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The Merrimac, one of the principal rivers of New England, and
.
18
GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
so called from a word signifying " sturgeon," enters the State, a broad and majestic stream, at Tyngsborough, and then, soon bending to the north-east, pursues that course to the ocean. By its immense power at Lowell and Lawrence the machines of the vast manufacto- ries of those industrial cities are propelled. In its course, it probably turns more spindles than any other river in the world. It spreads out into a broad harbor at Newburyport, and is navigable for small vessels as far as Haverhill. The mouth is somewhat obstructed by a shifting sand-bar.
Charles River, called by the Indians Quinobequin, rises in Hop- kinton, and after a very circuitous course, during which it sends a portion of its waters into Neponset River, enters Boston Harbor at Charlestown. It is navigable seven miles, - to Watertown. Nepon- set River, after turning many mills, meets the tide-water at Milton. Taunton River carries the waters of parts of Bristol and Plymouth Counties into Narragansett Bay. It is fed by many ponds, and noted for its alewive-fisheries. North River drains the eastern part of I'lymouth County, and flows into the sea at Marshfield. To the water-power afforded by these streams, which flow towards every point of the compass, - though, in the mountainous regions, mainly towards the south, - the State is, to an eminent degree, indebted for its industrial activity and commercial growth. They compensate, in some measure, for the rich mineral and agricultural resources which some other States possess. Along the margin of these streams the railroad lines connecting the manufacturing towns and villages are generally extended; and the valleys through which they pass are the most fertile of the State.
Massachusetts has a very large number of lakes and ponds, which serve to enhance the beauty of the scenery, to purify the atmosphere, and ameliorate the climate. They are generally well-stocked with perch and pickerel, sometimes with black bass ; and are often used as reservoirs to supply the mills upon the streams below, or the towns and cities near them. Almost every town, indeed, can boast of one or more beautiful sheets of clear and sparkling waters within its bor- ders, as a favorite resort for boating, fishing, gunning, in the summer, and for skating in the winter. From many of these ponds large quantities of ice are cut and stored in houses for the Southern mar- ket. Among the most noted of these bodies of fresh water are Well- ham Pond, remarkable for the clearness of its ice; Spot Pond in Stoneham, from which Melrose is supplied with water; Watuppa Pond, furnishing vast motive-power to Fall River; Billington Sea in
19
THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS.
Plymouth ; Sowampsett Pond, a favorite of King Philip, in Lake- ville ; Monponset Pond in Halifax ; Punkapog Pond in Randolph; Cochituate Lake, from which Boston is in part supplied with water, in Natick; Walden Pond, beautifully described by Thoreau, in Con- cord; White-hall Pond in Hopkinton; Sandy Pond in Ayer ; Quinsig- amond Pond, a very charming expanse of water of 1,051 acres, dotted with islands, in Shrewsbury ; Quaboag Pond in Brookfield; and last, though not least in name, Chaubunagungamaug Lake, whose waters swell the French River in Webster. The total area of the ponds in the State, containing over ten acres, is according to the estimate of the late Mr. H. F. Walling, topographer, 92,938 acres. They are of inestimable value in a sanitary point of view : and the purity of their waters should be carefully preserved; their depth, boundaries, inlets and outlets, increase or diminution, scientifically surveyed and noted. They are to be classed among the most important possessions of the State.
CLIMATE.
The climate of the State is very changeable, but, in general, con- ducive to mental vigor, health, and longevity. On the seaboard, the easterly winds are disagreeable to those affected with pulmonary dis- eases. In the higher lands of the interior, and in the alpine regions, the air is bracing and salubrious.
Though subject to sudden and frequent changes in temperature, the summer season is dry and delightful. The atmosphere in Au- gust and September is remarkably clear and serene. The morning and evening breezes are pure, refreshing, and delicious.
There is in autumn a period of charming weather known as the " Indian Summer."
" In the month of October," says the Rev. James Freeman, "after the frosts which commonly take place at the end of Septem- ber, the south-west wind frequently produces two or three weeks of fair weather, in which the air is perfectly transparent; and the clouds, which float in a sky of the purest azure, are adorned with brilliant colors.
" This charming season is called the Indian Summer, - a name which is derived from the natives, who believe that it is caused by a wind which comes immediately from the court of their great and benevolent God Cautantowwit, or the south-western God, - the God who is superior to all other beings, who sends them every bless-
20
GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
ing which they enjoy, and to whom the souls of their fathers go after decease."
The winter season - which commences in December, and con- tinues till March -is cold and rigorous, the ground being some- times covered with snow through the entire period, and the mercury often falling below zero.
The temperature on the seaboard is so modified by the Gulf Stream as to be ten degrees higher in winter at Martha's Vineyard than at Williamstown, where it has an average of twenty-three de- grees. The average annual rain and snow fall varies from thirty- nine inches at Nantucket to forty-five inches on the highlands of Worcester County.
The north-east winds, attended as they are with a high dew-point, and often with rain or sleet or snow, and the sudden changes in the temperature, sometimes falling forty degrees in half as many hours, are the most unpleasant features.
The record of observations on temperature and rainfall, kept at . Amherst, cover a period of fifty years, commencing with 1836. The highest temperature was on July 20, 1854, when the mercury reached 97º f. The lowest temperature in that year was 9.60; the mean being 46.99. The lowest temperature in the entire period was 22.00 degrees below zero, in 1844, 1873, and on January 5, 1886, - the last of the fifty years in this series. The highest record for the same year was 93.60; the average being 45.23. The average temperature for the period from 1836 to 1862, (25 years), for the winter months, - December, January, and February, was 24.53; and for the summer months, - June, July, and August, 68.26. For the same seasons from 1862 to 1887, (25 years), it was 25.21 and 68.53. The largest rainfall of the fifty years under observation was that of 1863, which amounted to 56.19 inches; the smallest was that of 1864, amounting to only 34.44 inches. The attainable records of the snow-fall are so incomplete that they are of little value. The prevailing direction of the wind in 1887 was north- west; the currents of January, February, March, April, August, September, October, November and December being mainly from the north-west, while those of May and June were from the south.
The peach and apricot come into bloom about the middle of April, the cherry a little later, and the apple about the middle of May; at which period planting generally begins.
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21
THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS.
SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS.
The State presents almost every variety of soil, from the lightest and least productive to the strongest and most fertile. In the south- eastern part the land is level and sandy ; yet there are many places which produce heavy crops of hay and grain. In the north-eastern part are many valuable salt marshes, which afford abundance of good hay to the farmers on the seaboard. In the central or hilly portions of the State the soil is generally good; it being a clayey or sandy loam, and well adapted to the growth of the cereals, the escu- ! lent roots, and fruit and forest trees. Here are found, especially in the well-watered towns, some of the best farms in the State. The . valley of the Connecticut is remarkable for its fertility ; and the mountainous lands beyond that river are excellent for grazing and the growth of timber. Extensive bogs of peat are found contiguous to the light and sandy sections, by the judicious use of which the soil is much improved.
In the vicinity of the metropolis and other cities the farms have been rendered very fertile, and often present the appearance of one continuous and highly-cultivated garden.
The principal agricultural productions are hay, potatoes, Indian corn, oats, rye, barley, wheat (to some extent), buckwheat, beans, broom-corn, hops, tobacco, garden vegetables, apples, pears, cherries, peaches, quinces, and small fruits. Much attention is given to the cultivation of the grape and cranberry. Large quantities of butter and cheese are made, especially in the midland counties ; and many farms in the vicinity of cities are devoted to the production of milk for the market. Wool-growing occupies, though less than formerly, the attention of many of the farmers in the western and southeast- ern sections.
The farms are generally owned in fee by their occupants, and are generally from forty to two hundred acres, divided into convenient lots of mowing, arable, pasture, wood land, and swale or meadow, and fenced with stone wall or wooden posts and rails or wire. Through the agency of fairs, farmers' clubs, agricultural papers, and the Board of Agriculture (established April 21, 1852), great im- provement has been made in the cultivation of the soil during the last thirty-five years.
By the last returns of the agricultural condition of the State there were in 1885, 45,010 farms embracing 3,898,429 acres, valued at $110,700,707, employing 77,661 persons, and producing to the aggregate value of $47,756,033.
22
GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
The following table, showing the value of the product by classes, is from Volume III of the Census of the State for 1885, prepared under the direction of Carroll D. Wright and published in 1887.
Animal products
$3,218,444
Clothing, needle work, etc.
84,141
Dairy products
13,080,526
Food products
632,537
Green-house products
688,813
Hot-house and hotbed products
73,983
Liquors and beverages
395,173
Nursery products
138,439
Wool products
2,924,574
Woollen goods
33,948
Other products
609,989
Cereals
1,855,145
Fruits, berries, and nuts
2,680,804
Hay, straw, and fodder
11,631,776
Meats and game .
2,252,748
Vegetables .
5,227,194
TREES, SHRUBS AND PLANTS.
Of timber trees the State has between fifty and sixty kinds indi- genous to its soil. Among these may be mentioned the graceful elms ; the oaks, of which ten different kinds are found; the rock, the white, and the red-flowering maples; the chestnut, used exten- sively for railroad ties; the walnut, the hickory, the beech, the gray, white, black, and yellow birches ; the poplar and basswood, now used for making paper; the willow, the sycamore, the savin, the white, pitch, and red pine ; the spruces, the hemlock, the larch, the fir, the arborvitae, the cedar, and the horn-beam.
The primeval forest which once covered the State has long since been felled; and such is the demand for timber, that few trees are now permitted to attain their natural growth. The forests, in gen- eral, seem young and thrifty ; and it is hoped, that for the sake of the salubrity of the air, the supply of the water-fountains, as well as for the beauty of the scenery, they will be, so far as practicable, protected and extended. The laudable custom of planting forest- trees by the owners of the barren lands of Cape Cod might with profit be followed through the State. Were the song,
" Woodman, spare that tree."
Poultry products
2,227,799
23
THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS.
more frequently sung, and the spirit of the ditty heeded, the scenic beauty, sanitary condition, and water-power of the Commonwealth would be materially improved, and the revenues augmented.
The value of the wood products in the year 1885 was $2,924,574 ; in which amount is included the lumber product, of $740,102. There were destroyed by fire in the same year, forest trees to the estimated value of $82,254.
The most valuable and common shrubs indigenous to the State are various kinds of blueberry and whortleberry; the raspberry, black and red; the barberry and bayberry (myrica) ; the sumac, used for tanning; the elder (sambucus) ; the high and low blackberry ; the beach-plum (Prunus maritima) ; and the buckthorn. The laurel (Kalmia latifolia), the azalea, the black alder, May-flower, wild rose, the aronia, mountain-raspberry, spiræa, pepper-bush (Clethra alni- folia), and other beautiful flowering-shrubs, decorate the margin of the streams and the pasture lands.
Some of the wild flowers of the spring are the ground-laurel, and trailing arbutus which often appear before the snows are gone ; the windflower, or anemone; various species of the ranunculus ; the dan- delion ; the Houstonia cerulea ; the white, the blue, and yellow violet ; the strawberry ; the whiteweed, or gowan; the adder's-tongue ; and the Claytonia, or spring beauty. As the season advances, the wild geranium, the iris, the cardinal-flower, the Saracencia, St. John's- wort, the beautiful pond and meadow lilies, the campanula, the lupine, the yarrow, the orchis, and the asclepias appear ; and the autumn brings the coreopsis, various species of the aster, the golden- rod, the aquatic sagittaria, the Linnea borealis, and the blue gentian. The ferns, mosses, lichens, and trailing vines are very beautiful and abundant. The autumnal tints of the forests are, especially where the maple abounds, remarkably varied and brilliant. The forest bloom of the autumn has been styled "the peculiar glory of New England."
QUADRUPEDS, BIRDS AND FISHES.
In the early settlement of the State, the people were greatly an- noyed by the depredations of the black and brown bear and the wolf, which ranged the deep forests, and often came by night to prey upon the cattle in the clearings. The catamount and wildcat were also formidable enemies. The moose, the red deer, and the beaver were quite numerous : the traces of the latter animal are frequently met with in the meadows. where it felled the trees to form a dam across
24
GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
the streamlet. A few red deer still remain upon Cape Cod ; but the other animals named above, if we perhaps except the wildcat, have long since disappeared.
The red fox (Canis vulpes) still ranges through the sparsely-settled portions of the State. The porcupine, the raccoon (Procyon lotor) and otter, now and then appear in some sequestered places. The mink and the muskrat are quite common on the margin of the streams ; the woodchuck and the polecat (Viverra mephitis), in the fields ; the striped, red, and gray squirrels, and the rabbit, in the forests. The flying-squirrel and the ferret are occasionly taken. The most mischievous of these denizens of the field and forest is the woodchuck, which is very prolific, and, by night as well as day, destroys the tender vegetables of the farm and garden.
Of birds of prey, the fish-hawk, the red-tailed hawk (Falco borealis), the red owl, cat-owl, and the snowy owl, are the most common. Occasionally the white-headed eagle, emblem of our country, of solemn cry and towering flight is seen in the mountain- ous and desolate regions. Of the omnivorous birds, the most fre- quent are the crow, the blue jay, and the chickadee (Parus atricapillus), which spend the winter here; the meadow-lark ; the Baltimore oriole. the red-winged, the cow and crow blackbirds ; the rice-bunting, or bobolink ; and the cedar-bird; - all of which de- stroy innumerable insects, and regale us with their varied songs.
The robin (Turdus migratorius), pewit, bluebird (one of our earliest spring visitants), the brown thrush and the wood-thrush (Turdus mustelinus), both most beautiful singers, and the house- wren, are the most common of the insectivorous tribe; and of the passerine, the most abundant are the snow-bunting, blue snow-bird (Fringilla hiemalis), the song-sparrow, the confiding chipping-spar- row, and the American goldfinch. Of woodpeckers and swallows there are several varieties ; and the humming-bird is not at all un- common. The nighthawk and whippoorwill (Caprimulgus vociferus) may be heard in the country almost every evening in the summer season.
Formerly the wild turkey and the heath-hen (Tetrao cupido) were plentiful in the State ; but the former is found only now and then among the mountains, and the latter only on the Island of Martha's Vineyard, where great pains are taken to preserve it.
The quail (Perdix Virginiana) is not as common as it used to be ; but the partridge or properly, ruffed grouse, though much hunted, is still found in almost every forest. Woodcock (Rusticulus minor) and
25
THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS.
snipe (Scolopax Wilsonii) are plentiful; and, along our beaches, multitudes of plovers, curlews, herons, sandpipers, ducks, and other water-birds, are killed.
The ponds and streams of the State are generally well stored with fish : the most common are the trout, which sometimes attains the weight of three or four pounds; the pickerel (Esor reticulatus), which has been found to weigh as much as seven pounds ; the com- mon perch (Perca flavescens) ; the pond-perch (Pomotis vulgaris) ; and the beautiful leuciseus.
The salmon (Solmo salar), formerly abundant, is still caught in the Merrimack and Connecticut; and shad, in spring, aseend these and other rivers.
But the dams for manufactories are driving both the salmon and the shad from the waters of the State. The sturgeon is sometimes taken from the Merrimack ; and by the Indian name of this fish the river has been called. The black bass and trout are now raised for profit, as well as pleasure, in many natural and artificial ponds; aud goldfish has become quite common in several localities.
Immense numbers of alewives, smelts, and striped bass, ascend our tidal streams in the spring months, and furnish valuable fisheries to the people on the seaboard.
But the cod, the haddock, halibut, and mackerel, which frequent the waters off the coast in countless numbers, are an inexhaustible source of revenne to the State; and, in taking them, large numbers of its hardy citizens are engaged. In this business the city of Gloucester has the lead.
The following also, should be reckoned as Massachusetts' species, since they are found in her inland waters and along her shores : - the porgy, hake, pollock, cusk, bluefish, swordfish, turbot, scup, sqnateague, squid, tautog, eels, quahaug, crabs, oysters and clams.
In 1885, there were employed in the fisheries 866 vessels belong- ing in Massachusetts ports; while 15,435 persons were in some ca- pacity engaged in this industry. The capital invested in fishing boats and vessels and appliances at this date was $8,660,581. The value of the year's products $6,462,692. Of this sum, $1,270,543 was from whale and seal products.
CIVIL DIVISIONS, AND POPULATION.
The State is divided into fourteen counties, namely : Barnstable (containing 15 towns), Berkshire (32 towns), Bristol (20), Dukes (6), Essex (35), Franklin (20), Hampden (22), Hampshire (23),
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1
26
GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
Middlesex (54), Nantucket (1), Norfolk (27), Plymouth (27), Suffolk (4), and Worcester (59). There are 25 cities and 326 towns, all be- ing classed as towns in the above distribution.
The cities in the order of population, are, - Boston (population, 390,406), Worcester (68,313), Lowell (64,051), Cambridge (59,660), Fall River (56,863), Lynn (45,861), Lawrence (38,845), Springfield (37,557), New Bedford (33,393), Somerville (29,992), Salem (28,084), Holyoke (27,894), Chelsea (25,709), Taunton (23,674), Haverhill (21,795), Gloucester (21,713), Brockton (20,783), Newton (19,759), Malden (16,407), Fitchburg (15,375), Waltham (16,409), Newbury- port (13,716), Northampton (12,896), Quincy (12,145), Woburn (11,750).
The cities are governed by a mayor, a board of aldermen, and a common council, chosen by ballot, annually by the people. For convenience in public business, the cities are usually divided into wards.
The towns, also, choose annually their own officers, and raise and appropriate money for schools, roads, and various other public uses. The principal officers are the " selectmen" and a "town clerk." There are also usually chosen various other officers, or committees, for the supervision of schools, roads, indigent people, and other purposes. For the convenience of schools, and the care of the roads the towns are usually divided into districts.
This municipal system allows, probably, more freedom to the citi- zen than any other form of government in existence, and appears less liable to abuse than any other. The town is the unit in the civil system of all governments which can properly be called free; and in it are the springs of the political power of the State.
In 1630 there may have been in the Plymouth and Massachusetts colonies an aggregate of 800 white people; and, ten years later the number had arisen to about 9,000. From the most reliable data, it is probable that the population in 1650 was about 16,000; in 1670 about 35,000 ; and in 1700, according to the anuals of Dr. Holmes, about 70,000. In 1750 the number of the inhabitants had arisen to about 220,000, Five years later, there were in the Commonwealth (including the District of Maine) 2,717 negroes. The first census taken officially was in 1765, when the population was 238,423. This had arrisen, in 1770, to 262,680; in 1780, to 316,900; in 1790, to 378,787; in 1800, to 423,245; in 1810, to 472,040; in 1820, to 994,514; in 1830, to 610,408; in 1840, to 737,699; in 1850, to 994,514; in 1860, to 1,231,066; in 1770, to 1,448,055; in 1875, to 1,651,912 ; in 1880, to 1,783,085; in 1885, to 1,942,141.
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27
THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS.
The two following tables are from the Registration Report of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Dec. 1, 1888.
·MASSACHUSETTS . DISTRIBUTION . OF . THE . POPULATION . BY . SEX . AND AGE . PERIODS STATE . CENSUS . OF . 1885 . . RATIO. PER MILLION INHABITANTS
AGES
50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0
10000 20000 50000 40000 50000
OVER 100
95 - 100
90- 95
85- 90
MALES
FEMALES
80-85
75 - 80
70 - 75
65 - 70
60- 65
55 - 60
50 - 55
45 - 50
40-45
35- 40
30- 35
25-30
20 - 25
15 - 20
10 - 15
5 - 10
1
0 - 5
28
GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
* Births, Marriages and Deaths, with the Population and Rates, 1850-1887.
YEARS.
Population.
Births.
Marriages.
Deaths.
Excess of Births
over Deaths.
Births to 1,000
Persons.
Persons Married
to 1,000.
Persons.
Rate of Increase
to 1,000 Persons.
1850,
994,514
27,664
10,345
16,606
11,058
27.82
20.80
16.70
11.12
1855,
1,132,364
32,815
12,329
20,798
12,047
29 01
21.77
18.37
10 64
1S60,
1,231,067
36,051
12,404
23,068
13,983
26.28
20-15
18.74
10 54
1865,
1,267,031
30,249
13,051
26,152
4,097
23.87
20 60
20.64
3.23
1870,
1,457,451
38,259
14,721
27,329
10,930
26.25
20.20
18.75
7.50
1875,
1,651,912
43,906
13,063
34,978
9,018
26.63
16.54
21.17
5.40
ISSO,
1,783,085
44,217
15,538
35,202
8.925
24.50
17.42
19.79
5.01
1885,
1,942,141
48,790 50,788 53,174
17,052 18,018 19,533
38,094 37,244 40,763
10,696 13,544 12,411
26.45
19:63
20:28
6.17
* In other than census year the populations and rates have been estimated, in order that an approximate comparison may be made.
LEADING INDUSTRIES IN DETAIL.
MANUFACTURERS.
MALES.
FEMALES.
TOTAL.
Boots and Shoes,.
48,013
14,390
62,403
Building,
48,808
19
48,827
Carriages and Wagons,.
5.323
43
5,366
Clothing,
5,732
27,564
33,296
Cotton Goods,
26,844
31,521
58,365
Food Preparations,.
6,400
738
7,138
Furniture,
7,841
606
8,447
Leather,.
9,777
149
9,926
Machines and Machinery,.
15,658
93
15,751
Metals and Metallic Good's,
27,755
1,766
29,521
Paper and Paper Goods, ..
4,680
3,781
8,461
I'rmting, Publishing and Bookbinding,
6,475
2.349
8,824
Rubber and Elastic Goods,
3,029
2,147
5,176
Stone, .
4.430
4,432
Straw and palm-leaf Goods,
1,388
3,311
4,699
Wooden Goods,.
5,014
121
5,138
Woollen Goods,.
14,108
9,150
23,258
Other Manufacturers,
40,547
15,009
55,556
TOTAL.
281,822
112,762
391,581
17:56 18.33
19.61 18.85
5.51
1886,
1,976,264
6 84
1887,
2,010,388
25.12 25.69
Deaths to 1,000
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29
THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS.
The following table shows the distribution of the chief portion of productive energy of the Commonwealth :---
OCCUPATION OF PERSONS BY AGES.
Age Periods.
Agriculture.
Fisheries. Manufactures. Mining. Laborers. Apprentices
14 to 19
9,548
583
67,958
147
2,333
4,644
20 to 29
15,796
2,853
131,910
518
8,083
1,018
30 to 39
11,415
1,921
82,788
387
6,466
12
40 to 49
11,546
1,887
57,619
268
6,464
4
50 to 50
11,829
762
34,419
163
5,096
-
60 to 79
16,588
466
19,497
78
4,383
-
80 and over
926
S
365
1
105
Unknown
13
28
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