USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : containing carefully prepared histories of every city and town in the county, Vol. II > Part 51
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
bequest, which will always remain as a memorial of the practical benevolence of Thomas Dowse. The Dowse Institute, in the city of Cambridge, is another result of the judicious and thoughtful action of the executors.
The school was opened and its first term com- menced March 14, 1859, and for fifteen years fur- nished the only means of education in the higher studies enjoyed by the inhabitants of the town. It was highly successful in its results, and afforded many examples of faithful teaching and earnest study. Its last term as an independent school was held in the autumn of 1873.
But Sherborn was destined to be still more highly favored. In the year 1870 the executors of the will of the late Martha Sawin, of Natick, gave notice to the town that Miss Sawin had be- queathed a large sum of money for the purpose of founding and supporting an academy for the instruction of its youth in the advanced branches of learning. This was truly a munificent gift, and gave promise of providing all needful education. Members of the Sawin family were anciently in- habitants of Sherborn, and in later years, after their removal over the border line into the bounds of the town of Natick, they still attended church and school in Sherborn, and owned land there. Their old and cherished associations were therefore with Sherborn rather than Natick. Miss Sawin also doubtless felt that this town had greater need of assistance in this direction than the town of Natick, which was already provided with an efficient high school. It became necessary to effect a compromise with the heirs, who contested the will. This was finally accomplished, and at a town-meeting called for the purpose December 19, 1870, it was voted to accept the bequest, and trustees were chosen to take charge of the estate.
Five hundred dollars were also given, by the terms of the will, to each of the religious socie- ties in Sherborn.
The amount remaining for the support of an academy was now less than $40,000, invested in real estate and other securities not immediately available. The trustees were therefore not able for some years to commence the actual work of placing the academy in operation. An act of in- corporation was obtained of the legislature April 12, 1871, in which authority was vested in five trustees, one to be chosen in each year after the first year, in the annual meetings of the town, from among its inhabitants. These trustees were also
to be trustees from that date of the Dowse school- fund, but the two funds were to be kept distinct. By the terms of this act a certain proportion of the fund could be used for the erection of a build- ing. This was commenced in 1873 and completed in 1874, and is an ornament to the town. It is 54 × 60 feet in size, two stories high, with a Man-
Sawin Academy.
sard roof, and has at the eastern corner an octagon tower ninety feet in height. The material used in its construction was brick, with granite trimmings. It contains several commodious and well-lighted school and recitation rooms, and the front wall of the larger room is appropriately adorned with por- traits of Martha Sawin and Thomas Dowse. The exercises of dedication were held September 10, 1874, and were very largely attended by the in- habitants of the town and by friends of education from other places. The first session of the school commenced immediately under the charge of Mr. Edward A. H. Allen, who has continued to be its principal to the present time.
In the year 1869, on the occasion of the great Peace Jubilee in Boston, the Sherborn Musical Association, formed for the purpose, attended and participated in the grand celebration. They re- peated this service at the second Jubilee in 1872, and have continued their organization to this day. The pleasing art of music has always been culti- vated in the town.
October 21, 1874, occurred one of the most no- table and deeply interesting celebrations that have ever engrossed the feelings of the friends of the
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town. The occasion was the two-hundredth anni- versary of the incorporation of Sherborn. To the Oliver Everett Lodge of Good Templars, established in the town, is due the credit of inaugurating the celebration, and their efforts were crowned with signal success. The oration was given by the Hon. George B. Loring, and was an eloquent tribute to the founders of the little municipality, and to the patriotism of its citizens in all emergen- cies. It was also an interesting historical address. Various shorter addresses were made by past and present inhabitants, interspersed with music. The entire exercises, connected as they were with an- cient times and the early history of New England, excited the deepest interest in the minds of all the people in any way related to the town.
June 17, 1876, the citizens re-dedicated their town-house, which had been injured by fire, and also celebrated the day in an appropriate manner, with addresses and music.
July 4, 1876, arrangements were made for the celebration, by the whole town, of the centen- nial anniversary of American independence. A picnic was enjoyed during the day at Farm Lake, a beautiful sheet of water in the eastern part of the town. In the evening literary exercises were held at the town-hall. The Declaration of Inde- pendence was read, patriotic addresses were given by various citizens, and music was furnished by the Sherborn Musical Association.
Agriculture has always been the chief occupa- tion of the inhabitants of this town, although va- rious mechanical trades have, from time to time, occupied a limited number. At present the chief industries of this nature are the manufacture of shoes, of willow-ware, and of cider and vinegar. The latter is conducted on a much larger scale than ever before.
Among the distinguished sons of Sherborn not already mentioned are Rev. Zedekiah Sanger, D. D., afterwards of Bridgewater; Rev. Samuel Kendall, D. D., of Weston; Rev. Henry Ware, D. D., professor of divinity at Harvard University, and the father of Henry Ware, Jr., D. D., John Ware, M. D., of Boston, a medical professor at Harvard, and William Ware, the author of Ze- nobia and other American classics; and Asher Ware, LL. D., a cousin of Henry Ware, a distin- guished lawyer and jurist, at one time also a pro- fessor at Harvard, and afterwards a judge of the district court at Portland, Maine.
A History of Sherborn from 1674 to 1830, by William Biglow, was published in Milford in 1830; also a History of Sherborn and Holliston, with Genealogies, by Abner Morse, in Boston, in 1856. The historical oration delivered at the bi- centennial celebration of the town, by Hon. George B. Loring, and a sermon given during the same week by Rev. Edmund Dowse, were published to- gether at Natick in 1875.
SHIRLEY.
BY REV. SETH CHANDLER.
HIRLEY is situated in the northwesterly part of Middle- sex County. It is thirty-eight miles northwest from Bos- ton, thirty miles in the same direction from Cambridge, and twenty miles southwest from Lowell, the two shire- Ztowns of the county.
The town is of irregular form, being seven and one half miles between its extreme north and south points, and but four miles at its greatest width.
It contains about 10,525 acres, or sixteen and one half square miles, according to an official survey made in 1832.
It is bounded on the north by Groton, on the east by Groton and Harvard (from which towns it is separated by the Squannacook and Nashua rivers, which unite on its eastern boun- dary), on the south by Lancaster, and on the west by Lunenburg and Townsend. Harvard, Lancaster, and Lunenburg are in the county of Worcester.
Shirley was originally a part of Groton, which included a large territory granted to Dean Winthrop,
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
son of Governor Winthrop, with several others, by an act of " the General Court held in Boston the 23ª day of the 5th month, 1655." Its location is so far from the centre of the above-named territory- the settlement of which at first progressed very slowly, owing to Indian depredations and to the small number of settlers -that it remained an unbroken wilderness for more than sixty years after the grant of the territory of Groton, and until all the settle- ments of the neighboring districts had successfully commenced. During this period the Indian wars of Massachusetts had been waged, carried on, and concluded, and enterprising settlers were encour- aged to penetrate and occupy those hitherto wild lands which were to be the future homes of them- selves and their children, without the protection of garrisoned houses, and with no fear of surprise from the nocturnal visits of the revengeful abo- rigines of the soil.
The precise time of the first settlement in Shir- ley cannot now be ascertained, but is supposed to have been about the year 1720. The farms first laid out and occupied were on the Squannacook River and along the northern boundary of the town. The second framed house was erected two miles from what is now Shirley Centre, at the corner formed by a union of the roads leading from Shirley and Lunenburg to Groton. The population had, how- ever, become sufficiently numerous, as early as 1747, to realize the need of a distinct municipal organization, and those who most fully recognized this need united in forwarding a petition to the parent town, praying for an act of separation .-
The petition was graciously received and read " at the anniversary meeting in Groton, and the prayer thereof granted," with few modifications, and recorded. But it was not until six years from the date of the petition above named that an act of incorporation was passed by the state legis- lature. This was done at the January session of 1753, when the territory became a district, and re- ceived the name of Shirley in honor of William Shirley, Esq., who was then governor of Massa- chusetts.
By a subsequent act of the legislature in 1786 all districts that had been incorporated previous to the year 1777 were made towns. In this change Shirley was included.
By an act of the state legislature of 1765 a strip of land on the south boundary of Shirley, lying between Shirley and Lancaster, "being a terri- tory of about two hundred rods in breadth, and
extending in length one mile from Lunenburg line to Nashua River, was annexed to Shirley." This additional territory has usually been denominated Stow Leg, and the union is what now constitutes the domain of the town.
The population has been variable. In 1765 it amounted to 430 souls, and in 1870, when at its greatest, it counted 1,451.
The house of Mr. John Whitney, where the first town-meeting was held, and where the people took their first step as a body politic, was afterwards purchased for a work-house and alms-house. Thus the building, appropriated to the first publie busi- ness of the town, was devoted permanently to a public service, and continued as long as the wants of the town demanded, when it again became a private establishment.
Shirley is favorably located for the health of its inhabitants. It is situated about fifteen miles from the southern boundary of New Hampshire, in full view of the lofty hills that range along that part of the Granite State ; the refreshing breezes are an antidote to the fogs and unhealthy exhalations that arise from the low grounds and rivers by which the town is partially intersected and bounded.
The soil has an undulating surface, rising to con- siderable elevations in some places and sinking into corresponding valleys in other places, and in char- acter is variable. The Mulpus Brook, which passes through a northern valley of the town, is bordered by a low swamp that naturally yields a coarse un- palatable grass, of little value as fodder, and which in-time, if-not-guarded against, will give place to an entirely worthless jungle. When cultivated and drained, it becomes prolific of hay and other produce.
There are, bordered by the rivers, tracts of inter- vale land, that are usually overrun by water in the spring and sometimes in autumn. These overflow- ings leave behind an annual tribute of sediment by which the soil is largely enriched. The crops are, however, exposed to unseasonable frosts and floods, by which they are occasionally injured and sometimes totally destroyed. In favorable years, under the hand of faithful cultivation, these lands, easily tilled, yield large harvests of grass and grain, but are especially fitted to the growing of hops.
The productions of Shirley are much the same as are found in other towns of the same latitude, except, perhaps, that hops have been more a spe- cialty than in most other towns of the vicinity. This product has occasionally amounted to fifty. thousand pounds grown in one year.
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SHIRLEY.
Until some years after Shirley became a munici- pality, there was but one corn-mill within the limits of the original territory of Groton, and that was situated on the extreme southern section, and is now within the bounds of Harvard, in a place known as the Old Mill District. This mill was built in 1673. A short period subsequently to its erection the town of Harvard was made the scene of Indian depredations, but this edifice, so useful to the towns in its vicinity, was passed over unmo- lested, and has been left for after generations during all the years that have followed, and may render a service for years to come.
During several years after its erection, so great was the press of business that the town was com- pelled to enact a law binding the proprietor of the mill to set apart the second and sixth days of each week, on which he could grind only for the Groton people.
If the settlements in Shirley were commenced · about the year 1720, it must have been over thirty years, while its farms were slowly being established and receiving their proprietors, before the first corn-mill was erected. It stood upon the north bank of Cantacoonamaug, was built soon after the incorporation of the town, and owned by William Longley and Samuel Hazen, two enterprising farmers, whose descendants have continued, for more than a century, to be among the most active and enterprising citizens of the town. They may well regard with pride their energetic ancestors as public benefactors.
This mill was an humble structure, had but one run of stones, and was without apparatus for bolting. But humble as was the undertaking, it was then a great event for the town, and was hailed as the harbinger of better times.
To the settlers in Shirley the distance to the Old Mill was from three to seven miles. A large ma- jority were forced in winter to convey their grain to inill upon hand-sleds, and in summer upon wheelbarrows. Many a weary load was thus con- veyed in those days, while many another, still more wearisomc, was borne on their stalwart shoulders. And such was the amount of service required of one small mill, that two journeys instead of one were frequently demanded.
As the town advanced in population other corn- mills, with their almost necessary adjunct, the saw- mill, were liberally supplied, answering the wants of the general public.
The manufacture of cotton goods was com-
menced in Shirley as early as 1812, and has been continued, through all the succeeding years, as the most extensive and profitable enterprise of which the town can boast. It has availed itself of all the improved facilities that genins has invented for expediting the work, and with a favorable issue. True, it has had its periods of loss, yet, on the whole, it must be regarded as a remarkable suc- cess.
Until the year 1832 the cotton-mills of Shirley were of an inferior grade, both in dimensions and capacity, but at the above date a new structure was completed, which, including an addition since made, is in length 150 and in breadth 36 feet, and three stories in height. Its fabrics are light brown sheetings, and when all the machinery is in use it produces 22,500 yards per week. It is known as the Fredomian Mill, and is owned and operated by S. W. and J. E. Smith.
Another large edifice for the manufacture of cotton goods was completed in 1850. The struc- ture is of brick, three stories in height, exclusive of the attic, which is filled with machinery, and its dimensions are 140 × 50 feet. It was erected by the Shaker community, but soon passed into the possession of its present owners, - a company from New Bedford, - and bears the name of the Phoenix Mill. Its fabrics are brown and bleached sheet- ings, and, under favorable circumstances, the mill will turn out 30,000 yards per week.
The other cotton manufactory now in being (1879) was erected by N. C. Munson in 1865. Its length is 114 and its breadth 45 feet, and it is three stories high. Its fabrics are brown sheet- ings, of which 7,500,000 yards annually are made.
These mills - with their predecessors of hum- bler dimensions, most of which have been destroyed by fire - were, and are, all propelled by the waters of the Cantacoonamang, a small stream that passes through the southern valley of the town and emp- ties into the Nashua. They have created a village on the banks of this stream, the largest, most pop- ulous, and most enterprising within the town. It is situated two miles south of the Centre, and on the road leading to Lancaster and Worcester.
The manufacture of paper stands next, in time and importance, to that of cottons. In the latter years of the last century Jonas and Thomas Par- ker, brothers, and natives of Shirley, left home and resided one year in Waltham, Massachusetts, where they acquired the art of paper-making. They re- turned to Shirley, and, in connection with Joseph
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Edgarton, Esq., built the first paper-mill. Like most of the manufacturing interests of the town, it was located upon the Catacoonamaug.
The announcement that paper-making was about to be added to the other enterprises of the town created quite a sensation among its yeomanry, and all seemed to look with anxiety for a development of the plan. It was, however, an humble effort compared with what has since been put forth in the same direction. The mill had but one engine, and no other drying process was theu known but the slow one by sun and air. The enterprise, notwith- standing, was a great novelty in this vicinity.
The next paper manufactory was built by Edgar- ton & Co., on the Nashua River, near the borders of the town. It was a large building, two stories in height. Henry P. Howe was the superintendent of this mill, and, being a skilful machinist, sought out different methods by which to remedy the tedi- ous process of air-drying. He finally hit upon the plan, which was subsequently patented, known as the " fire dryer." This wonderful machine, after many trials, alterations, and improvements, was at length completed, and put in operation with satis- factory results. It is hardly possible to describe the astonishment created by the discovery. . That produced by the old processes would hardly be regarded as worthy the meanest service to which paper is devoted at the present day.
By the invention of Mr. Howe the pulp is re- ceived from the grinding engines at one end of the machine, and after passing through a complicated process comes out at the other end finished paper, ready for immediate use.
The reputation of the inventor was now suffi- ciently established to warrant him to undertake the manufacture of paper-making machinery, furnished with the " fire dryer." He accordingly fitted up a machine-shop, and carried on the business in town for three years, when he removed to Worces- ter, Massachusetts, where he soon after died. The "fire dryer," which promised so much in the outset, has been superseded by steam drying, which is the best method that ever has or probably ever will be invented.
The Edgarton manufactory, under different contractors, continued in operation until June 15, 1837, when it was destroyed by fire, with all its contents, including several tons of paper ready for the market. John M. Sherwin, one of the opera- tives, fell a victim to the conflagration.
In 1842 another mill was erected on the privi-
| lege, with a capacity for making one ton of manilla paper per day. It continued about ten years, when it was also destroyed by fire, and the manufacture of woollen goods was established in its place. The buildings that were prepared for this new enterprise were large and showy, but within one year from their erection they shared the fate of their prede- cessors.
The manufacture of paper has been continued, with varied success, from its commencement, through all the years that have followed, and is now (1879) in profitable operation, although upon a much smaller scale than formerly. It is confined to one mill, which turns out four tons of finished paper per week, which is made into paper bags. These bags are made by machinery, at the rate of 120,000 per day.
Farmers' tools -such as scythes, forks, and various other iron and steel implements - have at different times been manufactured in Shirley. Carriage-building has also had its seasons of success at different periods. For the twenty years that succeeded 1840 a large carriage-making establislı- ment was conducted by Harvey Woods and Broth- ers. They manufactured carriages from the cheapest to the most ornamental kinds. During some of these years they turned out six hundred railroad carts, and in the time of the Mexican War and during the War of the Rebellion many mili- tary baggage-wagons and ambulances were also manufactured here, and the proprietors enjoyed a well-earned reputation for their fidelity as business men.
Leather, palm-leaf hats, baskets, hoop-skirts, and various other products have had their place and day among the manufactures of the town.
The Shakers of Shirley have devoted themselves to different manufactures that the wants of the community have demanded, and their products have ever sustained a salable reputation. They vary their employments according to the wants of the times. They have made agricultural imple- ments, wooden ware, hair sieves, corn brooms, grass bonnets, husk mats, feather fans, and fancy articles of various kinds. They also cure herbs, make apple-sauce, preserve catchup and pickles, distil roses and the different mints, and thus meet a' want nowhere else so well supplied. Their stanch honesty, industrious habits, and frugal living may be scen and understood of all men. Their products enable them to live above physical want, and above any unreasonable fear of coming
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penury. They are neither rich nor poor, but pursue that medinm course which makes them satisfied with themselves and the world, and leaves open to them a consistent faith in another and better state.
It has been truly remarked that the descendants of the Pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony and those of the Puritans of the Massachusetts Colony de- preciated greatly from the high standard of their fathers in intellectual culture, for at least three generations, where the best opportunities existed that the country could supply ; but more than this may be said of the settlements that were scattered through the inland towns and plantations. In these places very few school privileges could be afforded. Generations were born and passed away without access to institutions of public instruction. This was true of the settlers of Shirley. So remote were they from the centre of Groton, and so small their own ability to sustain a school of the simplest character, that from 1720-the time when their settlements were supposed to have commenced - until four years after their incorporation as a town, a period of thirty-seven years, no movement was made in the direction of public instruction. Hence, generations were born and passed away without ever entering a school-room. And yet there were but few that were reared in those times who could not read, write, and cipher, which shows that home instruction was not wholly neglected. Indeed, it is known that several individuals of respectable standing in town, who held municipal offices, acquired the rudiments of learning after their eighteenth birthday, and with little other than self-help ! In one instance an aged man told the writer of this sketch that he did not even know the first letter of the alphabet until after he was mar- ried, when, through the assistance of his wife, he acquired a competent knowledge, for his day, to hold a respectable place in society.
In May of 1757 the town voted "to have a school for three months, and have it commence in August or September." This school was con- ducted in an apartment of a private dwelling.
Schools were, from time to time, held in different parts of the town, down to the opening of the War of the Revolution, when, owing to the straitened condition of the town finances, they were suspended until the close of that struggle. Peace imparted new hope to the people, and secured an increase of educational effort. The schools were then resumed, increased, and enlarged as occasion required, giving
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