History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 211

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1576

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 211

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As his business and wealth increased he grew in popularity. He built a fine residence where be dis- pensed a generous hospitality.

Mr. Rice was twice married : for his first wife Caro- line P. daughter of Liberty Allen, of this town; for his second wife he married Ellen A. Lawrence, daugh- ter of the late David B. Lawrence, of Brimfield, Mass. By this nnion there are two children-Edwin L. and Edith A.

CHAPTER CX.

GARDNER.

BY REV. WILLIAM S. HEYWOOD.

SITUATION, TOPOGRAPHY, SETTLEMENT, INCORPORA- TION, ETC.

THE town of Gardner, which has recently (1885) completed the first century of its corporate existence and duly celebrated the memorable event with appro- priate exercises and festivities, is one of the most en- terprising and prosperous of all those in the county whose annals these pages record. Taking its place in the retinue of Massachusetts municipalities soon after the struggle for American independence, it was characterized at the outset by the spirit that gave birth to the rising republic, and, under the influence of the same spirit, has kept abreast of the advancing civilization of the land down to the present day. During the earlier part of its career, its growth in wealth, population and social standing, in indns- trial, commercial and political importance, though slow and uneventful, was yet sturdy and healthful. But in later years new life and greatly increased vigor have entered into and stimulated its various interests and activities, resulting in a rapid and notable development of its resources, and a highly honorable and gratifying progress in every depart- ment of responsibility and effort within its borders. Its advance for the last decade has been truly remark- able in many aspects of it, and reflects great credit upon those of every class and degree who have in any way contributed to it. Hardly to be reckoned, at this time, as one of the foremost towns of Worcester Connty in those things which appear to advantage in statistical tables, it yet is excelled, even if it is. equaled, by few in general thrift, in durable pros- perity, in the tokens of comfort and happiness that abound on every hand, in the neatness, order and security of its homes, in the harmonions relations which characterize industrial and social life, in means and opportunities of intellectual, moral and religions culture, in public spirit, in the integrity, honor, virtue and happiness of all classes of its population. To sketch the history of such a town, to enter into the details of its genesis and growth, to search out the hidden springs of its unfolding and ever-rising life-to take account of the industry, the self-reliance, the persevering zeal, the unfaltering courage, the high resolve and all the worthy, grand qualities of mind and heart and character to which the existence and prosperous fortnnes of such a town bear witness and of which it is the organic and living product and representative,-is a task fruitful not only of instruc- tion, but of satisfaction and delight. To a task like this, the considerate attention of whomsoever it may concern is herein invited.

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GARDNER.

The town of Gardner is situated in the northerly part of the county of Worcester, and belongs to what may be termed the second range or tier of townships, counting from the extreme limits of the county in that direction-the line separating the States of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. It is bounded on the north by Winchendon and Ashburnham, on the east by Ashburnham and Westminster, on the south by Westminster, Hubbardston and Templeton, and on the west by Hubbardston, Templeton and Winchen- don ; or, in a simpler way, northwest by Winchendon, northeast by Ashburnham, southeast by Westminster, and southwest by Hubbardston and Templeton. The latitude of its Town Hall is 42° 35' north and the longitude 71° 59}' west from Greenwich, or 6° }' east from Washington. Its distance from Boston, in a W. N. W. direction, by direct line, is not far from 52 miles, and 65 miles by the Fitchburg Railroad; and from Worcester, in a N. N. W. direction, it is about 23 miles by direct line, and 26 miles by railroad. It includes within its boundaries an area of about 14,000 acres, or 21§ square miles, of which some 180 acres are covered by its several natural lakes and ponds, and probably a larger number by artificial bodies of water. Its highest altitude above the level of the sea (Reservoir Hill) is estimated at 1294 feet, and its lowest (where Otter River crosses its western boundary) at 890 feet.

Glancing at the natural or physical characteristics of the town, it is to be noted that the surface of its territory is uneven and considerably diversified. Between its lowest and highest points of elevation above sea-level, measuring over 400 feet, an almost unlimited variety of hill and dale, meadow and up- land, lake, river and streamlet, is to be found. At the present day, after more than a hundred years of change and improvement that have transpired since the primeval wilderness prevailed in all the region round about, the town, with its existing proportion of forest and field; with its well-tilled farms and accordant farm-houses and out-buildings ; with its several villages, neat and orderly ; with its many clustering or scattered homes, and the gardens or orchards thereto belonging, some of them costly and elegant, few of them weather-worn, dilapidated and unsightly ; with its manifold manufactories, the hives of productive and remunerative industry; with all the evidences of competency, thrift and contentment that greet the eye of the observer, presents, from any one of the commanding heights within its borders, a scene of unusual beauty and attractiveness. From such a point of vision, one may journey long and far to look upon a more picturesque and lovely sight than there reveals itself to the eye and mind, turn him whichsoever way he may. All about, near at hand and reaching to the utmost borders of the town and far beyond, are there pictures of surpassing beauty and enchantment; while in the distance, at the northwest and southeast, rise in silent majesty,

cleaving the sky and lending grandeur and glory to the view, Monadnock and Wachusett,

" Those mountains that like giants stand, To sentinel enchanted land."

HILLS .- The natural scenery of the town of Gard- ner is characterized by that constant and continuous variety of surface which relieves it of all tiresome monotony and renders it especially attractive and delightful. Scattered over all the length and breadth of its territory are there considerable elevations of land, which contribute largely to the beauty of the view and satisfy the demands of the artistic sense. The highest of these rise to an altitude of several hundred feet above the general level, not by abrupt and broken ascents, but by gradual slopes, making them capable of culture and even available for resi- dential uses to the very summit. Indeed, some of them are already dotted with dwellings in every part and others are likely to become so at an early day. These hills took their names originally from their owners or from persons living near them, though in many instances those names have in later years been changed, either by change of ownership or by some other circumstance connected with their history. Their respective altitudes have been ascertained by a series of calculations made under the supervision of Mr. Aaron Greenwood, a skillful and accurate sur- veyor of the place, who assumed as the basis of such calculations the correctness of the figures indicating the elevation of the railroad at given points along the line as fixed by its chief engineer. A few of the more prominent of these natural formations are deemed worthy of mention.

Glazier Hill is the highest eminence in the town, rising to an altitude of one thousand two hundred and ninety-four feet above sea level and overlooking all the more thickly populated portions of its terri- tory. It stands a little to the northeast of the Cen- tral Village, now almost within its borders, the growth of the place within the last few years having caused the erection of dwellings far up its westerly and southerly sides. Its summit is now occupied by the distributing reservoir of the Gardner Water Com- pany, from which fact it is sometimes called " Reser- voir Hill."

Bickford Hill or Parker Hill, as it is more recently designated, because owned and occupied for many years by the late Dr. David Parker, is located half a mile southeast of the one just spoken of, in full view from the town Common and quite near the junction of Elm and Temple Streets. It is one thousand two hundred and seventy-seven feet in height, and, like Glazier Hill, commands a fine view of the several villages of the town. It has no buildings upon it and is used for tillage and grazing purposes.

Howe Hill, rising one thousand two hundred and fifty-six feet above tide-water, is about a mile north of the Common on the easterly side of Kelton Street,

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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

in the midst of a district wholly rural and sparsely populated.

Barber Hill, one thousand two hundred and thirty- nine feet high, is in the southeast part of the town, a little north of the residence of the late Thomas Green- wood. On its easterly slope, one of the earliest set- tlers of the place-Mr. David Nichols, from Read- ing-located, clearing up and cultivating what proved to be one of the best farms in the vicinity.

Temple Hill stands a short distance southeast of Bickford or Parker Hill, and is one thousand two hundred and twenty-four feet high, while Ray and Gates Hills, in the easterly parts of the town, rise re- spectively to an altitude of one thousand two hundred and seventeen and one thousand two hundred and fifteen feet. Near the summit of the first of these two are a farm-house and out-buildings, long the residence of Mr. Asa Ray, and a sort of beacon or landmark to a wide region round about.

Peabody Hill, originally known as Pork Hill, and for a long time as Lynde Hill, from Mr. Wm. S. Lynde, its owner for many years, occupies what is now almost the centre of the more northerly part of the thickly-settled portions of the town. It is one thou- sand one hundred and seventy-six feet above the level of the sea, and is for the most part covered with commodious and tasteful private residences, which have sprung up with marvelous rapidity during the past few years.

Besides these more noticeable and commanding hights, there are Greenwood Hill, in the south westerly part of Gardner, at the rear of the house of Mr. Ed- ward Greenwood, one thousand one hundred and seventy feet in altitude; Kendall Hill, on the western borders of the South village, originally named Jackson Hill, after Capt. Elisha Jackson, one of the first settlers and one of the most notable and influential of the early citizens of the town, who lo- cated on its southerly side near the top, 1130 feet above sea-level ; Prospect Hill, on the southern side of the same village, formerly known as Wright's Hill, tak- ing its name from Mr. Joseph Wright, who came from Sterling and settled upon it, 1129 feet high. Attention is called also to the B. F. Kendall Hill, in the south section of the town, now being used for dwellings ; Cooledge and Beaman Hills, in the north part; Martin and Brooks Hills, in the west, and Ban- croft Hill, near to Crystal Lake, on the southwest, the easterly side of which was taken up and settled upon by Mr. Jonathan Bancroft, whose name it has perpetuated to this day.

LAKES AND PONDS .- There are in Gardner but few natural bodies of water-those " eyes of the land- scape," as Goethe is reputed to have called them- though there are numerous artificial ones, which give variety and charm to the scenery. Of the former, the one lying to the northwest of the Common is largest and most worthy of notice. In the early rec- ords it was called Wells' Pond, though for what rea-

son has not been ascertained. For a long time it was known simply as Gardner Pond. A few years ago, however, it was christened Crystal Lake by vote of the town-a name peculiarly appropriate and signifi- cant on account of the purity and clearness of its waters and the mirror-like tranquillity of their surface. Its greatest length is not far from a mile, while its ex- treme width scarcely exceeds half a mile, giving it an estimated area of one hundred and fifty-two acres. It is variously bordered with cultured fields, untamed pastures and groves of maple, oak and pine, sloping gently down to where its murmuring ripples kiss the solid earth, giving it a setting which makes of it a picture of exceeding loveliness and of bewitching charm to every lover of nature and of nature's fairest scenes. The modern cemetery, which is located upon its westerly side, with its granite and marble monu- ments, its exquisitely chiseled memorials of departed loved and honored ones, glittering in the sunlight, while, in a certain way, subduing and chastening the scene, yet, on the whole, gives it a more tender and sacred interest and significance. This Jake, so acces- sible from all directions, is in the summer-time a somewhat favorite resort for the disciples of Isaac Walton residing in the vicinity, its waters having been originally well-stored with various kinds of na- tive fish, and more recently stocked with those of foreign extraction ; and for country swains and dam- sels or others fond of boating in one or another of its various forms. In the winter its icy surface attracts those who enjoy the pleasant and health-imparting exercise of out-door skating, and the airs of the neigh- borhood are often, on sunny days and moonlit nights, made vocal with the merry voices of converse, laughter and song, breathing forth from those who relieve the tiresome round of study, toil and care, or fill the fleeting hours with sports and pleasures which, while they exhilarate and thrill both body and mind, giving added zest to life, yet leave no sting behind. A delightful grove on the western margin, made at- tractive by the hand both of nature and of man, hav- ing been cleared of all rocks and underbrush and fitted up with numerous devices and appliances for the con- venience and gratification of pleasure-seekers, and moreover being readily reached by railroad as well as by private conveyance, has become within a few years a frequent rendezvous for Sabbath-school, Grand Army and other parties, seeking rest and recreation amid the beauty and glory of the material world. With its pleasing surroundings and multiform attractions of a various sort, this lake merits the encomium given it by the local historian, when he characterizes it as "the pride of Gardner, 'a thing of beauty and a joy forever.' "

In the southwest part of the town is another nat- ural body of water called sometimes Widow Wood's Pond and sometimes Kendall's Pond, from persons living near at different dates, but its location and surroundings are such as to give it little attractive-

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GARDNER.

ness or interest except to sportsmen who sometimes are well repaid for tempting with well-baited hook and line the finny denizen of its waters. In days gone by it was deemed good fishing-ground, but in later years it has lost its reputation in that respect. Its surface measures about twenty-two acres, and lies scarcely above the level of Otter River, near by, into which its contents flow by a sluggish stream.

In the same general locality, and not far away, is Snake Pond, crossed by the Templeton line, only a few acres of which are in Gardner. It is much like the last named in its general features, though more in- accessible by reason of the low, marshy grounds which snrround it.

Quag Pond, in the easterly section of the town, is one of the sources of Pew Brook, and covers an area of about an acre. It is set in a bed of moss of vary- ing width, but many feet in depth, resting upon a substratum of soft mud.

Of the artificial bodies of water mention will be made in connection with the manufacturing interests of the town to which they are tributary as conserva- tories of power for mechanical purposes. They are at present few in number in comparison with what have existed in days gone by. Several mill privileges in the outlying districts having been abandoned, the ponds, whence their motive-power was derived, have disappeared, while those formed successively by the stream flowing out of Crystal Lake, and used to run the several shops along the valley, have, since the es- tablishment of the Public Water-works, been almost wholly given up, the need they served being now sup- plied by the introduction of steam-power.

STREAMS .- The situation of Gardner at the very summit of the highlands which divide the water- basin of the Merrimac River on the east from that of the Connecticut on the west, forbids the existence of water-courses within its borders, of any considerable size or importance. The only one that rises in any sense to the dignity of a river is that which enters its territory at the southwesterly side from Templeton, and flowing by a serpentine course in a general north- westerly direction some four or five miles, forming the greater part of that distance the bonndary of the town, passes thence onward through the north part of Tem- pleton into Winchendon, where it falls into Miller's River, a branch of the Connectiont. This stream bears the name of Otter River, presumably from the fact that the otter once inhabited its waters. Its de- scent through the town is very slight, and its move- ment consequently sluggish, except that in the last part of its course there is sufficient fall to enable it to be utilized by two or three manufacturing establish- ments located on the Templeton side.

Aside from Otter River the streams of Gardner are quite insignificant. And yet they have been an im- portant factor in the development of the industries of the town and in the promotion of its prosperity. In a certain way they have made the town what it is to-

day. They not only furnished power for the produc- tion of lumber for building purposes in the earlier stages of its history, but they supplied an essential need of the same sort in the evolution of its leading manufacturing interests at a period when, but for snch supply, that interest would have been compelled to seek other localities in order to obtain the means and facilities necessary to its growth and perfecting. As an intermediate link between hand or foot power- the power of human muscle-and steam-power in the making of chairs, the principal and distinguishing product of the town, and the one which has given it reputation, prestige and success, the comparatively convenient and inexpensive power furoished by these small streams was not simply useful, but indispensa- ble. But for this, so far as human vision can see, the fortunes of the town would have been entirely changed, its thrift and growth coming to an early and perpetual end.

Chiefest of these small bnt most valuable water conrses was Pond Brook, so-called, the outlet of Crystal Lake, flowing into Otter River, scarcely two miles from its source. The relation of this little stream to the business interests of the community and the growth of the place cannot be over-estimated. Thongh its former channel is now essentially dry, the waters which otherwise would fill it being diverted to important uses in other directions, yet, historically, it has been a stream of the highest importance and of incalculable value.

Scarcely less worthy of notice and commendation is the stream flowing through the village of South Gardner, sometimes called Gardner Brook. In some respects, it stands at the head of the list of water- courses in the town. It began to serve the need of the public at an earlier day than any other, and more than any other at this date contributes to the business interest and prosperity of the town, as it promises to do for years and generations to come. It enters Gardner near the southern corner, from West- minster, and flowing northwesterly through the vil- lage, thence southwesterly a distance of two and one- half or three miles in all, increased in volume and in valne by several tributaries on the way, it finally falls into Otter River, near the line of Templeton. Nine manufacturing establishments are in operation along its course, the motive-power of which is de- rived mostly from its waters.

Pew Brook is formed by several streamlets in the easterly part of the town, some of which come from Westminster, and running sonthwest and west, emp- ties into Gardner Brook, near the eastern extremity of South Gardner Village, below the lumber-mills of Lewis A. Wright & Co. It furnishes power for one chair-factory.

Foster Brook rises in the easterly central portion of the town, and flowing sontherly and westerly, dis- charges its waters into the South Gardner stream, I just above where the Worcester Railroad crosses it.

814

HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Kneeland Brook has several sources in the north- erly district, and by a sonthwesterly course finds an outlet in Otter River, near where the Fitchburg Railroad goes over it. Formerly several mills were run by power from this brook, but only one at the present time.

Wilder Brook is a branch of the last named, and is located to the west of it.

Bailey Brook, still farther west, rises in Winchen- don, and flowing southwesterly, empties into Otter River, just above where that stream passes beyond the limits of the town.

Several small streams in the northeast part of the town constitute the head-waters of one branch of the Nashua River, flowing northwesterly throngh the so-called Nashna Reservoir into Ashburnham, and two or three others in a more easterly direction flow into Westminster. On two of these streams, one in the northeast and one in the east, mills formerly stood, but both have passed away.

SOIL .- The geological basis of the territory of Gardner, like that of most of the towns of the coun- ty, is ferruginous gneiss, an azoic formation which, according to Dr. Hitchcock, antedates all other de- posits on the face of the globe. Gneiss is a some- what demoralized form of granite, combining quartz, feldspar and mica in varying proportions, and tend- ing to stratification. Into this combination, in the case before us, a tincture or element of iron enters, which gives it a rnsty appearance, and renders it easy of oxidation and consequent decomposition. These primordial deposits occasionally come to the surface in ledges and broken rock, as they are also sometimes unearthed by excavation, as in the con- struction of the railroads through the town. Upon them, in the order of geologic progress from untold ages past, there rest strata of secondary and tertiary formations composed of sand, pebbles and clay, the latter of which is to be found in exceptional quantities in the south part of the town, where it has been utilized to a very considerable and profitable extent, as will hereafter appear. Still later in the order of nature are there drift and alluvial stores brought from foreign localities by ice or water or other means, which, mingling with the decomposed products of older periods and of later vegetable growths going on from the beginning, constitute what is called the loam or soil, of which the surface of the earth in this instance is composed, and in which are to be found the various chemical elements that give it native fertility and luxnriance and render it nnder proper culture capable of serving, by its productive- ness, the needs of all animal life, and of ministering in manifold ways to human comfort and happiness.

The town of Gardner, considered with reference to the nature and quality of its soil, cannot be regarded as partienlarly adapted to purposes of agriculture. Occupying a position upon the very crest of the range of hills which separate two of the great water-

systems of the State, its lands sloping and its waters running both east and west, it is constantly losing, by the operation of nature's forces, many of those ele- ments which serve the husbandman's need as fertiliz- ing agents in the earth he cultivates ; while for the same reason it is subject to bleak and chilly winds, which tend to diminish the productiveness of its fields and to retard and jeopardize the growth and ripening of whatever may be planted or sown in them. Naturally, therefore, the land is gravelly, cold and sterile, and, next to the production of wood and timber, is better adapted to grazing purposes than to the cultivation of fruit and cereal crops. There are, moreover, scattered throngh the town numerous cold, marshy swamp lands, saturated with sour waters, and producing a sort of wiry grass which is neither palata- ble nor nutritions, and of little value in any respect.

Nevertheless, there are portions of the territory of the town which, by long and faithful husbandry, have been made to yield abundant returns for the labor expended upon them. On the slopes of some of the hills and in the intervening valleys the soil is deep and pliable and strong, and only needs thorough cni- ture to make it produce satisfactory harvests. There are, indeed, a goodly number of fine farms in the out- lying districts, whose commodious, well-kept build- ings, broad fields of grass and grain, large herds and flocks, bespeak not only enterprise, good habits and general thrift, but competency and independence. Besides these, every householder almost and every owner of a little homestead has his or her garden or plot of land devoted to the growth of both the larger and smaller fruits, different kinds of edible vegetables and nsually also to a pleasing variety of flowers and foliage plants, which speaks well for the kindly char- acter of the soil and of what may come from it by proper care and nursing-by that sort of management which usnally distinguishes a yeoman of New Eng- land.

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History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 211

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1576

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1576