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

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1278

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. III > Part 161

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The second meeting of the new town was held April 13, 1859. Under the fourteenth article of the warrant, " to see if the town will defray the expenses necessarily incurred in procuring their act of In- corporation," etc., the town voted to pay the expen- ses, and the treasurer was authorized to borrow, upon the notes of the town, a sufficient sum for the pur- pose, not exceeding $9000, and to pay the same over upon such vouchers as were approved by the sub- committee of the petitioners for incorporation. Bills were immediately presented and paid, amounting to $8779.20. A suit in equity was thereupon brought by Jonathan Frost and others, to obtain a decree compelling a restoration of the money to the town treasury, tlie note having been paid in due time from moneys obtained by the tax levy of 1859. The case was heard before the full bench of the Supreme Court in March, 1862, and an order was issued re- quiring the treasurer to restore to the town treasury the sum paid out with interest, the whole amounting to $10,681.14, but deducting $478.68, which was al- lowed to the plaintiffs in equity. for counsel fees and other expenses incurred in bringing the suit for the benefit of the town. Mr. Adams, the treasurer, was reimbursed by a subscription. Later decisions have gone further than this, in forbidding a town to raise by taxation money to be expended in opposing its own dismemberment.

For much of the early history of the territory now included within the limits of Belmont, one must look to the town from which it came. There was but little common interest among its scattered inhab- itants until they united in the struggle for corporate existence. Ecclesiastically, politically and socially, they were identified with the towns in which they dwelt. In the latter part of the year 1855 the need of a suitable building for public worship became felt to such a degree that January 1, 1856, a paper was put in circulation upon which the sum of $7000 was pledged in amounts ranging from $100 to $500. At a meeting held January 3d, of that year, the follow- ing committee was chosen to build a " meeting- house :" David Mack (chairman), Samuel O. Mead, Charles Stone, Edwin Locke, Albert lliggins, John L. Alexander and J. M. Hollingsworth. In Septem- ber, Mr. Mack resigned his position and J. Oliver Wellington was elected chairman in his stead. The church was located on Concord Turnpike, near the railroad station. It was built by John C. Sawin from plans by Enoch Fuller, and was completed in the fall of 1857. Its total cost was about $13,000. The church was dedicated December 2, 1857, and was occupied as a place of worship by the Belmont Congregational Society (Unitarian) until February 12, 1890, when it was destroyed by fire. At the time of the fire it had become the property of J. V. Fletcher. Nearly two years before it had been decid-

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ed to crect a new building under the leadership of the ladies of the Arachne Club; subscriptions were secured, and entertainments in aid of the enterprise were given, prominent among the subscribers being the firm of J. V. Fletcher & Co. and Edwin F. Atkins, who gave $5000 each. The building commit- tee consisted of J. Henry Fletcher, William E. Stowe, Il. O. Underwood, Mrs. J. M. Hernandez aud John F. Richardson. A site having been selected, nearly opposite the old church, the new building was erected in 1889, at a cost of upwards of $26,000. Hartwell & Richardson were the architects of the new church, and the builder was E. Atwood, Jr. The walls are of field stone, the gables and tower of wood, covered with cement plaster. The tower, at the northerly corner of the building, contains the bell from the old church and a clock provided by the town. Within, the finish is of cypress, the roof of the auditorium being of hard pine. Beautiful me- morial windows are placed in this room. The vestry and ladies' parlor are upon the same floor as the large audience-room, and can be made a part of it when required, and a well-appointed kitchen and dining-room testify to the fact that the modern church supplements its work as a factor in Christian civilization by ministering to the social needs of hu- manity. The church was dedicated April 9, 1890, with appropriate services, including an original hymn by the pastor, and the dedicatory sermon by Rev. Brooke Herford, of Boston.

The pastors of the Society since its organization have been Rev. Amos Smith, from October, 1857, to March, 1872; Rev. Harvey C. Bates, October, 1873, to September, 1876; Rev. Ivory F. Waterhouse, March, 1877, until his death, at the age of fifty years, March 2, 1882; Rev. J. Bradley Gilman, May, 1883, to March, 1886; and Rev. Hilary Bygrave, from November, 1886, to the present time. Rev. Mr. Smith continued to reside in Beimont after his resignation, until his death, September 12, 1887, at the age of sev- enty years.

The first steps to provide for regular public worship at Waverley were taken at a meeting held May 27, 1861. There were present at this meeting Daniel Deshon, John Taggard, John ' Sylvester, - Har- rington, Samuel Greene, William Lowry, Frank Cot- tle, W. A. Blodgett and Seromus Gates.

A committee was appointed to solicit subscriptions to an amount " not less than five hundred dollars," for the support of worship for one year from June I, 1861. At an adjourned meeting held Saturday, June 1st, the committee reported that they should be able to secure the necessary funds, and it was voted to extend an invitation to Rev. Charles Jones to preach for one year in Waverley Hall, at a salary of four hundred dollars. The call was accepted. The following year an attempt was made to substitute the Episcopal for the Congregational form of worship and two subscrip- tion papers were, under the direction of a committee,

presented to the inhabitants of the village. The can- vass which followed resulted in a larger support, both in money and numbers, for Congregational worship, and at a meeting held May 12, 1862, it was voted to continue that form. An effort made at a subsequent meeting to reconsider this vote was not successful.

Rev. Hubbard Winslow was now invited to become the pastor of the little society, and he filled that office until June 1, 1863. For more than a year following the pulpit was supplied by various preachers. Sep- tember 1, 1864, Rev. Josiah W. Turner assumed the pastoral charge at a salary of eight hundred dollars per annum. July 1I, 1865, an ecclesiastical council of the neighboring (Trinitarian Congregational ) churches was held, for the purpose of recognizing "The First Congregational Church of Waverley." The original members of the church were: Rev. Josiah W. Turner, Mrs. Almena W. Turner, Rev. Daniel Butler, Mrs. Jane D. Butler, Daniel Deshon, Mrs. Eunice Deshon, John Sylvester, Mrs. Lucy J. Sylvester, William Jewett, Mrs. Lois M. Jewett, Seromus Gates, Mrs. Lemira H. Gates, William Lowry, Miss Frances M. Grant, J. Douglas Butler, Miss Mary F. Turner. William Lowry was the first deacon of the church, in which office he has been sneceeded by Solyman W. Grant and William Jew- ett.

Rev. Mr. Turner was installed as pastor February 1, 1866, and was dismissed July 1, 1873. His suc- cessors have been : Rev. John L. Ewell, December 10, 1874, to March 16, 1878; Rev. William H. Teel, July 3, 1878, to August 1, 1883 ; and Rev. George P. Gilman, from November 16, 1883, to the date of writ- ing.

The society supporting the church was legally incorporated Feb. 29, 1868, as the "First Congrega- tional Society of Waverley." Active steps were at once taken under the leadership of the pastor for the erection of a house of worship. A lot at the north- east corner of White and North Streets was donated by the Waverley Company, subscriptions were pledged and the corner-stone of a church was laid August 12, 1869. The building was erected from plans drawn by lammatt & J. E. Billings, and was dedicated Janu- ary 13, 1870. The style of the church is Early Gothic. Its plan is a quadrilateral with a bell-tower in the corner and is divided into church and vestry in connection. The church proper has an open tim- ber roof and windows of painted and stained-glass of simple design. All the finish and pews are of oak, and the pulpit aud furniture are of black walnut. The seating capacity is about two hundred and twen- ty. It may be remarked in passing, that the Sab- bath-school at Waverley antedates the church by sev- eral years.

The Waverley Christian Union was organized in December, 1882. Its membership consists of those who contribute to the support of the union and sub- scribe to the following covenant :

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" In the love of the truth and in the spirit of Jesus Christ, we join for the worship of God and the service of man."

The society has held a regular preaching service and a Sabbath-school in Waverley Hall since the date of its organization. The pastor of the Belmont Congregational Society has thus far been the pastor of the union. Thirty-four persons were baptized by Rev. J. B. Gilman at a service held November 1, 1885. Additions have been made to the society from time to time, and the erection of a house of worship has been contemplated, and will be accomplished in the not far distant future.

All Saints' Guild (Episcopal) was organized on All Saints' Eve, October 31, 1887, at the home of Miss Lucy A. Hill, Waverley. For nearly two years previous to its organization, Rev. Edward A. Rand, of Watertown, conducted occasional cottage services, the first of these being held at the residence of Mr. H. A. Scranton, Waverley, on Good Friday evening, April, 1886. Sunday afternoon services were held during the summers of 1887 and 1888 at Miss Hill's residence; evening cottage-service has been held once a month on a week-day since the formation of the Guild, and latterly, Rev. Mr. Rand, assisted by Rev. Thomas Bell, of Arlington, has conducted a Sunday afternoon service once a month at the Town Hall, Belmont. The present officers of the Guild are : Rev. Edward A. Rand, president; Mrs. H. A. Scran- ton, vice-president ; Miss E. J. Woodward, secretary ; Mrs. A. A. Adams, treasurer, and an executive com- mittee of eight members.

The families in the northeast part of the town have very largely continued to find their church-home in the town of Arlington. A mission enterprise in the Mount Auburn district of Watertown has also re- ceived liberal support from residents of Belmont.

The Roman Catholics in the town, although main- taining a Sabbath-school for a number of years, have been connected with parishes in Arlington, Cambridge and Watertown until a very recent date. After hold- ing regular services at the Town Hall for some months, a site was selected for a church on Common Street, near School Street, and subscriptions were be- gun for the expenses of erection in May, 1886. The work was pushed forward rapidly under the super- vision of a building committee, consisting of Edward Quigley, James Hart, W. J. Reed, J. F. Leonard and C. J. McGinniss. The first Mass in the church was celebrated June 5, 1887, and it was dedicated March 31, 1889, by Right Rev. John J. Williams, Archbishop of Boston, assisted by a large number of the clergy of the diocese. The dedication sermon was by Rev. D. O'Callaghan, of South Boston, and an address was given by Rev. Robert J. Fulton, of Boston College. The pastor of the church, which bears the name of St. Joseph's, is Rev. Thomas H. Shahan.

Upon the territory incorporated into the town of Bel- mont were three school-houses, one on Brighton

Street (still standing on the same location), one on Washington Street and one at the corner of Beech and North Streets, at Waverley. In the building on Brighton street were two schools, the higher of which, the North Grammar, was taught by Mr. Arthur P. Smith. The other buildings each contained a primary school. A fifth school, called the South Grammar, was at once organized in the Washington Street school-house and placed under the charge of Mr. David Maek. The reputation of both of these gentle- men as instructors testifies to the educational advan- tages enjoyed at even this early day in our history by the youth of the town. Arrangements were also made by which pupils already admitted to the High Schools might complete, withont change of school, the course of study they had entered upon. Another school- house, on Grove Street, was at once provided for, the scholars in the southeast portion of the town remain- ing until the completion of this building in the schools of Watertown. Mr. Smith resigned his posi- tion in the North Grammar School in 1864, and the school was, a few months later, reduced to an inter- mediate grade upon the establishment of a new Cen- tral Grammar School. Ill health necessitated the re- tirement of Mr. Maek in September, 1861. ITis sue- cessors were Rev. James Thurston, 1861 ; William W. Colburn, 1861-62; Augustus W. Wiggin, 1862- 63, and De Forest Safford, 1863-65, when the school was merged in the Central Grammar School, of which Eben H. Davis became the first principal. In the following year this school took the name of the High School, which it has since retained, although in 1869 it was, for a few months, reduced to a grammar grade. Mr. E. H. Davis resigned in 1870 to accept a superintendent's position. His successor was Thomas W. Davis, who was directed, in taking charge of the school, to restore it to its higher grade. Mr. T. W. Davis resigned in 1881 to engage in teaching in the city of Cambridge, but has continued to reside in Bel- mont. Charles I. Clay was principal in 1881, and in December of that year was succeeded by the present principal, Henry H. Butler. The liberality of the town in educational matters is illustrated by the fact that this school has been maintained for so many years with no requirement therefor under the laws of the Commonwealth. Its sessions for two years were held in the vestry of the Congregational Church. The High School building on School Street was erected in 1867 at a cost of $15,000, and was dedicated December 2d of that year. The hall in its lower story was occu- pied by the town for its meetings until 1882, after which both stories were devoted to school purposes. The Washington Street building was moved to the same enclosure as the High School in 1867, and is still in service.

The school-house at the corner of Beech and North Streets was burned in 1872. A new brick building was erected the next year in a more central location at the corner of North and Waverley Streets, the cost

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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

of building and land being about $16,000. Meanwhile, the school was accommodated in the vestry of the Waverley Congregational Church.

A school-house on Cushing Street, in the Mt. Au- burn District, was built in 1871. This and the build- ing on Grove Street were purchased by Cambridge in 1880, when the territory adjacent to Fresh Pond was annexed to that city. The teachers whose ser- vices to the town have continued through the longest term of years are Miss Hannah B. McGinniss and Miss Harriet A. Hill, who were appointed in 1870, and Miss Etta C. Leonard in 1871. The labors of the teachers in the schools have been, with but slight exception, faithful and self-denying, and it is pleasant to record that they have been appreciated. An unusually large proportion of those employed have been persons ofsuccessful experience elsewhere. Skilled superinten- dence of the schools began with the school year of 1890, the first incumbent of the office of superinten- dent being 1. F. Hall, who also superintends the schools of Leominster, devoting to each town a fixed amount of time per week. A vote of the town at the annual meeting of 1890, was favorable to the erection of a new building, to embody the advanced ideas of the day, in respect to ventilation and general sanitary arrangements, and to provide accommodations for a largely increased number of pupils, but the measure has as yet failed to be carried into effect, motions to appropriate the money necessary for its erection not having received the two-thirds vote which is required when payment is to extend through a series of years.

The Public Library dates its existence from the year 1868. Much of the credit for its inception belongs to the late David Mack, who circulated the original subscription papers for a "Free Public Li- brary," was one of the Library Committee and the first librarian. With him, by vote of the town, were associated upon the committee the chairman of the Board of Selectmen, the chairman of the School Committee, and Rev. Amos Smith and Rev. J. W. Turner, "the two settled clergymen of the town, ex- officio." Rev. Mr. Smith declined to serve and the chairman of the School Committee resigned his position upon that board and so ceased to be a mem- ber of the Library Committee. The first report of the committee, made by Mr. Mack, showed the num- ber of volumes in the library to be 817, of which 667 were acquired by purchase and 118 were received from the library of the Farmers' Club. A room in the new High School building, adjacent to the hall occupied by the town for its meetings, was assigned to the library, and the town appropriated $500 towards its organization and maintenance. The room was open for the delivery of books one hour each week. In 1872 the librarian made his second report, showing an increase to 1650 volumes, and including an earnest appeal for enlarged accommodations, which was renewed in the following year. At the annual meeting in 1873 the town voted to place the

library in the charge of trustees, and one of the first steps taken by the new officers was to remove the library to a larger room in the basement of the Uni- tarian Church. Two members of the board have served upon it from its organization to the present time, and the term of office has from the beginning been, by election, for three years. Mr. Mack resigned the position of librarian in 1876 and was succeeded by Walter H. Stone. The catalogue of 1877 contains the names of 2849 volumes. The purposes of the management were concisely stated in the report for that year. " Believing that a few good books thor- oughly read, are more beneficial than any conrse of reading more extended in surface, but lacking in depth, the trustees commend, to younger readers especially, that they learn to draw deep from 'the wells of English undefiled' of our standard writers, while at the same time provision is made for gratifying the taste of those who read for recreation, and derive profit therefrom incidentally." In the report for the year 1881 the trustees congratulated the citizens upon the approaching completion of the new Town Hall and Library Building, and acknowledged a donation of $1000 from an anonymous "well-wisher of the Public Library." The town increased two- fold in the following year its annual appropriation for the library. This appropriation has, since that time, averaged nearly $1000, including the amount returned to the town from the " Dog Tax," after the damages done by these animals in the county have been set- tled. The removal of the library to its present quarters was made in the summer of 1882, at which time a reading-room was also instituted and open to the public two afternoons and evenings each week and for about three hours every Sunday. Mr. Stone resigned his position in 1883, and Mr. Edward W. Brown, the present librarian, was appointed in his stead. In 1886 the privilege was granted to the High School of the use of the library, by allowing the principal to draw from it twenty-five volumes at any one time, to be used in the school at his discretion. The library now contains 6700 volumes, a large pro- portion being works of standard value, and in the reading-room are to be found the leading popular periodicals of the day.

The hall in the High School building not being conveniently located, and being totally inadequate to the needs of the town, preliminary. steps were taken in March, 1881, looking to the erection of a Town Hall and Public Library building. In April of that year an appropriation was made by unanimous vote of the town and a Building Committee appointed, con- sistiug of W. J. Underwood, J. V. Fletcher, J. S. Kendall, D. F. Learned, Varnum Frost, S. S. C. Rus- sell and W. E. Stowe.

A lot, eligibly located and containing upwards of 40,000 square feet, was presented to the town by Elisha Atkins. The structure erected upon this site is so complete in all its appointments that it has been

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the model for similar buildings in thriving towns of the Commonwealth. It is of Queen Anne archi- tecture, built of brick and terra cotta, situated at the junction of Pleasant Street and Concord Avenue. In a basement, wholly above the natural surface of the ground, which slopes toward the south, are the rooms of the officers of the town, with an apartment for chemical engine and hose-carriage at the rear. Upon the main floor above, lighted from the north, is the Town Hall, with its gallery, lobby and ante- rooms, stage and dressing-rooms, the latter being in a half-story under the stage and above the engine-room. The chief entrance to the building is under a broad, deeply-recessed arch, in the southwestern front, the place of honor being given to a bronze tablet bearing the names of the Belmont heroes who fell in the War of the Rebellion.

A side entrance npon thesame wall of the building admits to a corridor between the main hall and the rooms above the town offices which are occupied by the Public Library. These rooms consist of a waiting- room, in which is the desk of the librarian, separated by a wooden screen from the reading-room at the front of the building, with fire-place and alcove in the circular tower, and a book-room which is reached by a passage-way behind the librarian's desk, and which has space for about 15,000 volumes. The architect was Henry W. Hartwell, of Boston, and the cost of the building was nearly $50,000. It was dedicated June 22, 1882, on one of those perfect days which nature provides in the loveliest month of the year. The for- mal exercises of dedication consisted of prayer by Rev. W. H. Teel; presentation of the keys of the building by W. J. Underwood of the Building Com- mittee; their reception by Josiah S. Kendall, of the Board of Selectmen, and T. W. Davis, of the Trustees of the Library ; the " patriarchal blessing" of the Commonwealth, by His Excellency, John D. Long ; and short addresses by President Robert R. Bishop, of the State Senate ; Henry W. Muzzey, of Cambridge, and Dr. J. C. Harris, of Arlington, representing at the time those places in the General Court; W. H. Ingraham, of Watertown ; Mansur W. Marsh and Rev. Daniel Butler, of Belmont. The exercises were interspersed with music by the Belmont Choral So- ciety. An extract from the remarks of one of the speakers, as printed in an account of the proceedings, sets forth so clearly what may be called the motive of the building, that it is reproduced here :

" It has been said that, at the creation, Eve was taken, not from man's head to be his ruler, nor from his feet to be his slave, but from his side as his equal, his companion and his friend. So, upon the same level, have you placed the Public Library, represen- tative of the education to be derived from books, and this hall, in which the lessons are to be taught by liv- ing men. Here we are to be developed by intercourse with the minds of our fellows; there we may hold communion with the spirits of those long passed away.

There we can learn the history of the past ; here we ourselves are to be makers of history, while we exercise the highest powers of human government in the meetings of a pure democracy regulating its own inter- nal affairs. In both places we are to instruct and train our children in the duties and responsibilities of citizenship. But the fitness does not end thus. On yonder tablet, without the doors of this building, are the names of those who, in the discharge of such re- sponsibilities, gave their lives for their country, and we honor their memory to-day. Long be it ere the land is called upon to undergo another baptism of blood. But in the peaceful walks of daily life, where, nevertheless, hard battles may be fought and victories gained, or on the field of death, if God so wills, may one and all who gather here to stand beside us or fol- low in our foot-steps, so live and act and so die as to prove how faithfully and thoroughly the great lessons of duty and patriotism have been taught within these walls."

A promenade concert in the evening closed the pleasures of the day, during which the whole town bad kept " open house," and all seemed to rejoice in the final removal of the stigma affixed by a speaker in the Legislature a quarter of a century before, when he reproached the people for asking for incorpor- ation as a town before they had within their limits " a church, a public-hall, or even a blacksmith-shop."

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

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co Number of Pages: 1278

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & co
Number of Pages: 1278