USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Lancaster > History of the town of Lancaster, Massachusetts : from the first settlement to the present time, 1643-1879 > Part 36
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Another special meeting was held, April 6, when it was voted to rebuild the bridge at Bennett's mills. Committee, Farnham Plummer, Elijah Wilder, Calvin Wilder.
May 4, the town passed a well deserved vote of thanks to the select men for unremitted services. The state of the roads and bridges necessarily imposed severe duty upon them. The same day a short road from the Village school-house to Jonas Joslyn's was granted. The school-house was just below the North Village bridge, at its former site, and on the west side, and the road extended a little beyond the house of John Cunningham. Formerly the road ran southwest, up the hill, where was a house within memory, and then went southwards on the west side of the Cunningham place.
449
FUGITIVE BRIDGES.
No matter how many men were needed for important service, the town seems always to have had enough and to spare, and they worked with energy and despatch. The bills reported at the November meeting were : Ponakin, $67.51 ; Bennett, $324.32 ; Sluices of the same, $167.82; Harris, $139.00; Bennett's mills, $487.99 ; Atherton, $128.90 ; Center, $287 .- 60. The total was $1,639.71, besides expenses for minor repairs.
The next year was one of exemption from damage, but in 1820 Ponakin and Sprague bridges needed repairing, the ex- pense on the latter being $263.82.
The Ponakin bridge went on its travels again, and in No- vember, 1821, Jacob Fisher, Benjamin Houghton and Isaac Childs were chosen a committee to build anew. The Harris bridge was rebuilt in 1822, by a committee, elected, April 1, as follows : John Buttrick, Daniel Harris, Jonas Whitney. The selectmen were instructed in November, to cover the Center bridge.
But this bridge followed many a predecessor, and had to be replaced in 1823. On the twenty-third of April the select- men were instructed to " build an arched bridge, sixteen feet wide, on the old abutment." The frame was to be of white pine of first growth, or of chestnut. The planks, white pine, three and a half inches thick. This year the town began to buy gravel of William Townsend for the Walnut Swamp . road. It swallowed up a great quantity, first and last. The bridges cost-Ponakin, $395.87 ; Harris, $146.87 ; Bennett's mills, $43.18 ; Center, $528.62.
There was a respite three or four years, from heavy damages on roads and bridges, the annual charge for ordinary work on highways being not far from $800. Atherton bridge needed repairing in 1823. In 1826 it was rebuilt at a cost of $690.64. At a meeting held, February 10, a committee was chosen to oppose the laying out of a new road from Westminster, through part of Princeton, Sterling and Leominster.
29
450
HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
May 7, 1827, the following arrangement in relation to White's or Still river bridge was made. Lancaster was to " support " forty-five feet and two and one-half inches, and Harvard do the same for the length of thirty-nine feet and six inches.
The original bridges were sustained by trestles, several of these standing in the river, the ends of the bridges resting on log-abutments, which lay upon mudsills. Every unusual rise of the water caused the destruction of one or more of these frail structures. Soon after the opening of this century, stone abutments were laid for the ends, but trestles were used to sustain the center. When the Center bridge was built in 1823, and the Atherton bridge in 1826, a new plan was adopt- ed. An arched bridge, so called, was constructed on a plan furnished by Farnham Plummer, who then resided in the town. He was an ingenious mechanic, and had a reputation in that line of business. Each bridge was a single arch, spanning the stream from side to side. The material was wood. This was considered a " better and by far more secure style of build- ing," says Willard .* The bridges" are entirely out of the reach of the spring tide fury, and though more expensive at first, their durability proves their true economy." Doubtless the new bridges were superior to any that had preceded them, on our streams ; but some of these in time, yielded to the resistless pressure of a great flood.
The bridge at Ponakin was carried off in 1829, and at a . meeting, September 4, a committee,-John Thurston, jr., Jacob Fisher and Anthony Lane,-were chosen to rebuild it. For repairing the road from Dr. Carter's to the Leominster line, (Ballard hill road, ) $500 were appropriated.
Repairs on the old bridge at Knight's mill (Ponakin) cost $40; and the new bridge cost $489.58. Probably the old bridge was kept in passable order while the new one was in process of building.
In 1830 a road was wanted from North Village to William Townsend's, on the Harvard road, north of the house of Ben-
* Sketches of Lancaster in Worcester Mag., 1826.
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A FIRM FOUNDATION.
jamin Farnsworth. Not granted. Another road was propos- ed from the Fitch tavern, (now Hotel Lancaster, ) to the cor- ner near the house of Jonas Lane. This project had to wait till next year, when it was adopted by the town on condition that it should not cost the town anything. Probably nothing was done, since there is a vote recorded under date, Novem- ber 12, 1832, stating that a road was accepted from Capt. Lane's to Samuel Hasting's. Hastings lived in the house south of the brick store. There was difficulty in adjusting the southern terminus of the road. It was fixed at last on the present route. It seems almost incredible that the town existed nearly two hundred years without the convenience of this piece of road.
In the year 1831, the sum of $859.92 was paid for a new bridge at North Village. Sewall Carter, who lived at Shoe- shank, was allowed to work out his highway tax from his mill to Canoe brook. Work on the North Village bridge cost $268.17 ; on Sprague bridge, $240.18. The expense incurred for the Still river bridge in 1832 was $555.82.
April 1, 1833. The following committee were chosen to rebuild Center bridge. Jacob Fisher, jr., Davis Whitman, Joel Wilder, Jonas Lane, Levi Lewis. They were to advise with the selectmen, who had been previously directed to pre- pare timber for the purpose if necessary. The total expense was $1,188.58. A new road to Bolton cost $625.85.
An anecdote in relation to a worthy and highly respected citizen, probably belongs to this period. Jonathan Wilder, father of the late Henry Wilder, Esq., was noted for his firm- ness and inflexible resolution. When the matter of discus- sion in town meeting, on one occasion, related to the difficulty of laying a firm foundation for Center bridge, a foundation which no flood could upheave or force from its position, it was suggested by one of the speakers that it might be well to plant Mr. Wilder under one end of the bridge, because he was the most immovable thing in town.
Nothing of general importance was done in road building
452
HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
in 1834. Local convenience was secured by a short road in New Boston, and another at Deers Horns.
Bennett's or North Village bridge was down again, and Calvin Heywood was appointed to superintend the building of a new one, after consultation with the selectmen. This action was taken at a special meeting held February 4, 1835. In May the old road through Ponakin intervale from the mills to Josiah Billing's, (the residence of the late Benjamin B. Otis,) was discontinued as a public highway, and a short road was opened for the convenience of the Shakers.
The bills for bridge-building were quite heavy. North Village, $1,508.13 ; Sprague, $323.16 ; Carter's mills, $307.
An effort was made several years in succession, to open a new road from the North Village towards Leominster, by a route which would avoid the ascent and descent of Ballard hill. At this period many large teams from the upper towns, and even from Vermont and western New Hampshire, went through Lancaster to Boston. These teams sometimes num- bered as many as six, eight, and even nine horses. They drew enormous loads, and often were unable to ascend the long rise east of Phelps' mill. The same difficulty was ex- perienced in ascending the eastern side of the hill, and it was necessary to hire extra horses or oxen to draw the loads up at either side. To obviate this trouble, delay and expense, it was proposed to go round the hill, on the north side, from the Vil- lage bridge to Wikapeket bridge. But as several families lived on the old road, and the proposed road would be of lit- tle local benefit, the plan was defeated. The through travel was secure because the road through the Village was more eligible than that by the brick tavern, across the upper end of the town.
In April, 1836, Atherton bridge was in a bad condition, but instead of rebuilding, the town repaired it at a cost of $203.88.
The expense in accommodating travel in 1837 was very on- erous. For the Harris bridge was paid $489.15 ; for repairing
453
BRIDGE-MAKING WITHOUT RUM.
Carter bridge, $128.93 ; for Ballard hill road, $3,550. Per- haps the repairing of this road cost enough to pay for a new one, but this accommodated many families living on the line, and was made more available for through travel.
In 1838, April 2, a road was accepted from the factory school-house, (near the Clinton station,) to Pitts' mills, where the Lancaster Gingham mills now stand.
Ponakin bridge could find no certain abiding place. It could not stand before a freshet. In June, 1839, a vote was passed to rebuild, and the bill for bridge and road on either side, amounted to $568.19. Work on the New Boston bridge cost $58.
The next year Ponakin bridge again went on a voyage to the sea, and the town was obliged to put another in its place. April 6, 1840, a vote was passed to rebuild the bridge, and $1,200 were appropriated to make the structure permanent. When the bill came in at the November meeting, it was found to exceed the appropriation. The abutments cost $657.33, and the bridge, $749.98, a total of $1,407.31. The repairs of New Boston bridge cost $165.
When the building committee reported to the town, March, 1841, in regard to the building of Ponakin bridge, they stated a fact which was probably entirely new in regard to such works in this town from its first settlement. These are the words : " And they further report that the said bridge was erected without the use of ardent spirits." The names of the com- mittee are subjoined. Capt. Jacob Fisher, who had charge of the masonry ; Nathaniel Rand, Stedman Nourse and Levi Green, who superintended the wood-work.
At this meeting the town took the following action. "Voted, that a committee of one from each end of the town be chosen to take charge of the bridges during the year, who are author- ized to do all that may be necessary to keep the bridges in re- pair during the year ; and chose Capt. Austin Davis for the south part of the town, who is to have charge of Sprague, Center, Carter and Harris bridges ; and chose Capt. Anthony
454
HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
Lane for the north part of the town, who is to have charge of the Village, Ponakin and Harvard bridges." Atherton bridge is not mentioned in the vote. The bridge on the In- tervale was kept in repair by the turnpike company.
A claim for damages came before the town, from Charles Knight, on account of the building of Ponakin bridge. The subject was referred to a committee, who reported, April 4, 1842, that the bridge was not a damage to Mr. Knight, but that the " cutting away of a part of his dam to turn the chan- nel of the river, was a damage, and they recommended the payment of one hundred dollars." The town adopted the re- port. The dam, at that time, was just below the present bridge. In earlier times the bridge was thirty or forty rods down stream, and at the foot of the road which extends from the almshouse by Mr. Schumaker's and the Capt. Maynard place to the river.
The main lines of road in the town have not been much al- tered since 1840. Minor changes will be noted in their place. There have been several periods of bridge-making. At first, bridges were hastily built, and as hastily swept away. The abutments were not on solid foundations, and the trestles,- from three to five,-in the bed of the stream, were floated off by every freshet, or broken down by every rush of ice. By degrees the mudsills were set deeper and anchored more firmly, but the thick ice which formed around them in the winter, when lifted by the spring floods, raised the timbers also, and the whole bridge was borne along. The broken timbers struck the next bridge below, and it was started for the sea.
The third stage was reached when near the opening of this century, the town voted to build solid abutments on solid foun- dations. Where a ledge existed on either side of the river, the abutment was placed upon it. Where the stone basis could not be found, spiles were driven down to hard pan. These formed a secure base for the abutment. But the bridges were not secure because the floods forced out the trestles in mid-
455
IRON BRIDGES.
stream, and dropped one or more lengths of timbers and planks into the river.
Next came the arch-bridge, so called, invented and built by Avery Plummer, an ingenious man of the last generation, who then resided in the town. These bridges extended from side to side by a single span, and were comparatively safe. The money laid out on them was a good investment. But wooden bridges decay, and must be rebuilt.
In consequence the town has recently adopted the plan of building iron bridges. The first bridge put up on this plan was the Atherton. This was built in 1870. Since then the town has replaced all the old wooden bridges over the Nashua with handsome iron structures, which bid fair to be durable, though he would be a rash prophet who should predict that they are above the reach of any possible flood.
During the period now reviewed- 1801 to 1842 - there were many business changes in the town, but these may be more compactly noted in a separate chapter. It will be enough in this place to state that the Lancaster Gazette was establish- ed in 1828, and was continued about two years. It was a small but well printed paper, and was filled with interesting and in- structive matter. The editorials and correspondence evinced ability and culture. In connection with the Gazette was an extensive printing and publishing establishment, which gave employment to many persons, and made the Center quite a lively mart of business.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE PASTORATE OF DR. THAYER.
.
THE Rev. Nathaniel Thayer was the sixth pastor of the first church in Lancaster, and the sixth and last minister and religious teacher of the town. The first, Rev. Joseph Row- landson, after a continuous service of twenty-two years, from 1654 to 1676, saw his ministry terminated by the total de- struction of the settlement, and the dispersion of the church. There is no record to tell us whether he ever received a for- mal dismission, or even a release from his engagement, but it is supposable, that previous to his settlement in Wethers- field, he had consulted with some of his leading parishioners, wherever he might meet them in their scattered homes. Dur- ing the broken and stormy period between Philip's war, and the year 1708, two excellent men, besides several temporary supplies, fulfilled the duties of a pastor. The Rev. John Whiting, invited as a candidate in 1688, and settled in 1690, probably, continued till his ministry was closed by his tragic death in 1697. The Rev. Andrew Gardner served the church and town in the capacity of a minister, though not ordained, from 1701 to 1704, when a mistaken but fatal shot filled the town with sorrow.
In May, 1705, Mr. John Prentice began to preach, and on the twenty-ninth of March, 1708, he was ordained. As his death occurred in the first month of 1748, his ministry last- ed nearly forty-three years. His successor, Rev. Timothy Harrington, closed a long pastorate of forty-seven years in 1795, having been aided or superseded during the last two years by a colleague.
456 .
457
THE CHURCH CALL MR. THAYER.
That colleague was Mr. Nathaniel Thayer. Before he was invited to the pastorate, several gentlemen had been heard. These were Rev. Thomas Gray, D. D., of Roxbury, Rev. Hez- ekiah Packard, D.D., of Wiscasset, Me., Rev. Aaron Green, of Malden, Rev. Hezekiah Goodrich, of Rutland, and Rev. Thomas C. Thatcher. Mr. Thayer began preaching here in the early part of 1792, and in June it was voted " that the town will hear Mr. Thayer a further time." But not till nearly a year had elapsed was the town ready to concur with the church ; but on the third of June, 1793, a vote was unanimously passed to invite him to settle, with a salary of £90 during the life- time of Mr. Harrington, and of £120, or about $400 after his decease. Besides he was to have a " settlement" of £200, or $666.67.
The farther action of the town in relation to Mr. Thayer's pastorate has already been recited. We turn now to the his- tory of the church. The first meeting of the church, accord- ing to the Records, to take action in reference to a new min- ister, was held on the eighth of April, 1793, at the house of Mr. Harrington. The aged minister was infirm, and prob- ably the church met with him in consideration of the state of his health. The Rev. Phinehas Wright was requested to pre- side as moderator.
The business was to " confer together relative to settling a colleague ; " but not being ready to act, the meeting was ad- journed to the last Tuesday of April; and that meeting was adjourned to May 28, when the following votes were passed. " Voted 2, unanimously to invite Mr. Nathaniel Thayer to settle as a colleague with the Rev. Timothy Harrington. 3, That Mr. Ebenezer Allen, Dea. Cyrus Fairbank, Dea. Ben- jamin Houghton, Dea. Josiah Ballard and Mr. Moses Saw- yer be a committee to request the selectmen to call a town meeting for the purpose of the town's concurring with the church in the choice of Mr. Nathaniel Thayer to settle as a colleague with the Rev. Timothy Harrington." Then the meet- ing was " adjourned to the place when and where the town
458
HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
should meet pursuant to the request of the committee afore- said."
June 3, a meeting was held, when Mr. Ebenezer Allen was chosen moderator, pro tem., and Timothy Whiting, jr., clerk.
The town having concurred, the church chose the following committee,-Mr. Allen, and Deacons Ballard, Fairbank and Houghton,-to "join with the town's committee to present Mr. Nathaniel Thayer the doings of the church relative to his settling in the work of the gospel ministry in this place, and to request his consideration thereof and answer thereto."
The doings of the church and the town, in extending a " Call" having been presented to Mr. Thayer, he wrote the following letter of acceptance, dated Cambridge, July 11, 1793, ad- dressed to the "Church and Congregation" in Lancaster.
" BRETHREN : The votes entrusted by you, to the commit- tees, have to me been duly communicated. The unanimity which prevailed in your meetings has engaged my most de- liberate attention to your request. Although the duties at- tendant on the office, to which you have called me, are by all acknowledged to be arduous, yet after intreating direction of Heaven, and asking the advice of friends, a sense of duty ur- ges me to an acceptance of your invitation. Permit me now earnestly to solicit an union of your prayers with mine, that all needed assistance may be afforded, that the health of your present Pastor may be restored, and the evening of his days rendered serene and happy ; that, by harmony of affection, and the exercise of our best abilities, the interest of religion may here flourish, and that after a constant and laudable con- formity to its principles, we may receive the approbation of our Judge, and enjoy each other's society for ever. This is the wish, and shall ever be the prayer, of your affectionate friend and humble servant. NATHANIEL THAYER."
The church held a meeting by adjournment, August 26, and voted that the " following churches be invited to ordain Mr. Nathaniel Thayer as a colleague Pastor," viz. The church in Leominster, Rev. Francis Gardner, pastor ; Lunenburg,
459
THE ORDAINING COUNCIL.
Rev. Zabdiel Adams ; Shirley, Rev. Phinchas Whitney ; Har- vard, Rev. William Emerson ; Bolton, Rev. Phinehas Wright ; Berlin, Rev. Reuben Puffer, D. D. ; Sterling, Rev. Reuben Holcomb ; Hampton ; Brooklyn, now Brookline, Rev. Jo- seph Jackson ; Newburyport, Rev. Thomas Carey and Rev. John Andrews ; Medford, Rev. David Osgood, D. D. ; Wor- cester, Rev. Aaron Bancroft, D. D. ; Cambridge, Rev. Abi- el Holmes, D. D. ; Boston, First Church, Rev. John Clarke, D. D. ; Federal Street, Rev. Jeremy Belknap, D. D. ; New . North, Rev. John Eliot, D. D.
Mr. Ebenezer Allen and Dea. Houghton were chosen a committee in behalf of the church, to join with Mr. Har- rington in writing Letters Missive to the foregoing churches. The committee were directed to write to the " President of the University at Cambridge," Rev. Joseph Willard, D. D., a descendant of the famous Major Simon Willard, and invite him to be present at the ordination, " and to partake, with the venerable Council, in the entertainments of the day."
At a meeting of the church, September 29, Capt. Ephraim Carter, jr., Mr. Ebenezer Allen, and Brig. Gen. John Whi- ting were " appointed a committee to present the venerable Council with the doings of the church and town relative to settling Mr. Thayer, and in behalf of the church to do and transact any matters and things which should be deem- ed expedient and necessary on the day of his ordination." The meeting was then adjourned to the ninth day of October, the time fixed for the ordination.
The meeting held on the day of ordination passed a vote which has an interest still, because it shows the intelligent purpose of the fathers in maintaining Congregational rights and usages. The question has been raised, at different times, whether a church may send a delegate to a council called by itself. Churches have taken such action, but it is believed that councils universally decline to allow such delegates to act. The question before the church in Lancaster was whe- ther a member of the parish in this town, though belonging
460
HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
to another church, might sit in the council. The following action was taken, and doubtless the council approved of it, though the minutes are not recorded.
" Voted, that on account of Mr. Samuel Thurston, being an inhabitant of this town and a legal member of the Con- gregational society in this place, it is improper, and against the unanimous opinion of this church that he be allowed to sit as a member of the ordaining council now convened for . the purpose of ordaining Mr. Nathaniel Thayer to the work of the gospel ministry, notwithstanding his being delegated with the Rev. Reuben Holcomb, by the church in Sterling."
The proceedings of the Council will be stated in the words of the Church Records. "Pursuant to the unanimous invi- tation of the Church and Congregation in this place, and agree- ably to the unanimous vote of the Council, Mr. Nathaniel Thayer was solemnly separated to the work of the Gospel Ministry, and ordained as a Colleague Pastor with the Rev. Timothy Harrington, October Ninth, Anno Domini, 1793.
" The solemnity was introduced by an anthem. A prayer followed, by the Rev. Dr. Belknap of Boston. To this suc- ceeded a Discourse by the Rev. David Osgood, of Medford, from Acts 20 : 27. [" For I have not shunned to declare un- to you all the counsel of God."] The Rev. Phinehas Whit- ney, of Shirley, made the Ordaining Prayer, and the Rev. Jo- seph Jackson, of Brooklyn, gave the Charge. The Conclud- ing Prayer was made by the Rev. John Clark of Boston, and the Rev. William Emerson, of Harvard, expressed the Fellow- ship of the churches. A Hymn closed the solemnity. The auditory, though large, observed the strictest decorum."
The new minister, thus happily settled, was twenty-four years of age, having been born in Hampton, N. H., July 11, 1769. His father, the Rev. Ebenezer Thayer, was for many years the respected minister of the place, and was widely known as a man of learning, and was remarkable for the dig- nity and sauvity of his manners, and the placidity of his tem-
461
MR. THAYER AS A SCHOLAR.
per and disposition. His mother, daughter of Rev. John Cotton, of Newton, was a descendant, through a long line of clergymen, of the celebrated Rev. John Cotton, of Boston, England, and Boston, Massachusetts. Under the wisely re- ligious training of such parents, the boy became " uncommon- ly thoughtful and sedate," and in the language of the dis- course preached at his funeral, by Rev. Dr. Hill, of Worces- ter, "probably could not remember the time when the great truths of religion did not exert a hallowing influence over his thoughts, motives and conduct." He was prepared for College at Phillips Academy, Exeter, in the first class sent to Harvard from that institution. Leaving the academy with- out a stain upon his reputation, he entered college with high hopes. There he maintained a high rank as a scholar, won the esteem of his classmates, and the approbation of the fac- ulty. He was " graduated with distinguished reputation, and filled for one year the office of tutor." He was nineteen years old at the time of his graduation, and commenced the study of divinity, when he was twenty, with Rev. David Osgood, D. D., of Medford, at the same time taking charge of the grammar school in that town.
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