USA > Massachusetts > Gazetteer of the state of Massachusetts, pt 1 > Part 10
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In 1885 there were 1,387 dwelling-houses, 8,283 inhabitants, and 1,234 legal voters. The town has graded and mixed schools, with seven school buildings, which, with appurtenances, were valued at $88,150. There were four libraries having about 5,000 volumes, - of which the town public library had about 3,500, and church and Sunday schools the remainder. There are two papers issued weekly, the Freeman and the Zeitgeist, - the latter in German. Adams has seven churches ; of whose edifices two or three are quite superior. The Baptist church here was organized in 1826; the Congregational, in 1840; and the Universalist, in 1872. St. Mark's is the Protes- tant Episcopal church, while the Roman Catholics have two churches,- both at South Adams.
The territory of Adams, formerly called East Hoosac, was pur- chased in 1762 by Nathan Jones for the sum of £2,300. The first meeting-house was built of logs. The Rev. Samuel Todd, settled
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ADAM'S CORNERS- AGAWAM. 105
here in 1780, was the first minister. Fort Massachusetts, one of a cordon of defences raised for the protection of the people eastward against the French and Indians, stood at the north of Saddle Mountain, on the western side of the present North Adams. The town was incorporated on October 15th, 177S; in 1780 the plantation called New Providence was annexed; but in 1793 parts of Adams and neighboring towns were annexed to Cheshire. On April 16th, 1878, the larger part of the town was detached and established as North Adams.
In 1885 there were in this town thirty-five people who were over 80 years of age. Among the eminent persons of whom Adams was the native place, are Caleb Atwater (1778-1867), Stephen William Taylor, LL.D .; George Nixon Briggs, LL.D., governor of the Commonwealth from 1844 to 1851; and Susan B. Anthony (1820), the well-known pioneer advocate of suffrage for women.
Adam's Corners, in Northbridge. Adamsdale, in Attleborough.
Adamsville, a village in Colrain.
Ætna Mills, a village in Watertown.
Agawam is a very beautiful town having two postal vil- lages, - Agawam (centre) and Feeding Hills. In 1885, it had a population of 2,357, and a territorial area of 13,775 acres, of which 2,884 are woodland. There are 280 farms, 482 dwelling-houses, and a total of 1,346 buildings. On the north, and separated by the Agawam or Westfield River, is West Springfield from which it was taken; on the east is Longmeadow, separated by the Connecticut River; Southwick and Westfield bound it on the west, and Suffield in Connecticut on the south. It lies in the southern part of Hampden County, and about 100 miles southwest of Boston, by the Boston and Albany Railroad, which runs along the north bank of the Westfield River. The railroad stations are Springfield, West Springfield and Thompsonville. A fine iron bridge spans the Connecticut River at the southeast, and two the Agawam River. There is an excellent bridge connecting the town with Springfield. Trap, with the middle shales and sandstones, constitutes the geologi- cal formation. The land in the eastern part is in level, and undula- tions ; in the western part it is hilly and broken. Proven's Hill, in the western section, rising to the height of 665 feet, affords a magnificent view of the valley of the Westfield River, of the city of Springfield, and of the towns adjoining. An affluent of the Connec-
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GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
ticut River running through the central village furnishes valuable motive power. From the waters of these streams many shad and other valuable fish are taken.
The soil is sandy, in parts, but mostly a rich loam, and easy of cultivation. English hay, corn, rye, oats, buckwheat, potatoes and tobacco are the most valuable crops. Fruit trees abound, there being reported in 1885, 13,520 apple trees, 1,884 pear trees, and others in proportion. Milk to the amount of 624,257 gallons was sold in the same year ; when the entire dairy product was valued at $89,556. The principal manufactures are paper and woollen goods, whose an- nual value is estimated at about $94,724. The establishments are the Agawam Company Woollen Mill, the Worthy Paper Mill and gin distillery. The entire product of the town in 1885 was 8345,294. The valuation in 1888 was §1,218,530. The tax was $12.50 on $1,000.
There are two town-halls and seven school-houses, - the school property being valued at $23,725. The four Sunday-school libraries aggregate above 1,500 volumes. At the pleasant village of Feeding Hills is a church edifice of the Congregationalists, who also have another at Agawam Centre. Besides these, the Baptists, Methodists, and the French Catholics each have a church in town.
Thomas Cooper, Abel Leonard and Thomas Merrick settled in this place about 1660. It was incorporated as the " Sixth Parish of Spring- field," in 1757, - containing then about 75 families. In 1773, it be- came the "Second Parish in West Springfield." The first church was formed November 19, 1762, and the Rev. Sylvanus Griswold was appointed pastor. The second Congregational church was organized September 5, 1819. The town was incorporated May 17, 1855, tak- ing its name from the beautiful river which washes its northern border, then known only as the " Agawam."
Albeeville, a village in Mendon.
Alford is a small, mountainous farming town in the south- western part of Berkshire County, 150 miles west of Boston, on the extreme western border of the State. It is bounded on the northeast by West Stockbridge, on the east by the same and Great Barrington, on the south by Egremont, and on the west by Hillsdale and Austerlitz, in New York. It lies on the easterly declivity of the Taconic range of mountains, and has a range of hills along its eastern and northern line, and through its western side. The geological formation is Lauzon schist and Levis limestone. Galena and iron pyrites occur ; slate is found in several parts, and in the northeast corner of the town there are quarries from which variegated marble to the value of $2,600 has been taken in a year. The New York city hall was for the most part constructed of the marble from this quarry. The scenery of the western part of the town is wild and romantic. A noted feature in the northeast section is an eminence named "Tom Ball," from which a vast expanse of broken land is visible.
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ALFORD.
Seekonk River flows medially and southerly through the town, and furnishes power at several points. Burnham Brook enters it from the west. Green River, a very beautiful stream, rises in the highlands in the southwest section of the town, flows through a charming valley, and then, winding through Egremont and Great Barrington, enters the Housatonic. Across this stream the town has placed an iron bridge, 75 feet in length. Bryant wrote a fine descriptive poem on Green River, of which the following are the first lines : -
" When breezes are soft. and skies are fair, I steal an hour from study and care, And hie me away to the woodland scene, Where wanders the stream with waters of green, As if the bright fringe of herbs on its brink Had given their stain to the wave they drink. And they whose meadows it murmurs through Have named the stream from its own fair hue."
The valley of Seekonk Brook is fertile; and the principal village of Alford is built upon the margin of the stream in the southwest part of the town. The highlands afford good grazing for cattle and sheep,-of which the town had in 1865, of all grades, 1,062. In 1872 the number had fallen to 275, but in 1885 it had in- creased to 700. The area of the town is 7,7523 acres, of which 1,746 are woodland, consisting of maple, oak, chestnut, walnut, and gray birch. The population at the date mentioned was 341. There were then 63 farms and 92 dwellings, the total number of buildings being 293. The dairy product is the largest item in value, being, in 1885, $20,521. The value of the various manufactures was $13,074 ; of the entire product of the town, $68,907. The total value of pro- perty was $326,192. The rate of taxation in 1888 was $12 on $1,000. The nearest railway stations are Williamsville, Van Deu- senville, and Great Barrington on the Housatonic Railroad, running parallel to the town some two miles distant on the east side.
Alford has three school-houses, valued at $3,700; there is a Sun- day-school library having some 300 volumes. The Congregation- alists, Methodists and Baptists each have a church edifice, and there is a small Union Church. The number of men furnished to the Union forces in the late war was 26,- of whom five were lost.
Among the early settlers of the place were Eleazer Barrett, Robert Johnson and Simeon Hurlburt. They came about the middle of the 18th century. The southwestern part of the town was purchased of the Stockbridge Indians in 1756. It was incorpo- rated February 16, 1773; being named, it is supposed, in honor of John Alford, founder of the Alford professorship in Harvard Uni- versity. The Rev. Joseph Avery was settled as minister about. 1780, but was dismissed in 1787, on account of difficulties growing out of Shays' Rebellion. The most eminent names of the town are Dr. John Hulbert, Hon. John W. Hurlbert, Captain Sylvanus Wilcox of the Continental army; and Judge Justin Dawes, who was a native.
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GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
Allendale, a village in Pittsfield.
Allerton, Point, the northeastern extremity of Hull. Allston, a railroad station and village in the Brighton Dis- trict, Boston.
Amesbury is a prosperous manufacturing town lying on the northern border of Essex County, between the Merrimack River and the New Hampshire line, and about 41 miles north of Boston, with which it is connected at Salisbury Point by a branch from the shore line of the Boston and Maine (formerly Eastern) Railroad. It is connected with Newburyport by the same line, and also by a street railroad. New Hampshire bounds it on the north; on the northeast is Salisbury (separated by Powow River) ; on the south are Newburyport and Newbury, on the opposite side of the Merrimack; and on the west is Merrimack. The area is 7,332 acres, of which 862 are woodland.
The villages are Salisbury Point and Amesbury, which are also post-offices ; and the first is a railway station. The surface of the town is beautifully diversified with hill and dale, but without any extremities in elevation. Kimball's Pond, at the northwest corner of the town, is a fine sheet of water 408 acres in extent, and 90 feet above the sea. It has an outlet into Powow River, by a canal con- structed in the latter part of the last century. This river, which rises among the hills of New Hampshire, furnishes the principal hydraulic power for the villages along its course. It is a very con- stant and rapid stream, the aggregate fall in a distance of 50 rods at Amesbury mills being about 70 feet. The Merrimac River is navi- gable for large schooners to this place, and, in its deep and steady How, presents a scene of panoramic beauty seldom equalled.
The geological formation of the town is that known to geologists as Merrimack schist. Amesbury has about 80 farms, which, in 1885, yielded 72,624 as the aggregate product. The proceeds from dairy- ing were $18,363; vegetables, $8,296, with other crops in propor- tion. The leading business is manufacturing. There are several cotton mills, 13 carriage factories, 11 factories for undertakers' goods, 13 clothing establishments, and one or more shoe factories. The aggregate value of their product in 1885 was $1,876,190. The Amesbury carriage-makers enjoy a wide and enviable reputation from their goods. The valuation of the town in 1888 was $3.965,- 600; and the tax was $18.10 on $1,000. There are two national banks, whose assets, as shown by the last report of the comptroller, were together $1,043,563. On January 1, 1889, the Provident In- stitution for Savings for Amesbury and Salisbury held deposits to the amount of $1,767,248, with $79,863 in undivided earnings. The number of dwellings is 1,007; the population 4,403; and the legal voters 949. The town has graded schools, with 10 school build- ings, valued, with property attached, at $17,900. There are six
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AMIIERST.
libraries with about 10,000 volumes : the town public library having 5,000; a private circulating library about 2,500 ; the remainder being church and Sunday-school libraries.
Amesbury has two newspapers, the "News " and the "Villager," both of which possess a good number of admiring patrons. There are six religious societies ; of which the Congregationalist was or- ganized in 1831, and the Friends in 1701. The others are the Methodist Episcopal, the Protestant Episcopal (St. James'), the Roman Catholic (St. Joseph's), and the Universalist.
This place, once a parish of Salisbury, and called "Salisbury New Town," was incorporated May 23, 1666, and named from an English town seven miles from Salisbury in England. In the Massachusetts Records the reference to the name is this: "Salisbury new town . . . may be named Emesbury ; " but the spelling in the margin of the records is "Amsbury." In 1844 a part of Salisbury called "Little Salisbury " was annexed to Amesbury; and in 1886 Salisbury Point was annexed. In 1886 the western part of Ames- bury was established as the town of Merrimac. Manufacturing was early introduced. The machine of Mr. Jacob Perkins for cutting and heading nails, invented about 1796, was first set in operation on Powow River; and the Amesbury Flannel Manufacturing Company, with a capital of $200,000, was incorporated in 1822. The first church established here was organized in 1672; the first minister being Rev. Thomas Wells, who died in 1734 at the age of 87 years. That Amesbury has a salubrious climate is clearly indicated by the fact that in 1885 there were forty residents over 80 years of age. The records of the town from its organization to the present time have been well kept, -affording the basis of the excellent history of Amesbury and Merrimack by Joseph Merrill, published in 1880.
This town is the residence of JJohn Greenleaf Whittier, the poet who, more than any other, probably, represents New England. Of earlier worthies, there are Josiah Bartlett, M.D., a signer of the Declaration of Independence, who was born here November 21, 1729, and died May 19, 1795; and Paine Wingate, a member of Congress and a judge of the Superior Court of New Hampshire, was born in the town May 23, 1729.
Amherst, territorially, is a long narrow township in the nor- thern part of Hampshire County, 84 miles west of Boston. It is bounded on the north by Sunderland and Leverett, east by Shutesbury, Pelham and Belchertown, south by Granby and west by Hadley ; being 9 miles in length by 3} in width. The area in acres is stated at 16,865, of which 2,656 are woodland. The geo- logical formation consists of lower sandstone, middle shales and sandstones and calcareous gneiss. Steatite, or soapstone, appears in one or two localities. There are several medicinal springs in the easterly part of the town, of which practical use is made by one or more local sanitariums.
The scenic aspect of the town is very beautiful, it being diversi- fied by valleys, plains and swelling eminences. Forests of oak and
AMHERST COLLEGE, ENTRANCE TO GROUNDS.
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AMHERST.
maple constitute about a twentieth of the area, and the town has nearly 25,000 fruit trees. From College Hill, as well as other points, extensive and enchanting prospects are obtained. Pulpit Hill is an elevation in the northern section of the town. Hilliard's Knob, at the southern border, rises to a height of 1,120 feet above sea-level, commanding a wide view of the Connecticut River, valley, and outflanking mountains. Mill River, in the northwestern part of the town, runs through a beautiful glen, and has, in its course, two or three paper mills. Fort River, gathering its branches in the cen- tral part of the town, also affords mill sites. The New London and Northern Railroad of the Vermont Central system of railroads, by connection with the Fitchburg and the Boston and Albany railroads, affords ample means for travel and transportation. The carriage roads here are excellent, and an iron bridge 50 feet in length spans one of the streams. The number of inhabitants in 1885 was 4,199 ; of dwelling houses, 878; and of farms 311. Of the agricultural products the dairy yields a larger sum than any other ; being for the year mentioned $144,407. The butter and cheese made here are considered of superior quality. The total farm product was $400,820. The principal manufactures are paper, coaches, boots and shoes, palm-leaf hats, corn-brooms, and cabinet ware. Large items are clothing and straw-goods, $335,530; food preparations, $173,112, with a total of $718,524 for manufactured goods. The post-offices are Amherst (centre), North and South Amherst. There are a national bank and a savings bank; the latter having deposits, on January 1, 1889, to the amount of $1,119,395. The assessed val- uation of the town in 1SSS was $3,027,072, and the rate of taxation $15.25 per $1,000. The town has a graded school system, including a high school ; with thirteen school-houses, etc., valued at $65,000. There are, beside, about twenty private schools, having buildings and otlier property to the value of $647,355. Of these are Amherst College, incorporated in 1825; Massachusetts Agricultural Col- lege, incorporated in 1863; Mount Pleasant Institute, incorporated in 1846. Home schools and kindergartens make up a large propor- tion of the remainder. The buildings of Amherst College occupy a commanding site in the central part of the town, and consist of halls, lecture-rooms, dormitories, and a handsome granite church edifice. Walker Hall and Williston Hall, devoted to science, the Woods Cabinet of Geology, the Appleton Cabinet of Zoology, and the Law- rence Observatory (one of the finest view-points in the State), are principal buildings ; to which has been added an excellent gymnasium.
The Massachusetts Agricultural College is situated on elevated ground about a mile north of the central village. The buildings are of brick, and the grounds spacious, there being a farm attached. The work of the college, especially in the experiment department, is of great value to the agricultural interests of the State. In the town there are not less than twelve publie and institution libraries, having an aggregate of upwards of 55,500 volumes. The two colleges have above 48,000 volumes.
Amherst, originally known as "Hadley Third Precinct," was
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GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
incorporated February 13, 1759; being named in honor of General Jeffrey Amherst. The first church was organized, and the Rev. David Parsons, D.D., was settled as first minister, on the 7th of November, 1739. The second parish was incorporated in 1783, and Rev. Ichabod Draper, the first minister, ordained in 1785. He was followed in 1710 by the Rev. Nathan Perkins. The south parish was incorporated in 1824, and the north in 1826. In 1746 it was voted "to give John Nash forty shillings to sound ye kunk [conch shell] for this yeare," - for the purpose of calling the people to church. In 1793, a bell weighing 932 pounds took the place of the primitive instrument for this purpose. The Methodists, Episcopal- ians, Baptists and Catholics also have church edifices.
General Ebenezer Mattoon, a Revolutionary officer and a member of Congress, born in this town in 1755, died here in 1843. Silas Wright, a member of Congress in 1827-29, and 1833-44, was born in Amherst in 1795, and died in Canton, N. Y., in 1847.
Andover is a flourishing and delightful town of 5,711 inhabitants, 202 farms, 1,014 dwellings, and a val- uation, in 1888, of $4,952,750. The rate of taxation was $11 on $1,000. It is situated in the northwestern part of Essex County, about 23 miles from Boston. On the north is Dracut, Methnen and Lawrence; North Andover is on the northeast, North Reading and Wilmington on the south, and Tewksbury on the southwest. The territorial area is about 20,000 acres ; of which about 6,000 acres are woodland. The geological formation is calcareous gneiss, with an intervening bed of granite and steatite, or soapstone. The most conspicuous eminences are Prospect Hill, -just south of the centre of the town, - 420 feet, and Wood Hill, 320 feet above sea-level. The view from Seminary Hill, also, embracing the valley of the Shawsheen, is very beautiful and extensive. The Merrimack River forms the western half of the town's north line, and at the north- east receives the Shawsheen, which comes through the midst of the town from the south. In the southeast part is the little Skug River, flowing southwesterly ; while west of it Foster's Pond sends its waters to the Shawsheen ; and, near the northwest, at the feet of the hills, Haggett's Pond, with an area of 224 acres, gathers the waters which it discharges into the Merrimack through Fish Brook. The forests contain much white pine, white and red oak, white maple, white birch and hickory. There are, besides, great numbers of trees along the highways, - American elm, rock-maple, chestnut and lin- den, -some of which are more than seventy years old and very large. On the farms and village grounds are, in the aggregate, about 22,000 fruit trees. The soil, for the most part, is a rich sandy loam. The dairy products in 1885 were valued at $75,481; the vegetables, $52,140; and the aggregate product of the farms and market gar- dens $300,957. The principal manufacturing establishments are the flax and hemp mills, -having four large buildings, three of which are of stone and brick ; the woollen mills, - one establishment having four brick factories, and the other having one of brick and one of
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ANDOVER.
wood. These mills employ, the first about 300, the second 200, and the third 190. There are also shoe-shops, and other small fac- tories, making up a total number of 57. The largest products were shoes, $67,860 ; clothing and straw goods, $28,185; iron and other metallic goods, 8226,996; paints, chemicals, etc., $20,000; linen and woollen goods, $1,208,146 ; total manufactured goods, $1,780,916.
But the chief glory of the town is her educational institutions. Beside the public schools, which are creditable, there are twenty- four buildings devoted to private schools. The principal of these are the Theological Seminary, established in 1807; Phillips Acad- emy, incorporated in 1829; and Abbot Academy for girls in 1829. Phillips was the second academy in the State, and the seminary was the first of the kind in the country. All are well endowed, the seminary having had donations to upwards of half a million dollars. Twelve libraries furnish ample intellectual food to the people; there being two public libraries, while each school has its own, - the Theological School library numbering about 50,000 volumes.
The principal public buildings of interest at this time are the Sol- diers' Memorial Hall (a costly and noble building containing also a public library), the new grammar school-house, and the bank build- ing (Andover National Bank) whose estimated cost is $40,000. The savings bank, on January 1, 1889, held deposits to the amount of $1,810,000, -and a large surplus from profits.
Andover (centre) and Ballardvale are the post-offices; and these, with Frye Village and West Centre, are railroad stations on the Boston and Maine and the Lowell and Lawrence railroads.
Among other natural objects of interest is Red Spring, whose waters, tinctured with iron, issue from beneath a vast glacial deposit. The unsurpassed views from the summits of the northern highlands make them worthy of the attention of other than inhabitants of the region. The vision extends over the valleys of the Merrimack and Shawsheen, the wooded hills and the glimmering ponds, and the city of Lawrence,
" Pure and still.
Its shuttles ply, Its looms are busy -but the crystal sky Above it like a mother bends, until The pictured city seems with peace to fill,"-
and many another village there, indicated by the spires, rising oft above " cathedral elms."
In Andover there are many churches, - the Congregationalists having five; while the Baptist, Episcopal and Methodist each have one, and the Roman Catholics two. Of these three are of stone, and others still of attractive architecture.
The region is certainly favorable to length of days, for the last State census shows that there were 82 persons over 80 years, and one over 100 years of age.
About 400 men from Andover entered the Union army during the late war, of whom 40 were lost.
The Indian name of this town was Cochickawick. Its present
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THE CHAPEL.
PHILLIPS HALL. BARTLETT CHAPEL.
BARTLETT HIALL.
BRLCHIN HALL.
THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. - GENERAL VIEW.
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ANGIER'S CORNER -ARLINGTON.
name was from Andover, Hants County, England, from which sev. eral of the early settlers came. The land . was purchased by Rev. John Woodbridge of the sagamore Cutsnamache for the sum of six English pounds cash and a coat. It was incorporated as a town, May 6, 1646. In the year 1676 depredations were committed by the Indians: Joseph Abbot was killed; his brother Timothy taken pris- oner, but afterwards restored ; Mr. Edward Faulkner's house was burned, Roger Marks was wounded, and Mr. Haggett and two of his sons were captured. In 1698 Assacumbuit led about forty Indians into Andover, burned two dwellings, killed Simon Wade, Nathaniel Brown, Penelope Johnson, Captain Pascoe Chubb, his wife Hannah, and a daughter of Edmund Faulkner. During the witchcraft delu- sion in 1692, more than fifty complaints were made against persons in the town for bewitching or afflicting their neighbors or compan- ions ; and three persons - Samuel Wardell, Martha Carrier, and Mary Parker - were tried, found guilty, and promptly hung for witchcraft.
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