to merit anything but condign punishment." And what were the crimes of which these distinguished patriots were guilty? What had they done to expose them to the treatment that Gage had recommended, - to be sent to England to be tried for treason, - where he well knew they would be convicted. They had simply taught the people their rights as English subjects, and complained of the ministry and Parliament, because they had trampled upon their own organic law.
But, fellow citizens, while we acknowledge the ser- vices of these men, we should strive to imitate their virtues. Like Hancock, we should be ready to sacrifice our fortunes on the altar of our country, if the exigency should demand it. But, thank Heaven, we are not required at this day to make such a sacrifice : yet we are required to refrain from those peculations, - those wholesale swindles, which have destroyed so many other men, and brought such a stigma upon the character of a free government. Nor are we called, like Adams, to devote our whole time to the cause of our country, without any adequate compensation ; yet we should imitate his disinterestedness, practice his simple economy, and, above all things, adhere to that stern rectitude which nothing could bend. As our institutions were planted in integrity, and high moral principles actuated our fathers,-the same integrity, the
* See portraits at the end of the pamphlet.
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same moral principle, is required to continue our country prosperous and happy.
. I am aware that it has often been said that our institutions must rest upon education. This is undoubt- edly true, if the education is what it should be. If moral, physical and intellectual culture are combined, it furnishes a sure basis for free institutions. But a mere intellectual education, where moral principle is dis- carded, is very far from furnishing a sure basis for a free government. Such an education is a mere motive power, - a centrifugal force, a facility to action ; but whether that action be right or wrong, whether it conduct the possessor in the path of virtue, or in the road to ruin, depends upon the moral principle imbibed. In fact, in many cases, a mere intellectual and physical education will make a man a more expert villain than he could be without that training ; a skill in chiro- graphy may make a good clerk or an expert counter- feiter ; a knowledge of mechanism may produce a good mechanic or an accomplished burglar. So of other arts ; eloquence may be employed to " clear the guilty or to varnish crimes," and all the accomplishments of life may be made subservient to vice as well as to virtue. The observation we are compelled to take, shows that intellectual culture alone will neither save the individual from vice, nor our country from ruin. The arch traitors have generally been educated men.
" If parts allure thee, think how Bacon shined, The wisest, brightest, meanest of mankind."
No, fellow citizens, the highest education, without moral principle, is not sufficient to guide the individual, or sustain the Republic. Culture is not to be discard- ed ; but we need something more. The projectile force given to the planets is necessary to keep them in
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motion ; but it is the gravitating power which keeps them in their orbits, and compels them to pursue those regular and graceful circles which preserve the harmony of the spheres. We want knowledge - a knowledge of our country's rights - a knowledge of those funda- mental principles which give stability to institutions and permanency to empires. But this knowledge must be sanctified. It must be a knowledge drawn from a divine source - a full recognition that God rules the world in righteousness, and that human governments will prosper just as they copy the principles of the divine. We need a firm attachment to our country, and a love of her institutions ; but this love of country, this attachment for her institutions and laws must be based on a conviction that they are right, are such as heaven approves. Patriotism, when enlightened, should be classed among the Christian virtues, and should be cultivated as a source of happiness to ourselves, devotion to the best interests of others, and fidelity to Him who fixes the destinies of nations. That spirit of conquest which would wantonly strive to dismember a foreign nation, even though it would enlarge our own country, cannot be true patriotism ; and that attempt at plunder of which we have so many rumors, must be regarded as a gross departure from the principles which led to our independence.
Nations, like individuals, have their fate in their own hands. Ambition and vice are destructive of the final success of both. The Ruler of nations has fixed a penalty to disobedience, and though He is long-suffer- ing, the day of reckoning is sure to come. If we appreciate our blessings, and rightly improve our privi- leges, we may trust that our nation will continue to prosper, and the influence of free institutions will be felt more and more in every quarter of the globe. But
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if we yield to the allurements of vice, and disregard the moral character of our rulers, and suffer venality and corruption to reign in high places, we may expect that the day will come, when our republic may be classed with others which have come and gone, and left the sad reflection, that the people are not capable of self- government.
Fellow Citizens of Hudson : While I congratulate you on this Anniversary, on the success of our experiment of self-government, and rejoice with you in the growth of the Republic, and the consolidation of the Union, I cannot withhold my exultation over your local success and prosperity. From a' small village, consisting of a few dwellings, where the life-blood of the place was simply the gentle flow of the Assabet, and the stillness of the place was broken only by the croaking of the frogs and the clack of the mill, you have grown to be a prosperous town of nearly four thousand inhabitants, filling the village with the hum of industry, and sending your manufactured products to every part of the country.
And while your hearts are swelling with gratitude for your signal success, you will permit me, I am sure, to join in your rejoicing, and assure you of the interest I feel in your welfare. My knowledge of this section of the parent town, extends back about three-quarters of a century, and my attachment is co-existent with my knowledge ; and it would be affectation not to confess that the honor you have conferred upon me, in naming your town, has revived the interest I have always felt in the prosperity of the place. Here were the sports of my childhood, and here the riper reflections of my youthful days. In your village school I spent several winters with the children and youth of the place, most
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of whom have long since passed to a higher seminary, and have received, we hope, purer instruction than earthly schools afford. Here were breathed my first aspirations for future success in life ; and here was cherished that cheering consciousness, that our fate is in a great degree in our hands. I look back with pleasure to those early days, and seem to live my life over again in joyful anticipation and happiness.
" How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood, When fond recollection presents them to view ! The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wildwood, And every loved spot which my infancy knew. The wide-spreading pond and the mill that stood by it, The bridge, and the rock where the cataract fell ; * * * * * * * *
And e'en the rude bucket which hung in the well.
That moss-covered vessel I hailed as a treasure ; For often at noon, when returned from the field, I found it a source of an exquisite pleasure, The purest and sweetest that nature can yield. How ardent I seized it with hands that were glowing, And quick to the white-pebbled bottom it fell ;
Then soon, with the emblem of truth overflowing, And dripping with coolness, it rose from the well.
How sweet from the green, mossy brim to receive it, As poised on the curb, it inclined to my lips !
Not a full, blushing goblet could tempt me to leave it, Though filled with the nectar that Jupiter sips."
But many of the outward, visible things have passed away, or have been materially changed. The charac- teristics impressed by nature have generally remained. Old Prospect Hill, with his wood-capped summit, presents his rugged front, and looks steadily upon West Hill and Addition Hill, as if to mourn with them for the loss of their leafy crests, - while upon the left he looks upon Tophet Swamp, and seems to rejoice at its improved condition. Mount Assabet, the pride of the
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village, with her rounded grassy summit, smiles benig- nantly upon the whole region, and beholds the people gathering around her base, like the Israelites around Mount Sinai, as if to receive instruction and guidance. At the same time, the gentle Assabet is flowing grace- fully down her valley, thankfully receiving in the mill- pond her tributary from Berlin, and her equally accept- able Indian ally, the Wataquadock, from Bolton, to fill the vats at the tanyard, and aid in that ancient branch of manufacture. In these bold outlines, fixed by nature, there is a permanency ; but in all else, how changed ! Houses cover what I have known as grass plats, streets traverse what were formerly corn fields, and stately buildings rear their bold and imposing fronts to show the progress of manufacturing industry and enterprise. In this way, the small ancient shop near the Bolton line, at what has been known as the Cox place, and the shoe shop perched on the ledge, now departed, east of the residence of the late Colonel Wood, have not only been thrown into the shade, but have been annihilated, and Bruce, and Dunn, and other honest workmen, who were willing to labor to the last, that they might mend the soles of their neighbors, have been compelled to give place to more ambitious laborers, who, overlooking their immediate neighbors, aspire at furnishing new soles and bodies to people by the thousand, in distant parts of the country.
But while I can look upon these changes with complacency, if not with delight, there is another class of changes which fills me with sadness. "Our fathers, where are they !" When I pass through your village, and see your streets teeming with people engaged in active business, and stop to see your Felton, and Wood, and Peters, and Witt, and Pope, and others whose faces were familiar, I realize that they are departed, and
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if their places are filled at all, they are filled by their children, and perhaps in a majority of cases by their children's children! Such is the order of Providence. And it reminds you and me, and all of us, that we should so improve our time and opportunities, that we may leave as fair a character as the founders of your village. We shall perish, but your town will remain ; and as long as I am permitted to observe the growth or decline of human institutions, my benisons shall rest upon your pleasant town, trusting that your church spires, pointing towards heaven, may bring down upon yourselves and your institutions, that fostering care and protection, which will make you a happy and a pros- perous community while you are living, and that when you are sleeping with your fathers, your town may prosper and reflect the worth of its founders.
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OUR COUNTRY'S CENTENNIAL AND
HUDSON'S TENTH ANNIVERSARY.
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BY MISS PHEBE A. HOLDER.
"The Winds with wonder whist Smoothly the Waters kist."-MILTON.
THUS comes for us, this year of gold, The Nation's day-a century old ; Of suffering born, in conflict proved, Our freedom won, the price of blood. Now Peace, her white-winged dove sends forth, With leaf of blessing o'er the earth.
Ring out, glad bells, with silver voice, A chime to bid all hearts rejoice. The hill-tops catch the clear refrain, And quiet vales take up the strain ; The echoes wake on land and sea, The anthem of our jubilee.
The warm, bright skies of Summer bend In beauty o'er the smiling land ; With queenly robes she decks the earth In honor of our Nation's birth, And the blue waves are softly kissed By winds in wondering silence whist.
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The precious things of heaven are ours, Of suns, of dews, of falling showers ; Of lasting hills, of mountains old, Things of the deep, and mines of gold ; The buds of spring, the summer flowers, The harvest wealth that Autumn pours.
And precious joys of home we share, Sweet homes like bowers of Eden fair, With every bright and lovely thing, The taste may seek, or love can bring ; Homes rich with gifts the Lord hath given, An earthly dream of home in heaven.
Rare gifts of mind, of cultured thought, To minds with answering gifts are brought ; The poet's dream, the singer's lyre, The artist's soul, the statesman's fire, All glow 'neath Freedom's fostering ray, All ours, who live in this glad day.
God of the nations, who hath blessed Our father's land from east to west, Whose bounteous hand has given all, In grateful love, Thy Name we call ! In glad thanksgiving lift the voice, And in the Lord, our God, rejoice.
This day, the Century's cycle, fills ; The vast heart of the Nation thrills : And patriot fires more brightly glow, Kindled at Freedom's shrine anew. The Century's Fourth-our country's own- Comes like the glorious sun of noon ; And while its wondrous anthem swells
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Majestic as cathedral bells, Rising where first the Atlantic wave Pauses, New England's shores to lave, Rolling afar its music grand To the Pacific's golden strand, We join the mighty symphony, The chorus of the century - Responding to the Nation's call As one-a loyal heart in all - Our offering on this altar lay, Our tribute to this festal day.
And while our hearts are open wide To this vast joy, a flowing tide, Within the century's wreath we twine One simple spray from love's home vine. Amid the silent moving years No hundred on our roll appears ; A decade only may we claim Of separate life-with honored name Adding its lustre to our Town, And proudly worn, as queens their crown ; A newly risen light to grace Old Massachusetts' smiling face.
To loving eyes this vale is fair, As many spots more classic are. The silent dome of rounded hill, Green as in days of childhood still, Like sentinel, a guard to keep O'er peaceful homes below that sleep ; The Assabet, with gentle flow, Its waters blue as long ago ; Banks bright with fringing verdure still;
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The mimic fall where grinds the mill ; The graceful elm with limbs outspread, In leafy arches overhead ; Gardens, whose rare and lovely flowers, Seem like a dream of fairy bowers ; The sweet home lights, that brighter shine With beauty, caught at summer's shrine.
Amid our homes, like watch-towers rise, With signals pointing to the skies, The sacred temples of the Lord, Fraught with the blessings of His Word ; With sister influence standing near, The goodly shrines of Learning are, Where Knowledge opens wide her doors, And Science spreads her treasured stores. Trade has its varied wares outspread, And Wealth lifts up its stately head ; While Progress speeds her onward way With winged steps- no pause-no stay ;- Such marvels in her train unfold As in the magic tales of old ; Aladdin-like to wondering eyes Palatial homes in beauty rise- Colossal blocks and structures tower Above the "modest shops " of yore, Filled with the hum of Industry, The fount of our prosperity.
Born 'neath the waning Century's light, Our youth with smiles of promise bright, On this Centennial height we stand. Afar and near an outlook grand : May all an impulse gain to-day
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Nobler to tread life's future way, To set our aims, our purpose high, Worthy our Pilgrim ancestry. Men - centuries - pass ; good deeds remain A halo round an honored name ; And shining lives with influence sweet Still shine, though Life's sun long hath set. Such lives be ours ! A light to grace The Town that gives us home and place ; True to ourselves and to our God, Keep close in Virtue's upward road !
So shall the Future's mystic scroll, As silently its years unroll, Reveal, in fadeless lustre bright, Such names in pure and golden light. Her sons, her jewels shall be found : Our youthful HUDSON thus be crowned, Proudly her rank as peer may claim With sister towns long known to fame, A polished stone in crystal set Within our State's fair coronet : New glory for the crown she wears, Immortal 'mid the stripes and stars.
JUNE 27, 1876.
SAM'L. ADAMS
RUSSELL-RICHARDSON-SE
THE ORGANIZER OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
CHANGOGK
THE FIRST OGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
THR BULITCAN REVOLUTION.
疆
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W mutitalls pledge to each our sacred honour
JOHN HANCOCK,
RUSSELL-RICHARDSON-SC.
THE FIRST SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE,
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