USA > Massachusetts > Historical collections, being a general collection of interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c., relating to the history and antiquities of every town in Massachusetts, with geographical descriptions > Part 50
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This does not include those who went into the meeting-house and were " cut off."
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LINCOLN.
after Parker's company had dispersed, and he was at some distance, he gave them 'the guts of his gun.'
" After the British had begun their march to Concord, I returned to the common, and found Robert Roe and Jonas Parker lying dead at the north corner of the common, near the Bedford road, and others dead and wounded. I assisted in carrying the dead into the meeting-house. I then proceeded towards Concord with my gun, and when I came near the tavern in Lexington, now kept by Mr. Viles, I saw a British soldier seated on the bank by the road. I went to him, with my gun in readiness to fire, if he should offer to resist. I took his gun, cutlass, and equipments from him. I then proceeded with him towards Lexington, and meeting a Mr. Welch and another person, Î delivered the prisoner to them.
" After Welch arrived in Lexington with the prisoner, I understood that another prisoner was taken by Mr. John Flagg, and that they were conducted to Burlington, and put under the care of Captain James Reed. I believe that the soldier who surren- dered his gun to me was the first prisoner taken by the Americans on that day.
SYLVANUS WOOD."
". Middlesex, ss. June 17th, 1826. Then the above-named Sylvanus Wood personally appeared, and subscribed and made oath to the foregoing affidavit.
" Before me, NATHAN BROOKS, Justice of the Peace." 7
The following is copied from an inscription on a monument in the Lexington grave-yard.
Here lies the body of his Excellency William Eustiss, who was born at Cambridge, June 10th, 1753, and died in Boston, Feb. 6th, 1825. He served his country as a sur- geon through the Revolutionary War. In her political affairs he subsequently took an active lead : he successively filled the distinguished places of Secretary at War of the. United States, Envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at the Court of the Netherlands, Representative to the National Congress, and Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
To the honored and beloved memory of a Revolutionary Patriot, a servant of his country in its highest trusts, a friend to his country in its darkest hours, an eminent orator, a practical statesman, a dutiful 'son, an, affectionate husband, this monument is erected by his mourning widow, Caroline Langdon Eustiss. He hastened to his country's service on the eventful morning of the 19th of April, 1775, and here, within the precincts, hallowed by the blood which was shed that day, after an hon- orable and useful life, he rests in peace and hope, conformably to his last wish, by his mother's side.
LINCOLN.
THIS town was incorporated as the second precinct of Concord in 1746. It was incorporated as a town in 1754, by the name of Lincoln, which name was given by Chambers Russell, Esq., whose ancestors were from Lincolnshire, England. The town averages about 5 miles in length and 3 in breadth. It has all the varieties of soil, from the richest to the poorest. Though rough and un- even, it contains some of the best farms in the county. The most celebrated is that known at different times as the Russell, Codman, and Percival farm. Flint's or Sandy Pond, containing about 197 acres, derived its name from its being situated on the farm of Ephraim Flint, one of the original owners of Lincoln. It is a favorite resort for pickerel; and its fisheries have been con- sidered of so much importance, that an act was passed by the le- gislature, in 1824, prohibiting any person, under the penalty of $2, from fishing with "more than one hook" between the 1st of De-
51
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LITTLETON.
cember and April. Lincoln is three and a half miles south-east- erly from Concord, and 16 north-westerly from Boston. Popula- tion, 694. It contains one Congregational church, which is situ- ated on a hill 470 feet above high-water mark in Boston. This building has been several times repaired. A steeple was built in 1755, and furnished with a bell, the gift of Mr. Joseph Brooks. The first minister, Rev. Wm. Lawrence, was ordained in 1748. The following is the inscription on his monument :
" In memory of the Rev. William Lawrence, A. M., Pastor of the church of Christ in Lincoln, who died April 11, 1780, in the 57th year of his age, and 32d of his minis- try. He was a gentleman of good abilities, both natural and acquired, a judicious divine, a faithful minister, and firm supporter of the order of the churches, In his last sickness, which was long and distressing, he'exhibited a temper characteristic of the minister and christian. 'Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.' "
LITTLETON.
THIS town was formerly a gore of land not included in any of the adjoining towns : it remained in this state many years after they were incorporated. It was but thinly inhabited by some English people, together with Indians living on their ancient settle- ments, and was known by the name of Nashoba. In 1715, upon the petition of one Whitcomb and Powers, this place was incorpo- rated into a town, by the name of Littleton. It was so called after the name of the Hon. George Lyttleton, Esq., member of Parlia- ment, and one of the commissioners of the treasury. In return for the honor done to his name, the noble gentleman presented this town with a church bell ; but, on account of an error in spelling the name, caused by substituting the i for the y, which formed the word Littleton, the valuable present, miscarried, and was finally withheld, under the pretence that no such town as Lyttleton, to which the bell was to be presented, could anywhere be found. It is stated, that the same bell is now in the possession and use of the town in this commonwealth which purchased it. The first settled minister was Rev. Benjamin Shattuck, who was ordained in Dec. 1717. He continued in the ministry about 13 years, and was succeeded by Rev. Daniel Rogers, who died in 1782, after a ministry of more than half a century. He was succeeded by Rev. Edmund Foster, who was ordained in 1781.
Littleton is principally an agricultural town. Population, 876. Distance, 10 miles from Concord, 5 miles from Groton, and 26 from Boston. Mr. Gookin, in his history of the Indian tribes, gives the following account of this place :
" Nashoba is the sixth praying Indian town. This village is situated in a manner in the center between Chelmsford, Lancaster, Groton, and Concord, about 25 miles west-north-west of Boston. The inhabitants are about ten families, and consequently about fifty souls. This village is four miles square. The people live here as in In- dian villages, upon planting corn, fishing, hunting, and sometimes labouring with the English people. Their ruler of late years was John Ahatawana, a pious man. After
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his decease, Pennekennet, or Pennekannet, became their chief. Their teacher's name was John Thomas, a sober and pious man. The father of this John (Thomas) was murdered by the Maquas Indians, in the most secret manner, as he was fishing for eels at his wear. He was a pious and useful man. In this place are or- chards of apples., Near unto this town is a pond, wherein, at some seasons, there is a strange rumbling noise, as the Indians affirm; the reason thereof is not yet known. Some have considered the hill adjacent as hollow, wherein the wind, being pent, is the cause of this rumbling, as in earthquakes. At this place they attend civil and reli- gious order, as in other praying towns ; and they have a constable and other officers. This town was deserted during the Maquas war in 1676; but is now again peopled, and in a hopeful way to prosper."*
" The pond above mentioned" (says Mr. Foster in his Century Sermon in 1815) " must be Nagog. It lies on the eastern extremity of this town." The report of a strange noise, heard occasionally in this pond, was not without foundation. But the noise was not in the water, as they imagined, but from a hill, ly- ing in a north-west direction, and about half a mile distant from the pond, partly in Littleton and partly in Westford, known by the name of Nashoba Hill. A rumbling noise, from time to time, has been heard from this hill ever since the settlement of the town. It has been repeated within two years past, and is called "the shooting of Nashoba Hill."
At the south-easterly part of the town, and on the northerly side of a pond lying there, the Indians erected and maintained a fort, which gave to the waters adjoining the name of Fort Pond. The fort was built on an elevated spot of ground, occupied and im- proved by the Indians, according to their manner of cultivation. The principal owner, or oldest possessor, of this plot of ground, was an Indian by the name of Spean ; and the land is known to this day by the name of "Spean's Hill." "The oldest dwelling- house in this town (says Mr. Foster) was erected as a garrison- house for the defence of the English settlers against their Indian enemies. This ancient and much decayed building is situated on the south-easterly side of Nashoba Hill. It is in possession of the family of Mr. Samuel Reed, deceased, is now inhabited by his widow, and is said to have been standing more than 170 years." In the Indian war, Isaac and Jacob Shepherd were killed, and a young maid, about the age of 15, was taken captive by the Indians. She had been set to watch the enemy on a hill, which lies about a third of a mile south of Nashoba Hill, on the road leading to Bos- ton, and was called Quagana Hill. Tradition says that this girl was carried by the savages to Nashawa, now called Lancaster, or to some place in the neighborhood of it; that in the dead of night, she took a saddle from under the head of her Indian keeper, when sunk in sleep, increased by the fumes of ardent spirit, put the sad- dle on a horse, mounted on him, swam him across Nashawa river, and so escaped the hands of her captors, and arrived safe to her relatives and friends.
* Gookin's Historical Collections, chap. 7, p. LSS.
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LOWELL.
LOWELL.
THE city of Lowell is now a part of the land granted for a town, called Wamesit, by the general court to the Pawtucket Indians, once the most powerful tribe north of the Massachusetts. The his- torian Gookin states that " the tribe was almost wholly destroyed by the sickness in 1612 and '13; and at this day (1674) there are not above two hundred and fifty men, besides women and children. What that disease was, that so generally and mortally swept away these and other Indians in New England, I cannot learn. Doubt- less it was some pestilential disease. I have discoursed with some Indians, that were then youths, who say 'that their bodies were exceeding yellow before, and after they died,' describing it by a yellow garment they showed me." The following account of Wa- mesit is from Gookin's Historical account of the Indians.
" Wamesit* is the fifth praying town ; and this place is situated upon the Merrimac river, being a neck of land where Concord river falleth into Merrimac river. It is about twenty miles from Boston, N. N. W., and within five miles of Billerica, and as much from Chelmsford ; so that it hath Concord river upon the W. N. W. and Merrimac upon the N. N. E. It hath about fifteen families, and consequently seventy-five souls. The quantity of land belonging to it is about twenty-five hundred acres. The land is fer- tile, and yieldeth plenty of corn. It is excellently accommodated with a fishing place ; and there is taken a variety of fish in their season, as salmon, shad, lamprey-eels, stur- geon, bass, and divers others. There is a great confluence of Indians, that usually resort to this place in the fishing seasons. Of these strange Indians, divers are vicious and wicked, men and women, which Satan makes use of to obstruct the prosperity of religion here. The ruler of this people is called Numphow. He is one of the blood of their chief sachems. Their teacher is called'Samuel; son to the ruler, a young man of good parts, and can speak, read, and write English competently. He is one of those that was bred up at school, at the charge of the corporation for the Indians. These Indians, if they were diligent and industrious, to which they have been frequently ex- cited, might get much by their fish, especially fresh salmon, which are of esteem and a good price at Boston in the season ; and the Indians being stored with horses of a low price, might furnish the market fully, being but a short distance from it. And divers other sorts of fish they might salt or pickle, as sturgeon and bass; which would be much to their profit. But notwithstanding divers arguments used to persuade them, and some orders made to encourage them ; yet their idleness and improvidence doth hitherto prevail.
" At this place, once a year, at the beginning of May, the English magistrate keeps his court, accompanied with Mr. Eliot, the minister ; who at this time takes his oppor- tunity to preach, not only to the inhabitants, but to as many of the strange Indians as can be persuaded to hear him; of which sort, usually, in times of peace, there are con- siderable numbers at that season. And this place being an ancient and capital seat of Indians, they come to fish ; and this good man takes this opportunity to spread the net of the gospel, to fish for their souls."
In 1726, Wamesit was annexed to the town of Chelmsford. Tradition says that the house erected by the Indians for public worship was built of logs, and located on the high ground at the head of Appleton street. As the English population increased, the Indians decreased, till their number became very small, when they sold out their remaining lands and removed to the north. Their last abiding place here was, it is stated, on Fort Hill, around which portions of a trench dug by them are still visible.
"The town of Lowell, as incorporated by an act of the legislature,
* Now in Lowell, previously in Tewksbury .- For a number of interesting particu- lars respecting the history of Lowell, the author is indebted to Floyd's Lowell Direc- tory for 1837.
river. The entrance of Concord river into the Merrimac is seen on the left.
.... TIR .... . . .... .... .... .... .... ---- - .. .... .... .... --- EAST VIEW OF LOWELL, MASS. Drawn by J. W. Barber-Engraved by E. L. Barber, New Haven, Conn. The above is an eastern view of the central part of Lowell as seen from the elevated ground on the Dracut or northern side of Merrimac .. ...
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passed on the first day of March, 1826, contained four square miles, and was formerly the north-eastern section of the town of Chelms- ford. The legislature, in 1834, annexed Belvidere village, the westerly corner of Tewksbury, to Lowell. This annexation ex- tends the territory of Lowell to nearly five square miles. The population of Lowell in 1820 was about 2,000; in 1828, 3,532; in 1830, 6,477; in 1832, 10,254; in 1833, 12,363. In 1837, it was 18,010.
" The first effort to promote manufactures in this place were made in 1813. In consequence of the restrictions that were laid on commerce, and of the war with Great Britain, the attention of many enterprising men was directed to domestic manufactures. Capt. Phi- neas Whiting and Capt. Josiah Fletcher, having selected an eligible site on Concord river, at the Wamesit falls, about a hundred rods from the Merrimac, erected, at'the expense of about $3,000, a large wooden building for a cotton manufactory. In 1818, they sold their buildings and their right to the water-power, to Mr. Thomas Hurd. Mr. Hurd afterwards fitted up the wooden factory, and erected a large brick one and several dwelling-houses, and improv- ed the same for fabricating woollen goods. The woollen factory was destroyed by fire on the 30th of June, 1826, but was rebuilt immediately after. Mr. Hurd continued the business till the great pressure in 1828, when he was compelled to assign his property for the benefit of his creditors, and which was afterwards pur- chased by the Middlesex Company.
" About the year 1820, Messrs. Patrick T. Jackson, Nathan Ap- pleton, and Kirk Boott, of Boston, entered into a design to form a company for the purpose of manufacturing cotton goods, particu- larly calicoes. They accordingly commenced an enquiry for a suitable water privilege. A large number of privileges were ex- amined, and, for various reasons, rejected. At length Mr. Paul Moody, then connected with the manufacturing establishments at Waltham, while on a visit to his friends in Amesbury, met with Mr. Worthen, a gentleman of taste, with views congenial to his own, to whom he mentioned that an extensive water privilege was want- ed by the above-named gentlemen. Mr. Worthen replied, 'Why do they not purchase the land around the Pawtucket falls, in Chelmsford ? They can put up as many works as they please, and never want for water.' 'This conversation resulted in a visit of these gentlemen to this place, and from observation they were both satisfied that the privilege was exactly what was wanted. The Pawtucket canal was immediately purchased by Messrs. Jackson, Appleton, and Boott.
" This canal was projected about the year 1790, and the propri- etors were incorporated in 1792, by the name of 'The Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on Merrimac River.' It was open for the purpose of facilitating the transportation of wood and lumber from the interior to Newburyport. It is about one mile and a half in length, had four sets of locks, and was built at the expense of $50,000. Its direction is nearly cast, and it enters Concord river,
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just above its junction with the Merrimac, where the water is thirty-two feet lower than at the head of the Pawtucket falls.
"It is worthy of remark, that a few years before the purchase was made by Messrs. Jackson, Appleton, and Boott, an engineer was sent to examine this place, by a number of gentlemen in Boston, who made a report that there was no water privilege here. The company made the first purchase of real estate on the 2d of No- vember, 1821. They began their work about the 1st of April, 1822. On the 10th of July, they began to dig the canal broader and deeper, and let the water into it about the 1st of September, 1823. Five hundred men were constantly employed in digging and blast- ing. The gunpowder used in blasting amounted to $6,000, at one shilling per pound. The whole expense of digging the canal was about $120,000. It is now sixty feet wide, has three sets of locks, and the water in it is eight feet deep, and is calculated to supply about fifty mills. In digging this canal ledges were found, conside- rably below the old canal, which bore evident traces of its having once been the bed of the river. Many places were found worn into the ledge, as there usually are in falls, by stones kept con- stantly in motion by the water; some of these cavities were one foot or more in diameter and two feet deep.
" The company was first incorporated by the name of the 'Mer- rimac Manufacturing Company.' In 1825, a new company was formed, called the 'Proprietors of Locks and Canals on Merrimac River,' to whom the Merrimac Manufacturing Company sold all the water privilege and all their real estate, together with the machine shop and its appurtenances, reserving water power sufficient for five factories and the print works, and also the buildings occupied for boarding-houses, and the land on which they are situated.
" There are ten houses for public worship in Lowell : 3 Baptist, 3 Congregational, 2 Methodist, 1 Universalist, and 1 Catholic; 16 primary schools, 5 grammar schools, and 1 high school. There are three banks, the 'City,' 'Lowell,' and 'Railroad' Banks. There are 5 newspapers published in this place.
" Lowell became an incorporated city in February, 1836, by an act of the general court, accepted by a vote of the people April 11. On the first of May, the following officers were chosen for city go- vernment.
CITY OFFICERS. ELISHA BARTLETT, Mayor.
William Austin, Benjamin Walker,
ALDERMEN. Oliver M. Whipple, Aaron Mansur,
Seth Ames, Alexander Wright.
Thomas Nesmith, Thomas Ordway, Samuel Garland, George Brownell,
COMMON COUNCIL. Henry J. Baxter, Weld Spaulding, Jonathan Bowers, Sidney Spaulding,
Stephen Mansur, . John Mixer, John A. Savels, James Cook,
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LOWELL.
Cyril French, Horace Howard,
John Clark,
Josiah B. French,
James Russell,
Jonathan Tyler,
William Wyman,
H. W. Hastings, David Nourse,
David Dana,
Tappan Wentworth.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
John A. Knowles, Dr. John O. Green,
Rev. Lemuel Porter, Jacob Robbins, Rev. A. Blanchard, Thomas Hopkinson.
Samuel. A. Coburn, City Clerk. Zacheus Shed, City Marshall."
" The Lowell railroad, from the capital and commercial emporium of Massachusetts to Lowell, the greatest manufacturing town in the state, was very early projected. It was obviously important, after it was known that Lowell was rapidly increasing, and the manufacturing establishments greatly extending, that the mode of conveyance, both for men and goods, should be facilitated as to time and expense. The passing of boats on the Middlesex canal, which extends almost the whole distance, is very slow ; usually not more than three miles an hour. The turnpike was, in most cases, a far better mode of conveyance. Railroads were then in operation in England, and highly approved as means of conveying passengers and goods to and from the manufacturing towns.
" No town in New England has grown up so rapidly as Lowell. It is but about fif- teen years since the settlements began; and it now contains seventeen thousand inhabit- ants. The capital employed in the manufacturing business is over seven and a half millions. In 1830, the travel between this place and Boston had become very great ; and during that year a company was incorporated for constructing a railroad ; and in 1835, it was opened for travel. It is constructed in a strong and durable manner. It has an iron edge rail, resting on cast-iron chairs, on stone blocks, and a stone founda- tion.
" The distance, from the north-west part of Boston, where the road begins, to Lowell, is twenty-five miles and one thousand feet. For a great distance it is nearly straight. The time usually occupied in the passage is one hour and fifteen minutes. There is a cut through a solid rock or ledge, of six hundred feet, which was made at the expense of forty thousand dollars. In the summer season, there are four trains of cars each way, every day in the week, excepting Sundays. The fare for a single passenger is one dollar ; and goods are transported at far less expense than they can be in any other way. The first cost and additional expenses to the close of 1835 amounted to 1,500,000 dollars ; and the receipts up to the same time, being the income for conveying people and goods, including moneys paid for assessments on shares, were $1,361,000 ; of which $45,000 was received of passengers and owners of property transported. It is propos- ed to have a double track on this railroad ; and a second has been commenced, the cost of which is estimated at $300,000.
" The usual rate of travel has been already stated. The cars can be run in much less time, and have, in some instances, passed over the whole road in fifty-six minutes. The number of persons conveyed on this road during the present year is far greater than the last ; but the precise number we are unable to give.
" It is intended to extend the road to Nashua, in New Hampshire, and thence to Concord in that state. A branch from South Andover, to unite with the Lowell road at Wilmington, a distance of seven miles and a half, has been opened this year ; and it is proposed to continue it from Andover to Haverhill."-American Magazine, vol. iii. 1837.
The following account of the business done in Lowell is taken entire from the Statistical Tables, published by the state in 1837.
" Cotton mills, 22; cotton spindles, 141,334 ; cotton consumed, 16,053,000 pounds ; cotton goods manufactured, 48,434,000 yards ; value of same, $5,434,000 ; males em- ployed, 862 ; females, 5,685 ; capital invested, $6,167,000. Woollen mills, including 1 carpet mill, 5 ; sets of woollen machinery, 42; wool consumed, 1,010,000 lbs. ; cloth manufactured, (including 147,000 yards carpeting and rugs,) 912,600 yards ; value of woollen goods manufactured, $1,070,000 ; males employed, 359; females, 461 ; capi- tal invested, $580,000; sperm oil used by manufacturers, 46,110 gallons ; olive oil, 15,000 gallons. Anthracite coal used by the cotton and woollen manufactories, 10,750
Erastus Douglass,
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tons. Saxony sheep, 25; merino sheep, 25; Saxony wool produced, 75 lbs. ; merino wool, 75 lbs. ; average weight of fleece, 3 lbs. ; value of wool, $100; capital invested, $200. Boots manufactured, 3,450 pairs ; shoes, 12,350 pairs ; value of boots and shoes, $27,250 ; males employed, 51; females, 19. Tin ware manufactories, 3; value of tin ware, $11,000; hands employed, 10. Cotton batting mills, 4; capital invested, $20,000 ; batting manufactured, 600,000 lbs. ; value of same, $75,000 ; males employed, 30 ; females, 18. Printing and dyeing cotton goods, 3 mills ; capital invested, $700,000; cotton goods dyed and printed, 12,220,000 yards ; males employed, 450 ; females, 35 ; value of printing and dyeing, $550,000. Powder mills, 10 ; capital invested, $125,000; powder manufactured, 50,000 casks ; value of powder, $125,000 ; materials used, salt- petre, 1,000,000 lbs .; brimstone, 150,000 lbs .; hands employed, 50. Carriage and harness manufactories, 3 ; capital invested, $20,000 ; value of manufactures, $37,000 ; hands employed, 30. Flour mill, 1; hands employed, 8; capital invested, $20,000 ; 60 barrels flour made per day, value not estimated. Card factory, 1; capital invested, $8,000 ; value of cards manufactured, $12,000 ; wire used in the manufactory, 5 tons ; males employed, 4; females, 4. Reed factory, 1; capital employed, $2,000 ; value of manufacture, $6,000 ; wire used in the manufacture; 2 tons ; males employ- ed, 2 Whip manufactory, 1; capital invested, $2,000 ; value of whips manufactured, $6,000 ; males employed, 4; females, 2. Brass and copper manufactory, 1 ; capital invested, $2,500 ; value of manufactures, $20,000 ; hands employed, 10. Establish- ments for manufacture of cotton machinery, engines and cars for railroads, &c., 3; capital invested, $500,000 ; value of manufactures, $300,000 ; wrought and cast iron used in the said manufactures, 1,200 tons; coal used, 400 tons ; oil used, 2,300 gallons ; hands employed, 500."
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