USA > Massachusetts > Barnstable County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. I > Part 62
USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. I > Part 62
USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > History of Plymouth, Norfolk and Barnstable counties, Massachusetts, Vol. I > Part 62
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Halifax has the distinction of erecting the first soldiers' monument in Massachusetts in honor of the soldiers of the Civil War. The base is four feet square, the second section three feet square and the shaft twenty-eight inches at the base and sixteen inches at the top, with a total height of twenty feet. On a raised shield are the words: "Our Patriotic Soldiers." On a bronze plate are the names of all the volunteer soldiers from the town, not only the twenty-four who were killed or died in service, but the entire ninety-six who offered themselves that the Union might survive. There were no drafted men from Halifax, the quotas being filled as fast as a call came for more men.
The monument is on the square in front of the Congregational Church, opposite the site of the original church, erected in 1733, in which was " organized by Rev. John Cotton the first Sunday school in America.
HANOVER
Town of the Anchor and Plough-The seal of the town of Hanover shows an anchor and an iron plough, typical not only of the shipbuilding and agricultural industries in which the town has engaged from earliest times, but it was in Hanover that the anchors for the "Constitution," -"Old Ironsides"-were forged, and the first iron ploughs made in America were cast. So Hanover has a firm hold on both sea and land and has duly impressed both. There are good farms, orchards and green- houses in Hanover and all three produce profitably and creditably. Like most Plymouth County towns, poultry farming is also prosecuted profitably and the assessors' books show that the assessed value of fowl is $9,845.
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Hanover's acreage is 9,094, the number of dwellings 768, property owners 1,025, number of male residents, twenty years or older, 893; total valuation of the town $2,668,792. The population of the town, according to the State census, taken in 1925, was 2,755.
The town spends for the support of its schools, $37,000; for highways, $32,000, and support of poor $9,000, according to round figures of 1926. In that year a new Junior-Senior High School building, the Edmund G. Sylvester Building, was erected, and, in the language of the official report of the school committee, "the town of Hanover turned its back on the old order of things and took its rightful place among the progres- sive towns of the State." The school enrollment in 1926 was 539.
The new High School Building was erected by an appropriation from the town of $134,000, and the gift of $50,000 for the purpose from Ed- mund G. Sylvester, a highly respected citizen of the town, one of the trustees of the Public Library.
Hanover has several pretty villages contained in the township, known as Hanover, South Hanover, West Hanover, the Four Corners and Assinippi. The boundaries of Hanover are Abington and Norwell on the north, Norwell on the northeast, Pembroke and Hanson on the southwest and Abington on the west. Third Herring Brook forms a part of the boundary between Hanover and Norwell, formerly South Scituate. Near the Four Corners, Third Herring Brook and the North River join and nearby is the Pantooset Inn, one of the pleasant present- day inns catering largely to the motoring public. The North River and Indian Pond form the divisional line between Hanover and Hanson. The town is unusually level, Walnut Hill, in its northwestern section being the only prominent eminence. It is a good farming country. The underlying rock is sienite and carboniferous.
Among the prominent apple orchards in the town, of which there are several, is that belonging to Edward H. Tindale, who has a well- earned reputation as a portrait painter, the only artist to have a studio in the Boston Art Museum. His orchards are among the most extensive in New England.
It is claimed for Hanover that the first sawmill erected in America was built in this town and it was before one had been erected in England. Lumbering has always been one of the important industries and for many years shipbuilding was carried on with the North River as the place for prosperous shipyards. Hanover was one of the early towns to engage in shoemaking, forging anchors, ploughs and other useful implements.
The first settlement was at the Four Corners and along the North and Indian Head rivers, William Barstow, shipwright, being a pioneer. His grandson, Benjamin, had a family of twenty-one children. The first bridge was built over North River in 1662. Shipbuilding was com-
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menced as early as 1660 by the Barstow family, some of whom after- wards moved to Mattapoisett and carried on the same business. Bar- stow's forge was erected in 1720. The Curtis forge was erected in 1704 by the Burdens, who came from Scotland.
There were seven Indian nations in New England. The Wampanoags, divided into thirty-two tribes, with 3,000 warriors, under Massasoit, occupied Southeastern Massachusetts. The Massachusetts, with 3,000 warriors, under Chickatabut, occupied the territory from Duxbury mill to Titicut, then to Nippenicket Pond, Bridgewater, and then in a straight line to Whitney's Pond in Wrentham. It was from the latter sachem that Scituate and Hanover were purchased in 1653. Joseph Barstow's house, in 1674, was garrisoned by twelve men. Indian burying-grounds existed on Pine Island and back of Assinippi Hill.
Religious services were held at private residences in 1727. A building, 48 by 38 feet, was erected in 1728. At this time common schools were kept in private houses.
Benjamin Bass was the minister of the First Parish, from 1728 to 1756; Samuel Baldwin, 1756-1780; John Miller, 1784-1805; Calvin Chad- dock, 1806-1818; Seth Chapin, 1819-1824; followed by Ethan Smith, Abel G. Duncan, and Joseph Freeman.
The Episcopal services were first held in Scituate, 1725. St. Andrews Church was established at Hanover "Corners" in 1810. Rectors, Joab G. Cooper, 1811-1816; Calvin Wolcott, 1818-1834; Samuel G. Appleton, 1835-1838; Eleazer A. Greenleaf, 1839-1841; Samuel Cutler.
In 1812 the Universalist Society was incorporated. The Baptist Church came in 1806.
The First Church was rededicated in 1927 at the time of the celebra- tion of the hundredth anniversary of the town, having been refinished and enlarged. Organized forty-eight years before the Revolution, it had been in continuous service. The first edifice was plain, unpainted and devoid of steeple. The pulpit was a high affair with sounding board above. Into this the "powdered wigged and much begowned minister" would climb to deliver a two-hour sermon.
A larger building was built in 1765 and, as "it was thot a shame to let it go without a churchly mark," money was raised to surmount the plain edifice with a steeple. This was built so slim that it was after- ward rebuilt to provide a belfry for the first bell which ever summoned the townspeople to worship. A room just beneath the belfry was set apart as a "powder room." The first minister, Rev. Benjamin Bass, was a noted exhorter of "Minute-Men" and was appointed a chaplain in the army. So intense was his devotion that his mind became disar- ranged and his death occurred one year after peace was declared, in 1784.
The first communion service consisted of two pewter cups. Some years later the number was increased to four. Still later two of the
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cups were silver plated. In 1907 Mrs. Margaret Olivia Sage of New York, gave the church a large and valuable solid silver communion set in exchange for these cups of pewter, wishing to preserve them as relics.
Hanover observed its two hundredth anniversary in June, 1927, with appropriate exercises, some of which were held in the auditorium of the new High School building, which seats 500 and has a generous stage. A letter of congratulation was received from Dr. Menge, Ober- bergemeister of Hanover, Germany, believed to have been the first letter of that nature from Germany to the United States since the late unpleasantness.
In 1807 the first Hanover Academy was erected.
Hanover soldiers did their share of good service in the Revolution, the well-known Artillery Company being formed in 1798.
In 1754 there were eight male and nine female slaves in Hanover. Not only were blacks, but Indians held in bondage. Tradition says Job Tilden raised slaves for the market. Cuffee Josselyn, a slave of Colonel Joseph Josselyn, died in the almshouse in 1831, aged 103.
David Prouty commenced in Hanover the manufacture of the first cast-iron ploughs.
Among the prominent military and naval men whose homes were in Hanover were Colonel John Bailey, a Revolutionary officer who was conspicuous in the campaign against General John Burgoyne; Joseph Smith, rear-admiral in the United States Navy, who was born in Hano- ver, March 30, 1790. One of his sons was killed on "The Congress," when it was destroyed by the "Merrimac," near Fortress Monroe, in March, 1862.
Although Hanover was settled as early as 1649, the town was not incorporated until June 14, 1727. It was named in honor of the Duke of Hanover, who was afterwards King George I of England.
Hanover was among the towns in the county which had good acad- emies in the academy days. Hanover Academy was incorporated in 1861. There were one hundred and eighty Civil War soldiers credited to Hanover and forty of them were killed or died in the service. It was one of the towns pronounced in its protest against slavery when the Civil War was approaching, although, in 1754, there were seventeen slaves in the town, owned by a previous generation.
HANSON
Hanson is the home of the Plymouth County Tuberculosis Hospital and the Outdoor Camp for children afflicted with the white plague. It is also the location of Gordon's Rest, a summer home for women who need rest away from the busy affairs of the world. This institution is maintained by the King's Daughters and is on a hill, overlooking the residence of the first minister in Hanson, Rev. Dr. Gad Hitchcock.
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Wampatuck Pond is between, a pretty body of water with a small island. It is one of many ponds which help make the attractive scenery for which the town is noted.
Several years ago Albert C. Burrage was attracted to the town and had a summer home on the high bank of Maquam Pond. He was instrumental in building the factories on the railroad, erecting a hotel, stores and railroad station called "Burrage" and adding much to the industrial life of the town. While the industries flourished about the time of the World War, a considerable village grew up around the factories. Some of the business is still carried on at "Burrage."
In the days of P. T. Barnum, a resident of Hanson became its most traveled and exploited citizen, known as "Barnum's living skeleton."
The Cape Cod Cranberry Company and other owners have extensive cranberry bogs in the town, and large quantities of the yield are shipped to the West.
Lumbering, and manufacturing wooden boxes are counted principal industries.
Hanson, like Halifax, was incorporated on an historic date. The date of Hanson's birth was February 22, 1820, and it was until that time the west parish of Pembroke. Halifax was incorporated July 4, 1734, but July 4 meant nothing at the time, although everything twoscore years later.
The first church was organized in Hanson in August 31, 1748, and Rev. Gad Hitchcock, D. D., concerning whom much more appears in the general history of this county in this volume, was ordained pastor. Major Josiah Winslow purchased from the Indian sachem, Josiah Wam- patuck, on July 9, 1662, practically the same extent of territory embraced in the town of Hanson, bounded on the north by Abington and Hanover, on the east by Pembroke, on the south by Halifax, and on the west by East Bridgewater. The Old Colony Railroad runs diagonally through the town, with two stations, one at North Hanson and the other at South Hanson. The Hanover Branch Railroad has a station at the northeastern angle of the town, and in recent years another station, Burrage, has been convenient for the residents of the southern part of the town.
Indian Head Pond and the Indian Head River which drains it form the boundary line between Hanson and Hanover, and on the stream are several mill sites, where use is made of the water as it flows over the dam on its way to the North River. Indian Head Pond is a beautiful sheet of water, covering one hundred and fifty-six acres. One of the industries in the town fifty years ago was braiding straw and there is a record that, in 1874, 31,740 yards of straw-braid were plaited by women and children. It was used in making straw hats. The principal industries at present are box making, farming, cranberry growing, manu-
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facture of tacks, shoe nails, electrical equipment, and lumbering. Beds of iron ore in the ponds were taken with considerable profit in earlier days.
Hanson was formerly the "West Parish" of the town of Pembroke. Its size is comparatively small. Like all other towns in Plymouth County, it contains many relics of Indian settlements, such as remains of old orchards, cellars, etc., rude implements of war, and articles for domestic use, etc. Nearly all its territory is embraced in the purchase of Major Josiah Winslow of the Indian sachem, Josiah Wampatuck, as by deed, dated July 9, 1662, known as the "Major's Purchase .. " There is a reserve made in said deed, of 1,000 acres about the ponds at Mattakeset (lying in Pembroke and Hanson), to his son and George Wampy.
Among the first settlers of Hanson was a family by the name of Bourne that located in the south part of the town as early as about 1725, as the name of Josiah Bourne is found in the records of the Proprietors of the "Major's Purchase," in May, 1732, and from circumstances men- tioned in the record, he must have resided there some years before. In the north part of the town a family by the name of Thomas located, and the name of Edward Thomas, as being the clerk of the "Proprietors" is found in their book of records as early as May 28, 1759.
No whole company was raised in this town during the Civil War, but a part of Company A, Third Regiment, went out to Fortress Mon- roe, April 16, 1861, for three months, and again to Newbern, North Carolina, for nine months, September 23, 1862. These all safely returned and most of them again enlisted for three years.
Hanson raised for the Union service, 188 men; six for one hundred days, fourteen for three months; twenty-two for nine months; thirty- five for one year; and one hundred and thirteen for three years, at an expense of $19,502. In addition to this they gave generously of supplies through benevolent missions.
HINGHAM
Ever Mindful of Its Ideals-Hingham has been the home of many people of note and has about it a winning atmosphere to those who have appreciation of the better things of life. It has always been at- tractive and retains that quality of responsiveness to beauty and a community spirit from generation to generation. There is being erected at the present time (1927) a soldiers' memorial in the new park, an equestrian statue to cost $23,000, exclusive of the foundation, to be provided by the town. The memorial will be completed in the sum- mer of 1928. The foundation is eight feet in height, constituting part of a mound which will eventually, with the memorial, become one of the chief beauties of the reservation.
BOULEVARD FROM OTIS HILL. HINGHAM
"OLD SHIP CHURCH. " HINGHAM
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The model chosen represents a youth on horseback, bearing aloft a torch emblematic of Liberty, Hope and Progress, with the sword of the soldier at his left side and a shield slung over his shoulder. "The whole figure is designed to perpetuate in bronze of heroic size the memory of the men of Hingham who consecrated themselves to the service of the country, and to noble ideals, and to serve as an in- spiration to the generations yet to come."
There is a town planning board which is at present giving consider- able attention to zoning, encouraging the erection of the right kind of buildings in the right places, that each owner use his property in such a manner that his neighbor may successfully do likewise.
A new High School building, properly located, equipped and fur- nished, is one of the problems of the town soon to be solved. An ap- propriation of $375,000 has been made for the purpose.
In 1926, a town forest on South Pleasant and Charles streets was set out with 60,000 small pine and spruce trees.
Hingham has. 11,971 acres of land assessed to 2,126 residents and 627 non-residents. There are 1,884 dwelling houses in the town. The total valuation is $13,973,150. The maintenance of schools costs the town about $113,000, and about 1,200 pupils are enrolled. The cost per elementary pupil is $73.83 and per high school pupil $114.15.
Hingham has had a municipal electric lighting plant thirty-four years. It has been maintained in first-class condition and there are few municipal lighting plants showing greater actual cash value for the money furnished by the taxpayers.
Hingham is one of the towns in Massachusetts which has made a serious attempt to deal with the mosquito nuisance. According to the Board of Health, "wonderful results have been derived from the meth- ods taken to do away with this pest."
The expense of the town for general improvement is $19,460, for protection of persons and property $58,129, health and sanitation $10,- 851, highways and removal of snow $103,774, charities $13,338, edu- cation $139,645, recreation and unclassified $45,303, public service en- terprise $82,967.
"Dish Timber" and Coopering-Coopering industries were the pride of Hingham in the last of the eighteenth and early years of the nine- teenth centuries. The Hingham bucket was famous for its workman- ship and undoubtedly it was a Hingham bucket, moss covered and iron bound, which hung in the well at Greenbush and inspired the fa- mous poem, "The Old Oaken Bucket." Equally entitled to fame were the tubs, hoop and nest boxes, dumb-bettys, wash tubs, keelers, pig- gins and other wooden products. Home manufacture of these articles in the long winter evenings caused them to accumulate and they were
Plym-37
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frequently the wares of enterprising peddlers, who went about exchang- ing them for other things, if not for the established coin of the realm.
Woodenware of many kinds was manufactured in this vicinity and the skill of the Yankee whittler became proverbial. The Jack-knife or Barlow knife was handled with the skill or artistry, and rolling pins, butter moulds, wooden bowls, spoons, bread knives and forks were turned out and in much demand. White ash was frequently re- ferred to as "dish timber," as white oak was llooked upon as ship tim- ber. There was a popular song in this vicinity about 1799 called "Come Buy My Woodenware."
Wooden household ware was greatly in use, because most of the cutlery sold in this country was imported from England.
Many articles of furniture were manufactured in the homes and backyard shops, some for home consumption and others to be sold to neighbors, or bartered. Nearly everyone in those days was mechani- cal and could produce an honest article to serve a definite purpose, strangely in contrast with most people of today. Many of the coun- try chairs have lasted two hundred years or more and are eagerly purchased from dealers in antiques. The Windsor chair first came into being in Philadelphia but soon spread over the Atlantic seaboard. It was one of the type which found a wide market.
Physical Characteristics and Early Residents-Hingham has as its nearest neighbor Cohasset in the northeast, Norwell and Abington on the southeast, and Weymouth on the west. A part of the circuitous northern boundary of the town is Boston Bay. Weir River flows be- tween the town and Hull and "Downer Landing," Hingham Harbor and the Peninsula called "World's End" are on the Boston Bay side. The harbor is well protected and permits of navigation for small ves- sels.
In the southeastern angle of the town is the highest land, Prospect Hill, overlooking the harbor two hundred and forty-three feet below. Other good views of the pleasant harbor and the bay beyond are ob- tainable from hills carrying the names Otis, Planters, Turkey, Bakers and Squirrel.
Weymouth Back River separates Hingham and Weymouth and is one of the principal streams. Accord Pond, drained by the Weir River, covers about ninety acres. There is another smaller pond, called Cushing's, which contains about thirty acres. This is at Glad-Tidings Plane.
This pleasant combination of natural advantages attracted as early settlers emigrants in 1633 who were mostly from Hingham, county of Norfolk, England, and they gave to their new place of abode the name of the town from whence they came. Previously what is now called
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Hingham had been called "Bear Cove." Among those to whom land in Hingham was granted in 1635 the records disclose Thomas Lincoln, a weaver; Peter Hobart, William Hersey, Thomas Loring, Henry Rust, Henry Tuttle, William Walton, Richard Osborne, and John Fearing. There were twenty-nine to whom lands had been granted, among them being Rev. Peter Hobart, who became pastor of the church. He con- tinued in that capacity until his death in 1679. He kept a journal from which are learned many interesting things about the first settlers.
Rev. Peter Hobart left four sons who became ministers.
The old Congregational Meeting House was erected in 1689 at a cost of $2,150 and the old building in which they had been meeting.
The Second Church was organized in 1745 and the Third Church in 1805. The Methodist Church was organized 1818.
The First Baptist Church was organized March 9, 1828, with twenty members.
First Universalist Society organized November 1, 1823.
Evangelical Congregational Church was organized December 21, 1847. First pastor, Rev. E. Porter Dyer, installed January 4, 1849. House of Worship dedicated January 4, 1849.
The Derby Academy was incorporated June 7, 1797. President. Rev. Joseph Osgood, of Cohasset ; trustees, Ebenezer Gay, of Hingham ; Ben- jamin Cushing, M. D., of Dorchester ; John Q. Adams, of Quincy ; Solo- mon Lincoln, Jr., of Salem ; Henry A. Clapp, of Dorchester; Rev. Joshua Young, of Hingham; Henry C. Harding, of Hingham; Charles C. Tower, M. D., of Weymouth.
Old Ship Meeting-House Still in Use-The first meeting-house is still in use, the oldest in New England. It is seventy-five feet one way by fifty-five feet the other, has a pyramidal roof, surmounted by a belfry of curious design and a steeple. It has been continuously oc- cupied by the society since January 8, 1682. In 1869 the old pews were removed and replaced by new ones, but much of the original remains.
From the journal kept by Rev. Peter Hobart it is known that "On the 19th of April, 1676, John Jacob was slain by the Indians near his father's house." The following day the Indians burned the dwellings of Nathaniel Chubbuck, Israel Hobart, Joseph Jones, Anthony Sprague and James Whiton. These were occurrences in King Philip's War which began in 1675. In that war the town was protected by three forts, one at Fort Hill, one at the cemetery and the other "on a plane about a mile from the harbor."
Since 1827 one of the best weekly newspapers printed in Plymouth County has been the "Hingham Journal," now owned and published by Heman Eldredge. It was started by Jedediah Farmer and Simon Brown and has, through successive ownerships, mirrored the hap-
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penings and progress of the beautiful town, which combined rural and suburban life to a charming degree.
Among the many men of distinction whose homes have been in Hingham have been Colonel John Otis, one of the first lawyers and judges in the Plymouth Colony, born in 1657 and deceased in 1727; Rev. Noah Hobart, Dr. Ezekiel Hersey, a famous physician, whose span of life was from 1709 to 1770; General Benjamin Lincoln, 1733 to 1810, a distinguished officer in the Revolutionary War who was from 1781 to 1784 secretary of war, and from 1789 to 1808, collector of the port of Boston; Levi Lincoln, who was acting governor in 1809; Andrews Norton, 1786 to 1853, a scholar and writer of much distinc- tion ; Henry Ware, Jr., D. D., an able clergyman and editor; Dr. John Ware, M. D., physician and author; William Ware, clergyman and author; Joseph Andrews, 1806 to 1873, one of the best line engravers in the country; James Hall, geologist for the State of New York; Winckworth Allan Gay, a noted landscape painter; Charles Henry Bromedge Caldwell, an efficient captain in the United States Navy following the War of 1812; Richard Henry Stoddard, the eminent poet and prolific prose writer; Hon. Solomon Lincoln, able writer of nu- merous books and articles, among his works being a "History of Hing- ham," published in 1827; John A. Andrew, governor of Massachusetts during the Civil War; Hon. John D. Long, an able lawyer, Congress- man, member of President Mckinley's cabinet, serving as Secretary of War during the Spanish War in 1898.
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