USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Berlin > History of the town of Berlin, Worcester County, Mass. from 1784 to 1959 > Part 11
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26
In 1930 the Town purchased a gasoline roller of the Buffalo- Springfield Company for $5,500. In order to house this fine piece of road machinery, and other prospective equipment, the Town erected a Town Barn on land bought of W. A. Wheeler on Carter Street in the same year. In order to condition the roads to a better working surface a road hone, costing $105, was purchased in 1934. The Town now owns two trucks, one pur- chased in 1937 and the other in 1940.
Prior to 1926 there were no motorized snowplows operated by the Town. Since then one was bought in 1927, another in 1931, a third in 1934, and in 1938 two new plows were purchased. An- other building was constructed on the grounds for the storage of sand, salt, and other materials used by the road department. To this equipment a sand-spreading unit was added.
The construction and maintenance of highways had been very well accomplished, and those living in the outskirts of the Town could ride or motor right up to the Church or Center Store and Post Office. But, as the population and dwellings increased around Carterville and central Berlin, the problem for pedes- trians became acute. Highways had become the avenues for motor vehicles, and they were not safe for pedestrians. So, early in the year 1915, the Village Improvement Society took under advisement the construction of concrete sidewalks. As a result, the Town voted in the March meeting of 1917 to appropriate a sum of money in conjunction with the Village Improvement Society to build a sidewalk extending from the Center towards Carterville.
This construction was supplemented in 1921, by the aid of the Berlin Board of Trade, when a cement sidewalk was built be- ginning at the end near the Bullard place and continued along the south side of the Common to Carter Street.
124
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BERLIN
These early roadways are landmarks of primitive history. For instance, Linden Street (County Road) reminds us of the fiery steed that raced through Berlin on April 19, 1775, bearing the ardent news of Lexington. We are told that en route he passed the newly-rooted young elm tree which James Goddard had set out the previous month. This elm stood opposite the Roy P. Marble house (now Walter D. Ford). For one hundred and seventy-five years this giant elm stood as a reminder of that famous ride. Within its life it had gained a girth of thirty-three feet and developed a spread of 165 feet, covering 8660 square feet, and towered to a height of 130 feet; but, as with the Indians of yore, disease has "entered in" and the elm is no more. There remains only the record; some future archaeologist may reveal its location and age.
The Market-Man
It was during Napoleon's days and the War of 1812 that Mr. Hugh Bruce began making his weekly trips to Boston with the products of the farms of Berlin, and on his return, brought sup- plies in that "well covered wagon" drawn by two horses. After his marriage to Sally Moore in 1796, Mr. Bruce established him- self on the old Chandler Carter place ( where Lester F. Sarty now lives ) on Pleasant Street. His trips to Boston were not like visiting in a strange country, for already two of the native-born citizens of Berlin had located in a prosperous business in the metropolis.
One of these was Abraham Babcock, son of William, who was a tobacconist in Boston. Berlin not only received his products in the early 1800's, but he also gave his daughter, Nancy, in mar- riage to Chandler Carter in 1839, who moved into the house formerly occupied by Mr. Bruce. By the year 1887, some of his profits found their way into the Town's treasury, as well as funds to the Unitarian Society.
Another successful businessman from Berlin who removed to Boston was Levi Meriam, who began his wholesale wine trade in 1812. It is recorded that the marketman brought all of the store groceries, which included "New rum," that is, New England rum, later called Medford rum. In the year 1825 it was reported
125
TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION
that sixty hogsheads of rum were consumed by some of the seven hundred inhabitants of Berlin.
Among other things which the marketman brought from Bos- ton was the Boston Palladium. A weekly concourse awaited his arrival at Howe's Tavern, where he ofttimes read aloud to them from the seat of his wagon. Mr. Bruce retired from the market- man business in 1820 and died on September 14 of the following year, in Boston. Merrick Houghton bought the business and the Chandler Carter house from the widow Bruce in 1821. Thus the business continued until taken over by Amos Sawyer, Jr., who later became operator of the Stage Coach.
The Berlin Stage Coach
It was a gala day in Berlin when "Squire Meriam" (J. D. Meriam) started the Berlin Stage Coach in 1826. Mr. Meriam was associated with Colonel Pope and George E. Manson of Feltonville (Hudson) in this enterprise. This stage line made three trips a week between Berlin and Boston. Since it was about this time (late 1827) that Col. Amory Holman of Bolton pur- chased and organized the Boston and Fitchburg Accommodation Stage Company, with headquarters in Bolton, a section of the Boston, Barre, and Greenfield Lines, the Berlin Stage Coach Line was considered a link in this system. The nearest connect- ing point was at Stow for points north and west. The trip from Boston to Greenfield, a distance of ninety-six miles, took eighteen hours and twenty-nine minutes by schedule.
Mr. Meriam was succeeded, in 1837, by Amos Sawyer, Jr., who added to his passenger and mail service an express service from the Fitchburg Railroad Station at South Acton in 1849. This re- quired a six-day service. Mr. Sawyer continued the operation of the stage until 1865, a year before his death. During this period he had some rare experiences. One in point was the visitation of the Rev. Edward Everett Hale to Berlin. It happened that on Sunday of November the 13th, 1842, when a youth of twenty years, he came to Berlin to preach his first sermon since his ordination in Worcester. Since Monday, the next day, was state election, Mr. Sawyer delayed his trip to Boston in order to vote at home. So, Rev. Hale accompanied him to the Town House to await his start-
126
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BERLIN
ing. While there, he was invited to open the meeting with prayer, which he did. That night he accompanied Mr. Sawyer to Boston, taking with him not only the election returns from Berlin, but also those of Sudbury, Weston, Waltham, and Watertown. These Rev. Hale conveyed to his father's newspaper, The Boston Advertiser, on which he had been previously a reporter.
John G. Peters followed Mr. Sawyer in the express business and Warren Howe continued to run the "old Berlin coach" until February 3rd of 1894 when the stage was discontinued. Miss Phebe A. Holder produced a fitting poem of farewell for the occasion, which appears in Houghton's History of Berlin, pp. 86- 87. One stanza reveals the style:
Its course is run, its errand done. No more we hear at set of sun The rattling wheels, through life we've heard, That have with joy my child heart stirred, The old Stage Coach.
.
The Bean Express Company
There was evidently another express company which delivered mail and express to Berlin, from the south, prior to the extension of the Agricultural Branch Rail Road from Northboro to Pratt's Junction in 1866. This was the Bean and Company's Express, with headquarters at 84 Court Square, Boston. They were sched- uled to leave the office daily at 12:30. En route they made de- liveries at Framingham, Fayville, Southboro, Marlboro, North- boro, Berlin, and Clinton. As evidence of such an express, there was in the possession of Mr. Arthur Hastings a letter addressed to his mother, Mrs. C. S. Hastings, South Berlin, Mass., post- marked 1863, on which the above information was printed.
Post Offices in Berlin
Equally as interesting and as indigenous to the times as the marketman was the development of the Post system. Prior to 1826 mail for any destination was hung on the walls of Jones' Inn and later, Howe's Tavern, to be picked up by any traveler who was going in that direction. By a repetition of this process in suc-
127
TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION
cessive towns, mail finally, yes, probably, reached its destination.
The Postal System has made remarkable strides since those primitive days. Yet, in these modern days, some strange bungling of the mail occurs under the supervision of our "trained" mail clerks. In February of 1954 Edward F. Greene of 44 Pleasant Street, Marlboro, Mass., addressed a letter to Frederick A. Krack- hardt, West Berlin, Mass. This letter was delivered to Heinrich Krackhardt in West Berlin, Germany. But he pointed out to the postman that this letter was intended for West Berlin, U.S.A .; so it was returned to the sender and he delivered the letter in person over a month afterwards.
In order to keep Berlin posted on the news, a post rider came from Worcester regularly, once a week, with copies of the Massachusetts Spy. Although this paper had its origin in Boston on July 17, 1770, by Isaiah Thomas, it was transferred to Worces- ter on the day following the Battle of Lexington, and the first copy appeared on May 3, 1775. It continued under this name until July 22, 1845, when it appeared as the Worcester Daily Spy.
Another publication which was circulated among the Berlin yeomen was The Old Farmer's Almanac. This booklet was estab- lished by Robert B. Thomas in 1792. He lived for the most of his life in Oakdale, of the Town of West Boylston. It is still published annually and is considered a document of importance in provid- ing a picture of New England life that is long past.
In passing, we should not overlook the Berlin News. A small sheet (71/2 x 5 inches) composed and published by Perry H. White, at the home of Mrs. C. S. Hastings in South Berlin. Perry had just turned his thirteenth birthday when the first issue ap- peared on July 25, 1888. The publication continued for five years, closing with the issue of July 19, 1893. These sheets are a rare repository of the current "news, whips, and cracks" of that period, and it is worth our perusal. Copies of the Berlin News may be found in the Public Library and a description of the paper may be viewed in Houghton's History of Berlin, pp. 531-533.
The first Post Office was established in Berlin on May 2, 1828, in the old Howe's Tavern, at the corner of Pleasant and Central Streets. Here William A. Howe conducted the General Store. Jonathan D. Meriam, operator of the Berlin Stage Coach, became the first Postmaster. He was followed by William A. Howe in
128
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BERLIN
1831; James E. Woods took over on February 27, 1839; and Haman Hunt on June 4, 1839. Dexter B. Saunders became Post- master on October 24, 1844. Then followed Joel Bullard, the blacksmith, who shuffled the mail in the "old Bullard House" between November 4, 1846 and November 22, 1848. At the latter date, Rufus E. Hastings took over the general store business, at the "Howe Tavern," became Postmaster, and the office was re- located there.
The tavern and store business was moved to its present loca- tion, on Central Street-facing Carter Street and the Common-in 1852. Here the General Store and Post Office were operated under the following persons:
Rufus S. Hastings until
May 25, 1874
Amory A. Bartlett
June 6, 1881
Ezra S. Moore
March 6, 1891
Christopher S. White
December 1, 1895
Elijah C. Shattuck
1895-1897
William H. Lasselle
1897-1907
Perley B. Sawyer
1907-1912
William A. Hartshorn
1912-1915
Zoheth H. Woodbury
1915-1918
E. Guy Sawyer
1918-1925
James E. Andrews
1925-1928
Kendall E. Andrews
April 6, 1928-Nov. 12, 1948
Robert E. Taylor
-Nov. 9, 1954
Burton K. Wheeler
Cecil B. Wheeler, Jr.
(temporary postmaster) August 31, 1956
The second post office to be established in the Town was at West Berlin when, on May 13, 1868, Silas R. Carter, proprietor of Carter's Stores, became Postmaster. He continued in this service until August 15, 1917-the date of his death. After which the post office business was moved to the home and printing quarters of Charles F. Harris, at the corner of Lincoln Road and West Street. The Office was continued at this same location when Cyrus A. Bowen purchased the property in 1924, and Mrs. May H. Bowen became Postmaster. After the fire of October, 1925, which destroyed the property, the Bowens built a new store building at the street corner, and the Post Office was housed there.
In January of 1951 Mrs. Seaward S. Spinney became Post-
129
TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION
master, which position she held until March of 1953, when John O'Connell became the Postmaster. On January 15, 1955, the Post Office was moved to the Harriman Spa, at the corner of West Street and Randall Road, and Ralph L. Harriman became (act- ing) Postmaster. The West Berlin Post Office was closed by Federal Order on April 20, 1956.
South Berlin secured her Post Office on March 3, 1891, and Charles B. Maynard was appointed Postmaster. In the year 1907 the office was transferred to the store of Arthur B. Wheeler. After his death, November 24, 1925, Mrs. Jane W. Wheeler became the Postmaster. Then in 1927 the Post Office was moved across the street (South Street) to the home of John Bernardson, and Mrs. Jessie A. Bernardson became the Postmaster.
Mr. N. Harriman Fay built a new store building on the site of the original store of Hastings Bros., at the junction of Pleasant and South Streets. This store was taken over by Willard H. Wheeler, a grandson of Arthur Hastings (of Hastings Bros.), and in December of 1946 the Post Office was moved to this building and Willard H. Wheeler became the new Postmaster.
With three Post Offices in the Town, there arose the problem of how they should receive and send out the mail. When the Agricultural Branch Railroad began operations through here in 1866, they were given the job of carrying the mail. There was a station at West Berlin on this line, across the street from the Post Office, but the Berlin station was two miles from both the Center and the South Berlin Post Office. Therefore, what was known as a Star Route was established to carry the mail between the rail- road station and the two Post Offices. Forrest E. Day was the last person to operate this Star Route. This particular branch of the New Haven Railroad discontinued their passenger and express service in 1933, and the mail service was taken over by privately- owned Star Route trucks, under contract. This had the advantage, in that the mail truck made direct delivery to each Post Office en route. Now there are daily trips between Boston and Clinton, giving Berlin two mails from Boston and two from Clinton.
Rural Free Delivery
On September 17, 1906, William S. Eager began his service as Rural Free Delivery carrier for the outlying homes of Berlin
130
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BERLIN
-over a mile from a Post Office. He covered the route of fourteen and eight tenths miles with horse and carriage, which took ordinarily three hours. In 1928 the business was motorized and the route extended to twenty miles, which required a little over two hours. Mr. Eager was retired on January 30, 1933, and the R.F.D. service of Berlin was added to that of Bolton. Edwin M. Popp of Bolton was awarded the contract and with the many additional patrons, it guarantees a profitable position.
Railroads
There are two railroads which pass through the Town of Ber- lin. Both are lines of the two main systems of New England, the Boston & Maine, and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroads. The Boston & Maine traverses the Town from the east to west, and the New Haven from the north to the south, crossing at West Berlin. The B & M crosses over the North Brook, New Haven tracks, and West Street on a high bridge, while the New Haven tracks follow the course of the North Brook valley, parallel with West Street and Derby Road.
Until about 1895, around the time of the construction of the Wachusett Reservoir, when the course of the tracks was changed, there was a by-pass switch between the two lines at West Berlin, and there had been much comment on building a union station at this point.
The first railroad to lay its tracks in Berlin was the Agricultural Branch Railroad (chartered on April 26, 1847) which extended its line from Northboro to Pratt's Junction on July 2, 1866. The Berlin Station was located in the south part of town at the junc- tion of South Street with Jones Road. A second station was West Berlin, located conveniently opposite the village store on West Street. Owing to the confusion in enunciation of West Berlin and Westboro, the name of the station was changed to Carters in 1922. While not on Berlin territory, yet convenient to those living on Lancaster Road in the north part of Berlin, there was another station by the name of Bolton.
One year after this line came into Berlin (1867) the name was changed to the Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad Company. As such, it consolidated with the Fitchburg and Worcester in
131
TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION
1869, then leased the New Bedford Railroad Company in 1874. As the Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford, it united with the Old Colony Road in 1882-the resulting corporation being known as the Old Colony.
Thus Berlin became a cog in a big-time network when the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company took a ninety- nine year lease on the Old Colony in 1893. With this setup, Ber- lin, for the next forty years, had direct connection with Boston, Fall River, and New Bedford on the sea, and Fitchburg (the other terminus) at the north.
With the advent of the trolley cars and especially that of the automobile, passenger service on the railroads gradually de- creased, so that in 1933 passenger service on the N.Y., N.H. & H. line between Fitchburg and Framingham, was discontinued, and one by one the station houses between these points were sold and removed. Two of the houses on Oak Street, built by Louis G. Hudson, contain materials from some of these stations. The tracks are still in use for heavy freight service operated by modern diesel engines.
Boston & Maine Railroad
Another railroad, which tied Berlin in the extensive steel tentacles, is the Boston & Maine. This line developed from the fact that the Massachusetts Central Railroad Company was chartered on May 10, 1869, and the road was to go through Ber- lin, with the provision that said town would "subscribe for and hold shares in the capital stock ... to an amount not exceeding five percent of the assessed valuation of the town." At the Annual Town Meeting of November 2, 1869, it was voted to subscribe for 200 shares at $100 each. Then it was voted that the money be raised by issuing bonds of the town at six percent, payable in twenty years.
The first passenger train service over this line for Berlin began on December 19, 1881, after Charles S. Mellen, head of the Lowell Railroad Company, had bought and completed the con- struction of the Central Massachusetts branch from Boston to Northampton. Then, on April 1, 1887, control went to the Boston & Maine Railroad.
Following this move, the Town of Berlin voted in their meet-
132
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BERLIN
ing of April 9, 1887, to authorize the Selectmen with two others to sell the stock of the Central Massachusetts Railroad Company on such terms as they thought best for the interest of the Town. It was then that a public-spirited citizen, Chandler Carter, came forward and made the donation of $20,000, wishing that the Town would never get in debt again. The Town accepted his donation, paid the debt, and placed Mr. Carter's oil portrait upon the wall of the Town Hall assembly room in gratitude.
Passenger service on the B & M line, between Hudson and Clinton, was discontinued on May 17, 1958. On this date, a large group of Berlin citizens assembled at the station to witness the "last train" at 7:08 P.M., and to take pictures of another antique. Several children boarded the train in order to have a farewell ride (through the tunnel and over the bridge) into Clinton. They returned to Berlin by autos. The tracks, between Berlin Center and Clinton, have been removed (as per date November 1, 1959). Passenger train service on the B & M con- tinues to operate between Hudson and Boston; but freight service is maintained to Berlin Center.
The wrecking of the steel bridge at the West Berlin crossing was completed on January 11, 1960. For many years the sub- stantial abutments for the bridge lifted their heads skyward without any structure to carry the railroad, until the completion of the trestle bridge in 1880. Then the "Big Blow" of November 25, 1888 hurled the wooden structure of the bridge to the ground. Afterward the steel bridge was constructed over North Brook, New Haven R.R. tracks and West Street. Now the ghastly abutments of 1869 remain as a reminder of Berlin's twenty shares of stock.
In the early days of this road, there were three stations ac- cessible to the people of Berlin. Besides the Berlin station at Carterville, there was a South Clinton station for the convenience of the people living near the juncture of the towns of Boylston, Clinton, and Berlin. This station was eliminated in 1895 during the construction of the Wachusett Reservoir. The tracks were relocated to avoid the reservoir. Another station, accessible for the people of the eastern section of Berlin, was that of South Bolton near the juncture of the towns of Bolton, Hudson, and Berlin. This station house was closed, sold, and removed in 1937.
133
TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION
The Berlin station house in Carterville was removed around 1942. In its stead a small section house has been erected to shelter some half-dozen passengers from the elements. Passenger service on this line between Clinton and Boston was reduced to six trains daily. Three trains in the morning to Boston, and three on the return in the afternoon. Freight service has been continued to Berlin Center. Railway Express pickup and delivery service exists between Clinton and Berlin.
Clinton Auto Express
Since the discontinuance of the passenger and express service on the New Haven line, and the closing of the express office of the B & M (1934) station at Berlin, this branch of transportation has been serviced by the Clinton Auto Express, Inc. This com- pany began operating in 1921 with headquarters at 506 High Street in Clinton. Their Worcester office is at Rear Mulberry Street, and the Boston Office at 140 Leverett Street. Seven three- to four-ton trucks make daily trips between Clinton, Worcester, and Boston. True to their moto: "You Specify, We Satisfy," they pick up packages and deliver parcels to local addresses in Berlin.
The Trolley Lines
A new mode of travel was introduced in Berlin in 1900 when the Clinton and Hudson Street Railway began to run its trolley cars through the Town. On October 17, 1900, the Fitchburg Suburban Street Railway Company, the Clinton and Hudson Railway Company, and the Worcester & Clinton Street Railway Company were consolidated, and on March 1, 1901, it became known as the Worcester Consolidated Street Railway Company.
For a quarter of a century this method of transportation was prevalent. Not only did they patronize the trolley for the regular business and commercial trips, but many were the "joy-rides" taken to Boone Pond, Leominster, and Whalom Park. Cars were chartered and hundreds of picnickers crowded on them to the running board.
After automobiles came into common usage, the trolley busi- ness began to decline. The seven sidings between Hudson and
134
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BERLIN
Clinton were reduced to one at Berlin Center. This was because they didn't need them; fewer cars were running. The light patronage did not warrant the service, and the prolonged waits for a trolley discouraged the public. Finally, on September 7, 1924, the time of the expiration of its contract, Berlin witnessed the last trip of a trolley car on the Clinton-Hudson branch of the Worcester Consolidated Street Railway.
The franchise to run trolley cars between Hudson and Clinton, through Berlin, was let in February 1899 when Robert B. Wheel- er, Daniel P. Hartwell, and Sidney B. Carter were Selectmen. The car barn and power plant (now the Berlin Mushroom Com- pany) were located in West Berlin and supplied current for both the Clinton-Hudson and the Worcester-Clinton branch of the W. & C. St. Ry. From the Berlin News we learn that "Ed- mund Perrin, conductor on C. & H. electric cars and Edward Bates, supt. of car barn at West Berlin, lived in Sid Carter's tenement of West Street in 1900."
In the Town records under date of September 12, 1898, it is noted that the W. & C. St. Ry. Co. petitioned the Selectmen for the right to run a spur line to the Old Colony R.R. tracks, for the purpose of conveying coal and supplies to their power plant.
Lovell Bus Lines, Inc.
About two weeks elapsed after the cessation of trolley service before any public means of transportation was established through Berlin. John Pescorino had been operating a jitney between Lancaster Center and the Berlin-Clinton line at Dewey Park, but he could not secure a permit to operate through Berlin.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.