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 5
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SAMUEL KELTON, Chairman.
Voted, That the above be presented to the General Court by Capt. Elisha Jackson, who was chosen for that purpose.
39
HISTORY OF GARDNER.
It should be remarked here, however, that this urgent re- monstranee had its desired effect upon the minds of the Gen- eral Court, who decreed that these petitioners should remain in Gardner. Others, once belonging to Ashburnham, were, after a few years residence in Gardner, set back to Ashburnham, at their own request.
Scenic Attractions .- Gardner may be regarded as peculiarly fortunate, in the variety and picturesqueness of its scenery. Mountains and hills are God's architectural monuments to His artistic skill and wonderful power. They stand forth against the horizon, like sculptured busts of grim old giants, or lofty cenotaphs, or strange, rare pictures set in frames, bathed in liq- uid blue or gilded with gold which far outshines " the wealth of Ormus and of Ind." It has truly been said that
" Nature never did betray The heart that loved her."
Sometimes gentle, oft capricious and even stern, she is always kind.
Coming to the seenic attractions of Gardner, and giving our- selves to their consideration, we feel that it is a theme, upon which, all who know them best, will delight to linger. With a landscape varied and rich beyond that of most New England towns, upon the highest range between Monadnock and Wa- chusett, turn whichever way you will, upon these neighboring hills, new beauties unfold to your enraptured view.
From the summit of Glazier hill you see, twenty miles away in the northern background, three thousand one hundred and eighty feet in height, Monadnock, leaning his blue and trecless form hard against the sky, from whose top, may be seen, the granite shaft of Bunker Hill in the far east, the White moun- tains as they grow whiter and smaller, until they lose them- selves in a thin white line in the northern sky, while the Green mountains on the west, fresh and vernal, reach far down to the south and unite with the Housatonic range in Massachu- setts.
40
HISTORY OF GARDNER.
Turning the glass slowly from Monadnock, you see the hills of Troy and Fitzwilliam with the village of Jaffrey on its east- ern slope, warm and cosy, sheltered by this strong bulwark of ledge and mountain. Watatic range continues this hilly con- figuration, with here and there a natural indentation. The Cheshire Railroad winds its narrow bed this side those hills, while its smoke floats lazily back, as the engine passes behind the rugged ledges of the Granite state.
In the nearer perspective, in the Watatic range, you see Meeting-House Hill in Ashburnham, toward which some of our earlier townsmen used to turn their willing feet for Sabbath worship. Sharp and sword-like, the spire of Cushing Academy rises up from among the green woods and brown pastures, a noble monument to one of the loyal sons of Ashburnham's early ministers, who dying, bequeathed a sum sufficient to erect this most costly edifice, unrivaled for its architectural beauty, in all this region, for the education of the youth of this vicinity.
Fitchburg, with headlands and sharp promontories, fills up the distant gap in the east, and joins the landscape on the south- east to its grand old watch-tower, Wachusett.
This mountain, rising somewhat abruptly on the east, begirt with pines and many deciduous trees, is two thousand and six- teen feet high, and is crowned with a rustic observatory, from which you can see the shipping in Boston navy yard, with many intervening towns and cities in the east, the spires and smoke of the city of Worcester, at the south, splendid farms and thrifty villages in Worcester County, and the long comet tails of the numerous trains as they run, on the many railroads, from east to west, through our ancient commonwealth.
This mountain gradually recedes in graceful wavy lines into Princeton village, whose picturesqueness and beauty have been described by Helen Hunt, under the quaint name of " Hide and Seek Town."
Nearer, Hubbardston, "graceful with hills, and dales, and leafy wood," with lakes and ponds reflecting like a mirror, up whose woody slopes the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad
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HISTORY OF GARDNER.
slowly toils, with its puffing engine, whose glowing head-light, returning at night, breaking forth abruptly, from the darkness, like
" A star when only one Is shining in the sky,"
leaves upon the mind of every enraptured, observing boy, a memory as wild and weird, as the phantasm of a delirious dream.
Still turning to the far southwest, a spur shoots up beyond the nearer outline, as blue and graceful as an harebell, unlike the rest, yet not disdaining to lend its charms to grace a scene so beautiful.
Templeton, a nearer and more accessible neighbor, supported on the west by rising hills, spreads out in terraced beauty, with lakes and ponds, whose waters, descending toward Otter River, are fretted and worried with the laboring wheel, as it turns the machinery of busy industry, with its villages and glittering spires, the pride of New England, the birthplace of Goodale, an early and honored missionary to Turkey, who, courted and consulted by earthly kings and potentates, ever kept clear and bright, in the eye of faith, the pearly gates and golden walls of the New Jerusalem, coming home at last to find an honored grave, in the land he so much loved.
Phillipston contributes her easterly hills to continue this charming landscape, erecting her church and rearing the spire, that her younger sister might be cheered by her example, with white farm-houses and well cultured farms, and stone walls, marking the bounds the fathers set.
The sharp and projecting form of Tully, in North Orange, so famous for its contest with the " great tornado," which swept through those western towns, in the early part of this century, stands forth in the distant outline.
Beyond, to the northwest, are the hills of Royalston, and Richmond in southern New Hampshire, reaching up to North Winchendon, which seems to rest back upon that mountain spur just west of Monadnock.
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42
HISTORY OF GARDNER.
With a hasty swing of the glass, we have taken the distant objects and enumerated them, as they have passed before our eye. For beauty of mingled strength and delicacy, this scene is seldom equalled ; varied with lines, sometimes bold and strik- ing, sometimes calm and restful, you will find nature here re- sponding to all the aesthetic demands of your soul. These mountains and hills seem to be the favorite battle field for many an hostile array of wind and cloud and storm. Oft-times these scenic lines of beauty seem caught up and reformed among the clouds, while peaks and precipiees and " wavy lines of far receding hills," hegirt the distant sky.
The early mists, as they lie off, quiet and white, in the gray dawn of the morning, seem like the canvas of a becalmed ship, waiting to be filled and borne aloft, by some favoring breeze, then to rise up and scatter, as the rosy light comes on, and be- come
" White, fleecy clouds
Wandering in thick flocks along the mountains Shepherded by the slow, unwilling wind."
The sunset, from this eminence, is worth your trouble to wit- ness ; such beauty, the masters have dreamed of, and sometimes caught, and transferring it to canvas, have made their names immortal.
The lengthening shadows come on apace within the valleys. the setting sun " firing the tops of those mountain pines," with- draws from the forests, till they cast their grim shadows on all the landscape near, now gilds the window of some distant farm-house, until it sparkles in its reflected light, like a rich diamond, then transforms those far off peaks into glittering towers and minarets, till these last seem to us fit symbols of the glory of the Celestial city.
Turn now to Peabody Hill, less sightly in the distant prospect, sitting like a queen enthroned. in her central position, graceful in contour, whose feet are encircled by the three villages of the town, as if in reverent homage to her beauty. Here Crys- tal Lake, at the north, with an evergreen girdle, reflects upon
.
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HISTORY OF GARDNER.
her smooth surface, hills and trees, and the quiet gravestones of the dead, in strange contrast to the long chimneys of the busy shops, as well as the cars as they pass over her feet ; the little steamer, puffing and whistling, as she buzzes up and down her waters, the sail boat and row boat and the birch canoe, bringing the past and present in strange conjunction, the living and the dead, in strange comparison.
From this point, we see the cemetery, close by the lake, the home of the dead, whose monuments look out, from their ever- green bower, calm and still. Toward the west, two miles away. the white cross, rising from a field this side the pines, tells us of many, who coming from the Green Isle of the sea and mak- ing a home among us, weary with the toils of life, have been laid away, in their last resting place.
Beyond the church, upon the hill, concealed from view, shel- tered by a pleasant grove, lic the earlier dead of our town. The old cemetery ! What memories cluster around that spot ! With little expense and less ceremony, those carly settlers, brought one after another of their friends, from their scattered homes, and reverently laid them away to rest. How lonely the homes and how few the sources of companionship and society in those days, and how doubly keen must have been the solitude they felt !
The pleasant homes, as they rise up before you, speak of thrift and comfort and prosperity, beyond the common lot of New England villages. Residences of taste, and homes of cul- ture, you see upon every side, shade trees pleasantly covering cottages, or adorning houses of greater proportions, churches. assuring you, that the sons are following hard after their fathers, in their determination to provide for the religious culture of our citizens, school houses, solidly intrenched in the hearts and soil of Gardner, that our children may be fitted to fill the places their fathers vacate, stores and markets, with neat and attractive surroundings, to supply the demands of the wardrobe and the larder, a bank set snugly in against Glazier Hill, secure in size and management.
44
HISTORY OF GARDNER.
From this hill, West Village spreads out, a pleasant sight, the busy shops alive with the hum of industry, the heavy teams, the cottage homes, " the castle of the working man," all these show that there has not been lacking enterprise and capital and strong integrity, which wisely employed, have from a small be- ginning, developed an industry which in its length and breadth, has not only included, but seated the world !
Turning to the south, your eye and ear are caught at once, by the long, heavy trains of the Fitchburg Railroad, as they wind about your feet. From whence come these numerous cars and laboring locomotives? This road, bidding defiance to mountain and rock and deep ravine, goes west, and plunging into the bowels of the earth, thus shortening the distance, comes quickly into the Empire state, and thence on, to return bearing, as the reward of enterprise, the cereals of our abund- ant western fields, to be shipped to the teeming millions of Europe.
And so, where once the lazy smoke, of some camp-fire, curled up among those woods and hills, to show where the Indian was roasting his venison or broiling his fish, you see the long, low- lying trail of the locomotive, quivering with life, as it comes from the smoke-stack, but slowly rising and passing into thin air.
From Wright's Hill, the highest land in South Gardner, there seems to be the accumulated beauties to be seen from the other hills, with the additional attraction of distance. Here you see children playing around you, snug homes of comfort, sur- rounded by fruit and flowers, a village, coming up to your very feet with a lively, social air, in all its ways, with a church, stores and market and hives of industry, elegant residences and cottages, in one pleasant group, meadows and brown pastures, with the cattle reposing in the shade, forming a mosaic, rich and fair, for nature is a finished workman. You see here dense forests, brooks, overhung with thickets, disappearing beneath banks of moss, white houses standing beyond pines, which look like fixed shadows, making everything seem brighter by their
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HISTORY OF GARDNER.
contrasting presence, dells, lined with ferns, moss painted rocks, roads, bordered thickly with thistle, goldenrod, and the blue- eyed aster, stone walls, which grow so smooth, as they recede, that they seem, like one dark thread of yarn, whose end, some ancient spinster must have caught upon a seraggy bush, as she hurried, in " ye olden time," from house to house, in search of some bit of news.
Hillsides, now bright with sunshine, mountains, nearer or more remote, with form and drapery reflected in the water at their feet, a score or two of workshops, with their long chim- neys, Green Bower Cemetery, where rest the departed dead, all these, and how many more, come thronging on our vision, " rocks and hills and towers and wandering streams," "illumed with fluid gold," or somber with passing cloud, fill out a pic- ture, worthy the pen of Ruskin, or the pencil of our honored townsman, Thomas Hill, whose name has become an household word in homes of culture and art, as the painter of the " Great Yosemite." Such are some of the scenic attractions of Gardner.
Soil .- Compared with the rich meadow lands of the Connec- ticut valley, or with many other towns, in our own common- wealth, Gardner cannot be regarded as especially adapted to the purposes of agriculture. Much of its surface is unusually rocky and better adapted to grazing, than to the cultivation of crops. Scattered over the town, are numerous cold, marshy, swamp lands, saturated with sour waters and producing a sort of wiry, unpalatable grass, which no self-respecting quadruped cares to make a part of the "body corporate." There are, however, here and there, dotting the entire surface, numerous mound-like elevations, of varied exposures, whose soil is deep and strong and capable, under the cultivation it receives, of producing generous crops of all kinds of cereals, raised in our New England states. These hills are susceptible of cultivation to their very summits, and are, to a considerable extent, free from small stones, while, however, an occasional bowlder claims his right of maintaining his position upon their sides. Much of the land is naturally, cold, rocky and unfit for cultivation ;
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HISTORY OF GARDNER.
in addition to this, its elevation, situated as it is, upon the crest of land between Wachusett and Monadnock, thus exposing it to cold bleak winds, renders it still more unfit for the uses of the husbandman.
While, in some other portions of the state, people are mak- ing their gardens and planting their fields, here, the farmer is obliged to wait, at least, a fortnight longer, till as Thompson, with some variation, says,
"Through the lucid chambers of the south Looks out the joyous Spring, looks out and smiles."
It is also true, that much earlier, than in many other places, not far remote from Gardner, with " congenial horrors,"
" Winter comes to rule the varied year Sullen and sad, with all his rising train- Vapors, and Clouds, and Storms."
Let it not be supposed, however, that Gardner is so Alpine in its situation, as to make it altogether hazardous, for those loving to cultivate the soil, to attempt to draw forth, from its bosom, those products which it is able to yield. Though the season is somewhat more brief here, than in towns of less ele- vation, it is yet true that, from the middle of June to the mid- dle of September, there is a rapid development of the fruits of gardens, fields and orchards, which mature, in their season, into an ample reward to those who engage in their culture. It is no uncommon thing to see garden plots yielding all kinds of vegetables, which, for variety, size and richness, are not sur- passed by any raised in the state. Upon the southern exposure of these mound-like elevations, are matured large crops of in- dian corn, oats, rye and barley. Casting the seeds of such cereals, into the soil of these slopes, the farmer may offer the prayer of the poet, with confident expectation of being heard and answered.
" Be gracious Heaven ! for now laborious man Has done his part. Ye fostering breezes blow ; Ye softening dews, ye tender showers descend, And temper all, thou world reviving sun- Into a perfect year."
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HISTORY OF GARDNER.
However, since Gardner does not boast of its agricultural advantages, should we know of a young man, desiring to be- come a farmer, at all inclined to purchase land, for agricultural purposes, in this town, we should regard it as our bounden duty, to make all reasonable endeavor to dissuade him from carrying his desire into effect, and with the distinguished Hor- ace Greeley, who possessed the eminent ability to tell what he knew about farming, say to him, as a friend, " Go West young man."
Climate .- The climate of Gardner, as has already been in- timated, is subject to great variations. The town is so situated, that, in the summer months, it enjoys, almost constantly, the fresh cooling breezes that visit it from all quarters, while in the winter, the fierce winds, driving snow storms and severe cold. render the town, by no means attractive, to those accustomed to warmer latitudes. Occasionally, a spire is blown from a church, or portions of roofs are removed from the houses, by stormy winds, still, the inhabitants, somewhat accustomed to these frolies, are not themselves carried away, nor greatly alarmed. Indeed it has, for some years past, been the custom, in this town, to build most of the houses in winter, rather than in summer. For the most part, the inhabitants enjoy vigorous health and few die of pulmonary diseases. Such is the climate, here, in summer, that those who are suffering from the dust and heat and blistering walls of our great cities, could not find, in any of our country towns, a more delightful place than this, in which, to restore their wasted energies, and replenish them- selves with renewed life and increased vigor. We commend the town as an attractive summer resort.
Hills .- The hills of Gardner, with their varied locations and altitudes, deserve special mention in this chapter. The au- thor is indebted to Mr. Aaron Greenwood, for many years, a successful surveyor of lands, in this, his native town, for the accuracy with which, he is enabled to present the elevations of these hills, above the railroad track, at the depot, Otter River and the Atlantic Ocean. The figures here given, are from actual
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HISTORY OF GARDNER.
surveys by Mr. Greenwood. It will be seen, that there is quite an ascent to be made by the cars, in reaching Gardner, from Boston Bay. The highest point of land, over which the Hoosac Tunnel line passes, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Con- necticut River, is in the eastern part of this town, where it reaches an elevation of eleven hundred and six feet, above the ocean, running on a level, one mile, one hundred and twenty- six feet.
HHILLS AND ELEVATIONS.
Feet above railroad| track at bridge east of
Feet above Otter
crosses it in WEST
Feet above the
Ocean.
Otter River, where the Fitchburg Railroad crosses it, in west part of Gardner, .
912
Fitchburg Railroad track, 80 feet west of railroad bridge, near depots,
126
1038
B. F. Kendall Hill,
80
206
1118
Jackson Hill,
§ West summit,
82
208
1120
Wright Hill, (Prospect Hill, ) in South Gardner,
91
217
1129
Greenwood Hill, .
132
258
1170
Lynde Hill, originally called Pork Hill, now Peabody,
138
264
1176
Gates Hill, in East Gardner,
177
303
1215
Asa Ray Hill, in East Gardner, .
179
305
1217
Temple Hill,
186
312
1224
Barber Hill, in South Gardner, .
201
327
1239
Sills of Joel Matthews' house, ..
214
340
1252
Howe Hill, south of David Kelton's
218
344
1256
Bickford Hill, (Dr. Parker's, ) .
239
365
1277
Glazier Hill, highest land in Gardner,
256
382
1294
Jackson Hill, S
Hubbard Kendall,
¿ East summit, .
92
218
1130
depots.
River where railroad
GARDNER.
Besides these hills, there are others, whose altitudes are not given. They are Martin and Brooks' hills in the west part of the town, Coolidge and Beaman's hills, near Crystal Lake, and Bancroft's Hill on the west of the lake.
Forests .- Originally this town was covered with a dense growth of timber, of great variety, consisting of rock and white maple, white and red ash, beech, birch, spruce and hemlock. In the west and southwest portions of the town, there were large, white pines, some of the trunks of which, have been seen by some of the present inhabitants of the town, in their pros- trate condition, giving evidence of the action of the beaver,
....
SOUTH GARDNER VILLAGE.
From Kendall Hill.
HISTORY OF GARDNER. 49
which here constructed his dam. At the present time, however, under the strokes of the greedy axe of the chair and pail maker, our ancient forests have all disappeared. There is how- ever, considerable growth of timber, of various kinds, upon our hillsides and low lands.
Flora .- There is a great variety of wild flowers to be found, in our fields and forests and by the roadside. Berries, black, rasp and huckle, are abundant. The laurel, with its waxy leaf and flower, the elderberry, with its creamy petal and purple fruit, the sumach, with its flaming pompon, the goldenrod, the forerunner of autumn, the aster and the blue-fringed gentian, the red lily and purple orchis, spireas and thistles and ox-eyed daisies, too common and too selfish, with woodbine and clematis and wild grape, wreathing stone walls and entwining them- selves about old, ungainly apple trees, some father planted by the roadside, making it lovely and fragrant with their spicy fes- toons, embrace, in part, the flora of this town, while the trail- ing arbutus is welcomed as the early harbinger of spring. Added to these wild wood flowers, we have garden plots sur- rounding many homes, bright with gay flowers, and some suc- cessful horticulturists, who cultivate rarer exotic plants in con- servatories.
Fauna .- Gardner, in its earlier days, was the abode of sev- eral wild animals which have long since disappeared with the exception of an occasional fox. Tradition informs us that, upon the northern side of Crystal Lake, one Wilder, a mighty hunter, entrapped a bear that had for sometime amused himself and appeased his hunger by devastating cornfields. His cap- ture was regarded, as a great event, in those days. Deer were also seen here, in considerable numbers, occasioning the ap- pointment of deer reeves. Considerable attention has been paid, within the last few years, to the culture of fish. In ac- cordance with a provision of the general statutes. the town authorized Mr. Levi Heywood, in 1874, to stock Crystal Lake with fish. He introduced between four and five hundred black bass and lake trout. Trout, pickerel, suckers and hornpout are
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HISTORY OF GARDNER.
found, though not in great abundance, in some of our streams.
Lakes .- Gardner has several artificial lakes or ponds, but few natural ones. Among the latter, is Crystal Lake, a name given it by vote of the town. This is a sheet of water, near the centre of the town, about one mile in length and one-half mile in width. It covers one hundred and fifty-one acres of land and was originally called Wells Pond. It is beautifully bordered, in many places, with sturdy oaks and evergreens coming quite down to the surface. It is chiefly fed by springs, from the surrounding hills. Its waters, as its name indicates, are generally clear as crystal. It is unrivaled for beauty, in all the surrounding country. When, as Wordsworth sings in his " Evening Walk,"
" The whole wide lake in deep repose
Is hushed and like a burnished mirror glows," or when,
"'Cross the calm lake's blue shade the cliff's aspire With towers and woods, a prospect all on fire,"
Crystal Lake sits and sparkles, upon the bosom of Gardner, like a precious gem, upon the breast of a princess. Upon its western border, is located Crystal Lake Cemetery. Farther towards the north, upon the same border, is Crystal Lake Grove, beautiful for situation, in a growth of pines, free from all underbrush, and admirably adapted, furnished as it is, with a pavilion, numerous swings, seats, tables, cooking and ice houses and many boats, to gratify the wants of the most fastid- ious pleasure seeker. This grove is under the control of the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad corporation, who have spared no pains, in furnishing a special railroad track, leading directly into the grove, to make it easily accessible to visitors. For the last few years, this grove has been a favorite resort for Sabbath school picnic parties and others, from numerous towns and cities, both in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and is fully deserving all the patronage it has received, or is likely to receive in the future. This lake is also a much frequented re- sort for the lovers of aquatic sports, among our own citizens. Upon its clear, placid waters, may be seen, in the summer after-
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