USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Dracut > History of Dracut, Massachusetts, called by the Indians Augumtoocooke and before incorporation, the wildernesse north of the Merrimac. First permanment settlement in 1669 and incorporated as a town in 1701 > Part 3
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PERIOD OF THE GLACIAL MOVEMENT
produced by the submergence of the land and the consequent burial of gigantic ferns and tropical trees which could have flourished only in a tropical heat. We quote from the Century Book of facts: "Geologists are generally agreed that long before the advent of man, parts of the northern hemisphere were ele- vated several thousand feet higher than they are at present, causing the cold of the Arctic Zone to extend far southward into present temperate regions and that a vast glacier rising in the vicinity of Hudson Bay covered the American Continent north of the 40th parallel. The loose soil that covers so large a part of the surface of the northern continent to a depth varying from 30 to 100 feet over which lie the deposits of later ages, is con- sidered by geologists the effects of glaciers that, in the quarter- nary or latest geological age, slowly moved southward across the country."
Having in a general way stated the facts relating to the glacial period, we will consider first the effect of the changes produced in the ponds and rivers.
The Merrimack River has been a great factor in the de- velopment of the town of Dracut. On account of its existence on the south and west, the population of the town has increased by the establishment of factories in Lowell, by the founding of cities of Lowell and Lawrence which afford a market for farm produce, and by providing an outlet for the brooks on whose falls are placed the mills which add to the prosperity of the town.
During the early part of the last century the river provided for the transportation, by rafts, of lumber to the ship building yards of Newburyport, and, until a dam was built across the river, the fish that came up the river at certain seasons of the year assisted materially in providing food for the family and as a medium of exchange for the necessaries of life. Before the glacial period the river flowed in a southerly course, reaching the sea near Boston. The Middlesex canal when built, followed the course of the river and while excavations were being made, indi- cations of the river bed of pre-glacial times were found.
In Prof. Shaler's "Aspects of the Earth" we read: "Dur- ing the last glacial period the old river valleys were to a great degree worn away and the remaining portion of these troughs
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HISTORY OF DRACUT
was to a considerable extent buried beneath a thick coating of debris which the ice had worn from the surface of the land and dropped upon that surface as it retreated. The result is that in all countries which were affected by the last glacial period the river valleys have only here and there returned to their ancient beds. Ever since the ice went away they have been engaged in a struggle to restore their ruined ways. We see a simple indication of this confusion of the old drainage, brought about by glacial action, in the vast number of lakes lodged within depressions of the surface in New England as well as in all parts of the glaciated district. We have only to compare the valley of such a stream as the James River which lies south of the glacial belt with a New England valley such as that of the Merri- mack to see the importance of the effects accomplished by a glacial sheet on the river system. The valley of the James is entirely without lakes, every part of its area slopes downward toward the sea. In the valley of the Merrimack there are hun- dreds of these water basins. A very large part of its surface is occupied by lakes which owe their origin to irregularities of the surface produced by the last glacial period."
We also quote from Fox's "History of Dunstable": "The valleys of the Merrimack are of alluvial formation. That they have undergone great changes is very evident. Their general appearance, the shape of their basins, their outlets, their different levels and the stratified character of the soil, all show that at some remote period the greater portion of these valleys must have been covered with water in the form of lakes or large ponds. But whatever may have been their origin, it is evident that the valley of the Merrimack was once a succession of lakes, one ending at Pawtucket Falls and another at Amoskeag Falls, through whose rocky basins the waters at length burst their way and formed their present lower channel leaving their former beds dry."
There is no indication that the river above Lowell was ma- terially deflected from its course, but there is abundant proof of the existence of one of these many lakes where Lowell and some parts of Dracut now exist. Fox only mentions two, but other writers call them a chain of lakes reaching far up into New Hampshire. As the river became obstructed, the hills about Dracut and vicinity caused a lake to be formed which gradually
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PERIOD OF THE GLACIAL MOVEMENT
rose until a depression in the surrounding ridge allowed it to overflow. This was some spot on Dracut heights near Indian Orchard or lower down at Deer jump. Gradually overflowing, it in time cut a new channel by way of what is now Lawrence and Haverhill, to the sea.
An examination of the river in the vicinity named will show the soil to consist of glacial drift. For centuries the overflow of the lake was counterbalanced by the supply received from the overflow of lakes at the north, but the bed of the river being com- posed of loose soil and no ledge being present, the channel in- creased in depth and consequently the water in the lake was gradually lowered until the present rocky bed was reached. The electric road from Lowell to Lawrence is constructed in an ancient bed of the river which may be seen in Dracut and Methuen. The former banks are supported a part of the distance by retaining walls. The marks of the high water of the lake were plainly visible on the rocks at the Fletcher Street Ledge until recently, when by excavations they were lost. The large boulders now lying in the river were left when the loose soil was washed away. A considerable area of the lake still remains and forms the pond above Aiken Street bridge. The ledge at Hunts falls below the mouth of the Concord River is an obstruction which prevents further drainage. All streams show evidences of having a larger volume of water than at present and the Merrimack is not an exception. An old river bank may be seen between the river and Lakeview Avenue. Much of this old bank has been removed but it can be traced opposite the Reed estate, while the old river birches growing between this bank and the present limits of the river are proof of the years that have passed away since its formation. The ponds which exist at the borders of the town owe their formation to the glacial period. They occupy the depressions of the land and their existence is due to the inflow of streams which are prevented from causing an overflow by drainage and evaporation.
We will consider secondly the effects of the glacial move- ment on the land. The changes in the contour of the land were as remarkable as those pertaining to the rivers and ponds. As the tremendous weight of the ice sheet moved south and passed over hills and mountain ranges, it carried along billions of tons
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HISTORY OF DRACUT
of earth and rocks. These immense boulders, enclosed in the ice, scraped the surface, levelling the hills and filling the streams and valleys. As it crossed ledges it plowed furrows in the rocks, which show the direction of the movement of the mighty mass. All glacial drift contains boulders, cobblestones and pebbles in a rounded form. This is caused by the rolling over and over of these stones and thus they lose their sharp angles.
In one of the New Hampshire towns may be seen a large rock from which a piece has been broken, while in Connecticut the broken part has been found. Butterfield's Rock in Windham, N. H., which is as large as a small cottage, and which lies upside down on a ledge which is composed of a different kind of stone, is a proof of the irresistible power of a glacier when in motion. In what is now the under part of this rock a large "pothole" may be seen. For many years the peculiar form of the hills and ridges of New England remained a mystery. When examined by Prof. Agassiz, he pronounced them to be the product of the glacial period.
Dracut abounds in evidences of the ice age. The movement of the ice tended to the levelling of hills and filling of valleys, and if the great ice sheet had receded in the manner in which it advanced, we should have level plains unbroken by valleys except where great masses of rock, which form the ledges, stood bare and desolate. But after centuries of grinding and scraping, the tem- perature of the air gradually rose and streams formed by the melting of ice began to eut channels in the mass. By the action of the water the more soluble matter was carried away, leaving sand, pebbles, gravel, boulders and whatever was insoluble, and when in course of time these rivers reached the ground, the sand and pebbles were deposited in ridges of different heights and lengths. These are called kames in Scotland, eskers in Ireland, and osars in Sweden. Their general direction is southerly, but not all directly north and south.
In east Dracut, a short distance north of the nickel mine, there may be seen an esker running from northwest to southeast about fifteen feet in height, with steep sides not unlike the roof of a house. It may be found, but not so well defined, on the north side of the road leading from Burns' Hill to Methuen and near the residence of Franklin C. Wilson. On the eastward of
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PERIOD OF THE GLACIAL MOVEMENT
the nickel mine hill this esker forms a V-shaped junction with another esker which comes from the direction of the Methuen line. From the junction, it pursues a course towards the river. Another esker starts from near the site of the paper mill above Parker Avenue and at Meadow bridge is cut through by Beaver Brook, but on the south side of the stream it runs south near the Merrimack Woolen mills, forming the high hills which a few years ago could be seen as a bluff which was occupied by the buildings called New England. This ridge loses its identity before it reaches the outlet of Beaver Brook. Another esker starts at Meadow Bridge and taking a course parallel with the one last named is crossed by Pond Street and is very easily traced south of the cemetery and, following Riverside Street, is also lost before reaching the river. A fourth esker commences at New Boston cemetery and continuing in a southwesterly direction is joined by another in New Boston village lying northwest of Rock- wood D. Coburn's house. These crossing the New Boston road are cut through by Lakeview Avenue at H. Jesse Coburn's house. South of this point Beaver Brook has cut a channel across it and it continues to the Old Meadow Road near its junction with the electric car track. At Ward's ledge it disappears, but reappears on the west side of the Mammoth road near Tolman Avenue. This ridge has been changed by the carting away of sand and gravel, leaving the rounded boulders in great heaps. It reaches Varnum Avenue near Brookside Street. It appears on the south side of the river near Rolfe Street and continues southerly.
The material comprising these eskers when screened is of excellent quality for mixing with lime or cement for building purposes, and these hills which have been undisturbed for cen- turies are fast disappearing. The coarser material is used largely by road builders. The rocks are so small that no blasting is re- quired to prepare them for the crusher. There is quite a differ- ence in the composition of the material of which these ridges are composed. Near Beaver Brook sand predominates, while as the vicinity of the river is reached the proportion of gravel and boulders increases. Near Pleasant and Riverside Streets there are large boulders which were imbedded in the sand which was deposited there centuries ago.
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HISTORY OF DRACUT
Eastward of the nickel mine on the farm of the late Theodore Parker are moraines. These are glacial debris, sometimes in ridges where the ice has plowed its way through or between hills and left sand, gravel and boulders on each side of its course, or again where the glacier has melted and leaves the mass in vast heaps known as terminal moraines. One of these reaches the river near Deer Jump.
The glacial deposit may take still another form known as drumlins. These are hills of circular or oval shape and are of earlier construction than the eskers. Huckleberry or Whortle- berry Hill near Lake Mascuppic, and Poplar Hill near North Pond at the northeast corner of the town, are the two highest and largest drumlins in Dracut. Then Christian Hill, Town Farm Hill and Loon, or Malones Hill, rank next in size. At the southeastern part of the town, near the Lawrence electric car track there are remarkable specimens of these drumlins. Thy are conical and their sides are very steep. In the extreme eastern part there is a range of these hills reaching from the river to Pelham line.
Miss Harriet Rea of Lowell, who has given much study to local geology in an article published a few years ago, says : "Boston Harbor not only affords a delightful sail at this season of the year, but is a place of geological interest. How many have ever noticed the peculiar shape of its islands? Breeds Island, Apple Island, Deer Island, Long Island, Winthrop, Fort Warren, Fort Independence and others are all alike in their physical features. The outlines are oval. The trend of the islands is from northwest to southeast. There is a longer slope on the east than on the west side. They are beautiful in their soft, fresh verdure, but one instantly exclaims 'Why are they all made from the same pattern ?' These islands are drumlins like our own Fort Hill, left by the glacier when the ice and cold retreated from Boston Harbor. During the glacial period * * * the ice like that of Greenland must have been of greath depth and took possession of this part of our country. Boston Harbor existed before the glacier, but the ice sheet filled it up. When a warmer climate returned and the ice began to melt and the streams to flow, masses of earth, glacial drift and gravel were left in the peculiar form now called drumlins. They are packed so hard
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PERIOD OF THE GLACIAL MOVEMENT
and solid that an engineer will tell you that he would about as soon cut the solid rock through as some of these formations. They never consist of rock like ordinary hills or mountains, but are always formed of glacial drift. Why or how such peculiar shapes come to exist is open to conjecture or research."
In the region west of the cross road from the Methuen road to the Varnum Cemetery, they are thickly strewn and of various sizes. From Dracut Center west to the Navy Yard Village, they are not noticeable. Above New Boston Village and reaching up into Pelham, there are large numbers of these drumlins. They present a peculiar appearance in that locality as they may be seen as circular hills of sand rising abruptly from the meadows and swamps. The largest of these are known as Captain Bill's island and the Gil island. They are more numerous in West Dracut, the most prominent being the one on which stands the Lowell General Hospital, now in Lowell. Huckleberry and Pop- lar hills, to which reference has been made, are called twin hills. They are formed in pairs having two summits. This feature has been observed by travellers in other parts of the country and is the result of a law of nature of which we are ignorant. Third, the effect of glacial action on the surface of the earth.
Prof. Shaler says: "One naturally asks what was the use of the engine set at work ages ago to grind, furrow and knead over as it were, the surface of the earth. We have our answer in the fertile soil which spreads over the temperate region of the globe. The glacier was God's great plow * * The hard surface of the rocks was ground to powder; the elements of the soil were mingled in fair proportion with the more arid and unproductive districts, and a soil was prepared fit for agricultural uses of man."
The debris from the north which was deposited on the sur- face of the land contained much matter which was suitable for the subsoil and wherever so deposited may be found our most fertile fields. Eskers and drumlins have remained uncultivated as the richer elements were dissolved. The rich, black soil from which the grasses and plants derive their sustenance is the product of vegetable and animal matter, which has been deposited and has decayed since the glacial period. The tendency of the ice was to level all uneven surfaces. The height of the moun-
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HISTORY OF DRACUT
tains at the north was greatly reduced and their contents spread over the surface of the country. As it passed over Dracut and Tewksbury, it left the surface level. In proof of this there are the high banks of the Merrimack River between Centralville and the Methuen line. Before the drainage of the lake began, the chasm through which the river flows was a solid mass of glacial drift. The overflow of the rim of the bowl which formed the lake, and the action of the water of the river produced the pres- ent gorge. The only obstruction to this tremendous force was the solid ledges.
In Centralville just north of the Henry Reed estate there existed a ledge, the north side of which was precipitous and as the mass of ice and gravel moved south and reached this ledge the space on the north side was filled, forming the hill on which the First Congregational Church building stands and over which Orleans street has been constructed. The greater part of the Navy Yard Village was a deep valley which became filled with sand. Its depth is not known, as excavations thirty feet in depth have been made without reaching the preglacial surface. In 1862, when the wooden mill was demolished and the foundations of a new one were being prepared, it was necessary to drive piles into the ground to a great depth until the original bed rock was reached, as the glacial drift was unsuitable for foundations.
A stroll through any part of the town will reveal the fact that Dracut abounds in evidences of the ice age of many thou- sand years ago, but for this work a single walk must suffice. Starting at the little brook called Tanhouse brook which flows through the Navy Yard village and proceeding west the under- lying ledge is thickly strewn with boulders unearthed by road builders and pipe layers. Descending by way of Waldo street the lake bed forms the low land about Parker Avenue. Continu- ing through a footpath on the bank above the Paper mill dam there may be seen a large rock deposited by glacial movement. Just before reaching Meadow bridge a large drumlin has been formed, while in the bed of the stream there are large boulders which were left when the lighter materials were carried to the ocean. On the south side of the stream are the eskers, one of which is known as Mayhill. Pond street has an abundance of glacial boulders of all sizes which may be known by their rounded
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PERIOD OF THE GLACIAL MOVEMENT
edges. On the right before reaching the car track at Moody street is a drumlin, while running in a northeasterly direction there were, until recently, long, high eskers, but they have nearly disappeared, carried away for commercial purposes. Proceeding west from the turnout at the electric road there are huge boulders resembling groups of elephants, many of them rent asunder by the presence of water in the seams which congealed and caused them to divide. Such manifestations as these are proof of the stupendous power of the movement of the ice centuries ago. No data has been discovered by which we can reckon the centuries which have passed since these masses were deposited. Geologists reckon the time to be between twenty thousand and fifty thou- sand years ago.
CHAPTER III INDIAN HISTORY
DRACUT AT PAWTUCKET FALLS By Joseph M. Wilson
T HE Indian history of Dracut at Pawtucket Falls all centers around Passaconaway, "The Child of the Bear," last chief of the Stone Age. Daniel Gookin, the Indian magistrate, writes that "The Ancient and Capital Seat" of the Merrimack Valley Indians was at Pawtucket Falls.
This site as evidenced by the stone implements and orna- ments now in possession of the Lowell Historical Society, was where the Lowell Textile School now stands, for from this spot and the glacial drumlin, adjoining, used by the Indians as their fort, these relics were gathered by a descendant of the Varnums.
We first hear of Passaconaway in history in 1627. Thomas Morton, being in this country at this time, thus writes of him in his "New English Canaan": "Papasiquineo the Sachem or Sagamore of the territories near Merrimack River, a man of the best note in all those parts (and as my countryman, Mr. Wood, declares in his prospect) a great nigromancer. That Sachem or Sagamore is a Powah of greate estimation amongst all kinde of Salvages then hee at their Revels (which is the time when a greate company of Salvages meete from severall partes of the Countre in amity with the neighbors) hath advanced his honor in his feats or jugling tricks to the admiration of the spectators whom hee endeavored to persuade that hee would go under the water to the further side of the river to broade for any man to undertake with a breath which thing he performed by swimming over and deluding the company with casting a mist before their eyes that see him enter in and come out; but no part of the way hee has bin seene; likewise by our English in the heat of all summer to make Ice in a bowl of faire water first having the water set before him hath begun his incantation according to
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INDIAN HISTORY
their usual accustom and before the same has been ended a thick cloude has darkened the aire and on a sudane a thunder clap hath bin heard that has amazed the natives; in an instant hee hath showed a firme peace of Ice to floate in the midste of the bowle in the presence of the vulgar people which was doubtless done by the agility of Satan his consort."
C. E. Potter, historian of Manchester, N. H., comments on this as follows: "From which marvellous story we are to infer that Passaconaway to the character of a brave warrior added that of a clever juggler. In fact he held his people in great awe of him, the Indians supposing him to have supernatural power; to have control over their destinies; that he could make a dry leaf turn green ; water burn, and then turn to ice, and could take the rattlesnake in his hand with impunity. With such reputed power and wisdom as a Sagamore, Passaconaway was the ac- knowledged head of the most powerful Indian confederacy east of the Mohawks and as such received the title of Bashaba, a title of much the same import as that of Emperor."
In 1627, when Morton wrote, Passaconaway was Chief Saga- more of the Pawtuckets, Penacooks, Wamesits, Nashuas, Sou- hegan, Namoskeages, Winnepesaukees, Ossipees, Pemmgwassetts, Coosukes, Pequakes, Sacos, Piscataques, Newichewannocks, Aga- wams, Wauchusetts, and Massachusetts which divisions were similar to the Clans of Scotland.
The welcome to and confidence in the English by Passa- conoway is shown in a deed from the Indians to John Wheel- wright and his associates dated the 17th day of May, 1629:
"At a general meeting of Indians at Squamscott Falls, Passaconaway, Sagamore of Pawtucket; Gunnaawitt of Pen- tucket ; Wahangnonawit of Squamscott and Rowle of Newich- wannock expressed their desire to have the English come and settle among them as among their countrymen in Massachusetts whereby they hope to be strengthened against their enemies the Tarranteens, and accordingly with the universal consent of their subjects for what they deemed a valuable consideration in coats, shirts, and kettles sell to John Wheelwright of the Massachusetts Bay, Augustin Story, Thomas Wright, William Wentworth, and Thomas Leavit all that part of the main land bounded by the
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HISTORY OF DRACUT
river Pascatqua and the river Merrimack to begin at Newich- wannock Falls in Pascatqua river aforesaid and down said river to the sea and along the sea shore to Merrimack River, and up said river to the falls at Pawtucket, and from thence upon a northwest line twenty English miles into the woods; and from thence upon a straight line northeast till it meet with the main rivers that run down to Pawtucket falls and Newichwannock falls aforesaid, the said rivers to be the bounds from the thwart or head line to the aforesaid falls and from thence the main channel of each to the sea to be the side bounds; together with all the islands within the said bounds; and also the isle of shoals so called. The conditions of this grant were that Wheelwright should within ten years begin a plantation at Squamscott falls ; that other inhabitants should have the same privilege with him; that no plantation should exceed ten miles square ; that no lands should be granted but in townships; and that these should be subject to the government of the Massachusetts Colony until they should have settled a government among themselves; that for each township they should be paid an annual acknowledgment of one coat of trucking cloth to Passaconaway, the chief Saga- more, or his successors and two bushels of Indian corn to Wheel- wright and his heirs. The Indians reserved to themselves free liberty of fishing, fowling, hunting and planting within these limits. The principal persons of Pascatqua and the province of Maine were the witnesses to the subscribing of this instrument and giving possession of the lands."
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