USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Athol > History of Athol, Massachusetts > Part 30
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63
Just a quick review of the Lower Village beginning west of
361
HISTORY OF ATHOL
the old Methodist Church on the north side of the street at the corner of Crescent, once River Street.
First we come to number 612, now a parking lot. Here the first Athol Depot Postoffice was located in Hammond's Tailor Shop. After Mr. Hammond removed to Fitchburg in 1851 he was succeeded by John F. Anderson, familiarly called "Joe John," who acquired a stock of stationery, toys, etc. A bowl- ing alley was one of the attractions to this place. He and later his widow carried on for some twenty-five years finally selling out to Charles F. Gage who continued the same general line, eventually in 1881 moving the old Anderson buildings back from the street on a driveway named Weslyn Place and build- ing a sizable new block. In 1899 he was succeeded by W. S. Giddings and later the entire real estate was acquired by Mr. Starrett who demolished the buildings and donated a part of it for the Memorial Hall lot, the remainder eventually becom- ing a parking lot.
Soon after the Cotton Factory began operations it found it had created a need in the Factory Village for a General Store, and it erected the building at No. 590 Main Street, so long owned by Mr. L. S. Starrett, and stocked it with general mer- chandise. Apparently at times it was a direct activity of the factory corporation and at others it was operated privately for we find allusions to it as "The Factory Store," "Nickerson's Store," and in Freedom's Sentinel of May 18, 1829 it was ad- vertised under the name of Nickerson and Cheney. The first named was the general agent of the Factory Company whose home was the house still standing at 585 Main Street. The Cheney was Amos Cheney who lived long years at the home long occupied by his granddaughter, Mary C. Hoyt, at 131 School Street. This dwelling was demolished in 1950 to make room for a new residence built by Mrs. Josephine Girardi.
Another advertisement in this paper is that of Josiah Willard "near the factory," "Cabinet Furniture and Chairs." This was undoubtedly on the present Y. M. C. A. site.
Along the extensive frontage on the north side of Main Street immediately west of our Town Library a series of monitor stores were erected soon after the 1910 changes and these stores have been almost continuously occupied but by many a change in tenants. West of the former canal site in a building erected by Thomas S. Dillon on what was earlier the William W. Fish ownership. In this Dillon building Athol Daily News, Stanley A. Perekslis with his Main St. Market, G. Torchia with his cobbler's shop and Athol Credit Union are all located.
362
MERCANTILE
In the little building formerly standing there, a portion of which hung out over the river was for many years S. R. Bissell's cobbler's shop and on Island Street corner for fully a half century Cornelius Leonard, Jr. operated his barber shop, mov- ing to a portion of the building fronting on Island St. when the present building was erected and being succeeded by his son Cornelius Leonard, III who operated there until shortly before his death in 1952.
After William W. Fish's blacksmith shop was burned in 1871 he removed his business onto the "Island" and built the present W. W. Fish block on its former site, a portion of it extending over the river. In this building and later in the Simonds Block, Harding R. Barber carried on his harness store and shop from 1872 until his appointment as Postmaster in 1899 when he sold out to Masters & Stewart. In this block for several years Mr. Fish's nephew, Fred M. Sargent, carried on a stationery and office supply business. For thirty years the westerly half of this block on the ground floor was occupied by Saul Camann with his Hub Clothing Co., which he removed in 1952 to his own Hamilton Block, 373 Main Street.
West of this was the Cardany house eventually purchased by Mr. Starrett and removed to his Metropolitan Court as was the three-story Market Block from Market Place, built nearly sixty years ago on the ruins of the old wheelwright shop con- verted into a market and tenements.
We have already alluded to the next property long owned by Franklin G. Lord. In the early nineteen hundreds title to this property passed to his younger son, Fred W. Lord, and in 1909-10 the latter made extensive alterations and additions on this location. The former front yard was excavated for a base- ment and three monitor stores were built there, two of them extending into the first floor of the old house.
Since this alteration these stores have been in constant de- mand. The easterly store was at the time of the alterations occupied by Mr. Lord's brother-in-law, Frank W. Gourlay, as a printing office. After he removed to 594 South Street a gro- cery store and market were previous to the spring of 1953 operated there for some fifteen years by Edward H. Todd. The next store was equipped as a bakery and has always been oc- cupied as such, Henry C. Graves, Arthur H. Pietz, Lorenzo Brillant, and now Fred Wenger being the successive proprietors. The small store next west has had a variety of tenants while the westerly store has been a jewelry establishment, taken first
363
HISTORY OF ATHOL
by O. H. Stone, then W. J. MacDonald, and later by Joseph W. Cox, the present tenant.
The Second Unitarian Church lot was acquired about equally from the Lord holdings and those next west of it. This latter was acquired in 1828 of Ezra Fish by Stillman Knowlton who had come here in 1826 from Milford and secured employment as an "iron man" at Athol Factory. He had just before New Year, 1832 married Emily, daughter of Esq. Eliphalet Thorpe. The present block standing on that lot is built over and around the Knowlton homestead. Mr. Knowlton died in 1874, but his widow survived him until 1885. After her death the home was soon purchased at public vendue by George H. Cooke who soon effected the remodelling. He built it first into a two story block later adding another story for Hubbard V. Smith Post G. A. R. and its affiliates. In the westerly store of this block Mr. Orville Denny long operated a dry goods store under the name of E. Denny & Co. The circumstances of Mr. Denny's locating here in 1886 are interesting.
He was travelling about the country selling bankrupt stocks of merchandise at auction and came here purely as an itiner- ant. The cordial reception he received here was so displeasing to the other merchants and especially to Mr. W. W. Norton who had an established store here that he (Norton) broke out with a broadside attack in Denny and his methods. Replying to this Mr. Denny announced that he felt much sympathy for the poor people of Athol because of the treatment accorded them by such merchants as Mr. Norton and out of that sym- pathy had grown a determination to establish a permanent store here which he did, hiring a store of Mr. Cooke and con- tinuing for many years until eventually he acquired Mr. Nor- ton's business and moved into his store in Webb's Block.
After Mr. Denny vacated the Grand Army Block store, one Samuel Esterman opened a store there continuing many years until finally driven out by a disastrous fire.
West of the Knowlton house was the garden spot later used as a croquet ground. In 1882 one George W. Simonds, ne- phew of Mrs. Knowlton, acquired this lot and built the present block there, selling it in a few years to Augustus Coolidge. At length this became the property of Mr. George H. Cooke who added another story for Corinthian Lodge, Knights of Pythias, and renamed the building Pythian Block. In 1927 soon after this building with the one east of it were acquired by Jacob Plotkin, the Pythian Lodge moved to the Cardany Block in Ex- change Street and the sign "Pythian Block" was removed.
364
MERCANTILE
Into the east store of this block Harding R. Barber removed his harness business while C. F. Paige & Co. soon took over the westerly store. Shortly before this building was completed Charles F. Paige disposed of his store in Petersham and opened up a hardware store in Ethan Lord's Block at 54 Exchange Street, organizing a corporation for the purpose. Mr. Paige soon decided a Main Street location was desirable for his busi- ness. Therefore he acquired a stove and tinware stock and with it the lease of the westerly store in the Simonds Block and removed there. Under several owners this business has con- tinued at this stand, being now owned by John F. Hamilton.
Next west along Main Street was the Houghton Block, built by James Young in 1834 as a country store. May 4, 1835 Young sold an undivided half of the lot "with a store building and shed thereon" to John R. Whipple and on November 15, 1837 sold his remaining one-half to Benjamin Esterbrook. April 9, 1838 Estabrook and Whipple sold the property to Isaac Brown of New Salem and September 5, 1840 Isaac Brown sold it to Samuel S. Brown, who occupied the property and ran a store there for about six years when he conveyed the entire property to James A. Harden and Alvin Houghton.
In less than four months Harden sold his interest in the property to Mr. Houghton who for thirty-five years occupied it or a portion of it conducting a clothing and footwear store there, until he sold out prior to the fire and removed to New- ton.
During the earlier years the building was only two stories high with a horse shed, essential to every country store where. the farmers came in "to do their tradin'."
Sereno E. Fay had a grocery store for a time and Abner G. Stratton sold boots and shoes there for many years. At the west end of the building Bishop Pitts had a saloon. Upstairs on the west end were offices where Esq. Field, Esq. Hoar, my father, and others had office room. For some years Levi B. Fay had a barber shop there. In a hall on the second floor Star Lodge, A.F. & A.M., held its first meetings. Previous to that, the local Methodist Church held services there for a few years.
During Mr. Houghton's ownership he demolished the old horse sheds and enlarged the building, also putting on a third story. This third floor was devoted mostly to entertainments of various kinds-dances, church festivals and suppers, reun- ions, music, and so forth, and it was seldom without a goodly crowd.
365
HISTORY OF ATHOL
After a disastrous fire in 1881 George H. Cooke acquired the property and it with the two blocks east of it were sold in 1927 by his widow, Mary A. Cooke, to Athol Savings Bank, that institution in turn selling the Grand Army Block and the "Simonds Block to Jacob Plotkin, erecting the Savings Bank Building on the site of the Houghton Block which was de- 'molished.
For many years previous to the fire of 1881, there was a piazza about four feet wide running the entire front of this "City Hotel," the roof of which was supported by round pillars. 1 do not know whether this piazza was a part of the original building or whether it was one of the improvements added by Mr. Houghton.
In this Houghton Block was a drug store which was even- tually acquired by John M. Clark who later moved his business to the Hutchinson Block at 479 Main Street.
One S. Packard from Springfield in 1881 opened a clothing store in the most westerly shop in this block naming it Pack- ard's One Price Clothing House, which he for advertising pur- poses abbreviated into P.O.P.C.H. as his trade name. Local wits quickly interpreted this as "Poor Old People Cheated Here," and a little later when .W. Warren Pierce opened a boarding house in the second and third floors of this building the initials were quickly suggested as meaning "Poor Old Pierce's Cheap Hash." After some two years Mr. Packard died and his business was sold to his chief clerk, William H. Kendall, who took in Frank S. Parmenter as a financial backer 'and partner, but after a few years the business was liquidated.
Previous to 1890 the site of the Pequoig Block had but one mercantile establishment in it and that was of comparatively few years duration.
The easterly end or wing of the hotel building housed a small tenement where after Mr. Bangs became the proprietor, his father-in-law, Joseph F. Packard, lived. After Mr. Pack- ard's death in 1883 Mr. Bangs rented the apartment to Mrs. Royal E. Wyatt and Louise M. Southland for a dressmaking and millinery establishment. Subsequently Mrs. J. J. Shay came here from Springfield and succeeded these ladies as tenants. To accommodate Mrs. Shay's increasing business Mr. Bangs built a small building in front of and attached to this tenement and there Mrs. Shay continued until the hotel build- ings were removed. This new addition was moved to 220 Exchange Street where it is now the front part of Athol Granite Works.
366
MERCANTILE
To give his new Lake Park Development better access to the trading center of the town Mr. Lucien Lord in 1889 asked to have a street laid out continuing Exchange Street northerly across both branches of the river. The Selectmen made a survey which to them seemed best for the proper development of the whole area but as it was laid too far west to accommodate most of Lake Park, Mr. Lord helped defeat the proposal in town meeting.
Long negotiations then followed which ended in the pur- chase of the Pequoig Hotel property in its entirety by Mr. Lord and the building by him at his own expense of a foot path with
WHEN EXCHANGE STREET NORTH WAS FIRST OPENED TO FOOT TRAVEL, 1892 -
bridges over approximately the present location of Exchange Street north, connecting at Pequoig Avenue with his proposed Huncus Street. After more delay and negotiations the whole location became a town way. This doomed the hotel stables and a part of the ell to destruction and Mr. Lord with his unbounded optimism felt this was an invitation to give the town an up-to- date hotel and business block at that location. With an op- portunity to buy brick from Athol Brickyard delivered on the lot for $3.75 per thousand and with other costs correspondingly low, his scheme did not look so unwise as it afterwards proved. In 1893 the work was begun and despite the serious financial panic of that year work was pushed until the whole was com- pleted in 1895.
Memory does not record the early tenants in the easterly section of the block previous to 1902 when Charles F. Amsden
367
HISTORY OF ATHOL
moved his clothing store there. Into the smaller space, now the telegraph office, moved John W. Donovan with his barber shop which he carried on until old age overtook him.
West of the hotel office was the tobacco store of Joseph T. Pero and west of him, Fred S. Willey with the assistance of two financial backers opened up a then modern dry goods store under the name of Fergerson, Logan & Willey. But after a few years the store was closed. Later Thomas J. Worrell and his wife, Hattie E. Worrell, maintained a dress and cloak store there for several years finally selling out to Willis D. Gage. After Mr. Gage consolidated his business with that in the Starrett block, the O. T. Brooks grocery store was moved there continuing until 1941 when the business was closed out. In 1943 A. R. Goddard removed his radio and music store there.
When Millers River Bank was organized in 1854 it built for its use the substantial brick building now standing at 166 Exchange Street. Despite the addition of Athol Savings Bank to its activities, Millers River Bank found its original quarters adequate for nearly thirty years. In 1889 removing its old building to the present site, an ornate three story bank build- ing was erected with two units on the first floor, some eight or nine offices on the second floor, and lodge quarters in the upper space.
Amsden Brothers clothing store and Athol Savings Bank were the only tenants in the westerly unit, the National Bank using the easterly one. By the fire of 1913 the nicely designed hip roof was ruined and in reconstruction the design was changed and the present flat roof built, thus raising the build- ing another story.
In 1928 after the Savings Bank had removed to its own building a general renovation and face lifting of this building was undertaken, the excessive expense of this being a material contributing factor to the financial stress which in 1933 was the bank's undoing.
But two tenants have occupied the upper floors of this building. When it was built Corinthian Lodge, Knights of Pythias, became the tenant removing in 1903 to the Simonds Block. Tully Lodge I.O.O.F. succeeded it in the bank building removing from there in 1929 to the Academy of Music Build- ing which it had purchased. For some twelve years these rooms remained idle until in 1943 Corinthian Lodge returned there.
Two brothers, both born in Petersham, were long identified with Athol. J. Sumner Parmenter came here in 1841 to work for Thorpe & Simonds and Frank C. Parmenter came in 1845
368
MERCANTILE
to work for Bassett & Chickering. About 1854 J. Sumner Par- menter built for a home at 376 Main Street the dwelling now the rectory of St. Francis Church. It was sold to John C. Hill in 1872 to make way for the three story brick business block which Mr. Parmenter built on that site. This block, acquired by Millers River National Bank as a preliminary to the building of its new bank block, was attached to that block and was burned in 1914.
Into the easterly section of this new block in 1873 went the Hunt Brothers insurance and music store. Charles F. and Fred E. Amsden later in 1880 opened a clothing store in this easterly section, remaining there until 1891 when they moved into the new bank block. In 1902 Fred E. Amsden retired from the firm purchasing the wood business of J. Luther Hunt who was removing to Washington State. Charles F. Amsden transferred his location to the easterly store in the Pequoig Block, being forced from the bank block by a law which re- quired the separation of the Savings Bank from the National Bank. Before that time these banks had done business in the same rooms and over the same counter, but the separation became necessary in 1902 and in 1929 the growth of the insti- tution warranted building its own bank.
Into the westerly store in the Parmenter Block Azro B. Folsom moved his jewelry store continuing there until De- cember, 1881, only some six months before his death. He was succeeded by George O. Foye & Son who came here from Bath, Maine. Many years later this Foye business (both the original partners having died) was moved to the Stockwell Block, the stand being vacated by the liquidation of the Charles A. Thomas business after his death.
Finally in our journey down the north side of Main Street we come to the Walter Thorpe buildings, later owned by Levi B. Fay and now owned by the Plotkin interests.
Here Lewis Thorpe, S. N. Osgood, and finally Walter Thorpe alone operated a dry goods store. In 1883 Walter Thorpe moved to Newton and the business was closed out. Since then a long list of tenants have done business there, each for a time, the one continuing longest being probably John E. French who sold paints and wall paper there until his death on Novem- ber 9, 1902.
Another tenant for a considerable period was Joseph W. White, a native of Whitingham, Vermont, who came here after the Civil War as an operative in a wood working plant. When
369
HISTORY OF ATHOL
the Pioneer Mill was burned on July 28, 1876 he was thrown out of employment but was soon engaged as "keeper" in the store of Edward H. Damon, a grocery merchant, who was in financial difficulties. His store was in the basement of Starr Hall Block. In the settlement of this affair Mr. White bought the business and with Pardon D. Holbrook as partner reopened the store. Mr. Holbrook died on April 19, 1886 and Mr. White soon acquired his interest in the business.
The street floor stores in Starr Hall Block as originally con- structed were some half dozen steps above the street level, thus giving head room for two basement stores-a tin shop at the east and a grocery at the west, but modern ideas de- manded access level with the street, thus a half century ago the basement tenants were forced to vacate and the street floors lowered to sidewalk level. Thus ejected from the store where he had long carried on and grown affluent, Mr. White removed to the Walter Thorpe Block where he carried on a gradually decreasing business until his death in 1919.
I give herewith a picture of our Lower Main Street below Church Street taken about 1903.
A few stores on Exchange Street should be mentioned. In 1876 Henry Cook, once of New Salem, acquired the furniture and coffin business in Woodward's Block, 32 Exchange Street, eventually buying the O. Kendall & Co. Boot factory and mov- ing his business there. In January, 1900 this business was acquired by James F. Higgins of West Boylston and the firm name adopted at that time, J. F. Higgins & Co., is still the designation of the Company. This firm long ago acquired for a funeral home the Luna B. Richardson homestead at No. 146 Main Street. Although the founder of this business survived until September 1953, yet the control of this business some years ago passed to his sons, Dana F. and H. Howard Higgins.
Mention might be made that the building south of the Higgins store in Exchange Street was built around 1880 as a bakery by A. Albee Ward and Mr. Calvin Miller, but it has- long since been devoted to other uses, principally a liquor sales room and the like.
North of the Higgins building is the Cardany Block, built in 1872 out of two barns standing on the site; it was for years about half its present size. Mr. Cardany quickly established a furniture and undertaking store there selling out around 1875 to Charles L. Lord but repurchasing it after a few years and continuing in control until his death on June 16, 1889. The
370
MAIN STREET ABOUT 1910 Taken from about 370 Main Street looking west. Site of Post Office on right
HISTORY OF ATHOL
real estate continues to be the property of his grandson but the business has changed hands several times. It was first sold to Charles F. Dow, later to Loriston K. Amsden, and by him to Beach & Halbert, and finally to Isadore Plotkin who oc- cupies nearly the whole building and does a prosperous furni- ture business. Since Mr. Halbert's retirement the undertaking part of the business has been discontinued.
The building next north was erected in 1904 by Slate & Lord first on posts set in the water, later having a firm foundation built under it. In the southerly unit Eugene S. Brown opened a restaurant, being succeeded by Patrick J. Hayden who in turn was followed by James Demos. In the middle unit George S. Drury and later his brother, Alwyn H. Drury, set up a meat market, eventually taking over the then northerly store.
Built in 1926 by Mr. Lord, the annex to this building was first occupied by the Hause Pool Room. In 1929 this property was sold to the Katz family who ejected the tenants and estab- lished their extensive store there.
At number 65-69 in this street is a building built long ago by Mr. Ethan Lord and occupied by many tenants at different times. Henry D. Hamilton & Sons and Powers & Haven, both operating grocery stores, are remembered as comparatively recent tenants.
Early in the remembrance of the writer, perhaps around 1875, was the blacksmith shop of Sewell Babbittt at 73 Ex- change Street. This building stood on posts set in Lord's Pond and the writer as a small boy found much enjoyment dropping refuse through the scuttle in the floor and hearing it strike the water. In later years it has been used as a Fish Market operated by James P. Butler and William G. Fuller, and since perhaps 1910 by a clothing store operated by Harry Goldsher.
It is now storage space for the extensive Garbarino store next door.
Around 1880 one John Garbarino and family, recent Italian immigrants, came here and established a small building not over four feet square in Main Street near the Post Office operating a peanut roaster on the sidewalk. He was followed by other members of his family who have increased their busi- ness into a very sizable enterprise. The present store is owned by the third generation of this family, two sons, both World War I veterans.
372
MERCANTILE
When very young I remember this stand was the location of the shoe store of Azor A. Davis, "At the Sign of the Golden Boot." Eventually Mr. Davis removed to the Stockwell Block on Main Street and from there to the southerly store in the Academy of Music Building.
The next is the location of the Exchange Street Market so long John Swan's Market, later carried on by his son, Willie L. Swan, and finally by two of the clerks in the days of the Swan regime, Charles R. Jackson and Robert Phaelan. In recent years it has been Sam's Market owned by Samuel S. Grossman.
In 1891 George S. Allen, a plumber, came here from Am- herst and associating himself with one Turner under the name of Allen & Turner opened a Plumbers' Shop at 35 Exchange Street. Mr. Turner separated himself from the business in less than a year and Ansel T. Ward succeeded him. Long ago Mr. Allen withdrew from the business but Mr. Ward still car- ries on. For years he was in the Pitts Block, 32 Exchange Street, where Sumner W. Pitts long carried on a Pool Room and Bowling Alley. Eventually Mr. Ward took over a store in Academy of Music Building where as Ansel T. Ward, Inc. he is daily at his desk, being by far the senior business man of our town.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.