USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Acton > History of the town of Acton > Part 30
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The exercises closed with the dedication and prayer by Rev. Edward G. Porter of Dorchester.
From these exercises the company passed to Woodlawn Cemetery where the graves of the Revolutionary dead were marked with small flags set in iron markers that had been installed by the town the year previous. One incident of the services in the cemetery was the reading by Rev. Mr. Wood from the Bible formerly used by Rev. John Swift, Acton's first pastor.
From Woodlawn the company proceeded to the site of the Hosmer house, where through the generosity and in- terest of Mr. Luke Blanchard was dedicated another native boulder inscribed as follows:
FROM THIS FARM WENT CALVIN AND LUTHER BLANCHARD TO CONCORD FIGHT AND BUNKER HILL
SONS OF SIMON BLANCHARD WHO WAS KILLED AT THE BATTLE OF QUEBEC 1759 LUTHER WAS THE FIRST MAN HIT BY A BRITISH MUSKET BALL AT THE OLD NORTH
BRIDGE AND DIED IN THE SERVICE OF HIS COUNTRY A FEW MONTHS LATER
The exercises consisted of an address by Rev. W. R. Buxton, of the South Acton Congregational Church and an historic paper by Hon. Luther Conant.1 Mr. Conant's remarks are given in detail below.
"With those who interest themselves in the research of
1 Rev. Buxton's address is given in full in MEMORIAL TO LUTHER BLANCHARD FIFER OF THE ACTON MINUTE MEN, page 40. in the Acton Library.
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genealogy for the purpose of discovering a distinguished pedigree to boast of, or a coat of arms to emblazon their hearaldry, we have little sympathy.
But when we find a man who is willing to give time and money to ascertain if one of his kindred or ancestors suffered or perished in some great cause, and whose memory and acts are passing into oblivion, because his- torians have not done justice to his services, at once the act commands our admiration and respect, and we bow to him as a public benefactor.
From this farm went Calvin and Luther Blanchard to Concord Fight and Bunker Hill, sons of Simnon Blanchard, who was killed at the battle of Quebec, 1759. These young men were learning the mason's trade and could not claim Acton as their birthplace, having been born in what is now the town of Boxborough.
The story of Luther Blanchard, fifer, and Francis Barker, drummer, taking their place at the head of the line, striking up the tune of "The White Cockade" in my early childhood, strongly appealed to my imagination, and I never visit the historic ground without their almost visibly appearing before me. Luther was the first man hit by a British musket ball at the Old North Bridge and went into the house of Hum- phrey Barrett to have his wound bandaged.
On the 24th of April, five days after the Concord fight, Luther Blanchard, together with fifteen other members of Captain Davis' company enlisted in Captain William Smith's company of Lincoln, Colonel John Nixon's Regiment, and was at the battle of Bunker Hill. After one hundred and twenty years, through the generosity of one of his kindred, his grandnephew, Mr. Luke Blanchard of Acton, a noble memorial has been erected to his memory.
This place has now become one of Acton's shrines for on this farm dwelt Abner Hosmer, who was killed with Captain Davis at the Old North Bridge.
The other brother, Calvin, was a member of the Westford company in Colonel William Prescott's Regiment. He was a man of great determination and physical strength, both of which qualities came into great prominence on such a day as the Battle of Bunker Hill. He afterward enlisted in the army that under Arnold made an attempt to capture Quebec in the latter part of 1775, where his father was killed sixteen years before."
The exercises were concluded by a dedicatory prayer by Rev. E. I.
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Lindh, pastor of the Baptist church at West Acton.
The old house from which Abner Hosmer and Luther Blanchard departed for Concord was demolished many years before the dedica- tion ceremonies but it stood on the very spot later occupied by the dwelling of Mr. Herman Gould and now the residence of Mr. Douglas Granger. It was a large house, upright in front, with a lean-to roof on the back. It had two rooms in front, with an entry between. A large chimney was midway of the house. The back chambers were low and unfinished.
Deacon Jonathan Hosmer, father of Abner, was the first settler on the farm. Nathan Davis Hosmer, grandson of Jonathan, built the dweling house now standing and was the last Hosmer to own the property.
The next focus of attention was the Acton Common where the renowned Salem Cadet Band of that period, under the direction of Mr. Jean M. Missud, entertained the guests who had been assembling for the later exercises.
At the conclusion of the concert the committee repaired to the homesite of Capt. Isaac Davis for the dedication of a third granite marker inscribed as follows:
THIS FARM WAS THE HOME OF CAPT. ISAAC DAVIS
WHO WAS KILLED IN BATTLE BY THE BRITISH AT THE OLD NORTH BRIDGE IN CONCORD, APRIL 19TH 1775.
Upon their return there was a military parade by the Old Sixth Massachusetts Regiment and the G. A. R. Posts.
At twelve forty five a reception was extended to Governor Frederick Greenhalge which was immediately followed by a sumptuous collation in the town hall. Acton's genial and capable caterer of those days, Mr. A. Lucien Noyes, Proprietor of the Monument House, served the meal to all who cared to attend.
At two o'clock the speaking of the afternoon took place in the tent. The day was so fine that the sides were rolled up and fully a third of the huge crowd stood outside in the sunshine. One paragraph of the governor's speech may here be recorded as indicative of its whole tenor.
"It was the citizen soldier - the Minute Man - who sprang to his arms at one o'clock on the morning of April 19th, 1775, on Lexington Common. It was the citizen soldier Isaac Davis of Acton, who kissed his baby in the cradle for the last time, and threw his arms lovingly, for the last time,
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around the neck of his devoted wife Hannah on that morn- ing, and who led his company to Concord Bridge, to give his life that liberty might live. It was the wife of a citizen soldier, Hannah Davis, who powdered the hair of the thirty five men in her husband's company on that morning, that they might meet the hated red-coats as gentlemen."
At the conclusion of the speaking the band obliged with another concert until the major portion of the huge concourse dispersed.
Two of the most honored guests of the day were Luke Smith and James Edwards, whose respective fathers Solomon Smith and Ebenezer Edwards were at Concord Fight. It had long been supposed that Luke Smith was alone in that particular but diligent research brought to light Mr. Edwards, neither a native of nor a resident of Ac- ton, but able and willing to make the effort to be present at the exer- cises. Luke Smith was eighty two at the time, having been born on Washington's birthday in the year 1813. He was founder of the Bunker Hill Historical Society and its first president. His last appearance was in 1898 when he planted a "Liberty Tree" on Bunker Hill under the auspices of the city government with Mayor Quincey presiding.
A twenty five page souvenir program, containing many pictures and much interesting data was issued, several of which are in the hands of persons now living in the town. Among other things the program gives pictures and information concerning prominent citizens of the period some of which will be outlined here.
Mr. Luther Conant, president of the day, had served as selectman and on other official boards of the town. He was a member of the legislature in 1866 and 1886 and had, up to 1895, presided at one hundred and twelve town meetings. Capt. Aaron C. Handley was captain of Co. E, Sixth Massachusetts Volunteers for nine months. He represented Acton in the lower house in 1855, 1863, 1889 and 1890. Moses Taylor represented the town in the lower house in 1882. He was for several years captain of the Davis Guards and was in 1895 the senior member of the Board of Trustees of the Memorial Library. John Fletcher represented Acton in the lower house in 1861 and in the Senate in 1870-71. He was for twenty years chorister of the Congregational Church and had been president of the Schubert Choral Union since its organization in 1869. He lived in the house now owned by Dana Hinckley and during his lifetime it was a show place of the Centre because of the numerous evergreen trees clipped into unique and interesting shapes that covered the extensive lawn. Mr. George C. Wright represented the district in the lower house in 1874. Mr. Luke Blanchard, donor of the mem- orial stone at the Hosmer homestead, was a native of Boxborough but lived most of his life in West Acton where he directed a large
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and prosperous business in the handling of produce both for the Boston market and for export. Col. Winthrop E. Faulkner was eminent locally as a soldier, musician, and citizen in public life. He was state senator in 1853-54 and was an early projector of the Fitchburg Railroad and a director for many years.
The Schubert Choral Union mentioned above originated with the Peace Jubilee in 1869 in Boston when a huge choir drawn from many New England towns participated. So many enjoyed the contacts made that a group composed of voices from Acton, Harvard, Pepperell, Lancaster, Maynard, Stow, Littleton and Lincoln met each year on the 17th of June for an all day music festival in Acton town hall. Under the direction of John Fletcher or George Gardner the morning was spent in rendering the Jubilee songs for the entertain- ment of the performers and the general public. In the afternoon the singers were the guests at the home of Mr. Fletcher. The group consisted of one hundred and thirty persons and the organization personnel consisted of John Fletcher of Acton, President ; James Blake of Pepperell, T. B. Wheeler of Harvard, George Johnson of Lancaster, Vice-Presidents ; H. E. Cutter of Acton, Secretary; George Gardner of West Acton, Choral Director.
Mr. Horace Tuttle recalls that once Mrs. Elizabeth Taylor Sanders, sister of Mr. Emery Taylor, sang a whole Messiah solo in com- petition with a terrific thunderstorm. Mrs. Charles Smith adds the information that the girls of her high school class once served in the capacity of waitresses at the collation.
In June of 1895 the first class to complete the full four year course was graduated from the high school.1 Upon this occasion the grad- uates, for the first time, were spared the experience of delivering orations and essays en-masse. Instead the address of the evening was given by Mr. Eben Davis, a native of Acton and superintendent of schools of Chelsea.2 In a long discourse he made the observation that in his youth there was no high school other than a sort of tutoring class kept in the Centre for a few weeks in the fall by some college student who desired to eke out his expenses. There was no orderly course of study. Each student selected the branches his fancy dictated and paid tuition accordingly.
It seems fitting to list below those persons who were the first to complete the four year course at the Acton High School.
1 Thursday, June 14th.
2 The complete address appears in the town report printed in February of 1896.
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English Course
Classical Course
Augustine Bradford Conant
Ethel Viola Handley Carl Pickens James Quinlan Loretta Centenna Shattuck
Carrie Elizabeth Taylor Grace Evelyn Taylor Lulu Florence Whitcomb
Eva Clarissa Bassett Ina Stella Bryant Mary Edwards
John Edward Hannon
Alice Emma Miller
Mabel Francis Wetherbee
Sarah Alice Wood
With the March meeting of 1895 Mr. William D. Tuttle relin- quished to his son Horace F. Tuttle the office of town clerk which he had held continuously since 1854, thereby terminating the first era of what is in all probability a family record for all New England. Born in Acton in 1825 Mr. Tuttle came up through the local schools as an attentive and diligent scholar and assumed the office at the age of thirty because he had already established a reputation as a man of sobriety, temperance in word and deed, and a surpassing capacity for attention to detail. Added to this was the paramount virtue of keeping to himself the affairs of the town and of the individuals who had reason to consult him concerning personal matters. He was respected as a successful farmer and as a substantial citizen of sound judgement and impartial decisions as a consequence of which he was elected to the legislature for the session of 1856. Throughout his life he was a staunch pillar of the Congregational Church, serving it as deacon and general advisor. He was one of the original trustees of the Memorial Library and served for many years as secretary and selector of books.
But this is only the beginning of the story. Mr. Horace Tuttle who assumed the office in 1895 was a man of similar type who held and deserved like esteem. After graduating from the Lawrence Academy in Groton he worked with his father on the farm homestead and became the surveyor for the countryside. At the age of thirty, as did his father, he assumed the duties of town clerk. He was for many years deacon of the Congregational Church, member of the cemetery committee, and in 1932 was elected to the legislature at which time he polled in Acton the highly complimentary vote of 1001 to 175.1 In 1941, after forty six years of service, he in turn was succeeded by his son Harlan, who, when he is re-elected in March of 1954 will have rounded out a full century of the Tuttle dynasty.
1 The Hoover-Roosevelt vote in the same election was 938 to 281. The general attitude of the electorate is reflectd in the fact that when, upon one occasion, some aspirant for the office of town clerk polled a mere handful of votes, a local wag put him to the question in the presence of the daily post office as- semblage by asking if he intended to demand a recount.
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Acton is fortunate that party politics have played no part in its selection of town officers. It is true that the three Tuttles mentioned above were Republicans but that has no bearing upon the matter. The dynasty has endured because the several individuals were devoted and able public servants.
It was at this time that the town initiated the office of inspector of cattle. Moses A. Reed was selected for the position. He was an almost certain choice for the office since he had for years conducted a combination farming and slaughtering business on the old Reed farm where Mr. Rimback now resides. The slaughter house is still in use as a sort of garage and store house. Mr. Reed also served the town as an unofficial veterinarian, constable, overseer of the poor, and per- formed other civic duties with ability and distinction.
It was during this era, when horse drawn vehicles still served for short haul transportation, that the residents outside the railway villages were accomodated by delivery wagons of all sorts, now a thing of the past. The old fashioned white topped butcher's wagon or the bakery cart are today museum pieces so rapidly has rural merchandizing been transformed in half a century.
As the Victorian age approached its end the butcher carts of Mr. Stirling Moore of South Acton, or of Mr. Waldo Whitcomb, and Mr. Ellis Harlow of West Acton traversed the remoter areas of the town every few days. The standard regalia of the butcher was a long dark blue frock, woven straw wrist guards, and a large apron which was initially white at the start of the tour. Since this was the era of the ten hour day when the carpenters, the plumbers, the painters and the factory help were on the job at seven in the morning, the average housewife had her breakfast out of the way by six thirty and saw nothing untoward if the butcher made his call any time thereafter. Regardless of weather he came on the allotted day and not only was he a purveyor of fats and protein foods but also, in a time when rural telephone service was in its infancy, a bringer of news, a general conversationalist and a carrier of messages both oral and written to other neighbors on his route.
The whole rear of the meat wagon could be raised to form a sort of inclined roof and in pleasant summer weather a half dozen customers might foregather simultaneously in an informal convention while the patient butcher cut or sawed or weighed. In the biting days of winter the picture was vastly different. Business was transacted indoors while the stolid horse, with frosty breath congealing on his nostrils wore a blanket in the harshest weather and hoped for the day long trek to be over. It was not unheard of to hang a lighted lantern within the cart to keep the meat from freezing.
All that has been said of the butcher also applied for the fish man,
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the bakers cart, the laundry man and the tin peddler. This latter character, however, was in a slightly different category in that he was engaged primarily in barter rather than straight sales. From his cartload of heterogeneous metalware he would trade for rags, bottles, paper and what-not. The chief local representative of the guild was a retiring and kindly cripple named Ernest Woodman who hobbled about town for years. His home and center of activity was in the eastward end of the house on Main Street now occupied by Alexander Emerson.
Another interesting specimen of the age was an old Scotchman named McIntyre who periodically drove out from Lowell with an assortment of wearing apparell. He was an inveterate conversational- ist, never in a hurry, and never directly concerned, apparently, about making a sale.
In addition there was the ladder man, the hulled corn man, the tea man, the pack peddler, the clock and umbrella tinker, the fruit man and last, and in reality least, tiny Gus Flecther, a peppy little indi- vidual weighing about a hundred pounds who drove the delivery wagon for the Maynard laundry.
The heyday of the patent medicine sharper and the spectacle sales- man with his ready made window glass merchandise was on the wane. The peripatetic book agent, however, was still going strong but his nemesis, the movie, was a newborn and lusty competitor that was soon to spell his doom.
On May 2, 1896 six young ladies, Miss Laura Brown, Mrs. Charlotte S. Blanchard, Miss Mary Franz Rich (Mrs. F. C. Nash), Miss Alber- tine Preston (Mrs. Hobart Mead) ; Miss Henrietta Cutler (Mrs. Raymond Dodge) ; Miss Henrietta Clark (Mrs. Andrew J. Torsleff) and Miss Hattie Davis( Mrs. Hattie Harris) met to consider the advisability of forming a Women's Club, decided in the affirmative, and drew up a constitution and by-laws. Within a fortnight Mrs. Eugene Hall, Mrs. John Hoar, and Mrs. Charles Stone had joined the group and the following officers were elected: President, Laura Brown, who served for nineteen years; Vice-President Mrs. Arthur Blan- chard; Secretary, Miss Henrietta Cutler.
Meetings were held at the homes of the club members. The first club marriage was that of Miss Albertine Preston to Mr. Hobart Mead. The first club baby was a daughter born to Mrs. Ida Mac- Gregor.
In April of 1915 Miss Brown retired and was elected honorary president and Mrs. Blanchard honorary vice-president, she having retired in 1912 after sixteen years of service.
In a letter to the president, Mrs. Henry L. Hayes, dated Sept. 23, 1925, three public spirited citizens, George V. Mead, George C.
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Wright and Arthur F. Blanchard, having purchased the property of the first Universalist Society of West Acton, offered to deed the property, land, building and contents, free and clear of all encumber- ances and without expense to the club contingent upon its acceptance and incorporation.
The incorporation took place November 10, 1925 at which time the club received an additional gift of fifteen hundred dollars from the original donors.
In 1928 the bronze tablet that at present appears over the main entrance of the Club building was given by Mr. Arthur F. Blanchard and Mr. George V. Mead.
During the decade just previous to 1900 there began stirrings in several directions along lines of civic improvement. Not all of these came to early fruition but evidence of a working leaven were obvious. The desire for a modernized water supply was a case in point. Isolated individuals had cried in vain now and then but the era of the pump, the roof-water cistern, and the open well, although on its last legs, was by no means ended. Even the die-hards, however, had reached the point where they were willing to concede that cranking up the old oaken bucket on a biting February dawn had become a questionable pleasure. Those who were affluent enough or sufficiently forehanded to have a rainwater cistern in the cellar felt very smug about their beautiful soft water suds on wash day but no amount of complaisancy could ignore the omnipresent tank attached to the cook stove. Neither could it eliminate the annual chore of spending a whole day to dip out the gallons of slime that had accumulated through the months.
Upon occasion a group of volunteers, for a bit of fun and a serv- ing of more or less potent refreshments, would drag out the old hand pump fire engine, and do the initial emptying. This technique caused some eyebrow raising now and then among the more virulent tem- perance group but to the casual observer all hands had a good time and in the attendant horseplay usually received a somewhat compen- sating baptism of sorts.
It had been assumed by the general public that if and when Acton installed town water Lake Nagog would be the logical source of supply. To that end a committee was chosen to protect the interests of the town since there were rumors that Concord was casting a yearning eye in that direction.
In April of 1895 a committee consisting of William D. Tuttle, Delette H. Hall, Francis Conant, Hanson A. Littlefield and Daniel J. Wetherbee was appointed to employ competent engineers and investi- gate the possible sources of water and the most feasible location for a standpipe. Nagog Hill, although the highest point in town by a
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few feet, was not favorably located from the standpoint of requisite piping. Great Hill was the obvious choice and it would provide, with the stand-pipe envisioned, pressures of 138 pounds at East Acton, 86 pounds at the Centre, 111 pounds at South Acton and 100 pounds in the West village.
Test drilling started in June of 1895. Numerous wells, forty two in fact, were sunk all up and down the valley of Fort Pond Brook but without satisfactory success. Finally persistence paid off on the land of Isaac Reed about a quarter of a mile west of Wright's Hill in West Acton on a swamp area that geologically has all the earmarks of having been in some far distant age an open lake. This is substan- tiated by the fact that at depths of from twenty to forty feet excellent water was found whereas at lower strata quick sand was sucked up in quantity.
On December 17, 1895 a special town meeting was held to hear the results of the survey and to ascertain whether a committee should be chosen to secure the necessary legislation to install a water system. An affirmative vote was passed and then, after considerable argument, a motion to rescind prevailed. The one great spectre that seemed to overawe the minds of the opposition was ledges. Acton is full of ledges and it appeared to many that no financial estimate on piping cost would be worth the paper it was on, and they had no in- tention to go into the thing on a gamble. During the progress of the debate Mr. Frank Hayward of Whitman and Mr. Fuller, the engineer, were called upon to address the meeting and at the con- clusion of their remarks a motion to choose the aforementioned committee failed by a vote of 132 to 126.
Thus Acton's first serious attempt was abortive but the size of the minority vote presaged eventual action. For several years the matter lay officially dormant but always in the minds of forward looking citizens in West Acton there lay the thought that just at their doors, so to speak, lay excellent water in plentiful volume with Wright's Hill immediately at hand as a possible disbursing point. In the meantime Great Hill was not escaping the notice of South Acton resi- dents. In consequence on April 16, 1912 the act of incorporation was accepted and Edgar H. Hall, Charles W. Fairbanks, and Waldo E. Whitcomb began to function as commissioners with Charles H. Mead as clerk.
Additional trial wells were put down and eventually twenty perm- anent wells, each two and a half inches in diameter, were installed. On June twenty fourth the pumping test started with most encouraging results. A three hundred gallon pump on a test extending from June 24th to July Ist averaged 272 gallons per minute. The water level in the wells sunk twenty five inches in the first six hours and then
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levelled off at the end of one hundred and sixty one hours to a point where seventeen additional hours of pumping depressed the level but one half inch.
In 1913 the Centre came into the system and on May 22, 1914 the commissioners decided to accept a contract with the town at the rate of twenty five dollars per hydrant per year for fire service. The same contract is in force today. The old original small wells have now served their time and have been replaced by two new sixty inch wells that appear to be able to provide for any probable demand in the predictable future.
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