History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 133

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 133

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

buildings, in very close proximity, were in great danger, but they were saved through the efforts of the Fire Department and the use of the old engine, which was worked to good advantage in narrow quarters, where the other engine could not be taken. The other occasion was when Walter Shattuck's store was burned down on November 17, 1874; and largely by means of this engine the Congregational meeting- house was saved from destruction.

Torrent, No. 1, until recently, was housed at the end of a row of horsc-sheds, near the First Parish mecting-house, but in the year 1885 it was transferred to West Groton, for the protection of that part of the town. It was there placed in the charge of a volun- teer company of young men ; and on April 5, 1886, the town voted to authorize the Board of Engineers to form a permanent company in that village, which was accordingly done, with the volunteer association as a nucleus. The engine has been re-named, and is now known as the Squannacook. An engine-house, next to the new church on Groton Street, has been built, which was formally opened with appropriate ceremonies, on the evening of December 30, 1887. In the upper story is a hall for public meetings, where, on January 6, 1888, the company gave a ball. A pamphlet was printed (Ayer, 1887, 12mo, pp. 8), enti- tled " Constitution and By-Laws of Squannacook En- gine Co., No. 2, West Groton, Mass.," which sets forth the rules of their government.

The Union Engine Company was organized in the spring of 1830, and the immediate occasion of its for- mation was the series of incendiary fires that occurred during the year 1829. Presumably the name of the engine company was taken from the Union Congre- gational Church in the immediate neighborhood ; and the engine was housed at the easterly end of the horse-sheds, situated on the northerly side of the meeting-house.

The following notice in the Groton Herald, May 8, 1830, is addressed to the subscribers for the engine :

"TAKE NOTICE.

"ITHE Subscribers to the New Engine are hereby requested to meet at ALEXANDER's Hotel, MONDAY the 10th inst., at 6 oclock, P.M. to hear the report of their Committee, chosen for the purpose of purchasing an Engine, and to transact any other business which they may think expedient.

"ELIJAH WHITON, } Committee. " T. A. STAPLES.

"Groton, May 8, 1830."

A Board of Engineers of the Fire Department was originally appointed in April, 1875, by the selectmen, in accordance with Chapter 35 of the Public Stat- utes. Their first report was made in the spring of 1876, and printed in the Town Report of that year. A new engine, known as the Lawrence, was bought in August, 1875, and is kept in the town-house. The following is a list of the chief engineers, with the dates of their sevcral appointments, which are made by the selectmen :

April 10, 1875, George Sumner Graves.

April 22, 1876, Charles Blood.

April 24, 1877, Charles Blood.

April 22, 1878, Charles Blood.

April 23, 1879, Charles Blood. April 17, 1880, Charles Blood. April 20, 1881, John Gilson. April 21, 1882, Jolin Gilson. March 20, 1883, John Gilson. March 29, 1884, George Sumner Graves.

March 18, 1885, George Sumner Graves.

March 15, 1886, Charles Woolley.

March 26, 1887, Charles Woolley.

April 2, 1888, Charles Woolley.

April 1, 1889, Charles Woolley. April 1, 1890, Charles Woolley.

Groton Fire Club .- The Groton Fire Club was form- ed during the winter of 1815; and the immediate oc- casion of its organization was the burning of John Wethered's dwelling on Wednesday evening, Febru- ary 1, 1815. This house stood at the lower end of Main Street, and some years previously had been owned and occupied by Dr. Oliver Prescott, Senior. Mr. Wethered was from Wilmington, Delaware, and came to Groton from that State. According to tradi- tion the dwelling was set on fire by a negro in his em- ploy, who had been a slave at the South.

On November 7, 1814, Mr. Wethered bought the place of Dr. Oliver Prescott, Jr. ; and three months later the house was burned, as has been stated. On April 29, 1816, Mr. Wethered sold it to Robert C. Ludlow, of Boston, a purser in the United States Navy, who, at this time, in connection with Commo- dore Bainbridge and Charles W. Green, was interest- ed in the ownership of the Lakin farm, where they were then raising sheep. On September 25, 1817, Purser Ludlow sold it to Joshua Nash, who ten years later became the father-in-law of the late Bradford Russell, Esq., of Groton.

The present house on the same site was built about the year 1826 by Miss Susan Prescott, afterward Mrs. John Wright, for the accommodation of her school for girls, a famous institution more than sixty years ago. After Mrs. Wright's occupation of the place, it passed into the hands of Dr. Amos Farnsworth, and since that time there have been several owners. The house is now kept as a tavern.

The first meeting of the Fire Club was held on February 4, 1815, when the Honorable James Pres- cott was chosen president of the association, and Ca- leb Butler, Esq., secretary. The club used to meet annually, for the choice of officers, at one of the pub- lic-houses in the village, when a supper was served ; and sometimes on such occasions members of one of the engine companies would be invited to join in the festivities. Each member of the Fire Club was re- quired to provide two leather buckets and a fire-bag, which were to be always ready for use; and a failure to take them to a fire was met with a fine. Among some of the descendants of the early inembers these articles are now treasured as heirlooms.

On March 1, 1875, the town voted to adopt Chapter XXIV., Sections 23-31, of the General Statutes of the

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Commonwealth, by which action the need of a pri- vate organization was largely superseded. The last meeting of the Fire Club, according to the records, was held in November, 1872, no day of the month given. The following preamble, with a list of the original members, is taken from the first two pages of the record-book :

" The undersigned, Inhabitants of Groton warned by the recent confla- gration in this village 1 and feeling one common interest and duty to be constantly in readiness to act with promptitude and effect on such dis- tressing emergencies, agree to form and procure immediately to organize a society for that purpose, to be called, 'Groton Fire Club,' and do pledge onrselves to comply with and conform to all such rules and regu- lations, as the Society may at any time adopt to promote that end. " Dated the fonrth day of February, A.D. 1815.

" James Prescott

Luther Lawrence

Sam1 Lawrance

James Brazer

James Lewis

Amos Farnsworth

Ahr. Moore

Wm Bancroft

Walter Dickson

Caleb Butler

Alpheus Richardson

Amos Lawrence

David Fletcher

Aaron Lewis

Benjamin Moors

Joseph Mansfield

Thomas T. Cunningham

Asa Tarbell

John Rockwood

Aaron Lewis 2d

William Farnsworth

Asa Graves

James Ridgeway

Abel Farnsworth

Wm Livermore

Ezra Farnsworth

George Brigham

Jona Loring

Daniel Eaton

Asa Lawrence, Jr.

Joseph F. Hall

Luther Woods

Josiah Billings

John Stebbens

Thos. C. Gardner in behalf

Sam1 Dana

of my father [Major Thomas Gardner.]

Sam1 Farnsworth

Levi Wait

Eliphalt Wheeler

Aaron Bancroft

Stuart J. Park "

Samson Woods

On May 6, 1872, the town voted to build five reser- voirs, which should hold 4000 gallons each. They were to be so situated as to give protection to the greatest number of houses in the village, with due regard to a sufficient supply of water. The reservoirs were placed, respectively, near the three meeting-houses, the Town-House, and the High School ; and they are kept full by the water which runs from the roofs of these several buildings. After that vote, a few years later, another reservoir was placed in Court Street.

STARCH-FACTORY, PAPER-MILLS, ETC .- In the spring of 1832 the following act was passed by the General Court of Massachusetts ; and under the au- thority of the enactment a company was organized at Groton for the manufacture of starch.

A mill was built for the purpose on the Groton side of the Squannacook River, three-quarters of a mile above the village of West Groton, but the undertak- ing did not prove to be a success. It stood on the site of the present paper-mill in that locality ; and the place is shown on Mr. Butler's Map of Groton. It was expected that this new industry in the town would help the farmers of the neighborhood by encouraging the cultivation of potatoes, which were to be used in making the article ; but the scheme was a failure.

" CHAP. CXXVII.

" An Act to incorporate the Dana Manufacturing Company."

" SEC. 1. BE it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That Oliver Sheple, Samuel Dana, Samnel Dana, Jr., Oliver Sheple, Jr., James Dana, and Washington Sheple, their associates and assigns be, and they hereby are constituted a corporation and made a hody politic, by the name and style of the Dana Manufacturing Company, for the purpose of manufacturing cotton and woollen goods, iron wares, and starch from any materials, in the respective towns of Groton and Shirley in the county of Middlesex, and for this purpose shall have all the powers and privileges, and he subject to all the duties and requirements contained in an act passed the twenty-third day of February in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty, entitled 'an act defining the general powers and duties of manufacturing corporations.'

"SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That the said corporation may take and hold such real estate, not exceeding in value the sum of two hnudred thousand dollars, and such personal estate not exceeding in value two hundred thousand dollars, as may he suitable and convenient for carry- ing on the business aforesaid."

[Approved hy the Governor, March 13, 1832.]

The building was subsequently used as a paper-mill, and burned many years ago, probably during the sum- mer of 1846. Soon afterward another mill was erect- ed on the same site, which was bought on October 22, 1852, by Lyman Hollingsworth of Jephthah Richard- son Hartwell. The plant was sold in 1881 by Mr. Hollingsworth to Messrs. Hollingsworth and Vose, of Boston, who still own it. The senior partner of this firm is a nephew of the former owner. The product of the mill is a Manilla paper of high grade, of which about three tons are made daily. On August 7, 1889, I visited the mill when they were making a paper, which is sent to England in boxes, for the manufac- ture of sand-paper, and very likely to be returned here in that form. In the stock-houses there were two hundred tons of old cordage, more or less, ready to be ground up and used in connection with "wood pulp," which enters largely into the composition of the article. Last year a new dam, a solid granite structure in place of the original one, was built ; though, in times of low water, steam-power is re- quired to turn the machinery.

The direct road from the village of West Groton to the paper-mill-perhaps three quarters of a mile in length-was laid out by the county commissioners on April 13, 1838. An attempt was previously made by interested persons, in the spring of 1832, to have the same piece of highway built, but it did not meet with success, as it was then adjudged by the commis- sioners to be " not of common convenience and neces- sity." Of course the road was opened in order to ac- commodate the business of the new factory.

The paper-mill on the Na hua River, at the Paper- Mill Village, was originally a wooden structure, and built in the year 1841 by Oliver Howe, who owned the eaw-mill and grist-mill in the close proximity ; and here the manufacture of Manilla paper was carried on. During more than a century there has been a dam at this place across the river, and in early times there was, also, a ford known as the Stony Fordway or Stony Wading-place. Among the Massachusetts Archives at the State House is a rough plan, made

1 The dwelling-house of 31r. John Wethered was entirely consumed by fire on the evening of the let day of February, A.D. 1815.

Wm Childs

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IHISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

probably about the year 1740, which gives the names of the bridges, ete., in this neighborhood, at that period. It is found in the volume marked on the back " Maps and Plans " (XVI. 6), and bears the catalogue number 1482.

About the year 1846 the property, on which stood these several mills, was sold to the brothers John Mark and Lyman Hollingsworth ; and on Sept. 1, 1851, Lyman sold his share to the other brother, John Mark, who rebuilt the paper-mill, making it of brick, but the building was very soon afterwards burned. The following item is taken from the Boston Daily Journal, Monday, June 7, 1852 :

"PAPER MILL BURNT. We learn that a paper-mill, dwelling-house and out-buildings adjoining, situated in Groton, and owned by Mr. J. M. Hollingsworth were totally consumed by fire on Saturday [June 5]."

The mill was at once rebuilt, and soon again in operation.

"AJ. M. Hollingsworth's extensive and costly paper mills, at Groton Junction [Paper Mill Village], are nearly ready to go into operation. Mr. H. intends to manufacture first quality book paper, employing about 35 hands."

Lowell Weekly Journal and Courier, May 20, 1853.

On March 7, 1865, Mr. Hollingsworth, just before his death, on April 6th of that year, sold the property to his brother Lyman, who himself died on April 1, 1890 ; and eleven years later it was burnt for the see- ond time. The Boston Evening Journal, Friday, May 26, 1876, has the following account of the fire :

" MILL BURNT AT GROTON, MASS. 6

" The large paper mill of Lyman Hollingsworth at North [?] Groton was destroyed by fire on Thursday afternoon [May 25]. It gave em- ployment to about fifty workmen, and was valued at $140,000. The in- surance is placed in the following companies : Etna, Hartford, and Phoenix, of Hartford ; Home of New York ; North British and Mer- cantile ; Springfield Fire and Marine ; Fire Association of Philadelphia ; Meriden Fire: Roger Williams of Providence, and Shawmut of Boston. It is divided as follows: On mill, $50.000; machinery, $24,000, and on stock, covering the probable loss, $8,000. It is not yet known how the fire occurred."

The mill was again rebuilt, this time hy Lyman Hollingsworth, and the manufacture of book paper continued, now with a daily product of about five tons. On Dec. 13, 1881, the establishment was sold to Messrs. Tileston and Hollingsworth, of Boston, and in July, 1889, by them transferred to the Tiles- ton & Hollingsworth Company, of Boston, a corpora- tion organized under the laws of the Common- wealth.

At West Groton there is a leather-board mill, of which the daily produet is about four tons. It em- ploys thirty-five men, and stands on the site of a saw- mill and grist-mill, which were huilt as early as the year 1765, and perhaps earlier. There is also a saw - mill on the Squannacook River, near the Townsend line, giving employment to eight or ten men, where box-shooks, reels, staves, ete., are made.

THE GEOGRAPHY OF GROTON.

RIVERS .- In early times, before the original Plan- tation had been cut up in order to form other towns,

the Nashua River flowed through the township of Groton for a distance of ten miles or more, and nearly bisected its territory ; while to-day its course within the town's limits is hardly more than three miles. This river is formed by the union of two branches, known respectively as the North Branch and the South Branch, which come together at Lancaster. The former has its source in Ashburnham, near the foot of the Watatuck Mountain, and in Westminster, and passes through Fitchburg and Leominster ; while the latter rises in the neighborhood of the Wachusett Mountain, at Princeton, and among the hills of Rut- land and Holden, and passes through West Boylston and Clinton. Both these branches for a considerable distance above their confluence are known also as the Nashua. The stream at Groton is about one hundred feet above tide-water.

At a very early period the Nashua River was some- times called the Penacook, and at other times the Groton River. In Thomas Noyes's survey of the grant of Major Simon Willard's farm, in the autumn of 1659, the land is described as "lying and heing for the most part on the east side of Groaten Riuer." And again, at the session beginning on Sept. 6, 1676, the approval of the General Court was given to Jona- than Danforth's survey of lands laid out to William Hauthorne, " lying in the wilderness; on the North of Groaten Riuer at a place called hy the Indians Wistequassuck," now within the limits of Townsend. At a later period it was more frequently referred to as the Lancaster River ; and it is likely that the stream hore different names in different towns along its course even at the same time. In the record of " The lands of Mr. Samuell Willard, which is layd out to him in the towne of Grotten," on Sept. 29, 1680, ref- erence is made to the Nashawag River-another form of spelling.

The Squannacook River forms the divisional line with Shirley for perhaps four miles, which is the whole distance of contact with that town. This stream rises in Ashby and flows through Townsend and by West Groton, emptying into the Nashua. The name is found in the Proprietors' records as early as the spring of 1684.

PONDS .- Buddacook Pond-lies about two miles from the village, near the Lowell Road. It covers an area of 103 acres, and is the largest pond in the town. It is mentioned in the record of James Par- ker's land under the date of July 6, 1666.

Outlet : Baddacook Brook, which flows into Cow Pond.

Cady Pond-a small and deep pond, covering per- haps two acres, lying less than a mile from the village in a southeasterly direction, near the Boston Road. It was named after Nicholas Cady, oue of the early settlers, who owned land in the neighborhood. This pond and Flat Pond, both very small, are the only ones in the town whose waters ultimately reach the Nashua River.

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Outlet : a small uunamed brook running south- westerly into James' Brook.

Cow Pond-sometimes called Whitney's Pond, in the easterly part of the town, covering an area of seventy-one acres. Cow Pond Meadow is mentioned in the record of Ralph Reed's land before the year 1664.

Outlet : Cow Pond Brook, which flows into Massa- poag Pond.

Duck Pond-near the Ridges, east of Knop's Pond, and separated from it by a ridge only-lies perhaps half a mile south of Cow Pond. It covers fifty-five acres, and has no outlet.

Flat Pond-a small sheet of water near the Throne, in the west part of the town.

Outlet : a small unnamed brook into the Squanna- cook River.

Half- Moon Pond-a small pond in the upper part of the meadow, which lies south of the Hillside Road.

Knop's Pond-near the Ridges, west of Duck Pond, and is of the same size as that pond, covering fifty - five acres. So called from James Knapp, or Knop, an early settler who owned land in the neighborhood.

Outlet : a brook into Cow Pond.

Long Pond-lies on the southern border of the town, partly in Groton, but mostly in Ayer, covering forty- five acres.

Outlet : a brook into Sandy Pond.

Martin's Pond-near the foot of Gibbet Hill, on its northeasterly side-covers sixteen and two-thirds acres ; it was named after William Martin, an early settler. In the record of James Parker's land, on July 6, 1666, "the pond called Goodman Martin's Pond," is mentioned. The following article, found in the warrant for the town-meeting held on Septem- ber 17, 1792, seems to show that the outlet of the pond was formerly through Hog Swamp and Half- Moon Meadow into James's Brook, though there is now no other evidence to confirm this view :

" Art. 8. To see if the town will order the water running from Mar. tin's Pond to be turned into the old Channel as it formerly used to run, through the Town, and appoint some proper person or persons to remove the obstructions and Effect the Business."

In the proceedings of the meeting, it is recorded that this article was "Past in the Negative." A measurement of the pond was lately made, when frozen over, which proves it to be much smaller than it was half a century ago.

Outlet : Martin's Pond Brook into the outlet of Knop's Pond, half-way between that pond and Cow Pond.

Massapoag Pond-on the easterly border of the town, but lies mostly in Dunstable and Tyngsborough, covering an area of fifty-six acres. It is now used as a storage basin of water by the Vale Mills Manu- facturing Company, of Nashua, New Hampshire, and in dry seasons it is drawn upon for a supply.

Outlet: Salmon Brook, which empties into the Merrimack River at Nashua.

36-ii

Springy Pond-a small sheet of water connected with Knop's Pond by a brook.

Wattle's Pond-three miles north of the village, on the road to East Pepperell, with no outlet. The origin of the name is unknown ; but perhaps from Wattle, "a rod laid on a roof for the purpose of supporting the thatch." Many of the houses of the early settlers were thatched.

The area of the ponds, with the exception of Martin's Pond, is taken from the Fourth Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Massachu- setts (January, 1873), as given on pages 124 and 125.

A story is told relative to Massapoag Pond, based on tradition, which probably has no real foundation. It is said that-

"Its outlet was on the easterly side, and as it was the reservoir into which Cowpond brook poured its waters, a considerable mill-stream is- sued from it. The waters passed without any rapids for a considerable distance, affording no favorable site for a mill. The north end of the pond was bounded by a ridge of loose sand, rising but little above the surface of the water, and being about six rods only in width ; on the op- posite side of which was a descent of about forty feet. Here, then, was an eligible spot for an overshot mill. At a town-meeting held May 21, 1688, a grant was made to Samuel Adams of a small pond near Buck meadow, and leave given to drain it by a brook running into 'Tyng's cove.' At the same meeting, for the encouragement of any who would set up iron-works at Massapoag, a grant was offered of the wood on the easterly side of Unquetenassett brook. It is said that Adams, who is supposed to have accepted the grant, erected a grist-mill at the site above mentioned, conducting the water across the sand-bank to the flumne of his mill. At the time of a flood about the year 1700 (the precise time is not known), a breach was made across the sand-bank, and it being very loose and moveable, the whole bank was soon torn down by the water to the depth of more than thirty feet ; and consequently a sheet of water of that depth, where the pond was so deep, and where of less depth the whole water upon the surface, flowed suddenly off (all in one night), with irresistible violence. The mill, of course, was demolished, and the stones, though diligently sought for, and even the skill of the famous Moll Pitcher, of Lynn, employed in the search, have never yet been found. The bottom of the pond being uneven, fish in abundance were left in the cavities, which were easily taken, and the inhabitants of the neighboring towns, as well as of Groton, came and carried off loads of them. Where the water formerly issued from the pond, a small brook now runs in, and the outlet is, at the place of disruption, called the 'gulf.' The water finds its way into the old channel, two or three miles from the pond, in a northwesterly direction from Dunstable meet- ing-house."

[Butler's History of Groton, pages 246, 247].

The name of Buck Meadow, which has been in use for more than two centuries, is firmly established, and the site well known. The meadow lies near. Lovewell's Pond, formerly within the limits of Groton, but now in Nashua; and Adams's mill stood undoubt- edly at the outlet of this pond, where there is a small water.power. This theory would tally with the town records ; and furthermore a tradition is still ex- tant that there was once a mill in the neighborhood. Lovewell's Pond is much smaller than Massapoag, and at that time probably had no designation. It was named after Captain John Lovewell, who was killed by the Indians on May 8, 1725. The following is the entry in the records :

" May : 21. 1688. The inhabitants of Groton Granted to Samull Adams ye pond that lyes neare buck medow which hath its outlet into the medow known hy ye name of Tyngs Couee, and the swampy land adioyeng ther to prouided ye sd land do not exceed fifteen accers ;

"atest ; JOSIAH PARKER Clarke

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

and sd ndams hath liberty to drean the ss pond at ye small brook that runes in to Tyng's Coue prouided sd Adamos macks good all dameges that shall be don ther by "

There are now three small brooks running into Massapoag Pond on the easterly side, and their fall is too great for any one of them ever to have been the old outlet to the pond. Furthermore, it would have been impossible for any of these brooks to drain the pond (which even at the present time covers fifty-six aeres) without causing too great damage for Adams to make good. There is no indication along their banks that they have been much larger streams than they are to-day. While the formation of the banks at the mouth of the pond, or the "gulf," so called, is pecu- liar, there are no signs that the water-line was ever any higher than it is at the present time. Nonc of the local antiquaries are able to identify Tyng's Cove, which is a name undoubtedly derived from Jonathan Tyng, one of the earliest settlers of Dunstable.

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History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 133

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