USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Acton > History of the town of Acton > Part 16
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On September 23, 1815 Acton had its first recorded tornado or Great Blow as it was called at the time. It came from the east and wrecked several of the horsesheds at the meeting house and wrought particular havoc among the woodlots on the southwest side of Nehemiah's Hill and east of the Great Road. The damage was estimated at forty thousand dollars.
Before the town could recover from this misfortune it encountered, along with the rest of New England the wierd year of 1816 which came to be known as the year without a summer.1 This was no mis- nomer for a few cool weeks but a true description of the most amazing spell of weather in New England annals.
January and February were unduly mild, so much so in fact that aside from the kitchen fire for cooking purposes no other heat was required. The change came in May when ice half an inch thick formed on puddles and sheltered coves. June was the coldest ever experienced. Ten inches of snow fell in Vermont and three inches in Massachusetts. Seeds froze in the ground time after time. On July 5th ice as thick as ordinary window glass was common throughout New England, and to cap it all half inch ice again appeared in August at least once. The seed crops were not only ruined - they never ap-
1 Newspaper clipping from an old scrapbook of Anna Laws (1855-1932) long since deceased, a descendant of Acton's first settlers.
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peared - and corn held over from 1815 sold at five dollars a bushel. From this experience came the saying, "eighteen hundred and froze to death".
As has already been pointed out the wife of Capt. Isaac Davis married twice subsequent to his death. In October of 1802 she mar- ried Francis Leighton of Westford, the marriage taking place in Westford. He died in 1806 and the widow returned to Acton and resided for a time again in the house she formerly occupied, namely the one now owned by Oliver D. Wood.
In 1818 being then seventy one years of age and without funds Mrs. Leighton made an attempt to secure a pension. For decades this was not commonly known. It happened that some old documents were unearthed in an obscure place in the files of the House of Representatives by Mr. Walter French. There is mention made of an agent acting in the case but, whatever his qualifications otherwise, speed was not one of them for the attempt failed and the widow of Acton's great hero had to wait twenty three years before her pension was finally secured over sustained opposition.
Among the papers was the petition of Mrs Davis, signed in a trembling hand and worded as follows:
To the honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled A.D. 1818.
Humbly shews Hannah Leighton of Acton, in the County of Middle- sex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts. That your petitioner was the wife of Capt. Isaac Davis who killed in Concord by the British troops on the memorable 19th of April, A. D. 1775 while commanding his company of infantry. That in consequence of this dispensation your petitioner was left a widow with four small children and almost destitute of property. That although a provision was made by Con- gress for an allowance to the widows and children of officers killed in the service, yet owing to your petitioner's ignorance of the mode to obtain it and not having at the time friends to attend to the business in season, neither she nor her children ever obtained anything from the United States on account of the provision. That your petitioner has now arrived at the age of seventy one years and is poor, and with- out freinds of ability to provide for her support, and unable to provide a subsistance by her manual labor. Wherefore your petitioner humbly prays that Congress would take her case into consideration and make her an allowance to cheer her declining years, in consider- ation of the irreparable loss she sustained in the death of her husband, who was among the first who fell in his Country's cause. And in duty bound will ever pray.
Jan'y 1818 HANNAH LEIGHTON
On the back of the petition were three indorsements made at Acton
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as follows: Acton, January 1818
We the subscribers, selectmen of said town, hereby certify that the facts set forth in the within petition are true.
JOSEPH ROBBINS JOSEPH NOYES AARON HAYWARD
The facts stated in the preceding petition are in my belief true, and that said Capt. Isaac Davis when shot dead was leading his com- pany which made the first fire upon the enemy at the commencement of the revolutionary war, in the morning of that day.
MOSES ADAMS, Minister of Acton.
January 12, 1818
Acton, January 12 1818
I the subscriber certify that I was Sergeant in Capt. Davis'es Company at Concord when said Davis fell and assisted in carrying the corpse off the field and further certify that the facts in the Petition is true.
SETH BROOKS
A memorandum on the back of the petition shows that on January 19, 1818 it was referred to the committee on pensions and Revolution- ary claims. The committee, however, did not feel disposed to do any- thing until convinced by additional testimony of the truth of Hannah Leighton's statements. This additional proof was secured by Mr. John Keyes of Concord who apparently worked hard in the matter. Two months later Mr. Keyes wrote to Timothy Fuller member of Congress, saying
"Enclosed you will find an affidavit by Seth Brooks and John Robbins Esq and a copy of the record of marriage of Mrs. Leighton.
Mrs. L's agent has sent to the Secty's office but there is no papers in that office relative to allowances to soldiers of any descript or their widows, and he could not get a certificate. He was referred to the Governor, as he told me, and his Excellency was to write you this day upon the subject as a substitute for the certificate. I hope this letter and the enclosed will prove what the committee may want to satisfy them that the facts stated in Mrs. L's petition are true."
The affidavit of Seth Brooks, which was made before Judge Keyes, justice of the peace, and dated at Concord March 7, 1818 read as follows:
I, Seth Brooks of Acton, in the County of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts testify and say that I was a non-commissioned officer in the company commanded by Isaac Davis of said Acton in the year 1775. That on the nineteenth day of April in the said year, said Davis marched his company to meet a party of British troops sent from
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Boston to Concord. That said Davis with his company met the British troops in Concord, when the British troops fired on said Davis' company and killed said Davis, while he was leading on his company, and in the discharge of his duty as Captain of the same. I saw said Davis when he breathed his last and gave orders to have his body carried to a neighboring house.
SETH BROOKS
The copies from the town records of Acton is affixed as follows Isaac Davis and Hannah Brown, both of Acton, were married by the Rev'd John Swift, October 24th. A.D. 1764 Copy of record attest. JOHN ROBBINS, Town Clerk Acton, March 6, 1818
I, John Robbins testify and say that the widow Hannah Leighton of Acton, is the same person as mentioned in the record above by the name of Hannah Brown. That I know her to be the wife of Capt. Isaac Davis who was killed on the 19th of April 1775 in Concord by the British troops.
JOHN ROBBINS
Sworn to before John Keyes.
The letter of Gov. Brooks to Mr. Fuller is dated at Medford, March 11, 1818. In it he says
I have this day been requested to write to you in behalf of the widow of the late Capt. Isaac Davis of Acton, who was killed on the 19th of April 1775, in the memorable action fought between the Massachusetts militia and the British troops at Concord. I comply with the request with great pleasure although I can say but little of that par- ticular case. But I am confident that this widow has never had any provision made for her or her children by the state or the national government. Indeed, the same ob- servation may be extended to the widow of Col. Buttrick, who fell in the same battle with Capt. Davis and to the widows of all others who fell on that day. I can, I confess, see no reason why the families of those brave men who sacrificed their lives on that trying day are not entitled to equal consideration with the families of those who have since fallen. To me it would be extremely gratifying to see some public acknowledgement of the merit of those gallant spirits who first volunteered their services in the ranks and shed their blood in the cause of American liberty. I am very respectfully, sir, your obedient servant.
J. BROOKS
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In admitting his ignorance of the matter the governor immediately proves it by confusing Major John Buttrick with Col. James Barrett and asserting that he, the man he has in mind, was killed at Concord Fight. He is wrong on both counts since Col. James Barrett died April 11, 1779. Major John Buttrick eventually became a colonel and his tombstone puts his demise as of May 16, 1791.
This completes the case so far as the old papers in the files are concerned but the printed records show that nothing came of the original petition and that the matter slept for nine congresses before anything was done. Then the facts were revived and the bill giving her a pension, one year before her death, was passed in the closing hours of the Congress in 1841 and was signed by President Van Buren.
In 1821 the population of Acton was 1047. There were 140 dwelling houses, 230 other buildings, 513 acres of tillage land on which were raised 705 bushels of rye, 932 of oats, 5833 of corn, 75 of barley, 140 of beans. There were 1527 acres of mowing land producing 956 tons of hay ; 2026 acres of pasturage keeping 939 cows, 196 oxen; 2055 acres of woodland, 3633 acres of unimproved land and 1311 acres unimprovable; 240 acres used as roads, and 500 acres of lakes, ponds and streams.
In 1826 Josiah Holbrook, whose chief interest was natural science, organized at Millbury, Mass. the first American Lyceum. It was in reality a school of adult education. In three years there was at least one in every state. The avowed purpose of the movement was the "diffusion. of useful knowledge". A generation later Wendell Phillips was the outstanding speaker. Acton, with its fine meeting house, was early among the towns to make use of this opportunity for cultural improvement.
At this time the town was a beehive of small industry. New comers arrived bringing with them their families until the school problem became acute. The state school census of 1826 credits Acton with 412 pupils, all in the elementary classification it must be remembered, since there was at the time no high school. This will open the eyes of the modern reader when it is pointed out that the town report for 1950 lists only 380 below high school age, and this with more than three times the total population of 1826.1
As a result of the situation it was voted in 1826 to divide the east part of the town into two districts and to build two new school houses of brick. Francis Tuttle, Theodore Reed and Benjamin Wilde were chosen as a committee to establish the line between east and south east provided the residents could not agree. Regard- less of this precaution it was decided at a special town meeting on
1 227 males, 185 females; 139 less than age 7, 160 from 7 to 14, 113 over 14.
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September 18th to reconsider all foregoing action on the matter and put it on the agenda for the following November. In the meantime the selectmen had purchased the bricks and other material pursuant of town order. Hence it was necessary to instruct them to take care of the supplies until further notice. The town records make no mention of any further action in the matter until May 13, 1839 at which time it was voted to build two new school houses of brick, one in the north and one in the east, "provided they can decide where to build it". A second vote taken at the same time specified that the houses were to be finished before 1840. This decision was not full- filled since in April of 1840 an article seeking to prevent the building of the east school was dismissed. This would certainly imply that it had not been erected up to that time, and so far as can be discovered it never was built, despite the dismissal of the article. Viewed from the present it appears that the north school house was built sometime during the year 1839 and that sufficient pressure was brought to bear subsequently to put a quietus on the other one.
In 1828 Acton reached the dignity of a post office. Silas Jones was the first postmaster.
Early in 1828 agitation began in the state for the formation of a new county. A Mr. Jewett and others sought to have the towns of Royalston, Winchendon, Athol, Templeton, Gardner, Westminster, Ashburnham, Fitchburg, Leominster, Lunenburg, Princeton, Hub- bardston, Phillipston, Lancaster, Bolton, and Harvard taken from Worcester county and combined with the towns of Groton, Shirley, Pepperell, Ashby, and Townsend of Middlesex county to form the new unit. The petition did not prevail in the several towns concerned. The Acton vote was 11 in favor and 41 against the measure.
It was in 1828 also that the town took a renewed interest in the care of the poor. A committee was chosen to look at several farms with a view to buying and to make report at a subsequent time. It developed that three farms had been offered to the town for prices ranging from twenty two hundred dollars to thirty seven hundred. None of them were acceptable at the figures quoted and in consequence it was eventually decided to let out the care of the poor to Silas Piper, he being the lowest bidder, for three years at two hundred and ninety seven dollars per year.
In this connection it is interesting to note that one of the paupers was Ephraim Billings, a member of Isaac Davis's company at Con- cord Fight. It appears that he was not a constant boarder with the aforesaid Silas Piper but flitted in and out of town as the whim struck him. That being the case, the town stipulated at the May meeting of 1829 that Piper should reimburse the town seventy five cents each week the said Billings was absent. This went on until
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December when an ultimatum was issued to the effect that Billings return to Acton and stay there or support himself elsewhere. Since the offender was seventy eight at the time it is to be presumed that he obeyed the ukase and spent the rest of his days in tolerable if not superlative mental composure.
It was at about this time that Mr. Asa Dodge Smith, a graduate of Dartmouth of the class of 1830 established in Acton a private school which ran with some success for a while. He graduated from the Andover Theological Seminary in 1834 and went immediately to the Brainerd Presbyterian Church in New York City where he remained for twenty nine years. This was his only parish since he left it in 1863 to become president of Dartmouth College. He was a man of great dignity, self possessed, and remarkably fluent of speech. He died in 1877.
At its March meeting in 1832 the town broke a custom that had en- dured for nearly a century when it voted to dispense in the future with the May meeting. This was a particularly important move because the May meeting had been the time for voting for the state officers and for bringing before the town the annual budget insofar as one existed. This action was precipitated because the state election date was at that time (May 11, 1831) changed to the first Monday in November. It was later defined as the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November.
An event of even greater import, however, was the organization of the Evangelical church and the bringing into Acton of Rev. James Trask Woodbury as its first pastor. He was an able preacher and a dynamic citizen but his great contribution to the town, which none could then envision, was to be the Davis Monument which now graces the beautiful common.
On the twenty third of February, 1832, at a meeting of the church it was voted that thirteen. male members and forty six females should be, according to their own request, dismissed from the First Church and be recommended to the care of an ecclesiastic council for the purpose of being formed into a church in connection with the Evangelical Society of Acton.1
The worship of this group was first in a chapel built for the purpose, later for many years used as a two family dwelling, but now the property of the Acton Centre Women's Club. On March 17, 1832 the church was organized by a council and Mr. Woodbury was ordained and installed the same day.
Mr. Woodbury was not only a man of large stature and command- ing personality but also a man of great courage and ability. He was positive, frequently tactless, but beloved withal because of his 1 For a brief history of the Evangelical Church see Appendix XIV.
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integrity and humanity. He lived at the end of the street, now named for him, in the house at present occupied by the Putnam family. He is credited with saying that he liked to be out where there was plenty of room so he could shout as loudly as he pleased.
As a reformer Mr. Woodbury's gifts were conspicuous on the platform. His humor and pathos and passion and wit, his bluntness, quaintness, and oddities, his independent honesty and high purpose gave him a foremost rank as an anti-slavery and temperance advocate.
The whole town revived under his ministry. The houses and farms and shops and roads and schools that had languished under the blight of intemperance took on a new lease of prosperity.
He cared nothing for the prevailing style in clothes. Because he so desired he wore a broad brimmed hat, loose fitting coats and pants, carried a blue umbrella instead of black, had boots with soles pro- jecting half an inch beyond the upper, and, clad in a farmer's frock, with pants tucked into his boots, drove his oxen through the village whenever it suited his convenience.
But woe to the adversary in political or religious debate who esteemed him to be a country bumpkin. Aside from being an able preacher and orator he was a lawyer, having graduated from Har- vard in 1823 and having passed the New Hampshire bar in 1826. In the years ahead more than one overweening member of the Massachusetts legislature was to learn to his chagrin that "Priest Woodbury" was a far abler rough and tumble antagonist than his eccentricities indicated.
In the election of 1834 he was a candidate for representative in Congress and in Acton polled fifty two votes to twenty eight for his nearest competitor in a field of five.
On the 19th of January, 1835, the question of having the town pur- chase the chapel (now the Women's Club) was presented to the town meeting "at such price as shall be made known at the meeting". The matter was laid over until March at which time the article was dis- missed never to be resurrected.
In May following it was voted to pay for having the meeting house bell tolled for deaths, funerals, Sundays, Lenten fast, and town meetings The tolling at deaths could be quite a chore since it was customary to stroke off the age of the deceased, hesitate for a few seconds, and then ring a specified number of times to indicate the sex of the departed. It has been alleged by some of the old timers that certain of the undertakers of the period used to station one or more of the children at a favorable listening post when it was known that a stricken neighbor was shortly to be in need of a coffin. It was not thought unduly strange if the undertaker visited the chamber of approaching death and went to work with tape measure and note
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Two or three events of the year 1835 are particularly worthy of mention. The first is the starting of the powder mills on the short stretch of the Assabet River that cuts across the extreme southeast corner of the town.1 Nathan Pratt put in the dam and operated the mills until 1864. They were then sold to the American Powder Company in a merger with the Massachusetts Powder Mills located at Barre, Mass. The business grew and the plant with its attendant storage houses spilled over into Sudbury, Concord (and eventually into what is now Maynard) to cover an area of more than four hundred acres. In 1883 the company became the American Powder Mills, hiring some sixty men to make the powder and to collect from the surrounding swamp country the willow wood to make prime charcoal.
Explosions that shattered a few window panes as far away as Acton Centre while not common were by no means unheard of. Any- one who had lived in the vicinity for twenty five years had almost certainly experienced two or three.
About 1900 smokeless powder mills were added to the plant. During the first World War the output was under contract with Russia and Russian inspectors were in attendance. In 1940, or there- abouts, the manufacture of powder ceased and the property went into the hands of the American Cyanamid Co. At present the largest industry using the area is the Dewey & Almy Chemical Co., manu- facturers of synthetic rubber. Several other companies, including the Eastern States Farmer's Exchange; the Technical Products Co .; the Maynard Building Supply Co .; the R. & H. Co. and one or two others utilize the buildings adjacent to the dam.
The second event was the Centennial Celebration which took place on July 21, 1835. The orator of the occasion was the Hon. Josiah Adams of Framingham, a native of Acton and its ardent champion to the end of his days. His speech was a long one in which he reviewed the history of the town in considerable detail, particularly with respect to the events that transpired at Concord Bridge.2 The following excerpt indicates the tenor of his remarks:
"Without deeming it of much importance to consider the relative times and places of the events of that day, I shall contend that Isaac Davis was the life and soul of the action, in advancing to the bridge at Concord; and that it is reason able to believe that, had he lived, the events of the conflict, in the morning, would have given a character to the Con- cord Fight much above what, now, it can be made to assume.
1 Fletcher, 272,294.
2 Historical Papers, vol. 2, Acton Library.
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This matter will be dwelt upon more particularly, because the voice of Acton, in regard to it, has never been heard. The scene of action being Concord, it was natural for history to presume that the spirit of resistance was born there. It is true that Capt. Davis is mentioned by historians as commanding the company in front; and there is no reason, in general, to complain of the manner in which his courage and conduct have been treated. But how it happened that a captain - lower in rank than the commanders of the Con- cord minute men - belonging to another town, and having no property nor defenseless friends in the village to need his protection - was placed in the front, has never, it is believed been truly explained by any historian. And per- haps this might not have been deemed a fit occasion for making the explanation if a representative, from a very re- spectable source, had not been published within a few years, entitled. 'A History of the Fight at Concord', in which an explanation is given at the expense of the good sense, the modesty, and the courage of Capt. Davis.
It is in vain to disguise it. It cannot be denied that all that was done before the British left the village was done before Davis was killed. From that moment nobody had any command and nothing was even attempted. What became of Col. Barrett, Major Buttrick or Col. Robinson nobody has told us, ... The truth is, it was said so at the time, and ever since, that, when Capt. Davis arrived on the ground no one would agree to go in front. When he arrived they took courage. His spirit was known and they relied on it. And I repeat, that the soul of the action on that morning was the soul of Isaac Davis; and when that soul fled the action was over."
Adams' speech made a great impression, so much so that at the March meeting of 1836 it was voted to give a printed copy to all who had paid poll tax and were of age, also to all heads of families, male or female, and to all poor not able to pay a tax, and that six copies be lodged with the town clerk.
Furthermore it was voted that a committee consisting of the town clerk, the selectmen and certain others take the depositions of Hannah Leighton (widow of Isaac Davis), Solomon Smith, Thomas Thorp, and Charles Handley relative to the events of April 19th, 1775, to which they were eye witnesses.
There exists no known record of the precise exercises nor of the personages present but almost certainly as many as possible of the survivors of Davis' company were honored guests. Those who were
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