USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Holden > History of the town of Holden, Massachusetts, 1667-1941 > Part 8
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"It is fitting that the morning of this anniversary day should be ushered in by the ringing of bells and other demonstrations of joy; that these should be sup- plemented by the more formal exercises of the morn-
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ing, the cordial words of welcome, the able and schol- arly historic address, the graceful poem, the admirably planned and executed entertainment for the children, the service of song and prayer lifting our thoughts from earth to heaven; fitting also that we should an- nounce at high noon by a salute of one hundred and fifty guns the completion of one hundred and fifty. years of organized municipal life.
"As we look upon this group of distinguished men who have honored the invitation of your committee by their presence, we are confident that those exercises to which I referred are about to be crowned by words of pleasant reminiscence and of wit, by the eloquent appeal to consecration to the noblest duties of citizen- ship and to the purest ideals of duty and of life.
"It is pardonable in us as citizens of Holden, stand- ing as we do today on an eminence of one hundred and fifty years, if we do exult somewhat in the record of those years, and feel, as we look forth, that we are quite a part of the great republic of the United States. For, before the signal gun of the revolution sounded on Lex- ington Green; before the Declaration of Independence was written by Jefferson; before that august body of men assembled in Philadelphia to frame the charter of our liberties; here among the hills, men were trying the principles of self-government, working out the gov- ernment problems of the ages, and in training for that heavier struggle in which the great republic had its birth.
"And yet we acknowledge today our allegiance to the government and propose as the first sentiment of the afternoon :---
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I. "The United States of America: Extensive in do- main, exhaustless in resources, the embodiment at once. of a wise conservatism and a generous aspiration, she stands today grand and free and confident in her strength to solve the intricate social and political prob- lems of the present and of the future.
2. "The State of Massachusetts: From the earliest date in her history, the abode of honest, hard-working, liberty-loving people, 'the home of scholars and the nurse of arms,' potent in influence in the past, but never- more so than the present.
"I have the pleasure of introducing a gentleman long and prominently identified with the industries of state; a gentleman deeply interested in the cause of education, and who, in the Congress of the United States, fought in behalf of the hard-working people of this town, of this state, of this nation, a hard fight for hard money, and came off victorious-Hon. Joseph H. Walker of Worcester."
Mr. Walker was received with applause as he rose to reply. He spoke as follows, in part:
"No word's have been said, or shall be said, could be such a tribute to the character of the people of Holden as is the gathering of a thousand persons to celebrate the virtues of their ancestors. Those who take no interest in ancestral virtues generally have but little virtue to hand down to their own descendants. Massachusetts, from the days of Plymouth Rock to the present time, has put man before all else, and her pres- ent high position is due to this course. Well did her great war governor, himself a splendid example of her
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noble sons, say : 'I know not what record awaits me in the future, but I was never mean enough to despise a man because he was poor, or ignorant or black.' Massachusetts has always resented any legislation that would result in injury to her humblest citizen. Such injury has been resented at whatever cost of blood or treasure necessary."
Mr. Learned then gave :
3. "The City of Worcester: On this jubilee day we would not forget the town was originally a part of the now flourishing city of Worcester. We rejoice in its present and prospective growth, we rejoice that it is the seat of an already renowned university, that its public schools and higher institutions of learning have a national reputation, that within its borders resides a highly intelligent, moral and religious people. I have the pleasure of presenting to you the official rep- resentative of the city of Worcester, His Honor, Mayor Francis A. Harrington."
Mayor Harrington was cordially received, and in response said in substance :
"The interests of Holden and Worcester are identi- cal. The mother town is proud of Holden and her record. She is proud of the position her citizens have taken. Worcester appreciates the many sons and daughters that she has received from this town and is glad to join her other neighbors in speaking words of congratulation, and in hoping that Holden's two hun- dred and fiftieth anniversary may be as successful as this."
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In presenting the next sentiment, Mr. Learned said :
4. "There are many present here today who vividly recall the centennial celebration of the town. We de- sire to connect this anniversary with that of the fathers, and therefore I propose to use two of the sentiments then offered, the first of which is, 'Honor to the Mem- ory of our Mothers, who presided over the distaff and the loom. May their refined and beautiful daughters be as much distinguished for their industry, energy and virtue.' To this beautiful sentiment, calling our re- membrance to the presence, the labors, the sweet and blessed influence of mothers, 'who have passed into the skies,' I have the pleasure of calling upon a gentleman who has the reputation of being the very pink of speechmakers, Hon. Alfred S. Pinkerton of Worces- ter."
Mr. Pinkerton said in response :
"When I saw the memorial which had been erected to commemorate the loyalty of the men who stained Malvern Hill and other battle fields with blood, I re- membered that the women of this town had a noble record as their brothers who went forth to do and die. I am very glad to note Holden's progress, but when it counts the elements of its success it should not be for- gotten that the mothers have largely aided in securing it. Massachusetts is proud of her women. They have stood in the front rank of every reform that has been undertaken. Nor is it too much to say that they are the highest type of her civilization and the richest product of her soil."
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The succeeding toast was prefaced with the follow- ing words :
5. "In the operations of government, the judiciary department must ever hold and exercise important functions; for 'Justice,' Webster says, 'is the ligment which holds civilized beings and civilized nations to- gether.' Whoever, then, labors to extend justice be- tween man and man, whoever from the vantage ground of official station-
'Poises the cause in Justices' equal scales Whose beam stands sure, whose rightful cause prevails-'
'connects himself in name, and fame and character with that which is and must be as durable as the frame of human society.' The Judiciary of Massachusetts. To respond, I call upon the Hon. William T. Forbes, judge of probate and insolvency for Worcester County, a lineal descendant of Rev. Joseph Avery, second min- ister of the town, whom Mr. Damon, in his centennial address, characterizes as 'pre-eminently a peace- maker.' "
Judge Forbes, in his response, described the admin- istration of justice was a feature of those days. Those old ministers who sat in judgment did much to shape the course of events.
Mr. Learned then said :
6. "You are all familiar with the beautiful picture drawn by Goldsmith in 'The Deserted Village' of the 'Village Preacher.' Yet there is scarcely a town with- in the limits of the Commonwealth but has been blessed
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by the life and labors of just such men as Goldsmith so vividly portrays ;- men who came bearing the high- est credentials of scholarship, of character and of piety,-content to spend their lives in the holy offices of kindness, of charity and of religion. Rev. Joseph Davis, Rev. Joseph Avery, Rev. Dr. William P. Paine, men of blessed influence and blessed memory! They rest from their labors, their bodies slumber amidst the voiceless congregations to whom they min- istered, but their works do follow them.
"To the sentiment, the Christian minister in the Commonwealth, I have the pleasure of calling to re- spond a venerable clergyman, for two periods pastor of the Baptist church, in this town, Rev. Josiah H. Tilton, of Reading."
Mr. Tilton replied appropriately, and subsequently Rev. William Howe, D. D., paid an especial tribute to "Parson Avery."
The next sentiment was,-
7. "The Prominent Men in Worcester County Fifty Years Ago: Fifty years ago were gathered in yonder hall the men active in the affairs of the town, Col. Samuel Damon, Charles Chaffin, Silas Flagg, William Metcalf and their associates, and around them were others conspicuous in the life and thought of the pres- ent city of Worcester. They sought, as we are seeking today, to honor the founders of this town. Those men have passed away; but there was seen upon the streets of Worcester until within a few years the venerable form of one of the men participating in the exercises of that occasion. . I refer to the late Hon. Isaac Davis, a descendant of Lieut. Simon Davis, whose ashes lie
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entombed in yonder churchyard. 'In the sons the sires survive,' and I have the honor to introduce to you Hon. Edward L. Davis of Worcester."
Mr. Davis responded most fittingly, referring espe- cially to the part taken in the affairs of Holden by his ancestors.
8. "The echoes of the cannonading of Sumter had scarcely died away, when, upon yonder green, was seen a body of men ready to leave home and kindred, and engage in the perils of war. Their promptness and alacrity was characteristic of the history of the town during that prolonged struggle. We have with us this afternoon one who knew the soldiers of Holden, in the camp, on the march, on the battlefield, in the dangerous and bloody assault, one endeared to them by manly acts of personal kindness, by many perils passed with them, by honors and results of victory shared with them, and who is prepared to speak of the Soldiers of Holden in the Civil War, most eloquently. Soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic, women of the Re- lief Corps, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Gen. Augustus B. R. Sprague of Worcester."
Gen. Sprague was received with three cheers by the audience, led by the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic, many of whom had served under him, and who attended the dinner and the exercises in the church by special invitation in a body. He paid fine tribute to the patriotism of the town, and the bravery and worth of its soldiers.
"Holden's soldiers were to be found in the foremost ranks of war, an honor to the town both living and dying."
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The sentiment, "The Schools of Massachusetts," was responded to by Hon. John W. Dickinson, Secretary of the State Board of Education; "The Industries of Holden," by Hon. V. B. Jefferson; "Personal Remin- iscences," by Thomas Cleland, M.D., of New York City, and to the closing sentiment, "The Gallant Sons of our Venerable Fathers," repeated from the centen- nial, Hon. John R. Thayer responded. Brief speeches were also made by Rev. William A. Lamb of Newton, and Mr. Solon P. Davis of Hartford, Conn., and the exercises of the day closed with the benediction by Rev. David F. Estes.
1930 TERCENTENARY
Commemorating the 300th Anniversary of the Founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Whenever an occasion has occurred which called for the expression of their loyalty and patriotism, Hol- den citizens have entered whole heartedly into prep- arations for its observance, and it was this spirit of enthusiasm which made the celebration of the Ter- centenary an event long to be remembered by young and old.
On Sunday morning, July 27, at 10:30, Harold A. Stevens, dressed in Puritan Costume, started from the parsonage on Highland Street, marched to Main Street and around Hancock Common to the church steps "drumming the residents to worship" at a union ser- vice in the Congregational Church.
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The church was crowded to the doors, many visitors being among those present.
Music and sermon were in accord with the subject. The pastor, Rev. Charles O. Eames took for his text a passage from the 22nd Psalm "Our Fathers trusted in Thee. They trusted and got us delivered."
The tercentenary hymn sung to the tune of "Men- don" was written by Rev. Thomas E. Babb.
Tercentenary Hymn
Three hundred years, one little ray In Times unmeasured, endless day ; And small this home of Pilgrim stock From Salem's Shore to Plymouth Rock.
But Thought divine, through human thought, A Commonwealth heroic wrought Of earnest souls from o'er the sea, Who knew the truth that makes men free.
On firm foundations deep and strong, The love of right and scorn of wrong, The structure crowned, the well wrought plan, Not wealth of gold but wealth of man.
Hail! Old Bay State, of noble name! O'er all the word thy far-flung fame! True faith in God and man, thy creed, Has been of other States the seed.
1
HOLDEN MUNICIPAL LIGHT DEPT.
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OTOH 30 MMOL
LIGHT DEPT.
89999
B64685
HOLDEN MUNICIPAL LIGHT. DEPARTMENT
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More centuries may that life of thine Still live, and far thy virtues shine, Till God's good will all nations see, And man one Brotherhood shall be.
Special services were also held in Saint Mary's Church in Jefferson and at the Swedish Churches in Chaffins.
Monday evening, July 28, an Old Folk's concert sponsored by the Holden Woman's Club was held in the High School Auditorium.
George M. Bancroft "Singing Master" directed the chorus of 75 men and women dressed in old time cos- tumes, who rendered a program of old time favorites, each one of which was heartily applauded.
Tuesday evening, July 29, the High School Alumni held their annual re-union, with election of officers, a short entertainment, and dancing.
On Wednesday, July 30, Old Home Day, came the climax of the celebration.
A concert by the Holden Community Band at 9:30 preceded the colorful parade, in which twenty or more organizations in gayly decked "floats," led by the chief of police, Frank K. Packard, moved from Dawson's through Boyden and Phillips Roads, Highland Street, Walnut and Maple Streets to Sunnyside ending at the common where prizes were awarded.
The prize for the most beautiful float went to the Holden District Hospital. Prizes were also awarded to Capt. George Webb Chapter, D.A.R., and Meadow- brook Farm. Honorable mention went to John E. Harkins Post, A. L. Auxiliary, Asnebumskit tribe, I. O. R. M. and Zottoli's Garage.
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An interesting feature in the parade was the original tin peddler's cart once owned and driven about the country by John Boynton, who founded Worcester Polytechnic Institute on the profits he made with this cart. The cart is now the property of the Institute.
In the parade the cart was driven by Walter G. Smith. Dinner was served in the Congregational Church at 12:00 and 5:30 o'clock. Lunches were served on the grounds. Lunt, caterer.
At 1:30 another band concert was given on the common, and this was followed by the Pageant of the Massachusetts Bay Tercentenary, written by Esther C. and Lawrence A. Averill.
This was staged on the grounds of the Damon Mem- orial, under the direction of Mrs. Lois Porter Draw- bridge, and had more than 150 participants, all in cos- tume.
A band concert on the common from 7:00 to 10:00 P.M. ended the day's festivities.
The Tercentenary Celebration committee were: Frank C. Parker, Franklin C. Hubbard, James H. Kendall, Annie F. Newell, Florence G. Holden, Er- nest R. Nyberg, Mary C. Bascom, Frances A. Phillips, Walter W. Gleason, Emma R. Rivers, Dennis W. Har- rington, Helen T. Warren, Addie B. Holden, W. Goulding Warren.
The Bicentennial observance of the Town of Holden is decribed in detail in another chapter of this book.
Chapter IX
Forces of Nature
EARTHQUAKES
"The great earthquake occurred November 15, 1755. The shock was felt in various parts of North America. In Boston, 'one hundred chimnies were in a manner leveled with the roofs of the houses. Many clocks were stopped.' In New Haven, Ct., the ground in many places seemed to rise like the waves of the sea. The motion of this earthquake was undulatory. Its course was nearly from northwest to southeast. Its ex- tent was from Chesapeake Bay, southwest, to Halifax, northeast, about eight hundred miles. The effects of this earthquake were most visibly apparent in that part of Holden, subsequently set off to form the town of West Boylston. The Rev. John Mellen, at that period pastor of the second church at Lancaster, (now Sterl- ing), has given a minute description of the place, as it then appeared. Several acres of land were sunk, in some places 'more than the height of a man.' Trees on each side of the breach were thrown in various directions 'and sometimes crossing each other overhead, at right angles, sometimes thrown up by the roots.' The old channel being blocked up, the water flows in an entirely new direction.
"The stump of a tree that happened to stand direct- ly over the chasm, on the east, is divided into equal parts, one standing on the outside of the chasm; the other on the inside, but not opposite to each other. The half within the chasm being carried five feet forward
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towards the river. It is a remarkable fact that this earthquake occurred the same month and year with that terrible convulsion of the earth which sunk a por- tion of Lisbon, the chief city of Portugal, containing a population of 150,000; one fifth part of whom sud- denly perished. Every church and convent fell. Fires broke out two hours after the shock, which continued to rage for three days, so that the city was completely desolated."
December 24, 1940, slight earthquake shocks were experienced over a wide area in this section.
In Holden the tremor was sharp enough to cause the tolling of the bell on the Baptist Church.
THE CYCLONE
"The most remarkable event of the half century was the Cyclone of 1871. About half past four on Sunday afternoon, June 11th, a violent wind, accompanied by thunder and lightning, swept a path of destruction through the town. The storm was seen nearly a mile away. It was described as looking like a whirling fun- nel-shaped column of dust, filled with the limbs of trees and other wreckage, which were continually shooting up in the middle, and as steadily falling in a stream at the side. Its course was traced from Spen- cer, through Paxton, Holden and West Boylston into Boylston, where its power seemed spent. It mowed a swath about ten rods wide, in which large pine trees were snapped off like pipe-stems. Coming over the hill from Paxton, it first struck the place of Lewis Martin, who was in his house together with his family,
1 Mass. Historical Collections, Vol. 4.
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including five small children. The house and barn were completely destroyed, and the inmates scattered. An infant was found in the cellar in a barrel surround- ed with bricks. The whole family escaped, however, with nothing more serious than bruises. From here the tornado swept through the woods, across the pond, over the hill down into the village of Holden. It first shattered the barn of Samuel Griffin, and partially or completely unroofed the houses of Hastings Newell, Marius C. Cooly and Samuel Fiske. The houses and barns of Anson Lakin, Michael McLaughlin and Mrs. Ira Broad, lying next, were wrecked, as was also the house of S. D. Hubbard, in part, and his carpenter shop completely. In this shop Charles E. Burnett was caught and held beneath the timbers of the ruin, but fortunately escaped with a broken arm and severe cuts and bruises. The house of Ebenezer R. Parker was entirely destroyed. The house was taken up by the wind, moved about its width and dropped a heap of pieces. Both Mr. and Mrs. Parker were injured, the arm of the latter being dislocated. Other damage was done to various buildings in its course, the chimneys of the Roman Catholic Church were thrown down, and the belfry of the Baptist Church was severely wrenched, and even a stonewall in the path of the cyclone was overturned. A horse was found in a neigh- boring garden, still tied to the plank to which he had been fastened in the stable, but without a bruise or a mark upon him. The whole ruin in the village was wrought within the space of two minutes. The pecu- niary damage in Holden was estimated at the time as amounting to twelve or fifteen thousand dollars."
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BLIZZARD OF 1888
The "great blizzard" occurred on March 12, 1888, and the snow bills in Holden that spring were $1,053.40.
1938 HURRICANE
The morning of September 21, 1938, dawned the same as many another other autumn day, but before nightfall widespread devastation and disaster had oc- curred such as never before had been experienced in New England.
The facts regarding the hurricane of 1938 and the havoc it wrought would fill many pages.
By early afternoon on that day the wind began to blow increasingly, and we soon realized that some- thing out of the ordinary was in progress.
As time went on, amid the sound of torrential rain could be heard the crashing of giant trees.
Groves of large pines went down like grass, and many century old trees about the center were felled.
A number of barns and garages in town were de- molished, and the Baptist Church lost its spire, as did numerous other historic New England churches.
Light, telephone and bus service in Holden were disrupted, but there was no fatality in town.
The three tall steel towers on the W. T. A. G. trans- mitting station in Chaffins were hurled to the ground and wrecked, despite the fact that they were construct- ed to withstand a wind velocity of 115 miles an hour. However, the service was quickly switched to the sta- tion's auxiliary transmitter on Franklin Street, in Worcester, where it broadcast hundreds of bulletins
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and messages to anxious friends and relatives of Wor- cester County residents stranded in various places.
When the storm had spent itself, Holden citizens with any outside help obtainable began at once the work of reconstruction, with the result that bus service to Holden was resumed the following day, and in only four days, broken and tangled wires were repaired, and "there was light" again.
Barns and garages were rebuilt, and the next year the spire of the Baptist Church was restored to its for- mer beauty.
"Though much is taken, much abides," and already nature and the hand of man have eradicated many of the scars left where historic trees planted generations ago were uprooted by the storm, and the young trees recently planted will in the future beautify the town as did those of old.
Chapter X
Mills and Villages
One of the oldest maps* of Holden, bearing the date May 20, 1795, has a marginal note which states that "There are in the Town of Holden five Grist Mills and Seven Saw Mills."
In 1831, Holden had five cotton mills, two woolen mills, two tanneries, ten saw mills and three grist mills.
Around these mills homes were built and the sec- tion became a center of business activity.
Fire was always a menace in those days, where water from some nearby pond or well was the only source of fire protection, and there were many mills in Hol- den, which, when thus destroyed were never rebuilt, the district reverting to a farming community, as res- idents sought occupation and homes in other localities.
In some instances mills replaced their early equip- ment with machinery for the production of wool or cotton cloth and the early settlements became thriving villages.
In 1895, the villages in Holden and their popula- tion were as follows:
Holden Center, including South Road 600
Chaffinville 226
Dawsonville 203
Jeffersonville 826
A map of the Town of Holden based on the U. S. survey of 1885, identified as "Worcester Quadrangle" may be obtained from the Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, Wash- ington, D. C. at a cost of ten cents.
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Quinapoxet North Woods Springdale Unionville
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The early settlers were attracted to this region be- cause of the abundance of ponds and brooks which furnished power for early industry, nor could they foresee the day when the march of progress would leave those banks deserted and the clear waters of their "un- failing streams" would flow undisturbed for many miles to supply the needs of a great metropolis.
This has taken place in our day, leaving only mem- ories of a number of beautiful villages with shaded streets and well kept homes where now "many a gar- den flower grows wild" and "a few torn shrubs the place disclose."
CHAFFINVILLE
It is an accredited tradition that the first water priv- ilege in town was at Chaffinville, where John Bigelow built a mill in 1726. Manufacturing was begun here in 1817 by Royal H. Chaffin.
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