USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Athol > History of Athol, Massachusetts > Part 31
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
The structure at 26 Exchange Street was built by Charles W. Woodward in 1871 and the tenant on the street floor first to occupy the building was the then recently established Athol Transcript. Although the newspaper was sold to Athol Daily News in 1935 yet the Transcript Press continues. As the Woodward Lumber Company demanded its ground floor space the Press has some four years since moved into the basement where it is well located.
After Henry Cook vacated it, the building at 32 Exchange Street was taken over by a group of women organized as a Young Women's Christian Association. They equipped the place, under decent auspices, both for rooming and boarding young women who were employed here. Their theory and in- tentions were of the best but the altruistic idea was short lived. It was soon taken over by Mr. Frank H. Ball who had recently acquired the Emory Gage Eating House at 52 Exchange Street, and operated for some years as the Windsor House. Mr. Gage operated several eating places in town, finally taking over the entire building at 52 Exchange Street, carrying on for perhaps ten years before selling to F. H. Ball.
Eventually Mr. Ball sold both his locations to August Sklenis,
373
HISTORY OF ATHOL
his former chef. After Mr. Sklenis' death one Sophie Stang- villa acquired these two locations continuing until the fire of 1945. Acquiring the ruins Chester C. Carbone has rebuilt it. It is now carried on as Monadnock Grill.
Next north was the S. W. Pitts Bowling Alley with many subsequent tenants including its barber shop annex. Adjoining it is the original "Lord Block" built by Ethan Lord in the late sixties and now owned by the sons of the late Clarence E. King who occupy the northerly section of the first floor.
In 1907-8 Slate & Lord moved two small buildings onto the pond area abutting Exchange Street Bridge. The southerly building was taken over in 1909 by Mr. Lord as his personal office while the northerly one was for some years the local Western Union Telegraph Office. In 1918 the location was desired by the local Draft Board of which George F. Lord was Chairman, and the Telegraph Office hastily moved to other quarters. In 1930 both of these buildings were removed as was the Fire Department Station 1, then used only for storage, and the present Lord's Block was built there.
Now to resume our story of Main Street, covering the south side of it. In 1888 one Arthur H. Lyman, a dwarf, of North- field acquired title to the S. N. Osgood residence at 321 Main Street and opened a tinshop there selling the business some years later to E. M. Law who carried on for several years. In a few years Mr. Lyman acquired the Julia D. Pratt property adjoining the Osgood house on the west and moved there for a home. The Pratt house has recently been removed in con- nection with a right of way to a parking lot on Lord's Pond but the Osgood house still remains much as it was during the Osgood residence except for first story changes.
After the fire of December, 1890 W. W. Norton and C. A. Carruth speedily erected a one story building in a vacant area- way in front of the Lee Shoe Shops occupying them until the new Webb Block was completed. This building was later acquired by Mr. C. M. Lee and is a part of the Shoe Shop plant today. Several tenants have occupied the building including William B. Whittemore as a steam laundry. The westerly por- tion is now the general offices of the McElwain Co. here, while the easterly half has been until recently the Checkerboard Feed store.
March 30, 1850 Nathaniel Foster, a brick mason, bought a lot of Sally Fish and soon erected the brick residence at 371 Main Street. In 1888 this property was acquired by George H.
374
MERCANTILE
Cooke who in 1892 conveyed it to Andrew J. Hamilton who built a store and office in the door yard extending the former back into the old building. The store has been occupied by a variety of tenants through the years while the office housed the Hamilton Insurance Agency until it was taken over by the Daniel P. Kimball agency.
ANDREW J. HAMILTON 1846 - 1907
In 1952 Saul Camann thoroughly modernized the ground floor of this building and removed to this location his clothing business from the W. W. Fish Block.
At the next location east, Lewis Thorpe and Frank C. Par- menter established a dry goods store long ago. Eventually Mr. Thorpe retired from the firm and Albert R. Tower succeeded him there. As Parmenter & Tower this was long known as one of the successful stores of Athol. After Mr. Parmenter's death in 1893 Mr. Tower carried on alone for a time finally selling out to W. A. & George W. Forbes. In 1914 this stock of goods was sold to Charles Kumin and the business sus- pended.
The block at the corner southwest of Main & Exchange was built over and around the hotel stables and for approximately
375
HISTORY OF ATHOL
seventy years was owned by the J. Sumner Parmenter family and with various partners and under various names Mr. J. S. Parmenter and his son, Frank S. Parmenter, were in some way associated with the dry goods store there. As Thorpe and Par- menter, and J. S. & F. C. Parmenter, it was operated until 1874 when Mr. J. S. Parmenter retired, continuing however as Town Clerk until his death on December 7, 1881.
After the Music Hall fire in 1876 Mr. John D. Holbrook and Fred E. Twichell (refugees from this fire) took over the business, continuing it until 1897 when one of the clerks, George H. Wood, became associated with Mr. Holbrook under the name of J. D. Holbrook & Co. This arrangement was short- lived for in two years Mr. Wood withdrew and went to Orange to become associated with Harry C. Gates as Wood & Gates, and Mr. Holbrook sold his stock of goods and removed to Holyoke. At that time Mr. F. S. Parmenter closed out his store in Orange and returned to his father's old stand, remain- ing there until 1920 when he sold his stock of goods to the Orton store in the Starrett Block and the real estate to Nathan D. and Ira J. Cass.
South of the Parmenter Block on Exchange Street was a single unit store which was seriously burned April 27, 1879. On its ruins was erected the Phoenix Block long the place of business of Hunt & Hamilton, Music Store and Insurance, which was vacated by Mr. Hamilton when he moved to his Nathaniel Foster location in 1892. For many years this was owned by Mr. Frank C. Parmenter and his widow, Elizabeth J. G. Parmenter, but eventually it was acquired by Mr. Frank S. Parmenter, the driveway between his two buildings being then bridged and above the lowest floor the buildings were joined. A millinery store and finally the Royal Cafe have been tenants there.
For more than a generation in the basement of the larger block was the grocery store of Brooks & Sears, later Oscar T. Brooks, without mention of whom no history of Athol would be in any way complete. Born in Petersham on June 6, 1839, removed to Wendell in 1841, Oscar Brooks grew up in that hill town, coming to Athol in 1862 and in company with John Morrison King taking over the Union Store at 621 Main Street. After some eighteen months there these two partners with the further addition of Frank R. Haskell operated the store, later the Parmenter & Tower stand. From there they went to the basement fronting on Exchange Street in company with Mr. Joseph F. Packard who retired in 1870 and was succeeded
376
MERCANTILE
by Charles M. Sears who had recently married the widow of Hubbard V. Smith, brother of Mr. Brook's wife, operating as Brooks & Sears until Mr. Sears died in 1885. For thirty-five years after that Mr. Brooks operated alone under his own name. Few men have been so highly esteemed in our town as Oscar T. Brooks.
OSCAR T. BROOKS 1839 - 1920
After his death in 1920, his son, Ralph O. Brooks, continued the business soon moving to the west store of the Pequoig Block. Eventually the business was liquidated, not under any financial pressure, but because unsettled economic conditions coupled with chain store competition made operations difficult.
The southeast corner of Main & Exchange Streets has long been rated as the center of business activity in Athol. There was first a block built about 1849 by Job Frye and Lewis R. Howe. This was acquired by Charles M. Lee and destroyed by fire on January 6, 1872. Mr. Lee at once employed Elbridge Boyden, once of Fryville-later of Athol, but then an architect in Worcester, to design him a new block. As has been told the basement contained two stores as did the first floor. On the second floor were several offices and the third floor was the popular assembly place of the town, Starr Hall. Without
377
HISTORY OF ATHOL
sewerage, running water, gas or electricity and lacking a cen- tral heating plant, it left much to be desired according to modern standards, but in its day it was acclaimed as out- standing.
The earliest remembrances of the tenants by the writer are Converse Ward in the east store with his drug business which he had acquired of William H. Puffer, and in the west store, bearing the name of Auburn Hall Bazaar, was the dry good and fancy articles store of Mendell Lehrberg.
Eventually Mr. Ward removed to the remodelled and lowered Auburn Hall. Failing to secure a store in 1891-92 in the new Webb Block, Mr. C. A. Carruth secured a lease of the east store in Starr Hall Block and removed his clothing business there. This was subsequently acquired by Carl E. Sault who operated for some years previous to the general rebuilding of the block in the summer of 1929 when the Fishman Store took over the entire first floor and basement, and the assembly hall was abolished.
Next east of Starr Hall Block was long ago the dwelling of Mersylvia Twichell which Mr. Lucien Lord acquired about 1872, building it over into his Central Block. Immediately west of this was a driveway leading to a livery stable in the rear and at one time the monument works of Wellman & Blake. About 1880 this driveway was taken up by an annex to the Central Block and the store thus made was rented to Mr. W. W. Norton who came here from Springfield opening up a modern dry goods store. In this new store was installed the first plate glass windows in town. The Norton Store was the only tenant ever to occupy this particular place.
Soon after Lucien Lord developed this Central Block, Albert Ellsworth opened a drug store there selling in 1882 to his clerk, Fred W. Lord, who took in with him as partner Dr. C. W. Parsons who had recently come to town. After about four years Dr. Parsons retired from the firm eventually selling his practice to Dr. Geo. L. Perry and removing from town. For a full fifty years Fred Wyatt Lord, first as a young clerk just out of High School, next as part owner and for forty years as sole proprietor applied himself industriously to this drug busi- ness. The fire of 1890 was a serious blow to him but he speedily recuperated and furnished his store in the new Webb Block with the then most modern equipment. During the legislative sessions of 1904-5 he relaxed his drug activities somewhat, resuming them promptly when his tour of duty was over.
378
MERCANTILE
Long years before Fred Wyatt Lord disposed of his business he had made an intimate acquaintance with one Louis Liggett who was then a travelling salesman selling Vinol, and had invested modestly in Liggett's new venture, United Drug Com- pany, which investments had pyramided up into a substantial asset. Thus it was natural that when his health broke, his youngest son sought out Mr. Liggett who, over the opposition of his employees and agents, decreed that the Lord business was to be bought by his company. Hence in 1926 Mr. Lord was persuaded to sell his lifetime business to his old friend and as one of the Liggett Stores it continues at the old Lord stand.
In the easterly store of this Central block M. W. Eastman with a shoe stock and his wife with millinery are remembered as tenants, then followed by John L. Balcom, and at the very last his nephew, Fred U. Smith with a shoe store. In the months immediately preceding the fire Dea. Charles A. Houghton worked early and late as a cobbler in the rear room of that store.
Proceeding easterly we come to the location of Lucien Lord's Masonic Block. In the early development of the Lower Village business area a two story building stood here being occupied for several years by the stationery store of Lucien Lord and the Athol Depot Post Office. In 1873 this was moved back to the edge of the mill pond and a new three story brick block built there. Into the westerly unit Mr. Lord moved his business and the post office, while the easterly store was taken by one Bixby as a clothing store, whose management proved a failure and his business was acquired by Charles A. Carruth who continued there until the fire.
A powder keg manufacturer in the southerly part of Peter- sham, Elisha Webb purchased in 1883 both the Central Block and the Masonic Block together with the old building in the rear. He was the owner at the time of the fire and it is his family incorporated as Webb Associates which owns it today.
Mr. Lucien Lord sold his stationery business in 1880 to one Brown and George F. Lord. This older brother of Fred W. Lord, after leaving High School was employed for a time by J. Sumner Parmenter in his dry goods store, later entering in company with Mr. Brown into the news stand and stationery store established by Lucien Lord in the room occupied in part by Athol Post Office. Mr. Brown soon retired from the firm and under the name of George F. Lord this business continued for several years. Eventually it was resold to Lucien Lord who
379
HISTORY OF ATHOL
soon sold it to one E. E. Cleveland, the owner when the business was wiped out by the fire of December 21, 1890. For a period after this sale George F. Lord was a travelling salesman, later engaging with J. Proctor Sloan in the Paper Box business at -
WILLIAMS & BROWAS
MASONIC BLOCK, 427-437 MAIN STREET ABOUT 1875
Fitchburg. In 1887 he became landlord of the Pequoig House and later operated the Converse House in Palmer and the American House at Winchendon. In 1907 he returned to Athol and associated himself with his cousin, William G. Lord, in his real estate and insurance office at 56 Exchange Street, continuing there until his sudden death on February 11, 1928.
The father of these two men was Franklin Goddard Lord who as has been already stated was engaged in the boot making business in his early manhood.
380
MERCANTILE
Before the F. G. C. L. Lord & Co. firm was organized Frank Lord was associated with Capt. C. C. Bassett and later with George W. Babbitt.
After the Lord Bros. business was suspended he was in company with Samuel N. Osgood in a dry goods store for two years, and then he became a travelling salesman for O. Kendall & Co. continuing until that firm suspended opera- tions when he built the present building at 496 Main Street, opening there Lord's Parlor Shoe Store which he continued until 1903 when he sold out to one Woodbury and retired from business. He died here on January 8, 1918
After the fire of 1890 by which both the Masonic and Cen- tral Blocks were ruined, the present Webb block was built and there was some re-arrangement of the tenants. The west store was Hause's tobacco store and pool room, next came Norton's Dry Goods, next the Lord Drug Store east of which came a new establishment, Athol Clothing Company, one of a chain of four stores-Adams, North Adams, Orange, and Athol, all owned by Cutting & Dexter. Long ago the Athol ownership passed to Herbert C. Barrus who was installed as manager in 1892 and upon his retirement in 1946 it passed to Jett E. Stowell and Joseph G. Hausmann.
In the easterly unit, the old Carruth location, Mr. E. E. Cleveland installed a new stock of stationery and the like, re- maining there some five years when he was succeeded by Arthur C. Longley who had failed of re-appointment as post- master because of political changes at Washington. With Fred Oliver and his cousin, Guy C. Longley, he continued for some years, the cousin later taking over and with several part- ners each at different times he carried on until his death on October 16, 1929. At that time Mr. William H. Killay, an owner of a minority interest in this business, acquired the Longley interest and as its sole owner he still carries on.
Next east was the Houghton and Heywood residence long ago purchased, the west half by Sereno E. Fay and the east half by his father, Rev. Lysander Fay. In the west half was the S. E. Fay & Co. grocery and drug store. Later operators of the grocery store were Johnson & Whitemore, John M. Temple, and Powers & Haven. The old buildings were eventually re- modelled into the present Fay Block owned by the Garbose interests. The east half, developed some years later than the
There was a grand moving up to the street line in the early
381
HISTORY OF ATHOL
eighties. The Fay and Stockwell properties were extended to approximately the street line while the Hutchinson Block, now the Alpha Apartments, was moved bodily forward.
In the Stockwell Block was the Davidson Clothing Store, the Davis Shoe Store, and later the Walter S. Pratt Shoe Store, while next east of it was Mrs. Stockwell's millinery store. After a
STOCKWELL'S BLOCK AT ABOUT 401 MAIN 5.NELI A. S. DAVIS SHOE STORE AT THE SIGN OF THE GOLDEN BOOT MR. DAVIS AT RIGHT
time the vacant land east of this old house was covered by a two-story building and the store was occupied by Samuel N. Follansbee-jeweller, later by Charles A. Thomas, and later still by the Foye store.
In the Hutchinson Block, Caleb A. Cooke had a jewelry store at the west side, long ago sold to Samuel N. Follansbee who moved it to the Stockwell Block, while Leroy C. Parmenter, successor of the old George Sprague Store, occupied the easterly store. This Parmenter business was acquired even- tually by Henrie C. Fay who subsequently removed it to the Richardson Block, second east of this location. Following him in this location was Lizzie S. Rich with a millinery store. It was her successor in ownership whom John W. M. Clark bought out when he was forced to leave the old City Hotel Block by the Savings Bank Building.
382
MERCANTILE
This drug business established at 52 Exchange Street by George H. Cooke in May, 1880, he removed in 1882 to his newly renovated Houghton Block. In 1886 Mr. Cooke sold this business to one Dr. Sargent and in December, 1887 he in turn passed ownership to Henry Arsenault who conducted the business until January, 1913 when John W. M. Clark, long a clerk in the Ward Drug Store, acquired it. In April, 1927 his removal was forced to permit the demolition of that ancient structure.
East of this block was the George Sprague residence, later the home of Adin H. Smith. This, after Mr. Smith's death in 1899, was acquired by George H. Cooke and the present Cooke Block built there. The O'Laughlin Brothers as tenants have been there from the beginning as was the Olympia Candy Kitchen which was taken over by Whitney's Restaurant in 1950. In the Smith driveway to his barn is the Capitol Theatre extending back into a part of Lord's Pond bought of William G. Lord.
Built in 1891 by C. Fred Richardson on his mother's orchard is the next block east. In the westerly store was the H. C. Fay hardware for a long time until destroyed by the fire of March 23, 1916. In the easterly store was a variety shop, a moving picture theatre, and other tenants. After this fire the ruins were bought by George H. Cooke and rebuilt. Since then there has been a variety of tenants none of whom will be enumerated.
When Mr. Starrett began to dream of his development of Upper Main Street, he approached Mr. C. F. Richardson in 1906 regarding the purchase of his entire holdings from the A. H. Smith line around the corner of Traverse Street to the Gardiner Lord estate line. Both desired to consummate the deal but neither seemed to dare to set a price so they finally agreed to submit their problem to arbitration. Mr. Starrett chose Levi B. Fay, Mr. Richardson chose William G. Lord, and we two chose Charles F. Amsden.
The result of our conferences and final decision were that Mr. Richardson seriously objected to the price set upon his block, while Mr. Starrett likewise objected to that price. Thus that building was by agreement eliminated and the remaining property passed to Mr. Starrett in 1907.
Situated at about 521 Main Street, the old Nathaniel Richardson house, and the bowling alley east of it as well as the old shop on the Y.M.C.A. site were sold at auction, the two former being moved away and the latter torn down. In
383
HISTORY OF ATHOL
1913 the erection of the present Starrett Block was begun. By summer of 1914 it was ready for use, the westerly space on the street being taken by Athol National Bank which re- moved from the building it owned at 1471 Main Street, the second store being occupied by Hamilton & Butterfield who removed there from the Stockwell Block. The remainder of the street level was taken by Gardner L. Orton as a Department store.
After the bank crash of 1933 the bank quarters were taken over by Bishop-Dodge Company. The shoe store has changed hands but is still operating, while the Orton business was liqui- dated some years ago and its space taken by Sears, Roebuck & Co. for a local office and Hames Studio as a photographer's stand.
As has been said otherwise in this work, one James Young built his home at the corner of Main and School Streets, the building now greatly changed being the Dr. Bowker dwelling there. This homestead, extending as far south as Tunnel Street, was acquired by the Vermont & Massachusetts Railroad Company in 1847 and the buildings later sold to Mr. Albert G. Moulton who had come here with the railroad men. In this home Mr. Moulton died on September 6, 1889 and a portion of his home was soon rented to Dr. A. V. Bowker who some years later acquired title to the property. The cutting through of School Street incidental to the separation of the grade cross- ings removed the barn greatly cramping the area of this property, but it did bring much money for damages and gave frontage on two important streets. Dr. Bowker gradually en- croached upon the house area and provided several store units all of which have found eager tenants. But one of these is long standing and that is the drug store, established by Frank W. Fuller, a former employee of Fred W. Lord. First as a side line and later demanding much of his time, Mr. Fuller estab- lished the Marble Street Garage and soon sold his drug store to Frank A. Gould, another ex-Lord Drug Store clerk. Grad- ually the management of this business fell upon Mr. Gould's daughter and her husband, Delma N. Langley, who took on handling linoleums and tiling as a side line, finally in early 1952 selling the drug business to Erwin P. Rice and removing Langley Tile Company to 36 Exchange Street.
In 1951 Dr. Bowker's daughter and sole heir, Dr. Marion B. Sibley, sold the entire real estate to Edwin C. Temple, one of her tenants, who has built up there a substantial Fuel Oil and Automobile Service Station.
384
MERCANTILE
In 1853 Asa W. Foster built himself a house at about 607 Main Street. This property was acquired by Charles L. Lord in 1859 and there he resided until his death, May 14, 1892. However, in his last years he sold the property to Augustus Coolidge, then an active real estate operator, who gradually built the present block there over and around the old house.
AUGUSTUS COOLIDGE 1842 - 1920
In the westerly store he established his brother, Albert Coolidge, in a grocery business but that experiment was short- lived. Another pioneer tenant there was Earl H. Goodrich who opened a drug store continuing until his untimely death on November 11, 1895, when he was accidently killed while hunting. William Hobbs then took over the drug store and carried it on until his death in 1946 when the business was liquidated and Samuel J. Boudreau opened a lunch room there. In 1904 the block was purchased by R. J. O. Simpson, Super- intendent at the Starrett plant, and in 1951 it was sold by his executor to Dr. M. J. Grossman. Perhaps other tenants there should be mentioned but their names do not readily occur to the writer.
The legal procedure necessary in the adjustment of the claims of the creditors of Athol Manufacturing Company fol-
385
HISTORY OF ATHOL
lowing the crash of 1839 seems archaic if not ridiculous in the light of present day practice. There being no insolvency laws, the first to file his claim took precedence over all others in obtaining his reimbursement, each succeeding creditor taking precedence in the order of filing. There was no provision for the sale of real estate and the application of the proceeds to the liquidation, but rather each creditor looking to the real estate for payment was assigned some area of land varying in acreage and value as the amount of the claim and costs varied.
One of these creditors was John H. Partridge, the local Deputy Sheriff. His claim amounted to $481.79 plus $10.99 costs. in September, 1839 Jared Weed of Petersham, Henry Lee, and Lyman Kendall, both of Athol, were commissioned by the Inferior Court of Common Pleas to set off sufficient land to satisfy this claim and in compliance with that com- mission they decreed that he should have ten acres of land apparently in the Pleasant Valley region and also about one acre of tillage land situate on the south side of the turnpike in the Factory Village. This tract included the present Simpson Block lot, the Union Store lot, some area lying under the pres- ent railroad right of way, and probably some land around where the billboard now stands southeast of the railroad.
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.