USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Carver > History of the town of Carver, Massachusetts : historical review, 1637-1910 > Part 15
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The East Head Game Preserve
In 1908 George B. Clark and James J. Ryan secured an option on the Turner estate with a view to the establishment of a sanctuary for the propagation of game birds. A company was or- ganized consisting of Clark and Ryan, Charles W. Dimmick, Thomas W. Lawson, Paul Butler and others for the purpose of carrying out the project and the land came into the possession of the com- pany with Henry S. Blake as trustee. A be- ginning was made in the line of plowing and sow-
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ing seeds to provide feed for birds, and in 1911 the premises were taken on a twenty year lease by the American Game Protective and Propaga- tion Association of New York conditional upon the continued use of the estate as a game sanctu- ary. Charles W. Dimmick continues as managing director.
Active work began in 1912 when large flocks of ducks and pheasants were bred, also as experi- ments smaller flocks of ruffed grouse, quails, wild turkeys, silver and golden pheasants, etc. En- closures were made with high wire fencing, some of them taking in the Bowers trout pond for the convenience of water birds. The buildings were remodeled, a large bungalo built for the use of the managers, numerous small buildings for winter protection of the birds, and a general improve- ment in the conditions necessary for the success- ful continuation of the work.
GEORGE P. BOWERS
LANDMARKS OF CARVER
Old Gate Road. Highway leading from the Ad- vent church to the B. W. Robbins farm, once closed by a gate which had to be opened by travel- ers on that road.
Joel Field. At the corner of Rochester Road and Pine street. Once the farm of Joel Shurtleff.
Hemlock Island. Once a beautiful island on the west side of the cedar swamp densely wooded with hemlock and cedars. Noted also for its rank growth of ferns and for its thrifty painted tril- liums. The natural beauty of the spot has been destroyed by lumbermen.
Province Rock. A large rock between East Head and Federal. Province Rock valley makes down to the South.
Bodfish Bridge. Spans the Cranebrook near the Z. A. Tillson homestead.
Shaky Bottom Bridge. Spans the brook lead- ing from the Smith-Hammond cranberry bogs.
Tiger Field. A fertile spot in East Head woods under cultivation.
Skipper Edmund Place. The site of an old homestead on the westerly shore of Wankinco, so named from its former habitant Edmund Bumpus, who at one time was skipper in the Federal fur- nace. Mr. Bumpus was specially noted as a lover of flowers and for his ability in forecasting the weather.
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HISTORY OF CARVER
Clarks Island. A place on Tremont street near the Wareham town line.
Fox Island, Wolf Island and Shaws Island. Spots of upland in the New Meadows swamp.
Goulds Bottom. A fertile field skirting the ob- solete Federal-Wareham road.
Tillson Field. On the easterly edge of the New Meadows swamp. Once the home of the Tillsons.
Jacksons Point. A point of land making into New Meadows swamp from Popes Point road. So named from its original owner, Abraham Jackson. Polypody Cove. A section of meadow on the Shurtleff farm supposed to have received its name from the rare ferns that grow there. Mentioned in Plymouth records in 1694.
The Plains. A level tract of land in West Carver.
Robinson Swamp. The bed of Cranebrook cran- berry bog.
Egypt. A spot once thickly wooded between North Carver and Rocky Meadow in Middleboro.
Mt. Misery. A high hill between the railroad and the residence of Edgar E. Gardner. Said to be the highest elevation in Carver.
Meeting Road. Leads from Johns pond to Ocean house.
Swan Hold (sometimes Swan Holt). Mentioned in Plymouth records in 1662. Origin of name in dispute. Applied to the section East of Wenham.
Wenham. The section of the town now known as East Carver. The village went by this name until after the Civil War. First mentioned in Plymouth records in 1692. Supposed to have been
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named in honor of the old country home of one of the first settlers of that region.
Chris Springs. Former name of the pond now known as Bens pond south of Shoestring factory pond. So named from Crispus Shaw who resided on his farm near by. Sometimes called Chris Shaw springs. Triangle pond.
King Philip Spring. Near Carver green. Tra- dition says it received its name from Indians in King Philip war who stopped to wash their hands in the place on their return after their attack on Chiltonville. King Philip's hall received its name from the spring.
Herring Brook. Former name of stream that runs from Wenham pond to the Weweantic river.
Ocean House. Once a house standing on Main street south of Muddy pond bog.
Lothrops Forge. Site of the Centre Mill.
Pratt Place. Near Centre Mill.
Molly Holmes Place. Near First Swamp.
Barnes Mill. Saw mill that stood on the privi- lege now of the Swanhold Bog Co.
James Savery Place. The site of the homestead of Fosdick road south of Lakenham cemetery.
Lakenham. Name of North Carver village un- til the Civil War. So named in the grant of land to John Jenney in 1637. Origin of name unknown.
Bensons Forge. (Later called Leach's Forge.) Where N. S. Cushing's saw mill now stands.
Casey Place. The remnant of the Indian lands. So named from Augustus Casey, a South Carolina negro who married a daughter of Launa Seipet and reared his family on the old farm.
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First Swamp. East of Carver Centre on the Plymouth road. Applied to the Ward farm and adjacent houses. Origin of name unknown.
Bowers Trout Pond. In 1862 George P. Bowers built a dam across East Head brook creating an artificial pond for the purpose of breeding and raising trout. Since known as the Bowers trout pond.
The Turner Place. In 1880 Job A. Turner of Scituate purchased a small tract of land on the east side of Barrett's pond and erected a cottage, library building, etc. Soon after that date he came into possession of three thousand acres around East Head and began clearing a farm. Several large fields were subdued and placed un- der cultivation. A larger house, with another cottage and a large barn were built near the Bow- ers Trout pond. Horses, ponies, cattle and poul- try were raised. On the death of Mr. Turner in 1894 the farm was deserted and a few years later the Barrett's pond cottage and the trout pond house were demolished by forest fires and the property passed to the Game Preserve promoters.
Cobb Place. At Mahutchett, now used as a bog house by John W. Churchill. Once the Major Ne- hemiah Cobb homestead; later the Asa Barrows homestead.
Sixmile Brook. Frequently mentioned in earlier records. Not definitely located. Some have con- fused it with Huntinghouse brook but the latter was known by its present name from the earliest times.
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LANDMARKS OF CARVER
Quitticas. Village in West Carver so named from the Indian word being surrounded by swamps.
Benson Cemetery. In Cushing field at Fresh Meadows where the first settlers were buried. The only headstone remaining marks the resting place of young William Morrison.
New Bridge. Spans the Cranebrook where it crosses Cranberry road.
Snappit. Corruption of Annasnapet the original name of the village in the north eastern section of the town.
Kidd's Island. In Wenham pond, so named from a traditional incident.
Pokanet Field. Near the river westerly from the residence of E. E. Shaw, so named from an Indian employee of the Shurtleffs.
Fresh Meadows. The village in the south west- ern section of the town.
Shurtleff Park. Donated to the town as a pub- lic park from the Shurtleff estate by Benjamin Shurtleff, M. D. in 1908.
Carver Green. In 1736-37 Benoni and Jonathan Shaw deeded a tract of land to the Precinct to be used as a common. This became the training green of the Precinct and later of the town going by the name of Lakenham Green. After the civil war it assumed its modern name of Carver Green.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
HON. BENJAMIN ELLIS
Benjamin Ellis was born in Plympton June 3, 1775. He died in Carver April 18, 1852, leaving an estate of two hundred thousand dollars. Con- sidering his environments, his lack of early train- ing and education and the times in which he lived, this marks him as a Captain of Industry.
There is nothing to indicate that his parents were above the ordinary people in the business world, when at the age of eighteen their son learned the trade of a moulder at Charlotte fur- nace. His rise was so rapid that in fifteen years he owned a controlling interest in the works and was recognized as a Baron in the trade. He had mastered all sides of the craft and after he be- came a Proprietor, he was in a position to give assistance to any of his employees whenever they were bothered with their parts.
His recognized ability made him a valuable man in the political world and he held numerous posi- tions of trust and responsibility. Thrifty farmers who had spare capital, handed it over to Squire Ellis for investment with no further con- cern of the consequences.
He was the leader in Carver town meetings for nearly half a century, holding the position of
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Moderator at no less than fifty-three of these legislative gatherings. He represented his town in the General Court at eight different sessions, was a representative to the Constitutional con- vention of 1820; and a State Senator at the ses- sions of 1825 and 1832, in which body he was known as the Cast Iron Senator.
After the close of the war of 1812-14, and with plenty of capital, Mr. Ellis became a ship owner and extended the trade of his furnace through these vessels which he sent up and down the coast. Lewis Pratt, one of the trusted Lieutenants of Ellis, was often an agent accompanying the vessel to trade the cargo of iron products for butter, corn, cheese, pork, molasses, rum, etc.
Personally Mr. Ellis was not a magnetic man, and it was only through his recognized ability that he captured the confidence of his neighbors. He was gruff in his intercourse with men and natural- ly unpopular. Comparing him with his compeer Col. Murdock, one who knew them both said, "They were both men of great capacity for ac- cumulating wealth, but one could hold on to it while the other could not." The one that could was Benjamin Ellis.
He was twice married. First to Deborah Mur- dock by whom he had Hannah, (married Daniel Weston), Deborah, (married Dr. Samuel Shaw), Charles Clinton, Lucy B. (married Samuel Tis- dale), Benjamin S. and Harriet N. (married Jesse Murdock). Second to Mary Savery, daugh- ter of Peleg; by whom he had Louisa J. (married Joseph Pratt) and Matthias.
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HORATIO A. LUCAS
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WILLIAM SAVERY
The subject of this paragraph, oldest child of John and Polly Savery, was born in Carver, Oct. 26, 1815. He married Mary Page Van Schaack of Albany, N. Y., and with the exception of twenty years in New Jersey and New York their long lives were spent in Carver where in 1850 Leyden Cottage was built on the northerly shore of Samp- sons pond.
Mr. Savery began his business career at an early age being associated with his father in the iron trade in Jersey City and New York. His life was a busy one, and in addition to his foundry business he was at one time engaged in the lumber business being one of the first to utilize a portable mill.
He also took an interest in public affairs and held numerous positions of trust. As an illustra- tion of his spirit he practiced medicine in his earlier years enjoying quite an extensive practice but always without compensation. He took a deep interest in the schools and highways of his native town adding materially to the town's appropria- tions for several years. One of Mr. Savery's most unique and lasting monuments is Savery's Avenue which he built and presented the town in 1860.
MILES PRATT
Son of David and Sarah was born in Carver, Sept. 17, 1825. His early days were spent on his father's farm and when the foundry was built at Wenham he became a furnaceman as moulder and
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partner. About 1850 he embarked in business on Marthas Vineyard, and after remaining there a few months he went to Boston and engaged as salesman for a Blackstone St. stove dealer. A short time after this he started a store of his own but receiving a liberal offer he sold out. He thus found himself out of business but with a good stock of capital, and his foundry proclivities as- serting themselves he built a foundry at Water- town. When the Civil war broke out he received a large contract for making missiles of war in con- nection with the Arsenal, and for three years his shop was in operation night and day, with two sets of moulders and for a part of the time two cupolas. The profits of this contract landed him among the wealthy manufacturers, and taking the Walkers in company with him he established the Walker & Pratt Foundry Co.
LEWIS PRATT
A son of Lewis and Hannah (Bonney) was born in Carver, April 4, 1819. Strictly speaking perhaps Mr. Pratt came as near to that condition "born in the iron business" as it is possible for one made up of human flesh. His father was a furnaceman and his mother's family was de- scribed locally as "the greatest iron founders in America." And young Lewis went soon after his birth to the Wankinco hills to reside with his parents where his father was operating the Slugg furnace. Thus his earliest recollections reverted to the industry and he had actually seen in opera-
A VIEW OF THE EAST HEAD GAME PRESERVE Bowers Trout Pont in the Distance-Pheasant Yards on the Right
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
tion all of the furnaces and foundries of Carver. Though but five years of age when he left "The Slugg" he distinctly remembered seeing the plant in operation, and of being rowed around the fur- nace pond by Cephas Shaw, one of the moulders, on a raft. Shaw was ever a marvel in the memory of Mr. Pratt. He broke iron nails and rods with his fingers, lifted large pigs and performed other feats that were a marvel in the eyes of the boy. He also remembered seeing the Baptist church in process of construction and after the building had been framed he thought it must be the largest building in the world. Such impressions which Mr. Pratt recalled in his old age were very amus- ing to him and he gave the writer this bit of phil- osophy: "Whether one is a child or an adult things that he cannot do or understand are apt to impress him far in excess of their importance and unless he is on guard he may ascribe them to the supernatural."
ARAD BARROWS
Arad, son of Nelson and Nancy (Bisbee) Bar- rows was born July 22, 1819. He left Carver in 1838 locating at Albany, N. Y., but went to Phil- adelphia the following year where he engaged in the iron business with Peleg Barrows Savery and continued the business until his death.
He was interested in military affairs serving as Aide-de-camp on the staff of the Governor of Pennsylvania with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. At the breaking out of the Civil war he took an active part in looking after the welfare of the
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soldiers, serving as President of the Union Vol- unteers Refreshment Saloon until the end of hos- tilities in 1865. He held numerous positions of trust but never held political office. He was a man of positive opinions on religious and political questions. A rock ribbed Republican and a Puri- tan-Quaker in religion although he never spoke the language or wore the garb of the sect.
He married Ellen Bailey who with a son Wil- liam Nelson and a daughter Mrs. Katherine Ing- ham survived him. He died at Atlantic City, N. J., in 1888, where he located the previous year on account of failing health.
ROSA A. COLE
Rosa A., daughter of Benjamin and Lavina (Sherman) Cobb was born in that part of Carver called Wenham, March 27, 1841. Four years later her father who had been operating a small foundry in Wenham moved to Plymouth where in company with William R. Drew he established a larger stove making plant under the firm name of Cobb and Drew. In 1855, the buildings in Ply- mouth having been destroyed by fire, the business was moved to Kingston and the manufacture of tacks, rivets, etc., added to the business of the firm. Thus at the age of fourteen Rosa, as she had come to be known, became a resident of Kings- ton. In 1865 she married Leander S. Cole of Carver.
Mrs. Cole was a woman of marked business abil- ity and upon the death of her father in 1868 she
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became active in the management of the business being associated with Byron C. Quinby. After his death in 1907 the business was incorporated, Mrs. Cole holding a large share of the stock, and up to the date of her death serving on the Board of Directors. She died at her home in Kingston, Feb. 4, 1911.
The success of her business enterprises was such that she had means and time for charitable work. She was one of the incorporators of Jor- dan Hospital in Plymouth and active in its management. Her charitable bequests aggregated nearly one hundred and twenty-five thousand dol- lars and among them one thousand dollars each to the Carver Public Library and for the benefit of Lakenham Cemetery in Carver.
BENJAMIN SHURTLEFF, M. D.
Benjamin Shurtleff, son of Charles and Hannah (Shaw) Shurtleff, was born in Carver Sept. 7, 1821, on the old Shurtleff farm that has been in the possession of his family since it was orig- inally granted to his ancestor William in 1701. He attended Carver schools, Pierce Academy in Middleboro, and was graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1848. While a student at the medical school it was his fortune to witness the first surgical operation on one made insensible to pain through the inhalation of ether, and he was said to be the last survivor of those who witnessed that great event. Dr. Shurtleff served on the School Board of Carver in 1844 and 1845.
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HISTORY OF CARVER
He went to the Pacific coast in 1849, sailing Jan. 27th, and arriving in San Francisco July 6th. For a brief time he served as a mine pros- pector, then took up the practice of his profession in Shasta. He returned to his old home in 1852, when he was married to Miss Anne M. Griffith and returned to California.
He was Shasta County's first Treasurer; in the State Senate for 1861-62-63; County Physician ten years, and a Presidential Elector in 1872. In 1874 he moved to Napa, from which town he was elected a member of the Constitutional Conven- tion of 1878; was the first Mayor of Napa; Presi- dent of the Board of Directors of Napa State Asylum sixteen years ; life member of the Society of California Pioneers, and of the Harvard Alumni Association. He died at his home in Napa Dec. 22, 1911. As a mark of the esteem with which he held his native town he presented Shurtleff Park to the public.
JOHN SAVERY
John Savery, son of Peleg, was born in Plymp- ton, Aug. 26, 1789. He was destined to a career in the iron trade, which he began at Charlotte Dec. 29, 1807. He mastered all sides of the craft from topman to Proprietor. Among his; experiences as moulder, in which he had com- mendable pride, was the fact that he moulded shot for the war of 1812-14. After he became inter- ested as a Proprietor, he was associated with Benjamin Ellis, and leaving the partnership, he
ANDREW GRIFFITH His Record as a Municipal Officer has not been surpassed in the History of the Town
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operated a plant in Albany for a few years. In 1838, in company with his son William, he estab- lished the Phenix Iron Works in Jersey City, and soon after the firm of John Savery's Sons Co., a well known hardware house of New York city of the last century.
Aside from his business duties he took a prominent part in politics, holding the position of Representative to the General Court at four different times. He married Polly, daughter of Capt. Eli Atwood, by whom he had William, Polly (married Alexander Law), Hannah Perkins (married Samuel A. Shurtleff), Waitstill Atwood (married George Peter Bowers), and John (died in infancy).
HON. THOMAS SAVERY
Thomas, son of Peleg and Hannah (Perkins) Savery, was born in Plympton, Oct. 25, 1787. His early life was spent in Carver, where he entered Charlotte furnace as a gutterman in 1806. He was speedily promoted to a moulder, but left the furnace and moved to Wareham soon after his marriage. In the town of his adoption he became a business and political leader. He served as a Selectman, Representative in the General Court, County Commissioner, and for the years 1853 and 1854 on the Governor's Council. He married Betsey, oldest daughter of "Left" Joseph Shaw, by whom he had three children, John, born Nov. 3, 1815, being the only one who survived him. He died May 15, 1873.
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HISTORY OF CARVER
COL. BARTLETT MURDOCK
Bartlett, son of Bartlett, Jr., and Deborah (Perkins) Murdock, and grandson of Bartlett, the founder of Charlotte furnace, was born in Plympton Dec. 7, 1783. His mother, left a widow at an early age, showed excellent business ability, and continued her interest in the firm. Inheriting the family traits, young Bartlett be- came a moulder in the family works, where his
promotion was rapid. Becoming a partner of his brother-in-law, Benjamin Ellis, it soon transpired that Charlotte village was not large enough for the development of both, and Col. Murdock stepped over the line into Wareham, and established the Mt. Washington Iron Works at Tremont. He was a jolly soul, popular with his employees and neighbors, and his business career in his adopted town was marked with success. He married Hannah Atwood, by whom he had Uriel, Hiram (died in infancy), and Abigail.
HON. OLIVER SHAW
The subject of this paragraph, son of Joseph and Hannah (Dunham) Shaw, was born in Carver Feb. 5, 1831. At the age of eighteen he entered the foundry as an apprentice, and after working at his trade in foundries of Carver, Middleboro, Boston and Watertown, he became, in 1863, Superintendent of the stove works of Miles Pratt & Co., in Watertown. He served in this capacity, through the different managements
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WILLIAM SAVERY
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of the Watertown works, until his death, being one of the directors upon the incorporation of the business in 1877. He was one of the incor- porators of the Watertown Savings Bank in 1872, and one of the original trustees; elected President of the Union Market National Bank in 1883; holding both positions to the time of his death. From 1870 to 1885 he was on the Board of Selectmen of his adopted town, the greater part of the time serving as Chair- man. In the election of 1894 he was elected Senator from the Second Middlesex District, but died December 26th of that year, before the Senate to which he was elected was organ- ized. He was married in 1855 to Miss Miranda Atwood of Carver.
DEA. THOMAS COBB
Thomas, son of Thomas and Hannah Cobb, was born in Carver Aug. 17, 1808. He was a direct descendant of Elder Henry Cobb, who landed in Plymouth in 1629, and who later be- came one of the best known residents of Barn- stable County, and among his ancestors were such Old Colony families as Bennett, Holmes, Nelson, Morton, Churchill, Bryant and Shaw. He married Mary Hammond, by whom he had Almira H. (married William H. Barrows), Jerusha, Juliet, Thomas and Solon (Reverend). He was one of the best known men of the town in his day, and having served as Deacon of the church at the Green a period of fifty-two years, he was popularly known as Deacon Cobb.
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Through a kindly disposition he made a lasting impression on all with whom he came in contact, and many of the present generation look back to their childhood days with pleasant memories of Deacon Cobb, who was the first to peddle pastry and candy through the town.
He died at his home near the Green, August 25, 1886.
GEORGE PETER BOWERS
George P. Bowers, who was destined to play a prominent part in the development of Carver, was a native of Leominster, where he was born in 1813. Among the traditional stories, more or less hazy, which illustrate his character, con- cerns the time in his early career when he was sent away as manager of one of Ben. Ellis' trading vessels. He was under orders to trade his cargo of ware for anything salable, and in due time his employer was startled by a letter from his agent to the effect that the cargo of ware had been traded for a cargo of warming pans, and that the agent was on his way to Cuba to trade the pans for rum and molasses. Shrewd Ben Ellis couldn't see any demand for warming pans in a tropical climate, but when the agent returned with the report that the pans were eagerly taken by the molasses manufacturers as utensils for handling their goods, his apparent blunder was forgiven.
Mr. Bowers was a bold operator, with unlimited faith in his ventures. Hence he was the pro- moter and one of the active managers of the
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only cotton mill the town has ever had, and also the first to engage in the cultivation of cran- berries on a large scale. While he died before the industry was fully developed, the success of the East Head bog has confirmed his judgment, not only in the trade generally, but in his method of bog construction.
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