History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 161

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 161

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The first of what might be designated as our three great fires was discovered October 31, 1869, in the pop-corn and confectionery factory of Bacon & Rock- wood, in what was at that time known as the Har- mony Hall Building, standing between Main Street and the Fitchburg Railroad, easterly of the Milk Stand. We were at that time practically without a fire apparatus, the " Massasoit" being practically useless. The need of better facilities for extinguishing fire in this village had for a long time been recognized by the parent town, and a committee had been appointed to procure for us a new fire-engine, but, with a laxity that generally prevails with such a body, had failed to attend to their duty, a neglect that resulted in a se- rious loss to our village. This fire spread from the building in which it originated to those adjoining, and before it could be checked three were laid in ashes. Harmony Hall Building was a two-story, pitch roof, wooden structure, erected by Jephtha R. Hall, of Groton, about 1858. The upper floor was finished into a hall, which gave the name to the building, and in the early part of the war was occu- pied as a rendezvous for the soldiers quartered in this village. The first floor was divided into two stores, and was originally occupied by John Brown as a har- ness manufactory, Mr. Brown being also the lessee of the hall. Charles Livermore at one time kept agrocery- store in the westerly side, and subsequently Charles Frye occupied the entire lower floor as a furniture and undertaking establishment, removing to it from the basement of Union Hall Building, where he first begun business in this village. Mr. Frye was suc-

677

AYER.

ceeded by Walter Wright, who removed to the Waters Building. at the corner of Main aud West Streets. Latterly the Harmony Hall Building passed into the hauds of Newell & Balch, who occupied the first floor as a grain-store, leasing Harmony Hall to the town as a grammar school-room, and excavated the cellar, which they used as a cheese manufactory. Henry C. Rolfe succeeded Newell & Balch in the grain business. He remained in the Harmony Hall Building until the summer of 1869, when he moved to what is now known as the Cushing Building, on Main Street.

Next to the west of Harmony Hall stood what was then known as the Town Building. It was the wooden school-house that was built on the Main Street lot in 1850, and moved on to this lot in 1865. It had been raised to a second story, and a fire-engine-room and hook-and-ladder truck occupied the first floor. The second floor, or school building proper, was used for a fireman's room and band-room, until, in 1866, it was converted into a grammar school. The entrance to the upper hall was by a covered stairway on the east side. The southerly half of the basement was fur- nished for a lockup, having four cells, while the east- erly half was let for general purposes, being occupied principally as a paint-shop. Between the Town Building and Harmony Hall was a ramshackled structure of a shed. East of Harmony Hall, and on the site of the present cheese-factory building, was a dwelling-house, for many years occupied by Solomon Keyes. At the time of the fire it was occupied by Noah Lee. In 1850 Ebenezer Willis occupied this building with the first store ever kept in this village. Immediately following the fire Newell & Balch pur- chased the town lot, and we had bright promises of a large brick block being erected thereupon. These promises, unfortunately, did not materialize, and the larger part of the territory has remained unoccupied for twenty years. The agitation on account of this fire was sufficient to stir up the Fire-Engine Commit- tee, and April 27, 1870, the new hand-engine, named in honor of our distinguished townsman, Colonel Daniel Needham, arrived here, and in January fol- lowing the new engine and hook-and-ladder house in the rear of the Unitarian Church was completed ready for occupancy. The house was formally dedi- cated April 1, 1870.

On the afternoon of July 15, 1870, a fire broke ont in the hotel stable in the rear of Merchant's Row, owned by Mark W. Ray, of Fitchburg, and occupied at the time by Samuel Reed. In an incredible short space of time the entire row, with the exception of the dwelling-house of Mr. Coughlin, was destroyed. It was fortunate that the fire occurred in the daytime, for, had it been in the night, there certainly would have been loss of life; as it was, there were many narrow escapes. The railroad depot was on fire several times, but was saved through the exertion of the rail- road employés. A steamer was sent from Fitchburg,

but did not reach here until the fire had burnt itself out. The total loss was estimated at about $25,000, which was partly covered by insurance.

Merchant's Row was originally rightly named, for upon it nearly all of the business of the village at one time was conducted; but the fire scattered the mer- chants in other directions, aud very little of the orig- inal business returned, and to-day it scarcely deserves its original name, which, in fact, is rapidly fading from the tongue and memory. With the exception of the stable-lot in the rear, in which the fire origi- nated, the row stood upon land leased of the Worces- ter and Nashua Railroad Company.

The first building erected was Bartlett's block. It stood at the southerly end, on the present site of the Adams house. Mr. Bartlett moved here from Town- shend, and succeeded Mark W. Ray, who was our first merchant tailor. Mr. Ray afterwards occupied a part of the Bartlett building as a hotel, and erected in the rear an addition which he counected with his stable. Mr. Bartlett's clothing and gents' furnishing store and tailoring shop was on the southerly half of the ground-floor, and over his store was the printing- office of George H. Brown, who moved it here from Harvey A. Woods' (now Cushing's) building. Mr. Bartlett's business is now conducted by Sampson & Brown. A Mr. Gibsou, a manufacturer of melodeons, occupied the upper part of the building. W. B. Lewis kept a stock of blank-books for sale here, and it was as agent for Mr. Lewis that Levi Sherwin first came here from Townsend in 1859. In 1861 Mr. Sherwin, who had become the owner, moved to the Union Hall building. Bartlett's Block was a two- story, pitch-roof, wooden building, with the end to- wards the railroad. Mr. Bartlett occupied it until the fire. The printing-office had been purchased by John H. Turner, and by him, in 1865, moved into a room in the Union Hall building, in the rear of the stores. At the time of the fire the hotel business was conducted by Samuel Rced.

The next building to the north was owned by James Gerrish, Esq., of Shirley, and known as Ger- rish's Block. The original. building was a barn, moved here by Mr. Gerrish, and remodeled into the block. Day's building now occupying the site, is as near a fac simile of the Gerrish building as the build- ers could produce. The southerly half of the first floor was originally occupied by Stevens' bread store, commonly then called "the bakery," although no baking was ever done there. The other store was orig- inally occupied by A. A. Hutchinson as a shoe-store. Mr. Hutchinson sold his shoe-store to James C. Ten - ney, who moved it into the Warren building, where he, at that time, kept a clothing storc. George G. Day, who had been with Mark W. Ray, hired the store vacated by Mr. Tenney for a refreshment saloon, aud a short time afterwards bought the building of Mr. Gerrish. Mr. Gerrish had his office on the second floor, and subsequently Abel L. Lawton, real estate

678

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

agent, and George E. Underwood, insurance agent, occupied the rooms with Mr. Gerrish, There was also a barber shop on the same floor. On the third floor was Moses G. Gilpatrick's daguerreotype gallery. Probably no character was better and more popularly known in this village thirty years ago than Mr. Gil- patrick. His gallery was the first one ever estab- lished here, and his camera was faced by nearly every person connected with our early history.

Next north of the Gerrish building was what was known as the Warren Block, erected and owned by Ralph Warren, of West Townsend. It was also the third block built upon the Row-a large white strue- ture, and one of the most pretentious then known in the village. The southerly part of the store was first occupied by a Mr. Randall, clothier, who sold out to a Mr. Heald, and he to James C. Tenney, who moved his stock of shoes from the Gerrish building, and thus laid the foundation of the business that is to-day conducted by Fletcher & Stone. The other store in the Warren Block was occupied by A. D. Simmonds, millinery goods. In the northeasterly corner of the second floor were the dental rooms of Dr. James Den- nis Brown, who came here in 1859; and in the southeasterly corner were different lawyers' offices, among them John Spaulding and Joshua K. Bennett. The rear of this floor was occupied by Horace C. Ho- vey, watchmaker, jeweler and machinist. On the third floor of the Warren building was a hall occu- pied by the various societies. It was here that the Knights of Malta organized and earoused. Various temperance societies also occupied this hall, and at the time of the fire it was occupied jointly by the Good Templars and Post 48, Grand Army Republie, both of which societies lost all their property.

The Union Hall building stood where the Ameri- can House now is. At the time of its erection this building was considered the largest and best store and business block in South Groton. It was begun by Henry C. Haynes in 1860, and February 10th of that year, when the frame was in the course of eree- tion, it was blown down and destroyed by a heavy wind. Mr. Haynes then sold his interest to E. S. Clark, by whom the building was erected and com- pleted. The northerly store in the Union Hall Block was first occupied by George H. Brown as a drug- store. This business was subsequently conducted by his son, George P. Brown, on a more extensive scale, and subsequently by Doctor Babcock: One side of the drug-store was occupied by Ed. Taft, jeweler, who sold out to A. F. Colburn. Subsequently G. C. Brock bouglit out both the drug-store and the jewelry busi- ness. Mr. Brock subsequently took as a partner James R. Gray, to whom he afterwards sold his inter- est in the business. The southerly side of Union Hall was first occupied by Levi Sherwin as a book-storc, which became the nucleus of the extensive business now conducted by his sons. In the rear of the stores was a room first occupied by Edwin Sanders as a res-

taurant, and afterwards by John HI. Turner, who suc- ceeded George H. Brown in the printing business, and it was in this room that the Public Spirit was first printed. On the second floor of the building was .Union Hall, the largest public hall in the village, and here the Congregational Society held its religious meetings previous to the erection of their church on Washington Street, in 1867. The third floor of Union Hall building was a banquet hall. The Union Hall building was purchased by Thomas H. and Alfred Page in 1868, and by them moved to their lot at the corner of Washington and Pleasant Streets, thus es- caping the fire of 1870, to be destroyed in the great conflagration of 1872. The lot between Union Hall and the Warren building was unoccupied until a short time before the fire, when William A. Baker ereeted thereon a one-story building, a part of which was occupied by him as a harness manufactory and repair shop, and the rest by George Leavens as a saloon.

The buildings now standing upon Merchant's Row were erected immediately after the fire. The Public Spirit building, now standing at the corner of West and Main Streets, was built by Mr. Baker, on the site of his former building, and purchased by Mr. Turner, and moved from its former location in 1878.

August 10, 1870, about nine o'clock in the evening, a fire was discovered in the rear of the market in the basement of Harlow's post-office building, at the eor- ner of Main and West Streets, but was extinguished, the principal loss being from water and smoke. The market at that time was occupied by A. A. Jenkins.

June 8, 1871, a fire broke out in the building used by Ames Plow Company as the paint-shop and store- house, which was totally destroyed with its contents, together with the large shed filled with hay-tedders, which were also a total loss. The fire communicated to the main building, but was cheeked before any ser- ious damage was done. Benjamin Lincoln Howe, who was fire-ward at that time, contracted at the fire a severe eold which developed into pneumonia, and re- sulted in his death June 24th, Mr. Howe was one of our most prominent citizens, and in his death the village met with a severe loss, he was born at Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, in 1816, and came to this village in 1855, and entered the employ of Nourse, Mason and Company. He succeeded Eusebius S. Clark as deputy sheriff, serving three terms, and was also a member of the State constabulary foree.

November 28, 1871, the livery stable building be- longing to Phelps & Woods, and until the fire oe- cupied by Burgess Taylor, was entirely consumed. Mr. Taylor saved his horses, carriages and harnesses. This building stood in the rear of Merchant's Row, almost directly baek of what is now the American House, and faced south. It was originally the barn at Silas Nutting's place. For several years it was the only livery stable in this village.

Between half-past eleven Saturday night, April 14,

679

AYER.

1872, and six o'clock the next morning, there raged in this village a fire that, when the percentage of our valuation is considered and the proportion of business industries destoyed, is second in its results to no fire in New England. Withiu a period of scarcely more than six hours was destroyed more than forty build- ings, comprising nearly all the business portiou of the village, entailing a net loss of over $100,000. The fire originated on the second floor of a three-story, brick front, wooden building, midway between Pleas- ant and West Streets, and, fanned by astrong westerly wind, was soon beyond the power of our feeble Fire Department to check it. In fact, it simply burnt it- self out. The territory on the northerly side of Main Street, extending from Columbia Street to the Wor- cester & Nashua Railroad, and bounded northerly by Newton Street and land of Dennis McCarty, Harvey Wadsworth, Jason Hill and Levi W. Phelps, that, at sundown Saturday evening, contained nearly half of the wealth of our village, was a tract of smoking ruins Sunday morning. The origin of the fire is unknown. The great amount of loss sustained excited the public to sources of investigations and prosecutions, that in the end proved entirely groundless and utterly insuf- ficient to warrant the jury before whom the case was tried, in returning other than a verdict of not guilty, without even requiring the defendants to introduce any evidence in their behalf.

If the village of Ayer should be pictured, the por- trait must be her main street, and the chauge in the character and description of the buildings which were erected after this fire have been so great that there is nothing that one only acquainted with it as it was before could now recognize.

The lot at the corner of Main Street and the Wor- cester & Nashua Railroad, now owned by Washburn & Woodward, was, prior to the fire, occupied by what was known as Phelps & Harlow's building. This block was erected in 1858 by Levi W. Phelps, William H. Harlow and Charles C. Tarbell. This lot was formerly covered by a large gravel bank, an extension of the one on which Doctor Ebenezer Willis' and E. H. Hayward's houses now stand. A large part of the gravel taken from this lot was used in filling in be- tween Main Street and the Fitchburg Railroad, prin- cipally in the vicinity of what is now Cushing's build- ing. The first building that ever stood upon this lot was a small structure erected by the Peterboro' and Shirley Railroad Company, near what is now known as Camp Stevens, and used for a short time as the Wood's Village station on that road. On account of its fantastic color, the clap-boards being painted alter- nately red and white, it was dubbed "the striped pig," and in this Andrew B. Gardiner kept the post- office when it was first established at South Groton. Subsequently this building was purchased by David Chambers and moved to the easterly part of the vil- lage, and is now an ell of the dwelling-house occupied by James Gilson. The Phelps & Harlow building

was at first occupied on the first floor, first by a grain store and afterwards William H. Harlow, then Har- low & Beunett, and later Harlow & Stuart, as a gro- cery store. The westerly half of the basement was occupied as a market which was kept by various par- ties.

On the second floor, at the time of the fire, was the office of John E. Parsons, M.D., and the office and dwelling of W. H. H. Hines, dentist. On the third floor was the hall occupied by the Caleb Butler Lodge of Masons, of Ayer, and the St. Paul Lodge of Masons, of Groton. The mystic symbol of these lodges upon a gable glass window was one of the most conspicuous objects of the building. In the rear of. the Felch & Harlow building was the lumber-shed of Phelps & Woods, of about the same size and ap- pearance as the one now standing there. Ou the other corner of West and Main Streets was the building of Thomas H. Page, occupied at the time of the fire by C. W. Mason, dry-goods, and W. Wright & Son, fur- niture. The store then owned by Mason was formerly owned by W. H. Sherman, and previous to that by Jehiel Todd.

Next easterly of Page's building was that in which the fire itself originated. This building was con- structed of what, at Camp Stevens, was the restaurant of Charles J. Frye and William B. Fenner. It had been raised to a second story aud a brick front added. At the time of the fire the first floor was occupied by J. F. Boynton, stoves, tin and hardware. Mr. Boynton had succeeded Samuel Reed, who in turn had suc- ceeded Reed & Whitney, the pioneers of that business in this village. The third and a part of the second floor was occupied by L. B. Tuttle, furniture and un- dertaking establishment. The larger part of the sec- ond floor had formerly been a saloon, but, on account of the prohibitory legislation and vigorous prosecu- tion of the State constabulory, was then closed to busi- ness.

The next building to the east was Mrs. E. M. Nut- ting's block, which stood at the corner of Main and Pleasant Streets. It was a two-story frame building with basement, with a broad flight of steps in front. In the basement was Franklin G. Lufkin's fish mar- ket, the entrance to which was upon Pleasant Street. The first floor was occupied by Mrs. Nutting's millin- ery parlors, her family occupying the rest of the build- ing as a residence. In this store the once well-known Workingmen's Union Store was conducted.

On the easterly side of West Street, in the rear of Thomas H. Page's block, was the confectionery store, restaurant and dwelling-house of Abbott A. Jenkins, over which was Jenkins & Wright's Hall. In the rear of this, facing Pleasant Street, was a two-story tenement-house, then occupied by two families, Lu- ther Osborn on the second floor, and Mrs. Rebecca K. Bigelow, now Mrs. Leonard J. Spaulding, on the first floor. This latter building was erccted as a carriage and paint-shop, and subsequently the first floor was

680

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

occupied by Taft & Rich's tag factory, and afterwards as a boot and shoe repair shop. Subsequently the whole building was finished as a tenement-house. The site of this building is now oeeupicd by the resi- dence of Daniel W. Fletcher. Between West and Pleasant Streets, where the residence of William U. Sherwin now is, was the dwelling- house then oeeupied by Mrs. Sewall Gates, formerly Mrs. William S. Nut- ting. This was one of the oldest buildings in the vil- lage. At the corner of Main and Pleasant Streets was the Union Hall building. At that time the west half of first floor was oceupied by L. Sherwin, Yankee notions and books. The other store had been oceu- pied by James C. Tenney since the August previous, J. C. Broek having moved into the new brick block.

Adjoining Union Hall building was the large briek block of four stories that was ereeted by Thomas H. and Alfred Page in 1870. It was thought that the eonflagration eould be stopped here, but as the cov- ings were of wood they soon caught fire and all efforts to save it proved unavailing. In this bloek J. C. Broek occupied two connecting stores as apotheeary and jeweler, having removed there from the Union Hall building; nextto him was the shoe-store of John S. Fernald, and adjoining that the hair-dressing saloon of Joseph St. Catrina. The upper part of this build- ing was constructed for a hotel, but at the time of the fire had not been occupied.

At the corner of Washington and Main Streets, ad- joining Page's Bloek, was the handsome three-story building of George W. Stuart. Mr. Stuart oeeupied the principal part of the first floor with his general store. The balance of that floor was occupied by Doctor Ebenezer Willis, apotheeary and town liquor agent, and E. A. Markham, watehmaker and jeweler. The site of Mr. Stewart's building was that oeeupied by the two first stores ever conducted in this village. The original building was twenty-two by thirty, with a room in the rear fourteen by eighteen, and was oe- cupied by Joseph H. Gardner for store and post-offiee. Subsequently the premises were purchased by David Chambers, who, for a time, conducted the only store in South Groton. This building soon after passed into the hands of Levi Goss, of West Boylston, who leased it to Harvey A. Woods, by whom it was oecu- pied while the building opposite, now known as Cushing's Block, was being ereeted. Mr. Woods moved into his new building July 5, 1853, and Mr. Fanning occupied the site vaeated by Mr. Woods a short time. In January, 1855, George W. Stuart eame from Worcester, and located where Mr. Fanning had left. He raised the building, making a basement and attached an ell for a tenement, and converted the whole front of the building to store purposes. In the basement thus formed was located one of our earliest markets in the village. This building was moved to the rear when the new bloek was erected.

Immediately in the rear of Union Hall building was a dwelling-house that formerly had stood at the

corner of Pleasant and Main Streets, built by Win. S. Nutting, and subsequently owned by David Chambers, and beyond that the handsome residence of George G. Day, and farther north, on the same street, the large two tenement dwelling-house of Levi Sherwin, which at the time of the fire was occupied by Mr. Sherwin and Jolm Burns. Immediately in the rear of the brick block was a large barn of Thomas H. Page's, and near it on Washington Street was a dwell- ing-house owned by him. It may be interesting to here note that the lot occupied by this latter building was the one from which the dwelling-house on the westerly side of West Street, in the rear of Mr. Phelps', was moved one night in 1860, on account of some legal controversy between the owner of the building and the owner of the land.

Just north of this lot, on Washington Street, was the large dwelling-house and barn of Stephen Bar- rett, and next north of that the two-story briek school- house, oceupied by a primary and the intermediate schools. On the opposite corner of Main and Wash- ington Streets was the yellow cottage-house formerly owned by John Park, and occupied at the time of the fire by offices, the principal of which were those of Doctor B. H. Hartwell and John Spaulding, Esq. In the rear of the Park house was a barn, and beyond this the dwelling-house owned by Samuel W. Diek- inson, and on the corner of Washington and Newton Streets the dwelling-house of Mary A. N. Champney. Next east of the Park house on Main Street was the cottage-house owned by Andrew W. Felch. The site of the present Meade Bloek was then oeeu- pied by a large building, the first story of which was briek, and oeeupied by Wheeler & Brown, who were the successors to Robbins & Ames, who immediately succeeded Harvey A. Woods' general store. The upper part of the Mead building was occupied by Asher Peabody as a boarding-house. This building was built in 1867 by Woods Brothers, principally from the material of the Universalist meeting-house of Harvard. The Mead lot was originally occupied by Aibert Worcester's stable, so ealled, which was de- stroyed by fire in 1864.

Where the Fillebrown building now stands was a two-story piteh-roof wooden building, owned by Harvey A. Woods, and at the time of the fire oeeu- pied on the first floor by A. D. Simmons, dry and faney goods, and J. M. Bruce, musical instruments. On the second floor was the office of F. A. Worcester, Esq., dental rooms of J. D. Brown and tailoring es- tablishment of E. A. Flagg and Horaee C. Hovey, watchmaker ; the hall overhead being occupied by the Odd-Fellows and Post 48, Grand Army Republic. It was upon this lot that the old briek sehool-house / formerly stood, and at the southeast corner, for a long time, was the dwelling-house occupied by John Toughcy, that to make place for Woods' bloek, Mr. Woods moved on the " Flat-Iron Square," so called, now occupied by the hose-house of the Alfred Page Hose

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 161

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