USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : containing carefully prepared histories of every city and town in the county, Vol. II > Part 84
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" In 1792 several gentlemen of Westford met together, and agreed to form themselves into a society by the name of the Westford Academy. Articles of subscription and agreement were then drawn up, and signed by fifty-four individuals. At the head of the list stand the names of Zaccheus Wright, John Abbot, and Abel Boynton, each of whom subscribed £30, and at its close comes the subscription of the town of Westford by its committee - Joseph Keyes, Francis Leighton, and Joshua Read-for £120. In addition to the above, Zaccheus Wright gave the sum of £300 in real estate, the conveyance of which was to be made to the trustees of the academy as soon as an act of incorporation should be obtained. These several subscriptions amounted to £978. It should be added that the money subscribed by individuals was raised by a subscription of shares, each share being valued at $20.
On the 30th of April, 1792, the subscribers met, and organized by the choice of Zaccheus Wright as president, James Prescott as viee-presi- dent, and Rev. Caleb Blake, Hon. Ebenezer Bridge, Rev. Ezra Ripley, Rev. Moses Adams, IIon. Joseph Bradley Varnum, Sampson Tuttle, Esq., James Prescott, Jr., Mr. John Abbot, Dr. Charles Proc- tor, and Mr. Jonathan Carver, trustees.
The subscribers, or proprietors, as they were afterwards styled in the records of the academy, held meetings from time to time to urge on the work they had undertaken. Measures were adopted for purchasing a site and erecting thereon a building for the use of the school. A committee was also appointed to procure an aet of ineorpora- tion. August 3, 1792, the proprietors adopted a body of rules and by-laws for the regulation and governance of the school; in which, among other things, it was provided, " that the English, Latin, and Greek languages, together with writing, arith- metic, and the art of speaking, should be taught, and, if desired, practical geometry, logic, geogra- phy, and music ; that the said sehool should be free to any nation, age, or sex, provided that no one should be admitted a member of the school
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unless able to read in the Bible readily withont spelling."
The act of incorporation was passed Septem- ber 28, 1793. It recites that over £1,000 had been given by varions parties for the establishment of the academy, but the records of the early meet- ings of the subscribers specify only the gifts above mentioned. In May, 1797, a committee of the trustees was appointed to attend to and investigate the interest of the corporation in a late grant of land in the district of Maine. This grant con- sisted of half a township of land, which was sold not long after for $5,810, as appears by the report of the committee. It contained, as stated in their report, 11,520 acres, and was sold for fifty cents per acre.
The first meeting of the trustees under the act of incorporation was held on the 2d of April, 1794, at the house of Mr. Joel Abbot. At this meeting the arrangements appeared to have been completed, or nearly so, for the orderly working of the insti- tution. James Prescott, Jr., was chosen secretary of the board, and was re-elected for several succes- sive years. The Rev. Moses Adams of Acton was chosen president pro tem, and the Rev. Edmund Foster of Littleton and the Rev. Hezekiah Packard of Chelmsford were chosen trustees in addition to those before named. John Abbot, Sr., was chosen treasurer, and served one year, being succeeded in that office by Jonathan Carver. At this meeting Mr. Levi Hedge was requested to have a public. exhibition on the 4th of July. This is the first notice or intimation on record of his connection with the school as teacher or preceptor. Such public exhibitions seem to have continued many years, and tradition says that they were attended with great éclat. Academies and high schools being rare, the attendance of scholars from other towns and from long distances was much larger than it is now.
- In tracing the history of the academy the names of several gentlemen occur who were more or less prominent in public life, and especially in their connection with this school, and a brief notice of their lives and characters very justly forms a part of this history. First among the early friends and promoters of this institution stands the name of Zaccheus Wright, Esq. His interest in it is evinced by the liberality of his gifts ; and the esti- mation in which he was held is apparent from the fact that he was elected the first president of the board of trustees, and was annually re-elected to
that office till 1808, when he declined further ser- vice. He was the son of Ebenezer and Deliverance (Stevens) Wright, and was born in Westford, Octo- ber 27, 1738. He died in 1811, at the age of seventy-two years, highly respected by his fellow- citizens, whom he long and often served in various capacities. Long after his decease his name con- tinned to be mentioned with respect as one of the best and most public-spirited men that Westford had produced.
Next, perhaps, in prominence stands the name of James Prescott, Jr. He was the youngest son of Colonel James Prescott, of Groton, and was born there, April 19, 1766. He was a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1788; read law and commenced the practice of his profession in Westford, where he was residing at the time the academy was started, and where he spent about ten years. He filled the office of secretary of the board of trustees for many years, and was succeeded by Rev. Caleb Blake. He was the president of the board from 1815 to 1827.
Levi Hedge, the first preceptor of the academy, graduated at Cambridge in 1792. It appears from the records that he had previously been a teacher in Westford; for, February 6, 1792, he was paid £6 15s. " for keeping school nine weeks in the middle school squadron." Probably he taught the grammar school then required by law. He was a distinguished member in a distinguished class. He came to Westford with a high reputation as a scholar, and left after two years with an equally high reputation as a teacher. He returned to Cambridge to take the place of a tutor in the col- lege, and after several years was promoted to a pro- fessorship of Logic and Metaphysics. His interest in the academy never waned. He was chosen a trustee in 1802, aud resigned in 1844 in consequence of growing infirmities. He died the same year.
John Abbot, eldest son of John Abbot, one of the original corporators of the academy, was born in Westford, Jannary 27, 1777, and died here, April 30, 1854. He graduated at Harvard Uni- versity in 1798, in a class distinguished for talent, in which he took a high collegiate rank. He imme- diately became preceptor of this academy, and held that place for two years. He then studied law, and opened an office in Westford; and about the same time was chosen a trustee, and, on the de- cease of Jonathan Carver, in 1805, he was chosen treasurer, which office he held by successive annual elections until his death, a period of nearly fifty
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years. To his careful management and foresight the institution is chiefly indebted for its present funds. During his long administration they increased nearly or quite threefold. The acad- emy had no wealthy patrons like its neighbor and rival institution at Groton, but depended for the increase of its means on small but care- fully husbanded accumulations. It was the aim of the treasurer to save something from the annual interest of the funds to be added to the principal, and almost every year's report showed some in- crease in their amount. The trustees had implicit confidence in his integrity, fidelity and skill, and rarely, if ever, interfered with his plans. During this long period his services were rendered gratui- tonsly to the institution, whose welfare he had so much at heart, and he will always be remembered as one of its stanchest friends.
He was succeeded in the office of treasurer by his son, Hon. John W. P. Abbot, who held it till his death, in 1872. The latter, like his father, gave his services gratuitously, being animated by the same desire to further its prosperity. He was born, April 27, 1806, in Hampton, Connecticut, was chiefly fitted for college at this academy, and graduated at Cambridge in 1827. After studying law he entered his father's office, the business of which was not long after transferred to him. He was a member of the House of Representatives in 1862, and of the State Senate in 1866; was often chosen to town offices, and was particularly inter- ested in and intrusted with the management of the First Parish in Westford. In all these relations he was trusted as an able and faithful counsellor and public servant ; and he was universally re- garded with esteem and affection for his urbanity, benevolence, and generosity.
We must not overlook, in passing, that precep- tor whose term of service was longest in the whole line of teachers ; we mean Nahum H. Groce. He was born in Sterling, Massachusetts, in 1781, but early removed with the family to Salem. He grad- uated at Cambridge in 1808, and came immedi- ately to Westford as principal of the academy (the eleventh in succession), and remained in office till 1822, when he resigned, and became a farmer in Westford, where he died in 1856. He had a high and well-deserved reputation as an instructor, and his school was almost always full. It was not until 1818 or 1819 that Mr. Groce had any regu- lar assistant. About that time Miss Susan Prescott, daughter of Hon. James Prescott, president of the
trustees, was employed, her instructions being con- fined solely to the female classes. She was justly regarded as an accomplished teacher, but she held that position in the school only two successive summer seasons.
John Wright, Esq., was a native of Westford, a son of Mr. Nathan Wright, born in 1797. He fitted for college at Phillips' Academy, Andover, and graduated at Cambridge in 1823. He came to Westford, and took the place of the late Judge Charles P. Huntington, who had been preceptor for 1822 - 23. After two years' service he went to Groton, studied law, and practised a few years, then became agent of the Suffolk Mills, in Lowell. He died in 1869.
We can only allude to one more of the past teachers, - Hon. John D. Long of Hingham, now governor of this state. After graduating from Harvard University, in 1857, he came at once to Westford, where he remained two years. Quitting this vocation, he studied law in Boston, and com- menced its practice there. He is now president of the board of trustees.
Among the female teachers Miss Harriet B. Rogers, born in Billerica, deserves special notice. Her term of service was the longest, and she was always regarded as a teacher of remarkable tact and energy. Since leaving Westford she has won a far wider and a well-merited reputation as the head of a school for deaf mutes at Northampton, Mas- sachusetts, where, by a system first introduced in this country by her, she is teaching the employ- ment of spoken language, instead of signs as here- tofore. Nor should Miss Margaret F. Foley be passed unnoticed. She was a resident of Lowell while employed as a teacher, and all the while her thoughts and her spare time were given to the study and practice of the art of sculpture. After leaving Westford she went abroad, and spent much time at Rome. Her death occurred not long since, and she will be remembered as one who fell a prema- ture sacrifice in the pursuit of her favorite vocation. Her early death was lamented by numerous friends who had hoped for a long and prosperous career. She was an exhibitor in our Centennial Exhibition, and her work received high encominm.
The place of preceptor is now filled by William E. Frost, A. M., a graduate of Bowdoin in 1870. He is the thirty-sixth in the line of preceptors, and is a very successful disciplinarian and most excel- lent teacher. He began his work in 1872, and under his care the school has been uniformly prosperous.
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WESTFORD.
At the present time (1879) there are eleven public schools in the town, and ten school-houses. These, with one exception, have been built since the repeal in 1869 of the law relating to school- districts.
The schools are kept for eight months in the year. The number of scholars between five and fifteen years of age, May 1, 1878, was three hun- dred and nine. The amount of money raised for the support of schools, March, 1879, was $3,000.
Manufactures. - The leading industry from the beginning has been agriculture. In the early years little else was done; but gradually, as the people made progress, they gave attention to the manufac- turing of such articles as they needed. The abun- dant water-power in the town gave them facilities which they carefully used. The chief stream is the Stony Brook, the outlet of Forge Pond, which runs through the town from the southwest to the north- east. The descent from the mouth of the pond to the point where it empties into the Merrimack is nearly one hundred feet. At Forge Village the fall is fourteen feet, at Graniteville twenty, at Westford Station eight feet, and at Brookside it is about ten feet. In Allen's History of Chelms- ford there is no mention of any mill on Stony Brook except at its mouth. It is probable, however, that the water-power at Brookside was improved at an early date. In the first tax-list, 1730, the name of William Chandler appears, who, it is probable, was the first to establish the business of dressing cloth. His mill stood at Brookside, and the work was carried on by successive proprietors until 1863, when the building was used for the manufacture of woollen yarn.
Hon. Caleb Butler, in his History of Groton, says : " After King Philip's War and tlie re-settle- ment of the town, Jonas Prescott built a mill at Stony Brook near its issue from Forge Pond, now in Westford." This is the first account we have of the improvement of the water-power at that place. " Previous to the erection of Prescott's mills," continues Mr. Butler, "an Indian by the name of Andrew sold his weir at Stony Brook, as appears by the following record : 'The twenty shil- lings due to Andrew, the Indian, from the town for his warre at Stony Brook, assigned by said Indian to Richard Blood, the said Richard Blood assigus it over to Lieutenant James Parker.'" The date of the grant to Jonas Prescott by the town of Groton was June 15, 1680. The territory which then belonged to Groton was annexed to Westford in |
1730. But prior to the last date Jonas Prescott had " greatly enlarged and improved the works on Stony Brook, by erecting forges for manufacturing iron from the ore, as well as other purposes."
It is difficult to fix the precise date of the build- ing of the forges, but it was probably as early as 1700; for the language of Butler implies that the works were set up before Captain Prescott enlarged them. He was born in 1678, and was "of age " in 1699. It is just, therefore, to suppose that liis active business life began as early as 1710. This enterprise of working iron was the third or fourth of the kind established in this country. The busi- ness was carried on until the year 1865, when the Forge Company ceased to exist. During this long period of one hundred and sixty or seventy years the Prescotts, descendants of Jonas, of Groton, held a controlling interest in the company, and managed its affairs, except during the last few years of its existence. Jonas, who died in 1870, five years after the forging ceased, was the owner of forty shares in 1863, and was the last of the name who worked at the business.
January 5, 1865, the Forge Village Horse Nail Company was formed. It succeeded to the fran- chise of the forge company, used the water- power and the buildings of that company, and put in machinery for making nails. The capital stock was $30,000, with the right to increase it to $100,000. The officers were : John T. Daly, president ; John F. Haskins, secretary ; and Alex- ander H. Caryl, treasurer. The capital was increased to $100,000 in 1868. For a few years the busi- ness was prosperous, but it gradually declined until 1877, when it came to an end.
In 1854 Charles G. Sargent came to Granite- ville and entered into partnership with Francis A. Calvert, under the firm name of Calvert and Sar- gent. They bought of Solomon Richardson his farm, and his saw and grist mill. These buildings were converted into shops for the manufacture of woollen machinery. They were burned in Decem- ber, 1855, and then what is now Mill No. 1 - a two-story building, 185 x 52 feet, with a con- necting L, 32 × 40 feet - was erected. Two years later they built Mill No. 2, of the same dimen- sions. A partnership was formed in 1857, withi John W. P. Abbot, for the manufacture of worsted yarns; but being unable to attend to so much business, Mr. Sargent sold his interest to Allan Cameron in 1857. In 1862 Mr. Sargent bought his partner's interest, and continued the business
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
in his own name. He invented a number of important machines pertaining to his braneh of manufacture. Among them are a burr-picker, a wool-drying machine, a patent atomizer for oiling wool, and a metallic waste-eard for redneing yarn, thread-waste, and soft flannels to wool.
In 1877 he built a new and larger shop on the opposite side of the stream. This was finished, and the machinery moved into it, in 1878.
In the census of 1875 Sargent's mill is said to have one establishment for the manufacture of woollen machinery : capital, $37,522; value of goods manufactured in that year, $46,011. To Mr. Sargent belongs the credit of building up the village of Graniteville. When he came there in 1854 there were only five or six houses, and only a saw and grist mill upon the stream. In 1875 there were eighty-nine families, and these have since inereased to a hundred at least. There are now in that village a machine-shop, a worsted-mill, ho- siery, two stores, milliner's shop, post-office, and the Methodist Church, all of which have come into existence since 1854; and all the leading enter- prises have sprung up under Mr. Sargent's fos- tering eare. The growth of that village is an illustration of New England thrift and industry. Mr. Sargent was born in Hillsborough, New Hamp- shire, July 17, 1818, and died July 16, 1878. The business is now eondueted by his sons.
The Chauncy Mills were established in Granite- ville, August, 1874. There is one set of machinery for the making of Shaker socks. One hundred pounds of wool are used, and fifty or sixty dozen pairs of socks are made each day. Thirty persons are employed in the mill, and work is given to many more out of it. M. H. A. Evans is proprietor, John Murphy superintendent, and Jerry Murphy foreman.
occupy to the present time, with frequent ad- ditions to give increased facilities of production. When they started anew they began the manu- facture of carded yarns, used in making carpets. In 1878 Abbot and Company leased the part of the mill formerly occupied by Sargent and Sons, and also built a stone addition to the mill occupied by themselves, sixty feet long and two stories high, and proceeded to fill it with machinery, thus nearly doubling their former productive capacity. Find- ing this still insufficient to meet the growing wants of their customers, they purchased, in October, 1879, the buildings and water-power at Forge Village, formerly occupied by the Forge Village Horse Nail Company, and filled the buildings with improved machinery. Abbot and Company employ in their different mills one hundred and eighty- five hands, using each week about thirty thousand pounds of elean wool, and produeing twenty-four thousand pounds of yarn per week.
In 1875 the valuation of the town was: real estate, $897,232; personal, $212,532; total, $1,109,764. Rate of taxation, $1.48 per hun- dred dollars ; number of polls, 529. Total value of manufactured products, $491,561 ; products of agriculture and quarrying, $190,120 ; total prod- uets, $681,681.
May 1, 1879, the valuation was : real estate, $817,901; personal estate, $132,830; total, $950,731. Tax per hundred dollars, $1.18; number of polls, 488.
The population of the town in 1776 - forty- seven years after its incorporation - was 1,193; in 1790 it was 1,229; in 1800, 1,267; in 1810, 1,330 ; in 1820, 1,409; in 1830, 1,329 ; in 1840, 1,436 ; in 1850, 1,473; in 1860, 1,624 ; in 1870, 1,803; in 1875, 1,933. There was a deerease of 80 from 1820 to 1830, - the only decade in whichi a loss occurred.
The Abbot Worsted Mills began business in 1855, with John W. Abbot as managing partner, There are four principal villages, - the Centre, Forge Village, Graniteville, and Brookside; the three last named being on the line of the Stony Brook Railroad. and John W. P. Abbot and Charles G. Sargent as special partners. At first they manufactured fine worsted yarns for the making of braids and uphol- stery goods, employing about twenty hands. In At the Centre, one mile from the railroad, stands the large town-hall on Main Street, - a building two stories high, with two large andience-rooms, library, selectmen's room with safety-vault attached, and all the convenienees belonging to modern strue- tures of its kind. Its cost, with the land, was about $10,000. It was dedicated in March, 1871. Abbot Park, at the Centre, is a gem in a brilliant 1857 Mr. Sargent retired from the firm, and Mr. Allan Cameron became an active partner. In Jan- mary, 1858, their works, as well as those of Mr. Sargent, were entirely destroyed by fire; but in Jannary, 1859, they again began business in one half of a large stone mill, built by Mr. Sargent, about one eighth of a mile below the former site. These premises they have continued to | setting. In 1840 this was an unfenced common,
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but in that year the town voted that " John Abbot and others may build a fence around the common, provided the town be put to no expense on account of the same." The next year (1841) the fence was built, and the trees planted ; and the expense in- curred was met by voluntary contributions. These trees have grown rapidly, and the Park is now one of the loveliest features of the village. On the northwest side of it stands the church edifice of the First Parish (Unitarian) Society, built in 1794, and remodelled in 1868. It is built after the style which prevailed a century ago. The church edifice of the Union Congregational Society stands on the east side of the Park. It is an unpretending struc- ture, built in 1829, and dedicated October 8. On the south side of the Park is the academy, a small building embowered among trees. The residences of John W. Abbot, Allan Cameron, and J. Henry Read are the finest on Main Street. The West- ford Ornamental Tree Association was formed in 1871. Its name has been changed to the Village Improvement Association. It has done a good work by constructing sidewalks and planting trees. It has an annual work-day in the spring, when the members work, dine together, and listen to an address.
Public Library. - In 1797 a respectable num- ber of the citizens of Westford agreed to form a shareholders' library, the number of shares not being less than fifty ; the price of each share was two dollars. With commendable spirit they took from one to four shares each, and with the money resulting therefrom the first purchase of books was made. In 1859 the shareholders surrendered their interest to the town, which consented to pay all expenses connected with the library, and appro- priate not less than thirty dollars a year for the purchase of new books. In this way Westford was one of the earliest towns to establish a free public library. The number of volumes in the library (June, 1879) is 3,427.
The establishment of the academy here eighty- six years ago has fostered a taste for literary pur- suits among the people. When the Hon. John D. Long was preceptor of the academy, in 1858-59, a literary society was formed which lived several years.
Hon. Willard Hall was born in Westford, De- cember 24, 1780. He was the son of Willis and Mehitable (Pool) Hall, and grandson of Rev. Wil- lard Hall, the first minister of the town. He was fitted for college in 1794, at Westford Academy, entered Harvard in 1795, and graduated in 1799.
He studied law at Groton, in Judge Dana's office, was admitted to the bar in 1803, and the same year settled in Dover, Delaware. In 1811 he was appointed secretary of state for Delaware, and held the office for three years. In 1816 he was chosen representative in Congress from that state, and was re-elected in 1818. In 1821 he was again secretary of state, and May 6, 1823, he was ap- pointed district judge of the United States for the Delaware district. In 1828 he revised the statu- tory laws of Delaware. In 1825 he removed from Dover to Wilmington, and in 1831 was chosen a delegate from his county to a convention called for revising the constitution of that state, " having been placed on the ticket of both parties." Judge Hall published at various times several essays, ad- dresses, and reports, most of them relating to com- mon schools and education. He married, first, Junia Killen, daughter of William Killen, chan- cellor of Delaware, and secondly, Harriet Hillyard, of Kent County, Delaware. He died May 10, 1875, aged ninety-four years.
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