History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 131

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1226

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II > Part 131

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"The experiment of a cheap rate was put upon trial. From May 14, 1841, to December 31, 1844, the net revenue averaged one hundred and twenty four dollars and seventy-one cents per quarter. Under the new law, for the first year and a half, the revenue has been one hundred and four dollars and seventy-seven cents per quarter. Had the former rates remained, the natural increase of business should have raised it to one hundred and fifty dollars per quarter. The department, which for

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

some years before had fallen short of supporting itself, now became a heavy charge upon the treasury. Whether the present rates will event- only raise a sufficient revenue to meet the expenditures, remains to be Noon. The grentest difficulty to be overcome is evasion of the post-office laws aud frand upon the department."

Like many other persons of that period, Mr. Butler did not appreciate the fact that the best way to pre- vent evasions of the law is to reduce the rates of post- age so low that it will not pay to run the risk of fraud.

Captain Welcome Lothrop succeeded Mr. Butler as postmaster, and during his administration the office was kept in Liberty Hall. Captain Lothrop was a native of Easton, Massachusetts, and a land surveyor of some repute in this neighborhood. Artemas Wood followed him by appointment on February 22, 1849;' but he never entered upon the duties of his office. He was succeeded by George Henry Brown, who had published The Spirit of the Times, a political newspa- per, during the Presidential canvass of 1848, and in this way had become somewhat prominent as a local politician. Mr. Brown was appointed on May 4, 1849 ; and during his term the office was kept in an L of his dwelling, situated nearly opposite to the Orthodox meeting-house. He was afterward the postmaster of Ayer. Mr. Brown was followed by Theodore Andruss, a native of Orford, New Hamp- shire, who was appointed on April 11, 1853. Mr. Andruss brought the office back to Liberty Hall, and continued to be the incumbent until April 22, 1861, when he was succeeded by George Washington Fiske. On February 13, 1867, Henry Woodcock was ap- pointed to the position, and the office was then removed to the Town-House, where most excellent accommodations were given to the public. He was followed on June 11, 1869, by Miss Harriet Elizabeth Farnsworth, now Mrs. Marion Z. Putnam ; and she in turn was succeeded on July 2, 1880, by Mrs. Christina Dakin (Caryl) Fosdick, the widow of Samuel Wood- bury Fosdick, and the present incumbent.

The office is still kept in the Town-House, and there is no reason to think that it will be removed from the spacious and commodious quarters it now occupies, for a long time to come. This public build- ing was erected in 1859, and the first town-meeting was held within its walls, on Tuesday, November 8th, of that year. The High School was first opened in the lower hall on Monday, December 5th, and the ex- amination of classes for admission took place three days previously, on Friday, December 2d.

A semi-daily mail was established between Boston and Groton in the year 1849, during the early part of postmaster Brown's administration ; and a tri-daily mail on Monday, April 18, 1887. The post-office was made a postal-order office on Monday, August 16, 1886, and raised to the rank of a Presidential office on February 15, 1890.

Few towns in the Commonwealth can present such an array of distinguished men among their postmas-

ters as that of Groton, including, as it does, the names of Judge Dana, Judge Richardson, Mr. Butler and Governor Boutwell. One of Judge Richardson's assistants was afterwards Postmaster-General of the United States. The Honorable Amos Kendall was studying law in his office at the time, and subse- quently became Postmaster-General under Presidents Jackson and Van Buren, 1835-1840. In Mr. Ken- dall's " Autobiography " (Boston, 1872), edited by his son-in-law, William Stickney, it is said :

"During the residue of the year 1813 Mr. Kendall's studies [at Groton] were much interrupted by the business of the office, which devolved on him as the oldest student. He had charge of the post-office ; received, made up and despatched the mails, delivered the letters and papers and made out the accounts. He was frequently sent on business to the neighboring towns, and employed in collecting office dues." (Page 78.)

West Groton is a small settlement that has sprung up in the western part of the town, dating back in its history to the last century. It is pleasantly situated on the banks of the Squannacook River, and in my boyhood was known as Squannacook, a much better name than the present one. It is to be regretted that so many of the old Indian words which have a local significance and smack of the region, should have been crowded out of the list of our geographical names. There is a small water-power here, and formerly a saw-mill, grist-mill and a paper-mill were in operation ; but these have now given way to a factory where leather-board is made. The Peter- borough and Shirley Branch of the Fitchburg Rail- road passes through the place, and some local busi- ness is transacted in the neighborhood. As a matter of course, a post-office was needed in the village, and one was established on March 19, 1850. The first person to fill the office was Adams Archibald, a native of Truro, Nova Scotia, who kept it in the railway station.

The following is a list of the postmasters, with the dates of their appointment :

Adams Archibald, March 19, 1850. Edmund Blood, May 25, 1868. Charles Henry Hill, July 31, 1871. George Henry Bixby, July 11, 1878.

During the postmastership of Mr. Blood, and since that time, the office has been kept in a store near the station, and for a long while the only one in the place.

A post-office was established at South Groton, on June 1, 1849, and the first postmaster was Andrew Boynton Gardner. The village was widely known as Groton Junction, and resulted from the intersection of several railroads. Here six passenger-trains coming from different points were due in the same station at the same time, and they all were supposed to leave as punctually.

The trains on the Fitchburg Railroad, arriving from each direction, and likewise the trains on the Worces- ter and Nashua Road from the north and the south, passed each other at this place. There was also a train fron Lowell, on the Stony Brook Railroad, and

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another on the Peterborough and Shirley Branch, coming at that time from West Townsend.

A busy settlement grew up, which was incorporated as a distinct town under the name of Ayer, on Feb- ruary 14, 1871, so called after the late James Cook Ayer, of Lowell.

The following is a list of the postmasters, with the dates of their appointment :

Andrew Boynton Gardner, June 1, 1849.

Harvey Alpheus Woods, August 11, 1853.

George Henry Brown, December 30, 1861.

William Holmes Harlow. December 5, 1862. George Henry Brown, January 15, 1863. William Holmes Harlow, July 18, 1865.

The name of the post-office was changed by the Department at Washington, from South Groton to Groton Junction, on March 1, 1862 ; and subsequently this again was changed to Ayer, on March 22, 1871, soon after the incorporation of the town, during the postmastership of Mr. Harlow.

Closely akin to the post-office in its functions is the service of the telegraph and the telephone, and for that reason I add the following facts :

The telegraph office was opened in the village of Groton on Saturday, March 20, 1880, mainly through the exertions of the late Charles Harrison Waters and of Francis Marion Boutwell, Esq .; and the first message was sent to Nashua. The office was estab- lished in the railway-station, where it has since re- mained, and the first operator was Miss Etta Augusta Shattuck.

The telephone office was opened in the village on Friday, April 29, 1881, affording communication with Boston and other places.

THE OLD TAVERNS AND STAGE-COACHES OF GROTON .- It has been said that there is nothing contrived by man which has produced so much hap- piness as a good tavern. Without disputing the statement, all will agree that many good times have been passed around the cheerful hearth of the old- fashioned inn.

The sites of the earliest taverns of Groton cannot easily be identified, but the names of some of the landlords are found in the records of the Middlesex Court of Quarter Sessions,-now at East Cambridge, -when they were licensed as inn-holders. At that period no great preparations were made in the small towns for the lodging of strangers, beyond obtaining the necessary license, and guests were treated like members of the family. Occasionally a farmer would keep a tavern for a while, and thus make a market for his home products. For a long time Groton was a frontier settlement, and all beyond it was a wilder- ness. The travel through the place was mainly along the circumference of civilization, from one outlying town to another, and there was but little patronage for public-houses. The following list of early landlords and retailers of spirits is taken from the Court records, and the entries are made during the

months of July, August and September in the re- spective years :

1699 .- Joseph Cady.

1700 .- Probably no license granted.

1701 .- Joseph Cady.

1702 .- Probably no license granted.

1703 .- Samuel Parker, Nathan Mors.

1704 .- Samuel Parker.

1705 .- Samuel Parker.

1706 .- Samuel Parker.

1707 .- Samuel Parker.

1708 .- Samuel Parker.

1709 .- Probably no license granted.

1710 -Samuel Woods.

1711 .- Mr. Samuel Woods.

1712 .- Probably no license granted.

1713 .- Nathaniel Woods.

1714 .- Natbaniel Woods.

1715 .- Nathaniel Woods.

1716 .- Nathaniel Woods.

1717 .- Natbaniel Woods, Eleazer Robbius, Eleazer Green; James Patterson, retailer.

1718 .- Mr. Nathaniel Woods, Mr. Eleazer Rohbins, Mr. Eleazer Green. 1719 .- Mr. Eleazer Green, Mr. Nathaniel Woods.

1720 .- Mr. Eleazer Green.

1721 .- Mr. David Whetcomb, Mr. Eleazer Green, Mr. Jonathan Hubbard.

1722 .- Mr. Eleazer Green, Mr. Jonathan Hubbard.

1723 .- Mr. Jonathan Hubbard.

1724 .- Mr. Jonathan Hubbard, Mr. Joseph Spaulding.

1725 .- Mr. William Tarbell.

1726 .- Mr. Jonathan Hubbard, Mr. William Tarbell.

1727 .- Mr. Jonathan Hubbard, Mr. William Tarbell, Mr. Josiah Sautell.

1728 .- Mr. Jonathan Hubbard.

1729 .- Mr. Jonathan Hubbard.

1730 .- Mr. Jonathan Hubbard, Mr. Josialı Sartel, Nathaniel Sartel, Esq.

1731 .- Nathaniel Sartel, Esq., Mr. Jonathan Hubbard.

1732 .- Nathaniel Sartel, Esq., Mr. James Parker.

1733 .- Nathaniel Sartel, Esq., Mr. Jobn Bulkley.

1734 .- Nathaniel Sartell, Esq., Mr. Jobn Bulkley, Mr. Benjamin Bancroft.

1735 .- Nathaniel Sartell, Esq., Mr. Benjamin Bancroft, Mr. John Bulkley.

1736 .- Nathaniel Sartel, Esq., Mr. Benjamin Bancroft, Mr. John Bulkley.

1737 .- Mr. Benjamin Bancroft, Mr. Johu Bulk ley.

1738 .- John Bulkley, Captain Samuel Parker, Jonathan Sheple.

1739 .- Captain Samuel Parker, John Bulkley ; Jonathan Sheple, Abraham Moores, retailers.

1740 .- John Bulkley, Abraham Moores, William Lawrence, Esq.

1741 .- Samuel Parker, John Bulkley ; William Lawrence, Esq., Abra- ham Moores, retailers.

1742 -Samuel Parker, John Bulkley, Abrabam Moores; William Lawrence, Esq., Thomas Tarbell, retailers.

1743 .- Samuel Parker, Jobn Bulkley, Abraham Moores, James Law- rence ; William Lawrence, Esq., Thomas Tarbell, retailers.

1744 .- Caleb Trowbridge, Jr., Isaac Farnsworth, Benjamin Bancroft, Jobn Bulkley, Samuel Parker.

1745 .- Isaac Green, John Bulkley, Abraham Moores, James Law- rence ; William Lawrence, Esq., Benjamin Chase, retailers.

1746 .- Caleh Trowbridge, Jr., Benjamin Baucroft, John Bulkley, Samuel Parker, Amos Lawrence.

1747 .- Isaac Greene, John Bulkley, Abraliam Moores, James Law- rence ; John Sbeple, Ezra Farnsworthi, retailers.

1748 .- Capt. Benjamin Bancroft, Capt. John Bulkley, Abraham Moores, Caleb Trowbridge, Jr., Amos Lawrence.

1749 .- John Bulkley, Abraham Moores, James Lawrence; Ezra Farnsworth, retailer.

1750 .- John Bulkley, Abraham Moores, James Lawrence; Ezra Farnsworth, retailer.

1751 .- John Bulkley, Abraham Moores, James Lawrence ; Ezra Farnsworth, retailer.

1752 .- John Bulkley, Abraham Moores, James Lawrence, James Col- burn, Jr., William White ; Caleb Trowbridge, Jr., retailer.

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

1753 .- John Bulkley, Abraham Moores, Thomas White, Caleb Trow- bridge, Jr. ; Josiah Sartell, retailor.

1754 .- John Bulkley, Abraham Moores, Thomas White, Caleb Trow- bridge, Jr. ; Josiah Sartell, John Stevens, Esq., retailers.

1755 .- John Bulkely, Abraham Moores, Samuel Bowers, Thomas White ; John Stevens, Esq., Jonathan Sartell, retailers.

In the Journal of the House of Representatives (page 96), December 21, 1752, is a petition of Caleb Trowbridge, Jr., of Groton, stating that :

" He lives npon a publick Road leading from Dunstable to Harvard, which is frequented by many Travelers; that the publick Houses on said Road are fifteen Miles distant from each other; that he has only Liberty to Retail, yet is often crowded with People who want necessary Refresbment, but who is not allowed to sell it to them; he therefore prays he may now obtain a Licence as an Innhokler.

" Pass'd in Council, riz. In Council, December 21st, 1752. Read and Ordered, That tho Justices of the General Sessions of tho Peace for the County of Middlesex, be and they hereby are allowed to grant the Peti- tioner a License to be an Innholder, if they see Cause, at their Adjourn- ment on Saturday, the 23d Instant, the Time for granting Licences being elapsed notwithstanding, provided the Petitioner first obtains the Appro- bation of the Select-Men of Groton for that purpose.

" Sent down for Concurrence. Read and concur'd."

The Trowbridge tavern cannot now be identified with certainty ; but it is highly probable that it was the same as the Bowers inn, mentioned in the next paragraph.

The earliest tavern in Groton, of which there is any positive record or knowledge, was kept by Samuel Bowers, Jr., in the house lately and for a long time occupied by the Champney family. Mr. Bowers was born in Groton on December 21, 1711, and, according to his tombstone, died on " the Sixteenth Day of De- cember Anno Domini 1768. Half a hour after Three of the Clock in ye Afternoon, and in the Fifty Eight year of his age." He was first licensed in the year 1755, and was known in the neighborhood as "Land'urd Bowers,"-the inn-keeper of that period being generally addressed by the title of landlord. I do not know who succeeded him in his useful and im- portant functions.

The next tavern of which I have any knowledge was the one kept by Captain Jonathan Keep, during the latter part of the Revolution. In The Inde- pendent Chronicle (Boston), February 15, 1781, the committee of the General Court for the sale of con- fiscated property in Middlesex County advertise the estate of Dr. Joseph Adams, of Townsend, to be sold "at Mr. Keeps, innholder at Groton." This tavern has now been kept as an inn during more than a century. It was originally built for a dwelling-house, and, before the Revolution, was occupied by the Reverend Samuel Dana ; but since that time it has been lengthened in front and otherwise considerably en- larged. Captain Keep was followed by the brothers Isaiah and Joseph Hall, who were the landlords as early as the year 1798. They were succeeded in 1825 by Joseph Hoar, who had just sold the Emerson tavern, at the other end of the village street. Except- ing the year 1836, when Moses Gill and his brother- in-law, Henry Lewis Lawrence, were the landlords, Mr. Hoar kept it until the spring of 1843, when he

sold out to Thomas Treadwell Farnsworth. It was then conducted as a temperance housc, at that time considered a great innovation on former customs. After a short period it was sold to Daniel Hunt, who kept it until 1852; and he was followed by James Minot Colburn, who had it for two years. It then came into the possession of Joseph Nelson Hoar, a son of the former landlord, who took it in 1854, and in whose family it has since remained. Latterly it has been managed by three of his daughters, and was known as the Central House. For a long time it was the only tavern in the village, and for neatness and comfort could not easily be surpassed. Within a few months it has been shut up as a publie-house, but it is hoped only temporarily. The following description of the inn was written by the late Mrs. Delano A. Goddard, in a letter from Groton to the Worcester Daily Spy, July 7, 1876, after giving an account of the celebration on the Fourth of July :

"I cannot leave Groton without one word for its ' Central House,' its only tavern ; a long, low building, with a picturesque piazza its whole length, covered with a luxuriant woodbine. It is unique, and is kept by three sisters [the Misses Hoar], who receivo their visitors hospitably and serve them themselves; who, in spite of all their household duties, never seem hurried, are always to be found, always courteous, always ready. They are admirable representatives of the intelligent, capable, attractive New England girls who don't know what sbirking is, but who take up the life they find waiting for them, and make of it the best thing they can."

In August, 1877, a tavern, known as the Fletcher House, was opened at the southerly end of the village street. It is situated on the easterly side of the Boston Road, near the Colonel Prescott monument, and fifty years ago was owned by Dr. Farnsworth.

In a list of innholders printed near the end of Isaiah Thomas's Almanaek for 1785, appears the name of Richardson, whose tavern stood on the present site of the Baptist Church. It was originally the house owned and occupied by the Rev. Gershom Hobart, which had been considerably enlarged by additions on the north and east sides, in order to make it more suitable for its new purposes. Mine host was Captain Jephthah Richardson, who died on October 9, 1806. His father was Converse Richardson, who had pre- viously kept a small inn on the present Elm Street, near the corner of Pleasant. It was in this Eim Street house that Timothy Bigelow, the rising young lawyer, lived when he first came to Groton. Within a few years this building has been moved away. Soon after the death of Captain Jephthah Richardson the tavern was sold to Timothy Spaulding, who carried on the business until his death, which occurred on February 19, 1808. Spaulding's widow subsequently married John Spalter, who was the landlord for a short time. About 1812 the house was rented to Dearborn Emerson, who had been a driver of a stage- coach, as well as the owner of a line. He remained in possession of it for a few years.

During the War of 1812 it was an inn of local re- nown ; and a Lieutenant Chase had his headquarters

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here for awhile, when recruiting for the army. He raised a company in the neighborhood, which was ordered to Sackett's Harbor, near the foot of Lake Ontario. The men were put into uniforms as they enlisted and drilled daily. They were in the habit of marching through the village streets to the music of the spirit-stirring drum and the ear-piercing fife; and occasionally they were invited into the yard of some hospitable citizen, who would treat them to "the cups that cheer but not inebriate," when taken in moderation. William Kemp was the drum- mer, and Wilder Shepley the fifer, both noted musi- cians in their day. Sometimes Moses Kemp, a brother, would act as fifer. William, who died on September 28, 1885. at the advanced age of ninety-six years, used to give many reminiscences of that period. He was born at Groton on May 8, 1789, and began to drum in early boyhood. His first appearance in the public service was during the year 1805, as drummer of the South Company of Groton, commanded by Luther Lawrence, Esq., afterward the mayor of Lowell. Among the men enlisted here during that campaign were Marquis D. Farnsworth, Aaron Lewis, William Shepley and John Woodward, of this town; and James Adams and his son, James, Jr., of Pepperell.

During his boyhood Mr. Kemp knew Major Daniel Simpson, the veteran drummer of Boston, whose mother was Sarab, daughter of Job and Sarah (Hart- well) Shattuck, of Groton. The major was born at Harrison, Maine, on September 29, 1790, and died in Boston on July 28, 1886. In former years he used to spend considerable time at Groton, where many a trial of skill between the two drummers has taken place.

It was about the year 1815 that Dearborn Emerson left the Richardson tavern, and moved down the street, perhaps thirty rods, where he opened another public-house on the present site of Milo H. Shat- tnck's store. The old tavern, in the mean time. passed into the hands of Daniel Shattuck, who kept it until the year before his death, which occurred on April 8, 1831. The business was then carried on during a short time by Samuel Clark Tenny, who has the fol- lowing advertisement in The Groton Herald, June 12, 1830:

" OLD STAND.

" THE Subscriber would respectfully inform his friends and the public generally, that he has taken the Tavern lately occupied by Mr. DANIEL SHATTUCK, in Groton : and having thoroughly fitted op the carne for the reception and accommodation of travellers, he flatters him- self he shall obtain a share of their custom.

" No pains shall be spared to give satisfaction to all those who may he dieposed to patronize him.

" SAMUEL C. TENNY.

" Groton, June 12, 18 .0."

The next landlord was Lemuel Lakin, and after him Francis Shattuck, a son of Daniel, for another brief period. About the year 1833 it was given up entirely as a public-house, and thus passed away an old landmark widely known in those times. It stood well out on the present road, the front door facing

down what is now Main Street, the upper end of which then had no existence. In approaching the tavern from the south, the road went up Hollis Street and turned to the left somewhere south of the Burying- Ground. The house afterward was cut up and moved off, just before the Baptist meeting-house was built.

Dearborn Emerson married a sister of Daniel Brooks, a large owner in the line of stage-coaches running through Groton from Boston to the north- ward; aud this family connection was of great ser- vice to him. Jonas Parker, commonly known as " Tecumseh " Parker, was now associated with Emer- son iu keeping the new hotel. The stage business was taken away from the Richardson tavern, and transferred to this one. The house was enlarged, spacious barns and stables were erected, and better accommodations given to man and beast,-on too large a scale for profit, it seems, as Parker & Emer- son failed shortly afterward. This was in the spring of 1819, during which year the tavern was purchased by Joseph Hoar, who kept it a little more than six years, when he sold it to Amos Alexander. This landlord, after a long time, was succeeded in turn by Isaac J. Fox, Horace Brown, William Childs, Arte- mas Brown, John M. Gilson, Abijah Wright and Moses Gill. It was given up as a hotel in 1854, and made into a shoe- factory, owned by Messrs. Bigelow & Randall ; and finally it was burned on Wednes- day evening, December 19, 1855. Mr. Gill had the house for seven years, and was the last landlord. He then opened a public-house directly opposite to the Orthodox Church, and called it The Globe, which he kept for two years. He was succeeded by Stephen Woods, who remained only one year, after which time this also was given up as a public-house.

The following advertisement in The Groton Herald, March 13, 1830, shows that the selectmen of the town at that time, wishing to be impartial in distributing their official patronage, used to meet equally at all the taverns in the village for the transaction of public business :

"STATED MEETINGS OF THE SELECTMEN.

" THE Selectmen of Groton will meet on the last Saturdays of each month the present municipal year, at 3 o'clock, P. M., viz. :- At Hoar's Tavern in March, April, May and June; at Alexander's in July, August, September and October ; and at Shattuck's in November, Decem- ber, January and February.

" CALEB BUTLER, Chairman."

Another hostelry was the Ridge Hill tavern, situated at the Ridges, three miles from the village, on the Great Road to Boston. This was built about the year 1805, and much frequented by travelers and team- sters. At this point the roads diverge and come together again in Lexington, making two routes to Boston. It was claimed by interested persons that one was considerably shorter than the other,-though the actual difference was less than a mile. In the year 1824 a guide-board was set up at the crotch of the roads, proclaiming the fact that the distance to Lexington through Concord was two miles longer

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

than through Carlisle. Straightway the storekeepers and innholders along the Concord road published a counter-statement, that it had been measured by sworn surveyors, and the distance found to be only two hundred and thirty-six rods farther than by the other way.

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 131

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1226

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1226