USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Municipal history of Essex County in Massachusetts, Volume II > Part 4
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The last preceptor of the Academy was Benjamin Greenleaf, whose term of service extended from December 12, 1814, to April 6, 1836, a man of marked personality, great directness, original methods and many pecu- liarities, who as a teacher was patterned after no model and who could have no imitators. He was born in the west parish of Haverhill, Sep- tember 25, 1786, the son of Caleb and Susannah Emerson Greenleaf, and was a descendant of Edmund Greenleaf, born in England in 1600 and coming to Newbury in 1635, an ancestor, also, of John Greenleaf Whit- tier. A farmer's son, living four miles from the village, at fourteen years of age Benjamin Greenleaf did not know the multiplication table, yet he was hungry for knowledge and spent his spare time in reading, and his few pennies for books. The breaking of a leg turned the current of his life, and he was able to enter Dartmouth College, from which institu- tion he was graduated in 1813. The mathematical series of text books
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of which he was the author had their first publication in 1835, the pro- duct of twenty years of thought and practice. Of his Common School Arithmetic five hundred and sixty thousand were printed from the first plates, and more than a million were issued in all. His connection with the Academy as a trustee lasted until his death, October 29, 1864.
In 1836 the male department of the Academy was discontinued, and the institution devoted entirely to female education. The head of the school as an academy for young ladies was Miss Abigail Carleton Hasel- tine, born in Bradford, March 15, 1783, and a teacher in the school since 1815. An appeal was immediately made for funds for a new building, and in 1841 a new and spacious edifice was dedicated, the old building being removed to the rear of the lot and named "Willow Hall." Miss Haseltine remained in service until July, 1848, and later gave additional administration to the Academy, her duties closing definitely in 1852. Fol- lowing her in administration came Miss Rebecca I. Gilman, and her suc- cessor was Miss Abby Haseltine Johnson. In Miss Johnson's administra- tion the large tract of land wherein the present buildings are located was bought and transformed into beautiful graded grounds, wherein was built a new building, dedicated in 1871, which, with the west wing added in 1883, and the east wing added in 1892, constitutes the present edifice.
Miss Abby H. Johnson, under whose direction the Academy had so expanded and prospered, resigned in 1873. She was succeeded by Miss Annie E. Johnson, formerly principal of the Framingham Normal School, a woman of strong mentality, with a heart of great tenderness, who placed stress upon the building of character. The years of her great ser- vice to the Academy were terminated by her death in 1892. Her succes- sor was Miss Ida C. Allen, a woman of high artistic development, to whose pure taste and personal generosity the arrangement and adorn- ment of the public rooms is largely due. Upon her resignation in 1901 the trustees chose as her successor Miss Laura A. Knott, then at the head of the English department in the Lowell Normal School. Miss Knott's aspirations and strivings for her pupils are seen in her little volume of earnest counsel, published in 1916, "Vesper Talks to Girls." Upon her resignation, in 1920, the present very efficient principal, Miss Marion Coates was inducted into office.
The Haverhill Historical Society had its origin in the presentation of the needs of such an association in a city so rich in traditions and his- tory as Haverhill, made to the Fortnightly Club (a literary club of gentle- men) by a member, which resulted in the appointment of a committee from this club and from the Monday Evening Club (an older literary club of gentlemen) to put it into effect. At a meeting at Winnekenni Castle on June 29, 1897, at which representative ladies and gentlemen were present, an organization was made, Judge Ira A. Abbott being chosen president. The building occupied by the society is the former home of Col. Samuel W. Duncan, who died in early manhood in 1824, and was long occupied by his widow. At her death it became the property of the Hon. James H. Duncan, and by his daughter, Mrs. Mary Duncan Harris, the mansion house, with an acre-and-a-half of land, was given to the society as a memorial of her father. The house, built probably in 1914, occupies the site of a "Saltonstall Seat," built probably in 1663 by Nathaniel Saltonstall, who married Elizabeth, the gentle daughter of John Ward, the first minister, and received this land from his father-in- law as the dowry of his bride. The location is the scene of Whittier's poem, "The Sycamores." Close by is the humble gambrel-roofed cottage
ABOVE, BIRTHPLACE OF JOHN G. WHITTIER, EAST HAVERHILL, POSSESSED BY JOHN G. WHITTIER ASSOCIATION; BELOW, WINNEKENNI CASTLE, HAVERHILL
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of John Ward, occupying its original site and restored to its early con- dition, supposed to be the first frame house built in Haverhill. The Ayer- Elliott Memorial Hall, added to the mansion, and dedicated June 16, 1917, was the gift of Mrs. Emma S. Elliott Cote and Miss Mary R. Elliott in memory of their father and mother, Samuel and Sophia (Ayer) Elliott.
On November 16, 1873, a disastrous fire, originating in the Prescott building, west of Washington Square, destroyed eight buildings in the shoe district and caused a money loss of $175,000, and the death of two esteemed citizens, Amos George and Amos C. Heath. On February 17, 1882, occurred the most extensive fire in the history of the city. Shortly after midnight on that date fire was discovered in a wooden building standing on the north side of Washington street and half-way between Washington Square and Railroad Square. It spread rapidly, and when, after four hours, it was checked, it had swept out of existence the build- ings of the shoe district from the river to Wingate street, and from Washington Square to Railroad Square, with the exception of two. The money loss was a million and a half dollars, and one life was sacri- ficed, that of Joseph St. Germaine, who was killed by a falling chimney after the fire had been subdued. The night was intensely cold and there was a very high wide, and only the assistance given by the fire depart- ments of Lawrence, Newburyport, Lowell and Dover prevented the dis- aster from being a stupendous one. The throwing out of employment of 3,000 operatives, the losses and general disorganization, made it advisable to establish a relief commission. With commendable courage the manu- facturers re-established their operations wherever even the most primi- tive accommodations could be found, and when a year had gone by, at a dinner on the anniversary of the fire, they were able to congratulate one another and the city on the new growth of the district and the recovery from the severe conflagration.
On July 4, 1876, the city of Haverhill celebrated the centennial an- niversary of the birth of the nation with a fulness of patriotic exercises. There was an abundance of decorations, a civic procession, and in the afternoon an oration on "The Colonial and Revolutionary History of Haverhill," delivered in the City Hall before the city government and the general public by Dr. John Crowell, a son of the town, of much literary ability and thoroughly versed in local history.
In 1890, during the week beginning June 29, the city elaborately celebrated the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of its settlement. In honor of this event, the officials of the city sent invitations to be pres- ent to its notable sons and daughters abroad, to many distinguished men, and to the officials of the town of Haverhill in England. Of the govern- ing board of that town, the chairman, the Hon. Daniel Gurteen, with his daughter, Grace, came across the Atlantic to be the guests of the city. On Sunday there was an observance of the anniversary by the clergy in the Academy of Music. On Tuesday afternoon the literary exercises were held in the same place in the presence of an audience of especial distinction. The historic address was given by Samuel White Duncan, D. D., a son of the Hon. James H. Duncan. A poem by Dr. John Crowell, whose death preceded by a few months the celebration in which he had been deeply interested, was read by Prof. John W. Churchill of Andover. To these exercises John Greenleaf Whittier contributed his fine poem, "Haverhill," which, at his request, was read by Albert L. Bartlett. The Hon. Daniel Gurteen formally presented an address from the citizens of Haverhill, England. This beautiful document was engrossed on two
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sheets of vellum, surrounded by watered silk, and was inclosed in a box of polished oak, with a silver plate inset containing the inscription. At the sides of the inscription are the flags of England and the United States, and beneath clasped hands, signifying the bond of friendship.
On Thursday there was a grand parade, in which all departments of the city took part, and to which the merchants and fraternal orders contributed floats and displays. The St. James societies arranged a series of eight tableaus, illustrating historic events in the history of the town: The Coming of the First Settlers, the First Meeting House, the Adminis- tration of Justice, the Capture of Hannah Duston, the Escape of Mrs. Duston, the Indian Attack of 1708, a New England Kitchen in the Olden Days, the Fire Company of 1768, and Washington's Visit (1789). The French societies contributed floats illustrating the scenes connecting France and America. There was a loan exhibition of historic and old- time articles, and all places in the city of unusual interest were marked with explanatory signs.
The city celebrated Old Home Week for the first time on the days from July 26 to 31, 1903, with a banquet in City Hall on Tuesday even- ing, at which there were notable speeches by distinguished guests, with a civic parade on Wednesday, an old-fashioned Firemen's Muster on Thursday, and especial events for the children on Thursday, with fire- works in the evening.
The 275th anniversary of the settlement of the town was observed by a celebration of great impressiveness and beauty on October 10 and 11, 1915. The literary exercises were on Sunday afternoon, when the Governor of the Commonwealth brought the congratulations of the State and gave a stirring patriotic speech, and the mayor, Albert L. Bart- lett, gave the historic address on "Haverhill: 1640-1915." An address was delivered in the evening by a former pastor of the city, the Rev. Nehemiah Boynton, D.D. On Monday there was a large civic parade, and, in the evening, a splendid display of fireworks at Riverside Park.
Haverhill has been honored by the election of five of its citizens as members of Congress-Hon. Bailey Bartlett, who served from 1797 to 1801; Hon. Leonard White, who served from 1811 to 1813; Hon. John Varnum, who served from 1826 to 1830; Hon. James H. Duncan, who served from 1848 to 1852; and Hon. William H. Moody, who served from 1895 to 1902. The career of Mr. Moody, to whom the gates of succes- sive honors seemed to open easily until he attained the highest aim of his ambition, followed almost immediately by physical disability that lasted through long years when the body was helpless, while the mind was clear and active, was brilliant in its accomplishment and pathetic in its close. He was born in Newbury, December 23, 1853, the son of Henry Lord and Melissa Augusta (Emerson) Moody. From the public schools of Salem, to which city his parents had removed, he entered Phillips Academy, Andover, in 1870, and thence he went to Harvard College in 1872. In his earlier academic years he was more distinguished for interest in athletics than for scholarly attainment, but in his last year in college his intel- lectual ability manifested itself and he became the unquestioned leader of his class in scholarship and in that keenness and energy of mind that henceforth formed his most conspicuous attributes. After a course at the Harvard Law School, he entered the office of the Hon. Richard H. Dana, the author of "Two Years Before the Mast," an able and profound lawyer, and a scholarly gentleman, who knew with exactness the cour- tesies of the best society. Mr. Moody often expressed his great obliga-
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tions to the training that he received from the influence of Mr. Dana. From this office he came to Haverhill and formed a partnership first with Edwin N. Hill, and later with Hon. Joseph K. Jenness. In 1881 he form- ed a partnership with Horace E. Bartlett which continued until the death of Judge Bartlett in December, 1899.
In 1888 Mr. Moody was appointed city solicitor of the city of Haverhill, and later, he was elected district attorney. In November, 1895, upon the death of General William Cogswell, representative of the Sixth Massachusetts Congressional District, Mr. Moody was elected to fill the unexpired term. He served in the House of Representatives for seven years, moving rapidly into prominence and leadership, and attract- ing national attention as well as winning the high confidence and esteem of his associates. On March 10, 1902, President Roosevelt appointed him Secretary of the Navy, to succeed ex-Governor John L. Long. When he returned to Haverhill, after this appointment, the city gave him a greeting of the greatest warmth and enthusiasm. The whole city was aglow with illuminations, there was the music of bands, and salvos of cheers from the citizens crowding the streets. On the evening of March 19 he was given a public reception at City Hall, and presented by the Hon. George H. Carleton, in behalf of the city, with an illuminated address, written by Albert L. Bartlett, expressing the pride of the city in the honors that had come to him.
On July 1, 1904, he was transferred to the position of attorney- general, and on December 17, 1906, by President Roosevelt's appoint- ment, he became a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Then, having reached through great ability and favoring fortune the high position to which he had long and honorably aspired, disease smote his body and, unconquerable, snapped his physical powers and compelled his resignation. Upon his retirement on October 4, 1910, Roosevelt said that there was no public servant whom the nation could so ill afford to lose. His illness continued progressively until death came to him July 1, 1917. The funeral services in his home on July 5 were attended by distinguished men with whom he had been associated, ex-President Taft, Chief Justice White, Justice O. W. Holmes, and others. His body was laid in the old burying ground of Newbury.
The city charter, under which the city had been administered since its change from a town form of government in 1870, followed the form established in most New England cities, providing a mayor, a chamber of aldermen, one from each city ward, and a chamber of councilmen, two from each ward. As the years passed, there was increasing dissatisfac- tion with the charter, because politics so largely entered into the elec- tions and appointments, the administration was divided among many minor committees, and responsibility for mal-administration or extrava- gance could not easily be placed. There were several attempts to change the charter, but none of them was successful until 1908. In the winter of that year the distinguished ex-president of Harvard University, Dr. Charles W. Eliot, spoke to a large and representative company of men in the Portland Street Church on city administration, giving his strong approval to the commission form of government as in operation in Des Moines, Iowa. The distinguishing features of this form were: (a) the absence of political and all other designations on the election ballots; (b) a primary election, practically a caucus, from the results of which the names of the two candidates for each office receiving the highest number of votes were alone placed on the city election ballot; (c) a small city
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council, consisting of a mayor and four aldermen, chosen at large; (d) each in charge of, and to a large extent, personally responsible for, one of the five departments into which the administration of the city was divided; (e) employed at a moderate salary, but giving full time to the administration ; (f) meeting as a council regularly, and being in constant association and conference; (g) the recall, by which, upon petition of a designated per cent. of the number of voters balloting at the last city election, the holder of an elective office might be removed; (h) the refer- endum, by which, in like manner, a measure passed by the municipal council should be suspended from operation until submitted to the cit- izens and ratified by a majority vote of the qualified voters; and (i) the initiative, by which, similarly, the council might be directed to pass a measure originating outside of the council chamber. The simplicity and directness of this form of charter greatly appealed to those who listened to the speaker, and a little group of men, walking home from the meeting, decided to make an attempt to place Haverhill under such administra- tion. Committees were formed, many meetings of deliberation were held, the fullest publicity and discussion were given to the subject, and a new charter was drawn by Judge John J. Winn, with the aid of certain advisors, which followed closely but not exactly the Des Moines one. A petition favoring this charter, signed by 2,225 voters, was presented to the Legislature, and this body granting its submission, it was adopted in special election on October 6, 1908, by a vote of 3,066 yeas against 2,242 nays. Those who were opposed to its acceptance sought to have it de- clared unconstitutional upon five particulars, all having reference to the mode of election. These were (1) restricting the names printed on the city election ballot to the two receiving the highest number of votes in the primary election; (2) denying the right to place upon the election ballot the names of those nominated by nomination papers, or by a cau- cus; (3) denying the right to have political or other designations upon the ballot ; (4) requiring candidates to seek the office, that is, to file a sworn statement that he is a candidate for the specified office; (5) requiring men to accept an office of uncertain tenure, with liability of being recalled. The Supreme Court unanimously decided against each of these conten- tions, and upheld the constitutionality of the Haverhill charter. In the first primary election under the new charter there were seven candidates for mayor, sixty-six for aldermen, and sixteen for school committee, but the voters chose with discrimination, and in the first city election made a choice that was satisfactory to the whole city. In the thirteen years of administration under this charter, there have been two attempts to change the charter, both with powerful backing and aided by the fullest publicity and advertising. These have been defeated by overwhelming majorities, showing that the charter has the confidence of the citizens. Its operation has been watched with great interest because Haverhill was the first city in the East to accept a charter free from political dictation and so radical in its provisions.
The following is a list of those who have been honored by election as mayor of the city, in the order of their service, and with the years of their administration. Under the first charter: 1. 1870-1871, Warner R. Whittier; 2. 1872, Levi Taylor; 3. 1873-1874, James V. Smiley; 4. 1875, Alpheus Currier ; 5. 1876-1877, Joseph K. Jenness; 6. 1878-1879, Nathan S. Kimball; 7. 1880-1881, Charles Shapleigh; 8. 1882-1883, Moses How; 9. 1884, Calvin H. Weeks; 10. 1885, Joseph H. Sheldon; 11. 1886, Calvin H. Weeks; 12. 1887, Joseph H. Sheldon; 13. 1888,
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George H. Carleton ; 14. 1889, Fred G. Richards; 15. 1890-1892, Thomas E. Burnham; 16. 1893-1894, Oliver Taylor; 17. 1895, Samuel L. Jewett; 18. 1896-1897, Benjamin F. Brickett, died in office, April 10, 1897; 19. 1897, Edwin H. Moulton; 20. 1898, Daniel S. Chase; 21. 1899-1900, John C. Chase; 22. 1901-1902, Isaac Poor; 23. 1903, Park- man B. Flanders; 24. 1904-1908, Roswell L. Wood.
Under the second charter-25. 1909-1914, Edwin H. Moulton; 26 1915-1916, Albert L. Bartlett; 27. 1917-1918, Leslie K. Morse; 28. 1919-1920, Charles H. Croy; 29. 1921-, Parkman M. Flanders.
Haverhill was one of the first towns in Massachusetts to establish a water-works system, being preceded only by Boston, 1652; Salem, 1795; and Worcester, 1798. The situation of the town, built mainly on lands lying closely by, or rising slightly from the banks of the Merrimack, with several large lakes lying not far distant and on higher locations, pre- sented a condition distinctly advantageous for the establishing of an aqueduct system. The pond lying by Mill street and known successively as Ayer's Pond, Mill Pond, Plug Pond, and now as Lake Saltonstall, has an elevation of 122 feet and covers 70 acres. At the southern outlet of this pond a plug dam was built in early years, from which the name that the pond long bore was derived. North of this and for many years tribu- tary to it lies Round Pond, with an elevation of 152 feet and containing 80 acres. A hundred rods east of this lies the beautiful sheet of water long known as Great Pond, but christened in 1859 as Kenoza Lake, a name selected by the poet Whittier, who wrote for the occasion the poem, "Kenoza."
"Lake of the pickerel! let no more The echoes answer back 'Great Pond,' But sweet Kenoza, from thy shore And watching hills beyond.
"Kenoza! o'er no sweeter lake Shall morning break or noon cloud sail; No fairer form than thine shall take The sunset's golden veil."
This lake has an elevation of 152 feet, and covers 225 acres. In the western part of the city, and three miles from its centre, is Crystal Lake, formerly designated as Merrie's Pond, Merrie's Creek Pond, and Creek Pond, covering 159 acres and with an elevation of 152 feet.
In January, 1798, Timothy Osgood and others petitioned the Legis- lature to be allowed incorporation under the name of the Haverhill Aqueduct Company, for the purpose of "taking the water at & from the round pond, so called, in Haverhill & conveying it through the several streets of said Haverhill for the use & convenience of themselves and others who may be desirous of being concerned therein & for their greater use and convenience." Although there was opposition, the peti- tion was granted. The matter was held in abeyance, however, until 1802, when the sentiment of the town was strongly in favor of the aque- duct. The company was organized, October 11, 1802, in Harrod's Tav- ern, which stood on the site of the present City Hall. Land rights were secured by payment of damages and an agreement that the grantors of the land should have the privilege "of taking water at all times out of said aqueduct sufficient to water their cattle." The first pipes were of green logs, bored through with a two-inch auger. After the water had
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been let on, the pressure was so great that the log pipes burst. This difficulty was solved by making a break in the pipe line and permitting the water to run into a reservoir, whence another pipe line ran out. This reservoir was placed nearly opposite the Unitarian church on Main street. In the early years the aqueduct was facetiously called the "River Jordan," because an old man named Jordan bored the logs, put them down, placed the faucets, thawed the stream when it was frozen, made out the bills, and collected the money. His home and place of business was at the corner of Main and Pond (now Kenoza avenue) streets. In 1848, when the lines of the aqueduct were greatly extended, the log pipes were replaced by iron pipes. In 1867 it became apparent that the water supply from Round Pound was insufficient to supply the rapidly- growing town, and the company was authorized to use the waters of Plug Pond and Kenoza Lake. Connection was made immediately with Plug Pond, and in 1871, with Kenoza.
About 1870 a company called the Silver Hill Aqueduct Company was formed to supply the residents of the district called Mount Washing- ton with water. A brick well was constructed close by the Merrimack river and from this, by a windmill, the water was forced to a reservoir on land 160 feet higher, whence it was conducted by pipes to the resi- dences supplied. The rights and property of this company were sold in 1879 to the Haverhill Aqueduct Company. In the same year the latter company erected a standpipe on Kenoza avenue, and began to supple- ment the gravity system, hitherto used, by a high-service system. After the great fire of February 18, 1882, high-service pipes were laid for fire protection. In 1882 the company acquired the mill sites on the stream flowing from Crystal Lake, and in 1884 the Legislature granted the right to use the water of this lake. The company immediately laid a 16-inch cement pipe from the lake to the city.
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