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 40
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Benj. Kendall, 24 oak, 13 ft. long, 4 by 5, at. 0 11 0
Elijah Wilder, 24 oak, 10 ft. long, 4 by 5, at . ) 11 0
Elijah Wilder, 24 oak, 10 ft. long, 3 by 4, at. 0 6 0
Joseph Wright, 24 oak, 8 ft. long, 3 by 4, at. 0 60 Joseph Wright, 20 pieces oak, 16 ft. long, 4 by 5, at. . 0 9 0
Elijah Wilder, 20 oak or beech rafters, 10 ft. long, 4 by 5, at. 0 6 0 Elijah Wilder, 26 pieces oak or beech, 14 ft. long, 5 by 6, at. . 0 14 0 Elijah Wilder, 26 pieces oak or beech, 14 ft. long, 5 by 6, at. . 0 14 0 Elijah Wilder, 26 pieces oak or beech, 14 ft. long, 5 by 6, at. . 0 14 0 Samuel Stone, 35 oak, beech or birch braces, 8 ft. long, 5 by 6, 0 10 0 Ephraim Pratt, 35 oak, beech or birch braces, 8 ft. long, 5 by 6, 0 9 0 Benj. Kendall, 35 oak, beech or birch braces, 8 ft. long, 5 by 6, 0 9 0 Elijah Wilder, 16 oak or beech braces, 10 ft. long, 5 by G, at .. 0 7 0
Elijah Wilder, 35 oak braces, 7 ft. long, 3 by 5, at. 0
8 0 Elijah Wilder, 35 oak braces, 7 ft. long, 3 by 5, at. 0 8 0
Elijah Wilder, 2 thousand of inclosing boards, inch, at 2 00
480
HISTORY OF GARDNER.
£ s. d.
David Nichols, 2 thousand of inclosing boards, inch, at. 2 00 Joseph Clark, 2 thousand of inclosing boards, inch, at. 2 00 Jesse Hill, 2 thousand of inclosing boards, inch, at . 2 00
Elijah Wilder, 2 thousand of inclosing boards, inch, at. 2 0 0
David Nichols, 2 thousand of inclosing boards, inch, at. 2
0 0
Elijalı Wilder, 2 thousand of inclosing boards, inch, at . 2 0 0
Joseph Clark, 2 thousand of iuclosing boards, inch, at 2
0 0
Jabez Partridge, 2 thousand of inclosing boards, inch, at 2 0 0 Caleb Jackson, 2 thousand of inclosing boards, inch, at .. 2 00 Josiah Wilder, 1000 clapboards, 4 inch thick, 5} inches wide, 4 ft. § ft. long, at . 3 30 Gideon Fisher, 1000 clapboards, { inch thick, 5} inches wide, 4 ft. 3 ft. long, at 3 90
Josiah Wilder, 1000 clapboards, { inch thick, 5} inches wide, 4 ft. 3 ft. long, at . 3 90
Samuel Foster, 1000 clapboards, 3 inch thick, 53 inches wide,
1 ft. } ft. long, at. 3 10 0 Josialı Wilder, 500 clapboards, 3 inch thick, 5} inches wide, 4 ft. ¿ ft. long, at 15 0
Ephraim Pratt, 4 thousand good white pine shingles, at. 1 10 0 Jonathan Eaton, 4 thousand good white pine shingles, at. 1 10
Benjamin Clark, 4 thousand good white pine shingles, at 1 10 0 David Foster, 4 thousand good white pine shingles, at . 1 10 0
Joseph Clark. 4 thousand good white pine shingles, at . 1 10 0
Elijah Simonds, 4 thousand good white pine shingles, at 1 10 Ezra Moore, 4 thousand good white pine shingles, at .
1 10 0
Jonathan Greenwood, 4 thousand good white pine shingles, at .. 1 10 0 Elisha Jackson, 500 white pine 2-inch plank, 14 ft. long, at ... 1 8 0
Elisha Jackson, 500 white pine 2-inch plank, 14 ft. long, at ... 1 9 0 Jonathan Bancroft, 500 white pine 2-inch plank, 14 ft. long, at 1 9 0 Elijah Wilder, 500 white pine 2-inch plank, 14 ft. long, at .... 1 9 0
Joseph Clark, 500 of sash stuff, 14 inches thick, at . 1
5 0
Ebenezer Eaton. 500 of sash stuff, 14 inches thick, at 1 7 0
Jonathan Bancroft, 500 of sash stuff, 14 inches thick, at 1 6 0
Andrew Beard, 500 of sash stuff, 14 inches thick, at 1
7 0
Elijah Simonds, 500 of sash stuff, 14 inches thick, at 1 7 0 Joshua Whitney, 500 of sash stuff, 1} inches thick, at 1 7 0
l'eter Goodale, 1000 of boards, ¿ of an inch thick, clear stuff, at 1 16 0
481
HISTORY OF GARDNER.
£. s. d.
Elijah Simonds, 500 of boards, 2 of an inch thick, clear stuff, at 0 18 0 Ezra Moore, 500 of boards, 3 of an inch thick, clear stuff, at 0 17 0 Ebenezer Eaton, 25 pieces of pine slitwork, 4 by 5, at . 0 140
Elijah Simonds, 25 pieces of pine shitwork, 4 by 5, at. 0 13 6
Elisha Jackson, 25 pieces of pine slitwork, 4 by 5, at 0 13 0
Elisha Jackson, 25 pieces of pine slitwork, 4 by 5, at 0 12 6 Elisha Jackson, 500 of pine slitwork, 5 by 5, at. 1 00
Elijah Wilder, 11 pieces of cant stuff, 11 feet long, at 0 10 0
March 7th, 1786, the town " Voted, To choose a committee of three, to see how much it will cost to frame and finish the out- side of the meeting-house." At an adjourned meeting, March 14th, " Voted, To raise £400, for the framing and finish- ing the outside of the meeting-house, and laying the floor, and to pay for the timber and other articles, for the meeting-house." September 25th, 1786, " Voted, To choose a committee to pitch on a spot, to set the meeting-house on." " Voted, To choose a committee, to lot out the underpinning of the meeting-house, in small lots, and draw conditions of sale." In 1786 the town " Voted, To accept the spot which the committee staked out, for the meeting-house to stand on." "Voted, To see if the town is willing that all the free-holders should vote concerning the building of the meeting-house. Passed in the affirmative."
The following is the report of the committee, concerning un- derpinning the meeting-house. " Voted, To accept the report of the committee and conditions of sale, which is as follows :-
" Be it known, to all whom these come before; That we, wino shall, or may undertake to dig, or underpin the hole, or any part or parts, to set the meeting-house upon, do engage to dig it, two feet and a half wide, and two feet and a half deep, and fill the trench up, with small stones, and to provide good square stones, and to lay the same square, in line, eighteen inches from the ground, the highest corner of the ground, and so to have it a true level on the top of the underpinning ; and to do the same, to the acceptance of the town, or a committee that the town shall appoint for the same. The lots are as fol-
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482
HISTORY OF GARDNER.
lows, the digging and filling up, fit to lay the underpinning :-
" First lot, beginning at the southeast corner, and from thence to the southwest, sixty feet; Ezra Moore, 17s. Second lot, beginning at the southwest corner, and thence round the porch, to the northwest corner, seventy-three feet ; Seth Heywood, 19s. 6d. Third lot, beginning at the northwest corner, so to the northeast corner, sixty feet; David Foster, 16s. Fourth lot, beginning at the northeast corner, so round the porch, to the southeast corner, seventy-three feet ; Jonathan Bancroft, 15s .- to provide stones and the lime. Fifth lot, beginning at the middle of the front door, and from thence to the west porch, forty-six and a half feet; Samuel Kelton, £4 10s. Sixth lot, round the west porch, forty-two feet; William Bickford, £3 10s. Seventh lot, beginning at the west porch, and so to the middle of the north side, forty-six and a half feet; Jonathan Bancroft, £4. Eighth lot, beginning at the middle of the north side, so to the east porch, forty-six and a half feet ; Ebenezer Keyes, £4 12s. Ninth lot, round the east porch, forty-two feet ; Benjamin Clark, £4 12s. Tenth lot, beginning at the east porch, and so to the middle of the front door, forty-six and a half feet; Ebenezer Howe, £4 18s."
" Voted, To complete the underpinning, of the meeting- house, by the 20th of June, 1787." " Voted, To vendue the underpinning." " Voted, To choose a committee of five to get the window frames and sashes made, and provide articles nec- essary for building the outside of the meeting-house, which are not already provided." " Voted, To build the meeting-house in June, 1787." " Voted, To choose a committee of three to view the trench, before it is filled up, and see if it will answer the end ; and to view it after it is filled up, and see if it is fit for to lay the square stone on, and to accept of the underpin- ning, if done workmanlike; and to strike out the porches, twelve feet by fourteen feet long."
At a meeting held December 25th, 1786, " Voted, To let out the framing and finishing of the outside of the meeting-house." " Voted, That a receipt from the committee that is to accept of
483
HISTORY OF GARDNER.
the timber and stuff, for building the meeting house, shall be a sufficient order on the town treasurer." " Voted, Not to drop the porches to the meeting-house." " Voted, To choose a com- mittee to see how they can get the meeting-house framed and the outside finished, and lay it before the town, at the adjourn- ment of this meeting." At an adjourned meeting, January 15th, 1787, " Voted, To give Joseph Bacon, for framing and finish- ing the outside of the meeting-house, setting the glass, and painting the house and laying the lower floor, and making the in- side doors, the town finding all the materials, £172 10s. he assist- ing with his hands, in raising." " Voted, To choose a committee of three for to take bonds, of Joseph Bacon, for the fulfilment of the bargain, and give bonds for the town's fulfilment on their part."
June 6th, 1787, the town being legally assembled, " Voted, To choose a committee to provide a number of hands for to raise the meeting-house, and entertain them, with provisions and drink, and all other articles necessary for the raising of said house." " Voted, That this committee consist of nine men." " Voted, That Joseph Bacon appoint some man, to see that the common be kept clear of spectators, on said day, that the meet- ing-house is to be raised, as to being in the way of raising said house." "Voted, That the collector take butter, of the per- sons that are in his rates, provided, that they bring the butter by the first of July, next, at 7d. per pound ; and the collector to provide firkins to put said butter in, and to deliver the butter to the committee that are to provide the nails for the meeting- house, when called for. It is expected, that the collector put the butter into firkins, well salted, and the butter to be good butter." June 26th, 1787, the town met agreeable to adjourn- ment. " Voted, For the committee to give the spectators one drink." This was the only vote passed at this meeting.
Although there is no record of the date of the raising of the meeting-house, there is a strong probability, that the raising oc- curred June 27th, 1787, just two years from the date of incor- poration. Tradition informs us, that the committee chosen to
484
HISTORY OF GARDNER.
supervise the raising of the meeting-house, made application to Captain Samuel Sawin, of Westminster, Esquire Smith, of Ash- burnham, Deacon Moses Hale, of Winchendon, and Mr. Joseph Wright, of Templeton, to be present, with a number of good hands, to assist in the raising of the house. In accordance with this invitation, these parties all appeared, on the common, early in the morning of June 27th, 1787, each with a company of chosen men, for the eminent services of the day. It is said, that the raising commenced early, and went on rapidly, till near noon, when an accident occurred. While several men were standing on the ground, within the frame, drinking water, a joist fell from the upper loft, striking two of them on their heads and wounding them severely. One of these was a Mr. Day, of Winchendon, the other was a Mr. Gregory, of Tem- pleton. The raising was completed before sunset. It was thought that the frame was put together so strong, that if turned down upon one side, and rolled across the common, it would not wreck the body of it.
Although the meeting-house was finished, upon the outside, immediately, it is evident, from the records, that the interior was not completed for some years subsequently. This was a matter of progressive development, the town acting, in this par- ticular, according to its ability. June 9th, 1788, the town " Voted, To sell the pews at vendue, also to choose a committee to draw a plan of the pews and the finishing the inside of the meeting-house, and to draw the conditions of sale. June 23d, " Voted, To accept the plan of pews and seats." " Voted, To reserve Pew No. 1, by the pulpit stairs, as the town's prop- erty."
The following is a report of the committee to sell the pews at vendue :-
" The committee, chosen by the town of Gardner, to draw the conditions of sale, of the pews and for finishing the inside of the meeting-house report as follows : That is, for the inside of the meeting-house to be finished according to the Ionic order of work, and the bigness of the pews and seats, to be
1
--
485
HISTORY OF GARDNER.
according to the plan that the town has accepted. The condi- tions of sale to be such that the highest pew be set up at £8 18s. and so down, by diminutions, 28. upon each pew, till the whole be disposed of; and the highest bidder to have his first choice, in the pews, and a bid is to be not less than 1s. ; and that 28. and 6d. on the pound, be paid by the first of September, next, and that the money be laid out for the glazing of the meeting-house, and one-half of the remaining part, to be paid in fourteen months from the first payment, and the remaining part, to be paid within one year from the second payment. And that the town choose a committee to receive the money, or the security, that the purchaser of the pew or pews, shall give, to the acceptance of the above said committee ; and if the first payment be not made, by the time prefixed, then he forfeits the security that he gives, and the pew, or pews remain the prop- erty of the town ; and if the purchaser of the pew or pews, shall not make the remaining payments, according to the con- ditions above prefixed, then he forfeits what he has paid, and the pew or pews, remain the property of the town. And if the pews be not finished by the time prefixed, for the last payment, the purchaser, of the pew or pews, shall receive interest from the payments, till the pews be finished. And that the money be disposed of, for finishing the meeting-house, and no other way, till the meeting-house be finished."
" Voted, That the above said committee lay out so much of the money, of the first payment, as to get the materials to glaze the meeting-house."
June 24th, 1788, the town " Voted, To vendue the pews, according to the conditions previously adopted." " Voted, That any person that bids off any pew, shall give security, for the first payment, to the acceptance of the committee, immedi- ately, and he, on the refusing to give such security, it shall be- come no bid, and such person shall not be a bidder on the pews afterwards." According to a transcript of the sale of pews, found on page 85, vol. 1, of the Town Records, there were, in the first meeting-house, forty-seven pews on the ground
486
HISTORY OF GARDNER.
floor, and twenty-four in the gallery, making a total of seventy- one, all of which, were sold for £473 5s. The reader may imagine what the shape of this church was, by reflecting that the main part was sixty feet in length, by forty-five in width, having two porches, each twelve by fourteen feet, attached, one on the east side and the other on the west, with the whole facing the south, where the main entrance was located.
Such was the external appearance of the new meeting-house. It must, however, be remembered, that the inside was in a wholly unfinished condition, the sale of the pews already re- ferred to, having been made upon a plan, of what the meeting- house was yet to be, instead of what it really was; for, on the following November, it was " Voted, To see if the town will finish the inside of the meeting-house, next year, so far as to case the timber and windows, and build the stairs and the ceil- ing, fit for plastering ; and the lathing and plastering, by the first of November, 1789; and to lay the gallery floor, and the frame for the breast-work of the gallery, by the same time." On the 8th day of the following month, the town voted, to vendue " the stuff required for finishing the inside of the house upon the following conditions, viz. :-
" The conditions of this vendue are such, that the lowest bidder upon each of the following lots or articles, to which his name is subscribed, doth promise and engage to get and deliver the same at the meeting-house in Gardner, to the acceptance of the town, or the committee at the time prefixed, in each lot or article, and in failure hereof a penalty of 24s. for each lot or article, to be paid by the respective subscribers. And each lot or article to be accepted by the town or their committee. The respective subscriber shall not be entitled to receive the re- spective sum annexed to his name, until the first day of Feb- ruary, 1791, except he be a purchaser of a pew or pews ; in such case, it shall answer for the payments for his respective pew or pews. All the boards to be white pine." Here follows a long list, of the different articles, to be used in finishing the interior of the house, with the names of the individuals who
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HISTORY OF GARDNER.
agreed to furnish them, and the prices they were to receive, too voluminous to be inserted in this work.
. December 18th, 1788, the town " Voted, To choose a com- mittee of three persons, to see how they can get the work done, for finishing the inside of the meeting-house, and make report to the town." This committee reported, January 5th, 1789, that five individuals had offered to do the work, the highest price being £220, the lowest, Lieut. David Foster's, £199 10s. The town voted, to give the work to the lowest bidder, and " that the committee that was chosen, to see how they could get the inside of the meeting-house done, to be a committee to take and give bonds, in behalf of the town, for finishing the inside of the meeting-house. Voted, To accept Lieut. Foster's offer, which is as follows :-
" I will finish the inside of the meeting-house, as Westmins- ter meeting-house is finished, the town finding all the materials, by the time or times, they let out, by the vendue, to be pro- vided : and if there is anything more wanting, to be provided, in fourteen days, after I notify the committee of it for the sun of £199 10s. I having liberty to take my pay, of men that have bought pew or pews, if they and I can agree, if not, the town to pay me £100, by the 15th day of November, 1789, and the other £99 10s. when the work is done, and all the work to be done by the 1st day of November, 1790."
May 9th, 1791, the town " Voted, To choose a committee to view the meeting-house and make report to the town." This committee reported as follows, concerning the work : " All accepted, except the painting not being uniform, and the pews not being marked, with their respective numbers, on each door, and some few standards being loose, one seat, in the southeast- erly corner of the body pews, being shaky, and part of the casing of some of the pews, not being bradded ; and also four squares of glass broken." The town, however, voted to accept the work, Mr. White " promising to finish it agreeable to the report of the committee."
488
HISTORY OF GARDNER.
Previously, the town had " Voted, That the color, for the meeting-house, the groundwork, be a stone color, the window frames and sashes, and weather-boards and girt, be white, the doors green." The meeting-house having been finished, accord- ing to contract, in 1791, four years after the erection of its frame, at an expense of about $2,800, some of the persons who had bidden off pews, failing to comply with the conditions upon which these pews were sold, a new sale was necessitated, which occurred September 5th, of the same year. Thus, the meeting- house, after these years of patient toil, on the part of the early inhabitants of Gardner, was completed and made fully ready for their occupancy, both for divine worship and the transaction of town business, which, in those days, always occurred, in this edifice. In this particular, our fathers have left an example of patient continuance, worthy of imitation, by their descendants.
This custom of holding town meetings, in the meeting-house, prevailed till 1845, when it greatly needing repair, both inside and ont, the First Parish made the town the following proposi- tion, viz. : " To convey to the town of Gardner, the lower part of the meeting-house, belonging to the First Parish, in said town, being all of that part, which is between the ground and a level, with lower timbers of the gallery ; also, the two porches and the materials of which the galleries are made, on condition that the said town, in consideration thereof, shall agree to make a good substantial floor, over said lower part, on a level with the lower timbers of the galleries, and finish the apartment above said floor, erect pews, pulpit and singers' galleries, suita- ble for a place of religious worship, and make a porch, or pro- jection, at the east end of said house, with convenient stairs and entrance into said apartment, for religious worship; and also paint the outside of said house, and shall agree to make one-half of all future repairs, and agree further, to keep said house insured, and in case of loss by fire, to pay over to said parish, one-half the amount received from said insurance, pro- vided that said town will comply with the following conditions, to wit : Said town shall reimburse to said parish, the appraised
-
I
HISTORY OF GARDNER. 489
value of the rights of the pew holders, in said house, together with the expense of appraisal, etc. The fitting up of said upper part of the house, not above specified, shall be done. in such a manner, as a committee of said parish, chosen for that purpose, may agree with said town ; and the said parish shall pay over to said town, the full sum of money that they receive for the sale of pews, in said upper part of the house."
Subsequently, Levi Heywood and others, offered to make the repairs, which were required by the parish, to finish the town hall, armory and selectmen's room, pay the proprietors of the old pews, and receive the proceeds of the new, for the sum of $1,500, on condition that a subscription of $1,000 should be made. Accordingly, the town voted, March 8th, 1845, " To accept the proposition of Levi Heywood and others, provided that a committee of the town, chosen for the purpose, agree with them about the details of finishing the town hall, armory and selectmen's room." Previously, Feb. 15th, 1845, the town had " Voted, To accept the proposition of the First Parish, in Gardner, in relation to repairing their meeting-house, for a town house and an armory." And " To give David Parker and others, the privilege of turning the meeting-house one quarter round, and building a belfry and providing a bell for said house." A committee of three were chosen, who were in- structed to have the house completed by the first day of No- vember, following. It appears, from this record, that the meet- ing-house, of the First Parish, had neither belfry nor bell, till 1845.
The church, connected with the First Parish, continued to worship in this house, till May 1st, 1867, when, having united with the Evangelical Church, the edifice was sold to the Univer- salist Society, who occupied it, till the erection of their new church, the town having, May 15th, 1867, voted, on certain conditions, to relinquish all its rights, in the church edifice, the lower part of which it had used for a town hall, till 1859. The Universalist Society, after the erection of their new church, sold the " hell meeting-house" to Mr. Charles Heywood, who
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HISTORY OF GARDNER.
has since removed the original part, to its present site on Chest- nut street.
The porches, to this house, at the time of its remodeling, were removed, to the place now owned by Mr. William H. Lam- son, where, having been united, they form the shop now stand- ing upon his premises. The pews, in this meeting-house, were originally square, with their seats arranged with hinges so as to be lifted, while the congregation was standing. The clattering which was made all over the house, when these seats were let down, is still fresh in the minds of some now living. The pul- pit was on the north side of the church, opposite the main en- trance, and was one of those lofty structures, so common in those days, which was reached by long flights of stairs. Sus- pended above the preacher, was the sounding-board, which, to youthful eyes, seemed ever ready to fall upon his head. On either side of the pulpit were seats for the deacons, selectmen and other officials, while directly in front, were long pews, for the accommodation of the aged men, for in those days, old age received that consideration and respect, to which it is ever entitled.
The position of the singers was, evidently, for several years, in the pews, upon the lower floor, as is seen by the following article, in a town warrant for September, 1789: " To see if the town will build a pew for the singers to sit in, in the front gallery, in the meeting-house, in room of the seats or any part of the seats." The town voted to dismiss the article, leaving the singers still without special accommodations. The pre-
sumption is, that for several years, the singing was conducted without very much assistance from musical instruments. In the warrant, for March meeting, 1797, there was an article " To see if the town will let a bass-viol be carried into the meeting-house, and played upon, in the time of singing, in the time of public worship." Upon which, the town " Voted, To let a bass-viol come into the meeting-house on Sundays." It is possible that some, in the congregation, may have had serious objections to the presence of this instrument, in the house of
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