History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 192

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1534

USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 192

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Its house of worship, situated on the corner of Central Avenue and Winthrop Street, is of wood, with freestone base and steps, and a single lofty spire one hundred and sixty-five feet in height. The first floor contains an ample vestry, class-rooms, dressing-rooms, and kitchen. The auditorium, on the second floor, is sixty feet long by seventy-five feet in breadth, finished in ash and black walnut, lighted by large stained-glass windows, with sittings for seven hundred and twenty people, exclusive of one hundred more in the gallery at one end. This room has been the scene of many union meetings, and on occasions has accommodated one thousand persons. Its walls are delicately tinted and the frescoing very chaste. This edifice cost $45,000, and entailed a heavy debt upon the society. Previous to 1881 special efforts had reduced this to $29,000, and during that year, by the work of a debt- raising society, the whole remaining amount was pledged and paid, and the church thus relieved from the burdensome and harassing obligations which had so long hampered and limited its usefulness. Of this | amount, $15,000 was pledged at one meeting con- ducted by Bishop Randolph S. Foster. The Ladies' Circle and the Sunday-school aided nobly in this work, the former raising $2800, the latter $575. By authority of the Northeast Conference the collections of the year from the churches of the Boston District, amounting to $850, were also contributed, and subscrip- tions were made by friends in those churches aggre- gating thousands of dollars.

The original furnishings of the church, including settees, cushions, and carpets, to the cost of $1500, were provided by the Ladies' Circle.

moved to Deacon Hammond's Hall, and engaged as pastor Rev. T. B. Forbush, who remained until the following March. In June, 1868, a permanent organ- ization was formed under the name of the Christian Fraternity. The next year this name was changed to that of the Second Congregational Society of Hyde Park, which in turn was, in May, 1880, superseded by the present title.

In June, 1868, Rev. William Hamilton was in- vited to become the regular preacher of the society, and he continued as such about a year, services during that time being held in Hamblin Hall. In No- vember, 1868, Rev. Francis C. Williams was selected to take charge of the society, and was installed as pastor the following February. During his pastorate, which continued until June, 1879, the society had a varied experience, particularly in its places of worship. Meeting in the town hall for about a year, they thence went to Neponset Hall, where they remained till its destruction by fire, in the early part of 1874. Their church building was then in process of construction, and until its completion, in the latter part of the same year, they were kindly accommodated by the Methodist Society, which tendered the use of its vestry. The Unitarian Church was dedicated Feb. 18, 1875, and in it their services have since been held. It occupies a sightly and pleasant position on the corner of Oak and Pine Streets, on Mount Neponset, and presents to the eye a neat, attractive, and agree- able aspect. It is of the Romanesque style of archi- tecture, and is constructed in a very substantial man- ner, and of excellent material. The audience-room, exclusive of vestibule, is sixty-seven by thirty-seven feet, with a seating capacity of a little more than three hundred. The finish of the pulpit and its sur- roundings is of black walnut; of the pews, black walnut and ash. It is well lighted, with stained- glass windows of shades affording very agreeable effects. In the vestry is a ladies' reception-room, dining-room, kitchen, etc. The cost of the building was fifteen thousand dollars. During his long stay, Mr. Williams' influence on the church and town was marked and beneficial. His successor was Rev. A. Judson Rich, who was invited in November, 1879, installed the next January, and who remained four years. At the present time the society is without a settled pastor.

First Unitarian Society .- The first meeting of this society as a separate denomination was held in June, 1867, as the consequence of action taken at a preliminary meeting, June 1st, held in the Fairmount school-house, at which John P. Jewett was chairman, Roman Catholic Church .- The parish was organ- ized Oct. 1, 1870. Previous to that time services were regularly held by Rev. Father McNulty, of Milton, and under his administration the number of worshipers increased so rapidly that Rt. Rev. John and Benjamin C. Vose, secretary. During the fol- lowing summer regular services were held every Sun- day afternoon at the old Music Hall, prominent Uni- tarian clergymen of Boston and vicinity occupying the pulpit. In November of the same year the society J. Williams ordered a separate parish to be formed on

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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

the above date, and Rev. William J. Corcoran was appointed pastor. During the first few years of his stay the Catholics worshiped in the old Music Hall, on Everett Square. Finally, by Father Corcoran's efforts and the co-operation of the faithful, a frame church was built on land on Hyde Park Avenue,

which had been previously secured by Father Mc- | held in Readville. Nulty. This church was destroyed by fire Jan. 2, 1875, and the parish attended services in the town hall until Music Hall was removed to their lot on Hyde Park Avenue and fitted for temporary use, when they went there. In the mean time a large lot of land, most delightfully located on Maple and Oak Streets, in Mount Neponset, had been bought. An ample dwelling-house, situated on a portion of this lot, became the residence of the pastor and his suc- cessors.

Father Corcoran was followed as pastor, in Feb- ruary, 1877, by Rev. M. Conlan, who, Feb. 1, 1880, was succeeded by Rev. Richard J. Barry. Under the administration of Father Barry the society has grown very largely in numbers and influence. Im- mediately upon his taking charge he zealously set to work to cause the erection of a church upon the lot on Mount Neponset, and the result is a spacious and elegant edifice, a lasting memorial of what can be ac- complished by energy and perseverance. It is of brick and stone, with interior woodwork of cherry, and a seating capacity of one thousand and eighty. The frescoing, stucco, and windows are works of real art. Taken as a whole it is a gem, and will compare favorably with any church in the State in architec- tural merit and beauty of finish. Situated on a slight eminence, it presents a conspicuous and pleasing ob- ject of view from several miles around. It was de- signed by Charles J. Butemore. The funds for its construction were raised principally by collections from house to house. Among the donors most gen- erous in amount should be mentioned Messrs. Robert Bleakie, John S. Bleakie, and Daniel Sheedy.

dition, and is still under charge of Rev. Father Barry, ably assisted by his brother, Rev. Henry A. Barry. A number of religious societies are connected with the church.

There is also a society of Second Adventists, who meet in Lyric Hall, and a weekly Union Meeting

The manufacturing industries of Hyde Park, al- ready great, are yearly becoming more extensive. Particular reference to some of them will be of in- terest.

Industries .- R. Bleakie & Co.'s woolen-mills. The gift of several acres by a number of interested land-owners to Francis Skinner and others, in 1862, led to the formation and incorporation of the Hyde Park Woolen Company in 1863, which at once began the erection of a twelve-set mill for the production of army goods, blankets, and flannels. The first blanket was woven by John Bleakie, father of the present owner, on July 31, 1863. Robert Bleakie became superintendent Aug. 1, 1864, and under his able direction it became so successful that, in 1865, the capacity of the mill was increased to twenty-one sets of cards, employing about four hundred opera- tives. Early in the morning of June 9, 1873, the mills took fire, and all but the bare walls of the main building, and the chimney, was destroyed, involving a loss of some four hundred thousand dollars, and scattering the employés to other places until the work of rebuilding should be completed. This work was commenced at once, and pushed with all possible energy until Fall, when the disastrous financial panic which then swept over the country made it seem most prudent to discontinue new enterprises till it should be past. So the windows and doors of the mills were put in, and the property left in the care of faithful watchmen. Then followed a long season of depression in the woolen business, so serious that there was no encouragement to resume operations ; and finally, in the fall of 1878, the whole plant was sold to Robert Bleakie, since which time it has been operated to its full capacity, fourteen sets of cards, in the manufacture of suitings and overcoatings, by the firm of which Mr. Bleakie is the senior partner, and gives employment to nearly three hundred workers.

The corner-stone was laid July 4, 1880, by Most Rev. John J. Williams, in the presence of some six thousand people, the trowel used on the occasion being now in the ownership of Mrs. John S. Bleakie. Nov. 18, 1883, a chime of bells, weighing eleven thousand pounds, was blessed by Bishop De Goes- The large amount of taxable property, and the money monthly paid to the operatives, is a consider- able item in the prosperity of the town, and its citi- zens regard with much pride the neat appearance of the buildings and the well-kept grounds around them. briand, of Burlington, and sounded forth November 25th following. This was the generous donation of the late Martin O'Brien, of this town, and of the pastor. The numbers of persons at the present time attached to the church is two thousand one hundred, Tileston & Hollingsworth's Paper-Mill. In 1836, Edmund Tileston, of Dorchester, and Amos Hollings- with three hundred and forty attendants at the Sun- day-school. The society is in a most flourishing con- . worth, of Milton, purchased the old Sumner Mills, a

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detailed account of which, since its erection by George Clark, was published in 1859 in the "History of Dorchester." Then (1836) the property consisted of a paper-mill and a cotton-mill. In 1837 the cot- ton-mill burned down, and the firm built a paper- mill in its place. This mill, on which many addi- tions and alterations had in course of time been made, was burned March 12, 1881, and the same year Franklin L. Tileston and Amos L. Hollings- worth, sons of the former partners and successors of the old firm, built the present mill. This, with the other mill standing on the same privilege, now makes five tons of fine plate- and book-paper per day.

the present site. The middle party proved most en- terprising. It got its dam well along, ferreted out somewhere an old water-wheel, placed it in position in the night, and got it actually in motion, and thus claimed and held its location.

The American Tool and Machine Company, manu- facturing castings, is among the most valuable and important of the industries of the town. It occupies extensive buildings, has a great amount of taxable property, employs a large force of skilled and intelli- gent workmen, and has a monthly pay-roll of some thirteen thousand dollars.

The Brainard Milling Machine Company, whose

The cotton-mill at Readville is the oldest manufac- : specialty of manufacture is indicated by its name, is a tory in the town, and one of the oldest in the State. | concern of large extent and great activity.

A portion of the present wooden building was erected Among the others may be enumerated the Boston Blower Company, machines ; Glover & Wilcomb's curled-hair factory ; J. T. Robinson & Co., manufac- turers of paper-box machinery ; John Scott, wool scouring ; Kenyon & Crabtree, chemicals ; Alden & Co., Waste Rubber Chemical Company ; Alden & Gammett, tack manufacturers; Moody & Co., horse- nail manufacturers ; Readville Rubber Company ; R. H. Gray & Co., shoddy ; S. Z. Leslie & Co., Novelty Wood-Work ; H. N. Bates, door-spring manufacturer ; John Johnston, carriage manufacturer ; McDonald & Co., morocco curriers; J. M. Bullard, grist-mill ; People's Ice Company and C. E. Davenport & Co., ice cutters and dealers ; C. L. Farnsworth's bakery ; and many others of less proportions. in 1814. It was capable of running sixty-six looms and producing two thousand yards of cloth per day. It was built and operated by a copartnership, which was changed from time to time, but always retained the name of the Dedham Manufacturing Company. It was first under the superintendence of F. A. Taft ; later under that of Ezra W. Taft, still living in Ded- ham. In 1832 the late James Downing, of Hyde Park, became its superintendent and agent, and so continued till 1864. He began in the mill as over- seer in 1816, and consequently was identified with it for forty-eight years. Ex-Governor Gardner, of Mas- sachusetts, was one of the early partners ; also Mr. Lemist, who was lost at the burning of the steamer " Lexington"; also Mr. Read, in honor of whom As has been previously mentioned, about two hun- dred acres, or one-fourteenth of the area of the town, is embraced in streets; of these, some twenty-five miles of high ways have been accepted and are under the care and supervision of the surveyors; the re- mainder are private ways. No street less than forty feet in width is accepted. Thanks to the Centennial tree-planting, these avenues are beginning to be well shaded by thrifty forest-trees. They are for the most part thickly studded with residences, which, being-of so recent construction, are all of modern style, are kept in remarkably good repair, and present a very attractive appearance. They are the homes of hun- dreds whose daily avocations are pursued in the adja- cent city of Boston. The two lines of railway, furnish- ing in the aggregate forty-five trains each way to and from the city, provide every facility for this manner of living, and being through lines, the convenience of access to any desired point is unsurpassed. The amateur culture of pears and grapes is almost uni- versal, and quite successful. The schools of Hyde Park are contained in six buildings. The high Readville took its name. At the breaking out of the civil war a quantity of cotton in transitu for the mill was seized by rebels at Baltimore, and not recovered. When the supply on hand was exhausted the mill closed, and did not reopen under its old management. In 1864 it was sold to Mr. Boynton, of Boston, and Manton Bros., of Providence, by whom the large brick mill was built. In 1867 it passed into the hands of the Smithfield Manufacturing Company of Providence, by whom the wooden mill was enlarged to about double its former capacity. The whole property is now owned by B. B. & R. Knight, of Providence. It runs about four hundred and fifty looms, and furnishes employment to over three hun- dred and fifty operatives. The power is supplied partly by water, but chiefly by steam. The following incident attending the acquisition of this privilege is handed down by oral tradition. At the time when the old mill was built, by the law or usage a privilege could be acquired by the party first improving it by a dam and wheel in operation. Three parties competed for this privilege,-one at, one above, and one below | school, with about one hundred pupils' and four

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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

teachers, is located on the corner of Hyde Park Avenue and Everett Street, near the middle of the town. A | small building in the same yard is occupied by a primary school. The Grew School, on Gordon Avenue, Sunnyside, F. H. Dean, principal ; the Damon School, on Readville Street, E. W. Cross, principal ; the Fair- mount School, H. F. Howard, principal ; and the Greenwood School, D. G. Thompson, principal, in the Hazlewood district, are each large edifices, with eight class-rooms and a hall, and in them, at the present writing, one thousand four hundred and fifty scholars are taught by twenty-nine teachers. The annual re- ports of the State Board of Education give Hyde Park a very honorable standing among the towns of the commonwealth. The only other public structure belonging to the town is the fire-engine house on Central Park Avenue. This department is well or- ganized, and has been effective in subduing fires. W. W. Hilton is chief engineer, C. L. Farnsworth and F. A. Sweet, assistants. The principal apparatus consists of two steamers, one chemical engine, and the requisite hose and hook-and-ladder carriages. The principal other buildings of a quasi-public char- acter are the Bank Building, owned by A. H. Hol- way, and Neponset Block, owned by I. J. Brown, both on Everett Square, and Masonic Hall Block, owned by J. S. Conant, and Everett Block, owned by the East Boston Savings-Bank, both on River Street, the latter now containing the town offices.

The following is a brief sketch of the only banking institution which Hyde Park can boast. During the winter of 1870-71 the necessary preliminary steps were taken, which resulted in the passage by the Leg- islature of " An Act to incorporate the Hyde Park Savings-Bank," approved March 11, 1871, in which Henry Grew, Martin L. Whitcher, and James Down- ing were named as corporators. These gentlemen, -met in the hall then used for a high-school room, corner of River Street and Hyde Park Avenue, April 20, 1871, and voted to accept the charter. A full organization was effected at that time by the choice of Charles F. Gerry as president, with the requisite number of vice-presidents and trustees.

On the 1st of September following rooms were occupied in Neponset Block, where the business of

the bank was transacted until that building was de- stroyed by fire, May 5, 1874. Temporary quarters were then provided in the town offices, Everett Block. The Bank Building was erected in 1875, and the rooms in the same, which are now used; were leased from and after Jan. 1, 1876. The bank has had four presidents, Charles F. Gerry serving five years ; Henry Grew, one year; Isaac J. Brown, three years; and Robert Bleakie, four years.

The bank shared in the embarrassments to which the majority of Massachusetts savings-banks were sub- jected as the result of protracted business stagnation and depression. For two years, in common with many others, it was placed by the State Commis- sioners under the restrictions of the "Stay Law." By this means one of our most useful local institu- tions was preserved, although at the date of resump- tion, June 15, 1880, the amount of deposits had dwindled to about thirty thousand dollars. Since that time, under wise and conservative management, the Hyde Park Savings-Bank has prospered, and has received a full measure of the confidence and patron- age of the citizens of the town. It has now about eight hundred depositors, the amount of the deposits being one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars.

The present officers are, viz. : President, Robert Bleakie; Vice-Presidents, Amos H. Brainard, Ben- jamin C. Vose, J. Ellery Piper, Sidney C. Putnam ; Trustees, Robert Bleakie, William J. Stuart, Benja- min F. Radford, David Perkins, Waldo F. Ward, Orin T. Gray, Rinaldo Williams, Frederick N. Tir- rell, John S. Bleakie, Hobart M. Cable, Augustus H. Page, James D. McAvoy, Francis W. Tewksbury, Wilbert J. Case, George Sanford ; Treasurer, Henry S. Bunton.

The town rejoices in two weekly papers. The Norfolk County Gazette, Samuel R. Moseley, editor, with the associates whom they selected,-forty in all, | is the lineal descendant of the Dedham Gazette, which was established in Dedham in 1813, and of the Hyde Park Journal, started in Hyde Park in 1868, by Barrows & Getchell. Feb. 26, 1870, the Gazette, then edited by Henry O. Hildreth, now postmaster at Dedham, and the Journal were united, under the name of the Norfolk County Gazette, Hildreth & At a subsequent meeting of the trustees, at the house of Mr. Whitcher, April 27, 1871, Henry S. Bunton was elected treasurer, and has held the posi- tion continuously since. The bank was opened for the reception of deposits in the selectmen's room, town hall, June 17, 1871, the first depositor being John M. Twitchell. Getchell, editors, and the place of publication fixed at Hyde Park. A few years later Mr. Hildreth retired, and Getchell & Moseley carried on the paper until Jan. 13, 1877, when Mr. Getchell was succeeded by Mr. Moseley, the present editor and proprietor. It is by far the oldest paper in the county, and has num- bered among its contributors many of the most emi- nent men in this section of the State.

The Hyde Park Times issued its first number June

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HYDE PARK.

9, 1883, with E. S. Hathaway as its editor; it soon passed into the hands of Hunt & Chamberlin, and again into those of Herbert E. Hunt, its present editor and proprietor. A mere infant yet, its career and reputation lie before it.

Oct. 29, 1868, the Everett House, a pretty and comfortable building, standing on the corner of the square, was opened to the public as a hotel. During the twelve years it was kept open it served as the temporary home of many families now domiciled in homes of their own in the town, and their recollec- tions of their sojourn there are doubtless fraught with pleasant memories The Willard House, on Gordon Avenue, was first opened Jan. 22, 1873. It is now called the Lincoln House, and is the only hotel in the place.

Hyde Park abounds in secret orders, prominent among which stand the Masons and Odd-Fellows, a detailed account of which organizations follows.

Masonic Organizations .- Before the incorpora- tion of the town of Hyde Park, the establishment of a lodge was considered desirable by the Masons resi- dent within its present territorial limits. A dispen- sation was, therefore, procured from the Most Wor- shipful Grand Master in response to a petition bearing twenty-one signatures. Preliminary meet- ings had been held at various places in Dedham and Hyde Park, and the first regular communication of Hyde Park Lodge was called Feb. 15, 1866, at a small hall on Fairmount Avenue, since occupied by the Advent society. Here the lodge held its meet- ings until the following winter, when a hall was leased and fitted up in the Music Hall building, cor- ner of River Street and Hyde Park Avenue. The same was dedicated, and Hyde Park Lodge was con- stituted by Grand Master Charles C. Dame and the officers of the Grand Lodge, Dec. 21, 1866. The charter members were fifteen in number, viz. : Enoch P. Davis, Charles F. Gerry, Charles A. Jordan, Samuel A. Bradbury, William W. Colburn, William U. Fairbairn, Nathaniel Hebard, James L. Vialle, David S. Hill, Timothy Phelps, William A. Bullard, Robert Campbell, Francis H. Coffin, Waldo F. Ward, and Ambrose B. Galucia. In September, 1869, the fraternity again folded their tents, and occupied apart- ments in the third story of the Gordon Hall building, corner of River Street and Gordon Avenue. The building was purchased by the town the following year, and used and known as the Town Hall until its destruction by fire, March 7, 1883.

uninterrupted prosperity. By the fire the fraternity were suddenly ejected from the pleasant rooms which had so long been their home, and suffered a total loss of all their furniture and paraphernalia. By special authority from the Grand Master the meetings of Hyde Park Lodge were held for three months in the hall of Constellation Lodge, of Dedham, and more recently in Neponset Hall, until the completion of spacious and convenient apartments in the new Ma- sonic building on River Street. The new halls were occupied by the lodge on the 15th of February, 1884, and are admirably arranged for Masonic purposes. The furniture includes a fine organ, built by Messrs. Hook & Hastings, of Boston.

The lodge has now about one hundred and forty members, and includes many of the leading business men and officers of the town. Among the names which have appeared on its roll of membership are those of two venerable Masons, James Downing and Timothy Phelps, each of whom had served the old Constellation Lodge, of Dedham, as Worshipful Mas- ter. Mr. Downing was made a Mason in 1819, and Mr. Phelps in 1821.

Its first chaplain was Rev. Alvan H. Washburn, D.D., who at the time was rector of Christ Church. He was a man of prominence in the church, and his untimely death, Dec. 29, 1876, in a railroad disaster at Ashtabula, Ohio, sent a thrill of sorrow through the hearts of many who had known and loved him. Hyde Park Lodge has a charity fund of good pro- portions, and its philanthropic work has been con- stant and effective. One of its pleasant social features has been an annual entertainment on Washington's birthday for the benefit of the wives and families of its members.

The following-named persons have successively held the office of Worshipful Master since the organization of the lodge, each for a term of service of two years : 1866-67, Enoch P. Davis ; 1868-69, Charles F. Gerry; 1870-71, William H. Jordan; 1872-73, Henry S. Bunton; 1874-75, Fergus A. Easton ; 1876-77, William H. Ingersoll; 1878-79, Charles H. Colby ; 1880-81, John F. Ross; 1882-83, Ste- phen B. Balkam.

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History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 192

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1534

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1534