USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Westford > History of the town of Westford, in the county of Middlesex, Massachusetts, 1659-1883 > Part 18
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COMPLETION OF ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS.
On Tuesday, September 23, 1879, this town completed the one hundred and fiftieth year of its incorporae existence, and the day was observed by an informal and extempore celebration. By invitation of the Town History Association a meeting of the citizens was held in the town hall and brief
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addresses were made by several persons. Luther Prescott, Esq., gave some account of the occupation of the water- power in Forge Village, which began in 1680, and also the business of smelting iron ore which started soon after. The leader in this enterprise was Capt. Jonas Prescott, the ances- tor of the Prescotts in this vicinity. Allan Cameron, Esq., spoke of his residence of twenty-two years in town, and of the improvements which he had witnessed, especially in Graniteville, which has come into prominence during that time. Rev. George H. Young, former pastor of the First Church, happily alluded to his connection with this people and of his interest in them. Rev. M. H. A. Evans followed him, expressing in a similar manner his interest in the wel- fare of the town. Rev. J. S. Moulton, Preceptor William E. Frost, and Hon. J. H. Read made brief addresses, and Rev. E. R. Hodgman gave some facts respecting the early history and some statistics of population and manufactures. Mr. C. W. Blood gave two cornet solos and was heartily applauded. Excellent singing was furnished by the two choirs who rendered Keller's "American Hymn," " Amer- ica " and a select " Hymn of Gratitude " with. fine effect. The commemoration was truly successful and was heartily enjoyed by those who were present.
REMODELLING THE TOWN-HOUSE.
March 1, 1880, the expediency of repairing and altering the town-house came before the people at the annual meet- ing, and the selectmen were made a committee to estimate the expense and report to the town at a future meeting. That committee made a report and the town, at a meeting held March 24, 1880, voted to accept and adopt their report which presented a plan and estimate of cost for repairing and im- proving the house. Three thousand dollars were raised and appropriated to the purpose, and the selectmen were entrusted with the responsibility of carrying out the vote of the town.
Town Hall.
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CIVIL WAR TO EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-TWO.
The plan that was adopted, by putting a new front to the building with a tower, not only added to the beauty of the structure, but enabled great improvements to be made in the accommodations for ingress and egress. A gallery was put into the hall and fifteen more feet added to the rear of the building, which addition gave space for a commodious kitchen and one other room on the first floor. On the floor above ante-rooms were made on each side of the stage, which was set back and made more convenient. The entire cost of the alterations and improvements was $3,662.
REDEDICATION.
It was deemed fitting that the completion of the re- modelled and renovated building should receive some public recognition, and accordingly a celebration was arranged for Thursday, December 9, 1880, which was largely attended by the citizens of Westford and of the adjoining towns. Gov- ernor Long was invited to be present, and an address was delivered by Rev. Edwin R. Hodgman, by invitation of the committee of arrangements. The address related to the early history of the town and the principal facts have been embodied in this history. Governor Long, in his address on the occasion, recalled the remark of John Adams, that " the four corner-stones of the Commonwealth are the town, the church, the school and the militia," and said that all were fittingly represented in this celebration. He congratulated the citizens of the town on the evidences of growth and im- provement, not only in material things, but in culture and refinement, and he called attention to this wonderful growth all over our country. But while we congratulate ourselves on the progress we are making in tangible things, he said the best progress is after all in those principles which have been referred to in the address as possessing and animating those who founded our New England municipalities. Brief addresses were also made by George A. Marden, of Lowell, and Allan Cameron, of Westford. Music was furnished by
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the Dunstable Cornet Band. In the evening there was a supper and promenade concert.
MEMORIAL DAY.
Although the town contributed its full share to help sus- tain the burdens of the war, and although the ladies were liberal in the assistance they gave to the sick and wounded, and all the citizens cherished the memory of the dead, there was no public and formal recognition of Memorial day until the year 1882. A detachment from Post 1.15, Grand Army of the Republic, came from Groton, May 30th, and. joined the veterans of Westford in decorating the graves of comrades in our cemeteries. There were ceremonies in the Town Hall in the evening. The Graniteville Cor- net Band performed several pieces of martial music. Miss Laura E. Mace, of this town, read with fine effect " Hooker's Battle Above the Clouds." The address was delivered by Rev. E. R. Hodgman. It contained a brief history of the part of Westford in the civil war. Capt. Palmer delivered a brief but effective address, relative to the objects and organization of the Grand Army of the Republic. It was a fitting observance of the day.
CHAPTER VIII.
TOPOGRAPHY - BOUNDARIES - HILLS-PONDS - BROOKS - VILLAGES - LOCALITIES -GEOLOGY -MINERALS - WATER-LEVEL - MORAINES - SOIL - AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS - FLOWERS.
The Township of Westford is situated in the County of Middlesex and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is in latitude 42° 35' 40" N. ; longitude 71º 25' W.
It is bounded on the north by Tyngsborough, on the east by Chelmsford, on the south by Carlisle and Acton, on the southwest by Littleton, and on the west by Groton. It presents on the map an irregular six-sided figure, having its longest measure on the Chelmsford border, a distance of nearly eight miles. The whole number of acres, as given on a map which was lithographed in 1855, is 19,519. By the census of 1875 it contained 5, 142 acres of forests ; 4,646 acres of unimproved land, and 638 acres of unimprovable land ; and there were 232 farms, including 3,567 acres under crops. The whole number of acres taxed in 1882 was 18,000.
The surface is diversified with hill, valley and plain. Large areas, once cultivated, are now covered with forests, which seem to be extending year by year. The highland near the centre was called Tadmuck Hill in the early deeds, and the name was applied, not merely to a single summit, but to a large area. The highest elevation, now called Prospect Hill, originally Clay-pit, rises more than three hundred feet above the valley of the Stony Brook at Westford Station. Blake's Hill, Rattlesnake Hill and Sparks Hill are spurs on the south of this, and Bear Hill, little Bear Hill, and Nonesuch Hill are slight elevations in the southeast.
a
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HISTORY OF WESTFORD.
The boundary line between Littleton and Westford crosses Fletcher Hill and Nashoba .* Snake-Meadow Hill is west of Graniteville ; Conscience Hill, west of Keyes Pond, received its name from a man of somewhat peculiar traits, who once owned it and was nicknamed Conscience. Spalding Hill, lying between Keyes and Long-sought-for Ponds, prob- ably took its name from Dea. Andrew Spalding. Oak Hill, in the extreme north, has granite quarries which have been worked for many years ; Flushing Hill, near the pond of the same name; Milestone Hill, at the northwest corner ; Kissa- cook Hill, near the poor-house ; Cowdry Hill, west of Snake Meadow ; Providence Hill, northeast of Providence Meadow, and Frances Hill, on the Chelmsford line, complete the list. The last one mentioned is a high table-land, from which beautiful views can be obtained of the mountains on the west.
PONDS AND BROOKS.
Forge Pond, on the southwest, is a fine sheet of water with gravelly banks. Only a part of it .can be claimed by Westford, for the town line cuts it in twain. The part in- cluded in Westford contains 104 acres. Nubanussuck Pond, half a mile from Brookside, has an area of 123 acres. . It is much frequented in summer by excursion parties from Lowell and elsewhere. Long-sought-for Pond ¡ comes next, with an area of 107 acres ; then Keyes Pond, 40 acres ; Burge's, 25 acres ; Flushing, 20 acres, and Grassy, 18 acres. These, with the exception of Forge, are all in the northern half of the town ; in the southern half there is no collection of water except the arm of Heart Pond. All these have a beauty of their own. Their pure waters sparkle in the sunlight of the
* It is said that the meaning of the word Nashoba is the hill that shakes, and that the reason is that at certain times rumbling noises are heard and vibratory motions are seen in the hill, indicating some internal convulsions.
There is a tradition that the name of Long-sought-for was given because a party, who had heard of its existence, started to find it and spent four days before they came to it. Burge's Pond received its name from Samuel Burge, who owned the land near it.
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long summer day and reflect the snow-white clouds that float above them. Malarious influences are seldom generated about them, but they send their sweet waters gaily down to Stony Brook, and this sends them to the broad Merrimack, and this, in turn, passes them on with rapid current to the ocean. The pretty little stream that runs from Forge Pond to the Merrimack is worthy of a more poetic name than Stony Brook, albeit it is a benefactor to the people. It has several tributaries, It receives the waters of Nubanussuck Pond through Gilson's or Saw-mill Meadow Brook, near Westford Corner. It takes the waters of Keyes Pond through Dut- ton's or Keyes Brook, and Keyes Pond is itself connected with Long-sought-for Pond by Spalding Brook. A small brook, without a name, rises near Kissacook Hill and meets the Stony Brook near the Almshouse. Boutwell Brook, on the south side, was once an outlet of Forge Pond, perhaps the chief one, through Hopyard Swamp, but in the progress of centuries the channel was filled up, and the brook now only drains Boutwell Meadow and falls into the Stony Brook at Graniteville. Tadmuck Brook rises in Providence Meadow and takes a northward course to Stony Brook near the rail- road bridge. Swan Brook, near the Groton line, empties into Forge Pond. Humhaw Brook is an affluent of Keyes Pond, from the northwest, and so is Snake Meadow Brook from the southwest. Beaver Brook comes in from Littleton and empties into Forge Pond. Nashoba drains the east part of Great Tadmuck Meadow and passes on to Acton. On its way it receives Vine Brook, which rises south of Prospect Hill and flows in near the railroad, and Nonesuch Brook, which drains Nonesuch Meadow ; also Butter Brook, which rises near Great Bear Hill, and empties in near Carlisle Station. Pond Brook flows from the eastern border into Heart Pond. On the larger ones there is no lack of mill- sites.
VILLAGES.
Forge. This is the oldest, without doubt. Its good water-power was its chief attraction to the early settlers. It
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is a pleasant village, stretching along the margin of the pond, having a large school-house, railroad station, ice-house, post- office and store.
The Central Village is " beautiful for situation," being built on a commanding eminence, the northern terrace of Tadmuck Hill, which is 238 feet above the level of the rail- road at Westford station. The view of the distant mountains in clear weather is especially attractive and inspiring. The stretch of the western horizon is broken into wavy lines by the summits of Wachusett, Watatic, Monadnoc, the Temple Hills, Kearsarge, Joe English Hill and the Uncanoonucks. The White Mountains of New Hampshire can be seen in favorable times. Its elevated position and picturesque scenery entitle it to rank among the loveliest villages of Northern Middlesex. Here are the church edifices of the First Parish and of the Union Congregational Society, the Academy and the Town House-a large building, two stories high, and fur- nished with modern conveniences for the town offices, a fire- proof vault and room for the town library ; also a large hall for public meetings and armory for the Westford Squad of Company F, Massachusetts Cavalry. The common is a gem of rural beauty, not large in extent, but fringed with a double row of evergreen and deciduous trees. Here in the twilight of pleasant summer evenings the young and the old do some- times gather to listen to sweet music; or in the spell of the witching moonlight the light-hearted sit and while the glad-
some hour away. The main street is shaded with elms and maples, and the ample sidewalks tempt to evening promen- ades amid the perfumes of June or the golden sheen of October. To those who know, there is a lane that leads to " paradise," where green mosses deck the border of the spring, and birds "sing love on every spray." Prospect Hill . is within easy reach of the adventurous foot, and is often visited by those who wish to see " the lovely and the wild mingled in harmony on nature's face." The general intelli- gence and social refinement of the people, the good influence of the Academy and the healthfulness and general thrift that
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are apparent, together with the neatness and tidiness of dwell- ings, gardens and enclosures, all conspire to make this a desirable place of residence for all who seek a home far from the mills and shops and counting-rooms of care-worn men.
Graniteville. This village owes its existence primarily to its water-power and to the building of the railroad in 1847. At that time there were only two or three houses in it. Its development is chiefly due to one man, who came there in I854. It is now a village of several hundred inhabitants, and contains a machine shop, worsted mill, hosiery, mil- liner's shop, two or three stores, tin-plate worker's shop, large school-house, two railroad stations, postoffice, Metho- dist Church and reading-room.
Brookside. This is a small village on the eastern bor- der, near Chelmsford line. It enjoys the distinction of being the spot on which the first fulling-mill was built in the town. A worsted-mill, owned by Moore Brothers, is the centre of the only business carried on there.
Parkerville is the name given to a populous neighbor- hood in the south part of the town.
Nashoba is the name of a postoffice at the Carlisle station, on the Framingham and Lowell Railroad.
There are in all four postoffices, designated as Westford, Forge Village, Graniteville and Nashoba.
LOCALITIES.
Sackatere. This name, which is found in the old deeds, was given to a tract of woodland on the northeast side of Rattlesnake Hill.
Mackrill Covc. This term was applied as early as 1716 to a lot of ten acres, near the farm of Atwood brothers. The first owner was Thomas Adams, the present is George T. Day.
Texas, or the Lost Nation. This designation was applied long since to a region in the south part of the town, on Nashoba Brook. It includes " cat heads" and the old
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place once owned by James Hapgood, now abandoned to pasturage and forest.
Westford Corner. A name applied to a cluster of houses near West Chelmsford, at the mouth of Saw-mill Meadow Brook. Hard by is the tomb of Issachar Keyes.
Buffalo. The term applied to a rough place, near Tyngsborough line, north of the house of John Banister.
Elsewhere. Name given to a wood-lot of thirty-six acres, northwest of Erastus Wright's.
Hyde's Hole. Name originally applied to a valley near Merrick Reed's.
New Jerusalem, or Advent Corner. A term once used to designate a cluster of houses about half a mile east of the Centre.
Chamberlin's Corner. The vicinity of Chamberlin's blacksmith shop, on Frances Hill.
GEOLOGY.
The prevailing rocks are granite, gneiss and Merrimack schist. Snake-Meadow Hill and Oak Hill are marked and evident upliftings of granite, which displaced the overlying strata of gneiss. Extensive quarries have been opened in both and the traffic in this material has attained large pro- portions. "The stone used in Boston under the name of Chelmsford granite does not come from Chelmsford, but from Westford and Tyngsborough. In the latter place it is obtained chiefly from bowlders ; but ledges are quarried in Westford. I do not know why it has been called Chelms- ford granite, unless from the fact that large quantities are carried to Lowell (formerly a part of Chelmsford) to be wrought. This rock is pure granite with no hornblende ; and being homogeneous and compact in its texture, it fur- nishes an elegant stone. Good examples of it may be seen in the pillars of the United States Bank and the (Quincy)
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Market House in Boston. These were from Westford .* The Westford granite is connected with an imperfect kind of mica slate, in which it seems to form beds or large protrud- ing masses." (Report on the Geology of Massachusetts by Edward Hitchcock, 1833, p. 16.) In speaking of the granite beds of this vicinity, Prof. Hitchcock gives the direction as northeast and southwest, and the dip or inclination as 60 degrees to 90 degrees northwest-(p. 294.)
Granite bowlders are scattered in great profusion over the town, and are often quarried for building purposes. Their position in the fields often indicates the force of the drift-current that was hurrying them along. In some cases they were carried quite over to the eastern slope of the hill ; sometimes they were left on the top, and sometimes on the western side, as if the current had spent its force at that point. Instances of this are numerous. In digging them out of the ground, small round stones are often found lodged about the bowlders on the west side only, indicating the line of the drift, which was from the northwest toward the south- east. The layers of gneiss in many places are tilted almost vertically, so that the thickness of the successive folds can be distinctly seen. Noteworthy instances of this can be found near the house lately occupied by Joseph F. Prescott, on the way from Forge Village to Littleton ; also near the house of Henry A. Hildreth. A broad ledge, which crops out near the house of William Kittredge, has upon its surface grooves made by glaciers in some far-off geological age. ¡ Rude outlines of the human face have been traced upon it, and the figure is said to be the work of Indians. "The mineral which is generally called andalusite is most abundant in Westford, in mica slate. 3 Numerous specimens can be obtained from thence. It occurs in stone walls from a
* Persons are now living here who remember to have seen those pillars drawn by oxen through the town on the way to Boston. That was fifty years ago, perhaps more, and before the existence of railroads.
t Professor Gunning, who once visited the spot, said it was a remarkably well defined instance of glacial action.
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hundred rods to a mile east of the village, and may some- times be found in distinct prisms, greatly resembling specimens from Germany. It is of a reddish color, and sometimes the masses are two and three inches across. Generally they are accompanied by a fibrous mineral resem- bling talc ; but I am not satisfied as to its nature." * [Prof. Hitchcock's Report, p. 345.]
MORAINES.
These are numerous, especially in the north part of the town. These beds of sand and gravel may be heaps of detritus formed during the glacial period, or of silt or wash, left by the subsidence of water. The largest of these is the plain lying between Nubanussuck Pond and Stony Brook, and extending from Westford Corner to Grassy Pond. Much of it is a barren waste with large spaces of clear white sand upon which no vegetation can grow. Another bed lies be- tween Keyes Brook and Snake-Meadow Hill, and it also shows large tracts of utter barrenness. Patten's Plain, so called, lying between Boutwell's Meadow and Forge Village, is evidently a huge sandbank swept into place by the action of water. Another lies northward of Graniteville, being part of the Dughill lot; and smaller ones are found in other localities. These beds seem to indicate that water once covered the entire Stony Brook valley, and when geological changes occurred, it retreated into the basins of the several ponds that now exist on the north and west of Stony Brook valley. There is clear proof that Forge Pond once dis- charged its waters, or a portion of them, through Boutwell's Brook, but after a long period it wore its present channel to so great a depth that it became the only outlet, the other channel having gradually filled up .¡ Beds of deposit are
* Perhaps this mineral is in reality the Merrimack schist, which prevails here, and of which he makes no mention in his Report.
t Persons now living speak of a rock in Boutwell's Meadow, which, not long ago,
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found in the vicinity of Providence Meadow and Pond Brook -much of the land of the old Cookson lot being of this nature. The "divide" or water-shed between Providence Meadow and Pond Brook, is near School-house No. Six, and Heart Pond seems once to have reached an arm up to that point. Similar beds are found in the region of Vine Brook and Nashoba, showing that once, possibly, the waters of Magog Pond in Acton came up to meet the waves of Forge Pond in Great Tadmuck Meadow. If the supposition be admitted, then Tadmuck Hill, with its outstanding spurs, was an island lifted up by internal forces, and covered in due time with forests. These were possible geological facts, which, of course, cannot be proved.
The soil in the north part and some portions of the east- ern and southwestern sections is sandy and poor, but along the margin of Stony Brook, below Heywood & Burbeck's mill, it is of good quality. This charming valley, with its level farms, appeals to the sense of beauty in every beholder. The best land for farming purposes is in the south part, on Farwell's Plain and in the vicinity of Parkerville, near which there is an overlaying of clay which produces excellent grass.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
These are such as are common to New England. Prox- imity to the markets of Boston and Lowell encourages the production of small fruits, in which the Atwood Brothers, Augustus Bunce, John Lanktree, Cyrus Hamlin and Albert P. Richardson bear a part. Many farms are devoted to the cultivation of vegetables. Large orchards abound on Frances Hill and Tadmuck Hill, and the annual product of apples is very large. In some years thousands of barrels are shipped to England.
was nearly imbedded in the soil, but is now several feet above it; and this fact serves to show the sinking of the meadow after the filling of the mouth of the brook.
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HISTORY OF WESTFORD.
FLOWERS.
This is the home of many wild flowers of great beauty and variety. In the springtime the trailing arbutus appears on the margin of Nubanussuck.
Blushing 'mid the withered leaves, Modest, peerless, little thing; Lo! this fragrant May-flower weaves Chaplets for the brow of Spring.
Blooming in the sunny days, Humbly trailing on the ground, Coyly shrinking from our gaze, Waiting to be sought, if found.
The hepatica, the houstonia and the violet are followed by the wind-flower, the polygala, the arethusa and the ladies' slipper. The lupine, the painted-cup and the twin-flower come with the early summer. This last, called by botanists the Linnea Borealis, has its home in Twin-flower Dell, near the Nashua and Acton Railroad. Its fragrant and delicate blossoms are specially attractive. The mountain laurel grows sparsely in a few places. The lilies and the asters and the golden rods appear with a multitude of others that have not been named; and when the Indian summer is near at hand, the gentian, taking its hue from the clear autumn sky, brings up the rear of the floral procession for the year.
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Machine Shop of C. G. Sargent's Sons.
CHAPTER IX.
INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES.
THE first concernment of. the early settlers was to pro- vide for the three urgent necessities of human existence- food, clothing and shelter. They had no luxuries, and they resolutely set their faces against all "foreign superfluities." Their chief business was to till the soil. It was no easy task to cut down the forests, dig out the stumps and stones, and get the ground ready for the seed. In the early years little else was done, and the work required much hardship and self-denial. Yet there was a real joy in it, such as the pioneer feels when he starts out to make a home for himself with all its endearments and pleasures. Their houses were built for protection, not for show ; their food was plain, but nutritious ; their garments were homespun, but neat; their hearts were true and their minds elastic and cheerful. Gradually, as the settlement went on, they gave attention to the manufacturing of such articles as they needed. The peripatetic cordwainer or cobbler, with his supply of tools, made his annual visit to the scattered houses, at which time the "rising generation" were appropriately shod.
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