USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lexington > History of the town of Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1868, Volume I > Part 31
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its arms and disperse. If our cause was right, Captain Parker's company was a lawful array, and their loaded guns were lawfully in their hands; they had a right to stand in their line, on their training- field, before their homes, and beside their church, ready to shed their blood in the cause, and to fire when fired upon. They were determined neither to attack nor to fly; neither to surrender their arms nor to fire first; but to fire when fired upon; all in strict obe- dience to the line of duty enjoined on them by the Continental Con- gress, by the votes of the towns, and the counsels of their leaders. The issue was made up just then and just there. . .. The trial of that issue, in the presence of the world, began with the first volley on Lexington Green, and lasted six years. The battle of the 19th April began on this spot, and ended at Charlestown Neck. The war of the Revolution began at Lexington, and ended at Yorktown.
". . . Our soldiers loaded their guns, by military command, to fire if fired upon; and the war began with the volley and the falling of the dead and wounded. It may not be of much account in any political or strategic sense, but it is a satisfaction to our pride in our ancestors, to know that rashly, it may be, uselessly, perhaps, but bravely, beyond doubt, the moment the British fire authorized us to use the guns we had loaded for the purpose, and met the condi- tion in Captain Parker's order, 'unless fired upon,' the fire was returned by men still standing in their line, in their martial array; and that the line was not abandoned until they were ordered to disperse by their captain, who saw that the regulars were hastening up, on both flanks, to surround and capture them; and that, when the survivors withdrew, they took their arms with them. It is not of much account that a regular of the Tenth Regiment, and another, were wounded, and that the horse of the commander was grazed by two balls; but it is a satisfaction to know that here in Lexington was not only the first hostile volley fired by British troops at Provincial troops, but the first shots fired back by our troops at theirs. You recall with pride, too, that no sooner had the regulars resumed their march than your Minute-Men rallied, took six prisoners who had straggled from the line; joined in the pursuit of the British from the Lincoln and Concord line to Charlestown Neck; and that in that pursuit three more men of Lexington laid down their lives, of whom one had been wounded on the Green in the morning. You read with ever renewed satisfaction that on the rolls of that day Lexing- ton stands first: ten of her townsmen killed, - seven in the morning on the Green, and three in the afternoon in the pursuit, - and first in the list of wounded, nine; nineteen in all, from your small popu- lation, who suffered death or wounds in the common cause. The pecuniary loss of Lexington that day in houses and other property destroyed, nearly two thousand pounds sterling, bore a large pro- portion to the whole property of the town. Well did she redeem her
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modest promise to Boston, 'We trust in God, ... we shall be ready to sacrifice our estates, and everything dear in life, yea, and life itself, in support of the common cause.'"
The morning exercises closed with a poem written for the day by Julia Ward Howe, and the benediction was pro- nounced by the Rev. Rollin H. Neale, D.D. Immediately thereafter the invited guests were escorted to carriages, and joined the procession which had meanwhile been forming at the corner of what is now Massachusetts Avenue and Middle Street. Its route was as follows: Main Street (now Massa- chusetts Avenue) to Hancock Street, through Hancock to Revere Street, through Revere to Bedford Street, and thence to the Common.
The procession was in three divisions, the Chief Marshal, Colonel William A. Tower, being escorted by the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. The first division comprised, among others, the Lexington Minute-Men (who will be re- ferred to later); one hundred men of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion; veterans of the War of 1812; many distin- guished guests, including the President and Vice-President of the United States, members of the Cabinet, and the Gover- nor and ex-Governors of Massachusetts and other States; and delegations from the towns which participated in the battle. The centre division included more such delegations; while in the left division were representatives of the militia and of the Grand Army posts, together with various city and town officials.
About half-past three, -the President of the United States and others having reviewed the procession, - the exercises of the dinner were formally begun. The presiding officer was Mr. Stetson, President of the day, and at the head table with him were President Grant; Vice-President Wilson; the Secretary of War, General Belknap; the Secretary of State, Mr. Fish; the Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Robeson; the Postmaster-General, Mr. Jewell; Chief-Justice Gray; Gov- ernor Gaston of Massachusetts; Governor Chamberlain of South Carolina; and a number of others.
The first toast of the dinner was, of course, to the President of the United States; and responses to subsequent toasts were made by Governor Gaston; Governor Chamberlain; the orator of the day; Chief-Justice Gray; Hon. George B. Lor-
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ing, President of the Massachusetts Senate; General William F. Bartlett; General Chamberlain of Bowdoin College; Hon. Nathaniel P. Banks; Rev. Edward Everett Hale; and others. Poems written for the occasion by Rev. William C. Gannett and Rev. W. R. Huntington, D.D., and set to music, were sung by the Boylston Club; and letters from distinguished foreigners and others were read. That from the Hon. William E. Gladstone has, in view of the occasion, special significance:
"LONDON, March 5, 1875. "Gentlemen:
"I have had the honor to receive the letter in which you convey to me a very warm and courteous invitation to attend the banquet which it is proposed to hold at Lexington in commemoration of the attainment of independence by the United States of America.
"The circumstances of the war which yielded that result, the principles it illustrates, and the remarkable powers and characters of the principal men who took part, whether as soldiers or civilians, in the struggle, have always invested it with a peculiar interest in my eyes, quite independently of the intimate concern of this country in the events themselves.
"On account of these features, that war and its accompaniments seem to me to constitute one of the most instructive chapters of modern history, and I have repeatedly recommended them to younger men as subjects of especial study.
"With these views, I need not say how far I am from regarding the approaching celebration with indifference. It is entirely beyond my power to cross the sea, even with the present admirable com- munications, for the purpose of attendance. The present time happens to be for me, even independently of my attendance in Parliament, one of many urgent occupations which I am not at liberty to put aside. But I earnestly hope, and I cannot doubt, that the celebration will be worthy of the occasion.
"In a retrospective view of the eventful period, my countrymen can now contemplate its incidents with impartiality. I do not think they should severely blame their ancestors, whose struggle to maintain the unity of the British Empire is one that must, I think, after the late great war of the North and South, be viewed in America with some sympathy and indulgence. We can hardly be expected to rate very highly the motives of those European powers who threw their weight into the other scale, and who so sensibly contributed towards accelerating, if not, indeed, towards determin- ing, the issue of the war; yet, for one, I can most truly say that, whatever the motives and however painful the process, they, while seeking to do an injury, conferred upon us a great benefit, by re-
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leasing us from efforts the continuation of which would have been an unmixed evil. As regards the fathers of the American Consti- tution themselves, I believe we can and do now contemplate their great qualities and achievements with an admiration as pure as that of American citizens themselves; and can rejoice no less heartily, that, in the counsels of Providence, they were made the instruments of a purpose most beneficent to the world.
"The circumstances under which the United States began their national existence, and their unexampled rapidity of advance in wealth, population, enterprise, and power, have imposed on their people an enormous responsibility. They will be tried, as we shall, at the bar of history; but on a greater scale. They will be compared with the men not only of other countries, but of other times. They cannot escape from the liabilities and burdens which their great- ness imposes.
"No one desires more fervently than I do, that they may be en- abled to realize the highest hopes and anticipations that belong to their great position in the family of man.
"I have the honor to be, gentlemen,
"Your obliged and faithful servant, "W. E. GLADSTONE."
The final event of the day was a reception by the President of the United States in the large pavilion, followed by a ball in which many hundreds participated. Before leaving the town, at about 10 P.M., General Grant planted at the east end of the Common an elm tree which, after many vicissitudes, died in 1902.
Throughout the day there were exhibited in the Cary Library relics of great interest, the chief treasure being the brace of pistols, silver-mounted and elaborately chased, used by Major Pitcairn in firing upon the Minute-Men on the day of the battle. 1
1 "These famous pistols were brought to Lexington on the day of the celebration by the Rev. S. I. Prime, D.D., of New York. Their history is uncommonly full and authentic. After having been fired by Pitcairn on Lexington Common, before any other firearm was used, they accompanied their owner to Concord. On the return of the British through Lexington, early in the afternoon, a severe skirmish took place about a mile and a quarter west of the village, at Fiske's Hill, where Major Pitcairn was conspicuously engaged in directing the movements of the troops. A party of Minute-Men fired at him from behind a pile of rails. The Major fell wounded; and his horse, having lost its rider, ran over the fields, and was captured by one of the Provincials, and taken to Concord.
"Subsequently the horse and the accoutrements were sold at auction. Captain
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The difficulties incident to the crowds and the cold of the 19th of April, 1875, would have been increased had it not been for the fact that the railroad, which, from its opening in 1846 1 until 1873, terminated at Lexington, was in the latter year opened to Concord; and for the further fact that in 1871 the Town Hall, which for many years had occupied a wooden building on the site of the present High School, had been removed to the existing Town Building erected to house the town meetings, the Cary Library, a Memorial Hall, the Masonic Lodge, and the various town officials. It is true that there was much opposition on the part of the citizens of East Lexington to a location so far distant from that section, and that the architecture of the building has always been severely criticized. The echoes of the somewhat bitter controversy over the site have, fortunately, long since died away; and however unpleasing in its exterior the Town Building may be, its commodious hall has been of great value, both from the civic and the social standpoint, to the life of the town; while the generous space thus early given to the Cary Library was a distinct asset in the development of that valuable institution.
The immediate impulse to the building of a new Town Hall, a project that had been under discussion for some years after the close of the Civil War, was given by a proffer of Mrs. Maria Hastings Cary of six thousand dollars to fit up a Memorial Hall and Town Library Hall, "provided the Town should within three years erect a suitable building for munici- pal purposes, to embrace in its construction suitable accom- modations for those objects." This proposal was brought before the town at a meeting in November, 1869, and was referred to a committee consisting of Messrs. Charles Hud-
Nathan Barrett purchased the holsters and pistols, marked with Pitcairn's name, and offered them to General Washington, who declined them.
"They were afterwards presented to General Putnam, who valued them very highly, and carried them through the remainder of his active service in the war.
"They descended in the family, and became the property of the General's grand- son, the late John P. Putnam, of Cambridge, New York, whose widow placed them in the custody of her friend Dr. Prime for exhibition at Lexington. The Secretary of War is making an effort to obtain them for the museum of the War Department." (From the Proceedings at the Centennial Celebration of the Battle of Lexington, April 19, 1875, published by the Town, p. 130.) The pistols were subsequently secured by the town of Lexington and are on exhibition at the Hancock-Clarke House. Ed.
1 See Origin of the Lexington & West Cambridge Branch Railroad, by George Y. Wellington; Proc. Lex. Hist. Soc., Vol. III, p. 58. Ed.
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FROM THE YEAR 1867 TO 1912
son, John Hastings, Sergeant C. Whitcher, Hammon Reed, Luke C. Childs, Warren E. Russell, and Reuben W. Reed, who were empowered to consult architects and to procure plans and estimates. The committee reported at a special town meeting called for the purpose, January 25, 1870, sub- mitting plans and estimates and recommending the purchase of the site and the erection of a new Town Hall in accordance therewith. The report was accepted, its recommendations adopted, and the same gentlemen constituted a building committee with necessary powers, and provision made for funds to pay the cost. Subsequently, in April, 1870, a fur- ther proposition was received from Mrs. Cary, increasing her donation in the aggregate to twenty thousand dollars, whereby ten thousand dollars were secured to the general purposes of the building, six thousand to the Library, and four thousand to the Memorial Hall through the Lexington Monument Association. The building was designed by Messrs. Gridley J. F. Bryant and Louis P. Rogers, of Boston.
The dedication took place on April 19, 1871.1 The formal exercises were preceded by a procession and were followed by a banquet held in the Lexington Railroad Station. Asa Cot- trell, Esq., presided at the dedication exercises, the keys were presented to a group of young men by the Hon. Charles Hudson, response for those young men was made by James E. Parker, prayer was offered by Rev. A. B. Muzzey, and an oration was delivered by Dr. George B. Loring.
The statues in the Memorial Hall have an interesting his- tory. This is given by Mr. Hudson, active in securing them, in the published Proceedings at the Centennial Celebration of the Battle of Lexington, from which the following extracts are taken: -
"To a certain extent, the statues and tablets which the hall con- tains are the offspring of the Lexington Monument Association. The impression becoming prevalent that the monument on the Common did not comport with modern taste, some of our promi- nent citizens conceived the idea of superseding it by one more in accordance with the spirit of the age. In 1850 they obtained an act of incorporation, and organized a company, making the venerable Jonathan Harrington, the last survivor of the Battle of Lexington, their president. Their object seems to have been simply to rear a
1 See Proceedings at the Dedication of the Town and Memorial Hall. T. R. Marvin & Son, 1871. Ed.
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more fashionable monument in honor of the citizens of Lexington who fell on the 19th of April, 1775. Nothing, however, was done, more than to keep up the organization, till 1858, when broader and more liberal views prevailed. It was then perceived that, though the existing monument was somewhat antiquated in its appearance, it bore the impress and breathed the spirit of the Revolution, and was a fit memorial of the sturdy patriots to whose memory it was erected; and it was resolved to give the proposed enterprise a national character, and erect a monument commemorative of the opening scene of the Revolutionary drama. To carry forward this idea, Charles Hudson, who had taken an active part in giving a national character to the enterprise, was entrusted with the devel- opment of the idea. Encouraged by the countenance of some of our prominent citizens, among whom were General Samuel Chandler, Major Benjamin Reed, Colonel Philip Russell, Jonas Munroe, John Hastings, Bowen Harrington, William Stevens, and others, he undertook the work; and soon found that the name of Lexington, and the character of the deeds performed upon her Common, were quite as fully appreciated beyond the limits of the State as within its borders. He found no difficulty in organizing a corporation, consisting of a president and an acting board of directors in Massa- chusetts, with one vice-president from each of the New England States, and one from every other section of the country. . .
"These statues already have a history worthy of mention. When they were first modelled, the committee had special reference to this celebration; and, to insure their completion in season, the contracts stipulated that they were to be delivered in Lexington by the 1st of January, 1875. Three long months passed after that date, but no statues had arrived. We became anxious, but could learn nothing except that they were en route. Weeks of anxiety passed on, but they brought no statues. One steamer from Liverpool, which was expected to bring the Adams, arrived at Boston; but no statue was found on her manifest. There was only one more chance before the 19th; and that consisted mainly in the speed of 'The Parthia,' the next steamer. At this juncture, it was reported that the sailing- vessel with the statue of Hancock on board, from Leghorn early in January, had just reached our coast, and was weather-bound in Vineyard Haven. This was the state of things at early dawn, on Saturday the 17th. Neither statue had arrived in port. That even- ing in the light of the full moon, between the hours of eleven and twelve, when hope was giving place to despair, the statue of Adams arrived in our village. We deemed it no desecration of the Sabbath to place it in position on that day. We had scarcely adjusted the statue of Adams, when that of Hancock arrived; and, before the setting of that Sabbath sun, both of these statues were in position in the village where, one hundred years before, Adams and Hancock
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were enjoying the hospitality of the distinguished clergyman from whose dwelling they were driven before the rising of the next morn- ing's sun.
"It is certainly very remarkable, that these statues should leave the same Italian port a month apart, bound to the same place, - one going direct by sailing-vessel, and the other by steamer via England, - and, after months of delay, should arrive at their port of destination within a few hours of each other; and that, too, on the very last day when they could have arrived in season for the celebration."
In the winter of 1872-73, Lexington, in common with Boston and many other communities in New England, was visited by a serious outbreak of smallpox. On May 3, 1873, after ninety consecutive days of sleighing during the winter, there was again a heavy fall of snow. On August 9, the rail- road, as already stated, was formally opened through to Concord. Later it was extended to the Massachusetts Re- formatory, and a branch railroad (originally narrow-gauge) was carried from Bedford, half-way between Lexington and Concord, through to Billerica and Lowell. In this same year George G. Meade Post 119, G. A. R. (which will be dealt with subsequently), was first organized.
Having been the pioneer in the numerous one-hundredth anniversary celebrations of the Revolutionary War, and hav- ing set a standard of emphasis upon patriotism to the nation as a whole, Lexington was, of course, deeply interested in the subsequent celebrations of like character, especially in the Centennial Exposition held at Philadelphia, in 1876, to com- memorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It was most fitting, therefore, that, after the close of that Exposition, steps should be taken to bring the Massachusetts State Building to Lexington, to be used as a hotel. The building was carefully taken down, shipped in parts to Lexington, and reërected on land belonging to the Muzzey Estate, next to the Town Hall. This unique hotel was opened in August, 1878, and for fourteen years was famous as a comfortable place of sojourn, as a goal for sleighing excur- sions, and as a centre for "Germans " and other private par- ties. In 1892, however, it was sold to those controlling the so- called "Keeley Cure " for inebriety, and is still used by them.
In 1882 the Russell House was opened. It is an excellent hotel, to which guests return year after year, drawn by its
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home-like character, and the genuine hospitality of its pro- prietor. Besides this, and the Paul Revere Tavern, there are in the town a number of good boarding-houses.
As already pointed out, Lexington soon after the close of the Civil War found herself confronted with many problems arising from the rapid expansion of trade and industry and of the coincident growth, not only in population, but also in complexity of living, of many near-by cities and towns. Lexington, as Mr. Hudson shows, had always been near the front in matters of public education, and she had not been behind her neighbor communities in providing and main- taining roads. As early as 1846, moreover, railroad communi- cation had been established with Arlington, Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston. In doing this there was lost, how- ever, the picturesque travel by stage-coach and other vehicles which, together with the through highway journeying from New Hampshire and Vermont, had given life and activity for a century and a half to her numerous taverns.1
Lexington was also prompt in providing an essential factor in the economic life of a town - a savings bank. The Lex- ington Savings Bank 2 was incorporated March 11, 1871, by the following: Sergeant C. Whitcher, George W. Robinson, Warren E. Russell, Charles Brown, Matthew H. Merriam, George L. Stratton, Richard D. Blinn, Charles C. Goodwin, Isaac N. Damon, Bradley C. Whitcher, Charles Hudson, Edward Reed, and Thomas B. Hosmer. The first meeting was held at the Lexington Railroad Station March 25, 1871, with Charles Hudson as chairman, and Isaac N. Damon as secretary. The second meeting, three days later, was held over B. C. Whitcher's store, with S. C. Whitcher, chairman, and Isaac N. Damon, secretary. The organization meeting was held in Seminary Hall, April 15 of the same year, and the following officers were then elected: President, George W. Robinson; Vice-Presidents, S. C. Whitcher, M. H. Merriam, and W. D. Phelps; Secretary and Treasurer, L. G. Babcock.
The bank opened for business in a front room in the house now No. 464 Massachusetts Avenue. Seven years later, December 13, 1878, as a precautionary measure, made neces- sary by the depressed condition of business throughout the
1 See The Old Taverns of Lexington, by Edward P. Bliss; Proc. Lex. Hist. Soc., Vol. I, p. 73. Ed.
2 For this information the Committee is indebted to Mr. James E. Crone. Ed.
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country, the bank was placed in the hands of Mr. George W. Robinson as receiver. Its condition at that time was: assets, $101,142.88; due depositors, $95,222.52. Depositors were paid in full, including interest. August 15, 1882, the injunc- tion was dissolved, and in the following month business was resumed, with deposits of nearly $25,000 and a surplus of $6000. Mr. Robinson generously donated to the bank his fees as receiver. The total deposits at successive intervals were: 1885, $96,054; 1890, $228,180; 1900, $474,667; 1910, $620,000.
The following have served as officers of the bank: Presi- dents: George W. Robinson, 1871-1892; Bradley C. Whit- cher, 1892-1904; George O. Whiting, 1904 -. Treasurers: Leonard G. Babcock, 1871-1873; Oliver P. Mills, 1873-1874; Charles T. West, 1875-1878; (Receiver, 1878-1882); Bradley C. Whitcher, 1882-1888; Arthur W. Newell, 1888-1889; James E. Crone, 1889-1904; Bradley C. Whitcher, 1904- 1909; Edwin B. Worthen, 1909 -. Clerk of Corporation: Augustus E. Scott, April 23, 1873 -.
There remained, however, to be provided for in modern ways lighting, water supply, telephones, postal service, removal of wastes, parks, playgrounds, increased space for cemeteries, and adequate fire and police protection. A gas company was organized in 1877, and after certain vicissi- tudes, became well established, supplying a gas made from petroleum. In 1893 it undertook the supplying also of elec- tricity and continued to do so until its plant was purchased by the Edison Electric Illuminating Company, of Boston, in 1909. For more than thirty years, therefore, the streets have been lighted by modern methods, though not without diffi- culties in the placing of lights, in the type of lamp to be used, and in the extending of lighting into the outlying sec- tions of the town. The New England Telephone and Tele- graph Company inaugurated a public service in the town in 1892. Rural free delivery 1 was established May 16, 1904, and general free delivery October 16, 1909.
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