USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : containing carefully prepared histories of every city and town in the county, Vol. II > Part 96
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John I. Richardson, captain ; Luke R. Tidd, first lieutenant ; L. F. Wyman, second lieutenant. The other company was made up largely of the old Phalanx and young men who were that year of suitable age to enlist. Its term of service was for nine months, and was attached to the 5thi regi- ment, and went on the expedition to North Caro- lina. It was officered as follows: William T. Grammer, eaptain ; Charles C. Converse, first lieu- tenant ; William A. Colgate, second lieutenant. These were the only companies that were organl- ized, as well as made up wholly or in greater part and officered, by Woburn men. During the years 1863 and 1864 the work of enlistment was carried on with energy and success. Although the demand for labor was great among the manufacturers in town, yet the pay and bounties offered to men were always equal to the occasion, and the govern- ment quotas were promptly filled. These recruits went to fill up the gaps in broken companies of infantry, or into the artillery, cavalry, or naval service. The whole number of mnen (as nearly as can be ascertained) enlisted in Woburn or made part of her quota, was seven hundred and forty- nine, divided among the different arms of the service, and for different periods, as follows : -
Infantry, 3 months, 40
100 days, 89
Artillery 46
9 months, 102
Navy 58
Regular Army .14
1 year, 61 3 years, 388 Cavalry 25
Many of the above were re-enlistments. The number of men killed in battle, or dying from wounds, siekness, and the infamous treatment of rebel prisons, was eighty-two (for details see the in- scription on the soldiers' monument). No com- mander of a regiment, brigade, or other general officer was furnished by Woburn, but the following were commissioned officers : ---
E. M. Burbank, major, 12th regiment; J. W. Macdonald, major, 12th regiment ; John J. Rich- ardson, captain, 39th regiment ; S. I. Thompson, eaptain, 22d regiment ; J. P. Crane, captain, 22d regiment ; William T. Grammer, captain, 5th regi- ment; C. S. Converse, captain, 5th regiment ; Luke R. Tidd, captain, 39th regiment ; Cyrus Tay, cap- tain, 32d regiment ; James Wyman, captain, 32d regiment ; John E. Tidd, captain, 32d regiment ; Luther Wyman, Ist lieutenant, 39th regiment ; C. K. Conn, 1st lieutenant, 39th regiment ; Wil- liam MeDavitt, 1st lieutenant, 39th regiment ; George E. Fowle, Ist lieutenant, 39th regiment ;
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
W. R. Bennett, Ist lieutenant, 22d regiment ; T. [ R. Page, 1st lieutenant, 28th regiment ; E. F. Wyer, 1st lieutenant, 5th regiment ; C. S. Con- verse, Ist lieutenant, 5th regiment ; W. A. Col- gate, Ist lieutenant, 5th regiment ; George S. Morse, 1st lieutenant, 59th regiment ; Oscar Per- sons, 2d lieutenant, 39th regiment; George H. Dennett, 2d lieutenant, 39th regiment ; C. E. Ful- ler, 2d lieutenant, 5th regiment ; M. S. Seeley, 2d lieutenant, 5th regiment ; T. T. Fergusson, commis- sary sergeant; S. W. Drew, surgeon, 9th regiment; S. W. Abbott, surgeon, 7th cavalry regiment ; R. E. Jameson, assistant surgeon, 29th regiment ; E. D. Hayden, assistant paymaster, navy.
Among the patriotic activities created by the war were the societies auxiliary to the sanitary and Chris- tian commissions. These were generally conducted by women. Those of Woburn contributed their full share to the success of these benevolent agencies, besides furnishing directly to the soldiers of their own town comforts and luxuries in generous sup- ply, both for field and hospital.' The work done by the several organizations previous to Jann- ary, 1863, is without public record, but it was large and effective. At that time the several so- cieties banded together under one general head, although still working in distinct bodies. The receipts from festivals, concerts, and general con- tributions, from thence to the end of the war, were $2,322.59, which sum was expended for mate- rials, made chiefly into garments and bedclothing, but to some extent into small articles of prime con- venience. No labors or sacrifices (except those of the loss of limb and life) to sustain the cause of the Union and freedom were undertaken more car- nestly, or submitted to more cheerfully, than those which characterized the noble women of this town, as well as of the North generally.
Soldiers' Monument. - This fine memorial in honor of the Woburn men who gave their lives to their country's service was dedicated with im- pressive ceremonies, October 14, 1869. Governor Claflin and staff, and many prominent men in mili- tary and civil life, were present at the exercises. General William Cogswell, of Salem, the orator selected for the occasion, delivered an eloquent and patriotic address. The monument stands in the central square of the town, on the spot nearly iden- tical with that of the first meeting-house. Its prin- cipal feature is the bronze figure of a soldier eight feet in height, standing in easy posture, indicative of quiet but earnest observation. His musket rests
upon the ground, and passing upward, between the arm and the body, is firmly grasped by the right hand, while the left arm falls naturally by the side. The countenance of the figure is strikingly firm and intelligent, and gives assurance that the volun- teer soldier is fully conscious of his rights and duties as a freeman. The costume is that of the common soldier of the period, surmounted by the historic overcoat which serves as a foil to the stiff- ness of the close-fitting uniform. The figure stands upon a granite pedestal twelve feet in height, composed of a base, plinth, die, frieze, and cornice. Set into the die (which is four feet square), on each of its sides, is a bronze tablet, on three of which are inscribed the names of the dead heroes of the war, as follows : killed in battle, twenty-two; died of wounds, seventeen ; died of disease, twenty- seven ; died in rebel prisons, sixteen ; in all, eighty-two. Ou the fourth side is the following legend : -
Woburn honors the memory of her sons who fell in the war for the Union and Freedom, 1861 - 1865.
The spirit of liberty lives in the ashes of its defenders.
Thic sculptor, Mr. Martin Millmore, who de- signed the monument, both the figure and base, is the well-known artist of Boston, whose more recent work in the same line for that city has greatly enhanced his reputation. The cost of the monument, with its surrounding bronze and gran- ite fence, was not far from $11,000, for which the first appropriation made by the town was $10,000.
Manufactures. - The present large manufactur- ing interests of Woburn are the outcome of small beginings, developed withont special facilities and without combinations of capital. For the first one hundred and fifty years or more the only manufac- tures known were those for supplying the local wants of the inhabitants. Tanners were among them, as they were among those of every consid- erable town in the commonwealth. During the war of 1812, or a little earlier, Deacon John Cum- mings and General Abijah Thompson began the tanning of leather in a small way, as their prede- cessors had done before them. For a number of years they continued to supply merely the usual local needs. But as both these men had thrifty and enterprising natures, they soon began to extend their business by finding customers among the neighboring towns. In a few years a good market was opened for all the leather they could make, among the shoe manufacturers, as well as among
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WOBURN.
the carriage-makers, whose business was then rising into importance in Essex County. For a long time the dealing with these parties was direct, that is, without the intervention of Boston counting-rooms or agents. The product of the vats and the curry- ing-shops was taken in wagons and delivered di- rectly to the purchasers. It was not until about 1833 that places were hired in Boston for facilitat- ing the transactions between the different classes of manufacturers. It is said that in brisk times, before the introduction of railroads, the teams tak- ing leather into Boston were intercepted in Charles- town, or even farther out, byenterprising purchasers, and the contents bargained for in advance of reach- ing the market. The enlarging business of Dea- con Cummings and General Thompson, Jonathan Tidd, etc., led to the adoption of numerous ap- prentices, to whom a good knowledge of the art of tanning and currying was given. Among these ap- prentices are the names of those more recent manu- facturers who have given to Woburn its high place among the leather-producing towns of the state, namely, Hon. John Cummings, Hon. J. B. Winn, Captain Timothy Winn, Hon. Horace Con, E. L. Shaw, Charles G. Lund, Joseph Kelley, Stephen Dow, Henry Taylor, and others less conspicuous. It was from 1840 to 1850 that these younger men began business for themselves, and they were not long in establishing a reputation for their excellent manufactures. Under their management the busi- ness increased steadily and prosperously. New markets were opened for the sale of their goods, and with the enlargement of the wants of the coun- try, Woburn became known as the leading town for the production of leather in Middlesex County. There are no statistics of the amount of capital invested, the number of men employed, and the annual value of the manufactures, until 1865. Then there were twenty-one tanning and currying shops, and four for the manufacture of patent leather, employing together six hundred and twelve men. The value of these productions was a little rising $2,000,000. In 1875 the number of shops was 18, hands employed, 808; 11,275 sides, and 4,000 skins mannfactured weekly. In January, 1879, the number of shops was 24, hands em- ployed, 1,288; and the weekly production was 14,800 sides of grain and buff leather, 14 tons of split leather, and 10,180 calf-skins, at a total yearly valuation of about $3,500,000.
rivalled that of the leather manufacture. But since 1850 its increase has been slight. The ear- lier manufacturers were Edmund Parker, Deacon John Tidd, Deacon Thomas Richardson, William and Charles Choate, Simnon Holden, and others. In 1875 the amount of capital invested in the business was about $75,000, and the production more than $260,000; number of hands employed, two hundred and eight. Since that time the capi- tal and production is much the same.
The manufacture of shoe stock from refuse leather has grown to be a considerable and profit- able business. N. J. Simonds has the largest establishment of this kind. The number of hands employed in the eight workshops engaged in the business in January, 1879, was four hundred and sixty-two; capital invested, about $25,000; and the annual value of production, $350,000.
Newspapers. - The first paper printed in Wo- burn was called The Sentinel. It was founded in 1839, at the opening of the great Harrison cam- paign, and was quite active in its support. It survived, however, but a few months. In 1842 William White began the publication of The Woburn Gazette. The paper was a small one, and sold at two cents a copy. It did not pay, how- ever, and was discontinued at the end of two years. The New England Family followed it; but as it was not a strictly local paper, it was soon sus- pended. In the spring of 1846 Mr. White had the courage to revive The Gazette, and continued its publication, with fair success, for a year and a half, when he sold out to Smith, Kelley, & Co., who changed the name to The Weekly Advertiser, and in a few weeks again altered the title to The Guide-Post. In 1847 Mr. H. N. Hastings bought the establishment, and published the paper for about a year, when it was discontinued. The next venture in the newspaper enterprise was by Fowle and Brother. In October, 1851, they commenced The Woburn Journal, with John A. Fowle as editor. The paper was larger than any of its prede- cessors, and immediately took firm root among the people. It has since been under the proprie- torship of John J. Pippy, E. T. Moody, Edgar Marchant, H. C. Gray, and John L. Parker, who assumed its management in 1869 and has con- tinued its publication to the present time (1879). For a few years the title was changed to Middlesex County Journal, and its circulation was extended to the neighboring towns, but in 1873 the original In 1857
The shoe-business of Woburn has always been of some importance, and from 1835 to 1845 quite title of Woburn Journal was resumed.
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Mr. H. N. Hastings started a small sheet, in con- nection with his printing-office, which he called The Woburn Budget. It was enlarged in 1858, and again in 1859, when John L. Parker became asso- ciated with Mr. Hastings, and The Budget continued an active and spirited paper until December, 1863. It was then suspended by the second entrance of Mr. Parker upon service in the army. Being dis- abled from such duty, he returned to Woburn, and started The Woburn Townsman in February, 1864; but enlisting again in the following September, the paper was merged in The Woburn Journal, then conducted by E. Marchant. In January, 1871, Mark Allen began the publication of The Woburn Advertiser, which has continued in his hands to the present time. All of the above papers were, or are, issued weekly. In addition, The Weckly Independent was published by P. L. Richardson from January to August, 1878. In 1872 two young men, H. B. and E. A. Dow, started an amateur paper called The Young Inde- pendent, printed monthly. At the close of the tenth issue it was suspended. Our Paper was the title of a monthly publication begun by Rev. Mr. Barnes, pastor of the Unitarian Parish, in the in- terest of that society, and was continued for two years (1875 to 1877). A paper of similar char- acter was issued for a short time by the Baptist Society in 1875.
The business of Woburn naturally connects itself with the Branch Railroad. It may seem scarcely credible to the present generation to be told that when the directors of the Boston and Lowell Railroad established their line of road be- tween these terminal points, in 1833, they made a special effort to avoid all the villages lying on the route. Hence Medford, Woburn, Wilmington, Billerica, and Tewksbury were passed by on one or the other side. But the increasing travel between Woburn and Boston, and especially the heavy freights from the bark regions of the north, led to negotiations for a branch to this town. A charter was obtained by citizens of Woburn, which was transferred to the Boston and Lowell Corporation, and the road was built by that company. It was opened for travel in December, 1844. For the first few months only one passenger train each way per day was placed upon the road. They were in- creased to three in the course of 1845. To these, additions have been made from year to year, as the development of travel required, until the number of daily trains in 1879 was twenty-seven, carrying
to and from Woburn nearly sixty thousand pas- sengers.
Banks, Public Works, etc. - The first institu- tion for loaning money in Woburn was the Agricul- tural and Mechanic Association. It was a private enterprise, formed in 1830 by several of our lead- ing manufacturers and capitalists. An office was opened, and deposits were solicited on the basis of a small fixed capital and the individual respon- sibility of its stockholders. It soon attracted to itself the surplus money of the town, which was re-loaned to parties in need of funds on notes and mortgages. It still continues its business, which has always been carefully managed, and has paid liberal returns to its stockholders. In 1855 its average deposits were about $100,000, since which time they have increased to more than $400,000. The rate of interest to depositors has averaged five per cent.
In 1853 a state bank was organized, with a capi- tal of $100,000, with General A. Thompson as president, and E. J. Jenks, cashier. In 1865 the bank was reorganized as a national institution, and its capital increased to $300,000. It has always maintained an excellent reputation for its skilful management and good dividends. Its present offi- cers (1879) are E. D. Hayden, president, and J. R. Green, cashier.
The Woburn Gaslight Company was incorpo- rated in 1854, with a capital of $20,000. For several years the return to the stockholders was small, but by prudent management, the gradual extension of service-pipes, and the adoption of street lighting by the town, it now pays a fair divi- dend. The increase of construction account caused the enlargement of the capital in 1874 to $40,000. J. M. Harlow president ; Aaron Thompson, treas- urer and general manager.
The Five Cent Savings-Bank was incorporated in 1854. Its first operations were small. The de- posits gradually increased from year to year. In 1865 they amounted to $90,000. In 1877 they had risen to more than $500,000, which was the highest point attained. Hon. John Cummings was elected president in 1879. James N. Dow has held the office of treasurer from its incorporation.
Any notice of Woburn would be incomplete without reference to hier excellent supply of water. The town is less abundantly supplied with water from natural sources than many of its neighbors. It has no large stream. Its principal one, the Aberjona, flows through its easterly border, at a
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considerable distance from its centre of business and population. Horn Pond is the only sheet of water of any magnitude within its limits. As the town increased in its manufacturing industries and the number of its dwellings, the need of an ample supply of water for domestic and fire purposes was felt more and more every year. In 1871 the town appointed a committee on water-supply, with power to secure an act of incorporation for that purpose. The act was obtained which allowed the use of the water of Horn> Pond and authorized the issue of water bonds not exceeding $200,000. . Water commissioners were chosen, and the work was immediately begun. A reservoir was constructed on Horn Pond Mountain, capable of holding 600,000 gallons, which at high water would be 222 feet above the level of the pond, and sup- ply the highest points of the town. Pipes were laid at first through the central part of the town only, but the outer villages (Cummings- ville, North and East Woburn) demanding the same rights and privileges acquired by the Cen- tre, the town voted the extension of the pipes to those sections. To do this, involved the issue of $200,000 more of water bonds, which the town voted and the legislature approved. In digging for the foundation of the engine-house a few rods from the pond an unexpected and remarkable flow of water rushed to the excavation from the land side. To dispose of this flow, one, another, and then another of the most powerful pumps were used without checking its force. As the water was of the purest quality (issuing directly from the gravel bed on the southerly part of the pond), and its supply apparently inexhaustible, it was determined by the commissioners to appropriate it for the use of the town in preference to drawing directly from the pond. Connection was made with the pond, as originally proposed, to secure a supply in case the flow from the land side should at any time collapse. To this period (1879) there is no sign of exhaus- tion, and Woburn is furnished in abundance with purer water than could be obtained from Horn Pond or any other source within many miles. The whole cost of the water-works to 1879 is about $450,000.
Some notice should be taken of two men wlio have made Woburn conspicuous as being the place of their birth,-Benjamin Thompson (Count Rum- ford) and Colonel Baldwin. Loammi Baldwin was born in the north part of the town, January 21, 1745. In his youth he disclosed those qualities
of character for which he afterward became emi- nent. The natural bent of his mind was toward mathematics and physical science. In this he resembled his friend and boyish neighbor, the future count. In his early school-days he was a pupil of Master Fowle, the noted teacher in Woburn at that period. Not having the opportunities of securing a collegiate education, he took advantage of all chances to add to his positive knowledge. In company with young Thompson he walked to Cambridge to hear the lectures of Professor Win- throp on astronomy and other sciences at Harvard College. To show the interest these young men felt for their studies, it is said that upon returning home from these lectures they made various rude instruments for their own use, with which to verify the experiments and problems of the professor.
At the opening of the Revolutionary War, in 1775, Baldwin enlisted as a private in the regiment commanded by Colonel Gerrish. His promotion was rapid, as in the course of a few months he was advanced from post to post till he was made com- mander of the regiment. This was stationed about Boston as a part of the investing forces of Wash- ington. After the evacuation of that city by the British, Colonel Baldwin followed his chief to New York. There he was placed in command of the main guard at the Battery. Upon the retreat of the army from New York to a position behind the Delaware, his regiment made part of the forces. When Washington recrossed the river and per- formed that brilliant action at Trenton, Colonel Baldwin and his men were an important element in its success. During the following year, and before any other leading event in the war had occurred, he asked and received an honorable dis- charge fromn service, on account of seriously im- paired health. Returning to his native town, he continued to exercise his talents and influence in support of the independence of his country. In 1780 he was appointed high sheriff of Middlesex County, and was the first who held that responsible office under the new state constitution. He was several times elected as representative to the Gen- eral Court, and became a candidate for the offices of senator, lieutenant-governor, and elector of president. Being of the minority party, he was unsuccessful in his candidacy, but had the satisfac- tion of receiving, with one or two exceptions, the solid vote of his fellow-townsmen. At the time of Shays' Rebellion, 1786-87, when Woburn in a fit of despondency over the state of affairs voted
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
not to assist with men or money in its suppression, Colonel Baldwin and a few others made such an earnest protest against this action of the town that the vote was in a very few days rescinded.
In 1793 the construction of the Middlesex Canal was authorized by the legislature. Colonel Bald- win was an active promoter of this enterprise, and one of the persons named in its charter. Although an English engineer was employed to survey the route from Chelmsford to Charlestown, Colonel Baldwin attended the survey throughout, and thoroughly supervised the location. The canal was not completed until 1803, when it became a matter of extensive notoriety, and was visited by hundreds of persons from different parts of the country. The canal traversed the town of Woburn through its central part, and during the time of its most active business (a period of about thirty years) it presented a picturesque and animated scene. After the con- struction of the Boston and Lowell Railroad the canal fell into disuse, and its bed is at the present time nearly obliterated. To Colonel Baldwin the public is indebted for the introduction of the fa- mous Baldwin apple. He did not "invent " it, or grow it out of wild stock, but he discovered it on a tree on the farm of J. Butters, in Wilmington, and being attracted by its fine flavor and free bear- ing, secured scions from it for his own use, and afterward freely distributed them to all the neigh- borhood. Colonel Baldwin died on the 20th of October, 1807, at the age of sixty-three.
Benjamin Thompson, afterward widely and hon- orably known as Count Rumford, was born in the north village of Woburn, in March, 1753. His ancestor, James Thompson, was one of the original settlers of the town, and one of its first selectmen. The father of young Thompson, who was also named Benjamin, died when his afterward famous son was but one and a half years old. The early boyhood of the son was spent on his father's farm, but at the age of eleven he was sent to school at Medford ; he was also a pupil of Master Fowle, of the Woburn grammar school, and in attending it was the intimate friend of Colonel Loammi Bald- win. Not having the qualities of character that suited the vocation of farming, he was sent to Salem at the age of thirteen, as an apprentice to an importer of English goods. This employment was as unsuited to his nature as that of farming, as lie was continually busy with tools and instruments, with drawing and music. He continued at Salem for three years, at the end of which time he had,
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matured greatly more in philosophy and machinery than in the mysteries of trade. But he was sent again in a few months to the dry-goods trade in Boston. While there the historical Massacre took place, in which it was said Thompson was conspicuous among the excited populace. The business of the city being now nearly suspended, he returned to Woburn, and began the study of medicine with a Dr. Hay.
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