USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Acton > History of the town of Acton > Part 25
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In 1874 the district comprised of Acton, Wayland, and Sudbury was represented in the state legislature by Mr. George C. Wright of West Acton. Since the district never has elected a Democrat, Mr. Wright was, like all the others, a staunch Republican. A short biography and a picture appear in Fletcher,2 but it may be desirable to mention here that he was a partner for many years with Dwinnell, Hayward & Co., of Boston, the largest coffee and spice house in New England. In 1846 he married Susan Davis of Acton, grand niece of Capt. Isaac Davis. He was a man of high principles, possessed a strong sense of civic duty, and was for many years one of the town's prominent citizens. He was a prime mover in the Universalist activity in West Acton and contributed largely toward the erection of the church of that denomination.
Early in January of 1875 the wheels were set in motion by the town of Concord for the greatest celebration Middlesex County ever experienced. . In connection with the centennial of Concord Fight
1 One item listing receipts of $62.25 for the use of the town hall cellar needs explanation to the modern reader. It was customary for several decades to auction off space in the cellar for storage. Thousands of barrels of apples were stored therein before the days of modern refrigeration.
2 Fletcher, page 4 of biographical section.
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but because of the unique part that Acton men had played in the engagement at Concord Bridge a special letter of invitation was addressed to the selectmen by the committee of arrangements. This letter, which is pasted into the town records, is herewith given. It is a gracious and courteous document that should not become unknown through neglect.
Concord, January 9, 1875
To the Selectmen of Acton,
Gentlemen,
The Committee of Arrangement for the Centennial Cele- bration of "Concord Fight" chosen by the town of Concord desire the cooperation of the Town of Acton in the approach- ing celebration - April 19th, 1875.
Formal invitations have been sent to all the towns whose men participated in the first armed struggle for liberty to to join with Concord in the proper celebration of the day, and you have undoubtedly received yours.
But it seems to this committee, and it is the desire of the town of Concord, that the town of Acton should receive something more than a formal invitation. Davis and Hosmer, - men of Acton - were the first martyrs to or- ganized resistance to the British Crown, and on the spot where they fell, it is proposed to erect an emblematical statue of a minute man and to dedicate it with appropriate ceremonies At its dedication the citizens of Acton should have a prominent part. As Acton joined with Concord in that famous fight, - as Acton joined with Concord in 1825, and again in 1850, in celebrating their common anni- versary, - as Concord joined with Acton at the dedication of your monument in 1851, so now we hope Acton will join with Concord, and make a commemoration that shall of itself be memorable.
We trust therefore that you, or some committee on the part of your town, will confer with us, as soon as practicable, with reference to the arrangements for the forthcoming cele- bration.
We are gentlemen very respectfully Your obedient servants George Keyes Richard Barrett Samuel Hoar Charles H. Walcott Jas. E. Melvin
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for Concord Committee of Arrangements.
The town of Lexington also planned a simultaneous celebration and since Acton received invitations to participate in both it was decided in town meeting to solve the dilemma by passing a resolution to the effect that the town would be delighted to accomodate both towns but since it was in Concord that the men of Acton distinguished themselves and that since also a monument was to be dedicated at Concord in their honor it was deemed proper to accept the invitation of Concord.
A committee of ten men was chosen to act in conjunction with the Concord committee1 and another committee of three, consisting of Luther Conant, Charles A. Harrington and John Fletcher, was selected to represent the town at the ceremonies in Lexington.
In view of the elaborate plans being envisioned at Concord it was decided that Acton would attempt no formal celebration but would restrict its observance to the usual ringing of bells, firing salutes, and the decoration of the monument somewhat after the fashion chosen at its dedication in 1851, followed by a mass meeting and band concert in the town hall in the evening At a subsequent town meet- ing it was voted to expend a sum not to exceed $1100.00 to outfit a company of minute men to represent Acton in the forthcoming celebration at Concord This company, under the command of Capt. Aaron C. Handley and lieutenants Frank Whitcomb, Daniel Farrar and John Loker eventually appeared in parade eighty three strong.
The morning of April 19, 1875 was the exact contrary of the counterpart of the century before. Instead of a balmy spring morning the temperature was in the low twenties, ice covered all the ponds, and the wind pierced the stoutest clothing. Nevertheless a crowd of nearly a hundred thousand precipitated itself upon the town of Concord.2 Over ten thousand jammed the North Station at Boston before nine o'clock. In Lowell the ticket clerks gave up in despair and closed the windows at ten o'clock to the consternation of hundreds unable to secure passage at any predictable hour for the remainder of the day.
Precisely at sunrise (5.18) Concord was awakened by a salvo of one hundred heavy guns which continued to fire until the most somnolent were thoroughly aroused.
The huge parade, headed by the United States Marine Band and assisted by the first regiment band and fifteen others was made up of five long sections. In the line were two hundred members of the
1 Luther Conant, James Billings, Rev. Franklin P. Wood, Olier W. Mead, Hiram Hapgood, Col. Winthrop E. Faulkner, Daniel Wetherbee, Frank Whit- comb, George R. Keyes, George Wright.
2 The Boston Weekly Journal of April 22, 1875 devoted a special issue of four complete pages to the events at Concord and Lexington with the detailed make- up of each division of the paradc.
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Massachusetts Legislature, the president and many of the faculty of Harvard College, Governor Peck of Vermont with the St. Albans brass band and an escort of one hundred and sixty two men, Governor Dingley of Maine, Governor Chamberlain of South Carolina, together with numerous other governors and New England mayors galore. On the national level there were such dignitaries as President Grant, Vice-President Henry Wilson, Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, Secretary of the Interior Columbus Delano, Secretary of War William Belknapp, Speaker of the House James G. Blaine, and ex-President Franklin Pierce.1
In this concourse Acton was represented by its selectmen and thirty other citizens, a brass band of twenty eight pieces, and its company of eighty three minute men. Also in line was the grandson of Isaac Davis, Amos N. Fitch of Cattaraugus, N. Y., aged seventy one, and his sister, Mrs. Simon Davis of Acton, aged seventy eight. Also among Acton's minute men was Amos Lucien Noyes, great- grandson of Isaac Davis.
One of the outstanding ceremonies of the day was the unveiling of the Minute Man statue at the Old North Bridge. The sculptor, Daniel Chester French, was then a young man of only twenty five but his masterpieces of later years secured him no greater renown and gave him no greater personal satisfaction.
At the afternoon exercises there was a speech by Ralph Waldo Emerson, a poem by James Russell Lowell, and a long oration by Mr. George William Curtis, formerly of Concord. In introducing Mr. Curtis the chairman of the day, Mr. E. Rockwell Hoar, exhibited the sword of Isaac Davis and observed that although about a foot was broken off the end, necessitating one more step forward, he would willingly have taken that step.
Rev. Franklin P. Wood, pastor of the Centre Congregational Church from 1871 to 1884, responded at the proper time on behalf of Acton. He covered the customary details concerning the part played by Davis in the events at Concord Fight and concluded his remarks by reading the deposition of Hannah Davis bearing on the events of the day.2
Apparently our forbears were real men particularly when it came to taking celebrations in their stride, for it appears that after having put in a full day at the greatest parade and ceremonials ever seen in the countryside the Acton citizens returned to attend en masse the previously planned observations in the town hall. The present generation can still learn something of endurance from the town fathers of old.
Just when the name Woodlawn was chosen for the cemetery at the
1 President Grant visited Acton upon this occasion, thus making three presi- dents, he and the two Adames, who have trod Acton Common.
2 See Appendix XII.
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Centre is unknown. There is no mention of town action on the matter and in all probability the choice was made by the cemetery committee. The first actual mention of the name appears in an article in the warrant for a town meeting to be held on November 2, 1875 wherein it is desired to see what action the town will take to build a new face wall at Woodlawn cemetery in the east part of town. This doubtless refers to the wall now extending from the west gate around the turn to the tomb.
In April following several innovations were made in the whole regulation of the cemeteries that indicated a healthy and growing civic consciousness. The cemetery committee was instructed to price all lots, said price to be from one to five dollars for inhabitants and four times as much for non-residents. Deeds were to be issued, accurate records kept and legal action invoked for defacement.
In this connection it may be mentioned that until this time two fences had surrounded the monument on the common. During the year 1876 the inside fence was removed. The outer fence, a ponder- ous affair of granite posts and heavy, sagging chains, was to surround the terraces and the slate stones for another score of years.
It was customary at this period for the school committee to include detailed information in the annual report regarding the ability and success of the several teachers in the town. When the facts were adverse nothing was held back, as per the following from the report of 1877.
"The winter term was managed (?) by Rev. S. O. Dyer. This teacher had charge of a small school in this town in 1875. In our report of the school he then taught we said, "The school made a fair degree of progress under his man- agement. He did not awaken enthusiasm and arouse am- bition of the scholars to the degree we could have desired". Mr. D. had not taught for several years when he took charge of the other school, but he professed to have received special preparation for the work of teaching, and, as since he has taught several terms in a neighboring town, and has been assistant superintendent of the schools in another town, we judged it safe to commit this school to his charge, but we are sorry to be obliged to report that the school was very far from being a success."
Since the town report went into the hands of every voter the shortcomings of Mr. Dyer were by no means a secret. Although social manners have deteriorated in the last seventy five years no public official would today publish such a devastating assertion. At that time, however, the school committee took its duty seriously and made clear to the electorate what was going on and why.
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A casual glance at a copy of the Acton Patriot for October 12, 1876 gives one several sidelights on town affairs. The Fitchburg Railroad time table shows seven trains a day for Boston, five for Fitchburg, and four for Marlborough. The Framingham and Lowell line ran three trains a day. According to the church notices it appears that there were services at ten thirty and one thirty and that the Sunday Schools convened in between. One interesting item states that persons desirous of settling in the territory of Nebraska may have free transportation thereto over the Union Pacific Railway.
Throughout Acton's history Lake Nagog has been the Mecca of the local anglers. Fed solely by powerful springs, some of which are fifty feet below the surface, its waters are remarkably clear and the shore line is almost entirely free from the swamp plants that cus- tomarily appear during the life history of the normal lake with silt bearing tributaries. The dam at the outlet, built about a century ago to impound additional water for the mills some two miles away, raised the water level appreciably and produced the large island, lying wholly within the town of Littleton, together with the shallow reaches of marsh, water lillies and pickerel weed round about it. The diversity of character in the water made the ichthyic life varied and abundant, including trout, pickerel, bass, perch, and even eels and horned pout. Some amazing tales persist concerning the old timers of a hundred years ago. One asserts that a single fisherman in a single day caught one hundred and sixty seven pickerel and amassed a grand total of three thousand in a lifetime.1 One cannot refrain from wondering what other occupation this disciple of Isaac Walton pursued.
In 1878 the town expended one hundred and thirty six dollars for bass stock and similar sums at subsequent times. In this particular entry the lake is designated as Magog. This variation in the spelling deserves some comment since the same form appears now and then in the ancient records. It is possible that both forms have justification. In either case the word is undoubtedly Indian and has no connection with the Biblical Magog the son of Japheth.2
The Indian word for water is rendered in English as "magog" in several instances, prominent among which is Lake Memphremagog which lies athwart the Canadian line and upon which is located the town of Newport, seat of Orleans County, Vermont. In that locality the word "memphremagog" has long been understood to mean
Fletcher, p. 282.
2 Genesis 10:2; Ezekiel 38:2.
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"beautiful waters"1
If one chooses to give the imagination free play it is not difficult to visualize a pair of early colonial explorers being guided by an Indian, a Nashoba doubtless, for the first time to the shore of our own beautiful lake. By some means they make the Indian aware of their desire to know what he calls it. The guide, amazed at the stupidity of these enigmatic white strangers who can stand within a few steps of several hundred acres of water and ask such a question, is confounded. Possibly he gives forth an ejaculation signifying "water" but which to the listeners is most nearly duplicated by the words "magog" or "nagog".2 It may have persisted in both forms for several generations but certainly the latter spelling has held sway for the last three quarters of a century.
The dam at Nagog appears to date from about 1852. It is known that the White family pastured cattle at that locality in the decade ending with 1850 and that Daniel Wetherbee bought the water rights in 1852 at the time he enlarged his mill at East Acton.3
Although the origins of baseball go back to Colonel Abner Doubleday in 1839 the game did not approximate its modern form until 1859 when a team was formed in Washington, D. C. The next year the city of Lowell, Mass. put a team in the field which of necessity inspired in the local boys an avid interest. In 1871 the National Association was formed with teams in nine cities well distributed over the country.4 Although the organization was pathetically loose according to modern standards, and even though many of the games did not come off as scheduled, baseball had come to stay and Acton was in the vanguard among the small towns with a team in 1877.
As yet no standard uniform had been evolved, even for city teams, but a photograph formerly in the possession of James B. Tuttle showed the Acton team as wearing a white cap with a blue A on the front. In addition each man was resplendent in a white wool shirt of heavy texture with a shield outlined in navy blue braid covering the whole chest area. In the center of the shield, which was fastened by about a dozen cloth covered buttons, there was an old English A also in navy blue. The pants and shoes were ad libitum but for that
1 The author is indebted to G. C. Bartlett of Newport, Vt. for the following data; history of Orleans County published about 1875 states that the Indians called the lake Memphremagog, meaning "beautiful waters" and tradition has accepted that meaning. Some years ago a book was published entitled "Beauti- ful Waters" concerning the lake and its surroundings.
2 The first reference to this body of water by name appears along about the middle of the agreement between the town of Concord and Thomas Wheeler, drawn in 1669. It is there called "nagog pond". See Appendix I.
3 Mr. Horace Tuttle cites a record of conveyance from Whipple, Tileson & Hale to Daniel Wetherbee dated 1852.
4 Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Brooklyn, Cleveland, Rockford, Ill., Troy, N. Y., Fort Wayne, Ind., and a New York City team named the Mutuals.
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day and time the Acton ball club was a sartorial triumph.
According to our venerable raconteur the old timers were men of valor and ability. In that distant day the called strike was unknown and the batter could demand that the ball be thrown where he pre- ferred it. In consequence strike outs were rare, singles almost too insignificant for the record and home runs commonplace. Ground rules were as yet far in the future and upon one occasion Acton won a game when the ball, jamming tightly between the pickets of a fence in the outfield, resisted all efforts to dislodge it until the bases had been cleared. There were no carefully tended playing fields. Any reason- ably clear pasture was acceptable. The best one in the local area was near Fletcher Corner and there mighty combats were staged and prodigies performed that still titillate the memories of the few remaining nonogenarians.
By a stroke of good fortune the list of Acton's first knights of the diamond is still vivid in the mind of Mr. Hoar. We give it herewith for the amusement and information of the interested.
James B. Tuttle, pitcher; Frank Marshall, catcher; George Reed, first base1; Edward F. Conant, second base; Charles Day, third base; Arthur Tuttle, short-stop2; Simon Taylor, left field3; John Hoar, center field; William Puffer, right field; Lyman Taylor, utility substitute4; Dennis Sullivan, catcher and utility.5
In March of 1880 public sentiment began to crystalize with re- spect to the possibility of a town library. This was a natural reaction to the whole movement that spread westward from New England through New York and Ohio and led to the term "library belt" for that area where facile access to printed information was considered desirable for the general population. A committee consisting of Rev. I. C. Knowlton, J. K. W. Wetherbee, Daniel Fletcher, Elbridge Robbins, Jona W. Parker, and William D. Tuttle was chosen to investigate and report a month later. The article was subsequently dismissed but the seed that was to bear fruit a decade later had been sown.
A more immediate reaction, however, was a movement instigated by a group in West Acton to form an organization known as the Citizens' Library that has functioned until the present.
On October 6th, 1883 about forty gentlemen met in the railroad depot to discuss the matter. Mr. F. C. Nash called the meeting to order. Rev. I. C. Knowlton was chosen temporary chairman and Charles B. Stone temporary secretary. Permanent officers were elected as follows: Luke Blanchard, President; Bradley Stone, James
1 Father of George Howard Reed.
2 Brother of James B. Tuttle.
Brothers of Emery Taylor.
5 A ringer from Townsend.
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Brown, Adelbert Mead, Charles Taylor, Vice-Presidents; Charles B. Stone, Secretary; Thomas O'Brien, station agent, Asst. Secretary; Edwin Stone, Treasurer and Collector; Clara Nash, Librarian; F. C. Nash, George Gardner, F. H. Whitcomb, Executive Committee.
There was in the village a Farmers' Club that was functioning at this time more or less sporadically. Consequently it was voted at this meeting that the Executive committee confer with its representatives concerning the library in its custody. Although the records do not make further mention of the matter assurance is given by Mr. John Hoar that the Farmers' Club library came into the eventual possession of the Citizens' Library.
There were sixty eight subscribers to the original library fund with subscriptions ranging from one dollar to fifty dollars.
On November 8, 1883 the library was opened in a room adjoining Grand Army Hall, over what was at that time the post office but in more recent years the Town Shop, with Mrs. Clara Nash as librarian. The act of incorporation was consummated October 2, 1884. In 1892, at the suggestion of Mrs. Nash, a cheaper and more satisfactory location was obtained in the Universalist Church.
In 1894 Mr. Phineas Wetherbee, one of the corporators and prime movers in organizing the library, died, and bequeathed his home on Windsor Ave. together with certain other parcels of land, to the library corporation. The corporation was obliged to sue the estate to obtain title. The details need not be given here but the suit was apparently successful since it was voted on April 18, 1900 "that the library be removed to the north side of Phineas Wetherbee's house after necessary changes are made". All the land was sold except the lot on which the house now stands. The lot on which the fire house now stands was sold to the town. All the money from the land sales was deposited in the savings banks. The property is still owned by the corporation.
With the inauguration of periodic auditing of town accounts by the state the requisite bookkeeping and general management became more demanding and finally eventuated in public action in town meeting. The West Acton Citizens' Library continues to serve the West village as a corporation with its own staff of officers. The town hires and controls its librarian who distributes the books from the Wilde Memorial Library as a branch as well as its own books owned by the Citizens' Library.
The librarian in recent years until her resignation in 1950 was Miss Katherine Kinsley. Mrs. Edith A. Hopkinson took over the duties in 1951.
Apparently Acton had several blizzards and an unusually heavy snowfall during the winter of 1880-81 quite out of line with the eastern
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portion of the state in general.1 Its effect is reflected in the report of the school committee wherein it is mentioned specifically that the heavy snows caused a decided abbreviation in the attendance. The suggestion is made for the first time that in the future it ought to be understood that when the roads were badly drifted there should be no school session. The modern reader must pause to realize that this was long before the era of the present day bulldozer and other snow handling machinery. "Breaking out the roads" meant that the various road men got out several two horse wood sleds with an ordinary field plow chained to each side at the rear to throw the snow a bit. A corps of shovelers rode on each sled and if the going was tough four horses might well be hitched on. When a deep drift was encountered, such that the horses might readily calk themselves in struggling through, the shovelers turned to and cut through it, sometimes in a few minutes, sometimes in two or three hours. The sidewalks in the villages were ploughed out after a fashion by a horse drawn V shaped snowplow made of plank and shod with iron. It was about ten feet long, twenty inches high, and four feet across at the wide end, and had a floor upon which the driver stood if the snow was not too deep. Extra heavy drifts were circumnavigated and hence the pedestrian might find himself in the ditch or on some one's front lawn but it made small difference since the ground was usually iron hard in any event.
Whatever pranks the weather may have played the town had on its mind matters of far greater import. We refer here to the great "bounty fight" which for intensity and sustained animosity far outstripped any other political row in the town annals. There had been long argument over the location of the two meeting houses but they were not only anemic as compared with the present controversey but were completely different in character. The voters split in the former two cases as to the site of a building. The bounty question, however, involved personal avarice, public morality, and communal integrity.
The essence of the trouble lay in the fact that certain soldiers who were promised a bounty of a hundred and twenty five dollars for enlisting in the latter part of the war had not received it. This was partly because there was misunderstanding as to the portion, if any, to be paid by the state. In all probability the town would have voted without demur immediately after the war to pay the required sums and have gambled on getting eventual reimbursement from the Commonwealth. This had not been done, however, and hence the matter had dragged along in semi-abeyance for fifteen years.
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