Massachusetts : a guide to its places and people, Part 48

Author:
Publication date: 1937
Publisher: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Company
Number of Pages: 802

USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts : a guide to its places and people > Part 48

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About half a mile northeast of the Center on State 62 is the Middleton Congregational Church, a white building with tall slender spire, standing on the site of the original church. Middleton has had only one congre- gation since the General Court permitted 'Will's Hill Men' to incorpo- rate a town composed of outlying sections of neighboring towns.

Will's Hill (inaccessible) was named for a friendly Indian, whose lookout over the distant mountains is still known as 'Old Will's Easy Chair.'

Middleton's company of Minutemen arrived too late to join in the Battle of Lexington, but old Tom Fuller rode after the retreating British, blazing away at their backs. The British, in grim compliment to his marksmanship, nicknamed him 'Death on the White Horse.'

Winding on through the beautiful wooded country, State 62 follows the leisurely course of the Ipswich River.

NORTH READING, 12.5 m. (town, alt. 80, pop. 2321, sett. 1651, incorp. 1853), after a brief era of shoe-manufacturing is now predominantly agricultural. Facing the town square is the Stagecoach Tavern (now a general store and private house), built in 1812 by Ebenezer Damon, when this was a halfway stop between Salem and Lowell, and between Boston and Haverhill. The tavern had 21 rooms, 7 fireplaces, 51 windows, 7 stairways, and 7 main doorways. Though North Reading for a time had hope of becoming a boot-and-shoe-manufacturing center, its present population, which is partly French-Canadian, is chiefly engaged in farming.

Right from the Center, on Haverhill St. 0.5 m. to the junction with a private road; right here 0.2 m. to the Gowing House. The ell was part of a blockhouse erected by Sergeant George Flint for protection against Indians in the early 1650's.

Willow Lane Farm, at 0.8 m. on Haverhill St., has a two-story, white clapboarded, hip-roof house, formerly the home of Georg : F. Root, author of Civil War songs, among them 'Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marching.' Here he com- posed 'The Battle Cry of Freedom' and 'Just Before the Battle, Mother.' His daughter, Clara Louise Burnham, a novelist, describes the brook running through the farm in a novel, 'No Gentlemen.'

At 14.3 m. is the junction with State 28 (see Tour 5), which unites with State 62 to 14.5 m., where State 28 bears right.

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From Beverly to Uxbridge

At 16.1 m. on State 62 is the Site Of The Old Mill, where Silas Brown manufactured boards used in flannel-stretching.

At 16.9 m. is the Pearson Tavern (private), 344 Salem St., a well-preserved two-story house, built 1730. This white clapboarded structure, with two wings and two inner brick chimneys, was maintained as a tavern, prior to 1850, by Aaron Pearson, Jr., a son of the Major Aaron Pearson who commanded the Massachusetts troops during the War of 1812.

Right on Andover St. at 0.5 m. at the rear of No. 116 is the Devil's Den. Tradition states that on the threshold of this cave lies buried some of Captain Kidd's treasure, guarded by the ghost of a Negro. One morning about a century ago, so the story runs, residents of the old Harnden House, corner Salem and Woburn Sts., saw a wagon proceeding toward the Den. The driver was a stranger in town. Beside him was seated a Negro. In the afternoon the conveyance returned, empty except for its driver, who was never seen thereafter. Supposedly the Negro was murdered after having assisted in concealing the treasure, and it is presumed to be his ghost which haunts the environs of the cave. Any attempt to dig up the treasure is futile, for the spectral guardian drags the chest out of the cave into the fields until the fortune-seekers are gone, after which he returns with it and continues his vigil.

At 17.1 m. stands the Ford-Blanchard House (private), 300 Salem St., built in 1720 by Cadwalader Ford, a captain in the Colonial army. Subsequently this two-and-a-half-story gabled mansion with an added wing belonged to the Blanchard family, who were identified with the hop-raising industry. Across from the Ford-Blanchard House is the house, enclosed by a white picket fence, built by Caleb S. Harriman on the Site Of The Hop Brokerage House. Members of the Blanchard family were (1806-1837) the brokers for sixteen and a half million pounds of hops raised in the uplands of Wilmington.

WILMINGTON, 18.4 m. (town, alt. 100, pop. 4493, sett. 1639, incorp. 1730), was named in honor of Lord Wilmington, a member of the British Privy Council.

Left from Wilmington on Wildwood St. 1.1 m. is the junction with Woburn St .; right here to the Sheldon House (private) 1.2 m., once the abode of Asa G. Shel- don, author of 'Asa G. Sheldon, Wilmington Farmer,' who in 1835 cut down Pem- berton Hill in Boston and removed the earth by oxcart.

At 22.5 m. is the junction with US 3 (see Tour 3). Between this point and 22.9 m., US 3 and State 62 are united. At 22.9 m. State 62 branches left and continues between pine groves, hay fields, and apple orchards.

At 26.3 m. is the junction with Old Billerica Rd.

Right on this road 0.8 m. to (R) the Bacon House (private), a two-and-a-half-story dwelling built in 1682. It has a cement-covered central chimney and clapboarded siding painted red. A well sweep is still in use. This house commands a view of the Shawsheen Valley, and was occupied by the same family for six generations.

At 26.8 m. is the junction with Page Rd.

Left on Page Rd. 0.1 m., at the corner of Shawsheen Rd. (L) is the Kendrick House (private), sometimes called the Shawsheen Tavern, built on what is said to be the site of an old Indian trading post. This two-and-a-half-story yellow frame house still preserves the socket where a flag was inserted to signal the stagecoach to stop for passengers.

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At 27 m. (R), as the highway swings left, is the Page House, built in 1687. This two-and-a-half-story light gray dwelling now has a front porch and a black-topped white chimney; it serves as the home for the foreman of the Page estate, which runs east along State 62.

BEDFORD, 28 m. (town, alt. 118, pop. 3186, sett. about 1640, incorp. 1729), was first settled around the Shawsheen House, an Indian trading post. In the Town Hall is the Bedford Flag, designed in England be- tween 1660 and 1670, and carried by Nathaniel Page, 3d, when on April 19, 1775, responding to the call sent out by the Massachusetts Committee of Safety, he left his wife and her newborn child in the Page house (see above) and hurried to join the Minutemen.

On State 62 (R) is the Stearns House (private), built 1790, a yellow. mansion with green door and shutters, white window casements, quoined corners, and a large inner chimney. Dentil moldings grace the well- executed white door-frame. This is the home of William Stearns Davis, author of 'Gilman of Redford,' a story of Revolutionary times with its setting in this town.

I. Right from Bedford on Springs Rd. is the United States Hospital for Veterans (open Tues., Thurs., Sat., Sun. and all holidays; guides provided 2-4) 1 m., opened in 1928. The brick buildings are surrounded by smooth lawns and bright flower- beds. At 2.8 m. on Springs Rd. is (R) the Convent of St. Thérèse of Liésieux, opened in 1929, where young women are trained as missionaries. Adjacent is the Mary- vale Seminary of the Maryknoll Fathers.

2. Right from Bedford on North Rd. (State 4) 0.8 m. is (R) the Lane House (private), sometimes called the 'House on the Hill.' This fine old house, built in 1660, is a one-and-a-half-story white clapboarded structure with a central chimney.

At 1.4 m. on North Rd. is the junction with Dudley Rd .; left here 0.4 m. is the junc- tion with a private road (permission needed to enter). From here a footpath leads to the Two Brothers Boulders on the banks of the Concord River, twin rocks bearing the names of Dudley and Winthrop, respectively, dated 1638. Here Governor Winthrop and Deputy Governor Dudley met in 1639 to settle the boundaries of their grants.

North Rd. continues to Bedford Springs, 1.5 m., where (R) is the Old Garrison House (private), erected in 1664 and used in 1775. It is a two-and-a-half-story weather-beaten dwelling of the salt-box type, with a central chimney. Near-by is Bedford Springs (hotel accommodations, horseback riding). In 1856 Dr. William R. Hayden purchased 300 acres of wooded land about the spring, built a summer hotel, a factory for the production of a patent medicine, a mile or more of lovely woodland bridle paths, and a small artificial lake.

3. Right from Bedford on State 25, crossing the Connecticut River at 2.2 m., to CARLISLE, 4.5 m. (town, alt. 220, pop. 688, sett. about 1650, incorp. 1805), named for the Scottish birthplace of James Adams, a refugee, who, banished by Oliver Cromwell for political offenses, became the first settler of the district. About 1850 the farmers successfully objected to vegetation-killing fumes from a local copper-smelter. Present inhabitants engage in dairying, orchardry, truck-garden- ing, and poultry-raising.

The Old Wheat Tavern (private) on Westford St. (R) (State 25) facing the town Green, was originally a station on the post road between Boston and Vermont. The tavern proper is an undistinguished two-and-a-half-story white frame building with a red-brick facing on the left side. A nondescript porch with six columns is the only reminder of its former function.

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From Beverly to Uxbridge

Right from the Center on Westford St. to Curve St. at 1.5 m .; right on Curve St., a dirt road, 1.8 m., is Railtree Hill (alt. 400), the base of which is marked by a sand pit near a farm. Here are the Carlisle Pines, a majestic grove now owned by the State. An effort is being made to save these trees, some of which are believed to be more than 150 years old.

State 62 continues its way through woodland and farming country and past Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (see CONCORD).

In CONCORD, 32.4 m. (see CONCORD), is the junction with State 126, Lexington Rd .; left on State 126.

At 33.7 m. is the junction with State 2 (see Tour 2).

State 126 traverses the Walden State Reservation, 33.8 m. (bathing, boating, fishing, hiking). On the north shore of Walden pond, opposite the highway, visitors add stones to a cairn which marks the lonely and beautiful Spot Where Thoreau Built His Cabin in 1845. This dwelling, measuring 10 by 12 feet, in which the philosopher wrote and studied for two years, had a garret, a closet, two large windows, and a brick fire- place; it cost only $28.1212, since Thoreau built it himself, cutting and hewing trees for the frame with a borrowed axe. The house was used at times as a link in the Underground Railway. Near-by is the beanfield described in Thoreau's writings.

At WAYLAND, 40 m. (town, alt. 120, pop. 3346, sett. about 1638, incorp. 1780), is the junction with US 20 (see Tour 4).

State 126 continues south following the line of the old Connecticut Path, a former stagecoach route.

At 43.1 m. State 126 passes Cochituate Lake (L), a large body of water surrounded by hardwood trees and towering evergreens.

At 45.7 m. is the junction with State 9 (see Tour 8).

FRAMINGHAM, 47.2 m. (town, alt. 189, pop. 22,651, sett. 1650, in- corp. 1700), for 35 years after its settlement had indefinite boundaries and organization, and was generally known as Danforth's Farms. Near here were villages of Praying Indians, engaged in farming and cattle- raising, and having their own churches and civil government. By 1700 Framingham had about 70 families, including refugees from the witch- craft persecution in Salem Village (now Danvers).

Crispus Attucks, a mulatto resident of the town, was a member - some historians say a leader - of the mob that attacked the King's soldiers in Boston on March 5, 1770, in the famous Boston Massacre; he was one of the five who were killed.

After 1800 the water-power of the Sudbury River, flowing through the town, was increasingly used for manufacturing purposes. In 1837 the New England Worsted Company moved its machinery here from Lowell and other industrial enterprises were started. Many of the original factories are now out of existence, but shoes, paper and rubber products, and carpets are produced at present. The Dennison Paper Manufacturing Company, the dominant industry, has an industrial partnership plan

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and well-managed welfare activities. Surrounding farms now engage in market-gardening and fruit-growing.

Right from Framingham on State 135 3.2 m. to the junction with Main St., on which 0.3 m. (R) is ASHLAND (town, alt. 188, pop. 2497, sett. about 1750, incorp. 1846). The original settlers were attracted to the region by its fertile valleys. Water-power furnished by the Sudbury River was gradually put to use, and by the time Ashland was incorporated it was a flourishing mill community. After 1872, when the city of Boston obtained control of the Sudbury River and deflected it for part of its water supply, only a few small factories remained in operation.

In 1750 Sir Harry Frankland, descendant of Oliver Cromwell, friend of the Earl of Chesterfield, and for some years a Crown official in Boston, built a manor-house in Ashland, planting an orchard and arranging a garden filled with ornamental trees imported from England. While on a visit to Marblehead he saw a beautiful young girl, Agnes Surriage, scrubbing the floor of a tavern, took a fancy to her, and car- ried her away to Boston to receive a polite education. Finding that she was snubbed by Boston society, he brought her to Hopkinton, where they lived very happily. They traveled a great deal, and Agnes's beauty and grace aroused ardent admira- tion in all the gay capitals of Europe, where Puritan snobbery was happily absent. In 1755, during a visit to Lisbon, Portugal, the pair were caught in an earthquake; this apparently caused Sir Henry to think on his latter end, for he came back to America a changed man, and married Agnes Surriage. He died in 1768. In 1775 Lady Agnes was suspected, rightly or wrongly, of Tory sympathies, and felt it best to sail for England. Her career was not yet ended, however, for after a decent interval she married another titled gentleman. Ashland's cherished story has been told in 'Agnes,' a poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes; in 'Brampton Sketches,' by Mary B. Claflin, a native of Hopkinton and wife of Governor Claflin; in 'Old Town Folk,' by Harriet Beecher Stowe; and in ' Agnes Surriage,' a novel by Edwin L. Bynner.

On the lawn of the Public Library, Front St., is a cannon of the type used for coastal defense in the early 1800's. The Ashland Historical Society Headquarters (open by appointment), in the basement of this building, has a collection of Colonial fur- nishings and papers of importance in local history.

The Gay House (private), 2 Myrtle St., is a two-and-a-half-story white house built in 1743. The heavy growth of young fir trees on the lawn bordering the walk com- pletely hides the front from view. In the rear the lawn slopes down to a millpond which in bygone days created power for a near-by paper plant.

The Warren Telechron Company Plant (private), on the corner of Railroad Ave. and State 135, a pioneer in the manufacture of electric clocks, is the basic industry of Ashland and its neighborhood.

At 4.2 m. on State 135 is the junction with Franklin Rd. where (R) is a marker inscribed 'The Bay Path'; this route extended from Plymouth to the North Shore past the Praying Indian Town, Magunkquog (Ashland) where, governed by Pom- haman, the Indians maintained a flourishing community for 15 years. On Magunka Hill, the site of the early settlement, the Indians planted corn, received their edu- cation from a teacher named Job, and worshiped the white man's God.

A resident of the town who collects local Indian artifacts was much puzzled by some oval bits of granite, shaped presumably by the aborigines. He related that having read somewhere that the Indians used oval stones for fishing-bait, he de- termined to test the stones and theory by fishing with the pebbles in Boston Har- bor; in a few hours (or so he claims) he had caught six cod on the same line, the fish successively swallowing the stone and expelling it through their gills.

At 5.7 m. is Lucky Rock Manor, a farm marked by a wooden sign. From here the Boston Marathon starts each year at noon on the 19th of April. For many years its starting-point was in Ashland, but a recent checkup showed that the original Marathon of ancient Greece covered 26 miles, 385 yards, and the route was altered. Clarence De Mar, a middle-aged printer of Melrose, and seven times a winner of

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From Beverly to Uxbridge

the Marathon, is now a teacher in New Hampshire, but comes to Boston each year to run along the road that brought him fame. In 1936 Tarzan Brown, a Narragan- sett Indian of Rhode Island, was the winner; in 1937, Walter Young of Canada.

HOPKINTON, 6.8 m. (town, alt. 439, pop. 2616, sett. about 1715, incorp. 1744), was named for Edward Hopkins, Governor of Connecticut. The first settlers were from surrounding villages and leased the land from Harvard College, executor of Hopkins's estate. This town is the birthplace of Daniel Shays (1747-1825), leader of Shays's Rebellion; of Lee Claflin (1791-1871), one of the founders of Boston University and founder of Claflin University in South Carolina. Pegged shoes were first made by Joseph Walker in 1818. Walker's invention changed the making of shoes throughout New England.

Facing the town Common is the Valentine Tavern (about 1750) (private), a two- and-a-half-story rambling structure of cut stone and gray clapboards, with a modern shingled roof; Washington, Lafayette, and Daniel Webster are said to have lodged here.

Hopkinton Academy, 21 Church St., was one of the scenes of Henry Ward Beecher's abortive efforts to become a school teacher. According to a local legend, his pupils on one occasion tossed him from a window into the snow. This house originally stood on the corner but a few years ago was removed to its present site and ex- tensively modernized.

In Mt. Auburn Cemetery on Mayhew St., in the northeast corner adjacent to the town vault, is the Grave of the Unknown Indian. For many years the residents were surprised to find this grave decorated on Memorial Day. One citizen secreted him- self to watch for the donor, but though he came earlier each succeeding year, the grave was always decorated before he arrived. After the death of an elderly lady, the floral tribute ceased.

Left from the Center on Ash St. at 1 m. is the Elijah Fitch House (closed); around this two-and-a-half-story, weather-beaten house cluster many romantic tales of runaway slaves and hairbreadth escapes in the days of the Underground Railroad.

State 126 passes the south shore of Lake Waushakum, 48.3 m., and the entrance to the Workmen's Circle Camp (R), 49.6 m.

On the western outskirts of EAST HOLLISTON, 52.1 m. (alt. 260), is the junction with State 16.

Left from the junction on State 16 is SHERBORN, 3.5 m. (town, alt. 175, pop. 994, sett. 1652, incorp. 1674), supposed to have been the site of an Indian settle- ment. Many Indian artifacts have been found here. The hand-manufacturing of shoes, the willow-weaving, and the whip-making of the 19th century are gone. Apple cider remains an important product.

Right from the village on Maple St., 0.9 m., in a rural section, is the Buttonballs House (private), a two-story frame structure, named for the large sycamore trees surrounding it. The building itself is of uncertain age, though the ell is known to have been built in 1722. The main part of the structure remains as it was in 1778, with brick fireplace, brick ovens, a smoke-closet, hand-hewn oak timbers, and hand-wrought nails.

HOLLISTON, at 52.9 m. (town, alt. 198, pop. 2925, sett. about 1659, incorp. 1724), was named for Thomas Hollis, an early benefactor of Har- vard College; though essentially an agricultural community, quite sur- rounded by wooded upland and open meadows, it has two shoe factories.

An extraordinary event in the history of Holliston was its visitation by a strange plague which, between 1752 and 1754, devastated the district, carrying off more than an eighth of its population. The nature of the

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High Roads and Low Roads

disease was never fully determined, nor why it did not spread beyond the borders of one small town.

Winthrop Pond, off Winthrop St., a delightful body of water enclosed by wooded banks, is stocked with trout and perch. On the east side of the pond rises Mt. Goulding, offering a view of the neighboring villages, forested hills, and tranquil countryside.

At 58.3 m. is the junction with State 109 (see Tour 1D).

MILFORD, 59.4 m. (town, alt. 257, pop. 15,008, sett. 1662, incorp. 1780), is a modern industrial town. Early in its history it became economically independent. By 1819 small boot shops, employing from two to ten men and boys, were marketing their product in Boston and Providence, and by 1870 the town had two of the largest boot factories in the United States. The Milford Branch of the Boston and Albany Railroad, built in 1845, accelerated industrial expansion. After 1900, however, local footwear production declined, and only three factories remain.

About the middle of the 19th century, the Rev. Patrick Cuddahy dis- covered pink granite here and opened the first quarry. Stone from local quarries was used in the Boston Public Library, the Corcoran Art Gallery in Washington, and the Grand Central and Pennsylvania Stations in New York.

The Irish Round Tower is in the Catholic Cemetery on State 85. This 60-foot high, well-proportioned granite structure rising candlelike from a sturdy base was erected by the discoverer of Milford's granite.

At 60.1 m. is the junction with State 140 (see Tour 23B).

At 60.7 m. is the junction with Hopedale St.

Right on Hopedale St. 0.3 m. is HOPEDALE (town, alt. 240, pop. 3068, sett. 1660, incorp. 1886). Originally in Mendon, the land comprising Hopedale was pur- chased in 1841 for the establishment of a communistic religious community, by a joint-stock company under the leadership of Adin Ballou, Universalist minister and a relative of Hosea Ballou. Called the Hopedale Fraternal Community, it paid for the education of its children and made its own streets, though taxes were paid to Milford. E. D. Draper succeeded Adin Ballou as president of the com- munity, bought up three-fourths of the joint stock, and finally demanded and achieved the dissolution of the experiment. The Draper family manufactured textile machinery and supplies, and the Draper Corporation, a leader in its field, still owns many of the houses in the northern part of the town. In the small park is the Statue of Adin Ballou. Right of the statue is a large flagstone in one end of which is embedded an old-fashioned iron boot-scraper, the doorstep of the house (1700) of Elder John Jones. This house served as the first church in Hopedale.

On Hopedale St. is the Hopedale Community House, gift of the Draper family; it has an auditorium and recreational facilities.

At 62.3 m. on State 126 is MENDON (town, alt. 420, pop. 1265, sett. 1660, incorp. 1667), originally Quinshepauge, named for Mendon, Eng- land. It was the second town formed in the county, and was one of the first to suffer attack in King Philip's War. The inhabitants were ordered by the General Court not to abandon the settlement; they disregarded the order and the town was burned. Mendon, unsympathetic with

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From Boston to Milford

Shays's Rebellion, helped quell the uprising. The town has remained essentially agricultural in its economy.

In the park stands the Founders Memorial on the Site of Mendon's first Meeting House. Here are also two milestones, the larger reading '37 miles from Boston T.H. 1785,' the other '38 miles to Boston 1772.'

The small, one-story, brick Mendon Historical Society Building (open), near-by, served as a bank from 1820 to 1826. In it are Indian relics, and a collection of old newspapers, photographs, and pictures.

On Main St. is the Old Mendon Tavern (private), a two-story house where Washington did not spend the night (see NORTH UX BRIDGE, Tour 23 for the story).

Opposite the Town Hall on the Common is the Abraham Staples Elm, said to have been a large tree when the first settlers came to Mendon.

On State 126 (R), adjoining the Mendon Airport, stands the fine old Jonathan Russell House (open by arrangement), built by one of the com- missioners who negotiated the Treaty of Ghent.

Left from Mendon on the Blackstone Rd. 0.7 m. is the Austin Taft House (1720). A granite boulder at 1.4 m. commemorates the Site of the Massacre (1675) in which several persons were killed by the Nipmucks at the beginning of King Philip's War.

At 66.3 m. is UXBRIDGE (see Tour 23), at the junction with State 122 (see Tour 23).

TOUR 1 D : From BOSTON to MILFORD, 20.5 m., State 109.

Via Boston, Dedham, Westwood, Dover, Medfield, Millis, Medway, and Mil- ford.

N.Y., N.H. & H. R.R. services the area.

Hard-surfaced road; passable all year.

STATE 109 passes through several pleasant residential villages in a semi-agricultural area, with dense woodlands at frequent intervals, branches west from US 1, 7.9 m. south of Boston, crosses the Charles River, and passes through a countryside of neat homes and well-kept estates.

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Massachusetts : a guide to its places and people, Part 48

Author: Publication date: 1937 Publisher: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Company Number of Pages: 802

Author:
Publication date: 1937
Publisher: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Company
Number of Pages: 802