USA > Massachusetts > Gazetteer of the state of Massachusetts, pt 1 > Part 21
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CHAPEL, MOUNT AUBURN.
Common, with its statues, Broadway Park, Prospect Junction, Dana Square, Fort Washington, Tudor Park, Hastings Square, Chestnut and Henry Junction, Winthrop Square, Winthrop and Mount Auburn Junction, and others, will, in the not distant fu- ture, even more than now, add to the attractiveness of the city.
The extensive works of the New England Glass Company, at East Cambridge, having a chimney 230 feet in height; the Hovey nurseries on Cambridge Street ; the Cambridge Water-Works; and the celebrated Fresh Pond, are also worthy of visit ; to say nothing of the elegant homes of people well known in science and literature which may delight the eyes upon the way. But to many the beauti- ful shaded avenues, the picturesque scenes. the storied monuments, and the sacred associations of Mount Auburn, which lies on the
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CAMBRIDGE.
southwesterly line of this city where it joins Watertown, will be most attractive. Next to Pere-la-chaise, in Paris, this is one of the earli- est of rural cemeteries, - having been dedicated September 24, 1831. It contains an area of about 136 acres, the highest part of which is 175 feet above Charles River, which flows along its southern border. The scenery is remarkably varied by wooded hill, valley and lake; and these natural features the landscape gardener has turned to more delightful effect. The gateway is massive, built from an Egyp- tian model ; and within are great numbers of fine or unique monu- ments to attract the attention. The first on the left of the. main en- trance is that of John Gaspar Spurzheim, who died in 1832, and is an exact copy of the tomb of Scipio Africanus. A chapel of stone, with its interior decorated by statuary, stands conveniently near the entrance, for funeral services. Shaded avenues for carriages fol- low winding courses to every quarter of the enclosure, and between them, through dells, past fountains, over knolls, are paths, taking name, in many instances, from the particular trees or shrubs which adorn them, leading from circumference to centre, over higher and higher eminences, until the hill-top is reached. Here, rising above the dense masses of foliage that crowd about the summit, is a lofty stone tower, whose balcony and cupola afford grand views of river and pond, hill and dale, of the busy cities, rural villages and quiet farms beyond the leaf-hidden city of the dead.
The settlement of Cambridge was commenced in the spring of 1631; and the place was at first called "New-Town." "In the en- suing year a palisade was made around the buildings; and the Brain- tree Company, which had begun to set down at Mount Wollaston, by order of the court, removes to New-Town." On the 11th of October, 1633, the Rev. Thomas Hooker, who had just arrived from England with John Cotton, Samuel Stone, and others, was ordained pastor of the church. Mr. Hooker and his people disposed of their houses and lands to the Rev. Thomas Shepard and his company, and set out for Connecticut in June, 1636. In the same year Mr. Shepard was or- dained pastor of a new church organized in place of the one which had left with Mr. Hooker.
A locality to which Captain John Smith attached its Indian name, Anmoughcawgen, was renamed by Prince Charles, as "Cambridge," which has since been generally accepted as the place which now bears that name in Massachusetts. The place was incorporated un- der the name of New-Town, Sept. 8, 1633; and, on receiving for the school the sum of about £800 from the Rev. Jolin Harvard- of Charlestown in 1638, it was agreed to raise the school to a college, and, in honor of Mr. Harvard and others, to change the name, New-Town, to Cambridge, where so many of them had received their education. In 1639 a printing press was set up by Stephen Day in the house of Pres. Henry Dunster ; and the next year there issued from it a ver- sion of the Psalms in metre, which was the first book printed in British America. In 1642 Cambridge embraced "Menotomy," now Arlington ; the "Farms," now Lexington ; the lands on the Shaw- sheen, now Billerica; and Nonuntum, afterwards called New Cam-
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GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
bridge, and at present Newton. Parts of Charlestown were annexed to Cambridge, March 6, 1802, Feb. 12, 1818, and June 17, 1820. It was incorporated as a city March 17, 1846; and on the 30th day of the same month the act was accepted by the people. The motto is, "LITERIS ANTIQVIS NOVIS INSTITVTIS DECORA."
The growth of the city has of late been rapid ; and indications of improvement manifest themselves on every hand.
For its educational facilities, literary and scientific culture, its amenities in social life, and its municipal arrangements, Cambridge holds an enviable reputation. Its past is honorable ; its present, with some exceptions, admirable ; its future, brilliant.
From the commencement of the Revolution to its close, Cam- bridge evinced an earnest and unwavering patriotism ; and it has the honor of having raised the first company in the country which vol- unteered for the suppression of the Rebellion.
As might well be supposed, Cambridge has produced many emi- nent persons, among whom may be mentioned : -
Jonathan Belcher (1682-1757), Richard Dana (1699-1772), Wil- liam Brattle, F.R.S. (1702-1776), William Eustis, LL.D. (1753- 1825), Jonathan Sewell, LL.D. (1766-1839), Frederic Henry Hedge, D.D. (1805), Alfred Lee, D.D. (1807), George Livermore (1809- 1865), Oliver Wendell Holmes, M.D. (1809), Sarah Margaret Ful- ler, Countess D'Ossoli (1810-1850), Richard Henry Dana, Jun. (1815), James Russell Lowell (1819), Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1823), and Mary Andrews Denison (1826).
Cambridge Avenue, a village in Gloucester.
Campello, a village in Brockton.
Camp Ground, a village in Cottage City.
Canals. See Blackstone and Middlesex canals.
Candlewood, a village in Ipswich.
Cannonville, a village in Mattapoisett ; also one in New Bedford.
Canoza Lake, a beautiful sheet of water in Haverhill.
Canton is an active manufacturing and farming town, lying a little east of the centre of Norfolk County. The railroad station at South Canton (Canton Junction), on the Boston and Providence Railroad, is 20 miles from Boston; and l'onkapoag Village, in the northeast part, is about 12 miles in a direct line. The latter and Canton are the post-offices ; and the villages are the same, with South Canton, Canton Corner, Dedham Road, Farms, Hard- ware, Springdale and Stone Factory.
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CANTON.
On the northeast side lie the towns of Milton and Randolph, on the south and southwest are Stoughton and Sharon, and on the north- west is Dedham. The general form of the territory is that of a common kite.'. Its assessed area is 11,488 acres, including the 2,039 acres of woodland. The rocks are gneissic and porphyritic; and the soil ranges through loam, sand and gravel. The 63 farms, in 1885, yielded a product valued at $77,763.
The scenery of this town is varied and picturesque. There are elevations at the south and centre; and on the northeastern border is Blue Hill, which rises to a height of 635 feet, commanding a mag- nificent view of Boston, the islands in the harbor, and the ocean. It is the first land seen by mariners approaching the coast. Its base and sides are mostly clothed with maple, birch, oak, chestnut, pine and cedar; its name coming from the color it presents to the ob- server at a distance. The Fowl Meadows, which contain peat of an excellent quality, extend from Sharon to Hyde Park, along the whole northwestern border of the town; and through them runs the Neponset River, forming the divisional line between this town and Dedham. Portions of this and of the marshes on the north of Ponkapoag Pond are devoted to cranberries. This pond is a beau- tiful expanse of 208 acres, well stored with fish. It lies on the Randolph line, sending a tributary through Ponkapoag Village northward to Neponset River. York and Steep brooks, affluents of the same river, furnish from their extensive reservoirs valuable motive power at South Canton.
The manufactories in this town consist of a branch shop of the Ames shovel factories, an iron foundery, copper works, one factory for making shoe-tools, two for cotton spinning rings, one for stove polish (Rising Sun), one making paper boxes, one for cotton, one for twine, one for fish-lines, one for oil-cloth, six for fancy woollens, and one for silk goods. The last employs about 400 persons ; the copper works and the iron works each about 300. The value of the textiles made in 1885 was $1,338,640 ; and the aggregate value of the manufactures was $2,703,327. The Neponset National Bank has a capital of $250,000. The Canton Institution for Savings, at the close of last year, held deposits to the amount of $553,682. The valuation of the town in 1888 was $3,540,727, and the tax-rate $14 on $1,000. The population in 1885 was 4,380; of whom 980 were voters.
Canton has a graded school system, with eight school-houses valued at $23,300. The Canton public library contains about 10,000 volumes ; and the Ladies' Sewing Circle Library has upwards of 3,000. The "Canton Journal " distributes the weekly news and serves the interests of the town.
The Baptist society was organized in 1814, the Congregationalist in 1828. Other churches are the Unitarian, the Universalist and the Roman Catholic.
This town was detached from the northerly part of Stoughton and incorporated February 23, 1797. In 1847 part of its territory was returned to Stoughton. The Indian name of the place was
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G.IZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
Ponkapoag. Here John Eliot had an Indian church, consisting of natives dwelling around the pond.
Canton added 350 men to the Union forces in the late war, which was 23 above its quota Twenty-nine of these perished in the ser- vice. The climate of this town is salubrious and agreeable, the Blue Hills protecting a considerable territory from the northeast winds. The roads are numerously bordered with elms of large size, and shaded in some parts by original forest, making pleasant sum- mer drives. Hon. F. M. Ames and T. B. Aldrich have residences here, which they occupy in the summer months. This town is also the home of Hon. Elijah Morse, well known to the people of Mas- sachusetts.
Of the eminent men of the past, Canton can claim as her own, Major-General Richard Gridley (1711-1796), General Stephen Bad- lam (1751-1815), Benjamin Bussey (1757-1842), Commodore John Downes (1784-1854).
Cape Ann, the extreme eastern portion of Massachusetts north of Cape Cod. It is in Essex County, and in a general way embraces the town of Rockport and adjacent islands.
Cape Cod, in a general way, signifies the whole of Barn- stable County (which see), which embraces the southeastern extremity of Massachusetts; more specifically, the extremity of that projection, in Provincetown,- which see.
Cape Cod Bay is that large body of water enclosed by
the arm-like projection of Cape Cod, at the southeast of Massachusetts.
Carlisle is a small farming town of 130 dwelling-houses and 526 inhabitants, situated in the central part of Middlesex County, about 20 miles northwest of Boston. Carlisle station, on the Lowell Branch of the Old Colony Railroad, is in the northwest part of the town ; and Bedford Station, on the Boston and Lowell Railroad, accommodates the southeast portion. The post- office is at the centre.
The general form of the town is oval. Chelmsford bounds it on the north, Billerica on the northeast, Bedford on the southeast, Oxford on the south, and Acton and Westford on the west. The assessed area is 9,571 acres. The principal settlement is at the cen- tre, and consists of two churches (Congregational and Unitarian), a town-hall, school-house, stores, mechanics' shops, and a few dwelling- houses. Farm-houses are scattered sparsely over the remainder of the territory.
The western part is somewhat hilly, but without high elevation. The geological structure is calcareous gneiss, in which tourmaline, garnet, scapolite and actinolite occur. Bowlders are plentiful all over the town. The northern section is drained by River-meadow
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223
CARLTONVILLE -- CARVER.
Brook, which has some motive power ; and the eastern by a small tributary of the Concord River, on which there is a saw mill.
The manufactures are chiefly sawed hoops; for which there are two factories, employing eight men. The aggregate value of manu- factured products in 1885 was $7,700. There are 4,739 acres of woodland, the growth of which is principally pine (hard and soft), oak and birch, with some maple and chestnut. Fruit trees are grown in the town to the number of 9,025. The farms number 97; and their aggregate product in 1885 was $84,834. The valuation of the town in 1888 was $404,523, with a tax-rate of $15 on $1,000. There are five school-houses, valued at about $3,000. The public lib- rary contains about 500 volumes ; and there are two Sunday-school libraries.
Carlisle furnished 85 soldiers for our armies in the late war, of whom 49 were citizens. The loss was about twelve; and to the memory of these has been erected, in the centre, a monument of granite surmounted by a marble statue of the goddess of liberty.
This town was formed of parts of Acton, Billerica, Chelmsford and Concord. Its first incorporation was as a district, April 28, 1780 ; the next as a town, on February 18, 1805. Carlisle, in England, a well-known town, was remembered in the name. The first church was erected in 1783. The Rev. Paul Litchfield, settled November 7, 1781, was the first minister.
Carltonville, in Salem. Carsonville, in Dalton.
Carterville, in Berlin; also in Chelsea.
Carver lies in the middle section of Plymouth County, 38 miles southeast of Boston. It has Plympton on the north, Kingston and Plymouth on the east, the latter and Wareham on the south, and the last, with Middleborough, on the west. Its length northwest and southeast is about twice its width. The as- sessed area is 21,292 acres, and 17,011 of this are woodland, consist- ing of pitch pine and red oak on the uplands, and white cedar in the swamps. The red deer still roam in the long range of woods extend- ing throughout this town and quite to Barnstable County.
There are no great elevations in the town, but ponds and streams are numerous, adding much to the scenery. Of the former there are twelve, whose naines are Wenham, Sampson, Crane, Mohootset, Cooper, Muddy, Vaughan, John, Flax, Clear, Barrett and Waukan- quog. Near the latter cranes and eagles build their nests. Samp- son Pond was so called from an Indian sachem, for whom a reserve of 200 acres was made in 1705, with the privilege of fishing and hunting, making tar and turpentine, and cutting poles and bark in the undivided cedar swamps. These ponds once furnished large quanti- ties of bog-iron ore. Winetuxet River gathers up the overflow of the
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GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
northern ponds, discharging into the Taunton River; and South Meadow and Sampson's brooks drain the southern part, emptying into Weweantit River, which forms nearly one half of the western line of the town.
The soil is a light sandy loam, and not less than 745 acres are de- voted to cranberries. The fruit trees number 4,153; and the proceeds of these and the cranberry bogs amounted, in 1885, to $45,270. The number of farms was 116; and the entire agricultural product amounted to $105,791,
The town has braid, straw and carpet factories, four saw mills, and iron and brass founderies. The Ellis Foundery, near Sampson's Pond, was established under the name of " Charlotte Foundery " as early as 1757 ; and here was cast, about 1762, the first iron tea-kettle made in this country. The hollow iron-ware of these furnaces is of excellent quality, and widely known. The wooden goods, in 1885, were valued at $18,593; and the iron and other metallic goods, at $96,044. The aggregate manufactured product reached the value of $120,156. The valuation of the town in 1888 was $588,850; and the rate of taxation $9 on $1,000. The population in 1870 was 1,092, with 228 dwelling-houses ; while in 1885 the inhabitants numbered 1,091, and were sheltered in 264 dwellings; which, certainly, is an indication of thrift.
The loss of the town in the late war was some 22 persons. The cemetery at South Carver is very beautiful. The first burial here was in 1776. The Methodists have a church at this village, estab- lished in 1831; the Baptists one at Carver Centre, organized in 1791; and the Congregationalists one at North Carver, which dates from 1733. There is also an Advent Christian church. The town has four school-houses, valued at upwards of $2,500. Each of the Sunday schools has a library.
The post-offices are Carver, North Carver, East Carver, and South Carver. North Carver, South Carver, Wenham, Carver Green and Ellis Furnace, are the villages. The town is about midway between the Plympton, Plymouth, Tremont and Middleborough stations of the Old Colony Railroad in the adjoining towns.
Carver bears the name of the first governor of the Plymoutli Col- ony. The territory was taken from Plympton, and incorporated June 9, 1790. In 1827 a portion of it was annexed to Wareham. South Meadows was purchased of the Indians in 1664; and in 1700 lands were sold to settlers at two shillings an acre. There are sev- eral aboriginal burial places in town, and traces of their occupancy are frequently met with. Rev. Othniel Campbell, ordained over the Congregational church in 1734, was the first minister here.
Carysville, in Bellingham ; also in Chelsea.
Castle Hill in Saugus, is 288 feet in height.
in Boston Harbor, contains Fort Indepen- Castle Island, dence.
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CASTLE VILLAGE- CHARLEMONT. 225
Castle Village, in Truro.
Cataumet, a village, also a harbor, in Bourne.
Cedar Swamp Pond, in Milford.
Cedarville, in Plymouth.
Central Square, a village in Woburn.
Central Village, in Seekonk; also in Westport, and in West Boylston.
Centralville, in Lowell.
Centreville, in Barnstable; also in Grafton, in Uxbridge, and in Winchendon.
Chace's, a village in Taunton.
Chaffinsville, in Holden.
Chamberlain's Corner, a village in Westford.
Chandler's Hill, in Worcester, is 748 feet in height.
Channel Island, in Fort Point Channel, Boston Harbor.
Chapel Station, a village in Brookline.
Chapinsville, in Lawrence.
Chappaquansett, a village in Tisbury.
Chappaquoddie, a village in Edgartown.
Charlemont is a long and narrow township lying along the Deerfield River, whose general course here is slightly south of east. It is in the western part of Franklin County, about 125 miles northwest of Boston by rail. The region is quite mountainous, and the outline of the town is very irregular. Rowe, Heath and Colrain bound it on the north ; the latter and Shelburne on the east ; Buckland and Hawley on the south; and Savoy and Florida on the west. The assessed area is 15,496 acres ; and, of this, 5,100 acres are forest, consisting of maple, beech and birch. The villages are East Charlemont, Charlemont (centre) and Zoar.
The Deerfield River runs through the western half of the town, then forms the divisional line the entire length of Buckland; and,
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GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
by a northward curve to receive the North River, it forms, with that stream, the eastern line. The Fitchburg Railroad follows the gen- eral course of the river, but, forced by its bends, crosses six times, delighting the traveller with the shifting views of the many rocky rapids and occasional quiet spaces, then a craggy mountain rising al- most perpendicular from the river's bank, here a streamlet dashing down the wild ravines, or a hamlet nestling among the woody emi- nences, with now and then an intervale of the deepest verdure.
Mount Peak, in the south side of the western section, lifts its head 1,144 feet abruptly from the right bank of the river; and a little further on, Bald Mountain rises grandly on the other side. In the valley between the two lies the pleasant little village of Charlemont, with its churches, stores, hotel, school and dwelling-houses, and the large hall of the Deerfield River Agricultural Society. At the ex- treme northeast, Pocumtuck Mountain rises to the height of 1,888 feet above sea-level. The entire town is rough and mountainous, presenting many wild and picturesque views of alpine forests, crags, defiles, with numerous waterfalls on the several streams flowing into the river, -as Pelham, Mill, Hartwell, Avery and Wilder's brooks. The prevailing rock is mica slate, and the soil a sandy loam.
The principal business of the town is farming and lumbering. Few towns make a larger quantity of maple sugar. The aggregate farm product in 1885 was valued at $147,400. There are eight manufac- turing establishments, consisting of a grain mill, four saw mills, a tannery, a farm-tool factory, and others; the aggregate of whose products reached the value of $87,630. The valuation in 1888 was $342,960; with a tax-rate of $20 on $1,000. The population of 958 were sheltered in 215 dwelling-houses.
There are nine public-school buildings, worth about $5,000. The village Library Association has a collection of nearly 800 volumes, and two Sunday schools have nearly as many more. The Methodists, Congregationalists and Baptists each have commodious church edifices here. Charlemont sent 121 soldiers to the late war, of whom 16 were lost.
The date of the first settlement of this town is unknown. Col. Ephraim Williams established a line of forts here in 1754, the re- mains of which are still visible. In June of the next year, Captain Moses Rice and Phineas Arms were killed by Indians while at work in a meadow near Rice's fort; and, in commemoration, a monu- ment has been erected near the river, visible from the railroad. The town was incorporated June 21, 1765 ; being named in honor of James Caulfield, created Earl of Charlemont, in England, October 29, 1763. A mountainous tract called Zoar, a part of the common land, was annexed April 2, 1838. The first church was formed in 1788; and the Rev. Isaac Babbitt, settled in 1796, was the first pastor.
Charles River, according to New England's first geogra-
pher, Morse, was the Quinobequin of the Indians; but, in the early period of settlements here, called the "Massachusetts River." It forms in the region where Worcester
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CHARLES RIVER VILLAGE - CHARLTON.
and Norfolk counties meet ; first issuing, under its own name, from Cedar Swamp Pond, in the central part of the town of Milford. Flowing southward, its slender stream enters a smaller pond in the southern part of the town; thence flowing eastward, it receives, near Bellingham centre, the waters of its chief branch, flowing from Beaver Pond in the northern part of the town. Then, making an abrupt turn, it leaves Bellingham at the northeast corner. Receiv- ing other streams from every direction along its course, it meanders through or beside the towns of Franklin, Medway, Norfolk, Medfield, Sherborn, Dover, Natick, Needham, Dedham, West Roxbury (Boston), Newton, Weston, Waltham, Watertown, Brighton (Boston) and Cam- bridge, sweeps in a broad stream by Charlestown (Boston), and, uniting with the Mystic, mingles with the sea in Boston Harbor. It is navigable by small vessels to Watertown, seven miles from its mouth, where its meets the tide. Little marshy land is found along its borders, though some small tracts at its mouth might give a con- trary impression. It flows through a hilly region in a very devious course, furnishing many small powers at its numerous descents. Its source is scarcely more than twenty-five miles from Boston in a direct line ; but its actual length is probably more than twice that distance. It frequently doubles upon itself, sometimes for several miles, and thus finds a comparatively quiet way, earning its terse characteriza- tion by the poet Longfellow, as it passed before his dwelling, as the "placid Charles : " - see the poems, " To the River Charles," and "The Bridge," by Henry W. Longfellow.
Charles River Village, in Dover; also in Need- ham.
Charlestown, the northwestern section of Boston, a penin- sula. Incorporated as a town, June 24, 1629 ; incorporated as a city, February 22, 1847; annexed to Boston by Act of May 14, 1873, and by the votes of the two cities.
Charlton is a large, pleasant, agricultural town, situated in the southwesterly part of Worcester County, 57 miles from Boston, on the Boston and Albany Railroad, which passes through the northern part. It is bounded on the north by Spencer and Leicester, east by Oxford, south by Dudley, southwest by Southbridge, and west by Sturbridge.
The land is elevated and somewhat rough and rocky. The rail- road station in this town is said to be at the highest grade between Boston and Springfield. It is 512 feet above low tide. Charlton Summit, about one fourth of a mile east of the station, is 907 feet above half or mean tide at Boston. Muggett Hill, near Charl- ton Centre, is 1,012 feet high; and from its summit may be seen, it is said, four States and nineteen villages. The scenery of the whole town is varied and romantic. Traces of the old "Bay Path," so beautifully described by Dr. J. G. Holland in his romance of that name, are still discernible. The streams - of which the prin- cipal are Little River in the easterly, Cady's and Globe brooks in
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