USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lowell > Hand book of business in Lowell : with a history of the city > Part 6
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HISTORY OF LOWELL:
deeply appreciated by the community for whose interests he had originated so many judicious plans.
Mr. Moody also removed here from Waltham, in 1823, and took the charge of the large machine shop. This shop was com- pleted in 1825, and cost one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. He remained in this position during a period of eight years, when his labors were terminated by death, July 7, 1831. Born and bred a mechanic, Mr. Moody was none the less a gentleman. Skill in mechanism was his forte; but his general capacity was large ; and when he died, all felt that one of the ablest citizens, and one of the most estimable men, had fallen.
The place left vacant by Mr. Worthen, in 1824, was subse- quently filled by Mr. Warren Colburn, the distinguished author of a series of popular school-books on Arithmetic. Mr. Colburn was born in Dedham in 1793, and graduated at Harvard Univer- sity in 1820, at the ripe age of twenty-seven years. He was distinguished while at college for his assiduous devotion to the mathematics. After graduating, he engaged as a school-teacher in Boston, and while thus employed prepared those works on Arithmetic, which have forever intimately associated his name with that science. Prior to Mr. Worthen's decease, Mr. Moody had acquired some experience in charge of the mills at Waltham. His abilities were such as amply enabled him to fill Mr. Worthen's post ; but he will be chiefly remembered for his efforts, in con- nection with Rev. Dr. Edson, to build up, upon a permanent basis, that complete system of public schools, which is the pride of the place.
The first public religious services, since the days of the Apostle Eliot and the Indian preacher Samuel, were celebrated by Rev. Dr. Edson, (then a Deacon of the Protestant Episcopal Church,) on the first Sunday in March, 1824, in the Merrimac Company's School House, which was opened to pupils in the same year. The Merrimac Company had employed the clergyman above named, on their own account. A religious society was organized in the same year ; and public worship constantly celebrated ac- cording to " the form of sound words."
The digging of the canals and the erection of the mills very
75
HAND-BOOK OF ITS BUSINESS.
JOHN T. BILLINGS,
Corner of Central and Jackson Streets,
APOTHECARY AND CHEMIS LOWELLA
(SUCCESSOR TO J. C. AYER & Co.)
A large assortment of Trusses, Supporters and Shoulder Braces always in Store. Physicians' Prescriptions Carefully Compounded, and all orders cor- rectly answered.
INSURANCE.
MASSACHUSETTS MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE CO., Of Springfield .- GUARANTEE CAPITAL, $100,000. HAMPDEN FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, Of Springfield-CAPITAL, $100,000. CONWAY FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, CAPITAL $100,000. CITY FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, Of New Haven, Ct.,-CAPITAL, $100,000.
QUINCY MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, HAVERHILL MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, FARMERS' MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, Of Georgetown. HAMILTON MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, Of Salem.
The undersigned is agent of the above, and several other reliable Compa- nies, and is prepared to effect Insurance on all kinds of insurable property at as low rates as other sound Companies. All orders, by mail or otherwise, promptly attended to.
Office in JOSHUA MERRILL'S BOOKSTORE, No. 23 Central Street, opposite the Post Office. Lowell, July, 1856. JEREMIAH S. FOLSOM.
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HISTORY OF LOWELL:
soon attracted a numerous and daily increasing community ; and the gables of a hundred new houses suddenly arose skyward. The facility of communication between this place and Boston, had been much increased in 1822, by the establishment of a regular line of stages running between the two places ; and the Middlesex Journal, (now the Lowell Journal and Courier,) started in 1824, became at once, to some extent, the organ of the rising community.
Events of 1825.
DURING the year 1825, East Chelmsford made rapid progress. The success of the business of the Merrimac Company had al- ready been so great, that the proprietors now concluded to ex- tend their operations. This company, as we have already seen, owned all the water-power that the Merrimac river afforded, together with the lands adjoining, and the original charter granted to the Locks and Canals Company in 1792. With a view to a reorganization, they now procured from the Legislature an amend- ment to that charter, authorizing the Proprietors of Locks and Canals on Merrimac River to purchase, hold, sell or lease both land and water-power in Chelmsford, Tewksbury and Dracut, to the amount of six hundred thousand dollars.
In this way, two companies, for different purposes, were crea- ted out of one. The Merrimac Company conveyed to the Locks and Canals Company all their water-power and all their lands ; and then so much of it as was required for their own purposes, was reconveyed to the Merrimac Company for the nominal sum of one dollar. This fact gave rise to the well-known remark, that " the Merrimac Company bought all their property for a dollar." By this arrangement, the Merrimac Company was placed upon the same basis as the other manufacturing companies more recently established. The Locks and Canals Company had other objects to pursue.
77
HAND-BOOK OF ITS BUSINESS.
U. S. AND FOREIGN
PATENT AGENCY,
39 State Street, Boston.
SAMUEL COOPER,
LATE CHIEF EXAMINER IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,
Procures Patents in this and Foreign Countries.
His long official connection with the Patent Office has rendered him fa- miliar with its rules and practice, and with the history of invention in this and other countries ; and, this experience, with the frequent visits which he proposes making to the Patent Office, justifies him in saying that his Agency will offer to Inventors all the advantages of one located in Washington, and, in addition, those which result from a residence in the midst of mechanical and manufacturing industry.
Advice given upon all matters relating to the validity, &c., of patents, the novelty and patentability of inventions. Specifications and Drawings prepa- red, Caveats filed, Reconsiderations procured of applications that have been rejected upon imperfectly prepared papers, cases of interference, and appli- cations for extension and re-issue prosecuted,-and in general, all business connected with the Patent Office, transacted with care and promptness.
British and other foreign patents procured through prompt and confidential agents in London and Paris.
Persons residing at a distance may obtain all necessary information, and have their business transacted, by writing to the subscriber, without the trouble and expense of a visit to Washington.
He begs leave to refer those unacquainted with him to the following testi- monials :
From the Hon. Charles Mason, Commissioner of Patents :
U. S. PATENT OFFICE, FEB. 28, 1855.
I take great pleasure in stating that during the time I have been acting as Com- missioner of Patents, Samnel Cooper, Esq , of Boston, has been engaged as solicitor, and has been in that capacity in constant correspondence and intercourse with the Office ; he has evinced a thorough acquaintance with the Patent Law, and with the rules and practice of the Office, a close attention to the interests of his clients, and a marked candor and courtesy that has rendered the transaction of business with him a pleasure. I have no hesitation in stating that I regard him as one of the very best agents for the transaction of business with this Office with whom I am acquainted.
CHARLES MASON, Commissioner.
From the Examiners in the Patent Office :
" The undersigned, Principal and Assistant Examiners in the United States Pa- tent Office, have for several years been well acquainted with Mr. Samuel Coopsr, lately a Principal Examiner in this Office, and take pleasure in stating that he is a gentleman of the highest moral character, of unquestioned knowledge in the busi- siness and practice of the Office, and that his scientific attainments are such as emi- nently fit him for the business in which he is about to engage.
HENRY B RENWICK, L D. GALE,
Principal
J. H. LANE,
$ Examiners.
T. R. PEALE, THOS. T. EVERETT, F. SOUTHGATE SMITH, WM. CHAUNCY LANGDON,
Assistant Examinera
" From long acquaintance, and intimate official relations with Mr. Cooper, I fully and heartily concur in the foregoing recommendation, made by my late colleagues. WM. P. N. FITZGERALD, Late Principal Examiner of Patents.
7G
78
HISTORY OF LOWELL:
The first agent of the Locks and Canals Company, after this reorganization, was Mr. Boott. The stock was divided into twelve hundred shares, the par value of which was five hundred dollars apiece. The business of this company was, to furnish land and water-power, and build mills and machinery for the various manufacturing companies, successively organized during the ensuing twenty years, after which, as we shall hereafter relate, all the mill-powers being disposed of, another reorganization took place. This company has never engaged in manufacturing oper- ations itself. It kept in operation two machine shops, a foundry, and a saw-mill, until 1845, when the Lowell Machine Shop Company was incorporated to take the charge of this business. It built the original dam across Merrimac River at Pawtucket Falls ; constructed all the mill-canals, to supply the various com- panies with water-power ; and erected most of the mills, and the boarding-houses attached to them, together with the machinery which they severally contain. It employed constantly from five to twelve hundred men, and built two hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth of machinery per aunum. Its stock was long the best of which Lowell could boast, being worth thrice, and even four times its par value.
The Hamilton Company, the second manufacturing company in this place, was incorporated during the year of which we are treating, with a capital of one million two hundred thousand dol- lars. The Central Bridge Corporation was incorporated during the same year. The only mode of crossing Merrimac River at this point until now, had been by what was called " Bradley's Ferry." This ferry was purchased by the Central Bridge Com- pany, for one thousand dollars. The bridge was so far completed during this and the following season that tolls for foot-passers and carriages were received early in December, 1826. The remain- ing facts in relation to this bridge, perhaps, may as well be given here as anywhere. The tolls for foot-passers were abolished in in 1843. The bridge itself was rebuilt in 1844; and covered in 1849. The original cost of the bridge was twenty-one thousand dollars ; the cost of rebuilding was nine thousand ; and the cost of covering four thousand.
79
HAND - BOOK OF ITS BUSINESS.
A. L. WAITE & CO., Commission Merchants
AND WHOLESALE DEALERS IN
BUTTER, CHEESE, PORK, LARD, EGGS, FLOUR, GRAIN,
AND ALL KINDS OF
COUNTRY PRODUCE,
Dutton Street, Opposite Mechanics' Mills,
LOWELL, MASS.
All Consignments entrusted to our care will receive strict personal attention, and meet with prompt returns.
Lowell affords to Consignors a market unsurpassed by any other Eastern market; in attestation of which, we have only to refer to our numerous patrons who have continued their favors through a series of years.
Liberal Cash Advances Made, when required, on Consignments in hand.
To our local friends and the purchasing community generally, we return thanks for the liberal patronage hitherto bestowed upon us and solicita con- tinuance of the same, while we shall spare no efforts to keep our house at all times supplied with the varieties and qualities of goods usually found in such a store.
We haverecently purchased of Messrs. CHAMBERLIN, GIBBS & Co., their stock of
GRAIN, MEAL, FLOUR, &C.,
and will continue the business, for the present, at the old stand of Messrs. C. G. & Co., under the Savings Bank Building, on Middle Street, where they will be ready to supply all orders in the above line, and also at their Commis- sion Store on Dutton Street.
A. L. WAITE.
WM. O. FISKE.
REFERENCES :
J. A. Buttrick, Cash. Appleton B'k, )
A S. Tyler, Cash. Prescott Bank, Lowell
Wason, Pierce & Co. Boston William Fiske, Esq.,
C. Ainsworth, Pres't Northfield Bank, Vt.,
--
Ransom Reed, Bingham, Joy & Co., )
W.Parker, Esq. Montreal, C.E. LOWELL, August 1, 1856.
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HISTORY OF LOWELL:
During the year of which we are treating, some attention was paid to the higher nature of our people. St. Anne's Church, the mother-church of Lowell, was consecrated by Bishop Gris- wold ; and the Middlesex Mechanics' Association was incorpora- ted to minister, by a library of books, by lectures and other means, to the intellectual wants of this community of artisans. The erection of the stone house at Pawtucket Falls, a handsome pri- vate residence, now occupied by J. C. Ayer, Esq., also dates during this year.
Lowell as a Town.
ONE hundred years had now elapsed, since the Indian village of Wamesit was annexed to the town of Chelmsford ; and in the mean time, that village had experienced a strange metamorphosis. On the first day of March, 1826, it was set off from Chelmsford, incorporated as a separate town, and baptised by the name of Lowell, in honor of Mr. Francis C. Lowell, of whose services to American manufactures some notice has already been made. The new-born town contained about twenty-five hundred inhabi- tants ; and there were but twelve tax-payers who paid taxes to the amount of twenty dollars apiece.
The first board of select men consisted of Nathaniel Wright, Samuel Batchelder, and Oliver M. Whipple, Esquires. The chief topics of town legislation were religious worship, public schools, the poor, the highways, and other matters of local con- cern.
The first State election holden here, occurred on the third day of April, 1826, when Hon. Levi Lincoln received ninety-five votes for Governor, and James Loyd fifty-three votes for the same office. The first Representative in the General Court, was Nathaniel Wright, Esquire, who, on the eighth day of May in the same year, received sixty votes,-there being twelve scat- tering.
81
HAND- BOOK OF ITS BUSINESS.
G. B. MERRILL, DESIGNER
ENGRAVER ON WOOD, -- AND-
No. 21 Central Street, Lowell, Mass. ISOMETRICAL DRAWINGS, VIEWS OF BUILDINGS ADVERTISEMENT CARDS, SEALS, ENVELOPE STAMPS, COTTON STAMPS, Circus, Theatre, and Exhibition Posters, Callers, &c., Designed and Engraved with neatness and despatch.
HISTORY OF LOWELL: 82
THE NEW JAIL.
HAND-BOOK OF ITS BUSINESS. 83
THOMPSON'S CLOTHING STORE.
I would invite the attention of all, both strangers and citizens, in want of GOOD CLOTHING, to my Establishment, where may be found one of the most attractive stocks of well made
Fashionable Clothing
to be found in our city. Having devoted my whole attention to the business, for the last eight years, and a thorough acquaintance with the market, I am enabled to offer my customers inducements to purchase which can be excelled by none, either in price, substantial workmanship, or fitting of garments.
At all times of the year I am prepared to meet demands for Fashionable Clothing of the most approved New York and Boston Fashions, and at such prices as will accord with the strictest ideas of economy.
All I ask, is a visit to my store to convince you of the fact that my stock is second to none, and as cheap as the cheapest.
JOSEPH P. THOMPSON,
108 Central, Corner of Hard Street.
84
HISTORY OF LOWELL:
Our first Representative in Congress, after the incorporation, was Hon. Edward Everett. The first election for the choice of a representative occurred on the sixth day of November, (1826.) Mr. Everett then received twenty-two votes. At the next elec- tion, in 1828, he received two hundred and seventy-eight votes, and Leonard M. Parker ninety-five. At the election in 1830, Mr. Everett received two hundred votes, and his opponent, Mr. James Russell, fifty-seven. After representing this Congressional District for five successive terms, (ten years,) Mr. Everett re- tired from the field " with all the honors." .
Our first post-master was Mr. Jonathan C. Morrill, who had been appointed previously to the incorporation of the young town ; and the post-office was located at the corner of Central and William Streets. Captain William Wyman superseded Mr. Morrill in 1829, when the post-office was removed to the site of the present City Hall. As successive administrations came into power at Washington, different post-masters, of different party affiliations, were appointed. Mr. Wyman was succeeded by Mr. Eliphalet Case, who removed the office from the City Hall to its present location ; Mr. Case by Mr. Jacob Robbins ; Mr. Robbins by Mr. S. S. Seavy ; Mr. Seavy by Mr. Alfred Gilman ; Mr. Gilman by Mr T. P. Goodhue ; Mr. Goodhue by Mr. F. A. Hildreth, the present incumbent.
During the same year that the town was incorporated, the Baptists, the Universalists, and the Orthodox-Congregationalists, -disrelishing " the pure milk of the word," as dispensed by the rector of the Protestant Episcopal church,-organized separate societies by themselves ; and their example was imitated by the Methodists in the following year.
The years, 1827 and 1828, were marked by extreme depres- sion in all the commercial and manufacturing circles of the coun- try. Trade, " the calm health of nations," which had previously been conducted in the wildest spirit of speculation, now strug- gled vainly with volcanic throes against the mighty tide of reaction. Universal bankruptcy ensued ; all confidence expired ; the disorganization in business was complete ; and a thick veil of gloom obseured the sky of the future. Lowell was enveloped
85
HAND-BOOK OF ITS BUSINESS.
CITY HALL
CLOTHING & FURNISHING STORE.
GILMAN& WORCESTER HIB.C.SARGEANT
JOSEPH T. JANES
G.H.CARLETON CHARLES HOVEY
I CLOTHING
BOOKS & STATIONERY
FURNISHING GOODS
DRUGS & MEDICINES
GILMAN & WORCESTER, No. 156 (CITY HALL BUILDING,) Merrimack Street, DEALERS IN Cloths, Clothing, and Furnishing Goods; HATS, CAPS, AND UMBRELLAS; Silk, Cotton and Woolen Under Garments; GLOVES, HOSIERY. AND SUSPENDERS; SCARFS, GRAVATS, HOKES, STOCKS & TIES ; SHIRTS, COLLARS, AND BOSOMS ;
Dress, Frock, Sack, and Over Coats, Pants and Vests MADE TO ORDER And warranted to Fit.
IF The assortment of CLOTHS, DOESKINS, and VESTINGS at this Establish- ment will always be of the finest quality and of the latest patterns.
86
HISTORY OF LOWELL:
in the common cloud. Mr. Hurd, the satinet manufacturer, be- came bankrupt ; most branches of business were at a stand-still ; but the two corporations-the Merrimac and the Hamilton-kept on in the even tenor of their way, too strong to be crushed.
Scarcely had this cloud broke, when, in 1831, the rage for speculation in Eastern lands spread through New England, like a moral pestilence, and held unlimited sway during several years. Lands were purchased at most ruinous prices, until credit was ex- hausted, and there remained no more money to buy. When, at length, the bubble burst, thousands of these speculators were ruined, and another brief era of bankruptcy ensued. When the commercial history of this country shall be written, it will be found to present a constant series of alternate periods of wild speculation, and periods of bankruptcy. When business has been good, credits have been extended too far ; and a general reaction has ensued. But the elastic spirit of our people, and their recu- perative energy, have always in the end brought them safely through the fire, with scarcely the smell of the smoke upon their garments.
In spite of all this, however, Lowell still advanced, augmenting her population at the rate of one thousand souls, and her valua- tion-table, many thousand dollars, every year. Two new manu- facturing companies were incorporated in 1828 : the Appleton, with a capital of six hundred thousand dollars ; and the Lowell, with a capital of nine hundred thousand. It was in the mills of the Appleton Company, that [Boyden's famous turbine water- wheels were first used with success. The Lowell Company's mills are the only mills in the world, where power-looms have been introduced for the weaving of woollen carpets. These looms were invented by E. B. Bigelow, Esquire, and rank among the most wonderful triumphs of mechanical genius that the world has yet witnessed. The business facilities of the place were much increased during the same year, by the establishment of the Lowell Bank, with a capital of two hundred thousand dollars.
It had been the purpose of Mr. Jackson to retire from the active business of life, as soon as the mills of the Merrimac Com- pany had got under weigh. He therefore resigned his agentship
HAND - BOOK OF ITS BUSINESS. 87
WILLIAM E. LIVINGSTON,
DEALER IN
LUMBER, COAL, WOOD, LIME,
CEMENT, PLASTER,
BRICKS, HAY, GRAIN, FLOUR, &C.,
THORNDIKE STREET,
OPPOSITE BOSTON FREIGHT DEPOT, LOWELL, MASS.
BURIAL CASES, &c.
The Subscriber keeps at his Store,
112 Central St., Lowell, (3d Door South of Hurd St.,)
COFFINS OF EVERY SIZE AND VARIETY,
And GRAVE CLOTHES of all Sizes and Qualities.
Coffin Plates Furnished and Engraved at Short Notice.
Orders left at his house, No. 1 LOUDON COURT, near Tyler St., promptly attended to, day or night.
FISKS'
BURIAL
METALLIC
CASES,
KEPT CONSTANTLY ON HAND. S. N. PROCTOR.
88
HISTORY OF LOWELL:
of the mills at Waltham, and merely retained a directorship in that company, and one in the Merrimac Company also. But his active brain was not made for rest. No sooner did he attempt to play the retired gentleman, than his health failed. Wisely de- termining to " wear out rather than rust out," he now accepted the offices of agent and treasurer for the Appleton Company ; and during his connection with that company,-indeed, during his whole life,-he was universally reverenced as the founder and guardian-genius of the place.
On the fourth of July, 1828, the citizens of Lowell honored, with appropriate observances, the anniversary of our National Independence. Over the concourse of his fellow-townsmen, Mr. Boott presided, and Dr. Elisha Bartlett delivered an oration. The oration was published, in extenso, in the Lowell Journal of that year ; and for general ability, appropriateness, correct taste, and freedom from the cant and froth which commonly abound in Fourth-of-July orations, this production has seldom been surpassed.
The Fire Department of Lowell was established in 1829. In the same year, the late Mr. William Livingston established him- self in the coal-and-wood trade, at the wharf built for him by Mr. Nehemiah Wright, where the same business is still carried on by Wm. E. Livingston & Co. When Mr. Livingston commenced this business, he was in humble circumstances, drove his own team, and was his own clerk. Yet when he died, in March, 1855, he left an estate worth, above all his liabilities, over two hundred thousand dollars-the accumulation of an active and useful life.
The fourth of July, 1829, was celebrated in Lowell, by an oration by Dr. Israel Hildreth, of Dracutt, a collation, and a dis- play of fire-works in the evening. In the same year, the Legis- lature appropriated two hundred and fifty dollars for a survey of the Boston and Lowell Railroad, and appointed a surveyor for that purpose. The growth of the place had been such that the necessity of some means of communication between Boston and Lowell, superior to stages or wagons, had already been pressingly felt by the community.
HAND-BOOK OF ITS BUSINESS. 89
H.S.H
SYNES
MERRILL CC.LOWELL'
(SUCCESSOR TO EPHRAIM BROWN,)
DEALER IN
CROCKERY, CHINA, GLASS, BRITANNIA. PLATED AND WOODEN WARE.
Cutlery, Lamps, Burning Fluid, &c.
Also, a large assortment of PARIAN MARBLE & TERRA COTTA GOODS FOR MANTLE, TABLE, PIANO FORTE, AND PARLOR ORNAMENTS.
TEA TRAYS,
Of Various Shapes, Sizes, Patterns and Prices, Bought directly of the Manufacturer in England.
Together with numerous other articles, comprising the Largest and Richest Stock of Goods ever offered in Lowell.
Housekeepers, and all anticipating Housekeeping, are in- vited to call and examine this Stock of Goods before purchasing elsewhere.
H. S. HAYNES,
45 Merrimack Street, Lowell.
8H
90
HISTORY OF LOWELL:
The Boston and Lowell Railroad.
IT was in 1830, that Mr. Jackson, that second Hercules, un- dertook the Cyclopean work of the Boston and Lowell Railroad -the first establishment of the kind in the United States. The line for a macadamized road had already been surveyed, when this road was projected ; and it was a part of the original plan to have the cars drawn by horses. But just " in the nick of time," the intelligence of Mr. Stephenson's brilliant success in his ex- periment with locomotive steam engines on the Liverpool and Manchester Railroad, reached the ever-open ears of Mr. Jackson, and convinced him that a similar railroad might be established here also. He corresponded with the best inventors and mechan- ics of England, availed himself of their valuable suggestions, and in five years the work was successfully completed.
As a matter of course, all the incorrigible fogies of the country pronounced the project of a railroad with cars propelled by steam, to be radical, wild and visionary. Mr. Jackson was again the laughing-stock of all the ridiculing Mrs. Grundys within many miles on either side of this " castle-in-the-air railroad." The stockholders complained of the repeated and enormous assessments which he imposed upon them, without any prospect, as these timid creatures thought, of any future dividends. Probably no other man then living, could have sustained himself against an opposition so powerful and so various. But the iron mind of that truly great man,-true to itself as the needle to the pole,- overcame every obstacle, and pressed right onward to the goal.
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