USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Concord > History of the town of Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts : from its earliest settlement to 1832; and of the adjoining towns, Bedford, Acton, Lincoln, and Carlisle; containing various notices of county and state history not before published. > Part 20
USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Concord > History of the town of Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts : from its earliest settlement to 1832 : and of the adjoining towns, Bedford, Acton, Lincoln, and Carlisle > Part 20
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1 Prof. John W. Webster informs me, that he found all the minerals mentioned above, in this town. The late Samuel Davis, Esq. of Ply- mouth conjectured, that Annursnak, the Indian name of one of our hills, has the same meaning as Quunosnuck, signifying a pestle, from the cir- cumstance that rocks, out of which the natives made their mortars and pestles, were to be found there. Porphyry, of which the Indians used to make their arrow-heads, is also found there.
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prietors having found that a better quality of iron could be im- ported at less expense. Several tons of this ore have recently been carried in boats from this town to the furnace in Chelmsford, and it is said to produce good castings. I have no doubt that other minerals might be found, if the town were more thoroughly ex- plored.
BOTANY. - Wood grows here with great rapidity ; and it is supposed there is as much now as there was twenty years ago. Walden woods at the south, and other lots towards the southwest parts of the town, are the most extensive, covering several hun- dred acres of light-soil land. Much of the fuel, which is con- sumed, is, however, brought from the neighbouring towns. The most common trees are the oak, pine, maple, elm, white birch, chestnut, walnut, &c. &c. Hemlock and spruce are very rare. The ornamental trees transplanted, in this as in most other towns, do not appear to have been placed with much regularity ; but as they are; they contribute much to the comfort and beauty of the town. The elm, buttonwood, horse-chestnut, and fruit trees have very properly taken the place of sickly poplars, in ornamenting the dwellings. The large elm in front of the court-house, - the pride of the common, - is almost unrivalled in beauty. It is about " three score and ten," but is still growing with youthful vigor and uniform rapidity.
Dr. Jarvis, who is familiar with the botany of Concord, informs me, that " most of the plants found in the middle parts of the state grow here, excepting the alpine flowers. The extensive low lands produce abundantly the natural families of the aroideæ, typhæ, cyperoideæ, gramineæ, junci, corymbiferæ, and umbel- liferæ. These genera especially abound. There are also found, the juncus militaris (bayonet rush), on the borders of Fairhaven pond ; cornus florida ; lobelia cardinalis (cardinal flower), abun- dant on the borders of the river; polygala cruciata, in the east parts of the town ; nyssa villosa (swamp hornbeam), at the foot of Fairhaven hill." The cicuta Americana (hemlock) grows abundant on the intervals. Every person should know and shun it for its poisonous qualities.
There are many excellent and well cultivated farms in the town, which produce winter rye, corn, potatoes, and the usual produc- tions of the vicinity. Garden seeds have been extensively raised.
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
Teasels and the culture of silk have recently been introduced. Considerable attention has of late been paid to the cultivation of fruit trees, grape vines, and other horticultural productions, and, though a too long neglected branch of agriculture in this town, there is no doubt that nature has done enough for the soil to en- sure great success.
PONDS. - White Pond lies in the southwest part of the town, and receives its name from the purity of its waters. It has no visible outlet, and contains 43 acres.1 Fairhaven Pond forms a kind of bay in Concord river which passes through it, containing about 73 acres. Walden Pond lies in the south part of the town easterly of Fairhaven, and contains 65 acres. This pond also has no visible outlet. It is said no fish were caught in it, till they were transplanted there from other waters. Pickerel and other fish are now plenty there. Goose Pond, lying easterly of Walden Pond, is one of a number of small ponds, in a tract of land pe- culiarly broken into ridges and vales, which in some seasons are nearly dry. Bateman's Pond lies east of Mr. Daniel Wood's, and contains 30 acres.
RIVERS. - Concord River2 is the largest stream of water. One branch of it rises in the south part of Hopkinton ; and another from a pond and a large cedar-swamp in Westborough, and run- ning into Hopkin, n forms the boundary line between that town and SouthborougE. Thence in a northerly direction it passes through Framingham, and forms the boundary line between Sud- bury and East Sudbury (where it is sometimes called Sudbury River), and enters Concord at the south part of the town. After passing through it in a diagonal direction, it receives the North River, and, going out at the northeast part between Bedford and Carlisle and through Billerica, empties into the Merrimack at Lowell. It is remarkable for the gentleness of its current, which is scarcely perceptible by the eye. At low water mark it is from 4 to 15 feet deep, and from 100 to 300 feet wide. Where it enters Concord it is 200 feet, and where it leaves it 330. At
1 The estimates of the number of acres in these ponds, and the width of the rivers, is from a survey made by Judge Wood in 1794, and re- turned to the Secretary's office in Boston, agreeably to an order of the General Court.
2 Sometimes called Great River and South River.
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the former place it is 114 feet above low-water mark in Boston.1 In times when the river is highest, it overflows its banks, and is in many places more than a mile wide. Great inconvenience has resulted to the town from this circumstance. Commissioners were appointed at various times, for the first hundred years after its settlement, to clear it out and drain the water off; and contribu- tions were made by this and some other towns on the river to pay the expense. At other times grants were made by govern- ment. In 1722, Jonas Bond, Francis Fullam, and Francis Bow- man were the commissioners, and Samuel Heywood, receiver, who paid £18 13s. for work done by the inhabitants of Concord. As early as 1710, measures were taken to erect mills in Bille- rica, and remonstrances were sent to the General Court from this town against them ; but though they delayed, they did not finally prevent, the accomplishment of the project. Boats frequently pass from Boston, through the Middlesex canal and this river, to this town and to Sudbury ; and with little expense, it is thought, there might be a profitable inland navigation.
The North or Assabeth River 2 has its source in Grafton, and receiving most of the waters of that town, Westborough, Shrews- bury, Northborough, and Bolton, passes through Marlborough, Stow, and a corner of Acton, and unites with the Concord about half a mile northwest of the meeting-house. It is not so large as the Concord, being at the confluence about 30 feet wide. It falls 30 feet from Sherman's mill-pond to its confluence with Concord river, and has some sites for mill privileges, the principal of which is occupied by a cotton factory. In its course through this town it receives several tributary streams, among which are Fort Pond Brook and Spencer Brook.
Fort Pond Brook, or Law's Brook, takes its rise in Fort Pond and the vicinity in Littleton, and, after running in a southeasterly direction through Acton, flows into the North River, near Mr. Loring's. This brook receives the tributary stream of Nashobah Brook, one branch of which rises in Nagog Pond, and another called Wright's Brook, in Westford, and, passing through Acton in a southeasterly direction, unites with Fort Pond Brook soon
1 Canal Report, p. 113.
2 This river is sometimes called Elzebeth, Elzebett, Elizabeth, and Asa- bet. See Worcester Hist. Mag. Vol. II.
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
after it enters Concord. Near this place a saw-mill was erected soon after the town was first settled.
Spencer Brook, or Fifty Acre Brook, has its source in Car- lisle, and, running southerly, flows into the North River, having Barrett's saw-mill and grist-mill near its mouth.
Mill Brook, arising in Lincoln, flows through the centre of this town, and empties into the Concord river north of the vil- lage. The waters of this brook were used, about 190 years since, to turn the first grist-mill ever built in the town ; but since 1826 they have been very properly suffered to flow through their ac- customed channel undisturbed.
Saw-Mill Brook, or Ralph's Brook, rises in Carlisle, and run- ning a southerly course empties into the Concord river near Bed- ford line.
Nut-Meadow Brook rises in Nut-Meadow, and enters the Con- cord river below James Miles's.
ZOOLOGY. - The fish formerly most abundant in Concord were salmon, shad, alewives, pike or pickerel, dace (cyprinus leucis- cus, a small fish resembling the roach), and some others. Be- side affording to the inhabitants an important article of food, for several years after the town was settled they were used as manure for agricultural purposes. They produced a luxuriant growth for one season, but tended to impoverish the land. Some diminution of their numbers took place when the dams were erected across the river in Billerica in 1712; and unsuccessful petitions were presented to the General Court to have these obstructions re- moved, on account of the fisheries. They were notwithstanding the source of considerable revenue to the town from sales which were made to people living in other towns. At certain seasons of the year, the fish-officers of Concord went to the dams in Bil- lerica to see that the sluice-ways were properly opened to permit the fish to pass. The exclusive right to the fisheries was sold by the town in 1732, for five years, at £5 per year ; and the pur- chaser had the privilege of erecting a wier across the river to aid him in taking the fish, a plan which was practised by the In- dians before the town was settled by the English. This right continued to be sold in that manner, and for nearly the same amount, till about 1800. There were six principal fishing-places, viz., south of Mr. Dennis's, west of Deacon Hubbard's, nearly
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opposite Lee's hill in Mr. Merrick's pasture, against the Brown farm, and down the river near Ball's hill. Since the interruption by the Middlesex canal, and the factories at Lowell, those once welcome visiters in our waters, salmon, shad, and alewives, have taken up their summer residence in waters more easily ac- cessible, and have totally deserted these peaceful shores. The principal fish, which now inhabit these waters, are pike, perch, lamprey and common eel, pout, and several other smaller fish.
The principal quadrupeds found here, at the first settlement of the town, were the bear, moose, wolf, deer, fox, otter, beaver, muskrat or musquash (mus zibethicus ), marten, &c. &c. Wolves were many years very troublesome in killing calves and sheep, and rewards were offered for destroying them. The fur-trade here was once very important. As early as 1641, a company was formed in the colony, of which Major Willard of Concord was superintendent, and had the exclusive right to trade with the Indians in furs and other articles ; and for this right they were obliged to pay into the public treasury one twentieth of all the furs they obtained.1 The right to the fur-trade, in particular dis- tricts, was afterwards sold by commissioners of the General Court. Captain Thomas Brooks bought the right in Concord, in 1657, for £5. The solitary ponds, rivers, and meadows in Concord, were peculiarly the favorite resorts of the beaver and other amphibious animals, and now contain remarkable evidence of their former existence. The larger animals have long since emigrated to other regions beyond the extension of civilization , and few only of the smaller ones remain unattacked by the sportsman.
The Birds have no peculiar locality in this town. Those most troublesome to the inhabitants have been the black bird, which frequent the low meadows in great numbers, the crow, and the jay. Rewards were paid for the heads of the two latter kinds. As late as 1792, the town voted to give for destroying " those pests to cornfields, called crows," the following rates ; " for each old crow 1s., for each young crow 6d., and for each crow's egg, that is found in said town and taken out of the nest, 3d."
1 Colony Records.
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
CHAPTER XIII.
TOPOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Boundaries. - Roads. - Bridges. - Stages. - Post-Office. - Public Buildings. - Printing-Office. - Burying-Grounds.
THE Court-House in Concord lies, north 5810 west, distant 15 miles 285 rods in a straight line from the City Hall in Boston, 16m. 10r. by the turnpike, 17m. 212r. through Lexington, and 20m. 188r. through Waltham. Bedford bears from Concord north 62º east, distant 3m. 276r. in a straight line, and 5m. 32r. by the oad; Lexington, south 78° east, 5m. 296r., and by the road 6m. 163r. ; Lincoln, 4m. 77r. by the road ; East Sudbury, south 1210 west, 6m. 201r., and by the road 8m. 201r. ; Harvard College, south 562º east, 12m. 207r., and East-Cambridge court-house, 14m. 250r.1 Concord lies about 13 miles from Lowell, 18 from Groton, and 30 from Worcester.
Concord is bounded on the southwest by Sudbury, by a line running from "bound rock," near Concord river, north 55° west, 1178r. to Acton corner, near Joseph Hayward's ; thence wes- terly on Acton by a straight line, running north 35° east, 1656r) to Carlisle corner, near Paul Dudley's ; thence northerly on Car- lisle by a line having 28 angles. Southerly it is bounded on Lincoln, by a line beginning at bound rock before mentioned, and running with the river to the mouth of Well Meadow Brook, and thence by a line having fourteen angles to Bedford line ; thence on Bedford by a line having thirteen angles to Concord river, and by Concord river to Carlisle bounds. These lines, giving to the town an exceedingly irregular shape, were surveyed in 1829, and stone bounds put up at all the angles.
The principal road to Boston, before the Charlestown bridge was built, went south through Lincoln, Waltham, and Watertown. That now most travelled is the great county road from Boston, through Lexington and Concord, to Groton and to New Hampshire. The Concord and Union Turnpike from Bolton to Boston, laid out in 1802, passes through this town, but, being hilly, is not
' Hale's Survey of Boston and its Vicinity. pp. 69-71.
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TOPOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
much travelled. It was made a free road in 1829. From $1000 to $1,500 is annually expended in repairing the high ways.
The first bridge was built across the Concord river, from the point of land below Joseph Barrett's, Esq., to Lee's hill. In 1665 it was washed away, and another built the next year, where the present south bridge stands. Six or seven new bridges have since been built on the same spot. In 1660 there were three new bridges in the town, the north bridge (which the events of the 19th of April, 1775, have made memorable), the great south bridge, and one where Darby's bridge now stands. A few years previous to that time, the town had been allowed £20 by the county towards maintaining these bridges. An effort was then made to have the whole expense borne by the county, but the town could obtain but £30 annually for that purpose. When they were first supported entirely by the town, is uncertain. They have been often swept away by the floods ; and large sums of money are annually raised to keep them in repair, which has very much increased the expenses of the town. The bridge by Captain Hunt's was first built about 1792, that by the Rev. Dr. Ripley's in 1793, those on the turnpike in 1802, and that be- yond Deacon Hubbard's in 1802. There are now eight bridges entirely supported by the town.
Public Stages were first run out of Boston into the country through Concord, in 1791, by Messrs. John Vose & Co. There are now (1833), on an average, 40 stages which arrive and de- part weekly, employing 60 horses between Boston and Groton, and carrying about 350 passengers ; 150 have passed in one day.
The Post-Office was first established in this town, February 20, 1795. Six mails then arrived and departed weekly. Sixteen now arrive and depart. Since 1813, the net proceeds of the office to government have been about $3,000, varying from $30 to $70 per quarter. The following account of the post-masters was furnished me by the Post-Master General.
1. William Parkman, Esq., P. M., from February 20, 1795, to December 31, 1810, resigned.
2. Hon. John L. Tuttle, P. M., from January 1, 1811, to February 14, 1813, resigned.
3. Hon. John Keyes, P. M., from February 15, 1813, at pres- ent in office.
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
Public Buildings. - Meeting-houses. - To provide suitable ac- commodations for public religious worship, was one of the first acts of the town after its incorporation. And hence we find it recorded in a fragment of the proceedings of the town in 1635 - " Ordered that the meeting-house stande on the hill near the brook on the easte of Goodman Judgson's lott." Tradition informs us, that this was on the hill some distance easterly from the common. This house served as a place of worship about 30 years.
In 1667, a new meeting-house was ordered to be built, to stand between the present house and Deacon Jarvis's. It was nearly square and had a gallery. The lower floor had a few pews on the out side ; and the remainder was filled with seats. The roof was square and ornamented with four projections on the sides, resembling luthern windows or gable ends, having a window in each. In the centre was a " turret," or cupola, in which the bell was hung.1 On the spire was a vane in which was cut " 1673," the date of the completion of the house.
Arrangements were made in 1710, after several meetings and considerable discussion, for building another house. It was 60 feet long, 50 wide, and 28 " stud "; had no pews till some time after it was built, and then only by special vote of the town, as a favor to distinguished individuals ; two galleries ; no porches nor turret ; and was completed in 1712 at an expense of £608. This house was several times repaired. In 1749 pews were built around the lower floor, and some in the lower gallery.
January 31, 1791, the town voted to enlarge and repair the house in its present form. It is 72 feet long, 50 wide, and 28 high ; and has three porches, a spire 90 feet high, and square pews on the lower floor, and by the walls in the gallery. Build- ers, Abner Wheeler and Reuben Bryant; expense, £924. It was dedicated January 24, 1792, when the Rev. Dr. Ripley preached a sermon, which was printed.
The Trinitarian meeting-house, built in 1826, is 60 feet long, 58 wide, and 22 high, with a spire of 68 feet. The entrance is at one end, and it has narrow pews facing and descending towards the pulpit, and a gallery at one end. Building committee, Moses Davis, John Vose, and Ebenezer Hubbard ; builder, Thomas Benjamin ; expense (including a bell weighing 1125 lbs.), be-
1 Dr. Lee's MSS.
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TOPOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
tween $5,000 and $6,000. It was dedicated December 6, 1826, when the Rev. Mr. Green of Boston preached a sermon, afterwards printed.
A town bell was procured very early, but at what time.does not appear. At first it was hung on a tree, and its tones are said to have been terrible to the neighbouring Indians. About 1696 it was broken, and sent to England to be recast. In 1700 it was " hanged on the meeting house in the turret," where it remained till the court-house was built, on which it was placed till 1791, when it was removed to the meeting-house. A new bell was procured, in 1784, from Hanover, weighing 500 lbs., but being broken, another was ordered from England in 1789, which con- tinued till 1826, when the present one, weighing 1572 lbs., was obtained. The clock in the front gallery of the meeting-house was given to the town in 1793, by Mr. John Minott ; and that in the belfry was procured by subscription, in 1827, for $450.
No subject seems to have excited greater interest, or required the exercise of greater talents, than " seating the meeting-house." Large committees were accordingly chosen almost every year prior to the erection of pews, and as late as 1784, to tell the people where to sit when attending public worship. Few were able to perform such duties and escape censure. Singers were first seated in 1774.
Court-Houses. - The first house for the accommodation of the courts and town-meetings, was built in 1719, principally of mate- rials in the old meeting-house, and stood near the present site of the county-house occupied by the jailor. It was 34 feet long, 26 wide, and 14 high, with a cupola in the centre, on which was placed the vane of the meeting-house, dated " 1673." The ex- pense, excepting £30 was paid by the town. The new court- house is a commodious wooden building, 70 feet long, 50 wide, and 28 high. In the centre of the roof an octagon cupola rises 60 feet from the ground. It was built in 1794, by Daniel Davis of Acton. The whole expense was $4,583, of which the town paid £100, and gave the land on which it stands, and has the right to use it for public meetings.
The first Jail was built in 1754 in the rear of Dr. Heywood's old house. Prior to that time, prisoners were confined in Cam- bridge snd Charlestown. In 1770 it was removed to the west
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
end of the burying-ground, near Mr. Bigelow's tavern. The pres- ent jail was built of stone in 1738, and received its first tenants in the April following. It is 65 feet long, 32 wide, 3 stories high, and has 18 apartments, 7 of which are for criminals. It cost £3,084.
The Academy, built in 1822, is 40 feet long, 30 wide, and 2 stories high. The grammar schoolhouse is of the same size, the lower story being occupied as a school-room, and the upper one as a masonic hall. It was built in place of one burnt De- cember 31, 1819, and dedicated, with two other new ones, for primary schools, September 7, 1820. In 1799, seven new school- houses, one in each district, including the centre, were built at an expense to the town of about $4,000.
A Printing-Office was opened in this town by Nathaniel Cov- · erly in 1794, but it was continued but a short time. April 20, 1816, Messrs. Bettes and Peters issued the first newspaper, en- titled the Middlesex Gazette, and it has since been continued, under various names and proprietors, till the present time.
Burying-Grounds were laid out at an early period, but the date is unknown. The monument on the Hill Burying-Ground, containing the inscription, " JOSEPH MERRIAM, AGED 47 YEARS, DIED THE 20 OF APRIL, 1677," is the oldest in town. The oldest in the West Burying-Ground is that of Thomas Hartshorn, who died November 17, 1697. No other one appears there till 1713. The first person buried in the New Burying-Ground was. Mrs. Anna Robbins, who died July 13, 1823, and the fact is properly noted on her monument. Beside these, tradition reports that the ground first used for interring the dead was on the hill easterly of the present one ; but no traces of it can be discovered, if indeed one was ever there. Some of the epitaphs, which have marks of originality, are annexed. Others appear elsewhere in this work.
" In Memory of Capt. JOHN STONE, the Architect of that Modern and justly Celebrated Piece of Architecture, Charles River Bridge. He was a man of good Natural abilities, which seemed to be adorned with Moral Virtues and Christian Graces.
He departed this life in the year of our Lord, 1791, in the 63 year of his age."
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TOPOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
· There is much beauty in the following concise epitaph :
" Vivens, Dilectissima ORPAH BRYANT.
born December 24, 1797. died October 1, 1798.
She was the joy of her father, And the delight of her mother.
Mortua, Lachrymabillima."
On the only upright white stone, then in the Hill Burying- Ground, the subjoined appears, relating to the donor of the singing- fund.
" This stone is designed by its durability to perpetuate the memory, and by its colour to signify the moral character, of Miss ABIGAIL DUDLEY, who died Jan. 4, 1812, aged 73."
Few grave-yards within my knowledge have so many monu- ments, on which character is drawn, as ours. These inscriptions have considerable similarity, but discover the peculiar taste of the age in which they were written. The character in the subjoined is drawn with peculiar force.
" In Memory of Mrs. REBECCA HUNT, consort of Lieut. Reuben Hunt, who died June 28, 1790, aged 47. Her virtues, social, conjugal, parental, and Christian, . commanded respect and rejoiced acquaintance, sweetened life, consoled in sickness,
made a friend of death, and confirmed the hope of celestial glory. This stone perpetuates her memory and invites imitation.
' Frail man give ear ; The dearest joys of earth resign, Secure those joys that are divine.' "
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
The following, generally attributed to the pen of Daniel Bliss, Esq., has often been published and admired.
" God wills us free ; - man wills us slaves. I will as God wills ; God's will be done. Here lies the body of JOHN JACK, A native of Africa, who died March, 1773, aged about sixty years. Though born in a land of slavery, · He was born free. Though he lived in a land of liberty, He lived a slave ; Till by his honest, though stolen labours, He acquired the source of slavery, Which gave him his freedom : Though not long before Death, the grand tyrant, Gave him his final emancipation,
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