USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newburyport > History of Newburyport, Mass., 1764-1905, Volume I > Part 11
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129
TOWN AND COURT HOUSE
the said County and the Inhabitants of the town of Newbury to be improved by both, and in such manner and of such di- mensions as in said vote, reference thereto being had, is par- ticularly specified, should be erected and built in or adjoining to some part of Fish street in said Newbury, and whereas the same court of sessions then voted the sum of Two Hundred Pounds for the purpose aforesaid, which together with what was and is to be raised by subscription was thought then suf- ficient for the Building and finishing the said house," a com- mittee, consisting of Daniel Farnham, Michael Dalton, Jona-
JAIL AND JAIL-KEEPER'S HOUSE.
than Bayley, Thomas Woodbridge and others, was appointed to purchase the land " for the uses and purposes above ex- pressed and for no other use or purpose whatever."
July 7, 1762, Joseph Clements conveyed about eleven rods of land adjoining his dwelling house on Fish street, now State street, to John Choate, Esq., treasurer of Essex county.1 On this lot of land a two-story wooden building was erected. When Newburyport was incorporated, in 1764, the land and building were within the limits of the new town.
1 Essex Deeds, book III, leaf III; History of Newbury (Currier), p. 243.
I30
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
The selectmen of Newburyport agreed, April 4, 1769, to allow James Pettingell six shillings for taking care of the town house and sweeping the same. May 21, 1771, the selectmen were authorized and directed to finish the lower room, and the same day a committee, consisting of Daniel Farnham and John Lowell, was appointed to confer with the court of gen- eral sessions in regard to finishing the upper room.I
January 25, 1772, the selectmen paid Noah Parker " 51 95 6d for an iron stove put up in the Town House"; and May 13, 1773, the inhabitants of Newburyport voted " that the lower part of the Town House be used as a Watch House for the present summer season and that the Selectmen look out a Suitable Place for a Watch House and make report at the next meeting."2
The watch house was probably built in 1774 on the easterly side of what is now known as Market square. The landing place on which it was built was laid out by the selectmen May II, 1771. A plan of this landing place, drawn by Dudley Col- man, surveyor, January 30, 1775, and reproduced in the half- tone print on the opposite page, gives the location of the watch house at that date.3
The upper story of the town house was used as a court house until the building at the head of Green street, on the mall, was erected.
[October 2, 1804] voted that a come be chosen on the part of the town, to be joined to such come as the Hone Court of Ses may see proper to choose, who shall be authorized to contract for & build a Court house between the Mall & frog pond, directly fronting the head of Green street : to appoint one or more of their number or such other person or persons as they may think proper to superintend the building of the Court house under their joint direction.4
The new edifice, designed by Charles Bulfinch, architect, of Boston, was completed in 1805. It was a stately building with an open portico, or colonade in front, with brick pillars and arches supporting the second story, and the pediment above
1 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 152.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 169.
3 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 236.
4 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 306.
North North 15 degrees Gast
North 10 degrees Gast to the Channell of Keren
Patri
South 80 East 20 feet
Berg: Greenleafis? Warehouse and Wharf.
No 13 East 337
North west
Amuse.
20 feet
North 26 Cast 8/2 feet &: Nº 25. East 69 feet. Watch House South 67 degrees Gast 179 feet
Pery" Greenleaftig" Store.
Retenu 7. 3
2 feet 7 inches
Merrimack Street 3 feet wide)
PLAN OF MARKET LANDING SHOWING LOCATION OF WATCH HOUSE IN 1775.
North 5 degrees East 181 feet to the westerly corner of P.J.
I32
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
it, where in bold relief, stood a female figure, representing Jus- tice, holding a pair of scales in her right hand. A pencil sketch of the court house, made by the late Charles M. Hodge, is reproduced herewith.
For nearly thirty years, town meetings were held in the court house, and a school for girls was kept in one of the lower rooms. April 8, 1834, a committee, consisting of Ebenezer Mosely, Charles H. Balch and Henry Frothingham, was ap-
TOWN AND COURT HOUSE, 1805.
pointed to sell all the town's interest in the building, and on the third day of June following they conveyed the property to the county of Essex.1
In 1853, the court house was remodeled. The old roof was taken down and replaced by a new one with heavy cornices and brackets. The brick arches in front were closed up, the figure of Justice was removed, and the entire building covered
1 Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., p. 300; Essex Deeds, book 276, leaf II4.
I33
TOWN AND COURT HOUSE
with mastic.' These alterations, made at a cost of thirteen thousand dollars, have obliterated all traces of architectural beauty and converted the court house into a plain and sub- stantial edifice, convenient and commodious, perhaps, but other- wise unattractive.
November 9, 1807, the inhabitants of Newburyport voted to confirm an agreement, made by a committee appointed for that pur- pose, to pay the treas- urer of Essex county seven hundred and fifty dollars for its interest in the old court house on State street.2 A quit- claim deed was duly exe- cuted and recorded April 30, 1808.3 In order to perfect the title the town voted, January 12, 1809, to purchase the fee of the land from Thomas Somerby, "he having secured it for the pro- tection of the town."4 THE FIGURE OF JUSTICE.
April 25, 1809, a committee, appointed by the town of Newburyport, conveyed to Stephen Toppan, Amos Atkinson, John Peabody, Stephen Bartlett and Josiah Bartlett, for a term of one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine years, the land on the corner of State and Essex streets, with the building thereon; the persons above named agreeing to erect on the premises, at their own expense, previous to the first day of May, 1810, a substantial brick building with a hall in
1 The carved wooden statue, taken from the court house in 1853, is now in the possession of Frederick S. Mosely, Esq., at Indian Hill. A photographic copy of the statue is reproduced in the above half-tone print.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 354.
3 Essex Deeds, book 186, p. 108.
4 Essex Deeds, book 186, p. 107.
J34
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
the third story, and two small rooms adjoining, for the sole use and benefit of the town of Newburyport.'
In May, 1809, the old court and town house was taken down and a hall, with offices and stores on the first floor, erected on the site. April 13, 1835, the selectmen of Newburyport were authorized to sell or lease the selectmen's room and the watch house on Essex street,2 and April 18, 1845, they were instructed " to sell or cause to be sold at public auction all the interest and title the Town has in the Town Hall at the corner of State and Essex streets, and that they give a quit claim deed of the same." May 1, 1845, the building with the land under and adjoining the same was conveyed to Thomas Davis.3
MIDDLE SHIPYARD AND MARKET SQUARE.
Although the common and undivided land in Newburyport was claimed by the proprietors of the town of Newbury, the landing place extending from what is now Market square to the channel of the Merrimack river, was laid out as a town way by the selectmen, and accepted by the legal voters of the town March 2, 1772.
At a Meeting of the Select Men of Newburyport May the eleventh A. D. 1771 they lay'd out a Town Way or Landing leading from Merri- mack Street to the Channel of Merrimack River, bounded easterly partly on Land of Benjamin Greenleaf, Esq., and partly on Land of Capt Patrick Tracy, and bounded Westerly on Land of James McHard, Esq., beginning at Merrimack street and running by Mc'Hard's said Land unto the northerly Side of his Wharf or Brestwork and from thence on a Strait Line North ten Degrees to the said Channel including all the Land and Flats between said Bounds from Merrimack Street aforesaid to the Channel of the River aforesaid not already laid out as a Town Way, Landing or Highway.
Also all the Land or Flatts between the aforesaid westerly Line and Land possessed by Josiah Titcomb except such Land as the said McHard owns.
(Signed) JOHN STICKNEY MATTHEW PERKINS TRISTRAM DALTON JOHN LOWELL
Selectmen of said torun 4
1 Essex Deeds, book 194, leaf 216.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., p. 328.
3 Essex Deeds, book 353, leaf 288.
4 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., pp. 157, 169 and 236.
I35
MIDDLE SHIPYARD AND MARKET SQUARE
The land taken for this way or landing was then known as the middle shipyard.1 Subsequently, low sheds or shambles, for the sale of butchers' meat, were built on a portion of the land, and when they were removed the market house was erected there.
At the March term of the court of general sessions, held in Ipswich in 1772, Samuel Gerrish and Philip White presented a petition praying for the discontinuance of the way or landing, and notice was served on the inhabitants of Newburyport, who voted to employ counsel to defend the suit.
[June 20, 1772] Upon reading the Petition of Samuel Gerrish & Phillip White, Esqs., to the Court of General Sessions of the Peace for the County of Essex praying the Discontinuance of a Town Way lay'd out by the Selectmen in May A. D., 1771 and accepted by this Town at their annual Meeting in March last to which Petition the Town are notified to make answer at said Court of Sessions on the second Tuesday of July next
Voted that Daniel Farnham Esq, & John Lowell Esq, be agents & attorneys Jointly & Severally for the Town to make answer to said Petitions & to defend the Town in that respect thro the due course of the Law till the same shall be determined and that the said agents or attorneys be authorized to substitute any other agents or attorneys under them if need be.2
At the July term of the court, held in Salem, Daniel Farn- ham and John Lowell appeared as counsel for the inhabitants of Newburyport, and by agreement the case was continued until the month of September following, when after a hearing the court found that Philip White, one of the petitioners, had no just cause for complaint, and, in the month of December following, Samuel Gerrish having failed to appear in support of the petition, it was dismissed.3
Early in the spring of 1787, Stephen Sweazy, and others associated with him, asked permission " to build a ship at the public landing near the Revd Mr. Cary's meeting house," and
1 A plan of this way or landing, recorded in Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 236, is reproduced on page 131.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., p. 159.
3 Records of the court of general sessions (1764-1777), pp. 261-263.
I36
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
on the thirtieth day of April the inhabitants of Newbury- port decided that they had no legal right to grant the prayer of the petitioners, but voted to make no objection to the building of a ship at the place designated, nor claim com- pensation for the land if used for that purpose."
September 18, 1794, the selectmen were authorized to build "at the Town's expense a convenient shed on the Town's landing back of the shambles for the purpose of a Fish Market."2
Timothy Dexter proposed, July 2, 1795 "to erect at his own expense a handsome brick building for a market house on the town's landing between Judge Greenleaf's and Mr. Andrew Frothingham's land ;"3 but the Committee appointed to con- sider the propriety of accepting this offer reported "that the land upon which said building is proposed to be erected is laid out and established by the Town as a public way or land- ing" and that the town therefore had no authority to permit a building to be erected there.4
At the April term of the court of general sessions, held in Salem in 1797, a committee appointed by the proprietors of the town of Newbury submitted the following statement and attempted to recover, by a suit-at-law, damages for the use and occupation of the middle shipyard :-
The memorial of the subscribers a Committee for the Proprietors of com- mon and undivided lands in Newbury & Newburyport humbly shows that from the first Settlement of the said Town of Newbury the said Proprietors were possessed and held in their own right the fee and improvement of a certain piece of land and flatts within the bounds of Newburyport known by the name of the Middle Shipyard; that in the year one thousand seven hundred & seventy-one, on the eleventh day of May, the said town of Newburyport laid down the said land & flatts for the use of said town . & accepted the same on March second, one thousand seven hundred &
1 Newburyport Town Records, vol. I., pp. 486, 487.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 98.
May 2, 1795, the selectmen were authorized to erect a fish market near the lower long wharf (Town Records, vol. II., p. 118); and, March 22, 1797, Moses Hoyt, Nathan Hoyt and John Somerby were appointed a committee to build one at the north end of the town (vol. II., p. 145).
3 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 117.
4 "' Ould Newbury," p. 623.
I37
MIDDLE SHIPYARD AND MARKET SQUARE
seventy-two & have never made any Compensation to said proprietors therefor and now refuse to do it.
Your memorialists therefore pray your Honours that a Jury may be summoned in due form of Law to discontinue said way & restore to the proprietors their property (we conceiving it quite unnecessary for the use of said town) or to assess the damages to said Proprietors according to Law & as in duty bound shall ever pray,
DAVID DOLE JUNR Com for the Prors of Common
SAMUEL NOYES & Undivided Lands in Newbury
JONA GREENLEAF & Newburyport
Hon. Theophilus Bradbury, counsel for the inhabitants of Newburyport, claimed that inasmuch as the town way or land- ing had been laid out for more than twenty years the petition- ers were not entitled to damages. The court decided in favor of the defendants and the petition was dismissed.
At the April term of the court of general sessions, held in Newburyport in 1799, the proprietors of common and undi- vided lands again asked that the public ways in the vicinity of Frog pond and the middle shipyard be discontinued, but the prayer of the petitioners was not granted.2
At that date the meeting house of the First Religious soci- ety stood in the centre of the triangular lot of land now known as Market square. At a parish meeting held October 19, 1798, a committee was appointed " to see what place or places can be obtained whereon to build a meeting house and on what terms and what sum may be obtained for the old meeting house and land under and adjoining the same."3
January 7, 1800, the inhabitants of Newburyport " voted to choose a committee to apply to the General Court at their next session for the grant of a Lottery to enable the Town to purchase the ground under & adjoining to the meeting house belonging to the First Religious Society in this Town."4 The petition was presented in the house of representatives on the twenty-fifth day of January following ; and on the tenth day of February the petitioners were granted "leave to withdraw."5
1 Records of the court of general sessions (1796-1803), p. 25.
2 Records of the court of general sessions ( 1796-1803), pp. 104-107.
3 " Ould Newbury," p. 440.
4 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 209.
5 Journal of the House of Representatives, vol. 20, pp. 230, 285.
MEETING HOUSE IN MARKET SQUARE, FROM A MODERN PEN-AND-INK SKETCH.
I39
MIDDLE SHIPYARD AND MARKET SQUARE
May first, the selectmen of Newburyport were notified that the meeting house with the land under and adjoining the same could be purchased for eight thousand dollars ; and July tenth the inhabitants of the town voted to pay forty-four hundred dollars, the balance, thirty-six hundred dollars, to be raised by private subscription. A deed of conveyance was duly signed and executed on the eighteenth day of July following,' and the next day the selectmen laid out the land for a town way.2
[August 18, 1800] voted to allow & approve of a way laid out by the Selectmen on the 19th July last by the name of Market square & said lay- ing out be recorded.3
Services were held in the meeting house for the last time on Sunday, September 27, 1801, and the building was taken down during the next ten days.
The selectmen were authorized, October twelfth, to employ a suitable person to dig a well in Market square and provide a pump for the accommodation of the public.4
All the buildings on the southerly and westerly sides of the square were destroyed by the great fire in 1811, and some of them were not rebuilt until ten or fifteen years later. Meanwhile the erection of a market house for the accommo- dation of dealers in meat, poultry, butter and cheese was strongly urged. In the warrant for a town meeting to be held March 12, 1822, the following article was inserted :-
To see if the Town will vote to remove the Shambles on the north side of Market Square and erect at the expense of the Town, or allow individ- uals to erect at their own expense, a suitable Market house on the spot above mentioned, provided the claim of certain proprietors of undivided lands in the Town of Newbury can be reasonably settled & to take all measures for carrying the same into effect.5
A committee, consisting of Edmund Bartlet, Henry Froth- ingham, Ebenezer Mosely, Abraham Williams and Caleb Cushing, was appointed to consider the advisability of erect-
1 Essex Deeds, book 167, leaf 20.
2 The sketch on the opposite page is not an exact representation of the old meeting house. It is taken from a drawing recently made by Lewis J. Bridgman of Salem, Mass.
3 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 230.
4 Newburyport Town Records, vol. II., p. 252.
5 Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., p. 112.
140
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
ing a market house on the site mentioned.1 April 11, 1822, they reported as follows :-
Your committee have attended to the subject committed to them and find that, in the year 1771, the spot on which the shambles now stand was laid down by the selectmen and adopted by the town as a town way or landing, for which reason they recommend that the selectmen cause the shambles and other incumbrances upon said landing to be removed within thirty days.
They find further that on the division of the water lots in the Town of Newbury, as completed in the year 1722, certain of the lots were left for the Town use, among which is the landing in question, and that the Pro- prietors of undivided lands in Newbury and Newburyport claim the fee of said landing, the use and occupation of which as a public way has belonged to the Town of Newbury from the time of the division of the water lots above mentioned until the incorporation of this Town & since then to the town of Newburyport. On application to the Proprietors Committee to see whether they would consent to relinquish their claim on the aforesaid landing, they refused to do it unless the Town would pay them one thousand dollars, for which sum they offered to give a quit claim deed, under certain conditions, of all the landings in Newbury- port and other lands on which they pretended to have a claim ; and there- fore although your comee are not fully satisfied of the validity of said claims, yet as they think it would not be perfectly safe to place a build- ing on land so situated, which is besides a public way, they request to be discharged from the consideration of the subject of Erecting a Market House.2
This report was accepted, and the town then voted "that the selectmen cause the shambles and other incumbrances on the town way or landing, by Market square, to be removed within thirty days."3 On the fifth day of August following, the selectmen were authorized "to build a Market house of brick, one story high, on the site where the shambles lately stood."4
[March 24, 1823] voted that the selectmen take such measures respect- ing finishing the Market house as they shall judge most for the interest of the town and determine what farther use shall be made of the same.5
1 Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., p. 115.
2 Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., p. 119 ; "Ould Newbury," p. 623. Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., p. 117. Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., p. 126. Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., p. 131.
I41
THE BEACON OAK
A committee, consisting of Stephen W. Marston, Caleb Cushing and John Porter, recommended the adoption of the following preamble and resolutions which were approved and allowed by the court of general sessions at the April term, 1823 :-
Whereas the Square, called Market Square in Newburyport has been laid out at much expense for the general use and convenience of the citi- zens and is frequented by persons from the country for the purpose of exhibiting their produce for sale ; and whereas the space required for this and other purposes is liable to be occupied by fishermen, rum carts and itinerant butchers ; Therefore it is hereby voted and ordered
Ist That no person shall expose for sale on any part of Market square any kind of spirits or other drink, by retail, under a penalty of two dollars for each and every offence.
2nd That no butcher shall expose any meats for sale in any part of said square under a penalty of five dollars for each and every offence.
3rd That no person shall expose any kind of fish for sale in any part of said square, or the immediate vicinity of the same, excepting at the fish house provided for that purpose, under a penalty of two dollars for each and every offence.
The committee further recommend that it be voted and ordered that the Bye Law passed in 1797 regulating the tolling of bells at funerals be repealed and that instead thereof the following law be substituted, viz : Voted and Ordered that the regulation of the tolling of bells at funerals be left to the Selectmen.I
The plans for the market house, when finally agreed upon, provided for the erection of a two-story brick building. The upper story was used as a chair manufactory for several years. In 1834, the town " voted to finish the hall of the Market house, provided the interest in the Court House, shall be sold to the satisfaction of the town."2
THE BEACON OAK.
When Newburyport was incorporated, in 1764, a large oak tree, standing on the westerly side of High street, between Bartlett's lane, now Winter street, and Boardman's lane, now Boardman street, was known as the "Beacon Oak." For
' Newburyport Town Records, vol. III., p. 131.
2 " Ould Newbury," pp. 624, 625.
I42
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT
many years it was a prominent landmark and a guide for mariners coming into port. Firmly attached to its massive trunk was a long pole, or staff, surmounted by an empty cask. At the beginning of the nineteenth century a few persons interested in navigation took down the weather worn and decayed cask and replaced it with a new one made by Mr. Peters, a reliable and skillful cooper. At a later date, the model of a ship that turned with the wind and served as a weather vane was placed above this cask. December 8, 1820, the following notice was published in the Newburyport Herald :-
To all whom it may concern :
The Beacon on High Street with the ship on top, on land owned by the late Mrs. Wyer has become so dangerous by the decayed state of the rope that unless properly secured by those interested, it will, in a few days, be taken down.
No definite action in regard to removing the beacon was taken until three years later. The following notice appeared in the Herald November 25, 1823 :-
As the Beacon in High Street has become dangerous from its age, and as no person will own it, this is to give notice, if no objection is made to the subscriber, it will be removed. A. GILMAN.
The tree remained standing for several years after the bea- con was removed but it gradually lost its strength and vigor, and Sunday morning, July 21, 1833, it fell to the ground with a heavy crash.1
WORK HOUSE.
When Newburyport was incorporated, in 1764, the work house, then standing on the southeast side of King (now Fed- eral) street, was conveyed by a committee, appointed by the town of Newbury, to the inhabitants of Newburyport.2
March 10, 1784, a committee, consisting of Stephen Hooper, William Bartlet and John Tracy, with the board of
1 Newburyport Herald, July 23, 1833.
2 History of Newbury (Currier), p. 244.
143
WORK HOUSE
selectmen, was chosen to build a new work house " on land where the present work house stands unless they can procure a more suitable place ; "' and a few days later this committee was authorized to raise for the purpose named "a sum not exceeding one thousand pounds, provided it can be obtained without interest for one year."
On the seventeenth day of August following, the building of a new work house was again brought to the attention of the legal voters of the town, and a committee was appointed to select a convenient location. This committee reported, March 16, 1785, in favor of erecting a building one hundred feet long, twenty-five feet wide, and two and one-half stories high at the westerly end of Frog pond. This report was not satis- factory to a majority of the legal voters of the town, and fur- ther consideration of the subject was indefinitely postponed.2
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