USA > Massachusetts > Gazetteer of the state of Massachusetts, pt 1 > Part 33
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Both these streams furnish some power; which is made to drive a lumber mill and two small grain mills. There are also a small fac- tory making machines for working butter and a Reed line shop. The products of these in the last census year amounted to $8,552. The farms number 141. The soil is strong and moist, and consists variously of loam, gravel and sand. The number of neat cattle was 1,192, and of fruit trees, 4,935. The aggregate farin product was $196,357. The valuation in 1888 was $458,807, with a tax-rate of $11.50 on $1,000. The population was 729, and the number of dwelling-houses 172.
The town has primary and high schools, occupying eight buildings valued at about $5,000, to which is now to be added a fine building containing school rooms and a hall, the estimated cost being $8,000. There is a Congregationalist church here, built in 1820, with a tall spire, and in the good old style. A church was organized here in 1762, and the Rev. Simon Backus was ordained as pastor. His successor was the Rev. Benjamin Chapman, who was settled in
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GRANITE BRIDGE - GRANVILLE.
1790 and died in 1804. He was succeeded by the Rev. Elijah Gridley.
Near the original meeting-house was a large swamp, called by the aborigines, Pitchawamache, which has been contracted to "Pitcha- wam; " and is supposed, says Dr. J. G. Holland, to be the only Indian name preserved in the town.
This town was taken from South Hadley (of which it formed the second parish) and incorporated June 11, 1768. It is supposed to have been named for John, Marquis of Granby, and member of the British cabinet.
The town sent 113 men into the war for the Union, of whom 11 were lost. An eminent native of Granby was Hon. Homer Bartlett (1795-1873), a lawyer, manufacturer and legislator.
Granite Bridge, a locality in the Dorchester district of Boston.
Graniteville, in Westford.
Granville is a large mountainous town in the southwestern part of Hampden County, about 115 miles south-
west of Boston. It has Blandford, Russell and Westfield on the north, the last and Southwick on the east, Tolland on the west, and Granby and Hartland, in Connecticut, on the south. The area is upwards of 25,500 acres,-23,772 acres being assessed. There are 8,561 acres of woodland.
A hill called " Great Rock," west of East Granville village, and near the centre of the town, is a picturesque object in the landscape ; Mitchell's Mountain, a mile or two south, rises to the height of 1,362 feet ; and Bad Luck Mountain, South Mountain and Prospect Hill are also notable eminences, adding to the variety and grandeur of the scenery. There are two large ponds in the northwest, and smaller ones in the eastern part of the town. Tillison's and Dickin- son's brooks flow easterly from the central part of the town, and Hubbard's River and Valley Brook, in the western and middle sections, flow southward, affording valuable water-power. In the valleys the land is fertile, and the hillsides furnish excellent pasturage. The wood product is large, being, in the last census year, $17,767. The yield of fruits, berries and nuts was also large, reaching $13,924. There are upwards of 25,627 fruit trees. The farms number 219; and their aggregate product was $155,999. Four saw mills find employment ; and there is one grain mill ; but the most important manufacture is that of drums, which employs about - 50 persons. Other manufactures are children's toys and games, leather, whips, powder kegs and certain machinery, - amounting in the aggregate to $106,463. There are 255 dwelling-houses. The valuation in 1888 was $360,746, with a tax-rate of $22 on $1,000. The population is 1,193, of whom 339 are voters.
Granville, South Granville, West Granville and Granville Corner
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GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
are the villages, the first three being post-offices. Westfield and Southwick centres are the nearest railroad stations.
This town has nine school buildings, valued at about $7,000. There are a good public hall and four churches. Of the latter, two are Congregationalist, one is Baptist and one Methodist. Gran- ville sent 135 soldiers into the armies of the Union in the late war. There were, in 1885, 27 residents of the town over 80, 5 over 90, and one over 100 years of age.
This township was sold by Toto, an Indian chief, to James Cor- nish, in 1686, for a gun and sixteen brass buttons. It was first set- tled in 1738; and in 1751 it had 70 families. A church was formed at East Granville (still the largest village) in 1747, when the Rev. Moses Tuttle was ordained pastor. In 1756 he was succeeded by the Rev. Jedediah Smith, whose family founded a settlement in Louisiana. The place first existed in the civil system as the plan- tation of Bedford. On January 25, 1754, it was established as the district of Granville, and on August 23, 1775, was incorporated as the town of Granville. In 1810, a part of its territory was estab- lished as the town of Tolland. It was named in honor of John Carteret, Earl of Granville. A church at Granville, Ohio, was founded by emigrants from this place. Isaac C. Bates (1780-1845), an able lawyer and United States senator, was a native of this town.
Grape Island, in the southern part of Boston Harbor. Grasshopper Plain, a village in Newburyport.
Gravesville, in Hudson.
Great Barrington is an ancient and beautiful town lying in the southwesterly part of Berkshire County, 174 miles west of Boston. It is bounded on the north by West Stockbridge, Stockbridge and Lee; on the east by Tyringham, Monterey and New Marlborough; on the south by Shef- field ; on the west by Egremont and Alford. The assessed area is 26,733 acres, which includes 8,061 acres of woodland. The Housa- tonic Railway runs north and south through the midst.
The surface is charmingly diversified by mountain, lake, river, upland and intervale ; and, to whatever point the eyes are turned, they rest upon a beautiful and often highly picturesque landscape. Bear Mountain, a long wooded eminence, extends north and south across the projecting eastern angle of the town; and Monument Mountain, in the north, rises abruptly from the left bank of the Housatonic River, and forms a striking picture in the landscape. The principal streams are the Housatonic River, noted for romantic beauty, which flows deviously and centrally through the town; Williams River, which enters the Housatonic at Van Deusen- ville; and the Green River (celebrated by William Cullen Bryant in one of his most popular poems), which joins the Housatonic near the
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GREAT BARRINGTON.
line of Sheffield. Long Lake, of 96 acres, is a fine sheet of water west of Van Deusenville, in the northerly part of the town. Mans- field Lake, near the central village, and about half the size of the first, is a charming element in the landscape; while Hart Pond at the north and Root Pond at the southwest are delightful features in those localities. The geological structure of the town is Lauzon schists, Potsdam and Levis limestones. In it occur very valuable quarries of variegated marble, also iron ore; and fine specimens of tremolite are sometimes found.
The soil is fertile, especially on the borders of the streams, and produces abundantly the usual erops of the country. Hops and tobacco are sometimes cultivated extensively. The crop of cereals is proportionately large. The aggregate product of the 220 farms, in the last census year, was $289,070. The principal manufactures are woollen goods, paper, iron in various forms, chairs, elothing, bricks, charcoal, and house lumber, rough and wrought marble, carriages, meats, leather, flour and meal. The aggregate product of manufacture in this town in 1885 was $757,871. The national bank has a capital of $200,000; the savings bank at the elose of last year held deposits to the amount of $383,556. The valuation in 1888 was $3,129,210, with a tax-rate of $11.20 on $1,000. There are 862 dwelling-houses in the town, and the population is 4,471; of whom 1,131 are voters.
The central and principal village is the chief market-town for southern Berkshire, and is the seat of the district court for seven neighboring towns. It extends along the right bank of the Housa- tonic for about a mile, its broad irregular street, in which quaint old houses mingle with elegant modern buildings, gives it an aspect different from most other Berkshire villages. Numerous elms and maples shade its borders, some of the landmarks for a generation gone. Here are a large woollen mill, various smaller factories and shops, a fine town-hall, and, in the square in front the soldiers' monument, -a base and pediment of stone, surmounted by the figure of a soldier in bronze. Van Deusenville is a thriving settle- ment above on the same side of the stream, where are the cotton factory and the Richmond Iron Works. At the west side of the town is Seekonk, having, also, some manufacturing. Housatonic, on the Stockbridge line, is the seat of the Owen Paper Company, whose mill, 320 feet long, is capable of making $250,000 worth of paper annually. Half a mile below, just opposite Monument Mountain, is the Monument Mill, 500 feet long and four stories high, with a lean-to 400 feet long, and wing 200 feet in length, and is capable of making eight tons of fine paper daily. The builder of this mill is Mr. Henry D. Cone.
A valuable institution of this town, having private support, is the Cone Library and Reading-room, containing about 6,000 volumes. There is also a free town library nearly as large, The public schools are graded, and occupy sixteen buildings, whose value is about $25,000. There are, besides, two private schools, - the Sedgewick Institute and the Housatonie Hall School, occupying four buildings.
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GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
The newspaper of the town is that old and standard journal, the " Berkshire Courier." There are two churches each of the Con- gregationalists, American Episcopal, the Methodist Episcopal and the Roman Catholic; while the colored Methodist Episcopal Zion has one.
The first meeting-house in this place was finished in 1743; and, on December 28 of that year the Rev. Samuel Hopkins, celebrated as the author of a system of divinity known as "Hopkinsian," was settled over the parish. He was dismissed January 18, 1769, and removed to Newport, R. I., where he died December 20, 1803. He is the hero of Mrs. H. B. Stowe's " Minister's Wooing."
There were Indian settlements in this town in former times; one of which was at a place called the " Great Wigwam," or "Castle," half a mile below the Great Bridge.
Monument Mountain derives its name from a pile of stone, or " cairn," which was raised over the grave of one of the aborigines. As in Scotland, every person passing by was expected to throw a stone upon the pyramid. The legend is, that the unfortunate one buried here was an Indian girl, "who had thrown herself from the cliffs of the mountain through the influence of a passion-love for a cousin whom the religion of her tribe would not allow her to marry." William Cullen Bryant, once a resident of the town, has commem- orated this circumstance in a beautiful poem.
This town was formerly the North Parish of Sheffield. It was incorporated June 30, 1761 ; its naming, perhaps, being in honor of William, Viscount Barrington, who was of the British Privy Council, and a nephew of Governor Samuel Shute.
Great Herring Pond, in Plymouth.
Great Hill Point, the southeast extremity of Marion.
Great Neck, the southern extremity of Wareham.
Great Quittacus Pond, ter. Great River, a village in Deerfield; also a river rising
in Lakeville and Roches-
in Alford, Berkshire County ; and one flowing southward between Leyden and Colrain, and through Green- field into the Deerfield River.
Greenbush, a village in Scituate.
Greendale, a village in Needham ; also one in Worcester.
GREENFIELD, the shire town of, Fruklin County, is one of the . ost charming towns in the Connecticut Valley. It lies nearly in the geographical centre of the county, on the Fitchburg Railroad and
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GREENFIELD.
Connecticut River Railroad, 106 miles west by northwest of Boston, and. 36 miles north of Springfield. It is bounded on the north by Leyden and Bernardston, east by Gill and Montague, on the south by Deerfield, and west by Shelburne.
The assessed area is 10,636 acres; and of this 2,425 acres are wood- land, in which grow thriftily beech, pine, maple and elin, chiefly. There is quite an extent of red sandstone formation ; and the range of greenstone trap which commences near New Haven finds its termination here. The land is level, with the exception of some beautiful eminences on the eastern and western borders, which are considered an extension of the Deerfield Mountains; and the soil, especially in the intervales of Green River, is excellent, being, for the most part loam, with clay subsoil.
By the last census there were in the town 118 farms; and while some crops were proportionately small, others were large; and the entire product, valued at $253,335, was unusually large. The water- power of the town is abundant. Green River enters it on the north, and winds gracefully through it to the Deerfield River; Fall River separates it from Gill on the east; and the Connecticut washes the southeastern border, separating it from Montague. In addition, many steam engines are used in propelling the machinery of the factories ; of which, according to the last Industrial Report, there were 79. The products of these were boots and shoes, to the value of $140,700; iron, and other metallic goods and machinery, including cutlery, $175,253; stone, brick and lumber, $139,755; food preparations, $132,280. The largest factories are those making boots and shoes, rakes and other agricultural implements, and the printing establish- ments. In making children's carriages, several independent shops make different parts. Spirit levels, wooden boxes, paper and leather, are also made in large quantity. The aggregate value of the manufactures in 1885 was 8835,475. There are three national banks, whose aggregate capital is $500,000; and the two savings banks, at the close of last year, held deposits to the amount of $4,447,287. The number of dwelling-houses was 923. The valua- tion of the town in 1888 was $4,751,141, with a tax-rate of $13 on $1,000. The population is 4,869; and the number of voters, 1,242.
The villages are Greenfield, Factory Village and North Greenfield; the first being the largest. This village is built chiefly on two hand- some streets, containing many elegant buildings, and ornamented with elm, maple and other shade-trees, some of which are 150 years old. One of these streets runs east and west along the margin of Green River, which much enhances its attractions. On the north side of the public square is the Congregationalist church, constructed of red sandstone. Near it is the court-house, and just below the square is the town-hall. The excellent brick building of the Greenfield Library Association is the most recent of these structures, and it now contains 9,000 volumes. The Greenfield Free Library contains about 5,000 volumes. In the court-house is a law library of 1 wards of 2,000 volumes.
The public schools are fully graded, and occupy thirteen build-
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GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
ings, valued at some $60,000. The Prospect Hill School is a pri- vate institution, having an excellent edifice and location. The papers, with circulation chiefly local, are the "Gazette" and the "Courier," the " Franklin Transcript" and the "Franklin County Reformer," - all weeklies with good subscription lists. "Good Cheer" and "The Household" are widely and favorably known monthlies; and "The Hatchet," also a monthly, is bravely cutting its way through. There are. eight churches in Greenfield, one of which has been mentioned. The other Congregational edifice is of brick, and the American Episcopal Church is of stone; the others are the Roman Catholic, the Methodist and the German Methodist, the Baptist and the Unitarian.
The town furnished its full quota of soldiers for the war to main- tain the Union, and has erected to those who fell a beautiful monu- ment upon the Common, in the centre of the village, at an expense of $7,000.
Greenfield was the birthplace of George Ripley (1802), H.U. 1823, distinguished as a scholar and critic; and of Gen. Charles P. Stone (1826), a gallant officer. The late Hon. W. B. Washburn, governor of the Commonwealth, member of Congress and United States senator, was a resident of this place. Hon. Charles Allen, one of the judges of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, was for- merly a resident.
From the summit of Rocky Mountain, eastward from the village, a most beautiful prospect may be had of the Connecticut Valley and the surrounding country. The Bear's Den is a romantic spot in the southern part of this rocky ridge, from which a fine view of the valleys of the Connecticut and Deerfield rivers, and of the rail- road bridge, 750 feet in length, and 90 feet in height above the lat- ter stream, may be obtained.
Green Harbor Village, in Marshfield,
Green Island is the northern island of the outer group marking Boston Harbor.
Green Lodge, a village in Dedham. Green River, a village in Deerfield; also a river rising in Hancock, and running north through Williamstown into the Hoosac River ; also one rising in Alford, and running through Egremont and Great Barrington to the Housa- tonic. The last is the stream which the poet Bryant describes in his poem entitled "Green River."
Greenville, in Leicester; also, in Sandwich.
Greenwich is a narrow town occupying a long space on the eastern side of Hampshire County, and near its north line. It is about 73 miles west of Boston. On its
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GREENWOOD -GROTON.
north is Prescott; Dana and Hardwick bound it on the east, En- field on the south, and the latter and Prescott on the west. The assessed area is 11,323 acres; of which 4,290 are woodland. The villages are Greenwich and Greenwich Village. The Athol and Springfield Railroad runs north and south through the town.
The East and Middle branches of Swift River drain the middle and northern parts, furnishing some motive power. Except in the valley of these streams, and of another small branch at the south- west, the town is quite hilly. Mount Lizzie, south of Greenwich (centre), is the most noted eminence. The scenery is diversified by small ponds in all quarters of the town, the largest of which are Curtis, Davis and Flask. The atmosphere is healthful and the people industrious. The land is elevated, rocky, and difficult of cul- tivation ; yet the soil is fertile, and good crops of hay and grain are produced.
The aggregate product of the 77 farms, in the last census year, was $62,441. There are two saw mills, a factory making brooms, and one for wood and iron goods ; the value of the aggregate prod- ucts being $28,473. The valuation in 1888 was $265,161, with a tax-rate of $13 on $1,000. The inhabitants number 532. and are sheltered in 145 dwelling-houses. There are 152 legal voters.
The town has seven school buildings, valued at. some $2,000. There are a Congregational church here, and a good Sunday school, which has a library of about 400 volumes. Greenwich sent twelve soldiers into the war for the Union, of whom three were lost by sickness.
The Indian name of this place was Quabin. It was settled by immigrants from the north of Ireland; and these in 1749 organized a church, which still continues. The Rev. Pelatiah Webster was the first pastor. The plantation of Quabin was established as the town of Greenwich on April 20, 1754.
General Amiel W. Whipple was born here in 1817, and died from wounds received at the battle of Chancellorsville, May 7, 1863.
Greenwood, a village in Wakefield.
Greylock, a mountain in Adams; also a village in North Adams.
Griswoldville, in Colrain.
Groton is an ancient, handsome and flourishing town, situ- ated in the northwesterly section of Middlesex County, about 32 miles northwest of Boston. It is bounded on the north by Pepperell and Dunstable, on the east by Tyngsborough and Westford, on the south by Ayer, on the west by Shirley and Pepperell, which are separated by a long western horn of Groton having Town- send at its western end. The assessed area is 19,770 acres ; of which 6,368 are woodland.
Through the town north and south, with a station at the centre,
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GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
runs the Worcester, Nashua and Portland Division of the Boston and Maine Railroad ; while the Peterboro' and Shirley Branch of the Fitchburg Railroad runs through the town northwestward, having a station at West Groton ; at East Groton is the Ayer and Lowell Branch of the Boston and Maine, and the Acton Branch of the Con- cord Railroad; while Ayer Junction furnishes connection with points south, east and west. Factory Village also is conveniently near the central stations.
The scenery is beautifully diversified by hill and valley, lake and river, forest and cultivated farm. Among the conspicuous eminences are Gibbet Hill at the centre; the Chestnut Hills, running north- easterly toward Dunstable ; Horse Hill, on the borders of that town ; Bear Hill, midway of the eastern line ; and the Throne, a noted hill in the long angle forming the northwestern part of the town. There is also a group of hills east of the centre which afford fine views of the adjacent landscapes. The chestnut, various kinds of oak, white and hard pine, rock and white maple, white birch and walnut, grow thriftily about these rocky elevations; while on the lower lands the elm is abundant. Of the several beautiful ponds, Martin's, near the centre, Baddacook (containing 103 acres) and Whitney's (71 acres) are the largest. In addition to their several outlets is Squannacook River, which forms the southwestern line of the town, and joins the larger Nashua at the border of Ayer. The latter river sweeps across the town northward through a beautiful intervale, then forms for several miles the tortuous boundary with Pepperell. James Brook and Gratuity Brook, rising near the centre, flow -the first southerly, the other northwesterly -into the Nashua River. Wrangling Brook, by a very circuitous course, in West Groton, runs also into the Nashua; while Unkety Brook and Cow-pond Brook flow northerly, the first through Dunstable into the Nashua River, and the latter into Massapoag Pond, at the angle of Groton, Dunstable and Tyngsborough.
The geological formation of the town is Merrimack schist, granite and the St. John's group. There are several quarries of building stone in the town, and one of scapolite. The soil is generally a clayey gravel, which yields well. The 174 farms, in 1885, had a produet valued at $234,748. The number of fruit trees is upwards of 30,000; and the crop from these and the small fruits is proportionally large. The water-power on the numerous streams has long been made prac- tically useful, Two large paper factories are now operated here : while another establishment turns out leather-board in large quanti- ties. The number of people employed in these factories is about 120. Other articles made are boots and shoes, carriages, leather, various wood and metal goods, leather and food preparations. The aggregate value of the manufactures in the last census year was $355,635. The valuation in 1888 was $2,771,757, with a tax-rate of but $5.50 on $1,000.
Prior to the incorporation of Ayer (which was mainly formed from Groton) on February 14, 1871, the population of this town was 3,384. At the present time it is 1,987; and the dwelling-houses number 467.
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GROTON.
The public schools are graded, and occupy 14 buildings, valued at some $30,000. The town-hall, the Butler schoolhouse, the Groton School and the Lawrence Academy (the last two, private institutions) are notable for their excellence. There are several fine residences which add greatly to the general beauty of the place.
All the villages have an agreeable trimness about yards and grounds, with well-kept streets, extensively shaded with fine trees, many of which have been growing in their places for a century. The central village is the seat of the Lawrence Academy, an ancient and well- endowed institution, in which many youths have been well fitted for college and for the different vocations of life. It was founded in 1793, and incorporated under the name of " The Groton Academy ; " but, in consideration of the munificent donations of Messrs. William and Samuel Lawrence, it received in 1846 its present name. The Groton School is a new institution, incorporated in 1885, but its open- ing years are full of promise. Each of the private schools has a library
S.R.HOUGDEN
LAWRENCE ACADEMY, GROTON.
and the Groton Public Library has a collection of nearly 5,000 vol- umes. The "Citizen " and the " Landmark " serve well the office of weekly village newspapers. There are church edifices here of the Congregationalists, Unitarians, Baptists, and of the Episcopal Church, and there is more than usual interest in their services.
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