USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Gardner > History of the town of Gardner, Worcester County, Mass., from the incorporation, June 27, 1785, to the present time > Part 14
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towns, in the choice of directors of said railroad, at the first meeting of the stockholders thereof, after said city or town should subscribe, called for that purpose ; and thereafter the vote of said city or towns, in the choice of directors of said railroad, shall be cast, by the person or persons, whom said city or towns may appoint."
The final act of relocation of this road, was approved March 11th, 1870. It pertained to the relocation of the first, second, and third sections. This act permitted the corporation to extend its line, " from some convenient point in the city of Worcester, thence through Holden, and through, or near the centre village thereof; and thence through Princeton and Hub- bardston, and the southerly part of Gardner, to some conven- ient point, on the road of the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad Company in said Gardner." The corporation was also authorized, to locate the third section of its road, so that it might extend from some convenient point, in the first or second section of its road, to some convenient point in the town of Barre. With the final location of this road, and the act of the legislature authorizing the city of Worcester, and the towns along the line to subscribe to the capital stock, there began to be manifested an increased interest, in its immediate construction.
In Gardner, a town meeting was called August 18th, 1869, to consider the subject of subscribing to the stock, of the Bos- ton, Barre and Gardner Railroad. This meeting was largely attended, and much interest manifested, in the project. Upon motion of Mr. Levi Heywood, it was " Voted. That the town subscribe for stock in the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad Corporation, to the amount of three per centum of the valuation of the town in 1868." This subscription amounted to $38,500, and was increased to $100,000 by private subscription.
Much public interest was evinced in the speedy accomplish- ment of this enterprise, which had lain dormant for twenty-two years. The towns along the line of this new road, were quite enthusiastic, in their determination to build it. Hubbardston went to the utmost limit granted by the legislature, and sub-
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scribed five per cent. of its valuation for 1868, making the amount of its. subscription $37,600, which was subsequently increased to $50,000 ; Princeton subscribed $6,000 and Holden $30,000, which was largely increased by private subscription ; while the city of Worcester, by a large majority, subscribed one per cent. of its valuation for 1868, amounting to about $280,000.
At a meeting of the directors, held at Worcester, September 15th, 1869, a vote was passed to put that portion of the road between Worcester and Gardner under contract immediately. This contract was made with Messrs. Cook & Co. of Canada, in November, 1869. The company organized at Worcester September 28th, 1869, with the following officers : President, Col. Ivers Phillips, Worcester ; Secretary and Treasurer, Wil- liam E. Starr, Worcester; Directors, Ivers Phillips, Stephen Salisbury, W. W. Rice, Calvin Foster, D. Waldo Lincoln, Horatio N. Tower, Lewis Ballard of Worcester, Joab S. Holt, David Parmenter of Holden, John Brooks of Princeton, Henry Prentiss of Hubbardston and Levi Heywood of Gardner. From the time of the contract, the construction of the road, was rapidly and faithfully pursued, till the 26th day of April, 1871, when Col. Phillips drove the first spike, in Gardner, promising at the same time to have the rails laid to Worcester by the 4th of July following. Trne to his word, the road was so far advanced towards completion, that upon the 4th of July, 1871, an excursion train passed over it, from Worcester to this town, although it was not formally opened, to the public till later. Such is the history of the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad.
At this point we must go back a little, and take up the con- temporaneous history relating to the extension of this road to Winchendon, as it now exists. It will be remembered that the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad, was chartered in 1847, but no action was taken, looking to its construction till twenty-two years after. During these years, especially the latter part of them, the chair manufacturers of this town, were
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greatly enlarging their business, and making constantly in- creasing demands for lumber, for its successful prosecution. Much of this lumber came from Vermont and New Hamp- shire. But such were the railroad inconveniences, that they were obliged to have their stock, or lumber, come over the Cheshire Railroad, and be drawn by teams from Ashburnham Junction, or be brought, upon the Vermont and Massachusetts, from the Junction to Gardner, at great cost, the two railroads charging high tariffs. This inconvenience affected not only the chair manufacturers, but our grain merchants, and other busi- ness men, as well. Hence there began to be a conviction in the minds of our citizens, that there ought to be a railroad, from Gardner to Winchendon, to connect with the Cheshire and Monadnock. If this road could be built, it would open up direct and less costly communication, with the lumber regions of Vermont and New Hampshire, and be a matter of great con- venience and profit to Gardner. Prompted by these motives, a petition was presented, by our representative, in the General Court, for 1869, Mr. Calvin S. Greenwood, signed by Mr. Charles Heywood and others, for a road from here to Winchen- don, to be called the Gardner and Winchendon Railroad. This petition was presented February 4th, 1869, and was referred to the Committee on Railroads. February 24th there was a peti- tion presented by B. D. Whitney and others, in aid of the peti- tion of Charles Heywood and others. This also was referred to the above committee. In the senate, May 26th, 1869, there was a report upon the petition of Charles Heywood and others, which was considered, and on motion of Mr. Buttrick, a bill to incorporate the Gardner and Winchendon Railroad Company, was substituted therefor; whereupon, the whole subjeet was referred to the next General Court. Thus the Gardner and Winchendon enterprise was, for this year prevented, which, to one looking at events, in an honest and unselfish light, seems strange, inasmuch as the enterprising citizens of Gardner and Winchendon proposed to build the road with money from their own pockets and did not propose to ask the state for a dollar, in aid of their much desired project.
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This agitation, concerning a road from here to Winehendon, in the legislature of 1869, was not, however, without its favor- able results, as will now be seen. The petition of Mr. Charles Heywood and others, had the beneficial effect to arouse a new interest in the minds of enterprising men, in Worcester, in the desirability of building the long chartered line from Worcester to Gardner, and of extending the same, to Winchendon, thus obviating any necessity for the incorporation of the Gardner and Winchendon Railroad, as prayed for by the petitioners. In the legislature of 1870, in which Mr. John M. Moore was rep- resentative of the district of which Gardner forms a part, according to the journal of the house, for January 18th, 1870, " a bill to incorporate the Gardner and Winchendon Railway Company, referred by the senate, in 1869, to this General Court, came down, having been taken from the files of the Senate, and referred to the Committee on Railways, and the house con- curred in the reference."
" January 14th, 1870, a petition of the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad Company, for a change of location and exten- sion of road, was referred, in concurrence, to the Committee on Railways. January 17th, 1870, Mr. Moore of Gardner, presented the petition of Mr. Thomas E. Glazier and others, of Gardner, that the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad may be extended to Winchendon. February 28th, 1870, Mr. Earle of Worcester, from a Committee on Railways, to whom was re- ferred the petition of the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad Company, reported on the part of said petition, a bill author- izing the company to relocate its road. This was read and ordered to a second reading, March 1st, 1870."
"The bill was ordered to a third reading March 2d, 1870. Mr. Marble of Worcester, moved a reconsideration of the vote by which the report, on the petition of the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad Company was accepted, and the motion was placed on the orders of the day following. March 3d, 1870, motion was withdrawn. March 10th, 1870, bill was engrossed. March 1st, 1870, Mr. Parker of Lancaster, from Committee on
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Railways, to whom was referred the petition, of the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad Company, for extension of its road, reported reference to the next General Court. March 2d, 1870, Mr. Marble of Worcester, moved a reconsideration of the above, and the motion was placed on the orders of the day following. March 3d, 1870, a motion was made to reconsider the vote, by which the report, on the petition of the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad Company, was yesterday accepted, was agreed to, and Mr. Earle of Worcester moved to amend the report, by substituting a bill, to authorize the said road to extend to Winchendon, and for other purposes, pending, the consideration of which, the subject was postponed till the next day."
March 4th, 1870, a report, on the petition of the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad Company, was accepted, Mr. Earle withdrawing his motion to amend the same. This action of Mr. Earle was taken because of an agreement entered into be- tween the friends of the extension and their opponents, that, if referred to the next legislature, they would not oppose it. The managers of the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad, were induced to make this agreement, in order to insure the passage of the bill then pending, for the relocation of their road, which was of vital importance to them at that time, and which would have been seriously endangered, had they pressed the extension. In 1871, the matter came again before the legislature, Mr. Levi Heywood being the representative, for that year, in the General Court.
In all fairness of agreement, between the parties interested for and against the extension, it was hoped and expected that no more opposition would be made to the extension to Win- chendon. But, in this hope, the friends of the road were des- tined to disappointment. Petitions, were presented to this legislature from the city council of Worcester, Charles Hey- wood and five hundred and seven other citizens of Gardner, Nelson D. White and others, William B. Goodnow and others, Ethan Davis and others, Monadnock Railroad Company, N. P.
20
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Parkhurst and others, in favor of the extension to Winchendon, while Mr. George C. Winchester and others of Ashburnham, presented petitions against the extension.
From this time onward, through the whole session, the oppo- sition, to the petitioners for an extension, was exceedingly intense. Contrary to an agreement made at the last session, the old opponents were again in the field, or rather the lobby, ready to do all, within their power, to have the petition denied. Supreme selfishness was the inspiring force, in all their conduct. The Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad Company was there, with its agents, though they had, as they claimed, been sum- moned. The Nashua and Worcester, the Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg and the Providence and Worcester railroad com- panies, were all represented in force, to defeat the enterprise, and in addition to these, Mr. Geo. C. Winchester of Ashburn- ham, was also no indifferent spectator, if not an abettor, of the opposition. But, in the face of all this opposition, Senator Bird reported a bill in favor of the extension, while some of the members, as Towne of Fitchburg, dissented.
Meanwhile, the friends of the proposed extension, at home, were not dormant. Convinced that they had a righteous cause, and one that must and ought to prevail, the citizens of the city of Worcester and of all the towns along the line, to Win- chendon, assembled " for the purpose of considering the pro- posed extension of the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad Company, to Winehendon, and the dark and disgraceful means, which have been used by the opponents of the project, in and out of the legislature, for its defeat." In Gardner, an enthusi- astie meeting was held, April 29th, 1871, at which, Mr. Thom- as E. Glazier presided, who reviewed the history of the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad, and the efforts made to secure a charter to Winchendon, at the same time, referring to the faith- lessness of the opponents, who agreed not again to resist the petitioners. Mr. Charles Heywood also spoke of the nature of the opposition and the foolishness of those who desired the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad to form a connection, east
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of the village, and so go to Winchendon by way of Ashburn- ham, for the benefit of the opponents of the extension. After a thorough discussion of the motives actuating the opposition, a committee, on resolutions, consisting of Messrs. Charles Hey- wood, E. J. Sawyer and John M. Moore was chosen, who re- ported the following resolutions :-
Whereas, An attempt of the most unscrupulous character, is being made, to defeat the proposed extension of the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad, from Gardner to Winchendon, and, whereas such extension is of vital importance to our com- munity, therefore ;
Resolved, That as a matter of justice to towns and individ- uals, who have taken the stock of the Boston, Barre and Gard- ner Railroad, it should be extended to Winchendon, in order that they may have a direct communication with the north, by their own line, rather than by a circuitous route over two hostile and competing railroads.
Resolved, That we most earnestly protest against the pro- posed diversion of the road from its present location in this town, towards Ashburnham, thereby depriving us, in a great measure, of the advantages to which we are entitled, and in- flieting incalculable injury upon our business community, as an act of gross injustice to us, who, as a town and as individuals, have invested so largely of our means, in the road, while it would only benefit a few, who have never given either pecuniary or moral support to the enterprise.
Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to our senator and representative in the state legislature, and that they be requested to use every honorable means to accomplish the prayer of the petitioners.
Upon the same day meetings were held in Hubbardston and Winchendon, at which, resolutions of similar import were passed. Two of the resolutions passed by the people of Hub- bardston, were to this effect :-
Resolved, That inasmuch as the stockholders and the towns along the line propose to construct the extension, with their
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own funds, with which neither individuals nor towns, aside from the line of the road, have any equitable or moral right to inter- fere, and in the present opposition to the project, in the state legislature, we recognize only the unwarranted and unjustifiable interference of parties, who have no interest in its success, by any financial or local connections with it, and in the peculiar and unusual tactics adopted, by the opposition, we recognize only the factions, unscrupulous and reprehensible efforts of men, who will lose nothing by the extension, and only fear that others may be prospered more than they are themselves.
Resolved, That we denounce these efforts as unjust and inde- fensible, and we appeal to the legislature to grant us the privi- lege of building our own route, with our own means, and at our own risk, without the selfish and outrageous interference of those who seek only to embarrass and injure the prospects and prosperity of the road.
These resolutions, when presented to the legislature, were declared, by the opponents of the extension, to be " disrespect- ful," while they continued, unremittingly, their efforts to defeat the project, till success crowned their unworthy endeavors. The senate of 1871, decided by a vote of twenty to fifteen, against granting the prayer of the petitioners. This action of the legislature seems exceedingly strange and unfair, in view of the fact that no money was sought from the state to aid in build- ing the road, and that the convenience to this community, from the extension, would be so great. But the citizens of these towns, were not discouraged. Such was the justice of their cause, that they felt confident, that the next legislature would grant their prayer. In this confidence they were not disap- pointed. The bill for the extension to Winchendon passed the senate, February 14th, and the house February 17th, 1872, and was subsequently approved by the governor, thus securing to Gardner the railroad connection with the north, it had labored so long and so persistently to obtain. However, the location of the road was not immediately determined. By some, it was suggested, that the route to Winehendon be upon the Vermont
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and Massachusetts Railroad to Baldwinsville ; thence over the Ware River Railroad.
Pending the location of this road to Winchendon, a special town meeting was called June 3d, 1872, to see if the town would take more stock in the Boston, Barre and Gardner Rail- road Company. After a short discussion, it was " Voted, That Levi Heywood, Sylvester K. Pierce and Henry C. Hill, be a committee to subscribe in behalf of the town, for two hundred and fifty shares of the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad Company, whenever in the opinion of said committee, or a majority of them, sufficient stock shall be subscribed, to insure the building of the extension of said company's road, from Gardner to Winchendon, and the treasurer of the town is hereby authorized to borrow such sums of money as may be needed to pay for such stock."
In due time, the contract for building the extension from Gardner to Winchendon, was given to Mr. B. N. Farren, of Greenfield, who began work upon it in December, 1872. The last rail connecting the road with the Cheshire, was laid at Winchendon Thanksgiving day, Nov. 27, 1873, the same day on which the final blast, opening the Hoosac Tunnel, was ex- ploded. In the afternoon of the same day a train, conveying the Mayor of Worcester, Superintendent Ross and many prom- inent citizens, passed over the road to Winchendon, where a Thanksgiving dinner was caten at the American house, with hearty rejoicings and congratulations, that an enterprise of such importance, to the growth and general welfare, of this section of country, had at length, with great toil, and in the face of most unfair and unscrupulous opposition, been successfully consummated.
Regular trains began running from Worcester to Winchen- don, and Peterboro', New Hampshire, Feb. 2, 1874. Since the time of construction of the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad, its business has been such as not. to disappoint those most in- terested in its prosperity. It is certainly a great and much needed auxiliary, to the railroad facilities, of the whole region,
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and when the line is extended, as it soon will be to Concord, New Hampshire, it will afford a most direct route from the capital of New Hampshire to New York.
We have been thus minute and circumstantial, in our recital of the history of the two railroads passing through this town, that those interested, in studying the causes of our municipal growth, now and hereafter, may be furnished, with a clear idea of their cost, in time, money, labor, inextinguishable patience, and uncompromising determination, on the part of our most enterprising business men, and citizens, among whom, without justly exposing ourselves to the charge of invidiousness, we may place, as most prominent, the name of Mr. Levi Heywood, as in an eminent sense, the father of our present railroad facilities.
With no such natural advantages as most other towns enjoy, but on the contrary, with many natural disadvantages, Gardner has, through its railroad accommodations, come into possession of great and substantial elements of future growth and pros- perity, which under judicious management, must inevitably, tend to make the town one of the largest and most important in the commonwealth.
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CHAPTER VII.
INDUSTRIES.
"Productive industry is the only capital which enriches a people, and spreads national prosperity and well-being."-Samuel Laing.
" God provides the good things of the world, to serve the needs of nature, by the labors of the plowman, and the skill and pains of the artisan, and the dangers and traffic of the merchant."-Jeremy Taylor.
" Self-reliance and self-denial, will teach a man to drink out of his own cistern, and eat his own sweet bread, and to learn and labor truly to get his own living and carefully to save, and expend the good things committed to his trust."-Lord Bacon.
"Care preserves what industry gains. He who attends to his business diligently, but not carefully, throws away with one hand, what he gathers with the other."-Colton.
" The roughest road, often leads to the smoothest fortune."-Franklin.
" The parent, who does not teach his child a trade, teaches him to be a thief."-Brahminical Scriptures.
" Seest thou a man diligent, in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men."-Prov. 22 : 29.
TT is a fact clearly apprehended, by the student of political economy, that the great distinctions, existing among men, in regard to wealth and poverty, competence and want, are due, not so much, to a disparity in mental endowments, as to the determination, persistency, and unflinching courage, with which, they apply themselves, to some wisely selected vocation in life. Experience teaches, that the really industrious man, the man who is daily employed, in some honest labor of musele or brain, is the one who achieves permanent success, in life, while the man who is unsteady of habit, to-day doing one thing and to-morrow another, never really setting himself to any particular task, with an invincible determination to adhere to it
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till he has made it a success, will come, at length, to verify the proverb, " a rolling stone gathers no moss."
The lives of too many persons, illustrate the distinction in meaning, between avocation and vocation ; they have too many of the former, while they are destitute of the latter. It is also an obvious truth, that habits of industry, or the want of them, have a very powerful influence, in shaping the character, of an individual, or a community. An idle man, if he has the ability to labor, and will not use it, is a pest in society.
Robert Burton, in his wonderful work, "Anatomy of Mel- aucholy," says that " idleness is the bane of body and mind, the nurse of naughtiness, stepmother of discipline, the chief au- thor of all mischief, one of the seven deadly sins, a sole cause of this, i. e., melancholy, and many other maladies, the devil's cushion and chief reposal. As ferns grow in untilled grounds, and all manner of weeds, so do gross humors in an idle body. A horse in a stable that never travels, a hawk in a mew that seldom flies, are both subject to discases. An idle dog will be mangy, and how shall an idle person expect to escape ? Idle- ness of mind is worse than idleness of body. Wit without employment, is a disease, the rust of the soul. When you shall hear, and see so many discontented persons, in all places where you come, so many several grievances, unnecessary complaints, fear, suspicions, the best way to redress it is, to set them awork, so to busy their minds ; for the truth is, they are idle. Well may they build castles in the air, for a time, and soothe up themselves with fantastical and pleasant humors, but in the end, they will prove as bitter as gall, they shall be still, I say discontented, suspicious, fearful, jealous, sad, fretting and vex- ing of themselves ; so long as they be idle, it is impossible to please them. An idle person knows not, when he is well what he would have, or whither he would go. He is tired out with everything, displeased with all, weary of his life."*
But we need not be told, by such high authority, that laziness and idleness, have a detrimental influence, upon the lazy and
*Burton's Anatomy, vol. 1, p. 321-325.
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idle themselves ; our own observation confirms us, in the opin- ion, that not only does the idle man suffer, but he has a corrupt- ing influence upon others, by putting a slight upon hard, indus- trious, honest labor, in which it is all men's duty to engage. Hence the wisdom of the world has concentrated itself, into those proverbs which have been spoken in favor of industry.
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