History of Athol, Massachusetts, Part 14

Author: , William G., compiler
Publication date: 1953
Publisher: Athol, Mass
Number of Pages: 756

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In 1903 one, John H. Tiney, located in South Royalston and gathered around him several of this faith. Mr. Tiney was soon ordained as an Elder and at different times ministered to these people for more than twenty years. A striking figure with a full dark beard, he was frequently seen driving in from the outskirts of town in his democrat wagon. I am grateful to his daughter, Mrs. Alice (Tiney) Turner of Phillipston who told me much of this story.

Soon after the group became an organized body A. J. Clark came to them and served as their minister for a time. Mr. Clark probably was not ordained when officiating at South Roy- alston but subsequently became a fully reorganized clergyman of their faith.

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DENOMINATIONS EVOLVE

Not long after Mr. Clark came to South Royalston, Mr. Horace Mann, a devout member of the local Second Advent Church and an individual of quite some means, withdrew from that body and cast his lot with these people. He became such a vigorous advocate of the doctrines of this faith that he and his wife carried around a petition for Congress to abolish all Sunday laws, asking everybody to sign it.

As there were more of the faith in Athol than in their first location their headquarters were removed here and services were held at various private homes first at 4 South Athol Road -the home of a Carlin family, then at 205 Pequoig Avenue, and finally at the Mann home, 35 Pine Court. Eventually Mr. Mann purchased the Stratton Homestead on South Athol Road and the activities of the sect followed him there.

South of his home well back from the road a building was erected for a day school and a place for religious meetings. With the exception of some two or three years during the pe- riod of World War II the services and school were maintained there, but since perhaps 1950 services have been conducted elsewhere.

Born on November 6, 1838, Horace Mann was educated at Athol High School, Bennett Hill School, and New Salem Acad- emy. After teaching a few terms in Athol and vicinity, he engaged in the furniture business here, also speculating in real estate and timber. He was a resident of Athol for seventy- five years, and was known to be a practical but kind-hearted man. He especially loved children and made substantial dona- tions to support the Morgan Memorial Fresh Air Camp, the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the Near East Relief, and many local activities.

Mrs. Mabel Abbie (Mann) Hayden of Springfield, the young- est child by his first marriage, has been most helpful to me in furnishing much of this information.

During the years when the community located around South Athol Road was the most numerous and most prosperous one of their members, Clarence Munroe, acquired the adjoining place of J. Wesley Moulton, deceased, and operated there for a considrable period a hospital and rest home, eventually re- moving to 44 Brookside Road where it did not long survive.

Upon Mr. Mann's death at the age of ninety-one on January 17, 1930 he bequeathed his home farm to the General Con- ference of Seventh Day Adventists located at South Lancaster and by them it was soon sold to Mr. Arthur W. Farrington.

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HISTORY OF ATHOL

While several of this faith still reside in the vicinity of the combination church edifice and school house yet it would ap- pear that they have rather decreased in numbers in recent years. Although somewhat remote yet they gather their in- spiration and considerable of their enthusiasm from the much larger group of their faith at South Lancaster where this de- nomination is developing a general educational institution known as Atlantic Union College.

In July, 1947, Rev. Howard E. Greene became pastor of this flock, being succeeded in 1952 by Rev. F. W. Harvey. Serv- ices in recent years have been held in the former Advent Church building, now Grange Hall, but more recently are being held in Phillipston Town Hall.

Salvation Army 1904

Ever after the organization founded and sponsored by Gen- eral William Booth in England gathered a foothold in New Eng- land our people, who travelled to any extent away from home, were accustomed to seeing the Salvation Army holding its open air services in the city streets. But it was long years before it was thought possible for the influence of this group of reli- gious enthusiasts to reach our town.

However, in the Christmas Season of 1904 an organizer came here and after a few weeks had gathered a few recruits. Engaging the vacant Charles F. Gage store on Main Street, east of the present Memorial Hall Building, they began to hold meetings daily. The zeal and evident sincerity of these peo- ple together with their stirring music attracted a goodly num- ber to their meetings, and for a considerable number of years their services were quite well attended. Their annual collec- tions at Thanksgiving and Christmas time have enabled them to do much quiet charitable work.

In 1925 the New England Regional authorities arranged to purchase their barracks at No. 304 Main Street, which was the former home of Russell Smith. Here they have carried on since that time and by their weekly collections plus their an- nual drives have received sufficient support so that their work has not been seriously hampered. While they have never been large in numbers, yet their influence in our community has been for its betterment.

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DENOMINATIONS EVOLVE

Athol Hebrew Association 1910

Soon after the close of the Civil War, Julius Aishberg came here occasionally, first with a pack on his back and later with a wagon full of dry goods. He was soon followed by Mendell Leahberg who opened a dry goods' store in Starr Hall Block in the westerly store of the block named by Mr. Charles M. Lee, the builder and owner, Auburn Hall Bazaar. Shortly after that came one Davidson who operated a clothing store in the Stock- well Block at 461 Main Street.

JEWISH SYNAGOGUE 1948 -

Eventually these pioneers left us but others came in, collect- ing junk, second-hand materials, and dealing in real estate in a small way. Gradually their number was increased by immi- grants from foreign lands, from New York, and other places. Among them is recalled Abraham Baker who dealt in iron and metals, Rubin Katz, Charles Kumin-who has dealt extensive- ly in real estate, the three Plotkin brothers-Louis, Jacob, and Joseph; Samuel Esterman, Isaac Smargonsky, Hyman and Harry Zack, Isaac Wolper and Isaac Glaser.

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HISTORY OF ATHOL

In the early days these people were entirely without a local teacher. Eventually Isaac Glaser officiated in that capacity and was colloquially known as the Rabbi, although he never was really entitled to that title.

These people formed an association in 1910, bought a tract of land at 55 Pine Street, and erected there a building for a synagogue which served them until about 1945, although in the later years it proved entirely inadequate. After consider- able preliminary discussion they purchased in 1946 the John M. Adams property, corner of Union and Walnut Streets, de- molished the building there, and erected a very attractive syna- gogue and assembly hall on the site. When located on Pine Street, they were officially known as Temple Israel, but the new building is designated as Agudas Achim Synagogue.

But three regularly qualified Rabbis have served here and all since 1940. Their names, in the order of their service, are as follows: Rabbi S. Friedlund, Rabbi S. Segal, and Rabbi Henry Ucko.

The Slavs and Their Church 1913

The author well remembers encountering in June, 1890 while enumerating for the eleventh census a family living on South Street, just east of Canal Street, which bore a name un- heard of in Athol. We had become accustomed to the names of the Irish, the Canadian French, and a few Italians, but the unpronounceable accumulation of vowels and consonants in this name was a distinct novelty.

I spoke of it in the room of the town officers where I was a clerk and the chairman of the assessors asked me to write the name that he might include it in the Poll Tax list as a curios- ity, but rigid Federal regulations made it impossible for me to reveal the name or even to keep a copy of it. So the identity of this family, probably of Poles, is lost, and as the census of 1890 papers in Washington were long ago lost in a fire at the Department of the Interior, we may never know the identity of this pioneer family. But the incident fixes the date of the arrival of this first Slavic family as in the early months of 1890.

During the next decade one family after another came here so that when in 1900 | again was a census enumerator I, and the other Athol enumerators, found numerous families of this race living here. Gradually others have joined these pioneers until today probably they number one thousand.

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DENOMINATIONS EVOLVE

Slowly at first these people learned our language and our customs, but as the children attended our schools they carried home much information helpful to their elders. As a race they have proved themselves to be honest, agreeable and frugal. Many own their own homes and the younger people are ac- cepted in the social life of the community.

SAINT FRANCIS CHURCH 1921 -

Reared in the Catholic faith in their homeland they speed- ily sought out the local church of that persuasion and there

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they were affiliated for two decades, but a longing for the cus- toms and language of their homeland finally brought about a separation from the church on the hill. They had erected their community hall on Oak (now Jones) Street and there in 1913 Rev. Francis Meskauskas as their priest ministered to them for a time.

In April, 1918 they purchased of Mr. L. S. Starrett the pres- ent church lot and rectory at Main and Canal Streets. To the site where the church now stands, soon after 1850 John C. Hill had moved the ell of the old Pequoig House in which was Fish's Hall dedicated November 25, 1834 but discarded early in the owersh p of the hotel by Sylvanus E. Twichell. This building, known as the "Old Arcade" was one of the early meeting places of the present Methodist Church. In addition to the hall there were numerous tenements in the building.

The rectory was built at 376 Main Street by J. Sumner Par- menter about 1854 and in 1872 was sold to Mr. Hill who moved it away to make room for "Parmenter's New Brick Block" burned in 1914. Mr. Starrett had acquired this prop- erty anticipating that the Methodist people would locate there with their new church, but they tenaciously clung to the vicin- ity of their first building at the corner of Main and Crescent Street.

The present St. Francis Church building was erected during the years 1920-21 and dedicated September 25, 1921.

In 1917 Rev. August Petraitis succeeded to the pastorate of this church continuing a most happy ministry until 1929 when he was given a more important position in Worcester, and Rev. Pius Juraitis succeeded him.

Restricted immigration has prevented a further influx of these people to America and to Athol, but despite this the church has enjoyed a healthy growth in all lines of its activities.

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CHAPTER XII TERRITORIAL CHANGES

F the twenty-four miles of boundary line laid out in 1733 to Perquage by Capt. William Chandler and Nathaniel Dwight, and their chairmen Thomas Chapin, Joseph Day, Ezra Leonard, and Ezekiel Smith, only about six and one-half miles bound the Athol of today. Its northeast corner was a long half mile northeast of High View on the road from South Royalston to Royalston Center; its southeast corner was in the general vicinity of Phillipston Common; its southwest corner was on the hillside southeast of White Pond; and its northwest corner was some distance down into the valley west of the Blackmer residence in North Orange.

These changes have come about both by taking to other towns and additions of adjoining territory.

The first of these takings had its beginning in 1773 when a larger part of the present parish of Phillipston asked to be set aside as a separate parish of the town of Templeton of which town they were then a part.

Joining with these secessionists were several families of Athol and much of our area. The following years (1774) a compliant General Court granted their request, thus Temple- ton West Precinct was established. In secular municipal af- fairs these people were still a part of the parent township but in ecclesiastical affairs they held their own meetings and man- aged their own affairs althought their business meetings were still called by the Selectmen of Templeton. A half dozen or more of the Revolutionary Soldiers including one Captain credited to Athol were residents of the West Precinct.

This secession as is noted elsewhere was far from acceptable to Athol, especially to its established church, but the with- drawal created far less uproar than did the next attempt at dismemberment some six years later.

In another chapter we have told of the disagreement in the First Church of Athol and the eventual elimination of Rev. Humphries from the pastoral office. It happened that those desiring the ministerial resignation lived chiefly around the most populous section of Athol while the champions of Rev.

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HISTORY OF ATHOL

Humphrey were domiciled in the northwesterly part of the town.

These malcontents in 1781 joined with a few families in the southwesterly part of Royalston and a larger number in the ex- treme southerly part of Warwick and built the present North Orange Meeting House, locating it in Warwick but within a few rods of Royalston line on the east and Athol line on the south. Having this nucleus of a township they speedily asked to be incorporated as an independent municipality. In 1781 they asked for 4,260 acres, a much larger slice of Athol ter- ritory than was eventually granted them, as they included much of our South Main Street area. But their petition was frowned upon by the General Court and negative action taken. Again in 1782 they made another attempt, this time suggest- ing at least that all Athol territory north of Millers River be included in the new township, but again they failed to impress the legislators of the justice of their demands.

Those were grevious days in Athol's history. She saw that ere long Templeton West Parish would become a township thus taking away several square miles of her territory and the re- peated and insistent demands of the northwest part of the town for liberation from the ties which bound her to the mother town must soon produce some loss of area and people.

The feelings of desperation at that period are revealed to some extent by the various propositions included in the town meeting warrants when the voters were asked to request that the parish which had seceded (part of Templeton West Parish, now Phillipston) return to us; to dismember the township in various ways, and twice the voters were asked to authorize the sale of the Meeting House at public vendue, probably assum- ing that the town would disband and its various sections be- come annexed to adjoining towns, but all these proposals were rejected and the determination shown to keep the township intact but only upon the one condition that a settlement be effected with Rev. Mr. Humphrey and that he be dismissed as Athol's pastor.

A session of the Legislature in October, 1783 granted the desires of the ardent rebels and established them into the Dis- trict of Orange, taking some 3600 acres from us. By its charter it had all the powers and privileges of any other Mass- achusetts town except that it was not given the privilege then inherent in every township to send a Representative to the General Court. For that purpose and that only it was annexed to Warwick. Evidently because of the strong assertions of

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Athol that the support of the Great Road through our town, which gave the new municipality access to the eastern towns and the State Capital, was a burden too great for it to bear, the incorporating act placed forever upon them the burden of bearing one-half the expense of maintaining the Great Bridge (Crescent Street), Bog Meadow Bridge (off Pequoig Avenue), and Tully River Bridge (rear 383 North Orange Road).

For some seventeen years this unique penalty in Orange's Charter was a subject of not a little unpleasantness between the towns, but when in 1799 the Great Road passed under the control of the Fifth Massachusetts Turnpike Corporation, Athol no longer had any cost to divide with her neighbor. When in 1831 the Turnpike Corporation ceased operations these bridges had long since been abandoned as parts of the through highway and nothing was ever said about assessing Orange for their substitute.

In 1786 Templeton West Parish asked for full independence and its request was granted, thus taking from our town con- siderably more than the 3600 acres taken by Orange. Prob- ably because this action had long been expected there does not appear to have been any strenuous opposition on the part of our town. Our townsman Esq. Hiram Newhall was desig- nated to call the first town meeting in Gerry and to act gen- erally as its guardian and adviser until it was well organized.

In the old records we find comparatively little ado about road building and maintainance but the many bridges in the townships, particularly those over the larger streams, were a real problem. The road from Royalston to our County Seat ran a mile or more in Athol territory but entered the bounds of Templeton near the present Riverside Cemetery in South Royalston, thus putting upon that town the expense of a size- able bridge across the river.

Templeton played a trump card in 1798 by inducing the Sessions to relay the road there moving it some fifteen rods down stream, which placed it within Athol territory and un- loaded the bridge burden upon this town. Then Athol rose in her wrath and refused to bear the burden of this imposi- tion as she termed it. After much acrimony including threats at least of Court action a compromise was effected whereby the General Court took 139 square rods 20 links of Athol, 12 square rods 60 links of Gerry and annexed them to Royalston, thus placing Royalston's road to Worcester in that town to be- yond the river, and loading upon it the obnoxious bridge ex- pense. As is told in more detail under industries, two water

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HISTORY OF ATHOL

powers had been developed in that area and the nucleus of a village was in the making.

Evidently to further this in 1803 a much larger area, 7551/2 acres, went out of Athol into Royalston. In connection with these changes there was at least the suggestion that all of Athol north of the river and east of Choxungus Brook (Gulf Brook) be annexed to Royalston but that dream failed to ma- terialize.

After this 1803 taking Athol's area was the least number of acres it ever has been. Soon accessions of territory began.

In 1805 Seth Phillips and Jabez Ward "with their families and all those parts of their lands which are within the bounds of the Town of Gerry" were taken from Gerry and added to us. No reason for this has come down to me.

Likewise on February 7, 1816 an area near the junction of Brooks Road and North Orange Road was taken from Orange and added to us.

A considerable number of residents of the South Athol area petitioned the Legislature in December, 1818 for annexation to Athol but their aspirations were not approved by Athol and they were not admitted.

FAIRBANKS HOUSE, WHITE POND ROAD ABOUT 1750 Not within the limits of Athol until 1829, Demolished about 1920

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TERRITORIAL CHANGES

In 1829 some 400 acres in the Partridgeville Area includ- ing the Fairbanks' Grant were annexed. The residents of this "No Man's Land" had long looked to Athol as their natural affinity, had paid taxes to our town, and at various times had received assistance from it. Thus it was but a natural proce- dure, although it had been long delayed, for annexation to Athol to be requested. Their action was precipitated by an attempt of Ervings Grant to absorb, them, even going so far as to assess their lands and demand taxes of them. But five of these real estate holders rebelled at this. These petition- ing for annexation to Athol were Emerson Fay, Daniel Morton, John Stinson, Wheeler Darling, and Ephraim Fairbanks.

A part of New Salem including a portion of Riceville Road came to us in 1830.

Perhaps here as well as anywhere I should tell the story of the Newton Grant, later known as Kendall Farm. June 22, 1734 the Great and General Court granted three thousand acres to Newton, Cambridge, and Lexington as compensation for maintaining the Great Bridge over Charles River.

Newton quickly chose an area adjoining Athol and Peters- ham and filed a request to have a thousand acres there con- firmed to her, but careful scrutiny of the plan discolsed that it had trespassed on the so-called "Farmer's Grant" and upon Voluntown. When these two areas were deducted only 566 acres remained to Newton and that tract was confirmed to her July 20, 1735.

No record exists of how Newton disposed of this land but when the estate of Samuel Kendall of Woburn was adminis- tered on May 30, 1770 this entire tract was a part of it for shares of it were allocated to five of his fourteen heirs, name- ly Rev. Samuel, Josiah, Timothy, Mrs. Samuel Brooks, and Susannah Kendall.

In a plan showing this entire section, probably drawn in 1781, in connection with the agitation over the incorporation of the District of Orange, this tract is shown with the nota- tion "Kendall's Grant added to Athol."

The Legislature required of each town in 1794 a plan show- ing its outline and other features. Complying with this man- date our Selectmen drew a plan which is dated April 27, 1795 and duly filed in the State Archives. This map shows the Ken- dall triangle and on the margin is the note "On this. .line is annexed a plan of about five hundred and forty acres. The Inhabitants living on the same have ever been considered as

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HISTORY OF ATHOL

belonging to this town though they have never been incor- porated.'

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COPIED FROM ALARIN STATE ARCHIVES VOL 4 PAGE 26

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MAP OF ATHOL, 1795

No subsequent legislation seems to have affected this area and it is still rated as a part of this town.

And now we come to the last change of any magnitude made in our town lines. For the first two or three decades of the 19th century New Salem was the most populous town in Franklin County and one of the largest in area, but in 1822 a considerable slice of her territory was taken to make a part of the new town of Prescott and thirteen years later two large sections were taken from her-the one going to Orange and being all except the "Little Grant" of that present town lying south of the river, the other going to Athol and being the en- tire South Athol area. This last addition to Athol's area

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TERRITORIAL CHANGES

brought its total acreage up to approximately 34 square miles or perhaps two square miles less than it orginally had, but of a vastly different shape.

Perhaps here it is well to mention an episode by which Athol actually lost a small acreage. In 1910 a surveying party was sent out by the Massachusetts Harbor and Land Commis- sion to survey the municipal boundaries of the Commonwealth. Coming to Athol and running over her boundaries, they found two conflicting markers in the Eagleville area. Without mak- ing any particular research as to which bound was correct, they sought the advice of Mr. Mendell Underwood, Chairman of the Selectmen of Orange, and Mr. Herbert L. Hapgood, Chair- man of the Selectmen of Athol. These men both felt that they knew the boundary, not realizing that there was an easterly jog at Eagleville at quite some distance. But the engineers insisted that no jog could exist to the ancient grants. There- fore one must be accepted and the other discarded. These of- ficials agreed to accept the eastern boundary which was in- correct.

Consequently the line established in 1910 beginning at Millers River and running southerly deflects slightly to the east of Eagleville Dam and then again slightly to the west coming back into the old line at Monument Hill so-called, on Branch Road. The corner of Orange and New Salem at the Athol line established in 1837 had been covered by the waters of Eagleville Pond and was not found by the engineers. Later, in a period of low water the writer found this bound and made measurements concerning it. In 1945 the Towns of Athol and New Salem joined in erecting a substantial new marker at this location, supposed to be the true corner of New Salem and Orange, but is in effect many rods west of the line established by the engineers in 1910. What the status is of the small area taken from Athol and added to Orange and New Salem by the action of these engineers is a matter of conjecture, but it does upset the whole survey and makes somewhat of a change in our boundary line.

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CHAPTER XIII TRANSPORTATION

F OR two thirds of a century after the white man began the subjugation of this wilderness the Post Rider brought what little mail matter there was destined for Athol perhaps bi-weekly from Worcester. The clergyman rode to his sanc- tuary and among his parishioners on horseback and the physi- cian carried his medicines in his saddle bags. In this way the news of the stirring events of the French and Indian War and the Revolution came to this township. Thus Paul Revere was antedated many years by other couriers who kept us in touch with the great events of the times.

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History of Athol, Massachusetts, Part 14

Author: , William G., compiler Publication date: 1953 Publisher: Athol, Mass Number of Pages: 756

Author: , William G., compiler
Publication date: 1953
Publisher: Athol, Mass
Number of Pages: 756