USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Athol > History of Athol, Massachusetts > Part 22
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A considerable number of citizens saw many objections to this location because of its proximity to the railroad, the ne- cessity of providing for an adequate passage of water under the building to Lord's Pond, the limited area of the lot and the apparent large expense of foundations there. These peo- ple approached Messrs. William G. Lord and Nathan D. Cass, the owners of the Sally Fish homestead with a frontage of something over 30 feet on Main Street and nearly five hun- dred feet on Exchange Street and having a total area of some- thing over 21/2 acres. Because of the apparent public demand for this location these men agreed to donate this lot to the town if it desired to locate its Memorial Building there.
The Academy of Music auditorium, then called Lyric Thea- tre, was crowded to capacity at the annual Town Meeting on February 17, 1919 at which time these two offers to the town were both presented and discussed. The offer of Mr. Starrett was enthusiastically received while scant curtesy was accorded the Lord and Cass offer.
At this meeting a building committee consisting of Frank A. Ball, Emmett L. Worrick, Albert Ellsworth, Dr. D. G. Coolidge, A. Foster Hamilton, John F. Hayden, and Frank W. Gleason was appointed and a quarter of a million dollars was appropri- ated for their use. Subsequent appropriations were made until when finished and equipped the total cost of this enterprise was in excess of $315,000.
The corner stone was laid on June 22, 1922, the address of the occasion being delivered by Hon. Channing H. Cox, then Governor of the Commonwealth, and the finished building was dedicated on June 17, 1924, the address being delivered by Gen. Clarence R. Edwards, late commander of the Yankee Division. The author of this work was engaged to provide the lists of names for the memorial tablets in the rotunda of the building which entailed a year's research, only actual cash ex- penditures being charged the town. This building, with its Memorial Hall seating approximately 1400 and its Liberty Hall below seating about half that number, has proved invaluable to this town.
Other Assembly Places
As moving pictures became a reality one or two small audi- toriums were improvised out of vacant stores but were short- lived.
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HISTORY OF ATHOL
Eventually Athol Amusement Company acquired the Ells- worth Opera House and installed a regular movie program. The talking movies had scarcely been installed there when the Opera House was in ruins. The fire was December 8, 1929.
Then began a rather feverish competition to build a modern attractive movie house. Garbose Brothers had acquired the Stockwell and later the Fay properties on Main Street, and ac- quiring back land of William G. Lord, by then the sole owner of the Lord's Pond area, they erected the present York and Fay Buildings, with York Theater a considerable part of the York building.
Co-incident with this Mr. Charles H. Cooke likewise began operations on the Capitol Theatre. Selling the Adin H. Smith barn at auction he utilized its driveway as his entrance, and its location with a substantial addition purchased of Mr. Lord he devoted to his main theatre building.
After much acrimony and some litigation the two theatres operated separately for a time and then the Garbose interests acquired a long-time lease of the Capitol and operate it only on occasions when their York is inadequate for the patronage.
Long ago Houghton's Hall, where Athol Savings Bank now stands, was available for limited use but mostly it was used for Methodist Church services and later as a Masonic Hall.
The hall in Fuller's block uptown was long a Masonic Hall, later Grange Hall and finally the headquarters of Parker Post G. A. R. That body previously occupied a hall at about No. 1616 Main Street, now long since demolished.
George S. Brewer built his block at the corner of Chestnut Street in 1883 and in the hall there Athol Lodge A.F. & A.M. met until it removed downtown in 1913.
Early in its history the basement or "vestry" of the old Methodist Church at the corner of Main and Crescent Streets was called Melodian Hall but I am not aware that it found general use as a public assembly place except for the activities of the church which owned it.
In the Cardany Block at No. 39 Exchange Street there was long ago Temple of Honor Hall, now Eagles Hall, and in that hall many semi-secret societies have met throughout the years. In the hall above it, The Odd Fellows, Red Men and Knights of Pythias have met, each one for a decade or more.
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ASSEMBLY HALLS
When Millers River Bank Building was built in 1890, 1891, the third and then upper story was leased to Corinthian Lodge No. 76 which after ten years removed to the Simonds Block which it named Pythian Block, and the various Odd Fellow groups took over in the bank block, moving from there to Academy of Music in 1929. About that time the building was renovated and another story added. The two upper floors re- mained idle until 1943 when the Knights of Pythias returned there after some fourteen years in the Cardany Block.
Three years after Hubbard V. Smith Post, G. A. R. was or- ganized in 1882 George H. Cooke acquired the Emily Knowlton residence at No. 466 Main Street and rebuilt it first into a two- story block adding another story in 1886. That new Grand Army Post soon became his tenant and remained as such until provided with quarters in Memorial Building in 1923.
He named the block Grand Army Block. The hall was pri- marily for the Post and its affiliate organizations but was sublet to some extent.
There Corinthian Lodge met for a time and likewise it was the early meeting place of Athol Woman's Club.
In 1913 Mr. L. S. Starrett built the Starrett Block on the site of the old Nathaniel Richardson homestead and long before it was completed had leased the upper floor to the Masonic orders; even Athol Lodge, organized as a strictly "Uptown" in- stitution, listened to the siren call and forsook its habitation on the hill to become a tenant there. All the Masonic bodies of the community meet there in a hall designed and built at no small expense for their use.
About 1911 George H. Cooke acquired the Adin H. Smith property at No. 485-4491 Main Street and in 1913 removed the dwelling to the rear, building on the site a three-story block which bears his family name.
The third floor was arranged for a lodge room and a lodge of the Loyal Order of Moose was tenant there for a time. In 1919 the local Council Knights of Columbus took over the quarters, remaining until 1952 when they removed to the former dwell- ing house at 881 Main Street owned by the Catholic Church and named Queen of Peace Community Center.
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CHAPTER XIX SCARE OF 1794 - WAR OF 1812
IN conformity with the thought of other sections of Massa- chusetts, Athol was strongly Federalist in the early years of the last Century. One episode which we are at a loss to explain broke in upon the calm of our quiet town.
On July 28, 1794 the Selectmen convened the town in spe- cial meeting with but one article in the warrant which read as follows: "To see what encouragement the town will give to those men in this town who shall enlist in the Continental serv- ice in order to make up this town's proportions agreeable to a law of this Commonwealth."
Josiah Goddard, Esq. presided as moderator, and it was "voted that the town will give each non-commissioned officer and private soldier who shall enlist in the service of the United States agreeable to the present requisition seven dollars per month ensuing what is given by authority (except what is given for clothing) during the time they are in actual service and until they have reasonable time to return. Also voted that the Town give to each soldier who shall enlist agreeable to the present requisition one dollar for Enlisting."
After passing the above vote, the meeting was adjourned for one hour and upon reconvening was dissolved without further recorded action.
I search my various United States' histories in vain for any general calamity that should have caused this rather excited action by the good men of Athol.
It is true that on June 6, 1794 an order was issued by the Adjutant General at Headquarters in Boston calling for "a de- tachment of 80,000 men, including officers . . . to be made from the Militia of the United States, to be completely armed and equipped according to law and held in readiness to march at a minute's warning." Nearly 12,000 men was the propor- tionate number expected from Massachusetts. No reason is given for this order except that we are to "be prepared for any exigence which the nature of our political situation may involve."
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SCARE OF 1794-WAR OF 1812
It is also true that President Washington at that time was somewhat disturbed over the so called "Whiskey Rebellion" in western Pennsylvania and some weeks later than the date of Athol's special town meeting called for fifteen thousand men, but this call was made only upon four adjacent states - New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. It seems almost incredible that news of this trouble could have reached us so soon after its beginning, which seems to date from the attack upon General John Neville's house on July 16, 1794.
WAR OF 1812
President Jefferson's embargo against all imports from Eng- land and France was ultimately a boon for New England, but was not accepted as such. I say it was a boon to us for from its promulgation dates the development of our country industri- ally. When the Yankee could not buy foreign goods he began to devise means for making them himself and soon became no small competitor of the older nations. To Athol came a scythe shop, a paper mill, and eventually a cotton factory which en- tirely changed the policy of our citizens from a community striving only to provide for itself by selling a surplus of live stock to other towns to a growing industrial center.
Following the trend of the times, Athol met in special town meeting on August 31, 1808 and passed the following peti- tion:
"To the President of the United States: The inhabitants of the Town of Athol in the County of Worcester and Common- wealth of Massachusetts in legal town meeting assembled, beg leave respectfully and unanimously to represent that although the evils resulting from the late embargo laws may not be so immediately and sensibly felt by inland towns as by our sea- ports, and although the farmer may not at present so much as the merchant feel their deliterious effects, yet they are con- sidered of sufficient magnitude to create a general alarm and distress in this interior part of the country, and that the ruin of the husbandman will soon follow that of the merchant un- less said evils can speedily be removed. We therefore pray that said laws may be suspended as soon as may be consistent with the nature and fitness of things, and as in duty bound will ever pray."
Failing in this attempt to convince the Chief Executive of the nation of this error, our people met again the following winter, and appointed a special committee consisting of James Oliver, Joseph Pierce, James Humphrey, William Young, and
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Joseph Proctor to draft a statement of its convictions. In a short half hour this committee had compiled its document and presented it for acceptance. The statement read as follows:
"That whereas civil liberty and the pursuit of happiness are considered by us as inalienable rights, and no less essential to the good and well being of Political Society than publick au- thority, therefore; Resolved that we will never surrender these Rights but with surrender of our lives and as the late measures of our national administration by which our commerce is well nigh destroyed, the right of Trial by Jury in many instances taken away, the civil authority subjected to the military, stand- ing armies distributed over our peaceful land and the right of property left unprotected, are in our opinion, partial, unjust, inexpedient and unconstitutional, the opinion of any earthly judge to the contrary notwithstanding, therefore: Resolved that we are not bound to support and we will not support such measures: Resolved that we will contribute all in our power to aid and support our State Legislature by all proper means, in opposing such oppressive measures hoping and earnestly re- questing that Honorable Body not to quit their posts until they shall have asserted the Sovereignty and Independence of this State and secured to its citizens their wonted privileges.
James Oliver, Chairman."
Only Abner Twichell and William Young, members of the drafting committee, are recored as dissenting.
In that time of national turmoil it was noticeable that the established church, Congregational, was almost unanimous in its condemnation of the war. The comparatively few dissenters from the "standing order" were largely attracted by the liberal religious convictions of Jefferson and openly supported Mr. Madison, who was a creature of Jefferson, in his war activities. I know nothing about the convictions of this William Young, but Abner Twichell was one of a group who had joined the (West) Royalston Baptist Church in 1776.
Rev. Lucius Paige in his history of Hardwick gives the best picture of which I know concerning the attitude of the people in general towards the war effort. When the call for troops came a gathering was called in the meeting house, the author- ities urged compliance with the request, and a drummer was sent around and around the hall striving to encourage men to enlist. The net result of his efforts was the securing of one man as a convert. I know of no such attempt at compilance, but from all the records I find it appears that our people de- clined to support their government in its extremity.
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The only sizeable non-conformist group in Athol at that time was a feeble branch of the Templeton Baptist Church which developed in later years into the First Baptist Church of Athol. Most of these people seem to have been anti-mili- taristic in their sentiments, largely influenced by the attitude of their leader, Rev. Elisha Andrews of Templeton who in that town became one of a committee to draft a remonstrance against the war.
One of the prominent leaders in that little group of Bap- tists was one Benjamin Fairbanks, a Revolutionary War veteran on our list of soldiers in that war. A letter from one of his descendants brings the information that his son, Jonothan Fairbanks, served in this war as a Private. I find this record to be as follows:
Private 40th U. S. Inft. Capt. Leonard Ross, enlisted July 1, 1814 at Fort Hancock, Mass. Discharged March 31, 1815, at Boston.
This Jonothan Fairbanks seems to be the Jonothan Fairbanks who died in Athol on July 28, 1823, but we have no sure rec- ord of his birth nor of his marriage. We have a record of a Jonothan who was baptized here on October 12, 1766, but he is listed as son of Jonothan and Ruth. I also find the record of intention of marriage of a Jonothan and Lydia Bellows of Western (Warren) March 6, 1807 and the birth of six children to Jonothan and Arseneth, two of them born in New Salem and one in West Royalston, between 1806 and 1820.
Although Massachusetts had refused to comply with na- tional orders in the early days of the war, yet in its latter stages when the British held control of all Northern Maine and were said to have designs on the Massachusetts' coastal towns, war activity became quite a necessity. A call was made in Septem- ber, 1814 upon the military companies of the State to guard the coast, and there was a general response to that call. At the time Athol had no organized military company but there was one in Royalston and two in New Salem. To these companies our citizens joined themselves in that emergency. For ten years or more the Federal Government refused to recognize this service as having official war connection but eventually adjustment of the expense was made with our Commonwealth and all participants officially recognized as having served their country in the emergency.
Years ago the records of these militia companies were edited and published, a copy being donated to each public library in
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HISTORY OF ATHOL
the Commonwealth. I search in vain for Athol's copy, but that of Royalston has been preserved and from it I give below such names as I can definitely tie to Athol:
HILL, JOHN-Mass. Militia in the War of 1812-14; pages 16, 89, 93, 252, 258. Corp., Capt. Stephen Blake's Co., Lieut. Col. W. Ryerson's Regt .; Capt. S. Merrill's Co., Lieut. Col. E. Hale's Regt .; Capt. A. Williams' Co., Lieut. Col. J. Page's Regt .; Capt. B. Brown's Co., Lieut. Col. S. Town's Regt. raised at Royalston.
LEWIS, HIRAM-Mass. Militia in War 1812-14, page 93. Capt. B. Brown's Co., Lieut. Col. S. Town's Regt. raised at Royalston.
THAYER, JESSE-Mass. Militia in War 1812-14, page 95. Capt. J. Nye's Co., Lieut. Col. S. K. Chemberlain's Regt .; Lieut. W. Whitaker's Co .; Lieut. Col. Town's Regt.
TWICHELL, BENJAMIN M .- Mass. Militia in War 1812-14, page 95. Lieut. W. Whitaker's Co., Lieut Col. Town's Regt.
TWICHELL, JOHN-Mass. Militia in War 1812-14, pages 95, 181, 252, 255. Corp. and Lieut .; Lieut. W. Whitaker's Co., Lieut. Col. Town's Regt .; Capt. James Wallace's Co., Lieut. Col. J. Coming's Regt .; Capt. Stephen Blake's Co., Lieut. Col. W. Ryerson's Regt .; Capt. Stephen Blake's Co., Lieut Col. W. Ryerson's Regt.
WHEELER, ZACHEUS-Mass. Volume Militia in War 1812-14, page 66. Capt. A. Powers' Company, Lieut. Col. T. Long- ley's Regt.
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CHAPTER XX INDUSTRY
THE character of the employment of Athol citizens has been one of gradual transition from an almost purely agricul- tural community into a manufacturing center.
Previous to the beginning of the nineteenth century the great industry of the town was cattle raising, the outstanding operator being Col. Samuel Sweetzer who owned vast areas of pasturage in this and adjacent towns, but the great major- ity of our people were occupied in tilling their small acreage farms and providing for their individual wants.
Previous to about 1800 the entire industries of the town were the "four grist mills, six saw mills, and fulling mill and one trip hammer" recited in Whitney's History of Worcester County (1793).
The beginning of these was the saw mill, 1736, and the grist mill, 1737, which the proprietors of the township bar- gained for with Mr. Samuel Kendall of Woburn, granting him nearly all of the present business area of the town as compen- sation for the saw mill, and an area extending from Athol Manufacturing Company plant southerly to beyond the Upper Common as his inducement to build the corn mill.
The best information available places the saw mill at Free- dom Street and downstream from the roadway and the grist mill at approximately the site of the present Memorial Hall Building, being moved before 1760 to Freedom Street east of the roadway.
Aside from this use of Millers River apparently no further attempt was made to harness its waters for a full half century and then the operations were within the present limits of Royalston.
For a full century after our town was settled the only indus- trial powers available were derived from our brooks and rivers, thus in tracing their history and development I have chosen to write about them by the streams they are on rather than to list them in any other way, including of course those later fac- tories which have sprung up away from the water powers.
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HISTORY OF ATHOL
South Brook
Except for the Kendall mills, probably the first industrial plant in the township was what is known as the Ellinwood plant at Doe Valley Road .. Thus I begin my industrial story with that brook, called by the pioneers South Brook, but now gen- erally known as Ellinwood Brook.
This Doe Valley water power was first developed by Dr. Joseph Lord who lived at about 1790 Pleasant Street. This was on 100-Acre lot No. 23 drawn by Zachariah Field and sold by him to Joseph Lord and Ephraim Smith.
Joseph Lord conveyed his half to his son, Joseph Jr., July 4, 1752, making no mention of any buildings on the lot but excepting a highway nine rods wide called the Stone Pit Path. This road was formally approved by the Proprietors December 9, 1761, and alludes to Joseph Lord's Saw Mill.
Joseph Lord, Jr., conveyed to Dr. Ebenezer Hartshorn, and he in 1775 sold to Dr. Daniel Ellinwood. After his death in 1794, his son Daniel acquired title from his associate heirs, and he in 1814 sold an undivided half of the plant to Abel Bigelow, grandson of William Bigelow, a pioneer in the New Sherborn area. In this deed reference is made to both a saw mill and a carding machine "thereon."
February 15, 1831, Daniel Ellinwood died, and October 7, 1840, Abel Bigelow also deceased. In 1841 the entire title passed to Daniel Ellinwood's son, D. Austin Ellinwood, who continued in ownership until his death in 1884. He built a new mill in 1846 and this mill building was burned May 4, 1876, but was rebuilt and business carried on as before.
Later owners have been Alba K. Litchfield, Albert E. Litch- field, James M. Lee, and the Mill Brook Associates who then contemplated raising the dam in connection with the Lake Ellis improvement. The mill buildings disappeared about 1900 and since then this has been one of the abandoned water powers in town.
A short quarter of a mile downstream from his mill site, another saw mill was built, probably by Josiah Wesson.
In 1837 this mill was owned by Henry Humphrey and by him sold to John Stockwell and Chester Crawford. Some au- thorities place Addison Cutting and Humphrey Fay as oper- ators there, but long ago the location was acquired by D. Aus- tin Ellinwood and the mill abandoned.
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INDUSTRY
Long prior to the Wesson development, another saw mill was built on this same brook but much farther west. About 1740 one Deacon David Sanderson, on the right of Joseph Brown, was allotted a 100-Acre lot near the west line of the town and both sides of South Brook not far east of White's Pond. Out of this were made conveyances to Jotham Death, Stephen Stratton, Joseph Fay and Obadiah Marsh, and at least two of these grantees were for a time operatives of the saw mill on this site. Eventually this mill came into the ownership of Abner Stratton and through him to his son, Amos T. Strat- ton, who later abandoned the power. Except that this abandon- ment came before the location, sometime after 1870, of the Enfield Railroad which passed through this mill pond, we have no close date of its final use.
It is interesting to note the interest of Petersham people in this immediate vicinity. The pond, as stated, just west of this mill site is known as White Pond but this is evidently an ab- breviation of its original name. White's Pond is said to have been first discovered by Capt. John White of Lancaster, one of the original grantees of Voluntown (Petersham): the 100- acre lot of which this Stratton saw mill site was a part was evi- dently chosen by "Dekun" David Sanderson of that town, and as the name Marsh is frequently found in the early story of this neighboring town of ours, it is not unlikely that Obadiah Marsh had Petersham connections. In White Pond Road just south of where an old road from New Salem to Petersham crosses was until recent years a decided incline known as "Marsh Hill" said to be named after one of that name who lived at the hill- top. Perhaps it was this Obadiah who settled there.
On South Brook west of White Pond were at least two other powers but as these were in New Salem until 1837 our informa- tion concerning them is even more meager than is our knowl- edge of those within our original limits.
A few rods west of White Pond Road, Ebenezer Stowell built a dam and saw mill in 1828 and apparently at that time raised the outlet from White Pond several feet, thus making of it a substantial reservoir. Subsequent owners appear to have been Asa Farnsworth, Chauncey Lothrop, Cyrus Bassett, Gilbert Southard and John R. Pierce.
During Mr. Southard's ownership the business was most prosperous the product being nest measures and like utensils. To the area around this mill was attached at that time the name "Southardville" but it has been discontinued for many years.
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Eventually Rev. Lysander Fay acquired the mill power and rights and it was one of the assets of his estate at his decease on July 9, 1881.
The mills on this brook below its confluence with South Athol Brook will be spoken of later in this chapter.
GILBERT SOUTHARD 1821 - 1898
Mill Brook
We have no record or tradition as to when or why Mill Brook was so named. It is mentioned in the record of the second contract made by the proprietors with Samuel Kendall at which time so far as we know no power had been developed there, except the saw mill on Freedom Street which originally was purely a Mill Brook power as the canal from the river into its pond was not excavated until some twenty years or more later.
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